Internet

Snowden hosts Reddit AMA over Congress’ mass surveillance plan

by

– Snowden hosts Reddit AMA over Congress’ mass surveillance plan:

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden and the ACLU held a live Reddit Ask Me Anything session, which included 400 questions on congressional plans to sneak in a bill to expand mass surveillance measures.

Of the 440 questions asked Wednesday, about 20 garnered responses from the panelists, which included American Civil Liberties Union attorney Ashley Gorski, ACLU legislative counsel Neema Singh Guliani, and Snowden.

 

“How does calling the congress members help if the lawmakers are bought by lobbyists and do what they want anyway?”“What can be done about people that don’t care about mass surveillance and use arguments like ‘I have nothing to hide’ or ‘I already know the NSA and companies like Google or Facebook can read or hear through my messages and I accept it’” and “What if I like being watched?”

To which Snowden responded to by posting:

Read moreSnowden hosts Reddit AMA over Congress’ mass surveillance plan

Google Germany Search Options Given When Searching For “Germans have …”: “No Culture”, “No Humor”, “No Right To Property”, “Fear Of Refugees”, “Fear”, “No Balls”, “No Honor”, “No National Pride”, “Fear Of Turks”

by

You really can’t make this stuff up!

Related info:

– Google Search, Germany: If You Search For “Germans Should…”, Then Google Offers You The Following Options: “…Die Out”, “…Learn Arabic”, “…Leave Germany”, “…Integrate”, “…Integrate Not The Refugees, “…Accept Islam”, “…Take In Refugees”, “…Take Refugees Into Their Homes”

******

* * *

PayPal: Donate in USD
PayPal: Donate in EUR
PayPal: Donate in GBP

UK Column News – 19th December 2017 (Video)

by

https://youtu.be/kfc5X1n2ILY

Brian Gerrish and Mike Robinson with the last UK Column News of 2017. We will be back on Wednesday 3 January. We would like to wish our viewers a fantastic Christmas and New Year and we hope to see you in 2018.

START – House of Commons inquiry into online hate (of politicians?)…

08:39 – The Guardian: disgraceful ‘propaganda’ article

10:42 – Meet the Guardian journalist responsible: Olivia Solon

13:31 – How the Guardian propaganda piece is crafted

22:00 – Guardian: advertising for AI company who profit from misery

25:12 – Aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth is leaking…

29:15 – Aircraft: 14th F35 delivered…to the desert

30:14 – ‘Britain’s record on job creation is second to none…’

32:59 – Steel industry opportunities in Britain…

37:02 – Standing up for real journalism in 2017

* * *

PayPal: Donate in USD
PayPal: Donate in EUR
PayPal: Donate in GBP

Today’s The Day: Twitter To Start Purging Users And Prevent “Certain Content From Trending”

by


Jack Dorsey, Twitter CEO

– Today’s The Day: Twitter To Start Purging Users And Prevent “Certain Content From Trending”:

Twitter will begin suspending accounts which engage in “hateful conduct” or affiliate with organizations which “use or promote violence against civilians to further their causes” both on and off the platform, following a November announcement. The new rules apply to whatever Twitter deems “hateful,” including “hateful images or symbols in your profile image or profile header.”

Moreover, Twitter will officially begin restricting “trending” content, to wit:

At times, we may prevent certain content from trending.

While many conservative Twitter users have suffered unfair account suspensions, mysterious drops in retweets and likes on controversial tweets, overnight drops in follower count, and unexplained disappearances of trending topics which paint liberals in a bad light, Twitter’s new rules effectively allow the social media giant to openly engage in censorship without repercussion.

Via Twitter Help Center:

Read moreToday’s The Day: Twitter To Start Purging Users And Prevent “Certain Content From Trending”

INTERNET CRACKDOWN: The British government can now demand Facebook and Twitter REMOVE abusive posts in crackdown to stop internet giants turning a blind eye

by

– INTERNET CRACKDOWN: The government can now demand Facebook and Twitter REMOVE abusive posts in crackdown to stop internet giants turning a blind eye:

Facebook and Twitter have come under fire for failing to crack down on abusive online trolls

THE British government has launched a crackdown on internet hate speech in a move that civil liberties campaigners have described as “a step closer to an Orwellian nightmare”.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd announced the mobilisation of a national police hub that will monitor social media posts, identify anonymous users and recommend the removal of hateful material to online platforms.

Run by a “small team of specialist officers”, the hub will assess whether complaints made about online posts amount to crime and, where it sees fit, put pressure on internet giants including Facebook and Twitter to delete the content.

Read moreINTERNET CRACKDOWN: The British government can now demand Facebook and Twitter REMOVE abusive posts in crackdown to stop internet giants turning a blind eye

Congress May Enact “Bolt And Wire Cutter Sanctions” On Russia After Putin Threatens Underwater Internet Cables

by

Flashback:

– Law Professor: Counter Terrorism Czar Told Me There Is Going To Be An i-9/11 And An i-Patriot Act

*****

– Congress May Enact “Bolt And Wire Cutter Sanctions” On Russia After Putin Threatens Underwater Internet Cables:

The headlines could hardly be scarier and more apocalyptic. In a speech delivered by the head of Britain’s military last week, the world learned that Russian President Putin could bring about global financial collapse and return civilization to a communications dark ages by a mere snip-snip of underwater transatlantic internet cables!

Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach warned Russia could in an instant end 97% of global communications capabilities and disrupt trillions in daily financial transactions, ushering in a “catastrophic” economic collapse, as the roughly 200 international undersea network cables are under imminent threat. Peach said that Russia’s modernized Navy constitutes a “new risk to our way of life.”

The speech from a lone British military chief generated endless fear-inducing headlines and thousands of lines of anxiety and panic-driven commentary, a mere sampling of which is below…

Read moreCongress May Enact “Bolt And Wire Cutter Sanctions” On Russia After Putin Threatens Underwater Internet Cables

Remember The 2016 “Russian Attack” On The Internet? (Spoiler Alert: It Wasn’t Them)

by

– Remember The 2016 “Russian Attack” On The Internet? (Spoiler Alert: It Wasn’t Them):

In 2016, a bot, named Mirai, wrecked havoc over the global internet with massive waves of DoS attacks on anything, from French telecoms, to U.S. web services, to Russian banks, to African airports and beyond.

Per Wired, “As the 2016 US presidential election drew near, fears began to mount that the so-called Mirai botnet might be the work of a nation-state practicing for an attack that would cripple the country as voters went to the polls.”

Of course, the minute there is any suspicion of the ‘nation-state’ actors behind the attack, we know that is the code word for ‘the Russians’.

And, of course, given the sheer number of ‘security research’ lackeys eagerly awaiting for the U.S. or UK or EU dollars/pounds/euros in grants and subsidies, the ‘Russian’ spectre loomed large in the wake of Mirai havoc. Here’s a snapshot:

Read moreRemember The 2016 “Russian Attack” On The Internet? (Spoiler Alert: It Wasn’t Them)

FCC Repeals ‘Net Neutrality’ Rules For Internet Providers

by

– FCC Repeals ‘Net Neutrality’ Rules For Internet Providers:

After a brief security evacuation, U.S. telecom regulators have voted to repeal so-called net neutrality rules, which restrict the power of Internet service providers to influence loading speeds for specific websites or apps.

After weeks of heated controversy and protests, the Republican majority of the Federal Communications Commission voted along party lines on Thursday to loosen Obama-era regulations for Internet providers.

The rules, put in place in 2015, banned cable and telecom companies from blocking or slowing down any websites or apps. They also prohibited broadband providers from striking special deals that would give some websites or apps “priority” over others.

The FCC’s dramatic course reversal in favor of Internet service providers has propelled the once-wonky issue of net neutrality into the mainstream, turning it into an increasingly political matter. Advocacy groups are expected to press Congress to stop the FCC’s vote from taking effect under the Congressional Review Act.

…

* * *

PayPal: Donate in USD
PayPal: Donate in EUR
PayPal: Donate in GBP

Here’s how to shut down the internet: Snip undersea fiber-optic cables

by

– Here’s how to shut down the internet: Snip undersea fiber-optic cables:

Hundreds of thousands of miles of fiber-optic cable lay on the ocean floors, a crucial part of the global internet’s backbone, and only rarely do ship anchors, undersea landslides or saboteurs disrupt them.

Still, a few voices now call for stronger global mechanisms and even military action to protect the cables against future malicious activity by states, saboteurs or extremists.

“The infrastructure that underpins the internet – these undersea cables – are clearly vulnerable,” said Rishi Sunak, a British member of Parliament and champion of more vigorous action to protect submarine networks. “They underpin pretty much everything that we do.”

Read moreHere’s how to shut down the internet: Snip undersea fiber-optic cables

YouTube Hires 10,000 Staff To Weed Out ‘Extremist’ Content

by

– YouTube Hires 10,000 Staff To Weed Out ‘Extremist’ Content:

Google has announced the latest escalation in its battle to censor “extremist” content on its platforms, a covert campaign to censor conservative voices.

The company plans to hire 10,000 staffers whose sole jobs will be tracking down extremist content that might violate Youtube’s terms of service, according to YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki.

Wojcicki said that “bad actors” had used the video-sharing site to “mislead, manipulate, harass or even harm” others.

Per the Hill, the announcement comes after British Prime Minister Theresa May pressured social media companies to remove radical content after a series of deadly terror-related attacks this year in the United Kingdom.

“The tech companies have made significant progress on this issue, but we need to go further and faster to reduce the time it takes to reduce terrorist content online,” May said in a speech to the United Nations in October, according to reports.

Read moreYouTube Hires 10,000 Staff To Weed Out ‘Extremist’ Content

Russia to launch ‘independent internet’ for BRICS nations – report

by

– Russia to launch ‘independent internet’ for BRICS nations – report:

The Russian Security Council has asked the country’s government to develop an independent internet infrastructure for BRICS nations, which would continue to work in the event of global internet malfunctions.

The initiative was discussed at the October meeting of the Security Council, which is Russia’s top consultative body on national security. President Vladimir Putin personally set a deadline of August 1, 2018 for the completion of the task, the RBC news agency reported.

Read moreRussia to launch ‘independent internet’ for BRICS nations – report

Facebook Announces It Will Use A.I. To Scan Your Thoughts “To Enhance User Safety”

by

– Facebook Announces It Will Use A.I. To Scan Your Thoughts “To Enhance User Safety”:

A mere few years ago the idea that artificial intelligence (AI) might be used to analyze and report to law enforcement aberrant human behavior on social media and other online platforms was merely the far out premise of dystopian movies such as Minority Report, but now Facebook proudly brags that it will use AI to “save lives” based on behavior and thought pattern recognition. 

What could go wrong?

The latest puff piece in Tech Crunch profiling the apparently innocuous sounding “roll out” of AI (as if a mere modest software update) “to detect suicidal posts before they’re reported” opens with the glowingly optimistic line, “This is software to save lives” – so who could possibly doubt such a wonderful and benign initiative which involves AI evaluating people’s mental health? Tech Crunch’s Josh Cronstine begins:

Read moreFacebook Announces It Will Use A.I. To Scan Your Thoughts “To Enhance User Safety”

‘By the people, for the people’: Kim Dotcom to launch alternative internet

by

FYI.

– ‘By the people, for the people’: Kim Dotcom to launch alternative internet:

Kim Dotcom, wanted in the US for alleged widespread illegal file sharing, has vowed to build an alternative internet to combat privacy and freedom problems online.

The knowledge that government agencies have used the internet to spy on citizens, along with high-profile hacking scandals, has brought online privacy to the forefront of people’s minds.

Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom says he will help facilitate an unobstructed internet, free from prying eyes, through MegaNet, which will operate without IP addresses. The German entrepreneur is currently resisting extradition to the US from New Zealand over alleged copyright infringement.

Dotcom, who believes the internet to be a new frontier of rough-and-tumble lawlessness like the Wild West, previously described his alternative internet idea as “indestructible, uncontrollable & encrypted”.

Read more‘By the people, for the people’: Kim Dotcom to launch alternative internet

Secret Code Is Recording Every Keystroke You Make On More Than 400 Of The Most Popular Websites On The Internet

by

– Secret Code Is Recording Every Keystroke You Make On More Than 400 Of The Most Popular Websites On The Internet:

If someone secretly installed software on your computer that recorded every single keystroke that you made, would you be alarmed?  Of course you would be, and that is essentially what is taking place on more than 400 of the most popular websites on the entire Internet.  For a long time we have known that nothing that we do on the Internet is private, but this new revelation is deeply, deeply disturbing.  In my novel entitled “The Beginning Of The End”, I attempted to portray the “Big Brother” surveillance grid which is constantly evolving all around us, but even I didn’t know that things were quite this bad.  According to an article that was just published by Ars Technica, when you visit the websites that have installed this secret surveillance code, it is like someday is literally “looking over your shoulder”…

If you have the uncomfortable sense someone is looking over your shoulder as you surf the Web, you’re not being paranoid. A new study finds hundreds of sites—including microsoft.com, adobe.com, and godaddy.com—employ scripts that record visitors’ keystrokes, mouse movements, and scrolling behavior in real time, even before the input is submitted or is later deleted.

Go back and read that again.

Read moreSecret Code Is Recording Every Keystroke You Make On More Than 400 Of The Most Popular Websites On The Internet

Dear Android Users: Google Is Tracking You Even If You Disable Location Services

by

– Dear Android Users: Google Is Tracking You Even If You Disable Location Services:

Slowly but surely, Americans have been conditioned to give up any expectations of privacy in the name of public safety and/or for simple technological conveniences.  However, there remains, even today, a tiny sliver of the population that would prefer to not have their every movement tracked no matter how antiquated that makes them look. Be that as it may, per a recent discovery from Quartz, those old-school folks better hope they haven’t been using an Android device for the past 11 months.

…

* * *

PayPal: Donate in USD
PayPal: Donate in EUR
PayPal: Donate in GBP

Google will ‘de-rank’ RT articles to make them harder to find – Eric Schmidt

by

– Google will ‘de-rank’ RT articles to make them harder to find – Eric Schmidt:

Eric Schmidt, the Executive Chairman of Google’s parent company Alphabet, says the company will “engineer” specific algorithms for RT and Sputnik to make their articles less prominent on the search engine’s news delivery services.

“We are working on detecting and de-ranking those kinds of sites – it’s basically RT and Sputnik,” Schmidt said during a Q & A session at the Halifax International Security Forum in Canada on Saturday, when asked about whether Google facilitates “Russian propaganda.”

“We are well of aware of it, and we are trying to engineer the systems to prevent that [the content being delivered to wide audiences]. But we don’t want to ban the sites – that’s not how we operate.”

Read moreGoogle will ‘de-rank’ RT articles to make them harder to find – Eric Schmidt

Big Brother Is Here: Twitter Will Monitor Users Behavior ‘Off Platform’

by

– Big Brother Is Here: Twitter Will Monitor Users Behavior ‘Off Platform’:

In perhaps the most intrusive move of social media platforms’ efforts signal as much virtue as possible and appease their potentially-regulating government overlords, Twitter has announced that it is cracking down on what it defines at hate-speech and not just by looking at its own site.

In what amounts to a major shift in Twitter policy, Mashable’s Kerry Flynn reports that the company announced on Friday that it will be monitoring user’s behavior “on and off the platform” and will suspend a user’s account if they affiliate with violent organizations, according to an update to Twitter’s Help Center on Friday.

Read moreBig Brother Is Here: Twitter Will Monitor Users Behavior ‘Off Platform’

The Internet Crackdown Begins: U.S. Senator Al Franken Wants Google, Facebook And Twitter To Censor Political Speech

by

– The Internet Crackdown Begins: U.S. Senator Al Franken Wants Google, Facebook And Twitter To Censor Political Speech:

Are the days of the free and open Internet numbered?  The Internet is certainly used for all sorts of horrible things, but it has also allowed ordinary people to communicate on a mass scale that would have been unimaginable decades ago.  In the old days, if you wanted to reach large audiences of people with your information you always had to go through corporate gatekeepers.  But today, anyone with an Internet connection can literally broadcast whatever they want to say to the whole world.  Personally, my wife and I have always been amazed at how many people we are able to touch all over the planet from our little home in the mountains.  Over the past seven years our websites have been viewed more than 100 million times, and we receive emails about our work from people all over the globe.

Unfortunately, major changes may soon be coming to the Internet.  The election of Donald Trump really angered the elite (Trump, like Hillary Clinton is an elite puppet. – I.U.), and they are blaming the power of the Internet for his victory.  They insist that something must be done “for the good of democracy”.

For example, in an opinion piece for the Guardian, U.S. Senator Al Franken proposed that it is time for the U.S. government to step in because Google, Facebook and Twitter have failed to prevent the spread of propaganda, misinformation, and hate speech…

Read moreThe Internet Crackdown Begins: U.S. Senator Al Franken Wants Google, Facebook And Twitter To Censor Political Speech

Software Flaw Exposed Facebook Moderators’ Info to Suspected Terrorists

by

– Software Flaw Exposed Facebook Moderators’ Info to Suspected Terrorists:

A flaw in software used by Facebook to moderate offensive content exposed more than 1,000 employees to suspected terrorists online.

According to a report from The Guardian’s Olivia Solon Friday, the social network found that moderators in 22 departments had their personal profiles become visible to suspected extremists after the issue was discovered in late 2016.

Read moreSoftware Flaw Exposed Facebook Moderators’ Info to Suspected Terrorists

Roger Stone Banned From Twitter For Attacking CNN

by

– Roger Stone Banned From Twitter For Attacking CNN:

Update: WikiLeaks’ founder Julian Assange has a question for Twitter…

… then there is this…

And it’s not just Assange: prominent liberal commentator, and Stone critic, Yashar Ali dedicated a thread to the matter Saturday evening.

Read moreRoger Stone Banned From Twitter For Attacking CNN

Russia Will Respond to Twitter’s RT, Sputnik Ad Ban – Foreign Ministry

by

– Russia Will Respond to Twitter’s RT, Sputnik Ad Ban – Foreign Ministry:

Russia’s Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has slammed the decision by Twitter to ban all ads from the accounts of Russian media outlets RT and Sputnik on its platform.

Maria Zakharova has said that Twitter’s ban on all ads from Sputnik and RT is another aggressive step, prompted by the pressure from US intelligence services, aimed at blocking the activities of Russian media.

“There will of course be measures taken in response,” said Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova following the announcement of the ban.

Read moreRussia Will Respond to Twitter’s RT, Sputnik Ad Ban – Foreign Ministry