thewebofslime

[thewebofslime]

Law enforcement officials said on Wednesday they had arrested hundreds of people worldwide after knocking out a South Korea-based dark web child pornography site that sold gruesome videos for digital cash. Officials from the United States, Britain and South Korea described the network as one of the largest child pornography operations they had encountered to date. Called Welcome To Video, the website relied on the bitcoin cryptocurrency to sell access to 250,000 videos depicting child sexual abuse, authorities said, including footage of extremely young children being raped. Its upload page specifically stated, “Do not upload adult porn.” “Darknet sites that profit from the sexual exploitation of children are among the most vile and reprehensible forms of criminal behavior,” U.S. Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski said. Officials have rescued at least 23 underage victims in the United States, Britain and Spain who were being actively abused by users of the site, the Justice Department said. Many children in the videos have not yet been identified. The site’s vast library – nearly half of it consisting of images never seen before by law enforcement – is an illustration of what authorities say is an explosion of sexual abuse content online. In a statement, Britain’s National Crime Agency said officials were seeing “increases in severity, scale and complexity.” Welcome To Video’s operator, a South Korean named Jong Woo Son, and 337 users in 12 different countries, have been charged so far, authorities said. Son, currently serving an 18-month sentence in South Korea, was also indicted on federal charges in Washington. Several other people charged in the case have already been convicted and are serving prison sentences of up to 15 years, according to the U.S. Justice Department. Welcome To Video is one of the first websites to monetize child pornography using bitcoin, which allows users to hide their identities during financial transactions. Users were able to redeem the digital currency in return for “points” that they could spend downloading videos or buying all-you-can watch “VIP” accounts. Points could also be earned by uploading fresh child pornography. ‘BOTTOM FEEDERS OF CRIMINAL WORLD’ “These are the bottom feeders of the criminal world,” said Don Fort, chief of criminal investigation at the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, which initiated the investigation. The Justice Department said the site collected at least $370,000 worth of bitcoin before it was taken down in March 2018 and that the currency was laundered through three unnamed digital currency exchanges. Darknet websites are designed to be all-but-impossible to locate online. How authorities managed to locate and bring down the site isn’t clear, with differing narratives by different law enforcement organizations on the matter. Fort said the investigation was triggered by a tip to the IRS from a confidential source. However, Britain’s National Crime Agency said they came across the site during an investigation into a British academic who in October 2017 pleaded guilty https://ift.tt/2OSpb8T to blackmailing more than 50 people, including teenagers, into sending him depraved images that he shared online. In a statement, British authorities said the National Crime Agency’s cybercrime unit deployed “specialist capabilities” to identify the server’s location. The NCA did not immediately return an email seeking clarification on the term, which is sometimes used as a euphemism for hacking. The U.S. Justice Department gave a different explanation, saying that Welcome To Video’s site was leaking its server’s South Korean internet protocol address to the open internet. Experts pointed to the bust as evidence that the trade in child abuse imagery could be tackled without subverting the encryption that keeps the rest of the internet safe. Officials in the United States and elsewhere have recently begun prodding major technology firms https://ift.tt/32lTOrb to come up with solutions that could allow law enforcement to bypass the encryption that protects messaging apps like WhatsApp or iMessage, citing the fight against child pornography as a major reason. Welcome To Video’s demise “is a clear indication that in cases like this, where there’s very low-hanging fruit, breaking encryption is not required,” said Christopher Parsons, a senior research associate at Citizen Lab, based at the University of Toronto’s Munk School. He said the bust showed that law enforcement could also track criminal activity that employs cryptocurrency transactions. “There’s a lot of a people who have this perception that bitcoin is totally anonymous,” Parsons said, “and it’s been the downfall of many people in many investigations.”

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Thousands of Dutch farmers drove tractors along highways causing major traffic jams on Wednesday, as part of their protest campaign against what they say are attempts to blame them for nitrogen pollution. The convoys of tractors set out in the early morning for the city of Utrecht, and the farmers aimed to later take their protest to The Hague, where separate demonstrations were planned. It is the third time that the farmers have mounted a day of protest, in a campaign launched after a court ruling in May found the Netherlands in violation of European emission rules. More than 375km (233 miles) of roadways were jammed, especially around Utrecht, according to road and drivers' organisation ANWB. A government environmental institute, that farmers say is responsible for publishing misinformation about nitrogen emissions, is located in Utrecht. "Last year you didn't hear anything about nitrogen, and now suddenly it's a mortal question," farmer Micha Bouwer of the Farmers Defence Force told state broadcaster NOS. "These are all people in the city who have two plants on their balcony and say 'nature is suffering'." Livestock farming is a major cause of nitrogen pollution, along with construction and transportation. Farmers argue they have made major efforts to reduce their emissions and say their role in providing food for the nation is under-appreciated. Although no concrete steps against the farmers have been announced, one political party has suggested the Netherlands reduce the number of live animals it produces, leading to an outcry from farming groups.

[thewebofslime]

Approximately 30 percent of the money doled out by the campaign of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) in the third quarter went to digital fundraising, communications, and advertising services provided by the E Street Group, a firm run by her alleged boyfriend. Omar's campaign committee, which raised a total of $1,084,098.84 in the third quarter, spent $493,389.80 during this time. The E Street Group, a firm run by political consultant Tim Mynett, Omar's alleged lover, received more money from the campaign than any other vendor. The Omar campaign paid the E Street Group $149,812.64 between July 1 and Sept. 30, its filings show. That accounts for around 30 percent of Omar's total campaign disbursements over the same period. Her campaign has over $1.5 million cash on hand. The payments represent a significant increase from previous spending on the group's services. In the first two quarters—the first six months of the year—the campaign paid approximately $160,000 to the E Street Group. The $150,000 in new payments, made over the past three months, nearly matches that number. Mynett's wife, Dr. Beth Mynett, said that her husband told her in April that he was having an affair with Omar, the New York Post reported in August. According to divorce papers filed by Beth Mynett, "The parties physically separated on or about April 7, 2019, when defendant told plaintiff that he was romantically involved with and in love with another woman, Ilhan Omar." "By way of example, days prior to defendant's devastating and shocking declaration of love for Rep. Omar and admission of their affair, he and Rep. Omar took the parties' son to dinner to formally meet for the first time at the family's favorite neighborhood restaurant while plaintiff was out of town," the papers said. "Rep. Omar gave the parties' son a gift and the defendant later brought her back inside the family's home." Mynett has denied allegations of an affair, while Omar, who is in the process of divorcing her husband, has dodged questions about the situation. Omar's campaign did not respond to a request for comment on the payments by press time.

[thewebofslime]

House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff was looking for ammunition against President Donald Trump. But he might just have shot himself in the foot. According to Fox News, the California Democrat is the subject of two complaints filed with the Office of Congressional Ethics related to a 2017 phone conversation Schiff had with a Russian comedian posing as a Ukrainian lawmaker. One complaint, filed last week by the conservative nonprofit group Tea Party Patriots Action, states Schiff “used and abused his position” to “seek damaging and negative information about President Trump,” according to the report. Another was filed Aug. 28 by Republican Jon Hollis, who is seeking to challenge Schiff for the Los Angeles-area congressional seat he has held since 2001. It accuses Schiff of “illegal collusion with foreign entities,” Fox News reported Wednesday. Read More x Both complaints stem from a 2017 phone call Schiff had with a Russian comedian posing as a Ukrainian lawmaker. During the call, Schiff appeared to be very interested in getting incriminating material on Trump, including a nude photo with a Russian television reality star. However, the person on the other end of the line, who said he was Ukrainian lawmaker Andriy Parubiy, was actually Vladimir “Vovan” Kuznetzov, a Russian entertainer. The fact that the phone call was fake doesn’t make Schiff’s interest in using a foreign government to obtain damaging information about the president any less real, Hollis charged in his ethics complaint. Do you think Schiff's efforts to impeach President Trump will succeed? Yes No Completing this poll entitles you to The Western Journal news updates free of charge. You may opt out at anytime. You also agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. “This letter serves as an official complaint to the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) regarding Rep. Adam Schiff’s illegal collusion with foreign entities and misuse of taxpayer resources for opposition research on political enemies,” Hollis wrote, according to Fox. “The evidence supporting Adam’s Schiff’s violations of the law is compelling and irrefutable.” At the time of the call, Schiff was the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee. Now, he’s the committee’s chairman and playing the lead role in closed-door hearings aimed at gathering information for an impeachment case against Trump using a complaint from a “whistleblower” over a Trump phone call in July with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky. During the 2017 conversation, Schiff referred several times to contacting the FBI with whatever information the caller could provide, but Hollis’ complaint called that a smokescreen. “It is clear from the recorded phone call that Rep. Schiff knows he should not be trying to obtain opposition research on a political opponent from foreign nationals,” Hollis wrote, according to Fox. “He attempts to mask his wrongdoing by, on numerous occasions, mentioning that he will work with the FBI. RELATED: Congressman Jim Jordan Rips Adam Schiff's Closed-Door Impeachment - 'They’re Making the Rules Up as They Go' “In so doing, Rep. Schiff is attempting to involve the FBI in his corrupt attempt to obtain dirt on President Trump. The FBI should not be in the business of teaming up with politicians to use the power of government to dig up dirt on political opponents.” According to Fox, Schiff’s office did not respond to a request for comment about its report. However, Schiff’s office told The Atlantic for a January 2018 report that the Intelligence Committee had “informed appropriate law-enforcement and security personnel of the conversation, and (the) belief it was probably bogus.” But Hollis told Fox News that the 2017 phone call shows how committed Schiff is to picking up anything that can be used to damage the Trump presidency. “Watching Schiff push a false narrative over and over again with Russia and now with the whistleblower complaint tells us the only thing he cares about it fake investigations,” he said in the Wednesday report. “Meanwhile, we have 60,000 homeless people in Los Angeles County, and his district is falling apart,” Hollis said. According to Fox, Hollis is one of five Republicans aiming to unseat Schiff in California’s 28th Congressional District. He told Fox that Schiff’s main priority of attacking the president isn’t helping the people he’s supposed to be representing. “Mr. Schiff is out there with his dog and pony show,” Hollis said. “But if our district isn’t helped, we won’t get back from the brink.” Schiff, who was also the target of a separate ethics complaint filed in March by the conservative group Judicial Watch, is obviously dedicated to bringing down the Trump administration by whatever means necessary — even if it involves taking dodgy phone calls from foreign “lawmakers” making literally incredible claims about compromising information on the president. The irony here is that while he was trying to dredge up slime to smear Trump, Schiff ended up providing his political opponents with ammunition to use against him instead.

[thewebofslime]

Newark resident Pamela Hamill wants a public apology from vice presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.), who she says has repeatedly besmirched her late father, Curtis C. Dunn. Dunn was the tractor-trailer driver involved in the December 1972 accident that took the life of the newly-elected U.S. Senator’s first wife, Neilia, and 13-month-old daughter, Naomi. Dunn died in 1999, but his daughter says she’s fed up with Biden publicly mischaracterizing him as having been drunk when the accident occurred. According to Delaware Superior Court Judge Jerome O. Herlihy, who oversaw the police investigation 36 years ago as chief prosecutor, there is no evidence supporting Biden’s claim. “The rumor about alcohol being involved by either party, especially the truck driver (Dunn), is incorrect,” Herlihy said recently. Police determined that Biden’s first wife drove into the path of Dunn’s tractor-trailer, possibly because her head was turned and she didn’t see the oncoming truck. Dunn, who overturned his rig while swerving to avoid a collision, ran to the wrecked car and was the first to render assistance. Police filed no charges against Dunn, who at that time lived in North East, Md. with his wife, Ruby, and their seven children. Biden has been alluding to alcohol being involved in the crash for nearly a decade. During a speech in 2001, Biden told an audience at University of Delaware that a drunken driver crashed into his family. He told a similar story during a public appearance in 2007. More recently, the vice presidential candidate’s misrepresentation of Dunn has found its way into major newspapers, including the New York Times. It also has been repeated on radio and on television by major news journalists, including CBS anchorwoman Katie Couric. Yet Hamill said she had no idea Biden had been misrepresenting Dunn until late August. That’s when “Inside Edition” producers requested an interview with Hamill after the television show’s reporters had gathered evidence contradicting Biden’s story. Hamill says she defended Biden at first, believing that, perhaps, his words had been misconstrued. But her disbelief turned to anguish when shown a video of Biden making his unfounded assertion during a public appearance. Biden told the crowd, “A tractor-trailer, a guy who allegedly — and I never pursued it — drank his lunch instead of eating his lunch, broadsided my family and killed my wife instantly and killed my daughter instantly and hospitalized my two sons …” “I just burst into tears,” Hamill said. “The story already is tragic enough, why did he have to sensationalize it by saying my father was drunk? My family is outraged.” Hamill appeared on “Inside Edition” on Sept. 18 to set the record straight and now, acting as family spokesperson, she is campaigning for Biden to recant his story and restore her father’s honor. On Oct. 1, after several attempts to make contact, Hamill sent a registered letter to Biden’s camp, asking him to tell the truth. She also asked CBS officials to instruct Katie Couric to broadcast the real circumstances surrounding the fatal accident. As of Sunday, Hamill hadn’t heard from Biden’s camp. In an Oct. 21 e-mail, a CBS spokesman acknowledged discrepancies in Biden’s story and explained that he’s awaiting word from the “news people.” Hamill said learning about Biden’s false portrayal of her late father has chilled warm feelings that she once held for the senator. In 2001, she wrote a heartfelt letter to Biden expressing her father’s profound grief after hearing Biden make a post Sept. 11 speech in which he told the audience that, given his history, he could empathize with victims. “Growing up, my dad never talked about it. He always got very solemn around Christmastime because the anniversary was Dec. 18, and he never wanted to celebrate the holidays,” Hamill said. “When newspapers had anniversary articles (about the crash), we hid them from dad.” Biden responded in a handwritten note, which, in part, reads, “All that I can say is I am sorry for all of us and please know that neither I or my sons feel any animosity whatsoever.” Hamill says that because she fondly recalled those tender correspondences, the revelation of Biden’s distorted story is even more overwhelming. “We always felt like our heartstrings were attached to (Biden’s) heartstrings. Now we feel stabbed in the back,” she said. Hamill wants to clear her late father’s name before Biden’s story is even more widely accepted as fact. “Suppose he becomes the next vice president,” she said. “Movies could be made about him and books could be written about him, all falsely portraying my father as a drunk driver. We need to set the record straight and clear my father’s name right now before this goes any further.”

[thewebofslime]

Jong Woo Son, 23, a South Korean national, was indicted by a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia for his operation of Welcome To Video, the largest child sexual exploitation market by volume of content. The nine-count indictment was unsealed today along with a parallel civil forfeiture action. Son has also been charged and convicted in South Korea and is currently in custody serving his sentence in South Korea. An additional 337 site users residing in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington State and Washington, D.C. as well as the United Kingdom, South Korea, Germany, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the Czech Republic, Canada, Ireland, Spain, Brazil and Australia have been arrested and charged. Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu for the District of Columbia, Chief Don Fort of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) and Acting Executive Associate Director Alysa Erichs of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), made the announcement. “Darknet sites that profit from the sexual exploitation of children are among the most vile and reprehensible forms of criminal behavior,” said Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “This Administration will not allow child predators to use lawless online spaces as a shield. Today’s announcement demonstrates that the Department of Justice remains firmly committed to working closely with our partners in South Korea and around the world to rescue child victims and bring to justice the perpetrators of these abhorrent crimes.” “Children around the world are safer because of the actions taken by U.S. and foreign law enforcement to prosecute this case and recover funds for victims,” said U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu. “We will continue to pursue such criminals on and off the darknet in the United States and abroad, to ensure they receive the punishment their terrible crimes deserve.” “Through the sophisticated tracing of bitcoin transactions, IRS-CI special agents were able to determine the location of the Darknet server, identify the administrator of the website and ultimately track down the website server’s physical location in South Korea,” said IRS-CI Chief Don Fort. “This largescale criminal enterprise that endangered the safety of children around the world is no more. Regardless of the illicit scheme, and whether the proceeds are virtual or tangible, we will continue to work with our federal and international partners to track down these disgusting organizations and bring them to justice.” “Children are our most vulnerable population, and crimes such as these are unthinkable,” said HSI Acting Executive Associate Director Alysa Erichs. “Sadly, advances in technology have enabled child predators to hide behind the dark web and cryptocurrency to further their criminal activity. However, today’s indictment sends a strong message to criminals that no matter how sophisticated the technology or how widespread the network, child exploitation will not be tolerated in the United States. Our entire justice system will stop at nothing to prevent these heinous crimes, safeguard our children, and bring justice to all.” According to the indictment, on March 5, 2018, agents from the IRS-CI, HSI, National Crime Agency in the United Kingdom, and Korean National Police in South Korea arrested Son and seized the server that he used to operate a Darknet market that exclusively advertised child sexual exploitation videos available for download by members of the site. The operation resulted in the seizure of approximately eight terabytes of child sexual exploitation videos, which is one of the largest seizures of its kind. The images, which are currently being analyzed by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), contained over 250,000 unique videos, and 45 percent of the videos currently analyzed contain new images that have not been previously known to exist. Welcome To Video offered these videos for sale using the cryptocurrency bitcoin. Typically, sites of this kind give users a forum to trade in these depictions. This Darknet website is among the first of its kind to monetize child exploitation videos using bitcoin. In fact, the site itself boasted over one million downloads of child exploitation videos by users. Each user received a unique bitcoin address when the user created an account on the website. An analysis of the server revealed that the website had more than one million bitcoin addresses, signifying that the website had capacity for at least one million users. The agencies have shared data from the seized server with law enforcement around the world to assist in identifying and prosecuting customers of the site. This has resulted in leads sent to 38 countries and yielded arrests of 337 subjects around the world. The operation has resulted in searches of residences and businesses of approximately 92 individuals in the United States. Notably, the operation is responsible for the rescue of at least 23 minor victims residing in the United States, Spain and the United Kingdom, who were being actively abused by the users of the site. In the Washington, D.C.-metropolitan area, the operation has led to the execution of five search warrants and eight arrests of individuals who both conspired with the administrator of the site and were themselves, users of the website. Two users of the Darknet market committed suicide subsequent to the execution of search warrants. Amongst the sites users charged are: Charles Wunderlich, 34, of Hot Springs, California, was charged in the District of Columbia with conspiracy to distribute child pornography; Brian James LaPrath, 34, of San Diego, California, was arrested in the District of Columbia, for international money laundering; and was sentenced to serve 18 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release; Ernest Wagner, 70, of Federal Way, Washington, was arrested and charged in the District of Columbia with conspiracy to distribute child pornography; Vincent Galarzo, 28, of Glendale, New York, was arrested and charged in the District of Columbia with conspiracy to distribute child pornography; Michael Ezeagbor, 22, of Pflugerville, Texas, was arrested and charged in the District of Columbia with conspiracy to distribute child pornography; Nicholas Stengel, 45, of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty to receipt of child pornography and money laundering and was sentenced to serve 15 years in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release; Eryk Mark Chamberlin, 25, of Worcester, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography and is pending sentencing; Jairo Flores, 30, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty in the District of Massachusetts to receipt and possession of child pornography and was sentenced to serve five years in prison followed by five years of supervised release; Billy Penaloza, 29, of Dorchester, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty in the District of Massachusetts to possession and receipt of child pornography. His sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 22, 2019; Michael Armstrong, 35, of Randolph, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty in the District of Massachusetts, to receipt and possession of child pornography. He was sentenced to serve five years in prison followed by five years of supervised release. Restitution will be determined at a future date; Al Ramadhanu Soedomo, 28, of Lynn, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography and was sentenced in the District of Massachusetts (Boston), to serve 12 months and one day followed by five years of supervised release; Phillip Sungmin Hong, 24, of Sharon, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty in the District of Massachusetts (Boston), to receipt and possession of child pornography and is pending sentencing; Eliseo Arteaga Jr., 28, of Mesquite, Texas, pleaded guilty in the Northern District of Texas to possession of prepubescent child pornography. He is pending sentencing; Richard Nikolai Gratkowski, 40, of San Antonio, Texas, a former HSI special agent, was arrested in the Western District of Texas. Gratkowski pleaded guilty to the indictment charging one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of access with intent to view child pornography. Gratkowski was sentenced to serve 70 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $35,000 in restitution to seven victims and a $10,000 assessment; Paul Casey Whipple, 35, of Hondo, Texas, a U.S. Border Patrol Agent, was arrested in the Western District of Texas, on charges of sexual exploitation of children/minors, production, distribution, and possession of child pornography. Whipple remains in custody awaiting trial in San Antonio; Michael Lawson, 36, of Midland, Georgia, was arrested in the Middle District of Georgia on charges of attempted sexual exploitation of children and possession of child pornography. He was sentenced to serve 121 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release following his plea to a superseding information charging him with one count of receipt of child pornography; Kevin Christopher Eagan, 39, of Brookhaven, Georgia, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography in the Northern District of Georgia; Casey Santioius Head, 37, of Griffin, Georgia, was indicted in the Northern District of Georgia for distribution, receipt, and possession of child pornography; Andrew C. Chu, 28, of Garwood, New Jersey, was arrested and charged with receipt of child pornography. Those charges remain pending; Nader Hamdi Ahmed, 29 of Jersey City, New Jersey, was arrested in the District of New Jersey, for sexual exploitation or other abuse of children. Ahmed pleaded guilty to an information charging him with one count of distribution of child pornography. He is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 1, 2019; Jeffrey Lee Harris, 32, of Pickens, South Carolina, pleaded guilty in the District of South Carolina for producing, distributing, and possessing child pornography; Laine Ormand Clark Jr., 27, of Conway, South Carolina, was arrested and charged in U.S. District Court in South Carolina Division for sexual possession of child pornography; Jack R. Dove III, 38, of Lakeland, Florida, was arrested in the Middle District of Florida for knowingly receiving and possessing visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct; Michael Matthew White, 39, of Miami Beach, Florida, was arrested in the Southern District of Florida for coercion and enticement; Nikolas Bennion Bradshaw, 24, of Bountiful, Utah, was arrested in the State of Utah, and charged with five counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, and was sentenced to time served with 91 days in jail followed by probation; Michael Don Gibbs, 37, of Holladay, Utah, was charged in the District of Utah with receipt of child pornography and possession of child pornography; Ammar Atef H. Alahdali, 22, of Arlington, Virginia, pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of Virginia to receipt of child pornography and was sentenced to serve five years in prison and ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution; Mark Lindsay Rohrer, 38, of West Hartford, Connecticut, pleaded guilty in the District of Connecticut to receipt of child pornography and was sentenced to serve 60 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release; Eugene Edward Jung, 47, of San Francisco, California, was indicted in the Northern District of California on possession of child pornography and receipt of child pornography; James Daosaeng, 25, of Springdale, Arkansas, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography and was sentenced in the Western District of Arkansas (Fayetteville) to serve 97 months in prison followed by 20 years of supervised release; Alex Daniel Paxton, 30, of Columbus, Ohio, was arrested and indicted in Franklin County Ohio Court of Common Pleas for pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor; Don Edward Pannell, 32, of Harvey, Louisiana, pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of Louisiana for receipt of child pornography. He is pending sentencing; Ryan Thomas Carver, 29, of Huntsville, Alabama, was arrested and charged under Alabama State Law. He was charged federally in the Northern District of Alabama with possession of child pornography. His case is pending in Huntsville, Alabama; Andrew Buckley, 28, of the United Kingdom, pleaded guilty to 10 offences in the UK of possession and distribution of indecent images of children, possession of extreme and prohibited images and possession of a class A drug. He was sentenced to serve 40 months in prison for the distribution of indecent images and possession of class A drugs. Buckley is also subject to an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order; Kyle Fox, 26, of the United Kingdom, pleaded guilty to 22 counts including rape, sexual assault, and sharing indecent images, and was sentenced to serve 22 years in prison; and Mohammed Almaker, 26, of Fort Collins, Colorado, was arrested in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), charged with KSA Law involving the endangerment of children. He is awaiting judicial proceedings in furtherance of criminal charges. A forfeiture complaint was also unsealed today. The complaint alleges that law enforcement was able to trace payments of bitcoin to the Darknet site by following the flow of funds on the blockchain. The virtual currency accounts identified in the complaint were allegedly used by 24 individuals in five countries to fund the website and promote the exploitation of children. The forfeiture complaint seeks to recover these funds and, ultimately through the restoration process, return the illicit funds to victims of the crime. The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The international investigations were led by the IRS-CI, HSI and the NCA. The Korean National Police of the Republic of Korea, the National Crime Agency of the United Kingdom and the German Federal Criminal Police (the Bundeskriminalamt), provided assistance and coordinated with their parallel investigations. The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs of the Criminal Division provided significant assistance. The cases are being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zia M. Faruqui, Lindsay Suttenberg, and Youli Lee, Paralegal Specialists Brian Rickers and Diane Brashears, Legal Assistant Jessica McCormick, and Records Examiner Chad Byron of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorney C. Alden Pelker of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section. Additional assistance has been provided by Deputy Chief Keith Becker and Trial Attorney James E. Burke IV of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, and former U.S. Attorney’s Office Paralegal Specialists Toni Anne Donato and Ty Eaton.

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Inside an otherwise innocuous court filing (full pdf below), General Mike Flynn’s attorney, Sidney Powell, files a motion to compel (MTC) in an effort to gain discovery of the content from two cell phones belonging to Joseph Mifsud. [Hat Tip Techno Fog] Apparently, according to the information within the filing, the DOJ has somehow gained custody of two cell phones belonging to Mr. Mifsud: (Source Link) The filing notes that “western intelligence” likely tasked Mr. Mifsud against General Flynn as early as 2014 in order to set up “connections with certain Russians” for later use against him. Essentially, an intelligence entrapment scheme. Unfortunately the filing only identifies the cell phones along with the request for production of the content therein. However, the fact the DOJ has two cell phones belonging to Joseph Mifsud opens up a whole bunch of questions: #1) How did the US Dept of Justice gain custody of Mr. Mifsud’s cell phones? #2) Were these Blackberry cell phones issued by U.S. intelligence? (unknown agency) #3) Why has the U.S. DOJ taken custody of those cell phones? #4) If #2 is yes, wouldn’t that automatically destroy the “Mifsud as a Russian intelligence asset” narrative? #5) [Less important] How the heck did Sidney Powell find out about them? Something is certainly happening here. The cell phone models are from 2011 and 2014. With U.S. Attorney John Durham and U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr traveling to Italy to listen to the taped deposition of Joseph Mifsud last month….. and now the discovery that the DOJ has his cell phones from a period of keen interest in the Russia collusion-conspiracy framework…. It would appear Mr. Mifsud might just be the Maltese Fulcrum. In response to the defense Motion to Compel, the U.S. Dept of Justice told Ms. Powell: “if they determine the information is discoverable or relevant to sentencing” they will produce them.

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Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom would be ready to cooperate with partners from the United States, Europe and Asia to build a nuclear power plant in Saudi Arabia, Rosatom’s CEO Alexey Likhachev said on Monday.

[thewebofslime]

Under terms of the MoU, the parties will sign an offtake deal for all of Atacama's production and explore further synergies between the companies. "Partnering with U1G will help Wealth accelerate the development of lithium projects by using modern technology and moving away from outdated solar evaporation to a more efficient and environmentally friendly sorption technology," said Wealth CEO Tim McCutcheon. The Atacama lithium project is one of the world's largest and highest grade, spanning a 46,200-hectare licence area. The transaction also provides for increased co-operation between the parties to develop lithium projects, with the added benefit of using U1G's ecologically friendly sorption lithium extraction technology. U1G's extraction technology holds several advantages over traditional evaporation ponds in that it greatly reduces the physical footprint of an operation while enhancing the quality of lithium extraction and recovery levels, leaving the operator able to pump the waste brine solution back into the salar (salt flat) to help ensure long-term operational and environmental sustainability. Wealth shares (TSXV:WML) have fallen about 45% in the past 12 months and currently trade at C36c, which capitalises the company at $50 million.

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Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson revealed in a new book titled, “Crime in Progress” which is set to be released next month that he was first hired to investigate Donald Trump “in the fall of 2015.” Simpson also claims that memos from the Christopher Steele dossier paid for by Hillary Clinton and her camp made its way directly “to President Obama.” Hillary Clinton and the DNC during the 2016 presidential election hid their payments to oppos research firm Fusion GPS and Steele through their law firm Perkins Coie. Perkins Coie paid Fusion GPS who then paid former British spy Christopher Steele to compile a Russia dossier to smear Donald Trump. To this day, the dossier still has not been verified yet the FBI used it to obtain four FISA warrants on Trump campaign advisor Carter Page. Of course Obama read the memos that made up the phony Russia dossier. The coup plotters, including Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Susan Rice, James Comey, John Brennan and James Clapper all met in the Oval Office in January of 2017 and discussed the dossier. Then-FBI Director James Comey briefed Trump on the salacious claims in the dossier in January of 2017 shortly before Inauguration Day. It is now known that Comey was already spying on Donald Trump and used his January 2017 meeting at Trump Tower to surveil Trump. Glenn Simpson worked with the Democrats to frame Trump as a Russian agent and mysteriously met with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya before and after her meeting with Don Jr. at Trump Tower in June of 2016.

[thewebofslime]

“More than $1bn seized from Mr. Abacha’s bank accounts has been returned. But many African states have not helped their cause, often because thieving politicians are still in charge. When Switzerland returned $500m of Mr Abacha’s money, most of it disappeared again” –The Economist, October 10, 2019 When in 2016 a former UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, in a conversation with the Queen of England described Nigeria and Afghanistan as “fantastically corrupt”, many Nigerians excoriated the former British leader. However, growing evidence has confirmed this. The latest of such is the report in The Economist magazine of October 10, 2019 which revealed that about $582bn has been stolen from Nigeria since independence in 1960. This was according to Chatham House, a British think tank, which was quoted in an article published by the magazine titled, ‘Catch me if you can, African kleptocrats are finding it tougher to stash cash in the West’. At least N11tn is said to have been diverted in the power sector alone since 1999, while N1.3tn public funds were reportedly laundered between 2011 and 2015. In the article, the magazine said so much has been plundered from the continent that “tracking it all is tricky”. It quoted Britain’s International Corruption unit as saying it has confiscated £76m ($117m) loot from Nigeria since 2006. “Another £791m has been frozen worldwide, thanks to its work,” it said, adding that “it barely makes a dent in the £100bn of illicit funds which Steve Goodrich at the Transparency International, a watchdog, reckons enters Britain every year”. The Economist said African leaders’ best way of hiding and moving stolen funds is to set up “a raft of anonymous shell companies and bank accounts”. It spoke of how Sani Abacha, a former military head of state, stole Nigeria blind and “deposited billions of dollars in banks across the rich world, no questions asked”. The article, however, said gone are the days when stealing public funds was easy as it is “becoming a bit harder to get away with” now. “Anti-corruption campaigners and muckraking journalists have busied themselves trying to uncover stolen assets,” it said. “Western governments, tired of seeing aid money stolen, have toughened up money-laundering and bribery laws.” The news report set me thinking. Imagine what that humongous amount stolen from the country and stashed away aboard could have done to address our developmental challenges. Just reflect on the number of schools, hospitals, roads, rail lines, stadia, low cost houses for the poor and other infrastructure that such a princely sum stolen from the public till could have provided. If this huge sum was not pilfered, would we be borrowing trillions of naira to implement our national budgets? It is a collective shame of our past and present leaders at all levels that this giant has been crippled by their action and inaction. Are we cursed? Last week, I was interviewed on Arise TV News on the discovery of hydrocarbon deposits (crude oil) in the Kolmani River II Well on the Upper Benue Trough, Gongola Basin, in the North-East. Though it was an exciting news, I was however unenthusiastic as the ones discovered and being explored in the Niger Delta since 1956 have not brought us, especially the region, the desired development. Rather, it has led to sorrow, tears and blood via environmental degradation and grand corruption. Last August, the Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, quoting the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, said in the first six months of 2019, the nation had lost about 22 million barrels of its crude oil production to oil theft. What assurances are there that additional ones being discovered in the North-East will not suffer a similar fate? I am rankled by the buck-passing of successive administrations on the issue of corruption. Rather than tackling the menace headlong, our leaders are busy trading blame about the person whose administration is most corrupt. Yet, they are all culpable. In fairness to President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, they have sustained the anti-corruption initiative of his predecessors. For instance, the Treasury Single Account, Bank Verification Number, Integrated Payroll Personnel and Information System as well as the Government Integrated Management Information System which were initiatives of his successors have been sustained. Buhari has further introduced the whistle-blower policy and traced the proceeds of crimes and accelerated the recovery of stolen funds. In June 2018, the President assented to the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act, to provide a domestic legal framework for obtaining international assistance in criminal matters. This measure has strengthened the law enforcement agencies in obtaining evidence, investigating suspects and facilitating the recovery, forfeiture and confiscation of property implicated as proceeds of crime. Under Buhari’s government, the anti-corruption agencies such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission, the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal, the Nigeria Police, the Bureau of Public Procurement, Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation and Fiscal Responsibility Commission have been better resourced than previous administrations. However, in spite of all these, grand corruption still exists in the country. This is because despite signing on to the Open Government Partnership and having a Freedom of Information Act since 2011, much of the activities of government at all levels are still shrouded in secrecy. This has largely aided corrupt practices. There is no greater evidence of sustained corruption in Nigeria than the Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index which in 2018 ranked Nigeria as the 144th least corrupt nation out of 180 countries with a score of 27 over 100. This is still an unenviable position in the comity of nations. Truth be told, Nigeria cannot develop given the quantum of stolen wealth being witnessed in the country annually. Much of this is carried out by the political elite in cahoots with rogue bankers, lawyers and bureaucrats. It is therefore imperative to scale up the anti-corruption war in the country through sustained advocacy for open government, prudent management of our commonwealth, stricter controls over financial management, better legal regimes and funding of the law enforcement agencies especially those involved in the anti-corruption crusade. In addition, there should be better sensitisation of the general public to the evils of corruption by the media and religious leaders. The drivers of corruption such as unemployment, poverty and impunity must be tackled through creation of employment opportunities, poverty reduction measures and law enforcement. Follow me on Twitter @jideojong Copyright PUNCH. All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.

[thewebofslime]

The owners and two employees of the popular adult websites GirlsDoPorn and GirlsDoToys were charged in federal court today with sex trafficking crimes in connection with a scheme to deceive and coerce young women to appear in sex videos. According to a complaint, owners Michael James Pratt and Matthew Isaac Wolfe along with adult film performer and producer Ruben Andre Garcia and administrative assistant Valorie Moser used deception and false promises to lure the victims, who had responded to ads for modeling jobs that would supposedly pay $5,000. Eventually the women were told the job was really for adult films. To persuade the women to participate, the defendants convinced them they could remain anonymous and that their videos would not be posted on the internet. In reality, the entire purpose was to post the videos on the internet. According to financial records, the websites have generated more than $17 million in revenue. According to the complaint, the circumstances were not at all what was promised. Some of the women were pressured into signing documents without reviewing them and then threatened with legal action or outing if they failed to perform; some were not permitted to leave the shooting locations until the videos were made; family and friends and the general public eventually saw the videos online; some victims were harassed and ridiculed and estranged from their families as a result; and some were sexually assaulted and in at least one case raped. Some were forced to perform certain sex acts they had declined to do, or they would not be paid or allowed to leave. Garcia was arrested on October 9; Wolfe was taken into custody Tuesday by immigration officials and transferred to federal criminal custody. They were arraigned this afternoon. Moser’s arraignment is scheduled for tomorrow before U.S. Magistrate Judge Linda Lopez. Pratt is a fugitive. On October 9 at approximately 7:00 p.m., FBI agents executed a search warrant at an office located in the Spreckels Theatre Building located at 121 W. Broadway in San Diego. According to the search warrant, the office was used by members of the conspiracy to operate the GirlsDoPorn website. Any additional victims of the alleged crime are encouraged to call the San Diego FBI at 858-320-1800. DEFENDANTS Case Number 19cr19mj4453 Michael James Pratt Age: 36 Unknown Matthew Isaac Wolfe Age 37 San Diego, Ruben Andre Garcia Age: 31 San Diego, Valorie Moser Age: 37 San Diego, SUMMARY OF CHARGES Counts 1-3 (charging Pratt, Wolfe and Garcia) Sex Trafficking by Force, Fraud and Coercion, 18 U.S.C. § 1591(a) and (b)(1) Minimum penalty: Fifteen years in prison; Maximum penalty: life in custody, $250,000 fine. Count 4 (charging all defendants) Conspiracy to Commit Sex Trafficking by Force, Fraud and Coercion, 18 U.S.C. § 1594 Maximum Penalty: Life in prison, $250,000 fine. INVESTIGATING AGENCY FBI *The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

[thewebofslime]

Forbes faced ridicule and condemnation after the media outlet encouraged women to travel alone to Pakistan, including to areas where the Taliban is active. “Pakistan. It’s not exactly on every solo female traveler’s bucket list. But that doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t be,” states the article, which serves as promotional material for Vlogger Eva zu Beck, who made a video asserting that Pakistan “could be the world’s #1 tourism destination.” The article even notes how Beck headed straight into “Taliban Territory” during the trip, which is obviously a fantastic idea for any female traveling alone. Respondents to the article on Twitter were not so enthusiastic about Pakistan being on a solo female traveler’s “bucket list.” “This would only be a good idea if it were the last item on her bucket list,” commented Yasmine Mohammed. “Is the bucket for her head to be carried around in,” quipped Michael Malice. “You can get the same expansive dirt-filled vistas in northern Nevada, and as a plus you’re more likely to return home with your head still where it belongs,” remarked another respondent. As we have previously documented, there are innumerable examples of women traveling alone or as a couple to highly dangerous locations and ending up raped and murdered. Many of these victims made the decision to travel to such countries because of their naive belief that the world is a progressive utopia and the notion that all cultures are equal.

[thewebofslime]

How much do you trust a Ukrainian lawmaker with unverified documents who unveiled them to the world at a news conference hosted by a Russian-owned news agency? If you’re Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, you trust them quite a bit. If you’re a partisan of former 2020 Democratic front-runner Joe Biden, you likely trust them not at all. If one side is completely right here, it could have a major effect on the 2020 presidential race. On Wednesday, Andriy Derkach, a member of Ukraine’s Parliament, held a news conference hosted by wire service Interfax-Ukraine. In it, he accused former Vice President Joe Biden of accepting almost $1 million for consulting services from Ukraine energy giant Burisma while he was in office. (Burisma, for those making their domiciles under rocks, is the company that paid Biden’s son Hunter $50,000 a month to serve on its board.) Read More x Wednesday night, appearing on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show, Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani brought up Derkach’s claims to buttress his case that the Bidens had been up to some dirty dealing in the former Soviet republic. “Biden, his son and his brother had a 30-year-long scam to make money, millions, selling his public office,” Giuliani said. “Do you think we’re going to hear [from] the press that a member of the parliament in Ukraine held a press conference today and — name was Andriy Derkach, you won’t hear this on the news, ladies and gentlemen, because they censor it, you only get the news the Dems want you to hear — Derkach publicized documents which he said described the mechanisms for getting money by Biden Sr.” Do you think this scandal will cost Joe Biden the Democratic nomination? Yes No Completing this poll entitles you to The Western Journal news updates free of charge. You may opt out at anytime. You also agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. Giuliani then quoted Derkach during the news conference: “This was the transfer of funds for lobbying activities, as investigators believe, to Joe Biden through a lobbying company,” he said. “Funds in the amount of $900,000 were transferred to the U.S.-based company Rosemont Seneca, which according to open sources is affiliated with Biden. The payment reference was for consultative services.” Giuliani went on to describe some of Derkach’s further comments — which, taken in full, seemed pretty damning. According to Interfax-Ukraine, Derkach said: “According to the documents, Burisma paid no less than $16.5 million to [former Polish President, who became an independent director at Burisma Holdings in 2014] Aleksander Kwasniewski, [chairman of the Burisma board of independent directors] Alan Apter, [Burisma independent director] Devon Archer and Hunter Biden [who joined the Burisma board of directors in 2014]. RELATED: Giuliani: Hunter Biden Reportedly Involved with Romanian Locked Up for Corruption “Using political and economic levelers of influencing Ukrainian authorities and manipulating the issue of providing financial aid to Ukraine, Joe Biden actively assisted closing criminal cases into the activity of former Ukrainian Ecology Minister Mykola Zlochevsky, who is the founder and owner of Burisma Group.” On “Hannity,” Giuliani expanded on that. “Let me tell you who Mykola Zlochevsky is,” Giuliani said. “He’s a major oligarch. He stole $5 billion from his people. He very suspiciously was allowed to come back [to Ukraine]. His case got dismissed when they dismissed Hunter Biden’s case [involving Burisma] … This guy’s one of the major criminals in the Ukraine and he’s now walking around free because Joe Biden got the case dismissed.” Biden said the Justice Department should take the Ukraine accusations seriously. “This case stinks. They can run away from it all they want,” Giuliani added. Obviously, accepting this kind of gift from a state-run company during his time as vice president would be incredibly illegal and a major new twist in the Biden case — something that Giuliani no doubt knew when he brought it up on Hannity’s show. It’s also a difficult sell when you consider the source. It’s not just the fact that the story is a hard one to believe. Even with new leadership, Ukraine isn’t necessarily known as being corruption-free — or the kind of place where a blockbuster story about corruption can be believed on its own merits. The fact that this happened at a news conference hosted by a Russian-run wire service seems more than a bit sketchy, particularly when you consider the fact that the motive behind the news conference seemed to be exculpating Ukraine’s current president, Volodymyr Zelensky, and pinning electoral interference in American politics on Ukraine’s former leadership. “We see the conflict in which the new government of Ukraine faces due to the activities of the previous president,” Derkach said at the news conference, according to Interfax-Ukraine. “I want to emphasize that I’m almost sure, and not only I, but many journalists, that [former Ukrainian President Petro] Poroshenko personally bears responsibility for the situation in which Ukraine has ended up, for dragging Ukraine into interfering in the U.S. presidential election, for a huge number of corruption scandals and international corruption that could not have occurred without his control or participation.” These are not the kinds of things you want to hear in a Joe Friday “just-the-facts-ma’am” news conference, particularly in a country that has a history of corruption. For its part, the Biden campaign refused to comment when contacted by the U.K. Daily Mail about Giuliani’s remarks. So, will this end up being a major new wrinkle in the Bidens’ Ukrainian troubles? Or, will this end up being a major embarrassment for Rudy Giuliani? One thing’s for sure — this one isn’t likely to be forgotten anytime soon. It’s also going to shine an unwanted spotlight yet again on what the Bidens were doing in Ukraine back during the Obama era.

[thewebofslime]

Iraqi girls as young as 9 years old are being “sold” for one-hour-long temporary ‘pleasure marriages’ under Islamic law OCTOBER 6, 2019 BY BARENAKEDISLAM37 COMMENTS Iraqi girls as young as 9-years-old are being sold for sexual contact (although intercourse with the pre-pubescent girls allegedly is not permitted) with adult men in what they call “pleasure marriages” that can last as little as one hour, an undercover BBC documentary has revealed. Neonnettle Shia clerics were filmed offering to perform temporary “pleasure marriages” under Islamic laws, allowing adult men to molest children without technically breaking Sharia law. Although the practice is banned in Iraq, eight out of 10 Shia clerics who were approached were willing to carry it out. (There is little doubt you could find the same number of Sunni clerics willing to do it, as well) One of the clerics even offered to help procure young girls for the reporter, the BBC News investigation found. “According to Sharia law, there’s no problem,” he said when asked if it was acceptable to conduct a temporary marriage with a young girl. “Just be careful she doesn’t lose her virginity,” the cleric replied, suggesting other forms of sexual interaction instead. Asked what happens if the girl gets hurt, the cleric said: “That’s between you and her.” To see the full one hour BBC video: Pt 1 https://youtu.be/H6k90wFSI2E Pt 2 https://youtu.be/9Jtc__8vnSM Pt 3 https://youtu.be/BiHNSuvvspA Pt 4 https://youtu.be/Bt45_XaPlEM

[thewebofslime]

There are times during research when searching for details leaves the obviously immediate questions unanswered. This is one of those examples. Judicial Watch is hot on the trail of a State Department effort to monitor domestic political opposition. Specifically former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, initiated a request for State Dept. officials to conduct surveillance on: Jack Posobiec, Donald Trump Jr., Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity, Michael McFaul (Obama’s ambassador to Russia), Dan Bongino, Ryan Saavedra, Rudy Giuliani, Sebastian Gorka, John Solomon, Lou Dobbs, Pamella Geller and Sara Carter. More details: (Via JW) Judicial Watch has obtained information indicating Yovanovitch may have violated laws and government regulations by ordering subordinates to target certain U.S. persons using State Department resources. Yovanovitch reportedly ordered monitoring keyed to the following search terms: Biden, Giuliani, Soros and Yovanovitch. Judicial Watch has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the State Department and will continue gathering facts from government sources. Prior to being recalled as ambassador to Ukraine in the spring Yovanovitch reportedly created a list of individuals who were to be monitored via social media and other means. Ukraine embassy staff made the request to the Washington D.C. headquarters office of the department’s Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs. After several days, Yovanovitch’s staff was informed that the request was illegal and the monitoring either ceased or was concealed via the State Department Global Engagement Center, which has looser restrictions on collecting information. “This is not an obscure rule, everyone in public diplomacy or public affairs knows they can’t make lists and monitor U.S. citizens unless there is a major national security reason,” according to a senior State Department official. If the illicit operation occurred, it seems to indicate a clear political bias against the president and his supporters. Yovanovitch, a career diplomat who has also led American embassies in Kyrgyzstan and Armenia, was appointed ambassador to Ukraine by Obama in 2016. She was recalled by the State Department in May and remains a State Department employee in Washington D.C. (read more) Judicial Watch is on an honorable and righteous mission; and I do not mean to diminish the importance of their work. However, I find myself slightly annoyed at this issue because a simple question is not being asked. Obviously Maria Yovanovitch was aware of some pre-existing process that facilitated the surveillance of U.S. persons adverse to the interests of the U.S. State Department; and obviously some process was initiated in order for it to be “ceased or concealed”, right? Well, the simple question is “HOW”? How exactly does the U.S. State Department monitor people or persons they define as adverse to their interests? Unfortunately I think we might have the answer to that question: SEE HERE And also unfortunately, within that explanation there is another obvious question that doesn’t require thousands of pages of evidence, testimony and FISC debate. Despite all of the extensively legally written scripts describing the process no-one, including the judges outlining the problem, pauses to ask the simple question “WHY“? One of the weird aspects to both Collyer and Boasberg is that both FISC judges did not ever seek to ask the “why” question: why are all these unauthorized database searches taking place? Instead, both judges focus on process issues and technical procedural questions, seemingly from a position that all unauthorized searches were done without malicious intent. (more) How does the state department monitor their adversaries? Why is the NSA FISA(702) database used to monitor non-foreign persons? Simple questions that should not require years of investigations to answer. Frustrating….

[thewebofslime]

Mitt Romney has criticized President Obama for giving green energy subsidies to campaign donors, but a new report out ahead of the debate tonight shows that this White House’s crony capitalism has a foreign policy angle. HillStone International won a coveted government contract in part because the company has “the little brother of the vice president as a partner,” as David Richter, president of HillStone’s parent company explained to investors in a recent meeting reported on by Fox Business today. “Since November 2010, James Biden has been the executive vice president of Hill International’s housing subsidiary despite little if any documented work history in residential construction,” Fox explains. “And if the company’s projections are accurate, both Hill and Biden are on the verge of a huge payday, beneficiaries, some analysts believe, of James Biden’s connections to the Obama Administration through his older brother.” In the Fox report, a former Hill executive who worked on getting the project had this to say about HillStone: “You have to realize that these guys are relentless businessmen and they have the right connections.” Romney has already proven himself willing to go after Obama for crony capitalism, as he did during the first debate. “[T]he place you put your money makes a pretty clear indication of where your heart is,” Romney said. “Ninety billion dollars. And these businesses, many of them have gone out of business. I think about half of them — of the ones that have been invested in have gone out of business. A number of them happen to be owned by people who were contributors to your campaigns.” The housing contract in Iraq is expected to generate $1.5 billion for James Biden’s HillStone, according to Fox, so the report could pave the way for an awkward moment for the president in tonight’s debate on foreign policy.