20130430

Cybersecurity: When Hackers Attack: Are computers now the conventional front for hostilities? Michael Chertoff joins subject experts on Milken Global Conference discussion

President Obama has called attacks on U.S. computer networks "one of the most serious economic and national security threats our nation faces." The FBI's director recently warned IT professionals to be on the alert for organized cybercriminals, rogue hacktivists and breaches by foreign governments. Hackers have infiltrated banks, credit card companies, major retailers and defense contractors, pilfering consumer data and intellectual property. 
The Milken Institute presented international experts to discuss cybersecurity on a  panel at its Global Conference in May 2012.  Panelists:   
  1. Michael Chertoff, Chairman, The Chertoff Group; former Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
  2. Shawn Henry, President, CrowdStrike Services; former Executive Assistant Director, FBI
  3. Mikko Hypponen, Chief Research Officer, F-Secure
  4. Daniel McGahn, President and CEO, AMSC
  5. Moderator:  Marc Goodman, Founder, Future Crimes Institute; Global Security Advisor and Chair for Policy, Law and; Ethics, Singularity University


New measures to enhance cybersecurity are making their way through Congress, but will proposed federal standards really keep us one step ahead of the hackers? Can law enforcement handle a shadowy, constantly morphing enemy on the Internet - without further eroding privacy protections? How should governments, private firms and individuals respond to the threats?



Recorded at the Milken Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California.

20130426

If Obama’s Syria Promises Mean Nothing, How Can We Trust Him on Iran?

Syrian chemical attack victim (Photo: The Times London)
Jonathan Tobin writes in Commentary:
With even ardent Obama supporters like Jeffrey Goldberg reminding the president he has made it crystal clear that chemical weapons use would be a red line that would trigger a strong U.S. response, what follows will not only tell us whether that promise would be kept. It will also illustrate just how seriously to take other pledges the administration has made, specifically its vow never to allow Iran to go nuclear.
With the White House desperately trying to buy time before making a decision on Syria, it’s fair to ask why anyone should regard American rhetoric on Iran as anything more than an elaborate bluff if Obama won’t keep his word about Assad’s behavior.
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20130424

In the wake of Boston bombings, Israeli Film Festival reminds America of the shared need to defend against global jihad

The 27th annual Israel Film Festival opened with a salute to former head of Paramount Pictures, Sherry Lansing and legendary actor Martin Landau.


Pictured are actors Steven Dorff, Lanie Kazan, Martin Landau, Stacy Keach, producer Sherry Lansing, Festival director Meir Fenigstein, and Israeli-American producer Avi Lerner.

Israeli Deputy Consul General to Los Angeles, Uri Resnick, introduced honoree legendary lady producer, Sherry Lansing, at this Israel Film Festival.



Producer Ms. Lansing spoke about Jewish culture in cinema, the critical Israeli eye in film, and Israel productions spawning American copies of In Treatment by HBO and Homeland by Showtime.


Dr. Resnick spoke in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing at the Israel Film Festival.



Dr. Uri Resnick made aliyah from Ottawa, Canada in 1988. He joined Israel's Foreign Service in 2002, having served as Deputy Head of Mission at Israel's embassies in Dakar, Senegal (2003-2005) and Sofia, Bulgaria (2005-2008). He has also served as Deputy Director of the Department for UN Political Affairs (2008-2010) at Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and has participated in several Foreign Ministry Delegations to the United Nations General Assembly. He served in the IDF (1990-1993) in an infantry reconnaissance unit. Dr. Resnick speaks Hebrew, English and French.

20130328

Muslims in France concuss sympathizing, Israeli filmmaker chasing another European Oscar

The film "Rock the Casbah," depicts war-time dilemmas of Israeli soldiers trying to root out terrorists hiding among Gazan civilians.  Two of its Jewish Israeli filmmakers, Yariv Horowitz and Assaf Amdursky, after premiering the movie at a film festival in France, were attacked by a group of Arab youths in the street, knocking Horowitz' head unconscious against the pavement.

After the violent incident, which apparently was racially motivated, Horowitz's film won the Special Prize of the Jury for Best Picture.

The film "Rock the Casbah", starring Yon Tumarkin, follows the story of young soldiers in the first intifada in Gaza. The soliders are located on the roof of a Palestinian family whose son is involved in the murder of one of their battalion.

The film which nabbed the Art Cinema Award at the Berlin Intl. Film Festival, paints a harsh portrait of Israel, follows a group of hapless young Israeli soldiers stationed in Gaza in 1989 as they struggle to keep a lid on the chaos around them.



From Walla News site, (machine translated from Hebrew:)

The first intifada, continues to make waves in the world, but this time the reaction hugging accompanied by the incident frightening: During the festival Ovin (Aubagne) French music and film, attended Horowitz and collected. Asaf Amdursky composed the soundtrack for the film, was attacked Horowitz by a gang of youths of Arab descent. He lost consciousness, but fortunately was treated there and finally returned to the festival, where he picked the special prize of the jury for best picture and best music with Amdursky.

"The night after the premiere of the film back, I gathered, to the hotel," says Horowitz Walla! Culture. "And suddenly a bunch of Arabs attacked me. They told me, 'Fuck you' and I said to them, 'Fuck you', and Assaf tried to defend me, but they threw me and my head hit the pavement, and then lost consciousness. Luckily I was treated and recovered, it could have ended much worse."

According to Horowitz, although clearly not possible to know whether the attack is related to a movie, locals claimed that at least one of the young people were watching it. "After they dealt with me asked if I wanted to file a complaint and did not want, I flew away. But the next day I realized through the local and the festival at least one of the young people who attacked me see the movie. They did not say anything when they attacked me."

You can understand why you were attacked following the film?

"Listen, it's strange that here right activists wrote talkbacks should hang me. Has many Arabs who loved him. Perhaps extreme enlightened men think showing it worth beating."

Horowitz and winning the prize Amdursky joins the International Confederation for quality cinema Berlin Film Festival and the Audience Award at the festival Bergamo in Italy which won the "Rock the Casbah" earlier this year.

After the violent incident, Horowitz's film won the Special Prize of the Jury for Best Picture. Israeli singer and musician Assaf Amdursky also received an award for a movie he wrote music.

20130313

Middle East facts out-reason left-wing, anti-Zionists at American-Israel Policy Conference in D.C.

Original videos filmed around AIPAC Policy Conference reveal competing perceptions, agendas, on US Mid-East policy.  

Anti-Zionist demonstrators slandered Israel and US Mid-East policy outside of AIPAC Policy Conference at the Washington Convention Center in early March.  Their oversimplified platitudes were contradicted by the Conference's reasoned analysis of Mid-East realities and the Obama Administration's Mid-East policies.

Watch hand-filmed excerpts from the event on DemoCast's playlist: 

AIPAC attendees challenge Code-Pink and Occupy AIPAC demonstrators;

Israeli U.S. Ambassador Michael Oren speaks with CNN's Frank Sesno;

U.S. policy advisors Dennis Ross and Elliot Abrams speak with CNN's Frank Sesno;

Mid-east policy roundtable with analysts Robert Satloff, Greg Stephens (of the Wall St. Journal), and Israeli analyst Amos Harel;

U.S. Medal of Honor recipients Lt. Col. Hon. Alfred Rascon and Sgt. Major Ken Stumpf share their experience of the Israel Defense Forces following their recent visit to Israel.


(Advance through playlist with lower center buttons).