Cybercriminals And Malaysia Airlines MH370

Certainly, we do not have to remind you of the ever-present dangers associated with the Internet. The Internet as post 1990s media has provided a “stage coach” like opportunity for bandits, crooks, thieves, or those who seek excitement from conniving acts. You already know with every purchase on the web your credit card numbers are potentially exposed to the unscrupulous. 

If you recall the unfathomable vulnerability of US retailers regarding credit card purchases, you know the danger. If you do not recall the danger Targets (tm) stores and a few other retailers reported credit card number theft (last pre-Christmas) in the high multi-millions.  

I would be hard pressed to think you are not aware of reports of shady groups soliciting on the web with a legit appearing front (Phishing). They look legit on the surface, but the front has a back-room of slimy criminals (possibly working as hourly wage piece-work employee) working at securing your private or financial information.  

How about the front that seeks to take advantage of our empathy for people suffering stress or suffering dire levels of strife. I offer the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the Aftermath of Hurricane Sandy as examples of the unscrupulous who seek to take advantage our kind hearts and able wallets.

Wouldn’t you know criminals have taken up leveraging Malaysia Air MH370 as catalyst for cyber crime. 

RePost.US

Cybercriminals use fake MH370 websites to steal data (via AFP)

Cybercriminals are exploiting the disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines plane by luring users to websites purporting to offer the latest news in order to steal their personal information, an Internet security firm warned Tuesday. Trend Micro urged Internet…

Corker And The GOP Screw Tennessee!

Last week I published a piece about the continuing manifestation of GOP malfeasance when applied to the common people. Senator Corker (R) Tennessee clearly showed how misrepresentation and lies benefit those who seek personal power and are willing to spend lavishly to secure their will. It is clear the peopel of Tenessee took a back seat to GOP power-brokers with Corker as the conduit.

While the GOP maintains anti-collective bargaining bedrock position as solidly as its positions on the ACA and civil rights (human rights), voters should recognize the deleterious affect of the aggregate “body of policy” from the party.

Our piece from last week:  Volkswagen speaks out on union vote. 

RePost.US via Americans Against The Tea Party

Republicans Kill 13,000 Jobs in Tennessee with Anti-Union Vote. (via Americans Against The Tea Party)

Executives at Volkswagen met last night to discuss the closure of a plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee after workers there voted to reject the formation of a worker’s council through joining the United Autoworkers Union (UAW). The closure of the plant…

Ukraine and Russia: An Idyllic State For An Old Grandstanding US Politician

A soldier rests atop a Russian armored personnel carriers with a road sign reading “Sevastopol – 32 kilometers”

The anticipated crisis in the Ukraine is unraveling just as expected.  Vladimir Putin is a “Cold War(ist)” just as John McCain and Lindsey Graham. We should expect nothing less than invasion (Strategic insertion) from Putin. His actions are no different than we could have expected from McCain had the nation fell into an abyss and elected McCain and Sarah Plain to the White House. For that matter, Mitt Romney would be same.

The GOP is ever-seeking opportunity for military intervention. When they cannot find such, they procreate intervention (WMD). We should be recall McCain “….I voted with Bush  95% of the time.” [ Linked A, Linked B ] He once said the US could be in Iraq for 100 years, he was photographed with an Al Qaeda operative while encouraging Obama to Bomb in Syria, and the man has never found a potential war he did not love. Factually, the links above relegate the warmongering McCain to that of a “non-issue” mouthy old man.

It is also critical to know that McCain’s saber-rattling throughout the morning is pure “self-aggrandizing” lobbying for seats on tomorrow’s Sunday Morning New Shows.  

One last thought. Imagine McCain/Palin serving even one term in the White House. Of course, Palin would have quit about one third the way through that horrific thought (McCain/)Palin in the White House).

There is so much to report on developments in the Ukraine. I have posted a few news ‘decks’ via RePost.US.

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Over 10,000 protest in Ukraine’s pro-Russia city of Donetsk (via AFP)

More than 10,000 people carrying Russian flags protested Saturday in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, the stronghold of ousted president Viktor Yanukovych, an AFP journalist said. Protesters declared they supported “the aspirations of Crimea to…

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Trending: Crisis in Crimea means more Ukraine troubles (via NJ.com)

Just days ago, American tweets converged on tumult in Kiev, capital of Ukraine. By week’s end, the Crimea region, located on a peninsula at the country’s southern tip, had hit headlines, too. Crimea drew tweets from the United States and 50,000 Google…
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Britain summons ambassador over Russia troops move (via AFP)

British Foreign Secretary William Hague on Saturday condemned the Russian parliament’s decision to authorise military action in Ukraine and said he had summoned the Russian ambassador to register his concerns. “This action is a potentially grave threat
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Putin moves to send troops into Ukraine (via AFP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin won the green light from parliament Saturday to send troops into Ukraine after a bloody three-month uprising swept new pro-EU leaders to power while also sparking unrest in the pro-Kremlin Crimean peninsula. The stark…

CNN Video segments

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/bestoftv/2014/03/01/ac-inside-ukraine.cnn.html

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/world/2014/03/01/nr-magnay-russian-soldiers-present.cnn.html

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/world/2014/03/01/nr-lee-ukraine-russian-troops.cnn.html

Bobby Jindal Speaks "No" Minimum Wage Hike for His Constituents! (Big Business)

Images NOLA Dot Com

An exemplary money grabber speaks out against raising the minimum wage.
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Apparently, the Governors meeting at the White House was considered somewhat congenial and productive. Or, at least that is what some media reported.

Some governors never pass on opportunity to appeal to constituents who are obvious not people who cast votes during elections.  

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal exited the meeting, joined other governors at the White House microphone and fired-off oratory that at least one governor felt was out-of-place grandstanding.  We have posted a RePost.US video below, but first allow me a minute of opine.

Bobby Jindal was obviously speaking to people who provide financial support for political campaigns. It was as if, he was saying, “….Look at me, I am doing your bidding, I do not care if I am governor of a state with citizens who could seriously benefit from an increase in the federal minimum wage, I am here for you business owners, Koch brothers and fellow conservatives.”

Re.Post.US

Jindal Rebuttal Over Minimum Wage (via Repost Video News)

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a Republican, and his Connecticut Democratic counterpart, Dannel Malloy, squared off over the minimum wage after they and other governors met with President Barack Obama.

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MSNBC’s, Chris Matthews, Hardball broadcast a segment related to the White House Microphone opportunity. His guest Michael Steele former RNC Chair, and Connecticut Governor Malloy sat for a great point-counterpoint segment.

http://on.msnbc.com/1gACoID

Why would Jindal ‘go there’ once the cameras started to roll?   All politicians solicit and accept contributors for donors. Donor sources include Political Action Committees (PACS), personal donors and business contributors. 

Why would the governor of a state with no current state minimum wage speak singularity as the anti-minimum wage governor? The answer escapes me.  If we run through a bit of data related to minimum wage, occupations that generally exit at the lower end of the income scale, we will find jobs that Jindal’s Louisiana has in abundance. 

Minimum wage by U.S. state and U.S. territory (American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands), as of January 1, 2014.

  States with minimum wage rates higher than the federal rate

  States and territories with minimum wage rates the same as the federal rate

  States with no state minimum wage law

  States and territories with minimum wage rates lower than the federal rate

  Territory with varied minimum wage rates lower than the federal rate

Louisiana is a state that relies on tourist dollars from its hospitality, gaming and service sector jobs.

Wiki provides a review of jobs most affected by the federal minimum wage, the data is a bit age, but for points of reference the data works very well.

Jobs affected by the minimum wage The jobs that are most likely to be directly affected by the minimum wage are the ones that pay a wage close to the minimum. According to the May 2006 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates,[105] the four lowest-paid occupational sectors in May 2006 (when the federal minimum wage was $5.15 per hour) were the following: Sector Workers Employed Median Wage Mean Wage Mean Annual Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations 11,029,280 $7.90 $8.86 $18,430 Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations 450,040 $8.63 $10.49 $21,810 Personal Care and Service Occupations 3,249,760 $9.17 $11.02 $22,920 Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations 4,396,250 $9.75 $10.86 $22,580 Two years later, in May 2008, when the federal minimum wage was $5.85 per hour and was about to increase to $6.55 per hour in July 2008, these same sectors were still the lowest-paying, but their situation (according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data)[106] was: Sector Workers Employed Median Wage Mean Wage Mean Annual Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations 11,438,550 $8.59 $9.72 $20,220 Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations 438,490 $9.34 $11.32 $23,560 Personal Care and Service Occupations 3,437,520 $9.82 $11.59 $24,120 Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations 4,429,870 $10.52 $11.72 $24,370 In 2006, workers in the following 13 individual occupations received, on average, a median hourly wage of less than $8.00 per hour:[105] Occupation Workers Employed Median Wage Mean Wage Mean Annual Gaming Dealers 82,960 $7.08 $8.18 $17,010 Waiters and Waitresses 2,312,930 $3.14 $4.27 $11,190 Combined Food Preparation and Serving Workers, Including Fast Food 2,461,890 $7.24 $7.66 $15,930 Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers 401,790 $7.36 $7.84 $16,320 Cooks, Fast Food 612,020 $7.41 $7.67 $15,960 Dishwashers 502,770 $7.57 $7.78 $16,190 Ushers, Lobby Attendants, and Ticket Takers 101,530 $7.64 $8.41 $17,500 Counter Attendants, Cafeteria, Food Concession, and Coffee Shop 524,410 $7.76 $8.15 $16,950 Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop 340,390 $7.78 $8.10 $16,860 Shampooers 15,580 $7.78 $8.20 $17,050 Amusement and Recreation Attendants 235,670 $7.83 $8.43 $17,530 Bartenders 485,120 $7.86 $8.91 $18,540 Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse 230,780 $7.95 $8.48 $17,630 In 2008, only two occupations paid a median wage less than $8.00 per hour:[106] Occupation Workers Employed Median Wage Mean Wage Mean Annual Gaming Dealers 91,130 $7.84 $9.56 $19,890 Combined Food Preparation and Serving Workers, Including Fast Food 2,708,840 $7.90 $8.36 $17,400 According to the May 2009 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates,[107] the lowest-paid occupational sectors in May 2009 (when the federal minimum wage was $7.25 per hour) were the following: Sector Workers Employed Median Wage Mean Wage Mean Annual Gaming Dealers 86,900 $8.19 $9.76 $20,290 Combined Food Preparation and Serving Workers, Including Fast Food 2,695,740 $8.28 $8.71 $18,120 Waiters and Waitresses 2,302,070 $8.50 $9.80 $20,380 Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers 402,020 $8.51 $9.09 $18,900 Cooks, Fast Food 539,520 $8.52 $8.76 $18,230

While not one of the occupations is missing from the employment roles in Louisiana, most are as prevalent as crayfish or Jambalaya. 

Jindal is certainly not a recipient of large sums of labor donations; the history of business donations is quite another story.

The Center For Responsive Politics

PACs

Representative Bobby Jindal

Campaign Finance Cycle:   20082006Career
PAC Contribution Breakdown

	Business	$968,028	(87%)
	Labor	$9,500	(1%)
	Ideological/Single Issue	$133,560	(12%)Representative Bobby Jindal

CAREER PROFILE (SINCE 1989)

Top Industries

Representative Bobby Jindal

Campaign Finance Cycle:   20082006Career

Industry	Total
Health Professionals	$334,544
Oil & Gas	$260,250
Lawyers/Law Firms	$237,550
Retired	$203,735
Real Estate	$174,063
Insurance	$130,729
Pharmaceuticals/Health Products	$115,437
Securities & Investment	$109,763
Sea Transport	$105,350
General Contractors	$98,925
Business Services	$95,200
Construction Services	$92,205
Republican/Conservative	$85,272
Leadership PACs	$78,804
Lobbyists	$73,389
Health Services/HMOs	$66,931
Misc Business	$66,023
Hospitals/Nursing Homes	$65,779
Food & Beverage	$63,099
Misc Manufacturing & Distributing	$62,900

Sector Totals

Sector	Total	PACs	Indivs
Agribusiness	$167,652	$59,800	$107,852
Communications/Electronics	$109,938	$26,850	$83,088
Construction	$282,075	$49,575	$232,500
Defense	$35,625	$15,500	$20,125
Energy & Natural Resources	$362,741	$132,000	$230,741
Finance, Insurance & Real Estate	$571,863	$167,476	$404,387
Health	$588,641	$245,283	$343,358
Lawyers & Lobbyists	$310,939	$35,807	$275,132
Transportation	$212,500	$79,000	$133,500
Misc Business	$497,084	$156,737	$340,347
Labor	$9,500	$9,500	$0
Ideological/Single-Issue	$261,968	$133,560	$128,408
Other	$251,252	$500	$250,752

Percent of Contributions Coded

	Coded	$3,639,271	(83.7%)
	Not Coded	$706,791	(16.3%)

METHODOLOGY

NOTE: All the numbers on this page are for the 2004 – 2014 election cycles and based on Federal Election Commission data available electronically on Monday, March 25, 2013. (“Help! The numbers don’t add up…”)

The data sheds (a revealing) light on why Jindal would take on the microphone mouthpiece role against a minimum wage hike. The data actually points to a politician who should be ashamed of himself. It should be noted the Jindal is also a Republican Governor who refuses to accept Medicaid Expansion dollars form the federal government.

When do people hold their elected officials accountable for political malfeasance?

Conservatives Reject New York Times Report! The Horror On The Right

giveusliberty1776.blogspot.com

“Give US Liberty!”

The Right wants the liberty to frame the Benghazi attack on the US Consulate and killing of four Americans in their “likeness.”  

Is there any level of low conservatives will not stoop to facilitated that they perceive as politically expedient?  

For sake of discussion, let’s clarity a few points via a set of questions.  

Have you heard or read anyone or any entity (media, pundits, surrogates, et al) speak of or any comment about denial of congressional funding for additional US Embassy security?  

I. GOP Rep: I ‘Absolutely’ Voted To Cut Funding For Embassy Security .. 

II. Jason Chaffetz Admits House GOP Cut Funding For Embassy Securit

Are you aware Ambassador Stevens denied additional security twice over the yeas proceeding his death?

I. Ambassador Stevens twice said no to military offers of more security … 

II. The GOP’s embassy security problem | MSNBC 

III. CNN Fact Check: What about the security in Benghazi? – CNN.com

Who is responsible for worldwide US Embassy Security? The responsibility is shared between the host country and the US State Department. PBS explored issues related to embassy security In a September 2012, four months after the tragic killings in May of that year.  (bold text added by The Pardu)

Who’s responsible for security at an embassy — the host country or the embassy itself?There’s a dual responsibility. Under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the host country is responsible for security of embassies. However, experience has taught the Americans that they can’t rely on the host country to do that. They’ve experienced big losses in places like Kuwait, and Beirut a couple of times, even in Islamabad, Pakistan, when it was burnt to the ground. So they’ve learned they need to establish their own security bureaucracy to take care of that, and the Diplomatic Security Service (or law enforcement arm of the State Department) came into being in the mid-1980s.  What can be done to step up security at U.S. embassies?One of the things you can do is draw down on personnel, which is what they did in Libya. They had an ordered departure, where they had nonessential personnel, family members and dependents evacuated from the country. The other thing is to draw down American personnel from vulnerable facilities like Benghazi and leave the local personnel in charge of the facility to conduct business because they are less of a target. They can increase the local police and military presence outside the perimeter. They can also bring in additional Marines like they have done now in Tripoli.  Which embassies have a Marine presence?It’s usually at the larger facilities, like Sanaa, Yemen, and Cairo, Egypt. At the smaller consulates and sometimes at smaller embassies, you don’t have Marines stationed there. It depends on the post, the number of Americans there and the amount of classified information that needs to be protected. And sometimes even the political sensibilities of the country.  Which embassies are most at risk of attacks?The State Department looks at that carefully. When you look at the profile of what happened in Benghazi, it was a recently established facility in a place where the bureaucracy hadn’t caught up with it yet. So Congress hadn’t appropriated money and the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations didn’t have the opportunity to really plan and build a new facility there that meets security specifications. Anytime you have a new embassy in that kind of situation, you don’t really have any real security. Places that are new, like in South Sudan, which is a new country, might have issues. A well-established facility in the Middle East can be attacked — as we’ve seen in Cairo and Sanaa — but when it’s a well-built, well-fortified structure, it’s much more difficult to impact.

Before we move to a piece from The Moderate Voice via RePost US, we want to remind of the recent New York Times investigation report that casts serious and credible doubt of the Benghazi attacks as coordinated and enacted by Al Qaeda. The NYT report is at the core of what follows as The Moderate Voice delves into conservative rejection of the NYT investigation results.

As you read the following, we will be amazed if you come away with any impression beyond an unyielding desire from the Right to retain Benghazi as a political issue. The horrors of the attack and killings provide fodder against President Obama and political leverage to disparage Hillary Clinton should she decide to seek the Democratic nomination in 2016.

Conservative Republicans reject New York Times Benghazi findings (via The Moderate Voice)

The New York Times investigation that found Al Qaeda or a terrorist group was not behind the Benghazi attack is — as predicted here — being rejected by Republicans. As I noted in that post: This most likely won’t change the partisan attacks on…

Repost.US..Sacco Speaks About Her Lack Of Sensibility

Father of fired public relations director: ‘I’m so ashamed of her. She’s a f*cking idiot’ (via Raw Story )

News of how the fired IAC public relations director Justine Sacco learned of her new-found celebrity has come to light. On Friday, before boarding a plane to South Africa, Sacco tweeted the following: While she was in the air over the continent whose…