US: Computer breach bigger than first thought; 334K victims: A computer breach at the U.S. tax collecting agency in which thieves stole tax information from thousands of taxpayers is much bigger than the agency originally disclosed.
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US: Computer breach bigger than first thought; 334K victims: A computer breach at the U.S. tax collecting agency in which thieves stole tax information from thousands of taxpayers is much bigger than the agency originally disclosed.
In the current frenzied media and political debate about the chaotic situation in Calais and the supposed benefits abuse by migrants in Britain, the complex legal distinctions between asylum seekers, refugees and economic migrants has got lost.
Radical Muslim cleric Abu Qatada speaks to the media after his release from Mwaqar 2 prison near Amman, Jordan. A Jordanian court acquitted Abu Qatada on Wednesday of charges of providing spiritual and material support for a plot to attack tourists during Jordan's New Year celebrations in 2000, a judicial source said. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed (JORDAN - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION CRIME LAW)
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has approved stringent new counter-terrorism laws establishing special courts and imposing heavy fines on journalists and bloggers who contradict official accounts of militant attacks.
A Russian former officer in the Soviet KGB, who defied deportation orders issued against him by the Canadian government by taking refuge in a Vancouver church for six consecutive years, has voluntarily left the country.
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan said the Russians are looking to militarize the Arctic, making it all the more important for the U.S. to have a broad Arctic strategy that includes having sufficient troops based in Alaska.
Sullivan said Monday that's why he has been critical of ...
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NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. (AP) - Base officials didn't disclose whether pilots were hurt or the amount of damage to two U.S. Air Force fighter jets that collided on the ground during the weekend at Nellis Air Force in Nevada.
A statement from the 99th Air Base Wing public ...
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The United Nations said Monday it plans to contact telecom giant AT&T about a report that it allowed the U.S. National Security Agency to wiretap all Internet communications at U.N. headquarters.
Vannina Maestracci, a U.N. spokeswoman, said U.S. officials had previously given the United Nations assurances ...
FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) - The U.S. Army is investigating after a paratrooper was found dead in his barracks room.
The Army said in a news release that Pfc. Tanner Contla, 22, of West Linn, Oregon, was found unresponsive on Saturday.
The Army's Criminal Investigation Command is investigating.
Contla joined ...
While the American-led campaign against the Islamic State has focused on Syria and Iraq, the terror group's burgeoning spread into North Africa is prompting increased unease among European and Arab powers wary of the extremists' growing hold on territory in the political vacuum in Libya.
With hundreds of thousands of ...
Iranian leaders prevented a top International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) official from disclosing to U.S. officials the nature of secret side deals with the Islamic Republic by threatening harm to him, according to regional reports.
Yukiya Amano, IAEA director general, purportedly remained silent about the nature of certain side deals during briefings with top U.S. officials because he feared such disclosures would lead to retaliation by Iran, according to the spokesman for Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization (AEOI).
Amano was in Washington recently to brief members of Congress and others about the recently inked nuclear accord. However, he did not discuss the nature of side deals with Iran that the United States is not permitted to know about.
Iran apparently threatened Amano in a letter meant to ensure he did not reveal specific information about the nature of nuclear inspections going forward, according to Iranian AEOI spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi.
This disclosure has only boosted suspicions among some that the Iranians are willing and able to intimidate the top nuclear watchdog and potentially undermine the verification regime that Obama administration officials have dubbed a key component of the nuclear accord.
“In a letter to Yukiya Amano, we underlined that if the secrets of the agreement (roadmap between Iran and the IAEA) are revealed, we will lose our trust in the Agency; and despite the US Congress’s pressures, he didn’t give any information to them,” Kamalvandi was quoted as saying Monday during a meeting with Iranian lawmakers, according to Tehran’s state-controlled Fars News Agency.
“Had he done so, he himself would have been harmed,” the official added.
Iran revealed in recent weeks that the United States is banned from knowing the details of its nuclear inspections agreement with the IAEA, a disclosure that prompted anger in many circles on Capitol Hill.
Iran also has gained additional leverage over the IAEA by refusing to sign a document known as theAdditional Protocol, which forces Iran to disclose certain details of its nuclear program to the IAEA so that it can confirm that Tehran is not operating a clandestine weapons program.
Even supporters of the deal have noted that this gives Iran greater “leverage” over the IAEA going forward.
One source close to the Iran fight on Capitol Hill explained that Iran’s refusal to sign the document gives it up to eight more years to threaten the IAEA.
“The IAEA desperately wanted the Iranians to ratify the Additional Protocol as part of the deal to lock them into formal obligations that would actually be permanent,” the source explained. “The Obama administration failed to win the concessions, and instead Iran got to promise to ascend eight years from now.”
“So for the next eight years the Iranians get to hold the threat over the IAEA: Don’t push your luck or we’ll refuse to accede in eight years,” the source said.
Mark Dubowitz, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), expressed concern that Iran could obstruct future inspections.
“Iranian leverage over the IAEA could impede a proper resolution of issues relating to Tehran’s past and possibly continuing weaponization activities,” Dubowitz said. “It may also prevent the agency from ever getting necessary physical access into suspicious sites including military facilities and prevent detection of Iranian clandestine nuclear activities.”
Further complicating the future inspections regime is the expiration of Amano’s term at the IAEA in 2017. The official could be replaced then.
Meanwhile, Iranian officials disclosed on Monday that any nuclear inspector entering Iran on behalf of the IAEA would first have to be screened by Iran’s Intelligence Ministry.
Iran additionally will be given 24 days notice before inspectors enter any site suspected of being used to build a nuclear weapon. U.S. inspectors also will be banned from entering suspicious sites under the deal.
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Things are a little tense right now with North Korea.
A computer breach at the U.S. tax collecting agency in which thieves stole tax information from thousands of taxpayers is much bigger than the agency originally disclosed.
Former Iraqi prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, has rejected allegations that he was responsible for the fall of Iraq’s second city Mosul to Daesh Takfiri militants last year.
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff today thanked Danish defense leaders for their efforts to promote peace and stability around the world.
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant is just the most recent manifestation of an underlying set of instabilities, inequities and ideologies that will be around for at least 20 years.
Short term deficit reduction is not a good reason to cut federal military spending, and defense spending cuts under sequestration likely hurt the US economic recovery, former Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said Monday during a discussion of th
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August 18, 2015, 1:53 PM (IDT)
International nuclear inspectors will only be permitted into the country after offering proofs of suspicious activity at the sites to be inspected, Iran’s Defense Minister Brig. Gen Hossein Dehqan said Tuesday. DEBKAfile: This condition is not contained either in the nuclear deal Iran signed with the six world powers last month or in its contract with the IAEA. How will the international watchdog obtain proofs if it is denied visits for inspections? Monday, a senior Iranian official said that such visits were subject to prior approval from the Iranian Intelligence Ministry.
Fox News |
Iran and Russia use nuclear deal to boost military ties
Fox News Hannah suspects that even though the conventional arms embargo remains in place for five years, “we will see Iran go on a shopping spree for the most advanced conventional weapons in both Russia and China.” He sees the Iranians wanting advanced air ... |
Game of trolls: the hip digi-kids helping Putin's fight for online supremacy by Alec Luhn in St Petersburg
As court award damages to ex-employee, we visit St Petersburg factory manufacturing comments, blogs and videos in which Russia’s president takes on the world – and wins
The job ads give little away. They ask only for “content managers” or “production editors” in a nondescript part of St Petersburg, and offer an above-average salary.
But for successful applicants, a thriving business offering rich opportunities for creativity and professional growth awaits. You can hone your writing skills subtly weaving patriotic sentiments into blog posts about beauty tips, fortune-telling, fishing or photography. You can revile the United States and Ukraine, posting news links and funny photo memes to local forums. If your English and political loyalty is flawless, you may even get the chance to insert angry comments on major western news sites.
Continue reading...
Tiny Alaska village seeks to reunite with long-lost relatives from nearby Russian island
Shanghai share index plunges more than 6 percent
Identity theft has been an ever-growing problem, but authorities say there is a new twist on an old problem for us to worry about: Synthetic identity fraud.
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In video message, IS calls Turkey's Erdogan traitor, urges Muslims to fight 'crusaders'
I’d far rather an elderly woman has her cataracts operated on so she can live an independent life safely than someone can indulge in gluten-free doughnuts, says MAX PEMBERTON.
DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran will sign a contract with Russia next week to buy four S-300 surface-to-air missile systems, the Iranian defense minister said on Tuesday, bringing Tehran closer to acquiring an advanced air defense capability.
Students at Kwantlen Polytechnic University can now sign up for a class with high stakes: the school in British Columbia is offering a course called “Introduction to Professional Management of Marijuana for Medical Purposes in Canada.”
The class will take place online over 14 weeks, the CBC reports. Since the legality of marijuana is being fought out in the courts in Canada (currently it is only approved for medicinal use, and regulations vary by region), the course will focus on educating students about following the rules to grow a legitimate business. Only 25 growing facilities are currently federally licensed in the country.
Similar courses have already popped up throughout the U.S.: the University of Denver Sturm College of Law offered a class on “Representing the Marijuana Client”; Vanderbilt University School of Law taught “Marijuana Law and Policy”; and Harvard University Law School taught “Tax Planning for Marijuana Dealers.”
[CBC]
Ismayilova's Azeri Trial Continues; Family Calls Case 'Lie From Top To Bottom'by support@pangea-cms.com (RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service)
A Baku court resumed the trial of investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova on August 18, while her mother and sister doubted the court's impartiality.
CNN International |
Concerns inside White House about possible Joe Biden candidacy
CNN International Edgartown, Massachusetts (CNN) As Joe Biden might say, it would be a big deal if he runs for president. A "BFD." But there is one major obstacle: Inside the White House there appears to be little enthusiasm for a Biden candidacy. Joe Biden: Images from ... and more » |
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RT |
US nuclear site faces 'potential security event'
RT A “potential security event” is occurring at the US Department of Energy's Savannah River Site in South Carolina, where an emergency response is underway, the agency said Monday. It's unclear what exactly the situation is at the site, but the Energy ... and more » |
New York Times |
Carly Fiorina's Record: Not So Sterling
New York Times “I come from a world outside of politics, where track records and accomplishments count.” Those were the words of Carly Fiorina, a Republican candidate for president, earlier this year. Readers of the business pages know her as the former chief ... Carly Fiorina's record of layoffs at HP becomes a campaign issueBoston Globe In bid to jump-start campaign, Scott Walker tries to channel Donald TrumpFinancial Express In bid to jump-start campaign, Walker tries to channel TrumpReuters CNN -Wall Street Journal all 405 news articles » |
 Politico |
The Truth Behind the Biden and Gore Bubbles
Politico Over the last week, you'd be forgiven for thinking that Joe Biden and Al Gore were two of the leading candidates in the 2016 presidential race—charismatic, principled leaders that voters wanted, nah, demanded, lead our nation for the next eight years ... Three Reasons to Be Skeptical of the Bernie Sanders SurgeWall Street Journal (blog) For Clinton and Biden, a Long and Tangled FriendshipABC News Here's the Ticket: Biden and WarrenHuffington Post all 261 news articles » |
 Rudaw |
UN to start 'naming and shaming' peacekeeping countries involved
Rudaw NEW YORK—Following a recent Amnesty International report that accused peacekeeping troops of raping a 12-year-old child and murdering two in Central African Republic, the U.N. Secretary General vowed to start “naming and shaming” countries whose ... and more » |
 Fox News |
UN: Some Sexual Abuse Charges Against Peacekeepers Ignored
New York Times UNITED NATIONS — The 12-year-old girl said she had been raped by a foreign soldier, one of many who had come to Central African Republic to calm sectarian violence. So the military commander brought her in front of a dozen of his soldiers and asked: ... When U.N. Peacekeepers Don't Keep the PeacePacific Standard UN mission vows full investigation into allegations of abuse by peacekeepers ...UN News Centre Alleged Abuses By UN Peacekeepers in the Central African RepublicAllAfrica.com Rudaw-Journal of Turkish Weekly all 10 news articles » |
Molly Sasson, a British MI5 agent who went to work for Australia's spy agency in Cold War, says Russian mole infiltrated Canberra but officials "didn't want to open a can of worms"
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Call to arms in Islamic State video comes after Ankara allied itself with Washington against the jihadist group
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The U.S. Commerce Department on Monday delayed for at least a year its plans to give up oversight of Icann, a key component of Internet governance.
Thai police looking for male suspect wearing backpack in rush hour attack by Daniela Deane, Brian Murphy
BANGKOK — Thai authorities said Tuesday they were searching for a male suspect wearing a backpack seen on security camera footage near a famous shrine where a pipe bomb killed at least 20 people in what the prime minister called the worst ever attack in the country.Read full article >>
A Russian court awarded symbolic damages of one ruble August 17 to a former Kremlin "troll" who sued what she called a "propaganda factory" for President Vladimir Putin.
U.S. Senate GOP Leader Concedes Iran Deal 'Likely' To Succeed by support@pangea-cms.com (RFE/RL)
U.S. President Barack Obama has "a great likelihood of success" in his showdown with congressional Republicans on the Iran nuclear deal, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell grudgingly acknowledged August 17.
A sophisticated computer hacking operation in Russia got access to thousands more U.S. taxpayer files than originally thought, U.S. tax investigators disclosed August 17.
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Putin Warns Crimean Tatars Not To Seek Special Statusby support@pangea-cms.com (RFE/RL)
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned minority ethnic Tatars that they should not strive for special status on the Crimean peninsula Moscow annexed from Ukraine last year.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi has said he is canceling the positions of advisers who were hired as contractors in ministries and that he also is limiting the number of advisers for himself, the president, and the parliamentary speaker to five each.
Nuri al-Maliki, Iraq’s former prime minister, has rejected a parliamentary report that recommends he and dozens of other government and military officials stand trial over the fall of Mosul in 2014 to Islamic State (IS) militants.
It was not clear if sanctions imposed after the annexation of Crimea played a role in the reported removal of Vladimir I. Yakunin as director of Russian Railways.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Donald Trump is dividing his Republican presidential rivals anew with his call to rewrite the Constitution to crack down on millions of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, and to force Mexico to pay for a better border fence. Scott Walker embraced some of the plan Monday, but other contenders, such as Chris Christie and Carly Fiorina, dismissed elements as unworkable....
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's former prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, on Tuesday condemned as having "no value" a parliamentary panel's findings on the fall of Mosul to Islamic State which called for him and other top officials to stand trial for negligence.
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Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast
Britain’s standard-bearer liberal newspaper The Guardian may have rejected Jeremy Corbyn for Labour Party leader, but he has one media outlet solidly in his corner: RT. The Kremlin-funded propaganda channel is actively pushing the far-left parliamentarian’s candidacy—and in a British media market in which RT claims some 2.5 million viewers a quarter.
Since Corbyn declared his bid to become Britain’s opposition leader, RT’s website has written about him almost as often as it has about current Prime Minister David Cameron—but in a far more flattering light. From June 1 to August 10, RT headlined 25 stories with Corbyn’s name, compared with 32 covering Cameron. Bearing in mind that Corbyn is just one of four candidates to lead an opposition party in disarray, while Cameron heads the country, the coverage given to the Labour veteran is striking, to say the least.
As is the tone of the coverage. Of the 25 headlines bearing Corbyn’s name, 21 were positive or neutral, while just four were negative—a proportion of 84% positive. Of Cameron’s 32 headlines, 16 were positive or neutral, while 16 were negative, a proportion of 50%.
Now, it could be argued that the prominence given to Corbyn stems from interest in the broader Labour leadership race; after all, given that the party has just suffered an election catastrophe, questions over its future direction are entirely legitimate. However, if that were the case, it would also be legitimate to expect a similar level of coverage for Corbyn’s rivals, Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper, and Liz Kendall.
In fact, there is no comparison. Where Corbyn’s name featured in 25 RT online headlines between June 1 and August 10, Cooper was headlined twice, and Kendall once. Burnham’s name did not make it at all, though he may be comforted to know he was headlined once as a “Labour MP”.
Nor is the imbalance in reporting confined to headlines. Corbyn has been mentioned more than twice as often as any of his rivals, his photo has been shown six times more than those of all his rivals put together, and he has been interviewed twice by RT, while his opponents have yet to be interviewed at all.
Even these figures understate the prominence he has been given, since roughly half the occasions on which the other candidates were mentioned were in stories which had Corbyn’s name in the headline.
To some extent, Corbyn’s prominence is a result of the surprise nature of his candidacy: RT is not the only channel to have paid more attention to the leadership contest since he threw his hat into the ring. However, it is instructive to compare RT’s online coverage in this respect with the BBC. While Corbyn is the most-headlined candidate on both websites, he accounts for roughly 43% of all candidate headlines (47 out of 110) on the BBC site, compared with 89% of the headlines on RT (25 out of 28).
Taken together, these figures indicate a clear RT bias in favor of Corbyn—one which goes well beyond what might be considered a journalist’s natural interest in an apparently outside candidate, and which includes both disproportionate coverage, and a disproportionate share of positive comment.
So why is the Kremlin-funded station pushing Corbyn’s candidacy so hard?
Unlike his rivals, Corbyn is no stranger to RT: He has been a regular commentator on and for the channel since 2007, when he was quoted criticizing Tony Blair’s Middle Eastern policy as threatening “a whole new conflict with Iran—a repeat of a complete disaster in Iraq.” Other quotes over the yearsincluded a 2010 call for the unilateral abolition of Britain’s Trident nuclear deterrent; accusations that the NATO-led presence in Afghanistan was strengthening the Taliban; and a comment that NATO is “out of date and out of time.” More recently, he stated that “Russia has pulled back from the border with Ukraine, and I would urge NATO to do the same,” and criticized the EU’s September 2014 decision to extend its sanctions on Russia.
These comments are entirely consistent with his declared principles over many years. However, they are also consistent with RT’s editorial policy of promoting those who oppose Britain’s traditional policies of nuclear deterrence, military investment and NATO and EU membership.
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For example, in May 2014 it breached British rules on election coverage by reporting on an apparent surge in support for the anti-EU United Kingdom Independence Party when polling stations had already opened. The channel blamed the breach on an “administrative error.
In September 2014 it threw its weight behind the Scottish National Party’s bid to break up the UK—not only providing strongly pro-independence coverage before the poll, but reporting on claims afterward that the outcome had been rigged. (This author experienced the impact of the latter firsthand, being told by a disgruntled “Yes” voter in Edinburgh shortly after the poll, “It was fixed. The Russian monitor said so, I saw it on RT.”)
In short, RT has a track record of backing election candidates whose policies would be likely to make Britain more fragmented, more isolated and less militarily capable—and of doing so by foul means as well as fair.
Jeremy Corbyn might want to think long and hard before he talks with the channel again.
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Paul Goble
Staunton, August 17 – Many have suggested that many in Vladimir Putin’s entourage are upset with him because his policies have sparked Western sanctions that have reduced their wealth or freedom of movement. But Konstantin Borovoy says that Putin’s incautious use of nuclear threats is also alienating around him who fear what such threats could lead to.
Such a demonstration of “schizophrenia in the Kremlin,” one that is approaching “the clinical,” Borovoy argues, frightens those with the elite who still have a modicum of good sense because it signals that there is very little Moscow might do and that the actions of the foreign ministry are simply another part of the Kremlin’s “propaganda machine.”
Those within the elite may be more likely to desert him over this than even over economic sanctions, Borovoy suggests, because everyone can now see that the Putin regime is behaving according to the following “inadequate” logic: “Because we do not like your reaction to the downing of the Boeing, we will no longer feel bound by the non-proliferation treaty and provide nuclear arms to those who want them.”
Such a declaration, the Russian opposition figure says, is “in violation of all international agreements.” Moreover, he argues, “the despair in which Putin finds himself suggests that such inadequate actions will be carried out.” That in turn will force the international community to conclude that one of its members “has gone mad.”
In Yeltsin’s time, Moscow worked with the West to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons. But now “Putin and his entourage have already gone beyond the limits of the terms and technologies of the cold war. What is happening now can be described as the open preparation for the conduct of World War III.”
Khrushchev tried to put missiles in Cuba but he was blocked. And more recently North Korea has engaged in similar nuclear “blackmail,” as did on occasion Iraq and Iran. “But until now, not one nuclear power seriously permitted itself to behave as an outlaw state.”
“There is a first time for everything,” Borovoy says. “Now, for the first time a country which aspires in a certain way aspires to leadership in international affairs and the status of a super power is beginning to conduct itself like an outlaw state.”
That certainly concerns many in Moscow; it should concern the rest of the world as well.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a State Council Presidium meeting on Russian tourism sector development in Yalta, Crimea, 17 August 2015. Photo: EPA
Russian President Vladimir Putin assured on Monday that Bulgaria's NATO membership would not mean an end to its relationship with Russia.
Putin noted that the decision to join NATO had already been taken and Russia respected the will of the sovereign Bulgarian people, TASS news agency informs.
The Russian President stated that Moscow is to work closely with Bulgaria on the implementation of various joint projects including those in the energy sector such as the South Stream pipeline.
Putin reminded that Bulgaria has withdrawn its participation from the projected natural gas pipeline under pressure from the European Commission.
The cancellation of the South Stream pipeline was announced at the end of 2014 during the visit of the Russian president to Turkey.
Putin highlighted that Russia considers Bulgaria as a very close country both spiritually and historically and Moscow intends to develop cooperation with Sofia in various areas.
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Abbas Araqchi / AP
BY: Adam Kredo
A senior Iranian official declared on Monday that international nuclear inspectors would only be permitted into the country once they receive approval from the Islamic Republic’s Intelligence Ministry, putting another roadblock between the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Iran’s contested nuclear sites.
Sayyed Abbas Araqchi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister and one of the top negotiators in talks that led to the recently inked nuclear deal, told the country’s state-controlled press that Iran’s intelligence apparatus must approve of any inspector who is issued a visa to enter Iran.
This requirement could complicate efforts to prove to the world that Iran is being fully transparent and that nuclear inspectors inside the country are neutral.
Iran has already stated that no American inspector would be permitted into the country under the deal. The accord also grants Iran a 24-day notice period before inspectors enter any site suspected of being used for nuclear weapons work.
“Any individual, out of IAEA’s Inspection group, who is not approved by the Islamic Republic of Iran cannot enter the country as the agency’s inspector,” Araqchi was quoted as telling the Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency (ICANA), a government news outlet, according to a translation performed by the CIA’s Open Source Center (OSC).
This type of screening is fully permitted under the nuclear accord, Araqchi said.
The deal “has been set within the framework of the additional protocol and all limitations and supervisions are within the protocol and not beyond that,” he said.
Michael Rubin, a former Pentagon adviser and expert on rogue regimes, said that Obama administration’s promise of strict inspections is a fallacy.
“Administration claims that this was the best possible agreement are pathetic. First Kerry abandoned anytime, anywhere inspections,” Rubin said. “Then Obama claimed this was the most rigorous counter-proliferation regime ever, never mind that it failed to rise to the Libya and South Africa precedents.”
“Then we learned that no Americans are allowed on the inspection teams and that Iran will do its own soil sampling,” Rubin added. “Now the Iranians claim that all IAEA inspectors have to be vetted by Iranian intelligence? It really can’t get any worse than this.”
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei also affirmed on Monday that there is no way for the United States to “infiltrate” Iran under the deal.
The “Americans seek to make an excuse to infiltrate Iran through a [nuclear] deal whose fate and whether it will be rejected or approved is not yet certain either in Iran or the U.S.,” Khamenei wasquoted as saying on Monday.
“With all our strong capabilities, we will not allow Americans’ economic, political or cultural infiltration or political presence in Iran,” he added.
While Obama administration officials have touted the agreement as a first step toward moderating Iran’s rogue behavior, Khamenei insisted that “Tehran’s policy toward the U.S. will remain unchanged regardless of the ultimate fate of the” nuclear deal, according to Iran’s Tasnim news agency.
Iran also will continue to back any country that seeks Israel’s destruction.
“Iran fully defends the [axis of anti-Israeli] resistance in the region, including the Palestinian resistance, and will support anyone who confronts Israel and hammers the Zionist regime,” the Supreme Leader said.
Meanwhile, further details of secret talks between the Obama administration and Iran in 2012 have come to light.
The White House purportedly made overtures to Iran, guaranteeing its right to enrich uranium, in 2012, while President Barack Obama was locked in an election with Republican challenger Mitt Romney, according to Iranian Vice President Akbar Salehi, who was a senior member of the negotiating team.
This message from the U.S. leadership was then brought to then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, according to Salehi, whose remarks were translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).
The Iranian official disclosed the U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz was appointed to the U.S. team per a request by Salahi, who knew him from his time as a doctoral student at MIT.
“Salehi added that Khamenei agreed to open a direct channel of negotiations between Iran and the U.S. on the condition that the talks would yield results from the start and would not deal with any other issue, especially not with U.S.-Iran relations,” according to MEMRI. “Following this, Salehi demanded, via the Omani mediator Sultan Qaboos, that the U.S. recognize Iran’s right to enrich uranium, and received a letter from Qaboos expressing such American recognition, which he relayed to Ahmadinejad.”
Rubin said Congress should carefully consider the new details emerging about the deal and its ability to reign in Iran’s nuclear program
“There really is only one question before Congress now: Is Obama’s legacy and Kerry’s single-minded desire for a Nobel Prize worth sacrificing U.S. security and enabling Iran to maintain an industrial-strength nuclear program?” he asked. “Because this agreement is not about stopping Iran’s nuclear program or security; it is about ego and naiveté. “
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COPENHAGEN, August 17, 2015 — The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant is just the most recent manifestation of an underlying set of instabilities, inequities and ideologies that will be around for at least 20 years, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said today at the Danish Army Academy here.
Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey spoke to cadets and staff following meetings with Danish Chief of Defense Army Gen. Peter Bartram.
The issues that created ISIL and earlier groups such as al-Qaida in Iraq are both internal and external to Islam and fanned by “extraordinarily bad governance and disenfranchisement,” Dempsey said.
He added, “Even if ISIL goes away, those underlying issues are going to provide the catalyst and the environment in which some other group takes their place -- until that stability is returned to that part of the world and Islam confronts its internal contradictions.”
The U.S. and coalition effort to counter ISIL aims at ensuring the terror group remains defeated, the general said. The group at first relied on local dissatisfaction to coalesce, and then took advantage of ungoverned areas in Syria and Iraq to grow further. Corruption, cronyism, bad governance and “the enduring internal disagreement between the Sunni and Shia sects of Islam -- those have to be addressed and then ISIL can be defeated,” the chairman said.
This is why a whole-of-government approach is best, he said. The military provides lines of effort against the group, but there must also be law enforcement, governance, diplomatic and economic lines of effort. “ISIL has to be defeated militarily and then the internal issues have to be addressed by responsible governance or they will just come back under some other name,” he said.
Dempsey said the military instrument is doing well against the group in that they are interdicting supplies and disrupting ISIL command and control. The effort is enabling Iraqi security forces and some partners in Syria to inflict military damage on ISIL, he said.
“To be successful, a group with such a radical ideology to recruit, for example, has to maintain momentum,” Dempsey said. “Simply blunting their momentum gives us the advantage. Our real advantage is that we’ve got a 22-nation coalition. So ISIL’s strategic aspects are quite dim, but tactically day-to-day they have had some success.”
Dempsey believes this is a generational fight, first because the ideology has affected a generation of young Arabs. “It’s going to take a long time to convince those young Arabs that they don’t have to follow such a radical ideology to have a life” he said.
The second reason, the chairman added, is internal to the U.S. government, NATO and the coalition.
“If we continue to think of this as a near-term conflict and a near-term threat, we’re going to fight this thing for 15 years, but we will fight 15 one-year fights,” he said. “We need to grip the fact that this threat will be around for 15 or 20 years and we need to organize ourselves on a sustainable footing.”
Key is letting Iraqis and Syrians own the fight, Dempsey said. The chairman likened the coalition effort to putting a scaffold around a house. “That scaffolding will allow us to support the structure in places it needs to be supported, but must be adaptable to change,” he said.
In Iraq, the coalition has training centers and operations centers in Taqqadam, Anbar, Erbil and Baghdad. Going forward, those resources may have to move elsewhere to go where the Iraqis have the need, Dempsey said.
“I think over time we will compress ISIL from the north through the Kurds, from west through Syrian opposition and from the east through Iraqi security forces and eventually squeeze it out of existence,” the chairman said.
(Follow Jim Garamone on Twitter: @GaramoneDoDNews)
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Donald Trump is dividing his Republican presidential rivals anew with his call to rewrite the Constitution to crack down on millions of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, and to force Mexico to pay for a better border fence. Scott Walker embraced some of the plan Monday, but other contenders, such as Chris Christie and Carly Fiorina, dismissed elements as unworkable.
Trump's immigration proposal, his first formal policy plan since announcing his candidacy in June, won praise Monday from the GOP's conservative tea partyers, some of whom favor changing the Constitution to reverse the "birthright citizenship" guaranteed to anyone born in the United States, no matter the status of their parents. At the same time, surveys show a majority of Americans, including Republicans, support allowing many immigrants in the U.S. illegally to stay.
Trump leads his Republican rivals in national polls, and his proposal quickly reverberated within the party, which has struggled with the issue of immigration.
Party leaders are determined to expand the GOP's appeal with Hispanics after the 2012 election in which Mitt Romney won just 27 percent of the Latino vote. But many Republicans have adopted a hardline approach on immigrants, appealing to the party's core voters who play an oversized role in nominating primaries and caucuses.
Asked at the Iowa State Fair on Monday if he supports building a wall along the U.S. Mexican border, as Trump has proposed, Wisconsin Gov. Walker gave a quick "yes," but he declined to address whether he supports deporting children of parents in the country illegally. "Going forward, the best thing we can do is enforce the law," he said.
Walker, who reversed his position in April on allowing a chance for legal status for those in the country illegally, also gave mixed answers on ending birthright citizenship.
Christie said during a CNN interview that a wall or fence along parts of the border, especially in more urban and difficult-to-control areas, was conceivable, but "not the entire border. Doesn't make any sense." Likewise, the New Jersey governor is opposed to requiring Mexico to pay for the construction, saying Trump's suggestion "makes no sense."
"And this is not negotiation of a real estate deal, OK. This is international diplomacy and it's different," Christie said, noting Trump's line of business. Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina called Trump's wall plan, "completely unrealistic."
Trump wasn't flinching Monday.
"The wall will work," he said when he arrived for jury duty in New York and a passer-by at the courthouse asked about the idea. He spent much of the day like other prospective jurors, filling out forms and waiting to see if he would be picked. In the end, he wasn't.
Like Trump's early derogatory campaign statements about immigrants, his new plan has lit up angry conservatives. But it also has annoyed Republicans who see the nation's growing Latino population as an opportunity to demonstrate sensitivity to minorities who have voted overwhelmingly Democratic in recent presidential elections.
Tea party movement co-founder Mark Meckler said Trump's "position on deportation generally reflects what likely voters think. Trump is dealing head-on with the difficult issues while more establishment candidates fret over focus groups and polls."
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Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump says he wants to end the automatic right to citizenship for all US-born children of families living illegally in the United States.
All children born in the US get citizenship under the constitution.
Other measures he outlined would include raising visa fees to pay for a wall along the Mexican border.
Immigration is a central plank of Mr Trump's campaign to be the Republican contender in next year's election.
"They have to go," he told NBC.
A tough deportation policy was needed, he said, because "there's definitely evidence" of crimes linked to immigrants living in the country illegally.
Could Trump change citizenship rules?
If he became president, Mr Trump wouldn't be able to issue an executive order to change or repeal the 14th Amendment of the US constitution giving birthright US citizenship. So what would be his options?
1 - A bill would need to be passed by two-thirds of both houses of Congress
Or
2 - Two thirds of state legislatures must call on Congress to hold a Constitutional Convention, where amendments can be proposed
In both scenarios, the amendment must be approved by three quarters of all state legislatures and given the political divide in US politics, it is unlikely to happen.
Mr Trump - a front-runner in the field of Republican candidates - said he would also deport all undocumented immigrants, and pay for a tripling of the number of immigration officers by eliminating tax credit payments to immigrant families residing illegally in the US.
He added families with US-born children could return quickly if deemed worthy by the government.
"We're going to try and bring them back rapidly, the good ones," he said, adding: "We will expedite it so people can come back in.
"The good people can come back," he said, without elaborating.
On Monday morning, Mr Trump reported for jury duty in New York, prompting a media scrum outside the courthouse in Manhattan.
2016 runners and riders
- The early Republican frontrunner is Donald Trump
- Hillary Clinton will have learnt much from her failed campaign of 2008
- Florida senator Marco Rubio lost some right-wing fans by backing a bipartisan immigration reform package
- Wisconsin governor Scott Walker appeals to both the Republican establishment and the Tea Party
- Libertarian Rand Paul has his supporters - and enemies - among Republicans
- Veteran congressman Bernie Sanders is drawing huge crowds at his rallies
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The District of Columbia has agreed to pay the legal fees of plaintiffs in the court case that overturned the city’s former ban on gun carry.
The settlement, filed Thursday, stems from Palmer v. District of Columbia. The judge in the case, Frederick J. Scullin, declared the city’s total ban on gun carry unconstitutional. The District was forced to pass a law allowing gun carry, but is now locked in another legal battle over the law’s constitutionality.
After the Palmer ruling, Scullin ordered the two sides to reach an agreement to close out the case. D.C. must pay $75,000 to the plaintiffs as part of that agreement.
The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF), which financed the suit, celebrated the settlement but lamented the fact that taxpayers would foot the bill.
“I wish the District of Columbia City Council members had to pay the $75,000 out of their own pockets instead of making the taxpayers cough it up,” SAF founder Alan Gottlieb “If they had to pay the legal bills themselves these unconstitutional laws would never get passed.”
“We love winning firearms freedoms one lawsuit at a time and making governments pay our legal fees. They seem to never learn.”
The $75,000 will be paid to prominent gun-rights lawyer Alan Gura for his work on the case.
Alan Gura declined to comment on the settlement. The District of Columbia Office of Attorney General did not respond to requests for comment.
US | Mon Aug 17, 2015 5:31pm EDT
The U.S. Department of Energy's Savannah River Site in South Carolina is on lockdown and experiencing a "potential security event," according to a statement from the nuclear facility and an internal memo sent to workers.
"Site barricades are currently closed to incoming traffic," according to a Facebook post, also issued by the DoE. "There is no indication of a consequence beyond the Savannah River Site boundaries."
The Savannah River Site has placed its H Area on a "phase II" security alert, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters. The H Area is where highly enriched uranium is blended down to produce low enriched uranium for use in commercial reactors.
The exact nature of the threat was unclear.
"All personnel should remain in their offices or labs and standby for further instructions via the Site public address system or instruction via email," the memo said.
The government-run site was constructed in the 1950s to produce basic materials for nuclear weapons, according to a DoE website, and produced one third of U.S. weapons grade plutonium from 1953 to 1988.
Two of the Savannah River Site's 5 reactors have been deactivated. It now blends down enriched uranium for use in commercial reactors. It also is used to store spent fuel. About 36 million gallons of radioactive liquid are stored there in 49 underground tanks.
(Reporting by Emily Stephenson, Robert Gibbons and Timothy Gardner; Editing by Sandra Maler andBill Rigby)
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The Internal Revenue Service admitted Monday that an additional 220,000 taxpayer accounts were potentially compromised by a computer database breach that occurred earlier this year, bringing the total of those affected to almost three times its original estimate.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the government agency said a review turned up 220,000 additional U.S. households “where there were instances of possible or potential access” to prior year tax returns and 170,000 instances of “suspected attempts that failed to clear the authentication processes.”
The IRS originally claimed that 114,000 taxpayer accounts were compromised in the breach in addition to 111,000 unsuccessful attempts.
The announcement Monday indicates that the number of those that had information stolen now stands at 334,000, nearly three times the IRS’ original estimate of 114,000.
Hackers between February and the middle of May used stolen Social Security numbers and other personal data to breach IRS accounts and obtain tax return information from prior years.
The computer breaches occurred in an online service called “Get Transcript,” an application that helps taxpayers get their return information from prior years. It has since been shut down.
The IRS plans to notify the taxpayers potentially affected as soon as possible and provide them with support, such as free credit protection.
“The IRS takes the security of taxpayer data extremely seriously, and we are working to continue to strengthen security for ‘Get Transcript,’ including by enhancing taxpayer-identity authentication protocols,” the agency explained.
The news comes just over a month after the Office of Personnel Management admitted that Chinese-origin cyber attacks on its computer networks compromised the personal data of 22.1 million Americans.
Moreover, defense officials said earlier this month that Russia launched a “sophisticated cyber attack” on the Pentagon’s unclassified email system used by the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the end of July. The breach affected approximately 4,000 military and civilian employees, including Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey.
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