Literally nothing you do is safe from the CIA. There are numerous full-on spyware suites developed by them, mostly for iOS and Windows, but also targeting Android, Linux, OS X, and Solaris. Apps thought to be secure (Telegram with encryption enabled, WhatsApp, Signal) were compromised as well, as were a host of other devices (ie smart TVs).
THIS DOES NOT PERTAIN ONLY TO AMERICANS.
If you live in a Shengen area country, your country likely hosts several CIA backed cyberwar experts. They came in via the US consulate in Frankfurt. If you don’t, you likely do as well, but I can’t find anything without sifting through the files myself.
“I have nothing to hide, why does this matter?”: Because there are now multiple thousand “zero hour”- ie “developers get zero hours to fix”- vulnerabilities floating around that no one had any idea existed. The vulnerabilities themselves weren’t leaked, but it’s the fact that someone knew about these and didn’t say.
I hate to make this kinda clickbait-y thing, but this is honest to God one of the most important leaks in history. Our response to this is pretty much going to be life or death for privacy in the developed world. Be loud about this, be annoying about this, and do not shut up about this. Please reblog this and other posts relating to it.
Not just any someone, this is one of the U.S. federal government’s foremost intelligence agencies, the CIA, which even mainstream media has reported operates on a black (off the record) budget, infamous for handing over “full” reports that are almost entirely redacted.
It’s a wonder that anyone out there could believe they are not the subject of surveillance—everyone has something to hide.
The USA can access personal email, chat, and web browsing history. (Source)
The USA tracks the numbers of both parties on phone calls, their locations, as well as time and duration of the call. (Source)
The USA intercepts troves of personal webcam video from innocent people. (Source)
The USA is working to crack all types of sophisticated computer encryption. (Source)
The USA monitors communications between online gamers. (Source)
The USA can set up fake Internet cafes to spy on unsuspecting users. (Source)
The USA can remotely access computers by setting up a fake wireless connection. (Source)
The USA can use radio waves to hack computers that aren’t connected to the internet. (Source)
The USA can set up fake social networking profiles on LinkedIn for spying purposes. (Source)
The USA undermines secure networks [Tor] by diverting users to non-secure channels. (Source)
The USA can intercept phone calls by setting up fake mobile telephony base stations. (Source)
The USA can install a fake SIM card in a cell phone to secretly control it. (Source)
The USA can physically intercept packages, open them, and alter electronic devices. (Source)
The USA makes a USB thumb drive that provides a wireless backdoor into the host computer. (Source)
The USA can set up stations on rooftops to monitor local cell phone communications. (Source)
The USA spies on text messages in China and can hack Chinese cell phones. (Source)
The USA spies on foreign leaders’ cell phones. (Source)
The USA intercepts meeting notes from foreign dignitaries. (Source)
The USA has hacked into the United Nations’ video conferencing system. (Source)
The USA can spy on ambassadors within embassies. (Source)
The USA can track hotel reservations to monitor lodging arrangements. (Source)
The USA can track communications within media organizations. (Source)
The USA can tap transoceanic fiber-optic cables. (Source)
The USA can intercept communications between aircraft and airports. (Source)
And this leak shows that the CIA has all of these technologies and proliferates them to other entities who want this information all the time. You need your privacy to protect yourself and your information. If you have nothing to hide, you have plenty to hide:
The line “if you’ve got nothing to hide, you have nothing to worry
about” is used all too often in defending surveillance overreach. It’s
been debunked countless times in the past, but with the line being
trotted out frequently in response to the NSA revelations, it’s time for
yet another debunking, and there are two good ones that were recently
published. First up, we’ve got Moxie Marlinspike at Wired, who points
out that, you’re wrong if you think you’ve got nothing to hide,
because our criminal laws are so crazy, that anyone sifting through
your data would likely be able to pin quite a few crimes on you if they
just wanted to.
Some of the potentially sensitive facts those records expose becomes
obvious after giving it some thought: Who has called a substance abuse
counselor, a suicide hotline, a divorce lawyer or an abortion provider?
What websites do you read daily? What porn turns you on? What religious
and political groups are you a member of?
Some are less obvious. Because your cellphone’s “routing information”
typically includes information about the nearest cell tower, those
records are also a kind of virtual map showing where you spend your time
— and, when aggregated with others, who you like to spend it with.
We simply cannot possibly know when something is going to incriminate us and the State is not above scapegoating individuals or coercing them into submission. James Duane, a professor at Regent Law School and former defense attorney, notes:
Estimates of the current size of the body of federal
criminal law vary. It has been reported that the Congressional Research
Service cannot even count the current number of federal crimes.
These laws are scattered in over 50 titles of the United States Code,
encompassing roughly 27,000 pages. Worse yet, the statutory code
sections often incorporate, by reference, the provisions and sanctions
of administrative regulations promulgated by various regulatory agencies
under congressional authorization. Estimates of how many such
regulations exist are even less well settled, but the ABA thinks there
are ”nearly 10,000.”
The complexity of modern federal criminal law, codified
in several thousand sections of the United States Code and the virtually
infinite variety of factual circumstances that might trigger an
investigation into a possible violation of the law, make it
difficult for anyone to know, in advance, just when a particular set of
statements might later appear (to a prosecutor) to be relevant to some
such investigation.
Not just the State, but anyone could draw suspicion against you if they had the right information with the right circumstances. We are entitled to our privacy, and these institutions must be held to account.
Reblogging because the links in the bulleted list were broken, as someone brought to my attention.
This reminds me of when I was in school. My buddy and I wrote a report about why the Patriot Act and such were fuckawful and grown ass adults were asking us if we were supporting al Qaeda.
This is the result of people deciding to value safety over freedom/privacy. As one of my teacher’s once explained it (because he hates this iirc) it’s that if you ask for safety and protection, you have to give up some (if not all) levels of privacy in order to have them [the government] “protect” you from bad people.
Cool. Can anything be done about this? Because otherwise, there’s not really a reason to worry about something you can’t change.
Having more knowledge of how one’s world operates is always good. Except with eldritch horrors.
We’ve all heard of “Adopt a Tiger” or “Adopt
a Panda” campaigns. Whilst these are worthy causes, why not share some
love for some less appreciated animals?
Look at these adorable lobsters. You can name a lobster for
only £3.00GBP, which gets you a certificate and you can find out when your lobster
has been released into the wild off the coast of Cornwall, UK. There’s plenty
of other options too, which come with stuffed plush lobsters, chocolate
lobsters, anything lobster-related you could want!
Money goes towards the National Lobster Hatchery, which
raises lobsters and releases them into the wild as part of a sustainable scheme
which works alongside local fishermen to increase wild lobster populations.
This scheme has been so successful it’s being introduced to other parts of the
UK, too!
Lobsters not for you? How about naming a roach, for only
$15USD. Plus there’s a bunch of really cute cockroach-related goodies up for
grabs, too. Money raised goes towards
the Wildlife Conservation Society!
Okay, so maybe you don’t like invertebrates. That’s okay,
there’s plenty of lesser known vertebrates looking for help, too.
You can adopt a kākāpō and help protect the remaining 151 in
the wild. 151, that’s crazy! That’s only 1 generation of pokémon’s worth of kākāpō
left in the wild.
This adoption scheme is a little more pricy, with $100 NZD
for the lowest tier, but it gets you an adoption certificate, a plush kakapo
and some other goodies! Who wouldn’t want to adopt a kākāpō named “Bluster
Murphy”?
Not strictly an adoption scheme, 20% of the sale price ($49
USD) of each of these adorable Plush American Oystercatchers goes to real
Oystercatchers through a donation to the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New
Jersey. I just couldn’t resist adding this.
Thank you for reading! If anyone has any more unusual animal adoption suggestions, feel free to add onto this post!
Adopt a hedgehog
UK: there are several places where you can adopt a wild European hedgehog and support hedgehog rescues. Hedgehogs are declining rapidly in the UK so they need all the love they can get! Most adoption places will offer adopt certificates, cuddly toys and information sheets. These are some sites that offer adoption packages: wildlifeaid.org.uk royalparks.org.uk wildlifetrusts.org
Adopt a pangolin
Pangolins are the world’s most trafficked mammal. They are being trafficked for their scales and meat. They need our help! Look at that cute scaly friend, who wouldn’t want to adopt one?
Helping people by adopting an animal? Adopt a heroRAT! These Gambian pouched rats sniff out landmines and tuberculosis and help make the world a safer place.
so a while ago i made a post about how i found this book about cleaning with almost exclusively with lemon/lime juice, baking soda, white vinegar, and salt. now i’m finally making the post about it that i promised!!
i have tried almost all of these techniques to clean my home and they work incredibly well, while not using harmful chemicals or at least limiting the use of them and also being easily accessible, and naturally vegan! ill now go into detail on how to use these.
the basics so first i’ll start off by saying you’ll still probably want to have an all purpose cleaner (like seventh generation or method) as a backup, however these 4 basic ingredients will usually do the trick.
baking soda mildly abrasive but still gentle, non toxic, can break down acids and scrub off grease. its extremely versatile for cleaning remedies and there’s lots of additional ways online on how to use it aside from what ill be going over in this post. it can even be used as toothpaste (use on its own or mix with coconut oil and maybe some peppermint oil), deodorant, or as an antacid!
distilled white vinegar lightly acidic (compared to store bought cleaners) can be used as a disinfectant while being completely non toxic.
lemons and lemon juice has antibacterial and antiseptic qualities, also has a good scent (as good as vinegar works, i still like to use lemon juice to cover up the smell). lime juice also works, but lemon juice is usually preferred.
salt a little more abrasive than baking soda for scrubbing, and also absorbs liquids. (personally i havent really used salt at all yet for cleaning)
multipurpose cleaner recipes for these, you’ll probably want to buy a plastic spray bottle or reuse an empty one from an old cleaning product you had. these three recipes can be kept refrigerated to prolong use. you can use any of these as an all purpose cleaner, its just whatever you feel works for you!
cleaner one 1 teaspoon baking soda 2 teaspoons vinegar or lemon juice ¼ teaspoon dish soap (like method or seventh generation) 2 cups hot water
cleaner 2 16 oz baking soda 4 tablespoons dish soap 1 cup warm water
cleaner 3 (the one i almost always use) ½ cup warm water ¼ cup vinegar ¼ cup lemon juice
sink drains generally just pouring boiling water down the drain will do the trick (be careful if you have a porcelain sink as it could shatter from extremely temperature changes like from cold to boiling). but a great way to keep your drains clean is to pour a ¼ cup baking soda down each drain, followed by a half cup of vinegar (remember that baking soda + vinegar fizzes up a lot, so don’t panic when it happens! its just doing its job cleaning), let it set for about 20 minutes to an hour, then pour boiling water down the drains to flush them out. i try to do this every week, and it works so incredibly well!
ovens sprinkle about ¼ inch baking soda across the bottom of the oven and spray it with water to keep it moist. repeat spraying it every 30-45 minutes (maybe 4 different times) to keep it from drying. then let it set overnight. in the morning scrub the dried baking soda with a damp sponge and then rinse off the residue. if theres still some grime in the oven, use an old toothbrush with white vinegar to scrub the stubborn areas.
stovetops for initial spill overs, sprinkle with salt to absorb the mess and then scrub off. if you have an electric burner and something spilled/burned into the burner pan, sprinkle with salt and cinnamon and wipe off. the cinnamon will mask the burnt smell.
additionally, all stovetops can be cleaned with a baking soda solution. use a toothbrush with baking soda to scrub, then rinse thoroughly.
microwaves take a glass cup and fill it with ¼ cup vinegar and 1 cup water and microwave for about 4-5 minutes (you want it to be boiling for about 3 minutes). when it’s done let it sit in the microwave without opening it for about 10-20 minutes. after that, it should be very easy to wipe clean as everything will be loosened up. you can also do this but instead of vinegar, use lemon slices put in a bowl of water - this will help with any odors in your microwave.
utensils and containers usually a baking soda paste (made from baking soda and water/lemon juice) will scrub these clean. if you have a lunchbox or thermos that is starting to have a weird smell, pour ¼ cup of salt into it and it let sit overnight then wipe clean in the morning.
wooden kitchen items (cutting board, mixing spoons, bowls etc) for a cutting board, wipe with a mixture of a little dish soap and water. then wipe with a cloth dipped in salt. you should also occasionally clean your wooden products by wiping them with a sponge dipped in vinegar to remove grease and odors. you can also use baking soda to clean them. or you can use lemon juice by rubbing some into the wood and let it sit overnight and rinse in the morning. for wood items that are starting to crack, fade, or are becoming brittle, rub them down with a generous amount of olive oil, following the grain. you may need to repeat this two or three times. if theres any oil that ‘pools’ anywhere, just dab with paper towel to absorb it.
pots, pans, cookware, dishes for most things you can scrub with a baking soda paste. for things like really dirty casserole dishes, pour them with boiling water and a few tablespoons of salt and let it sit until the water cools then finish cleaning it. for really dirty pots and pans, usually just letting them set with hot water for a while works, but if you need to, put the dirty pan on the stove with water and let it boil for a few minutes. for tough spots that are still left over, pour salt directly onto the problem and then scrub. greasy pans and cookie sheets can be left to soak with hot water and vinegar to loosen them up.
dishwasher about once a week put a cup of vinegar on the top shelf if your empty dishwasher. run a complete cycle. then remove the cup of vinegar, and sprinkle baking soda across the bottom of the dishwasher and run a second cycle. this has worked very well for me!!
surface cleaning using undiluted vinegar once a day to scrub surfaces will usually keep them clean. you can also cut a lemon into wedges, sprinkle it with baking soda and scrub surfaces with the wedges. for anything stainless steel (faucets, knobs, etc) using baking soda to scrub them and then rinse with water makes them nice and shiny! lemon juice is also helpful to use for any hard water stains.
floors (tile, ceramic, linoleum, vinyl) for tile floors use a bucket of warm water mixed with ½ cup baking soda and mop. rinse thoroughly. for ceramic, linoleum, or vinyl, use a gallon of warm water mixed with 1 cup vinegar. rinsing is not necessary.
tea/coffee stains in mugs scrub with baking soda, and maybe salt if its more stubborn.
garbage cans/disposals keep garbage cans smell neutralized by sprinkling the bottom of the can with baking soda each time you empty it. to clean a garbage disposal, once a month pour ¼ cup salt, ¼ cup baking soda, ¼ cup dishwasher detergent into the disposal, turn on the hot water in your sink and run the disposal. you can also throw the leftover rinds from lemons or limes and run the disposal to help clean the teeth of the disposal and give a fresh scent!
grout make a paste from baking soda and water and scrub with a toothbrush. rinse when finished.
toilets pour ½ cup vinegar into the toilet and let it soak for 30 minutes. then sprinkle a toilet bowl brush with baking soda and scrub any problem areas. use the vinegar from the toilet and any additional baking soda as needed to scrub clean. then flush when finished.
bathroom floors for tile or no-wax floors, add ½ cup baking soda to warm water and mop and rinse. you can also add lemon juice for a fresh scent.
windows and mirrors 4 tablespoons lemon juice mixed with a half gallon of water. you can also use rubbing alcohol or witch hazel to clean windows and mirrors.
wood polish mix 2 parts olive oil to 1 part lemon juice. apply with a soft cloth.
pet accidents scrub the area with club soda as soon as possible and let dry. then sprinkle the area with baking soda, after about an hour vacuum the area. if there’s still a stain, apply a generous amount of lemon juice to the area and let it set for 15-30 minutes. then rinse the area well and blot dry. another technique is making a paste from lemon juice and cream of tartar, letting it set and then rinse with water and blot dry. after the stain is removed, deodorize the area with a mixture of vinegar and water.
there’s a few things i didn’t cover, but for most problems you can use white vinegar, baking soda, lemon juice, and salt or a combination of those for the vast majority of cleaning and it’s almost always safe to use for whatever you’re using it on, although you may want to google it just to be safe before trying it. but there you go! i hope this helps you all as much as this has helped me. having these easily accessible, cheap, vegan alternatives has made cleaning a lot less stressful for me by keeping toxic chemicals out of my house, saving me money, and by actually working, sometimes even better than the high priced chemical versions!
