Linked...

A hacker group linked to the Chinese government found and repurposed a set of the National Security Agency's (NSA) cyberweapons against targets in Europe and Asia beginning in 2016, according to cybersecurity firm Symantec.

Symantec's findings, released, said the cyberweapons were used at least a year before a massive leak by a group calling itself the Shadow Brokers made public some of the NSA's most powerful cyber tools – suggesting the China-linked hackers gained access to them earlier and in a different way.

The U.S. Department of Justice charged three alleged members of Buckeye with hacking, IP theft, conspiracy and identity theft in 2017.

Symantec said it identified one "zero day" vulnerability – a piece of code that allows a hacker access to a machine without anyone on the other end clicking a link, opening an attachment, or using a website – in a piece of Microsoft software in 2018. 

Stick...

We'll throw everything at it and see if something stick.

Kind...

Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration has long been criticized for being chummy with the developers he promised to hold to account when he took office in 2014, with the Campaign for One New York—the nonprofit he established in 2013 to advance his pet projects, such as universal pre-K a particular source of opprobrium.

A probe into CONY by the city’s Department of Investigation provides evidence that the mayor may have, in fact, violated city conflict of interest rules by seeking donations “from an individual who had or whose organization had, a matter pending or about to be pending before any executive branch of the City.”

A large chunk of the summation focuses on de Blasio’s relationship with developers. Throughout CONY’s existence, it received several sizable donations from developers, including TF Cornerstone, John Catsimatidis’s Red Apple Group, Brookfield Property Group (which donated $50,000), Two Trees Management (which donated $100,000), and Toll Brothers. 

Message...

"It's the economy stupid."

"It's the economy, stupid"  which James Carville had coined as a campaign strategist of Bill Clinton's successful 1992 presidential campaign against sitting president George H. W. Bush. 

Conflict...

The UK is not ruling out the warlord Khalifa Haftar from a role in a future Libyan government despite his attack on the capital, the British foreign secretary has said as he reiterated calls for a ceasefire.

Jeremy Hunt told the Guardian: “We do not agree with what Haftar is doing. We do not think it is possible for Haftar to achieve a military victory, and as a government he will not be seen as legitimate by whole swathes of the country. So we want a political process.”

Asked if Haftar’s offensive in Tripoli had forfeited him the right to be a major figure in the future of Libya, Hunt said: “We have to be careful about making those kinds of judgments. We have not covered ourselves in glory with our policy on Libya. Let us face it, if we knew in 2011 we would be in the situation we are now we would be asking ourselves some searching questions, so we had better be careful about ruling people out and ruling people in. The right way forward is a a ceasefire, political talks and a political settlement

Despite a UN call for a humanitarian corridor, Haftar this week ordered his troops to fight harder through the month of Ramadan to wipe out the opposition. The fighting has so far displaced 50,000 people, killed more than 400 and led to the destruction of parts of the south of Tripoli.

Obama/Hillary's policies in the Middle East.

Blatant...

ILLEGAL immigration is a “blatant example of European powerlessness,” French conservative François-Xavier Bellamy, leader of the centre-right Les Républicains (LR) party list in the upcoming European parliament elections, said on Sunday

The French right-winger, whose party has called for increased border security, added that it was for migrants to adapt to the host culture, and not vice-versa. 

“Confronted with massive migration flows, Europe chose re-distribution instead of choosing protection,” Mr Bellamy told Le Figaro newspaper. “What we are saying is simple: we want a double border.” The LR party has called for internal border controls to be permanently restored inside the passport-free Schengen zone, and for a reinforcement of the bloc’s external borders.

“We want to continue taking in those who need our help. But there is a difference [between welcoming refugees] and having your front door dented every single day." 

Economic migration “distorts the meaning of asylum” and shrouds many asylum requests in suspicion, the parliamentary hopeful added.   

He said: “European civilisation is in danger… There is no reason to ask the French to adapt to the culture of those who arrive: it is up to those who want to live in France and in Europe to adapt to the host culture.” 

The EU has since tightened its external borders, turned more restrictive on granting asylum and struck deals with the likes of Turkey and Libya to keep migrants from crossing the Mediterranean sea.

Leaning...

A Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Twitter poll asking what type of Supreme Court justices social media users would like to have on the bench apparently backfired when 71 percent of respondents selected “justices like Brett Kavanaugh” compared to just 29 percent who chose “justices like Ruth Bader Ginsburg.”

However, by Sunday afternoon, the tweet had vanished.

Ginsburg is one of the longest-tenured justices on the Supreme Court and is known for her liberal dissents. 

She has become an icon in liberal circles for her stances on women’s rights, abortion and gender discrimination.

Kavanaugh, following a brutal confirmation process that saw multiple women accuse him of sexual misconduct while in high school. 

A social conservative, Kavanaugh previously worked in the administration of President George W. Bush and the United States Court of appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, where he was ranked as one of the most conservative judges on the D.C. court, according to the Washington Post.

Is the country leaning conservative?

Poll...

Passions...

Pelosi, the de facto head of the Democratic Party until a presidential nominee is selected in 2020, offered Democrats her “coldblooded” plan for decisively ridding themselves of Mr. Trump: Do not get dragged into a protracted impeachment bid that will ultimately get crushed in the Republican-controlled Senate, and do not risk alienating the moderate voters who flocked to the party in 2018 by drifting too far to the left.

“Own the center left, own the mainstream,” Ms. Pelosi, 79, said.

“Our passions were for health care, bigger paychecks, cleaner government  a simple message,” Ms. Pelosi said.

“We did not engage in some of the other exuberances that exist in our party” — a reference to ambitious plans advocated by the left wing and some 2020 candidates, including “Medicare for all” and the Green New Deal, which she has declined to support.

Retire...

Workers looking forward to enjoying a long and leisurely retirement after years of toil, may need to think again.  New research shows that brain function declines rapidly as soon as people stop work and put their feet up.

 A major British study which tracked 3,400 retired civil servants found that short-term memory declines nearly 40 per cent faster once employees become pensioners.

 It appears that the lack of regular stimulation takes a heavy toll on cognitive function and speeds up memory loss and dementia, researchers warned.

The more cognitively active you are the more it offsets the risk of dementia.

“The most important thing is to interact with people.”  

Even high-ranking civil servants with mentally demanding jobs saw brain capacity plummet once they quit, the study found.

It suggests a busy and high-flying career offers no protection against cognitive decline unless pensioners keep physically and mentally active.

Experts say the best way to avoid the conditions is stay active, eat a healthy diet, stop smoking and drink in moderation.

But the latest research suggests giving up work could be a major catalyst for the incurable illness in some people.