General Research #19267 >>>/qresearch/15230756
Social media activity could be considered active participation in extremism, Pentagon says
https://twitter.com/CBSNews/status/1473261978361737219
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pentagon-extremism-military-policy-updates/
>>112044 (me)
hey Pentagon assholes:
New York Times v. United States
Beginning on June 13, 1971, the Times published a series of front-page articles based on the information contained in the Pentagon Papers. After the third article, the U.S. Department of Justice got a temporary restraining order against further publication of the material, arguing that it was detrimental to U.S. national security.
In the now-famous case of New York Times Co. v. United States, the Times and the Washington Post joined forces to fight for the right to publish, and on June 30 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the government had failed to prove harm to national security, and that publication of the papers was justified under the First Amendment’s protection of freedom of the press.
In addition to publication in the Times, Post, Boston Globe and other newspapers, portions of the Pentagon Papers entered the public record when Senator Mike Gravel of Alaska, an outspoken critic of the Vietnam War, read them aloud in a Senate subcommittee hearing.
These published portions revealed that the presidential administrations of Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson had all misled the public about the degree of U.S. involvement in Vietnam, from Truman’s decision to give military aid to France during its struggle against the communist-led Viet Minh to Johnson’s development of plans to escalate the war in Vietnam as early as 1964, even as he claimed the opposite during that year’s presidential election.
Impact of the Pentagon Papers
Published at a time when support for U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War was rapidly eroding, the Pentagon Papers confirmed many people’s suspicions about the active role the U.S. government had taken in building up the conflict. Though the study did not cover the policies of President Richard M. Nixon, the revelations included within it were embarrassing, particularly as Nixon was up for reelection in 1972.
In supporting the freedom of the press guaranteed in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart wrote: “In the absence of the governmental checks and balances present in other areas of our national life, the only effective restraint upon executive policy and power in the areas of national defense and international affairs may lie in an enlightened citizenry—in an informed and critical public opinion which alone can here protect the values of democratic government.”
https://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/pentagon-papers
General Research #19267 >>>/qresearch/1523079
Department of Defense Releases Report on Countering Extremist Activities and Outlines Next Steps
https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/2879763/department-of-defense-releases-report-on-countering-extremist-activities-and-ou/
https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/2567545/secretary-of-defense-austin-announces-immediate-actions-to-counter-extremism-in/
New MTG
General Research #19267 >>>/qresearch/15230777
If Joe Biden cares at all about saving lives then he’ll mass produce monoclonal antibodies & Ivermectin.
His 1,000 federal doctors he is sending should treat patients with these life saving treatments.
Anything less is a continued failure.
Again how many have died of Omicron?
https://twitter.com/mtgreenee/status/1473283566331121676
General Research #19267 >>>/qresearch/15230883
Report: Biden Administration Considers Releasing Money to Taliban
Frances Martel 21 Dec 2021
The Afghan news agency Khaama Press, citing the BBC, reported on Tuesday that the administration of President Joe Biden may soon unfreeze Afghan government assets, allowing the Taliban to access them, in the name of helping the impoverished people of the country.
The Taliban does not currently have access to Afghan government assets in American banks. Global institutions like the World Bank and International Monetary Funds (IMF) have also barred the jihadist terrorists from accessing funds that belong to the government of Afghanistan. The formal government of Afghanistan collapsed in August, however, leaving Taliban terror leaders in charge of the country.
The Taliban took over Afghanistan, storming the capital Kabul, on August 15, shortly after Biden abruptly ordered the withdrawal of all American forces from the country. Under predecessor Donald Trump, Washington had agreed to a deal with the Taliban that would have seen the 20-year Afghan War end in May 2021. Biden broke the deal, extending the war and angering the Taliban, which took Biden’s extension of the war as a license to engage in a nationwide conquest campaign that ended with then-President Ashraf Ghani fleeing Kabul, reportedly in a helicopter carrying $169 million in cash.
No country around the world has formally recognized the Taliban terrorist group as the government of Afghanistan. Rogue states like China, Russia, and Iran, however, have begun referring to the Taliban as the “de facto” government and funding its success. China and Russia, in particular, have vocally demanded that the United States fund the Taliban terrorists, insisting that doing so is necessary to ensure the survival of the Afghan people.
The United Nations has similarly warned of impending famine in the country as a result of the Taliban takeover and U.N. agencies have been cooperating with the Taliban, funding it in an alleged attempt to save Afghan civilian lives.
“A US official has been cited as the Biden administration is considering easing financial restrictions on Afghanistan and the country will issue a license to allow financial aids to Afghanistan, reported BBC,” according to Afghanistan’s Khaama Press, which did not offer a link to the original source of the report. “The source has said that the US administration has held a meeting in which easing sanctions on Afghanistan has been discussed in order to allow international aid organizations to deliver humanitarian aids to Afghanistan.”
C-SPAN
While anonymous, the report appears to echo what State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters about Afghanistan on Monday, defending America as the “global leader in providing humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan.”
“We have provided, since August, $208 million alone, we provided nearly $475 million over the course of this year,” Price claimed, assuring reporters that the Biden administration was “working with the various U.N. bodies … to find creative ways that we can infuse not only humanitarian aid, but also liquidity into the Afghan economy.”
Like the United Nations, Price repeatedly asserted that Biden administration funding was going to “the people of Afghanistan,” without elaborating. The only pseudo-government institution in Afghanistan functional enough to accept any aid at all, however, is the Taliban. The U.S. has openly offered the Taliban doses of Chinese coronavirus vaccines, which Taliban officials have confirmed they received without the same fanfare they have deployed for any donation from the Chinese Communist Party.
The Biden administration is under intense leftist pressure to fund the Taliban. In a letter published Monday, dozens of far-left members of Congress – including Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), and Cori Bush (D-MO) – demanded that Biden fund not only release frozen assets to the Taliban, but repeal sanctions on Taliban terrorist leaders….
https://www.breitbart.com/asia/2021/12/21/report-biden-administration-considers-releasing-money-to-taliban/
General Research #19267 >>>/qresearch/15230909
Census: Biden Drives Up Foreign-Born Population Across Swing States
John Binder 20 Dec 2021
President Joe Biden’s immigration policies have significantly increased the foreign-born populations across a number of swing states, United States Census Bureau data reveals.
The data, analyzed by Steven Camarota and Karen Zeigler at the Center for Immigration Studies, shows that the foreign-born population has now hit a record 46.2 million as of November 2021 — the largest share of immigrants, at 14.2 percent, in American history.
In the last year, alone, swing states saw their foreign-born populations grow by hundreds of thousands. In Florida, for example, about 615,000 immigrants were added to the state’s population since November 2020.
Likewise, Arizona’s foreign-born population grew by 173,000 immigrants, Wisconsin’s by 156,000 immigrants, and Virginia’s by 135,000 immigrants. The totals are an important factor in electoral politics as the margins of victories in many swing states are sometimes less than 10,000 votes.
“Hispanic immigrants accounted for 924,000 or 61 percent of the growth since last November,” Camarota and Zeigler note. “This is an indication that illegal immigration accounts for a large share of the recent increase in immigrants. The federal government and outside researchers have estimated that nearly three-quarters of illegal immigrants in Census Bureau data are Hispanic.”
Chart via Center for Immigration
The data comes as Biden has boosted the foreign-born voting population.
From October 1, 2020 to September 30, about 855,000 legal immigrants became naturalized American citizens — the highest annual number of legal immigrants getting naturalized in more than a decade. Put another way, more than 2,300 legal immigrants were naturalized every day over the last Fiscal Year.
The last time naturalization rates were this high was in Fiscal Year 2008 when more than a million legal immigrants became naturalized American citizens.
The Pew Research Center has noted, as well as a number of establishment media outlets, that these trends are aiding Democrats in their electoral prospects.
A significant increase in naturalization rates ahead of the 2022 midterms and the 2024 presidential election could deliver big gains for Democrats as margins in a number of swing states have been small over the last two presidential elections. In Pennsylvania, for example, Biden won the state by less than 81,000 votes.
The Washington Post, New York Times, the Atlantic, Axios, the Los Angeles Times, and the Wall Street Journal have all admitted that rapid demographic changes because of immigration are tilting the nation toward a permanent Democrat dominance.
“The single biggest threat to Republicans’ long-term viability is demographics,” Axios acknowledged last year. “The numbers simply do not lie … there’s not a single demographic megatrend that favors Republicans.”
Already, the U.S. has the most generous immigration system in the world — expected to bring in 15 million new foreign-born voters by 2041. About eight million of those voters will have arrived entirely due to the process known as “chain migration” whereby newly naturalized citizens can bring an unlimited number of foreign relatives to the U.S.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/12/20/census-biden-drives-up-foreign-born-population-across-swing-states/
General Research #19267 >>>/qresearch/15230947
Biden Chief of Staff Ron Klain Defends Threatening Unvaccinated Americans
Charlie Spiering 20 Dec 2021
President Joe Biden’s chief of staff, Ron Klain, defended on Monday recent messaging from the president threatening unvaccinated Americans with death from the coronavirus.
The lie is the lie
“The truth is the truth,” Klain wrote on social media, sharing a comment from New York Magazine reporter Olivia Nuzzi about their messaging tactics.
The president continues to condemn unvaccinated Americans, accusing them of being responsible for spreading the coronavirus and overwhelming hospitals.
Last week, Biden falsely claimed that the vaccinated could not spread the virus, despite the Centers for Disease Control saying the opposite.
Biden kicked off his latest round of threats on Thursday, after meeting with his coronavirus advisory team.
“For unvaccinated: We are looking at a winter of severe illness and death if you’re unvaccinated,” Biden said. “For themselves, their family, and the hospital they’ll soon overwhelm.”
The White House signaled Biden would restate a similar message on Tuesday, as he is scheduled to address the pandemic and the rapid spread of the omicron variant.
“For those who choose to remain unvaccinated, he’ll issue a stark warning and make clear,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday, previewing the speech at the daily briefing. “Unvaccinated individuals will continue to drive hospitalizations and deaths.”
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/12/20/biden-chief-of-staff-ron-klain-defends-threatening-unvaccinated-americans/
General Research #19267 >>>/qresearch/15230862
Kamala Harris Pleads for Public ‘Trust’ in White House and Coronavirus Vaccines
Simon Kent 21 Dec 2021
The American public can trust the White House when it comes to coronavirus advice just as much as they can trust the vaccines now being pushed across the country, according to Vice President Kamala Harris.
The advice came in a wide-ranging interview with the Los Angeles Times published Sunday whereHarris conceded the Biden administration was blind sided by the Delta and Omicron variants and said doubts sown by “misinformation” over vaccines will prolong the pandemic well into a third year.
Harris’s comments about coronavirus, in which she also appeared to blame the medical community for a lack of foresight, underscores the administration’s view the pandemic is its single biggest obstacle to better voter engagement ahead of next year’s midterms.
“We didn’t see Delta coming. I think most scientists did not – upon whose advice and direction we have relied – didn’t see Delta coming,” Harris admitted.
“We didn’t see Omicron coming. And that’s the nature of what this awful virus has been, which as it turns out, has mutations and variants.”
Harris then told the public to be more trusting of vaccines and mandates, citing a slow take-up rate despite the White House and federal health officials’ every effort to drive vaccinations and boosters.
“I would take that more seriously,” Harris said of contrary views dissuading people from getting a shot.
“The biggest threat still to the American people is the threat to the unvaccinated. And most people who believe in the efficacy of the vaccine and the seriousness of the virus have been vaccinated. That troubles me deeply.”
Other subjects covered in the LA Timesinterview included the failed Build Back Better domestic spending plan, immigration across the porous southern border and voting rights, all significant failures for President Joe Biden and his team.
Harris said the failure to pass the $1.75tn economic and climate spending package, which Biden conceded on Friday would miss its Christmas deadline, was a frustration – but offered no alternative plan.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/12/21/kamala-harris-pleads-for-public-trust-in-white-house-and-coronavirus-vaccines/
General Research #19267 >>>/qresearch/15230934
Businesses, 27 States to Supreme Court: Strike Down Biden OSHA Vaccine Mandate
Katherine Hamilton 20 Dec 2021
Numerous business groups, organizations, and even 27 states recently filed emergency requests asking the U.S. Supreme Court to resolve the split between federal appeals courts on the legality of President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate for businesses with 100-plus employees.
Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh on Monday asked the federal government to respond to each of the petitions by December 30 at 4:00 p.m., creating the possibility that the completed applications could be circulated to the other eight justices in time to issue a decision before Christmas on whether the Court will a grant a stay and take up the case.
The applicants are asking the justices for a stay while litigation is ongoing challenging Biden’s coronavirus vaccine mandate, which goes into effect on January 4. The 27 states and several other applicants are additionally requesting their filings be considered a petition for writ of certiorari, meaning they are asking the Supreme Court to take up the case this term.
“In addition and in the alternative, the Court should treat this application as a petition for certiorari before judgment and grant immediate review of the Vaccine Mandate’s legality,” the states’ emergency application reads.
The emergency requests come after the Sixth Circuit on Saturday dissolved a stay of Biden’s vaccine mandate issued by the Fifth Circuit in November. Though the Sixth Circuit has a conservative judge majority 9-7, a three judge panel, including a President Barack Obama appointee and a President George W. Bush appointee with a reputation as a liberal-leaning moderate, voted 2-1, with a President Donald Trump appointee penning the dissent.
Biden’s mandate, issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), is the largest of the president’s five vaccine mandates and impacts 84 million workers.
The applications are In re: MCP No. 165 v. OSHA, Nos. 21A243 through 21A251 (with more applications possibly forthcoming) in the Supreme Court of the United States.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/12/20/businesses-27-states-to-supreme-court-strike-down-biden-osha-vaccine-mandate/
Prosecutors or Praetorian Guard: Why is FBI investigating one missing diary in a sea of smash and grabs?
By Jonathan Turley, opinion contributor — 12/21/21 09:30 AM EST
The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the view of The Hill
With smash and grabs raging across the country, prosecutors have struggled to assure the public that they are cracking down on the crime wave and using every possible means to deter the organized thefts. One group notably missing in this effort has been the federal prosecutors.
While Attorney General Merrick Garland was criticized for launching a federal task force on threats against school boards (based on a handful of local cases), he has been largely silent on any federal effort to deal with this actual crime wave. That is despite the fact that these attacks are organized on social media and experts think it’s likely the stolen items are being sold on the internet. That is all interstate conduct and would allow for federal enforcement.
There is, however, one allegedly stolen item that did bring a full-scale FBI investigation: the missing diary of Ashley Biden, daughter of President Joe Biden.
The question is why tens of thousands of dollars of purses stolen in cities like Chicago are treated as purely local matters while a single missing diary in Florida is a matter of an ongoing federal effort.
The Justice Department could use laws like the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) Act. Indeed, federal RICO charges have been brought in prior such cases. RICO was created after local prosecutors failed to combat organized crime and the federal government stepped in with new tools to combat mob organizations. I have long preferred that crimes like these smash and grabs to be handled locally. The federalization of crime removes the primary responsibility and accountability of local leaders for crime. That is why I opposed the use of federal charges to combat rioting in cities like Portland.
I am more concerned that for over a year, the FBI has been conducting raids, issuing subpoenas, and questioning witnesses across the country — not in response to smash-and-grabs proliferating around the country, but for one woman’s missing diary. The investigation led to a rare raid on the home of a publisher, seizure of computers and cellphones, and the targeting of conservative figures. According to the New York Times, the investigation is looking into "whether there was a criminal conspiracy among a handful of individuals to steal and publish the diary."
If that is true, the most obvious federal crime would be a provision like Section 2314 of the National Stolen Property Act, which criminalizes the transportation of illegally obtained goods valued at $5,000 or more across borders in interstate or foreign commerce by persons knowing the goods to be stolen, converted, or taken by fraud. Even assuming that the diary is worth $5000 or more, why would the federal government create a team and take these extraordinary actions rather than rely on local authorities to investigate such a crime?
More:
https://thehill.com/opinion/criminal-justice/586693-prosecutors-or-praetorian-guard-why-is-fbi-investigating-one-missing
General Research #19267 >>>/qresearch/15231024
Aaron Sorkin Blasts Woke Casting Based on Race: ‘Mother of All Empty Gestures and a Bad Idea’
David Ng 20 Dec 2021
Hollywood writer-director Aaron Sorkin is once again defending his casting choice of Spain’s Javier Bardem to play the Cuban-born Desi Arnaz in the Amazon Studios movie Being the Ricardos, saying casting based on race is the “mother of all empty gestures.”
He added that woke casting amounts to “resegregating ourselves” over characteristics that are “not actable.”
In an interview with the Britain’s Sunday Times Culture magazine, Aaron Sorkin responded to continued backlash he is facing for casting a Spanish actor to play a Cuban character.
“So this notion that only gay actors should play gay characters? That only a Cuban actor should play Desi? Honestly, I think it’s the mother of all empty gestures and a bad idea,” he said.
Sorkin said it is “heartbreaking” and “a little chilling” to see artists “resegregating ourselves” over characteristics like race. “This should be the last place there are walls,” he said. “Spanish and Cuban are not actable.”
In the interview, Sorkin also defended Gina Carano, saying the actress didn’t deserve to be fired from Disney+ series The Mandalorian for publicly comparing how conservatives are treated today with being Jewish during the Holocaust.
“I could rebut some things she said, but I don’t think she should lose her job because of it,” he told the newspaper. “On the other hand, if they’re losing advertisers because she’s on the show, that’s different. That’s life in a democracy.”
Sorkin previously defended his casting of Bardem last month in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in which he said there is nothing offensive about a Spanish actor playing a Cuban character.
https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2021/12/20/aaron-sorkin-blasts-woke-casting-based-on-race-mother-of-all-empty-gestures-and-a-bad-idea/
General Research #19270 >>>/qresearch/15233180
Boosters every 3 months?
6….4….3
Center for Vaccine Development director Dr. Peter Hotez said Tuesday on MSNBC’s “MTP Daily” that he believes, especially for health care workers, people will need coronavirus booster shots every three months.
Hotez said, “Now we have an added problem, and that is specific to the Omicron variant, that third booster was holding up so well for Delta, Alpha and other variants, for Omicron, it is waning really quickly.”
Anchor Chuck Todd said, “So we know that Moderna is apparently working on a booster that would tackle Omicron. Are we going to be in this sort of gap, it sounds like? I mean, look, we’re all thinking selfishly. I’m sure when people just heard what you said about the booster for health care workers, are you saying at three months from our booster, we probably need another booster?”
Hotez said, “I think so. And again, it is to prevent infection and long COVID, particularly among our health care workers. I’ll leave to the federal agencies to offer an opinion about the general population. But at least let’s protect that population because that is critical. As far as the Omicron-specific booster, we won’t have it in time for this epidemic. Also, we have other vulnerabilities. At least one or two of the monoclonal antibodies does not work against the Omicron variant. So we take that off the table.”
https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2021/12/21/center-for-vaccine-developments-hotez-every-three-months-we-might-need-another-booster/
General Research #19270 >>>/qresearch/15233493
Youngkin’s Education Sec Pick Founded Org That Calls For Collecting Children’s Data, Raked In Nearly $26 Million From Bill Gates
Republican Virginia Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin’s secretary of education pick founded an organization that advocates for the collection of children’s data. It also raked in nearly $26 million in funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, according to records from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation reviewed by the Daily Caller.
Youngkin tapped Aimee Rogstad Guidera, president of Guidera Strategy, on Monday. Between 2005 and 2018, Guidera was the founder and chief executive of the Data Quality Campaign (DQC), a national organization that advocates for the collection of data on American school children.
DQC encourages states to create unique identifiers for each students — such as a student ID number — to anonymously track student data on a state-wide level, according to the company’s 2006 10-step plan. The organization calls for states to use data, such as students’ grades, class schedules and more, to create reports used to influence state and federal policy.
States are already mandated to publish “report cards” that provide parents and the public with general information about state and district school performance and progress, per the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
DQC now calls for students’ data to be used to foster “equitable education outcomes,” according to their Data for Equity project page. The organization also promoted a federal data collection project that measures the nation’s progress “towards equity goals.” DQC also recommended that school leadership and state governing and advisory boards make staffing decisions that are representative of the racial or gender breakdown of a given community.
The push for “equity” via student data began after Guidera’s 2018 exit, according to a timeline review of DQC’s website.
Between 2014 and 2016, DQC’s legislative agendas were focused on protecting student privacy, according to the organization’s 2014, 2015 and 2016 legislative breakdown. Under Guidera’s leadership, the organization also promoted and passed legislation that provided parents the ability to opt their child out of data collection to third-part service providers.
In 2017 — while Guidera remained at the helm — DQC supported policy that helped school districts subvert student privacy rules, according to DQC’s year in review. The organization supported two amendments in Connecticut that would have subverted a public school district from implementing Public Act 16-18, which “adds a layer of requirements to ensure student privacy.”
DQC also supported a Maryland commission on restorative practices and ending the “school-to-prison pipeline” in 2017.
https://dailycaller.com/2021/12/21/youngkins-education-secretary-aimee-guidera-founded-organization-collects-data-26-million-bill-gates/
General Research #19270 >>>/qresearch/15233517
As His Presidency Founders, Biden Scapegoats The Unvaccinated
A few days after the 2020 presidential election, President-elect Joe Biden pledged to be “a president who seeks not to divide but to unify,” a theme he’d campaigned on. “Let this grim era of demonization in America begin to end here and now,” he said in his victory speech. “It’s time to put away the harsh rhetoric, lower the temperature, see each other again, listen to each other again.”
So much for all that. As Biden’s first year in office comes to a close, he has proven to be one of the most divisive presidents in generations, surpassing even Donald Trump in his vindictiveness and willingness to demonize Americans who disagree with him — even if it means lying about COVID-19.
Consider the events of the past few days. Following a White House briefing last Thursday on the spread of the omicron variant, Biden said, “We are looking at a winter of severe illness and death for the unvaccinated — for themselves, their families, and the hospitals they’ll soon overwhelm.”
The next day, White House COVID response coordinator Jeff Zients repeated this line, saying, “We are intent on not letting omicron disrupt work and school for the vaccinated. You’ve done the right thing, and we will get through this,” he said. “For the unvaccinated, you’re looking at a winter of severe illness and death for yourselves, your families, and the hospitals you may soon overwhelm.”
So that’s the official administration line: opened schools and businesses for the vaccinated and “severe illness and death” for the unvaccinated, who will overwhelm hospitals with the omicron variant and, by implication, bear responsibility for the pandemic from here on out.
It’s one of the most bizarre and appalling statements from a presidential administration in American history, breathtaking in its dishonest scapegoating and shocking in its callous disregard for the millions of Americans who have decided, for reasons of their own, not to get the Covid shots.
Bullying these people will not persuade them, and neither will lying about the omicron variant. There’s no evidence right now that omicron is going to bring “severe illness and death,” or that it’s even going to cause a surge in hospitalizations. The evidence so far suggests just the opposite.
In South Africa, where omicron first emerged last month, hospitalization rates have fallen by 91 percent amid the current wave. Just 1.7 percent of all Covid patients were admitted to a hospital in the second week of the omicron surge, compared to 19 percent in the same week of the delta surge, according to South African health officials.
What’s more, the omicron variant appears to be milder than earlier strains of Covid-19. “We are really seeing very small increases in the number of deaths,” said Michelle Groome, head of health surveillance for South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases. Others have also noted a decoupling of new Covid cases and deaths in South Africa, whereas in past surges they have been closely aligned.
https://thefederalist.com/2021/12/21/as-his-presidency-founders-biden-scapegoats-the-unvaccinated/
China’s Largest LNG Importer CNOOC Signs Sale and Purchase Agreement for U.S. Gas
Mike Schuler
December 21, 2021
Arlington, Virginia-based Venture Global LNG has announced signing 20-year LNG Sales and Purchase Agreement with a subsidiary of China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), China’s largest LNG importer.
Under the deal, Venture Global will supply 2 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of LNG on a “free on board” (FOB) basis from its proposed Plaquemines LNG export facility, in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. In addition, the CNOON business, CNOOC Gas & Power Group, will purchase 1.5 million tonnes (MT) of LNG from Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass LNG facility, which is under development in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, “for a shorter duration.”
The Plaquemines LNG export facility is a proposed deepwater facility located on the Mississippi River approximately 20 miles south of New Orleans
The deal marks the first LNG supply agreement signed by a U.S. exporter with CNOOC.
“Venture Global is pleased to announce the expansion of our footprint in Asia through two new deals to supply the Chinese market with clean, low-cost US LNG,” said Mike Sabel, Chief Executive Officer of Venture Global LNG. “China is critical to global climate efforts, and LNG supplied by Venture Global will serve as an important addition to their low carbon energy mix for decades. This new long-term partnership with CNOOC builds on our company’s continued momentum in a very active 2021.”
“As China’s largest LNG importer, CNOOC is committed deeply not only to the mission of securing China’s gas supply, but also to the climate goals of building a carbon-neutral China by 2060,” said Shi Chenggang, Chairman of CNOOC Gas & Power. “We are pleased to announce our long-term LNG cooperation with Venture Global. By signing the SPAs with Venture Global, CNOOC will be able to further improve its ability to meet China’s increasing gas demand, whilst provide solid support for China’s energy transition pathway to build a more “beautiful China”.
[ok, excuse me. so if for some "unforseen" popping up before these PROPOSED facilities are operational, does CNOOC get the places when the contract is defaulted?]
General Research #19271 >>>/qresearch/15234118
Zuckerberg-Funded Groups Sue Border Patrol Over Del Rio ‘Whipping’
A pro-migration advocacy group is suing the U.S. Border Patrol for supposedly abusing a Haitian migrant who was photographed while trying to dodge a horse-mounted border patrol officer.
The plaintiffs allege “physical abuse, racial discrimination, denial of basic necessities and medical treatment, and a complete failure to process asylum claims.”
A border patrol officer “lashed at [one Haitian migrant] with split reins,” according to the complaint. The complaint does not allege the border patrol officer actually lashed the migrant.
The lawsuit also challenges the legality of the Trump-era Title 42 immigration policy, which allows law enforcement officials to expel migrant family units from the country. Thousands of Haitian migrants have been flown back home by the federal government since August.
The lawsuit is being filed by groups that get funding from Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook profits.
According to a press release from Justice Action Center, Haitian Bridge Alliance’s Nicole Phillips is one of the attorneys on the case.
Haitian Bridge Alliance receives funding from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI). Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan are co-founders and co-CEOs of CZI. Their initiative “makes grants to organizations working in support of our missions in Science, Education, and Justice & Opportunity – as well as giving directed to our local community.”
CZI has awarded approximately $2.9 billion in grants to support institutions. Haitian Bridge Alliance is one of the groups that received funding grants from CZI.
Haitian Bridge Alliance received at least three grants from CZI in 2020, totaling $170,000. First, CZI gave Haitian Bridge a $100,000 grant “for general operating support.” On top of that, CZI gave the organization $20,000 “for COVID-19 rapid response funding.” Finally, Zuckerberg’s initiative granted the Alliance $50,000 for “responsive equity work centering Black migrants and asylum-seekers.”
This group opposes the administration’s policy of flying more Haitian migrants home.
Administration officials adopted that policy after thousands of Haitian migrants pushed across the border river at Del Rio, and after agency officials sent the horse-mounted officers to block further crossings.
The lawsuit’s controversy stems from photos of border patrol agents on horseback chasing down Haitian migrants that went viral in September. Corporate media and Democrat politicians falsely claimed that the border patrol agents used reins to whip the Haitian migrants. However, this narrative was later disproved, which led to the New York Times correcting their story.
The photographer who captured the clash between border patrol officials and the Haitian migrants said his photos have “really been misconstrued.” He also told local news he “didn’t ever see them (the agents) whip anybody.”
Despite the false narrative being debunked, the plaintiffs rely on it in their legal filing. In the complaint, the plaintiffs allege that a border patrol officer “lashed at [one Haitian migrant] with split reins.”
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/12/21/zuckerberg-funded-groups-sue-border-patrol-over-del-rio-whipping/
http://justiceactioncenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Stamped-Complaint-HBA-v-Biden.pdf
In terms of congestion, the latest “KPIs” show the number of import containers on terminal at 60,855, including 18,955 dwelling nine days or more, plus another 76,000 empty containers on terminal and at off-dock facilities controlled by the port. According to the “Pool of Pools” website, 40-foot container chassis’ are dwelling on street (off terminals) for 9.3 days, down from a peak of 10 days.
Meanwhile the containership backup stands at 91, including 24 ships either anchored or loitering within 40 nautical miles and 67 outside the 150 mile safety and air quality exclusion zone.
https://gcaptain.com/port-of-los-angeles-confirms-cargo-dip-in-november-says-smaller-ship-are-to-blame/
The cargolink sit had ten days, but no date of publication
McDonalds Can’t Export Enough Potatoes
Reuters
December 21, 2021
By Sakura Murakami (Reuters) McDonald’s Holdings Company Japan said on Tuesday it would suspend the sale of medium- and large-sized french fries for a week starting on Friday due to port supply chain bottlenecks.
The company is seeing delays in potato shipments due to supply chain issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as from shipping disruptions in Canada. The potatoes used for the french fries are imported from North America, it said.
The popular fast-food company said french fries in small sizes will continue to be on sale.
The company did not quantify the financial impact of the temporary suspension.
(Reporting by Sakura Murakami; Editing by Jacqueline Wong, Reuters)
https://gcaptain.com/mcdonalds-exports-potatoes/
Pic: A McDonald's restaurant is seen in Tokyo November 29, 2008. REUTERS/Stringer (JAPAN)/File Photo
Qatar Planning $10 Billion Investment in U.S. Ports, Sources Say
Reuters
December 21, 2021
By Jonathan Saul, Marwa Rashad and Davide Barbuscia
LONDON/DUBAI, Dec 21 (Reuters) – Qatar plans to invest at least $10 billion in U.S. ports and has approached international banks for financing help, three finance sources say, in an infrastructure spree that reflects the Gulf country’s deepening ties with Washington.
The Middle East and Western sources familiar with the matter said Doha was targeting investments in ports around the U.S. East Coast which were expected to be developed in phases, adding that the plan was at a preliminary stage.
The country’s sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority and the Qatar Government Communication Office both declined to comment.
“The Qataris have been preparing for almost a year to test the waters with U.S. port investments,” said Michael Frodl, a U.S.-based adviser on projects including maritime security, commerce and infrastructure, who is familiar with Qatar’s strategy.
“We think that a shrewd investor with the $10 billion the Qataris desire to put into American port infrastructure would likely look at the underserved East Coast first and foremost. The West Coast is getting all the U.S. government and private investment attention, while the East Coast is long overdue for improvements.”
Frodl said ports with easy access to highways and rail lines would be a priority.
“We’d be looking at aging medium-sized ports south of Boston and north of Jacksonville,” he added.
A Middle East-based source said the investments would be backed by debt, which would be linked to the port assets, adding that Qatar was in early discussions with banks to look for a structuring adviser.
The banks being approached included Morgan Stanley, HSBC and Credit Suisse, two of the sources said.
Morgan Stanley, HSBC and Credit Suisse declined to comment.
In November Congress approved U.S. President Joe Biden’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure package, which port and industry sources say includes $5.22 billion of federal funding for port specific programs, falling short of the tens of billions of dollars estimated to be needed for investment in creaking infrastructure.
U.S. transport secretary Pete Buttigieg told an online news briefing with the Port of Los Angeles on Nov. 16 that while Washington was delivering a “historic level of funding” to improve ports, “it can’t all be from federal grants.”
“We’re going to have to keep working with local, state and private partners in order to make sure that we have the kinds of resources that are needed,” Buttigieg said.
There are around 360 ports in the United States, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
The Middle East-based source said Qatar could look to target three port projects.
A fourth finance source separately confirmed Qatar’s investment plans in the United States.
Qatar currently has minimal holdings in overseas ports. However, last year the state’s commercial ports operator, QTerminals, purchased the Turkish port of Akdeniz and entered into an agreement to develop the Black Sea port of Olvia in Ukraine.
STRONGER TIES
Relations between the United States and Qatar have deepened after the small, wealthy Gulf monarchy forged close ties with the Taliban, playing a key role in the talks that led to the 2020 deal for the U.S. troop pullout from Afghanistan this year.
Washington and Doha signed an accord in November for Qatar to represent U.S. diplomatic interests in Afghanistan.
“Qatari interest in investing in U.S. infrastructure dates back to at least 2016,” Frodl said.
“Things would have been more advanced if it was not for the previous Trump administration, which was closely aligned with the Saudis.”
(Reporting by Jonathan Saul and Marwa Rashad in London, Davide Barbuscia, Yousef Saba and Saeed Azhar in Dubai and Andrew Mills in Doha, editing by Rachel Armstrong and Susan Fenton)
https://gcaptain.com/qatar-planning-10-billion-investment-in-u-s-ports-sources-say/