Amazing story!-----55th Largest Private Company In America Sent Millions To China Because An Email Told Them To

55th Largest Private Company In America Sent Millions To China Because An Email Told Them To | Techdirt:

...Which is precisely where this scam should have died on its scammy vine, wilting under the dry heat of "haha, the boss got his personal email hacked." The idea that millions of dollars can be ordered transferred from an email address not associated with the company is ludicrous. Die, however, the scam did not.

The first email on June 26 instructed McMurtry to wire $780,000, which the FBI statement says he did. The next day, McMurtry was told to wire $7 million, which he also did. Three days later, another email was sent to McMurtry, instructing him to wire $9.4 million. McMurtry again complied. The first two emails from the faux CEO contain the swindle’s setup, swearing the recipient to secrecy over a blockbuster international deal.

McMurtry has reportedly been cooperating with the FBI and providing them with the reasons he so easily complied with the rogue emails' requests. Those excuses include some of the scam emails looking like they came from the company's outside accounting firm and that Scoular had indeed been in discussions for an expansion into China. Those excuses, though, don't alter the fact that a simple phone call to the parties involved, to Elsea's office (or, hell, at the watercooler or whatever), or to the general office number for the accounting firm would have exposed the scam entirely and saved the company 17 mil-do in the process. How does something like that happen?

The Peasants Are Revolting, So Let's Get New Ones

The Peasants Are Revolting, So Let's Get New Ones | National Review Online
In the Morning Jolt yesterday (you should subscribe), Brother Geraghty asked whether Jeb is too enthusiastic about immigration. The question is prompted by David Frum’s piece in The Atlantic that Geraghty calls “the single toughest critique of Jeb Bush.” Frum sat through hours of Jeb’s speeches and interviews and wrote that “it quickly becomes overwhelmingly apparent that this [immigration] is the public policy issue he cares about by far the most.” He continues:

Bush seems to have something more in mind than just the the familiar (if overstated) claim that immigration can counter the aging of the population. He seems to think that there is some quality in the immigrants themselves that is more enterprising—more dynamic to use his favorite term—than native-born Americans. This is not only a positive judgment on the immigrants themselves. It is also a negative judgment on native-born Americans.

In an interview with Laura Ingraham, Frum was more explicit:

“[Jeb] is not satisfied with America as he inherited it, and he talks a lot about how we can’t achieve prosperity merely with our existing demographics… He seems to think that native-born Americans aren’t enterprising enough, aren’t energetic enough, don’t love their families enough. The solution, the way to repair the troubles of America is to change America through immigration by importing people who are somehow better than native-born.”

Anchorman Brian Williams Says He’s Taking Himself Off the NBC Evening Newscast Temporarily | Video | TheBlaze.com

Anchorman Brian Williams Says He’s Taking Himself Off the NBC Evening Newscast Temporarily | Video | TheBlaze.com:

"His announcement comes on the heels of controversy surrounding the accuracy of an Iraq War story he told regarding his helicopter coming under fire by a rocket-propelled grenade, which he recanted.

Williams added that “it has become painfully apparent to me that I am presently too much a part of the news, due to my actions.”

Hitchhiker Wields Knife, Victim Draws Pistol

Hitchhiker Wields Knife, Victim Draws Pistol:
"The intended victim was just trying to be nice and give a hitchhiker a ride early in the morning. However, this was no ordinary hitchhiker.
A Henderson County resident taught a hitchhiker a valuable lesson: Never bring a knife to a gun fight.
Henderson police said Corydon resident Raymond Givens, 45, was driving in the area of Henderson Community College around 1 a.m. Friday when he stopped to pick up a hitchhiker.
Givens told authorities that the male hitchhiker pulled a butcher knife on Givens and demanded his wallet, officials said.
“Givens stated he pulled a handgun on the subject and told him to get out of his vehicle,” a news release said.
At that point, “the male subject exited the vehicle and took off running toward Corydon,” officials said.
The hitchhiker is described as a white male with dirty blonde hair. He was wearing an orange sock hat, an Army jacket, blue jeans and brown boots.

Marijuana smokers get their own dating app 'High There'

Marijuana smokers get their own dating app 'High There
CEO Todd Mitchem of Here There announced the release of their new app ‘High There’ that was designed specially for marijuana smokers. The app works similar to the Tinder app, except for the fact that it connects weed lovers.

Users can create dating profiles and can show their interest to others through several options. The smokers can swipe thorough the potential profiles and the energy can be set to either low or high for matching with profiles. The ‘High There’ app also provides matches based on consuming THC and vaping and users are ranked based on pot utilization levels from ‘lazy’ to ‘vape usage’.

History for February 8

History for February 8 - On-This-Day.com
William Tecumsen Sherman 1820 - Union General during U.S. Civil War, Jules Verne 1828, Lana Turner 1921 


Jack Lemmon 1925, James Dean 1931, John Grisham 1955


1802 - Simon Willard patented the banjo clock. 


1896 - The Western Conference was formed by representatives of Midwestern universities. The group changed its name to the Big 10 Conference. 


1904 - The Russo-Japanese War began with Japan attacking Russian forces in Manchuria. 



1910 - William D. Boyce incorporated the Boy Scouts of America. 



1918 - "The Stars and Stripes" newspaper was published for the first time. 


1980 - U.S. President Jimmy Carter announced a plan to re-introduce draft registration. 


1985 - "The Dukes of Hazzard" ended its 6-1/2 year run on CBS television. 



1993 - General Motors sued NBC, alleging that "Dateline NBC" had rigged two car-truck crashes to show that some GM pickups were prone to fires after certain types of crashes. The suit was settled the following day by NBC. 

Obama Wants Your Retirement Account - The Rush Limbaugh Show

Obama Wants Your Retirement Account - The Rush Limbaugh Show:

"RUSH: It's a story from the website Watchdog.org, and the headline: "Obama's Budget Targets Your Retirement Accounts."  I can't recall the number of times that I have mentioned casually, forcefully, predicted directly over the course of the years that, as this government continued to expand and spend money it didn't have and print money it needed, that at some point it was gonna have to go get money."

Muslim Group’s Enthusiastic Invitation to Obama After Christianity Comments

Muslim Group’s Enthusiastic Invitation to Obama After Christianity Comments | TheBlaze.com:

"The nation’s largest Muslim group is inviting President Barack Obama to visit an American mosque, enthusiastically embracing the president’s controversial comments at the National Prayer Breakfast this week comparing past Christian misdeeds to the Islamic State."

The full story of the vaccine fraud-----Struck off MMR doctor handed award for 'lifetime achievement in quackery'. Andrew Wakefield, discredited over autism-MMR vaccine link claims, is named Good Thinking Society's Golden Duck winner

Andrew Wakefield - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
Andrew Jeremy Wakefield (born c. 1957) is a British former surgeon and medical researcher, known for his fraudulent 1998 research paper in support of the now-discredited claim that there is a link between the administration of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, and the appearance of autism and bowel disease.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

After the publication of the paper, other researchers were unable to reproduce Wakefield's findings or confirm his hypothesis of an association between the MMR vaccine and autism,^[6] or autism and gastrointestinal disease.^[7] A 2004 investigation by Sunday Timesreporter Brian Deer identified undisclosed financial conflicts of interest on Wakefield's part,^[8] and most of his co-authors then withdrew their support for the study's interpretations.^[9]

BOOM! Rev. Franklin Graham Delivers a Powerful Rebuke to Obama’s Hateful Comments Against Christianity

BOOM! Rev. Franklin Graham Delivers a Powerful Rebuke to Obama’s Hateful Comments Against Christianity:

"Christian evangelist Franklin Graham took to Facebook on Thursday to respond to Obama’s outrageous statement, educating Obama about the difference between the two religions. 

“Today at the National Prayer Breakfast, the president implied that what ISIS is doing is equivalent to what happened over 1,000 years ago during the Crusades and the Inquisition, Rev. Graham wrote. “Mr. President — Many people in history have used the name of Jesus Christ to accomplish evil things for their own desires. But Jesus taught peace, love and forgiveness. He came to give His life for the sins of mankind, not to take life.”

Graham continued:"

The Insane Vaccine Debate

The Insane Vaccine Debate | Heartlander Magazine:

The issue of mandatory vaccination is once again an item of debate in media circles given the recent outbreaks in measles, and fueled this week by the continued inability of politicians to discuss vaccination policy without sounding like anti-science fools.

It’s surprising that Chris Christie, who was so bold in the use of state plenary power when it came to Ebola, would be the first to put his foot in his mouth on this topic. I understand what he was attempting to say when it came to calling for “balance” in such matters, but the impact of his remarks drew out demands by the media that others respond. Here was Carly Fiorina on the subject, raising the issue of HPV. Rand Paul joined Christie on the subject, agreeing with him for once. Frustrated by the debate, the Kentucky Senator shushes his female interviewer at the three minute mark. I would suggest he not try that tactic against Hillary Clinton.

This would make for the third consecutive presidential cycle in which the candidates have gotten suckered into pretending there is some kind of legitimate debate about American vaccination policies. In 2012, it was Michele Bachmann turning Rick Perry’s Gardasil program into a cause of mental illness. In 2008, Barack Obama implicitly and John McCain explicitly endorsed the idea that autism was on the rise due to vaccination. McCain was actually much worse on the topic, and this piece by Dr. Manhattan (whose son is autistic) contains every bit of information you could ever need on how wrong the senator was.

The current vaccine debate, unlike those prior ones, is actually motivated by a real problem (the return of diseases presumed previously eradicated) as opposed to conspiratorial musings.

What Obama just said about freedom of speech and Islam should scare every American

What Obama just said about freedom of speech and Islam should scare every American: "

President Obama–a supposed constitutional scholar–doesn’t seem to really understand what the concept of freedom of speech means, or he doesn’t care, both of which are viable options.

During the National Prayer Breakfast this week, Obama took an opportunity to pander to Muslims, slam Christians, and preach on how we’re all morally obligated to use our free speech to condemn insults of another person’s religion.

Unless you’re a Christian of course.

Check out what he said."

Net U.S. Job Gains Since The Recession Have Gone To Foreign-Born Workers

Net U.S. Job Gains Since The Recession Have Gone To Foreign-Born Workers - Breitbart:
"In the months and years since the recession began in December 2007, foreign-born workers have experienced a net increase in employment, while native-born Americans have experienced a net loss.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics released updated employment data Friday.
The new BLS figures reveal that since the start of the recession in 2007 — which is said to have ended in June 2009 — the number of foreign workers employed in the United States rose by 1.7 million.
In December 2007 the number of foreign-born workers was 22,810,000 by January 2009 the number has increased to 24,553,000.
Meanwhile the number of American-born workers employed decreased by 1.5 million, from 123,524,000 to 121,999,000."

White House Quietly Releases List of Muslim Leaders Who Met Privately With Obama | TheBlaze.com

White House Quietly Releases List of Muslim Leaders Who Met Privately With Obama | TheBlaze.com:
"Several outlets have noted that ISNA, represented at the meeting, was named an unindicted co-conspirator in the infamous Holy Land Foundation trial, one of the largest terrorism financing trials in U.S. history. ISNA has denied having ties to terrorist groups and disputed being named in the Holy Land Foundation trial.

Not represented at the meeting was the vocal Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, which was also named an unindicted co-conspirator in the trial and is accused of having ties to Hamas."

Oh my: Did NBC News manipulate original Williams report to give “under fire” impression?

Oh my: Did NBC News manipulate original Williams report to give “under fire” impression? « Hot Air

NBC News’ problems are about to get a lot worse. CNN’s Jake Tapper interviewed Travis Tritten, the Stars and Stripes reporter who broke the story about Brian Williams’ false story about coming under RPG and small-arms fire while covering the opening days of the invasion of Iraq. Earlier, a pilot who had thought that Williams had been in his helicopter while taking some small-arms fire (whom Tapper had interviewed) retracted that claim after three other veterans disputed it.

Tapper and Tritten discuss that, but Tapper then plays part of the original report from NBC News in 2003, which includes radio chatter about taking small-arms fire. Tritten then says that one of the three witnesses, Joseph Miller, says that the chatter actually came from another unit — which means that NBC News edited it into the Williams footage to match his story about coming under fire. This picks up at the 4-minute mark:

TAPPER: [Chris Simeone] said that the only thing that hit their helicopter was dust, and that nothing that Williams reported in 2003 was accurate. I want to play some of what Brian Williams reported in 2003, in which there is this moment when somebody says there was small arms fire coming into the convoy. Let’s play that.

BRIAN WILLIAMS [VIDEO]: Indeed, just before we’re able to make our drop, radio traffic makes clear that this routine mission is running into trouble.

RADIO CHATTER [VIDEO]: We took fire on the way in. We currently are not under fire, I say again, not under fire, but we look for some kind of security, over.

TAPPER: So there is this moment where somebody’s saying our helicopter is taking small arms fire and it’s not taking it now, but they were and we need to find some place for security, over — that’s in the radio. Do you have any idea what that was in reference to?

TRITTEN: I do, actually. I spoke with the flight engineer on Williams’ Chinook, Joseph Miller, and what he told me is that Williams and the NBC crew, actually, they’d been given a headset and they had taken a microphone, and they had put it in the earpiece of the headset so that they could pick up the radio communications between the company that they were in and another company of Chinooks that was flying a separate mission in the opposite direction. So what you’re hearing is that radio chatter from that other company that was coming under fire.

In other words, there are two problems with the original report. The first and most basic is that the video of the helicopter drop does not match the audio in the sense that the communications were coming from a completely different set of Chinooks. The second and much bigger problem is that the decision to air that mismatched audio and video had to have been made deliberately. Note that Williams very specifically says “our drop” when referring to “this routine mission is running into trouble.”

Jordan Just Asked Obama For ONE Thing To Fight ISIS, Here's Obama 's Answer

Jordan Just Asked Obama For ONE Thing To Fight ISIS, Here's Obama 's Answer:

"President Obama is proving time and time again that he really isn’t that serious about helping rid the world of radical terror group ISIS, as he not only refuses to send in ground troops, but he’s apparently not giving some of our allies the help they need in this fight either.

The administration turned down a request from Jordan to sell drones to the country they intended to use in the battle against ISIS."

‘Amnesty Bonuses’ in Tax Code: Illegal Immigrants to Receive Earned Income Tax Credit

‘Amnesty Bonuses’ in Tax Code: Illegal Immigrants to Receive Earned Income Tax Credit | The Weekly Standard:
President Barack Obama has promoted his recent executive action on immigration by arguing that he’s only deferring action – holding off on enforcement of the current immigration laws until an immigration reform he approves of passes Congress. But that's not really true; in fact there’s a way for illegal immigrants immediately to receive “amnesty bonuses,” as Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska terms it.

Here’s how. A recent Homeland Security Committee hearing on immigration revealed an alarming consequence of President Obama’s executive amnesty—that illegal immigrants with deferred status may be able to receive the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Moreover, this person, who is here in the U.S. unlawfully, could be able to file an amended tax return for up to the last three tax years, possibly receiving upwards of $24,000 in tax credits.

The discovery was made by Eileen J. O’Connor, a tax lawyer and the former head of the tax division of the United States Department of Justice, who used her congressional testimony in front of the Senate Homeland Security Committee to explain it. “The law makes a social security number a requirement of eligibility to receive the earned income credit,” O’Connor explained.

“But in 1999, the Chief Counsel’s office of IRS ruled (in a non-binding, non-precedential way, but no one but the IRS pays attention to those disclaimers) that when a person receives a social security number, he can file amended returns to claim the credit for the three preceding years during which he did not. The logic is puzzling: the credit is not available if you don’t have a social security number, but you can receive it retroactively for years during which you did not qualify for it because you didn’t have a social security number.”

Trey Gowdy Is Coming After Hillary Clinton

Trey Gowdy Is Coming After Hillary Clinton | TheBlaze.com:
"Gowdy’s announcement came just days after he threatened to subpoena several officials — that threat was quickly dropped after the Obama administration agreed to provide the committee with access to several of these people.
One witness to be questioned is Cheryl Mills, Clinton’s former chief of staff while at the State Department. Others are Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey, former Defense Secretary and CIA director Leon Panetta, former deputy secretary of State Bill Burns, and former White House spokesman Jay Carney."

California's two major government pension systems are 'endangered' according to federal criteria

California's two major government pension systems are 'endangered' according to federal criteria « Watchdog.org

The Washington Examiner recently published a story showing that 150 unions had endangered pension systems, writing “Another 85 funds are listed as being ‘endangered,’ meaning they lack the assets to meet at least 80 percent of their future obligations.”

Based on the federal criteria, both CalPERS and CalSTRS, the two major California government systems, are “endangered.”  CalPERS reports they are 77 percent funded, yet at the same time mandated a 50 percent increase in the contribution from member agencies.  If the system is growing so well, why the massive increase?

The report says “An estimated funding level of 77 percent for the Public Employees’ Retirement Fund–a positive growth of more than 7 percentage points. The PERF was funded at 69.8 percent as of June 30, 2013 based on the most recent actuarial value of assets.  The PERF is the main pension trust fund that pays retirement benefits.”

CalSTRS, is also under 80 percent and is more than doubling the contributions to try to reach the 80 percent non-endangered level. The report says “Employer contributions will increase from 8.25 percent to a total of 19.1 percent of payroll, phased in over the next seven years.”  For the teachers this is a pay cut.  For the students this means less equipment and a squeezing of resources.  For parents, this means more votes for bonds and fees.

Isis set up giant screens in Raqqa showing Jordanian pilot burning to death cheered on by crowds

Isis set up giant screens in Raqqa showing Jordanian pilot burning to death cheered on by crowds:

"In the latest video, titled "Muslims' Joy at Burning of Jordanian Pilot", IS supporters are seen shouting the Takbir - Allahu Akbar - as the execution footage in a background screen shows the pilot burning to death in his cage.
Members of the Raqqa crowd are briefly interviewed about the gruesome execution, in a documentary-style, while the video plays in background. Among them a smiling child, not older than eight-years-old, who is seen praising the murder."

History for February 7

History for February 7 - On-This-Day.com:
Sir Thomas More 1478, John Deere 1804, Charles Dickens 1812 

Frederick Douglas 1817, Laura Ingalls Wilder 1867, Sinclair Lewis 1885 

Pete Postlethwaite 1946 - Actor, James Spader 1960, Garth Brooks 1962 


1795 - The 11th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified. 


1893 - Elisha Gray patented a machine called the telautograph. It automatically signed autographs to documents. 


1913 - The Turks lost 5,000 men in a battle with the Bulgarian army in Gallipoli. 


1922 - DeWitt and Lila Acheson Wallace offered 5,000 copies of "Reader's Digest" magazine for the first time. 


1944 - During World War II, the Germans launched a counteroffensive at Anzio, Italy. 


1985 - "Sports Illustrated" released its annual swimsuit edition. It was the largest regular edition in the magazine’s history at 218 pages. 


1985 - "New York, New York" became the official anthem of New York City.