REP. TREY GOWDY’S EXPLOSIVE CLAIM ABOUT BENGHAZI SURVIVORS

Aug. 2, 2013 5:36pm Jason Howerton

The Obama administration is “changing names” of the Benghazi survivors and “creating aliases” to keep them hidden from congressional investigators and the American people, Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) told Greta Van Susteren on Thursday night. He also said the administration is “dispersing them around the country” to keep them out of sight.

Gowdy’s stunning claims were overshadowed by CNN’s bombshell report that revealed there were “dozens” of CIA operatives on the ground in Benghazi on Sept. 11, 2012, the night of the deadly attack that killed four Americans. Meanwhile, the CIA is taking “unprecedented” to keep whatever it was doing in Benghazi a secret, according to the report.

“Stop and think what things are most calculated to get at the truth? Talk to people with first-hand knowledge. What creates the appearance and perhaps the reality of a cover-up? Not letting us talk with people who have the most amount of information, dispersing them around the country and changing their names,” Gowdy said.

It should be noted that Gowdy did not present evidence to back up his explosive claim, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have any.

CIA 'running arms smuggling team in Benghazi when consulate was attacked'

The CIA has been subjecting operatives to monthly polygraph tests in an attempt to suppress details of a US arms smuggling operation in Benghazi that was ongoing when its ambassador was killed by a mob in the city last year, according to reports.

CIA running arms smuggling team in Benghazi when consulate attack: The U.S. Consulate in Benghazi is seen in flames during a protest by an armed group in this file photo taken September 11, 2012.

The U.S. Consulate in Benghazi is seen in flames during a protest by an armed group, September 11, 2012. Photo: REUTERS

By Damien McElroy

11:06AM BST 02 Aug 2013

Up to 35 CIA operatives were working in the city during the attack last September on the US consulate that resulted in the death of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans, according toCNN.

The circumstances of the attack are a subject of deep division in the US with some Congressional leaders pressing for a wide-ranging investigation into suspicions that the government has withheld details of its activities in the Libyan city.

The television network said that a CIA team was working in an annex near the consulate on a project to supply missiles from Libyan armouries to Syrian rebels.

Sources said that more Americans were hurt in the assault spearheaded by suspected Islamic radicals than had been previously reported. CIA chiefs were actively working to ensure the real nature of its operations in the city did not get out.

So only the losses suffered by the State Department in the city had been reported to Congress.

"Since January, some CIA operatives involved in the agency's missions in Libya, have been subjected to frequent, even monthly polygraph examinations, according to a source with deep inside knowledge of the agency's workings," CNN reported.

Frank Wolf, a US congressman who represents the district that contains CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, is one of 150 members of Congress for a new investigation into the failures in Benghazi.

"I think it is a form of a cover-up, and I think it's an attempt to push it under the rug, and I think the American people are feeling the same way," he said. "We should have the people who were on the scene come in, testify under oath, do it publicly, and lay it out. And there really isn't any national security issue involved with regards to that."

A CIA spokesman said it had been open about its activities in Benghazi.

"The CIA has worked closely with its oversight committees to provide them with an extraordinary amount of information related to the attack on US facilities in Benghazi," a CIA statement said. "CIA employees are always free to speak to Congress if they want," the statement continued. "The CIA enabled all officers involved in Benghazi the opportunity to meet with Congress. We are not aware of any CIA employee who has experienced retaliation, including any non-routine security procedures, or who has been prevented from sharing a concern with Congress about the Benghazi incident."

WHO’S GOING TO PAY FOR CONGRESSIONAL STAFFERS’ INCREASING INSURANCE PREMIUMS

For months we’ve been hearing from both Republicans and Democrats in Washington, D.C. terrified that the implementation of Obamacare would decimate their staffs. Some senators and congressmen talked about a serious “brain drain” in Washington when their staff members leave. Congressman John Larson (D-Conn.), who voted for the health care law, said making the law apply to elected officials and their staffers was “simply not fair.”

The problem stems from the same issue other Americans have with the looming arrival of Obamacare: insurance premiums set to increase for just about everyone in the country. And people whose employers offer “Cadillac” coverage (like Congress and their staffers receive) will be hit harder.

On Thursday, President Barack Obama met with congressional Democrats to discuss the problem, and reportedly told his team that he was “on it.” Friday morning brings many reports that a deal had been struck. Politico reported that the Office of Personnel Management intends to rule that the government may continue to contribute to the health care premiums of lawmakers and their staff.

Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas tweeted his response to the news almost immediately:

The ruling means that despite an amendment that made all members of Congress and their staffs subject to the same law they are imposing on the rest of America, they won’t have to pay for it. Instead, taxpayers will be footing the bill.

Before the deal was announced, Thursday night Nancy Pelosi said in a statement that “Members of Congress and their staffs must enroll in health marketplaces as the Affordable Care Act requires.” Pelosi made no mention of the looming Office of Personnel Management deal.

Coincidence?

The crew at MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” found it hilarious that congressional staffers were going to avoid paying higher insurance premiums — with the exception of the Huffington Post’s Sam Stein, who sat stone faced.

Who Fought Civil Rights

In an interview with the Daily Beast published Friday, Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) suggested Tea Partiers are the "same group" who fought for segregation during the Civil Rights movement.

“It is the same group we faced in the South with those white crackers and the dogs and the police. They didn’t care about how they looked," Rangel said.

Because of this, Rangel said the Tea Party could be defeated using the same tactics employed against Jim Crow.

"It was just fierce indifference to human life that caused America to say enough is enough. ‘I don’t want to see it and I am not a part of it.’ What the hell! If you have to bomb little kids and send dogs out against human beings, give me a break,” said Rangel.

Your TV might be watching you

By Erica Fink and Laurie Segall @CNNMoney August 1, 2013: 11:32 AM ET

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The camera in your TV is watching you

LAS VEGAS (CNNMoney)

Today's high-end televisions are almost all equipped with "smart" PC-like features, including Internet connectivity, apps, microphones and cameras. But a recently discovered security hole in some Samsung Smart TVs shows that many of those bells and whistles aren't ready for prime time.

The flaws in Samsung Smart TVs, which have now been patched, enabled hackers to remotely turn on the TVs' built-in cameras without leaving any trace of it on the screen. While you're watching TV, a hacker anywhere around the world could have been watching you. Hackers also could have easily rerouted an unsuspecting user to a malicious website to steal bank account information.

Samsung quickly fixed the problem after security researchers at iSEC Partners informed the company about the bugs. Samsung sent a software update to all affected TVs.

But the glitches speak to a larger problem of gadgets that connect to the Internet but have virtually no security to speak of.

Security cameras, lights, heating control systems and even door locks and windows are now increasingly coming with features that allow users to control them remotely. Without proper security controls, there's little to stop hackers from invading users' privacy, stealing personal information or spying on people.

In the case of Samsung Smart TVs, iSEC researchers found that they could tap into the TV's Web browser with ease, according to iSEC security analyst Josh Yavor. That gave hackers access to all the functions controlled by the browser, including the TV's built-in camera.

"If there's a vulnerability in any application, there's a vulnerability in the entire TV," said Aaron Grattafiori, also an analyst at iSEC.

Yavor and Grattafiori were also able to hack the browser in such a way that users would be sent to any website of the hacker's choosing. While the hack would have been obvious if the website on the screen didn't match the desired address, Yavor says there could be serious implications if a bad actor sent a user to a lookalike banking page and retrieved a user's credentials.

The research was conducted on different models of 2012 Samsung Smart TVs and was presented this week at the Black Hat cybersecurity conference in Las Vegas.

In a statement to CNNMoney, Samsung said it takes user safety very seriously. Addressing the camera flaw, a company spokesperson said, "The camera can be turned into a bezel of the TV so that the lens is covered, or disabled by pushing the camera inside the bezel. The TV owner can also unplug the TV from the home network when the Smart TV features are not in use."

Samsung also recommends that customers use encrypted wireless access points.

The iSEC crew said they remain skeptical that the technology is perfectly secure, even after Samsung patched the bugs.

"We know that the way we were able to do this has been fixed; it doesn't mean that there aren't other ways that could be discovered in the future, " Yavor said.

Companies like Samsung pay hackers when they report security vulnerabilities like the ones iSEC found. The researchers are iSEC confident that there are more undetected flaws in these devices that they are running a fund-raiser off of finding bugs in Smart TVs at technology conference Def Con later this week.

Yavor and Grattafiori say users should run regular updates from vendors like they would for anti-virus definitions or system updates on the smartphone.

And when all else fails, users can always put tape over their cameras.

Hillary Rodham Clinton to Receive 'American Patriot Award' for 'Defending Our Nation'

Kyle Becker
On August 3, 2013
https://twitter.com/kylenbecker

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was charged with ensuring security at U.S. diplomatic facilities, but failed to pick up that “3 a.m. phone call” when Amb. Christopher Stevens was screaming for help in Benghazi.

And to show how much she really cares, Hillary Rodham Clinton even blurted out in a terse exchange at a House committee investigating the slaughter of an ambassador, a diplomat, and two former SEALs without any military back-up: “What difference, at this point, does it make?”

It not only makes a difference in reality to prevent such things from happening to our servicemen again, but it is important so people scratch Mrs. Clinton off the short list of receiving phony awards like the “American Patriot Award,” which will be given to her at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center on November 14th for “defending our nation.” No, this article is not satire.

This is from the NDU’s press release:

“The American Patriot Award recognizes men and women of extraordinary caliber whose leadership has strengthened our nation’s strategic interests and advanced global security.
As First Lady, Senator, and Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton tirelessly worked to support and defend our nation and our allies around the world,” said Al Zimmerman, chairman of the NDU Foundation Board of Directors, in a press release.

“Secretary Clinton will be the first woman to receive this award and in doing so joins an outstanding group of Americans who have been honored with the American Patriot Award, our very highest recognition,” Zimmerman continued in the release. “By honoring Secretary Clinton’s exemplary career in public service the NDU Foundation celebrates not only the American spirit of patriotism, but the leadership qualities necessary to preserve and protect that spirit.”

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77% Of Jobs Created In 2013 Are Part-time; Only 222K Full-Time Jobs Created All Year

by JOHN NOLTE 2 Aug 2013

ZeroHedge:

In July we are sad to report that America's conversation to a part-time worker society is not "tapering": according to the Household Survey, of the 266K jobs created (note this number differs from the establishment survey), only 35% of jobs, or 92K, were full time. The rest were... not.

Zerohedge also points out that of the 953,000 jobs created thus far in 2013, 77% are part-time.That works out to only 222,000 full time jobs created this year.

Here are four other things the media aren't telling you about today's jobs numbers.