Tag: secrecy

A Jan. 6 rioter was convicted and sentenced in secret. No one will say why

Hundreds of rioters have been charged, convicted and sentenced for joining the mob attack on the U.S. Capitol. Unlike their cases, Samuel Lazar’s appears to have been resolved in secret — kept under seal with no explanation, even after his release from prison.

Lazar, 37, of Ephrata, Pennsylvania, was arrested in July 2021 on charges that he came to the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, dressed in tactical gear and protective goggles, and used chemical spray on officers who were desperately trying to beat back the angry Donald Trump supporters.

There is no public record of a conviction or a sentence in Lazar’s court docket.

But the Bureau of Prisons told The Associated Press that the man was released from federal custody this week after completing a sentence for assaulting or resisting a federal officer. Lazar was sentenced in Washington’s federal court on March 17 to 30 months in prison, according to the Bureau of Prisons, but there’s no public record of such a hearing. He had been jailed since July 2021.

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DIA Releases Heavily Redacted Documents on COVID-19 Origin: Raises More Questions than Answers

In a recent revelation through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), The Black Vault has procured documents from the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) relating to investigations into the origins of the Covid-19 novel SARS-2 Coronavirus. But the excessive redactions and withheld information have only intensified the mystery around the pandemic’s inception.

The original FOIA request specifically sought “all reports, papers, memos, etc. from the Armed Forces Medical Intelligence Center during 2019, 2020 or 2021 evaluating the origin of the Covid-19 novel SARS-2 Coronavirus and/or whether the Covid-19 novel SARS-2 Coronavirus was created in a laboratory.” The DIA’s response: “A search of DIA’s systems of records located one document (32 pages) responsive to your request.”

But the catch? Hefty redactions. Out of the 32 pages found responsive, 18 pages were “withheld in part” while a staggering 14 pages were “withheld in full.” The few visible headers include hints at what was being withheld like “China: Emergence of a Novel Coronavirus in Wuhan” and “Analysis of Alternatives: 2019-nCoV Outbreak Caused by Leak at WIV.” Yet, substantial portions of content, entire paragraphs, and even entire pages remain obscured from view.

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Scientists hide details of questionable taxpayer-funded pro-vaccine study

In May of this year, your journal pubished 2023 a study purportedly monitoring for serious neurological adverse events connected to Covid-19 vaccine. The study was entitled: “Observational Study of Patients Hospitalized With Neurologic Events After SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination, December 2020–June 2021.” 

The study, funded by CDC, was conducted by researchers at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and New York Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. Although it is well established that side effects from vaccines and other medicine can arise years after the medicine is taken, the study scientists say they limited their examination to a six-week time period after a Covid-19 vaccine. They report looking at 138 people who had gotten vaccinated and then ended up hospitalized with any conditions on a list of neurologic conditions such as stroke, encephalopathy, seizure, and intracranial hemorrhage (bleeding). 

What got my attention was the odd conclusion. The study said that all 138 patients had “risk factors” or “established causes” for their illnesses, such as high blood pressure for stroke victims, and, therefore, this somehow, supposedly proves the vaccines are safe.

“All cases in this study were determined to have at least 1 risk factor and/or known etiology accounting for their neurologic syndromes. Our comprehensive clinical review of these cases supports the safety of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines,” reads the study discussion.

Surely these preeminent researchers understand the basic science that shows people with risk factors are more likely to suffer adverse events from medication. It is obvious that the fact that the patients had risk factors prior to vaccination doesn’t exonerate the vaccines at all; in fact, it potentially implicates the vaccines as yet another medicine that can add risks to people who already have illnesses— as do most Americans. Additionally, this conclusion raises eyebrows because it is well-established in literature that the vaccines are associated with a host of neurological events.*

I contacted the primary study author, Dr. Kiran Thakur, to see if it was I who was missing something. I asked: “The study seems to imply that because people who suffered certain neurological events shortly after Covid vaccination had risk factors, it exonerates the vaccines from blame. But did the authors consider that people with existing risk factors could be at greater risk for vaccine adverse events?” Instead of answering the question, Dr. Thakur replied: “Can you clarify the purpose of your questions (to be published, personal inquiry or otherwise).” When I told him it might be published, he went dark. When I persisted in asking if he would please respond, he finally answered: “Declining, thank you.” 

Why isn’t a legitimate scientist happy to answer a simple question about his work? What’s the big secret? 

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Burn After Reading: Colorado Teachers Told To Destroy Results of an Illegal Gender Survey

Not that many years ago, I ran across this little piece of fortune cookie/Bazooka Joe wisdom: “If you have to sneak to do it, lie to cover it up, or delete it to avoid being seen, then you probably shouldn’t be doing it.” And that is good advice. That is unless you are in a pitched battle against the heteronormative, white patriarchy. In that case, sneaking, lying, and deleting are not just permissible but admirable tactics. This is war, you know. Desperate times call for desperate measures. These are, after all, the times that try ze/zim/zir souls. In Jefferson County, Colorado, a number of parents are alleging that teachers broke state and federal laws and that the local teachers’ union, the Jefferson County Education Association (JCEA), is aiding and abetting the teachers in that effort.

Having students fill out surveys about their gender and preferred pronouns violates federal and Colorado state laws as those things constitute “protected information.” But CBS Colorado reports that the school district maintains that it is unclear as to the legality of such surveys. However, there are several lawsuits over the matter, and administrators instructed the teachers not to address the issue or conduct any surveys.

Parent Denice Crawford was happy with an email she received from the district reminding parents that mandatory surveys inquiring about students’ protected information are illegal. The email said that voluntary surveys are also prohibited unless parents can opt out of them. Crawford, who has three children in district schools, was surprised, to say the very least, when her son came home with a survey asking about his gender identity. She told the TV station she was “deceived, lied to, taken advantage of.” Other parents, who are members of Jeffco Kids First, said that dozens of teachers conducted such surveys and that the JCEA instructed teachers via email on how to keep the surveys secret. The email read in part, “…if you do a questionnaire, please make it a paper and pencil activity – any digital records are more permanent and may be requested under federal law.” Teachers were also advised to make notations about students but not hold on to documents. School board member Susan Miller said that the JCEA gave teachers a way to work around the law. That could put the teachers’ jobs and licenses at risk. For her part, Crawford feels like the trust between her and the teachers has been broken. With a transgender nephew and a gay daughter, Crawford claims that she is not anti-LGBTQ and that, after reporting the survey to her son’s principal, there has been no reply.

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FBI Refuses To Release Body Cam Footage From Utah Raid That Left An Elderly Trump Supporter Dead

The FBI is refusing to release DOJ-mandated body camera footage from agents who participated in a raid that killed Craig Robertson, a 75-year-old disabled Trump supporter who allegedly threatened President Biden on Facebook, according to a report from Daily Wire reporter Gregg Re.

“The fbi is refusing to release the doj-mandated body camera footage in the shooting death of Utah man Craig Robertson. They say it could “interfere” with “enforcement proceedings.” (??)” Re wrote in an X post on Tuesday. “This is an elderly guy that the salt lake field office decided to surprise and swarm at 6 am.”

Re included a response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request that sought to obtain the footage. “The material you requested is located in an investigative file which is exempt from disclosure,” the response states.

“The records responsive to your request are law enforcement records: there is a pending or prospective law enforcement proceeding relevant to these responsive records, and release of the information could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings,” the letter continued. “Therefore, your request is being administratively closed.”

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Prince Andrew once again protected by royal protocol: ‘Something is being hidden’ claims expert

Prince Andrew, the third child of the beloved monarch Queen Elizabeth II, has been under the spotlight for quite some time. However, while all members of his family are under constant scrutiny, Prince Andrew’s attention is for a very dark reason.

Indeed, Prince Andrew is tied in with sex offenders Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. He is also being sued for sexual assault. In 2019, he gave an interview to the BBC which was meant to put this scandal to rest but instead led to him being removed from any royal duties and losing his Royal Highness title.

Now, biographer Andrew Lownie, reveals that government files about Prince Andrew’s activities won’t be released until 2065. But there’s one problem…

The Royal Family doesn’t have to follow rules that apply to any other citizens. In this instance, Prince Andrew is protected by the fact that the Firm isn’t subjected to the Freedom of Information Act.

This Act, passed in 2000, ensures that the public has access to ‘information held by public authorities.’ This means that the public, a biographer included, can legally request to see information from public authorities.

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CIA Still Refuses to Declassify Documents Exposing Its Responsibility for the Betrayal, Arrest and 27-Year Imprisonment of Nelson Mandela

On August 5, 1962, Nelson Mandela was apprehended by South African authorities while driving with Cecil Williams, a white Communist theater director, from Durban to Johannesburg.

At the time, Mandela, a leader of the military wing of the anti-Apartheid African National Congress (ANC), was a fugitive from South Africa’s Apartheid regime.

After his arrest, Mandela was tried for treason and served 27 years at the infamous Robben Island prison, before being freed and becoming South Africa’s first Black president after the fall of the Apartheid regime in 1994.

Details have since emerged indicating that the South African police who arrested Mandela had been tipped off about his whereabouts by the CIA.

August 1962 was during the height of the Cold War—Mandela’s capture occurred only a few weeks before the Cuban Missile Crisis—and the American intelligence community believed that Mandela and the ANC were secret allies of the Soviets—which indeed they were.

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Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer received email in Greek from consultant to shield it from the public: lawsuit

Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer received a coded email related to her administration’s response to a local water crisis in an apparent attempt to hide the sensitive communication from the public, a lawsuit alleges. 

The email was disguised in Greek alphabet font and sent by Andrew Leavitt, a consultant to Michigan’s energy department, to Whitmer’s senior energy adviser Kara Cook in September of 2021, according to a class action lawsuit filed.

“Hot off the presses. As I warned there are some major red flags. It seems like we are back at square one having not learned from Flint,” reads Leavitt’s decoded email, which was first reported by the Washington Free Beacon on Wednesday after a June court filing in the case. 

Leavitt served as a consultant for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.

The use of the Greek language and alphabet “appears to be calculated to conceal the statements,” the court filing states, noting that Leavitt “prefaced his grave concerns about the water crises with a reference back to his prior warnings and the State and City Defendants’ failure to learn from the Flint tragedy.“

Since the email was written in Greek, it would not have been included in public records requests for government communications containing words such as “Flint” or “red flags.”

Michigan’s public records department cannot electronically search for material written using the Greek alphabet, the Washington Free Beacon reported. 

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Media Blackout: Black Curtains Go Up In Lahaina Blocking View of Ground Zero Investigation, Clean Up

Footage out of fire-ravaged Lahaina, Hawaii, shows crews have erected an extensive line of black curtains blocking citizens from seeing what’s going on as hundreds of people are still reported missing.

Video courtesy of citizen journalist Geoff Cygnus on TikTok depicts miles of fencing and curtains have been put up alongside Front Street, one of Lahaina’s main highways, obstructing the view of ongoing activities.

“There seems to be a huge emphasis on ensuring that the media and anyone else can’t see what’s going on,” Cygnus reported in a recent video.

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