Alan C.
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Posts posted by Alan C.
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Feds tell Web firms to turn over user account passwords
The U.S. government has demanded that major Internet companies divulge users' stored passwords, according to two industry sources familiar with these orders, which represent an escalation in surveillance techniques that has not previously been disclosed.
If the government is able to determine a person's password, which is typically stored in encrypted form, the credential could be used to log in to an account to peruse confidential correspondence or even impersonate the user. Obtaining it also would aid in deciphering encrypted devices in situations where passwords are reused.
"I've certainly seen them ask for passwords," said one Internet industry source who spoke on condition of anonymity. "We push back."
A second person who has worked at a large Silicon Valley company confirmed that it received legal requests from the federal government for stored passwords. Companies "really heavily scrutinize" these requests, the person said. "There's a lot of 'over my dead body.'"
Some of the government orders demand not only a user's password but also the encryption algorithm and the so-called salt, according to a person familiar with the requests. A salt is a random string of letters or numbers used to make it more difficult to reverse the encryption process and determine the original password. Other orders demand the secret question codes often associated with user accounts.
A Microsoft spokesperson would not say whether the company has received such requests from the government. But when asked whether Microsoft would divulge passwords, salts, or algorithms, the spokesperson replied: "No, we don't, and we can't see a circumstance in which we would provide it."
Google also declined to disclose whether it had received requests for those types of data. But a spokesperson said the company has "never" turned over a user's encrypted password, and that it has a legal team that frequently pushes back against requests that are fishing expeditions or are otherwise problematic. "We take the privacy and security of our users very seriously," the spokesperson said.
Apple, Yahoo, Facebook, AOL, Verizon, AT&T, Time Warner Cable, and Comcast did not respond to queries about whether they have received requests for users' passwords and how they would respond to them. -
Homeland Security's Future Home: A Former Mental Hospital
...St. Elizabeths Hospital, a former mental institution where the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is building a $4.5 billion headquarters. It’s the largest construction project in the District of Columbia since the Pentagon was completed in 1943.
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Today, DHS has 240,000 employees and a yearly budget of $60 billion. -
Obama: Reporters tell me my ideas are 'great'
President Obama said reporters praise his economic proposals as "great" and tell him they are "all good ideas."
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Psychopathic criminals have empathy switch
Psychopaths do not lack empathy, rather they can switch it on at will, according to new research.
Placed in a brain scanner, psychopathic criminals watched videos of one person hurting another and were asked to empathise with the individual in pain.
Only when asked to imagine how the pain receiver felt did the area of the brain related to pain light up.
Scientists, reporting in Brain, say their research explains how psychopaths can be both callous and charming.
The team proposes that with the right training, it could be possible to help psychopaths activate their "empathy switch", which could bring them a step closer to rehabilitation.
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Psychopathy is a personality disorder characterised by superficial charm, pathological lying and a diminished capacity for remorse.
Now scientists have found that only when asked to empathise did the criminals' empathy reaction, also known as the mirror system, fire up the same way as it did for the controls. Without instruction, they show reduced activity in the regions of the brain associated with pain.
This mirror system refers to the mirror neurons in our brain which are known to activate when we watch someone do a task and when we do it ourselves. They are thought to play a vital role in the ability to empathise with others. -
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...if there is something supernatural "proof" provided...
What is supernatural proof?
If it can be provided then it wouldn't be supernatural, right?
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Lindsey Graham Wants War with Iran at the End of the Summer
Sen. Lindsey Graham told a "cheering" audience Tuesday that if the relationship between the U.S. and Iran doesn't improve by the end of summer, he will ask Congress to authorize going to war. The idea is silly because obviously it'll never happen, and it's probably a ploy for re-election.
"If nothing changes in Iran, come September, October, I will present a resolution that will authorize the use of military force to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb," the South Carolina Republican said...at a conference for members of Christians United for Israel today. "The only way to convince Iran to halt their nuclear program is to make it clear that we will take it out," Graham added.Lindsey Graham on Snowden: ‘I hope we’ll chase him to the ends of the earth’
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Scotia drug suspect cleared by video may sue
The Scotia shop owner cleared of drug charges earlier this year by his own surveillance system has filed the precursor to a lawsuit against the two police agencies that worked on the investigation.
Meanwhile, Schenectady County District Attorney Robert Carney said the informant used in the case — who is seen in store surveillance video planting the evidence — was a factor in drug and weapons cases against seven defendants. Attorneys in each of those cases either have been notified or are being notified of the informant’s involvement.
The existence of the notices of claim was disclosed Tuesday by shop owner Donald Andrews’ attorney, Kevin Luibrand, who played the surveillance video for members of the media. The video shows two visits by the wired, unidentified informant, with the videos both showing the informant retrieving something from the back of his pants. In the second visit, when Andrews had his back turned, the informant placed what was identified as cocaine on the counter, secretly photographed it and later presented it to investigators as evidence.
Luibrand said Andrews wanted his story and the video made public to prove that he was innocent and that people are set up. He also wanted it publicized to give more credibility to those in similar situations who don’t have a multi-camera surveillance system to prove their innocence.
“This is the first occasion that I’ve seen in 30 years where this has been captured on video,” Luibrand said. “It’s alleged, it’s talked about, lawyers often hear ‘I didn’t do it, he set me up.’ Well, there’s Exhibit A. That’s how it’s done.”
Andrews is the owner of Dabb City Smoke Shop in Scotia, a store that sells pipes, T-shirts, hookahs, incense, ashtrays and other items. He was accused of selling cocaine to the undercover informant twice in late March. His shop was then raided in early April, and he was arrested.
He spent the weekend in jail before he could come up with the $30,000 bond. When he realized what he was being accused of, he had investigators examine his surveillance system, which was among the items seized in the raid.
When they did, the charges against Andrews were dropped and the informant himself was sought on drug and perjury charges. The informant, who is not being identified, remains at large.
In the video, shown Tuesday by Luibrand, the informant is seen taking something out of the back of his pants on both occasions. In one, he is clearly seen placing what was identified as cocaine on the counter and secretly photographing it, all while Andrews’ back is turned.
The notices of claim were filed earlier this month with the municipalities overseeing the two law enforcement agencies involved, the Schenectady County Sheriff’s Department and the Scotia Police Department. -
Dash-cam video shows woman's arrest during diabetic episode
In the video, deputies yank Revina Garcia out of her car. She had just been in a car accident after having a severe diabetic attack and is completely limp.
"I was just lost, I was just lost," Garcia said.
After the slamming into the back of a truck, Garcia said she couldn’t open the door.
"I just didn't know how to open the door," Garcia said.
A deputy shattered Garcia’s car window and pulled her out of the car. Garcia was then thrown on the street face down and handcuffed.
"In this case there was no resistance. We are looking at that very seriously," Santa Fe County Sheriff Robert Garcia said.
With Garcia's face on the ground and her not moving at all, deputies walk away. Garcia said her blood sugar was so low that she could have gone into a coma. -
As I mention, if it can be tested, etc. then it is no longer supernatural and fall into natural domain. Therefore, it cannot be the supernatural god.
The supernatural exists in the imagination; it's not real. A phantasm with magic powers is an imaginary figment.
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What evidence / proof would you need...
The kind that can be observed, measured, and tested.
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US marshals lost 2,200 encrypted radios worth $6 mln
Each radio ranges in price from about $2,000 to $5,000, bringing the total value of the 2,200 lost devices to about $6 million.
“This issue is in large part attributable to poor record keeping as a result of an older property-management system, as opposed to equipment being lost,” USMS spokesman Drew Wade told the Journal.
The agency’s Office of Strategic Technology noted the problem in a 2011 presentation. In March of this year, the agency concluded a nationwide inventory of its equipment and discovered the missing items. Some unnamed officials told the Journal that the count of missing devices has since grown to at least 4,000.
"It is apparent that negligence and incompetence has resulted in a grievous mismanagement of millions of dollars of USMS property," stated the 2011 presentation. "Simply put, the entire system is broken and drastic measures need to be taken to address the issues…The 800 pound elephant in the room needs to finally be acknowledged."
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Prices Fuel Outrage in Brazil, Home of the $30 Cheese Pizza
Shoppers here with a notion of what items cost abroad need to brace themselves when buying a Samsung Galaxy S4 phone: the same model that costs $615 in the United States is nearly double that in Brazil. An even bigger shock awaits parents needing a crib: the cheapest one at Tok & Stok costs over $440, more than six times the price of a similarly made item at Ikea in the United States.
For Brazilians seething with resentment over wasteful spending by the country’s political elite, the high prices they must pay for just about everything — a large cheese pizza can cost almost $30 — only fuel their ire.
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Inflation stands at about 6.4 percent, with many in the middle class complaining that they are bearing the brunt of price increases. Limiting the authorities’ maneuvering room, the popular indignation is festering at a time when huge stimulus projects are failing to lift the economy from a slowdown, raising the specter of stagflation in Latin America’s largest economy.
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...companies were grappling with 88 federal, state and municipal taxes, a number of which are charged directly to consumers. Keeping accountants on their toes, the Brazilian authorities issue an estimated 46 new tax rules every day...
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Kyle James McCartin: Off-duty Arizona cop fired after arrest for pulling gun on store clerk
Tucson, Ariz., police officer has been fired after authorities say he pulled a gun on a gas station attendant while off duty and apparently intoxicated.
The Pima County Sheriff's Department notified Tucson police that 23-year-old Kyle James McCartin was arrested early Tuesday on two counts of aggravated assault.
Deputies were called to a Giant Gas Station and learned two men who appeared very intoxicated entered the store wearing bulletproof vests.
Authorities say one of the men pulled out a handgun and pointed it at the clerk twice.
Deputies found the men at a nearby apartment complex and the clerk identified McCartin as the man with the gun.
Police say McCartin was hired in September and was on probationary status.
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Dem Senator: Roller Coasters Need More Federal Regulations
U.S. Sen. Edward Markey is calling for a set of national safety standards to cover rides at amusement parks following the death of a woman who fell from a roller coaster at a Six Flags amusement in Texas.
Markey said families on summer vacations are assuming what he called a huge risk because of the lack of federal regulations.
I wonder how the senator feels about people who are murdered every year as a result of drug raids and police brutality.
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The Perks Of Being Janet Napolitano
Last week Janet Napolitano just about tripled her old salary as Homeland Security Secretary now that she’s confirmed to be the next president of the University of California.
While the Board of Regents assured they’re in the business of education, they thought it made good business sense to pay her $575,000 a year. The regents said Napolitano is a remarkable person of character.In addition, she gets a free house an $8,000 car allowance and $142,000 for relocation expenses.
DHS’ Napolitano Leaves Legacy of Corruption, Lies, Lawsuits, and Waste
The parasite class.
I hope students feel like they're getting their money's worth with those exorbitant tuitions.
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Study: Divorce Rate In Older Adults Doubles
The U.S. has one of the highest divorce rates in the world as nearly 45 percent of marriages are expected to end through divorce.
Now a study has found that the divorce rate among older adults has more than doubled since 1980 and one in four persons who gets a divorce today is over age 50.
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FBI announces review of 2,000 cases featuring hair samples
More than 2,000 cases the FBI processed from 1985 to 2000 will be re-examined, including some in which execution dates have been set and others in which the defendants already have died in prison. In a key concession, Justice Department officials will waive usual deadlines and procedural hurdles that often block inmates from challenging their convictions.
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Depleted uranium used by US forces blamed for birth defects and cancer in Iraq
“After the start of the Iraq war, rates of cancer, leukemia and birth defects rose dramatically in Najaf. The areas affected by American attacks saw the biggest increases. We believe it’s because of the' illegal' weapons like depleted uranium that were used by the Americans. When you visit the hospital here you see that cancer is more common than the flu," Dr. Sundus Nsaif tells RT's Lucy Kafanov while talking on the rooftop of her house in Najaf, instead of her laboratory. Why the secrecy? As she reveals, there’s an active push by the government perhaps not to embarrass the coalition forces, not to really talk about this issue.
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At least 440,000kg of DU was used in Iraq, some ending up as DU dust, some as corroding penetrators and leaving a still unknown number of sites with contaminated vehicles, buildings and soils, according to a Dutch report.
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I noticed that many of the previous forum sections are gone (eg. law enforcement), but it appears that those sections have been merged. Is that correct?
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After Detroit bankruptcy filing, city retirees on edge as they face pension cuts
Of Detroit’s overall debt, about half — $9.2 billion — represents pension and health benefits that the city has promised retirees but that it now says it does not have enough money to fully pay. The lion’s share of the remaining debt is owed to bondholders.
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“I feel very vulnerable. I don’t feel we have any protection,” said Harper, 61, who receives $2,100 a month in pension payments. “I thought that at 30 years, you earned a pension that was accrued and you did not have to have a concern about that.”Detroit not alone under mountain of long-term debt
The Pew Center for the States, in Washington, estimated states’ public pension plans across the U.S. were underfunded by a whopping $1.4 trillion in 2010.
25 Facts About The Fall Of Detroit That Will Leave You Shaking Your Head
50 years of parasitism and central-planning.
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Kentucky Orders End to Parenting Column, Says Columnist Not State-Licensed Psychologist
Rosemond is the author of a popular parenting advice column that is syndicated nationwide. A psychologist licensed to practice in North Carolina, Rosemond answers questions about child-rearing from parents who submit their questions online. His column appears in more than 200 newspapers across the country, according to a lawsuit he filed on Tuesday.
On May 7, 2013, the Kentucky Board of Examiners of Psychology sent Rosemond a letter asking him to cease and desist his columns because the advice he gave a parent on how to handle a teenager constituted the "practice of psychology," which he is not licensed to practice in Kentucky.
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In his lawsuit, Rosemond contends that the board is trying to protect a "monopoly of advice."
Psychopathic criminals have empathy switch
in Self Knowledge
Posted
That's quite possible. Psychopaths/narcissists are known for being conniving, devious, and manipulative.