FBI warns of U.S. government breaches by Anonymous hackers
By Jim Finkle and Joseph Menn
BOSTON/SAN FRANCISCO Fri Nov 15, 2013 6:04pm EST
The word ‘password’ is pictured on a computer screen in this picture illustration taken in Berlin May 21, 2013.
(Reuters) – Activist hackers linked to the collective known as Anonymous have secretly accessed U.S. government computers in multiple agencies and stolen sensitive information in a campaign that began almost a year ago, the FBI warned this week.
The hackers exploited a flaw in Adobe Systems Inc’s software to launch a rash of electronic break-ins that began last December, then left “back doors” to return to many of the machines as recently as last month, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said in a memo seen by Reuters.
The memo, distributed on Thursday, described the attacks as “a widespread problem that should be addressed.” It said the breach affected the U.S. Army, Department of Energy, Department of Health and Human Services, and perhaps many more agencies.
Just as the media and the White House knew and covered up the fact that CommieCare would devastate the individual market, they know and are now covering up the fact that the Obama administration itself has predicted that once CommieCare’s employer mandate hits in about 14 months, tens of millions could lose the insurance President Obama relentlessly reassured them they could keep:
Veterans Day – Ridgewood, NJ – November 11, 2013 – American Legion Post 53
Nov 11, 2013
by Joe Burns
Ridgewood NJ, Selected pictures from yesterdays Veterans Day Ceremonies at Veterans Field in Ridgewood.
The focus of this year’s ceremony was the Korean War. The Master of Ceremonies was Bob Paoli, Commander of American Legion Post 53; The National Anthem was sung by the Harmony Celebration Chorus; Reverand Kyu Tae Pak, Midland Park United Methodist Church opened the ceremonies with a prayer; Ridgewood Mayor Paul Aronsohn made opening remarks; Sgt. 1st Class Ron Zier spoke about the Korean War and his service there; Retired HoHoKus Police Chief Robert Re spoke about the war and his service in Korea at that time; veterans in the audience were honored for their military service, and Sally Ann Tumas-Skoric sang “God Bless America” with the audience joining in. Many students from Benjamin Franklin Middle School and Ridgewood High School were in the audience.
North Jersey towns’ Super Bowl parties may lack the Super brand
Sunday, November 10, 2013 Last updated: Monday November 11, 2013, 5:41 PM
BY CHRISTOPHER MAAG
STAFF WRITER
The Record
Secaucus hopes to attract thousands of people to its Super Bowl event. If everything goes right, the celebration — planned for Buchmuller Park, just four miles from MetLife Stadium — will include an ice skating rink, food trucks, a beer garden, ice sculptures, warming stations, synchronized swimmers and a black tie ball.
What the celebration may not have is any official connection to the Super Bowl or the National Football League.
Largely because local officials have found it so difficult to find businesses to help pay for the event without violating the strict sponsorship rules of the NFL and the Super Bowl Host Committee, Secaucus Mayor Michael Gonnelli said, his town probably will avoid the league altogether.
New Mental Health Mandate Will Make Obamacare More Expensive, Increase Fraud And Canceled Policies
Even as stories pour in of Americans facing steeply higher health insurance premiums and canceled coverage, Team TISI 0% Obama just imposed new regulations that will make those problems worse. It’s almost like they can’t help themselves.
On Friday, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced new regulations mandating health insurers cover mental and behavioral health to the same extent they cover physical health care
A “mental health parity” mandate was passed by Congress in 2008, but Obama officials claim health insurers aren’t fully complying. (You’ll just have to overlook the irony of the Obama administration, which has postponed several provisions of Obamacare without any legal authority to do so, complaining that others aren’t complying with some law.)
The more likely explanation is the administration is desperately trying to redirect peoples’ attention from the Obamacare rollout that has become a non-stop string of stories about failed websites, higher premiums and canceled policies.
President Obama’s latest effort to divert public attention ignores a fundamental problem: it’s much easier to know when a broken bone has healed than a broken mind. That ambiguity opens the door to overtreatment and fraud.
Health insurers and actuaries have a lot of experience in this area because most states have passed some form of mental health parity legislation
Early numbers show 3% enrollment in Obamacare among 12 exchanges
November 11, 2013, 2:15 PM
By Russ Britt
If you’re expecting a low number of enrollees when the Department of Health and Human Services announces its first round of Obamacare registrant figures this week, here’s a sneak peek into what to expect.
Health-care consultant Avalere Health reported Monday that 3% of the expected 2014 enrollment figure was met as of last week, or 49,100 registrants out of 1.4 million, for 12 of the 15 exchanges available in 14 states and the District of Columbia. No figures were available for California, Massachusetts and Oregon and aren’t included in the totals. Also not included are figures from HealthCare.gov, the troubled online registration system for President Obama’s health-care overhaul in 36 states.
The exchanges for which data are available — Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington — showed weaker-than-expected enrollment since their debut Oct. 1, says Dan Mendelson, chief executive of Avalere.
Public Revolts Against Obama, Political Establishment’s Amnesty Efforts
by Matthew Boyle 10 Nov 2013
According to new national polling data from Pew Research, the American people have revolted against President Barack Obama’s and the GOP establishment’s efforts to grant amnesty to America’s at least 11 million illegal immigrants through comprehensive immigration reform.
“Only about a third of the public (32%) approves of the job Obama is doing on immigration policy; 60% disapprove,” Pew wrote. “Obama’s ratings for this issue among Democrats are mixed: About half (53%) approve of his handling of the issue while 42% disapprove.”
Obama’s 60 percent disapproval rating on immigration from the American people is an all-time high for him on the issue and puts him on par with former President George W. Bush’s immigration polling numbers. Obama’s immigration disapproval rating has skyrocketed as he has ramped up his efforts to lobby Congress for the passage of an amnesty—particularly the Senate’s “Gang of Eight” immigration bill.
As the American people have learned more and more about the Gang of Eight bill and the effects which amnesty and a drastic influx of millions of new workers would have on the hurting economy, they have grown more and more outraged with what Washington, D.C., is doing regarding immigration reform. In February—before Obama and lawmakers like Sens. John McCain (R-AZ), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and DIck Durbin (D-IL) began their push for immigration reform—the President’s immigration policy approval rating among the American people, according to Pew, was higher than his disapproval rating. His approval rating on immigration then was 44 percent, whereas his disapproval rating was 43 percent.
Veterans Day in America is traditionally a time to look back, but the new generation of veterans wants to remind people the country also must look forward.
As they return home after more than a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, younger veterans argue the holiday can’t just be about wreaths on gravestones at national cemeteries, parades or celebrations in the basement at the Veterans of Foreign Wars post. They say Veterans Day must be not only about aged veterans in wheelchairs but about men and women in their 20s and 30s, some of whom returned from combat marked by deep wounds — many of which are invisible. (Summers/Politico)
Christie scheduled to become chairman of the Republican Governors Association
Sunday November 10, 2013, 12:47 AM
BY MELISSA HAYES
STATE HO– USE BUREAU
The Record
The same group that helped Chris Christie defeat a Democratic governor four years ago could now help him secure an even bigger prize: a presidential nomination.
Christie is scheduled to become chairman of the Republican Governors Association this month, a position that will connect him with more donors, voters and GOP campaign operations in key states.
This chairmanship is a hidden jewel in the benefits of Christie’s landslide victory last week. As chairman, Christie gets to set the priorities for a group already credited with swaying elections in several states, and he will be part of the leadership team that decides how the organization spends its money. It raised $23.5 million during the first half of this year and ended that period with $37 million on hand.
As RGA chairman, Christie also will get to choose the states where he personally campaigns, picking up IOUs from governors who could be counted on to return the favor if he runs for president. And that campaigning would allow him to barnstorm selected parts of the country to spread his message that what the GOP needs is more pragmatism and less ideology.
“We are not a debating society,” Christie told key Republican strategists meeting in Boston this past summer, according to an account in Time magazine. “We are a political operation that needs to win.”
World War I – known at the time as “The Great War” – officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles outside the town of Versailles, France. However, fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, November 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.
Soldiers of the 353rd Infantry near a church at Stenay, Meuse in France, wait for the end of hostilities. This photo was taken at 10:58 a.m., on November 11, 1918, two minutes before the armistice ending World War I went into effect
In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day with the following words: “To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…”
The original concept for the celebration was for a day observed with parades and public meetings and a brief suspension of business beginning at 11:00 a.m.
The United States Congress officially recognized the end of World War I when it passed a concurrent resolution on June 4, 1926, with these words:
Whereas the 11th of November 1918, marked the cessation of the most destructive, sanguinary, and far reaching war in human annals and the resumption by the people of the United States of peaceful relations with other nations, which we hope may never again be severed, and
Whereas it is fitting that the recurring anniversary of this date should be commemorated with thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations; and
Whereas the legislatures of twenty-seven of our States have already declared November 11 to be a legal holiday: Therefore be it Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), that the President of the United States is requested to issue a proclamation calling upon the officials to display the flag of the United States on all Government buildings on November 11 and inviting the people of the United States to observe the day in schools and churches, or other suitable places, with appropriate ceremonies of friendly relations with all other peoples.
An Act (52 Stat. 351; 5 U. S. Code, Sec. 87a) approved May 13, 1938, made the 11th of November in each year a legal holiday—a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as “Armistice Day.” Armistice Day was primarily a day set aside to honor veterans of World War I, but in 1954, after World War II had required the greatest mobilization of soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen in the Nation’s history; after American forces had fought aggression in Korea, the 83rd Congress, at the urging of the veterans service organizations, amended the Act of 1938 by striking out the word “Armistice” and inserting in its place the word “Veterans.” With the approval of this legislation (Public Law 380) on June 1, 1954, November 11th became a day to honor American veterans of all wars.
Later that same year, on October 8th, President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued the first “Veterans Day Proclamation” which stated: “In order to insure proper and widespread observance of this anniversary, all veterans, all veterans’ organizations, and the entire citizenry will wish to join hands in the common purpose. Toward this end, I am designating the Administrator of Veterans’ Affairs as Chairman of a Veterans Day National Committee, which shall include such other persons as the Chairman may select, and which will coordinate at the national level necessary planning for the observance. I am also requesting the heads of all departments and agencies of the Executive branch of the Government to assist the National Committee in every way possible.”
President Eisenhower signing HR7786, changing Armistice Day to Veterans Day. From left: Alvin J. King, Wayne Richards, Arthur J. Connell, John T. Nation, Edward Rees, Richard L. Trombla, Howard W. Watts
On that same day, President Eisenhower sent a letter to the Honorable Harvey V. Higley, Administrator of Veterans’ Affairs (VA), designating him as Chairman of the Veterans Day National Committee.
In 1958, the White House advised VA’s General Counsel that the 1954 designation of the VA Administrator as Chairman of the Veterans Day National Committee applied to all subsequent VA Administrators. Since March 1989 when VA was elevated to a cabinet level department, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs has served as the committee’s chairman.
The Uniform Holiday Bill (Public Law 90-363 (82 Stat. 250)) was signed on June 28, 1968, and was intended to ensure three-day weekends for Federal employees by celebrating four national holidays on Mondays: Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and Columbus Day. It was thought that these extended weekends would encourage travel, recreational and cultural activities and stimulate greater industrial and commercial production. Many states did not agree with this decision and continued to celebrate the holidays on their original dates.
The first Veterans Day under the new law was observed with much confusion on October 25, 1971. It was quite apparent that the commemoration of this day was a matter of historic and patriotic significance to a great number of our citizens, and so on September 20th, 1975, President Gerald R. Ford signed Public Law 94-97 (89 Stat. 479), which returned the annual observance of Veterans Day to its original date of November 11, beginning in 1978. This action supported the desires of the overwhelming majority of state legislatures, all major veterans service organizations and the American people.
Veterans Day continues to be observed on November 11, regardless of what day of the week on which it falls. The restoration of the observance of Veterans Day to November 11 not only preserves the historical significance of the date, but helps focus attention on the important purpose of Veterans Day: A celebration to honor America’s veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.
You are not even a little troubled that our public officials’ silence, testimony and/or support appears to be for sale? Let’s recap:
John Saraceno, with a housing project under consideration, pays for benefit tickets for our Village Council and their spouses to attend a fundraiser for Chris Christie.
Valley Hospital pledges $500,000 to the Board of Education as they inexplicably pass on speaking out against a 7 year construction project within eyeshot of 2 school.
Now Mr Bolger, also with building plans before the town, pledges a six figure “gift” to the town.
Does the terms “pay to play” ring a bell with you?
A Veterans Day Message from Bergen County Executive Kathleen A. Donovan
Each year at this time I struggle to find the words that will appropriately reflect the deep respect and admiration I hold for our U.S. military veterans..
There are, I have come to learn, no words that can adequately reflect our gratitude and repay the debt we collectively owe to the men and women who served in the U.S Armed Forces and continue to serve us to this day.
The simplest and best words I can come up with to commemorate this day are simply to say to our veterans: Thank You.
Thank you for your sacrifice and your commitment to your country. Thank you for your bravery on the battlefield; thank you for putting your lives on the line and your personal lives on hold while you protected America’s interest around the globe. And thank you for giving us the freest nation on earth – the shining beacon of hope for the rest of the world.
For the past 240 years, beginning when our colonialist first embraced the fight for liberty, Americans have made an unwavering commitment to freedom and a pledge to fight tyranny wherever it exists in the world. When the call to arms has come, American men and women have answered, willingly and unselfishly.
The unique American commitment to Liberty has never waned, no matter what the price. And the price has been steep for many individuals and their families.
Millions of American families have been heartbroken by the loss of a loved one who fought and died in uniform — and millions more have been forced to live with wounds, both physical and psychological that have afflicted our U.S. servicemen and women.
The families who stand by proudly while their sons and daughters serve the cause for freedom deserve our thanks today too. They live with fear every day for their children. I pray that their sons and daughters will be returned safely to them.
And so, at the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month, we pause and remember and thank our veterans.
Businesses hire up to deal with more regs
By Ben Goad and Julian Hattem
A growing thicket of federal regulations under the Obama administration has contributed to an employment spike in at least one corner of the job market: the increasingly vital compliance industry.
ObamaCare, the Dodd-Frank Act and other large federal undertakings have led to an outpouring of new agency rules derided by business groups and defended by advocates.
But the regulations have also been a boon for professional compliance officers paid to help companies understand and adapt to the new requirements.
“Staff to track compliance issues is on the rise, and it has been for the last several years,” said Richard Riese, senior vice president for regulatory compliance at the American Bankers Association. “And, at the moment, there’s no prospect it will decrease anytime soon.”
Data kept by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows an 18-percent increase in the number of compliance officers in the United States between 2009 and 2012, according to an analysis conducted by the conservative American Action Forum (AAF).
At last count, there were an estimated 227,500 compliance officers employed in the United States, according to the BLS. The bureau defines a compliance officer as an employee responsible for evaluating conformity with laws and regulations.
Daryn Iwicki State Director, Americans For Prosperity will Speak at the Larkin House in Whyckoff , 7 pm, Tuesday, November 12
“Moving Forward”
Join us 7 pm, Tuesday, November 12 At the Larkin House , 380 Godwin Avenue, Wyckoff
(1/4 mile North of Stop & Shop on the right) , More Information: 201 891-5918 [email protected] ,https://www.westbergenteaparty.com/
Daryn Iwicki
After some time away from Americans for Prosperity, Daryn has returned to the organization to serve as the Deputy State Director of Americans for Prosperity Foundation New Jersey.
Daryn was most recently in the great state of Florida where he served in Governor Scott’s Administration and was the North Florida Regional Field Director for the Republican Party of Florida. He was responsible for organizing a comprehensive voter outreach and turnout operation for Governor Mitt Romney in the 2012 election.
Daryn previously served as the Director of Education and Training and the National Manager for State Programs at Americans for Prosperity from 2010-12. Prior to joining AFP, Daryn worked at the Leadership Institute as Youth Leadership Coordinator. He was responsible for recruiting and running the Youth Leadership Schools across the nation.
Daryn is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. NC is where he cut his political teeth working on countless campaigns while in school and then after graduation.
Daryn has years of being a political activist. Daryn’s political activity has been featured on: FOX, ABC, NBC, CNN, FOX NEWS and CBS along with countless other media outlets.
– See more at: https://www.lead-inst.org/Training/Bio.cfm?SchoolID=15821&FacultyID=116417#sthash.jYPIisvm.dpuf
Oil Painting Workshop With Diana Gibson
Painting Luminous Brass & Copper Still Life
Oil Painting Workshop: Learn how to make metal shine! Working from life in a north lit studio, students will be taught the esoteric methods to create luminous brass and copper still life paintings! A demonstration, Q&A and one on one instruction will be offered. There will be several still life set ups to chose from. Ample time will be provided for students to paint. This workshop is appropriate for beginner and intermediate painters. This is a unique offering and I am really excited share this workshop with you! Workshop date is Nov. 10th 10:00AM – 3:00PM EST
Ridgewood Art Institute, West Studio
Sunday, November 10th, 10am – 3pm
Instructor: Diana Gibson
(973) 962-6436 [email protected]
Tuition: $110
Ridgewood Art Institute
12 East Glen Avenue
Ridgewood, New Jersey 07450
