[Red State] This is just stupid. The law clearly defines who it covers as employees of an intelligence agency. This does not cover informants or sources and intelligence agencies are forbidden by law from collecting information on US persons. And the very idea that the Department of Justice is going to okay a grand jury investigation and indictment of a member of Congress when the FBI has leaked the same information to multiple media outlets is simply insane.
The ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee made a similar threat today:
The top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee warned Friday that his colleagues could be committing a crime if they obtain the identity of a secret FBI source and use it to undermine the ongoing investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) raised the alarm in a Friday evening statement, as Republican allies of President Donald Trump have pressed the Justice Department for details about a source believed to have aided the FBI and Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Trump campaign contacts with Russians.
"It would be at best irresponsible, and at worst potentially illegal, for members of Congress to use their positions to learn the identity of an FBI source for the purpose of undermining the ongoing investigation into Russian interference in our election," Warner said. "Anyone who is entrusted with our nation’s highest secrets should act with the gravity and seriousness of purpose that knowledge deserves."
If Warner were truly concerned about irresponsible or illegal he’s be worried about the FBI and Justice because they have effectively outed their informant. Last week, there was speculation that the informant was a US academic teaching at Cambridge named Stefan Halper. He had a connection to US intelligence. He had a friendship with a retired head of MI6. He contacted George Papadopoulos out of the blue and paid for his flight to London in addition to several thousand dollars for a "research paper." Papadopoulos broke off contact with Halper started asking about Clinton emails. Halper struck up a friendship with Carter Page.
Today, the FBI and Justice go back the the leak well and give us enough information that we can say pretty conclusively that Halper is the man.
Secret FBI source for Russia investigation met with three Trump advisers during campaign.
Down to the last paragraph:
The identity of the informant could not be more clear. And the identification didn’t come from a leak by Congress, it came from multiple leaks by the FBI and DOJ who are burning Halper to the ground for their own reasons And I think those reasons will be come abundantly clear as the DOJ IG finishes up his investigations. He's an old man, long-time Klingon stringer and non-gov't employee. As such, he has no rights. Load him up with blame and call for the Budweiser truck.
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/20/2018 11:45 Comments ||
Top||
#5
"It would be at best irresponsible, and at worst potentially illegal, for members of Congress to use their positions to learn the identity of an FBI source for the purpose of undermining the ongoing investigation into Russian interference in our election," Warner said.
OK, wait a minute. Potentially illegal?This are the words of a United States Senator who apparently doesn't know what is illegal and what isn't.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
05/20/2018 14:30 Comments ||
Top||
#6
Meant to hit the preview button instead of the submit button. Didn't mean for all of that to be in bold font, just the part about potentially illegal.
No wonder it takes these people forever to get anything done. They don't know legal from illegal and yet it's their job to make laws. They're all a bunch of freaking morons.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
05/20/2018 14:33 Comments ||
Top||
#7
#5 Nope. He's just geographically and chronologically confused.
58-1: Definition of counter-revolutionary activity:
A counter-revolutionary action is any action aimed at overthrowing, undermining or weakening of the power of workers' and peasants' Soviets... Democratic Party and governments of the USSR and Soviet and autonomous republics the bureaucratic state
#10
If anywhere needs swamp clearing it's here in Londonistan. Posted by Bright Pebbles
I doubt Albion could hold a candle to your colonial cousins. We've perfected political buggering on a grande scale. While your draining the bogs, give us a Benghazi update on Blue Mountain Security, any Aegis connections as well. I so enjoyed reading Jones' The Embassy House.
[PRESSTV] The neoconservatives in the Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... administration are trying to scuttle the grinding of the peace processor between North Korea and South Korea and the United States, according to American writer and academic James Petras.
The United States has canceled a training exercise involving nuclear-capable B-52 bombers flying alongside South Korean warplanes after North Korea threatened to call off a planned meeting between Kim John-un and President Trump, according to reports.
The move follows repeated objection by Pyongyang to US military exercises on the Korean Peninsula and a threat that it would cancel the highly-anticipated summit between the North Korean leader and the US president on June 12.
The Pentagon had initially asserted that it had no plans to change the scope of its exercises in the region, but the South Koreans asked not to take part in what was intended to be an air drill involving the US, South Korea and Japan, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing US officials.
Professor Petras told Press TV on Saturday that "North Koreans are absolutely right because this is a form of intimidation and it sets a very ugly tone to any possibility of negotiations."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/20/2018 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11125 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
Well, he's not wrong. The neocons don't want any kind of peace. Their idea of the future is like the game of Risk from Parker Brothers. Armies on every territory. Conquer the world.
Any situation that threatens to reverse that, they will oppose. Human misery means nothing to them.
Posted by: Herb McCoy ||
05/20/2018 0:18 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Which makes John Bolton's entry on to the Trump team all the more baffling.
[Townhall] On December 29, 2016, the Obama Administration ‐ with three weeks remaining in its term ‐ issued harsh sanctions against Russia over supposed election interference. Two compounds in the United States were closed and 35 Russian diplomats were ordered to leave the country.
Russia responded by calling the actions "Cold War déjà vu."
In the two years that have elapsed since, it has been learned that the "intelligence" that formed the basis for the sanctions was beyond dubious.
A single unverified "dossier" compiled by an ex-British spy with no discernable connections to Russia was shopped to FISA judges and the media as something real.
The dossier was opposition research by the Hillary Clinton campaign, a fact that was not disclosed and actively hidden by off-the-book transactions through the law firm Perkins Coie.
As a dog that chases its tail, the fake dossier was being used to cause the investigation which itself lent credibility to the notion of Russian interference.
The FBI and CIA thumbed the eye of an armed nuclear state based on false intelligence. Why?
The answer is now obvious: to cover up their own election year shenanigans they thought would remain forever hidden in the inevitable Hillary Clinton victory.
#2
>The dossier was opposition research by the Hillary Clinton campaign, a fact that was not disclosed and actively hidden by off-the-book transactions through the law firm Perkins Coie.
[Washington Examiner] Longtime Trump confidant Roger Stone pledged to have someone lined up to challenge Vice President Mike Pence should he run for president in 2020.
During an interview Friday with Big League Politics, a right-wing news website, Stone suggested that President Trump may not ultimately run for re-election if his first term is adequately successful and denounced the possibility of a 2020 ticket with Pence and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley.
"I guarantee you I will have a candidate challenge Mike Pence," said while speaking on the "Howley Reports" show.
#5
I don't think Trump will run again (and goodness gracious, just say NO to Nikki Haley). He's already 70, and he's already got his POTUS fix. Besides, when the economy eventually goes into the commode, he'll be gone, and someone else can take the blame.
Say YES to Haley. Haven't you paid attention to her work in the UN? That gives her the bona fides for foreign policy at the highest level. Executive experience? 2 term governor and a very successful one. Draining the swamp? She turned SC to real conservatives, and she did it against the swamp creatures and smear merchants of South Carolina's RINO good-ol-boy network. A bunch oof nasty insider snakes, she took them on and beat them. She's the perfect person to really drain the swamp. Also, she has had every bit of dirt and mud slung at here already in SC, including smears and lies. So she is less vulnerable.
She declined to support Trump in the Primary, I think she was in for Cruz so . But she jumped on board the Trump Train once he won the nomination, and Trump himself trusts her.
Put her at the top of the ticket. She will win.
Only question is who do you get as a VP to balance the ticket geographically that isnt a RINO?
[AlAhram] Iraq’s factions are poised for a prolonged political stalemate ahead of forming a new government following indecisive parliamentary elections
The elections were widely seen by many as a contest pitting the United States and its Arab allies against Iran. The results of the vote will deepen the polarisation and escalate the US-Iranian struggle for influence in Iraq.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi suffered a stunning electoral loss to his key Shia rivals after his political bloc failed to achieve the majority of the votes in Iraq’s parliamentary elections this week.
Al-Abadi’s failure to form a new government is widely seen as a severe setback to the United States and its Sunni Arab allies, which had hoped the incumbent prime minister could rein in the Iran-backed Shia militias in Iraq and act as a bulwark against Tehran’s increasing influence in the country.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife ||
05/20/2018 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11124 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iraq
[IsraelTimes] The former Shiite militia leader now opposes Iran involvement in Iraq; Tehran dispatches a powerful general to try and block his path to power
Even before Sadr’s victory was confirmed, Iran had already been convening meetings to try to block him from forming a government.
The final results of Iraq’s elections confirmed Saturday a breakthrough for nationalist holy manMoqtada Tater al-Sadr ... the Iranian catspaw holy man who was 22 years old in 2003 and was nearing 40 in 2010. He spends most of his time in Iran, safely out of the line of fire, where he's learning to be an ayatollah... , who was in the lead, ahead of internationally favored prime minister Haider al-Abadi.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife ||
05/20/2018 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11124 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iraq
[PJ] I live in an area that has a lot of pedestrians and automobile traffic. And it never ceases to amaze me the number of pedestrians who step out into the crosswalk without checking to see if the vehicles are, indeed, stopping. As I tell my children, just 'cause you have the right of way doesn't mean that you're going to be any less dead after the car hits you. A new study highlights the problem as it reveals that pedestrian deaths have risen dramatically over the last few years. But I continue to read that walking is healthy for you ?
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety writes,
Pedestrian deaths have jumped 46 percent since reaching their lowest point in 2009, as pedestrian crashes have become both deadlier and more frequent. The increase has been mostly in urban or suburban areas, at nonintersections, on arterials ‐ busy roads designed mainly to funnel vehicle traffic toward freeways ‐ and in the dark, a new IIHS study shows. Crashes were increasingly likely to involve SUVs and high-horsepower vehicles.
#4
When I was a teenager, I was crossing the street, with the light in a crosswalk when a car ran a red light. I jumped out of the way.
A cop was standing on the corner (I was visiting Washington, DC and there were cops everywhere). I looked at him and all he said was that if that car had hit me he could write the driver a ticket.
Message received. I need to watch out for my own rear.
#5
Crashes were increasingly likely to involve SUVs and high-horsepower vehicles.
Because those careless, evil bastiges in their big-ass cars. Or maybe it's because there are more SUVs in the vehicle mix nowadays because gas is cheaper than in the Jimmy Carter era (ptuie) and SUVs are what people want to drive.
#6
I can think of at least one "non-intersection crossing" that is far safer than the intersection itself. Northbound traffic generally takes the left turn at full speed without much attention to the contents of the crosswalk. At the "non-intersection" half a block away, I can see the cars coming with seconds to spare.
I figure Newton is more trustworthy than drivers.
Posted by: james ||
05/20/2018 14:40 Comments ||
Top||
#7
"Smart" phones
Brain Cuffs.
Non-intersectional. Watched some cholo wannabe run across four lanes of busy traffic in flip-flops and baggy pants. This seems to be increasing.
Drivers and their Brain Cuffs as well; was driving back from place, saw a tractor run across the highway without even hesitating - was close enough to see the driver was playing phone in his lap; didn't even notice.
I was told a story about downtown rail in Houston which was so quiet - its selling point - that it was striking a pedestrian something like one a day and before cell phones. Was told they had to put some noise makers on the trains and really emphasize crosswalks.
But I'm the guy who looks both ways twice before crossing a one-way street. Has saved me a couple times; recently looking over my shoulder to see a vehicle left-turn right into where I was. Almost had to Jackie Chan my way out of it; if driver saw me, he sure didn't care.
I guess what I'm getting at is a general decrease of awareness across the board.
#9
Downtown San Diego instituted a Quiet Zone for the rail along the waterfront. The trains don't have to blow whistles among the high-rise condos at every crossing. The efforts to protect the unaware and stupid were $$$
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/20/2018 16:25 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Steven Hawkings gave us something like 600 years, and I can’t understand what the “Red Tomato” is doing in this article. In 20,000 years, the human brain and skull will continue to grow, causing the forehead to elongate.
The male head gets different in the article, but not the female head, except for the fact that everyone will be wearing a form of smart contact lenses to navigate the world around them.
1) Unless I missed a link somewhere, the 20,000 years doesn’t match up with the 100,000 years in the title
2) the smart contact lenses to navigate the world would give one retinal overload – you’d go blind much earlier
[LegalInsurrection] His understanding of Islamism continues to shed light on the war against Jews and Christians: "Both the Saturday people and the Sunday people are now suffering the consequences". Historian Bernard Lewis died yesterday at age 101.
The accolades are rolling in.
"My own reading of Lewis' work was rather limited, so I can't express a personal view on where he fit in in the sweep of history. But there are two articles of his that made a difference to me, and still are required reading.
Islam is one of the world's great religions. Let me be explicit about what I, as a historian of Islam who is not a Muslim, mean by that. Islam has brought comfort and peace of mind to countless millions of men and women. It has given dignity and meaning to drab and impoverished lives. It has taught people of different races to live in brotherhood and people of different creeds to live side by side in reasonable tolerance. It inspired a great civilization in which others besides Muslims lived creative and useful lives and which, by its achievement, enriched the whole world. But Islam, like other religions, has also known periods when it inspired in some of its followers a mood of hatred and violence. It is our misfortune that part, though by no means all or even most, of the Muslim world is now going through such a period, and that much, though again not all, of that hatred is directed against us....
In the classical Islamic view, to which many Muslims are beginning to return, the world and all mankind are divided into two: the House of Islam, where the Muslim law and faith prevail, and the rest, known as the House of Unbelief or the House of War, which it is the duty of Muslims ultimately to bring to Islam. But the greater part of the world is still outside Islam, and even inside the Islamic lands, according to the view of the Muslim radicals, the faith of Islam has been undermined and the law of Islam has been abrogated. The obligation of holy war therefore begins at home and continues abroad, against the same infidel enemy....
The movement nowadays called fundamentalism is not the only Islamic tradition. There are others, more tolerant, more open, that helped to inspire the great achievements of Islamic civilization in the past, and we may hope that these other traditions will in time prevail. But before this issue is decided there will be a hard struggle, in which we of the West can do little or nothing. Even the attempt might do harm, for these are issues that Muslims must decide among themselves. And in the meantime we must take great care on all sides to avoid the danger of a new era of religious wars, arising from the exacerbation of differences and the revival of ancient prejudices.
It's no surprise that this historical and theocratic view of Islam made Lewis hated by western leftists and particularly Israel haters."
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/20/2018 11:47 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11133 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Two points from "The Assassins,"
There's a story of a fortress in NC Iran, where the leader told a youngster to jump off a cliff to entertain the one that told this story, and that there's no escape plan for most of the assassinations he described.
Think of the guys in Mumbai. But for ones in Europe, they're getting more creative.
[The Federalist] News outlets including the Associated Press and The New York Times took comments from Trump regarding MS-13 gang members out of context Wednesday, misleading readers to believe he referred to immigrants generally as "animals."
When these outlets and journos were called out for their extremely misleading reporting, many of them chose to defend MS-13 rather than walk back their criticism of Trump. This is a gang with the motto, "kill, rape, control."
[The Hill] An American bishop invoked the words of Martin Luther King Jr. during a soaring sermon at the wedding of the U.K.'s Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on Saturday.
"The late Dr. Martin Luther King once said and I quote: 'We must discover the power of love, the power, the redemptive power of love. And when we do that, we will make of this whole world a new world. But love, love is the only way," Bishop Michael Curry said.
"There's power in love. Don't underestimate it. Don't even oversentimentalize it. There is power, power in love."
The sermon from the Chicago-born bishop was a break from tradition for a royal wedding. Curry was invited to speak by Harry and Markle, an American actress.
#1
I believe it is time. A Kenyan holy man in dreads descends from the slopes of Kilauea with a lava rock tablet, etched with ten MLK instructions for life. Are we not missing a divine, cultural changing opportunity ?
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.
[PRESSTV] The neoconservatives in the 
North Korea
[LegalInsurrection] His understanding of Islamism continues to shed light on the war against Jews and Christians: "Both the Saturday people and the Sunday people are now suffering the consequences". Historian Bernard Lewis died yesterday at age 101.
[The Federalist] News outlets including the Associated Press and The New York Times took comments from Trump regarding MS-13 gang members out of context Wednesday, misleading readers to believe he referred to immigrants generally as "animals."
