[Local10} BOCA RATON, Fla. ‐ A 73-year-old man wearing a "Make America Great Again" shirt told a bank teller he was robbing that he gave him too much money, deputies said.
Sandy Hawkins was arrested Tuesday on a robbery charge.
According to a Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office probable cause affidavit, Hawkins entered a Wells Fargo branch on Sandalfoot Plaza Drive near Boca Raton shortly after 11:30 a.m. Monday, approached a teller and requested $1,100.
"This is a robbery," Hawkins told the teller. "I have a weapon."
Hawkins, who was wearing a T-shirt with the words "Trump" and "Make America Great Again" -- the campaign slogan used by President Donald Trump -- on the front, put his hand in his waistband, implying he had a gun, the affidavit said.
The teller began counting aloud as he laid out each $100 bill, counting $2,000.
"Hawkins told him it was too much and again demanded $1,100," the affidavit said.
After the teller slid $1,100 under the window, Hawkins took the money and walked out, deputies said.
A manager at a nearby bar later identified the robber from surveillance photographs as Hawkins.
When deputies went to his home, Hawkins was sitting outside on an electrical box and provided a full confession.
"I will make this easy," Hawkins told detectives during an interview.
[Daily Caller] Foreign-born researchers working at U.S. agencies secretly joined China’s payroll, sending sensitive U.S.-funded research to the country while U.S. government agencies took almost no defensive measures against a major recruitment operation, a Senate investigation found.
Researchers linked to the Chinese government formed a Chinese cell within the Department of Energy, attained access to American genomic data, and recruited other U.S. researchers to join, the bipartisan report stated.
China’s Thousand Talents Plan (TTP) aims to get foreign governments to finance the communist power’s military and economy by buying off researchers who are doing work abroad. The experts apply to the program, and if approved by the Communist Party, they join China’s payroll and sign secret side agreements that the experts will share their research with that country, according to the investigation.
Some of the information captured by TTP had significant military value. For example, in 2016, Dr. Long Yu, a Chinese citizen and U.S. permanent resident working for a U.S. defense contractor, applied for Chinese talent plans and was arrested for attempting to give hundreds of gigabytes to China, including design info on military jet engines, according to the investigation.
"China wins twice. First, the American taxpayer funds China’s research and development. Second, China uses that research to improve its economic and military status," Sen. Rob Portman, an Ohio Republican who chairs the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, said in a statement.
#1
Foreign-born researchers working at U.S. agencies anywhere...
Check your local 7-11, QuikMart or family owned food desert oases. They know police and ambulance routes, refill cycles and work schedules of customers.
#3
'Ghost' guns are constructed by buying unfinished versions of firearms online then the necessary parts to complete it online. They are completely unregulated.
[NYPOST] A quick-thinking Ohio woman pretended to order a pizza ‐ but was really calling 911 ‐ to save her mother from an alleged abuser, police said.
The unidentified woman covertly called police on Nov. 13 to calmly request that a pizza be sent to her apartment, where Simon Lopez, 56, allegedly showed up drunk and started assaulting her mother, the Toledo Blade reported.
"I would like to order a pizza," she told Tim Teneyck, a dispatcher with the police department in Oregon, a suburb of Toledo.
"You called 911 to order a pizza?" Teneyck replied. "This is the wrong number to call for a pizza."
"No, no, no, no, no, no, no ‐ you’re not understanding," the woman said, prompting Teneyck to catch on to what was unfolding on the line.
"I’m getting you now, I got it," the dispatcher continued. "What apartment? Is the other guy still there?"
The savvy caller kept up the ruse, saying she did indeed need a "large pizza ... with pepperoni" to be sent over, according to the 911 recording.
Responding cops took Lopez into custody on a misdemeanor domestic violence charge after he punched the woman’s mother so hard that she fell into a wall, according to a police report obtained by the Toledo Blade.
Lopez came to the women’s home "disorderly, loud, verbally and physically abusive" and threatened to beat the victim after punching her, she told police. Lopez denied the accusations, police said.
Oregon Police Chief Michael Navarre praised Teneyck’s alertness, saying he was "extremely proud" of his work and now plans to incorporate it into dispatcher training.
"He picked up on a woman who was in distress, but was in a position where she couldn’t convey it to him in those words," Navarre told the newspaper. "And then he was able to ask her all the right questions without outing her in harm’s way."
Posted by: Fred ||
11/23/2019 00:00 ||
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#1
Salute to the dispatcher. Someone actually interested in his job.
#5
Responding cops took Lopez into custody on a misdemeanor domestic violence charge after he punched the woman’s mother so hard that she fell into a wall, according to a police report obtained by the Toledo Blade.
I'd classify that as a felony instead of a misdemeanor. Punching an old lady is extremely uncool.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
11/23/2019 13:27 Comments ||
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[The Hill] A former CIA officer has been sentenced to 19 years in prison after he was convicted of conspiring to turn over U.S. intelligence information to China's government.
Prosecutors said that Jerry Chun Shing Lee, who was with the agency for 13 years, had direct knowledge of sensitive secrets, according to NBC News.
Lee was not charged with giving China any intel, according to NBC.
A judge said "it is all but certain" he gave information to China, but Lee's lawyer said "the government has offered only conjecture as a basis for these claims."
Lee reportedly pleaded guilty in May to a charge of conspiring to give national defense information to a foreign country. He was arrested in 2018 after FBI agents said they found notebooks and a flash drive with information and phone numbers of CIA personnel, details about an operation and information about facilities.
He reportedly admitted to a 2010 meeting with Chinese intelligence officials who said they would pay him and "take care of him for life" in exchange for secrets.
#1
Seems like a lot of people in the intel community getting busted working for the ChiComs lately. Or maybe it's been going on all along and we're just paying attention to it now.
#3
How stupid is the US Government in hiring foreign born into sensitive positions?
Jerry Chun Shing Lee, aka Zhen Cheng Li Here’s what you need to know:
1. Lee Is Suspected of Giving Information to China That Led to the Death or Imprisonment of About 20 American Agents, Sources Tell NBC News
[FOX] OAKLAND, Miss. - A Mississippi company is recalling more than 86 tons of chicken fried rice that may contain bits of plastic.
A recall notice says Ajinomoto Foods North America Inc. of Oakland, Mississippi, reported the problem after customers complained.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service says it hasn’t had any confirmed reports of injury or illness.
The 54-ounce (1.5 kilogram) packages were shipped to retailers in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey and Texas.
They’re labeled "Ajinomoto Yakitori Chicken With Japanese-Style Fried Rice." The date codes are 3559007, 3559008, 3559015, 3559190 and 3559191 and the best by dates are 1/7/2020, 1/8/2020, 1/15/2020, 7/9/2020 and 7/10/2020.
Authorities say anyone with one of those packages should throw it out or return it to the seller.
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. ‐ A dog in Florida went on joy ride Thursday, driving a car around a cul-de-sac. In circles. In reverse.
According to Port St. Lucie police, as officers responded to reports of a dog locked in a 2003 silver Mercury Sable "circling the cul-de-sac while in the reverse gear."
Investigators learned the car owner made a wrong turn on his way home, said Senior Sgt. Lisa Marie Carrasquillo, police spokeswoman.
The driver got out and shut the door, leaving the dog inside.
"The dog named Max accidentally hit the shifter into reverse, causing the car to circle the cul-de-sac, leaving the owner locked out of the car," police stated. "As the car circled the cul-de-sac, it struck and damaged a mailbox."
Carrasquillo said Max apparently was driving for several minutes.
Carrasquillo said the driver provided an extra key fob, but the battery was dead.
Police wound up entering the code on the key pad of the door.
"The dog is happy and fine," Carrasquillo said Friday.
Max, who apparently wasn't wearing a seatbelt, did not get a citation.
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa is blocking arms sales to countries including Saudi Arabia and the UAE in an inspections dispute, endangering billions of dollars of business and thousands of jobs in its struggling defense sector, according to industry officials.
The dispute centers on a clause in export documents that requires foreign customers to pledge not to transfer weapons to third parties and to allow South African officials to inspect their facilities to verify compliance, according to the four officials as well as letters obtained by Reuters.
Officials at major South African defense groups Denel and Rheinmetall Denel Munition (RDM) said the dispute was holding up their exports, as did a third big defense company which asked not to be named. RDM said some of its exports to the Middle East had not been approved since March.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which account for at least a third of South Africa’s arms exports and are engaged in a war in Yemen, have rejected the inspections which they consider a violation of their sovereignty, the sources said.
Oman and Algeria have also refused inspections and seen their imports from South Africa blocked, the industry officials added.
[Dhaka Tribune] A man was arrested for beating up and shaving off his wife's head for dowry in Bogra's Nandigram upazila on Friday.
Police arrested the accused Morshedul Islam, 22 after the victim's mother filed a case with the Nandigram cop shoppe.
Shawkat Kabir, officer-in-charge of the Nandigram cop shoppe confirmed the matter to Dhaka Tribune.
''We arrested Morshedul after the victim's mother filed a case against her daughter's husband, father-in-law, and mother-in-law. The arrestee will be sent to court on Saturday morning.'' the OC added, ''We are trying to arrest the other accused.''
According to the police, the accused Morshedul, a resident of Yusufpur village of the upazila, married Marzia Akhtar from the Pachpakia village of NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... re's Singra upazila nine months ago. At the time of the marriage, the bride's family paid around Tk 150,000 as dowry.
Recently, the accused Morshedul started constructing a brick house and demanded an extra Tk200,000 from his wife. As Marzia refused to pay the amount, her husband and mother-in-law used to torture her.
On Thursday, Marzia and her mother-in-law locked into an altercation over a trivial matter. After being informed of the matter, Morshedul beat his wife up and shaved off her head.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/23/2019 00:00 ||
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[Breitbart] Nigel Farage will announce his party’s "contract with the people" on Friday where he pledges to cap immigration to 50,000a year, announce tax breaks for small businesses, and reform of Britain’s political system.
[ALMASDARNEWS] Bolivia’s former president Evo Morales who was granted political asylum in Mexico has dismissed allegations that Russian military are waiting for him in Bolivia.
"They are trying to destroy us with endless lies and accusations," Morales wrote on his official Twitter account. "They said that I already returned to Bolivia, that Russian soldiers are in Bolivia waiting for my return. Now in the framework of the same campaign, they are accusing me [of crimes] and presenting montage as evidence. The Bolivian people call for peace and dialogue," he added.
The presidential election in Bolivia was held on October 20. According to the Supreme Electoral Court, incumbent President Evo Morales won in the first round. His main competitor, Carlos Mesa, refused to recognize Morales’ victory in the first round. After the results of the election were announced, large-scale protests and strikes started across the country.
On November 10, Morales announced his resignation and characterized the situation in the country as a coup. He was earlier asked to leave his post by the country’s armed forces, opposition and labor unions. Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera and several ministers and parliament members stepped down as well.
The Mexican authorities granted political asylum to Morales. Morales arrived in Mexico on November 12. Later on that day, Bolivian Senator Jeanine Anez declared herself as interim president.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/23/2019 00:00 ||
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#1
Not Russian soldiers in Bolivia but Russian NKVDGRU in Mexico City
#1
Translation: it's not backdoored by us, and we know exactly how we're spying on Americans (despite laws prohibiting exactly that that we should be in prison for). How dare anyone usurp our turf!
Posted by: Herb McCoy ||
11/23/2019 8:00 Comments ||
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#2
Seriously, that is what you got from the article? You need to adjust your filters.
[Axios] A Chinese spy has defected to Australia, offering a bevy of secrets on Chinese intelligence operations, according to Australian newspaper The Age.
Why it matter: Wang "William" Liqiang is the first Chinese operative to "blow his cover," The Age reports. He provided Australia information on Chinese political interference in Australia, Hong Kong and Taiwan, along with the identities of senior Chinese military intelligence officers in Hong Kong.
What's happening: Wang is "at an undisclosed location in Sydney on a tourist visa and seeking urgent protection from the Australian government," The Age writes.
In interviews, he has revealed how China controls listed companies to finances its intelligence projects, surveil and profile dissenters and co-opt media.
His testimony to ASIO, the Australian counter-intelligence agency, demonstrates "how Beijing’s spies are infiltrating Hong Kong’s democracy movement, manipulating Taiwan’s elections and operating with impunity in Australia," per The Age.
Duncan Lewis, the head of ASIO, on Friday said the Chinese government is "trying to place themselves in a position of advantage" through "insidious" foreign interference, per The Age.
[DAWN] Police arrested nine more men in a case pertaining to the alleged rape and murder of a five-year-old in Kurram district's Peewar area, District Police Officer (DPO) Rahim Shah said on Friday.
Shah added that police have sent DNA samples to the Punjab 1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots.... Forensic Science Agency in Lahore and expressed hope that the case will be solved soon.
The recent arrests bring the number of people arrested in connection with the case up to 11. Police had arrested two suspects earlier this week.
Meanwhile, ...back at the Hubba Hubba Club, Nunzio wondered: Where the hell was Chumbaloni? And where was his $600?... commanding Brig Najaf Abbas and commanding officer Col Mohammad Javed Ilyas of Brigade 73 also visited the area and talked to the victim's family as well as the staff of the government school where she studied.
They said that the culprits would not be able to escape punishment and added that measures were being taken to prevent such incidents.
Earlier this week, the victim was found dead in a pond in the Peewar village by her family. According to the victim's grandfather, the family started to look for the minor girl when she did not return from school.
The body was taken to the district headquarters hospital Parachinar for an appointment with Dr. Quincy and, later, a medical examination revealed that the minor girl was subjected to sexual assault before she was killed.
Later, the DPO had said that two watchmen of the school had been taken into custody for investigation.
Following the incident, students and members of local bar association held a protest on Wednesday against the incident. The protesters demanded the local authorities to investigate the case and ensure early arrest of the culprit.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/23/2019 00:00 ||
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More than 200 activists protested against officers in the subway system and the NYPD on Friday night in Harlem, New York
The demonstrations started near the Harriet Tubman Memorial and marched through Upper Manhattan to the Bronx
At least 58 people were arrested as civilians and police officers clashed throughout the night
One video shows a police officer mocking a civilian by saying, 'if he can yell, he can breathe,' when the man complained 'I can’t breathe' during an arrest
This protest follows a similar demonstration in Brooklyn on November 1
The protests were spawned after viral video showed MTA officers 'using excessive force against passengers'
Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a plan to add 500 additional police officers to patrol the subway lines
It's a sad day when the stubborn federal bureaucracy prevails over an entity attempting to manage taxpayer dollars efficiently. And when billionaire businessmen are allowed to dictate space policy to the United States Air Force, it's tragic. But that's what is happening to the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program.
The NSSL is the Air Force's premier aerospace initiative, designed to keep America first in space by limiting the U.S.'s over-reliance on other countries' products and services through the thing America does best: competitive enterprise. That would be the case, unless influencers like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk get their way.
Thus far, the Air Force has run the NSSL efficiently, protecting America's national security with competitive contract bidding that has resulted in minimal waste to taxpayers. But big-name cronies and federal bureaucracy evidently won't permit an efficient government program and are doing their best to derail it.
Back in mid-August, Blue Origin – Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' personal aerospace company – filed a protest against the Air Force's handling of the NSSL program. Blue Origin complained that the Air Force is operating NSSL unfairly, but that's ridiculous. Just this year alone, the Air Force's NSSL program awarded Blue Origin a massive contract valued at $500 million. Bezos' company isn‘t being treated unfairly and it isn't hurting for government money; it's just not being selected by the government 100 percent of the time. In filing protest, though, Blue Origin isn't trying to be logically consistent – it just wants more power.
By pressuring the Air Force to weaken its competitive structure, Blue Origin increased its chances of landing a launch contract. The move to protest was an obvious, self-serving ploy – one that the Department of Defense easily saw through. But apparently, this slipped by the bureaucratic watchdogs, who bought into the argument hook, line, and sinker.
On November 18, 2019, the U.S. Governmental Accountability Office (GAO) released a statement siding with Blue Origin. In the press release, the GAO argued that the NSSL's selection process was unjust because the Air Force's methodology "does not provide a reasonable, common basis on which offerors will be expected to compete." According to the GAO, should the NSSL program move forward, the Air Force must explicitly outline the various factors considered during its selection process.
But that's absurd. Here's why.
When it comes to the NSSL, the Air Force is essentially a consumer deciding which services it wants to acquire. Like any other consumer, the USAF has the opportunity to select from a range of different providers, each with different strengths and weaknesses. Consumers, however, are never forced to lay out in explicit detail the exact methodology for their decision; the onus is always on the service provider to prove their capabilities. But now, the GAO is arguing precisely the opposite.
The GAO would rather the consumer (in this case, the Air Force) be forced to articulate its myriad priorities and justify its decision-making to the service providers. This inverts market principles. It will also considerably slow down the NSSL by forcing the Air Force to retool its entire selection process. And for what? All to allow deep-pocket cronies like Jeff Bezos a better chance to snare government contracts.
Indeed, the GAO's decision is both completely unreasonable and wholly unprecedented. It also highlights the dangerous coupling of crony business interests and cumbersome government bureaucracy.
This isn't the first time cronyism has attempted to infiltrate the NSSL initiative, either.
In May 2019, SpaceX sued the Air Force for "wrongly awarding" NSSL launch contracts to its competitors. Once again, an aerospace company headed by a famous billionaire – Elon Musk in this case – attempted to use the power of federal bureaucracy to exert its crony influence over the NSSL's selection process. Just like Blue Origin's protest, SpaceX's lawsuit was undoubtedly filed to acquire more taxpayer funds, not out of a quest for fairness or justice. And while the courts have yet to rule on SpaceX's suit, in the case of Blue Origin, the GAO was more than happy to play ball.
Musk and Bezos are savvy. The two have already been a disruptive force within a largely stagnant space industry, and for the most part, I'm a fan of what they've managed to accomplish. I like how they have pushed commercial space flight to unprecedented success. But for all their positive disruption, both Bezos and Musk have made billions off of taxpayer-funded programs and subsidies.
They have figured out there's gain to be had in exploiting or creating government inefficiencies. Government waste is crony profit, and when inefficiencies don't exist, federal bureaucracy can be used to create them. That's exactly what is happening now with the NSSL – and that's precisely why people like Bezos and Musk cannot be trusted. They are attempting to weaken an effective, essential national security program, and government watchdogs like the GAO are helping to pave the way.
#1
I'm calling bullshit. The only other competitor is United launch Alliance (Boeing + Lockheed) and their Atlas V uses Russian engines. Think ULA, as a monopoly w/ much political pull, will give the Air Force a competitive price w/o a SpaceX or Blue Origin breathing down their necks?
#3
Ask your corrupt congresscritter who writes the law that says your government procurement officer can't walk down to Walmart/Home Depot and buy some hammers, but must put it out for bid or use a GSA selected provider who will charge several times the price.
#4
Sounds like a Deep State Turf Fight™ to me with the Congress Critters™ Vs. the Pentagon Posse™ Vs. the USAF REMF's... Hard to decide who to cheer for.
#5
I call bullshit too!
Note that they don't use Falcon Heavy that exists or consider Starship or Blue Origin
BUT Vulcan doesn't Exist YET! 0 Flights
It's the prime platform and it's more powerful second stage was just shutdown
The Solid fuel one from the ENDLESSLY merging and RENAMING company doesn't exist either and it's one of the chosen...
THE GAO folks get my vote.
#6
people like Bezos and Musk cannot be trusted. They are attempting to weaken an effective, essential national security program, and government watchdogs like the GAO are helping to pave the way
#7
BTW Atlas can not be bid as it uses the Russian engines.
Instead ULA and it's parents Boeing/Lockheed are using Vulcan (0 flights) with Blue Origin first stage engines (0 Flights).
So Vulcan is king but uses Blue Origin engines and an all Blue Origin rocket must be questionable.... Implication is the Blue must only be an engine manufacturer. A rather presumptive and regal attitude.
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.
[Local10} BOCA RATON, Fla. ‐ A 73-year-old man wearing a "Make America Great Again" shirt told a bank teller he was robbing that he gave him too much money, deputies said.
[The Hill] A former CIA officer has been sentenced to 19 years in prison after he was convicted of conspiring to turn over U.S. intelligence information to China's government. 
[FOX] OAKLAND, Miss. - A Mississippi company is recalling more than 86 tons of chicken fried rice that may contain bits of plastic.
[DAWN] Police arrested nine more men in a case pertaining to the alleged rape and murder of a five-year-old in Kurram district's Peewar area, District Police Officer (DPO) Rahim Shah said on Friday.
