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75% of Texas Voters Exposed After Unsecured Database Discovered
16 gigabyte file contained information of nearly 15 million voters
Zero Hedge - August 26, 2018
Image Credits: Kimberly Vardeman / Flickr.
An unsecured database containing the personal information of 14.8 million Texas voters was discovered by a New Zealand-based data breach hunter who goes by the pseudonym Flash Gordon, reports TechCrunch.
“It’s not clear who owned the server where the exposed file was found, but an analysis of the data reveals that it was likely originally compiled by Data Trust, a Republican-focused data analytics firm created by the GOP to provide campaigns with voter data.
Chris Vickery, director of cyber risk research at security firm UpGuard, analyzed a portion of the data. (It was Vickery who found a larger trove of 198 million voter records last year exposed by a similar data firm Deep Root Analytics, which sourced much of its data from Data Trust.)” -TC
The nearly 16 gigabyte file contained “dozens of fields, including personal information like a voter’s name, address, gender, race and several years’ worth of voting history,” including presidential elections and primaries.
While some of the information in the Texas voter database is already obtainable ofr a fee according to the Texas Tribune, a person’s social security number, political affiliations and party memberships are not.
data-driven political firms like Data Trust use the data for political purposes, specializing in supplementing those voter profiles with information that might help a campaign to flip a person who might not vote for a Republican candidate at the ballot box.
“That’s where this file fills in the gaps with dozens of other fields, which can be used by campaigns to position their political messaging.” -TC
The unsecured database goes far beyond basic voter information in order to help campaigns which might purchase the data to better message to constituents. For example, a voter’s views on immigration, abortion rights, firearms and government spending were included in some of the fields.
Other data was more relevant to the 2016 US general election – as the data “predictively scored individuals on if they “trust” or have “not trust” for then-Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.”
It is unknown when the data was compiled, however an analysis suggests it was done prior to the 2016 presidential election.
While we have you…
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You are our most important contributor.
EXCLUSIVE! Reporters Surround Roger Stone’s House – CNN Claims His Arrest Imminent
posted from Bloggeroid
In "Historic Bombshell", Vatican Official Accuses Pope Francis Of Covering Up Sexual Abuse, Calls For Resignation
by Tyler Durden
Sun, 08/26/2018 - 09:48
In an extraordinary 11-page written testament, one which the NYT's Ross Douthat called a "truly historic bombshell", a former papal nunco, or Vatican ambassador, to the US, it does what many have called for, and offers testimony concerning "who in the hierarchy knew what, and when," about the crimes of Cardinal McCarrick. The testimony implicates a host of high-ranking churchmen. And the pope.
Vigano said that he told Pope Francis in 2013 about allegations of sexual abuse against a prominent priest — and that Francis took no action. Now, the former official, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, 77, is calling for Francis to step down.
Vigano made the allegations in a lengthy statement that concludes with a call for Francis' resignation:
"In this extremely dramatic moment for the universal Church, he must acknowledge his mistakes and, in keeping with the proclaimed principle of zero tolerance, Pope Francis must be the first to set a good example to Cardinals and Bishops who covered up McCarrick's abuses and resign along with all of them."
The former Vatican official, who served as apostolic nuncio in Washington D.C. from 2011 to 2016, said that in the late 2000s, Benedict had “imposed on Cardinal McCarrick sanctions similar to those now imposed on him by Pope Francis” and that Viganò personally told Pope Francis about those sanctions in 2013.
Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, former Apostolic Nuncio to United States.
Archbishop Viganò then said in his written statement that Pope Francis “continued to cover” for McCarrick and not only did he “not take into account the sanctions that Pope Benedict had imposed on him” but also made McCarrick “his trusted counselor.” Vigano said that the former archbishop of Washington advised the Pope to appoint a number of bishops in the United States, including Cardinals Blase Cupich of Chicago and Joseph Tobin of Newark.
CBS News spoke by telephone to Vigano, who confirmed he wrote the statement and said he was speaking out now "to combat the grave situation in the church, to protect the church and also to stop future abuse." He told CBS News producer Anna Matranga that he had no agenda and was stating facts.
Vigano, who retired in 2016 at age 75, described an exchange with Francis on June 23, 2013, shortly after he became pope, about Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the former archbishop of Washington, D.C., who resigned last month over claims he sexually abused seminary students and an altar boy.
Vigano writes that he told Francis about the allegations: "Holy Father, I don't know if you know Cardinal McCarrick, but if you ask the Congregation for Bishops there is a dossier this thick about him. He corrupted generations of seminarians and priests and Pope Benedict ordered him to withdraw to a life of prayer and penance."
Vigano writes the pope did not respond to the statement, and McCarrick continued in his role as a public figure for the church.
"Pope Francis has repeatedly asked for total transparency in the Church. He must honestly state when he first learned about the crimes committed by McCarrick, who abused his authority with seminarians and priests. In any case, the Pope learned about it from me on June 23, 2013 and continued to cover him."
Pope Francis addressed the sex abuse scandal on Saturday in comments made in Dublin. "The failure of ecclesiastical authorities — bishops, religious superiors, priests and others — to adequately address these repugnant crimes has rightly given rise to outrage, and remains a source of pain and shame for the Catholic community," he said. "I myself share these sentiments."
Pope Francis accepted McCarrick's resignation on July 28. McCarrick has maintained his innocence, but this month, a Pennsylvania grand jury issued a report that said more than 300 priests abused more than 1,000 children, and likely thousands more, over seven decades.
Father Boniface Ramsey of New York told CBS News this month that he repeatedly complained about McCarrick and heard about his disturbing behavior as early as 1986.
Nearly 100 of the accused clergy are from the Pittsburgh diocese alone, where Donald Wuerl, the current cardinal of Washington, D.C., was the bishop for 18 years.
In his statement, Vigano wrote that Wuerl also knew about McCarrick. "His recent statements that he knew nothing about it … are absolutely laughable. The cardinal lies shamelessly," Vigano wrote.
In an interview with CBS News correspondent Nikki Battiste before the grand jury report, Wuerl said that he was quick to deal with allegations and that he was not aware of any rumors about McCarrick.
"If there were allegations, we dealt with them immediately," he said. "All the time that [McCarrick] was here and certainly all the time that I've been here, there was never any news. If I could tell you no one ever came to me and said this person did this to me. No one. No one. And remember, we were just talking about Pittsburgh. I was in Pittsburgh...we weren't following the rumors of different parts of the country."
Wuerl also suggested to CBS News that McCarrick had paid a price for his actions. "He has resigned and his resignation has been accepted. And he's been told to stay in seclusion...that's a pretty substantial penalty to be paying."
Vigano's statement calls on the church to take action.
"To restore the beauty of holiness to the face of the Bride of Christ — so tremendously disfigured by so many abominable crimes, if we truly want to free the Church from the fetid swamp into which she has fallen, we must have the courage to tear down the culture of secrecy and publicly confess the truths that we have kept hidden."
As Douthat concludes, "This is either an extraordinary and vicious slander or an act of revelation that should be the undoing of just about every figure mentioned in its pages. It has an apocalyptic feel either way."
His full testimony is below (pdf link)
https://www.scribd.com/document/387067784/Testimonyxcmvx-Xenglish-Corrected-Final-Version
Testimonyxcmvx Xenglish Corrected Final Version by Zerohedge on Scribd
Instructor tries to quarantine gun owners in back of class
Frances Floresca on Aug 21, 2018 at 6:33 PM EDT
A teaching assistant at the University of Utah tried to create a “Second Amendment zone” in a classroom, forcing students who legally carry to stand in a tiny, taped-off area during class.
Upon being alerted to the situation, the university promptly overruled the instructor and assigned them to non-teaching duties for the duration of the semester.
"If you feel that it is somehow at all appropriate to bring a gun to class...you are restricted to spending your time in class in my ‘second amendment zone.’" Tweet This
[RELATED: UGA prof drops ‘stress reduction’ policy after backlash]
“Concealed carry is protected under your second amendment rights! However, because the University of Utah reserves the right to restrict elements of the first amendment on campus to specifically sanctioned ‘free speech zones’ I am reserving the right to restrict elements of the second amendment in my own classroom,” the professor wrote in a “weapons policy” provided to students.
“If you feel that it is somehow at all appropriate to bring a gun to class (hint: it is not—this is absurd, antisocial, and frightening behavior), you are restricted to spending your time in class in my ‘second amendment zone’ a 3x3 taped square on the floor in the very back of the classroom, that will be shared with all other gun carriers,” the policy elaborates. “This zone also does not include a desk, because desks are reserved for students who respect the personal and psychological safety of their classmates and instructor.”
Utah State Representative Karianne Lisonbee shared the document after a student provided her the classroom policy file, remarking in the post that she is “livid” about the situation.
“A University of Utah Professor doesn't understand the Bill of Rights and University policy on free speech - which is disturbing enough,” Lisonbee wrote. “But even more egregious, she is seeking to break state law and deprive students of their rights.”
According to university policy and Utah law, students have the right to carry on campus as long as they have a permit or license to carry a gun.
[RELATED: Writing course calls inclusive language ‘an ethical obligation’]
A spokesperson for the University of Utah provided Campus Reform with the following statement indicating that the policy has been removed from the syllabus:
“University of Utah officials recently learned that a graduate teaching assistant included a statement in an undergraduate course syllabus that violated both state law and university policy. The statement has been removed from the syllabus and students in the class have been alerted to the error,” the university explained.
“The graduate student instructor has apologized and has received additional training about the university's policies,” the statement added, noting that the student instructor “will not teach this semester and will instead have other assignments.”
“The approval of course syllabuses is handled by individual departments, and syllabuses are expected to comply with all university policies,” the spokesperson concluded.
Follow Campus Reform on Twitter: @CampusReform
Campus Reform - Forced Socialism on the rise
Profs get $248k grant to study ‘gender microaggressions’
Profs get $248k grant to study 'gender microaggressions' https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=11245
Toni Airaksinen Contributor @Toni_Airaksinen on Aug 23, 2018 at 10:50 AM EDT
The lead researcher hopes the project will "contribute to diversifying engineering programs" and help students "feel safe" in class.
The NSF has awarded three Iowa State University professors more than $248,000 to study “gender microaggressions” in engineering, claiming that the research will ultimately help students “feel safe.”
On August 13, the taxpayer-funded National Science Foundation (NSF) granted funding for the study “Collaborative Research: An Intersectional Perspective to Studying Microaggressions in Engineering Programs,” which is slated to cost taxpayers at least $248,744 over the next four years.
"[Researchers] will collect stories from diverse identity groups in order to obtain a well-rounded understanding of microaggressions in engineering programs." Tweet This
[RELATED: ‘Social justice warriors’ are ruining engineering, prof warns]
Engineering professor Cristina Poleacovschi—who will lead the project over the next four years—told Campus Reform that microaggressions are important to study in academia because they cause harm to students, especially minorities.
“I find microaggressions particularly interesting because they are normalized in our everyday life but have significant consequences over time,” said Poleacovschi, who explained that the idea for the research came from her personal experience in engineering.
“The contribution of this grant is bringing an intersectionality perspective to the concept of microaggressions where we consider the interconnected nature of race and gender,” she explained.
[RELATED: Engineers refute allegations of gender bias in licensing exam]
Ultimately, the $248,744 grant will culminate in a research project that “will collect stories from diverse identity groups in order to obtain a well-rounded understanding of microaggressions in engineering programs.”
According to the grant abstract, the professors’ first task will be to create a list of individual microaggressions suffered by each individual identity group, including white men, Latina women, African American men, and Asian women.
Poleacovschi wouldn’t say exactly how the funds will be spent for this project, but noted that NSF grants can typically be used to hire graduate students, purchase supplies, buy statistical software, and compensate the lead researchers.
[RELATED: Profs warn that ‘commitment to empirical science’ hurts women]
When pitching her project to the NSF, Poleacovschi argued that increasing awareness of microaggressions will “contribute to diversifying engineering programs through increased awareness of the subtle behaviors that engineering students experience in college.”
“Creating an environment where minority students feel safe and included allows educating a competitive workforce which will ultimately positively impact our society by incorporating the needs and perspectives of all student groups,” she asserted.
University of Iowa Professors Gloria Jones-Johnson and Scott Feinstein will contribute to the research project, which is expected to be finished by December 2021. The NSF did not respond to a request for comment.
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @Toni_Airaksinen