Tag Archives: Russia

Houston suspends “sister city” ties with Tyumen

Of interest. Houston Mayor Turner Sylvester on Friday suspended the city’s partnership agreement with Moscow and its sister city relationship with Tyumen, Russia, on the one-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine. Turner said that while he believes in the … Continue reading

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An update on election security

Nothing to see here. Russian hackers probed election systems in all 50 states, a new Senate report confirmed Thursday. The report comes one day after former special counsel Robert Mueller told Congress that the Russian government is working to meddle … Continue reading

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Do we still want to go to Mars?

Hot take: I dunno. Before the U.S. put the first man on the moon, before the Soviet Union launched the first satellite, people thought aliens lived on Earth’s nearest planetary neighbor. The belief sparked fear in some — and outright … Continue reading

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It’s always possible to make a border wall proposal stupider

Here’s Exhibit A. An emergency Trump administration plan to tap storm protection funds to pay for a border wall was slammed Friday by Houston lawmakers who said it could endanger the city’s recovery from Hurricane Harvey and jeopardize the region’s … Continue reading

Posted in La Migra, National news | Tagged , , , , , | 15 Comments

The Russia-Texas-secession connection

So many people got played. A sprawling Russian disinformation campaign aimed at influencing the 2016 elections found success with social media accounts promoting the idea of Texas secession, according to a report commissioned by the U.S. Senate that was released … Continue reading

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Yeah, we’re still talking about the risk to our elections

And when we talk about these things, we talk to Dan Wallach. When we think about those who defend the territorial integrity of our nation and state, we tend to imagine well-equipped members of the U.S. armed forces, or perhaps … Continue reading

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Who wants to protect our voting systems from hackers?

You would hope the answer to that question would be “everyone”, but that’s not the world we currently live in. A bipartisan group of 21 state attorneys general are demanding Congress’ assistance in protecting the 2018 election. Writing to Rep. … Continue reading

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Greg Abbott, Russian stooge

Heck of a job, Greggie. A former director of the CIA and NSA said Wednesday that hysteria in Texas over a 2015 U.S. military training exercise called Jade Helm was fueled by Russians wanting to dominate “the information space,” and … Continue reading

Posted in General snarkiness, Skepticism, The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Nothing to see here

Remain calm, all is well. Next Saturday, March 24, hundreds of Texas Democratic Party activists will gather at the Austin Hyatt Regency to nominate candidates for political office in Travis County, a kick-off event leading up to the 2018 midterm … Continue reading

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So were we targeted by Russian hackers or not?

Depends who you ask, I guess. A top state official is pushing back against the federal government’s claim that Texas was among states whose election systems were targeted by Russian hackers ahead of the 2016 presidential election. “At no point … Continue reading

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Texas was a hacking target in 2016

We’re just finding out about this now? Hackers targeted Texas and 20 other states prior to the 2016 presidential election, the United States Department of Homeland Security has formally informed the states. But the hackers who tried to mess with … Continue reading

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Stanart pushes back on election security claims

Our County Clerk is not happy with recent stories about the potential for vulnerability in our election systems. Despite reports from federal intelligence agencies and media outlets of Russia’s widespread targeting of state and local elections around the country and … Continue reading

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Maybe we should be a little more concerned about election security?

Just a thought. Russia’s cyberattack on the U.S. electoral system before Donald Trump’s election was far more widespread than has been publicly revealed, including incursions into voter databases and software systems in almost twice as many states as previously reported. … Continue reading

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