IRS lawyer: Lois Lerner’s BlackBerry deliberately destroyed after start of congressional probe

Lois Lerner’s BlackBerry was intentionally destroyed after Congress had begun its probe into IRS targeting of conservative groups, a senior IRS lawyer acknowledged in a sworn declaration. Thomas Kane, Deputy Assistant Chief Counsel for the IRS, wrote in the declaration, part of a lawsuit filed by Judicial Watch against the IRS, that the BlackBerry was “removed or wiped clean of any sensitive or proprietary information and removed as scrap for disposal in June 2012.” That date – June 2012 – is significant because by that time, ex-IRS official Lerner had already been summoned before congressional staffers who interviewed her about reports of the IRS’ targeting of conservative groups.

Islamic State holds U.S. woman, seeks ransom

The Islamic State wants more than $6 million to free an American woman the Muslim extremists kidnapped a year ago while she did humanitarian work in Syria, according to her family, U.S. officials and news reports.

It Begins: Council On Foreign Relations Proposes That ‘Central Banks Should Hand Consumers Cash Directly’

Moments ago a stunning article appearing in the “Foreign Affaird” publication of the influential and policy-setting Council of Foreign Relations, titled “Print Less but Transfer More: Why Central Banks Should Give Money Directly to the People.” In it we read the now conventional admission of failure by Keynesians, who however, unwilling to actually admit they have been wrong, urge the even more conventional solution:

Obama Pursuing Climate Accord That Won’t Be Ratified By Congress

The Obama administration is working to forge a sweeping international climate change agreement to compel nations to cut their planet-warming fossil fuel emissions, but without ratification from Congress. In preparation for this agreement, to be signed at a United Nations summit meeting in 2015 in Paris, the negotiators are meeting with diplomats from other countries to broker a deal to commit some of the world’s largest economies to enact laws to reduce their carbon pollution. But under the Constitution, a president may enter into a legally binding treaty only if it is approved by a two-thirds majority of the Senate.

China Has Lost 55 Percent Of Its Most Valuable Resource

A few days ago I had a conversation with the Chief Operating Officer for our agricultural fund in Chile. We were discussing water, and he told me that roughly 60% of California right now is suffering “extreme drought” conditions. 30% of the state is in “severe drought”.

Burger King is buying Tim Horton’s

Burger King announced that it has reached a deal to buy Canadian doughnut chain Tim Hortons and base itself in Canada, a controversial transaction that raises questions about business taxes and corporate patriotism. The deal is the latest example of a U.S.

Ebola Among Health Workers: More Than 240 Sick, More Than 120 Dead

If hundreds of doctors and nurses are becoming infected with Ebola, what chance is the general public going to have? This is not just a question that many of us are asking. As you will see below, this is a question that the World Health Organization is asking.

666 And Illuminati Symbolism Take Center Stage At The MTV Video Music Awards

Every year, it seems like the occultism at the MTV video music awards becomes even more blatant. This year, 666 and Illuminati symbolism took center stage as performers such as Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj, and Jessie J strutted their stuff for millions of adoring fans.  In the following video, Mark Dice breaks down some of the symbolism that we witnessed.

Invasive insect threatens to destroy the entire Florida citrus industry

Nearly all of the state’s citrus groves are affected in varying degrees by greening disease, and researchers, growers and experts agree that the crisis has already started to compromise Florida’s prominence as a citrus-growing region. Florida is second in the world, behind Brazil, in growing juice oranges, producing about 80 percent of juice in the U.S.

CNN chief: News operation will do less with less

CNN chief Jeff Zucker recently shared not so encouraging words with some of the news operation’s employees, many of whom have been bracing for potential jobs cuts. “We are going to do less and have to do it with less,” Zucker said during a call-in to a news meeting Tuesday morning. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution recently received a partial transcript of the call from a Turner employee who asked not to be identified.

Russian tanks, armored vehicles enter southeast Ukraine

A column of Russian tanks and armored vehicles has crossed into southeastern Ukraine, away from where most of the intense fighting has been taking place, a top Ukrainian official said Monday. Col. Andriy Lysenko, a spokesman for Ukraine’s National Security Council, told reporters that the column of 10 tanks, two armored vehicles and two trucks crossed the border near Shcherbak and that the nearby city of Novoazovsk was shelled during the night from Russia.

Abbas to ask UN to set timetable for Palestinian state along 1967 lines

Palestinian officials have said that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is planning to ask the UN to set a timetable for the end of the Israeli occupation and the establishment of a Palestinian state along the 1967 lines, with its capital in East Jerusalem. The official told the Associated Press that Abbas would present his proposal as part of a “day after” plan following the end of the current war in the Gaza Strip. According to the Qatari News Agency, an agreement over the matter was reached in Abbas’ meeting with Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and Hamas’ political chief Khaled Meshal, in Doha on Friday.

Physicists Say Fukushima Reactors Pose Eternal Threat to Humanity

The three molten cores at Fukushima plant, each weighing a hundred tons, are so radioactive, that no one can approach them, including robots, which melt down immediately, Dr. Helen Caldicott, the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize nominee, physician and anti-nuclear advocate, states in an interview to Radio VR: “And no one ever will, and the contamination will go on for hundreds of years,” Ms.

Nigerian town seized by Boko Haram ‘part of Islamic caliphate’ leader says

Boko Haram’s leader said a town in the north east of Nigeria seized by the insurgents earlier this month has been placed under an Islamic caliphate, in a video obtained by AFP on Sunday. “Thanks be to Allah who gave victory to our brethren in (the town of) Gwoza and made it part of the Islamic caliphate,” Abubakar Shekau said in the 52-minute video. The military however rejected the claim, saying in a statement the “sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Nigerian state is still intact”.

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