Laurie Penny: Human Wifi, Not Just Part of the Furniture

Penny in the New Statesman ..

At the South by South-West music and technology convention in Austin, Texas, a man called Clarence [is] standing outside the conference centre, begging delegates with a hopeful smile to use him to fire up their smartphones. He wears a portable wifi connection and a T-shirt that says "I am a wireless hotspot". Clarence has been homeless since Hurricane Katrina destroyed his New Orleans house. Turning homeless people into wireless hotspots gives an entirely new meaning to the phrase "get connected". When I read the words "controversy" and "advertising agency" in the same sentence, my bullshit-o-meter starts honking, and sure enough, a little digging reveals that the idea of turning destitute men and women into living wifi hotspots was engineered by a New York PR firm .. The argument goes something like this: low-paid work is dehumanising anyway, so, this being an age of austerity, why not objectify people just a little bit more and pay them a little bit less?

.. read more
Posted by Mike Blaxill, Friday, March 16, 2012

NYT (4): National News

Despite growing economy, Obama's approval rating is down; Justice Dept. blocks TX voter ID law; Solyndra kerfuffle blamed for stalling of clean energy program; Using homeless to market wi-fi backfires on ad company.
Posted by Ian Alterman, Tuesday, March 13, 2012

NYT Editorial & Op-Eds (4)

"The burning of fossil fuels since the beginning of the industrial revolution is causing acidification, a change in the chemical balance that threatens the oceans’ web of life" (Editorial); "As Mitt Romney campaigns in the Deep South, his attempt to connect with southern voters is exposing some of his greatest weaknesses" (Blow); "The recent BP deal really wasn’t about justice. It is about big paydays for the lawyers" (Nocera); "Want to know why we can’t get the dog-on-the-roof story straightened out? Just look at the latest happenings in Mittworld" (Collins)
Posted by Ian Alterman, Saturday, March 10, 2012

NYT (3): Foreign Affairs

Could the Fukushima disaster have been avoided?; After Putin win, opposition wanes (for now); Bahrainis have not given up the fight.
Posted by Ian Alterman, Saturday, March 10, 2012

   What Are Iran’s Intentions?      : Information Clearing House

Posted by Michael Butler, Sunday, March 4, 2012

Pandora’s Box: Digging the Earth, Killing the Future | Common Dreams

Does anyone, even the most Rabid, Reactionary, Religious Right Republican, seriously feel that we can continue to plunder the Earth's finite resources without deadly consequences? mb
Posted by Michael Butler, Saturday, March 3, 2012

NYT (4): National News

FCC worries over gov't interruption of cellphone and Internet service; Eleventh-hour settlement means BP escapes class-action lawsuit; Massive storm system wreaks havoc and kills over a dozen in Midwest; No fluke that Obama openly supports student who supports him re contraception.
Posted by Ian Alterman, Saturday, March 3, 2012

NYT (3): Technology

How to get around some of Google's new privacy policy; Uh-oh - photos on Android phones may also be vulnerable to theft; Your "unlimited" Web plan may be limited.
Posted by Ian Alterman, Friday, March 2, 2012

Six-Legged Giant Finds Secret Hideaway, Hides For 80 Years : Krulwich Wonders… : NPR

A super post from Raya King
Posted by Michael Butler, Thursday, March 1, 2012

NYT (6): National News

Romney wins in AZ and MI - is this the end for Santorum?; Olympia Snowe will retire; As VA passes softer ultrasound bill, other states take notice; SCOTUS debates whether corps can be sued for human rights violations; NYC to add wind power; Your iPhone photos may not be as private as you think.
Posted by Ian Alterman, Wednesday, February 29, 2012

NYT (9): National News

Dems welcome contraception debate; Kelly defends surveillance of Muslims, as NYPD expands its reach; Three NYPD officers plead guilty in gun-smuggling case; As gay marriage gains in U.S., NH may be first state to revoke law; New U.S. cars to have rear cameras for safety; Gordon Gekko does a PSA for the FBI; A beloved hawk is dead in NYC; The Oreo cookie turns 100.
Posted by Ian Alterman, Tuesday, February 28, 2012

NYT (2): National News

Virginia GOP backs away from second controversial bill; Rising gas prices are hurting Obama's campaign.
Posted by Ian Alterman, Friday, February 24, 2012

NYT (5): Int’l Affairs

U.N. says Syria is guilty of war crimes; Violent protests by Afghanis over burning of Korans continue unabated; No surprise, perhaps, as Chavez helps Assad; Why pregnant mainland Chinese women are flocking to Hong Kong to give birth; Are men doomed to extinction?
Posted by Ian Alterman, Thursday, February 23, 2012

NYT (3): Int’l Affairs

Amid ongoing violence, "normal" protests continue in Syria; Space junk threatens both man and machine; A memoir by one of the leaders of the Arab Spring.
Posted by Ian Alterman, Sunday, February 19, 2012

Rotten Apple: A Symbol of Labor Exploitation

Apple is not the only one. Still that is not an excuse. mb
Posted by Michael Butler, Saturday, February 18, 2012

MSNBC (1)

A mysterious new disease has already killed over 24,000 in Central America.
Posted by Ian Alterman, Saturday, February 18, 2012

AlterNet (3)

How conservatism relies on "low intelligence and poor information"; Are bees the "canaries in the coal mine?"; Why young people are abandoning "conservative evangelicalism."
Posted by Ian Alterman, Saturday, February 18, 2012

NYT (7): Foreign Affairs

Embattled German president resigns; Tunisia prepares for "Islamist democracy"; In Bahrain, an American is arrested and a small protest quelled in effort to pre-empt larger protest; Sudan and South Sudan cannot agree on oil; First Khodorkovsky, now Lebedev?; Italy busts $6 TRILLION phony U.S. bond scam; Bird flu studies to be published, despite concerns.
Posted by Ian Alterman, Saturday, February 18, 2012

NYT Op-Eds (4)

"A river that once watered a lush Mexican delta is now used up in the United States" (Guest Op-Ed); "Santorum and his rivals deny authorship of their own histories" (Bruni); "The Assad family of Syria still operates without rules, doing whatever it takes to stay in power" (Friedman); "The weakening of our social fabric can’t be reduced to economics" (Brooks)
Posted by Ian Alterman, Wednesday, February 15, 2012

NYT (10): National News

Improving economy lifts Obama; GOP caves on payroll tax and unemployment; NYPD stop-and-frisks at record high; Voter fraud may be urban legend, but voter rolls are in disarray; FCC puts kibosh on broadband plan due to conflict with GPS; NYS redistricting plan to be reviewed by court panel; NJ Senate passes gay marriage bill, despite gov's promised veto; New Obama plan re contraceptives splits Catholics; When environmental groups take money from "the enemy"; NYC Transit chief wisely opposes food ban bill.
Posted by Ian Alterman, Wednesday, February 15, 2012

NYT (6): Foreign Affairs

Iran threatens to withhold oil from European countries; Is one woman single-handedly endangering U.S.-Egyptian relations?; Pakistani PM indicted for contempt; French opposition candidate comes out swinging; Responding to growing pressure, Apple allows audit of Chinese factories; It may be Amanda Knox redux as Italy appeals acquittal.
Posted by Ian Alterman, Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Anonymous attacks US tear-gas maker

RT reports ..

[Anonymous] sent a sweet Valentine to an American weapons manufacturer, knocking out its website. The group says it was an act of retaliation for the company’s arming of security forces against pro-democracy protests in Egypt, Bahrain, and the US. The one-year anniversary of the Arab Spring uprising in Bahrain seems to have ignited pro-protest feelings in the hackers’ hearts. The Anonymous-aligned activists have accused Combined Systems, a tear-gas maker located in the US, of selling "mad chemical weapons to military and cop shops around the world .. You shot and gassed protesters, running them off public parks in the US. Several dozen died because of your tear gas used in Egypt. Did you think we forgot? Why did you not expect us?" read the statement

.. read more
Posted by Mike Blaxill, Wednesday, February 15, 2012

NYT Editorial & Op-Eds (11)

"The settlement could be a step in the right direction, but a follow-up investigation is needed" (Editorial); "Journalists used to have a chance to protect their sources, but advances in surveillance technology have changed that" (Guest Op-Ed); "Granted, 2012 may not be 1954. But Egypt’s past offers important lessons for its political future" (Guest Op-Ed); "The Taiping Rebellion, which nearly toppled the Qing Dynasty in the 1850s, bears warnings for the current government" (Guest Op-Ed); "The 2012 crop of Republican presidential candidates is out of date. The party has lost its conservative roots" (Friedman); "Mitt Romney lacks the aura and excitement that propelled others to the presidency" (Bruni); "Charles Murray’s new book, 'Coming Apart,' describes the problem but stops short of offering practical solutions for saving the working class" (Douthat); "In their beef with President Obama over birth control, Catholic bishops ignore the link between contraceptives and poverty" (Kristof); "The idea that some single course is right and necessary is seductive and dangerous" (Guest Op-Ed); "A new scientific search for extraterrestrial intelligence raises fundamental questions about what to say and expect" (Roberts); "Mimi Alford never made the full story of her affair with President Kennedy public until last week, when her book came out" (Guest Op-Ed)
Posted by Ian Alterman, Sunday, February 12, 2012

NYT (5): Int’l Affairs

British hacking scandal refuses to die as 8 employees of Murdoch's "Sun" are arrested; Opposition in Syria strikes at heart of security apparatus; Kremlin arrests duly elected president of South Ossetia; Paranoia in the digital age; The Falklands, again.
Posted by Ian Alterman, Saturday, February 11, 2012

Suppressing Research: Eight Ways Monsanto Fails at Sustainable Agriculture

Posted by Michael Butler, Thursday, February 9, 2012