False Sense Of Security

Air Force officer charged with rape and child molestation

"A U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel faces court-martial after being charged with assault, rape and lewd acts against a child for a series of alleged abuses over a six-year period in two states. Prosecutors said Kabban’s attacks against the victim, a girl younger than 12 years old, allegedly occurred between August 2005 and November 2011 in Virginia and Ohio. In May, Lt. Col. Jeff Krusinski, who led the USAF’s Sexual Assault Prevention office, was arrested for allegedly attacking a woman in a parking lot. A sexual assault 'prevention and response' brochure was later revealed to advise victims, 'It may be advisable to submit.'" Continue reading →

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Obama’s crackdown views leaks as aiding enemies of U.S.

"President Barack Obama’s unprecedented initiative, known as the Insider Threat Program, is sweeping in its reach. It has received scant public attention even though it extends beyond the U.S. national security bureaucracies to most federal departments and agencies nationwide, including the Peace Corps, the Social Security Administration and the Education and Agriculture departments. It emphasizes leaks of classified material, but catchall definitions of 'insider threat' give agencies latitude to pursue and penalize a range of other conduct." Continue reading →

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Glenn Greenwald: Snowden’s revelations ‘not espionage in any real sense of the word’

'I think it’s very surprising to accuse someone of espionage who hasn’t worked for a foreign government, who didn’t covertly pass information to an adversary [or] enemy of the United States, who didn’t sell any top secret information,' Greenwald told Hayes, arguing that Snowden 'asked newspapers to very carefully vet the information to make sure that the only thing being published are things that informed his fellow citizens but doesn’t harm national security.' 'This is a 1917 statute enacted under Woodrow Wilson to criminalize opposition to World War I. It has been used very, very sparingly throughout American history until the Obama administration.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGlenn Greenwald: Snowden’s revelations ‘not espionage in any real sense of the word’

What Cop T-Shirts Tell Us About Police Culture

"The Village Voice reports that the quote was also printed on t-shirts worn by NYPD's infamous Street Crimes Unit, which was disbanded after shooting unarmed immigrant Amadou Diallo 41 times in 1999 as Diallo reached for his wallet. The Voice also reports that at least two NYPD police commissioners have used the phrase 'hunter of men' to describe police work -- Bernard Kerik and Howard Safir. There have been a number of other incidents over the years in which cops have donned t-shirts that reflect a mentality someone less lofty than 'protect and serve.'" Continue reading →

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7-Year-Old Aiyana Stanley’s Home-Invasion Murderer Walks Free, Since He’s A Cop

"Joseph Weekly, who shot 7-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones in the head during a home invasion on May 17, 2010, is free after a jury deadlocked. Nobody disputes that Weekly was the killer, or that Aiyana was an entirely innocent victim. Weekly was exonerated by virtue of the fact that his home invasion crew bore the insignia of the criminal syndicate that claims a monopoly on the legitimate use of force within Detroit. The Detroit Police Department’s Special Reaction Team (SRT) staged a midnight raid on the home where Aiyana was sleeping. This was done entirely for the benefit of a camera crew from a cable 'Reality TV' show called 'The First 48.'" Continue reading →

Continue Reading7-Year-Old Aiyana Stanley’s Home-Invasion Murderer Walks Free, Since He’s A Cop

FBI knew earlier of Boston bombing suspect Tsarnaev

"Deceased Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev came to the attention of the FBI on at least two occasions prior to a Russian government warning in March 2011 that said he appeared to be radicalizing, FBI Director Robert Mueller said in Congressional testimony this week. The earlier references have led some lawmakers to question whether the FBI acted too quickly in closing an assessment of Tsarnaev's potential ties to terrorism done in response to the Russian request." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFBI knew earlier of Boston bombing suspect Tsarnaev

Ron Paul: NSA head ‘fudged the figures’

"The Texas Republican was referencing the House Intelligence Committee hearing Tuesday where National Security Agency Director Keith Alexander said communication surveillance programs have thwarted more than 50 'potential terrorist events'. Paul also wasn’t amused by the NSA trying to pass the intrusions off as an attempt to save Americans and the American way of life. 'It’s sort of like the old story about you have to burn the village to save the village. They want to burn the Constitution to save the Constitution,' he said. 'And even today, [James] Cole, the Deputy Attorney General says, the Fourth Amendment doesn’t apply to this.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRon Paul: NSA head ‘fudged the figures’

Tired German bank employee naps on keyboard, transfers $293 million

"An obviously tired German bank employee fell asleep on his keyboard and accidentally transformed a minor transfer into a 222 million euro ($293 million) order, a court heard. The Hessen labour court heard that the man was supposed to transfer just 62.40 euros from a bank account belonging to a retiree, but instead 'fell asleep for an instant, while pushing onto the number 2 key on the keyboard' — making it a huge 222,222,222.22 euro order. The bank discovered the mistake shortly afterwards and corrected the error. The case was taken to court by the man’s 48-year-old colleague who was fired for letting the mistake slip through when verifying the order." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTired German bank employee naps on keyboard, transfers $293 million

U.S. charges eight hackers over alleged cyber theft of at least $15 million

"Federal prosecutors in New Jersey on Wednesday unveiled criminal charges against eight people accused of trying to steal at least $15 million from U.S. customers in an international cybercrime scheme targeting accounts at 15 financial institutions and government agencies. U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman said the conspiring hackers gained unauthorized access to computer networks, diverted customer funds to bank accounts and pre-paid debit cards and used 'cashers' to make ATM withdrawals and fraudulent purchases in Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York and elsewhere." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. charges eight hackers over alleged cyber theft of at least $15 million

Name That Black Swan

"You might argue that a black swan event could occur at any time. That's true. But our current fiscal, monetary, and economic circumstances are so tenuous that the possibility of a black swan event hitting our economy is greater than usual. Indeed, the number of anomalous events that could take place is large enough that collectively they represent a high probability. And since we all live and work within an economic system and use money every day, the impact to us as individuals could be severe. So the question is this: what data are available now that show where we are most vulnerable to experiencing a black swan event?" Continue reading →

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