Tuesday, March 07, 2017

Cracking Vault 7


CIA Hacking Tools Revealed [More]
We have met the enemy and he is us?

(By the way  -- good movie, ahead of its time. I read the uncredited -- and much more disturbing -- Ward Moore inspiration, too.)

So What's Changed Since Jan. 17?

The F.B.I. is leading the investigations, aided by the National Security Agency, the C.I.A. and the Treasury Department’s financial crimes unit. The investigators have accelerated their efforts in recent weeks but have found no conclusive evidence of wrongdoing, the officials said. One official said intelligence reports based on some of the wiretapped communications had been provided to the White House. [More]
Aside from the would-be saboteurs shedding crocodile tears over attack responses lacking a "veneer of presidential civility"?
Mr. Trump provided no proof, and the charge was quickly dismissed by intelligence veterans and, indirectly, the F.B.I., but that did not make it any less sensational or any less historic.
I must have missed The Times' retraction of its first story.  And I'm sure this change in narrative reflects "purely business" motives.

I Have a Dream


I guess if you tell her what a dumb broad she is, that's sexist? [More]

[Via Florida Guy]   

Well There Go MY Holiday Plans...

State Rep. files house bill that would criminalize celebratory gunfire, if passed [More]
So has this proven to be a problem? And this? And this?
Shooters might also be charged with deadly conduct, a third-degree felony, if someone is hurt. The fine can be as high as $10,000 and includes a prison sentence of two to 10 years.
And how successful have edicts been at stopping the problem in places where it's banned?

Still, how can I argue with the sponsor of "Mexican Fruit Fly Awareness Month"?


[Via Florida Guy]   

We're the Only Ones Aiding and Abetting Enough

Tucson PD Evicts Border Patrol Agents Trying to Catch Illegal Escapee [More]
And what would happen to one of us proles if we impeded and obstructed a federal operation?

Flaky Ratings


He knew the "conservative" establishment would shield him from "retribution" despite his best efforts to give aid and comfort to the Hillary campaign.

[Via Macs R We]

Iowa Gun Vote Today

We're expecting a vote on HF517 sometime tomorrow (3/7) afternoon. This means there's still time for you to send a note to your Representative via our latest Advocacy Campaign urging them to vote Yes on HF517. In a matter of seconds this tool lets you send a pre-written email urging your Representative to vote Yes on HF517 (formerly known as HSB133). [More]
I sure don't like the boilerplate contact form language "HF517 also gives parents the right...," so hopefully posting that observation here will be noted and heeded by those who craft such appeals.

Here's more on today's "Second Amendment Day," and here's where interested Iowa gun owners can watch the proceedings live.

The Last 'Progressive' on Earth

Fox’s ‘Last Man on Earth’ Kills Entire Trump Administration [More]
As we all know, the people most likely to survive a SHTF scenario are witless "progressives," proving once more that ignorance, blind luck and privilege will always trump preparation and discipline.

Andres Gutierrez, 'Real Reporter'

Your voice of "clear complete coverage" authority...
"Mike, there are still dents in the asphalt at this intersection because of that automatic weapon..." [More]
They issued a correction in the print story, but the video "report" is what viewers will remember.

There is no excuse for this.

[Via Steve T

An Unarmed Man

A construction worker confronted Joseph and an argument turned into a single punch to the head, D.C. police said. Knocked unconscious, Joseph was put on life support. Joseph, who emigrated from St. Lucia and was an avid gardener who helped his neighbors perfect their plots, died the next day at a hospital. His death has been ruled a homicide. [More]
So much for accusatons of shooting "an unarmed man."

Hence VLLA SELLA...

[Via William T]

Lies of Omission Update


T.L. Davis just released this "mini-trailer."

He's going to be talking about the documentary this evening at 7 p.m. Eastern on The Hagmann Report. They promo it here (scroll down to "Tuesday.")

And if you missed it, here's his conversation with Andrea Shea King.

"Ourselves and our Posterity" could use your support.

Captain's Log

*  "[A] champion and staunch defender of the Second Amendment freedoms of law-abiding South Dakota gun owners," that one.

Putting a Sympathetic Face on Extortion

Weathers had a diagnosis of mental illness, but she had never been identified as a threat to herself or others by a judge or ordered to an extended mental hospital stay - which meant she could pass the background check for her gun. [More]
In other words, she had never been afforded due process, but somehow it's the gun store's responsibility to intervene based on what a frantic stranger is alleging.  If they hadn't sold, how do they know they wouldn't be sued for discrimination, especially with gay wedding cake judgments destroying Christian bakeries? And faced with well-funded Brady lawyers bringing action, the small business owner was coerced into settling.

No doubt it was a heart-wrenching situation, for years, but the tragic combination of love, denial and choice meant the parents knowingly left themselves vulnerable to someone who could not be trusted with a knife or a bat, let alone a gun.

[Via Roger J]

Who Lives Interlabial,Inside the 'V'?


Spongeblob Squarepad! [More]

Good grief.

Still, I guess "Bikini Bottom" turned out to be apropos.

And we could probably make a fortune selling stained "pussy hats."

UPDATE: Elder feral son Uday's first thought was of the Krusty Krab and Krabby Patties.

The Better to Grope You with, My Dear

On its website, the TSA says employees “use the back of the hands for pat-downs over sensitive areas of the body. In limited cases, additional screening involving a sensitive area pat-down with the front of the hand may be needed to determine that a threat does not exist.” [More]
More interactive kabuki...

Mom'll be glad to hear that!

So will Mad Maxie!

[Via Mean Betsy]

That's some White Privilege!

It was such a sympathetic rendering that two Patriot movement paramilitary groups, the Oath Keepers and the Pacific Patriots Network, promoted Walden's speech on their websites. Referring specifically to the 1996 Terrorism Act, Walden promised "we can change that law, and we should, so that nobody ever is locked in like that for a situation like this" -- if that is, by "nobody," one actually means no white ranchers. [More]
"Spencer Sunshine" said it, I believe it, that settles it. Right?