[Weasel Zippers] Federal agents raid a Portland market, suspecting the owner was committing widespread welfare fraud.
The affidavit that led to that raid at Ahram Market was recently unsealed.
The 52-page affididavit that NEWS CENTER was first made aware of this afternoon indicates that Ali Ratib Daham, the owner of the Ahram Halal Market on Forest Avenue, is being investigated for massive fraud, amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
According to the affidavit signed by FBI special agent Richard Pires -- the feds were tipped off because the market had unusually high sales from SNAP benefits -- commonly known as food stamps.
According to the FBI, a cooperating witness, referred to as a "CW" in the affadavit, told Daham that he was new to town. At that point, Daham told him how to get more benefits by pretending not to know English and telling the government that he wanted to go to school. That way, he could get benefits without working.
A number of these stores have been found selling products that had been stolen, either from major retailers or from distribution from the manufacturer. The retailers and manufacturers have "Organized Retail Theft" teams that find these cases, and help law enforcement get the information they need to prosecute.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
10/18/2016 22:51 Comments ||
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The only way this tale could be more lurid is if a dead girl or a live boy had been found in his room.
[SAToday] A man suspected of leaving a backpack bomb outside a police station in a small Colorado mountain town tried several times to remotely detonate the homemade device using a cellphone but failed, according to court documents released Monday.
David Michael Ansberry, 64, of San Rafael, California, was arrested this weekend in Chicago after surveillance video captured him at the stores where he bought the cellphones that he expected to trigger the explosive in the town of Nederland, investigators said.
He was easily recognizable because he is 3 feet 6 inches tall and 100 pounds and wore a ponytail, a ball cap and using crutches. The Nederland police chief told investigators he spotted a man matching Ansberry’s description leaving a hotel as it was being evacuated during the Oct. 11 bomb scare.
Ansberry was charged with a federal explosives count. U.S. Justice Department counterterrorism prosecutors are handling the case. Court documents don’t indicate a motive.
No attorney for Ansberry was listed in court records, and his relatives did not return calls or emails seeking comment.
The bomb scare rattled the mountain-ringed town of 1,500 people southwest of Boulder. Residents said they felt safer after the arrest but were still baffled by Ansberry’s presence in their community, an artists’ refuge which has long thrived on its embrace of outsiders.
Ansberry said he was in town to visit an old friend who was a professor but did not elaborate, said J.P. Farrell, a front desk agent at The Boulder Creek Lodge. Ansberry stayed at the hotel, which is within sight of the police station, for about two weeks, then left and returned, Farrell told The Associated Press, describing him as a pleasant guest.
Ansberry was staying there the day of the bombing, authorities said.
A detective found the backpack and brought it into the police station, believing it was lost property. After opening the bag, the detective discovered a cellular device with protruding wires that connected to a battery and a suspicious powder, the newly released documents say.
Robots searched the explosive, and it was eventually detonated in the parking lot of the town’s main retail complex, a strip mall that houses the five-officer police department.
Authorities have not said what kind of destruction the bomb might have caused.
“The community knows there has been an arrest, and that goes to calming people’s fears,” said Alisha Reis, administrator for the town best known for its love of legal marijuana and its annual celebration of a frozen corpse that draws tens of thousands of revelers. “But folks are still confused as to why it occurred. Who is this person? And why would he have done it here?”
[NYT] A conspiracy theorist has been found dead in Poland -- just days after he texted his mom instructing her to "investigate" should anything happen to him.
Max Spiers, a 39-year-old father of two, was found dead on a sofa in Poland, where he had gone to give a talk about conspiracy theories and UFOs. He was ruled to have died from natural causes despite no post-mortem examination being carried out on his body.
But his dark investigations into UFOs and government coverups may have made him enemies who wanted him dead, says mother Vanessa Bates, 63.
In a chilling text message to his mom just days before his death, Spiers wrote: "Your boy’s in trouble. If anything happens to me, investigate."
Originally from Canterbury, Spiers was a former classmate of Orlando Bloom. He lived in the United States for a few years but returned to the UK to stay with his mother, before jetting off to Poland.
#9
Is Jagermeister still a "cool" drink in the U.S.? I was VERY disturbed back then when I found out it was. Horrible stuff.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
10/18/2016 19:53 Comments ||
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#10
Back in the day, there was a phase where I lived of the jagermeister; to the point where bars had instant-cooler dispensers for cold shots. It was more of a Let's Do This! deal than Hey Let's Enjoy the Evening. I hardly ever made it past the first round, if I even entered the tourney.
Then came the Guinness-bombs. Fortunately, at least where I was at, they never cross propagated.
Football, America’s biggest prime-time powerhouse, has been thrust into a crisis this fall, with dwindling ratings sparking questions over whether it can remain a gold mine for television in an age when more Americans are abandoning traditional TV. Kaepernicki Virus ?
Network executives have long used the National Football League’s live games as a last line of defense against the rapid growth of “cord-cutting” and on-demand viewing upending the industry.
But now, the NFL is seeing its ratings tumble in the same way that the Olympics, awards shows and other live events have, falling more than 10 percent for the first five weeks of the season compared with the first five weeks of last season. A continued slide, executives say, could pose an even bigger danger: If football can’t survive the new age of TV, what can?
Football’s traditional TV audience “is never going to be what it was again,” said Brian Hughes, a senior vice president at Magna Global, which tracks audience and advertising trends.
The explosion of modern entertainment options, offered on more devices and at any time, has splintered American audiences and sped TV’s decline, Hughes said. “Sports seemed to be immune from it — it was live, the last bastion of broadcast television. But [the world] has caught up to it now.”
#1
If football can’t survive the new age of TV, what can?
I listened on satellite radio last week to a clueless NFL analyst (a woman--come on, that's a clue that a problem exists--exactly ZERO women have played in the NFL) who commented on the Kapernick situation. She said that his protest was "an important national conversation we need to have".
WRONG. People turn into SPORTS to GET AWAY from the heavy stuff. We want a couple of hours where we can watch a GAME and enjoy the GAME aspect of it ONLY.
If we wanted to have a "national discussion", we wouldn't tune in on Sunday afternoon to watch the NFL.
If the NFL is too stupid to get that, they will surely get what they deserve for being that stupid.
#2
NO worries. I left a message with the 49ers office about the ass woopin they endured this last game. Plus I told them if I sound dis-respectfull, no apologies should be expected. Dis-Respect goes both ways, losers.
That's what it is - entertainment. When it no longer entertains but shoves what you are trying to escape but for an hour or two, you go elsewhere. Someone forgot the old saying - If you want to send a message, call Western Union.
Long ago, we should have returned the copyright back to its original 14-14 to cut the source of so much resources in the hands of 'entertainment'.
#5
I lost interest in pro football several years ago.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
10/18/2016 8:01 Comments ||
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#6
Zebras. Herds of zebras. NFL Films should do a video of "The NFL's Greatest Penalties" and see how that sells.
Posted by: Matt ||
10/18/2016 9:55 Comments ||
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#7
I've canceled ESPN, NFL Network and Red Zone, and have saved a bundle.
Still tune in enough to hear the announcers point out and praise those disrespecting the US as is their right as peacocking thugs.
With the exceptions of the Pats, Vikings and Cowboys, the league is a sea of mediocrity.
Bettors will keep the League alive, but it's clearly past-peak.
Posted by: regular joe ||
10/18/2016 10:38 Comments ||
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#8
I was flipping through the channels last Sunday. Came across a couple of bowling teams playing football. Realized it was pink month. Watched a whole 2 seconds.
My modern entertainment option last Sunday was going outside with the kids, playing football catch with my son.
How Its Made was our evening entertainment. Kids learned how a canoe can be made.
Was watching jeopardy yesterday; one of the questions had to do with 2016 politics. Channel changed. Running out of channels to pay for.
Heck, was listening to the Royals on radio, they were playing against that pitcher who crashed his boat at 4 in the morning - great pitcher, incredible story, then it turned into why lifting the embargo on Cuba is important. Agree or disagree, I'm there for the damn game - switched stations.
In order to attract customers to her new restaurant, a restaurant owner in Guiyang came up with a noble if naive promotional policy, allowing diners to order how ever many dishes that they desired and then simply pay whatever they wanted when the bill came.
Turns out, this is a really, really bad idea.
While the tactic did manage to attract many diners to the new karst-themed restaurant on its opening day, on October 2nd, it didn't manage to manage to attract much moolah. Some customers paid only 10% of the cost of their meal, while others dared to leave just 1 RMB on the table. After seven days, the restaurant had lost 100,000 RMB, The Paper reports.
"If our food or service was the problem, then that would be one thing," owner Liu Xiaojun sighed. "But according to customer feedback, our dishes are both filling and tasty. It's just that the payments don't match up with the evaluations."
After just a week, the promotion fell apart. Liu and her two partners got into an argument and one of the partners fled back to his hometown, vowing not to return.
#4
Panera Bread chain tried this a few years ago. My search found two articles related to that program - pay what you want. First was the pee your pants excited about the program. The other was a preliminary report on the St. Louis area results - averaged 75% of listed price, and that there was initially great support, and that fancy restaurants in rich neighborhoods do not have many disadvantaged customers, and that many customers were not aware of the program.
So I would guess that there was an initial support of people paying for a bowl of chili with a $20 and telling the restaurant to keep the change (instead of tipping, heh) and a number of customers just paid the total without knowing the program, and enough people took advantage of the program to counter-act the supporters and drop the average sale to 75%.
No mention of the program on their web site.
I'm guessing other than 15 minutes of glowing publicity: failure.
#5
Ah, so they organized a public charity entity Panera Cares - 2 locations nationwide.
Can't pay for your food, earn a voucher after an hour of volunteer time at the location. Also, can't pay then you have to stay in the restaurant to eat your meal.
Pictures crack me up - certainly not in a food desert, as polite elites would say.
#3
"Social justice marketing" is fine, if you intend to cater to a market that appreciates such things and are willing to live with the limited results.
#6
Fitting Rooms are for trying on clothes. If there are people waiting, perhaps Mom needs to find (and/or Target needs to provide) an alternative location (and no, the toilet stall does not qualify.) (Of course Mrs. Glenmore just sat on the bench and fed the little Glenmores 30 years ago and it was no big deal.)
#7
Express the milk and freeze it in bottles for on-the-go feedings. Run a bottle under warm water to defrost when needed, being careful not to train your baby to require body temperature fluids -- milk slushies turned out to be the only solution acceptable to baby trailing daughter #1 when spending time outdoors during our hot Cincinnati summers.
[Red State Watcher] Fox news has apparently cancelled a scheduled appearance by Project Veritas head and Conservative activist James O'Keefe. O'Keefe recently released a video that exposed deliberate corruption in the Hillary Clinton Campaign and the DNC. Posted late last evening by Rantburg contributor Blossom Unains5562
#6
Paraphrasing here, but one of our group said last week that they thought Bill O'Reilly's days at Fox were numbered. Appears to be an on-going Shep Smith promotion at the network. The new leadership appears to be a bit different from the old leadership.
#8
Crusader, you appear to be reaching burn out. I can relate. No, you are not expected to be shocked. The depths of depravity are no longer shocking and that is truly the hell of it.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
10/18/2016 12:23 Comments ||
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#9
Seems a grand opportunity for the a couple of millionaire brothers to set up an alternate cable news channel.
They could probably get PJ Media or Reason to provide commentators at a fraction of O'Reilly's price.
#10
Kirby should be used to sh!t shoveling; as a ring knocker (Acadamy grad) he and his ilk would do ANYTHING for the next rung up. I am sure here are some good ones out there, but never ran into any.....
#11
At least Kirby is consistent. He was a liberal kool-aid drinking, piece of garbage whilst in uniform. He's liberal, kool-aid drinking, piece of garbage out of uniform.
#12
I once was a regular Fox News viewer - got tired of Hannity and O'Reilly yelling over people, others died or got fired or quit. The last one I cared to watch was Shep Smith (of course he was gay, who cares?) because his show covered (briefly) so many stories. Then it didn't. Haven't turned it on in quite a while.
[PJ] Westside Armory in Las Vegas is having a "Pre-Hillary" gun sale, predicting a surge in firearm purchases should the anti-Second Amendment Clinton win the election in November. Get on in there before the price gouging starts!
The Las Vegas gun store Westside Armory is predicting a Hillary Clinton victory in November, and it has a message for customers: Buy now, because things are going to get expensive. In an advertisement over the weekend in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Westside Armory said it was holding a "Pre-Hillary Sale" on tactical rifles, warning of a price surge if the Democratic nominee wins the presidential election next month.
"Don’t wait!" the advertisement reads. "Prices will skyrocket after Crooked Hillary gets in." That's probably true. The Washington Post thinks it's crazy that anyone would be worried Clinton would try to ban guns.
The reference to "Crooked Hillary" -- Donald Trump’s nickname for Clinton -- is a clear appeal to supporters of the Republican nominee, who has accused Clinton of wanting to "get rid of all the guns" and "essentially abolish the Second Amendment."
#2
But won't the government just come confiscate them later - buyers did have to fill out the NIC, and you don't believe it will be destroyed, now, do you?)
[NBCNewYork] The Nobel Academy can't seem to find Bob Dylan after he won the prize for literature, NBC News reported.
The academy's permanent secretary, Sara Danius, said she had emailed and called Dylan's "closest collaborator" to ensure he gets his hefty award of $927,740, according to a translation published in The Guardian. Maybe he recognizes the patina is off the award?
Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy ||
10/18/2016 08:32 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
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#4
I hereby volunteer my services to assist the Committee.
Please forward the Nobel Academy e-mail address to which I should supply my banking information so that I may keep the award in safekeeping until I locate Mr. Dylan
[AnNahar] A young woman screamed in pain as she was caned Monday in front of a jeering crowd in Indonesia's Aceh, the latest person to be punished for breaking the province's strict Islamic laws.
Aceh is the only province in the world's most populous Moslem-majority country that imposes sharia law. People can face floggings for a range of offenses -- from gambling, to drinking alcohol, to gay sex.
The woman was among 13 people -- seven men and six women aged between 21 and 30 -- who were caned Monday at a mosque in the bustling provincial capital Banda Aceh, as a baying crowd cheered the spectacle.
Six couples were found guilty of breaking Islamic laws that ban intimacy, such as touching, hugging and kissing, between unmarried people.
A man was caned for a less serious offense described as spending time with a member of the opposite sex in a hidden location in a fashion that could lead to adultery.
One 22-year-old woman due to be flogged was given a temporary reprieve as she was pregnant -- but Aceh Deputy Mayor Zainal Arifin pledged: "The punishment will be handed down after she gives birth."
The official added that he hoped the canings would serve as a deterrent: "We hope there are no more people in Banda Aceh who break the law in future."
More and more people are being caned in Aceh, with a particular increase in recent times in the number of women being flogged.
Aceh, on Sumatra island, began implementing sharia law after being granted special autonomy in 2001, an attempt by the central government in Jakarta to quell a long-running separatist insurgency.
Islamic laws have been strengthened since the province struck a peace deal with the central government in 2005.
More than 90 percent of Indonesians describe themselves as Moslem, but the vast majority practice a moderate form of the faith.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Weasel Zippers] Federal agents raid a Portland market, suspecting the owner was committing widespread welfare fraud.
[PJ] Westside Armory in Las Vegas is having a "Pre-Hillary" gun sale, predicting a surge in firearm purchases should the anti-Second Amendment Clinton win the election in November. Get on in there before the price gouging starts!
