821: Manterruptors

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Mon, 11 Apr 2016 11:57

Champagne is not only delicious. It turns out that it can also have positive effects on memory.

New research is showing that the bubbly drink contains phenols that counteract age-related memory problems, such as dementia.

A study from the University of Reading in the UK examined champagne's impact on memory, revealing that the drink contains phenols, which stimulate signals in the brain and ultimately may help us remember things better. Phenols can also counteract age-related memory impairment, such as dementia.

Champagne contains higher amounts of phenol than in white wine. According to the researchers leading the study, one to three glasses of champagne a week is optimal.

''These exciting results illustrate for the first time that the moderate consumption of champagne has the potential to influence cognitive functioning, such as memory,'' said professor Jeremy Spencer.

Photo: Wikipedia

Obviously, downing an entire bottle of champagne is probably a bad idea.

Champagne consumption's effect on the liver and kidneys was not examined in this study, however past research from the University of Reading has shown that two glasses of champagne can be good for the heart and blood circulation. This in turn may reduce the risk of heart disease and strokes.

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Sun, 01 May 2016 12:47

Germany's interior minister said on Friday that migrants should no longer be able to get to northern Europe through the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Serbia.

Thomas de Maiziere told a news conference that there was now concern that the number of refugees coming from Libya along alternative routes would rise.

''I already said in Vienna that it's clear that the Balkan route is a thing of the past and no longer will or should be a place from where people will be waved through to Germany and Austria and to the centre of Europe,'' said de Maiziere.

He was speaking after a meeting with his Austrian counterpart Wolfgang Sobotka, as work continued on constructing a border fence at the Austrian side of the Alpine Brenner Pass crossing to Italy.

Sobotka said the fence would send a clear message.

''There won't be the image of a seal-off. Rather, this is a clear signal that if the 200,000 to one million people waiting in Libya to travel north start moving, we will be in a position to effectively close this border,'' Sobotka said.

He added that the measure was necessary to prevent the Brenner Pass turning into a major corridor for migrants looking to reach northern Europe after arriving to Italy through the Mediterranean.

''What we have demonstrated is that the rule of law, the essential measure for us is that we want to register people who come to Austria, that our borders are not overrun,'' Sobotka said.

''This border management that has been in place since February is effective and we have applied this on the border with Hungary '... and we are preparing for this on the border with Italy,'' added Sobotka.

De Maiziere and Sobotka both piled pressure on Italy to take responsibility.

''What is happening at the Brenner border crossing lies first and foremost in the hands of Italy,'' de Maiziere, said, adding that on the issue of border controls, states were working together but still needed a few more days to reach a European solution.

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Sun, 01 May 2016 12:41

Europe is struggling to cope with the two latest drug waves to claim victims and make fortunes for the unscrupulous; Crystal meth and legal highs.

The job for lawmakers has been complicated by the internet and its ability to drive hard-to-detect cross-border sales, and the fact that EU member states' legislation against illegal substances is not uniform.

In this edition of 'Insiders' Sophie Claudet asks top European drughunter Andrew Cunningham, is Europe losing the war on drugs? The programme also visits Germany and the Czech Republic.

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Sun, 01 May 2016 12:37

Belgium is to supply iodine pills to all its 11 million inhabitants to help protect against radioactivity in the event of a nuclear accident.

Iodine helps reduce radiation build-up in the thyroid gland.

Previously the country only gave pills to people living near to its seven reactors over three sites at Doel, Tihange and Mol.

''Before the iodine pills were only given to people living within a perimeter of twenty kilometres'', said Belgian Health Minister Maggie De Block. ''Now we are going to take measures for people up to 100 kilometres. We'll provide iodine pills for the whole country.''

The government says the new measures take into account reactors in neighbouring countries close to the Belgian border.

Earlier this month Belgium refused a German request to close down two of its oldest reactors temporarily because of defects found in their pressure vessels.

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Sun, 01 May 2016 12:19

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Sun, 01 May 2016 12:17

CREDIT: AP Photo/Carlos Osorio

Moderator Anderson Cooper, of CNN, looks on before a Democratic presidential primary debate at the University of Michigan-Flint, Sunday, March 6, 2016, in Flint, Mich.

If you tuned into CNN earlier this year, when NASA And NOAA announced that 2015 was the hottest year on record, you weren't likely to see much coverage of that announcement. In fact, you were more likely to see an ad for the fossil fuel industry than a news story on how fossil fuels are driving the planet's warming, according to a new report.

The report, released Monday by Media Matters, looked at CNN's coverage in the one-week periods following the news that 2015 set the record for the world's hottest year (January 20-26) and that February 2016 was the hottest February in 137 years of recordkeeping (March 17-23). It found that CNN spent nearly five times as much time airing fossil fuel industry advertisements in these two week-long periods than it did airing coverage of climate change and the recent records. The network spent 23.5 minutes on ads from the American Petroleum Institute, compared to five minutes spent on news coverage on climate change.

CREDIT: media matters

CNN spent less than one minute on coverage of January's hottest year announcement, but it spent 13.5 minutes in the morning, afternoon, and evening airing fossil fuel industry ads. Then, following the February announcement, CNN spent four minutes on climate-related coverage and 10 minutes airing fossil fuel ads. And this coverage didn't always mention climate change '-- ''on March 18, CNN anchors Christine Romans and John Berman delivered nearly-identical reports on February's 'astounding' temperature record during the 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. editions of Early Start, respectively, but neither explicitly mentioned climate change or the role fossil fuel pollution and other human activities play in driving climate change,'' the report notes.

In fact, according to the report, only one segment on the unusually high temperatures mentioned climate change. CNN didn't respond to a request for comment by press time.

CNN has been criticized before for not spending enough time on climate coverage. In December, moderators failed to bring up climate change in a CNN Republican candidate debate that focused on national security '-- even though climate change has been recognized as a security threat by the Pentagon. In 2014, CNN President Jeff Zucker said that there was a ''tremendous amount of lack of interest'' in CNN's climate coverage, and that the network hadn't ''figured out how to engage the audience in that story in a meaningful way.'' However, as ThinkProgress noted at the time, CNN's struggles to get audiences to care about climate coverage may have stemmed from the fact that the network tended to host debates over the issue, bringing on a guest like Bill Nye to debate a more conservative guest or host over whether climate change exists. This presents the issue '-- which the vast majority of climate scientists agree is happening and is caused by humans '-- as a false debate.

It's not clear whether CNN has found better ways of engaging its audience on climate since 2014, but the Media Matters report makes clear that the network could be spending more time on climate coverage. CNN's not the only one, though: a Media Matters report earlier this year found that ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox, covered climate change 5 percent less in their nightly and Sunday news programs last year than they did in 2014.

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Sun, 01 May 2016 12:07

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Sun, 01 May 2016 12:02

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Sun, 01 May 2016 11:56

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Sun, 01 May 2016 11:47

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Sun, 01 May 2016 11:25

As the media pivots with the candidates towards the general election so are their narratives about them. As reporter for The Daily Best Betsey Woodruff put it on MSNBC Live Thursday, ''this election is becoming a battle of the sexes.'' A social justice warrior's dream election between ''not just the first female presidential candidate, but the first feminist presidential candidate'' Hillary Clinton and the ''er-misogynist'' Donald Trump, as articulated by Michelle Goldberg of Slate on the same show.

Goldberg also claimed that this is only the beginning and his campaigned was going to become more sexist. She claimed the men who support Trump do so because they can't handle a women becoming a president because they would lose their place in society. ''When you think about the amount of racism that has been unleashed by Obama being president. And then think of all of the submerged gender anxieties of men losing primacy in kind of the American system, and all of that,'' Goldberg pontificated.

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Sun, 01 May 2016 11:06

Former GOP presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) joined with Senate Democratic women Thursday in calling for the emergency funding of Zika virus research, saying it is just a matter of time before there is a Zika transmission from mosquitoes inside the U.S.

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Sun, 01 May 2016 05:49

Chief Justice Roy Moore said Wednesday that an ethics probe against his order against marriage equality is political, and brought on by mentally ill trans citizens.

Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore accused "atheists, homosexuals and transgender individuals" of bringing politically motivated complaint against his administrative order against marriage equality in the state.

"This is about legalism. This is about what the law is," Moore stated at press conference Wednesday.

The complaint was filed with the Judicial Inquiry Commission of Alabama (JIC), which will launch an ethics probe into Moore's order.

is not about religion," Moore said. "This is about my marriage and my legal orders." The judge believes its in his legal purview to determine the legality of marriage equality, even though a 2015 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that all were entitled to marriage.The judge cited the actions of one Ambrosia Starling, a transsexual citizen of Alabama who staged a mock wedding on the courthouse steps in January.

Moore referred to Starling as "a tranvestite," a word deemed offense by the Trans community, then gave a pause and a stern look at the reporters in the room. He said that the mock wedding was against the orders of the Alabama Supreme Court, and yet nothing was done to Starling and the people who accompanied her.

Related:Alabama City Criminalizes Trans Bathroom Users

"We in a serious time in our country," Moore continued. "A time when people who just a few years ago, would have been ascribed a mental illness, a mental disorder." The chief justice was referring to Starling and other trans people, using the term "gender identity disorder," another which fell out of use long ago.

"This is about judicial independence," Moore asserted. "About the power of the chief justice to speak."

The U.S. legal system has long maintained that federal law, including decisions made by the Supreme Court, trump state law, including the decisions of a state's chief justice.

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Sun, 01 May 2016 04:14

Steven CrowderSaturday April 30 2016

OK, I'll ask the obvious question. If Islam is the religion of piece (trademark pending), why would a Muslim prayer hall have explosives in the first place? Rodents can be a problem, sure. But rats usually don't warrant crates of C4.

Albeit this was an ''illegal'' prayer hall where at least one of its members was reppin' ISIS online, but still. ''Prayer'' halls are usually halls of people praying. Not so dangerous the bomb squad won't even risk removing the explosives. In this case, the Russian bomb squad opted to blow the place up instead of removing the material. Otherwise it would've been a suicide mission. See what I did there?

A police dog helped to find a cache with more than a kilogram of explosives of unknown origin. A bomb-disposal expert said extracting the explosives would be definitely unsafe and bomb technicians rolled in a water cannon, a source within Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) told RT.

The federal highway M5 passing right in front of the house was blocked in both directions and people were evacuated from all nearby buildings.

The house was used for gatherings of Salafis, followers of an ultra-conservative movement within Sunni Islam, and it was not registered with the regional Muslim community as an official house of worship.

Inside the house, the FSB's special forces detained 53 young men, at least one of whom was promoting the Islamic State terror group online.

Of course this house wasn't ''registered with the regional Muslim community as an official house of worship.'' While Islam is a bit backward in their practices (and treatment of women) they know not to sleep where they defecate. Or in this case, make happy little sparklers that go boom. That part is supposed to come after the final utterance of ''Allhu Akbar'' not a second before.

No word yet on how many more of these ''prayer houses'' remain in Russia. But as the old adage goes, where there's one, there are dozens more waiting to explode like a fat feminist confronted with soap. Logic.

For more on the religion of peace, please see Surprise! Ex-Muslim Says 'Islam is incompatible with the values of human rights''... and 'Moderate' Islam? Saudi Therapist Instructs Men How to Beat Disobedient Wives'...

NOT SUBSCRIBED TO THE PODCAST? FIX THAT! IT'S COMPLETELY FREE ON BOTH ITUNES HERE AND SOUNDCLOUD HERE.

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Sun, 01 May 2016 04:10

AUSTIN, TX --

It's the question that most parents will ultimately have to decide: how will you discipline your child? A new study by researchers at UT Austin and the University of Michigan argue that spanking may not be the right answer.According to the 50 year study, the more children are spanked, the more likely they are to defy their parents and experience problems such as anti-social behavior, aggression and other difficulties. The study researched nearly 161,000 children.

"Our analysis focuses on what most Americans would recognize as spanking and not on potentially abusive behaviors," Associate Professor Elizabeth Gershoff said.The researchers found that spanking a child did the complete opposite of what parents wanted to happen.

"The upshot of the study is that spanking increases the likelihood of a wide variety of undesired outcomes for children. Spanking thus does the opposite of what parents usually want it to do," Andrew Grogan-Kaylor added.

Researchers also equated the use of spanking a child to the same negative outcome as abuse.

(Copyright (C)2016 KTRK-TV. All Rights Reserved.)

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Sun, 01 May 2016 04:02

8:32 PM PDT 4/30/2016 by Jennifer KonermanJennifer Konerman

Larry Wilmore took on Washington and its reporters in his remarks at Saturday's White House Correspondents' Association Dinner.

The Nightly Show host immediately took on Fox News, CNN, President Barack Obama himself and, of course Donald Trump. He took on several news networks, including C-SPAN, the one that actually broadcast the event, saying it "is the No. 1 network among people who died watching TV and no one's found them yet." But no one got more biting jokes than GOP candidate Ted Cruz.

Wilmore emceed the event following several late-night and SNL veterans, including Cecily Strong, Joel McHale, Seth Meyers and Conan O'Brien. The host, who told The Hollywood Reporter that "it's a conundrum writing a Trump joke because he's such a caricature himself," had plenty to say about the GOP candidate.

Below are five of his speech's biggest targets.

CNN: Wilmore had a lot to say about networks CNN an Fox News. "Speaking of drones, how is Wolf Blitzer still on television?" He later added that he "used to watch CNN when it was a news network."

"Some of America's finest black journalists are here tonight. Don Lemon's here too," he mentioned. "Alleged journalists Don Lemon, everybody!" Lemon, not enjoying the joke against his journalistic integrity, was caught on camera giving Wilmore the finger.

Ted Cruz:"Man, everybody hates Ted Cruz. Even O.J. Simpson said, 'man that guy's just hard to like.'"

Wilmore also got excited about the idea of Cruz as the Zodiac Killer, which he said was an impossiblity because "some people actually liked the Zodiac Killer." The host did say that Cruz had recently gotten a string of wins, but zero delegates in New York, "which is five more than I thought he would for the Zodiac Killer."

"Recently Heidi Cruz revealed that after they got married, Ted bought them like a hundred cans of soup, not making yourself look less like the Zodiac Killer, Ted Cruz!"

President Obama: After telling Obama to "stay in your own lane" because following his act was too hard, he pointed to how badly he was aging. "Your hair is so white, it tried to punch me at a Trump rally. The President's hair is so white, it keeps saying all lives matter."

Donald Trump:"Donald Trump said if Hillary Clinton were a man, he didn't think she would get 5 percent of the vote. First of all, if Hillary Clinton were suddenly a man, her biggest problem would be finding a bathroom she'd be allowed to use in North Carolina."

"He says he's going to try to be more presidential. So now when he boasts about his genitalia during a debate, hes only going to referred to it as his President Johnson." He also said he loved how obsessed Trump was with the phrase "kid gloves," but he realized that "they're the only gloves that'll fit his stupid little baby hands."

Fox News:One of most biting jokes of the night, which went along the overall theme of his speech, was aimed at Fox News. "Welcome to Negro night, or as Fox News will report, 'two thugs disrupt elegant dinner in Washington, D.C.'"

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Sat, 30 Apr 2016 16:25

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks during her primary night gathering at the Philadelphia Convention Center on April 26, 2016.(Photo : Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton may break her promise to UFO enthusiasts that she will divulge the truth about UFOs, aliens and Area 51. The Democratic presidential hopeful recently mellowed down on her stance and admitted that she would not do so if there is a "huge national security thing" involved.

Hillary Clinton's Promise Of Revealing The Truth About UFOs, Aliens And Area 51

In an interview with The Conway Daily Sun late last year, Hillary Clinton gave UFO enthusiasts a reason to vote for her after she vowed to publicize files that allegedly contain confidential information about UFOs, aliens and Area 51. The former U.S. first lady and secretary of state also told the editorial board of the publication that she will "get to the bottom" of the controversies and issues about extraterrestrial life.

Hillary Clinton also said that she will consider organizing a task force that will unmask the truth about Area 51. UFO enthusiasts have been long accusing the U.S. government of hiding confiscated alien technology at Area 51, an alleged top-secret facility within the Nevada Test and Training Range.

Last month, Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign manager John Podesta, affirmed in an interview with KLAS 8 News that questions and controversies about UFOs, aliens and Area 51 will be addressed if Clinton becomes the president. In another interview, Podesta said that Americans are ready to handle the truth about aliens.

National Security Concerns May Make Hillary Clinton Break Her Promise

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The Inquisitr reported that Hillary Clinton admitted in a recent interview with the radio talk show Power 105.1 Breakfast Club that she might break her campaign promise to UFO enthusiasts. She disclosed that even if she is serious on releasing classified documents about UFOs, aliens and Area 51, the issue of national security may prevent her from doing so.

"I mean, if there's some huge national security thing and I can't get agreement to open them, I won't, but I do want to open them because I'm interested," Hillary Clinton stated. What can you say about Hillary Clinton's campaign promise? Do you believe in UFOs and aliens? Share your thoughts below.

(C) 2015 ParentHerald.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

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Sat, 30 Apr 2016 15:31

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Sat, 30 Apr 2016 10:09

A vault purportedly containing unreleased Prince songs was drilled open, according to ABC News affiliate KSTP-TV.

The singer, who released 39 studio albums and dozens of other musical projects, died April 21 at his Paisley Park home in Chanhassen, Minnesota. He was 57.

Bremer Trust, the St. Cloud, Minnesota, company given temporary authority over Prince's estate, opened the vault to which only Prince had the code, KSTP-TV added.

Previously, Prince spoke openly about his treasure trove of music on "The View."

"One day, someone will release them. I don't know that I'll get to release them," he said back in 2012. "There's just so many."

The seven-time Grammy Award winner reportedly left behind a vault containing so much music his estate could put out an album a year for the next century.

"We could put out more work in a month than most people could do in a year or more," Susan Rogers, Prince's former recording engineer, told ABC's "Good Morning America."

Rogers added that the vault in Prince's Paisley Park home was a giant room with shelves that filled up quickly. The door to the vault was sealed with a large spinning wheel.

The news of Prince's vault being opened comes as his sister, Tyka Nelson, claimed earlier this week that the singer had no will or trust, according to paperwork she filed in Minneapolis.

The documents obtained by ABC News, signed by Nelson, state, "I do not know of the existence of a will and have no reason to believe that the decedent executed testamentary documents in any form."

State law says that if Prince didn't have a will or trust, his estate is set to be divided between Nelson and his five half-siblings.

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Sat, 30 Apr 2016 08:53

NEW YORK (WABC) --

The FBI is notifying unsuspecting targets after the release of an ISIS hit list that includes thousands of New Yorkers.The list targets government employees with the State Department and Homeland Security, but there are also many average residents on the list who are now being informed that terror group has its eye on them.

Experts speculate it could be just another scare campaign and that there are no immediate threats, but still, the names and even some personal information was posted online in the last several days by an ISIS-related hacking group called the Caliphate Cyber United, also known as the Caliphate Cyber Army.

It reportedly listed as many as 3,600 names, intelligence experts believe, that may have been chosen at random from lists that might be several years old.ISIS has published online hit lists before, but with far fewer names as the current list. Last year, military personnel were supposedly targeted.

Of the New Yorkers on the list, none are particularly well-known. They also live in areas that vary in affluency, which is what leads law enforcement to believe it is a random fear-mongering project.

The FBI said in a statement that, "The FBI routinely notifies individuals and organizations of information collected during the course of an investigation that may be perceived as potentially threatening in nature."

If a terrorist group's goal is to instill terror, then experts say it behooves all of us to do the opposite. And if you are wondering if you are on the list, be advised that the FBI would contact you in such an event.

(Copyright (C)2016 WABC-TV. All Rights Reserved.)

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Sat, 30 Apr 2016 08:50

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British athletes model kit for Rio Olympics - 01:02

Big Ben to go silent for repairs - 00:49

Circus lions rescued in Latin America - 01:03

Prehistoric mother and child discovered - 01:09

A look back at some new tattoos - 01:05

Using mind control to fly drones - 01:17

Russia's Sochi hosts tattoo festival - 00:33

Christie's displays rare Blue diamond - 00:44

Discovery illuminates Etruscan society - 01:24

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Sat, 30 Apr 2016 08:49

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Fri, 29 Apr 2016 01:14

Portland Community College's ''whiteness history month'' has shed light on several concepts that have been brewing beneath the surface for years behind closed doors in academia. One such idea is called ''white fragility'', where you're racist if you push back against the people who imagine a world without whiteness or who openly say they want to breed white people out of existence. In fact, entire events have been based around this concept of ''white fragility''.

Let's let them define it: ''White fragility is a state in which even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves. These moves include the outward display of emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and behaviors such as argumentation, silence, and leaving the stress-inducing situation. These behaviors, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium.'' And ''White fragility is, at its essence, a gun level pushback. It's like the fight or flight response of white people who want to believe that they, and the world by extension, are less racially divisive than they really are.''

But why is there ''white fragility''? ''Because of their position of privilege and accustomed racial comfort, whites will often display racial arrogance by denying, debating, trivializing racism or critical thought regarding racial conflict''

The presenter, Melinda Bullen, goes on to desrcribe the ''emotions and behaviors'' of white fragility: ''If we identify as an ally, there's a danger in reveling and feeling special for doing the work. But ultimately that takes away, and puts attention back on the white person'' The emotions include Guilt, anger, relational, anesthetization, dismissiveness, disconnection, social impotence, silence, Appreciation or exaltation, and fear.

Bullen, who works as the ''Diversity Resource Center'' coordinator at Mt. Hood Community College, then explains some of the strategies for dealing with white fragility. ''White racism is ultimately a white problem and the burden for interrupting belongs to white people'' because ''So often whiteness isn't seen as a race. It's like 'everybody has a race' or whatever.'' You should also ''avoid seeking validation from the person of color you relate to the most'' because ''I want to be put up on that 'good white person' pedestal''.

And also: ''Seeing yourself as well-meaning removes responsibility for our actions'... Good intentions are one of the great hindrances to honest conversations about race. There's a feeling of action when we view a painful situation using the reason of good intention. But it doesn't do anything to affect the impact that the action had on someone else'... I want you to gather in groups of three. And I'd like you to discuss the impact white fragility has on your work, organization, or those you serve through our organization.''

Towards the end of the session, they concluded that ''whiteness history month'' ''comes at a cost to colleagues of color.''

So, if you try to dismantle racism and whiteness, then you're racist because that harms people of color. If you ignore it, you're still racist. If you're not actively trying to dismantle it, then you're also racist.

PCC president Sylvia Kelley can be reached at 971 722 4365.

Racist.

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Sun, 01 May 2016 10:26

Here is comedian Larry Wilmore's full speech at the 2016 White House correspondents' dinner. (AP)

Comedy Central star Larry Wilmore was the entertainer at the White House correspondents' dinner on Saturday night, where he delivered a roast full of insults for everyone: President Obama, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and of course, the media. There were some audible gasps in the room at some of this material, and we'll probably be debating for a while whether he went too far. Here are some of his harshest burns:

'-- ''Welcome to Negro Night here in Washington. Or as Fox News will report, 'Two thugs disrupt elegant dinner in DC.'''

'-- ''Nice to be here, though, at the White House correspondents' dinner where, as you know, they're gonna call it next year, 'Donald Trump Hosts a Luxurious Dinner Paid For By Mexico.'''

[For Obama's final correspondents' dinner, the obvious targets: Trump, Cruz and himself]

'-- ''A little bit about me: I am a black man who replaced a white man who pretended to be a TV newscaster. So yeah, in that way, Lester Holt and I have a lot in common.''

'-- ''I can't understand why everybody treats Donald Trump with kid gloves. Then I realize they're the only gloves that will fit his stupid little baby hands.''

[The best lines from Obama's White House correspondents' dinner speech]

'-- To Obama: ''I saw you hanging out with NBA players like Steph Curry, Golden State Warriors. That was cool. You know, it kind of makes sense too, because both of you like raining down bombs on people from long distances.''

'-- ''Speaking of drones, how is Wolf Blitzer still on television? Ask a follow up question! Hey Wolf, I'm ready to project tonight's winner: Anyone that isn't watching 'The Situation Room.'''

[Complete coverage of the 2016 White House correspondents' dinner]

'-- ''I have to say about the first lady, it is so nice to have dinner with you. She is the epitome of grace, class, and poise. Isn't she? She really is. Not to be confused with future first gentleman Bill Clinton whose three favorite strippers are named Grace, Class, and Poise.''

'-- ''Some of America's finest black journalists are here tonight. Don Lemon's here, too.''

'-- ''Hillary [Clinton] was flustered when a Black Lives Matter protester challenged her. I haven't seen a white lady that upset over being blindsided by a black person since Kelly Ripa.''

'-- ''The Treasury promised to put Harriet Tubman's face on the $10 bill, but now we have to wait until 2030 for the $20 bill. Man, women haven't been this deceived by a Bill since Cosby.''

'-- ''Chris Christie was supposed to be here tonight. I don't know if he made it. He RSVPd for three: He, his wife, and Donald Trump's dry-cleaning. I shouldn't make fun. Chris lost a lot of weight recently, didn't he? This is what he said, he said he just eliminated everything from his routine that wasn't necessary. Like his self-pride and dignity.''

[The single best joke told by every president, from Obama to Washington]

'-- ''Man, everybody hates Ted Cruz. Even OJ Simpson said, 'That guy is just hard to like.'''

'-- ''There's a joke going around the Internet that Ted Cruz is actually the Zodiac Killer. I'm not making that up. Come on, that is absurd. Some people actually liked the Zodiac Killer.''

'-- ''John Boehner came out of retirement and described Ted Cruz as Lucifer in the flesh. Lucifer. I mean that is not fair, man. Lucifer is horrible '-- but he's not the Zodiac Killer.''

'-- ''MSNBC is here tonight. Yep, which actually now stands for 'Missing a Significant Number of Black Correspondents'. . . MSNBC got rid of so many black people, I thought Boko Haram was running that network.''

'-- ''You look terrible, Mr. President. No, you do, man. Look at you. Your hair is so white it tried to punch me at a Trump rally.''

'-- ''I am impressed with the people in this room. There are so many rich, powerful people in this room. You know, it's nice to finally match the names to the faces in the Panama Papers.''

'-- ''C-SPAN, of course, is carrying tonight's dinner live. . . Which is ironic because most of the viewers are not. It is true, guys. C-SPAN is the number-one network among people who died watching TV and no one's found them yet. No, but it is good to be on C-SPAN. I am glad I am not on your rival network 'No Input HDMI-1.'''

'-- ''CNN's here tonight. I have not watched CNN for a long time. I used to watch it back when it was a news network. I don't know about you guys, but I cannot get enough of that CNN countdown clock. Now we can see exactly when they hit zero in the ratings.''

'-- ''I am confused with Bernie Sanders's stance on guns. He seems to be anti-gun everywhere except Vermont. Bernie doesn't care who gets a gun in Vermont. [fake whispers] There are no black people in Vermont.''

'-- ''Bernie got in trouble for saying Hillary Clinton was unqualified. She is extremely qualified. In fact, when you factor in all of her policy flip-flops, she is at least several of the most qualified candidates ever to run for president.''

'-- ''Donald Trump looks like the rich dad in every episode of 'Law & Order' where the frat kid accidentally strangles a hooker. Or as they say here at the Washington Hilton, Tuesdays.''

'-- ''The president and first lady will return to private life. It is going to be different for you guys. Nobody to wash the dishes or change the bed linens, sweep the floors. You are going to miss Joe Biden.''

'-- ''I just got a note from the president saying that if you want another drink you should order it now because the bar will be closing down. Of course, he said the same thing about Guantanamo so you have at least another eight years.''

More 2016 WHCD coverage:

I sat next to Donald Trump at the infamous 2011 White House correspondents' dinner

Barack Obama, the first alt-comedy president

President Obama's 10 most hilarious lines from the White House correspondents' dinners

The details on Michelle Obama's WHCD dress

Video: Obama's last correspondents' dinner speech, in 3 minutes

The complete transcript of President Obama's speech

Video: Larry Wilmore's correspondents' dinner speech, in 2 minutes

How Helen Mirren won the White House correspondents' dinner '-- before it even started

The night the White House upstaged White House correspondents' weekend

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Source: Telegraaf.nl - prive

Sun, 01 May 2016 08:59

De Amsterdammer vertegenwoordigt Nederland dit jaar op de grootste muziekwedstrijd ter wereld. In de vertrekhal op Schiphol wist de 23-jarige zanger direct de harten van de KLM-stewards en -stewardessen te veroveren. Verder werd, vlak voordat er werd ingecheckt, het Nederlandse lied Slow Down a capella opgevoerd.

Mmaandag 2 mei is een belangrijke dag. Dan moet Nederland laten zien wat men op het podium in Stockholm waard is. De Belgische regisseur Hans Pannecoucke heeft, in nauwe samenwerking met Douwe Bob, een performance ingestudeerd. Hoe dat eruit komt te zien, wilde de zanger nog niet zeggen.

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Source: Lame Cherry

Sun, 01 May 2016 07:58

As another Lame Cherry exclusive in matter anti matter.

Vehement racism is now the in vogue norm against White Americans in a hatred which is something of a proof that White Christian America not only had the hand of Mercy offered to non Americans and property, but has now had it gnawed off.

This is about the race hate against American Donald Trump and his supporters, as created by "trumpster" Rush Limbaugh, "trumper" Amanda Carpenter and "trumpeter" Ted Cruz in the Nigger names for America.

The Afroid of the left though is the compliment of Limbaugh Cruz racism, as it is now sanctioned by image Obama and his race hating equals in thee most disgusting exhibition at another historical White House event.

This is "comedian" Larry Wilmore's idea of comedy.

Your hair is so white, it tried to punch me at a Trump rally,'' Wilmore joked. ''The president's hair is so white it keeps saying 'All Lives Matter.'''

This is image Obama's idea of comedy.

''Donald Trump is here tonight!'' the president began. ''I know that he's taken some flak lately. But no one is happier, no one is prouder, to put this birth certificate matter to rest than The Donald'...That's because he can finally get back to focusing on the issues that matter'--like, did we fake the moon landing? What really happened in Roswell? And where are Biggie and Tupac?''

Americans have a long memory, so from Limbaugh Cruz racial mockery of Donald Trump and Trump Americans to what is the Wilmore Obama version of race hatred against White Americans, the Courts will one day be under the gavel of American 1776 or French 1789, the People's Justice is never comedic, but it delights the mob thoroughly ala lantern.Racism is now institutionalized against the American Race inside America.

agtG

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Sun, 01 May 2016 06:31

The government hacking into phones and seizing computers remotely? It's not the plot of a dystopian blockbuster summer movie. It's a proposal from an obscure committee that proposes changes to court procedures'--and if we do nothing, it will go into effect in December.

The proposal comes from the advisory committee on criminal rules for the Judicial Conference of the United States. The amendment would update Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, creating a sweeping expansion of law enforcement's ability to engage in hacking and surveillance. The Supreme Court just passed the proposal to Congress, which has until December 1 to disavow the change or it becomes the rule governing every federal court across the country. This is part of a statutory process through which federal courts may create new procedural rules, after giving public notice and allowing time for comment, under a ''rules enabling act.''

The Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure set the ground rules for federal criminal prosecutions. The rules cover everything from correcting clerical errors in a judgment to which holidays a court will be closed on'--all the day-to-day procedural details that come with running a judicial system.

The key word here is ''procedural.'' By law, the rules and proposals are supposed to be procedural and must not change substantive rights.

But the amendment to Rule 41 isn't procedural at all. It creates new avenues for government hacking that were never approved by Congress.

The proposal would grant a judge the ability to issue a warrant to remotely access, search, seize, or copy data when ''the district where the media or information is located has been concealed through technological means'' or when the media are on protected computers that have been ''damaged without authorization and are located in five or more districts.'' It would grant this authority to any judge in any district where activities related to the crime may have occurred.

To understand all the implications of this rule change, let's break this into two segments.

The first part of this change would grant authority to practically any judge to issue a search warrant to remotely access, seize, or copy data relevant to a crime when a computer was using privacy-protective tools to safeguard one's location. Many different commonly used tools might fall into this category. For example, people who use Tor, folks running a Tor node, or people using a VPN would certainly be implicated. It might also extend to people who deny access to location data for smartphone apps because they don't feel like sharing their location with ad networks. It could even include individuals who change the country setting in an online service, like folks who change the country settings of their Twitter profile in order to read uncensored Tweets.

There are countless reasons people may want to use technology to shield their privacy. From journalists communicating with sources to victims of domestic violence seeking information on legal services, people worldwide depend on privacy tools for both safety and security. Millions of people who have nothing in particular to hide may also choose to use privacy tools just because they're concerned about government surveillance of the Internet, or because they don't like leaving a data trail around haphazardly.

If this rule change is not stopped, anyone who is using any technological means to safeguard their location privacy could find themselves suddenly in the jurisdiction of a prosecutor-friendly or technically-na¯ve judge, anywhere in the country.

The second part of the proposal is just as concerning. It would grant authorization to a judge to issue a search warrant for hacking, seizing, or otherwise infiltrating computers that may be part of a botnet. This means victims of malware could find themselves doubly infiltrated: their computers infected with malware and used to contribute to a botnet, and then government agents given free rein to remotely access their computers as part of the investigation. Even with the best of intentions, a government agent could well cause as much or even more harm to a computer through remote access than the malware that originally infected the computer. Malicious actors may even be able to hijack the malware the government uses to infiltrate botnets, because the government often doesn't design its malware securely. Government access to the computers of botnet victims also raises serious privacy concerns, as a wide range of sensitive, unrelated personal data could well be accessed during the investigation. This is a dangerous expansion of powers, and not something to be granted without any public debate on the topic.

Make no mistake: the Rule 41 proposal implicates people well beyond U.S. borders. This update expands the jurisdiction of judges to cover any computer user in the world who is using technology to protect their location privacy or is unwittingly part of a botnet. People both inside and outside of the United States should be equally concerned about this proposal.

The change to Rule 41 isn't merely a procedural update. It significantly expands the hacking capabilities of the United States government without any discussion or public debate by elected officials. If members of the intelligence community believe these tools are necessary to advancing their investigations, then this is not the path forward. Only elected members of Congress should be writing laws, and they should be doing so in a matter that considers the privacy, security, and civil liberties of people impacted.

Rule 41 seeks to sidestep the legislative process while making sweeping sacrifices in our security. Congress should reject the proposal completely.

Read EFF and Access Now's joint testimony on Rule 41.

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Sun, 01 May 2016 06:29

April 28, 2016 Honorable Paul D. Ryan Speaker of the House of Representatives Washington, D.C. 20515 Dear Mr. Speaker: I have the honor to submit to the Congre ss the amendments to the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure that have been adopted by the Supreme Court of the United States pursuant to Section 2075 of Title 28, United States Code. Accompanying these rules are the following materials submitted to the Court for its consideration pursuant to Section 331 of Title 28 , United States Code: a transmittal letter to the Court dated October 9, 2015; a redline version of the rules with Committee Notes; an excerpt from the September 2015 Report of the Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure to the Judicial Conference of the United States; and an excerpt from the May 6, 2015 Report of the Advisory Committee on Criminal Rules. Sincerely, /s/ John G. Roberts

April 28, 2016 Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr. President, United States Senate Washington, D.C. 20510 Dear Mr. President: I have the honor to submit to the Congre ss the amendments to the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure that have been adopted by the Supreme Court of the United States pursuant to Section 2075 of Title 28, United States Code. Accompanying these rules are the following materials submitted to the Court for its consideration pursuant to Section 331 of Title 28 , United States Code: a transmittal letter to the Court dated October 9, 2015; a redline version of the rules with Committee Notes; an excerpt from the September 2015 Report of the Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure to the Judicial Conference of the United States; and an excerpt from the May 6, 2015 Report of the Advisory Committee on Criminal Rules. Sincerely, /s/ John G. Roberts

April 28, 2016 SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES ORDERED: 1. That the Federal Rules of Criminal Pr ocedure be, and they hereby are, amended by including therein amendments to Criminal Rules 4, 41, and 45. [ See infra pp. .] 2. That the foregoing amendments to the Fede ral Rules of Criminal Procedure shall take effect on December 1, 2016, and shall govern in a ll proceedings in criminal cases thereafter commenced and, insofar as just and pract icable, all proceedings then pending. 3. That THE CHIEF JUSTICE be, and hereby is, authorized to transmit to the Congress the foregoing amendments to the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure in accordance with the provisions of Section 2075 of Title 28, United States Code.

PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE FEDERAL RULES OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE Rule 4. Arrest Warrant or Summons on a Complaint (a) Issuance. If the complaint or one or more affidavits filed with the complaint establish probable cause to believe that an offense has been committed and that the defendant committed it, the judge must issue an arrest warrant to an officer authorized to execute it. At the request of an attorney for the government, the judge must issue a summons, instead of a warrant, to a person authorized to serve it. A judge may issue more than one warrant or summons on the same complaint. If an individual defendant fails to appear in response to a summons, a judge may, and upon request of an attorney for the government must, issue a warrant. If an organizational defendant fa ils to appear in response to a summons, a judge may take any action authorized by United States law.

2 FEDERAL RULES OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE* * * * * (c) Execution or Service, and Return. (1) By Whom. Only a marshal or other authorized officer may execute a warrant. Any person authorized to serve a summons in a federal civil action may serve a summons. (2) Location. A warrant may be executed, or a summons served, within the jurisdiction of the United States or anywhere else a federal statute authorizes an arrest. A summons to an organization under Rule 4(c)(3)(D) may also be served at a place not within a judicial district of the United States. (3) Manner. (A) A warrant is executed by arresting the defendant. Upon a rrest, an officer possessing the original or a duplicate

3 FEDERAL RULES OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE original warrant must show it to the defendant. If the officer does not possess the warrant, the officer must inform the defendant of the warrant's existence and of the offense charged and, at the defendant's request, must show the original or a duplicate original warrant to the defendant as soon as possible. (B) A summons is served on an individual defendant: (i) by delivering a copy to the defendant personally; or (ii) by leaving a copy at the defendant's residence or usual pl ace of abode with a person of suitable age and discretion residing at that location and by

4 FEDERAL RULES OF CRIMINAL PROCEDUREmailing a copy to the defendant's last known address. (C) A summons is served on an organization in a judicial district of the United States by delivering a copy to an officer, to a managing or general ag ent, or to another agent appointed or legally authorized to receive service of process. If the agent is one authorized by statute and the statute so requires, a copy must also be mailed to the organization. (D) A summons is serv ed on an organization not within a judicial district of the United States: (i) by delivering a copy, in a manner authorized by the foreign jurisdiction's law, to an officer, to a

5 FEDERAL RULES OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE managing or general agent, or to an agent appointed or legally authorized to receive service of process; or (ii) by any other means that gives notice, including one that is: (a) stipulated by the parties; (b) undertaken by a foreign authority in response to a letter rogatory, a letter of request, or a request submitted under an applicable international agreement; or (c) permitted by an applicable international agreement. * * * * *

6 FEDERAL RULES OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURERule 41. Search and Seizure * * * * * (b) Venue for a Warrant Application. At the request of a federal law enforcement o fficer or an attorney for the government: * * * * * (6) a magistrate judge with authority in any district where activities related to a crime may have occurred has authority to issue a warrant to use remote access to search electronic storage media and to seize or copy electronically stored information located within or outside that district if: (A) the district where the media or information is located has been concealed through technological means; or

7 FEDERAL RULES OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE (B) in an investigation of a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1030(a)(5), the media are protected computers that have been damaged without authorization and are located in five or more districts. * * * * * (f) Executing and Returning the Warrant. (1) Warrant to Search for and Seize a Person or Property. * * * * * (C) Receipt. The officer executing the warrant must give a copy of the warrant and a receipt for the property taken to the person from whom, or from whose premises, the property was taken or leave a copy of the warrant and receipt at the place where the officer took the property. For a warrant to

8 FEDERAL RULES OF CRIMINAL PROCEDUREuse remote access to search electronic storage media and seize or copy electronically stored information, the officer must make reasonable efforts to serve a copy of the warrant and receipt on the person whose property was searched or who possessed the information that was seized or copied. Service may be accomplished by any means, including electronic means, reasonably calculated to reach that person. * * * * *

9 FEDERAL RULES OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE Rule 45. Computing and Extending Time * * * * * (c) Additional Time After C ertain Kinds of Service. Whenever a party must or may act within a specified time after being served a nd service is made under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5(b)(2)(C) (mailing), (D) (leaving with the cler k), or (F) (other means consented to), 3 days are added after the period would otherwise expire unde r subdivision (a).

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Sun, 01 May 2016 06:25

Washington, D.C. - New America's Open Technology Institute (OTI) today called on Congress to block new proposed changes to the federal rules around search warrants, changes that for the first time would explicitly authorize law enforcement to secretly and remotely hack into targeted computers of both suspects and victims alike.

The Justice Department first proposed these changes to Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to the advisory committee established by the federal court system to recommend changes to federal court rules, a move that was opposed not only by OTI--which testified against the changes--but also Google and a wide range of privacy and civil liberties groups. Once the committee approved the proposal, it then went to the Supreme Court for its approval. Today, the Supreme Court transmitted those rules to Congress for its consideration. If Congress does not act before December 1st of this year, the changes will automatically go into effect.

The proposed rules, which the Justice Department claims are purely procedural but in OTI's opinion constitute a significant and substantive change to the law and raise serious constitutional questions, would do two things. First, they would allow the government to get search warrants to remotely hack computers even when it doesn't know their location. Current rules only let judges issue warrants for property that's within their own districts, which has led to at least one court rejecting an application for a hacking warrant, and in past weeks has led to twocourts suppressing evidence that was obtained in such a search. Second, they would allow the government to take the unprecedented step of hacking into innocent people's computers based on the fact that they have already been hacked into by computer criminals, such as computers that--unknown to their victims--have been turned into part of a ''botnet'' to conduct hacking attacks on other computer systems.

The following statement can be attributed to Kevin Bankston, Director of New America's Open Technology Institute:

''Whatever euphemism the FBI uses to describe it--whether they call it a 'remote access search' or a 'network investigative technique'--what we're talking about is government hacking, and this obscure rule change would authorize a whole lot more of it. Like wiretapping, hacking is uniquely invasive compared to regular searches and raises serious issues under our Fourth Amendment, which protects us from unreasonable searches. Unlike wiretapping, however, Congress has never authorized government hacking nor established protective rules for the road to ensure it's not abused. Government hacking also raises a host of new and serious risks to privacy and security that wiretapping doesn't, including the risk that the malware used by the government might spread to innocent people's computers or cause unintended damage.''

''Instead of directly asking Congress for authorization to break into computers, the Justice Department is now trying to quietly circumvent the legislative process by pushing for a change in court rules, pretending that its government hacking proposal is a mere procedural formality rather than the massive change to the law that it really is. Congress shouldn't let the Justice Department and an obscure judicial rules committee write substantive law, especially on a novel and complex issue with serious privacy, security, and civil liberties implications. If government hacking is to be allowed at all, it should only be done with authorization from Congress, with strong protective rules in place, and after deep investigation and robust debate. We've never had any public debate about this important issue even though the feds have quietly been doing remote hacks on computers since the turn of the century. Now is the time for that debate. Congress should stop this power-grab in its tracks and instead demand answers from the FBI, which so far has been ducking Congress' questions on this issue and fighting in court to keep its hacking tactics secret.''

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Sun, 01 May 2016 06:22

Loading ...Absent action by Congress, the rule change will go into effect in DecemberThe U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday quietly approved a rule change that would allow a federal magistrate judge to issue a search and seizure warrant for any target using anonymity software like Tor to browse the internet.

Absent action by U.S. Congress, the rule change (pdf) will go into effect in December. The FBI would then be able to search computers remotely'--even if the bureau doesn't know where that computer is located'--if a user has anonymity software installed on it.

The rule changes, which the FBI said were necessary to combat cyber crime, come amid escalating tensions between the intelligence community and technology and privacy advocates, and just a day after the U.S. House of Representatives advanced a bill that would require the government to obtain a probable cause warrant from a judge before seizing data stored with tech companies such as Facebook, Google, and Dropbox.

''Whatever euphemism the FBI uses to describe it'--whether they call it a 'remote access search' or a 'network investigative technique''--what we're talking about is government hacking, and this obscure rule change would authorize a lot more of it,'' said Kevin Bankston, director of the policy advocacy group Open Technology Institute (OTI), which previously testified against the changes.

''Congress should stop this power-grab in its tracks and instead demand answers from the FBI, which so far has been ducking Congress' questions on this issue and fighting in court to keep its hacking tactics secret.''

As of April, over one million people use Tor just to browse Facebook, the social media platform noted in a blog post.

Chief Justice John Roberts submitted the change to Congress as part of the court's annual collection of amendments to the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, which inform every federal prosecution in the country.

In its current incarnation, Rule 41 stipulates that magistrate judges can only authorize searches within their own jurisdiction. The amendment would allow them to issue warrants to hack into and seize information on a computer if its location has been ''concealed through technical means.''

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), one of the more outspoken privacy advocates in Congress, slammed the proposal as a ''sprawling expansion of government surveillance'' and called on Congress to reject it.

''These amendments will have significant consequences for Americans' privacy and the scope of the government's powers to conduct remote surveillance and searches of electronic devices,'' Wyden said in a statement. ''Under the proposed rules, the government would now be able to obtain a single warrant to access and search thousands or millions of computers at once; and the vast majority of the effected computers would belong to the victims, not the perpetrators, of a cyber crime.''

''These are complex issues involving privacy, digital security and our Fourth Amendment rights, which require thoughtful debate and public vetting,'' Wyden said. ''Substantive policy changes like these are clearly a job for Congress, the American people and their elected representatives, not an obscure bureaucratic process.''

Originally released by Nadia Prupis on Common Dreams.

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Sun, 01 May 2016 05:10

Courtney KirchoffThursday December 10 2015

After every mass shooting that doesn't involve a black shooter (like all of Chicago or gay and black Vester Flannigan), leftists drag out their arsenal of anti-gun ideas, in hopes of finally stripping Americans of their Second Amendment right. One favored weapon in their war chest is the ''gun show loophole.'' If you listen to leftists, this is what the gun show loophole is:

Anyone can go to a gun show and purchase a gun from a seller without a background check. Therefore, according to leftists, gun shows are filled with criminals looking to evade the law. It's a gun-buying free for all, filled with hicks, nuts, racists and anarchists.

But is that perception true? Eh, not really. When I say ''not really'' I mean no. Shouting through a bullhorn ala Reverend Sharpton no. Here's the trick, though: liberals mislead on what the gun show loophole actually is.

This is how CNN defined it in a recent article about Hillary Clinton:

Under current law, gun buyers are allowed to purchase weapons from private ''occasional'' sellers without background checks.

In my researching frenzy, I found that to be true. The catch is how we define ''private, occasional sellers.'' Clinton, Obama, Harry Reid, Diane Feinstein and your neighbor who threw eggs at your car for daring to slap an NRA bumpersticker on it, all believe that every seller at a gun show is a ''private, occasional seller.'' But they're wrong. Perhaps because they've never been to a gun show in their entire lives, or because they just don't care about facts. Knowing leftists like I do, I'll go with both.

Here be some facts, yo. From the Cato Institute:

Since 1938, persons selling firearms have been required to obtain a federal firearms license. If a dealer sells a gun from a storefront, from a room in his home or from a table at a gun show, the rules are exactly the same: he can get authorization from the FBI for the sale only after the FBI runs its ''instant'' background check (which often takes days to complete). As a result, firearms are the most severely regulated consumer product in the United States '-- the only product for which FBI permission is required for every single sale.

Most people selling guns at a gun show are gun dealers. All the same rules and regulations apply to gun dealers. Got it? Not that they matter to people who are allergic to facts, but here are some more about guns from gun show purchases, also from the Cato Institute:

According to an NIJ study released in December 1997 (''Homicide in Eight U.S. Cities,'' a report that covers much more than homicide), only 2 percent of criminal guns come from gun shows.

That's not very many. But two percent for leftists warrants more attention than that. Relevant side note: the homosexual population is less than two percent. Look at how the left via Hollywood and the media blew THAT out of proportion. Okay, now back to guns:

That finding is consistent with a mid-1980s study for the NIJ, which investigated the gun purchase and use habits of convicted felons in 12 state prisons. The study (later published as the book Armed and Considered Dangerous) found that gun shows were such a minor source of criminal gun acquisition that they were not even worth reporting as a separate figure.

(Of course some criminal gun acquisition at gun shows is perpetrated by ''straw purchasers'' who are legal gun buyers acting as surrogates for the individual who wants the gun. Straw purchases have been federal felonies since 1968.)

As someone who's been to a gun show before, let me describe the scene: picture a giant room, sometimes a convention center. Usually you have to pay to enter the show. The last show I went to, I had to show I didn't have a gun (for reasons that are self-explanatory). Vendors at the show sell more than just guns. A lot of vendors sell books, accessories (holsters, belts, conceal carry purses, food, etc.). Since this is a capitalistic enterprise, vendors have to pay up to sell their goods at the show.

''Is that a RUGER MINI-30!!!???''

Which means gun shows are a horrible place for ''private, occasional sellers,'' which is what the ''gun show loophole'' is referring to. From The Washington Times:

Gun shows aren't the equivalent of the Wild West. The vast majority of vendors at the shows are fully licensed dealers who must run the FBI check at the time of sale. What the gun grabbers are really after are transactions between private individuals trading or selling their personal property.

Let's switch up commodities for a second. A car dealer is someone who sells a crap ton of cars in a year. It's what he does for a living. A private seller is that guy who sells you his old El Camino for $200 bucks. You probably shouldn't buy it. Have some pride. He doesn't sell cars all the time, in fact he may only sell one or two cars in his life. That's the difference between a dealer and a private seller. The same applies to a gun. Walk into a gun show and you're going to encounter gun dealers. But your grandma who's selling her late husband's Colt isn't a dealer. She can sell or give the Colt without running a background check. Because she's a private, occasional seller.

Review: vendors at gun shows are primarily gun dealers for obvious reasons (makes no financial sense for someone to sell at a gun show if they're not selling large quantities of guns). They have to run a background check. That's the law. So stop harping on about it. We're sick of it.

Depending on your state's law, a private individual can sell a gun to another private individual.

That's it. But here's the takeaway: criminals, by definition, do not obey the laws. So someone who clears a background check can be a ''straw purchaser'' and give the gun to his crap weasel friend who wouldn't have passed a background check. There's not a single law you can put on the books that a criminal cannot get around. Heck, we outlawed murder a long time ago. Let's talk about how well that worked out. Your neighborhood hoodlum will laugh at your laws as he splutters away in the El Camino.

Which is why good guys need their guns.

~Courtney Kirchoff

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Sun, 01 May 2016 04:18

The Week That Was: iPhone sales drop for first time ever

CNBC's Seema Mody looks back at the week's top business and financial stories.

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CNBC's Bob Pisani looks at the day's market action for the last trading day in April.

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Full ScreenExit Full ScreenElectric vehicles in Hong Kong may indirectly be the cause of almost 20 percent more carbon dioxide emissions than gasoline-fueled motors, undermining the city's efforts to get 'green' cars on the road, according to Sanford C. Bernstein.

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG

That's because Hong Kong relies on coal for more than half its power generation, according to Neil Beveridge, a Hong Kong-based analyst at Bernstein. The city should focus on shifting its power mix toward natural gas and renewables first before encouraging the use of electric vehicles through incentives like tax breaks, he said.

''Electric vehicles only make sense in countries where the carbon intensity of electricity generation is low,'' Beveridge wrote in a report published Wednesday. ''In Hong Kong, and more broadly China, electric vehicles are increasing rather than reducing pollution, with taxpayers effectively being asked to subsidize this.''

(C) Provided by BloombergHong Kong has more than 4,000 registered electric vehicles, including Tesla Motors Inc.'s Model S, which Bernstein used in its analysis, and Nissan Motor Co.'s Leaf. Over a 150,000 kilometer lifetime, a Model S in Hong Kong may result in the release of 4.4 metric tons of carbon dioxide more than a BMW AG 320i, after accounting for the carbon intensity of the city's power generation and the production of the car battery, as well as crude oil extraction, transportation and refining.

Green Expectations

Tesla's own analysis estimates the Model S in Hong Kong produces about half the CO2 per kilometer than an equivalent gas-powered car, the company said in an e-mail. ''Moreover, as the percentage of grid power from solar and wind continues to increase, the CO2 from electricity drops with each passing year and the gap widens even further.''

Exemptions from registration taxes save Model S owners about HK$382,500 ($49,300). By comparison, the levy on a 320i would carry an additional cost of HK$206,300, or about 38 percent of the sticker price, according to Bernstein's analysis. The government of Hong Kong has passed up as much as HK$1.5 billion in revenue because of these incentives.

Hong Kong generated about 53 percent of its power from coal as of 2012, compared with about 22 percent each for nuclear and natural gas, according to its Environmental Protection Department. In mainland China, coal accounts for more than 60 percent of primary energy.

Long Tailpipe

Hong Kong is aiming to increase the proportion of natural gas in its energy mix to about 50 percent by 2020, according to the EPD.

''The reduced reliance on coal in the fuel mix will make the greenhouse gas benefit of EVs greater,'' the department said in an e-mail. ''Replacing conventional vehicles with EVs can help reduce roadside air pollution and public exposure to harmful air pollutants.''

The idea that electric cars are no cleaner than the fuel burned to generate their power has been termed the ''long tailpipe'' of the industry. This can be mitigated as the electric grid gets greener, improving the environmental advantage of battery-powered cars.

China Drive

Tesla is seeking a Chinese production partner for its electric cars and is working with the Hong Kong government on rolling out home charging stations, co-founder Elon Musk said when he visited the city in January. The automaker said this month that its received more than 325,000 reservations for its cheapest car, the Model 3, far exceeding its expectations as customers line up for the $35,000 small electric car more than a year ahead of when its slated to hit the streets.

Beveridge is a Hong Kong-based analyst who covers the oil and gas industry. He holds a long position in BP Plc, according to the report. He has ''market perform'' recommendations on China's biggest oil and gas producer, PetroChina Co., and Asia's biggest refiner, China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. He's ranked liquefied natural gas producers Santos Ltd., InterOil Corp. and Inpex Corp. as ''outperform.''

--With assistance from Dana Hull To contact the reporter on this story: Aibing Guo in Hong Kong at aguo10@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ramsey Al-Rikabi at ralrikabi@bloomberg.net, Abhay Singh

(C)2016 Bloomberg L.P.

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Sat, 30 Apr 2016 16:07

For a decade, Dweezil Zappa, a son of the rock star Frank Zappa and a noted guitarist in his own right, has been paying tribute to his father's music under the name Zappa Plays Zappa. The project, which features exacting performances of Frank Zappa's famously complex music, has toured the world and won a Grammy.

But when Dweezil Zappa takes the project on the road this summer, it will be with a far less catchy name: Dweezil Zappa Plays Frank Zappa.

''It doesn't exactly roll off the tongue,'' he said in an interview, ''but this is being done under duress.''

The name change is the most visible sign of a rift that has grown within one of the rock world's most famous families since the death last year of Gail Zappa, the widow of Frank Zappa, who had managed her husband's musical legacy with a firm hand since his death in 1993.

This month, the Zappa Family Trust, which owns the rights to Mr. Zappa's music, informed Dweezil that he did not have permission to tour as Zappa Plays Zappa '-- the name is a trademark owned by the trust '-- and that he risked copyright infringement damages of $150,000 each time he played a song without proper permission.

''My last name is Zappa; my father was Frank Zappa,'' Dweezil said. ''But I am not allowed to use the name on its own. I'm not allowed to use a picture of him. I'm not allowed to use my own connection with him without some sort of deal to be struck.''

Business disputes are familiar territory among celebrity siblings, and members of groups like the Doors and Creedence Clearwater Revival have also fought over the use of a valuable band name. As the 1960s rock generation ages, these types of disputes may become more common, music lawyers say.

After Gail Zappa's death, control of the trust passed to two of the four Zappa children: Ahmet, a son, who controls the day-to-day operations of the business, and Diva, a daughter. Dweezil and his sister Moon are not trustees, but all four children are beneficiaries, and tensions have flared between the two sides over the Zappa Plays Zappa tours and a recent Kickstarter campaign for a documentary film.

Dweezil and Ahmet, who were once so close that they recorded two albums together and made regular appearances on late-night TV, now seem to communicate primarily through lawyers, with disputes over trademarks and music licensing.

In addition to changing the name of his tribute project, Dweezil Zappa said that he would not carry any of the trust's official merchandise or use any images of his father '-- whose likeness is also controlled by the trust '-- in promoting the tour. He will, however, play the same songs from his father's catalog that he always has.

In an interview, Ahmet Zappa said he was not feuding with his brother but rather maintaining the integrity of the estate and preserving Zappa Plays Zappa as a family enterprise, available to any of the four children.

''I am not standing in the way of Dweezil playing the music,'' Ahmet said. ''He would just have to be in accordance with the family trust.''

Dweezil Zappa said that changing the name of his tour would ''emancipate'' him from dealing with the family trust. His complaints in some ways resemble those of a disgruntled artist warring with a record company: lack of communication, inexplicable delays, disagreements over payments from merchandise sales. The dispute also spills over into the division of estate property, like a set of guitars that Dweezil said were given to him by his father but, he says, were ''repossessed'' by his mother.

But the most contentious part of the dispute is over the minutiae of music licensing, an area in which the Zappa estate has long taken controversial stances. The family trust argues that for a show consisting largely of Frank Zappa's music, performers cannot rely on the standard performing-rights licenses that music venues typically get from agencies like Ascap or BMI, but instead need special permission from the estate for ''grand rights,'' a term that usually applies to theatrical presentations.

Gail Zappa and Ascap pursued a number of bands under this theory, with mixed success. Project/Object, a well-known Zappa tribute group, had some of its shows canceled by clubs that had received legal letters, but Andr(C) Cholmondeley, a member of the band, said that the group was advised by a lawyer that it did not need a special license, and so has never gotten one. ''We simply adhered to U.S.A. law,'' Mr. Cholmondeley said in an email.

What makes a piece of music dramatic is not clearly stated in copyright law, but Conrad M. Rippy, a lawyer who has worked in both theater and music, said that it generally needed to meet several criteria.

''Is it performed in a place where you generally would perform a theatrical work? Are people wearing costumes? Does it advance a narrative story line?'' Mr. Rippy said. ''The closer you get to answer those questions 'Yes,' the more it looks like that's a grand right. A tribute band playing a Frank Zappa song in a club meets none of those tests.''

Dweezil Zappa said that while his mother charged him an ''exorbitant fee'' to use the name Zappa Plays Zappa, he has never paid for a grand rights license.

For the Zappas, the dispute seems to have divided a once-tight-knit family, whose children were very much a part of their father's musical career. Moon, the eldest child, sang as a teenager on Frank Zappa's only Top 40 single, ''Valley Girl,'' in 1982.

Ahmet said he was perplexed by the claims by his brother, whom he praised as a supremely talented guitarist and ''the funniest dude.'' He added: ''Maybe he's grieving. For all of us it's been superemotional.'' (Dweezil's answer: ''There is obvious deceit in my brother's response. His actions speak louder than words.'')

The Dweezil Zappa Plays Frank Zappa tour will begin in July, with what Dweezil said would be a crew of ''highly skilled musicians'' performing his father's music faithfully.

Dweezil said he was eager to be free of the demands of the estate, but he was concerned that the name change might confuse fans or erode the good will he has built up with his audience over a decade of Zappa Plays Zappa shows.

''I just hope people will understand,'' he said, ''that the only thing I'm changing is the name.''

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Sat, 30 Apr 2016 15:54

vrijdag 29 april 2016, 19:04

HILVERSUM (ANP) - Thierry Baudet, een van de initiatiefnemers van het referendum over het associatieverdrag tussen de EU en Oekra¯ne, heeft premier Mark Rutte voor de rechter gesleept. Die neemt de uitslag niet serieus, vindt Baudet, die vrijdag een dagvaarding heeft verstuurd. Dat zei hij in het EO-programma Dit is de dag op NPO Radio 1.

Bij het referendum begin deze maand stemde een meerderheid tegen het verdrag. In artikel 11 van de wet daarover staat dat het kabinet dan zo snel mogelijk het associatieverdrag moet goedkeuren of afwijzen. Maar Rutte wil de komende maanden onderhandelen, om te kijken of het verdrag kan worden aangepast. ,,Er valt niets te onderhandelen, de keuze is A of B'', aldus Baudet.

'Europa Nu beschrijft helder, onafhankelijk en actueel het belangrijkste nieuws uit Europa'

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Sat, 30 Apr 2016 10:01

Pneumonia, an infection of the lungs, needlessly affects millions of people worldwide each year. Pneumonia infections can often be prevented and can usually be treated.

Globally, pneumonia kills nearly 1 million children younger than 5 years of age each year. This is greater than the number of deaths from any infectious disease, such as HIV infection, malaria or tuberculosis.

Pneumonia isn't just a public health issue in developing countries though. Each year in the United States, about 1 million people have to seek care in a hospital due to pneumonia, and about 50,000 people die from the disease. Most of the people affected by pneumonia in the United States are adults.

Many of these deaths'--both globally and in the United States'--could be prevented with vaccines and appropriate treatment (like antibiotics and antivirals).

Pneumococcal Recommendations for Older AdultsCDC recommends 2 pneumococcal vaccines for adults 65 years or older.

You should receive a dose of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) first, followed at least one year later by a dose of the pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23).If you've already received any doses of PPSV23, the dose of PCV13 should be given at least 1 year after receipt of the most recent PPSV23 dose.If you've already received a dose of PCV13 at a younger age, another dose is not recommended.Learn more.

Lower Your Risk with VaccinesIn the United States, there are vaccines that help prevent infection by some of the bacteria and viruses that can cause pneumonia:

Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib)Influenza (flu)MeaslesPertussis (whooping cough)PneumococcusVaricella (chickenpox)These vaccines are safe, but side effects can occur. Most side effects are mild or moderate, meaning they do not affect daily activities. See the vaccine information statements for each vaccine to learn more about the most common side effects.

Protect Your Health with These Healthy Living PracticesTry to stay away from sick people. If you are sick, stay away from others as much as possible to keep from getting them sick. You can also help prevent respiratory infections by:

Washing your hands regularlyCleaning surfaces that are touched a lotCoughing or sneezing into a tissue or into your elbow or sleeveLimiting contact with cigarette smokeTreating and preventing conditions like diabetesChest x-ray of an adult patient with pneumonia.

What Is Pneumonia?Pneumonia is an infection of the lungs that can cause mild to severe illness in people of all ages. Common signs of pneumonia can include cough, fever, and trouble breathing.

Who Is At Risk for Pneumonia?Certain people are more likely to become ill with pneumonia:

Adults 65 years or olderChildren younger than 5 years oldPeople who have underlying medical conditions (like asthma, diabetes or heart disease)People who smoke cigarettesEncourage friends and loved ones with certain health conditions, like diabetes and asthma, to get vaccinated.

Causes and Types of PneumoniaPneumonia can be caused by viruses, bacteria, and fungi. In the United States, common causes of viral pneumonia are influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and a common cause of bacterial pneumonia is Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus). However, clinicians are not always able to find out which germ caused someone to get sick with pneumonia.

When someone develops pneumonia in the community (not in a hospital), it's called community-acquired pneumonia. Pneumonia developed during or following a stay in a healthcare facility (like hospitals, long-term care facilities, and dialysis centers) is called healthcare-associated pneumonia, which includes hospital-acquired pneumonia and ventilator-associated pneumonia. The bacteria and viruses that most commonly cause pneumonia in the community are different from those in healthcare settings.

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Sat, 30 Apr 2016 10:00

Myth:Pneumococcal disease is not common or serious.

Fact:Pneumococcal disease is a very serious illness, with resulting infections being the most common cause of invasive bacterial infection in American children. Invasive pneumococcal disease kills thousands of people in the United States each year, most of them 65 years of age or older.

Myth:Everybody who is carrier of the bacteria causing pneumococcal disease will get sick from it.

Fact:It is common for people, especially children, to carry the bacteria in their throats without being ill from it.

Myth:If you're over 65 years of age, you need to get a pneumococcal vaccine every year.

Fact:A single dose of pneumococcal vaccine is recommended for most persons 65 years or older.

Myth:People over 65 are the only people particularly susceptible to pneumococcal disease.

Fact:Anyone can get pneumococcal disease. In addition to persons 65 and older, high-risk groups include individuals with weak immune systems, sickle cell disease, as well as Alaskan Natives, certain American Indian populations and residents of chronic or long-term care facilities. Further, children under 2 years of age who live in group care settings and those with certain illnesses are at higher risk than other children.

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Sat, 30 Apr 2016 09:59

Pronounced (noo-muh-KOK-uhl)On this PageWhat You Should Know

For Health Professionals

For the Media

At a GlancePneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) is recommended for all children younger than 5 years old, all adults 65 years or older, and people 6 years or older with certain risk factors. Pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23) is recommended for all adults 65 years or older. People 2 through 64 years old who are at high risk of pneumococcal disease should also receive PPSV23.

What You Should KnowAbout the DiseaseTop of Page

Vaccine InformationThe pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, PCV13 or Prevnar 13®, is currently recommended for all children younger than 5 years old, all adults 65 years or older, and people 6 through 64 years old with certain medical conditions.

Pneumovax® is a 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23) that is currently recommended for use in all adults 65 years or older and for people who are 2 years or older and at high risk for pneumococcal disease (e.g., those with sickle cell disease, HIV infection, or other immunocompromising conditions). PPSV23 is also recommended for use in adults 19 through 64 years old who smoke cigarettes or who have asthma.

Top of Page

Beliefs & ConcernsVaccine SafetyAs with all vaccines, there can be minor reactions, including pain and redness at the injection site, headache, fatigue or a vague feeling of discomfort.

Top of Page

Who Should Not be Vaccinated?Top of Page

For Health ProfessionalsClinical Information on PneumococcalTop of Page

Vaccine RecommendationsTop of Page

References and ResourcesTop of Page

Provider EducationTop of Page

Materials for Patients about Pneumococcal VaccinationTop of Page

For the MediaMaterials for the MediaTop of Page

Images and logos on this website which are trademarked/copyrighted or used with permission of the trademark/copyright or logo holder are not in the public domain. These images and logos have been licensed for or used with permission in the materials provided on this website. The materials in the form presented on this website may be used without seeking further permission. Any other use of trademarked/copyrighted images or logos requires permission from the trademark/copyright holder...more

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Sat, 30 Apr 2016 09:57

Activists line up to put flowers in crib in front of Pfizer world headquarters in New York, Wednesday, April 27, 2016. The crib filled with flowers, organized by Doctors Without Borders, was delivered to Pfizer with a petition demanding that the pharmaceutical company lower the cost of the pneumonia vaccine. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)More

NEW YORK (AP) '-- Doctors Without Borders protested the price of pneumonia vaccines Wednesday by leading a march through midtown Manhattan and delivering a crib filled with flowers to a pharmaceutical company.

About 70 people walked silently and in single file to Pfizer's headquarters, where they placed 2,500 flowers in a crib as though laying tribute on a coffin. The flowers represented the number of children who die from pneumonia every day.

The crib was inscribed with the names of more than 370,000 people from 170 countries who had signed a petition for Pfizer Inc. and GlaxoSmithKline PLC, the two companies with pneumonia vaccine patents, to reduce the price of a round of vaccination from $10 per child to $5. Organizers then hauled the crib over to Pfizer representatives instead of handing them the petition on paper. Thousands more people signed the petition later Wednesday, the group said.

Advocates especially want cheaper versions to be available in poor countries and for humanitarian groups.

"Pfizer understands the importance of making vaccines available to as many people as possible," the company said in a statement. "Prevenar 13 is one of the most complex biologics ever developed and it takes 2.5 years to make a single dose."

The company said it provides the vaccine to eligible countries at a deep discount.

"We continue to help address humanitarian crises through donations of Prevenar 13 to humanitarian organizations and are in active discussions with additional humanitarian organizations to determine if more supply is needed," it said.

Fifty-four countries are currently eligible for the deep discounts, according to The Vaccine Alliance.

A plan to reduce the price in those countries to $9.30 for a 3-dose round of vaccine amounts to a "paltry" savings; and a "vast swath" of developing countries, including Syria, Libya and multiple Latin American countries, won't be eligible, said Kate Elder, Doctors Without Borders' vaccines policy adviser.

A round of pneumonia vaccinations in the U.S. costs about $465 per child, she said.

Nearly 1 million children die from pneumonia every year. That number could be reduced "significantly" by lowering the price of the vaccine, which prevents most but not all strains of the disease, Doctors Without Borders spokesman Francois Servranckx said.

"It makes me sad when children die for reasons beyond our control, and it makes me angry when they die from diseases that are treatable or preventable," said Deane Marchbein, the president of the U.S. board of directors for Doctors Without Borders.

The medical aid group said Pfizer had $6 billion in sales of the pneumonia vaccine in the last year, and the group has been trying to negotiate the vaccine price for the last six years.

Protesters converged on Pfizer headquarters a day before the drug company's shareholders meeting.

Last month, Doctors Without Borders filed a challenge to Pfizer's patent application in India, saying it would prevent companies from making more affordable pneumonia vaccines.

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Sat, 30 Apr 2016 08:56

Sixteen American military personnel have been punished for their roles in the attack, but none of them will face criminal charges because a military investigation determined the attack to be unintentional. ''This was an extraordinarily intense combat situation,'' the top officer of the military's Central Command, Gen. Joseph L. Votel, told reporters.

The disciplinary measures were unlikely to satisfy Doctors Without Borders and other rights groups that have said the attack may have constituted a war crime and that have called for an independent criminal investigation. The punishments were ''administrative actions'' that could include suspension or removal from command.

Here are findings of the investigation:

The crew of the AC-130 gunship set out without a normal mission brief or a list of no-strike targets.

The aircraft took off in haste because of an unrelated emergency and then was diverted to strike a building that Americans believed had been taken over by the Taliban. As a result, the crew was not fully briefed and did not have a list of no-strike targets, including the hospital, which was nearby.

The hospital was hit in an airstrike on Oct. 3

Hospital hit

in airstrike

The hospital was hit in an airstrike on Oct. 3

The hospital was hit in an airstrike on Oct. 3

Hospital hit

in airstrike

The New York Times|Satellite image by DigitalGlobe via Bing Maps

Communications systems on the aircraft stopped working.

Key electronic systems failed during the flight, preventing the crew from sending video or sending and receiving electronic messages. The systems included a video feed that would normally have sent pictures to higher-level commanders in real time.

The crew could not locate the intended target.

As the gunship approached Kunduz, insurgents fired a missile at it, forcing it outside its normal flight path. As a result, the aircraft targeting system became misaligned, and coordinates that should have identified the target building instead marked an empty field.

Location of American

commander on the ground

Position first indicated by aircraft sensor

Location of American

commander on the ground

Position first indicated by aircraft sensor

Position first indicated by aircraft sensor

The New York Times|Satellite image by DigitalGlobe via Bing Maps

Crew members picked the hospital based on a visual description.

Without exact coordinates, the crew mistakenly focused on the hospital, because it was near the empty field and roughly matched a visual description of the intended target. Even after the targeting system was fixed and correctly aligned with the intended target, the crew continued to focus on the hospital.

The New York Times|Satellite images by DigitalGlobe via Bing Maps

Senior officials approved the strike despite having the hospital coordinates.

One minute before firing, crew members told officials at Bagram Airfield headquarters that they intended to strike a target and gave them the coordinates. The officials had a no-strike list that included the hospital and its coordinates, but they did not connect the information to realize that the crew was preparing to hit the hospital.

The strike continued after Doctors Without Borders notified the American military.

Eleven minutes into the airstrike, Doctors Without Borders succeeded in reaching several United States government officials to alert them of the attack. But the strike was not called off until 19 minutes later, the military report said.

The top officer of the military's Central Command, General Votel, said Friday that the notification had to pass through ''a series of layers'' to get to military officials on the ground and that when it did reach the Special Forces commander, he did not immediately stop the airstrike. ''The ground force commander was not tracking a medical facility, so when he first heard it, it didn't register,'' Mr. Votel said.

The timeline given by American officials does not agree with accounts by Doctors Without Borders and other witnesses, who said the strike went on for more than an hour.

After the announcement, Médecins Sans FrontieÌres, the French name of Doctors Without Borders, reiterated its calls for an independent investigation, saying in a statement ''that it cannot be satisfied solely with a military investigation.''

''Today's briefing amounts to an admission of an uncontrolled military operation in a densely populated urban area, during which U.S. forces failed to follow the basic laws of war,'' said Meinie Nicolai, the group's president. ''It is incomprehensible that, under the circumstances described by the U.S., the attack was not called off.''

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Sat, 30 Apr 2016 08:53

A group of ISIS linked hackers have released an online hit list of 3,000 New York residents and urged terrorists to target them, it's been reported.

Police have been making attempts to contact the individuals to inform them of the threat by Caliphate Cyber Army, which includes names, home and email addresses.

The list reportedly targets government employees within the state department and security, but the details of regular people have also been leaked.

Intelligence experts believe the 3,600 names may have been chosen at random because they are several years old, according to ABC7 News.

Federal agents and New York City police officers do not believe there is any credible threat, a source confirmed.

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Police are making attempts to contact those affected by the threatIn a statement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said, "While our standard practice is to decline comment on specific operational and investigative matters, the FBI routinely notifies individuals and organizations of information collected during the course of an investigation that may be perceived as potentially threatening in nature."

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Some of the information appears to be outdated, according to the source, who was not authorised to discuss the investigation publicly.

Read more:ISIS leaders take bizarre evasive action in Raqqa to avoid deadly drone strikes

Last year, an ISIS-related group posted what it claimed were names, addresses and photos of 100 US military service members and called upon followers to kill them.

The militant group controls swaths of territory in Syria and Iraq and has claimed responsibility for several major attacks in various countries, including coordinated attacks in Paris in November that killed 130 people.

US authorities have arrested more than 70 individuals for attempting to support ISIS since 2013.

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