Naval Sonar Exercises Linked to Whale Strandings

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Whales are affected by Naval Sonar Exercises.

Scientists have long been aware of a link between naval sonar exercises and unusual mass strandings of beaked whales. Evidence of such a link triggered a series of lawsuits in which environmental groups sued the U.S. Navy to limit sonar exercises to reduce risk to whales. In 2008, this conflict rose to the level of the US Supreme Court which had to balance potential threat to whales from sonar against the military risk posed by naval forces inadequately trained to use sonar to detect enemy submarines. The court ruled that the Navy could continue training, but that it was essential for the Navy to develop better methods to protect the whales.

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U.S. Military Developing False Online Personalities to Counter “Enemy Propaganda”

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The US Central Command (Centcom) has purchased software that creates false online personalities for what it calls “information operations.”

Using the software, one member of the U.S. Military can control up to ten different fake accounts that appear to belong to civilians living in other countries. The government purchased the software from California-based Ntrepid for $2.76 million.

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Sanity Comes to Sexting Laws in New Jersey

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Where is the middle ground for sexting laws?

Salon’s Tracy Clark-Flory writes about a new bill in New Jersey that would prevent minors who engage in “sexting” (taking naked pictures of themselves and sharing them with boy- and girlfriends) from being prosecuted as child pornographers. As Clark-Flory explains, you don’t have to be in favor of kids sharing naked pictures of themselves to understand that child porn laws shouldn’t be used against them…

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The Coming Privacy Bill of Rights

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McCain and Kerry are backing a bill that would require companies to seek a person’s permission to share data about him with outsiders.

Sens. John McCain and John Kerry are circulating proposed legislation to create an “online privacy bill of rights,” according to people familiar with the situation, a sign of bipartisan support for efforts to curb the Internet-tracking industry.

 

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Thailand Tried to Barter Chickens for Fighter Jets

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Chickens are not a global currency.

Not that there’s anything wrong with a lot of frozen chickens — even 80,000 tons of chicken. It’s just that Lockheed Martin wanted a more transferable currency for its F-16 fighter jets:

For the embassy in Bangkok, winning achieved two goals: helping Lockheed and keeping the Russians from selling planes. There was, however, a small complication with the terms — the Thai government didn’t want to pay cash. Instead, it proposed trading 80,000 stockpiled tons of frozen chicken…

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Judge Allows Sony’s Request For Identifying Information For Anyone Who Visited Hacker’s Sites

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Sony is aiming at hackers.

This is a rather disturbing turn of events. Federal Magistrate Joseph Spero has approved a request by Sony to subpoena the hacker GeoHot’s web host, as well as YouTube, Google, and Twitter, for identifying information on anyone who has accessed, commented, or viewed information relating to thehack. At best this is lazy on Sony’s part and irresponsible on Magistrate Spero’s, and at worst it is a deliberate and malicious wholesale violation of privacy.

The pretense for this wildly overreaching action is that Sony needs this information to prove the case should be tried in San Francisco, in federal court and close to Sony’s headquarters. Why? Because it’s in Sony’s terms of service. This after another judgenoted previously that by Sony’s standards, “the entire universe would be subject to [her] jurisdiction.”

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South Korean Government: ‘Wear Thick Underwear’

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Thicker underwear for lowering energy consumption.

The government of South Korea has ordered all government employees to start wearing thick underwear—the high-tech thermal kind preferred—to stave off quickly rising energy consumption levels.

As of January 17th, public servants in South Korea must turn off all heating devices from 11:00am to 12:00am and 5:00pm to 6:00pm…

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Billions in Revenue From Oil & Gas Production Uncollected Due to Poor Government Oversight

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Uncollected revenue is like burning money.

As US politicians continue to cry for fiscal austerity and weaker industry oversight, keep this next one in mind: As New York Times reports the Department of Interior has done such a poor job keeping track of how much oil and natural gas has been produced from public lands that the people have lost billions of dollars in revenue…

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Why Are America’s Largest Corporations Paying No Tax?

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Who pays taxes if the corporations don’t?

Inspired by the UK Uncut movement, Americans are taking to the street, asking why they’re being asked to tighten their belts when the largest corporations in the country are paying no tax at all…

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IRS Gives Tax Breaks to Breastfeeding Moms

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IRS says breastfeeding expenses are tax write-offs.

Breastfeeding is easier on the planet because formula takes energy to produce, transport, and it wastes space in landfills. Not to mention that breastfeeding is the most natural means of giving your baby the best possible start. Michelle Obama even promoted breastfeeding as a means of reducing childhood obesity down the line. And most recently, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced tax breaks for breastfeeding moms.

 

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China’s Internet Censors Don’t Like the Smell of “Jasmine”

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Jasmine Flower

China’s state Internet censors have ratcheted up web filters, and security officers are harassing and detaining bloggers and activists as an online appeal for a “Jasmine Revolution” spreads in China.

The apparent crackdown came in advance of two top legislative meetings, the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, scheduled for March.

Censors blocked the word “jasmine” after overseas dissident-run news website Boxun and Chinese Twitter users broadcast calls on February 19 to mobilize street protests modeled on recent unrest in the Middle East, according to international news reports…

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