Anonymous ID: a94a12 June 26, 2019, 2:11 p.m. No.6848428   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>8742

How the Navy tapped a jailed sex offender to be a department head

 

 

Lt. j.g. Michael Douglas McNeil recently joined dozens of other junior surface warfare officers in getting selected to be a future department head.

 

The list of those eligible for the afloat position was released Friday by Navy Personnel Command.

 

But whether news of this career milestone reached the 31-year-old in federal prison remains unknown.

 

McNeil is currently serving a bid for trying to arrange sex with a 12-year-old deaf girl and is locked up until 2027 at a low-security facility in Texarkana, Texas.

 

Still active duty and still listed as being assigned to the guided-missile destroyer Lassen, McNeil was sentenced to 10 years in March by a federal judge in Florida.

 

 

An eagle-eyed reader first alerted Navy Times to McNeil’s inclusion on the list, and Military Times brought it up with the Navy.

 

When asked why McNeil was tapped as a future department head, Navy officials said his record hadn’t been updated when the board convened.

 

 

The “civil action report” denoting that McNeil had been convicted had not made its way into his personnel file when the board met, according to Navy Personnel Command spokeswoman Cmdr. Krin Burzynski.

 

“Only the information contained in a military record is considered at a selection board,” she said in an email Tuesday. “Any outside information that is not part of the official record cannot be considered or introduced. As such, Lt. j.g. McNeil was selected based on the available information at the time of the board.”

 

The Navy is in the process of administratively separating McNeil, she said.

 

McNeil likely won’t stay on the list because a future board “will review the records of all previously screened officers for any deviation from the ‘best and fully qualified’ standard,” according to Burzynski.

 

“Officers are removed, or de-screened, from promotion and selection status depending on the decision of the board members after they have reviewed any newly introduced, adverse information in the officer’s official record,” she said. “The Navy reviews the records and status of all officers to ensure only the ‘best and fully qualified’ are selected.”

 

McNeil pleaded guilty in December to one count of attempted online enticement of a minor.

 

As part of his plea deal, he waived his right to a Navy board of inquiry and will receive an “other than honorable” discharge.

 

The SWO department head board looks at officers with three to five years of commissioned service, and there are several years between selection and the beginning of a department head tour, Burzynski said.

 

https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2019/06/25/how-the-navy-tapped-a-jailed-sex-offender-to-be-a-department-head/

Anonymous ID: a94a12 June 26, 2019, 2:12 p.m. No.6848435   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>8680 >>8845 >>8907 >>9010 >>9092

Songbirds Killed by Pesticides After California City Sprayed Trees

 

Researchers from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Wildlife Investigations Laboratory present their results from a toxicological investigation into a mortality event involving songbirds in a new publication in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.

 

On 17 March 2017, residents in Modesto, California, reported dead birds along the street and in front yards in a section of the town. The day prior to the incident, the city had made a drench application of imidacloprid, a pesticide synthetically derived from nicotine, to the base of trees that lined the street. The pesticide was reportedly mixed and applied according to package directions.

 

Researchers at the Wildlife Investigation Laboratory were notified of the incident and conducted a postmortem investigation on the dead songbirds, which were identified as American goldfinches.

 

The cause of death was determined to be imidacloprid poisoning likely due to the ingestion of fallen elm tree seeds contaminated during the drench application.

 

Lead author, Krysta Rogers, and her colleagues noted that “The mortality event investigated in the present study highlights a previously unidentified risk of drench application for imidacloprid. The pesticide label states that the product be applied to the base of the tree and directly to the root zone.

 

However seeds, insects, or other invertebrates consumed by birds and other animals may be present within that zone. If these food items were contaminated during the drench application, they would be highly toxic to animals when ingested.”

 

The authors recommend that “drench applications not occur during seed drop to minimize the risk of exposure to animals that consume fallen seeds and that mitigation measures could be taken to prevent small animals from accessing areas treated with the pesticide, at a minimum.”

 

Finally the authors encourage integrated pest management over the prophylactic use of pesticides and endocrine-disrupting chemicals as the ideal.

 

https://www.naturalblaze.com/2019/06/songbirds-killed-by-pesticides-after-california-city-sprayed-trees.html

Anonymous ID: a94a12 June 26, 2019, 2:14 p.m. No.6848441   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>8457 >>8466

Iran to US: Why not save your hype for Israel nukes?

 

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has censured the US president for turning a blind eye to the Israeli regime’s nuclear arsenal while accusing Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons.

 

Rouhani pointed to Donald Trump’s repeated allegation that Washington is concerned about the Islamic Republic’s potential development of nuclear weapons.

 

The Iranian chief executive, who was speaking at a government meeting in Tehran on Wednesday, then called on Trump to “[instead] talk about Israel, which is a usurper and has stockpiled all such nuclear arms there” if he is really so much concerned about such weapons.

 

Rouhani also asked his American counterpart why he kept raising the alarm that Iran could acquire such weapons while the United Nations nuclear watchdog regularly inspects the country’s nuclear facilities and verifies the legality of its nuclear energy practices.

 

The Iranian president also reminded that Trump continued to link the Islamic Republic with an intention to build the weapons, despite the fact that Iran’s highest authority has issued a definitive decree banning their acquisition.

 

“Are you really concerned about nuclear weapons? Are you unaware of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Khamenei’s fatwa (religious decree), through which he has ruled development of nuclear weapons as illegal?” Rouhani asked.

 

“So the [US’] allegations, the way they are stated, and the goal [sought by them] are all unfounded,” the Iranian president noted.

 

He said Washington’s most recent sanctions targeting Ayatollah Khamenei and his office also showed that it is incapable of comprehending the Leader’s position as a source of religious emulation and his veneration among the Iranian people as a spiritual mentor.

 

https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2019/06/26/599481/Iran-United-States-Rouhani-Trump-nuclear-weapons-Israel-sanctions

Anonymous ID: a94a12 June 26, 2019, 2:35 p.m. No.6848586   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>8622

Senate to Vote on Preventing Military Action Against Iran Without Congressional Approval

 

Senate will be voting on Friday on an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which would block the White House from taking military action against Iran without congressional approval.

 

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced on Wednesday that a deal has been made to vote on the amendment on Friday.

 

“We intend to stay in session this week to finish the NDAA bill and allow for a vote in relation to the Udall amendment. Senators should plan to vote on Friday on the Udall amendment,” McConnell said from the Senate floor, according to a report from The Hill. “Here’s the good news, the vote will start first thing in the morning and be held open into the afternoon to accommodate as many senators as possible.”

 

If passed, the amendment will block funding

 

The amendment was introduced by Democrat Senators Tim Kaine and Tom Udall, but has gained some bipartisan support. It is unclear if they will be able to pull over the 13 Republican votes needed to pass it, however.

 

A similar amendment has also been introduced in the House by Democrat Congressman Ro Khanna and Republican Senator Matt Gaetz.

 

“This amendment affirms what President Trump knows and believes: unfocused, unconstitutional, unending wars in the Middle East make America weaker, not stronger,” Gaetz said in a statement. “Iran must be prevented from obtaining a nuclear weapon and threatening international peace, but Congress must resolve to ensure that any military action is carried out constitutionally.”

 

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/06/senate-to-vote-on-preventing-military-action-against-iran-without-congressional-approval

Anonymous ID: a94a12 June 26, 2019, 3:10 p.m. No.6848873   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>8986

Trump Attorney Uncovers Documents Revealing Clapper’s ODNI Rushed to Change Raw Intel Sharing Rules Shortly Before Trump’s Inauguration

 

New documents were released to the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), a conservative watchdog group run by President Trump’s lead attorney, Jay Sekulow which shows how Clapper’s DNI were rushing to get new raw intel-sharing procedures approved and signed by the attorney general shortly before Trump’s inauguration.

 

The newly unearthed documents obtained by the ACLJ through a FOIA lawsuit show just how aggressive the Obama Administration became days before Donald Trump was sworn into office.

 

Sekulow said that his team has been working for more than 2 years to obtain these documents. “We will continue to pursue new information about this strategy to embolden the Deep State,” Sekulow said.

 

It was already public knowledge that the Obama Administration expanded the power of the National Security Agency to share raw intel intercepted with the governments’s 16 other intel agencies, however, these new documents show how desperate Clapper and Lynch were to get this done in a hurry before Trump was sworn into office.

 

“[i]n its final days, the Obama administration has expanded the power of the National Security Agency to share globally intercepted personal communications with the government’s 16 other intelligence agencies before applying privacy protections,” the New York Times previously reported.

 

On December 15, 2016, after Trump won the election, DNI James Clapper executed a document entitled “Procedures for the Availability or Dissemination of Raw Signals Intelligence Information by the National Security Agency Under Section 2.3 of Executive Order 12333.” On January 3, 2017, then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch executed the document.

 

One of the documents reveals a DNI official telling the Undersecretary of Defense’s Director of Intelligence Strategy, Policy, & Integration, “Really want to get this done…and so does the Boss.”

 

“Boss” most likely refers to DNI Chief James Clapper — yes, the same James Clapper who leaked the January dossier briefing at Trump Tower New York to CNN’s Jake Tapper around the same time he was scrambling to execute these new intel-sharing procedures.

 

Via the ACLJ:

 

The documents the ACLJ obtained in one of our Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuits – this one against the ODNI and the National Security Agency (NSA) – confirmed what we suspected: the ODNI rushed to get the new “procedures signed by the Attorney General before the conclusion of this administration.”

 

The documents also reveal that ODNI’s Robert Litt told Office of the Undersecretary of Defense’s Director of Intelligence Strategy, Policy, & Integration (and also USDI’s Liaison to ODNI): “Really want to get this done . . . and so does the Boss.”

 

And, documents produced to the ACLJ by the NSA in this lawsuit show that NSA officials discussing that they “could have a signature from the AG as early as this week, certainly prior to the 20th Jan.” In other words, certainly before President Trump’s Inauguration.

 

It was not immediately clear just how significant these revelations were. Now we know and these records must be publicized.

 

“By greatly expanding access to classified information by unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats, the Obama administration paved the way for a shadow government to leak classified information – endangering our national security and severely jeopardizing the integrity and reputation of our critical national security apparatus – in an attempt to undermine President Trump,” Sekulow said. “No president-elect or president should be targeted in this manner – and those responsible must be held accountable.”

 

Watch Jay Sekulow explain how the ODNI rushed to change the raw intel-sharing rules:

 

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/06/trump-attorney-uncovers-documents-revealing-clappers-odni-rushed-to-change-raw-intel-sharing-rules-shortly-before-trumps-inauguration/

Anonymous ID: a94a12 June 26, 2019, 3:13 p.m. No.6848887   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>9002 >>9010 >>9092

President Trump: Mueller Testimony Is a ‘Diversion’ From ‘Tremendous Criminal Activity’ on Other Side

 

President Donald Trump said on June 26 that he thinks Robert Mueller’s hearing to testify on the findings of the Russia probe is a “diversion” and that the “worst political scandal is on the other side.”

 

Trump made the remarks to reporters at the White House after being asked about the news that the former special counsel had agreed to testify before the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees on July 17.

 

“My only response to Mueller is, does it ever stop? After all of these years, time and people, does it ever stop? And the Democrats use it to try and divert from what they have, because what they’ve done—if you look and you see, and it’s just my opinion—tremendous criminal activity on their side. And they know it, and this is the diversion. But I ask you this—does it ever stop?” Trump said before boarding Air Force One to travel to Osaka, Japan for the G20 summit.

 

He again accused the Democrats of pursuing a “do-over” and weaponizing the findings of the Mueller investigation into alleged collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign to interfere with the 2016 presidential election.

 

“This is really a hoax, the worst political scandal is on the other side,” Trump said.

 

Mueller’s more than 400-page report, which was released in late April, details how the special counsel concluded that there was no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election. The special counsel also left Americans confused by staying silent on whether he would charge Trump with an obstruction of justice crime, and says he had not exonerated Trump or proven him innocent in the report.

 

“There was no collusion, no obstruction, no nothing. How many times do we have to hear it? It never ends. He keeps going on and on,” Trump said.

 

“And I’ve been going through this for two and a half years. The criminal activity was on the other side. With the fake dossier, the phony fraudulent dossier, and all the other things, the FISA warrants all of that. With the insurance policy by [Peter] Strzok and his lover Page. This is a disgraceful thing,” Trump added.

 

More

https://www.theepochtimes.com/president-trump-mueller-testimony-is-a-diversion-from-tremendous-criminal-activity-on-other-side_2979787.html

Anonymous ID: a94a12 June 26, 2019, 3:14 p.m. No.6848896   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>9093 >>9097

Republicans to Question Mueller About ‘Corrupt Cabal’ That Started Russia Probe

 

House Republicans plan to question former special counsel Robert Mueller about the origins of the Russia investigation, according to House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.).

 

Democrats and Republicans have a long list of questions they plan to pose to Mueller when he testifies before a joint committee hearing on July 17. The testimony, which will be open to the public, will mark the first time Mueller addresses questions about his 22-month investigation.

 

Republicans began probing the roots of the Russia investigation long before Mueller concluded his work. An investigation by the Republican-led House Intelligence Committee revealed in 2018 that the FBI used an opposition research dossier funded by the Clinton campaign as the basis for a warrant to surveil the Trump campaign.

 

Meanwhile, the lead agent and key attorney working the Trump investigation exchanged text messages expressing their hatred toward Trump and preference for Hillary Clinton. The agent, Peter Strzok, and the attorney, Lisa Page, also played key roles in the investigation of Hillary Clinton’s use of an unauthorized email server.

 

“What we’re going to find out is the dark underbelly of the corrupt cabal that started it all,” Collins told Fox News.

 

The FBI obtained a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant on Trump-campaign associate Carter Page in October 2016 and monitored him for a year. While the scope of the spying authorized by the judge is still classified, FISA warrants typically allow for some of the most intrusive surveillance. For example, the warrant on Page could grant the investigators access to all communications of all the people Page was in contact with—as well as the people those contacts were in contact with—for the past five years.

 

“They got caught and they’re running around going wild trying to do everything they can, but they spied on my campaign,” President Donald Trump told Fox News on June 26. “It’s as simple as that. It’s so illegal, it’s probably the biggest political scandal in history and they got caught doing it.”

 

Mueller concluded his investigation in March, finding there was insufficient evidence to establish that anyone colluded with Russia. The special counsel also didn’t bring an obstruction of justice charge against Trump.

 

https://www.theepochtimes.com/republicans-to-question-mueller-about-corrupt-cabal-that-started-russia-probe_2979627.html