872: Kinetic Kill

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Thu, 27 Oct 2016 01:29

On both sides of the Atlantic, a battle is underway between largely discredited ''elites'' and sometimes disreputable ''nationalists,'' a conflict over un-kept promises about the future and unsettling memories of the past, writes Andrew Spannaus.

By Andrew Spannaus

In recent years ''nationalism'' has become a bad word in Europe, a synonym of closure, racism and wars. Over the past 20-25 years European elites have instead embraced a concept of globalization based on a world without economic, physical and social borders.

This view assumes the gradual affirmation of a set of shared values internationally, consisting of human rights and economic freedom, that however much the remaining closed, autocratic regimes may try, will inevitably become the standard for the entire world.

Flag of the European Union.

It is essentially the argument put forward by Francis Fukuyama in ''The End of History:'' liberal democracy and free markets have won the ideological war, and represent the culmination of human evolution.

The political events of 2016 are upending this view of the globalization of human rights and economic liberalism. The American electorate has supported a series of outsiders '' most notably Donald Trump, who has run his campaign in direct opposition to the U.S. political and financial class, invoking economic protectionism and a stronger national identity.

Against expectations, the population of the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, marking an irreparable break in the supposedly inevitable process of European unification. And across Europe support is growing for more extreme, anti-system political forces, that threaten not only to withdraw from the common currency '' the Euro '' but also to seal the borders in response to economic and security threats associated with immigration.

Establishment's Failure

It is no exaggeration to speak of the failure of the entire transatlantic political establishment. Since the 1970s, Western economies have undergone a post-industrial transformation that has favored short-term gain over long-term investment. The notion of economic freedom has translated principally into support for deregulation and speculative finance.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is welcomed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the Federal Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, on April 14, 2011. [State Department photo/ Public Domain

Central Banks have made unlimited resources available to the financial sector while large areas of the real economy struggle to survive, feeding discontent among the population. It is true that new economic sectors have arisen, along with widespread changes made possible by technologies that were inconceivable until a few years ago, but the overall effect has been to hollow out the middle class and create large-scale income equality.In Europe, the principal vehicle of this process has been the economic policy of the European Union. From the implementation of the Maastricht Treaty in 1993, European nations have been stuck in a monetary straitjacket, that prevents governments from taking effective economic action. In the name of market principles, liberalization has been implemented that favors large financial interests while lowering standards of living for the middle class.

Countries are constitutionally required to move towards a balanced budget, with the European Commission and the European Central Bank essentially having veto power over national policies. This has translated into harsh austerity, including the massive budget cuts and tax increases inflicted on countries such as Greece, Spain and Italy in recent years.

Despite paying lip service to the need for change, the economic and political elites have refused to abandon this approach, that not only ignores the suffering of the population, but actually makes the problem worse. In fact the austerity causes a drop in economy activity and thus exacerbates budget problems, leading to a vicious cycle that Europe seems unable to stop.

A Big Backlash

The resulting backlash is calling into question the process of European integration as a whole, provoking a strenuous defense by the elite of institutions that are said to have guaranteed ''50 years of peace'' after the Second World War.

The run-down PIX Theatre sign reads ''Vote Trump'' on Main Street in Sleepy Eye, Minnesota. July 15, 2016. (Photo by Tony Webster Flickr)

It is true, of course, that there are some benefits to E.U. integration, and that nobody wants to return to a situation of conflict among the member states. But the current policies are quite different than the fruitful cooperation that existed until the 1990s, when the financial elite began its move to exert supranational control.

Now, the failed economic policies of the past 20 years are no longer sustainable. Governments are forced to negotiate over .1 percent of the budget deficit with the bureaucracy in Brussels, while the need for public and private investment runs in the trillions.

The pro-finance, anti-production policies must change not for ideological reasons or to serve some specific interest group; they must change because there is no other choice. People are revolting against a political class that does not respond adequately to widespread economic and social discontent. In times of economic distress the population becomes more vulnerable to demagogues, raising the risk of dangerous outcomes, as seen with Fascism and Nazism in the 1920s and 1930s.

Currently, there are unprepared and unpredictable political forces with growing support across Europe, that in some cases represent a threat to the democratic rights and values that the European Union aims to promote. Defending the orthodoxy of E.U. policy against popular movements that target failed economic policies, will only further damage precisely those values on which Europe is said to stand.

What to Do

At this point Europe needs a return to measures that promote productive investment and innovation, rather than cut social welfare programs and encourage further deregulation.

Refugees from Mideast wars camped along rail lines in Greece.

There are two potential directions: a wholesale change in the policies of the E.U. institutions, without modifying their essential structure, or a step back from the process of cancellation of national sovereignty.

The first option seems unrealistic, for various reasons. These include the constitutional nature of many economic and budget constraints, and the stubbornness demonstrated by the European ruling class in recent years; a class that, despite numerous alarm bells, does not at all seem ready to abandon an elitist view of globalization.

The response to the Brexit vote is a glaring example. Representatives of the E.U. institutions lashed out with arrogance and bitterness, essentially accusing half of the British population of being ignorant, racist and isolationist. It's a comforting excuse based on partial truths, that avoids reflection on Europe's own mistakes.

At this point a return of decision-making power to national governments is becoming inevitable: not in order to stop international cooperation, or to reject shared values, but because the model pursued by the supranational institutions and their allies in the financial world has failed, and risks producing both serious internal conflicts, and unacceptable strategic failures in an increasingly complex world.

Andrew Spannaus is a freelance journalist and strategic analyst based in Milan, Italy. He is the founder of Transatlantico.info, that provides news, analysis and consulting to Italian institutions and businesses.His book on the U.S. elections Perch¨ vince Trump (Why Trump is Winning) was published in June 2016.

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Mon, 24 Oct 2016 19:14

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Mon, 24 Oct 2016 13:23

Earlier this morning we wrote about the obvious sampling bias in the latest ABC / Washington Post poll that showed a 12-point national advantage for Hillary. Like many of the recent polls from Reuters, ABC and The Washington Post, this latest poll included a 9-point sampling bias toward registered democrats.

"METHODOLOGY '' This ABC News poll was conducted by landline and cellular telephone Oct. 20-22, 2016, in English and Spanish, among a random national sample of 874 likely voters. Results have a margin of sampling error of 3.5 points, including the design effect. Partisan divisions are 36-27-31 percent, Democrats - Republicans - Independents."

Of course, while democrats may enjoy a slight registration advantage of a couple of points, it is nowhere near the 9 points reflected in this latest poll.

Meanwhile, we also pointed out that with huge variances in preference across demographics one can easily "rig" a poll by over indexing to one group vs. another. As a quick example, the ABC / WaPo poll found that Hillary enjoys a 79-point advantage over Trump with black voters. Therefore, even a small "oversample" of black voters of 5% could swing the overall poll by 3 full points. Moreover, the pollsters don't provide data on the demographic mix of their polls which makes it impossible to "fact check" the bias...convenient.

Now, for all of you out there who still aren't convinced that the polls are "adjusted", we present to you the following Podesta email, leaked earlier today, that conveniently spells out, in detail, exactly how to "manufacture" the desired data. The email starts out with a request for recommendations on "oversamples for polling" in order to "maximize what we get out of our media polling."

I also want to get your Atlas folks to recommend oversamples for our polling before we start in February. By market, regions, etc. I want to get this all compiled into one set of recommendations so we can maximize what we get out of our media polling.

The email even includes a handy, 37-page guide with the following poll-rigging recommendations. In Arizona, over sampling of Hispanics and Native Americans is highly recommended:

Research, microtargeting & polling projects- Over-sample Hispanics- Use Spanish language interviewing. (Monolingual Spanish-speaking voters are among the lowest turnout Democratic targets)- Over-sample the Native American population

For Florida, the report recommends "consistently monitoring" samples to makes sure they're "not too old" and "has enough African American and Hispanic voters." Meanwhile, "independent" voters in Tampa and Orlando are apparently more dem friendly so the report suggests filling up independent quotas in those cities first.

- Consistently monitor the sample to ensure it is not too old, and that it has enough African American and Hispanic voters to reflect the state.- On Independents: Tampa and Orlando are better persuasion targets than north or south Florida (check your polls before concluding this). If there are budget questions or oversamples, make sure that Tampa and Orlando are included first.

Meanwhile, it's suggested that national polls over sample "key districts / regions" and "ethnic" groups "as needed."

- General election benchmark, 800 sample, with potential over samples in key districts/regions- Benchmark polling in targeted races, with ethnic over samples as needed- Targeting tracking polls in key races, with ethnic over samples as needed

And that's how you manufacture a 12-point lead for your chosen candidate and effectively chill the vote of your opposition.

Here is the full report of "Polling & Media Recommendations" from "The Atlas Project."

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Tue, 25 Oct 2016 13:14

Before we get into the meat of this thing, let me make two things very clear:

The evidence presented here is not the usual half-checked/chosen at random/doctored stuff we're used to in madcap conspiracy rumours. Everything shown here is a matter of undisputed public record '' a rare thing in this Presidential campaignI'm not trying to prove a theory here, as I lack the resources to do so. I am merely using informed logic to establish those four things required to build any credible case: behavioural track record, means, motive and opportunity. There is no doubt in my mind, however, that in terms of capability of performing dirty tricks, the Clinton campaign ticks all four boxes.The Clintons' track record on dirty tricksNegative advertising, smear rumour, making rally halls look more full/empty on TV and innate media bias have all been obvious for many years in Western election campaigns. Not surprisingly, during Presidential campaigns this is heightened by the physically more personal nature of the contest.

Huffington Post banned The Slog from commenting in 2012 after I alleged the use of troll swarms by Obama to mess up Republican sites. Three months later, his White House CoS casually confirmed the story.

This is truth bending, and isn't illegal. But the Clinton track record against Bernie Sanders is of a quite different order. I was given first-hand evidence, for example, of blatant threats to Democratic National Convention (DNC) workers that anyone helping organise Sanders rallies would have no future or place in a Clinton White House. But there is also disturbing evidence of electoral irregularity as well.

October 2015 '' over 120,000 voting registrations lost in Brooklyn '' & rock solid Sanders neighbourhood, plus nearly a third of Sanders supporters complaining that, on pitching up to vote, their Party registrations had been changedOver nine straight 2015 primaries, Sanders won seven: in the other two, ''massive voter irregularities'' were reported. Hillary won them.The supposedly neutral DNC is stuffed with overt Clinton activists. The private company collecting sensitive poll/registration information NPG van has close ties to Bill Clinton and worked for him in 1992. Leaks from NPG are, to say the least, recurrent.On the eve of the Democratic party's convention in Philadelphia, a whopping 20,000 emails were made public by Wikileaks showing supposedly 'neutral' senior party officials tried to undermine Mr Sanders's insurgent left-wing campaign by publicly portraying him as an atheist.Solidly Sanders locations in Arizona's Maciopa County found their polling booths available reduced from 200 to 60. Odd behaviour during a Primary campaign.Undercover videos just four days ago showed two senior DNC operatives openly admitting to paid interference with Trump rallies and voter registration manipulation.These days, one talks to Washington pundits who '' sadly '' shrug and say ''both sides are at it '' they cancel each other out''. But what I've shown above is just a fraction of highlights compared to the total media exposure of Clinton criminality. Doing a quick count from 78 sites, press titles and broadcasters last night, allegations against the Clinton campaign outnumber all others by 5/2.

However, it's at this point that we go beyond even electoral irregularity and into suggestions of Hillary Clinton perverting the course of events at the Department of Justice (DoJ). Here, we segue neatly into 'means'.

The means to destroy TrumpWithout any shadow of doubt, the biggest bubbling-under scandal of the campaign (until complaints about Trump's locker-room and sex abuse behaviour 'surfaced') was that involving emails sent by Hillary Clinton during her time as Secretary of State.

The headline here is this: while heading up State, she only used her own personal and heavily abuse-protected server to send official emails '' rather than official State Department email accounts maintained on federal servers. On leaving that job, the State Department hurriedly classified all the emails retrospectively.

This suggestive of the fact that Ms Clinton has something to hide. Her behaviour was also highly irregular, and cannot solely be explained by national security concerns: if there are fears about how secure State is, then we may as well all pack up and go home. (There are as it happens; but their security is a hundred times more sophisticated than hers).

Hillary maintains that her behaviour did not break federal rules, and there are precedents to show that. The hole in her defence is that there are no precedents for all the emails to have produced on her private server.

Having seen the content of some 150 emails, the FBI began by being quite bullish on the subject of an investigation. But then suddenly it wasn't. An anodyne report was eventually issued in July 2016, criticising her ''extreme carelessness''.

Her behaviour does not support that finding. Over at the DoJ, Dan Metcalfe, head of the Justice Department's Office of Information and Privacy (FOIA), said this gave her even tighter control over her emails by not involving a third party such as Google, and helped prevent their disclosure by Congressional subpoena. He added: ''She managed successfully to insulate her official emails, categorically, from the FOIA, both during her tenure at State and long after her departure from it'--perhaps forever'', making it ''a blatant circumvention of the FOIA by someone who unquestionably knows better''.

But neither State nor the DoJ did anything. The former issued a report making it clear that Secretary Clinton had lied to employees about the 'permission' she had, and confirmed that permission had never been sought. She also lied to the media about never sending classified material via her own server: a review of the 55,000-page email eventually released found ''hundreds of potentially classified emails''.

There is a clear '' very clear '' scenario that scopes out here: that of an ambitious wannabe US President conspiring to hide her guilt about stuff in perpetuity. Among the forty emails held back by US security agencies are those assumed to refer to the Benghazi Compound disaster, during which the Ambassador lost his life in the most bestial manner.

However, the FBI having been quietly told to pipe down, the job facing the Clintons now was to get the DoJ onside. Bill went right to the very top.

In late June 2016, it was reported that Bill Clinton met privately with Attorney General Loretta Lynch on her private plane on the tarmac at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Three days later, a Justice Department official categorically told the media that Attorney General Lynch will accept ''whatever recommendation career prosecutors and the F.B.I. director make about whether to bring charges related to Hillary Clinton's personal email server''.

Washington sources confirm that Lynch ''already pretty much knew what the FBI would say''.

Did the Clintons have a strong motive?Nothing is ever conclusive in these areas. But the overwhelming suggestion from these events is that the Clintons most certainly do have the means to influence the activities and output of the Justice Department.

However, it's easy to argue that Candidate Clinton had little to fear from Trump; the media almost universally dismissed him as a no-hoper. So why take the risk of, potentially, using the DoJ to put her adversary in a spot?

It's easy to argue that, but the US media have been wrong about Donald Trump since Day One. And the facts don't support the argument.

Last night, the BBC released this trend map of the poll support for each candidate throughout the campaign:

On this diagram, I have indicated in green ink the two points at which Clinton and Trump are neck and neck. In early to mid July '' following embarrassing email revelations '' Clinton's support dips, and Trump briefly overtakes her.

From the word go, the Clinton campaign saw Trump's financial background, practices and exposure as an obvious weakness. Having pressed hard for his tax returns, once his official election as the GOP presidential nominee was confirmed '' June 19th 2016 '' they began demanding to see his financials.

In fact, they already knew of one unfortunate link: on March 20th, the Murdoch-owned Wall Street Journal had featured a piece showing Donald Trump's massive dependence on Deutsche Bank as a credit supplier. The Murdoch press is campaigning solidly for Hillary, and Rupert himself has given substantial donations to her presidential bid. His motives towards her and Deutsche have been detailed by The Slog elsewhere.

The dates here are key '' particularly the dates from which Deutsche Bank ceases to be 'troubled' in the background, and increasingly becomes a foreground, front-page crisis.

In early to mid June, Trump racks up his support and closes the gap with Clinton.Other financial papers pick up on the WSJ story'....despite the fact that Trump's cash flow and personal salary alone would be enough to pay off all the Deutsche loans. At this point, the International Monetary Fund releases a report saying that Deutsche Bank ''appears to be the most important net contributor to systemic risks in the global banking system.''

The IMF '' and its boss Christine Lagarde '' are prime movers in aiding Clintonian foreign policy relating to the EU and North Africa. But still Trump's support leaps from 34-40%. Then early July, S&P Global Ratings lowers its outlook on Deutsche Bank to negative. At the same time, Deutsche Bank's U.S. unit fails the U.S. Federal Reserve's stress test. The story filters down into non-specialist media. Clinton consolidates her lead.

But by this time, DB is starting to look like a basket case '' which it has been for years '' and the 'ailing' bank gets kicked out of the STOXX blue-chip Europe 50 index.

And yet, the Donald starts to recover momentum. By mid September, he's back to almost neck and neck. It's now that the DoJ Establishment goes for the throat.The Justice Department chooses this precise moment '' September 16th '' to splash with the news that Deutsche Bank faces a whopping $14.5 billion malpractice fine. Within hours, its shares go into freefall.

Between September 20th and 28th, a broader media blitz and online campaign openly calls Trump ''massively dependent on Deutsche loans''. Counterspin from the Deutsche camp claims negotiations to reduce the DoJ fine are well in hand. Two days later Justice splashes again: no, it alleges, they haven't even started yet.

But still, general awareness of the Trump-Deutsche link remains low'....and Trump himself steadies his poll ratings. Locker rooms, pussy grabbing abuse allegations suddenly sprout via close Clinton ally David Farenthold. Donald's poll ratings dive.

Donald Trump is just beginning to recover his position. Already pro-Democrat sites are switching tack to say that Trump ''is a puppet candidate of foreign banks'' '' a silly allegation, given that he only works with one, and it's more dependent on his business than vice versa. Meanwhile, the Department of Justice has Deutsche CEO John Cryan by the balls; as far as the Clintons are concerned, it holds all the cards.

OpportunityFor myself, I doubt very much that Hillary & Co will go any further down the 'dodgy credit' road. With only two weeks to go to Election day, an imminent Deutsche collapse would play into Trump's allegedly wandering hands: it is, after all, the US unit that faces the fine, and Trump's populism is anti Wall Street.

I think an equal (if not bigger) force behind pushing Deutsche Bank into the limelight is that of forcing it into a Middle East role where it can be a Rottweiller controlled by State, its old boss Hillary Clinton, and massive regional investor Rupert Murdoch.

But while the opportunity was there, it's obvious that Bill Clinton had all the influence his wife needs to help her get elected. Indeed, by being so unpopular in his own Party, Donald Trump has made this a much easier task: nobody but nobody in the US (C)lite wants Trump in the White House.

As I endeavoured to stress at the outset, the object in this post is not to prove a conspiracy, but rather to present an avalanche of evidence to support one simple '' and widespread '' observation about the Hillarybillies: as their power has increased, so too has their megalomania inflated to a frightening degree.

Where once there were only crooked land deals and cigars to go on, today it is easy to argue that this creepy couple are operating at the kind of level where the American systems of Law, foreign policy, power separation and democracy itself are being perverted. This much has been obvious for some time; but American voters need to make their minds up by November 8th which they want least '' Donald Trump in the White House, or Mr and Mrs Clinton doing the bidding of corporate globalism'...while dragging the US further and further towards geopolitical confrontation.

Looked at in that way, while this has probably been the most superficial and childish Presidential contest in American history, it will probably also turn out to have been the most important.

Yesterday at The Slog: The answer's Brexit, now what's the question?Like this:LikeLoading...

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Tue, 25 Oct 2016 13:23

Residents of at least two cities in Texas are complaining that they voted for Donald Trump only to see the voting machine switch their ballot to Hillary Clinton.

Early voting for the 2016 presidential election started yesterday for people in some areas who have been given the opportunity to avoid the long lines on November 8.

However, in Amarillo, a woman was shocked to see her ballot flip from Republican to Democrat.

''Gary and I went to early vote today,'' wrote Lisa Houlette on Facebook. ''I voted a straight Republican ticket and as I scrolled to submit my ballot I noticed that the Republican straight ticket was highlighted, however, the Clinton/Kaine box was also highlighted!''

''I tried to go back and change and could not get it to work. I asked for help from one of the workers and she couldn't get it to go back either. It took a second election person to get the machine to where I could correct the vote to a straight ticket,'' she added.

Meanwhile, in Arlington, Texas, another voter reported a similar experience.

''I had a family member that voted this morning and she voted straight Republican,'' wrote Shandy Clark. ''She checked before she submitted and the vote had changed to Clinton! She reported it and made sure her vote was changed back. They commented that It had been happening.''

Social media forums are also ablaze with concerns about votes being switched.

''Multiple reports on my Facebook, Periscope, Snapchat, and Twitter from my friends in Texas, and all of them had their vote switched to Clinton automatically,'' one post on The Donald Reddit is headlined.

The reports are alarming, especially given the fact that the media, Hillary Clinton's campaign and even President Obama himself have all attempted to dismiss Donald Trump's concerns about vote rigging as a baseless conspiracy theory.

A good person to ask about reports of vote rigging in Texas would be Texas Director of Elections Keith Ingram, but given that he ran away from our reporters '' that might prove to be difficult.

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Paul Joseph Watson is the editor at large of Infowars.com and Prison Planet.com.

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Source: The Intercept

Wed, 26 Oct 2016 21:28

On Wednesday morning, Donald Trump appeared at an unusual hybrid event in Washington, part campaign rally, part ceremonial ribbon cutting, part televised infomercial pushing his new Trump International Hotel, now open at the Old Post Office, two blocks away from the White House. Should Trump fail to win the White House on November 8, the ribbon-cutting offered some clues about his future. His apparent strategy is to liquidate the bonanza of free attention surrounding his candidacy into capital that he can use to expand his business ventures and personal brand.

The event was open to some 400 media and 300 ''VIP'' guests, but not the public. It offered some bizarre juxtapositions'--a private commercial enterprise in a formerly public space, supported by the the mass publicity that is usually attached to a presidential campaign, not the opening of a luxury hotel. Secret Service agents and police guided three hundred guests through a metal detector, beside a stack of booklets touting the hotel's spa, in-room Nespresso machines and the 860 square-foot ''Ivanka Suite.''

The closest thing to celebrities at the event were Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker, and Senator Jeff Sessions, R-Alabama. ''People change, polls change,'' said Sessions, when asked about the election. Ivanka Trump bragged that the Trump family had taken possession of one of capital's crown jewels. ''With the exception of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, she said, ''this is the most coveted piece of real estate in Washington, D.C.''

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his family cut the ribbon at the new Trump International Hotel on Oct. 26, 2016 in Washington, DC.

Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Trump's brief speech was delivered in the hotel's ''Presidential Ballroom'' between two gilded easels with the day's mantra: ''Under budget, ahead of schedule.'' Trump took the stage 28 minutes late. In a slightly hoarse voice, he explained how building a hotel was a lot like running the country. He said it was a ''metaphor,'' although he did not say whether that metaphor extended to overpromising, massive borrowing, or slapping one's name on projects that one does not actually own. Trump arranged for $200 million in renovations for the Old Post Office. His 2015 financial disclosure form values his stake in the hotel at between $5 million and $25 million; his 2016 form values it at $50 million or more.Trump did spend some time lamenting the state of the country: ''Everything our country touches, it breaks '... our military is so degraded '... the tax code is broken '... the education system is broken.'' He seemed to be of two minds about the Old Post Office itself, a massive and ornate building that the Trump Organization is leasing from the federal government for $3 million a year. Trump castigated the federal government for allowing the structure to fall into disrepair, even as he praised the ''great, great professionals, amazing professionals'' at the General Services Administration. An investigation by BuzzFeed showed that the agency awarded Trump the contract to develop the site despite his failure to make good on assurances that he would be partnering with a $28 billion real estate fund and an architect familiar with the site.

The ribbon-cutting itself, held in the hotel's atrium, seemed to have been conceived as a demonstration of Trump's appeal to the multiracial service industry workforce in his employ. The faces of Trump hotel workers glowed as they presented his family with ceremonial shears. ''I've never seen scissors that look so beautiful!'' Trump exclaimed. Two more workers held the ends of a long red ribbon so the Trump family could make their ceremonial cuts. Eric, Donald, and Donald Jr. held onto their pieces. Melania, Tiffany, and Ivanka let theirs fall to the floor.

Outside, Sam Curreri, a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers from Baltimore, was holding a sign in protest of Trump's treatment of unionized workers at his Las Vegas hotel. ''The jobs he's creating are short-term,'' Curreri said of Trump. As for the campaign, ''he's carried himself terribly. Unprofessionally. He's nowhere near presidential.''

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Thu, 27 Oct 2016 01:32

As another Lame Cherry exclusive in matter anti matter.If you recall a week ago, there was fat old Al Gore with fat old sick Hillary Clinton, on the same Florida stage?

Vice President AlGore praised HillaryClinton's credentials on climate change at a Florida rally Tuesday.Ever ask yourself why Al Gore was with Hillary Clinton? After you read the Wikileaks emails below, perhaps you will begin asking, "Just what did Hillary Clinton promise Al Gore, because Al Gore HATES Hillary Clinton with a venom."

I have the original Wikileaks email below, but desire you to read this gossip as it started, as Al Gore really had the Clinton camp dancing in this exchange.

It starts out with a stooge mailing Cheryl Mills about Gore, in Hillary Clinton's criminal gatekeeper.

TOP TALKER -- "Gore Declines to Endorse Hillary Clinton for President," by People's Sandra Sobieraj Westfall: "Gore, who served two terms with former President Bill Clinton, politely but firmly declined when PEOPLE asked him if he supports Hillary ... 'It's still too early, in my opinion, to endorse a candidate or pick a candidate,' Gore told PEOPLE in an interview to preview his 24-hour climate-changetelethon, which starts on Friday."Huma Abedin immediately jumps on this email with her own. Yes he warned us

John Podesta immediately jumps like the Don of the Mafia has appeared and wants to know what kind of threat Al Gore had sent in dead horse head deliveries.Huma Abedin then answers with:

that he wouldnt endorse this was months ago, close to beginning of campaign Cheryl Mills then drops her insider knowledge: curiuos - why? as he clearly expected her to endorse him as vp when he ran

Oh, so that is it, Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton did not endorse Al Gore, because they wanted fellow GOP neocon George Bush to win in 2000, and if W was to win or brother Jeb, then it would be Hillary easily winning in 2008.Hillary Clinton stabbed Al Gore in the back.

Next comes Huma weighing in again with the history of it all.

well that was 16 years ago. hard to put on email but there is no love lost in this relationship. reminder that he also refused to endorse in 2008!!!

So Huma knows with pillow talk from Hillary Clinton, that this feud has been festering for 16 years. Huma Abedin can not explain all the gory details, but the fact is Hillary and Al Gore hate each other, and Gore screwed Hillary over in 2008 in payback to HRC's treachery.So now you know that this has been festering with Al Gore for 16 years. Yet Al Gore now appears with Hillary Clinton in Florida, looking like the fat old bloated beach fish he is.

What did Hillary Clinton promise Al Gore for this quid pro quo?

Inquiry points to Hillary Clinton is going to have Al Gore appointed to lead the United Nation's Climate Change as a sort of Storm Trooper Climate Dictator.

It is just one more of the criminal trades of Hillary Clinton in bargaining America away for Hillary's gain. Again though it is something we would not know, if Huma Abedin had some self control in keeping her fingers quiet. This Huma simply does not shut up in emails in revealing damning things in the most emotional way.

Once again another Lame Cherry exclusive in matter anti matter.

Re: GoreFrom:ha16@hillaryclinton.com To: cheryl.mills@gmail.com Date: 2015-11-11 20:13 Subject: Re: Gore well that was 16 years ago. hard to put on email but there is no love lost in this relationship. reminder that he also refused to endorse in 2008!!! On Wed, Nov 11, 2015 at 5:10 PM, Cheryl Mills curiuos - why? as he clearly expected her to endorse him as vp when he ran On Wed, Nov 11, 2015 at 5:05 PM, Huma Abedinthat he wouldnt endorse this was months ago, close to beginning of campaign On Wed, Nov 11, 2015 at 4:44 PM, John PodestaWhat did he say to warn? On Nov 11, 2015 4:10 PM, "Huma Abedin" wrote: Yes he warned us On Nov 11, 2015, at 3:55 PM, Cheryl MillsTo: Cheryl MillsTOP TALKER -- "Gore Declines to Endorse Hillary Clinton for President," by People's Sandra Sobieraj Westfall: "Gore, who served two terms with former President Bill Clinton, politely but firmly declined when PEOPLE asked him if he supports Hillary ... 'It's still too early, in my opinion, to endorse a candidate or pick a candidate,' Gore told PEOPLE in an interview to preview his 24-hour climate-changetelethon, which starts on Friday." agtG

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Thu, 27 Oct 2016 03:25

As a matter of conscience, President Obama promised to save you $2,500 per year on health care costs. He called it ''The Affordable Health Care Act''

by the end of my first term as president that will cover every American and cut the cost of a typical family's premiums by up to $2500 a year. That's not simply a matter of policy or ideology '' it's a moral commitment.

BarackObama.com | A Politics of Conscience

Obama was lying, like he does about everything else. He made health care completely unaffordable.

Arizona Obamacare Plan To Jump By 116 % When Premiums Go Up Next Year CBS New York

The Obamacare architect said they had to lie to the stupid American people to get the bill to pass.

Lack of transparency is a huge political advantage. And basically, call it the stupidity of the American voter or whatever, but basically that was really really critical to get for the thing to pass.

Obamacare Architect: Yeah, We Lied to The ''Stupid'' American People to Get It Passed '' Katie Pavlich

Congressional Democrats said they had to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.

23 Mar 2010, Page 11 '' The Cincinnati Enquirer at Newspapers.com

Paul Ryan said he couldn't repeal Obamacare without a Republican president, so he is working tirelessly to make sure that doesn't happen.

The only chance we have to rescue this country is to elect Trump. The rest of Washington is completely insane.

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Source: The Deplorable Climate Science Blog

Thu, 27 Oct 2016 04:03

Brazille's career became the latest casualty.

George Bush owes it to the American people to fess up. The American people have every right to know if Barbara Bush will share that bed in the White House.

Lawrence Journal-World '' Google News Archive Search

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Thu, 27 Oct 2016 11:59

ONE morning in December 1824, the Duke of Wellington received an unpleasant letter. 'My Lord Duke,' it began, 'in Harriette Wilson's Memoirs, which I am about to publish, are various anecdotes of Your Grace which it would be most desirable to withhold, at least such is my opinion. I have stopped the Press for the moment, but as the publication will take place next week, little delay can necessarily take place.'The letter, signed by one Joseph Stockdale, a pornographer and scandal-monger, was a naked attempt at blackmail. The Duke was a field marshal, cabinet minister, national hero, husband and father, while Harriette Wilson was a famous London courtesan past her prime, then living in exile in Paris. Wellington was being asked to pay money to be left out of her memoirs.

His response is famous: 'Publish and be damned]' And they did. Through 1825 the memoirs appeared by instalments, each with a dramatis personae listing the notables named in order of rank - 'Dukes: Argyll, Beaufort, de Guiche, Leinster . . .' and so on through earls and viscounts down to humble esquires.

London society was thrilled and scandalised. Half the aristocracy was named in the book, and painted in a most unflattering light. The memoirs went through 31 editions in one year; excerpts were pirated and sold as illustrated broadsheets and French and German editions quickly appeared to delight the gossips of the Continent.

Stockdale, the impresario, and Wilson, the scarlet woman, were said to have made pounds 10,000 from the enterprise, but their good fortune did not last. Stockdale was soon ruined by libel suits, while Harriette was down on her luck again within a few years, and died in obscurity.

What did her memoirs reveal about the Duke? He was, she wrote, her 'faithful lover, whose love survived six winters'. He was 'my own Wellington, who sighed over me and groaned over me by the hour, talked of my wonderful beauty, ran after me . . .' and he was 'my constant visitor', a 'modern Bluebeard', 'my old beau'.

Her story was that they became lovers in 1805, not long after he returned from India a general and a minor celebrity (and not long after he was married). They had a halting relationship for some years, interrupted by the Peninsular War, and eventually drifted apart. There was one last meeting, in Paris in 1814, when they swapped memories and he stopped her laughter by 'kissing me by main force'.

She felt she and Stockdale had acted fairly by giving him the chance to buy his way out of her book - others, she wrote, had seized the offer with gratitude - and she did not spare him in print. Not only was he named among her throng of clients, he was also mocked and belittled for his lack of charm and style. The Duke, she said, was 'most unentertaining', 'very uphill work', and 'in the evenings, when he wore his broad red ribbon, he looked very much like a rat-catcher'.

Elizabeth Longford, biographer of Wellington, dismisses much of Harriette's story as 'choice lies', pointing out errors of detail and chronology which render some of the scenes impossible. But she detects a germ of truth. Wellington was a lady's man caught in a loveless marriage; he is known to have patronised the procuress in Berkeley Street, who acted for Wilson; and the dialogue in the memoirs, it was noted at the time, accurately captures the Duke's speech.

Although Wellington's answer to Stockdale's blackmail letter does not survive in his own hand, there is no reason to doubt he used those famous words. But his stance was less bold than they suggest, for he also threatened to sue 'if such trash is published'.

The threat was ignored but the Duke did not issue a writ, perhaps because others got there before him, or perhaps because there was too much truth in what Wilson wrote. Either way, his reputation did not suffer and he was not forced to resign for reasons of security or hypocrisy or anything else. On the contrary, he remained the nation's hero and went on to become prime minister.

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Wed, 26 Oct 2016 20:33

This Politifact post muddles over whether the Wikileaks leaked emails have been doctored, specifically the one about Tim Kaine being picked a year ago. The post is wrong -- we can verify this email and most of the rest.In order to bloc spam, emails nowadays contain a form of digital signatures that verify their authenticity. This is automatic, it happens on most modern email systems, without users being aware of it.

This means we can indeed validate most of the Wikileaks leaked DNC/Clinton/Podesta emails. There are many ways to do this, but the easiest is to install the popular Thunderbird email app along with the DKIM Verifier addon. Then go to the Wikileaks site and download the raw source of the email https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/2986.

As you see in the screenshot below, the DKIM signature verifies as true.

If somebody doctored the email, such as changing the date, then the signature would not verify. I try this in the email below, changing the date from 2015 to 2016. This causes the signature to fail.There are some ways to forge DKIM-signed emails, specifically if the sender uses short keys. When short keys are used, hackers can "crack" them, and sign fraudulent emails. This doesn't apply to GMail, which uses strong 2048 bit keys, as demonstrated in the following screenshot. (No, the average person isn't supposed to understand this screen shot, but experts can).What this means is that the only way this email could've been doctored is if there has been an enormous, nation-state level hack of Google to steal their signing key. It's possible, of course, but extraordinarily improbable. It's conspiracy-theory level thinking. Google GMail has logs of which emails went through its systems -- if there was a nation-state attack able to forge them, Google would know, and they'd be telling us. (For one thing, they'd be forcing password resets on all our accounts).

Since DKIM verifies this email and most of the others, we conclude that Kaine is "pants on fire" lying about this specific email, and "mostly untrue" in his claim that the Wikileaks emails have been doctored.On the other hand, Wikileaks only shows us some of the emails. We don't see context. We don't see other staffers certain it's going to be somebody else for VP. We don't see related email discusses that cast this one in a different light. So of course whether this (verified) email means they'd firmly chosen Kaine is "mostly unproven". The purpose of this document isn't diagnosing what the emails mean, only the claims by Hillary's people that these emails have been "doctored".As a side note, I offer a 1-BTC (one bit coin, ~$600 at today's exchange rate) bounty to anybody who can prove me wrong. If you can doctor the above email, then you win the bounty. Some rules apply (i.e. it needs to be a real doctored email, not a trick). I offer this bounty because already people are trying to cast doubt on whether DKIM works, without offering any evidence. Put up or shut up. Lamers aren't welcome.

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Thu, 27 Oct 2016 01:44

From:re47@hillaryclinton.com To: john.podesta@gmail.com, jpalmieri@hillaryclinton.com, kschake@hillaryclinton.com Date: 2015-04-16 23:44 Subject: Fwd: Foreign registered agentsMarc made a convincing case to me this am that these sorts of restrictions don't really get you anything...that Obama actually got judged MORE harshly as a result. He convinced me. So...in a complete U-turn, I'm ok just taking the money and dealing with any attacks. Are you guys ok with that? ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Dennis Cheng Date: Thu, Apr 16, 2015 at 6:13 PM Subject: RE: Foreign registered agents To: Marc Elias , Robby Mook < > Cc: Karuna Seshasai , Huma Abedin < >, Jesse Ferguson , Kristina Schake , Tony Carrk < >, Rebecca Leal , Nicholas Pancrazio , Beth Jones < >, John Podesta Hi all '' we really need to make a final decision on this. We're getting to the point of no return'... *From:* Marc Elias [mailto:melias@hillaryclinton.com] *Sent:* Thursday, April 16, 2015 7:38 AM *To:* Robby Mook *Cc:* Dennis Cheng; Karuna Seshasai; Huma Abedin; Jesse Ferguson; Kristina Schake; Tony Carrk; Rebecca Leal; Nicholas Pancrazio; Beth Jones; John Podesta *Subject:* Re: Foreign registered agents If we do it case by case, then it will be subjective. We would look at who the donor is and what foreign entity they are registered for. In judging whether to take the money, we would consider the relationship between that country and the United States, its relationship to the State Department during Hillary's time as Secretary, and its relationship, if any, to the Foundation. In judging the individual, we would look at their history of support for political candidates generally and Hillary's past campaigns specifically. Put simply, we would use the same criteria we use for lobbyists, except with a somewhat more stringent screen. As a legal matter, I am not saying we have to do this - we can decide to simply ban foreign registrants entirely. I'm just offering this up as a middle ground. On Thu, Apr 16, 2015 at 7:04 AM, Robby Mook wrote: Where do we draw the line though? On Apr 15, 2015, at 11:22 PM, Marc Elias wrote: Responding to all on this. I was not on the call this morning, but I lean away from a bright line rule here. It seems odd to say that someone who represents Alberta, Canada can't give, but a lobbyist for Phillip Morris can. Just as we vet lobbyists case by case, I would do the same with FARA. While this may lead to a large number of FARA registrants being denied, it would not be a flat our ban. A total ban feels arbitrary and will engender the same eye-rolling and ill will that it did for Obama. On Wed, Apr 15, 2015 at 11:09 PM, Dennis Cheng wrote: Hi all '' we do need to make a decision on this ASAP as our friends who happen to be registered with FARA are already donating and raising. I do want to push back a bit (it's my job!): I feel like we are leaving a good amount of money on the table (both for primary and general, and then DNC and state parties)'... and how do we explain to people that we'll take money from a corporate lobbyist but not them; that the Foundation takes $ from foreign govts but we now won't. Either way, we need to make a decision soon. *From:* Karuna Seshasai [mailto:kseshasai@hillaryclinton.com] *Sent:* Tuesday, April 14, 2015 10:35 PM *To:* Huma Abedin *Cc:* Robby Mook; Dennis Cheng; Jesse Ferguson; Marc Elias; Kristina Schake; Tony Carrk; Rebecca Leal; Nicholas Pancrazio; Beth Jones; John Podesta *Subject:* Re: Foreign registered agents Following up on the call from 9:30. The policy would be to not allow any currently registered foreign agents (those who register with FARA) to contribute or raise for the campaign. If someone terminates their registration, they would be allowed to contribute or raise for the campaign. Marc, we'd especially like your perspective on adopting this policy.. On Tue, Apr 14, 2015 at 5:06 PM, Huma Abedin wrote: That would be helpful. Sent from my iPhone On Apr 14, 2015, at 4:05 PM, Robby Mook wrote: Not to get too processy...but could you, me, Podesta, Tony, (and Huma if possible) and someone from comms do a quick 10 min call on this? We'll finalize a decision. On Tue, Apr 14, 2015 at 12:57 PM, Karuna Seshasai < > wrote: Wanted to follow back up on this. We're consistently flagging more FARA registrants daily. In terms of # - we're at 27 out of 370 prospective bundlers - but to Jesse's question - that does not represent the costs of how much these folks would likely raise. If we were looking at these folks below on a case by case basis, I'd want to specifically raise: Tony Podesta (Iraq, Azerbaijan, Egypt), Ben Barnes (Libya), John Merrigan (UAE), Wyeth Weidman (Libya), and Mike Driver (UAE connections) . On Mon, Apr 13, 2015 at 3:18 PM, Karuna Seshasai < > wrote: Yes, it's attached and also copied/pasted below. This is only 23 names of the first 350 prospective bundlers we looked at pre-launch. I anticipate more coming down the pipeline. *First Name* *Last Name* *FARA Registered Agent* *Client (if listed)* Imaad Zuberi Beltway Government Strategies Inc (Zuberi is a Partner) Office of the Monitoring MP for the Ministry of External Affairs, Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (8/14/14 - Current) Anthony "Tony" Podesta The Podesta Group Republic of Iraq (2/28/13 - Current); Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan (1/31/13 Current); Republic of Cyprus (11/13/12 - Current); Republic of Kosovo (3/13/12 - Current); Republic of Albania (4/15/11 - Current); Republic of India (10/8/10 - Current); National Security Council of Georgia (2/3/10 - Current); Hong Kong Trade Dvelopment Council (4/20/09 - Current); The Government of the Arab republic of egypt (4/1/09 - Current, previously 5/18/07- 6/30/07) PLM Group, LLC (9/27/07- 3/1/09); Podesta Associates, Inc (2/17/94- 2/10/95) Ben Barnes Ben Barnes Group for National Board The Following Up and Recovering of the Libyan Looted and Disguised Funds of the Transitional Government of Libya, through Washington African Consulting Group, Inc (12/3/14 - Current); and Sharp & Barnes LLP for The Republic of Colombia Federacion Nacional de Departamentos (8/31/10 - Current); and Alcalde & Fay (10/21/94- 2/12/96) Heather Podesta Heather Podesta Taipei Economic and Cultural representative Office in the U.S. (5/15/12 - Current) Hon. Ronnie Shows AUX Initiatives LLC Dr Bashir Musa (8/18/14- Current) John Breaux Patton Boggs The Kurdistan regional Government (5/18/14 - Current), Government of the Republic of Cyprus (8/4/09 -10/31/11), Embassy of India, Embassy of the Republic of Peru, Government of the Republic of Cyprus (10/20/08- 10/31/11), (9/25/07- 10/31/11), (2/27/07- 10/31/11); and Breaux Lott Leadership Group for Government of Taiwan, Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (5/21/09- 5/11/10) John Merrigan DLA Piper LLP Presidential Campaign of Hipolito Mejia; Embassy of the UAE (1/30/12 - Current), Embassy of the UAE; Executive Office of Dubai; Government of Turkey; Government of Ethiopia; Senado de Maxico; Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister and Vice President of the UAE, Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid AL Maktoum, Minister of Finance and Industry of the UAE, the Executive Office (12/15/08 - Current), Executive Office of Dubai; Government of Turkey; Government of Ethiopia; Senado de Maxico; Borse Dubai Limited; Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister and Vice President of the UAE, Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid AL Maktoum, Minister of Finance and Industry of the UAE, the Executive Office (6/26/08 - Current), (11/2/07, 5/10/07, 12/8/06, 11/20/06, 5/4/06); and Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson & Hand, Chartered for (3/6/02, 4/26/01, 12/16/98, 10/3/97, 12/5/95, 6/2/95, 9/19/88, 8/5/85- 6/3/94) Jonathon Jones Peck Madigan Jones Embassy of New Zealand (6/10/13 - Current), ProExport Colombia (4/22/11- 10/31/11) Michael Smith Cornerstone Governmen Affairs, LLC Justice Equality Movement Embassy of the Republic of Korea (1/16/15 - Current), LNG Allies Inc (7/2/14 - Current), Embassy of the Republic of Korea (3/7/14 - Current) Paul Brathwaite Podesta Group Embassy of Japan, Federal Republic of Somalia (9/16/13 - Current), Republic of Albania; National Security Council of georgia; Embassy of Japan (7/29/11- 6/30/12), Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt (4/1/09- 12/31/10) and PLM Group for Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt (4/24/08- 3/1/09) Thomas Daschle Daschle Group Taipei Economic and cultural representative Office (*3/16/15 - Current)* Wyeth Wiedeman Ben Barnes Group National Board for the Following Up and Recovering of the Libyan Looted and Disguised Funds of the Transitional Government of Libya, through Washington African Consulting Group, Inc (12/3/14 - Current); and Sharp & Barnes LLP for The Republic of Colombia Federacion Nacional de Departamentos (2/2/11- 11/1/11) Larry Rasky Rasky Baerlein Strategic Communications Socialist Party of Albania (3/29/2010 - 9/22/2010) and Serbia Investment and Export Promotion Agency (10/26/2008 - 9/22/2010) David Castagnetti Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti Embassy of Panama (5/24/11 - 5/15/12); Province of Alberta Canada (3/20/13- 6/1/13) Gerald Cassidy Cassidy & Associates (10/4/07- 12/31/10; 8/27/91- 12/1/00; 6/4/84- 11/2/84) Gov. Jim Blanchard DLA Piper US LLP (11/25/1991- 12/09/1992; 4/14/2009- 9/15/2010) James "Jimmy" Ryan Elmendorf Ryan Colombian Foreign Investment and Export Promotion Agency (4/21/11 -10/13/11) John Quinn Quinn Gillespie & Associates Japan External Trade Organization; Shining Prospect; Government of Macedonia; Government of Republika Srpska (3/17/09 - 10/1/11); Shining Prospect, Government of Macedonia, Government of Republika Srpska (2/19/09); (6/20/07, 6/1/06, 12/22/04- 6/30/05) Kelly Bingel Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti) Embassy of Panama (5/24/11- 5/15/12), Province of Alberta Canada (3/20/13- 6/1/13 Mike Driver Squire Patton Boggs Al-Hamar Trading Group (6/21/12- 6/26/13); (6/16/03- 12/31/05) Norm Brownstein Brownstwin Hyatt Farber Schreck (7/2/07- 10/17/07) Steve Elmendorf Elmendorf Ryan Colombian Foreign Investment and Export Promotion Agency (4/21/11- 10/13/11) Vic Fazio Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld Hong kong Trade Development Council (2/21/12; 6/24/05); and Clark & Weinstock (1/26/05- 5/31/05), (9/10/01- 6/30/03) On Mon, Apr 13, 2015 at 3:07 PM, Dennis Cheng wrote: Karuna, can you recirculate the list of foreign agents that we know of so far? It's not a huge # in terms of the # of people - but it does include people we are close with like Tony Podesta, DLA Piper, etc. On Mon, Apr 13, 2015 at 3:05 PM, Jesse Ferguson < > wrote: Is there anyway to ballpark what percent of our donor base this would apply to (aka how much money we're throwing away) Cost benefits are easier to analyze with the costs. :) On Mon, Apr 13, 2015 at 2:59 PM, Marc Elias wrote: This is really a straight up political call. One middle option is to take case by case. If, for example, they are FARA registered for Canada, we may not case. If for N. Korea we would. But really comm's call. On Mon, Apr 13, 2015 at 2:46 PM, Karuna Seshasai < > wrote: + Nick and Beth. Want to add that these folks can also be divided into two categories - those who lobbied while HRC was at State and those who are currently registered. On Mon, Apr 13, 2015 at 2:40 PM, Dennis Cheng wrote: We really need make a policy decision on this soon - whether we are allowing those lobbying on behalf of foreign governments to raise $ for the campaign. Or case by case. -- *Dennis Cheng* National Finance Director Hillary for America dcheng@hillaryclinton.com -- ---- Jesse F. Ferguson Deputy National Press Secretary and Senior Spokesman Hillary for America @JesseFFerguson Gchat: Jfferg -- *Dennis Cheng* National Finance Director Hillary for America dcheng@hillaryclinton.com

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Source: The Deplorable Climate Science Blog

Thu, 27 Oct 2016 03:59

WikiLeaks '' The Podesta Emails

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Mon, 24 Oct 2016 14:35

Afghanistan saw an increase of 10 percent in opium poppy cultivation and 91 percent decrease in eradication across the country, according to a new joint survey released Sunday by the UN and Afghan government.

The report released Sunday showed the total area under cultivation in Afghanistan at an estimated 201,000 hectares (496,681 acres) in 2016, a 10 percent increase from the 183,000 hectares (452,200 acres) in 2015. It said no eradication took place in provinces with high levels of opium poppy cultivation due to the extremely poor security situation in those areas, as well as logistical and financial challenges.

Overall, the potential opium production in Afghanistan increased 43 percent, with 4,800 tons this year compared to 3,300 tons in 2015, Salamat Azimi, Afghan counter-narcotics minister, said in a joint news conference with the UN in Kabul.

"It is very disturbing to see a considerable increase in poppy cultivation in the north which may be linked with a deteriorating security situation in the region," said Andrey Avetisyan, head of United Nation Office for Drug and Crime (UNODC) in Afghanistan.

Avetisyan said there was one less poppy-free province this year, northern Jawzjan province, bringing the total number of poppy-free provinces down to 13 of the country's 34 provinces.

However, he said he was "in way satisfied that in a very difficult year as this one, in terms of security and challenges, we are witnessed only a 10 percent overall increase in cultivation and decrease in many traditionally high cultivated provinces in the south."

The Taliban, which have been waging war against the Afghan government since 2001, are heavily involved in poppy cultivation and opium distribution especially in areas under their control. They recently stepped up their attacks against Afghan security forces in northern region of the country.

Billions of dollars have been spent on counter-narcotics efforts in Afghanistan in the past decade, including programs encouraging farmers to switch to other cash crops like wheat, fruit and saffron.

Gen. Baz Mohammad Ahmadi, deputy interior minister for the counter narcotic police, said his forces have conducted 1,263 operations this year, in which they arrested 1,408 opium traffickers including government employees and foreigners, confiscated just over 238 tons of opium and destroyed at least 35 labs across the country.

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Thu, 27 Oct 2016 03:22

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U.S. Marines with 2nd Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company conduct tactical beach landing drills with 148 Battery, Royal Marine Commandos, in preparation for Joint Warrior on Cape Wrath, Scotland, Oct. 9, 2016. Source: Flicr / U.S. Department of Defense

The Norwegian government's decision to approve the pilot project on the deployment of the U.S. Marine Corps servicemen in the western part of the country will not improve the security situation in northern Europe, spokesman for the Russian embassy in Oslo, Maksim Gurov, said in a statement.

"The rotational deployment of 330 servicemen of the U.S. Marine Corps to Vaernes will by no means facilitate the improvement of security situation in northern Europe," the diplomat stated. Earlier the Russian embassy expressed surprise at the Norwegian government's determination to approve this step "taking into consideration the numerous statements by Norwegian officials saying Russia poses no threat to Norway."

On Oct. 26, Norway's Defense Ministry announced that Oslo had agreed to accommodate a U.S. marine unit at the Vaernes military base near Trondheim. They will start training there in January 2017 according to the pilot Norwegian-U.S. project on enhancing cooperation in the security sphere, which was initiated by Washington.

Norwegian Defense Minister Ine Eriksen Soreide said that the pilot project stipulated the rotation of the U.S. military servicemen while no permanent U.S. military base was going to be established in Norway. According to Soreide, "the defense of Norway is dependent on allied reinforcements, and it is crucial for Norwegian security that our allies come here to gain knowledge of how to operate in Norway and with Norwegian forces."

Source: TASS.com

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Source: Russia Beyond The Headlines

Thu, 27 Oct 2016 03:31

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The Falcon business jet crashed at Moscow's Vnukovo airport in 2014. Source: Maksim Blinov / RIA Novosti

The Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) has completed an investigation into the crash of a Dassault Falcon 50 jet at Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow in 2014.

The Falcon jet, operated by France's Unijet company, collided during the takeoff on Oct. 20, 2014 with a snowplow that caught fire and crashed on the runway, killing Total CEO Christophe de Margerie and three crewmembers, all of them French citizens.

The fatal crash had been caused by a combination of 16 factors detailed by IAC in the final report published on the organization's website on Oct. 25. The IAC oversees the use and management of civil aviation in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

"The accident occurred at nighttime under foggy conditions while the aircraft was taking off after cleared by the controller due to collision with the snowplow that executed runway incursion and stopped on the runway," the IAC said.

Among the factors behind the crash was the "lack of proper supervision from the airdrome service shift supervisor, alcohol detected in his organism, over the airfield operations: no report to the ATM or request to the snowplow driver as he lost visual contact with the snowplow," it said.

The IAC also noted the "design peculiarity of the Falcon 50EX aircraft (the nose wheel steering can only be controlled from the LH seat) resulting in necessity to transfer aircraft control at a high workload phase of the takeoff roll when the FO (seated right) performs the takeoff."

The criminal case into the crash is heard by the Solntsevsky court of Moscow. The persons in the defendants' dock include Vnukovo aerodrome engineer Vladimir Ledenyov, snowplow driver Vladimir Martynenko, flight controller Alexander Kruglov, Vnukovo air traffic control head Roman Dunayev and taxiing controller Nadezhda Arkhipova. They are pressed with charges under part 3, article 263 of the Criminal Code of Russia ("Violation of Air Transport Safety and Operation Rules Entailing the Deaths of Two or More Persons by Negligence"). The article carries a punishment of up to 7 years in prison.

Source: TASS.com

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Source: Russia Beyond The Headlines

Thu, 27 Oct 2016 03:32

The exhibition will be held on Nov. 1-6 in Zhuhai, China.

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The exhibition will be held on Nov. 1-6 in Zhuhai, China. Source: Marina Lystseva / TASS

Russian defense enterprises will exhibit over 220 military hardware items at the Airshow China-2016, the Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation said in a statement on Oct. 25.

The Russian pavilion, one of the largest at the Airshow China-2016, will showcase products developed by 49 companies, of which 27 will demonstrate military items.

Famous aerobatic teams Russian Knights and Swifts of Russia's Defense Ministry will take part in the air show.

Russia's official delegation at the event will be headed by Vladimir Drozhzhov, Deputy Director of the Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation.

First published by TASS

Read more: Russia looks to flood Asia with soya, wheat and fish

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Thu, 27 Oct 2016 05:10

Hillary Clinton has proposed establishing a no-fly zone in Syria, but Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said Tuesday that such a move could lead Russia to shoot down U.S. planes.

''I wouldn't put it past them to shoot down an American aircraft if they felt that was threatening to their forces on the ground,'' Clapper said during a talk at the Council of Foreign Relations.

Russia recently deployed mobile S-400 and S-300 missile batteries to Western Syria, which are capable of shooting down aircraft and cruise missiles. Clapper signaled that they posed a threat to American planes should the U.S. try to institute a no-fly zone in Syria.

''The system they have there is very advanced, very capable,'' said Clapper, ''and I don't think they'd do it '' deploy it '' if they didn't have some intention to use it.''

In the past, Clinton has called for ''safe zones'' and ''no-fly zones'' in Syria. During the third presidential debate last week, moderator Chris Wallace asked Clinton whether she would fire on Russian aircraft that were violating a U.S.-imposed no-fly zone. She did not answer the question, saying only that a no-fly zone ''would take a lot of negotiation,'' and that she thinks she could ''strike a deal'' where Russian planes would avoid no-fly zones.

General Joseph Dunford, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a Senate panel last month that for the U.S. to ''control all of the airspace in Syria, it would require us to go to war, against Syria and Russia.''

President Obama dismissed calls for a no-fly zone last year, calling the idea ''half-baked.''

Top Photo: James Clapper, U.S. Director of National Intelligence, arrives for a conversation at the Council of Foreign Relations on Oct. 25, 2016, in New York.

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Tue, 25 Oct 2016 17:49

Unlike previous years, there will be no Christmas lights in many Swedish towns this Christmas, reports SVT. Formally the new ban is because of "security reasons".The Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket) will stop allowing municipalities to put up their Christmas lights on light poles that the authority manages, and in many small towns, it means that the central streets actually do not get any Christmas lights at all.

The change is a victory for those who want to tone down the reminder of the country's Christian traditions, but according to the Swedish Transport Administration, the decision for the drastic change is "security".

- Poles are not designed for the weight of Christmas lights, and we have to remove anything that should not be there. We guarantee safety first, says Eilin Isaksson, national coordinator at the Swedish Transport Administration, to SVT.

How many poles that have fallen down in previous years because of the Christmas lights is not clear. It is clear, however, that municipalities have difficulty understanding the Swedish Transport Administration's priorities.

- In our municipality we have problems with wildlife and fences, that people are dying because of animals running on the roads. We think this is a more important issue for the Swedish Transport Administration to handle than to turn off our Christmas lights, says mayor in Lititz, Marie Johansson, to SVT.

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WikiLeaks Email proves that President Barack Obama lied when he said he learned about Hillary's private server from the news.Much can be denied and swept under the carpet when it comes to challenges the Swedish society is faced with after the immigrant wave last year, but one thing is difficult to explain away: the number of murders.The British government has decided that Heathrow Airport outside London is to be expanded with a third runway. Many are opposed to the expansion.

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Thu, 27 Oct 2016 01:40

As another Lame Cherry exclusive in matter anti matter.

The degrees of separation in the reality of Hillary Clinton and crime is one which we really do not have any perception of, because the police state is engaged in covering up Mrs. Clinton's crimes. For example, let us look at Wikileaks, in one of the strange emails found in John Podesta's files in a message from KMBT_C550.

Message from KMBT_C550From:konica@podesta.com To: john.podesta@gmail.com Date: 2009-06-17 15:57 Subject: Message from KMBT_C550--KONICA_MINOLTA_Internet_Fax_Boundary Content-Type: application/pdf; name="SKMBT_C55009061713530.pdf" Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="SKMBT_C55009061713530.pdf" Content-Transfer-Encoding: BASE64 JVBERi0xLjQKMSAwIG9iago8PC9UeXBlIC9YT2JqZWN0Ci9TdWJ0eXBlIC9JbWFnZQovTmFt ZSAvSkkxYQovV2lkdGggMTcwMAovSGVpZ2h0IDIyMDAKL0JpdHNQZXJDb21wb25lbnQgOAov Q29sb3JTcGFjZSAvRGV2aWNl............

If one looks at this email it is bizarre as it is all codex. If one downloads the file which it is, it is a PDF file and one ascertains that KMBT_C550 is a Konica Minolta fax from John Podesta's lobby firm.Now what would be so vital that the fax machine at Podesta Group would be emailing John Podesta at his private Google mailbox where numbers of his Clinton emails appear?

Why it is a Financial Times article about Modica Sicily.

See that is the bizarre part in this, in why would John Podesta be creating a PDF file which requires a program to open it to himself, in what was so interesting about Sicily?

It seems odd that a man like Podesta who wants a revolution in the Vatican like Libya, would care about historical sites in a religious area like Sicily, so what on earth could John Podesta be interested enough to email an article to himself for?

Running a search on this, we find no connection between John Podesta or Hillary Clinton in Sicily. Something interesting does come up though from Michael Isikoff, one of the last investigative journalists alive, in he was exposing the Clinton Muslim connection for brutality in the Mideast.

In reading the article, we discover from the beginning that a two families who have been bankrolling the Clinton Foundation and are bagmen for the Clintons are joined at the him in this, in none other than the Saud Royals and Podesta family in their lobbying firm.

The Saudi government, under increasing criticism over civilian casualties from its airstrikes in Yemen and a harsh crackdown on political dissidents at home, has just hired a powerhouse Washington, D.C., lobbying firm headed by a top Hillary Clinton fundraiser '-- an arrangement that critics charge raises fresh questions about the influence that foreign government lobbyists could have on her campaign.The Saudi contract with the Podesta Group, owned by veteran Washington lobbyist and Clinton campaign bundler Tony Podesta, calls for the firm to provide ''public relations'' and other services on behalf of the royal court of King Salman.It included an initial ''project fee'' payment of $200,000 last month and unspecified further sums over the course of the next year, according to documents recently filed with the Justice Department Foreign Agents Registration Act office.HillaryClinton and Saudi ... work of the firm," Podesta said when reached by Yahoo News on his cellphone while he was dining at a restaurant in Sicily.But this becomes more interesting as where did Isikoff track down Tony Podesta at? Why at the very island where brother John was researching just a few years previous in emailing PDF files to himself.

But Tony Podesta, while calling himself ''a proud Clinton bundler,'' vigorously denied that the Saudi contract had anything to do with his efforts to elect her president. ''I've never had a conversation with Hillary Clinton or anybody in the campaign about the work of the firm,'' Podesta said when reached by Yahoo News on his cellphone while he was dining at a restaurant in Sicily. ''We represent a dozen foreign governments around the world '-- we do good work for them. And it has nothing to do with the Hillary Clinton campaign.''

So the proud Clinton bundlers and handlers, are not only in bed with Vladimir Putin and Saudi Muslims, but are researching Sicily and making phone calls from there. But what on earth could ever be of importance in Sicily? Here is a clue:

The Lampedusa route operates under different circumstances '-- it mostly carries a different kind of migrant '-- yet needs no less of an EU commitment than the Balkan route. Possibly, it needs a greater one.

Lampedusa is one of three major Islamic invasion routes into Europe. Turkey is one, the Balkans are another and the 3rd is Lampedusa, a small Italian island, which is the jump off point to, Porto Empedocle, which is Sicily.In searching a bit more, we find that John Podesta of the Bill and Hillary Clinton years in the 1990's was part of the stealing of Serbian Christian lands for Muslims in Kosovo, which was about an oil pipeline and Saudi Arabia having a Muslim invasion point into Europe.......and Podesta is still attached to Kosovo Islam, and now it is the Clinton Foundation tied to human organ harvesting.

Podesta Group's relationship with Kosovo and other foreign governments is mentioned in the Wikileaks dump of JohnPodesta's hacked emails.The things do get interesting do they not? The Turkish and Balkan invasion points for Islam from Africa are closing down, but for some reason Sicily is still wide open as an invasion point form Libya.Now who was it that blew up Libya and laughed about Colonel Khadaffi being raped, castrated and murdered? Oh that is right, it was Hillary Clinton, and her George Soros is the one who started the murder there by conning Khadaffi to open his prisons and let terrorists free for humanitarian reasons.

A top Hillary Clinton campaign official on Sunday praised the former secretary of state's involvement in the controversial 2011 Libyan intervention, even as the ...So what are the odds that in all things Clinton Foundation, that Secretary Hillary Clinton obtained a Saudi donation....which she did, and this was all about the invasion of Europe for Islam, expanding on the Kosovo campaign of the Clinton's in the 1990's?That the Saudis who hired the Podesta Group, had them scouting Sicily as an invasion point? That Hillary Clinton blew up Libya as the human traffic point in the murder of Khadaffi?

Starting to make a great deal more sense in what your US tax dollars and Soldiers have been anal raped to death for in Chris Stevens and other Americans?

But it gets better yet, as who did the Podesta Group hire?

Stefano Stefanini was permanent representative of Italy at NATO and diplomatic adviser to former Italian President Giorgio Napolitano. He is currently a senior adviser to the Podesta Group and non-resident senior fellow of the Brent Scowcroft Center for International Security at the Atlantic Council, Washington.

Nothing like hiring the Italian insider to NATO and the Italian Government to work for you, and why not tie it all in with the Bush fam in Brent Scowcroft in this Neocon heads it is Bush and tails it is Clinton coin.Now did John Podesta just fax himself from his Podesta Group an odd email about Sicily, where his brother later appeared, after his clients Hillary Clinton and the Saudi Royals were paying him, about a vacation he never took, or was this all something more nefarious as everything involving the Clinton's is?

We do not know because Hillary Clinton has James Comey tied to the Clinton Foundation, and the number 2 at FBI's wife was floated a payment of almost a half a million dollars for a political campaign or perhaps that is all coincidence too.

It is typical though with Hillary Clinton and those around her, as simply typing in Sicily, soon enough has you finding all the links to Muslim invasion, terror oil money, Obama regime change in Muslim lands, and the Podestas interested in on little island which is the human shipping point of Islamic dregs out of Africa.

Once again another Lame Cherry exclusive in matter anti matter. See the Wikileaks hold in them numerous clues to the crimes of Hillary Clinton, but researchers are missing the bulk of them, because they see an obscure dot, and are not taking the time to find what that dot is connected to, to form a complete pattern over decades, which is now the murderous upheaval of America and the world.

Nuff Said

agtG

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Archived Version

Wed, 26 Oct 2016 12:56

It's been clear from the start that the American and Iraqi-led battle to retake Mosul from the Islamic State presented a logistical and strategic puzzle '-- even a possible nightmare '-- in which the interests of multiple countries and sectarian groups had to be reconciled and their roles carefully coordinated. Without such coordination, the effort to defeat ISIS and liberate thousands of Mosul residents who have suffered horribly under the terrorist group for two years would be severely undermined.

The nightmare scenario has now become more likely with Turkey's decision to pick a fight with Iraq. Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is demanding a direct role in the battle that no one had designed for his troops, meanwhile seeming to tread on Iraq's sovereignty.

This is a troubling development because if Mr. Erdogan persists, leaders of Iraqi Shiite militias may follow through on their threat to join the battle. Before the fighting started last week, the United States had worked with the Iraqis to assemble a military force that included the Iraqi Army, Kurdish forces and Sunni tribal fighters '-- but not the Shiite militias, which have a record of abuses against Sunnis, the largest religious group in Mosul.

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Even before this latest demand, Turkey had angered Baghdad by keeping 600 to 800 troops at a base in Bashiqa in northern Iraq. Ankara's real priority is defeating Kurdish separatists who straddle the border regions of Turkey and Iraq and have engaged in a rebellion against the Turkish government for decades. Mr. Erdogan is also eager to check Iran's growing influence in the region and to be seen as a defender of Sunni Arabs and Turkmen, who live in Mosul and the surrounding area.

Turkey is a NATO ally, and it was once on track for membership of the European Union and had a hopeful future as a Muslim democracy. But Mr. Erdogan long ago veered down an authoritarian, anti-democratic path and has often proved to be an unreliable, even dangerous ally in dealing with foreign challenges.

In recent speeches he has not only invoked old Turkish grievances dating from the end of World War I, when Western powers divided the former Ottoman lands of the Middle East, but he has also hinted at larger regional ambitions. ''We did not voluntarily accept the borders of our country,'' Mr. Erdogan has said, suggesting that he might wish to redraw them. Some analysts believe that his more modest ambition is to pursue a more interventionist foreign policy.

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter was in Ankara and Baghdad over the weekend trying to broker a compromise. Under one possible plan, the Turks would not participate directly in Mosul but would provide training, medical and humanitarian support; under another, Sunni tribal forces or Kurdish forces trained by Turkey would join in the fighting. On Monday, Turkey said its artillery was already involved, though there was no confirmation of that.

Turkey does have ''a historical responsibility in the region,'' as Mr. Erdogan said in a recent speech. As a NATO member, it also has a responsibility to work with its allies in defeating the Islamic State. Mr. Erdogan, who has been cozying up recently to Russia and China, seldom seems to share that kind of common purpose.

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Wed, 26 Oct 2016 13:23

By John Helmer, Moscow

The State Department has switched off the lights for Victoria Nuland's (lead image, right) planned meeting in Cyprus this week with President Nicos Anastasiades (left).

Cyprus sources confirm that Nuland is expected to arrive in Nicosia on Wednesday. The Greek press was told last Friday the visit is scheduled for this week, and that the State Department is giving ''assurances that the American official is not going to make any suggestions or to lobby.''

State Department spokesman Elizabeth Trudeau said Monday ''As of today, I have no travel to announce.'' After official confirmation from Cyprus was relayed to her, Trudeau said: ''as of today, we have no travel to announce. If that changes, we'll certainly let you know.'' Asked to explain the blackout, and to clarify if Nuland is currently in Washington, Trudeau refused to say.

The semi-secret Nuland trip comes after a weekend of hints from senior Cyprus officials that the US has been pressuring Anastasiades to accept Turkish military occupation of northern Cyprus under a NATO flag, and that Anastasiades's past involvement with a fugitive Russian businessman, Leonid Lebedev, is one of the pressure-points in the meetings Nuland has held with the Cyprus president in April and July

In Cyprus on Sunday, the Cyprus Mail, a pro-NATO English-language newspaper on the island, reported: ''a government source who spoke on condition of anonymity categorically ruled out the NATO-base scenario, saying it is simply out of the question because it would never be backed by main opposition Akel, whose help will be absolutely vital in garnering public support for any proposed settlement. 'Although [a NATO base] would solve many problems,' the source mused.''

The newspaper quoted the president's spokesman, Nicos Christodoulides, as saying there has been a connection between Lebedev's business and the law firm which Anastasiades ran before he became president in February 28, 2013, and where his two daughters are partners. ''The president is not implicated in this [Lebedev] case,'' the spokesman said. ''Conceivably, the law firm might be implicated. They can comment, if they want.''

The Cyprus Mail also confirmed that in 2011, when Anastasiades was still a private lawyer and his firm was acting for Lebedev (below, left) , Lebedev had obtained Cyprus citizenship. This had been kept secret from the Federation Council in Moscow, where Lebedev occupied a senate seat representing the Chuvash Republic. The law firm also kept the secret from a Cyprus court hearing a multi-million dollar loan repayment claim by a German bank against Lebedev. According to the Cyprus newspaper's report, Neoclis Sylikiotis (right), the Interior Minister in charge of citizenship applications at the time, now says: ''I don't remember [Lebedev's] case specifically, but I do remember a similar one at around the same time.''

Sylikiotis denies that Anastasiades or his law firm had arranged Lebedev's citizenship while concealing his status as a Politically Exposed Person (PEP) under Cyprus and European Union anti-corruption rules. ''Absolutely not,'' Sylikiotis was quoted as saying on the weekend. ''Nor could there have been political interference. Citizenship applications were forwarded to Europol to make sure the applicant's record was clean, then the finance ministry to make sure his investments in Cyprus met the required minimum for eligibility, then they came to the cabinet for approval, and everything was then notified to parliament.''

Financial records, company documents, email records, and witness testimony from the Anastasiades law firm, when Anastasuades was in charge, have been subpoenaed for a New York Supreme Court case. Lebedev is claiming $2 billion for his shares in the Russian oil company TNK-BP, now part of Rosneft. Len Blavatnik and Victor Vekselberg say they sold the shares to to Lebedev's company Coral Petroleum for $600 million, and that Lebedev is concealing in Cyprus the record that he received the money. Lebedev has a home in Limassol and last visited there in May to meet his Cyprus lawyers. Since then the lawyers refuse to respond to the US court discovery orders. These are to be transferred shortly from the New York court to the Cyprus Attorney-General, Costas Clerides, for enforcement. For details, read this.

Lebedev fled Russia in 2014. He is now living in the US under protection from charges hat he defrauded the regional electricity utility, TGK-2, of more than $200 million, which he transferred through Cyprus legal entities managed by the Anastasiades law firm and deposited in several US banks. His Moscow lawyer, Alexei Grebenskoi (right) of the Moscow firm Advokat Pro, said late last month there is no case to answer, and that searches of several of Lebedev's apartments and houses in the Moscow area are illegal.

Nuland was in Moscow last week for negotiations with Kremlin aide, Vladislav Surkov. The meeting was telegraphed well in advance, and details of their discussion of the war on the Ukrainian front reported in detail in the Russian press. The State Department daily briefing on the day confirmed Nuland ''did meet on October 5th with Russian officials. I think the focus of their trip was in making progress on Ukraine, what are the next steps that need to be taken in order to get the Minsk agreements fully implemented.''

The State Department and the US Embassy in Cyprus have announced Nuland's trips to Cyprus this year well in advance. So the blackout since the weekend has aroused speculation that Anastasiades has requested a postponement.

Nuland with Anastasiades, accompanied by US Ambassador to Cyprus, Kathleen Doherty (left)

According to a Cyprus political source, who has been critical of Anastasiades's performance, and of the record of his Democratic Rally (DISY) party since 2013, the alliance required to keep Anastasiades in power for a second term is now breaking up, as the DISY party faces a fresh round of voter losses at the municipal poll in December, after it lost support in the parliamentary election in May. ''As for Anastasiades's re-election, personally I don't think he stands a chance. DISY has lost its majority at the parliament and cannot pass any reforms. The privatization bills are a good example of this. All parties of the opposition submitted new bills at the parliament to halt privatizations. DISY is on its own.''

Anastasiades, too, the source adds. ''The issue is not whether or not to strike a deal, but what kind of deal. If Anastasiades agrees, for example, to Cyprus having NATO bases, in addition to the British bases '-- which are in any case also NATO bases '' then this is a huge issue. On the other hand, guarantees for the implementation of a solution by the Security Council of the UN, where there's a better balance of powers, is something that would look better and people would feel more safe. We've seen and still experience what Britain, Greece and Turkey have achieved as guarantor powers. As for the US, I think the entire Middle East is a vivid example of what guarantees it brings.''

by Editor - Monday, October 10th, 2016

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Thu, 27 Oct 2016 11:51

Oct. 16, 2016 10:13 p.m. ET Science says it's OK to pay your children to eat their fruits and vegetables.

The strategy not only works in the short term, but can create healthful eating habits in children in the long run if the little bribe is carried out consistently for several weeks, according to a study published earlier this year in the Journal of Health Economics.

''As a parent, imagine that there's something to do that might be worth my effort, and I get the long-term benefit,'' says Joseph Price, associate professor of economics at Brigham Young University. He co-wrote the paper with George Loewenstein, professor of economics and psychology at Carnegie Mellon University, and Kevin Volpp, professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

For a year and a half, the researchers carried out a study of 8,000 children in first through sixth grade at 40 elementary schools to test whether short-run incentives could create better, and lasting, eating habits in children.

At lunchtime, students who ate at least one serving of fruit or vegetable, such as an apple, fresh peaches, pineapple, side salad or a banana, received a 25-cent token that could be redeemed at the school's store, carnival or book fair.

The researchers saw an immediate spike in consumption, Dr. Price says. ''These small incentives produced a dramatic increase in fruit and vegetable consumption during the incentive period,'' the researchers wrote. ''This change in behavior was sustained.''

Two months after the incentives ended, many more students than before the program started were still eating a fruit or vegetable at lunch. For schools that provided the 25-cent incentive for three weeks, 21% more children were eating at least one serving of fruit or vegetable at lunch than before.

The effect was even greater for schools that implemented the program for five weeks, which led to a 44% increase in consumption two months out.

Positive peer pressure played a role in getting the children to adopt and then stick to the program. A health economist from Cornell University has even suggested that one way to establish the social norm even quicker was by making sure the ''cool kids'' were the early adopters of the behavior, Dr. Price says.

The researchers also believe that the more often students ate fruits and vegetables, the more they learned to like them. Dr. Price draws an example from his personal life, saying he offered his son an incentive to practice hitting a baseball. The more his son practiced, the better he got and the more he liked playing, Dr. Price says.

Parents or schools could also try nonmonetary rewards, such as extended recess or gym class, Dr. Price says.

Ms. Strum is a writer in New York. She can be reached at reports@wsj.com.

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Thu, 27 Oct 2016 03:17

Military Update '' TRICARE Rx Chief: Compound Drug Screen Works; More Arrests Made

Federal agents last Friday charged 10 more defendants with fraud and conspiracy in a kickback scheme involving compound drugs and TRICARE, the military health insurance program.

The alleged conspiracy to market and prescribe exorbitantly priced pain and scar creams of doubtful effectiveness and under false pretenses bilked TRICARE out of $102 million in just 21 months, from May 2014 through February this year. This was just one of many companies that sprang to life recently to make fortunes off of unregulated compound drugs.

Defendants here include two physicians '' Dr. Walter Neil Simmons, 47, of Mesa, Ariz., and Dr. William F. Elder-Quintana, 50, of El Paso, Texas '-- as well as owners and marketers of a Dallas-based company called CMGRX.

The scheme was to offer kickbacks to physicians and ''grants'' to hundreds of military and family members at Fort Hood, Texas, to have costly compound drugs prescribed and filled using TRICARE, on the pretext of beneficiaries participating in a sham medical study.

An ''exhaustive'' investigation by the FBI and Defense Criminal Investigative Service led to the recent arrests, atop the first two in February, plus ''seizure of millions in assets'' defendants had derived from ''this massive scheme,'' said U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

More details are available in this case summary from the Department of Justice.

Compound drugs are produced not by traditional drug manufacturers but pharmacists in small companies that combine, mix or alter two or more ingredients to create customized medicines. Demand began to climb sharply in 2008 amid rising interest in alternative medicines and a burgeoning market for pain creams and ointments to substitute for addictive opiods.

While waiting for the Federal Drug Administration to decide how to regulate ingredients, TRICARE saw compound drug costs explode from $23 million a year in 2010 to almost $500 million a month by April 2015, fueled by unethical compound drug companies and aggressive marketing.

In May 2015 the Defense Health Agency decided to act alone and adopted the same tough screens for compound drug ingredients used by commercial insurers. Its compound drug costs fell 98 percent, down to $10 million, by June. But the Defense Department that year still had to plead with Congress to reprogram at least $1 billion from other defense accounts just to sustain pharmacy operations through the end fiscal 2015.

TRICARE now spends an average of $2 million a month on compound drugs, which is lower than in 2008 when scammers, blocked by commercial insurers, first began to turn their sights on TRICARE.

In a phone interview Wednesday, Dr. George E. Jones, Jr., chief of pharmacy operations for the Defense Health Agency, said TRICARE and Express Scripts, its pharmacy benefits manager, weigh three factors to screen compound drug prescriptions received: clinical needs of patients; medical effectiveness of ingredients and cost. The result is ''a very effective screen that has maintained access to appropriate compound prescriptions and reduced costs by well over 90 percent from what it was before.''

TRICARE and Express Scripts found they had to tighten controls even more after the Department of Defense Inspector General examined a sampling of compound drug claims paid from May to October 2015, and found 40 of 47 claims had ingredients on the TRICARE ''exclusion list.'' That meant they should have been denied.

''This occurred because [Express Scripts] personnel did not follow their standard operating procedures, and their claims adjudication system inappropriately allowed claims with prior authorizations and claims where beneficiaries had both Medicare and TRICARE coverage to bypass screening against a list of non-covered ingredients,'' the report explained.

Jones said the IG finding covered a period when TRICARE and Express Scripts were fine-tuning how to apply ingredient exclusions in special circumstances. Thirty-three of 40 claims mistakenly paid despite banned ingredients involved Medicare as first payer so pharmacists not properly trained mistakenly entered an override code to accept payment, the IG said.

''The IG results helped us to zero in and ensure fixes had been identified and put in place'' to manage more complicated claims involving other health insurance and over-lapping coverage of ingredients, Jones said.

The glitch with Medicare claims was ''being addressed'' when the IG pulled its sample, Jones said. ''We provided validated information that [fixes] had been implemented prior to final report. But the IG felt it was still important to include in the final report'' released July 1 this year.

Jones said some compound drugs are needed to meet unique patient needs. The marketing of pain-control creams and ointments to TRICARE beneficiaries from 2013 to 2015 was particularly exploitive, however.

''Some of them were very legitimate. Some, as we've seen, were not legitimate at all, but saw the opportunity to jump into that marketplace [offering] 'non-addictive' pain management therapy. Unfortunately most of it was not only non-addictive, it was non-effective. It didn't do anything.''

The Defense Health Agency receives just a few complaints a month from beneficiaries upset that TRICARE won't cover a compound drug, given a particular ingredient. DHA also hears from compound drug companies or their advocates. Since May 2015 it has tweaked its ingredient exclusion list three times, each time to expand rather than narrow the list.

''We have not found evidence to support removing any of the products we strain as excluded items. That's been consistently maintained,'' Jones said. ''We're adjusted the screening list over time to address new approaches the compounding industry or marketing firms have come up with to continue advocating for products [without] evidence they are safe and effective.''

Recently TRICARE added an FDA-approved product, Lidocaine, to its compound drug exclusion list. Though Lidocaine is commercially available, compound drug companies had been ''using it in exorbitant quantities and inappropriate to its labeling, based on data we had,'' Jones said.

Send comments to Military Update, P.O. Box 231111, Centreville, VA, 20120, email milupdate@aol.com or twitter: Tom Philpott @Military_Update.# # # #

Tom Philpott has been breaking news for and about military people since 1977. After service in the Coast Guard, and 17 years as a reporter and senior editor with Army Times Publishing Company, Tom launched ''Military Update,'' his syndicated weekly news column, in 1994. ''Military Update'' features timely news and analysis on issues affecting active duty members, reservists, retirees and their families.

Visit Tom Philpott's Military Update Archive to view his past articles.

Tom also edits a reader reaction column, ''Military Forum.'' The online ''home'' for both features is Military.com.

Tom's freelance articles have appeared in numerous magazines including The New Yorker, Reader's Digest and Washingtonian.

His critically-acclaimed book, Glory Denied, on the extraordinary ordeal and heroism of Col. Floyd ''Jim'' Thompson, the longest-held prisoner of war in American history, is available in hardcover and paperback.

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Thu, 27 Oct 2016 03:18

Members of the California National Guard stand in formation before undertaking operations on California's Southern border on Sept. 17, 2010. (Photo by Jessica Inigo/California National Guard)

The U.S. Defense Department is ordering almost 10,000 one-time National Guardsmen from California to pay back enlistment bonuses, according to a news report.

Many of the veterans have to pay back the bonuses, totaling as much as $15,000 or more, or face such penalties as interest charges and tax liens, according to an article published Saturday by David Cloud, a reporter for The Los Angeles Times.

Like other branches of service, the Guard used enlistment bonuses to entice more people to enter the ranks a decade ago during the U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, California Guard officials were found guilty of mismanaging the program.

Indeed, eight current or former members of the California National Guard in 2014 were indicted on federal charges for fraudulently obtaining recruiting referral bonuses, according to The Associated Press.

Veterans say they feel "betrayed" by having to return money for an error that wasn't their fault, The Los Angeles Times reported.

SpouseBuzz: Will you have to repay a military bonus, too?

Military.com has also heard similar stories from readers.

One former service member was enticed by a $10,000 bonus to leave the Reserves and join the California National Guard as a military police member for a deployment to Iraq in 2009.

"I served two years in Iraq and then came home in 2011 to find out the CA ARNG did not have the correct paperwork and I was required to pay back the bonus," the individual wrote to Military.com's Paycheck Chronicles blog in 2014.

"Here is the rub," the individual continued, "They took $3,000 out for taxes but I had to pay back the full $10,000. How do I get that $3,000 back? The CA ARNG says it is not their problem. I have to work with the IRS. This does not sit well with me as they took out that money!"

The person was encouraged to consult a tax professional.

California Guard officials have pledged to work with veterans who wish to file appeals to the National Guard Bureau and the Army Board for Correction of Military Records to wipe out the debts, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Other parts of the Defense Department have mismanaged similar bonus programs.

Earlier this year, the Pentagon's bomb squad team was saddled with debt due to an accounting error. One member of the team committed suicide. The department agreed to forgive the debt after Military.com and The Washington Post reported on the case.

--Brendan McGarry can be reached atbrendan.mcgarry@military.com. Follow him on Twitter at@Brendan_McGarry.

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Thu, 27 Oct 2016 11:54

BALTIMORE'--A former National Security Agency contractor accused of amassing at least 500 million pages of government records, including top-secret information on military operations, will remain in custody while awaiting trial, a judge ordered Friday.

Federal Magistrate Judge A. David Copperthite ruled during a hearing at the federal courthouse here that Harold ''Hal'' Martin III, of Glen Burnie, Md., met conditions for continuing...

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Source: The Intercept

Thu, 27 Oct 2016 03:59

U.S. authorities overseeing the war against the Islamic State in Syria have failed to respond to evidence of hundreds of civilian casualties resulting from coalition airstrikes and potential violations of the laws of war, according to a startling new account from Amnesty International.

In a press release issued Tuesday night, Amnesty said it has presented the Pentagon with evidence that 11 coalition airstrikes in Syria over the past two years appear to have led to the deaths of as many as 300 civilians '-- and that so far that evidence has been met with silence.

''U.S. authorities have provided no response to a memorandum Amnesty International sent to the Department of Defense on September 28 to raise questions about the conduct of coalition forces in Syria,'' the group claimed.

''We fear the U.S.-led coalition is significantly underestimating the harm caused to civilians in its operations in Syria,'' Lynn Maalouf, deputy director for research at Amnesty's Beirut regional office, said in a statement. ''Analysis of available evidence suggests that in each of these cases, coalition forces failed to take adequate precautions to minimize harm to civilians and damage to civilian objects.''

Maalouf added that some of the strikes in question ''may constitute disproportionate or otherwise indiscriminate attacks.''

U.S. Army Maj. Josh T. Jacques said CENTCOM, the component of the U.S. military running the coalition war against the Islamic State, ''is aware of the letter from Amnesty International and is currently evaluating the allegations of civilian casualties it contains.''

''The coalition takes great care '-- from analysis of available intelligence to selection of the appropriate weapon to meet mission requirements '-- in order to minimize the risk of harm to non-combatants,'' Jacques said in an email to The Intercept. ''Civilian casualty allegations come from various sources, including our own internal reviews and unit self-reporting, media reports, non-governmental organizations, or other U.S. government departments.''

While the Syrian military and its Russian allies have been responsible for the vast majority of civilian casualties resulting from airstrikes within Syria's borders, the 27-page memorandum Amnesty sent to the Pentagon last month painted a detailed picture of nearly a dozen incidents in which coalition operations frequently described by U.S. officials as the most careful and precise in the world appear to have gone deeply awry.

''For several incidents, no military objective could be discerned and reports indicate that the only casualties were civilian,'' the memo noted. ''The loss of civilian life was so high in a few attacks that it is difficult to see how a significant enough military advantage could have been anticipated that would have outweighed the risk to civilians.''

More than a third of the deaths Amnesty catalogued were the result of bloody operations to liberate areas around and in the Syrian city of Manbij from Islamic State control over the summer. While death counts from airstrikes during that offensive varied, Amnesty claims that attacks launched on one village, al-Tukhar, may have resulted in the greatest loss of civilian life in the history of the coalition's war on ISIS, with 73 civilians '-- including 27 children '-- killed, according to evidence Amnesty compiled.

While the U.S. has confirmed that it launched an investigation into the high-profile incidents in Manbij, its broader efforts at investigating alleged civilian casualty incidents in the war on the Islamic State have been repeatedly called into question.

A Defense Department official said that the Pentagon had not yet incorporated Amnesty's report, but as of October 13, had received 249 allegations of civilian casualties stemming from coalition operations in Syria and Iraq. Of the complaints received, 62 resulted in closed investigations, with 31 conclusions announced publicly '-- 13 in Syria and 18 in Iraq. The Pentagon deemed 179 of the allegations not credible. In Syria, five investigations remain open. All told, the Pentagon claims that 55 civilians have been killed and 29 injured over two years and thousands of airstrikes in Syria and Iraq.

The figures pale in comparison to civilian casualty estimates offered up by human rights organizations and other monitoring groups, which claim that anywhere from 600 to more than 1,000 civilians have died in coalition airstrikes. In the case of the 11 strikes Amnesty examined, the human rights group reported that to date CENTCOM has acknowledged only a single civilian casualty resulting from those operations.

''Based on Amnesty International's research and analysis, some attacks known or suspected to have been carried out by coalition forces may have violated international humanitarian law,'' Amnesty's memorandum to U.S. officials noted.

The reported failure to follow up on alleged civilian casualties, the group argues, appears to fall short of an executive order issued by President Obama in July, which requires U.S. authorities to investigate when civilians are believed to have died in U.S. counterterrorism operations.

''This is totally contrary to the president's stated commitments to transparency and accountability on this issue,'' said Naureen Shah, director of Amnesty's Security with Human Rights program. ''The Defense Department must acknowledge and investigate these civilian deaths immediately.''

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Mon, 24 Oct 2016 14:54

As KrebsOnSecurity observed over the weekend, the source code that powers the ''Internet of Things'' (IoT) botnet responsible for launching the historically large distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack against KrebsOnSecurity last month has been publicly released. Here's a look at which devices are being targeted by this malware.

The malware, dubbed ''Mirai,'' spreads to vulnerable devices by continuously scanning the Internet for IoT systems protected by factory default usernames and passwords. Many readers have asked for more information about which devices and hardware makers were being targeted. As it happens, this is fairly easy to tell just from looking at the list of usernames and passwords included in the Mirai source code.

In all, there are 68 username and password pairs in the botnet source code. However, many of those are generic and used by dozens of products, including routers, security cameras, printers and digital video recorder (DVRs).

I examined the less generic credential pairs and tried to match each with a IoT device maker and device type. As we can see from the spreadsheet above (also available in CSV and PDFformats), most of the devices are network-based cameras, with a handful of Internet routers, DVRs and even printers sprinkled in.

I don't claim to have special knowledge of each match, and welcome corrections if any of these are in error. Mainly, I turned to Google to determine which hardware makers used which credential pairs, but in some cases this wasn't obvious or easy.

Which is part of the problem, says Will Dormann, senior vulnerability analyst at the CERT Coordination Center (CERT/CC).

''Even when users are interested in and looking for this information, the vendor doesn't always make it easy,'' Dormann said.

Dormann said instead of hard-coding credentials or setting default usernames and passwords that many users will never change, hardware makers should require users to pick a strong password when setting up the device.

Indeed, according to this post from video surveillance forum IPVM, several IoT device makers '-- including Hikvision, Samsung, and Panasonic '-- have begun to require unique passwords by default, with most forcing a mix of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters.

''As long as the password can't be reversed '-- for example, an algorithm based off of a discoverable tidbit of information '-- that would be a reasonable level of security.'' Dormann said.

Some readers have asked how these various IoT devices could be exposed if users have configured them to operate behind wired or wireless routers. After all, these readers note, most consumer routers assign each device inside the user's home network so-called Network Address Translation (NAT) addresses that cannot be directly reached from the Internet.

But as several readers already commented in my previous story on the Mirai source code leak, many IoT devices will use a technology called Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) that will automatically open specific virtual portholes or ''ports,'' essentially poking a hole in the router's shield for that device that allows it to be communicated with from the wider Internet. Anyone looking for an easy way to tell whether any of network ports may be open and listening for incoming external connections could do worse than to run Steve Gibson's ''Shields Up'' UPnP exposure test.

HELP! I NEVER CHANGED THE DEFAULT PASSWORD!Regardless of whether your device is listed above, if you own a wired or wireless router, IP camera or other device that has a Web interface and you haven't yet changed the factory default credentials, your system may already be part of an IoT botnet. Unfortunately, there is no simple way to tell one way or the other whether it has been compromised.

However, the solution to eliminating and preventing infections from this malware isn't super difficult. Mirai is loaded into memory, which means it gets wiped once the infected device is disconnected from its power source.

But as I noted in Saturday's story, there is so much constant scanning going on for vulnerable systems that IoT devices with default credentials can be re-infected within minutes of a reboot. Only changing the default password protects them from rapidly being reinfected on reboot.

My advice for those running devices with the default credentials? First off, make sure you know how to access the device's administration panel. If you're unsure how to reach the administration panel, a quick search online for the make and model of your device should reveal an address and default credential pair that can be typed or pasted into a Web browser.

If possible, reset the device to the factory-default settings. This should ensure that if any malware has been uploaded to the device that it will be wiped permanently. Most devices have a small, recessed button that needs to be pressed and held down for a several seconds while powered on to reset the thing back to the factory default settings.

When the device comes back online, quickly fire up a Web browser, navigate to the administration panel, enter the default credentials, and then change the default password to something stronger and more memorable. I hope it goes without saying that any passwords remotely resembling the default passwords noted in the image above are horrible passwords. Here's some advice on picking better ones.

Unfortunately, many of these devices also require periodic software or ''firmware'' updates to fix previously unknown security vulnerabilities that the vendor discovers or that are reported to the hardware maker post-production. However, relatively few hardware makers do a good job of making this process simple and easy for users, let alone alerting customers to the availability of firmware updates.

''When it comes to software updates, automatic updates are good,'' Dormann said. ''Simple updates that notify the user and require intervention are okay. Updates that require the user to dig around to find and install manually are next to worthless. Devices that don't have updates at all are completely worthless. And that can be applied to traditional computing as well. It's just that with IoT, you likely have even-less-technical users at the helm.''

Only after fixing any problems related to default credentials should readers consider checking for firmware updates. Some hardware makers include the ability to check for updates through a Web-based administration panel (like the one used to change the device's default password), while others may only allow firmware updates manually via downloads from the manufacturer's site.

Firmware updates can be tricky to install, because if you fail follow the manufacturer's instructions to the letter you may end up with little more than an oversized paperweight. So if you decide to go ahead with any firmware updates, please do so carefully and deliberately.

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORESeveral readers have pointed out that while advising IoT users to change the password via the device's Web interface is a nice security precaution, it may or may not address the fundamental threat. That's because Mirai spreads via communications services called ''telnet'' and ''SSH,'' which are command-line, text-based interfaces that are typically accessed via a command prompt (e.g., in Microsoft Windows, a user could click Start, and in the search box type ''cmd.exe'' to launch a command prompt, and then type ''telnet'' to reach a username and password prompt at the target host).

The trouble is, even if one changes the password on the device's Web interface, the same default credentials may still allow remote users to log in to the device using telnet and/or SSH.

Brian Karas, a business analyst with IPVM '-- a subscription-based news, testing and training site for the video surveillance industry '-- said in his experience often times IP camera users can change whatever settings they want in the device's Web interface, but that's no guarantee the changes will affect how the device can be accessed via Telnet or SSH.

''The problem is there's no hard and fast rule,'' Karas said. ''What often happens is Telnet and SSH are an operating system-level login, and the [Web interface] tends to be more of an application level login. Sometimes changing a password on one changes the password on the other, but more often the Web [interface] is completely different, and changing the password there may not change the underlying password'' needed to access the device remotely via SSH and Telnet, he said.

Case in point: In February 2016 I published This is Why People Fear the Internet of Things, which examined a whole slew of IP cameras sold by Chinese Web camera giant Foscam that '-- by default '-- included a feature which would quietly phone home to a vast peer-to-peer (P2P) network run by the company. As I explained in that piece, while the Web interface for those P2P cameras included a setting allowing users to disable the P2P traffic, disabling that option didn't actually do anything to stop the device from seeking out other Foscam P2P cameras online.

Interestingly, Karas said he's been pressing Dahua '-- whose IoT devices are heavily represented in the above default password list '-- to tell him how many of their devices are vulnerable. Karas said Dahua told him that although the company's newest models didn't have this problem, the company was preparing to launch a trade-in program for customers with default-insecure devices.

''They didn't give me a straight answer on this one, but that that tells me is they have a whole bunch of devices that may not be firmware updatable, which means they can't make those devices more secure without swapping out the underlying hardware.''

Update, 8:30 p.m. ET: Added final section with the sobering caveat that all of this hassle in changing the default passwords and updating the firmware may not actually solve the problem for many (if not all) of the affected devices.

Tags: CERT Coordination Center, CERT/CC, IoT, IPVM, Mirai botnet, mirai source code leak, Will Dormann

This entry was posted on Monday, October 3rd, 2016 at 4:17 pm and is filed under Other. You can follow any comments to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a comment. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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Tue, 25 Oct 2016 13:22

Researchers have accused the firm of shipping its products with basic security errors. Photograph: Andrew Brookes/Getty Images/Cultura RF

Chinese electronics firm Xiongmai is initiating a product recall after the enormous hacking attack that took down much of the internet on the eastcoast of the US and also affected Europe on Friday.

The root of the attack, which took the form of a distributed denial of service attack (DDoS), was a network of hacked ''Internet of Things'' devices, such as webcams and digital recorders, many of which were made by Xiongmai.

Researchers have accused the firm of shipping its products with basic security errors, such as the inability to set a password on some forms of connection, which led to them being co-opted into the ''Mirai'' botnet, a multimillion-strong network of hacked devices.

After the accusations, Xiongmai announced a recall of some its products sold in the US.

The electronics components firm, which makes parts for surveillance cameras, said in a statement on its official microblog that it would recall some of its earlier products sold in the United States, strengthen password functions and send users a patch for products made before April last year.

It said the biggest issue was users not changing default passwords, adding that, overall, its products were well protected from cyber security breaches. It said reports that its products made up the bulk of those targeted in the attack were false.

''Security issues are a problem facing all mankind. Since industry giants have experienced them, Xiongmai is not afraid to experience them once, too,'' the company statement said.

Friday's cyber attack alarmed security experts because it represented a new type of threat rooted in the proliferation of simple digital devices such as webcams. These often lack proper security, and hackers found a way to harness millions of them to flood a target with so much traffic that it couldn't cope.

The main products Xiongmai is to recall are all webcam models, it said.

Speaking to the security journalist Brian Krebs, researcher Zach Wikholm of Flashpoint said that there were basic security errors in a number of the vulnerable devices. ''The issue with these particular devices is that a user cannot feasibly change this password,'' Wikholm told Krebs. ''The password is hardcoded into the firmware, and the tools necessary to disable it are not present. Even worse, the web interface is not aware that these credentials even exist.''

The Mirai malware which is used to create the botnet can be cleared by simply restarting affected devices. But there are so many hacked devices on the internet that a vulnerable system will likely be reinfected within five minutes of restarting, unless some other protection is put in place.

The hacker who first wrote the code for seizing control of vulnerable devices released the source code to the public in October, allowing other opportunistic attackers to enslave their own networks of hacked webcams, routers and digital video recorders.

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Source: FCW: The business of federal technology

Thu, 27 Oct 2016 04:16

Cybersecurity

DDOS attacks raise questions from lawmakersBy Chase GunterOct 25, 2016In the wake of last week's distributed denial-of-service attack that crippled high-profile websites by attacking underlying infrastructure, several lawmakers have called on the government to improve cybersecurity protections and consider new rules for potentially risky web traffic.

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), co-founder of the Senate Cybersecurity Caucus, is seeking answers from the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Homeland Security on the resources available and needed to keep cyber malefactors from breaching consumer products.

In an Oct. 25 letter to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, Warner asked what network management practices could be adopted by internet service providers to repel traffic that might emanate from botnets and whether it is possible to assess the risks associated with the devices that make up the internet of things, apprise consumers of those risks and encourage users to download operating system and firmware updates when they are available.

"The weak security of many of the new connected consumer devices provides an attractive target for attackers, leveraging the bandwidth and processing power of millions of devices, many of them with few privacy or security measures, to swamp internet sites and servers with an overwhelming volume of traffic," Warner wrote.

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said the attack on internet infrastructure provider Dyn has been mitigated. In a statement, he added that the attack was potentially caused by the Mirai botnet, a massive network of hijacked IoT devices that directed waves of traffic to Dyn systems and took them off-line.

Johnson also said DHS plans to publish a set of strategic principles for IoT security in the coming weeks.

In an Oct. 25 speech before the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper attributed the attack to a non-state actor but did not say which hacker group might be responsible.

Separately but also in response to the attack, two members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence have asked President Barack Obama to work with Congress to bolster the government's ability to identify and quickly react to weaknesses in cyber networks.

Sens. Angus King (I-Maine) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) sent a letter to Obama on Oct. 24 requesting his involvement in developing standardized, governmentwide policies for detecting vulnerabilities and enlisting the private sector's help in fixing them.

"The recent intrusions into United States networks and the controversy surrounding the Federal Bureau of Investigation's efforts to access the iPhone used in the San Bernardino attacks have underscored for us the need to establish more robust and accountable policies regarding security vulnerabilities," King and Heinrich wrote.

The senators cited the expansion of bug bounty programs -- which the private sector and recently the Pentagon have used to reward hackers who report security vulnerabilities -- as a cost-effective way to discover and patch potential network trouble spots.

The senators also called for new legislation governing the Vulnerabilities Equities Process that would require agencies to report serious security vulnerabilities to technology manufacturers and for broader use of the authorities afforded under the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015.

About the Author

Chase Gunter is a staff writer covering civilian agencies, workforce issues, health IT, open data and innovation.

Prior to joining FCW, Gunter reported for the C-Ville Weekly in Charlottesville, Va., and served as a college sports beat writer for the South Boston (Va.) News and Record. He started at FCW as an editorial fellow before joining the team full-time as a reporter.

Gunter is a graduate of the University of Virginia, where his emphases were English, history and media studies. Connect with him on Twitter: @WChaseGunter

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Wed, 26 Oct 2016 04:47

Have you or someone you love been appointed to an important House technology subcommittee, despite being a total dumbass? If so, Fight for the Future is here to help.

On Tuesday, the net neutrality advocates launched 1 (844) 294-A-CLUE, a toll-free hotline to explain the intricacies of internet legislation to representatives like Tennessee's Marsha Blackburn. Appearing on CNN this weekend, the congresswoman demonstrated exactly what kind of idiot controls technology policy in this country, answering a question about Friday's DDoS attacks by mourning the defeat of 2011's Stop Online Piracy Act.

''A few years ago we tried to do a bill called SOPA in the House which required the ISPs to some governance on these networks and to block some of the bad actors,'' said Blackburn, referring to the dangerous anti-piracy bill that had nothing to do with denial-of-service. ''And of course, there were all of the cyberbots that took out after us that were trying to say 'no you can't do that you're going to impede our free speech.'''

Luckily, Fight for the Future has pledged to save Blackburn's fellow legislators from similar humiliations.

''When members of Congress talk about 'cyber bots' coming after them about free speech, people on the Internet have a hard time taking them seriously,'' the group writes on its website. ''We started this hotline to help you avoid those cringeworthy moments that could make you famous in a bad way, but more importantly, to get you up to speed on internet security so that you don't make uninformed decisions about the Internet and our basic rights in the digital age.''

When Gizmodo called the number Tuesday night, we were connected to CTO Jeff Lyon, who explained that jokey-sounding service was also a very real attempt to help both lawmakers and the public better understand the important issues surrounding the internet.

''Congress, help us help you,'' writes Fight for the Future. ''This phone call could be one of the most important things you do today.''

[Neowin]

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Wed, 26 Oct 2016 04:57

The Alphabet division that operates Google Fiber is laying off or reassigning about nine percent of its staff as well as "pausing" or ending fiber operations in 10 cities where it hadn't yet fully committed to building.

Google Fiber chief Craig Barratt will step down from his post and remain only as an adviser. He won't be replaced immediately. This is not the end of Google Fiber, however: the Alphabet-owned ISP already offers fiber Internet service in eight metro areas and is still committed to building in another four. Google Fiber also recently purchased a wireless ISP called Webpass, which offers high-speed wireless Internet in six metro areas and seems set on expanding wireless service going forward.

Barratt revealed most of the news in a blog post that Google Fiber published with the title "Advancing our amazing bet." The post doesn't specify the number of layoffs, but a source familiar with the company's plans confirmed that nine percent of the Alphabet "Access" division that operates Google Fiber will have their roles eliminated, though some of these people could be moved to other parts of Alphabet. The source did not say exactly how many employees that percentage represents. Access includes more than just Google Fiber, so the percentage of Google Fiber employees being laid off or reassigned is probably a little higher.

In August, a report by The Information claimed that Alphabet CEO Larry Page ordered Barratt to halve the size of the Google Fiber team to 500 people. Google Fiber never confirmed or denied that report, but it now seems the layoffs may not be as extensive as initially reported.

Alphabet headcounts are hard to come by, but this Bloomberg report says Access has about 1,500 employees. The Information report indicates that Google Fiber had about 1,000 employees before the layoffs. If both of those numbers are accurate, then the percentage of Google Fiber employees being laid off or reassigned to other parts of Alphabet might be around 13.5 percent.

Google Fiber apparently has not hit its subscriber goals, and fiber construction is a costly endeavor. While the company isn't giving up on fiber entirely, it may be able to deploy Internet service at a lower cost using wireless technology.

Barratt wrote:

These changes to our business and technology will have some immediate implications. Some of our efforts will remain unchanged, but others will be impacted. In terms of our existing footprint, in the cities where we've launched or are under construction, our work will continue. For most of our 'potential Fiber cities''--those where we've been in exploratory discussions'--we're going to pause our operations and offices while we refine our approaches... In this handful of cities that are still in an exploratory stage, and in certain related areas of our supporting operations, we'll be reducing our employee base.

Here are the details on where Google Fiber will and won't be deploying Internet service. Google Fiber is already available in:

Atlanta, GeorgiaAustin, TexasCharlotte, North CarolinaKansas City in Missouri and KansasNashville, TennesseeProvo, UtahSalt Lake City, UtahThe Triangle in North CarolinaGoogle Fiber has committed to building in Huntsville, Alabama; Irvine, California; San Antonio, Texas; and Louisville, Kentucky. Those plans are unchanged, the company says.

The 10 areas that Google Fiber listed as "potential" Fiber cities are subject to the "pause." That's where employees will lose their jobs. The cities where Google Fiber operations will be paused or ended are:

Chicago, IllinoisDallas, TexasJacksonville, FloridaLos Angeles, CaliforniaOklahoma City, OklahomaPhoenix, ArizonaPortland, OregonSan Diego, CaliforniaSan Jose, CaliforniaTampa, FloridaGoogle Fiber just removed Chicago and San Diego from its list of potential fiber cities. However, both of those cities have Webpass wireless deployments, so they aren't totally out of luck.

AT&T and Charter have sued Louisville to stop a new ordinance that gives Google Fiber easier access to utility poles. Google Fiber told us that the lawsuit will not stop it from building in the city.

Separate from the fiber deployments, the Google Fiber-owned Webpass operates in Boston, Chicago, Miami, San Diego, Oakland, and San Francisco. Webpass provides fiber-like speeds, but with the downside of more limited deployment. The wireless technology is cost-effective for multi-unit residential buildings and businesses, but not in suburban single-family homes.

Some of the details about Google Fiber cities in this article were changed after publication to reflect updated information provided by the company. We've also added details about Alphabet and Google Fiber headcounts.

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Wed, 26 Oct 2016 20:12

TIMEIdeasidentityIt's here, it's for 'queer,' and media outlets should get used to itAs times change, so do labels. Back in the 1970s, those advocating for sexual or gender minorities often summed up the whole spectrum as ''gay and lesbian,'' never mind bisexual or transgender people. The acronym LGBT didn't come into vogue until the 1990s, but like its predecessor, people have found those four letters too reductive. And so this acronym is about to go mainstream as a party of five.

That shift Ellis refers to is one toward thinking about sexuality and gender in a more fluid way, as parts of our identities that are more complicated than any binary choice, multifaceted things that might evolve over time or be best described by a label that hasn't even been invented yet. ''Fluidity means just what the word is, that it's ever flowing, and you don't have to check a box or live within constraints,'' Ellis says. ''There is no limit to who you can be.''

Some see the word queer as an umbrella term, encompassing any identity that isn't straight and cisgender. Some see it as a middle finger to the very idea that two options'--man or woman, gay or straight'--is sufficient for the natural variety of feelings that people have. Some see it as a tool for spreading the message that being inclusive, without needing all the details, is what it's all about. ''I see it as much more encompassing,'' says Jeremy Charneco-Sullivan, a teacher in Missouri who previously used the label gay but now uses queer. His feelings about attraction haven't changed, but his political ideas have: ''I've grown to see the community as one united force.''

This chart from Google Ngrams shows the relative frequency of terms in published books. The latest date available for comparison is 2008.

The word has been on the rise for the past several years, as has the acronym. Some media outlets are already using it, as are lots of advocacy organizations and even government programs. Teen magazines from outlets like Vogue are ''going queer.'' Liberal politicians are using the five-letter version, as are some Republicans. (Donald Trump used ''LGBTQ'' during his acceptance speech at the convention this summer. Twice.) When the National Park Service embarked on a mission to identify places of significance related to sexual and gender minorities two years ago, one of the first actions scholars recommended was changing the title of that mission from an ''LGBT heritage initiative'' to an ''LGBTQ'' one, so as ''to have the initiative be explicitly inclusive of those who, for personal or political reasons, do not feel represented by lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender identifiers,'' as the eventual report explained.

Adding that extra letter is a simple way to signal that you realize this business is complicated and don't want to leave anyone out, even if you're not part of that community or you don't really understand what this shift is all about.

The Orlando shooting and Donald Trump's nomination acceptance speech both cause big spikes for Google searches of ''LGBTQ'' this year.If five letters seem onerous, it's worth noting that it's more economical than longer acronyms out there, like LGBTQQIA: lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex and asexual (or allies). Being exhaustive is nigh impossible, as new labels are born and spread in a minute. Facebook now allows users to input more than 50 different labels for their gender, including bigender, two-spirit and agender. Sexual orientation has just as many spins.

The deeper one goes into the layers of attraction, social relationships, gender expression and fantasies, the more categories there might be'--if one gives them names. There could be a word for a person who identifies as a butch lesbian but is occasionally attracted to feminine men. Or maybe a person is mostly straight, a man who has been attracted to men but only wants to be in relationships with women. Maybe a person doesn't identify as a man or woman and is only attracted to similarly non-binary people, yet doesn't feel sexually attracted to anyone unless they've formed a deep emotional bond. Young people, hyperindividual Gen Zers, are exploring those permutations. Maybe the underpinnings are social, maybe biological, maybe rebellious, maybe open-minded.

''It's so difficult to really know things empirically,'' says Cornell psychology professor emeritus Ritch Savin-Williams, ''because a lot of the research only provides these three or four boxes. And a person will say, 'Well, hmmm, I guess if I have to choose one, I guess I'll choose straight' '... If you had more options, you'd see the complexity.''

Other changes to GLAAD's style guide underscore this theme that four letters is just the ABCs. It's the first in which the section on covering the bisexual community includes the more open-ended label ''bi+.'' There are inaugural glossary definitions for ''intersex'' and ''asexual.'' Journalists will find the descriptor ''non-binary'' alongside the explanation of what it means to be ''genderqueer.''

GLAAD's guide also notes that some prominent media outlets currently tell their journalists to use LGBT, characterizing the four-letter version as a rather cumbersome acronym to be used sparingly. But there is change afoot. The AP Stylebook lists LGBT as the first recommendation, but has noted since 2014 that LGBTQ is ''acceptable.'' And the people at GLAAD believe that their style guide's update will cause a ''ripple effect.'' This is the kind of matter that the organization exists to weigh in on.

''It's time,'' says GLAAD's Ellis. ''It's the direction of the future.''

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Thu, 27 Oct 2016 14:35

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Tap to find outFrench authorities have finished clearing the shanty town known as the ''Jungle'' outside Calais, saying were confident of dispersing the last of its inhabitants around France.

Some tents and shelters were set on fire in a last gesture of defiance but the operation was mostly peaceful.

The authorities said about 5,000 migrants had gone through a processing centre before being transferred away by bus.

''Today it really is the end of the jungle, an important, powerful moment. A lot has happened, an incredible human experience has taken place within this camp, with all its different communities. But we are turning the page now, and it is a positive page because these people are going to be welcomed in France and are going to be able to start a new life,'' said regional prefect Fabienne Buccio.

About 1,000 migrants were said to be still awaiting transfer to other centres. Up to 8,000 people were said to have been living there before the clearance began, and it is feared some may have disappeared and may show up again in other parts of Calais.

The ''Jungle'' has been home to thousands of people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East, Asia and Africa.

They saw their future as being in Britain '' which refused to accept the vast majority.

A group of African women staged a protest, saying they wanted to go to England to reach their families.

The UK is allowing in a number of unaccompanied child migrants who are being processed separately.

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Thu, 27 Oct 2016 14:30

Faced with the growing anger of French police, the government has met with unions in Paris in an effort to defuse tensions.

Spontaneous protests by officers have sprung up in the last week over a lack of resources, an ever-increasing workload and a lack of up-to-date equipment to protect them from attack.

One police woman at the protest said she was there to 'tell the government we're unhappy with the current situation' saying the , the police are suffering from 'a lack of consideration, means and workforce', she added 'we can't go on like this'.

Earlier this month a petrol-bomb attack on four police officers near Paris left two officers severely wounded, further fuelling discontent.

Following the meeting with the unions, the Interior Minister pledged 250 million euros would be set aside for new equipment, as well as a raft of measures to help protect officers, which will be presented to parliament by the end of November.

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Thu, 27 Oct 2016 14:20

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Tap to find outBritain is still waiting for the big downturn that was predicted after its vote to leave the European Union.

Economic growth in the UK slowed only slightly in the three months after the referendum.

Britain's statistics office said the economy grew by 0.5 percent in the July to September period. That was down from the previous quarter's 0.7 percent growth but beat forecasts for 0.3 percent growth.

The services sector improved, but manufacturing, construction and agriculture all contracted.

Tough times ahead

Brexit supporters said this showed the pre-vote predictions of a slump were scaremongering.

But economists warned the real challenge is yet to come as inflation shoots up and companies postpone investment.

Finance minister Philip Hammond said the GDP data show the resilience of Britain's economy: ''They are very strong figures which show that not only was the economy stronger than we thought going into the referendum but it has been much more resilient than many people predicted following the referendum.''

But he also warned of tougher times ahead saying the government has to ''prepare to support the economy '... to make sure that we get through this period of uncertainty'' as London gears up for difficult Brexit negotiations.

There was little reaction on the London Stock Exchange and the pound gained slightly against the dollar.

Too pessimistic

The International Monetary Fund has admitted its warning of a post-Brexit-vote financial crash was too pessimistic.

It now believes Britain will be the fastest growing of the G7 leading industrial nations this year with 1.8 percent expansion, that should dip to 1.1 percent next year.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperations and Development has similar forecasts, also with 1.8 percent growth this year and 1.0 percent next year. That is half what it was originally predicting for 2017. The OECD too talks about a high level of uncertainty in its forecasts.

The GDP growth numbers make it less likely the Bank of England will feel the need to cut interest rates further in order to stimulate the UK economy when its policymakers meet next week.

Nissan boost

As the GDP information was released, Japanese carmaker Nissan said it would build two new models at its north of England plant despite concerns over Brexit.

Reuters reported that the decision to build them there rather than elsewhere in Europe, was won with what a source described as a package of support pledged by May's government to counter any damage from leaving the EU.

Last month, Nissan Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn said he could scrap new investment in Britain unless he was given a guarantee of compensation for costs related to any new tariffs resulting from Brexit.

Britain's big carmakers are nearly all foreign-owned and ship more than half of their exports to the other 27 countries in the European Union.

They had collectively warned that the June Brexit vote would make Britain a less-attractive destination for foreign investment. Nissan in particular had threatened to halt spending unless the government guaranteed it would be protected.

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Thu, 27 Oct 2016 13:58

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Thu, 27 Oct 2016 12:12

Tue, Oct 25, 2016, 18:02 Updated: Tue, Oct 25, 2016, 18:14

Luke Harding

Pussy Riot performing at the closing party for Banksy's Dismaland exhibition in Weston-Super-Mare, England, in September 2015. File photograph: Getty Images

Pussy Riot are to release a new song celebrating the vagina, in what they are labelling an unashamed feminist riposte to Donald Trump and his recorded boast about grabbing women ''by the pussy''.

The Russian punk band's latest music video, Straight Outta Vagina, released on Tuesday, features Pussy Riot's Nadya Tolokonnikova wearing white clerical robes and a trademark balaclava, plus a chorus line of men and women sitting in toilet cubicles and standing at urinals. There is also an inflatable duck.

In typically provocative style, the video includes the lyrics: ''If your vagina lands in prison, then the whole world's going to listen.'' And: ''Don't play stupid, don't play dumb, vagina's where you're really from.''

Tolokonnikova said she recorded the song in February with US musician, guitarist and producer Dave Sitek, whom she described as ''one of the biggest feminists I've ever met''. The video was shot in Los Angeles.

Tolokonnikova said Sitek was inspired by her phrase: ''Does your vagina have a brand?'' ''So it made total sense to write a song which celebrates [the] vagina with him,'' she said.

''This song could be considered an answer to Trump. But I believe the idea of powerful female sexuality is much bigger than any populist megalomaniac man - vagina is bigger than Trump.''

Populism and nationalismPussy Riot are expected to release two more videos commenting on both US and Russian politics as the band responds to the growing influence of populism and nationalism.

Tolokonnikova said the spread of ''patriarchal and misogynist ideas'' was akin to sexually transmitted disease. ''Politicians are praising strong leadership. Trump openly supports the authoritarian methods of Vladimir Putin. And it's scary. It's not the world in which I want to live.''

Tolokonnikova is no longer working creatively with Pussy Riot co-founder Masha Alyokhina, who is currently touring with the Belarus Free Theatre.

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The pair spent 16 months in a Russian jail following their anti-Putin ''punk prayer'' in Moscow's Christ the Saviour cathedral.

Guardian service

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Thu, 27 Oct 2016 11:46

Updated Oct. 23, 2016 2:06 p.m. ET A union representing thousands of voiceover actors has called for a strike against 11 videogame companies, including industry powerhouses Electronic Arts Inc.EA-0.43% and Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.,TTWO-1.24% over a pay dispute.

The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Arts, or SAG-AFTRA, has been negotiating terms for a new contract with a coalition of nine videogame companies for nearly two years. The union represents actors, whose voices and likenesses are pervasive in videogames.

For example, Take-Two's hit series ''Grand Theft Auto'' has included the voices of actors Gary Busey, Burt Reynolds and other Hollywood stars. ''Call of Duty'' games from Activision Blizzard Inc.,ATVI-1.38% another major publisher the union is striking against, have also included the voices of actors such as Heather Graham and Kit Harington. Lesser-known actors also fill key roles in games, some of which feature episodic story lines that have been adapted for movies, television series and books.

At the heart of the disagreement is actors' demands for a portion of the revenue from game sales, on top of the industry's standard average baseline rate of about $825 for a four-hour session.

''Secondary compensation is what allows professional performers to feed their families in between jobs,'' said a spokeswoman for SAG-AFTRA in a prepared statement.

Members will picket Electronic Arts on Monday at its Los Angeles studio, according to a release issued early Friday morning confirming the strike is on.

Scott J. Witlin, an attorney for the publishers' coalition, said they had offered additional pay beyond the standard hourly rate, tied to the number of recording sessions an actor completes and not a game's sales performance.

''We are disappointed,'' Mr. Witlin said. ''Anytime any workers go on strike it's disruptive.''

SAG-AFTRA has more than 160,000 members, including about 5,000 who specialize in videogame voice-over and other acting-related work. It is unclear how many are participating in the strike, which SAG-AFTRA has been promoting on Twitter and other social media.

''Given the long production cycle for a console game, the strike would have to go on for a very long time for it to have an impact,'' Mr. Witlin said.

Write to Sarah E. Needleman at sarah.needleman@wsj.com

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Thu, 27 Oct 2016 11:43

Aaron Josefczyk | Reuters

Voters cast ballots as early absentee voting began ahead of the U.S. presidential election in Cleveland, Ohio, on Oct. 12, 2016.

The biggest threat facing our nation right now could involve election night, she said. "You could have a series of cyberattacks that, lets say on election night, denial-of-service attacks on state election boards and major news outlets that would make it impossible to access returns would cast this sort of uncertainty, distrust, about the election process."

As a leader in the analytics directorate, Medina has vast experience dealing with briefing CEOs and government officials about tech vulnerabilities. Her advice: "Two things I would tell you. First, you got to understand how that person absorbs information. If that person is emotional, you have to brief with some emotional resonance. And second, bad news '-- you've got to deliver bad news early and often. I think a lot of people when they are briefing their superior, they try to sugarcoat the bad news, and in today's world that's a mistake."

Speaking later on Tuesday from the Net/Net event in New York City, Adam Segal, director of the digital and cyberspace policy program at the Council on Foreign Relations, said concerns about hacks like the ones attributed to the Russians against the DNC and Hillary Clinton campaign chief John Podesta are legitimate.

"They're just enough to create doubt and uncertainty about what you can trust in these incredibly complex systems," Segal said. "I don't think it's very likely they could change the outcome of elections. ... But you can create enough doubt and uncertainty that you can create a level of chaos that we don't really want."

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Thu, 27 Oct 2016 11:34

INDIANAPOLIS (WTHR) - A record number of Indianapolis voters are voting early in these hotly contested federal and state elections. At the same time state police and continuing their investigation in to possible fake and falsified voter registrations.

Superintendent Doug Carter told Eyewitness News some people will get to the polls and not be able to vote. Tuesday afternoon, the organization under investigation fired back, claiming the state's voter registration records are mismanaged and inaccurate.

Almost 14,000 Marion county voters have already voted, the clerk's office said, without one single problem.

Russell Hollis is deputy director of the clerk's office.

"No bad registrations, no fraud and the lines are moving quickly," he said.

But at the same time, Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter said detectives are finding evidence of voter registration fraud and forgery. The investigation covers in Marion and 55 other counties.

"I think there will be people that will get to the voting booth and won't be able to vote," Carter said

Carter explained that voters' names, addresses and other information have been changed. In some cases, registration forms were filled in with fake information.

How widespread is the problem?

"Pure speculation at this point," Carter explained. "But enough to believe we have to keep going."

State Police seized computers and records of the Indiana Voter Registration Project, which Carter said was the source of some of the questionable voter registrations. "Yes, a lot of them are," Carter said.

"There has been changed information...whether that be a name a date of birth, whether it be an address. I know to do the right thing we have to figure our what is happening. We have a duty and responsibility to evaluate every one of them," said Carter.

"Are they mistakes or signs of a crime?

"I believe both," he answered.

A spokesperson for Patriot Majority USA, the organization of the Indiana Voter Registration Project, insisted the allegations don't make any sense. Spokesperson Bill Buck claimed there is a partisan effort to raise questions about election.

Carter denied the accusation, "The notion that Mike Pence [Indiana governor and Republican Vice Presidential candidate] has tried to influence this with me as superintendent of the state police is ridiculous," Carter said.

To get a ballot, voters have to provide a driver's license or other government-issued identification. The information has to match the voter registration records.

The investigation has found instances of existing records being changed and new voter registrations for people and addresses that don't exist.

What do voters think? Carla Williams waited in line to vote early. Asked if she trusted the system, she answered immediately, "Absolutely."

Roland Hodges said he trusts the system, too. "But any system can be manipulated with enough money and influence," he said.

Ellen Lane had no doubts. "I am neither concerned or worried. I am cautious," she said.

Lane went to the polls confident her vote would count.

In a statement released Tuesday, Patriot Majority USA claimed an independent analysis found thousands of duplicate records, out of date addresses and roughly 7,500 registered Hoosier voters who are 106 years old or older. - some in their 120s.

Carter says it's too early to determine how many ballots may be involved or how long the investigation will take.

Based on the conversation, it appears as if the investigation will last well past Election Day.

The investigation has led to a bitter partisan fight, with Democrats sharply criticizing Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson and Carter blasting the Indiana Voter Registration Project and Patriot Majority USA over allegations of forged data.

That fight escalated Tuesday, with the release of a statement by Patriot Majority and Lawson's response.

Patriot Majority released the following statement:

"Hundreds of thousands of the Indiana Voter File records are inaccurate, duplicative, outdated, erroneous, invalid, inconsistent, and/or clearly the product of poor data management by Republican Secretary of State Connie Lawson. Lawson admitted two years ago that one-of-eight records in her voter file were inaccurate. Some of the inaccuracies in Lawson's voter files include individuals who are long deceased.

According to Bill Buck, spokesperson for Patriot Majority USA, 'Lawson's incompetence in managing the Indiana Voter File is a disservice to the citizens of Indiana and to the County Clerks who submitted voter-registrations to the Secretary of State in order to update the Indiana Voter File.'

In its extensive audit of the Indiana Voter File, TargetSmart found the following gross deficiencies in Lawson's data management:

' 837,163 voters updated their addresses with the postal service, but the Indiana Secretary of State had not updated their addresses as of the October 2016 file

' 4,556 duplicate records for 2,278 individual voters as of the October 2016 file

' 3,478 voters whose dates of birth make them older than 106, and 2,552 voters older than 110 as of the April 2016 file

o NOTE: There are no records of any supercentenarians living in Indiana as of May 3rd, 2016 when Mrs. Ollie Roberts passed away. There are only 52 supercentenarians in the world

' 1,485 voters have a voter registration date before 1910, indicating they are over 124 years of age as of the April 2016 file

' More than 3,000 records with no date of birth, as of the October 2016 file

' 2,856 voters do not have a voter registration date, as of the October 2016 file

' 2,466 duplicate records for 1,233 individual voters, as of the April 2016 file

' 31 records with dates of birth that would signify the voters were under the age of 17 as of April 2016 file

In addition, TargetSmart's analysis identified unusual patterns of changes between file dates, including alterations of formatting and inclusions of names, dates of birth, and other data elements. For example, middle names between Voter File versions move from blank to populated, or populated to blank, or initials to full middle names, or full middle names to initials. Similarly, date of birth may go from blank to populated or vice-versa. This points to poor file management over time and illustrates a lack of consistent application of business rules.

'Connie Lawson caused a statewide panic one month ago based on ten registration applications that contained omissions and inaccuracies, when in fact her voter file has hundreds of thousands of problems. These inaccuracies are her responsibility after four years in office, and they make Indiana's voter file one of the very worst in the country,' said Patriot Majority USA spokesperson Bill Buck.

Secretary of State Connie Lawson released this statement Tuesday:

"Patriot Majority has continued to attack me and my office to distract from the ongoing investigation by state police into their practices.

Unlike Patriot Majority, we believe only a voter should be able to change their registration record. Which is why in 2014, my office began doing statewide voter list maintenance to ensure voting list in Indiana are accurate. Voter list maintenance is necessary and required by federal law to remove from the list voter registration records of people who move and die. I used a Pew Research Center statistic that said across the nation, 1 of every 8 voter registrations in the United States is no longer valid or are significantly inaccurate. This statistic is referring to old voter registrations of people who move or die - not current voters who had their voter registration changed without their knowledge.

My office has been doing voter list maintenance now for 4 years, but it won't be until after this election that old voter registration records can be removed in accordance with federal law.

My office has been very transparent with two paid and earned media campaigns educating the public on our efforts to update Indiana's voter list. In addition, we mailed postcards to all voters in an effort to update records.

Clearly I take voter list maintenance very seriously. I am not sure why Patriot Majority is so defensive unless they are trying to distract people with this information. Why is Patriot Majority not concerned for these voters who may be disenfranchised if their information was changed without their knowledge?

I would never go so far as to say someone is incompetent like the Democrat Party and Patriot Majority did to me. We may disagree on a lot of things, but I appreciate that every day we all get up and work hard for our families and fellow citizens. For Patriot Majority and Indiana Democrats to call me an incompetent racist, and chastise me for partisan behavior when I only provided information to Indiana State Police and did my job is extremely disappointing and hypocritical.

And where did Patriot Majority get their file to do this analysis? I suspect they got this list from the State Democrat Party who also instead of worrying about these voters, have chosen to attack me.

I think Hoosiers should know that there appears to be a nexus between the Indiana Democrat Party and Patriot Majority. Quite frankly, Hoosiers deserve better. As was the case with my office, we only turned over reports and information related to the investigation to the Indiana State Police '' not party officials and activists. I'm disappointed that Indiana officials are more concerned about pushing an inaccurate narrative than Hoosiers whose voter registration was changed without their knowledge."

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Thu, 27 Oct 2016 11:26

MSNBC host Chris Matthews gave Vice President Joe Biden boxing gloves during an interview Tuesday so he can fight Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

Last week, while discussing allegations that Trump sexually assaulted several women, Biden said, ''I wish we were in high school and I could take him behind the gym.''

Matthews presented Biden with boxing gloves ''that might be helpful to you in your new endeavor.''

''These are worn boxing gloves,'' Matthews said. ''These are the real things.''

Biden joked that he is ''ready'' to take on Trump but said he was ''trying to make a point.''

Several women have come forward to accuse Trump of sexual misconduct after the publication of a 2005 video tape in which Trump states that he can ''do anything'' to women because he is a ''star,'' including grabbing them ''by the pussy.'' Trump has denied the allegations and characterized the remarks as ''locker-room talk.''

Biden said that characterization doesn't reflect his own experiences in the locker room as an athlete.

''People didn't act in the locker room like he he talks about,'' Biden said. ''That's not true. And you and I both know, if in the locker room, in a school I went to, one of the guys said, this is what I'm going to do because I'm the star halfback or quarterback, I'm the boss, and my sister and her girlfriends are out there, I would take the guy behind the gym.''

''The point I was making is that he is trying to dumb down '-- he's insulting everybody in the neighborhoods I come from, and the people who played ball,'' he added.

''This is just absolutely unacceptable behavior, period,'' Biden concluded.

Watch below:

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Thu, 27 Oct 2016 11:24

One of the chief architects of President Barack Obama's failing health care law, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, recently brushed aside news that health care premiums under the law are going to skyrocket.

News broke Monday that premiums are set to soar 22-25 percent on average for users of most Obamacare health care plans next year, despite claims that the law would curb rising costs.

That's only a national average, however, as many states could see their premiums more than double. In the case of one state, Arizona, some residents are looking at potential premium hikes of more than 116 percent.

Image source: YouTube

But according to Emanuel, the premium increases are actually ''not a big increase'' at all. Or at least that's what he claimed Tuesday during an interview with Stephanie Ruhle on MSNBC after she asked him why Americans should have ''faith'' in the ailing health care law.

''First of all, for those people who are getting insured on the exchanges, that 22 percent price rise is for the premium,'' Emanuel explained. ''But 83 percent of them get subsidies.''

''For those people who are getting subsidies, the vast majority of people, there will be no real change in their premiums because they get subsidies and the subsidies are linked to the premium increases,'' he added.

Emanuel's jargon-filled answer did not satisfy Ruhle. ''Doctor, that's so confusing,'' she interjected.

''It's not a big increase,'' he responded, before alleging that health care costs are ''down at historic lows for most people.''

''Why does it have to be this complicated?'' Ruhle inquired. ''People just want to take care of their families, and they want to be able to afford it.''

Emanuel responded by saying that 77 percent of people who use Obamacare can find plans that have premiums of $100 per month or less.

Jonathan Gruber, the mastermind behind the law, also failed to acknowledge the law's problems Wednesday, saying during an interview on CNN that the law is working for most Americans.

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Thu, 27 Oct 2016 11:15

Bill Clinton on Tuesday forgot his own wife's presidential campaign slogan.

The 42nd president made the glaring error during a campaign stop for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton with just 14 days to go until the election. Instead of quoting her actual campaign slogan, which is ''stronger together,'' the 70-year-old got one word wrong.

''But we were growing together. This campaign slogan of Hillary's, 'growing together,' is more than just two words that sound good,'' Clinton said while he was standing behind a podium with the actual campaign slogan clearly printed on the front.

The Clinton campaign also released a book titled ''Stronger Together'' that is a essentially a summary of Clinton's policy proposals. The book, which the New York Times labeled a ''flop,'' sold just 3,000 copies in its first week.

(H/T: Washington Free Beacon)

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Thu, 27 Oct 2016 06:14

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Thu, 27 Oct 2016 05:49

[See NewsBusters for more.] According to CBS This Morning's Nancy Cordes on Tuesday, Hillary Clinton is ''calling on the sisterhood'' in the final weeks of the presidential election. The journalist used the loaded language while co-host Norah O'Donnell hyped the Democrat's attempts to ''finish off her opponent.'' Cordes excitedly related, ''When the race first began, Clinton was reluctant to draw too much attention to her gender, to imply the people should vote for her because she is a woman.'' She continued, ''But with just two weeks to go, she is flipping the script and her top women supporters are now calling on the sisterhood to see her through.''

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Thu, 27 Oct 2016 05:44

[See NewsBusters for more.] The three network newscasts have not been interested in alerting Americans to just what Hillary Clinton has in mind for the Second Amendment. In a surprising twist, however, CBS This Morning on actually had a serious discussion about her plans and leaked audio of the Democrat on guns. Talking to Ted Olson, who has repeatedly argued before the Court, Norah O'Donnell reminded, ''There is leaked audio of Hillary Clinton at a fund-raiser in which she said this. This came up at the debates. She said this: 'The Supreme Court is wrong on the Second Amendment and I'm going to make that case every chance I get. So we will need your help on that.'"

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Thu, 27 Oct 2016 05:14

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Thu, 27 Oct 2016 04:37

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Thu, 27 Oct 2016 03:29

VIDEO : Huma Abedin on Hidden Cam Admits Hillary will Open U.S. Borders to ''Syrian Refugees''Wow this is chilling and shows how easily Hillary will become a willful accomplice to bringing crime from Islamic countries into the USA.

Part 1 shows Huma's love-fest for Syrians ''Refugees'' as she states ''we can not turn these people away.''

Part 2 shows ''Syrian Refugees'' in Greece captured on undercover video hoping to get to Germany and US by any means necessary including illegal fake passports.

Watch the video:

Support the Trump Movement and help us fight Liberal Media Bias. Please LIKE and SHARE this story on Facebook or Twitter.

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Thu, 27 Oct 2016 03:21

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Thu, 27 Oct 2016 03:08

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Wed, 26 Oct 2016 22:06

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Wed, 26 Oct 2016 21:49

(Via Project Veritas) In the effort to prove the credibility of the undercover donor featured in the videos and to keep the investigation going, Project Veritas Action made the decision to donate twenty thousand dollars to Robert Creamer's effort. Project Veritas Action had determined that the benefit of this investigation outweighed the cost. And it did.

In an unexpected twist, AUFC president Brad Woodhouse, the recipient of the $20,000, heard that Project Veritas Action was releasing undercover videos exposing AUFC's activities. He told a journalist that AUFC was going to return the twenty thousand dollars.

Woodhouse said it was because they were concerned that it might have been an illegal foreign donation. Project Veritas Action was pleased but wondered why that hadn't been a problem for the month they had the money.

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Wed, 26 Oct 2016 21:46

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Wed, 26 Oct 2016 21:40

Exactly as we shared three days ago the design of ObamaCare is to collapse the healthcare system in cost increases. Today, ObamaCare key architect admits the law is working as designed, and incredibly admits his desire to see a larger ''mandate penalty'' enforced:

CNN's CAROL COSTELLO: ''So let's talk about how exactly you can fix Obamacare. I just need you to be specific because I think people really want answers. So Hillary Clinton says she can fix Obamacare. So what would one fix that would drive premiums down?''

JONATHAN GRUBER: ''Look, once again, there's no sense it has to be fixed. The law is working as designed. However, it could work better. And I think, probably the most important things experts would agree on is we need a larger mandate penalty'''...

[ Just as we previously shared ] ObamaCare was never designed *not* to overwhelm you with the shifting of massive costs. ObamaCare was designed to crush you in costs.

ObamaCare architects (ex. J Gruber) had three key political special interest groups from K-street involved. The primary two were Labor Unions and Corporations (Wall Street); the secondary (useful politically only) group was social progressives.

'... Union Lobbying '' DEMOCRATS '' The goal was to rid labor unions of exorbitant (unsustainable) healthcare retirement costs. Hence Andy Stern (SEIU) was primary lobbyist.

'... Wall Street '' REPUBLICANS '' The goal was to remove healthcare from cost of goods sold, serviced, or produced. Hence Tom Donohue (US CoC) was primary lobbyist.

'... Political Narrative '' The socially progressive wing of the '08/'09 Dem Congress pushed the 30 million uninsured narrative. That emotional narrative was the primary media narrative for why action needed.

The political narrative was a ruse. The 30 million ''uninsured'' became covered by an expanded Medicaid program. If covering the 30 Million was the end-all reason the quick solution would have been to just raise the income cap on coverage eligibility for state subsidy/reimbursement and *presto* done'....

'....But that would not have removed the Healthcare cost from Union Retirement packages, or from U.S. Wall Street Corporations; which were the real reason for the construction.

Both Democrats and Republicans, had an interest in the redistribution of healthcare costs to the individual, that's the heart of the UniParty agenda.

[Another significant Uniparty agenda item includes blocking campaign finance reform (Dem) / keeping Citizens United in place (Rep). = same/same ]

The ObamaCare cost shift means the individual carries the burden.

The beneficiary on the corporate side is the business who doesn't need to provide the employee coverage; they just pay a flat fee to drop their insured and the fee (tax) becomes a predictable cost of doing business. The U.S. CoC (Donohue) gets healthcare out of his Wall Street balance sheets, and stock evaluations (bottom line) improve.

The beneficiary on the Labor Union side is the union itself. Like the corporations, the union drops the cost of coverage from its liabilities. [Initially, there was going to be a fee on contracted healthcare benefits (Cadillac Tax), that was later dropped.] Without the liability the sustainability of Labor Union finances improve immediately.

When you accept the following framework things make more sense:

'... ObamaCare was never designed sustain itself. It was never designed to survive. It was built with failure as the intended outcome.

'... ObamaCare was designed to be too cost prohibitive for the individual (employee or self-employed) to carry without a significant increase in wages. The shift in coverage from employer to employee did not have any underlying increase in wage mechanism.

'... ObamaCare was built to move the responsibility of healthcare from the private market system (free market) into a government market system (single payer).

'... ObamaCare is succeeding.

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Wed, 26 Oct 2016 21:31

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Wed, 26 Oct 2016 21:22

The Run-Up

By MICHAEL BARBARO

Michael D'Antonio never planned to release the recordings of his interviews with Donald J. Trump. The intimate conversations, which totaled five hours, were a research tool for his 2015 biography of the real estate mogul.

But something changed. A year later, Mr. Trump decided to run for president. And Mr. D'Antonio was deeply alarmed by the kind of campaign that Mr. Trump decided to wage. So a few weeks ago, the biographer allowed me to listen to the taped interviews.

Those recordings, which capture Mr. Trump in unusually candid, searching and unguarded ways, are the basis for a special two-part episode of The Run-Up. In both, Mr D'Antonio and I explore Mr. Trump's emotional life, pyschology and behaviors, relying heavily on Mr. Trump's own words from the tapes.

The recordings reveal dimensions of Mr. Trump we rarely see. He describes his lust for fighting in high school. He revels in the first time his name was mentioned in a newspaper. And he acknowledges a fear that the adoration of strangers, a sustaining force in his life, may someday fade away.

Episode No. 1 focuses on Mr. Trump's reluctance to confront the traumas of his childhood: his parents' decision to send him off, at age 13, to a distant and discplined miliary academy; his difficult relationship with his father; and the tragic death of his older brother.

Audio | The Run-Up | The Trump Tapes Part I Michael D'Antonio, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and a biographer of Donald J. Trump, shares hours of audio interviews he conducted with Mr. Trump, three of his children and his first wife. We interview Mr. D'Antonio and draw on those tapes in Part I of our two-part psychological portrait of Mr. Trump.

''What's kind of tragic about Donald is, he doesn't know himself and he really doesn't want anyone else to know him,'' Mr. D'Antonio tells me in Episode No. 1. He goes on:

His former wives, Marla and Ivana, both told me that they're not sure they really know him, and these are women who have known him, you would think, for decades. They've been acquainted with him for decades, they shared his bed, they had his children. But even they say that they're not quite sure that they get this guy. And I think that's partly his modus operandi, I think he doesn't want to be understood because that would make him vulnerable, but I also think that he doesn't even know himself well enough to share what he considers to be genuine. His genuine reality is the most superficial one that you can imagine.

Mr. D'Antonio expands on that idea of a superficial reality later in our interview, as we talk about Mr. Trump's lavish lifestyle. ''I think there is something about him that pursues this display of luxury as a signal to the world,'' he says. ''He thinks that we think that this is what a billionaire's life is supposed to look like. So it's not even Donald Trump's life that he's living. What he's living is the life of an imaginary billionaire.''

Episode No. 2 further explores the grown man Mr. Trump became: fixated on his own celebrity, anxious about losing his status and contemptuous of those who fall from grace.

Audio | The Run-Up | The Trump Tapes Part II We hear more from Michael D'Antonio, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and a biographer of Donald J. Trump. After discussing in Part I Mr. Trump's reluctance to confront the traumas of his childhood, in Part II we explore the grown man Mr. Trump became: fixated on his own celebrity, anxious about losing his status, and contemptuous of those who fall from grace.

That episode also tackles the question of why Mr. Trump decided to run for president.

''Donald Trump is a bottomless pit of need, and the presidency was the only object big enough that he could imagine seizing to fill up that hole,'' Mr. D'Antonio says. ''It's not going to be enough, were he to win.

''And the fact that he's perhaps going to lose is going to be so trying for him to absorb, and it's going to mean that that big space remains empty and unfilled,'' Mr. D'Antonio continued. ''He is likely to go around the world trying to seek attention in the style of a president '-- even though he's not actually holding the office '-- in an attempt to compensate for it.

''If we think we've seen and heard a lot from Donald Trump this year, I think we haven't seen or heard anything yet.''

How do I listen? Two waysFrom a desktop or laptop, you can listen by pressing play on the button above.

Or if you're on a mobile device, the instructions below will help you find and subscribe to the series.

On your iPhone or iPad:

1. Open your podcast app. It's a pre-loaded app called ''Podcasts'' with a purple icon. (This link may help.)

2. Search for the series. Tap on the ''search'' magnifying glass icon at the bottom of the screen, type in ''The Run-Up'' and select it from the list of results.

3. Subscribe. Once on the series page, tap on the ''subscribe'' button to have new episodes sent to your phone free. You may want to adjust your notifications to be alerted when a new episode arrives.

4. Or just sample. If you would rather listen to an episode or two before deciding to subscribe, tap on the episode title from the list on the series page. If you have an internet connection, you'll be able to stream the episode.

On your Android phone or tablet:

1. Open your podcast app. It's a pre-loaded app called ''Play Music'' with an orange-and-yellow icon. (This link may help.)

2. Search for the series. Click on the magnifying glass icon at the top of the screen, search for the name of the series and select it from the list of results. You may have to scroll down to find the ''Podcasts'' search results.

3. Subscribe. Once on the series page, click on the word ''subscribe'' to have new episodes sent to your phone free.

4. Or just sample. If you would rather listen to an episode or two before deciding to subscribe, click on the episode title from the list on the series page. If you have an internet connection, you'll be able to stream the episode.

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Wed, 26 Oct 2016 13:11

Theresa May privately warned that companies would leave the UK if the country voted for Brexit during a secret audience with investment bankers a month before the EU referendum.

A recording of her remarks to Goldman Sachs, leaked to the Guardian, reveals she had numerous concerns about Britain leaving the EU. It contrasts with her nuanced public speeches, which dismayed remain campaigners before the vote in June.

Speaking at the bank in London on 26 May, the then home secretary appeared to go further than her public remarks to explain more clearly the economic benefits of staying in the EU. She told staff it was time the UK took a lead in Europe, and that she hoped voters would look to the future rather than the past.

In an hour-long session before the City bankers, she also worried about the effect of Brexit on the British economy.

''I think the economic arguments are clear,'' she said. ''I think being part of a 500-million trading bloc is significant for us. I think, as I was saying to you a little earlier, that one of the issues is that a lot of people will invest here in the UK because it is the UK in Europe.

May at an EU council meeting this month. Jean-Claude Juncker replied 'Pfff' when asked how talks went. Photograph: Alastair Grant/AP''If we were not in Europe, I think there would be firms and companies who would be looking to say, do they need to develop a mainland Europe presence rather than a UK presence? So I think there are definite benefits for us in economic terms.''

Her warning about the importance of the UK's membership of the EU comes in marked contrast to her positioning in recent weeks.

May said at the Conservative party conference that she wanted to prioritise reducing immigration over being part of the single market. In her speech, she said British companies needed the ''maximum freedom to trade and operate in the single market'' but not at the expense of ''giving up control of immigration again'' or accepting the jurisdiction of judges in Luxembourg.

At Goldman Sachs, May also said she was convinced Britain's security was best served by remaining in Europe because of tools such as the European arrest warrant and the information-sharing between the police and intelligence agencies.

''There are definitely things we can do as members of the European Union that I think keep us more safe,'' she said.

The disclosures could prove embarrassing for the prime minister, who faced criticism for lying low during the referendum campaign and offering only luke-warm support for the remain side.

In April, May gave a speech in which she set out some of the reasons for staying in the EU, warning that it could have an impact on the development of the single market for the rest of the EU if the UK left. But her comments at the Goldman Sachs event a month later go further in warning about the dangers to the British economy from businesses relocating to continental Europe.

During the referendum campaign, May infuriated senior Conservative colleagues on the remain side by largely staying out of the day-to-day arguments in favour of staying in the EU. One of her major pro-remain interventions was overshadowed by an announcement that she would like to take the UK out of the European convention on human rights, which she quickly ditched when running for the party leadership.

Her refusal to participate much in the campaign led Craig Oliver, David Cameron's former chief of communications, to wonder if she was secretly an ''enemy agent'' for the other side. However, others have suggested she believed in the arguments for staying in but was keeping her powder dry in case of a pro-Brexit vote.

May went to Goldman Sachs as a guest speaker and answered questions from the floor. In relaxed exchanges, she praised Cameron, the then prime minister, and said he had returned with important concessions from his EU summit earlier in the year.

She sidestepped a question about whether she wanted to be prime minister and focused on explaining why Britain should stay in the EU. May said: ''That is one of my messages in terms of the issue of the referendum, actually we shouldn't be voting to try to recreate the past, we should be voting for what is right for the future.''

Goldman Sachs confirmed May had spoken to staff but was not paid. She accepted an invitation as part of the bank's Talks@GS programme, in which high achievers from all walks of like are given a chance to reflect on their experiences and answer questions.

Previous speakers in the series include double Olympic champion Dame Kelly Holmes, David Benioff, the co-creator of the Game of Thrones TV series, and Loyd Grossman, the man behind the eponymous sauces. Some of the speakers are listed online, although May is not.

Theresa May told bankers in a pre-referendum event that Britain should take the lead in Europe. Photograph: Daniel Leal-Olivas/PAIn the US, the Democratic presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, made three private speeches to Goldman Sachs staff in 2013, the contents of which she originally refused to divulge during a bitter primary contest with leftwing rival Bernie Sanders. She was paid $675,000 (£554,000), and transcripts eventually released by WikiLeaks show her taking a much softer line on Wall Street than she had publicly claimed.

Introduced in her private session at the bank as the ''longest-serving home secretary this century'', May spoke in much more explicit terms than ever before about the need for the UK to act from the front in Europe.

''What I do think is that the UK needs to lead in Europe,'' she said. ''I think over the years the UK has tended to take a view that Europe is something that is done to us, we have taken a rather backseat position to Europe, I think that when we go out there, when we can take the initiative and when we lead, we can achieve things. So I do think we need to make sure we are taking the lead.''

She dismissed concerns of senior figures in the military who had claimed that the EU ''was making life more difficult for soldiers''.

''Actually very often when people talk about it I suspect, and I haven't spoken to them, I suspect that they are not talking about the European Union, but the European convention on human rights and the European court of human rights, which is separate from the European Union.''

Tim Farron, the Lib Dem leader, said it was ''disappointing that Theresa May lacked the political courage to warn the public as she did a bunch of bankers in private about the devastating economic effects of Brexit''.

He added: ''More disappointing is that now she is supposedly in charge, she is blithely ignoring her own warnings and is prepared to inflict an act of monumental self-harm on the UK economy by pulling Britain out of the single market.''

Phil Wilson, a Labour MP speaking for the Open Britain group campaigning for the UK to stay in the single market, said: ''It's good to know that privately Theresa May thinks what many of us have been saying publicly for a long time '' leaving the single market would be bad for businesses and for our economy.

''Now she is prime minister, Theresa May is in an unrivalled position to act on her previous concerns '' starting by putting membership of the single market at the heart of her government's negotiating position.''

Chuka Umunna, the Labour MP and former shadow business secretary, said May was ''right then '' and it underlines why single market membership should be her ambition now''.

A No 10 spokesman said: ''Britain made a clear choice to vote to leave the EU and this government is determined to make a success of the fresh opportunities it presents.

''David Davis made very clear in the House of Commons last week the importance the government places on financial services across the UK in the negotiation to come, as has the chancellor in recent weeks.

''We want a smooth and orderly exit from the European Union, which would be in the interests of both Britain and the EU.''

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Wed, 26 Oct 2016 12:57

As Iraqi troops move within just a few miles of Mosul, ABC News Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz got an exclusive look at some of the U.S. outposts supporting the mission to defeat ISIS.

''What we've seen is the enemy is really disrupted, they are on the offensive,'' Maj. Gen. Gary Volesky, the commander of U.S. ground forces in Iraq, told ABC News. ''They are trying to do some spoiling attacks, but they're not working.''

Those spoiling attacks have often been carried out by ISIS militants in suicide vehicles speeding towards Iraqi and Kurdish peshmerga troops on the front lines, and in villages and towns where ISIS militants have been able to conceal themselves.

With U.S. ground forces advising and assisting, and the U.S.-led coalition conducting airstrikes from above, the Iraqis and Kurds have been able to repel the resistance, U.S. officials said.

''What's different this time than what was here the last time when you and I were here,'' Volesky told Raddatz, referring to a trip the pair made to the region in 2009, ''is this isn't the same Iraqi army. They have been trained to do a decisive action, conventional operation against conventional forces, and they are gaining confidence. You can see it.''

One of the small outposts Volesky and Raddatz visited was built only a few days ago, and is manned by less than 200 U.S. and Iraqi personnel.

Another was originally built only 3.5 kilometers from the front lines, but as the Iraqis have advanced, it is now 22 kilometers away. But the posts were built to be movable, and when the time is right, they will move to follow the Iraqi forces toward Mosul.

From these outposts, U.S. personnel conduct intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance from aircraft overhead -- information gathering that is often referred to as ''eyes in the skies.'' U.S. troops can also fire heavy artillery with longer ranges, such as Howitzers, which can fire 105-150 millimeter shells around 20 miles. A team firing a Howitzer said their operations have been ''pretty constant'' since the assault began.

But as the fight gets closer to the city, Volesky said the effort will only become more difficult.

''It's the complexity of the environment in Mosul. You know how tight those streets are, how narrow they are. And there's a million people there,'' he told Raddatz.

The Iraqi army has been spreading word to the civilians still living in Mosul not to congregate where ISIS militants are, as those areas will likely be targeted by U.S. airstrikes. U.S. forces have received indications this week that ISIS is murdering more and more civilians who refuse to fight for them.

''The closer the Iraqis get, the better it will be for the people,'' Volesky said.

As ISIS has been pushed out of the villages and towns leading into Mosul, the militants have left destruction in their wake. They have burned oil fields, leaving acrid smoke clouds hanging over huge swaths of the countryside.

''It's really disheartening to see,'' Lieutenant Col. Shawn Unbro told ABC News. ''There are people that will come back here and they don't know what they're going to see when they come back. The only two buildings that were left standing in this village were two mosques, the only two buildings. Not a single wall anywhere else.''

For Volesky, that level of destruction underscores the importance of defeating the enemy to help Iraq regain stability. And the threat is not limited to Iraq. As ISIS fighters flee the area, U.S. forces have been vigilantly watching for them to attack elsewhere, keeping an eye on the future of this fight, Volesky said.

''Every time they lose a piece of key terrain or they get defeated, they try to lash out somewhere else to deflect people's attention ... to show that they are still relevant, when in reality, they are losing," Volesky said.

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For years Sweden has regarded itself as a ''humanitarian superpower'' - making its mark by offering refugee to those fleeing war and persecution.

But people's patience with their visitors is wearing thin following a year of violence, sickening sex assaults and the death of social worker Alexandra Mezher, 22, who was knifed to death at an asylum centre for unaccompanied children at the hands of a Somalian migrant who claimed he was 15.

At the time, her grieving mother, an immigrant herself from the Middle East said: ''Immigration has destroyed Sweden.''

Sweden, a country of 9.8million, took 163,000 asylum seekers in 2015.

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Sweden is famously liberalRelated articlesGETTY

Increasing violence among the migrant population has led some to question Sweden's goodwillSweden, a country of 9.8million, took 163,000 asylum seekers in 2015

The influx included 35,400 unaccompanied minors - nine times more than 2015.

But nothing could prepare Stockholm for the rise in crime and an abuse of the criminal system.

And so much so, a nation, which once prided itself on giving a warm welcome to outsiders, has reported a rise in arson attacks against migrant shelters, while support for the right-wing Swedish Democrats has surged.

In January, authorities were forced to admit there were at least 70 girls in migrant centres were asylum child brides, according to the Daily Telegraph.

Meanwhile, officials fear many migrant children are slipping through the net by lying about their age. Some 667 minors reportedly had their ages adjusted by officials in 2015.

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Sweden, a country of 9.8million, took 163,000 asylum seekers in 2015Mon, October 24, 20161 of 224

In one horrific case, a Afghan called Ali Bahaman reportedly raped a 15-year-old girl at a children's psychiatric clinic in Stockholm.

He claimed to be 15, but dental examinations showed he was actually around 19-years-old.

And with initial good intentions, now comes the heavy backlash as the famously liberal nation crumbles under the pressure of the influx of refugees who are believed to have double the chance of becoming employed than a native Swede.

The Swedish Migration Board now keeps the location of migrant centres confidential - a decision made after a note was posted on the door of a hotel housing migrants in north Sweden saying: ''This is the last warning. Leave our town.''

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Nothing could prepare Stockholm for the rise in crime and an abuse of the criminal system.While welfare and housing benefits to asylum seekers have been cut.

But not everyone is hostile - Lutheran Bishop Eva Brunne called on churches in Sweden to remove crosses so it didn't offend Muslims, which was met with an almighty backlash.

Tim Stanley, writing for the Daily Telegraph added: ''Liberals beware: evidence is mounting the open borders are unpopular and will not stay open for long.

''An act of generosity is likely to be followed by an act of intolerance - as Sweden's asylum seekers will tell you.''

The number of asylum seekers to Sweden is expected to be reduced to about 60,000 this year .

Related articlesBut the drain on the public purse remains high as fewer than 500 of the 160,000 2015 arrivals have managed to secure jobs.

Concerned about the strain placed on the economy of the country, which was expected to spend about one per cent of its GDP on asylum seekers in 2016.

This is half the amount NATO expects members to spend on DEFENCE budgets.

A Government scheme has been in place since 2013 offering grants of up to 30,000 Kronor (£3,500) to individuals and 75,000 Kronor (£8,600) to families who return to their country of origin voluntarily.

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Mon, 24 Oct 2016 19:51

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As the death count after Hurricane Matthew approaches 900 and reports of deadly cholera outbreaks begin to surface, Haitians have sent out desperate pleas for help.

Government officials estimate at least 350,000 people needed assistance after the devastating storm.

Yet accompanying many requests for aid comes a warning '' do not give your money to the American Red Cross (ARC).

Video shows Hurricane Matthew devastation in Haiti

Trust in the ARC, and in foreign aid more widely, has been badly shaken by a 2015 report that found donations had been squandered.

Despite collecting nearly half a billion dollars to provide relief after the 2010 Haiti earthquake and pledging to build 700 permanent homes, the ARC has been accused of only building six.

''In the coming days, many of you are going to write and ask me how you can 'help Haiti','' one woman said on Twitter after the hurricane, ''Do not give to the American Red Cross.''

She asked people to give instead to Haitian organisations and requested people not send goods that could be sourced locally.

The joint investigation by ProPublica and NPR found rampant mismanagement at the heart of the ARC and charged it with consistent misrepresentation of the success of its projects, particularly in housing.

The group has also beenimplored to hire more Haitiansin its highest ranks.

Responding to the report, the American Red Cross said in a statement it was ''disappointed, once again, by the lack of balance, context and accuracy in the most recent reporting by ProPublica and NPR''.

The allegations against the ARC came amid complaints against the failure of the entire international community to manage the 2010 Haitian disaster.

After the earthquake, close to £9bn was pledged to help the country in its recovery.

Yet critics argue that the money was not used so Haiti could be ''built back better'', as officials had promised.

Instead, an estimated 55,000 Haitians are still living in tents or other makeshift shelters and few advances in disaster planning have been implemented.

Following Hurricane Matthew, in Grand Anse alone there were 66,000 houses destroyed and a further 20,000 badly damaged, according to Unicef.

Government officials estimate that at least 350,000 people needed assistance, and concern was growing over an increase in cholera cases following widespread flooding unleashed by the deadly storm.

An ongoing cholera outbreak has already killed some 10,000 people and more than 800,000 have been made ill since 2010, when the infectious disease was introduced into the country's biggest river from a UN base.

How you can help the relief effort in Haiti

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Friday on MSNBC when asked about the thousands of emails released by WikiLeaks from a hack of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman John Podesta, Rep. Shelia Jackson Lee (D-TX) mistakenly denounced the free online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, instead of WikiLeaks.

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Jackson Lee said, ''You know, I'm going to first of all denounce the utilization of this intrusion by Wikipedia through the Russian intrusion. This is what it's about. Espionage just like what was said over these last couple of days. We need to be concerned about the intrusion of Russia and Putin in these elections.''

Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN

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Wed, 26 Oct 2016 17:35

Former CIA Agent and Republican congressional policy advisor Evan McMullin seems to have a resume that would be good for becoming a wealthy defense contractor in Washington, D.C. Instead, he's running for president as a ''conservative'' third-party candidate, along with former Twitter employee Mindy Finn as his VP running mate.

While a vast majority of Americans have never heard of McMullin, he is playing a key-role in multiple battleground states, and is polling well among voters in Utah who aren't supporting Democrat presidential nominee Hillary Clinton or Republican presidential nominee Donald J. Trump. His lead in Utah is 31%.

But with limited resources, a tiny base of support, and limited ballot access, McMullin keeps his campaign going. Why? Who is donating to his campaign, and why is he determined to win over a small percent of right-leaning voters in states.

Now, and a candid moment, McMullin has finally admitted it: His goal is to ensure Hillary Clinton destroys America.

Here's the full transcript:

QUESTION: How many states are you going to be on the ballot would you say?

EVAN MCMULLIN: Right now we're either on the ballot or registered as a write-in in 34 states. By the time we get to November 8th it will be 40 to 45. And that's plenty for our strategy which is not a conventional strategy. We're not trying to win 270 votes. Of course that would be great but it's just not going to happen, his is a three-month presidential campaign'...we will be happy to have prevented someone who I believe is a true authoritarian from taking power in the United States and that's Donald Trump.

McMullin might as well have just admitted he is part of Hillary Clinton's presidential strategy for 2016. With a limited resume, his only job is to be placeholder for undecided voters to turn to, in hopes of putting an end to Donald J. Trump's presidential campaign.

McMullin isn't just a spoiler. He's supporting Hillary Clinton in 2016.

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