May 12, 2013 -- by Tom Mannis -- We've heard a lot recently about the failure to rescue the U.S. consulate staff in Benghazi, Libya during the deadly Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack. Killed in that attack were Ambassador Chris Stevens, Information Officer Sean Smith, and two embassy security personnel, Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods (both former Navy SEALs, stationed at the CIA annex nearby).
We've heard a lot about the lies about what happened after the whole sad affair by the Obama Administration.
That, I believe, threatens to draw attention away from the more important issue of what happened before the attack.
The Obama Administration's statements after the attack are important, but they distract from what should be the main point of investigation: The denial of sufficient security before the attack, despite pleas for more protection from the consulate.
Unfortunately, too many Republicans and too many in the media are obsessed with what happened in the aftermath of the Benghazi tragedy. There has been too little discussion of the drawback and denial of security in Benghazi, and even less talk of the warnings of pending violence. Yes, there were warnings...
Showing posts with label security. Show all posts
Showing posts with label security. Show all posts
Hacked AP Twitter Account Tweets 'Two Explosions in the White House' - Syrian Electronic Army Strikes Again
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| This is did not really happen. |
The tweet was not true, however. AP's Twitter account (@AP) was hacked, and the culprits posted the bogus headline without AP's consent.
"Moments later," reports NBC News, "the @AP Twitter account — with nearly 2 million followers — was suspended. Immediately following the false tweet, the Dow Industrial Average lost about 140 points. These losses were immediately recovered."
Who did the hack job on AP? There is speculation now that it was the pro-Assad Syrian Electronic Army, according to the Quartz website.
EXCLUSIVE: Breitbart Website's Dishonest Use of Two Photos In Stories About Sidwell Friends School
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| Does anyone at Brietbart know that L.A. is not in D.C.? Click image to enlarge. |
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| Sorry Breitbart: This is NOT Sidwell Friends School. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) (Damian Dovarganes) Click image to enlarge (see original story). |
One of the photos in question was most certainly not taken at Sidwell. The other is highly suspicious. Let me explain, and keep in mind that I am a conservative blogger who doesn't like fellow conservative bloggers presenting lies, whether on purpose or through stupidity. We all make mistakes. I sure do, but I correct them when I become aware of them. I would never do what the Breitbart kiddies did here.
BAD PHOTO #1: On Dec. 23, Breitbart's "Big Government" website published a photo as part of a story about security guards at Sidwell Friends School, the private institution in Washington, D.C. that the Obama daughters attend. The article, written by someone who calls himself A.W.R. Hawkins, is titled "D.C. School Posts Job Opening For Police Officer." A photo at the top of that article shows four burly, armed guards. The photo has no caption, and no source is given.
Trouble is, the photo was actually taken in February, 2011 on the other side of the continent, in Los Angeles. The armed men are Los Angeles Unified School District police, and they were guarding Miramonte Elementary school during a protest in Los Angeles on Monday, Feb. 6, 2012. Sadly, hundreds of conservative bloggers are mindlessly republishing the same photos as they follow Breitbart like zombies, telling their readers that the photo is of Sidwell Friends School.
Concealed Carry: Politicians Get Armed Protection, But Not School Kids
As I wrote yesterday, schools are known to law enforcement as being attractive targets for criminally insane people bent on killing. That fact makes it hard to understand why so few schools have armed guards to protect the children and staff.
One factor that killers consider when choosing their targets is the amount of armed opposition they might encounter. Even the criminally insane are smart enough to choose a location where nobody else will have guns, where guns are banned. It should be pointed out that if Adam Lanza had a gone into the school without a gun but swinging a machete, he still would have killed a lot of people.
"Policies making areas 'gun-free' provide a sense of safety to those who engage in magical thinking," wrote Glenn Harlan Reynolds in USA Today on Dec. 14, "but in practice, of course, killers aren't stopped by gun-free zones. As always, it's the honest people — the very ones you want to be armed — who tend to obey the law."The loudest voices now renewing the cry for more gun laws are politicians, mostly Democrats. They argue that schools should be gun-free zones, and that allowing school staff to be armed would be dangerous. But which is more dangerous: Having yet another school left vulnerable to yet another armed crazy person's homicidal whims, where he can walk about shooting people at ease for many minutes until the police arrive? The moment the killer enters the building, it is in fact no longer "gun-free."
So, a bad guy is walking the halls of the school: Someone calls 911, but how they must wait for police to arrive - with guns. Guns, not anti-gun laws, will save them from the bad guy. Police do what armed staff could have done minutes before, and needless deaths sooner, and that's shoot the attacker. But people died in the time it took police to arrive and get a bead on the bad guy.
Israeli Policy Could Have Saved Lives In the Newtown School Shooting
Dec. 14, 2012 - The horrific shooting today at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut [map] left at least 28 dead, including the shooter. At least 20 of those killed were children. The shooter, 20-year old Adam Lanza. One of the adult victims was Nancy Lanza, the killer's own mother, who worked at the school. What could have been done to stop the shooter and save some lives? Before we continue, I'll just remind you that the police responded with guns. That's right, the cops had guns.
Here are some of the ineffective things that actually happened today:
Principal Dawn Hochsprung and the school psychologist leapt out of their seats and ran out of the room to help, Ms. Day, a therapist at the school said. "They didn't think twice about confronting or seeing what was going on," she said, reports The Wall Street Journal. Ms. Hochsprung was one of those killed in the attack.
"One parent who was in the school at the time of the shooting," reports CNN, "said she heard a 'pop, pop, pop,' sound around 9:30 a.m. In the room with her were Hochsprung, the vice principal and Sherlach. All three left the room and went into the hall to see what was happening. The parent ducked under the table and called 911."
What should have happened: Somebody could have shot Adam Lanza, stopping him in his tracks. Unfortunately, it seems, nobody in the school was armed. Schools are known to law enforcement as being attractive targets for criminally insane people bent on killing. That fact makes it hard to understand why so few schools have armed guards to protect the children and staff.
The Attorney General of Texas, Greg Abbott says schools should have armed personnel. He told the Houston Chronicle today that "the common denominator for the school shootings in Aurora, Columbine and Virginia Tech is that we have a target-rich environment," and "You have a shooter that is completely free to go about his sick fantasy. We need to do what it takes to change that." He also told the Chronicle that, "Had there been [armed security guard and citizens] in Colorado, at Virginia Tech or now in Connecticut - someone that could have changed the dynamic and to do so by having a firearm - there would be fewer lives lost." Is Greg Abbot right? Ask the Israelis.
Here are some of the ineffective things that actually happened today:
Principal Dawn Hochsprung and the school psychologist leapt out of their seats and ran out of the room to help, Ms. Day, a therapist at the school said. "They didn't think twice about confronting or seeing what was going on," she said, reports The Wall Street Journal. Ms. Hochsprung was one of those killed in the attack.
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| Image taken from Twitter: Attribution unknown |
What should have happened: Somebody could have shot Adam Lanza, stopping him in his tracks. Unfortunately, it seems, nobody in the school was armed. Schools are known to law enforcement as being attractive targets for criminally insane people bent on killing. That fact makes it hard to understand why so few schools have armed guards to protect the children and staff.
The Attorney General of Texas, Greg Abbott says schools should have armed personnel. He told the Houston Chronicle today that "the common denominator for the school shootings in Aurora, Columbine and Virginia Tech is that we have a target-rich environment," and "You have a shooter that is completely free to go about his sick fantasy. We need to do what it takes to change that." He also told the Chronicle that, "Had there been [armed security guard and citizens] in Colorado, at Virginia Tech or now in Connecticut - someone that could have changed the dynamic and to do so by having a firearm - there would be fewer lives lost." Is Greg Abbot right? Ask the Israelis.
Updated: Obama, Clinton Ignored Warnings About Benghazi Consulate Security - Then Lied About It
Sept. 20, 2012 - How out of touch with reality is the Obama Administration? Despite reliable sources saying that recently-slain U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens believed he was marked for death by al-Qaeda, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says she has no reason to believe that such was the case.
Update, Oct. 8: "New evidence shows there were security threats in Libya in the months prior to the deadly September 11 attack that killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans," notes Heritage Foundation. "Despite these threats, the State Department left its personnel there to fend for themselves." Yep, just as we and many others said weeks ago. Heritage released this powerful video on Oct. 7. It clearly shows the pattern of lies by Obama, Clinton and their minions as they try to deflect blame for an utter lack of security measures at the doomed U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya. (Fox News did a special report about Benghazi on Sept. 22; see next video.)
An Oct. 8 report says that security was actually cut back at the consulate before Benghazi attack. "Security for U.S. diplomats in Libya was cut in the weeks before the deadly Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi," reports The Washington Times, "despite the North African country’s high-risk environment, according to a member of the security team assigned to U.S. Embassy in Tripoli." The Times report quoted Army Lt. Col. Andrew Wood, who headed a Special Forces site security team in Tripoli, who told CBS News that he "felt like we were being asked to play the piano with two fingers," and "We felt we needed more, not less."
In my opinion, Hillary Clinton and her Dept. of State are criminally negligent and allowed Stevens and his staff to die. Yes, allowed. By virtue of reducing the security force in Benghazi and ignoring the clear warning signs, State put the staff in jeopardy unnecessarily. They left them to die.
Our original post, Sept. 20:
Either Clinton is just plain stupid or she's trying clumsily to deflect attention on her lack of attention to the dangerous situation on the ground in Libya in the days prior to the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in the city of Benghazi. That attack killed not only Chris Stevens but also three other State Department employees, foreign service officer Sean Smith, and Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods, two former Navy SEALs working as security guards.
It's bad enough that President Obama has skipped most of his intelligence briefings during his tenure in the White House. "During his first 1,225 days in office, Obama attended his PDB just 536 times — or 43.8 percent of the time," wrote Marc A. Thiessen in the Washington Post. "During 2011 and the first half of 2012, his attendance became even less frequent — falling to just over 38 percent. By contrast, Obama’s predecessor, George W. Bush almost never missed his daily intelligence meeting." That column by Thiessen was published on Sept. 10, the day before Ambassador Chris Stevens was killed.
Three days later, on Sept. 13, Thiessen wrote that Obama "was scheduled to hold the intelligence meeting at 10:50 a.m. Wednesday, the day after the attacks, but it was canceled so that he could comfort grieving employees at the State Department — as well he should. But instead of rescheduling the intelligence briefing for later in the day, Obama apparently chose to skip it altogether and attend a Las Vegas fundraiser for his re-election campaign. One day after a terrorist attack."
In my opinion, Hillary Clinton and her Dept. of State are criminally negligent and allowed Stevens and his staff to die. Yes, allowed. By virtue of reducing the security force in Benghazi and ignoring the clear warning signs, State put the staff in jeopardy unnecessarily. They left them to die.
Our original post, Sept. 20:
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| Ambassador Chris Stevens - Dept of State photo |
It's bad enough that President Obama has skipped most of his intelligence briefings during his tenure in the White House. "During his first 1,225 days in office, Obama attended his PDB just 536 times — or 43.8 percent of the time," wrote Marc A. Thiessen in the Washington Post. "During 2011 and the first half of 2012, his attendance became even less frequent — falling to just over 38 percent. By contrast, Obama’s predecessor, George W. Bush almost never missed his daily intelligence meeting." That column by Thiessen was published on Sept. 10, the day before Ambassador Chris Stevens was killed.
Three days later, on Sept. 13, Thiessen wrote that Obama "was scheduled to hold the intelligence meeting at 10:50 a.m. Wednesday, the day after the attacks, but it was canceled so that he could comfort grieving employees at the State Department — as well he should. But instead of rescheduling the intelligence briefing for later in the day, Obama apparently chose to skip it altogether and attend a Las Vegas fundraiser for his re-election campaign. One day after a terrorist attack."
Greta Van Susteren Blows Story About Chicago Cops With Obama at DNC in Charlotte NC, Tinfoil Hatters Go Crazy
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| Greta Van Susteren - Photo: Facebook |
Rumors of conspiracy and whatever else the Tinfoil Hat Crowd is panicking about are flying. Greta Van Susteren at Fox News seems to be the primary culprit in all of this idiocy, but careless bloggers are spreading the crap around like cheap fertilizer. It's a typical case of truth being blown all out of proportion, facts being twisted, and facts being omitted.
What is actually happening in Charlotte, North Carolina? Simple, really. The DNC is a big event with big security concerns. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department is good, but it does not have enough officers to handle the security for such an event - which includes POTUS, after all - and so officers from outside agencies will be there to supplement their own manpower. (During the recent NATO Summit in Chicago, hundreds of officers from other cities, including Homeland Security personnel, assisted Chicago Police. With that in mind, cops from other cities being in Charlotte NC is not unusual.)
"Hundreds of law enforcement officers from across the country arrived Saturday at the Charlotte Police Training Academy," reported Your News Now yesterday. "CMPD is not releasing the exact number of officers being brought in for the Democratic National Convention, but they did say there are hundreds and they are all ready for any challenge."
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| CMPD make an arrest at DNC2012. Book 'em! |
One thing that made me go "hmmmm" was the fact that Ulsterman obviously did not bother to actually Google this for himself. Instead, this idiotic comment was added: "As has so often been said regarding the Obama regime – all roads always seem to lead “Back to Chicago." I'm not sure what the hell that mean, but it sure sounds – oh hell, it just sounds stupid. I will explain why below.
Greta Van Susteren, though, should really be ashamed of herself. She can be a good reporter, but sometimes she just sucks at it. When she's bad, she's really, really damned bad. She is not some underpaid blogger desperate for a few more website visitors: Greta is a trained journalist, and yet she published this tripe today, without bothering to research it or in collusion with Pergram:
CHICAGO POLICE AT THE NORTH CAROLINA CONVENTION
by Greta Van Susteren
Sep 3 2012 - 12:06 PM ET
Below is a note I was just emailed by FNC’s Chad Pergram
And just an interesting note. There are lots of police here from other organizations. But at the convention center, Chicago Police are here….not just folks from across the state or South Carolina.Of course, remember the confrontations Democrats had with Chicago Police at the ’68 Convention….
Chad PergramSince I know that she knows better, I must assume that Greta's only motivation for publishing such a load of crap is this: Sensationalism. In my opinion, Greta Van Susteren is an overpaid blogger who deliberately sensationalizes just to get more website visitors. There's a word for that kind of person: It starts with "w" and ends with "hore."
FOX News
Senior Producer for Capitol Hill
The same, I contend, can be said of Chad Pergram. I would say that he is either a moron who doesn't deserve to work in the mail room of any news organization, or he deliberately added that part about the Democrats and the Chicago Police in 1968 - which has NOTHING to do with the reality of what's happening currently in Charlotte.
As for Chicago Police being at the convention center, well, so what? Notice that Pergram did not say that only Chicago cops are at the convention center. Pergram's note is written either as a moron would write such a note, or as a very clever manipulator would. I suspect that Pergram is not a moron.
To be fair, Greta's blog post did say that there are many police officers from other cities, not just Chicago, in Charlotte. Which part of that did Ulsterman - and others - miss or not understand?
To recap, Chad sent a stupid note to Greta, who then reproduced it on her Fox site without a shred of added value or any research. Idiot readers won't bother looking beyond Greta's steaming pile, and so the panic and rumors are flying today across blogs run by non-journalists, across Facebook timelines by people who are stupid and/or intellectually lazy, and on Twitter by all of the above.
Idiot U.S. Navy Official Blabs About Prepping For War With Iran
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| Vice Adm. Mark Fox |
February 12, 2012 - As if we haven't had an abundance of security leaks from low-ranking aides and bureaucrats over the years, all gleefully published by the fifth column mouthpiece mainstream media, along comes this imbecile: Vice Admiral Mark Fox, commander of the 5th Fleet. Adm. Fox is flapping his loose lips about U.S. military preparedness for any possible conflict with Iran.ABC News is running an AP story today that Fox, who is the top U.S. Navy official in the Persian Gulf and commander of the 5th Fleet, "said Sunday he takes Iran's military capabilities seriously but insists his forces are prepared to confront any Iranian aggression in the region."
That's good to know, I suppose. Fox, reports AP, spoke at the naval force's Bahrain headquarters that the Navy has "'built a wide range of potential options to give the president' and is 'ready today' to confront any hostile action by Tehran."What the hell? Why are we broadcasting our battle readiness status? It gets worse...
"He did not outline specifically how the Navy might answer an Iranian strike," the AP report says, "or an effort to shut the entrance to the Persian Gulf, though any response would likely involve the two U.S. aircraft carriers and other warships cruising the waters off Iran." (That's my emphasis added.)
Adm. Fox told reporters that the U.S. Navy attempt to stop Iranian from putting mines in the Strait of Hormuz or Persian Gulf as an “act of war” the international community wouldn’t tolerate, the U.S. Navy’s top Gulf commander said, according to a Bloomberg report.WHY is the commander of the 5th Fleet saying this? First of all, you always want to keep your foes in the dark regarding what capabilities you would bring to a fight. Secondly, this kind of talk could be seen as provocative by Iran. Unless we want to fight them, why piss them off any more than we need to?
"We've developed very precise and lethal weapons that are very effective, and we're prepared," Fox said. "We're just ready for any contingency."
Good to know, Admiral. Now shut your big mouth..
New Norton Products Protect You From Invisible Cyber Attacks
This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Norton Small Business by Symantec for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
Your business is your life. You lock it up at night, making sure your business is secure against intruders. You turn on your burglar alarm and activate your CCTV for added security, but none of those measures can protect you against an invisible, silent cyber attack. If your computers are not properly protected, the meanest guard dog in the world can only give you a false sense of security.
Cybercriminals can invade your business without physically entering it. From the other side of the planet, they could steal your sensitive information, destroy your data, or both. Let me point out that this same protection would help your at home, too. If you’re like many Americans today, you keep a lot of important files on your home computers: Precious family photos, banking and credit card information, and other important things that you can’t afford to lose.
Norton has two new products that I want to point out to you. These could save your small business a lot of grief: Norton 360 Version 5.0 and Norton Internet Security 2012. These both launched in September 2011. Please take a look at them, compare them, and decide which is right for you. Both offer top-notch protection.
I wish I'd had these Norton products available to me in late 2010, when my home computer was hit by a wicked virus that came in via the Internet. It took me several days just to restart my computer in safe mode. My only option at that point was to reformat my hard drive, which caused me to lose everything that was on it. I don’t want that to happen to any of my readers.
Do me a favor, please: Write a comment here to let me know which Norton product would most help you. I'd love to hear from you and share your experiences and suggestions with other readers.
Avoid losing years of work and potential legal problems by ensuring the security of your customers' information and your valuable data. Don't put yourself in the position of one day saying, "I should have had better protection."
Small businesses like yours are the real engine of the U.S. economy. These days, technology drives small businesses. What would you do without your spreadsheets, databases, Internet connection and other computer-driven tools? A recent survey of small business owners showed that 28 percent said technology is one of their top business priorities, even more important than of reducing their labor costs.
Given that fact, it’s amazing that nearly 59 percent of small business owners said they have had some kind of malicious software on their computer over the past three years. That's viruses, trojans and other "malware." Fifty one percent said they paid an expert to clean their computers. We're talking about email, web surfing, downloading and uploading important documents, and any other online activity.
Get ahead of the problem now with Norton Small Business by Symantec. Protect up to 10 PCs or Macs from the latest online threats with security ranked number one in performance and protection (details at smallbusiness.norton.com).
Norton can give you the added security that is needed in today's vulnerable digital business environment. Don't put off what you should have done yesterday. Why pay "experts" to clean up a problem that you could easily avoid in the first place? There's a great deal waiting for you today: You can get 30% off Norton Small Business Products now. Don’t wait: There’s a virus coming your way soon.
Your business is your life. You lock it up at night, making sure your business is secure against intruders. You turn on your burglar alarm and activate your CCTV for added security, but none of those measures can protect you against an invisible, silent cyber attack. If your computers are not properly protected, the meanest guard dog in the world can only give you a false sense of security.
Norton has two new products that I want to point out to you. These could save your small business a lot of grief: Norton 360 Version 5.0 and Norton Internet Security 2012. These both launched in September 2011. Please take a look at them, compare them, and decide which is right for you. Both offer top-notch protection.
I wish I'd had these Norton products available to me in late 2010, when my home computer was hit by a wicked virus that came in via the Internet. It took me several days just to restart my computer in safe mode. My only option at that point was to reformat my hard drive, which caused me to lose everything that was on it. I don’t want that to happen to any of my readers.
Do me a favor, please: Write a comment here to let me know which Norton product would most help you. I'd love to hear from you and share your experiences and suggestions with other readers.
Avoid losing years of work and potential legal problems by ensuring the security of your customers' information and your valuable data. Don't put yourself in the position of one day saying, "I should have had better protection."
Small businesses like yours are the real engine of the U.S. economy. These days, technology drives small businesses. What would you do without your spreadsheets, databases, Internet connection and other computer-driven tools? A recent survey of small business owners showed that 28 percent said technology is one of their top business priorities, even more important than of reducing their labor costs.
Given that fact, it’s amazing that nearly 59 percent of small business owners said they have had some kind of malicious software on their computer over the past three years. That's viruses, trojans and other "malware." Fifty one percent said they paid an expert to clean their computers. We're talking about email, web surfing, downloading and uploading important documents, and any other online activity.
Get ahead of the problem now with Norton Small Business by Symantec. Protect up to 10 PCs or Macs from the latest online threats with security ranked number one in performance and protection (details at smallbusiness.norton.com).
Norton can give you the added security that is needed in today's vulnerable digital business environment. Don't put off what you should have done yesterday. Why pay "experts" to clean up a problem that you could easily avoid in the first place? There's a great deal waiting for you today: You can get 30% off Norton Small Business Products now. Don’t wait: There’s a virus coming your way soon.
LulzSec Hacker Group Disbands, Runs Away
26 June 2011 - It was probably getting a bit too hot for LulzSec, a group of hackers that have caused a lot of sleepless nights for data security experts in recent weeks.
LulzSec said late Saturday it would break up, reports PC World, but they planned to go out with a bang. "In what it said was its final act of mayhem," wrote PC World, "it publicly unloaded a trove of documents containing a significant amount of compressed data." The group's farewell came via Twitter.
PC World quoted LulzSec communique as saying, "Our planned 50-day cruise has expired, and we must now sail into the distance...our crew of six wishes you a happy 2011."
The FBI, as well as investigative agencies from the U.S. and other nations, have been in hot pursuit of the LulzSec internet criminals. British authorities arrested a suspected member of LulzSec near London recently. Even other hackers were trying to uncover the identities and whereabouts of LulzSec's members.
The Telegraph UK says that LulzSec claimed to have "accomplished its mission to disrupt corporate and government bodies" and "has claimed responsibility for security breaches at targets including the CIA, Sony and the US Senate. Before disbanding it issued one last batch of data which included internal documents from internet giant AOL and the US phone company AT&T." More about LulzSec at The Telegraph...
Why has LulzSec been wreaking havoc on the Internet? LulzSec claims they did it "just because we could." I get this uneasy feeling that we have not heard the last of LulzSec. Even if the group never operates under that name again, some of it members could continue the misdeeds. Worse, copycat digital criminals around the world will undoubtedly be inspired by LulzSec.
Cyberwar! Hackers Hit Lockheed Martin, Other U.S. Defense Companies
May 28, 2011 - A major breach of security has hit major U.S. weapons makers, including Lockheed Martin - and may still be occurring.
According to a Reuters report, hackers penetrated the computer systems of Lockheed Martin and other weapons manufacturers, and it is feared that they could have stolen information about future weapons programs. Also at risk is information about existing military technology already in use.
The Wall Street Journal reports that a "person familiar with the situation" said that many employees were required to change their "SecurID" passwords. This, says WSJ, was probably done because of the hacker attack, which may have been accomplished by a person or persons using "duplicate SecurID electronic keys made by EMC Corp.'s RSA security division." More about the defense industry cyber attack at WSJ.com...
The problems seem to stem from a hacker attack against RSA back in March.
Photo: Lockheed Martin
Meanwhile, Trouble in West Bengal, India (with video)
Trouble in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal continues. According to the Press Trust of India today, "The West Bengal government is considering banning the CPI (Maoists) after the Centre's suggestion to the state government in this regard following the Naxal violence in Lalgarh." Maoists are left-wing extremists (radical communists). In West Bengal, the local Maoists are also called "Naxalites."
Several days ago, according to Naxalwatch, "Groups of Left-wing extremists, which have taken control over almost 50 villages in Lalgarh, consist not only of cadres operating in West Bengal but also from neighbouring Jharkhand and Orissa, Central security agency sources said."
A report in The Economist explains that "Naxalites" get their name from "the district of Naxalbari in West Bengal where they staged an uprising in 1967, they are these days almost a nationwide force. Greeted by China's People's Daily at the height of the Cultural Revolution as “a peal of spring thunder”, they were almost wiped out in the 1970s, as the Indian government repressed them, and Maoism went out of fashion, even in its homeland. In India they splintered into various armed factions, of which the biggest were the People's War Group and the Maoist Communist Centre. These merged and formed the CPI (Maoist) party in September 2004. P.V. Ramana, of the Observer Research Foundation in Delhi, estimates the Naxalites now have 9,000-10,000 armed fighters, with access to about 6,500 firearms. There are perhaps a further 40,000 full-time cadres." (Full Article, August 17, 2006)
RELATED:
Anarchy in West Bengal as Maoists capture Lalgarh - NDTV
Maoists defy the law in West Bengal, go on rampage - NDTV
11 killed, 11 injured in Naxal attack in Chhattisgarh - IndiaExpress.com (June 20, 2009)
Indian Troops Enter Maoist Stronghold - Voice of America (June 20, 2009)
False start - In office but not yet in power - Economist.com (June 18, 2009)
Naxalites destroy Koraput nursery - The Statesman (June 16, 2009)
Al Jazeera English - India Elections - Q&A: The Naxalites of India
Official Site of Government of West Bengal, India
West Bengal, West Bengal Map, West Bengal India
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Chicago Cops, CTA Employee Don't Know CTA Photo Policy
I was harassed on Thursday, May 7 by City of Chicago police officers and a CTA employee for taking photographs at the CTA Howard Station. None of the men knew CTA’s own policy regarding photography.
(Click on photos here to enlarge them)
I was at the station to revisit the scene of a weird incident that happened on April 25. That incident involved a man who was bleeding heavily near the CTA bus turnaround between the Howard train station and Gateway shopping mall, anchored by a Dominick’s grocery store. Initially, police thought he had been shot between 7:45 and 8:00 p.m. The bleeding man lay on the ground and was not transported to St. Francis Hospital in nearby Evanston until about 9:45 p.m. The fact that the man was allowed to languish on the ground for approximately two hours is strange enough, but at 11:20 p.m. the police issued this bizarre statement by e-mail:
"Per Area 3, their investigation revealed the incident on the 7500 blk of N Paulina not be of a criminal nature after discovering that the M/44 subject appeared to be suffering from a medical condition and had NOT sustained a gunshot wound."
How did the CPD officers on scene, not to mention paramedics, need over an hour to determine that it was not a gunshot wound? It challenges the imagination. Police went to the nearby Dominick’s to obtain video of what might have happened.
Still unaware that the suspected gunshot wound was “a medical condition,” they even pulled over a car seen in the video that they suspected might have had something to do with what was initially assumed to be a shooting. (For more about that incident, see "Shooting at Howard El Station Mystery Deepens.")
The problem with cops going to Dominick’s to obtain video of something that happened at or near the Howard station is simple: There is no clear line of sight between Dominick’s and the train station or anything else east of their parking lot, and there are no security cameras at CTA’s Howard Station.
Standing in front of Dominick’s, you cannot see the station at all. I wondered why would the police go to Dominick’s for video? We know they did from police scanner chatter. Surely, I thought, CTA must have installed security cameras in a hub station that they just spent over $50 Million renovating.
So, on May 7, I went to Howard Station to look for cameras there and to photograph both the station and the exterior of Dominick’s. As I exited the train at Howard, I stepped onto a crowded platform, camera in hand. I photographed the interior of the station as I walked through its public areas. I was in plain sight of several CTA employees, and I made no attempt to hide what I was doing, Nobody said a word to me about taking photographs.
CTA’s "Photo & Video Policy," as posted on its own website, says this:
The general public is permitted to use hand-held cameras to take photographs, capture digital images, and videotape within public areas of CTA stations and transit vehicles for personal, non-commercial use…. Large cameras, photo or video equipment, or ancillary equipment such as lighting, tripods, cables, etc. are prohibited (except in instances where commercial and professional photographers enter into contractual agreements with CTA).
I should note that I took the photos for "personal, non-commercial use," since I've put them on my personal blog site, and I do not intend to sell them. CTA does not define "personal use."
As I walked out of the station and into the bus turnaround, I approached a CTA employee. My camera was still in my hand, in plain sight. I had no large equipment or ancillary anything with me, only a small Canon PowerShot A530. We smiled at each other, and I asked him why there didn’t seem to be any security cameras in the station and whether Homeland Security requires them.
“Who do you work for?” the CTA employee asked, in that you’re-trouble-now tone. The short man wore a short-sleeved white shirt and cap. He looked like Napoleon and was doing what so many “public servants” do: Divert, obfuscate and attempt to confuse in as rude a manner as possible.
I told Napoleon that it was none of his business who I work for. If he had asked me politely why I was taking the photos, I might have told him about the April 25 incident and the police confusion and the Dominick’s video. He had asked the wrong question in the wrong way. He could have said something polite like, “Well, sir, I don’t know anything about CTA security camera policy, I’m sorry. Say, what are you taking pictures of?” Instead, what seems to be a possible Napoleon complex got the better of him.
Many public servants seem to consider the most basic of questions to be a disturbance. It was apparently a slow day for Napoleon, and he was probably bored. I walked away from him, not in the mood for confrontation. He was not why I came to Howard Station.
I went into the nearby Dunkin’ Donuts, got a coffee, came back into the bus turnaround plaza and continued to photograph it as I walked north toward Howard Street. That’s when two deputy dawgs showed up, each in his own Chicago police car. The polite cop was Officer Harris in car 2454. The sadistic old cop was Officer Steele in car 2424. They asked me what I was doing. I said I was enjoying a sunny day and taking photos, and asked them if it's illegal for me to be taking photos of a public facility or of the open plaza.
"Maybe, depends," said Office Steele. (Depends on what?) He asked for my I.D., which I gave to him. They filled out a contact card. I asked Napoleon for his name, figuring I have the right to know the name of my false accuser. All he gave me was badge number, "23932."
As they were wasting my time and theirs just off of Howard Street, drug deals were going down in the neighborhood. Domestic violence was occurring nearby. Loitering and criminal trespass was taking place, all within spitting distance of where two cops and a bored CTA employee were trying to get to bottom of why an old white guy was quietly taking photos of a public transportation hub wherein the official policy allows photos to be taken.
The cops and Napoleon either don’t know the CTA policy or they were just eager to engage in a little sadism to break up an otherwise boring day. I was only in public areas as I walked through the station after getting off a train. As I stated above, I took photos openly, not trying to hide my camera (CTA policy says nothing about concealed cameras).
More of the CTA photography policy:
All photographers and videographers are prohibited from impeding customer traffic flow, obstructing transit operations, interfering with customers, blocking doors or stairs, and affecting the safety of CTA, its employees, or customers. All photographers and videographers must fully and immediately comply with any requests, directions, or instructions of CTA personnel related to safety concerns.
I was not impeding traffic of any kind. I was blocking nothing, nor affecting anyone's safety. Napoleon, badge “23932,” did not request that I leave the station premises. He actually gave me no instructions other than to not take photographs, but I already knew that he had no authority to do so because CTA’s own policy allows me to do what I was doing. His question about who I work for had nothing to do with safety. If I worked for a terrorist organization, which I don't, I would not have answered, "I work for World Conquest Terror, Inc. You should have me arrested right now." Let me ask all the terrorists out there: Would you answer that way? No, of course you wouldn't.
Officer Steele seems to be a frustrated old policeman who feels it's necessary to lob insults at citizens to make himself feel important. The CPD’s “diversity training” apparently doesn’t teach cops how to deal with somebody like me, a non-violent, over-50 white male sipping coffee, wielding a non-lethal, inexpensive digital camera, and not causing any trouble.
Harris stood by quietly, not saying much. Steele accused me of being "on medication," which I’m sure was designed to get a chuckle out of Harris. I did not hear him chuckle. Steele taunted me about the possibility of being "taken in," and generally tried to intimidate and humiliate me, but his bully behavior did not have the desired effect. Like any bully who doesn't get a whiff of the desired smell of fear, he gave up and drove off.
The cops and Napoleon left, seemingly disappointed that I was not intimidated. As they drove off slowly, I resumed my photography. In retrospect, maybe the cops actually did know that I was doing nothing illegal. After all, they did not arrest me or ticket me.
The more I think about it, the more I believe that only reason Napoleon and Officer Steele detained me, asked for my I.D. and asked stupid questions was to break up their boredom. Perhaps I’m wrong about that, but the only alternative is that they simply do not know the rules.
Congratulations to the bored CTA employee and to officers Harris and Steele. We’re all safer for your heroic vigilance.
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MUSLIM HIT LIST ON EUROPEAN JEWS
Ominious warnings for Europe and North America: Muslim hate crimes against Jews are on the rise. The current conflict in Gaza has (some) Muslims going at Jews well outside of that troubled region. In Europe, increased attacks on Jewish people by Muslims is being reported.
Despite official U.S. intelligence reports denying specific threat information as a result of Israeli action in Gaza, the Northeast Intelligence Network has confirmed increased terrorist “chatter” that specifically suggests pre-operational planning by Muslim terrorist operatives against Jewish assets and people throughout North America. “Chatter,” in the lexicon of intelligence agencies, encompasses various forms of communications, from communication intercepts to postings on Arabic language message boards. (Source)
And this, out of the UK, January 7:
FEARS grew last night that hate-filled Islamic extremists are drawing up a “hit list” of Britain’s leading Jews — bringing the Middle East conflict terrifyingly close to home.... British anti-terror expert Glen Jenvey is convinced online forum Ummah is being used to prepare a deadly backlash against UK Jews. His warning came as Europe was hit by anti-Semitic attacks over Israel’s push into the Gaza Strip. (Source)
Remember when, in the wake of September 11, 2001, Muslims in the U.S. kept saying that they shouldn't be targeted? They were right to say that. So tell me, why are Jews in Europe and North America now the targets of Muslim hatred?
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Why Can't U.S. Do This?
TOKYO - Japan hopes to thwart potential terrorists from entering the country by fingerprinting and photographing all foreigners aged 16 or over on entry starting next month, an official said Friday.
Only some permanent residents, diplomatic visitors, and children under 16 will be exempt from the measures after the system goes into effect Nov. 20, Immigration Bureau official Takumi Sato said. FULL STORY at Yahoo! News...
Bush, Others Plot Destruction of U.S.
RPB has been warning you about the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) and its threat to the sovereignty of Mexico, of the United States and of Canada. The Canadian press and Parliament are freaking out about this threat, but the American sheeple are still asleep, more concerned with the latest Hollywood starlet's DUI arrest. When they drag you out of bed and put you in a camp, think of me. Remember me as one of those nuts who was screaming in the dark about this. Whisper to your fellow cellmates, "They tried to warn us. We thought they were crazy."
Bush administration's North American Union SPP plan reveals a totalitarian agenda - The SPP, is basically an ominous "merger" of the largest corporations in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, with the governments of these societies, further backed with U.S. military and comprehensive police enforcement. The so-called Montebello summit of North American leaders, was a mere dress rehearsal of a clique of well-documented Neo-Nazi interests that seek to create a fascist state. In the Neo Nazi sponsored NAU, the people will have what American colonists referred to as "taxation without representation",with added oppression.
Bush's SPP power grab sets stage for military to manage flu threats - WorldNetDaily, OR - Aug 28, 2007 - The SPP plan gives primacy for avian and pandemic influenza management to plans developed by the WHO, WTO, UN and NAFTA directives...
Leaders continue to deny existence of a North American agenda - The Barrie Examiner, Canada - No one denied that SPP is leading to a North American Union...
Bell Canada's apparent support for North American Union agenda ... - Canadian National Newspaper, Canada - Aug 28, 2007 - As you know, the NACC is pushing the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) agenda which seeks to harmonize the governmental policies of Canada, the US, ...
Left, right unite to oppose North American Union
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