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Fooled Again : No, North Korea Didn’t Hack Sony

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Fooled Again : No, North Korea Didn’t Hack Sony
12.24.14

The FBI and the President may claim that the Hermit Kingdom is to blame for the most high-profile network breach in forever. But almost all signs point in another direction.

So, “The Interview” is to be released after all.

The news that the satirical movie—which revolves around a plot to murder Kim Jong-Un—will have a Christmas Day release as planned, will prompt renewed scrutiny of whether, as the US authorities have officially claimed, the cyber attack on Sony really was the work of an elite group of North Korean government hackers.

All the evidence leads me to believe that the great Sony Pictures hack of 2014 is far more likely to be the work of one disgruntled employee facing a pink slip.

I may be biased, but, as the director of security operations for DEF CON, the world’s largest hacker conference, and the principal security researcher for the world’s leading mobile security company, Cloudflare, I think I am worth hearing out.

The FBI was very clear in its press release about who it believed was responsible for the attack: “The FBI now has enough information to conclude that the North Korean government is responsible for these actions,” they said in their December 19 statement, before adding, “the need to protect sensitive sources and methods precludes us from sharing all of this information”.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/12/24/no-north-korea-didn-t-hack-sony.html

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Economics pushes many young adults to do without cars

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Economics pushes many young adults to do without cars

December 25, 2014    Last updated: Thursday, December 25, 2014, 1:21 AM
By JANET MOORE
STAR TRIBUNE |
Wire Service

MINNEAPOLIS — Consider Jake Gau a multimodal millennial.

On chillier mornings, the 25-year-old rehabilitation aide hops on the No. 30 bus in northeast Minneapolis bound for his job at the Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute in Golden Valley. On warmer days, he pedals his mountain bike westward to work.

Missing from his array of transportation options: a car. And that’s just fine with him.

Much of the millennial generation — roughly 77 million Americans born between 1983 and 2000 — is decidedly lukewarm when it comes to Americans’ century-long love affair with the automobile. They appear to prefer biking, walking, taking mass transit and sharing cars, exhibiting behavior that could have a profound effect on transportation and land-use policies for years to come.

“Transportation policy tends to be a generation behind. We’re still trying to build our grandfather’s interstate highway system,” said Phineas Baxandall, a senior analyst with the consumer group U.S. PIRG. Policymakers should not only accommodate Gen Y’s desire to drive less, but encourage it, he said.

“We’ve spent a number of years talking about millennials and how they have different sensibilities when it comes to transportation,” said Minnesota state Sen. Scott Dibble, chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee. “Now we have to respond with policy.”

https://www.northjersey.com/news/business/debt-laden-millennials-shun-cars-1.1179842

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What is Festivus, the holiday ‘for the rest of us’?

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Since the Ridgewood Christmas tree fiasco the Ridgewood blog has not celebrated Festivus . While some blog critics would argue the the blog is the very embodiment of Festivus ,because readers are constantly posting grievances  we noticed some of the politicos in DC took to the occasion of Festivus  to air their grievances about their peers .

What is Festivus, the holiday ‘for the rest of us’?

10 things you may not know about the oddball holiday and the ‘Seinfeld’ episode that spawned it

By Dylan Stableford Yahoo News

“Seinfeld” fans around the world gathered to air their grievances on Tuesday in celebration of Festivus, the holiday created by Frank Costanza on the popular 1990s sitcom, which has since become real annual tradition for thousands of people.

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul was one of them.

“Christmas is a time for joy,” the Republican senator wrote on Twitter. “It is not a time to air grievances. That’s what #Festivus is for.”

The alternative gathering calls for a metal pole instead of a tree, the airing of grievances(“You gather your family around and tell them all the ways they have disappointed you over the past year,” Frank Costanza explains) and the “feats of strength” — a father-son wrestling match that concludes the oddball holiday, dubbed a “Festivus for the rest of us.”

Like Frank Costanza, Paul has “a lot of problems with you people,” at least in Washington.

In honor of Festivus, here are 10 things you may not have known about the holiday and the“Seinfeld” episode that spawned it.

https://news.yahoo.com/what-is-festivus-holiday-for-the-rest-of-us-150419146.html?soc_src=mediacontentstory&soc_trk=ma

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France waves discreet goodbye to 75 percent super-tax

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France waves discreet goodbye to 75 percent super-tax

By By Hannah Murphy and Mark John | Reuters – Tue, 23 Dec, 201

PARIS (Reuters) – When President Francois Hollande unveiled a “super-tax” on the rich in 2012, some feared an exodus of business, sporting and artistic talent. One adviser warned it was a Socialist step too far that would turn France into “Cuba without sun”.

Two years on, with the tax due to expire at the end of this month, the mass emigration has not happened. But the damage to France’s appeal as a home for top earners has been great, and the pickings from the levy paltry.

“The reform clearly damaged France’s reputation and competitiveness,” said Jorg Stegemann, head of Kennedy Executive, an executive search firm based in France and Germany.

“It clearly has become harder to attract international senior managers to come to France than it was,” he added.

Hollande first floated the 75-percent super-tax on earnings over 1 million euros ($1.2 million) a year in his 2012 campaign to oust his conservative rival Nicolas Sarkozy. It fired up left-wing voters and helped him unseat the incumbent.

Yet ever since, it has been a thorn in his side, helping little in France’s effort to bring its public deficit within European Union limits and mixing the message just as Hollande sought to promote a more pro-business image. The adviser who made the “Cuba” gag was Emmanuel Macron, the ex-banker who is now his economy minister.

The Finance Ministry estimates the proceeds from the tax amounted to 260 million euros in its first year and 160 million in the second. That’s broadly in line with expectations, but tiny compared with a budget deficit which had reached 84.7 billion euros by the end of October.

 

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/france-waves-discreet-goodbye-75-percent-super-tax-162358813–business.html

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Next Bergen executive forming bipartisan team

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Next Bergen executive forming bipartisan team

DECEMBER 23, 2014, 8:56 PM    LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2014, 8:57 PM
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
Print

Bergen County Executive-elect and Democratic Freeholder James Tedesco named his first two key appointees Tuesday, including a veteran Republican county employee to serve as his administrator.

Tedesco, of Paramus, will be sworn in as county executive on Jan. 1 and tapped Dominic Novelli of Waldwick for county administrator to join him. He chose Michele DiIorgi of Haworth to serve as his chief of staff. DiIorgi is the clerk to the Freeholder Board. She previously served as chief of staff to former Rep. Steve Rothman. D-Englewood.

Tedesco informed some of the freeholders and their staff of his selection shortly after their work session Tuesday.

Although DiIorgi had been mentioned as a possible chief of staff in the speculation that preceded Tedesco’s announcement, his selection of Novelli came as a relative surprise.

Novelli has served several roles in county government over the last 24 years: He was chief of staff and acting county administrator under County Executive Pat Schuber, a Republican. He then served 10 years as director of purchasing under Democratic and Republican administrations. He also has worked for the Bergen County Improvement Authority.

Additionally, Novelli has served as a Waldwick school board member.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/next-bergen-executive-forming-bipartisan-team-1.1174932

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NJ TRANSIT OFFERS EXTRA SERVICE AND SAVINGS FOR HOLIDAY WEEK

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NJ TRANSIT OFFERS EXTRA SERVICE AND SAVINGS FOR HOLIDAY WEEK

Money-saving Family Super Saver fares in effect continuously from December 24 until January 5

NEWARK, NJ — NJ TRANSIT is offering extra service for the upcoming holidays to give customers more travel options, whether going to the mall for last-minute shopping, leaving work early for the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, or attending New Year’s Eve festivities.

In addition, NJ TRANSIT is giving customers more than two weeks of continuous savings through a special extension of the Family Super Saver Fare, which allows up to two children 11 and younger to travel free with each fare-paying adult.  Usually limited to weekends, the Family Super Saver Fare will be in effect for the entire holiday period, starting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, December 24 until 6 a.m. Monday, January 5, on all trains, buses and light rail lines.

NJ TRANSIT customer service representatives and volunteers will be deployed at major facilities throughout the holiday weekend to assist customers with their travels.

For complete schedule and fare information, customers may visit njtransit.com or call 973-275-5555.

On Wednesday, December 24, trains will operate on a weekday schedule on all lines with additional “early getaway” service from New York Penn Station, Newark Penn Station and Hoboken Terminal starting at 1 p.m. on the Northeast Corridor, North Jersey Coast, Raritan Valley, Morris & Essex, Pascack Valley and Port Jervis lines.  Newark Light Rail, Hudson-Bergen Light Rail and River Line will operate on a weekday schedule.  Buses will operate on a regular weekday schedule on most routes, with early getaway service from the Port Authority Bus Terminal starting around 1 p.m. to accommodate the heaviest travel.  Visit njtransit.com for details.

On Christmas Day, Thursday, December 25, trains will operate on a weekend schedule/major holiday schedule on all rail lines.  Newark Light Rail and River Line will operate on a Sunday schedule.  Hudson-Bergen Light Rail will operate on a weekend schedule.  Holiday bus schedules vary by route—customers are advised to visit njtransit.com for details.

On Friday, December 26, trains will operate on a modified weekday schedule on all rail lines with additional New York-bound trains between 10 a.m. and noon on the Northeast Corridor, North Jersey Coast and Morris & Essex lines.  Customers are encouraged to travel early, if possible, when ridership is light.  Select morning peak period trains on the Northeast Corridor and North Jersey Coast Line will not operate due to expected light ridership—customers should visit njtransit.com and use the “Station-to-Station Trip Planner” to find trains between the holidays.  Newark Light Rail, Hudson-Bergen Light Rail and River Line will operate on a weekday schedule.  Selected Port Authority Bus Terminal routes will see some reductions in a.m. and p.m. peak service due to lower passenger demand. Please consult njtransit.com for additional details.

On Saturday, December 27, trains and buses will operate on a weekend schedule.  Newark Light Rail and River Line will operate on a Saturday schedule.  Hudson-Bergen Light Rail will operate on a weekend schedule.

On Sunday, December 28, trains and buses will operate on a weekend schedule.  Newark Light Rail and River Line will operate on a Sunday schedule.  Hudson-Bergen Light Rail will operate on a weekend schedule.

Extra service to/from New York on selected routes.

Newark Light Rail and River Line on Sunday schedule; HBLR on weekend schedule

On Monday, December 29, and Tuesday, December 30, trains will operate on a modified weekday schedule on all rail lines with additional New York-bound trains between 10 a.m. and noon on the Northeast Corridor, North Jersey Coast and Morris & Essex lines.  Customers are encouraged to travel early, if possible, when ridership is light.  Select morning peak period trains on the Northeast Corridor and North Jersey Coast Line will not operate due to expected light ridership—customers should visit njtransit.com and use the “Station-to-Station Trip Planner” to find trains between the holidays.  Buses and light rail lines will operate on a weekday schedule.

On New Year’s Eve, Wednesday, December 31, trains will operate on a modified weekday schedule on all rail lines with additional New York-bound trains between 10 a.m. and noon on the Northeast Corridor, North Jersey Coast and Morris & Essex lines.  Customers are encouraged to travel early, if possible, when ridership is light.  Select morning peak period trains on the Northeast Corridor and North Jersey Coast Line will not operate due to expected light ridership—customers should visit njtransit.com and use the “Station-to-Station Trip Planner” to find trains between the holidays.  Additional “early getaway” service from Hoboken Terminal will operate on the Pascack Valley and Port Jervis lines in the afternoon.  In the evening, additional New York-bound trips will operate on the Northeast Corridor, North Jersey Coast and Morris & Essex lines. In addition, certain trips that normally depart just before or just after midnight will operate later to accommodate customers returning from New Year’s festivities.

Bus schedules vary by route.  Customers are advised to check their timetables or visit njtransit.com for schedule information.  Selected routes will operate on special holiday schedules, available on njtransit.com, to match service with ridership demand, including early getaway service from the Port Authority Bus Terminal between noon and 4 p.m. to accommodate the heaviest travel, with less frequent service during the peak periods and later in the evening due to lower ridership.  Early getaway service will also operate from the Jersey City Waterfront on the No. 64 and No. 68 bus routes.  In the evening, additional service to the Port Authority Bus Terminal will be offered on selected routes from approximately 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. to accommodate customers traveling to New York for the festivities.

Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, Newark Light Rail and River Line will operate on a weekday schedule.

In addition, River Line will operate extended late-night service on New Year’s Eve and after midnight on New Year’s Day to accommodate customers attending the festivities on the Camden Waterfront.  Special late-night trains will operate between Camden and Trenton, making all local stops.

Hudson-Bergen Light Rail will also operate added late-night service on New Year’s Eve into New Year’s Day to accommodate travelers returning home from midnight celebrations.

IMPORTANT NOTE:  No open containers of alcohol will be permitted on board trains, light rail vehicles, aboard buses or in any NJ TRANSIT facility.  This policy will be strictly enforced on New Year’s Eve and after midnight.

After midnight, special late-night trains will operate on most rail lines, and expanded bus service will be provided from the Port Authority Bus Terminal until approximately
2 a.m. on selected routes.  Visit njtransit.com for details.

On New Year’s Day, Thursday, January 1, trains will operate on a weekend/major holiday schedule.   Newark Light Rail will operate on a Saturday schedule.  River Line will operate on a Sunday schedule.  Hudson-Bergen Light Rail will operate on a weekend schedule.  Holiday bus schedules vary by route—customers are advised to visit njtransit.com for details.

On Friday, January 2, trains will operate on a modified weekday schedule on all rail lines with additional New York-bound trains between 10 a.m. and noon on the Northeast Corridor, North Jersey Coast and Morris & Essex lines.  Customers are encouraged to travel early, if possible, when ridership is light.  Select morning peak period trains on the Northeast Corridor and North Jersey Coast Line will not operate due to expected light ridership—customers should visit njtransit.com and use the “Station-to-Station Trip Planner” to find trains between the holidays.  Buses and light rail lines will operate on a weekday schedule. Selected Port Authority Bus Terminal routes will see some reductions in a.m. and p.m. peak service due to lower passenger demand. Please consult njtransit.com for additional details.

Hotwire US

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Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa’s probe finds ‘culture of bias’ at IRS

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Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa’s probe finds ‘culture of bias’ at IRS

By Bernie Becker – 12/22/14 08:00 PM EST

IRS employees subverted the agency’s nonpartisan mission to further President Obama’s political goals, according to a new House GOP report that will be released Tuesday.

The report, from Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), seeks to undercut the administration’s explanations for the IRS’s improper scrutiny of Tea Party groups, including that the conduct was centered in a Cincinnati office and that confusing regulations played a role.

While the 210-page report finds no evidence that Obama or White House officials ordered the special treatment of Tea Party groups, it says the record points to a “culture of bias against conservative organizations among certain IRS employees.”

That bias, the report says, underscores that the IRS is no longer the neutral tax collector it claims to be, at a time when its employees are tasked with implementing Obama’s signature healthcare law.

“Evidence shows an IRS responsive to the partisan policy objectives of the White House and an IRS leadership that coordinates with political appointees of the Obama administration,” the report says.

https://thehill.com/policy/finance/227932-irs-infected-by-culture-of-bias-says-new-gop-report

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Ridgewood to give new life to sculpture by Paterson artist Gaetano Federici

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Ridgewood to give new life to sculpture by Paterson artist Gaetano Federici

DECEMBER 22, 2014    LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2014, 9:08 AM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

Seemingly recent attempts to preserve a priceless village carving of the state seal, by famed Paterson artist Gaetano Federici, actually began decades ago.

But let’s start more recently, when the beautiful sculpture, featuring the two serene ladies of “Liberty” and “Prosperity,” was thought to be forgotten.

More than five years ago, while doing work for the tree department in a wooded area on Prospect Street, formerly used as a police shooting range, village employee Pete Ward saw something made of concrete peaking from beneath the brush.

Ward, who grew up in Ridgewood, recognized the sculpture.

He remembered it had been attached to an entrance of the old municipal building on Hudson Street.

The building, which most recently served as the old firehouse, was demolished in 1993 to make way for parking, despite the contestations of resident Art Wrubel and the Historic Preservation Commission – “a real shame,” noted Ward, who collects historic architectural pieces for restoration.

“I knew it was from that building because of books that I have and photos,” Ward said.

https://www.northjersey.com/community-news/ridgewood-will-give-new-life-to-federici-sculpture-1.1174000

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League of Women Voters of Ridgewood, hosts anti charter schools discussion on Dec. 9 at the Paramus Public Library

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League of Women Voters of Ridgewood, hosts anti charter schools discussion on Dec. 9 at the Paramus Public Library

Ridgewood NJ, League of Women Voters of Ridgewood, hosts anti charter schools discussion on Dec. 9 at the Paramus Public Library.

In recent years the league has degenerated in to a left wing lobbyist organization , viewed as nothing more than an out of touch joke by the public .

In a consensus meeting of the League of Women Voters of Glen Rock, Northern Valley and Ridgewood the league looks to uphold the long standing tradition of failure in education .

In what could only be characterized as one of the most one sided biased discussion groups ever held in which the “league of women voters ” attempted to promote the failed status quo and perpetuate the current education system that deprives minorities and poor children of a proper education .

The league looked to perpetuate myths that continue to keep urban children at a significant disadvantage to there suburban counterparts  and the myths that someone knows better than the parents of those children on how to educate them .

No surprise that the leagues conclusions all pointed to more money to feed the failed current system and teachers unions and the continued system of treating minorities as second class citizens with very low expectations .

League of Women Voters of Ridgewood, local chapters discuss charter schools

DECEMBER 23, 2014    LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2014, 11:15 AM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

Charter schools – and their shortcomings – were the topic of debate during a recent consensus meeting of the League of Women Voters of Glen Rock, Northern Valley and Ridgewood.

The meeting, which this year took place on Dec. 9 at the Paramus Public Library, is an annual event for individual chapters of the league.

During these meetings, the groups come together to form an opinion on a topic (immigration, Common Core, agriculture, charter schools) that has been assigned to them that year by the League of Women Voters of the United States.

After receiving research materials from the national organization, the individual groups read this material and research on their own. The process, on some occasions, can take several months, and then the individual leagues send their consensus to the state league, which in turn comes up with its own consensus after several months.

https://www.northjersey.com/community-news/clubs-and-service-organizations/members-debate-charter-schools-1.1174660

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The Reasons Behind Obama’s Failures

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The Reasons Behind Obama’s Failures

Ted Bromund / @Bromund / December 21, 2014

In early October, President Obama warned his supporters to “make no mistake: these policies [of mine] are on the ballot. Every single one of them.” After the November elections, he probably wishes he hadn’t said that. The scale of the liberal defeat is remarkable, as are its causes.

In 2008, Obama had long coattails: When he took office in 2009, the House of Representatives had 256 Democrats. In 2015, it probably will have 188.

But the underlying reasons for Obama’s failure run deeper than the normal swings of the political pendulum. Four of them are vital. The first is that a good part of Obama’s appeal in 2008 was that he was supposedly above politics. He was compared to Abraham Lincoln, a canny politician we now misremember as being above the partisan fray.

This was nonsense. If you want to get anywhere in politics, you have to be a politician. And the essence of politics has not changed since Aristotle’s time. That doesn’t mean that politicians are all liars. But it does mean that anyone who looks for salvation in a politician is going to be disappointed. Obama was hyped so high in 2008 that he had nowhere to go but down.

Another reason for Obama’s failure was that he sought, in his words, to begin “the work of remaking America.” The entire American political system was designed by the Founding Fathers to frustrate his plans. The Constitution, with its checks and balances and its separation of powers, was intended to limit the government and prevent transient majorities from having their way.

Within those limits, Obama has actually – and from a conservative perspective, regrettably – done a lot: Obamacare itself is proof of that. But inevitably, having set out to, as he claimed, fundamentally transform the United States, Obama has come up short. He has increasingly resorted to unilateral executive actions precisely because he resents the system’s constraints, but that just feeds the narrative that he’s more emperor than president.

The third reason for Obama’s failure is that most of his ideas were wrong. There were no shovel-ready jobs waiting for the stimulus spending. Fixing health care did not require ripping apart the insurance market. The answer to a weak economy was not expensive green energy.

Iran was not waiting for an outstretched hand of friendship. Russia wanted a reset for malicious reasons of its own, not because it wanted to be our friend. Al-Qaida was not on the run. The Arab Spring was not a new democratic dawn. The European Union was not a force for prosperity. Israel was not the reason the Middle East is so troubled.

Everyone makes mistakes. But it’s hard to bounce back from so many fundamental errors, especially when – and this was Obama’s fourth error – the administration has been terrible at the boring business of being competent.

The fiasco of Obamacare was bad enough. But then there was the Veterans Administration scandal, the Secret Service’s prostitute parties, the Internal Revenue Service targeting of conservative groups, Ebola and the Justice Department’s gun-running into Mexico, to name only a few of the screw-ups that have tainted the administration.

We should never attribute to malice what can plausibly be explained by incompetence. And conservatives aren’t shocked when governments make mistakes: It’s what we expect them to do. But incompetence wears more heavily on liberals, because they are the ones who always want government to do more. The evidence is overwhelming that government can’t do it well.

Obama came into office wanting, in his words, to make government cool again. But as respected U.S. political analyst Michael Barone points out, since Watergate and with the exception of the 9/11 aftermath, trust in government peaked under Ronald Reagan, precisely because Reagan sought to limit government. Under Obama, it has fallen to near-historic lows.

The conservative triumphs in 2010 and 2014 have not irrevocably set America’s destiny: there are no permanent victories in politics. But there was a fundamental contradiction between the apolitical fantasy that Obama embodied and the real-world desire of the American people to support liberal policies, especially when incompetently administered.

Once the fantasy wore off, reality set in. And for liberals, reality is often bad news.

Originally appeared in the Yorkshire Post.

https://dailysignal.com/2014/12/21/the-reasons-behind-obamas-failures/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social

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FAA drone approvals bedeviled by warnings, conflict, internal e-mails show

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FAA drone approvals bedeviled by warnings, conflict, internal e-mails show
By Craig Whitlock December 21 at 6:45 PM

The Federal Aviation Administration proclaimed a new era in aviation in September when it granted permission to six Hollywood filmmakers to fly drones on movie sets, a decision that opened the door to commercial drone flights in the United States.

“These companies are blazing a trail,” Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said at the time. “We are thoroughly satisfied these operations will not pose a hazard to other aircraft or to people and property on the ground,” added Michael Huerta, the chief of the FAA.

What the FAA did not reveal, however, was that senior officials had overruled objections from some of its safety inspectors, who had warned after a formal review that the filmmakers’ plans were too risky and should be prohibited, according to documents and e-mails obtained by The Washington Post.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/faa-drone-approvals-bedeviled-by-warnings-conflict-internal-e-mails-show/2014/12/21/69d8a07a-86c2-11e4-a702-fa31ff4ae98e_story.html

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Sen. Menendez: One-sided deal rewards Cuba regime

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big business opportunities for Cuban hookers ?

Sen. Menendez: One-sided deal rewards Cuba regime

Robert Menendez8:58 p.m. EST December 17, 2014

Alan Gross is home now. His five-year imprisonment for providing Internet access to Cuba’s small Jewish community was cruel, arbitrary and consistent with the behavior of the Cuban regime.

By releasing Mr. Gross in exchange for three convicted Cuban spies who conspired to commit espionage against our nation, this administration has wrongly rewarded a totalitarian regime and thrown the Cuban regime an economic lifeline.

Cuba is a repressive state, but it will now receive the support of the United States, the world’s greatest democracy.

For compromising on bedrock U.S. values, we received zero commitments from the regime to change its ways, to hold free elections, permit dissent, halt censorship and free all political prisoners. We abandoned U.S. policy, while the Castro brothers’ stranglehold on power just got tighter.

This swap sets an extremely dangerous precedent and invites dictatorial and rogue regimes to use Americans serving overseas as bargaining chips.

Most concerning is that the decision to open relations with Cuba fails to understand the nature of the Castro regime that has exerted its authoritarian control over the Cuban people for 55 years.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2014/12/17/cuba-repressive-regime-editorials-debates/20561245/

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KING OF COMMON CORE PEARSON CLOSES CHARITABLE FOUNDATION AMID LEGAL TROUBLES

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KING OF COMMON CORE PEARSON CLOSES CHARITABLE FOUNDATION AMID LEGAL TROUBLES
Breitbart.com ^ | 21 Dec 2014 | DR. SUSAN BERRY

Posted on 12/21/2014, 8:08:18 PM by dontreadthis

Publishing giant Pearson Inc. is set to rake in billions of dollars in profits related to the implementation of the Common Core standards, but the corporation is now dealing with legal problems exposing some of its suspicious methods that have led to its status as the King of Common Core. snip As Breitbart News reported in December of 2013, the Pearson Foundation agreed to a $7.7 million settlement with the state of New York after accusations by the state’s attorney general that the foundation helped develop Common Core-aligned courses for Pearson, Inc., its corporate parent.

 

https://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3239698/posts

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Sony Gets a New Threat– “Anonymous” Says Hackers Aren’t Korean, Release Film Or More Hacks Coming

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Sony Gets a New Threat– “Anonymous” Says Hackers Aren’t Korean, Release Film Or More Hacks Coming

by Roger Friedman – December 21, 2014 12:09 am

I Dear Mr. Michael Lynton (CEO of Sony Entertainment),
 
We shall first-off begin this message with an expression of sympathy as you have failed to release “The Interview” as you believe that hackers shall carry out a new operation to cause malicious damage within your organisation.
 
I would like to inform you that we all know the hacks didn’t come from North Korea (we think everybody knows about this already).
 
What we would like to say is that by not releasing “The Interview”, you are denying us the privilege of the Freedom Of Information Act (1966).
 
Unfortunately, due to your organisation panicking at first sight of trouble, we find this very cowardly of both yourself and your organisation (Sony Entertainment).
 
We know that Mr. Paulo Coelho has offered Sony Entertainment a sum of $100,000 for the rights of the movie; where he shall then be able to upload the movie onto BitTorrent.
 
Obviously, you shall not be responding to his generous offer – so please respond to ours with a public conference, we wish to offer you a deal…
 
Release “The Interview” as planned, or we shall carry out as many hacks as we are capable of to both Sony Entertainment, and yourself.
 
Obviously, this document was only created by a group of 25 – 30 Anons, but there are more of us on the internet than you can possibly imagine.

We are Anonymous,
We are Legion,
We do not forgive,
We do not forget,
Expect us.

https://www.showbiz411.com/2014/12/21/sony-gets-a-new-threat-anonymous-says-hackers-arent-korean-release-film-or-more-hacks-coming

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Land Of The Free, Home Of The Brave; Governed By A Lot Of Cowards…

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Land Of The Free, Home Of The Brave; Governed By A Lot Of Cowards…

https://dcgazette.com/land-free-home-brave-governed-lot-cowards/

On July 4th 1776 the Declaration of Independence was officially approved and this Nation was born. 56 men signed their death warrant to this historic document between August 2nd of 1776 and January 22nd of 1777. Since then over 2 million men and women have paid the ultimate sacrifice defending our freedom and way of life. They swore to protect the constitution and held true to their word. It makes me sick to hear any coward in Washington say it is too dangerous to impeach The president.

The founders of this country risked their lives by standing up to a king. Cowardly behavior of certain politicians are creating an American King. Our men and women are overseas giving their lives for this country while doing their jobs. Well it’s about time our politicians start doing theirs. This not about race it’s about our country. Every race and religion has served and is represented at Arlington National cemetery. They took the oath that many politicians have forgotten. Let’s remind them of that oath which states “I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office I am about to enter; so help me God.” Some politicians are in breach of their contract with this country and it’s past time they be fired.

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I don’t care if your black or white the laws of this country apply to us all. Don’t impeach the president because he is black. Impeach this man because he is destroying the constitution he has sworn to protect. Put this man in prison not for the color of skin but for the treason that brings danger to us all. If George Washington had committed this treason he would not have been sent to prison. They would have found a rope and hung him from a tree. If you are afraid of this man and what you call danger? Pack your bags because we need leaders not cowards. If harm comes to the kids of this country every politician will know the true meaning of danger. Three hundred million pissed off Americans are more dangerous than anything this world has ever seen. God bless you all, and may He forever bless this Nation… Semper Fi America, yours forever, Shep

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