Wiretapping: Vodafone discloses direct government wiretaps into its network

Vodafone has become the first telecoms company to voluntarily reveal the scope of government snooping on mobile phone networks. It comes at a time when spy agencies face greater scrutiny for their surveillance practices.

One of the world's largest cellphone companies, Vodafone, has painted the clearest picture to date of the lengths governments go to snoop on he mobile phone communications of their citizens, saying authorities in some countries have direct wiretaps into its networks.

In the company's "Disclosure Report," released on Friday, Vodafone outlined the scope of government surveillance in 29 European, African and Asian countries

Most explicit was the disclosure that a "small number of countries" demand unfettered access to an operator's network without securing a arrant.

"It is a reminder that as chilling as the NSA's capabilities are, there are many countries around the world that are less restrained in the surveillance they conduct," said Julian Sanchez, a senior fellow and privacy expert at the Cato Institute in Washington D.C.

"In those countries, Vodafone will not receive any form of demand for lawful interception access as the relevant agencies and authorities already have permanent access to customer communications via their own direct link," the report said. 

Vodafone, which has 400 million customers worldwide, did not list the countries by name for legal reasons. But it did say it was prohibited by law to  disclose any information about wiretapping in Albania, Egypt, Hungary,  India, Malta, Qatar, Romania, South Africa and Turkey.

Read moreVodafone discloses direct government wiretaps into its network | Business | DW.DE | 06.06.2014

EU-Economy: Quantitative easing: ECB getting closer to US Fed-style stimulus ( Lets hope not) - by David McHugh

The European Central Bank has deployed a raft of aggressive measures to boost Europe's economy, but stopped short of the one many economists insist would do the most to help: large-scale purchases of bonds.

That could change sooner rather than later, analysts say, if inflation remains low.

Purchases of bonds using newly created money — called quantitative easing — have been used with some success so far by the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan. They can reduce market interest rates, making it cheaper for consumers and businesses to borrow, helping growth.

So why not in Europe?

To begin with, the ECB faces technical and practical challenges that other major central banks don't have. It has 18 different government bond markets, raising the question of whose bonds to buy and how many.

Beyond that, creating new money has long faced resistance in Germany, the biggest economy in Europe where central bank stimulus measures are looked upon with suspicion and have a prominent place in public discussions.

But after Thursday's meeting, things could be shifting.

At a press conference on Thursday, ECB President Mario Draghi held the door open to such bond purchases, suggesting Germany has at least softened its outright resistance. If inflation falls further, analysts think the ECB could start quantitative easing.

"Are we finished?" he said after the decision. "The answer is no." The ECB is keen to bring up the inflation rate, which at 0.5 percent is so low it raises fears the eurozone will fall into outright deflation, a crippling downward price spiral.

Note EU-Digest:  quantitative easing is the kiss of death for an economy and even though it creates some relief at first it will eventually come and haunt you, as the US is experiencing, but not speaking about. 

Read more: FRANKFURT, Germany: ECB getting closer to Fed-style stimulus - Business Breaking News - MiamiHerald.co

Ukraine's Burisma Hires Joe Biden's Son as Company Lawyer

Ukraine Energy company Burisma Holdings officially hired U.S. Vice President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden as a lawyer after the companyof-Interest">appointed him to the board of directors in April. The White House said there is no conflict of interest, even though the administration is working with Ukraine during its crisis with Russia.

Hunter Biden's employment means he will be working as a director and top lawyer for a Ukrainian energy company during the period when his father and others in the Obama administration attempt to influence the policies of Ukraine's new government, especially on energy issues. There's no indication that Hunter Biden, his father or Burisma are crossing any legal or ethical lines, although ethics experts appear divided over the implications of Hunter Biden's new job.

However, Nikolai Zlochevsky, one of ousted Russia-backed President Viktor Yanukovych’s allies, owns Burisma. He was a member of Parliament for the Party of Regions, which was Yanukovych’s party.

Ukraine's Burisma Hires Joe Biden's Son as Company Lawyer

Medical Alert: Put Your 'ICE' Number On Your Cell Phone

In case you have not heard of your ICE number (In Case Of Emergency)  this might be of importance.

Since most of us carry cell phones also please include in your phone telephone directory an ICE number. This is an internationally recognized emergency identification symbol known to global emergency services/ambulances/police/hospitals,  as to who needs to be called if you are in a critical emergency situation and need to have a  family or friend alerted. 

With your ICE number listed on your phone the emergency services do not need to do any guess-work as to who to contact if you get involved in an emergency or life threatening situation. 

It will take you only a few minutes to put your ICE number in your cell phone but could save you and your loved ones lots of trauma.

EU-Digest

EU Presidency: Herman Van Rompuy: ‘A huge majority want to stay in the union and the eurozone’

The eurosceptic backlash in the recent European elections was a major shock to the EU establishment.

Large numbers of people voted for anti-European parties across the bloc. In France Marine Le Pen’s Front National won 25 percent of the ballot, while in Britain the UK Independence Party (UKIP) bettered that still, with 27 percent of the poll.

Against that backdrop euronews’ Isabelle Kumar spoke to Herman Van Rompuy, the President of the European Council . In addition to discussing the political ramifications of the EU election result and what it means for Europe, Rompuy also spoke about the crisis between the EU, Ukraine and Russia, his future plans, and his love for Haiku poetry.

Play the video ( click on link below)  to watch the full interview

Press: Alternative Resources: Browsers - Search Engines - E-Mail Servers - News: Print, Radio and TV Services - by RM

There are other alternatives if you are you concerned about getting one-sided or doctored news from corporate owned or state controlled censored publications, radio and TV stations  ---- or that you are using search engines and e-mail services where you  really don't know what happens to your private and personal information.

Following below is a listing of alternative on-line services which provide you with more freedom of choice and where your personal data and privacy rights are presently not compromised.   

E-Mail Services
NEOMAILBOX
ECLIPSO

Search Engines 
Ixquick 

Browsers
Open source Tor Project

Alternative (unadulterated) News - Print, Radio, and TV

Aljazeera  (also in languages other than English)
BBC         (also in languages  other than English)
Deutsche Welle
EuroNews (also in languages other than English)
France24   (also in languages other than English)
LinkTV

Most of the above mentioned resources can also be downloaded as an APP for your smart-phone or computer.

In some countries where there is censorship some of these services won't work. In that case it is recommended to try using the Tor Browser to connect with them.

EU-Digest

The World's Most Competitive Countries

The United States is holding its own in first place. For the past 26 years, IMD, an international business school in Lausanne, Switzerland, has issued a list of the countries it says are the world’s most competitive.

\The U.S. had been in the No. 1 slot for more than a dozen years until the great recession knocked it from the top rung, in 2010. Though it regained the No. 1 slot in 2011, the hangover from the recession nudged it out of the top spot again in 2012. Once American financial markets recovered and business efficiency and profitability revived, it regained its dominant position last year. It’s in the No. 1 slot again this year.

IMD ranks 60 countries across the world, measuring a staggering 338 criteria in four broad categories—economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency and infrastructure. For one third of the ranking, IMD uses a survey of more than 4,300 international executives.

For the rest, it relies on hard statistical data from institutions like the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, which keep track of measures like direct investment, budget surpluses, revenues from tourism, and unemployment.

IMD also takes advantage of 55 “partner institutes” around the world, like Ireland’s development agency IDA Ireland, the Federation of German Industries, and the Mitsubishi Research Institute in Japan, who help gather statistics from national sources and distribute the executive surveys, which ran from January through March of this year.  (For more on IMD’s methodology, click here.)

Read more: The World's Most Competitive Countries