Politics

Obama Wants Hacking to Be a Form of Racketeering

In the wake of the Sony hack and yesterday’s CENTCOM shitshow, President Obama just announced new cybersecurity legislation and related proposals for “securing cyberspace.” This is a good thing, because America’s cybersecurity kind of sucks. It’s also a worrisome thing, since cybersecurity legislation like this stands to stomp on our civil liberties. Or at least…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes

8 Dumb Quotes About Science From New NASA Overseer Ted Cruz

The new Republican-led Congress is currently busy picking people to chair its many committees and subcommittees. Guess what! Tea Party hero Senator Ted Cruz is the new chair of the Subcommittee on Space, Science and Competitiveness. That means he will oversee NASA. Yep—the climate-denying Tea Party hero who tried to defund NASA is now in…

Space & Spaceflight Adam Clark Estes

Obama Wants Stricter Data Privacy Laws (That Still Aren’t So Strict)

President Obama will announce two new pieces of legislation on Monday that are designed to protect consumers from the massive data breaches and students from greedy companies that want their data. Good idea! However, some think Obama’s plan doesn’t sound like it provides quite enough protection. But it’s still a good idea! The so-called Personal…

Privacy & Security Adam Clark Estes

CISPA: The Awful Anti-Privacy Law That Won’t Prevent Another Sony Hack

CISPA is back. You might remember the bill as the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act—or perhaps as “the worst privacy disaster our country has ever faced.” Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger reintroduced the bill to the House Intelligence Committee on Friday under the auspices of preventing another Sony hack. Silly Dutch. (The congressman is @Call_Me_Dutch on…

Privacy & Security Adam Clark Estes

The Doubt Factory Is Paolo Bacigalupi’s Most Political Novel Yet

In today’s mediascape, right and wrong don’t matter: It’s how you spin your story. In The Doubt Factory, Paolo Bacigalupi takes aim at the spin used by major companies and turns it into a compelling tale of a young woman who confronts the truth about her life. Spoilers ahead… In this young-adult novel, Alix is…

io9 Andrew Liptak

How To Start Your Own Micronation

Have you ever wanted to be king of your own nation? Do you want to test out a political experiment with a few dozen of your closest friends? Consider setting up your own micronation for fun, social experiments, and profit. Photograph: His Excellency President Kevin Baugh of the Republic of Molossia. Photo by J. Stephen…

io9 Lauren Davis

Comcast Greases Politicians with Customer Service That Isn’t Trash

Comcast’s customer service is notoriously terrible. It sucks so bad, Comcast lobbyists dangled access to non-terrible customer service as a deal-sweetener for Washington influencers. https://gizmodo.com/its-completely-absurd-how-hard-it-is-to-cancel-comcast-1605040001 In an article about the downfall of Meet The Press host David Gregory, The Washingtonian looked at how Comcast handled politicians as the company attempted to clear the way for…

Tech News Kate Knibbs

Why The Dalai Lama Is Hinting That He Could Be The Very Last One

In a recent interview, the exiled leader of Tibetan Buddhism conceded that he may be the very last to hold the title. The reason, it would appear, has as much to do with metaphysics as it does with Chinese meddling. “The Dalai Lama institution will cease one day. These man-made institutions will cease,” he told…

io9 George Dvorsky

Amy Acker Tells Us The Big Question Of Person Of Interest Season 4

Person of Interest just ended its fall season with a hell of a cliffhanger. What happens next? We won’t know until January 6, when the next episode airs. But Amy Acker, who plays Root, tells us that episode was their most challenging to film. And she also tells us the big question that lies beneath…

Television Charlie Jane Anders

Pretty Much Every U.S. Demographic Group Believes Torture Is Justified

The good news: For those who are worried that the nation is more divided than ever, there’s finally one contentious issue that a majority of Americans agree upon. The bad news: Most people are okay with the CIA torturing suspected terrorists. According to a new poll conducted by the Washington Post and ABC News, 58%…

io9 Mark Strauss

The Congressional Debate Over What Makes Food “Natural”

A controversial bill that seeks to block mandatory GMO food labeling by individual U.S. states was the subject of a hearing held yesterday by the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health. Amid the testimonies, one key question emerged time and again: Are genetically modified foods “natural”? Activists in several states have been pushing for…

io9 Mark Strauss

The Pope Says Nuclear Deterrence Is No Longer A Justifiable Doctrine

Although the Catholic Church has always opposed nuclear weapons, the Vatican reluctantly acknowledged during the Cold War that mutual assured destruction was the best-worst option for averting catastrophe. Today, a dramatic declaration from Pope Francis reversed that position. The message was delivered to some 800 delegates from more than 150 countries attending the Vienna Conference…

io9 Mark Strauss

The Tea Party And The Mainstream GOP Have Different Views On Science

On many science and environmental issues, a new study says Republicans and Tea Party supporters stand farther apart than Republicans and Independents. In particular, members of the Tea Party are less likely than the rest of the GOP to accept human evolution and trust scientists for information on climate change. The research, published in the…

io9 Mark Strauss

Kim Dotcom Is Bringing His Political Party to the US in 2015

Kim Dotcom may be down on his luck, be he’s certainly not out. The the German-Finnish Internet entrepreneur has now announced that he’s bringing his Internet Party to the US next year. While the political party failed to win a seat in New Zealand, he hopes that it will be “Hillary’s worst nightmare in 2016!”…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

New Report Says Federal Agents Who Transport Nukes Have Anger Issues

The U.S. nuclear weapons program has been plagued by failings such as misplaced weapons, drug abuse and a cheating scandal. And now, the Energy Department’s Office of the Inspector General tells us, some federal employees who transport these weapons have engaged in “unsuitable behavior” such as “uncontrolled anger.” The new report focuses on the Office…

io9 Mark Strauss

The Top Think Tanks Aren’t Thinking About Science

It’s been 150 years since the U.S. was this politically polarized. We can see the consequences, manifested in government gridlock and media outlets catering to ideological audiences. But this hyper-politicization has also taken its toll on creative thinking within the policy community, particularly on science. https://gizmodo.com/its-been-150-years-since-the-u-s-was-this-politically-1590076355 David Rothkopf, the editor of Foreign Policy magazine, argues…

io9 Mark Strauss

When Should a Psychiatrist Refuse to Treat a Patient?

If you were a psychiatrist assigned by the government to make torturers feel better about their lives, what would you do? That’s not a rhetorical question. Back in the 1950s, the psychiatrist and philosopher Frantz Fanon was forced to answer that question, in his own life. Photo: Algiers, 1960. By Nicolas Tikhomiroff These days Fanon…

io9 Annalee Newitz

No, Iran Is Not An Apocalyptic Nuclear Cult

Yesterday, negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program failed to meet the deadline. Talks have been extended, but already an emerging chorus of “I told you so” says that it’s pointless to negotiate with a fanatical religious regime that views nuclear war as holy martyrdom. It’s time to put this myth to rest. For the moment, the…

io9 Mark Strauss

A Congressman Has Named A Climate Change Denial Theory After Himself

A bill has been introduced in the House to study the “Stockman Effect,” which stipulates that changes in Earth’s magnetic field could impact global temperature. But no record of a Stockman Effect exists in scientific literature, since, it seems, the term was invented by the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX). Even by congressional standards,…

io9 Mark Strauss

Politicians Who Regulate Big Cable Invest in AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon

Ever wonder why big cable companies can do whatever they want? It’s partly because the FCC keeps its revolving door spinning. But it’s also worth knowing that the politicians in charge of regulating the telecom industry not only receive campaign funds from them; some of them directly invest in companies like AT&T and Comcast. Put…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes

Obama Wants Hacking to Be a Form of Racketeering

8 Dumb Quotes About Science From New NASA Overseer Ted Cruz

Obama Wants Stricter Data Privacy Laws (That Still Aren’t So Strict)

CISPA: The Awful Anti-Privacy Law That Won’t Prevent Another Sony Hack

The Doubt Factory Is Paolo Bacigalupi’s Most Political Novel Yet

How To Start Your Own Micronation

Comcast Greases Politicians with Customer Service That Isn’t Trash

Why The Dalai Lama Is Hinting That He Could Be The Very Last One

Amy Acker Tells Us The Big Question Of Person Of Interest Season 4

Pretty Much Every U.S. Demographic Group Believes Torture Is Justified

The Congressional Debate Over What Makes Food “Natural”

The Pope Says Nuclear Deterrence Is No Longer A Justifiable Doctrine

The Tea Party And The Mainstream GOP Have Different Views On Science

Kim Dotcom Is Bringing His Political Party to the US in 2015

New Report Says Federal Agents Who Transport Nukes Have Anger Issues

The Top Think Tanks Aren’t Thinking About Science

When Should a Psychiatrist Refuse to Treat a Patient?

No, Iran Is Not An Apocalyptic Nuclear Cult

A Congressman Has Named A Climate Change Denial Theory After Himself

Politicians Who Regulate Big Cable Invest in AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon

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

Let us help find what you are looking for...

Politics

Obama Wants Hacking to Be a Form of Racketeering

8 Dumb Quotes About Science From New NASA Overseer Ted Cruz

Obama Wants Stricter Data Privacy Laws (That Still Aren’t So Strict)

CISPA: The Awful Anti-Privacy Law That Won’t Prevent Another Sony Hack

The Doubt Factory Is Paolo Bacigalupi’s Most Political Novel Yet

How To Start Your Own Micronation

Comcast Greases Politicians with Customer Service That Isn’t Trash

Why The Dalai Lama Is Hinting That He Could Be The Very Last One

Amy Acker Tells Us The Big Question Of Person Of Interest Season 4

Pretty Much Every U.S. Demographic Group Believes Torture Is Justified

The Congressional Debate Over What Makes Food “Natural”

The Pope Says Nuclear Deterrence Is No Longer A Justifiable Doctrine

The Tea Party And The Mainstream GOP Have Different Views On Science

Kim Dotcom Is Bringing His Political Party to the US in 2015

New Report Says Federal Agents Who Transport Nukes Have Anger Issues

The Top ​Think Tanks Aren’t Thinking About Science

When Should a Psychiatrist Refuse to Treat a Patient?

No, Iran Is Not An Apocalyptic Nuclear Cult

A Congressman Has Named A Climate Change Denial Theory After Himself

Politicians Who Regulate Big Cable Invest in AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon

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

Let us help find what you are looking for...

The Top Think Tanks Aren’t Thinking About Science