It appears a pilot may have intentionally crashed an airliner in the Alps.

Until a few decades ago, large airliners generally had three cockpit flight crew: pilot, copilot and flight engineer. It would have been impossible for one pilot to dive the plane into the ground.

The switch to just two cockpit was implemented as an efficiency measure.

Congress Needs to Make Up Its Mind About Communications Privacy Law: Do They Want to Kill It, Or Strengthen It?

As a pessimist by nature, I expect them to kill it.

Australia is using an insecure internet voting system.

In addition to the software vulnerabilities, remote voting opens the door for voters to be coerced by their bosses, by abusive spouses, etc. It is a foolish risk to permit remote voting except in special cases such as when people are travelling or in the hospital.

If young people are not voting, it's because they see the candidates that might win are working for plutocrats. Making it less work to vote is no solution.

Erol Incedal was acquitted of planning an act of terrorism, but the UK stands convicted of using secret trials, a prima facie attack on human rights.

There is no reason to believe any claims officials make to justify this. Such officials see no harm in lying to the public; what they say is only what they would say.

Whatever act of terrorism Incedal was suspected of, it would have been less dangerous than secret trials. Governments have a lot more potential for violence than individuals, and it is not very long since the UK used this power for evil by supporting Dubya's invasion of Iraq.

Making it a crime to have a book like the Anarchist's Cookbook — beyond that, anything that leads to "suspicion" — is also tyranny.

Google Fiber will track what TV shows people watch.

I think it should be illegal for cable TV to take note of that.