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Area: WoT Operations    WoT Background    Opinion        Politix   
IS group launches counterattacks on US-backed forces and Syrian army
Today's Headlines
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Page 1: WoT Operations
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Page 4: Opinion
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Page 6: Politix
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-Lurid Crime Tales-
37 WIA, 9 KIA in Chicago Weekend, Including Teen and Mex Singing Star

[Breitbart] The bloody violence in Chicago took no time off for Father’s Day as the final tally ended with 37 shot and 9 killed. The dead included a 17-year-old, shot with a rifle, and a Mexican man who was on his nation’s version of the TV show The Voice, shot three times in the head.

One of the last people killed during the weekend was a 17-year-old teen shot in front of a Catholic Church with what police claimed was a "high-powered rifle."

The teen was shot by an assailant who drove up next to him and immediately opened fire, leaving "literally dozens of empty shell casings on the street," according to Chief of Detectives Eugene Roy.

Chief Roy said the shooting was likely gang-related.
Posted by: Besoeker || 06/21/2016 02:32 || Comments || Link || [336073 views] Top|| File under:

#1  More action than Kabul
Posted by: Skidmark || 06/21/2016 16:00 Comments || Top||


Feral teen arrested for Queens hate crime assault on Muslim man admits to playing 'knockout game'
[NYDAILYNEWS] A 14-year-old boy placed in durance vile
Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages!
for a hate crime assault on a Moslem man told police he and his friends were playing the vicious "knockout game," cops said on Monday.

The teen, whose name was withheld because of his age, was arrested for attacking Mohammed Rasheed Khan, 59, with two friends as the man left his Jamaica Ave. mosque near 205th St. in Hollis on June 1.

The boy admitted to Sherlocks that one of his friends suggested they play the "knockout game" -- a barbaric practice of trying to knock a random person unconscious with one punch, police said.

That's when the trio spotted Khan on his bicycle riding away from the Center for Islamic Studies.
Mama must be so proud...
Posted by: Fred || 06/21/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336104 views] Top|| File under:

#1  So when the target's a white man, it's simple assault. When it's a Muslim it's a "hate crime".

Posted by: Rob Crawford || 06/21/2016 7:25 Comments || Top||

#2  About to find out his community is lower on the victim ladder than the Muzzies in this administration.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 06/21/2016 9:04 Comments || Top||

#3  You might as well speak in Amharic
To Barry, Loretta, or Eric.
Cue media lockout.
But if there's a knockout
Affecting a Muslim -- "Barbaric!"
Posted by: Zenobia Floger6220 || 06/21/2016 9:52 Comments || Top||

#4  Probably thought the target was Jewish, in which case the pecking order has already been established long ago by Al Sharpton.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 06/21/2016 13:57 Comments || Top||

#5  Khan suffered facial fractures and other serious injuries during the assault.

Wonder if this was a 6 foot 200 lb, 14 year old?
Posted by: Skidmark || 06/21/2016 14:54 Comments || Top||

#6  It was funny you tube moments when they were hurting white guys and Jews. Now its a media event?? Who is directing the national hate narrative??
Posted by: 49 Pan || 06/21/2016 17:06 Comments || Top||

#7  Obviously no one (can) read the memo....
Posted by: Pappy || 06/21/2016 18:58 Comments || Top||


New York man, 21, slashed across the neck on Manhattan subway platform after string of similar attacks
  • [DAILYMAIL.CO.UK] A 21-year-old man was attacked on the 59th St Columbus Circle platform

  • Row began as a dispute between two groups on a northbound A train

  • As victim left the train a 21-year-old man slashed him across the neck

  • He was rushed to hospital and is expected to survive, attacker was arrested

  • Police say knife attacks in the city have soared by 20 per cent this year
Posted by: Fred || 06/21/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336072 views] Top|| File under:

#1  This is, to hear the locals tell it, the most enlightened and tolerant place on Earth. Still waiting to hear hos it's the gun's fault on this one...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 06/21/2016 10:07 Comments || Top||

#2  A symbolic beheading?
Possibly the attacker suffered thru childhood from lack of male guidance due to his father's death or incarceration due to a gun crime.
Posted by: Skidmark || 06/21/2016 14:51 Comments || Top||


-Short Attention Span Theater-
Send in the Clowns. Oh, They're Here
The folks at Maxon Shooter Supplies and Indoor Range, who claim to be TAH fans, sent us a link to the story about them in the Chicago Sun Times, wherein the Times sent Neil Steinberg, one of their reporters, to write about his experience buying and firing an evil black, scary gun (known in journalistic circles as an assault rifle). Steinberg does the handwringing thing about guns and journalistic integrity thing during his drive to Des Plaines, Illinois to the Maxon "lemonade stand" as the owner described it to me.
I call it the Hobby Store.
"Driving to Maxon Shooter Supplies in Des Plaines on Wednesday to purchase my first assault rifle, I admit, I was nervous. I'd never owned a gun before. And with the horror of Sunday's Orlando massacre still echoing, even the pleasant summer day -- the lush green trees, fluffy white clouds, blue sky -- took on a grim aspect, the sweetness of fragile life flashing by as I headed into the Valley of Death.
Such melodrama! He sounds like a wannabe action writer.
He's almost a Hemingway - our 'Hemingway'.
Earlier, in my editor's office, I had ticked off the reasons for me not to buy a gun: this was a journalistic stunt; done repeatedly; supporting an industry I despise. But as I tell people, I just work here, I don't own the place. And my qualms melted as I dug into the issue."
Such prose!
He needn't have worried, after he filled out the paperwork paid for his Smith & Wesson M & P 15 Sport II there was a waiting period, during which his purchase was rejected by the gun dealer;
Those pesky waiting periods!
"I was looking forward to shooting my new rifle the next day. I've shot guns. It's fun. I was worried though, about having fun with guns in the current environment of outrage and horror. Had I been co-opted by the purchase process? By the friendly staff at Maxon's?
Brainwashed, I was!
"At 5:13 Sarah from Maxon called. They were canceling my sale and refunding my money. No gun for you. I called back. Why? 'I don't have to tell you,' she said."
Neener-neener.
A few hours later, Maxon sent the newspaper a lengthy statement, the key part being: "it was uncovered that Mr. Steinberg has an admitted history of alcohol abuse, and a charge for domestic battery involving his wife."
She deserved it, she sassed me.
Well, I didn't see that coming.
Blindsided, I tells ya!
Of course, Steinburg thinks that's not the reason, he thinks it's some bias against journalists.
Of course he does. Journalists are immune from the laws dontchaknow
Would-be terrorists can buy guns. Insane people can buy guns. But reporters . . . that's a different story. Gun makers avoid publicity because the truth is this: they sell tools of death to frightened people and make a fortune doing so.
The fact I'm a drunken wife-beater has nuttin to do with it! I been wronged! I'm a victim here!
Or maybe the fine folks at Maxon don't like their guns in the hands of mean drunks who beat their wives.

I'm pretty sure that, if the sale had been approved, the headline would have read something like "Local gun dealer sells gun to wife beater" It was probably the editor's intent from the beginning that's why they chose Steinberg in the first place to make the purchase.

From the Maxon Facebook page;

Mr. Steinberg was very aggressive on the phone with Sarah, insisting he was going to write that we denied him because he is a journalist. "Journalist" is not a protected class, BTW. We contacted his editor and said that, while we don't normally provide a reason for a denial, in this case to correct the record before you publish, here's why; we pasted a couple links of press accounts of his past behavior and his admission of same. He's free to believe or disbelieve that's why he was denied, but that *is* why he was denied. There was no "We'll see you in court!!!!" type of language from us; we simply want to set the record straight. That it undermined his thesis and rendered the column incoherent isn't really our problem, is it? Thanks for your support.

Clarification: Steinberg did fill out an ATF 4473. He didn't lie on the form which asks the respondent if they have ever been *convicted* in a court of a domestic violence misdemeanor and, apparently, Steinberg wasn't convicted (even though you or I would have been convicted). He made a big deal about his arrest and his "come to Jesus" moment in the paper and in his book "Drunkard". Because he doesn't have a conviction, he also has a Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card.

Steinberg didn't pop hot on the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) check because he doesn't have a conviction, and he didn't lie on his ATF 4473.

Everyone in Chicago knows about his escapades as a drunk and a wife beater because he wrote about it, the staff at Maxon knew about his past and they denied his purchase based on Steinberg's own admissions in his writings about it. The firearms dealer has the final say in whether you get a gun or not and because of Steinberg's local reputation, they decided not to take a chance on him. I hope that answers your questions.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 06/21/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336072 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Copycatting the east-coast weenie -whatsisname?

Oh, yeah - Bazooka Boy
Posted by: Bobby || 06/21/2016 8:07 Comments || Top||

#2  ...as I headed into the Valley of Death.

Sounds like an Iron Maiden song!
Posted by: Raj || 06/21/2016 9:12 Comments || Top||

#3  They burned this scam down 500 times faster than the race card. Fantastic...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 06/21/2016 9:26 Comments || Top||

#4  Is that 5:13, or 18:13, because a loser attention whore drunkard betting his reputation on accuracy needs to be quite a bit more sober on his recollection. Say, one paragraph lamenting his obligation of a journalist supporting something he has no belief in, and not more than two periods later stating how excited he would be to fire his new AR-15 assault bazooka with collapsible bayonet grenade lug.

Would-be terrorists can buy guns. Insane people can buy guns. But reporters . . . that's a different story.

*snort* maybe he should re-read that. Not even close to our Hemingway.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 06/21/2016 10:28 Comments || Top||

#5  Is that 5:13, or 18:13

1713, if you want to be accurate.
Posted by: Pappy || 06/21/2016 11:06 Comments || Top||

#6  yup.
Coffee.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 06/21/2016 11:14 Comments || Top||

#7  It is meet and right to mock the idiocy cartel
Posted by: newc || 06/21/2016 12:33 Comments || Top||

#8  He lost me pretty early on. Did he ever get to the part where he actually shoots a gun?
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 06/21/2016 12:45 Comments || Top||

#9  Good job blogs are a form of "Jo(u)rnalist" control


I wonder if they should have their previous convictions stated at the top of every article?
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 06/21/2016 13:13 Comments || Top||

#10  He lost me pretty early on. Did he ever get to the part where he actually shoots a gun?

They don't sell guns to alcoholic wife beaters, and so informed his editors. But he has shot guns before and, given that he has a Firearm Owmers ID card, may actually own one or more. Had they sold him the gun, the story might well have been how easily an alcoholic wife beater, who hadn't actually been convicted, could legally buy a weapon.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/21/2016 13:21 Comments || Top||

#11  "Des Plaines on Wednesday to purchase my first assault rifle"

No you didn't. The way I understand it an Assault rifle is a fully automatic military weapon. YOu might have bought an assault weapon which is just a rifle that looks scary and was given a scary name.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 06/21/2016 13:58 Comments || Top||

#12  He should probably stick to "assault" gin.

The young lady pictured doesn't seem intimidated in the least (prolly "child abuse" /sarc):
Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy || 06/21/2016 15:35 Comments || Top||


-Land of the Free
Meet the Folckomers
[Charleston Post and Courier] A scuffle over Confederate flags Saturday at The Battery landed two tourists in jail.

The S.C. Secessionist Party was putting on its weekly display of Southern flags. A woman walking by broke two small Confederate flags off a parked truck and ran away with them, according to a Charleston police report. Party founder James Bessenger, 27, took off running after her.

A man stepped in front of Bessenger and kept grabbing him so he couldn't chase the young woman, according to the report. Police were called.

Police identified the woman who broke off the flags as Lydia Folckomer, 22, of Brooklyn, N.Y. She told officers she grabbed the flags because they upset her.

The man who grabbed Bessenger was identified as her father, Paul Folckomer, 50, of Brevard, N.C. He told officers he grabbed Bessenger to keep him from chasing his daughter.

The daughter was charged with malicious injury to real property. Her father was charged with simple assault. They spent the night in jail and were released on bail Sunday afternoon.
Posted by: Besoeker || 06/21/2016 03:42 || Comments || Link || [336125 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Made her feel like human rights activists from the 60es?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 06/21/2016 5:18 Comments || Top||

#2  Stories of their trip to Charleston they can share around the fire when they return home.
Posted by: Besoeker || 06/21/2016 8:29 Comments || Top||

#3  It's on! Social justice Koreshes
Raid South Carolina Seceshes
In drive-by deflagging.
But why? Knuckle-dragging
The US toward where Bangladesh is.
Posted by: Zenobia Floger6220 || 06/21/2016 11:12 Comments || Top||

#4  The father failed to teach his little girl that there are consequences for her actions. Now he will not only pay her court fees but his as well. Dumbass, one step away from a Darwin contender.
Posted by: 49 pan || 06/21/2016 12:22 Comments || Top||

#5  Or, be serious, 49 pan. A father saw a man chasing after his daughter and stopped him. Nobody is going to do nada to him.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 06/21/2016 12:52 Comments || Top||

#6  Due process Grom...
Out-of-town agitators (from NY!) messin with a local man's truck then gettin in a tussle with the owner during a flag ceremony?
This bears further inspection!
I'm sure there was some slanderous name calling (battery) during which the owner was intimidated as well as the 'simple assault' wherein the woman was an accessory (or lure if you will) before the act.

I'll bet they were jailed for their own protection. Everybody loves a night in the tank.
Posted by: Skidmark || 06/21/2016 14:46 Comments || Top||

#7  A father saw a man chasing after his daughter and stopped him. Nobody is going to do nada to him.

Probably right but at least he spent one night in the pokey. Feel good story of the day.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 06/21/2016 15:32 Comments || Top||

#8  Y'all come back, now. Hear?
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 06/21/2016 15:36 Comments || Top||

#9  Lucky they didn't get a heapin helping of hospitality, which next time means an extended stay at Roper-St.Francis,

hospital that is, ER, Surgery, Imaging,
/Sandy Catheter

Posted by: Shipman || 06/21/2016 21:56 Comments || Top||


Britain
How Brussels spends YOUR money as if it grows on trees
h/t Gates of Vienna
A strange atmosphere hangs over Brussels. On the one hand, there is Donald Tusk, President of the European Council (representing all 28 EU governments), warning of Armageddon if Britain votes to leave the European Union on Thursday.

As he told a German interviewer last week: 'I fear Brexit could be the beginning of the destruction of not only the EU but also Western political civilisation in its entirety.'

But you won't hear a squeak on the subject from most people in the vast glass-and-steel bureaucratic palaces across this city. As an EU fromage of great magnitude, Mr Tusk can get away with saying this sort of thing. Lesser Eurocrats are under strict orders to say nothing on the subject, for fear of adding any further heat to the issue. There has even been a ban on using the word 'Brexit' in official communications.

Given the whopping great perks and privileges bestowed on those who work for the European Union, no one is going to step out of line. In any case, most people here still cannot really believe that we pesky Brits really would have the temerity to abandon the Grand Project. But then, if you live in this hermetically sealed bubble -- a world of long lunches, long weekends and retail discounts worth 36 per cent -- your grasp of normality is somewhat distorted.

During a week here in the gilded capital of Europe, I have been amazed by the gulf between this place and the real world.

Just take the wage bill of the 47,000 people who work inside the bubble. Since 2010, it has been British policy to disclose the number of government officials earning more than our Prime Minister, who gets paid just shy of ÂŁ150,000. In Britain, the latest figure stands at 319.

And the equivalent number for the EU? According to documents leaked ahead of the last European elections two years ago, EU tax perks mean that at least 10,000 EU employees are taking home more than David Cameron.

Many are mere middle managers. Among the extra perks are the ÂŁ240 monthly allowance for stay-at-home spouses and the ÂŁ100-a-month allowance per child. On top of that, European taxpayers spend an estimated ÂŁ80 million each year in school fees for Eurocrats' children.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 06/21/2016 03:11 || Comments || Link || [336080 views] Top|| File under:

#1  There has even been a ban on using the word 'Brexit'

How do they feel about "sharia" or "radical Islam"?
Posted by: AlanC || 06/21/2016 8:28 Comments || Top||

#2  During a week here in the gilded capital of Europe, I have been amazed by the gulf between this place and the real world.

Just like Washington DC and the rest of the US. Say, you don't suppose there's a common theme here, do you?
Posted by: Raj || 06/21/2016 8:58 Comments || Top||

#3  ...like a vast bankruptcy in the consent of the governed. Nice rituals, but well rigged and fixed. And then there's the ultimate spasms of 'you do what you are told' that the ruling class enjoys playing.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 06/21/2016 9:10 Comments || Top||


Again, I ask you the question Mr. Cameron [video]
Posted by: Besoeker || 06/21/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336081 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Nothing I hadn't already known, but his delivery is sooo much better.....
Posted by: Spiper Phaviger7735 || 06/21/2016 14:00 Comments || Top||

#2  The situation is actually worse.

The Western political class is masochistic, not cowardly.

The coward fears and wants to avoid danger and injury.
This is at least a fundamentally rational approach.

The masochist craves and actively seeks injury and pain.
This is irrational, and it is also the consensus policy of Western nations.
Posted by: Elmerert Hupens2660 || 06/21/2016 17:55 Comments || Top||


Economy
Report: New evidence of rising 'Obamacare' premiums
h/t Gates of Vienna
Premiums for popular low-cost medical plans under the federal health care law are expected to go up an average of 11 percent next year, said a study that reinforced reports of sharp increases around the country in election season.

For consumers, the impact will depend on whether they get government subsidies for their premiums, as well as on their own willingness to switch plans to keep the increases more manageable, said the analysis released Wednesday by the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation.
Free staff is sure expensive
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 06/21/2016 03:07 || Comments || Link || [336086 views] Top|| File under:

#1  NEW evidence?
Like postcards and info-letters in my mailbox?
Posted by: Skidmark || 06/21/2016 14:47 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
Clinton Foundation Said to Be Breached by Russian Hackers
No need to worry. The information is protected by the strongest encryption known to man: Clinton Foundation accountability- and traceability-proof accounting subterfuge methodology. Of course, if they do manage to penetrate it, they'll have all kinds of dirt they can use to influence her politics. Yeah, let's elect her. What could possibly go wrong if I choose to remain ignorant about it?
Fair point: the Foundation security is so good that they have to restate their financials multiple times to the IRS -- even their own accountants can't get to the truth.
The Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation was among the organizations breached by suspected Russian hackers in a dragnet of the U.S. political apparatus ahead of the November election, according to three people familiar with the matter.

The attacks on the foundation's network, as well as those of the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, compound concerns about her digital security even as the FBI continues to investigate her use of a personal e-mail server while she was secretary of state.

A spokesman for the foundation, Brian Cookstra, said he wasn't aware of any breach. The compromise of the foundation's computers was first identified by government investigators as recently as last week, the people familiar with the matter said. Agents monitor servers used by hackers to communicate with their targets, giving them a back channel view of attacks, often even before the victims detect them.

Before the Democratic National Committee disclosed a major computer breach last week, U.S. officials informed both political parties and the presidential campaigns of Clinton, Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders that sophisticated hackers were attempting to penetrate their computers, according to a person familiar with the government investigation into the attacks.

The hackers in fact sought data from at least 4,000 individuals associated with U.S. politics -- party aides, advisers, lawyers and foundations -- for about seven months through mid-May, according to another person familiar with the investigations.

Thousands of Documents

The thefts set the stage for what could be a Washington remake of the public shaming that shook Sony in 2014, when thousands of inflammatory internal e-mails filled with gossip about world leaders and Hollywood stars were made public. Donor information and opposition research on Trump purportedly stolen from the Democratic Party has surfaced online, and the culprit has threatened to publish thousands more documents.

A hacker or group of hackers calling themselves Guccifer 2.0 posted another trove of documents purportedly from the DNC on Tuesday, including what they said was a list of donors who had made large contributions to the Clinton Foundation.

The Republican Party and the Trump campaign have been mostly silent on the computer attacks. In an earlier statement, Trump said the hack was a political ploy concocted by the Democrats.

Information about the scope of the attacks and the government warnings raises new questions about how long the campaigns have known about the threats and whether they have done enough to protect their systems.

The Clinton campaign was aware as early as April that it had been targeted by hackers with links to the Russian government on at least four recent occasions, according to a person familiar with the campaign's computer security.

U.S. Inquiries

The U.S. Secret Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation and National Security Agency are all involved in the investigation of the theft of data from the political parties and individuals over the last several months, one of the people familiar with the investigation said. The agencies have made no public statements about their inquiry.

The FBI has been careful to keep that investigation separate from the review of Clinton's use of private e-mail, using separate investigators, according to the person briefed on the matter. The agencies didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

Clinton spokesman Glen Caplin said that he couldn't comment on government briefings about cyber security and that the campaign had no evidence that its systems were compromised.

"We routinely communicate and cooperate with government agencies on security-related matters," he said. "What appears evident is that the Russian groups responsible for the DNC hack are intent on attempting to influence the outcome of this election."

The DNC wouldn't directly address the attacks but said in a written statement that it believes the leaks are "part of a disinformation campaign by the Russians."

Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks didn't respond to e-mails seeking comment about the government warnings. The Republican National Committee didn't respond to e-mail messages. A Sanders spokesman, Michael Briggs, said he wasn't aware of the warnings.

IDing the Hackers

The government's investigation is following a similar path as the DNC's, including trying to precisely identify the hackers and their possible motives, according to people familiar with the investigations. The hackers' link to the Russian government was first identified by CrowdStrike Inc., working for the Democratic Party.

A law firm reviewing the DNC's initial findings, Baker & McKenzie, has begun working with three additional security firms -- FireEye Inc., Palo Alto Networks Inc. and Fidelis Cybersecurity -- to confirm the link, according to two people familiar with the matter, underscoring Democrats' concerns that the stolen information could be used to try to influence the outcome of the November election.

A spokesman for Baker & McKenzie didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. DNC spokesman Luis Miranda said the party worked only with CrowdStrike.

If the Democrats can show the hidden hand of Russian intelligence agencies, they believe that voter outrage will probably outweigh any embarrassing revelations, a person familiar with the party's thinking said.

So far the released documents have revealed little that is new or explosive, but that could change. Guccifer 2.0 has threatened to eventually release thousands of internal memos and other documents.

Line of Attack

Sensitive documents from the Clinton Foundation could have the most damaging potential. The Trump camp has said it plans to make the foundation's activities a subject of attacks against Clinton; the sort of confidential data contained in e-mails, databases and other digital archives could aid that effort.

An analysis by Fidelis confirmed that groups linked to Russian intelligence agencies were behind the DNC hack, according to a published report.

The government fills a crucial gap in flagging attacks that organizations can't detect themselves, said Tony Lawrence, a former U.S. Army cyber specialist and now chief executive officer of VOR Technology, a computer security company in Hanover, Maryland.

"These state actors spend billions of dollars on exploits to gather information on candidates, and nine times out of ten [victims] won't be able to identify or attribute them," he said.

Google Accounts

Bloomberg News reported Friday that the hackers who hit the DNC and Clinton's campaign burrowed much further into the U.S. political system than initially thought, sweeping in law firms, lobbyists, consultants, foundations and policy groups in a campaign that targeted thousands of Google e-mail accounts and lasted from October through mid-May.

Data from the attacks have led some security researchers to conclude that the hackers were linked to Russian intelligence services and were broadly successful in stealing reports, policy papers, correspondence and other information. Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for President Vladimir Putin, denied that the Russian government was involved.

Russia uses sophisticated "information operations" to advance foreign policy, and the target audience for this kind of mission wouldn't be U.S. voters or even U.S. politicians, said Brendan Conlon, who once led a National Security Agency hacking unit.

"Why would Russia go to this trouble? Simple answer -- because it met their foreign policy objectives, to weaken the U.S. in the eyes of our allies and adversaries," said Conlon, now CEO of Vahna Inc., a cyber security firm in Washington. Publishing the DNC report on Trump "weakens both candidates -- lists out all the weaknesses of Trump specifically while highlighting weaknesses of Clinton's security issues. The end result is a weaker president once elected."

Russia Link

Russia has an expansive cyber force that it has deployed in complex disinformation campaigns throughout Europe, according to intelligence officials.

BfV, the German intelligence agency, has concluded that Russia was responsible for a 2015 hack against the Bundestag that forced shutdown of its computer systems for several days. Germany is under "permanent threat" from Russian hackers, said BfV chief Hans-Georeg Maassen.

Security software maker Trend Micro said in May that Russian hackers had been trying for several weeks to steal data from Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union party, and that they also tried to hack the Dutch Safety Board computer systems to obtain an advance copy of a report on the downing of a Malaysian aircraft over Ukraine in July 2014. The report said the plane was brought down by a Russian-made Buk surface-to-air missile.

The cyber attacks are part of a broader pattern of state-sponsored hacking by Russia focused on political targets, with a goal of giving Russia the upper hand in dealing with other governments, said Pasi Eronen, a Helsinki-based cyber warfare researcher who has advised Finland's Defense Ministry.
Posted by: gorb || 06/21/2016 16:09 || Comments || Link || [336117 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Damn. They got the ultimate weapon against the Republicans.

The Hillary nudes.

Those things are lethal.
Posted by: DarthVader || 06/21/2016 17:54 Comments || Top||

#2  https://guccifer2.wordpress.com/2016/06/21/hillary-clinton/

As an example here’re some files:

2016er Attacks – HRC Defense Master Doc [updated]

04.29.15 CGEP

2016 Democrats Positions Cheat Sheet 7-7-15

20150426 MEMO- Clinton Cash Unravels

Attacks on Clinton Family Members

Clinton Foundation Donors $25K+

Clinton Foundation Vulnerabilities Master Doc FINAL

Clintons PFD 2015

HRC Defense – Emails

HRC Travel – Private Jets FINAL

MEMO — Clinton Cash Claims (2)

You can download the archive with all files using any of the links:

http://www.megafileupload.com/70fa/HRC_pass..zip

http://www.mediafire.com/?79a6zy27q9ung

https://guccifer.sharefile.com/d-sbe49b6cdcf94f0a8

http://www.4shared.com/zip/jXY3MvE0ba/HRC_pass.html

http://www5.zippyshare.com/v/zj8PZAek/file.html

Don’t forget the pass: #GucCi2/0

Posted by: 3dc || 06/21/2016 21:40 Comments || Top||


Hollywood doubles down for the Hildebeest
[Wash Times] Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign is about to get another infusion of cash thanks to Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, Leonardo DiCaprio, and their activist allies within the entertainment industry.

Mr. Weinstein is hosting his second fundraiser for the presumptive Democrat presidential nominee Monday night in New York City. Academy Award winner Mr. DiCaprio, Jennifer Lopez, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Matthew Broderick will serve as co-hosts for the event.

The New York Post, which first teased details of the event June 16, said roughly 50 guests will be in attendance at Mr. Weinstein’s Manhattan home. Donations will benefit the Hillary Victory Fund.

Fashion designer Anna Wintour teamed up with Mr. Weinstein for his first fundraiser for Mrs. Clinton. Attendees at that event were granted a picture with the former secretary of state for a $2,700 donation, the Washington Free Beacon reported Monday.

Mr. Weinstein has also donated at least $250,000 to the Clinton Foundation.
Posted by: Besoeker || 06/21/2016 04:20 || Comments || Link || [336093 views] Top|| File under:

#1  All the beautiful people.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 06/21/2016 5:20 Comments || Top||

#2  Will somebody rid us of this yuletide carol?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 06/21/2016 6:27 Comments || Top||

#3  The power of heartfelt prayer.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 06/21/2016 6:44 Comments || Top||

#4  Sarah Jessica Parker

Why the long face, Sarah?
Posted by: Raj || 06/21/2016 8:54 Comments || Top||

#5  Think I'll contribute to this effort.

Oh, and Anna Wintour is a fashion editor , not designer.
Posted by: charger || 06/21/2016 11:49 Comments || Top||

#6  Judging strictly by the TV ads during the California primary, the money is not being used very wisely. The Beest kept running the same ad over and over and over. It featured Morgan Freeman's voice. His voice was soothing and there was soothing music in the background. But he used a whole lot of fancy words to say absolutely nothing. After a few days it was extremely annoying.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 06/21/2016 12:58 Comments || Top||


International-UN-NGOs
On International Yoga Day, Ban spotlights importance of healthy living in realizing Global Goals
[UN.ORG] United Nations
...boodling on the grand scale...
Secretary-General the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon today urged everyone to embrace healthier choices and lifestyles and to commit to unity with other human beings, regardless of ethnicity, faith, age, gender identity or sexual orientation.
So twist yourself into an improbable position and contemplate your belly button.
"Practicing yoga can also help raise awareness of our role as consumers of the planet's resources and as individuals with a duty to respect and live in peace with our neighbours," Mr. Ban said, marking the second International Day of Yoga, since the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution last year dedicating 21 June to the practice. "All these elements are essential to building a sustainable future of dignity and opportunity for all," he added.

Posted by: Fred || 06/21/2016 10:35 || Comments || Link || [336088 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Regretting that he cannot simultaneously operate a lighter...:

Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy || 06/21/2016 13:07 Comments || Top||

#2  How much does this guy get paid to come up with such drivel?
Posted by: Raj || 06/21/2016 14:58 Comments || Top||

#3  On International Yoga Day, Ban spotlights importance of healthy living in realizing Global Goals
Posted by: Skidmark || 06/21/2016 15:10 Comments || Top||


Olde Tyme Religion
'Jesus's wife' papyrus is likely a fake, Harvard professor now says
[Al Ahram] A Harvard professor who caused a huge splash when she unveiled a small fragment of papyrus that she said referred to Jesus being married now says it's likely a forgery.

Harvard Divinity School professor Karen King presented the piece of papyrus in Rome in 2012. The fragment, written in Coptic, includes the phrase, "Jesus said to them, My wife."

Right from the beginning, it sparked controversy and debate among scholars. Doubts about its authenticity were raised almost immediately.

King said it is more likely than not that the fragment is a modern forgery. She cited an investigative article published last week on the website of The Atlantic magazine that raised questions about the owner of papyrus, Florida businessman Walter Fritz. The Atlantic also was the first to report her concession that the papyrus is likely a fake.

"If you ask me today which direction am I leaning more toward -- ancient text or a modern forgery -- based on this new evidence, I'm leaning toward modern forgery," King told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named.

The Atlantic found inconsistencies in Fritz's story about how he came to acquire the papyrus and in a document he gave to King purporting to authenticate it.

"This evidence does make a difference in judging whether it was a forgery or not, and it pushes the evidence toward it being a forgery," King said.

A valid telephone number could not be found for Fritz. In an email sent to the AP on Monday, Fritz included a letter he sent to The Atlantic in which he denied forging, altering or manipulating the papyrus or its inscription.

Mark Goodacre, a professor of religious studies at Duke University, said doubts about the fragment were raised within hours of King showing the text at a conference in Rome.

"When you show something like that to people who spend their entire lives staring at these things, a lot of them could straightaway tell there was something fishy about it," Goodacre said.

He said he credits King with having "a lot of guts" to acknowledge that she was likely duped.

King said she has always maintained that the fragment wasn't evidence about whether Jesus was married.

"It's at most a part of the early Christian story about should Christians marry, and so on and so forth," she said.
Posted by: Fred || 06/21/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336117 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Incomplete translation. It actually reads: "Jesus said to them, 'take my wife, please'".
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 06/21/2016 7:24 Comments || Top||

#2  Wonder what the 'findings' will be when only the fiction section of libraries are unearth two thousand years from now.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 06/21/2016 9:05 Comments || Top||

#3  Its like when someone suggests a different possibilty for let's say ancient Egypt and the pros say "oh, but we have this inscription that says ......". Like the ancients never engaged in propaganda. And I'm not talking about aliens did it and similiar crap
Posted by: Cheaderhead || 06/21/2016 9:12 Comments || Top||

#4  Taxpayer money was involved. Clawback her salary. RICO Harvard. Treble damages.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 06/21/2016 9:21 Comments || Top||

#5  Archaeologists claim an enlargement
Of ancient Arabian parchment
Reveals ball and chain
Behind Allah, quite plain,
Concealed in a black sack-like garment.
Posted by: Zenobia Floger6220 || 06/21/2016 11:04 Comments || Top||

#6  A coy dealer of antiquities
A lay scholar, if you please
Came upon a papyrus
From the land of Osiris
To set sacred hearts to seize.

Why is it, he sadly asked
That poor Jesus was said to be tasked
To a life full of omen
Without a fine woman
In whose light he would have gladly basked?
Posted by: JHH || 06/21/2016 15:15 Comments || Top||

#7  LOL AreACee
Posted by: Shipman || 06/21/2016 16:00 Comments || Top||

#8  Well, if he had a wife to keep him from doing crazy things, he'd probably wouldn't have ended on a cross.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 06/21/2016 16:03 Comments || Top||

#9  Maybe the biggest clue that it was a forgery was thar it said "on June 21, 32 AD, Jesus said ..."
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 06/21/2016 16:07 Comments || Top||

#10  Some religious scholars believe he was married to Mary Magdeline. She was the only woman known to travel with him. They believe the story where he turned water into wine at the wedding where his mother was ordering the servants around was his wedding. I don't know, I wasn't invited.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 06/21/2016 19:36 Comments || Top||

#11  #1 LOL.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 06/21/2016 21:08 Comments || Top||

#12  Did Mary of Magdala clan have beacoup cavalry + warriors???

IMO iff Jesus as a "descendant/heir of David"
[Saul?] had political, ethnic, + familial right to claim the throne of Judea, by extension his relatives should have had some kind of potent military arm to back his claim up - ditto as per the Magdalene whose clan's own alleged claim to the throne of David helped justify or validate's Jesus'??? This was occurring at time when the so-called Zealots were gaining in numbers + influence which would decades later manifest itself in open armed rebellion agz Rome.

my two cents.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 06/21/2016 21:17 Comments || Top||


New Islamic Law: Father's Lust for His Daughter is Not A Sin If The Daughter is Over...
[ConservativePost] Explains a lot, no? Extra credit for correctly guessing the age before linking to the article!
Posted by: Blossom Unains5562 || 06/21/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336074 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Sadly, I guessed right.
Posted by: gorb || 06/21/2016 11:49 Comments || Top||

#2  yah. at least they're consistent
Posted by: Spiper Phaviger7735 || 06/21/2016 13:49 Comments || Top||

#3  Let's bring more of these people into the US!
Posted by: DarthVader || 06/21/2016 13:54 Comments || Top||

#4  don't wait til 10 or 12...by then she's a dried-up shrew
Posted by: Frank G || 06/21/2016 15:03 Comments || Top||


Science & Technology
Russian Mistral ready for sea trials
You can see her vitals here. Both ships are named after Order of Nakhimov 1st Class recipients from WWII. The Order of Nakhimov 1st Class is a Russian award for military leadership to be bestowed on naval officers. 79 were awarded the Order of Nakhimov 1st Class during WWII.

The Ivan Gren (Project 11711) large landing ship has arrived the port of Baltiysk for qualifications and training (landing operations, helicopters training etc) before it will join to the Russian Northern Fleet (till the end of 2016).

The ship is built in Yantar shipyard in Kaliningrad. The vessel have a displacement of 5,000 tons and is able to carry up to 13 main battle tanks or 36 armoured personnel carriers or 300 marines. The Ivan Gren-class ship also carries two military helicopters Kamov Ka-27, developed for ferrying and anti-submarine warfare. The Ivan Gren is armed by six 30mm radar-guided automatic guns.

It has modern cranes for loading equipment, which also can be loaded on the ship through the bow ramp.

Some media call the Ivan Gren-class vessel: ‘Russian Misral‘ because it has been developed to replace the two Mistral-class amphibious assault ships that had been built for Russia by France but wasn’t delivered because of “Russian involvement” into the crisis in Ukraine.

In 2015, another Project 11711 large landing ship, the Pyotr Morgunov, was laid down at the Kaliningrad-based Yantar shipyard. It’s planned to be transfered to the Russian Navy in 2018. The landing ship will be allegedly armed with a 76-mm naval gun, two 30-mm AK-630 anti aircraft mounts and multiple artillery rocket systems.
Posted by: badanov || 06/21/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336075 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Quite the climb down going from 21,000 tonne LHDs to 5,000 Tonne LSTs. Will the Russian LSTs need their own dedicated tug boats, like the aircraft carrier?
Posted by: Cravirt Flusong7056 || 06/21/2016 11:44 Comments || Top||

#2  IIRC, the Russian naval groups tend to be assigned ocean-going tugs, not individual ships.
Posted by: Pappy || 06/21/2016 13:19 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Culture Wars
Hollywood to premier story of Baptist Republican, anti-slaver in Mississippi
[Huffpoo] 'Free State of Jones' - Three quarters of a century ago, "Gone with the Wind," a film that mythologized an Old South of wealthy planters and obedient slaves, premiered in Atlanta amidst great fanfare and public interest.

This week, a very different sort of film about the South of the Civil War and Reconstruction era ‐ "Free State of Jones" -- will have its premiere, and as we commemorate the 150th anniversary of the War and Reconstruction and struggle through our own time of social and racial divisiveness, the public would do very well to take the film’s measure.

That is because "Free State of Jones," challenges our many misconceptions of the Civil War and Reconstruction and can promote a dialogue about what may have been possible more than a century ago ‐ and what is very much possible in our own day. "Free State of Jones" is based on a true story of interracial resistance to the Confederacy in Civil War Mississippi.

It is the story of how a white farmer from humble origins named Newton Knight came to see how the Confederacy favored the rich planters at the expense of men and women like himself and chose to organize a rebellion aimed at establishing a terrain of freedom, a "free state," in the county of Jones.
Posted by: Besoeker || 06/21/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336076 views] Top|| File under:



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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.

Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.

Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has dominated Mexico for six years.
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Two weeks of WOT
Tue 2016-06-21
  IS group launches counterattacks on US-backed forces and Syrian army
Mon 2016-06-20
  Syrian forces advance on IS-held Taqba air base
Sun 2016-06-19
  Iraqi army seizes hospital, jails as military ops continue in Fallujah
Sat 2016-06-18
  Reports: 'Fierce Clashes' between Hizbullah, Regime Forces in Aleppo
Fri 2016-06-17
  Seven killed in latest Kashmir fighting
Thu 2016-06-16
  British Labour Mp Jo Cox Dead: Fatally Stabbed And Gunned Down Outside Birstall Library
Wed 2016-06-15
  Bodies of 42 fishermen kidnapped by Boko Haram found in lake
Tue 2016-06-14
  Man ‘claiming IS allegiance’ kills cop, woman in Paris
Mon 2016-06-13
  Orlando Terrorist Worked For Firm with DHS Contracts
Sun 2016-06-12
  Approx 20 50 dead inside Florida gay nightclub after mass shooting - possible Islamic connection
Sat 2016-06-11
  Libya unity forces bombard ISIS in bastion Sirte
Fri 2016-06-10
  Rumour: Iraqi news site indicates IS supremo may have been hit by coalition force strike
Thu 2016-06-09
  Daesh blows up ancient monuments in Iraq
Wed 2016-06-08
  Five dead, eleven maimed in Karbala kaboom
Tue 2016-06-07
  US-backed Syria force closes in on Manbij

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