WA State Lawmaker Sued for Banning 2 Constituents From Facebook Page

A Washington state lawmaker has been sued by two constituents who argue their First Amendment rights are being violated because they’ve been banned from commenting on the state lawmaker’s Facebook page.

The suit against Rep. Jim Walsh, filed in U.S. District Court in Tacoma on Wednesday, says the Aberdeen Republican unlawfully censored Jeff Nichols and Gilbert Myers when he banned them from his ‘politician’ page on the social media site.

“By banning access to this forum and deleting comments based on the viewpoint of the speaker, Representative Walsh has violated plaintiffs’ right to free expression, to petition the government for a redress of wrongs and grievances, and to hear the banned speech that would have otherwise been engaged in, distorting the expressive forum,” the lawsuit says. (Tacoma News Tribune, October 27, 2018)
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An official government page probably can't ban individuals from commenting on the page based on the content of what they say. But where do we draw the line?

What if a government employee went to others in the agency and organized a ban or blocking of an individual from personal Facebook pages? Could this be seen as creating a hostile work environment? Shouldn't people be able to "friend" or block whomever they wish?

What about a private business? Can a business ban comments on its page? Does it matter why the person was banned / blocked? What if the business only banned people based on race? Religion? Political viewpoints? Sexual orientation? Shouldn't a private business be able to run its publicly viewable information anyway it chooses?

And what about our political representatives? Don't they get some control over what is said on the public pages they run?

Operating in Hostile and Non-Permissive Environments:
A Survival and Resource Guide for Those Who Go in Harm’s Way

 

Military personnel deployed to a combat area, their supporting contractors overseas, government civilian employees overseas, non-government organizations (NGOs), journalists working on international stories, businesses attempting to establish a foothold in developing countries, and individual travelers to remote areas of the world can all find themselves in hostile and non-permissive environments. This guide covers a broad range of subjects that are intended to aid individuals, living and working in dangerous areas, in being safer in their daily lives and in being better able to protect themselves and survive in case of an emergency, disaster, or hostile action.



 

No More Google

Some people want to move away from using Google and Google-related services. No More Google https://nomoregoogle.com/ provides a list of alternatives.

You Gave Facebook Your Number For Security. They Used It For Ads

Gennie Gebhart at the EFF (September 27, 2018) wrote You Gave Facebook Your Number For Security. They Used It For Ads.

Add “a phone number I never gave Facebook for targeted advertising” to the list of deceptive and invasive ways Facebook makes money off your personal information. Contrary to user expectations and Facebook representatives’ own previous statements, the company has been using contact information that users explicitly provided for security purposes—or that users never provided at all—for targeted advertising.

A group of academic researchers from Northeastern University and Princeton University, along with Gizmodo reporters, have used real-world tests to demonstrate how Facebook’s latest deceptive practice works. They found that Facebook harvests user phone numbers for targeted advertising in two disturbing ways: two-factor authentication (2FA) phone numbers, and “shadow” contact information.

Facebook is also grabbing your contact information from your friends. This means that, even if you never directly handed a particular phone number over to Facebook, advertisers may nevertheless be able to associate it with your account based on your friends’ phone books.
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Officials Identify Package Bomb Suspect in Custody - Cesar Sayoc, of Aventura, FL

Federal authorities took a man into custody Friday in Florida in connection with the mail-bomb scare that earlier widened to 12 suspicious packages, the FBI and Justice Department said.

The man was identified by law enforcement officials as Cesar Sayoc, 56, of Aventura, Florida. Court records show Sayoc has a history of arrests.

The development came amid a coast-to-coast manhunt for the person responsible for a series of explosive devices addressed to Democrats including former President Barack Obama, former Vice President Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton.

Law enforcement officials said they had intercepted a dozen packages in states across the country. None had exploded, and it wasn't immediately clear if they were intended to cause physical harm or simply sow fear and anxiety.

Investigators believe the mailings were staggered. The U.S. Postal Service searched their facilities 48 hours ago and the most recent packages didn't turn up. Officials don't think they were sitting in the system without being spotted. They were working to determine for sure.  (Police One, October 26, 2018)
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Operating in Hostile and Non-Permissive Environments:
A Survival and Resource Guide for Those Who Go in Harm’s Way

Guide to Finding and Killing Spyware and Stalkerware on Your Smartphone

Our digital selves, more and more, are becoming part of our full identity. The emails we send, the conversations we have over social media -- both private and public -- as well as photos we share, the videos we watch, and the websites we visit all contribute to our digital forms.

As mobile devices are now a common tool for social interactions, it is not just ad agencies, data miners, and surveillance-hungry powers that want to keep track of us.

When a government agency, country, or cybercriminals decide to peek into our digital lives, there are generally ways to prevent them from doing so. Virtual private networks (VPNs), end-to-end encryption and using browsers that do not track user activity are all common methods.

Sometimes, however, surveillance is more difficult to detect -- and closer to home.

The ZDNet Ultimate Guide to Finding and Killing Spyware and Stalkerware on Your Smartphone will run through what spyware is, what the warning signs of infection are, and how to remove such pestilence from your mobile devices.
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Pipe Bomb and Powder Delivered to CNN Were Harmless

The mail-bomb scare widened Thursday as law enforcement officials seized three more suspicious packages — two addressed to former Vice President Joe Biden and one to actor Robert De Niro — and said they were similar to crude pipe bombs sent to former President Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and CNN.

None of the devices exploded, and no one was injured. But the packages, sent to prominent Democrats critical of President Donald Trump, heightened nationwide tensions and fears two weeks before major congressional midterm elections.

Even as everyone condemned the unknown sender and Trump decried political violence, blame flew for the corrosive nature of America's political conversation.

"A very big part of the Anger we see today in our society is caused by the purposely false and inaccurate reporting of the Mainstream Media that I refer to as Fake News," Trump said in a morning Tweet. "It has gotten so bad and hateful that it is beyond description. Mainstream Media must clean up its act, FAST!"

The first crude bomb to be discovered had been delivered Monday to the suburban New York compound of George Soros, a liberal billionaire and major contributor to Democratic causes. Soros has called Trump's presidency "dangerous."

Similar packages addressed to Hillary Clinton and former President Barack Obama on their way to Chappaqua, New York, where Clinton lives with former President Bill Clinton and to Washington, where Obama lives with his wife, Michelle. The Secret Service said neither package reached their recipients.

More were sent to frequent Trump critics Rep. Maxine Waters, D-California and former Attorney General Eric Holder. His ended up at the Florida office of Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who was listed as the return address.

The bombs seized Wednesday, each with a small battery, were about six inches long and packed with powder and broken glass, said a law enforcement official who viewed X-ray images and spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.

The official said the devices were made from PVC pipe and covered with black tape. (Tacoma News tribune, October 25, 2018)
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It is interesting to note that all of these bombs, reported to have been sent through the US Mail, lack postmarks (the stamps are not canceled). And they contain the classic indicators of mail bombs: misspellings, excessive postage, lopsided packaging - almost as if the sender wanted the packages to scream "I am a bomb"! 

 

Thomas Sauer, A former Navy explosives expert pointed to some characteristics of the explosive devices sent to CNN and current and former Democratic officials, which indicated to him amateurish construction and perhaps an ulterior motive besides causing bodily harm.

 

First, he noted that wires were connected on both ends of the bomb, a style of construction he called “dumb.”

 

Sauer next pointed to the timer and saying that an experienced bomb maker would have placed it inside the pipe. “That thing is just silly looking,” he wrote.

 

Concerning the appearance of the device itself, he concluded, “Bottom Line: Whoever made that wanted it to be painfully obvious to anyone and everyone that it’s a ‘bomb.'”

 

Sauer then offered that “hoax devices” are “FAR more common than real ones. In which case, we should ask ourselves what the motives of the ‘bomber’ are and ‘who benefits?’ Go ahead. Think deeply and critically.”

 

And now it turns out that the Pipe Bomb and Powder Delivered to CNN Were Harmless

 

The pipe bomb and white powder that forced an evacuation at CNN headquarters in New York City Wednesday morning were harmless, a law enforcement source told the Associated Press.

 

The purported explosive device was similar in construction to those sent Wednesday to former President Barack Obama, former attorney general Eric Holder, Hillary Clinton, Representative Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D., Fla.), and Representative Maxine Waters of California. A package containing white powder was delivered later in the day.

 

The NYPD said the explosive devices were live during a Wednesday afternoon press conference but subsequent reporting suggests they were not functional.

 

Fake Bombs to generate Fake News!

 

 

 

Operating in Hostile and Non-Permissive Environments:
A Survival and Resource Guide for Those Who Go in Harm’s Way

Military personnel deployed to a combat area, their supporting contractors overseas, government civilian employees overseas, non-government organizations (NGOs), journalists working on international stories, businesses attempting to establish a foothold in developing countries, and individual travelers to remote areas of the world can all find themselves in hostile and non-permissive environments. This guide covers a broad range of subjects that are intended to aid individuals, living and working in dangerous areas, in being safer in their daily lives and in being better able to protect themselves and survive in case of an emergency, disaster, or hostile action.

Deep Web Research and Discovery Resources 2018

Deep Web Research and Discovery Resources 2018

This report and guide is designed to give you the resources you need to better understand your search through the currently available web to find those key sources of information nuggets only found by utilizing how to search the “deep web”.

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Operating in Hostile and Non-Permissive Environments:
A Survival and Resource Guide for Those Who Go in Harm’s Way

 

Military personnel deployed to a combat area, their supporting contractors overseas, government civilian employees overseas, non-government organizations (NGOs), journalists working on international stories, businesses attempting to establish a foothold in developing countries, and individual travelers to remote areas of the world can all find themselves in hostile and non-permissive environments. This guide covers a broad range of subjects that are intended to aid individuals, living and working in dangerous areas, in being safer in their daily lives and in being better able to protect themselves and survive in case of an emergency, disaster, or hostile action.