Thursday, November 10, 2011
Ron Paul: Obama Presidency On The Verge Of Being A "Dictatorship"
Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) says President Obama's continued use of the executive order "brings the modern presidency dangerously close to an elective dictatorship."
"That is arrogant," Paul said of Obama frequently using the executive order function as of late. "It is flaunting the Constitution and the whole principle of how we’re supposed to operate. The idea they can just do this and take over the legislative function and brag about it -- and Congress does nothing and the courts do nothing about it, it's very, very bad."
"He's dictatorial, is what he is," Rep. Paul said before the end of the interview.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2011/11/09/ron_paul_obama_presidency_on_the_verge_of_being_a_dictatorship.html
"That is arrogant," Paul said of Obama frequently using the executive order function as of late. "It is flaunting the Constitution and the whole principle of how we’re supposed to operate. The idea they can just do this and take over the legislative function and brag about it -- and Congress does nothing and the courts do nothing about it, it's very, very bad."
"He's dictatorial, is what he is," Rep. Paul said before the end of the interview.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2011/11/09/ron_paul_obama_presidency_on_the_verge_of_being_a_dictatorship.html
Monday, November 7, 2011
Bill Clinton sticks up for Rick Perry on immigration
Texas Gov. Rick Perry has an unexpected defender: former president Bill Clinton.
In an interview with USA TODAY, Clinton said he didn't think much of the Republican field vying for the nomination against President Obama. "I think that most of what they're debating is crazy," he said, noting that he watched the Las Vegas debate last month, which featured spirited exchanges between Perry and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.
Perry takes the same view: He says the Texas law creates "taxpaying, contributing members" of society.
Clinton cautions Democrats against dismissing the GOP field as weak and flawed.
"It's always a mistake to underestimate your opponent," he says. "People grow in these campaigns. How many times have you seen somebody get better in the course of an election? And it's also unpredictable what happens."
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2011/11/bill-clinton-rick-perry-presidential-election-/1
In an interview with USA TODAY, Clinton said he didn't think much of the Republican field vying for the nomination against President Obama. "I think that most of what they're debating is crazy," he said, noting that he watched the Las Vegas debate last month, which featured spirited exchanges between Perry and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.
STORY: Clinton's economic plan
"It makes my skin crawl when they attack Rick Perry for one of the best things he did," Clinton says, that is, his support of a Texas law that grants in-state college tuition to illegal immigrants brought to the state as children. "What would they like?" Clinton demands. "Would they like the kid to stand on a corner and sell dope or something?"Perry takes the same view: He says the Texas law creates "taxpaying, contributing members" of society.
Clinton cautions Democrats against dismissing the GOP field as weak and flawed.
"It's always a mistake to underestimate your opponent," he says. "People grow in these campaigns. How many times have you seen somebody get better in the course of an election? And it's also unpredictable what happens."
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2011/11/bill-clinton-rick-perry-presidential-election-/1
Supreme Court to hear GPS surveillance case
It sounds a bit like Big Brother: Police can place a GPS device on your car to follow all of your movements, for any length of time.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday is scheduled to hear arguments about whether investigators need to get a warrant before doing so.
Legal experts say the case, which stems from a D.C. nightclub owner's conviction on drug charges, is one of the most important Fourth Amendment cases in decades, and will determine how police conduct investigations and privacy in the high-tech age.
Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://washingtonexaminer.com/local/crime-punishment/2011/11/supreme-court-hear-gps-surveillance-case#ixzz1d4HdPgKV
The Supreme Court on Tuesday is scheduled to hear arguments about whether investigators need to get a warrant before doing so.
Legal experts say the case, which stems from a D.C. nightclub owner's conviction on drug charges, is one of the most important Fourth Amendment cases in decades, and will determine how police conduct investigations and privacy in the high-tech age.
Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://washingtonexaminer.com/local/crime-punishment/2011/11/supreme-court-hear-gps-surveillance-case#ixzz1d4HdPgKV
Friday, November 4, 2011
AP Exclusive: CIA following Twitter, Facebook
McLEAN, Va. (AP) — In an anonymous industrial park in Virginia, in an unassuming brick building, the CIA is following tweets — up to 5 million a day.At the agency's Open Source Center, a team known affectionately as the "vengeful librarians" also pores over Facebook, newspapers, TV news channels, local radio stations, Internet chat rooms — anything overseas that anyone can access and contribute to openly.From Arabic to Mandarin Chinese, from an angry tweet to a thoughtful blog, the analysts gather the information, often in native tongue. They cross-reference it with the local newspaper or a clandestinely intercepted phone conversation. From there, they build a picture sought by the highest levels at the White House, giving a real-time peek, for example, at the mood of a region after the Navy SEAL raid that killed Osama bin Laden or perhaps a prediction of which Mideast nation seems ripe for revolt.Yes, they saw the uprising in Egypt coming; they just didn't know exactly when revolution might hit, said the center's director, Doug Naquin.The center already had "predicted that social media in places like Egypt could be a game-changer and a threat to the regime," he said in a recent interview with The Associated Press at the center. CIA officials said it was the first such visit by a reporter the agency has ever granted.The CIA facility was set up in response to a recommendation by the 9/11 Commission, with its first priority to focus on counterterrorism and counterproliferation. But its several hundred analysts — the actual number is classified — track a broad range, from Chinese Internet access to the mood on the street in Pakistan.While most are based in Virginia, the analysts also are scattered throughout U.S. embassies worldwide to get a step closer to the pulse of their subjects.The most successful analysts, Naquin said, are something like the heroine of the crime novel "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," a quirky, irreverent computer hacker who "knows how to find stuff other people don't know exists."Those with a masters' degree in library science and multiple languages, especially those who grew up speaking another language, "make a powerful open source officer," Naquin said.The center had started focusing on social media after watching the Twitter-sphere rock the Iranian regime during the Green Revolution of 2009, when thousands protested the results of the elections that put Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad back in power. "Farsi was the third largest presence in social media blogs at the time on the Web," Naquin said.The center's analysis ends up in President Barack Obama's daily intelligence briefing in one form or another, almost every day.After bin Laden was killed in Pakistan in May, the CIA followed Twitter to give the White House a snapshot of world public opinion.Since tweets can't necessarily be pegged to a geographic location, the analysts broke down reaction by languages. The result: The majority of Urdu tweets, the language of Pakistan, and Chinese tweets, were negative. China is a close ally of Pakistan's. Pakistani officials protested the raid as an affront to their nation's sovereignty, a sore point that continues to complicate U.S.-Pakistani relations.When the president gave his speech addressing Mideast issues a few weeks after the raid, the tweet response over the next 24 hours came in negative from Turkey, Egypt, Yemen, Algeria, the Persian Gulf and Israel, too, with speakers of Arabic and Turkic tweets charging that Obama favored Israel, and Hebrew tweets denouncing the speech as pro-Arab.In the next few days, major news media came to the same conclusion, as did analysis by the covert side of U.S. intelligence based on intercepts and human intelligence gathered in the region.The center is also in the process of comparing its social media results with the track record of polling organizations, trying to see which produces more accurate results, Naquin said."We do what we can to caveat that we may be getting an overrepresentation of the urban elite," said Naquin, acknowledging that only a small slice of the population in many areas they are monitoring has access to computers and Internet. But he points out that access to social media sites via cellphones is growing in areas like Africa, meaning a "wider portion of the population than you might expect is sounding off and holding forth than it might appear if you count the Internet hookups in a given country."Sites like Facebook and Twitter also have become a key resource for following a fast-moving crisis such as the riots that raged across Bangkok in April and May of last year, the center's deputy director said. The Associated Press agreed not to identify him because he sometimes still works undercover in foreign countries.As director, Naquin is identified publicly by the agency although the location of the center is kept secret to deter attacks, whether physical or electronic.The deputy director was one of a skeleton crew of 20 U.S. government employees who kept the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok running throughout the rioting as protesters surged through the streets, swarming the embassy neighborhood and trapping U.S. diplomats and Thais alike in their homes.The army moved in, and traditional media reporting slowed to a trickle as local reporters were either trapped or cowed by government forces."But within an hour, it was all surging out on Twitter and Facebook," the deputy director said. The CIA homed in on 12 to 15 users who tweeted situation reports and cellphone photos of demonstrations. The CIA staff cross-referenced the tweeters with the limited news reports to figure out who among them was providing reliable information. Tweeters also policed themselves, pointing out when someone else had filed an inaccurate account."That helped us narrow down to those dozen we could count on," he said.Ultimately, some two-thirds of the reports coming out of the embassy being sent back to all branches of government in Washington came from the CIA's open source analysis throughout the crisis.
Great Pics
Check out these great pics from Greece . . . uh, er, wait that's Oakland California. Didn't see this coming did I? Oh wait yes I did check this link out from last year:
http://cincinnatus17.blogspot.com/2010/05/vision-of-our-future.html
http://cincinnatus17.blogspot.com/2010/05/vision-of-our-future.html
Monday, October 31, 2011
One More Ron Paul Story You Won't Hear About
Ron Paul wins both tallies at GOP straw poll in Iowa
Des Moines, Iowa (CNN) - Ron Paul has won two separate tallies for the National Federation of Republican Assemblies Presidential Straw Poll.
Paul won both the Iowa-voters-only count at the Saturday convention in Des Moines as well as a tally of non-Iowans who participated.In the Iowa voters result, Paul took 82%. Following him were Herman Cain with 14.7%, Rick Santorum with 1%, Newt Gingrich with 0.9%, Michele Bachmann with 0.5%, Rick Perry with 0.5%, Gary Johnson with 0.2%, with Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman 0%.
The total number of votes cast in that tally was 430.
In the tally of non-Iowans who voted, Paul won 26% followed by Cain at 25%, Perry and Santorum tied at 16%, Gingrich at 11%, Bachmann at 6%, Romney at 1%, and Huntsman and Johnson with 0%.
The total number of votes cast in that count was 101.
Though Paul won both tallies, the NFRA has not yet officially endorsed a candidate. Delegates to the convention will decide that later Saturday.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/10/29/ron-paul-wins-both-tallies-at-gop-pres-straw-poll-in-iowa/
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Progressive’s New Snapshot Device Records Your Driving Habits
Jason DouglassInfowars.com
Progressive Insurance has introduced a new program called ‘Snapshot’ to help drivers, who curb their driving habits, save money.
According to The Progressive site the Snapshot device will be sent to the customer who must plug it into their car. This device will record information about your driving habits (i.e. miles driven, time of day and how many sudden stop you make). After 30 days of recording, the customer could earn a discount on insurance. Make note of the loophole term ‘could’.
Taken from Progressive Snapshot FAQ:
The Department of Transportation would like to see one of these ‘snapshot’ devices in every car on the street which will make it possible to surveil, tabulate and tax everyone.
http://www.infowars.com/progressives-new-snapshot-discount-records-your-driving-habits/
Progressive Insurance has introduced a new program called ‘Snapshot’ to help drivers, who curb their driving habits, save money.
According to The Progressive site the Snapshot device will be sent to the customer who must plug it into their car. This device will record information about your driving habits (i.e. miles driven, time of day and how many sudden stop you make). After 30 days of recording, the customer could earn a discount on insurance. Make note of the loophole term ‘could’.
Taken from Progressive Snapshot FAQ:
Once you get your Snapshot device in the mail, just plug it into your car’s diagnostic port (usually below the steering column), and drive as you normally would to take your snapshot. Then log in to your policy to view your driving information and projected discount.
Reading between the lines the obvious question is: will the information collected be used against the customer in order to raise their insurance rates? There are also very serious privacy concerns with this type of program.The Department of Transportation would like to see one of these ‘snapshot’ devices in every car on the street which will make it possible to surveil, tabulate and tax everyone.
http://www.infowars.com/progressives-new-snapshot-discount-records-your-driving-habits/
Founder's Quote
"This was the object of the Declaration of Independence. Not to find out new principles, or new arguments, never before thought of, not merely to say things which had never been said before; but to place before mankind the common sense of the subject, in terms so plain and firm as to command their assent, and to justify ourselves in the independent stand we are compelled to take. Neither aiming at originality of principle or sentiment, nor yet copied from any particular and previous writing, it was intended to be an expression of the American mind, and to give to that expression the proper tone and spirit called for by the occasion." --Thomas Jefferson, letter to Henry Lee, 1825
Saturday, October 29, 2011
U.S. Firm Acknowledges Syria Uses Its Gear to Block Web
By JENNIFER VALENTINO-DEVRIES, PAUL SONNE and NOUR MALAS
A U.S. company that makes Internet-blocking gear acknowledges that Syria has been using at least 13 of its devices to censor Web activity there—an admission that comes as the Syrian government cracks down on its citizens and silences their online activities.Blue Coat Systems Inc. of Sunnyvale, Calif., says it shipped the Internet "filtering" devices to Dubai late last year, believing they were destined for a department of the Iraqi government. However, the devices—which can block websites or record when people visit them—made their way to Syria, a country subject to strict U.S. trade embargoes.
Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203687504577001911398596328.html#ixzz1cBUcNxSb
Part 2: CEO Peter Schiff Talking Sense To OWS People
Second Part of a great video.
These people just don't get IT.
These people just don't get IT.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Communist Party USA Supports Occupy Movement
Communist Party USA Supports Occupy Movement
Along with our President (Videos)
And Obama's support:
And what he has to say about a real grassroots, nonviolent political movement:
Law Bans Cash for Second Hand Transactions
Law Bans Cash for Second Hand Transactions
Cold hard cash. It's good everywhere you go, right? You can use it to pay for anything. But that's
not the case here in Louisiana now. It's a law that was passed during this year's busy legislative session. House bill 195 basically says those who buy and sell second hand goods cannot use cash to make those transactions, and it flew so far under the radar most businesses don't even know about it. "We're gonna lose a lot of business," says Danny Guidry, who owns the Pioneer Trading Post in Lafayette. He deals in buying and selling unique second hand items. "We don't want this cash transaction to be taken away from us. It's an everyday transaction," Guidry explains. Guidry says, "I think everyone in this business once they find out about it. They're will definitely be a lot of uproar." The law states those who buy or sell second hand goods are prohibited from using cash. State representative Rickey Hardy co-authored the bill. Hardy says, "they give a check or a cashiers money order, or electronic one of those three mechanisms is used." Hardy says the bill is targeted at criminals who steal anything from copper to televisions, and sell them for a quick buck. Having a paper trail will make it easier for law enforcement. "It's a mechanism to be used so the police department has something to go on and have a lead," explains Hardy. Guidry feels his store shouldn't have to change it's ways of doing business, because he may possibly buy or sell stolen goods. Something he says has happened once in his eight years. "We are being targeted for something we shouldn't be." Besides non-profit resellers like Goodwill, and garage sales, the language of the bill encompasses stores like the Pioneer Trading Post and flea markets. Lawyer Thad Ackel Jr. feels the passage of this bill begins a slippery slope for economic freedom in the state. "The government is placing a significant restriction on individuals transacting in their own private property," says Ackel. Pawn shops have been forced to keep records of their clients for years. However under this bill they are still allowed to deal in cash.
Doug MacDiarmid
http://www.klfy.com/story/15717759/second-hand-dealer-law
Cold hard cash. It's good everywhere you go, right? You can use it to pay for anything. But that's
not the case here in Louisiana now. It's a law that was passed during this year's busy legislative session. House bill 195 basically says those who buy and sell second hand goods cannot use cash to make those transactions, and it flew so far under the radar most businesses don't even know about it. "We're gonna lose a lot of business," says Danny Guidry, who owns the Pioneer Trading Post in Lafayette. He deals in buying and selling unique second hand items. "We don't want this cash transaction to be taken away from us. It's an everyday transaction," Guidry explains. Guidry says, "I think everyone in this business once they find out about it. They're will definitely be a lot of uproar." The law states those who buy or sell second hand goods are prohibited from using cash. State representative Rickey Hardy co-authored the bill. Hardy says, "they give a check or a cashiers money order, or electronic one of those three mechanisms is used." Hardy says the bill is targeted at criminals who steal anything from copper to televisions, and sell them for a quick buck. Having a paper trail will make it easier for law enforcement. "It's a mechanism to be used so the police department has something to go on and have a lead," explains Hardy. Guidry feels his store shouldn't have to change it's ways of doing business, because he may possibly buy or sell stolen goods. Something he says has happened once in his eight years. "We are being targeted for something we shouldn't be." Besides non-profit resellers like Goodwill, and garage sales, the language of the bill encompasses stores like the Pioneer Trading Post and flea markets. Lawyer Thad Ackel Jr. feels the passage of this bill begins a slippery slope for economic freedom in the state. "The government is placing a significant restriction on individuals transacting in their own private property," says Ackel. Pawn shops have been forced to keep records of their clients for years. However under this bill they are still allowed to deal in cash.
Doug MacDiarmid
http://www.klfy.com/story/15717759/second-hand-dealer-law
NYPD Police Commissioner Meeting With George Soros in Secret?
Did the most powerful police commissioner in America have a secret meeting with leftist financier George Soros?
Len Levitt, the police journalist and blogger behind NYPD Confidential, claims in a piece on HuffPo that Soros scored a clandestine conference with Kelly at One Police Plaza, the NYPD’s headquarters, just last week.
According to Levitt, Soros was “escorted in by a retired NYPD cop, driving a wine-colored Mercedes, [and] the left-leaning billionaire was whisked in and out of police headquarters with no one being the wiser.”
Levitt claims that a Soros official confirmed the meeting to him. But NYPD has remained mum on the subject.
Soros’s face-to-face with Ray Kelly comes amidst accusation that the Open Society Institute has been a key source of funds for Occupy Wall Street. Reuters even published a story on the connection, which led to widespread outrage in the mainstream press.
Soros’s people of course vehemently deny the accusation and claim no involvement in OWS. Reuters later retracted.
Unlike the President of the United States, who at least theoretically has to publish his schedule of visitors, New York City’s Police Commissioner keeps his docket of admirers, advisors, and other invitees to his office private.
But as more and more New Yorkers ask when the Occupiers will leave, questions will fly about why the NYPD backed down from one Zuccotti Park eviction, and has yet to try another.
We know political influence was brought to bear in favor of the Occupiers.
The only question that remains is, whose influence was it?
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/did-the-nypd-police-commissioner-meet-with-george-soros-in-secret/
Len Levitt, the police journalist and blogger behind NYPD Confidential, claims in a piece on HuffPo that Soros scored a clandestine conference with Kelly at One Police Plaza, the NYPD’s headquarters, just last week.
According to Levitt, Soros was “escorted in by a retired NYPD cop, driving a wine-colored Mercedes, [and] the left-leaning billionaire was whisked in and out of police headquarters with no one being the wiser.”
Levitt claims that a Soros official confirmed the meeting to him. But NYPD has remained mum on the subject.
Soros’s face-to-face with Ray Kelly comes amidst accusation that the Open Society Institute has been a key source of funds for Occupy Wall Street. Reuters even published a story on the connection, which led to widespread outrage in the mainstream press.
Soros’s people of course vehemently deny the accusation and claim no involvement in OWS. Reuters later retracted.
Unlike the President of the United States, who at least theoretically has to publish his schedule of visitors, New York City’s Police Commissioner keeps his docket of admirers, advisors, and other invitees to his office private.
But as more and more New Yorkers ask when the Occupiers will leave, questions will fly about why the NYPD backed down from one Zuccotti Park eviction, and has yet to try another.
We know political influence was brought to bear in favor of the Occupiers.
The only question that remains is, whose influence was it?
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/did-the-nypd-police-commissioner-meet-with-george-soros-in-secret/
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
FBI Arrests 5 With Maps, Photos of US Facilities
SAN ANTONIO — Five foreign men were arrested during a courthouse break-in early on Wednesday and police said they found photographs of public buildings, water systems and malls from various U.S. cities in their van.
The men, at least three of whom were in their 20s, will be questioned by a joint terrorism task force including the FBI and immigration authorities, officials said.
Bexar County spokeswoman Laura Jesse said three men were found inside the 120-year-old Bexar County Courthouse, a landmark in downtown San Antonio and two in a large recreational vehicle parked in front of the building.
She said all five were Moroccans.
Inside the RV, officials say they found "photographs of infrastructure" including shopping malls, water systems, courthouses and other public buildings that they say were taken in cities across the United States.
"They got travel documents, parking passes, they have been all over the country," Police Captain Cris Andersen said.
"A lot of photographic equipment, a lot of documentation equipment (was) inside their vehicle."
"They are going to be held for interrogation by the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the joint terrorism task force," Andersen said.
San Antonio is home to three major military bases, and officials have notified them of the incident, and have told them to be on the lookout for any suspicious activity and vehicles.
A military intelligence convention is underway at the city's Convention Center several blocks away, with top intelligence officials including White House officials set to speak, but investigators didn't say whether there was any connection.
© 2011 Thomson/Reuters. All rights reserved.
http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/fbi-plot-photos-buildings/2011/10/19/id/415023
The men, at least three of whom were in their 20s, will be questioned by a joint terrorism task force including the FBI and immigration authorities, officials said.
Bexar County spokeswoman Laura Jesse said three men were found inside the 120-year-old Bexar County Courthouse, a landmark in downtown San Antonio and two in a large recreational vehicle parked in front of the building.
She said all five were Moroccans.
Inside the RV, officials say they found "photographs of infrastructure" including shopping malls, water systems, courthouses and other public buildings that they say were taken in cities across the United States.
"They got travel documents, parking passes, they have been all over the country," Police Captain Cris Andersen said.
"A lot of photographic equipment, a lot of documentation equipment (was) inside their vehicle."
"They are going to be held for interrogation by the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the joint terrorism task force," Andersen said.
San Antonio is home to three major military bases, and officials have notified them of the incident, and have told them to be on the lookout for any suspicious activity and vehicles.
A military intelligence convention is underway at the city's Convention Center several blocks away, with top intelligence officials including White House officials set to speak, but investigators didn't say whether there was any connection.
© 2011 Thomson/Reuters. All rights reserved.
http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/fbi-plot-photos-buildings/2011/10/19/id/415023
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Public Airwaves Now In The Hands Of The Govt.
Check out this article from the Blaze. Scary times people when free speech is being silenced.
Did You Know Feds Will Temporarily Cut Off All TV and Radio Broadcasts on Nov. 9?
If you have ever wondered about the government’s ability to control the civilian airwaves, you will have your answer on November 9th.
On that day, federal authorities are going to shut off all television and radio communications simultaneously at 2:00PM EST to complete the first ever test of the national Emergency Alert System (EAS).
This isn’t a wild conspiracy theory. The upcoming test is posted on the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau website.
Only the President has the authority to activate EAS at the national level, and he has delegated that authority to the Director of FEMA. The test will be conducted jointly by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through FEMA, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Weather Service (NWS).
In essence, the authority to seize control of all television and civilian communication has been asserted by the executive branch and handed to a government agency.
The EAS has been around since 1994. Its precursor, the Emergency Broadcast System (EBS), started back in 1963. Television and radio broadcasters, satellite radio and satellite television providers, cable television and wireline video providers are all involved in the system.
So this begs the question: is the first ever national EAS test really a big deal?
Probably not. At least, not yet.
But there are some troubling factors all coming together right now that could conceivably trigger a real usage of the EAS system in the not too distant future. A European financial collapse could bring down U.S. markets. What is now the “Occupy” movement could lead to widespread civil unrest. And there are ominous signs that radical groups such as Anonymous will attempt something major on November 5th- Guy Fawke’s day.
Now we know in the event of a major crisis, the American people will be told with one voice, at the same time, about an emergency.
All thats left to determine is who will have control of the EAS when that day comes, and what their message will be.
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/did-you-know-feds-will-temporarily-cut-off-all-tv-and-radio-broadcasts-on-nov-9/
Did You Know Feds Will Temporarily Cut Off All TV and Radio Broadcasts on Nov. 9?
If you have ever wondered about the government’s ability to control the civilian airwaves, you will have your answer on November 9th.
On that day, federal authorities are going to shut off all television and radio communications simultaneously at 2:00PM EST to complete the first ever test of the national Emergency Alert System (EAS).
This isn’t a wild conspiracy theory. The upcoming test is posted on the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau website.
Only the President has the authority to activate EAS at the national level, and he has delegated that authority to the Director of FEMA. The test will be conducted jointly by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through FEMA, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Weather Service (NWS).
In essence, the authority to seize control of all television and civilian communication has been asserted by the executive branch and handed to a government agency.
The EAS has been around since 1994. Its precursor, the Emergency Broadcast System (EBS), started back in 1963. Television and radio broadcasters, satellite radio and satellite television providers, cable television and wireline video providers are all involved in the system.
So this begs the question: is the first ever national EAS test really a big deal?
Probably not. At least, not yet.
But there are some troubling factors all coming together right now that could conceivably trigger a real usage of the EAS system in the not too distant future. A European financial collapse could bring down U.S. markets. What is now the “Occupy” movement could lead to widespread civil unrest. And there are ominous signs that radical groups such as Anonymous will attempt something major on November 5th- Guy Fawke’s day.
Now we know in the event of a major crisis, the American people will be told with one voice, at the same time, about an emergency.
All thats left to determine is who will have control of the EAS when that day comes, and what their message will be.
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/did-you-know-feds-will-temporarily-cut-off-all-tv-and-radio-broadcasts-on-nov-9/
Friday, October 21, 2011
Where Does It Stop?
Tennessee Becomes First State To Fight Terrorism Statewide - NewsChannel5.com Nashville News, Weather & Sports
By Adam Ghassemi
PORTLAND, Tenn. – You're probably used to seeing TSA's signature blue uniforms at the airport, but now agents are hitting the interstates to fight terrorism with Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response (VIPR).
"Where is a terrorist more apt to be found? Not these days on an airplane more likely on the interstate," said Tennessee Department of Safety & Homeland Security Commissioner Bill Gibbons.
Tuesday Tennessee was first to deploy VIPR simultaneously at five weigh stations and two bus stations across the state.
Agents are recruiting truck drivers, like Rudy Gonzales, into the First Observer Highway Security Program to say something if they see something.
"Not only truck drivers, but cars, everybody should be aware of what's going on, on the road," said Gonzales.
It's all meant to urge every driver to call authorities if they see something suspicious.
"Somebody sees something somewhere and we want them to be responsible citizens, report that and let us work it through our processes to abet the concern that they had when they saw something suspicious," said Paul Armes, TSA Federal Security Director for Nashville International Airport.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol checked trucks with drug and bomb sniffing dogs during random inspections.
"The bottom line is this: if you see something suspicious say something about it," Gibbons said Tuesday.
The random inspections really aren't any more thorough normal, according to Tennessee Highway Patrol Colonel Tracy Trott who says paying attention to details can make a difference. Trott pointed out it was an Oklahoma state trooper who stopped Timothy McVeigh for not having a license plate after the Oklahoma City bombing in the early 1990s.
Tuesday's statewide "VIPR" operation isn't in response to any particular threat, according to officials.
Armes said intelligence indicates law enforcement should focus on the highways as well as the airports.
By Adam Ghassemi
PORTLAND, Tenn. – You're probably used to seeing TSA's signature blue uniforms at the airport, but now agents are hitting the interstates to fight terrorism with Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response (VIPR).
"Where is a terrorist more apt to be found? Not these days on an airplane more likely on the interstate," said Tennessee Department of Safety & Homeland Security Commissioner Bill Gibbons.
Tuesday Tennessee was first to deploy VIPR simultaneously at five weigh stations and two bus stations across the state.
Agents are recruiting truck drivers, like Rudy Gonzales, into the First Observer Highway Security Program to say something if they see something.
"Not only truck drivers, but cars, everybody should be aware of what's going on, on the road," said Gonzales.
It's all meant to urge every driver to call authorities if they see something suspicious.
"Somebody sees something somewhere and we want them to be responsible citizens, report that and let us work it through our processes to abet the concern that they had when they saw something suspicious," said Paul Armes, TSA Federal Security Director for Nashville International Airport.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol checked trucks with drug and bomb sniffing dogs during random inspections.
"The bottom line is this: if you see something suspicious say something about it," Gibbons said Tuesday.
The random inspections really aren't any more thorough normal, according to Tennessee Highway Patrol Colonel Tracy Trott who says paying attention to details can make a difference. Trott pointed out it was an Oklahoma state trooper who stopped Timothy McVeigh for not having a license plate after the Oklahoma City bombing in the early 1990s.
Tuesday's statewide "VIPR" operation isn't in response to any particular threat, according to officials.
Armes said intelligence indicates law enforcement should focus on the highways as well as the airports.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Ron Paul Media Blackout Confirmed - Politics - The Atlantic Wire
Ron Paul Media Blackout Confirmed - Politics - The Atlantic Wire
Ron Paul loyalists have been vindicated. After months of observations that the mainstream media was ignoring the libertarian standard-bearer, a new study by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism shows just that: the Texas Congressman, who has consistently polled in the high single digits -- Real Clear Politics's aggregate poll currently has him at 8 percent -- has received the least overall coverage of any candidate. From May 2 to October 9, Paul appeared as the "primary newsmaker in only 2% of all election stories."
The study measured mainstream exposure by compiling a list of 52 mainstream news outlets across "newspapers, cable news, broadcast television, the 12 most popular news websites in the country, and radio news." To register as a story about the candidate, he/she had to be the focus of at least 50 percent of the story. Interestingly, while Paul gained short shrift from the mainstream press, the blogosphere was an entirely different story, where the tone of his coverage was more favorable than for any other candidate:
Paul generated a good deal of attention on blogs, registering as the fifth most-discussed candidate with more than 89,000 opinions tracked about him.
Moreover, he and his candidacy fared better than any other candidate in the tone of that conversation. In all, 48% of the blogging conversation about Paul was positive compared with only 15% negative and 38% neutral. The next highest positive rating for any Republican was 34%, for Romney, and the next lowest negative rating was 24%, for Cain.
While complaints about a lack of media coverage are typical coming from any struggling candidate, Paul boosters, and even some independent observers, have argued that Paul's media blackout is particularly striking considering his concrete successes on the campaign trail. By our count those successes include:
Winning the Los Angeles Country Straw Poll last week, with more votes than Mitt Romney and Herman Cain combined.
On October 8, winning the Values Voter straw poll in Washington, D.C.
Raising $8.3 million in the third quarter, putting his fundraising clout way ahead of other second-tier candidates such as Herman Cain, who raised $2.8 million in the quarter, Michele Bachmann, who raised $4.1 million, and Rick Santorum, who raised less than $1 million.
Winning the California Republican Party straw poll in September.
Taking a close second in the Ames straw poll in Iowa in August behind Congresswoman Michele Bachmann.
As The Washington Post notes. "Paul’s support has been stable at 10 percent or 11 percent of Republican and GOP-leaning independents in the three most recent Washington Post-ABC News polls." The question is, why is that not a story for the political media?
Ron Paul loyalists have been vindicated. After months of observations that the mainstream media was ignoring the libertarian standard-bearer, a new study by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism shows just that: the Texas Congressman, who has consistently polled in the high single digits -- Real Clear Politics's aggregate poll currently has him at 8 percent -- has received the least overall coverage of any candidate. From May 2 to October 9, Paul appeared as the "primary newsmaker in only 2% of all election stories."
The study measured mainstream exposure by compiling a list of 52 mainstream news outlets across "newspapers, cable news, broadcast television, the 12 most popular news websites in the country, and radio news." To register as a story about the candidate, he/she had to be the focus of at least 50 percent of the story. Interestingly, while Paul gained short shrift from the mainstream press, the blogosphere was an entirely different story, where the tone of his coverage was more favorable than for any other candidate:
Paul generated a good deal of attention on blogs, registering as the fifth most-discussed candidate with more than 89,000 opinions tracked about him.
Moreover, he and his candidacy fared better than any other candidate in the tone of that conversation. In all, 48% of the blogging conversation about Paul was positive compared with only 15% negative and 38% neutral. The next highest positive rating for any Republican was 34%, for Romney, and the next lowest negative rating was 24%, for Cain.
While complaints about a lack of media coverage are typical coming from any struggling candidate, Paul boosters, and even some independent observers, have argued that Paul's media blackout is particularly striking considering his concrete successes on the campaign trail. By our count those successes include:
Winning the Los Angeles Country Straw Poll last week, with more votes than Mitt Romney and Herman Cain combined.
On October 8, winning the Values Voter straw poll in Washington, D.C.
Raising $8.3 million in the third quarter, putting his fundraising clout way ahead of other second-tier candidates such as Herman Cain, who raised $2.8 million in the quarter, Michele Bachmann, who raised $4.1 million, and Rick Santorum, who raised less than $1 million.
Winning the California Republican Party straw poll in September.
Taking a close second in the Ames straw poll in Iowa in August behind Congresswoman Michele Bachmann.
As The Washington Post notes. "Paul’s support has been stable at 10 percent or 11 percent of Republican and GOP-leaning independents in the three most recent Washington Post-ABC News polls." The question is, why is that not a story for the political media?
Sounds About Right
Ron Paul proposes $1T in specific budget cuts
By DAN HIRSCHHORN 10/17/11
Ron Paul’s opinions about cutting the budget are well-known, but on Monday, he got specific: The Texas congressman laid out a budget blueprint for deep and far-reaching cuts to federal spending, including the elimination of five Cabinet-level departments and the drawdown of American troops fighting overseas.
There’s even a symbolic readjustment of the president’s salary to put it in line with the average American salary.
“Our debt is too big, our government is too big, and we have to recognize how serious the problem is,” Paul said during an afternoon speech in Las Vegas ahead of Tuesday’s GOP debate there.
The plan, Paul said, would cut $1 trillion in spending his first year in the White House and create a balanced federal budget by the third year of his presidency.
“All the current candidates and many in Washington, they sort of talk around [the problem],” Paul said. “A lot of people will say, ‘well cutting a trillion dollars in one year is radical.’ Well, I operate under the assumption that the radicals have been in charge for way too long.”
Many of the ideas in Paul’s 11-page Plan to Restore America are familiar from his staunch libertarianism, as well as tea party favorites, like eliminating the Education and Energy Departments. But Paul goes further, proposing an immediate freeze on spending by numerous government agencies at levels from 2006, the last time Republicans had complete control of the federal budget, and drastic reductions in spending elsewhere. The Environmental Protection Agency would see a 30 percent cut; the Food and Drug Administration would see a 40 percent cut; and foreign aid would be zeroed out immediately. He’d also take an ax to Pentagon funding for wars.
Appearing on CNN ahead of the speech, Paul was pressed by Wolf Blitzer on how eliminating about 221,000 government jobs across five cabinet departments would boost the economy. He responded: “They’re not productive jobs,” he said.
“You cut government spending, that money goes back to you. You get to spend the money,” Paul said during his speech. “I am absolutely convinced it is the only road to prosperity.”
Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, food stamps, family support programs and the children’s nutrition program would be block-granted to the states and removed from the mandatory spending column of the federal budget. Some functions of eliminated departments, such as Pell Grants, would be continued elsewhere in the federal bureaucracy.
And in a noticeable nod to seniors during an election year, when Social Security’s become an issue within the Republican presidential primaries, the campaign says that plan “honors our promise to our seniors and veterans, while allowing young workers to opt out.”
The federal workforce would be reduced by 10 percent, and the president’s pay would be cut from $400,000 to $39,336 — a level that the Paul document notes is “approximately equal to the median personal income of the American worker.”
Paul would also make far-reaching changes to federal tax policy, reducing the top corporate income tax rate to 15 percent, eliminating capital gains and dividends taxes and allowing for repatriation of overseas capital without tax penalties. All tax cuts enacted under former President George W. Bush would be extended.
And like the rest of his GOP rivals, Paul would repeal President Barack Obama’s health care reform law, along with the Dodd-Frank financial regulatory reform law enacted last year. A longtime Federal Reserve critic, Paul would also push a full audit of the central bank, as well as legislation to “strengthen the dollar and stabilize inflation.”
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1011/66114.html#ixzz1b6OFyN32
By DAN HIRSCHHORN 10/17/11
Ron Paul’s opinions about cutting the budget are well-known, but on Monday, he got specific: The Texas congressman laid out a budget blueprint for deep and far-reaching cuts to federal spending, including the elimination of five Cabinet-level departments and the drawdown of American troops fighting overseas.
There’s even a symbolic readjustment of the president’s salary to put it in line with the average American salary.
“Our debt is too big, our government is too big, and we have to recognize how serious the problem is,” Paul said during an afternoon speech in Las Vegas ahead of Tuesday’s GOP debate there.
The plan, Paul said, would cut $1 trillion in spending his first year in the White House and create a balanced federal budget by the third year of his presidency.
“All the current candidates and many in Washington, they sort of talk around [the problem],” Paul said. “A lot of people will say, ‘well cutting a trillion dollars in one year is radical.’ Well, I operate under the assumption that the radicals have been in charge for way too long.”
Many of the ideas in Paul’s 11-page Plan to Restore America are familiar from his staunch libertarianism, as well as tea party favorites, like eliminating the Education and Energy Departments. But Paul goes further, proposing an immediate freeze on spending by numerous government agencies at levels from 2006, the last time Republicans had complete control of the federal budget, and drastic reductions in spending elsewhere. The Environmental Protection Agency would see a 30 percent cut; the Food and Drug Administration would see a 40 percent cut; and foreign aid would be zeroed out immediately. He’d also take an ax to Pentagon funding for wars.
Appearing on CNN ahead of the speech, Paul was pressed by Wolf Blitzer on how eliminating about 221,000 government jobs across five cabinet departments would boost the economy. He responded: “They’re not productive jobs,” he said.
“You cut government spending, that money goes back to you. You get to spend the money,” Paul said during his speech. “I am absolutely convinced it is the only road to prosperity.”
Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, food stamps, family support programs and the children’s nutrition program would be block-granted to the states and removed from the mandatory spending column of the federal budget. Some functions of eliminated departments, such as Pell Grants, would be continued elsewhere in the federal bureaucracy.
And in a noticeable nod to seniors during an election year, when Social Security’s become an issue within the Republican presidential primaries, the campaign says that plan “honors our promise to our seniors and veterans, while allowing young workers to opt out.”
The federal workforce would be reduced by 10 percent, and the president’s pay would be cut from $400,000 to $39,336 — a level that the Paul document notes is “approximately equal to the median personal income of the American worker.”
Paul would also make far-reaching changes to federal tax policy, reducing the top corporate income tax rate to 15 percent, eliminating capital gains and dividends taxes and allowing for repatriation of overseas capital without tax penalties. All tax cuts enacted under former President George W. Bush would be extended.
And like the rest of his GOP rivals, Paul would repeal President Barack Obama’s health care reform law, along with the Dodd-Frank financial regulatory reform law enacted last year. A longtime Federal Reserve critic, Paul would also push a full audit of the central bank, as well as legislation to “strengthen the dollar and stabilize inflation.”
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1011/66114.html#ixzz1b6OFyN32
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Ron Paul: Who Else is on Obama’s Secret Kill List?
Ron Paul
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
According to the Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution, Americans are never to be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. The Constitution is not some aspirational statement of values, allowing exceptions when convenient, but rather, it is the law of the land. It is the basis of our Republic and our principal bulwark against tyranny.
Last week’s assassination of two American citizens, Anwar al-Awlaki and Samir Khan, is an outrage and a criminal act carried out by the President and his administration. If the law protecting us against government-sanctioned assassination can be voided when there is a “really bad American”, is there any meaning left to the rule of law in the United States? If, as we learned last week, a secret government committee, not subject to congressional oversight or judicial review, can now target certain Americans for assassination, under what moral authority do we presume to lecture the rest of the world about protecting human rights? Didn’t we just bomb Libya into oblivion under the auspices of protecting the civilians from being targeted by their government? Timothy McVeigh was certainly a threat, as were Nidal Hassan and Jared Lee Loughner. They killed people in front of many witnesses. They took up arms against their government in a literal way, yet were still afforded trials. These constitutional protections are in place because our Founders realized it is a very serious matter to deprive any individual of life or liberty. Our outrage against even the obviously guilty is not worth the sacrifice of the rule of law. Al-Awlaki has been outspoken against the United States and we are told he encouraged violence against Americans. We do not know that he actually committed any acts of violence. Ironically, he was once invited to the Pentagon as part of an outreach to moderate Muslims after 9/11. As the US attacks against Muslims in the Middle East and Central Asia expanded, it is said that he became more fervent and radical in his opposition to US foreign policy.
A d v e r t i s e m e n t
Many cheer this killing because they believe that in a time of war, due process is not necessary – not even for citizens, and especially not for those overseas. However, there has been no formal declaration of war and certainly not one against Yemen. The post-9/11 authorization for force would not have covered these two Americans because no one is claiming they had any connection to that attack. Al-Awlaki was on a kill list compiled by a secret panel within President Obama’s National Security Council and Justice Department. How many more Americans citizens are on that list? They won’t tell us. What are the criteria? They won’t tell us. Where is the evidence? They won’t tell us.
Al-Awlaki’s father tried desperately to get the administration to at least allow his son to have legal representation to challenge the “kill” order. He was denied. Rather than give him his day in court, the administration, behind closed doors, served as prosecutor, judge, jury, and executioner.The most worrisome aspect of this is that any new powers this administration accrues will serve as precedents for future administrations. Even those who completely trust this administration must understand that if this usurpation of power and denial of due process is allowed to stand, these powers will remain to be expanded on by the next administration and then the next. Will you trust them? History shows that once a population gives up its rights, they are not easily won back. Beware.
http://www.infowars.com/ron-paul-who-else-is-on-obamas-secret-kill-list/
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
According to the Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution, Americans are never to be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. The Constitution is not some aspirational statement of values, allowing exceptions when convenient, but rather, it is the law of the land. It is the basis of our Republic and our principal bulwark against tyranny.
Last week’s assassination of two American citizens, Anwar al-Awlaki and Samir Khan, is an outrage and a criminal act carried out by the President and his administration. If the law protecting us against government-sanctioned assassination can be voided when there is a “really bad American”, is there any meaning left to the rule of law in the United States? If, as we learned last week, a secret government committee, not subject to congressional oversight or judicial review, can now target certain Americans for assassination, under what moral authority do we presume to lecture the rest of the world about protecting human rights? Didn’t we just bomb Libya into oblivion under the auspices of protecting the civilians from being targeted by their government? Timothy McVeigh was certainly a threat, as were Nidal Hassan and Jared Lee Loughner. They killed people in front of many witnesses. They took up arms against their government in a literal way, yet were still afforded trials. These constitutional protections are in place because our Founders realized it is a very serious matter to deprive any individual of life or liberty. Our outrage against even the obviously guilty is not worth the sacrifice of the rule of law. Al-Awlaki has been outspoken against the United States and we are told he encouraged violence against Americans. We do not know that he actually committed any acts of violence. Ironically, he was once invited to the Pentagon as part of an outreach to moderate Muslims after 9/11. As the US attacks against Muslims in the Middle East and Central Asia expanded, it is said that he became more fervent and radical in his opposition to US foreign policy.
A d v e r t i s e m e n t
Many cheer this killing because they believe that in a time of war, due process is not necessary – not even for citizens, and especially not for those overseas. However, there has been no formal declaration of war and certainly not one against Yemen. The post-9/11 authorization for force would not have covered these two Americans because no one is claiming they had any connection to that attack. Al-Awlaki was on a kill list compiled by a secret panel within President Obama’s National Security Council and Justice Department. How many more Americans citizens are on that list? They won’t tell us. What are the criteria? They won’t tell us. Where is the evidence? They won’t tell us.
Al-Awlaki’s father tried desperately to get the administration to at least allow his son to have legal representation to challenge the “kill” order. He was denied. Rather than give him his day in court, the administration, behind closed doors, served as prosecutor, judge, jury, and executioner.The most worrisome aspect of this is that any new powers this administration accrues will serve as precedents for future administrations. Even those who completely trust this administration must understand that if this usurpation of power and denial of due process is allowed to stand, these powers will remain to be expanded on by the next administration and then the next. Will you trust them? History shows that once a population gives up its rights, they are not easily won back. Beware.
http://www.infowars.com/ron-paul-who-else-is-on-obamas-secret-kill-list/
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Poll: Ron Paul v Obama a dead heat in Fla.
by Joel Gehrke Commentary Staff Writer
Public Policy Polling, a Democratic-leaning polling firm, shows Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, and former Gov. Mitt Romney, R-Mass., trailing President Obama by a mere one point in their latest poll of Florida voters. Obama has a 56 percent disapproval rating in the swing state.
PPP shows Paul trailing Obama 45-44 in a hypothetical general election match-up, while Romney lags Obama by the same margin, 46-45. Gov. Rick Perry, R-Texas, has a 7 point deficit on the president, 50-43 - likely because 63% of voters polled disagree with his characterization of Social Security as a Ponzi scheme.
That said, PPP made a point of noting that Perry's deficit to Obama recalls Dewey's loss to President Truman, which might say as much about how PPP wants Republican voters to see Perry as it does about Perry's chances in this election.
http://campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/poll-ron-paul-v-obama-dead-heat-fla
Public Policy Polling, a Democratic-leaning polling firm, shows Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, and former Gov. Mitt Romney, R-Mass., trailing President Obama by a mere one point in their latest poll of Florida voters. Obama has a 56 percent disapproval rating in the swing state.
PPP shows Paul trailing Obama 45-44 in a hypothetical general election match-up, while Romney lags Obama by the same margin, 46-45. Gov. Rick Perry, R-Texas, has a 7 point deficit on the president, 50-43 - likely because 63% of voters polled disagree with his characterization of Social Security as a Ponzi scheme.
That said, PPP made a point of noting that Perry's deficit to Obama recalls Dewey's loss to President Truman, which might say as much about how PPP wants Republican voters to see Perry as it does about Perry's chances in this election.
http://campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/poll-ron-paul-v-obama-dead-heat-fla
Facebook Tracking Its Users
'We didn't mean to track you' says Facebook as social network giant admits to 'bugs' in new privacy row
By Daniel Bates
Facebook has admitted that it has been watching the web pages its members visit – even when they have logged out.
In its latest privacy blunder, the social networking site was forced to confirm that it has been constantly tracking its 750million users, even when they are using other sites.
The social networking giant says the huge privacy breach was simply a mistake - that software automatically downloaded to users' computers when they logged in to Facebook 'inadvertently' sent information to the company, whether or not they were logged in at the time.
Most would assume that Facebook stops monitoring them after they leave its site, but technology bloggers discovered this was not the case.
In fact, data has been regularly sent back to the social network’s servers – data that could be worth billions when creating 'targeted' advertising based on the sites users visit.
The website’s practices were exposed by Australian technology blogger Nik Cubrilovic and have provoked a furious response across the internet.
Facebook claims to have 'fixed' the issue - and 'thanked' Mr Cubrilovic for pointing it out - while simultaneously claiming that it wasn't really an issue in the first place.
Mr Cubrilovic found that when you sign up to Facebook it automatically puts files known as ‘cookies’ on your computer which monitor your browsing history.
This is still the case. But Facebook claims the cookies no longer send information while you are logged out of its site. If you are logged in to Facebook, the cookies will still send the information, and they remain on your computer unless you manually delete them.
They send Facebook your IP address - the 'unique identifier' address of your PC - and information on whether you have visited millions of websites: anything with a Facebook ‘like’ or ‘recommend’ button on it.
'We place cookies on the computer of the user,' said a Facebook spokesperson - and admitted that some Facebook cookies send back the address of users' PCs and sites they had visited, even while logged out.
'Three of these cookies inadvertently included unique identifiers when the user had logged out of Facebook. We did not store these for logged out users. We could not have used this information.'
However, the site spokesperson said that the 'potential issue' had now been 'fixed' so that the cookies will no longer broadcast information: 'We fixed the cookies so they won't include unique information in the future when people log out.'
'It's just the latest privacy issue to affect a company that has a long history of blunders relating to user's private information.
Monitoring all: Facebook founder and chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg
Mr Cubrilovic wrote: ‘Even if you are logged out, Facebook still knows and can track every page you visit.
‘The only solution is to delete every Facebook cookie in your browser, or to use a separate (web) browser for Facebook interactions.
‘This is not what "logout" is supposed to mean’.
The admission is the latest in a series of privacy blunders from Facebook, which has a record of only correcting such matters when they are brought to light by other people.
Earlier this year it stopped gathering browser data from users who had never even been to Facebook.com after it was exposed by a Dutch researcher.
The site was forced into a partial climbdown over changes to privacy settings which many claimed made too much public.
It also came under attack for launching a ‘stalker button’ which allowed users to track another person’s every move in a list which was constantly being updated.
Arturo Bejar, one of Facebook’s directors of engineering, admitted that users continue to be tracked after they log out but said that the data was deleted right away.
He said it was to do with the way the ‘like’ feature works, which is a button users can click on to show they like something.
He said: ‘The onus is on us is to take all the data and scrub it. What really matters is what we say as a company and back it up.’
On technology blog CNET, however, users were outraged at what was going on.
One wrote: ‘Who the hell do these people think they are? ‘Trust us?’ Why? Why should we trust a company that spies on us without our knowledge and consent?’
Another added: ‘Holy wow.... they've just lept way past Google on the creepy meter’.
According to U.S. reports Facebook has recently set up its own Political Action Committee, an American term for a lobbying outfit to get its views heard on Capitol Hill.
So far this year it has already spent £352,000 on lobbying, already ahead of last year’s total of £224,000.
The website has also been forced to deny Internet rumours it will begin charging for its services and said it will ‘always be free’.
A spokesman for Facebook said that the login and log out measures were designed for security and were there to prevent fraud.
He added: ‘We to do not use this information to target adverts’.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2042573/Facebook-privacy-row-Social-network-giant-admits-bugs.html
By Daniel Bates
Facebook has admitted that it has been watching the web pages its members visit – even when they have logged out.
In its latest privacy blunder, the social networking site was forced to confirm that it has been constantly tracking its 750million users, even when they are using other sites.
The social networking giant says the huge privacy breach was simply a mistake - that software automatically downloaded to users' computers when they logged in to Facebook 'inadvertently' sent information to the company, whether or not they were logged in at the time.
Most would assume that Facebook stops monitoring them after they leave its site, but technology bloggers discovered this was not the case.
In fact, data has been regularly sent back to the social network’s servers – data that could be worth billions when creating 'targeted' advertising based on the sites users visit.
The website’s practices were exposed by Australian technology blogger Nik Cubrilovic and have provoked a furious response across the internet.
Facebook claims to have 'fixed' the issue - and 'thanked' Mr Cubrilovic for pointing it out - while simultaneously claiming that it wasn't really an issue in the first place.
Mr Cubrilovic found that when you sign up to Facebook it automatically puts files known as ‘cookies’ on your computer which monitor your browsing history.
This is still the case. But Facebook claims the cookies no longer send information while you are logged out of its site. If you are logged in to Facebook, the cookies will still send the information, and they remain on your computer unless you manually delete them.
They send Facebook your IP address - the 'unique identifier' address of your PC - and information on whether you have visited millions of websites: anything with a Facebook ‘like’ or ‘recommend’ button on it.
'We place cookies on the computer of the user,' said a Facebook spokesperson - and admitted that some Facebook cookies send back the address of users' PCs and sites they had visited, even while logged out.
'Three of these cookies inadvertently included unique identifiers when the user had logged out of Facebook. We did not store these for logged out users. We could not have used this information.'
However, the site spokesperson said that the 'potential issue' had now been 'fixed' so that the cookies will no longer broadcast information: 'We fixed the cookies so they won't include unique information in the future when people log out.'
'It's just the latest privacy issue to affect a company that has a long history of blunders relating to user's private information.
Monitoring all: Facebook founder and chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg
Mr Cubrilovic wrote: ‘Even if you are logged out, Facebook still knows and can track every page you visit.
‘The only solution is to delete every Facebook cookie in your browser, or to use a separate (web) browser for Facebook interactions.
‘This is not what "logout" is supposed to mean’.
The admission is the latest in a series of privacy blunders from Facebook, which has a record of only correcting such matters when they are brought to light by other people.
Earlier this year it stopped gathering browser data from users who had never even been to Facebook.com after it was exposed by a Dutch researcher.
The site was forced into a partial climbdown over changes to privacy settings which many claimed made too much public.
It also came under attack for launching a ‘stalker button’ which allowed users to track another person’s every move in a list which was constantly being updated.
Arturo Bejar, one of Facebook’s directors of engineering, admitted that users continue to be tracked after they log out but said that the data was deleted right away.
He said it was to do with the way the ‘like’ feature works, which is a button users can click on to show they like something.
He said: ‘The onus is on us is to take all the data and scrub it. What really matters is what we say as a company and back it up.’
On technology blog CNET, however, users were outraged at what was going on.
One wrote: ‘Who the hell do these people think they are? ‘Trust us?’ Why? Why should we trust a company that spies on us without our knowledge and consent?’
Another added: ‘Holy wow.... they've just lept way past Google on the creepy meter’.
According to U.S. reports Facebook has recently set up its own Political Action Committee, an American term for a lobbying outfit to get its views heard on Capitol Hill.
So far this year it has already spent £352,000 on lobbying, already ahead of last year’s total of £224,000.
The website has also been forced to deny Internet rumours it will begin charging for its services and said it will ‘always be free’.
A spokesman for Facebook said that the login and log out measures were designed for security and were there to prevent fraud.
He added: ‘We to do not use this information to target adverts’.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2042573/Facebook-privacy-row-Social-network-giant-admits-bugs.html
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Are We Waking Up?
Herman Cain Leads Republican Field In Zogby Poll
by John Hayward
A new Zogby poll puts Herman Cain at the top of the Republican field, as the top choice of 28% of poll respondents. (IBOPE Zogby International says the polling sample consists of “all likely voters and of likely Republican primary voters.”)
Rounding out the top three are Rick Perry at 18%, and Mitt Romney at 17%. Fourth place goes to Ron Paul at 11%. Paul’s the most solid performer in Zogby’s polling history for the 2012 GOP race – his 11% might as well be chiseled in stone.
Interestingly, this poll was conducted after the Orlando GOP debate, but before Cain won the Florida straw poll. It’s a huge surge for Cain, who was polling at 12% just two weeks previously, and was floating at a campaign low of 8% two weeks before that. Aside from that bitter 8% number, Cain has generally done quite well in the Zogby poll, usually good enough for second or third place.
On the other hand, Rick Perry’s numbers in the Zogby poll have cratered, falling 19% in just two weeks. His debut last month was also his high-water mark thus far, when Zogby had him at 41%.
Michelle Bachmann has also been slipping steadily, chugging in at 4%. That puts her just below Jon Huntsman, which is the same way she finished the Florida straw poll. Bachmann was actually the leading candidate in Zogby’s polling from June 21 through July 25… then she plunged to 9% in the next poll and continued sliding down from there.
Romney’s been holding fairly steady in the Zogby poll. He bounces a few points up and down, but seems to hover in the 15-17% range.
Zogby’s also got President Obama’s approval rating at 42%, with 57% disapproval. That’s actually a bit better than his September 5 low of 39-61. His poor approval numbers seem to hold fairly steady, while his disapproval bounces around.
As always with poll news, the usual caveats apply: it’s one poll, it might be an outlier, Zogby’s accuracy has been questioned in the past, et cetera. Still, these numbers reflect the general shape of the race pretty well: Perry started big but fizzled fast, Romney’s been playing a careful game built around damage control, Paul’s got a loyal following but can’t reach beyond it.
I’d have guessed Cain would rank a bit lower than his Zogby numbers until now, but he had one of the best weekends a candidate could ask for in Orlando, and Zobgy’s poll is telling us the same thing the Florida straw poll did. It will be interesting to compare the first batch of polls from various sources to reflect that straw poll, and Cain’s reaction to it.
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=46473
by John Hayward
A new Zogby poll puts Herman Cain at the top of the Republican field, as the top choice of 28% of poll respondents. (IBOPE Zogby International says the polling sample consists of “all likely voters and of likely Republican primary voters.”)
Rounding out the top three are Rick Perry at 18%, and Mitt Romney at 17%. Fourth place goes to Ron Paul at 11%. Paul’s the most solid performer in Zogby’s polling history for the 2012 GOP race – his 11% might as well be chiseled in stone.
Interestingly, this poll was conducted after the Orlando GOP debate, but before Cain won the Florida straw poll. It’s a huge surge for Cain, who was polling at 12% just two weeks previously, and was floating at a campaign low of 8% two weeks before that. Aside from that bitter 8% number, Cain has generally done quite well in the Zogby poll, usually good enough for second or third place.
On the other hand, Rick Perry’s numbers in the Zogby poll have cratered, falling 19% in just two weeks. His debut last month was also his high-water mark thus far, when Zogby had him at 41%.
Michelle Bachmann has also been slipping steadily, chugging in at 4%. That puts her just below Jon Huntsman, which is the same way she finished the Florida straw poll. Bachmann was actually the leading candidate in Zogby’s polling from June 21 through July 25… then she plunged to 9% in the next poll and continued sliding down from there.
Romney’s been holding fairly steady in the Zogby poll. He bounces a few points up and down, but seems to hover in the 15-17% range.
Zogby’s also got President Obama’s approval rating at 42%, with 57% disapproval. That’s actually a bit better than his September 5 low of 39-61. His poor approval numbers seem to hold fairly steady, while his disapproval bounces around.
As always with poll news, the usual caveats apply: it’s one poll, it might be an outlier, Zogby’s accuracy has been questioned in the past, et cetera. Still, these numbers reflect the general shape of the race pretty well: Perry started big but fizzled fast, Romney’s been playing a careful game built around damage control, Paul’s got a loyal following but can’t reach beyond it.
I’d have guessed Cain would rank a bit lower than his Zogby numbers until now, but he had one of the best weekends a candidate could ask for in Orlando, and Zobgy’s poll is telling us the same thing the Florida straw poll did. It will be interesting to compare the first batch of polls from various sources to reflect that straw poll, and Cain’s reaction to it.
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=46473
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