To my Brothers and Sisters in Arms November 17, 2016
Posted by Chris Mark in Uncategorized.add a comment
As we get into the holiday season we are reminded of how much pain our brothers and sisters have endured. Two days ago my wife asked me why I was crying in my sleep. I was unaware I was crying but I am not embarrassed by this..I simply could not remember…I believe it is probably due to the knowledge that this time of year brings both happiness and sadness. I know we will lose some brothers and sisters to suicide. It truly pains me. and I struggle.
If you are struggling…please reach out to someone. You can ping me…you can reach out to a number of folks…just..reach out. I have been there…almost all vets have been where you are today. Trust me…it gets better. PLEASE talk to someone before you do anything….My house is open…if you need a place to ‘hang’ for the holidays I have big house and I am always open to having people over. Hit me up. Whatever you do…don’t give up and just reach out!..please….
.308 Carbine Training- Article by Joe Chamblin November 11, 2016
Posted by Chris Mark in Uncategorized.Tags: .308, 7.62, Afghanistan, Carbine, Into Infamy, iraq, Joe Chamblin, Marine, Preparedness, Scout Sniper, Shooting instruction, sniper, tactics
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If you are interested in shooting and want to learn from one of the best, please read .308 Carbine Training from Joe Chamblin and consider subscribing to Tactics and Preparedness Magazine.
For those unfamiliar with Joe, he is a former Marine Sniper and Marine Sniper instructor who has served multiple combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. He is also the author of Into Infamy: a Marine Sniper’s War. Great article from a great Sniper and fine man.
3,000,000 visitors to GlobalRiskInfo.com!! October 27, 2016
Posted by Chris Mark in Uncategorized.Tags: cnn, fox, GlobalRiskInfo, national review, security, visitors
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I want to personally say “THANK YOU!” to everyone who has taken the time to visit and read this blog. Today we officially passed 3,000,000 unique visitors! Considering that in January, I had just passed 1 million, this is a big milestone!. I have published nearly 500 posts and some odd posts get real traction. RPR Review is over 100,000 (a review of a rifle!)…Chinese stealing of Titanian Dioxide is over 100,000. Sometimes you just don’t know what will resonate! Again, Thank You!!
The Danger of Biometrics for Personal Use – Limited Legal Protection October 17, 2016
Posted by Chris Mark in Uncategorized.Tags: 4th amendment, 5th amendment, biometrics, Breach, Chris Mark, Data, fingerprint, hack, privacy, security
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I have never been a proponent of using Biometrics and have frequently made jokes about not wanting “the man” to have my finger prints. Well, it looks like my position may have been well founded.
Recently, it was reported in Forbes.com that on May 29th, 2016 the US Government had filed a motion for the court to require residence in a Lancaster, California home to provide their fingerprints to open an iPhone. More disturbingly, the motion called for: “authorization to depress the fingerprints and thumbprints of every person who is located at the SUBJECT PREMISES during the execution of the search and who is reasonably believed by law enforcement to be the user of a fingerprint sensor-enabled device that is located at the SUBJECT PREMISES and falls within the scope of the warrant.” In short, they didn’t just want the finger prints they wanted to force the residents to actually ‘use their finger’ to open the phone. The warrant was not available to the public, nor were other documents related to the case. Like many people, I asked “how can the courts do this?” It would seem to me like an invasion of privacy (among other things). Marina Medvin of Medvin law said: ““They want the ability to get a warrant on the assumption that they will learn more after they have a warrant. “Essentially, they are seeking to have the ability to convince people to comply by providing their fingerprints to law enforcement under the color of law – because of the fact that they already have a warrant. They want to leverage this warrant to induce compliance by people they decide are suspects later on. This would be an unbelievably audacious abuse of power if it were permitted.” Unfortunately, it was indeed permitted.
Is it legal? According to the article in Forbes:
“In past interpretations of the Fifth Amendment, suspects have not been compelled to hand over their passcode as it could amount to self-incrimination, but the same protections have not been afforded for people’s body data even if the eventual effect is the same. Citing a Supreme Court decision in Schmerber v. California, a 1966 case in which the police took a suspect’s blood without his consent, the government said self-incrimination protections would not apply to the use of a person’s “body as evidence when it may be material.”
It also cited Holt v. United States, a 1910 case, and United States v. Dionisio, a 1973 case, though it did point to more recent cases, including Virginia v. Baust, where the defendant was compelled to provide his fingerprint to unlock a device (though Baust did provide his biometric data, it failed to open the iPhone; after 48 hours of not using Touch ID or a reboot Apple asks for the code to be re-entered.).
As for the Fourth, the feds said protections against unreasonable searches did not stand up when “the taking of fingerprints is supported by reasonable suspicion,” citing 1985′s Hayes v. Florida. Other cases, dated well before the advent of smartphones, were used to justify any brief detention that would arise from forcing someone to open their device with a fingerprint.”
We do know that the warrant was served. It does appear that you cannot be forced to give up a passcode as it could amount to Self Incrimination under the 5th Amendment however you do not have the same protections for biometrics. This is another instance where the law has not kept pace with technology. For this reason, and others I will not use biometrics for personal security.
Why I am still voting for Trump…and you should, as well. October 10, 2016
Posted by Chris Mark in Uncategorized.Tags: Benghazi, clinton, email, GOP, Hillary, HRC, ISIS, Satisficing, travelgate, Trump
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The last 48 hours has been tough for me. I have waffled in my already reluctant support of Trump and I have even gone so far as to claim I will “not vote for either idiot”! This is only half true. I want to thank those Recondos and Snipers, and numerous others who passionately debated with me on the topic over the past day. In particular JJ Brown of the Recon and Sniper Foundation who had particularly insightful comments.
Let me be clear. I do not like Trump. I am quite sure I would not like him as a person. I was initially angered by his latest comments. In reflection, I was angered by the fact that he allowed yet another comment to get out of control. Have I said vulgar things in private? Of course. Name a Marine who hasn’t and I would say you have not met a Marine. As Eleanor Roosevelt said: “The Marines I have seen around the world have the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale, and the lowest morals of any group of animals I have ever seen. Thank God for the United States Marine Corps!”. So why am I still voting for Trump? Easy. It is all about what economist and Nobel Prize recipient Herbert Simon called Satisficing. In this election we only have 2 real choices. Granted I feel like the options are akin to being ask whether you prefer stepping on a Lego in the middle of the night or hitting your little toe on a table as you walk to the bathroom at night…but those are our options. We have to select the best of the two available options.
I have been reminded (often in no so polite terms) Hillary Clinton is simply an untrustworthy person who has allowed Americans to die under her watch in Benghazi and has supported groups by selling them weapons that have killed Americans. This was further supported in recently disclosed documentation around her support of Libyan and Syrian rebels. In addition to TravelGate, her laughingly defending a child rapist, her compromise of national security, and numerous other transgressions, I simply cannot and will not ever vote for her. As I have said before, I would vote for my Rottweiller Bo before I would vote for Hillary Clinton. She represents the worst of politics.
Is Donald Trump a perfect human? No. Is he likable? Probably not to a lot of people. Is he crass and vulgar? Yes. Has he said stupid things? Of course. All of these things describe me and my own friends. Putting emotion aside, I am willing to overlook personal flaws but cannot overlook calculated actions that result in the destruction of Constitutional rights, the compromise of national security, and the death of Americans. This particular election has greater implications than simply bragging rights. The next president will get to nominate at least 1 Supreme Court Justice. This Justice is going to likely be the ‘tie breaker’ on numerous Constitutional issues to include the 2nd Amendment. For these reasons, I must put aside my personal feelings and vote for the party that represents the platform I support as opposed to not supporting a person that I do not like.
This election will likely be one of the most important in our lifetimes. We have two intensely flawed candidates. One is personally flawed, the other is personally and professionally flawed. One has said rude and crass things while the other has allowed Americans to die under her watch and compromised national security for her own purposes. To me, the answer is now clear. While I do not ‘support Trump’, I support the Republican party platform and I will NEVER support Hillary Clinton who has allowed my own brothers to die on her watch. Thanks for reading!
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