Politics

Two Ex-Army Rangers Believe Flip Flops And Sarongs Will Defeat ISIS

I recently met two ex-Army Rangers in a bar, and got onto the topic of the war against ISIS. They told me they knew the solution: flip flops. I scoffed, which probably isn’t something you should do to an Army Ranger’s face. And they put me in my place. Matthew “Griff” Griffin and Donald Lee…

Tech News Wes Siler

Instagram Posts Help Reveal Schock’s Inappropriate Taxpayer Spending

According to the Associated Press, Republican Representative Aaron Schock has been spending taxpayer money on private jets and taking his staff to sold out concerts. And they’ve confirmed at least some of that using Instagram. The news wire reports that it extracted location data from his (prolific) Instagram feed and compared it with records about…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

Sesame Street perfectly parodies House of Cards

Though only parents and maybe a handful of Underwoodian kids watching would understand the parody, Sesame Street pretty much nailed House of Cards in a skit about the Three Little Pigs. Frank Underwolf stars and recreates the same feel of the political drama—soliloquies, southern accent, plotting, etc.—only with muppets instead. It actually sums up the…

Sploid Casey Chan

When A Newspaper Gave Blade Runner‘s Replicant Test To Mayor Candidates

What if your city elected a Replicant as mayor and you didn’t know it? There’s only way to guard against this situation, and that’s by administering the Voight-Kampff test to every single candidate during the mayoral election. One newspaper in San Francisco did that back in 2003, and the results were amazing. The Wave Magazine…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders

Apple Banned Bonded Servitude, But We Aren’t Sure About Its Rivals

Apple recently, finally banned bonded servitude in its supply factories, which means those factories can’t mistreat workers by withholding paychecks and passports until they pay off the cost it took to hire them. But hold the applause. Because they are not the only company that has forced people to work for substandard wages — or…

Tech News Kate Knibbs

UMass Lifts Ban on Iranian Students in Science and Engineering

Yesterday we reported on a troubling policy at the University of Massachusetts of Amherst. The school banned Iranian nationals from enrolling as graduate students in several engineering and natural science programs. After much uproar and protest, U. Mass has backed down, and will admit Iranian students again. https://gizmodo.com/umass-will-no-longer-admit-iranian-students-to-engineer-1686322842 Corey Robin, who broke the story about…

Tech News Annalee Newitz

Here Is the Spy Equipment That Powers the FBI’s Secret Dragnet

The FBI is going to remarkable lengths to hide information about its surveillance program that intercepts calls and texts with equipment called Stingrays. If you’ve never heard of Stingrays, that’s what the FBI wants. They are stealth devices used by local and federal law enforcement all over the US to gather location data and intercept…

Privacy & Security Kate Knibbs

Yup, the President Can Mass-Message Everyone in the Country Any Time

The President of the United States can mass-message the entire phone-carrying nation at the same time whenever he deems it necessary, as a Wall Street Journal video reminded us today. Unless you’re carrying around a very old device, your phone has a specified capability* that makes sure official POTUS messages can always go through, no…

Tech News Kate Knibbs

This Clip Will Make The Wait For Tonight’s Person Of Interest Agonizing

Here’s an exclusive clip from the new episode of Person of Interest, airing tonight. Warning: if you watch this very noir-ish clip, then you’ll have a really hard time waiting until tonight to see the rest of the episode. Proceed at your own risk! Spoilers below… In tonight’s “Black and White,” it looks like we’re…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders

UMass Has Banned Iranian Students from Engineering and Science Programs (UPDATED)

Starting this month, the venerable University of Massachusetts at Amherst will no longer allow Iranian nationals to matriculate as graduate students in many of its programs in engineering and the natural sciences, including physics and electrical/computer engineering. Over at Crooked Timber, Corey Robin has done an excellent job following this story, which began with this…

Tech News Annalee Newitz

The $1 Billion Movie Could Be An Endangered Species

Over the past half dozen years, the American movie industry has benefited massively from overseas box office, and a number of movies that underperformed domestically rocked out overseas. A number of movies made over $1 billion worldwide. But that could be about to change, thanks to a strong dollar. As recently as last summer, Transformers:…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders

Why Do We Need More Science Fiction By LGBT Writers?

Last year, Lightspeed Magazine had a special issue in which “Women Destroy Science Fiction” (and horror, and fantasy.) Now, Lightspeed is following up with “Queers Destroy Science Fiction.” And today’s the last day to support the Kickstarter. But why should you care about getting more LGBT SF? The editors of the issue explain. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lightspeedmagazine/queers-destroy-science-fiction Mark…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders

Go to Prison for File Sharing? That’s What Hollywood Wants

The Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement (TPP) poses massive threats to users in a dizzying number of ways. It will force other TPP signatories to accept the United States’ excessive copyright terms of a minimum of life of the author plus 70 years, while locking the US to the same lengths so it will be harder to…

Tech News Maira Sutton/EFF

Listen To “Cyberspace Spirit,” China’s Anthem To Internet Censorship

It would be easy to make fun of China’s new anthem glorifying internet censorship. But I don’t want to pan“Cyberspace Spirit” or mock the Cyberspace Administration of China choral group signing it, because they literally don’t know what they’re missing. The Great Firewall of China truly sucks. If you or I tried living a day…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes

Apple JUST Got Around to Banning ‘Bonded Servitude’ In Its Factories

Apple has banned ‘bonded servitude,’ which means it won’t let its supplier factories make their new hires work for free to pay for the costs of hiring them. Good!!! And also: Why the hell is this just happening now? When Apple gears up to make a new product, its supplier factories go on hiring sprees.…

Tech News Kate Knibbs

Museums and Universities Are Using Forced Labor to Build in Abu Dhabi

The Guggenheim. The Louvre. NYU. All have signed on to build outposts on an island off the coast of Abu Dhabi. And according to a new report from Human Rights Watch today, the development where these institutions will be located is being built withforced labor. Saadiyat Island has been under construction since 2006, and it’s…

Tech News Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan

Jeb Bush Basically Just Doxxed Thousands of Floridians

Florida governor Jeb Bush bills himself as a tech-savvy politician, but he just made a major email etiquette mistake: Bush has published over 250,000 emails people sent to him as governor, easily searchable by date— and he hasn’t redacted email addresses or the content of messages, meaning anyone who reached out to the governor now…

Privacy & Security Kate Knibbs

Vaccine Advocates: Please Don’t Discriminate Against My Autistic Son

Public opinion has turned, sharply and loudly, in favor of supporting vaccines. Yay! It took an outbreak of measles at Disneyland for it to happen. Boo! (Your grandmother might have survived her measles, but for others it can be fatal.) Top image: Joe Raedle/Getty Images But even though formerly wishy washy types are now joining…

io9 Shannon Des Roches Rosa

Welcome To Spy Week!

Spies are everywhere in pop culture (and real life.) We’re fascinated with the glamour of espionage, as well as the gritty reality of spycraft. So this week, io9 and Gizmodo decided to celebrate Spy Week, an examination of all things dark and secret. As io9’s Cheryl Eddy points out in a piece running tomorrow, 2015…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders

Here’s What That Dumb Porn Parody Gets Wrong on Net Neutrality

Net neutrality propaganda is starting to get weird. A brand new interest group showed up this week with a confusing porn parody that seems to equate Title II reclassification of the internet with dragnet surveillance, among other fallacies. It’s a good chance to talk about what the Federal Communications Commission’s new open internet policy is—and…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes

Two Ex-Army Rangers Believe Flip Flops And Sarongs Will Defeat ISIS

Instagram Posts Help Reveal Schock’s Inappropriate Taxpayer Spending

Sesame Street perfectly parodies House of Cards

When A Newspaper Gave Blade Runner‘s Replicant Test To Mayor Candidates

Apple Banned Bonded Servitude, But We Aren’t Sure About Its Rivals

UMass Lifts Ban on Iranian Students in Science and Engineering

Here Is the Spy Equipment That Powers the FBI’s Secret Dragnet

Yup, the President Can Mass-Message Everyone in the Country Any Time

This Clip Will Make The Wait For Tonight’s Person Of Interest Agonizing

UMass Has Banned Iranian Students from Engineering and Science Programs (UPDATED)

The $1 Billion Movie Could Be An Endangered Species

Why Do We Need More Science Fiction By LGBT Writers?

Go to Prison for File Sharing? That’s What Hollywood Wants

Listen To “Cyberspace Spirit,” China’s Anthem To Internet Censorship

Apple JUST Got Around to Banning ‘Bonded Servitude’ In Its Factories

Museums and Universities Are Using Forced Labor to Build in Abu Dhabi

Jeb Bush Basically Just Doxxed Thousands of Floridians

Vaccine Advocates: Please Don’t Discriminate Against My Autistic Son

Welcome To Spy Week!

Here’s What That Dumb Porn Parody Gets Wrong on Net Neutrality

Trump Says He’ll Sign Order to Pay TSA

Deadpool Will Deface ‘Magic: The Gathering’ Classics for a New Secret Lair

Apple’s Siri Isn’t Just Going to Use One Chatbot. It’s Going to Use All of Them

Why ‘For All Mankind’ Season 5 Is the Key to the Rest of the Series

ASUS ZenScreen 15.6-Inch Portable Monitor Is Now Cheaper Than Black Friday in Amazon’s Big Spring Sale

Early Wildfires Are Surging Across the US—and Trump’s New Fire Agency Isn’t Ready

INIU Brings Another Power Bank to the Spring Sale as SnapGo Keychain Portable Charger Drops to Its Lowest Price

Attorney Hit With Historic Fine for Citing AI-Generated Cases

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

The Ikea Varmblixt Smart Lamp Fills a Donut Hole in My Life

Nothing Headphone A vs. Headphone 1: Which Pair of ANC Wireless Headphones Wins?

Asus ROG’s Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds Might Be Better Than Wearing a Headset

Nintendo’s Talking Flower Is Annoying as Hell. I Love It

Level Lock Pro Review: As Good as a Secret Smart Lock Gets

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