Few Americans have heard of the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment.  It was created by Congress in 1972 and became the fourth congressional support agency.  It was designed to provide the House and Senate with independent, nonpartisan and thorough analysis of complex technical issues and policy options for addressing them.  In 1995 under pressure from the pompous and nefarious Newt Gingrich the small agency was de-funded.

(Crossposted at lethologica)

Just wanted to spread awareness of the concept of Network Neutrality.  If you haven't heard of it, check out http://www.savetheinternet.com.  You don't have to look to far into this issue before you realize that this is an issue which could fundamentally alter the future of the Internet, and not in a good way.

As someone who has worked in the interactive industry for nearly a decade, I can say without a doubt that abolishing protections that keep the Internet free from corporate interference in the flow of information would be a major step backwards and diminish the United States' in the global technology market.

Below the fold is the content of an email I sent to my everyone in my address book as well as my representatives in the House and Senate via SaveTheInternet.com.

I've always been down on the blogger triumphalists. You know - the ones who seem to believe that blogs will obliterate the traditional media establishment with the twin fists of circular linking and specious third-hand rumors. Before today, I thought that this was nonsense. Blogs, after all, are aggregators - most of us don't report on the news, we sort it and talk about it. We're the output, not the input.

At least that's what I believed until I read this (emphasis added, as if it were necessary):

The government concluded its "Cyber Storm" wargame Friday, its biggest-ever exercise to test how it would respond to devastating attacks over the Internet from anti-globalization activists, underground hackers and bloggers.

Bloggers?

Participants confirmed parts of the worldwide simulation challenged government officials and industry executives to respond to deliberate misinformation campaigns and activist calls by Internet bloggers, online diarists whose "Web logs" include political rantings and musings about current events.

There you have it. The United States government apparently believes that bloggers are as big a threat to the country as Hollywood-style super hackers.

Are we really that powerful? I doubt it. But I'd like to run a few tests, just to be sure. Below are a series of stories. Into each one I have covertly woven deliberate misinformation. If I've underestimated our power and these stories plunge the nation into chaos, well, I'm sorry.

In previous diaries, I've argued that our cheap energy culture is fragile, precariously balanced, and likely to die a messy death unless we begin devoting a lot more effort to shoring up our future.  I've also diaried the idea that we're falling far short of that goal, and that for a number of reasons we're likely to fail, leading to... bad stuff.  In short, I have been a gloomy Gus.

But not today.  Today, I'm going to bring you a more hopeful vision of the future.  In fact, you might consider this a religious diary.  Because if Ray Kurzweil is right, immortality is right around the corner.

So, say Amen and pass the microchips, because we're heading for the singularity.

(Cross-posted at Daily Kos)

And no, the answer is not because you're blogging here, though I'm sure all of us have wondered as much recently.

An official disclaimer, before I begin.  I do not hold a security clearance.  I have never held a security clearance.  To my knowledge, no one has ever disclosed classified information at any level to me.  Having said that, I have been around the technological side of the law enforcement and intelligence communities long enough to have a picture of the technology behind intelligence and investigative analysis and the laws that back it up.

Want to know why you might be under surveillance?  Make the jump.

Nearly invisible, definitely below the radar until this morning, the process of simply managing data is beyond the Feds capability:

Aging computers hobble Homeland Security

Aging, incompatible systems and outdated processes have contributed to a backlog of approximately 1 million people waiting for a decision from the department's Citizenship and Immigration Services bureau. Computer problems at its Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau caused a snafu in which student visa holders were jailed overnight or barred from entering the United States.

Source:  CNET.news, 15 Dec.

If you need to interact with Homeland Security, bring a #2 pencil and paper.