[Washington Examiner] Attorney General William Barr's team was in for a shock when it met with special counsel Robert Mueller before his report was released, according to a forthcoming book.
CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin wrote about Barr's "first chance" to assess the Russia investigation in early March 2019 in True Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Investigation of Donald Trump, an excerpt of which was published last week by the New Yorker.
He described a "fairly relaxed session" in which Mueller "gave a brief introduction" to Barr and his staff, who later reflected on how the former FBI director didn't live up to expectations. Well yea! How many of them have "lived up to expectations lately?"
"Later, Barr’s team noted that Mueller looked tired and old. Because Mueller had been the focus of so much public attention for nearly two years and said so little in public, he had taken on an almost mythic status, even among people who once knew him well, like Barr. To see him after this exhausting enterprise was startling. He was an old seventy-four," Toobin wrote in the book that is set for release in August. "Mueller looked tired and old"....I blame old man time, and D.C. traffic.
They weren't the only ones.
One prominent Democrat, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, said in a recent podcast that he was surprised by Mueller's shaky testimony before the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees in July 2019 after his report was released. The California Democrat agreed when asked whether he was "shocked" during a Daily Beast podcast last month. "Shocked?" In Schiff's case, if it wan't a sustained, eye-popping 115V, then he wasn't "shocked" nearly enough.
"I have known Bob Mueller for a long time. I have tremendous respect for him. I think he is just an amazing human being and public servant," Schiff said. "He was not the man that I knew just in terms of his strength of presence, and so, it was quite surprising."
Republican political consultant Rick Wilson, one of the hosts of the New Abnormal podcast, offered his take on why "a lot" of people felt the same way. Rick Wilson - Never Trumper Democrat who is a perpetual political loser and cuck
"I do think a lot of folks had projected on Mueller a level of aggression that was not present in that testimony — in that hearing," he said.
Mueller wrapped up his two-year investigation last spring. His team was unable to find a criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia, but the report did lay out 10 instances of possible obstruction of justice that Democrats seized on as a road map to impeachment. The investigation did, however, lead to convictions and guilty pleas from Trump associates over charges unrelated to Russia collusion.
#1
His team was unable to find a criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia
A 'Trump-RU' criminal conspiracy wasn't the goal. Similarly, putting Carter Page behind bars was never the actual goal. Think process crimes, media hoaxes, diversions, smoke & mirrors, delays.
ICYMI: The #UAE recorded 716 new cases of the novel #coronavirus after conducting over 71,000 #COVID19 tests, which raises the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 50,857.https://t.co/q6rIKHoGI6
— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) July 4, 2020
#India records its highest single-day spike of #COVID19#coronavirus cases, with over 22,000 new cases and 442 deaths, as infections rise in the western and southern parts of the country amid heavy monsoon rains. https://t.co/OygJt67fiZ
— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) July 4, 2020
— The Baghdad Post (@BaghdadPostPlus) July 4, 2020
#BREAKING: Florida has once again shattered its one-day record for new #COVID19 cases, adding 11,458 overnight. Testing hit a high, percent positive of new cases: 14.10%.
On 4th July 2020, all planets of the solar system will be in alignment on one side of the Sun, in a unique show of Planet Parade, occuring after 37 years.#PlanetParadehttps://t.co/ErVc000bVD
they are all on the same side but the 'alignment' is our view of the sky as they have an apparent linear layout over an arc of about 70 degrees from Mars Saturn Jupiter Venus.
Posted by: lord garth ||
07/05/2020 8:03 Comments ||
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It does help you appreciate the grand majesty of the Solar System and how carefully God arranged things to keep the planets from banging in to each other.
[The Hill] A giant 20-by-30 foot Confederate flag was raised along a busy highway in North Carolina this weekend to mark the Fourth of July, and, despite some complaints, local officials say there's nothing that can be done about it.
Local network WSOCTV reports that the Sons of Confederate Veterans raised the flag on Friday on an 80-foot pole along Interstate 40. It marks one of several Confederate flags that has been raised in the area after Gov. Roy Cooper (D) announced in June that all Confederate monuments on state Capitol property would be removed.
"The Sons of Confederate Veterans, we’re trying to replace the statue with flags, and we try to put them on the interstate so more people can see it," Elgie McGalliard told the local station. "Take down our statues, and we’re going to put up a flag somewhere along the major interstates in North Carolina."
The group said they were raising the large flag to mark the Fourth of July weekend and their heritage.
Some have already complained about the flags, but officials say they are on private property and there are no ordinances against it.
#1
...I've said this before, and it bears repeating - Governor Cooper seems to think that his entire state consists of Charlotte, Raliegh-Durham, and Chapel Hill.
It ain't.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
07/05/2020 7:37 Comments ||
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#2
There used to be a large confederate flag adjacent to the highway on the stretch of highway between Knoxville and Nashville in middle Tennessee. I never heard any controversy about the flag. I think it was on private property. Very often crosses are also erected on private property next to interstates.
If one believes in private property and free speech, this has to be O.K. Are we supposed to cave-in to the wishes of left-wing radicals and atheists?
#3
There is one in East Tennessee that has been there for several years.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
07/05/2020 12:26 Comments ||
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#4
As a Midwesterner now living in the South, I've never understood the Confederate flag thing. It was a losing effort--and the South didn't exactly cover itself with glory. So why celebrate?
People can if they want--but I've never understood the rationale.
Posted by: Tom ||
07/05/2020 15:11 Comments ||
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#5
I think it was always an "FU" to the carpet-bagging north
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/05/2020 15:15 Comments ||
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#6
Even if on private property, it will soon be deemed "hate speech" if it can be seen from a public location.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
07/05/2020 17:14 Comments ||
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#7
So we are now responsible for someone's feelings being hurt because of what they see or hear? These fragile hot house flowers need to put their big girl or big boy pants on and grow up and get on with their lives; otherwise they are going to be offended by much that is in our world.
Were these people offended by the atrocities (beheadings, rapes, burning of people alive) of ISIS and AQ? How about the human-trafficking mentioned in the Horowitz report in 2018? The left and the MSM largely ignored the Horowitz report and its mention of Clinton involvement in child trafficking. Child-trafficking. Where was the outrage about that? Are they outraged by the assassinations and killings of police officers?
The ruling came in a dispute over $1 billion in gold reserves that Venezuela’s central bank wants released from the Bank of England to help fund the country’s response to the coronavirus crisis.https://t.co/4KDVnDTB0u
Books written by prominent #HongKong democracy activists have started to disappear from the city’s libraries, online records show, days after #Beijing imposed a draconian national security law on the finance hub.https://t.co/y3p1uMfHbs
— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) July 4, 2020
Posted by: Fred ||
07/05/2020 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
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[Jpost] The popular protest slogan "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times" connotes separatism or subversion, the city's government said, pointing to crimes that are covered under the new national security law imposed by Beijing.
The rallying cry appears on placards at rallies, is printed on clothes and accessories and scribbled on post-it notes on walls across the Chinese-ruled city.
It was unclear whether independent courts would uphold the government's view on the slogan, which further stokes fears the new legislation against secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces, crushes free speech in Hong Kong.
"The slogan "Liberate Hong Kong, the revolution of our times" nowadays connotes "Hong Kong independence", or separating the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) from the People's Republic of China, altering the legal status of the HKSAR, or subverting the state power," the government said in a statement late on Thursday.
The government has repeatedly said the security law won't affect freedom of speech and other rights in the city.
[Jpost] TikTok, which is not available in China, is owned by China's ByteDance, has sought to distance itself from its Chinese roots to appeal to a global audience. "We can't even pronounce 'Backdoor'"
China-owned social media app TikTok distanced itself from Beijing after India banned 59 Chinese apps in the country, according to a correspondence seen by Rooters.
In a letter to the Indian government dated June 28th and seen by Rooters on Friday, TikTok Chief Executive Kevin Mayer said the Chinese government has never requested user data nor would the company turn it over if asked.
TikTok, along with 58 other Chinese apps, including Tencent Holdings LTD's WeChat and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's UC Browser, were banned in India this week following a border clash with China.
"I can confirm that the Chinese government has never made a request to us for the TikTok data of Indian users," Mayer wrote, adding that data for Indian users is stored in servers in Singapore. "If we do ever receive such a request in the future, we would not comply."
The letter was sent ahead of a likely meeting next week between the company and the government, one source familiar with the matter told Rooters.TikTok, which is not available in China, is owned by China's ByteDance, has sought to distance itself from its Chinese roots to appeal to a global audience.
The company has committed to spend $1 billion in the region.
Since its launch in 2017, it has become one of the fastest- growing social media apps. India is its largest market by user, followed by the United States.
In the letter, Mayer played up the company's investment in the region, highlighting more than 3,500 direct and indirect employees and content available in 14 languages.
"The privacy of our users, and the security and illusory sovereignty of India, are of utmost importance to us," Mayer wrote. "We have already announced our plans to build a data center in India."
The correspondence was first reported by the Wall Street Journal and other media.
#2
The only distancing that would help the company would be a move out of China altogether, meaning not just the relocation of its coders outside of China, but the abandonment of the Chinese market.
Paid Bitches. US is NOT a Member, for good reason. Boot the UN
[Fox News] Fifty-three countries at the U.N. Human Rights Council, led by Cuba, came out in support of China’s national security law this week -- a law that has formed the basis of the communist regime’s latest crackdown on the people of Hong Kong.
Dueling statements were read out in the Council Tuesday in support and against the national security law. According to Axios, Cuba read out a statement in favor of the law backed by 52 other countries, while the U.K. read out a statement against it, representing itself and 26 other countries.
Chinese state media Xinhua reported that the Cuban statement said the law was beneficial for Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability, and guarantees that Hong Kong residents can exercise their freedom in a "safe environment."
The law criminalizes anti-government movements, and is targeted at pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong who have pushed back against Beijing’s incursions on freedoms in the territory -- which is supposed to be ruled on the principle of "one country, two systems."
The law punishes crimes of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison.
It also establishes a national security committee in Hong Kong under Beijing’s control and allows for those accused of offenses to be sent to the mainland for trial. Those who are not permanent residents of Hong Kong may be charged under the national security law as well, according to Chinese state media.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday that "Free Hong Kong was one of the world's most stable, prosperous and dynamic cities. Now it’s just another communist-run city where its people will be subject to the party elites wins."
But at the Human Rights Council, where a number of countries with poor human rights records sit, those in favor of the draconian measure outnumbered those who opposed it. The Council came under renewed scrutiny over its membership this year, when Venezuela was among those with records of human rights abuse who took a seat.
The spectacle will be seen by the U.S. as further proof that it was right to pull out of the Council in 2018. Then-U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley in 2018 called it "a protector of human rights abusers, and a cesspool of political bias."
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/05/2020 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[3 views]
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#1
What a joke of a council. They have no legitimacy, and the US was right to pull out.
[AlAhram] The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday that it was discontinuing its trials of the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine and combination HIV drug lopinavir/ritonavir in hospitalised patients with COVID-19 after they failed to reduce mortality.
"These interim trial results show that hydroxychloroquine and lopinavir/ritonavir produce little or no reduction in the mortality of hospitalised COVID-19 patients when compared to standard of care.
...if it is hydroxychloroquine alone and only on hospitalized patients, it’s no wonder they aren’t getting a positive result...
Solidarity trial Sherlocks will interrupt the trials with immediate effect," the WHO said in a statement, referring to large multi-country trials that the agency is leading.
The U.N. agency said that the decision, taken on the recommendation of the trial's international steering committee, does not affect other studies where the drugs are used for non-hospitalised patients or as a prophylaxis.
So that’s ok, then. Not that the smart money is on the WHO being the leading edge of scientific research anymore.
Another arm of the WHO-led trial is looking at the potential effect of Gilead's antiviral drug remdesivir on COVID-19.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Washington Examiner] Attorney General William Barr's team was in for a shock when it met with special counsel Robert Mueller before his report was released, according to a forthcoming book.
[AlAhram] The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday that it was discontinuing its trials of the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine and combination HIV drug lopinavir/ritonavir in hospitalised patients with COVID-19 after they failed to reduce mortality.
