Sleepless in Midland

Texas state and local officials on alert for Iranian cyber attacks

Iranians are trying. And hopefully state, county, and municipal agencies are on full alert.

Texas Governor Abbott has noticed:

None of the attempted attacks — which probed for weaknesses that would let hackers gather data, deny access to a website or post messages on a site — tracked by state officials were successful, said Abbott and Amanda Crawford, head of the Texas Department of Information Resources.

However, the Texas Department of Agriculture website was briefly defaced Tuesday with a photo of Qassem Soleimani, the Iranian general who was killed Friday in a U.S. drone strike, by a self-described “Iranian Hacker.” Similar attacks were reported in other states.

Hardly a week goes by in which we don't hear about some entity -- a company, government agency, municipality, hospital, etc. -- getting hacked or subjected to malware, ransomware, or something else. We all need to keep out software up to date and protected. Oh, and we should keep our fingers crossed just in case that particular gesture actually works.

Links:
Texas facing 10,000 potential cybersecurity attacks from Iran per minute, Abbott says;
Governor Greg Abbott Reports Rise In Attempted Cyber Attacks On Texas;
Abbott: Cyberattacks increase from inside Iran;
Morning Greatness: Iran Launches Hype Missile Attack on U.S. Military Bases in Iraq.

P.S. It would be nice if the U.S. could put some malware of its own in the Iranian government computers.

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11:35 AM 1/8/2020

Joe Lieberman on dems' response to the Soleimani hit

Objective observers might be wondering why Democrats are condemning the killing of a known terrorist now when they either cheered or were silent when the previous president did the same thing. Could it really be just partisan politics?

Joe Lieberman sees through the dust cloud. He even provides a warning to Democrats:

If enough voters decide that Democrats can’t be trusted to keep America safe, Mr. Trump won’t have much trouble winning a second term in November. That’s one more reason Democrats should leave partisan politics at “the water’s edge” and, whatever their opinion of President Trump on other matters, stand together against Iran and dangerous leaders like Qasem Soleimani.

Found at The Democrats and Iran. Also here: Joe Lieberman Rebukes Democrats For Senseless Partisan Extremism.

Well, for the longest time Americans knew that Republicans would most likely defend the country, and the best they could hope for was that Democrats might defend the country.

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3:43 PM 1/7/2020

Hackers are trying to get malware into utility companies' computers

Hopefully, they are trying to prevent this. But nonetheless, it's worrisome to think they aren't doing enough. And the means of attack is predominately through phishing. We've heard of several municipalities that were victimized by this type malware. Are utility employees keen enough to avoid becoming a patsy for hackers?

The bad news is in the Wall Street Journal. Utilities Targeted in Cyberattacks Identified. Here's a rather long excerpt:

More than a dozen U.S. utilities that were targets in a recent wave of cyberattacks have been identified by The Wall Street Journal. Some of the utilities, most of which are relatively small, are located near dams, locks and other critical infrastructure.

These electricity providers were singled out in a hacking campaign that was brought to light in August by researchers at a Silicon Valley cybersecurity company. But little was known about the attacks until now.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is probing the attacks and has contacted some, but not all, of the utilities, according to some of the utilities. It is possible that the hacking campaign is ongoing, according to security researchers.

Utilities said the FBI provided information that helped them scan their computer networks to see if firewalls—their first-line defenses—had been probed and whether malware-laced emails had been sent to their employees. The FBI declined to comment.

The targeted utilities, which operate in 18 states from Maine to Washington, include Cloverland Electric Cooperative in Michigan, which sits next to the Sault Ste. Marie Locks, a critical juncture for the transport of iron ore to U.S. steel mills; Klickitat Public Utility District in Washington state, which is near major federal dams and transmission lines that funnel hydroelectricity to California; and Basin Electric Power Cooperative in North Dakota, one of the few utilities that is capable of delivering electricity to both the nation’s eastern and western grids.

The hackers attempted to get malware installed on utility computers through “phishing” emails that trick recipients into opening them. The embedded malware, which in this case has been dubbed “Lookback,” could give attackers the ability to take control of victims’ computers and steal information.

Here's the list of utilities affected:

Wisconsin Rapids Water Works and Lighting—Contacted by FBI
ALP Utilities, Minn.—Contacted by FBI
Cowlitz County Public Utility District, Wash.—Contacted by FBI
Flathead Electric Cooperative, Mont.—Didn’t provide details
Basin Electric Power, N.D.—Didn’t provide details
Klickitat Public Utility District, Wash.—No FBI contact
Cloverland Electric Cooperative, Mich.—Contacted by FBI
Brownsville Public Utilities Board, Texas—Contacted by the FBI
Utilities Commission of New Smyrna Beach, Fla.—Contacted by the FBI
Rochester Public Utilities, Minn.—No FBI contact
Tucson Electric Power, Ariz.—Declined to comment
Emera Maine—Declined to comment
Tri-County Electric Cooperative, S.C.—Couldn’t be reached for comment

Should we all be preppers so we could endure a long blackout?

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3:15 PM 11/25/2019

National group tries to distance itself from the jihadist kids' video

Yesterday in Junior Jihadists in Philly -- maybe Islamophobia is a realistic attitude after all, we talked about that frightening video of the Islamic children in Philadelphia singing about decapitating on behalf of Allah.

Right on cue, a national Islamic organizations attempted to patch the crack in the facade with proclamations that the songs were not properly vetted.

Nice try. There are some things one doesn't say around the enemy until after the swords start swinging. And talk of torturing infidels is one of them.

That national Islamic organization well knows that taqiyya allows lying to "gain the upper-hand over an enemy" or if it helps them "gain the trust of non-believers in order to draw out their vulnerability and defeat them."

Try though they might, they've done nothing to allay my Islamophobia.

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2:52 PM 5/6/2019

Junior Jihadists in Philly -- maybe Islamophobia is a realistic attitude afterall

We've been hearing for years that Islam is a religion of peace and that Islamophobia was reactionary and politically incorrect. Yet the ancient Islamic teachings are anything but peaceful toward those who don't accept those teachings.

So here come these children being taught to sing a call to battle the infidels. Shocking video of children in Philadelphia Muslim Society: 'We will chop off their heads' for Allah. Excerpt:

Disturbing footage of Muslim kids saying they would sacrifice themselves and kill for the "army of Allah" surfaced from an Islamic center in Philadelphia.

The Muslim American Society (MAS) Islamic Center in Philadelphia posted the video to its Facebook page celebrating "Ummah Day" in which young children wearing Palestinian scarves sang and read poetry about killing for Allah and the mosque in Jerusalem.

The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), a watchdog group, alerted Fox News to the video.

"These are not isolated incidents; they are happening in major centers of the country – including in Pennsylvania," MEMRI said in a statement.

In the video, translated by MEMRI, kids can be heard singing: "The land of the Prophet Muhammad's Night Journey is calling us. Our Palestine must return to us."

It's a chilling reminder of what James Mitchell disclosed about Islam's true believers in his book "Enhanced Interrogation."

He [Khalid Sheikh Mohammed ] said the terror attacks were good, but the practical way to defeat America was through immigration and by outbreeding non- Muslims' He said jihadi-minded brothers would immigrate into the united states, taking advantage of the welfare system to support themselves while they spread their jihadi message. They will wrap themselves in America's rights and laws for protection, ratchet up acceptance of Sharia law, and then, only when they were strong enough, rise up and violently impose sharia from within. He said the brothers would relentlessly continue their attacks and the American people eventually would become so tired, so frightened, and so weary of war that they would just want it to end. "Eventually," KSM said, "America will expose her neck to us for slaughter."

Happy Ramadan.

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1:25 PM 5/5/2019

What if Ilhan Omar is part of Islam's grand plan?

The tolerance Democrats have for the recent antisemitic remarks of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) sounds very wrong to most Americans. We've had "diversity is our strength" drilled into our skulls so long that it's numbing. So maybe that's why Democrats seem deaf to intolerance by those who seek to discriminate against Jews.

If one watches enough of the confirmation hearings when the appointee under consideration is a Christian one comes away with the feeling that there's a high degree of Christian-phobia out there. Now we can add Jew-phobia to that list, too. But when it comes to Islam, it's as if their minds are so open their brains fell out.

Anyway, to the point. Maybe Ilhan Omar is part of Islam's grand plan. Let's revisit James Mitchell's book, "Enhanced Interrogation" where he recounted some of his conversations with Jihad mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Here's an excerpt (bold added for emphasis):

"It would be nice," he said, if al Q'ida or like-minded Islamists could bring America to its knees with catastrophic attacks, but that was unlikely to happen; "not practical" is the wording he used. From his perspective, the long war for Islamic domination wasn't going to be won in the streets with bombs and bullets and bloodshed. No, it would be won in the minds of the American people.

He said the terror attacks were good, but the practical, way to defeat America was through immigration and by outbreeding non- Muslims. He said jihadi-minded brothers would immigrate into the united states, taking advantage of the welfare system to support themselves while they spread their jihadi message. They will wrap themselves in America's rights and laws for protection, ratchet up acceptance of sharia law, and then, only when they were strong enough, rise up and violently impose sharia from within. He said the brothers would relentlessly continue their attacks and the American people eventually would become so tired, so frightened, and so weary of war that they would just want it to end.

"Eventually," KSM said, "America will expose her neck to us for slaughter."

Ilhan Omar and a few others are leading the attack on the American system. The long plan would have American citizens and non-citizens adopting Sharia law voluntarily. However, the only uncertainty at this point is which alternate system will ultimately prevail.

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3:17 PM 3/8/2019

No More Monsieur Nice Guy - Europe gets tough with potential terrorists

It seemed that for too long a time Europe didn't really have the heart to fight terrorism. If it was a fight they didn't want, that was understandable. But as the old saying goes, you might not be interested in war, but war is interested in you.

Anyway, it was interesting to read this article that appeared in the Wall Street Journal: Europe to Terrorists: It’s No More Monsieur Nice Guy. (I love that title!) Here's an alternate link if you can't get through to that one.

Among the procedures that are becoming routine are prosecutions of people who planned to run off to join a jihadist group. And it's easier now to shut down radical mosques and deport imams. (Whew, imagine the uproar if that happened in the U.S.) Furthermore, there's an increased willingness to use military force against jihadist groups outside Europe.

A few years ago the French citizenry were having spasms over allegations of atrocities by French soldiers in Algeria. So there may be a change of heart under way.

In any event, it's interesting news on the terror front.

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4:19 PM 11/19/2018

Build that wall -- Iraqis make plans to keep terrorists out

Countries all around the globe utilize a pretty good method of keeping uninvited people out. Yes, walls are more common than Democrats want to admit.

Check this out: Iraq Begins Constructing Border Fence to Keep Jihadis Out:

Iraq has begun constructing a fence on its border with Syria to keep Islamic State jihadis from entering its territory, the country’s border guards spokesman revealed Sunday.

“Ten days ago we started to set up a barbed wire security fence with surveillance towers along the border with Syria,” said border guard spokesman Anwar Hamid Nayef in Iraq’s Anbar province, adding that experts from Baghdad’s defense ministry and the U.S. would soon visit “to evaluate the effectiveness of the fence.”

The new 20-kilometer barrier will include a six-meter-wide trench, surveillance towers, and the use of thermal imaging technology to detect potential Islamists attempting to cross the border. It will run over the border town of Al-Qaim, where Iraqi forces defeated ISIS last November.

Barbed wire, towers, and thermal imaging technology will likely work for them if they've got a reliable force to deal with any intruders. Here in the U.S. border enforcement is dependent on political whim. And a barrier that is virtually impenetrable might be a better system.

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1:52 PM 7/4/2018

Reminder -- Dianne Feinstein outed the architects of enhanced interrogation

Maybe the voting will be complete by the time this post gets published. But as of the time of this writing, Dianne Feinstein claims she will vote against the confirmation of Gina Haspel as CIA director. The issue has become another partisan cause for those who want to oppose anything and everything Donald Trump proposes.

Whatever happens, it's useful to recall that Ms. Haspel was the one who implemented the destruction of the video recordings that may have existed of the actual enhanced recover techniques in operation. The reason for the destruction was to protect the identity of those who participated in the project.

In that connection, it's also useful to recall that Feinstein or someone in her office leaked enough information to the media that allowed them to identify at least one of the psychologists who came up with the enhanced interrogation techniques that eventually go put in place. That psychologist had to go undercover for a while to avoid potential assassins. Read the story in James Mitchell's book, "Enhanced Interrogation." The book was reviewed at How the Use of Enhanced Interrogation Techniques Saved Thousands of American Lives.

There have been many other Feinstein leaks. Is there any doubt that if those enhanced interrogation videos still existed they would eventually appear in terrorist propaganda videos?

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2:49 PM 5/11/2018

Video -- how mass shooter reloads weapons so fast

This is a jaw dropping video I saw the other night at a class about civilian response to an active shooter. The guy in the video walks up to the camera appearing to be unarmed. Then he pulls an AR-15 out of his pants, loads it with a magazine, ejects the magazine, then inserts another for a total of seven magazines.

That was remarkable enough, but he isn't finished. He then draws a semi-auto handgun. With that one he used a total of three magazines.

There were no shots fired in the video, it was simply a demonstration of how a mass shooter could reload his weapons. The lesson is solid. A bystander hoping to overpower the shooter has a very short window of opportunity between reloads.

Video link.

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9:32 AM 1/3/2018

Our own Dunkirk -- individual heroism on display in Las Vegas

Listening to the news conference coming from Las Vegas I'm struck, but not surprised, at the accolades given to citizens who stepped up to help. That's what Americans do.

A few years ago I attended a local homeland security exercise conducted with local law enforcement, and in one exercise I injected a suggestion that they call for volunteers from the community. "Like Dunkirk," I said. It was met with a blank stare from the facilitator who I hope has learned more about Dunkirk since then.

But if you will recall, citizen involvement has been an important element in every catastrophe since the tower sniper in Austin several decades ago and which continued with the Twin Towers destruction and to this day at the Las Vegas massacre.

Kudos to all citizens who step up for these things. Whether it's providing ones own body as a human shield, helping people escape danger, aiding with transport to hospitals, blood donations, or offers of food and lodging, they're all heroes in my book.

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5:17 PM 10/2/2017

Attention Houston sculpture bombers -- here's the one you should target

Oh those crazy social justice warriors. They can't create, so they destroy. They can't persuade, so they destroy. When normal people read about these people: Houston man charged with trying to plant bomb at Confederate statue in Hermann Park, it's hard to stay calm. Hopefully, law enforcement agencies can keep us and the statues safe from those mad bombers.

Meanwhile, if they want to bomb something, they should go for the eyesores. This one, for example. “Personage with Birds," the ugly sculpture in downtown Houston.

Here's the ways it's described in Art & Entertainment: 15 things YOU GOTTA SEE in Houston:

Joan Miro Sculpture
600 Travis Street (In Front of the JP Morgan Chase Tower)
During construction of the JP Morgan Chase Tower, an art committee commissioned Joan Miro to create this sculpture for the skyscraper’s plaza. The story, that in the 80’s Miro came to Houston to pick up a check before creating it. Miro allegedly asked if they had any particular art themes in mind & someone on the committee responded “Anything but an anatomically correct male nude.”  He was 90yrs old @ the time and world famous for surrealist sculptures loaded w/sexual symbolism. He was a Catalan Spanish artist who made Paris his home and ran w/Picasso & his crowd. This piece is a male stick figure of an artist with pallets in the primary colors and at least 5 stories high. I don’t believe he titled it, but the Morgan/Chase site calls it “Personage with Birds.

Photo source: Miro sculpture in front of JPMorgan Chase Tower.

We should take Linda Sarsour at her word as she calls for jihad

She's got a right in the U.S. to say whatever she wants. And we should pay attention, because although some might try to say she's on the extreme edge, she probably speaks for a lot of Muslims. See Linda Sarsour Calls for ‘Jihad’ Against Trump Administration. She said this in an address to the Islamic Society of North America, “the largest umbrella group of Muslims in North America.”

We would do well to remember some passages from James Mitchell's book, "Enhanced Interrogation" in which he recounted some of his conversations with detained terrorists. Beginning on page 180 he describes the four types of jihad, to wit:

They [KSM, Abu Zubaydah, and the other detainees] told me there are four kinds of jihad: jihad by the heart, jihad by the tongue, jihad by the hand, and jihad by the sword. ...

They said that each True Muslim man was obliged to take up the sword to defend Islam and that deception to distract one's enemies or put them off guard or gain some other fighting advantage was permissible.

They said that those who cannot take up the sword are obliged to promote Allah's will through jihad by the hand. Usually this refers to acts other than fighting. Again deception is acceptable. One could, for example, conduct jihad by the hand by using money collected for charity to fund jihadist terror attacks or by establishing outreach programs that are intended to promote Islam but also radicalize fighters. A third example would be establishing mosques that promote their brand of Islam in infidel territory.

Deception in jihad by the tongue can entail pretending to promote acculturation into Western democracies while behind the scenes promoting the establishment of Sharia law. KSM told me he could see Muslim brothers after 9/11, condemning the terror attacks in the media while celebrating in their hearts.

Finally, KSM said, deception also has a place in jihad of the heart. Individuals who because of adverse circumstances must say and do things that are contrary to their true beliefs and cannot engage in any of the other forms of jihad can practice jihad of the heart by struggling to keep faith with Allah while surrounded by enemies of faith.

That chapter ended on this terrifying note:

He said the terror attacks were good, but the practical way to defeat America was through immigration and by outbreeding non- Muslims' He said jihadi-minded brothers would immigrate into the united states, taking advantage of the welfare system to support themselves while they spread their jihadi message. They will wrap themselves in America's rights and laws for protection, ratchet up acceptance of Sharia law, and then, only when they were strong enough, rise up and violently impose sharia from within. He said the brothers would relentlessly continue their attacks and the American people eventually would become so tired, so frightened, and so weary of war that they would just want it to end. "Eventually," KSM said, "America will expose her neck to us for slaughter."

Linda Sarsour was calling out to the troops. And while she appeared to target Donald Trump, she's probably merely hoping to take advantage of the anti-Trump mania we're seeing in the media. More likely, she would wage that jihad against the whole of the United States. We should appreciate her honesty, after all, deception is an acceptable jihadi tactic. But we should also be mindful of her warning and endeavor to guard against the Sharia oppression she would so happily inflict on us.

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2:28 PM 7/7/2017

Denton County sheriff speaks out on terrorism -- usual suspects complain

I received an email containing a copied portion of a news item about remarks from Denton, Texas, County Sheriff, Tracy Murphree. about the recent terrorist massacre in Manchester, England. A dallasnews.com article about it can be found at Politically correct Americans 'better wake up' to terrorist threat, Denton County sheriff warns. Here's an excerpt:

"This is what happens when you disarm your citizens," Denton County Sheriff Tracy Murphree wrote. "When you open your borders without the proper vetting. When you allow political correctness to dictate how you respond to an enemy that wants to kill you. ...

"You better wake up America. While you are distracted by the media and the crying of the left, Islamic Jihadist are among us and want to kill you. What will it take? This happening at a concert in Dallas or a school in Denton County?

"If we don't do something quick this country will die of political correctness and the fear that someone's feelings may be hurt. It may very well be to late for Europe."

The left likes the label, "Islamophobic," for those who speak out about Islamic terrorism. And right on cue, here comes CAIR:

The Dallas-Fort Worth chapter for the Council for Islamic Relations (CAIR) issued a press release, calling Murphree's post an "Islamaphobic rant."

"We call on Sheriff Murphree to reaffirm his pledge, and that of his officers, to serve and protect all Denton County residents regardless of their faith, ethnicity or national origin," CAIR-DFW Civil Rights Director Nikiya Natale said in a statement.

Islamophobia is turning out to be a justifiable reaction to the terrorism we are seeing. One has to wonder how big a hold the Islam-apologists have on those who can't recognize a threat when they see one.

P.S. With so much fake news out there, if you email missives containing the contents of articles, you would be doing your recipients a service by including a link to the article.

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2:10 PM 6/7/2017

Gun sales up last month -- maybe buyers aren't so much afraid of Clinton as they are of terrorists

The headlines after the November election blared about a perceived decline in gun sales, supposedly because prospective gun buyers were no long afraid of the Democrats' boasts about gun grabs. There may have been some truth there, but gun sales, at least as defined by the number of background checks, haven't declined all that much. And in May the number of checks was up compared with May of last year. See NICS Firearm Checks: Month/Year for the current month.

Here's a screen shot showing May 2017 as the last month.

The headlines about terrorist attacks -- most recently on the London Bridge -- have a way of focusing the mind on how to protect oneself in a sudden emergency. Beefing up personal protection may likely be the first option for many Americans.

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9:55 AM 6/4/2017

It would be impossible for law enforcement to monitor ALL of the known wolves

Much has been made about the latest terrorist killer in Manchester having been "known" to police as a possible terrorist sympathizer. For example, see 'Why wasn't he monitored?!' Rudd RIPPED APART by Sky's Sarah-Jane Mee on Manchester bomber.

It's hard to determine how many people are on that British watch list. A 2013 article at BBC.com speculated it was around 2,000. But see this pertinent piece of info from that article, to wit:

And if 2,000 people were to be followed like that, we'd be talking about 50,000 full-time spies doing nothing but following suspected terrorists. That's more than 10 times the number of people employed by MI5. The numbers don't add up.

Well, as someone once said, "deception will always be one step ahead of detection, by definition." Even with wire taps and all the surveillance cameras in place in Britain, it would be impossible to effectively monitor all those characters. As it is, it's a roll of the dice. There has to be a better way.

And see this: Why the British Terror Threat Will Not Improve Soon:

The intelligence agencies currently assess the overall risk of an attack to be “severe,” meaning another attack is “highly likely.”

Part of the reason for this is that approximately 850 Brits have traveled to Syria to fight in the conflict there. Many will have joined ISIS and are returning with training and combat experience. The U.K. will remain under threat.

At the very least, they could bar re-entry of those who left Britain to join ISIS. Otherwise, the only viable defenses seem to be the ones espoused by Donald Trump -- try to wipe out ISIS where they live and work to transform the message that potential terrorists find so persuasive. Trump isn't the first to say that. But let's hope he's more successful than others have been at that.

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10:16 AM 5/24/2017

The price of Democrat identity politics -- radicalized 2nd gen immigrants

The melting pot is no longer melting anything.

Long ago school kids were taught that the U.S. was a giant melting pot in which immigrants assimilated with those already in place. Unfortunately, the open borders movement discourages that in favor of a highly individualized identity with people of their own kind. It's no secret that those who favor a more restricted entry system are discouraged by that. And with 23 percent of students in public schools coming from immigrant households, it should be obvious that assimilation is more important than ever. But identity politics is a mainstay of the Democrat party.

So when we see news about killers who slaughtering random people, like the terrorist who used his vehicle to run down innocent individuals in London the other day, we tend to react with horror. He was a radicalized Brit known to police.

It's happening here, too. Is it in our schools? In any event, there's something going on that is teaching susceptible individuals to hate the U.S. and the west in general. In that regard, there's an enlightening piece at dailysignal.com titled Assimilation, Not ‘Integration,’ Prevents Young Immigrants From Turning to Terrorism in which the authors reported about a leaked DHS study.

Nearly half of the foreign-born terrorists were under 16 years of age when they came to the United States. Demographers usually refer to this cohort as the “1.5 generation,” to differentiate it from first-generation immigrants who came here as adults and have not had their views and outlooks molded by our schools, media, and other institutions.

That distinction is important. Something about the way they are instructed, or entertained, in this country makes them more likely to want to harm people, not less.

It doesn't help that Democrats are so keen on divisions rather than similarities. If only Democrats loved the country as much as they hate Republicans.

1:11 PM 3/23/2017

Book review of James Mitchell's Enhanced Interrogation

We've talked about Dr. Mitchell's book in previous posts. It was a very enlightening book about his work as a CIA contractor implementing the approved enhanced interrogation techniques on captured terrorists with the objective of thwarting future attacks. The full title is Enhanced Interrogation: Inside the Minds and Motives of the Islamic Terrorists Trying To Destroy America.

Janet Levy posted a review at How the Use of Enhanced Interrogation Techniques Saved Thousands of American Lives where she provided numerous factoids in an easily readable piece. And she mentioned one thing I had forgotten, to wit:

Another little-discussed side benefit of EIT was that terrorist detainees were conditioned to cooperate in interrogations when they expected that harsh techniques might be used, even when they weren’t going to be used.  Mitchell explains that this type of Pavlovian anticipation meant that EIT could be tapered off after an average of 72 hours.

The book is well worth reading. Or if that's too much to ask, Ms. Levy's review serves as a good summation for anyone interested in the positive aspects of the program.

Expert explains why the 2 woman alleged to have killed Kim Jong-nam weren't harmed by the chemical

The nerve agent used to kill Kim Jong-nam is lethal to touch — but the suspects in his killing are alive. Here's the key part:

It's possible that the North Koreans who fled the country coated the women's hands with protective chemicals first. An antidote, atropine, can be administered after exposure, but there is also the question of how everyone else in the crowded airport avoided exposure.

The most logical answer so far comes from Vipin Narang at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

He has suggested the attack required two people for one good reason — with the VX, he says, used in a "binary form."

Narang says one of the accused may have had a sulphur-containing liquid on her hands. The other then perhaps wielded a "complex but nontoxic compound called QL."

Combined, they create VX.

Makes sense to this non-chemist.

Religion of peace? Not so much

John Ellis lays out the dilemma Is Islam a Religion of Peace? Let’s ask the OIC.

There are seemingly two distinct wings of modern Islam. One wants to exist peacefully with non-Muslims while the other wants to annihilate or subjugate non-believers. The two seem to co-exist, but there's the sneaking suspicion among many that if the peaceful Muslims had to choose, they would side with the radicals.

Mr. Ellis suggests that the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, which holds itself out as "the collective voice of the Muslim world," should be called on to tell us whether the radical wing with its emphasis on the early Islamic teachings is doing it right or whether the peaceful wing is the present day embodiment of the Muslim religion. If they can't answer, then that may as well be interpreted as a vote for the radical wing.

(I would have included some excerpts from Mr. Ellis' enlightening article, but Americanthinker.com is down for some reason. Hopefully, it will be back up by the time this post goes online.)

2:16 PM 2/28/2017

Michael Flynn -- whether he's in or out of the admin, his ideas are worth considering

Basically, he says we need to use psychological warfare against radical Islam. That's easy to say but hard to implement. NYPost.com has looked at what he says. See Flynn’s plan to beat radical Islam starts with schools and social media. Here's an excerpt:

Dealing with the global Islamist threat on a tactical level through drone strikes and arrests hasn’t worked, retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn argues, according to his largely overlooked 2016 book, “The Field of Fight: How We Can Win the Global War Against Radical Islam and Its Allies.” He wants to combat it more broadly, using informational warfare, among other things, on a scale not seen since World War II.

But first, he writes, the government has to overcome the political taboo of tying Islamic violence to the religion of Islam, including its sacred texts, which he says the enemy is using as a manual of warfare.

That last part is important. With scriptures that preach of world domination, Islam isn't the religion of peace. Then there's this:

Advance details of the plan can be gleaned from Flynn’s book. In it, the 33-year Army veteran proposes discrediting the “evil (religious) doctrines” motivating jihadists — namely the Islamic rewards for martyrdom (or suicidal terrorism) and the totalitarian tenets of Sharia law — using psy-ops and counter-propaganda, not just through federal government channels but also through “our schools, media and social networks.”

“If we can’t tackle enemy doctrines that call for our domination or extinction,” Flynn writes, “we aren’t going to destroy their jihadis.”

He says in the book that the government may have to draft digital media giants to help “wage ideological warfare” against radical Islam: “We can’t possibly have an effective campaign against Radical Islamic ideology without the cooperation of the likes of Google, Facebook and Twitter.”

Getting those internet giants on board is a tall order, given their political leanings, but we can hope.

Meanwhile, maybe this is a good time to enjoy re-watching this hilarious video from the BBC directed at those poor lasses who think they want to join ISIS: the Real Housewives of Isis.

3:45 PM 2/13/2017

10 Enhanced Interrogation Techniques

The other day I mentioned James E. Mitchell's book, "Enhanced Interrogation." And in it he listed and described EITs on pages 52 and 53. To wit:

This is a list of the techniques that finally were approved:

Attention grasp. Grasping the detainee with both hands, with one hand on each side of the collar opening, in a controlled and quick motion. In the same motion as the grasp, the detainee is drawn toward the interrogator.

Walling. The detainee is pulled forward and then quickly and firmly pushed into a flexible false wall so that his shoulder blades hit the wall. His head and neck are supported with a rolled towel to prevent whiplash.

Facial hold. The interrogator places an open palm on either side of the detainee's face with the interrogator's fingertips kept well way from the detainee's eyes.

Facial or insult slap. The interrogator's fingers are slightly spread apart, and his hand makes contact with the area between the tip of the detainee's chin and the bottom of the corresponding earlobe.

Cramped confinement. The detainee is placed in a confined space, typically a small or large box, which is usually dark. Confinement in the smaller space lasts no more than two hours, and in the larger space it lasts for up to eighteen hours.

Insects. Harmless insects can be placed in the confinement box with the detainee.

Stress positions. The detainee sits on the floor with his legs extended straight out in front of him and with his arms raised above his head, or kneels on the floor while leaning back at a 45-degree angle.

Wall standing. The detainee may stand about four to five feet from a wall with his feet spread approximately to shoulder width. His arms are stretched out in front of him, and his fingers rest on the wall to support all of his body weight. The detainee is not allowed to reposition his hands or feet.

Sleep depredation. Not to exceed eleven days at a time.

Waterboard. The detainee is bound to a bench with his feet elevated above his head. The detainees head is immobilized, and an interrogator places a cloth over the detainee's mouth and nose while pouring water onto the cloth in a controlled manner. Airflow is restricted for twenty to forty seconds, and the technique produces the sensation of drowning and suffocation.

Meanwhile, the Convention against Torture defines torture as follows:

To provide the requisite clarity for purposes of domestic law, the United States therefore conditioned its ratification upon an understanding that, in order to constitute torture, an act must be specifically intended to inflict severe physical or mental pain or suffering and that mental pain or suffering refers to prolonged mental harm caused by or resulting from: (1) the intentional infliction or threatened infliction of severe physical pain or suffering; (2) the administration or application, or threatened administration or application, of mind-altering substances or other procedures calculated to disrupt profoundly the senses or the personality; (3) the threat of imminent death; or (4) the threat that another person will imminently be subjected to death, severe physical pain or suffering, or the administration or application of mind-altering substances or other procedures calculated to disrupt profoundly the senses or the personality.

The issue has gotten very political, but readers should decide for themselves whether they think any of those interrogation techniques constitute torture for purposes of the Convention.

Enhanced Interrogation-- watch EIT architect on CSPAN2

James Mitchell authored the book, "Enhanced Interrogation," which is an insider's view of the enhanced interrogation techniques used by the CIA on terrorists.

He was on CSPAN the other day, and that program will be re-run Monday, 1/30/2017, from 3am til 4:30am Central on CSPAN2. If that's inconvenient, visitors who don't mind allowing CSPAN2 to plant cookies, it can be watched at this link.

I'm currently reading his book which I'll go into at a later date. But for starters, he provides some valuable lessons about EITs. First, they work. Second, they were used by the CIA not to punish, but to obtain intelligence that would prevent future attacks. So when politicians get high and mighty about EITs, it's useful to remember that the alternative might be a terrorist attack.

Set your VCR.

Hypocrisy alert -- Democrats feigned outrage over alleged Valarie Plame outing by a Republican but go silent when one of their own does it

I started reading James E. Mitchell's book, Enhanced Interrogation -- you can tell by the title what it's about. And I got p*ssed off before even getting through the preface. No, I'm not p*ssed because Mitchell was involved in the process. It's because Diane Feinstein or her staff outed Mitchell to the media.

Recall how Democrats made such a huge deal over the possibility that a Republican had outed Valarie Plame as a CIA operations officer. Based on the press coverage one would have thought some evil Republican was out to destroy reputations, careers, and lives. They were wrong, and it became a non-story once the real leaker turned out to be someone they didn't want to ruin.

However, outing Mitchell really could have been a life ending leak considering that ISIS called for his beheading. Luckily he survived. And apparently either he is currently well hidden or the threat has subsided.

But the double standard is breathtaking. Little wonder that so many people find it so easy to ignore Democrats' outrage these days, whatever the outrage of the day happens to be.

Terrorists, we're crazier than you are -- our youth go to malls to fight just from social media invite

Watching reruns of "Christmas Story" over the holiday weekend the typical viewer was exposed to a different era when Christmas was indeed a family holiday. If they kept watching, the nightly news told them how gangs of youngsters went to malls in 12 different states to fight. Yes, to fight. The inspiration for this mayhem supposedly was a notice on social media.

Is that crazy, or what? It's crazy.

But let's look at this in a different light. Crazies with a certain level of religious zealotry like to kill innocent people in the name of their god. Well, one defensive tactic in any effort to deter an attacker is to convince said attacker that the presumed victim is crazier than the attacker.

If there's any question of whether we're crazy, see Police suspect social media spurred mall violence.

We're crazier than the terrorists.

So what exactly are we supposed to do with these "known wolves?"

Conservative writers are quick to point out occasions in which these "lone wolf" terrorists turned out to be "known wolves." Cue the outrage.

But what exactly are we supposed to do with these "known wolves?" Thought crimes are not illegal -- that's a fundamental concept of American jurisprudence.

Criminal conspiracies don't always require the actual commission of a crime, merely the planning process. But the acts of people like that Ahmad Khan Rahami guy may not have involved any conspiracies that law enforcement agencies could prove or were even aware of. So there was nothing anyone could have done until he actually started building his bombs. Even then, if he had a plausible explanation for his pressure cooker devices then a conviction is unlikely, e.g., see the Dallas clock boy who is now suing his old school. And are we really capable of surveillance of every individual in the country who hates America?

While it's fun to knock Obama, et al, for coddling terrorists, we have to be realistic about what the police can do without obliterating our constitutional safeguards. Heaven knows some of our presidential candidates would like to whittle down citizens' rights. But it doesn't serve the public by carving up the Bill of Rights permanently to satisfy immediate concerns.

Footnote: Mr. Rahami was said to be a "naturalized citizen." If treason could be proved his citizenship status could be revoked. But it would seem that treason would be harder to prove than criminal conspiracy. So we're back where we started.

SAS sniper's amazing mile long shot ignites terrorist's flame thrower

You probably have to be in one of the people Hillary Clinton thinks is deplorable to celebrate this. But why let that stop us?

This is a report of an amazing shot with a spectacular result. See SAS sniper hero takes out four ISIS terror nuts in ONE go.

The sniper had been hunting a Jihadist who liked to burn suspected spies with his flame thrower. But that was not his day. The sniper fired one .50 caliber tracer round from his Barrett rifle 1,500 meters into the flame thrower tank. The result must have been quite a spectacle as the tank exploded killing the Jihadist and three of his pals. Twelve civilians were saved from a horrible death.

Hooray for the SAS snipers! Keep up the good work!

Germany tries to close door to immigrants and advises locals to stock up on food just in case

Two interesting articles that need to be read together. First, Germany tightens Swiss border controls: Swiss minister which reports that "Germany has tightened border controls with southern neighbor Switzerland to choke off a flow of illegal immigrants."

That's probably a smart thing to do, although the barn door was left open too long. That brings up the second article: Germany to tell people to stockpile food and water in case of attacks: FAS. If effect, the German government might not be able to secure your community if all those immigrants we let in go on a rampage. So hunker down and eat your sauerkraut.

Better advice might be to stockpile ammo. Unfortunately, the populace is largely unarmed. Unorganized and unarmed civilians beset by hostile mobs -- sounds absolutely medieval. But see Indiana Jones vs. the swordsman for an example of how that could play out with a satisfactory conclusion.

Here at home, Hillary Clinton wants to resettle thousands of Syrians. Donald Trump, on the other hand, wants to subject potential immigrants to some serious scrutiny. Smart.

British anti-terror chief to citizens -- you can run, but you can't hide from terrorists

He didn't use those words exactly, but it was close. Express.co.uk tells us about it in ‘Run away as FAR as possible’ Top anti-terror chief offers chilling tip for British attack:

“So let’s be really clear – run as far away as possible and when you can’t run any further, hide, and then call the police because we’ve got the people, the resources, the firearms to deal with it.”

The police chief also called on all Londoners to help fight against terrorism.

Since the police and military are the only ones trusted with legal possession of guns in Britain, those citizens are dependent on them for protection after a terrorist attack commences. Here in the U.S. citizens are told to run, hide and fight, so at least they are given that final option of fighting. Some of those carrying guns might opt to put that choice first. But it's still their choice.

It's a choice for those who are unarmed, too. For nice reflection on the run, hide, fight credo and an encouragement to be strong in the face of danger, see Let’s Roll: Why Standing Up to a Terrorist Is Your Best Self-Defense:

The mindset that we are helpless without weapons is not only self-defeating, but dangerous, and government policy that reinforces this perception is a flawed one. ...

It’s time we stop training to be lambs for the slaughter and have a national conversation about standing up to terrorists—a conversation that, for once, isn’t linked to either arming everyone with guns or to legislatively taking away those same weapons. It’s time to arm ourselves with knowledge about the benefits of action, and with training for such methods of defense and deterrence.

After all, you don’t need to be a Navy SEAL or a SWAT team leader to be a hero. You just need to reflect on the current plan’s flaws and be willing to take a better approach, to stand up together against the evil.

Let’s roll, America!

Being armed when a terror attack commences still seems like the best defensive position to be in.

War on terror -- learning from General Wm. Tecumseh Sherman

There's an informative and thought provoking article at atimes.com titled Nice attack: Why the terrorists are winning the intelligence war — Spengler.

There, David P. Goldman informs us that a common tactic used by French anti-terror squads is to grab a common criminal who is Muslim and turn him into an informant against terrorists. So far so good. But it seems that the radical Islamists are good at finding out who they are then turning them again. The caught spy is given an opportunity to redeem himself by becoming a suicide murderer, taking as many infidels with him as he can to martyr himself for the prophet.

The truck driver/terrorist who plowed down all those innocents in Nice a week or so ago reportedly wasn't a full bore Islamist, i.e., he was an ordinary criminal who missed prayers, didn't know the Koran, drank alcohol, etc. So this explanation certainly seems plausible in his case.

Be that as it may, the most intriguing part of Mr. Goldman's post was his suggestions for ending terrorism. It's very simple, and many of us have thought it, read it, or heard of it before. And that's to make the Muslim population more afraid of us than they are of the radical Islamists.

Learn from Generals William Tecumseh Sherman and Phil Sheridan and their scorched earth tactics that defeated the Confederacy in the Civil War. There was no political incorrectness about their tactics as they were "on the right side of history." Besides, political correctness hadn't yet been invented. Goldman explains how to put it into present day practice:

The way to win the war is to frighten the larger community of Muslims who passively support terror by action or inaction–frighten them so badly that they will inform on family members. Frightening the larger Muslim population in the West does not require a great deal of effort: a few thousand deportations would do. Western intelligence services do not even have to deport the right people; the wrong people know who they are, and so do many of their neighbors. The ensuing conversation is an easy one to have. “I understand that your nephew is due for deportation, Hussein, and I believe you when you tell me that he has done nothing wrong. I might be able to help you. But you have to help me. Give me something I can use–and don’t waste my time by making things up, or I swear that I’ll deport you, too. If you don’t have any information, then find out who does.”

I like this part:

We prefer to think about winning hearts and minds. Winning the hearts and minds of a people, though, isn’t difficult once they fear you.

He's basically saying that the French anti-terror squads are on the right track, they just need to be able to make threats that produce fears substantial enough to allow the subject to resist getting converted back into radicalism.

Here in the U.S., President Trump's threat to shut the door to Muslims from suspect regions was a good start.