radiofree.asia

Category: Surveillance

  • ‘Brit Card’ clusterfuck receives universal scorn from Irish politicians

    The British government’s new Big Brother simulator, cunningly disguised as a digital ID scheme, has been roundly panned by parties across the North of Ireland. In a rare display of unity, politicians from across the ideological spectrum variously condemned the plans as “excessive and ill-conceived”, an “authoritarian disaster” and a “terrible idea”.

    Gerry Carroll of People Before Profit (PBP) said:

    This move is clearly motivated by a desire to appear tough on immigration, while distracting from Labour’s internal collapse and Starmer’s precarious position as leader.

    Jim Allister of the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) expressed:

    serious concerns about centralised control of personal data and its misuse.

    Meanwhile, Alliance MP Sorcha Eastwood simply said:

    It’s daft. People are frightened. I believe Tony Blair is at the heart of this.

    Foul hand of the Tony Blair Institute detected

    The latter point may be the strongest argument yet against the misguided scheme, which Keir Starmer has argued “will make it tougher to work illegally here.” Despot lover and world-class war criminal Blair has recently taken in £257 million for his noxious foundation from human data hoover Larry Ellison. The knock-off Marvel villain, who briefly became the richest person in the world, has expressed a desire to complete one of the final pieces of Britain’s total privatisation by buying the National Health Service (NHS) dataset.

    If you’re concerned by dead-eyed Silicon Valley plutocrats peering into your stool samples, the additional treasure trove of personal info from the so-called ‘Brit Card’ that will likely be sold off to them in future should certainly set alarms bells ringing.  Internet wits have already begun mining Blair’s role for memes.  The disgraced former Labour leader has previously tried the authoritarian gambit, under similar confected panics around “illegal” workers and benefit fraud.

    Downing Street has attempted to tout the benefits of the scheme, such as apparently:

    making it easier for the vast majority of people to use vital government services.

    Starmer’s chief secretary Darren Jones said:

    If we get this digital ID system working and the public being with us, that will be the bedrock of the modern state and will allow for really quite exciting public service reform in the future.

    Critics may wonder why the traditional approach to improvement of public services isn’t the first port of call – i.e. actually spending some money on them.

    The planned scheme is intended for use on a smartphone, though the government insists it is committed to ensuring those without the use of one will have the chance to suffer equally under the new dystopian paradigm. The official press release promises a:

    public consultation will engage with groups who aren’t as experienced with the digital world, like the homeless and older people, learning from other countries that have done this well.

    Other countries do indeed have a similar ID system, such as the United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan and China. Some of them aren’t even dictatorships, with fellow partial-democracies like France and South Korea also using digital recognition.

    Mooted convenience, but at what cost?

    Starmer’s promise of:

    being able to prove your identity to access key services swiftly – rather than hunting around for an old utility bill

    does sound appealing, but whether it’s worth further entrenching the power and information imbalance between the corporate-state nexus and the individual is a question that hasn’t been convincingly answered by the PR thus far. Doesn’t really seem worth eliminating rifling around in a drawer for an old utility bill.

    The case of the Six Counties is a further complication to an already ill-conceived scheme, as Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) MP Claire Hanna pointed out:

    Northern Ireland has complexities of identity, movement and governance. A one-size-fits-all digital ID imposed from Westminster risks ignoring those realities and undermining the progress we have made.

    The truth is that a Brit Card won’t fix the actual problems we face. Here in Northern Ireland, where people cross the border every day for work, family and study, imposing this scheme could be especially problematic.

    She argued that the region should be exempt from the ID’s rollout. While the scheme’s backers are insistent it won’t bring about a ‘papers, please’ society – the card will apparently only be demanded in a work context – nationalists and republicans accustomed to British state repression will find the thought of carrying a Brit Card about as welcome as a fart in a spacesuit. Allied to unionist scepticism over privacy rights, the surveillance scheme masquerading as digital convenience is likely to be dead in the water of the Irish sea.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Robert Freeman

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Microsoft Revokes Cloud Services From Israel’s Unit 8200

    Microsoft has terminated the Israeli army’s access to technology it was using to store vast troves of intelligence on Palestinian civilians in the West Bank and Gaza, the tech giant informed Israel’s Defense Ministry in a letter late last week, according to the Guardian.

    The decision followed an exposé last month by +972 Magazine, Local Call, and the Guardian revealing how Unit 8200, the Israeli army’s elite cyber warfare agency, was housing intercepted recordings of millions of mobile phone calls by Palestinians on Microsoft’s cloud platform, Azure, creating one of the world’s most intrusive collections of surveillance data over a single population group. According to the joint investigation, this data has been used over the past two years to plan lethal airstrikes in Gaza, as well as to arrest Palestinians in the West Bank.

    The post Microsoft Revokes Cloud Services From Israel’s Unit 8200 appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • Starmer rolls out ‘Brit cards’ in a new U-turn to a failed Blair-era policy

    This morning, 26 September, PM Keir Starmer announced the new, but long-threatened, ‘Brit cards’. This is a compulsory digital ID card that will be necessary in order to work in the UK or rent a home. The government claims that this is a measure against illegal immigration, tying it to rhetoric around the ‘small boats crisis’.

    This led us in the Canary newsroom to speculate as to whether Starmer genuinely has a big red button labelled ‘digital ID’ to push whenever he has too many crises going on at once. Unfortunately, we were forced to conclude that even Keir couldn’t be this clueless.

    If you wanted a distraction from the ongoing McSweeney scandal, surely you would look literally anywhere other than a deeply polarising mess of a scheme cooked up by…. McSweeney’s think tank, Labour Together. Right?

    Don’t we already do that?

    Making the announcement, Keir Starmer said:

    I know working people are worried about the level of illegal migration into this country. A secure border and controlled migration are reasonable demands, and this government is listening and delivering.

    Digital ID is an enormous opportunity for the UK. It will make it tougher to work illegally in this country, making our borders more secure. And it will also offer ordinary citizens countless benefits, like being able to prove your identity to access key services swiftly – rather than hunting around for an old utility bill.

    The official press release went on to explain that:

    A new digital ID scheme will help combat illegal working while making it easier for the vast majority of people to use vital government services. Digital ID will be mandatory for Right to Work checks by the end of the Parliament.

    The scheme will be available to all UK citizens and legal residents, saving time by ending the need for complicated identity checks which often rely on copies of paper records.

    Now, fair is fair, I need to offer my thanks to Labour here. Usually I at least have to read a few sections into a document before the glaring issues start cropping up. Here, some kind junior aide put the contradiction in the first three sentences.

    I don’t know about you, but the last time I got a job I had to provide a copy of my passport. Add to that a couple utility bills, bank statements, a blood sample, three strands of hair and a retinal scan. Don’t get me wrong, I’d be thrilled if that faff went away.

    But the point is: we very much do already check right to work in the UK. We also already have a digital and biometric identification scheme, specifically for migrant workers. They’re called eVisas – people usually receive them automatically when they apply for a visa.

    So what exactly is checking the right to work in the UK (but it’s digital now!) going to do to curb illegal immigration again?

    Haven’t we already tried that?

    If all of this stuff about mandatory ID cards sounds familiar, it should. We had nationwide compulsory ID during WW1&2 to help with things like rationing and conscription. It was scrapped in 1952 because of mission creep, as the cards were increasingly used for law enforcement purposes. At the time, we decided that this was fundamentally opposed to British values and civil liberties, and uncomfortably European (I’d say it was the 50s, but that bit sounds like Farage could have said it yesterday).

    Tony Blair actually tried cooking the idea back up again in 2006 with the Identity Cards Act. The pilot scheme finally got off the ground in 2008… and promptly failed miserably. Both the Conservatives and the Lib Dems opposed the plans as “intrusive, ineffective and enormously expensive”.

    Never one to let massive unpopularity and infeasibility stop him from championing a bad policy, Blair started banging on about the need for compulsory ID again in 2024. He wrote in the Times: 

    We need a plan to control immigration. If we don’t have rules, we get prejudices. In office, I believed the best solution was a system of identity, so that we know precisely who has a right to be here. With, again, technology, we should move as the world is moving to digital ID. If not, new border controls will have to be highly effective.

    However, at the time, then-home secretary Yvette Cooper ruled out the idea. She stated that:

    It’s not in our manifesto. That’s not our approach.

    That was 14 months ago, for anyone keeping count. It’s not even Labour’s fastest U-turn this year! so what changed?

    Well, apart from needing a new way to look ‘tough on immigration, grr’, Starmer’s team also received a policy paper championing the scheme. It was written by Labour Together, a think tank dedicated to pulling Labour to the right and opposing Corbynism. The document explained that:

    For a progressive society to work, it needs to be able to collectively agree who is allowed to join it. Because it will exclude those who cannot join it, it needs to give its members proof that they belong. The UK doesn’t do this. Our conflicted historic approach to issuing identity credentials has led to a situation that represents the worst of both worlds. We currently can’t effectively stop people from living and working in our country illegally. Nor can we efficiently support legal citizens and residents to exercise their rights.

    Some say that if you put your ear to a Labour Together policy paper, you can actually hear the echo of Blair whispering to you about the value of socially conservative but economically interventionist politics.

    Who actually wanted this?

    Starmer’s announcement has faced criticism from multiple angles. Over 500,000 individuals have already signed a petition opposing the measure, calling it  “a step towards mass surveillance and digital control”.

    Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said:

    There are arguments for and against digital ID, but mandating its use would be a very serious step that requires a proper national debate.

    Instead, this is a throwaway conference announcement designed to distract attention from Andy Burnham’s leadership manoeuvrings and the crisis in Downing Street over the prime minister’s chief of staff.

    If it’s too draconian for Badenoch, something’s gone really wrong. Likewise, Silkie Carlo – director of anti-surveillance campaign group Big Brother Watch – said:

    Digital IDs would do absolutely nothing to deter small boats but would make Britain less free, creating a domestic mass surveillance infrastructure that will likely sprawl from citizenship to benefits, tax, health, possibly even internet data and more.

    Incredibly sensitive information about each and every one of us would be hoarded by the state and vulnerable to cyber-attacks.

    Starmer has no mandate to force the population to carry digital IDs and millions of us will simply not do it. The cost to the public purse will likely run into the billions, much like Blair’s failed scheme, but the cost to our freedoms would be even more serious. He is making an enormous mistake and should drop the plans sooner rather than later.

    The National speculated as to whether any of the residents of Northern Ireland, Wales or Scotland had been consulted on being forced to carry a ‘Brit card’. The paper’s ‘Jouker’ asked:

    Did no one think about the ramifications of those in Northern Ireland being forced to carry a “Brit Card”? What about the Scots, of whom a large proportion would sooner defecate in their hands and clap than be referred to as a “Brit” in any form?

    Before the digital ID plans can take full effect, they’ll first go through a period of consultation. Then, they’ll need to be passed as legislation in the House of Commons.

    In the meantime, I’m sure Starmer would be grateful if you’d look away from the McSweeney scandal, Mandelson/Epstein, and the comparatively high charisma of Andy Burnham. There’s a good chap.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Alex/Rose Cocker

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Violating the Terms of Service: Microsoft, Azure and the IDF

    On August 6, The Guardian reported that “multiple individuals have asserted that the IDF [Israeli Defense Forces] is using Azure for the storage of files of phone calls obtained through broad or mass surveillance of civilians in Gaza and the West Bank.” The tale began in 2021, when Microsoft, the company responsible for the Azure cloud platform that promises endless wells of data storage, endorsed a plan that would enable Unit 8200, Israel’s famed cyberwarfare agency, customised access.

    The agreement, reached between the unit’s commander Yossi Sariel and Microsoft’s chief executive, Satya Nadella, was a boon for mass surveillance enthusiasts. The Guardian report, a co-investigative effort with Hebrew-language outlet Local Call and Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine, drew from leaked documents and 11 interviews from the corporation and the Israeli intelligence services.

    Nadella offered the fool’s defence, claiming ignorance at what Unit 8200 was hoping to store. A cursory look at the profile of Sariel’s outfit would have dispelled any doubts, suggesting that the chief executive was telling a massive fib. Three Unit 8200 sources, for instance, noted that Azure was used to facilitate “the preparation of deadly airstrikes and has shaped military operations in Gaza and the West Bank.” While Israel has long exercised control over the telecommunications infrastructure of the Palestinians, the cloud platform offered an indiscriminate netting of cellular calls.

    The company’s thick links to Israel has drawn much attention from employees within the organisation and activists associated with the No Azure for Apartheid group. Microsoft is not shy in admitting, as it did in an updated statement on August 15, that it “provides IMOD with software, professional services, Azure cloud services, and Azure AI services, including language translation. As with many governments around the world, we also work with the Israeli government to protect its cyberspace against external threats.” Nor is the tech behemoth shy in punishing employees who have dared exercise a conscience on the matter. Last month, Anna Hattle, Riki Fameli, Nisreen Jaradat and Julius Shan, were sacked for participating in protests on company premises regarding the company’s ongoing association with Israel. These demonstrations had apparently, in the eyes of the company goons, “created significant safety concerns”.

    The company had also conducted a previous undisclosed review into the findings of an investigation by The Associated Press that noted the use of Azure by the Israeli Defense Ministry and its insatiable appetite for commercial artificial intelligence (AI) products in the aftermath of the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas. On May 15, the company declared with implausible confidence that its internal assessments and external review had “found no evidence” that the Azure platform and AI technologies “or any other software, have been used to harm people or that IMOD has failed to comply with our terms of service or our AI Code of Conduct.”

    The dark publicity prompted by The Guardian and its co-investigators was enough to push Microsoft on August 15 to revisit the allegations, using the services of the law firm Covington & Burling LLP and the technical expertise of a consulting firm. On the morning of September 25, Brad Smith, Vice Chair and President, sent a message to Microsoft employees claiming that the ongoing review had “found evidence that support’s elements of The Guardian’s reporting. This evidence includes information relating to IMOD (Israel Ministry of Defense) consumption of Azure storage capacity in the Netherlands and the use of AI services.”

    The Ministry had duly been informed of the company’s decision to cease and disable bespoke subscriptions and their services “including their use of specific cloud storage and AI services and technologies.” The decision had been reviewed with the IMOD and steps taken “to ensure compliance with our terms of service, focusing on ensuring our services are not used for mass surveillance of civilians.”

    In keeping with the company’s vigorous spirit of having its cake and eating it too, Smith goes on to inform recipients of the message that the move did nothing to end or impair “the important work that Microsoft continues to do to protect the cybersecurity of Israel and other countries in the Middle East, including under the Abraham Accords.” And why would it? Israel is a reliable, valuable client, and had merely tripped in failing to abide by the terms of service. That such tripping played, as it continues to do, a vital role in the systematic destruction of Palestinian lives, infrastructure and cultural existence, was a minor matter. Palestinians, as the exhaustive work of Anthony Loewenstein shows, remain test subjects for new weapons, novel forms of targeting, and surveillance, an endeavour that has spawned a global cyber-military-industrial complex.

    This explains why the move by Microsoft did not precipitate the usual accusations of discrimination and antisemitism Israeli officials foamingly issue when their conduct is found wanting. This was framed as a commercial matter, a crease that could be ironed out with solicitude. “There is no damage to the operational capabilities of the IDF,” stated one military official to the Times of Israel. Having been forewarned about the measure, Unit 8200 had backed up the data it had stored before the access to the cloud services was terminated. Both the IDF and Microsoft can now continue their working relationship, as long as those tepid terms of service are observed, even if it entails the continued program of extermination in Gaza and apartheid in the West Bank.

    The post Violating the Terms of Service: Microsoft, Azure and the IDF first appeared on Dissident Voice.

    This post was originally published on Dissident Voice.

  • ADHRB at #HRC60 Exposes Reprisals Against Released Political Prisoners in Bahrain

    On 23 September 2025, Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) delivered an intervention during the 60th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, under the General Debate of Item 4. ADHRB drew the Council’s attention to ongoing violations against released political prisoners in Bahrain, including arbitrary dismissals, repeated arrests, travel bans, and retaliation against their families, urging immediate action to protect their rights.

    We draw the Council’s attention to the violations faced by released political prisoners in Bahrain.

    Prominent examples are Najah Yusuf and Ali Muhana, who were arbitrarily dismissed from their jobs after arrest, denied employment upon release, repeatedly re-arrested and summoned, and subjected to travel restrictions and retaliation through their sons. Authorities deny them certificates of good conduct, preventing access to these basic rights, while imposing arbitrary travel bans.

    Human rights defender Naji Fateel was arbitrarily dismissed just four months after being hired, following government pressure. He was also denied a housing loan and summoned twice in one month as an intimidation tactic. Despite UN experts’ calls to restore his rights, these violations persist.

    Another defender, Ali AlHajee, remains under security surveillance and has been repeatedly arrested for demanding his rights and exposing violations in Bahraini prisons.  Most recently, he faced new charges of “unlawful assembly” for documenting a pro-Palestine protest in Bahrain.

    We urge the Council to take immediate action to end reprisals against released prisoners in Bahrain and to hold the authorities accountable for these violations.

    The post ADHRB at #HRC60 Exposes Reprisals Against Released Political Prisoners in Bahrain appeared first on Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain.

    This post was originally published on Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain.

  • The Anti-Migrant Crackdown Is Also a Reproductive Justice Crisis

    A 28-year-old woman, who was set to give birth in a matter of days, was detained by immigration authorities in California this summer amid the current presidential administration’s crackdown on immigrants, asylum seekers, and U.S. citizens. Her story is part of a disturbing rise in pregnant people suddenly being approached by border patrol officers or plain-clothed Immigration and Customs…

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • While arresting grannies, the UK government has been working with ISIS-linked banned terror group for years

    Departing MI6 boss Richard Moore has publicly admitted during a speech in Istanbul that his spy organisation has been working for years with ISIS affiliate HTS in Syria. HTS is a proscribed group banned as terrorists under the Terrorism Act.

    Moore told his audience in Istanbul:

    We sourced intelligence on Sudan in hours: we continue to counter terror emanating from Afghanistan, and, having forged a relationship with HTS a year or two before they toppled Bashar, we forged a path for the UK Government to return to the country within weeks.

    He continued:

    Syria is a good example of where, if you can get ahead of events, it really helps when they suddenly, unexpectedly, move at a faster pace.

    Meanwhile, the Starmer regime and its enforcers have been arresting disabled people and pensioners like it’s going out of fashion, just for holding signs opposing the proscription of the non-violent anti-genocide group Palestine Action. Yet it’s now public record that it has been actively supporting another proscribed organisation. As well as ISIS, HTS is affiliated with another banned terror group, al-Qaeda.

    UK government working with ISIS-linked group while arresting pensioners for ‘terrorism’

    According to former ambassador Craig Murray, who broke the news:

    As I learnt while in Lebanon, the British support for HTS included intelligence support, training and weapons, based at secret UK bases in the Bekaa valley, including inside the Rayak airbase. It also included support via an NGO named Inter-Mediate, run by current British National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell, who is Tony Blair’s old Downing Street Chief of Staff.

    In the UK neither the government nor the security services stand above the law. The fact that neither Moore nor Powell nor any of those on the ground directly involved in actively and substantively supporting HTS – a proscribed organisation – has been arrested, while people are arrested for holding a placard supporting Palestine Action because it is a proscribed organisation, is the very definition of arbitrary and oppressive government.

    The impartial rule of law in the UK has collapsed completely. All of this was material support to a proscribed organisation.

    Starmer, of course, continues to aid one of the world’s biggest, best-funded and most murderous terror groups – the Israeli occupation, while trying to cover his backside by recognising the statehood of a Palestinian state that terrorist Israel is trying to obliterate.

    HTS remains on the government’s list of proscribed terror organisations.

    By Skwawkbox

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • EXPOSED: Samsung phones embedded with ‘unremovable’ Israeli spyware

    Social Media Exchange (SMEX), a nonprofit digital human rights organisation focusing on the West Asia/North Africa (WANA) region, has warned people living in these regions that an effective spyware app developed by an Israeli firm is quietly embedded in Samsung smartphones across the region and poses a serious surveillance threat.

    Samsung phones: embedded with Israeli spyware

    SMEX has written publicly to Samsung complaining that its A and M series mid-range handsets either come with the ‘Aura’ app already installed or installs it automatically through system updates without user consent – and demanding it end the practice. This ‘bloatware’ application, according to SMEX:

    collects sensitive personal data, cannot be removed without compromising device security, and offers no clear information about its privacy practices.

    SMEX warns that this data can easily be misused to identify users, particularly if location tracking is enabled on any apps installed via Aura, creating a serious security threat in a region – even more so in a region where Israel has repeatedly used technology either to spy on users or to target them for assassination.

    The app’s privacy settings claim that users can disable this data collection by turning off “AppCloud” in the app list. But, according to SMEX, deletion requires the user to submit a form that does not exist, making it impossible to fully remove, at least without advanced technical expertise.

    Collecting biometric info, IP addresses, and fingerprints without consent

    ​​Since 2022, Samsung in the region has partnered with Israeli tech company ironSource to integrate the software into phones across the region, supposedly to “enhance user experience”. In its letter to Samsung, SMEX describes the firm as “notorious” and the software as “impossible” to remove:

    According to our analysis, this intrusive software is unremovable, deeply integrated into the devices’ operating system, making it nearly impossible for regular users to uninstall it without root access, which voids warranties and poses security risks. Even disabling the bloatware is not effective as it can reappear after system updates.

    The privacy policy is opaque, there is no accessible and transparent privacy policy for this bloatware and users are in the dark about what data is collected and how it is used. There is also no straightforward opt-out mechanism. The bloatware collects sensitive user data, including biometric information, IP addresses, device fingerprints.

    The installation of AppCloud is done without any consent from the user, which violates GDPR provisions in the EU and relevant data protection laws in the WANA region states.

    AppCloud is developed by ironSource, an Israel-founded company (now acquired by American company Unity), raising additional legal and ethical concerns in countries where Israeli companies are barred from operating, such as Lebanon. ironSource is notorious for its questionable practices regarding user consent and data privacy.

    The scandal is reminiscent of the ‘Pegasus’ spyware scandal involving Israeli hacks into the ‘WhatsApp’ messaging programme, reportedly spying on human rights activists, senior government and UN officials, including in Europe, and allegedly used in the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

    Feature image via the Canary.

    By Skwawkbox

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • A London council has gone full Orwell mode, Big Brother Watch has warned

    Hammersmith and Fulham Council have committed to massively expanded surveillance in the area, according to Big Brother Watch. This will include more camera, facial recognition and a FLEET OF DRONES!

    But don’t worry, it will only cost us a mere… THREE MILLION QUID.

    Warning that the area would be turned into a AI open prison, Big Brother Watch tweeted:

    They pointed out that London already has more cameras per person than anywhere in the country:

    And that the move could end privacy in public areas altogether:

    Surveillance capital

    Facial recognition technology is extremely controversial. And, the racial dimension of the tech cannot be forgotten. On 16 September, we reported how the London Met has admitted not using used facial recognition technology at the massive fascist-organised rally in London last weekend. However, the Met did decide to use it at Notting Hill carnival recently.

    Facial recognition has also been used in the past against anti-arms trade activists and is routinely used by authoritarian states like Israel, with chilling effect.

    Featured image via Unsplash/Alan Hendry

    By Joe Glenton

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • True, Or Fake News? ‘90% Of Nicaraguans Feel Spied Upon’

    The “spied upon” headline from El Pais is unequivocal. The story, in the newspaper’s English-language edition, says that Nicaraguans live in “a climate of permanent surveillance” in which they distrust even their neighbors. Further, apparently harmless community meetings are really “a mechanism of social control” where they “feel watched.” El Pais sources a survey carried out “independently” by an organization called Hagamos Democracia (“Let’s Make Democracy”), based in Costa Rica. Its president, Jesús Tefel, says that people can’t “express opinions openly for fear of being betrayed.” El Pais’s conclusion is that Nicaraguans live under “constant surveillance and repression.”

    The post True, Or Fake News? ‘90% Of Nicaraguans Feel Spied Upon’ appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • “90% of Nicaraguans Feel Spied Upon” – True, or Fake News?

    The “spied upon” headline from El Pais is unequivocal. The story, in the newspaper’s English-language edition, says that Nicaraguans live in “a climate of permanent surveillance” in which they distrust even their neighbors. Further, apparently harmless community meetings are really “a mechanism of social control” where they “feel watched.” El Pais sources a survey carried out “independently” by an organization called Hagamos Democracia (“Let’s Make Democracy”), based in Costa Rica. Its president, Jesús Tefel, says that people can’t “express opinions openly for fear of being betrayed.” El Pais’s conclusion is that Nicaraguans live under “constant surveillance and repression.”

    Is this true or is it fake news? To probe this question, let’s first take a look at the author of the article and the main sources used.

    Wilfredo Miranda, the journalist, is a Nicaraguan based in Costa Rica. He’s written 23 articles for El Pais in the past twelve months, all but two of them negative stories about Nicaragua’s government. This is hardly surprising since his career has been entirely in opposition news outlets, such as Divergentes, which he founded, and Confidencial. The latter is owned by the wealthy Nicaraguan family of the Chamorros, who received at least $7 million from USAID to promote opposition media in the run up to the attempted coup in Nicaragua in 2018. Miranda has also written for the UK Guardian and for the Washington Post.

    Hagamos Democracia is a non-governmental organization (NGO), founded in 1995 in Nicaragua, closed by the government in December 2018 and now based in Costa Rica. Its funding sources prior to its closure included USAID (US$801,390) and the National Endowment for Democracy (US$525,000). In Costa Rica it received US $1,114,000 from Washington to work with exiled political activists. Its sparse website claims the NGO is independent. It says nothing about its funding sources or how it’s run.

    Jesús Tefel, a Nicaraguan exiled in Costa Rica, became the organization’s president in 2024. Tefel is a founder of one of Nicaragua’s main opposition political parties and part of an initiative called “Monteverde,” which is attempting to unite these diverse groups.

    Behind Hagamos Democracia is Luciano “Chano” García, alleged to have bought its presidency in 2017 until he stood down in Tefel’s favor last year. Chano is a long-time opponent of Nicaragua’s Sandinista government and a relative of former dictator Anastasio Somoza. An organizer of the coup attempt in 2018, he recruited known violent, criminals, called for the overthrow of the government and campaigned for police officers to desert their posts. When the coup attempt failed, he fled to Costa Rica, allegedly with the help of a CIA agent. Chano is accused by Nicaragua’s attorney general of organized crime, terrorism, and conspiracy against the constitutional order.

    Second, let’s look at the survey itself. How was it carried out when the population is supposedly “under constant surveillance”? How can Hagamos Democracia conduct a survey in a different country? We do not know because the survey has not been published, but previous surveys have been. Here’s how they work:

    • Typically they have 400 respondents out of Nicaragua’s 7 million population, the bare minimum to ensure reasonable confidence in the results, provided that the sample is truly random.
    • But it isn’t: surveys are done using Whatsapp or Signal, limiting their coverage to people with smartphones who use those apps, excluding huge numbers of the government’s working-class supporters.
    • Respondents then have to fill in a Google questionnaire with around 45 questions – a further barrier, limiting the survey to those with the necessary skills and familiarity with such forms.
    • Worse still, assuming that those carrying out the survey say who they work for, many Sandinista sympathizers would simply hang up on hearing the words “Hagamos Democracia.”

    Third, let’s look at the timing: the survey was carried out July 18 to 23 this year, precisely the weekend when millions of Nicaraguans were celebrating the 46th anniversary of the Sandinista revolution. There could hardly be a worse moment to carry out a balanced survey that required detailed attention to a survey form.

    Faced with all these facts, an objective observer would surely conclude that the survey is political propaganda and that a responsible newspaper would have ignored it.

    In any case, a thoughtful reader might ask, if these neighborhood meetings are “a mechanism of social control”, why do people go to them? The reality is that, while naturally their effectiveness varies, many are excellent examples of grassroots democracy, designed to hold public services to account. For example, in the city of Masaya one barrio committee has been pushing for better garbage-collecting services and assists the local health center in ensuring that local people with chronic illnesses get treatment. A typical meeting in this barrio sees 100-200 neighbors listening to and questioning officials in a friendly atmosphere, far from the “repression” portrayed by El Pais. Such levels of participation should be the envy of western “democracies”, rather than being scorned.

    El Pais also fails to set the context for the issues covered in the article. If readers knew that Nicaragua had suffered a violent, US-funded coup attempt in 2018, in which over 200 ordinary people and 22 police officers were killed in opposition violence that continued for three months, they might appreciate why a degree of vigilance is required.

    This omission is not surprising. El Pais’s demonization of Nicaragua goes back a long way. It unashamedly supported the 2018 “rebellion” and glorified the US-funded violence. Many of its articles about Nicaragua, like this one, appear to ignore its own ethical code about balanced reporting.

    El Pais ridicules President Ortega’s warning in July of growing threats from Washington, against a country whose defense budget is one of the smallest in the Americas. Yet the warning resonates with many Nicaraguans who want no repetition of 2018’s violence. Most regard Nicaragua’s standing as one of Latin America’s safest countries to be worth protecting and view with alarm the growing lawlessness in next-door Costa Rica (over 500 homicides in 2025 so far).

    Readers might also wonder why El Pais singles out Nicaragua, when its readers in the West really are under “permanent surveillance.” According to some studies, those in the USA are caught on surveillance cameras 34 times a day, while for people in the UK the number doubles. Spain uses Israeli “Pegasus” spyware against those pushing for an independent Catalonia. And, of course, secret surveillance of our phone calls and emails has been revealed as widespread by Edward Snowden and other whistleblowers.

    The irony of El Pais’s article is that, unconsciously, it pays a backhanded compliment to a country where – according to this fake news survey – only “90%” of Nicaraguans feel spied upon.

    The post “90% of Nicaraguans Feel Spied Upon” – True, or Fake News? first appeared on Dissident Voice.

    This post was originally published on Dissident Voice.

  • Global Sumud Flotilla Advances Towards Tunisia Under ‘Harassment’ Of Surveillance Drones

    The Global Sumud Flotilla is advancing towards Gaza and is already sailing towards Tunisia, divided into two large groups. Both expeditions will meet in Tunisia at the end of the week, when they will be joined by another twenty boats in what the organizers consider to be the “largest humanitarian mission in solidarity with Palestine.”

    Technical problems and bad weather have significantly delayed the flotilla’s schedule, which set sail on August 31 from Barcelona and has so far only been able to cover a handful of nautical miles. Harsh sea conditions forced several boats to be repaired, and after a particularly violent storm on Monday, September 1, the expedition was divided between the ports of Mahón (Menorca) and Barcelona.

    The post Global Sumud Flotilla Advances Towards Tunisia Under ‘Harassment’ Of Surveillance Drones appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • Citizens of Switzerland Say NO to the Electronic ID (e-ID): And Now the Swiss Government Calls upon them to Vote Again

    On 7 March 2021, Swiss citizens voted already on the introduction of the electronic ID (e-ID) and rejected the government’s proposals by a landslide of 64.4% NO, against 35.6% YES.

    This was just four years ago. And now the Swiss government puts the proposal again before the people. Not voluntarily. It was presented to both Swiss Parliamentary Houses and accepted, as is often the case, as the Swiss Parliament does not really represent the interests of the people, but the interests of business.

    This is a clear signal that Switzerland has converted from a democratic republic to a corporation, with a corporate accounting system, where profit making is the Master, where the common people are the workers, and those at the head of the Corporation, like the Seven gnomes in Bern, are the Swiss Corporate Management, the CEOs so to speak.

    Immediately, a referendum was launched against the e-ID, so that the government must present the e-ID proposal again to the Swiss people. This time with better prepared arguments with more lies and misinformation, because the essence of the e-ID remains the same: It would be a major step into full digital control, full digital enslavement of the population.

    Just as a reminder, Swiss Parliamentarians absurdly have the right to sit on the boards of as many corporations and financial institutions as they desire. It is the epitome of conflict of interest.

    It means we have in Switzerland a built-in lobby, close to unique worldwide, in a country that calls itself the heart of democracy.

    Think again.

    Now the case of YES or NO e-ID is again presented to the same people, with other arguments and, frankly, misinformation that should make a “yes” vote more palatable. What it really means, the Swiss Government wants to push this e-ID through, come hell or high water. What does that tell you about our government?

    Can it be trusted as it pretends and want you to believe?

    No way!

    Why else would the Government disrespect the will of the people, so clearly expressed with an almost two-thirds voter rejection of e-ID in 2021, just four years ago?

    Do not trust the government.

    You have not forgotten the Covid scandal, better called Covid-crime — a good reason for disbelieving anything pushed by the Government against the will of the people.

    Let us just enumerate a few of the most obvious arguments against an e-ID, arguments valid around the world, not just in Switzerland.

    Arguments against e-ID include privacy risks, with legitimate fears of data tracking and exploitation for profiling and marketing by companies or authorities. Just think of the “cookies” you must approve for almost any article you want to read.

    Security concerns are issues due to potentially insecure technology and insufficient protection against cyberattacks, i.e., data can be stolen and sold to who knows whom, for example to the so-called Five-plus One Eyes, the Secret Services of the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and guess who? Israel’s Mossad.

    Data can also simply be used by our government for total control and manipulation of groups or individual citizens who do “not behave.” Digital data can be linked to bank accounts and block bank accounts, if the Master authorities deem it necessary, because a citizen is out-of-line with a corrupted and dictatorial government policy. Digital e-ID is the precursor for a Social Credit System.

    Digital exclusion, or discrimination, is another issue as those unfamiliar with digital tools could be disadvantaged or forced out of accessing services. Additionally, there are fears of increasing coercion by companies or authorities to use the e-ID, and the possibility that it could, indeed, enable a social credit system.

    Digital e-ID data could be used for blackmailing, either by your own government or by those who have stolen or bought your digital data.

    Today, Swiss citizens at home and abroad must use their paper ID card or passport to prove their identity.

    That is SAFE.

    With digital e-ID, you must download one or various apps on your computer and smartphone to be able to upload a digital ID. Every new App is a new risk.

    Like with electronic payment systems – another enslavement horror which unfortunately many people, especially the younger generations, have not yet realized – data on your smart phones can be hacked, and when your phone is lost or stolen, all your security is gone, including banking ID and everything linked to the digital e-ID.

    For now, the Swiss Government says the e-ID will remain optional.

    Wait a minute: That’s “for now.”  In 2026, the government is planning to introduce a biometric Swiss identity card (ID), a precursor to the e-ID. Have you been told about it?

    The Swiss Government is among those governments which push most for an all-digitization of everything, including money. Once a certain level of digitization is reached, the next step to compulsory e-ID is easy. The government simply erases the validity of paper IDs – and what will you do against it?

    You are then at the point of no return, digitally enslaved with hardly an escape.

    An ALARM, please vote NO on 28 September 2025 on the digital e-ID, make it a resounding NO, against digitization of everything.

    The post Citizens of Switzerland Say NO to the Electronic ID (e-ID): And Now the Swiss Government Calls upon them to Vote Again first appeared on Dissident Voice.

    This post was originally published on Dissident Voice.

  • How Pro-Palestine Youth Are Responding To Online Censorship

    When Israel initiated plans to evict Palestinians from their homes in occupied East Jerusalem to make way for illegal settlers, millions of young people around the world got involved in a high-profile social media campaign to raise awareness. 

    Using the hashtag #SaveSheikhJarrah, more than 40 million people joined in, forming part of a wave of online organising that set the stage for a new era of pro-Palestine digital activism.

    That trend continued as Israel launched its ongoing genocide in Gaza in October 2023 with activists dedicating their instagram feeds and TikTok reels to spreading awareness of Israeli atrocities.

    But mounting censorship on social media, digital fatigue and a hunger for deeper forms of engagement, are forcing organisers to shift gears and adopt new modes of activism.

    The post How Pro-Palestine Youth Are Responding To Online Censorship appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • Organizers Are Demanding Palantir Drop Contracts With ICE and Israeli Military

    An organizer, wearing a keffiyeh and a shirt reading “Divest from Genocide,” stood on a table: “We’re all standing here today to hold companies like Palantir and Microsoft accountable for their role powering the world’s first AI-assisted genocide.” Behind them, nearly 100 activists from Jewish Voice for Peace filled the lobby of Palantir’s Seattle offices on July 14, 2025.

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • Microsoft Launches Formal Review Into Gaza Surveillance Claims

    Microsoft announced on 15 August that it has opened an independent review into the reported use of its Azure cloud technology by the Israeli military’s Unit 8200, following detailed investigations published by The Guardian, +972 Magazine, and Local Call.

    The company updated a blog post originally published in May, saying it does not always have visibility into how clients deploy its software once installed on private servers and devices.

    “Microsoft appreciates that The Guardian’s recent report raises additional and precise allegations that merit a full and urgent review,” the company said. It pledged to release its findings once the review, led by Covington & Burling LLP, is complete.

    The post Microsoft Launches Formal Review Into Gaza Surveillance Claims appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • Oppression Starts With Concrete and Ends With the Mind at West Bank Crossing

    Checkpoint 300 is between two of the most important centers of Palestinian life, Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Built into Israel’s West Bank wall (the “separation barrier”), the checkpoint complex is itself an extraordinary organization of space: turnstiles and corridors corral and subordinate a colonized population for inspection and validation by soldiers and security staff. Crushing queues…

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • ICE Agents Are Wearing Construction Worker Disguises For Surveillance #politics #trump


    This content originally appeared on The Intercept and was authored by The Intercept.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • ICE Agents Are Wearing Construction Worker Disguises For Surveillance #politics #trump


    This content originally appeared on The Intercept and was authored by The Intercept.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • ICE Agents Are Wearing Construction Worker Disguises For Surveillance #politics #trump


    This content originally appeared on The Intercept and was authored by The Intercept.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Microsoft Helping Israel Spy On Millions Of Palestinians Since 2021

    Israel has been using a Microsoft cloud platform to store massive amounts of data and intelligence on Palestinians in both the occupied West Bank and Gaza, according to a new investigation carried out by +972 Magazine, Local Call, and The Guardian. 

    The investigation reveals that Microsoft’s chief executive met in 2021 with the commander of Israel’s notorious Unit 8200 – the military intelligence unit involved in the pager terror attacks against Lebanon and other covert operations across the region. 

    Unit 8200 chief Yossi Sariel convinced Microsoft’s Satya Nadella to grant Israeli military intelligence access to a “customized and segregated area” inside the Azure cloud platform, according to The Guardian.

    The post Microsoft Helping Israel Spy On Millions Of Palestinians Since 2021 appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • Marshall Islands president warns of threat to Pacific Islands Forum unity

    By Giff Johnson, Marshall Islands Journal editor/RNZ Pacific correspondent

    Leaders of the three Pacific nations with diplomatic ties to Taiwan are united in a message to the Pacific Islands Forum that the premier regional body must not allow non-member countries to dictate Forum policies — a reference to the China-Taiwan geopolitical debate.

    Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine, in remarks to the opening of Parliament in Majuro yesterday, joined leaders from Tuvalu and Palau in strongly worded comments putting the region on notice that the future unity and stability of the Forum hangs in the balance of decisions that are made for next month’s Forum leaders’ meeting in the Solomon Islands.

    This is just three years since the organisation pulled back from the brink of splintering.

    Marshall Islands, Palau and Tuvalu are among the 12 countries globally that maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

    At issue is next month’s annual meeting of leaders being hosted by Solomon Islands, which is closely allied to China, and the concern that the Solomon Islands will choose to limit or prevent Taiwan’s engagement in the Forum, despite it being a major donor partner to the three island nations as well as a donor to the Forum Secretariat.

    President Surangel Whipps Jr
    President Surangel Whipps Jr . . . diplomatic ties to Taiwan. Image: Richard Brooks/RNZ Pacific

    China worked to marginalise Taiwan and its international relationships including getting the Forum to eliminate a reference to Taiwan in last year’s Forum leaders’ communique after leaders had agreed on the text.

    “I believe firmly that the Forum belongs to its members, not countries that are non-members,” said President Heine yesterday in Parliament’s opening ceremony. “And non-members should not be allowed to dictate how our premier regional organisation conducts its business.”

    Heine continued: “We witnessed at the Forum in Tonga how China, a world superpower, interfered to change the language of the Forum Communique, the communiqué of our Pacific Leaders . . . If the practice of interference in the affairs of the Forum becomes the norm, then I question our nation’s membership in the organisation.”

    She cited the position of the three Taiwan allies in the Pacific in support of Taiwan participation at next month’s Forum.

    Tuvalu's Prime Minister Feleti Teo
    Tuvalu’s Prime Minister Feleti Teo . . . also has diplomatic ties to Taiwan. Image: Ludovic Marin/RNZ Pacific:

    “There should not be any debate on the issue since Taiwan has been a Forum development partner since 1993,” Heine said.

    Heine also mentioned that there was an “ongoing review of the regional architecture of the Forum” and its many agencies “to ensure that their deliverables are on target, and inter-agency conflicts are minimised.”

    The President said during this review of the Forum and its agencies, “it is critical that the question of Taiwan’s participation in Forum meetings is settled once and for all to safeguard equity and sovereignty of member governments.”

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Marshall Islands president warns of threat to Pacific Islands Forum unity

    By Giff Johnson, Marshall Islands Journal editor/RNZ Pacific correspondent

    Leaders of the three Pacific nations with diplomatic ties to Taiwan are united in a message to the Pacific Islands Forum that the premier regional body must not allow non-member countries to dictate Forum policies — a reference to the China-Taiwan geopolitical debate.

    Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine, in remarks to the opening of Parliament in Majuro yesterday, joined leaders from Tuvalu and Palau in strongly worded comments putting the region on notice that the future unity and stability of the Forum hangs in the balance of decisions that are made for next month’s Forum leaders’ meeting in the Solomon Islands.

    This is just three years since the organisation pulled back from the brink of splintering.

    Marshall Islands, Palau and Tuvalu are among the 12 countries globally that maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

    At issue is next month’s annual meeting of leaders being hosted by Solomon Islands, which is closely allied to China, and the concern that the Solomon Islands will choose to limit or prevent Taiwan’s engagement in the Forum, despite it being a major donor partner to the three island nations as well as a donor to the Forum Secretariat.

    President Surangel Whipps Jr
    President Surangel Whipps Jr . . . diplomatic ties to Taiwan. Image: Richard Brooks/RNZ Pacific

    China worked to marginalise Taiwan and its international relationships including getting the Forum to eliminate a reference to Taiwan in last year’s Forum leaders’ communique after leaders had agreed on the text.

    “I believe firmly that the Forum belongs to its members, not countries that are non-members,” said President Heine yesterday in Parliament’s opening ceremony. “And non-members should not be allowed to dictate how our premier regional organisation conducts its business.”

    Heine continued: “We witnessed at the Forum in Tonga how China, a world superpower, interfered to change the language of the Forum Communique, the communiqué of our Pacific Leaders . . . If the practice of interference in the affairs of the Forum becomes the norm, then I question our nation’s membership in the organisation.”

    She cited the position of the three Taiwan allies in the Pacific in support of Taiwan participation at next month’s Forum.

    Tuvalu's Prime Minister Feleti Teo
    Tuvalu’s Prime Minister Feleti Teo . . . also has diplomatic ties to Taiwan. Image: Ludovic Marin/RNZ Pacific:

    “There should not be any debate on the issue since Taiwan has been a Forum development partner since 1993,” Heine said.

    Heine also mentioned that there was an “ongoing review of the regional architecture of the Forum” and its many agencies “to ensure that their deliverables are on target, and inter-agency conflicts are minimised.”

    The President said during this review of the Forum and its agencies, “it is critical that the question of Taiwan’s participation in Forum meetings is settled once and for all to safeguard equity and sovereignty of member governments.”

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Palestine surveillance author says Australian protesters ‘outraged’ by Israel’s war on Gaza

    Pacific Media Watch

    Antony Loewenstein, author of The Palestine Laboratory, a book on the Israeli arms and surveillance industry, says Australian protesters are “outraged” not just by what Israel is doing in Gaza, but also by the Australian government’s “complicity”.

    Loewenstein, who also spoke at the rally, told Al Jazeera that Australia has, for many years, including since the start of the war, been part of the global supply chain for the F-35 fighter jets that Israel has been using in attacking the besieged enclave.

    “A lot of Australians are aware of this,” he said. “We are deeply complicit, and people are angry that their government is doing little more than talk at this point.”

    Asked about opinions within Israel, Loewenstein, who is an Australian-German and Jewish, condemned what he called a prevailing climate of “genocide mania” and also criticised the role of the mainstream media in not reporting accurate coverage of the reality in Gaza.

    Organisers of the Palestine Action Group Sydney-led march across the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge have said at least 100,000 people — and perhaps as many as 300,000 — took part in the biggest pro-Palestinian held in Australia. Police say more than 90,000.

    Mehreen Faruqi, the New South Wales senator for the left-wing Greens party, addressed the crowd gathered at central Sydney’s Lang Park before the march, calling for the “harshest sanctions on Israel”, accusing its forces of “massacring” Palestinians.

    At least 175 people, including 93 children, have died of starvation and malnutrition across the enclave since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October 2023, according to latest Gaza Health Ministry figures.

    The horrifying images of Gazans being deliberately starved is adding to the pressure on Western governments which have been enthusiastic supporters of Israel’s genocide, reports the Sydney-based Green-Left magazine.

    Former US President Barack Obama has started to push for an end to Israel’s military operations. Sections of Israeli society, including five human rights organisations, now agree that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

    Media corporations, such as BBC, AFP, AP and Reuters, which have been complicit in manufacturing consent for “Israel has a right to defend itself” line, are now condemning the killing of Palestinian journalists.

    These shifts reflect the scale of the horror, but also the success of the global Palestine solidarity movement.

    It is undermining support for Israel — a factor which is starting to weigh on Western governments. Only 32% of Americans approve of Israel’s military action in Gaza, according to a new Gallup poll.

    With the exception of Ireland and Spain, Western governments have refused to describe Israel’s war as an act of genocide.


    This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by Pacific Media Watch.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Obama Colluded With The Surveillance State Against Trump

    “It probably helps him a lot, the immunity ruling. But it doesn’t help the people around him at all. It probably helps him a lot. He’s done criminal acts, no question about it but he has immunity and it probably helps him a lot. He owes me big. Obama owes me big.” – Donald Trump on his treason accusations against Barack Obama

    Because immigrants around the country are being snatched off the streets and detained by masked ICE agents without any due process, and because the United States remains committed to aiding Israel’s genocidal grip on Gaza, it isn’t easy to write the words, “Donald Trump was right.”

    The post Obama Colluded With The Surveillance State Against Trump appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • Iran’s plan to abandon GPS is more about a looming new ‘tech cold war’

    COMMENTARY: By Jasim Al-Azzawi

    For the past few years, governments across the world have paid close attention to conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. There, it is said, we see the first glimpses of what warfare of the future will look like, not just in terms of weaponry, but also in terms of new technologies and tactics.

    Most recently, the United States-Israeli attacks on Iran demonstrated not just new strategies of drone deployment and infiltration but also new vulnerabilities. During the 12-day conflict, Iran and vessels in the waters of the Gulf experienced repeated disruptions of GPS signal.

    This clearly worried the Iranian authorities who, after the end of the war, began to look for alternatives.

    “At times, disruptions are created on this [GPS] system by internal systems, and this very issue has pushed us toward alternative options like BeiDou,” Ehsan Chitsaz, deputy communications minister, told Iranian media in mid-July. He added that the government was developing a plan to switch transportation, agriculture and the internet from GPS to BeiDou.

    Iran’s decision to explore adopting China’s navigation satellite system may appear at first glance to be merely a tactical manoeuvre. Yet, its implications are far more profound. This move is yet another indication of a major global realignment.

    For decades, the West, and the US in particular, have dominated the world’s technological infrastructure from computer operating systems and the internet to telecommunications and satellite networks.

    This has left much of the world dependent on an infrastructure it cannot match or challenge. This dependency can easily become vulnerability. Since 2013, whistleblowers and media investigations have revealed how various Western technologies and schemes have enabled illicit surveillance and data gathering on a global scale — something that has worried governments around the world.

    Clear message
    Iran’s possible shift to BeiDou sends a clear message to other nations grappling with the delicate balance between technological convenience and strategic self-defence: The era of blind, naive dependence on US-controlled infrastructure is rapidly coming to an end. Nations can no longer afford to have their military capabilities and vital digital sovereignty tied to the satellite grid of a superpower they cannot trust.

    This sentiment is one of the driving forces behind the creation of national or regional satellite navigation systems, from Europe’s Galileo to Russia’s GLONASS, each vying for a share of the global positioning market and offering a perceived guarantee of sovereign control.

    GPS was not the only vulnerability Iran encountered during the US-Israeli attacks. The Israeli army was able to assassinate a number of nuclear scientists and senior commanders in the Iranian security and military forces. The fact that Israel was able to obtain their exact locations raised fears that it was able to infiltrate telecommunications and trace people via their phones.

    On June 17 as the conflict was still raging, the Iranian authorities urged the Iranian people to stop using the messaging app WhatsApp and delete it from their phones, saying it was gathering user information to send to Israel.

    Whether this appeal was linked to the assassinations of the senior officials is unclear, but Iranian mistrust of the app run by US-based corporation Meta is not without merit.

    Cybersecurity experts have long been sceptical about the security of the app. Recently, media reports have revealed that the artificial intelligence software Israel uses to target Palestinians in Gaza is reportedly fed data from social media.

    Furthermore, shortly after the end of the attacks on Iran, the US House of Representatives moved to ban WhatsApp from official devices.

    Western platforms not trusted
    For Iran and other countries around the world, the implications are clear: Western platforms can no longer be trusted as mere conduits for communication; they are now seen as tools in a broader digital intelligence war.

    Tehran has already been developing its own intranet system, the National Information Network, which gives more control over internet use to state authorities. Moving forward, Iran will likely expand this process and possibly try to emulate China’s Great Firewall.

    By seeking to break with Western-dominated infrastructure, Tehran is definitively aligning itself with a growing sphere of influence that fundamentally challenges Western dominance. This partnership transcends simple transactional exchanges as China offers Iran tools essential for genuine digital and strategic independence.

    The broader context for this is China’s colossal Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). While often framed as an infrastructure and trade project, BRI has always been about much more than roads and ports. It is an ambitious blueprint for building an alternative global order.

    Iran — strategically positioned and a key energy supplier — is becoming an increasingly important partner in this expansive vision.

    What we are witnessing is the emergence of a new powerful tech bloc — one that inextricably unites digital infrastructure with a shared sense of political defiance. Countries weary of the West’s double standards, unilateral sanctions and overwhelming digital hegemony will increasingly find both comfort and significant leverage in Beijing’s expanding clout.

    This accelerating shift heralds the dawn of a new “tech cold war”, a low-temperature confrontation in which nations will increasingly choose their critical infrastructure, from navigation and communications to data flows and financial payment systems, not primarily based on technological superiority or comprehensive global coverage but increasingly on political allegiance and perceived security.

    As more and more countries follow suit, the Western technological advantage will begin to shrink in real time, resulting in redesigned international power dynamics.

    Jasim Al-Azzawi is an analyst, news anchor, programme presenter and media instructor. He has presented a weekly show called Inside Iraq.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Colorado Activists Fight To Disable Cameras Aiding Arrests

    Denver-based activists are seeking to shut off Flock ALPR (Automated License Plate Recognition) cameras in their city after reports indicate that the footage collected is being used for ICE arrests and to infringe on abortion rights.

    Flock ALPR cameras take photos of the license plates of passing cars, and are used by law enforcement throughout the country to track down vehicles.

    According to data reviewed by 404 Media, although Flock does not have a direct contract with ICE, the agency obtains data from Flock cameras through requests made to local law enforcement.

    The post Colorado Activists Fight To Disable Cameras Aiding Arrests appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • The Militarization and Weaponization of Media Literacy: NATO Invades the Classroom

    During President Donald Trump’s second term, education has remained a central battleground in American politics. Republicans claim that classrooms have become hotbeds of “woke” indoctrination, accusing educators of promoting progressive agendas and tolerating antisemitism. In contrast, Democrats argue that conservatives are systematically defunding and dismantling public and higher education precisely because it teaches values like diversity, equity, and inclusion. While these partisan skirmishes dominate headlines, they obscure a much deeper and more enduring issue that encompasses all of these issues and more: the influence of corporate and military power on public education.

    For decades, scholars have warned that corporations have steadily infiltrated the classroom—not to promote critical thinking or democratic values, but to cultivate ideologies that reinforce capitalism, nationalism, and militarism. Critical media literacy educators, in particular, have drawn attention to the convergence of tech firms and military entities in education, offering so-called “free” digital tools that often serve as Trojan horses for data collection and ideological control.

    One striking example is the rise of programs like NewsGuard, which uses public fears over fake news to justify increased surveillance of students’ online activity. Relatedly, in 2018, the Atlantic Council partnered with Meta to perform “fact-checking” on platforms such as Facebook. In 2022, the US Marine Corps discussed developing media literacy training. It remains to be seen what training, if any, they will develop. However, what is known is that a large global player has entered the media literacy arena: the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). While NATO presents its initiatives as supportive of media literacy and democratic education, these efforts appear to be oriented more toward reinforcing alignment with its strategic and political priorities than to fostering critical civic engagement.

    NATO was created in 1949, during the Cold War, as a military alliance to contain communism. Although the war officially ended in 1991, NATO has expanded both its mission and membership. Today, it encompasses more than thirty member nations and continues to frame itself as a global force for peace, democracy, and security. But this self-image masks real conflicts of interest.

    NATO is deeply intertwined with powerful nation-states and corporate actors. It routinely partners with defense contractors, tech firms, think tanks, and Western governments—all of which have a vested interest in maintaining specific political and economic systems. These relationships raise concerns when NATO extends its reach into education. Can a military alliance—closely linked to the defense industry and state propaganda—credibly serve as a neutral force in media education?

    In 2022, NATO associates collaborated with the US-based Center for Media Literacy (CML) to launch a media literacy initiative framed as a strategic defense against misinformation. The initiative included a report titled Building Resiliency: Media Literacy as a Strategic Defense Strategy for the Transatlantic, authored by CML’s Tessa Jolls. It was accompanied by a series of webinars featuring military personnel, policy experts, and academics.

    On the surface, the initiative appeared to promote digital literacy and civic engagement. But a closer look reveals a clear ideological agenda. Funded and organized by NATO, the initiative positioned media literacy not as a means of empowering students to think critically about how power shapes media, but as a defense strategy to protect NATO member states from so-called “hostile actors.” The curriculum emphasized surveillance, resilience, and behavior modification over reflection, analysis, and democratic dialogue.

    Throughout their webinars, NATO representatives described the media environment as a battlefield, frequently using other war metaphors such as “hostile information activities” and “cognitive warfare.” Panelists argued that citizens in NATO countries were targets of foreign disinformation campaigns—and that media literacy could serve as a tool to inoculate them against ideological threats.

    A critical review of NATO’s media literacy initiative reveals several troubling themes. First, it frames media literacy as a protectionist project rather than an educational one. Students are portrayed less as thinkers to be empowered and more as civilians to be monitored, molded, and managed. In this model, education becomes a form of top-down, preemptive defense, relying on expert guidance and military oversight rather than democratic participation.

    Second, the initiative advances a distinctly neoliberal worldview. It emphasizes individual responsibility over structural analysis. In other words, misinformation is treated as a user error, rather than the result of flawed systems, corporate algorithms, or media consolidation. This framing conveniently absolves powerful actors, including NATO and Big Tech, of their role in producing or amplifying disinformation.

    Third, the initiative promotes a contradictory definition of empowerment. While the report and webinars often use the language of “citizen empowerment,” they ultimately advocate for surveillance, censorship, and ideological conformity. Panelists call for NATO to “dominate” the information space, and some even propose systems to monitor students’ attitudes and online behaviors. Rather than encouraging students to question power—including NATO itself—this approach rewards obedience and penalizes dissent.

    Finally, the initiative erases the influence of corporate power. Although it criticizes authoritarian regimes and “hostile actors,” it fails to examine the role that Western corporations, particularly tech companies, play in shaping media environments. This oversight is especially problematic given that many of these corporations are NATO’s partners. By ignoring the political economy of media, the initiative offers an incomplete and ideologically skewed version of media literacy.

    NATO’s foray into media literacy education represents a new frontier in militarized pedagogy. While claiming to promote democracy and resilience, its initiative advances a narrow, protectionist, and neoliberal approach that prioritizes NATO’s geopolitical goals over student empowerment.

    This should raise red flags for educators, policymakers, and advocates. Media literacy is not a neutral practice. The organizations that design and fund media literacy programs inevitably shape the goals and methods of those programs. When a military alliance like NATO promotes media education, it brings with it a strategic interest in ideological control.

    Educators must ask: What kind of media literacy are we teaching—and whose interests does it serve? If the goal is to produce informed, critically thinking citizens capable of questioning power in all its forms, then NATO’s approach falls short. Instead of inviting students to explore complex media systems, it simplifies them into a binary struggle between “us” and “them,” encouraging loyalty over literacy.

    True media literacy must begin with transparency about who and what is behind the curriculum. It must empower students to question all forms of influence—governmental, corporate, and military alike. And it must resist the creeping presence of militarism in our classrooms. As educators, we must defend the right to question, not just the messages we see, but the institutions that shape them.

    This essay was originally published here:

    The Militarization and Weaponization of Media Literacy

     

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  • US Campuses Have Become the Newest Laboratories for Surveillance Technology

    In early June 2025, The Guardian revealed that the University of Michigan paid over $800,000 to Amerishield, parent company to a private security company called City Shield. It was part of a broader $3 million public‑security budget, which included surveillance of pro‑Palestinian student activists. The university hired plainclothes agents who trailed students into cafés, harassed them…

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • The Rise of the Prison State: Trump’s Push for Megaprisons Could Lock Us All Up

    America is rapidly becoming a nation of prisons.

    Having figured out how to parlay presidential authority in foreign affairs in order to sidestep the Constitution, President Trump is using his immigration enforcement powers to lock up—and lock down—the nation.

    Under the guise of national security and public safety, the Trump administration is engineering the largest federal expansion of incarceration and detention powers in U.S. history.

    At the center of this campaign is Alligator Alcatraz, a federal detention facility built in the Florida Everglades and hailed by the White House as a model for the future of federal incarceration. But this is more than a new prison—it is the architectural symbol of a carceral state being quietly constructed in plain sight.

    With over $170 billion allocated through Trump’s megabill, we are witnessing the creation of a vast, permanent enforcement infrastructure aimed at turning the American police state into a prison state.

    The scope of this expansion is staggering.

    The bill allocates $45 billion just to expand immigrant detention—making ICE the best-funded federal law enforcement agency in American history.

    Yet be warned: what begins with ICE rarely ends with ICE.

    Trump’s initial promise to crack down on “violent illegal criminals” has evolved into a sweeping mandate: a mass, quota-driven roundup campaign that detains anyone the administration deems a threat, regardless of legal status and at significant expense to the American taxpayer.

    Tellingly, the vast majority of those being detained have no criminal record. And like so many of the Trump administration’s grandiose plans, the math doesn’t add up.

    Just as Trump’s tariffs have failed to revive American manufacturing and instead raised consumer prices, this detention-state spending spree will cost taxpayers far more than it saves. It’s estimated that undocumented workers contribute an estimated $96 billion in federal, state and local taxes each year, and billions more in Social Security and Medicare taxes that they can never claim.

    Making matters worse, many of these detained immigrants are then exploited as a pool of cheap labor inside the very facilities where they’re held.

    The implications for Trump’s detention empire are chilling.

    At a time when the administration is promising mass deportations to appease anti-immigrant hardliners, it is simultaneously constructing a parallel economy in which detained migrants can be pressed into near-free labor to satisfy the needs of industries that depend on migrant work.

    What Trump is building isn’t just a prison state—it’s a forced labor regime, where confinement and exploitation go hand in hand. And it’s a high price to pay for a policy that creates more problems than it solves.

    As the enforcement dragnet expands, so does the definition of who qualifies as an enemy of the state—including legal U.S. residents arrested for their political views.

    The Trump administration is now pushing to review and revoke the citizenship of Americans it deems national security risks—targeting them for arrest, detention, and deportation.

    Unfortunately, the government’s definition of “national security threat” is so broad, vague, and unconstitutional that it could encompass anyone engaged in peaceful, nonviolent, constitutionally protected activities—including criticism of government policy or the policies of allied governments like Israel.

    In Trump’s prison state, no one is beyond the government’s reach.

    Critics of the post-9/11 security state—left, right, and libertarian alike—have long warned that the powers granted to fight terrorism and control immigration would eventually be turned inward, used against dissidents, protestors, and ordinary citizens.

    That moment has arrived.

    Yet Trump’s most vocal supporters remain dangerously convinced they have nothing to fear from this expanding enforcement machine. But history—and the Constitution—say otherwise.

    Our founders understood that unchecked government power, particularly in the name of public safety, poses the most significant threat to liberty. That’s why they enshrined rights like due process, trial by jury, and protection from unreasonable searches.

    Those safeguards are now being hollowed out.

    Trump’s detention expansion—like the mass surveillance programs before it—is not about making America safe. It’s about following the blueprints for authoritarian control in order to lock down the country.

    The government’s targets may be the vulnerable today—but the infrastructure is built for everyone: Trump’s administration is laying the legal groundwork for indefinite detention of citizens and noncitizens alike.

    This is not just about building prisons. It’s about dismantling the constitutional protections that make us free.

    A nation cannot remain free while operating as a security state. And a government that treats liberty as a threat will soon treat the people as enemies.

    This is not a partisan warning. It is a constitutional one.

    We are dangerously close to losing the constitutional guardrails that keep power in check.

    The very people who once warned against Big Government—the ones who decried the surveillance state, the IRS, and federal overreach—are now cheering for the most dangerous part of it: the unchecked power to surveil, detain, and disappear citizens without full due process.

    Limited government, not mass incarceration, is the backbone of liberty.

    The Founders warned that the greatest threat to liberty was not a foreign enemy, but domestic power left unchecked. That’s exactly what we’re up against now. A nation cannot claim to defend freedom while building a surveillance-fueled, prison-industrial empire.

    Trump’s prison state is not a defense of America. It’s the destruction of everything America was meant to defend.

    We can pursue justice without abandoning the Constitution. We can secure our borders and our communities without turning every American into a suspect and building a federal gulag.

    But we must act now.

    History has shown us where this road leads. As I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People and in its fictional counterpart The Erik Blair Diaries, once the machinery of tyranny is built, it rarely stays idle.

    If we continue down this path, cheering on bigger prisons, broader police powers, and unchecked executive authority—if we fail to reject the dangerous notion that more prisons, more power, and fewer rights will somehow make us safer—if we fail to restore the foundational limits that protect us from government overreach before those limits are gone for good—we may wake up to find that the prisons and concentration camps the police state is building won’t just hold others.

    One day, they may hold us all.

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