On December 10, Intelligence Committees Not Told Any Encrypted Communications Used in San Bernardino
Here's what Senate Intelligence Chair Richard Burr and House Intelligence Ranking Member Adam Schiff had to say about a briefing on the San Bernardino attack they attended on December 10.
Lawmakers on Thursday said there was no evidence yet…
What Claims Did the Intelligence Community Make about the Paris Attack to Get the White House to Change on Encryption?
I'm going to do a series of posts laying out the timeline behind the Administration's changed approach to encryption. In this, I'd like to make a point about when the National Security Council adopted a "decision memo" more aggressively seeking…
Thursday Morning: Snowed In (Get It?)
Yes, it's a weak information security joke, but it's all I have after shoveling out.
Michigan's winter storm expanded and shifted last night; Marcy more than caught up on her share of snow in her neck of the woods after all.
Fortunately…
The Origins of Totalitarianism: Interlude On the Twilight of Conservative Elite Pundits
The Origins of Totalitarianism: Interlude On the Twilight of Conservative Elites
Previous posts in this series:
The Origins of Totalitarianism Part 1: Introduction.
The Origins of Totalitarianism Part 2: Antisemitism
The Origins…
Wednesday Morning: If It Ain't Baseball, It's Winter
It may be sunny and 90F degrees where you are, but it's still winter here. A winter storm warning was issued here based on a forecast 12 inches of snow and 35 mph winds out of the northeast off Lake Huron. For once, Marcy's on the lee side of…
Reuters Asks Even Stupider Questions about Apple-FBI Fight than Pew
In my post on Pew's polling on whether Apple should have to write a custom version of its operating system so FBI can brute force the third phone, I gave Pew credit for several aspects of its question, but suggested the result might be different…
The Origins of Totalitarianism: Interlude Defining Elites
Previous posts in this series:
The Origins of Totalitarianism Part 1: Introduction.
The Origins of Totalitarianism Part 2: Antisemitism
The Origins of Totalitarianism: Interlude on the Tea Party
The Origins of Totalitarianism…
Tuesday Morning: Changing the Tenor
Once in a while, I indulge in the musical equivalent of eating chocolate instead of a wholesome meal. I'll listen to my favorite tenors on a continuous loop for an afternoon. I have a weakspot for Luciano Pavarotti and Franco Correlli, though…
Pew Poll Finding Majority Oppose Apple Is Premised on FBI Spin
Imagine if Pew called 1000 people and asked, "would you support requiring Apple to make iPhones less secure so the FBI could get information on a crime the FBI has already solved?"
Respondents might find the entire question bizarre, as requiring…
This Apple Fight Is (Partly) about Solving Car Accidents
I am going to spend my day laying out what a cynical man FBI Director Jim Comey is -- from setting up a victims' brief against Apple even before the government served Apple here, to this transparently bogus garbage post at Lawfare.
But…
Monday Morning: Let's Mambo
When your Monday begins to drag -- and you know it will at some point -- put on a little mambo.
Especially Perez Prado's Mambo Number 5 and Mambo Number 8. They'll spice up your day, get it back on track. There are some more recent covers…
Imagine if Apple Were a Powerless Muslim?
In a piece on the Apple case, Amy Davidson tried to imagine the unintended consequences of broadening the application of the All Writs Act in this case.
If a case involving a non-digital phone network could be applied to smartphones, what…
To Clarify the Debate, Tim Cook Should Start Shopping for Land in Cork, Ireland
There's so much blathering from National Security and plain old pundits about FBI's demand that Apple's programmers write it a custom operating system that I think, to facilitate reasonable debate, Tim Cook should travel to Cork, Ireland (where…
USDOJ: Make Apple Fix Their 'Brand Marketing Strategy' for Our Needs
(Note: I drafted the following piece Friday after the USDOJ filed its latest motion, but before the latest revelation of law enforcement's handling of the iPhone at the heart of the case. I've added an additional remark set off with emphasis…
Friday Morning: All That Jazz
If you have to ask what jazz is, you'll never know. -- Louis Armstrong
It's Friday. Don't ask, just play.
If you thought FBI vs Apple was part of a plan to break Silicon Valley on encryption, it was
This will be the big buzz today:…
Thursday Morning: Number 49
Name day of Saint Simon (Simeon), and Greek name day for Leon and Agapitos, it's also the 49th day of the year, only 317 more to go. Make the best of it, especially if your name is Simon, Leon, or Agapitos.
Hollywood hospital paid ransom…
Snickers Bars and Fudged ISIS Intelligence
Yesterday, Shane Harris and Nancy Youssef informed us that there is now a second allegation of manipulation of intelligence on ISIS:
U.S. military analysts told the nation’s top intelligence official that their reports on ISIS were skewed…
Christina Romer's Evidence Based Economics
Christina Romer and some other Chairs of Democratic Presidents' Council on Economic Advisors are out tut-tutting Bernie Sanders' economic plans.
We are concerned to see the Sanders campaign citing extreme claims by Gerald Friedman about the…
Wednesday Morning: Quelle couleur est-ce?
I think vestigially there's a synesthete in me, but not like a real one who immediately knows what colour Wednesday is. -- A. S. Byatt
A lot of people will ask what day it is today, but few will ask what color.
Ed Walker put up a great…
Thomas Piketty On the Democratic Primary
In an article in The Guardian, Thomas Piketty says that Bernie Sanders represents a real hope for the adoption of the tax policies Piketty lays out in Capital in the Twenty-First Century. Piketty calls for higher and steeply progressive income…