movie:for the first time

  • Updates | Occupied Palestinian Territory Dept | Physicians for Human Rights-Israel
    http://www.phr.org.il/default.asp?PageID=190&ItemID=2006

    For the first time, a Physicians for Human Rights–Israel report analyses the health metrics gaps between the Israeli citizens and residents of the Occupied Territories. Palestinians live 10 years less than Israelis, infant mortality is five times higher than in #Israel, and the mortality of women at childbirth is four times as high. “As long as the #occupation continues, it is Israel’s responsibility to equalize the health conditions of the populations”.

    #santé #Palestine

  • Mosul w/out Christians for First time in 1,900 Years as Radical Fundamentalists Threaten Minorities |
    Informed Comment
    http://www.juancole.com/2014/07/christians-fundamentalists-minorities.html

    For the first time in nearly 2000 years, there are virtually no Christians in the city of Mosul in northern Iraq. The community is reported to have fled en masse after the so-called “Islamic State” (IS) of radical fundamentalists warned them that they faced the choice of converting to Islam, paying a poll tax, fleeing the city, or… the sword. The incorrectly named “Islamic State,” which is a kind of criminal cartel, said that if they chose to depart, the Christians of Mosul would only be allowed to leave with the clothes on their backs, and their homes and property would be confiscated by IS. There were an estimated 3,000 Christians in Mosul, a city of about 2 million.
    IS allegedly set fire to an ancient church in Mosul that goes back to the early centuries of Christianity, though some reports dispute this allegation.
    Christianity may have spread to the Jews of Babylon in the time of St. Peter. Penny Young writes:
    “It is thought that the Christian population of Iraq is one of the oldest in the world. In his book By the Waters of Babylon (1972) James Wellard hypothesizes that when St Peter referred to ‘the Church at Babylon’, he may have been referring to an actual Jewish Christian community in the region of the Mesopotamian city, similar to other Nazarene communities which were springing up all over the Roman Empire to the west. The word ‘church’ was figurative. The earliest dated church building to have been found in the world so far is at Dura Europos in Syria on the Euphrates close to today’s border with Iraq. The murals were painted between 232 and 256 ad, three quarters of a century before Constantine recog­nized Christianity.”

  • “For the first time in history...” http://www.owen.org/blog/7293

    Here are some other occasions on which we have, for the first time, been able to eradicate poverty.

    The world is at an auspicious moment. For the first time ever, we have a real opportunity to end extreme poverty within a generation. But achieving this goal won’t be easy.

    Jim Kim, President of the World Bank, 17 April 2013

    This amazing story of human progress shows what’s possible.
    We can be the generation that eradicates absolute poverty in our world.

    David Cameron, Speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos, 24 January 2013

    For the first time in history, global economic prosperity, brought on by continuing scientific and technological progress and the self-reinforcing accumulation of wealth, has placed the world within reach of eliminating extreme poverty altogether.

    Jeff Sachs, Can Extreme Poverty Be Eliminated?, Scientific American September 2005

    You are right. We do have an historic opportunity this year to Make Poverty History.

    Tony Blair, 16 April 2005, Campaign Diary

    But in this new century, millions of people in the world’s poorest countries remain imprisoned, enslaved, and in chains. They are trapped in the prison of poverty. It is time to set them free.
    … Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great. You can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom.

    Nelson Mandela, Trafalgar Square, February 2005

    It’s an amazing thing to think that ours is the first generation in history that really can end extreme poverty, the kind that means a child dies for lack of food in its belly. This should be seen as the most incredible, historic opportunity but instead it’s become a millstone around our necks. We let our own pathetic excuses about how it’s ‘difficult’ justify our own inaction. Let’s be honest. We have the science, the technology, and the wealth. What we don’t have is the will, and that’s not a reason that history will accept.

    Bono in an interview to the World Association of Newspapers for World Press Freedom Day on May 3, 2004.

    For the first time in human history, society has the capacity, the knowledge and the resources to eradicate poverty

    Thabo Mbeki, President South Africa opening World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg, August 2002

    in the new global economy we are, all of us, the richest countries and the poorest countries – inextricably bound to one another by common interests, shared needs and linked destinies; that what happens to the poorest citizen in the poorest country can directly affect the richest citizen in the richest country; and that not only do we have inescapable obligations beyond our front doors and garden gates, responsibilities beyond the city wall and duties beyond our national boundaries, but that this generation has it in our power - if it so chooses - to abolish all forms of human poverty.

    Gordon Brown, speech to the Federal Reserve Bank, New York, 16 November 2001

    The challenge is a huge one. But the prize is very great. We are the first generation in the whole of human history that has the chance to eradicate basic illiteracy from the human condition. And we can do this within fifteen years. Let’s resolve today – together – that we will do what needs to be done to make this happen.

    Clare Short, UK Secretary of State for International Development, Speech to World Education Forum, Dakar, April 27, 2000

    (etc etc)

  • Carbon dioxide in atmosphere at record level
    http://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2014/05/01/carbon-dioxide-400-ppm-april-mauna-loa/8575651

    For the first time in human history and likely for the first time in at least 800,000 years, the average level of carbon dioxide (CO2) in Earth’s atmosphere topped 400 parts per million for an entire month.

    (...)

    Scientists at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego reported that April’s average CO2 value was 401.33 parts per million (ppm). Each day in April had a reading above 400 ppm.

    #climat

  • Field study shows why food quality will suffer with rising carbon dioxide
    http://phys.org/news/2014-04-field-food-quality-carbon-dioxide.html

    For the first time, a field test has demonstrated that elevated levels of carbon dioxide inhibit plants’ assimilation of nitrate into proteins, indicating that the nutritional quality of food crops is at risk as climate change intensifies.

    Findings from this wheat field-test study, led by a UC Davis plant scientist, will be reported online April 6 in the journal Nature Climate Change.

    “Food quality is declining under the rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide that we are experiencing,” said lead author Arnold Bloom, a professor in the Department of Plant Sciences.

    “Several explanations for this decline have been put forward, but this is the first study to demonstrate that elevated carbon dioxide inhibits the conversion of nitrate into protein in a field-grown crop,” he said.

    The assimilation, or processing, of nitrogen plays a key role in the plant’s growth and productivity. In food crops, it is especially important because plants use nitrogen to produce the proteins that are vital for human nutrition. Wheat, in particular, provides nearly one-fourth of all protein in the global human diet.

    (...)

    While heavy nitrogen fertilization could partially compensate for this decline in food quality, it would also have negative consequences including higher costs, more nitrate leaching into groundwater and increased emissions of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide, he said.

    #climat #aliments #nutrition

  • FBI documents confirm murder of activist missing for 40 years
    http://www.buffalonews.com/city-region/federal-court/fbi-documents-confirm-murder-of-activist-missing-for-40-years-20140217

    For the first time since her husband went missing 40 years ago, Cheryl Robinson can go to bed at night knowing what happened to the man she and her kids want so desperately to find.

    The only questions now are why was he killed and where is he buried.

    Robinson always suspected her husband, civil rights activist Ray Robinson, was murdered at Wounded Knee, S.D., where he had gone to support the American Indian Movement (AIM) in its fight against the federal government.

    She also suspected he was killed because someone believed he was a government informant.

    Thanks to the work of two Buffalo lawyers, Robinson now knows that her husband, a disciple of Martin Luther King Jr. and Jesse Jackson, was shot to death, and that the FBI suspects the killers were members of AIM.

    When asked about the allegations that it used informants at Wounded Knee and might be withholding evidence in an effort to protect them, Boosalis said the FBI could not comment.

  • Congress Is Majority Millionaire
    http://www.thewire.com/politics/2014/01/congress-majority-millionaire/356863

    For the first time in history, a majority of the members of Congress are millionaires. According to Open Secrets’ analysis of financial disclosure data, 268 of 534 current members of Congress had an average net worth of $1 million or more in 2012. Open Secrets calls this “a watershed moment at a time when lawmakers are debating issues like unemployment benefits, food stamps and the minimum wage, which affect people with far fewer resources, as well as considering an overhaul of the tax code.”

  • Millionaires’ Club: For First Time, Most Lawmakers are Worth $1 Million-Plus
    http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2014/01/millionaires-club-for-first-time-most-lawmakers-are-worth-1-million-plu

    For the first time in history, most members of Congress are millionaires, according to a new analysis of personal financial disclosure data by the Center for Responsive Politics.

    Members of Congress have long been far wealthier than the typical American, but the fact that now a majority of members — albeit just a hair over 50 percent — are millionaires represents a watershed moment at a time when lawmakers are debating issues like unemployment benefits, food stamps and the minimum wage, which affect people with far fewer resources, as well as considering an overhaul of the tax code.

  • Federal Judge: NSA’s ’Almost-Orwellian’ Data Collection Likely Violates Constitution
    http://www.thewire.com/politics/2013/12/federal-judge-nsas-almost-orwellian-phone-data-collection-likely-violates-constitution/356207

    For the first time, a public court has determined that the National Security Agency’s collection of #metadata on Americans’ phone calls probably violates the Constitution and should be stopped.

    That’s the short version of a ruling on the NSA’s bulk collection of phone records released by the D.C. District Court on Monday. The injunction ruling determined that the plaintiffs had standing to file a lawsuit — in other words, that they were affected by the NSA’s data collection — and that a court would likely find that the collection violated the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution. Given that the plaintiffs suffered « irreparable harm » from the data collection, the court determined that the data collection should be halted — though that order was withheld, pending appeal.

    Un tribunal de Washington juge les agissements de la #NSA illégaux
    http://www.rts.ch/info/monde/5462084-un-tribunal-de-washington-juge-les-agissements-de-la-nsa-illegaux.html

    Pour la première fois, le programme de #surveillance de l’agence américaine NSA a été jugé illégal par un tribunal, invoquant une « atteinte à la vie privée ».
    Un juge fédéral d’un tribunal civil de Washington a pour la première fois lundi infligé un revers au programme de surveillance de la NSA, estimant que la collecte de #métadonnées du téléphone d’un particulier constituait une « atteinte à la #vie_privée ».

    Dans une injonction préliminaire, le juge Richard Leon qualifie la collecte à grande échelle des métadonnées téléphoniques (numéros appelés, durée des appels...) sans feu vert préalable de la Justice d’"atteinte à la vie privée".

    Collecte des données interdite
    « Il est évident qu’un tel programme empiète » sur les valeurs défendues par le #quatrième_amendement de la #Constitution_américaine relatif à la protection de la vie privée, écrit le juge Leon.

    La Cour a interdit au gouvernement de collecter les métadonnées téléphoniques des deux plaignants. Si cette décision est remarquable de par son caractère inédit, le juge a cependant décidé de renvoyer le dossier vers une cour d’appel qui devra se prononcer sur le fond.

  • “A Woman Can Only Become President When All Men Die Out in Tajikistan” - Global Voices

    http://globalvoicesonline.org/2013/09/20/woman-can-become-president-only-when-men-die-out-in-tajikistan

    For the first time in the country’s history, a woman is running for its highest political office. Oynihol Bobonazarova, a prominent lawyer and human rights activist, entered the presidential race on September 9, 2013, after a coalition of Tajik opposition parties and NGOs nominated her as their candidate.

    Réactions de blogueurs relayées par Global Voices.

    #présidentielle #Tadjikistan #femmes

  • Particulièrement intéressant, As‘ad Abukhalil à rebours de l’opinion dominante : For the First Time : AIPAC Reluctant About War in the Middle East
    http://english.al-akhbar.com/blogs/angry-corner/first-time-aipac-reluctant-about-war-middle-east

    But there is a remarkable development in the history of AIPAC’s lobbying. It could be said that for the first time ever, AIPAC is not exhibiting enthusiasm for war in the Middle East this time around, certainly not against Syria. This is unprecedented because AIPAC has never encountered an American war in the Middle East that it did not bless and agitate for. To be sure, AIPAC has this week started to lobby members of Congress and it has announced plans to engage publicly on the subject of Syria, but it seems to be doing that in response to White House demands and expectations, and not vice versa. Usually, the White House and the US Congress respond – invariably favorably – to AIPAC’s lobbying for a war against yet another Arab or Muslim country. The White House, and maybe AIPAC’s allies in US Congress, may have signaled to the organization that its agitation for war on Iran may suffer if AIPAC does not join in Obama’s war effort against Syria.

    The real Israeli thinking about Syria was revealed candidly this week in The New York Times when an Israeli diplomat told the paper the paper that, regarding Syria, “Let them both bleed, hemorrhage to death: that’s the strategic thinking here. As long as this lingers, there’s no real threat from Syria.” This was the sentiment that was expressed in the same paper days prior by Edward Luttwak, who tend to articulate dominant Zionist thinking but without diplomatic niceties and the deliberate obfuscation that Zionist policy makers resort to in the US Congress.

  • Lire absolument : le Hezbollah devient de plus en plus explicite dans ses accusations contre l’Arabie séoudite. Lebanon : Saudi Arabia Takes Off the Gloves
    http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/lebanon-saudi-arabia-takes-gloves

    For the first time, Hezbollah is openly accusing regional intelligence services (read: Saudi Arabia) of being behind the recent terrorist attacks in Beirut and working to keep the Resistance out of any future government.

    The statement from Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc on Thursday, August 22, did not take on the usual diplomatic tone, openly accusing local and regional elements of being behind the two deadly car bombings that took place in Dahiyeh recently.

    "This terrorist blast was engineered by regional intelligence services that are benefiting from the policies of incitement adopted by some March 14 factions,” the statement read. “These groups are investing in terrorist takfiri organizations to carry out their plans.”

    The “catastrophic failure of these takfiri groups to achieve the goals set out for them in Syria ... has forced their handlers to use them inside Lebanon instead, in order to compensate for their losses elsewhere.”

    The statement remarkably does not accuse the usual suspect in such acts – the Zionist enemy – but points the finger in the direction of Saudi Arabia and its chief of intelligence, Bandar bin Sultan. Sources close to Hezbollah go so far as to say, “There is a clear Saudi decision, backed by the US, to stir things up from Baghdad to Beirut.”

  • 24/7 Wall St. » Blog Archive Countries Spending the Most on the Military «
    http://247wallst.com/2013/06/27/countries-spending-the-most-on-the-military/print

    For the first time since 1998, global military spending is down. This coincides with a major decline in U.S. spending, which fell by more than $40 billion between 2011 and 2012. Even with this decline, however, the United States still had a military budget four times larger than China, the next biggest spender.

    ...

    24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 10 countries that spend the most on their military in 2012, based on SIPRI’s measure of military spending in more than 130 nations. We also reviewed SIPRI data on military exports and imports, as well as military expenditure as a percentage of GDP. From Globalfirepower.com, we reviewed statistics on military size and strength, based on the most recent available data. We also considered GDP and GDP growth figures from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

    10. Brazil
    > Military expenditure: $36.8 billion
    > Expenditure as pct. of GDP: 1.5%
    > One-year spending change: -0.5%
    > Total exports: $14.1 million (24th highest)
    > Total imports: $212 million (24th highest)

    Brazil spent roughly $36.8 billion on its military in 2012, higher than all but nine other countries. Military spending has fallen in Brazil since 2010, when the government spent $38.1 billion. Despite being among the top 10 in military spending, the country is barely among the top half in terms of the spending as a percentage of GDP, which was just 1.5% in 2012. In addition to the more than 371,000 people in Brazil who were actively serving in 2011, there were more than 1.3 million Brazilians serving in the active reserves, more than all but five other countries.

    9. India
    > Military expenditure: $48.3 billion
    > Expenditure as pct. of GDP: 2.5%
    > One-year spending change: -2.8%
    > Total exports: $1.8 million (32nd highest)
    > Total imports: $2.0 billion (the highest)

    Military spending in India comprised 2.5% of the country’s GDP in 2012, higher than most other countries. However, this has declined every year since 2009, when India spent 2.9% of its GDP on military affairs. Between 2011 and 2012, India’s military budget declined by 3%. As of 2011, India had more than 1.3 million active military members, more than any other country except for China and the United States. In addition, India had 1.7 million active reserve members, more than any country except for North Korea and South Korea. India has been the biggest arms importer worldwide in recent years, as it has been upgrading its largely Soviet-era weapons.

    8. Germany
    > Military expenditure: $48.6 billion
    > Expenditure as pct. of GDP: 1.4%
    > One-year spending change: 0.9%
    > Total exports: $486 million (6th highest)
    >Total imports: $126 million (33rd highest)

    Germany spent more than $48.6 billion on its military in 2012, or 1.4% of the country’s GDP. This was in line with the 1.3% of GDP it spent back in 2011 but still lower than the majority of countries measured. Germany exported $486 million worth of arms in 2012, higher than all but five other countries. In 2012, Germany announced the largest cuts to its military since the end of World War II. The government intends to scale back or close 100 of its 400 bases and cut the number of soldiers by 15,000 to 185,000. Germany expects to implement the cuts through 2017 at the latest.

    7. Saudi Arabia
    > Military expenditure: $54.2 billion
    > Expenditure as pct. of GDP: 8.9%
    > One-year spending change: 11.7%
    > Total exports: n/a
    > Total imports: $261 million (16th highest)

    Saudi Arabia’s military budget comprised 8.9% of the country’s GDP in 2012, higher than any other country. However, this was down from 11% of GDP in 2009 and 10% of GDP in 2010. Military spending in 2012 has increased by nearly $10 billion since 2008, reaching more than $54.2 billion last year. Between 2011 and 2012 alone, military spending increased by 12%, higher than most other countries in the world. Solmirano pointed out that oil revenue in Saudi Arabia has allowed the country to spend heavily on the military in recent years. As of 2012, Saudi Arabia produced more than 11.1 million barrels of oil a day, more than any other country.

    6. Japan
    > Military expenditure: $59.2 billion
    > Expenditure as pct. of GDP: 1.0%
    > One-year spending change: -0.6%
    > Total exports: n/a
    > Total imports: $6 million (78th highest)

    Although just five nations spent more on their military in 2012 in absolute terms, in relative terms — as a percentage of GDP — more than 100 nations spent more than Japan. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe began pushing for a stronger military after winning the office at the end of 2012. Abe’s plans to boost military spending may be limited by the country’s massive debt concerns. The IMF estimates Japan’s gross debt at nearly 238% of GDP in 2012, proportionally more than any other country. Despite these concerns, Japan recently increased military spending for the first time in 11 years. Although Japan’s constitution prohibits initiating military action, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe recently has argued that the country should be permitted to join U.N.-sanctioned military actions.

    5. United Kingdom
    > Military expenditure: $59.8 billion
    > Expenditure as % of GDP: 2.5%
    > One-year spending change: -0.8%
    > Total exports: $351 million (10th highest)
    > Total imports: $254 million (17th highest)

    Military spending in the United Kingdom fell for the second straight year in 2012. This was likely due, in part, to a slow GDP growth of less than 1% for the second straight year and a decline in government spending as a percentage of GDP for the third straight year. Early this year, the United Kingdom cut 5,000 troops from its armed forces as part of the nation’s broad austerity measures. The U.K. spent just 2.5% of GDP on the military in 2012 and exported just over $350 million in weapons. By contrast, 25 years earlier, the nation spent 4.0% of its annual GDP on its military and exported $2.5 billion worth of arms.

    Also Read: The Most Dangerous Cities in America

    4. France
    > Military expenditure: $62.6 billion
    > Expenditure as pct. of GDP: 2.3%
    > One-year spending change: -0.3%
    > Total exports: $272 million (11th highest)
    > Total imports: $87 million (38th highest)

    France’s military budget of $62.6 billion in 2012 was higher than any other country in the European Union. However, this has declined every year since 2009, when military spending reached more than $69.4 billion. The military cuts are not over. In April, France announced it would freeze military spending, with an expected budget of roughly $235 billion for the next six years. By 2019, France is expected to reduce its armed forces headcount by 34,000, or nearly 10% of its current force. As of 2011, France had more active military members than all other countries in the EU at 362,485.

    3. Russia
    > Military expenditure: $90.6 billion
    > Expenditure as pct. of GDP: 4.4%
    > One-year spending change: 15.7%
    > Total exports: $3.8 billion (2nd highest)
    > Total imports: $8.2 million (74th highest)

    Russia’s military budget has grown significantly in the past several years. In 2008, Russia spent just under $68 billion, or 3.7% of GDP. By 2012, the military budget had grown to more than $90.6 billion, or 4.4% of GDP. The largest increase in spending came between 2011 and 2012, when the budget was increased by 16%. Russia has been in the process of upgrading its weapons over the past several years, working to replace aging submarines, assault ships and ballistic missiles. Russia was the second-largest exporter of weapons in 2012, shipping out more than $3.8 billion in arms. Russia has more self-propelled guns and Corvette missiles than any other country.

    2. China
    > Military expenditure: $157.6 billion
    > Expenditure as pct. of GDP: 2.0%
    > One-year spending change: 7.8%
    > Total exports: $443 million (8th highest)
    > Total imports: $872 million (4th highest)

    China increased its annual military expenditure from $107 billion in 2008 to more than $157 billion in 2012. Despite this spending increase, military expenditure as a percentage of GDP has remained relatively stable at around 2%. China has had one of the world’s fastest growing economies in recent years, even with GDP growth slowing to 7.8% in 2012. Currently, China is embroiled in a tense dispute with Japan over the resource-rich Diaoyu islands (called the Senkaku islands in Japan). China also historically has had tense relations with Taiwan, which it still considers to be a breakaway province.

    1. United States
    > Military expenditure: $668.8 billion
    > Expenditure as pct. of GDP: 4.4%
    > One-year spending change: -6.0%
    > Total exports: $6.2 billion (the highest)
    > Total imports: $670 million (6th highest)

    The United States spends more on the military than any other country by a wide margin. The country’s military budget accounts for roughly 40% of all military spending in the world, according to SIPRI. However, military spending has declined since 2010, when it hit more than $720 billion. Much of the drop has been due to reduced presence in Iraq and Afghanistan. The United States is by far the largest arms exporter in the world — in 2012 the United States exported more than $6.2 billion worth of arms, more than $2.4 billion more than the second-largest exporter, Russia. Earlier in June, the White House announced it was arming Syrian opposition against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

  • Man Who Killed Osama Bin Laden - Treatment of Veteran Who Shot bin Laden - Esquire
    http://www.esquire.com/features/man-who-shot-osama-bin-laden-0313?click=pp

    For the first time, the Navy SEAL who killed Osama bin Laden tells his story — speaking not just about the raid and the three shots that changed history, but about the personal aftermath for himself and his family. And the startling failure of the United States government to help its most experienced and skilled warriors carry on with their lives.

    #Ben_laden #Pakistan #US_army

  • The NSA Is Building the Country’s Biggest Spy Center (Watch What You Say) | James Bamford | Wired.com
    http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/03/ff_nsadatacenter/all/1

    Superbe enquête autour de la construction d’un nouveau #datacenter de la #NSA ; quelques extraits qui montrent que #Echelon est définitivement derrière nous :

    the NSA made an enormous breakthrough several years ago in its ability to cryptanalyze, or break, unfathomably complex encryption systems employed by not only governments around the world but also many average computer users in the US. The upshot, according to this official: “Everybody’s a target; everybody with communication is a target.”

    for the first time since Watergate and the other scandals of the Nixon administration—the NSA has turned its surveillance apparatus on the US and its citizens. It has established listening posts throughout the nation to collect and sift through billions of email messages and phone calls

    For the first time, a former NSA official has gone on the record to describe the program, codenamed Stellar Wind, in detail.

    Binney left the NSA in late 2001, shortly after the agency launched its warrantless-wiretapping program. “They violated the Constitution setting it up,” he says bluntly. “But they didn’t care. They were going to do it anyway, and they were going to crucify anyone who stood in the way. When they started violating the Constitution, I couldn’t stay.” Binney says Stellar Wind was far larger than has been publicly disclosed and included not just eavesdropping on domestic phone calls but the inspection of domestic email. At the outset the program recorded 320 million calls a day, he says, which represented about 73 to 80 percent of the total volume of the agency’s worldwide intercepts. The haul only grew from there.

    The software, created by a company called Narus that’s now part of Boeing, is controlled remotely from NSA headquarters at Fort Meade in Maryland and searches US sources for target addresses, locations, countries, and phone numbers, as well as watch-listed names, keywords, and phrases in email. Any communication that arouses suspicion, especially those to or from the million or so people on agency watch lists, are automatically copied or recorded and then transmitted to the NSA.

    The scope of surveillance expands from there, Binney says. Once a name is entered into the Narus database, all phone calls and other communications to and from that person are automatically routed to the NSA’s recorders. “Anybody you want, route to a recorder,” Binney says. “If your number’s in there? Routed and gets recorded.” He adds, “The Narus device allows you to take it all.”

    After he left the NSA, Binney suggested a system for monitoring people’s communications according to how closely they are connected to an initial target. The further away from the target—say you’re just an acquaintance of a friend of the target—the less the surveillance. But the agency rejected the idea, and, given the massive new storage facility in Utah, Binney suspects that it now simply collects everything. “The whole idea was, how do you manage 20 terabytes of intercept a minute?” he says. “The way we proposed was to distinguish between things you want and things you don’t want.” Instead, he adds, “they’re storing everything they gather.”

    “We are, like, that far from a turnkey totalitarian state,” he says.

    a new secret war. But this time, instead of a bomb of almost unimaginable power, the weapon is a computer of almost unimaginable speed.

    “Remember,” says the former intelligence official, “a lot of foreign government stuff we’ve never been able to break is 128 or less. Break all that and you’ll find out a lot more of what you didn’t know—stuff we’ve already stored—so there’s an enormous amount of information still in there.”
    That, he notes, is where the value of Bluffdale, and its mountains of long-stored data, will come in. What can’t be broken today may be broken tomorrow. “Then you can see what they were saying in the past,” he says. “By extrapolating the way they did business, it gives us an indication of how they may do things now.”

    #DPI #surveillance #internet #etats-unis #cdp

  • U.S. Asks Journals to Censor Articles on Bird Flu Virus - NYTimes
    http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/21/health/fearing-terrorism-us-asks-journals-to-censor-articles-on-virus.html?_r=2

    For the first time ever, a government advisory board is asking scientific journals not to publish details of certain biomedical experiments, for fear that the information could be used by terrorists to create deadly viruses and touch off epidemics.

    #censure #recherche #grippe #h5n1 #armes #bioterrorisme

  • Uploader des connaissances directement dans le cerveau comme dans Matrix ?

    Download Knowledge Directly to Your Brain, Matrix-Style | Popular Science
    http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2011-12/scientists-achieve-matrix-style-subliminal-teaching?cmp=tw

    For the first time, researchers have been able to hack into the process of learning in the brain, using induced brain patterns to create a learned behavior. It’s not quite as advanced as an instant kung-fu download, and it’s not as sleek as cognitive inception, but it’s still an important finding that could lead to new teaching and rehabilitation techniques.

  • End blockade now, says UN group in rare Gaza visit | The Electronic Intifada
    http://electronicintifada.net/content/end-blockade-now-says-un-group-rare-gaza-visit/10223

    For the first time in 43 years, members of the UN Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices in Occupied Territories gained entry into Gaza in July, through Egypt which ousted its Israeli-friendly president Hosni Mubarak following massive public protests earlier this year.

    The Egyptian authorities facilitated the visit via the crossing at Rafah, bypassing the longstanding Israeli ban.

    The visit further reinforced the continued criticism by the committee of the horrible living conditions in the West Bank and Gaza and the devastating impact of the Israeli economic blockade, as chronicled in several of the committee’s previous reports.

    Tu avais déjà entendu de ce « UN Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices in Occupied Territories » dont les activités sont bloquées par Israël depuis 43 ans ? Non ?