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http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/how-the-nsa-spies-on-smartphon...
http://cryptome.org/isp-spy/iphone-spy4.pdf
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-12-30/how-nsa-hacks-your-iphone-prese...
Mark, the area where I live is rural. But even in these crazy times, good media sources are available to anyone who's interested in accessing them. I listen to Thom Hartmann and Randi Rhodes on the radio several times a week; I watch Democracy Now online, and I subscribe to two great magazines. Even in this rural town, you don't have to be a know-nothing redneck unless you choose to be.
Craig, I am so sorry to hear of your wife and son's untimely deaths. That's two more casualties of this uniquely American system of pay-or-die extortion I've learned about on this blog! What makes me crazy about your story is that you and your wife had already paid huge chunks of cash into the system, before you wound up losing her and the kid anyway; to what sound like preventable causes. Damn... it's one of those rare moments here when words fail me. I don't know how anyone copes with a loss of that magnitude. You must be made of sturdy stuff. - Aliceinwonderland
You, and many others, may feel you have nothing to hide but I believe that a little bit of information can easily lead to identity theft down the line. It would really tick me off if someone stole my identity and stole my savings. And it happens way more often than they tell you on the news. In some cases, if you catch it in time and report it to the bank, you can get the bank to reimburse you...much harder if you are running a business, though. So, businesses have to be even more vigilant.
I am fully aware of the fact that using Palindromedary instead of my real name is not much of a cover. And if I used that same user name at other blogs then someone with the patience can read everything I said in those blogs and paste together a bigger picture of who I am.I initially made the mistake of doing that at a couple of blog sites but then wised up. I have never, however, given much in the way of identifying information at any of those web sites. And since I have never participated in Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, or any of the others (and if I did, I wouldn't use my real name or even the same username as anyplace else), my information will not leak out unless some hacker illegally hacks into a blog site that I've participated in and scans the CME data base for my real name and other info. And, of course, there are other ways...but they are all illegal. Oh, yeah, and I really despise cell phones so don't use them...and I don't have OnStar in my vehicle either.
I certainly agree with you there, ken! Once the Jeanie is out of the bottle...there's no putting her back! They'll just keep doing what they do best...spying on us and lying about not doing it.
Since this is getting kind of long I'll comment on your Iphone in the next blurb....
Palindromedary - I have a feeling you may be talking about me, Mark or several other individuals who have used their real names when making comments. As I have mentioned in the past, I will not be intimidated by the fear others may know who I am and I am obviously not concerned about what others may think since I have made my share of criticism towards you and others here. If you feel by hiding your name and other personal info is going to prevent someone with the knowledge of how to use the internet to find someone, I think you may be a little naive. If the NSA wants to know who you are, they have little too no difficulty in finding you. One thing I find amusing is that when I have googled my full name and location, several people appear, none of them being me. As a matter of fact, I cannot find myself when using the tools available on the internet! If someone or some entity of the government wanted to find out who I am or where I originate my online traffic, it would be a piece of cake to simply go to the ISP I am using and pin point my location here in California. I have told you several times the general local of my residence. I do not, however, use the same password or info that can back trace me when using different websites to make comments. If I wanted to back trace your online comments using specialized software, you can be located. If you have a social security number or driver’s license and use these for identification when applying for a credit card or any other service you may wish to use, you can easily be located. If you get advertising info in the mail with your name on it, you have been found. Do I like the idea that we are all very easily spied upon or that corporations have no problem locating our banks or other personal info, the answer is hell no. But, to think by using Palindromedary you are hiding from anyone who wants to know who you are, that is being simplistic in your overall picture of what is really going only. If anyone thinks that our NSA is going to change in anything they do, my belief is that they will just get even more secretive in their actions and close any loop holes that may have existed before Snowden. Is Snowden or Manning heroes to me, I still have to say they are not. My response is long enough and I will not elaborate any further, I have to go over to my daughter’s home and check out her new Apple 5S IPhone she just bought, I use Apples 4S IPhone and I am not worried about who in the government might be listening. Stop fearing technology and start enjoying the benefits it can provide, just be wise in how you use it and what you say. Whether you and I like it, 1984 is here to stay. I will check out your response, and I know there will be one, tomorrow. You all have a good night, Ken Ware. P.S. I am sure one of your responses will be why make it easier for someone to find you, and that is or would be a very valid response. I guess I am just one of those risk takers in life...BUT, I do pay extra to have my phone number unlisted to avoid the phone sales jerks who always call at dinner time!
How can I find out if I am one of the 5000 fb users or 9000 googlers?
I do not see a problem with using google earth to measure the square footage of a house. Google earth reveals nothing that cannot be seen by a human beings eyes. It is an instrument just like other devices such as range finders and surveyor's tools. I believe it is legal for law enforcement to stake out a piece of property and keep it under 24 hour surveilllance. What happens under public scrutiny is public and it is the public has a right to see it. The government and any private investigator or anyone else has a right to observe it. Of course inconspicuous observation is one thing but obtrusive badgering such as by paperazzi is something else and could rightly be labeled a nuisance.
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Actually it's more a matter of urban vs. rural. They say the rural vote red (like upstate New York and downstate Illinois) and the urban vote blue (like NYC or Chicago) and that the blue states are blue because of the big cities within them. One also musn't be prejudiced against rural folk but they do live in less diverse communities, have less internet access and less media other than Fox News and Rush Limbaugh.
I dont want the government to tell me what and how much to eat.
I believe that sugar especially white sugar is a no no, but who wants the government telling them how much they can eat. NO, you cant eat that berry pie because it has 1 more gram of sugar in it than the governmnet allows. RIIIIIGHT !
Craig Bush: Sorry to hear about your wife and your son. That is just so sad. Anyway, I certainly agree with you about our defunct healthcare system in the US. It really is criminal. And they get away with it! I have just recently started Probiotics, myself. Can't let the bad bacteria outnumber the good bacteria in our stomach and intestines! I think it should be a ratio of about 60/40..good to bad..and as we age, so I'm told, the bad bacteria often tends to outnumber the good so we need to add the good bacteria. That's about all I think I know about it. It's all really new to me.
And I agree..that even when I was working and was covered by insurance...I'd very rarely need to see a doctor...and when I did...I always had the strong feeling that I could have done better by just not even going to the doctor. I even had the chance to opt-out and get paid $10,000 a year for going without company health insurance but didn't do it. I kept my insurance. And so, I may have seen the doctor once or twice since I eventually retired early. And just went to using VA for the prescription medications I needed till I turned 65 in order to get Medicare....which I haven't even used yet. But, know one knows what terrible thing might happen tomorrow..no matter how healthy one is.
I just hope I don't go out like my friend who died in pain and agony for many months before he died of cancer in a VA hospital. And I'm convinced that his VA doctor was negligent in diagnosing his disease in the very beginning when the pains started. Pills, pills, and more pills...then he was slated for physical therapy...but when he went to emergency, against his doctors wishes, they found the metastasized cancer.
About the same thing happened to a co-worker's wife but that was in a civilian healthcare system. But she was able to respond positively to the chemo treatments. The doctors should have diagnosed her cancer much earlier than they did.
I really think that what it comes down to...whether you have insurance or not...is how wealthy you are and how much money can they bilk you out of before you die. If you are rich, they'll save you. If you aren't, they won't. They'll just milk us dry before we die!
It doesn't take hacking tools or cracking passwords or hacking into password protected data bases to find out a lot about people on the internet. Although some hackers and the NSA do just that.
People say they want to keep from being tracked and personal information about themselves kept private from such organizations like the NSA but they are constantly doing foolish things that can allow anyone, who is persistent enough to use only Google searches, to find out a lot more about them than they thought was possible.
One such risky thing is using your real name. But, even if you don't use your real name and use only a moniker for a username...if you use that same username in other web sites... then what you say in those other web sites can be amassed to form a more total persona. And some of those other web sites may even have your email, phone number, address, relatives, your profession, past addresses and a lot more information about you. It could even show that there is a warrant for your arrest. No, I won't mention any names. Some of those web sites may even be personal dating web sites.
It is very possible to even use Google Earth to zoom right down upon... say a very large house (and you can measure it using the Google Earth ruler and determine the square footage of the house or property). There may be a personal tennis court, or another house may have it's own personal dock. And with Street View... you can actually see the details from the street. And while Google Earth tries to not be very accurate as to exactly which address it points to, and Street View tries to blank out the addresses on the houses or mail boxes and the license plate numbers..different street angles and/or zooming in often reveals them...or at least a neighbors address so you can interpolate.
Another way you can be tracked is by the use of certain phrases you use repeatedly or certain spelling errors you make repeatedly.
If you have already participated in various online social sites and have already used your real name or even repeatedly used, across various blogs, the exact same moniker or username then it's too late. The data is already there. But you can help to thwart the proliferation of any more of your information by using a totally different moniker or username at every future site you sign up with.
And of course it is totally very risky to use the same password at every site you sign up with. Because if they manage to breach one password at one site they can easily get into other sites...and if those sites happen to be something like Amazon or your bank then you will most likely be risking a lot more than just your privacy.
Of course, there are some people who just don't care about their privacy. Some people don't even care if the NSA is spying on them. But what about hackers that want to get into your bank accounts? And the NSA and hackers do not draw the line at merely using Google searches...they use sophisticated hacking tools right along with what they can get from Google, Facebook, etc.
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Here's an interest 30 minute video and transcript of an interview of Edward Snowden:
http://cryptome.org/2014/02/snowden-14-0126.htm
For over 35 years I had Blue Cross. Till I lost my job. That was not health insurance. It was health extortion. My wife, a teacher had good coverage. But, they switched health care providers on her near the end from her battle with breast cancer. This speeded up her demise. Probably a policy to save them money. I lost my son at 42. He had Blue Cross but it didn't cover "special" services which would have saved his lfe. It was a simple laser procedure using new technology. Ten years ago I was sent home from the hospital and told there was nothing they could do and to get my "things' in order. i never understood what that meant? In our society, if your uninsured and have to wait for your ailment to reach an emergency, then you have been handed a death sentence. Add up all those tens of thousands that died in America without access to healthcare over the years. We have an immoral two-tier health care system even after obamacare.
My injury was a bout with a terrible flu and I was taking ibuprofen for two weeks. 7 days too long. The tiny fine print should read "if you take ibuprofen longer then 7 days you can die" in bold print. Thousands die every year from over the counter drugs. Pharmeuticals are the #1 cause of unnatural death for seniors. I have learned I can survive better by avoiding our health care system. I brought my self back to life with natural healing using important phyto-nutrients and pro-biotics.
We cannot settle for Obamacare as a final solution to healthcare. We must push on for single payer. Why should health care insurance executives be earning more then medical doctors? Insurance carriers are providing a bookeeping service. We can do it for 3%. Why do we continue to let them skim off 20%? This is not good business for our economy and our health care delivery. We must end the vultures, who have nothing to do with healthcare, from profiting from the human misery of our society.
Isn't it ironic how the CONSERVATIVES are always the ones hollering about "death panels"! As if we didn't already have fucking death panels... Hey, can't get more uniquely American than that! The Flag, apple pie, baseball and death panels... YEAH! God bless America!
Mark, I guess you're right about the problem with "divisive regional prejudices" against "red state rednecks"... but where I live in southwestern Oregon, there seem to be a few of these idiots bumbling around. Everytime I see one of their dumb-ass confederate flags, I want to shout: "Ya lost the war! Get over it!" - Aliceinwonderland
Really shouldn't revert to divisive prejudice or regional racisms against Red State "Red Necks", as it were. Should really, probably, finally bury the hatchet of the Civil War although the "Red State masses", nevertheless, do seem more susceptible to the divisive campaigns of the Repubs.
Mark S -- Glad to see you are back with us as Mark. I like the way you describe the problem. It would be wonderful if we could get every poor person (the infamous 47%) in the US to read what you have said.
The only disagreement I have with you, how can one determine the dems did not push hard enough on card check? One could say they could pass it 40 times in the house like the repugs did on the repeal of Obamacare. However, Nancy P and the group had 390 filibustered bills. Whose has time to do the same one 40 times.
rich.... -- What happened was raygun.
rich... -- What happene was raygun
Actually, the Public Option was dropped in the Senate because the Dems needed every Dem and every Independent to vote for ACHA because Repubs promised a filibuster and Joe Liebermann (I., Conn.) would not vote for it otherwise.
Refusing to expand Medicaid hurts the poor and the poor don't vote, as BMetcalfe astutely noted. Throwing them out of the lifeboat allows the Repubs to not anger those who do vote and still keep promoting the divisive, accusatory philosophy of hierarchies of "deservingness" of society's shared wealth - as well as the general philosophy of the basic rectitude of hierarchies of privilege and entitlement.
The Red State "Red Necks" or the Red State masses make the perfect types to play the feudal "peasantry" to the new corporate, oligarchy's "aristocracy" or "nobility". They keep a dark, superstitious faith in the "divine right" of the power, privilege and entitlement of their wealthy "natural masters".
Dems pushed things like the Employee Free Choice Act but didn't push them very hard. At the slightest opposition they throw up their hands and say, "Oh well, we tried." You know it would be different if the majority of the Dems' money still came from unions instead of from the same place the Repubs always got theirs, i.e., big business.
I would blame Obamacare on the GOPimps in my Single Payer, Not for Profit campaign. We need not demonize Obama to show how compromised he has been by the powers that be, and how Imperial and Corporate they are. I would be glad to run the bus over the Corporate Dems in the process. Needless to say, Hillary would have tire tracks all over her, and Bill would be another example of the triangulated.
If we really have no other electoral options that "lesser," we need to make that clear rather than hoping for change through bipartisanship.
I would blame Obamacare on the GOPimps in my Single Payer, Not for Profit campaign. We need not demonize Obama to show how compromised he has been by the powers that be, and how Imperial and Corporate they are. I would be glad to run the bus over the Corporate Dems in the process. Needless to say, Hillary would have tire tracks all over her, and Bill would be another example of the triangulated.
If we really have no other electoral options that "lesser," we need to make that clear rather than hoping for change through bipartisanship.
And here's another thing the dirty Republican Reds are doing to trick people into giving them donation money...those advertisements that show a smiling face of a Democrat is actually a trick to make you think that it is soliciting a donation for them but the fine print says otherwise...
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/02/03/3242381/republicans-trick-vo...
I had read that they did this in California as well, a few years ago, when they were sending out messages with smiling Democrat politicians that seemed to be saying to vote against truth in labeling but it wasn't Democrats behind it..it was the food industry playing a sneaky one on California voters.
They said the California Covered website was said to be much better than the national website. If that's the case, I really feel for those seeking to sign up. The process was convoluted and frequently frozhum human help was nearly impossible to obtain with 30 minute waiting - and then no one is there. Finally made progress to select a plan and found my income just above the threshold in which I would receive assistance.
The program advertises "options" with varying levels of deductibles and copays. I have not had full scale healthcare and need medical attention - a hernia repair and recently referred to a cardiologist to treat atrial fibulation. I still don't have healthcare coverage.
The "plans" are but casino wagering options With deductibles up to $5000 plus $350 per month. If you get sick (or already need medical care) it is going to cost the deductible plus $4,200 for 12 monthly payments - grand total $9,200 per year. The plan I selected - but still don't have the cash to buy - is $650 per month ($7,800 / year). (It's been a month and I never received a letter from Kaiser.)
i own my own business. I work hard. I make too much to qualify for subsidies. I don't make enough to pay rent, my taxes, and health insurance - something that might keep me from having a stroke. PI grew up believing in America. I worked hard all may life. Do not know when it happened - but somewhere along the contract was rescinded by the corporate bosses - and to each their own.
What happened to the dream? What happened to America?
j.jonik --- Essentially, I only listen to Thom and Amy Goodman and I think the dems are very different than the repugs. I base what I think on how they vote. Trying to push the Employee Free Choice Act through congress is about as anti-corprate legislation as there is. However, the reason I think voting for the dems will turn our economy around is based on the legislation they passed and attempted to pass.
In the 13 weeks of the 5 years of the Obama presidency in which the dems had control of the congress they accomplished a lot.
1 Chrysler saved
2 GM Saved
3 AHCA passed (AKA Obamacare); (because of blue dogs like Max Baucus it was not a single player plan; to get Sen Baucus to sign it, Max's county got single payer.)
4 Middle class tax cut
5 Went from losing 750,000 per month to 30 straight months of job gains (in spite of Republican governors cutting 4.5 million jobs)
6 Education spending increased
7 Laws against hate crimes strengthened
8 CHIPS expanded (Children’s Health Insurance Program)
9 Forced through Child Labor Laws
10 consumer protection agency formed
11 Credit card reform
12 Predatory lending to soldiers restricted
13 Troops paid for stop loss time
14 Torture stopped
15 VA spending increased
16 Women allowed to serve on subs
17 Equal pay for women
18 Nuclear arms reduction proposal
19 BP cleanup fund
20 EPA strengthened
21 FDA powers broadened
22 Healthcare for 9-11 responders funded (during Bush Term it was ignored)
23 DADT was repealed
24 Within 24 hours of his inauguration in 2009, he ordered that the financial statistics of the top 400 families should be treated like everyone else's; that is, they should not be a classified government document.
Even when the dems did not have control they demonstrated their support of the 99%.
25 When the congress was adding Part D to Medicare (the prescription drug assist; I think it was in 2004) the democrats tried to pass an amendment to help fund it by a 1% income tax on incomes over 1 million.
26 In 2009-10 when Obama lost his filibuster proof senate, the senate had a record number of filibusters (380 or so); during LBJ's 6 year reign as senate majority leader there was one.
27 The bills that were filibustered would have helped our economy for both the long and short term. My favorites were the card check bill, the Disclose Act, stopping waivers for the Buy American Act of 1936 and the credits for bringing jobs back (no credits for tearing down factories to send jobs overseas.
28 Republicans supported the Reinhart-Rogoff Study used to push austerity throughout the world; The study was a total scam supported by Pete Peterson who wants all the social security money invested on wall street. It was easy to suck in democrats and the general public because too much debt being a bad thing makes intuitive sense.
It was Hillary and Bill Clinton (Dimocrats) that pushed this Insurance Windfall Act (invented by right wing Heritage Foundation, etc.) so prominently, and now it's Clinton II...Obama ("lesser evil than Repugs") who's doing the same thing....doing more harm to advocacy for Single Payer than even the worst Repugs.
It's not the GOP that's doing the most harm (though pretendng to threaten maximum cruelty)...it's the Dems...precisely because they are painted as the Lesser Evil. People, unavailing themselves of adequate info, trust Dems more. Like people trust priests more. Obama got elected, after all, as being the (percieved) ALTERNATIVE to the Bush League. Nice trick. He's worse in so many ways....just as Clinton became one of the worst "conservative" presdents in history...with his NAFTA, "Salvage Logging", dumping Habeas Corpus, Iraq Sanctions, bombing the Pharm plant in Sudan, and other things a Bush or Reagan would not have gotten done. Ah, but Bubba was "nicer", "less evil".
And Obama is any better?
The big trick here is...if Repugs OPPOSE Obamacare, thoughtless Dems (even "lefties" !) just go robotic to automatically oppose the Repugs to defend Exacltly What the Corporatocracy Wants. Nuts, eh?
If Democrats stood up for Single Payer, and the GOP opposed...it would be Case Closed...and the US would be long on its way to have a Public Funded and Public Administered health system...with everyone in the land duly covered, and saving untold fortunes now wasted on insurer profits, CEO bonuses, insurer Wall St investments, advertising, lobbying, trade conventions, lush insurer corporate campuses, etc.
Cripes....barely anyone even knows that the for-profit health insuers...which many feel compelled to patronize by threats from the IRS...are Billion Dollar investors in the likes of Cigarette Manufacturers, Big Coal, Big Fracking, Big Chlorine-Dioxin, Big Pesticides, Big Military, Big Nukes, Big GMOs and all the rest of the worst of the worst health DAMAGING industries. THAT is our "health care" system.
Perhaps Thom will one day further reveal health insurers' huge economic links to those industries, and question why nicer (?) Dems go along with that for a minute. "Obamacare" funnels obscene fortunes to some, or most, of the top Repug corporate interests. Every penny of that is funnelled away from people who need the health care.
Search up terms like "Insurers invest in tobacco". Or "PNHP Insurers Tobacco Investments", etc. No secret. Just ignored...by both sides. Dims and Repugs are clearly on the Same Corporate Side, doing a lot of veritable Pro Wrestling...pretending to be battling. Mainstream audience, sadly, buys that.
You would think by now that the Republicans would have disgusted most Americans that they would have difficulty getting re-elected. Ordinarily, that should be the case. I'm just afraid that their sense of impunity is coming from a conviction they have that they can remain in power despite their unpopularity. As we have seen, they are mounting all kinds of obstructions to voting, using their majorities in several states to redistrict their legislators into safer seats, as well as using vast sums of money and think-tank propaganda to sow doubt and swing voters their way. Worse, I have seen evidence in many races, especially since 2000, that voting machines and private vote-counting companies are changing the outcomes of elections to their advantage. I have heard it said that working WITHIN electoral systems is often the way fascists gain control of governments. Mussolini defined fascism as the union of corporate and state power, precisely the situation we are confronting. That has me VERY worried.
17,000 American casualties all due to petty politics. All in red states. Republicans will go to any extreme; including, sacrificing their own constituency upon the altar of spite--culling their own herd. Literally cutting off their nose to spite their face. Talk about a bunch of Lemmings. What kind of mentality continues to follow the path of the upside down star studded elephant in this sick circus show of sycophants?
On the bright side, one way or another, there will be less Republican voters.