As a follow up to our conversation earlier this month on police tactics and surveillance, the Supreme Court this morning issued its decision in U.S. v. Jones. The decision was unanimous in that the Court found a warrant must be issued in advance of the police attaching a GPS tracking device to a suspect's vehicle, although the Justices split over the reasoning behind this requirement. Privacy lives to fight another day...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/supreme-court-says-search-warrants-needed-when-police-use-gps-devices-to-track-suspects/2012/01/23/gIQA7wL1KQ_story.html?hpid=z1
Monday, January 23, 2012
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
The Future of History...
Can liberal democracy survive the demise of the middle class? From everyone's favorite wonk Diva, Francis Fukuyama, explains himself here.
"Something strange is going on in the world today. The global financial crisis that began in 2008 and the ongoing crisis of the euro are both products of the model of lightly regulated financial capitalism that emerged over the past three decades. Yet despite widespread anger at Wall Street bailouts, there has been no great upsurge of left-wing American populism in response. It is conceivable that the Occupy Wall Street movement will gain traction, but the most dynamic recent populist movement to date has been the right-wing Tea Party, whose main target is the regulatory state that seeks to protect ordinary people from financial speculators. Something similar is true in Europe as well, where the left is anemic and right-wing populist parties are on the move."
"Something strange is going on in the world today. The global financial crisis that began in 2008 and the ongoing crisis of the euro are both products of the model of lightly regulated financial capitalism that emerged over the past three decades. Yet despite widespread anger at Wall Street bailouts, there has been no great upsurge of left-wing American populism in response. It is conceivable that the Occupy Wall Street movement will gain traction, but the most dynamic recent populist movement to date has been the right-wing Tea Party, whose main target is the regulatory state that seeks to protect ordinary people from financial speculators. Something similar is true in Europe as well, where the left is anemic and right-wing populist parties are on the move."
Monday, January 9, 2012
America's Unlevel Field
Paul Krugman, America's Unlevel Field:
"Americans are much more likely than citizens of other nations to believe that they live in a meritocracy. But this self-image is a fantasy: as a report in The Times last week pointed out, America actually stands out as the advanced country in which it matters most who your parents were, the country in which those born on one of society’s lower rungs have the least chance of climbing to the top or even to the middle."
"Americans are much more likely than citizens of other nations to believe that they live in a meritocracy. But this self-image is a fantasy: as a report in The Times last week pointed out, America actually stands out as the advanced country in which it matters most who your parents were, the country in which those born on one of society’s lower rungs have the least chance of climbing to the top or even to the middle."
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Real Talk On Economic Inequity
Amazing times when both Liberals and Conservatives are voicing concern on unprecedented "class inequality," or what Republicans like to frame as decreasing "income mobility," and the ability to achieve the "American Dream." Both terms describe the same underlying issue of a disappearing middle class.
The Times:
-Harder for Americans to Rise From Lower Rungs
The Post x3:
-The danger in a declining middle class
-No longer the land of opportunity
-Iowa and the future of history
The Times:
-Harder for Americans to Rise From Lower Rungs
The Post x3:
-The danger in a declining middle class
-No longer the land of opportunity
-Iowa and the future of history
Ever wonder who controls the keys to the internet?
Link: The Geo-Politics of ICANN vs ITU
The Internet is now the engine of the new global economy. It is a communication infrastructure. Both have been correctly regarded as national security interests of the very highest level of priority. Some of the participants in the ICANN/ITU world are former participants in arms limitation circles. Their mode of thinking is illustrated by the frequent use of phrases such as 'why would we give up...'.
The Internet is now the engine of the new global economy. It is a communication infrastructure. Both have been correctly regarded as national security interests of the very highest level of priority. Some of the participants in the ICANN/ITU world are former participants in arms limitation circles. Their mode of thinking is illustrated by the frequent use of phrases such as 'why would we give up...'.
Institutionalized Mass Surveillance - Big Data
Another issue raised at the last Caucus concerned "Institutionalized Mass Surveillance," decreasing expectations of privacy, and how this is changing our understanding of the Fourth Amendment.
In that discussion, Aaron Kleiner brought up the topic of Big Data and the technology that is allowing for even greater capacity to compute all the data that is collected during our day-to-day lives.
Some additional materials: Thomas Friedman's glass half-full approach on tech and globalization.
In addition, Sean Gourley on the Mathematics of War:
In that discussion, Aaron Kleiner brought up the topic of Big Data and the technology that is allowing for even greater capacity to compute all the data that is collected during our day-to-day lives.
Some additional materials: Thomas Friedman's glass half-full approach on tech and globalization.
In addition, Sean Gourley on the Mathematics of War:
1.3.12 Caucus Follow-Up
2012 got kicked off in proper fashion. Our first two-table Caucus!
In the interest of keeping the discussion going (albeit digital), below our two articles that were mentioned in relation to the Caucus topic of "Modern Police Tactics & Militarization."
The first is an Op-Ed written by Kate and published in the Seattle Times on Sunday.
The second examines the controversial "stop-and-frisk" technique used by the NYPD:
Part I & Part II
Enjoy!
In the interest of keeping the discussion going (albeit digital), below our two articles that were mentioned in relation to the Caucus topic of "Modern Police Tactics & Militarization."
The first is an Op-Ed written by Kate and published in the Seattle Times on Sunday.
The second examines the controversial "stop-and-frisk" technique used by the NYPD:
Part I & Part II
Enjoy!
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