Lots to report, especially since yesterday was a sick day.
First up, from the Canadian Press via CBC, Canadian Big Brother watches, eh?:
Feds to monitor social media round-the-clock
Big Brother is watching you — on just about every social-media platform you can imagine.
Tweets, public Facebook posts and YouTube videos could soon be subject to round-the-clock scrutiny by the federal government, a procurement document posted this week by Public Works and Government Services Canada suggests.
The Toronto Globe and Mail looks at their latest toy:
How CSEC became an electronic spying giant
It is known as “Camelot,” and it is believed to be among the most expensive government buildings Canada has ever built.
Next year, the analysts, hackers and linguists who form the heart of Communications Security Establishment Canada are expected to move from their crumbling old campus in Ottawa to a gleaming new, $1-billion headquarters.
From NRC Handelsblad, Dutch Big Brother peeps away:
Dutch intelligence agency AIVD hacks internet forums
The Dutch intelligence service – AIVD – hacks internet web forums to collect the data of all users. The majority of these people are unknown to the intelligence services and are not specified as targets when the hacking and data-collection process starts. A secret document of former NSA-contractor Edward Snowden shows that the AIVD use a technology called Computer Network Exploitation – CNE – to hack the web forums and collect the data.
And oui too, via Bloomberg:
French Intelligence Involved in NSA Spying in France, Monde Says
French intelligence services worked “very closely” with the U.S. National Security Agency in spying on the country’s citizens, Le Monde reported, citing documents it said it obtained from Edward Snowden.
The outrage expressed by the French president after reports of NSA spying in the country made it seem like France was a “perfect victim,” the afternoon daily said. The documents, however, show that French intelligence agencies transfered massive amounts of data from France to their U.S. and U.K. counterparts, Le Monde said.
From Mother Jones, if all else fails, kill it:
The Government’s Secret Plan to Shut Off Cellphones and the Internet, Explained
“I find it hard to imagine why an internet kill switch would ever be a good idea, short of some science fiction scenario.”
From The Guardian, a blast from the past — 1960, when a Mediterranean island gained independence:
Secret memos show efforts of MI5, MI6 and GCHQ to maintain Cyprus base
Documents released by National Archives reveal how agencies worked to ensure UK presence on island after independence
The Reykjavík Grapevine covers hacking by parties unknown:
Confidential Info Leaked After Vodafone Hacking
Text messages of Icelandic MPs and ministers are now accessible online, as well as texts, passwords and other personal data of over 70,000 Vodafone customers after a cracker attacked Vodafone’s website.
Vodafone.is had to close down in the middle of the night after a Turkish hacker group broke into the site, RÚV reports.
On to Asia, and the emerging crisis over China’s expansion of its Air Defense Identification Zone via China Daily:
Air zone ‘not aimed at civilian flights’
China’s newly announced air defense identification zone does not target “normal” flights by international airliners, the Foreign Ministry said on Thursday, as Chinese fighter jets patrolled the zone.
Beijing rejected Japan’s demand that it scrap the zone, saying Tokyo should invalidate its own zone first.
From Japan Today, blowback blowback:
China media urge action against Japanese planes but not U.S.
China’s state media called Friday for “timely countermeasures without hesitation” if Japan violates the country’s newly declared air zone, after Beijing sent fighter jets to patrol the area following defiant military overflights by Tokyo.
And the Japan Daily Press covers an official response:
PM Abe says Japan will respond ‘firmly’ to China’s air zone issue
A lawmaker from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party says that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe assured them that they will respond “firmly but in a calm manner,” regarding the recent move by China to establish an air defense identification zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea that overlaps with the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu islands. Abe was also quoted as saying, “I will cooperate with allied countries, neighboring countries and international organizations.”
The Yomiuri Shimbun has more:
Japan, U.S. to up Senkaku surveillance
In response to China’s declaration of an air defense identification zone over the East China Sea that includes the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture, the Japanese and U.S. governments have confirmed that the Self-Defense Forces and U.S. forces will cooperate to strengthen warning and surveillance activities over the sea.
To block China’s move to change the status quo by force, which Japan and the United States consider to be an unacceptable unilateral action, the SDF plans to set up a new permanent unit of the Air-Self Defense Force’s early-warning E-2C aircraft at Naha Base in the prefecture, and expand deployment of the Global Hawk high-altitude unmanned reconnaissance drone.
As does the Asahi Shimbun:
Chinese envoy says Beijing will not retract ADIZ
Chinese Ambassador Cheng Yonghua said Beijing will not retract the Air Defense Identification Zone it established over the East China Sea last week.
“The measure is not designed to target a specific nation or objective,” Cheng said Nov. 29 during an interview with The Asahi Shimbun. “The ADIZ is a measure implemented by various nations because they feel a need from the standpoint of national security. China made the announcement because it was necessary.”
And Channel NewsAsia Singapore does too:
US forces operating ‘normally’ in China air zone
US military chiefs insist they will not change their operations despite a move by China to scramble fighter jets to monitor American and Japanese aircraft in Beijing’s newly declared air defence zone.
While Japan Today preaches prudence:
U.S. advises airlines to comply with China air zone demands
The United States on Saturday advised U.S. carriers to comply with China’s demand that it be told of any flights passing through its new maritime air defense zone over the East China Sea, an area where Beijing said it launched two fighter planes to investigate a dozen American and Japanese reconnaissance and military flights.
And a related item from Want China Times:
Xi calls for stronger strategic reserve forces
China’s president, Xi Jinping, has ordered the People’s Liberation Army to reinforce the party’s leadership over the troops, enhance its war capabilities and strive to build a strong strategic reserve force.
After the jump, Japan’s state secrets act provokes outrage, more Asian spying, Chinese censorship, the larcenous Pentagon, a cannibal cop [really]. . .and more:
Meanwhile, the Mainichi covers one of the latest developments in Japan’s rush to create a latter-day National Security State:
Newspapers across Japan blast state secrecy bill in editorials
Newspapers across Japan took aim at the government’s secrecy bill after its passage through the lower house Tuesday, with most saying parliamentary debate was insufficient and slamming the legislation for restricting the right to know and other areas they see as problematic.
Kyodo News has another:
Nobel laureates, scholars launch group against secrecy bill
From Kyodo News again, a spinner spins:
Minister flip-flops on matter central to national secrets law
The state minister in charge of a controversial bill to toughen penalties for leakers of state secrets on Friday flip-flopped on whether the government will consider establishing a code of contact between government officials and journalists.
The Jakarta Globe covers another ongoing scandal, this one triggered be revelations of Aussies spying on neighbors:
Finger of Spying Suspicion Swings In the Direction of Foreign Telcos
Singapore’s state-run communications operator Singapore Telecommunications, or SingTel, has come under fire following revelations that the company facilitated wiretapping by the coalition of English-speaking countries known as Five Eyes.
The Jakarta Globe again, with more, this time allegations of the neighbors spying on each other:
Singapore Won’t Confirm or Deny Spy Allegations: Minister
Singapore on Friday said it would not be drawn into confirming or denying allegations that it was part of a US-led electronic spying network in Asia.
Foreign Minister K. Shanmugam said at a forum that neighbors Indonesia and Malaysia, which summoned Singapore’s envoys this week over reports that such a network exists, are aware that the city-state has no intention to harm relations.
“You cannot say, this is five percent true or 95 percent true, that we work with the Americans and Australians on this aspect of counter-terrorism but not this aspect,” he said in comments carried by the Straits Times website.
More still, again from the Jakarta Globe:
Indonesia Still Verifying Singapore and S. Korea Spy Scandal Allegations
The Indonesian government is still trying to verify reports that Singapore and South Korea helped Australia tap into Indonesian telecommunications networks.
Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said the government would handle the case in stages, addressing reporters after a meeting on Thursday between government officials and House of Representatives’ Commission I, which oversees foreign and defense affairs.
The Japan Times covers Sino-censorship:
Line censoring messages in China
370 banned words found; firm mum on who’s selecting them and why
In another example of the dilemmas facing Internet companies operating in China, Japan-based instant messaging app provider Line Corp. has been censoring chats among users there, blocking the transmission of politically sensitive words and phrases.
Line, which announced Monday that the number of people using its app has topped 300 million worldwide, launched its services for Chinese users last December under the brand Lianwo, in partnership with Chinese IT company Qihoo 360 Technology Co.
And RT covers allegations of ancient black ops:
N. Korea releases ‘written apology’ of US war veteran detained for ‘espionage’
North Korean media say that the detained US retiree and Korean War veteran is a “criminal” and “masterminded espionage and subversive activities” against Pyongyang. A video with the veteran reading out a written apology for his alleged crimes followed.
Merrill Newman, an 85-year-old Korean War veteran from California was detained in October. It happened after he arrived in the country “under the guise of a tourist”, North Korean official KCNA news agency said.
From JapanToday, “my hair made me do it”:
‘Smart’ wig navigates by GPS, monitors brainwaves
Are you both bald AND lost? Then the new “SmartWig” from Japan might be just what you need.
The techno-toupe, which can read the wearer’s brainwaves and direct them to their destination with onboard GPS, is the latest—and possibly the wackiest—addition to the world of wearable computing.
Gizmodo covers a larcenous uncle:
U.S. Army Saved $130 Million by Stealing Software
The U.S. Army just paid a $50 million settlement over accusations that it illegally installed software on thousands of devices without a license. Even after the settlement, the Army ended up saving a bunch of cash. Maybe crime really does pay?
From RT, a fading imperial coverup:
What archives? UK ordered destruction of ‘embarrassing’ colonial papers
Britain systematically destroyed documents in colonies that were about to gain independence, declassified Foreign Office files reveal. ‘Operation Legacy’ saw sensitive documents secretly burnt or dumped to cover up traces of British activities.
For our final item, another German cop, behaving badly. Very badly. Via The Guardian:
German policeman arrested over death of man he met via cannibalism website
Officer points colleagues to places in garden where he buried remains of chopped up body, says Dresden police chief
