Jennifer Newstead helped craft the Patriot Act, a cowardly work of treasonous legislation foisted on the American people in the wake of the 9/11 attacks; later, she served as the Patriot Act's "day-to-day manager" in Congress; today, she is Facebook's general counsel.
Facebook has hired the Patriot Act's co-author and "day-to-day manager" to be its new general counsel
Backlash in China brewing against rampant face-recognition in daily life
Over at Technode, Shi Jiayi synthesizes recent stories in Chinese media showing how China's ever-surveilled population is getting sick of rampant face-recognition, and is speaking out. Face-recognition tech has penetrated all sectors of everyday life in China. As Jiayi notes, it's "it is now used in stores for pay-by-face, in hotels and public transportation for… READ THE REST
Amazon is using Pinkertons for union-busting surveillance
Lauren Gurley at Vice's Motherboard has broken the story about the obsessive monitoring of labor and environmental activists at Amazon facilities in Europe by Pinkerton merceneries. From the source: A trove of more than two dozen internal Amazon reports reveal in stark detail the company's obsessive monitoring of organized labor and social and environmental movements… READ THE REST
French government proposes new ban on filming and photographing police
On November 20, 2020, the French government presented a new security bill. Article 24 of the bill outlaws the dissemination of photos and videos that feature, "the image of the face or any other element of identification of an official of the national police or of a soldier of the national gendarmerie when acting within… READ THE REST
Turn any shower into a luxury experience with this jumbo showerhead
Did you know young people spend more time on average in the shower than older age groups? It's true. In fact, 18-to-24-year-olds routinely log more than 13 minutes under their showerheadduring each shower, as opposed to the much more concise 8 minutes for those 55 and over. Considering the average person takes almost 7 showers a week,… READ THE REST
This ultra-light headlamp has a 210-degree arc of light and 32 hours of battery
Bright, hands-free light isn't easy to come by. Headlamps unnaturally focus their beams in what seems like a laser pointer, and they typically don't produce enough light. And who wants to strap a big battery pack to their head? The Liteband Activ 520 Wide-Beam LED Headlamp lives by a simple motto: see everything, feel nothing. As… READ THE REST
This JBL tower speaker brings professional, theater-quality sound to your home
It seems like every company is putting out their own speakers these days. From industry heavyweights like Sony and Pioneer to boutique brands you've never even heard of, store shelves are packed with speaker options. But a small handful of elite names rise above the general noise of the speaker wars. The educated audio consumer sees… READ THE REST