The army carries out precise operations against terrorists in Hama countryside

Hama, SANA-Units of the Syrian Arab army carried out precise operations Tuesday against sites and movements of terrorists in the towns and villages surrounding Hama north-western countryside.

SANA reporter said that the army struck sites and dens of terrorists of the so-called

Al-Hizb al-Turkistani in Latmin village and in the surroundings of Zeizoun town in the northern countryside of Hama.

The reporter added that the army operations ended up with the killing and injuring of many terrorists as well as destroying their equipment and munitions.

https://sana.sy/en/?p=154393

Facebook is finished, Mark Zuckerberg is about to be subpoenaed soon - privacy expert

Even for a company as serially scandalous as Facebook, it’s been a bad week for the social network. Separate investigations revealed that Facebook gave more than 150 firms access to people’s private messages, while also making it impossible for users to avoid location-based ads.

After months of fallout from the Cambridge Analytica scandal, US prosecutors also finally got around to filing a lawsuit against Facebook for its data sharing practices.

Individually, none of these would likely be enough to bring Facebook down, but some experts believe that, collectively, this could signal the end for the internet behemoth.

David Carroll, an associate professor at Parsons School of Design in New York, said this week may finally have dealt Facebook its “knockout” blow.

As an outspoken critic of the way Facebook uses people’s data, Prof Carroll is currently suing Cambridge Analytica under the Data Protection Act following the UK firm’s role in mining data from 87 million Facebook users for the purpose of political profiling during the 2016 US presidential elections. But the latest revelations that other tech firms were given access to people’s private messages was beyond even what he thought Facebook was capable of.

“Even as someone who is deeply sceptical of Facebook, I was surprised by the latest revelations,” he told The Independent. “I didn’t know it could be that bad in terms of scope and scale. But it all seems to fit with Zuckerberg’s master plan for global domination.”

The first lawsuit against Facebook regarding the Cambridge Analytica scandal, which affected more than 87 million users, comes courtesy of the attorney general of the District of Columbia. It is unlikely to be the last, given Facebook is also currently facing probes by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice – and that’s just in the US.

http://www.eutimes.net/2018/12/facebook-is-finished-mark-zuckerberg-is-about-to-be-subpoenaed-soon-privacy-expert/

International drug trafficking between South America and Europe disrupted

48 People have been arrested for being part of an international drug network

Police officers from the Spanish National Police (Policía Nacional), together with the Argentine National Gendarmerie, the Italian Finance Corps (Guardia di Finanza) and Europol have dismantled a criminal organisation responsible for cocaine trafficking from South America to Italy and Spain. Almost 50 suspects were arrested thanks to this joint operation involving more than 750 police officers: 31 in Spain, 17 in Argentina and 3 suspects are under investigation in Italy.

This organised crime group was involved in the cultivation, sale and distribution of marijuana in the Costa del Sol region in southern Spain, and cocaine trafficking via maritime containers from Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia and Peru to Europe. The suspects, living in Argentina and Spain, were laundering money coming from the drug activities, sending it back from Europe to Argentina to then invest it into the property market.

The Argentine law enforcement authorities have had this international criminal group on their radar for the last decade. Since the start of the European investigation in 2017, the suspects moved more than two tonnes of cocaine: 1 200 kg seized by the Spanish National Police and 1 100 kg by Argentine National Gendarmerie when it was being transported from Bolivia to Argentina, destined to Europe

https://www.costadaily.com/2018/12/21/international-drug-trafficking-between-south-america-and-europe-disrupted/

Australia rules "It Is NOT Okay To Be White" in Senate Vote

Australia has just become the first country to officially declare that it is NOT okay to be white.

According to Breitbart:

The Australian Senate has voted against the motion that “it is OK to be white”.

Introduced to the Commonwealth country’s upper chamber by Pauline Hanson, of the populist, anti-mass migration One Nation party, the motion also asked Senators to acknowledge “the deplorable rise of anti-white racism and attacks on Western civilisation.”

The vote was surprisingly tight, with Australia’s first parliamentarian of black African descent, Lucy Gichuhi, supporting Ms Hanson’s motion, but it was ultimately defeated by 31 votes to 28 — rather implying that it is perhaps officially not okay to be white in the former British colony.

http://www.eutimes.net/2018/10/australia-rules-it-is-not-okay-to-be-white-in-senate-vote/

Tech Titans Plot Their Doomsday Escape to New Zealand Luxury Bunkers

Years of doomsday talk at Silicon Valley dinner parties has turned to action.

In recent months, two 150-ton survival bunkers journeyed by land and sea from a Texas warehouse to the shores of New Zealand, where they’re buried 11 feet underground.

Seven Silicon Valley entrepreneurs have purchased bunkers from Rising S Co. and planted them in New Zealand in the past two years, said Gary Lynch, the manufacturer’s general manager. At the first sign of an apocalypse — nuclear war, a killer germ, a French Revolution-style uprising targeting the 1 percent — the Californians plan to hop on a private jet and hunker down, he said.

“New Zealand is an enemy of no one,” Lynch said in an interview from his office in Murchison, Texas, southeast of Dallas. “It’s not a nuclear target. It’s not a target for war. It’s a place where people seek refuge.”

The remote island nation, clinging to the southern part of the globe 2,500 miles off Australia’s coast, has 4.8 million people and six times as many sheep. It has a reputation for natural beauty, easy networking, low-key politicians who bike to work, and rental prices half those of the San Francisco Bay Area. That makes it an increasingly popular destination not only for those fretting about impending dystopia, but for tech entrepreneurs seeking incubators for nurturing startups.

“It’s become one of the places for people in Silicon Valley, mostly because it’s not like Silicon Valley at all,” said Reggie Luedtke, an American biomedical engineer who’s moving to New Zealand in October for the Sir Edmund Hillary Fellowship, a program created to lure tech innovators.

http://www.eutimes.net/2018/09/tech-titans-plot-their-doomsday-escape-to-new-zealand-luxury-bunkers/

Afghanistan postpones presidential election

Vote set for April will be delayed for several months to fix glitches in biometric identification system, says official.

Afghanistan's presidential election, initially scheduled for April, will be postponed for several months to allow time to fix technical problems that surfaced during October's parliamentary elections, officials said

Abdul Aziz Ibrahimi, deputy spokesman for the Independent Election Commission, said on Wednesday that more time is needed to train staff on a biometric identification system designed to reduce fraud.

He said verification of voter lists also requires more time.

No new date for presidential polls has been set.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/12/afghanistan-postpones-presidential-election-181226104721451.html

More than 50 Arrested in International Darknet Counterfeit Sting

Through an international operation, Europol and local law enforcement agencies arrested 53 counterfeiters that distributed or purchased fake euro banknotes via the darknet. The “joint action day” involved seven EU Member States, coordinated by Europol, their press release noted. The entire operation fell into place after the arrest of a single counterfeiter in Austria. After Austrian authorities busted the counterfeiter’s print shop, the multi-agency Investigation began.

Austrian authorities arrested a counterfeiter in February 2017. The counterfeiter’s print shop revealed a massive counterfeit euro enterprise on the darknet. Unbeknownst to many, that bust opened the door to 53 or more darknet investigations and subsequent arrests. Investigators found that the darknet vendor had sold to customers in 33 countries. Among those 33 were Spain, France, Germany, USA, Canada, Argentina, Egypt, Russia and Singapore, authorities announced.

https://thebitcoinnews.com/more-than-50-arrested-in-international-darknet-counterfeit-sting/

Red Cross uses Blockchain for more donor transparency

An interesting message from Irish bulletin makes on early Saturday morning the round. It shows once again that the Blockchain is extremely suitable for everyday use and currencies like the Bitcoin are by no means only suitable for risk-taking gold diggers.

Red Cross knows in good company

Why is? Well, few of the crypto currencies would have counted years ago, despite all the optimism in the Blockchain probably with a commitment in the charitable field. Here, currencies such as Ethereum and their systems can do a good job here, if only because of the relatively low fees for transactions. And now the Red Cross, after some other international organizations have at least thought aloud about use.

App should make use of donations comprehensible

The institution hinted that donors now want to provide maximum transparency through the use of a mobile app and blockchain. Here, the Red Cross cooperates with a Dublin startup, which listens to the name AID. The app called “TraceDonate” is designed to provide donors with insights on how and where their donated funds will ultimately be used. This is especially important for many donors. In the past, many establishments had rumors or confirmed reports of donation abuse and seepage funds that never arrived at the real needy.

https://thebitcoinnews.com/red-cross-uses-blockchain-for-more-donor-transparency/

>>4472862

Freedies and toots life's theme

The Beatles - I'm a Loser and I'm not what I appear to be

Identification of key players in darknet child pornography forums

Child pornography represents various forms of visual depictions of explicit sexual conduct involving children. It has devastating effects on its victims and represents a serious social security issue, considering the advanced networking technologies in existence today. With the advent of the darknet, access to child pornography has become extremely anonymous and secure, which has resulted in a rapidly growing number of users. As such, it has never been more urgent to formulate the ideal techniques and methods that can help law enforcement agencies identify and bust key players in child pornography.

The paper studied two distinct network data sets from darknet child pornography forums in which users communicate by commenting on various threads related to child abuse. Via analysis of the degree distribution of these networks, the researchers showed that longer threads are usually commented on by less active users, namely because these threads are relatively more easily to be found and discuss easily accessible topics. On the other hand, threads with few replies were commented on by more active users, denoting the existence of an elite group of forum users who engage in more sophisticated discussions, including key players with more important forum roles.

https://www.deepdotweb.com/2018/12/25/identification-of-key-players-in-darknet-child-pornography-forums/

Closer Everyday… And The Beat Goes ON

MXC dives into blockchain and IoT to build cities of the future

It should come as no surprise that the combination of blockchain and IoT can be used to enhance the delivery of data and its meaning.

Aside from being an efficient way to get the most out of what these technologies offer, they can be combined to achieve quantum leaps in the way systems are run. By ‘systems’ we mean innovations like smart cities. Everyone from government to citizens and private enterprises stand to benefit from being smarter.

A recent example is Waltonchains’ involvement with smart cities in China. If you’re thinking that the US is far behind or lagging in their own development and integration of using the Blockchain and IoT for its development, think again.

MXC, a blockchain and IoT startup has recently launched a pilot in NYC with Citiesense and MatchX to implement IoT sensors to gather and analyze data, in order to ultimately enhance the efficiency of NYC and other cities to follow.

https://thebitcoinnews.com/mxc-dives-into-blockchain-and-iot-to-build-cities-of-the-future/

Not Reported by Liberal Media: Border Patrol Agents Rescue Several Illegal Aliens – Arrest MS-13 Gang Leader at Border (VIDEO)

What did not make any headlines on Christmas Day is the care given to illegal aliens after they enter the US. The United States spends hundreds of billions each year caring for illegal aliens.

In the last two weeks the US Border Patrol have:

** Arrested a MS-13 gang leader

** An agent was assaulted by an illegal alien

** An agent rendered life-saving first aid

** And agents rescued a man from drowning

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2018/12/not-reported-by-liberal-media-border-patrol-agents-rescue-several-illegal-aliens-arrest-ms-13-gang-leader-at-border-video/

Israeli warplanes bomb Syrian military site in west Damascus (video)

BEIRUT, LEBANON (12:10 A.M.) – The Israeli Air Force bombed a Syrian military installation in the western countryside of the Damascus Governorate this evening.

According to a source from the Syrian military, the Israeli Air Force bombed a weapons depot inside the town of Qatana, causing significant damage to the site.

The source said that at least three soldiers were wounded as a result of the attack, but no one was killed.

He would add that most of the Israeli missiles were shot down by the Syrian air defense forces before they could reach the weapons depot in Qatana.

The Israeli jets had reportedly entered Lebanese airspace before attacking their targets in Qatana.

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/israeli-warplanes-bomb-syrian-military-site-in-west-damascus-video/

>>4473033

Bretton Woods system