CIA officer who had millions in gold bars accused of creating fake spy program

CIA officer who had millions in gold bars accused of creating fake spy program

The former senior CIA official found with more than $40 million worth of gold bars in his house allegedly created a fake, highly classified intelligence program that he used as a conduit to funnel millions of dollars for his personal use, according to people familiar with the criminal investigation.

David J. Rush, who was arrested last month and charged with one count of theft of public money, constructed what is known as a “special access program,” a sort of black box for the most secret intelligence operations, the people familiar with the investigation said. Even intelligence personnel with the highest security clearance cannot access an individual SAP, as they are known, without specific authorization.

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Ottawa’s mixed fleet of F-35s and Gripens could total more than 100 aircraft, sources say

Ottawa’s mixed fleet of F-35s and Gripens could total more than 100 aircraft, sources say

The federal government is looking at expanding the military’s fighter fleet beyond its original plan for 88 jets, according to industry and government sources.

Negotiations are underway for the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) to acquire a larger mixed fleet of American-made Lockheed Martin F-35s and Saab Gripen-E fighters built in Canada, the sources said.

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How Britain Treats Actual Hate Crimes Committed By the ‘Right’ People

How Britain Treats Actual Hate Crimes Committed By the ‘Right’ People

I’ve been writing a lot about the horrific two-tier justice system in the United Kingdom this week, for obvious reasons.

So I might as well round out my week with another story, highlighting the differences between how ‘hate crimes’ (not a fan of that term, since a lot of crimes are motivated by hate, even if race and gender aren’t involved) committed by a member of a “protected class” (which should not exist) are reported.

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CROSSON: Bill C-9 — what Canadians need to know about speech and religious freedom

CROSSON: Bill C-9 — what Canadians need to know about speech and religious freedom

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees freedom of thought and expression and freedom of religion, among other fundamental rights. These concepts are not abstract — they dictate what Canadians can say, write, or believe every day.

Bill C-9 is proposed legislation currently before the Senate that would regulate certain forms of expression and amend Canada’s hate propaganda laws. Critics argue that it threatens to restrict these freedoms in ways Canadians need to understand clearly.

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What Bari Weiss ‘murdered’ at CBS News

What Bari Weiss ‘murdered’ at CBS News

60 Minutes viewership rebounded after Bari Weiss began her tenure at CBS, despite Scott Pelley’s claim that the Free Press co-founder is “killing” the program, television viewership data show.

CBS News fired Pelley on Tuesday after the former 60 Minutes correspondent questioned the qualifications of newly hired executive producer Nick Bilton and the intentions of CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss.

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LILLEY: Mark Carney’s grocery payment an admission Canada’s economy is failing

LILLEY: Mark Carney’s grocery payment an admission Canada’s economy is failing

Mark Carney visited a Brampton grocery store Friday to celebrate his government’s total failure on affordability.

The Prime Minister was there to promote the first payment of the new Groceries and Essentials Benefit program, essentially, the rejigged GST rebate.

Now, Carney’s supporters may say this is a victory, it is the government helping low income Canadians.

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Giant banquets rile radical left in France

Giant banquets rile radical left in France

Three-and-a-half-thousand hungry Alsatians wolf down platters of charcuterie and periodically burst into noisy chorus.

No, it is not the police dogs’ annual convention, but the latest iteration of a feasting phenomenon that is sweeping provincial France.

The Alsace town of Colmar – famous for its half-timbered medieval centre – was the scene last weekend of one of the banquets géants – huge banquets whose popularity in the country has suddenly become a hot political issue.

French People Enjoying Being French People is a bad thing say perverse French leftists.

(more…)

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Doug Ford heads to Washington to promote free trade as CUSMA deadline looms

Doug Ford heads to Washington to promote free trade as CUSMA deadline looms

Premier Doug Ford is jetting off to Washington to promote free trade and lobby against U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canadian products.

With the looming July 1 deadline for a mandatory review of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) that covers about 85 per cent of trade, Ford is hosting a reception Monday with Ross Perot Jr.

The billionaire son of former U.S. presidential candidate Ross Perot is the chair of the United States Chamber of Commerce, the world’s largest business organization, which has opposed Trump’s tariffs.

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Keir Starmer’s loser gov’t hits out after Vance post about Henry Nowak

Keir Starmer’s loser gov’t hits out after Vance post about Henry Nowak

Downing Street has hit out at “people trying to interfere in our democracy and seeking to stir up division”, after JD Vance’s comments on the murder of Henry Nowak.

The US vice-president blamed the death of the 18-year-old British student, who was fatally stabbed last year in Southampton by Vickrum Digwa, on the “mass invasion of migrants” and said the “only response” was “righteous anger”.

I’m with Vance.

(more…)

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Trump ally warns UK against ‘backdoor spying’ on Americans

Trump ally warns UK against ‘backdoor spying’ on Americans

A top US politician has warned the UK government against using sensitive backdoor technology to spy on Americans.

Ohio Representative Jim Jordan, a close ally of Donald Trump, wrote to Shabana Mahmood, the Home Secretary, on Friday, raising concerns about a lack of security cooperation, saying Britain may be using encryption to gain access to US citizens’ private data.

He pointed to the UK’s Investigatory Powers Act 2016, which allows the government to issue secret orders known as “technical capability notices”.

Mr Jordan heads the House judiciary committee, a powerful force on Capitol Hill, and he has led past investigations into US federal agencies, including the activities of the FBI and US spy agencies.

The UK may be building “backdoors into their encrypted services”, he wrote to Ms Mahmood.

(more…)

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82 years ago … June 6 1944

82 years ago … June 6 1944

A half century is a long time in a world that moves quickly from one fad to the next. Living in their greatly favoured land, Canadians often seem all too ready to forget the great events that let them develop and prosper in freedom. Many even fail to remember that young Canadian men and women played a major role in the greatest seaborne invasion of all time, the Allied assault on Normandy on June 6, 1944, and in the long, wearying struggle that followed in the Norman countryside.

My Dad landed on June 6th and here I am today a senior citizen in a very battered and bruised nation nearly vanquished by an invasion orchestrated from within.

(more…)

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Europe isn’t serious about peace in Ukraine

Europe isn’t serious about peace in Ukraine

A successful drone strike on an oil terminal in St Petersburg this week has dramatically illustrated the increasing damage that Ukraine’s air campaign is doing to the Russian economy. Together with the bloody stalemate on the battlefield in eastern Ukraine, this is contributing to growing war weariness in Russia.

For the first time, Russian establishment figures have begun to call publicly for an early peace, even at the price of giving up key Kremlin demands. In the words of Russian commentator Alexander Nosovich in the newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets, “the expert community is split between those in favor of continuing the special military operation until the goals are achieved, and those who believe it’s time to end it, since the worst-case scenario is not even defeat. It’s an endless special operation.”

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