FBI: Sony Pictures hack points to laid-off Sony staff, not North Korea

A briefing for FBI agents investigating the Sony Pictures hack by a security firm that says its research points to laid-off Sony staff, not North Korea, as the perpetrator provided no usable new evidence, an official said Tuesday.
http://www.politico.com/story/2014/12/fbi-briefed-on-alternate-sony-hack-theory-113866.html

Whistleblower Dr Udo Ulfkotte, journalist, admits intelligence agencies created fake news (for him to publish)

Journalists arrested without charge in US

An RT crew was locked up in a U.S. jail for 32 hours after filming a protest against a controversial military training facility in Georgia dubbed the School of Assassins. Reporter Kaelyn Forde described her treatment as 'brutal' and international organizations condemned the use of police violence against members of the media. But despite all the outrage, American mainstream media has remained silent. RT's Gayane Chichakyan reports.
RT on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/RTnews
RT on Twitter: http://twitter.com/RT_com
Also: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKU-on3sUTg&NR=1

Press freedom: Report 2009 (lydiacacho.net)

2009 in figures

76 journalists killed (60 in 2008)
33 journalists kidnapped
573 journalists arrested
1456 physically attacked or threatened
570 media censored
157 journalists have left their country
1 dead in jail blogger
151 bloggers and cyber-dissidents detained
61 attacked
60 countries have been affected by Internet censorship

Wars and disputed elections: issues of greatest danger for journalists

The year 2009 will be remembered marked by two dramatic events: the greatest slaughter of journalists held in a single day, the 30 media workers slain by the private militia of a governor in the southern Philippines, and an unprecedented wave of arrests and convictions of journalists and bloggers in Iran after the contested re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Moreover, to escape imprisonment or death, nearly 160 journalists from all continents made their way from exile, sometimes in very hazardous conditions. Iranian photojournalists across the border into Turkey to escape an arrest or fleeing Somali radio journalists to neighboring countries to avoid certain death, a number of professionals who are all informational intermediaries and those trying to silence by all means.

"Wars and elections have been the main threats to journalists in 2009. It is becoming increasingly dangerous to cover a conflict, to the extent that journalists become targets and are in danger of being killed or kidnapped them. But it can also be dangerous to do this work in electoral period, with the result that you can end up in jail or in hospital. In undemocratic countries has been particularly important in 2009, violence in the periods before or after the election.

Another observation, which represents no surprise is that an increasing number of bloggers and Internet sites hit by censorship and repression. Today there is virtually no country can escape this phenomenon. Whenever the Internet and new media (social networks, mobile phones, etc..) Play an important role in disseminating information, the tide changed for the worse. Now the bloggers are so guarded as journalists in traditional media.

Finally, our biggest concern about the year 2009 is the mass exodus of journalists from repressive countries such as Iran and Sri Lanka. The authorities of these countries have realized that by encouraging journalists to leave substantially reduce the pluralism of ideas and the degree of criticism. This is a very dangerous trend and it is absolutely necessary to denounce with all the strength that we can, "said Jean-Francois Julliard, Secretary General of Reporters Without Borders, due to make public the balance of 2009.

Increase by 26% the number of journalists killed

Almost all the journalists killed in 2009, except for the Franco-Spanish documentarian Christian Poveda, murdered in El Salvador, were nationals. "Less known than the great reporters of international public opinion, however, are those local journalists who, every year, pay a higher price to secure our right to be informed of conflicts, corruption or destruction of the environment", said Jean-Francois Julliard, Secretary General of Reporters Without Borders.

The year 2009 started badly with the Israeli military offensive in Gaza. In addition to closing the foreign media access to the Palestinian territory, the Israeli government carried out a series of violent raids against buildings that house the media, in violation of international humanitarian law. These attacks killed two reporters. In the Russian Caucasus, journalists and human rights advocates have lived the year from all dangers. Natalia Estemirova Akhmedilov Malik in Chechnya and Dagestan, witnessing the dirty war waged by Moscow and its local allies, were eliminated with impunity.

Radical Islamist groups have killed at least 15 journalists around the world. In Somalia, Al-Shabaab militia intensified killings and suicide bombings. A total of nine reporters killed, four of whom work with Radio Shabelle, which attempts to continue reporting despite the chaos. In Pakistan, Taliban groups in the Northwest are increasingly an eye on journalists.

Finally continues to increase slightly the number of kidnappings. Most cases were concentrated in Afghanistan, Mexico and Somalia. If the New York Times reporter David Rohde and its local partner managed to escape from the hands of the Taliban, Afghan reporter instead Munadi Sultan was killed during the military operation intended to save.

"Three years after the Security Council passed UN resolution 1738 on protection of journalists in conflict zones, governments still seem to be unable to guarantee the safety of media professionals," Reporters Without Borders added .

In regard to other forms of violence, assaults and threats increased by one third (from 929 cases in 2008 to 1456 2009). In the Americas (501 cases) is where journalists are more exposed, especially when they denounce drug trafficking, corruption or local potentates. Behind comes Asia with 364 cases of this kind, particularly in Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal. The number of media censored dangerously increasing, with about 570 cases of newspapers, radios or televisions were prohibited to disseminate any information, or even forcing them to closure. That's what happened to a satirical magazine in Malaysia, a dozen reformist newspapers in Iran, and also to Radio France Internationale in the DRC and the BBC World Service in Rwanda.

The number of journalists arrested (673 in 2008 to 573 in 2009) has experienced a slight drop, to be awarded mainly to have reduced imprisonment in Asia. In the Middle East is where it produced the greatest number of cases.

Electoral Violence

The 30 journalists killed on the island of Mindanao covering the attempt by an opponent of the local potentate to register as a candidate for regional elections in 2010. Similarly, by Tunisian journalist Taoufik Ben Brik jailed him in the days following the reelection of President Ben Ali, while suffering a brutal attack on his colleague Slim Boukhdhir. In Gabon assaulted several journalists, and others were threatened with death in the days following the election of Ali Bongo to the presidency of the country. Also temporarily closed by a half dozen media have echoed the post-election violence, and criticized members of the new government. Finally, the controversial election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Iran has been the source of a delusional crackdown against the media.

The multiparty elections, a symbol of democracy and free expression, can become nightmares for journalists. At election time the state media often prevents them fairly cover the activities of the candidates, as occurred during the contested election in Afghanistan or the sham election in Equatorial Guinea. And while the most committed journalists are exposed to suffer reprisals from the enemy camp. In voting no is not always respected the right of media access, as demonstrated by the provincial elections in Tamil areas of Sri Lanka.

The most serious problems usually occur at the announcement of results. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's supporters, overwhelmed by an opposition movement that had an enormous echo in the Internet and in the Afghan press, threw themselves into ultra violent repression against hundreds of journalists and bloggers, accused of spying in the pay of foreign or destabilizing agents.

This year, the audacity shown by the journalists in the pre-and post-election was punished with detentions, beatings and imprisonment, some extremely serious. These repeated scenes of repression after a vote should encourage the international community to find ways to better protect press after announcing victories, often stolen or distorted.

"In any case, the wave of violence bodes ill 2010, during which it is scheduled to key elections, including in Ivory Coast, Sri Lanka, Burma, Iraq and the Palestinian territories," said, concerned, Reporters Without Borders that regularly conducts a follow-up of the media in election period.

Over a hundred bloggers and cyber-dissidents jailed

For the first time since the advent of the Internet Reporters Without Borders has registered no fewer than 108 bloggers, cyber-dissidents and Internet users worldwide imprisoned for expressing their opinions on the Web. A figure that highlights the repression that wreaks havoc on the Net, in a dozen countries. Definitely several states have adopted the policy of criminalizing the digital expression, disappointing the hopes of getting an Internet without censorship.

Internet was the engine of democratic protest in Iran, China and elsewhere. Fundamentally therefore, authoritarian governments are as likely to severely punish the internet, as these two bloggers in Azerbaijan sentenced to two years in prison for having mocked the political elites in a video.

If, in 2009, China has remained the main censor the Internet, Iran, Tunisia, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam and Uzbekistan also resorted to recurrent blockage of sites and blogs, and monitoring of expression online. Moreover, the Turkmen Internet remains entirely under state control. In this year also have attacked, threatened or detained bloggers and ordinary citizens who expressed themselves on the Net, while the popularity of social networking and participatory sites knew a huge success. Kareem Amer is an Egyptian arrested while the famous Burmese actor Zarganar you are still 34 years in prison to be served. Some of the figureheads of defending free speech on the Internet, including Chinese, Hu Jia and Liu Xiaobo or Vietnamese and Trung Nguyen Dieu Cay, part of the hundreds of victims of police of the Net Now crisis has become part of the issues that can cause reactions of censorship, and especially on the Web Thus, South Korea mistakenly detained a blogger to comment on the catastrophic situation of the country. In Thailand, half a dozen of net-citizens were detained or intimidated by addressing the crisis in the kingdom. Simply connect the king's health and the collapse of the Bangkok Stock Exchange made them targets of the authorities. Finally, in Dubai are censored the local media when they had to account for the sinking of the market.

Democratic countries are not left behind: while several European states are working on new measures to control the network, in the name of fighting pornography or illegal downloads, Australia has already announced that they intend to create a mandatory system filter, dangerous to freedom of expression. The Turkish justice has increased even more the number of Internet sites, among them YouTube, censored because they have appeared critical of which was the first president of the Republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

"From year to year has doubled the number of countries affected by the censorship. A very disturbing trend that reflects the strengthening of the control exercised over the new media, while millions of net-citizens increasingly are mobilizing on the Web For better denouncing the criminalization of the expression on the Net, Reporters Without Borders will host the March 12 mobilization against other Internet enemies, "he assured Lucie Morillon, head of the Office Internet and Freedoms.

The media in the process

At 30 December 2009, there are at least 167 journalists imprisoned around the world. Should be traced to the early 90s to find such a large number of journalists jailed worldwide. Although on several occasions, the UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression has repeatedly said that jail is a disproportionate penalty in cases of press, many governments maintaining these sanctions into their laws, and abusing of them. The passing of sentences for journalists in Cuba, China, Sri Lanka and Iran are as severe as those imposed on perpetrators of bloody crimes or terrorists.

Too often, prison and violence are the only answers offered by the authorities to media professionals. In the Middle East every day brings at least one arrest, or assault. In Iraq, for example, in 2009 assaulted or detained over sixty journalists. In the Palestinian Territories, Hamas in Gaza and Fatah in the West Bank arrested more than fifty journalists. Africa and Asia are competing side by side by the number of journalists arrested. In 2009 have been counted more than ten cases of arrests in Niger, Gambia and Somalia, Eritrea maintains its status of being the first African prison for journalists, with 32 others in jail. Fortunately in Asia reduced the number of arrests, but Chinese security forces continue to detain and Pakistani journalists, foreign or local, every time you exceed the red lines 'supposed' to be respected. In Honduras, the coup of 28 June 2009, supported by the conservative press, led to a real game journalists suspected of sympathy for the ousted president Manuel Zelaya, and suspension and even closure of their essays. Finally, Cuba is still distinguishes this year with at least 24 cases of arrests and imprisonment of two new long-term, bringing to 25 the number of journalists imprisoned in Cuba.

And when the powerful do not arresting journalists, were bombarded with complaints in series in the courts. In Algeria, the publication director Omar Belhouchet received, just this year, fifteen citations in court. In Turkey or Morocco, the opposition press is the target of repeated complaints, they almost always end in convictions or closures of media because the courts tend to side with the complainant, not the press.

The exile to survive

For the first time, Reporters Without Borders in its annual report includes the number of journalists forced to leave their country as a result of having been threatened his life or freedom. There have been fewer than 157 professionals have been forced to take the path of exile, often in very difficult conditions. It was massive exodus of Iranian journalists and bloggers-more than fifty, and their colleagues in Sri Lanka-not less than 29 verified cases this year.

Not to mention Africa, with the fifty Somali journalists who fled the chaos and ten Eritrean journalists forced to leave the country for fear of reprisals from the worst dictatorship on the continent. The exile of journalists has also affected Guinea, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Mexico, Colombia and Ethiopia.

This new indicator reflects the fear that has engulfed the profession in particular countries. On his way to exile, journalists are many pitfalls and know they have an uncertain future ahead. Many spend months, even years, hoping to get some form of protection, or a hypothetical relocation.

source: http://www.lydiacacho.net/30-12-2009/2009-en-cifras/ (spanish)

Committee to Protect Journalists http://www.cpj.org/

other related (DUTCH):

Interview met Nick Davies over het einde van de journalistiek http://www.werktitel.be/2009/10/interview-met-nick-davies-over-het-einde-van-de-journalistiek/

‘Onze media spelen met hun geloofwaardigheid’ http://www.werktitel.be/2009/12/onze-media-spelen-met-hun-geloofwaardigheid/

DUTCH - De Morgen ontslaat onderzoeksjournalist Georges Timmerman!

De Morgen ontslaat een van de beste onderzoeksjournalisten in het land... waarom?

George Timmerman schreef belangrijke artikels in strijd tegen corruptie in de Belgische politiek, politie & staatsveiligheid.
Zo schreef hij een aantal artikels over staatsterreur in België: Operatie Gladio, Bende Van Nijvel, Belliraj&Co. (terrorist/informant bij de Belgische staatsveiligheid, ook voor andere inlichtingendiensten) ...

Hier volgt een selectie van recente artikels van Georges Timmerman:

Belliraj&Co

Informant stond onder bevel van Al Qaida
Staatsveiligheid houdt 200 'extremistische' politici in de gaten
Staatsveiligheid wist dat Belliraj wapens smokkelde
Staatsveiligheid wist maanden op voorhand dat Belliraj terrorist was
Staatsveiligheid wist niets van terreurdreiging
Negatief advies naturalisatie Belliraj blijkt verdwenen
Medeverdachten van Belliraj 'verdwenen' voor hun arrestatie
Belliraj zat ook in dossier militaire inlichtingendienst
Al-Qaida leden lopen nog vrij rond in Brussel
Terrorist was jaren informant Staatsveiligheid

Operatie Gladio & related

Het spiegelpaleis by Georges Timmerman 14 May 2005
Belgische geheim agent smokkelde twintig jaar ongestoord wapens

andere artikels van Timmerman:

CIA houdt YouTube in de gaten
Megadatabank voor politie in de maak
Staatsveiligheid hield plannen zelfmoordterroriste geheim (Muriel Degauque)
Wie heeft politieke dossiers van de Staatsveiligheid gestolen
Buitenlandse geheime agenten infiltreerden in Lernout & Hauspie
Buitenlandse spionnen doen zich hier voor als journalisten

Over de ontslagen:

http://www.indymedia.be/nl/node/33173
http://www.clint.be/node/52803

Adam Curtis - The Rise and Fall of the TV Journalist

EU Protests across Europe - total media blackout!

In Spain, 11 protesters were arrested and several police officers injured when clashes took place in Madrid and Barcelona.
In Copenhagen, 32 people were arrested when their protest in support of the Greek protests turned violent.
In neighbouring Turkey, about a dozen left-wing protesters daubed red paint over the front of the Greek consulate in Istanbul. Around 150 people belonging to a Danish underground movement took to the streets, throwing bottles and paint bombs at buildings, police cars and officers. In Moscow and Rome, protesters threw petrol bombs at Greece’s embassies.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/greece/3706849/Greek-protest-spread-with-arrests-across-Europe.html

Lisbon opponents stage protest at Swedish Embassy
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/breaking-news/ireland/lisbon-opponents-stage-protest-at-swedish-embassy-14069344.html


Protests outside Czech court against Lisbon treaty http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/news/index_view.php?id=346150

Ieren vinden nieuw referendum ondemocratisch http://www.hln.be/hln/nl/960/Buitenland/article/detail/542156/2008/12/10/Ieren-vinden-nieuw-referendum-ondemocratisch.dhtml

There was another anti-EU protest this week in Brussels concering the new forced Lisbon treaty vote but I cant find a newslink on it because Belgian mainstream media is totally worthless.

Ron Paul warns of secret plans to create international central bank

Texas Congressman Ron Paul has warned that international forces are planning the creation of a global central bank that will see a new fiat monetary system come to dominate the world economy.
The 2008 presidential candidate also warned that Barack Obama’s administration will only represent a change in faces and not in policies.
Speaking about the recent G20 meeting Paul toldRussia Today [1] :

“I think something will come of it but you probably didn’t hear about it yet. There was some pomp and ceremony that the public knew about, but behind the scenes they were talking about the future and what they are going to do to try to internationalize all regulations, going in the opposite direction of free market and more towards international regulations. I’m sure they even talked about an international central bank.”

source: http://www.deepjournal.com/p/7/a/en/1793.html
[1] VIDEO interview http://www.russiatoday.com/guests/video/1833

Using Nukes to Stop Nukes (CSIS/NATO publication)

Towards a Grand Strategy for an Uncertain World:

Simultaneously observing proportionality and damage limita-
tion will become extremely difficult in cases where the use of
nuclear weapons must be considered. The first use of nuclear
weapons must remain in the quiver of escalation as the ulti-
mate instrument to prevent the use of weapons of mass de-
struction, in order to avoid truly existential dangers.
http://www.csis.org/media/csis/events/080110_grand_strategy.pdf

This is another classic example of doublespeak.

Western media mislead public on Georgia-Russia conflict

http://digg.com/world_news/Western_media_mislead_public_on_Georgia_Russia_conflict

Corrupt Georgian government attacked Russia!

Mainstream media is lying about the start of the war. Russia did not attack Georgia.
The NATO & US supported Georgian government did a sneak attack on Russia on 8/08/08.
Why? I dunno but probably to further build up tensions with Russia (also see US' missile defence system in Poland)

Georgians know their corrupt government attacked first:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lptVAbw5oos

Russia: US gave nod to Georgia

Russia says that Georgia's attack on the independence-seeking region of South Ossetia was likely executed with the United States' approval.
"It is hard to imagine that (Georgian President Mikheil) Saakashvili embarked on this risky venture without some sort of approval from the side of the United States," Russian Ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, told Russia's NTV television on Wednesday.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=66456&sectionid=351020602

Israel backs Georgia in Caspian Oil Pipeline Battle with Russia

Georgian tanks and infantry, aided by Israeli military advisers, captured the capital of breakaway South Ossetia, Tskhinvali, early Friday, Aug. 8, bringing the Georgian-Russian conflict over the province to a military climax. http://www.debka.com/article.php?aid=1358

Washington sanctioned assault on South Ossetia acc to Paul Craig Roberts, a former assistant secretary to the treasury in Ronald Reagan's administration

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOJiVqg9_20&feature=user

Mikheil Saakashvili, Georgian President Calls for US Intervention & A New World Order:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Lp_rLRAaHU

Georgië: strijdtoneel voor geostrategische belangen van Washington en Moskou

http://www.indymedia.be/nl/print/28948

Lies from the Baby bush jr. :

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/08/20080811-1.html

Google board of directors vote AGAINST internet freedom

exerpt from pg. 29 http://investor.google.com/documents/2008_notice_n_proxy_statement.html#rom98719_66

Internet Censorship

Whereas, freedom of speech and freedom of the press are fundamental human rights, and free use of the Internet is protected in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees freedom to “receive and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers”, and

Whereas, the rapid provision of full and uncensored information through the Internet has become a major industry in the United States, and one of its major exports, and

Whereas, political censorship of the Internet degrades the quality of that service and ultimately threatens the integrity and viability of the industry itself, both in the United States and abroad, and

Whereas, some authoritarian foreign governments such as the Governments of Belarus, Burma, China, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam block, restrict, and monitor the information their citizens attempt to obtain, and

Whereas, technology companies in the United States such as Google, that operate in countries controlled by authoritarian governments have an obligation to comply with the principles of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, and

Whereas, technology companies in the United States have failed to develop adequate standards by which they can conduct business with authoritarian governments while protecting human rights to freedom of speech and freedom of expression,

Therefore, be it resolved, that shareholders request that management institute policies to help protect freedom of access to the Internet which would include the following minimum standards:
1) Data that can identify individual users should not be hosted in Internet restricting countries, where political speech can be treated as a crime by the legal system.
2) The company will not engage in pro-active censorship.
3) The company will use all legal means to resist demands for censorship. The company will only comply with such demands if required to do so through legally binding procedures.
4) Users will be clearly informed when the company has acceded to legally binding government requests to filter or otherwise censor content that the user is trying to access.
5) Users should be informed about the company’s data retention practices, and the ways in which their data is shared with third parties.
6) The company will document all cases where legally-binding censorship requests have been complied with, and that information will be publicly available.

Required Vote
Approval of the stockholder proposal requires the affirmative “FOR” vote of a majority of the votes cast on the proposal. Unless marked to the contrary, proxies received will be voted “AGAINST” the stockholder proposal.
Recommendation
Our board of directors recommends a vote AGAINST the stockholder proposal.

CNN - Ron Paul receives most donations from our troops

Ron Paul wins Florida Republican Debate & 2nd in Louisiana preliminary results

There was a strong anti war pro Ron Paul crowd in the Florida Primary Republican Debate audience on the campus of Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida tonight. Results from a MSNBC post debate text messaging poll showed Ron Paul leading before the network decided not to post the official results at the end of the post-debate coverage. The move clearly gets conspiracy theorists abuzz on the Ron Paul posting forums. There was no doubt once again that the clear winner of the debate was Ron Paul. http://www.point-spreads.com/politics/012508-ron-paul-wins-florida-republican-debate-mccain-stumbles-on-economy.html

The Louisiana Republican Party says the state's preliminary results indicate that presidential hopeful Ron Paul has come in second. http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=40153&sectionid=3510203

Votefraud Obama and Paul in New Hampshire?

http://www.deepjournal.com/p/7/a/en/1191.html

http://digg.com/politics/Pre_Election_Polls_Wildly_Different_Than_Results_Diebold

Media manipulation: How to create an Angry American

Ron Paul update

Ron Paul's growing poll numbers vex mainstream press http://news.monstersandcritics.com/usa/news/article_1376276.php/Ron_Pauls_growing_poll_numbers_vex_mainstream_press

Right Wing Media Declares Ron Paul a Terrorist http://feedblog.org/2007/11/16/i-was-right-right-wing-media-declares-ron-paul-a-terrorist/

Complaints Flood CNN After Beck Smears Ron Paul Supporters As Terrorists http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/november2007/161107_beck_smears.htm

new poll currently leading the lot: Ron Paul @
http://news.aol.com/elections

Paul Campaign Raises Over $5,000,000 In Third Quarter

Straight from the campaign: ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA -

The Ron Paul 2008 presidential campaign raised $5,080,000 during the third quarter of 2007. That is an impressive 114 percent increase from the second quarter. Cash on hand for the Paul campaign is $5,300,000. “Dr. Paul’s message is freedom, peace and prosperity,” said Paul campaign chairman Kent Snyder. “As these fundraising numbers show, more Americans each day are embracing Dr. Paul’s message.”

Ron Paul’s 114 percent increase is in stark contrast to the decrease suffered by Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, and John McCain. Romney’s fundraising was down 29 percent. Giuliani was down 40 percent. McCain was down 55 percent.

http://www.ronpaulradio.com/

Internet censorship, Internet 2.0 & Trusted Computing

Save the Internet (about net neutrality) SavetheInternet.com

Internet censorship, Rupert Murdoch style:

Since Rupert Murdoch's $580 Million acquisition of MySpace in July 2005, it has come from total obscurity to now being the 8th most visited website in the world, receiving half as many page hits as Google...MySpace has been caught shutting down blogs critical of itself and other Murdoch owned companies. They even had the audacity to censor links to completely different websites when clicking through for MySpace. When 600 MySpace users complained, MySpace deleted the blog forum that the complaints were posted on. Taking their inspiration from Communist China, MySpace regularly uses blanket censorship to block out words like 'God'.Earlier this week Rupert Murdoch sounded the death knell for conventional forms of media in stating that the media elite were losing their monopoly to the rapid and free spread of new communication technologies. Murdoch stressed the need to regain control of these outlets in order to prevent the establishment media empire from crumbling. MySpace is Rupert Murdoch's trojan horse for destroying free speech on the Internet. It is a foundational keystone
of the first wave of the state's backlash to the damage that a free and open Internet has done to their organs of propaganda. By firstly making it cool, trendy and culturally elite for millions to flock to establishment controlledInternet backbones like MySpace, Murdoch is preparing the groundwork for the day when it will stop being voluntary and become mandatory to use government and corporate monopoly controlled Internet hubs. The second wave of destroying freedom of speech online will simply attempt to price people out of using the conventional Internet and force people over to internet 2, a state regulated hub where permission will need to be obtained directly from an FCC or government bureau to set up a website.
The Nation magazine reported, "Verizon, Comcast, Bell South and other communications giants are developing strategies that would track and store information on our every move in cyberspace in a vast data-collection and marketing system, the scope of which could rival the National Security Agency. According to white papers now being circulated in the cable, telephone and telecommunications industries, those with the deepest pockets--corporations, special-interest groups and major advertisers--would get preferred treatment.
http://pyramid.blog-city.com/internet_censorship_ruppert_murdoch_style.htm

Amateur 'video bloggers' under threat from EU broadcast rules:

THE Government is seeking to prevent an EU directive that could extend broadcasting regulations to the internet, hitting popular video-sharing websites such as YouTube. The European Commission proposal would require websites and mobile phone services that feature video images to conform to standards laid down in Brussels. Ministers fear that the directive would hit not only successful sites such as YouTube but also amateur “video bloggers” who post material on their own sites. Personal websites would have to be licensed as a “television-like service”.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article603123.ece

Online Video fingerprinting due soon:

Google's YouTube hopes recognition technology will be in place in September to stop the posting of copyrighted videos on the popular website, a lawyer told a judge presiding over copyright lawsuits. The system will, according to Google, 'be as sophisticated as fingerprinting technology used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.'
http://www.theage.com.au/news/web/video-fingerprinting-due-soon/2007/07/28/1185647742523.html
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/07/31/1325250

US authorities can get access to EU citizens' data...

...on phone calls, sms' and emails, giving a recent EU data-retention law much wider-reaching consequences than first expected, reports Swedish daily Sydsvenskan.The EU data retention bill, passed in February after much controversy and with implementation tabled for late 2007, obliges telephone operators and internet service providers to store information on who called who and who emailed who for at least six months, aimed at fighting terrorism and organised crime.
http://web.archive.org/web/20060716234316/http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/200605/msg00149.html

Bye bye Internet freedom? Net Pioneer Wants New Internet:

One of the fathers of the Internet, David Clark, who served as chief protocol architect for the government's internet development initiative in the 1980s, has been given $200,000 by the National Science Foundation to covertly work on a "whole new infrastructure to replace today's global network," according to Wired Magazine. Clark has vowed to create a "brave new world" in designing the new Internet, characterizing what he wanted for the new network to be "a
coherent security architecture." http://www.wired.com/techbiz/it/news/2005/06/68004

Bloggers are terrorists, (Malaysian) government claims:

The Malaysian government says it has had a gutsful of boggers who insult them, the King, or Islam and it will treat them like terrorists if they are not careful. http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=41236

US plans to 'fight the net' revealed - US military's plans for 'information operations' - psychological operations ...:

The declassified document is called "Information Operations Roadmap". It was obtained by the National Security Archive at George Washington University using the Freedom of Information Act. When it describes plans for electronic warfare, or EW, the document takes on an extraordinary tone. It seems to see the internet as being equivalent to an enemy weapons system."Strategy should be based on the premise that the Department [of Defense] will 'fight the net' as it would an enemy weapons system," it reads.The slogan "fight the net" appears several times throughout the roadmap.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4655196.stm

New Law Gives Government Six Months to Turn Internet and Phone Systems into Permanent Spying Architecture: http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/08/analysis-new-la.html

Trusted Computing


Een voorbeeld, Telenet doet aan "traffic shaping" voor torrents (kan ik over getuigen btw, ze doen het tijdens de piekuren, en het is officieel niet zo, "onbeperkt internet" rofl) Hoe lang nog voor ze de kraan volledig dichtdraaien?
Internet Service Providers Around The World That Throttles Bittorrent+P2P:
http://rangit.com/p2p/internet-service-providers-around-the-world-that-throttles-bittorrent-p2p/

Wikipedia Scanner: See Who's Editing Wikipedia - Diebold, the CIA, a Campaign:

On November 17th, 2005, an anonymous Wikipedia user deleted 15 paragraphs from an article on e-voting machine-vendor Diebold, excising an entire section critical of the company's machines. While anonymous, such changes typically leave behind digital fingerprints offering hints about the contributor, such as the location of the computer used to make the edits.In this case, the changes came from an IP address reserved for the corporate offices of Diebold itself. And it is far from an isolated case. http://www.wired.com/politics/onlinerights/news/2007/08/wiki_tracker

Week in review: The taxman cometh back:

The era of tax-free e-mail, Internet shopping and broadband connections could end this fall, if recent proposals in the U.S. Congress prove successful. State and local governments this week resumed a push to lobby Congress for far-reaching changes on two different fronts: gaining the ability to impose sales taxes on Net shopping, and being able to levy new monthly taxes on DSL and other Internet-service connections. One senator is even predicting taxes on e-mail. http://news.com.com/2100-1083_3-6186567.html

Internet taxes? It's just a matter of time: http://news.com.com/Internet+taxes+Its+just+a+matter+of+time/2010-1071_3-5778677.html

EU moves to log Internet, phone communication: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200509/s1465671.htm

Internet is 'the new Afghanistan' NY police commissioner:
http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSN1524872020070815?feedType=RSS&feedName=internetNews&rpc=22&sp=true

Will security firms detect police spyware?

A recent federal court decision raises the question of whether antivirus companies may intentionally overlook spyware that is secretly placed on computers by police.
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6197020.html

Is the Internet dead (Cnn October 27, 1998)

The Pay-As-We-Go Internet will have various metering and billing mechanisms allowing Internet users, or their advertisers or governments, to pay for the resources they consume. This will help coordinate growth of the Internet by using price to communicate between supply and demand, and it will create playing fields for fierce competition on price and new technologies. If the Internet is dead, long live the Internet. http://www.cnn.com/TECH/computing/9810/27/deadnet.idg/

FCC Issues Rule Allowing FBI to Dictate Wiretap-Friendly Design for Internet Services CALEA:

Back door access via CALEA is unfettered access; period. Agencies get Log in,Password,VPN connection.There is no checks and balances to access. Type a few commands and you're in and logging.The laws are have been expanded to ISP's. Land lines and cell phones are subject to monitoring via CALEA and the extension to ISP. & FCC Requires Certain Broadband and VoIP Providers to Accommodate Wiretaps.
http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2005_08.php#003876
http://www.fcc.gov/calea/

Main website for the government regulated Internet for the "New World":
http://www.internet2.edu/

Ron Paul Update

http://www.capitolhillblue.com/cont/node/3282

• Passengers on a plane leaving New York could see three words in 4-foot block letters painted on an East Village rooftop terrace as they ascended: GOOGLE RON PAUL.

http://ronpaul.meetup.com

• 34,394 Members in 826 Meetup Groups, 4,999 waiting for a Meetup Group! Dit is meer als alle andere kandidaten samen, een vergelijking met Obama(2de plaats):

Barack Obama: 4,154 Members in 67 Meetup Groups, 1,609 waiting for a Meetup Group

btw: Obama is ook CFR member, voor een kleine vid intro over deze Council on Foreign Relations & 2008 Candidates http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vo5CZvD3-QM
Kzal later wat meer info geven over de geschiedenis van de RIIA (Royal institute of International Affairs) en de amerikaanse branch daarvan, de CFR. (& waarom)

Iraqi civillian death toll: 1,028,360

This number is at least 10 times greater than most estimates cited in the US media, yet it is based on the only scientifically valid study of violent Iraqi deaths caused by the U.S.-led invasion of March 2003. The Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health study , published in prestigious medical journal The Lancet, estimated that over 600,000 Iraqis had been killed as a result of the invasion as of July 2006. Iraqis have continued to be killed since then. The number above provides a rough daily update of this number based on a rate of increase derived from the Iraq Body Count.

[PDF]Mortality after the 2003 invasion of Iraq a cross-sectional cluster samoke survey (as of july 2006 654.965 deaths)(thelancet.com)

CIVILIAN CASUALTIES IN IRAQ (Time magazine underreported stories) http://www.time.com/time/topten/2006/underreported/05.html

Study Claims Iraq's 'Excess' Death Toll Has Reached 655,000 (artikel October 11, 2006)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/10/AR2006101001442.html