Japan: Expert Panel Warns of Collapse of Medical Services
Posted: April 3, 2020 Filed under: Breaking News, Health and Social Issues, Japan, Think Tank | Tags: Coronavirus, Health, Medical, Pandemic, Tokyo Leave a comment
The Yomiuri Shimbun – Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in a protective mask speaks at a task force meeting on Wednesday.
The Yomiuri Shimbun reports: With the number of people infected with the new coronavirus increasing in Tokyo and four prefectures, a government panel of experts on Wednesday expressed concern over the possible collapse of medical services.
The panel to consider measures against the virus, which is chaired by Takaji Wakita, director general of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, also called on the government to consider closing all schools at once even after the new academic term starts in alert areas where the number of infections rose sharply in the past week.
In its proposal to the government on Wednesday, the panel cited Tokyo and the four prefectures of Osaka, Kanagawa, Aichi and Hyogo and said, “Drastic measures need to be taken today or tomorrow as these areas have densely populated cities and their medical systems are becoming strained.”
In light of this, the panel called for not only designated medical institutions for infectious diseases but also local university hospitals and other medical facilities to accept patients, saying, “The utmost efforts are necessary to provide medical services in accordance with the role of each hospital.” It also pointed to the need to prepare an option for patients with mild or moderate symptoms to stay in accommodation facilities rather than at home.
The panel also urged the government to provide support for evaluating the effectiveness and safety of existing drugs and accelerate the domestic development of new vaccines.
As public fatigue over exercising self-restraint can be seen, the panel stated its concern that the sense of alert is fading more than expected among some people. On the other hand, it gave some leeway for playing outdoor sports and watching sports games in areas where no infections have been confirmed in the past week, on the assumption that appropriate measures against the virus are taken … (read more)
Source: The Japan News
Tokyo Olympics Postponed Due to Coronavirus Outbreak
Posted: March 24, 2020 Filed under: Breaking News, Global, Health and Social Issues, Japan | Tags: 2020 Summer Olympics, COVID-19, IOC, Tokyo Leave a comment
Longtime International Olympic Committee member Dick Pound on Monday said the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, will be postponed due to the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic.
“On the basis of the information the IOC has, postponement has been decided,” Pound told USA Today. “The parameters going forward have not been determined, but the Games are not going to start on July 24, that much I know.”
Pound added, “We will postpone this and begin to deal with all the ramifications of moving this, which are immense.”
[Read the full story here, at National Review and USA Today] Read the rest of this entry »
FORBIDDEN: Leading Hong Kong Microbiologist Retracts Op-Ed Claiming Pandemic Began in Wuhan
Posted: March 22, 2020 Filed under: Breaking News, Censorship, China, Health and Social Issues, Hong Kong | Tags: Beijing, Chinese Academy of Engineering, Coronavirus, Dr David Lung, Microbiology, Pandemic, propaganda, Wuhan Virus, Yuen Kwok-yung Leave a comment
Professor Yuen Kwok-yung apologises for writing that ‘inferior Chinese culture’ is to blame. But the controversy has already triggered a reaction on the mainland.
Gary Cheung and Elizabeth Cheung report: A world-renowned microbiologist has stepped into a political minefield by writing an op-ed about the origin and naming of the coronavirus sweeping the world, expressing views that aligned with the Trump administration’s rhetoric over the pandemic and left him in the cross hairs of mainland Chinese.
Professor Yuen Kwok-yung, an infectious diseases specialist at the University of Hong Kong, retracted late Wednesday night the piece he co-wrote and which Chinese-language Ming Pao newspaper had published and ran online earlier that day.
The authors also apologised for the misunderstanding caused by the piece, titled: “The pandemic originated from Wuhan and the lessons from 17 years ago have been forgotten.”
“It amounts to self-deceit and please don’t spread it recklessly. It would only invite ridicule,” they wrote.
Yuen, who is also an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, visited Wuhan with other doctors at the invitation of the central government in mid-January as part of an expert group that later confirmed the coronavirus was spreading between people.
Quarantine personnel in protective gear collect samples at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan on January 22. Photo: Simon Song
The other author was Yuen’s protégé, Dr David Lung, an honorary assistant professor with the department of microbiology of the University of Hong Kong, who is also a clinical microbiologist specialising in paediatric infectious diseases at the Hong Kong Children’s Hospital.
They wrote that epidemiological studies indicated the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, Hubei province, was where the virus spread.
The article went on to defend the media’s early references to the “Wuhan virus”, despite the World Health Organisation labelling the disease Covid-19 and the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses naming the virus Sars-Cov-2.
Yuen and Lung argued “Wuhan virus” was a layman’s term established through convention and usage, one that was easy to understand and communicate to people.
But perhaps the most inflammatory claim was contained in their criticism of China for failing to shut wildlife markets in the aftermath of the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome in 2003. They said the trade and consumption of wild animals was a manifestation of the “inferior culture” of Chinese people.
The op-ed also noted Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau and the Republic of China – the title Taiwan officially uses – had been spared the worst of the outbreak, which is now raging throughout Europe and sweeping across the United States. Read the rest of this entry »
China's Coronavirus Recovery is 'All Fake,' Whistleblowers and Residents Claim
Posted: March 22, 2020 Filed under: Asia, Breaking News, Censorship, China, Health and Social Issues | Tags: Coronavirus, COVID-19, Information War, propaganda, Wuhan Virus 1 Comment
China’s claims of how it’s handling coronavirus recovery should be taken with more than a few grains of salt.
Even before COVID-19 became a global crisis, Chinese leaders had been criticized for their handling of the situation and lack of transparency about the disease’s progression. Things now look like they’re on the upswing, and businesses even appear to be headed back to work — but whistleblowers and local officials tell Caixan that’s just a carefully crafted ruse.
Beijing has spent much of the outbreak pushing districts to carry on business as usual, with some local governments subsidizing electricity costs and even installing mandatory productivity quotas. Zhejiang, a province east of the epicenter city of Wuhan, claimed as of Feb. 24 it had restored 98.6 percent of its pre-coronavirus work capacity.
But civil servants tell Caixan that businesses are actually faking these numbers. Beijing had started checking Zhejiang businesses’ electricity consumption levels, so district officials ordered the companies to start leaving their lights and machinery on all day to drive the numbers up, one civil servant said. Businesses have reportedly falsified staff attendance logs as well — they “would rather waste a small amount of money on power than irritate local officials,” Caixan writes. Read the rest of this entry »
Kimberley A. Strassel: Crying Wolf on Impeachment
Posted: January 31, 2020 Filed under: Breaking News, Politics, U.S. News, White House | Tags: Adam Schiff, Donald Trump, Impeachment, Kimberley A. Strassel Leave a comment
The whole affair was a series of major fouls. The best outcome is a speedy acquittal.
Kimberley A. Strassel writes: The impeachment trial of Donald J. Trump is coming down to one big question: Will Democrats, by crying wolf, drown out the more legitimate Republican cry of foul?
“Foul” has served as the GOP’s most powerful and honest argument from the first days of these impeachment maneuverings. Democrats broke every standard of due process, transparency and fairness in their House investigation, making a mockery of their constitutional duty.
They hid the identity of the original accuser, denying Republicans and the country the ability to judge his motives. They held secret depositions, barring more than three-quarters of House members, as well as the press and the American public. They called 18 witnesses, but blocked the president from calling any in his defense. The White House legal team was excluded from the proceedings—prohibited from cross-examining witnesses, denied the ability to introduce any evidence that spoke to the central question of the president’s focus on Ukrainian corruption.
[Read the full story here, at WSJ]
House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff secretly obtained and published the communications records of the president’s private attorney, a member of Congress and a reporter. Democrats withdrew their court challenge to compel a key witness, depriving the White House of the ability to defend its executive-privilege claim in court. And the legitimacy of the first portion of the House inquiry—including numerous subpoenas—is in doubt, since it was conducted before the House voted to open it.
Democrats approved two articles of impeachment that failed to identify a crime. Senators are instead asked to render verdicts on a vague “abuse of power” claim and on a “obstruction of Congress” charge that is the result of the House’s own decision not to litigate its demand for testimony. Those articles were passed by a partisan vote with no serious expectation of conviction, simply to make a statement: “He is impeached forever,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi said this month. Read the rest of this entry »
Declassified: Hillary’s Custom Email Server Storage Design Revealed
Posted: December 15, 2019 Filed under: Breaking News, Humor, Mediasphere, Politics | Tags: Email, Hillary, HRC, Parody, Political Satire Leave a comment
Voters In Hong Kong Turnout In Historic Numbers, Deliver Devastating Results
Posted: November 25, 2019 Filed under: Asia, Breaking News, China, Hong Kong | Tags: Carrie Lam, Edward Lau, Holden Chow, Hong Kong, Horace Cheung, Pro-Democracy Movement, Vincent Cheng Leave a comment
Ryan Saavedra reports: Voters in Hong Kong took the polls in record numbers on Sunday, giving pro-democracy parties stunning gains as numerous high-profile pro-Beijing officials lost their seats.
“Almost three million voters sent the Carrie Lam administration an unmistakable message on Sunday, flooding to the ballot box in record numbers to vote against pro-establishment candidates and usher in what by all indications should be a staggering victory for the pro-democracy camp,” Public broadcaster RTHK reported. “While official results are yet to be announced, partial counts suggest that opposition candidates should win an overwhelming majority of the 452 District Council seats up for grabs, and may have a winning ratio of as high as nine-to-one.”
RTHK added, “Most analysts had expected the opposition to make significant gains with the government’s popularity ratings at an all-time low, but no one was predicting that the pro-democracy camp would win a majority of seats – much less almost all of them.”
[Read the full story here at The Daily Wire]
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that pro-democracy candidates had won 395 of the 452 seats that were up for grabs and that pro-democracy parties were set to control all 18 district councils.
“Almost 3 million people in a city of 7 million queued to vote in the election held every four years, or 71.2 per cent of registered voters,” The Sydney Morning Herald added. “The voter turnout was almost double that seen in the previous election, and attributed to young people voting for the first time.” CNN reported that “outspoken pro-government legislators Michael Tien and Junius Ho both conceded defeat in their districts” and “Holden Chow, Horace Cheung, Vincent Cheng, and Edward Lau also appeared to be part of a string of upsets from the pro-Beijing DAB party.”
U.S. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy tweeted support for Hong Kong, writing, “With their vote, the people of Hong Kong delivered a strong rebuke of the authoritarian policies of Beijing. They came out in record numbers, nearly double the last election, to support pro-democracy candidates. When people have a choice, they will always choose freedom.”
Read the rest of this entry »Riot Police Storm Hong Kong Airport as Protesters Force Second Day of Flight Cancellations
Posted: August 14, 2019 Filed under: Asia, Breaking News, Foreign Policy, Global, Hong Kong, Mediasphere | Tags: Hong Kong International Airport, Pro-Democracy Movement, travel Leave a comment
Hong Kong International Airport has canceled all remaining flight departures for the second straight day due to protests.
Riot police stormed the Hong Kong International Airport on Tuesday as protests by thousands of anti-government demonstrators forced flights to be canceled for the second straight day.
Travelers at one of the world’s busiest airports were advised that check-in had been suspended and hundreds flights were cancelled, and that they should leave the terminals as quickly as possible and contact airlines for more information.
The clashes appeared to represent an escalation 10 weeks after the protest’s massive, peaceful beginnings in early June, when hundreds of thousands marched in the semi-autonomous city against a now-suspended extradition bill. A Chinese official said Tuesday that protesters “have begun to show signs of terrorism,” and China appeared to be weighing a crackdown on the democratic movement.
Bolstered by anger over the crackdown by Hong Kong police, the protests has grown more confrontational in recent weeks and reached new levels last Monday with a city-wide strike that disrupting traffic and hundreds of flights.
After weeks of issuing warnings, but deferring to Hong Kong authorities to quell protests, Beijing has hinted at a more assertive posture. Chinese paramilitary police were seen in video released by the state holding exercises in Shenzhen, China, which sits across the border from Hong Kong. Images circulated online showing a convoy of armored personnel carriers from the People’s Armed Police traveling to the site. Read the rest of this entry »
China Says Hong Kong Protests Show ‘First Signs of Terrorism’
Posted: August 13, 2019 Filed under: Asia, Breaking News, Global, Hong Kong | Tags: Beijing, Pro-Democracy, protests Leave a comment
BEIJING— Chun Han Wong reports: Chinese authorities condemned violent weekend demonstrations in Hong Kong as “deranged” acts that marked the emergence of “the first signs of terrorism” in the semiautonomous city, vowing a merciless crackdown on the perpetrators.
The escalating rhetoric from Beijing followed a day of heated protests in Hong Kong, including the hurling of petrol bombs, and came as thousands of protesters gathered at Hong Kong’s international airport on Monday, prompting officials to cancel all flights for the rest of the day apart from those already en route to the air-travel hub.
“Radical Hong Kong protesters have repeatedly used extremely dangerous tools to attack police officers,” a spokesman for the Chinese government’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office told a news briefing on Monday, according to Chinese state media. “The first signs of terrorism are starting to appear.”
On Sunday, police in riot gear fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse crowds of protesters across Hong Kong, some of whom threw bricks and what police identified as Molotov cocktails and smoke bombs. Police said an officer was hospitalized with burns to his legs after being hit by a Molotov cocktail hurled by a protester.
Hong Kong Bankers Join Call for Citywide Strike over Handling of Outcry over Extradition Bill
Posted: August 1, 2019 Filed under: Asia, Breaking News, China, Law & Justice | Tags: Beijing, Carol Ng Man-yee, Confederation of Trade Unions, Hong Kong, protests Leave a comment
Alvin Lum reports: Hundreds of workers at 34 banks joined calls for a citywide strike next week against the government’s handling of recent unrest which has rocked Hong Kong.
The finance staff added their voices to an umbrella group of 95 unions from the public and private sectors behind the action planned for Monday.
The appeal from the pro-democracy Confederation of Trade Unions (CTU) and staff from local banks, including international investment banks and Chinese state-owned banks, was also echoed by teachers and art groups.
Civil servants, meanwhile, got the go-ahead from police to host an unprecedented rally on Friday evening in Chater Garden to urge the government to respond to the demands of protesters against the now-abandoned extradition bill.
The idea of a strike was first floated weeks ago on an online forum, and has gained momentum after two protests that descended into clashes over which 44 people have been charged with rioting. Read the rest of this entry »
Beijing Strikes Ominous Tone, Saying Military Could Intervene in Hong Kong
Posted: July 25, 2019 Filed under: Breaking News, China, Global, History | Tags: Beijing, Communism, extradition bill, Hong Kong, Nationalism, One Country, People's Liberation Army, protests, Two Systems Leave a comment
Alice Su reports: The latest protests in Hong Kong appear to have touched a nerve in Beijing, where officials and state media have escalated rhetoric against the pro-democracy movement, accusing the United States of interference and ominously affirming the People’s Liberation Army’s ability to intervene at the Hong Kong government’s request.
Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said at a news conference Wednesday morning that the protests on Sunday were “intolerable.”
“Some radical protesters’ actions challenge the authority of the central government and the bottom line of ‘One Country, Two Systems,’” Wu said, adding that the ministry would follow Article 14 of Hong Kong’s Basic Law.
“One Country, Two Systems” is China’s way of referring to its administration of Hong Kong, under which it is part of China but allowed to maintain some degree of autonomy. Article 14 states that the Chinese government’s military forces stationed in Hong Kong will not interfere in local affairs unless the Hong Kong government requests assistance “in the maintenance of public order” or for disaster relief.
As mass protests against a proposed extradition bill morphed into a desperate pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong over the last two months, the local government has denied rumors that the Chinese military might intervene. Some analysts who study Hong Kong expressed skepticism that Beijing would send its military, which could have devastating consequences.
But Chinese officials and media are now stoking nationalist anger with rhetoric that’s been used to pave the way for crackdowns in the past, specifically with accusations of foreign intervention and condemnations of “chaos” and “disorder.”
Sunday’s protests broadened the scope of conflict as protesters shifted from targeting the Hong Kong territorial government and police to directly challenging the Chinese government.
Thousands marched to Beijing’s representative office in Hong Kong, chanting a pro-independence slogan. They splattered the Chinese government emblem with eggs and black ink and spray-painted the walls with derogatory terms for China. Read the rest of this entry »
U.S. Navy Aircraft Carrier Ronald Reagan LSD Probe Bigger Than You Think, 14 Nuke Sailors Busted
Posted: November 7, 2018 Filed under: Breaking News, Crime & Corruption, Self Defense, War Room | Tags: Hillsdale, LSD, U.S. Navy, USS Ronald Reagan Leave a comment
Geoff Ziezulewicz reports: Fourteen sailors from the nuclear reactor department of the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan face disciplinary action in connection to LSD abuse, Navy officials confirmed this week.
Two sailors are already heading to court-martial for using, possessing and distributing the hallucinogenic drug, while three are waiting to see whether they will be charged as well, according to 7th Fleet spokesman Lt. Joe Keiley.
Another 10 sailors with the Japan-based ship were administratively disciplined on LSD-related charges, Keiley said.
A 15th sailor was also disciplined, but that person was not assigned to the carrier’s reactor department.
Keiley said the 14 reactor sailors charged or facing potential charges came from a department with more than 400 personnel.
Accused sailors were removed from all duties pending the findings of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service probe, he said in an email. Read the rest of this entry »
Senate Judiciary Committee Reschedules Vote on Brett Kavanaugh for Friday Morning
Posted: September 26, 2018 Filed under: Breaking News, Law & Justice | Tags: Brett Kavanaugh, Christine Blasey Ford, SCOTUS Leave a comment
The Senate Judiciary Committee rescheduled a planned key vote on Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination for Friday morning, one day after Kavanaugh Read the rest of this entry »
Headline of the Year: Author of ‘How to Murder Your Husband’ arrested for allegedly killing her husband
Posted: September 12, 2018 Filed under: Breaking News, Crime & Corruption, Mediasphere | Tags: Crime fiction, Hell on the Heart, How to Murder Your Husband, Mystery, Nancy Crampton-Brophy, Oregon Leave a comment
Life has apparently imitated art for one romance writer.
Storm Gifford reports: In a twist of irony so devious it would have turned Agatha Christie green with envy, Oregon chef Daniel Brophy was found shot to death nearly seven years after his wife of 27 years penned an essay titled “How to Murder Your Husband.”
Nancy Crampton-Brophy, the writer of sensuous mysteries such as “Hell on the Heart” and “The Wrong Husband,” was arrested for murder on Sept. 5 — more than three months after the death of her spouse.
“Dan was one of the very few people I’ve known that knew exactly what he wanted in life and loved doing it,” she said at a candlelight vigil two days after Daniel’s demise.
Oregon cops were mum on arrest details such as why Crampton-Brophy, 68, was taken into custody only last week for the June 2 shooting.
“Detectives believe Nancy L. Crampton-Brophy is the suspect in Daniel C. Brophy’s murder,” said Portland police, who refused to discuss motive or evidence. Read the rest of this entry »
Explosion Reported Outside US Embassy in Beijing
Posted: July 26, 2018 Filed under: Asia, Breaking News, China, Foreign Policy | Tags: Beijing, Explosion, US Embassy Leave a comment
An explosion was reported on Thursday outside the U.S. Embassy in Beijing’s Chaoyang District. (Reuters)
An explosion was reported on Thursday outside the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.
Bystanders shared video of the aftermath on social media, showing images of smoke unfurling in the street and what appeared to be police vehicles surrounding the building in the city’s Chaoyang District.
American and Chinese officials did not immediatly respond to comments on the incident.
The scene near the US Embassy in Beijing. pic.twitter.com/AbTc32f3cw
— Ahron Young (@AhronYoung) July 26, 2018
China and the U.S. are in the middle of a trade dispute … (more)
This is a developing story. Read the rest of this entry »
‘SEX CULT!’ New York Post Cover for April 21, 2018
Posted: April 22, 2018 Filed under: Breaking News, Entertainment, Mediasphere, Religion, U.S. News | Tags: Cult, media, New York, New York Post, news, Newspaper, NYC, Sex, Sexuality, Slavery, Tabloid Leave a comment
Source: New York Post
New York Post Cover for April 18, 2017
Posted: April 18, 2018 Filed under: Breaking News, History, Mediasphere, Politics, U.S. News, White House | Tags: Barbara Bush, headlines, media, New York Post, Newspaper, Tabloid Leave a comment
Source: New York Post
‘SYRIA STRIKE’: New York Post Cover for April 14, 2018
Posted: April 14, 2018 Filed under: Breaking News, Foreign Policy, Guns and Gadgets, Mediasphere, Russia, U.S. News, War Room | Tags: media, New York, news, NY Post, Syria, Tabloid 1 Comment
Source: New York Post
YouTube Shooting: Female Suspect Dead at Firm’s HQ in San Bruno, California
Posted: April 4, 2018 Filed under: Breaking News, Crime & Corruption, Guns and Gadgets, Terrorism, U.S. News | Tags: San Bruno, San Mateo County, YouTube Leave a comment
It wasn’t immediately known whether the woman killed herself or was killed by responding security or responding officers.
Alex Johnson and Andrew Blankstein report: A woman opened fire at YouTube’s California headquarters Tuesday afternoon before dying of a gunshot wound, multiple law enforcement sources told NBC News. Multiple injuries were reported.
It wasn’t immediately known whether the woman killed herself or was killed by responding security or law enforcement officers.
Little other information was immediately available. Zuckerberg General Hospital told NBC News that it had received three patients and was expecting more, while Stanford Medical Center said it was expecting four or five patients.
Active shooter at YouTube HQ. Heard shots and saw people running while at my desk. Now barricaded inside a room with coworkers.
— Vadim Lavrusik (@Lavrusik) April 3, 2018
I got evacuated outside with my hands up. I’m with other people. I don’t think the shooter’s been found that I know of. I saw blood drops on the stairs I walk up everusay. I’m shaking. This is surreal. I hope my colleagues are okay.
— Lil | Milktea (@_lilchen) April 3, 2018
YouTube employees tweeted that they had evacuated the building in San Bruno, south of San Francisco, or were in hiding. Read the rest of this entry »
UNHINGED: Comey Rips ‘Weasels and Liars,’ Invokes Joe McCarthy in Twitter Rant
Posted: February 2, 2018 Filed under: Breaking News, Law & Justice, Mediasphere, Politics, U.S. News | Tags: Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab, FBI Leave a comment
The former FBI director speaks out on Twitter.
Samuel Chamberlain reports: Former FBI Director James Comey lashed out at unnamed “weasels and liars” on social media late Thursday, hours before President Trump was expected to declassify a controversial memo about purported surveillance abuses over the objections of Democrats.
“All should appreciate the FBI speaking up. I wish more of our leaders would,” Comey wrote on Twitter. “But take heart: American history shows that, in the long run, weasels and liars never hold the field, so long as good people stand up.
“Not a lot of schools or streets named for Joe McCarthy,” Comey added, a reference to the Wisconsin senator who claimed high-ranking government officials were Soviet spies in the 1950s.
Comey appeared to be referencing an FBI statement released Wednesday that objected to the release of the memo, authored by House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif. That statement said the FBI had “grave concerns about material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo’s accuracy.”
Sources told Fox News Thursday that the version of the memo Trump plans to declassify contains “technical edits” made at the FBI’s request. The sources said the edited version was shown to five FBI officials at the White House on Tuesday afternoon and the officials were satisfied that the edits addressed concerns they had about an earlier version of the memo that was reviewed on Monday. Read the rest of this entry »
‘FED UP: FBI Deputy Out in Clinton, Trump Probes Turmoil’: NY Post Cover for January 30, 2018
Posted: January 30, 2018 Filed under: Breaking News, Crime & Corruption, Law & Justice, Mediasphere, U.S. News | Tags: Donald Trump, FBI, Hillary Clinton, journalism, media, New York, New York Post, news, NYC, Tabloid 1 Comment
Source: New York Post
[VIDEO] Leftist Zombies Are Camping Outside Senator Chuck Schumer’s Home
Posted: January 24, 2018 Filed under: Breaking News, Mediasphere, Politics, U.S. News | Tags: Activist Left, Chuck Schumer, DACA, Illegal Immigrants, Immigration reform, Open Borders, Progressives, Radical Left, Shutdown Leave a comment
Jazz Shaw reports: The fallout on the left from Senator Chuck Schumer’s astute deal-making abilities is continuing into day three. Ed Morrissey broke down the reaction from liberal media outlets yesterday, but a significant number of progressive activists weren’t satisfied with leaving the job to the press. They showed up last night outside the Senator’s Brooklyn apartments for the traditional airing of grievances and indicated that if he wasn’t going to take a stand for the Dreamers, they were going to make sure he didn’t get any sleep …
… While all of this may seem amusing if you’re just looking for a reason to munch popcorn, the pressure on Schumer right now could spell trouble over the next couple of weeks. If he’s really feeling the heat, he’ll probably be more inclined to try to take a hard line on immigration reform negotiations just to prove to his base that he’s not going soft. Read the rest of this entry »
OH YES THEY DID: Page and Strzok Referenced ‘Secret Society’ that Met Day After Election
Posted: January 23, 2018 Filed under: Breaking News, Crime & Corruption, Mediasphere | Tags: Devin Nunes, Donald Trump, FBI, John Ratcliffe, Lisa Page, Peter Strzok, Robert Mueller, Russia Probe, Secret society, Trey Gowdy 1 Comment
Debra Heine reports: There is serious talk on Capitol Hill about the appointment of a second special counsel amid several new bombshell revelations swirling around the Trump/Russia probe. First, there are the allegations of shocking and substantial government surveillance abuses under President Obama outlined in the FISA abuse memo. Secondly, the FBI lost five months of key text messages between the anti-Trump/pro-Clinton FBI officials Peter Strzok and his mistress Lisa Page. And now there’s talk of a “secret society” of officials within the FBI that apparently met the day after the election of Donald J. Trump to plot against the president-elect.
Former FBI officials Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, and Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Image via YouTube.
[New Strzok/Page Texts Suggest Lynch Knew About Clinton Exoneration Well Before Comey Announcement]
Secondly, the FBI lost five months of key text messages between the anti-Trump/pro-Clinton FBI officials Peter Strzok and his mistress Lisa Page. And now there’s talk of a “secret society” of officials within the FBI that apparently met the day after the election of Donald J. Trump to plot against the president-elect.
The thousands of texts @TGowdySC and I reviewed today revealed manifest bias among top FBI officials against @realDonaldTrump. The texts between Strzok and Page referenced a “secret society.”
— John Ratcliffe (@RepRatcliffe) January 23, 2018
Top Republicans now believe there may be real grounds for a second special counsel, Fox News reported Monday evening. Read the rest of this entry »
‘OH, CRAP!’: New York Post Cover for January 13, 2018
Posted: January 15, 2018 Filed under: Breaking News, Entertainment, U.S. News, White House | Tags: Donald Trump, media, New York Post, Newspaper, NYC, Porn Star, Tabloid Leave a comment
BANNONOCALPYSE: Bannon Booted from Breitbart
Posted: January 10, 2018 Filed under: Breaking News, Entertainment, Mediasphere, U.S. News | Tags: breitbart, media, news, propaganda, Steve Bannon Leave a comment
A good day for you, my friend pic.twitter.com/wWQQjvqIyY
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) January 9, 2018
“Fox News will not be hiring Steve Bannon” — Fox News Spokesperson https://t.co/o8pG02w7qc
— Jon Levine (@LevineJonathan) January 9, 2018
‘NOPRAH! Do We Really Need Another Celeb President?’ NY Post Cover for Jan 9, 2018
Posted: January 10, 2018 Filed under: Breaking News, Entertainment, Mediasphere, U.S. News, White House | Tags: celebrity, Donald Trump, Golden Globes, media, New York, news, NYC, Oprah Winfrey, Tabloid Leave a comment
Source: Covers | New York Post
Oil Tanker Ablaze Off Chinese Coast at Risk of Explosion, Authorities Say
Posted: January 8, 2018 Filed under: Breaking News, China | Tags: Iran, Middle East, Oil tanker, Panamania Leave a comment
CHINA CENTRAL TELEVISION (CCTV) / VIA REUTERS TV
An Iranian oil tanker ablaze off the Chinese coast was at risk of exploding or sinking, authorities said Monday, as they reported there was no sign of survivors 36 hours after the vessel erupted in flames.
A huge fire was still raging around the stricken ship, which had been carrying 136,000 tons of light oil, with fierce heat and thick black smoke billowing from the vessel and the surrounding sea.
The body of one crew member was found aboard the tanker, an Iranian official said.
Mohammad Rastad, head of Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization, was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency that the body was sent to Shanghai for identification.
Rescuers were attempting to reach the other 29 Iranian and two Bangladeshi crew members but were being beaten back by toxic clouds, authorities said.
The Panamanian-flagged 274-meter tanker Sanchi is “in danger of exploding or sinking,” the ministry said.
The U.S. Navy sent a military aircraft to assist with the search, which spanned an area of about 12,350 square km but said in a statement it did not locate any of the tanker’s 32 missing crew members.
The Sanchi tanker, run by Iran’s top oil shipping operator, collided Saturday evening with the CF Crystal about 300 km off China’s coast near Shanghai and the mouth of the Yangtze River Delta.
Chinese state media showed pictures of the tanker ablaze and billowing plumes of thick dark smoke on Sunday. China sent four rescue ships and three cleaning boats to the site, while South Korea dispatched a ship and a helicopter.
The Panama-registered tanker was sailing from Iran to South Korea carrying 136,000 metric tons of condensate, an ultra light crude. That is equivalent to just under 1 million barrels, worth about $60 million, based on global crude oil prices.
The freighter, which was carrying U.S. grain, suffered limited damage and the 21 crew members, all Chinese nationals, were rescued.
The extent of the environmental harm and size of the spill were not yet known, but based on the tanker’s tonnage, it has the potential to be the worst since 1991 when 260,000 metric tons of oil leaked off the Angolan coast. Read the rest of this entry »
NASA: Legendary Astronaut, Moonwalker John Young Has Died
Posted: January 7, 2018 Filed under: Breaking News, History, Space & Aviation, U.S. News | Tags: Apollo Moon missions, John Young, NASA Leave a comment
In this April 1972 photo made available by NASA, John Young salutes the U.S. flag at the Descartes landing site on the moon during the first Apollo 16 extravehicular activity. NASA says the astronaut, who walked on the moon and later commanded the first space shuttle flight, died on Friday, Jan. 5, 2018. He was 87. (Charles M. Duke Jr./NASA via AP)
Marcia Dunn reports: Legendary astronaut John Young, who walked on the moon and later commanded the first space shuttle flight, has died, NASA said Saturday. Young was 87.
The space agency said Young died Friday night at home in Houston following complications from pneumonia.
NASA called Young one of its pioneers – the only agency astronaut to go into space as part of the Gemini, Apollo and space shuttle programs, and the first to fly into space six times. He was the ninth man to walk on the moon.
“Astronaut John Young’s storied career spanned three generations of spaceflight,” acting NASA administrator Robert Lightfoot said in an emailed statement. “John was one of that group of early space pioneers whose bravery and commitment sparked our nation’s first great achievements in space.”
Young was the only spaceman to span NASA’s Gemini, Apollo and shuttle programs, and became the first person to rocket away from Earth six times. Counting his takeoff from the moon in 1972 as commander of Apollo 16, his blastoff tally stood at seven, for decades a world record.
He flew twice during the two-man Gemini missions of the mid-1960s, twice to the moon during NASA’s Apollo program, and twice more aboard the new space shuttle Columbia in the early 1980s.
His NASA career lasted 42 years, longer than any other astronaut’s, and he was revered among his peers for his dogged dedication to keeping crews safe — and his outspokenness in challenging the space agency’s status quo.
Chastened by the 1967 Apollo launch pad fire that killed three astronauts, Young spoke up after the 1986 shuttle Challenger launch accident. His hard scrutiny continued well past shuttle Columbia’s disintegration during re-entry in 2003.
“Whenever and wherever I found a potential safety issue, I always did my utmost to make some noise about it, by memo or whatever means might best bring attention to it,” Young wrote in his 2012 memoir, “Forever Young.”
He said he wrote a “mountain of memos” between the two shuttle accidents to “hit people over the head.” Such practice bordered on heresy at NASA.
Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins, who orbited the moon in 1969 as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked its surface, considered Young “the memo-writing champion of the astronaut office.” Young kept working at Johnson Space Center in Houston “long after his compatriots had been put out to pasture or discovered other green fields,” Collins wrote in the foreword of “Forever Young.” Read the rest of this entry »
NYT Plays Defense For Iranian Mullahs: Demonstrators ‘Ignored Calls For Calm,’ Defied ‘Moderate’ Iranian Leadership
Posted: January 2, 2018 Filed under: Breaking News, Censorship, Crime & Corruption, History, Mediasphere, Terrorism | Tags: Anti-Israel Bias, Barack Obama, Ben Rhodes, Bias, Erdbrink, Hamas, Iran, journalism, media, New York Times, President Rouhani 1 Comment
Ben Shapiro writes: On Monday, The New York Times ran the latest in a series of despicable pieces dedicated to making excuses for the tyrannical Islamist Iranian despotism. Here’s their tweet on the regime’s killing of dissidents:
Yes, it’s the fault of the demonstrators, who have somehow merely refused to heed the decent calls for calm from the Iranian mullahs. Oddly, The New York Times never has such words for Palestinian rioters who throw rocks at Israeli troops at the behest of the Palestinian Authority and Hamas. When that happens, it’s Trump’s fault or the Jews’ fault. Somebody else’s fault, anyway.
But when it’s democracy-seeking Iranians, then they’re the problem.
The piece itself, by Thomas Erdbrink, is a disaster area. It contains lines like this one:
Despite Mr. Rouhani’s diplomatic language, it was clear the demonstrators would be given no leeway…Mr. Rouhani has urged demonstrators to avoid violence but defended their right to protest. He did so again on Monday on Twitter.
Rouhani is a tool of the regime, of course, and a radical Islamist to boot, as well as a Holocaust denier. But according to the Times, he’s a moderate:
This time, it is the failure of President Rouhani, a moderate, to deliver greater political changes and economic opportunity, despite the lifting of some of the sanctions against Iran as part of the nuclear deal. Young people are especially angry. The average age of those arrested is under 25, one official said.
And the protests are about economics, not about the repressive regime. Of course, the regime has spent billions of dollars on terrorism abroad, including the maximization of its bloodshed in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen. But it’s just that the Iranian government hasn’t redistributed the oil wealth enough. The Iranians probably just need Bernie Sanders or something. Read the rest of this entry »
[VIDEO] Iran’s Anti-Government Protests Spread to Major Cities, ‘The World is Watching’ says U.S.
Posted: December 30, 2017 Filed under: Breaking News, Crime & Corruption, Health and Social Issues, Mediasphere, Politics | Tags: "The Case Against the Iran Deal: How Can We Now Stop Iran from Getting Nukes?, Activists, Barack Obama, BBC, Demonstrators, Eshaq Jahangiri, Iran, Iran Deal, Jihadists, Kermanshah, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, State Sponsored Terrorism, Tehran, Terrorism Leave a comment
The US says “the world is watching” how Iranian authorities respond to anti-government protests that have broken out in several cities.
Thousands of people have joined the protests, with scores arrested.
A White House statement said Iranians were fed up with “the regime’s corruption and its squandering of the nation’s wealth to fund terrorism”.
“The Iranian government should respect their people’s rights, including their right to express themselves. The world is watching,”
— White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders, on Twitter
Meanwhile, authorities urged supporters to turn out for nationwide demonstrations on Saturday.
The rallies are commemorating the 2009 demonstrations held in support of the then conservative government of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Those demonstrations were in response to protests by reformists over a disputed election which returned him to power.
The BBC’s Persian Service says thousands of people were likely to have been bussed into a rally in the capital Tehran.
Footage posted on social media showed street protests in Kermanshah
What was the US response?
“The Iranian government should respect their people’s rights, including their right to express themselves. The world is watching,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on Twitter.
The tweet later appeared on President Donald Trump’s Twitter account.
The US State Department urged all nations “to publicly support the Iranian people and their demands for basic rights and an end to corruption”.
Footage posted on social media showed street protests in Kermanshah
What is Iran saying about the protests?
First Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri has suggested that government opponents are behind the protests, according to comments reported by state broadcaster IRIB.
He said: “Some incidents in the country these days are on the pretext of economic problems, but it seems there is something else behind them. They think by doing this they harm the government, but it will be others who ride the wave.” Read the rest of this entry »
Rose Marie Dies; Actress Had Career Spanning Film, TV, Broadway, Radio & Nightclubs
Posted: December 29, 2017 Filed under: Breaking News, Entertainment, History, Mediasphere | Tags: 1960s, Broadway, Dick Van Dyke Show, Hollywood, Rose Marie, Show Business, Television Leave a comment
Bruce Haring reports: Actress Rose Marie, whose trademark hair bow is in the Smithsonian and who had a long career spanning TV, Broadway, films, nightclubs and as a Hollywood Square, has died. She was 94 and passed away in Van Nuys, CA.
She was best known for her role as comedy writer Sally Rogers on TV’s The Dick Van Dyke Show, trading barbs with the boys club in quick-witted fashion after joining the show in 1961. After five seasons, she moved on to The Doris Day Show.
She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in October of 2001, later releasing a best-selling memoir, Hold the Roses, in 2006.
Born Rose Marie Mazzetta on Aug. 15, 1923, the same day when Broadway musical Rose-Marie opened, she started her career at age 3 by winning an amateur talent show as Baby Rose Marie.
She later segued to radio, becoming a popular guest star and eventually getting her own program on NBC. She also was a recording artist for Mercury Records. The popularity led her to a film career, where she appeared in some of the earliest talkies, including the 1929 short Baby Rose Marie the Child Wonder.
Marie appeared in several Paramount pictures, including International House and Big Broadcast of 1935.
BUSTED! YourNewsWire.com Propaganda: Did George Soros Suffer a ‘Massive Heart Attack’ on Christmas Eve?
Posted: December 27, 2017 Filed under: Breaking News, Censorship, Mediasphere, Politics, U.S. News | Tags: fake news, propaganda, YourNewsWire.com Leave a comment
Reports that the Hungarian-American billionaire experienced a life-threatening cardiac condition just before Christmas 2017 are fake news.
CLAIM
George Soros experienced a life-threatening cardiac condition just before Christmas 2017.
RATING
ORIGIN
On 25 December 2017, frequent offender YourNewsWire.com reported that Hungarian-American business magnate George Soros had suffered a heart attack in Hungary on Christmas Eve and underwent triple coronary artery bypass surgery soon afterward:
George Soros suffered a “massive heart attack” while inspecting a new faculty building at his private university in Budapest, Hungary on Sunday morning, according to Hungarian reports.
Soros had been complaining of “severe indigestion” and “foggy thinking” in the early hours of the day, according to reports, and began to feel unwell while meeting staff in the new faculty building, announcing that “the hand of God has seized me by the neck.”
Dismissing suggestions he was reacting badly to his traditional Christmas Eve lunchtime meal, Soros staggered outside in search of fresh air, before collapsing just outside the gymnasium of the Central European University.
The globalist billionaire, who recently donated $18 billion to international liberal causes, collapsed against a wall, before slumping to the ground where he was found “lying on his side, whimpering softly.”
“Quick-thinking actions” by “trained gymnasium staff” saved Soros’s life and “expert CPR” helped the 87-year-old billionaire survive and avoid brain damage, according to reports in Hungary’s liberal media.
After 15 minutes of CPR the paramedics arrived and took over. Soros was given the defibrillator three times and they managed to restart his heart and take him to a private residence where he where he underwent triple coronary artery bypass surgery.
This report is false. Read the rest of this entry »
[VIDEO] Mary Jo Kopechne Won’t Get to See This ‘Chappaquiddick’ Trailer, But You Can
Posted: December 21, 2017 Filed under: Breaking News, Crime & Corruption, Mediasphere, Politics | Tags: Bruce Dern, Chappaquiddick, Edgartown, Jason Clarke, Joe Kennedy, John Curran, Kate Mara, Mary Jo Kopechne, Movies, Preview, Ted Kennedy, Trailer, video Leave a comment
Nearly five decades ago, on July 18, 1969, a car went off the Dike Bridge on the island of Chappaquiddick. The driver, Ted Kennedy escaped. His 28-year-old passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne, did not.
An upcoming movie, Chappaquiddick, attempts to tell the story of what happened that night and why it took Kennedy some ten hours to report the accident to the local Edgartown police …
Chappaquiddick poster
… The film, directed by John Curran, stars Jason Clarke as Senator Kennedy, Kate Mara as Kopechne, and Bruce Dern as Ted’s father Joe Kennedy. It’s based on the 1969 inquest into the accident. Read the rest of this entry »
BREAKING: New York Times Confesses to Causing Starvation in North Korea
Posted: December 19, 2017 Filed under: Breaking News, Crime & Corruption, Foreign Policy, Global, Humor, Mediasphere | Tags: Anti-American, Anti-American Sentiment, Communist Sympathizer, Global Panic, Hunger, Marxism, Mass murder, New York Times, North Korea, propaganda, satire, Socialism, Totalitarian Leave a comment
BREAKING: Kentucky Lawmaker Facing Sexual Assault Allegations Kills Himself
Posted: December 14, 2017 Filed under: Breaking News, Crime & Corruption, Law & Justice, Mediasphere, Politics, U.S. News | Tags: Allegations, Bullitt County, Dan Johnson, Kentucky, Molestation, Suicide 1 Comment
Dan Johnson, a Republican state lawmaker in Kentucky, killed himself Wednesday night. He was 57.
Bullitt County Coroner Dave Billings said Johnson died of a single gunshot wound on Greenwell Ford Road in Mount Washington, Kentucky. Billings said Johnson stopped his car at the end of a bridge in a secluded area, then got out and walked to the front of the car. He said an autopsy is scheduled for Thursday morning.
“I would say it is probably suicide,” he said.
Johnson was elected to the state legislature in 2016, part of a wave of Republican victories that gave the GOP control of the Kentucky House of Representatives for the first time in nearly 100 years. He won his election despite Republican leaders urging him to drop out of the race after local media reported on some of his Facebook posts comparing Barack and Michelle Obama to monkeys.
“Bullitt County Coroner Dave Billings said Johnson died of a single gunshot wound on Greenwell Ford Road in Mount Washington, Kentucky. Billings said Johnson stopped his car at the end of a bridge in a secluded area, then got out and walked to the front of the car … “
The pastor of Heart of Fire church in Louisville, Johnson sponsored a number of bills having to do with religious liberty and teaching the Bible in public schools. But he was mostly out of the spotlight until Monday, when the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting published an account from a woman saying Johnson sexually assaulted her in the basement of his home in 2013.
At the time, the woman told police about the incident, who investigated but closed the case and did not file charges.
On Tuesday, Johnson held a news conference in the pulpit of his church, which he began by leading friends and family in singing a portion of the Christmas carol “O Come All Ye Faithful.” He said the allegations against him were “totally false” and said they were part of a nationwide strategy of defeating conservative Republicans. Read the rest of this entry »
Nothing to See Here, Move Along
Posted: December 14, 2017 Filed under: Breaking News, Crime & Corruption, Law & Justice, Mediasphere, White House | Tags: A Theory of Justice, Bre Payton, Christopher Steele, Department of Justice, Fusion GPS, Glenn Simpson, The Federalist, U.S. Department of Justice Leave a comment
The research firm that put together a dossier filled with unsubstantiated claims about Donald Trump hired a top DOJ official’s wife to dig up dirt on Trump … (read more)
Source: thefederalist.com
North Korea Readying for Another Nuclear Test? Satellite Images Show Heightened Activity at Punggye-ri
Posted: December 13, 2017 Filed under: Asia, Breaking News, Foreign Policy, Global, War Room 1 Comment
Sohae Satellite Launching Station is seen in Sohae, North Korea, in this satellite image taken on 17 September 2016 released by 38 North 38 North via Reuters
Over the weekend, Radio Pyongyang broadcast secret coded messages hinting at a possible impending weapons test.
India Ashok reports: North Korea appears to be pressing ahead with its nuclear programme. Satellite images recently detected hectic activity at the North Korean nuclear test site, Punggye-ri.
Experts say that after North Korea’s last nuclear test, minor tremors were detected near Mt Mantap, located close to the nuclear site. However, Pyongyang is now engaged in additional tunnel work at the site.
According to experts at 38North, a US-based think tank, the fresh activities were detected at the West Portal of the site – indicating that the site may be undergoing an expansion. Meanwhile, the North Portal, where the previous five tests were conducted, appears to have been temporarily abandoned.
“At the West Portal, there has been a consistently high level of activity since North Korea’s last nuclear test. This includes a routine presence of vehicles and personnel around the portal, movement of mining carts from the portal to the adjacent spoil pile and signs of fresh spoil being dumped onto the pile,” 38North experts said in a blog. “These activities suggest that tunnel excavation is underway at the West Portal, as the North Koreans expand the site’s potential for future nuclear testing.”
Ryan Barenklau, CEO and founder of Strategic Sentinel, a Washington-based nonpartisan geostrategic consulting agency, told IBTimes UK, “The tunneling is occurring at the West Portal and activity near that area has been relatively high for the last month. They are most likely digging deeper and expanding the complex underneath so they can continue their normal operations.” Read the rest of this entry »
WOAH NELLIE: Wife of Demoted DOJ Official Worked for Firm Behind Anti-Trump Dossier
Posted: December 12, 2017 Filed under: Breaking News, Crime & Corruption, Politics | Tags: 2016 Election, 2016 Presidential Campaign, Christopher Steele, Donald Trump, Dossier, FBI, FISA surveillance, Fusion GPS, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, James Rosen, Nellie H. Ohr 1 Comment
Bruce G. Ohr was demoted at the DOJ for concealing his meetings with the men behind the anti-Trump ‘dossier.’ (AP)
Investigators for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) confirmed that Nellie H. Ohr, wife of the demoted official, Bruce G. Ohr, worked for the opposition research firm last year.
James Rosen and Jake Gibson report: A senior Justice Department official demoted last week for concealing his meetings with the men behind the anti-Trump “dossier” had even closer ties to Fusion GPS, the firm responsible for the incendiary document, than has been disclosed, Fox News has confirmed: The official’s wife worked for Fusion GPS during the 2016 election.
Contacted by Fox News, investigators for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) confirmed that Nellie H. Ohr, wife of the demoted official, Bruce G. Ohr, worked for the opposition research firm last year. The precise nature of Mrs. Ohr’s duties – including whether she worked on the dossier – remains unclear but a review of her published works available online reveals Mrs. Ohr has written extensively on Russia-related subjects. HPSCI staff confirmed to Fox News that she was paid by Fusion GPS through the summer and fall of 2016.
Fusion GPS has attracted scrutiny because Republican lawmakers have spent the better part of this year investigating whether the dossier, which was funded by the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee, served as the basis for the Justice Department and the FBI to obtain FISA surveillance last year on a Trump campaign adviser named Carter Page.
“The House Intelligence Committee,” Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., told Fox News in a statement on Monday, “is looking into all facets of the connections between the Department of Justice and Fusion GPS, including Mr. Ohr.”
Until Dec. 6, when Fox News began making inquiries about him, Bruce Ohr held two titles at DOJ. He was, and remains, director of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force; but his other job was far more senior. Mr. Ohr held the rank of associate deputy attorney general, a post that gave him an office four doors down from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. The day before Fox News reported that Mr. Ohr held his secret meetings last year with the founder of Fusion GPS, Glenn Simpson, and with Christopher Steele, the former British spy who compiled the dossier, the Justice Department stripped Ohr of his deputy title and ousted him from his fourth floor office at the building that DOJ insiders call “Main Justice.”
Initially, DOJ officials provided no explanation for Ohr’s demotion. Later, they said his wearing of two hats was “unusual”; still later, they confirmed Ohr had withheld his contacts with the Fusion GPS men from superiors.
A senior Justice Department official demoted last week for concealing his meetings with the men behind the anti-Trump “dossier” had even closer ties to Fusion GPS, the firm responsible for the incendiary document, than has been disclosed, Fox News has confirmed: The official’s wife worked for Fusion GPS during the 2016 election.
[Read the full story here, at Fox News]
Contacted by Fox News, investigators for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) confirmed that Nellie H. Ohr, wife of the demoted official, Bruce G. Ohr, worked for the opposition research firm last year. The precise nature of Mrs. Ohr’s duties – including whether she worked on the dossier – remains unclear but a review of her published works available online reveals Mrs. Ohr has written extensively on Russia-related subjects. HPSCI staff confirmed to Fox News that she was paid by Fusion GPS through the summer and fall of 2016.
Fusion GPS has attracted scrutiny because Republican lawmakers have spent the better part of this year investigating whether the dossier, which was funded by the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee, served as the basis for the Justice Department and the FBI to obtain FISA surveillance last year on a Trump campaign adviser named Carter Page. Read the rest of this entry »
IT’S ON: Justice Department to Probe Planned Parenthood Over Fetal Tissue Practices
Posted: December 8, 2017 Filed under: Breaking News, Crime & Corruption, Health and Social Issues, Law & Justice | Tags: Center for Medical Progress, DOJ, Fetal Tissue, Justice Department, Planned Parenthood, Senate Judiciary Committee Leave a comment
John Bowden reports: The Justice Department is moving to investigate Planned Parenthood over the organization’s fetal tissue practices, according to a letter sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday.
In the letter obtained by The Hill, the department requests unredacted documents from the panel’s 2016 probe into Planned Parenthood over claims that the organization profited off the transfer of tissue and body parts from aborted fetuses to research firms.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who chairs the committee, referred Planned Parenthood to the FBI last December, saying at the time that his committee had uncovered enough evidence for the FBI to investigate the claims.
The Hill reported last month that the FBI had asked the Senate for documents it obtained from abortion providers, signaling that agents may be investigating the organization.
The letter sent Thursday states that the Justice Department intends to conduct a “thorough and comprehensive assessment” of Grassley’s report.
“At this point, these records are intended for investigative use only,” adds the letter sent by Stephen Boyd, the assistant attorney general for legislative affairs.
News of the letter was first reported by The Daily Beast.
In 2015, videos released by the conservative activist group Center for Medical Progress showed Planned Parenthood staffers discussing procurement of “intact” and partial fetuses in exchange for compensation for expenses. Read the rest of this entry »
pundit from another planet 