Devin Nunes Drops Bomb – DOJ and Rosenstein Used Unverified Hillary Oppo Research in “Scope Memo” to Launch Witch Hunt

Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) joined Maria Bartiromo on Sunday Morning Futures this morning.

Rep. Nunes said his committee can refer people to the Department of Justice for prosecution and for this to be investigated.

Rep. Nunes also believes there is now proof the DOJ used Hillary Clinton’s opposition research from the unconfirmed and ridiculous Steele Dossier in their “scope memo” for Robert Mueller and his witch hunt of 13 angry Democrats.

Rep. Nunes: We will continue to compile information. We will continue to conduct interviews and we will continue to be transparent with the American people on this… We have no idea what’s in there. I believe it’s very possible they used uncorroborated information that came from the Clinton Campaign and that could be in there in part of what they told the Special Counsel to do which would be a major, major problem.

Maria Bartiromo: Major problem being against the law.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/01/boom-devin-nunes-drops-bomb-on-mueller-used-hillary-oppo-research-to-launch-witch-hunt/

US Army Major Slams Syria's Sunken Cost Fallacy: American Deaths Are Not A Reason To Stay

I’m just old enough to remember a time – before 9/11 – when the death of a US soldier in combat was an exceptionally rare thing. Indeed, its hard not to look back fondly on those days of relative peace. Since then, nearly 7000 Americans – and perhaps half a million local civilians – have been killed in the wars for the Greater Middle East. Most of our fallen troopers, and all of the indigenous victims, are essentially nameless, faceless, forgotten. Sure, Americans “thank” their veterans, and display diligent adulation rituals at weekly sporting events, but most military casualties receive only a passing reference on the nightly news. War is the new normal after all, a standard fact of modern American life that’s far less interesting – and less lucrative – than reporting on the latest soap-opera-drama in the White House.

That’s why the detailed media attention on the latest bombing in Syria, which killed four Americans, is so notable. And strange. So why the sudden interest in individual troop deaths after 17+ years of aimless war? The answer, as is so often the case these days, is simple: Donald Trump. Last week’s fatal attack, and another attempted bombing this Monday, happened to occur on the heels of the president’s controversial announcement of a total troop withdrawal from Syria. Make no mistake: that’s the only reason these tragic deaths happen to matter to the mainstream media outlets and a slew of suddenly interested congressmen.

Before the families of the fallen were even notified, and prior to the release of the service-members’ names, a cacophony of voices flooded the big three TV news outlets to express concern and shamelessly use these deaths to attack the president. Their argument: ISIS attack us so now we have to stay put in Syria. Hawkish legislators – Dems and Republicans alike – claimed to know exactlywhat the latest attacks portend. Their conclusion, which is always their conclusion, was simple: more war, perpetual military intervention. It seems nearly every Beltway insider, media talking head, semi-retired general, and hawkish congressman immediately came to the same conclusion – that ISIS isn’t defeated and only prolonged U.S. military occupation can get the job done.

That analysis may seem ordinary in the perpetual American warfare state of 2019, but take a step back and it’s really a rather remarkable conclusion. Indeed, one might think that sacrificing four more of our over-adulated-troopers would instead add urgency to Mr. Trump’s announced exit and serve as proof positive that these endless wars aren’t worth the cost in blood and treasure. In a sane country, the latest attacks might even generate a soul-searching debate about broader military interventionism in a troubled region. No such luck. In our increasingly Orwellian moment, any event in the Mideast has the same solution: more troops for ever more time.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-01-27/us-army-major-slams-syrias-sunken-cost-fallacy-american-deaths-are-not-reason-stay

Ex-Starbucks CEO and Trump-Bashing Liberal Howard Schultz to Run for President as Independent in Spoiler for Democrats

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/01/good-news-ex-starbucks-ceo-and-trump-bashing-liberal-howard-schultz-to-run-for-president-as-independent-in-spoiler-for-democrats/

The Mother Of All Government Data Breaches Is Happening Right Now

It’s been more than a month since the federal government shut down.

We all know the familiar story of the 800,000+ workers, and the millions of contractors, who are not receiving paychecks.

(Plus there are millions of other workers and small businesses in the private sector whose incomes depend at least partially on the government– and they’re all suffering as well.)

But now the shutdown is starting to affect cybersecurity.

Because it turns out that there are now at least 200 federal websites whose SSL certificates have expired ever since government employees were furloughed.

If you’re not familiar, SSL (and its updated version TLS) are standard encryption technologies that ensure information passed between Internet users and the websites they visit is secure.

Without SSL and TLS, your data (including credit card or other personal information) could easily be intercepted by hackers.

And nearly every website you visit now, from Google to our own SovereignMan.com, uses this encryption.

Each site has to have a “certificate”, which is really just a digital file that forms part of the encryption key. These certificates expire from time to time and must be renewed… ideally by competent professionals who know what they’re doing.

Like I said before, there are now at least 200 US government websites whose SSL certificates have expired.

But most agencies no longer have competent professionals on hand to update the certificates.

Instead, the IT guys are sitting at home waiting for the shutdown to end.

Remember that when the government shut down, federal employees were grouped into two categories: ESSENTIAL and NON-ESSENTIAL.

The non-essential employees were sent home and told to wait it out, with a warning that it’s actually against the law for them to even log in to their work emails.

The essential employees, meanwhile, are inexplicably forced to keep working for no pay– which is something that was supposedly outlawed in the Land of the Free back in 1863.

About HALF of all federal employees, it turns out, are non-essential, with more than 380,000 waiting at home for the shutdown to end.

And depending on the agency, the numbers are even more pronounced.

Cybersecurity seems especially hard-hit: the National Protection and Programs Directorate, which the US Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT), has lost more than 80% of its workforce since the furlough began.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-01-26/mother-all-government-data-breaches-happening-right-now

>>4929583

We should it's getting long

Left-wing Rep. Ilhan Omar faces new backlash over effort to gain leniency for 9 men accused of trying to join ISIS

'The best deterrent to fanaticism is a system of compassion.'

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) is facing new scrutiny after it was revealed she once attempted to win leniency for a group of Minnesota men accused of trying to join the Islamic State.

What are the details?

In 2016, Omar wrote to Judge Michael Davis on behalf of Abdirahman Yasin Daud, who was one of two young men arrested in San Diego in 2015, but were members of a larger group attempting to join ISIS, according to KMSP-TV. The group consisted of nine Somali-Americans.

Specifically, Daud was arrested for attempting to purchase fake passports for travel to Syria. Federal prosecutors recommended in 2016 that Daud serve 30 years in federal prison with a lifetime of supervised release.

At the time, Omar — who was only a Minnesota state lawmaker — urged Davis to exercise "compassion" on the men, employing a "restorative approach to justice." She emphasized that the ruling would "set a precedent and has the potential to be a landmark case in addressing extremism."

Omar wrote in a letter to Davis:

The best deterrent to fanaticism is a system of compassion. We must alter our attitude and approach; if we truly want to affect change, we should refocus our efforts on inclusion and rehabilitation. A long-term prison sentence for one who chose violence to combat direct marginalization is a statement that our justice system misunderstands the guilty.

In all, 13 letters pleading leniency were sent to Davis. Meanwhile, the defense argued for light sentences because the "immigrant men were caught between two worlds — the United States and pride in their Somali heritage," according to KMSP.

"The defense argued the young men were lured by propaganda on the internet that suggested that a 'true Muslim' should be in Syria saving other Muslims who are being killed and trying to restore the Caliphate," KMSP reported.

What happened with Daud?

In the end, Omar's plea did not persuade Davis, who sentenced Daud to 30 years in federal prison. He was found guilty on charges of "conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and conspiracy to commit murder outside the U.S.," according to the Chicago Tribune.

"I'm certainly not being persecuted for my faith. I was certainly not entrapped. I was not going there to pass out medical kits or food. I was going strictly to fight and kill on behalf of the Islamic State," Daud said at his sentencing.

https://www.theblaze.com/news/ilhan-omar-leniency-men-isis

Trump Finds An Unlikely And Powerful Ally In George Soros As US’s Tariff War Against China Heats Up

President Donald Trump has found a new, unlikely ally in his battle against China: billionaire George Soros, a liberal financier who conservatives often criticize as antagonistic to traditional values.

Soros offered a lengthy and robust criticism of the communist country during a private dinner Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The notoriously anti-Trump philanthropist even took the U.S. president to task for not doubling down on his battles against China.

“China isn’t the only authoritarian regime in the world, but it’s undoubtedly the wealthiest, strongest and most developed in machine learning and artificial intelligence,” Soros said. “This makes [Chinese President] Xi Jinping the most dangerous opponent of those who believe in the concept of open society.”

Chinese spokeswoman Hua Chunying pushed back against the 88-year-old Hungarian, telling reporters that Soros’ remarks were “meaningless and not worth refuting.” She also urged the liberal billionaire to “correct his attitude” and adopt a “rational and correct opinion of China’s development.”

Soros blasted China’s global trade infrastructure project, Belt and Road, as well as Beijing’s push for artificial intelligence, as well as what he considers China’s unfair trade practices. Some observers believe the Belt and Road is a scheme to push for Chinese dominance in global affairs.

Soros’ philanthropic group Open Society Foundation is often criticized for pushing a philosophy that conservatives find loathsome. Conservatives believe the foundation pushes policies designed to subvert U.S. institutions. Soros’ position on China appears to dovetail nicely with Trump’s while at the same time speaks to his concerns about threats to a purely open society.

The wealth progressive also chastised Trump for going easy on China.

https://dailycaller.com/2019/01/26/trump-china-trade/

‘Like a Christmas wreath on a serial killer’s house’: Lee Camp blasts US reps’ support for NATO

NATO will celebrate its 70th birthday in April, but the vast majority of US lawmakers have already sent it a giant ‘love letter’ and have promised gifts. Lee Camp tears into the recently-passed NATO Support Act.

In the latest episode of Redacted Tonight, Camp took a shot at the US congressmen who overwhelmingly voted to pass the NATO Support Act. The military bloc marks its 70th anniversary this year, and both Democratic and Republican lawmakers have pledged their continued support for the alliance and “robust” funding.

All the praise and birthday wishes aside, NATO boils down to being “an aggressive arm” of a “belligerent and bloated” Pentagon, Camp says, noting that the organization has carried out bombing campaigns all over the world.

“Organized mass murder is not ‘better’ or ‘nicer’ when it has a NATO banner next to it. That’s just a Christmas wreath on a serial murderer’s house. It’s just there to make you think everything is fine but it’s not.”

The organization is often praised for fostering “better cooperation with the world.” Or, in Lee’s words, it’s “like saying that the only way you can befriend your neighbors is to join forces in murdering other people.”

Later in the show, Lee’s team explores NewsGuard, a browser app designed to help sort out ‘fake news’. It assigns each media a color-coded ‘nutrition label’, with red for fake and yellow for biased. The catch? NewsGuard’s Advisory Board is packed with (you guessed it) former US officials, ranging from White House staffers all the way to the ex-head of the Department of Homeland Security.

https://www.rt.com/news/449843-lee-camp-nato-act/