Category Archives: The Denise Simon Experience

DHS Wont Tell us but UK’s GCHQ Does

Posted on by

Terrorist groups acquiring the cyber capability to bring major cities to a standstill, warns GCHQ chief

 

Terrorists and rogue states are gaining the capability to bring a major city to a standstill with the click of a button, the Director of GCHQ has warned.

GCHQ Director Robert HanniganHostile groups are acquiring the capability to launch devastating attacks, warns Hannigan Credit: TELEGRAPH

Telegraph: In a rare public appearance, Robert Hannigan said the risk to cities like London would increase as more physical objects, such as cars and household appliances, are connected online – the so-called “internet of things”.

developing the kind of cyber programmes that could attack the UK, but that terrorist groups were also looking to take advantage of the technology.

“At some stage they will get the capability,” he said.

“There are certainly states and groups with the intent to do it, terrorist groups, for example, who have no threshold when it comes to the loss of life.

“We’re not quite there yet, but as the world becomes ever more connected that will become a greater risk.”

Speaking as the controversial Investigatory Powers Bill passed its third reading in the House of Commons, Mr Hannigan also defended the surveillance of internet activity by the intelligence services, saying seven attacks against the UK had been foiled in the last 18 months due to bulk data analysis.

******
Simple Explanation of Internet of Things

Islamic State issues anti-hacking guidelines after Anonymous threats

The extremist terrorist group Isil sent out a warning to members on how to protect from hackers like Anonymous

The warning was put out via Telegram, an encrypted instant messaging app, on the Khilafah news channel, which is thought to be an unofficial pro-ISIS news source.

This was discovered by researchers at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation, a London think tank which studies extremism and terrorism.

Nick Kaderbhai, a research fellow from the think tank told the Huffington Post UK, “Anyone can subscribe to it (technically) however the more IS channels you subscribe to the more open you are to investigation.”

The message was titled #Warning, and said “The #Anonymous hackers have threatened in new video release that they will carry out a major hack operation operation on the Islamic state (idiots).”

ISIS sent out a message on encrypted chat app Telegram with instructions to avoid being hacked  Photo: Huffington Post UK

Instructions included warnings to use VPN, a tool ot make the user’s location online, and to change IP address constantly. It also told members to avoid using direct messages on Twitter, because is is open to hackers.

“Do not make your email same as your username on Twitter this mistake cost many their accounts…so be careful,” it read.

The hacker collective, which consists of unrelated volunteers, coders and activists from around the world, launched its anti-Islamic State online campaign, called #OpISIS, after the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris last January.

Making good on its threats, Anonymous posted a list of roughly 800 Facebook, Twitter and email accounts believed to be related to ISIL on Monday.

To date, according to an in-depth investigation by Foreign Policy, they have taken down 149 Islamic State-related websites and exposed 101,000 Twitter accounts and 5900 propaganda videos.

Drug Cartel Zetas, Prison used as Extermination Camp

Posted on by
DEA Cartel footprintDeclassified: United States: Areas of Influence of Major Mexican Transnational Criminal Organizations

Mexican cartels such as the Gulf, Juarez, and Los Zetas hold more significant influence closer to the Southwest Border, but as shown on the map, their operational capacity decreases with distance from the border. As mentioned above, splinter groups from the disrupted LCT organization continue to traffic drugs from the Michoacán, Mexico area into the United States.

Zetas drug gang ‘used Mexico prison as extermination camp to kidnap and kill 150’

Telegraph: Members of the Zetas drug gang used a prison in northern Mexico as their private house of horrors where they tortured and killed kidnapping victims and underworld enemies, public prosecutors in the state of Coahuila have said.

 

Between 2009 and 2012, Piedras Negras prison became a virtual extermination camp, ruled with impunity by the notorious crime cartel as an operational base for their reign of terror in the US-Mexican border region.

After an investigation into the three-year period, authorities estimate that around 150 people were murdered inside the prison, with their bodies being burnt or broken down in acid-filled tanks before the remains were disposed of in a river some 20 miles away from the jail.

It is not clear to what extent the prison’s official guards actively cooperated with gang members or whether they merely allowed them to act with impunity in exchange for keeping order among inmates.

But prosecutors have revealed that Zetas’ prison leaders dressed up in uniforms as the prison’s de facto security force, wearing bulletproof vests and driving customised vehicles.

52 people died on August 25, 2011, when members of Los Zetas drug cartel doused the Casino Royale with gasoline and set it ablaze. More than 40.000 people have been killed in rising drug-related violence in Mexico since December 20052 people died on August 25, 2011, when members of Los Zetas drug cartel doused the Casino Royale nightlcub with gasoline and set it ablaze. More than 40.000 people have been killed in rising drug-related violence in Mexico since December 200 Credit: Getty Images

“We have received information that in this place was governed autonomously by the Zetas,” a spokesman for the Coahuila state prosecution force said on Wednesday after an investigation based on the testimony of 42 prisoners who were being held in Piedras Negras during that period.

The leader of the bloodthirsty Zetas prison gang has been identified as Ramón Burciaga Magallanes, who is currently in another jail serving time for kidnapping.

Besides Burciaga Magallanes, prosecutors served arrest warrants on four other suspects. All five are accused of participating in just seven murders because the remains of seven victims have been found and identifies within the prison compound.

The state prosecutor’s office said that it is searching for more missing persons who “were taken to the prison to be killed”.

Piedras Negras prison hit the headlines in September 2012, when 131 inmates escaped through the front door in what was reported as Mexico’s biggest-ever jailbreak.

That incident jolted state security forces from their passive stance and the prison was closed down later that year, with remaining inmates transferred elsewhere.

The case highlights the self-government that criminal gangs enjoy in Mexican prisons.

In February, 49 inmates were killed in a pitched battle in Monterrey, where two rival Zetas leaders were fighting for control of a prison.

Global Human Trafficking, Here at Home

Posted on by

Pigs Fly, the UN Finally Admitted Global Sex Violence/Trafficking

Even CNBC is Sounding Alarm on Smuggling at Southern Border

 

Reps. Cohen, Kinzinger, Cárdenas and Wagner Introduce Bipartisan Human Trafficking Bill

June 9, 2016
Press Release

[WASHINGTON, DC] – Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN), Congressman Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), Congressman Tony Cárdenas (D-CA) and Congresswoman Ann Wagner (R-MO) yesterday introduced H.R. 5405, the Stop, Observe, Ask and Respond (SOAR) to Health and Wellness Act. This bipartisan legislation would provide health care professionals at all levels training on how to identify and appropriately treat human trafficking victims. It is a companion bill to S. 1446, which was introduced by Senators Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) and Susan Collins (R-ME).

“Human trafficking is a hidden crime that impacts hundreds of thousands of people across the U.S., and many of these victims end up in a health care setting while being exploited,” said Congressman Cohen. “Our bill aims to ensure health care professionals are trained to identify victims of human trafficking and provide them with critical, victim-centered health care.  Our bill also enables health care providers to implement protocols and procedures to work with victims, service organizations, and law enforcement so that victims can get proper support and perpetrators of human trafficking are brought to justice. I would like to thank Reps. Kinzinger, Cárdenas and Wagner for joining me in introducing this bill.”  

“It is critical that our health care providers are trained to recognize cases of human trafficking and have the proper procedures to best help those most vulnerable,” said Rep. Kinzinger. “I’m proud to be an original cosponsor of the SOAR Act and I believe this pilot program will have a significant impact towards identifying cases of human trafficking and helping more victims across the country from this disgusting crime.”  

“Human trafficking has grown into a large scale industry that is disproportionately geared towards women,” said Rep. Cárdenas. “This is just one of the many reasons why I did not hesitate to become an original cosponsor of the SOAR bill. Victims of trafficking suffer long-term effects, and with the introduction of new research, it is evident that the people who seek help can be identified and properly cared for by trained professionals. It is time to use this information in order to help stop the growth of the trafficking industry and facilitate the well-being of both survivors and victims.”   

“Education and awareness are critical in the fight to end human trafficking. This legislation will provide health care providers on all levels with the appropriate training and tools necessary to identify and report potential cases of human trafficking,” said Congresswoman Wagner. “With tens of thousands of victims being trafficked in the United States each year, I am happy to work with my colleagues across the aisle to introduce and quickly pass this legislation.”   

“Victims of human trafficking are hidden in plain sight – making those in captivity unrecognizable even to our most trusted professionals like doctors and nurses,” said Senator Heitkamp. “By implementing across the country the successes of health worker pilot training programs in North Dakota, my bipartisan bill with Sen. Collins would help provide the critical tools medical professionals need to recognize and protect victims of human trafficking. Today’s introduction of our bill in the U.S. House of Representatives is a critical step toward putting an end to human trafficking by identifying victims and getting them the support they need.” 

“Sex trafficking is a heinous crime that tragically affects every corner of America.  Human traffickers prey upon the most vulnerable, often homeless or runaway children,” said Senator Collins.  “Identification is a crucial, and frequently missed, step in helping victims and stopping these atrocities.  This bipartisan legislation would expand a successful pilot program at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to ensure that more health care providers have the training to identify, report, and treat these cases, which will help us shine a light on some of the darkest stories imaginable and protect victims of these detestable crimes.” 

The Stop, Observe, Ask and Respond (SOAR) to Health and Wellness Act supports efforts underway at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to combat human trafficking by directing the Secretary to establish a pilot program to be known as ‘Stop, Observe, Ask and Respond to Health and Wellness Training.’ While human trafficking victims are often difficult to identify, a reported 68 percent of trafficking victims end up in a health care setting at some point while being exploited, including in clinics, emergency rooms and doctor’s offices.  Despite this, out of more than 5,680 hospitals in the country, only 60 have been identified as having a plan for treating patients who are victims of trafficking and 95 percent of emergency room personnel are not trained to treat trafficking victims. The SOAR Act will help close the gap in health care settings without plans for treating human trafficking victims.

**** How bad is it?

BBC: Dubbed “the General”, Mered Medhanie is alleged to have led a multi-billion dollar empire which specialised in people-smuggling.

Undated handout photo, issued by the Kk'S National Crime Agency, of Mered Medhanie, dubbed "The General", one of the world's most wanted people smugglers, who has been arrested Mered Medhanie styled himself on the late Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi 

A 35-year-old Eritrean, he came to public attention after being linked to the worst migrant disaster at sea – the deaths of 359 migrants in October 2013 after their boat sank near the Italian island of Lampedusa.

Canada-based barrister Christine Duhaime, who specialises in money-laundering legislation, said Mr Mered was suspected to be a ringleader of the people-smuggling network which stretched across Africa and Europe.

“He is notorious just for the fact that he controlled a lot of money and a lot of people,” she told the BBC’s Newsday programme.

“As kingpin, the amount of money that went through him is apparently in the billions.” More to the story here.

Egypt on Full Terror Alert from Islamic State

Posted on by

Egypt – On the 10th of Rabī’ al-Ākhir, Islamic State covert units blew up a house rigged with explosives when it was stormed by a number of murtadd Egyptian policemen and their commanding officers on al-Haram Street in Giza, killing 10 of them – including officers – and injuring 20 more, including Muhammad Amīn, the chief of the investigations division for al-Haram. Just 11 days later, two soldiers of the Khilāfah set out towards a security checkpoint belonging to the murtadd Egyptian police in the region of al-Munīb in Giza. More here from the most recent issue of Dabiq, the Islamic State online publication.

   

Islamic State posts video threatening to blow up Giza Pyramids, Sphinx

MadaMasr: The Islamic State posted a new video threatening to destroy Egypt’s Giza Pyramids, the last remaining wonder of the ancient world, along with the Sphinx. The video also revealed footage of the militant group’s alleged destruction of the ancient Assyrian temple of Nabu in Iraq.

Released on Tuesday, the video includes images of the ancient temple of Abu Simbel in the Aswan governorate in Egypt, warning that the militant group will destroy such “idols.”

An Islamic State member, identified in the video as Abu Nasser al-Ansari, calls on Muslims not to identify with the history and cultural heritage of ancient artifacts and “idols” because they “are the works of infidels and Satan.” Early Muslim leaders were determined to destroy the pyramids in Egypt, yet “despite their intentions, this was not possible,” the militant explained.

“Today, however, we do have the means to carry out this great endeavor,” Ansari stated.

The video moves to an Islamic State member standing outside the ancient temple of Nabu in Iraq, who talks about of the responsibility of “believers” to destroy idols, while a bulldozer is seen plowing through the 2,500 year-old monument. Another segment of the video shows part of the temple being destroyed using explosives.

The video’s narrator claims that contemporary Muslims are following in the footsteps of the infidels, taking pride in temples built by idolaters “on the basis that they represent civilization.”

“What some people refer to as civilization – such as the pyramids and large idols — are in fact symbols of repression, ignorance, and moral degeneracy of those deviant societies,” the narrator states. “Civilization is not measured according to their buildings and construction works, but is measured by how peoples obey God’s ordinances.”

Egyptian news outlets, however, have largely dismissed the threats against any ancient Egyptian artifacts. The state-owned Al-Akhbar news portal reported on Wednesday that it would be impossible to execute operations of this scale, as police forces guard the Giza Pyramids complex heavily.

In its coverage on Wednesday, the privately owned Youm7 news portal also cited the presence of x-ray machines at the entrances to the Giza Pyramids, surveillance cameras, a bomb squad at the site, sniffer dogs, as well as a large number of police personnel and guards from the Antiquities Ministry, as reasons why the Islamic State’s cannot carry out its latest terrorist threat.

However, despite the heavy security presence within the pyramids complex, armed assailants managed to shoot dead two policemen at the entrance of the site in June 2015, although no militant group claimed responsibility for the incident.

Since its emergence in 2014, the Islamic State and its affiliates have destroyed large parts of the Nineveh Wall in Mosul, an ancient Assyrian gateway lion in Syria’s Islamic State-controlled Raqqa province, along with the temples of Baalshamin and Bel in Palmyra, and artifacts found within the Museum of Mosul.

The Islamic State’s destruction has not been limited to pagan temples and artifacts, but also a host of Shi’a shrines and tombs, old Christian monasteries and churches, and the Ottoman-era Tal Afar Citadel in northern Iraq.

Egypt’s police and Armed Forces have been engaged in counter-terrorism campaigns for several years in the Sinai peninsula in attempt to flush out radical armed Islamist elements – particularly the group formerly known as Ansar Beit al-Maqdes, which pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in November 2014, changing its name to the Province of Sinai.

Bill Clinton was a Chancellor of a University eh?

Posted on by

An online university at that and oh…imagine it is has been sued as well.

In 2015, Bill Clinton ended his role with a for-profit college system on Friday, nearly two weeks after his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, began her second presidential campaign and singled out that industry for criticism. More here from the New York Times.

  

The Clinton University Problem: Laureate Education Lawsuits Present Problem For Clintons

Jonathan Turley

225px-Laureate_International_Universities_Logo220px-Clinton_and_jiangWhile largely ignored by the media, the Clintons have their own university scandal. Donald Trump has been rightfully criticized and sued over his defunct Trump University. There is ample support for claiming that the Trump University was fraudulent in its advertisements and operations. However, the national media has been accused of again sidestepping a scandal involving the Clintons that involves the same type of fraud allegations. The scandal involves the dubious Laureate Education for-profit college and entails many of the common elements with other Clinton scandals: huge sums given to the Clintons and questions of conflicts with Hillary Clinton during her time as Secretary of State. There are distinctions to draw between the two stories, but the virtual radio silence on the Clinton/Laureate story is surprising.


I have long been a critic of most online courses, though I am increasingly in the minority even on my faculty. However, the rise of online courses has allowed for an increase in dubious pitches and practices that prey upon people who cannot afford or attend a traditional academic institution.

Laureate Education has been sued over such programs as its Walden University Online offering, which many have alleged is a scam designed to bilk students of tens of thousands of dollars for degrees. Students says that they were repeatedly delayed and given added costs as they tried to secure degrees, leaving them deeply in debt.

The respected Inside Higher Education reported that Laureate Education paid Bill Clinton an obscene $16.5 million between 2010 and 2014 to serve as an honorary chancellor for Laureate International Universities. While Bill Clinton worked as the group’s pitchman, the State Department funneled $55 million to Laureate when Hillary Clinton was secretary of state. That would seem a pretty major story but virtually no mainstream media outlet has reported it while running hundreds of stories on the Trump University scandal.

There was even a class action — like the Trump University scandal. Travis et al v. Walden University LLC, was filed in U.S. District Court in the District of Maryland but dismissed in 2015. It is not clear why it was dismissed. However, the size of the contract to Clinton, the payment from State and the widespread complaints over alleged fraud should warrant a modicum of attention to the controversy. The controversy has many of the familiar complaints over fraudulent online programs that take advantage of hard working people.

As an academic, I find both Trump University and Laureate to be deeply troubling stories. Yet, only one has been pursued by the media to any significant degree. I am not suggesting that Laureate as a whole is fraudulent. Moreover, there are distinctions that can be drawn with a university like Trump that is based entirely on the presumptive nominee and his promises in advertising. However, the money given to the Clintons, the involvement of the State Department, and the claims of fraud make this an obviously significant story in my view.

What do you think?