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NEW DELHI: Union home minister Rajnath Singh called a high-level meeting on Tuesday to review the situation in the wake of the killing of Amarnath pilgrims by terrorists and decided to focus on upgrading the technology used to gather intelligence and security apparatus of the country.

NSA Ajit Doval, top officials of the home ministry, intelligence agencies and central paramilitary forces attended the meeting.

Security experts present in the meeting said registration of vehicles carrying Amarnath pilgrims and a relook at the way forces were deployed in various parts of J&K were among the top priorities for the Centre. What is also important is that there should be no backlash in any part of the country. We have asked all states to monitor that, a senior official said.

Immediately after the meeting, NSA briefed PM Modi about the deliberations as well as steps taken to enhance security on the Amarnath route (see map), sources said. A high-level team led by MoS for home Hansraj Ahir visited J&K to assess the security situation. MHA officials also said they were in regular touch with Gujarat to ensure the families of the dead and injured were informed and assisted with necessary help.

Earlier in the day, J&K deputy CM Nirmal Singh admitted to security lapses, and said officials would investigate why the bus was allowed to travel after 5 pm. The security protocol for the annual pilgrimage bars vehicles from moving after sundown.

See the article here:
Rajnath, NSA assess situation at high-level security meeting - Economic Times

Donald Trump Jr. is an odd fellow. Like his father, President Trump, Trump Jr. spends much of his time sending out emotional and somewhat confusing tweets.

Earlier today, however, Trump Jr. released emails confirming Trump campaign efforts to collude with the Russian government. We can say this with confidence because of his tweet below.

Note the email line from Rob Goldstone: "This obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump helped along by Aras and Emin."

That line has relevance for three reasons.

First, because Aras and Emin Agalarov (father and son) are well-known intermediaries (or "cutouts, the formal intelligence community term) for the Kremlin. But this email indicates they were intermediaries for the most sensitive element of Russia's 2016 election intelligence operation: communications with the Trump campaign regarding the anti-Clinton effort.

As I explained last week, Russian intelligence, and Putin in particular, thrive on using cutouts to conduct sensitive intelligence activities. In effective terms, one could replace "helped along by Aras and Emin" with "helped along by Igor and Sergey" (the heads of Russia's GRU intelligence service).

Second, Goldstone's clarification ("part of Russia and it's government's support for Mr. Trump") is offered at face value. That strongly implies Goldstone already knew that Trump Jr. knew what the Russians were doing.

Third, the meeting took place after this email exchange. That's the crunch point. It shows that Trump Jr. was willing to meet with a hostile foreign government in the pursuit of information that would damage a U.S. political opponent.

Now don't get me wrong here, I recognize that campaigns often seek out "dirt" on opponents. But the difference in this case is quite simple. It's the Russian government. Only an idiot or a traitor would seek to form an alliance with Russian intelligence and hope it ends up positively.

There's one final takeaway here: The nature of Agalarov publicist and former British journalist, Rob Goldstone. Why is he relevant? Again, for intelligence reasons.

As I've noted before, there are major differences between the U.S. intelligence relationship with the Five-Eyes intelligence alliance and, say, France. But because Goldstone has a sustaining relationship with Russian intelligence intermediaries (Agalarovs), he has almost certainly been under the attention of British intelligence services.

Based on his failure to secure his Facebook profile, I would assess that Goldstone is not a very operationally secure man. Correspondingly, it is very likely that every phone and email conversation Goldstone had was recorded by GCHQ, the British equivalent of the NSA. There is likely much more to this story than we currently know.

What does all this mean?

As former NSA officer John Schindler, put it to Washington Examiner, "we are still in the early stages" of what will eventually become public. Still, Schindler adds that this is big news for a simple reason.

We've never had a key person in any administration a core person in Trump's business empire and the current First Family admit to collusion with a hostile government in a presidential election. Considering that government and its intelligence services are known by our spy agencies to have illegally and clandestinely aided in Trump's election in 2016, the implications of this revelation are obvious and deeply troubling.

Read the rest here:
How the intelligence community is decoding Donald Trump Jr.'s emails - Washington Examiner

In a lawsuit filed during the Obama administration, plaintiff Elliott J. Schuchardt claims surveillance programs compromised his Gmail, Facebook and Dropbox accounts. (Darkside354 / Wikimedia)

Elliott J. Schuchardt is suing Donald Trump for violating Schuchardts rights under the Fourth Amendment. The Tennessee lawyer has filed a civil lawsuit in Pennsylvania against the president of the United States, the director of the Office of National Intelligence, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the director of the National Security Agency who is also chief of the Central Security Service. Schuchardt contends that the defendants are unlawfully intercepting, accessing, monitoring and/or [his] private communications.

The lawsuit represents a longstanding legal battle Schuchardt has waged against top U.S. intelligence officials that started when Barack Obama was president. William Binney, a former U.S. intelligence official and NSA whistleblower, is supporting Schuchardts most recent legal case.

The plaintiff claims that his Fourth Amendment rights have been violated by government surveillance programs. According to Ars Technica, Schuchardt argued in his June 2014 complaint that both metadata and content of his Gmail, Facebook, and Dropbox accounts were compromised under the PRISM program as revealed in the documents leaked by former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden.

That case was dismissed for lack of standing, but Schuchardt has continued to file amended complaints related to U.S. intelligence activities.

Im making an allegation that no one else is making: Im contending that the government is collecting full content of e-mail, Schuchardt told Ars Technica in 2014. Im contending that theyre not doing it by PRISM but via [Executive Order] 12333. Im not saying that this is being done on a case by case basis but that theyre grabbing it all. Where is that email residing? Is it back at the Google servers? Im contending that this is on a government server. I am the only person in the U.S. who is objecting to those set of facts.

Schuchardt, whose legal works focuses on civil litigation, corporate law, personal injury, bankruptcy, divorce and child custody cases, felt compelled to challenge the highest levels of American government.

Ive been following the issue before Snowden came forward, Schuchardt said three years ago. Then I started to watch it for that first year, and then when Congress was dragging its feet, I decided I was going to file the case when nothing got done, and when nothing got done, I decided to move forward.

Last week, Binney, the NSA whistleblower, gave an affidavit in the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Pennsylvania, opposing the defendants renewed motion to dismiss the second amended complaint.

2. I have reviewed the complaint in the complaint in the above-captioned civil lawsuit. It is my understanding, based on the Complaint, that the Plaintiff, Elliott Schuchardt, contends that the Defendants are unlawfully intercepting, accessing, monitoring and/or storing [his] private communications. (Complaint, 50.)

3. It is my understanding, based on the complaint, that Mr. Schuchardt is a consumer of various types of electronic communication, storage and internet-search services. These include the e-mail services provided by Google and Yahoo; the internet search service provided by Google; the cloud storage services provided by Google and Dropbox; the e-mail and instant message services provided by Facebook; and the cell phone and text communication service provided by Verizon Communications. (Complaint, 49.)

4. The allegations in the Complaint are true and correct: Defendants are intercepting, accessing, monitoring and storing the Plaintiffs private communications.

Read Binneys complete affidavit below.

Click the following links to see Exhibits 1, 3 and 6 from Binneys affidavit.

To read Schuchardts complaint, click here. To read a copy of the brief filed Monday, click here. To read exhibits A and B from Mondays brief, click here and here.

LISTEN: Robert Scheer Talks With William Binney About Blowing the Whistle on the NSA

Posted by Eric Ortiz.

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In a Lawsuit Affidavit, NSA Whistleblower William Binney Confirms US Government Spies on Citizens - Truthdig

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If you're considering an AMD-based system, or already bought one, then don't miss out on your AMD4U benefits.

AMD has been making some noise lately, introducing its increasingly popular line of Ryzen CPUs based on its new Zen architecture and giving Intel some real competition. And, the upcoming and hotly anticipated release of its Radeon Vega consumer GPUs is keeping gamers on their toes. Now, AMD is looking to build on its momentum with the introduction of its AMD4U program.

AMD4U is designed to highlight games and creative applications that are optimized for AMD CPUs and GPUs. The program is being kicked off with some special offers from Square Enix and Adobe and offers some serious benefits for anyone who is thinking of buying a new system based on AMD technology.

First up is Square Enix, which is offering up to three free games from its Square Enix Collective portfolio of indie titles estimated to be worth a cool $40. As Phil Elliott, the creator of the Square Enix Collective, put it:

With AMDs commitment, as part of the AMD4U program, we are able to provide gamers with access to an amazing array of new gaming experiences from these handpicked indie developers. The games available as part of the offer will showcase the variety and depth of the Collective portfolio, and bring fresh perspectives and new ideas, taking full advantage of AMDs powerful systems.

Next up is Adobe, which is offering free subscriptions to a couple of its cloud creative solutions, including up to two months of Adobe Creative Cloud (a $100 value) or three months of the Creative Photography plan (a $30 value). Sue Skidmore, Adobes head of partner relations, describes the companys participation saying:

Adobe Creative Cloud and the Creative Cloud Photography plan offered in the AMD4U program provide an amazing opportunity to discover the best creative tools available, like Adobe Illustrator CC, Adobe InDesign CC, Adobe Premiere Pro CC, Adobe Lightroom CC, and a wealth of personalized learning resources.

Qualifying AMD-based systems include those using Ryzen 7 and Ryzen 5 desktop processors and Radeon RX 500 series GPUs, along with some older components so nobody is left out. If you already picked up an eligible system, then you can redeem your AMD4U perks here. If you are in the market for a new AMD-based system, then be sure to check out this list of eligible systems before pulling out your credit card.

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AMD's new AMD4U program offers up free software for skipping Intel ... - Digital Trends

Facebook is releasing the results from its FbStart Apps of the Year competition. Apps of the Year is an annual competition designed to recognize and showcase the most immersive apps from its global startup program.

Winners were chosen based on their current and projected growth, the customer experience, the apps design, and the way the apps leveraged Facebook products to drive engagement. We are honored to award this years winners with a combined $160,000 in prizes to help them continue to build and grow their products,Konstantinos Papamiltiadis, strategic partner manager at Facebook,wrote in a post.

The 2017 winners are:

Global App of the Year: SoloLearn, a free programming and coding education app designed to teach users the basics of software development. SoloLearn won the Global App of the Year award.

Social Good App of the Year: Golden, an application that connects people with volunteer opportunities. Golden won the Social Good App of the Year award.

Asia-Pacific App of the Year: Maya, an iOS/Android app for tracking menstrual cycles, monitor symptoms, and tracking pregnancy.

Europe, Middle East and Africa App of the Year: Mondly, a language education app with a virtual reality experience for learning langauges.

Latin America App of the Year: ReservaTurno, a on-the-go beauty appointment booking app.

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Free software programming education app wins Facebook's Global App of the Year - SDTimes.com