Oh, the poor dears . . .

I note that the warm-and-fuzzy brigade in the UK are getting their panties in a wad over a manual of “restraint and self-defence techniques for unruly children in secure training centres” issued by that country’s Ministry of Justice. The Daily Mail reports: The document, Physical Control in Care, authorises staff to ‘use an inverted knuckle… Continue reading Oh, the poor dears . . .

Is the Coast Guard facing a crisis?

A report by the Center for American Progress suggests that the US Coast Guard is facing a budgetary crisis, and is in dire need of restructuring and renewal. In a covering article, the Center has this to say. Our nation today demands more from the U.S. Coast Guard, the nation’s oldest maritime force, than at… Continue reading Is the Coast Guard facing a crisis?

Women and potential sexual violence – one perspective

Via Elmyra, I was directed to a guest article on the Shapely Prose blog entitled ‘Schrödinger’s Rapist: or a guy’s guide to approaching strange women without getting maced‘. Here’s an excerpt. Gentlemen. Thank you for reading. Let me start out by assuring you that I understand you are a good sort of person. You are… Continue reading Women and potential sexual violence – one perspective

Doofus Of The Day #354

Today’s award goes to the marketing and/or promotions department of IBM Australia. IBM has been left with egg on its face after it distributed virus-laden USB keys to attendees at Australia’s biggest computer security conference. Delegates of the AusCERT conference, held over the past week at the Royal Pines Resort on the Gold Coast, were… Continue reading Doofus Of The Day #354

Night vision may be getting a whole lot cheaper and more accessible

I’m very pleased to see that the ongoing development of night vision systems has led to the announcement of night vision sunglasses. That sounds a bit like a contradiction in terms – I mean, who wears sunglasses at night, apart from the Blues Brothers? – but it’s true. Ares reports: Night-vision goggles have become essential… Continue reading Night vision may be getting a whole lot cheaper and more accessible

Useful computer security information

If you, like me, want to keep abreast of new developments in computer security, including the latest threats, viruses, etc., you’ll find the Guard Central Web site very useful. It aggregates security information and articles from many different Web sites and presents it in concise headlines, which you can click on for further information. I’ve… Continue reading Useful computer security information

Worrying news about Afghanistan’s police force

An article in Newsweek makes some troubling allegations about the current state of Afghanistan’s police force. I accept that the source may not be the most unbiased and reliable, but nevertheless, if even half the article is correct, it’s very worrying. Here’s an extract. America has spent more than $6 billion since 2002 in an… Continue reading Worrying news about Afghanistan’s police force

Another threat to computer security and privacy

I was surprised – unpleasantly – to learn that persistent cookies can be set on your computer without your knowledge or permission, and without the ability to delete them unless you take special measures. Wired reports: More than half of the internet’s top websites use a little known capability of Adobe’s Flash plug-in to track… Continue reading Another threat to computer security and privacy