The San Diego Sheriff's Department has just found 13-year-old Madison Wilson of Oceanside. Thank you to everyone who shared her picture. But the search for the girl led 10News to a frightening lapse in the Amber Alert system due to the Government shutdown. This was the message we found on www.amberalert.gov while trying to search for information about Madison's disappearance.
The U.S. Government Shutdown is Also Producing "Good News" Too.
Barring a Republican Cave-In: A timely "trickle down" tax reassessment/reform would create not only job growth and reignite America's comatose entreprenuerial spirit, but a housing boom and consumer spending "out of the ears"! Because without all of the excessive spending by the Obama Administration, taxes paid by working Americans should be at lows not seen since in our lifetimes! All thanks to a government consisting of only "essential employees" - KC
Meanwhile, the snivelling continues... Not only has the government shut down, it also appears that the union reps did too!
Shutdown Puts Federal Union Workers Rights in Jeopardy
Federal workers (the author is second from right) distributed information on the effects of the sequestration at the East Oakland Social Security Office as part of a day of protest earlier this year. Now that the government is shut down, not only are some of us working without knowing whether we’ll be paid, we’re also doing it without union representation on the job. Photo: AFGE Local 3172.
One technique developed by the agency targeted the Firefox web browser used with Tor, giving the agency full control over targets' computers.Photograph: Felix Clay
The National Security Agency has made repeated attempts to develop attacks against people using Tor, a popular tool designed to protect online anonymity, despite the fact the software is primarily funded and promoted by the US government itself.
Top-secret NSA documents, disclosed by whistleblower Edward Snowden, reveal that the agency's current successes against Tor rely on identifying users and then attacking vulnerable software on their computers. One technique developed by the agency targeted the Firefox web browser used with Tor, giving the agency full control over targets' computers, including access to files, all keystrokes and all online activity.
But the documents suggest that the fundamental security of the Tor service remains intact. One top-secret presentation, titled 'Tor Stinks', states: "We will never be able to de-anonymize all Tor users all the time." It continues: "With manual analysis we can de-anonymize a very small fraction of Tor users," and says the agency has had "no success de-anonymizing a user in response" to a specific request.
Another top-secret presentation calls Tor "the king of high-secure, low-latency internet anonymity".
Tor – which stands for The Onion Router – is an open-source public project that bounces its users' internet traffic through several other computers, which it calls "relays" or "nodes", to keep it anonymous and avoid online censorship tools.
It is relied upon by journalists, activists and campaigners in the US and Europe as well as in China, Iran and Syria, to maintain the privacy of their communications and avoid reprisals from government. To this end, it receives around 60% of its funding from the US government, primarily the State Department and the Department of Defense – which houses the NSA.
Despite Tor's importance to dissidents and human rights organizations, however, the NSA and its UK counterpart GCHQ have devoted considerable efforts to attacking the service, which law enforcement agencies say is also used by people engaged in terrorism, the trade of child abuse images, and online drug dealing.
While it seems that the NSA has not compromised the core security of the Tor software or network, the documents detail proof-of-concept attacks, including several relying on the large-scale online surveillance systems maintained by the NSA and GCHQ through internet cable taps.
One such technique is based on trying to spot patterns in the signals entering and leaving the Tor network, to try to de-anonymise its users. The effort was based on a long-discussed theoretical weakness of the network: that if one agency controlled a large number of the "exits" from the Tor network, they could identify a large amount of the traffic passing through it.
The proof-of-concept attack demonstrated in the documents would rely on the NSA's cable-tapping operation, and the agency secretly operating computers, or 'nodes', in the Tor system. However, one presentation stated that the success of this technique was "negligible" because the NSA has "access to very few nodes" and that it is "difficult to combine meaningfully with passive Sigint".
While the documents confirm the NSA does indeed operate and collect traffic from some nodes in the Tor network, they contain no detail as to how many, and there are no indications that the proposed de-anonymization technique was ever implemented.
Other efforts mounted by the agencies include attempting to direct traffic toward NSA-operated servers, or attacking other software used by Tor users. One presentation, titled 'Tor: Overview of Existing Techniques', also refers to making efforts to "shape", or influence, the future development of Tor, in conjunction with GCHQ.
Another effort involves measuring the timings of messages going in and out of the network to try to identify users. A third attempts to degrade or disrupt the Tor service, forcing users to abandon the anonymity protection.
Such efforts to target or undermine Tor are likely to raise legal and policy concerns for the intelligence agencies.
Foremost among those concerns is whether the NSA has acted, deliberately or inadvertently, against internet users in the US when attacking Tor. One of the functions of the anonymity service is to hide the country of all of its users, meaning any attack could be hitting members of Tor's substantial US user base.
Several attacks result in implanting malicious code on the computer of Tor users who visit particular websites. The agencies say they are targeting terrorists or organized criminals visiting particular discussion boards, but these attacks could also hit journalists, researchers, or those who accidentally stumble upon a targeted site.
The efforts could also raise concerns in the State Department and other US government agencies that provide funding to increase Tor's security – as part of the Obama administration's internet freedom agenda to help citizens of repressive regimes – circumvent online restrictions.
Material published online for a discussion event held by the State Department, for example, described the importance of tools such as Tor.
"[T]he technologies of internet repression, monitoring and control continue to advance and spread as the tools that oppressive governments use to restrict internet access and to track citizen online activities grow more sophisticated. Sophisticated, secure, and scalable technologies are needed to continue to advance internet freedom."
The Broadcasting Board of Governors, a federal agency whose mission is to "inform, engage, and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy" through networks such as Voice of America, also supported Tor's development until October 2012 to ensure that people in countries such as Iran and China could access BBG content. Tor continues to receive federal funds through Radio Free Asia, which is funded by a federal grant from BBG.
The governments of both these countries have attempted to curtail Tor's use: China has tried on multiple occasions to block Tor entirely, while one of the motives behind Iranian efforts to create a "national internet" entirely under government control was to prevent circumvention of those controls.
The NSA's own documents acknowledge the service's wide use in countries where the internet is routinely surveilled or censored. One presentation notes that among uses of Tor for "general privacy" and "non-attribution", it can be used for "circumvention of nation state internet policies" – and is used by "dissidents" in "Iran, China, etc".
Yet GCHQ documents show a disparaging attitude towards Tor users. One presentation acknowledges Tor was "created by the US government" and is "now maintained by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)", a US freedom of expression group. In reality, Tor is maintained by an independent foundation, though has in the past received funding from the EFF.
The presentation continues by noting that "EFF will tell you there are many pseudo-legitimate uses for Tor", but says "we're interested as bad people use Tor". Another presentation remarks: "Very naughty people use Tor".
The technique developed by the NSA to attack Tor users through vulnerable software on their computers has the codename EgotisticalGiraffe, the documents show. It involves exploiting the Tor browser bundle, a collection of programs, designed to make it easy for people to install and use the software. Among these is a version of the Firefox web browser.
The trick, detailed in a top-secret presentation titled 'Peeling back the layers of Tor with EgotisticalGiraffe', identified website visitors who were using the protective software and only executed its attack – which took advantage of vulnerabilities in an older version of Firefox – against those people. Under this approach, the NSA does not attack the Tor system directly. Rather, targets are identified as Tor users and then the NSA attacks their browsers.
According to the documents provided by Snowden, the particular vulnerabilities used in this type of attack were inadvertently fixed by Mozilla Corporation in Firefox 17, released in November 2012 – a fix the NSA had not circumvented by January 2013 when the documents were written.
The older exploits would, however, still be usable against many Tor users who had not kept their software up to date.
A similar but less complex exploit against the Tor network was revealed by security researchers in July this year. Details of the exploit, including its purpose and which servers it passed on victims' details to, led to speculation it had been built by the FBI or another US agency.
At the time, the FBI refused to comment on whether it was behind the attack, but subsequently admitted in a hearing in an Irish court that it had operated the malware to target an alleged host of images of child abuse – though the attack did also hit numerous unconnected services on the Tor network.
Roger Dingledine, the president of the Tor project, said the NSA's efforts serve as a reminder that using Tor on its own is not sufficient to guarantee anonymity against intelligence agencies – but showed it was also a great aid in combating mass surveillance.
"The good news is that they went for a browser exploit, meaning there's no indication they can break the Tor protocol or do traffic analysis on the Tor network," Dingledine said. "Infecting the laptop, phone, or desktop is still the easiest way to learn about the human behind the keyboard.
"Tor still helps here: you can target individuals with browser exploits, but if you attack too many users, somebody's going to notice. So even if the NSA aims to surveil everyone, everywhere, they have to be a lot more selective about which Tor users they spy on."
But he added: "Just using Tor isn't enough to keep you safe in all cases. Browser exploits, large-scale surveillance, and general user security are all challenging topics for the average internet user. These attacks make it clear that we, the broader internet community, need to keep working on better security for browsers and other internet-facing applications."
The Guardian asked the NSA how it justified attacking a service funded by the US government, how it ensured that its attacks did not interfere with the secure browsing of law-abiding US users such as activists and journalists, and whether the agency was involved in the decision to fund Tor or efforts to "shape" its development.
The agency did not directly address those questions, instead providing a statement.
It read: "In carrying out its signals intelligence mission, NSA collects only those communications that it is authorized by law to collect for valid foreign intelligence and counter-intelligence purposes, regardless of the technical means used by those targets or the means by which they may attempt to conceal their communications. NSA has unmatched technical capabilities to accomplish its lawful mission.
"As such, it should hardly be surprising that our intelligence agencies seek ways to counteract targets' use of technologies to hide their communications. Throughout history, nations have used various methods to protect their secrets, and today terrorists, cybercriminals, human traffickers and others use technology to hide their activities. Our intelligence community would not be doing its job if we did not try to counter that."
• This article was amended on 4 October after the Broadcasting Board of Governors pointed out that its support of Tor ended in October 2012.
• Bruce Schneier is an unpaid member of the Electronic Frontier Foundation's board of directors. He has not been involved in any discussions on funding.
In light of Boehner's inability to say how he feels about this particular issue, due to the Government Media Complex's agenda of partisan reporting, allow me to take a stab at a more accurate and descriptive headline. Allow me to see how this one fits...
"Two-faced hypocrite" and "pussified backstabber" Harry Reid claims John Boehner ‘coward’ in private, ‘nice guy’ in public.
“He’s a coward,” Reid said of Boehner, referring to his GOP rival’s efforts to preserve subsidies for lawmakers’ health-care coverage, while later backing a House bill to end them.
Reid made the comment at a closed-door meeting of Democratic senators Thursday, Politico reported.
Minutes later, he went before TV cameras with a different assessment.
“I feel positive that John Boehner — who’s basically a nice guy — cannot let this go on,” Reid told reporters.
Reid also apologized on the Senate floor for some of his references to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), whom Democrats view as the real leader of House Republicans. source: New York Post
ABC Action News - Tampa Bay area groups dependent on federal funds were concerned that with the shutdown dragging on, they could eventually run out of money.
In Hernando County, the Head Start program provides schooling and food services to hundreds of children. While the group expects to have enough funds to stay open next week, it's not sure after that.
"This is not just we take our kids to day care for the day. This is my kids are not going to get two meals a day," said Elizabeth Hustead, a family and planning manager for the program. ABC Version of the "FULL" STORY
10/05/13 Speaking of the NSA scanning our emails... Do you suppose the scanners have consciense issues when adding your name to a "watch list" for spreading the truth?
10) Only in America ... could politicians talk about the greed of the rich at a $35,000.00 a plate campaign fund-raising event. 9) Only in America ... could people claim that the government still discriminates against black Americans when they have a black President, a black Attorney General and roughly 20% of the federal workforce is black while only 14% of the population is black. 40+% of all federal entitlements goes to black Americans – 3X the rate that go to whites, 5X the rate that go to Hispanics! 8) Only in America ... could they have had the two people most responsible for our tax code, Timothy Geithner (the head of the Treasury Department) and Charles Rangel (who once ran the Ways and Means Committee), BOTH turn out to be tax cheats who are in favor of higher taxes. 7) Only in America ... can they have terrorists kill people in the name of Allah and have the media primarily react by fretting that Muslims might be harmed by the backlash. 6) Only in America ... would they make people who want to legally become American citizens wait for years in their home countries and pay tens of thousands of dollars for the privilege, while they discuss letting anyone who sneaks into the country illegally just 'magically' become American citizens. 5) Only in America ... could the people who believe in balancing the budget and sticking by the country's Constitution be thought of as "extremists." 4) Only in America ... could you need to present a driver's license to cash a check or buy alcohol, but not to vote. 3) Only in America ... could people demand the government investigate whether oil companies are gouging the public because the price of gas went up when the return on equity invested in a major U.S. oil company (Marathon Oil) is less than half of a company making tennis shoes (Nike). 2) Only in America ... could the government collect more tax dollars from the people than any nation in recorded history, still spend a Trillion dollars more than it has per year - for total spending of $7-Million PER MINUTE, and complain that it doesn't have nearly enough money. 1) Only in America ... could the so called “rich” people - who pay 86% of all income taxes - be accused of not paying their "fair share" by people who don't pay any income taxes at all.
I am sitting atop a limestone bluff overlooking the Osage River at my home in Folk, Missouri, and it seems as if the only way to get Congress to reform this country’s tax code is to ask for an intervention by the Great and Powerful Oz. But, here in the nation’s heartland, results from an experiment in state income tax policy just might provide other states with a roadmap to real growth. READ MORE
User info ‘may be intercepted, monitored, recorded … and disclosed’ to government personnel
The Kentucky Obamacare marketplace has no “expectation of privacy,” warning its prospective customers that their information can be monitored and shared with government bureaucrats.
When clicking “let’s get started” on the state-run health insurance marketplace “kynect,” the user is quickly prompted to a “WARNING NOTICE.”
There is no greater hatred than that born out of affection spurned and trust betrayed. Yesterday, the media loved Chad Henderson. Today, they hate him.
He, along with a handful of other individuals, were recently the subject of profiles in the press demonstrating both how navigable the exchange system is and how they are benefiting under the Affordable Care Act. It’s difficult to overstate how absurd the media coverage of Henderson’s reportedly successful effort to sign up to health care exchange has been.
HHS is by far the single largest federal contractor of CGI, showering it with $645 million in contracts. The Defense Department pays the Canadian company $254 million, the EPA $58 million and the Justice Department $36 million.
The General Services Administration, which oversees many government buildings, has contracts with CGI valued at $35 million, according to USASpending.gov.
In comparison, in 2008, under President George W. Bush, CGI contracts totaled only $16.5 million for all federal departments and agencies.
This is a great example of how human nature often times causes us to overthink and complicate, what we later realize just how simple the solution really was.
The Easiest, Most Effective Way To Victory Over Obamacare
Those of you who are supposedly outraged or indignant over the partial government shutdown, or have friends or neighbors who are outraged or indignant, I can tell you all how YOU can fix it. All you have to do is tell pollsters who call that you think Obama and the Democrats are responsible for the shutdown. As soon as that hits the papers, the shutdown will be over before the end of the day.
When the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was passed, the Obama Administration envisioned that all states would implement the program as outlined in the law. However, unlike any federal program in recent history, 27 states have decided not to create a Health Insurance Exchange and instead let the federal government implement it at a cost in excess of $8 billion. This results in a “top down” payment system versus the “bottom up” approach the framers of the legislation expected. FULL STORY
"Argentina is one thing," Reich said. "The United States, though, is a central pillar of the global economy. And a default would have cataclysmic consequences for the global economy. Before we got to that point, even if the Republican Party or the Republicans in Congress refused to raise the debt limit, the president, I’m sure, would go along and raise the debt limit, notwithstanding. FULL ARTICLE
Václav Klaus has long been a critic of the European Union, but never before has he openly called for his country to leave it. As prime minister he negotiated the terms of Czech EU membership, and was president when the country joined on May 1st, 2004. But he’s been a constant critic of the EU, accusing it of unacceptable meddling in its members’ sovereign affairs and comparing its economic policies to communism. His suggestion that the Czech Republic should now seek an exit from the EU was immediately welcomed by those on the eurosceptic right, including Petr Mach, head of the Free Citizens’ Party.
A federal judge has ordered the release of a Guantanamo Bay prisoner suffering from severe mental illness who has been spent much of his time at a psychiatric ward on the U.S. naval base since he arrived more than 11 years ago. Read More
Opposition to ObamaCare hit new highs just as it officially gets off the ground, according to the latest IBD/TIPP poll. The survey found 54% oppose the law, up from 50% in September and 47% in July. More than half want the law delayed a year as part of any deal to raise the debt limit.
The survey also found that ObamaCare is having a real and negative impact on jobs.
The San Diego Sheriff's Department has just found 13-year-old Madison Wilson of Oceanside. Thank you to everyone who shared her picture. But the search for the girl led 10News to a frightening lapse in the Amber Alert system due to the Government shutdown. This was the message we found on www.amberalert.gov while trying to search for information about Madison's disappearance.
