UK Prime Minister released a statement concerning the treatment of mathematician and code-breaker Alan Turing, who following WWII was convicted of a homosexual relationship and forced to choose between prison and chemical castration. Turing committed suicide two years later. In recent months, a public petition called upon the government to apologize for the way Turing…
Cuba uses sniffer dogs to track down crooks, dissidents
Juan O. Tamayoa reports: Cuban police dog sniffs a murder weapon and is then set to sniff six bottles holding the scents of suspects, just some of the thousands of odor swabs warehoused in a Havana police building. “Down with Raúl” appears on a wall, and police put a dog on the writer’s scent. Cuba…
Rock stars slam disconnection plan for pirates
Asher Moses reports: Some of the biggest names in the music business, including Sir Elton John and Sir Paul McCartney, have slammed the record labels’ plans to disconnect from the internet people who are caught repeatedly downloading music illegally. The artists label the plans backward, illogical, expensive and “extraordinarily negative”. The movie and music industries…
Aides defend presidential powers in cybersecurity bill
Ben Bain reports: Senate aides familiar with proposed legislation that would define the president’s power to deal with a cybersecurity emergency say the bill wouldn’t give the government sweeping control over the country’s digital infrastructure as some critics have claimed. The controversy stems from language in a bill introduced in April by Sens. Jay Rockefeller…