The announcement came off the back of energy prices rising after Russia launched its war on Ukraine in February 2022, with sanctions limiting the sale of Moscow’s oil and natural gas in Western markets. Aramco’s results mirror the huge profits seen at U.S. and British oil giants.
Archiv: monopolies / cartels / Monopole / Kartelle
Saudischer Ölkonzern Aramco meldet 161 Mrd. Dollar Gewinn
Der saudi-arabische Ölkonzern war erst 2019 an die Börse gegangen. Er ist das zweitwertvollste Unternehmen der Welt nach Apple. 2022 meldeten auch fünf weitere Ölgiganten Rekordgewinne: Shell, Chevron, ExxonMobil, BP und TotalEnergies.
Biden Turns the U.S. Into a Shadow Member of OPEC
(13.12.2022)
President Biden has urged the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to increase production of oil and criticized the cartel harshly when it declines to do so—most recently on Dec. 4. But actions speak louder than words. Under the Biden administration, the U.S. has been acting as shadow member of the cartel.
Republicans say new tax bill is DOA. It would raise Medicare$ from 3.8% to 5% for income greater than $400K. Also tax wealthy >$100 million and families 20% on income & stocks.
I guess this would be bad for @GOP next taxes on bribes.
President Biden plans new taxes on the rich to help save Medicare
President Joe Biden on Tuesday proposed new taxes on the rich to help fund Medicare, saying the plan would help to extend the insurance program’s solvency by 25 years and provide a degree of middle-class stability to millions of older adults.
Biden Is Set to Detail Nearly $3 Trillion in Measures to Reduce Deficits
Mr. Biden’s plans to trim the deficit are unlikely to mollify Republicans. He has refused to negotiate over the debt limit and has said he will not cut benefits for Social Security or Medicare, two popular safety net programs. But he has said repeatedly that he is open to reducing deficits by raising taxes on corporations and the rich.
When I opposed this Amazon project coming to New York bc it was a scam of public funds, the whole power establishment came after us. Billboards went up in Times Sq denouncing me. Powerful pols promised revenge. Op-Eds & CEOs insulted my intelligence. In the end, we were right.
Amazon’s labor exploitation is a return to the 1920s — and unions are our best hope out
(14.06.2021)
Amazon claims to be innovative, but its strategies of market dominance and labor exploitation are as old as capitalism itself, and were perfected by predecessors like Standard Oil, General Motors, US Steel, AT&T, Walmart and Microsoft. My union, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, views this as history repeating itself.
The Roaring ’20s were great for those at the top, but meant massive exploitation of workers. As we embark further into the 2020s, the Teamsters will make sure that Amazon cannot repeat a history where workers suffered acutely to make ends meet and were frequently injured or even killed on the job while company executives stuffed their pockets with the profits.
How companies like Amazon, Nike and FedEx avoid paying federal taxes
(14.04.2022)
The 55 corporations cited by ITEP would have paid a collective total of $8.5 billion. Instead, they received $3.5 billion in tax rebates, collectively draining $12 billion from the U.S. government, according to the institute.
Amazon had sales income of €44bn in Europe in 2020 but paid no corporation tax
(4, May 2021)
Accounts for Amazon EU Sarl, through which it sells products to hundreds of millions of households in the UK and across Europe, show that despite collecting record income, the Luxembourg unit made a €1.2bn loss and therefore paid no tax. (…)
The Luxembourg unit – which handles sales for the UK, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Sweden – employs just 5,262 staff meaning that the income per employ amounts to €8.4m.
Amazon Income Taxes 2010-2022 | AMZN
Amazon annual income taxes for 2022 were $–3.217B, a 167.15% decline from 2021.
Amazon annual income taxes for 2021 were $4.791B, a 67.34% increase from 2020.
Amazon annual income taxes for 2020 were $2.863B, a 20.6% increase from 2019.
Amazon Gross Profit 2010-2022 | AMZN
Amazon annual gross profit for 2022 was $225.152B, a 14.01% increase from 2021.
Amazon annual gross profit for 2021 was $197.478B, a 29.28% increase from 2020.
Amazon annual gross profit for 2020 was $152.757B, a 32.85% increase from 2019.
Big Oil to take centerstage at Houston meet as markets, alliances shift
The war in Ukraine sparked a rally in crude oil and fuel prices that led to record industry profits, prompting the U.S. government and others to accuse Big Oil of profiteering and for Britain and some other governments to impose windfall taxes on energy companies.
Oil prices down after report on UAE debating OPEC exit
Oil prices slumped on Friday after the Wall Street Journal reported that the United Arab Emirates had an internal debate about leaving OPEC and pumping more oil, but retraced some losses after a source told Reuters this was not true.
What Exxon and Chevron Are Doing With Those Big Profits
(Feb. 1, 2023)
The variables that will determine oil companies’ profitability this year are largely out of their control — in both supply and demand. The war in Ukraine could expand or not; a recession in the United States and Europe could be deep or averted entirely. Prices for fuels, and inflation generally, will largely depend on how events play out.
Shell Reports Record Profits As Oil Giants—Including Exxon, Chevron—Cash In On Sky-High Prices After Russian Invasion Of Ukraine
(Feb 2, 2023)
Shell reported an annual profit of nearly $40 billion in 2022, the highest in the firm’s 115-year history.
The figure is more than double the $19.3 billion the firm reported in 2021 and far greater than its previous record of $31 billion in 2008.
Shell Reports Record Profits As Oil Giants—Including Exxon, Chevron—Cash In On Sky-High Prices After Russian Invasion Of Ukraine
(Feb 2, 2023)
Shell reported an annual profit of nearly $40 billion in 2022, the highest in the firm’s 115-year history.
The figure is more than double the $19.3 billion the firm reported in 2021 and far greater than its previous record of $31 billion in 2008.
Price and Prejudice: A Note on the Return of Inflation and Ideology
With the acceleration of inflation in the post-pandemic recovery, the debate seemed to be limited to whether the inflationary spike would be short-lived or persistent and become imbedded into inflationary expectations. While some Keynesian authors like Paul Krugman initially believed that inflation was caused by cost-push factors including by the sharp rises in energy and foodstuff prices as a result of the Ukraine war, and that it would quickly subside, the debate shifted rapidly and a new consensus according to which inflation was, in part the result of over stimulation of demand during the pandemic coupled with supply side shocks that lowered the potential level of output which provides the main theoretical justification for raising interest rates. Thus, even when most authors accept the notion that snags in the supply chain played a role in the acceleration of inflation, the main cause is to be seen on the excess demand side with the economy beyond its potential output level.
The challenge to conventional wisdom, and its emphasis on demand, has come from left
of center authors, like Robert Reich, that suggest inflation is caused by greedy corporations that have increased their profit margins during a crisis. This has brought back the old debate about the relationship between administered prices and inflation, and the proposition that inflation is directly related to highly concentrated market structures, or what might be termed oligopolistic inflation.
In other words, there is an ideological divide between those that blame inflation in an incompetent government and central bank reaction to the pandemic versus those that suggest that the real culprits are greedy corporations rising their mark up above their costs.
Biden Turns the U.S. Into a Shadow Member of OPEC
(13.12.2022)
President Biden has urged the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to increase production of oil and criticized the cartel harshly when it declines to do so—most recently on Dec. 4. But actions speak louder than words. Under the Biden administration, the U.S. has been acting as shadow member of the cartel.
Shell Reports Record Profits As Oil Giants—Including Exxon, Chevron—Cash In On Sky-High Prices After Russian Invasion Of Ukraine
(Feb 2, 2023)
Shell reported an annual profit of nearly $40 billion in 2022, the highest in the firm’s 115-year history.
The figure is more than double the $19.3 billion the firm reported in 2021 and far greater than its previous record of $31 billion in 2008.
‘There is only so much patience one can have’: Biden appears to back off vow to punish Saudi Arabia
(03.02.2023)
Now almost a month into the new session of Congress, lawmakers have yet to hear from administration officials about launching a coordinated review of the US-Saudi relationship, despite repeated statements over the past few months by the White House that congressional input would be key to such an assessment
Months after President Biden promised Saudi Arabia would suffer “consequences” after OPEC+ announced it would cut production, his administration has no plans to punish – let alone significantly reorient its posture toward – the country, sources say
(03.02.2023)
OPEC+ Exports Show Russia Surges While Saudi Arabia Dials Back
(03.02.2023)
It’s also unclear exactly what drove the decrease in Saudi shipments, which dropped by 580,000 barrels a day last month, or about 8%.
National Security Memorandum on Promoting United States Leadership in Quantum Computing While Mitigating Risks to Vulnerable Cryptographic Systems
(May 04, 2022)
A classified annex to this memorandum addresses sensitive national security issues.
Section 1. Policy. (a) Quantum computers hold the potential to drive innovations across the American economy, from fields as diverse as materials science and pharmaceuticals to finance and energy. While the full range of applications of quantum computers is still unknown, it is nevertheless clear that America’s continued technological and scientific leadership will depend, at least in part, on the Nation’s ability to maintain a competitive advantage in quantum computing and QIS.
(b) Yet alongside its potential benefits, quantum computing also poses significant risks to the economic and national security of the United States. Most notably, a quantum computer of sufficient size and sophistication — also known as a cryptanalytically relevant quantum computer (CRQC) — will be capable of breaking much of the public-key cryptography used on digital systems across the United States and around the world. When it becomes available, a CRQC could jeopardize civilian and military communications, undermine supervisory and control systems for critical infrastructure, and defeat security protocols for most Internet-based financial transactions.
IBM now has 18 quantum computers in its fleet of weird machines
(May 6, 2020)
Eighteen quantum computers might not sound like a lot. But given that each one is an unwieldy device chilled within a fraction of a degree above absolute zero and operated by Ph.D. researchers, it’s actually a pretty large fleet. In comparison, Google’s quantum computers lab near Santa Barbara, California, has only five machines, and Honeywell only has six quantum computers.
How Quantum Computer Could Break 2,048-Bit RSA Encryption in 8 Hours
(June 5, 2019)
Google’s Craig Gidney and KTH’s Martin Ekera demonstrated that a quantum system could crack 2,048-bit RSA encryption with just 20 million quantum bits (qubits), rather than requiring 1 billion qubits as previously theorized, in only eight hours with this technique.
The technique uses modular exponentiation, a mathematical process for finding the remainder when a number is raised to a certain power and divided by another number.
Gidney and Ekera have formulated various ways to optimize this process, reducing the resources required to run the large-number-factoring Shor’s algorithm.
EU-Entschlüsselungspläne offenbar „beschlossene Sache“
Chronik der zweiten „CryptoWars“ von 2014 bis heute, Teil II.
(…)
2018 06 24 Wie der BND die Kommunikation in Österreich überwacht: Die Datenströme aus Österreich werden an der wichtigsten Verbindung zum Frankfurter Knoten DE-CIX komplett auf Leitungen des BND kopiert. Ausgewählte Ergebnisse der Auswertung gehen vom BND an das Heeresnachrichtenamt in Wien zurück.
(…)
2020 09 27 Kursänderung zu Upload-Filtern in Brüssel: Keine Vorabfilterpflicht für WhatsApp, Signal usw. sagen EU-Vizepräsidentin Vera Jourova und Binnenmarktkommissar Thierry Breton. Damit ist auch der Angriff auf E2E-Verschlüsselung vorerst abgeblasen.
2020 11 08 Auf den Terroranschlag folgt EU-Verschlüsselungsverbot: Im EU-Ministerrat wurde binnen fünf Tagen eine Resolution beschlussfertig gemacht, die Plattformbetreiber wie WhatsApp, Signal und Co. künftig dazu verpflichtet, Generalschlüssel zur Überwachbarkeit von E2E-verschlüsselten Chats und Messages anzulegen.
Auf den Terroranschlag folgt EU-Verschlüsselungsverbot
(08.11.2020)
Laut weiteren Informationen, die ORF.at vorliegen, soll die Überwachungsmethode „Exceptional Access“ gewählt werden, das geht indirekt bereits aus diesem nicht technischen Resolutionstext hervor. Unter acht möglichen Modellvorschlägen, die allesamt aus technischen Szenarien verschiedener Geheimdienste stammen, wurde jener aus dem britischen „National Cyber Security Center“ (NCSC) ausgewählt. Das NCSC ist eine Abteilung des britischen Militärgeheimdienstes GCHQ. Plattformbetreiber wie WhatsApp, Signal und Co, die alle E2E-Verschlüsselung benützen, sollen verpflichtet werden, zusätzlich Generalschlüssel anzulegen und diese zu hinterlegen.
Schlapphüte offen für neue Technologien…
The Untold Story Behind Saudi Arabia’s 41-Year U.S. Debt Secret
(May 31, 2016)
The basic framework was strikingly simple. The U.S. would buy oil from Saudi Arabia and provide the kingdom military aid and equipment. In return, the Saudis would plow billions of their petrodollar revenue back into Treasuries and finance America’s spending.
It took several discreet follow-up meetings to iron out all the details, Parsky said. But at the end of months of negotiations, there remained one small, yet crucial, catch: King Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud demanded the country’s Treasury purchases stay “strictly secret,” according to a diplomatic cable obtained by Bloomberg from the National Archives database.
Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby, January 6. 2023
Q Thank you. I have two foreign policy questions, John. First, on — the Wall Street Journal is reporting that the administration easing tension with Saudi Arabia, and they might not go ahead with the review. Can you comment if this is actually accurate? And how far are we in the review?
And second, on Turkey: As you know, there’s this kind of rapprochement between Turkey and the Assad regime, with the mediation of the Russians. Do you believe that this is the right step from the administration’s point of view? And will the Kurds pay the price for this?
MR. KIRBY: To the second question, the answer — short answer is: No. We haven’t normalized relations with the Assad regime, and we — we wouldn’t encourage any nation-state to normalize relations with the Assad regime.
But we’ll see where these talks go and what actually comes out of this. I don’t want to get ahead of where they are. But we obviously don’t support normalization with Assad.
On — I’m sorry, your first question was?
Q On the Saudis.
MR. KIRBY: Saudis. Thank you. The President has been consistent and clear that he wants this bilateral relationship, like any bilateral relationship we have, to be well suited to the interests of the American people and to our national security. And we’re going to continue to take a look at that relationship.
Look, Saudi Arabia is a strategic partner — 80-some-odd years. And — and it’s important that that strategic partnership continue, but it’s also important that it continues in a way that is completely consistent with our values and our interests. And the President wants to continue to take a look at it to make sure that that’s the case.
US Confirms Strategic Partnership with Saudi Arabia
(7 January, 2023)
The United States has once again expressed its keenness to maintain its 80-years strategic partnership with Saudi Arabia.
NSC Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby reiterated in an interview with Al-Arabiya channel that Saudi Arabia is a „strategic partner“ of the United States, recalling that the bilateral relations date back to more than 80 years.
U.S.-Saudi Tensions Ease as Concerns About Iran Grow
The Biden administration has dropped threats to retaliate against Saudi Arabia for an oil-production cut last year and is moving to step up security coordination to counter Iran in 2023, U.S. and Saudi officials said, three months after ties hit a historic low point.
Officials pointed to signs of improved U.S.-Saudi cooperation in recent weeks as falling U.S. gasoline prices, better-than-expected midterm election results for Democrats, and heightened concerns about Iran take the edge off a long-simmering spat that spilled into the open in October when the Saudis rebuffed White House requests to delay the production cut.
Saudi Arabia May Cut Oil Prices To Asia Even Further
The price was set at a $3.25 premium to the Dubai/Oman benchmark, a cut by $2.20 per barrel from the prior month’s price.
Now, according to the four analysts surveyed by Reuters, Aramco could cut the price of Arab Light by another $1.50 per barrel for February shipments. This would bring the premium over Dubai/Oman to just $1.75 per barrel.
How Saudi Arabia’s crown prince snubbed Biden repeatedly to forge ties with authoritarian China and Russia
(Jan 1, 2023)
Crown Prince Mohammed has more affinity with the ideology of fellow strongmen Xi or Putin than with the US, said Alterman.
„They share a belief that a significant liberalization of domestic life would lead to social chaos, the collapse of morality, and political polarization,“ said Alterman.
„The Saudi leadership is much more comfortable with Saudi Arabia pursuing the Chinese path of tightly managed politics, strong state-owned companies, and limited social freedoms than pursuing the US model,“ he said.
Israel can normalize ties with Saudi Arabia – with Biden’s help – opinion
“First, a written agreement defining our strategic partnership and what the US commitment is to our security if we’re attacked.
“Second, a status that assures us that US weapons sales will be reliable. It’s intolerable that from one month to the next we don’t know anymore if the US will fulfill its commitments. We need to be treated more like NATO or Israel where we can disagree on political and economic issues, but the underlying commitment to sell us what we need to defend ourselves doesn’t change.
US Holds Back on Saudi Moves as Tensions Ease
(27.12.2022)
Despite threats of „consequences“ made by the Biden administration during the run-up to US midterm elections in early November, no concrete actions have materialized.
One of the top potential measures, passage of the „Nopec“ antitrust legislation, has not advanced, after quietly failing to be included in a targeted bill this month.
Israel’s Netanyahu urges US to reaffirm commitment to Saudi Arabia – Al Arabiya
(December 15, 2022)
„The traditional (U.S.) alliance with Saudi Arabia and other countries, has to be reaffirmed. There should not be periodic swings, or even wild swings in this relationship, because I think that the alliance…is the anchor of stability in our region,“ Netanyahu told the Saudi-owned website.
„I’m to speak to President Biden about it,“ Netanyahu said according to a published transcript of the interview.
Biden Turns the U.S. Into a Shadow Member of OPEC
(13.12.2022)
President Biden has urged the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to increase production of oil and criticized the cartel harshly when it declines to do so—most recently on Dec. 4. But actions speak louder than words. Under the Biden administration, the U.S. has been acting as shadow member of the cartel.
Congress Trying To Sneak Through Internet Link Tax To Funnel Cash To Private Equity Firms That Are Destroying Local Journalism
Congress has a bad habit. They have stopped passing substantive legislation through normal procedure, debate and votes. The legislative process as designed by our Founders is not happening. Instead, Congress is saving most of its actual policy-making legislation for large end-of-the-year bills that can combine hundreds of separate pieces of legislation. And if reports are accurate, we could be shaping up for the granddaddy of them all this December. This process must change, particularly for bills as highly controversial and constitutionally concerning as the misleadingly named Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA).
U.S. climate envoy Kerry hails holding COP28 conference in OPEC member UAE
(Dec 7, 2022)
U.S. Special Climate Envoy John Kerry on Wednesday hailed the decision to hold next year’s COP28 climate summit in OPEC member the United Arab Emirates, saying fossil fuel economies should be encouraged to lead the transition to clean energy
How the US Congress could defang OPEC and keep gas prices low in one stroke
(30.11.2022)
The idea was first put forth back in 2000, when antitrust lawyer Seth Bloom wrote the NOPEC Act. It stands for No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels. The law would explicitly permit the US government to pursue price-fixing claims against oil-producing countries.
Saudi Arabia signs Huawei deal, deepening China ties on Xi visit
Saudi Arabia and China showcased deepening ties with a series of strategic deals on Thursday during a visit by President Xi Jinping, including one with tech giant Huawei, whose growing foray into the Gulf region has raised U.S. security concerns.
King Salman signed a „comprehensive strategic partnership agreement“ with Xi, who received a lavish welcome in a country forging new global partnerships beyond the West.
Xi’s Expected in Riyadh as the Middle East Looks Beyond America
Saudi Arabia announced that Xi will attend a summit with regional leaders from Wednesday. If he shows up, he’ll be stepping in to what has traditionally been viewed as Washington’s sphere of influence.
Biden vowed ‚consequences‘ for Saudi Arabia after oil production cut. But the U.S. has no plans to follow through.
(03.12.2022)
“This is an eight decades long relationship and we will continue to assess relations with Saudi Arabia methodically and strategically, and in line with what’s in our interests,” one official said in a statement.
“We will judge the way forward based on their actions as well as our ongoing consultations with partners and allies, the new Congress, and the Saudis.”
Exclusive: Saudis say normalization with Israel ‘matter of time‘
Senior diplomatic officials shared with i24NEWS that the Gulf state is looking to normalize relations with Israel, but that this will take time.
„The direction of Saudi-Israeli relations is normalization, but it will take more time and we must not put the cart before the horse.“ So said Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir in a meeting held in recent weeks with members of the American Jewish community (AJC), as revealed in an official document obtained by i24NEWS.
OPEC+ Keeps Oil Curbs Despite Russia Price Cap
During a virtual meeting, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and the Russia-led bloc—a group collectively known as OPEC+—decided to maintain production cuts of 2 million barrels a day, initially agreed to in October, OPEC said.
OPEC+ agrees to stay with existing oil output targets
Oil-producing alliance OPEC+ agreed on Sunday to keep its same production targets, dealing another setback for the U.S. and western allies seeking to curb high gas prices.
Biden’s Saudi recalibration a potential setback to prospects for Saudi-Israel normalization
(October 21, 2022)
Schneider is a co-chair of the Abraham Accords Caucus, as well as a lead sponsor of the DEFEND Act, which seeks to promote the creation of an integrated Middle East air-defense infrastructure, potentially including both Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), also an Abraham Accords Caucus co-chair and lead DEFEND Act sponsor, raised concerns that the White House was “disrupting… momentum” toward integrated air defense by postponing a United States-Gulf Coordination Council meeting focused on the issue following the oil production cut announcement.
How the US Congress could defang OPEC and keep gas prices low in one stroke
(30.11.2022)
The idea was first put forth back in 2000, when antitrust lawyer Seth Bloom wrote the NOPEC Act. It stands for No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels. The law would explicitly permit the US government to pursue price-fixing claims against oil-producing countries.
Egypt, Saudi Arabia & Qatar join Shanghai Cooperation Organisation as ‘Dialogue Partners’
(September 14, 2022)
Egypt and Qatar have been granted Dialogue Partner status of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) following the admission procedure launched in September 2021 at the Dushanbe summit.
OPEC+ to consider deeper oil output cuts ahead of Russia sanctions and proposed price cap
OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers could impose deeper oil output cuts on Sunday, energy analysts said, as the influential energy alliance weighs the impact of a pending ban on Russia’s crude exports and a possible price cap on Russian oil.
OPEC+, a group of 23 oil-producing nations led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, will convene on Sunday to decide on the next phase of production policy.
G7 and allies approve cap on price of Russian oil – BBC News
It comes after the EU agreed on the price cap after persuading Poland to back it.
The price cap was put forward by the G7 group of nations in September and aims to stop Moscow profiting from oil exports while avoiding a price spike.
A Surveillance Primer: 5 Eyes, 9 Eyes, 14 Eyes
(August 15, 2022)
The Five Eyes (FVEY) surveillance alliance includes the following countries:
– Australia
– Canada
– New Zealand
– United Kingdom
– United States
(…)
The Nine Eyes countries include:
– 5 Eyes countries +
– Denmark
– France
– Netherlands
– Norway
(…)
The 14 Eyes surveillance countries include:
– 9 Eyes countries +
– Germany
– Belgium
– Italy
– Sweden
– Spain
The last time the NOPEC bill came this close to passing was in 2007, when it got approved by the House of Reps in a 345-72 vote and the Senate by 70-23, only to die after George W. Bush threatened a veto. (good relations between George W. & the Kingdom in the aftermath of 9/11)
(17.10.2022)
Explainer: What is NOPEC, the U.S. bill to pressure the OPEC+ oil group?
(05.10.2022)
But several attempts to pass NOPEC over more than two decades have long worried OPEC’s de facto leader Saudi Arabia, leading Riyadh to lobby hard every time a version of the bill has come up.
With the Senate Judiciary Committee passing the bill in May, it needs to pass the full Senate and House and be signed by the president to become law.
There’s now an entire new industry, aligned with Dems, to pressure Big Tech to censor. Think tanks and self-proclaimed „disinformation experts“ funded by Omidyar, Soros and the US/UK Security State use benign-sounding names to glorify ideological censorship as neutral expertise.
(06.09.2022)
Saudi Arabia is the biggest beneficiary of the war in Ukraine
(16 May 2022)
Cracks in the resolve began to show up immediately. Amid calls for more solar, wind and nuclear power, the UK government started to double down on domestic oil and gas production, and Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, flew to Saudi Arabia to ask the regime to increase its oil output.
„The chances of getting NOPEC passed are actually declining,“ says @rbccm Global Head of Commodity Strategy @CroftHelima. „Democrats were really driving for this. I don’t really sense a lot of Republican enthusiasm.“ #Election2022 #Midterms2022 #OPEC
Explainer: What is NOPEC, the U.S. bill to pressure the OPEC+ oil group?
(05.10.2022)
But several attempts to pass NOPEC over more than two decades have long worried OPEC’s de facto leader Saudi Arabia, leading Riyadh to lobby hard every time a version of the bill has come up.
With the Senate Judiciary Committee passing the bill in May, it needs to pass the full Senate and House and be signed by the president to become law.
Five Eyes, Six Eyes, Europe’s Eyes? Europe-Five Eyes Cooperation in the Face of China
(Mar 27, 2021)
In the short term, Europe may be able to shrug off the illegality of its data-sharing practices under the GDPR, and please privacy advocates with adequacy reviews, but in the long term the violation of Europe’s own data privacy crownpiece is sure to harm its international credibility.
A Surveillance Primer: 5 Eyes, 9 Eyes, 14 Eyes
(August 15, 2022)
The Five Eyes (FVEY) surveillance alliance includes the following countries:
– Australia
– Canada
– New Zealand
– United Kingdom
– United States
(…)
The Nine Eyes countries include:
– 5 Eyes countries +
– Denmark
– France
– Netherlands
– Norway
(…)
The 14 Eyes surveillance countries include:
– 9 Eyes countries +
– Germany
– Belgium
– Italy
– Sweden
– Spain
Russia becomes India’s top oil supplier in October
On being asked if India faces a moral conflict due to import from Russia amid the latter’s conflict with Ukraine, he had stated: „Absolutely none. There is no moral conflict. We don’t buy from X or Y. We buy whatever is available. Government does not buy, it’s the oil companies which do the buying.“
Saudi Arabia Reiterates Commitment To China, Regardless Of U.S. Concerns
(Nov 01, 2022)
Saudi Arabia’s strategic pivot effectively marks the end of the 1945 core agreement between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia that defined their relationship up until extremely recently.
Riyadh crosses the Rubicon toward Russia
(October 11, 2022)
This decision stands in stark contrast to the careful, muted responses of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian President Narendra Modi to Putin’s accelerating aggression in Eastern Europe and mounting threats to unleash nuclear war on the continent. Apart from buying Russian oil (at major discounts, most recently about $25 below Brent prices), neither the Chinese nor the Indians have offered Putin much in the way of diplomatic cover, military materiel or other direct substantive support since the earliest weeks of the illegal Russian invasion.
Biden’s Saudi recalibration a potential setback to prospects for Saudi-Israel normalization
(October 21, 2022)
Schneider is a co-chair of the Abraham Accords Caucus, as well as a lead sponsor of the DEFEND Act, which seeks to promote the creation of an integrated Middle East air-defense infrastructure, potentially including both Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), also an Abraham Accords Caucus co-chair and lead DEFEND Act sponsor, raised concerns that the White House was “disrupting… momentum” toward integrated air defense by postponing a United States-Gulf Coordination Council meeting focused on the issue following the oil production cut announcement.
Explainer: What is NOPEC, the U.S. bill to pressure the OPEC+ oil group?
(05.10.2022)
But several attempts to pass NOPEC over more than two decades have long worried OPEC’s de facto leader Saudi Arabia, leading Riyadh to lobby hard every time a version of the bill has come up.
With the Senate Judiciary Committee passing the bill in May, it needs to pass the full Senate and House and be signed by the president to become law.
Deep OPEC Output Cuts Upend Biden’s Attempt To Lower Oil Prices
In an effort to combat rising prices, earlier this year President Biden began the largest drawdown of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in U.S. history.
OPEC+ undid Biden’s SPR release by making deep output cuts, starting in November.
OPEC+ interests are fundamentally different than the interests of the U.S. consumer.
What Is DNS Security? Why It Matters for Your Business
(02.09.2022)
In 2022 and beyond, the industry and society have matured, and we’re now focusing on security suites and infrastructure unification, as well as managing cyber risks. The opportunities and driving factors of one decade do not take the place of those in the one before it.
Instead, they broaden the perspective and emphasize well-known ideas in new ways. One such example is DNS – although its roots can be traced back to 1966, DNS security must be a part of every robust cybersecurity strategy today.
OPEC’s decision to slash oil production is a slap in the face to American interests. It’s time we restore the balance in this relationship. Today, @RepCindyAxne and I urged congressional leadership to bring up the NOPEC Act to crack down on the autocrats driving up PA gas prices.
(20.10.2022)
Opec+ oil cut: The birth pangs of a new world order
Riyadh is apparently set on another course. It intends to join Brics and is increasing its cooperation with China, including through its unprecedented consideration of trading oil for yuan instead of dollars. The UAE is also making moves, with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed recently visiting Moscow, and his energy minister saying Russia is irreplaceable in the oil market.
Biden’s Saudi recalibration a potential setback to prospects for Saudi-Israel normalization
(October 21, 2022)
Schneider is a co-chair of the Abraham Accords Caucus, as well as a lead sponsor of the DEFEND Act, which seeks to promote the creation of an integrated Middle East air-defense infrastructure, potentially including both Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), also an Abraham Accords Caucus co-chair and lead DEFEND Act sponsor, raised concerns that the White House was “disrupting… momentum” toward integrated air defense by postponing a United States-Gulf Coordination Council meeting focused on the issue following the oil production cut announcement.
Why OPEC Is Cutting Oil Production (and Why There’s Not Much the U.S. Can Do About It)
(Oct. 24, 2022)
If the United States follows through on its threats, the Biden administration would be a true maverick in Middle East policy, because no other administration — Republican or Democratic — has ever retaliated against Saudi Arabia in any serious manner for its oil policies.
The last time the NOPEC bill came this close to passing was in 2007, when it got approved by the House of Reps in a 345-72 vote and the Senate by 70-23, only to die after George W. Bush threatened a veto. (good relations between George W. & the Kingdom in the aftermath of 9/11)
(17.10.2022)
U.S. Senate panel advances bill to rein in OPEC+ over oil output cut
(19.10.2022)
The legislation could be debated by lawmakers after the Nov. 8 midterm elections.
The last time the NOPEC bill came this close to passing was in 2007, when it got approved by the House of Reps in a 345-72 vote and the Senate by 70-23, only to die after George W. Bush threatened a veto. (good relations between George W. & the Kingdom in the aftermath of 9/11)
NOPEC Bill Would Mean The End Of Aramco And OPEC As We Know Them
(17.10.2022)
Riyadh’s alignment with Russia definitively started during that War and was irrevocably strengthened when Moscow agreed to support then-beleaguered Saudi Arabia and OPEC in their first post-Oil Price War production announcement at the end of 2016, forming ‘OPEC+’ (‘plus’ Russia) in the process. And Saudi Arabia’s move towards the autocracies of the East, with which its own autocracy is naturally aligned, was definitively concluded with China when Beijing allowed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) to save face, and probably his eventual succession to the kingship as well, by offering to privately buy in 2017 all five percent of his disastrously conceived initial public offering of Saudi Aramco. Last week’s Saudi-led shock two million barrels per day (bpd) collective crude oil production cuts shows that MbS personally has nothing but contempt for the U.S., so it is little wonder that key figures in the West Wing of the White House are taking it so personally.
Explainer: What is NOPEC, the U.S. bill to pressure the OPEC+ oil group?
(05.10.2022)
But several attempts to pass NOPEC over more than two decades have long worried OPEC’s de facto leader Saudi Arabia, leading Riyadh to lobby hard every time a version of the bill has come up.
With the Senate Judiciary Committee passing the bill in May, it needs to pass the full Senate and House and be signed by the president to become law.
Vorstellung der Überwachungspläne: EU-Kommissarin verteidigt: Chatkontrolle mit unsinnigem Vergleich
Die umstrittenen Chatkontrolle-Pläne der EU-Kommission sind nun auch im Parlament angekommen. EU-Kommissarin Johansson bemühte sich vor den Abgeordneten, das Vorhaben als harmlos darzustellen. Bürgerrechtler:innen sind alarmiert.
Die EU-Innenkommissarin Ylva Johansson hat heute den umstrittenen Gesetzentwurf zur Chatkontrolle offiziell dem Ausschuss für bürgerliche Freiheiten, Justiz und Inneres des Europa-Parlaments vorgestellt.
EU Commissioner @YlvaJohansson claimed that AI is capable of detecting unknown depictions of sexualized violence against children with over 90% accuracy & 99% precision. My #FOIA request reveals that her statement is based on industry claims: #chatcontrol
In the process of responding to my #FOIA request, the @EU_Commission asked for my snail mail address, asked for more time to consult with colleagues, misgendered me, failed to meet the extended deadline, all to finally admit that they believed whatever numbers #Meta published.
Video: Die Gefahren der Chatkontrolle einfach erklärt
Immer wenn es im Internet brennt und Protest notwendig ist, dann kommt Alexander Lehmann ins Spiel und bringt ein Erklärbar-Video, das die oft schwierigen Zusammenhänge einfach, anschaulich und kompakt erklärt. Auch die von der EU-Kommission geplante Chatkontrolle hat jetzt so ein Video, das heute veröffentlicht wurde.
„Verzwicktes Problem“: Europol erwägt Schwachstellennutzung, um Verschlüsselung zu brechen
Seit mindestens sieben Jahren suchen die EU-Mitgliedstaaten nach Wegen, um ihren Strafverfolgungsbehörden Zugang zu verschlüsselten Inhalten zu ermöglichen.
Quantencomputer in Deutschland
(2021)
Seit Januar 2021 kann sich auch Deutschland mit einem ersten funktionsfähigen Quantencomputer brüsten. Doch zumindest seine Produktion fand noch im Ausland statt: Fast ein Jahr dauerte der Bau des IBM Q System One in den USA. Dabei war der Zeitaufwand für den physischen Aufbau mit einer Dauer von knapp zwei Monaten recht überschaubar. Das Gros der Arbeitszeit nahm, wie bei Quantencomputern üblich, die Kalibrierung der Qubits ein, um Fehlerraten zu verringern und Kohärenzzeiten möglichst zu verlängern. Zudem wurde die tatsächliche Installation des Systems in Ehningen durch die Coronapandemie erschwert.
What Angela Merkel and IBM’s CEO have in common…
(October 2, 2019)
Instead, the German government’s backing for Quantum Computing research sealed between Chancellor Angela Merkel and Ginni Rometty (IBM CEO) indicates that both are excited about the latest technology and how it can improve the world we live in. Ultimately solving problems that seemed completely impossible just a few years ago – also from Europe.
The goal for Merkel and Germany? To catch up with China and the USA in the global technology race.
IBM now has 18 quantum computers in its fleet of weird machines
(May 6, 2020)
Eighteen quantum computers might not sound like a lot. But given that each one is an unwieldy device chilled within a fraction of a degree above absolute zero and operated by Ph.D. researchers, it’s actually a pretty large fleet. In comparison, Google’s quantum computers lab near Santa Barbara, California, has only five machines, and Honeywell only has six quantum computers.
Quantum leap: why the next wave of computers will change the world
(29 Oct 2019)
(29 Oct 2019)
To break a widely used RSA 2048-bit encryption, a classical computer with one trillion operations per second would need around 300 trillion years. This is such a long time that we all feel very safe.
A quantum computer using Shor’s algorithm could achieve the same feat in just 10 seconds, with a modest 1 million operations per second. That’s the power of quantum computers: 300 trillion years versus 10 seconds.
5. Pipeline / LNG Terminals Drei schwimmende Flüssiggas-Terminals bis Ende 2022
– Wilhelmshaven, im Bau
– Brunsbüttel, seit 23.09. im Bau
– Lubmin, seit 20.09. im Bau
– Pipeline-Gas Frankreich ab Mitte Okt. 2022
Gasspeicher 🇩🇪 zu 91 Prozent voll, Energie-update 26.09.2022
1. Gasspeicher: 🇩🇪 91,02%, EU: 87,41%, Trend: +
2. 🇩🇪 Ziele: 01.10. 85% & 01.11. 95%
3. 🇪🇺 Ziel: 01.11. 80% (14 v. 18 EU-Länder erreicht)
4. Gaspreise… #gasspeicher #gas #Energiekrise
In Brüssel hat das Match um Data-Mining begonnen
Alle nur denkbaren Plattformen für Möglichkeiten zur interpersonellen Kommunikation sollen verpflichtet werden, nicht nur weite Teile ihres Datenverkehrs auf Vorrat zu speichern, sondern auch Daten zu erheben – etwa von persönlichen Chats – die bisher nicht gespeichert wurden. Diese auf Vorrat gespeicherten, zu riesigen Volumina aggregierten Daten sollen dann in einem neu zu errichtenden „EU Centre“ mit Data-Mining und KI-Anwendungen – beides gehört organisch zusammen – auf sogenannte „Kinderpornographie“ durchsucht werden. Tatsächlich wird diese Centre, das obendrein auf dem Gelände von Europol in Den Haag angesiedelt werden soll, ein europäisches Kompetenzzentrum für Überwachung mit Methoden aus dem Komplex Big-Data, Data-Mining und sogenannter „Künstlicher Intelligenz“. Diese Verordnung sollt noch im Herbst im EU-Parlament auftauchen.
Covert Military Information Operations and the New NDAA: The Law of the Gray Zone Evolves
(December 10, 2019)
Section 1631(b) expressly affirms that the Defense Department can conduct “military operations” in the information environment, “including clandestine operations,” for certain purposes. I’ll have more to say about that reference to “clandestine” below. First, let’s note the broad list of purposes.
The military’s role comes into play in three scenarios. First, defense of the United States itself. Second, defense of allies. Third, defense of the “interests” of the United States. The statute notably does not clarify what nature or degree of threats to these objects count, and so the invitation can only be described as quite broad.
Pentagon opens sweeping review of clandestine psychological operations
(September 19, 2022)
The measure, known as Section 1631, allows the military to carry out clandestine psychological operations without crossing what the CIA has claimed as its covert authority, alleviating some of the friction that had hindered such operations previously.
“Combatant commanders got really excited,” recalled the first defense official. “They were very eager to utilize these new authorities. The defense contractors were equally eager to land lucrative classified contracts to enable clandestine influence operations.”
After Congress passed Section 1631 allowing the military to conduct covert online propaganda, the Pentagon created droves of accounts spreading fake news against designated enemies, including one claiming Iran was harvesting organs in Afghanistan
(20.09.2022)
EU’s contempt for encryption puts all Europeans at risk
Every Internet user will find themselves more easily surveilled by the state and other actors. For Central and Eastern Europeans, where analogue surveillance and political retaliation were conducted within their lifetimes, the proposal would be a depressing rollback of the freedoms hard-won by previous generations.
Members of the LGBTQ+ community, abuse survivors, refugees, and minority groups that are the targets of discrimination or attack, will no longer find refuge on the Internet. Professions such as journalists, who depend upon encryption to keep themselves and their sources safe, will be less able to investigate corruption and criminality. The murders of Slovak journalist Ján Kuciak and Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in recent years are a reminder of the high stakes for reporters who are exposed.
Wow: Dank unermüdlicher Kampagnen gegen #biometrischeMassenüberwachung will nun die Mehrheit im EU-Parlament ein Verbot im #AIAct verankern. Wir lassen nicht locker, bis Gesichtserkennung im öffentlichen Raum endgültig verboten ist
EU parliament majority now in favor of banning AI surveillance in public
(23.09.2022)
According to the document, some EU countries are pushing to add more exemptions for law enforcement.
These include the police being able to use real-time facial recognition (RTFR) to prevent any “substantial threat” to critical infrastructure. The exceptions join the list, which already includes searching for kidnapping victims and suspects of crime.
German liberal Svenja Hahn told Politico that negotiations are still ongoing, but the EU parliament will formally try to secure its position on the matter by the end of the year.
A guide to the AI Act, the EU’s upcoming AI rulebook you should watch out for
(28.08.2022)
The unfolding of this is being attentively watched by other global players as the law will also have an effect outside the EU.
Currently, the EU Parliament and EU Council are each negotiating the draft written by the EU Commission within their own institutions. After this, the three bodies will go into trilogue negotiations.
Here is a guide for you to understand this new regulation and the political processes around it.
Europols Mandat zur Massenüberwachung tritt in Kraft
(29.06.2022)
Nationale Strafverfolgungsbehörden wie das Bundeskriminalamt (BKA) oder die französische Nationalpolizei beliefern Europol schon seit Jahren mit großen Datenmengen. Die Den Haag sitzende Behörde half europäischen Justiz- und Strafverfolgungsbehörden etwa den verschlüsselten Kommunikationsdienst des kanadischen Anbieters Sky ECC zu unterwandern. Allein dieser Coup soll Einblicke in hunderte Millionen Nachrichten ermöglicht haben. Zuvor war der ähnlich ausgerichtete Provider Encrochat geknackt worden. Der Europol-Datenspeicher umfasst Schätzungen zufolge so mittlerweile insgesamt mindestens vier Petabyte.
TLS 1.3: Slow adoption of stronger web encryption is empowering the bad guys
(April 6, 2020)
Asymmetric encryption is used during the “handshake”, which takes place prior to any data being sent. The handshake determines which cipher suite to use for the session – in other words, the symmetric encryption type – so that both browser and server agree. The TLS 1.2 protocol took multiple round trips between client and server, while TLS 1.3 is a much smoother process that requires only one trip. This latency saving shaves milliseconds off each connection.
A Surveillance Primer: 5 Eyes, 9 Eyes, 14 Eyes
(August 15, 2022)
The Five Eyes (FVEY) surveillance alliance includes the following countries:
– Australia
– Canada
– New Zealand
– United Kingdom
– United States
(…)
The Nine Eyes countries include:
– 5 Eyes countries +
– Denmark
– France
– Netherlands
– Norway
(…)
The 14 Eyes surveillance countries include:
– 9 Eyes countries +
– Germany
– Belgium
– Italy
– Sweden
– Spain
Energy price inflation: how the UK and EU could fight it
Is there international action that can be taken now?
It appears increasingly likely that some forms of coordinated international action will be taken, mirroring responses to the global financial crisis, the eurozone debt crisis and the Covid pandemic.
The former Italian prime minister Mario Draghi floated the idea of “a cartel of buyers” at a meeting with the US president, Joe Biden, in May. This would involve large oil consumers working together to negotiate prices.
I’ve been permanently demonetized & suspended (twice) by YouTube, permanently banned from PayPal/Venmo, permanently banned from Twitch, lost my merch stores on Represent & Teezily, & now I’m being warned by Discord that my entire server might get nuked. So much for free speech.
EU erhielt die zwölfte Cybersicherheitsorganisation
(04.07.2021)
Ein aktuelles, schlagendes Beispiel dafür ist die Neufassung der deutschen Cybersicherheitsstrategie. In Deutschland ist es Teil dieser Strategie, gewisse neuentdeckte Software-Sicherheitslücken für Polizei – und Geheimdienste offenzuhalten, die deutsche Cyberbehörde ZiTis soll die zugehörige Trojaner-Schadsoftware für mehrere Dutzend deutsche Bundes- Landesbehörden entwickeln.
AFL LAWSUIT REVEALS DAMNING CDC DOCUMENTS PROVING GOVERNMENT COLLUSION WITH BIG TECH TO CENSOR FREE SPEECH AND PROMOTE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION PROPAGANDA
Last July, then-White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki admitted that the White House was working with social media companies to identify “misinformation.” Specifically, she said, “we’re regularly making sure social media platforms are aware of the latest narratives, dangerous to public health that we and many other Americans are seeing across all of social and traditional media. And we work to engage with them to better understand the enforcement of social media platform policies.”
AFL immediately submitted FOIA requests to the Department of Health and Human Services, the CDC, the Food and Drug Administration, and the National Institutes of Health to uncover the degree to which the CDC and the White House have been censoring content that it has deemed “disinformation” or “misinformation.” Predictably, the Biden Administration obstructed and delayed complying with their legal obligation to provide such information, and AFL sued the CDC to compel their release.
Today, after a year of work, AFL has obtained its first damning release of documents.
Dokumente beweisen: US-Regierung nutzt Big Tech zur Zensur
Am Mittwoch gab die NGO Organisation America First Legal (AFL) bekannt, dass sie dank einer Klage gegen die Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) an die Dokumente gelangt sei. Der erste Versuch, an die Dokumente über den „Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)“ über das Weiße Haus an die Dokumente zu kommen, war gescheitert.
AFL interpretiert die Dokumente nicht nur als Beweis für eine Koordinierung zwischen den privaten Konzernen und der Regierung. Es habe sich um geheime Absprachen gehandelt, um die Zensur auf den Internetplattformen zu koordinieren.
Spätestens ab Dezember 2020 und mindestens bis Juni 2021 kommunizierte die CDC mit Google, Facebook und Twitter. Die „Zusammenarbeit“ ging so weit, dass Beiträge von einzelnen Nutzern als Beispiele vorgelegt wurden, um festzuhalten, was zensiert werden muss.
Schöne Neue Welt 2030 – Vom Fall der Demokratie und dem Aufstieg einer totalitären Ordnung
Die Corona-Krise brachte es an den Tag: Seit Beginn des Jahres 2020 ist die Fassade der westlichen Demokratien zusammengebrochen. Beim Umgang mit der Pandemie griffen die Machthaber fast allerorts zu autoritären Methoden. Ihre Instrumentalisierung geriet zu einem Eliten-Komplott, das jede Verschwörungstheorie in den Schatten stellt. Nichts hat die reale Funktion des bürgerlichen Staates so klar ins Licht gerückt wie diese Krise.
Ullrich Mies lässt internationale Expertinnen und Experten zu Wort kommen. Sie befassen sich mit der „Neuen Normalität“, die die Globalisten der Finanzwelt und des World Economic Forum für die Menschheit vorgesehen haben: eine digitalisierte, kontrollierte und transhumanistische, eine entmenschlichte Welt. Dagegen gilt es, die Analyse zu schärfen und die Erkenntnis als Waffe des Widerstands einzusetzen.
Staatsstreich der Globalfaschisten
Die Regime der westlich-kapitalistischen Werteordnung unter US-Führung ringen verzweifelt nach Legitimation. Exklusivabdruck aus „Schöne neue Welt 2030“, Teil 1/2.
Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism – Membership
Founding Members:
YouTube
Twitter
Microsoft
facebook
General Members:
zoom
tumblr
WordPress.com
JustPaste
airbnb
mailchimp
Discord
Instagram
WhatsApp
Pinterest
amazon
Dropbox
MEGA
Linkedin
YouTube
Twitter
Microsoft
facebook
One Database to Rule Them All: The Invisible Content Cartel that Undermines the Freedom of Expression Online
(August 27, 2020)
During the past decade, however, social media platforms have also come under increasing pressure from governments around the globe to respond to violent and extremist content on their platforms. Spurred by the terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels in 2015 and 2016, respectively, and guided by the shortsighted belief that censorship is an effective tool against extremism, governments have been turning to content moderation as a means to fix international terrorism.
Commercial content moderation is the process through which platforms—more specifically, human reviewers or, very often, machines—make decisions about what content can and cannot be on their sites, based on their own Terms of Service, “community standards,” or other rules.
During the coronavirus pandemic, social media companies have been less able to use human content reviewers, and are instead increasingly relying on machine learning algorithms to moderate content as well as flag it. Those algorithms, which are really just a set of instructions for doing something, are fed with an initial set of rules and lots of training data in the hopes that they will learn to identify similar content.
Unter deutschem Vorsitz: G7-Staaten stützen EU-Politik zur Chatkontrolle
(08.07.2022)
Auf ihrem Treffen im November wollen die G7-Innenminister:innen Druck machen, damit Firmen mit Filtertechnologien nach sexualisierter Gewalt gegen Kinder suchen. Treiber ist Großbritannien, das mit einem Gesetz voranprescht. Auch Verschlüsselung ist davon betroffen.
„man hat ja nichts zu verbergen“ #Chatkontrolle
Na, noch gute Laune? Die geht weg! O_o #Europol’s Mandat zur #Massenüberwachung tritt in Kraft „Jetzt ist es offiziell: Europol darf auch Daten unverdächtiger Personen im großen Stil auswerten. Am Dienstag trat eine entsprechende Verordnung in Kraft.“
Europols Mandat zur Massenüberwachung tritt in Kraft
Bürgerrechtler kritisieren, dass damit auch illegale Datenverarbeitungen „rückwirkend legalisiert“ würden. Schon 2020 hatte der EU-Datenschutzbeauftragte Wojciech Wiewiórowski gerügt, dass Europol-Ermittler mit dem Sammeln und Analysieren nicht mehr überschaubarer Datenmengen ihre Befugnisse überschritten und rechtswidrig gehandelt hätten.
BSI und Verfassungsschutz: Warnung vor Hackerangriffen auf Politiker
Das BSI und der Verfassungsschutz warnen vor Hackern, die durch einen einfachen Trick den Zugang zu Chats von hochrangigen Politikern erlangen könnten.
Die Angreifer nutzen das Vertrauen der Opfer aus und offenbar auch mangelndes Sicherheitsbewusstsein.
Black Hat 2021: DNS loophole makes nation-state level spying as easy as registering a domain
(Aug 4, 2021)
We have no way of knowing whether the loophole has already been exploited: Anyone could have collected data undetected for over a decade.
We do know this is still an active threat vector – while two major DNS providers (Amazon and Google) have fixed the issue, others may still be vulnerable. As a result, millions of devices are potentially vulnerable.
(…)
After analyzing it, we learned it was dynamic DNS traffic from Windows machines that were querying the hijacked name server about itself. Dynamic DNS keeps DNS records automatically up to date when an IP address changes. It’s traditionally been used in large networks that host internal services, and use their own internal servers. In short, the traffic we received contained sensitive information that was never supposed to leave an organizations internal network.
The dynamic DNS traffic we “wiretapped” came from over 15,000 organizations, including Fortune 500 companies, 45 U.S. government agencies, and 85 international government agencies. The data included a wealth of valuable intel like internal and external IP addresses, computer names, employee names and office locations.
TLS 1.3: Slow adoption of stronger web encryption is empowering the bad guys
(April 6, 2020)
Asymmetric encryption is used during the “handshake”, which takes place prior to any data being sent. The handshake determines which cipher suite to use for the session – in other words, the symmetric encryption type – so that both browser and server agree. The TLS 1.2 protocol took multiple round trips between client and server, while TLS 1.3 is a much smoother process that requires only one trip. This latency saving shaves milliseconds off each connection.
Ex-Amazon Cloud Worker Found Guilty in Capital One Hack: The huge hack affected more than 100 million US customers.
(June 18, 2022)
„She wanted data, she wanted money, and she wanted to brag,“ Assistant United States Attorney Andrew Friedman said in closing arguments, according to the release. The Justice Department didn’t identify the other organizations affected by Thompson’s activity.
Firefox is making connections to cloudfront.net and locprod.prod.mozaws.net on startup
(27.07.2020)
No replies
(…)
Why does make Firefox makes those connections?
What is transmitted?
And How can I disable them?
Amazon Disables NSO Group CloudFront Accounts To Prevent “Pegasus” PR Crisis
(July 19, 2021)
While this was unearthed in 2020 itself, Amazon declined to take any action or even comment on the story. Now, Pegasus is linked to human rights abuse around the world. So Amazon has shut down the CloudFront accounts linked to NSO Group. For the uninitiated, CloudFront is a content delivery network by Amazon.
The Details About the CIA’s Deal With Amazon
(July 17, 2014)
This summer, a $600 million computing cloud developed by Amazon Web Services for the Central Intelligence Agency over the past year will begin servicing all 17 agencies that make up the intelligence community. If the technology plays out as officials envision, it will usher in a new era of cooperation and coordination, allowing agencies to share information and services much more easily and avoid the kind of intelligence gaps that preceded the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
For the first time, agencies within the intelligence community will be able to order a variety of on-demand computing and analytic services from the CIA and National Security Agency
Oil rises $2/bbl after G7 vows new Russian sanctions
Oil rose $2 a barrel on Monday on the prospect of even tighter supplies loomed over the market as the Group of Seven nations promised to tighten the squeeze on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war chest while actually lowering energy prices.
European Security Officials Double Down on Automated Moderation and Client-Side Scanning
(15.06.2022)
Similarly, following pressure from EU security officials, Facebook, Google, Twitter, and Microsoft set up the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT), an industry organization that developed a hash-matching database now used in various ways by GIFCT’s 16 member firms, including Amazon, Airbnb, Discord, Tumblr, Zoom, Mailchimp, and Dropbox.
The EU proposal seeks to change the tenor of what has largely been a system of uneasy collaboration—underpinned by government pressure and threats of potential future sanctions, yes, but still voluntary and grounded in industry good-faith nonetheless. Instead, the regulation seeks to compel firms to deploy systems for the automated detection and removal of a broad range of content that might foster child abuse, rather than just incentivizing and encouraging the development of these kinds of systems informally.
Gigamon releases 2022 TLS Trends Research based on 1.3trn network flows
Encrypt all feasible East-West traffic – The majority (65%) of East-West network traffic is now encrypted (up from 56% in 2020), leaving 35% of traffic unencrypted.
(…)
„This report seeks to provide real-world data on SSL/TLS usage,” said Bassam Khan, vice-president of product and technical marketing at Gigamon. “The findings illustrate why organisations need to rethink their decryption policies and procedures, particularly as TLS 1.3 gains further traction.”
EU excludes cloud services from 6th sanctions package for unknown reasons – Podoliak
„At first, the EU Council announces the blockage of Russia from EU cloud services in the Sixth Sanction Package. Then, the EU Council edits the message, removing these references. No clarifications or explanations from the officials,“ Podoliak said on Twitter.
„We must increase the sanctions pressure, not decrease,“ the adviser to the head of the President’s Office said.
TLS 1.3: Slow adoption of stronger web encryption is empowering the bad guys
(April 6, 2020)
Asymmetric encryption is used during the “handshake”, which takes place prior to any data being sent. The handshake determines which cipher suite to use for the session – in other words, the symmetric encryption type – so that both browser and server agree. The TLS 1.2 protocol took multiple round trips between client and server, while TLS 1.3 is a much smoother process that requires only one trip. This latency saving shaves milliseconds off each connection.
Israeli private detective used Indian hackers in job for Russian oligarchs
(May 30, 2022)
Azari is currently being held in federal prison in Brooklyn awaiting sentencing in relation to a hacking campaign tied to the defunct German financial technology company Wirecard AG , his lawyer said last month.
Reuters reported last year that Azari was accused of hiring the Indian hacking firm BellTroX on behalf of powerful clients. BellTroX, which has also been accused of hacking by cybersecurity researchers at Facebook and elsewhere, could not be reached for comment.
2009 wurde #Zensursula bei den #BigBrotherAwards für die Netzsperren „ausgezeichnet“. Als Kommissionspräsidentin versucht sie dieses gescheiterte Projekt jetzt gemeinsam mit der #Chatkontrolle zu recyceln. @digitalcourage stellt sich dem entgegen. Und ihr?
„Das ist die stärkste staatliche Überwachungsmaßnahme seit Ende des Kalten Krieges auf europäischem Boden“ – @etuchtfeld von @D64eV kritisiert die geplante „Chatkontrolle“ der EU und fordert Innenministerin Faeser auf, sich zu positionieren.
Ausnahmezustand in Ungarn: Orban regiert am liebsten mit Notrecht
(26.05.2022)
Die Eile, mit der die jüngste Verfassungsänderung durch- und umgesetzt wurde, ist Teil der Logik des ungarischen Konzepts der illiberalen Demokratie: Orban ist zwar seit dem Sieg bei der Parlamentswahl so stark, dass er durchregieren könnte. Allerdings managt Orban das Land ohnehin schon seit zwei Jahren de facto im Ausnahmezustand. Dieser war im Frühjahr 2020 verhängt, mit «Sicherheitsinteressen des Staates» in der Pandemie begründet und mehrmals verlängert worden.
Der Pandemie-Ausnahmezustand aber wäre in wenigen Tagen ausgelaufen.
Geschlossene Tankstellen, unterbrochene Kraftstoffversorgung nach Entscheidung der Regierung
Nach Angaben von Blikk hat Shell mehrere seiner Tankstellen in Ungarn geschlossen und begründet dies mit Versorgungsproblemen.
World Economic Forum Annual Meeting: List of confirmed Public Figures
Heads of State and Government 50
Foreign Affairs 30
Finance / Economy 43
Trade / Commerce / Industry 27
Central Bank 7
International Organizations 36
Digital / Information, Communication and Technology 11
Energy and Resources 11
Environment 17
Health 6
Labor / Social Affairs / Education 6
Transport and Infrastructure 5
Defence and Intelligence Chiefs 3
Others 58
Biden Handing Over U.S. Sovereignty to WHO
(May 4, 2022)
Please take seriously the severity of this existential threat to everything free people hold dear. Do everything in your power to pass this report on to others and to find ways to communicate with and to influence people to stop empowering WHO to take over our national sovereignty and freedom.
On May 22-28, 2022, ultimate control over America’s healthcare system, and hence its national sovereignty, will be delivered for a vote to the World Health Organization’s governing legislative body, the World Health Assembly (WHA).
This threat is contained in new amendments to WHO’s International Health Regulations, proposed by the Biden administration, that are scheduled as “Provisional agenda item 16.2” at the upcoming conference on May 22-28, 2022.1
These amendments will empower WHO’s Director-General to declare health emergencies or crises in any nation and to do so unilaterally and against the opposition of the target nation. The Director-General will be able to declare these health crises based merely on his personal opinion or consideration that there is a potential or possible threat to other nations.
International Health Regulations: A big step toward a health dictatorship is imminent
(12 May 2022)
A US proposal to amend the International Health Regulations (IHR) is scheduled to be voted on at the May 22-28 World Health Assembly.
The proposal was sent to WHO member countries by the WHO Director General as early as January 20. However, the proposal was only made available to the public on April 12, and in a way that hardly anybody took notice. Mainstream media coverage is virtually nonexistent. I became aware of it through a May 8 report by the independent Austrian news portal tkp.at, which in turn learned of it only through a May 4 report by the portal America Out Loud.
The US proposal is characterized throughout by changes that would empower the WHO to declare health emergencies for countries and regions without involvement or consent of the respective governments, and to dictate countermeasures, even including the deployment of foreign teams of experts.
WHO Stealth Coup to Dictate Global Health Agenda of Gates, Big Pharma
Doing something with stealth means doing it in a secretive or concealed manner, to prevent it being widely known and possibly opposed. This applies to the proposal given by the Biden Administration to the Geneva WHO in January 18, 2022 according to official WHO documents. The WHO hid the details of the US “amendments” for almost three months, until 12 April, just a month before the relevant body of the WHO meets to approve the radical measures. Moreover, rather than the previous 18 month waiting time to become treaty in international law, only 6 months are used this time. This is a bum’s rush. The US proposal is backed by every EU country and in total 47 countries ensuring almost certain passage.
The proposals, officially titled, “Strengthening WHO preparedness for and response to health emergencies: Proposal for amendments to the International Health Regulations,” were submitted by Assistant Secretary for Global Affairs (OGA) in the US Department of Health and Human Services, Loyce Pace, as “amendments” to a previously ratified 2005 WHO International Health Regulations treaty. The WHO defines that 2005 treaty thus: “the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR) provide an overarching legal framework that defines countries’ rights and obligations in handling public health events and emergencies that have the potential to cross borders. The IHR are an instrument of international law that is legally-binding on 196 countries, including the 194 WHO Member States.”
Kanada zieht bei Huawei-Verbot für 5G-Aufbau nach
„Das geschieht im Anschluss an eine umfassende Prüfung durch unsere Sicherheitsbehörden und in Absprache mit unseren engsten Verbündeten“, so Champagne.
Nitter Redirect
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Statement Digitalminister Dr. Volker Wissing zur Chatkontrolle
Einige der Vorschläge der Kommission beunruhigen mich, weil sie einen Eingriff in den geschützten Raum der Vertraulichkeit der Kommunikation darstellen könnten: Ich verweise auf den besonderen Schutz der Vertraulichkeit der Kommunikation, die in Deutschland als Fernmeldegeheimnis ein Grundrecht ist. Ich denke dabei auch an das Berufsgeheimnis, insbesondere für Anwälte, Ärzte und Opferberatungsstellen.
Es gibt darüber hinaus viele offene Fragen:
Wie sollen die betroffenen Anbieter die zunächst erforderliche Risikoeinschätzung vornehmen, ohne sich von den Inhalten der Kommunikation Kenntnis zu verschaffen?
Und wie ist damit umzugehen, wenn aufgrund von technischen Verfahren eine Vielzahl von Verdachtsmeldungen eingeht, die sich im Nachhinein als offensichtlich falsch herausstellen. Es darf nicht passieren, dass unbescholtene Bürgerinnen und Bürger unbegründet des Kindesmissbrauchs verdächtigt werden.
Ever since Dems became the majority party in DC — controlling the WH, Exec branch agencies and both houses of Congress — they’re repeatedly abused that power to summon tech CEOs and threaten them with punishment if they don’t censor more as Dems want:
EU-Pläne einfach erklärt : Warum die Chatkontrolle Grundrechte bedroht
Messenger wie WhatsApp und Signal sind Ende-zu-Ende-verschlüsselt. Da kann doch niemand mitlesen?
Die Antwortet laut: Ja, aber. Es stimmt, Ende-zu-Ende-Verschlüsselung soll verhindern, dass jemand außer Sender:in und Empfänger:in eine Nachricht mitlesen kann. Alle anderen Stationen im Internet dazwischen sehen nur Zeichensalat, aber nicht die Inhalte. Diese Verschlüsselung ist wichtig, damit weder kriminelle Hacker:innen noch Staaten unsere private Kommunikation lesen können. Auf den ersten Blick lässt sich eine Chatkontrolle also nicht mit Ende-zu-Ende-Verschlüsselung vereinbaren. Aber die Regulierung würde Unternehmen verpflichten, Inhalte trotzdem irgendwie zu scannen. Die EU-Kommission lässt offen, wie das technisch gehen soll.
56% Wahlbeteiligung in NRW. Irgendwie machen ALLE demokratischen Parteien bei der Mobilisierung von WählerInnen was falsch.
EU, UK join US in Launching Online ‘Disinformation’ Policies, ‘One-World Governance’ of Social Media
These steps come as part of a broader crackdown on the “spread of disinformation” called for by the Act, requiring platforms to “flag hate speech, eliminate any kind of terrorist propaganda” and implement “frameworks to quickly take down illicit content.”
Regarding alleged “disinformation,” these platforms will be mandated to create a “crisis response mechanism” to combat the spread of such content, with the Act specifically citing the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the “manipulation” of online content that has ensued.
„Strategische Überwachung der Telekommunikation“: Die verschwiegene Infrastruktur der Totalüberwachung
(16.3.2015)
In der „Begründung zum Entwurf für eine Erste Verordnung zur Änderung Telekommunikations-Überwachungsverordnung“ vom 29. April 2002 schrieb die Regierung:
Die Überwachungsmaßnahmen nach den §§ 5 und 8 des G 10 zielen auf ein regional begrenztes Gebiet ab, über das Informationen gesammelt werden sollen. Sie beziehen sich auf internationale Telekommunikationsbeziehungen, soweit eine gebündelte Übertragung erfolgt. Das Besondere an der strategischen Fernmeldekontrolle ist dabei, dass aus einer großen Menge verschiedenster Sachverhalte einzelne ausgewertet werden, die sich hierfür aufgrund bestimmter Merkmale qualifizieren. (…)
Die hierfür bei den Verpflichteten zum Einsatz gelangenden technischen Einrichtungen sind (..) weniger komplex als die Einrichtungen, die zur Umsetzung der übrigen Überwachungsmaßnahmen erforderlich sind. Dies liegt insbesondere darin begründet, dass der Betreiber bei der technischen Umsetzung dieser strategischen Kontrollmaßnahmen keinen Bezug auf eine bestimmte Person oder Anschlusskennung zu beachten hat. Angesichts der wenigen Anbieter, die internationale Übertragungswege anbieten, auf denen eine gebündelte Übertragung erfolgt, ist davon auszugehen, dass insgesamt nur verhältnismäßig wenige technische Einrichtungen zum Einsatz kommen. (…)
Der Gesetzgeber hat bei der Novellierung des G 10 eine Frist von 2 Jahren eingeräumt, innerhalb der eine Evaluation der geänderten Möglichkeiten gerade mit Blick auf die strategische Kontrolle verlangt wird. Auch diese Vorschrift fordert unverzügliches Handeln bei der technischen und organisatorischen Umsetzung von Maßnahmen zur strategischen Überwachung der Telekommunikation.“
Dazu Heise.de am 1.Februar 2002:
„Offenbar, so vermuten nun Experten, will der Bundesnachrichtendienst wohl nun selbst 100 Prozent erfassen, um dann freiwillig nur 20 Prozent auszuwerten.“
Das EU-Überwachungsmonster kommt wirklich, wenn wir nichts dagegen tun
Jetzt ist es raus: Die EU-Kommission will die Chatkontrolle einführen – und damit das größte Projekt zur anlasslosen Massenüberwachung seit Langem. Es braucht schnell Protest, damit das Vorhaben noch verhindert wird.
I’m on NPR, warning smaller platforms that they need to start gearing up for DSA compliance and singing the praises of career civil servants in Brussels.
The EU has proposed the most sophisticated mass surveillance system ever deployed outside of China & the USSR. It will mandate device-scanning, including encrypted messages.
(11.05.2022)
@matthew_d_green will dive into the details on tomorrow’s live show, 4pmEDT
Digital Services Act
On 22 April 2022, European policymakers reached an agreement on the Digital Services Act.[7] The final stage before the two bills come into law, is the vote by representatives of the individual parliaments and policymakers from the 27 member nations, which is considered to be a formality.
EU poised to impose sweeping social media regulation with Digital Services Act
The DSA, and its partner regulation, the Digital Markets Act, were introduced to the European Parliament in 2020. The European Commission said the regulations were intended to accomplish two goals: “create a safer digital space in which the fundamental rights of all users of digital services are protected” and “establish a level playing field to foster innovation, growth, and competitiveness, both in the European Single Market and globally.”