From one idiot to another stop whining you'll be ok
Who are the real state sponsors of terrorism?
On 30 December 2009, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sent a cable (subsequently released to the public by wikileaks) to America's Ambassadors in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Kuwait, and Pakistan, headlined, "Terrorist Finance: Action Request for Senior Level Engagement on Terrorism Finance."
She told those Ambassadors to make clear to the given nation's aristocrats that, under the new US President, Barack Obama, there would no longer be any allowance for continuation of their donations to Al Qaeda and other jihadist groups that attack the United States.
It opened, "This is an action request cable," meaning that the operations of the local US Embassy in the given nation would be monitored for compliance with the Secretary of State's "request."
Although the named concern was "groups threatening stability in Afghanistan and Pakistan," the US Secretary of State was actually telling her agents (the Ambassadors) to warn the local aristocracy to stop funding the groups that pose a terrorist threat to the United States as well.
She was listing the actual countries that are State Sponsors of Terrorism and threaten the people of the United States and of other countries.
These confidentially listed State Sponsors of Terrorism were being listed as of 2009, which was 8 years after 9/11; and so, after eight years of George W, Bush's being in the US White House, these were the nations that still were leading the world in the financing of the Sunni fundamentalist group Al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations, which were doing such attacks.
https://www.sott.net/article/403176-Who-are-the-real-state-sponsors-of-terrorism
Dark Web Credit Card Cloners Steal Thousands from Behind Bars
In a sting multi-agency operation headed by the Federal Burial of Investigation, a prolific credit card scammer who had siphoned thousands of dollars cash was uncovered. The scammer is reported to have perpetrated his heinous acts while he was behind bars. According to the Fed reports, the suspect is now serving a much lengthier sentence on top of what he was already serving.
According to the documents handed over by the investigators, from 2014 up to 2016, the suspect, together with his conspirators, bought many credit card numbers from renowned Russian Hackers. They also acquired Fullz from Pakistani and Ukraine hackers on a regular basis. The suspect is also reported to be working closely with a restaurant attendant from Syracuse, who forwarded skimmed bank account numbers from customers.
https://www.deepdotweb.com/2018/12/18/dark-web-credit-card-cloners-steal-thousands-from-behind-bars/
Ex-Goldman Sachs banker charged over 1MDB fraud
KUALA LUMPUR: Former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng was charged today with abetting the US-based investment bank to omit information in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) sale of notes worth of RM6.5 billion in bonds.
Ng, clad in a blue shirt was calm when he was brought into the Sessions Court by several policemen and led to the dock.
The 46-year-old banker nodded in understanding when the charges were read to him before Judge Datuk Ahmad Kamal Arifin Ismail.
Ng was charged with one count of omitting statements in a 1MDB private placement memorandum, and two counts omitting statements in offering circulars between May 2012 and March 2013.
Among the information omitted was that Low Taek Jho or Jho Low was the operator and key intermediary for 1MDB, which was the parent company of 1MDB Energy Limited.
Ng faced a fourth charge of making false statements of material fact in the offering circular on March 16, 2013.
He allegedly committed the four offences at 1MDB, Level 8, Menara IMC, No. 8, Jalan Sultan Ismail here between March 19, 2012 and Nov 11, 2013.
The offences fall under Section 370(c) of the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007 read together with subsection 179(c) of the Act, punishable under Section 182 of the same Act.
Deputy public prosecutor Manoj Kurup suggested RM1 million bail with two sureties for all charges.
However, counsel Datuk Tan Hock Chuan pleaded for minimum bail of RM600,000 for all the charges.
The court set RM1 million bail with two sureties and asked the accused to surrender his passport to the court.
Ahmad Kamal fixed March 18 for mention.
https://www.nst.com.my/news/crime-courts/2018/12/442161/ex-goldman-sachs-banker-charged-over-1mdb-fraud
Shout, shout
Let it all out
These are the things I can do without
Come on I'm talking to you
Come on
In violent times
You shouldn't have to sell your soul
In black and white
They really-really ought to know
Tears For Fears - Shout (Official Video)
Closer Everyday
Vulcan plans to test AI security system on Seattle plaza, capable of scanning passersby for threats
A technology company working with Vulcan Inc. is seeking to install and test an AI-powered scanning system outside the company’s Seattle headquarters building, capable of sensing whether people walking by are concealing weapons or devices from a distance of up to 80 feet.
According to a document filed with the Federal Communications Commission, the scanner would be located at the entrance to Vulcan’s HQ at 505 5th Avenue South, in a position that would allow it to scan people walking through the plaza above the International District light rail station in Seattle.
Vulcan is the holding company for many of the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s ventures. The FCC document notes that Vulcan is interested in whether the scanner could be used to protect schools, and that Vulcan is considering investing in the scanner’s manufacturer, a British company called Radio Physics Solutions (RPS). RPS filed the FCC application.
https://www.geekwire.com/2018/vulcan-plans-test-ai-security-system-seattle-plaza-capable-scanning-passerby-threats/
Don't Panic! Lighten Up!
How the cookies crumble: Gingerbread men banned at Scottish Parliament in drive to 'stamp out sexism'
Gingerbread men have been replaced by gingerbread persons in the Scottish Parliament's coffee shop in case the traditional name causes offence.
The move comes as a strategy aimed at stamping out sexual harassment and sexism was introduced at Holyrood this week after a survey found 30 per cent of women working there believed they had been sexually harassed.
But the decision to rename the sweet treat has not gone down well with everyone.
Scottish Conservative equalities spokesman Annie Wells said: 'Surely the Scottish Parliament has got better things to do than worry about what to call gingerbread men? This is an utterly pointless gesture which simply trivialises the real issues of gender equality.'
A Scottish Parliament spokesman would not comment except to say: 'They [the gingerbread persons] were delicious and sold out.'
Chinese hackers reportedly stole secret US Navy data
Hackers of Chinese origin have stolen data from US Navy contractors whose content includes highly confidential information on advanced military technologies.
In June this year, it was reported that Chinese hackers stole 614 gigabytes of US Navy’s anti-ship missile data. Now, authorities in the United States have once again accused Chinese hackers of stealing secret data belonging to the country’s Navy.
The cyber attack according to The Wall Street Journal’s report, has forced US authorities to examine the vulnerabilities in its cyberinfrastructure that allowed hackers to steal such a massive trove of sensitive data.
https://www.hackread.com/chinese-hackers-stole-secret-us-navy-data/
How Britain stole $45 trillion from India
And lied about it.
There is a story that is commonly told in Britain that the colonisation of India - as horrible as it may have been - was not of any major economic benefit to Britain itself. If anything, the administration of India was a cost to Britain. So the fact that the empire was sustained for so long - the story goes - was a gesture of Britain's benevolence.
New research by the renowned economist Utsa Patnaik - just published by Columbia University Press - deals a crushing blow to this narrative. Drawing on nearly two centuries of detailed data on tax and trade, Patnaik calculated that Britain drained a total of nearly $45 trillion from India during the period 1765 to 1938.
It's a staggering sum. For perspective, $45 trillion is 17 times more than the total annual gross domestic product of the United Kingdom today.
https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/britain-stole-45-trillion-india-181206124830851.html
Four AntiFa Thugs Unmasked and Charged in Brutal Assault on Elderly Man
An elderly man was hospitalized after four alleged members of the so-called “antifascist” terror cell known as AntiFa have been arrested, and are now facing charges for a brutal beating of 65-year-old Jimmy Marr.
The alleged members of “Antifa,” or “Antifaschiste Aktion,” have a history of violent attacks across the United States of America, being the useful idiots of perpetrating a globalist agenda.
The attacks took place in Corvallis, Oregon, with the Corvallis Police Department later apprehending the suspects and taking them into custody.
AntiFa members are known for their use of tactics that reflect brutal, totalitarian regime. Often, they're purveyors of violent assaults as a means of silencing anyone and everyone they disagree with.
https://thegoldwater.com/news/43733-Four-AntiFa-Thugs-Unmasked-and-Charged-in-Brutal-Assault-on-Elderly-Man
Facebook, Google settle Washington state lawsuits over political ad disclosures for combined $455K
Facebook and Google have settled dual lawsuits with the Washington attorney general over alleged violations of the state’s political advertisement disclosure laws Tuesday, court documents revealed.
Each company agreed to pay $200,000 each plus attorney fees. The combined settlement amounted to $455,500. Neither Google nor Facebook admits violating state laws as part of the settlement.
Google says that it was in compliance with Washington laws until June, when the state filed its lawsuit. At that time Google says “the state introduced new requirements under its campaign disclosure law.”
“At that point, we paused accepting election advertising in Washington because our systems weren’t built to comply with these new requirements,” a Google spokesperson said. “We’ve rolled out several features this year to ensure transparency in U.S. federal elections and we are looking at ways to bring these tools to the state level as well.”
https://www.geekwire.com/2018/facebook-google-settle-washington-state-lawsuits-political-ad-disclosures-combined-455k/
Bringing Advanced Microelectronics to Revolutionary Defense Applications
Today’s critical Department of Defense (DOD) systems and platforms rely on advanced electronics to address national security objectives. To help tackle obstacles facing a half-century of electronics advancement, DARPA launched the Electronics Resurgence Initiative (ERI) – a five-year, upwards of $1.5 billion investment in the future of domestic electronic systems. In November, DARPA expanded ERI with the announcement of ERI Phase II, which seeks to further enmesh the technology needs and capabilities of the defense enterprise with the commercial and manufacturing realities of the electronics industry.
https://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2018-12-10
Hong Kong Customs seize US$2.6 million worth of smartphones and watches from mainland China-bound truck
Smartphones and watches worth a total of HK$20 million (US$2.6 million) were found hidden in a Shenzhen-bound container truck at an immigration border checkpoint, Hong Kong Customs said on Tuesday.
It followed the seizure of HK$30 million worth of high-end products such as bird’s nests and camera lens at the same checkpoint at Lok Ma Chau in October. The earlier one was the biggest seizure of cross-border land contraband in the past three years.
https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/2178579/hong-kong-customs-seize-us26-million-worth-smartphones
US$168 million cocaine haul sparks fears South Korea becoming drug smugglers’ gateway to China, rest of Asia
South Korean customs officials have warned that they will not tolerate the country being used by drug smugglers as a gateway to mainland China and the rest of Asia.
The announcement follows Monday’s seizure of 64 kilograms of cocaine, worth an estimated US$168 million, in the southern port city of Busan.
Smugglers hoping to thwart X-ray scanners had hidden the drugs, tucked neatly into plastic parcels, inside a container full of copper metal scraps.
South Korea will never tolerate becoming a drug distribution route
Yang Seung-kwon, customs official
“The shipment was caught en route to China after our officials received a tip from Mexican authorities,” the Korea Customs Service said in a statement, adding that the cocaine was not intended for distribution in South Korea and had been bound for Tianjin.
South Korea’s international image as a “drug-free country” has led to it being targeted by smugglers, according to one official who did not want to be named.
https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/2178570/us168-million-cocaine-haul-sparks-fears-south-korea-becoming
Don't want to rain on your parade but that needs to be seriously checked and double checked,
Howe says in her talk that, in August 2017, four AI robots killed 29 scientists at a lab in Japan. While many are using this claim to argue about the dangers of artificial intelligence, others don’t think this story is true. Well, Howe’s points may be valid, but the incident in Japan she refers to is not verifiable.
https://www.earnthenecklace.com/fact-check-29-scientists-killed-by-ai-robots-in-japan/