Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Whether you and I and a few others will renew the world someday remains to be seen. But within ourselves we must renew it each day, otherwise we just aren't serious. Don't forget that! ~ Hermann Hesse



A little rebellion, now and then, is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical.
 ~ Thomas Jefferson,
Letter to James Madison (30 January 1787); referring to Shays' Rebellion Lipscomb & Bergh ed. 6:65.

Can anybody remember when the times were not hard and money not scarce?


R.W. Emerson, works and days

 

 
those mice find out about this shit they are eating inside the house, then monzanto has finally created the best(and last) mouse trap the world will ever need.

"Monsanto should not have to vouchsafe the safety of biotech food. Our interest is in selling as much of it as possible. Assuring its safety is the F.D.A.'s job" - Philip Angell, Monsanto's director of corporate communications. "Playing God in the Garden" New York Times Magazine, October 25, 1998.



"Ultimately, it is the food producer who is responsible for assuring safety" — FDA, "Statement of Policy: Foods Derived from New Plant Varieties" (GMO Policy), Federal Register, Vol. 57, No. 104 (1992), p. 229



"It is not foreseen that EFSA carry out such [safety] studies as the onus is on the applicant to demonstrate the safety of the GM product in question". Comments from the European Food Safety Authority



"Wait a second. What Robert Shapiro says is one thing. But what we do is something else. We are here to make money. He is the front man who tells a story. We don’t even understand what he is saying" - Unnamed Monsanto Vice President speaking to Kirk Azevedo, one time facilitator for GM cotton sales in California and Arizona and later turned whistleblower.



"These Monsanto scientists are very knowledge about traditional products, like chemicals, herbicides and pesticides, but they don’t understand the possible harmful outcomes of genetic engineering, such as pathophysiology or prion proteins. So I am explaining to him about the potential untoward effects of these foreign proteins, but he just did not understand.... Anything that interfered with advancing the commercialization of this technology was going to be pushed aside." - Kirk Azevedo

 




After 2 Years of Confinement, Will Sweden Resolve Assange's Case? Swedish Foreign Minister Won't Say 

 




RAW: Russian Sukhoi jets land in Baghdad to boost fight against ISIS


?? someone forgot to tell the amerikan public, well the jets got a small token mention as a no big deal type thing......good thing they secured the airport there, or did we?  my understanding waz that blackwater held the airport that way the "rules of war 'geneva convention" do not apply to, those guys, the sof's follow, only how brutal and immorial your conscience will tolerate, i suppose.

 did we send those extra 'advisers' too late or did they got lost or what? is this the beginning of the beginning or the ending of the beginning and the beginning of the ending............dun, dun, dun
 kosmicdebris

 



Don't Go Back To Iraq!




if war is banned why these weapons and equipment would have to be sold....how about sell them back to the taxpayers at local levels,  now these tools are turned onto the public at large. paid for first at the federal level and second at local......the state has its guard but that is under ultimate federal over-site.

Who is watching the watchman?








Monday Demonstrations in Germany: The Architects Of The Future

"Five percent of the people think; ten percent of the people think they think; and the other eighty-five percent would rather die than think." 
- Thomas Edison


,

d n!!...... the only reason they really care at all is that dirty air of 'climate change'  is blowing all over them...otherwise the world never hears a peep, my opine...just saying,there many of other social 'globel' problems the swedes could take on like ikea e.g............kos


don't forget the Israeli boycott....... id barcodes beginning with 729





Dear Libertarians: The Radical Violent Revolutionaries Are Winning







Tuesday, 1 July 2014
‘The previous belief of many lay people and health professionals that obesity is simply the result of a lack of willpower and an inability to discipline eating habits is no longer defensible.’ Photo by Karen Kasmauski
‘The previous belief of many lay people and health professionals that obesity is simply the result of a lack of willpower and an inability to discipline eating habits is no longer defensible.’ Photo by Karen Kasmauski

As the American people got fatter, so did marmosets, vervet monkeys and mice. The problem may be bigger than any of us.

By David Berreby

Years ago, after a plane trip spent reading Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Notes from the Underground and Weight Watchers magazine, Woody Allen melded the two experiences into a single essay. ‘I am fat,’ it began. ‘I am disgustingly fat. I am the fattest human I know. I have nothing but excess poundage all over my body. My fingers are fat. My wrists are fat. My eyes are fat. (Can you imagine fat eyes?).’ It was 1968, when most of the world’s people were more or less ‘height-weight proportional’ and millions of the rest were starving. Weight Watchers was a new organisation for an exotic new problem. The notion that being fat could spur Russian-novel anguish was good for a laugh.

That, as we used to say during my Californian adolescence, was then. Now, 1968’s joke has become 2013’s truism. For the first time in human history, overweight people outnumber the underfed, and obesity is widespread in wealthy and poor nations alike. The diseases that obesity makes more likely — diabetes, heart ailments, strokes, kidney failure — are rising fast across the world, and the World Health Organisation predicts that they will be the leading causes of death in all countries, even the poorest, within a couple of years. What's more, the long-term illnesses of the overweight are far more expensive to treat than the infections and accidents for which modern health systems were designed. Obesity threatens individuals with long twilight years of sickness, and health-care systems with bankruptcy.

And so the authorities tell us, ever more loudly, that we are fat — disgustingly, world-threateningly fat. We must take ourselves in hand and address our weakness. After all, it’s obvious who is to blame for this frightening global blanket of lipids: it’s us, choosing over and over again, billions of times a day, to eat too much and exercise too little. What else could it be? If you’re overweight, it must be because you are not saying no to sweets and fast food and fried potatoes. It’s because you take elevators and cars and golf carts where your forebears nobly strained their thighs and calves. How could you do this to yourself, and to society? read more 



Landmark Agriculture Bill Now Law in Virginia

Activist Post

New Law Reaffirms the Right to Farm and Grants Freedom from Government Overreach

In 2012, Virginia officials of Fauquier County threatened Martha Boneta with $15,000 per-day fines for hosting a birthday party for eight 10-year-old girls without a permit, and for advertising pumpkin carvings. That fine eventually reached $2 million.

Seeing the county’s action against Boneta as a brazen effort to drive her off her land, Virginians from all walks of life rallied to her defense. Supporters gathered in Warrenton, the county seat, for a peaceful “pitchfork protest” to vent their anger over what an out-of-control local government had done to a law-abiding citizen.

The bill, HB 268, became law in Virginia yesterday, protecting certain activities at agricultural operations from local regulation. One of the first bills signed into law by Governor Terry McAuliffe, the non-partisan legislation became statewide law at the urging of grassroots organizations and individuals.

The bill becoming law marks the latest chapter in a controversy that attracted nationwide attention in 2012 when the Fauquier County Board of Supervisors forced family farmer Martha Boneta to cease selling produce from her own 64-acre farm. No longer allowed to sell the vegetables she had harvested, Boneta donated the food to local charities rather than let it go to waste.


Boneta is a member of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund (FTCLDF), which offered her legal aid during the crisis. She is a keynote speaker at the FTCLDF 2014 Farm Freedom Fest in September, along with Joel Salatin, another farmer who worked alongside her on this bill.

In the 2013 session of the General Assembly, Rep. Scott Lingamfelter (R-Prince William) led an effort to undo the injustice inflicted on Boneta, and to protect other farmers from similar abuse, by strengthening Virginia’s Right to Farm Act. What became known as the “Boneta Bill” passed the House by an overwhelming margin but it was killed by a Senate committee. Undeterred, Boneta and her supporters came back to the General Assembly in 2014 winning wide bipartisan approval for legislation protecting the rights of family farmers.

The bill signed by Gov. McAuliffe grew out of legislation developed by Rep. Bobby Orrick (R-Thornburg) and Sen. Richard Stuart (R-Montross) and supported by, among others, Sen. Chap Petersen (D-Fairfax). Backed by the Virginia Farm Bureau, the new law protects customary activities at agricultural operations from local bans in the absence of substantial impacts on public welfare. It also prohibits localities from requiring a special-use permit for a host of farm-related activities that are specified in the bill.

Boneta said:
I am grateful to all the Virginians and legislators from across the Commonwealth who rallied for non-partisan legislation that provides economic opportunity for small family farmers, access to consumers and allows the great traditions of farming in Virginia to flourish. It is gratifying to see Virginians, working together across party lines, rewarded by a law that enables family farms to prosper as our Founding Fathers intended.
FTCLDF reports that to celebrate the new agricultural law, a flag is flying today over the US Capitol in honor of Virginia's farm freedom legislation.

Here is a January 2014 interview with Boneta and Fox News. While the camera views emphasize Tea Party signs, FTCLDF supporters come from many walks of life.
                                                    ++++++++++++++++++++++

ACTIVIST POST FEATURED ARTICLES

Georgia Tech Researchers Develop Tool to Monitor Web Censorship
Landmark Agriculture Bill Now Law in Virginia
Activist Post

Predictive Technology: A New Tool For The Thought Police
Nicholas West

Media Propaganda Foreshadows Massive False Flag Inside The United States
Brandon Turbeville

Deleting a promising cancer treatment
Jon Rappoport

Other Key Articles From Around the Web
Antarctic sea ice hits second all-time record in a week

Facebook mind control experiments linked to DoD research on civil unrest

GM blood cells to protect tomorrow’s soldiers from bioweapons?

Bankless Cannabis Businesses Fined By the IRS for Paying Taxes in Cash

EU's right to be forgotten: Guardian articles have been hidden by Google

The CDC still doesn't know if your smartphone is hurting you

Relentless Drive to Force GMO Crops into Britain

Mindfulness Meditation for 25 Minutes Alleviates Stress

How Government Forces the Poor Into Black Markets

Climate Engineering and Biosphere Destruction

UK 'Porn Filters' Block One Fifth Of All Websites

Germany considers weapons-capable drones

Blackphone lands: World’s most spy-resistant phone sold out

The Heat is On: How to Stay Cool without Air Conditioning

IRS Rejects Non-Profit Status For Open Source Organization

Facebook Is Under Investigation For Mood Manipulation Study

McDonald's Commercial Audition That Didn't Make the Cut


............................................................................................................................................................





Three Israeli Settlers And The The Searing Hypocrisy of the West

By Susan Abulhawa

Palestinian children are assaulted or murdered every day and barely do their lives register in western press.


Tell The Imperial President: No More Wars!

By Patrick J. Buchanan

It is astonishing that Republicans who threaten to impeach Obama for usurping authority at home remain silent as he prepares to usurp their war powers - to march us into Syria and back into Iraq.


Regional War Swallowing the Middle East

By Shamus Cooke

All these developments emphasize the need to revive the antiwar movement here in the U.S.


Pity the Children

By Chris Hedges

People who carry weapons and travel with armed units have a terrifying God-like power to humiliate, to demand instant and unquestioned obedience and to kill.


West Should Stop Turning World Into 'Global Barracks'

By Vladimir Putin

What did our partners expect from us as the developments in Ukraine unfolded?


Whose Security?
How Washington Protects Itself and the Corporate Sector

By Noam Chomsky

We now face the most ominous decisions in human history.



 Facebook Admits Playing With Our Moods

By Jonathan Cook

If we want to understand the brave new world we are entering with social media, then this story is an important read.


Sixty Five Million Left Out July 4

By Bill Quigley

Over sixty five million people in the US, perhaps a fifth of our sisters and brothers, are not enjoying the "unalienable rights" of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness"









 Inform educate resist........
 
Ideas are very important into the shaping of our society. In fact they are more powerful than arms, tanks, guns..drone bombers

And this is because ideas are capable to be spread without limits... anywhere globally in an instant.

[They] are behind the choices we make today

Ideas can transform the world in ways governments and arms cannot

Fighting for liberty with ideas makes more sense to me than fighting with guns or politics or political power.....

With ideas we can make real change that lasts.....Ron Paul




+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 




Hard News   


More than 2,400 Iraqis killed in June: UN report:
The UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) has released new casualty figures for June, Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here, adding at least 2,417 Iraqis have been killed and another 2, 287 have been injured in acts of terrorism and violence during the month.


Pentagon says growing US forces in Iraq need 'flexibility' for mission:
Unofficially, the Pentagon is indicating that the number of troops in Iraq is likely to continue the incremental expansion that President Barack Obama launched last month after Islamic State forces overran Sunni areas of the country.


Iraq Veterans Against the War Statement on the Crisis In Iraq:
Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) - calls on Congress, the President, and his administration to reject the use of violence and militarism in response to the current outbreak of violence in Iraq.


Envoy: Iraq can't wait for U.S. military aid:
Iraq is increasingly turning to other governments like Iran, Russia and Syria to help beat back a rampant insurgency because it cannot wait for additional American military aid, Baghdad's top envoy to the U.S. said Tuesday.


Russia to the rescue in Iraq? Moscow delivers jet fighters to Baghdad.:
The first shipment of ground attack Sukhoi fighters comes after Iraq complained the US wasn't delivering support its needs to fend off Islamic militants.


All Iranian Su-25 Frogfoot attack planes have just deployed to Iraq:
All the seven operational Su-25 Frogfoot attack planes operated by the Pasdaran have completed their deployment to Imam Ali Airbase where they will join the ex-Russian Air Force Su-25s already delivered to Iraq in the air war against ISIS (Al Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant).


Isis leader calls on Muslims to 'build Islamic state':
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi called on Muslims to immigrate to the "Islamic State", saying it was a duty. He made a "special call" for judges, doctors, engineers and people with military and administrative expertise.


Iraqi rebel leader calls for 'holy war':
Proclaiming a "new era" in which Muslims will ultimately triumph, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi issued the call to jihad - holy war - in an audio message lasting nearly 20 minutes that was posted online on Tuesday.


Isis Caliphate has Baghdad worried because of appeal to angry young Sunnis: Op-Ed:
As Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis), declares himself the caliph of a new Islamic state larger in size than Great Britain, people in Baghdad wait for a fresh assault on the capital by his fighters, who have already captured much of northern Iraq.


Iraq parliament session ends in chaos as turmoil deepens:
After a break called to calm soaring tempers, so many Sunni and Kurdish deputies stayed away that the quorum was lost, so a speaker could not be elected as was constitutionally required, and the session ended in disarray.


War criminal:
John Kerry says U.S. war on Iraq was serious "mistake":
 In an interview to Chinese news agency, US Secretary of State, John Kerry said he had termed this decision of former President George Bush going for war on Iraq a grave mistake.


Syria: ISIS Shows off Military Hardware: Video -
NBC News ISIS members are seen parading their military vehicles and equipment, including a missile, through the streets of Raqqa, Syria


ISIS Parades Scud Missile 'Heading Towards Israel':
ISIS parades Scud missile and tanks in Syria transferred from Iraq, as ISIS member threatens missile 'heading towards Israel.'


Israeli forces kill Palestinian teen in Jenin refugee camp:
 Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian teenager during a military operation in Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank early Tuesday, locals and medics said.


Israel's three murdered teens buried side-by-side amid national outpouring of grief;
Israel vows to apprehend killers 'dead or alive'; US warns Israel against 'heavy-handed' response.


At ransacked homes of suspects, disbelief that killings took place:
 Standing in their devastated abodes, family members of the two suspected kidnappers find it hard to believe the Israeli account.


The High Cost Of Israel's Brutal Assault On Palestinians In Search For Israeli Teens:
"Hit me one time in the face, and then hit me again, and again, it will start to feel normal. That's what the occupation is like. That's what losing my sons is like."


'Now that bodies found, world won't abide large military campaign':
International community supported search and Hamas arrests, but sees no justification for extended offensive or settlement expansions, official warns


Hamas: Not interested in confrontation with Israel, but ready:
The Israeli threats, added the spokesman, "do not scare Hamas," though the movement takes these threats very seriously.


Has CNN officially become Israeli State TV?:
Since the initial disappearance of three Israelis feared kidnapped when hitchhiking in occupied Palestinian territory almost three weeks ago, Israel unleashed a wide-scale campaign of arrests and raids that resulted in ten Palestinian deaths and over 500 arbitrarily arrested Palestinians, and the destruction of property in countless home


Iran: U.S. Demand for Deep Centrifuge Cut Is a Diplomatic Ploy: -
With only a few weeks remaining before the Jul. 20 deadline, the Barack Obama administration issued a warning to Iran that it must accept deep cuts in the number of its centrifuges in order to demonstrate that its nuclear programme is only for peaceful purposes.


Nigeria: Over 50 killed in Maiduguri's largest market:
At least 50people have been killed in an explosion at a market in Maiduguri, north-eastern Nigeria, a medical worker has told the BBC. The explosives were reportedly hidden in a vehicle carrying charcoal.


Uganda clashes with CAR Seleka rebels, 12 killed:
Uganda said on Tuesday its forces in Central African Republic (CAR) had clashed for the first time with fighters from Seleka, a mainly Muslim rebel force, killing 12, and would pursue them as part of a campaign against the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).


Report: 58 killed in hospitals in S.Sudan conflict:
Patients were shot in their hospital beds, medical and humanitarian staff killed, and medical facilities were destroyed in fighting in South Sudan since December in actions that breach international law, an aid group said in a report released Tuesday.


Dead migrants from Libya 'crammed in boat like animals for slaughter':
Italian police begin interviewing survivors of fishing vessel containing bodies of at least 30 men thought to have suffocated.


11 Militants Killed in Airstrike by Afghan Air Force:
Gen. Azimi further added that Mi-35 helicopters were used to target the Taliban militants during the air raid.


Election result delayed in Afghanistan:
Abdullah Abdullah, reported to be far behind in the vote count, welcomed the delay and called for an anti-fraud audit that could trigger a prolonged political stalemate as US-led combat troops end their 13-year war against the Taliban.


Japan cabinet approves landmark military change:
A reinterpretation of the law will now allow "collective self-defence" - using force to defend allies under attack. PM Shinzo Abe has been pushing hard for the move, arguing Japan needs to adapt to a changing security environment.


Ukraine troops resume attacks on rebels:
Ukrainian tanks and fighter bombers have resumed their assault on pro-Russian insurgents after Kiev's Western-backed leader brushed off a last-gasp European effort to save a tenuous 10-day truce.


Pro-Russian rebels capture police HQ in Ukraine city:
The Interior Ministry headquarters in eastern Ukraine's largest city fell to pro-Russia separatists Tuesday after a five-hour gunbattle that erupted hours after the Ukrainian president ended a ceasefire.


Russia's Lavrov warns of 'new round of bloodshed' in Ukraine:
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged a halt to Ukraine's military operation against separatist rebels in the east in a telephone call with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday, warning of "a new round of bloodshed."


Putin vows to protect ethnic Russians abroad after Ukraine truce expires:
President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday, after Kiev renewed military operations against pro-Russian separatists in east Ukraine, that Moscow would continue to defend the interests of ethnic Russians abroad.


Putin to West: Stop turning world into 'global barracks,' dictating rules to others:
He has stressed that Russia and European partners could not convince Poroshenko to not take the path of violence, which can't lead to peace.


French ambassador to Russia:
France trying to persuade Poroshenko to reinstate ceasefire:
Speaking to Interfax on Tuesday, Ripert said the government of France, as well as the governments of Germany and other European countries, is putting pressure on Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to reinstate the ceasefire.


Putin Slams US $9 Billion Fine Against French BNP As "Blackmail" For Russian Warship Deal:
Recall that about a month ago we reported that shortly after France was stunned to see its largest bank slammed by its bestest buddy, the US, with a record $9 billion fine, "France responded to the fine by announcing it will train hundreds of Russian seamen to operate the French-Made Warship", the Mistral.


EU Delays Decision on Further Russia Sanctions:
The European Union held off from agreeing additional sanctions on Russia at a meeting Tuesday, according to several people briefed on discussions, with the bloc deciding to closely monitor the situation on the ground over coming days.


European Court of Human Rights upholds French ban on full-face veils:
The Strasbourg-based court was ruling on a case brought by a 24-year-old French woman, who argued that the ban on wearing the veil in public violated her freedom of religion and expression.


EU Slashes Mobile Data Roaming Fees By 55%:
The price cap for one megabyte of data use will be lowered to 20 euro cents (27 dollar cents) from 45 cents - a 55 percent drop. Phone calls and text messaging services across national borders are also getting cheaper by about 25 percent.


EU admonishes US for overseas data requests:
The EU has slammed the US for its demand that Microsoft surrender overseas data - emails held on Irish servers - saying that the move could contravene international law.


France's Sarkozy held for questioning:
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been held in police custody for questioning over suspected influence-peddling, sources told Al Jazeera.


China to Set Yuan Clearing Banks in Luxembourg, Paris:
In its continued push to make the yuan a global currency, China's central bank said Sunday it plans to designate clearing banks for its currency in Paris and Luxembourg, as the two financial centers battle with London to become the leading European offshore yuan-trading city.


Snowden docs will be released to avert 'unspecified US war':
All the remaining Snowden documents will be released next month, according t?o? whistle-blowing site ?Cryptome, which said in a tweet that the release of the info by unnamed third parties would be necessary to head off an unnamed "war".?


Is NSA Surveillance Mastermind Keith Alexander Selling US Secrets to Wall Street?:
Perhaps you already assume that there's some kind of twisted marriage between Wall Street megabanks and the US global surveillance regime. Why wouldn't there be? But not even a total cynic could have anticipated spymaster Keith Alexander cashing in this hard, this fast.


Mexican security forces kill 22 'drug gang members':
Mexican authorities said that the 22 victims were probably members of La Familia Michoacana drug cartel. The criminal gang is active in neighbouring Michoacan and Guerrero states.


Unprecedented numbers of US war veterans affected by drug dependency, at risk of suicide:
1 Million US Vetrans are taking opiods


Interaction with Salt Lake City police after officer shot dog: Video -
Sean Kendall shot this video of his interaction with Salt Lake City police after learning an officer had shot his dog in his backyard.


Regulators accuse T-Mobile of bogus billing:
T-Mobile US knowingly made hundreds of millions of dollars off its customers in potentially bogus charges, federal regulators alleged Tuesday in the first lawsuit of its kind against a wireless provider.


Carbon Dioxide In Our Air Just Reached New Record, Scientists Are Worried:
If the trend continues, some said, carbon levels will soon surpass 450 ppm - a level that many scientists agree would create a level of global warming that would be too difficult for some humans to adapt to.




Dept. of Homeland Security: feel safer, sucker?



by Jon Rappoport

July 2, 2014




Your big-government-at-work scores again.



In 2003, Congress began pouring money into a program of fusion centers. These 70 outposts, scattered across America, were supposed to coordinate federal, state, and local efforts to gather counter-terrorism intelligence.



You know, to protect America against al-Qaeda.



The lead agency in this program is the US Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS).




Security News

World of Warbiking WiFi sniffing peloton finds lots of unsecured connections

Science News

NASA aborts third attempt at settling man-made CO2 debate
Two birds died trying. Will the third make it aloft?








Hundreds of Pro-Democracy Protesters Arrested in Hong Kong After Half-a-Million-Strong March 

 

Translation posted 2 July 2014 19:53 GMT · View original post [en]

Hundreds of protesters are surrounded by police in the early morning hours of July 2 on Chater Road in Hong Kong. Photo from inmediahk.net. Non-commercial use.

More than 500 protesters demanding democratic elections free of China's influence were arrested in Hong Kong during a peaceful sit-in in the city's business district.

The sit-in followed a pro-democracy rally of a half a million Hong Kongers on July 1, the anniversary of the handover of former British colony Hong Kong to China in 1997. China has promised Hong Kong a direct vote for the next chief executive in 2017, but insists that a committee approve the candidates. Fearing that China could manipulate the committee to only choose pro-Beijing candidates, protesters demanded that citizens be allowed to nominate the candidates.

July 1 has become a day of protest for universal suffrage, democracy and autonomy from China. The scale of this march was similar to the July 1 rally back in 2003 when the Hong Kong government attempted to pass a set of national security laws that would criminalize seditious speech. The 2003 rally eventually forced the government to withdraw the legislation.
read more at  global 


...................................................................................................................................................


Thai Junta Used Facebook App to Harvest Email Addresses

Posted 30 June 2014 19:50 GMT
 
A warning from the Thai Netizen Network, showing the deceptive Facebook application.
A warning from the Thai Netizen Network, showing the deceptive Facebook application.

Written by Electronic Frontier Foundation International Director Danny O'Brien. This article was originally published on the Electronic Frontier Foundation blog.

Thailand's censorship regime has grown ever more pervasive since the military took over last month, with punishments aimed at both speakers and consumers of  prohibited media. On the streets, Thais have been arrested for wearing the wrong message on a T-shirt, or reading George Orwell's “1984″ in public. Online, according to the regime's own reports, hundreds of new websites have been added to the Thai government's official blacklist including politics and news sites covering the coup. Now the authorities are deceiving Internet users into disclosing their personal details, including email addresses and Facebook profile information, when they try to visit these prohibited sites.

Under Thailand's national web blocking infrastructure, Net users attempting to visit blocked sites in Thailand are redirected to a government web landing page, managed by the country's Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD). After the coup, the Thai Netizen Network, a local digital rights group, noticed that the TCSD block page had sprouted two new graphics: a blue “close” button, and a “Login with Facebook” icon. Both lead to what appears to be a Facebook “Login” page, where users are asked for permission to hand over personal information stored in their Facebook profile — without any indication, in Thai or English, of where that data was being sent, or for what purpose. In fact, the “Login” app was being run by TCSD itself, which used Facebook's application platform to collect the details of Facebook users visiting to the landing page.

Thai authorities have long claimed that foreign companies should comply with all their demands for removing content and handing over personal data. Facebook has consistently refused such requests. By misleading users to click through the permissions-granting first page of its Facebook application, Thai authorities have been gathering the type of user information that Facebook's legal department has long refused to hand over.

A deceptive Facebook app without a clear privacy policy or embedded explanation is a violation of Facebook's own platform policies, and the Crime Suppression Division's app has now been suspended by Facebook at least twice. The first “Login” app was removed shortly after the Thai Netizen Network published details of its deceptive appearance. An identical app which subsequently replaced it on the page was suspended by Facebook after less than a week of operation.

On Friday, after days of online criticism, the TCSD belatedly posted a justification for their application, writing:
The collection of witness or user's data is a data collection procedure of TCSD.info, which is supported by Article 26 of Computer-related Crime Act (2007). This data collection is the same as other websites that use Facebook for their authentication. By this way, TCSD can handle more witnesses which can lead to more prosecutions and will make the online society more clean. We invite you to send information to https://www.facebook.com/jahooktcsd
Facebook's own public app statistics pages show that these two apps managed to scoop up hundreds of Thai email addresses before being shut down. Did these Internet users understand that they were handing over their names and email addresses as potential “witnesses” to future prosecutions?

This isn't the first time that we've seen governments adopt the techniques of phishing and spamming groups in order to collect information on their own citizens. While it is unsurprising that a military regime that has overthrown the rule of law might stoop to spy with a terms-of-service-violating social media app, it shows how determined the Thai government is to warp the Internet — including social media — to its own ends.

Creative Commons License
Written byElectronic Frontier Foundation
Posted 30 June 2014 19:50 GMT



......................................................................................................................................................

NSA Spying

EFF is leading the fight against the NSA's illegal mass surveillance program. Learn more about what the program is, how it works, and what you can do.


Join EFF at GaymerX2, the second annual gaming and geek lifestyle convention with a focus on LGBTQ culture! Be sure to stop by the EFF booth where you can learn about our latest work protecting privacy and free expression online. You can find some cool EFF digital freedom swag, donate to support the cause, and even become an official member!
July 11-13, 2014
San Francisco, CA
EFF will be at Netroots Nation this year. Activist Nadia Kayyali will join Amie Stepanovich, Senior Policy Counsel for ACCESS, Marcy Wheeler, national security and civil liberties writer, and Mike Darner of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, for "NSA Surveillance Reform: Pitfalls and Opportunities." This panel covers the political environment around surveillance reform, including grassroots engagement and the potential for leadership on the issues. The panel will take place on Saturday, July 19, at 1:30 pm.
July 17-July 20, 2014
Detroit, MI
Several EFFers will speak at HOPE X (Hackers on Planet Earth) in New York City. In its tenth year, HOPE is one of the foremost hacker events, chock full of projects, talks, workshops, and more fun events.
July 18-20, 2014
New York, NY


In our 663rd issue:

EFF Flies Airship Over NSA Data Center to Protest Mass Surveillance

EFF, Greenpeace, and the Tenth Amendment Center flew an airship over the NSA's Utah data center on Friday. Heralded as "the first-ever anti-surveillance air force," the 135-foot-long thermal airship carried activists from EFF and Greenpeace with the message: "NSA Illegal Spying Below."
"We woke up before dawn and watched the Utah sunrise while drifting 1,000 feet above the NSA data center. The center is massive, sprawling, and symbolizes everything that's wrong with the NSA's collect-it-all approach to surveillance," said Parker Higgins, the EFF activist who rode in the airship.
The flight marked the public unveiling of Stand Against Spying, an online scorecard that grades every member of Congress from A to F on the degree to which they are supporting--or blocking--meaningful surveillance reform. The website also has an open letter to President Obama, urging him to use his authority to end mass surveillance now, without waiting for Congress to act.
Make sure Congress and the president know that we’re paying attention. We're asking you to visit StandAgainstSpying.org now, look up your elected representatives' grades, and tweet directly to members of Congress so we can pressure them to enact real reform—not cosmetic fixes.

EFF Updatez

EFF has long been concerned about regulatory overreach by the FCC when it comes to the Internet. But in an environment where big companies have quasi-monopoly power over Internet infrastructure, Congress is caught in partisan gridlock, and antitrust law provides insufficient remedies, the FCC is in the best position to get rules that protect net neutrality in place sooner rather than later.
The Supreme Court issued two decisions on cases where EFF submitted amicus briefs. In one, the court ruled that the police must get a warrant to search a cell phone of an arrested person, an important step forward for privacy. In the other, we were disappointed to see the court rule that Aereo, a company that has created an innovative way to watch streaming television, needed copyright holders' permission to stream free over-the-air broadcast TV shows.
Nominations are open until July 2nd for EFF's 23rd Annual Pioneer Awards. The award goes to individuals who have contributed substantially to the health, growth, accessibility, or freedom of computer-based communications.
Over 100 universities have opposed a fix for our broken patent system—particularly concerning since university research is funded by public tax dollars. It's clear that abusive patent trolls and excessive litigation stand in the way of the innovation and creative thinking that universities are supposed to foster.
Twitter has reversed its decision to censor accounts in Pakistan, but it still needs to do more to be a defender of free expression on the Internet.
EFF's Tor Challenge has already helped expand the Tor network, but the more people use it, the stronger it is. We explain how Tor works and why everyone can and should use it.
Tesla Motors has committed to "not initiate patent lawsuits against anyone who, in good faith, wants to use [Tesla's] technology." The details are to be determined, but this is an exciting step towards the kind of innovation-fostering approach we hope becomes the norm.
The Ethiopian government targets bloggers for political repression by covertly installing malware that can log keystrokes on their computers. This can be avoided using Google Docs—especially now that Google Docs supports Amharic.
At the U.S. Conference of Mayors annual meeting, city leaders are calling on the FCC to preserve an open Internet—but they don't have to wait for the FCC. Cities can help promote an open Internet now by using idle fiber optic lines and pushing for more competition among ISPs.

miniLinkz

EFF is working on software that would allow anyone to open up a limited portion of their wireless network for public use, as part of the OpenWireless.org campaign.
Through the NSA's RAMPART-A program, foreign partners "provide access to cables and host U.S. equipment," greatly expanding the NSA's direct access to data.
EFF Director for International Freedom of Expression Jillian York explains how the efforts to censor the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) by government and social media companies could actually backfire, silencing voices that could help halt ISIS.

Adminz

Editor: Nadia Kayyali, Activist
editor@eff.org
EFFector is a publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
eff.org
Membership & donation queries: membership@eff.org
General EFF, legal, policy, or online resources queries: info@eff.org
Reproduction of this publication in electronic media is encouraged. MiniLinks do not necessarily represent the views of EFF.






Exxon Hates America

............................................................................................................................................................



Simon Anholt: Which country does the most good for the world?

this, from ted talks, propaganda sounds a bit too much 'agenda 21ish'. kuddo's to the top....the rest ought to be ashamed, the whole bloody lot of you!!  for many, there is not a lot of disposable income after securing 'clean drinking water' and the other basics for homeostasis.







Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)