'We don't monitor the behaviors of American citizens': New NSA director slams agency critics and accuses Edward …

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NSA Director Michael Rogers delivered his remarks Friday while giving an address at the Politics Aside conference Took over the agency in April after departure of his embattled predecessor, Keith Alexander Rogers said because of Edward Snowden's leaks, groups like ISIS have been 'shutting the NSA out'

By Snejana Farberov for MailOnline

Published: 17:32 EST, 15 November 2014 | Updated: 11:19 EST, 16 November 2014

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PR porblem: NSA Director Michael Rogers spoke about the agency's bad image at a conference in California held by the think-tank RAND Corportation

The newly appointed director of the beleaguered National Security Agency has excoriated critics for vilifying the department while insisting that the NSA is not keeping tabs on Americans.

NSA Director Michael Rogers delivered his remarks Friday while giving an address at the Politics Aside conference, which is hosted twice a year in Santa Monica, California, by RAND Corporation - a non-profit global policy think tank.

'We don't monitor the behaviors of American citizens,' Rogers declared. 'That's not what we're about. That's not our mission. That's not what we're here to do. So we've got to work our way through this.'

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Is the Governments Aerial Smartphone Surveillance Program Legal?

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TIME Tech privacy Is the Governments Aerial Smartphone Surveillance Program Legal? The program could violate the Fourth Amendment, some privacy groups say

Civil rights groups are raising serious constitutional questions about the Justice Departments use of dragnet technology onboard aircraft to collect data from suspects cell phones, as reported by the Wall Street Journal Thursday.

The program, run by the U.S. Marshals Service, uses small aircraft equipped with high-tech devices that mimic cell towers, tricking suspects cell phones into connecting with them instead of legitimate towers. The devices, called dirtboxes, can then grab certain data from the tricked phones, most notably their location. The aircraft involved operate from five U.S. metropolitan areas and have together a flying range covering most of the countrys population, the Journal reported.

The program is designed to target suspects in law enforcement investigations. However, the nature of the technology means that devices in a certain range of the aircraft are fooled into connecting to the dirtbox, potentially giving law enforcement access to identifying data and general location information about hundreds or thousands of innocent Americans with each flight. Because that access comes without probable cause, civil liberties groups say, the program could be a violation of the Fourth Amendment.

These devices are sweeping up information about the cell phones of thousands of completely innocent bystanders. That looks a whole lot like the kind of dragnet search that the framers of the Fourth Amendment abhorred, said American Civil Liberties Union attorney Nathan Wheeler.

The Justice Department said it could not confirm or deny the existence of the program. But a department official said that all federal investigations are consistent with federal law and are subject to court approval. That official also said the Marshals Service does not maintain any databases of cell phone information meaning the program could possibly only be used to track the whereabouts of suspects on a case-by-case basis and that its vastly different in nature from the kinds of sweeping government surveillance programs first revealed by Edward Snowden.

Still, is the Justice Departments airborne dragnet program legal? The answer is maybe.

Federal authorities have employed similar tools in the past. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is known to use a surveillance tool called a stingray, a portable transceiver that tricks cell phones within a certain area into relaying their locations, not unlike the equipment onboard the Marshals aircraft. A government vehicle with a stingray can net hundreds of nearby cell phones approximate locations just by driving through a typical neighborhood. The government has said it doesnt need a probable cause warrant to use stingrays because investigators dont collect the content of phone calls, just the locations of those phones. Government officials, meanwhile, have said they get court approval to use the devices.

Much of the governments warrantless use of stingray-style technology hinges on a 1979 Supreme Court decision titled Smith v. Maryland. Smith involved law enforcements use of a device called a pen register that, when attached to a suspects phone line, recorded the numbers of outgoing calls, but not the calls themselves. The Smith decision upheld the warrantless use of such devices because the suspects phone company would record the same data picked up by the pen register, and therefore the suspect had no reasonable expectation of privacy when it came to that information. Currently, the law requires a court to approve the use of a pen register, but investigators only have to show that the devices use is relevant to an ongoing criminal investigation, a much weaker standard than a probable cause warrant requires.

Hanni Fakhoury, an attorney at the pro-privacy Electronic Frontier Foundation, says the Department of Justice could use the Smith precedent as legal justification for the airborne dirtbox program. However, Fakhoury also highlighted a key problem with that argument: Location. Pen registers arent intended to pick up location data beyond an area code, whereas the airborne dirtboxes can track a person down to a single building. Many courts, he said, have expressed that location data deserves greater constitutional protection than is afforded to other kinds of information.

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Reader View: Lets revisit the Second Amendment

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The National Rifle Association and its fellow gun enthusiasts continue to misconstrue the founders original intent in creating the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. A recently published NRA comment stated that, Guns save lives, stop crime and protect you. This is why we arm police, why people arm themselves and why the founders put the Second Amendment in the Constitution.

The Second Amendment reads as follows: A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed. A total of 27 words.

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I Paid For Burgers And Coffee With Bitcoin To Give to Those In Need! – Video

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I Paid For Burgers And Coffee With Bitcoin To Give to Those In Need!
I want to show everyone how I use my bitcoin wallet to pay for anything I buy offline. Thanks to my Bitcoin Debit Card, Fellow Canadians can pay with Bitcoin anywhere that accepts Visa and...

By: Adam Guerbuez

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I Paid For Burgers And Coffee With Bitcoin To Give to Those In Need! - Video

Bitcoin club loses steam; market value tanks over $5-bn

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Bitcoin currently trades at a price of $400 a unit, as against lofty highs of $1,200 early this year

After being touted as currency of future, the halo around bitcoins and other virtual currencies appear to be fading and their combined market value has dipped to $6 billion, from over $11 billion a year ago.

While the number of such currencies has increased substantially to over 500, from about 70 in November last year, their combined valuation has been on a decline after peaking at over $15 billion early in 2014.

Nonetheless, the value of many popular virtual currencies including Bitcoin, Ripple, Dogecoin and Litecoin has crashed by 50-60 per cent from their peaks early in 2014, as per data available on various trading platforms.

Incidentally, the number of online platforms where these digital currencies, which are not backed by any government or banking authorities, can be traded has also grown to 1,400, while many of them can be accessed from anywhere in the world including India.

While India is yet to put in place any separate guidelines for bitcoins and other virtual currencies, RBI has already warned against their use due to potential risks associated with such transactions.

According to some traders, a sharp recovery in regular financial markets, including stocks, might have led to 'hot money' parked in bitcoins to move outside. Besides, intensified regulatory glare on such currencies might have also resulted in investors pulling out their funds.

Bitcoinand other such currencies have attracted a lot of attention of financial regulators on suspicion of being alleged conduits of ill-gotten wealth. Speculators and gullible investors too had lapped up the idea of a non-fiat currencies that were marketed as promising investments.

Bitcoin currently trades at a price of $400 a unit, as against lofty highs of $1,200 early this year. Other virtual currencies have seen similar trend in their prices.

As per bitcoin traders, warnings from global central banks, the Mt Goxexchange debacle, cases of money laundering and criminal payments via such currencies, and a moderation in the initial frenzy have affected the market.

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Bitcoin club loses steam; market value tanks over $5-bn

ESA Rosetta Mission – Why are we traveling to comets? | Kathrin Altwegg | TEDxBern – Video

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ESA Rosetta Mission - Why are we traveling to comets? | Kathrin Altwegg | TEDxBern
This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. After ten years of waiting for data from space, you would develop a sense of humor, too. Kathrin Altwegg...

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Comets eager to back David Dawson with Futures League batting

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ACT Comets captain David Dawson is in good form ahead of the Futures League match against Western Australia. Photo: Rohan Thomson

The ACT Comets' batting order is desperate to take the pressure off captain David Dawson and get among the runs to open their account in the Futures League.

The Comets will be searching for an improved performance from their top six when they take on Western Australia in a four-day game starting on Monday at Fremantle.

Dawson was a shining light in the side's 40-run loss to Queensland in its first game of the season, the former Tasmania and NSW first-class player showing all his class with knocks of 143 not out and 86.

Comets batsman Dean Solway is keen to make amends after being dismissed cheaply in both innings, but has regained form in the Gallop Cup with Queanbeyan, scoring an unbeaten 45 in an eight-wicket win against Tuggeranong on Saturday.

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Solway said it was up to the entire batting line-up to carry their weight and not just rely on Dawson to shoulder the bulk of the scoring.

"We're all pretty keen to turn it around, especially the batsmen, it was pretty much just Dawso that got us a good total in the last game and a few of the bowlers," Solway said.

"Our batsmen are pretty keen to turn it around and score the bulk of the runs for us.

"We just need a few more to put their hand up to bat around him."

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Comets defeat eerily familiar

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WHITEHALL The Crestwood field hockey history is so full of success that even in the most ominous of circumstances, coach Patsy Moratori was able to reach into the past and find hope from a positive precedent.

They know theyve done it before, Moratori said of scoring a last-minute goal when needed in the state tournament. They did it against Selinsgrove two years ago in the quarterfinal game.

I think they knew it was possible. They didnt give up.

But unlike that last-minute score to produce a 1-0 victory on the way to Crestwoods most recent state championship in 2012, there was no dramatic goal for the Comets as the clock ran down Saturday afternoon.

Instead, the season came to a painfully familiar conclusion.

Just as they did last year, the Comets arrived in Whitehall for the PIAA Class 2A state title game with an unbeaten record.

Crestwood held a slight advantage in play during a scoreless first half and took a 1-0 lead early in the second half, only to have the lead get away as the midway point in the second half approached.

Then a late goal by Villa Maria, another team with a lengthy string of state playoff success, put Crestwood behind too late to recover while suffering its only loss of the season, 2-1, in the final game.

Villa Maria Academy spoiled Crestwoods bid for an unbeaten state championship season just as Wyoming Seminary did one year ago with a 2-1 victory.

I really didnt think about last year and what we did, Moratori said. I thought that we played hard and unfortunately it was the same ending.

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Comets defeat eerily familiar

Comets come back and defeat the Milwaukee Wave 9-7 in Home Opener

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November 15, 2014 - Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) Missouri Comets The Missouri Comets earned their third consecutive victory after defeating longtime rivals Milwaukee Wave and are still undefeated in the 2014/15 MASL season. With two goals and two assists in the game, Leo Gibson was named Man of the Match and stands strong in the top of the league with 15 points (10 goals and 5 assists).

A sold out crowd at the Independence Events Center saw the reigning MISL Champions come back from a two-goal lead in the third quarter before the Comets notched three goals in less than two minutes.

The Milwaukee Wave took and early 3-0 lead in the first quarter with goals from Marcelo Fontana, JC Banks and Marcio Leite, however, Milan Ivanovic and Max Touloute helped the Comets shorten the lead to end the quarter with a 3-2 score.

After the first fifteen minutes, the visitors continued to put pressure on Danny Waltman's goal and five minutes into the second quarter Tenzin Rampa tallied his first of the night followed by another goal by Banks to get regain a three-goal lead before Andre Braithwaite found the back of the net with and incredible strike from the right side of the box ending the half with a 5-3 score.

Head Coach Vlatko Andonovski's team came out motivated from the break and scored three goals to make it 6-5 early in the third quarter before Anthony Arico tied the match. Two minutes before the end of the quarter, Perez notched his first of the night to end the quarter 7-6 in favor of the Comets.

Five minutes into the last quarter, Ian Bennett tied the game one more time for Milwaukee, but another goal from Perez and a beautiful finish from Gibson helped the Comets get a 9-7 win.

Next up, the Comets will host the Wichita B-52s at the Independence Events Center next Saturday, November 22nd at 7 p.m.

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Comets come back and defeat the Milwaukee Wave 9-7 in Home Opener

WHO Asks Canada To Justify Restricting Travel From Ebola Zone

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Nov. 05--The World Health Organization is asking Canada to justify its decision to restrict travel from the West African nations hardest hit by Ebola.

The Canadian government announced Friday that it would no longer issue travel visas or process permanent residency applications for people from the countries with "widespread and persistent-intense transmission."

The move puts Canada at odds with the World Health Organization, which has repeatedly urged countries not to prohibit travel to and from Ebola-affected countries, including Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

WHO officials argue that such measures are counterproductive because they complicate efforts to deploy relief workers and supplies, and because they might encourage affected countries and individuals to conceal the disease.

International Health Regulations agreed to by Canada stipulate that countries that impose travel and trade restrictions that go over and above measures recommended by the WHO should provide a public health rationale that is based on science, WHO officials say.

"Any strong measures [like border closures] need to be well documented and explained to those who are suffering from those measures," the WHO's Dr. Isabelle Nuttall said in an interview Tuesday with the Canadian Press news agency.

"If not, they will just be circumvented. People will find a way to travel. And the consequence to a country might be even worse than not having had a travel ban."

Nuttall said she had asked the Public Health Agency of Canada for an explanation. The agency told the Canadian Press that it would respond to the WHO's request "in the near future."

Canadian officials say the travel ban does not apply to Canadian nationals, who will continue to be screened for Ebola at ports of entry along with visitors from countries that do not require visas. Exceptions can also be made for essential travel by citizens of other countries, they say.

The "No. 1 priority is to protect Canadians," Health Minister Rona Ambrose said in a statement last week.

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Super Shuttle blames computer problems for service outage at airports

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SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, Calif. (KGO) --

"There are no vans right now," said a San Francisco International Airport worker.

That's the news Washington state resident Alice Fiman got about her ride minutes after landing at SFO from Seattle. And she had just received a confirmation text from Super Shuttle just moments before.

"It says, 'Welcome to SFO, proceed to upper level outside to middle curb,'" she said.

But after calling Super Shuttle, Fiman said she was a little frustrated.

"They said they would give me a refund and there was no other explanation after that," she said. "And they just told me I would need to find another way of transportation."

According to Super Shuttle's call center, a computer outage wiped out all reservations servicing SFO, Oakland, and Mineta San Jose International.

It happened overnight and no one knows when it will be fixed.

But one driver, who does not work for Super Shuttle, had a different explanation.

"The drivers got together and decided to have a sick out or a strike and from what I understand it will be for two days," said San Francisco shuttle driver Benny Videz.

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Super Shuttle blames computer problems for service outage at airports

AT&T Drops 'Super Cookie' Mobile Tracking

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AT&T said Friday that it will phase out the use of so-called "super cookies" that track users mobile activity in a far deeper manner than they might have realized.

An AT&T spokeswoman said the super cookies have "been phased off our network."

"We have been testing a numeric code that changes every 24 hours on mobile devices as an important protection against unauthorized tracking. It would be used to help serve ads on an anonymous basis. It plays a similar role to a cookie in online advertising. Some people have seen this code from our testing when they visit test sites," she said.

Verizon is also experimenting with super cookies. "As with any program, we are continuously evaluating and this is no different," according to a Verizon spokeswoman, who also pointed out that the use of identifiers like these are not restricted to wireless carriers.

At issue are tracking cookies intended to serve up relevant ads. The practice is nothing new for Web users, but as the Electronic Frontier Foundation noted earlier this month, these "super cookies" focus on mobile surfing and users cannot easily opt out.

"It allows third-party advertisers and websites to assemble a deep, permanent profile of visitors' web browsing habits without their consent," the EFF said. "In fact, it functions even if you use a private browsing mode or clear your cookies."

The tracking tech is included in an HTTP header called X-UIDH, EFF said, but unlike traditional Web cookies, the X-UIDH "is tied to a data plan, so anyone who browses the Web through a hotspot, or shares a computer that uses cellular data, gets the same X-UIDH header as everyone else using that hotspot or computer."

"That means advertisers may build a profile that reveals private browsing activity to coworkers, friends, or family through targeted advertising," the organization said.

Forbes said last month that AT&T users could opt out of super-cookie tracking by going to a special URL on their mobile device (while connected to cellular, not Wi-Fi) and opt out (pictured).

"Any new program we would offer would maintain our fundamental commitment to customer privacy," AT&T said in its statement. "Customers will be able to opt out of the ad program, and not have the numeric code inserted on their device. Customer trust is important to us, and customers have choices about how we use their information."

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AT&T Drops 'Super Cookie' Mobile Tracking