Congress moves towards arming Syrian rebels

“President Barack Obama’s plan to provide vetted Syrian rebels with weapons and strategic military aid has gained traction in Congress, US lawmakers said Tuesday. The United States is currently providing humanitarian and non-lethal military aid to rebel groups battling the regime of strongman Bashar al-Assad. Obama’s administration promised an expansion of military aid to Syria’s rebel forces in June after accusing the regime of using chemical weapons, but such aid has yet to be disbursed. Lawmakers have been split on the proposal, but on Monday House Intelligence Committee chairman Mike Rogers said a ‘consensus’ had been reached.” Continue reading

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Feinstein, Chambliss object to proposal to defund NSA mass phone surveillance

“The heads of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday voiced their opposition to a proposal that would defund some of the National Security Agency’s domestic surveillance programs. ‘The FISA business records program has contributed to disrupting numerous terrorist attacks against our nation. It has been reviewed and authorized by all three branches of government and is subject to strict controls,’ Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Vice Chairman Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) said in a joint statement.” Continue reading

Continue Reading Feinstein, Chambliss object to proposal to defund NSA mass phone surveillance

Experiment finds D.C. residents are the least honest Americans

“George Washington famously said he could not tell a lie, but people in the city that bears his name don’t seem to feel so conflicted. One in five in the US capital failed to drop a suggested $1 in an honor box when they helped themselves to tea at unmanned kiosks set up by Honest Tea, a beverage company. In a statement, Honest Tea said it set up 61 such kiosks around the country, including at least one in every state plus the District of Columbia, over 11 days in July. The most honest folks were in Alabama and Hawaii, where everyone paid without exception, followed by Indiana and Maine with a 99 percent honesty score.” Continue reading

Continue Reading Experiment finds D.C. residents are the least honest Americans

UN group warns of ‘significant’ cybersecurity vulnerabilities in mobile phone technology

“A United Nations group that advises nations on cybersecurity plans to send out an alert about significant vulnerabilities in mobile phone technology that could potentially enable hackers to remotely attack at least half a billion phones. The bug, discovered by German firm, allows hackers to remotely gain control of and also clone certain mobile SIM cards. Hackers could use compromised SIMs to commit financial crimes or engage in electronic espionage, according to Berlin’s Security Research Labs, which will describe the vulnerabilities at the Black Hat hacking conference that opens in Las Vegas on July 31.” Continue reading

Continue Reading UN group warns of ‘significant’ cybersecurity vulnerabilities in mobile phone technology

Dzhokar Tsarnaev’s Throat Wound: Another Government Lie Bites the Dust

“In May, the story changed. It was said Tsarnaev didn’t have a bullet wound in his throat, but was cut. CNN later edited out the comment about the throat wound made by police. Now we have a photo of Tsarnaev allegedly surrendering. It was taken by a Massachusetts State Police photographer. Note the absence of a throat wound in the photo. Finally, according to a former wrestling teammate interviewed by the Boston Globe, the man [pleading not guilty] in court ‘didn’t look like’ Tsarnaev. Moreover, the man brought into court had a thick accent and Tsarnaev does not.” Continue reading

Continue Reading Dzhokar Tsarnaev’s Throat Wound: Another Government Lie Bites the Dust

Tax watchdog: IRS travel costs are ‘excessive’

“A handful of Internal Revenue Service officials spent most of their time traveling for work in 2011 and 2012 and amassed thousands of dollars in seemingly excessive costs for transportation, hotels and meals, the tax-collecting agency’s watchdog said in a report on Tuesday. 12 IRS officials claimed more than $60,000 a year in travel expenses for fiscal year 2011 and nine executives surpassed that figure in 2012, mostly in travel to Washington, said the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), the IRS watchdog. Some executives traveled for more than 80 percent of their working days in the past two years, the report said.” Continue reading

Continue Reading Tax watchdog: IRS travel costs are ‘excessive’

Federal Government Consummates Theft of “Camp Zoe” in Missouri

“Rush Limbaugh’s net worth is estimated to be in excess of $400 million, and his annual income more $30 million. He owns several homes and a number of private aircraft. He was certainly a ripe target for prosecution and ‘asset forfeiture’ – or he would have been, had he been a commoner like Jimmy Tebeau, rather than the politically connected grandson of retired federal Judge Rush Hudson Limbaugh Sr., whose name is affixed to the courthouse where the entertainer’s cousin consummated the theft of Tebeau’s business and property.” Continue reading

Continue Reading Federal Government Consummates Theft of “Camp Zoe” in Missouri

Atheist anti-war immigrant to be awarded US citizenship following public outcry

“A woman who was nearly denied U.S. citizenship over her lack of church membership will soon be naturalized thanks to a public outcry. The immigration office in Houston had informed Margaret Doughty, 64, that she would need to provide proof of membership in a church if she wished to gain conscientious objector status. Doughty, an atheist, had provided the immigration office with a secular rather than religious explanation for why she objected to war. In response, groups sent letters to the immigration office demanding Doughty be granted conscientious objector status. The office withdrew the request on Thursday and approved her application.” Continue reading

Continue Reading Atheist anti-war immigrant to be awarded US citizenship following public outcry