Survey: 1 in 3 Americans believe conflict in Syria is a sign of biblical end times

Image: LifeWayResearch.com

Madison Ruppert

A new survey by LifeWay Research found that one-third of Americans surveyed believe that the Syrian conflict is a sign of biblical “end times” events, though only one-fifth believe the world will end in their lifetime.

The survey also found that one-fourth of those surveyed believe a U.S. military strike could lead to the battle of Armageddon. However, some believe such a strike is now out of the question thanks to the U.S.-Russia chemical weapons deal.

A military operation is clearly not ruled out just yet and some in Washington are calling the chemical weapons agreement “meaningless.”

The results of the survey surprised Ed Stetzer, president of Nashville-based LifeWay Research, because previous U.S. military actions did not lead to such conclusions.

CIA and US State Dept. Sending Weapons and Supplies to Syrian Rebels: Report

Madison Ruppert

The U.S. government has been delivering weapons, vehicles, sophisticated communications gear and advanced combat medical kits for two weeks via the CIA and State Department, according to a Washington Post report.

However, the CIA has played a significant role in arming the rebels for quite some time now as even The New York Times reported in June 2012. The US government has been assisting in the arming of the rebels in other ways as well.

There were also reports in August of U.S., Israeli and Jordanian commandos operating on Syrian soil with the rebels.

The latest Post report cites unnamed U.S. officials and Syrian figures who say that the CIA’s arms shipments have been “streaming into the country over the past two weeks.”

Death toll in Egypt rises to 525 as Obama cancels military exercise, ‘strongly condemns’ violence

image credit:
Zeinab Mohamed/Flickr

Madison Ruppert

As the death toll in Egypt rises to 525, according to the health ministry, and Christians face more danger than ever, Obama has canceled a military exercise scheduled for next month while saying that the U.S. “strongly condemns” the violence currently plaguing Egypt.

Perhaps most troubling of all is that there are no signs of the violence ending in the near future with the Muslim Brotherhood pledging to march in Cairo and bring down the interim government.

One of the most notable aspects of Obama’s reaction is that he avoided actually describing the situation in Egypt as “a coup.”

If such language was used, it would require the U.S. to cut the $1.3-1.5 billion in yearly aid to Egypt, as USA Today notes.

Reports of intel chief leading ‘independent’ NSA surveillance review denied by White House

Robert Gates and James Clapper, 2011

Madison Ruppert

The Obama administration is now denying the reports stating that Director of National Intelligence James Clapper will lead the “independent” review of the National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance programs.

This choice was heavily criticized, which is hardly surprising given that Clapper lied under oath. Indeed, he himself admitted that he made “clearly erroneous” statements before the Senate.

However, the Obama administration is now stating that Clapper won’t actually be part of the group.

Revealed: Obama admin’s nonsensical legal justification for bulk collection of Americans’ phone records

image credit:
WeMeantDemocracy/Flickr

Madison Ruppert

The Obama administration recently released a white paper which summarizes the supposed legal justification for the bulk collection of Americans’ phone records. Contained therein are some thoroughly nonsensical and leave the door open for massive invasions of privacy.

Meanwhile, it was revealed that the National Security Agency (NSA) can conduct warrantless searches for the phone calls and emails of Americans and that the collection of data expands far beyond what was previously admitted to.

The Department of Justice white paper deals with the “Associational Tracking Program,” operated under section 215 of the Patriot Act, codified in the U.S. Code as 50 USC § 1861.

“There is no direct authorization for the Associational Tracking Program in section Patriot Act section 215,” writes Cindy Cohn, legal director and general counsel for the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

The statute includes no authorization of the NSA’s mass collection and analysis of the Americans who are neither suspects nor targeted individuals.

Legal loophole allows NSA to conduct warrantless searches for Americans’ emails and phone calls

image credit: EFF/Flickr

Madison Ruppert

Thanks to a legal loophole, the National Security Agency (NSA) has a secret backdoor allowing the agency to search their massive databases for American citizens’ emails and phone calls without a warrant, according to a secret document released today.

While some officials anonymously admitted that the NSA collects communications sent or related to overseas targets, the latest document leaked by Edward Snowden reveals that the surveillance of Americans goes far beyond what was previously thought, which is saying a lot at this point.

A rule which previously remained secret and was first reported on the Guardian on August 9 allows NSA operatives to directly search for the individual communications of Americans using their name or other identifying information.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), a critic of the NSA, told the Guardian that the law indeed gives the NSA a loophole which enables “warrantless searches for the phone calls or emails of law-abiding Americans.”

NSA officials admit to widespread collection of emails, other text communications sent to people overseas

image credit:
frederic.jacobs/Flickr

Madison Ruppert

Anonymous National Security Agency (NSA) officials have revealed that the agency collects emails and other text communications when they are received from foreign sources, sent internationally or when they mention a particular person or something related to that person.

The fact that the NSA conducts widespread surveillance of people communicating with foreign individuals has been known for quite some time, but this is the first time that officials have admitted that the scale of surveillance is much larger than previously thought.

Indeed, as The New York Times report states, the agency is going beyond gathering the communications of Americans who are directly communicating with overseas targets, “It is also casting a far wider net for people who cite information linked to those foreigners, like a little used e-mail address, according to a senior intelligence official.”

Pentagon training states that a person unhappy with U.S. foreign policy may be a ‘high threat’

image credit:
Department of Defense
via Huffington Post

Madison Ruppert

According to Pentagon training materials, individuals working for federal agencies should consider their co-workers a potential “high threat” if they speak “openly of unhappiness with U.S. foreign policy,” regularly visit family overseas and experience money troubles.

The government’s so-called “Insider Threat Program” has been criticized for equating leakers, spies and terroristsand is aimed squarely at preventing future Edward Snowden or Bradley Manning-style leaks.

In a test created by the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), a hypothetical Indian-American woman named “Hema” is considered a “high threat” simply for criticizing of U.S. policy, getting a car repossessed while at work and visiting her family twice a year, all of which are considered threat “indicators.”

US and UK urge citizens to flee Yemen as closures used by some to legitimize NSA surveillance

image credit: drsno/Flickr

Madison Ruppert

As the United States and United Kingdom urge citizens and “nonemergency” employees to flee Yemen, some in Washington are using the closures to legitimize increasingly controversial National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance.

Meanwhile, critics have stated that there is no evidence indicating that the NSA’s dragnet surveillance of the phone records of Americans is actually providing unique value to US counterterrorism programs.

The moves came after officials in Washington, D.C. stated that the US intercepted electronic communications in which the current head of al Qaeda allegedly ordered al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) to carry out an attack, according to The New York Times.

The group was reportedly ordered to “carry out an attack as early as this past Sunday,” according to the Times, though no attack has occurred as of yet.

Researchers reveal that millions of ‘secure’ Kwikset smartkey locks can be opened with simple tools

image credit:
screenshot from video uploaded by Wired

Madison Ruppert

If you are one of the millions of people who have Kwikset smartkey locks on your home, it’s time to seriously consider changing those out for something a bit more secure.

Despite the security claims made about the smartkey locks, researchers demonstrated the ability to bypass the locks with “a screwdriver and a paper clip” and will present the technique at the DefCon hacker conference today.

Glenn Greenwald slams ‘robust oversight,’ says Congress learned about NSA spying via media

Glenn Greenwald on "This Week"
image credit: screenshot from Mediaite Video

Madison Ruppert

Glenn Greenwald, the journalist responsible for  publishing the information leaked by Edward Snowden, slammed Congress’s “robust oversight” today, adding that “they are forced to learn about what the NSA is doing from what they’re reading in our reporting.”

Some are now claiming that Greenwald isn’t even a journalist while others have insinuated that he could be charged with crimes for working with Snowden, who was granted temporary asylum in Russia.

In his comments made on “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” today, Greenwald made reference to the fact that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court has determined that the government’s surveillance has breached the Fourth Amendment at least once.

FBI employs hackers, has software that can remotely activate cell phone, laptop microphones and more

image credit:
powtac/Flickr

Madison Ruppert

A new report reveals that the FBI directly employs multiple hackers who create custom surveillance software for the bureau, some of which is capable of remotely activating the microphones on cell phones and laptops, among other features.

The FBI is known for using technology shrouded in secrecy, some of which is based on legal grounds which have been questioned by critics with some maintaining that the FBI deceived judges in deploying it.

Malicious software, or malware, aimed at enabling government surveillance has also been heavily marketed directly to the US government.

It’s also important to note that the US government is now the world’s largest buyer of malware.

Yet the government doesn’t just buy software from the private sector, anonymous former US officials told the Wall Street Journal that the FBI also “employs a number of hackers who write custom surveillance software.”

Federal court: no warrant is required for law enforcement to track your location via cell phone records

(Image credit: Nicola since 1972/Flickr)

Madison Ruppert

A federal appeals court has ruled that law enforcement agencies are not required to obtain a warrant in order to track your location through your cell phone records.

This is hardly a surprising decision given that other judges have said that cell phone users have “no legitimate expectation of privacy,” some in the house have said no warrant should be required to acquire geolocation data, and the Obama administration claims location data is not protected by the Fourth Amendment.

The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans supported this trend earlier the week by overturning a federal judge in Houston, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The court ruled that cell phone records are the property of your carrier and thus are not protected by the Fourth Amendment’s probable cause standard.

Former SEC attorney: government claims it will protect your data but ‘it cannot honor that promise’

(Image credit: k0a1a.net/Flickr)

Madison Ruppert

According to a former attorney for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), despite the government’s claims that it will protect your private data, it simply “cannot honor that promise.”

This is especially troubling given the growing presence of centralized systems in which massive amounts of private information is held, such as the Federal Services Data Hubauthorized by the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare.

The statement was made by Hester Peirce, who currently serves as a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, and previously served as senior counsel to Senator Richard Shelby’s staff on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

RHex the ‘Parkour robot’ shows off its ability to handle various obstacles in the wild

screenshot from University of Penn vid

Madison Ruppert

The University of Pennsylvania’s Kod*lab has developed an amazingly nimble hexapedal “Parkour robot” dubbed RHex, shown successfully handling various obstacles in the latest video.

RHex is “biologically inspired,” according to the university, which is an increasingly common trend in robotics.

Biologically inspired robots range from giant autonomous jellyfish to tiny flying robot insects to larger drones modeled after insects which are even capable of carrying out lethal missions to drones modeled after owls and other birds to robots modeled after cheetahs and cats to robots modeled after humans.

The most impressive part of the video demonstrating RHex (embedded below) is that it is not performed in a perfectly controlled laboratory environment.



Instead, the robot is shown navigating everyday obstacles around the University of Pennsylvania campus.

Federal government going after master encryption keys from Internet companies for easier spying

Madison Ruppert

According to a new report, the U.S. government is demanding the master encryption keys that are used by Internet companies to protect the private communications of countless users from government surveillance.

A recent government report revealed that encryption actually thwarted attempted wiretaps for the first time on record, which makes it all the more understandable that the government would now be attempting to break through any and all methods of encryption.

The demands for these master encryption keys have not been disclosed previously, according to Declan McCullagh, the journalist who broke the story for CNET.

As invasive in-store tracking technology becomes more common, companies attempt to self-regulate

image credit:
airdiogo/Flickr

Madison Ruppert

A little-known industry built around tracking customers in and around physical stores has grown considerably over recent years and now the industry is supposedly going to regulate itself amidst privacy concerns.

Companies and the technologies they use are quite diverse, ranging from facial recognition cameras in mannequins to systems that track signals from Wi-Fi enabled smartphones.

The latter technology is used by a company called Euclid which bills itself as “Google Analytics for the physical world.”

If Wi-Fi is turned on, Euclid can collect information including the presence of the phone, the MAC address, the phone’s manufacturer, the signal strength, and the name of the Wi-Fi network it is connected to (if applicable), according to the company’s privacy statement.

While the company says they don’t capture personal information or real-world identity, they are able to produce some quite amazing information for their customers.