Good news out of Russia, the people are concerned about the loss of Russian lives in Syria.

Russian leaders outside the usual folks are speaking up and want accountability. This is refreshing. One of the aspects of the OCO (Overseas Contingency Operations) funds that concerns Americans a great deal is the idea the president has a private military operation. That is not acceptable. It is why the US Congress is lawfully required to commit to any war after 90 days of any use of the US military. 

It would seem as though Russians are viewing the involvement in Syria the same way. I had thought there was an annoucement as well that Russia was leaving Syria (click here), with Turkey entering the fight. With this new confrontation between the USA and Russia forces all kinds of questions arise and it presents a much larger problem, in that, how far is a confrontation going to go with two major powers? 

February 13, 2018

By Ivan Nechepurenko

...And some individual Russians (click here) have begun speaking out. Aleksandr Ionov, a Russian businessman working in Syria offering security and other services, said he estimated after conversations with associates in several private military organizations that more than 200 Russians might have been killed.

Mr. Ionov said not all those killed were Russian: Some of the paid fighters came from other countries that were once part of the Soviet Union. “More than 200 is the current estimate, we cannot know the exact number yet, but most of them were Russian,” he said in a telephone interview.

Mr. Ionov said he was speaking out because he wanted any Russians who were killed to be officially recognized for their sacrifice.

“The truth has to be told,” he said. “If people died, then this should be recognized and respects should be paid to people who fought against terrorists.”

He called on the government to give a fuller version of events, adding, “People are outraged because they want to know the truth.”

Mr. Ionov was not the only one speaking out about Russian fatalities. Aleksandr Averin, a member of the Other Russia nationalist party, confirmed that Kirill Ananiev, a party member who left for Syria about a year ago, had been killed in the airstrike, noting that there were other “substantial losses....   

This isn't good. The White House is blatantly protecting itself with misinformation while there is testimony happening in Congress. That is more than an oops.

Sarah, get a clue. Trump is not a good boss if he is CYAing all the time, demands loyalty and allows professionals to be unprofessional with minimally ethics violations.

February 14, 2018
By Aaron Blake

The White House (click here) is flailing with the Rob Porter scandal right now. And Tuesday afternoon laid that bare.

Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was peppered with questions after FBI Director Christopher A. Wray earlier in the day seemed to contradict the White House’s timeline. But while her answers might have explained what Wray said, they conflict with what the White House said previously.

In Wray’s testimony in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee, he said the FBI had closed its handling of Porter’s background investigation for a security clearance in January. Wray said: “What I can tell you is that the FBI submitted a partial report on the investigation in question in March, and then a completed background investigation in late July; that, soon thereafter, we received request for follow-up inquiry, and we did the follow-up and provided that information in November; and that we administratively closed the file in January.”...

Intelligence agency offices need to assess any holes in security and close them. Get out the concrete barriers and don't think twice.

My first instinct is to worry about mimics. Other than that, this attack is among the most stupid attacks I've ever seen. You mean there is still something left of the vehicle? I think the NSA saw this coming and decided it would fail, so why turn out the big guns.

What did they think they were doing? The driver survived it, huh? That was compassionate. But, there is always intelligence to gather when attackers are taken alive.

What went on? The vehicle's frame appears bent. It was obviously rammed in the middle. So what was the chase like? Do tell.

February 14, 2018
By Doug Stanlin

Authorities are investigating (click here) a possible shooting Wednesday near the entrance to the super-secret National Security Agency in Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C., according to media reports. One suspect was reportedly in custody.

Video from the scene showed a black SUV with bullet holes in the windshield crashed into barriers near the NSA gate. 

WBAL reports that three people were wounded in the incident and a suspect was apparently in custody. WBAL also reports that none of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening....

This is the suspect? This is it? My, oh, my. What could have prompted such hatred? Well, the protections work. The security has been challenged and it can now be assessed. The attack is making the agencies better as I write this.

Computer balloting is not secure.

September 17, 2017
By Pam Fessler

One of the public's unanswered questions (click here) about Russia's attempts to break into election systems last year was which states were targeted. On Friday, states found out.

The Department of Homeland Security said earlier this year that it had evidence of Russian activity in 21 states, but it failed to inform individual states whether they were among those targeted. Instead, DHS authorities say they told those who had "ownership" of the systems — which in some cases were private vendors or local election offices....

Americans also know they can trust the FBI. I rather the mechanical voting machines. They were clean and accurate and easy to use. What could be better?

I think the 'fear factor' in American elections can be handled as well. The intelligence services spoke to the electorate before the 2016 elections about the issues concerning Russian involvement in the election, but, the underlying momentum overpowered those warnings. I think it prudent the intelligence agencies have a better relationship with the electorate, including, an announcement about their activities linked to the change in momentum of the Clinton campaign by James Comey.

There needs to be standards set and carried out at least weekly for national security issues during elections. These standards should result in minimally a weekly announcement. These announcements should come from a national security person and carried by all media networks. If there is weekly propaganda, it can be diffused and RETURNED to the facts stated by the agencies. It is important Americans have good information going into the voting booth, (as well as a voting booth that is secure and works) and not inflammatory information. I think most Americans would want that. 

September 19, 2017

...According to the FBI, as many as 39 states had their election systems scanned or targeted by Russia. There's no evidence of votes changed. But given the stakes, some state agencies that run elections are trying to curb any further interference prior to mid-term elections in November.

Their tool of choice: Ensuring systems can't be hacked, and if they are, making those breaches immediately obvious. To do this, some are taking the unusual move of rewinding the technological dial, debating measures that would add paper ballots — similar to how many Americans voted before electronic voting started to become widespread in the 1980s. 

A week ago Virginia announced it would no longer use touch-screen-only voting machines after a hack-a-thon in Las Vegas showed how easily they could be breached.

States with electronic-only voting machines want to add a paper back-up that would mandate, for every electronic ballot cast, creation of a paper version that could be counted, and presumably, not easily altered. ...