Thursday 31 December 2015

FBI selects Joshua Skule as Assistant Director

Joshua Skule Named Assistant Director of the Directorate of Intelligence

Washington, D.C.December 30, 2015

Director James B. Comey has named Joshua Skule assistant director of the Directorate of Intelligence at FBI Headquarters (FBIHQ) in Washington, D.C. He most recently served as the special agent in charge of the Intelligence Division at the Washington Field Office.
Mr. Skule began his career as a special agent with the FBI in 1998. He was first assigned to the Chicago Division, where he investigated violent crimes and public corruption.
In 2008, he was promoted to a unit chief in the Counterterrorism Division (CTD), where he was responsible for counterterrorism investigations within the United States. A year later, he was selected as assistant section chief in CTD, where he managed counterterrorism investigations involving crimes committed against American citizens or interests overseas.
In 2011, Mr. Skule was selected to serve as assistant special agent in charge of the Criminal Division at the Washington Field Office. In this role, he managed several programs, including organized crime, gangs, violent crime, and cyber investigations.
In 2012, Mr. Skule promoted to section chief in CTD, and, in 2013, he was promoted to deputy assistant director. In this position, Mr. Skule was responsible for domestic and extraterritorial counterterrorism operations.
Mr. Skule holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the U.S. Naval Academy.
Mr. Skule reporters to the Directorate of Intelligence in early January.

Editor's Note:

FBI under dynamic leadership of James Comey has aimed to combat terrorism to its end. Also after California shooting, he is determined to take on the issue of "radicalization" and address its underlying causes. Mr Skule has been selected by Mr James Comey after a careful analysis as to his experience, which is expected to bring great change in times to come as soon as he joins after winter holidays and takes on the seat of Assistant Director in mid January.

As 2016, is the year, when America shall go to Polls in Nov 2016, Joshua Skule's contribution towards FBI and its role to make the electoral process transparent;  more over, his part shall lie in curbing terrorist activities in America in its most important year - when America is vying to become "Great America Again" !!!

.............................

News Compiled By: 
Kanwal Abidi   *063 News (Global Press Agency)
*Political Analyst & Journalist

Wednesday 23 December 2015

Sanders ramps up battle against Clinton in Nevada

LAS VEGAS – Bernie Sanders is aggressively expanding his presidential campaign in Nevada in the hopes of proving he has an appeal beyond white college-educated liberals. 
The Vermont senator is running close to front-runner Hillary Clinton in Iowa and ahead of her in New Hampshire, states with a lily-white Democratic electorate. But he faces deep holes in both South Carolina and Nevada, where more black and Hispanic voters, respectively, are part of the likely voter pool. 
Still miles behind Clinton in South Carolina despite picking up efforts to win over African-Americans, Sanders’s team is coming to view the third voting state of Nevada (fourth for Republicans) as another vehicle to shift the narrative.
As the earliest voting state with a sizable Hispanic population, a strong showing from Sanders in Nevada would go a long way to convincing doubters that he is electable. 
A win in either state could enable him to assert that he has the strength to take on Clinton in the remaining 46 states — but a loss in both would bolster the hypothesis that he’s doomed in states with diverse electorates.   
“In Nevada, the question is whether he can go beyond the coalitions of the past and make inroads with the growing number of Hispanic voters,” said Jim Manley, former senior communications aide to Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.). 
"Nevada has become a key part of the Democratic presidential primaries. Not only does it represent the changing demographics of the country as a whole, but it stands out in part because it is the first primary out west."  
On Tuesday the Sanders campaign launched a statewide TV advertising campaign, the largest television buy in the state by any presidential candidate, Republican or Democrat. His team is already running Spanish-language advertising on Nevada radio and in newspapers and the new buy will keep the campaign on the air through to caucus day on Feb. 20. 
“The state of Nevada is almost a mirror to the entire country,” said Sanders’s Nevada communications director Emilia Pablo, referring to the state’s diverse demographics. 
The Sanders campaign strategy to win the Latino vote involves marshaling a ground force of young Hispanic volunteers and paid staffers, including many undocumented immigrants, to win over a population that knows and likes Clinton but is unfamiliar with Sanders.
Hispanics made up 14 percent of the Democratic caucus participants in 2008, according to ABC News exit polls, and that number could be higher as the population in the state grows.  
Clinton, who leads Sanders by a double-digit margin in national polls, has a head start in Nevada. Her team has been there organizing since April; the former secretary of State was quick to poach the state’s best operatives, and her popularity among Nevada’s large and growing Hispanic population far exceeds Sanders’s. 
The Sanders campaign only started getting its act together in November. 
“There wasn’t an office until, I think, the end of October,” said Pablo, who was hired in November. “We’re moving quickly given the amount of time.” 
The Sanders campaign has since gone on a hiring and office-opening spree and now has more than 40 paid staff and nine offices in Nevada. That is a comparable staff size to Clinton's, with three more offices. 
To put the growth of Sanders’s operation in perspective, as well as the scope of both Democrats’ efforts in the state, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush leads the Republican pack in resources in the state with two offices and eight staff.
Over the course of a week in Nevada, The Hill spent time with both the Sanders and Clinton campaigns and had off-the-record conversations with veteran Democratic operatives and strategists. 
The consensus is that Clinton is the prohibitive favorite to win Nevada. She has more experienced staff, better systems and a stronger organization, say a number of Nevada-based Democratic sources who are unaligned to any presidential campaign. 
Nevada is a hard state to poll — those on the ground cite low turnout, a transient population and reliance on cellphones as key impediments. In CNN’s latest poll from November, Clinton held a 16-point advantage over Sanders before Vice President Biden officially swore off a bid. But no recent poll has broken down support from non-white or Hispanic voters. 
Few Nevada Democrats believe Sanders has a chance here.
But a number of Democratic sources admitted being surprised at the size and aggression of the Sanders investment, which suggests his campaign thinks it has a genuine shot. 
The Sanders effort centers on youth. 
A key strategy is setting up offices near high schools and holding events catered to the students, even if some of them are not old enough to vote. 
Pablo is using Hispanic teenagers as messengers to their parents, many of whom are not politically engaged and may have never heard of Sanders. 
“The young kid comes in from high school or from college and then he tells his parents about Bernie Sanders, and then the parents have second thoughts,” said Pablo, explaining how the strategy works. “So that’s the story I’m hearing again and again. It’s the youth informing the parents.” 
The Sanders team also has undocumented immigrants helping with outreach in Hispanic neighborhoods. The campaign uses DREAMers, undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children and get a reprieve from deportation as a result of meeting certain requirements. 
Pablo says that being Hispanic and having on staff Dreamers such as Cesar Vargas (the first undocumented lawyer in New York) gives them instant credibility when they go door-knocking in Las Vegas’s minority communities. 
“Kids are showing up from the high schools ... they show up to our office and tell us, 'I'm going to be honest, I'm undocumented, I don't have papers. I can't vote but you know what I can help you go knock 100 doors today,’” Pablo said. 
The Sanders campaign is also building a strong presence on college campuses, including the University of Las Vegas Nevada. The campaign set up an office opposite the campus and when The Hill visited, students were volunteering at phone banking and data management.     
But the Sanders campaign will have to compete with Clinton’s efforts. 
Tim Hogan, Clinton’s Nevada communications director, pointed at the campaign’s organizational strength as part of its successes, as well as its “diverse team” reaching out to communities. 
“From Spanish-language caucus trainings to Filipino Kamayan dinners to poetry slams at local small businesses, we are organizing across the state in traditional and non-traditional ways to build a strong base of support,” he said. 
Clinton has a long and successful history in the state, having beaten then-Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) in the 2008 caucus. But Obama ended up with a slight lead with Nevada’s delegates to the national convention, a sign that a victory in the state may be harder than just winning the popular vote. 
Despite the late push by Sanders, almost two months before the caucuses, his team is aware of its candidate’s name recognition gap. Instead of focusing the ad buy on an issue, the campaign plans to run a biographical ad as its first spot. 
Sanders has only traveled to Nevada five times so far, compared to 18 and 16 stops in New Hampshire and Iowa respectively, according to National Journal’s campaign tracker. Clinton’s been to the state seven times. 
“I would book him every day if I could, but that’s a decision made higher up than me,” Pablo said. 
But despite the push, most Democrats agree the state remains a difficult hurdle for Sanders to mount. 
“Based on polling and the general make up of the crowds he is drawing winning Nevada was always going to be a long shot,” Manley said. 
................................................
By: KANWAL ABIDI 
      *Political Analyst and Journalist
063 News (Global Press Agency)

Tuesday 22 December 2015

Malley appointed by Obama as ISIS negotiator










A radical foreign policy adviser fired by President Obama years ago for meeting with the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas is back as the administration’s new czar in charge of countering the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS).

The White House downplayed the new appointment by burying it deep in a press briefing delivered at a Paris hotel during the recent climate summit. “The President recently elevated Rob Malley, the NSC [National Security Council] Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, to serve now as the Senior Advisor to the President for the Counter-ISIL Campaign in Iraq and Syria,” White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said during the briefing at the Marriott Rive Gauche Hotel and Conference Center. Before moving onto the next topic Earnest said the president has directed Malley to “support our reinvigorated diplomatic track toward a political transition in Syria…”

MALLEY AS EXTREMISTS SYMPATHIZER

Malley has a well-documented history of sympathizing with extremists, which makes this appointment rather outrageous. Judicial Watch wrote about Malley last year when Obama made him the senior director at the NSC even though the president had dumped him as a foreign policy adviser for meeting with and having regular contact with Hamas, long classified a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department. Malley’s family had close ties to Yasser Arafat, founder of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Fatah movement, and Malley was an adviser in Bill Clinton’s White House. He consistently exonerates Palestinians and condemns Israel.

Over the years he has published a number of newspaper opinion pieces urging the United States to reach out and negotiate with terrorist enemies like Hamas, Hezbollah and Muqtada al-Sadr. A website that documents the networks and agendas of the political left offers details about Malley’s scary past and provides links to the egregious articles he’s published, including several co-written with Hussein Agha, a former adviser to Arafat. In 2007 Malley published an op-ed piece in a mainstream newspaper expressing strong support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a murderous tyrant who has been credited with helping ISIS rise.

WHO IS MALLEY:

Malley grew up in France and his Egyptian-born father was a key figure in Egypt’s communist party and a close friend of Arafat’s. His parents were fervently anti-Israel and huge supporters of several leftist revolutionary liberation movements, especially the Palestinian cause. Malley published a piece in a mainstream newspaper declaring that Israel was responsible for the failure of Bill Clinton’s peace talks with the Palestinians. Malley attended the 2000 event, which was held at Camp David because it was the site of the landmark 1978 Israeli-Egyptian peace accords.

Shortly after Obama got elected president Israel’s largest news site revealed that the Arabic-language newspaper Al-Hayat reported that Hamas engaged in talks with Obama for months through his “fired” adviser. The article quotes Ahmad Yousuf, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh’s political advisor, saying this: “We were in contact with a number of Obama’s aides through the Internet, and later met with some of them in Gaza, but they advised us not to come out with any statements, as they may have a negative effect on his election campaign and be used by Republican candidate John McCain (to attack Obama).”

QUESTIONABLE ROLE OF MALLEY:

How can Americans possibly confide in Malley to help dismantle what is arguably the world’s deadliest and most brazen terrorist group? A Florida-based Jewish weekly helps answer this, albeit with another question: “With a history of dissing Israel, snuggling up to Hamas, shielding Assad, and promoting the containment of a nuclear-armed Iran, is it any surprise that Malley is Obama’s choice to spearhead the U.S. response to ISIS?”

...........................................
By: KANWAL ABIDI 
      063 News (Global Press Agency))
Sign Up for Updates!

Friday 11 December 2015

Arson Attack at California Mosque

FBI to take over possible arson at Coachella mosque:


Firefighters are on the scene of a possible arson fire at a mosque in Coachella, the same mosque that was fired upon last year in what was investigated as a hate crime.
FBI investigators are en route to take over the fire incident.
The fire was reported at 12:09 p.m. Friday and, at 12:49 p.m., Cal Fire reported it has been contained to the front lobby of the Masjid Ibrahim mosque at 84650 Avenue 49.
There were people inside the mosque when the fire started, but no injuries were reported.
"At approximately 12:11 p.m., officers from the Coachella Police Department received a call regarding a possible arson at the Islamic Society of Coachella Valley," Riverside County Sheriff's Department spokesman Deputy Armando Muñoz said.
The investigation is continuing and no other details could be immediately released, Muñoz said.
While the fire was quickly contained to the front lobby of the 1,800-square-foot, single-story building, there is smoke damage throughout the mosque, Cal Fire officials said.
The incident comes nine days after a mass shooting by a radicalized Muslim couple at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, where 14 people were killed and 21 others were injured.
Syed Rizwan Farook, a 28-year-old San Bernardino County environmental health specialist, and his 27-year-old wife, Tashfeen Malik, used four guns to shoot his county coworkers at the Inland Regional Center on Dec. 2.
Abdullah Salaam, a member of the Islamic Society of the Coachella Valley, discussed the shooting that occurred at the same Coachella mosque last year.
Four people were praying inside the same mosque about 5 am. Nov. 4, 2014, when at least five shots were fired, three hitting a car parked out front and others striking the building.
The incident was treated as a hate crime but never resolved despite a $12,000 reward.
"We're a peaceful people," Salaam said of the Muslim community.
The religion teaches love and peace, not violence, he said.
"If you want to know what we're doing, come on down," Salaam said, inviting anyone to visit the mosque and learn about their faith.
The mosque has been around for about 17 years.
Mosque security guard Ray Brewster said he expects to increase security at prayer services after this.
After hearing the news on Friday afternoon, Rep. Raul Ruiz, a Coachella Democrat, said "I am deeply concerned about the Islamic Society of the Coachella Valley Mosque (being burned). I call for a thorough investigation to this arson as a possible hate crime and to bring the perpetrators to justice. I will continue to closely monitor the fire, the possible criminal investigtaion, and the safety of the members of the mosque. Our faith in humanity will not be intimidated and we stand together against any form violence towards the innocent."
More than 20 community members gathered behind the crime scene tape outside of the burned building in the minutes after the fire was first reported.
Many who attend the mosque came to show their support for their religious community and fight back against what they believe is a religiously-motivated act.
Muhammad Bwaneh, who prays at the mosque regularly.
"This is just another form of a terrorist attack on Muslims," he said. "And whoever did this is considered a terrorist for attacking a place of peace where people come to do their prayers."
........................................................
News Edited By:
KANWAL ABIDI *063 News (Global Press Agency)

Microbead-Free Waters Act 2015

US Legislators enact anti-pollution bill:

By: KANWAL ABIDI


Washington

House lawmakers voted on 7th Dec 2015, Monday to “ban plastic micro beads” from bath products like soaps and body washes.

The bill, introduced by Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), on 4th March 2015,  is an effort to protect the nation's lakes and streams - from piling up with the little pieces of plastic- because the beads, which are often used to exfoliate the skin, are less than five millimeters in size.

"H.R. 1321: Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015 is a national law introduced for phasing out the use of solid, plastic micro beads in personal care products across America." It shall prohibit the sale or distribution of cosmetics containing synthetic plastic micro beads.


The bill would preempt states from issuing their own laws to regulate micro beads. Last month, Pallone said the provision was added because the federal law would phase out products faster than any state law.

Simply put, micro beads are causing mega-problems,” said Fred Upton (R-Mich.), Chairman - House Energy and Commerce Committee. "Once they’re flushed down the drain, that’s when the problem really begins." Therefore, they escape water filtration systems and end up in bodies of water - where they are mistaken as food by fish and wildlife.

"We must put a stop to this unnecessary and avoidable pollution," added Pallone, the ranking Democrat on the Energy and Commerce Committee.

The legislation applies to any “non-prescription” rinse-off cosmetics, including toothpaste. The American Chemistry CouncilACC, praised the House for passing the legislation on Monday. 

……………………………………………………the end


Reporting By:             KANWAL ABIDI 
                        063 News (Global Press Agency)

Information shared by: Capitol Hill Press Dept.


Thursday 10 December 2015

PARIS Climate Deal:

Grants fixed in Paris Climate Change Conference:

The Obama administration struck an optimistic tone Wednesday about the Paris climate change talks.

Press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters that the White House sees growing evidence that negotiators will reach a deal that Obama supports.

"There is still a lot of work to be done but momentum is moving in the right direction," Earnest said.

But to meet the self-imposed Friday deadline for the deal, Earnest predicted many "sleepless nights" in the coming days.

Earlier Wednesday, Secretary of State John Kerry announced a plan to double climate aide to poor countries from the United States.

"We will not leave the most vulnerable nations among us to, quite literally, weather the storm alone," Kerry said in Paris.

Under the plan, the United States will spend about $860 million a year toward climate grants for developing countries by 2020.

His speech came the same day that negotiators released their latest working draft of the agreement, which leaders believe can be made final by Friday.


But House Democrats and Republicans decided to scuttle plans Wednesday to drop into the talks later this week, citing the ongoing negotiations for a government spending bill and the prospect for congressional work over the weekend, though that has now faded.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) had been planning to bring some Democrats to Paris, and Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) would have brought Republicans.

But Congress isn't being left completely out of the Paris talks, since 10 Senate Democrats visited last weekend.

....................................................

News Edited By:

KANWAL ABIDI
         *Political Analyst & Journalist
063 News (Global Press Agency)

Wednesday 9 December 2015

Hillary plans to knock down Sanders

Count Down to US Presidential Elections:
The political landscape is different this time around. While Clinton had a rough start earlier this year, dogged by months of negative headlines after it was unearthed that she used her personal email to conduct State Department business as secretary, she rebounded with strong debate performances and widely lauded testimony before the House Benghazi Committee. 
Clinton World wants to knock Bernie Sanders out of the Democratic presidential race with a resounding win in the Iowa caucuses. Vice President Biden’s decision not to enter the presidential race also helped, strategists say.
If the threat from Sanders isn’t neutralized by the Feb. 1 caucuses, allies of Hillary Clinton hope to finish off the liberal challenger on March 1, when 12 states hold contests on what’s commonly called Super Tuesday.
The ambitious schedule reflects growing confidence within Clinton’s team that 2016 will not be a repeat of 2008, when a liberal challenger named Barack Obama upset the then-New York senator in Iowa and started on a trajectory toward winning the Democratic nomination.
 “Everything is set up nicely,” said one longtime Democratic strategist who is in touch with the campaign. “There’s always post-traumatic stress disorder because of 2008, so we’re always a little cautious. We’re far from being on autopilot. But we’ve had a good couple of months and there’s been a lot of plateauing in our favor.
“Sanders have trouble figuring out a new footing,” the strategist added. A spokesman for Sanders did not respond to a request for comment on the campaign’s strategy.
The one hurdle the Clinton campaign faces is New Hampshire, where the former first lady and the Vermont senator have been locked in a tight race for months. Clinton could effectively slam the door shut on Sanders with a win there on Feb. 9.
Mitch Stewart, who served as a senior adviser to the Ready for Hillary political action committee and is a veteran of both Obama presidential campaigns, said when it comes to Clinton nailing down the Democratic nomination, “the big question is New Hampshire.If she wins, Stewart predicted, it would be “a death blow” to Sanders.
“Does she come out of Iowa with the strength necessary to jump on New Hampshire?” Stewart asked. “New Hampshire could be close, but I don’t see that as a sign of weakness for Clinton.”
Christy Setzer, another Democratic strategist, agreed, saying that a New Hampshire loss “is easily explained and forgiven” because Sanders is from neighboring Vermont and voters there “prefer insurgents to establishment candidates.”
“Al Gore nearly lost New Hampshire to Bill Bradley, and in the end, Bradley wasn’t even a credible threat,” Setzer explained. “So long as she seals it up with a South Carolina win right after, a Granite State loss would hardly be a speed bump, let alone a stoplight.”
Team Clinton is expecting big wins in other two states with early primary contests, South Carolina and Nevada, according to allies of the former secretary of State. “He hasn’t been an efficient media buyer,” the strategist said of Sanders.
The Democratic strategist close to the campaign was surprised by Sanders’s decision not to make a bigger play thus far for Nevada and doesn’t expect to see any changes in the polls. A CNN-ORC poll in October showed Clinton had the support of 50 percent of Democrats in the state, and that was before Biden’s decision to stay out of the race.
Still, the strategist doesn’t expect Sanders to drop out, even assuming early-state wins by Clinton. For one thing, she won’t have the delegates necessary to lock up the Democratic nomination, leaving Sanders a mathematical chance.
“He’s not like the type of guy who’s going to pack it up,” the strategist said, adding that Sanders can still pick up Super Tuesday states such as Colorado and Minnesota. “He’ll continue to get local and national press where he goes.
But even if Sanders picks up a few states, he has no real path forward, Stewart and others said. Stewart compared Sanders’s campaign Howard Dean’s bid in 2004. Dean, he said, “basically limped through, and the campaign was over.”
......................................
By: KANWAL ABIDI   *Journalist & Political Analyst
      063 News (Global Press Agency)


California Shooting Victims Names

San Bernardino: Who were the victims?



14 victims from the San Bernardino shooting rampage.

                                Names are as follows:

Robert Adams, Isaac Amanios, Bennetta Betbadal, Harry Bowman and Sierra Clayborn.
Juan Espinoza, Aurora Godoy, Shannon Johnson, Larry Daniel Kaufman and Damian Meins.
Tin Nguyen, Nicholas Thalasinos, Yvette Velasco and Michael Wetzel.


Among the victims: the youngest was 26. The oldest was 60.

Rizwan & Tashfeen Radicalized before Marriage !


FBI Update:
FBI held its press briefing on 9th Dec to update media on California shootings
The couple who launched the terror attack in San Bernardino were both radicalized before they met online, the director of the FBI revealed today.
FBI Director, James Comey revealed the new information about the couple, who were killed by police following the deadly shooting, during testimony on Capitol Hill.
That revelation means that the couple, Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik, were radicalized as early as the end of 2013, Comey said.
Asked whether the marriage of shooters was arranged by a terror group or terror operative, or was just a meeting of two radicals online, Comey said: "I don't know the answer to that yet... It would be a very, very important thing to know."
Comey said they were talking about jihad and martyrdom before they became engaged and started living together.
"We're working very hard to understand exactly their association and the source of their inspiration," Comey said. "We're also working very hard to understand whether there was anybody else involved with assisting them, with supporting them, with equipping them. And we're working very very hard to understand, did they have other plans? Either for that day or earlier, and that work continues."
Farook, 28, was born in the United States and Malik, 29, was born in Pakistan.
She first came to the U.S. with Farook in late July 2014, arriving on a K1 fiancee visa. Court records state that the couple was married in Riverside, California on Aug. 16, 2014.
Police identified Farook and Malik as the two suspects hours after the Dec. 2 shooting, which left 14 people dead and 21 others injured.
.............................................................
Editor's Note:
The circumstances ensuing after the California shootings paves way for two important issues - which are: 1) Gun laws  2) Muslims propaganda.
However, the crucial fact that did "someone else assisted" Rizwan and Tashfeen, has not come to limelight ....
KANWAL ABIDI   *journalist & political analyst
063 News (Global Press Agency)


Friday 4 December 2015

Inside Story of San Bernardino



Home of Tashfeen and Farooq open to media: 
- After FBI searched 1 hour, the home of the couple was opened

The home of the husband-and-wife who killed 14 in San Bernardino has been thrown open to the media – revealing scores of family trinkets and toys that would have sat among boxes of ammunition and pipe bombs as they planned their attack, which the FBI says it is now investigating as 'an act of terror.' 
Tashfeen Malik and Syed Rizwan Farook’s home is also filled with family photographs, Korans and other books on Islam but appears to have the appearance of a normal suburban family residence.
Their landlord invited members of the media to tour their rental home in Redlands, California, this morning - just as it has emerged that Malik had posted a pledge of allegiance to ISIS and its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, just minutes into a deadly attack on a holiday party Wednesday.
Among the photos found in the two-story town house are a series of young women, although it is not known if any of them are Malik, and a California State University identity card belonging to Farook.
Journalists were let into the home after FBI investigators had collected all the evidence they needed and turned the apartment back over to its owner.
FBI agents have been combing through cellphones and a computer hard drive left behind by the couple in their Redlands, California, rental home to try to establish a motive for the killings.
But a clearer link to ISIS is developing as unnamed officials say Malik used a Facebook alias to pledge allegiance to the terror group in a post that was later deleted. This information provides the strongest evidence to date that the rampage may have been a terrorist attack.

Allegiance to ISIS:


Another official speaking on condition of anonymity said Malik expressed 'admiration' for al-Baghdadi and said there was no sign that anyone affiliated with ISIS communicated back to her and no signs of any operational instructions being passed on to her. 
A Facebook executive confirmed that Malik posted the material under an alias account at 11am Wednesday. That was about the time the first 911 calls came and when the couple were believed to have stormed into the San Bernardino social service center and opened fire.
The company discovered the Facebook page on Thursday. It removed the profile from public view and reported its contents to law enforcement.  
During a press conference held shortly before noon local time, David Bowdich, assistant director of the FBI's Los Angeles office, said the shooters attempted to destroy evidence, including crushing two cell phones and discarding them in a trash can. 
Federal agents, who have now officially taken over the probe into what Bowdich called 'an act of terror,' are still hoping to extract data from the destroyed electronic devices.
The stunning disclosure about the pledge of loyalty to the extremist group was preceded by news that investigators were looking into whether Malik, 27, was responsible for radicalizing her husband of two years, 28-year-old Syed Farook.
According to Fox News, it is believed that on at least one of Farook's two trips to Saudi Arabia in 2013 and 2014, one or both of the spouses reached out to suspected members of al Qaeda. 
Christian Nwadike, a co-worker of Farook's at the San Bernardino County health department, told CBS This Morning that the mild-mannered man was different upon his return from Saudi Arabia last year. 


Influence of Tashfeen Malik on her husband Syed Farooq:

When asked if he believed Farook may have been radicalized, Nwadike replied: 'Yes, by the wife. I think he married a terrorist.' 
At this stage in the investigation, officials say it appears the couple were inspired by ISIS, rather than expressly ordered to carry out the attacks.
Some investigators believe Malik and Faroook were self-radicalized, but it is also possible that someone may have motivated them.
Malik moved to Saudi Arabia from Pakistan about 25 years ago but returned home to study to become a pharmacist, according to two Pakistani officials.
Malik was from the Layyah district in southern Punjab province, the officials said. She returned to Pakistan five or six years ago to complete a degree from Bahauddin Zakariya University in Multan.
An online transcript from Bahauddin Zakariya University uncovered by Daily Mail Online on Friday shows Malik scored 74.88 out of 100 on one of her pharmacy exams.
One of Malik's uncles, Javed Rabbani, said Malik's father, Gulzar, changed while the family was living in Saudi Arabia.
'When relatives visited him, they would come back and tell us how conservative and hard-line he had become,' Rabbani said in an interview with Reuters.
The father had built a house in Multan, where he stays when he visits Pakistan, according to another uncle, Malik Anwaar.
Rabbani said he had been contacted by Pakistani intelligence as part of the investigation into the San Bernardino shooting. 
ISIS claimed responsibility for the November 13 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks in Paris that killed 130 people and injured hundreds. The terror group has called on its supporters around the world to strike targets in the West. 
Earlier it emerged that Farook abruptly stopped going to his mosque three weeks ago, following years of attending almost every day, his friends have revealed – after it emerged that he was in contact with suspected extremists and recently got into an argument over Islam with his Messianic Jewish co-worker.


Statements of Friends of Farooq:

Brothers Nizaam and Rahemaan Ali, who are members at the Dar Al Uloom Al Islamiyah mosque in San Bernardino, said the 28-year-old health inspector talked of getting a master's degree, was fond of tinkering with cars and proudly announced when he was married two years ago to Tashfeen Malik in Saudi Arabia.

WHO IS ABU BAKR AL-BAGHDADI? SHADOWY ISIS LEADER REVEALED 

Tashfeen Malik, 27, reportedly made a bayat, or pledge of allegiance, to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi – the shadowy leader of ISIS who has declared a worldwide caliphate and himself the leader of all Muslims.
He has called on all Sunni Muslims to join him – ISIS also wants to eradicate Shia Muslims – and expects a final apocalyptic showdown with the armies of ’Rome’ (The West) in Dabiq, a small town of Megiddo near Aleppo in Syria.
Currently in ISIS territory, the terror group will defeat Western armies in Dabiq and this battle will, in turn, start the countdown to the end of the world, according to al-Baghdadi’s ideology
The 44-year-old has been a life-long cleric after attending the Islamic University in Baghdad, and rose to prominence as a senior figure of Al Qaeda in Iraq during the American occupation.
After AQI morphed into ISIS, al-Baghdadi took over as leader following the death of his predecessor Abu Omar al-Baghdadi. 
'He never, ever talked about killing people or discussed politics, or said that he had problems at work,' Rahemaan Ali said.
The last time Mr Ali saw his friend was three weeks prior to Wednesday's tragedy, when Farook suddenly stopped showing up for prayer service.  
The Ali bothers' description of a young husband and father living the American dream, devoted to his family and religion with a good job, clashed with the potentially radicalized suspect who along with his wife, police say, staged an commando-style attack at a work holiday party at a social service center on Wednesday.
A day after the rampage that left 14 dead and 21 others wounded, details about Farook's life began to take shape, but critical questions went unanswered, including how he and his 27-year-old Pakistani wife quietly and methodically stockpiled a terrifying arsenal of arms and explosives for the attack.
The details come as authorities try to determine what could have motivated the massacre at a holiday party.
A friend of a man killed in the rampage said he and Farook had a heated conversation about Islam two weeks before the shootings.
Kuuleme Stephens said she once happened to call Nicholas Thalasinos, 52, a Messianic Jew who was passionate about pro-Israel causes and was known to rant on Facebook about Islam, while he was at work and having a discussion with Farook.
Thalasinos, 52, identified Farook by name and told her that he ‘doesn't agree that Islam is not a peaceful religion,’ Stephens said. 
Stephens said Farook replied that Americans don't understand Islam. According to Stephens, both men worked as restaurant inspectors and regularly discussed politics and religion. She added that Thalasinos did not think their conversations would turn violent.
Thalasinos' wife, Jennifer Thalasinos, told The New York Times that her husband had talked about Farook but never said anything negative.
The FBI was investigating the shootings as a potential act of terrorism but had reached no firm conclusions, said a US official briefed on the probe who spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.  
On Thursday, a US intelligence official revealed that Farook was in touch by phone and through social media with multiple international terrorism subjects who were under FBI scrutiny.

WORK Related Feud:

David Chesley, an attorney representing Farook’s family, insisted there was 'no smoking gun' to suggest a motive but added: 'Both the sisters and the brothers as they went trough the information today, there was one silly thing that came up - that some of his co-workers at some point made remarks about his beard.

THE VICTIMS

On Thursday, San Bernardino County sheriff's department released the full list of the 14 people who died. They are:
Bennetta Bet-Badal, 46, Rialto 
Aurora Godoy, 26, San Jacinto 
Isaac Amanios, 60, Fontana 
Larry Kaufman, 42, Rialto 
Harry Bowman, 46, Upland 
Yvette Velasco, 27, Fontana
Sierra Clayborn, 27, Moreno Valley 
Robert Adams, 40, Yucaipa 
Nicholas Thalasinos, 52, Colton 
Tin Nguyen, 31, Santa Ana 
Juan Espinoza, 50, Highland 
Damian Meins, 58, Riverside
Shannon Johnson, 45, Los Angeles 
Michael Wetzel, 37, Lake Arrowhead  
'But it so slight and no-one has ever stated that he has ever acted in a hostile or a violent way towards anyone. They were a very polite, conservative married couple.' His colleague and fellow attorney, Mohammad Abuershaid, added: 'There is no indication that he was involved with anybody physically.
‘All we know is that there was a couple of situations with people who might have teased him about his facial hair.
'There's no indication he had a short temper. It was people just teasing him about his facial hair and how he looked. He had a long beard and a very short trimmed haircut.
'It was just basic comments but he used to brush them off pretty easily. The family is in shock just as we are. They had no idea something like this would happen.'
'There's no indication he had a short temper. It was people just teasing him about his facial hair and how he looked. He had a long beard and a very short trimmed haircut.
'It was just basic comments but he used to brush them off pretty easily. The family is in shock just as we are. They had no idea something like this would happen.'  
Wearing black tactical gear and wielding two assault rifles and a pair of hanguns, Farook and his wife sprayed as many as 75 rounds into a room at a social service center for the disabled, where about 75 of Farook's co-workers had gathered Wednesday morning.
Farook had attended the event but slipped out and returned in battle dress.
Four hours later and two miles away, the couple died in a furious gunbattle in which they fired 76 rounds, while 23 law officers unleashed about 380, police said.
At the social service center, the couple left three rigged-together pipe bombs with a remote-control detonating device that apparently malfunctioned.
Police said the couple had more than 1,600 bullets when they were killed by authorities, and that the shooters had nearly 3,000 rounds of ammunition at their home, as well as 12 pipe bombs and tools that could be used to make explosive devices.
The massacre came as a shock to leaders in the Muslim community, and many wondered what could have motivated it. 


MOTIVE of the Couple's Shooting Spree?


We don't know the motives. Is it work, rage-related? Is it mental illness? Is it extreme ideology? At this point, it's really unknown to us,’ said Hussam Ayloush, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, based on conversations with Farook's brother-in-law.
Syed Rizwan Farook was born in Chicago on June 14, 1987, to parents born in Pakistan. He was raised in Southern California.
In July 2010, he was hired as a seasonal public employee and served until December of that year, according to a work history supplied by San Bernardino County. In January 2012, he was rehired as a trainee environmental health specialist before being promoted two years later.
Online records indicate that Farook earned a total of $71,230 in 2013 working as an environmental health specialist for San Bernardino County. 
As for Malik, she came to the U.S. in July 2014 on a Pakistani passport and a fiancée visa, authorities said. To get the visa, immigrants submit to an interview and biometric and background checks — screening intended to identify anyone who might pose a threat.
They were married on Aug. 16, 2014, in nearby Riverside County, according to their marriage license. Both listed their religion as Muslim. 
The Ali brothers, Farook's friends from the mosque, said he was always working on his cars and rebuilding engines. They remember him driving a newer-model Mustang and an older Lexus at various points. 
Rahemaan Ali said Farook seemed happy and his usual self when he saw him, and both brothers said they never saw anything in Farook that would lead them to think he would ever commit violence.
‘I can't believe it. There's no way to express the shock I'm in,’ said Nizaam Ali. ‘This was a person who was successful, who had a good job, a good income, a wife and a family. What was he missing in his life?’ 

Syed Farooq's Marriage:


They remember when Farook announced that he would be getting married, saying he had met his future wife online and that she was Pakistani. Farook told the brothers that he traveled to Mecca in Saudi Arabia last summer.
As for Malik, she came to the US in July 2014 on a Pakistani passport and a fiancée visa, authorities said. To get the visa, immigrants submit to an interview and biometric and background checks — screening intended to identify anyone who might pose a threat.
They were married on Aug. 16, 2014, in nearby Riverside County, according to their marriage license. Both listed their religion as Muslim. 
They said he was only gone for three weeks to a month before returning to the US with his wife.
Malik never came through Saudi Arabia and instead traveled through Islamabad, arriving on a K-1 visa for fiancées and with a Pakistani passport. The couple had a 6-month-old daughter, who they left with Farook’s mother in the nearby city of Redlands before heading to the center.
His job at the county Department of Public Health took him Wednesday to the Inland Regional Center, where the department held a holiday banquet, Ayloush said. Co-workers described him as aloof while others said he could be chatty when the subject interested him.
Patrick Baccari, who sat at the same table as Farook at the party, recalled he was short on words and inclined to talk about cars, not religion.
‘It seems the only response I ever got from him was if I initiated the conversation,’ Baccari said.

UPDATE on Marriage Visas - K 1 (Fiance Visa)


--- Scrutiny falls on marriage visas after San Bernardino attack

Republicans on Friday (4th Dec) called for a comprehensive review of the U.S. visa system after reports that the female attacker in the San Bernardino mass shooting pledged allegiance on Facebook to the Islamic State.
The suspect, Tashfeen Malik, came to the U.S. on a special K-1 visa last year, raising new questions about potential vulnerabilities in the immigration system.

That special K-1 visa allows foreigners to come to America to marry a U.S. citizen. Under the rules, a couple must wed within 90 days or that foreigner faces deportation.


SYED FAROOQ's Brother in Law & Sister:

Farhan Khan, who is married to Farook's sister Saira, echoed the Ali brothers' and Mr Baccari's assessments of the 28-year-old, telling NBC News he and wife Tashfeen had been leading a 'normal' life until Wednesday morning, and that his relative was a 'bad person' but 'not a radical.
'It's his stupid action, nothing to do with religion at all. It's always going to be a question ... you know, why he did something like that. A normal person living with my family. Why would he do something like that?' 
Khan said his brother-in-law and his wife lived in a 'normal house' with a TV, a play area for their baby daughter and workout equipment. Farook's hobby, as it's been mentioned by others who knew him, was to fix up used cars and them resell them.
'I didn't see at all. Normal person … as normal as you can think. I mean, you know, a person that … go to work, come back home, you know, play with the kid, eat dinner, sleep. Normal person,' Khan reiterated.  
Khan wondered whether the seemingly mild-mannered, devout husband and father had been brainwashed by someone, or whether something made him suddenly snap. 

Farook's sister, Sarah Khan, said in separate interview with CBS News this morning that it was 'mind-boggling' to her that her brother and his wife, who were the parents of a 6-month-old daughter, would do something like this.

Khan tearfully said that he was having a hard time forgiving his brother-in-law for the carnage he caused.
He also said he has begun the legal process to adopt Farook and Malik's orphaned baby daughter.


SYED FAROOQ's Childhood:    *Disturbed as he saw the rift of his parents !!!

Little is known about Farook's upbringing, though he grew up in a family in which his mother accused his father of being an abusive alcoholic.
Farook's mother alleged in 2006 that her husband, also named Syed, attacked her while her children were present, dropped a TV on her and pushed her toward a car, according to divorce records.

Rafia Sultana Farook filed a petition for a domestic violence order of protection on July 3, 2006, against her husband, also named Syed.
Rafia Farook said she was forced to move out of her home with three of her children because her husband continually harassed her 'verbally and physically and refused to leave the home,' according to the divorce records.
Meanwhile, Farook's older brother, Syed Raheel Farook, was revealed to be a decorated Navy veteran honored for his role in the war on terror.


Dane Adams, of Corona, said Syed Farook's father, who moved in with his son, the younger Farook's brother, two doors down a few months ago, was talkative, often visiting as Adams worked on classic cars in the garage. He talked about his family and said he was divorced.
Adams said he often saw the man walking with his grandchild, who Adams guessed was about a year old.
‘That baby's got the cutest smile in the world,’ he said.


ENDING FOOT NOTE:

Tashfeen and Farooq - destroyed their cell phones during the attack and their planned attack on the office party, shows their hatred against the Farooq's co workers. They attended the party and slipped away. Then came back dressed in black gear, loaded with arms and ammunition. They had pipe bombs too, which they failed to plant in the social service center. The point to ponder - how did they manage to stack so much of weapons in their house? Also, 3 weeks before this incident, he "Stopped Going To Mosque" - WHY?


...........................................................................

Updates: 
FBI is in middle of the investigation. Sources reveal to 063 News that no concrete evidence found to prove ISIS behind this attack, it is more "self radicalized" driven to shoot. Connection to work feud with Faroooq's Jewish co worker and Farooq's peers views on muslims and heated conversations on Islam - deem to have motivated Farooq.He used to discuss with his wife, Tashfeen - his mental / emotional turmoil to cope his co workers comments.
063 News will further update this story, as and when facts are gathered.
However, it is very clear that the "Guns Control" - need to legislate on it and see to the Second Amendment, has become a regular topic for GOP (republicans) candidates to debate in the primary election race. So much so, the Guns Mafia - will take a stroll in the park.

FBI Update (5th Dec 3.00 am)
--- FBI states that Tashfeen just visited ISIS Page, NOT sworn in her allegiance. Farooq was NOT an extremist. FBI made a valid statement to the media - don't make every headline as "Muslim Shooters" - we need to avoid stereotyping and respect muslim community. It is more of "work place" related issues.
(FBI Intervened 4 hours with the family members of Farooq / Tashfeen)

......................................................................................

For all latest updates follow 063 News (Global Press Agency) 

Story Compiled and Edited By: 

KANWAL ABIDI   * Journalist & Political Analyst          
   (Founder of 063 News)