Former FBI agent accused of pocketing $100,000 in cash during drug raids in California | FBI’s FIFA Mole Took Bribes Ahead of French, South African World Cups | FBI director tells Greens Farms grads money not true measure of success | FBI Director to GFA Grads: ‘Success is Life of Joy and Meaning’ - WestportNow.com | On Allen Ginsberg's 89th birthday, read his FBI file: "His files detail the agency's creepy fascination with his personal life, while it was his own flamboyance that ultimately held them at bay: 'No interview of Ginsberg is recommended at any time,' agents wrote, 'in view of his narcotic and sexual proclivities, his psychiatric history and his connections with mass media.' Happy birthday Allen!" - FBI News Review

Someone Is Pretending to Be an FBI Shell Company


Former FBI agent accused of pocketing $100,000 in cash during drug raids in California


FBI director tells Greens Farms grads money not true measure of success



"His files detail the agency's creepy fascination with his personal life, while it was his own flamboyance that ultimately held them at bay: 'No interview of Ginsberg is recommended at any time,' agents wrote, 'in view of his narcotic and sexual proclivities, his psychiatric history and his connections with mass media.' Happy birthday Allen!"


FBI News Review

FBI News Review

FIFA president Sepp Blatter among FBI probe targets - report

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The FBI and U.S. prosecutors were investigating Sepp Blatter, the FIFA president who announced his resignation on Tuesday, as part of the probe that led to last week's stunning indictments, sources familiar with the case told ABC News.
The FBI declined to comment because Blatter has not been publicly identified as a target of the investigation.
U.S. authorities last week indicted 14 people -- nine football officials and five sports-marketing executives -- who face charges of wire fraud, racketeering and money laundering. They are accused of accepting more than $150 million in bribes.
ABC News reported that the investigation hoped to use those indicted to provide information that could lead to charges against their superiors -- much as federal agents would in a mob racketeering case.
"Now that people are going to want to save themselves, there's probably a race to see who will flip on [Blatter] first," one of the sources said, explaining how the feds typically try to get people to inform on their superiors.
"We may not be able to collapse the whole organisation, but maybe you don't need to," one of the sources said.
Last month, E:60's Jeremy Schaap reported that ESPN could find no record of Blatter having entered the U.S. since 2011. Sources told Schaap that Blatter decided, because of the FBI investigation, that it would be unwise to set foot on American soil.
During last week's announcement, officials repeatedly told reporters that the investigation was ongoing.
Though that is standard language for the FBI and federal prosecutors, the sources told ABC that, in this case, it was particularly true.
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FBI 'Imploring Congress to Help' in Fighting ISIS Recruitment in US

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The man leading FBI efforts to stop ISIS-inspired attacks in the United States is “imploring” Congress to help give authorities access to some of Americans’ private communications, noting there are perhaps thousands of people in the country secretly feeding on ISIS propaganda each day.
In certain cases, the FBI has no way of monitoring, or even knowing about, conversations among ISIS followers, and that “is troubling,” FBI counterterrorism chief Mike Steinbach told lawmakers today.
“With its widespread distribution model and encrypted communications, [ISIS] is afforded a ‘free zone’ by which to recruit, radicalize, plot and plan,” he said.
For the potential radicals the FBI does know about, authorities are taking no chances, Steinbach said, referring to the incident a day earlier that left a Massachusetts terror suspect dead.
In that case, an FBI agent and Boston police officer approached 26-year-old Usaama Rahim in a parking lot early Tuesday morning. But when Rahim allegedly pulled a large knife on them and wouldn’t drop it, they opened fire.
Rahim had expressed a desire to attack law enforcement officials, and he was placed under 24-hour surveillance by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, sources told ABC News. An associate was arrested overnight.
“The [terror suspects] that are out there … we are monitoring them very closely for any type of action, any type of overt steps,” Steinbach said. “And when we see those, we’re not taking the chance.”
But it’s becoming increasingly “problematic” for authorities to see such action and those kinds of steps, Steinbach indicated.
“We’re past going dark in certain instances,” Steinbach warned. “We are dark.”
At issue is the public’s growing desire to keep personal communications private, especially in the wake of Edward Snowden’s revelations about U.S. government surveillance programs.
Responding to market demands, companies are building mobile devices and software that encrypt communications so deeply that the companies themselves can’t access a person’s communications, even when a federal judge orders it, authorities have warned.
“I think it’s a tremendous threat to the homeland,” said Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, which was hearing testimony today from Steinbach and other U.S. counterterrorism officials.
Steinbach said the U.S. public needs to have “an honest conversation” – without “the rhetoric” – about how far technology companies should go with their encryption software.
“This is not a conversation about national security at the expense of privacy,” Steinbach insisted. “We’re not talking about large-scale surveillance techniques. We’re talking about going before the court … [suggesting] there’s a terrorist, and showing that burden of proof.”
But as U.S. law stands right now, only specific “telecommunications providers” are required to assist law enforcement, and those providers are “a small subset of the companies that are out there that provide communications services these days,” Steinbach said.
“We are imploring Congress to help us seek legal remedies towards that,” Steinbach told the House panel, noting that private companies themselves are also part of the solution.
While “urgently” asking for lawmakers’ help, Steinbach said there are “hundreds, maybe thousands” of people inside the United States following ISIS propaganda online.
Since the beginning of this year, ISIS has published 1,700 pieces of “terrorist messaging,” including videos, pictorial reports and online magazines, deputy director of the National Counterterrorism Center John Mulligan testified.
In all, an estimated 200,000 people receive the ISIS message each day around the world. It starts with about 2,000 “core” propagandists posting on Twitter and elsewhere, and then another 50,000 people “re-Tweet” and further distribute that messaging, according to Steinbach, citing a Brookings Institution report issued in March.
It’s “a new era where terrorism has gone viral,” McCaul said in opening his hearing.
More than 200 Americans have joined ISIS or attempted to travel to Syria to join terrorist groups there, Steinbach said.
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Someone Is Pretending to Be an FBI Shell Company

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Yesterday, a new report confirmed that the FBI is flying unmarked surveillance planes over major US cities, using the cover of fake companies with names like “OBD Leasing” and “FVX Research”
Now it seems someone—though probably not the FBI—is posing as one of those companies, attempting to deny affiliation with the Feds via a hilariously bogus website, complete with stock photos.
The website of “FVX Research,” which came online just today, has all the hallmarks of a fake company—from the stock Wordpress theme to the cookie-cutter praises posted to its “Testimonials” page. The homepage lists an address in Washington, DC and includes a press release, which is linked to by an FVX Research Twitter account, denying government ties.
“Let us make this clear, we (FVX Research) are not associated in any way, shape, or form with the Federal Bureau of Investigations or commonly known as (FBI) or any governmental entity,” the website's message states. “Our brand and identity is being used in slanderous allegations, and we are working closely with our legal resources to combat this.”
Screencap of the fake FBI shell company site. Image: Pixelbat/Imgur
The message also starts with special mention of Reddit, implying FVX's parody web presence could be a prank by one of the site's users. The FVX Twitter account later tweeted at Kim Dotcom, then replaced the entire site with an image of him, making it pretty clear that whoever is behind it knows their audience—or that this whole thing is really a viral ad for MEGA (please god, no).
Most hilariously, as Imgur user pixelbat points out, a simple Google reverse image search reveals that the company's suspiciously attractive “staff” is actually a bunch of stock photos. The same fake people can be found with different names on other obviously fake websites.
Doing a quick WHOIS lookup of the domain reveals several more pieces of (likely false) information. The registration lists one “Robert Hastings” and a 202 number which I tried calling, but no one answered and I was directed to a generic voicemail inbox. Then about 10 minutes later, the same number called me back, but there was only silence on the other end of the line.
The site transformed into a Kim Dotcom ad. Image: Josh Kopstein (screencap)
The address “NSA.GEN.IN” is also listed as the organization name in the WHOIS. Traveling to that site generates a pop-up login prompt, and after hitting “cancel” the site displays the following ominous message:
“UNAUTHORIZED USE OF THIS SYSTEM IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED AND PUNISHABLE BY FEDERAL LAW. UNAUTHORIZED INDIVIDUALS SHOULD TERMINATE THEIR ACCESS NOW. Individuals using this computer system, with or without proper authority, are subject to having all their activities monitored and recorded by authorized employees and should have no expectation of privacy. Anyone using this system expressly consents to such monitoring and to all appropriate disclosure of any evidence of criminal activity to law enforcement officials.”
Creepiness aside, the website's blunders are just way too obvious to be a bumbled FBI attempt to salvage one of its front companies. In the AP article about the spy planes, a spokesperson even admitted that the Bureau will have to create new fake companies to replace any that the report publicized.
From any angle, the site smells much more like someone's Reddit joke than an FBI cover-up campaign.
Update: As of late afternoon, the site has returned to its original pre-Dotcom state and the silly tweets that followed have been deleted. It's similar to what might happen if a real company were hacked, but it's more likely pranksters are just making it look that way for the lulz.
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FBI calls for new wiretap law covering social media

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Encrypted social networking tools are hindering the FBI's ability to track terrorists and recruiters who are appealing to young people in the U.S., an FBI official told lawmakers.
Congress must pass a new wiretap law that requires social media websites and operators of other Internet communication tools to share customers' communications with law enforcement agencies the same way that telecom carriers do, Michael Steinbach, assistant director of the FBI's Counterterrorism Division, said Wednesday.
At a congressional hearing Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said terrorist recruiters are using social networking tools to support their cause.
Congress should use the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) as a model for new rules focused on Internet-based communications, Steinbach told the U.S. House of Representatives' Homeland Security Committee. His comments build upon the FBI's call in recent months to expand CALEA to Internet communications tools. Agency Director James Comey first called for a CALEA rewrite to cover encrypted mobile phone data last October.

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CALEA requires telecom carriers and equipment vendors to build wiretap capabilities into their products or networks, and critics have accused the FBI of wanting Congress to mandate encryption backdoors in technology products. But the FBI isn't asking for backdoors, Steinbach said.
"We're not talking about large-scale surveillance techniques," he said. "We're not looking at going through a backdoor or being nefarious; we're talking about going to the company and asking for their assistance."
Instead, the FBI wants access to stored or ongoing Internet communications after it shows evidence of criminal or terrorist activity and gets a court order, he said. The FBI needs help from Congress and from communications providers to make that happen, Steinbach said.
"We understand privacy," he said. "Privacy above all other things, including safety and freedom from terrorism, is not where we want to go."
Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican, called on the committee to look into Steinbach's requests. The so-called Dark Web of hidden websites and encrypted communications is a "tremendous threat to the homeland," he said.
One of the two men who died in a thwarted attack on the site of a Muhammad cartoon-drawing contest in early May had heeded a call to attack the meeting from terrorist groups and posted hints about the attack on Twitter, McCaul said.
"This attack exemplifies a new era in which terrorism has gone viral," McCaul said. "Social media networks have become an extension of the Islamist terror battlefield overseas, turning homegrown extremists into sleeper operatives and attackers. We are no longer hunting terrorists who live in caves and only communicate through couriers."
Terrorists are increasingly using social network tools to recruit converts, but much of the recruiting is done in the open, three government witnesses told the committee.
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) is running professional-looking marketing campaigns on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other sites to recruit new fighters, not only to the Middle East, but also to engage in terrorist attacks in the U.S. and other Western nations, said John Mulligan, deputy director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center.
Since the beginning of this year, ISIL has published more than 1,700 messages online, including videos and online magazines, he said. Some social media providers take quick action to shut down ISIL recruiters, but others do not, he added.
"There is still much work to be done to encourage greater vigilance and broader sense of corporate responsibility to address this threat to public safety," Mulligan said.
Neither Mulligan nor Steinbach named the companies they were most concerned about, although McCaul mentioned anonymous messaging apps Kik and Whatsapp as well as "data-destroying" apps Surespot and Wickr.
Most lawmakers didn't question Steinbach's call for a rewrite of CALEA, although Rep. Will Hurd, a Texas Republican and former CIA officer, said the proposed changes would have implications for privacy.
"I'm a little bit nervous when we start talking about CALEA expansion," Hurd said.
Grant Gross covers technology and telecom policy in the U.S. government for The IDG News Service. Follow Grant on Twitter at GrantGross. Grant's email address is <a href="mailto:grant_gross@idg.com">grant_gross@idg.com</a>.
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On Allen Ginsberg's 89th birthday, read his FBI file

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Mike from Muckrock sez, "'My name is Allen Ginsberg and I sleep with whoever I want.' So noted the FBI, in its 89 pages tracking the life, lovers, and political activism of the American poet, who was born this day in 1926."
"His files detail the agency's creepy fascination with his personal life, while it was his own flamboyance that ultimately held them at bay: 'No interview of Ginsberg is recommended at any time,' agents wrote, 'in view of his narcotic and sexual proclivities, his psychiatric history and his connections with mass media.' Happy birthday Allen!"
(Bonus Allen Ginsburg jam: "Put Down That Cigarette Rag.")
The FBI decided to dig deeper into Ginsberg’s background in 1965 after learning that he would be traveling to Cuba to judge a poetry competition. A February 1965 memo from FBI headquarters directed the New York field office to initiate an investigation to "ascertain whether he is engaged in any activities which would be considered inimical to the interest of the U.S."
Two months later, after conducting dozens of informant interviews and checks of arrest, telephone and other records, the New York office sent back its findings. Their report concluded that Ginsberg’s “bizarre” activities did not warrant being added to the “Security Index” of potentially dangerous individuals to be arrested if martial law were declared in the United States.
The New York agents were ordered to conduct their investigation via "circumspect" means and not to interview Ginsberg directly. They determined that such an interview was not warranted and could potentially embarrass the FBI.
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Russia And Qatar World Cup Bids Caught In FBI Dragnet

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Just what Vladimir Putin feared. His 2018 World Cup is threatened by an FBI investigation into corruption at the world soccer organization FIFA.  While it is unclear whether any of this means that a host city will lose rights to the games, it certainly hits the event with a black eye.
Further out, Qatar’s 2022 World Cup bid is also being investigated for possible fraud.
The worst case scenario has Russia losing its host city status and a new bidding practice put in place, one without the alleged bribery scandals FIFA is now known for. In such a scenario, Russia would have to refile its desire to host the 2018 World Cup and hope they win.  Russia is spending over 660 billion rubles ($12.5 billion) to prepare for this thing three years from now.
The build-out consists of 12 stadiums, 113 training sites, 62 hotels, 11 airports, and transport infrastructure necessary.
Qatari is the mother lode here. It has earmarked around $20 billion just for World Cup stadiums, stadium upgrades and infrastructure. Work is already underway. To stop would be a huge loss of blood (as in 1,200 people dead already) and treasure.
Both Russia and Qatar have cried foul.
Last week, Putin said that the investigation into his friend Sepp Blatter, the humiliated former president of FIFA, was simply U.S. over-reach. Reading between the lines, this was Putin believing there was some sort of U.S. coup de etat a-foot. The goal: embarrass Russia for its Ukraine imbroglio by roping Russia into the FIFA crisis.
On Wednesday, the Qatar Football Association weighed in. Their argument was that the West doesn’t want a Middle Eastern country to host the World Cup. (Let me guess, this is a Mossad-FBI plot against Muslims?).

Russian President Vladimir Putin and FIFA President Joseph Blatter attend the 2014 FIFA World Cup final football match between Germany and Argentina at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 13, 2014.  Russia may lose its World Cup hosting privileges in 2018 if it is proven by Swiss and U.S. investigators that bribes were paid to host the event. (Photo by PEDRO UGARTE/AFP/Getty Images)
Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al-Thani, president of the Foundation, called out England Football Association chairman Greg Dyke today for his comments on redoing the 2022 bidding process.
Al Thani said on the Foundation’s website that, “Mr. Dyke’s instinct to immediately focus on stripping Qatar of the World Cup speaks volumes on his views concerning what will be the first FIFA World Cup to take place in the Middle East.”

So far, Qatar has not been charged with any wrong doing. But that’s because the FBI hasn’t arrived on the scene yet.
The Swiss Attorney General is already conducting its own work into the bidding process for the Russian 2018 and Qatari 2022 World Cups.
Emerging markets love holding World Cup parties. It’s a way to showcase their country to the world, and garner billions in development money, most of it in stadiums, including those that never get used again, like the one built in the Brazilian capital of Brasilia.
Included here are ten of the 2014 FIFA World Cup's biggest official sponsors. 
Photo: AP Photo/Matthias Schrader
Last week pulled the rug out from under FIFA, once immune to the legal scrutiny of soccer loving nations around the world.
On May 27, the U.S. Attorney General’s office filed indictments in a New York federal court against 9 high-ranking officials and corporate executives affiliated with FIFA for their roles in a decades-long scheme to corrupt the sport through bribes, kickbacks, and other criminal activity aimed at controlling lucrative marketing rights to World Cup soccer.
“The indictment alleges corruption that is rampant, systemic, and deep-rooted both abroad and here in the United States,” Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch said in a statement. “It spans at least two generations of soccer officials who, as alleged, have abused their positions of trust.”
Related guilty pleas of an additional four individuals and two corporate defendants were revealed last week as well. The investigation snared U.S. sports marketing executives and led to the resignation of Blatter on Tuesday, shortly after being re-elected president. Blatter claimed to have no knowledge of wrong doing. But when a lieutenant of his has been caught with his pants down, Blatter threw in the towel, went to the locker room and turned in his gym keys.

U.S. investigators say that the non-profit FIFA got $150 million in bribes and kickbacks for handing out media and marketing rights. This may, or may not, include the awards to Russia and Qatar.
If bribes were paid, the countries will have to rebid for the rights to host the games.
“The defendants fostered a culture of corruption and greed that created an uneven playing field for the biggest sport in the world,” noted FBI Director James B. Comey. “Undisclosed and illegal payments, kickbacks, and bribes became a way of doing business at FIFA,” he said.
Russia and Qatar law enforcement have not said whether or not they would investigate allegations of bribery themselves.
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ACLU: FBI Using Planes Formerly Used On Enemies To Conduct Surveillance Missions Over U.S. | Video

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JOHN ROBERTS, MSNBC: We'll bring in David Brock, ACLU of Maryland. Cell phone surveillance technology is used for tracing and not listening. Can Americans feel confident that is what is actually being done?
DAVID BROCK, ACLU: I don't think Americans should feel confident yet. I think there's far more that we need to know about this program. What's staggering about the AP report is the scale of the program which I think has never been disclosed. We know from the AP they identified less than half of the FBI's planes and based on the information they were able to compile about the planes that they could identify, we -- I think it's fair to say the FBI is conducting over 2,000 surveillance flights every year over the United States. And what we have here is a turning in of technology that used to be used on foreign enemies onto the citizens of the United States. And I think that we need to know a lot more about what's going on.

FBI’s FIFA Mole Took Bribes Ahead of French, South African World Cups

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The secret insider the FBI used to help indict high-level FIFA officials himself admitted to having taken bribes from two countries in their push to host the World Cup, according to newly-released court documents.
Charles Blazer, an American ex-FIFA executive committee member-turned-government informant, pleaded guilty back in November 2013 to charges of tax evasion and fraud. Today the Justice Department released documents relating to Blazer’s plea that spell out how he got his hands on dirty money long before he helped the FBI clean up the game.
“Among other things, I agreed with other persons in or around 1992 to facilitate the acceptance of a bribe in conjunction with the selection of the host nation for the 1998 World Cup,” Blazer said the November 2013 hearing, according to a court transcript. The bribe was paid by 
Morocco
 in their bid for the cup, even though 
France
 eventually won out and hosted the games, another court document says.
Blazer also admitted to “accept[ing] bribes and kickbacks in conjunction with broadcast” for several other tournaments and he said he “and others on the FIFA executive committee agreed to accept bribes in conjunction with the selection of South Africa as the host nation for the 2010 World Cup.”
The South Africa deal – in which the African nation allegedly promised $10 million to three FIFA executives for their votes – was revealed when the larger FIFA scandal broke last week. But today’s documents show it was Blazer who eventually received $750,000 for his part in the scheme. Last week the South African government denied wrongdoing, saying its audit report after the games was “clean.”
Blazer’s cooperation with authorities appears to have been key in the arrest of several high-level FIFA officials in late May. Indictments filed against 14 people, nine of them FIFA or ex-FIFA officials, repeatedly mention activities involving “Co-Conspirator #1.” While Blazer is not named in those indictments, Blazer’s own criminal information document describes him in the same meetings and taking the same actions as the indictment’s “Co-Conspirator #1.”
U.S. officials previously told ABC News that after he flipped, Blazer went as far as to record conversations with other soccer officials.
Overall, U.S. Justice Department officials say the corruption they’ve uncovered amounted to some $150 million in bribes and kickbacks.
The unsealing of Blazer’s deal comes a day after embattled FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who was not charged with any crimes, announced he would be stepping aside. After more than a decade of allegations of corruption and controversy for FIFA under his watch, Blatter won a fifth presidential election just last week.
Sources familiar with the case told ABC News Tuesday that Blatter is being investigated by the FBI and U.S. prosecutors as part of the probe that led to last week’s stunning indictments.
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10 questions from Sen. Franken on FBI surveillance flights

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MINNEAPOLIS (KMSP) -
U.S. Sen. Al Franken is pressing the FBI and Department of Justice for answers about the scope and legality of surveillance flights over more than 30 cities, including Minneapolis. The spy flights were first reported in a Medium.com post by Minneapolis-based independent journalist Sam Richards.
One week later, the Associated Press confirmed “the FBI is operating a small air force with scores of low-flying planes across the country carrying video and, at times, cell phone surveillance technology -- all hidden behind fictitious companies that are fronts for the government.” READ MORE
“Many Americans have been troubled by these reports, and as ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law, I believe it is important to ensure that these programs adequately protect Americans' privacy while furthering public safety and national security,” Sen. Franken (D-Minn.) wrote in his letter to Attorney General Loretta Lynch and FBI Director James Comey.
Sen. Franken is requesting “detailed written answers” to the following questions:
1. What technologies are used by the FBI during the course of aerial surveillance? To what extent does the FBI use IMSI-catchers, “DRTBoxes,” “dirtboxes,” or “Stingrays”? To what extent does the FBI use infrared cameras? To what extent does the FBI use video cameras?
2. How frequently does the FBI engage in aerial surveillance that utilizes IMSI-catchers, infrared cameras, or video technology? In what types of operations does the FBI deploy aerial surveillance utilizing these technologies? More generally, under what circumstances is aerial surveillance using these technologies deployed?
3. Under what legal authority is the FBI acting when conducting aerial surveillance, including aerial surveillance that utilizes IMSI-catchers, infrared cameras, or video technology? To the extent that the Department of Justice is seeking court approval before deploying any of these technologies during aerial surveillance, is this done on a case-by-case basis or does the Department seek broader authorization? What are judges told about how the technologies deployed work, and the potential impact on innocent Americans? Please provide a representative sample of the applications for these court orders.
4. To the extent that the Department of Justice has developed policies governing the use of IMSI-catchers, infrared cameras, or video technology during aerial surveillance, please identify the policies and legal processes used. Are different technologies subject to different policies or forms of legal process? If so, please describe the application of these policies.
5. Has the Department of Justice developed policies on the retention of data collected in the course of aerial surveillance that utilizes IMSI-catchers, infrared cameras, or video technology? Has the Department developed policies on the destruction of that data? If so, please describe these policies.
6. How many individuals can be detected, tracked, and/or monitored during each surveillance flight? If IMSI-catchers are being used, how many phones can be detected, tracked, and/or monitored during each flight?
7. Reports indicate that some of the surveillance systems have the capability of blocking phone calls, including 911 and other emergency calls. What steps have been taken to ensure that phone calls of non-targeted civilians are not interrupted by the FBI's aerial surveillance?
8. To the extent that aerial surveillance has been deployed above large public gatherings, what steps is the government taking to ensure that such surveillance does not chill constitutionally protected conduct, such as political and religious activity?
9. Has the Department of Justice's Office of Privacy and Civil Liberties conducted a privacy impact assessment or otherwise reviewed the use of technologies utilized during aerial surveillance? Has a review or privacy impact assessment been conducted on the FBI's use of aerial surveillance more broadly? If so, please provide copies of such assessments or reviews.
10. What safeguards are in place to ensure that innocent American's privacy is protected during aerial surveillance utilizing technology that collects data and personal information?
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​FBI says privacy must take backseat to national security in online fight against ISIS — RT USA

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Published time: June 03, 2015 21:41
Reuters / Stringer
Reuters / Stringer
One of the United States government’s top counterterrorism officials says Congress must help investigators crack the encrypted communications of terrorists as groups like the so-called Islamic State ramp-up their online recruitment efforts.
On Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Michael Steinbach, the assistant director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s counterterrorism division, told the House Homeland Security Committee that the FBI is “imploring for Congress to help” law enforcement with its quest to decrypt digital communications.
Steinbach said that the FBI is working with the Department of Homeland Security to ensure that the law enforcement tactics currently in use can be implemented as needed, but suggested that legislation might be needed for situations where communications being sought are obfuscated from the eyes of investigators by encryption or other means.
According to Steinbach, individuals belonging to the group calling itself the Islamic State (also known as ISIS, or ISIL), are making the jobs of counterterrorism investigators increasingly difficult by relying more and more on methods of communication that cannot be compromised as easily as more mainstream mediums.
It’s no secret that ISIS proclaims its ideology far and wide with the help of social networking tools like Twitter, enabling the message to be spread among the public instantly. A report issued by the Brookings Institute this past March alleged the individuals sympathetic with ISIS opened at least 46,000 Twitter accounts during the last quarter of 2014, and slickly produced propaganda that the group amplifies with professional social media software has done anything but draw away attention. According to Steinbach, upwards of 20,000 Twitter account holders can end up on the receiving end of a single tweet sent by the group or one of its supporters.
“Unfortunately, social media is a great tool for the public,” he said, “but it also allows for this horizontal distribution which is very difficult to follow.”
Twitter actively suspends ISIS-affiliated accounts, according to the Brookings report, but collecting the private messages of accounts isn’t easy as having a person’s profile shut-down and requires legal action which Steinbach and others think should be easier to achieve.
The blatant spreading of ISIS-endorsed messages and ideals on the open web notwithstanding, backchannel communications sent privately between suspected members and sympathizers are complicating matters for federal investigators, Steinbach said.
Even when private communications can be obtained, Steinbach said that encryption that’s been properly implemented in certain cases has made it a “very problematic issue” for investigators tasked with figuring out the contents of messages.
“We’re not looking at going through a backdoor or being nefarious. We’re talking about going to the company and asking for their assistance,” he said.
“We understand privacy. Privacy above all other things, including safety and freedom from terrorism, is not where we want to go.”
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the committee chair, told Steinbach that “If we have coverage, we can pick up that communication. Because terrorists are increasingly taking their conversations to a “dark space” on the web, however, McCaul warned that investigators “don’t have the ability to monitor these communications.”
The online activity the occurs on the world wide web as it’s widely known to exist only represents a fraction of what’s really online: a vast amount of web traffic unfolds in the realm of the so called “dark web” or “deep web,” where sites aren’t archived by search engines like Google and bits and bytes are routed to remote servers around the world to help anonymize the identities of those who operate there.
McCaul told Steinbach that “one of the greatest concerns” for him personally involves the government’s inability to monitor that portion of the web, and the FBI agent admitted in his response that the bureau believes it’s already well behind with what it calls its “going dark” problem – the FBI’s weakness with regards to cracking into the digital traffic that occurs in the shadows.
“We are past going dark,” Steinbach said. “In some instances, we are dark,”
“The ability to know what they're saying in these encrypted communication situations is troubling.”
In his prepared remarks, Steinbach explained that “changing forms of internet communication are quickly outpacing laws and technology designed to allow for the lawful intercept of communication content.”
“This real and growing gap the FBI refers to as ‘going dark’ is the source of continuing focus for the FBI, it must be urgently addressed as the risks associated with ‘going dark; are grave both in traditional criminal matters as well as in national security matters.”
In April, the executive assistant director of the FBI’s science and technology branch, Amy Hess, told the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform that it’s critical for cops to “have the ability to accept or to receive the information that we might need in order to hold those accountable who conduct heinous crimes or conduct terrorist attacks.” According to cryptology experts, though, it’s so far been proven impossible to implement a method of bypassing encryption that can only be exploited by some.
“We just can’t do what the FBI is asking without seriously weakening our infrastructure,” Prof. Matt Blaze, a cryptology expert from the University of Pennsylvania’s school of engineering and applied sciences, testified at the time, adding that even attempts have the potential to yield “terrible consequences for our economy and national security.”
Earlier in the week, meanwhile, the CEO of Hacking Team – an Italian cyber vendor whose spyware has been sold to various government customers, including the US Navy and Drug Enforcement Agency – claimed in an email to clients that his company is quite capable of cracking the deep web.
"If you are a lawful user of the Internet, you have little to fear from Hacking Team," he wrote. "BUT IF you break the law or engage in terrorism (or are thinking about it), you should know that the safe haven that the DARKNET provides is beginning to be exposed to the light."
Read the whole story

· · · · ·

FBI Spy Planes Online Tracking: How to discover FBI planes

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The Associated Press revealed earlier this week that the FBI appears to be the intelligence agency that’s flying spy planes in America for surveillance operations. Even though the FBI tried to keep its spy planes a secret by using dummy companies set up solely to hide them, it turns out that anyone can use a few readily available tools to track FBI planes in real-time and find out who’s operating them.
A report on Fusion details how people were able to identify suspected spy planes, track them while they were flying overhead, and even find out information about the companies they supposedly belong to.
The FBI used dummy companies to hide its spy operations and protect the identities of pilots, askingAP not to publish the names of those companies. But as it turns out, that request was pointless.
John Wiseman, a technologist in Los Angeles, used public records to discover FBI plans, and he used a device he programmed to intercept airplane transmissions, identifying several spy operations in the process.
Because there’s plenty of paperwork needed to fly a plane in the U.S., a public record containing flight details for each spy plane flight exists, and Internet users who know where to look can easily find it.
“It seems the FBI is uncreative when it comes to spy craft; the fake companies tracked down by the AP and by Wiseman mainly had three-letter names, including FVX Research, KQM Aviation, NBR Aviation and PXW Services. Because flight records in the U.S. are public, and planes are trackable on radar, the AP was able to track down where these planes flew,” Fusion notes. Furthermore, it looks like the FBI uses special transmission codes (squawk) and callsigns, for its spy planes.
Wiseman got his data even before the AP published its extensive report on the matter.
“I decided to check my database for planes that have squawked 4414/4415 or used one of the suspicious callsigns: I found 8 aircraft in the past 2 months, several of which exhibit suspicious behavior,” he said in a post on Hacker News last month. “Flying for hours at a time without going anywhere in particular (I don’t have position information for them, but I know they’re in the air and not leaving the LA area), flying almost every day for months at a time.”
“I call what I’m doing ‘persistent surveillance': using historical sensor data to retroactively identify and track new subjects, it’s just that my subjects are the government,” Wiseman said. “One of the surprising things I’ve found is that all you need to do is look: the weird stuff jumps out right away, e.g. Cessnas registered to fake-sounding companies that loiter overhead for hours every day.”
Others have used the information offered by the AP report to find the spy planes used by the named dummy corporations, including public flight radar information.
Obviously, this means that bad guys who might be targets of FBI investigations can use similar methods to tell whether they might be tracked by one of the FBI’s planes.
Read the whole story

· ·

Grassley wants answers on FBI surveillance protections

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DES MOINES | The FBI ought to be embarrassed by revelations it is using aircraft registered to dummy companies to spy on American communities, Sen. Chuck Grassley said Wednesday.
Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has raised concerns about what the agency is doing to safeguard the privacy rights of people subject to surveillance who are not the target of FBI investigations.
He wants the FBI to come clean about media reports that the flights over 30-plus cities in 11 states and Washington over the past month are part of a civilian air force the agency is operating through fictitious companies.
“That would make anyone a bit uncomfortable,” Grassley said about the single-engine planes the FBI has used to fly more than 100 low-level flights.
“It’s not a secret that the FBI uses planes to find and catch criminals. They’ve done that for years,” Grassley said.
The FBI has used aircraft to support ground operations. According to an Associated Press investigation, at least 115 planes, including 90 Cessna aircraft, were mentioned in a federal budget document from 2009.
The aircraft Grassley is raising questions about are equipped with high-tech cameras and, in some cases, technology capable of tracking thousands of cellphones.
“We don’t know what technology they are using and what they are doing with information on people who have nothing to do with their operation,” Grassley said in a weekly conference call with Iowa reporters. “We also need to know what policies are in place to protect the privacy of Americans and guarantee the program is not being abused.”
In a letter to FBI Director James B. Comey Jr., Grassley asked for the agency to explain scope of the operations, what types of surveillance equipment were and what legal authorities, if any, are being relied upon in carrying out these operations.
“No one finds fault with them for pursuing criminals,” Grassley said. “Everyone expects them to protect us, but there are 4th Amendment privacy rights that we ought to guarantee that the law is being followed and the Constitution is being followed.”
Grassley’s letter can be found at <a href="http://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-wants-more-details-fbi-aerial-surveillance-program" rel="nofollow">www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-wants-more-details-fbi-aerial-surveillance-program</a>.
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US officials: Encryption hinders monitoring extremists

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The growing use of encrypted communications and private messaging by supporters of the Islamic State group is complicating efforts to monitor terror suspects and extremists, U.S. law enforcement officials said Wednesday.

Appearing before the House Homeland Security Committee, the officials said that even as thousands of Islamic State group followers around the world share public communications on Twitter, some are exploiting social media platforms that allow them to shield their messages from law enforcement.
"There are 200-plus social media companies. Some of these companies build their business model around end-to-end encryption," said Michael Steinbach, head of the FBI's counterterrorism division. "There is no ability currently for us to see that" communication, he said.
Asked later in the hearing if he thought the technology companies were being unhelpful, Steinbach replied, "The companies have built a product that doesn't allow them to help."
He said he was concerned that evolving technologies were outpacing laws that allow law enforcement to intercept communications by suspects.
"We are striving to ensure appropriate, lawful collection remains available," Steinbach said in his prepared remarks.
John Mulligan, the deputy director of the National Counterterrorism Center, testified that one of the two men involved last month in an attempted terror attack in Garland, Texas, asked fellow Islamic State supporters before the shooting to move their communications to private Twitter messages. Those men, Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi, were fatally shot by police after opening fire outside a provocative Prophet Mohammed cartoon contest. No one else was killed.
The hearing also took place one day after police in Boston shot a man under 24-hour surveillance by terrorism investigators when he lunged with a large knife at officers outside a CVS pharmacy. The FBI said Wednesday that the man, Usaama Rahim, plotted for at least a week to attack police and was confronted because he had purchased knives and talked of an imminent attack on "boys in blue."
"These cases are a reminder of the dangers posed by individuals radicalized through social media," said Rep. Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican and chairman of the committee.
FBI Director James Comey has expressed repeated concern about the ease with which the Islamic State group is able to spread its propaganda to supporters online and to people determined to reach Syria to join the conflict there.
More than 180 U.S. residents and about 4,000 Westerners in all have traveled or attempted to travel to Syria, officials said Wednesday.
___
Follow Eric Tucker on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/etuckerAP
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· ·

FBI Extends FIFA Scrutiny to Russia's 2018 World Cup Host Bid | News

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Kai Pfaffenbach / ReutersChuck Blazer, left, shown here with Sepp Blatter, has been a key part of the F.B.I.'s investigation into FIFA.
The FBI's investigation of bribery and corruption at FIFA includes scrutiny of how soccer's governing body awarded World Cup hosting rights to Russia and Qatar, a U.S. law enforcement official said.
Russia and Qatar have denied wrongdoing in the conduct of their bids for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments, which were not the subject of charges announced by U.S. prosecutors a week ago against FIFA officials that stunned world soccer.
The U.S. law enforcement official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said the review of the bids would be part of a probe that goes beyond the indictments. Among issues the FBI is examining is the stewardship of FIFA by longtime president Sepp Blatter, who unexpectedly announced on Tuesday he was resigning shortly before it emerged that he too was under investigation by U.S. law enforcement.
Authorities said last week they were investigating a case of $150 million paid in bribes over two decades, while Swiss prosecutors announced their own criminal inquiry into the 2018 and 2022 bids.
On Wednesday, the partially blacked out transcript of the November 2013 guilty plea of Chuck Blazer, a U.S. citizen and FIFA executive committee member from 1997 to 2013, showed he and others in FIFA agreed to accept bribes in bidding for the 1998 and 2010 World Cups and other tournaments.
"Among other things, I agreed with other persons in or around 1992 to facilitate the acceptance of a bribe in conjunction with the selection of the host nation for the 1998 World Cup," Blazer told a federal judge in New York, according to the transcript.
The tournament was hosted by France, but separate court documents contain the prosecutors' allegation that bidding nation Morocco paid a bribe to another FIFA executive, Jack Warner of Trinidad and Tobago, and that Blazer acted as intermediary. Warner has denied this and other charges against him, and late on Wednesday aired a paid political statement saying he feared for his life, but would tell investigators all he knows about corruption at FIFA.
Blazer went on to say in his plea hearing that from 2004 and through 2011 "I and others on the FIFA executive committee agreed to accept bribes in conjunction with the selection of South Africa as the host nation for the 2010 World Cup."
Blazer's lawyer declined to comment on Wednesday.
Many of the details were previously revealed in charging documents released by prosecutors when they announced indictments for 14 people, including nine FIFA officials.
Soccer power Brazil hosted the World Cup in 2014 but in the case of Qatar, there was some surprise that the tournament was awarded to a small desert country with no real soccer tradition and where daytime summer temperatures can top 40 degrees Celsius (104F).
Qatar's Foreign Minister Khaled al-Attiyah said there was no way his country would be stripped of its right to host the World Cup. "It is very difficult for some to digest that an Arab Islamic country has this tournament, as if this right can't be for an Arab state," he told Reuters in an interview in Paris. "I believe it is because of prejudice and racism that we have this bashing campaign against Qatar."
For its part, Russia dismissed concerns it might lose the right to host the cup. "Cooperation with FIFA is going on and, most importantly, Russia is continuing preparations for the 2018 World Cup," President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said.

Blatter Pressure

A source close to FIFA said it was Blatter's advisers who had told him he must quit. Critics pointed to the widening criminal probe, disquiet among sponsors, and pressure from European soccer body UEFA as possible reasons.
The international police organization Interpol put two former top FIFA officials on its wanted list at the request of U.S. authorities. It issued "red notices," which are not arrest warrants, for Warner, and Nicolas Leoz, the ex-head of South America's soccer federation.
FIFA has denied that another senior official, Secretary General Jerome Valcke, was involved in a $10 million payment approved by the South African Football Association that lies at the heart of the U.S. investigation.
At a news conference in Johannesburg, sports minister Fikile Mbalula confirmed the payment to Warner during the bid process but denied it was a bribe. Mbalula said the cash was intended for football development in the Caribbean.
Valcke said on Wednesday he was not guilty of corrupt practice relating to the payment and he saw no reason to resign.
Blatter announced his decision to step down six days after police raided a hotel in Zurich and arrested several FIFA officials, and four days after he was re-elected to a fifth term. Blatter has not been charged and FIFA did not respond to a request for comment on his being under investigation.
An election to choose a new president will probably not take place until at least December. Blatter, meanwhile, remains in his position.
Former England captain David Beckham, who was a major figure in England's failed bid to host the 2018 World Cup, joined the chorus of calls for change at FIFA. "Some of the things that we now know happened were despicable, unacceptable and awful for the game that we love so much," he told Sky Sports.

Leadership Candidates

Among potential candidates to lead FIFA, UEFA chief Michel Platini, a former French international soccer star, is the favourite, ahead of Jordan's Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, who withdrew from last week's presidential election after winning 73 votes to Blatter's 133 in the first round.
Chung Mong-joon, billionaire scion of South Korea's Hyundai conglomerate, said he would consider running.
Other possible candidates include Domenico Scala, the independent chairman of FIFA's audit and compliance committee, Jerome Champagne, a former French diplomat and FIFA deputy secretary general, and German Wolfgang Niersbach, an ex-media chief at FIFA. Former international stars Zico and Diego Maradona have also been mentioned.
Read the whole story

· · · ·

FBI — FBI Aviation Program: Purpose and Scope

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The FBI routinely uses aviation assets in support of predicated investigations targeting specific individuals and, when requested and appropriate, in support of state and local law enforcement.
“It should come as no surprise that the FBI uses planes to follow terrorists, spies, and serious criminals,” said FBI Deputy Director Mark F. Giuliano. “We have an obligation to follow those people who want to hurt our country and its citizens, and we will continue to do so.”
Contrary to some recent media reporting, the FBI’s aviation program is not classified. Some of our aircraft are registered covertly because overt registration would put our aircraft and operations at risk of compromise. This covert registration is done under rigorous oversight of DOJ and in full compliance with the Attorney General Guidelines and the FBI’s Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide for undercover operations. The FAA is fully aware and supportive of this practice.
These aircraft are not equipped, designed, or used for bulk collection activities or mass surveillance, and are not routinely equipped with cell site simulators. With a court order, or under exigent circumstances such as a hostage situation, the aircraft can be fitted to include a cell site simulator. However, this is rarely utilized, and only with senior level approval. The FBI does not monitor lawfully protected first amendment activity.

Sen. Franken demands information from FBI on surveillance flights

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U.S. Sen. Al Franken on Wednesday asked for more information about government surveillance flights in cities across the country, including Minneapolis. In particular, Franken wants to know what spy technology is being used by the fleet of small planes, which are registered to fictitious companies in Virginia.
An Associated Press investigation this week definitively linked the flights, which had already drawn media and public attention, to a widespread FBI surveillance program. Scores of aircraft have been used in the program, most of them single-engine Cessnas that can remain aloft at low speed for hours.
The Star Tribune previously reported that one of the planes made several flights last month in the Twin Cities area, including at least one late at night in which it repeatedly circled downtown Minneapolis, the Mall of America and Southdale Center at low altitudes.
Franken, in his letter to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and FBI Director James Comey, said the public needs to know more about the surveillance.
“Many Americans have been troubled by these reports, and as ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law, I believe it is important to ensure that these programs adequately protect Americans’ privacy while furthering public safety and national security,” Franken wrote.
Franken asked what surveillance technologies the FBI planes are using, rattling off a laundry list of spy gear including IMSI-catchers, dirtboxes and Stingrays. All are devices used to capture information from cellphones. Franken also asked the FBI to explain its use of infrared cameras and video cameras.
The letter asks for an explanation of the legal authority under which the FBI is conducting the surveillance program, and whether it’s on a case-by-case basis or under a broader authorization. “Please provide a representative sample of the applications for these court orders,” the letter states.
Franken also asked about what policies the Department of Justice has developed for the use of these devices, and the retention of data they collect.
“What safeguards are in place to ensure that innocent Americans’ privacy is protected during aerial surveillance utilizing technology that collects data and personal information?” he asked.
Franken’s letter did not specify a deadline for receiving the information. The FBI and Department of Justice did not return calls seeking comment Wednesday.
Read the whole story

· ·

FBI extends FIFA scrutiny to World Cup host bids of Russia, Qatar

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NEW YORK/ZURICH The FBI's investigation of bribery and corruption at FIFA includes scrutiny of how soccer's governing body awarded World Cup hosting rights to Russia and Qatar, a U.S. law enforcement official said.

Russia and Qatar have denied wrongdoing in the conduct of their bids for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments, which were not the subject of charges announced by U.S. prosecutors a week ago against FIFA officials that stunned world soccer.

The U.S. law enforcement official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said the review of the bids would be part of a probe that goes beyond the indictments. Among issues the FBI is examining is the stewardship of FIFA by longtime president Sepp Blatter, who unexpectedly announced on Tuesday he was resigning shortly before it emerged that he too was under investigation by U.S. law enforcement.

Authorities said last week they were investigating a case of $150 million paid in bribes over two decades, while Swiss prosecutors announced their own criminal inquiry into the 2018 and 2022 bids.

On Wednesday, the partially blacked out transcript of the November 2013 guilty plea of Chuck Blazer, a U.S. citizen and FIFA executive committee member from 1997 to 2013, showed he and others in FIFA agreed to accept bribes in bidding for the 1998 and 2010 World Cups and other tournaments.

"Among other things, I agreed with other persons in or around 1992 to facilitate the acceptance of a bribe in conjunction with the selection of the host nation for the 1998 World Cup," Blazer told a federal judge in New York, according to the transcript.

The tournament was hosted by France, but separate court documents contain the prosecutors' allegation that bidding nation Morocco paid a bribe to another FIFA executive, Jack Warner of Trinidad and Tobago, and that Blazer acted as intermediary. Warner has denied this and other charges against him, and late on Wednesday aired a paid political statement saying he feared for his life, but would tell investigators all he knows about corruption at FIFA.

Blazer went on to say in his plea hearing that from 2004 and through 2011 "I and others on the FIFA executive committee agreed to accept bribes in conjunction with the selection of South Africa as the host nation for the 2010 World Cup."

Blazer's lawyer declined to comment on Wednesday.

Many of the details were previously revealed in charging documents released by prosecutors when they announced indictments for 14 people, including nine FIFA officials.

Soccer power Brazil hosted the World Cup in 2014 but in the case of Qatar, there was some surprise that the tournament was awarded to a small desert country with no real soccer tradition and where daytime summer temperatures can top 40 degrees Celsius (104F).

Qatar's Foreign Minister Khaled al-Attiyah said there was no way his country would be stripped of its right to host the World Cup. "It is very difficult for some to digest that an Arab Islamic country has this tournament, as if this right can't be for an Arab state," he told Reuters in an interview in Paris. "I believe it is because of prejudice and racism that we have this bashing campaign against Qatar."

For its part, Russia dismissed concerns it might lose the right to host the cup. "Cooperation with FIFA is going on and, most importantly, Russia is continuing preparations for the 2018 World Cup," President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said.

BLATTER PRESSURE

A source close to FIFA said it was Blatter's advisers who had told him he must quit. Critics pointed to the widening criminal probe, disquiet among sponsors, and pressure from European soccer body UEFA as possible reasons.

The international police organization Interpol put two former top FIFA officials on its wanted list at the request of U.S. authorities. It issued "red notices", which are not arrest warrants, for Warner, and Nicolas Leoz, the ex-head of South America's soccer federation.

FIFA has denied that another senior official, Secretary General Jerome Valcke, was involved in a $10 million payment approved by the South African Football Association that lies at the heart of the U.S. investigation.

At a news conference in Johannesburg, sports minister Fikile Mbalula confirmed the payment to Warner during the bid process but denied it was a bribe. Mbalula said the cash was intended for football development in the Caribbean.

Valcke said on Wednesday he was not guilty of corrupt practice relating to the payment and he saw no reason to resign.

Blatter announced his decision to step down six days after police raided a hotel in Zurich and arrested several FIFA officials, and four days after he was re-elected to a fifth term. Blatter has not been charged and FIFA did not respond to a request for comment on his being under investigation.

An election to choose a new president will probably not take place until at least December. Blatter, meanwhile, remains in his position.

Former England captain David Beckham, who was a major figure in England's failed bid to host the 2018 World Cup, joined the chorus of calls for change at FIFA. "Some of the things that we now know happened were despicable, unacceptable and awful for the game that we love so much," he told Sky Sports.

LEADERSHIP CANDIDATES

Among potential candidates to lead FIFA, UEFA chief Michel Platini, a former French international soccer star, is the favorite, ahead of Jordan's Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, who withdrew from last week's presidential election after winning 73 votes to Blatter's 133 in the first round.

Chung Mong-joon, billionaire scion of South Korea's Hyundai conglomerate, said he would consider running.

Other possible candidates include Domenico Scala, the independent chairman of FIFA's audit and compliance committee, Jerome Champagne, a former French diplomat and FIFA deputy secretary general, and German Wolfgang Niersbach, an ex-media chief at FIFA. Former international stars Zico and Diego Maradona have also been mentioned.

(This story was refiled to fix a typo in the word "approved" in paragraph 16)

(Writing by Giles Elgood; Editing by Grant McCool and Ian Geoghegan)
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· · · ·

FBI director tells Greens Farms grads money not true measure of success

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  • From left,Class President Martin Brennan and Student Council Chair Claire Comey present the Senior Class gift during commencement exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    From left,Class President Martin Brennan and Student Council Chair Claire Comey present the Senior Class gift during commencement exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    From left,Class President Martin Brennan and Student Council Chair...
  • James B. Comey, Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation, left, and Greens Farm Academy Head of School Janet Hartwell lead faculty and graduates into  commencement exercises at the school in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    James B. Comey, Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation, left, and Greens Farm Academy Head of School Janet Hartwell lead faculty and graduates into commencement exercises at the school in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    James B. Comey, Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation, left,...
  • Director James B. Comey of the Ferderal Bureau of Investigation addresses graduates and attendees of the 2015 commencement exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Director James B. Comey of the Ferderal Bureau of Investigation addresses graduates and attendees of the 2015 commencement exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Director James B. Comey of the Ferderal Bureau of Investigation...
  • Maidson Sweedler of Westport chats with fellow graduates prior to commencement exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Maidson Sweedler of Westport chats with fellow graduates prior to commencement exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Maidson Sweedler of Westport chats with fellow graduates prior to...
  • Class salutatorian Adam Petno addresses his fellow graduates and attendees of Greens Farm Academy 2015 commencement at the school in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Class salutatorian Adam Petno addresses his fellow graduates and attendees of Greens Farm Academy 2015 commencement at the school in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Class salutatorian Adam Petno addresses his fellow graduates and...
  • Class valedictorian Rui Aguiar addresses his fellow graduates and attendees of Greens Farm Academy 2015 commencement at the school in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Class valedictorian Rui Aguiar addresses his fellow graduates and attendees of Greens Farm Academy 2015 commencement at the school in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Class valedictorian Rui Aguiar addresses his fellow graduates and...
  • Isabel Furman of Fairfield chats with fellow graduates prior to commencement exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Isabel Furman of Fairfield chats with fellow graduates prior to commencement exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Isabel Furman of Fairfield chats with fellow graduates prior to...
  • Emily Dolan of Wilton chats fellow graduates prior to commencement exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Emily Dolan of Wilton chats fellow graduates prior to commencement exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Emily Dolan of Wilton chats fellow graduates prior to commencement...
  • Claire Comey, center, laughs as her father, Director James B. Comey of the Ferderal Bureau of Investigation addresses graduates and attendees of the 2015 commencement exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Claire Comey, center, laughs as her father, Director James B. Comey of the Ferderal Bureau of Investigation addresses graduates and attendees of the 2015 commencement exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015.
    Photo: Matthew Brown
    Claire Comey, center, laughs as her father, Director James B. Comey...
  • Director James B. Comey of the Ferderal Bureau of Investigation addresses graduates and attendees of the 2015 commencement exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Director James B. Comey of the Ferderal Bureau of Investigation addresses graduates and attendees of the 2015 commencement exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Director James B. Comey of the Ferderal Bureau of Investigation...
  • Director James B. Comey of the Ferderal Bureau of Investigation addresses graduates and attendees of the 2015 commencement exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Director James B. Comey of the Ferderal Bureau of Investigation addresses graduates and attendees of the 2015 commencement exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Director James B. Comey of the Ferderal Bureau of Investigation...
  • Director James B. Comey of the Ferderal Bureau of Investigation addresses graduates and attendees of the 2015 commencement exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Director James B. Comey of the Ferderal Bureau of Investigation addresses graduates and attendees of the 2015 commencement exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Director James B. Comey of the Ferderal Bureau of Investigation...
  • Director James B. Comey of the Ferderal Bureau of Investigation addresses graduates and attendees of the 2015 commencement exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Director James B. Comey of the Ferderal Bureau of Investigation addresses graduates and attendees of the 2015 commencement exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Director James B. Comey of the Ferderal Bureau of Investigation...
  • Director James B. Comey of the Ferderal Bureau of Investigation addresses graduates and attendees of the 2015 commencement exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Director James B. Comey of the Ferderal Bureau of Investigation addresses graduates and attendees of the 2015 commencement exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Director James B. Comey of the Ferderal Bureau of Investigation...
  • From left, Hanna Refvik of Westport and Ashley Rintoul of Darien chat prior to commencement exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    From left, Hanna Refvik of Westport and Ashley Rintoul of Darien chat prior to commencement exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    From left, Hanna Refvik of Westport and Ashley Rintoul of Darien...
  • Janet Hartwell, Head of School at Greens Farm Academy, welcomes attendees to the 2015 commencement  exercises at the school in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Janet Hartwell, Head of School at Greens Farm Academy, welcomes attendees to the 2015 commencement exercises at the school in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Janet Hartwell, Head of School at Greens Farm Academy, welcomes...
  • Janet Hartwell, Head of School at Greens Farm Academy, welcomes attendees to the 2015 commencement  exercises at the school in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Janet Hartwell, Head of School at Greens Farm Academy, welcomes attendees to the 2015 commencement exercises at the school in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Janet Hartwell, Head of School at Greens Farm Academy, welcomes...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
  • Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown / Connecticut Post Freelance
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy in Westport, Conn. on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Photo: Matthew Brown
    Scenes from the 2015 Commencement Exercises at Greens Farm Academy...
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    FBI official: Companies should help us ‘prevent encryption above all else’

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    The debate over encryption erupted on Capitol Hill again Wednesday, with an FBI official testifying that law enforcement's challenge is working with tech companies "to build technological solutions to prevent encryption above all else."
    At first glance the comment from Michael B. Steinbach, assistant director in the FBI's Counterterrorism Division, might appear to go further than FBI Director James B. Comey. Encryption, a technology widely used to secure digital information by scrambling data so only authorized users can decode it, is "a good thing," Comey has said, even if he wants the government to have the ability get around it.
    But Steinbach's testimony also suggests he meant that companies shouldn't put their customers' access to encryption ahead of national security concerns -- rather than saying the government's top priority should be preventing the use of the technology that secures basically everything people do online.
    "Privacy, above all other things, including safety and freedom from terrorism, is not where we want to go," Steinbach said. He also disputed the "back door" term used by experts to describe such built-in access points. "We're not looking at going through a back door or being nefarious," he argued, saying that the agency wants to be able to access content after going through a judicial process.
    But many technical experts believe that building intentional vulnerabilities into the systems that people around the world rely on reduces the overall security of the entire digital system, even if done to comply with legal requirements.
    The policy fight over encryption has been going on since the 1990s -- when it resulted in policies that are still causing security problems for Internet users around the world, even though the policies have since been changed. But the debate regained steam after revelations about National Security Agency spying from former government contractor Edward Snowden.
    In the wake of those reports, tech companies -- most notably Apple with its iPhone -- have expanded how they protect users with encryption, in some cases automatically rolling out a more robust form of encryption called end-to-end. End-to-end protections mean that only the sender and the recipient can unlock communications -- so tech companies can't provide access to law enforcement even if served with a legitimate court order.
    This prompted a backlash from some law enforcement officials, who warn that encryption can allow criminals and terrorists to "go dark" -- making it harder for the government to track them. Leaders such as Comey have argued that Congress should make tech companies build in ways for law enforcement to access secured content from their products.
    It's this argument Steinbach made in the hearing:
    So, when a company, a communications company or a ISP or social media company elects to build in its software encryption, end-to-end encryption, and leaves no ability for even the company to access that, we don't have the means by which to see the content. When we intercept it, we intercept encrypted communications.
    So that's the challenge: working with those companies to build technological solutions to prevent encryption above all else.
    Many encryption experts say building in such technical solutions would fundamentally undermine the security of the technology because there's no guarantee hackers couldn't use the same "back door."
    But government officials are still examining their options. Earlier this year, National Security Agency chief Adm. Michael Rogers floated an idea that would involve splitting up the keys to decode encryption to provide more oversight and make an access point harder for hackers to exploit.
    A recent report from the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights recommended governments avoid mandating back doors along with other policies that could weaken encryption because it would weaken the security many around the world depend on to exercise freedom of expression.
    Last month, a group of tech companies, civil society groups and academics sent a letter to President Obama urging him to oppose efforts force companies to build in ways for law enforcement to access products and services protected by encryption.
    And despite testimony like Steinbach's, opponents of back doors seem to be making inroads on the hill: Earlier this week, the House approved two amendments about the issue to an appropriations bill. The first, from Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and Ted Poe (R-Tex.), would bar the government from forcing a company to alter its security measures to spy on users -- unless it is already required to comply with an existing wiretap law.
    Another, from Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), would stop funds provided to the agency that sets cryptographic standards from being used to consult with the NSA unless it strengthens, rather than weakens, information security.

    Andrea Peterson covers technology policy for The Washington Post, with an emphasis on cybersecurity, consumer privacy, transparency, surveillance and open government.
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    Hayley Tsukayama · 7 hours ago
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    How the FBI’s aerial surveillance program was unmasked | NewsCut

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    The Associated Press got a lot of credit — deservedly so — for its story this week that the plane flying over Minneapolis last week (and planes flying over other cities) are part of an FBI surveillance operation.
    But much of the credit for the revelation goes to John Wiseman of Los Angeles and Sam Richards of Minneapolis, who were suspicious enough to start asking questions (and getting answers) while most mainstream media was still disinterested.
    How’d they do it?
    Wiseman, an engineer, describes his investigation in an Ars Technica post.
    It started, he acknowledges, with the Washington Post’s revelation that a plane had been circling Baltimore in the aftermath of the civil strife there.
    He also used nuggets of information from several online forums, which he acknowledges “were usually conspiracy/paranoia/gun rights types of sites.”
    “But maybe they were right this time,” he thought.
    They were, once Wiseman was able to separate the valuable nuggets of information from the online noise. He found the transponder codes the planes were emitting to air traffic control.
    Then he rigged up his own surveillance system.
    For fun I planespot/radarspot/whatever. I have a little software defined radio dongle that I use to pick up aircraft transponder pings. I can pick up aircraft from all over the Los Angeles basin with it. I log up to one ping per second per aircraft in a database. You can see more information about the setup and information I can receive at this page:Tracking Aircraft Over Los Angeles.
    Since I had two months worth of transponder pings at this point, including transponder squawk codes and callsigns, I checked to see if there was anything to it.
    Of the 15,000 or so aircraft I had tracked, I found 8 that had used 4414/4415, and one with a JENNA callsign—that also had squawked 4414. And they were all registered to generically named companies. I felt like there might be something to this.
    He enlisted the ACLU for additional help, then found that Sam Richards in Minneapolis was also pursuing what was happening above.
    They found the number of planes registered to phony companies as a front for the FBI was much larger than originally thought.
    It’s a great story on many fronts, and a reminder of the power of sharing nuggets of information online to shine a light on those who’d rather operate in the darkness.
    Read the whole story

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    Former FBI agent accused of pocketing $100,000 in cash during drug raids in California

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    LOS ANGELES –  A former FBI special agent is accused of pocketing more than $100,000 while executing search warrants during drug investigations in California, federal prosecutors said Thursday.
    Scott M. Bowen, 44, faces charges including conversion of federal property, obstruction of justice, money laundering, falsifying documents, and witness tampering, according to the U.S. attorney's office.
    Bowen allegedly stole drug proceeds found after search warrants were served on three occasions last June and August.
    He is accused of using the money to buy two new cars — a Dodge Challenger and a Scion FR-S — and outfit the vehicles with new equipment including speakers, rims and tires. He also spent $15,000 on cosmetic surgery for his wife and thousands more on a lavish Las Vegas vacation, according to the indictment.
    A number for Bowen, a resident of Moreno Valley, could not immediately be found.
    To cover his tracks, Bowman falsified official FBI reports and other records, prosecutors said. After one seizure, Bowman allegedly endorsed an evidence receipt knowing that it did not accurately reflect the amount of cash seized and altered the same receipt by forging the signature of a police detective next to his own, according to the indictment.
    Bowman then allegedly sent an email to the detective whose signature he forged, providing a detailed cover story that the detective should offer if questioned by superiors. Bowman also provided the detective with a copy of the forged receipt so that the detective falsely could claim the forged signature as his own, if asked, according to the indictment.

    ’ Jihadist Propaganda Creating New Frontline in Battle against Extremists

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    By: Amanda Vicinanzo, Senior Editor
    06/04/2015 ( 2:07pm)
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    In the wake of the Garland, Texas ISIS-inspired jihad attack, which was preceded by calls for an attack via Twitter, US officials are growing increasingly concerned that terrorism is going viral.
    The House Committee on Homeland Security held a hearing on Wednesday, “Terrorism Gone Viral: The Attack in Garland, Texas and Beyond,” to examine the role of the Internet and social media in spreading propaganda, recruiting followers, and directing jihadist-inspired attacks targeting the homeland.
    In the weeks preceding the Garland, Texas attack, Elton Simpson, the alleged attacker, fired off a series of tweets pledging allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and called for jihadi terror attacks on the Muhammad Art Exhibit and Cartoon Contest using the hashtag #TexasAttack on Twitter.
    “Extremists issued a ‘call to arms’ to attack an event, a radicalized follower clearly heeded that call, and he took steps to make sure his act of violence would spread and motivate more,” said committee chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas). “Social media networks have become an extension of the Islamist terror battlefields overseas, turning homegrown extremists into sleeper operatives and attackers.”
    Several hours before Simpson and his co-conspirator, Nadir Soofi, opened fire at the event, the FBI sent a bulletin to the Garland Police Department stating Simpson, who had been under FBI investigation for jihadist activity since 2006, might show up.
    FBI Director James B. Comey recently commented at a news briefing that the influence of social media has made investigations into homegrown extremists increasingly difficult, saying, “Where are they on the path from talker to doer?”
    Days after Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi, two radicalized Muslims and Phoenix, Arizona roommates killed Sunday in an avowed jihad attack on the civic center in Garland, Texas where an art exhibition and contest was being held for the best cartoon of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad --an act punishable by death under Islamic law -- Comey soberly said there are "hundreds, maybe thousands," of Muslims or new converts inclined to accept radical Islam’s call to jihad across the nation. Moreover, they may be receiving recruitment approaches, perhaps even directives, to attack targets in the US from jihadi organizations like the ISIS and Al Qaeda.
    In the ninth issue of the Islamic State’s digital English-language magazine, Dabiq, the jihadi group heaped praise on Soofi and Simpson for their attempt to storm into the Curtis Culwell Civic Center in Garland, Texas with long guns to kill as many attendees of the Stop Islamization of America and the American Freedom Defense Initiative where the contest for the best cartoon of Prophet Muhammad was being held.
    Homeland Security Today reported in August that social media-influenced Islamist jihadism had already taken place on US soil, some successfully, and noted that many others were thwarted. Still, the fear of counterterrorists and intelligence officials today is that so many more Muslims are being radicalized by ISIS and other jihadi groups’ sophisticated social media efforts.
    "I know there are other Elton Simpsons out there," Comey said. "But I also know there are Elton Simpsons out there I cannot see."
    Indeed. US counterterrorism intelligence officials told Homeland Security Today they “have every reason to believe” small cells of Islamist jihadists – all Muslims or individuals who recently converted to the Muslim faith who’ve been radicalized by online jihadist propaganda -- or recruiters at the Mosques they attend – are believed to be planning “far more spectacular attacks in the US” than the attempted attack in Texas, at which time officials acknowledged there may be hundreds, if not thousands of radicalized individuals in the US -- some undoubtedly in direct contact with jihadists overseas.
    On Wednesday, Homeland Security Today reported Usaamah Abdullah Rahim, the Boston terror suspect shot by authorities on Tuesday, was radicalized by ISIS and other Islamist jihadist influences via online ISIS jihadi propaganda, and was an imminent threat to local law enforcement.
    The law enforcement officials who had Rahim and associates under persistent surveillance believed they had actionable intelligence that Rahim imminently intended – with other co-conspirators – to begin "randomly kill[ing] police officers in Massachusetts,” including the beheading of an “infidel” in another state, according to court documents.
    Both cases are a reminder of the dangers posed by individuals radicalized through social media.
    “The proliferation of jihadist propaganda online has established a new front in our battle against Islamist extremists,” McCaul said. “We are no longer hunting terrorists living in caves who only communicate through couriers. We are facing an enemy whose messages and calls to violence are posted and promoted in real-time.”
    Jihadist propaganda: A growing threat
    While the Garland, Texas attack and recent plot to inflict harm on law enforcement by the Boston terror suspect highlight the growing threat of jihadist propaganda, terrorist use of the Internet and social media to spread their message, recruit followers and call for attacks is not a new phenomenon.
    In March, Homeland Security Today reported ISIS supporters were finalizing an English language hit-list of 100 US military personnel, including their photos and addresses, which began to be circulated on jihadi forums and social media on March 21. This was not the first list of its kind.
    Back in 2011, Homeland Security Today reported on a similar jihadi hit list targeting the nation’s top military leaders being circulated by members of the Al Qaeda-linked Ansar Al Mujahedeen jihadist forum.
    And although ISIS is known for its mastery of social media as a mechanism for spreading propaganda, a report by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) revealed Al Qaeda leadership has repeatedly emphasized the importance of cyber jihad.
    The report indicated that in 2003, Al Qaeda codified the “sacred duty of cyber jihad” into a document called, The 39 Principles of Jihad, which was posted to the Al Farouq website, a known Saudi-based Al Qaeda domain. In addition, in a May 2010 letter by Osama Bin Laden to Shakykh Mahmud found inside Bin Laden’s Abbottabad, Pakistan compound, Bin Laden said, “The wide-scale spread of jihadist ideology, especially on the Internet, and the tremendous number of young people who frequent Jihadist websites, [are] a major achievement for jihad ..."
    Today, Al Qaeda and its subsidiaries are masters of not only YouTube, Twitter and Facebook, but also Tumblr, WhatsApp, Instagram and Skype. Just last year, MEMRI released a report on how jihadists of all stripes had infested SoundCloud, a Berlin-based social networking platform created in 2007 that allows users to upload and share audio content for free.
    Jihadist use of social media to spread propaganda should not be taken lightly. Earlier this year, areport conducted by the University of Southern California-based DHS National Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE) revealed ISIS has been “lethally effective” in targeting the Somali-American community in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, which has been described as a terrorist pipeline to the Middle East, through social media.
    Commenting on this disturbing trend at the hearing, McCaul said, “From digital magazines to online videos that glorify barbaric murder, ISIS is using its multi-platform engagement to create a jihadi subculture that supports its violent ideology and encourages attacks against the United States and its allies.”
    US response to “terrorism gone viral”
    In response to ISIS’ relentless social media campaign, which has allowed jihadists to infiltrate every nook and cranny of the globe, the FBI is increasingly focusing its efforts on a concept they refer to as “Going Dark,” the public safety problem created by the failure of law enforcement to keep pace with technology.
    “Those charged with protecting our people aren’t always able to access the evidence we need to prosecute crime and prevent terrorism, even with lawful authority,” Comey explained in a statementlast year. “We have the legal authority to intercept and access communications and information pursuant to court order, but we often lack the technical ability to do so.”
    Commenting at the hearing, Assistant FBI Director Michael B. Steinbach said that the risks associated with “Going Dark” must be addressed swiftly to allow law enforcement to position themselves to identify and prevent terror attacks against the homeland.
    “We live in a technologically driven society and just as private industry has adapted to modern forms of communication so too have the terrorists,” Steinbach said. “Unfortunately, changing forms of internet communication are quickly outpacing laws and technology designed to allow for the lawful intercept of communication content.”
    In addition, with the large volume of foreign fighters leaving the US and Western countries for terrorist training and activities in Iraq and Syria, countering violent extremism (CVE) efforts in the homeland are vital to diminishing the appeal of terrorism here at home.
    The National Counterterrorism Center (NCC) is working closely with the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice and FBI to dissuade individuals from traveling to Iraq and Syria, according to Deputy NCTC Director John Mulligan.
    According to Mulligan, one of the most important elements of CVE is countermessaging, the creation of alternative narratives to the jihadist propaganda being spread on the Internet and social media. Working with local communities to ensure that community voices are heard are critical to these efforts.
    However, many local communities do not speak up against terrorism for fear of becoming associated with violent extremism, unfamiliarity with the gravity of terrorists’ presence online and lack of resources to develop and disseminate alternative content.
    Consequently, Mulligan stressed the importance of working with communities to overcome these challenges. For example, the Peer2Peer program, a public-private partnership between EdVenture Partners and the Department of State, works to empower university students to create counter narratives to jihadist propaganda on social media.
    “With programs like these, we have seen that private sector and community contributors can be much more nimble, creative, and credible online,” Mulligan said. “It is in everyone’s interest to help mitigate this fear and encourage the use of law-abiding measures that communities can employ to confront terrorist narratives in virtual environments.”
    Understanding the vital role CVE plays in curbing foreign fighters, DHS continues to work to bolster CVE in local communities, according to DHS Under Secretary, Intelligence and Analysis Francis X. Taylor. Since September 2014, DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson has engaged with critical stakeholders in Chicago, Columbus, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Boston and New York to assess options for addressing the threat of jihadist propaganda and foreign fighters on a local level.
    “Within the limitations of appropriate government action, we will address the evolving nature of online recruitment and radicalization to violence - particularly violent extremist use of social media – by encouraging credible voices to challenge and counter violent extremism,” Taylor said.
    To increase CVE awareness in local communities, Johnson recently tasked the DHS Coordinator for Countering Violent Extremism to update the current CVE approach and develop a department-wide CVE strategy. The new strategy information aims to engage with local community partners, encourage communities to develop their own CVE initiatives and increase information sharing between DHS and state and local law enforcement, fusion centers and first responders.
    “DHS’s approach emphasizes the strength of local communities and the premise that well-informed and well-equipped families, communities and frontline personnel represent the best defense against violent extremism,” Taylor said.
    McCaul concluded that the new frontline in the war against Islamist terror will require a new approach with a heavy focus on the ideological battle space.
    “ISIS tailors its message for specific audiences around the globe and, in doing so, projects power far beyond its growing safe havens by amplifying its battlefield successes and winning over new converts across the world," McCaul said. "Its media sophistication helps legitimize its self-proclaimed Caliphate and its perverse interpretation of Islam."
    “Their tactics are a sea change for spreading terror, and they require from us a paradigm shift in our counterterrorism intelligence and operations,” McCaul said.

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    Lawmakers Probe FBI’s ‘Disturbing’ Use of Spy Planes

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    June 4, 2015 Members of Congress are demanding that the FBI turn over more information about its use of airplanes to conduct surveillance of Americans.
    The FBI is using at least 50 planes to conduct surveillance operations over U.S. cities and rural areas, the Associated Press reported earlier this week. The planes, registered under fake company names, are equipped with high-tech cameras and, in some circumstances, technology that can track thousands of cell phones below.
    "In the wake of the president's signature on a surveillance reform law that ends warrantless bulk collection of Americans' phone records, it is highly disturbing that your agency may be doing just that and more with a secret fleet of aircraft engaged in surveillance missions in the United States," 16 lawmakers, including Reps. Suzan DelBene, Zoe Lofgren, and Chris Van Hollen, wrote in a letterThursday to FBI Director James Comey.
    The lawmakers requested that the FBI brief Congress on the legal theories justifying the program, when it seeks warrants, the technologies it uses on the flights, and how it limits spying on innocent Americans.
    Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and Sen. Al Franken sent their own letters this week asking for similar information from the FBI.
    In a statement Thursday, the FBI denied that it was collecting any information in bulk or that the program was classified. The bureau said it uses fake company names to protect the security of the operations, and that the Justice Department conducts "rigorous oversight." The flights use cell-phone-tracking technology only in rare circumstances, such as hostage situations, the FBI said.
    "It should come as no surprise that the FBI uses planes to follow terrorists, spies, and serious criminals," FBI Deputy Director Mark Giuliano said. "We have an obligation to follow those people who want to hurt our country and its citizens, and we will continue to do so."

    FBI Director to GFA Grads: ‘Success is Life of Joy and Meaning’ - WestportNow.com

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    News

    Thursday, June 04, 2015

    FBI Director to GFA Grads: ‘Success is Life of Joy and Meaning’

    By James Lomuscio
    As Westporter and FBI Director James B. Comey took to the podium today as keynote speaker at Green Farms Academy’s (GFA) 90th commencement, he made note of the drone that had been buzzing mosquito-like above the 400 persons seated outdoors in the school’s quad.
    WestportNow.com Image
    FBI Director James B. Comey, a Westport resident since 2010, addresses today’s Greens Farms Academy graduation. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) 
    Dave Matlow for <a href="http://WestportNow.com" rel="nofollow">WestportNow.com</a>
    “It’s not an FBI drone,” he said. “We only use ours in predicated investigations and with appropriate approval, and they are not armed.”
    The Greens Farms resident’s disarming quip brought laughter and a glimpse of what was to come—a very human and often humorous address from the nation’s most revered, if not feared, law enforcement official.
    His message to the 78 graduates, including his daughter Claire Collin Comey, who has chaired GFA’s student council, was about the four key ingredients to success that had noting to do with “making a lot of dough,” high achievements or a high IQ.

    Success lies in having a life “of joy and meaning,” Comey said.
    According to Comey, the first step toward success is to develop “high emotional intelligence ...stepping outside yourself to connect with others.”
    “You will do nothing alone in life,” Comey, a former Manhattan U.S. Attorney and later house counsel for Westport’s Bridgewater Associates before being sworn in as FBI director in 2013,  advised the graduates.
    The second step toward success involves effective communication, he said.
    “All successful people focus on successful communication,” he said, emphasizing the importance of clear speaking and writing. “They obsess about it. All the knowledge that’s in your head is ineffective if you can’t get it into other people’s heads.”
    WestportNow.com Image
    GFA class president Martin Brennan addresses today’s graduation. He will attend Bucknell University. With him is Clare Comey, daughter of FBI DIrector James Comey and chair, Student Council, who will attend the University of Richmond, where her father taught law as an adjunct professor. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) 
    Dave Matlow for <a href="http://WestportNow.com" rel="nofollow">WestportNow.com</a>
    Yonkers, N.Y. born Comey recalled how his public school, sixth grade teacher Mr. Hagee drove that message home, so that students would not use the verbal static of “ahh” and “um” in their presentations.
    Every time a student employed such a break, the entire class was to chime “ahh” or “um” in unison. He agreed such pedagogy would be seen askance today.
    Using humor, he underscored each of his four points by reading lyrics from popular songs that seemed to echo the same message, songs by Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Britney Spears and One Direction. The lyrics seemed to escape some adults in the audience.
    “Dare to be dumb,” Comey said citing his third ingredient, calling on students not to be afraid to ask questions. “Have the confidence to be humble ...ego has extraordinary costs.”
    Finally, he cautioned students to “understand what a reputation is.” He used the metaphor of a mansion, saying that one’s life is not only defined by major events, such as a home might be defined by its different rooms.
    “Your reputation is a mansion, but it is made of bricks,” Comey said. “Every single human encounter is a brick that adds up to your reputation.”
    WestportNow.com Image
    Valedictorian Rui Michael Aguiar lauded GFA for not frowning upon failure.  (CLICK TO ENLARGE) 
    Dave Matlow for <a href="http://WestportNow.com" rel="nofollow">WestportNow.com</a>
    Comey’s address seemed to fit nicely with Rui Michael Aguiar’s valedictory speech given earlier. Aguiar, who said he attended 10 schools in his lifetime, lauded GFA for not frowning upon failure, but for having “a system that provides for error,” allowing students to climb to higher levels.
    He invoked celebrated successes, such as Henry Ford, Albert Einstein, Martin Luter King, Jr., Thomas Edison, even fictional Rocky Balboa as individuals who did not give up on success even after repeated failures.
    “Don’t be afraid to fail,” Aguiar closed his speech.
    O.J. Burns, who retired three years ago after teaching English for 36 years at GFA, said he was there to see the students he had as freshmen get their diplomas.
    “They were a great group of kids,” he said.
    Asked about Comey prior to his address, Burns said he did not know much about him, “but I taught Claire, and if he had anything to do with Claire, he has to be okay.”
    In addition to graduating, Claire received an award for outstanding citizenship, and her sister Abbey received the same award for the ninth grade.
    In introducing Comey, Head of School Janet Hartwell said she and GFA were grateful that the Comey family moved to Westport in 2010. She noted that three of the five Comey children, including son Brian, attended GFA.

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    mikenova shared this story . &amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-W9SLGS" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/iframe&amp...
    » G-7 summit expected to lead to fresh admonishment of Russia
    04/06/15 13:55 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story . WASHINGTON (AP) — Western leaders at their weekend summit in Germany are expected to further condemn, but not more strictly punish Russia for its suspected role in the escalating violence in Ukraine. Uk...
    » West 'must hike forces over Russia'
    04/06/15 13:41 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story . The West urgently needs to strengthen its conventional military forces in the face of continued aggression by Russian President Vladimir Putin, a leading foreign affairs think-tank is warning. A major study b...
    » West 'must strengthen forces in face of Russia'
    04/06/15 13:38 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Russian news, all the latest and breaking Russia news. Russia’s continued aggression means the West should now begin arming the Ukrainian government so it can defend itself, a former Nato secretary g...
    » The West Must Stand Up To Vladimir Putin Or Risk Moscow’s Use Of Tactical Nuclear Weapons, British Intelligence Experts Warn
    04/06/15 13:37 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from The Inquisitr News. If the West fails to stand up to Vladimir Putin and Moscow, then it could initiate a chain of events which would lead to World War 3, British intelligence experts have warned. The U.K&#...
    » NATO and EU 'Could Collapse' if Ukraine Falls
    04/06/15 13:36 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Comments on: Report: If Russia Wins, the EU Could Collapse. YURI KADOBNOV/AFP/Getty Images by Oliver Lane 4 Jun 2015 59 In what should be a sharp wake-up call for Western leaders, Chatham House’s ...
    » 'The West must face up to Putin – or Nato and the EU could collapse' | World | News
    04/06/15 13:35 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Daily Express :: World Feed. Foreign affairs think-tank Chatham House warned that the conflict in Ukraine would be a "defining factor" for the future security of Europe – and suggested Moscow could u...
    » Viewpoint: The Russian challenge for the West
    04/06/15 13:34 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from BBC News - Home. A report from the Chatham House think tank makes the case for a very different strategy for dealing with Russia - one based on the reality of that country's leadership, rather than unworka...
    » West Can't Wait Out Putin on Ukraine
    04/06/15 13:31 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Bloomberg View. Who said the West lost its Russian expertise after the Cold War? Chatham House, the U.K. Royal Institute of International Affairs, has published a 58-page  report  on "T...
    » Nato and EU face collapse if they fail to stop Russian aggression, warn experts - World Politics - World
    04/06/15 13:30 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story . A major study by Chatham House found the conflict in Ukraine – where Moscow is backing separatist rebels – represented a “defining” moment for the future of Europe. It called for the W...
    » chatham house - Google Search
    04/06/15 13:28 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story . Chatham House - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Chatham _ House Cached Similar Wikipedia Loading... Chatham House , the Royal Institute of International Affairs, is a non-profit, non- ...
    » 101010 people
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    10 10 10 people 10 people This post has been generated by Page2RSS
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    » 2015-06-03World News Review: » How Regulators Can Keep Bankers Honest 03/06/15 21:32 from
    03/06/15 21:04 from Mike Nova - Google+
    2015-06-03 World News Review: » How Regulators Can Keep Bankers Honest 03/06/15 21:32 from WSJ.com: World News | » ISIS Mag Details Plan to Transport Nuke into U.S.A. Through Mexico 03/06/15 18:05 from Breitbart News Network World News R...
    » Questionable anthrax sent to 51 labs - YouTube
    03/06/15 17:43 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story . Published on Jun 3, 2015 CNN's Barbara Starr reports that anthrax that may be alive was sent to dozens of labs across the United States.
    » Spectacular footage shows Wolf volcano erupting - YouTube
    03/06/15 17:41 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story . Published on Jun 3, 2015 Lava flows into the ocean as the volcano continued its activity after erupting for the first time in 33 years. Report by Cara Legg.
    » FBI Behind Mysterious Surveillance Aircraft - YouTube
    03/06/15 17:36 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story . Published on Jun 1, 2015 ONLY ON AP: An AP analysis has revealed the FBI is operating a fleet of small planes, all hidden by fictitious companies, that carry video and, at times, cell phone surveillance techn...
    » Dozens of Labs Received Potentially Live Anthrax - YouTube
    03/06/15 17:34 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story . Published on Jun 3, 2015 At least 51 laboratories in 17 states and three foreign countries received potentially live anthrax spores from the Defense Department over the past decade, and the number is likely t...
    » AP Reporter: 'New Phase in Holmes Trial in Colo' - YouTube
    03/06/15 17:33 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story . Published on Jun 3, 2015 AP Reporter Sadie Gurman says the trial of James Holmes, who is accused of killing 12 and injuring 70 others in a theater shooting in Colo. three years ago, is entering a new phase, w...
    » Two civilians killed, market destroyed in fresh fighting in Ukraine - YouTube
    03/06/15 17:32 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story . Published on Jun 3, 2015 PLEASE NOTE: THIS STORY CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES Civilians caught in the crossfire, in the latest round of fighting in Ukraine. A couple driving through the Luhansk region of eastern U...
    » AP Top Stories June 3 P - YouTube
    03/06/15 17:30 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story . Published on Jun 3, 2015 Subscribe for more Breaking News: http://smarturl.it/AssociatedPress Here's the latest for Wednesday June 3rd: Boston police review video of shooting; Bus carrying Italian tourists co...
    » 2015-06-03» U.S. Defense Secretary Visits India to Build Military Ties 04/06/15 01:00 from
    03/06/15 16:53 from Mike Nova - Google+
    2015-06-03 » U.S. Defense Secretary Visits India to Build Military Ties 04/06/15 01:00 from NYT > United States Defense and Military Forces | » NATO praises dialog between Ukrainian Defense Ministry, foreign advisors - Kyiv Post 03/06...
    » Pennsylvania Bus-Truck Collision Leaves 2 Dead, 17 Hurt - Wall Street Journal
    03/06/15 15:44 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Top Stories - Google News. New York Daily News Pennsylvania Bus-Truck Collision Leaves 2 Dead, 17 Hurt Wall Street Journal MOUNT POCONO, Pa.—Authorities in eastern Pennsylvania say a head-on crash between ...
    » Two dead, 17 injured after head-on crash between bus, tractor-trailer in Pa.: video - PennLive.com
    03/06/15 15:44 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Top Stories - Google News. PennLive.com Two dead, 17 injured after head-on crash between bus, tractor-trailer in Pa.: video PennLive.com MOUNT POCONO, Pa. (AP) — Authorities in eastern Pennsylvania say a h...
    » Afghanistan Arrests Suspects in Kabul Guesthouse Attack
    03/06/15 15:44 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. Afghanistan’s intelligence agency says it has arrested two of the alleged organizers and planners of a deadly attack on a Kabul guesthouse that killed 14, including nine foreigners.   The...
    » Blatter under pressure to go immediately
    03/06/15 15:43 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from World News. Despite his resignation questions remain about timing of Fifa president’s departure
    » Protester Disrupts News Conference with Egypt's el-Sissi
    03/06/15 15:42 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi defended his government's human rights track record Wednesday, saying he was operating “amid very difficult circumstances” after Chancellor Angela...
    » Potentially Live Anthrax Sent to Dozens of Labs Around the World
    03/06/15 15:41 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from TIME. (WASHINGTON)—The problem of unintended shipments of potentially live anthrax spores over the past decade is worse than first believed, officials said Wednesday. Officials said it’s possible that ship...
    » WikiLeaks releases documents related to controversial US trade pact
    03/06/15 15:41 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Network Front | The Guardian. Document dump regarding Trade in Services Agreement comes day after organization put $100,000 bounty on documents from series of US trade treaties WikiLeaks on Wednesday relea...
    » Immigrants try to board moving trains to the USA while carrying their CHILDREN
    03/06/15 15:40 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from News | Mail Online. These pictures were taken in Huehuetoca, near of Mexico City, immigrants from countries such as Guatemala and El Salvador cross the Mexican border en route to a new life.
    » What next for Greece? A look at its options in coming days
    03/06/15 15:40 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from AP Top Headlines At 3 p.m. EDT. ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- Greece's bailout talks are going down to the wire....
    » US ends NSA's phone snooping, ,passes USA Freedom Act - Hindustan Times
    03/06/15 15:40 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Top Stories - Google News. NBCNews.com Newsweek US ends NSA's phone snooping, ,passes USA Freedom Act Hindustan Times Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell (R) speaks to the press in Washington. McConnell...
    » Harvard Gets $400 Million Gift, Biggest Ever
    03/06/15 15:40 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. America's prestigious Harvard University said Wednesday it has received its biggest gift ever - $400 million from Wall Street hedge fund billionaire John Paulson. The university said the ...
    » US passes NSA surveillance reform - The Hindu
    03/06/15 15:39 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Top Stories - Google News. The Hindu US passes NSA surveillance reform The Hindu It was a historic moment for civil liberty advocates as much as it was for libertarians of the American right when the U.S. ...
    » Boston police say terrorism suspect was not shot in the back – video
    03/06/15 15:39 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from World news + Video | The Guardian. Boston police commissioner William Evans described to reporters the video that reportedly captured a fatal police shooting of a terrorism investigation suspect the day be...
    » Four batches of anthrax to military labs contained live spores - USA TODAY
    03/06/15 15:39 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Top Stories - Google News. CNN Four batches of anthrax to military labs contained live spores USA TODAY WASHINGTON — At least four batches of anthrax samples shipped from a military lab to labs in 12 state...
    » Fed survey sees growth return to US
    03/06/15 15:39 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from World News. Beige Book points to second-quarter second quarter expansion after slow winter
    » Canada police missed chances to stop Parliament attacker: probe
    03/06/15 15:38 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Reuters: World News. OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian police missed chances to stop a gunman who stormed into Parliament last October after killing a soldier, an official probe said on Wednesday, adding that th...
    » June 7th Turkey Election to Be Closely Scrutinized
    03/06/15 15:38 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. Turkey's June 7th general election is set to be closely monitored amid growing concerns among opposition parties.  But civic society in Turkey is mobilizing in an unprecedented way to ens...
    » How FIFA’s Leader Has Clung to Power Despite Corruption Scandal
    03/06/15 15:35 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from TIME. There aren’t many venues in global politics these days where developing nations, especially from Africa, can overrule their wealthy European peers. But FIFA is surely one of them. Such are the rules ...
    » Cop Accused Of Using Dead Man's Credit Card
    03/06/15 15:33 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from World News - Breaking international news and headlines | Sky News. The officer allegedly stole the card after finding the victim's body and later used it to buy a $3,200 diamond ring.
    » FBI Investigates Russia And Qatar World Cups
    03/06/15 15:32 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from World News - Breaking international news and headlines | Sky News. The FBI investigation into corruption at FIFA is looking into the awarding of the World Cup to Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022.
    » Saudi Officials Identify Mosque Bomber
    03/06/15 15:31 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from WSJ.com: World News. A suicide bomber who killed four people in an attack on a Shiite mosque last week was a Saudi teenager, the country’s interior ministry said.
    » Sheryl Sandberg on husband's death: 'I have lived 30 years in these 30 days'
    03/06/15 15:30 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Network Front | The Guardian. Facebook’s chief operating officer writes an emotional post about the ‘void’ of the month since her husband, David Goldberg, died in an accident Sheryl Sandberg, the chief ope...
    » U.S. Defense Secretary Visits India to Build Military Ties
    03/06/15 15:29 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from NYT > World. Ashton B. Carter met with senior officials in a country that the United States sees as a crucial future partner in Asia, although neither side made any big announcements.
    » Ангела Меркель перечислила угрожающие мировому сообществу основные проблемы - Коммерсантъ
    03/06/15 15:28 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from В мире – Новости Google. Gazeta.ua Ангела Меркель перечислила угрожающие мировому сообществу основные проблемы Коммерсантъ Канцлер Германии Ангела Меркель в преддверии саммита G7, намеченного на 7-8 июня в...
    » Congress Passes, Obama Signs Pared Back Domestic Spying Bill
    03/06/15 15:28 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. The U.S. Congress has approved sweeping changes to surveillance laws enacted after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, eliminating the bulk collection of phone rec...
    » Russian Delegation Banned from EU Parliament in Retaliatory Move
    03/06/15 15:27 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from The Moscow Times Top Stories. The European Parliament has restricted the Russian delegation's ambassador's access to the assembly in a jab at Moscow for banning 89 EU politicians from entering Russia.
    » Ukraine Live Day 471: Russian-Backed Forces Launch Major Assault Near Donetsk
    03/06/15 15:27 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from The InterpreterThe Interpreter. Yesterday’s live coverage of the Ukraine conflict can be found here . An archive of our liveblogs can be found here . For an overview and analysis of this developing story s...
    » Chinese Corporations Show New Patterns of Investment in Australia
    03/06/15 15:26 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. For the first time, almost half of all Chinese investment in Australia is concentrated in real estate, while spending on infrastructure has also increased significantly.   Chinese private...
    » Спецслужбы США ограничили сотрудничество с немецкой разведкой - Российская Газета
    03/06/15 15:25 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from В мире – Новости Google. Российская Газета Спецслужбы США ограничили сотрудничество с немецкой разведкой Российская Газета Защиту своих солдат в северо-иракском Эрбиле Германия теперь должна осуществлять с...
    » Contributing Op-Ed Writer: Greece’s Runaway Train
    03/06/15 15:25 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from NYT > Europe. No one is focusing on the day after a deal or a default, and on which outcome will offer the least pain.
    » Russia’s Online Assault Evaporates Internet Freedom
    03/06/15 15:24 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. The recent threats by Russian authorities to block access to popular U.S.-based websites such as Google come amid a larger and growing effort by the Kremlin to wall off sections of the In...
    » Russia's Online Assault Evaporates Internet Freedom - Voice of America
    03/06/15 15:23 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. Voice of America Russia's Online Assault Evaporates Internet Freedom Voice of America WASHINGTON—. The recent threats by Russian authorities to block access to popular U.S.-based webs...
    » New US Law Puts Curbs on Surveillance Programs
    03/06/15 15:23 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. The bill signed into law by President Barack Obama ends the government's massive collection of telephone call data intended to prevent terrorist attacks, part of a national security progr...
    » Russia, China Get Energy Deals Under Way - Forbes
    03/06/15 15:22 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. Forbes Russia , China Get Energy Deals Under Way Forbes China is moving quickly on its $400 billion deal to get Gazprom natural gas out of Russia and into northern China. The Chinese ...
    » Fearing Repeat of Crimea, Baltic States Prepare for 'Hybrid War' With Russia
    03/06/15 15:22 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from The Moscow Times Top Stories. From sabotage of energy installations to cyber attacks and declarations of "independence" by Russian-speaking border villages, the Baltics are preparing for possible flashpoin...
    » В генштабе заявили о применении украинскими силовиками тяжелой артиллерии - Газета.Ru
    03/06/15 15:21 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from В мире – Новости Google. РБК Украина В генштабе заявили о применении украинскими силовиками тяжелой артиллерии Газета.Ru В генштабе Украины заявили, что украинские военные применили против ополченцев в Дон...
    » Chechnya Rights Activists' Office Attacked by Mob
    03/06/15 15:20 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. Human rights activists in Chechnya say that masked men bashed their way into the group's office, sending the occupants fleeing through the windows. The Committee against Torture wrote on ...
    » Turkey’s Erdogan borrows some bad habits
    03/06/15 15:20 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Europe News. The president The controversial Turkish president now seems to combine many vices in a single leadership
    » Will FIFA's Mounting Scandal Affect Russia?
    03/06/15 15:20 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. The sudden resignation of FIFA President Sepp Blatter amid a widening scandal at soccer's world governing body could leave Russians jittery as the spotlight turns to thei...
    » Russian Finance Ministry Rebuffs Rosneft Oil Firm's Request for State Aid
    03/06/15 15:19 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from The Moscow Times Top Stories. Russia's Finance Ministry has rejected an application by oil giant Rosneft for a multibillion-dollar cash injection from one of the country's reserve funds, the Vedomosti news...
    » District Near Donetsk Comes Under Attack
    03/06/15 15:18 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. The Tekstilshik District on the outskirts of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine appears to have come under artillery fire. Emergency workers rushed to the market in the territory...
    » В Грозном разгромили офис правозащитной организации
    03/06/15 15:18 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from SvobodaRadio's YouTube Videos. From: SvobodaRadio Duration: 01:06 Люди в масках разгромили в среду офис правозащитной организации "Комитет против пыток" в столице Чеченской республики. Это уже второе н...
    » Gunmen Kill 2 Egyptian Policemen Near Pyramids
    03/06/15 15:17 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. Gunmen on a motorbike shot and killed two policemen Wednesday, near Egypt's iconic pyramids. The attack came a day after a hearing to confirm death sentences against top Muslim Brotherhoo...
    » Бои на окраине Донецка
    03/06/15 15:17 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from SvobodaRadio's YouTube Videos. From: SvobodaRadio Duration: 00:44 Район "Текстильщик" на окраине Донецка попал под огонь артеллерии. Пожарные работают на рынке, находящемся на контролируемой сепаратист...
    » Ukraine Crisis Torpedoes Russia's Naval Expansion
    03/06/15 15:14 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from The Moscow Times Top Stories. Moscow's breakup with Ukraine has forced the Russian navy to suspend construction of a variety of next-generation warships, throwing the future of Russia's naval rearmament ca...
    » Reports Paint Mixed Picture of US Economy
    03/06/15 15:14 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. Reports published Wednesday show a mixed picture of the U.S. economy, and a top official of the U.S. central bank says slow economic growth may continue for a while. A measure of the serv...
    » США возложили на Россию ответственность за возобновление боев в Донбассе - РБК
    03/06/15 15:13 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from В мире – Новости Google. РБК США возложили на Россию ответственность за возобновление боев в Донбассе РБК Госдеп США прокомментировал возобновление боевых действий на востоке Украины. Вашингтон считает, чт...
    » Attack on NGO in Grozny Renews Concerns About Russian Control Over Chechnya
    03/06/15 15:13 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from The Moscow Times Top Stories. The attack perpetrated Wednesday on the Grozny office of the Committee Against Torture, a prominent human rights NGO, adds to the long list of recent incidents in Russia's rep...
    » Ukraine Battle Tests Cease-Fire to Breaking Point
    03/06/15 15:13 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from The Moscow Times Top Stories. A major battle erupted Wednesday on the western edge of the main separatist rebel stronghold in eastern Ukraine, leaving more than a dozen dead and threatening to tip the coun...
    » Europe's Seven Deadly Sins - Transitions Online
    03/06/15 15:12 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from anti-americanism in russia - Google News. Transitions Online Europe's Seven Deadly Sins Transitions Online France defends the Mistral contracts worth $1.7 billion, but Western companies have lost billions ...
    » European parliament hits back at Russia blacklist - Yahoo News
    03/06/15 15:10 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. Yahoo News European parliament hits back at Russia blacklist Yahoo News Brussels (AFP) - European parliament head Martin Schulz on Tuesday said he was limiting access to the instituti...
    » No return to a G8 with Russia - ever - Deutsche Welle
    03/06/15 15:10 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. Deutsche Welle No return to a G8 with Russia - ever Deutsche Welle Eckhard Cordes, chairman of the German business association representing companies with significant investments in R...
    » Baltics eye flashpoints with Russia, guard against 'green men' - Reuters
    03/06/15 15:09 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. Reuters Baltics eye flashpoints with Russia , guard against 'green men' Reuters TALLINN/RIGA From sabotage of energy installations to cyber attacks and declarations of "independe...
    » Baltics eye flashpoints with Russia, guard against 'green men' - Yahoo News
    03/06/15 15:09 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. Yahoo News Baltics eye flashpoints with Russia , guard against 'green men' Yahoo News TALLINN/RIGA (Reuters) - From sabotage of energy installations to cyber attacks and declarations ...
    » EU Set to Roll Over Sanctions on Russia, Officials Say - Wall Street Journal
    03/06/15 15:09 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. Wall Street Journal EU Set to Roll Over Sanctions on Russia , Officials Say Wall Street Journal While the plans aren't finalized—some haven't even been formally discussed yet at EU le...
    » Anti-ISIS Coalition Makes Little Progress at Paris Meeting
    03/06/15 15:08 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from NYT > Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The coalition of countries arrayed against the Islamic State has been hobbled by a variety of weaknesses.
    » Media: “Browning of America” Good, “Bleaching Out” of San Fran Bad
    03/06/15 15:07 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from rss. For people who once claimed the ideal is a colorblind attitude toward race, leftists talk an awful lot about race.
    » Baltimore Is Now Paying the Price
    03/06/15 15:06 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from rss. Baltimore is now paying the price for irresponsible words and actions, not only by young thugs in the streets, but also by its mayor and the state prosecutor, both of whom threw the police to the wolv...
    » Shocking Interviews: The Muslims in America Who Want Sharia
    03/06/15 15:06 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from rss. Shocking new interviews with Muslims in America reflect what polls have shown: A distressingly high number of them prefer sharia law to our Constitution.
    » ISIS Seized $1 Billion of U.S. Military Aid, Iraqi Leader Admits
    03/06/15 15:05 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from rss. The so-called Islamic State, a brutal terrorist group also known as ISIS, seized 2,300 U.S. military Humvees and other weaponry from Iraq’s U.S. taxpayer-funded armed forces in Mosul, Iraqi Prime Mini...
    » 11112015-06-02ISIS Advances in Syria & Iraq Upends US Strategy | Obama: 'We Have Put
    03/06/15 15:04 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Mike Nova - Google+. 11 11 2015-06-02 ISIS Advances in Syria & Iraq Upends US Strategy | Obama: 'We Have Put Our International Relationships on Very Strong Footing' ISIS Advances in Syria & Iraq Up...
    » 2015-06-02Russia's economy contracts 4.2% in April - MarketWatch | » ​Are Americans
    03/06/15 15:04 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Mike Nova - Google+. 2015-06-02 Russia's economy contracts 4.2% in April - MarketWatch | » ​Are Americans blind to widening inequality? 02/06/15 16:03 Russia's economy contracts 4.2% in April - MarketWatch...
    » 2015-06-03Obama: "I want to, I would love to, I am all for it, I am all itching
    03/06/15 15:04 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Mike Nova - Google+. 2015-06-03 Obama: "I want to, I would love to, I am all for it, I am all itching so bad, but my "Mommy", the Bundes-Chancellor wouldn't let me..." - Lethal aid to Ukraine, Obama and Me...
    » Black Lives Matter Protesters Admit Plot to Bomb Police Station
    03/06/15 15:00 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Infowars. Pair planned Michael Brown revenge attack.
    » San Francisco’s Median Rent Hits a Ridiculous $4,225
    03/06/15 14:58 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Infowars. The whole Bay Area shows a rental market on fire.
    » How Deng Xiaoping Helped Create a Corrupt China - New York Times
    03/06/15 14:52 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Cyber Warfare - Google News. New York Times How Deng Xiaoping Helped Create a Corrupt China New York Times The big news these days is the Communist Party's campaign against corruption. In the three years s...
    » Jihad in Boston
    03/06/15 14:45 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Breitbart News Network. Jihad in Boston : Knife-Wielding Terrorists Plotted to Behead Cops Although early statements from the FBI and local authorities on Tuesday afternoon indicated Rahim was not consider...
    » Chechen leader's show of strength muddies loyalty to Putin
    03/06/15 14:22 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Network Front | The Guardian. Ramzan Kadyrov’s show of loyalty to Putin could be warning of Chechen forces’ huge potential Chechnya’s macho leader Ramzan Kadyrov is the most loyal of Vladimir Putin’s regio...
    » Official: Boston terror suspects wanted to behead cops
    03/06/15 14:05 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story . Last Updated Jun 3, 2015 1:55 PM EDT BOSTON - The terror suspects at the center of an investigation in the Boston area were actively plotting multiple attacks on law enforcement, including the possible behead...
    » Official: Terror suspects wanted to behead cops
    03/06/15 14:04 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Home - CBSNews.com. After one terror suspect killed by Mass. police, and another taken into custody, officials begin detailing the case against them
    » US authorizes $300mln in lethal defensive aid and training to Ukraine
    03/06/15 13:11 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from armenpress.am RSS -. 10:01, 15 May, 2015 YEREVAN, MAY 15, ARMENPRESS: The United States authorized providing Ukraine defensive lethal aid and training that the country needs to protect its sovereignty, US ...
    » House defies Obama veto threat, passes defense policy bill with lethal aid for Ukraine - read on
    03/06/15 13:11 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Uatoday.tv. 10:33 May. 16, 2015 Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Joint Chiefs ChairmanGen. Martin Dempsey, left, arrive on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, May 6, 2015 (AP photo) The House passed a n...
    » DOD on ukraine - Google Search
    03/06/15 13:09 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story . Obama, Stoltenberg Discuss NATO Meeting Highlights Department of Defense - May 26, 2015 In what Obama called a “challenging and important time for NATO,” the two discussed Ukraine , NATO's role in...
    » stoltenberg on ukraine - Google Search
    03/06/15 13:08 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story . Stoltenberg assures Obama that NATO is helping to strengthen ... Kyiv Post - May 26, 2015 NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (L) during a meeting with US ... Since 1995, the Kyiv Post has been the world'...
    » Obama's "Tough Talk" on Russia Grows Tedious
    03/06/15 13:03 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from RealClearPolitics - Articles. I felt some sympathy for State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf the other day as she responded to questions from CNN’s Wolf Blitzer about the administration’s Ukr...
    » stoltenberg on lethal aid to ukraine - Google Search
    03/06/15 13:02 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story . NATO Secretary General Reaffirms Support For Ukraine , But ... International Business Times - Jan 26, 2015 NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says Georgia is getting closer ... for lethal military aid fr...
    » nato on lethal aid to ukraine - Google Search
    03/06/15 13:01 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story . Biden cracks door to lethal aid to Ukraine USA TODAY - May 27, 2015 American support to Ukraine , a non- NATO ally, has been limited to training its national guard and "non- lethal " aid , such as Humvees. Bi...
    » Germany’s G7 Summit and Russia
    03/06/15 13:00 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story . The G7 summit in Germany this year will again convene in the shadow of the war in Ukraine—a war in Europe that is intractable and a vexing problem for German leadership, which will undoubtedly be center...
    » Consider 'Lethal Aid' to Ukraine Through NATO
    03/06/15 12:56 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story . According to Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Martin Dempsey, it is time to consider arming Ukraine in its battle against pro-Moscow separatists. Dempsey told the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday that Wa...
    » Former NATO Commander Stavridis: U.S. Should Provide Lethal Aid to Ukraine
    03/06/15 12:56 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from USNI News. Soldiers from the Ukrainian Armed Forces Airborne Brigade stand in formation in 2012. US Army Photo “We ought to be providing lethal aid”—anti-tank, anti-armor weapons, unmanne...
    » Former NATO chief: The West should consider arming Ukraine
    03/06/15 11:48 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Military & Defense. NATO allies should be prepared to arm Ukraine's military if Russia continues to destabilize its western neighbor, says Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the man who once headed the world's mos...
    » Rasmussen on ukraine - Google Search
    03/06/15 11:43 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story . Forces TV West Should Consider Arming Kiev With 'Defensive' Weapons – Ex ... Sputnik International - 3 hours ago With the ceasefire in Ukraine being violated on a daily basis and heavy fighting continui...
    » lethal aid to ukraine, obama and merkel - Google Search
    03/06/15 11:40 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story . New York Times Obama , Merkel pledge alliance on Ukraine CNN - Feb 9, 2015 Any weapons the U.S. sends would not be meant to help Ukraine ... Both Obama and Merkel stressed the importance of working together. ...
    » US faces Europe in disarray at G7 summit | Germany | DW.DE
    03/06/15 11:25 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story . Before setting off for Thursday's G7 summit in Dresden, US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew warned Europe against 'brinkmanship' with Greece, expressing concern that a single miscalculation could lead to a crisis ...
    » lethal aid to ukraine, obama, merkel and G-7 - Google Search
    03/06/15 11:11 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story . Search Results Putin getting left out of G-7 meeting, but not much else Stars and Stripes - May 30, 2015 The debate over whether to provide lethal defensive aid , such as anti-tank missiles, to Ukraine is ......
    » The U.S. Needs to Rethink Its Failing Ukraine Strategy
    03/06/15 10:52 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story . Regarding your editorial “The Russians Are Coming, Again” (May 29): The cease-fire in Ukraine isn’t legitimate, and Russia’s success in exploiting it demonstrates the need to rethink o...
    » US Effort to Rebuild Ukraine Army Doomed to Fail / Sputnik International
    03/06/15 10:18 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Sputnik International. Opinion Get short URL MOSCOW (Sputnik) — US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said in an interview that the Iraqi army, which the US military helped train following ...
    » Obama and lethal aid for ukraine - Google Search
    03/06/15 10:14 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story . PBS NewsHour Lawmakers Push Obama to Approve Lethal Aid for Ukraine <a href="http://NBCNews.com" rel="nofollow">NBCNews.com</a> - Mar 5, 2015 A bipartisan group of House leaders are urging Preside...
    » lethal aid for ukraine - Google Search
    03/06/15 10:13 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story . House defies Obama veto threat, passes defense policy bill with ... Ukraine Today - May 16, 2015 ... defies Obama veto threat, passes defense policy bill with lethal aid for Ukraine ... On Ukraine, the bill c...
    » New Black Panther Party Members Who Met in Ferguson Admit Planning to Kill Prosecutor, Blow Up Police Station
    03/06/15 08:49 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Comments on: New Black Panther Party Members Who Met in Ferguson Admit Planning to Kill Prosecutor, Blow Up Police Station. Kevork Djansezian/Getty by John Sexton 2 Jun 2015 774 The St. Louis Post-Dispatch...
    » 2,909,4072,909,407
    03/06/15 04:25 from Mike Nova - Google+
    2,909,407 2,909,407 This post has been generated by Page2RSS
    » 'Ferguson Effect': New Crime Wave Hits Democrat-Run Cities
    02/06/15 18:57 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Comments on: ‘Ferguson Effect': New Crime Wave Hits Democrat-Run Cities. Seven cities were worthy of note. To no one’s surprise, all seven of those cities are run by Democrats. With the exception...
    » James Mattis: U.S. suffering 'strategic atrophy' that says 'we're pulling back' to allies
    02/06/15 18:42 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story . Retired Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis said the U.S. is suffering “strategic atrophy” that will threaten the long-term security of the nation. The retired general and former Central Command (CENTC...
    » Ex-CIA spy blasts 'lousy' Obama terror strategy: 'It's very safe politically'
    02/06/15 18:41 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story . An ex- CIA spy says the Obama administration has done a “lousy” strategy to combat global terrorism because its “waging the war they want to fight but not the one that will lead to success.&...
    » Unmanned Aircraft Remains Future of Military Engagements
    02/06/15 18:32 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Washington Free Beacon. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus / AP BY: Chris Safran Autonomous aircraft and unmanned military drones are the future of global military engagements, U.S. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus s...
    » Who created the Islamic State? George W. Bush, Blackwater, Barack Obama, all fair game in blame game.
    02/06/15 18:24 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Christian Science Monitor | USA. Who created the Islamic State? Last week, Sen. Rand Paul (R) of Kentucky famously blamed the GOP. The Wall Street Journal, in return, blamed Senator Paul. President Obama h...
    » Former CIA spy: Obama doing ‘lousy job’ in fight against ISIS
    02/06/15 18:22 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story . Henry “Hank” Crumpton, the former CIA official who led a covert team of operators in Afghanistan after 9/11, believes the Obama administration is doing a “lousy job” in the fight again...
    » Former CIA spy: Obama doesn't understand how to fight ISIS
    02/06/15 18:21 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Military & Defense. The Obama administration isn't capable of fighting the type of war necessary to defeat the Islamic State, a former CIA official told The Hill. "I don't think they understand the kin...
    » Постпреду России при ЕС ограничили доступ в Европарламент - РБК
    02/06/15 18:00 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from В мире – Новости Google. РБК Постпреду России при ЕС ограничили доступ в Европарламент РБК Постпреду России при ЕС Владимиру Чижову ограничили доступ в Европарламент. Этот шаг стал ответом на список невъез...
    » Police shoot, kill man under surveillance by Joint Terrorism Task Force - Fox News
    02/06/15 17:58 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Top Stories - Google News. Fox News Police shoot, kill man under surveillance by Joint Terrorism Task Force Fox News A man under surveillance by the Joint Terrorism Task Force was shot and killed Tuesday m...
    » International coalition vows unity in fight against ISIS
    02/06/15 17:57 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from CNN.com - World. Iraq's international partners vowed Tuesday to remain united in the fight against ISIS in Iraq and Syria, as Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi called for more support for his nation's f...
    » Obama: Netanyahu stance on Palestine endangers Israel's credibility
    02/06/15 17:57 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Reuters: World News. JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's conditions for diplomacy that might lead to Palestinian statehood put Israel's credibility in question, U.S. President...
    » Russian Authorities Confiscate Sifrei Kodesh And Question 30 Youths
    02/06/15 17:54 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from world news - Google Blog Search. According to the exclusive Ladaat News report, the youths questioned as suspected of racist studies based on their limud Torah. The youths questioned were told the investig...
    » State Department: US, Houthi Reps Met in Oman
    02/06/15 17:54 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. Senior U.S. officials met in Oman last week with representatives of the Houthi rebel movement that has overrun Yemen, the State Department acknowledged on Tuesday. Assistant Secretary of ...
    » Anthrax Scare Spreads to Canada, Washington State
    02/06/15 17:54 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. The Pentagon says a U.S. military lab might mistakenly have sent live anthrax - or anthrax with activated spores - to labs in Canada and Washington state, in addition to the labs announce...
    » First on CNN: Pentagon may have received shipment of live anthrax - CNN
    02/06/15 17:53 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Top Stories - Google News. CNN First on CNN: Pentagon may have received shipment of live anthrax CNN Washington (CNN) The Pentagon is now investigating whether live anthrax was brought into the Pentagon bu...
    » CIA torture more 'brutal and sadistic' than Senate report disclosed - Telegraph.co.uk
    02/06/15 17:52 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from World - Google News. Telegraph.co.uk CIA torture more 'brutal and sadistic' than Senate report disclosed Telegraph.co.uk The CIA's use of torture was far more “brutal and sadistic” than was disclosed in la...
    » Chief Says IRS Struggles to Stay Ahead of Online Attackers - New York Times
    02/06/15 17:52 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Top Stories - Google News. New York Times Chief Says IRS Struggles to Stay Ahead of Online Attackers New York Times WASHINGTON — John Koskinen, the head of the Internal Revenue Service, on Tuesday attribut...
    » Fierce fighting continues east of Aden, Yemen's second city
    02/06/15 17:52 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from AFP's YouTube Videos. From: AFP Duration: 00:43 Keep up-to-date with the latest news, subscribe here: http://bit.ly/AFP-subscribe Yemen's southern port city of Aden is still the scene of clashes betwee...
    » Most Britons Want to Stay in EU, Poll Shows
    02/06/15 17:52 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from WSJ.com: World News. A significant majority of Britons would rather stay in the European Union than leave it, part of a surge in support for the bloc across the continent that stems from a slowly improving...
    » European Parliament Penalizes Russia Over Blacklist
    02/06/15 17:52 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. The European Parliament has taken measures against Russian officials in retaliation for Moscow's banning of 89 EU politicians from entering the country.
    » US Congress passes surveillance reform in vindication for Edward Snowden
    02/06/15 17:51 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Network Front | The Guardian. Bulk collection of Americans’ phone records to end as US Senate passes USA Freedom Act Related: NSA reform: all amendments fail as Senate votes on USA Freedom Act – live The U...
    » Former Maryland man held at Guantanamo alleges CIA torture
    02/06/15 17:51 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from AP Top Headlines At 5:34 p.m. EDT. MIAMI (AP) -- A former Maryland resident imprisoned at Guantanamo was subjected to mistreatment while in CIA custody far in excess of what has previously been disclosed, ...
    » Obama: Stalled peace process makes it harder for US to defend Israel at UN - Haaretz
    02/06/15 17:50 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Top Stories - Google News. Haaretz Obama: Stalled peace process makes it harder for US to defend Israel at UN Haaretz In interview with Israeli TV, Obama hints at possibility that U.S. won't veto French re...
    » Support for the European Union is Rising, Survey Suggests
    02/06/15 17:50 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from NYT > World. A poll carried out in France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and Britain found that a more resilient European economy was helping to restore faith in the bloc.
    » Kremlin Critic Emerges From Coma
    02/06/15 17:50 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. Friends and allies of prominent Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza, Jr., who mysteriously fell ill with poisoning symptoms in Moscow, say he has regained con...
    » Boston Police Fatally Shoot Knife-Wielding Terror Suspect
    02/06/15 17:49 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. Police in Boston shot and killed a terror suspect outside a drugstore Tuesday after he jumped at them with a large, military-style knife. Boston police and the FBI said the suspect was un...
    » Who created the Islamic State? George W. Bush, Blackwater, Barack Obama, all ... - Christian Science Monitor
    02/06/15 17:48 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Top Stories - Google News. Christian Science Monitor Who created the Islamic State? George W. Bush, Blackwater, Barack Obama, all ... Christian Science Monitor A host of characters is being blamed for help...
    » World Briefing: Egypt Says It Has Arrested 2 Senior Muslim Brotherhood Leaders
    02/06/15 17:48 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from NYT > World. The leaders, Mahmoud Ghozlan and Abdul Rahman al-Barr, were arrested this week after evading the police for nearly two years, security officials said.
    » Sepp Blatter finally lets go of Fifa as FBI noose tightens
    02/06/15 17:48 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Network Front | The Guardian. After 17 years as virtual head of state, addicted to the power from ruling football’s top body, he accepted the inevitable and resigned – but he’s not going quite yet On Frida...
    » News Analysis: Greece’s Alliances Fade in European Debate About Its Debt Crisis
    02/06/15 17:47 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from NYT > World. The promise of the leftist Greek government to roll back German-led austerity policies has met an unexpectedly unified opposition.
    » Open Source: Blatter’s Fall Leads to Rejoicing Online From His Critics
    02/06/15 17:47 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from NYT > World. Sepp Blatter had the support of soccer officials but was broadly unpopular with fans of the game, so his fall was greeted with some glee.
    » ​Senate passes NSA reform bill, the USA Freedom Act
    02/06/15 17:45 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Home - CBSNews.com. Senate rebuffs Senate GOP leaders' attempts to water down bill; Obama says he will sign it
    » Russia's economy contracts 4.2% in April - MarketWatch
    02/06/15 15:19 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. Omaha World-Herald Russia's economy contracts 4.2% in April MarketWatch MOSCOW-- Russia's economic contraction deepened in April as its key drivers deteriorated, the economy ministry ...
    » Москва заявила о праве размещать ядерное оружие в Крыму - РБК
    02/06/15 15:18 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from В мире – Новости Google. РБК Москва заявила о праве размещать ядерное оружие в Крыму РБК «Россия, безусловно, имеет право размещать, если потребуется, свои ядерные вооружения в любом месте на своей национа...
    » The Daily Vertical: The Stalemate Inside Putin's Head
    02/06/15 15:18 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. The Daily Vertical is a video primer for Russia-watchers that appears Monday through Friday. Viewers can suggest topics via Twitter @PowerVertical or on the Power Vertica...
    » Russia Threatens to Deploy Nuclear Weapons in Crimea - The National Interest Online (blog)
    02/06/15 15:17 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. The National Interest Online (blog) Russia Threatens to Deploy Nuclear Weapons in Crimea The National Interest Online (blog) This is not the first time that Russia , or even Ulyanov h...
    » Russian TV doc on 1968 invasion angers Czechs and Slovaks - BBC News
    02/06/15 15:16 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. BBC News Russian TV doc on 1968 invasion angers Czechs and Slovaks BBC News The Czech and Slovak governments have accused Russia of rewriting history after Russian state TV broadcast ...
    » Russia faked MH17 images: Report - CNBC
    02/06/15 15:15 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. CNBC Russia faked MH17 images: Report CNBC Bellingcat's team analyzed image content and soil structures through publicly sourced Google Earth images and concluded that Russia tried to...
    » Moscow’s Actions Mean Soon There Will Be No Crimea to Return to Ukraine Peacefully or Otherwise
    02/06/15 15:14 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from The InterpreterThe Interpreter. Staunton, June 1 – Many Ukrainians and their supporters abroad talk about the possibility of the peaceful return of Crimea to Ukrainian control at some point in the fu...
    » World Museums Warn Of Traffic In Looted Iraqi Antiquities
    02/06/15 15:14 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. Museum experts from around the world have June 1 issued an "emergency red list" to help identify Iraqi antiquities at risk of being looted and illegally exported.
    » French philosopher and Swedish tax chief among EU 89 banned by Russia
    02/06/15 15:13 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Russia | The Guardian. Polish politicians and military chiefs lead blacklist of 89 EU citizens banned from entering Russia, with UK second, but document has many obscure names as well A leaked document tha...
    » French philosopher and Swedish tax chief among EU 89 banned by Russia - The Guardian (blog)
    02/06/15 15:13 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. The Guardian (blog) French philosopher and Swedish tax chief among EU 89 banned by Russia The Guardian (blog) The French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy is among the 89 EU citizens ban...
    » Russian 'aggression' sees Poland rearm its military as minister warns: 'We must be ready'
    02/06/15 15:12 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from - Europe RSS Feed. Poland says it is bolstering its armed forces in the face of perceived Russian aggression, and says that is “has to be ready” for what it calls its greatest threat since the Cold War.
    » Russian 'aggression' sees Poland rearm its military as minister warns: 'We ... - The Independent
    02/06/15 15:11 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. The Independent Russian 'aggression' sees Poland rearm its military as minister warns: 'We ... The Independent Russia annexed the Crimea peninsula from Ukraine a month later, saying i...
    » Rohani Vows Iran To Back Syria Till End
    02/06/15 15:11 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. Iranian President Hassan Rohani has vowed his country will back Syrian President Bashar al-Assad until the end.
    » US Navy releases video showing dramatic close pass by Russian warplane in Black Sea
    02/06/15 15:11 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from - Europe RSS Feed. The US Navy has released dramatic footage of a close pass by a Russian military jet as tensions continue to rise in the Black Sea.
    » The Agency
    02/06/15 15:11 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from NYT > Russia. From a nondescript office building in St. Petersburg, Russia, an army of well-paid “trolls” has tried to wreak havoc all around the Internet — and in real-life American communities.
    » World Bank Says Russia Bear A 'Bull' - Forbes
    02/06/15 15:11 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. Forbes World Bank Says Russia Bear A 'Bull' Forbes The Russian bear is now a bull. As if it wasn't already, at least from a portfolio manager's perspective. The guys who responded thi...
    » Russia Producing Oil Near Record Swells Global Glut Before OPEC - Bloomberg
    02/06/15 15:10 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. Bloomberg Russia Producing Oil Oil Output Near Record Swells Global Glut Before OPEC Bloomberg Russian oil output neared a record in May, damping speculation before OPEC meets this we...
    » History Hijacked: Four Facts Recast By The Kremlin
    02/06/15 15:08 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. A new Russian film on the 1968 events in Czechoslovakia has revived accusations that the Kremlin is twisting historical facts to forge a new ideology and justify some of ...
    » The West Needs More Russophiles (Op-Ed)
    02/06/15 15:08 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from The Moscow Times Top Stories. The West needs more unsentimental Russophiles, and this would be good for Russia too, writes columnist Mark Galeotti.
    » Islamic State ‘Entrenching’ in Syria, Iraq
    02/06/15 15:07 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. Underestimated on the battlefield, the group known as the Islamic State is aiming to surprise the Western world again, trying to develop a state-like infrastructure that could help sustai...
    » Islamic State militants open major new offensive in Aleppo
    02/06/15 15:04 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from World: World News, International News, Foreign Reporting - The Washington Post. GAZIANTEP, Turkey — Syrian rebels appealed for international assistance to counter a surprising new offensive by the Islamic ...
    » ​Are Americans blind to widening inequality?
    02/06/15 15:03 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Home - CBSNews.com. One study seeks to explain why many people seem unperturbed by the rising concentration of wealth and income in the U.S.
    » David Cameron prepared to break with Europe on human rights
    02/06/15 15:03 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Network Front | The Guardian. ‘Nuclear option’ on table if Strasbourg rejects UK plan as prime minister seeks right to veto European court of human rights judgments David Cameron is to keep open the “nucle...
    » Obama Sternly Warns China About South China Sea Expansion
    02/06/15 15:02 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. U.S. President Barack Obama sternly warned China Monday that its land reclamation projects in the South China Sea are counterproductive and a threat to Southeast Asian prosperity. He told...
    » Ship With 457 People Reported Sunk in China’s Yangtze
    02/06/15 15:02 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from NYT > World. China’s official news agency said the sinking occurred Monday night in a storm and that as of Tuesday morning, only eight people had been rescued.
    » US Met Secretly With Yemen Rebels - Wall Street Journal
    02/06/15 15:01 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from World - Google News. Wall Street Journal US Met Secretly With Yemen Rebels Wall Street Journal Top-level Obama administration envoys met secretly last week for the first time with Yemen's Houthi rebels and...
    » Obama: No Military Answer to Iran's Nuclear Program
    02/06/15 15:01 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. U.S. President Barack Obama says diplomacy, not military action, is the only way to stop Iran from building a nuclear bomb. Obama made his comments in an interview with Israel's Channel 2...
    » White House Slams Senate for Letting Surveillance Programs Lapse
    02/06/15 15:00 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. The White House has condemned the Senate for failing to extend provisions of the Patriot Act that gave the National Security Agency the authority to collect Americans’ telephone data. Whi...
    » Vatican official and sex abuse survivor 'will not be silenced' by George Pell legal threat
    02/06/15 15:00 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Network Front | The Guardian. Peter Saunders stands by his call for Cardinal George Pell to be removed as head of the Vatican’s finances over allegations he protected paedophile priests Child sexual abuse ...
    » Americans and Turks Discuss ISIS Threat
    02/06/15 14:59 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from NYT > World. Shiite militiamen clashed with members of the Islamic State in Fallujah, Iraq. Turkey wants to clear ISIS from its southern border.
    » Poland Rearming As Fears Of Russian Attack Grow
    02/06/15 14:58 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from World News - Breaking international news and headlines | Sky News. Volunteer militias are reporting a surge in new members since the start of the conflict in neighbouring Ukraine.
    » U.S. Downplays Flyover Of Warship By Russian Bombers
    02/06/15 14:58 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. The Pentagon has taken The Pentagon took the unusual step of releasing a video June 1 of a Russian Su-24 bomber flying past a U.S. warship in the Black Sea to dispel what...
    » East-West Tensions Find New Stage in Macedonia
    02/06/15 14:57 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from WSJ.com: World News. Macedonia is turning into an unexpected stage for tensions between Moscow and the West as a political crisis engulfs the former Yugoslav republic.
    » More than 450 people missing after ship sinks in China's Yangtze River when it was battered by cyclone
    02/06/15 14:56 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from News | Mail Online. Hundreds are missing after a ship carrying more than 450 people sank overnight in the Yangtze River during a cyclone in southern China.
    » LGBT people suffer widespread violent abuse, discrimination: new UN report
    02/06/15 14:55 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Network Front | The Guardian. The report cites beatings, jailings and murder and says despite actions to reduce the abuse, human rights violations based on sexual orientation continue The United Natio...
    » Putin's Gunboat Diplomacy
    02/06/15 14:55 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. Is Russia's troop buildup build-up a precursor to a summer offensive in Ukraine? That depends on what Vladimir Putin actually wants.
    » Ship with over 450 on board sinks in China's Yangtze
    02/06/15 14:54 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from AFP's YouTube Videos. From: AFP Duration: 00:49 Keep up-to-date with the latest news, subscribe here: http://bit.ly/AFP-subscribe Rescuers search for hundreds missing after a passenger ship carrying mo...
    » IRS Commissioner to Face Questions About Security Weaknesses
    02/06/15 14:54 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. Government watchdogs warned the Internal Revenue Service about security flaws in the federal tax collection agency's computer systems years before hackers stole the personal information o...
    » Beijing Hint: No More Mr. Nice Guy in South China Sea
    02/06/15 14:53 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from WSJ.com: World News. China’s argument that it has exercised “enormous restraint” in the South China Sea raises the question: If Beijing’s island-building equals restraint, what would the opposite look like?
    » U.S. Navy Releases Video Of Ship Being Buzzed By Russian Jet
    02/06/15 14:53 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. The U.S. Navy released a video on Monday of a Russian SU-24 fighter jet flying near the USS Ross destroyer in the Black Sea, in international waters 25 miles off the coas...
    » Hamas Kills Islamic State Supporter in Gaza Crackdown - New York Times
    02/06/15 14:51 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Top Stories - Google News. Al-Bawaba Hamas Kills Islamic State Supporter in Gaza Crackdown New York Times GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Hamas forces have killed an Islamic State group supporter, the first fatali...
    » Gunmen in Afghanistan Kill 7 Aid Workers, 2 Guards at People in Need NGO - NBCNews.com
    02/06/15 14:50 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Top Stories - Google News. BBC News Gunmen in Afghanistan Kill 7 Aid Workers, 2 Guards at People in Need NGO NBCNews.com KABUL, Afghanistan — Seven aid workers and two security guards were shot dead at a E...
    » Israeli Military Punishes Soldier for Eating a Pork Sandwich - New York Times
    02/06/15 14:50 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from World - Google News. Israeli Military Punishes Soldier for Eating a Pork Sandwich New York Times JERUSALEM — A U.S.-born Israeli soldier is deep in the mud after pigging out during training. The military s...
    » US and allies meet to discuss strategy to battle powerful Islamic State militants
    02/06/15 14:50 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from World: World News, International News, Foreign Reporting - The Washington Post. PARIS – Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi called Tuesday for a vastly stepped-up international effort to help his nation c...
    » U.S. accuses Syria of backing Islamic State's Aleppo advance
    02/06/15 14:48 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Reuters: World News. BEIRUT (Reuters) - The United States has accused the Syrian military of carrying out air strikes to help Islamic State fighters advance around the northern city of Aleppo, messages pos...
    » Russian Missile Maker: MH17 Shot Down by Ukrainian Missile - New York Times
    02/06/15 14:47 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Top Stories - Google News. Telegraph.co.uk Russian Missile Maker: MH17 Shot Down by Ukrainian Missile New York Times MOSCOW — The Russian maker of the Buk air defense missile system said Tuesday that it ha...
    » Gunmen target aid workers in deadly attack in northern Afghanistan
    02/06/15 14:47 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from World: World News, International News, Foreign Reporting - The Washington Post. KABUL — Gunmen stormed a compound housing a European-run charity on Tuesday, killing at least nine people in one of the deadl...
    » The Agency - NYTimes.com
    02/06/15 14:47 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story . A round 8:30 a.m. on Sept. 11 last year, Duval Arthur, director of the Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness for St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, got a call from a resident who had just received a...
    » Ex-Kremlin Internet 'Troll' Sues to End Putin Propaganda
    02/06/15 14:46 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. A former "Kremlin troll'' is suing her old employer to shut down what she describes as a "factory'' churning out Internet propaganda defending Russian President Vladimir Putin. Lyudmila S...
    » Danish cowboy bares all in bid to be prime minister
    02/06/15 14:45 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Network Front | The Guardian. John Erik Wagner, 51, has attracted global attention with his giant election posters featuring himself wearing nothing but a Stetson, a gun holster and a smile Conversations t...
    » One Million Smokers Win £8bn In Compensation
    02/06/15 14:41 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from World News - Breaking international news and headlines | Sky News. A Canadian judge rules that tobacco companies failed to adequately warn consumers about the health risks associated with smoking.
    » Ship sinks in China's Yangtze river
    02/06/15 14:36 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from CNN.com - World. A Chinese ship carrying 458 people went down late Monday during a storm.
    » ISIS kidnapped 500 children to create suicide bombers or child soldiers
    02/06/15 14:36 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from News | Mail Online. The children were taken by the Islamic extremists from Iraq's Anbar and Diyala provinces in recent weeks, and authorities fear they will now be trained so the militants can use them in ...
    » Contributing Op-Ed Writer: Can Kurds Shake Up Turkey’s Politics?
    02/06/15 14:35 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from NYT > World. A new party that attracts leftist and Kurdish nationalist voters could spell trouble for Erdogan.
    » Polls reflect troubles for Clinton and Bush - USA TODAY
    02/06/15 14:34 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Top Stories - Google News. USA TODAY Polls reflect troubles for Clinton and Bush USA TODAY A pair of new polls reflect potential long-term challenges for the best-known presidential candidates in each part...
    » Russian Ultranationalist Leader Goes On Trial For High-Profile Killings
    02/06/15 14:34 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
    mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. The long-awaited trial of an alleged Russian ultranationalist leader accused of high-profile, murderous hate crimes has begun.


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