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Mysteriously vanished Dutch WikiLeaks partner 'likely lost at sea' in kayaking accident says Norwegian police


RT
Fri, 23 Aug 2019 23:01 UTC
Arjen Kamphuis
© (L)AFP/Norwegian Police (R) Twitter
A WikiLeaks associate, who mysteriously vanished last year while on a visit to Norway, was probably the victim of a kayaking accident, Norwegian police say. The man's body remains missing, however, leaving a mystery unsolved.

In a statement on Friday, police said they believe Arjen Kamphuis - a missing cybersecurity expert and WikiLeaks affiliate who was last seen in the Norweigan town of Bodo in the summer of 2018 - was likely "lost at sea" after a kayaking trip went awry.

"The police have concluded that Mr Kamphuis most likely suffered an accident on the evening of August 20, 2018, while kayaking in ... northern Norway, and was subsequently lost at sea," the police statement said. "His body has still not been recovered."

Kamphuis's disappearance has generated conspiracy theories, particularly due to his connection to WikiLeaks and suspicions were stoked further last year when a phone belonging to Kamphuis was briefly activated in a location nearly 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) from Bodo.

Comment: See also: WikiLeaks associate's mysterious disappearance takes a new turn

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Attention

Vanity Fair's Graydon Carter found head of severed cat outside home during Jeffrey Epstein reporting

Amanda Woods
New York Post
Fri, 23 Aug 2019 13:44 UTC
Jeffrey Epstein
© Brigitte Stelzer
Former Vanity Fair editor-in-chief Graydon Carter made a disturbing discovery on his front lawn — the severed head of a cat — just after a reporter started digging into Jeffrey Epstein's alleged sexual misconduct, according to a new report.

Back in 2006, as the feds compiled accusations against the money manager in Palm Beach, Florida, John Connolly, a contributing editor for the magazine, headed out there in search of a story, NPR reported.

But as Connolly, a stringer, sat down with women who had worked for Epstein, his editor, Carter, called him to report the gruesome cat head in the front yard of his Connecticut home.

"It was done to intimidate," Connolly told NPR. "No question about it."

Connolly said he decided to stop reporting on Epstein and later penned a nonfiction book about the disgraced financier with bestselling crime novelist James Patterson.

But Carter told NPR that the magazine never ceased its Epstein-related reporting because of any perceived threat.
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Nuke

Russia launches 'floating nuclear power plant', delivering energy security to its most remote region


RT
Fri, 23 Aug 2019 09:33 UTC
Akademik Lomonosov
© Sputnik/Pavel LvovThe Akademik Lomonosov, August 13, 2019
The world's first floating nuclear power plant (NPP), designed and built by Russia, is set to start its trip across the Arctic to its 'workplace' in the Chukotka Region and will provide Russia's remote areas with heat and energy.

During a special ceremony on Friday the unique vessel, called the Akademik Lomonosov, will leave the city of Murmansk to float thousands of kilometers, all the way to the small far-eastern port of Pevek, which sits on the Arctic coast of Chukotka. Two tug boats and one reserve vessel will tow the floating nuclear power plant.


Comment: Chukotka is so far away from Moscow, it's technically in the Western hemisphere. Sarah Palin can even see it from her house!
Chukotka

"There are no analogues to it in the world," said Dmitry Alekseenko, a branch deputy director of Rosenergoatom, the builder of the floating nuclear power plant.

The Akademik Lomonosov and its assisting vessels are scheduled to reach their destination by the end of September, their exact arrival time depending on weather conditions. The facility is set to become operational by the end of the year.


Comment: See also:

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Wolf

Perfect match: Leakin', lyin', fired former G-man Andy McCabe hired by CNN

Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge
Fri, 23 Aug 2019 18:52 UTC
McCabe
© South China Morning PostAndrew McCabe
Another Ex-Obama official has joined the ranks of anti-Trump cable news punditry, this time disgraced FBI #2 Andrew McCabe, who was fired for leaking information to the media - then lying about it at least four times, including under oath.

Now, McCabe - who is suing the DOJ and FBI over what he claims was a "politically motivated" firing just days before he was set to retire with full benefits," will join former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper at CNN.

Comment: So it is in the topsy-turvy world of US politics and media today. An upright actor such as Michael Flynn is crippled with legal fees defending his innocence but his corrupt persecutor gets a fat television contract. McCabe will fit right in with America's premiere propaganda outlet.

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Gear

Man dies after elevator malfunction in NYC causes it to drop, trapping him between car and shaft

Enjoll Francis, Aaron Katersky & Stephanie Fuerte
ABC News
Fri, 23 Aug 2019 04:35 UTC
New York Fire Department members investigate an incident with an elevator in an apartment building
© FDNY/TwitterNew York Fire Department members investigate an incident with an elevator in an apartment building in New York city.
A 30-year-old man was killed in a freak accident when the elevator he was exiting in his New York City apartment building suddenly plummeted, crushing him in the process.

The man, identified as Samuel Charles Waisbren, was a resident of the building at 344 Third Avenue in the Kips Bay neighborhood of New York City, police said.

Waisbren was exiting the elevator in the building's lobby after two other passengers had already left the elevator just before 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, according to New York ABC station WABC.

When the doors began to close, the elevator unexpectedly malfunctioned and dropped to the basement. Waisbren became trapped between the elevator and the shaft wall, and was pronounced dead at the scene.


Comment: Oh man. What a way to go. That is horrific.

Here's the video. Warning: it's graphic...


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Briefcase

Altered photo lineup created by Portland police draws defense lawyer's objection

Maxine Bernstein
The Oregonian
Fri, 16 Aug 2019 17:11 UTC
altered mugshot tyrone lamont allen portlant
© The OregonianTyrone Lamont Allen's mugshot, on left. The police Photoshop-altered photo of Allen, on right.
There's no mistaking the elaborate tattoos that cover Tyrone Lamont Allen's forehead and right cheek.

But when Portland police suspected Allen was involved in four bank and credit union heists, and none of the tellers reported seeing tattoos on the face of the man who robbed them, police digitally altered Allen's mugshot.

They covered up every one of his tattoos using Photoshop.

"I basically painted over the tattoos,'' police forensic criminalist Mark Weber testified. "Almost like applying electronic makeup.''

Police then presented the altered image of Allen with photos of five similar-looking men to the tellers for identification. They didn't tell anyone that they'd changed Allen's photo.
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Eye 2

French group reporting 10 new victims or witnesses of sexual violence linked to Jeffery Epstein

Egor Efimchik
Sputnik
Thu, 22 Aug 2019 16:58 UTC
epstein
© REUTERS / Jane Rosenberg
Jeffrey Epstein was found dead on 10 August in the New York detention facility where he had been awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking involving minors. Authorities confirmed suicide as the cause of death, but suspicious circumstances surrounding Epstein's imprisonment have since prompted two investigations into the case.

Innocence en Danger (Innocence in Danger), a French non-profit organisation fighting child sexual abuse, says it has received witness statements from 10 people who claim to be victims or witnesses of sexual violence linked to the late US financier Jeffery Epstein.

The group's president, Homayra Sellier, said that its lawyers would file legal complaints and hand them over to prosecutors both in France and the United States.
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Bandaid

Doctor tied to NXIVM sex cult has medical license revoked

Doha Madani
NBC News
Thu, 22 Aug 2019 04:51 UTC
The NXIVM Executive Success Programs sign
© Amy Luke / Getty Images fileThe NXIVM Executive Success Programs sign outside of the office at 455 New Karner Road on April 26, 2018 in Albany, New York. Keith Raniere, founder of NXIVM, was arrested by the FBI in Mexico in March of 2018.
A New York doctor who performed unsanctioned research on people as part of his alleged connection to NXIVM, a cult-like group that kept women as virtual sex prisoners, had his medical license revoked Tuesday.

Brandon B. Porter, a former doctor at St. Peter's Hospital in Albany, violated 40 state and federal regulations, according to an investigation against him by the New York Department of Health. The department's investigation into Porter found that the doctor not only conducted unlicensed "human subject research," but that he failed to obtain proper consent from people or keep records from his supposed studies.

Between 2010 and 2017, Porter allegedly performed unsanctioned neurological research on more than 200 "subjects" to study psychological responses to certain stimuli as part of NXIVM's studies into Tourette's syndrome, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, and "Executive Success Program" for self-betterment, according to the department's investigation.

In one study, dubbed the "Fright Study," Porter forced his subjects to watch violent and "horrific" video clips, including footage of four women being dismembered with a machete and a conscious male being forced to eat his own brain matter.
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Light Sabers

Free speech v free enterprise? Lawsuit over big tech censorship strikes at core of American values


RT
Fri, 23 Aug 2019 16:38 UTC
facebook
© Global Look Press/imago-images.de/Reiner Zensen
A looming court battle over social media censorship challenges America's dual devotion to free speech and free enterprise, an analyst told RT, arguing that popular platforms like Facebook have essentially become public utilities.

The DC Court of Appeals has agreed to hear the merits of a lawsuit brought against Apple, Facebook, Google, and Twitter by conservative commentator Laura Loomer, who accused the big tech giants of conspiring to silence her political views. Loomer has been banned from several major internet platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Medium, and PayPal.

The case has sparked conflict between two American traditions, media commentator Gina Loudon noted.
There's a confusion I think, because Americans love free speech and we love private property.
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Dollar Gold

The Koch Empire: What we know about deceased US billionaire David Koch


RT
Fri, 23 Aug 2019 15:23 UTC
David Koch
© Michael StewartDavid Koch
David Koch - one of America's wealthiest men, with a net worth of more than $40 billion, and a major political donor - passed away on Friday aged 79. RT looks at the Koch business empire.

Koch was the 11th richest person on the planet and, at the time of his death, had a net worth of $42.4 billion, according to Forbes. He had majority control of energy and chemical company Koch Industries, which he co-owned with his older brother Charles. The duo built the second largest private US conglomerate in terms of revenue ($110 billion).

A Kansas-based, now-multinational corporation, Koch Industries was co-founded by their father Fred Koch in 1940. The company initially had another name - Wood River Oil and Refining Company. It later acquired Rock Island Oil and Refining Company and was renamed Rock Island before finally becoming Koch Industries in 1959.

The conglomerate evolved from an oil and refining company to a sprawling conglomerate that covers different industries, from chemicals and plastics manufacturing to ranching, plant nutrients, and construction.

Comment: See also:
Soros and Koch team up to end US 'forever war' policy, fund new anti-war think tank
Twenty-six of the world's richest billionaires earn the same amount as 3.8 billion of the world's poorest

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