Thursday, January 03, 2019
Popular Weather App Collects Too Much User Data, Security Experts Say - WSJ
Popular Weather App Collects Too Much User Data, Security Experts Say - WSJ
"NEW DELHI—A popular weather app built by a Chinese tech conglomerate has been collecting an unusual amount of data from smartphones around the world and attempting to subscribe some users to paid services without permission, according to a London-based security firm’s research.
The free app, one of the world’s most-downloaded weather apps in Google’s Play store, is from TCL Communication Technology Holdings Ltd., of Shenzhen, China. TCL makes Alcatel- and BlackBerry -branded phones, while a sister company makes televisions.
The app, called “Weather Forecast—World Weather Accurate Radar,” collects data including smartphone users’ geographic locations, email addresses and unique 15-digit International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers on TCL servers in China, according to Upstream Systems, the mobile commerce and security firm that found the activity.
Until last month, the app was known as “Weather—Simple weather forecast.”..."
"NEW DELHI—A popular weather app built by a Chinese tech conglomerate has been collecting an unusual amount of data from smartphones around the world and attempting to subscribe some users to paid services without permission, according to a London-based security firm’s research.The free app, one of the world’s most-downloaded weather apps in Google’s Play store, is from TCL Communication Technology Holdings Ltd., of Shenzhen, China. TCL makes Alcatel- and BlackBerry -branded phones, while a sister company makes televisions.
The app, called “Weather Forecast—World Weather Accurate Radar,” collects data including smartphone users’ geographic locations, email addresses and unique 15-digit International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers on TCL servers in China, according to Upstream Systems, the mobile commerce and security firm that found the activity.
Until last month, the app was known as “Weather—Simple weather forecast.”..."
False ‘School Funding Cut’ Claim Must Be Useful – Michigan Capitol Confidential
"Newly sworn-in Gov. Gretchen Whitmer campaigned on the claim that Republicans who controlled the state Legislature the past eight years were “slashing school funding.”
The same claim was repeated constantly in 2014 by gubernatorial candidate Mark Schauer and other Democrats – until the mainstream media acknowledged its inaccuracy and began reporting state Department of Education and other data debunking it.
The myth that public schools in Michigan are getting less money today than in 2011 when then-Gov. Rick Snyder took office is one of the most enduring falsehoods of the last decade..."
Read all.
Mexican President Fighting Illegal Immigration To US By Lowering Taxes | The Daily Caller
Mexican President Fighting Illegal Immigration To US By Lowering Taxes | The Daily Caller:
Newly elected Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador intends to curb immigration into the United States by economically developing his country’s northern states.
Loprez Obrador — who entered office in the beginning of December with a leftist agenda — on Monday decreed lower rates for income and value-added taxes in over 40 municipalities that border the U.S. The minimum wage within these municipalities will also be risen to 177 pesos — equivalent to $9 — beginning in 2019.
Newly elected Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador intends to curb immigration into the United States by economically developing his country’s northern states.
Loprez Obrador — who entered office in the beginning of December with a leftist agenda — on Monday decreed lower rates for income and value-added taxes in over 40 municipalities that border the U.S. The minimum wage within these municipalities will also be risen to 177 pesos — equivalent to $9 — beginning in 2019.
MAGA list: 205 ‘historic results’ help Trump make case for 2020 re-election
MAGA list: 205 ‘historic results’ help Trump make case for 2020 re-election"At two years into his first term, President Trump and his top White House team are turning to the 2020 re-election campaign with a new focus on the 2016 promises they have kept and the impact they have had around the country and on the world stage.
“Together, we are building a safe, strong, and proud America,” said Trump in his new list of “historic results,” provided exclusively to Washington Secrets.
It highlights 14 major issue areas and lists 205 accomplishment points and initiatives all aimed at bolstering the president’s statements and tweets that his has been a successful administration despite the recent stock market volatility, his staff shake-ups and the Russia election probe.
The document outlines a 2020 platform to run on and is a revision of previous formats.
Instead of just listing “accomplishments,” for example, there is more perspective on changes that have helped ordinary Americans..."
Read all!
EU Commission Vice President: Total Destruction Of Europe Is ‘Matter Of Destiny’
EU Commission Vice President: Total Destruction Of Europe Is ‘Matter Of Destiny’:
"Frans Timmermans – the candidate put up by the center-left coalition to be the next European Union Commission President – claims that the destruction of Europe is a “a matter of destiny.”
What will supposedly replace it is a crude mixture of the continents of Europe and Africa.
Timmermans is a former Dutch defense minister who has encouraged the worst EU policies imaginable while serving as EU Commission Vice President.
He is a staunch opponent of European sovereignty who has the audacity to claim that Europe can “not remain a place of peace and freedom” unless “diversity” is imposed via mass immigration from third-world sh-tholes through “even the most remote corners” of the continent..."
- The European Union Bureaucrats Are Not Backing Off Their Agenda Despite Its Incredible Unpopularity Amongst The People
"Frans Timmermans – the candidate put up by the center-left coalition to be the next European Union Commission President – claims that the destruction of Europe is a “a matter of destiny.”
What will supposedly replace it is a crude mixture of the continents of Europe and Africa.
Timmermans is a former Dutch defense minister who has encouraged the worst EU policies imaginable while serving as EU Commission Vice President.
He is a staunch opponent of European sovereignty who has the audacity to claim that Europe can “not remain a place of peace and freedom” unless “diversity” is imposed via mass immigration from third-world sh-tholes through “even the most remote corners” of the continent..."
The Left Will Make 2019 a Dark Year – American Greatness
The Left Will Make 2019 a Dark Year – American Greatness:
There is nothing Trump or any member of his administration has done that is comparable to Hillary Clinton’s use of her own email server while U.S. secretary of state, or her destroying tens of thousands of emails after they were subpoenaed by Congress, or foreign governments’ and corporations’ paying vast sums of money to Bill Clinton and the Clinton Foundation while Hillary Clinton was secretary of state. Nor is there anything Trump or anyone in his administration has done comparable to the Obama Administration’s use of the IRS to suppress conservative nonprofits; its selling guns to Mexican drug cartels, at least one of which was later found at the scene where a Border Patrol officer was killed; or the lies it told about the cause of the murder of a U.S. ambassador and three other Americans in Benghazi.
The 10 best things Trump did in 2018
The 10 best things Trump did in 2018
In his second year in office, the list of extraordinary things President Trump has done, for good and ill, continued to grow. Today, I offer my annual list of the 10 best things Trump has done in office. (In my next column, I will give you my list of the 10 worst.)
In his second year in office, the list of extraordinary things President Trump has done, for good and ill, continued to grow. Today, I offer my annual list of the 10 best things Trump has done in office. (In my next column, I will give you my list of the 10 worst.)
10.--He has secured the release of 19 people, including 16 Americans, from foreign captivity. When Pastor Andrew Brunson was freed by Turkey, he became the 19th captive released thanks to Trump. Others include: four held by North Korea; an aid worker and her husband held by Egypt; three UCLA basketball players and a Texas businesswoman held by China; a couple and their three children held by the Taliban; a former CIA officer held by Portugal; and two citizens held by Venezuela. That’s more Americans freed in two years than President Barack Obama got released in eight. And unlike Obama, Trump did it without releasing terrorist leaders or sending planeloads of cash to rogue regimes, creating incentive for more hostage taking.
9.--He delivered for the “forgotten Americans.” The Trump boom is benefiting those left behind by the Obama economy. Manufacturing jobs grew at the fastest rate in 23 years and the unemployment rate for Americans without a high school diploma reached the lowest point ever recorded. The Wall Street Journal reports that wages rose 3.1 percent — the biggest jump since 2009 — and that “low-skilled workers are among the biggest beneficiaries.”
Read on.
Another Year of Torrential Media BiasThe American Spectator
Another Year of Torrential Media BiasThe American Spectator
"Early in his presidency Donald Trump put his finger on the media’s rawest wound — that “no one believes” it anymore.
But the more the public shrugs at the media’s propaganda, the more journalists insist on labeling their transparently biased coverage as “factual” and “truthful.”
Today’s CNN is so hopelessly biased it makes the days of Ted Turner look journalistically rigorous.
Back then, at least a few CNN hosts would fake up a just-the-facts mien.
Now every last CNN host is a strident anti-Trump pundit.
...In a smug bow to this open dogmatism, NBC’s Chuck Todd last Sunday prided himself on holding an hourlong episode of Meet the Press devoted to climate change without any conservative skeptics present.
Todd teed up the episode with a pompous disclaimer that sums up the presumption and propaganda of the media perfectly: “Just as important as what we are going to do is what we’re not going to do. We’re not going to debate climate change, the existence of it. The earth is getting hotter and human activity is a major cause, period. We’re not going to give time to climate deniers. The science is settled even if political opinion is not.”...
Read on.
"Early in his presidency Donald Trump put his finger on the media’s rawest wound — that “no one believes” it anymore.
But the more the public shrugs at the media’s propaganda, the more journalists insist on labeling their transparently biased coverage as “factual” and “truthful.”
Today’s CNN is so hopelessly biased it makes the days of Ted Turner look journalistically rigorous.Back then, at least a few CNN hosts would fake up a just-the-facts mien.
Now every last CNN host is a strident anti-Trump pundit.
...In a smug bow to this open dogmatism, NBC’s Chuck Todd last Sunday prided himself on holding an hourlong episode of Meet the Press devoted to climate change without any conservative skeptics present.
Todd teed up the episode with a pompous disclaimer that sums up the presumption and propaganda of the media perfectly: “Just as important as what we are going to do is what we’re not going to do. We’re not going to debate climate change, the existence of it. The earth is getting hotter and human activity is a major cause, period. We’re not going to give time to climate deniers. The science is settled even if political opinion is not.”...
Read on.
Bolsonaro declares Brazil's 'liberation from socialism' as he is sworn in | World news | The Guardian
"Jair Bolsonaro has announced Brazil’s “liberation from socialism, inverted values, the bloated state and political correctness” after being sworn in as the country’s 42nd president.
His words delighted a crowd of more than 100,000 – many of whom had travelled to its modernist capital for the event, convinced the far-right populist can rescue their troubled country from virulent corruption, rising violent crime and economic doldrums.
In a brief speech to the chamber of deputies, Bolsonaro thanked God for surviving from a near-fatal knife attack during the election campaign and invited lawmakers to help Brazil free itself from “corruption, criminality and economic irrresponsibility and ideological submission”.
“We have a unique opportunity before us to reconstruct our country and rescue the hope of our compatriots,” he said.
“We are going to unite the people, rescue the family, respect religions and our Judeo-Christian tradition, combat genre ideology, conserving our values.”...
Read on.
Andrew Cuomo pardons 22 immigrants while ripping Trump's 'obsession' with border security
Andrew Cuomo pardons 22 immigrants while ripping Trump's 'obsession' with border security:
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo granted clemency to 29 people on Monday, including immigrants who are facing deportation.
In a New Year's Eve, statement, the Democrat took a shot at President Trump for the partial government shutdown, which stems from an impasse over border security funding.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo granted clemency to 29 people on Monday, including immigrants who are facing deportation.
In a New Year's Eve, statement, the Democrat took a shot at President Trump for the partial government shutdown, which stems from an impasse over border security funding.
U.S. October crude oil production sets record high: EIA | Reuters
U.S. October crude oil production sets record high: EIA | Reuters:
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil output hit an all-time high of more than 11.5 million barrels per day in October, according to government data released on Monday.Crude production rose 79,000 bpd in October to 11.537 million bpd, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in a monthly report.
The EIA revised its September oil production figure down by 17,000 bpd to 11.458 million bpd.
U.S. oil production broke its 1970 record of 10.04 million bpd in November 2017, and has set monthly record highs for five straight months since June.
The United States has become the world’s leading crude producer, surpassing Russia and Saudi Arabia..."
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil output hit an all-time high of more than 11.5 million barrels per day in October, according to government data released on Monday.Crude production rose 79,000 bpd in October to 11.537 million bpd, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in a monthly report.The EIA revised its September oil production figure down by 17,000 bpd to 11.458 million bpd.
U.S. oil production broke its 1970 record of 10.04 million bpd in November 2017, and has set monthly record highs for five straight months since June.
The United States has become the world’s leading crude producer, surpassing Russia and Saudi Arabia..."
History for January 3
History for January 3 - On-This-Day.com
Marcus Tullius Cicero 106 B.C., J.R.R. Tolkien 1892, Victor Borge 1909
Dabney Coleman 1932 - Actor ("9 to 5," "You've Got Mail"), Bobby Hull 1939 - Hockey player, Mel Gibson 1956 - Actor ("Braveheart," "Lethal Weapon" movies)
1871 - Henry W. Bradley patented oleomargarine.
1925 - In Italy, Mussolini announced that he would take dictatorial powers.
Wednesday, January 02, 2019
Tunnel to Towers Foundation Raises Money for Fallen CA Officer's Family | Fox News Insider
Tunnel to Towers Foundation Raises Money for Fallen CA Officer's Family | Fox News Insider:
Singh was gunned down last week during a traffic stop. Illegal immigrant Gustavo Perez Arriaga, 33, has been charged with murder.
In the wake of the tragedy, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation -- which helps pay off mortgages for families of fallen heroes -- has raised more than $150,000 to help Singh's widow and five-month-old son.
Singh was gunned down last week during a traffic stop. Illegal immigrant Gustavo Perez Arriaga, 33, has been charged with murder.
In the wake of the tragedy, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation -- which helps pay off mortgages for families of fallen heroes -- has raised more than $150,000 to help Singh's widow and five-month-old son.
Back in the day, I was a reporter on the... - Elliot Eisenberg
Back in the day, I was a reporter on the... - Elliot Eisenberg
"Back in the day, I was a reporter on the police-fire-courthouse beat. UPI New England thought enough of my work to give me an award.
Unlike several of my colleagues, I never made it to a top market daily, or on one case, to a weekly news magazine. However, I think I know a terribly biased,
poorly written piece of journalism when I see one.
What sort of copy editor reviewed the following? I.e., noting the sheriff assailed sanctuary community laws but did not explain how those might have been complicit in the officer's death?
Stating: "Gustavo Perez Arriaga, a 32-year-old undocumented immigrant" has been charged with the crime3? Authorities have said that that Perez Arriaga was in the United States illegally. Also that he "publicized his gang affiliations." How does that reduce to "undocumented?" He is documented; by his own words, he is a gang member, and by authorities' statements, he's an illegal.
And, does this belong in a news story or on the opinion page, "While Trump has suggested that sanctuary cities “breed crime,” there’s little research on the connection?"...
Read on.
Under current policies, residential batteries increase emissions in most cases | Ars Technica
Under current policies, residential batteries increase emissions in most cases | Ars Technica
"Another year, another reason to take the promises of residential home batteries with a grain of salt.
This month, a group of researchers from the University of California San Diego (UCSD) published a paper in Environmental Science and Technology reporting that there are very few cases in which operating a residential home battery reduces overall emissions—assuming that households are economically rational and trying to minimize costs..."
Read on.
"Another year, another reason to take the promises of residential home batteries with a grain of salt.This month, a group of researchers from the University of California San Diego (UCSD) published a paper in Environmental Science and Technology reporting that there are very few cases in which operating a residential home battery reduces overall emissions—assuming that households are economically rational and trying to minimize costs..."
Read on.
WAR ON PRESS: Turkey Fines TV Channels For Criticizing President Erdogan | Daily Wire
WAR ON PRESS: Turkey Fines TV Channels For Criticizing President Erdogan | Daily Wire:
While the American media vilifies President Donald Trump for saying mean things about a press that routinely misrepresents his policies and positions, the Turkish government is actually waging a war on the freedom of press.
Two Turkish television channels have been fined for criticizing Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, according to a report from Reuters. In Turkey, insulting the president is a crime, and criticizing the president is considered an insult and seen as encouraging disobedience.
Two Turkish television channels have been fined for criticizing Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, according to a report from Reuters. In Turkey, insulting the president is a crime, and criticizing the president is considered an insult and seen as encouraging disobedience.
LIMBAUGH: How Compassionate Is The Democrats' Open-Borders Policy? | Daily Wire
LIMBAUGH: How Compassionate Is The Democrats' Open-Borders Policy? | Daily Wire
"...The incoming congresswoman tweeted: "Joy to the World! Merry Christmas everyone — here's to a holiday filled with happiness, family, and love for all people. (Including refugee babies in mangers + their parents.)"
Let's put aside that Ocasio-Cortez is conflating the Nativity story described in Luke's Gospel, in which Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem to register for the Roman census, with Matthew's description of the couple's fleeing to Egypt to protect Jesus from King Herod's decree to murder every boy age 2 or younger in Bethlehem.
The latter example also fails because there was no illegal border crossing into Egypt, as it, too, was part of the Roman Empire and, in any event, because Mary and Joseph were following God's command for them to flee to protect Jesus; a divine order trumps all man-made laws.
Let's also defer until a later time the bizarre scolding about refugee babies from one whose party virtually supports abortion on demand.
Ocasio-Cortez's biblical illiteracy is irrelevant.
The point is that she is carrying on an unfortunate practice of cherry-picking Scripture for political gain.
She's simply trying to show that conservatives have no compassion for "foreigners" or the lost and that they are egregious hypocrites and frauds for holding themselves out as Christians while declining to model Jesus' love.
In a less imperfect world, I wouldn't have to bother refuting this, but Democrats have done a masterful job permeating our culture with these slanders, and far too many people actually believe them — just as they believe their equally wicked mantra that we are hateful racists, sexists and homophobes..."
Read on.
"...The incoming congresswoman tweeted: "Joy to the World! Merry Christmas everyone — here's to a holiday filled with happiness, family, and love for all people. (Including refugee babies in mangers + their parents.)"
Let's put aside that Ocasio-Cortez is conflating the Nativity story described in Luke's Gospel, in which Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem to register for the Roman census, with Matthew's description of the couple's fleeing to Egypt to protect Jesus from King Herod's decree to murder every boy age 2 or younger in Bethlehem.The latter example also fails because there was no illegal border crossing into Egypt, as it, too, was part of the Roman Empire and, in any event, because Mary and Joseph were following God's command for them to flee to protect Jesus; a divine order trumps all man-made laws.
Let's also defer until a later time the bizarre scolding about refugee babies from one whose party virtually supports abortion on demand.
Ocasio-Cortez's biblical illiteracy is irrelevant.
The point is that she is carrying on an unfortunate practice of cherry-picking Scripture for political gain.
She's simply trying to show that conservatives have no compassion for "foreigners" or the lost and that they are egregious hypocrites and frauds for holding themselves out as Christians while declining to model Jesus' love.
In a less imperfect world, I wouldn't have to bother refuting this, but Democrats have done a masterful job permeating our culture with these slanders, and far too many people actually believe them — just as they believe their equally wicked mantra that we are hateful racists, sexists and homophobes..."
Read on.
TWO NBCs IN ONE: ● Shot: ‘Climate grief’: The growing emotional toll of climate change
Instapundit � Blog Archive � TWO NBCs IN ONE:
TWO NBCs IN ONE:
● Shot: ‘Climate grief’: The growing emotional toll of climate change — Extreme weather and dire climate reports are intensifying the mental health effects of global warming: depression and resignation about the future.
—Headline and subhead, NBC News, Christmas Eve.
● Chaser: Chuck Todd Bans ‘Climate Deniers’ from Climate Change Special:
Just think of Todd as a former and current Democratic party activist, now with a byline, and it all makes sense.---Posted by Ed Driscoll
● Shot: ‘Climate grief’: The growing emotional toll of climate change — Extreme weather and dire climate reports are intensifying the mental health effects of global warming: depression and resignation about the future.
—Headline and subhead, NBC News, Christmas Eve.
● Chaser: Chuck Todd Bans ‘Climate Deniers’ from Climate Change Special:
—NewsBusters, today.Chuck Todd gave a stunning example of the phenomenon this morning in his introduction of a Meet the Press special edition on climate change. Todd quite literally announced that dissent would not be tolerated. Here was Todd:“Just as important as what we are going to do this hour is what we’re not going to do. We’re not going to debate climate change, the existence of it. The Earth is getting hotter, and human activity is a major cause. Period. We’re not going to give time to climate deniers. The science is settled, even if political opinion is not.”
* * * * * * * *Note segundo: As Oren Cass has written at National Review: “The epithet ‘climate denier,’ intended to invoke Holocaust denial, has always been tasteless and inapt . . . But climate activists delighted in defining their opposition this way.” Chuck Todd should know better than to engage in this kind of ugly name-calling.
Just think of Todd as a former and current Democratic party activist, now with a byline, and it all makes sense.---Posted by Ed Driscoll
Conservative woman can't get housing due to politics - WND
Conservative woman can't get housing due to politics - WND:
A conservative in Washington is facing discrimination – she’s being denied permission to rent a living unit – because of her politics.
The story is outlined by Townhall columnist Zachary Petrizzo who explains the problem facing Pardes Seleh, who is “a conservative who has worked at Fox News and is now a graduate student.”
The story is outlined by Townhall columnist Zachary Petrizzo who explains the problem facing Pardes Seleh, who is “a conservative who has worked at Fox News and is now a graduate student.”
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