June 19th, 2019

Saudi Arabia is responsible for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi in its Istanbul consulate last year, and there is “credible evidence” justifying an investigation into the role of the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, a United Nations expert said in a report released on Wednesday.

The expert, Agnes Callamard, also said that the United Nations secretary general should establish an international criminal investigation to ensure accountability for the crime.

Trump Rally Orlando vs. Joe Biden Rally Iowa @RealDonaldTrump #4MoreYears pic.twitter.com/4BzUVBQL14

— Jim Hoft (@gatewaypundit) June 19, 2019

“Turkey won't do it. We won't allow [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan to drill in Greece's EEZ,” Tsipras said in an interview on Open TV on Tuesday night. “Greece has a prevention plan. Greece will not take a step back.”

The recent escalation of tension in the Aegean and East Mediterranean is “not surprising,” Tsipras said.

“These are moves that we had predicted a long time ago and this is why we are working intensively on a plan, so that the country is prepared to respond to any such moves, with the appropriate alliances,” he said.

“Everything we are seeing from Turkey, the violations of international law and the aggressive behavior, is not a show of force, but of weakness. It is the result of the absolute success of Greece and Cyprus' strategy and alliance in the region,” Tsipras said, adding that “Turkey has reached a strategic impasse” and “feels and is isolated in the region.”...

Experts have found that startlingly little research goes into building and assessing apps purporting to help treat serious conditions...

The study looked at how many of these apps conducted in-depth interviews with the people the apps would be designed to help before actually making the digital treatments. Then, it assessed whether including this sort of research impacted how well the apps worked. Of the 30 studied apps, only four included both efficacy studies with consistent interviews with users, or what's known in the app-making business as early phase research...

According to the report, mature, native hardwood forests in places like North Carolina, Virginia, and along the Gulf Coast are being clear-cut, with whole trees and other large-diameter wood then trucked to processing mills run by Enviva, the world’s largest wood pellet producer. These pellets are then being shipped to power plants such as Drax Power Station in the United Kingdom, Ørsted biomass facilities in Denmark, and increasingly to generating stations in Japan. According to the UN’s biodiversity report released last month, forests in the U.S. Southeast are being logged at four times the rate as those in the Amazon.

Many industrialized nations — including the United States, the UK, Denmark, the Netherlands, South Korea, and Japan — have classified biomass a carbon-neutral source of energy, and have incorporated it as key part of their strategies to reduce emissions and combat climate change...

The Democratic-controlled House voted Tuesday night to block President Donald Trump's move to restrict transgender men and women from military service. The House passed, by a 243-183 vote, an amendment to block Trump's transgender ban from remaining in effect. The move still faces an uphill battle and a Trump veto threat against the underlying $1 trillion spending bill, which includes the military budget.

Alphonso David, the counsel to Mr. Cuomo, said that while the aggressive goals might lead to measures to curb gas-powered cars or inefficient furnaces, there was no knowing how exactly the state would get there...

Committee lawyers and members are prepared to question Hicks about her time in the White House and instances of obstruction detailed in special counsel Robert Mueller's report as part of his probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
[...]
This will not be her first closed-door appearance before a House committee -- she appeared before the House Intelligence Committee for an eight-hour, closed-door session in February 2018 and told the panel her work for Trump occasionally required her to tell "white lies."

...To strike the right balance, this nation needs political leaders who know right from wrong; federal judges who will stand fast against the furies of their age; members of the bar and the academy who will help Americans see themselves clearly; a thoughtful and responsible press; informed and tolerant citizens who will value not only their own liberties, but the liberties of others; and justices of the Supreme Court with the wisdom to know excess when they see it and the courage to preserve liberty when it is imperiled. And, so, we shall see.

Publishing information that exposes outrageous government conduct is at the heart of the First Amendment. The Assange case tests whether we can remain true to that principle, despite the furies of our age.

In the study, 20 healthy young adults received either 6.5, 13, or 26 micrograms of LSD or a placebo in random order during four laboratory sessions, which were separated by one week... The researchers found that doses of 13 and 26 micrograms of LSD produced measurable subjective and physiological effects. These doses of LSD increased blood pressure but did not significantly affect heart rate or body temperature. The researchers also found that LSD significantly increased self-reported ratings of vigor and anxiety, and increased mystical-type experiences such as bliss and feelings of unity...

Two House lawmakers are pushing an amendment that would effectively defund a massive data collection program run by the National Security Agency unless the government promises to not intentionally collect data of Americans.

The bipartisan amendment — just 15 lines in length — would compel the government to not knowingly collect communications — like emails, messages and browsing data — on Americans without a warrant...

"Our machine is a mock-up, but in 2023 there will be a real machine, and first flight is in 2025, and [it will be in] service in 2028," Temel Kotil, the president and CEO of Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc. (TAI), the company behind the model and new fighter concept, revealed at the event...

The US has said the F-35 and S-400 are incompatible because the latter could be used to collect intelligence on the US fighter. The US has given Turkey until July 31 to reach an agreement...

Faruq Khalil Muhammad 'Isa played a limited role in the conspiracy and did not deserve the life term called for under federal sentencing guidelines, U.S. District Judge Roslynn Mauskopf said Tuesday... Several of the soldiers' relatives urged the judge to impose a life sentence. But Mauskopf said 'Isa played a limited role compared to other co-conspirators and wasn't involved in planning the actual attack. 'Isa, who also goes by the name Sayfildin Tahir Sharif, pleaded guilty to sending the attackers money and providing them logistical support.

China’s social credit system is proving to be a force to be reckoned with. Last year the government blocked 11.1 million flights, and this year that number has more than doubled...

Those who have been deemed unruly or caught disrupting train services were banned from buying tickets for up to 180 days. Violations include smoking on trains, selling fake tickets, using fake IDs among other illicit activities. To make matters even more difficult for troublesome travelers, offenders’ names are published on ticketing website 12306.cn and China’s social credit website, creditchina.gov.cn on the first working day of each month...

Michael Savage was one of the first radio hosts to endorse Mr. Trump. Now he thinks the president’s fans are too uncritical. But his listeners aren’t so sure.

Acting CBP Commissioner John Sanders told CNN Tuesday that Gorka is expected to take the position and he advocated for her to join the agency... Gorka is married to Sebastian Gorka, the former deputy assistant to Trump, who was an outspoken and combative defender of the President's national security agenda, known for his dire warnings of Islamic terrorism while writing for Breitbart. Sebastian Gorka left the White House in August 2017, in the wake of chief White House strategist Steve Bannon's forced departure. Both Gorkas wrote for Breitbart, where Bannon served as an executive before and after his time at the White House.