Stream of Reading (Prepare to be Forwarded) – An Archive of What I'm Reading
Story highlights At 7:44 p.m. Sunday, the National Security Agency’s bulk data collection program ended The government loses authorities under three Patriot Act provisions The Senate entered a debate period late Sunday on the Patriot Act that pushed beyond the midnight deadline. With the debate ongoing, that effectively ends the National Security Agency’s bulk data…
The National Security Agency’s ability to collect the phone records of millions of Americans in bulk expired late Sunday after the Senate failed to strike a deal before the midnight deadline. However, that program, as well as several other post-9/11 counterterrorism measures, were likely to be revived in some form in the coming days after…
Maybe you’re the kind of person who doesn’t need to be told that threatening to rape and murder women is not okay. It’s not a casual means of communicating disagreement; it’s not a hilarious riposte; it’s not a valid expression of frustration at being a sad and lonely individual. And if you know and understand…
Photo Demonstrators pause on Saturday at the entrance to the Cuyahoga County Justice Center as police stand guard during a protest against the acquittal of Michael Brelo, a patrolman charged in the shooting deaths of two unarmed suspects. Credit John Minchillo/Associated Press CLEVELAND — Cleveland has reached a settlement with the Justice Department over what…
Buckminster Fuller was a world-renowned architect, math-obsessed designer, and affable weirdo. He died in 1983, but Fuller is still remembered fondly today for his geodesic domes and his three-wheeled cars. Despite extensive historical interest in the man, his FBI file has never been made public. Until now. Photo: Buckminster Fuller in 1929 with a model…
A rendering of “The Sunbather” planned for Jackson Avenue. View Full Caption Department of Cultural Affairs LONG ISLAND CITY — The City Council passed a bill Thursday that will require public hearings before some public art projects can be installed. The legislation was introduced by Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer earlier this year after outcry over…
At this point, I should be used to seeing backlash against Emma Sulkowicz, but I still wasn’t fully prepared for what came this week: endless tittering of people around me in real life and in my social feeds saying they “weren’t sure” about Emma’s choice to carry her mattress to Columbia’s graduation; the insistence that…
YouTube screen captureThis week’s graduation at Columbia University caps the bizarre, often sordid saga involving the two most famous members of the Class of 2015: Emma Sulkowicz, the activist who protested the school’s alleged mishandling of her alleged rape by carrying a mattress around campus, and Jean-Paul Nungesser, the German scholarship student she accuses of…
Entry Text Last week, the City Council of Berkeley, California, unanimously voted for a new ordinance that would require cell phone retailers to advise customers to keep their handset out of pockets or bras when the device is connected to a wireless network. The rationale for the warning, which is based upon federal guidelines for…
Is this the year Congress passes a bill to limit NSA spying? The House of Representatives certainly hopes so. But just how strong that reform will be remains to be seen. Minutes ago, the House of Representatives passed the USA Freedom Act overwhelmingly with 338 yes votes and 88 no votes. EFF is neutral on…