In Ecuador, the nation's head of intelligence agency "has asked the legislature to draft a bill that would outlaw the publication of classified documents, amid growing concerns over a government clampdown on the media," writes Rosie Gray at Buzzfeed. The South American country has been in the news recently for providing shelter to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange at its embassy in London, and for offering a travel document to NSA leaker Edward Snowden.
Ecuador may criminalize the publication of classified government documents
Snowden's Box: the incredible, illuminating story of the journey of Snowden's hard drive
Dale Maharidge is a journalist and J-school professor who is dear old friends with the muckracking, outstanding political documentarian Laura Poitras. Jessica Bruder (previously) is a a writer and J-school prof who's best friends with Maharidge. When Laura Poitras was contacted by an NSA whistleblower who wanted to send her the leak of the century, she asked Maharidge for help finding a safe address for a postal delivery, and Maharidge gave her Bruder's Brooklyn apartment address. A few weeks later, Bruder came home from a work-trip to discover a box on her doormat with the return address of "B. Manning, 94-1054 Eleu St, Waipau, HI 96797." In it was a hard-drive. The story of what happened next is documented in a beautifully written, gripping new book: Snowden's Box: Trust in the Age of Surveillance. READ THE REST
Happy 10th birthday, TAILS — the real Paranoid Linux!
In my 2008 novel Little Brother, the underground resistance uses a secure operating system called "Paranoid Linux" that is designed to prevent surveillance and leave no evidence of its use; that was fiction, but there's a real Paranoid Linux out there: Tails, The Amnesic Incognito Live System, and it turns 10 today. READ THE REST
Edward Snowden on the global war on encryption: "This is our new battleground"
Since the 1990s, governments around the world have waged war on working encryption, arguing that "civilians" should be limited to using crypto with known defects that allow it to be broken, so that "good guys" can chase "bad guys." READ THE REST
These vibrant colored pens are also ultra-powerful magnets–and a fidgeter's dream come true
Who doesn't want fun things to play with on their desk? The problem is that too many fun toys make it look like you're not doing any work. So, the trick is to find functional, seemingly innocent-looking items that can satisfy all your fidgety idle hand needs. If you need more useful, yet fun entertainment… READ THE REST
The PowerUp 4.0 attaches a computer brain to your paper plane
If you want to engage in some joy this holiday season, we have the perfect gift for your fun-loving family member, or even for yourself…you can now effectively turn paper airplanes into drones. For those who have spent countless hours meticulously folding aerodynamically pure paper planes that can slice through the air like a real… READ THE REST
StartMail privatizes your email with a level of security you might not have known you needed
For years, you've heard experts talk about having a solid VPN service to safeguard everything you do online. It's sound advice, especially when you consider what can happen if someone gains access to sensitive information, like your bank access details or online account logins. Yet, too often, we overlook the fragile state of our own… READ THE REST