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08/11/2016 by The Doctor Of Common Sense

Loretta Lynch Declined FBI Request To Investigate Clinton Foundation

The Department of Justice declined a FBI request to open up a public integrity investigation into the Clinton Foundation, CNN reported on Wednesday.

According to the news network, the FBI made the request earlier this year, but the DOJ said it did not have enough evidence to open a formal probe. CNN reported:

The Clinton Foundation was not part of the recent investigation into her private server; it was separate. The FBI went to Justice Department earlier this year asking for it to open a case into the foundation, but the public integrity unit declined. The Justice Department had looked into whether it should open a case on the foundation a year prior and found it didn’t have sufficient evidence to do so.

Opposition to the FBI’s request — if the report is accurate — is likely to raise even more questions about whether the DOJ is acting impartially. Attorney General Loretta Lynch came under fire last month after it was revealed that she met in secret on her government airplane with Bill Clinton in late June.

The meeting occurred days before the FBI and DOJ were set to interview Hillary Clinton as part of its investigation into whether Clinton or her aides mishandled classified information by using a private email system.

Lynch has insisted that she did not discuss the investigation with the former president. It has also been reported that the Clinton campaign has considered asking Lynch to remain as attorney general if Hillary Clinton is elected president.

The CNN report helps settle a question that government officials have largely avoided addressing.

FBI Director James Comey declined last month to say whether an investigation into the Clinton Foundation was underway.

Clinton’s campaign spokesman Brian Fallon recently said that there is “no evidence” that the Clinton Foundation is or was under investigation.
Though the DOJ decided not to pursue a public integrity investigation, new questions about the Clinton Foundation were raised on Tuesday after the watchdog group Judicial Watch released a new set of emails showing that a top adviser for the non-profit asked Clinton’s State Department aides to help out several individuals — including a major Clinton Foundation and a close associate. (RELATED: Clinton Foundation Official Asked Hillary’s State Dept. For Favors For Donor, Associate)

The Clinton Foundation official was Doug Band. He has worked for Bill Clinton for years and now runs the consulting firm Teneo Strategies.

In an April 25, 2009 email, Band asked Clinton aides Huma Abedin and Cheryl Mills to help put Lebanese-Nigerian billionaire Gilbert Chagoury in touch with the State Department’s “substance person” on issues related to Lebanon.

Chagoury, a longtime Clinton donor who was once a close associate of Nigerian dictator Sani Abache, has given between $1 million and $5 million to the Clinton Foundation. In 2009 he pledged $1 billion to help with a project undertaken by the Clinton Global Initiative, a Clinton Foundation offshoot which Band helped advise.

“This is very important,” Band said in his request to Mills and Abedin. “He’s key guy there and to us.”

In another April 2009 email, Band forwarded an email to Mills, Abedin and another Clinton aide, Nora Toiv, entitled “A favor.”

The individual seemingly asked for a job with the State Department.

“Important to take care of [redacted],” Band wrote.

On April 29, 2009, Band emailed the same trio of advisers asking: “Can someone pls call [redacted]? He calls me every day and we owe him some attention.”

It is unclear who the individual was, but Abedin told Band that she would place the call. Band’s remark that “we owe him some attention” suggests that the functions of the Clinton Foundation overlapped with the State Department.

Abedin and Toiv later landed a job at Band’s firm, Teneo.

The Clinton campaign denied to CNN that the Band emails were evidence of collusion between the Clinton Foundation and Hillary Clinton’s State Department.

“Neither of these emails involve the secretary or relate to the Foundation’s work,” Clinton campaign spokesman Josh Schwerin told the network. “They are communications between her aides and the President’s personal aide, and indeed the recommendation was for one of the Secretary’s former staffers who was not employed by the Foundation.”

Notably, Schwerin’s comment does not address Band’s request on behalf of Chagoury, the major Clinton Foundation donor.

http://linkis.com/dailycaller.com/2016/Nh9GI

08/08/2016 by The Doctor Of Common Sense

Black Only Classes At College! That’s Right Segregation Is Back

An Illinois college has restricted certain sections of a mandatory introductory course to black students.

“While helping my son register for college at Moraine Valley Community College, we noticed that the required course College 101 has two sections limited to African-American students,” one concerned parent told The Chicago Tribune. “He wants to know why there are not two sections limited to Asian-American students? How about Native American students?”

This segregation of students by race seems odd, especially considering the course’s emphasis on diversity.

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“[College 101] provides an opportunity to assess your purpose for college, assess your study strategies, set college and career goals, examine your values and decision-making skills, and develop an appreciation for diversity,” the course catalog states.

But Jessica Crotty, Moraine’s assistant director of communications, made the case for segregation, saying the school periodically reserves certain course offerings for various demographics of students, including veterans.

“Sometimes we set aside sections for specific populations, including veterans and older students,” Crotty noted.

“The focus can be on specific issues they face,” she explained. “For example, veterans face a specific set of challenges. Students feel comfortable and are more likely to open up because they’re with other students who are like them.”

Conversely, Michael Olivas, acting president of University of Houston Downtown, told Inside Higher Ed that he feels such exclusionary program offerings are misguided, however pure the intentions behind them may be.

“I think it’s ill-advised, arguably subject to legal challenge, and you don’t want to wave the flag in front of the bull,” he argued, saying that even support services targeted at specific demographics should be available to all students to avoid creating potentially counterproductive perceptions.

08/08/2016 by The Doctor Of Common Sense

Iran’s Ex-President Asks Obama For $2 Billion Dollars In Frozen Assets

Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is asking President Obama to release nearly $2 billion in Iranian assets frozen in a New York bank account.

Ahmadinejad, who left office in 2013 but may be eyeing a new run for president next year, told Obama in a letter that the “property seizure” is “counter to all international legal principles and rules.” Continuing to withhold the money, Ahmadinejad added, could further deepen the “historical distrust” between the two nations.

“Your campaign slogan was ‘change,’” Ahmadinejad wrote to Obama in the letter, published on Monday by the private Tasnim News Agency. However “the same hostile policies along with the same trend of enmity were pursued,” he warned.

“I passionately advise you not to let the historical defamation and bitter incident be recorded under your name.”

The frozen assets have been a continued point of friction between Washington and Tehran for years, and the letter from Ahmadinejad could stir up new anxieties about the blocked money just as public attention is returning to the U.S.-Iranian relationship. The White House has been on defense in recent days, following the revelation that it secretly sent $400 million in cash to Iran to resolve a decades-old financial dispute. Over the weekend, Iran announced that it had executed a nuclear scientist who had provided information to the U.S.

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court ruled 6-2 that the $1.75 billion worth of assets held by the U.S. could be distributed to more than 1,000 victims of terrorism sponsored by Iran, including the 1983 bombing of a Marine barracks in Beirut and the 1996 attacks on Saudi Arabia’s Khobar Towers. Congress had directly intervened in the case to shuttle the money to the victims, and the Obama administration had also advocated for the ruling.

Iran is appealing the case at the International Court of Justice.

Both the State Department and the White House declined to immediately comment on the letter.

Ahmadinejad, a hard-liner in Iran’s political system, served as its president from 2005 to 2013, during which the chasm deepened between the U.S. and Iran.

The relationship between the two powers has thawed somewhat in recent years, following the election of President Hassan Rouhani and the completion last year of the international nuclear deal. However, the countries remain at odds on many issues, and Iranian leaders have expressed frustration with the outcome of the nuclear pact, which is under strain in the U.S.

Rouhani is expected to run for a second term next year, but he may meet opposition from Ahmadinejad and others who question the deal’s impact.

http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/290709-ex-iranian-president-pens-letter-to-obama-asking-for-2-billion-in

07/31/2016 by The Doctor Of Common Sense

Muslim Asylum Seeker Stabs Priest in Belgium After He Used His Shower

I should have known something when the Muslim said he wanted to bathe.

A priest has been stabbed in his own home by an asylum seeker he allowed in to use his shower – according to local prosecutors.

The priest – named locally as 65-year-old Jos Vanderlee – suffered injuries to his hands during the incident in Lanaken, Belgium.

Public Prosecutor of Limburg Coppin Bruno said the attack happened at around 2.40pm local time (1.40pm UK time) but have stressed they do not believe it was terror-related.

Can I Use Your Kitchen To Cook Dinner? I'm peaceful! — Can I Use Your Kitchen To Cook Dinner? I’m peaceful!

Prosecutors say the suspect had knocked on the priest’s home to ask for a shower and help.

After the shower the man allegedly asked for money and stabbed the priest when he said no.

An investigation has been launched but authorities have stressed they do not believe the incident is linked to terrorism.

The mayor of Lanake Marino Keulen, said: “Despite the fact that we are shocked, we

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must stress that this incident can not be linked to terrorist acts at this stage of the investigation.”

Last week, 85-year-old priest Jacques Hemel was knifed to death by ISIS extremists at a church in Normandy, France.

Teenage knifemen Adel Kermiche and Abdel Malik Nabil Petitjean, both 19, stormed the church and took five hostages before slashing the elderly priest’s throat at the altar on Tuesday.

The pair had recorded a video pledging allegiance to ISIS and the terror group later claimed responsibility for the attack.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/priest-belgium-stabbed-by-asylum-8535440

07/28/2016 by The Doctor Of Common Sense

Veterans Died While The Government Spent $20 million On Art At VA

In the now-infamous VA scandal of 2012-2015, the nation was appalled to learn that 1,000 veterans died while waiting to see a doctor. Tragically, many calls to the suicide assistance hotline were answered by voicemail. The health claim appeals process was known as “the hamster wheel” and the appointment books were cooked in seven of every ten clinics.

Yet, in the midst of these horrific failings the VA managed to spend $20 million on high-end art over the last ten years – with $16 million spent during the Obama years.

A joint investigation by COX Media Washington, D.C. and our organization, OpenTheBooks.com found that the VA bought Christmas trees priced like cars and sculptures that cost more than five-bedroom homes. Then, there’s the two sculptures – with a price tag of $670,000 – for a VA center serving veterans who are blind.

Recently at Forbes, we released our oversight report entitled, “The VA Scandal Two Years Later.” The VA added 39,454 new positions to their payroll between 2012-2015, but fewer than one in 11 of these new positions (3,591) were ‘Medical Officers,’ i.e. doctors. Today, nearly 500,000 sick veterans are still wait-listed for an appointment because there just aren’t enough doctors.

Instead of hiring doctors to help triage backlogged veterans, the VA’s bonus-happy bureaucracy spent millions of dollars on art. During and immediately following its notorious scandal, the VA procured:

A twenty-seven foot artificial Christmas tree costing $21,000 (2011).
62 “local image” pictures for the San Francisco VA facility costing $32,000 (2014).
A “Ribbons of Honor” glass sculpture with five glass panels symbolic of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard by Weet Design for a VA outpatient center in Anchorage, AK costing $100,000 (2010). Artwork for the “interior commons wall” by Red Door Studio costing $65,000 (2009) and artwork for the “canteen” by artist David Deroux costing $30,000 (2009).
Fabrication and installation of the “Gradient Arc” for the VA Palo Alto Health Care System costing $330,775 (2014). “Harbor” glass and light art by Studio GH costing $220,000 (2014) – showcased in this video. A $482,960 “rock sculpture” procured during courtyard renovation and $115,600 spent on “art consultants” for the Palo Alto facility.

In an ironic vignette, at a healthcare facility dedicated to serving blind veterans – the new Palo Alto Polytrauma and Blind Rehabilitation Center – the agency wasted $670,000 on two sculptures no blind veteran can even see. The “Helmick Sculpture” cost $385,000 (2014) and a parking garage exterior wall façade by King Ray Studio for the “design, fabrication, and installation of the public artwork” cost $285,000 (2014).

Between 2009 and 2014, the VA spent over $610,000 on artwork for the new healthcare facility in San Juan, Puerto Rico – including transactions with the upscaleOmart Gallery ($56,100). The VA spent another $560,000 on art for three healthcare facilities: Minneapolis VA Medical Center ($242,933); Biloxi, MS ($168,467); and Salem, VA ($148,482). The Biloxi VA centers were part of the seven “most troubled” VA facilities during the 2014 wait-time scandal. But at least they were well-decorated.

Our data shows millions of dollars spent on seemingly small transactions quickly added up. For example, $55,000 was spent on the “Metal Art Tree of Life with Leaves and Doves” and just two upholstered cornice window treatments cost nearly $16,000.

The affinity for art at the VA has been going on for a long time, but since 2008 the sheer amount of artwork disclosed by the VA increased dramatically. According to federal records captured by OpenTheBooks.com, the VA purchased $1.515 million in artwork (2004-2007). Then, during 2008 through 2014, the VA spent 16.2 million on artwork, art consulting and restoration services plus another $2 million on special projects.

Review all VA artwork transactions – $19.69 million – by downloading our compiled PDF record.

All of this artwork comes with a long-term price tag in the form of diminished care for our veterans. During the peak of media attention on the wait-time scandal in 2014, the VA contracted with Northern California Art Conservators to “restore, collaborate, and coordinate installation of historical pieces” at a cost of more than $410,000.

Now the VA says they are going to change the rules on high-end art procurement. But, there’s a catch – a draft of these rules won’t be public for at least 90 days, and the VA has a terrible history of slow-walking or ignoring reforms.

So, let’s make it easy on the VA administrators with a simple, low-cost solution: start using the artwork of veterans. Let veterans benefit from the artwork they create within the PTSD and therapy programs.

Blind veterans can’t see fancy sculptures, and all veterans would be happier if they could just see a doctor.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/adamandrzejewski/2016/07/26/the-vas-luxury-art-obsession/#7ec3b29a7ecb

07/28/2016 by The Doctor Of Common Sense

Report Says ISIS Has Attacked Internationally 1 Once Every 4 Days Since June 8

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In a new report by InterCenter, Michael Weiss reports that after today’s attack in Normandy, France, the Islamic State has attacked outside of Iraq and Syria nearly every four days since June 8.

Yesterday, the Islamic State news agency Amaq News released a report about the attacks, after claiming a recent suicide bombing committed by Mohammad Daleel at a music festival in Ansbach, Germany.

We are peaceful and she asked to be raped. It is how we show love.

Today, Amaq News released a statement regarding the murder of 84-year-old Reverend Jacques Hamel at Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray during Mass by two Islamic State sympathizers.

The BBC reports that armed men entered the church and took the reverend and four other people hostage. The hostage takers were later killed in a standoff with police.

REPORT: ISIS Has Attacked Internationally 1 Out of Every 4 Days Since June 8

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