kek, sorry BV but that was a good one.
I see you are tidying the ship, and doing a good job. I just thought got a chuckle out of the comment. Thank you for your service BV.
In FOIA Response, ODNI Refuses to Respond to Whether Deep State Spied on Journalists, District Judges, or Presidential Candidates
Published December 17, 2021
The ODNI responded to a request from attorney Ty Clevenger regarding Deep State’s spying on Americans, including Presidential candidates. Their response was shocking.
Attorney Ty Clevenger received a response to his FOIA request yesterday regarding the Deep State spying on Americans, including Presidential candidates. The response was shocking – see the highlighted section below.
For items 6,11,and 13, in accordance with Section 3.6(a) of Executive Order 13526, the ODNI can neither confirm nor deny the existence or non existence of requested records responsive to your request. The fact of existence or non existence is currently and properly classified.
The shocking bit of information is related to what was requested in items 6, 11, and 13.
(6) All documents, records, communications, and/or other tangible evidence revealing or describing surveillance of any and all journalists, journalism/media companies, and/or executives at journalism/media companies in the United States by any and all government employees, agents, affiliates (e.g., “Five Eyes” agencies), contractors, or other private parties. As used in this letter, “surveillance” includes, but is not limited to, efforts to wiretap or hack into the electronic devices or accounts of the targeted person or persons.
This request further includes, but is not limited to, documents, records, or communications identifying (1) the government affiliates, agents, employees, contractors, or private parties involved in such activities, and (2) the targets of any such activities. For each such instance of surveillance, I wish to view all documents, records, communications, and/or other tangible identifying or revealing (1) the government contractor(s), employee(s), or representative(s) who authorized, conducted, and/or assisted the surveillance; and (2) the factual and/or legal rationale, if any, for conducting the surveillance. This request covers the period from July 22, 2020 until the present. [I limited the request to 7/22/20 because I submitted an identical request previously].
(11) All documents, records, communications and/or other tangible evidence reflecting surveillance (as that term is described above) of any federal magistrate, bankruptcy judge, district judge, circuit judge, or Supreme Court Justice. This request covers the period from January 20, 2009 until the present.
(13) All documents, records, communications and/or other tangible evidence reflecting surveillance (as that term is described above) of any candidate for President of the United States, whether in the primary or general election. This request covers the period from January 1, 2012 until the present.
Moar: https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/12/foia-response-odni-refuses-respond-whether-deep-state-spied-journalists-district-judges-presidential-candidates/
Bitcoin 'May Not Last Much Longer,' Economist Says
33 MINUTES AGO
I don’t think it’s going to have any fundamental value other than whatever investors' faith leads it to have,' said Eswar Prasad.
While many investors have gone gaga over bitcoin in recent months, Cornell University trade policy professor Eswar Prasad is more circumspect.
“Bitcoin itself may not last that much longer,” he told CNBC. “Given that bitcoin is not serving well as a medium of exchange, I don’t think it’s going to have any fundamental value other than whatever investors' faith leads it to have.”
Bitcoin isn’t used much for transactions of legal goods and services, so it serves largely as a vehicle for speculation, the currency’s critics say.
In addition, private cryptocurrencies may face competition from government ones. Digital currencies have “lit a fire under central banks to start thinking about issuing digital versions of their own currencies,” Prasad noted. The Federal Reserve is researching the issue itself.
Bitcoin has soared since its inception 12 years ago, but trading has been extremely volatile. The biggest digital currency recently stood at $47,029, down 2%. It has jumped 47% year to date, but has slumped 22% in the last month.
Another problem for bitcoin is that its use of blockchain technology “isn’t very efficient,” Prasad said.
The cryptocurrency “uses a validation mechanism for transactions that is environmentally destructive” and “doesn’t scale up very well,” he said. Bitcoin’s carbon footprint exceeds that of New Zealand.
Bitcoin advocates say the currency can act as a hedge against inflation and declines in other assets, such as stocks and the dollar. But that hasn’t been proven as of yet.
https://www.thestreet.com/investing/bitcoin-may-not-last-much-longer-economist-says
'Screw you, senators': Grassley says Garland ignoring order to declassify Trump-Russia documents
December 17, 2021
A top Senate Republican said the Biden Justice Department still hasn’t handed over to Congress any declassified records from the flawed Trump-Russia investigation despite the last-minute declassification push by former President Donald Trump.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, spoke on the Senate floor this week, lamenting that Attorney General Merrick Garland “hasn’t produced a single declassified record to Congress relating to Crossfire Hurricane.” Grassley, along with Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, made a similar push in October after the DOJ failed to release any of the Crossfire Hurricane documents Trump ordered declassified his last day in office.
“We all know about the fatal defects and political decisions that were made during Crossfire Hurricane,” Grassley said. “That type of improper government conduct demands maximum transparency.”
Grassley and Johnson requested an update from the DOJ in February on when the full set of declassified records would be handed over to Congress, and Grassley said their staffs followed up with “countless emails and phone calls,” to no avail.
The memo from Trump said he had “determined that the materials should be declassified to the maximum extent possible.” The FBI said in mid-January that the bureau had "identified the passages that it believed it was most crucial to keep from public disclosure.”
Trump said at the time he would “accept the redactions proposed for continued classification by the FBI” and ordered the rest of the documents to be declassified and made available by the Justice Department.
The "witch hunt," as Trump called it, allegedly began with the FBI opening an investigation into his campaign's alleged ties to Russia in the summer of 2016. That inquiry, with the code name Crossfire Hurricane, was wrapped into Robert Mueller’s special counsel investigation.
Moar: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/justice/screw-you-senators-grassley-says-garland-ignoring-order-to-declassify-trump-russia-documents
Schumer: Build Back Better Delayed, 'More Time' Needed
Friday, 17 December 2021
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on Friday admitted that President Joe Biden's massive social spending and climate legislation will not pass this year.
Moderate Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., a key holdout, is concerned about passing the $1.75 trillion package amid rising inflation.
CNN reported Wednesday that Biden and Manchin were "very far apart" on the package as Manchin wants the child tax credit cut from the bill because of the cost.
"The president requested more time to continue his negotiations, and so we will keep working with him, hand in hand, to bring this bill over the finish line and deliver on these much-needed provisions," Schumer said Friday from the Senate floor.
Schumer did not mention any timeline for when the 2,000-page plus bill might come up for a vote.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated that Biden's bill would increase the deficit by $3 trillion over 2022 to 2031.
Moar: https://www.newsmax.com/politics/schumer-biden-build-back-better-delayed/2021/12/17/id/1049117/
Putin gives Pope birthday call, praises his global role
December 17, 2021
MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin called Pope Francis Friday to congratulate him on his 85th birthday, praising the pontiff's efforts to strengthen ties between the Vatican and Russia.
The Russian leader noted Francis' “high global authority and his big personal contribution to the development of ties between Russia and the Vatican,” the Kremlin said in its readout.
It added that Putin and the pope agreed to “continue joint efforts to uphold core spiritual and humanitarian values,” and emphasized the importance of a “constructive inter-religious dialogue.”
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/putin-pope-birthday-call-praises-global-role-81817915
North Dakota Senate Minority Leader will not seek another term
December 17, 2021
North Dakota Senate Minority Leader Joan Heckaman said Thursday she will leave the Senate when her term expires next year.
New legislative district boundaries approved by lawmakers last month moved her out of District 23, said Heckaman, who has served in the Senate since 2007.
Heckaman, D-New Rockford, was the first woman to serve as Senate minority leader, according to a news release from North Dakota Democratic-Nonpartisan League Party (NPL).
Pat Hart, Democratic-NPL Party Chair, said the gerrymandering was intentional.
“As I understand, she is the only Senate Minority Leader in the nation to be gerrymandered out of her district,” Hart said in the news release. “I know lines have to be drawn in the process, but other districts have been carved out to ensure Republicans are safe in their districts, while hers is simply deleted.”
Heckaman’s colleagues and others praised her work in the Senate
Moar: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/north-dakota-senate-minority-leader-will-not-seek-another-term
Federal Agencies Ordered to Immediately Update Systems Against Key Vulnerability: CISA
December 17, 2021
Federal agencies on Friday were ordered by the Department of Homeland Security to investigate and patch systems against the Apache logging library Log4j vulnerability that has been flagged by cybersecurity experts in recent days.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued an emergency order calling on agencies to immediately patch their network assets that connect to the Internet or implement other mitigation measures. Federal civilian agencies would have until Dec. 24 to implement the changes, noting the directive “is in response to the active exploitation by multiple threat actors of vulnerabilities found in the widely used Java-based logging package Log4j.”
The agency will provide a report in February to the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees CISA, and to the Office of Management and Budget.
“CISA has determined that this vulnerability poses an unacceptable risk to Federal Civilian Executive Branch agencies and requires emergency action,” CISA’s directive said. “This determination is based on the current exploitation of this vulnerability by threat actors in the wild, the likelihood of further exploitation of the vulnerability, the prevalence of the affected software in the federal enterprise, and the high potential for a compromise of agency information systems.”
CISA further said there is a “high potential” for a compromise of federal government information systems.
Moar: https://www.theepochtimes.com/federal-agencies-ordered-to-immediately-update-systems-against-key-vulnerability-cisa_4163632.html
House Democrat pushes back on Pelosi after stock comments
December 17, 2021
Rep. Abigail Spanberger pushed back after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters at the Capitol this week that members of Congress should be able to trade stocks.
Asked about an Insider report that found 49 members of Congress and 182 senior congressional staffers have violated the STOCK Act, which aims to prevent insider trading, and whether members should be able to trade stocks at all, Pelosi said they should be free to do so.
“We have a responsibility to report in the stock — on the stock,” she said. “If the people aren't reporting, they should be.”
Pelosi, one of the wealthiest members of Congress, said members should not be banned from trading “because this is a free market … we are a free market economy. They should be able to participate in that.”
But Spanberger, a Virginia Democrat, took to Twitter to express disagreement with Pelosi.
“No,” Spanberger wrote. “It cannot be a perk of the job for Members to trade on access to information.”
Spanberger touted legislation she introduced called the TRUST in Congress Act, which she said would require “elected officials and their families to place assets in a blind trust to prevent them from profiting off their positions.”
Moar: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/house-democrat-pushes-back-on-pelosi-after-stock-comments
Roger Stone takes 5th, refuses to answer questions from House committee investigating Jan. 6
December 17,2021
Roger Stone, a longtime Republican political operative and provocateur, refused Friday to answer questions from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection under his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
"I question the legitimacy of this inquiry," Stone told reporters after a 90-minute session with the panel. "I stress yet again that I was not on the Ellipse. I did not march to the Capitol. I was not at the Capitol. And any claim, assertion or even implication that I knew about or was involved in any way whatsoever with the illegal and politically counter-productive activities of Jan. 6 is categorically false."
Stone was the first witness to publicly acknowledge refusing to testify under the Fifth Amendment. Former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark has also said he would refuse to answer questions under the Fifth Amendment, but his deposition that was scheduled for Thursday was postponed for health reasons.
The committee subpoenaed Stone on Nov. 22 to ask about a D.C. rally where he spoke Jan. 5 and about his fundraising through the website stopthesteal.org. While in Washington, he reportedly used members of the Oath Keepers, a far-right group whose members have been charged in the riot at the Capitol, as his security team, according to the committee.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/12/17/roger-stone-jan-6-committee-deposition/8938595002/