Ask a Pirate

$23.40

Source: Techdirt j.mp/JrZhxk

Federal Labor Government spends 13 times more on document shredding machines than FOI training

"A review of published government contracts by The Age has revealed that government agencies spent close to $10 million on new shredding machines over the past three years.

"By comparison, annual freedom of information reports show that the government spent only $764,000 in the same period training public servants to process freedom of information applications from the public. The understaffed FOI watchdog, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, is facing budget cuts."

Source: Sydney Morning Herald j.mp/JgXZWY

Tor Books to release only DRM-free e-books

"Tom Doherty Associates, which publishes Tor Books, the world's largest science fiction imprint, announced that it would be making all of its e-books available in a DRM-free format by early July 2012. The move comes just six weeks after the United States Department of Justice filed an anti-trust lawsuit over e-book pricing against Macmillan, Tom Doherty Associates' parent company, and five other publishers."

Source: ArsTechnicaj.mp/ITlUuw

"Expert witness" cited in proposed UK mandatory smut filter is a trash tabloid Agony Aunt

"The first official expert witness in an inquiry into network-level filtering of porn was a Sun advice columnist called Dear Deidre. A group of MPs has been pushing to censor the UK web to prevent children from seeing porn, but reading the full report reveals the weakness of the evidence. It also features Dear Deidre defending the topless model on Page 3 of her own newspaper, saying, 'the Editor of The Sun thinks it's okay' and 'nine million people read it.'"

Source: Slashdot j.mp/IftxLT

New software analyzes email of IT staff for changes in attitude, behavior

"The Wall Street Journal recently published an article on how IT departments are coping these days with the biggest threat to data security -- namely, employees in the IT department.

"That the "enemy within" is the biggest threat to an enterprise is nothing new, but buried in the article was something that struck me as, well, Orwellian. The WSJ reports that some organizations "are even using new technology to look at the language of their IT staff's emails to determine whether their behavior or mind-set has changed."

Source: IT World j.mp/IxWwQ1

92-Year Old Veteran Pirates Movies to Help Soldiers

"Piracy is rampant in the US military. Because the MPAA refuses to deliver entertainment to troops overseas, soldiers are forced to pirate. Some download movies via the Internet, others buy bootleg DVDs, and there’s also talk about sanctioned “Morale” hard drives full of warez.

"Recognizing the problem a 92-year old WWII veteran is also helping out. Hyman Strachman, or “Big Hy,” is sending thousands of illegally copied DVDs to soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"The New York Times has the full story, which is definitely worth reading. Worth noting is the MPAA’s response to Big Hy’s pirate operation.

"“We are grateful that the entertainment we produce can bring some enjoyment to them while they are away from home,” a spokesman said.

"Arrr.."

Source: TorrentFreak j.mp/JKdmKu

ACLU obtains itemised price list for warrantless mobile phone surveillance in the US

"The American Civil Liberties Union revealed a trove of documents it had obtained through Freedom of Information Requests to more than 200 police departments around the country. They show a pattern of police tracking cell phone locations and gathering other data like call logs without warrants, using devices that impersonate cell towers to intercept cellular signals, and encouraging officers to refrain from speaking about cell-tracking technology to the public, all detailed in a New York Times story.

"But at least one document also details the day-to-day business of telecoms’ handing over of data to law enforcement, including a breakdown of every major carrier’s fees for every sort of data request from targeted wiretaps to so-called “tower dumps” that provide information on every user of certain cell tower."

Source: Forbes j.mp/IAyssH