Mutant Strain of E Coli Bacteria Causing European Outbreak

The breaking news today from Europe is that the current outbreak of serious E. coli infections there represents the third-largest spread of the bacteria within the last decade or so.

The BBC reported today that the World Health Organization has identified the latest outbreak as representing a “completely new strain” of the dangerous bacteria.

While such outbreaks have occurred throughout the world before, and while widespread infections are not unheard of, there are a few characteristics about this particular outbreak that should have anti-terrorism experts and biological weapons watchdog groups on full alert.

According to the BBC report:

–> The WHO identified the E. Coli bacteria as a genetically new form of the bacteria.
–> This new form specifically causes haemolytic-uraemic syndrome (HUS) which affects the kidneys and the blood.
–> Scientists at Beijin Genomics Institute reported that this particular strain is especially infectious and toxic.
–> Experts report this outbreak is unique due to the high number of cases of haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS).

This new strain comes from two known strains – enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC) and enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC).

According to Dr. Paul Wigley, the most toxic elements of each strain have been combined to form a newer, deadlier strain of E. Coli with two toxins that attack the kidneys as well as the central nervous system.

Sounds like something a mad scientist would do…or maybe a terrorist?

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Poll finds Americans angry about pretty much everything

No wonder David Bowie was afraid of Americans.

A new Newsweek/Daily Beast poll finds that Americans are angry about…pretty much everything. From President Obama to congressional Republicans to even God (who has a 33 percent approval rating), everyone needs to watch out for an angry mob coming their way.

[ ... ]

Fifty-six percent are so angry that they can’t even sleep and 13 percent say the anxiety has affected their sex life.

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FEAR - Let's Have a War

Inner Mongolia Under Martial Law

As ethnic Mongolians are calling for demonstration on May 30, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) sends heavily armed riot police to major city venues, armored tanks are on standby in Xinhua city square and street police monitor for civic assemblies. The rights movement of Mongolians was not only heard in China, but overseas too.

Provincial cities of Inner Mongolia such as Hohhot, Tongliao, Chifeng, alongside Xilingele, Blue Banner and Xiwu Banner tribes are under CCP' martial law. Internet access is blocked in the capital Hohhot. Transportation is suspended in some regions and school students in Blue Banner tribe are forced to stay at school over the weekend.
Colleges are tightly watched by armed police and have no access to other venues and Internet.

Netizens at Inner Mongolia University said about a new rule, "Get back soon after finishing the exam." Plainclothes police are on campus, Internet is cut off, students ID cards are checked in and out of campus. Riot police is settled in Mongolian colleges.

Ethnic Mongolians in North America and Europe go on public protests, supported by other ethnicities, like Zang, Wei, Han, etc. They call for legal rights of ethnic Mongolians in China. 

South Mongolian human rights information center assembled on May 30 on Amsterdam's Dam Square, distributing flyers in protest of CCP's policies on Inner Mongolia and the pastoralists. Participants included exiled ethnic Mongolians Zang, Wei, Han.

Ethnic Mongolians in New York and Washington sat in protest at the Chinese embassy on May 29, asking for an unbiased trial on Mr. Mo's case, and calling on CCP to respect them. 

On May 27, Amnesty International published an article, "China Urged to Exercise Restraint Over Inner Mongolia Protests," asking CCP to respect the legal rights of protestors.

Exiled president of Inner Mongolia Rights League in Germany, Xi Haiming, said that Mr. Mo's case is just the tip of the iceberg of CCP destroying grassland and wrecking ethnic Mongolian families.

Xi Haiming: "There were two stages in CCP's seize of Mongolia territory. In Mao's time, CCP reclaimed wasteland for farming over animal husbandry; in Deng Xiaoping's time, CCP deprived their lands through mining industry."

With demonstrations occurring in Inner Mongolia, local herdsmen and 2000 students are calling for punishment of the truck driver who killed Mo. The protest is now spreading around the world. 

From May 27, CCP tightened its grip and imposed martial law within Xilin Gele, with military forces placed on streets and around government buildings. 

NTD reporters Zhao Xinzhi and Zhou Xinyi 

The Rise of the Second-String Psychopaths

by David Schwartz, CommonDreams.org

The great writer Kurt Vonnegut titled his final book A Man without a Country. He was the man; the country was the United States of America. Vonnegut felt that his country had disappeared right under his – and the Constitution’s – feet, through what he called “the sleaziest, low-comedy Keystone Cops-style coup d’état imaginable.” He was talking about the Bush administration. Were Vonnegut still alive in the post-Bush era, he would not have felt that his country had returned.

How had our country disappeared? Vonnegut proposed that among the contributing factors was that it had been invaded – as if by the Martians – by people with a particularly frightening mental illness. People with this illness were termed psychopaths. (The term nowadays is anti-social personality disorder.) These are terms for people who are smart, personable, and engaging, but who have no consciences. They are not guided by a sense of right or wrong. They seem to be unaffected by the feelings of others, including feelings of distress caused by their actions. Straying from a decent way of treating people, or violating ethical codes causes no anxiety, the anxiety which is what causes the rest of us to moderate our more greedy impulses. If most children feel anxiety when they are pilfering the forbidden cookie jar, psychopaths feel just fine. They can devour the cookies, shatter the jar as evidence and stuff it in the trash can. When accused, they can argue with apparent sincerity that the cookie jar has been missing for at least a week. There suffer no remorse, no guilt, no shame. They are free to do anything, no matter how harmful.

Psychopaths can be very tricky to recognize. As psychiatrist Dr. Hervey Cleckly wrote in his classic The Mask of Sanity in 1941, psychopaths are not technically insane. They don’t have a psychosis, like schizophrenia. They are experts in appearing normal. They can act the role of a caring, concerned executive, even though they actually do not seem to experience such feelings. If they hurt somebody, they don’t modify their behavior.

The United States corporate and government spheres have become, Vonnegut suggested, a perfect habitat for psychopaths. What has allowed so many psychopaths to rise so high in corporations, and then government, he wrote,

“is that they are so decisive. They are going to do something every fuckin’ day and they are not afraid. Unlike normal people, they are never filled with doubts, for the simple reason that they don’t give a fuck what happens next. Simply can’t. Do this! Do that! Mobilize the reserves! Privatize the public schools! Attack Iraq! Cut health care! Tap everybody’s telephone! Cut taxes on the rich!

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Anonymous Message to NATO

Greetings, members of NATO. We are Anonymous.

In a recent publication, you have singled out Anonymous as a threat to “government and the people”. You have also alleged that secrecy is a ‘necessary evil’ and that transparency is not always the right way forward.

Anonymous would like to remind you that the government and the people are, contrary to the supposed foundations of “democracy”, distinct entities with often conflicting goals and desires. It is Anonymous’ position that when there is a conflict of interest between the government and the people, it is the people’s will which must take priority. The only threat transparency poses to government is to threaten government’s ability to act in a manner which the people would disagree with, without having to face democratic consequences and accountability for such behavior. Your own report cites a perfect example of this, the Anonymous attack on HBGary. Whether HBGary were acting in the cause of security or military gain is irrelevant - their actions were illegal and morally reprehensible. Anonymous does not accept that the government and/or the military has the right to be above the law and to use the phony cliche of “national security” to justify illegal and deceptive activities. If the government must break the rules, they must also be willing to accept the democratic consequences of this at the ballot box.We do not accept the current status quo whereby a government can tell one story to the people and another in private. Dishonesty and secrecy totally undermine the concept of self rule. How can the people judge for whom to vote unless they are fully aware of what policies said politicians are actually pursuing?

When a government is elected, it is said to “represent” the nation it governs. This essentially means that the actions of a government are not the actions of the people in government, but are actions taken on behalf of every citizen in that country. It is unacceptable to have a situation in which the people are, in many cases, totally and utterly unaware of what is being said and done on their behalf - behind closed doors.

Anonymous and WikiLeaks are distinct entities. The actions of Anonymous were not aided or even requested by WikiLeaks. However, Anonymous and WikiLeaks do share one common attribute: They are no threat to any organization - unless that organization is doing something wrong and attempting to get away with it.

We do not wish to threaten anybody’s way of life. We do not wish to dictate anything to anybody. We do not wish to terrorize any nation.

We merely wish to remove power from vested interests and return it to the people - who, in a democracy, it should never have been taken from in the first place.

The government makes the law. This does not give them the right to break it. If the government was doing nothing underhand or illegal, there would be nothing “embarrassing” about Wikileaks revelations, nor would there have been any scandal emanating from HBGary. The resulting scandals were not a result of Anonymous’ or Wikileaks’ revelations, they were the result of the CONTENT of those revelations. And responsibility for that content can be laid solely at the doorstep of policymakers who, like any corrupt entity, naively believed that they were above the law and that they would not be caught.

A lot of government and corporate comment has been dedicated to “how we can avoid a similar leak in the future”. Such advice ranges from better security, to lower levels of clearance, from harsher penalties for whistleblowers, to censorship of the press.

Our message is simple: Do not lie to the people and you won’t have to worry about your lies being exposed. Do not make corrupt deals and you won’t have to worry about your corruption being laid bare. Do not break the rules and you won’t have to worry about getting in trouble for it. 

Do not attempt to repair your two faces by concealing one of them. Instead, try having only one face - an honest, open and democratic one.

You know you do not fear us because we are a threat to society. You fear us because we are a threat to the established hierarchy. Anonymous has proven over the last several years that a hierarchy is not necessary in order to achieve great progress - perhaps what you truly fear in us, is the realization of your own irrelevance in an age which has outgrown its reliance on you. Your true terror is not in a collective of activists, but in the fact that you and everything you stand for have, by the changing tides and the advancement of technology, are now surplus to requirements.

Finally, do not make the mistake of challenging Anonymous. Do not make the mistake of believing you can behead a headless snake. If you slice off one head of Hydra, ten more heads will grow in its place. If you cut down one Anon, ten more will join us purely out of anger at your trampling of dissent.

Your only chance of defeating the movement which binds all of us is to accept it. This is no longer your world. It is our world - the people’s world.

We are Anonymous.

We are legion.

We do not forgive.

We do not forget.

Expect us…

[ From Your Anon News ]

An Anonymous Message to NATO

Good evening, NATO.

We are Anonymous.

It has come to our attention that a NATO draft report has classified Anonymous a potential „threat to member states' security", and that you seek retaliation against us.

It is true that Anonymous has committed what you would call 'cyber-attacks' in protest against several military contractors, companies, lawmakers, and governments, and has continuously sought to fight against threats to our freedoms on the Internet. And since you consider state control of the Internet to be in the best interest of the various nations of your military alliance, you therefore consider us a potential threat to international security.

So we would like to make it clear that we, in reality, pose no threat to the people of your nations. Anonymous is not a reckless swarm attacking the websites of governments and companies out of hatred or spite. We fight for freedom. For ourselves, and the people of the world, we seek to preserve the liberty granted to the millions of people who have found it on the Internet.

In your draft, you mention the „data intelligence company" HBGary Federal, and how they were hacked by Anonymous. You use this as justification that we are a threat. What you conveniently fail to mention is that HBGary itself was engaged in illegal activity, including but not limited to: being contracted by the United States Chamber of Commerce to spy on & discredit unions and progressive groups, being contracted by the Bank of America to launch a campaign of misinformation against Wikileaks and it's supporters (going so far as to blackmail journalists), developing a new type of Windows rootkit to spy upon individuals, and developing astroturfing software that could make an army of fake social media profiles to manipulate and sway public opinion on controversial issues.

That this company which „tries to protect the US Government from hackers" was partaking in such illegal activity against ordinary, uninvolved citizens, whether it be for „the aid of security" or not, is completely disgraceful and utterly unacceptable.

We care not whether the actions we have taken in this struggle have complied with laws of the United States or any other country. What your lot fail to understand is that we live in cyberspace. The only laws that apply are the laws set forth by our individual consciences. We break your nations' laws when we recognize those laws to stand between the people and their freedom.

Anonymous is not simply „a group of super hackers". Anonymous is the embodiment of freedom on the web. We exist as a result of the Internet, and humanity itself. This frightens you. It only seems natural that it would. Governments, corporations, and militaries know how to control individuals. It frustrates you that you do not control us. We have moved to a world where our freedom is in our own hands. We owe you nothing for it. We stand for freedom for every person around the world. You stand in our way.

We hope you come to see that your attempts to censor and control our existence are futile. But if this is not the case, if you continue to object to our freedoms -- we shall not relent.

We do not fear your tyranny. You cannot win a battle against an entity you do not understand. You can take down our networks, arrest every single one of us that you can backtrace, read every bit of data ever shared from computer to computer for the rest of this age, and you will still lose.

So come at me bro. You can retaliate against us in any manner you choose. Lock down the web. Throw us in prison. Take it all away from us. Anonymous will live on.

We are Anonymous.
We are Legion.
We do not forgive.
We do not forget.
Expect us.

[ Via cyberguerilla ]

{NATO} You Mad Bro?

Hello This Is Anonymous... This Message Is For You North Atlantic Treaty Organization... In Recent News On Your Report...
Information and National Security" from General Rapporteur Lord Jopling of the UK discusses the potential good of social networks for fostering democracy, the WikiLeaks scandal, and how hacktivists need to be burned at the stake.
"Virtual communities operating online provide new opportunities for civil society, but they have also increased the potential for asymmetrical attacks," the report says. "Apart from causing harm, destruction or conducting espionage, most recent cyber attacks have also been used as a means to reach, a rather different goal, 'Hactivism' is a relatively recent form of social protest or expression of ideology by using hacking techniques."
The report then singles out Anonymous as an example of this new trend by relating the group's support of Julian Assange's WikiLeaks.But that "info-war" is only the beginning, according to NATO. "Observers note that Anonymous is becoming more and more sophisticated and could potentially hack into sensitive government, military, and corporate files." The report then explains how Anonymous hacked government contractor HBGary's servers and the CEO's Twitter account. after the group revealed the government's plans to take down WikiLeaks.

You Claim To Represent The Following.

1.Peace And Security That's Our Mission.

2.We Want To Be Sure That We Can Walk Around Freely In A Safe And Secure Environment. Security In All Areas Of Everyday Life Is Key To Our Well-Being, But It Cannot Be Taken For Granted.

3.NATO Promotes Democratic Values And Encourages Consultation And Cooperation On Defence And Security Issues To Build Trust And, In The Long Run, Prevent Conflict.


The Manner Of Which You Try To Push The Pursuit Of Anonymous. Seems To Be More Of An Issue Of Opportunity To Censor Anonymous. Rather Than An Honest And General Concern. All Of Anonymous' Previous Attacks And Protest Have Not Ignited Any Action Against Us From NATO. Though With The Most Recent Attack Of The United States Chamber Of Commerce Website. You Wish To Become Involved. If Your Goal Was To Start War With Anonymous. Then Why Would You Allow Visa, Pay Pal , Master Card And Countless Other Actions To Go Without Prosecution. Then A Simple Website Is Made Unavailable You Sound Your Drums Of War. Be Warned We Do Not Wish This. Nor Do We Want This. But Make No Mistake... We Will Defend Ourselves. We Are Anonymous. We Are Legion. We Do Not Forgive. We Do Not Forget. Expect Us.

Greece: 500,000 People Protest Against Greek Austerity

Almost 500.000 Greeks protested outside parliament on Sunday against a fresh austerity package agreed in return for the country’s second bail-out in 13 months by the European Union and International Monetary Fund.

“Thieves, thieves….Where did our money go?” the protestors shouted, blowing whistles and waving Greek flags as riot police thickened ranks around the parliament building on Syntagma square in the center of the capital.

Sunday’s protest was the 12th in as many days, and organizers have vowed to make it the biggest in recent weeks.

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~ See also: Madrid protests: 'We are a virus ... rooted and entrenched' ~