Feature Article

OCTOBER 2010

NATIONAL

CYBERSECURITY

 AWARENESS MONTH

Welcome and thank you so very much for visiting your Choice America Network Feature Article Archives Blog.

October is National CyberSecurity Awareness month and we at Choice America Network encourage everyone to please take time out to stop and think about safely connecting to what has become the fastest growing medium in our world - the Internet - the World Wide Web.

I encourage and hope you visit each website behind this campaign - StaySafeOnline.org and learn more about the National Cyber Security Alliance. All of us can most certainly agree that the Internet has and will continually reshape society and culture via the way we communicate on this ever changing Third Rock from the Sun, therefore the Alliance is all about using the internet safely and securely while exposing and combating the dangers we all may unfortunately encounter on-line.

In March of this year, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) issued it's 2009 Annual Report on Internet Crime. The Report contained current information on fraudulent activity on the Internet.

The following is information released by the IC3 in their Annual Report:

Online crime complaints increased substantially once again last year, according to the report. The IC3 received a total of 336,655 complaints, a 22.3 percent increase from 2008. The total loss linked to online fraud was $559.7 million; this is up from $265 million in 2008.

       Year Complaint:        Received  Dollar Loss:

 2009 336,655              $559.7 million

2008 275,284               $265   million

   2007 206,884              $239.09 million

   2006 207,492               $198.44 million

   2005 231,493               $183.12 million

Although the complaints consisted of a variety of fraud types, advanced fee scams that fraudulently used the FBI's name ranked number one (16.6 percent). Non-delivery of merchandise and/or payment was the second most reported offense (11.9 percent).

The 2009 Annual Report details information related to the volume and scope of complaints, complainant and perpetrator characteristics, geographical data, most frequently reported scams and results of IC3 referrals. The report is posted in its entirety on the IC3 Website.

“Law enforcement relies on the corporate sector and citizens to report when they encounter on-line suspicious activity so these schemes can be investigated and criminals can be arrested,” stated Peter Trahon, Section Chief of the FBI's Cyber Division. “Computer users are encouraged to have up-to-date security protection on their devices and evaluate email solicitations they receive with a healthy skepticism—if something seems too good to be true, it likely is.”

NW3C Director Donald Brackman said the report's findings underscore the threat posed by cyber criminals. “The figures contained in this report indicate that criminals are continuing to take full advantage of the anonymity afforded them by the Internet. They are also developing increasingly sophisticated means of defrauding unsuspecting consumers. Internet crime is evolving in ways we couldn't have imagined just five years ago.” But Brackman sounded an optimistic tone about the future. “With the public’s continued support, law enforcement will be better able to track down these perpetrators and bring them to justice.”

The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) is a joint operation between the FBI, the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C) and the and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). IC3 receives, develops, and refers criminal complaints regarding the rapidly expanding arena of cyber crime. The IC3 gives the victims of cyber crime a convenient and easy-to-use reporting mechanism utilized to alert authorities of suspected criminal or civil violations. For law enforcement and regulatory agencies at the federal, state, local and international level, the IC3 provides a central referral mechanism for complaints involving Internet-related crimes.

On your Choice America Network Links page you will find additional resources to help you keep your online activities safe from the criminal elements that inhabit the WWW. But with that said, the safety of the internet still depends on YOU and the actions YOU take. It's your world and your life your are sharing everytime you connect.

We must all help to make our internet a safer and better experience for all and report suspected criminal or civil violations. So spread the word, toot your horn and share this information with your family and friends and together we can make everyone's computing a safer and more enjoyable experience inwhich we all can share.

And as always, it's all about Choice,...and it's all about You.

Be safe both on-line and off and again, it's great to have you on your Choice America Network.

Respectfully,

Scott Evans - Publisher - Choice America Network

Related articles

• How to Report a Scam (bargaineering.com)
• Cyber Crime Costs / Cybercrime Losses (brighthub.com)
• Preventing a Hack Attack (online.wsj.com)
• Beware of Internet scams involving romance with soldiers, Army warns (pennlive.com)
• Scam uses crooks posing as soldiers looking for a romance (walletpop.com)

Feature Article

Marijuana Soda

Provides a High

Without the Smoke

Analysis by

David Teeghman

Discovery News

One Colorado soda company has developed a line of sodas that have an unusual ingredient: marijuana. Dixie Elixirs has made their drinks available to anyone with a prescription for medical marijuana.

The drinks come in eight different flavors, including pink lemonade, root beer and grape. But if the company really wants to get their drinks into the hands of marijuana lovers, they may want to start working on pizza and nachos flavors.

But marijuana is only legal to consume in 14 states with a prescription from a doctor. So, unless you are one of the approximately half-million people who is a medical marijuana patient, this pot-infused soda won't do you much good.

It's an open secret that you can smoke marijuana and still be a valuable part of society. But when you think of smoking weed, you're more likely to think of Cheech and Chong than the people running the United States government. (Even though at least two U.S. presidents have admitted smoking it.)

The drink makers say part of the reason they developed their line of mary-jane drinks was to remove that "reefer madness" stigma associated with marijuana smokers.

If California voters decide to make recreational marijuana legal this November, you may start seeing these organic sodas (the drink makers really know their audience) in grocery stores and liquor stores right next to the stuff from Pepsi and Coke.

But if Coca-Cola's history is any sign of what the company might do next, they could return to the heady days of putting mind-altering substances in their sodas.

At a time of sagging soda sales, drink makers are looking for a way to boost sales, and marijuana might be the answer. Medical marijuana has already proven an effective way at boosting newspaper sales, of all things. The New York Times reports that medical marijuana ads in small Colorado newspapers boost revenues enough for it to increase the size of its staff.

Photo: Dixie Elixirs

Feature Article

  How to tell white lies online

By Andrea Bartz and Brenna Ehrlich,

Special to CNN

Editor's note: Brenna Ehrlich and Andrea Bartz are the sarcastic brains behind humor blog and book  Stuff Hipsters Hate. When they're not trolling Brooklyn for new material, Ehrlich works as a news editor at Mashable.com, and Bartz holds the same position at Psychology Today.

(CNN) -- We're all big fat liars. Most of us spit out one or two intentional deceptions a day, and in a week we BS about 30 percent of those with whom we talk one-on-one, according to old but seminal research from the University of Virginia.

Here's the rub: Those stats are from 1996, back when, beyond some basic e-mailing and AOL chat room chatter, the majority of our interactions happened in real life.

If you didn't feel like going on date #2 with that nice but boring dude who couldn't stop talking about his ficuses, or would in reality rather stick your pinkie in a meat grinder than attend your roommate's French horn recital, all you needed was a quick one-time fib and you were in the clear.

Nowadays, you whip up a fabrication about your head cold, and within hours you've been tagged in three Facebook pictures gulping from a beer bong. Consequently, you completely forget your alibi and drunkenly check into that seedy dive bar on Foursquare, broadcasting your true whereabouts to all of the internet.

So, the WWW's making us all a bit more honest, right? Not quite: The UVA research found people were less honest over the phone than in person, probably because it's easier to lie into a phone than to someone's face. With texts, Gchats, FB messages, etc. usurping your vocal cords as communication media of choice, it's not hard to imagine online falsehoods running rampant.

OK, that feels intuitive enough. We're less truthful in writing than in face-to-face conversations -- those increasing infrequent exchanges where people can, like, see you getting all squirmy as you stutter further and further into your clearly fabricated excuse.

But here's the truly disturbing part: This spring, a new study reported that people tell 50 percent more lies via e-mail than in pen-and-paper missives. So this isn't just a written-vs.-spoken thing.

That's right, the internet inherently turns us into unabashed Bill Clintons, probably because we feel like our online jottings are both impermanent and impersonal.

Bottom line: The net's making it both easier to lie and easier to get caught. Read on for a few tips on using the web without getting tangled in your own web of deception.

1. Be vague

Complex excuses sound made up, and the more intricate your story, the more likely you are to eff it up in a later retelling. If you decide to forgo a planned brunch, for example, don't send a lengthy e-mail about how your cat just died and you need to go peddle some clothes at Buffalo Exchange in order to garner the cash to have Fluffy cremated.

Just send an apologetic text claiming you're not feeling well and need a rain check. That kind of statement is pretty hard to fact-check.

2. Tell relevant cohorts about the attempted sham

If you blew off someone's b'day for a late-night, last-minute, half-naked rooftop dance party (who can blame you?), you'll need to make said partially dressed partyers your unwitting accomplices. Why? Because they (those with the cameras and smartphones, that is) hold in their sweating palms the ability to blow your cover with an ill-timed tweet or a time-stamped photo.

Asking friends to hold off on disseminating the incriminating evidence is risky, because the more people you tell, the more possible whistle-blowers you've created. But come on, as soon as the pants-off-dance-off gets rolling, everyone in their right mind is going to reach for their camera, so you better start begging for their cooperation.

3. Become besties with your privacy settings

Evidence of your fib will emerge on one of your social networking streams. Your goal is to keep it contained until enough time's passed that no one will notice the incongruity between your stated plans and actual shenanigans. If you're a hard-core pathological liar, you'll want protected tweets and a closely guarded stable of Facebook friends -- and duh, geotagging services like Foursquare are not for you.

Facebook also lets you control who sees what parts of your profile. (It's kind of hidden -- way to make it easy, Zuckerberg -- so go to Account/Privacy Settings/Customize Settings, and then select Customize next to the elements [such as wall posts] you want to hide from certain groups.)

A little strategy will prevent your co-workers from seeing all those photos of your 33-hour whiskey-tobacco-screamo-music bender in Danny's Bushwick loft -- I mean, your quiet day in bed with a migraine. Ahem.

4. ... or just tell the truth

This all sounds mad complicated, exhausting and generally counter to the fun-ness you're trying to weasel your way into, right? As Clinton learned the hard (heh) way, much of the time lying just ain't worth it. So tell the gentle truth.

Apologize in advance for missing your friend's happy hour, and ask if you can make it up to her next week. Request a personal day instead of calling in with a put-on chest cough.

And save those one or two lies a day for the moments that really count: e.g., when your boss holds up a terrifying picture of his evil-looking children and says, "Gorgeous, aren't they?"

Subscribers and Registered Users may comment on this article at CHOICE PERSPECTIVE 

 Choice America:   Buy Brenna Ehrlich's and Andrea Bartz's book 
 Stuff Hipsters Hate - it's well worth the read and the laughs!

Related articles

• How to tell white lies online (cnn.com)
• The rules of digital snooping (cnn.com)
• HOW TO: Tell White Lies Online (mashable.com)
• 5 Facebook profile pics that make you look like a tool (cnn.com)
• Troubleshooting those ill-advised texts (cnn.com)
• Your vacation need not annoy your online pals (cnn.com)

Feature Article

US issues Travel Alert for

Americans in Europe

Intelligence sources say al-Qaeda plans to carry out attacks in the UK, France and Germany

The US government has warned its citizens

 in an official travel advisory to be vigilant travelling in Europe,

amid fears of an al-Qaeda commando-style attack.

The state department advised Americans to take care while in tourist areas.

The department did not specify a country, issuing the updated guidance for the whole of Europe.

Security sources have warned of an al-Qaeda plan to send teams of gunmen to crowded places to kill civilians.

They said cities in the UK, France and Germany were thought to be targets for the militants, in attacks analysts feared could be similar to the 2008 atrocities in Mumbai.

After intelligence details of the plot had been leaked to the US media last week, officials said that the plan had not been stopped but that an attack was not expected to be carried out imminently.

Past attacks

The state department alert said European governments had "taken action to guard against a terrorist attack", but that "terrorists may elect to use a variety of means and weapons and target both official and private interests".

Unfolding threat

16 Sep: France raises terror alert level to "reinforced red", one from top

22 Sep: FBI director Robert Mueller speaks of al-Qaeda threat against Europe

29 Sep: Security sources tell BBC of Mumbai-style plot to seize and kill hostages in Europe

1 Oct: US officials tell reporters Osama Bin Laden may be among planners of attack on Europe

UK travellers warned over Europe

"US citizens are reminded of the potential for terrorists to attack public transportation systems and other tourist infrastructure," the alert sad.

"Terrorists have targeted and attacked subway and rail systems, as well as aviation and maritime services."

Such an alert could have negative consequences for European tourism if travellers fear that there is a risk of terror attacks and cancel their journeys.

However, US citizens were not told to avoid travelling in Europe, and the advisory is less serious than a travel warning.

After the US alert was issued, the UK confirmed it had updated its guidance for travellers in Germany and France, warning of a "high threat" from terrorism.

And UK Home Secretary Theresa May said Britain would continue to work with its allies to combat militants.

"I would urge the public to report any suspicious activity to the police in support of the efforts of our security services to discover, track and disrupt terrorist activity," she said.

French Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux said the threat of a terrorist attack was real, but that the country was not raising its alert level - currently at its second-highest.

"We are analysing what they say. We are taking their comments into account. And we are naturally vigilant," Mr Hortefeux told AP Television News.

Drone attacks

After news of the possible plot first came to light, US anti-terrorism officials were reported to have said that they believed al-Qaeda leaders, including Osama Bin Laden, were involved.

“I won't let any terrorists try to keep me away from enjoying a European vacation” - Jake Novak

No arrests have been made, but European officials said several individuals were still under surveillance.

The suspects include British citizens of Pakistani origin and German citizens of Afghan origin.

Recent US drone raids in Pakistan reportedly targeted al-Qaeda militants linked to the plans.

US forces have carried out at least 25 drone strikes in the last month in Pakistan's tribal areas - the highest monthly total for the past six years, US media reported.

The US has been pushing Pakistan to increase their search for the militants, who are believed to be hiding in a mountainous border region in the country.

Feature Article

FBI: Gunman at Army post
accused of threatening to kill Obama

By the CNN Wire Staff

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Robert A. Quinones had done two tours in Iraq, his neighbor says
• The former soldier faces multiple charges after a hostage incident
• Charges say he expressed intentions to kill President Obama, former President Clinton
• A search of his residence yields many weapons, an affidavit states

RELATED TOPICS

• Assassination 
• Fort Stewart
• Barack Obama
• Bill Clinton

(CNN) -- A former soldier arrested after a hostage incident at a military base in Georgia faces multiple charges that include threatening to kill President Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton, according to federal court documents filed Tuesday.

Robert Anthony Quinones, 29, of Hinesville, Georgia, was arrested Monday after the two-hour hostage situation at Winn Community Hospital on Fort Stewart, about 45 miles from Savannah, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Officials and a family member said he had demanded mental health care at the hospital.

Quinones is charged with assault of a federal officer and kidnapping in the incident, which ended with the gunman's surrender and no injuries.

After he was taken into custody and during interviews, Quinones "expressed his plans, preparation and intentions to kill President Obama and former President Clinton," according to an affidavit filed in federal cour. "Quinones detailed his studies of Secret Service protocols, sniper techniques and means of disguise and weapons concealment to implement his assassination plans."

A search of his residence resulted in the discovery of 11 long guns, four pistols, multiple rounds of ammunition and dozens of bayonets and knives, according to the affidavit.

Authorities also found books and manuals about FBI hostage rescue teams, Osama bin Laden, Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, the Russian Mafia and other topics, according to the affidavit signed by FBI and Secret Service agents.

Quinones, when asked if he would kill Obama or Clinton if given a chance, said, "Yes. On a scale of 1 to 10 about being serious, I am a 10," the affidavit said.

Quinones was discharged from the military in February and had a civilian job at Fort Stewart, said the FBI, which released no other information on his military record.

Quinones' mother, Janet Gladwell, told the Associated Press he was medically discharged from the Army months ago because he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.

A neighbor, Jerry Franklin, said he had known Quinones for several years. "He was a good kid," he said.

Franklin, 48, an Army retiree, said Quinones would talk with he and other veterans because they understood the stress brought on by combat. Quinones had served two tours in Iraq, said Franklin.

"All I know is he saw death," Franklin told CNN.

"Maybe they [the Army] should have helped him a little more," said Franklin, adding he was not blaming the military for the incident. Quinones might not have received sufficient individual treatment after returning from Iraq, Franklin said.

Quinones worked at one of Fort Stewart's post-exchange stores. the neighbor said, adding he didn't believe Quinones had been treated at Winn Army Community Hospital, scene of Monday's hostage situation.

The hostage incident started at about 4 a.m. Monday when the former Army serviceman entered the facility and demanded care, spokesman Kevin Larson said Monday.

Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Phillips, a senior Fort Stewart commander, told the Associated Press the former soldier told hostages he needed help for mental problems "connected, I'm quite certain, to his past service."

The gunman immediately took one hostage and went to the third floor, which houses the behavioral health unit, where he held two more people at gunpoint, including a nurse practitioner, Larson said. The nurse, an Army major, was able to calm the man and authorities started negotiations, Larson said. The gunman eventually surrendered and was taken into custody for questioning, he said.

Quinones was armed with an MP5 assault rifle, an AR-15 assault rifle, a 9 millimeter handgun and a .38-caliber pistol, according to the affidavit. It accuses the gunman of pointing a firearm at an Army negotiator.

Quinones' attorney, Karl Christian Zipperer, said late Tuesday afternoon he had just gotten the case and would have no comment. A phone number for Quinones in Hinesville was disconnected.

The suspect's initial appearance is scheduled for Wednesday before a U.S. magistrate judge in Savannah, the FBI said in a statement.

CNN's Phil Gast contributed to this report.

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Feature Article

Microchip maker
'hid ties to cancer'

Company didn't tell public of studies

linking sub-skin device to rat tumors

WorldNetDaily.com

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. – The safety of implantable tracking chips in human beings is suddenly in focus with the revelation the devices could cause cancer, and that studies showing links to the disease were kept under wraps.

According to the Associated Press, despite the chips' approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, neither their maker nor federal regulators publicly mentioned a series of studies dating to the mid-1990s that found chip implants had "induced" malignant tumors in some lab mice and rats.

"The transponders were the cause of the tumors," Keith Johnson, a retired toxicologic pathologist, told AP as he explained the findings of a 1996 study he led at the Dow Chemical Co. in Midland, Mich.

Implantable VeriChip, about the size of a grain of rice

The wire service says leading cancer specialists reviewed the research, and "while cautioning that animal test results do not necessarily apply to humans, said the findings troubled them. Some said they would not allow family members to receive implants, and all urged further research before the glass-encased transponders are widely implanted in people."

The chips are made by VeriChip Corp., a division of Applied Digital Solutions, of Delray Beach, Fla.

The company says some 2,000 have been implanted in humans worldwide, and VeriChip sees a target market of 45 million Americans looking to be medically monitored.

"We stand by our implantable products which have been approved by the FDA and/or other U.S. regulatory authorities," Scott Silverman, VeriChip Corp. chairman and chief executive officer, said in a written response to AP questions.

The company was "not aware of any studies that have resulted in malignant tumors in laboratory rats, mice and certainly not dogs or cats," but he added millions of domestic pets have been implanted with microchips, without reports of significant problems.

"In fact, for more than 15 years we have used our encapsulated glass transponders with FDA approved anti-migration caps and received no complaints regarding malignant tumors caused by our product."

While the FDA is also standing by its approval of the technology, federal officials declined repeated AP requests to specify what studies it reviewed before giving the green light.

The FDA is overseen by the Department of Health and Human Services, which, at the time of VeriChip's approval, was headed by Tommy Thompson.

Just two weeks after the chip's approval took effect on Jan. 10, 2005, Thompson left his Cabinet post. Within five months, he became a board member of VeriChip Corp. and Applied Digital Solutions, getting compensated in cash and stock options.

Thompson, a 2008 Republican presidential nominee, says he had no personal relationship with the company as the VeriChip was being evaluated, nor did he play any role in FDA's approval process of the RFID tag, reports AP.

I didn't even know VeriChip before I stepped down from the Department of Health and Human Services," he said.

As WND previously reported, Thompson pledged that he himself would get chipped with the device, but to date has never gone through with the procedure.

The studies between 1996 and 2006 revealed lab mice that had the chips implanted in them developed malignant tumors, most of which encased the implants.

The AP reports:

• A 1998 study in Ridgefield, Conn., of 177 mice reported cancer incidence to be slightly higher than 10 percent ? a result the researchers described as "surprising."
• A 2006 study in France detected tumors in 4.1 percent of 1,260 microchipped mice. This was one of six studies in which the scientists did not set out to find microchip-induced cancer but noticed the growths incidentally. They were testing compounds on behalf of chemical and pharmaceutical companies; but they ruled out the compounds as the tumors' cause. Because researchers only noted the most obvious tumors, the French study said, "These incidences may therefore slightly underestimate the true occurrence" of cancer.
• In 1997, a study in Germany found cancers in 1 percent of 4,279 chipped mice. The tumors "are clearly due to the implanted microchips," the authors wrote.

"There's no way in the world, having read this information, that I would have one of those chips implanted in my skin, or in one of my family members," Dr. Robert Benezra, head of the Cancer Biology Genetics Program at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, told AP.

"I mean, these are bad diseases. They are life-threatening. And given the preliminary animal data, it looks to me that there's definitely cause for concern."

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