Free Republic

The Government Is Monitoring Facebook And Twitter By Noel Sheppard Created 2009-12-14 11:59 "The government is increasingly monitoring Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites for tax delinquents, copyright infringers and political protesters." So ominously began an editorial [1] in Sunday's New York Times. Those with accounts at such websites should pay attention, for according to the Times, and other sources, Big Brother is watching you: The Wall Street Journal reported this summer that state revenue agents have been searching for tax scofflaws by mining information on MySpace and Facebook. In October, the F.B.I. searched the New York home of...

TORONTO • Richard Warman, Canada's top online hate-hunter and scourge of free speech advocates, offered his first public response on Monday to the online campaign against him led by conservative blogger and lawyer Ezra Levant. In court filings for a libel suit, Mr. Warman calls Mr. Levant's conduct toward him "obsessive," states he "has no respect for authority," and says it is "surprising" he is a member in good standing of the Law Society of Alberta. "Mr. Levant is in the habit of fabricating extremely serious allegations of misconduct against others," Mr. Warman states in an affidavit filed in Ontario...

Han Han: Fifty Cent Party Must Work Overtime by C. Custer on February 9, 2010 Han HanHan Han is a famous post-80s generation professional race-car driver and best-selling author. He is also one of China’s most popular Chinese bloggers, and my own favorite. — Fauna From Han Han’s blog: Are You Xiao Ming*? I don’t know if everyone has noticed or not, but recently there have more and more Fifty Cent Party [wu mao dang] members on major forums and the comments of news sites. Of course, I don’t support calling anyone who disagrees with you “Fifty Cent Party“, but...

War On Terror: Upstaging Osama Bin Laden as the most dangerous man in the world may be an American recruiter for al-Qaida: Anwar Awlaki. So why's he talking to Al-Jazeera instead of interrogators? The radical U.S.-born cleric Anwar Awlaki told the Arab TV network that he supported the failed Christmas Day airliner attack because "the American people have participated in all the crimes of their government." The turncoat added: "Some 300 Americans are nothing compared to the thousands of Muslims they have killed." Awlaki also advised the Fort Hood terrorist, whom he called "a hero." The two exchanged some 20...

...To see how much these items cost, shoppers must add the merchandise to their shopping carts — in effect, taking it up to the virtual register for a price check... In many cases that freedom stems from a 2007 Supreme Court ruling in the case of Leegin Creative Leather Products v. PSKS. The ruling gave manufacturers considerably more leeway to dictate retail prices, once considered a violation of antitrust law, and it set a high legal hurdle for retailers to prove that this is bad for consumers. ...retailers say manufacturers have become increasingly aggressive with one tool in particular: forbidding...

In a time of shrinking budgets, the U.S. Navy is making a big investment in intelligence. While plans to buy over a hundred P-8A maritime reconnaissance aircraft, and nearly as many EA-18G electronic warfare aircraft are obvious intel efforts, less obvious are the big buys of LCS (Littoral Combat Ship) class vessels and Virginia class attack subs (SSNs). These ships and subs are expected to do a lot of intel work. The LCS, mainly because it is optimized for coastal work, and quick changes in its mission equipment. Since the end of the Cold War, it's become more widely known...

OSLO—Candidates for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize include a Russian human rights group, a Chinese dissident and an inanimate object: the Internet, people who made the nominations said Tuesday. As the submission deadline for the coveted award closed, the Nobel Committee maintained its tradition of giving no hints -- the contenders are kept secret for 50 years. But some nominations were announced by those who made them. Those with nomination rights include former peace laureates, members of national governments and legislatures, selected university professors and others. Erna Solberg, the head of Norway's Conservative Party, put forth Russian human rights activist...

A major provision of the “Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002″, aka McCain-Feingold, was largely dismissed by the Supreme Court on January 21, 2010. President Obama’s reaction was swift and almost comically over the top. -... We are going to talk with bipartisan Congressional leaders to develop a forceful response to this decision. The public interest requires nothing less.Uh-oh! Whenever they use the term “bipartisan” you know they’re trying to sucker us. It’s become as transparent as their disingenuous names for bills like the so called “Stimulus” which was supposed to fund “shovel ready jobs” and instead went to non-existent...

Note: The following text is a quote: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, February 5, 2010 Resident of India Pleads Guilty in International Online Brokerage “Hack, Pump and Dump” Scheme WASHINGTON - A resident of India pleaded guilty today to conspiracy and aggravated identity theft charges arising from an international fraud scheme to "hack" into online brokerage accounts in the United States and use those accounts to manipulate stock prices, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Deborah K.R. Gilg of the District of Nebraska. Jaisankar Marimuthu, 35, a native of Chennai, India, pleaded guilty...

The FBI is pressing Internet service providers to record which Web sites customers visit and retain those logs for two years, a requirement that law enforcement believes could help it in investigations of child pornography and other serious crimes. FBI Director Robert Mueller supports storing Internet users' "origin and destination information," a bureau attorney said at a federal task force meeting on Thursday. As far back as a 2006 speech, Mueller had called for data retention on the part of Internet providers, and emphasized the point two years later when explicitly asking Congress to enact a law making it mandatory....

The world's largest Internet search company and the world's most powerful electronic surveillance organization are teaming up in the name of cybersecurity. Under an agreement that is being finalized, the National Security Agency would help Google analyze a major corporate espionage attack that the firm said originated in China and targeted its computer networks, according to cybersecurity experts familiar with the matter. The objective is to better defend Google -- and its users -- from future attack. Google and the NSA declined to comment on the partnership. But sources with knowledge of the arrangement, speaking on the condition of anonymity,...

When a gang member was released from jail soon after his arrest for selling methamphetamine, friends and associates assumed he had cut a deal with authorities and become a police informant. They sent a warning on Twitter that went like this: We have a snitch in our midst. Law enforcement officials say gangs are making greater use of Twitter and Facebook, where they sometimes post information that helps agents identify gang associates and learn more about their organizations. And gang members sometimes turn the tables, asking contacts across their extended networks for help identifying undercover police officers. Gang use of...

SNIPPET: "There was an unexpected twist in Germany's high-profile terror trial when the four men accused of planning massive car bombs on US targets in Germany took a time out for several hours. When they returned, their lawyers said they wanted to make full confessions." SNIPPET: "Adem Yilmaz was the first to show a change of attitude, asking the court for permission to talk things over with his three co-defendants. The judge was happy to oblige." SNIPPET: "Yilmaz told the court on Tuesday that he wanted to meet with the other alleged members of the so-called "Sauerland Cell" -- Fritz...

The longer you spend surfing the Web, the more unhappy you’re likely to be, says a new study from Great Britain that shows that Internet “addicts” are more likely to be depressed. Researchers analyzed Internet use and depression levels in more than 1,000 British residents between the ages of 16 and 51. Some 1.2% were labeled “Internet addicted” by researchers at Leeds University.

British psychologists have found evidence of a link between excessive internet use and depression, research published today has shown. Leeds University researchers, writing in the Psychopathology journal (abstract here – subscription required for full pdf), said a small proportion of internet users were classed as internet addicts and that people in this group were more likely to be depressed than non-addicted users. "This study reinforces the public speculation that over-engaging in websites that serve to replace normal social function might be linked to psychological disorders like depression and addiction," Morrison said. < /snip >

A "dark side" to the internet suggests a strong link between time spent surfing the web and depression, say psychologists. British scientists found that the longer people spent online, the less likely they were to be happy. A small group of the worst affected individuals were both depressed and addicted. But it was not clear whether using the internet causes mental health problems, or whether people with mental health problems are drawn to the internet. More work is needed to answer this "chicken and egg" question, say the researchers. Study leader Dr Catriona Morrison, from the Institute of Psychological Sciences...

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. (CBS) ― Two teenage girls went at it. Two adults allegedly watched and another minor videotaped the whole thing in Louisiana. The fight popped up on YouTube more than a week ago. Days later, in Lowell, Mass., local authorities discovered similar videos online and said local educators report about 80 percent of school fights are now girl against girl. Some experts believe the trend is partly fueled by the Internet. CBS 2 HD met with members of the cyber safety group "Teenangels" at The Ursuline School in New Rochelle. "People want attention from it. They want to...

SNIPPET: "As the trial of Dutch anti-Islamist lawmaker Geert Wilders resumes Wednesday, the crucial question will be whether the court agrees to his request to have a Muslim extremist and convicted murderer testify. Wilders, who faces charges of discrimination and incitement to hatred over his claims linking the Koran to violence, wants the court to hear from an extremist who cited the Islamic text to justify his crime. Mohammed Bouyeri is serving a life sentence for murdering Dutch film director Theo van Gogh..." SNIPPET: "Van Gogh was stabbed and shot to death on a street in Amsterdam street in 2004....

"Do Exit Programs for Islamists Actually Work?" SNIPPET: "Experience Shows That Such Programs Tend Only to Work When the Militants Are Already Losing" By PETER NEUMANN Jan. 29, 2010

02 February 2010 USING TOR WITH UBUNTU All the cool kids are doing it...

LONDON (Reuters) – People who spend a lot of time surfing the internet are more likely to show signs of depression, British scientists said on Wednesday. But it is not clear whether the internet causes depression or whether depressed people are drawn to it. Psychologists from Leeds University found what they said was "striking" evidence that some avid net users develop compulsive internet habits in which they replace real-life social interaction with online chat rooms and social networking sites. "This study reinforces the public speculation that over-engaging in websites that serve to replace normal social function might be linked to...

NEW YORK (Reuters.com) --The Obama administration's plan to cut more than $1 trillion from the deficit over the next decade relies heavily on so-called backdoor tax increases that will result in a bigger tax bill for middle-class families. In the 2010 budget tabled by President Barack Obama on Monday, the White House wants to let billions of dollars in tax breaks expire by the end of the year -- effectively a tax hike by stealth. While the administration is focusing its proposal on eliminating tax breaks for individuals who earn $250,000 a year or more, middle-class families will face a...

Without the ingenuity of America’s brightest minds and the investment of U.S. taxpayer dollars, there would be no Internet, as we now know it today. Now, the Obama administration has moved quietly to cede control of the Web from the United States to foreign powers.

CHANGSHA, China — With a few quick keystrokes, a computer hacker who goes by the code name Majia calls up a screen displaying his latest victims. “Here’s a list of the people who’ve been infected with my Trojan horse,” he says, working from a dingy apartment on the outskirts of this city in central China. “They don’t even know what’s happened.” As he explains it, an online “trapdoor” he created just over a week ago has already lured 2,000 people from China and overseas — people who clicked on something they should not have, inadvertently spreading a virus that allows...

Without the ingenuity of America’s brightest minds and the investment of U.S. taxpayer dollars, there would be no Internet, as we now know it today. Now, the Obama administration has moved quietly to cede control of the Web from the United States to foreign powers. Some background: The Internet came into being because of the genius work of Americans Dr.Robert E. Kahn and Dr. Vinton G. Cerf. These men, while working for the Department of Defense in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in the early 1970s, conceived, designed, and implemented the idea of "open-architecture networking."

CAIRO—The leader of North Africa's al-Qaida branch offered training and weapons to Nigeria's Muslims to fight the Christians there following an outbreak of sectarian violence.

The Orlando International Airport TSA security officer arrested on charges of molesting a minor is a fan of bondage and sadomasochism, according to his MySpace page. Charles Henry Bennett's MySpace profile identifies him as "Master Charles or Sir." The online page shows the 57-year-old airport security guard has "many years experience" as a bondage and sadomasochism master and is looking to meet people, especially "submissive females." Officials with the Transportation Security Administration today said Bennett has been working security at the airport since 2002. A spokeswoman at the federal agency said officials are investigating the allegations.

Yemen's government said Sunday it will accept a truce offer only if the rebels operating in the country's north comply with six previously laid-out conditions. The Shiite Muslim rebels, known as the Houthis, had indicated Saturday that they were open to a cease-fire and to accepting the government conditions. But they demanded an end to military operations first. The intractable stance on both sides means the conflict, which had lasted more than five years, is likely to continue. In August, Yemen laid out cease-fire terms that included removing checkpoints, ending banditry, handing over all military equipment and weapons, and releasing...

(AFP)DAVOS, Switzerland - The world needs a treaty to prevent cyber attacks becoming an all-out war, the head of the main UN communications and technology agency warned Saturday. International Telcommunications Union secretary general Hamadoun Toure gave his warning at a World Economic Forum debate where experts said nations must now consider when a cyber attack becomes a declaration of war. With attacks on Google from China a major talking point in Davos, Toure said the risk of a cyber conflict between two nations grows every year. He proposed a treaty in which countries would engage not to make the first...

Just this past spring within months of Obama taking office, his administration, through the Department of Commerce, agreed to relinquish some control over IANA and their governance. The Obama Administration has agreed to give greater representation to foreign companies and countries on IANA. This amounts to one small step for Internationalism and one giant leap for surrendering America¹s control over an invention we have every right and responsibility to control and manage.

It's a serious question. Alabama born and Somali al Qaeda affiliate leader Omar "Abu Mansour al-Amriki" Hammami (yes, I said leader) apparently was led to jihad through his connections on Islamic Networking. That would be the same Islamic Networking that runs Muslim Pad and is run by Sarafaz "Sasjamal" Jamal (in Jordan now?) and Fatimahye, his wife in Houston. In the past, their ClearGuidance website brought together such luminous and 'moderate' Muslims as the Toronto 18. Not-so-incidentally, Hammami spent a year in Toronto. Here is a partial list of the over 500 messages Hammami left on the forum as "al-Mizzi"....

Next month, the United States will introduce a national program aimed at giving every American access to a fast Internet connection, raising the standard from a dial-up connection to broadband. Unlike other nations, however, the U.S. will stop short of declaring broadband access a basic human right. For some, the right to access the Internet might pale in comparison to other basic human rights, such as the right to life, freedom of expression and equality before the law, but the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights also includes the right to education and the right to work, which may...

Just updated our Firefox from 3.5 to 3.6. Am having a problem that we did not have before. When I get out of the browser and myself or someone else gets back on, we are still logged in to our email accounts as well as other accounts such as Facebook. I have tried everything but nothing is working to change this. Any comments or suggestions would be helpful. I did check under the options to not remember history, etc. when we exit the browser. Thanks!

Their party was out of ideas and out of office. It had grown preposterously out of touch, a caricature of economic irresponsibility and elite, Washington-dinner-party values. Then along came Bill Clinton to return Democrats to the political center and teach them how to win. For the party seared by McGovern, Carter, Mondale, and Dukakis, the birth of the "New Democrat" in 1991 was a renaissance. Clinton was not afraid to march over the traditionally Republican ground of tax cuts, deficit reduction, and welfare reform to advance the Democratic party from its Dark Ages. In its founding documents, the Clinton-inspired Democratic...

A human rights watchdog has asked the European Commission to assess the legality of software being used to analyse file-sharing in the UK. The software in question is called CView and will be used by ISP Virgin Media to identify legal versus illegal traffic on its network. The EC has said it will monitor the use of the software, following a complaint from Privacy International. Virgin Media countered that the software posed no risk to privacy. Privacy International has concerns about the software, designed by monitoring firm Detica. It utilises so-called deep packet inspection, which means that it can identify...

SNIPPET: SEOUL, Jan 27, 2010 (AFP) - South Korea's spy agency said Wednesday it had issued an alert against cyberattacks aimed at stealing data from government networks. The National Intelligence Service (NIS) did not say whether North Korea was responsible. Open Radio for North Korea, a Seoul-based group specialising in the North, said the latest attack was led by Pyongyang, which runs elite hacker units. The NIS said its alert was heightened "from normal to concern" on Monday after a massive inflow of overseas hacking attacks. The attacks were aimed at stealing data from government and other state networks, it...

Google's threat to exit China is igniting worries that the Web, a linchpin of globalization, may fracture into regional fiefdoms. The U.S. and China are ratcheting up rhetoric over the Internet's future. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday warned that "a new information curtain is descending across much of the world." China says it'll make no exception for Google (GOOG) or other U.S. firms on its Internet policies. China's government has lashed back at Clinton's speech, saying it damaged bilateral ties. On Monday, the Communist Party's People's Daily accused the U.S. of using social Web sites like Twitter to...

U.S. enables Chinese hacking of Google STORY HIGHLIGHTS Google says hackers from China got into its Gmail systemBruce Schneier says hackers exploited feature put into system at behest of U.S. governmentWhen governments get access to private communications, they invite abuse, he saysGovernment surveillance and control of Internet is flourishing, he says : Bruce Schneier is a security technologist and author of "Beyond Fear: Thinking Sensibly About Security in an Uncertain World." Read more of his writing at www.schneier.com. -- Google made headlines when it went public with the fact that Chinese hackers had penetrated some of its services, such...

A dangerous storm is brewing over the Pacific, as America and the People's Republic of China enter what may be their tensest decade since President Richard Nixon's visit to Beijing in 1972. The latest flash is the running fight over Internet freedom, with Google this month withdrawing from China in protest against government censorship. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is hitting Beijing over the issue, but it may be the least of our worries. On Jan. 11 China tested a new high-boost ballistic missile, the HQ-19, which some experts fear is part of China's ongoing program to find ways to...

Quote: 24 January 2010 JIHADI OSINT: ROMANIA TO SEND 600 SOLDIERS TO AFGHANISTAN Archive of post from the atahadi forum... Posted on 24 January 2010 @ 16:26

Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page disclosed on Friday that they plan to give up their majority control of the internet group over the next five years. Their planned stock sales, revealed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, will mark a highly symbolic end to their formal control over the company they founded in their Stanford University dorm room 11 years ago

Blog: "Pep Talk On A Terrorist Supporting Forum" SNIPPET: "The person posting this doesn't want a reunion with Allah. He wants the other sorry bastards on this forum to splode themselves. Allah Akhbar indeed."

SNIPPET: "ANKARA, Turkey -- Turkish police launched a nationwide crackdown on suspected militants linked to the al-Qaida terror network on Friday..." SNIPPET: "Those detained Friday's raids include a faculty member of the Yuzunci Yil University in the eastern city of Van, who is suspected of recruiting students at the campus and other people through the Internet and of sending them to Afghanistan for training, Anatolia reported, citing unnamed police officials. The suspect was identified by his initials M.E.Y. only. Anatolia said other suspects included some local leaders, university students, and people believed to be spreading al-Qaida propaganda."

In the years following the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. faced a great threat from the Barbary states, which attacked trading ships, plundered the cargo, and made slaves of the crew. Some 20% of American exports went through the Mediterranean, where the Dey of Algiers demanded $1 million, or about 10% of the U.S. budget, plus a portrait of George Washington as ransom for American traders. President Thomas Jefferson rejected the European practice of paying bribes, instead creating a navy that eventually freed the seas from piracy. U.S. Marines still sing a hymn "to the shores of Tripoli" and carry...

How Republicans won the Internet By Mindy Finn and Patrick Ruffini Sunday, January 24, 2010 Scott Brown's supporters became fans of the candidate on Facebook, where they commented on his status updates and uploaded their own photos. The Republican Senate hopeful took to Twitter, using the #masen hashtag to let his followers know how the race was going. His campaign powered its field operation through targeted online ads and Web-based spreadsheets, and raised $12 million from 157,000 individual donations in the last two weeks of the race. After he won last week, his team live-streamed the election-night party in Boston...

SNIPPET: "Zakaria Amara, 24, the leader of the group - which planned to detonate truck bombs outside the Toronto offices of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the Toronto Stock Exchange and an Ontario military base - was sentenced to life in prison on Monday. He will be eligible for parole in 2016 - 10 years from the day of his arrest." SNIPPET: "Another conspirator, Saad Gaya, 22, was sentenced on Monday to 12 years in prison." SNIPPET: "Amin Mohamed Durrani took part in a plot to establish an armed, Al-Qaeda-type terror cell in Toronto "and then to create some sort...

Thursday, in his resounding defense of the First Amendment in the Citizens United decision, Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the majority: …[w]hen Government seeks to use its full power, including the criminal law, to command where a person may get his or her information or what distrusted source he or she may not hear, it uses censorship to control thought. This is unlawful. The First Amendment confirms the freedom to think for ourselves. “Censorship” is a dirty word in America, and that is why the restrictions at issue in our case were cloaked in the guise of “campaign finance reform.”...

“The Worst of the Worst” SNIPPET: “These are some of the jihadi pundits who are making waves on al Qaeda’s Web forums today — and could potentially trade their keyboards for suicide vests tomorrow.” BY JARRET BRACHMAN | JANUARY 22, 2010

Snips: At least six people on the no-fly list were denied boarding in a 48-hour period between Saturday and Monday this week, according to the officials. Two of the six were stopped at London's Heathrow Airport.M. On Saturday, an Egyptian man on the no-fly list was stopped from flying on American Airlines flight 113 from London to Miami. The next day, Sunday, a Saudi Arabian passenger was stopped from boarding United Airlines flight 929 to Chicago. Officials said the man was sent back to Saudi Arabia by the British. In two other overseas cases involving people on the no-fly list,...

NASA Extends the World Wide Web Out Into Space HOUSTON -- Astronauts aboard the International Space Station received a special software upgrade this week - personal access to the Internet and the World Wide Web via the ultimate wireless connection. Expedition 22 Flight Engineer T.J. Creamer made first use of the new system Friday, when he posted the first unassisted update to his Twitter account, @Astro_TJ, from the space station. Previous tweets from space had to be e-mailed to the ground where support personnel posted them to the astronaut's Twitter account. "Hello Twitterverse! We r now LIVE tweeting from the...