All posts by Henry Digger

North Korea warns of ‘actual war’, says it would pursue nuclear deterrent

March 8, 2017 Henry Digger Leave a comment

STEPHANIE NEBEHAY
GENEVA — Reuters

Published Tuesday, Mar. 07, 2017

North Korea said on Tuesday it would pursue its nuclear deterrent and weapons programme as huge U.S.-South Korean joint military exercises it says model a “pre-emptive nuclear attack” against Pyongyang continued.

South Korea and the United States, which led condemnation of North Korea’s latest missile tests at the Conference on Disarmament, said their military drills were to test defensive readiness against possible aggression from the North.

North Korean diplomat Ju Yong Choi told the United Nations-backed forum that the allies’ annual exercises were “a major cause of escalation of tension that might turn into actual war”.

Continued…

News, Trump, US

White House corrects Trump’s erroneous Gitmo tweet

March 8, 2017 Henry Digger Leave a comment

White House press secretary Sean Spicer on Tuesday acknowledged that President Trumperroneously blamed the Obama administration for releasing 122 “vicious” prisoners from the Guantanamo Bay detention center.

Early Tuesday, Trump accused former President Barack Obama of releasing 122 captured terrorists back onto the battlefield.

However, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence says that 113 of the 122 former detainees who have taken up arms again were released before Obama took office.

“Obviously the president meant in totality, the number that had been released on the battlefield – that have been released from Gitmo since individuals have been released,” Spicer told reporters on Tuesday. “That is correct.”

WH praises House ObamaCare repeal bill © Provided by The Hill WH praises House ObamaCare repeal bill

News, Politics, Trump, US

‘Zero political agenda’: Trump’s pick to lead Russia probe comes Obama-approved

March 8, 2017 Henry Digger Leave a comment

Rod Rosenstein, facing Senate hearing Tuesday for role of deputy attorney general, has ‘rock-solid ethics’

By Matt Kwong, CBC News Posted: Mar 07, 2017 5:00 AM ET Last Updated: Mar 07, 2017 2:35 PM ET

Rod Rosenstein, right, U.S. President Donald Trump's appointee to become the next deputy attorney general, faces a Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday. Rosenstein, described as a fiercely independent prosecutor, has won approval across partisan lines.

Rod Rosenstein, right, U.S. President Donald Trump’s appointee to become the next deputy attorney general, faces a Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday. Rosenstein, described as a fiercely independent prosecutor, has won approval across partisan lines. (Reuters, Associated Press)

Rod Rosenstein, the next-in-line litigator to oversee investigations into Donald Trump’s campaign ties with Russian officials, has already achieved a rare trifecta: unanimous approval from the three most recent presidents.

That bipartisan confidence may convince a Senate panel on Tuesday to advance his confirmation as the next deputy attorney general, particularly amid trepidation over the White House’s relationship with the Russians.

George W. Bush tapped Rosenstein as the U.S. attorney for the District of Maryland in 2005. Barack Obama’s administration trusted him enough to keep him on as the top federal prosecutor there for another eight years.

“He’s a straight shooter when it comes to the discretionary aspects of his job,” says Baltimore criminal lawyer Steve Silverman, who has known Rosenstein for at least a decade.

To those with misgivings about how a Trump appointee might cave to political pressures, Silverman has reassuring words about the Harvard Law grad’s reputation.

Continue reading ‘Zero political agenda’: Trump’s pick to lead Russia probe comes Obama-approved →

Computers, Science and Technology, Security

New Google Chrome Hack Will Display ‘Missing Font’ And Prompt User To Download Malware!

February 22, 2017 Henry Digger Leave a comment

(Photo : Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images) MUNICH, GERMANY – SEPTEMBER 06: In this photo illustration Google’s Chrome, Google Inc.’s new Web browser is displayed on an laptop.

Google Chrome, one of the best browsers today has been infiltrated. A “missing font” will allegedly pop up and prompt users to download and install malware on their system.

The hackers allegedly use a JavaScript to tamper the text so it resembles a misencoded text, making the Google Chrome users think that something is indeed wrong. It will then prompt a pop-up window suggesting that the user updates the “Chrome front pack.”

The New Web reported that one researcher discovers this while browsing an unnamed WordPress site that is allegedly compromised. The new Chrome hack is very well-disguised that user won’t even be suspicious about it.

The hack will display a dialog window that resembles an actual Chrome pop-up. It includes the logo of the popular browser with the correct shade of blue for its “update” button.

However, aside from displaying this pop-up window, it will lure Google Chrome users to download a file titled “Chrome Font v7.5.1.exe.” This file doesn’t match the file name “Chrome_Front.exe” in the malicious instruction.

Complete Story

Astronomy, Science

Make Pluto a planet again, NASA scientists argue

February 22, 2017 Henry Digger Leave a comment

Monday February 20, 2017

Make Pluto a planet again, NASA scientists argue

This image of Pluto was taken from NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft on July 13, 2015. Now the scientists behind the mission want to redefine what is considered a planet so that Pluto can again be classified as one. (NASA via Reuters)

Some NASA scientists have joined together to propose a new definition for a planet that would let Pluto back into the fold.

It’s been more than a decade since Pluto got demoted from planet to dwarf planet, thanks to a controversial decision by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).

As far as planetary geologist Kirby Runyon is concerned, letting astronomers who “mainly study stars, galaxies and black holes” define planets is ridiculous.

Complete Story

News, Republican Party, US

George Clooney Just Said What No One Else Dares To About Trump And The Press

February 22, 2017 Henry Digger Leave a comment

BY NATALIE DICKINSON
PUBLISHED ON FEBRUARY 22, 2017

World-famous actor George Clooney just called out the Trump administration, labeling them the “real” Hollywood elite. He took particular aim at the President and his Chief Strategist, Stephen Bannon and defended actress Meryl Streep for her comments at this year’s Golden Globes.

Trump’s faux-populism platform decried the “Hollywood elites” as being out of touch with the American people, attempting to discredit the celebrities that flocked to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s side.

But Clooney rightfully pointed out it’s Trump and Bannon who are the real elites in an interview with France’s Canal+.

“When Meryl [Streep] spoke, everyone on that one side said, ‘Well that’s elitist Hollywood speaking.’ Donald Trump has 22 acting credits in television. Collects $120,000 a year from his Screen Actors Guild pension fund. He is a Hollywood elitist.

Steve Bannon is a failed film writer and director. That’s the truth, that’s what he’s done. He wrote a Shakespearean rap musical about the L.A. riots that he couldn’t get made. He made a lot of money off of ‘Seinfeld.’ He’s elitist Hollywood, I mean that’s the reality.”

Clooney then turned to Trump’s war with the press and his attacks on the First Amendment:

“We have a demagogue in the White House. We need the fourth estate, which is journalists, to hold his feet to the fire.

They didn’t do a very good job during the campaign. And they haven’t done a particularly good job yet. But those things will change.”

The idea that Donald Trump is a man of the people is the biggest political scam perpetrated in American history since Republican voters were somehow convinced that George W. Bush was somehow a “political outsider.”

Donald Trump is a representation of the very worst of the American wealthy elites who view their compatriots as nothing more than a means to the end. Bannon, a former Goldman executive, is similarly connected to the ruling elites that have outright purchased the Republican Party and plot to squeeze every last cent from the American middle class. Clooney’s comments are spot on and are sure to make President Trump glower in anger.

Health and Fitness, Organ Donation and Transplant Program

Amid opioid crisis, B.C. sees spike in organ donors who died of drug overdose

February 19, 2017 Henry Digger Leave a comment

The head of B.C.’s renal transplant program says previously organs from such “high-risk” donors would have been shied away from, but now better testing systems allow for greater confidence.

As B.C. is gripped by an opioid crisis, the province has seen a spike in the number of organ donors who died of drug overdoses. (LIZ O. BAYLEN / TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE FILE PHOTO)

By GEORDON OMANDThe Canadian Press

VANCOUVER—There has been a spike in the proportion of organs coming from donors who have died of drug overdoses in British Columbia, says a leading transplant specialist.

Dr. David Landsberg, head of the province’s renal transplant program, said 25 per cent of the deceased donors that have come into the program so far in 2017 were the result of overdoses.

“Unfortunately, always when there is a donation there’s been a tragedy,” Landsberg said. “But for patients who have been in desperate need of transplants, it’s been a blessing.”

B.C.’s chief medical officer declared a state of emergency 10 months ago over the number of overdose deaths. The crisis saw 914 people die in the province last year from illicit drugs, a significant portion of which were linked to the deadly opioid fentanyl. Figures released by the coroner’s office on Friday showed 116 people died in January from illicit drug overdoses.

The crisis has played a role the number of organs donated for transplant, Landsberg said, though part of that growth can also be attributed to improvements in transplant co-ordination and outreach.

All organs are tested for diseases but recipients are still advised

Continue reading →

Environment, Michigan, State

Flint Water Crisis Fast Facts

February 15, 2017 Henry Digger Leave a comment

CNN Library
Thu February 2, 2017

(CNN)Here is a look at the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, where cost-cutting measures led to tainted drinking water that contained lead and other toxins.

Facts:
Flint, located 70 miles north of Detroit, is a city of 98,310, where 41.2% of residents live below the poverty line and the median household income is $24,862, according to the US Census Bureau. The median household income for the rest of Michigan is $49,576. The city is 56.6% African-American.

Flint once thrived as the home of the nation’s largest General Motors plant. The city’s economic decline began during the 1980s, when GM downsized its sprawling industrial complex.
In 2011, the state of Michigan took over Flint’s finances after an audit projected a $25 million deficit. Even though Flint’s water supply fund was $9 million in the red, officials were using some of this money to cover shortfalls in its general fund. A receivership ended in April 2015, when the water fund was declared solvent and the remaining deficit was eliminated by an emergency loan.
In order to reduce the water fund shortfall, the city switched water sources in 2014. While a new pipeline connecting Flint with Lake Huron was under construction, the city turned to the Flint River as a water source during the two-year transition.

The Flint River had been the city’s primary water source decades earlier, but Flint switched to Lake Huron in 1967, purchasing its supply through the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department.
Contaminated Water Supply:

Historically, the water in the Flint River downstream of Flint has been of poor quality, and was severely degraded during the 1970s, due to “the presence of fecal coliform bacteria, low dissolved oxygen, plant nutrients, oils, and toxic substances.” In 2001, the state ordered the monitoring and cleanup of 134 polluted sites within the Flint River watershed, including industrial complexes, landfills and farms laden with pesticides and fertilizer.

According to a class-action lawsuit, the state Department of Environmental Quality was not treating the Flint River water with an anti-corrosive agent, in violation of federal law. The river water

Continue reading Flint Water Crisis Fast Facts →

Politics, US