A developer without context who is pissed off politically will rely on the only context they know – as an ordinary citizen. In a tech-infused fit of rage, they’ll write one of two iPhone apps: the “who was my representative again?” app, or the “where do I go to vote again?” app. They’ve been written dozens of times, and I’m sorry to say, the true problem here is distribution, not tech. And they’re not the biggest civic opportunities either.

We need to organize the civic hackers, sure. But we also need to organize the domain experts who can shed light on how the world really works.

[BackChannel] Three Problems With Civic Hackathons | TechPresident

The FBI has opened an investigation into who disclosed information about a classified U.S. cyberattack program aimed at Iran's nuclear facilities, according to two people familiar with the probe.

FBI Probes Leaks About Cyberattacks by U.S. - WSJ.com

In 1761 and 1769, hundreds of astronomers from more than a dozen nations stationed at more than 130 locations around the world turned their telescopes simultaneously to the sky to observe the transit of Venus. They did so — at great peril and against heavy odds in many cases — because they believed that the transit held the key to one of the most pressing quests of the age: the distance between Earth and the sun and, by extension, the size of the solar system.

Transit of Venus: A heavenly event of a lifetime - Los Angeles Times

As Y Combinator founder Paul Graham said in an open letter to YC companies last night, investors are already convinced that Facebook’s IPO “will hurt the market for earlier stage startups.”

In short, it means valuations are coming back down to earth. Early-stage investors can no longer be sure that the public markets will provide an easy, gullible cash-out for the companies they invest in, no matter how ridiculously inflated their valuations are.

The Facebook IPO has damaged the whole tech sector

As William Harkness (1837-1903), then director of the U.S. Naval Observatory, said on the eve of the 1882 transit: "There will be no other transits of Venus 'til the 21st century of our era has dawned upon the Earth. When the last transit occurred the intellectual world was awakening from the slumber of ages, and that wondrous scientific activity, which has led to our present advanced knowledge, was just beginning. What will be the state of science when the next transit season arrives God only knows. Not even our children's children will live to take part in the astronomy of that day."

Transit of Venus highlights age of wondrous scientific activity - CNN.com

Four other countries can launch sophisticated and damaging cyber attacks -- including China and Russia -- and plan to use them in warfare.

Just four?

Benefits Are Great, and the Risks Exist Anyway - Room for Debate - NYTimes.com

In this post, however, I want to look at the substance of the story and spend some time thinking about what it tells us about cyber capabilities and about the state of the law relating to the cyber domain.

I do not agree with people who are arguing that Stuxnet had no collateral damage. This slight represents a probably willful misunderstanding of IT operations and the costs involved.

Lawfare › The Stuxnet Story and Some Interesting Questions

Over the coming days and weeks, security experts will deconstruct Flame and explain what it can and can’t do. This work ongoing, it is also important to consider the politics of Flame, as they matter as much if not more.

Cyber Intrigue: The Flame Malware International Politics | Munk – Cyber Security Forum

Ma Xiaotian, deputy chief of the general staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, on Monday urged the international community to make joint efforts to formulate rules for cyber space as the world is faced with "grim" challenges concerning online risk.

Chinese general calls for international cyber space rules - Xinhua | English.news.cn

The first I ever heard of Magnus Walker was Michael Jordan's post last fall. Walker is a hardcore Porsche fanatic, builder and collector. He's got a fascinating tale, so I suggest you read MJ's take.

As it turns out, filmmaker Tamir Moscovici also appreciates Magnus Walker and his obsession with the 911 and is in the post-production stages of a film all about Walker. It's called Urban Outlaw and it looks pretty slick. Check it out after the break.

Urban Outlaw: The Trailer