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Forget Apple vs. the FBI: WhatsApp Just Switched on Encryption for a Billion People

This morning, at a small office in Mountain View, California, WhatsApp made the scope of the Apple-FBI encryption battle look kinda small.

Click to view the original at wired.com

Hasnain says:

This is really huge.

"But the app’s two founders, for all their success, have remained in the shadows. They almost never speak with the media. Koum, in particular, is largely uninterested in press or publicity or, for that matter, any human interaction he deems extraneous. “Clearly, you can’t believe everything you read in the press,” he tells me, a reporter. Although the company runs one of the world’s largest online services—and is owned by the world’s biggest social network—it continues to operate almost entirely on its own in an unmarked building in Mountain View that’s fronted by unusually diligent security. And because the app is far more popular overseas than in the US, the typically fervent Silicon Valley tech press has largely left them alone. As a result, the American public hasn’t quite grasped the enormous scope of the company’s encryption project or the motivations behind it."

Posted on 2016-04-05T16:35:04+0000

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Iceland PM Resigns Following Protests Over Offshore Investments

The Panama bank secrecy leak claimed its first scalp after Icelandic Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson resigned following revelations about his personal finances.

Click to view the original at www.bloomberg.com

Hasnain says:

Just a day after he said he wouldn't and that he doubted people would show up to a protest. About 8% of the country showed up

Posted on 2016-04-05T16:14:08+0000

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On Virgin America

My first airline was started out of frustration. As a young record executive, I travelled the world flying by other airlines, but found the experience dreadful. So in 1984 I chartered one second-hand Boeing 747 and offered flights between London and New York. People thought we were mad and bound to…

Click to view the original at www.virgin.com

Hasnain says:

"Because I'm not American, the US Department of Transportation stipulated I take some of my shares in Virgin America as non-voting shares, reducing my influence over any takeover. So there was sadly nothing I could do to stop it."
- Sir Richard Branson, Virgin founder.

Posted on 2016-04-05T06:56:22+0000

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How I Went From Leading the Egyptian Revolution to Making Minimum Wage in San Francisco

In 2011, Ahmed Salah was a leading Egyptian revolutionary who met with ambassadors and Secretaries of State. Now he is nearly homeless in San Francisco.

Click to view the original at priceonomics.com

Hasnain says:

Really sad, really moving, and incredibly well written. Also shines a light on how western journalists go for the easier reporting avenues instead of ground truths, something I see about Pakistan as well.

"I understand why outsiders attributed the revolution to people like Ghonim. Facebook posts are more visible than secret meetings, and Egyptians who spoke English and appeared on CNN had smartphones."

Posted on 2016-04-05T06:46:59+0000

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Hello World

The following is a short essay about my journey into the field of computer science – why I made the switch from a previous career path, my hopes, dreams, and heart-breaks, and where I hope to…

Click to view the original at rewritingthecode.com

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Side Projects – AVC

Side Projects Back when we started USV in 2003/2004, we used to see a lot of side projects that had taken off and were turning into companies. We funded at least one such side project, Delicious, which ended up getting sold to Yahoo! a few years later. But I remember that we would see one or two of…

Click to view the original at avc.com

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Corporate Media Gatekeepers Protect Western 1% From Panama Leak - Craig Murray

Corporate Media Gatekeepers Protect Western 1% From Panama Leak3 Apr, 2016  in Uncategorized by craig Whoever leaked the Mossack Fonseca papers appears motivated by a genuine desire to expose the system that enables the ultra wealthy to hide their massive stashes, often corruptly obtained and all in…

Click to view the original at www.craigmurray.org.uk

Hasnain says:

"Unfortunately the leaker has made the dreadful mistake of turning to the western corporate media to publicise the results. In consequence the first major story, published today by the Guardian, is all about Vladimir Putin and a cellist on the fiddle. As it happens I believe the story and have no doubt Putin is bent."

Posted on 2016-04-04T04:57:00+0000