Posts Tagged ‘data security’
Tuesday, January 29th, 2019
The long-delayed hammer of justice finally descended on Chinese telecom manufacturer Huawei:
U.S. prosecutors filed criminal charges against Huawei, China’s largest smartphone maker, alleging it stole trade secrets from an American rival and committed bank fraud by violating sanctions against doing business with Iran. In a 13-count indictment unsealed in Brooklyn on Monday afternoon, the government alleged Huawei, two affiliated companies and its chief financial officer engaged in fraud and conspiracy in connection with deals in Iran.
A separate 10-count indictment in Seattle accused the company of stealing trade secrets from T-Mobile USA Inc. and offering bonuses to employees who succeeded in getting technology from rivals.
Snip.
The DOJ formally announced it was seeking the extradition of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of the company’s founder, who was arrested in Vancouver on Dec. 1 on allegations that she committed fraud to sidestep sanctions against Iran. She has since become a flash-point in trade tensions between the U.S. and China; her release by the US and Canada was expected by some commentators who were confident the US would send a signal of goodwill to the US; instead Trump appears to be escalating the crackdown against Chinese technological theft.
Meng remains free in Vancouver, staying at her $4.2 million mansion with GPS monitoring, after posting bail of C$10 million ($7.5 million) as she fights extradition to the U.S. to face criminal charges.
The U.S., which had requested Canadian authorities arrest Meng, had to submit a formal extradition request by Jan. 30, which it did today. Canada’s justice minister now has up to 30 days to assess it. If she issues an “authority to proceed,” that means Canada is officially moving to extradition hearings. If so, they would likely be scheduled months later, even as relations between the US and China implode.
The Meng arrest really rattled the cages of China’s ruling elite, and is causing all sorts of friction between China and Canada.
The fact that China’s government aides and abets intellectual property theft, including industrial espionage, is well documented, and the Trump Administration is right to go after it.
Tags:Canada, China, Communism, Crime, data security, Foreign Policy, Huawei, Iran, Meng Wanzhou, technology
Posted in Communism, Crime, Foreign Policy | 1 Comment »
Thursday, January 10th, 2019
That is to say, the spyware Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman installed on his own wife and girlfriends’ phones.
The story in Twitter form:
How freaking stupid a drug lord do you have to be to doing drug deals through your mistresses?
But El Chapo violated a whole lot of “Crime Boss 101” rules:
Never discuss criminal activity over the phone ever, and even if you have to, use prearranged codewords. Did he never watch Goodfellas or The Wire?
If you do business over the phone, use disposable burner phones and break them up and switch them out on a frequent basis.
Compartmentalize your professional and personal lives. If your wife doesn’t know jack about what you do, she can’t roll on you.
If you keep a mistress, keep her pampered and in the dark.
Never outsource your IT infrastructure. Hire smart, hungry kids, pay them super-well, and know where their families live to prevent them ever thinking of rolling on you.
Never record your own conversations.
Finally, to misquote Nietzsche: “Gaze not into the spyware, for the spyware also gazes into you.”
Tags:Columbia, Crime, data security, drug lords, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, Mexico, Sinaloa Cartel
Posted in Crime | 2 Comments »
Friday, December 21st, 2018
Welcome to the Winter Solstice LinkSwarm! Real news is popping everywhere, so try to hang on:
Hail the departing Mad Dog.
President Donald Trump says no to a continuing resolution with no border wall funding, so the House does an about-face and approves $5 billion worth. Now up to the Senate.
Related tweet:
Chinese hackers have penetrated deep into the navy:
Chinese hackers are breaching Navy contractors to steal everything from ship-maintenance data to missile plans, officials and experts said, triggering a top-to-bottom review of cyber vulnerabilities.
A series of incidents in the past 18 months has pointed out the service’s weaknesses, highlighting what some officials have described as some of the most debilitating cyber campaigns linked to Beijing.
Cyberattacks affect all branches of the armed forces but contractors for the Navy and the Air Force are viewed as choice targets for hackers seeking advanced military technology, officials said.
Navy contractors have suffered especially troubling breaches over the past year, one U.S. official said.
The data allegedly stolen from Navy contractors and subcontractors often is highly sensitive, classified information about advanced military technology, according to U.S. officials and security researchers. The victims have included large contractors as well as small ones, some of which are seen as lacking the resources to invest in securing their networks.
One major breach of a Navy contractor, reported in June, involved the theft of secret plans to build a supersonic anti-ship missile planned for use by American submarines, according to officials. The hackers targeted an unidentified company under contract with the Navy’s Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Newport, R.I.
The hackers have also targeted universities with military research labs that develop advanced technology for use by the Navy or other service branches, according to analysis conducted by cyber firms as well as people familiar with the matter.
33 convictions for voter fraud in Texas in 2018.
How Social Justice Warrioring and Trump Derangement Syndrome destroy literary friendships:
While Brooklyn is known for liberal silos such as Park Slope and Williamsburg, the Brooklyn I’d known as a child was politically diverse. A number of my former classmates and colleagues remain Republicans. And some of them have come to my aid at the darkest, most tragic times in my life. Many are still my friends. They are police officers, nurses and combat veterans; they are Jews, immigrants, Asians, Latinos and African-Americans. Some would vote for Donald Trump: Conservative Jews who liked his pro-Israel stance; Wall Street workers who liked his business background; rank-and-file police who wanted to stick it to New York Mayor Bill de Blasio; visible minorities who liked his “America First” rhetoric, and imagined that he’d bring back secure manufacturing jobs. These promises may have been empty and dishonest. But they resonated with a lot of people, not all of them “troglodytes.”
I also witnessed something else that alarmed me. The charges of Russian collusion against Trump’s campaign—while being a completely legitimate (and ongoing) political concern—were curdling into Russophobic hysteria among some members of the New York literary caste.
“I think Russians have been at the root of our discord for years,” Daniel announced at one point. “I think they own the government and the NRA.…They are the true enemy…Seriously, #russia, fuck you.” Caught up in these negative reveries, he would lapse into Swiftian absurdism, declaring at one point, “I hope we deport every single one of you motherfuckers back to Russia where you’ll live in gulags.” Eventually, Twitter deleted Daniel’s account after he allegedly posted threatening tweets against other users.
On another occasion, after I refused to discuss my Soviet immigration experience via Facebook and suggested we talk in person instead, the daughter of a renowned American novelist told me to “honestly fuck off. Go translate media monitoring kits for Trump… How did you all get into our country? Jesus Christ…You are a great reason why we need immigration reform now.”
As a New York writer, I’m supposed to be reflexively hostile to Trump voters—a political breed that often is caricatured as a bunch of racist Appalachian hillbillies. But because of what I do for a living, and who my friends are, I’ve learned that Trump’s enemies can be every bit as Manichean and hysterical as Trump’s supporters.
(Hat tip: Ann Althouse.)
Americans are tired of political correctness say those infamous right-wingers at NPR:
Americans are largely against the country becoming more politically correct.
Fifty-two percent of Americans, including a majority of independents, said they are against the country becoming more politically correct and are upset that there are too many things people can’t say anymore. About a third said they are in favor of the country becoming more politically correct and like when people are being more sensitive in their comments about others.
That’s a big warning sign for Democrats heading into the 2020 primaries when cultural sensitivity has become such a defining issue with the progressive base.
(Hat tip: Instapundit.)
Of state temperature records, only nine states have set high temperature records in the last fifty years, but fifteen have set cold temperature records. Hmmm.
“Journalists working as factcheckers for Facebook have pushed to end a controversial media partnership with the social network, saying the company has ignored their concerns and failed to use their expertise to combat misinformation.” So Facebook evidently hates its own fact-checkers as much as it hates its users…
TPPF approves of the First Step Act.
Martha McSally to replace John Kyl in the senate.
Drones shutdown Gatwick airport. When they find the asshole responsible, instead of trying him, they should just turn him over to the people whose flights he’s delayed…
Socialist wave isn’t.
Followup from last week’s LinkSwarm: “College Student Running for Office Finally Beats the Chicago Machine.
“A prominent ‘Republican’ women’s political action committee that regularly receives national media attention for its criticisms of President Donald Trump and the GOP is bankrolled by three liberal billionaire donors and activists, Federal Election Commission filings show.” (Hat tip: Ace of Spades HQ.)
“Indian government to intercept, monitor, and decrypt citizens’ computers.”
So what were congressional Democrats doing on an unpublicized trip to Qatar? (Hat tip: Ace of Spades HQ.)
Social justice and the death gap.
“Trump Criticized For Breaking With Longstanding American Tradition Of Remaining In Middle Eastern Countries Indefinitely.”
How Fox changed the landscape of television by unexpectedly landing the NFL.
The story of Charles Barkley’s long friendship with a Chinese immigrant cat litter scientist. (Hat tip: Iowahawk.)
Tags:21st Century Fox, Arizona, Charles Barkley, China, Crime, data security, drone, Emmanuel Macron, Facebook, Foreign Policy, India, Internet, James "Mad Dog" Mattis, LinkSwarm, Martha McSally, Military, Navy, New York City, PAC, Qatar, Republicans, Social Justice Warriors, Trump Derangement Syndrome, UK
Posted in Crime, Democrats, Foreign Policy, Media Watch, Military, Republicans | No Comments »
Friday, April 20th, 2018
Finished my taxes! Now I need to go back and do all the stuff I let slide while I was doing my taxes…
The Syrian strike and Russia’s crummy air defense systems:
The attack on April 13th went up against a 21st-century Russian superweapon–the S-400 Triumf air-defense system, a mobile state-of-the-art anti-aircraft and missile network featuring four distinct missile types targeting aircraft in any performance envelope from treetop level to high altitude – including stealth aircraft (at a range of 150 miles, yet). For a decade we have been assured by military analysts that the S-400 is a game-changer – a system that could rend the heavens in twain and call into question the very concept of air power under battlefield conditions.
And yet, last Friday, the epoch-making Triumf failed to let out so much as a peep as 105 cruise missiles trashed Bashar Assad’s chemical warfare plants. Not a single SAM left the rack while the attack was proceeding. (The Syrians did fire over 40 missiles at nothing, but only after the attack was completed. This is standard behavior among Arab armed forces – the Libyans and Iraqis did the same thing.) The Russians claim to have shot down over 70 of the attacking cruise missiles. How do we know this isn’t true? First, because the targets were utterly destroyed, and second, because the French were involved. If the Russians had shot down any U.S. missiles at all we would be hearing from Paris that American “missiles de croisière” are useless, and that’s why we had to turn to the French, who invented the cruise missile in 1689. (This is scarcely an exaggeration – Emmanuel Macron has gone on record to state that it was he, le président de la France, who persuaded Donald Trump to carry out the strike.)
Some might argue that the new AGM-158 JASSM stealth missile foxed the S-400, but half the missiles launched were actually thirty-year-old BGM-109 Tomahawks, the equivalent of Colt Peacemakers as far as the world of missile development is concerned. If the mighty S-400 can’t shoot down a thirty-year-old missile, what can it do?
Also this: “Russia today is what it always was – a Potemkin village hiding a nation in a state of suspended collapse.” (Hat tip: Ace of Spades HQ.)
President Donald Trump’s approval ratings hit 51%.
Republicans: “Hey, how about you vote on these Trump nominees?” Democrats: “Ha ha! Slow walking! Filibuster!” Mitch McConnell: “Well then, I guess we’ll just have to keep the senate open on weekends during campaign season.” Democrats: “Uh…”
“Democrats: Give Us the House so We Can Raise Your Taxes.” You would think they would have learned from Walter Mondale’s example…
“Trump overrules Sessions: DOJ won’t target marijuana in states like Colorado where the drug is legal.” Good. The federal government should stay out of the marijuana prohibition business on Tenth Amendment grounds.
Rush Limbaugh enumerates some of the many conflicts of interest among mainstream media members with ties to the Democratic Party.
In the UK, a machete attack every 90 minutes.
How gentry liberals really hate the poor. (Hat tip: Ed Driscoll at Instapundit.)
Mark Steyn remembers Enoch Powell, who got more right than wrong.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May is concentrating on: A.) Brexit, B.) Muslim rape gangs, or C.) Plastic drinking straws?
“Deleted Facebook Cybercrime Groups Had 300,000 Members.”
Hours after being alerted by KrebsOnSecurity, Facebook last week deleted almost 120 private discussion groups totaling more than 300,000 members who flagrantly promoted a host of illicit activities on the social media network’s platform. The scam groups facilitated a broad spectrum of shady activities, including spamming, wire fraud, account takeovers, phony tax refunds, 419 scams, denial-of-service attack-for-hire services and botnet creation tools. The average age of these groups on Facebook’s platform was two years.
Everything is hackable.
“Pasta Is Good For You, Say Scientists Funded By Big Pasta.”
Egg McMuffin’s vaunted honesty and integrity evidently doesn’t extend to his campaign filing timely FEC reports. (Hat tip: Ace of Spades HQ.)
More on the same theme:
Former presidential candidate Evan McMullin owes his former campaign staff members tens of thousands of dollars and most believe he has no intention of ever paying them, a former campaign worker tells The Daily Caller News Foundation.
Right before McMullin’s failed bid for president in 2016 as the conservative alternative to President Donald Trump, the campaign was inundated with debt. The disastrous fiscal situation was a combination of frivolous spending by McMullin and his campaign manager Joel Searby, according to the former staffer.
McMullin received news weeks before Election Day 2016 about how dire the campaign’s finances were, and he had “no remorse” and said “I have qualms about this thing ending badly in debt,” the former staffer claimed. McMullin’s cavalier attitude towards the campaign’s spending struck many as a surprise, particularly because he billed himself as a fiscal conservative, he added.
The staffer also claims the campaign never paid him somewhere between 12-15 thousand dollars on top of a few thousand dollars in reimbursements. While he has since recovered, he expressed concern about former staffers with “families and children.”
“911 operator who hung up on emergency calls is sentenced to jail.”
The Littlest Weasel accomplished one thing: he raised Laura Ingraham’s ratings by 20%.
“Three New Plaintiffs Join James Damore’s Discrimination Lawsuit Against Google.” (Hat tip: Director Blue.)
Here’s a cool piece by Houston Rockets center Clint Capela talking about what it was like to move from Europe to Texas:
I’ll never forget the first time I went to a steakhouse here. I thought I’d eaten steak before. I was expecting this small, flat circle of meat, maybe a couple of fries on the side. Fine. C’est bon.
So in Texas, steak is a different thing. I’m at this restaurant and they put this plate in front of me, and, well, there was barely any plate visible — all I saw was this was this big, big piece of meat. I look around, maybe I had been mistaken in what I ordered. Maybe this waiter was playing a prank on me. It looked like a whole farm animal in front of me. But everyone with me laughed and nodded and told me that in Texas, this is a steak.
Then I was introduced to these other foods I’d never seen before but were totally amazing. Mac and cheese, man. Guys, you are blessed for having mac and cheese here. It’s a work of art. Bravo, guys.
And that was the first time I thought, O.K. O.K., I think I can get used to this place.
But if he really wants to be “King of Books,” he should know that road runs through me…
Pro-tip: If you’re trying to smuggle hundreds of pounds of cocaine, it is best not to document your expensive vacation travels on Instagram. (Hat tip: Jammie Wearing Fool’s twitter feed.)
First they came for the buxom barmaids…
The next horror movie monster: Tumbleweeds:
A tweet:
Seems an overreaction. Let he who has never taken a sacred oath using a dinosaur handpuppet cast the first stone…
Tags:2018 Election, Air Force, Crime, data security, Democrats, Donald Trump, Enoch Powell, Evan McMullin, Facebook, FEC, Foreign Policy, Google, Houston, Houston Rockets, James Damore, Laura Ingraham, LinkSwarm, marijuana, Mark Steyn, Media Watch, Military, Rush Limbaugh, Russia, S-400 Triumf air-defense system, Syria, Texas, Theresa May, UK
Posted in Budget, Crime, Democrats, Elections, Foreign Policy, Media Watch, Military, Texas, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Friday, January 5th, 2018
Happy New Year!
How Donald Trump is restoring the S-curve.
What it’s like to be a New York Times reporter during the war on terror:
Success as a reporter on the CIA beat inevitably meant finding out government secrets, and that meant plunging headlong into the classified side of Washington, which had its own strange dynamics.
I discovered that there was, in effect, a marketplace of secrets in Washington, in which White House officials and other current and former bureaucrats, contractors, members of Congress, their staffers, and journalists all traded information. This informal black market helped keep the national security apparatus running smoothly, limiting nasty surprises for all involved. The revelation that this secretive subculture existed, and that it allowed a reporter to glimpse the government’s dark side, was jarring. It felt a bit like being in the Matrix.
It’s a long and informative piece, even if you don’t accept all of reporter James Risen’s analysis. And it really does show how badly our national security agencies leak…
The recently discovered vulnerability in Intel chips is really, really bad. And fixing it requires about a 5-30% performance hit on every OS that runs atop Intel processors. (Here’s a nice layman description).
More on the same topic from Borepatch.
“Crazy” like a fox: “The tougher the sanctions and rhetoric from the United States, the more flexible North Korea is becoming.”
40 companies offer Trump Tax Cut bonuses. (Hat tip: Director Blue.)
Germany outsources censorship. Evidently you’re not allowed to say anything critical of Muslims or “Muslim refugees,” ever. “How the Germans can’t see that such a law, in the hands of the wrong party, could be devastating is a mystery. I can only conclude such occurrences have no precedent in their country from which they could draw obvious lessons.” (Hat tip: Stephen Green at Instapundit.)
Scott Adams enumerates all the things President Donald Trump broke that needed breaking.
DACA isn’t what Democrats say it is.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinds Obama-era memorandums on state-level legalized marijuana. Popehat thinks this is, at present, mostly cosmetic due to the Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment. I oppose federal marijuana prohibition on constitutional grounds: Regulating marijuana is not an enumerated power of the federal government, regulation is neither necessary nor proper (thus no 9th Amendment justification), and thus a matter entirely for the states absent any interstate commerce under the 10th Amendment.
“Mayor Sylvester Turner’s press secretary was suspended for two weeks without pay after she failed to turn over thousands of documents required to be released under Texas law. Darian Ward was asked to turn over emails relating to her work on non-city related projects, including a private side business called ‘Joy in Motion Productions.'” She must have gone to the Hillary Clinton School of Email FOIA compliance…
Dave Chappelle has a point. As gross, disgusting and socially unacceptable as having Louis C.K. masturbate on the phone with you is, if you let that dissuade you from pursuing a career in a field as hotly competitive as standup comedy, that’s on you. (Hat tip: Ann Althouse.)
“Genetic Study Supports Carbohydrate-Insulin Model of Obesity.”
Perfect season.
Dibs.
Tags:Atkins, Border Controls, Borepatch, business, censorship, Crime, Darian Ward, data security, Dave Chappelle, Democrats, Donald Trump, Germany, Houston, Intel, James Risen, Jeff Sessions, LinkSwarm, Louis C.K., marijuana, North Korea, Scott Adams, Sylvester Turner, Tax Reform, technology
Posted in Border Control, Crime, Democrats, Texas, unions | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, December 20th, 2017
I finally got off my lazy butt and got an SSL certificate for this blog.
So the official address is now https://www.battleswarmblog.com (note the new all important “s” after “http”).
FYI, my SSL certificate was free through WordPress and the Bluehost folks made the change for me.
Update your bookmarks and blogrolls accordingly, since Google and Firefox are starting to get all pissy about http connections (not that I really blame them).
Tags:Administrative, BlueHost, data security, Internet, SSL, technology
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Friday, September 15th, 2017
Greetings, and welcome to another Friday LinkSwarm! Cleanup from Harvey and Irma continues apace, and there was another London jihad terror attack.
Bomb attack on a London tube train injuries 20, but no reported deaths. “Officers believe that the blast on the train at Parsons Green, southwest London, was caused by an improvised explosive device and hundreds of detectives are now investigating with the assistance of MI5.” More west than southwest, I would say, since it’s north of the Themes and south of Earl’s Court.
Also, not one, but two jihad knife attacks in France today, fortunately with no fatalities. (Hat tip: Stephen Green at Instapundit.)
Irma death toll is at 82, 39 of them in the United States, and 1.5 million homes remain without power.
“Houston councilman tells residents not to donate to Red Cross.”
Houston City Councilman Dave Martin, who represents hard-hit Kingwood, had a message for the public about the American Red Cross.
“I beg you not to send them a penny,” he said at Wednesday’s council meeting. “They are the most inept unorganized organization I’ve ever experienced.”
In part of a broader rant that also roped in a perceived lack of assistance from his native New Orleans (“Send me your darn trucks, Mitch,” he said, a plea for the Big Easy’s mayor, Mitch Landrieu, to send waste trucks westward to haul off storm debris), Martin said local folks opened shelters and gathered water and supplies to help his northeastern suburb’s evacuees.
“Don’t waste your money,” said Martin. “Give it to another cause.”
Woman downloads app during Harvey, and suddenly she’s doing rescue dispatch.
How many times must a gay Democratic mayor be accused of child sexual abuse before resigning? Judging by Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, the answer is evidently “five.” Edited to add: Forgot to mention (as Dwight does in the comments below) that Murray was a member of Illegal Mayors Against Gun Owners.
Speaking of prominent Democratic office holders who are sex offenders, Anthony Weiner is arguing he doesn’t deserve to go to prison because it’s not his fault that those darn sexy 15-year-olds keep attracting his attention and taking advantage of his sickness. See Anthony, the thing is, when normal men receive a message like “High! I’m nubile jailbait!”, we ignore it because we’re: A.) Not perverts, and B.) Not complete morons. But only the dimmest, stupidest, sickest pervert would fall for that crap when he lives under a media microscope and after it’s already ruined his life.
The Awan family Democratic House member data breach gets murkier:
On April 6, at midnight, in a small room once used as a phone booth on the second floor of the Rayburn House Office Building, a Capitol Hill Police Officer doing his security rounds discovered evidence that will possibly reveal one of the the biggest security breaches involving House Democrats by the Awan family, a group of entrusted IT staffers, according to court records, police reports and news reports.
In the small room, the U.S. Capitol Police found a laptop computer registered to Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, a Florida Democrat and former DNC chairwoman. Wasserman-Schultz had been fighting authorities for months to return the laptop, that she once claimed was not hers.
What’s more concerning, say senior House officials who spoke to Circa, is that Imran Awan was also allegedly transferring files – including documents and emails – of House Democrats to a secret server connected to the less secure House Democratic Caucus. The organization was then chaired by Rep. Xavier Becerra, who left Congress in January after being sworn in as the Attorney General of California.
The Daily Caller’s Luke Rosiak was the first to break the story and last week Rosiak reported Wasserman Schultz’s IT staffer, now indicted Awan, is believed to have planted her laptop in the Rayburn office room, along with his Pakistani ID card, copies of his driver’s license and his congressional ID badge. Awan also left behind letters to the U.S. attorney.
Awan apparently wanted the evidence discovered, according to a Capitol Hill police report on the matter.
Officials are now asking the question of why the computer was left but the answers remain elusive.
“There is no reason to accommodate all the members data on one server and one that was apparently hidden,” said the Senior House official. “Why didn’t Xavier Becerra know this because it happened on his watch? Each member had their own server to protect against this and Awan intentionally tried to hide what he had done from investigators.”
Becerra’s office did not return phone calls for comment.
The House official told Circa that Awan was also allegedly uploading “terabits of information to dropbox so he was possibly able to access the information even after he was banned from the network.” The official said there is a need for a full congressional investigation on the matter.
“I think this may lead to information as to who really accessed the DNC server – everybody talks about Russia – but look at the access (Awan) had and potentially those emails could have been sold,” the House official added.
Speaking of data breaches, here’s Brian Krebs on how to protect yourself after the Equifax data breach. (Hat tip: Borepatch.)
“The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill Thursday that will provide $1.2 trillion to fund the government past Sept. 30, and will allocate $1.6 billion towards President Donald Trump’s border wall.” This is why I don’t freak out over all the reports of President Trump’s reported amnesty deal with Democrats. It’s not that I trust Trump, it’s that I have no interest in watching the magician make flourishes with his left hand. If such an amnesty actually approaches the voting stage, then I’ll worry. (Hat tip: Director Blue.)
Still, President Trump would do well to heed Kurt Schlicter’s advice and not let Chuck Schumer play him for a fool. “What we saw isn’t the art of the deal. This is the art of being suckered.”
An organizer for the #BlackLivesMatter rally where five Dallas police officers were killed has been arrested on felony theft charges. (Hat tip: Director Blue.)
Illegal alien arrested in murder involving a stolen police officer’s firearm was wearing an electronic monitor issued by United States immigration officials at the time.
“Outraged illegal aliens demand ICE announce their raids in advance.” Note: Not an Onion headline. (Hat tip: BigGator5’s Twitter feed.)
Obama Administration National Security Adviser Susan Rice admits that she unmasked Trump associates.
Even with President Donald Trump’s recent chumminess with Democratic congressional leaders, he’s less of an authoritarian threat than Hillary was. (Hat tip: Instapundit.)
Don Surber puts his finger on what’s ailing the Democratic Party:
It comes down to one man.
The leader of the party.
Barack Obama.
He was a terrible president.
Also this:
Calling us deplorable backfired too.
Democrats are intellectually lazy. Decades of demonizing conservatives failed to win the last election. Name-calling won’t win votes. Racist, sexist, even Nazi, no longer have any meaning thanks to overuse.
If Democrats want to win again, then they will have to sell their ideas, not their skin color, their sex, or any other superficiality.
People want results, not tokens.
(Hat tip: The Other McCain.)
How Antifa are helping reelect Donald Trump.
It should be apparent, but evidently is not to antifa members and leaders, that the United States, despite Donald Trump being president, is not in a comparable situation to that of Weimar Germany on the eve of Hitler’s ascension to power…Leftist violence in the 1930s in Germany led many to support the Nazis in the hope they would put an end to the continuing street brawls and violence. Today, the antifa left may even help to get Donald Trump reelected in 2020.
“And they wonder why people don’t vote for Democrats around here anymore.”
In a poll of possible Democratic candidates for 2020, Bernie Sanders has a commanding lead over— [At this point a lynch mob broke into the writer’s house to wreck terrible vengeance upon him for mentioning the 2020 presidential election more than three years out.]
Democrats declare war on vaping.
Camille Paglia says that transgender activists are committing child abuse by advocating “sex change” surgery for children.
In sex-reassignment surgery, even today, with all of its advances, cannot, in fact, change anyone’s sex. You can define yourself as a trans man or a trans woman or one of these new gradations along the scale, but ultimately every single cell in the human body, the DNA in that cell remains coded for your biological birth.
(Hat tip: Ace of Spades HQ.)
“The Left Is Still Freaking Out About Betsy DeVos Because School Choice Is An Existential Threat.”
Don’t look now, but there’s a new war in the Congo.
“Brexit: EU repeal bill wins first Commons vote.”
When are experts right and when are they wrong? Scott Adams offers some guidelines.
Oberlin College: Hey! Let’s go full Social justice Warrior! Reality: Hey! Enjoy declining enrollment and financial problems.
Russian company develops anti-riot truck that’s like a moving battlement. Looks like it would be adept at crushing pro-democracy protestors and Antifa equally.
Jack Kerouac: “You stupid hippies should get the hell off my lawn!”
How it took four decades to restore Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil. Including a fascinating interview with Welles from 1958.
“Commuters express concern as Thomas the Tank Engine falls to the power of Chaos.”
My library was featured on the Ace of Spades Sunday book thread.
Tags:#BlackLivesMatter, 2020 Presidential Race, amnesty, Anthony Weiner, antifa, Bernie Sanders, Betsy DeVos, Bombing, Border Controls, Brian Krebs, Camille Paglia, Chuck Schumer, Congo, Crime, Dallas, data security, Dave Martin, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Democrats, DNC, Dominique Alexander, Don Surber, Ed Murray, Elections, Florida, Foreign Policy, Houston, Hurricane, Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, Illegal Aliens, Imran Awan, Jack Kerouac, Jihad, Kingwood, Kurt Schlichter, London, Obama, Obama Scandals, Orson Welles, pedophilia, Red Cross, Russia, Seattle, Social Justice Warriors, Texas, Thomas the Tank Engine, unmasking, vaping
Posted in Border Control, Crime, Democrats, Elections, Foreign Policy, Jihad, Obama Scandals, Social Justice Warriors, Texas | 1 Comment »
Saturday, September 2nd, 2017
Remember the previous Bluehost phishing attack I mentioned?
Today I got another one.
Here’s the raw source (with a few inserted line breaks to keep it from running into the righthand column).
Headers:
Message ID
Created at: Sat, Sep 2, 2017 at 12:50 AM (Delivered after 3 seconds)
From: Bluehost
To: lawrencepersonXXXXX@gmail.com
Subject: Request to reset your domain associated with this e-mail address
SPF: PASS with IP 74.220.222.232 Learn more
(XXXXX added to email address here and below to defeat spambot scrappers.)
Payload
Delivered-To: lawrencepersonXXXXX@gmail.com
Received: by 10.129.53.151 with SMTP id c145csp343693ywa;
Fri, 1 Sep 2017 22:54:47 -0700 (PDT)
X-Received: by 10.99.120.71 with SMTP id t68mr4941018pgc.177.1504331447706;
Fri, 01 Sep 2017 22:50:47 -0700 (PDT)
X-Google-Smtp-Source: ADKCNb5s73v956ds860PK1kR3YVGj/j+bLV2uYQNDDlbJ/kZIPjlLkqlSdvnwz3d/dZQs6C8Ug2m
X-Received: by 10.99.120.71 with SMTP id t68mr4941001pgc.177.1504331446972;
Fri, 01 Sep 2017 22:50:46 -0700 (PDT)
ARC-Seal: i=1; a=rsa-sha256; t=1504331446; cv=none;
d=google.com; s=arc-20160816;
b=QOjWmOjsvjB9+8HswySoFQOQ4lsCvpPME27NN9zJfx8
gZofrql3IwevgfSp0e1Btxg
aIL8DmnXCGllyd8AvPrBrN/Ly3+iKtBxdbk3oua+d9vYBYOgYWcLW
+kMvQAcV81hB1El
PXLWVLUV78BXenGJMUIs0voePL345QIlDhjigRRvOYs4/cOFXhr/
0nE0A+F45lneFaUx
oG7oYSk3QBVJtvwWUd2z1ksn24R8kTgwWfFZGqVEUm6fji4tA6J1Qv
1IwL7GWDtmI/ab
pdU/Dh9cvT3lR2bDOFQaSje0NQuibGyFY3ouNGDdRygJIJKjldi
EoUsqxE1zCoCrfZU1
l+Dw==
ARC-Message-Signature: i=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=google.com; s=arc-20160816;
h=date:message-id:cc:from:content-transfer-encoding:mime-version
:subject:to:arc-authentication-results;
bh=pAtFnsm7hK/sCRTeHL/WZ2Afvt74elEbNil2YQ/rHSk=;
b=t9vALxsoLpH2sKGGjbqvx/KAJOGJQaT/2qVFWCaNXJOybuHwoMGmaRh1
eP62jnkD5s
nQXOsgK3wQfj/l2Nq1tuA05l+FfQgRlLFSFs/4YKSjcrIveLp/ht/ergUZGv1ydawsDk
PdNYonJnmlykTW7HQxAhtRbbFP5dohfLGcGcdUmOsV6XjUZQK+
9agN78MxBBfFj33V7j
aUCkZ/BINSFb2Jt4IzOaQdnnVzoBwY8R1aLg0+GdVf26wZuYLBiN
hAXOJY1SVCjGrrwd
GiGw2eMbMyG5V1VjGlhJPx8Wan7eA/lXr+hrwnuEalFaGk66Ni8lV7
nADN9StIh7AyMp
aY7Q==
ARC-Authentication-Results: i=1; mx.google.com;
spf=pass (google.com: domain of doorsofv@box1175.bluehost.com designates 74.220.222.232 as permitted sender) smtp.mailfrom=doorsofv@box1175.bluehost.com
Return-Path:
Received: from outbound-ss-1849.hostmonster.com ([74.220.222.232])
by mx.google.com with ESMTPS id a2si1461087pll.210.2017.09.01.22.50.46
for
(version=TLS1_2 cipher=ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256 bits=128/128);
Fri, 01 Sep 2017 22:50:46 -0700 (PDT)
Received-SPF: pass (google.com: domain of doorsofv@box1175.bluehost.com designates 74.220.222.232 as permitted sender) client-ip=74.220.222.232;
Authentication-Results: mx.google.com;
spf=pass (google.com: domain of doorsofv@box1175.bluehost.com designates 74.220.222.232 as permitted sender) smtp.mailfrom=doorsofv@box1175.bluehost.com
Received: from cmgw2 (cmgw2.unifiedlayer.com [67.20.127.202]) by soproxy7.mail.unifiedlayer.com (Postfix) with ESMTP id 84A09215C39 for ; Fri,
1 Sep 2017 23:50:46 -0600 (MDT)
Received: from box1175.bluehost.com ([50.87.248.175]) by cmgw2 with id 4Vqj1w00l3no00q01Vqmx1; Fri, 01 Sep 2017 23:50:46 -0600
X-Authority-Analysis: v=2.2 cv=IspuSP3g c=1 sm=1 tr=0 a=ZGpYF3R9av1KVggUQYjyig==:117 a=ZGpYF3R9av1KVggUQYjyig==:17 a=IkcTkHD0fZMA:10 a=2JCJgTwv5E4A:10 a=eLEXLPMnAAAA:8 a=cNaOj0WVAAAA:8 a=3gznCMWBZ5u3K-Cr9X4A:9 a=8jPl8b1L-dkswZAf:21 a=7g7r5GJnjx26k2DO:21 a=L4Rp5h-_gRjJhvEI:21 a=QEXdDO2ut3YA:10 a=TnA9z4vs7e96t_Vj_DNd:22
Received: from doorsofv by box1175.bluehost.com with local (Exim 4.87) (envelope-from ) id 1do1KN-003TIa-D2 for lawrencepersonXXXXX@gmail.com; Fri, 01 Sep 2017 23:50:43 -0600
To: lawrencepersonXXXXX@gmail.com
Subject: Request to reset your domain associated with this e-mail address
X-PHP-Originating-Script: 1982:mail.php
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/html; charset=utf-8
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
From: Bluehost
Cc:
Message-Id:
Date: Fri, 01 Sep 2017 23:50:43 -0600
X-AntiAbuse: This header was added to track abuse, please include it with any abuse report
X-AntiAbuse: Primary Hostname - box1175.bluehost.com
X-AntiAbuse: Original Domain - gmail.com
X-AntiAbuse: Originator/Caller UID/GID - [1982 1982] / [47 12]
X-AntiAbuse: Sender Address Domain - box1175.bluehost.com
X-BWhitelist: no
X-Source-IP:
X-Exim-ID: 1do1KN-003TIa-D2
X-Source:
X-Source-Args:
X-Source-Dir:
X-Source-Sender:
X-Source-Auth: doorsofv
X-Email-Count: 38
X-Source-Cap: ZG9vcnNvZnY7ZG9vcnNvZnY7Ym94MTE3NS5ibHVlaG9zdC5jb20=
X-Local-Domain: yes
=09
=09=09
=09=09=09
 |
=09=09
=09=09
=09=09=09
=09=09=20
=09=09=09=09
=09=09=09=09We received a request to reset your domain associated with this=
e-mail address.
=09=09=09=09This request was generated by a user clicking the 'Domain Reset=
' link. If you want it to be reset, then you can safely ignore this message=
.
=09=09=09=09
=09=09=09=09
=09=09=09=09If you did not request to have your domain reset, or do not wan=
t it to be reset, please protect your domain. You can refuse this request a=
nd securely reset your password by clicking the link below:=20
=09=09=09=09
=09=09=09=09=20
=09=09=09=09
=09=09=09=09https://my.bluehost.com/web-hosting/password/
=09=09=09=09
=09=09=09=09=20
=09=09=09=09
=09=09=09=09Alternatively, you can copy and paste the link into your browse=
r's address window, or retype it there.
=09=09=09=09
=09=09=09=09=20
=09=09=09=09Thank you,
=09=09=09=09Bluehost Support
=09=09=09=09http://w=
ww.bluehost.com/
=09=09=09=09For support go to http://bluehost.com/help
=09=09=09 |
=09=09
=09
Interestingly, even though all of that is in a code tag, part of it (including the link) is still rendered. (I don’t need to tell you not to click that, do I?) I wonder if the 3D class stuff bypasses standard rendering layers.
Here’s the important segment (opening and closing greater than and less than signs omitted):
a href=3D'http://my.bluehost.pazencore.com/web-hosting/?q=3DbG=
F3cmVuY2VwZXJzb25AZ21haWwuY29tDQ=3D=3D' target=3D'_blank'>https://my.bluehost.com/web-hosting/password/
Here’s the whois registrant and admin contact for pazencore.com domain:
Name: EDOUARD VAN DE VELDE
Organization: EDOUARDVDV
Mailing Address: BAKKUMMERSTRAAT 37, CASTRICUM 1901 HJ NL
Phone: +31.0615954306
Ext:
Fax:
Fax Ext:
Email:EDOUARDVDV@HOTMAIL.COM
More interestingly, here’s the tech contact:
Tech Contact
Name: BLUEHOST INC
Organization: BLUEHOST.COM
Mailing Address: 550 E TIMPANOGOS PKWY, OREM UTAH 84097 US
Phone: +1.8017659400
Ext:
Fax: +1.8017651992
Fax Ext:
Email:WHOIS@BLUEHOST.COM
So here we have a Bluehost phishing scam being run from a Bluehost domain.
I think it’s time to have an interesting discussion with BlueHost support…
Tags:Administrative, BlueHost, data security, Internet, Site Administration, technology
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Friday, August 4th, 2017
Friday! LinkSwarm! The day is already packed, so let’s get this puppy out the door…
West Virginia’s Governor Jim Justice announced at a rally with President Trump that he’s switching to the Republican Party. Since Trump won West Virginia by over 40 points in 2016, that seems less “smart” than “inevitable.” West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin says he’s still staying a Democrat. We’ll see…
Do Democrats realize how much trouble they’re in?
By tomorrow, 164 million Americans will live in the 26 states that are wholly controlled by Republicans, 109 million will live in states where power is shared between the parties, and only 50 million will live in the six states controlled by the Democrats.
Those who run the Democratic Party spend their time overwhelmingly in Washington, California and New York, and they read the New York Times and the Washington Post. They watch CNN and MSNBC, along with network news. As a result, I am not sure they are fully attuned to how unpopular their party has become in most of America. They may win a tactical victory against President Trump, whose inexperience and personality make him vulnerable. But I suspect that very few voters are responding to the Democrats’ daily assault on the administration by saying, In the next election I am going to change my mind and vote liberal! On the contrary, it may be that the Democrats’ hysterical, unprecedented assault on the president will prove to be a distraction that actually retards their ability to address their party’s long-term decline.
“Lawyers in DNC Class-Action Suit ‘Perplexed’ by Media Blackout. Press ignores fraud case brought by 2016 Sanders backers against Democrat Party.” How severe a blackout? “A search on Google News for the name of the case in quotes “Wilding v. DNC” yields zero results.” Why, it’s almost as if the MSM considered itself an extension of the Democratic Party… (Hat tip: Instapundit.)
“Trump Has Quietly Accomplished More Than It Appears.” All this liberal and #NeverTrump talk about how the Trump White House is in “chaos” is like someone talking incessantly about what the magician’s right hand is doing while completely ignoring his left… (Hat tip: Stephen Green at Instapundit.)
Media keep overplaying their hand, especially with the Trump/Russia delusion. Even Democrats are getting tired of it…
“Trump pushes to sharply cut the number of legal immigrants and move U.S. to a ‘merit-based’ immigration system.” Expect this to be widely popular with the public and DOA with those congressional Republicans still freebasing “comprehensive immigration reform”/illegal alien amnesty…
Speaking of that proposal, here White House senior policy adviser Stephen Miller delivers a brutal smackdown to CNN’s rude and clueless Jim Acosta, who seems painfully ignorant of the history of the Statue of Liberty.
And speaking of people Miller smacked down, he also corrected New York Times’ Glenn Thrush (who you may remember from such movies as I Sought Hillary Clinton’s Campaign Approval on All My Copy About the 2016 Election) that low-skilled immigrants do indeed drive down wages for native workers. (Hat tip: Director Blue.)
Four Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicle clerks charged with making fake IDs for illegal aliens and registering them to vote. Remember: When Democrats tell you there’s no such thing as voter fraud, they’re not only lying, their party is the one committing the fraud. (Hat tip: Director Blue.)
Illegal alien apprehensions up almost double since President Trump took office. (Hat tip: Mickey Kaus.)
Liberals: “We can’t let ICE pick up illegal aliens just because they’re breaking the law!” Ice: “OK, then, we’ll just pick them up at the courthouse.” (Hat tip: Instapundit.)
Putin expels 755 American diplomats in retaliation for new sanctions. If they’re Obama holdovers, that could be a net plus…
“Twitter’s “burn rate” has increased in the past year to the point that they’re now losing $38.8 million each month.”
“The Twitter account of Breitbart London editor in chief Raheem Kassam has been suspended by the platform, just days after he announced the forthcoming publication of his new book on Radical Islam.” The book in question is No Go Zones: How Sharia Law Is Coming to a Neighborhood Near You, due out August 14.
“Your boyfriend raped you.” “No he didn’t.” “Shut up and say you were raped. USC knows what’s best.”
The rise of the illiberal media:
We aren’t dealing with a liberal media anymore, but an illiberal media. The liberal media was content to use its institutional power as a megaphone to broadcast its views. But you could debate those views. Actual conservatives were allowed to write columns, and not just as a strategic attack on some element of the GOP the way it is now, and appear on television to offer opinions, and not just as punching bags.
The liberal media was convinced it would win the argument because it was right.
The illiberal media isn’t interested in winning an argument, but in silencing the opposition. It doesn’t just want to shout louder than you. It wants to use its institutional power to shut you up.
This isn’t just a media phenomenon. It’s what happened across the social spectrum when the people we used to call liberals became illiberal leftists. It’s why colleges censor controversial speakers and punish dissenting faculty. It’s why the environmental debate went from scientific discussions to calls to punish, fine and even jail those who question the left’s Luddite alarmism on Global Warming.
It’s why the debate over gay marriage shifted to punishing Christian bakers and florists, the arguments about Israel tilted to preventing musicians from performing in Tel Aviv and civil rights turned into a call to create “safe spaces” that ban everyone else. Diversity is no longer dressed up as an expansion, but is now explicitly a contraction. Don’t read books by white authors. Don’t hire more men. Kick Jews out of the gay rights rally. Send the IRS after conservative groups. Punch a Trump supporter in the face.
Nearly every leftist cause these days is expressed by punishing someone. Arguments are won by force. The illiberal totalitarian lurking inside the liberal, as David Horowitz described it, is out of the closet.
“A local council has banned the construction of a synagogue in Bondi [Australia] because it could be a terrorist target.” (Hat tip: Ace of Spades HQ.)
Three months after inauguration, French President Emmanuel Macron is now less popular than President Trump. (Hat tip: Instapundit.)
Dallas: It’s another attack by a group of people on a single train rider where the racial characteristics of the attacker are clearly visible in the video, but never mentioned
Good: Government realizes the Internet-of-Things is deeply insecure. Bad: Trying to pass a law to fix it. That’s like trying to darn a sock with a pipe wrench…
“Apple Now Owns $51.5 Billion In Treasurys, More Than Mexico, Turkey Or Norway.”
Tam: “How to Carry Concealed In a Purse (If You Must).” (Hat tip: Shall not Be Questioned.)
Zero Hedge has another of those the auto industry is doomed pieces, but this time it’s about longevity surpassing demand, not the usual one about off-lease vehicles…
MRE reviewed. (Hat tip: The Other McCain.)
Tweet:
Man, the pollen is just brutal this time of year.
Tags:2016 Presidential Race, Apple Computer, Australia, Bernie Sanders, Border Controls, Crime, Dallas, data security, Democrats, DNC, dogs, Donald Trump, Emmanuel Macron, Foreign Policy, France, fraud, Glenn Thrush, Guns, Hillary Clinton, Internet-of-Things, Jews, Jihad, Jim Justice, LinkSwarm, Massachusetts, Military, Raheem Kassam, Robert Stacy McCain, Russia, Social Justice Warriors, Twitter, USC, Voter Fraud, West Virginia, Wilding v. DNC
Posted in Border Control, Crime, Democrats, Elections, Foreign Policy, Guns, Jihad, Media Watch, Military, Social Justice Warriors, Waste and Fraud | No Comments »
Friday, July 14th, 2017
Since I just topped up my Strategic Dog Reserve, blogging may get light at some point. But in the meantime, enjoy another Friday LinkSwarm:
This may be what’s driving some Democrats’ idee fixe on Russia: a guilty conscience:
Radical left-wing icon former California Democratic Rep. Ron Dellums was a hired lobbyist for Natalia Veselnitskaya, the Russian lawyer who met with Donald Trump Jr. June 9, 2016, the Daily Caller News Foundation Investigative Group has learned.
Dellums, who represented liberal San Francisco and Oakland, Calif., is a long-time darling of left-wing political activists. He served 13 terms in Congress as an African-American firebrand and proudly called himself a socialist. He retired in 1996.
The former congressman is one of several high-profile Democratic partisans who was on Veselnitskaya’s payroll, working to defeat a law that is the hated object of a personal vendetta waged by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
A national outcry has erupted in the establishment media about Trump Jr.’s meeting with Veselnitskaya. But there has been little focus on the Democrats who willingly served for years on her payroll helping to wage a Russian-led lobby campaign against the law. Congress passed the legislation, the Magnitsky Act, in response to the murder of Sergei Magnistky, a Russian lawyer who alleged corruption and human rights violations against numerous Russian officials.
According to a complaint filed to the Department of Justice Foreign Agents Registration Act division last July, Dellums failed to register as a foreign agent representing a Russian-driven effort led by Veselnitskaya to repeal the Magnitsky Act.
Add Dellums to a list that includes Bill and Hillary Clinton and the Podesta brothers of high profile Democrats who have documented financial and lobbying ties to Putin’s government.
“Democrats intentionally used disinformation from Russia to attack Trump, campaign aides.”
Russian journalist on how American journalists cover Russia, especially the Russian hacking story. “The way the American press writes about the topic, it’s like they’ve lost their heads.” Also: “Putin seem to look much smarter than he is, as if he operates from some master plan.” He’s actually a bumbler…
You know the Obama Veterans Administration that was only too happy to look the other way while veterans were dying on the waiting list? President Trump’s Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin has helped implement a number of reforms:
In Shulkin’s five months on the job, the VA has been a whirlwind of activity:
- The department announced last week that between President Trump’s inauguration and July 3, it had fired 526 employees, demoted another 27, and temporarily suspended another 194 for longer than two weeks.
- In April, the department launched a new website that lets veterans compare the wait times at its facilities and view Yelp-style reviews of each facility written by previous patients.
- Veterans Health Administration’s Veterans Crisis Line — designed for those struggling with PTSD, thoughts of suicide, and other forms of mental stress — is now answering “more than 90 percent of calls within 8 seconds, and only about one percent of calls are being rerouted to a backup call center.” A year ago, an inspector general report noted that “more than a third of calls were being shunted to backup call centers, some calls were taking more than a half hour to be answered and other callers were being given only an option to leave messages on voicemail.”
- At the end of June, Shulkin unveiled the world’s most advanced commercial prosthetic limb — the Life Under Kinetic Evolution (LUKE) arm — during a visit to a VA facility in New York. Veteran amputees demonstrated the technology, a collaboration among the VA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and the private sector. (The name alludes to the lifelike robotic hand that Luke Skywalker is fitted with in The Empire Strikes Back.)
- In May, Shulkin said the department had identified more than 430 vacant buildings and 735 underutilized ones that cost the federal government $25 million a year. He said that most of the buildings are not treatment facilities and could profitably be closed or consolidated. Of course, if he actually attempted to close or consolidate some of the buildings, he might face a controversy along the lines of those touched off by military-base-closing announcements in recent decades.
Shulkin has also gotten some help from Congress during his short time on the job. At a time when Republican legislators have had enormous difficulty passing big pieces of legislation, they’ve made great progress on VA reform.
One particular law designed to make the VA more accountable is arguably the most consequential legislation President Trump has signed so far. It establishes speedier procedures for firing employees, gives the department the authority to recoup bonuses and pensions from employees convicted of crimes, adds greater protections for whistleblowers who report errors and scandals, and expands employee training.
New Senate GOP bill to repeal ObamaCare has tiny flaw in that it doesn’t repeal ObamaCare.
The One Sentence That Explains Washington Dysfunction: “I didn’t expect Donald Trump to win.” So no one was ready to do anything policy-wise once he did. “Among those consequences: The expectation that Republicans might actually try to keep the promises they’ve made to voters over the last eight years.” (Hat tip: Director Blue.)
No matter which party is in charge of Washington, rain or shine, summer or winter, the deficit keeps growing. “Real monthly federal spending topped $400 billion for the first time in June.” (Hat tip: Stephen Green at Instapundit.)
An appeals court vacated the conviction of former New York Democratic Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, just the latest in a long line of appeal reversals for former federal prosecutor Preet Bharara. How much of Bharara’s once-sterling reputation was real, how much was showboating, and how much was good press from working at MSM-saturated New York City? (Hat tip: Instapundit.)
“ICE Director: There’s No Population Of Illegal Aliens Which Is Off The Table.” (Hat tip: Director Blue.)
Mexico is reportedly very upset that both the united States and Texas are actually enforcing border control laws.
Remember: When you see an anti-Trump or anti-border control march, there’s a good chance it consists mostly of paid Soros shills.
Speaking of Soros:
What we are actually witnessing — in Hungary, in the United States and in many other countries in recent years — is a populist reaction against the elite “progressive” consensus of which Soros is a prominent symbol. There is an international clique of influential people and organizations who share certain ideas about the future direction of political, social and economic policies, and who don’t want to be bothered with debating the merits of these policies. The ordinary people whose lives would be affected by the agenda of the elite aren’t being asked for their approval, and popular opposition to the elite agenda (e.g., the Brexit vote, Trump’s election, Hungary’s anti-“refugee” referendum) is treated by the elite media as evidence of incipient fascism. Never does it seem to have occurred to George Soros, or to anyone else in the international elite, that perhaps their policy ideas are wrong, that they have gone too far in their utopian “social justice” schemes. Unable to admit error, the progressive elite therefore resort to cheap insults and sloppy accusations of “fascism” to stigmatize opposition to the Left’s agenda.
Bernard-Henri Lévy makes the case for an independent Kurdistan. (Hat tip: Ace of Spades HQ.)
For ABC, religious liberty organization = hate group.
Seattle decides that they want to drive the affluent out of the city. I’m sure many cities in Texas would be happy to welcome them with open arms…
And just in case you thought that was going to be the craziest story out of Seattle this week: “Seattle Councilman Objects to Hosing Excrement-Covered Sidewalks Because It’s Racist.” (Hat tip: Instapundit.)
China’s housing bubble continues to expand. (Hat tip: Ace of Spades HQ.)
Kid Rock is running in the 2018 Michigan Senate race. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.
On the same subject. “Rock is arguably much better positioned than Trump for a successful political run.”
“The man running Sweden’s biggest security firm was declared bankrupt this week after his identity was hacked.”
Flaccid NFL ratings lead to Viagra and Cialis pulling out as sponsors. Maybe if they stopped focusing on politics, the NFL’s ratings wouldn’t be as soft….
Austin attorney “Omar Weaver Rosales, who filed hundreds of lawsuits against local small businesses alleging technical violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, has been suspended from practicing law in the Federal Western District for three years.”
Maine Democratic state rep threatens to kill President Trump, calls gun owners “pussies.”
Connecticut now requires a criminal conviction for civil forfeiture. Good. (Hat tip: Borepatch.)
“Bad move, Mongo! Moonshine has powerful friends in the slam.” (Hat tip: Dwight.)
Clint Eastwood, when looking to cast American Paris train heroes Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos and Spencer Stone for a movie he’s directing, decided to cast Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos and Spencer Stone.
Radiohead gives the finger to anti-Israel BDS movement. (Hat tip: Ace of Spades HQ.)
Was Shia LaBeouf always this big an asshole, or did he get worse after Trump and 4Chan broke him? “I got more millionaire lawyers than you know what to do with, you stupid bitch!” (Hat tip: Ace of Spades HQ.)
Alyssa Milano is too busy as a member of “the Resistance” to take care of trivia like paying her taxes. Or her share of her employee’s taxes.
Woman climbs Mt. Everest to prove that vegans can do anything, dies. (Hat tip: Ace of Spades HQ.)
There’s a Friends of NRA Fundraiser on August 3rd in Georgetown.
AMC releases emails from fired Walking Dead producer Frank Darabont in which he states how he’s boiling with rage over subpar efforts by various production team members. It’s not a good look, but if you directed The Shawshank Redemption, I’m inclined to cut you more than the usual amount of slack over your film-making methods…
Marvel is actually doing a live Squirrel Girl TV show. Sure, it’s called New Warriors, but we all know what the real attraction is there…
A sailor-eye history of the USS Nevada battleship during World War II.
Speaking of World War II, here’s a history of the Mulberry artificial harbors that were crucial in unloading supplies right after D-Day.
From the George W. Bush Presidential Library in Dallas: Proof that Bill Clinton doesn’t understand the power of metaphors in image form:
“Millions Of Policy Proposals Spill Into Sea As Brookings Institution Think Tanker Runs Aground Off Crimea Coast.” (Hat tip: JenDinnj’s Twitter feed.)
How did I miss this last week?
Tags:4Chan, ABC, Alek Skarlatos, Alyssa Milano, Anthony Sadler, Austin, Bill Clinton, Border Controls, China, CNN, Connecticut, Crime, data security, David Shulkin, Democrats, Donald Trump, Frank Darabont, George H. W. Bush, George Soros, George W. Bush, Hungary, Kid Rock, Kurdistan, Kurds, LinkSwarm, Maine, Marvel, Mexico, Michigan, Natalia Veselnitskaya, NFL, NRA, Omar Weaver Rosales, Preet Bharara, Radiohead, Ron Dellums, Russia, sanctuary cities, Sergei Magnistky, Sheldon Silver, Shia LaBeouf, Spencer Stone, Sweden, USS Nevada, vegans, Veterans Administration, Viagra, Vladimir Putin, World War II
Posted in Austin, Border Control, Crime, Democrats, Foreign Policy, Media Watch, Military, Texas, Uncategorized | No Comments »