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Elon Musk recently denied that Tesla vehicles were used to spy on foreign governments after the vehicles were banned from Chinese military bases and other sensitive sites. Other reporting indicates that even the off-duty use of Tesla vehicles is being restricted for key personnel, because the Chinese government suspects that the companys vehicles were already involved in the leaking of secret information.

First, lets talk some common sense. Its extremely unlikely that Tesla volunteered to cooperate with U.S. spy agencies. Theres nothing for the company to gain from doing that, while there are billions and even worse to lose. Tesla knows that if they were caught spying for the U.S. government, theyd be shut down and probably have all of their property seized in China. Key company officials (at least as many as Beijing could capture) would likely be arrested and tried for espionage. It wouldnt be pretty at all for the company or any involved employees.

The obvious counterargument is that Elon Musk, as a U.S. citizen, would consider the spying his patriotic duty, but that argument falls even flatter. The U.S. government hasnt been very hospitable to Elon Musk or his companies in many cases. There were the bogus SEC investigations over his tweets, which I call bogus because they were dismissed (and also, seriously, how childish is it to sue over tweets?), SpaceX accuses the U.S. Air Force of favoring other companies over them for political reasons, and recently the NTSB told NHTSA that it needs to crack down on Autopilot and the FSD Beta.

If you were Elon Musk, would you be doing the U.S. government illegal favors at great personal risk? Just think that over for a bit.

Im not even persecuted by them the way Elon Musk has been, and I know that our government is highly corrupt. On the spying front, we know from things Edward Snowden and other whistleblowers revealed that our own government is heavily involved in illegal and unethical spying. Theres a whole Wikipedia article detailing the dozens of programs that never should have been. Theres the deep, deep oil company corruption of the government, which we can see quite clearly in the ongoing persecution of Steven Donziger (Im writing a whole article about this once Im done with this one).

On top of that, none of this is new. Anyone taking an honest look at J. Edgar Hoover knows that his character was accurately portrayed in The Man in the High Castle,and he was the head of the FBI for decades. Nobody dared fire him because he had dirt on everyone. There was the fabricated Gulf of Tonkin incident, and the ammunition packed below civilians in the Lusitania, both lies we were told for decades after they were used to swing the U.S. into wars.

After the long train of abuses and usurpations weve seen, nobody in their right mind would want to risk their business and personal reputation to assist the U.S. government to do illegal things in other countries unless they were getting something for it (and thus were part of the corruption). Youd think that if Elon Musk did this, hed at least get some breathing room from the government, which he clearly isnt getting.

If anything, theyre going after him because he told them where to stick it.

The Chinese government wouldnt have invited Tesla into their country if they thought spying would occur, and they certainly want the company to help them achieve a better footing with regard to renewable energy. However, they do assert that sensitive details of some sort were leaked and they have reason to believe a nearby Tesla could have been involved in the leaking, and given the favored treatment the company has gotten in the past, they clearly dont have it in for Tesla.

As weve learned from Snowden, the supervillains in the CIA dont need anyones help to help themselves to things like laptop cameras. Laptop manufacturers arent giving away backdoors the NSA hacks their way into whatever hardware and servers it takes to get the information they want, and if they cant get in, they find someone to blackmail or otherwise coerce into giving them access.

I know some argue that accusing Tesla of spying is a retaliation for accusations and actions against Chinese companies like Huawei and DJI, who very well may be involved in spying. After all, the Chinese government are no angels, either. We would be fools to assume that they arent corrupt, too. Theyre spying on anything they can get away with spying on, and all while not even pretending to afford their citizens much in the way of civil liberties.

The more likely answer is that the U.S. government is actually using Teslas to spy on Chinese military and company officials without the companys knowledge. It fits their modus operandi, and they have great motivation to spy on Chinese officials. If officials are taking cameras into sensitive facilities and to their homes, its an extremely tempting target for hacking, and we know that they have the technical capability to do it.

Would they risk Musks rear to do this? Absolutely. In fact, that might be a plus for corrupt officials with dirty oil money lining their pockets.

I do have to be honest and say theres no direct evidence for any of this, but given the U.S. governments lack of scruples when it comes to things like spying, would you really put this past them? You cant sit there and seriously tell me that the NSA wouldnt do this in a heartbeat if they found a way to do it.

Either way, well know if I was right decades from now when anyone responsible for this is already dead or the statute of limitations has passed and old documents get declassified.

If I was running Tesla, Id have the best experts take a hard look at the cars and servers to look for the U.S. governments footprints. Theyre very likely all over the scene of the crime, and nobody covers their tracks perfectly.

Id also be looking at offering an optional airgap package for people dealing with sensitive information. Having a switch that disconnects all antennas and cuts power to all radios would be great. Having optional lens caps for all cameras would also be a great way to help protect trust in the companys vehicles. People guarding sensitive installations could verify that both features are enabled/in use before allowing a Tesla vehicle onto the facilitys grounds.

Either way, the company could probably use some more paranoid thinking like mine, because nobody is paranoid when there is actually someone out to get them (or their data). We have to always be on the lookout for bad actors and put ourselves in their shoes to think about what theyll do.

Featured image: People enthusiastically greet a Teslas Sentry Mode when they see its recording them, as described in this CleanTechnica article.

The rest is here:
Is The NSA Screwing Tesla? - CleanTechnica

Iran has made threats against Fort McNair, an Army base in the nation's capital, and against the Army's vice chief of staff, two senior US intelligence officials said.

They said communications intercepted by the National Security Agency in January showed that Iran's Revolutionary Guard discussed mounting USS Cole-style attacks against the base, referring to the October 2000 suicide attack in which a small boat pulled up alongside the Navy destroyer in the Yemeni port of Aden and exploded, killing 17 sailors.

The intelligence also revealed threats to kill Gen. Joseph M. Martin and plans to infiltrate and surveil the base, according to the officials, who were not authorized to publicly discuss national security matters and spoke on condition of anonymity. The base, one of the oldest in the country, is Martin's official residence.

The threats are one reason the Army has been pushing for more security around Fort McNair, which sits alongside Washington's bustling newly developed Waterfront District.

City leaders have been fighting the Army's plan to add a buffer zone of about 250 feet to 500 feet (75 meters to 150 meters) from the shore of the Washington Channel, which would limit access to as much as half the width of the busy waterway running parallel to the Potomac River.

The Pentagon, National Security Council and NSA either did not reply or declined to comment when contacted by The Associated Press.

At a virtual meeting in January to discuss the proposed restrictions, Army Maj. Gen. Omar Jones, commander of the Military District of Washington, cited credible and specific" threats against military leaders who live on the base. The only specific security threat he offered was about a swimmer who ended up on the base and was arrested.

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, the district's sole representative in Congress, was skeptical. When it comes to swimmers, I'm sure that must be rare. Did he know where he was? Maybe he was just swimming and found his way to your shore? she said.

Jones conceded that the swimmer was not a great example there, but our most recent example of a security breach.

He said the Army has increased patrols along the shoreline, erected more restricted area signs and placed cameras to monitor the Washington Channel.

Puzzled city officials and frustrated residents said the Army's request for the buffer zone was a government overreach of public waterways.

Discussions about the Fort McNair proposal began two years ago, but the recent intelligence gathered by the NSA has prompted Army officials to renew their request for the restrictions.

The intercepted chatter was among members of the elite Quds Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guard and centered on potential military options to avenge the U.S. killing of the former Quds leader, Gen. Qassem Soleimani, in Baghdad in January 2020, the two intelligence officials said.

They said Tehran's military commanders are unsatisfied with their counterattacks so far, specifically the results of the ballistic missile attack on Ain al-Asad airbase in Iraq in the days after Soleimani's killing. No U.S. service members were killed in that strike but dozens suffered concussions.

Norton told the AP that in the two months since the January meeting, the Pentagon has not provided her any additional information that would justify the restrictions around Fort McNair.

I have asked the Department of Defense to withdraw the rule because I've seen no evidence of a credible threat that would support the proposed restriction, Norton said. They have been trying to get their way, but their proposal is more restrictive than necessary.

She added: I have a security clearance. And they have yet to show me any classified evidence that would justify the proposal. Norton pointed out that the Washington Navy Yard and Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, which also have access to district waters, do not have restricted zones along their shorelines and have not requested them.

The proposed changes, outlined in a Federal Register notice, would prohibit both people and watercraft from anchoring, mooring or loitering" within the restricted area without permission.

The notice specifies the need for security around the Marine Helicopter Squadron, which transports American presidents, and the general and staff officers' quarters located at the water's edge. The southern tip of Fort McNair is home to the National War College, where midlevel and senior officers gunning for admiral or general study national security strategy.

The Washington Channel is the site of one of the city's major urban renewal efforts, with new restaurants, luxury housing and concert venues. The waterway flows from the point where the city's two major rivers, the Potomac and Anacostia, meet.

It's home to three marinas and hundreds of boat slips. About 300 people live aboard their boats in the channel, according to Patrick Revord, who is the director of technology, marketing and community engagement for the Wharf Community Association.

The channel also bustles with water taxis, which serve 300,000 people each year, river cruises that host 400,000 people a year and about 7,000 kayakers and paddleboarders annually, Revord said during the meeting.

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Iran threatens US Army base and top general - Economic Times

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

| Published: Saturday, March 20, 2021, 11:56 [IST]

New Delhi, Mar 20: India would get better capabilities and technologies from the US to enforce the rule of international law in the Indo-Pacific.

US Secretary of Defence Llyod J Austin who landed in India on Friday called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and also met with National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval. The discussions revolved largely around the challenges facing the Indo-Pacific region.

Officials described the meetings as positive. Austin and Doval's meeting that lasted two hours had a positive outcome, officials tell OneIndia.

Committed to our strategic partnership, says PM Modi after meeting with US defence secretary Lloyd Austin

"Great meeting with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval last night. The breadth of collaboration between our two nations reflects the significance of our major defence partnership as we work together to address the most pressing challenges facing the Indo-Pacific region," Austin said in a tweet.

This is Austin's first visit abroad after the Quad summit and was the fist in-person engagement between the Modi government and Joe Biden administration.

Austin, it may be recalled had told the Senate confirmation in January that China presents the most significant threat going forward since China is ascending. Our goal is to make sure that we have the capabilities and the operational plans and concepts to be able to offer credible deterrence to China or anybody else who wants to take on the US.

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Challenges in the Indo-Pacific topped agenda of NSA Doval, Secretary Austins meet - Oneindia

The surge of asylum-seekers at the nations southern border grimly illustrates the need for comprehensive immigration reform.

But despite Americas flawed system, lawmakers continue to allow petty, divisive politics to stand in the way of the needed overhaul to our immigration system.

The most formidable obstacle to a comprehensive immigration bill is allowing a path to citizenship to the estimated 11.5 million people including at least 1.6 million in Texas who are in the country without authorization. Republican lawmakers and many GOP base voters are against any plan that would give amnesty to those residents, even though mass deportations are impractical and unlikely.

Ronald Reagan was the last president to push through an immigration plan with a path to citizenship for unauthorized immigrants.

The inability to pass a comprehensive plan should not discourage President Joe Biden and lawmakers from addressing important immigration-related issues in pieces. As most homeowners know, fixing things a little bit at a time is an improvement over doing nothing.

Here are some immigration issues our leaders should find a way to solve.

The southern border is again flooded with refugees from Central America seeking asylum and escape from awful situations in their home countries.

Many immigration lawyers say laws related to asylum need updating, while the border needs an influx of judges and related staff to process cases faster.

Policy guidelines should take a stand against family separation or any abuse of those seeking asylum.

And officials also should stay diligent in protecting against smugglers and human traffickers.

Its a tough order, but necessary to stop the chronic surges of refugees at the border.

Former U.S Rep. Will Hurd, R-San Antonio, suggests that Biden should create a high-level official with power and resources to deal with the countries that are creating the refugee problem.

The U.S. needs a mix of diplomacy and ideas to solve the problems in Central America like gang violence, corruption, trafficking, smuggling and the drug trade.

Dealing with the problem at its source is the best way to stop the flow of asylum-seekers.

Immigrant labor is an essential part of the nations economy, particularly in Texas.

There are people in Mexico and other places who want to work in America, but go back to their home countries.

Guest worker proposals have died with the debate over a path to citizenship and other immigration issues.

There is hope for movement. Last week, the House approved a bill, with 30 GOP votes, to expand a visa program for temporary agriculture workers. It would provide a pathway to permanent legal residency for about 1 million farm workers, with the possibility of eventual citizenship.

Coming out of the pandemic, American companies are going to need immigrant labor, so some kind of guest worker program makes sense.

Millions of people were brought to the country by their families as children and now face life in America as residents without citizenship or authorization to be here. They go to school, work and contribute to society, but worry about deportation or other problems that their residency status creates.

Last week, the House approved a bill that would allow citizenship to 2.5 million unauthorized immigrants, including those commonly referred to as Dreamers.

The proposal includes people already in the U.S. who were 18 or younger when they entered the country. It would cover those who currently have temporary protections under the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which is known as DACA.

Though only nine Republicans backed this bill, there should be space for lawmakers to ultimately compromise on this issue and provide the stout legislation needed to solve the problem.

Most experts agreed that former President Donald Trumps push for a wall along the southern border as initially proposed was unnecessary. He did get 452 miles of barrier built.

Any good immigration policy should include protections against criminals entering the country. And border security should include the constant fight against drug and human trafficking, as well as the protection of residents living in the area.

Metrics should be developed to determine whether border security goals are being met, as this will prevent lawmakers who oppose the above proposals from using the refrain that nothing should happen with immigration until the border is secure.

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With petty politics blocking broad immigration reform, lawmakers should tackle the issue in pieces - The Dallas Morning News

The House passed two bills on Thursday that would advance part of President Joe Bidens immigration agenda, offering a path to citizenship to undocumented DREAMers who came to the US as children, farmworkers, and immigrants with temporary humanitarian protection.

Nine Republicans joined Democrats to pass the Dream and Promise Act by a vote of 228-197. The Farm Workforce Modernization Act also passed 247-174, backed by 30 Republicans. Both bills had previously passed the House in 2019 with fewer Republican votes, but were never taken up in the then Republican-led Senate.

The bills narrowly address immigrant populations perceived as sympathetic by at least some members of both parties. They represent Democrats best chance of passing immigration reform at this point; a comprehensive immigration reform bill backed by Biden is unlikely to attract the Republican votes necessary to proceed in the Senate for now. But even so, its not clear that there is an appetite for smaller immigration bills in the Senate, where at least 10 Republicans would need to get onboard.

I have spoken to quite a few Senators, including Republican Senators, who are interested in making progress It gives me hope that we might be able to move this forward, Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a Democratic co-sponsor of the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, told reporters on Thursday. We wouldnt put in all this work just to have a House victory.

The Dream and Promise Act is a more expansive version of the mainstay Democratic immigration bill, the DREAM Act. While that bill covered mostly DREAMers, it did not address immigrants covered by Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) types of humanitarian protection that allow citizens of countries suffering from natural disaster, armed conflict, or other extraordinary circumstances to live and work in the US free of fear of deportation.

The Farm Workforce Modernization Act, which was the product of months of bipartisan negotiations, could legalize up to about 325,000 immigrants currently working in agriculture who do not have legal status. Republicans are usually reluctant to back any kind of legalization of undocumented immigrants immigration restrictionist groups have lambasted the bill as a means of securing cheap foreign labor at the expense of American workers but the lawmakers who supported the bill represent districts where agriculture is a major industry.

We cant keep waiting. I urge Congress to come together to find long term solutions to our entire immigration system so we can create a safe, orderly, and humane immigration system, tackle the root causes of migration and legalize the undocumented population in the United States, Biden tweeted Thursday, urging lawmakers to pass both bills.

The Dream and Promise Act offers a pathway to citizenship for about 2.5 million DREAMers and other immigrants with temporary humanitarian protection. The original DREAM Act was narrower, covering about 1.5 million people. Many of them have lived in the US for years, if not decades, but former President Donald Trump sought to dismantle the programs that offered them protection from deportation.

The paths vary for different groups. DREAMers undocumented immigrants brought to the US as children would face a longer path to eventual citizenship. More than 825,000 DREAMers have already been allowed to live and work in the US under the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which Trump unsuccessfully sought to undo. But a coalition of red states, led by Texas, is still challenging the legality of the program in federal court; the judge in that case is expected to rule any day now, leaving recipients in a precarious position.

Humanitarian protectees would face a shorter route. Among them are Liberians who sought refuge in the US from civil war in their home country from about 1989 to 2003 under deferred enforced departure. About 400,000 citizens of El Salvador, Honduras, and Haiti have also been able to live and work in the US with TPS, but Trump tried to terminate their status, among nationals of other countries, starting in November 2017 against the advice of senior State Department officials. He argued that conditions in those countries have improved enough that their citizens can now safely return. But many of them have resided in the US for decades and have laid down roots, making it difficult for them to return to countries they no longer call home.

These protectees would be allowed to apply for green cards immediately if they have resided in the US for at least three years and were eligible for TPS on September 17, 2017, or had deferred enforced departure status as of January 20, 2021. After five years of holding a green card, they would be able to apply for citizenship.

DREAMers, on the other hand, would have to apply for conditional permanent residency, which would only be granted under certain conditions:

This conditional status designation would last for 10 years before they could apply for citizenship, but they would be allowed to work in the meantime. There would be other ways for DREAMers to be able to apply for a green card at any time, including serving in the military for two years, working for three years, or getting a degree from a higher education institution (or be at least two years through a bachelors or technical program).

The Farm Workforce Modernization Act is the biggest legalization effort supported by Republicans in recent memory, passing the House 260-165 in 2019. Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) had introduced another version of temporary agricultural worker visa reform back in 2018 but most Democrats viewed that bill as a nonstarter.

The bill would give farmworkers who have worked in agriculture for at least 180 days over the past two years the ability to apply for Certified Agricultural Worker status, which can be renewed in six-month or five-year increments if they continue to work in agriculture for at least 100 days a year. It also offers long-term farmworkers a path to a green card, which requires at least four more years of experience in the industry and a $1,000 fee.

The bill streamlines the application process for the H-2A temporary visa program for seasonal agricultural workers, which admitted over 196,000 people in 2018. It also allows for up to 40,000 green cards to be granted annually, either through the sponsorship of an employer or if workers maintain H-2A status for 10 years.

Additionally, the bill would create a new program capped at 20,000 visas for year-round agricultural industries, which were previously barred from participating in the H-2A program and faced labor shortages, including dairy farming and producers of other animal products.

The bill tightens up enforcement, requiring farm employers to participate in the federal E-Verify program, with no exemptions for small farmers. It would freeze the minimum wage set by the government for one year and cap increases at 3.25 percent for the next nine years.

The United Farmworkers of America, among more than 250 labor groups, have backed the bill.

The US agricultural industry has relied on immigrant labor for decades, dating back to the Bracero Program in the 1940s that allowed millions of Mexicans to come to the US as farmworkers. Another large influx of unauthorized workers came during the 1990s before a slowdown that started around 2008, leaving agricultural employers unable to replace an aging workforce.

Congress has been wrestling with how to respond to labor shortages in agriculture and reduce the industrys reliance on undocumented workers ever since. That mission took on new urgency under Trump, following his administrations immigration raids targeting the agricultural sector. At one raid in August 2019, 680 workers were arrested at two poultry plants in Mississippi.

The House has opted to immediately vote on these two piecemeal bills instead of the Biden-backed US Citizenship Act of 2021, a comprehensive immigration reform package whose centerpiece is an eight-year path to citizenship for the estimated 10.5 million undocumented immigrants living in the country. The bill also addresses the underlying causes of migration, expands the number of available visas and green cards, invests in technology and infrastructure at ports of entry along the border, removes obstacles to asylum, and shores up protections for immigrant workers.

Its unlikely that the legislation, which is a kind of mission statement for the Democratic Party on immigration, will attract the 10 Republican votes needed to proceed in the Senate unless Democrats eliminate or alter the filibuster in a way that would allow them to pass the bill without a Republican vote.

Some Republicans have already warned the bill would return to the radical left-wing policies that will incentivize illegal immigration and promote an unending flood of foreign nationals into the United States.

But Democrats have so far been reluctant to say they are willing to bargain with Republicans on beefing up border security beyond modernizing ports of entry or narrowing the bills legalization provisions. Nevertheless, they have suggested that, after consulting with key members, the bill could be debated and amended through the committee markup process in April.

Were not going to waste time, Lofgren said in a press call recently. We will start planning to move the Biden bill and a number of other bills through the Judiciary Committee in April, and then on to the floor. We know we cant wait.

But some Democrats say that the calculus around comprehensive reform has changed now that the Biden administration is facing challenges on the border. Immigration authorities are struggling to humanely accommodate high numbers of unaccompanied children arriving on the border, and Republicans have sought to frame it as a Biden border crisis.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), who has long been at the forefront of immigration issues in Congress and introduced the original DREAM Act, recently told reporters that he did not see a way to pass the Biden bill and its promise of a pathway to citizenship for the undocumented.

I dont see a means of reaching it, he said. I think we are much more likely to deal with discrete elements [of immigration reform].

But Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), who is a lead co-sponsor on the bill in the Senate, has said hes not willing to give up yet.

Im not going to wave the white flag before we start, he told reporters earlier this week.

Continued here:
The House just advanced immigration reform with the Dream and Promise Act - Vox.com