CISPA’s back: Hacking, online espionage resurrect cybersecurity bill

(AFP Photo / Thomas Coex)

The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection act (CISPA) will be reintroduced before the US House next week following a spate of cyber espionage and hacking attacks. Civil liberties advocates have criticized the bill for violating privacy laws.

The House Intelligence Committee’s Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) and ranking member Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.) will attempt to breathe new life into CISPA on Wednesday.

The bill will be identical to the version of CISPA that passed the House last spring, but was defeated on the Senate floor in August mainly because the upper house was hammering out its own cyber security bill.

CISPA would allow for the voluntary sharing of Internet traffic between private companies and the government. The bill is purportedly intended to help the US government, especially the intelligence community, to investigate cyber threats and ensure the security of networks against cyber attack, especially those emanating from countries like China and Iran.

The bill would also allow the federal government to provide classified cyber threat information to private firms, and protect them from legal action in the course of sharing private information.

Opponents of the bill say it would allow companies to hand over a user’s private browsing information to the government, allowing authorities to spy on American citizens rather than simply track down cyber threats.

Fight for the Future, a non-profit group “working to extend the Internet’s power for good,” has already kicked off an online petition asking voters to call their representatives on the House Intelligence Committee and express their opposition to the bill.

Rogers claimed a recent series of cyber attacks against US banks and newspapers galvanized Congress to once again pass the information sharing bill.

“American businesses are under siege," the Beltway tech blog The Hill cites Rogers as saying.

"We need to provide American companies the information they need to better protect their networks from these dangerous cyber threats.  It is time to stop admiring this problem and deal with it immediately,” he continued.

Several leading US papers, including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington post have all recently fallen victim to cyber spying. Following attacks on the Federal Reserve’s website as well as on several US banks, The head of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano warned in January that a "cyber 9/11", which could cripple critical infrastructure like water, electricity and gas, may happen "imminently".

"We shouldn't wait until there is a 9/11 in the cyber world. There are things we can and should be doing right now that, if not prevent, would mitigate the extent of damage," she warned before urging Congress to pass cyber security legislation.

During his first major policy speech on cyber security in October, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta took a similar rhetorical route, warning the United States faced the prospect of “a cyber-Pearl Harbor.”

“An aggressor nation or extremist group could gain control of critical switches and derail passenger trains, or trains loaded with lethal chemicals," Panetta said. "They could contaminate the water supply in major cities, or shut down the power grid across large parts of the country."

Panetta claimed that CISPA fell "victim to legislative and political gridlock, " urged that the bill should be passed “to safeguard our national security.”

The White House threatened to veto CISPA last year, saying the bill would not protect the nation’s critical infrastructure or guarantee the privacy of consumer information that could be shared by companies.

Despite reticence about CISPA, President Obama is expected to issue an executive order aimed at strengthening US cyber security next week.

The order, which is expected to be released after Obama delivers his State of the Union address on Tuesday, will purportedly set up a voluntary program of cyber security standards for firms operating critical US infrastructure, two former officials briefed on the plan told Bloomberg.

In October, Obama signed a separate directive authorizing the National Security Agency and other military units to take more aggressive action to defeat attacks on the country’s web of government and private computer networks.

Source: RT

The Shocking Story of How Aspartame Became Legal

Did you know that Aspartame was banned by the FDA twice? How is this product legal now?

The bittersweet argument over whether Aspartame is safe or not has been going on for a long time. On one side we have medical evidence that suggests we should avoid using it and on the other side we lean on the FDA’s approval that suggests it is safe. Since generally that seems to be the factor that many continue to hold trust based upon, I thought we could look into the Aspartame story to find out how it came to be accepted as safe by the FDA. You would think that something so widely used and so well accepted would have quite the pristine story leading to its acceptance. I imagine one will discover otherwise after reading this post.

It all starts in the mid 1960′s with a company called G.D. Searle. One of their chemists accidentally creates aspartame while trying to create a cure for stomach ulcers. Searle decides to put aspartame through a testing process which eventually leads to its approval by the FDA. Not long after, serious health affects begin to arise and G.D. Searle comes under fire for their testing practices. It is revealed that the testing process of Aspartame was among the worst the investigators had ever seen and that in fact the product was unsafe for use. Aspartame triggers the first criminal investigation of a manufacturer put into place by the FDA in 1977. By 1980 the FDA bans aspartame from use after having 3 independent scientists study the sweetener. It was determined that one main health effects was that it had a high chance of inducing brain tumors. At this point it was clear that aspartame was not fit to be used in foods and banned is where it stayed, but not for long.

Early in 1981 Searle Chairman Donald Rumsfeld (who is a former Secretary of Defense.. surprise surprise) vowed to “call in his markers,” to get it approved. January 21, 1981, the day after Ronald Reagan’s inauguration, Searle took the steps to re-apply aspartame’s approval for use by the FDA. Ronald Reagans’ new FDA commissioner Arthur Hayes Hull, Jr., appointed a 5-person Scientific Commission to review the board of inquiry’s decision. It did not take long for the panel to decide 3-2 in favor of maintaining the ban of aspartame. Hull then decided to appoint a 6th member to the board, which created a tie in the voting, 3-3. Hull then decided to personally break the tie and approve aspartame for use. Hull later left the FDA under allegations of impropriety, served briefly as Provost at New York Medical College, and then took a position with Burston-Marsteller. Burstone-Marstella is the chief public relations firm for both Monsanto and GD Searle. Since that time he has never spoken publicly about aspartame.

It is clear to this point that if anything the safety of aspartame is incredibly shaky.  It has already been through a process of being banned and without the illegitimate un-banning of the product, it would not be being used today. Makes you wonder how much corruption and money was involved with names like Rumsfeld, Reagan and Hull involved so heavily. In 1985, Monsanto decides to purchase the aspartame patent from G.D. Searle. Remember that Arthur Hull now had the connection to Monsanto. Monsanto did not seem too concerned with the past challenges and ugly image aspartame had based on its past. I personally find this comical as Monsanto’s products are banned in many countries and of all companies to buy the product they seem to fit best as they are champions of producing incredibly unsafe and untested products and making sure they stay in the market place.

Since then, aspartame has been under a lot of attack by scientists, doctors, chemists and consumers about it’s safety and neurotoxic properties. Piles of comprehensive studies have been completed that show aspartame is a cause for over 90 serious health problems such as cancer, leukemia, headaches, seizures, fibromyalgia, and epilepsy just to name a few. We have written several articles discussing various affects of aspartame. Aspartame Leukemia Link. Aspartame and Brain Damage.

Source: Collective-Evolution

Want to know what you eat? Take a look at this! Note the docu at the bottom! Be aware, be wise!

Example 1. (google 'pepsi Senomyx')

A widely used food additive is called HEK 293 and is labeled only as 'flavor enhancer'.

When added to the foodstuffs it tricks the brain receptors into tasting salt and sugar even when it is not present, this allows manufacturers to meet sugar and salt health regulations whilst not compromising on taste and consumer satisfaction.

NOW THE SHOCK.

This food additive was produced by using human cells from the liver of aborted babies mainly shipped in from China. It is used in millions of products.

Example 2.

Pig swill in Denmark is raw human sewage, a cheap readily available source of fattening protein.

It's no wonder that Danish bacon has cornered the bacon market by being able to manufacture it so cheaply and offer it at the most competitive price.

Example 3.

Calves are fed cows blood as a milk replacement, another cheap readily available protein.

And 15 companies that feed you wood! [link to www.thestreet.com]

I won't go any further although there are far more shocking food facts out there, but as they can be so offensive I feel it is better to raise the issue so those who are interested can discover and less strong stomached people reading this will not be offended.

Please post other facts you have in this thread, watch the 'Food Inc' docu, it is VERY good! I won't post a link here due to copyright but google it and there is a full vid on search page 2.

Anyway, here is a short vid relating to the human aborted fetus cell's.
[link to www.youtube.com]



This is about the fetus use in vaccines, a little long, but very fucking damning. [link to www.youtube.com]


NOW WATCH THIS DOCUMENTARY!!!!
[link to vimeo.com]

Unraveling The Stuxnet Virus

From Patrick Clair a year ago, a quick and excellent look at the troubling Stuxnet virus. It has since been confirmed that the United States and Israel were behind its use against Iran’s nuclear facilities. The question is now, what have we unleashed?

An infographic dissecting the nature and ramifications of Stuxnet, the first weapon made entirely out of code. This was produced for Australian TV program HungryBeat.