January 29, 2017

McCain: Trump Exec Order May End Up Giving ISIS 'Some More Propaganda'

Source: Mediaite

by Josh Feldman | 11:15 am, January 29th, 2017

Senator John McCain expressed concerns this morning about the potential consequences of President Trump‘s travel ban.

The executive order impacts refugees and people from 7 predominantly Muslim nations, and McCain told CBS’ John Dickerson today he has concern about how “confused” this whole thing seems to be so far.

He even went so far as to say, “The effect will probably, in some areas, give ISIS some more propaganda.”

###

Read more: http://www.mediaite.com/tv/mccain-trump-exec-order-may-end-up-giving-isis-some-more-propaganda/

---

One minute long video of interview @ link, above

January 29, 2017

Adding Insult to Injury, Trump Flirts With Classic Holocaust Denial

He excludes Muslim immigrants and expunges Jews from memory but the new president sees himself as 'incredibly inclusive.'

Chemi Shalev Jan 29, 2017 5:14 PM

In her book "Denying the Holocaust, the Growing Assault on Truth and Memory" - the one that sparked her famous trial with Holocaust denier David Irving, now featured in the Hollywood film Denial  - historian Deborah Lipstadt cites a “Yes, but” attitude of some historians towards the Holocaust. “It is a response that falls into the gray area between outright denial and relativism,” she writes. “It is the equivalent of David Duke without robes.”

The Trump administration’s lame excuse for not mentioning Jews on Holocaust Remembrance Day on Friday falls into the category of “Yes, but” excuses, but only if one wants to be generous. By less forgiving accounts, the White House is engaged in full-throttle denial of the Holocaust, which includes denying the centrality of Jews. Yes, six million Jews died, but so did many others, according to spokesperson Hope Hicks. “We took into account all of those who suffered,” she told CNN. “We are an incredibly inclusive group.” 

Never mind that for the administration to claim it is “incredibly inclusive” on a day that it takes drastic new measures against Muslim refugees and immigrants shows a stupendous lack in self-perception. “Incredibly inclusive,” by the administration’s standards, apparently means blotting out the unique Jewish nature of the Holocaust and of the Final Solution. Even the United Nations, which established the January 27 International Holocaust Remembrance Day in Resolution 60/7 on November 1, 2005 – at the instigation of the Israeli government, among others – was less stingy than the Trump administration. “Reaffirming that the Holocaust, which resulted in the murder of one third of the Jewish people, along with countless members of other minorities, will forever be a warning to all people of the dangers of hatred, bigotry, racism and prejudice” the resolution states. By Trump’s standards, the UN is apparently too focused on Jews. It’s not “incredibly inclusive” enough.

But forget the UN. How about just looking up the term “Holocaust” in Wikipedia? ”The Holocaust also known as the Shoah was a genocide in which Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany and its collaborators killed about six million Jews. Some definitions of the Holocaust include the additional five million non-Jewish victims of Nazi mass murders, bringing the total to about 11 million.”  Some definitions include the others, but none exclude the Jews - except for the one now being disseminated by the Trump administration.

read more: http://www.haaretz.com/us-news/.premium-1.768232?=&ts=_1485707293862

January 29, 2017

McConnell: Let The Courts Decide If Trump's Travel Ban 'Has Gone Too Far'

Source: Talking Points Memo

By ESME CRIBB Published JANUARY 29, 2017, 11:00 AM EDT

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said Sunday morning that "the courts are going to determine" whether President Donald Trump's executive order banning refugees and immigrants from certain countries from entering the United States has "gone too far."

"I think it's a good idea to tighten the vetting process," McConnell said on ABC's "This Week."

"But also then it's important to remember that some of our best sources in the war against radical Islamic terrorism are Muslims, both in this country and overseas," he added. "And we have had some difficulty in the past getting interpreters, as you mentioned in the earlier segment, who are helpful to us, treated properly."

"And yet right now they're being detained, so do you support this or do you not support this?" Martha Raddatz asked.

-snip-

Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/mcconnell-courts-will-decide-if-trump-travel-ban-goes-too-far

January 29, 2017

A Stain on America's Conscience That Can Never Be Erased - and Should Never Be Forgotten

A Stain on America's Conscience That Can Never Be Erased - and Should Never Be Forgotten

With Trump's barring refugees and immigrants, a look back at the bigotry that caused the U.S. to turn away thousands of Jews that escaped Nazi death camps

Chemi Shalev Jan 28, 2017 3:00 PM

http://www.haaretz.com/us-news/1.767951

January 29, 2017

Immigration Ban Is Unlikely to Reduce Terrorist Threat, Experts Say

By SCOTT SHANEJAN. 28, 2017

Rarely does an executive order announce a more straightforward and laudable purpose than the one President Trump signed on Friday: “Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States.” But the president’s directive is unlikely to significantly reduce the terrorist threat in the United States, which has been a minuscule part of the overall toll of violence since 2001.

Many experts believe the order’s unintended consequences will make the threat worse.

While the order requires the Department of Homeland Security to issue a report within 180 days providing detailed statistics on foreign nationals who commit acts of violence, terrorism researchers have already produced rich and revealing data. For instance, since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, no one has been killed in the United States in a terrorist attack by anyone who emigrated from or whose parents emigrated from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, the seven countries targeted in the order’s 120-day visa ban, according to Charles Kurzman, a sociology professor at the University of North Carolina.

Of Muslim Americans involved in violent extremism of any kind — for instance, charged with plotting terrorism or supporting a terrorist group — only 23 percent had family backgrounds in those countries, said Mr. Kurzman, who just published the latest of his annual studies of Muslim Americans and terrorism.

more
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/28/us/politics/a-sweeping-order-unlikely-to-reduce-terrorist-threat.html

January 29, 2017

White House Official, in Reversal, Says Green Card Holders Won't Be Barred

Source: New York Times

By MICHAEL D. SHEAR JAN. 29, 2017

WASHINGTON A top White House official appeared to reverse a key part of President Trumps immigration order on Sunday, saying that people from the affected countries who hold green cards will not be prevented from returning to the United States.

But the official, Reince Priebus, the White House chief of staff, also said that border agents had discretionary authority to detain and question suspicious travelers from certain countries. That statement seemed to add to the uncertainty over how the executive order will be interpreted and enforced in the days ahead.

Mr. Priebus defended Mr. Trumps order on NBCs Meet the Press program, saying it had been carried out smoothly and was protecting Americans from terrorist threats. On Saturday, a day after the order was issued, airports were marked by scenes of confusion and protest as officials tried to interpret the order, including how to handle green card holders.

On Sunday, Mr. Priebus appeared to announce a dramatic change in those policies, saying that as far as green card holders, moving forward, it doesnt affect them.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/29/us/politics/white-house-official-in-reversal-says-green-card-holders-wont-be-barred.html?emc=edit_na_20170129&nl=breaking-news&nlid=57435284&ref=headline

January 29, 2017

Here's how to hack Donald Trump's phone

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES
29 JAN 2017 AT 08:45 ET

-snip-

Hacking group Anonymous has repeatedly tweeted against Trump and has warned it will be targeting him.

Anonymous
@YourAnonNews

At least some good news for us: By the looks of it we can expect some Podesta-email-scandal type events during the next 4 years.

6:27 PM - 26 Jan 2017
74 Retweets 278 likes

The group on Friday attached a screenshot in a tweet explaining how Trump’s phone is vulnerable to hacking as the phone runs on Android 4.4 OS, which is out-of-date with existing security requirements. The tweet mentioned a software called Stagefright which could be used by anyone to hack into the phone.

How Stagefright works

On phones running Android versions older than Android 5.0.1, background components, such as those used to play multimedia files, are implemented in the native C++ code instead of more secure languages such as Java. This leads to remote code execution vulnerabilities, which can be exploited using various hacking methods, one of which is Stagefright.

more
http://www.rawstory.com/2017/01/heres-how-to-hack-donald-trumps-phone/

January 29, 2017

White House discussing asking foreign visitors for social media info and cell phone contacts

Source: CNN



By Jake Tapper, Anchor and Chief Washington Correspondent
Updated 9:58 AM ET, Sun January 29, 2017

Washington (CNN)Amid the chaos and confusion of President Donald Trump's new executive order on immigration and refugees, sources tell CNN that White House policy director Stephen Miller spoke with officials of the State Department, Customs and Border Patrol, Department of Homeland Security and others to tell them that the President is deeply committed to the executive order and the public is firmly behind it -- urging them not to get distracted by what he described as hysterical voices on TV.

Miller also noted on Saturday that Trump administration officials are discussing the possibility of asking foreign visitors to disclose all websites and social media sites they visit, and to share the contacts in their cell phones. If the foreign visitor declines to share such information, he or she could be denied entry. Sources told CNN that the idea is just in the preliminary discussion level. The social media posts calling for jihad by San Bernardino terrorist Tashfeen Malik -- made under a pseudonym and with strict privacy settings -- are part of this discussion. How such a policy would be implemented remains under discussion.

Miller praised the State Department on Saturday, sources tell CNN, but argued that the government needs to do better job of making sure the people who come into the US embrace American values.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer did not respond to a request for comment.

###




Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/29/politics/donald-trump-immigrant-policy-social-media-contacts/index.html

January 29, 2017

Priebus On Uproar, Chaos Over Travel Ban: We 'Apologize For Nothing'

Source: Talking Points Memo

By ESME CRIBB Published JANUARY 29, 2017, 9:54 AM EDT

White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said in an interview Sunday that the response to President Donald Trump's signing of an executive order banning refugees and immigrants from certain countries from entering the U.S. "wasn't chaos" and that he would "apologize for nothing."

"It seems that a lot of the chaos yesterday could have been avoided, had you at least included some sort of timed grace period," Chuck Todd asked Priebus on MSNBC's "Meet the Press." "Why was that not included?"

"Well, I don't think you want to have a grace period," Priebus replied. "Then people that want to do bad things to Americans will just move up their travel date two days in order to get into the country before the grace period's over."

Priebus said that "a lot of people," including U.S. Customs and Border Protection, "would just tell you you've got to rip off the band-aid."

-snip-

Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/priebus-we-apologize-for-nothing-about-travel-ban

January 29, 2017

'It's a small price to pay': Kellyanne Conway defends 'upside' of chaos caused by Muslim country ban

Source: RawStory

DAVID EDWARDS
29 JAN 2017 AT 09:58 ET

Trump senior adviser Kellyanne Conway on Sunday said that mayhem caused by an executive order barring travelers from select Muslim countries was a small price to pay for the safety of Americans.

During an interview on Fox News, host Chris Wallace asked Conway if the administration had made a mistake by failing to think through the chaos that would be caused Trumps executive order, which triggered the detention of permanent U.S. legal residents at airports across the country.

Youre talking about 325,000 people from overseas came into this country just yesterday through our airports, Conway replied. Youre talking about three hundred and some who have been detained or are prevented from gaining access to an aircraft in their home countries and must stay for now.

Thats 1 percent, she pointed out. And I think in terms of the upside being greater protection of our borders, of our people, its a small price to pay.

###

Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/2017/01/its-a-small-price-to-pay-kellyanne-conway-defends-upside-of-chaos-caused-by-muslim-country-ban/

---

UPDATE:

Conway Claims Judge's Ruling 'Really Doesn't Affect' Trump's Executive Order

Senior Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway said in an interview Sunday morning that a federal judge's ruling "really doesn't affect" the President's executive order banning refugees and immigrants from certain countries from entering the United States.

"The judge in Brooklyn, the Obama appointee judge in Brooklyn's stay of order really doesn't affect the executive order at all, because the executive order is meant to be prospective," Conway said on "Fox News Sunday."

-snip-

Conway said that the list of countries from which travelers have been banned was "offered by President Obama and his administration."

"These are countries that have a history of training, harboring, exporting terrorists," Conway said. "And one thing that's very important to recognize, whether you're the Orlando shooter, yes, he was born here but went abroad and was radicalized on the internet, if you are San Bernardino, if you are the Tsarnaev brothers in Boston, these are people who traveled abroad, were radicalized, were trained, and then came back and did their bloodletting, their massacre, here on American soil."

None of the perpetrators of the Orlando, San Bernardino and Boston marathon attacks were from or had traveled to any of the countries covered by Trump's executive order.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/conway-judge-ruling-trump-travel-ban-order