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1/02/2014

Facebook User of the Day: Sharon Maley (Painter)

Sharon Maley (Painter)

Say Hello to Sharon and Support her LIKEs @:
https://www.facebook.com/sharon.maley.543

Sharon Likes:

http://www.sunvalleymag.com/Blogs/Local-Buzz/Summer-2013/Wood-River-Studio-Tour/

Hazardous to Your Health: Internets Fake and Toxic Cosmetics


The Federal Bureau of Investigation lately sent a warning out about Fake Cosmetics bought & sought on the Internet. Beside Rogue Medications and Rogue AV-Programs, the market of toxic and fake cosmetics & perfumes, is up to this day unaware to most (naive) consumers.

First you see what appears to be your favorite brand name eye shadow, eye liner, or fragrance for sale at a flea market or on an to you unfamiliar website. Then, you notice the price is reasonable and cheaper than what you normally pay at your casual retail store or through an trusted online dealer, like i.e. Amazon.

Before you hand over your hard-earned money, though, keep the following in mind:

It could be counterfeit, and - in addition to buying something that’s not the real deal - you are also risking your health, your life, by buying and using products that may contain substandard or even dangerous ingredients. Besides that, you are, by purchasing those counterfeits, supporting Criminals who dont care about YOU, nor your wellbeing !

The National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Center - of which the FBI is a partner - wants you to know that the volume of all sorts of counterfeit cosmetics and fragrances coming into the United States, is definitely on the rise. This is according to the industry partners as well as law enforcement.

The biggest Question remains: Why is this happening ?

Some reason is that the World Wide Web has given counterfeiters a boundless path to customers. Another answer may be, because criminals increasingly view dealing in counterfeit personal care products - as well as other knock-off consumer goods as well, like Viagra, Valium etc. for instance - as a relatively low-risk crime (since many of the perpetrators are located outside of the U.S.), and for them, a high lucrative earning, no matter how risky those goods can harm you, your family and friends.

Arsenic
Government and industry studies and testing have discovered that some of the ingredients that make up counterfeit cosmetics and fragrances are definitely dangerous:

  • Counterfeit fragrances have been found to contain something called DEHP, classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as a probable human carcinogen. These phony perfumes and colognes, which sometimes contain urine as well, have been known to cause serious skin rashes.
There is no typical profile being observed, of the individuals or groups trafficking in these kinds of counterfeit products. It could be your own neighbor. Additionally this might just be one of their many illegal activities - often times, the illicit earnings are used or shared to fund other types of criminal activities. If you would get a victim of a terror act, you may have not the chance anymore asking yourself, if that money that financed the attack, wasn`t the one you spent for last weeks cheap online cosmetic...

Law enforcement has also observed people selling counterfeit products through online auction sites (like Ebay etc.) and other websites, just to make a little extra cash, where some may not even realized their merchandise is fake.

Fake or Real ?
Because of the dangers to the public, law enforcement is mobilizing against counterfeit cosmetics and fragrances and other goods more and more. For example, the nearly two dozen U.S. and foreign agencies that make up the National IPR Center are working on the matter, sharing intelligence with one another, coordinating with state and local law enforcement, and developing international relationships with industry representatives around the world.


Some Indicating Facts of Counterfeits

- The packaging differs slightly from the authentic brand (might be a different color or different lettering on the product), and/or the product’s wrapping appears haphazard.

- The product is being advertised as a “limited edition” even though the authentic manufacturer doesn’t offer it as a limited edition.

- The price is either slightly or drastically lower.

- For cosmetics, the product’s consistency or texture just doesn’t feel or look like the authentic brand.

- For fragrances, there’s something a little off about the scent, and the color of the fluid in the bottle might be different than the original.

- For both products, they’re being sold at non-authorized retailers, including flea markets, mall kiosks, and over the Internet.


But most important in protecting citizens health: Law enforcement needs the public’s help !

For that, you first have to educate yourself about some of the common indicators of counterfeit cosmetics and fragrances so that you don’t become a victim (see box above). If you’re not sure about the authenticity of a product, just don’t buy it !

Adulterated cosmetics from a fake Cosmetics Factory in Chakbazar, India (2010)

Secondly, if you think you or someone you know may have purchased counterfeit cosmetics or fragrances, or if you suspect someone of selling counterfeit items, submit a tip to the National IPR Center or to your nearest Law enforcement agency. Remember: The more information law enforcement has, the more effective they can be. With the proliferation of counterfeit goods increasing at an alarming rate, the National IPR Center focuses on keeping these bogus and very often unsafe and toxic products out off U.S. hands (& bodys), meanwhile dismantling the criminal organizations behind these illegal activities. Keep Safe and be Cautious !

Additional Information on this subject can be found at the following Links:

- More on the National IPR Center
- It’s an age-old crime: Stealing
- How to spot counterfeit cosmetics

HACKED: Skype and Snapchat compromised
(As a message to Ed Snowdens Statements last year, from the Syrian Electronic Army)

"Hackers" placed a list containing 4.6 million names and phone numbers of Snapchat users and compromised the social media accounts of Internet calling service Skype in two probably unrelated Cyberattacks.

Snapchat Logo
A website called SnapchatDB.info made Snapchat user information available for download late on New Years Eve. The Cybercriminals announced, that it was an attempt to expose the vulnerability of users’ data, according to reports by tech news blog TechCrunch at The Verge. By Wednesday (January 1st, 2014) evening, the site had been suspended.

Snapchat warned of this potential risk a few days prior in a blog post, saying, that a security group had alerted it about a potential vulnerability "by which one could compile a database of Snapchat usernames and phone numbers." So you have to ask yourself, why they did not take preventions by then ??


Account suspended
Snapchat well known messaging app, that lets users send each other photos that quickly disappear. In its blog post of December 27th, Snapchat described how its "Find Friends" feature allows users to upload their contact lists to Snapchat as a way of linking up friends. The company said it had implemented safeguards making an exploit "more difficult to do." But that didnt help obviously! Up until now, the Snapchat hackers have remained anonymous.

Meanwhile though, the Syrian Electronic Army claimed credit for the attack on the official blog and social network accounts for Microsoft's Web phone service Skype.


A post that was published on Wednesday on the official Skype blog featured the headline:  

"Hacked by Syrian Electronic Army.. Stop Spying!"

On its Twitter account, the group also posted the contact information of Steve Ballmer, Microsoft Corp's retiring chief executive, along with the message:
  
"You can thank Microsoft for monitoring your accounts/emails using this details. #SEA"

That message was an clear message, to the Whistleblowing statements, made by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden last year, that Skype, which is owned by Microsoft, was (or still is ??) part of the NSA's program to monitor communications through some of the biggest U.S. Internet companies. Another message, posted on Skype's official Twitter feed on Wednesday, most likely by the hacking group, said:
"Don't use Microsoft emails (hotmail, outlook), They are monitoring your accounts and selling the data to the governments. More details soon. #SEA"
Similar messages were posted on Skype's official Facebook pages and on a blog on its website before being taken down. The SEA later tweeted out copies of the message “for those who missed it.”


Representatives for Microsoft could not be reached for comment. Maybe Ballmer will come out speaking about it, who knows ? Last month Microsoft joined seven other top technology companies in pressing President Barack Obama to rein in the U.S. government's electronic spying in a meeting at the White House. Media companies, including the New York Times and the BBC, have repeatedly been targeted by the Syrian Electronic Army and other hacker activist groups that deface websites and take over Twitter accounts. I guess the international war for your Mindhas already started,
Alex Jones would say...

1/01/2014

Who Is Guccifer ?

An obsessed hacker is breaking into the email accounts of  political elite around the world, and sharing what he finds, with friends. Who is Guccifer, and what is his intention ?

The hacker who goes by the pseudonym "Guccifer", a combination of "Gucci" & "Lucifer", reportedly leaked confidential infos of longtime adviser Sidney Blumenthal sent to Hillary Clinton regarding the September 11, 2012 attacks on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya.


According to the Smoking Gun, the stockpile repose of four emails, recreated in Comic Sans font to apparently maximize the degradation. Guccifer sent the emails to dozens of politicians and journalists, after he had broken into Blumenthal's AOL email account. (Nobody has published the emails at the time; this might be another sideeffect of the Comic Sans.)

The leaking is another stunt in Guccifer's weeks-long hacking spree targeting international clique. He hacked into friends and family members of George W. Bush and exposed his amateurish paintings and personal correspondences.

He broke into Colin Powell's Facebook page and defaced it with anti-Bush screeds. But with the leak of the Clinton emails he seems to be set on using his access to the inboxes of the powerful.

Unlike hacktivists whose manifestos are longer than their list of accomplishments, Guccifer has not indicated any motive for his spree.


He has targeted both major parties, and it appears that he's leapfrogging from politco to politico using information gained in each hack, much as "Hollywood Hacker" Christopher Chaney weaseled his way into the accounts of dozens of hollywood starlets, domino-style.

According to The Smoking Gun:

In e-mails, "Guccifer" seems to subscribe to dark sides involving the Federal Reserve, the Council on Foreign Relations, and attendees of Bohemian Grove retreats. "The evil is leading this ****ed up world!!!!!! I tell you this the world of tomorrow will be a world of free illuminati or will be no more," he declared.

Guccifer seems to come out of the blue.

Facebook User of the Day: VIP Bruno Girardi

Very Important Person: Bruno Girardi
Say Hello to Bruno @:
http://www.facebook.com/bruno.girardi.vip

Remembering 2013: Hacker Guccifer and former Secretary of State Colin Powells Facebook Hack

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell denied allegations of an affair with a Romanian diplomat, The Smoking Gun reported at the time.

The denial comes after famed hacker Guccifer breached Powell's email and Facebook accounts, revealing 10 years of communication with Corina Cretu, a member of the European Parliament. Powell, who left the State Department in 2005, kept in touch with Cretu over email after leaving his post.

"Over time, the emails became of a very personal nature, but did not result in an affair," Powell said in a statement.

Powell, who married his wife Alma in 1962, reportedly asked Cretu to delete the email exchange, as Guccifer posted personal emails from 2010 and 2011 online that week.

Guccifer has received a lot of attention since March, when he began hacking the accounts of members of government and celebrities. His victims included Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), the Bush family and venture capitalist John Doerr.

Source: Huffington Post

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL IT MAY CONCERN :D


Beyond Human: The Cyborg Revolution - Video in 9 Parts

Over the centuries, scientists speculated that we could tap into the body's electrical system to restore lost functions or enhance our powers, like machines.



Humans becoming more like machines. Machines becoming more like humans. Over the centuries, scientists speculated that we could tap into the body's electrical system to restore lost functions or enhance our powers, like machines.




Science fiction has returned again and again to the merger of man and machine, the Cyborg, with fascination and fear.

As we steadily merge with our technology, the focus is on devices that enhance our senses and minds and knit us together in new ways. Members of a lab at the University of Toronto have been pioneering the computerized life style.

Imagine a day when machines walk among us, expressing thoughts, emotions, demanding their rights. Today, we are breathing intelligence, even life, into creatures of silicon and steel.

To build a humanoid that can function in our world is a bold challenge being taken up by isolated labs around the world. Researchers are infusing robots with abilities ranging from grasping to hearing and vision.

If tomorrow's robots are going to share our world, they will have to have something extra: an emotional and psychological dimension to help them communicate and respond in ways people can understand. This Video is in 9 Parts.

Cyberstalking December 2013: James Howard Wheeler, 46, sentenced to 30 months’ federal imprisonment for Facebook Stalking

James Howard Wheeler,  was arrested on Wednesday, February 27th, 2013, at his San Diego residence in Imperial Beach, California, in the 1200 block of Downing Street, by FBI agents and Deputies of the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department for violating federal interstate stalking laws, specifically with violating:

  • Title 18, United States Code, Section(s) 2261A (2) (B), interstate stalking.

The stalking was involved in the divorce with his wife who moved from San Diego to Columbus, Georgia. Among several threats, Wheeler sent his wife pictures of a gun and an e-mail with the subject line:  "I hope you are dead!".

According to a affidavit, Wheeler told his wife in voicemails that if the FBI tried to arrest him he wouldn't go without a fight. One of the voicemails "states in part that if officers' return or try to remove him from the residence they should bring a 'lot of ammo.' Mr. Wheeler also verbalizes his intent to not be removed from his residence unless in a 'body bag," the document said.

Wheeler also threatened her mother and son, his wife said. A sheriff's deputy and a FBI agent interviewed Wheeler at his Imperial Beach residence in August 2012 and he admitted to posting threatening communications on Facebook. Although he was told to cease the threatening behavior, Wheeler continued to make threats of violence involving physical injury toward his estranged wife.

Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, Michael J. Moore
 At that point, the FBI's Atlanta Field Office sought and obtained a federal arrest warrant charging Wheeler with interstate stalking. His threats included statements like:
  • "Planning my trip to Georgia. Gonna teach a few people some manners!"
  • "What are the odds that one family has 2 Lifetime movies made after their story?"
  • "People can run but they can't hide. See you soon." 
  • "Stay tuned to WRBL In Columbus. Wheeler is going to be famous."
The mention of a Lifetime movie was because a member of her family was in fact part of a made for TV movie. "Per Ms. Wheeler, the reference to a 'Lifetime movie' is in regards to the fact that a television movie was in fact produced regarding a member of her family who attempted to solicit a contract for the murder of her father," the affidavit said. Following his arrest, Wheeler was booked into the Metropolitan Correctional Center in San Diego.

Judge Clay D. Land
All in all, over 37 threatening voicemails were left on the victim’s phone in a three-month period, as well as numerous Facebook and other public Internet postings.

On December 20th then (2013), the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, Michael J. Moore, announced Wheeler has been sentenced by Clay D. Land, United States District Court Judge in Columbus, Georgia, to 30 months’ imprisonment for interstate stalking.

Underground Drug Website “Silk Road”: Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces Charges Against Three Individuals for Their Roles in Running Silk Road Website

On December 20th, 2013, Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, George Venizelos, the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Brian R. Crowell, the Special-Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration, and Toni Weirauch, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (“IRS-CI”), announced the unsealing of an indictment against Andrew Michael Jones, a/k/a “Inigo,” Gary Davis, a/k/a “Libertas,” and Peter Philipp Nash, a/k/a “Samesamebutdifferent,” a/k/a “Batman73,” a/k/a “Symmetry,” a/k/a “Anonymousasshit,” in connection with their alleged roles in operating
“Silk Road,”, a hidden website designed to enable its users to buy and sell illegal drugs and other unlawful goods and services anonymously and beyond the reach of law enforcement.

Jones was arrested in Charles City, Virginia, on December 19th, 2013, and was presented in Richmond, Virginia in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia a day later.

Davis is believed to be in Ireland.

Nash was arrested in Australia on December 20th, 2013, by the Australian Federal Police in Brisbane, Australia.

All three individuals are alleged to have conspired to run the Silk Road website with Ross William Ulbricht, a/k/a “Dread Pirate Roberts,” a/k/a “DPR,” a/k/a “Silk Road,” the alleged owner and operator of Silk Road, who was previously arrested in San Francisco, California, on October 1st, 2013, pursuant to a Complaint filed in a Manhattan federal court.



According to the allegations in the Indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court, and the Complaint previously filed against Ulbricht:

From about January 2011 until October 2nd, 2013, the “Silk Road” website hosted a sprawling black-market bazaar on the internet, where illegal drugs and other illicit goods and services were regularly bought and sold by the site’s users. 
During its more than two-and-a-half years in operation, Silk Road was used by several thousand drug dealers and other unlawful vendors to distribute hundreds of kilograms of illegal drugs and other illicit goods and services to well over a hundred thousand buyers, and to launder hundreds of millions of dollars deriving from these unlawful transactions.

Ulbricht, the owner and operator of Silk Road, ran the website with the assistance of a small support staff, including both site administrators and forum moderators. The site administrators were responsible for, among other things, monitoring user activity on Silk Road for problems, responding to customer service inquiries, and resolving disputes between buyers and vendors. 
The forum moderators were responsible for, among other things, monitoring user activity on discussion forums associated with the site, providing guidance to forum users concerning how to conduct business on Silk Road, and reporting any significant problems discussed on the forums to the site administrators and to Ulbricht. Ulbricht paid the site administrators and forum moderators salaries ranging from approximately $50,000 to approximately $75,000 per year for their services.

Jones and Davis worked as site administrators on Silk Road. 
Nash worked as the primary moderator on the Silk Road discussion forums. JONES, DAVIS, and NASH were each paid salaries by Ulbricht for their roles in connection with Silk Road.

JONES, 24, of Charles City, Virginia, DAVIS, 25, of Wicklow, Ireland, and NASH, 40, of Brisbane, Australia, are each charged with one count of narcotics conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison; one count of conspiracy to commit computer hacking, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison; and one count of money laundering conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

The official Indictment PDF can be found here: http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/threatlevel/2013/12/Jones-Andrew-et-al-Silk-Road-Indictment.pdf

Video of Doctor Evil: Kim Jong Il's North Korea

North Korea was identified as part of the axis of evil by George Bush. Taking an archive-based trip through North Korea's recent history, we find out it's probably a fair assessment.



'The Real Dr Evil' explores the rise of Kim Jong-il after his father, Kim II- sung's, death. His father, who is referred to as 'Great Leader' by North Korea, was a highly praised and well-respected leader -the founder of North Korea and commander of the fifth largest standing army in the world.

Following the death of Kim II- sung, Kim Jong- il was left to fulfil the position of his father, however many doubted he had the right skills to follow in his footsteps. He was seen as a black sheep as rarely taken seriously. Everyone felt that Kim Jong- il would struggle to keep up to his father's standards. Were they right?

'The Real Dr Evil' follows the fascinating journey of Kim Jong- il -- from his childhood experiences, through his education, to his controversial leadership. When the great economic collapse of the mid-90s struck, Jong-il left many of his citizens to suffer. But as many began to lose hope, Jung-il began approaching many western countries for help. Many perceived this distress signal positively, others did not.


12/31/2013

MARYLAND Online Child Predators 2012: Leo Aragon Evans Sentenced to Over 24 Years in Prison for Producing and Possessing Child Pornography

On June 15th, 2012, Leo Aragon Evans, 56, of Cockeysville, Maryland, got sentenced 292 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander. Following his sentence is a by lifetime supervised release, for producing and possessing child pornography. Judge Hollander also ordered that upon his release from prison, Evans must register as a sex offender in the place where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein.

U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander

According to Evans’ plea agreement, from January 10th, 2011, a 9-year-old child reported to Baltimore County Police that Evans had repeatedly sexually abused her over the past year. These acts occurred while the victim and another 10-year-old girl were under Evans’ care, sometimes at his home.

The next day, Baltimore County Police searched Evans’ residence and seized a video camcorder and two tapes. The Review of those tapes revealed that both depicted images of the 9- and 10-year-old girls engaged in sexually explicit conduct. In the first video, Evans is heard directing one of the victims to engage in sexually explicit conduct while he videotapes the abuse. In the second video, Evans filmed the girls in the bathtub, telling them to stand up so he can film their naked bodies.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein
Further investigation revealed that Evans had been the subject of three prior investigations involving the sexual abuse of three other minor girls.

On January 19th, 2011, a woman reported to the Baltimore County Police that she had used the key she had to Evans’ apartment to retrieve her personal belongings and had discovered two “massagers,” (or sexual devices), that matched the description provided to police by one of the minor victims.

On April 16th and 17th, 2011, a family member entered Evans’ apartment, with his permission, to search for family photos and other items of sentimental value, while Evans was detained at the Baltimore County Detention Center. The family member found a baggie containing photos of three of the prepubescent girls, including photos of the victims engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The photographs of one of the victims matched the description of the photographs that she reported to police in 2003, which had been taken of her seven years earlier.




CALIFORNIA Online Child Predators 2013: Cruise Ship Entertainer
Amado Nicholas Hernandez Sentenced to Eight Years in Federal Prison after child porn found on garage sale computer

On December 20th, 2013, Amado N. Hernandez, 34, a former resident of Chico, California, was sentenced by United States District Judge Garland E. Burrell, Jr. to eight years in prison for receipt of child pornography, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

In the summer of 2010 in Glenn County, California, a concerned citizen reported to law enforcement that he had found child pornography on a computer he had gotten for free at a garage sale. The computer initially appeared to be inoperable, but the citizen repaired it and discovered images of child pornography on the hard drive.
Hernandez
Judge Garland E. Burrell
The FBI conducted a forensic review of the computer, which showed that the Microsoft Windows software loaded on the computer was registered to the defendant. The computer also contained photographs of Hernandez.

The forensic review revealed that there were approximately 450 still images of child pornography and approximately 250 videos of child pornography on the abandoned computer. Many were downloaded by Hernandez using a peer-to-peer file-sharing network.

On January 2, 2011, the defendant was contacted in San Diego on the cruise ship where he worked. Law enforcement agents found child pornography on the laptop he had in his possession at that time.

Benjamin B. Wagner
Hernandez admitted that he had abandoned the other computer in Chico in 2009 before he left to work on the cruise ship. Hernandez, a pedophile who was employed by Celebrity Cruises as an audiovisual manager and provided onboard guest-entertainment services aboard the Constellation cruise ship.

An Alternative Christmas Message: Thoughts about the festive season
and hopes for 2014

 

We're joined by the astronaut Chris Hadfield, the YouTuber, activist and founder of Stickaid Myles Dyer, the YouTuber and founder of AlienScientist.com Jeremy Rys, and our new favourite YouTube channel Alltime Conspiracies for a look at what went down in 2013, thoughts about the festive season and hopes for 2014. Every year the Queen records a Royal Christmas Message that is broadcast on televisions throughout the UK and Commonwealth Nations on Christmas Day. Well this is our alternative - enjoy!

TEXAS Online Child Predators 2013: Joshua Matthew Miranda, 29, sentenced to 20 Years Federal Prison to one count of receiving child pornography ! Hi, I´m Chris Hansen. Wont you take a seat...


Lubbock Active Jail Roster
On December 20th, 2013, Joshua Matthew Miranda, 29, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings to 240 months in Prison following his guilty plea in September 2013 to one count of receiving child pornography. This announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Miranda has been in custody since his arrest in the parking lot of a church in Lubbock, Texas, in early May 2013, after arranging to meet an undercover law enforcement officer who had posed as a 15-year-old girl with whom Miranda had exchanged e-mails of a sexual nature.

Judge Sam R. Cummings
According to the complaint filed in the case, at the time of his arrest, Miranda had a box in his vehicle that contained numerous sex toys, ropes, gags, a blind fold, duct tape, and condoms. A federal grand jury later charged Miranda with attempted enticement of a child, production of child pornography, and receipt and possession of child pornography. He pleaded guilty to the receipt count and received the statutory maximum for that offense.

Searches of his mobile phone and computer turned up images of child pornography including a prepubescent girl. Lubbock police investigated and found the girl. Court records said, “The juvenile female said that she and Miranda had a sexual relationship from sometime around October 2011 through June 2012.”



U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña
After his arrest, a state search warrant was executed at his residence in Lubbock, and law enforcement located several images and videos of child pornography on Miranda’s computer. Miranda admitted that he downloaded from the Internet numerous child pornography images and videos, including videos of prepubescent minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Even after Miranda has served his prison term, he will remain under federal supervision for the rest of his life.