[Daily Caller] Congressional aides suspected of criminally misusing their access to House computer systems owed $100,000 to an Iraqi politician who is wanted by U.S. authorities and has been linked to Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Middle Eastern terrorist outfit.
Imran Awan and four of his relatives were employed as information technology (IT) aides by dozens of House Democrats, including members of the intelligence, foreign affairs and homeland security committees. The aides’ administrator-level IT access was terminated earlier this month amid a criminal probe by U.S. Capitol Police of a suspected security breach, including an off-site server housing congressional data.
The Daily Caller News Foundation Investigative Group has reported that while working for Congress, the Pakistani brothers controlled a limited liability corporation called Cars International A (CIA), a car dealership with odd finances, which took‐and was unable to repay‐a $100,000 loan from Dr. Ali Al-Attar.
Skipping down to the closing para:
The Awan brothers worked for members including Andre Carson of Indiana, one of two Muslims in Congress and a member of the ultra-sensitive intelligence committee.
#1
so the Awan crime family was able to swindle both the Democrat party 'intelligence' community and Hezbollah
not bad for just a few years of work
Posted by: lord garth ||
08/21/2017 7:15 Comments ||
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#2
The Awan brothers worked for members including Andre Carson of Indiana, one of two Muslims in Congress and a member of the ultra-sensitive intelligence committee.
Something that was mentioned once in the Marxist-stream media, but somehow went down the memory hole after that.
Also left out was the Awans first worked for Carson, then to the other congress-critters.
#5
Jerry Lewis's schtick was OK when it was current, i.e. the '50's. It didn't age well.
Although, "King of Comedy" is interesting in a "Jerry Lewis meets Taxi Driver" kind of way. I recommend it.
When Jim Carey started recyling Lewis's whole schtick, it basically left me flat.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
08/21/2017 18:26 Comments ||
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An attack by the Ukrainian forces in northern Donetsk was driven back by Russian backed rebels, according to a Russian language news account.
According to a news release posted on the Donetsk ministry of defense webpage, elements of the Ukrainian 57 Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade attempted to breakthrough near northern Donetsk city, near Zhabunka area Sunday night.
The news release said the attacks were made in conjunction with an earlier artillery attack in Petrovsky, Kiev and Kuibyshevsky districts of western Donetsk city. This is the first time in a while that Ukrainian artillery has landed in all three western Donetsk districts at once. Yasinovataya, Staromikhailovka, Avdievka and the Donetsk airport were all reported hit with Ukrainian fire just before the attack.
Ukrainian forces used heavy artillery and BMP-2 autocannon fire in their attacks.
Earlier in the evening Ukrainian forces hit rebel positions at Trudovskie and in the Petrovsky district of Donetsk. Firefighters in Trudovskie came under Ukrainian artillery fire. One unidentified firefighter, said to be a commander of a firefighting unit in the village, was killed in the attack. Two more were wounded.
Rebel media said that more than 150 artillery shells were fired in the course of the preparatory phase of the attack.
Rebel media has not specified the size of the attack, casualties, nor estimates of casualties from the Ukrainians, which would indicate the attack was yet another probe intended to test the defenses of the rebels.
Ukrainian media did not comment on the attacks, but did note that a rumor floating around social media that their forces attempted to cross the line of contact at the Svetlodarsk arc, which is in northeastern Donetsk, was untrue.
The rumor was that an unidentified Ukrainian motorized rifle brigade, possibly the Ukrainian 58th Motorized Rifle Brigade, advanced two kilometers past the line of contact and had dug in. The denial sounded an awful lot like a description of the Ukrainian attack in the Svetlodarsk area last spring, which turned out to have been denied by rebel forces dug in in that area.
Elsewhere, in Lugansk, according to a news report posted in lb.ua, rebel forces hit several Ukrainian held towns with 82mm and 120mm mortars including Novotoshkovskovo, Novoaleksandrovka and Troitskoye.
One Ukrainian soldier was wounded in the mortar attack in Popasnaya.
Ukrainian media also said that rebel struck Ukrainian positions at Peski and at Avdievka.
Further south rebel artillery was recorded at Pavlopol and Chermalyk.
[CNN] North Korea warned Sunday that the upcoming US-South Korea military exercises are "reckless behavior driving the situation into the uncontrollable phase of a nuclear war."
Pyongyang also declared that its army can target the United States anytime, and neither Guam, Hawaii nor the US mainland can "dodge the merciless strike."
The messages in Rodong Sinmun, the official government newspaper, come a day before the US starts the Ulchi Freedom Guardian military exercises with South Korea.
Tensions between the US and North Korea have grown in recent weeks.
Just last week, Pyongyang said it had finalized a plan to fire four missiles toward the US territory of Guam. State media reported that leader Kim Pudge Jong-un ...the overweight, pouty-looking hereditary potentate of North Korea. Pudge appears to believe in his own divinity, but has yet to produce any loaves and fishes, so his subjects remain malnourished... would assess the US' next move before giving launch orders.
Kim would "watch a little more the foolish and stupid conduct of the Yankees," a North Korean statement said last week.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/21/2017 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11122 views]
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#1
Now, Kim, unclench your little fists and, please, stop stomping your little feet. You'll hurt yourself.
#3
I've often wondered if those smiling Military upper brass standing next to Pudgy at ceremonies and photo ops are allowed to have loaded weapons in their fancy holsters that they wear.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
08/21/2017 12:23 Comments ||
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[Al Jazeera] German police tossed in the clink Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up! 35 neo-Nazis in Berlin as they gathered to commemorate the death of high-ranking Nazi official Rudolf Hess.
Officers detained a total of 39 people on Saturday - four of them counterprotesters.
More than 500 neo-Nazis had attempted to march to the site of the former prison in Berlin's western district of Spandau where Hess died on August 17, 1987, but were blocked by left-wing groups and local residents.
Neo-Nazi protesters were frisked and funneled through tents where police checked them for weapons, forbidden flags and tattoos showing symbols banned in Germany, such as the Nazi swastika.
A number of far-right protesters emerged from the tents with black tape covering their arms or legs.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/21/2017 00:19 ||
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Link ||
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#1
Nobody stopped by all those years he was in Spandau and now they rally for him, like WTF?
[Twitchy] It was all fun and games for the Left last week when President Trump was disbanding his economic committees, but they are not pleased at all about the fact that he just told a federal advisory committee on climate change to take a hike as well.
#3
How about trimming (heavily) the National Endowment of the Arts and Humanities? Don't need so much to end them (that's Congress' bitch), but have only 1 person to process all the paperwork. To play the game properly, give each congresscritter one freebee each year, which should tell us much more about said congresscritter.
#7
Obama set up an Advisory Council for the Arts. They had not met once since President Trump took office and then all resigned last week. Seems clear that is one council that doesn't need to be restaffed (or put Bannon as the sole member if you'd like to see heads explode).
Likely drifted left post-election
SOUTH CHINA SEA - The guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) was involved in a collision with the merchant vessel Alnic MC while underway east of Singapore and the Strait of Malacca on Aug. 21.
The collision was reported at 6:24 a.m. Japan Standard Time, while the ship was transiting to a routine port visit in Singapore.
Initial reports indicate John S. McCain sustained damage to her port side aft.
Search and rescue efforts are underway in coordination with local authorities.
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/21/2017 00:00 ||
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#1
The BSMedia will claim the merchant ship skipper is a Trump supporter.
#7
I don't see how the US navy could be hacked to cause this kind of accident as someone would always be at the helm of a navy ship in a congested straight and if the controls didn't follow their commands it would be very obvious.
I think it is more likely that China hacked some civilian autopilot software and is using it to cause collisions with the US fleet. Even that I think is unlikely, just more likely.
#8
Worth noting, USS John S. McCain is named for senator Maverick McBackstabber's father and grandfather who were both flag officers in the USN.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/21/2017 10:27 Comments ||
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#9
You cant hack the Boatswain Mates & Signalmen on watch Topside nor the Nav team, OOD, Conning Officer, and bridge lookouts. That is their purpouse in life - to keep eyes open and continuous comms, establishing the picture and maintaining situational awareness.
I drove ships with far less electronic assistance. Nothing replaces alertness and attentiveness. I guarantee these incidents could have been prevented. There should be a shakeup of the 7th fleet going farther up than ships' Captains, safety standdowns and retraining/recerting of all bridge/lookout personnel.
Posted by: Yosemite Sam ||
08/21/2017 10:33 Comments ||
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#10
The BSMedia will claim the merchant ship skipper is a Trump supporter Civil War Statue.
#11
The Strait of Malacca is one congested waterway. I checked with Marine Traffic app and you better be on your toes going through this chokepoint.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/21/2017 11:53 Comments ||
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#12
Seriously, WTF? We've just had two first-line surface combatants put out of action. That would be a pretty good day's work for a hostile sub commander.
Posted by: Matt ||
08/21/2017 13:59 Comments ||
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#13
You have to do an analysis of the watch standing crew and standing orders to diagnose is there is a systemic/quality control problem with crew training and qualifications. These are warships with state of the art sensors and night fighting systems being rammed by enormous, slow cargo ships. No coverup, but ruthless honesty is required because people have died and our naval competency is rightfully being questioned by adversaries.
#14
One difference between the McCain and the Fitzgerald is that the McCain was hit on the port side, whereas the Fitzgerald was hit on the starboard side.
Not that it's likely to make any difference to the career of the McCain's CO.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
08/21/2017 15:47 Comments ||
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#15
I was told (by an aquaintance at the five sided funny farm) that the Navy as averaged one Captain or Commander relieved of duty every two months for the last 12 years. (And it was 4 a year for the previous 20).
Makes ya think...
Posted by: ed in texas ||
08/21/2017 16:00 Comments ||
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#16
So the cream of the USN is getting its ass kicked by the merchant marines?
Posted by: Regular joe ||
08/21/2017 16:23 Comments ||
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#18
"All" GPS does is tell you where you are at any given instant. It tells you nothing about anything in the vicinity. So if the Russians hacked the GPS, it still would have no effect on the collision wth another ship.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
08/21/2017 16:40 Comments ||
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#19
Let me expand on my previous remark about the difference between the Fitzgerald and McCain collisions.
Under International Rules of the Road, if a ship is approaching you from starboard (right side), it is YOUR responsibility to avoid the collision. Turn, change speed, whatever it takes. For the Fitzgerald, the other ship was approaching from starboard.
For the McCain, the other ship was apparently approaching from port (left side). Thus it was the other ship's responsibility to avoid the collision. The McCain should have tried to warn the other ship, via radio or whatever means it could. Once collision looked inevitable, a situation known as being in extremis, the McCain should have taken whatever action it could to avoid the collision. All of this should come out in the investigation.
Understand that ships the size of the McCain do not stop or turn on a dime. They do not go from zero to 60 in seconds.
As I said earlier, it probably won't matter for the career of the McCain's CO.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
08/21/2017 17:02 Comments ||
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#20
Time to install dashcams on the DDG's?
Posted by: ed in texas ||
08/21/2017 18:29 Comments ||
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#21
McCain was by far the more maneuverable vessel, and should have had far better perception of the traffic and command-control, not to mention that after Fitzgerald its people should have been on high alert, sea rules of the road be damned.
#22
Hmmm....anything about reduced crews on the more modern ships? Is watch their only duties or an additional duty? Number of hours on duty vs available (real) sleep - see sleep deprivation.
#24
Glen, gorb, the Rules of the Road do not distinguish between military and commercial vessels. Even though the McCain is more maneuverable than the other ship, if the other ship was approaching from the McCain's port, it was the other ship's responsibility to maneuver to avoid the collision.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
08/21/2017 21:58 Comments ||
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#25
Rambler, my point was that simply having the right of way is insufficient in a case like this. I have the right of way as a pedestrian in a crosswalk, but it is not in my best interest to ignore the truck who fails to recognize it. After the Fitzgerald I would figure every Captain would have laid down double and triple safety policies, especially in hazardous places like Malacca.
That said, once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, but three times is enemy action. Depending on what you count, we are either at twice or four times, this year.
[Al Jazeera] Pak police have detained and imprisoned a teenager for allegedly burning pages of the Koran outside a shrine, according to officials.
Asif Massih, an 18-year-old Christian, was tossed in the slammer ... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not... on blasphemy charges on the night of August 12, shortly after a complaint was issued, police confirmed to Al Jazeera on Sunday.
The alleged incident took place in Jam Kayk Chattha village, which is near the town of Wazirabad in central Punjab 1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots.... province.
"He is in jail now," local police official Muhammad Asghar at the Alipur Chattha cop shoppe, where the case was registered, told Al Jazeera.
"When the police took the suspect into custody and brought him to a police check-post, a crowd of around 200 men gathered outside ... demanding the culprit be handed over to them," local police official Pervaiz Iqbal told AFP news agency.
"We then secretly moved the culprit to the cop shoppe in Wazirabad where he was interrogated and confessed to his crime."
Massih was charged under section 295-B of Pakistain's penal code, added Iqbal, referring to a part of the country's constitution that makes the death sentence mandatory for anyone who damages or desecrates the Koran.
He will stand trial and faces the possibility of being put to death.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/21/2017 00:18 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11127 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
I thank him for Firefly, but as a result of the rest of his works and his recent outburst on twitter, he needs to be taken 50 miles out to sea and made to swim for shore.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
North Korea
[Twitchy] It was all fun and games for the Left last week when President Trump was disbanding his economic committees, but they are not pleased at all about the fact that he just told a federal advisory committee on climate change to take a hike as well.
[Al Jazeera] Pak police have detained and imprisoned a teenager for allegedly burning pages of the Koran outside a shrine, according to officials. 
