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Paul Merrell

WASHINGTON: CIA admits it broke into Senate computers; senators call for spy chief's ou... - 0 views

  • An internal CIA investigation confirmed allegations that agency personnel improperly intruded into a protected database used by Senate Intelligence Committee staff to compile a scathing report on the agency’s detention and interrogation program, prompting bipartisan outrage and at least two calls for spy chief John Brennan to resign.“This is very, very serious, and I will tell you, as a member of the committee, someone who has great respect for the CIA, I am extremely disappointed in the actions of the agents of the CIA who carried out this breach of the committee’s computers,” said Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., the committee’s vice chairman.
  • The rare display of bipartisan fury followed a three-hour private briefing by Inspector General David Buckley. His investigation revealed that five CIA employees, two lawyers and three information technology specialists improperly accessed or “caused access” to a database that only committee staff were permitted to use.Buckley’s inquiry also determined that a CIA crimes report to the Justice Department alleging that the panel staff removed classified documents from a top-secret facility without authorization was based on “inaccurate information,” according to a summary of the findings prepared for the Senate and House intelligence committees and released by the CIA.In other conclusions, Buckley found that CIA security officers conducted keyword searches of the emails of staffers of the committee’s Democratic majority _ and reviewed some of them _ and that the three CIA information technology specialists showed “a lack of candor” in interviews with Buckley’s office.
  • The inspector general’s summary did not say who may have ordered the intrusion or when senior CIA officials learned of it.Following the briefing, some senators struggled to maintain their composure over what they saw as a violation of the constitutional separation of powers between an executive branch agency and its congressional overseers.“We’re the only people watching these organizations, and if we can’t rely on the information that we’re given as being accurate, then it makes a mockery of the entire oversight function,” said Sen. Angus King, an independent from Maine who caucuses with the Democrats.The findings confirmed charges by the committee chairwoman, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., that the CIA intruded into the database that by agreement was to be used by her staffers compiling the report on the harsh interrogation methods used by the agency on suspected terrorists held in secret overseas prisons under the George W. Bush administration.The findings also contradicted Brennan’s denials of Feinstein’s allegations, prompting two panel members, Sens. Mark Udall, D-Colo., and Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., to demand that the spy chief resign.
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  • Another committee member, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and some civil rights groups called for a fuller investigation. The demands clashed with a desire by President Barack Obama, other lawmakers and the CIA to move beyond the controversy over the “enhanced interrogation program” after Feinstein releases her committee’s report, which could come as soon as next weekMany members demanded that Brennan explain his earlier denial that the CIA had accessed the Senate committee database.“Director Brennan should make a very public explanation and correction of what he said,” said Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich. He all but accused the Justice Department of a coverup by deciding not to pursue a criminal investigation into the CIA’s intrusion.
  • “I thought there might have been information that was produced after the department reached their conclusion,” he said. “What I understand, they have all of the information which the IG has.”He hinted that the scandal goes further than the individuals cited in Buckley’s report.“I think it’s very clear that CIA people knew exactly what they were doing and either knew or should’ve known,” said Levin, adding that he thought that Buckley’s findings should be referred to the Justice Department.A person with knowledge of the issue insisted that the CIA personnel who improperly accessed the database “acted in good faith,” believing that they were empowered to do so because they believed there had been a security violation.“There was no malicious intent. They acted in good faith believing they had the legal standing to do so,” said the knowledgeable person, who asked not to be further identified because they weren’t authorized to discuss the issue publicly. “But it did not conform with the legal agreement reached with the Senate committee.”
  • Feinstein called Brennan’s apology and his decision to submit Buckley’s findings to the accountability board “positive first steps.”“This IG report corrects the record and it is my understanding that a declassified report will be made available to the public shortly,” she said in a statement.“The investigation confirmed what I said on the Senate floor in March _ CIA personnel inappropriately searched Senate Intelligence Committee computers in violation of an agreement we had reached, and I believe in violation of the constitutional separation of powers,” she said.It was not clear why Feinstein didn’t repeat her charges from March that the agency also may have broken the law and had sought to “thwart” her investigation into the CIA’s use of waterboarding, which simulates drowning, sleep deprivation and other harsh interrogation methods _ tactics denounced by many experts as torture.
  • Buckley’s findings clashed with denials by Brennan that he issued only hours after Feinstein’s blistering Senate speech.“As far as the allegations of, you know, CIA hacking into, you know, Senate computers, nothing could be further from the truth. I mean, we wouldn’t do that. I mean, that’s _ that’s just beyond the _ you know, the scope of reason in terms of what we would do,” he said in an appearance at the Council on Foreign Relations.White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest issued a strong defense of Brennan, crediting him with playing an “instrumental role” in the administration’s fight against terrorism, in launching Buckley’s investigation and in looking for ways to prevent such occurrences in the future.Earnest was asked at a news briefing whether there was a credibility issue for Brennan, given his forceful denial in March.“Not at all,” he replied, adding that Brennan had suggested the inspector general’s investigation in the first place. And, he added, Brennan had taken the further step of appointing the accountability board to review the situation and the conduct of those accused of acting improperly to “ensure that they are properly held accountable for that conduct.”
  • The allegations and the separate CIA charge that the committee staff removed classified documents from the secret CIA facility in Northern Virginia without authorization were referred to the Justice Department for investigation.The department earlier this month announced that it had found insufficient evidence on which to proceed with criminal probes into either matter “at this time.” Thursday, Justice Department officials declined comment.
  • In her speech, Feinstein asserted that her staff found the material _ known as the Panetta review, after former CIA Director Leon Panetta, who ordered it _ in the protected database and that the CIA discovered the staff had it by monitoring its computers in violation of the user agreement.The inspector general’s summary, which was prepared for the Senate and the House intelligence committees, didn’t identify the CIA personnel who had accessed the Senate’s protected database.Furthermore, it said, the CIA crimes report to the Justice Department alleging that panel staffers had removed classified materials without permission was grounded on inaccurate information. The report is believed to have been sent by the CIA’s then acting general counsel, Robert Eatinger, who was a legal adviser to the interrogation program.“The factual basis for the referral was not supported, as the author of the referral had been provided inaccurate information on which the letter was based,” said the summary, noting that the Justice Department decided not to pursue the issue.
  • Christopher Anders, senior legislative counsel with the American Civil Liberties Union, criticized the CIA announcement, saying that “an apology isn’t enough.”“The Justice Department must refer the (CIA) inspector general’s report to a federal prosecutor for a full investigation into any crimes by CIA personnel or contractors,” said Anders.
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    And no one but the lowest ranking staffer knew anything about it, not even the CIA lawyer who made the criminal referral to the Justice Dept., alleging that the Senate Intelligence Committee had accessed classified documents it wasn't authorized to access. So the Justice Dept. announces that there's insufficient evidence to warrant a criminal investigation. As though the CIA lawyer's allegations were not based on the unlawful surveillance of the Senate Intelligence Committee's network.  Can't we just get an official announcement that Attorney General Holder has decided that there shall be a cover-up? 
Gonzalo San Gil, PhD.

Cultivating a Culture of Knowledge Sharing - Creative Commons - 0 views

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    "Fiona MacAlister September 1, 2016 In March we hosted the second Institute for Open Leadership. In our summary of the event we mentioned that the Institute fellows would be taking turns to write about their open policy projects. This week's post is from Fiona MacAlister, OER Specialist at Wits University in Johannesburg, South Africa."
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    "Fiona MacAlister September 1, 2016 In March we hosted the second Institute for Open Leadership. In our summary of the event we mentioned that the Institute fellows would be taking turns to write about their open policy projects. This week's post is from Fiona MacAlister, OER Specialist at Wits University in Johannesburg, South Africa."
Gonzalo San Gil, PhD.

Canonical's and Red Hat's Shameful War Against One Another… and Against the A... - 0 views

    • Gonzalo San Gil, PhD.
       
      # ! Guess who (& why) can be behind... # ! feeding a warped conflict in the core of # ! the #FreeSotware environment... [# ! Note: Look how 'some' treat their ''friends'... http://fossbytes.com/microsoft-buys-canonical-kills-ubuntu-linux-forever/ # ! and guess how they can behave with their rivals... # ! ...and what all this conflict represents for the Digital Community, as a whole...]
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    "Summary: In an effort to trip each other up and in order to become the 'industry standard', Canonical and Red Hat hurt each other and alienate the media (what's left of it)"
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    "Summary: In an effort to trip each other up and in order to become the 'industry standard', Canonical and Red Hat hurt each other and alienate the media (what's left of it)"
Gonzalo San Gil, PhD.

Universal Music Moves For Summary Judgment Against Grooveshark | TorrentFreak - 0 views

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    "In 2011 it appeared that Grooveshark would be able to claim safe harbor protections on pre-1972 recordings after all when a court ruled in its favor. However, in April 2013 a panel reversed the decision." [# ! All The Music issue is fixed now. # ;) (# ! as if there weren't better thing to to... to spend the money in...)] [# ! how is that a panel reverses decisions two years after ... ?]
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    "In 2011 it appeared that Grooveshark would be able to claim safe harbor protections on pre-1972 recordings after all when a court ruled in its favor. However, in April 2013 a panel reversed the decision." [# ! how is that a panel reverses decisions two years after ... ?]
Gonzalo San Gil, PhD.

Special 404 Report | Electronic Frontier Foundation - 0 views

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    "Executive Summary: Missing Stories From the 301 Blacklist"
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    "Executive Summary: Missing Stories From the 301 Blacklist"
Gonzalo San Gil, PhD.

Microsoft AstroTurfing War on GNU/Linux is Still Going On, But Hidden Better, Uses API ... - 0 views

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    "Posted in Deception, Free/Libre Software, GNU/Linux, Microsoft at 12:18 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz "The strength of this platform [C#] and the innovation around it is the key element in preventing commodization by Linux, our installed base and Network Appliance vendors." -Bill Gates, Microsoft Summary: The corruptible press continues to describe blatant attacks (Embrace, Extend, Extinguish) against GNU/Linux and Free software as Microsoft 'embracing' Open Source"
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    "Posted in Deception, Free/Libre Software, GNU/Linux, Microsoft at 12:18 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz "The strength of this platform [C#] and the innovation around it is the key element in preventing commodization by Linux, our installed base and Network Appliance vendors." -Bill Gates, Microsoft Summary: The corruptible press continues to describe blatant attacks (Embrace, Extend, Extinguish) against GNU/Linux and Free software as Microsoft 'embracing' Open Source"
Gonzalo San Gil, PhD.

How to use public PCs safely with Linux | ZDNet - 0 views

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    "Summary: Public PCs aren't safe, so what's a PC user to do? Carry a Linux distribution on a USB stick in their backpocket of course! Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols By Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols for Linux and Open Source | July 15, 2014 -- 23:42 GMT (16:42 PDT)"
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    "Summary: Public PCs aren't safe, so what's a PC user to do? Carry a Linux distribution on a USB stick in their backpocket of course! Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols By Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols for Linux and Open Source | July 15, 2014 -- 23:42 GMT (16:42 PDT)"
Gonzalo San Gil, PhD.

Microsoft to open source more of .NET, and bring it to Linux, Mac OS X | ZDNet [# Via M... - 0 views

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    [http://www.muylinux.com/2014/11/13/microsoft-plataforma-dot-net-open-source-linux?PageSpeed=noscript] "Summary: Microsoft is porting its server-side .NET stack to Linux and Mac OS X, and is making more of that stack available as open source." # ! #OpenSource is the @¡#way.
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    [http://www.muylinux.com/2014/11/13/microsoft-plataforma-dot-net-open-source-linux?PageSpeed=noscript] "Summary: Microsoft is porting its server-side .NET stack to Linux and Mac OS X, and is making more of that stack available as open source."
Gonzalo San Gil, PhD.

Bribes and Extortion Help Turn Android (Linux-powered) Into 'Microsoft Android' | Techr... - 0 views

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    "Summary: A strategy involving harassment and bribes drives large Android players into Microsoft's arms (PRISM and lock-in), much to Google's (and users') detriment and beyond regulators' range of visibility"
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    "Summary: A strategy involving harassment and bribes drives large Android players into Microsoft's arms (PRISM and lock-in), much to Google's (and users') detriment and beyond regulators' range of visibility"
Gonzalo San Gil, PhD.

More Information Emerges About the Microsoft-Red Hat Patent Agreement | Techrights - 0 views

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    "Summary: Informed (GNU/Linux-centric) journalists who looked beyond the misleading press releases and the distracting marketing campaign have managed to find out and highlight the patent issues associated with the Red Hat-Microsoft deal"
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    "Summary: Informed (GNU/Linux-centric) journalists who looked beyond the misleading press releases and the distracting marketing campaign have managed to find out and highlight the patent issues associated with the Red Hat-Microsoft deal"
Paul Merrell

Federal Court Rules Suspicionless Searches of Travelers' Phones and Laptops Unconstitut... - 1 views

  • n a major victory for privacy rights at the border, a federal court in Boston ruled today that suspicionless searches of travelers’ electronic devices by federal agents at airports and other U.S. ports of entry are unconstitutional. The ruling came in a lawsuit, Alasaad v. McAleenan, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), and ACLU of Massachusetts, on behalf of 11 travelers whose smartphones and laptops were searched without individualized suspicion at U.S. ports of entry.“This ruling significantly advances Fourth Amendment protections for millions of international travelers who enter the United States every year,” said Esha Bhandari, staff attorney with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. “By putting an end to the government’s ability to conduct suspicionless fishing expeditions, the court reaffirms that the border is not a lawless place and that we don’t lose our privacy rights when we travel.”
  • The district court order puts an end to Customs and Border Control (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) asserted authority to search and seize travelers’ devices for purposes far afield from the enforcement of immigration and customs laws. Border officers must now demonstrate individualized suspicion of illegal contraband before they can search a traveler’s device. The number of electronic device searches at U.S. ports of entry has increased significantly. Last year, CBP conducted more than 33,000 searches, almost four times the number from just three years prior. International travelers returning to the United States have reported numerous cases of abusive searches in recent months. While searching through the phone of Zainab Merchant, a plaintiff in the Alasaad case, a border agent knowingly rifled through privileged attorney-client communications. An immigration officer at Boston Logan Airport reportedly searched an incoming Harvard freshman’s cell phone and laptop, reprimanded the student for friends’ social media postings expressing views critical of the U.S. government, and denied the student entry into the country following the search.For the order:https://www.eff.org/document/alasaad-v-nielsen-summary-judgment-order For more on this case:https://www.eff.org/cases/alasaad-v-duke
Gonzalo San Gil, PhD.

Planet Blue Coat: Mapping Global Censorship and Surveillance ToolsThe Citizen Lab - 2 views

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    [January 15, 2013 Download PDF version. Read The New York Times article associated with this report. The following individuals contributed to this report: Morgan Marquis-Boire (lead technical research) and Jakub Dalek (lead technical research), Sarah McKune (lead legal research), Matthew Carrieri, Masashi Crete-Nishihata, Ron Deibert, Saad Omar Khan, Helmi Noman, John Scott-Railton, and Greg Wiseman. Summary of Key Findings Blue Coat Devices capable of filtering, censorship, and surveillance are being used around the world. During several weeks of scanning and validation that ended in January 2013, we uncovered 61 Blue Coat ProxySG devices and 316 Blue Coat PacketShaper appliances, devices with specific functionality permitting filtering, censorship, and surveillance. ...]
Gonzalo San Gil, PhD.

Tools | La Quadrature du Net - 1 views

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    [ Who are we? FAQ Tools Contact Press room English Français La Quadrature du Net La Quadrature du Net Internet & Libertés Participate Support us Newsletter RSS Identi.ca Twitter Dossiers Net Neutrality ACTA Anti-sharing directive - IPRED Net filtering Online Services Directive Proposals Tools general Printer-friendly version Send to friend Français Political Memory Political Memory is a toolbox designed to help reach members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and track their voting records. You may find the list of Members of the European Parliament: by alphabetical order by country by political group by committee For each Member of Parliament or European MP are listed contact details, mandates, as well as their votes and how they stand on subjects touched on by La Quadrature du Net. If you have telephony software installed on your computer, you can call them directly by clicking on "click to call". Wiki The wiki is the collaborative part of this website where anyone can create or modify content. This is where information on La Quadrature's campaigns (such as those about the written statement on ACTA or the IPRED Consultation), highlights of the National Assembly1 debates, pages relating to ongoing issues tracked by La Quadrature, as well as analyses, illustrations and more can be found. Mediakit The Mediakit is an audio and video data bank. It contains interventions of La Quadrature's spokespeople in the media as well as reports about issues La Quadrature closely follows. All these media can be viewed and downloaded in different formats. Press Review The Press Review is a collection of press articles about La Quadrature du Net's issues. It is compiled by a team of volunteers and comes in two languages: English and French. Articles written in other languages appear in both press re
Paul Merrell

NAFTA on Steroids | The Nation - 0 views

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    The Stop Online Piracy Act is  is reborn in secret treaty negotiations, but would apply throughout all Member nations that ratify the treaty.    The complete article is well worth the read. I've personally read the two leaked U.S.-drafted  chapters and this article presents a fair summary of them. 
Gonzalo San Gil, PhD.

Europe's net neutrality law gets breathing space as industry committee delays vote - Te... - 0 views

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    [* #Our Time, Let's #Go!] "Summary: The two-week delay is apparently down to technicalities over translations, but those opposed to anti-neutrality amendments made by some in the committee say it will give everyone a chance to better examine the details of the text."
Gonzalo San Gil, PhD.

The FCC doesn't want to destroy net neutrality, but it's going to anyway - Tech News an... - 0 views

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    "Stacey Higginbotham 15 hours ago 5 Comments A A RIP net neutrality photo: Gigaom illustration Summary: Here's the FCC's current plan to protect network neutrality. It hopes to create a set of rules by the end of the year, and in doing so, could open the door for prioritization of internet traffic."
Gonzalo San Gil, PhD.

Microsoft Loves Linux to Death and Still Tries to Kill GNU/Linux | Techrights - 0 views

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    "Summary: Microsoft's relentless attacks on GNU/Linux and Free software in general (even if it runs on Windows) are so evident that claims of 'love' remain laughable at best (if not infuriating)"
Gonzalo San Gil, PhD.

MPEG-LA is Preparing New Patent Obstruction (Called DASH) Against Free Software, OIN Gr... - 0 views

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    "Posted in Patents at 11:29 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz Summary: A new conspiracy against free multimedia software, set up by the MPEG cartel, is called DASH" [MPEG-LA is technically a troll, one that is backed and funded by Apple and Microsoft, among other giants)]
Gonzalo San Gil, PhD.

Hypocrite Forks the Linux Kernel Because of Cultural Characteristics That He Himself is... - 0 views

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    "osted in GNU/Linux, Kernel at 1:00 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz Summary: Forking of Linux is misleadingly reported in the media because of a couple of very loud people, who are not even quitting their jobs"
Gonzalo San Gil, PhD.

Finjan, Cisco, JDate and Other Companies Acting Like Patent Trolls; New Threats to Linu... - 1 views

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    "Summary: News about patents from all across the Web, placing special emphasis on software patents and how these affect Free software projects, including Linux and Android"
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