28 June 2013 (09:52 UTC-07 Tango)/19 Sha’ban 1434/07 Tir 1391/21 Wu-Wu (5th month) 4711
The U.S. Army Network Enterprise Technology Command (NETCOM, part of Cyber Command) admits that it censors print news sources before soldiers are allowed to read it. They call it “network hygiene”.
NETCOM officials say they don’t target specific internet newspapers, but use a program that “relies on automated filters”. For example, articles about the ongoing NSA scandal are blocked out.
28 June 2013 (09:35 UTC-07 Tango)/19 Sha’ban 1434/07 Tir 1391/21 Wu-Wu (5th month) 4711
“This information…I have no idea what it is, I have no idea who’s using it, I have no idea for what purpose!”-Karen Sprowal, concerned parent in New York city.
Some school districts across the United States are using computer programs that allows them to collate and make available on the internet all your child’s personal data.
Orwellian education officials say it’s all about “personalizing” your child’s learning. However, the info being made available online is not just grades and the type of classes, but your financial info and child’s medical records, as well as any behavior issues.
Previous news media reports said schools would not share your kid’s data with third parties, but that has been proven false. There is no law that prevents school districts from giving (selling?) third parties the personal data of students, and many do so.
19 June 2013 (04:08 UTC-07 Tango)/10 Sha’ban 1434/29 Khordad 1391/12 Wu-Wu (5th month) 4711
“The US (and Canadian) yields are falling behind economically and technologically equivalent agroecosystems matched for latitude, season and crop type; pesticide (both herbicide and insecticide) use is higher in the United States than in comparator W. European countries….”
A study by the University of Canterbury, in New Zealand, has revealed that the people of the United States and Canada could soon face starvation because of continued use of GMO (genetically modified organism) crops.
“The choice of GM-biotechnology packages in the US agroecosystem has been the stark contrast with W. European patterns of biotechnology use. Notwithstanding claims to the contrary…..there is no evidence that GM biotechnology is superior…..”
“Producing food is an essential activity, and the ability to produce food is a global strategic asset.”
“…..GM crops are not a solution, in part because they are controlled by strict IP instruments. Despite the claims that GM might be needed to feed the world, we found no yield benefit when the United States was compared to W. Europe……GM crops have maintained or increased US pesticide use relative to equally advanced competitors. The pattern and quantities unique to the use of GM-glyphosate-tolerant crops has been responsible for the selection of glyphosate-tolerant weeds, with estimates of resistant weeds on between 6 and 40 million hectares [14.8 million to 98.8 million acres] in the United States…….The use of Bt crops is associated with the emergence of Bt resistance and by novel mechanisms in insect pests“
“The diversity of the germplasm is not increasing under the commercial sector in the United States and under prevailing government innovation incentives…..This is linked to globally declining rates in yield growth.”
Read more in the International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability.
11 June 2013 (15:02 UTC-07 Tango)/02 Sha’ban 1434/21 Khordad 1392/04 Wu-Wu (5th month) 4711
It’s been revealed that in May, Hoku Materials laid off its last engineer at the failed $700 million USD polysilicone factory in Pocatello, Idaho. There are now only eight security guards working at the 50 football fields long factory.
Pocatello based news media interviewed the engineer who told them they were trying to work on a way to save the factory from bankruptcy sale.
Hoku Materials ghost town factory, Pocatello, Idaho. Now estimated to have cost $700 million.
Today, the factory is considered officially shut down, and will likely be parted out in bankruptcy liquidation sales (who wants to buy a 50 football fields long, never been used, polysilicone factory?).
The project was started five years ago, but right away ran into trouble because Hoku Corporation didn’t really have the money to build their Hoku Materials factory. Pocatello even gave the company a huge tax break equivalent to the value of the land the factory was being built on.
Construction was delayed several times because Hoku couldn’t pay the construction contractor on time. Eventually Hoku sold out to a Chinese company (Tianwei). Then commodity market prices for polysilicone crashed. The coup de gras was given by President Obama when he imposed high tariffs on Chinese solar power companies.
Another issue was that Idaho Power, the main supplier of electricity in Idaho, cut off power several times because Hoku didn’t pay their electric bill. Now Idaho Power is jacking up electric rates for Idahoans, partially blaming it on the failed solar power polysilicone provider.
Most of Idaho Power’s electricity comes from dams on the Snake River, but water levels are so low they must rely more on wind and gas fired plants to generate electricity this year. Regarding Hoku, Idaho Power is trying to regain the $23 million they invested. In other words, Idaho Power company officials made a bad investment and they’re going to make their captive customers pay for it!
Electric rates for Idahoans trapped on the Idaho Power grid will see a 12% increase, the fourth largest increase in Idaho’s history.
I’ve been following this disaster for years, here’s more on the demise of Hoku Materials:
Capitalist Commodity Markets to blame for Pocatello’s Hoku Polysilicon near abandonment!
U.S. tariffs nail in the coffin for Hoku
Hoku better get its rear in gear
10 June 2013 (14:12 UTC-07 Tango)/01 Sha’ban 1434/20 Khordad 1391/03 Wu-Wu (5th month) 4711
“Operant conditioning techniques will and are currently being used to program the behavior of susceptible Internet users….”-The Atlantic
An article on ‘Skinner Marketing’ in The Atlantic reveals how far down the rabbit hole unAmerican corporate America is going. The scientific term for Skinner Marketing is Operant Conditioning.
The article points out that the latest version of Google Maps is designed to target people with corporate products based on their location. Other internet applications are totally about collection of your data, mainly for marketing by corporations.
The most common form are free gaming applications. While you play those games the software somehow is able to guesstimate what kind of person/consumer your are.
The Atlantic article has some warnings: “The beauty of the Internet is that by combining big data, behavioral targeting, wearable and mobile devices, and GPS, application developers can design more effective operant conditioning environments…..[sounds almost like the Matrix movies, don’t it?]……big data, behavioral targeting, Internet cookies, and GPS positioning can all be integrated with operant conditioning techniques to motivate us to lose weight and study harder. But as with any technology, they can be employed to less admirable ends.“
10 June 2013 (21:53 UTC-07 Tango 09 June 2013)/01 Sha’ban 1434/20 Khordad 1391/03 Wu-Wu (5th month) 4711
The following is from The Guardian interview with NSA contracted employee turned whistleblower, Edward Snowden, who fled the U.S. to live in communist controlled Hong Kong.
Q: Why did you decide to become a whistleblower?
A: “The NSA has built an infrastructure that allows it to intercept almost everything. With this capability, the vast majority of human communications are automatically ingested without targeting. If I wanted to see your emails or your wife’s phone, all I have to do is use intercepts. I can get your emails, passwords, phone records, credit cards.
“I don’t want to live in a society that does these sort of things … I do not want to live in a world where everything I do and say is recorded. That is not something I am willing to support or live under.”
Q: But isn’t there a need for surveillance to try to reduce the chances of terrorist attacks such as Boston?
A: “We have to decide why terrorism is a new threat. There has always been terrorism. Boston was a criminal act. It was not about surveillance but good, old-fashioned police work. The police are very good at what they do.”
Q: Do you see yourself as another Bradley Manning?
A: “Manning was a classic whistleblower. He was inspired by the public good.”
Q: Do you think what you have done is a crime?
A: “We have seen enough criminality on the part of government. It is hypocritical to make this allegation against me. They have narrowed the public sphere of influence.”
Q: What do you think is going to happen to you?
A: “Nothing good.”
Q: Why Hong Kong?
A: “I think it is really tragic that an American has to move to a place that has a reputation for less freedom. Still, Hong Kong has a reputation for freedom in spite of the People’s Republic of China. It has a strong tradition of free speech.”
Q: What do the leaked documents reveal?
A: “That the NSA routinely lies in response to congressional inquiries about the scope of surveillance in America. I believe that when [senator Ron] Wyden and [senator Mark] Udall asked about the scale of this, they [the NSA] said it did not have the tools to provide an answer. We do have the tools and I have maps showing where people have been scrutinised most. We collect more digital communications from America than we do from the Russians.”
Q: What about the Obama administration’s protests about hacking by China?
A: “We hack everyone everywhere. We like to make a distinction between us and the others. But we are in almost every country in the world. We are not at war with these countries.”
Q: Is it possible to put security in place to protect against state surveillance?
A: “You are not even aware of what is possible. The extent of their capabilities is horrifying. We can plant bugs in machines. Once you go on the network, I can identify your machine. You will never be safe whatever protections you put in place.”
Q: Does your family know you are planning this?
A: “No. My family does not know what is happening … My primary fear is that they will come after my family, my friends, my partner. Anyone I have a relationship with …
I will have to live with that for the rest of my life. I am not going to be able to communicate with them. They [the authorities] will act aggressively against anyone who has known me. That keeps me up at night.”
Q: When did you decide to leak the documents?
A: “You see things that may be disturbing. When you see everything you realise that some of these things are abusive. The awareness of wrong-doing builds up. There was not one morning when I woke up [and decided this is it]. It was a natural process.
“A lot of people in 2008 voted for Obama. I did not vote for him. I voted for a third party. But I believed in Obama’s promises. I was going to disclose it [but waited because of his election]. He continued with the policies of his predecessor.”
Q: What is your reaction to Obama denouncing the leaks on Friday while welcoming a debate on the balance between security and openness?
A: “My immediate reaction was he was having difficulty in defending it himself. He was trying to defend the unjustifiable and he knew it.”
Q: What about the response in general to the disclosures?
A: “I have been surprised and pleased to see the public has reacted so strongly in defence of these rights that are being suppressed in the name of security. It is not like Occupy Wall Street but there is a grassroots movement to take to the streets on July 4 in defence of the Fourth Amendment called Restore The Fourth Amendment and it grew out of Reddit. The response over the internet has been huge and supportive.”
Q: Washington-based foreign affairs analyst Steve Clemons said he overheard at the capital’s Dulles airport four men discussing an intelligence conference they had just attended. Speaking about the leaks, one of them said, according to Clemons, that both the reporter and leaker should be “disappeared”. How do you feel about that?
A: “Someone responding to the story said ‘real spies do not speak like that’. Well, I am a spy and that is how they talk. Whenever we had a debate in the office on how to handle crimes, they do not defend due process – they defend decisive action. They say it is better to kick someone out of a plane than let these people have a day in court. It is an authoritarian mindset in general.”
Q: Do you have a plan in place?
A: “The only thing I can do is sit here and hope the Hong Kong government does not deport me … My predisposition is to seek asylum in a country with shared values. The nation that most encompasses this is Iceland. They stood up for people over internet freedom. I have no idea what my future is going to be.
“They could put out an Interpol note. But I don’t think I have committed a crime outside the domain of the US. I think it will be clearly shown to be political in nature.”
Q: Do you think you are probably going to end up in prison?
A: “I could not do this without accepting the risk of prison. You can’t come up against the world’s most powerful intelligence agencies and not accept the risk. If they want to get you, over time they will.”
Q: How to you feel now, almost a week after the first leak?
A: “I think the sense of outrage that has been expressed is justified. It has given me hope that, no matter what happens to me, the outcome will be positive for America. I do not expect to see home again, though that is what I want.”
09 June 2013 (14:38 UTC-07 Tango)/30 Rajab 1434/19 Khordad 1391/02 Wu-Wu (5th month) 4711
The same United Kingdom news source that revealed massive phone, internet and credit card data stealing by your U.S. government, The Guardian, is now revealing that the U.S. National Security Agency has lied to your exalted ‘elected’ officials again.
In March 2013, NSA officials outright lied to a question from U.S. senators about collecting data on U.S. citizens: “Does the NSA collect any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans?”-Ron Wyden, U.S. Senator from Oregon
“No sir.”-James Clapper, NSA
To other questions, this nimrod answered: “…We do not have….the equipment in the United States to actually collect that kind of information.”-U.S. Army General Keith Alexander, NSA
NSA officials even lied to questions from The Guardian, about tracing the data they officially didn’t collect. Here’s the NSA response: “….we do not have the ability to determine with certainty the identity or location of all communicants within a given communication. That remains the case.”-Judith Emmel, NSA
The Guardian was given masses of documents by an unnamed whistleblower, those documents revealed that not only is the U.S. government stealing your info, but they know exactly from who and from where it’s coming from.
Meet the info beast Boundless Informant, a computer system that can track individuals right down to the IP address their internet service is operating from.
From my own experience I know internet companies, like Google, already have this ability. So it only makes sense that your big brother/sister government control freaks would as well.
06 June 2013 (03:46 UTC-07 Tango)/27 Rajab 1434/16 Khordad 1391/28 Wu-Wu (4th month) 4711
“The NSA’s capability at any time could be turned around on the American people, and no American would have any privacy left, such is the capability to monitor everything: telephone conversations, telegrams, it doesn’t matter.”-a prophetic warning in 1975 by Frank Church, U.S. Senator from Idaho
“We decline comment.”-Ed McFadden, Verizon
The news media in the United Kingdom has revealed a top secret order from the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. It orders cell phone companies to hand over all customer records to the U.S. National Security Agency and Federal Bureau of Investigation. It specifically names cell service provider Verizon.
The order states that the collection of customer data (called “tangible things”) will be “…on an ongoing daily basis…” It encompasses “…all call detail records…”
Not only that, but it ordered “…that no person shall disclose to any other person that the FBI or NSA has sought or obtained tangible things under this Order…”
However, the Guardian obtained a copy of the police stateist order, and you can read it by clicking here.
Your glorified leaders in Washington DC are using legal games and referring to phone calls as “metadata”, because if they used the term ‘communications’ then they would have to get court orders on each and every customer!
“We’ve certainly seen the government increasingly strain the bounds of ‘relevance’ to collect large numbers of records at once, everyone at one or two degrees of separation from a target, but vacuuming all metadata up indiscriminately would be an extraordinary repudiation of any pretence of constraint or particularized suspicion.”-Julian Sanchez, Cato Institute
This is more proof that Obama is no different, perhaps even worse, than Bush Jr!
01 June 2013 (08:37 UTC-07 Tango)/22 Rajab 1434/11 Khordad 1391/23 Wu-Wu (4th month) 4711
Late yesterday, when most U.S. main streamer news sources focused only on more tornadoes in Oklahoma, U.S. District Court Judge, Susan Illston, ordered Google to hand over customer data to the Federal Bureau of Investigation!
The San Francisco court judge made the ruling after reading classified letters from FBI bosses. The FBI says it does not need a judge’s order to conduct warrantless data gathering, called National Security Letters (NSL).
The NSL affects internet companies and communications/cell phone companies.
By the way, Judge Illston is leaving her job in July.
31 May 2013 (18:11 UTC-07 Tango 30 May 2013)/21 Rajab 1434/10 Khordad 1391/22 Ding-Si (4th month) 4711
“There are compelling reasons why this is a great model. The customer [law enforcement/spying agencies?] has evolved to the point where they want a sexier location, where they can have access to a Starbucks and other retail, because it’s possible they may be there for weeks or months…..There’s a desire to have multiple locations spread costs across multiple areas…….Having rooftop access to the cars and pedestrians around the malls is important. The Sears portfolio can capture that……I will put as many of the rooftops in play as I can.”-Sean Farney, of newly created Ubiquity Critical Environments
Several reports over the past week stating that many of the empty shut down Sears and Kmarts are being turned into data storage/wireless communication centers/disaster centers!
Since 2010 more than 333 Sears/Kmart stores have been vacated. The plan to turn many of the empty stores into data centers is being headed by a newly created subsidiary of Sears Holdings, Ubiquity Critical Environments (UCE).
UCE is run by Sean Farney, a former boss of Microsoft’s Chicago data center. UCE was revealed by trade publication Data Center Knowledge.
One of the first UCE multi-tenant data centers will be created out of the soon to be closed East 79th Street Chicago Sears store near the Chicago Skyway. Once retrofitted into the new Chicago area social spying data center, it will use at least 5 megawatts of electricity! (and they’ve already got an unnamed client signed up to operate it)
Most mall based vacated Sears stores will be used as “business continuity services”, to supposedly keep other businesses running in case of natural disasters or civil uprisings/unforeseen events.
Most vacated Kmarts will be used as data centers, because most Kmarts are not connected to malls or other stores, therefore (as Farney admits) it’s easier to hide just who is operating the data center.
Sears Holdings officials say the vacated Sears and Kmarts were chosen for such population monitoring/controlling operations because, according to UCE’s Sean Farney, 70% of the U.S. population live near a Sears or Kmart!
An retail analysts with Morningstar said this new move to offer Sears Holding’s property for use in social spying, shows how desperate the corporation is. Or is it? In the Data Center Knowledge interview, Farney stated that the new Sears Holdings subdivision, UCE, has the money to pay for the conversion to data centers, even to customize the centers to whatever requirements of the new tenants!