Monday Mabsoot Mainmast

Around the world, dictatorships and democracies alike are attempting to restrict access to strong encryption that governments cannot decrypt or bypass on demand.

 Firms providing strong encryption to protect their users — such as Google and Apple — are now being accused by government spokesmen of "aiding" terrorism by not making their users' communications available to law enforcement on demand. Increasingly, governments that have proven incapable of protecting their own systems from data thefts are calling for easily abused, technologically impractical government "backdoors" in commercial encryption that would put all private communications at extreme risk of attacks.

 This new G+ community will discuss means and methods to protect our rights related to encrypted communications, unfettered by government efforts to undermine our privacy in this context.

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In light of all the recent shark attacks...

 Sometimes some of the coolest stories get lost in history. 

The CIA recently noted one of them – famous French food chef and author Julia Child's critical involvement in developing a shark repellent recipe for military personnel during WWII.

 The CIA reports: "Julia McWilliams (better known by her married name, Julia Child) joined the newly-created OSS in 1942 in search of adventure. 

This was years before she became the culinary icon of French cuisine that she is known for today. In fact, at this time, Julia was self-admittedly a disaster in the kitchen. Perhaps all the more fitting that she soon found herself helping to develop a recipe that even a shark would refuse to eat....

After trying over 100 different substances—including common poisons—the researchers found several promising possibilities: extracts from decayed shark meat, organic acids, and several copper salts, including copper sulphate and copper acetate.

 After a year of field tests, the most effective repellent was copper acetate."

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NPR reports that "Happy Birthday to You", one of the most recognized songs in the English language, is the subject of a class action complaint over the validity of its copyright.

 The publisher Warner/Chappell Music owns the copyright to the "Happy Birthday" song and anyone who wants to use the song must pay a licensing fee.

 How did Warner/Chappell get the rights?

 "This is where it gets complicated," says Jennifer Nelson.

 She is working on a documentary about the song and paid for the rights to use it.

 Now she's suing Warner/Chappell to get her money back, arguing it's part of the public domain.

 "I think it's going to set a precedent for this song and other songs that may be claimed to be under copyright, which aren't," says Newman.

 The Courthouse News Service have more information about the pending suit.

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 As always one wonders what got screwed up?

If you haven't already downloaded Windows 10 build 10162 or 10166, you're now too late.

 Microsoft has suspended the availability of these two builds — previously available on the Slow and Fast rings respectively — in the run up to the big launch day in a couple of weeks' time. 

As we edge closer and closer to the RTM build of Windows 10, Microsoft is now asking Windows Insiders to stick with the build they currently have installed for the time being.

 Anyone who hasn't upgraded to these latest preview builds is out of luck.

 As well as disabling upgrading through Windows Update, Microsoft is also suspending ISOs and activation.

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The biggest oil spill in US history, despite incurring the largest environmental fine on the books—$18.7 billion, handed down this month—has done almost nothing to change the nation's relationship to oil.

 Five years after the spill, and, by BP's count, $54 billion in projected total expenses, there have been no serious legislative efforts to improve the oversight or regulation of the United States' still-expanding offshore oil operations.

 Public opinion of deepwater drilling barely budged during the ordeal; today, a majority of Americans favor doing even more of it.

Are we really that dumb?

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Boy Scouts of America’s Executive Committee Unanimously Approves End to Ban on Gay Adults


The 24-Hour Bus Sheltering Silicon Valley's Homeless (2015) 8:23 - No commentary, just sobering footage of the only way some homeless people can find a place to sleep in Silicon Valley