Théo Bourgeron, The Jacobin 07.05.2024: "The ascent of far-right movements is a tool that specific parts of the business world use to realign the balance of power between business sectors to their own advantage. In the case of the Rassemblement National, it is clear that the party seeks — and secures — support from certain groups of business owners. "
" The Rassemblement National has developed a project for the sector called “sovereign tech.” Many French tech entrepreneurs find this proposal appealing as they struggle with American big tech giants and seek to gain market share in France and Europe, especially in cloud computing and social networks. For example, the Rassemblement National manifesto proposes forcing foreign firms in strategic tech sectors operating in France to sell parts of their businesses to French or European competitors and would require US social networks to implement moderation strategies defined by French lawmakers for French content."
By Jonathan Turley (Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University.)
I hope that our readers have read the response of NewsGuard's Gordon Crovitz to my recent criticism of the company's rating system for news sites. He makes important points, including the fact that the company has given high ratings to conservative sites and low ratings to some liberal sites. I have mutual friends of both…
I am particularly concerned over the reported government contracts given to NewsGuard by the Biden Administration as well as agreements with teacher unions to help filter or rate sites. The Twitter Files have shown an extensive system of funding and coordination between agencies and these companies. The funding of such private rating or targeting operations is precisely what I have warned about in congressional testimony as a type of “censorship by surrogate.” The government has been attempting to achieve forms of censorship indirectly that it is barred from achieving directly under the First Amendment.
Douglas Jones. "Although the technology used in voting continues to evolve, it remains vulnerable to both malicious and unintentional errors. To protect the systems against both, explains Douglas W. Jones, a computer scientist at the University of Iowa and co-author of the book Broken Ballots, election officials need to be able to check and double-check the election’s results."
DHS Dept of Homeland Security the biggest customer?
Face recognition.
The Verge, Oct 2023
New York Times journalist Kashmir Hill comes on Decoder to discuss her new book, Your Face Belongs to Us.
NYT article about Clearview AI Inc. and other face recognition tech companies including Chinese and South Korean ones , by Kashmir Hill, from Oct 2021. Testing f-r tech at NIST.
Jun 2023. (This video includes animated sequences that are not necessarily representative of actual military hardware, technologies or capabilities.) Synopsis Every day, Allied citizens are protected from airborne threats by an integrated network of sensors, missile defence systems and fighter jets. Collectively, they’re known as the NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defence System (IAMD). But how does this system work?
Threats from the air are first detected by an array of sensors deployed by Allies. Based on land, at sea, in the air and even in space, these are capable of detecting aircraft or missile launches minutes after they occur. They feed the data to NATO command posts, such as the Combined Air Operations Centres (CAOCs) in Uedem, Germany and Torrejon, Spain. Commanders can then determine the best way to deal with the threat.
The task might fall to long-range, high-altitude missile defence systems like the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), or the short-to-medium range French Sol-Air Moyenne Portée/Terrestre (SAMP/T). NATO can also use missile defence warships or fighter jets to deal with the threat.
In recent years, the Alliance has had to contend with new threats such as unmanned vehicles and hypersonic missiles. NATO is hard at work on tactics and technology to counter these problems.
La tecnologia consente forme nuove di violenza, come l’undressing: “spogliare” le fotografie mettendole a nudo. Servono regole per far rispettare i diritti
Europeiska unionen kan snart förnya godkännandet för glyfosat, den mest använda herbiciden i världen, för ytterligare tio år. "À l'air libre" tar en titt på hur farligt det är, med Xavier Coumoul, toxikolog vid Paris-Cités universitet.
Oil and gas companies are following the science – indeed, they are using the most advanced science available, and they are using it to extract even more fossil fuel.
[And extreme violence!]