Rickard Falkvinge: NSA on Merkle – Terrorist or Pedophile?

04 Inter-State Conflict, 07 Other Atrocities, 08 Proliferation, 08 Wild Cards, 09 Justice, 10 Security, 11 Society, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Government, Idiocy, IO Deeds of War, Military, Officers Call

So Was Angela Merkel A Terrorist Or A Pedophile?

Posted: 30 Oct 2013 04:10 AM PDT

Civil Liberties: The news that Angela Merkel’s phone has been wiretapped by the USA exposes the biggest wiretapping lie ever – that mass surveillance is targeted at catching terrorists and pedophiles. The German Chancellor is rightfully furious, and she should be furious on behalf of her citizens, too. Mass surveillance was never about terrorists or pedophiles: it is a tool of pure and raw domination.

With the exposure of German Chancellor Merkel’s phone being wiretapped by the US surveillance agencies, the mass surveillance has received yet another spotlight. This is welcome as it intensifies the discussion on civil liberties and the freedoms of speech, assembly, opinion, and the press – and how these freedoms need to carry over into the online environment.

To some extent, it is sad that it takes a personal insult against a leading politicians for something as grave as a threat to democracy itself to come to light, but still, here we are. The mass surveillance has been rolled out en masse without much protest, due to leading politicians smoothing over any worries by using worse scarewords, a common tactic.

We have frequently and repeatably been told that mass surveillance and wiretapping is necessary to “catch terrorists”. Pedophiles are also mentioned from time to time. This is a complete and utter lie.

Continue reading “Rickard Falkvinge: NSA on Merkle – Terrorist or Pedophile?”

2013/10/25

Jim Dean: Government Shut-Down and the Real Crimes Behind the Scenes — Wall Street Rules and Stealing the Gold

01 Brazil, 02 China, 03 Economy, 03 India, 06 Russia, 08 Wild Cards, 09 Justice, 11 Society, Commerce, Commercial Intelligence, Corruption, Government, Idiocy, Ineptitude, Office of Management and Budget, Officers Call

Government shutdown and Chinese gold

EXTRACT

Gordon Duff first reported in Veterans Today another financial scandal motive for the Repubs wanting to hold up Obama Care. New regulations were going into effect to stop the cross collateralization of insurance company reserves, who are all owned by banks, so they could be market traded. The sums involved were astronomical.

“The Obama Care issue is about ‘funds in management.’ The health insurance industry, through investment banks and hedge funds, accounts for 35% of the entire investment capital of the United States.

This sector has been totally unregulated with, not just individual policyholders but industries and government forced to subsidize a health care Ponzi scheme where in some cases fewer than 3% of policy premiums were paid back in benefits.”

Continue reading “Jim Dean: Government Shut-Down and the Real Crimes Behind the Scenes — Wall Street Rules and Stealing the Gold”

2013/10/232013/10/23

David Sabow: White House/Pentagon/CIA Iran Contra Drug Running — and Destruction of Senator Gary Hart to Stop Investigation

07 Other Atrocities, 09 Justice, 11 Society, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Government, Military

This is NOT speculation. Everything told here is documented and supported by a Tosh Plumlee's testimony and supported by letters from Senator Gary Hart to the “Kerry Commission”. I have copies of the letters. David

Phi Beta Iota: This series by Dr. David Sabow is posted in honor of his brother Col James Sabow, USMC (Aviation), murdered at the direction of Marine Corps General Officers co-conspiring with the CIA to introduce drugs into the USA in the 1980's and early 1990's. We note with interest that Senator John Kerry, today Secretary of State, became complicit after the fact. The truth at any cost lowers all others costs. The day is coming when the public appreciates the truth, and the freedom and dignity and prosperity that the truth can bring to a community and to its governance.

David Sabow: Posted on my Face Book Page in ref to John Carman contact and reply.

John very interesting background. That's what I meant when I said you paid some dues.

I don't know those people you worked with but that doesn't mean anything.

I flew into China Lakes a few times in the eighties and early nineties, and into El Toro's Marine Naval Air Station for mostly refueling before going on the “Roster Hop' to Mexico and Central America, in operation Penetrate. That was mostly in the early stages of what would be later called Iran Contra.

Continue reading “David Sabow: White House/Pentagon/CIA Iran Contra Drug Running — and Destruction of Senator Gary Hart to Stop Investigation”

2013/10/212013/10/21

Berto Jongman: John Naugton on Edward Snowden and Public Indifference About Total Surveillance

09 Justice, 11 Society, Cultural Intelligence

Edward Snowden: public indifference is the real enemy in the NSA affair

Most people don't seem to worry that government agencies are collecting their personal data. Is it ignorance or apathy?

John Naughton

The Observer, Sunday 20 October 2013

Edward Snowden's revelations exposed a terrifying level of ‘passive acceptance' of surveillance. Photograph: Sergei Grits/AP

One of the most disturbing aspects of the public response to Edward Snowden‘s revelations about the scale of governmental surveillance is how little public disquiet there appears to be about it. A recent YouGov poll, for example, asked respondents whether the British security services have too many or too few powers to carry out surveillance on ordinary people. Forty-two per cent said that they thought the balance was “about right” and a further 22% thought that the security services did not have enough powers. In another question, respondents were asked whether they thought Snowden's revelations were a good or a bad thing; 43% thought they were bad and only 35% thought they were good.

Edward Snowden

Writing in these pages a few weeks ago, Henry Porter expressed his own frustration at this public complacency. “Today, apparently,” he wrote, “we are at ease with a system of near total intrusion that would have horrified every adult Briton 25 years ago. Back then, western spies acknowledged the importance of freedom by honouring the survivors of those networks; now, they spy on their own people. We have changed, that is obvious, and, to be honest, I wonder whether I, and others who care about privacy and freedom, have been left behind by societies that accept surveillance as a part of the sophisticated world we live in.”

I share Henry's bafflement. At one point I thought that the level of public complacency about the revelations was a reflection simply of ignorance. After all, most people who use the internet and mobile phones have no idea about how any of this stuff works and so may be naive about the implications of state agencies being able to scoop up everybody's email metadata, call logs, click streams, friendship networks and so on.

Continue reading “Berto Jongman: John Naugton on Edward Snowden and Public Indifference About Total Surveillance”

2013/10/182013/10/18

David Isenberg: Protecting Victims of the Privatization of War

09 Justice, Commerce, Corruption, Government, Law Enforcement, Military, Officers Call

Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire

Protecting the Victims of the Privatization of War

Over the years we have seen numerous cases of various abuses and outright crimes by private military and security contractors (PMSC). True, they don’t happen every day, and don’t reflect the actions of the vast majority of the contractors working overseas but it would be foolish to say it is just the actions of a few bad apples either. Why these crimes happen says as much about the overall framework of accountability that various governments have set up and, with varying degrees of effort and resources, have enforced. But that is not the point of this post.

What is the point is this. When, in the past, crimes have become public, governments have brought cases against the accused offenders with varying degrees of success. To name a few:

the killings of Iraqi civilians by Blackwater contractors at Nisoor Square in 2007, the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq by Titan reportedly aided by Titan and CACI contractors, DynCorp contractors, being accused of rape and running underage prostitution networks in association with their security duties under contract with the US military in Bosnia; PMSCs accused of killing Ecuadorian peasants by spraying their villages with toxic defoliants and accidentally shooting down a missionary plane incorrectly suspected of drug trafficking.

But it is still fairly rare for the perpetrators to get convicted and go to prison. Why is that?

The paper Protecting the Victims of the Privatization of War by Willem van Genugten, Marie-José van der Heijden, and Nicola Jägers, published earlier this year by the Tilburg Law School in the Netherlands offers some answers.

Continue reading “David Isenberg: Protecting Victims of the Privatization of War”

2013/10/12

Marcus Aurelius: Confronting the Insider Threat

07 Health, 09 Justice, 11 Society, Commerce, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Officers Call, True Cost

Corporate approach to a “flavor of the month” that DoD is approaching with a very heavy hand…

Confronting the Insider Threat

By Laura Spadanuta

Published on Security Management (http://www.securitymanagement.com)

Edward Snowden, who has leaked classified information about intelligence collection activities of the National Security Agency (NSA), reportedly told the South China Morning Post that he sought a job as a contractor at government consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton with a goal: to collect proof about the NSA’s domestic surveillance programs and alert the public to the programs. However, Snowden is not the typical insider threat. Most insiders who later betray their employer’s trust don’t start out with that intent. The change from benign employee to malicious insider can be spurred by anything from home-life stress to frustration at being passed over for a promotion to the thought that the company does not appreciate one’s contributions.

Though the risk is great, it is not possible to deny insiders the access to data that they will need to do their jobs. So what can a company do?

The company must have clear policies regarding how corporate data is to be handled and safeguarded, and confidential data should be clearly labeled, with access as restricted as feasible. Additionally, the company should secure the data itself and use software to track access and seek signs of suspicious activity, especially with regard to what information leaves the system or is copied. This article focuses, however, on the human factor—what companies can do in the hiring process and throughout employment to detect signs that a person is likely to become, or has become, an insider threat.

Continue reading “Marcus Aurelius: Confronting the Insider Threat”

2013/10/102013/10/10

David Sabow: BETRAYAL – Toxic Murder of US Marines and US Government Cover-Up

02 Infectious Disease, 03 Environmental Degradation, 07 Health, 07 Other Atrocities, 09 Justice, 11 Society, Corruption, DoD, Government, Idiocy, Ineptitude, Military, Officers Call

This should be read by everyone who believes that those within the DC-BELTWAY are here to protect and represent you and your families. I can personally tell you how vicious they can be when you are about to expose them. They assassinated my brother, Colonel James e. Sabow, USMC, Jimmy. and they have tried everything on me -short of murder. They have attacked me through the IRS, my professional medical credentials, the narcotics control agency, the Social security Administration, to name a few. My representatives in my state of South Dakota (past and present) won't even talk to me after they realize what has occurred. Senators Daschle, Tim Johnson, Larry Pressler and John Thune have all have all demonstrated their cowardice and their true colors. Each and everyone of them know that Col. Sabow was murdered and most of them suspect or know why. But they all remain silent! What character!

BETRAYAL is a true story of U.S. Marines who were exposed to carcinogens, injured, and continue for fight for health care and compensation. This nonfiction account was written by two U.S. Marines who were both assigned to the most contaminated site at Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, CA. Senior Marine Corps leadership were involved in murder, crime scene cover-up, narcotrafficking (cocaine, the drug of choice), the shredding of records, and the denial of injuries from exposure to deadly contaminants at both El Toro and Camp Lejeune, NC. The connection is not a square peg in a square hole, but its damn close. Thousands of veterans and their families were once stationed at El Toro, the premier Marine Corps jet fighter base closed in July 1999. Legislation to provide health care for Camp Lejeune, an active military installation, was passed in the 112th Congress. However, no veteran compensation was included in the Janey Ensminger Act. None of the veterans that served aboard these two installations were notified of their exposure to deadly contaminants when it was discovered resulting in both bases earning Superfund Cleanup Site status. Many veterans have died without ‘connecting the dots’ between their killing diseases and military service.