Some misunderstandings are hard to cure.

When the New York Times revealed the warrantless surveillance of voice calls, in December 2005, the telephone companies got nervous.

Activists and geeks, standing together, are demonstrating powers beyond the reach of government control.

First developed as a weapon by the U.S. Army, VX is an oily, odorless and tasteless liquid that kills on contact with the skin or when inhaled in aerosol form. Like other nerve agents, it is treatable in the first minutes after exposure but otherwise leads swiftly to fatal convulsions and respiratory failure.

In Africa through the 1990s, with notable exceptions in Senegal and Uganda, nearly all the ruling powers denied they had a problem with AIDS.

Privacy is relational. It depends on the audience. You don't want your employer to know you're job hunting. You don't spill all about your love life to your mom or your kids. You don't tell trade secrets to your rivals.

Some misunderstandings are hard to cure.