Report: NSA Used Radio Waves, Hacked into Over 100k Computers Worldwide

/2 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Reuters

Photo Credit: Reuters

The National Security Agency has implanted software in nearly 100,000 computers around the world — but not in the United States — that allows the US to conduct surveillance on those machines, The New York Times reported yesterday (Jan 14).

The Times cited NSA documents, computer experts and US officials in its report about the use of secret technology using radio waves to gain access to computers that other countries have tried to protect from spying or cyberattacks. The software network could also create a digital highway for launching cyberattacks, the Times reports.

The Times reported that the technology, used by the agency for several years, relies on radio waves that can be transmitted from tiny circuit boards and USB cards inserted covertly into the computers. The NSA calls the effort an “active defence” and has used the technology to monitor units of the Chinese Army, the Russian military, drug cartels, trade institutions inside the European Union, and sometime US partners against terrorism like Saudi Arabia, India and Pakistan, the Times reported.

Among the most frequent targets of the NSA and US Cyber Command, the Times reported, has been the Chinese Army. The United States has accused the Chinese Army of launching regular attacks on American industrial and military targets, often to steal secrets or intellectual property. When Chinese attackers have placed similar software on computer systems of American companies or government agencies, American officials have protested, the newspaper reported.

Read more from this story HERE.

Husband of Pregnant, Brain Dead Texas Woman Sues Hospital

/3 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: AP/THE FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM

Photo Credit: AP/THE FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM

The husband of a brain-dead, pregnant Texas woman has sued the hospital keeping her on life support against his wishes.

Erick Munoz filed a lawsuit in state district court in Fort Worth, where his wife, Marlise Munoz, has been on life support since he found her unconscious in their North Texas home on Nov. 26. She was 14 weeks pregnant at the time. Her family says the exact cause of her condition isn’t known, though a blood clot is a possibility.

Erick and Marlise Munoz, both paramedics, had seen life and death up close and he previously told The Associated Press that his wife was clear with him: If she fell into a condition like this, pull life support and let her die.

John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, however, has refused to take Marlise Munoz off machines, citing a state law the hospital says requires it to continue treating a pregnant patient.

Munoz’s lawsuit says that law doesn’t apply because Marlise Munoz is legally and medically dead. The condition of her fetus is unclear.

Read more from this story HERE.

America Just Got Bumped From This Top 10 List, and That’s Really Depressing

/2 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Heritage Foundation, Wall Street Journal

Photo Credit: Heritage Foundation, Wall Street Journal

World economic freedom has increased to record levels, according to the 2014 Index of Economic Freedom, released Tuesday by the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal. But the United States, after seven consecutive years of slipping down the index, has dropped out of the top 10 freest economies.

For 20 years, the Index of Economic Freedom has evaluated countries’ performances in 10 categories, including property rights, freedom from corruption, government spending, trade freedom and others. Scores from 0 to 100 are then averaged and the countries are classified as “free,” “mostly free,” “moderately free,” “mostly unfree” or “repressed.”

The “mostly free” United States sank to 12th place with an economic freedom score of 75.5, half a point lower than last year, when it ranked 10th.

The reason, according to editors of the report: “The overall economic policy direction of the United States in recent years has involved substantial growth in the size and scope of government, accelerating the erosion of economic freedom and contributing directly to America’s fall from the top 10 freest economies.”

Read more from this story HERE.

First Grader’s Speech Stopped, Told to Sit Down: Cannot Talk About Bible

/6 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: ADVOCACY FOR FAITH & FREEDOM

Photo Credit: ADVOCACY FOR FAITH & FREEDOM

The parents of a six-year-old girl said their daughter was humiliated when a teacher interrupted the child’s one-minute speech and told her to sit down because she’s “not allowed to talk about the Bible in school,” attorneys for the California family allege.

The incident occurred Dec. 19 inside a first grade classroom at Helen Hunt-Jackson Elementary School in Temecula, Calif. The previous day the teacher instructed boys and girls to find something at home that represented a family Christmas tradition. They were supposed to bring the item to school and share the item in a classroom presentation.

Brynn Williams decided to bring the Star of Bethlehem that adorned the top of her family’s Christmas tree. She also worked on a one minute presentation to explain that her family’s tradition is to remember the birth of Jesus at Christmas time.

“Our Christmas tradition is to put a star on top of our tree,” the little girl said. “The star is named the Star of Bethlehem. The three kings followed the star to find baby Jesus, the Savior of the world.”

Before the child could utter another word, the teacher intervened, according to Robert Tyler, the general counsel for Advocates for Faith & Freedom – the law firm representing the Williams family.

Read more from this story HERE.

Shot Show: Gun Retailers Urged to Get Political, Connect with Grassroots

/1 Comment/in , /by

Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

In the wake of local, state, and federal pushes to further regulate the firearm industry in the United States, National Shooting Sports Foundation’s (NSSF) Jake McGuigan told attendees at the trade organization’s annual SHOT Show in Las Vegas that it is imperative for more firearm retailers to be politically active.

While the NSSF and National Rifle Association (NRA) have worked together on various issues regarding Second Amendment protections, the NSSF focuses on the business policies of the firearms industry, while the NRA’s focus is on the right to own a firearm.

“Retailers really need to wake up. I can’t tell you how many states I’ve been in where I asked a retailer, ‘Hey, can you put this alert out? Can you do this?’ [The retailer responds,] ‘I don’t want to get political.’ I don’t want to get political?” asked McGuigan, who is NSSF’s Director of Government Relations and State Affairs.

“That unfortunately hurts us, but people that depend on the firearms [for whom it’s their] livelihood, I think, really need to wake up. It’s not getting political. The opponents made it political. It’s not political. It’s your livelihood and it our constitutional right,” he emphasized.

Read more from this story HERE.

Anchorage Police Department Getting Military Grade Armored Vehicles

/1 Comment/in , /by

MRAPAccording to a recent report from KTUU, the Anchorage Police Department (APD) is taking receipt of two mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles (MRAPs). But what a local police department needs mine-resistant vehicles for is anybody’s guess.

According to APD Police Sergeant Shaun Henry, the vehicles are freebies, costing Anchorage nothing save maintenance expenses. He contends that the vehicles would be used sparingly in situations where criminals have barricaded themselves inside buildings.

And just where are these free armored vehicles coming from? Apparently, with the withdrawal of thousands of American troops from the Middle East, the Department of Defense is giving away the MRAPs to qualifying local law enforcement agencies.

Of course, this begs the question as to why civilian law enforcement requires heavily armored military equipment. Across the nation, many are justifiably worried about the increasing militarization of local police forces.

Obama Angers the United Way and Other Charities with Proposed Charitable Deduction Cut

/3 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Photo Credit: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Leaders of the charitable coalition the United Way swarmed Capitol Hill Tuesday to lobby against the Obama administration’s proposed cap on the charitable deduction in the federal tax code. Lowering the charitable deduction has long been an Obama policy objective.

United Way US CEO Stacey Stewart and 45 local United Way CEOs hit the Hill to urge “Support for the charitable deduction and expanding incentives for charitable giving in the U.S. tax code,” according to a press release issued on United Way’s behalf. The CEOs were also pushing to strengthen the earned income tax credit and the child tax credit.

United Way’s “Hill Day” was marked by predictable bipartisan photo ops but highlighted an uncomfortable rift between Obama and many economic and health charities and organizations that support most of his agenda.

Obama proposed a cap on charitable deductions in his 2014 budget proposal in April, and it is currently being debated in Congress. The proposal would cap charitable deductions with a 28 percent limit, down from its current 39.6 percent limit on high earners. Obama has tried every year since taking office to set a 28 percent cap.

Read more from this story HERE.

Student, 12, Used Shotgun to Shoot 2 Students in Roswell, New Mexico

/3 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Mark Wilson/Roswell Daily Record/AP Photo

Photo Credit: Mark Wilson/Roswell Daily Record/AP Photo

A middle school student opened fire in his gym with a shotgun today and critically wounded two students in Roswell, N.M., according to authorities.

The injured were a 13-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy who were “simply sitting in their gym waiting to go to class,” New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez said. The shooting occurred shortly before class was to begin at Berrendo Middle School.

The Eastern New Mexico Medical Center confirmed it treated two patients, who were then air lifted to the University Medical Center in Lubbock, Texas, located about 175 miles from the middle school.

A spokesperson for UMC said the boy, who the governor said was 12, is out of surgery and is listed in critical condition. The girl, 13, is also being treated at the hospital and is listed in serious condition, according to the spokesperson. A school staff member suffered a minor injury and declined treatment.

The names of the shooting victims have not been released.

Read more from this story HERE.

Open Internet Order Loses. Net Neutrality Struck down Again.

/1 Comment/in , /by

Photo Credit: RedState

Photo Credit: RedState

As many of us predicted all along, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals threw out the FCC’s Open Internet order, which attempted to force “Net Neutrality” on the nation. The Open Internet order was part of a plan claimed to oppose “discrimination” but in practice would hinder ISPs from charging people for what bandwidth they use.

The FCC had previously attempted to enforce such rules illegally, but lost in the Comcast v FCC case. This time Verizon took them on, and the FCC lost again.

If we don’t win the next Presidential election, I expect an even more radical attempt next time, though a move called Title II Reclassification.

You see, back in the Clinton years, a bill passed with bipartisan support that freed the Internet from burdensome regulation. It was called the Telecommunications Act, and its specifically separated information services from telecommunications services, disallowing the FCC from imposing the same degree of regulations on Internet services that they can on the Phone company.

Read more from this story HERE.

Don’t Miss Alaska Policy Forum’s Important School-Choice Event With Brian Calle Tonight!

/0 Comments/in , /by

APF1Want to know how to get your child into a better school? You need to hear how Brian Calle did it. His mother gamed the zip code to get her child into a better neighborhood school.

What would you do to get the best education for your child or grandchild? You shouldn’t have to do this. You should have the civil right to get your child into the school of your choice. How about freedom? You can choose your latte, why not your child’s school?

Brian Calle is the Opinion Editor for the Orange County Register, and Editor-in-Chief at www.calwatchdog.com – Brian also serves as a Senior Fellow at the Pacific Research Institute; Unruh Fellow at the Jesse Unruh Institute at the University of Southern California; a Lincoln Fellow at the Claremont Institute; an adjunct professor at California State University-Fullerton; and a member emeritus of the Board of Governors for the University of Southern California.

THE EVENT WILL BE HELD ON JANUARY 14TH/6:30 AT THE EMBASSY SUITES HOTEL, 600 E. BENSON, Anchorage.

For more information, contact the Alaska Policy Forum at 907-334-5853 or visit their website at www.alaskapolicyforum.org