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por Adam Clark Estes

The offices of NSA studies to how read the people’s emails. (PHOTO BY LINDA PANETA)

With a new major hacking incident seemingly daily, the Department of Defense is scrambling to find the right shield against future for attacks. But why hide behind a shield when you can charge onto the battlefield underneath the invisible but ironclad cloak of the National Security Agency?

That’s exactly how the DoD is mounting it’s first strike back at the hackers–a preemptive strike that will increase online surveillance at defense contractors by partnering with internet service providers for privileged access to the rivers of data flowing through their cables. AT&T, Verizon and CenturyLink are all on board. Giving the NSA more access to the same internet tubes that power your Gmail account sounds a little invasive.

At least that’s what James X. Dempsey, vice president for public policy at the civil liberties watchdog group the Center for Democracy and Technology. “We wouldn’t want this to become a backdoor form of surveillance,” Dempsey told The Washington Post, referring to the pilot program that DoD insists will remain limited to the contractors working closely with the government.

“The U.S. government will not be monitoring, intercepting or storing any private-sector communications,” Deputy Secretary William J. Lynn III said Thursday at a global security conference in Paris. However, he added, “We hope the … cyber pilot can be the beginning of something bigger. It could serve as a model that can be transported to other critical infrastructure sectors, under the leadership of the Department of Homeland Security.”

Citing recent attacks on government contractors like Lockheed Martin, Lynn is taking a defensive stance on the privacy issue–pun intended. In other words, the NSA program will test out what some would call surveillance techniques on outside parties, and when the program is ready, it’s not out of the question that the government would move it to the private sector. It makes sense that the DoD is being aggressive. As Reuters reports, the government is getting pretty desperate: Terabytes of data are flying out the door, and billions of dollars are lost in remediation costs and reputational harm, government and private security experts said in interviews. The head of the U.S. military’s Cyber Command, General Keith Alexander, has estimated that Pentagon computer systems are probed by would-be assailants 250,000 times each hour. Cyber intrusions are now a fact of life, and a widely accepted cost of doing business.

“We don’t treat it as if it’s here today, gone tomorrow,” said Jay Opperman, Comcast Corp.’s senior director of security and privacy. “It’s like an insect infestation. Once you’ve got it, you never get rid of it.” We all saw Men in Black. And Hackers. And The Matrix. Sometimes, in the face of an invasion, the government ought to protect itself and its citizens from danger. That’s basically why an institution like the Department of Defense exists–nobody will argue with that.

But another sort of danger is the fact that, in the context of cybercrime, the public understands so very little about the terms of the government’s efforts. Poll Middle America about what “DDoS attack” or “Stuxnetlike weapons” are. Even the term “fingerprints of malicious code” from The Washington Post coverage of the NSA surveillance program leaves lots of leeway for better informed officials to define the rules of engagement. By its very nature a virtual attack is much harder to visualize than a missile heading to Washington DC. Apologies for the Cold Warstyle reference, but the Pentagon seems as confused now as they did then about how to ­balance the actual defense Stanagainst cyber attackers and the propaganda campaign to win the public’s support. Which brings us to the mixed messages problem.

The other line of narrative around the internet and government protecting the people is a presumably more docile one: the struggle for privacy in the age of Facebook. As enterprising Senators go head to head with the social network and the Google and everyone, lambasting them for deceitfully monitoring American citizens with their confusing privacy policies and location tracking programs, news of a clandestine agreement between internet service providers and the NSA, the most secret of the secret agencies, feels kind of icky. Like a hypocritical bed bug invasion or something.

by Jasmine Jafferali

Chicago Family Health Examiner Spring is in the air and the ants are marching right into your house. You may want to hold off on buying those ugly little ant traps, the little yellow packets just may do the trick. I’ll never forget when I first read about Splenda. I jumped on the bandwagon as everyone else did. Then about four years ago, I read that you could use Splenda to kill household ants. So I dumped my bag of splenda in the dirt.

Fascinated by my recent discovery, I began my research and here is what I found: Splenda was “discovered” accidentally in a lab back in 1975 while trying to create a new insecticide (Ewww…who decided it was safe for human consumption? Oh yeah the FDA did back in 1998). Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s will not sell Splenda or any product that contains “sucralose” because it does not fit within their code of ethics of selling “real food”.

(Thank you Whole Foods Market and Trader Joe’s) Sucralose, the made-up name by the manufacturer of Splenda, contains chlorinated compounds. (Ohhh… Splenda made up the name sucralose…because anything that ends on “ose” makes it sound like yummy sugar) Chlorine is toxic and is not found in any food or table salt even though the manufacturer of Splenda will tell you it is fi ne. However there is chloride present in food and table salt, which is non-toxic. (Very sneaky Splenda makers) Chlorine, (which we now know is in Splenda), has caused so much damage to human health that Greenpeace has launched a Chlorine-Free Campaign, calling for a worldwide ban on chlorine. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also maintains a strong anti-chlorine stance.

(Did you know that cancer patients have high levels of chlorine in their bodies?) If you really want some motivation for staying away from Splenda and anything that contains it (example: Weight Watchers, Atkins and South Beach, fl avored waters, Crystal Light, diet drinks anything “diet” or labeled as “sugar-free”, “low in sugar” or no sugar” typically contains it. Yes, this includes your kids’ favorite “no-sugar” Hawaiian Punch) and if you are a future mother, read all about baby boys being born with shortened male anatomy due to chlorine passed to them in the womb. (and we want to do this to our unborn children, why?) Studies show that people that consumed diet drinks were 41 percent more likely to be overweight than those who did not. (so diet drinks and foods are sabotaging our weight loss efforts? Seems like an oxymoron to me).

­But honestly, any artifi cial sweetener will work. How do I know this? I have had both friends and family members try it with great success, even my sister-in-law who lives in a very rural part of Ohio. The nice thing about using up your little yellow (or blue or pink) packets is there are no harsh chemicals used. Your family does not breathe in all the chemicals, your baby doesn’t fi nd an ant trap and put it in their mouths and if your pets lick it, you can save the call to poison control. Now is the time to try some other safer alternative sweeteners like stevia and agave nectar syrup. And don’t forget the old tried and trued, honey and real maple syrup (not Aunt Jemima).

Don’t get mad at me if your favorite drink contains sucralose. There are ways to give our families safer options if using a sweetener is a must. Here are some fun family cocktails that you can try (and it is cheaper than buying bottled juice): Homemade Lemonade: 1 1/2c of real lemon juice (about 6 lemons squeezed), 6 cups of cold water, 1/3 cup of raw honey (more or less to your liking).

Mix and enjoy! Chocolate milk: 1 TB of cocoa powder, 1TB of agave nectar syrup and 1 cup of your favorite milk Homemade Flavored Water: 1 cup of carbonated water, 1TB of agave nectar syrup and half of your favorite fruit squeezed such as an orange. Or puree your favorite berry such as frozen strawberries and a kiwi. Homemade Orange Pop: 2 liter bottle of carbonated water, 1/2 can of orange juice concentrate, 3 lemons squeezed.

­by the El Reportero’s news services

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Preparations for general elections continued this week in Guatemala, as did election-related violence, with a tragic and worrying outcome. San Jose Pinula, a municipality southeast of the capital, has two vacant places among its candidates for mayor, after both were shot shot to death in actions that local authorities said were not politically motivated.

Whether or not that is true, the reality is palpable: predictions of heightened election-related criminal activity seem to be coming true. Even before campaigning officially kicked off, violence was already beginning to claim its victims, accompanied by attacks and constant threats. It was announced this week that 7.895 million Guatemalans may vote in the September 11 elections, and that women outnumber men by 75,000 on the voter rolls, which were being checked for eligibility.

The few pre-election surveys that have been held showed candidates from the opposition Patriot Party in the lead, especially retired general Otto Perez Molina, the party’s presidential candidate.

G a n g v i o l e n c e worsens in Monterrey

On 15 June 33 people were gunned down by gangsters in Monterrey, northern Mexico. The increase in the volume of killings by gangsters is being matched by a change in their targets. The state government of Nuevo León views the assassination of two of the bodyguards of the governor (on 15 June) as a clear challenge by the gangs, demonstrating that they could strike at anyone, anywhere. On 16 June the gangsters followed up their 33 killings by throwing at least four grenades at two federal offices in Escobedo, which is part of greater Monterrey. Both buildings were guarded by the army, yet apparently the gangsters got away easily.

Humala’s triumph is his greatest challenge

Ollanta Humala is Peru’s first left-wing, democratically elected president in 26 years. With full coffers and macroeconomic stability, Humala inherits half a country that wants change, and the other half that voted for keeping the status quo. Marrying these two elements into a consensual national project of change will test his mettle as a politician, a military man, and the leader of an often divided left-wing coalition. But first, Humala has over a month to capture the hearts and minds of the region and quell investor fears abroad.

H o n d u r a s – b a c k t o t h e f u t u re

On 1 June the Organization of American States (OAS) lifted its suspension of Honduras, imposed after the June 2009 coup d’état against the former president Manuel Zelaya (2006-2009). President Porfirio Lobo of Honduras, who secured a face-saving deal on the eve of the second anniversary of the coup to end the country’s diplomatic pariah status, was triumphant. Though the nine-point ‘Accord for the National Reconciliation and Consolidation of the Democratic System of the Republic of Honduras (‘The Cartagena Accord’) reads like a list of provisions to ensure the political future of Zelaya, who returned to Honduras on 28 May after a 16 month exile in the Dominican Republic, President Lobo himself may seek to reap the main political benefit ahead of the next scheduled general elections in November 2013.

­Why Ecuador matters

President Rafael Correa of Ecuador is one the region’s most intriguing politicians. He is also one of the most ambitious and ruthless. The most effective critics of his administration are almost all his former close allies. Ministers who fail to deliver are dumped unceremoniously, reinforcing the image of Correa as a man with a mission. Significantly, important members of Correa’s administration are now starting to argue that their vision, especially on economic and environmental issues, has implications beyond Ecuador.