FBI May Shut Down Your Internet Access March 8th
- Dees Illustration
Activist Post
February 14, 2012
This March 8th, the FBI is planning to unplug DNS servers it set up to help eliminate malware from over half of Fortune 500 companies and government agencies still infected in early 2012.
The change could potentially leave a great number of Internet users without access to the Web.
…the feds replaced the criminals’ servers with clean ones that would push along traffic to its intended destination. Without the surrogate servers in place, infected PCs would have continued trying to send requests to aim at the now-unplugged rogue servers, resulting in DNS errors.
The malware, called DNSChanger Trojan, is said to illegally redirect traffic and prevent users from accessing the updates necessary to remove it. Without access to these critical patches, these large companies, government agencies, and home users are said to be more susceptible to hackers.
This prompted InfoWorld to wonder:
This fact does raise the question of why so many Fortune 500 companies and government agencies have failed to notice they have a problem, as they presumably have IT security professionals on staff who should be monitoring such incidents.
Those computers still infected with the Trojan will not be able to access the Internet after the FBI shuts down their temporary servers.
The feds received a court order in November, 2011 to replace the “rogue” servers with surrogate servers to operate “just long enough for companies and home users to remove DNSChanger malware from their machines.”
Rod Rasmussen, president of Internet security company Internet ID, told Krebs on Security that there are still millions of PCs infected with DNSChanger. “At this rate, a lot of users are going to see their Internet break on March 8.”
A working group advising the FBI is said to be considering requesting an extension of the court order to give more time to users of infected machines to remove the malware.
Although this may indeed be a very real problem that Internet users must be vigilant to protect themselves from, depending on the government to provide servers when their own agencies are infected doesn’t seem like a trustworthy solution. Additionally, a previous private-government working group put together in 2009 to combat the Conficker Worm has accomplished very little as 3 million computers are still said to be infected.
These viruses are called Trojans because they are disguised as something friendly, enter computers, and then install malicious software. Someone with a healthy distrust of the government may see the FBI’s warning that millions will be cut off from the Internet as a Trojan Horse itself so that they may retain control over the new servers.
After all, if the FBI is controlling the “legitimate” servers, wouldn’t they have access to all the traffic information of individual users and large corporations?
To ensure your computer is not infected please follow the instructions here. And follow Krebs on Security for news updates pertaining to this story.
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SYRIA. TEXT OF LEAKED ARAB LEAGUE MISSION REPORT Report Reveals Media Lies Regarding Syria
Global Research Editor’s Note
We bring to the attention of our readers the Observers’ Mission Report of the League of Arab States to Syria.
The report acknowledges the existence of “an armed entity” involved in the killings of civilians and police as well as the conduct of terrorist acts, which in turn have contributed to triggering actions by government forces.
The Report refers to “armed opposition groups” as well as to the “Free Syrian Army”, both of which, according to the AL Mission, are involved in the deliberate killing of innocent civilians:
“In some zones, this armed entity reacted by attacking Syrian security forces and citizens, causing the Government to respond with further violence. In the end, innocent citizens pay the price for those actions with life and limb.
“In Homs, Idlib and Hama, the Observer Mission witnessed acts of violence being committed against Government forces and civilians that resulted in several deaths and injuries. Examples of those acts include the bombing of a civilian bus, killing eight persons and injuring others, including women and children, and the bombing of a train carrying diesel oil. In another incident in Homs, a police bus was blown up, killing two police officers. A fuel pipeline and some small bridges were also bombed. ”
“Such incidents include the bombing of buildings, trains carrying fuel, vehicles carrying diesel oil and explosions targeting the police, members of the media and fuel pipelines. Some of those attacks have been carried out by the Free Syrian Army and some by other armed opposition groups.”
The Mission also underscored to role of media distortion in the coverage of events in Syria as well as the campaign to discredit ithe Mission’s findings:
“The Mission noted that many parties falsely reported that explosions or violence had occurred in several locations. When the observers went to those locations, they found that those reports were unfounded.
The Mission also noted that, according to its teams in the field, the media exaggerated the nature of the incidents and the number of persons killed in incidents and protests in certain towns.”
The Report also underscored attempts to discredit the Mission and dismiss its findings:
Arab and foreign audiences of certain media organizations have questioned the Mission’s credibility because those organizations use the media to distort the facts. It will be difficult to overcome this problem unless there is political and media support for the Mission and its mandate. It is only natural that some negative incidents should occur as it conducts its activities because such incidents occur as a matter of course in similar missions.
Also of significace were attempts by officials of AL governments to pressure several of the observers into providing “exaggerated accounts of events”.
Some observers reneged on their duties and broke the oath they had taken. They made contact with officials from their countries and gave them exaggerated accounts of events. Those officials consequently developed a bleak and unfounded picture of the situation.
Also of significance is the fact that the Mission acknowledged that peaceful protests by unarmed civilians against the government were not the object of government crackdowns:
group team leaders [of the Observation mission] witnessed peaceful demonstrations by both Government supporters and the opposition in several places. None of those demonstrations were disrupted, except for some minor clashes with the Mission and between loyalists and opposition. These have not resulted in fatalities since the last presentation before the Arab Ministerial Committee on the Situation in Syria at its meeting of 8 January 2012.
While the Mission does not identify the foreign powers behind “the armed entity”, the report dispels the mainstream media lies and fabrications. It largely confirms independent media reports including Global Research’s coverage of the armed insurrection since April 2011. See Global Research’s Syria Dossier
Michel Chossudovsky, Global Research, February 1, 2012
SELECTED EXCERPTS OF OBSERVERS’ MISSION REPORT
Report of the Head of the League of Arab States Observer Mission to Syria. December 24, 2011 to January 18, 2012
Relevant Excerpts of the Report are indicated below: bold added, Scroll down for Complete Text of Observers’ Mission Report):
The complete leaked report of the Arab League Observers Mission with annexes (pdf)
“The Mission determined that there is an armed entity that is not mentioned in the protocol. This development on the ground can undoubtedly be attributed to the excessive use of force by Syrian Government forces in response to protests that occurred before the deployment of the Mission demanding the fall of the regime. In some zones, this armed entity reacted by attacking Syrian security forces and citizens, causing the Government to respond with further violence. In the end, innocent citizens pay the price for those actions with life and limb.
…
In Homs, Idlib and Hama, the Observer Mission witnessed acts of violence being committed against Government forces and civilians that resulted in several deaths and injuries. Examples of those acts include the bombing of a civilian bus, killing eight persons and injuring others, including women and children, and the bombing of a train carrying diesel oil. In another incident in Homs, a police bus was blown up, killing two police officers. A fuel pipeline and some small bridges were also bombed.
…
28. The Mission noted that many parties falsely reported that explosions or violence had occurred in several locations. When the observers went to those locations, they found that those reports were unfounded.
29. The Mission also noted that, according to its teams in the field, the media exaggerated the nature of the incidents and the number of persons killed in incidents and protests in certain towns.
According to their latest reports and their briefings to the Head of the Mission on 17 January 2012 in preparation for this report, group team leaders witnessed peaceful demonstrations by both Government supporters and the opposition in several places. None of those demonstrations were disrupted, except for some minor clashes with the Mission and between loyalists and opposition. These have not resulted in fatalities since the last presentation before the Arab Ministerial Committee on the Situation in Syria at its meeting of 8 January 2012.
…
Some observers reneged on their duties and broke the oath they had taken. They made contact with officials from their countries and gave them exaggerated accounts of events. Those officials consequently developed a bleak and unfounded picture of the situation.
Arab and foreign audiences of certain media organizations have questioned the Mission’s credibility because those organizations use the media to distort the facts. It will be difficult to overcome this problem unless there is political and media support for the Mission and its mandate. It is only natural that some negative incidents should occur as it conducts its activities because such incidents occur as a matter of course in similar missions.
…
75. Recently, there have been incidents that could widen the gap and increase bitterness between the parties. These incidents can have grave consequences and lead to the loss of life and property. Such incidents include the bombing of buildings, trains carrying fuel, vehicles carrying diesel oil and explosions targeting the police, members of the media and fuel pipelines. Some of those attacks have been carried out by the Free Syrian Army and some by other armed opposition groups.
…
Since its establishment, attitudes towards the Mission have been characterized by insincerity or, more broadly speaking, a lack of seriousness. Before it began carrying out its mandate and even before its members had arrived, the Mission was the target of a vicious campaign directed against the League of Arab States and the Head of the Mission, a campaign that increased in intensity after the observers’ deployment. The Mission still lack the political and media support it needs in order to fulfil its mandate. Should its mandate be extended, the goals set out in the Protocol will not be achieved unless such support is provided and the Mission receives the backing it needs to ensure the success of the Arab solution.”
COMPLETE TEXT (WITHOUT ANNEXES)
The complete leaked report of the Arab League Observers Mission to Syria (pdf)
The Past, Present and Future of Internet Censorship [video]
Corbett Report
January 28, 2012
TRANSCRIPT AND SOURCES: http://www.corbettreport.com/?p=3827
In recent weeks the general public has mobilized to face US legislative threats to Internet freedoms. Far from a conclusive victory, however, the death of SOPA and PIPA only highlight the latest in a series of measures that are seeking to create a legal framework for government-administered Internet censorship.
Find out more about this contentious topic in this week’s GRTV Backgrounder on Global Research TV.
Supreme Court Sides with Livestock Concentration Camps Over State Law [video included]
Humane Society image of sick cattle being moved to slaughter for school lunch programs.
Activist Post
January 24, 2012
Once again the Supreme Court sides with corporate interests and federal law over state law in a recent case involving the livestock industry. A California state law mandating the “humane treatment” of livestock sold for human consumption was overturned unanimously on Monday, as reported by CNN.
At issue was not how animals heading to the slaughterhouse should be treated, but rather who has the authority to determine such regulations. The Court ruled that federal regulators have the jurisdiction, concluding that the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA), which regulates slaughterhouses, preempts any state law.
CNN reports, “That law (FMIA) expressly prohibits any state regulation ‘in addition to or different from’ the federal requirements.” The Supreme Court also claimed that since the meat was being sold across state lines, and interstate commerce falls under federal jurisdiction, state laws are nullified.
The California Penal Code 599f. that was overturned was originally put in place because animal rights activists released a video exposing disturbing cruelty at concentration-camp style livestock operations that showed grotesquely ill cows being shocked, water hosed, and even bulldozed into slaughter pens because they were too weak to move.
Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society, credited with the undercover video that shocked state law makers into enacting Penal Code 599f, said, “This is a deeply troubling decision, preventing a wide range of actions by the states to protect animals and consumers from reckless practices by the meat industry, including the mishandling and slaughter of animals too sick or injured to walk.”
Since state regulations are nullified, and federal regulators give leeway to such behavior and are backed by the courts, disease-infested, GMO-corn fed, antibiotic-riddled animals will continue to end up on dinner plates with little hope for changing the treatment and health of animals meant for food.
What’s worse, since many more undercover videos have surfaced showing animal cruelty and unsanitary living conditions for livestock, some states are proposing making it a felony to expose these conditions to the public. You could even be branded a terrorist for fighting animal cruelty. Apparently the factory food lobby will continue to dominate and push for the ability to produce unhealthy, inhumane practices.
EU signs ACTA, global internet censorship treaty
By Rady Ananda
Activist Post
January 26, 2012
Today, the European Union and 22 member states signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced. They have now joined the US and seven other nations that signed the treaty last October.
This signing ceremony merely formalized the EU’s adoption of ACTA last month, during a completely unrelated meeting on agriculture and fisheries, reports TechDirt.
Though initiated by the US, Japan is the official depository of the treaty.
Removal of the Three Strikes clause, in which users accused of three counts of piracy would be barred from the internet, paved the way for the EU to adopt ACTA last month.
Related to ACTA, a chapter in the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) “would have state signatories adopt even more restrictive copyright measures than ACTA,” reports the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
Both ACTA and TPP were developed without public input and outside international trade groups, like the World Trade Organization and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Leaked cables published by WikiLeaks in 2009 exposed early drafts of ACTA, resulting in a firestorm of controversy. Those cables, coupled with later releases, showed that ACTA negotiations began in 2006 and were controversial even to participating states. An historical summary of the treaty’s progress through December can be found here.
ACTA Violates Magna Carta and US Constitution
Like PIPA and SOPA, two domestic internet censorship bills that prompted major websites to blacken their name or website in a Jan. 18th protest, ACTA allows accusers of copyright infringement to bypass judicial review. Lack of “due process” makes these bills and ACTA unconstitutional and violates the Magna Carta, a charter signed in 1215 on which most Western law is based, including the US Constitution. It is often cited as the most important legal document in the history of democracy.
(The USA PATRIOT Acts, Obama’s assassination program, and the National Defense Authorization Act that allows indefinite detention are among many recent laws passed in the US which directly breach the Magna Carta.)
“The Constitution states only one command twice,” explains Peter Strauss of Cornell University Law School, further elaborating:
The Fifth Amendment says to the federal government that no one shall be ‘deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law.’ The Fourteenth Amendment, ratified in 1868, uses the same eleven words, called the Due Process Clause, to describe a legal obligation of all states. These words have as their central promise an assurance that all levels of American government must operate within the law (‘legality’) and provide fair procedures.
[T]he bill’s wording is wide open to pursue American sites. Just one example: when describing an infringing site, it starts with those ‘that are accessed through a non-domestic domain name,’ but continues in section (8)(A)(ii) for any site that ‘conducts business directed to residents of the United States.’
Though involved in early ACTA negotiations, Switzerland and Mexico have not yet ratified it. However, “Since the agreement remains open to signature until May 2013, it is possible that other states may make a move to join it as well,” said Maira Sutton of EFF.
Rady Ananda is an investigative reporter and researcher in the areas of health, environment, politics, and civil liberties. Her two websites, Food Freedom and COTO Report are essential reading.
RECENT REPORTS BY RADY ANANDA:
Thyroid cancer, fracking and nuclear power
PIPA vote stalled while US censorship still grows
[related: ENEMY EXPATRIATION ACT- (THE SOPA COVER-UP)]
What Is ACTA ? [video]
YouTube – 1TheRevolutionIsNow
January 18, 2012
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[hat tip: Activist Post]
[RELATED ACTIVIST POST ARTICLE: SOPA and PIPA Fully Alive — And a New Bill Joins Them]
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