[Daily Caller] The Department of Justice is withholding documents about the Imran Awan cybersecurity scandal by saying there is an ongoing, secret case related to matter, according to court papers.
Judicial Watch filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit Nov. 7, 2018, for 7,000 pages of Capitol Police records related to the cybersecurity investigation, and Aug. 2, the DOJ agreed to begin producing records by Nov. 5.
That deadline came and went with no records being produced; on a Nov. 13 phone call, the DOJ said "technical difficulties" had resulted in a delay, Judicial Watch stated in a court filing.
The DOJ later changed its story and said it was actually withholding documents "pursuant to an Order issued by the Honorable Tanya S. Chutkan who is presiding over a related sealed criminal matter," prosecutors said in a Dec. 5 filing.
(RELATED: Fifteen Things To Know About ’Pakistani Mystery Man’ Imran Awan)
"The ’difficulties’ in providing responsive material was [sic] due to the unexpected and unique set of facts described above that was out of control of the Defendant. Defendant’s only motivation was to maintain the integrity of the sealed matter as much as possible," assistant U.S. Attorney Benton Peterson said in the filing.
[NY Post] Hunter Biden faces a legal grilling by lawyers for the ex-stripper suing him for paternity ‐ with the money he was paid by a Ukrainian natural gas company a likely subject, court records show.
Biden is set to be deposed two days before Christmas in Little Rock, Arkansas, according to a notice filed Wednesday in Independence County Circuit Court.
Lawyers for Lunden Alexis Roberts instructed him to bring "all exhibits" he plans to use in his defense when shows up Dec. 23.
A related court filing lists 47 "requests for admission" of evidence related to Biden’s education, employment, finances and taxes.
Many are heavily redacted, but 17 refer to his controversial appointment to the board of Burisma, the Ukrainian energy firm that figures in the pending impeachment proceedings against President Trump.
Nine specifically seek the amount of his "monthly compensation as a board member for Burisma."
Biden ‐ son of former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic front-runner to challenge Trump next year ‐ was reportedly paid $50,000 a month by Burisma.
In an October interview with ABC News, Biden declined to discuss his finances.
"Look, I’m a private citizen," he said.
"One thing that I don’t have to do is sit here and open my kimono as it relates to how much money I make or make or did or didn’t. But it’s all been reported."
Biden’s lawyers didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
#1
"And my Dad has already opened his kimono.. Many times."
- H. Biden
Posted by: Bobby ||
12/15/2019 13:26 Comments ||
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#2
Lucy Hunter! You got some splaining to do.
“Leaked documents from the Ukrainian General Prosecutor’s office indicate complex money transfers from foreign sources into the control of a ‘slush fund’ owned and operated by Devon Archer, John Kerry Senior, John Kerry Junior, Heinz Jr, and Hunter Biden,” he said.
“According to the Department of Financial Monitoring (Counter-intelligence) of Latvia, the following sums of money were obtained from Busima Holding Limited (Cyprus) which is open at AS PrivatBank in Latvia. “This describes the money transfer of $14,655,982 and $366,015 EUR from “Wirelogic Technology AS”, and $1,964,375 from “Digitex Organization LLP”.
“Further, part of the sums described above were transferred to Alan Apter, Alexander Kwasniewski, Devon Archer and Hunter Biden.
“BURISMA HOLDINGS LIMITED, during a period from November 18th 2014 to November 16th 2015 transacted 45 money transfers through MORGAN STANLEY SMITH BARNEY LLC in the sum of $3.5M dollars. “The recipient of the money transfer is Rosemont Seneca Bohai LLC.
“Rosemont Seneca Bohai LLC is owned and operated by Devon Archer, the Kerry Family including John Kerry Senior, John Kerry Junior, Heinz Jr and Hunter Biden. “All of whom are also listed as partners in the Rosemont Seneca Fund and other affiliated Rosemont Seneca companies.
“Leaked transaction and bank records indicate an influx of large payments from Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings Limited to Rosemont Seneca Bohai LLC, in what appears to be monthly payments of $83,333.33.
[The Federalist] A crazy liberal called the congressional office of Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL) a few weeks ago and threatened to kill the GOP representative, court documents reveal.
The caller left a voicemail for the congressman identifying himself only as a "sharpshooter" who would "like to shoot your f****** head off you stupid mother******."
The nameless caller accused Rep. Davis of "backing the Russians." Surely, Hillary Clinton was the prime suspect until Capitol Police were able to trace the call back to 64-year-old Randall Tarr of Illinois.
Tarr told FBI agents that he called the Republican congressman after watching a TV commercial about Rep. Davis that made him very, very angry. Tarr denied being under the influence of drugs and alcohol when he made the call, but it is likely the man was under the influence of either CNN or MSNBC.
Democrats and the media have made their crazy base even crazier by constantly feeding them conspiracy theories about Trump and Russia collusion. So strong was the man's Russia Collusion Delusion that he threatened to kill a United States congressman after seeing a commercial where Rep. Davis brought up the fact that Ukraine interfered in our elections, which, to be fair, would have taken any mainstream media viewer by complete surprise.
Luckily, the GOP baseball team wasn't holding any practices in Illinois that day so this crazy leftist could only leave a harmless voicemail.
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/15/2019 5:32 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Everyone needs a crazy base today. Conscientious and 'righteous' parties shall also have to realize this sooner rather than later. There's great value in 'balance of power' through a nameless corps of aggressive supporters.
Entropy in society shall scarcely be contained, just like it can't across the universe. But it can be harnessed, made to work for the right causes. No pun.
This bastard deserves that something should happen to him. An example be made for all like Griffin and the ones who attack police and put on masks to attack conservatives.
#4
Portents and Signs of the coming violent civil war. Once it becomes bloody apparent what war is really like, humans usually have a tendency to moderate their behavior subsequently.
[Washington Examiner] Sen. Lindsey Graham welcomed the notion that President Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani could appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee to share his knowledge on Ukraine.
"Rudy, if you want to come and tell us what you found, I'll be glad to talk to you," the South Carolina Republican said in an interview set to air Sunday on CBS's Face the Nation.
"We can look at what Rudy's got and Joe Biden, Hunter Biden, and anything else you want to look at after impeachment," he continued. "But if Rudy wants to come to the Judiciary Committee and testify about what he found, he's welcome to do so."
Giuliani recently confirmed that he was on a fact-finding mission in Ukraine to track down information that could prove the Democrats' impeachment efforts to be unsubstantiated. Trump has also claimed that Giuliani may have credible information. According to him, Trump has asked him to brief both the Department of Justice and Republican senators about his findings.
Graham, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is set to speak more his invitation to Giuliani on Sunday.
#3
Wait for wall-to-wall coverage fo the two Ukrainians he travelled with that were arrested intending to make whatever he says seem corrupt, self-serving and/or partisan.
[TAMPABAY] By the time they arrived in Hernando County, the burglars had refined their methods.
Michael Ornelas, 56, was a locksmith and expert safe cracker, Sherlocks would later say, while William Granims, 57, knew how to monitor police radios, and Matthew Petruccelli, 67, served as lookout.
Ornelas and Granims had worked together a long time. In the late 1990s, they stole more than a million dollars of jewelry and money from stores in North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama and Georgia.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
12/15/2019 00:00 ||
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#1
Michael Ornelas, 56, was a locksmith and expert safe cracker, Sherlocks would later say, while William Granims, 57, knew how to monitor police radios, and Matthew Petruccelli, 67, served as lookout.
[Breitbart] President Donald Trump flipped the coin to start the Army vs. Navy football game on Saturday, as he personally attended the game in Philadelphia.
"It is obviously with great pride and great honor to welcome our commander in chief the president of the United States, President Donald J. Trump," the referee said as the crowd cheered wildly.
[IsraelTimes] The deputy leader of UK’s Labour Party said Saturday he will step down once a new party chief is chosen, as an internal backlash against Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn intensified following the party’s dire showing in Thursday’s general election.
And war appeared to be brewing between Corbyn’s hard-left faction in the party, which hopes to retain power in the wake of his departure, and moderates who had been sidelined in recent years, and who believe Labour must change direction if it hopes to once again appeal to a majority of British voters.
Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, a top ally of Corbyn and his de facto No. 2, said that once the Labour chief steps down and a new leader and shadow cabinet are appointed, "I won’t be part of that shadow cabinet, I’ve done my bit."
Commenting on his party’s drubbing in the vote, McDonnell said: "We tried to bring the country together. It failed. We have to accept that, take it on the chin. We have to own that and then move on. We will all go now."
But if they drive away the half a million hard left new Labourites who put Mr. Corbyn in the top spot, they’ll be right back in the pickle that led them to opening up membership to begin with. It’s enough to make the Stone of Scone weep pebbly tears of laughter.
The defeat was seen as a result of Labour’s hesitant stance on Britain’s exit from the European Union, radical economic proposals seen as unrealistic, and Corbyn’s unpopular personality — with widespread accusations against him of empowering anti-Semitism within Labour and of himself being anti-Semitic and sympathizing with terrorists.
A survey on election day among voters who said they were not backing Labour found 43% cited the party leadership as the prime reason, followed by its Brexit stance (17%) and its economic policies (12%).
#2
"Oh, it's you, good lad. Son of the Turkish nabob ? Yes, you were here earlier too. Sit, have some tea. So what was it you wanted ?"
[gazes at the wall for a bit, turns and smiles]
"Your highness..."
"T-hee hee... tee hee hee" [sorry, sobers up]
"I would like to present the current agenda at your convenience now, Madam."
[sniffs to find distinct smell of opium in the tea]
[IsraelTimes] Pyongyang doesn’t specify what was tested but says it will further boost its ’reliable strategic nuclear deterrent’.
North Korea ...hereditary Communist monarchy distinguished by its truculence and periodic acts of violence. Distinguishing features include Songun (Army First) policy, which involves feeding the army before anyone but the Dear Leadership, and Juche, which is Kim Jong Il's personal interpretation of Marxism-Leninism, which he told everybody was brilliant. In 1950 the industrialized North invaded agrarian South Korea. Twenty-one countries of the United Nations eventually contributed to the UN force opposing the invasion, with the United States providing around 90% of the military personnel. Seventy years later the economic results are in and it doesn't look good for Juche... said Saturday that it successfully performed another "crucial test" at its long-range rocket launch site that will further strengthen its nuclear deterrent.
The test possibly involved technologies to improve intercontinental ballistic missiles that could potentially reach the continental United States.
The announcement comes as North Korea continues to pressure the Trump administration for major concessions as it approaches an end-of-year deadline set by leader Kim Pudge Jong-un ...the overweight, pouty-looking hereditary potentate of North Korea. Pudge appears to believe in his own divinity, but has yet to produce any loaves and fishes, so his subjects remain malnourished... to salvage faltering nuclear negotiations.
North Korea’s Academy of Defense Science did not specify what was tested on Friday. Just days earlier, the North said it conducted a "very important test" at the site on the country’s northwestern coast, prompting speculation that it involved a new engine for either an ICBM or a space launch vehicle.
The announcement suggests that the country is preparing to do something to provoke the United States if Washington doesn’t back down and make concessions to ease sanctions and pressure on Pyongyang in deadlocked nuclear negotiations.
[Breitbart] More than 5.9 million individuals dropped off food stamps since President Donald Trump assumed office in February 2017, according to the latest data released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
The most up-to-date USDA data shows that 5,975,736 people discontinued using food stamps, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), between February 2017‐ when Trump completed his first full month in office‐ and September 2019.
Individual and household participation in SNAP had consistently declined overall since 2013, when the Obama administration was in power, and enrollment in the program reached its highest point in U.S. history.
At the Great Recession’s peak during former President Barack Obama’s first term in office, enrollment in SNAP grew by 135 percent and cost taxpayers $78 billion. Trump can't take all the credit, however -
Food stamp enrollment plummeted after state legislatures passed work requirement reform measures to curb dependency on welfare, requiring food stamp recipients to work, volunteer, attend school, or receive job training for 20 hours per week. Well, maybe Trump deserves more credit -
Enrollment has continued to decline under Trump, but the Trump administration has taken welfare reform measures a step further by taking work requirement legislation found in the states nationwide.
Posted by: Bobby ||
12/15/2019 06:09 ||
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#2
I remember a Donk was saying - Give a man a fish today he eats. Teach a man to fish and he eats forever. Today's Donks prefer the man be dependent upon them forever.
Give a man a fish and he eats today, teach a man to fish and he eats forever; let 'im sleep with the fishes and and you don't even have to bother with that.
[DAWN] The membership of 60 Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) members has been restored a day after it was suspended for not responding to a strike call by the Pakistain Bar Council and the Islamabad Bar Council (IBC), it emerged on Saturday.
According to a notification issued by the IHCBA, the membership was restored with immediate effect till the IBC decides the references against these lawyers.
As lawyers in the capital observed a nationwide strike on Friday, the ICHBA had also decided to boycott an oath-taking ceremony for new judges at the high court over the IHC chief justice's decision to suspend the practising licence of IHCBA Secretary Umair Baloch.
A letter written by the joint secretary of the IHCBA, Advocate Waqar Ahmed Gondal, to the IBC vice chairman Haroon Rashid stated: "Despite strike notice issued by the Pakistain Bar Council as well as Islamabad Bar Council, the following lawyers have disobeyed the directions issued by your good office, therefore, their membership of Islamabad High Court Bar Association is suspended forthwith.
"[...] And this reference is forwarded for necessary disciplinary action, as your good self has already announced [an] order of the suspension of their respective licenses to practice for one month," the letter added, in an apparent reference to a speech by Rashid in which he said that the licences of the lawyers who did not observe the strike would be suspended.
On Friday, lawyers across the country, on the call of legal bodies, boycotted courts to protest against the registration of cases against those lawyers who were arrested for their involvement in the rampage at Lahore's Punjab 1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots.... Institute of Cardiology (PIC) earlier this week.
The lawyers were responding to a strike call by the PBC. A notification issued by the PBC had said the protest was "against partial and biased conduct of the local police and the administration of Lahore against the lawyers as well as action taken by the Islamabad High Court against the secretary general, Islamabad High Court Bar Association".
Wired via Instapundit
For the last 20 years, the future of nuclear power has stood in a high bay laboratory tucked away on the Oregon State University campus in the western part of the state. Operated by NuScale Power, an Oregon-based energy startup, this prototype reactor represents a new chapter in the conflict-ridden, politically bedeviled saga of nuclear power plants.
NuScale’s reactor won’t need massive cooling towers or sprawling emergency zones. It can be built in a factory and shipped to any location, no matter how remote. Extensive simulations suggest it can handle almost any emergency without a meltdown. One reason is that it barely uses any nuclear fuel, at least compared with existing reactors. It’s also a fraction of the size of its predecessors.
This is good news for a planet in the grips of a climate crisis. Nuclear energy gets a bad rap in some environmentalist circles, but many energy experts and policymakers agree that splitting atoms is going to be an indispensable part of decarbonizing the world’s electricity. In the US, nuclear power accounts for about two-thirds of all clean electricity, but the existing reactors are rapidly approaching the end of their regulatory lifetimes. Only two new reactors are under construction in the US, but they’re billions of dollars over budget and years behind schedule.
Enter the small modular reactor, designed to allow several reactors to be combined into one unit. Need a modest amount of energy? Install just a few modules. Want to fuel a sprawling city? Tack on several more. Coming up with a suitable power plant for a wide range of situations becomes that much easier. Because they are small, these reactors can be mass-produced and shipped to any location in a handful of pieces. Perhaps most importantly, small modular reactors can take advantage of several cooling and safety mechanisms unavailable to their big brothers, which all but guarantees they won’t become the next Chernobyl. Now, all that remains is to find a name for them that yields the acronym GRETA.
#6
Engineering the economy of scale concept in reverse when it produces a solution to work around risk factors that are geometric in progression. Brilliant !
#7
More a slogan... "Generating revolutionary electricity through activism!"
Posted by: Large Munster1307 ||
12/15/2019 12:47 Comments ||
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#8
The Brits have some pretty small reactors (Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor or 'AGR'), and produce about 550-mW each.
These NuScale units (60-mW output each) make the AGR's look gargantuan, even if you needed the nine units to equal the same power output.
The idea is that you wouldn't. These can be placed firly close to a population center, thereby reducing the 'infrastructure' costs and vastly increasing power delivery losses.
And NuScale isn't the only one developing these smaller power systems.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
12/15/2019 13:47 Comments ||
Top||
#9
'DECREASING' power delivery losses.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
12/15/2019 13:48 Comments ||
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#10
"Nuclear energy gets a bad rap in some environmentalist circles"
Opponents of the Trump administration’s plan to break up the Washington, D.C., headquarters of the country’s public lands bureau are warning of a brain drain, saying many staffers who are being reassigned are opting to quit rather than move out West.
U.S. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt defended the move Friday. Opponents have projected that the number of Bureau of Land Management staffers agreeing to move from headquarters could be as low as 15%, which Bernhardt said was “not consistent with what I’ve seen.”
The deadline for most staffers to notify the land bureau, which is overseen by the Interior Department, whether they intended to move was Thursday. But the bureau had not yet compiled a count for how many staffers had so far agreed to relocate, spokesman Derrick Henry said.
Bernhardt has called for about 300 positions to be switched from Washington to other offices in 11 Western states, including Nevada, Arizona and Utah. About 25 will be going to the new headquarters in Grand Junction, Colorado.
Former bureau employee George Stone, director of the Public Lands Foundation, said the rationale that the move will give Western residents, county commissioners and elected officials better access to federal decision-makers doesn’t make sense because most of the agency’s 10,000 employees are already in field offices outside Washington.
#1
Move more divisions of government. Let them quit! They will have to get real jobs or move out of D.C.
Up until Trump, DC has been a company town with only one employer so if gov group A let you go gov group B would hire you. This is now BROKEN!
#4
I believe this is what Trump intended too happen. Another win
Posted by: chris ||
12/15/2019 12:03 Comments ||
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#5
...most of the agency’s 10,000 employees are already in field offices outside Washington.
It sounds like the proposed transfers are upper management types. While there is no doubt a great deal of institutional knowledge in their heads, clearing them out will allow for promotions from the ranks. If 85% of 300 senior managers quit, and guessing they are paid $200,000/year each on average, that would be a savings of $51 million per year in salaries — plus about the same again in benefits.
Not significant in terms of the total budget for government staffing, but senior staffers have been quitting without replacement since President Trump took the oath of office — remember the horror of all those desks in the State Department sitting empty, week after week?
#8
...its not like some federal 'employees' have never been subject to reduction in force. [Although I notice when it has happened, the top end of the pyramid seems not to suffer much if anything at all]
#10
While there is no doubt a great deal of institutional knowledge in their heads
True, although there's the question of whether it is substantive knowledge, or just about knowing who processes the Form 3000-003a vs. who knows how to fill out Form 5450-003.
#15
Lets hope they all stay in DC and don't retire outside the beltway.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
12/15/2019 18:50 Comments ||
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#16
?Move or Quit. I like it
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/15/2019 19:51 Comments ||
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#17
Not significant in terms of the total budget for government staffing but it might b nice to get them off of the future pension gravy train and maybe a building or two can be emptied out and sold/rented out.
Won't solve it but all movement in the right direction.
[The Hill] The Hallmark Channel pulled four TV ads that featured a lesbian couple getting married and kissing after a petition by a conservative group received thousands of signatures.
The ads, which first aired on the channel on Dec. 2, are for wedding planning website Zola. The four ads that were pulled were part of a larger six-ad series, The New York Times reported.
Earlier this week, One Million Moms, a branch of the American Family Association, posted a petition about the ads, saying, "The Hallmark Channel has always been known for its family friendly movies. Even its commercials are usually safe for family viewing. But unfortunately, that is not the case anymore."
The petition received nearly 26,000 signatures, and on Thursday, Zola was notified by Hallmark that four of its ads would be removed.
When an ad buyer representing Zola asked the channel for an explanation, Hallmark in an email replied, "We are not allowed to accept creatives that are deemed controversial."
#2
Is everyone's Market Research Department completely asleep? Why on earth do companies think this is a good idea? (See Gillette and their $8.1 BILLION writedown...)
Posted by: Tom ||
12/15/2019 18:44 Comments ||
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#3
Ad agencies and marketing depts are chock full of SJWs.
As a leftoid metal band once sang "The front line is everywhere".
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.
[Daily Caller] The Department of Justice is withholding documents about the Imran Awan cybersecurity scandal by saying there is an ongoing, secret case related to matter, according to court papers.
[NY Post] Hunter Biden faces a legal grilling by lawyers for the ex-stripper suing him for paternity ‐ with the money he was paid by a Ukrainian natural gas company a likely subject, court records show.
[Washington Examiner] Sen. Lindsey Graham welcomed the notion that President Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani could appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee to share his knowledge on Ukraine.
[TAMPABAY] By the time they arrived in Hernando County, the burglars had refined their methods.
[IsraelTimes] The deputy leader of UK’s Labour Party said Saturday he will step down once a new party chief is chosen, as an internal backlash against Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn intensified following the party’s dire showing in Thursday’s general election.
...hereditary Communist monarchy distinguished by its truculence and periodic acts of violence. Distinguishing features include Songun (Army First) policy, which involves feeding the army before anyone but the Dear Leadership, and Juche, which is Kim Jong Il's personal interpretation of Marxism-Leninism, which he told everybody was brilliant. In 1950 the industrialized North invaded agrarian South Korea. Twenty-one countries of the United Nations eventually contributed to the UN force opposing the invasion, with the United States providing around 90% of the military personnel. Seventy years later the economic results are in and it doesn't look good for Juche...
The most up-to-date USDA data shows that 5,975,736 people discontinued using food stamps, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), between February 2017‐ when Trump completed his first full month in office‐ and September 2019.
[The Hill] The Hallmark Channel pulled four TV ads that featured a lesbian couple getting married and kissing after a petition by a conservative group received thousands of signatures.
