A fight about whether the birth dates of about 145,000 state workers are public record reached the Texas Supreme Court on Thursday, with a newspaper and the state attorney general pushing for their release. Standing in their way is Texas Comptroller Susan Combs, who argues releasing birth dates could lead to identity theft. The case…
Treatment of Alan Turing was “appalling” – PM
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…