This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Author: AW1Ed

  • New York Times’ FOIA Lawsuit Rejected

    CIA Logo

    The Politico reports U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Carter Jr. rejected arguments that President Donald Trump effectively confirmed the existence of a CIA program when he used his Twitter account last July to counter a Washington Post story.

    A tweet from Trump disputing Washington Post news report about a CIA program to aid Syrian rebels neither declassified the program nor undermined the government’s legal authority to keep details about the program a secret, he ruled.

    “The Washington Post fabricated the facts on my ending massive, dangerous, and wasteful payments to Syrian rebels fighting Assad,” Trump wrote, referring to Syrian President Bashar Assad.

    A day after sending the tweet, Trump mentioned the Post story again.

    “That was not something that I was involved in, other than they did come and they suggested,” the president said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. “It turns out it’s — a lot of al-Qaeda we’re giving these weapons to. You know, they didn’t write the truthful story, which they never do.”

    Armed with Trump’s tweets, The New York Times filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request demanding details of the program, then sued when the CIA did not immediately respond.

    Carter ruled that Trump’s statements were too vague to waive the government’s right to withhold the information. The judge also went further, stating that even public discussion of the specific program by government officials was insufficient to declassify it, or give a FOIA requester any additional legal leverage to obtain the information.

    “Permitting courts to infer whether a President declassified information would transfer the President’s constitutional authority to declassify to the Judiciary, undermining the basic tenets of the separation of powers,” the judge wrote in his 20-page decision, dated Friday and released Monday. “Here, President Trump did not make an unequivocal statement, or any statement for that matter, indicating that he was declassifying information. This should end the inquiry.”

    Trump’s tweets continue to drive the Lame Stream Media nuts, as they can’t spin and filter them for public consumption. The New York Times’ attorney plans to appeal, of course. Guess he didn’t get the message. A side note, the judge is an Obama appointee.

  • North Korea erasing most anti-US propaganda

    NORK Doves
    The New York Post reports the North Korean government is erasing much of its anti-U.S. propaganda following dictator Kim Jong-un’s sorties onto the world stage.

    Posters portraying the U.S. as a “rotten, diseased, pirate nation” and promising “merciless revenge” on American forces for any attack on the Hermit Kingdom have disappeared.

    In their place are cheery messages touting praising the prospects for Korean reunification and the declaration Kim signed in April with South Korean President Moon Jae-in promising “lasting peace,” according to reports.

    Still the most isolated country in the world, very few North Koreans have access to news and information from the outside world. So state propaganda plays a huge role in shaping their views.

    Murals, banners and posters displayed throughout the capital, Pyongyang, have for decades depicted the U.S. as a brutal, imperialist aggressor hell-bent on destroying the North Korean regime. South Korea and Japan were also frequently targeted as willing allies of the U.S.

    But things started to take an Orwellian turn in the run-up to Kim’s June 12 summit with President Donald Trump, with the old posters vanishing since then.

    “All the anti-American posters I usually see around Kim Il-sung Square and at shops, they’ve all just gone,” Rowan Beard, a tour manager at Young Pioneer Tours, told Reuters. “In five years working in North Korea, I’ve never seen them completely disappear before.”

    Infamous posters and postcards showing North Korean missiles on their way to Washington are a thing of the past. Also removed are the anti-American trinkets that used to be sold to tourists as souvenirs. In their place are items showing themes of Korean reunification.

    Meeting with Presidents Trump and Moon, removing the loud speakers at the DMZ, repatriating our KIAs, dismantling a nuke test site (OK, it was pretty much done anyway, but still…), no test missiles fired in months, talks involving removing artillery from the DMZ, and now a propaganda Sea Change. I’m still cautiously optimistic, but the facts on the ground thus far are the process seems to be working. Now if only the Lame Stream Media would take notice…

  • Thanks!

    USD $
    Update:
    Financial goals achieved! Thanks, everyone, for your generosity in supporting TAH. Without your help this place coundn’t continue, and that would be unthinkable. So thanks again, and expect me to rattle the cup again next year as a gentle reminder.

  • Navy team rescues climbers caught on 8,800-foot ‘Forbidden Peak’

    Navy SAR
    The Navy Times reports that NAS Whidbey Island is in the news again, and this time it doesn’t involve a sky penis. Seems a daring duo attempted to climb the dismally named “Forbidden Peak” and found themselves in trouble. At night. So, they called for help.

    A search and rescue team from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island successfully rescued two climbers stuck on an 8,800-foot peak in the North Cascades in the dead of night.

    The five-person SAR team received the call late Tuesday evening and arrived at the location just before midnight. The climbers were waiting near a vertical rock face at the base of a snow shoot on a summit called Forbidden Peak.

    The SAR team made several passes over the peak to ensure they could safely airlift the climbers in the challenging altitude and temperature.

    The climbers were transported in a MH-60S helicopter to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Washington.

    The Forbidden Peak rescue marked the 11th mission for the NAS Whidbey Island SAR team this year. The unit is authorized to perform civilian search and rescue and medical evacuation operations so long as they do not interfere with primary military duties.

    I have no idea of the skill level and equipage of the pair of unfortunate climbers, but this could be a case of self-inflicted wounds. If indeed found to be irresponsible, they should foot the bill for the ride home.

  • Nike’s Stolen Valor

    Navy_Nike
    Fox News reports Nike on Friday apologized and halted the release of a logo for a sportswear line that bore a striking similarity to the U.S. Naval Academy crest scheduled to launch Sunday.

    The logo, which was a collaboration between Nike and Undefeated, a Los Angeles sportswear line, sparked backlash on social media and prompted the rebuke from the U.S. Naval Academy.

    “The similarities of the Nike/UNDEFEATED logo released this week and the USNA Crest are undeniable and we believe their logo is clearly an infringement under trademark law. USNA is working with Navy leadership to order Nike/UNDEFEATED to cease and desist their use of the logo,” the Naval Academy tweeted.

    An academy spokeswoman also released a statement Friday obtained by The Washington Post.

    “The Naval Academy crest represents honor, integrity and leadership,” she said. “And is emblematic of our students and more than 80,000 alumni who serve and have served our country, many of whom made the ultimate sacrifice in its defense.”
    Comments poured in on social media calling the logo “just plain wrong” and a “ripoff,” while some on Twitter called it “stolen valor,” according to The Post.

    I’m willing to bet most folks at Nike and Undefeated had no idea someone in the graphic arts department was ripping of the Naval Academy’s Crest; the quick apology and rescinding of the logo is welcome. Now they need to publicly fire those responsible.

  • Florida Revokes Hundreds of Gun Permits After Background Check Error

    Florida Revokes Hundreds of Gun Permits After Background Check Error

    na22

    Fox News reports firearm permits were revoked from hundreds of Florida residents after the state’s agricultural commissioner said that a “deceitful” employee was unable to log in to the background check system for over a year.

    Tens of thousands of permit applications went unchecked because of the error, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

    In a statement, Agricultural Commissioner Adam Putnam said that 291 gun licenses were ultimately revoked from state residents.

    The employee responsible for the lapse was fired, according to News 6 in Orlando.

    “The problem went unresolved until discovered by another worker in March 2017 — meaning that for more than a year applications got approved without the required background check,” the Times reported.

    Putnam is running for Florida governor with a campaign that touts his expansion of concealed carry permits. More than 1.9 million people are licensed to carry concealed weapons in Florida.

    291 disapproved background checks out of “tens of thousands” submitted sounds remarkably low to me. Why are we doing these again? Oh, that’s right- to keep firearms out of the hands of criminals. We all know how well THAT works.

  • Former Navy sailor pardoned by Trump says he’s suing Comey and Obama

    USS SSN
    Fox News News reports a former Navy sailor is planning to file a lawsuit against Obama administration officials, charging that he was subject to unequal protection of the law.

    Former First Class Petty Officer Kristian Saucier served a year in federal prison for taking photos of classified sections of the submarine on which he worked, and claims that the same officials who meted out punishment to him for his actions were lenient with Hillary Clinton for using a private email server for handling classified information.

    His lawyer, Ronald Daigle, told Fox News on Monday that the lawsuit, which he expects to file soon in Manhattan, will name the U.S. Department of Justice, former FBI Director James Comey and former President Barack Obama as defendants, among others.

    “They interpreted the law in my case to say it was criminal,” Saucier told Fox News, referring to prosecuting authorities in his case, “but they didn’t prosecute Hillary Clinton. Hillary is still walking free. Two guys on my ship did the same thing and weren’t treated as criminals. We want them to correct the wrong.”

    “We’ll highlight the differences in the way Hillary Clinton was prosecuted and how my client was prosecuted,” Daigle said. “We’re seeking to cast a light on this to show that there’s a two-tier justice system and we want it to be corrected.”

    Saucier, who lives in Vermont, pleaded guilty in 2016 to taking photos inside the USS Alexandria while it was stationed in Groton, Connecticut, in 2009. He said he only wanted service mementos, but federal prosecutors argued he was a disgruntled sailor who had put national security at risk by taking photos showing the submarine’s propulsion system and reactor compartment and then obstructed justice by destroying a laptop and camera.

    Saucier said that he recognized he had erred in taking the photos, which he said he wanted to show only to his family to show them where he worked. But he lashed out at Obama officials, saying that his prosecution was politically motivated, prompted by sensitivity about classified information amid the scandal involving Clinton’s emails.

    “My case was usually something handled by military courts,” he said. “They used me as an example because of [the backlash over] Hillary Clinton.”

    Saucier, 31, said that the pardon has enabled him to pick up the pieces and rebuild his life with his wife and young daughter.

    Well, good for him. He screwed the pooch and paid the price, no sympathy here. That being said, I wish him well in in his endeavors to expose the double standards that currently exist between the hoi polli and the elites. 30,000+ subpoenaed emails destroyed? Cankles McPantsuit has some ‘splainin’ to do.

  • China warns US against provocations following B-52 flyby, Warship FONOPS

    BUFF
    Military Times reports that China criticized the U.S. on Wednesday after a fly-by of two B-52 bombers by the Chinese-held Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, during a period of escalating words and demonstrations of military might from the two major Pacific powers.

    Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying warned the U.S. against “hyping up militarization and stirring up trouble,” while promising that China would do whatever was necessary to defend its sovereignty.

    The U.S. “doing whatever they want is risky and China will not be threatened by any military warships,” Hua told reporters at a daily briefing in Beijing.

    The fly-by of the shoal, which China seized from the Philippines in 2012, came after U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis accused Beijing of “intimidation and coercion” in the South China Sea. China claims almost the entirety of the south China Sea — a resource-rich area that also has some of the world’s busiest shipping lanes — despite ownership claims from neighboring countries including the Philippines, Vietnam, and Taiwan.

    Speaking at a summit of top security officials in Singapore last weekend, Mattis said China has deployed anti-ship missiles and surface-to-air missiles and landed nuclear capable bombers on the disputed islands. He vowed that the Indo-Pacific would remain a “priority theater” for U.S. forces.

    China announced it had dispatched warships and aircraft to drive away two U.S. Navy vessels sailing close to Chinese holdings in the Paracel Island chain last Sunday, where China recently revealed it had landed strategic bombers on an airstrip for the first time. The two ships, the destroyer USS Higgins and the cruiser USS Antietam, were engaged in Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPS) to dispute China’s claims of sovereignty in the area.

    The Chinese bombers landing on the Paracel Islands escalated regional tensions, and resulted in the Pentagon withdrawing its invitation for China to participate in multinational naval exercises near Hawaii, in order to protest China’s military moves in the South China Sea.

    Seems the Chinese still haven’t got the hint, so a couple BUFFs* were dispatched to remind them the U.S. does not recognize their illegal territorial claims, and is not happy with nuclear capable bombers on the islands. We’ll have wait to see what, if any, effect it will have.

    *Big, Ugly, Fat, err, Fellows.