Saturday, September 7, 2019
JUDICIAL WATCH: FEDERAL JUDGE CRITICIZES STATE AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENTS ON CLINTON EMAIL COVER-UP
‘There is no FOIA exemption for political expedience, nor is there one for bureaucratic incompetence.’
‘The court thinks Judicial Watch ought to shake this tree.’
‘The good cause continues from whether or not State was acting in good faith, and I’ll tell you everything they’ve discovered in this period raises serious questions about what the hell the State Department’s doing here.’
‘Now we know more, but we have even more questions than answers. So I won’t hold it against Judicial Watch for expanding their initial discovery request now.’
(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch released the transcript today from their hearing on Thursday, August 22, 2019, where U.S. District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth granted significant new discovery to Judicial Watch on the Clinton email issue (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of State (No. 1:14-cv-01242)).
During the hearing, Judge Lamberth specifically raised concerns about a Clinton email cache recently discussed in a letter to Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) and wants Judicial Watch to “shake this tree” on this issue.
[J]ust last week, the Senate’s – Senate Finance and Homeland Security Committees released documents revealing that Clinton IT aide Paul Combetta copied all but four of the missing emails to a Gmail account that does not appear to have ever been reconstructed and searched. The court thinks Judicial Watch ought to shake this tree.
Judge Lamberth also criticized the State Department’s handling and production of Clinton’s emails in this case stating, “There is no FOIA [Freedom of Information Act] exemption for political expedience, nor is there one for bureaucratic incompetence.”
In the beginning of their oral arguments, lawyers for the State Department wrongfully stated that Judicial Watch could no longer continue their discovery. The court stopped their arguments saying that Judicial Watch can continue to find more evidence in this case:
STATE DEPARTMENT: … it is, of course, Judicial Watch’s burden to explain to Your Honor why there has been good cause to reopen discovery now that discovery has closed in this case.
THE COURT: Well, I didn’t close discovery. So your premise is wrong.
STATE DEPARTMENT: Fair enough, Your Honor. Whether you want to call it closed or not, it is still —
THE COURT: I didn’t close it. I said I would have a status after they took this initial discovery, and that’s what I’m doing today. I didn’t close discovery.
STATE DEPARTMENT: That’s right, Your Honor, but it is still Judicial Watch’s —
THE COURT: So they don’t need any good cause —
STATE DEPARTMENT: Whether
THE COURT: — Today the good cause continues from whether or not State was acting in good faith, and I’ll tell you everything they’ve discovered in this period raises serious questions about what the hell the State Department’s doing here.
The court rejected DOJ and State efforts to derail further Judicial Watch discovery. Judge Lamberth called their arguments “preposterous” and cited a prior Judicial Watch FOIA case in which he ordered U.S. Marshals to seize records from a Clinton administration...
Integration Fail: New Study in Norway Finds Children of Migrants Commit More Crime Than Their Parents
A new study out of Norway has found that children of migrants commit more crimes than their parents, suggesting integration is failing.
According to the data, Norwegian born men aged 15-35 with a Somali family background were 4.6 times more likely to have committed a violent crime.
Men in the same age group with Iraqi backgrounds were 4 times more likely to have committed a violent crime, while the same pattern is observed in Moroccan Norwegians (3.2), Turkish Norwegians (2.8), and Pakistani Norwegians (2.4).
Jon Helgheim of the right-wing Progress Party said the numbers clearly indicate integration is failing and that the government needs to address the issue.
According to Helgheim, the figures prove that “integration doesn’t happen automatically over time.”
Sigmund Book Mohn of Statistics Norway told the Swedish newspaper Aftenpostensaid that migrants were significantly overrepresented in areas such as “mistreatment in close relationships.”
“A 2017 report from Statistics Norway also revealed that migrants from certain countries were over-represented in crime...
Bokhari: If Democrats Cared About the Environment, They’d Talk About China
Am I just seeing things? Or are all the “climate crisis solutions” proposed by the Democrats designed to cause maximum pain to ordinary people, and almost none to wealthy elites?
Progressives almost seem to take joy in inconveniencing the masses for no reason. Take the plastic straw ban, for example. Even National Geographic — hardly an anti-environmentalist publication — admits that plastic straws comprise just 0.025 percent of the plastic in the oceans.
Contrast the minimal impact of plastic straws with the extraordinary impact of China, and, by extension, global free trade. China, alone, produces around a third of the ocean’s plastic waste. China’s CO2 emissions are greater than the U.S. and Europe combined, and keep going up.
If Democrats really believe that climate change is an existential threat to humanity, why are they proposing draconian and pointless curbs on the behavior of ordinary Americans? Why aren’t they going after multinationals that continue to do business with the world’s biggest polluter, without demanding any environmental commitments from them (and hey, maybe some human rights commitments too?).
You’d think Bernie, at least, would get this. But his big idea is to make everyone have fewer babies. Instead of tackling China, he’s proposing a distinctly Chinese policy. Just because he didn’t say “one-child policy” doesn’t mean the similarity isn’t there.
The real reason Democrats won’t go after China is that they are now the party of global elites, and global elites are constantly salivating about the profits that can be made from China’s market of 1.4 billion people. They look to Europe and America and see a dwindling middle class with a declining population. There’s no money in that, not long-term anyway. Maybe the problem could be fixed with pro-natal policies like Hungary’s, but why bother? It’s far easier to simply go overseas, to a country that does have a booming population and rising middle class.
That’s the same reason, by the way, that global elites are so vociferously opposed to President Donald Trump and his agenda. Trade restrictions on China, to protect American jobs? An outrage! The elites can’t make money off American jobs, you see. They’re just so much more expensive than...
10 Offbeat Stories You Might Have Missed This Week (9/7/19)
Here is a look at some of the strangest and most original stories that hit the headlines this week. If you missed the previous offbeat list, you can check it out here.This week, we explore a few unusual crimes that range from horrifying to bizarre. There is a look at historical child sacrifices and a modern rivalry between two pastor’s wives. The Holiday Bandit is finally apprehended, and a TV helicopter unwittingly uncovered a rooftop weed plantation.In non-crime news, scientists find a new mineral and marvel at a weird planet. An island is on the lookout for a Napoleon impersonator, and a man pays a fortune for one beer.
Photo credit: AFP
Archaeologists in South America have made an incredibly disturbing but significant discovery in Peru—the largest child sacrifice site in the world.Teams of researchers have been digging near the beach town of Huanchaco since last year. In that time, they have uncovered the skeletal remains of 227 children aged between four and 14, and it doesn’t look like they will be the last. Chief archaeologist Feren Castillo with the National University of Trujillo described the situation last Tuesday as “uncontrollable,” as everywhere they dig, they find another skeleton.The victims belonged to the Chimu culture. Experts believe that the sacrifices were performed in an attempt to appease the gods at a time when the Peruvian coastline was being thrashed by El Nino. The skeletons were all posed facing the sea, and there were signs that they were killed during wet weather.[1]The details get even more disturbing. Tiny footprints that have survived indicate that the children were marched to their doom from the large, ancient city of Chan Chan. Lesions on the breastbones suggest that they were killed with a blade, likely a ceremonial knife. Their rib cages were subsequently dislocated, perhaps in order to extract their hearts.
Photo credit: AFP
Opera lovers from Prague got to enjoy a unique experience last Thursday night—Mozart’s Don Giovanni was played on the roof of the Lucerna Palace in the historic city center to an audience who watched it while sitting in bathtubs.The initiative belonged to cafe owner Ondrej Kobza, who likes the challenge of presenting culture in unique, innovative ways. This specific idea came from an anagram—in Czech, “Don Giovanni” can be turned into “John do vany,” which means “John into the tub.”[2]The performance included selected arias instead of the whole opera but was played by top opera singers, including soloist Adam Plachetka from the Vienna Opera, who enjoyed trying something that had never been done before. Spectators arrived dressed in full evening attire but didn’t mind getting soaked for this unusual experience. Fortunately, the water was warm, and the weather was pleasant.
Photo credit: Franz Josef Sandmann
The tourism board of the island of Saint Helena is looking for a Napoleon impersonator to attend multiple events for the next few years in anticipation of the 200-year anniversary of the emperor’s death.Saint Helena is a tiny British overseas territory in the South Atlantic with a population just over 4,500 people. It is mainly notable for being the place where the famed French emperor spent his last years after being exiled and where he died in 1821. Unsurprisingly, Napoleon plays a big part in the island’s tourism, and officials would like a good impersonator to attend events for the next two years, culminating with a big bicentennial bash.The ideal candidate has to be shortish, male, well-presented, and have the ability to “engage with individuals at all levels, especially dignitaries.”[3] Moreover, the candidate has to fit in the Napoleon suit that the tourism board already owns. Saint Helena used to have a different impersonator, but he has left the position. The deadline for applicants is September 27.
New York authorities have finally caught the so-called “Holiday Bandit,” who could be responsible for a decade-long burglary spree of luxury apartments in Manhattan. The perpetrator is 81-year-old Florida man Samuel Sabatino.When New Yorkers left the city for warmer climates, Sabatino drove up from the Sunshine State and targeted their apartments. He was always careful and methodical: He would stake out buildings before robbing them and would pay for everything in cash to avoid leaving a paper trail. He focused mainly on affluent areas in the Upper West and Upper East Sides. After picking the lock of an apartment, he would typically steal small, valuable items, such as watches and jewelry. Sabatino was finally caught after failing to sneak by a doorman, who reported him to the police.[4] Authorities believe he has stolen around $400,000 worth of goods since 2014. Moreover, he remains a suspect in other crimes that go back a decade, and investigators are still working to connect him with multiple burglaries.
Photo credit: New Life Apostolic Church
The rivalry between two pastor’s wives escalated to the point where one of them was arrested after accidentally discharging her gun during an argument.Melinda Frye Toney (pictured above) is the wife of Earl Toney, the pastor at the New Life Apostolic Church in Oak Hill, West Virginia. Lori Haywood is the wife of David Haywood, the youth pastor at the same church. For an unspecified reason, these two ladies do not get along.According to the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department, the two pastors thought that it would be a good idea to get the...
10Sacrifices For El Nino
Archaeologists in South America have made an incredibly disturbing but significant discovery in Peru—the largest child sacrifice site in the world.Teams of researchers have been digging near the beach town of Huanchaco since last year. In that time, they have uncovered the skeletal remains of 227 children aged between four and 14, and it doesn’t look like they will be the last. Chief archaeologist Feren Castillo with the National University of Trujillo described the situation last Tuesday as “uncontrollable,” as everywhere they dig, they find another skeleton.The victims belonged to the Chimu culture. Experts believe that the sacrifices were performed in an attempt to appease the gods at a time when the Peruvian coastline was being thrashed by El Nino. The skeletons were all posed facing the sea, and there were signs that they were killed during wet weather.[1]The details get even more disturbing. Tiny footprints that have survived indicate that the children were marched to their doom from the large, ancient city of Chan Chan. Lesions on the breastbones suggest that they were killed with a blade, likely a ceremonial knife. Their rib cages were subsequently dislocated, perhaps in order to extract their hearts.
9Bathtub Opera
Opera lovers from Prague got to enjoy a unique experience last Thursday night—Mozart’s Don Giovanni was played on the roof of the Lucerna Palace in the historic city center to an audience who watched it while sitting in bathtubs.The initiative belonged to cafe owner Ondrej Kobza, who likes the challenge of presenting culture in unique, innovative ways. This specific idea came from an anagram—in Czech, “Don Giovanni” can be turned into “John do vany,” which means “John into the tub.”[2]The performance included selected arias instead of the whole opera but was played by top opera singers, including soloist Adam Plachetka from the Vienna Opera, who enjoyed trying something that had never been done before. Spectators arrived dressed in full evening attire but didn’t mind getting soaked for this unusual experience. Fortunately, the water was warm, and the weather was pleasant.
8Wanted: French Emperor. Suit Provided
The tourism board of the island of Saint Helena is looking for a Napoleon impersonator to attend multiple events for the next few years in anticipation of the 200-year anniversary of the emperor’s death.Saint Helena is a tiny British overseas territory in the South Atlantic with a population just over 4,500 people. It is mainly notable for being the place where the famed French emperor spent his last years after being exiled and where he died in 1821. Unsurprisingly, Napoleon plays a big part in the island’s tourism, and officials would like a good impersonator to attend events for the next two years, culminating with a big bicentennial bash.The ideal candidate has to be shortish, male, well-presented, and have the ability to “engage with individuals at all levels, especially dignitaries.”[3] Moreover, the candidate has to fit in the Napoleon suit that the tourism board already owns. Saint Helena used to have a different impersonator, but he has left the position. The deadline for applicants is September 27.
7The Holiday Bandit Is Caught
6The Real Pastor Wives Of Oak Hill
The rivalry between two pastor’s wives escalated to the point where one of them was arrested after accidentally discharging her gun during an argument.Melinda Frye Toney (pictured above) is the wife of Earl Toney, the pastor at the New Life Apostolic Church in Oak Hill, West Virginia. Lori Haywood is the wife of David Haywood, the youth pastor at the same church. For an unspecified reason, these two ladies do not get along.According to the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department, the two pastors thought that it would be a good idea to get the...
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