[U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] CINCINNATI ‐ An American priest from Cincinnati has been charged by a federal criminal complaint for allegedly sexually abusing minor boys. The charges follow an international investigation that spanned two continents by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and authorities in the Philippines.
Kenneth B. Hendricks, 77, of Cincinnati, was arrested by Manila-based HSI special agents alongside Filipino authorities Tuesday evening in the Philippines, where he currently serves as a missionary priest.
Benjamin C. Glassman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Steve Francis, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), announced the charges.
The government unsealed the criminal complaint today. According to that document and its supporting affidavit, on November 13, HSI received information regarding alleged sexual exploitation of multiple minor Filipino boys.
Information indicated that a Catholic priest ‐ later identified as Father Hendricks ‐ had been sexually assaulting the boys. Subsequently, several victims have been identified and provided statements to law enforcement.
Update at 8:10 a.m. ET: more from the Cincinnati Enquirer here. An odd tale.
[The Hill] When a House subcommittee chairman bangs his gavel next week to convene an unprecedented investigative hearing into the Clinton Foundation, two questions will linger as preeminent: Is the Clinton family charity really the international do-gooder that earned a perfect four-star rating from Charity Navigator, or does it suffer from corruption and illegalities as conservatives allege? And if it is the latter, how much evidence of wrongdoing does the government possess?
The answer to the first question is that the foundation and its projects reported collecting about $2.5 billion to help global crises, from AIDS to earthquakes, even as its own auditors, lawyers and employees privately warned of problems over the years.
The answer to the second question may reside in 6,000 pages of evidence attached to a whistleblower submission filed secretly more than a year ago with the IRS and FBI.
That evidence was assembled by a private firm called MDA Analytics LLC, run by accomplished ex-federal criminal investigators, who alleged the Clinton Foundation engaged in illegal activities and may be liable for millions of dollars in delinquent taxes and penalties.
In addition to the IRS, the firm’s partners have had contact with prosecutors in the main Justice Department in Washington and FBI agents in Little Rock, Ark. And last week, a federal prosecutor suddenly asked for documents from their private investigation.
The 48-page submission, dated Aug. 11, 2017, supports its claims with 95 exhibits, including internal legal reviews that the foundation conducted on itself in 2008 and 2011.
#1
Is the Clinton family charity really the international do-gooder that earned a perfect four-star rating from Charity Navigator, or does it suffer from corruption and illegalities as conservatives allege?
[NYPOST] A "very violent" mohawked Missouri woman clobbered her live-in lover as she demanded he perform oral sex on her, the victim and authorities said.
Amy Nicole Parrino, 43, was busted on charges of domestic assault and sexual abuse for the Sunday night incident that occurred at Parrino and the man’s Boone County home, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by The Smoking Gun.
During the 9:45 p.m. attack, Parrino allegedly punched the man up to 25 times and struck him with a belt, cellphone and brass plate, according to the court filing.
Then a naked Parrino chased the man around the house as he pleaded for her to "leave him alone."
But Parrino did not relent, as she "pushed him to the ground and then sat on his face," the victim told police, according to the affidavit.
The victim told Sherlocks that while Parrino "was sitting on his face she said to him ’eat my p‐-y,’" the court document states.
For a "few seconds" during the encounter, the man said, he could not breathe and that he was "scared to death," according to the affidavit.
The victim later told police that the whole incident made him "sick" to his stomach and that he did not want to do anything sexual with Parrino.
As a result of the incident, the man suffered an up to 4-inch-long cut on both his right arm and his left arm. He also suffered a cut on the bridge of his nose, which the man told authorities "was from when Parrino sat on his face."
The man was also left with red marks on his chest where he said he was hit with the belt.
According to the victim, "violence" between him and Parrino "has been getting worse and more frequent," the document says.
He told police he "don’t know what she’s going to do next" and that he "fears for his safety all the time."
The man added that Parrino will get "very violent, very quickly."
Parrino was locked up in lieu of $25,000 cash bail, the outlet said.
Parrino wears a ring in her left nostril and a facial piercing near her eye, as well as a black "Buccaneers" jersey in her mug shot.
She was hit with an additional charge for allegedly smearing fecal matter on the walls of a jail cell and breaking a jailhouse phone, according to the website.
A judge ordered Parrino to have no contact with the victim and she has been barred from the man’s residence, according to the site.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/07/2018 00:00 ||
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#1
...(looks at TFA)
(Blinks)
Good Lord. That woman looks like a troll doll who's gone rogue.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
12/07/2018 4:54 Comments ||
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[FoxNews] NASHVILLE, Tenn. ‐ The Latest on an execution in Tennessee (all times local):
7:35 p.m.
Tennessee has executed its longest-serving death row inmate, who became the second person to be killed in the state's electric chair in just over a month.
Corrections officials say 61-year-old David Earl Miller was pronounced dead at 7:25 p.m. Thursday at a Nashville maximum-security prison.
Miller was sentenced to death for the 1981 murder of a mentally handicapped Knoxville woman. He had been on death row for 36 years.
Miller chose to die in the electric chair after he failed to convince the courts that Tennessee's midazolam-based lethal injection method causes a prolonged and torturous death.
Just over a month earlier, inmate Edmund Zagorski also chose the electric chair for his execution Nov. 1. Before Zagorski's death, there had been only one other electrocution since 1960.
#2
...you can thank the imperial judiciary for the delay.
Amendment V
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Seems our esteem aristocracy betters can't read proper English and seek any and all means to alter the Constitution without the proper method outlined in said document.
#1
"The reason athletes are taking this hit is because individuals can no longer deduct more than $10,000 for state and local taxes (SALT) or declare miscellaneous itemized deductions for work-related expenses and investment fees. And these changes, especially the latter, will cost pro athletes more than most people."
[Thrillist] Meet dragon's breath. Its creator expects it to be crowned the world's hottest pepper. That's far hotter than the revered Carolina reaper, which is the current Guinness World Record-holder for hottest chili pepper. In fact, dragon's breath is so intense it could kill you, according to its St. Asaph-based developer Mike Smith. He says dragon's breath clocks in with a Scoville rating of 2.48 million. That's almost one million units higher than a Carolina reaper, which has an average of 1.57 million. (Tabasco sauce rates between 2,500 and 5,000 on the Scoville Scale.) I grow Reapers. I want some of these!
The Carolina reaper was already so spicy it reduced mortals to tears. Don't believe it? Ask this person or this couple or these people or these guys or these girls who looked like they were going to die. If dragon's breath truly has a Scoville rating of 2.48 million, it's basically not food. Aside from some idiot on YouTube who is definitely going to try it, there's really no reason to put this in your body. Not the whole thing, just a little bit.
However, calling it useless would be hyperbolic. The chili pepper wasn't developed to be eaten in some kind of sadistic horticultural prank. Dragon's breath was "born out of a trial of new plant food developed by Nottingham Trent University which aims to increase the quality and resistance of plants," according to the BBC. Smith says the intended usage will, in fact, be medical. Oils from the tiny pepper are so potent it can be used as an anesthetic. There is a use for almost everything.
"This was developed because a lot of people are allergic to anesthetic, and this can be applied to the skin because it is so strong it numbs it," Smith told the Daily Post. He also notes it could be a cheap alternative to expensive anesthetics in developing countries.
No one has attempted to swallow the pepper yet, but someone took a bite without swallowing. Their mouth went numb for two days according to Smith. With a Scoville rating this high, it could cause a seriously upset stomach and make an alarming exit from your body. Though, Smith alleges the effects could be even worse than that. "We have had a caution from the University," Smith said. "It could cause anaphylactic shock in some people."
Smith is currently awaiting confirmation from Guinness that he's officially overtaken the reaper, according to the BBC.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
12/07/2018 00:00 ||
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#1
I'll never eat your chili again...not even a tiny taste.
#5
Watched a show once about the making of pepper spray. The concentrated oleocapsicum resin looks like honey consistency wise. The narrator said the concentrate is about 15 million scovilles (don't know if that's good info or not) and they cut it to about 1.5 million for commercial grade and about 2.5-3 for LEO grade.
I always liked how the cops in Joseph Wambaugh's Hollywood Station novels referred to OC spray as "Liquid Jesus."
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
12/07/2018 15:32 Comments ||
Top||
#6
swksvolFF Satan's Toe Jam is made with Ghost Peppers. I think I can ramp that up a bit.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
12/07/2018 19:08 Comments ||
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#7
When I first started lurking here, I remember it would come up in conversation occasionally. Felt like I needed a beer just reading about it.
#8
A friend showed me photos of Manuel Noriega's riot control water cannon trucks, the ones that had a large blue Papa Smurf painted on the driver's door, hence "Smurf Trucks". They supposedly had enough 'cinnamon oil' in the water spray to raise blisters...
More 'humane' than volley fire with live ammo, I guess.
#9
There was a chili contest a couple years back, this guy, who is for lack of a better description a culinary bonzai!, and his chef wife conspired to make the hottest chili possible, going so far as to order ghost peppers. Out of two hundred some attendees only myself and one other were able to eat the about cup and a half serving. Until I hit my 'runners high' I was swerving for jalapenos for cool bites.
Wife sent him a pic of me finishing the bowl. Next day, 'cant believe you ate that! I didn't get through a bite. Ummm, how are you today? (wink wink)'
[NYPOST] A man who went into the hospital with heart problems ended up literally coughing up a lung.
The 36-year-old was admitted to University of Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party,the Socialist paradise of San Francisco ...where God struck dead Anton LaVey, home of the Sydney Ducks, ruled by Vigilance Committee from 1859 through 1867, reliably and volubly Democrat since 1964... Medical Center with heart failure.
The patient had a pacemaker fitted due to a history of poor cardiovascular health, according to the New England Journal of Medicine.
During his first week of treatment, he began coughing violently, according to reports. And in the midst of one coughing fit he hawked up a bronchial tree ‐ a series of tubes that distribute air to the lungs.
The unnamed patient died a week later.
The journal says he had a rare ejection fraction deficiency ‐ a term for how much blood is pumped with each contraction.
His was around 50 percent less than the normal rate.
During the week, he had been coughing up blood and mucus, increasing the strain on his lungs.
Doctors were treating him with oxygen tanks.
You can’t actually cough up a whole human lung, which is too large to fit through the trachea.
But it is possible to cough so violently that parts of the organ pop through spaces between ribs, or to cough up parts.
After the patient coughed up the bronchial tree, he was immediately intubated and doctors performed a bronchoscopy.
The patient later died from heart failure complications.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/07/2018 00:00 ||
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Jerusalem, Israel, June 11, 2018 ‐ ZØRE, maker of the world’s fastest locked-to-loaded gun lock, announced today the launch of its LEO program which offers discounts to Law Enforcement, Military and Veterans on the company’s unique gun lock products. Purchases through the program will receive a 10% discount on the ZØRE X gun lock.
"Those who serve and protect us deserve our respect and gratitude ‐ not just in word but in action," said Bruno Escojido, CEO of ZORE. "This program is a small token of our appreciation for their service and dedication to their fellow citizens and country. As a company founded by veterans, we believe in giving back to that community.
The ZØRE X keeps handguns ready to fire at a moment’s notice, but completely safe from unauthorized users through its patent-pending technology. The cartridge-shaped lock, placed in the gun’s chamber, is secured through a unique combination-lock dial, RAPIDialTM, which allows for swift unlocking under any circumstances, including complete darkness. Once a user inputs the code, one simple charging motion both ejects the ZØRE X lock and chambers a fresh round. More on ZØRE and ZØRE people at this link
[PULSE.NG] A Rwandan court Thursday found dissident politician Diane Rwigara not guilty of forgery and inciting insurrection, charges that saw her imprisoned for over a year and highlighted a crackdown on opposition in the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/07/2018 00:00 ||
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[ALMASDARNEWS] The Venezuelan Armed Forces are interested in the modernization of ground and air systems previously supplied by Russia, Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez said during talks his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu in Moscow on Thursday.
"Yesterday, when our presidents had talks, many issues in the military area had emerged, particularly those related to stepping up cooperation in the maintenance of the equipment supplied from Russia to our country. These are land-based and air systems. And we came to the conclusion that we need to modernize and upgrade the existing systems," he stated.
The Venezuelan defense chief noted that he came to Russia as part of the delegation led by President Nicolas Maduro, while the meeting with his Russian counterpart was not initially planned.
"Our meeting was not scheduled, but the questions arose during negotiations between our presidents," he added, pointing out that relations between both countries "need to be beefed up to become more efficient."
Shoigu in turn said that he hopes that the practice of flights by Russian combat aircraft to airdromes in Venezuela will go on and Russian naval ships will continue to pull into that country’s ports.
"Our cooperation proceeds in a good fashion. There have been regular exchanges of specialists and delegations. Good work is underway in training and in granting our aircraft an opportunity to make landings in Venezuela and our ships, to be serviced in Venezuela’s ports. I believe that we will go ahead with this practice. The more so, since it is to the benefit of Venezuela and Russia," he emphasized.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/07/2018 00:00 ||
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#1
Hmmmm would that be $6 Billion worth?
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/07/2018 10:05 Comments ||
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#2
As I said yesterday, they're brown Slavic Master Race, just like the Japanese were Yellow Aryans.
[PULSE.NG] Thousands of people took part in protest marches across Bolivia on Thursday amid a general strike called by opponents of President Evo Morales' bid for a fourth term.
Groups of activists blocked streets in the capital La Paz and other main cities, many waving Bolivian flags and waving banners saying "Bolivia said No" -- a reference to a 2016 referendum ignored by Morales.
Interior Minister Carols Romero played down the blockades and said the country was working "as normal".
Banking and other businesses remained opened in defiance of the general strike call, despite widespread disruption of public transport.
The government said 5,000 people took part in the protests.
"The results are far from what the organizers were looking for, " said Alfredo Rada, minister with responsibility for the presidency.
The protests follow the decision Tuesday by Bolivia's Supreme Electoral Court to give a green light for Morales -- in power since 2003 -- to seek a fourth term.
Electoral Court decision
The ruling party last year dismissed the result of the 2016 referendum that denied Morales the possibility of seeking a fourth term as president.
Morales argued that it is his human right to seek reelection.
His main opponent in the October 2019 elections, ex-president Carlos Mesa, called on the opposition to wage "a democratic battle" against the court decision.
The influential Catholic Church hit out at the court ruling, saying it "called into doubt the basis of democracy" in Bolivia, and "left Bolivians with an uncertain future."
The biggest protests came in the eastern province of Santa Cruz, whose governor Ruben Costas heads opposition to Morales.
Three separate marches that set off earlier this week from outlying provinces were expected to converge in the capital La Paz later Thursday.
La Paz mayor Luis Revilla, an opponent of Morales, a supporter of Mesa, said "what remains now is to resist this decision, is to turn to street protests, to prevent this decision being realized."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/07/2018 00:00 ||
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[PULSE.NG] Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro announced $6 billion in Russian oil and gold mining investments in his crisis-wracked South American country Thursday, after talks in Moscow with Kremlin officials.
The Venezuelan strongman is in Moscow to whip up support from allies to prop up an economy in freefall. On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin ...President-for-Life of Russia. He gets along well with other presidents for life. He is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substance. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to him. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substances... voiced support for the socialist leader after the pair held talks.
"It's been a very long, intense couple of days of work," Maduro said after meeting investors. "We have guarantees of an oil investment of over $5 billion," as well as "gold mining contracts worth over one billion dollars," Maduro told Venezuela's state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
VTV.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/07/2018 00:00 ||
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#1
Until now Maduro has refused international aid. Now he is opening the front door to Putin and Erdogan. Putin is arming Venezuela, which is right around the corner from the Panama Canal.
[Telegraph] Russia has laughed off a US warship's "challenge" to its territorial claims in the Sea of Japan as "unsuccessful" while reacting angrily to reports that US ships could also enter the Black Sea.
The US naval activity comes less than two weeks after Russia seized three Ukrainian ships off the coast of Crimea in the Black Sea last month in an escalation of existing tensions there.
The guided missile destroyer USS McCampbell "sailed in the vicinity of Peter the Great Bay to challenge Russia's excessive maritime claims" in a demonstrative "freedom of navigation" operation on Wednesday, the navy said.
But the Russian defence ministry claimed on Thursday that the McCampbell had not come closer than 100 kilometres (62 miles) to its territorial waters and was currently "demonstrating its bravery" 250 miles from Russian shores.
A destroyer and several warplanes nonetheless followed the US ship, which tried to "get away at maximum speed," the ministry said in a sarcastic statement carried on state television.
[DAWN] A defiant Vladimir Putin ...President-for-Life of Russia. He gets along well with other presidents for life. He is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substance. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to him. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substances... on Wednesday threatened to develop nuclear missiles banned under a treaty with the United States after Washington gave Moscow a deadline to comply with the key arms control agreement.
The latest spike in tensions came a day after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington would withdraw from a major Cold War treaty limiting mid-range nuclear arms within 60 days if Russia does not dismantle missiles that the US claims breach the deal.
Putin dismissed Pompeo’s statement as a smokescreen, saying Washington had already decided to ditch the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty (INF).
"They thought we would not notice," the Kremlin chief said, claiming the Pentagon has already earmarked an amount for the development of missiles banned by the treaty. "We are against the destruction of this treaty. But if this happens, we will react accordingly."
Putin said about a dozen countries were now producing mid-range missiles of the type banned by the INF treaty.
"Apparently now American partners believe the situation has changed so much that the United States should also have such weapons. "What will be our answer? A simple one: we will also do this," Putin said.
In Brussels, EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini urged Russia and the US to save the treaty, warning that Europe ...also known as Moslem Lebensraum... did not want to become a battlefield for global powers once again, as it had been during the Cold War.
Signed in 1987 by then US president Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader, the INF resolved a crisis over Soviet nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles targeting Western capitals.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/07/2018 00:00 ||
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HONG KONG/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - At a closed-door security meeting of U.S. companies in Singapore on Thursday, one topic was high on the agenda: the arrest of a top executive at Chinese tech giant Huawei [HWT.UL] and the potential backlash on American firms operating in China.
Officials from major U.S. companies who attended the event, a scheduled meeting of the local chapter of the U.S. Department of State’s Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC), voiced concerns about retaliation against American firms and their executives, two people with knowledge of the meeting said.
A number of attendees said their companies were considering restricting non-essential China travel and looking to move meetings outside the country, one of the people added.
Security executives for companies including Walt Disney Co, Alphabet Inc’s Google, Facebook Inc, and PayPal Holdings Inc attended the meeting, according to the sources and a LinkedIn posting by one of the attendees.
The companies all declined to comment or did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
#9
I know there is a difference between a successful businessman and a successful pirate, but I haven't yet figured it out.
Marketing, mainly. That and government subsidies.
Bangkok Billy posted this little tidbit last night about the Chicoms holding some US citizens hostage. Makes me think there may be some Tit-For-Tat going on here beyond Huwei's misbehavior.
[DAWN] The two Koreas will exchange inspection teams across their heavily armed border next week to verify each other's works to remove some of their front-line guard posts, Seoul's Defense Ministry said on Thursday.
In the past weeks, North and South Korea each have dismantled or disarmed 11 of their border guard posts as part of agreements to reduce tensions that were reached during their leaders' summit in Pyongyang in September.
Vice Defense Minister Suh Choo-suk told news hounds that the two Koreas agreed to conduct one-day mutual verification on the sites of the guard posts next Wednesday. He said the Koreas will each send 11 military inspection teams to the other's 11 sites.
Suh said the mutual verification is proof of trust established between the two militaries.
The dismantled or disarmed guard posts were located inside the 248-kilometre-long Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the strip of land that bisects the Korean Peninsula. Unlike its name, it's the world's most heavily fortified border strewn with an estimated two million land mines and has been the scene of numerous cases of violence and bloodshed.
Under the September agreements, the Koreas have also taken steps to demilitarise the shared border village of Panmunjom inside the DMZ, halted live-fire drills along the border and have been removing mines to conduct joint searches for Korean War dead.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/07/2018 00:00 ||
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[Detroit News] America turned into a net oil exporter last week, breaking 75 years of continued dependence on foreign oil and marking a pivotal — even if likely brief —moment toward what U.S. President Donald Trump has branded as “energy independence.”
The shift to net exports is the dramatic result of an unprecedented boom in American oil production, with thousands of wells pumping from the Permian region of Texas and New Mexico to the Bakken in North Dakota to the Marcellus in Pennsylvania. U.S. crude shipments reached a record 3.2 million barrels last week, government data show.
The shale revolution has transformed oil wildcatters into billionaires and the U.S. into the world’s largest petroleum producer, surpassing Russia and Saudi Arabia. The power of OPEC has been diminished, undercutting one of the major geopolitical forces of the last half century.
[Free Beacon] Slovakia expelled a Russian diplomat for espionage work, the nation's prime minister told reporters Wednesday.
Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini explained that gathered intelligence supported the decision. He said that the spy, in the country on a diplomatic visa, had been engaged "in intelligence activities against Slovakia and NATO."
The unnamed Russian was declared persona non grata on Nov. 22, requiring his departure, and he left by the 24th. The Russian had been working in the Russian Embassy in Bratislava, Slovakia's capital, and Pellegrini said he violated the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
Russian intelligence operations in foreign countries is a well-known practice, and one more aggressively addressed by affected nations in recent months. In March, the United States expelled dozens of Russian diplomats and ordered the closing of a Russian consulate in Seattle. Special Counsel Robert Mueller secured indictments in July for twelve Russian agents relating to hacking and influencing the 2016 U.S. elections. The United Kingdom expelled 23 operatives. A dozen other EU states followed suit.
[PJ] A long classified email chain from October 2016 reveals that a large group of Obama Justice Department officials -- including James Comey -- was aware that there was highly misleading information in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant to spy on Trump campaign, John Solomon of The Hill reported Wednesday.
According to Solomon's sources, the documents "may provide the most damning evidence to date" of potential FISA abuses.
The emails show that some in the intelligence community -- possibly the NSA -- had problems with the quality of the intelligence in the Steele dossier, which was used to obtain the surveillance warrant.
The emails also reveal that the officials knew that British spy Christopher Steele had talked to Yahoo News about his findings, as some on the email chain had expressed concerns about that.
Steele was hired by opposition research firm Fusion GPS (funded by Hillary Clinton and the DNC) to put together a (now discredited) dossier on candidate Donald Trump.
In January 2018, Senator Charles Grassley, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, referred Steele to the Department of Justice for criminal investigation after he and Senator Lindsey Graham identified potential false statements Steele had made to the FBI.
[DAWN] The government claims to have unearthed another scam of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf, then by the courts... relating to his private visits abroad at the government’s expense, causing losses running into millions of rupees to the national exchequer.
"Nawaz Sharif has made 25 private foreign trips during his rule from 2013 to 2018 on taxpayers’ money of Rs250 million," the prime minister’s adviser on accountability, Shahzad Akbar, said at a presser on Thursday.
Mr Akbar, who is also head of the Assets Recovery Unit (ARU), said that of these 25 foreign trips, some were made to Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... to perform Umrah along with family members and friends. "Although Mr Sharif is a rich man, even then he performed Umrah on taxpayers’ money," he said.
The adviser also gave details of misuse of official aircraft for private tours by Mr Sharif, saying his one Umrah trip cost Rs35m. Responding to a question, he said the ARU had completed its investigation into the private foreign visits of the former premier and referred it to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) as a fresh case of misuse of authority.
"Some other cases of misuse of authority are already being investigated against Nawaz Sharif and it will be the fresh one and will be dealt with separately by NAB," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/07/2018 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] The Lahore High Court on Thursday rejected a mother's petition for staying the execution of her "schizophrenic" son Khizar Hayat, noting that the condemned was "convicted by the country's biggest court".
Hayat, a former police constable, was convicted in October 2001 for killing a fellow policeman, while a trial court had handed him a death sentence two years later.
The death row inmate's mother had moved the court, requesting it to delay the death sentence and admit him to a hospital for treatment.
During the hearing today, a two-member LHC bench comprising Justice Qazi Amin and Justice Chaudhry Mushtaq asked the petitioner's counsel to prove that Hayat was ill and also apprise the court under which law a schizophrenic prisoner could not be executed.
Justice Project Pakistain (JPP), a law firm working for prisoners’ rights, argued the case on behalf of Hayat's mother, Iqbal Bano.
JPP Director Barrister Sarah Belal said that Khizar Hayat’s mental illness was well-documented and the jail’s own records showed that he suffered from "severe psychosis".
The counsel argued that a "mental patient" cannot be executed but the court rejected the argument, remarking that "the execution of patients is a global debate."
The petitioner reminded the court that in 2008 the jail authorities had diagnosed the then 41-year-old Hayat with paranoid schizophrenia. It prayed that the inmate can still be executed once he has recovered from his illness.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/07/2018 00:00 ||
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#1
...A schizophrenic Pakistani muslim.
How can they tell?
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
12/07/2018 4:51 Comments ||
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#2
How can they tell?
He has spells where he thinks he is a Jesuit and acts completely normal.
[SD Union Trib] After setting out from their Honduran homes eight weeks ago and arriving in Tijuana in mid-November with the dream of reaching the U.S., five members of the Central American migrant caravan decided Thursday to turn around and go home.
They are not alone.
In recent days, vans from Mexico’s National Migration Institute have been taking migrants from the El Barretal shelter to immigration offices where they can begin the voluntary repatriation process. Earlier this week, a group of migrants bid their fellow Hondurans farewell with hugs and folk songs. A top Mexican official told one news organization that about 1,000 members of the caravan have already left for Honduras.
The dream of the caravan was to move in large groups through dangerous areas to protect each other from criminals and smugglers, and eventually arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border where they could seek asylum and gain steady employment. Many traveled 2,800 miles mostly on foot through brutal conditions and were under the impression that it would be just a matter of days before they could cross the U.S. border, like crossing into Guatemala and Mexico.
Now there is resignation and disappointment.
"There is no future in Mexico," said David Lemus, 17, of Honduras as he boarded a van that would take him to Mexican immigration offices.
Thursday’s departure had a more reflective tone as those who stayed in Tijuana debated what to do next. Nery and Dania Melgar, siblings who became close friends with Lemus during their journey to the border, were more blunt with their assessment of the situation.
"The caravan is over," said Nery Melgar, 22. "Everyone is on their own now."
Dania Melgar, 26, might join Lemus if she doesn’t get a Mexican work permit soon. She applied two weeks ago and is running out of patience. "I've given them plenty of time to meet my demands!"
"If I don’t get it tomorrow I’m going to leave," she said. "What am I going to do here without a work permit? We get food here but there is nothing to do."
More than 6,000 caravan members arrived in Tijuana last month. On Thursday, about 2,500 were registered at the El Barretal shelter and between 300 and 500 stayed behind outside the now-shuttered shelter at the Benito Juárez sports complex.
Where are the remaining 3,000? That depends on who you ask.
Rodolfo Hernandez, president of the Baja California State Migrant Council, told local media that, "nobody knows where they are."
David Leon, the National Civil Protection Coordinator in Mexico told the Mexico City newspaper EFE that 1,000 have returned to their country and another 1,000 have attempted to cross into the United States. U.S. Customs and Border Protection disputed those figures Thursday but did not provide numbers of their own.
A representative from Mexico’s National Migration Institute told the Union-Tribune they are in a transitional period with the new government and the only person authorized to share information is the head of the agency. The representative hoped to have information available late Thursday or Friday.
In El Barretal, most of the migrants are applying for work permits in Mexico. They either want to stay in the country long term, or to save money while they wait for their number to be called as part of a long wait list of asylum seekers.
Meanwhile, a couple of entrepreneurial migrants have set up small businesses inside the shelter.
"Once I get my work permit, I am gone," said Hector Lorenzo, 30, from Honduras.
Lorenzo makes about $300 pesos a day selling cigarettes. He’s a natural salesman.
"Smokes, smokes," he yelled as people walked by Thursday. "These cure cancer, and if they don’t they’ll kill you faster." interesting sales technique
Brenda Rodriguez, 40, of Guatemala sells empanadas for 10 pesos each. She had her son send her 2,000 pesos, which she used to buy pans, hot plates, and materials. On Thursday, she sold 50 empanadas in a little over an hour.
"It feels good to work," she said. "It relaxes us."
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/07/2018 08:52 ||
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#1
Why would they need Mexican work permits? *baffled*
Posted by: Herb McCoy ||
12/07/2018 9:01 Comments ||
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#2
"Who says building a border wall won't work? The Chinese built one over 2,000 years ago and they still don't have any Mexicans"
~ A quote from a learned historian who shall remain anonymous.
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.
[The Hill] When a House subcommittee chairman bangs his gavel next week to convene an unprecedented investigative hearing into the Clinton Foundation, two questions will linger as preeminent: Is the Clinton family charity really the international do-gooder that earned a perfect four-star rating from Charity Navigator, or does it suffer from corruption and illegalities as conservatives allege? And if it is the latter, how much evidence of wrongdoing does the government possess?
[NYPOST] A "very violent" mohawked Missouri woman clobbered her live-in lover as she demanded he perform oral sex on her, the victim and authorities said.
Jerusalem, Israel, June 11, 2018 ‐ ZØRE, maker of the world’s fastest locked-to-loaded gun lock, announced today the launch of its LEO program which offers discounts to Law Enforcement, Military and Veterans on the company’s unique gun lock products. Purchases through the program will receive a 10% discount on the ZØRE X gun lock.
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...also known as Moslem Lebensraum...
HONG KONG/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - At a closed-door security meeting of U.S. companies in Singapore on Thursday, one topic was high on the agenda: the arrest of a top executive at Chinese tech giant Huawei [HWT.UL] and the potential backlash on American firms operating in China.
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... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf, then by the courts...
