Saturday, August 15, 2015


News Clips For The Day


http://www.npr.org/2015/08/15/432254189/in-measuring-post-katrina-recovery-a-racial-gap-emerges

In Measuring Post-Katrina Recovery, A Racial Gap Emerges
Cheryl Corley
AUGUST 15, 2015

Photograph -- Large homes and lush lawns are common in Lake Forest Estates, a subdivision in New Orleans East. After Katrina, 6-foot-deep flood waters devastated the region.
Cheryl Corley/NPR
Photograph -- Cheri Babich (center) and her friends gather at the Broadmoor library for a weekly game of mahjong. Residents rallied to save the building after the low-lying area was designated to become a park in the aftermath of extensive Katrina-related flooding.
Cheryl Corley/NPR


How can you tell if a city has come back from a tragedy as devastating as Hurricane Katrina?

Ten years after the levees failed in New Orleans, and the waters of Lake Pontchartrain, whipped up by Hurricane Katrina, flooded most of the city, New Orleans residents say there's been much progress since then.

A new NPR/Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that a majority surveyed — 54 percent — says New Orleans has mostly recovered, measured by returning population, new housing, jobs, infrastructure and quality of life.

Break the results down by race, however, and the numbers show a big gap. Just 44 percent of black New Orleanians think the city has come back. The number is much higher for white residents, at 70 percent.

In the Broadmoor area, one of the most diverse in New Orleans, residents fought down plans to turn a parcel of low-lying land into a park. Now a new library and community center at the site hosts classes, clubs and events.

"This is one of the anchors the community worked really, really hard to rebuild and to renovate in the years after the storm," says Emily Wolf, director of the Broadmoor Improvement Association.

On this day, a group of friends has come in to play its regularly scheduled game of Mahjong. They're white, and one of them, Cheri Babich, is enthusiastic about the city's prospects.

"Now we've got young people moving in here," Babich says. "There's new restaurants opening every week. It's just amazing. So many people are just bustling around and working. It's great."

Some areas have more people and housing than even before Katrina. Mary Logsdon, who lives in one of those neighborhoods, says there's a bit of a downside to the boom.

"Rents have gotten unbelievably high," Logsdon says.

For many long-time residents, rents are unaffordable and they've had to move elsewhere. But two-thirds of whites and those with higher incomes say the recovery efforts have helped people like them, either some or a lot.

About 10 miles northeast of Broadmoor is the Lake Forest Estates subdivision, one of several neighborhoods in the New Orleans East region. Houses here are big, lawns expansive.

Realtor Sylvia Scineaux-Richard, a black former biology professor, describes this neighborhood as well-to-do.

"You're not going to see a whole lot of blight in these areas here, because people had invested quite a bit of money in these homes, as you can see," Scineaux-Richard says. "These are not throw-away types of properties."

Most of the homes here are occupied; in other areas of New Orleans East, not so much. One reason for the disparity is the way the rebuilding grants worked. The Louisiana Road Home program maxed out federal rebuilding money at a home's pre-Katrina value, meaning more money for wealthier homeowners and substantially less for those in poorer neighborhoods.

Civil rights activists and homeowners filed suit, accusing the program of discrimination. A settlement eventually allowed homeowners to apply for additional funds.

Scineaux-Richard says there should be more of a focus on New Orleans East.

"New Orleans East deserves to have the rebirth here and the renovation as a priority, because we were so badly devastated and damaged," she says.

About five miles from Scineaux-Richard's subdivision, where more homes sit abandoned, residents have an even greater sense that the recovery left them behind, particularly when it comes to employment. Sixty-six percent of whites in the NPR/Kaiser poll say New Orleans has good job opportunities for young people; only 35 percent of African-Americans say so.

The prospects for young black residents are bleak, says promoter Johnny Conrad, 26.

"Ain't no jobs out here," Conrad says. "Why you think they got people on the corner? Making money, man."

Student Tooty Jones says connections are key.

"It's all in who you know," says Jones, 26. "If you don't know nobody, you're going to struggle for the longest."

Charles West, a city hall strategist who oversees a program designed to prepare people for job opportunities and match them with employers, says 52 percent of the black men in New Orleans are not working.

"It is a major challenge for us to address the disparities and economic opportunity for our most disadvantaged, which in this city, in large part, are African-American men," West says.

Several organizations are trying to shift those employment numbers, too.

At Liberty's Kitchen, a workforce training program for 16- to 24-year-olds who are out of school and out of work, young barristas — mostly black — take coffee orders and prepare food.

Jason Johnson says he's hopeful about the future. Johnson, 20, says the culinary skills he's learned here and the experience interacting with customers will help when he starts his own business.

"I want to open a jazz club, to bring back the jazz culture around the world, to be honest, and have a place for artists and people in those types of fields to come and just have free expression of themselves," he says.

Chondra Allen wants to own her own restaurant too.

"There's opportunities, but it may not be known," says Allen, 21. "That makes it difficult to actually get to them, because you're not sure what is out there for you to get."

Liberty's Kitchen director David Emond says more millennials are moving to New Orleans than to any other city, and it's important that the young people already in the city be part of New Orleans economic boom.

"You can really argue that the most dramatic impact of the storm was on these kids who were torn out of schools, ripped away from families, moved to different cities, lost all of the networks that were there to support them and, in many cases, have never fully recovered," Emond says.

And recovery is key, he says in a city with so many possibilities.



https://www.road2la.org/

The Road Home Program Overview

The Road Home program has helped many residents of Louisiana affected by Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita get back into their homes.

Since August of 2005, Louisiana has faced an unprecedented challenge in rebuilding the damage left by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Thousands of residents, businesses, local governments and others have benefitted from the many programs and partnerships that have been made available through the State of Louisiana, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The effort to rebuild safer, stronger, and smarter has been successful in many ways. Increased flood protection, improvements to municipal drainage and pumping capacity, the adoption of updated building codes, and the use of smart planning have all contributed to a safer Louisiana.

Through the Road Home - Homeowner Assistance Program, over 130,000 residents across the Louisiana coastal region have received more than $8.9 billion to rebuild and protect their homes and rental properties from future storm damage.

That’s over 99% of eligible applicants. This website is a comprehensive portal for all Road Home programs which includes up-to-date statistics, helpful links, and information.

In addition to assistance for residential homeowners, the Road Home - Small Rental Property Program has provided over $400 million for the restoration of nearly 8,500 rental units.

While there is still much work to be done to rebuild in Louisiana, the Road Home program is now concentrating on compliance and monitoring; a process in which homeowners show that all requirements of the federal grant process have been met.

Together we are building a safer, stronger, smarter Louisiana.

The Office of Community - Development Disaster Recovery Unit does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion or disability, and provides, upon request, reasonable accommodation, including auxiliary aids and services, to afford an individual with a disability an equal opportunity to participate in all services, programs and activities. Towards this end, we continually strive to make our web platform friendly to screen readers and other accessibility-related software, and provide accessible documents where possible. Any person requiring assistance, or would like a copy of a specific document, should contact the Special Needs Coordinator at (225) 276-2738. TTY callers please use the 711 relay* or dial 1.800.846.5277.





NPR -- “Break the results down by race, however, and the numbers show a big gap. Just 44 percent of black New Orleanians think the city has come back. The number is much higher for white residents, at 70 percent. In the Broadmoor area, one of the most diverse in New Orleans, residents fought down plans to turn a parcel of low-lying land into a park. Now a new library and community center at the site hosts classes, clubs and events. "This is one of the anchors the community worked really, really hard to rebuild and to renovate in the years after the storm," says Emily Wolf, director of the Broadmoor Improvement Association. …. Some areas have more people and housing than even before Katrina. Mary Logsdon, who lives in one of those neighborhoods, says there's a bit of a downside to the boom. "Rents have gotten unbelievably high," Logsdon says. For many long-time residents, rents are unaffordable and they've had to move elsewhere. But two-thirds of whites and those with higher incomes say the recovery efforts have helped people like them, either some or a lot. …. Most of the homes here are occupied; in other areas of New Orleans East, not so much. One reason for the disparity is the way the rebuilding grants worked. The Louisiana Road Home program maxed out federal rebuilding money at a home's pre-Katrina value, meaning more money for wealthier homeowners and substantially less for those in poorer neighborhoods. Civil rights activists and homeowners filed suit, accusing the program of discrimination. A settlement eventually allowed homeowners to apply for additional funds. …. Sixty-six percent of whites in the NPR/Kaiser poll say New Orleans has good job opportunities for young people; only 35 percent of African-Americans say so. The prospects for young black residents are bleak, says promoter Johnny Conrad, 26. "Ain't no jobs out here," Conrad says. "Why you think they got people on the corner? Making money, man." Student Tooty Jones says connections are key. "It's all in who you know," says Jones, 26. "If you don't know nobody, you're going to struggle for the longest." …. At Liberty's Kitchen, a workforce training program for 16- to 24-year-olds who are out of school and out of work, young barristas — mostly black — take coffee orders and prepare food. Jason Johnson says he's hopeful about the future. Johnson, 20, says the culinary skills he's learned here and the experience interacting with customers will help when he starts his own business. …. Liberty's Kitchen director David Emond says more millennials are moving to New Orleans than to any other city, and it's important that the young people already in the city be part of New Orleans economic boom.”

“Louisiana Road Home program maxed out federal rebuilding money at a home's pre-Katrina value, meaning more money for wealthier homeowners and substantially less for those in poorer neighborhoods….” A lawsuit was filed and some at least who were given short shrift in the financial arrangement were allowed to apply for more money. It does seem to me that the fair way to do this would have been to lend aid according to some other measurement than their prior economic status. For instance, what about the number of family members, the amount of money the family has without government aid, the median price range required for building a home for that number of residents, allow prior owners to build modest but up-to-date homes on their original land parcels with government aid. If they want to build a McMansion they would have to pay for it themselves. In other words, they should get their land back as it was, but with a modest house for the government aid -- that would mean that the very poor would probably get a somewhat better house than they had had before. I have never believed in a scholarship program, for instance, that allows the wealthy to be eligible. The wealthy should pay for their kids schooling on their own.

This article didn’t say whether prior owners were guaranteed the continued ownership of their original properties. That would be the easiest way, but it would be interesting if HUD and FEMA bought out original owners who didn’t’ want to keep their land and rebuild on it – a number of people decided to leave the area after the disaster, I understand -- and then give equally sized parcels of half an acre or so out for a controlled, moderate cost, rather than a higher and uncontrollable price on the open market, to people of modest means. You could house more people that way, and rebuild more of the city. The article said that many Millennials are moving into New Orleans now for jobs. Give them Road Home money to aid them in buying or building there at the lower price. Did people who hadn’t owned property before Katrina get a chance to buy a new home in the city?

I’m glad to see that there are some 8500 rental properties available. It’s unfortunate that properties there have risen in price to a level that many can’t afford to live in them. The good news, though, is that the blighted neighborhoods which were reported after the flood are being rebuilt in a way that is acceptable. I remember news footage of a camera crew touring one of those neighborhoods in a boat and showing wreckage where there had been houses. It was very depressing to see that. I had been to New Orleans at Mardi Gras a number of years earlier and found it to be a beautiful city.





WHAT’S SAUCE FOR THE GOOSE IS SAUCE FOR THE GANDER



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/hillary-clinton-email-classified-information-public-domain-unredacted-form/

New details about classified information in Clinton's emails
CBS NEWS
August 15, 2015

Play VIDEO -- How Clinton email scandal may shift the Democratic field
Play VIDEO -- Will Hillary Clinton's email server yield anything?

CBS News has learned more about what was in those four Hillary Clinton emails that intelligence officials now say should have been marked as "classified."

While campaigning in Clear Lake, Iowa, Friday, Clinton made a forceful defense of her handling of the 2012 Benghazi, Libya, attacks and her use of a private email server while she was secretary of state.

Clinton said the Republicans will say the email controversy is about Benghazi, but she said, "It's not. It's about politics."

"I won't get down in the mud with them," Clinton said. "I won't play politics with national security or dishonor the memory of those who we lost. I won't pretend that this is anything other than what it is: the same old partisan games we've seen so many times before."

As an interagency debate rages about just how sensitive Clinton's emails were, CBS News has learned that one of the emails in question is already in the public domain in unredacted form, CBS News' Nancy Cordes reports.

The inspector general for the Intelligence Community revealed last month that a review of a "limited sample" of 40 Clinton emails yielded four that "contained classified information."

But by then the State Department had already released one of them in full as part of a court-mandated release of 296 Clinton emails, all pertaining to Libya and the 2012 Benghazi attacks.

Some of those emails were partially redacted, but this one was not, indicating that the State Department did not consider the material it contained to be particularly sensitive.

In fact, sources tell CBS News that none of the four emails mentioned the names or locations of intelligence assets.

What did they mention? According to The Associated Press, one involved a discussion about a news article detailing a U.S. drone operation. It is technically considered a "secret program" but is actually "well-known and often reported on."

That email, intelligence officials say, should have been marked "top secret" and, like the other three, "should never have been transmitted via an unclassified personal system" like the one Clinton possessed.




“As an interagency debate rages about just how sensitive Clinton's emails were, CBS News has learned that one of the emails in question is already in the public domain in unredacted form, CBS News' Nancy Cordes reports. …. In fact, sources tell CBS News that none of the four emails mentioned the names or locations of intelligence assets. What did they mention? According to The Associated Press, one involved a discussion about a news article detailing a U.S. drone operation. It is technically considered a "secret program" but is actually "well-known and often reported on."

I would like to see the four emails, redacted or not, in full and not this very vague description of one of them. Drone operations have been going on in Pakistan and elsewhere in the area for years now. Many consider them to be imprecise in how they target people, but the very fact that it is people and not villages or Mosques, etc. that they are attempting to strike is an improvement, it seems to me. Supposedly they are after jihadi leaders rather than ordinary citizens. Too often the Islamic forces over there do hide innocent citizens in their mosques hoping to prevent American raids from hitting them, but that doesn’t always work. I suppose if the Pentagon wishes to keep our knowledge of the whereabouts of an important leader secret, then that should be top secret in order to save our spies from being discovered. Other than that I don’t understand what is so secret about a drone attack. They have made it into the news lots of times.





http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/as-governor-jeb-bush-used-e-mail-to-discuss-security-troop-movements/2015/03/14/0d7fae16-ca49-11e4-b2a1-bed1aaea2816_story.html?postshare=1271439508279887

As governor, Jeb Bush used e-mail to discuss security, troop deployments
By Ed O'Keefe
March 14, 2015

Photograph -- Jeb Bush tours Integra Biosciences in Hudson, N.H. on Friday (Matt McClain/The Washington Post)

Jeb Bush used his private e-mail account as Florida governor to discuss security and military issues such as troop deployments to the Middle East and the protection of nuclear plants, according to a review of publicly released records.

The e-mails include two series of exchanges involving details of Florida National Guard troop deployments after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the review by The Washington Post found.

Aides to Bush said Saturday that none of the e-mails contained sensitive or classified information, and that many of the events mentioned in them were documented in press accounts, either contemporaneously or later. But security experts say private e-mail systems such as the one used by Bush are more vulnerable to hackers, and that details such as troop movements could be exploited by enemies.

Bush is actively considering a run for president and has sharply criticized likely Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton for her use of a private e-mail account when she served as secretary of state. He called it “baffling” that Clinton didn’t consider the potential security risks of discussing diplomatic and national security issues by using an e-mail account not tied to a government server. An unknown number of the e-mails housed on Bush’s server were redacted or withheld from public release because they contained sensitive security issues, Bush representatives have said. Communications director Tim Miller said general policy was for Bush to discuss sensitive National Guard issues in person with only occasional briefings by e-mail that “wouldn’t contain information that should not be in the public domain.”

“This Democrat opposition research dump of a few innocuous e-mails that Gov. Bush voluntarily posted on a Web site only highlights how large the gap is between him and Clinton in the area of transparency,” Miller said in a statement.

Jeb Bush denies he has Clinton-like e-mail problem
Play Video0:49
Potential Republican presidential contender Jeb Bush dismisses Democratic claims he used a personal e-mail as governor of Florida to avoid public scrutiny. (Reuters)

As governor, Bush used his account, jeb@jeb.org, to conduct official, political and personal business, including plans to woo new businesses to the state, judicial appointments and military matters, the e-mail records show. His e-mail server was housed at the governor’s office in Tallahassee during his two terms; he took it with him when he left office in 2007.

He later turned over about 280,000 e-mails for state archives under the requirements of Florida records laws, or about half of the total e-mails on the server.

In one e-mail sent four days after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the top general for the Florida Air National Guard told Bush that “we are actively planning sequences in preparation for mobilization orders should they come.”

“They have not come at this time,” wrote Ronald O. Harrison, who was adjutant general of Florida. “We are pretty good at anticipating the type of forces potentially needed and are prepared to respond to the Presidents call.”

“Keep me informed of the mobilization,” Bush wrote in reply.

Bush officials noted that many of the deployment orders issued after 9/11 were included in news reports at the time, including some of those mentioned in the Bush e-mails.

In November 2001, Bush and an aide to then-Lt. Gov. Frank Brogan exchanged messages about the deployment of National Guard troops to a nuclear power plant in Crystal River, Fla. The aide wrote Bush that a state lawmaker had called to say she thought “it is imperative that the Crystal River nuclear facility have National Guard security.”

Bush wrote back: “Florida power does not want it. We are reducing or getting rid of guard protection in the other plants.”

Aides to Bush argue that the nuclear plant discussions were innocuous and mostly public anyway. After the 9/11 attacks, the International Atomic Energy Agency had warned that terrorists might try to attack nuclear power plants.

Bush dispatched Guard troops to protect two South Florida nuclear power plants but not the Crystal River facility. The plant’s operator, Florida Power Corp., declined the governor’s offer of security, according to local news reports at the time.

Aides also say Bush’s server was secure because it was kept at the governor’s office.

But Johannes Ullrich, a cybersecurity expert who is dean of research at the SANS Technology Institute, said private accounts in general are more susceptible to attacks than government e-mail addresses, particularly attacks in which a hacker establishes a look-alike account that allows them to impersonate as the account holder.


Encryption technology was also far less sophisticated in 2001, he said, which could have made Bush’s e-mails particularly insecure while traveling. If hackers gained access to Bush’s account, he said, there’s a chance they could break into the account of the National Guard commander or other officials with whom Bush exchanged e-mails.

“The bigger issue here is, what else can an attacker do?” Ullrich said. “Now I may be able to penetrate a National Guard commander’s laptop by infecting it or by impersonating Jeb Bush’s account. . . . Now you may even be able to give the order to remove troops or change deployments.”

In recent days, Democrats — reeling from the criticism of Clinton’s e-mail practices — have stepped up their critique of Bush on the same topic, arguing that he used his personal e-mail to avoid public scrutiny of his actions as governor.

“The GOP presidential hopefuls’ attacks on this issue are completely disingenuous, and there are still a litany of questions Republicans need to answer, like what e-mails has Jeb Bush not turned over?” said Holly Shulman, a spokeswoman for the Democratic National Committee.

Bush rebuffed such criticism during an event in New Hampshire on Friday. “I’m not surprised that the Clinton operatives would suggest this. It’s kind of standard operating procedure,” he told reporters, referring to Democratic charges that his e-mail situation was no different than Clinton’s.

He added later that he was “totally transparent. I have a BlackBerry as part of my official portrait, for crying out loud. There was nothing to hide.”

Under Florida law, Bush was required to hand over e-mails related to his time in office. Bush aides say there were about 550,000 e-mails on Bush’s server when he left office in 2007, although a portion of those came from before he began his tenure. About half that number were eventually turned over to state archives.

As noted Saturday by the New York Times, the archive process continued until last May, when attorneys for Bush delivered 25,000 additional messages. Aides have defended the pace of Bush’s compliance, saying that it took seven years because of his volume of correspondence.

In February, Bush launched a Web site, JebBushEmails.com, telling visitors that “they’re all here so you can read them and make up your own mind.”

Bush’s aides have strongly defended the process used to release his messages, noting that other potential GOP presidential candidates haven’t released any e-mails or are having e-mails released only as part of ongoing government investigations. The list includes former Texas governor Rick Perry; Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal; Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker; and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

Perry and Jindal have used private e-mail for government business, according to the Associated Press. Former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley (D) — who is also weighing a presidential bid — said last week that he used a private Gmail account as governor to communicate with aides and Cabinet officials.

When Bush published his e-mails in February, aides said many messages would be withheld or redacted to comply with state law barring the release of messages including Social Security numbers, confidential business issues or law enforcement and other security matters. Some of the published e-mails initially included Social Security numbers, forcing Bush’s team to quickly redact them — an early stumble for the governor’s fledgling presidential efforts.

A spokeswoman for the Florida secretary of state’s office did not return a request for comment Saturday to explain why some e-mails were released and others withheld, saying any answer would require a fuller legal interpretation that wouldn’t be available until next week.


Bush’s archives include a handful of other messages from leaders of Florida’s National Guard. There are copies of the “Florida National Guard Activity Report” from August 2000 and December 2000, with information about troop deployments to the Caribbean, South Korea and Kuwait; the activation of units; and details on training exercises and drug seizures.

In October 2000, Harrison e-mailed Bush to remind him that 170 Florida Air National Guardsmen from Jacksonville would be deploying to Saudi Arabia to enforce the southern Iraq no-fly zone. The message said they would “coincidentally travel over with a group of 90 from the Texas Air National Guard” — a unit that was under the command of Bush’s brother, George W. Bush, who was then Texas governor.

The next month, a lieutenant commander with one of the deployed units e-mailed Jeb Bush to thank him for sending a message of support, noting that “our unit has played a key role in missions directly related” to ongoing tensions between Iraq and Israel.. The officer added that “you can assure your brother the F-15s from your state could take the F-16s from his state!”

Immediately after news broke March 2 about Clinton’s use of a private server, Bush faulted her for not releasing her e-mails from her time as secretary of state, writing on Twitter that “Transparency matters.” He later raised concerns about Clinton’s decision during an interview with Radio Iowa.

“For security purposes, you need to be behind a firewall that recognizes the world for what it is, and it’s a dangerous world, and security would mean that you couldn’t have a private server,” he said. “It’s a little baffling, to be honest with you, that didn’t come up in Secretary Clinton’s thought process.”

On Friday night, after a meeting with potential supporters, Bush was asked to respond to criticism that he, like Clinton, was allowed to self-select which e-mails should be turned over for archiving.

“I was way too busy to decide,” Bush said, before clarifying that his general counsel was among those involved in selecting which e-mails to turn over.


“It was a process that was based on the law itself, and we complied with the law and all during this time we’ve complied with the law, even in my post-governorship,” he said.

Rosalind S. Helderman contributed to this report.


Ed O’Keefe is covering the 2016 presidential campaign, with a focus on Jeb Bush and other Republican candidates. He's covered presidential and congressional politics since 2008. Off the trail, he's covered Capitol Hill, federal agencies and the federal workforce, and spent a brief time covering the war in Iraq.




“Jeb Bush used his private e-mail account as Florida governor to discuss security and military issues such as troop deployments to the Middle East and the protection of nuclear plants, according to a review of publicly released records. The e-mails include two series of exchanges involving details of Florida National Guard troop deployments after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the review by The Washington Post found. Aides to Bush said Saturday that none of the e-mails contained sensitive or classified information, and that many of the events mentioned in them were documented in press accounts, either contemporaneously or later. But security experts say private e-mail systems such as the one used by Bush are more vulnerable to hackers, and that details such as troop movements could be exploited by enemies. …. As governor, Bush used his account, jeb@jeb.org, to conduct official, political and personal business, including plans to woo new businesses to the state, judicial appointments and military matters, the e-mail records show. His e-mail server was housed at the governor’s office in Tallahassee during his two terms; he took it with him when he left office in 2007. He later turned over about 280,000 e-mails for state archives under the requirements of Florida records laws, or about half of the total e-mails on the server. …. Aides have defended the pace of Bush’s compliance, saying that it took seven years because of his volume of correspondence. …. On Friday night, after a meeting with potential supporters, Bush was asked to respond to criticism that he, like Clinton, was allowed to self-select which e-mails should be turned over for archiving. “I was way too busy to decide,” Bush said, before clarifying that his general counsel was among those involved in selecting which e-mails to turn over.”

“Aides also say Bush’s server was secure because it was kept at the governor’s office. But Johannes Ullrich, a cybersecurity expert who is dean of research at the SANS Technology Institute, said private accounts in general are more susceptible to attacks than government e-mail addresses, particularly attacks in which a hacker establishes a look-alike account that allows them to impersonate as the account holder. Encryption technology was also far less sophisticated in 2001, he said.” Encryption technology is important, but if Hillary Clinton’s emails didn’t contain anything dangerous, she really didn’t do anything wrong, except I would suggest that maybe all email accounts are vulnerable and communications should be done on paper and by secret messenger, as they were 20 years ago. Also, any document that is “secret” should be marked as such immediately. All communications should be examined and classified properly before they are sent out by any means whatsoever. Some Republicans are looking for a “stand down” order to the marines who were there at the time, and I don’t believe any such order was given.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-hiv-cases-on-the-rise-in-florida/

New HIV cases on the rise in Florida
By VICENTE ARENAS CBS NEWS
August 14, 2015

Play VIDEO -- Promising new HIV therapy tested
Play VIDEO -- Elton John: U.S. Congress "has the power to end AIDS"

MIAMI -- Health officials in Florida are seeing a resurgence in HIV cases, especially among adolescents and young adults. After three decades of medical advances against the potentially-deadly virus, it's on the rise again. The Sunshine State now ranks number one with new cases.

Jahn Cabeza, 26, discovered he was HIV positive two years ago. He remembers stopping at a mobile testing lab and having his world turned upside down.

"I thought, 'This is the end for me,'" Cabeza told CBS News. "I used to cry in the bathroom and wake up with my eyes swollen because I was crying all night."

Cabeza's diagnosis, is part of an alarming trend. Nearly 5,400 Floridians were diagnosed with HIV in 2013, according to the Florida Department of Health. That's more than any state in the nation.

Dr. Michael Wohlfeiler is the Chief of Medicine for the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. He says 13- to 24-year-old males make up the fastest-growing group of new infections.

"They were not alive when we went through what I call the Holocaust Era of AIDS, where everybody was dying from this disease," Wohlfeiler said.

"A young person comes in for his or her first visit with me -- The attitude at the beginning of the visit is very nonchalant, like this is not a big deal," Wohlfeiler continued. "By the end of the visit, often the attitude has changed."

Increasing infection rates are also being seen in those age 50 and older, according to Wohlfeiler.

"Part of the reason we are seeing new infections in older group of men who have sex with men is what I would actually term a kind of 'gay mid-life crisis,' where they were HIV negative for years and years, getting tested regularly and then they went through a period as they were facing middle age of becoming more sexually active," Wohlfeiler said.

Health officials also say up to 60 percent of teens and young adults who are infected don't know they are HIV positive -- and are unknowingly spreading the disease.

The AIDS Foundation is now trying to create a more aggressive media campaign to remind people that the benefits of safe sex far outweigh the risks of the disease.




“Health officials in Florida are seeing a resurgence in HIV cases, especially among adolescents and young adults. After three decades of medical advances against the potentially-deadly virus, it's on the rise again. The Sunshine State now ranks number one with new cases. …. Nearly 5,400 Floridians were diagnosed with HIV in 2013, according to the Florida Department of Health. That's more than any state in the nation. Dr. Michael Wohlfeiler is the Chief of Medicine for the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. He says 13- to 24-year-old males make up the fastest-growing group of new infections. …. Health officials also say up to 60 percent of teens and young adults who are infected don't know they are HIV positive -- and are unknowingly spreading the disease.”

The fact that as many as 60% are unaware of the fact that they are infected and have therefore spread the disease is probably enough to cause this rise in cases in the state of Florida. The real key, though, seems to be that safe sex is no longer being practiced. Since the age group goes down as low as age 13 may be a sign that young people are having sex both gay and hetero earlier and earlier. Other than these facts, I would like to see more about this alarming trend. Is one city such as Miami a “hotbed” of gay activity? How did these numbers come to be established in Florida in particular? What is going on? The following gives far more on this as a Florida problem in particular. It is not a recent trend, but goes back at least as far as this 2004 article.


http://www.amfar.org/content.aspx?id=142

HIV/AIDS in Florida: Epidemic Clouds the Sunshine State

March 3, 2004—Beneath the sunshine and the swaying palms, Florida is struggling to check an HIV epidemic that ranks third in the nation, behind only New York and California.

HIV and AIDS rates have been high in Florida since the first years of HIV/AIDS in the U.S. Close to 95,000 people in Florida currently live with HIV or AIDS, representing 10 to 11 percent of the national total. The three counties that rim the southeast edge of the peninsula, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, and Broward, have been hardest hit, especially among men who have sex with men and minority populations. Meanwhile, the groups that are worst affected are also diverse, often transient, and culturally and geographically disconnected, making a uniform prevention message impossible.

Diversity of Factors

Thomas Liberti, Chief, Bureau of HIV/AIDS in the Florida Department of Health, speaks at the 2003 National HIV/AIDS Update Conference.

South Florida is a mosaic of diverse cultures. The city's Hispanic population, composed of Cubans, Venezuelans, and others from all over South and Central America, make up 50 percent of Miami's residents. This community has been hard hit by the epidemic: statewide, 16 percent of HIV cases are in Hispanics and that number jumps to 32 percent in Miami-Dade. Blacks—comprising African Americans, Haitians, and other Caribbeans—account for roughly half of all HIV/AIDS cases in the state and in Miami-Dade, even though they make up only 14 percent of Florida's population and a quarter of Miami's. Black women, in particular, are bearing a huge burden: a staggering 72 percent of both HIV and AIDS cases in Florida's black population affect women. In fact, an estimated 1 in 47 black Floridians have HIV/AIDS, compared with 1 in 176 Hispanics, and 1 in 346 whites, according to the Florida Department of Health.

Added to the population of minority groups and new immigrants is a steady influx of retirees from around the U.S. and young people attracted to the lively tourist spots. "One of the factors that may be unique to Florida's epidemic to some extent is that the population is transitory," says Dr. Gene Copello, Executive Director of the Tampa-based AIDS Institute and a professor of public policy at the University of South Florida’s College of Medicine. "It's a vacation state and so there is a relatively large number of people who come in and go out."

The connection to the southern hemisphere is a strong one, and a source of concern to Luis Penelas, a gay activist and Executive Director of Union Positiva, which provides outreach services to Miami-Dade's Hispanic communities.


"We go to the doctor when it hurts, but for HIV/AIDS, it's too late. You've already spread it and if you wait until symptoms develop it's a lot harder to control the disease."—Luis Penelas, Executive Director of Union Positivas

"We are a bridge to South and Central America here. And the exchange of people is just constant," he says. The concern is that these are regions where HIV prevalence is high and testing rates are low. "There are places in the Caribbean and Central America where the incidence of AIDS is second only to sub-Saharan Africa," he says.

But immigration is not the sole culprit in the HIV epidemic. Poverty, drug use, risky sexual behavior, and a culture of denial in many minority communities are fueling a steady climb in HIV rates in these populations.

Penelas sees some cultural "idiosyncrasies" in his own community hindering his group's HIV prevention message. "The concept of preventive medicine is something that we haven't totally embraced overall as Hispanics," he says. "We go to the doctor when it hurts, but for HIV/AIDS, it's too late. You've already spread it and if you wait until symptoms develop it's a lot harder to control the disease."

Penelas is also concerned that the Catholic Church's condemnation of condoms is particularly harmful in the Hispanic community. "Hispanics tend to look up to the Church and get guidance from the Church," he says. "We do have to talk about abstinence, monogamy, and being faithful and honest with your partner, but we also have to talk about using a condom correctly."

And in communities where machismo is admired and homosexuality is a taboo, sex between men "on the down low" (in secret) is rampant, leaving women in the dark and at high risk for contracting HIV.

"The numbers really vary, but one recent survey [from University of California – San Francisco] I read said it's as much as 25 percent of married men engage in sex with other men. And our community is totally in denial about that," says Penelas.

Rising Risk Behavior

High-risk behaviors—particularly unprotected sex and drug use—have been rising across the country and Florida is no exception. Rising HIV rates among men who have sex with men (MSM) and minority women, soaring syphilis rates, and surveys indicating condom use is down all point to a disturbing trend in riskier behavior, says Thomas Liberti, Chief of the Bureau of HIV/AIDS in the Florida Department of Health.

The Florida Department of Health reports that most HIV exposures—52 percent in 2002—resulted from sex between men, while intravenous drug use and heterosexual sex accounted for 14 percent and 11 percent of transmissions, respectively. Among women, heterosexual sex accounted for 49 percent of transmissions and intravenous drug use 24 percent.

In South Beach, the narrow strip of land along Miami's shore that is home to a thriving gay party scene, use of methamphetamine is a growing epidemic, says Kevin Garrity, Executive Director of the South Beach AIDS Project in Miami. "There are reams of scientific evidence that say if you do crystal, you [are] six times more likely to engage in unprotected sex," he says.

Another side effect of methamphetamine use, Garrity says, is a noticeable drop in attendance at bars—a favorite place for organizations like his to carry out interventions and outreach—because people are binging on crystal meth and finding sex partners online. "These are people that we're not going to reach with any kind of message at a bar because they're not there," he says.

That's why Garrity's group, like many others, is taking its message online, where counselors answer questions and offer advice in chat rooms. "Fully 30 percent of our testing clients are now coming off those chat rooms," he says.

A Graying Epidemic

While HIV/AIDS rates are highest in the 24- to 44-year-old set, older Floridians are not exempt. And in a state where 27 percent of the population is over 55, this oft-overlooked group is finally getting the attention of AIDS outreach organizations.

Early on in the epidemic, AIDS organizations assumed seniors didn't really need HIV prevention outreach. "As we expanded, we found out that everything that people thought was probably false," says Liberti. In truth, he says, older Floridians are entering the dating scene anew, and facing risks that didn't exist when they were young. "When they were younger, condom use was for preventing pregnancy, period," says Liberti. Now, he says, "you actually have to educate seniors about the use of condoms for the prevention of disease." Added to that is "the Viagra effect." Newly potent men are now engaging in sex with multiple partners in retirement communities. But the myths persist. When older people see their doctor, Liberti says, "it's the last thing on the doctor's mind to ask about sexually transmitted disease."





https://news.vice.com/article/new-york-cops-are-now-shaming-homeless-people-on-social-media

New York Cops Are Now Shaming Homeless People On Social Media
By Colleen Curry
August 12, 2015

Photograph -- A homeless man seeks shelter under an umbrella as he sits begging in front of a store in New York, 3 January 2014. (Sebastian Gabriel/EPA)

A social media campaign by a New York City police union to post photos of homeless people to Flickr has been criticized as a way to "victim blame" or "homeless shame" people down on their luck, but law enforcement experts say it also shows the police unions trying to adapt to the power of social media that has been focused on them for the past year.

The Sergeants Benevolent Association launched the campaign by emailing members and urging them to take photos of the homeless in New York, according to the New York Post. They've so far posted nearly 240 photos to a Flickr account online, showing people sleeping in doorways and in subways, urinating on streets, and begging for food and money.

"As you travel about the city of New York, please utilize your smartphones to photograph the homeless lying in our streets, aggressive panhandlers, people urinating in public or engaging in open-air drug activity, and quality-of-life offenses of every type," SBA President Ed Mullins wrote in the letter to SBA members, according to the Post. "We will refer issues to the proper agencies, and we will help create accountability across the board."

The campaign is a pointed critique of Mayor Bill DeBlasio and his policies on both policing and homelessness, with Mullins writing about the "failed policies, more homeless encampments on city streets, a 10 percent increase in homicides, and the diminishing of our hard-earned and well-deserved public perception of the safest large city in America."

The SBA did not return multiple requests for comment from VICE News. Tension between the police unions and DeBlasio has been simmering since last year's public row that saw officers in uniform turn their backs on DeBlasio at the funeral for two officers who were shot and killed in the line of duty.

Outrage over the campaign simmered online, where the Southern Poverty Law Center called it "unacceptable," and many Twitter users condemned the action as victim-blaming.

The campaign represents to some law enforcement experts an attempt by police officers to harness the power of social media after a year in which they have often been the focus of controversy. Maria Haberfeld, chair of John Jay College's department of Law, Police Science, and Criminal Justice Administration, told VICE News that the police now realize they can use social media to get widespread attention for a problem they see as an important or urgent issue.

"If decision-making people, policy people, are aware of a problem, and aren't doing enough and don't seem to be generating an immediate solution, which in this case people probably would like to see, and the sooner the better, then the police union takes the responsibility on itself of taking the next step," Haberfeld said.

She said that people will have to "get use to" more public debate about issues that were previously handled privately.

"Suddenly there is this awakening to police use of force, not because it's a new phenomenon but because we are much more exposed through social media, so it works both ways, it works for their accountability of public performance but it also should work on other end, when police unions are able to alert decision makers to acute problems," she said.

John DeCarlo, author of the book, Labor Unions, Management Innovation and Organizational Change in Police Departments, said that the SBA's campaign is part of a long history of dialogue between the city administration and police officers, who often have "two very different perspectives" on public policy.

"I think what you're seeing is a natural progression of communications," DeCarlo told VICE News. "Unions would've been talking to politicians and going to newspapers before, and now it's a grassroots campaign of getting the word out on social media for what they think is important and what they think the public should be seeing."

DeCarlo says that cops are trying to document the changes they are noticing on the streets as they go about their jobs. He says higher ranking police and city officials have a big picture view of the city.

"Being Mayor or Commissioner, you're looking at a lot of different perspectives, not just the crime rate or homelessness, but educating children and satisfying constituents and all sorts of things," DeCarlo said. "Whereas the union is looking specifically at one issue, crime and disorder, and so often their perspective is very focused on that one issue."

But both policing experts and homeless advocates told VICE News today that the use of a social media campaign to influence a public policy debate is probably a good thing, and the advent of social media simply moved an existing debate between cops and administrators into the public realm.

"Social media allows people, whether in the police profession or another profession, to sort of be much more vocal about issues of concern," Haberfeld said. "Maybe 5 or 10 years ago maybe the police were aware of problems in city and didn't necessarily see a proper platform [to discuss it], but now social media allows them to say what the issues are, so it's just a new vehicle."


Jeff Foreman, policy director at Care for the Homeless, agreed with the policing experts, noting that the while the campaign could run the risk or stigmatizing the homeless, it could also lead to a debate about better solutions for the city's homeless problem.

"If it raises the focus and consciousness on homelessness in New York and people are looking for and committing to solutions to the problem, then it can be a good thing," Foreman said. "Obviously anything that stigmatizes homelessness or leads to enforcement that criminalizes homelessness is not a good thing, that actually makes it worse."

He said that the consequences of the union's homeless campaign will be determined by how it is perceived by the public and administrators, and he hopes to see it perceived as a "cry for help" that spurs the city into greater action in helping house the homeless.

Foreman's group would like to see an increase in supportive housing equipped with "wraparound" services, including mental health services, that help people get off the street. He said those services are more fiscally responsible for the city than the cost of arresting the homeless and housing them at the city's "most expensive homeless housing at Riker's Island," the city's jail.

The social media campaign and experts seem to also agree on the fact that there are more homeless on the street than in previous years, despite the fact that during the annual homelessness count in February of this year, there was a five percent decrease in the number of people counted, Foreman said.

"I think most New Yorkers think there are more homeless on the street right now," he said.

Haberfeld cautioned that despite the open critique of the administration by the police unions, both entities are working toward the same goal and are merely engaging in public debate about the best way to keep the city safe.

"Unfortunately," she said, "there is this perception that the unions are on one side and the administration is on the other but the truth is it's in everybody's interest to do something about this," she said. "At the end of the day, the administration, the bosses and the police organizations have the same interests as everybody else, they want a safe and secure city."

Watch the VICE News documentary Institutionalized: Mental Health Behind Bars:

Related: New Yorkers Hit the Streets Looking to Bring HOPE to the City's Homeless
Related: How Private Companies Are Profiting From Homelessness in New York City





"As you travel about the city of New York, please utilize your smartphones to photograph the homeless lying in our streets, aggressive panhandlers, people urinating in public or engaging in open-air drug activity, and quality-of-life offenses of every type," SBA President Ed Mullins wrote in the letter to SBA members, according to the Post. "We will refer issues to the proper agencies, and we will help create accountability across the board." …. The SBA did not return multiple requests for comment from VICE News. …. Outrage over the campaign simmered online, where the Southern Poverty Law Center called it "unacceptable," and many Twitter users condemned the action as victim-blaming. The campaign represents to some law enforcement experts an attempt by police officers to harness the power of social media after a year in which they have often been the focus of controversy. …. then the police union takes the responsibility on itself of taking the next step," Haberfeld said. She said that people will have to "get use to" more public debate about issues that were previously handled privately. "Suddenly there is this awakening to police use of force, not because it's a new phenomenon but because we are much more exposed through social media, so it works both ways, it works for their accountability of public performance but it also should work on other end, when police unions are able to alert decision makers to acute problems," she said. …. the SBA's campaign is part of a long history of dialogue between the city administration and police officers, who often have "two very different perspectives" on public policy. "I think what you're seeing is a natural progression of communications," DeCarlo told VICE News. "Unions would've been talking to politicians and going to newspapers before, and now it's a grassroots campaign of getting the word out on social media …. "Being Mayor or Commissioner, you're looking at a lot of different perspectives, not just the crime rate or homelessness, but educating children and satisfying constituents and all sorts of things," DeCarlo said. "Whereas the union is looking specifically at one issue, crime and disorder, and so often their perspective is very focused on that one issue." …. . "Obviously anything that stigmatizes homelessness or leads to enforcement that criminalizes homelessness is not a good thing, that actually makes it worse." …. a "cry for help" that spurs the city into greater action in helping house the homeless. Foreman's group would like to see an increase in supportive housing equipped with "wraparound" services, including mental health services, that help people get off the street. He said those services are more fiscally responsible for the city than the cost of arresting the homeless and housing them at the city's "most expensive homeless housing at Riker's Island," the city's jail. ….

“The SBA did not return multiple requests for comment from VICE News. …. Outrage over the campaign simmered online, where the Southern Poverty Law Center called it "unacceptable," and many Twitter users condemned the action as victim-blaming.” So the way I get this situation, a guy at the SBA started a campaign to make the Mayor Bill DeBlasio and “his policies” on both policing and homelessness appear weak and hapless. This war against him began a year ago when DeBlassio stood behind those who wanted to reform the policing style to make it more humane. That’s when the officers publically turned their back on him to embarrass him. He just wasn’t acting in the old “all for one and one for all” style that teenagers learn on the playground. He was trying to really do something about the abuses small and large committed by some – definitely not all – police officers. They were angry at him and have found a way to get back at him; they are now trying to prove that “coddling” lawbreakers has caused a 10% higher murder rate and more homeless people on the streets than a year ago. I’m willing to bet that there had not been a headcount of homeless people at either time, now are earlier, so I doubt the 10% claim.

Jeff Foreman, policy director at Care for the Homeless is advocating “supportive housing equipped with "wraparound" services, including mental health services,” and after all that is exactly what we do for the elderly when they no longer are able to care for their own needs. We call it an “Assisted Living” home. Included in this term “mental health services” would be drug abuse counseling and intervention, which is probably one of the problems that most chronically homeless people have, and as long as they drink or dope they can’t care for themselves. In addition of course many are schizophrenic, paranoid, heavily depressed or bipolar and need both counseling and medication. It’s really not surprising that they can’t get their life together well enough to procure and keep permanent housing. Somehow I don’t see how taking their picture and posting it online helps with these problems.

The reason most of them end up on the street, though, is that they can’t pay their rent or they do something that leads to their eviction such as damaging the property or getting into fights. If a mental health department were present on the premises they should do better with these things, and hopefully improve to the degree that they could hold a job or at least work part time. That comprehensive care, to me, would be much more effective about the number of homeless who are out there permanently than charging them with a crime and arresting them which is what usually happens. In DC when I lived there anyone who was drunk in public was taken to a Detox Center for “drying out” and referral to mental counselling. The aim was to “rescue them” temporarily and keep them from losing their housing. Alcoholics Anonymous groups often “take a meeting” to the jail, a halfway house, and the people there usually participate enthusiastically. “Helping” people like that takes some time, energy and personal involvement, after all. Those cops should go to the homeless shelters and lend a hand with whatever those who run the place need. Of course, I am aware that a certain percentage of those who live on the streets do it because there is a warrant out for their arrest and they can hide better under a bridge or in a homeless camp. From my observation of the homeless who lived in DC they are mainly mentally unbalanced or drinkers, and for both of those things mental health help is what’s needed. For alcoholism and drug addiction the 12 Step Programs are effective, free of charge, and allow the people to form some companionship and community spirit which strengthens and cheers us all up. I think that is really why many people go to a church. They can meditate and think higher thoughts on their own, but talking to people they trust is crucial.





http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/15/world/north-korea-threats/index.html

North Korea threatens to attack U.S.
By Kevin Conlon, CNN
August 15, 2015

55 photos: Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

(CNN)North Korea threatened to "retaliate against the U.S. with tremendous muscle" if it didn't cancel multinational military exercises scheduled to begin Monday.

South Korea conducts the yearly exercises, called Ulchi Freedom Guardian, with the United States and other allies "to enhance ... readiness, protect the region and maintain stability on the Korean peninsula," according to a statement from the Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command.

Just as the event itself is annual, so too are the condemnations and threats of retaliation from the reclusive North Korean regime.

"The further Ulchi Freedom Guardian joint military exercises are intensified, the strongest military counteraction the (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) will take to cope with them," a spokesman for North Korea's National Defense Commission (NDC) said Saturday.

A State Department official told CNN on Saturday it was aware of the threats. The exercises are transparent, defense-minded and are designed to increase the readiness of South Korea and the region, the State Department official said.

"These exercises are a clear demonstration of the U.S. commitment to the alliance," the official said.

While threatening military action is nothing new for the regime (Kim Jong Un told his troops they should be ready to fight a "sacred war" in the days leading up to the exercises in 2012, for example), the rhetoric coming out of Pyongang seems particularly ratcheted-up this time around.

"The army and people of the DPRK are no longer what they used to be in the past when they had to counter the U.S. nukes with rifles," the NDC spokesman continued, saying North Korea "is the invincible power equipped with both [the] latest offensive and defensive means unknown to the world..."

A state television report repeated the claim that this isn't the same old, ill-equipped North Korea that never could stand up to the United States in the past. In fact, this year, they are threatening to attack the U.S. on its own soil.

"If [the] United States wants their mainland to be safe," said a newswoman for the state TV station, KCNA, "then the Ulchi Freedom Guardian should stop immediately."

North Korea not interested in Iran-style nuclear talks

A former Army general who participated in previous Ulchi exercises said it's nothing more than the bluster of young tyrant who perhaps feels marginalized by more serious foes.

"One of the key propaganda goals of the young leader is to just get on the radar of the U.S.," said retired Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, now a national security analyst for CNN. "With all the other things we're focused on -- ISIS, al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, Russia and Ukraine, etc., Kim Jong Un wants to ensure he grabs attention."

North Korean rocket launch pad upgrade complete

Assuming the United States agrees with that assessment and doesn't give in, the exercises -- which will also include forces from Australia, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France, New Zealand and the United Kingdom -- will last 12 days and conclude August 28.




“South Korea conducts the yearly exercises, called Ulchi Freedom Guardian, with the United States and other allies "to enhance ... readiness, protect the region and maintain stability on the Korean peninsula," according to a statement from the Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command. Just as the event itself is annual, so too are the condemnations and threats of retaliation from the reclusive North Korean regime. …. "One of the key propaganda goals of the young leader is to just get on the radar of the U.S.," said retired Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, now a national security analyst for CNN. "With all the other things we're focused on -- ISIS, al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, Russia and Ukraine, etc., Kim Jong Un wants to ensure he grabs attention." …. Assuming the United States agrees with that assessment and doesn't give in, the exercises -- which will also include forces from Australia, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France, New Zealand and the United Kingdom -- will last 12 days and conclude August 28.”

Kim really doesn’t seem wise or mature enough to be taken seriously. His posturing is for internal consumption, I presume, and I won’t worry when he “reacts” to this military exercise.





http://news.yahoo.com/t-helped-u-nsa-spying-internet-traffic-n-184334638--finance.html

AT&T helped U.S. NSA in spying on Internet traffic: N.Y. Times
http://www.reuters.com/
August 15, 2015

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Telecommunications powerhouse AT&T Inc has provided extensive assistance to the U.S. National Security Agency as the spy agency conducts surveillance on huge volumes of Internet traffic passing through the United States, the New York Times reported on Saturday, citing newly disclosed NSA documents.

The newspaper reported that the company gave technical assistance to the NSA in carrying out a secret court order allowing wiretapping of all Internet communications at the headquarters of the United Nations, an AT&T customer.

The documents date from 2003 to 2013 and were provided by fugitive former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, the Times reported.

The company helped the spy agency in a broad range of classified activities, the newspaper reported.

The documents describe how the NSA's working relationship with AT&T has been particularly important, enabling the agency to conduct surveillance, under various legal rules, of international and foreign-to-foreign Internet communications that passed through network hubs in the United States.

AT&T installed surveillance equipment in at least 17 of its U.S. Internet hubs, far more than competitor Verizon Communications Inc, the Times reported. AT&T engineers also were the first to use new surveillance technologies invented by the NSA, the Times reported.

"This is a partnership, not a contractual relationship," according to one NSA document describing the link between the agency and the company.

AT&T's "corporate relationships provide unique accesses to other telecoms and I.S.P.s," or Internet service providers, according to another NSA document.

AT&T started in 2011 to provide the NSA more than 1.1 billion domestic cellphone calling records daily after "a push to get this flow operational prior to the 10th anniversary of 9/11," referring to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, the Times reported.

AT&T's providing of foreign-to-foreign Internet traffic has been especially important to the NSA because large amounts of the world's Internet communications pass across U.S. cables, the Times reported. The company gave access to contents of transiting email traffic years before Verizon started in March 2013, the Times reported.

Asked to comment on the Times report, AT&T spokesman Brad Burns told Reuters by email: "We do not voluntarily provide information to any investigating authorities other than if a person’s life is in danger and time is of the essence. For example, in a kidnapping situation we could provide help tracking down called numbers to assist law enforcement."

Burns said AT&T would have nothing further to say on the report.

(Reporting by Will Dunham; Editing by Peter Cooney)./i




“The newspaper reported that the company gave technical assistance to the NSA in carrying out a secret court order allowing wiretapping of all Internet communications at the headquarters of the United Nations, an AT&T customer. The documents date from 2003 to 2013 and were provided by fugitive former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, the Times reported. …. Asked to comment on the Times report, AT&T spokesman Brad Burns told Reuters by email: "We do not voluntarily provide information to any investigating authorities other than if a person’s life is in danger and time is of the essence. For example, in a kidnapping situation we could provide help tracking down called numbers to assist law enforcement." Burns said AT&T would have nothing further to say on the report.”

AT&T swears that they do not provide info except in a life or death situation. If that’s true, it doesn’t matter that they are my Internet Service Provider. They won’t look at my blogs, or anything else such as emails. What does matter is that they charge too much money. I do get good service from them, at least. What disturbs me about this article is the fact that my humble residence is potentially within the easy access of the “vast right wing conspiracy,” should they succeed in taking over the government. That makes me all the more interested in being politically active for our best Democrats at every election.





https://www.yahoo.com/tech/s/diver-close-encounter-killer-whales-221501299.html

Diver has close encounter with killer whales, catches it on film
Danny Gallagher
August 15, 2015

This article, Diver has close encounter with killer whales, catches it on film, originally appeared on CNET.com.

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A diver in New Zealand got the chance to swim with a pod of orcas. Video screenshot by Danny Gallagher/CNET

Deep-sea diving must be one of the most exhilarating experiences you can have outdoors, but it also seems like a huge hassle.

You have to spend all that time and money to get SCUBA-certified. You have to learn how to deal with emergency situations that could mean the difference between life and death. You have to squeeze into a piece of clothing that's so form fitting it makes Brad Pitt look like he's got a beer gut.

If you want to enjoy the majesty of the ocean without having to dislocate your ribs to fit into a wetsuit, the Internet can take you there -- and you don't even have to put on pants to make the trip. Take, for instance, a video posted this week of a diver in New Zealand who recorded a swimming excursion during which he encountered the majestic sight of a pod of orcas.

Related links
Drone captures stunning footage of killer whales
Pro surfer punches shark amid attack; Internet gasps
See a diver high-five (high-fin?) a great white shark

Sam Galloway, the University of Auckland student who shot the film, said in the description of his YouTube video that he was on a spear-fishing trip in waters off the coast of Little Barrier Island when he and a friend came across the killer whales.

Some of the younger ones were actually quite friendly.

"The larger ones weren't very interested in us," Galloway wrote, "but the calves came in for a close look."

It turns out that if you're swimming in the ocean and come across a pod of killer whales, the fact that they have "killer" in their name shouldn't necessarily cause you to panic.

In fact, they are relatively harmless when it comes to interactions with humans in the wild. A story that ran in The Guardian in 2010 shortly after a tragic incident at SeaWorld where a captive killer whale drowned one of its trainers says that killer whale attacks on humans are "rare and usually blamed on animals mistaking people for prey." Most of the attacks on humans occurred with captive killer whales, with reports of approximately two dozen incidents since the 1970s.

That doesn't mean you should try to go up to one and stick your head in its mouth. Killer whales are friendly, but even they have their limits.




“Some of the younger ones were actually quite friendly. "The larger ones weren't very interested in us," Galloway wrote, "but the calves came in for a close look." …. ." Most of the attacks on humans occurred with captive killer whales, with reports of approximately two dozen incidents since the 1970s. That doesn't mean you should try to go up to one and stick your head in its mouth. Killer whales are friendly, but even they have their limits.”

Is it possible that they don’t hate humans, they just hate being held captive in small swimming areas and only fed one fish at a time as a reward for doing strange tricks for a screaming audience of kids? Personally even if I weren’t afraid to go skin diving, I would feel a great deal of caution in the place of these two men. Still, it panned out well for them – the adults didn’t try to kill them and the young came up to them to have a better look. That’s a great wild encounter. Beautiful, in fact.