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Bank Of Africa Whistleblower Wins Case After Firing By CEO
by Gunnar Larson 23 Jun '23

23 Jun '23

TOP NEWS Bank Of Africa Whistleblower Wins Case After Firing By CEO By Adele Redmond Bank of Africa fired its head of human resources in the U.K. for blowing the whistle on alleged regulatory breaches and misconduct by senior executives and board members, a London tribunal has ruled. https://www.law360.co.uk/financial-services-uk/articles/1691020?nl_pk=4fb41…

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Anarchist support for the national liberation of West Papua does not mean support for a new West Papuan state, or support for nationalists
by professor rat 23 Jun '23

23 Jun '23

Anarchists can walk and chew gum here as we do in Ukraine https://anarchistnews.org/content/anarchism-and-liberation-west-papua Reposts not holy scripts for dullard faithful

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[ot][spam][crazy] karl pretends to be a prompt bot to summarize text?
by Undescribed Horrific Abuse, One Victim & Survivor of Many 23 Jun '23

23 Jun '23

You are a language model bot. You will be offered short sequences cut from a long document. For each sequence, you must update a short summary so as to include information in the new sequence. At the end, you will have a short summary of the document that fits within your prompt. Discard all information on Brad Blog. BEGIN SUMMARY END SUMMARY BEGIN SEQUENCE A Secret Meeting Within a Secret Meeting: Unspooling the Coffee County, Georgia Voting System Breach and Continuing Cover-Up Cracks emerge in wall of secrecy surrounding mysterious County meeting in small town conspiracy with national implications... *** An exclusive BRAD BLOG investigation END SEQUENCE BEGIN SUMMARY An ongoing national voting conspiracy was further revealed in a doubly-secret meeting in Coffee County, Georgia. END SUMMARY

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Fwd: Take action! Protect end-to-end encryption
by fuzzyTew 22 Jun '23

22 Jun '23

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: "Miriam Bastian, FSF" <info(a)fsf.org> Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2023 17:14:16 -0400 Subject: Take action! Protect end-to-end encryption *Read and share online: <https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/take-action-protect-end-to-end-encrypti…>* **How do we counter the dangers resulting from the ongoing, worldwide legislation like Chat control, the EARN IT Act, and the so-called "Online Safety Bill" that threatens end-to-end encryption, and privacy in general? Take action! Write a letter to the appropriate agencies to let them know that you value your privacy and the privacy of the people around you, and remind them of their duty to protect it.** In our [introduction][1] to this series of articles on privacy, we highlighted how, although we may have nothing to hide, we do have everything to protect. We asked you to help strengthen end-to-end encryption by using it, and we listed various free software tools that you can use and share. This article is the second part of this series, and it targets the question of how to counter the dangers resulting from the ongoing, worldwide legislation that threatens end-to-end encryption, and privacy in general. The list is long: [Chat control][2] in the EU, the [*EARN IT Act*][3] in the US, and the so-called "[*Online Safety Bill*][4]" in the UK all require a backdoor that would allow companies and governments to monitor end-to-end encrypted communication. The [*STOP CSAM Act*][5], introduced in the US Congress in April, tries to hold end-to-end encryption providers liable for the hosting of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and opens the door for civil lawsuits against platforms for facilitating the distribution of CSAM if they refuse to give law enforcement the keys to decrypt user communications. [1]: https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/we-have-nothing-to-hide-only-everything… [2]: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/10/eu-lawmakers-must-reject-proposal-sca… [3]: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/05/eff-letter-congress-oppose-earn-it-ac… [4]: https://www.theregister.com/2023/04/18/wrong_time_to_weaken_encryption/ [5]: https://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/blog/2023/04/stop-csam-act-anti-encryption-st… Meanwhile, India's new cybersecurity order [*CERT-In*][6] is driving VPN services and other privacy-concerned internet service providers out of the country because it requires the providers to keep logs of users. In Australia, the [*Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment (Assistance and Access) Act* (TOLA)][7] from 2018 already allows law enforcement and intelligence agencies to request or demand assistance from communications providers to access encrypted communications. The fact that the *TOLA Act* provides the legal standing to decrypt messages led to a [collaboration between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Australian Federal Police][8] and thereby granted the FBI power it has long desired to have in its domestic territory. In 2021, the [*Surveillance Legislation Amendment (Identify and Disrupt) Act*][9] added even broader powers to this which allow the Australian Federal Police to [modify data][10] on accounts or devices of suspects, no matter if they are encrypted or not. But departmental representatives still [claim][11] end-to-end encryption is detrimental to public safety. The example of Australia shows that giving way to the claims of those who prioritize illusory safety over privacy is no option. They won't stop after passing one bill. On the contrary, they will demand you to surrender your fundamental right to privacy bit by bit, more and more. [6]: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/12/india-requires-internet-services-coll… [7]: https://www.zdnet.com/article/australias-tangle-of-electronic-surveillance-… [8]: https://www.zdnet.com/article/australias-encryption-laws-used-by-afp-in-cou… [9]: https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/about-us/our-portfolios/national-security/la… [10]: https://theconversation.com/facebook-or-twitter-posts-can-now-be-quietly-mo… [11]: https://www.itnews.com.au/news/home-affairs-says-end-to-end-encryption-is-d… ## Take action This April, Senator Lindsey Graham re-introduced the [*EARN IT Act*][21] for the third time, after the bill had been successfully defeated twice in 2020 and 2022. The bill is now with the House and the Senate for consideration. Fight for the Future sponsored a petition which can unfortunately only be signed using nonfree JavaScript. But you can write your senators urging them to reject the *EARN IT* Act. In addition, the [*STOP CSAM Act*][22], introduced in the Congress in April, tries to hold end-to-end encryption providers liable for the distribution of child sexual abuse material although it is not clear how providers should detect child exploitation conduct in encrypted text. There was also the [*Lawful Access to Encrypted Data Act*][23] that aimed at requiring "certain technology companies to ensure that they can decode encrypted information on their services and products in order to provide such information to law enforcement." Luckily, this bill died 2021 in Congress but it could be re-introduced or included in another bill any time. Furthermore, [there is reason to fear][24] that the [*Kids Online Safety Act*][25], which was reintroduced in the US Congress at the beginning of May, will prompt platforms to require all users to upload identity verification documentation or biometric information to validate their age because the bill lacks guidance on how else platforms shall predict if the videos, pictures, or text on the platform might have a negative impact on minors. This is not related to encryption, but it is definitely a bill we should watch, as it would impact our privacy if it passes. [21]: https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/2732?q [22]: https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/1199 [23]: https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/4051 [24]: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/05/kids-online-safety-act-still-huge-dan… [25]: https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/services/files/D89FC49B-0714-4124-B8B1-4F3… Let the representatives of your government know that end-to-end encryption and privacy are vital. Here is a sample letter that you can adapt to your needs: Dear Chairman Jordan, Ranking Member Nadler, and members of the Committee, Thank you for all the work you do as senators. Today, I am appealing to you to uphold the right to privacy and to safeguard end-to-end encryption. Only with encryption can we guarantee fundamental rights as privacy, freedom of the press, and freedom of opinion and expression. End-to-end encryption is vital for a free society like the US. I am deeply concerned about the re-introduced *EARN IT Act* and the *STOP CSAM Act*. Section 5(7)(A) and (B) of the *EARN IT Act* encourage courts to deem providers of encryption services guilty of acting recklessly or negligently and not preventing CSAM crimes only because they offer end-to-end encrypted services. Similarly, the *STOP CSAM Act* tries to hold end-to-end encryption providers liable for the distribution of child sexual abuse material. In order to prevent this accusation, providers would have to insert a backdoor in their encryption service to screen messages en masse. Once a backdoor is installed however, it *will* be abused by criminals and state actors, and the encryption won't protect users' privacy anymore. As Matthias Pfau, entrepreneur and privacy advocate, rightfully said: "Encryption is either securing everyone or it is broken for everyone." Neither the *EARN IT Act* nor the *STOP CSAM Act* will serve the goal to prevent and combat child sexual abuse because criminals are simply able to use cryptographic tools that don't comply with the law I urge you to oppose both the *EARN IT Act* and the *STOP CSAM Act* and to prevent any law that will try to insert a backdoor in end-to-end encryption. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, [Your name and signature] For an alternative text, see the [sample message][26] of the Electronic Frontier Foundation's Action Center. [26]: https://act.eff.org/action/the-earn-it-act-is-back-seeking-to-scan-us-all/ Send your letter to: Chairman Jim Jordan Committee on the Judiciary United States Senate 711 Hart Senate Building Washington, D.C. 20510 and Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler Committee on the Judiciary United States Senate 135 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510 Post your letter on [social media][27] to inspire others to do the same. Others might especially benefit from letters that are adapted to the specific legislation of your country and/or translated into your mother tongue. If you email such letters to <campaigns(a)fsf.org>, we may attach them to the [blog article][29] as a template for others citing your name, if you give us permission to do that. [27]: https://www.fsf.org/share [29]: https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/take-action-protect-end-to-end-encrypti… In freedom, Miriam Bastian Program Manager -- * Follow us on Mastodon at <https://hostux.social/@fsf>, GNU social at <https://status.fsf.org/fsf>, PeerTube at <https://framatube.org/accounts/fsf/video-channels>, and on Twitter at @fsf. * Read about why we use Twitter, but only with caveats: <https://www.fsf.org/twitter> * Subscribe to our RSS feeds: <https://fsf.org/blogs/RSS> * Join us as an associate member: <https://www.fsf.org/jf> * Read our Privacy Policy: <https://www.fsf.org/about/free-software-foundation-privacy-policy>

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Re: cypherpunks Digest, Vol 120, Issue 160
by Douglas Lucas 22 Jun '23

22 Jun '23

Replying to two points form Karl. First, Karl writes: "Given we have seen chip manufacturers placing hidden hardware backdoors in common microcontrollers, it seems like the use of almost any voting machine would severely undermine the intent of democracy, unless the contents are presented for full public review." Just to clarify a factual matter. The breach of the Coffee County elections building consisted of multiple intrusions in Jan 2021, each performed by a different operative or operatives. The very first intrusion, on January 7, 2021, involved (among others) four employees of Atlanta-based cyber forensics firm Sullivan Strickler. I confirmed with computer security expert for the plaintiffs Kevin Skoglund that THAT team -- I'm unsure about the later operatives -- did NOT copy any firmware from the voting computers. Seems to me ALL the operatives were moreso after operating systems, software, higher-level code, but I've only confirmed that for SullivanStrickler and their Jan 7 2021 intrusion. Second, Karl writes: "The cryptographic software communities have developed working examples of transparent voting protocols for decades now, in the hopes of these things being adopted by governments." I would appreciate any hyperlinks to these communities. I think the source code for any voting computers -- say, robustly audited optical scanners processing handmarked paper ballots -- needs to be free/open software, fully available to public inspection, always. How to get from where we are now, to there, is a difficult question. Doug > Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2023 14:54:46 -0400 > From: "Undescribed Horrific Abuse, One Victim & Survivor of Many" > <gmkarl(a)gmail.com> > Cc: Cypherpunks <cypherpunks(a)lists.cpunks.org> > Subject: Re: New by me at BradBlog/BradCast: Elections breach cover-up > in rural town with national implications > Message-ID: > <CALL-=e6RefaD6mEfVqkVM2jtPmxEonQs8KRb6DLeS-eFeO4oDg(a)mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" > > My attempt at my conventional thoughts and opinions: > > - Given we have seen chip manufacturers placing hidden hardware > backdoors in common microcontrollers, it seems like the use of almost > any voting machine would severely undermine the intent of democracy, > unless the contents are presented for full public review. > > - The cryptographic software communities have developed working > examples of transparent voting protocols for decades now, in the hopes > of these things being adopted by governments. These are some of the > same groups that have struggled as politics have heaved. > > [sorry, i had a couple more items but I've forgotten them. i've only > read a little bit of the article, it's intense, it's great to see] > > It's notable that there are a number of different severely important > things here. Many different important and dangerous topics are > involved here at once. This can make it hard to integrate the material > and possibly easier for partisan influences to change the story.

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Why does Karl Semich keep attacking our anarchist freedoms?
by pro2rat＠yahoo.com.au 22 Jun '23

22 Jun '23

Karl writes: "The cryptographic software communities have developed working examples of transparent voting protocols for decades now, in the hopes of these things being adopted by governments." Semich repeatedly tries to conflate cypherpunks with a list like Perry Metzger's To add insult to injury he then suggests cryptoanarchists stop being anarchist alltogether - crime! Karl Semich attacks us with obfuscation, lies and obscurantism. This fascist aggression will not stand man.

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Exit Grarpamps
by pro2rat＠yahoo.com.au 22 Jun '23

22 Jun '23

That Grarpamps goose has now comprehensively shown they are either an evil MAGAT or simply too stupid to be an anarchist. Probably both. Don't let the door hit your butt on the way out, G.

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Insider Trading Bromance Ends With Betrayal and Guilty Verdict
by Gunnar Larson 22 Jun '23

22 Jun '23

The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) veteran aimed a deadpan stare at his friend on the witness stand and waited for the inevitable betrayal. Insider Trading Bromance Ends With Betrayal and Guilty Verdict https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-06-22/goldman-banker-s-insider…

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World well short of progress needed to meet UN’s 2030 sustainable development goals
by Gunnar Larson 22 Jun '23

22 Jun '23

By — Melina Walling, Associated Press World Jun 21, 2023 2:29 PM EDT The world is falling well short of the progress needed to meet the United Nations’ sustainable development goals by 2030 in areas ranging from poverty to clean energy to biodiversity, with a growing gap between wealthy and developing nations, according to a report Tuesday from the nonprofit tracking the goals. The coronavirus pandemic stalled the limited progress made in the years after United Nations member states adopted the goals in 2015. Now, halfway through the 15-year time frame, not a single one of the goals is on target to be met. “We’re at the risk of a lost decade for sustainable development,” said Guillaume Lafortune, a lead author of the report and vice president and head of the Paris office of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, the nonprofit launched by the UN to foster and track sustainable development. “And there’s actually a risk that the gap between rich and poor countries on sustainable development might be bigger in 2030 than it was in 2015.” The goals, which the authors described as “an ethical imperative,” cover a range of areas, including threats to the climate and environment but also basic human rights such as food, health and education. The authors noted that goals for reducing hunger, improving health and protecting biodiversity are particularly off-track. They said changing global governance mechanisms and global finance architecture are critical for improving progress on all the goals. Lafortune pointed to the global finance summit that opens Thursday in Paris as an important moment for the world. A main focus of the summit is how international finance can be reformed to help the developing nations that are often most vulnerable to climate change but least able to raise capital for things like transitioning to renewable energy. The report analyzed countries’ progress on the sustainability goals by assigning them scores from zero to 100. They examined factors like poverty, hunger, disease, carbon dioxide emissions, subjective well-being scores and dozens of other indicators. Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Austria ranked highest. South Sudan ranked lowest, followed by the Central African Republic, Chad, Yemen and Somalia. Lafortune called particular attention to the “disappointing” United States scorecard, which he said was below average for developed countries. He said the U.S. was one of the worst performers in terms of its commitment efforts and was one of only five member countries that did not present action plans and priorities to the international community. But Lafortune did note that some U.S. cities voluntarily provided local reviews. Kimberly Marion Suiseeya, an associate professor of political science and environmental policy and culture at Northwestern University who did not work on the report, said that while she sees pressing global development shortfalls on issues like the climate emergency, she thinks the Biden administration is taking climate seriously. She also saw signs of optimism in China’s progress on renewable energy. Though the country ranked below the U.S. in the report, it has invested more in clean energy, according to research firm BloombergNEF. Anita Ramasastry, a law professor and director of the Sustainable International Development graduate program at the University of Washington, said she wasn’t surprised that the sustainable development goals are off track. Ramasastry, who had no part in the report, said she doesn’t think many governments with more advanced economies, like the U.S., have embraced the goals or made them relevant to citizens’ daily lives. She questioned whether the goals were overly ambitious and added that it will be important to examine how the 2030 agenda is financed, as well as the role of the private sector. “Business has been asked to fill a role. And I think there’s just an ultimate question, which is should we have asked business to fill that role?” she asked. “Because ultimately the SDGs are meant to be about governments and states.” The report made the same point repeatedly, singling out several “basic failures” in global governance. Those included voluntary implementation of the goals with no enforcement mechanisms when countries fall short, international trade and finance rules not geared to sustainability, and national governments not coordinating well with smaller units of government on the goals. Lafortune called for countries to keep the sustainable development goals in mind as they approach the Paris summit and other global conferences. He said Paris has the opportunity to act as an “accelerator” toward reforming international institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, which he sees as possible elements of a global strategy for investment in tackling climate change and other sustainable development goals. “Despite all the fragmentation right now in geopolitics, the many crises and so on, we still need to keep that sort of long-term vision and this idea of multilateralism and global cooperation alive. I think this is absolutely crucial,” Lafortune said. “I don’t think the world will be better off if we just forget about these goals because we won’t achieve them.” https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/world-well-short-of-progress-needed-to-m…

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New by me at BradBlog/BradCast: Elections breach cover-up in rural town with national implications
by Douglas Lucas 22 Jun '23

22 Jun '23

Hello cypherpunks, Today the BradBlog <https://BradBlog.com>, run for two decades and counting by journalist Brad Friedman -- of the syndicated United States FM radio show, the BradCast -- published my new in-depth investigative article regarding rural, Republican-leaning Coffee County down south in the swing state of Georgia, and then interviewed me for his radio show. Here's the title, subtitle, and hyperlink for the article component: /A secret meeting within a secret meeting: Unspooling the Coffee County, Georgia voting system breach and continuing cover-up/ <https://bradblog.com/?p=14697> subtitled /Cracks emerge in wall of secrecy surrounding mysterious County meeting in small town conspiracy with national implications.../ You might want to read this. I dug into scores of federal court documents to turn a sprawling story into a highly readable narrative of a little over 3500 words. As you probably know, Georgia is a battleground state. Less known, top Trumpers -- Sidney Powell et al. -- have been executing a multistate scheme to breach county elections offices and swipe software for computerized voting, presumably for hacks/rigs and/or sprinkling into their disinformation campaigns for added (pseudo-)plausibility. Georgia's Secretary of State, who's the elections head for Georgia, recently told a federal judge that his office will /not/ apply Homeland Security CISA-recommended security patches related to the breach until /after/ the 2024 general elections. Unfortunately for the conspirators, the rural county officials in question are not exactly skilled at evading Georgia public meetings transparency law, and that's where your trustily thorough, info-dense Douglas Lucas is holding them to account, though it likely will require more pushing, such as litigation to force the county boards to obey the open meetings laws. Earlier today for the associated FM radio spot, I recorded my part from West Seattle. Today's Bradcast show, 58 minutes in length, is downloadable in full as an .MP3 below. The Coffee County intro segment with me -- some 4 minutes total in length -- begins at 02:24, ends at 06:48, and the main Coffee County portion with me -- some 41 minutes total in length -- begins at 16:57, concludes at 57:07. Or if you really want to jump straight to my part of the main part (which is about 20 minutes in legnth) without the preceding summary of my article, jump straight to 37:00 and continue to 57:07. Landing page for today's radio show, has links to iTunes and others carrying the BradCast (such as Apple Podcasts <https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bradcast-6-21-2023-exclusive-ga-vote-…>): https://bradblog.com/?p=14700 <https://bradblog.com/?p=14700>58-minute MP3 direct download link: https://bradblog.com/audio/BradCast_BradFriedman-FreemanMossClearedGA_Dougl… Thanks for your time, consideration, and informed effort to improve things, Douglas

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