by Robert Whitcomb | Jun 17, 2016 | Initiative
51 U.S. mid- to high-level diplomats have signed an internal memo critical of U.S. policy in Syria. They call for military strikes against President/Dictator Bashar Assad’s government to stop its persistent violations of a civil war ceasefire.
The memo calls for “targeted military strikes” against the Syrian government in light of the near-collapse of the ceasefire brokered earlier this year, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing copies of the cable it had seen.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told Reuters on Friday: “It’s an important statement and I respect the process, very, very much. I will … have a chance to meet with people when I get back (to Washington).”
To read The Wall Street Journal story, please hit this link.
To read the Reuters story, please hit this link.
by Robert Whitcomb | Jun 16, 2016 | AI World Society Summit
Reynoldo Gonzalez, whose daughter Nohemi was among the 130 people murdered by Islamist terrorists in Paris last November, is suing Google, Facebook and Twitter, saying that the companies gave “material support” to extremists in violation of the law.
Mr. Gonzalez filed the suit on June 14 in the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California. The suit asserts that the companies “knowingly permitted” the Islamic State to recruit members, raise money and spread “extremist propaganda” via their services.
For more information, hit this link.
by Robert Whitcomb | Jun 16, 2016 | AI World Society Summit
JTB Corp., Japan’s largest travel agency, has suffered a huge hack, perhaps by Chinese and/or North Korean government hackers. The government-backed company says that the hackers might have gotten the passport details and other personal information of almost 8 million customers.
The hack focused more attention on the risks for companies when they keep sensitive data on networks connected to the Internet.
Japanese firms and government agencies should consider isolating their networks, Vitaly Kamluk, principal security researcher at Russian-owned Kaspersky Lab in Singapore, told The Japan Times.
To read the whole Japan Times article, please hit this link.
by Robert Whitcomb | Jun 16, 2016 | AI World Society Summit
The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple Inc. is using new technology “to garner insight into user behavior, in an effort to keep pace with rivals’ insights without violating its privacy pledges.’’
The WSJ reports that “Apple’s short-term ambitions for the technology are limited. The company will use it to keep user data anonymous while analyzing how customers are using emojis or new slang expressions on the phone, or which search queries should pop up ‘deep links’ to apps rather than webpages. It will also improve the company’s Notes software.
“In the long term, however, differential privacy could help Apple keep up with competitors such as Alphabet Inc.’s Google that collect user data more aggressively and use it to improve offers such as image- and voice-recognition programs.’’
by Robert Whitcomb | Jun 16, 2016 | Initiative
(June 21st, 2016) Clive Crook writes that if the British vote on June 23 to leave the European Union, much of the blame can be put on Europe’s leaders for not doing enough to help “stay’’ backer Prime Minister David Cameron make his case.
Mr. Crook writes:
“Europe’s other leaders could and should have helped him. They should have recognized him as an ally — and in doing so would have strengthened the European project. Certainly … they recognize their interest in keeping Britain in. And they surely understand that Europe as a whole needs to change – that anti-EU sentiment is on the rise in many other countries.
“Yet they sent Cameron away from his vaunted renegotiation with too little. And the tone of their response was even more damaging than the lack of substance. The message came through loud and clear: It isn’t Britain’s place to tell Europe how to change.’’
To read Mr. Crook’s column, please hit this link.
