Terror in The Dark

Nikita Malik, the Director of the Centre for the Response to Radicalization and Terrorism, at the UK Henry Jackson Society has published: Terror in The Dark: How Terrorists use Encryption, the Darknet and Cryptocurrencies (April 8, 2018).

Terrorists and extremists are increasingly moving their activities online - and areas of the web have become a safe haven for Islamic State to plot its next attacks, according to a report published today by the Henry Jackson Society.

Terror in The Dark: How Terrorists use Encryption, the Darknet and Cryptocurrencies shows how those planning to commit terrorist atrocities are using extremist networks on the ‘Darknet’ to indoctrinate sympathizers, create a reservoir of propaganda, evade detection and fundraise. It calls for urgent action by government and the policing and security services to step up intelligence gathering and action to counter online extremist activity.

The report shows how terrorists are:

• Using encrypted apps such as Telegram to hide, communicate and plan attacks.
• Drawing interested sympathizers from the ‘surface’ world of the web into the Darknet in order to recruit and indoctrinate new supporters.
• Building up reservoirs of propaganda - saving it from deletion by the security services or tech companies and removing it as potential evidence for use by law enforcement.
• Using cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin to fundraise, taking advantage of the anonymity they offer.

Download a copy of the report here (PDF, 61 pages)

  

Cops Are The Good Guys

Commentary by Sheriff David Clarke for Prager University

Are cops perfect? Of course not. And no one should expect them to be. But every single day, under the most difficult conditions, the police protect us from the bad guys. In other words, they do their job and they do it well. Former Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke makes it very clear: cops are not the problem.

--

Are the Police Racist? - Mentioned in Sheriff Clarke's commentary.

Fentanyl Dangers

Fentanyl is a potent, synthetic opioid analgesic - excellent for controlling serious pain, but also with huge abuse potential. It is 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine.

Fentanyl is a drug that can be severely harmful, or even fatal, with death usually caused by respiratory failure.

Fentanyl-related substances are designed to be absorbed into the body by all means, including injection, oral ingestion, contact with mucous membranes, inhalation, and via transdermal transmission (through the skin). As such, accidental exposure by first responders is a real and potentially deadly danger.

The DEA has a Fentanyl Briefing Guide for First Responders here.

Narcan (Naloxone) may be one way of treating Fentanyl exposure. Does Narcan work on fentanyl since it is an opioid, but it also incredibly potent? While Narcan can work on fentanyl overdoses, these situations often happen extremely quickly, so it can be tough to act quickly enough.

Also, according to the CDC, multiple doses of naloxone may be required following a fentanyl overdose because of how potent it is in comparison to other opioids. 

The Surgeon General recommends that more people should carry (and be trained in the use of) Narcan (Naloxone). I believe this is especially true for our first responders.

Fentanyal - Safety Recommendations for First Responders

 

 

National Drug & Alcohol IQ Challenge

2018 National Drug & Alcohol IQ Challenge (On-line)

2018 National Drug & Alcohol IQ Challenge (PDF)


Learn more about drugs and drug abuse from the following references and resources:

Drug Guide - A comprehensive and up-to-date source of drug information for parents.
Learn the facts, prevalence and warning signs to help keep your child safe.
Presented by the "Partnership for Drug-Free Kids" In the mid-1980s, when the nation was in the throes of the crack/cocaine epidemic, a small group of advertising professionals discussed how to best use their talents to turn the tide on this issue. They thought, if advertising could be used to sell products, couldn’t it be used to "unsell" them as well? With that, the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids (then known as the Partnership for a Drug-Free America) was born.

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Drug Fact Sheets
You hear about drugs on TV and in the movies, on the radio, in books and magazines, on the Internet, and in daily conversation with friends and peers. Some of the information is accurate, but a lot of it is not. Here are a few realities to consider:

• You can’t predict the effect that a drug can have on you - especially if it’s the first time you try it, and even if it’s a small amount or dose. Everyone's brain and body chemistry are different. Everyone's tolerance for drugs is different.
• Using drugs can lead to abuse, addiction, serious health problems, and even death.
• Drugs that are legal - prescription and over-the counter (OTC) medications - can be just as dangerous as illegal drugs.

Find out as much as you can about illegal and legal drugs and their effects on your body and brain. The more informed you are, the more confidently you can make the right decision about drugs. Read DEA’s Drug Fact Sheets for the latest information on the following substances.

Drugs of Abuse - A DEA Resource Guide (2017)
94 pages PDF - Education plays a critical role in preventing substance abuse. Drugs of Abuse, A DEA Resource Guide, is designed to be a reliable resource on the most commonly abused and misused drugs in the United States. This comprehensive guide provides important information about the harms and consequences of drug use by describing a drug’s effects on the body and mind, overdose potential, origin, legal status, and other key facts.

National Drug Threat Assessment (DEA, 2017)
182 pages PDF - The 2017 National Drug Threat Assessment (NDTA) is a comprehensive strategic assessment of the threat posed to the United States by domestic and international drug trafficking and  the abuse of illicit drugs. The report combines federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement reporting; public health data; open source reporting; and intelligence from other government agencies to determine which substances and criminal organizations represent the greatest threat to the United States.

 

National Institute on Drug Abuse - Drugs of Abuse

Learn the facts about the most commonly abused drugs. Each drug page includes a brief overview, street and clinical names, the effects of the drug on the brain and body, statistics and trends, and relevant publications and articles written by NIDA researchers and scientists.

National Safety Council - Position on Cannabis (Marijuana) and Driving
Driving under the influence of cannabis1 is an important public safety concern. Smoking, inhaling or eating cannabis with or without alcohol prior to driving is a common practice and increases the risks of driver impairment, motor vehicle crashes and fatalities. It is unsafe to operate a vehicle or other complex equipment while under the influence of cannabis, due to the increased risk of death or injury to the operator and the public.

WebMD - Pill Identifier
Having trouble identifying your pills? Enter the shape, color, or imprint of your prescription or OTC drug. The pill finder will display picture that you can compare to your pill.

Telegram Blocked in Russia 16 April 2018

Russia's state telecommunications regulator said on Monday (April 16, 2018) that it had begun blocking access to messenger service Telegram, implementing a decision by a Russian court from last week.

On Friday, a Moscow court sided with the regulator, Roskomnadzor, in ordering to block Telegram in Russia "immediately." The court ruling follows a Federal Security Services (FSB) demand for Telegram to hand over the "encryption keys" that would allow authorities to read the private conversations of users after the April 2017 St. Petersburg metro terrorist attack.


* Telegram will still work on non-Russian ISP (think VPN here).

It is worth considering the effect that results from a government (any government) being able to block access to a resource on the Internet across an entire country. Of course, this isn't new - China has pretty much complete control of the Internet within its borders - but when a government can shut off the Internet (or access to specific information on the Internet) that can be an issue for human rights and the free exchange of ideas.

Yahoo and AOL Just Gave Themselves the Right to Read Your E-mails (again)

C|Net (April 13, 2018) reports that Yahoo and AOL just gave themselves the right to read your emails (again). Oath, the media division of Verizon that runs both AOL and Yahoo, is finally unifying the privacy policy of its two giant legacy Internet brands. That means an updated set of privacy terms and policies for hundreds of millions of users. To be clear, Yahoo's previous privacy policy had already stated that Yahoo "analyzes and stores all communications content, including email content," so the company has previously disclosed that it's been able to scan the contents of your emails, at least. (AOL's legacy privacy policy doesn't say anything like that.)

 

 

To protect the content of your personal communications it is essential that you encrypt your e-mail. You may choose to use a 'privacy focused' e-mail or encryption service, and/or you may choose to use a method (such as GnuPG / PGP - Pretty Good Privacy) to encrypt the content of your e-mail before you send it. Regardless of what encryption method you choose, if you don't encrypt your e-mail it can be read by anyone.

 

 

 



Dealing With The Police

Law enforcement officers play an important role in our criminal justice system. We rely on the police to keep our communities safe, and to treat us fairly regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, or residence. The police have a difficult job, a job that most of them - perhaps the vast majority of them - do very well, day after day.

In addition to local police departments and county sheriff's deputies, there are other law enforcement agencies that you might come into contact with, such as the FBI, ICE, or even agents of the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF).  Like our local law enforcement agencies, the agents of these Federal agencies are in almost all cases going to act professionally in any contact that you may have with them.

But, "most", "the vast majority", and "almost all", means that there is some small percentage of police officers, Federal agents, and government employees who are going to act inappropriately, or perhaps even criminally.

In any contact with the police it is important to know and retain your rights. As the US Supreme Court said in the 2001 case Ohio v. Reiner, the U.S.; retaining / invoking your rights serves to protect the innocent who otherwise might be ensnared by ambiguous circumstances.

But, what are those rights and how do you go about retaining your rights during contact with the police or some other government agent? Part of this comes from understanding the Constitution and the proper function of government.

Each day during the first week of April 2018, I posted a link to an on-line course that provided some insight into the United States Constitution and the proper function of government. While many readers enjoyed these courses, I was also asked for more specific information and resources for dealing with a police encounter. Unlike finding resources to study the Constitution, finding resources that explain how to act when contacted by police is a bit more problematic.

Too often on-line resources that describe how to act during a police contact are just plain wrong as we see sometimes in the "sovereign citizen" community, or are at best inappropriate as we see with groups like Cop Block.

As with my blog post, Should You Take a Field Sobriety Test? -  I think it is important to see what practicing attorneys and civil rights organizations, such as the ACLU, recommend. The following resources give what I believe is appropriate, and sensible advice on how to act when contacted by the police or by a government agent:
 

10 Rules for Dealing with Police (YouTube Video - 38 minutes)

 

Don't Talk to the Police (YouTube Video 46 minutes)

Regent University School of Law

 

If an Agent Knocks (PDF 49 pages)

Center for Constitutional Rights

 

What To Do When the Government Knocks on Your Company's Door (PDF 20 pages)

Paul Hastings

 

Know Your Rights (PDF 20 pages)

National Lawyers Guild

 

Know Your Rights (ACLU - Multiple Documents)

 

 

In any interaction with the police you have both rights and responsibilities. The following points from the ACLU sums up those rights and responsibilities:

Your Rights

• You have the right to remain silent. If you wish to exercise that right, say so out loud.
• You have the right to refuse to consent to a search of yourself, your car or your home.
• If you are not under arrest, you have the right to calmly leave.
• You have the right to a lawyer if you are arrested. Ask for one immediately.

Your Responsibilities

• Do stay calm and be polite.
• Do not interfere with or obstruct the police.
• Do not lie or give false documents.
• Do remember the details of the encounter.
• Do file a written complaint or call your local ACLU if you feel your rights have been violated.