Data can be used for good, harnessed for the betterment of society, but it can also be abused. Find out about some hidden not-so-sunny uses of Big Data.
It has come to my attention that some of the VIDEO digests don't show some of the videos in the mailings. These are accessible on the website. http://www.dustcircle.com
Stephen Hawking’s Universe Stephen Hawking’s Universe is a 1997 documentary astronomical fact for public service broadcasting with the theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking. The author of the bestseller A Brief History of Time, here are some of the most astonishing scientific advances in cosmological thought.
WikiLeaks: The Secret Life of a Superpower It was the biggest information leak in US diplomatic history – over 250,000 US diplomatic messages or “cables” between the US State Department and US embassies all over the world – turned into a global sensation by the website WikiLeaks.
Battle of The Brains Horizon takes seven people who are some of the highest flyers in their field – a musical prodigy, a quantum physicist, an artist, a dramatist, an RAF fighter pilot, a chess grandmaster and a Wall Street trader. Each is put through a series of tests to discover who is the most intelligent?
Shift: Beyond the Numbers of the Climate Crisis Shift is a journey. In an ever worsening natural world we feel that inaction is not an option. We’re not claiming to be climate scientist or journalist trying to tell a plain story, just a brother and sister out to see what all the fuss is about. We accept, and thus firmly believe, that climate change is real, man caused, and a horribly big mess. Our goals are really two fold, one to educate people about climate change (you know the really scary numbers and facts that can be hard to stomach) and two, to offer solutions that help curb our emissions and make a healthier planet. We want to offer solutions from an individual basis all the way to neighborhood, city, and nationwide solutions as well. It can start with each one of us, but we need to work together to make real change. Shift is beyond shorter showers and efficient light bulbs, its a commitment to making real lifestyle changes
Preppers UK Preppers UK introduces you to local preppers, each with their own unique fears and personal plans to survive a catastrophe.
The Last Days of Osama Bin Laden After the United States successfully mounted a covert mission to eliminate America’s number one terrorist target, celebration turned to mounting questions. How did the terrorist mastermind elude capture for nearly a decade, only to be discovered hiding in plain sight just yards away from Pakistan’s most prestigious military academy? Peter Bergen, the famed journalist and author on Islamist terrorism who also produced bin Laden’s first television interview, obtains rare access to interview former CIA agents, Navy SEAL operatives and a Black Hawk pilot who reveal how the U.S. gathered the intelligence needed to pull off the surprise attack. He’ll talk to White House and Pakistani intelligence officials as well as neighbors of the Pakistani compound and eyewitnesses to the raid.
How Hackers Changed the World Storyville: Documentary that goes inside the complex network and history of Anonymous, the radical online ‘hacktivist‘ collective. Through interviews with current members – some recently returned from prison, others still awaiting trial – as well as writers, academics and major players in various ‘raids’, the film traces the collective’s breathtaking evolution from merry pranksters to a full-blown global movement, one armed with new weapons of civil disobedience for an online world.
Future Energy The world is subjected to an acute energy crisis in the modern times. Renewable sources of energy are being exploited by the most advanced technological systems to save the planet’s highly diminished traditional energy sources. This year marks the deployment of clean energy resources by industries and governments all across the world, which is sure to put a smile on your face.
Broken by Battle Over the course of a year, reporter Toby Harnden set out to discover how many soldiers, both former and serving, took their own lives in 2012. He talks to families who have lost their sons and ex-soldiers suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder who are desperately seeking help.
Secrets of the Superbrands Alex Riley thinks he’s immune to brands. When it comes to fashion, technology and food brands he just goes for the cheapest and what works for him. He’s convinced he’s not seduced by the advertising, celebrity endorsements and hype which surrounds the big global brands. So how did that pair of Adidas trainers get in his wardrobe? And how did that can of Heinz Baked Beans make it into his shopping trolley? And why does he have a Nokia mobile phone in his pocket rather than any other make? With the help of marketeers, brain scientists and exclusive access to the world of the superbrands Alex sets out to find out why we buy them, trust them, even idolise them.
Streets of New York Nowhere in America do poverty and wealth exist so closely to one another as in New York City. Even from the darkest corners of Brooklyn, one need only look up and across the East River to see the great temples of Wall Street wealth looming over the night. Since the birth of the city, New York’s poorest residents, whether Irish, Jewish, black, or Puerto Rican, have made their own gold from the streets of the city. Sometimes the elements of crime were needed to harvest this gold.
Citizen USA: A 50 State Road Trip Eight years ago Alexandra Pelosi’s husband, Michiel, was just one in millions of immigrants who came to America legally. Since he married her, and she was born in USA, he had no problem getting a green card. He was happy as a resident alien, until his son was born. Suddenly he realized he really had to become an American, so he started down the path to citizenship.
It is no secret that CIA is engaged in criminal activities around the world, some of which are quite deadly, some of which are quite provocative in the sense of laying the groundwork for large scale military conflict, and it’s happening in a lot of countries. This is not unique to the United States. The United States learned some of this from the British who learned it in turn during the 19th century when they were a dominant imperial power around the world. They cut their teeth on this stuff.
It has come to my attention that some of the VIDEO digests don't show some of the videos in the mailings. These are accessible on the website. The Video-related content I send out will have a link to the website so you can view the videos, instead of seeing just a list:
http://www.dustcircle.com
WikiLeaks Strikes Again: Website Publishes 1.7 Million Documents on U.S. Foreign Policy
Anonymous vows to ‘destroy’ Westboro Baptist Church over Sandy Hook picket plans
“Your impact and cause is hazardous to the lives of millions and you fail to see the wrong in promoting the deaths of innocent people,” an “Anonymous” video featuring a computerized voice says over ominous music. “You are self-appointed servants of God who rewrite the words of his sacred scripture to adhere to your prejudice. Your hatred supersedes your faith, and you use faith to promote your hatred.”
Three Progressive Ways to Reduce Medicare Costs orporate lobbyists and their allies on Capitol Hill have a terrible new idea: hiking the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 67. This would save the federal government about $5.7 billion a year, butcost seniors $11.4 billion over the same period.
Freedom Of The Press Foundation Launches To Support WikiLeaks, Increase Transparency
Increased government scrutiny and criticism from lawmakers prompted several companies, including MasterCard, Visa and PayPal, to stop processing donations to the non-profit organization. WikiLeaks eventually suspended publication due to the “bank blockade.”
Michigan Right-to-Work: All Money and Influence Can Buy
The Right to Know
In December 2010, WikiLeaks started publishing a selection of leaked U.S. State Department cables through the New York Times, the Guardian, and other traditional media, opening a deep crack in the thickening wall of secrecy that has been forming worldwide around the internal processes of democracy since 9/11. They helped catalyze the "Arab Spring." They struck a blow for the right of citizens everywhere to know what is being done in our names. And they thoroughly freaked out the U.S. Government, sending it into a security spasm of Cold War proportions.
The December 14 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn. that left 28 people dead — including 20 children — has sent shock waves through our society. It penetrated the elaborate defenses that we as individuals and as a culture have erected to live with the internal contradictions of the bargain we have made to both oppose and embrace violence. Occasionally reality exposes and trumps the cognitive dissonance of this uneasy but deeply embedded arrangement.
How the US Intelligence Community Came Out of the Shadows
Weren’t those the greatest of days if you were in the American spy game? Governments went down in Guatemala and Iran thanks to you. In distant Indonesia, Laos, and Vietnam, what a role you played! And even that botch-up of an invasion in Cuba was nothing to sneeze at. In those days, unfortunately, you -- particularly those of you in the CIA -- didn’t get the credit you deserved.
Regulations recently signed into effect by Attorney General Eric Holder allow the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) to monitor records of citizens for any potential criminal activity, without a warrant and without suspicion.
As he aggressively seeks the sources of news media leaks of government secrets, President Obama might want to pay close attention to an important and overdue new report that he ordered on classified information from the Public Interest Declassification Board.
re we prepared to say that such violence visited on our children year after year after year is somehow the price of our freedom?" -- Barack Obama, Newtown Address, December 16, 2012. That sentence, uttered by President Obama in his Newtown Address, may turn out to be a turning point in American history. http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/416-gun-control-/15076-focus-the-price-of-our-freedom
The Woes of an American Drone Operator A soldier sets out to graduate at the top of his class. He succeeds, and he becomes a drone pilot working with a special unit of the United States Air Force in New Mexico. He kills dozens of people. But then, one day, he realizes that he can't do it anymore. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article33337.htm
"We Can’t Tolerate This Anymore": Obama Vows Action After Worst Grade School Massacre in U.S. History