Free Republic

About 30 mins ago, "ISIS" (I highly doubt it's them, but rather some hacker outside working in their interest) hacked and took over the CENTCOM page. The account has just been locked, and just in time for Obama's global security meeting.

France's prime minister on Friday acknowledged "failings" in intelligence that led to a three-day spree of horror and at least 20 people dead, as criticism mounted that the attacks might have been avoided if officials had been more alert to the deadly peril posed by suspects already on their radar. Even as authorities were still investigating the events during three days of violence, a debate brewed over who should be held accountable in the apparent lapses by law enforcement and national security officials. Some security experts, however, noted the huge difficulties faced by authorities in preventing attacks when potential terrorists...

The Department of Health and Human Services has issued a notice seeking contractors to run its records division for Obamacare and Medicare, and to prevent sensitive private information being leaked or stolen. The National Data Warehouse division (NDW) is a database for "capturing, aggregating, and analyzing information" tied to customer experiences with Medicare and the federal healthcare exchanges, according to The Weekly Standard. But the Health and Human Service (HHS) notice says that it’s looking for vendors who can also demonstrate "security in protecting data and information with customer, person-sensitive information including personal health and personally identifiable information."

A confrontation broke out between security personnel from the American consulate and settlers from the Adei Ad outpost in the West Bank on Friday, after settlers hurled stones at two vehicles from the consulate. According to both Palestinian and settler sources, the American security guards drew their weapons at the settlers. A preliminary police investigation of the clashes between American security personnel and Israeli settlers discovered the consulate employees had arrived at the Adei Ad outpost in Samaria without coordination with the appropriate defense officials. An official from the village of Turmus Ayya, near the scene of the incident, said...

Anyone have one? Can you get a decent, reliable one without spending a fortune? Likes/Dislikes? Sliding or Opening? I may need one for our property, 1) To keep dogs out of our property. 2) To keep out free range goats and chickens in our property and an occasional dog (we have 3) that may get stupid and get out of the house without a leash. Don't need anything hardcore or fancy. Not trying to keep out bad guys. Also, how did you handle UPS/FedEx/US Mail Box deliveries?

President Obama on Wednesday said he did not believe Americans needed to be concerned by threats issued to movie theaters, even as Sony Pictures made the decision to pull its controversial comedy “The Interview” amid threats of terrorism. “For now, my recommendation would be: Go to the movies,” Obama said Wednesday in an interview with ABC News. The president said his administration was taking very seriously the cyber attack against the movie studio, which unleashed a trove of internal emails and documents, and pledged a thorough federal investigation into the breach. On Wednesday, multiple media outlets citing U.S. intelligence officials...

The Social Security Administration, which announced in April that it would stop trying to collect debts from the children of people who were allegedly overpaid benefits decades ago, has continued to demand such payments and now defends that practice in court documents. After The Washington Post reported in April that the Treasury Department had confiscated $75 million in tax refunds due to about 400,000 Americans whose ancestors owed money to Social Security, the agency’s acting commissioner, Carolyn Colvin, said efforts to collect on those old debts would cease immediately. But although some people whose refunds were seized were reimbursed in...

Now that Republicans have made it clear they will do nothing to stop his amnesty for existing illegal immigrants, Obama is moving on to step two of his plan. He is planning to bring in more people who will constitute or public charge, or worse, represent a security risk. The LA Times is reporting that the administration will increase the number of refugees that are admitted from Syria: The U.S. government intends to dramatically accelerate efforts to resettle refugees from the Syrian civil war and is preparing for a "surge" of thousands in each of the next few years, State...

Full title: Judicial Watch: State Department Documents Show Its Security Contractor Operating without a License in Benghazi on Day of Terrorist Attack State Official Describes Benghazi as an ‘Emergency’ Situation (Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch has obtained andreleased internal Department of State documentsdetailing the department’s $783,284.79 contract with U.K.-based Blue Mountain Group (BMG) to provide security at the diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya. The documents show that BMG did not have a license to operate in Libya at the time of the attack due to a business dispute with its partner in Libya, XPAND Corporation, and quote a State official...

In the tiny Texas town of Harrold, children and their parents do not give much thought to their safety at the community's only school, because they know that some of the teachers are carrying concealed weapons. In the remote town, the nearest law enforcement office is 30 minutes away and the residents know each other and trust each other, so the school board made the momentous decision to allow teachers to arm themselves at their work around children. Desperate to avoid the deadly consequences of their own school shooting incident, Harrold Independent School District has utlized armed teachers since 2007...

Holiday travelers faced a literal nightmare on Sunday morning when the line for security checks at Midway Airport in Chicago was reportedly over a mile long. KOMO reporter Denise Whitaker said that the line was 1.2 miles long. An airport spokespersonsaid that she wasn't surprised by the crowds. “This happens sometimes,” Chicago Aviation Department rep. Karen Pride told the Chicago Sun-Times. “There was a period of time earlier this morning, between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m., that lines were long because that is when most people are traveling for the holiday period.” Twitter users posted pictures of the hellish scene....

No one is quite sure yet if a grand jury will indict Darren Wilson, the officer who fatally shot Michael Brown. But one thing is almost for sure: If they don’t, Ferguson and surrounding St. Louis, Missouri, areas will face widespread protests and looting once again. Local businesses have been bracing themselves for the possible fallout, many of which have called in armed forces to help them out. More than 300 private military contractors have been hired by Ferguson-area locals in anticipation of more looting, reported Vice News. Jared Ogden, director of operations for Asymmetric Solutions, a private military contractor...

Legion: No amnesty for illegal immigrants November 20, 2014 Featured in National Security, Citizenship Legion: No amnesty for illegal immigrants American Legion National Commander Michael D. Helm today questioned the wisdom of the White House putting politics above national security if it carries through with its plan to give amnesty to as many as 5 million illegal immigrants through an executive order. “At a time when ISIS, al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations are killing innocent Americans, it makes no sense to let our guard down and send a message that the United States is an open, soft target,” Helm...

After security researcher Jeffrey Paul upgraded the operating system on his MacBook Pro last week, he discovered that several of his personal files had found a new home — on the cloud. The computer had saved the files, which Paul thought resided only on his own encrypted hard drive, to a remote server that Apple controls. “This is unacceptable,” thundered Paul, an American based in Berlin, on his personal blog a few days later. “Apple has taken local files on my computer not stored in iCloud and silently and without my permission uploaded them to their servers — across all...

Two explosives were found near an Arizona bridge approximately 30 miles from the U.S. border with Mexico, according to a leaked report exclusively obtained by Breitbart Texas. The items were made from water gel commercial explosives and were ammonium nitrate based, according to the leaked official report from the Joint Intelligence Operations Center (JIOC). The materials were found near Amado, Arizona by two Arizona Department of Transportation employees who were reportedly inspecting the bridge.

After about 10 years with gmail.com, I've decides to migrate to a new email address. I figure it will take few months, and will insert a forward rule in my current gmail account. I'd like to find another free provider if possible. I don't mind using a service that wraps advertising around received message, but I don't want to use a provide that wraps around sent messages. I know about reagan.com but they charge. I know they advertise explicitly that they do not browse messages for social engineering, advertising ... etc. That attracts me and if I do choose a...

For most of the iPhone's lifespan, it's been effectively immune to malware. There were theoretical attacks and viruses targeting jailbroken phones, but thanks to the tight controls of the App Store, finding iOS malware in the wild has been nearly impossible. If you didn't jailbreak your phone and you weren’t targeted by the NSA, you simply didn't have to worry about catching a virus. Yesterday, that changed. A security firm called Palo Alto Networks discovered a malware program they’re calling Wirelurker, which sneaks into computers through unauthorized Chinese apps, then attacks iOS devices when they connect over USB. It’s an...

U.S. Sen. David Vitter has been named a “Champion of National Security” by the Center for Security Policy. Vitter was one of only five U.S. Senators to receive a 100 percent score – the other four being Republicans Ted Cruz, Mike Lee and Tim Scott and Montana Democrat John Walsh. The Center’s rankings are based on legislators’ voting records on issues from border security to terrorist threats. “ISIS and the Ebola virus are huge national security threats right now – but the biggest problem is that this Administration hasn’t put forward any real or comprehensive national security strategy on any...

SIERRA VISTA — Motorists traveling on to Fort Huachuca for work in the morning are advised to give themselves more time than usual after a change in policy has resulted in a more thorough check of identification cards for people entering the installation. On Monday morning, congestion at the Main Gate was backed up far enough that drivers were blocking the intersection of Buffalo Soldier Trail and Fry Boulevard. Sierra Vista police officers issued at least two verbal or written warnings to motorists, and are hoping that driver’s will remember not to block the intersection in the future. After Monday’s...

A man appearing in court on charges that he scaled a White House fence was found incompetent to stand trial Monday and screamed for help as marshals forcibly removed him from the courtroom. Dominic Adesanya, 23, of Bel Air, Maryland, began screaming after he was ordered to undergo psychiatric evaluation and treatment for the next 45 days. Adesanya has been charged with two federal offenses: unlawfully entering the restricted grounds of the White House and harming two law enforcement dogs that were released to apprehend him. Don't "do this to me," Adesanya yelled at the end of a five-minute court...