MADRID, Spain (PNN) - October 13, 2014 - The leader of Spain's Catalonia region will call off a referendum on independence from Spain planned for Nov. 9 and look for alternative ways to consult Catalans, a key regional political party said on Monday.

PRINCETON, New Jersey (PNN) - October 13, 2014 - No tool in existence protects your anonymity on the Web better than the software Tor, which encrypts Internet traffic and bounces it through random computers around the world. But for guarding anything other than Web browsing, Tor has required a mixture of finicky technical setup and software tweaks. Now routing all your traffic through Tor may be as simple as putting a portable hardware condom on your Ethernet cable.

BEAVERCREEK, Ohio (PNN) - October 6, 2014 - Gun enthusiasts openly carried firearms Sunday in to an Ohio Wal-Mart store where terrorist pig thug cops murdered a black man holding a toy rifle.

About 40 open-carry activists protested the Aug. 5 terrorist pig thug cop shooting of 22-year-old John Crawford III at the Beavercreek retailer after a grand jury declined last month to charge the terrorist pig thug cop who murdered him.

NEW YORK (PNN) - October 6, 2014 - A company has installed beacons inside hundreds of downtown New York City pay phones that ping the smart phones and tablets of New Yorkers walking by. The beacons are able to gather information about the locations of passersby, the time they passed the beacon, and what websites they visit, among other information. The beacons exchange data over Bluetooth.

ODENSE, Denmark (PNN) - October 4, 2014 - Using specially synthesized crystalline materials, scientists from the University of Southern Denmark have created a substance that is able to absorb and store oxygen in such high concentrations that just one bucketful is enough to remove all of the oxygen in a room. The substance is also able to release the stored oxygen in a controlled manner when it is needed, so just a few grains could replace the need for divers to carry bulky scuba tanks.

By Jeff Berwick

ACAPULCO, Mexico (PNN) - October 1, 2014 - It all started over a month ago, right here in Acapulco, Mexico, when I commented to a good friend, "Have you noticed how much better traffic has been lately?"

He responded, "Yes, traffic flow has been so much better, because the transit cops went on strike."

It turned out that was the case. The transit cops in Acapulco had gone on strike and all of a sudden many local residents were noticing how much better traffic, which can get in to gridlock levels during peak holiday periods, had become.

CUPERTINO, Kalifornia (PNN) - October 1, 2014 - FireChat is a chatting app. After registering with a name - no email address or other personal identifiers required - you’re dropped into a fast-moving chatroom of “Everyone” using it in your country. The interesting aspect, however, is the “Nearby” option. Here, the app uses Apple’s Multipeer Connectivity framework, essentially a peer-to-peer feature that lets you share messages (and soon photos) with other app users nearby, regardless of whether you have an actual Wi-Fi or cellular connection.

by Brent Johnson

In Washington, D.C., the seat of government and the heart of corruption and tyranny in the Fascist Police States of Amerika, there is one principle overshadowing everything else that happens in politics. Newcomers to the political scene learn to apply this principle before anything else. Elected or appointed officeholders, attorneys, law enforcement officials, bureaucrats at every level of government find out that if you want to survive in politics, you must adhere to this single, primary principle… plausible deniability.

MADRID, Spain (PNN) - September 30, 2014 - The regional government of Catalonia says it will heed a decision by Spain's top court suspending its plans to hold an independence referendum but vows to continue efforts to hold a vote.

ROCHESTER, New York (PNN) - September 26, 2014 - Watch out Harry Potter; you are not the only wizard with an invisibility cloak.

Scientists at the University of Rochester have discovered a way to hide large objects from sight using inexpensive and readily available lenses, a technology that seems to have sprung from the pages of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter fantasy series.