Secret Trump Order Gives CIA More Powers To Launch Cyberattacks

The Central Intelligence Agency has conducted a series of covert cyber operations against Iran and other targets since winning a secret victory in 2018 when President Trump signed what amounts to a sweeping authorization for such activities, according to former U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the matter. From a report: The secret authorization, known as a presidential finding, gives the spy agency more freedom in both the kinds of operations it conducts and who it targets, undoing many restrictions that had been in place under prior administrations. The finding allows the CIA to more easily authorize its own covert cyber operations, rather than requiring the agency to get approval from the White House. Unlike previous presidential findings that have focused on a specific foreign policy objective or outcome â” such as preventing Iran from becoming a nuclear power â” this directive, driven by the National Security Council and crafted by the CIA, focuses more broadly on a capability: covert action in cyberspace. The âoevery aggressiveâ finding âoegave the agency very specific authorities to really take the fight offensively to a handful of adversarial countries,â said a former U.S. government official. These countries include Russia, China, Iran and North Korea â” which are mentioned directly in the document â” but the finding potentially applies to others as well, according to another former official. âoeThe White House wanted a vehicle to strike back,â said the second former official. âoeAnd this was the way to do it.â

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US Announces Visa Restrictions For Employees of Huawei and Other Chinese Tech Companies

Wonder how many American companies with close ties to NSA, CIA, or DOD will be banned from doing business in China? This is getting really stupid. Means Ivanka Trump brands will be banned in China? LOL

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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday announced visa restrictions on employees of Chinese technology companies, including Huawei, in the latest Trump administration move against Beijing. From a report: The US “will impose visa restrictions on certain employees … of Chinese technology companies like Huawei that provide material support to regimes engaging in human rights violations and abuses globally,” Pompeo told reporters at a State Department press briefing. The top US did not elaborate on which employees would be targeted or how many people would be affected. Pompeo’s announcement comes a day after President Donald Trump announced he would sign a bill and an executive order punishing China for steps that are widely seen as an attempt to crush democratic freedoms in Hong Kong, and railed at China for “unleashing … upon the world” the global coronavirus pandemic. In an interview with The Hill later Wednesday, Pompeo added that the US is looking at limits on other Chinese tech companies as well.

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Nursing Homes and Long Term Care After COVID-19: A New ERA? | SpringerLink

Critical errors have been replicated by different countries, despite initial warnings (5), including the lack of prioritization of NHs for the organization and provision of protective measures (PPEs), delays in testing of workers and patients and support staff shortages (3, 4), contributing to the spread of infection and the capacity to meet infection control protocols and provide adequate care. In most countries, deaths have mainly occurred within the NHs themselves, as, during the most critical phases of the pandemic, admission criteria have limited access of NH residents to secondary care.

Source: Nursing Homes and Long Term Care After COVID-19: A New ERA? | SpringerLink

Mike Pence: We Don’t Want CDC Guidelines Determining When We Open Schools. (This Is Not an Onion Headline)

Real looney tunes – if the doctor or science says this is too dangerous to public health – you listen! fhoebjby50lagbjn6j2s.jpg

There are times when the news is so outrageous it almost seems satirical and then there is the Trump administration, which has skirted the line between truth and fiction so much that there is no line anymore.

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I am the morning rose – sister-hood magazine. A Fuuse production by Deeyah Khan.

I am the morning rose.

At dawn, I stand erect.

The breeze carries the scent of my dreams.

My petals form a thousand smiles,

the ones Hafez once wrote about.

I will gently wither. I am patient.

My petals will crumble

and may be used to make rose sherbet.

I will then melt on the tongue of children

and become laughter.

Source: I am the morning rose – sister-hood magazine. A Fuuse production by Deeyah Khan.

L.A. on verge of shutting down again as record cases reported – Los Angeles Times

The worsening conditions come as California closes many businesses that had been allowed to reopen in May as officials try to slow the outbreaks. But Los Angeles said that if the trends don’t change soon, even more restrictive measures will be necessary.

Los Angeles County confirmed 4,244 new cases and 2,103 hospitalizations Tuesday. Of those hospitalized, 27% are in intensive care. The county also reported 73 additional deaths — one of the highest single-day counts reported. It’s possible that number may reflect a lag in reported deaths over the weekend, officials said in a statement.

 

Source: L.A. on verge of shutting down again as record cases reported – Los Angeles Times