RealClearInvestigations' Picks of the Week July 22 to July 28 Featured Investigation Is it possible that North Korea did not torture Otto Warmbier? That the American tourist actually received excellent care while imprisoned before being returned to the United States in a coma, 17 months after being sentenced for stealing a propaganda poster? And that North Korea was mostly telling the truth when it claimed he died from a combination of botulism and an unexpected reaction to a sleeping pill? Those are questions raised by Doug Bock Clark in this fascinating article for GQ, which provides a brief biography of Warmbier (a popular kid from Ohio who was attending the University of Virginia). He describes the tour operator that arranges trips to "destinations your mother would rather you stay away from" including Warmbier's visit to North Korea over Christmas break; and the back-channel discussions led by former U.N. Ambassador Bill Richardson, who "specializes in under-the-radar ‘fringe diplomacy' to release hostages from hostile regimes or criminal organizations." But the heart of the article is the Ohio coroner's report that determined Warmbier's body had no signs of physical trauma and was, in fact, "in excellent condition." While acknowledging that Warmbier's time in North Korea is a "black hole," Clark reports that his capture and death may have been misrepresented for political reasons: It is for this paucity of evidence that, though the public discourse about Otto's death has long been dominated by talk of beatings, there have been doubts among North Korea experts that the intelligence reports were correct. Of the dozen experts I spoke to, only a single one thought there was even a remote likelihood that he had been beaten. "I don't believe Otto was physically tortured," [Korea expert] Andrei Lankov said in his office in Seoul. "The campaign to make Otto a symbol of North Korea's cruelty was psychological preparation to justify military operations." But what else could possibly explain Warmbier's death? Clark speculates: ... [E]xperts I spoke to overwhelmingly identified some kind of accident—for example, an allergic reaction—as the most likely cause for Otto's unconsciousness. The likelihood that his brain damage happened immediately after the sentencing, however, raises the possibility that he may have attempted suicide. Imagine what Otto must have been feeling after hearing that he would spend the next 15 years laboring in what he probably imagined to be a gulag. After two months of being constantly reminded that the American government couldn't help him, he probably felt that his family, his beautiful girlfriend (who called him her "soul mate"), and his Wall Street future were all lost. What else could he look forward to but physical and mental suffering? Read Full Article The Trump Investigations: Top Articles Cohen Claims Trump Knew in Advance of Trump Tower Meeting, CNN Tape Aired With Trump, Cohen Talking Hush Money for Playmate, CNN FISA Applications Confirm FBI Relied on Unverified Dossier, National Review FISA Warrant Application Supports Nunes Memo, Washington Examiner FISA Application Shows Nunes Memo's Shaky Foundation, New York Times Fusion GPS Doubted Credibility of Major Dossier Source, Daily Caller Other Noteworthy Articles and Series 6 Women Accuse CBS's Moonves of Sexual Misdeeds, New Yorker In recent months, CBS's powerful boss, Les Moonves, has become a prominent voice in Hollywood's #MeToo movement. Now he is one of the sex-abuse scandal's most prominent accused predators. In his latest exposé, Ronan Farrow reports that six women accuse Moonves of aggressive harassment and intimidation across three decades beginning in the 1980s. Many more CBS veterans say that, under Moonves, such behavior by others was common at the corporation, including at "60 Minutes" and CBS News. Moonves, 68, issued a denial that was notably contrite. Russian Hackers Breach U.S. Electric Utility Control Rooms Wall Street Journal Hackers working for Russia claimed "hundreds of victims" last year in a giant and long-running campaign that put them inside the control rooms of U.S. electric utilities where they could have caused blackouts, federal officials said. It isn't yet clear whether the hackers used their access to prepare for some future, devastating blow, investigators said. Obama Administration Knowingly Funded Qaeda Affiliate National Review The Obama administration approved a grant of $200,000 of taxpayer money to an al-Qaeda affiliate in Sudan — a decade after the U.S. Treasury designated it as a terrorist-financing organization. Government officials specifically authorized the release of at least $115,000 of this grant even after learning that it was a designated terror organization. Rotten Meat, Chicken Pox: Migrants Describe Custody Texas Tribune Migrants who crossed the border illegally seeking asylum say they are facing harsh circumstances while being held in federal custody. They are denied legal advice and adequate medical care, they say. Their complaints range from babies with untreated diaper rash, to rotten sandwich meat turned green or black, to drinking water that smells like chlorine or "just bad," and guards who say Mexicans won't ever receive asylum. Seattle's New Streetcars May Be Too Big to Fit Tracks Seattle Times Already reeling from significant cost overruns, Seattle's public transportation system is facing another major problem: the new streetcars it ordered to expand the downtown streetcar system are heavier and longer than the ones the city now operates, and it's unclear if they'll work on the current track and fit in the maintenance barn. Calif. DMV Worker Slept Thousands of Hours on Job USA Today California's Department of Motor Vehicles estimates that one data-entry employee slept three or more hours daily at her desk since February 2014, totaling over 2,200 hours of work time and costing more than $40,000. A supervisor reported waking the employee up "three to four times each day," the report says. The DMV says it was unable to proceed with disciplinary action because the issues had not been adequately documented. But the report says otherwise. Meet the U.S. Officials Who Now Lobby for China Daily Beast Partisan differences end at America's shores - especially when it comes to making buckets of money working with and lobbying for hostile foreign powers. This article identifies 10 power brokers - including former House Speaker John Boehner, former World Bank president James D. Wolfensohn and a former CIA station chief in Beijing, Randall Phillips - who are closely tied to China. Marijuana Bills Increasingly Focus on 'Social Justice' Stateline State lawmakers and advocates pushing to legalize marijuana this year aren't just touting legalization as a way to raise tax revenue and regulate an underground pot market. They're also talking about fixing a broken criminal justice system and reinvesting in poor and minority communities that have been battered by the government's war on drugs. The Con Queen of Hollywood Hollywood Reporter Knowing the right people is especially important in Hollywood. When the phone rings and it's billionaire producer and philanthropist Gigi Pritzker; 20th Century Fox CEO Stacey Snider, or former studio heads Sherry Lansing or Amy Pascal -- well, it's your lucky day. Unless it isn't those any of those women but a cunning impersonator who promises work but instead bilks gullible victims out of thousands of dollars after convincing them to fly to Jakarta. This story details her scam and features two audio recordings of her voice. Grown-Up Movement to Protect Kids' Lemonade Stands Wall Street Journal Two months ago, the Guffey family set up a lemonade stand in a Denver park. Six-year-old Ben manned the cash register. Four-year-old William recruited customers. Two-year-old Jonathan sampled the product. Then the police showed up, telling the boys they needed three separate permits for their stand. They are not alone. At least a few dozen other child-run lemonade stands have been shut down across the country and now various organizations are seizing on these instances to defend tradition and attack over-regulation. |