Tag: corruption

Claudine Gay Still a Harvard Professor One Year After Resigning

According to Campus Reform, “Controversial former Harvard University President Claudine Gay remains as a faculty member a year after her resignation from leading the Ivy League school.”

The highly controversial former president Claudine Gay remains a professor at Harvard despite having a turned a blind eye to violent and threatening behavior at Harvard.

Gay was also accused of plagiarism something students are penalized for.

“Gay gained heavy criticism during a congressional hearing in December 2023 in which she was asked if “calling for the genocide of Jews” violates Harvard policies. Her answers included, “It can be, depending on the context.”

“When pressed about the specific “context,” Gay replied that the call for genocide needed to be “targeted at an individual.”

“The ex-president garnered further criticism after various allegations that she plagiarized as a doctoral student in the 1990s.

After resigning, Gay wrote a New York Times op-ed in which she stated she “made mistakes,” but clarified that, “I proudly stand by my work and its impact on the field.”

According to Harvard’s website, Gay serves as the Wilbur A. Cowett Professor of Government and of African and African-American Studies.

Keep reading

Outrage as Biden set to award Hillary Clinton, George Soros with Presidential Medal of Freedom

Social media erupted in anger Saturday morning with news that President Biden will award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and left-wing billionaire George Soros.

The award, the nation’s highest civilian honor, is given to individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values or security of the United States, world peace or other significant societal, public or private endeavors, the White House said in a statement.

Tesla founder Elon Musk led the furious outcry, labeling the decision to award Soros the honor as “a travesty.”

Musk shared a video clip of himself on Joe Rogan’s podcast, where he said he believed that Soros “fundamentally hates humanity.”

“He’s doing things that erode the fabric of civilization. You know, getting DAs elected who refuse to prosecute crime,” he says in the clip. 

Keep reading

Former German FinMin Admits Corruption In Ukraine Is “Rampant”, And Large Majority Of Ukrainians Agree

“Ukraine is now ruled by an oligarch who increasingly relies on foreign aid. A state where corruption is rampant and there are no real democratic structures,” former German Finance Minister Oskar Lafontaine told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, cited by news agency V4NA.

The former minister emphasized that independent parties and mass media are banned in Ukraine and establishing democracy and independence would take a long time.

Reports of corruption are common in Ukraine, especially in the military, according to Magyar Nemzet. A recent anti-corruption investigation identified 30 Ukrainian officials suspected of embezzling funds, including employees of housing and maintenance departments, as well as representatives of commercial structures across Ukraine. Prosecutors say 15 of them were members of organized crime groups.

And as Zelensky goes begging for more money from President Joe Biden for the war, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office announced last week that it has uncovered a large-scale scheme to embezzle more than $3.7 million from the state budget — funds that had been meant for the Ukrainian Armed Forces to finance everything from heating and electricity to military infrastructure construction work. 

Prosecutors say some of these goods were purchased at significantly higher prices than market prices. Some of the suspects are also accused of abuse of power and negligence in military service. One of the defendants, the head of a regional housing and maintenance department, is suspected of illegally purchasing $285,000 worth of commercial equipment, land and other valuables that were registered in the name of an intermediary. 

Magyar Nemzet lists several scandals, including in January 2023 when Deputy Defense Minister Vitaly Polovenko announced that the Ukrainian Defense Ministry had terminated contracts with companies owned by Lviv businessman Ihor Hrynkevich, who was involved in the scandalous procurement of clothing for the armed forces. That same month, the Security Service of Ukraine announced that it had detained a colonel of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the CEO of a defense supply company on suspicion of corruption.

In Ukraine, high-level corruption ranks second among the main concerns of Ukrainians after the Russian-Ukrainian war, a survey conducted by the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption revealed. The results of the research previously presented by the Transcarpathian news portal Kárpáti Igaz Szó show that 71.6 percent of the population consider this to be the country’s second-biggest problem, and 73 percent of entrepreneurs think the same.

Keep reading

World War I—The Great Banker Bailout

“We see men living with their skulls blown open; we see soldiers run with their two feet cut off, they stagger on their splintered stumps into the next shell-hole; a lance-corporal crawls a mile and a half on his hands dragging his smashed knee after him; another goes to the dressing station and over his clasped hands bulge his intestines; we see men without mouths, without jaws, without faces; we find one man who has held the artery of his arm in his teeth for two hours in order not to bleed to death. The sun goes down, night comes, the shells whine, life is at an end.”—All Quiet on the Western Front

It is estimated that the disaster of World War I claimed some 15-22 million lives. This does not even take into account the injuries, property destruction, and other post-war consequences. The above quote from the well-known novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, captures a horrific snapshot of World War I. While people often flippantly talk about war—especially from within the borders of a wealthy international hegemon like the United States—people ought to read such descriptions and soberly weigh the costs and benefits of going to war.

Given the description of the destruction above, plus the fact that Woodrow Wilson ran on the slogan, “He kept us out of war,” Americans probably would have resented the fact that the late entry of the United States in World War I served, at least in large part, to bail out American bankers. Such a statement as, “We are fighting this war on behalf of the bankers,” was, at one time, enough to land an American populist presidential candidate—Eugene V. Debs—in prison under the Espionage Act and Sedition Acts in 1918. However, following the war, Woodrow Wilson admitted,

Why, my fellow-citizens, is there any man here, or any woman—let me say, is there any child here, who does not know that the seed of war in the modern world is industrial and commercial rivalry? . . . This war, in its inception, was a commercial and industrial war. It was not a political war.

Yet, in the above quote, Wilson only admitted that this was the case for the commercial powers of Germany and its rivals, but he did not acknowledge the rescue that the US performed for American bankers in the war, who had been funding the Allied cause and providing loans to the Allied powers. The newly-printed money for these loans, supplied to Allied European powers, was quickly funneled back to certain industries in the United States who provided war materials. In the middle were the Fed-connected bankers.

Keep reading

California Rings In The New Year With New Push To Block Voter Identification

In California, Democrats are ringing in the New Year with a new push against voter identification. California Attorney General Rob Bonta has been hammering Huntington Beach because the city recently amended its municipal laws to require basic voter identification.

While voters overwhelmingly support voter identification, Democrats in California recently passed a law making it a crime to ask for voter identification at polling places. Now, Bonta is asking for an appellate court to intervene to prevent Huntington Beach from asking for IDs before people vote.

After Huntington Beach passed Measure A requiring voter identification in 2026, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill banning voter identification requirements. Bonta then sued the city but the California Superior Court ruled it too soon for a lawsuit. California Superior Court Judge Nico Dourbetas wrote that “this matter is not ripe for adjudication, as [the change to] the City’s Charter is permissive and discretionary in character, and thus currently presents no conflict with state elections law.”

Bonta, however, wants a ruling to prevent voter identification before the 2026 elections.

Secretary of State Shirley Weber insisted that  California residents are already required to verify their identity when they register to vote, but the city argues that it does not mean that the person voting is that same person.

Democrats have continued to block voter identification laws and policies despite Gallop and other polling showing as much as 80 percent of Americans support voter identification laws across party lines. The Biden Administration was widely criticized for its effort to prevent Virginia from removing the names of people who previously stated that they were not U.S. citizens.

Keep reading

FBI Releases Suspiciously Doctored Video of January 6 Pipe Bomber After House Report Reveals Bureau Engaged in Massive Coverup

Four years later…

The FBI on Thursday evening released *new* footage of the January 6 pipe bomber after Rep. Loudermilk released a report revealing the bureau engaged in a massive coverup operation.

For years we’ve been told an unidentified suspect planted pipe bombs at the RNC and DNC headquarters on January 5, the night before the Capitol riot.

The FBI still ‘can’t find’ the person who planted the bombs.

A new report released Thursday morning by the Committee on House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight into the January 6 pipe bomber shows the FBI stopped looking for the suspect in 2021 and covered up evidence.

Later Thursday evening, the FBI released new information on the January 6 pipe bomber and offered a $500,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of the suspect.

The FBI says the January 6 pipe bomber is approximately 5’7″ tall.

Keep reading

House Changes Rules, Makes It Harder to Oust Johnson From Speakership

On Friday, Mike Johnson won the speakership on the first ballot after Reps. Ralph Norman and Keith Self switched their votes following a break.

Johnson almost failed on the first ballot after Reps. Massie, Self and Norman voted for other Congressmen.

After a brief break, Johnson convinced Rep. Self and Norman to switch their votes.

The 119th Congress changed the rules to make it harder to oust a speaker.

It will now take nine GOP lawmakers to force the vote to oust a sitting speaker.

“Now that he is elected, Johnson faces a tough legislating challenge with the narrowest House majority in nearly 100 years,” CNN reported.

“However, in a key victory for Johnson, the House made it harder to oust a speaker. Included as part of the sweeping package was a procedural change that will require a minimum of nine GOP lawmakers to force a vote to oust a speaker. Previously, it only required one member to force a vote,” CNN reported.

Keep reading

Homeland Security Agents Charged With Selling Illegal Drugs Seized As Evidence

A second Homeland Security agent has been charged with selling illegal drugs, taken from seized evidence, for hundreds of thousands of dollars through a confidential informant.

Nicholas Kindle, a special agent in Utah tasked with investigating illegal narcotics trafficking, was arrested three weeks after his alleged co-conspirator, special agent David Cole. Both men face felony drug distribution conspiracy charges. Kindle faces an additional charge of conspiracy to convert U.S. government property for profit.

Kindle was formally charged in an information document filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which does not require grand jury approval to initiate criminal proceedings. Court records indicate that he has not yet been assigned an attorney.

A magistrate judge on Jan. 3 set Kindle’s initial court appearance for Jan. 21 in Salt Lake City. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison.

Cole was indicted by a grand jury on Dec. 18 and has pleaded not guilty to his drug distribution conspiracy charge. He is due to stand trial the week of Feb. 24 and faces a maximum of 20 years if convicted.

His attorney, Alexander Ramos, previously said that he was still trying to gather information about the case.

The pair’s Homeland Security credentials have been suspended following the indictments but they have not been terminated, according to court documents.

Synthetic bath salts, also known as Alpha-PHP, are controlled substances with effects comparable to methamphetamine and cocaine. Abuse of the drug can result in adverse effects, including vomiting, paranoia, hypertension, seizures, or even death, according to U.S. authorities.

Federal prosecutors stated that Cole and Kindle began acquiring the drugs from HSI evidence in 2021 and sold them to a confidential informant from 2022 to 2024.

Keep reading

Why We Cannot Trust the FBI

It gives me no joy to write this, but it must be said — the FBI is a broken law enforcement institution and should be dismantled. I believe the same about the CIA, but that’s a topic for another day. Based on the FBI’s conduct over the last eight years, I find no reason to trust anything that FBI officials say with respect to the recent attacks in New Orleans and Las Vegas. Yes, I think both acts qualify as terrorism, but I have little confidence that we are getting, or will get, the true story.

I worked closely with the FBI during my time in the Office of the Coordinator for Counter Terrorism at the Department of State (1989 -1993). During my first months on the job, I was one of two State officers writing country clearance cables regarding the investigation of the bombing of Pan Am 103, i.e., a message to one of our embassies requesting permission for FBI agents to conduct an investigation in a particular country. In addition, I worked on exercises and real-world missions with members of the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team who served as members of the Foreign Emergency Support Team (aka FEST). I also had the privilege of coordinating with Floyd Clarke, who was the Deputy Director of the FBI, on implementing an advertising campaign for the Terrorism Rewards Program. The FBI agents I worked with were honorable, professional men. They were apolitical.

That is not the case today. The leadership of the FBI has become a gang of partisan, political hacks. What is the evidence? Let’s start with the Russiagate investigation, which was the first big warning sign for me. The FBI, working with the CIA and the United Kingdom’s MI-6, carried out a deliberate operation to sabotage the campaign and subsequent Presidency of Donald Trump. The FBI knowingly lied on multiple FISA warrants and suffered no consequences.

Even after Trump’s surprising victory, the FBI — conspiring with the Department of Justice — manufactured a crime to destroy Trump’s National Security Advisor, General Michael Flynn. Mike committed no crime, but was saddled with criminal charges that bankrupted him financially and defamed his reputation.

Then there was the Hunter Biden laptop. My friend, JP Mac Isaac, was the unfortunate soul who received two damaged computers from Hunter Biden. Despite repeated attempts to contact Hunter and have him retrieve his property, JP became the rightful owner of the hard drives — by virtue of abandonment — per the work agreement that Hunter signed. JP and his dad, Steve, made repeated attempts to contact the FBI to turn over the hard drives. It was only in December 2017 that the FBI finally showed up and took possession. But, instead of conducting an investigation of the ample evidence of criminal activity present on the hard drive, the FBI buried it.

The FBI turned into an American version of the Stasi in the events leading up to and surrounding January 6. There was a legion of FBI informants in the crowd who had one mission — create a riot and a predicate crime for arresting Trump supporters. The subsequent persecution and prosecution of Trump supporters conjured up images of political purges associated with the reign of Joseph Stalin. The FBI, in my opinion, became adept at creating crimes rather than solving them.

Keep reading

The Lie of the Year Was Joe Biden’s Decline

About last year: PolitiFact, the independent fact-checking website run by the Poynter Institute, bestowed another odious distinction on President-elect Donald Trump. The organization dubbed a statement uttered by Trump and his running mate J.D. Vance the “Lie of the Year.”

PolitiFact has christened a Lie of the Year every year since 2009, and in only two of those years did statements made by Democrats earn the top prize. In 2011, PolitiFact slammed Democrats for claiming that Republicans would vote to end Medicare, and in 2013, the organization concluded that President Barack Obama’s solemn promise—”If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan”—was plainly untrue. But in every other year, PolitiFact has singled out right-leaning purveyors of mistruths.

This year is no different. In 2024, PolitiFact’s Lie of the Year is the claim by Trump that Haitian migrants in an Ohio town were “eating people’s pets.”

“With a brazen disregard for facts, Donald Trump and his running mate repeatedly peddled a created story that in Springfield, Ohio, Haitian immigrants were eating pet dogs and cats,” observes the organization.

The Republican ticket’s disregard for the facts in this case was indeed brazen. It was completely untrue that Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating people’s pet dogs and cats. What happened was that various concerns about migrants supposedly hunting birds in public parks in Springfield, Ohio, got lumped together with an unrelated story of someone killing a pet cat in a completely different town. It’s a textbook example of why you shouldn’t automatically believe everything you see on social media. Trump and Vance did real harm here, and it’s absolutely fair to call them out for smearing the immigrant population of Springfield, Ohio.

But was this really the Lie of the Year?

Keep reading