(WashTimes) – White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Monday that President Obama will “evaluate” a new bill that would ban online ammunition sales in the wake of the shooting massacre in Aurora, Colo. That left 12 dead and dozens more injured. Read the rest of this entry »

(NaturalNews) – What began as a simple program to address safety and security issues at the 2010 Winter Olympics has become a massive online spying operation targeted at journalists and writers. The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS)’sMedia Monitoring Initiative(MMI) has been expanded to collect and track information from online forums, blogs, public websites, message boards, and social networking sites, as well as gather “personally identifiable information” (PII) on journalists and media writers. Read the rest of this entry »

(IND) – In a scientific tour-de-force that has been hailed as the most significant breakthrough in wheat production since the cereal crop was cultivated by the first farmers more than 10,000 years ago, scientists have decoded the genome of the wheat plant.

As a result, new breeds of disease-resistant crops could be producing higher wheat yields in as little as five years’ time, raising the prospect of lower bread prices and greater food security in a more populated world. And rather than guard their knowledge, the British scientists responsible for the research will today place a draft version of the genome online, making it available for free to wheat breeders around the world, who will be able to use it to speed up the creation of the new disease-resistant varieties that are urgently needed. Most wheat breeders currently rely on traditional methods of mixing new crop varieties – techniques that have not changed substantially for hundreds of years. Read entire article

(FierceGovernmentit) – Yet another federal agency envisions a possible broader role for itself in securing private sector Internet infrastructure. The Federal Communications Commission issued on August 9 a notice (.pdf) soliciting public comment on an anticipated FCC plan to address vulnerabilities to core Internet protocols, as well as cybersecurity threats to all end users.

“Cybersecurity is a vital topic for the Commission because end user lack of trust in online experiences will quell demand for broadband services,” the notice states. The National Broadband Plan calls for the FCC to issue a Cybersecurity Roadmap. A plan, the FCC says in the notice, should be completed by November 2010. Read the rest of this entry »

Read the rest of this entry »

See Also: (AFP) – US wants increased police access to email – Read More Here

Also: (CellularNews) – FBI backs record-keeping on prepaid cell phones – Read More Here

Also: Video: FBI will be Allowed to Record your Internet Activity Without A Warrant! – Alex Jones Tv - View Video Here

(MSNBC) – The personal details of 100 million Facebook users have been collected and published online in a downloadable file, meaning they will now be unable to make their publicly available information private.

However, Facebook downplayed the issue, saying that no private data had been compromised.

The information was posted by Ron Bowes, an online security consultant, on the Internet site Pirate Bay.

Bowes used code to scan the 500 million Facebook profiles for information not hidden by privacy settings. The resulting file, which allows people to perform searches of various different types, has been downloaded by several thousand people.

This means that if any of those on the list decide to change their privacy settings on Facebook, Bowes and those who have the file will still be able to access information that was public when it was compiled. Read entire article

(InformationWeek) – The Obama administration is set to propose a new system for authenticating people, organizations and infrastructure on the Web. The online authentication and identity management system would be targeted at the transactional level — for example, when someone logs into their banking website or completes an online e-commerce purchase.

(PaulWatson) – Senator Joe Lieberman, co-author of a bill that would give President Obama a ‘kill switch’ to shut down parts of the Internet, attempted to reassure CNN viewers yesterday that concerns about the government regulating free speech on the web were overblown, but he only stoked more alarm by citing China, a country that censors all online dissent against the state, as the model to which American should compare itself.

During an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union with Candy Crowley, Lieberman characterized concerns that his 197-page Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act (PDF) legislation represents an attempt to hand Obama “absolute power” over the Internet as “total misinformation,” adding that people were “intentionally peddling misinformation”. Read the rest of this entry »

(PaulWatson) – A T-shirt that warns against how dictators like Hitler used gun control to disarm their victims has been sensationally banned by eBay after the online auction giant labeled the garment “Nazi propaganda” despite the fact that it carries an anti-Nazi message.

The “Mass Murderers Agree – Gun Control Works” Infowars T-shirt features images of Hitler, Stalin, and Mao, all dictators who ensured that their target populations were disarmed and vulnerable before killing them by the millions.

We received the following email from eBay entitled, “eBay Listing Removed: Hateful or Discriminatory”. Read the rest of this entry »

(Fox) – A Michigan lawmaker wants to license reporters to ensure they’re credible and vet them for “good moral character.”

Senator Bruce Patterson is introducing legislation that will regulate reporters much like the state does with hairdressers, auto mechanics and plumbers. Patterson, who also practices constitutional law, says that the general public is being overwhelmed by an increasing number of media outlets–traditional, online and citizen generated–and an even greater amount misinformation.

“Legitimate media sources are critically important to our government,” he said.

He told FoxNews.com that some reporters covering state politics don’t know what they’re talking about and they’re working for publications he’s never heard of, so he wants to install a process that’ll help him and the general public figure out which reporters to trust.

“We have to be able to get good information,” he said. “We have to be able to rely on the source and to understand the credentials of the source.” Full article here

(PaulWatson) – The next time you struggle to comprehend how someone could spend their time trolling the Internet in order to defend and downplay whatever government cover-up or abuse is in the news this week, consider the fact that they may be on a government payroll.

The Canadian government has been caught paying a media group to monitor online political discussion and respond to “misinformation,” in order words to spread state-sanctioned propaganda, in the latest scandal to hit the Harper administration. Read the rest of this entry »

(WattsUpWithThat) – UPDATE: I’ve been in contact with the Eureka Weather Station manager, and despite the incredible nature of the temperature jumps that are outside of normal experiences, such as July 14 2009,  they do appear to be real. The METAR coding errors are another issue. I have many pictures now, plus a plan map, and a better meteorological insight than what can be gained from the meager online metadata. I’ll have an updated post later tonight or tomorrow – Anthony Read the rest of this entry »

(MSNBC) – Can you make money just by writing down the license plate numbers of cars in your neighborhood? It might sound like a game your older brother made up to keep you busy — but two aggressive start-up firms are telling consumers to do just that, and both are spreading the word quickly online. But how does it work? Read the rest of this entry »

(NewYorkTimes) – To the list of the enemies threatening the security of the United States, the Pentagon has added WikiLeaks.org, a tiny online source of information and documents that governments and corporations around the world would prefer to keep secret. Read the rest of this entry »

(Spiegel) – US defense expert P.W. Singer from the Brookings Institution talks to SPIEGEL ONLINE about the stresses that drone pilots are subjected to and the risk of emotional exhaustion and burnout. The whole experience of war is being changed by the new technology, he argues.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Mr. Singer, are drones becoming the new form of combat?

P.W. Singer: Until recently, people looked at this as something abnormal. But drones and robotic warfare in general are actually the new normal now. We’ve gone from using a handful of these systems to now having around 7,000 in the air. And the US is not the only country flying them. There are drones from 43 other countries, including Great Britain, Germany and Pakistan. Read the rest of this entry »

(Spiegel) – US defense expert P.W. Singer from the Brookings Institution talks to SPIEGEL ONLINE about the stresses that drone pilots are subjected to and the risk of emotional exhaustion and burnout. The whole experience of war is being changed by the new technology, he argues.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Mr. Singer, are drones becoming the new form of combat?

P.W. Singer: Until recently, people looked at this as something abnormal. But drones and robotic warfare in general are actually the new normal now. We’ve gone from using a handful of these systems to now having around 7,000 in the air. And the US is not the only country flying them. There are drones from 43 other countries, including Great Britain, Germany and Pakistan. Read the rest of this entry »

(PaulWatson) – Glenn Beck has failed to respond to a firestorm of reaction to his comments made during a February 21st interview with USA Weekend magazine in which he completely reversed his position on climate change by revealing that he believed in man-made global warming. Read the rest of this entry »

(ZeroHedge) – It appears that this time China’s posturing is for real. Following up on our earlier post that Chinese military officials want to “punish” America by selling Treasuries, Asia Times Online is reporting that an explicit directive by the Chinese government has notified reserve managers to sell all risky US assets, including asset backed and corporates, and just hold on to explicitly guaranteed Treasuries and Agency debt. And from following TIC data we know that China’s enthusiasm for MBS/Agencies over the past year has been matched solely by that of one Bill Gross. Read the rest of this entry »

(NYTimes) – The House today overwhelmingly passed a bill aimed at building up the United States’ cybersecurity army and expertise, amid growing alarm over the country’s vulnerability online. Read the rest of this entry »

(Fox) – The World Health Organization (WHO) is considering a plan to ask governments to impose a global consumer tax on such things as Internet activity or everyday financial transactions like paying bills online. Read the rest of this entry »

A new report reveals a British scientist and Wikipedia administrator rewrote climate history, editing more than 5,000 unique articles in the online encyclopedia to cover traces of a medieval warming period – something Climategate scientists saw as a major roadblock in the effort to spread the global warming message. Read the rest of this entry »

A new report reveals a British scientist and Wikipedia administrator rewrote climate history, editing more than 5,000 unique articles in the online encyclopedia to cover traces of a medieval warming period – something Climategate scientists saw as a major roadblock in the effort to spread the global warming message. Read the rest of this entry »

The gov’t is ramping up it’s efforts to monitor and control our activities online. Read the rest of this entry »

(LATimes) – The average circulation at about 400 daily newspapers falls more than 10% in the last six months as compared to a year ago. Smaller newspapers fare better. Read the rest of this entry »

(Times) – Iranian accusations of Western backing for Jundallah, the Sunni rebel group, may not be as fanciful as they seem. Read the rest of this entry »

(Fox) – Adults with little Internet experience show changes in their brain activity after just one week online, a new study finds. Read the rest of this entry »

Spiegel Online is reporting that German Chancellor Angela Merkel and government ministers will receive a special, additive-free H1N1 vaccine. “The Vakzin [vaccine] does not contain disputed additives — contrary to the vaccine for the remainder of the population,” reports the newspaper. Read the rest of this entry »

(Times) – Tony Blair should be charged with war crimes for ordering British troops to invade Iraq, families of servicemen killed in the conflict told the official inquiry into the campaign yesterday. Read the rest of this entry »

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today signed into law a bill that requires buyers of handgun ammunition to leave thumbprints and detailed personal information with registered ammo sellers, as well as put restrictions on online bullet sales. Read the rest of this entry »

(Times) – Climate change sceptics are to be targeted in a hard-hitting government advertising campaign that will be the first to state unequivocally that Man is causing global warming and endangering life on Earth. Read the rest of this entry »

As Americans continue to debate the torture era of the Bush administration, a new report has emerged about the alleged existence of a third secret prison used by the CIA in Europe. According to ABC News, the CIA operated a “black site” prison in Lithuania until the end of 2005. Read the rest of this entry »

Israel’s foreign ministry is reported to be establishing a special undercover team of paid workers whose job it will be to surf the internet 24 hours a day spreading positive news about Israel. Read the rest of this entry »

A Google News search this morning returns no mention of the Guillain-Barré Syndrome link to the experimental H1N1 vaccine in the U.S. media. Read the rest of this entry »

Despite the fact that the Southern Poverty Law Center linked Infowars and Alex Jones with Pittsburgh cop killer Richard Poplawski earlier this year because Poplawski had left comments on Jones’ websites, comments on SPLC’s own website that call for Alex Jones to be executed for his political beliefs have remained online for four months. Read the rest of this entry »

(WPost) – The Obama administration is proposing to scale back a long-standing ban on tracking how people use government Internet sites with “cookies” and other technologies, raising alarms among privacy groups. Read the rest of this entry »

Since the time The United States of America was established its independence almost 235 years ago, the way that citizens view their government has changed significantly. Initially the government was intended to serve the people; whereas, in modern times, a large majority of Americans accept the role of government as a force that we have no control over accept once every 4 years when we elect a president. Otherwise, most Americans pass through their everyday lives watching the news and the decisions of their elected officials without making any sort of attempt to influence the actions of their elected officials — who were put in place in order to serve us, the people. Read the rest of this entry »

(FinancialTimes) – Rupert Murdoch has vowed to charge for all the online content of his newspapers and television news channels, going well beyond his prediction in May that the company would test pay models on one of its stronger papers within the year. Read the rest of this entry »

The passionate support for Israel expressed on talkback sections of websites, internet chat forums, blogs, Twitters and Facebook may not be all that it seems. Read the rest of this entry »

(FT) – If you search for Elvis Presley in Wikipedia, you will find a lot of text and a few pictures that have been cleared for distribution. But you will find no music and no film clips, due to copyright restrictions. What we think of as our common cultural heritage is not “ours” at all. Read the rest of this entry »

(Telegraph) – The Chinese government wants all computers sold in China after July to come with software that automatically censors the internet. Read the rest of this entry »

China has cornered 97% of the world market for rare earth metals, according to Byron King (the Times Online puts the number at 95%, and the Financial Times puts the number at “over 90%”). Read the rest of this entry »

The U.S. military is putting together a suite of hacking tools that could one day make breaking into networks as easy for the average grunt as kicking down a door. Read the rest of this entry »

At a time of corporate dominated media, a free and open Internet is democracy’s last chance to preserve our First Amendment rights without which all others are threatened. Activists call it Net Neutrality. Media scholar Robert McChesney says without it “the Internet would start to look like cable TV (with a) handful of massive companies (controlling) content” enough to have veto power over what’s allowed and what it costs. Progressive web sites and writers would be marginalized or suppressed, and content systematically filtered or banned. Read the rest of this entry »

Google’s controversial Street View mapping service has been banned in Greece until the company comes up with extra privacy guarantees. Read the rest of this entry »