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FCC Votes to Kill; US Derails Iran Talks; UK Rendition Victim Released; NSA Infiltration of Facebook
In Historic Vote, FCC Advances Rules to Kill ‘Open Internet’. The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday voted in favor of advancing a set of rules that threaten the heart of the “open internet” by allowing the creation of “paid priority fast lanes,” supplanting the principle known as ‘net neutrality’ which says all online content must receive equal treatment by the nation’s broadband networks. In a vote of 3 to 2, with the Democrats on the commission making up the majority, the FCC approved a proposal by Chairman Tom Wheeler which critics say would not just alter net neutrality, but destroy it.
US “Political” Breakout Demand Could Derail Iran Nuclear Talks. U.S. officials are poised to demand a drastic cut in Iran’s enrichment capabilities that is widely expected to deadlock the negotiations. Iran is almost certain to reject the basic concept that it should reduce the number of its centrifuges to a fraction of its present total, and the resulting collapse of the talks could lead to a much higher level of tensions between the United States and Iran.
UK Rendition Victim Released After Ten Years in Secret US Custody. The US has released Yunus Rahmatullah, a Pakistani citizen held at Bagram Airbase for ten years without charge, trial, or access to a lawyer after his capture by British forces in Iraq and subsequent rendition to Afghanistan in 2004. After years of government denials that the UK had been involved in any rendition operations, Mr Rahmatullah’s capture by British forces was finally revealed to Parliament in February 2009 by then-Secretary of State for Defence John Hutton. Despite admitting playing a part in Mr Rahmatullah’s illegal detention and transfer, the government persisted in refusing to assist him.
New Snowden Documents Reveal Depth Of Facebook Infiltration by NSA. We have known for some time now that NSA exploits social networks for surveillance purposes. What kinds of information can be obtained from Online Social Networks (OCNs)? LOTS. Communications, photographs, videos, location and travel information, day to day activities… basically everything about everyone. Is your Facebook locked down? Doesn’t matter. GCHQ & NSA collect your information anyway by exploiting“inherent weaknesses in Facebook’s security model.”
Sources: Common Dreams, Popular Resistance.
Paul Brown is a retired neuroscience professor whose primary interests are human rights, overpopulation, mass extinction, global warming, and the military-industrial complex. Links to all his Before It’s News articles are at /contributor/pages/189/210/stories.html.
