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WASHINGTON, Dec. 15, 2009 – With the first additional Marines beginning to stream into Afghanistan to help bolster security in the south and east, preparations are under way for the arrival of soldiers to focus on the other key goal of the surge: recruiting, equipping and training Afghan security forces. Initial elements of the 10th Mountain Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team, based at Fort Drum, N.Y., are slated to deploy to Afghanistan starting in January, Army Lt. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, commander of the NATO Training Mission Afghanistan and Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan, reported last week. Speaking with...

I haven't written much about the Terry Childs case recently, mainly because there's not much to tell. Childs is still in jail, his bail is still set at a ridiculous $5 million, and he still hasn't had his day in court. It's been nearly 18 months since his arrest for refusing to hand over administrative passwords to San Francisco's city network.In that time, three of the four charges against him were dismissed, yet numerous motions for bail reduction have been denied, presumably because the judges are terrified of what they don't understand, and the DA is playing that up. Regardless...

There is a common mistake made when analyzing information. This is especially true when you have incomplete data. This is an important factor to consider as it is the most common mistake made in analysis. When you expect something to happen, you tend to fit items of information into that framework. That can skew analysis badly wrong since no two people think alike and priorities/plans change. The psychology term for this is Projection. You are projecting your beliefs as to what is happening as being the same as what they are thinking/doing. My first estimate of the reported purchase of...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 10, 2009 – It is necessary and right that Iraqi soldiers and police assume security responsibilities for their people, the commander of Multinational Force Iraq said in New York City yesterday. Army Gen. Raymond T. Odierno was in Manhattan to attend the USO’s 48th Annual Armed Forces Gala and Gold Medal Dinner, where he was interviewed by “Fox and Friends” co-host Brian Kilmeade. Kilmeade asked Odierno if it was too soon to transfer security responsibilities to Iraqi soldiers and police, given a recent spate of insurgent violence that has roiled Iraq. “It’s tough always to see these Iraqi...

I don't think about Adobe Flash much. I just use it. I think that's the case for most of us. Almost all the video on the Web is in Flash, and we just take it for granted. That's a mistake. Like any other popular application, it can be an easy way for a cracker to hack into your computer. Take Adobe Flash's latest round of patches. Adobe doesn't say a lot about exactly what it's fixing in its security advisory, but out of the seven security bugs they're fixing, six of the repairs are on problems that "could potentially lead...

The federal government's border fence has been called the Tortilla Curtain. But in the swamp of border politics, there's a more effective barrier at play, one that filters ideas rather than people. It explains why most Americans still don't fully understand the disaster on our southern border. This tortilla curtain is propped up by much of the major media, activist groups and cheap-labor-addicted businesses, big and small. They're all spinning us, for their own reasons. But the list includes the feds, too.

I missed this story: Since 2007, the U.S. State Department has been issuing high-tech "e-passports," which contain computer chips carrying biometric data to prevent forgery. Unfortunately, according to a March report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), getting one of these supersecure passports under false pretenses isn't particularly difficult for anyone with even basic forgery skills. A GAO investigator managed to obtain four genuine U.S. passports using fake names and fraudulent documents. In one case, he used the Social Security number of a man who had died in 1965. In another, he used the Social Security number of a fictitious...

KABUL (AFP) – President Hamid Karzai told visiting US Defence Secretary Robert Gates on Tuesday that Afghanistan would need aid to fund its security forces for up to 20 more years, calling for a long-term US commitment. The newly re-elected Karzai said his government would work to assume responsibility for Afghanistan's security within five years, but that the impoverished country lacked the funds to foot the entire bill. Gates, who held talks with Karzai on implementing a new war strategy that involves sending 30,000 extra US troops to fight the Taliban, reiterated that the United States intended to start withdrawing...

In a massive security breach, the Transportation Security Agency (TSA) inadvertently posted online its entire airport screening procedures manual, including some of the most closely guarded secrets regarding special rules for diplomats and CIA and law enforcement officers. Photo: Massive TSA Security Breach As Agency Gives Away Its Secrets: On-line Posting Reveals a ?How To? for Terrorists to Get Through Airport Security In a massive security breach, the Transportation Security Agency (TSA) inadvertently posted online... Expand In a massive security breach, the Transportation Security Agency (TSA) inadvertently posted online its entire airport screening procedures manual, including some of the most...

I need the help of this diverse and knowledgeable forum's members and particpants. I am in a legal dispute with a merchant. Today, the merchant's legalc ounsel filed a document in court -- now a matter of public record -- that displays my name, address, credit card numbet and its expiration date, and my social security number. Now I know this violated the court's rules and a few other of my state's (Ohio) laws, but I am wondering if this also violates any federal laws that anyine knows about. Any constructive help is much appreciated.

WASHINGTON -- Sidney Blumenthal, the Clinton Administration's famed servitor, saw it all coming. He predicted the Obama Administration's Carousel of Incompetence, as I like to call it. He was not thinking about the serious botches, the healthcare monstrosity, the spending spree, the criminal trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed planned for New York, the cap and trade extravagance. He probably agrees with these policy lurches. What he probably had in mind were the lesser bungles, the Administration's bizarre appointees (Van Jones, Anita Dunn), their embarrassing departures, and now the two imposters, who gate-crashed a state dinner for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh...

The head of the Secret Service accepted full responsibility Thursday for last week's security breach at President Barack Obama's first state dinner, but he said that the president and Vice President Joe Biden were never in danger from a party-crashing couple who shook hands and posed for pictures with them. Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan told the House Homeland Security Committee that his agents were at fault for allowing uninvited Washington socialites Tareq and Michaele Salahi into a lavish state dinner for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Sullivan told the committee that three uniformed agents had been put on administrative...

A random websurf today shows no shortage of prominent coverage in the Arabic language media including running commentary on the fiasco as well as in some cases detailed background explanations as to how the recent State Dinner security breach occured at the White House and uncleared people were able to come into close access with the President of the United States and visiting The Prime Minister of India.One such outlet is Arab Times in Arabic, located in the United States, but many other outlets are carrying it outside of the USA--including on some questionable sites. This appeared on Arabic...

They froze my account! I opened a Scottrade account a couple weeks ago I had to do it in person because the credit bureau folks don't know me well, as I I am not in debt. I gave them my address, both physical and the required PO Box, as I live in a rural area without delivery. They mailed my first statement to the physical address. I got it anyway, as the postmistress knows my wife and I. I went online and changed the mailing address to the PO Box. Seems easy enough eh? Well, they froze my account because...

Security expert expresses discontentSophos’ Graham Cluley has updated his blog with news that the author of the Ikee worm, emerged earlier this month, has gotten himself places, thanks to his malicious feat. Cluley doesn’t care much for the hacker and would rather see him pay for his actions, rather than get rewarded. “The author of the world's first iPhone worm must be feeling pretty chirpy today, because he's managed to get himself a job as an iPhone application developer,” Cluley writes. “21-year-old Australian Ashley Towns, revealed that he was going to join mogeneration [...] on his Twitter feed earlier today,”...

A neat video of about four minutes on what pirates can expect if they attack a vessel outfitted by this new security technology.The water walls may be new technology, but the armed snipers are almost as old as piracy itself.

Beginning Jan. 1, you might need a passport. New Mexico is on a collision course with the federal government over a controversial federal ID law. State officials and at least one congressman are scrambling to avoid what could be massive disruption to airline travel. As things stand now, New Mexicans won't be able to use their state-issued driver's licenses to gain airport security clearance starting Jan. 1, 2010. Instead, a passport will have to be presented to board an airplane, a top state official confirmed. …………. New Mexico is one 36 states that don't meet requirements of the federal Real...

The U.S. Census Bureau is offering a glimmer of hope to those looking for a job. The agency will be testing applicants on Monday in Porterville to fill 500 positions which will be available in January and the Spring of 2010. Some of the positions offered include; enumerator, crew leader, crew leader assistant, and clerk. The pay ranges from $11.75 per hour to $17.00 per hour. No experience is required. Testing for the positions will take place at the Porterville Library, from 3-5 p.m. The test is said to be a multiple chose test, and is about 30 minutes long....

The Department of Homeland Security has spent $230 million to develop better technology for detecting smuggled nuclear bombs but has had to stop deploying the new machines because the United States has run out of a crucial raw material, experts say.

... — are all accused of being involved in the 9/11 plot, with Mohammed describing himself as the mastermind in a 2003 confession. The announcement follows from U.S. President Barack Obama’s first executive order, which he signed on Jan. 22, to close the U.S. military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay and another executive order to suspend the military tribunals set up under the Bush administration to try suspected terrorists. Holder’s decision has generated much debate and highlighted the legal murkiness concerning the status of Guantanamo detainees and how best to bring them to justice.

U.S. President Barack Obama continues to “reach out to Muslims” by appointing them to key security posts amid charges he wrongly ignored internal Muslim terror. One recent appointee was harshly criticized for appearing on a British-based television station whose host is a member of a radical Muslim group.

The Homeland Security Policy Institute Presidential Transition Task Force* Initiated by HSPI’s Steering Committee in Spring 2008, the Task Force sought to further policy discussions of the top strategic priorities in the area of security in order to generate actionable recommendations, for the Administration taking office in January 2009, designed to effectively meet the most vexing challenges the United States faces today.

Listen to our great freeper and blogger Tim Sumner as he cleans Holders despicable clock on Quinn and Rose on his move to bring Kalid Sheik Mohammed 911 conspirator to our beloved New York City for a trial in the US justice system. Today in front of the Senate, Mr. Holder will have to testify that HIS justice department has recommended this atrocity. With the prayers of the American people behind them, perhaps a Senator with integrity will hold his feet to the fire, as the FDNY looks on! Listen to Tim tell it like it is at the link...

This is a summary of significant items concerning Iraqi Security Force (ISF) Developments reported in the September 2009 Quarterly Report to Congress: Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq released 13 November 2009. Author’s comments and analysis is in italics. This report’s data is dated 31 August 2009 and there are changes since then. This report is also the unclassified version and thus excludes Iraqi classified data. The budget issues and legislative delays continue to impact Iraqi Security Force development. Limited funds, the resulting hiring freeze and competition for resources exacerbated services cooperation. More recent developments than the information in this...

11/16/2009 - BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (AFNS) -- U.S. military and coalition servicemembers who enforce security on Bagram Airfield work closely to accomplish a singular mission to ensure a safe and secure environment. Members of the Air Force's 455th Air Expeditionary Wing coordinate with Task Force Cyclone, Afghan national security guards and Task Force Gladius, Company B, Special Troops Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division members to secure the perimeter of Bagram Airfield and the surrounding areas. Since coming here, Task Force Cyclone and force protection security workers have helped improve the efficiency of the operations around the airfield, said Army Lt. Col....

In the battle on the U.S.-Mexico border, the fight against illegal immigration often loses out to environmental laws that have blocked construction of parts of the "virtual fence" and that threaten to create places where agents can't easily track illegal immigrants. Documents obtained by Rep. Rob Bishop and shared with The Washington Times show National Park Service staffers have tried to stop the U.S. Border Patrol from placing some towers associated with the virtual fence, known as the Secure Border Initiative or SBInet, on wilderness lands in parks along the border. In a remarkably candid letter to members of Congress,...

Two women trying to avoid arrest after allegedly stealing goods from a local Wal-Mart store head-butted, urinated on and drove off with a security guard. ...security guard attempted to stop the women from getting away with $45 in stolen merchandise. Marilyn Cole, 35,...was arraigned Tuesday. Cole was on parole for bank robbery at the time. Cole was released from prison April 3. ...she was ordered not to have any contact with Wal-Mart stores, the victim or the co-defendant, Rashieka Lariena Stewart. Stewart, 23...was arraigned Tuesday on one count of unarmed robbery The two women were stopped inside the Wal-Mart on...

The UIN - Unique Identification Number Finally, after a year of headlines we are beginning to see the clear picture at hand when it comes to Nandan Nilekani's vision for issuing every Indian a UIN, Unique Identification Number. At first glance it would have been thought is was nothing much, possibly a variation on the US's Social Security Number. At closer inspection however, you can see many layers that one would not have imagined. Nandan Nilekani co-founded Infosys, one of India's leading information technology companies, back in 1981. After serving as its president and then CEO, he's now joined the...

RUSH: Folks, I'm sorry. I can't get off this decision to bring these terrorists to New York and conduct a trial. This is such an insidious plot. It is such a disaster. Do you realize Barack Obama is tougher on insurance companies than he is on the 9/11 mastermind? I want to know -- Eric Holder -- I'm still struck by things he said in his press conference. "We gotta find a jury of their peers." These guys are not citizens! Who the hell are we going to find that is a jury of their peers? Do you realize we're...

A security guard who walked into the Orange County Courthouse with a firearm this morning faces charges of possession of a concealed firearm and possession of a firearm in a restricted area, deputies said. Matthew Gilbert Pennington, 25, told Orange County sheriff's deputies he had forgotten the 9mm Springfield XD in his backpack. The weapon contained 16 rounds of armor piercing ammunition, according to a Florida Department of Law Enforcement report. Pennington works for a private security company. The name of the company was not released. FDLE records show he has no previous criminal history. Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings...

Botnets Tighten Defenses Year After McColo Shutdown (Only a link can be posted per FR rules.)

...Today, let’s talk cameras. Cameras on utility polls. Cameras on the corners of buildings. Cameras following you as you walk through town, a college campus, or your own neighborhood. Upset? Seems quite a few Atlantans are...

(CNSNews.com) – The Department of Homeland Security is gagging local law enforcement agencies around the country to protect the privacy of illegal aliens. Under "revised" 287(g) agreements between the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement division and state and local law enforcement agencies, any information about local police efforts to enforce federal immigration law must be cleared through ICE before it can be released to the media or the public. DHS says it is doing this to protect the privacy of illegal aliens.

In the dark world of the cybercriminal economy, computer viruses battle not just against anti-virus security software, but even other strains of malware for control of infected PCs, security researchers said. A strain of Trojan malware identified as Bredo contains code that disables the Zeus/Zbot Trojan and moves files to prevent Zeus from reinstalling itself on reboot, according to security researchers from Sophos. Malware authors have previously targeted other malware as a way to keep PCs under their control and not controlled by a rival bot herder. The cybercriminals use networks of infected PCs - called botnets - to distribute...

Communications experts say that fear is the best way to get attention when you’re trying to win an argument. Groups who oppose nuclear power have certainly mastered that technique by playing to economic, environmental, and safety fears. So I’d like to introduce a little element of fear into my argument here. I want to suggest what could happen if we don’t adopt nuclear power as a more important part of our energy future-- if Russia and China and a lot of other countries go ahead with nuclear – as they are now – while we get left behind. Are we...

BUENOS AIRES N.W.R., Arizona | Michael M. Hawkes, manager of the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge, reaches across his desk and pulls out a homemade blue-and-red bumper sticker that reads, "Littering is always a crime." It turns out that here on the U.S.-Mexico border, even that is a controversial statement — because it's aimed at the humanitarian groups that drop gallon jugs of water on public lands to help illegal immigrants crossing the rugged borderlands.

WASHINGTON -- The Chinese government is ratcheting up its cyberspying operations against the U.S., a congressional advisory panel found, citing an example of a carefully orchestrated campaign against one U.S. company that appears to have been sponsored by Beijing. The unnamed company was just one of several successfully penetrated by a campaign of cyberespionage, according to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission report to be released Thursday. Chinese espionage operations are "straining the U.S. capacity to respond," the report concludes...

U.S. pressures Japan on military package Washington concerned as new leaders in Tokyo look to redefine alliance Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, with Japanese Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa in Tokyo, pushed Japan to stick with a 2006 deal. By John Pomfret and Blaine Harden Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, October 22, 2009 Worried about a new direction in Japan's foreign policy, the Obama administration warned the Tokyo government Wednesday of serious consequences if it reneges on a military realignment plan formulated to deal with a rising China. The comments from Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates underscored increasing concern among U.S....

"It’s time for President Obama to make good on his promise. The White House must stop dithering while America’s armed forces are in danger."

A private security guard at Newark Liberty International Airport has been arrested Wednesday on charges of threatening President Barack Obama. Port Authority spokesman John Kelly says John Breck allowed police to search his Linden home and officers found 43 firearms. U.S. Secret Service spokesman Malcolm Wiley says the 55-year-old denied making any threats. Obama will be in New Jersey on Wednesday to campaign for New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine. Air Force One is scheduled to land around 4:30 p.m.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 20, 2009 – The security situation in northern Iraq has improved greatly in recent years, a senior U.S. military officer told Pentagon reporters today. Al-Qaida, which several years ago launched attacks with abandon in northern Iraq, is now “desperate,” Army Brig. Gen. Robert B. Brown, deputy commanding general for Multinational Division North and the 25th Infantry Division, said during a satellite-carried teleconference. Today, the division’s area of operations “has completely changed,” said Brown, who was in northern Iraq as a Stryker brigade commander in 2004 and 2005. Brown, whom President Barack Obama has nominated for promotion to major...

Three House Republicans are scheduled to hold a press conference on Wednesday morning to "make public a national security threat on Capitol Hill." Reps. Sue Myrick (R-N.C.), John Shadegg (R-Ariz.) and Paul Broun (R-Ga.) will hold a 10 a.m. press conference in the Capitol on the homeland security issue. The congressional daybook schedule does not provide further details. According to a source familiar with the issue, the press conference will focus on a non-profit group that has "known terrorist ties."

TSA Secure Flight Information The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is introducing Secure Flight, a program to help enhance the security of domestic and international commercial air travel through the use of improved watch list matching. In accordance with this new policy, you will notice changes to our reservation process which have been made to obtain the necessary Secure Flight Passenger Data for reservations purchased beginning September 15, 2009. Please note that SFPD is not being collected from AA passengers whose tickets were issued prior to September 15, 2009, regardless of their travel date. How will this affect you? When you...

Support Coal, Now! America's Future Depends on it. Watch the downfall of Obama Socialism from real Americans in Kentucky.

We have an emergency on the horizon and your participation is IMPERATIVE! The US Army Corps of Engineers is holding six public hearings October 13 and 15 to receive public comments on the two proposals related to Nationwide Permit 21 in the nation’s Appalachian Region. NWP 21 authorizes discharges of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States for surface coal mining activities. The effort is underway to apply regulations that will allow the regulation of water from the head of the watershed. The first proposal is to modify NWP 21 to prohibit its use in the Appalachian...

ZURBATIYAH, Iraq, Oct. 5, 2009 – Work to improve commerce and security in Iraq continued as a cargo transload area opened along the Iraq-Iran border following a ribbon-cutting ceremony here Sept. 26. Army Maj. Gen. Richard J. Rowe, director of Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq’s training and advisory mission, talks with Maj. Gen. Isam Salih Yaseen, Zurbatiyah port director for Iraq’s border enforcement department before a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a cargo transload area at the Zurbatiyah, Iraq, point of entry on the Iraq-Iran border, Sept. 26, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Bethany L. Little  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image...

"...In other words, after you've blithely downloaded a plug-in that shares your computer's Internet connection and processing power with other, unknown computers, Octoshape might choose to alter just what it's doing, how it's doing it, or the extent to which it is using your computer, remotely updating the software on your machine to change it, and /they're not going to tell you/. Oh, they'll make a revision to the license agreement available on their website, sure – but when was the last time you actually read all of the details of any software agreement, much less reviewed revisions to the...

China takes extreme security measures for parade Apartments on the route are evacuated, businesses are forced to close early and transit lines are suspended as China prepares to celebrate its 60th anniversary. 'Are we having fun?' one critic asks. China to parade its new and improved arsenal By Barbara Demick September 30, 2009 E-mail Print Share Text Size Reporting from Beijing - This is a parade that demands state-level security. Discipline. Extreme secrecy. Ordinary people will not be allowed anywhere near the parade route in Beijing on Thursday, when the People's Republic of China marks the 60th anniversary of its...

Microsoft plans to release the final version of its free-of-extra-charge anti-malware scanner later on Tuesday The application, Microsoft Security Essentials or MSE (formerly Morro), is designed to provide consumers with basic protection against Trojans, computer viruses, spyware and rootkits. The product lacks the personal firewall, backup and PC tuning features found in OneCare, the paid-for consumer security software discontinued by Microsoft back in June. Cliff Evans, head of security and privacy at Microsoft UK, said he was personally sorry that OneCare was discontinued, but argued that MSE offered a better chance at improving overall internet hygeine. “We want everyone to...

He may not relish the comparison but it is now becoming increasingly obvious that Mr Barack Obama is the most hostile American President for India since Richard Nixon. In the eight months he has been in office, Mr Obama has snubbed India more than once. He has sent repeated signals that New Delhi is not integral to his Asian security architecture. Partly as a result of his country’s economic crisis, he has bent over backwards to accommodate China. His open advocacy of protectionism has been most visibly targeted at outsourcing of technology jobs to India. He headlined anti-trade legislation by...