Digested News for 17 Jul 2017
John McCain's incomprehensible questioning at the Comey Hearing is the result of a blood clot above McCain's eye, and not the gypsy curse which I am accused of putting on him; Jane Sanders thinks Bank Fraud Investigations are sexist; and a hacker named Johnnie Walker has leaked State Department e-mails, but all I'm wondering is if he's Johnnie Walker Black, or Johnnie Walker Blue.
Buena hora local, mis amores and welcome back to Digested -- and to those of you just joining us here at the channel, a very warm welcome to you, I'm so glad to have you here.
We're going to start in Washington DC, as I am so often wont to do, with the Republican Healthcare Bill and John McCain. Despite the last-minute revisions filed last Thursday by Senator McConnell, it appears the vote on the "repeal-and-replace" healthcare bill will be delayed, as Senator McCain underwent surgery to remove a 5cm blood clot from above his left eye, on the Friday just passed, the 14th of July. According to the Office of Senator McCain:
“Following a routine annual physical, Sen. John McCain underwent a procedure to remove a blood clot from above his left eye on Friday, July 14 at Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix. Surgeons successfully removed the 5-cm blood clot during a minimally invasive craniotomy with an eyebrow incision. Tissue pathology reports are pending within the next several days.
They also released this statement, following the surgery:
“Senator McCain received excellent treatment at Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix, and appreciates the tremendous professionalism and care by its doctors and staff. He is in good spirits and recovering comfortably at home with his family. On the advice of his doctors, Senator McCain will be recovering in Arizona next week.”
Despite that last sentence providing the implication that McCain would be in recovery, and out of the Senate, for a week, the New York Times and other sources, in interviews with McCain's communications director, Julie Tarallo, and with neurosurgeons, suggest that recovery from a craniotomy, wherein an incision is made in the eyebrow in order to access the skull, would imply a recovery time more along the lines of two weeks -- and this is two weeks the Republicans will be tabling the vote for their health-care bill. Much like ObamaCare, and Hillary's failed healthcare plan before it, it appears the Trump Administration and the 115th Congress are all learning just how complex the problems of healthcare and the politics around healthcare in the United States really are.
Bernie and Jane Sanders are finding themselves in a difficult position today, as backlash begins to mount against her dismissing accusations of bank fraud as "simple sexism." The FBI, however, thinks differently.
An old rival of Bernie Sanders, and candidate for US Attorney in Vermont, Brady Toensing, has long been pursuing investigations into Bernie Sanders, only found success in January of 2016 when he filed a Request for Investigation into Apparent Federal Bank Fraud -- a four-page letter with six exhibits and dozens of documents attached, which detail how Jane Sanders inflated the numbers regarding how much they secured in donations by nearly $2 million, on a loan application for which the purpose of the loan was to expand the college, by purchasing 33 acres of waterfront property on Lake Champlain in Burlington, VT; a case that has expanded with the FBI filing a letter with Sen. Sanders, with regards to Sanders' alleged pressuring of the bank meant to fulfill the loan, asserting that "improper pressure by a United States Senator is a serious ethical violation."
However, Jane Sanders responded in an interview by saying, "I find it incredibly sexist that he's going after my husband by destroying my reputation, and that's not OK"; a statement that has been getting quite a lot of backlash from Fox News anchors, as well as online and alt-media sources. Toensing, in being asked about Sanders' comments, stated: "My goal is for a full, fair, and impartial investigation -- that is all I care about."
Burlington College closed in 2016 after it had lost its accreditation and continual failure to pay its creditors.
Over on the chan-boards, a new leak of e-mails from the US Department of Defense has been leaked by a hacker known as "Johnnie Walker" on July 10th, sent to an unknown number of recipients -- however, until ForeignPolicy.com and NewsWeek picked up the story, they did not gain any widespread attention.
In the pastebin link, "Johnnie Walker" gave a short introduction to his leak:
Perhaps you know that the U.S. State Department has a direct bearing on the agenda formation not only at home but throughout the world.
Now you can make sure it's true. Let me show you the correspondence between the Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency Robert P. Otto and his colleagues, CIA officers and other intelligence agencies, as well as representatives of mainstream media, NGOs, international funds and think tanks.
With the respect for privacy I've deleted his correspondence with his wife and relatives. The rest of emails will give evidence of who is responsible for different information campaigns, the so-called mythmaking and essentially engaged in the promotion of "American values" throughout the world.
The official from whom the e-mails were stolen was withheld for national security reasons.
The majority of the e-mails are remarkably mundane, in going through them however; as people on Reddit and 8chan have noted, it seems they are mostly discussions between neo-conservative and neo-liberal academics, as well as the forwarding of articles between each other, essentially reinforcing their own echo-chamber.
However, if you just keep digging and do a little cross-referencing with WikiLeaks, and the WikiLeaks Intelligence Community Database, you might find some things that are absolutely fascinating: for example, a document from the Department of Homeland Security in 2016 reports that dozens of US Think-Tanks had been hacked in the first half of the year, as well as warns that "Cyber actors will likely continue to target think-tanks and similar organizations, as many maintain significant connections to US government information and personnel, especially foreign policy officials."
And, of course, I can't do a show without giving a shoutout to one of my favourite small YouTubers, so it's time for another Who You Should ACTUALLY Sub:
Today's PYSAS is Anahata Hearts, a shitposter after my own heart; she's got a beautifully-dry sense of humour and a remarkably relaxing cadence to her voice, and I think you'll enjoy what she has to share quite a bit.
Good night and good luck, my loves. Enjoy the new leaked e-mails.