20 August 2011

Accused rapist drugged teen: court

A 50-year-old man plied a teenage girl with drugs and then raped her because she "wanted it", a court has heard.

Tony "Stumpy" Shane Wheatley, of Chermside, assaulted the 15-year-old girl when she was staying at his home between December 2009 and April 2010, the Supreme Court in Brisbane heard on Thursday.

He has pleaded not guilty to 21 charges, including four of rape, seven of indecent treatment of a child, and 10 of supplying drugs to a minor.

On the first day of Wheatley's trial, prosecutor Sal Vasta told the court his offending came to light when the teenager called the Kids Helpline to say she had been raped.

The court heard she told the counsellor and her mother during a three-way conference call that "Stumpy took my virginity".

She later told police he raped her on four occasions after giving her so much cannabis that she had trouble sitting upright.

He also allegedly masturbated in front of her and fondled her breasts.

"She's stoned off her brain, and he's just taken advantage of her," Mr Vasta said.

The teenager told police Wheatley had blamed her for his actions.

"You wanted it, it's not my fault," he allegedly said.

The court heard that when she refused to have sex with him again, he reduced the amount of cannabis he was giving her, saying: "If I'm not getting what I want, then you're not getting what you want.

"It's a lot of pot you're smoking without me being laid," he allegedly said.

The trial is expected to run for five days

AAP 18 Aug 2011

Another example of laws for criminals, and how the 'justice' system will let these criminals roam the streets freely.

Drug possession is also another charge that should see him incarcerated, but will not.

Apple ratings fraud

Another consumer fraud, bought to you by Apple, this time in the form its ratings system.

Applications (or programs) are bought online via Apple's "App Store" and can be downloaded to the device via a personal computer or the device itself (for example an iPod or iPhone).

Each application can be rated by users, so that others can gauge whether the product is worthwhile or not.

The ratings appear as stars, where one star indicates poor performance of an application and there can be a maximum of 5 stars.

In the illustrated example, a program has not yet been rated by users, yet has a rating of 4+.

The information given by Apple is falsified.

In Australia, it is illegal to provide deceptive information or false advertising of a product.

Obtaining revenue from false or deceptive advertising is considered fraud.

A top Australian legal firm, that declined to be named publicly, confirmed that this practice is fraudulent.

A quick scan through the various legal law list also shows that there has been no action taken against Apple for the type of fraud.

Apple obtains revenue to the tune of 30% profit from each program sold from its App Store and iTunes Stores.

At this point in time Apple is touted as the most valuable company in the United States.

As a general rule, global corporations are exempt from the same laws that are used to punish the masses.

In Australia, many lawsuits are sorted out behind the closed doors of the masonic brotherhood's member's lodge. If the agreements cannot be made, they are then 'fought' in the public arena of the legal system.

corpau.


19 August 2011

Apple sued by 27,000 for $24m over iPhone user information

A group of some 27,000 South Koreans is suing Apple for $24 million for what they claim are privacy violations from the collection of iPhone user location information.

Each person in the suit is seeking 1 million won ($886) in damages, Kim Hyeong-seok, one of their attorneys, said. He said they are targeting Apple and its South Korean unit to "protect privacy" rights.

Apple spokesman Steve Park in Seoul declined to comment.

Apple has faced complaints and criticisms since it said in April that its iPhones were storing locations of nearby cellphone towers and wi-fi hot spots for up to a year. Such data can be used to create a rough map of the device owner's movements.

Apple also revealed that a software bug caused iPhones to continue to send anonymous location data to the company's servers even when location services on the device were turned off.

The company has said it will no longer store the data on phones for more than seven days, will encrypt the data and will stop backing up the files to user computers. It also has fixed the bug with a free software update.

Kim, the lawyer, took Apple to court earlier this year over iPhone privacy and was awarded 1 million won.

The Korea Communications Commission, South Korea's communications regulator, earlier this month ordered Apple's local operation to pay a 3 million won fine for what it said were violations of the country's location information laws.

Oh Byoung-cheol, a professor of information technology law at Seoul's Yonsei University law school, said that the KCC ruling is likely to bolster the plaintiffs' allegations of illegality by Apple and that could have an impact on possible cases in other countries.

But any South Korean court decision on damages is unlikely to have much effect elsewhere given differences in international tort law, he said.

South Korean courts "tend to be stingy with damages for mental suffering", he said.

If the court in the southern city of Changwon rules in favour of the plaintiffs, the total award could come to about 27.6 billion won ($24.46m). Cupertino, California-based Apple — the most valuable company in the United States — earned $US7.31 billion ($6.92b) in its fiscal third quarter.

Kim said he expected the first hearing in the new case to take place in October or November.

Jung Ogk-taek, an official at the Changwon District Court, said it was not clear how much time would be needed to reach a verdict.

Kim said 26,691 plaintiffs were listed in the civil suit filed on Wednesday. Another 921 are minors and lawyers need to obtain the consent of their parents before they can join, Kim said. He expects that to take about two weeks.

Lawyers are soliciting more participants between now and the end of this month to join the case.

theage.com.au 18 Aug 2011

NOTE:

Apple is still collecting user information even though location services are disabled.

The mass media has not yet picked up on this.

17 August 2011

Sunscreen still a cancer risk

Information has been obtained that an Australian government department is working together with a pharmaceutical company in obtaining results of how effective sunscreen really is.

Research by the pharmaceutical company has shown that whilst applying sunscreen the user is still at risk of having skin cancer by a stagger 75-80%.

The research indicates that sunscreen does not diminish the probability of being susceptible to skin cancer.

It stands to reason that this research may not make it out into the public arena, as the pharmaceutical industry is investor driven, and being on the stock market many millions of dollars are at stake.

The industry is highly profit driven, in relation to the cost of the product production, as to the end price the market will accept.

There have been many research documents falsified within the industry to obtain sales.

Independent doctors are also on the pharmaceutical payrolls by prescribing drugs to patients, that patients believe are best for them, when clearly this is not the case.

The government is fully aware of this fraudulent practice, but turns a blind eye to it.

corpau.

Dick Smith Home Automation Rip Off

Another electronics product rip off bought to you by Dick Smith Electronics.

Dick Smith used to sell the WINPlus Lighting and Appliance Starter Kit for AU$69, or approx. $13.80 on average per piece.

They jacked up the price to $199, or approx. $40 per piece.

In Australia, there is an extremely high profit margin made from electronics goods.

The majority of items carry a 300% profit margin, and on occasions a 1000% profit margin can be seen.

The retailers are crying poor, that customers are not buying enough from them.

There is nothing wrong with making profits to sustain your business, but price gouging the customer is not a good business practice.

Customers with the help of the internet are able to gauge product costs to retail prices, and are assertive enough to be able to purchase items for a reasonable price.

The Australian Consumer Watchdog (ACCC) is a useless organisation that exists to subdues the masses that there is an institution that 'works' for the consumer, which in reality it does not.

Julia Gillard 'not doing the numbers' as faceless men back PM to the end

Despite voters turning "feral" on the carbon tax, a senior federal Cabinet minister denied reports that Julia Gillard had been ringing colleagues to check on the level of support she has inside the Labor caucus.

"Numbers are not being counted,'' Trade Minister Craig Emerson told Sky News today.

Support for Ms Gillard and her minority government have slumped to record lows in recent opinion polls.

Dr Emerson said his leader was showing great courage and had the party's support.

"There is an alternative to Julia Gillard - Tony Abbott - and what a tragedy that would be,'' he said.

As the poll spiral downwards continues, Ms Gillard predicted her battle to sell the tax would get even tougher, but she said she was not worried about losing the Labor Party leadership.

"None of that worries me or is something that I need to deal with,'' she said.

"The Labor team is supporting me because they believe that we need to tackle this big challenge.''

Meantime, the so-called faceless men who ousted Kevin Rudd as prime minister are defiantly backing Julia Gillard as leader, despite voters turning "feral" over the carbon tax.

Australian Workers Union boss Paul Howes said yesterday he would "bet my house" on Ms Gillard taking Labor to the next election - a view backed by other factional powerbrokers.

Mr Howes delivered AWU support for the carbon tax, prompting business leaders to accuse him of selling out manufacturing workers.

Another one of the Labor figures who ruthlessly executed Mr Rudd said the independent MPs who struck a deal with the Prime Minister would shift support to Opposition Leader Tony Abbott if she were dumped.

"The moment you remove Julia, you are out of government," the figure said.

A week since details of the tax were launched, Labor MPs reported public panic over its impact on family living costs.

"I have never seen such rage in this country - ever," a senior Labor MP said of the electorate's mood.

Many caucus members contacted yesterday admitted to despondency about Labor's chances at the next election, due in 2013.

An AC Neilsen opinion poll published in Fairfax newspapers showed Labor's primary vote collapsing to just 26 per cent and Ms Gillard falling 11 points behind Mr Abbott as preferred PM.

Former Labor leader Simon Crean is being talked of as a possible replacement for Ms Gillard.

The head of BetStar, Alan Eskander, said that "eight out of 10" transactions on the ALP leadership were for Mr Crean.

The online gambling house suspended betting for him after his odds shortened from $101 to $13 in a week.

The Regional Development Minister invited colleagues to a "one-on-one drop-in information session" in his office last month.

But party powerbrokers dismissed the notion the PM was living on borrowed time.

"It would be a catastrophic mistake to think that changing the leader changes the challenge," one senior Labor figure said.

Another, the member for Melbourne Ports, Michael Danby, said: "The lady's not for the turning and neither is the caucus."

MPs are preparing for a full year of poor polls.

"My view is that we shouldn't be expecting a turnaround to come off the back of the (tax package)," one said.

"The point at which we should look for a turnaround is when we get the thing in (after July 1, 2012)."

heraldsun.com.au 19 Jul 2011

Another lie perpetuated by the government supported mass media, is that the voters went 'feral'.

The masses are aware that they have been blatantly lied to, and have voiced their opinion.

Voicing an opinion is over exaggerated as going 'feral', according to the mass media.

Media outlets are government lap dogs, that support the government policies of the day, printing opinions conducive to government policies.

Another indication that the 'faceless men' are the ones who rule in politics.

These are the people who have 'elected' Gillard into parliament.

The selected few high end business people are the media moguls, law makers, selected politicians, financiers and Freemason members of lodges that are part of the ruling elite.

They have their functions in the official positions, and yet are called to meeting that decide the shape and future direction of the general populous down to how much disposable income they have to spend.

Under no circumstance can the mass media mention their names. Some of these people are high profile members of the community, others not so.

Julia (Ju-liar) Gillard lies to parliament

The 16th of August marks the anniversary of Julia Gillard's first year in office as the Prime Minister of Australia.

Julia Gillard was elected into parliament by bribing the last two politicians needed to swing the votes her way.

Gillard was not elected by the population, and as a result the election process was laughed at in mother England.

In Julia Gillard's campaign prior to governance she stated that once in power she will not implement any Carbon Tax.

Now that Gillard is in power, she will be implementing a Carbon Tax.

As a result Gillard can be tried for fraud, but never will.

Gillard is also knowingly providing false information in relation to the figures relating to global warming.

Once again no Royal Commission or government inquiry will be made into the fraud initiated by Gillard.

The politicians and law makers are above the laws they create that apply to all citizens of Australia.

Muesli not necessarily a healthy choice

Before tucking into your morning muesli be warned, you may be about to eat more fat than there is in a McDonald's Double Quarter Pounder, Choice says.

The consumer organisation tested 159 types of muesli and discovered that the popular breakfast meal isn't necessarily a healthy choice.

"Whilst much of the fat content in muesli is the 'good' unsaturated type, coming from oats, seeds and nuts, the high fat varieties can still pack a high number of kilojoules," Choice spokeswoman Ingrid Just said today.

One brand, The Muesli, contains twice as much fat as a McDonald's Double Quarter Pounder, Choice said.

And two gluten-free varieties - Sunsol Gluten Free and Nu-Vit Low Fat Fruity Muesli Gluten Free - contain a whooping 43 per cent of sugar, seven per cent more than Coco Pops.

"If you are eating muesli to try and lose weight then the overall fat and sugar content needs to be taken into consideration," Ms Just said.

Choice has called for traffic light colour labelling on all mueslis that make nutrition or health claims, which would rate fat, fibre, energy and sugar content.

Choice found almost three quarters of muesli products contain at least one health claim.

"The most common are gluten-free and wheat-free claims or relate to fibre and or wholegrain content," the report says.

"But low in salt, no added sugar, high protein, low GI and low fat claims are also popular."

The problem, the report says, is that nutrition claims don't tell the whole story.

"Morpeth Sourdough Muesli Delux says it has 'no added sugar' but its dried fruit content and added honey result in a product that's almost 28 per cent sugar," Ms Just said.

When out shopping, Choice suggests you check the nutritional information panel and the ingredients list for added sugars such as honey or glucose.

The full report is on www.choice.com.au/muesli.

aap 17 Aug 2011

For years the public have been deceived by the fraudulent claims of the museli manufacturers, and again in support of corporate fraud, there has been no class cation lawsuits taken against these companies.

There is a general policy for the cronies of law, politics and business not to appear before the courts against each other.

If there are the ones who break the mold, the cases are usually dismissed, and plausible reasons given in case of any inquiry.

Cocky, confident and living the high life

Many may wonder what fate awaits them after Mark Standen's conviction, writes Geesche Jacobsen.

It was mid March and Mark Standen was cocky - only a few months to go until his release after nearly three years in protective custody.

Surely, the jury would see the charges against him were false and he would be acquitted. It was all in the interpretation of a few key conversations, but he had a perfectly innocent explanation, he insisted.

He was so confident, he had rejected a deal in which two charges would be dropped in exchange for a guilty plea to the import conspiracy, and he would probably leave jail after eight years.

Standen stayed upbeat and confident for the duration of his trial, remembered details most of us would long since have forgotten, and spoke at length about his controversial dealings with his business partner Bill Jalalaty and informer James Kinch.

Despite some startling admissions - he had accepted money from Kinch; he thought Jalalaty believed the import was an ''unlawful scenario''; he had broken NSW Crime Commission rules - his brothers who came to court every day, remained supportive.

Had he been right, the fallout, and potential damages for the former senior crime fighter would have been enormous.

Now that the jury has accepted the prosecution's interpretation of countless emails and conversations, a very different fallout from Standen's fall from grace is about to begin.

Already, authorities are investigating other allegations against Standen, against the Crime Commission and against some who worked with Standen years ago in the federal police.

For years other criminals made allegations about threats and inducements by Standen - but any examination of his prior dealings could put dozens of criminal convictions at risk.

The big question is whether Australia's law enforcement establishment can afford to fully open the lid on this can of worms - and publicly examine its contents.

While questions about Standen's probity first surfaced more than 30 years ago, little was done and he managed to build a career in law enforcement.

In 1980 he was charged under the Public Service Act with wilfully disregarding an order - after allegedly flushing seized drugs down a toilet while working for Customs' narcotics bureau.

Standen explained that he and two colleagues had seized the drugs - 18 foils of hash - during a raid but had overlooked them because of a new investigation the following day.

''It was [later] decided that it was inadvisable to follow the [narcotics] bureau policy as that would only complicate matters further and it was decided that the best course to take would be to dispose of the subject material … It was an act of stupidity as a result of forgetfulness,'' he wrote.

Within weeks, in June 1980, he had started work at the federal police and could no longer be disciplined for those charges. When he joined the Crime Commission in 1996, employment checks did not reveal this incident. While concerns were raised about his dealings with informers before, the present case has brought these to a head.

Standen started dealing with James Kinch after the Englishman was arrested and charged with drug and money laundering offences in 2003. Soon Standen lobbied the Director of Public Prosecutions to drop charges against Kinch, in a letter signed by Standen's boss, Phillip Bradley. The present Attorney-General, Greg Smith, was the deputy DPP at the time and dealt with the matter.

But while the DPP dropped some charges, the case against Kinch largely collapsed because a witness refused to give evidence and claimed Standen had pressured her during seven hours of interrogation. She said she was scared after being arrested by 12 men, taken to the commission's office in Kent Street, and told she would not need a lawyer. There, she was allegedly told she ''had to'' co-operate.

She said Standen asked her if she had children or family. ''He said 'Well, we can make things very difficult for you. She got the impression the threat was coming from Mark [Standen],'' said a letter from the DPP to Kinch's lawyers.

But Standen insisted Kinch was a most valuable informer.

Standen told the jury he believed Kinch had given up the drug business after leaving Australia in early 2004. But the federal police, which considered recruiting him as a source soon afterwards, became convinced he was still involved.

Before Kinch left Australia, the Crime Commission and NSW Police conducted a controlled operation to launder $300,000 of suspected drug money seized when he was arrested. But the operation failed to recover the funds or lead to any charges.

This blunder is reminiscent of the infamous operation involving an informer, Tom, in which six kilograms of cocaine reached the streets of Sydney.

Standen had been in charge of Tom, and a related drug trial shortly after Standen's arrest - but suppressed until now - heard suggestions that Standen might have had a ''criminal involvement'' with him similar to his relationship with Kinch.

That trial heard Tom's recruitment as an informer was ''surrounded by impropriety'' and he was given a paid overseas holiday, allowed to continue dealing in drugs and to keep the proceeds. He had also bribed two officers, extorted money at knife point and committed a drive-by shooting. When Standen became aware of an internal investigation into Tom's activities, he allegedly failed to tell his boss, Phillip Bradley.

The court also heard that Standen had breached guidelines for dealing with the drugs and the money earned from the sale.

In another drug trial, an informant alleged Standen had mentioned his children's safety ''with a smirk on [his] face''.

While the man wrote an abusive letter to Standen in January 2008 calling him an ''ignorant point-scoring power boy'' and a ''dump of cat shit'' and insisting he would not give a statement, he later became an informer and gave evidence against four men in two separate drug conspiracies. Lawyers for the men questioned his reliability.

The man, who said he believed Standen was there ''to try and scare me'', told the court he had also threatened to send bulldozers to pull up the pool at his sister's place, which had allegedly been paid for with drug money.

Convicted criminals Michael Hurley and Malcolm Gordon Field also made accusations against Standen. Field accused him of fabricating a document used by the commission to seize his assets, but refused requests to give evidence against Standen after his arrest. And Hurley, shortly before his death, accused him of fabricating evidence against him.

Questions have also been raised about Standen's dealings with the convicted drug dealer John Anderson, who is also the suspect in a series of rapes and murders.

Standen, who recruited Anderson as an informer in the late 1970s when he still worked for the narcotics bureau, allegedly kept in close contact and even introduced him to his family.

When he was arrested, there were rumours Standen had a gambling problem. Instead the trial heard he borrowed money from colleagues, and was constantly juggling overdue bills, while living the high life with his girlfriend.

Dinners in Sydney's best restaurants, nights in top hotels, clothes and jewellery - he had it all, but at the same time had no money to buy groceries.

The public purse paid for his defence and full light might not be shed on all of Standen's past actions until the money trail has also come under full scrutiny.

As the fallout from his conviction begins with an examination of his last employer, the NSW Crime Commission, Standen has returned to his cell under protection in a NSW jail, where he is to be kept safe from anyone who might have a grudge against him.

While he might ponder why the jury disbelieved him, or whether he should have accepted the deal offered, others must be wondering what his downfall will mean for their future.

Clarification
An earlier version of this story said Mark Standen "lobbied the Director of Public Prosecutions, including the now Attorney-General, Greg Smith", to drop charges against James Kinch. Standen prepared the material for the letter to the DPP, but it was signed by the head of the NSW Crime Commission, Phillip Bradley.

theage.com.au 12 Aug 2011

Another case of police supported crime, not only by the courts but within the force.

The OPI (Office of Police Integrity) is a joke, and only there for good looks to the general populous.

Police are at the top of the Criminal Chain, and the drug lords use the support of police to further enhance their drug empires.

The amount of crooked cops, and drug transactions is deliberately not reported by the mass media in order to keep the people in the dark as to the reality of the drug trade in Australia.

Many Customs Officials and baggage handlers are involved in an underground network of drug trafficking.

Mother who murdered son goes free

Convicted murderer Gunn-Britt Ashfield has been released from jail on parole after serving 18 years for killing her six-year-old son with a hammer on the NSW south coast.

Ashfield, 43, who has changed her name to Angelic Karstrom, has walked free from Dillwynia Correctional Centre within the John Moroney complex, near Windsor in Sydney's north-west today.

Karstrom, who was wearing a black trouser suit and a white-collared shirt, did not speak to media as she was escorted to a waiting vehicle by police.

She must comply with a number of conditions imposed on her parole, including electronic monitoring, drug and alcohol testing, curfews and counselling.

She is banned from living or visiting the Illawarra and Hunter regions, where her family lives, and may not be in the company of anyone under 16.

At the family's request, she is prohibited from visiting the grave of her son, John Ashfield.

She made headlines in June after the NSW Parole Board indicated it was ready to grant her bail with one year left to serve of her maximum sentence.

In late July, the board held a public hearing in Parramatta, which was attended by members of her family who opposed her release.

In granting her parole, the board determined it was better to monitor her in the community for a year under strict conditions.

Karstrom and her partner Austin Allan Hughes pleaded guilty to the 1993 bashing murder of the boy, which her other four children were forced to watch.

They were jailed for 21 years but had their sentences reduced on appeal to 19 years, with a minimum of 14.

Hughes was granted parole in December 2009 but the parole board denied Karstrom parole for four years in a row.

aap 15 Aug 2011

The legal system is set up in such a manner to create disharmony in the community.

This is achieved at various levels from:

  • 'lenient' sentences given to serial 'thugs',
  • not incarcerating police for criminal activities, and having them on the payroll at public expanse,
  • to only a few years for killing children as in this example of many.
The legal system is quick to implement laws (within months) that reduce the speed limit from 50 km/h to 30km/h for the fictitious excuse of 'road safety, where the real agenda is revenue from speeding fines, whereas decades are taken to increase the sentences for murder.

No data exists that shows that less pedestrians have been killed as a result of vehicles traveling 30 km/h in suburban streets compared to the current 50km/h.

These laws are deliberately created to the detriment of the community.

16 August 2011

London riot social media blocks 'totalitarian'

(The BlackBerry has been linked to the London riots. Illustration: smh.com.au and agencies)

The services were used by rioters to organise looting and vandalism across London and beyond, prompting Mr Cameron to demand the companies take more responsibility for content posted on their networks. Home Secretary Theresa May is due to hold meetings with Facebook, Twitter and BlackBerry maker Research in Motion this week.

But social media experts and free speech campaigners have rejected the idea, saying it is an impractical knee-jerk response that is akin to moves by Arab rulers to block online communications during this year's pro-democracy uprisings.

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 06:  Buildings burn on Tottenham High Road, London after youths protested against the killing of a man by armed police in an attempted arrest, August 6, 2011 in London, England. Twenty-nine-year-old father-of-four Mark Duggan died August 4 after being shot by police in Tottenham, north London. (Photo by Matthew Lloyd/Getty Images) *** BESTPIX ***

Buildings burn on Tottenham High Road, London. Photo: Getty Images

"Everyone watching these horrific actions will be struck by how they were organised via social media. Free flow of information can be used for good. But it can also be used for ill," Mr Cameron told Parliament.

"And when people are using social media for violence, we need to stop them. So we are working with the police, the intelligence services and industry to look at whether it would be right to stop people communicating via these websites and services when we know they are plotting violence, disorder and criminality."

Mr Cameron did not specify whether this would involve shutting down the sites for all people in an affected area or trying to block specific individuals from using the sites.

Riots ... a masked man walks past a burning car in Hackney.

Riots ... a masked man walks past a burning car in Hackney. Photo: Getty Images

The conservatives seem to have the support of the Labour Party for this proposal, with shadow culture secretary Ivan Lewis telling British media "free speech is central to our democracy but so is public safety and security".

Mr Lewis said Labour supported the government’s decision to undertake a review of whether measures are necessary to prevent the abuse of social media by those who organise and participate in criminal activities.

Facebook has responded, saying it has already taken steps to remove "credible threats of violence" related to the riots.

Tiphereth Gloria, digital and social strategist at GPY&R Sydney, said blaming social networks for the speed and ease of communications and blocking them was the digital equivalent of shooting the messenger.

She compared the move to the shutdown of the Egyptian internet in January - an effort to quell the anti-government uprisings. The move was quickly subverted by internet companies such as Twitter which allowed people to phone in to a messaging service with their comments, which were then tweeted out with the #egypt hashtag.

"For British politicians to block or attempt to censor social channels, they are exhibiting the same traits as Egypt's totalitarian regime," she said.

"They would do better in funding for more police and using social channels to get their own messages out."

Mike Conradi, partner and telecoms specialist at the London law firm DLA Piper, told The Guardian that measures to stop rioters communicating on social media sites would require legislation and threaten free speech.

"It would certainly put the UK in a difficult position in terms of talking to authoritarian regimes and trying to convince them not to turn off their networks," he said.

Jonathan Crossfield, social media expert and community manager at Ninefold, said that, although rioters used social media, far more people used services such as Twitter to follow events in their neighbourhoods to stay safe, offer help to others in their communities and arrange clean-ups.

Social media is also being used to identify the looters via crowd sourcing. For those who have been charged with offences, British police have taken to Twitter to name and shame them.

"Social media is a neutral medium. It has as much capacity to help, inform and advise the general public than it does to aid the rioters," he said.

"Politicians and commentators should be careful not to blame the medium but instead look at ways to potentially increase the benefits in such times by using it more effectively, rather than seek to limit its effectiveness.

"Block social media and the rioters would switch to SMS or voice calls instead."

James Griffin, partner with social media intelligence firm SR7, said he did not believe implementing such a policy would be an issue as the government and intelligence authorities ''have the ability to disrupt services and access to social media''.

But he said the political implications of doing so may create more questions and problems than solutions.

"Recently, both the United States Senate and the House of Representatives passed a motion condemning the obstruction of telecommunications during protests in Iran," he said.

''I would argue that the difference here is that whilst one group of people on the other side of the world are fighting for democracy, these people are robbing fashion labels and electronics stores. If the Cameron government has the evidence to show that by limiting access to social media it will stop them from planning violence and criminality then it is an option that they should explore.''

Australia has also discussed controls on social media. State and federal attorneys-general are mulling ways to limit access to Facebook to people over 18 or allow parents more control over their children's profiles.

The Communications Minister Stephen Conroy would not comment on Mr Cameron's proposal but has previously said he did not believe the government had powers to pass laws to make ISPs turn off services.

smh.com.au 12 Aug 2011

(Possible Scenario)

Fact:

The vehicle has also been linked to the riots in London, as it was used as a mechanism to transport criminals to the scene.

Government Response:

Vehicles should be banned under the Terrorism Act.


Another attempt at a Nanny State governance.


The London riots are an excuse for new laws to be introduced that will further encroach on the freedom of individuals.

Some people may say that that this scenario was staged by the government.

Victorian Bushfire Insurance Government Fraud

In the wake of the great Victorian bushfires dubbed by the mass media as the “Black Saturday” bushfires, there was much media attention given to the then Victorian police head Christine Nixon, going out to dinner whilst the state was burning resulting in the disgraced police head resigning.

What the mass media did not follow up on was the insurance fraud committed by both the government and insurance industry.

As a result of the mass influx of claims, the insurance companies did not want to dip into their ‘savings’ to pay out the claims so the CEO’s instructed not to pay out the policy holders under whatever pretext possible.

The most common pretext given was that the policy holder was under insured.

Even this was widespread throughout the insurance community, the insurance companies were lacking the funds to cover the claims, so they borrowed from the Victorian government.

In order to balance the figures, the Victorian government embarked on a campaign to recover the costs from the public.

One way that this is occurring, is that the government is fraudulently claiming monies from tenant leases.

Tenants for example, clubs may occupy a building, 4 days per month, and as a result pay a percentage of the month’s insurance policy. There could be up to a maximum of 11 tenants per premises.

What the government says then, is that the insurance has gone up for the premises (which it has not), and then requires each tenant to pay the full months insurance.

The government pays the insurance company the required amount, whilst pocketing the rest.

Since these clubs do not have the finances needed to take legal action, no lawsuit is filed against the government.

Consultation with a legal firm, which declined to be named publicly, has confirmed that this is a breach of current contracts, also adding over various offences including fraud.

corpau.

15 August 2011

More insecure Google Android apps uncovered

A mobile security expert says he has found new ways for hackers to attack phones running Google's Android operating system.

Riley Hassell, who caused a stir when he called off an appearance at a hacker's conference last week, told said he and colleague Shane Macaulay decided not to lay out their research at the gathering for fear criminals would use it attack Android phones.

He said in an interview he identified more than a dozen widely used Android applications that make the phones vulnerable to attack.

"App developers frequently fail to follow security guidelines and write applications properly," he said.

"Some apps expose themselves to outside contact. If these apps are vulnerable, then an attacker can remotely compromise that app and potentially the phone using something as simple as a text message."

He declined to identify those apps, saying he fears hackers might exploit the vulnerabilities.

"When you release a threat and there's no patch ready, then there is mayhem," said Hassell, founder of boutique security firm Privateer Labs.

Hassell said he and Macaulay alerted Google to the software shortcomings they unearthed.

Google spokesman Jay Nancarrow said Android security experts discussed the research with Hassell and did not believe he had uncovered problems with Android.

"The identified bugs are not present in Android," he said, declining to elaborate.

It was the first public explanation for the failure of Hassell and Macaulay to make a scheduled presentation at the annual Black Hat hacking conference in Las Vegas, the hacking community's largest annual gathering.

They had been scheduled to talk about "Hacking Androids for Profit". Hundreds of people waited for them to show up at a crowded conference room.

Hassell said in an interview last week the pair also learned - at the last minute - that some of their work may have replicated previously published research and they wanted to make sure they properly acknowledged that work.

"This was a choice we made, to prevent an unacceptable window of risk to consumers worldwide and to guarantee credit where it was due," he said.

A mobile security researcher familiar with the work of Hassell and Macaulay said he understood why the pair decided not to disclose their findings.

"When something can be used for exploitation and there is no way to fix it, it is very dangerous to go out publicly with that information," the researcher said. "When there is not a lot that people can do to protect themselves, disclosure is sometimes not the best policy."

Hassell said he plans to give his talk at the Hack in The Box security conference in Kuala Lumpur in October.

smh.com.au 15 Aug 2011


Companies rarely admit there is a security flaw (deliberate or not) with their product, as this may deter buyers from their product, which in turn hurts profits.

The industry is profit driven, and more often than not this kind of information is swept under the carpet.


Since people now have the power to publish their own information, there is little the major players can do, other than heed to the realities.

PS We forgot Microsoft Rip-off fine

A very small article appeared in the Australian edition of the Heraldsun on the 11th of June 2011.

Towards the back of the newspaper a small 4 lined article appears that states that the world's largest software company must pay another software company $272,000,000 or over a quarter of a billion dollars.

The article states:

Microsoft rip-off fine

THE US Supreme Court says Microsoft Corp must pay $272 million to a small software company in a patent lawsuit.

Nowhere in the article is mentioned what sort of patent Microsoft stole from the software company.

The article does not mention the other software company's name.

This is another example of mass media misinformation.

Rupert Murdoch's new.com.au is co-owned by Microsoft, and the result is ninemsn.com.au.

It is not conducive to a good business partnership to print stories that at not flattering to any of the above companies.

No one can accuse the Herald Sun for not printing a story on Microsoft's fraud, but the full details are deliberately omitted.

If some person makes the spotlight, then the media outlet goes to great lengths to obtain person details, but when it comes to a significant article regarding one of the worlds largest company's a small mention is made.