Daily Archives: 8. August 2013


08.08.2013 - 22:43 [ Lavabit ]

I have been forced to make a difficult decision: to become complicit in crimes against the American people or walk away from nearly ten years of hard work by shutting down Lavabit.

My Fellow Users,

I have been forced to make a difficult decision: to become complicit in crimes against the American people or walk away from nearly ten years of hard work by shutting down Lavabit. After significant soul searching, I have decided to suspend operations. I wish that I could legally share with you the events that led to my decision. I cannot. I feel you deserve to know what’s going on–the first amendment is supposed to guarantee me the freedom to speak out in situations like this. Unfortunately, Congress has passed laws that say otherwise. As things currently stand, I cannot share my experiences over the last six weeks, even though I have twice made the appropriate requests.

What’s going to happen now? We’ve already started preparing the paperwork needed to continue to fight for the Constitution in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. A favorable decision would allow me resurrect Lavabit as an American company.

This experience has taught me one very important lesson: without congressional action or a strong judicial precedent, I would _strongly_ recommend against anyone trusting their private data to a company with physical ties to the United States.

Sincerely,
Ladar Levison
Owner and Operator, Lavabit LLC

Defending the constitution is expensive! Help us by donating to the Lavabit Legal Defense Fund here.

08.08.2013 - 22:39 [ Russia Today ]

Encrypted email service used by Snowden mysteriously shuts down

On Thursday, the homepage of Lavabit.com was changed to a letter from the company’s owner announcing that the site’s operations have ceased following a six-week long ordeal that has prompted the company to take legal action in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Now in the midst of an escalating fight from the federal government aimed at cracking down on encrypted communications, one of the last free and secure services has thrown in the towel under mysterious circumstances.

“I have been forced to make a difficult decision: to become complicit in crimes against the American people or walk away from nearly ten years of hard work by shutting down Lavabit. After significant soul searching, I have decided to suspend operations,” owner and operator Ladar Levison of Dallas, Texas wrote in the statement. “I wish that I could legally share with you the events that led to my decision. I cannot.”

08.08.2013 - 22:05 [ Costa Rica Star ]

Costa Rica Will Stop Sending Cocaine to Miami

The OIJ further explained that officials in Costa Rica had spoken to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) about the temporary lack of an incinerator to destroy seized powder cocaine, marijuana and other illegal drugs.

08.08.2013 - 20:43 [ antikrieg.com ]

Obama: Al-Qaeda ‘auf dem Weg in die Niederlage’

Obama behauptete, dass „diejenigen, die feig Zivilisten angreifen,“ nicht seinen Standpunkt verstehen, dass sich die Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika vom Terrorismus „nicht terrorisieren lassen“ und weiterhin ihre laufende Aussenpolitik betreiben werden, um zu beweisen, dass die Amerikaner „sich nie von der Welt zurĂŒckziehen werden.“

08.08.2013 - 20:40 [ antikrieg.com ]

Paul Craig Roberts – Washingtons Streben nach Hegemonie ist ein Streben nach Krieg

Wissen die Amerikaner, dass Washington militĂ€rische Übungen in der ganzen Welt abhĂ€lt, Russland und China mit militĂ€rischen StĂŒtzpunkten einkreist, und jetzt ein Afrikakommando besitzt? Sind der Kongress und das amerikanische Volk jetzt „Amerika ĂŒber alles“ verpflichtet? Sollten nicht Washington und der MilitĂ€r-/Sicherheitskomplex in die Schranken gewiesen werden, ehe Washingtons Aggression einen Atomkrieg auslöst?

08.08.2013 - 19:53 [ Der Standard ]

Amazon-Login mit falschem Passwort möglich

Betroffen sein dĂŒrften nur Ă€ltere, acht Zeichen lange Passwörter

08.08.2013 - 19:50 [ Salon ]

Obama to honor Clinton, Oprah with freedom medal

Former President Bill Clinton is headed back to the White House — just for a day — and Oprah is coming, too.

Clinton and Oprah Winfrey will be among 16 people that President Barack Obama will venerate later this year with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the White House announced Thursday. They’ll join other prominent people to be honored this year, including musicians, scientists, activists — even an astronaut.

08.08.2013 - 19:47 [ Fefe ]

Googles Musik-Flatrate-Service „All Access“ startet in 9 LĂ€ndern in Europa — aber nicht Deutschland.

Wieviel muss diese versiffte GEMA eigentlich noch kaputtmachen, bevor wir die endlich aus dem Land jagen?

08.08.2013 - 19:42 [ Techdirt ]

Time Warner CEO Says Having Game Of Thrones As ‚Most Pirated‘ Is ‚Better Than An Emmy‘

Because it‘s so popular — and so pirated (in part because you can‘t view it legally online if you‘re not an HBO subscriber via cable/satellite) — the question of Game of Thrones and piracy is a story that just never dies. Many people have argued that it‘s ridiculous that there are no legal options for cord cutters, and that just leads to more infringement — and, in turn, that‘s resulted in people arguing that a good part of the show‘s popularity is likely due to infringement.

08.08.2013 - 15:31 [ Russia Today ]

Can countries go bust? IMF created new form of modern mass slavery

n an article published in the CFR’s official journal “Foreign Affairs” over a decade ago (July/August 2002), former US government and Federal Reserve Bank officer Richard N. Cooper backed the country bankruptcy factor supporting Ms Krueger‘s “bold suggestion” whereby “under certain conditions a government‘s international debt repayments should be temporarily suspended while negotiations take place on restructuring that debt.” With her statement, the IMF officially endorsed the radical suggestion of introducing an international legal framework addressing country bankruptcy as a way of “improving the international financial architecture”.

08.08.2013 - 15:27 [ AntiWar ]

The Audacity of Lying: Obama Fibs on NSA Spying Again

John Glaser

“Publicly, we say one thing. Actually, we do another.” So said Richard Nixon, the man who ushered in one of the most secretive and criminal presidential administrations in American history. Surprisingly for some, President Barack Obama is ably following in Nixon’s footsteps.

08.08.2013 - 14:08 [ Netzpolitik ]

Apple: Patent ermöglicht ferngesteuerte Deaktivierung bestimmter Komponenten eines “drahtlosen GerĂ€ts” [UPDATE]

Dem amerikanischen Konzern, welcher den Markt der Smartphones mit seinem iPhone eigentlich erst erschaffen hat, wurde nÀmlich Mitte August 2012 ein Patent auf eine Technologie zugesprochen, mit dessen Hilfe, die gezielte Deaktivierung bestimmer Funktionen eines Smartphones umgesetzt werden kann, wenn der Nutzer bestimmte Orte betritt.. Das berichtet ZDNet.

08.08.2013 - 14:07 [ Netzpolitik ]

Eleanor Saitta auf der OHM2013: “Unpolitisches Hacken gibt es nicht. Wer unpolitisch ist, hilft dem Feind.”

Die Hacker-Kultur ist spĂ€testens seit Snowden an einem Scheideweg: Entweder arbeitet man fĂŒr die freie Entfaltung aller Individuen und nach der Hacker-Ethik – oder man hilft Überwachungsinstitutionen. Diesen Gegensatz macht Eleanor Saitta in einer Keynote-Rede auf dem Hacker-Camp OHM2013 auf. Ihre These: Unpolitisches Hacken gibt es nicht.

08.08.2013 - 14:06 [ SĂŒddeutsche ]

BND-NSA-SpÀhaffÀre: Die 500-Millionen-Frage

Zudem habe die rot-grĂŒne Bundesregierung einer Überwachung durch die NSA in Deutschland „schon rein logisch“ nicht zustimmen können, „sofern die Behauptung der amtierenden Bundesregierung zutrifft, diese habe von dieser Praxis erst ab Juni 2013 allein aus den Medien erfahren.“

Die Union geht auf diesen Widerspruch bislang nicht ein, sie attackiert.

08.08.2013 - 14:04 [ Christian Ströbele ]

SpĂ€haffĂ€re: LĂŒgen der schwarzgelben Regierungskoalition

Falls der BND im Übrigen wie nun heute behauptet der NSA in einem Monat 471 Mio. TelekommunikationsdatensĂ€tze ĂŒbermittelt hĂ€tte, wĂ€re das befremdlicherweise ein Vielfaches dessen, was der BND gegenĂŒber den zustĂ€ndigen parlamentarischen Gremien und der Öffentlichkeit als Gesamterfassungszahlen seiner strategischen AufklĂ€rung genannt hat (2009 – 2011: je zwischen rd. 3 bis 37 Mio. Verbindungen erfasst, angeblich jeweils ohne eine einzige Erkenntnis daraus ins Ausland ĂŒbermittelt zu haben!).“
QUELLE: Strategischen FernmeldeaufklÀrung des BND:

im Jahr 2009 rd. 6.9 Mio. Kommunikationsverbindungen: dip21.bundestag.de/dip21/btd/17/042/1704278.pdf

im Jahr 2010 rd. 37,35 Mio. Kommunikationsverbindungen: dip21.bundestag.de/dip21/btd/17/086/1708639.pdf

im Jahr 2011 nur rd. 2,9 Mio. Kommunikationsverbindungen dip21.bundestag.de/dip21/btd/17/127/1712773.pdf

08.08.2013 - 13:42 [ Spiegel ]

Plan B fĂŒr Westerwelle: Notfalls nach Europa

Westerwelle, so heißt es in Parteikreisen, könnte dabei nicht nur fĂŒr die deutsche Liste der FDP antreten, sondern auch als Gesicht aller liberalen Parteien in der EU werben. Darauf allerdings mĂŒssten sich die europĂ€ischen Liberalen, die sich in der Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) zusammengeschlossen haben, erst einmal verstĂ€ndigen.

08.08.2013 - 13:29 [ Muslimbruderschaft ]

Anti-Coup Alliance Response to Military-Installed Putschist Presidency Statement

We further reiterate the peacefulness of our revolution and that threats and killings will not discourage the Egyptian people from insisting on reinstatement of legitimacy and sovereignty, rejection of the military coup and the military state, and on refusal to involve the army in political life.

We assure that all those involved in the spilling of peaceful protesters’ blood will not escape prosecution, in Egyptian and international criminal courts, for the massacres they commit.

08.08.2013 - 13:25 [ U.S. Außenministerium ]

Joint Statement by Secretary of State Kerry and EU High Representative Ashton

We both understand fully that only Egyptians can make the choices that will shape their future at this historic moment. We support basic democratic principles, not any particular personalities or parties. We are firmly opposed to violence, support the right to non-violent protests, and realize that progress in Egypt can only come through a peaceful political process in which all parties can compete on an equal footing.

08.08.2013 - 13:24 [ Hohe Vertreterin der Union fĂŒr Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik ]

Joint Statement by EU High Representative Ashton and US Secretary of State Kerry on Egypt

We remain ready to help in any way that we can. As the holy feast of Eid al-Fitr approaches, this is a moment for leadership, vision, and magnanimity – a unifying moment when Egyptians should look ahead at what is at risk and what they have to gain through genuine reconciliation. These are choices which only Egyptians can make, and there is nothing neat or easy about any of them. But if they can make those hard but positive choices, Egyptians will find determined partners in Europe and America.

08.08.2013 - 13:17 [ SĂŒddeutsche ]

Verhandlungen in Kairo: Ashton und Kerry wollen Ägypten nicht aufgeben

„Jetzt ist nicht die Zeit fĂŒr Schuldzuweisungen, sondern um Schritte zu unternehmen, die helfen können, einen Dialog zu beginnen und den Wandel voranzubringen“, mahnten die EU-Außenbeauftragte Catherine Ashton und US-Außenminister John Kerry am Mittwochabend in einer in BrĂŒssel und Washington verbreiteten gemeinsamen ErklĂ€rung.