Cox Campaign to Kickoff Signature Gathering
What: Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox and his wife, Abby, will kick-off the campaign’s signature gathering efforts by personally collecting signatures from Utah Republican voters. This will include a live performance by the Lt. Gov. and his band.
Who:
Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox
Abby Cox
Band members
300+ attendees (expected)
Where:
Utah Trucking Association
4183 West 2100 South
West Valley City, UT 84120
When:
Saturday, January 4, 2020, 12:00 p.m.
· 12:00 p.m. to 12:45pm: Lt. Gov. Spencer and Abby Cox collect signatures
· 12:45 p.m.: Media Availability
· 1:00 p.m.: Remarks from Lt. Gov. Cox
· 1:10 p.m.: Band performs
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Killing General Soleimani: Hail Mars! Hail Pluto!
by Matthew Hoh
530 words
The United States killed Iranian Quds Forces Commander General Qassam Soleimani. There is no hyperbole or exaggeration too great to encapsulate what may befall tens of millions of families.
The equivalent of the killing of General Soleimani would be as if the Iranians assassinated General Richard Clarke, the US four-star general in charge of all US special operations, but only if General Clarke had the name recognition of Colin Powell and the competency of Dwight Eisenhower.
Those Iranians in government and civil society who want restraint, de-escalation and dialogue will find it hard to argue against retaliation. After more than 20 years of Iran enduring insult after insult, provocation after provocation, and attack after attack, I find it hard to believe there are many Barbara Lees in the Islamic Consultative Assembly (she was the only member of the US Congress to vote restraint after 9.11.01).
A young man, better and brighter than those who sent him to Iraq to be in my command in the Marines in 2006, asked me last evening:
“So let’s assume Soleimani is responsible for the embassy raid on the 27th. What should the proper response be? I think it would have been a great reason to talk to the Iranians and start from a 0-0 standpoint.”
That is what we are promised each election cycle by the two war parties: thoughtful, wise and judicious leadership – recognize the abyss and don’t step into it.
Imagine if President Trump were to say before Congress and the American people: “I know the danger of where we are, I respect Iran’s grievances and I ask them to respect ours, I am going to Tehran to meet with President Rhouhani. I have seen what Bush and Obama wrought, I will do different.”
And what if then he told every member of Congress or the media who criticized him to stand and to offer up what they had sacrificed in the last 20 years. Would not that kind of leadership get him re-elected? Would there ever be a tally of the bodies, minds and souls saved? Yes, a late night fantasy of mine, pushed by the eternal hope of the too many unforgiving ghosts of these wars, but hope seems to be all we have right now.
2000 years ago in Rome a bull would have been slaughtered in the Temple of Mars to placate and appeal to the God of War. This weekend in DC, as well as most assuredly in Tel Aviv, and quite possibly London, the finest wines and liquors will be opened, without a seeming care that the sacrifice required will not be measured in a single animal, but in millions of dead and destroyed humans.
In Rome they worshiped Pluto as the God of the Underworld and of Death. Fittingly, Pluto was also the God of Money and Wealth. In these times it seems neither Mars or Pluto seems sated by the bodily and spiritual forms of the dead. If we pull down Lincoln and Jefferson in DC and hoist Mars and Pluto in their places I doubt Mars and Pluto’s appetites will be met, but as least we would be honoring those who are served.
—30—
Matthew Hoh is a Senior Fellow with the Center for International Policy and a Marine combat veteran of the Iraq War.
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Dear Editor:
In this brief time we have before Iran decides how to retaliate against America, please consider this call for correction. Dr. Wim Laven urges us to not be fooled again. For PeaceVoice, thank you,
Tom Hastings
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It’s time
by Wim Laven
679 words
“Remember that I predicted a long time ago that President Obama will attack Iran because of his inability to negotiate properly-not skilled.” Donald Trump, 11/10/13
Yeah, not skilled.
It is time to remove this incompetent, blundering oaf. We continue to see new dangerous lows from the White House, and now on January 2, 2020, Donald Trump ordered an act of war—the assassination of Iran’s Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the second most powerful man in Iran—without any consultation. This is exactly the trajectory Trump has been on and telegraphed all along.
Trump never should have gotten into office, and now he’s dragging us into war against a major power in the Middle East, a country far bigger and with great reason to despise the US—I doubt any Iranian does not know that the US overthrew their democratically elected leader in the early 1950s and installed a dictatorial Shah, all for access to oil profits. For Iranians, this is the America they have learned to fear and hate.
The numerous times Trump tweeted concerns that Obama would use war with Iran in order to win an election were self-serving reflections of his racism, but they also reflected a truth of American patriotism: Americans tend to rally behind their President in times of war—even if the war is manufactured to divert attention from something embarrassing for the Commander-in-Chief. Something like impeachment.
Wag the dog—Trump’s cynical act of war is so blatantly obviously meant to take attention from his historic failure, his impeachment, but all it will do in the end is give enormous reason to Senators to remove him. Will those Senators—mostly Republican—put country before Trump?
Obama’s tenure produced one of the quintessential pieces of statecraft—the Iran Deal—which secured great increases in safety and security and was a marvel of delicate dealmaking. Trump’s assessment of the Iran Deal was the clearest indicator of his supreme incompetence and monumental ignorance. The Iran Deal was an open door to world peace—steps in the right direction.
Trump blew that deal up against the advice of all of his advisors, and, just like so many of his disastrous efforts, it weakened the standing of the U.S. and increased global insecurity. It has persisted, it has festered, and now the abscess has erupted. The time is now—we cannot allow Trump to continue to spiral out of control—life as we know it hangs in the balance.
It is time to place pressure on all elected representatives. Millions of people need to fill the streets with the message: “Danger, Danger, there’s a reckless warmonger in the White House.” Trump needs to get the message: he’s fired.
Republican members of Congress need to hear the message that it is their time to respond with moral conscience, they should see the messages on signs every day: “Country over Party,” and “You swore an Oath!”
Democrats in Congress need to see both support and encouragement; call them and let them know, “we need Trump removed from office before it is too late,” but they also need to hear, “we must avoid the war Trump is starting at all costs.”
Over and over, lie after lie, the tragic story is all too clear. How many people… how many more people, will die to further these lies? The targeted killing does not weaken an enemy, it provokes revenge and inflames age-old antagonisms. As reckless as Trump has been, I cannot think of many moves short of going nuclear more ragingly clumsy than this action.
More than anything, I hope that Iran seizes the moral high ground that Trump surrendered from the start. If Iran resists the bloodlust and thirst for revenge, it will leave everyone worried, but they could wait for Trump’s replacement—they could change tit-for-tat into a positive opportunity.
Unfortunately, it is hard to imagine Iran ignoring this Pearl Harbor-like act of war. Trump must be removed from office and we must create a pathway to peace; the drums of war are deafening and can only be silenced by mass action.
~~~~~~~~
Wim Laven, Ph.D., syndicated by PeaceVoice, teaches courses in political science and conflict resolution.
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Utah Senate Requests Public Comment on Judicial Nominee
SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Senate Judicial Confirmation Committee is seeking public comment on district court judge, Jeremiah Humes, who was appointed by Governor Gary Herbert as a judge for the 7th District Court.
Those who desire to comment should contact Utah Senate Judicial Confirmation committee staff, Jerry Howe at the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel, by 5:00 p.m. Thursday, January 16, 2020, at the Utah State Capitol, House Building, Suite W210, PO Box 145210, Salt Lake City, Utah 84114-5210. All statements should include the respondent’s name, telephone number and mailing address.
The Senate Judicial Confirmation Committee plans to hold a public hearing, then issue a recommendation to the full Senate. If confirmed by the Senate, Judge Humes will fill the vacancy following the retirement of Judge Douglas B. Thomas.
The 7th Judicial District includes Carbon, Emery, Grand and San Juan counties.
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Notes:
1. Members of the Senate Judicial Confirmation Committee are Senator Todd Weiler (Chair), Senator Kirk Cullimore, Senator Deidre Henderson, Senator Lyle Hillyard, Senator Don Ipson, Senator Jani Iwamoto and Senator Karen Mayne.
2. Senate Judicial Confirmation Committee information is available here.
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Is It You Or An ID Thief? How AI Uses Document Verification To Keep You Safe
It’s a moment most people have experienced.
You’re required to show your ID for something and you wait as the person studies both your face and the photo on the driver’s license, passport, or other document, making sure you’re not an impersonator trying to pull a fast one.
These days, artificial intelligence is playing a role similar to that security person, with software that allows validation of IDs remotely through digital document verification. This way you can do business through your smartphone, and someone on the other end can make sure you’re who you say you are and that a thief hasn’t stolen your identity.
And that’s especially important at a time when identity theft has been on the rise, says Stephen Hyduchak, CEO of Aver (www.goaver.com), an identity-verification service.
“Fraudsters are getting creative, but so is technology,” Hyduchak says. “It’s important to keep up because there are so many ways to create fake documents that allow someone to claim to be you and maybe even get away with it.”
Hyduchak says there are a few categories of document fraud:
Illegitimate documents. These documents are completely false. They have characteristics such as missing holograms or other current standards that are essential parts of a legitimate version of that document.
False documents. This is a document that belongs to one person, but that another person tries to use in an effort to authenticate himself.
Modified documents. This is when an original document is altered. Hyduchak says the alterations can be caught with software that detects whether fonts and text match the originals.
How do fraudsters even get the ID documents to start with? Hyduchak says it’s a matter of data security breaches – and often a combination of more than one breach.
He gives this example. Just recently, the cryptocurrency exchange Binance, using a third-party Know-Your-Customer (KYC) provider, was the victim of a hack that leaked over 10,000 photographs of purported Binance KYC data. This breach affected up to 60,000 people.
“On Binance, users buy and sell cryptocurrency, something that is privacy-centric by its very nature, but still vulnerable,” Hyduchak says.
“Coupling leaks like this with major data breaches like Equifax and Target, our personal information can be manipulated for the fraud with some basic photoshop work.”
A digital verification process is one way to head off any subterfuge, Hyduchak says. For example, his company has a program that works this way: The user captures a picture of their ID or passport using their smartphone. The user then takes a selfie to verify they are the same person pictured on the ID or passport. Facial recognition software compares the images through algorithms.
“As time goes on,” Hyduchak says, “I think you are going to see digital facial checks become the standard for ID verification, and that will eliminate most types of fraud.”
About Stephen Hyduchak
Stephen Hyduchak is the CEO of Aver (www.goaver.com), an identity-verification service. Hyduchak worked in corporate finance for companies such as PRA Health Sciences before finding the entrepreneur bug. He began working on media and design for small businesses, which led him to consulting projects in the blockchain space, and eventually to founding Aver
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he Electronic Transactions Association (ETA) is out with a new whitepaper that unpacks the new California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the new rights consumers could have under this law – It’s set to take effect tomorrow Jan. 1, 2020.
Many Americans who suffered a data breach want some kind of tangible action on this subject and will be paying attention to how this legislation progresses once it’s introduced.
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