Whatsapp Messenger Adds End to End Encryption as a Default

December 15, 2014

Written by: TechAnon

More and more Anonymous will soon be given a slightly bigger piece of security for their instant messaging in the near future. As of late November 2014 WhatsApp has partnered with Open Whisper systems to become the largest instant messaging utility in the world (at over 600 million users) to not only offer end to end encryption but make it a default part of their system.
Given the simple fact that much of the world’s population only understands the concept of the tasks that can be done with a mobile device and nothing else, let’s take a few minutes to understand what’s been involved over time.
The whole concept of SMS (Short Message Service) or texting as most know it actually came about in the early 1980’s. A European company called GSM (Groupe Spécial Mobile) made requests to make the switched public telephone networks available to the now expanding mobile system…and point to point messaging was born. Jump into your Tardis to hop forward in time and make a pit stop in 2010 where there are now 3.5 BILLION Anons, approximately 80% of all cellular phones using text messaging. Jump to 2014 and Silicon India predicts that by the end of this year there will be 7.3 BILLION active cell phones… more phones than the actual population of the world. Who’s going 2 fisted? Thank you GSM for allowing us to send and receive immediate messages instead of waiting 2 weeks for a handwritten letter from our friends and relatives.
Of course, the original format of text messaging also takes dedicated and sometimes monopolized telephone processing equipment and resources. Who remembers the teenagers in the national news that racked up $20,000 texting bills? Yeah, whom do you scream at… your teen or the phone company? Enter wireless devices like IPhone, IPad and other internet capable gadgets and we now have a new platform for messaging. Applications such as WhatsApp (along with other systems) allow communication and texting through the internet as opposed to the phone company.
Stupendous! Right? Until recent years and the even more widespread use of wireless devices, no one ever seemed to be concerned about security though. All of a sudden mass media reports the NSA is watching, homeland security is watching, pictures of actors and other performers are getting stolen etc… Security now comes to the forefront of everyone’s mind as you realize you’re naked in public per se. Sure there are ways to combat this, always are. You can obviously pay more to whichever company you use for stronger security and encryption. You can use one of the “smaller” message apps out there that have these things in place as an option. No one is going to offer you added safety without asking for it. Rolling into November 2014, that all changes. Welcome to the partnership between WhatsApp and Whispersystems.org , who have advertised that they will be giving end to end encryption as a default service with their App. Who are they? What does it do? How do I get it?
Whisper systems mission is a simple one:
“Our mission is to make private communication simple.
Open Whisper Systems is both a large community of Open Source contributors, as well as a small team of dedicated developers. Together, we’re working to advance the state of the art for secure communication, while simultaneously making it easy for everyone to use.”
Are you owned by Twitter? No.
Are you a commercial project? Nope.
Can you read my messages? No way.
Can I help? Yes!
Is there support? Yes!”***
What does it actually mean? It’s boasted that even wizard Zuckerberg will not be able to sneak in and pry open your conversations. Unfortunately, it’s not available for every device and platform as of yet. It IS active on many android systems and the company states :
“full deployment will be an incremental process as we add TextSecure protocol support into each WhatsApp client platform”
Stay tuned in to keep up with the advancements! We’re sure they’ll be plentiful.
One of the downsides to such an awesome security system is that now the folks that have turned to the dark side just may have an easier time moving about. Where do you draw a line though? A terrorist is still only a citizen until they commit an act of terror (or get caught in the planning) right? That end of things just got harder to find. Approaching from yet a different angle… it’s been predicted that by the year 2020 there may not be any need for users to even have a wireless contract with any single phone company due to the ever widening blanket of free Wifi and the expansion of the world as we know it. Lastly…how will Big Brother act?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

*http://thehackernews.com/2014/11/whatsapp-messenger-app-adds-end-to-end.html
**http://www.whatsapp.com/
***https://whispersystems.org

Darren Wilson, Officer in Ferguson Shooting, Resigns From Police Dept. With Alleged $1,000,000 ‘War Chest’

Tiobe

December 15, 2014

Written by: Tiobe
Not only did a Missouri grand jury fail to indict Darren Wilson, the 28 year-old Ferguson police officer who shot and killed unarmed teenager Michael Brown, he may be retiring from law enforcement as a millionaire.
Wilson announced his resignation from the police force Nov. 29, citing credible threats to himself and his fellow officers.
“I have been told that my continued employment may put the residents and police officers of the City of Ferguson at risk, which is a circumstance that I cannot allow,” said Wilson in his resignation letter. “For obvious reasons, I wanted to wait until the grand jury made their decision before I officially made my decision to resign. It was my hope to continue in police work, but the safety of other police officers and the community are of paramount importance to me.”
Wilson accosted 18 year-old Brown Aug. 9 while responding to a reported robbery. Brown and his friend Dorian Johnson were walking down the middle of Florissant Street and Wilson allegedly yelled at the two to get out of the street. Johnson and Brown replied they were nearly at their destination. Wilson started to drive away, but then threw his car into reverse to follow Brown and Johnson.
Depending on whose story you believe, Wilson either threw his door open so close to the young men it hit them and bounced back on him, or he opened his door and Brown slammed it shut. Wilson claims Brown began punching him, while Johnson claims Wilson drew his gun on the young men at this point. In his testimony, Wilson said using his other weaponry, such as his baton or pepper spray, was not feasible. A shot was fired in the police car through Brown’s hand.
At this point, Brown ran away from Wilson and the vehicle. He then stopped, turned around, and according to Wilson, began running toward him to “rush” him, although multiple witnesses saw Brown turn around with his hands up in the air, a gesture of surrender.

A path of roses line the scene where Ferguson, Mo., teen Michael Brown was shot by Police Officer Darren Wilson
Wilson shot Brown at least six times, according to an autopsy, with one fatal shot to the head.
Brown’s corpse lay where it fell for four hours before officials removed it.
Wilson was placed on paid leave after the incident, to the tune of approximately $66,000 per year. Various GoFundMe accounts and police organization fundraisers accrued between $500,000 to $1 million for Wilson’s legal and living expenses. There are also reports Wilson has been paid for interviews, although Wilson denies this.
After nearly three months of hearing testimony and evidence, a grand jury decided Nov. 24 not to indict Wilson. St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch waited until 9 p.m. CT to make this announcement before police in riot gear surrounded Ferguson police headquarters in anticipation of protests. Multiple buildings were set on fire in Ferguson during protests that night, and around 200 people were arrested.
Hundreds also protested in Los Angeles, Oakland and around the country after McCulloch’s announcement. It is presumably from this public outcry and outrage over perceived miscarriage of justice Wilson cites as the “obvious reasons” his continued presence on the force would expose his fellow officers to “risk.”
Wilson claims his shooting Brown was the first time he fired his gun on the job, and he did so only because he feared for his life. Brown was unarmed, and approximately the same height as Wilson.
Wilson previously served on a Jennings, Missouri police team that was disbanded by the Jennings City Council for racial tensions, culminating in white officers shooting at an African-American woman. Wilson was not involved in the incident, and was not investigated for any disciplinary reasons during his time there.
United States Attorney General Eric Holder is still conducting his own investigation into the Aug. 9 shooting of Brown and racial profiling within the Ferguson police department.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/30/us/ferguson.html?_r=0
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/29/darren-wilson-resigns_n_6241834.html
http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2014/11/darren_wilson_resigns_with_alleged_war_chest.html
http://www.bustle.com/articles/51447-how-much-money-has-darren-wilson-made-despite-his-resignation-the-ex-officers-finances-are-probably-in
http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2014/08/us/ferguson-brown-timeline/
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/darren-wilson-part-force-disbanded-racial-tension-report-article-1.1914982

Native Americans Vow To Stop The Keystone XL Pipeline

Alek Hidell

December 15, 2014

Written by: Alek Hidell

Progressives aren’t the only ones fighting the Keystone XL Pipeline these days. The Native American community is fighting it as well. While the Keystone Pipeline has become a talking point in Washington, I find that most people I speak with about it, don’t really know much about it at all. First off, the Keystone XL Pipeline is a proposed extension to the already constructed Keystone Pipeline System which carries unrefined oil from Canada to Illinois and Texas. Once received, the oil is cleaned and refined into usable petroleum before being shipped over seas for market. Currently there are three phases of the Keystone Pipeline. The XL is the fourth proposed extension of the already existing pipeline which starts in Alberta Canada. From Alberta it would pass through Baker, Montana, where American oil is added to the pipeline. The XL extension then meets the existing pipeline in Steele City, Nebraska.

The reason that the Keystone XL Pipeline has received so much attention in the news is due to the controversy over the its impact on environmentally sensitive Sand Hills region of Nebraska. Sand Hills is the largest wetland ecosystem in the US. Home to over 300 species of vertebrates, the Sand Hill dunes were declared a national monument in 1984. Despite national conservation efforts, Senate and House Conservatives want to push through the pipeline extension, despite the effects it will have on the environment. In addition to the environmental lands endangered by the pipeline, the majority of the oil coming through the pipeline contains oils sands, which many believe to be the dirtiest form of fossil fuel.

While the battle continues in Washington, another kind of battle is being fought by the Native American tribes of South Dakota. Within the Native American community, there is debate over whether or not the short term jobs created and much needed boost to the economy is worth the risk to the environment and public safety. The tribes of South Dakota are known to be some of the poorest of all Native Americans. While the money would help the communities, there are a number of other factors which frighten them to the point of saying no. One stance is that the pipeline would disturb sacred ground and waters. A rarely heard of stance from the women of the tribes has to do with rape. Federal statistics show that one in three Native American women is sexually assaulted in their lifetime by non-native males. The pipeline workers would all be temporary workers from out of the area who would be residing nearby in work camps. This has brought concern to the women of the community.

The Native American tribes are organizing against the pipeline and have created what they call resistance training. Resistance training, while mostly secretive, teaches the basics of protesting. Vigils, marches, civil disobedience and blockades are all on the training roster. While the Native American population is preparing for the worst, they hope for the best. They hope that they will not have to utilize the training they have begun and pray that the Keystone XL extension is never built.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Sources:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/native-americans-vow-a-last-stand-to-block-keystone-xl-oil-pipeline/2014/02/27/7928ff84-98ac-11e3-9616-d367fa6ea99b_story.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keystone_Pipeline

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandhills_%28Nebraska%29

Tiny Homes For The Homeless By Homeless

December 15, 2014

Written by: EV

A group of activists in Madison, Wisconsin, with the help of homeless individuals, are in the process of building housing for the homeless. Efforts for the project grew after the Occupy Wall Street movement dispersed and shifted from political to community issues.

98 Sq. Ft. $3k

The project began when police shut down the original Occupy Madison encampments back in 2011, which had become a safe haven for the homeless in the city. After the encampments closure, those who were being provided with help had nowhere to go.

“We had all these people, about 80 to 100, that were stuck with no place to go. In Madison there’s no legal place to sleep outdoors, and you get 60 to 90 days in the shelter—after that you’re on your own. We tried to stay together, we said if we had our own land perhaps we would be able to make a solution out of it,” Luca Clemente, a representative for Occupy Madison reported to Al Jazeera.

“We were left with more flexible, pragmatic, non-ideological people who were committed to the idea of ‘Tell me about your life, your needs, how you are suffereing, how you are thriving,’ and I’ll tell you mine and we’ll figure out how we can help each other. Occupy Madison evolved into a group based on human solidarity—we don’t care if you’re democrat or republican. The point is do you want to come together to cooperate, to pool your resources, creativity and physical labor to make each other’s lives better,” Clemente added.

The idea behind the creation of this tiny community for the homeless is based on agorism—“a strategy of noncompliance that uses counter economics and underground markets as a way of keeping power in the hands of the average people, thus slowly diminishing the power and relevance of the control structure.” Growing food, starting mutual aid or charity groups, homeschooling, running small businesses without licenses, and bartering are all examples of agorism.

The tiny house movement has made its way to other states as well. In Syracuse, N.Y., a nonprofit group has proposed building tiny townhouses for the homeless that would cost less than $14,000 each to make. A Tiny Home for Good Inc. is also looking for a location to build its tiny houses for the homeless. In Huntsville Alabama, university students are building a village of tiny houses, complete with a shared garden, and in Portland, Oregon discussions are underway for the creation of a tiny house community as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzhS9HuGzy4

____________________________________________________________________________________

Sources:

Jobs AOL. Dec 14, 2014 (http://jobs.aol.com/videos/job-interviews/tiny-houses-to-help-homeless-problem/518136560/)

Knauss, Tim. Associated Press. Dec 14, 2014. (http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/N/NY_TINY_HOUSES_NYOL-?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT)

Vibes, John. True Activist. Nov 18, 2014. (http://www.trueactivist.com/homeless-people-build-community-of-houses-for-the-homeless/)

Activists Provided Holiday Hope For The Needy

December 15, 2014

Written by: EV

This Thanksgiving the New Hampshire activist group, Shire Sharing, provided hundreds of free meals to needy residents throughout the Monadnock region. Additional funds and supplies were delivered to the Liberty House homeless shelter in Manchester. Shire Sharing continues to be a positive influence throughout New Hampshire communities, and their impact continues to grow.

Started four years ago by Free State Project activist, Amanda Bouldin, Shire Sharing’s aim is “to have a positive impact on social issues through voluntary actions and private charity. We raise funds, collect items, coordinate deliveries and connect with our community.”

In 2011 Shire Sharing provided 174 meals to impoverished families in Concord, and on Christmas of that year they delivered 24 backpacks to some of the homeless in Manchester. 2012 proved to be more successful, distributing over 650 Thanksgiving meals to individuals, and exceeding their goal of 600 people. By Thanksgiving of 2013 Shire Sharing was able to provide enough meals to feed 1,371 individuals.

Shire Sharing is one of many projects developed by the Free State Project that has had a positive outcome on the community. The Free State Project’s plan is to build New Hampshire communities of freedom-oriented and like-minded individuals from around the world.

Check out the video below for information about Shire Sharing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTCRkQABKrk

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Sources:

Free State Project. (https://freestateproject.org/)

Shire Sharing. Jan 2, 2012. (http://shiresharing.org/welcome/)

Vibes, John. True Activist. Nov 24, 2014. (http://www.trueactivist.com/activists-distribute-hundreds-of-free-thanksgiving-dinners/)