NSA Built Back Door In All Windows Software by 1999 | Washington's Blog:

NSA Built Back Door In All Windows Software by 1999

Posted on June 7, 2013 by WashingtonsBlog

Government Built Spy-Access Into Most Popular Consumer Program Before 9/11

In researching the stunning pervasiveness of spying by the government (it’s much more wide spread than you’ve heard even now), we ran across the fact that the FBI wants software programmers to install a backdoor in all software.
Digging a little further, we found a 1999 article by leading European computer publication Heise which noted that the NSA had already built a backdoor into all Windows software:

A careless mistake by Microsoft programmers has revealed that special access codes prepared by the US National Security Agency have been secretly built into Windows. The NSA access system is built into every version of the Windows operating system now in use, except early releases of Windows 95 (and its predecessors). The discovery comes close on the heels of the revelations earlier this year that another US software giant, Lotus, had built an NSA “help information” trapdoor into its Notes system, and that security functions on other software systems had been deliberately crippled.
The first discovery of the new NSA access system was made two years ago by British researcher Dr Nicko van Someren [an expert in computer security]. But it was only a few weeks ago when a second researcher rediscovered the access system. With it, he found the evidence linking it to NSA.
***
Two weeks ago, a US security company came up with conclusive evidence that the second key belongs to NSA. Like Dr van Someren, Andrew Fernandez, chief scientist with Cryptonym of Morrisville, North Carolina, had been probing the presence and significance of the two keys. Then he checked the latest Service Pack release for Windows NT4, Service Pack 5. He found that Microsoft’s developers had failed to remove or “strip” the debugging symbols used to test this software before they released it. Inside the code were the labels for the two keys. One was called “KEY”. The other was called “NSAKEY”.
Fernandes reported his re-discovery of the two CAPI keys, and their secret meaning, to “Advances in Cryptology, Crypto’99″ conference held in Santa Barbara. According to those present at the conference, Windows developers attending the conference did not deny that the “NSA” key was built into their software. But they refused to talk about what the key did, or why it had been put there without users’ knowledge.
A third key?!
But according to two witnesses attending the conference, even Microsoft’s top crypto programmers were astonished to learn that the version of ADVAPI.DLL shipping with Windows 2000 contains not two, but three keys. Brian LaMachia, head of CAPI development at Microsoft was “stunned” to learn of these discoveries, by outsiders. The latest discovery by Dr van Someren is based on advanced search methods which test and report on the “entropy” of programming code.
Within the Microsoft organisation, access to Windows source code is said to be highly compartmentalized, making it easy for modifications to be inserted without the knowledge of even the respective product managers.
Researchers are divided about whether the NSA key could be intended to let US government users of Windows run classified cryptosystems on their machines or whether it is intended to open up anyone’s and everyone’s Windows computer to intelligence gathering techniques deployed by NSA’s burgeoning corps of “information warriors”.
According to Fernandez of Cryptonym, the result of having the secret key inside your Windows operating system “is that it is tremendously easier for the NSA to load unauthorized security services on all copies of Microsoft Windows, and once these security services are loaded, they can effectively compromise your entire operating system“. The NSA key is contained inside all versions of Windows from Windows 95 OSR2 onwards.
***
“How is an IT manager to feel when they learn that in every copy of Windows sold, Microsoft has a ‘back door’ for NSA – making it orders of magnitude easier for the US government to access your computer?” he asked.

We have repeatedly pointed out that widespread spying on Americans began prior to 9/11.

We've reached the tipping point against Monsanto

Link: http://www.opednews.com/articles/The-Monsanto-Tipping-Point-by-Mike-Adams-130604-336.html (sent via ) ---- Source: Natural News Monsanto is now in full retreat against a global grassroots rejection of its poisons and lies. The company is backpedaling on every front now, even admitting defeat in Europe and now trying to focus its last, desperate efforts on the United States and Brazil. But even in the Americas, Monsanto is losing on every front: GMO labeling legislation is cropping up in over a dozen states, the global March Against Monsanto demonstrated global grassroots unity against GMOs, and even the so-called "science" behind the "safety" GMOs is revealed as utter hogwash now that GMOs have escaped Monsanto's experimental wheat fields and contaminated commercial wheat crops in America. Japan has halted U.S. wheat imports and South Korea joined in as well. Ben & Jerry's ice cream company has announced it is going 100% GMO-free, and massive boycotts are underway against brands that tried to block the GMO labeling ballot measure in California (Prop 37). We've reached the tipping point against Monsanto  Jeffrey Smith of www.ResponsibleTechnology.org has always talked about a "tipping point" being reached on GMOs, after which the flood of consumer awareness and demand would force food manufacturers and retailers to begin the process of ditching GMOs. I believe that tipping point has now been reached. In fact, I believe the March Against Monsanto was the final push over the fulcrum of the tipping point, and I am ecstatic that so many people all around the world marched in the streets to protest global food injustice while the wholly-discredited mainstream media sat back and pretended the march never even took place! In one fell sweep, the tipping point against Monsanto was triggered and the whole world realized the mainstream media has zero credibility. I'll call that a victory any day! Next steps: Commands from headquarters?  If you're waiting for "commands from headquarters" to figure out what's next in the war for food justice and farming justice -- the war against Monsanto and GMOs -- you don't really understand this movement. The beauty of everything that's happening today is that there IS no headquarters! Activists against Monsanto are simply making this up as we go along. There is no "leader." There is no secret strategy meeting. There are no talking points. There is no overarching set of milestones being discussed. There is no one person that makes all this happen. The anti-GMO movement is all just large numbers of courageous individuals waking up and doing what needs to be done, whether that's organizing a march, posting videos online, boycotting food brands that use GMOs, or holding home-viewing parties of DVDs that educate people on the truth about GMOs. This is the movement's strength. This is why nobody can be intimidated, sued or shut down by Monsanto. Behind every activist there are a thousand more carrying the torch for food justice. The anti-GMO grassroots movement absolutely will not stop until GMOs are banned from the global food supply, and that bold statement is just as true in Venezuela and Portugal as the United States. Everywhere that people eat food and grow food, everyone who is informed supports the idea of outlawing GMOs entirely. This goal will be achieved. I can see it now with clarity. The grassroots energy behind this movement is unstoppable. And while everyone in the grassroots anti-GMO movement may come from slightly different viewpoints on other social, political and economic issues, they all agree that GMOs have no place in the food supply, period! As I recently said in my speech at the March Against Monsanto in Austin: "The fact that you are here, in all your beautiful diversity... is proof that they cannot divide us! They can only unite us with their insanity!" If you are part of the effort to stop Monsanto and outlaw GMOs, you are winning. You are making a measurable, effective difference in the world, and the positive shockwaves of your efforts will be felt for generations to come. Keep up the good work. :-)   http://www.naturalnews.com/ Mike Adams is a natural health author and award-winning journalist with a strong interest in personal health, the environment and the power of nature to help us all heal. He has authored and published thousands of articles, interviews, consumers (more...)               The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.

GE News: Monsanto gives up fight for GM plants in Europe

GE News: Monsanto gives up fight for GM plants in Europe: Monsanto gives up fight for GM plants in Europe

The Genetic Engineering News is produced by the Ecological Farming Association, edited by EFA Board Member Thomas Wittman and supported by a generous donation from the Newman's Own Foundation. Click here to sign up for this news list and other news from EFA. Share this news on Facebook and Twitter!

Monsanto gives up fight for GM plants in Europe This article was originally published by DW.de on May 31, 2013. The world's largest producer of seeds, Monsanto, has apparently given up on attempts to spread its genetically modified plant varieties in Europe. A German media report said the firm would end all lobbying for approval. The German newspaper "taz" reported Friday that US agriculture behemoth Monsanto had dropped any plans to have farmers grow its genetically modified (GM) plant varieties in Europe. Monsanto Europe spokesman Brandon Mitchener was quoted as saying the company would no longer engage in any lobbying fur such plants on the continent, adding that at the moment the firm was unwilling to apply for approval of any GM plants. DW.DE Saying 'No' to genetically modified food All over the world, protesters have been rallying against genetically modified food - and in particular, against seed giant Monsanto. (28.05.2013) Monsanto said its decision was partly based on low demand from European farmers. "We've understood that such plants don't have any broad acceptance in European societies," Monsanto Germany spokeswoman Ursula Lüttmer-Ouazane commented. "We haven't been bale to make any progress over the years, and it's counter-productive to tilt against windmills," she added. Public resistance The German Agriculture Ministry said Monsanto's move was a corporate decision and would not comment further. But it added it was no secret the ministry had been highly critical of gene modification technologies. "The promises of GM industry have not come true for European agriculture, nor have they for the agriculture in developing and emerging economies," the ministry said in a statement. In Germany, the protest movement against GM plants has been particularly strong for years. Vociferous rallying prompted the government in 2009 to prohibit the growing of Monsanto's MON810 GM maize variety. Rivals of the US company, such as Bayer CropScience, BASF and Syngenta had largely withdrawn from the German market because of large-scale public opposition, the "taz" report claimed. hg/mz (dpa, AFP) The GE News Service is aggregated and distributed by EFA Board Member Thomas Wittman.  Thomas created this service in 1991 to provide the latest news about genetically engineered foods and the movement advocating for labeling and public awareness.  To contact Thomas, email genews@eco-farm.org. The Ecological Farming Association nurtures healthy, just food systems and communities by bringing people together for education, alliance building, and celebration. To learn more, visit www.eco-farm.org.

Tyranny of the Prefrontal Cortex

How the prefrontal cortex has come to dominate human consciousness: Shamanism is one of those controversial terms that can spark innumerable debates among both academics and spiritual seekers, such as whether it should be identified with a specific region, how old it is, and even how it should be defined. For our purposes, a shaman can be understood as a particular person within a hunter-gatherer society who is believed to have the ability to mediate between the everyday world and the spirit worlds (of which there are frequently two: an upper world in the sky and a lower world beneath the earth)

Nature’s Organizing Principles: The Li. | Finding the li

Nature’s Organizing Principles: The Li. | Finding the li: Ultimately “finding the li” is about finding our way in this world by finding ourselves. Or, in the words of Chang Tsai, one of the founders of the Neo-Confucianist movement

Note: This is the first in a series. Go to other posts:
1: Nature’s Organizing Principles: The Li.
2: The Li: Beyond the Laws of Nature.
3: Wiggles in the Stream of Time: Li and Ch’i.
4: The Rosetta Stone of Metaphysics: The Li.
5: Einstein, Chu Hsi and the Investigation of Things.

Benoit B. Mandelbrot

Benoit B. Mandelbrot:

Sterling Professor Emeritus of Mathematical Sciences Mathematics Department - Yale University IBM Fellow Emeritus T.J. Watson Research Center International Business Machines Corporation E-mail: benoit.mandelbrot@yale.edu

Seeks a measure of order in physical, mathematical or social phenomena that are characterized by abundant data but extreme sample variability. The surprising esthetic value of many of his discoveries and their unexpected usefulness in teaching have made him an eloquent spokesman for the "unity of knowing and feeling." Member of National Academy of Sciences

Mysterious, Massive Disappearance/Death of US Honey Bees – Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) : Target Health Global

Mysterious, Massive Disappearance/Death of US Honey Bees – Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) : Target  Health  Global

Diana Cox-Foster, a professor of entomology at Penn State University, has been working on the problem for months now. She says the die-off is unprecedented, and she’s made some dramatic discoveries. For example, the normally resilient bees she dissected showed traces of not one or two diseases, but nearly every disease known to affect them over the past century. They had all the diseases at once, a sign their immune systems have been compromised.