Chinese Nationals Caught Burning Documents Shortly After US Orders China Consulate in Houston Closed Due to Espionage and Theft

Individuals in the China Consulate in Houston were filmed burning documents after being ordered shut down by the US government for accused efforts of espionage taking place there.

The Chicago Tribune reported this morning:

The United States said Wednesday that it has ordered China to close its consulate in Houston “to protect American intellectual property” and the private information of Americans.

China strongly condemned the move, the latest in a series of steps by the Trump administration as it ratchets up pressure on the world’s second-largest economy over trade, technology, human rights and security.

Firefighters responded to reports of papers being burned on the consulate grounds Tuesday night but were barred entry, according to Houston news media reports.

The U.S., in a brief statement, did not provide any details on why the consulate in Texas was targeted.

“The United States will not tolerate (China’s) violations of our sovereignty and intimidation of our people, just as we have not tolerated (its) unfair trade practices, theft of American jobs, and other egregious behavior,” said the statement, which was attributed to State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus.

The U.S. also said it would not reopen its consulate in the city of Wuhan, which was closed in late January at the height of the coronavirus outbreak in China, a Trump administration official said.

Video of the China Consulate in Houston was released showing what appears to be fires inside the Consulate reportedly shortly after the US ordered it closed.

The leadership of China simply cannot be trusted.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/07/chinese-nationals-caught-burning-documents-shortly-us-orders-china-consulate-houston-closed-due-espionage-theft/

Senate Committee Unanimously Votes To Bar TikTok From Devices Issued To Federal Employees

Just hours after Washington's order to shutter a Chinese consulate in Houston triggered a panicked document fire on the building's balcony, the Senate's Homeland Security Committee voted unanimously on Wednesday to approve a bill (put forth by Missouri Sen Josh Hawley) barring the social media app TikTok from being installed on smartphones used by federal employees on federally-issued devices.

TikTok's Chinese ownership and explosive popularity in the US have led to several companies to reportedly bar employees from installing the app on corporate-issued devices, due to fears - so far mostly unsubstantiated - that Beijing is using the app for widespread spying and data collection, Reuters reports.

In a statement from his press office, Hawley said that many federal agencies have already recognized the threat posed by TikTok.

The White House has discussed banning the app outright (something that has been ruled out for being too controversial) and the DoJ and FTC have launched investigations into data privacy abuses involving children.

Oh, and WSJ published this bizarre story about the app promoting American teens for pledging fealty to Beijing.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/senate-committee-unanimously-votes-bar-tiktok-devices-issued-federal-employees

The EU’s €1.1 trillion budget and €750 billion bailout prove you can never taper a Ponzi scheme

The European Union bailout announced this week won’t be enough, and it’ll be the obedient EU taxpayers who have to pick up the tab for future packages. Britain should be relieved it’s no longer part of this sorry mess.

This week’s futile European Union ‘kick-the-can-down-the-road’ budget and bailout negotiations proved to be contentious, but as always, Germany won. France crumbled, and the resistance – feebly led by the Netherlands and featuring Denmark, Sweden and Austria – caved. What a shock!

Well, it shouldn’t be a shock. The more things change, the more things stay the same. Will €750 billion bail out the EU’s bloated sovereign balance sheets, corporations, insolvent banks, underfunded pension funds, ludicrous property valuations and busted supply chains? Absolutely no way. This is the beginning of the EU’s flame-out.

The EU’s endgame has always been a power grab all about globalization. Membership has no privileges, but it does require subservience – every member must surrender their sovereignty. All member states are required to give up all of their rights to create laws independent of the EU Court of Justice while pledging full and unfettered compliance and obedience to the opaquely appointed five presidents of the European Commission. Good deal? No way.

The EU could never work without a central treasury mechanism, which ensures that each of the member states is equally compliant with fiscal and budgetary constraints and the rule of law. Unfortunately, the EU’s composition and structure have been skewed in Germany’s favour from day one – and behind the scenes, Germany has always been the economic powerhouse driving the economic engine of the EU.

https://www.rt.com/op-ed/495499-eu-covid-19-bailout-ponzi/

Wirecard CEO Re-Arrested After Being Freed On Bail

Shortly after Wirecard's former COO reportedly surfaced in Russia, where he has fled to avoid prosecution over the bankruptcy of Wirecard after the company reportedly collapsed following the exposure of a massive $2 billion accounting fraud, prosecutors in Munich have issued new arrest warrants for three former Wirecard executives - including former CEO Markus Braun - over findings that Braun and the others knew about the fraudulent activity as far back as 2015.

A new expanded arrest warrant has been issued targeting Braun, who was arrested for the first time in relation to the scandal late last month, has been free on a massive $6 million bail.

Braun was re-arrested during his weekly check-in with authorities.

The former head of the Wirecard subsidiary Cardsystems Middle East, which was blamed for playing a key role in the fraud, remains in custody in Dubai. The new allegations determined that all the executives were involved with a conscious decision back in 2015 to "inflate" Wirecard's balance sheet by booking fraudulent revenue to make the company more attractive to lenders.

The three conspired to defraud loan providers out of about 3.2 billion euros ($3.7 billion), Munich prosecutors said Wednesday.

Of Wirecard's 45 subsidiaries, only 3 were profitable.

The warrants are for crimes ranging from fraud to market manipulation. The other two executives were identified by AFP as two Wirecard board members.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/wirecard-ceo-re-arrested-after-being-freed-bail

‘It’s called freedom’: Fox’s Carlson & Hannity share AWKWARD moment of disagreement over Bezos wealth, and one is apologizing

Fox News’ Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity shared a visibly uncomfortable exchange as the latter questioned the former’s criticism of Amazon’s Jeff Bezos growing his net worth by a whopping $13 billion during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The tense moment between the two hosts followed a segment on Carlson’s show where he slammed news of Bezos’ increased wealth.

“But at least one person has become extremely rich [during the pandemic], richer than any man in history from all of this, including a lot of the suffering,” he said. “Now 20 years ago if that had happened, if a captain of industry had made $13 billion in a single day while the country got poorer, the Democratic Party would have something to say about it. Not anymore, because people getting rich are members of the Democratic Party.”

He then went on to say that Bezos was “pretty smart” in his decision to buy the Washington Post, as it guaranteed that he “never [gets] criticized.”

As Carlson’s show was ending and he was introducing Hannity’s program, the latter took a moment to push back against Carlson’s segment on Bezos.

“People can make money,” Hannity said. “They provide goods and services people want, need, and desire. That’s America. It’s called freedom, capitalism, uh, and as long as it’s honest, right? People decide.”

Carlson was visibly confused by his colleague’s interjection, something many on social media were quick to point out, including the Daily Caller, the conservative news outlet Carlson co-founded in 2010.

Tucker Carlson ended his show by criticizing the fact that Jeff Bezos has gotten richer during the pandemic.Hands off to Sean Hannity who refutes him. pic.twitter.com/bspPD3Y5dF

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) July 22, 2020

Here was Tucker’s segment on Jeff Bezos that proceeded this exchange pic.twitter.com/G3uYTytRpC

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) July 22, 2020

Hannity later apologized for the “misunderstanding” to both Carlson and “the Fox audience,” and clarified he is not in favor of people taking economic advantage of the current pandemic.

https://www.rt.com/usa/495523-tucker-carlson-sean-hannity-bezos/

House Passes Defense Bill Renaming Confederate Bases, Setting Up Showdown With Trump

Who would have thought that in 2020 famous Army base names like Fort Hood or Fort Bragg might hold up America's central and crucial defense spending bill?

On Tuesday President Trump said he would veto this year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) if it strips Confederate names from military bases. The issue which would see iconic longtime base names ditched for their Confederate 'taint' became front and center after months of George Floyd and Black Lives Matter protests rocked the nation.

This after the House passed it Tuesday in a 295-125 vote. The White House subsequently warned in a statement: "President Trump has been clear in his opposition to politically motivated attempts like this to rewrite history and to displace the enduring legacy of the American Revolution with a new left-wing cultural revolution," according to Politico.

Another provision Trump reportedly objects to is limiting spending on Afghanistan, which he's previously expressed a strong desire to pull out of, and what's seen as other Democrat-led attempts to curb his authority.

The current $740 billion is considered "must pass" legislation given it sets next year's policy and spending for the Department of Defense, including pay for troops and defense hardware and combat gear acquisitions.

The Senate defeated an amendment which would have blocked the program.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/house-passed-defense-bill-renaming-confederate-bases-setting-showdown-trump

‘Others want to change Europe, we want to quit’: Italian senator meets with Farage in London, plans to launch ‘Italexit’ party

Italy is getting its own Brexit-type party led by a staunch Eurosceptic senator, a former journalist and ex-member of the anti-establishment Five Star Movement who recently met with Nigel Farage for inspiration.

While its name is yet to be revealed, the party, led by Senator Gianluigi Paragone, already has a clear goal – to lead Italy, a founding member of the 27-member bloc, out of the European Union.

Inspired by the UK’s vote to exit the EU, the 48-year-old senator traveled to London on Monday to meet with Brexit architect Nigel Farage. After the meeting, Paragone said his country “can no longer be blackmailed by countries that offend the great prestige of Italy.”

Speaking to the media, Paragone said the only way for Italy to tackle the economic crisis brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic is to do so as a “really sovereign state,” such as Britain.

The Eurosceptic politician is riding a wave of disappointment with the bloc and its handling of recent crises. Trust in the EU in Italy has plummeted by 20 points since 2010, according to the Brussels-based Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies. In 2019, Italians were among the most pessimistic European nations regarding EU membership, with only 42 percent believing it to be beneficial to the country – 26 points below the ‘Eurobarometer’ average.

Despite growing anti-EU sentiment, Italy’s political parties have been hesitant to throw their weight behind the Eurosceptics, especially at a time when the Covid-stricken nation – one of the worst-affected in Europe – urgently needs the bloc’s support. On Tuesday, EU member states agreed on a coronavirus recovery package which would allocate €209 billion ($239 billion) to Italy – a whopping 28 percent of the entire package. This came as a result of uneasy marathon talks and compromises – and with the fight against the virus far from over and no proven vaccine available, the deal was direly needed to dampen Eurosceptic moods.

However, Paragone remains steadfast. “The others want to change Europe, we want to quit,” the ‘Italexit’ leader said after the deal was struck.

https://www.rt.com/news/495465-italy-quit-eu-senator-farage/

NY Riot Cops Disband 'Occupy City Hall' Encampment In Pre-Dawn Raid

New York police officers in riot gear evicted approximately 70 protesters out of the "Occupy City Hall" protest encampment in a Wednesday pre-dawn raid, according to the New York Times.

After a 10 minute warning, officers advanced on the mix of protesters and homeless people at approximately 3:40 a.m., "moving in lock-step behind a wall of plastic shields," according to the report. Seven arrests were made after minor clashes between camp residents and the police, according to the Times, citing officials.

As the police moved through the camp, which since June has sprawled across a park and plaza to the east of City Hall, officers took down a series of tarps and makeshift tents that demonstrators and several homeless people had been living in and tossed them into city garbage trucks. -NYT

One man was reportedly suffered a medical emergency and was taken away in an ambulance, while police say one officer was injured when he was struck by a brick.

The operation was approved by Mayor Bill de Blasio, which ABC7 reports "has been long planned by the NYPD."

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/ny-riot-cops-disband-occupy-city-hall-encampment-pre-dawn-raid

UK scraps ‘loophole’ that allowed American diplomat’s wife accused of teenager’s death to claim immunity, in new deal with US

The UK government has removed a critical loophole which allowed a US diplomat’s wife, who is alleged to have caused the death of a British teenager, to claim immunity, in a new deal struck with Washington.

In a written statement, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab confirmed that the UK and US had amended the “anomaly,” after receiving fierce criticism from Harry Dunn’s family for failing to secure justice for their son.

Raab said the new agreement allows for the prosecution of family members of diplomatic staff, “should these tragic circumstances ever arise again.”

We have secured the agreement of the US so that the Croughton arrangements could not in future be used in the same way as in the tragic case of Harry Dunn.

Washington has refused to send back 42-year-old Anne Sacoolas, who was driving the car that reportedly crashed into 19-year-old Dunn’s motorbike outside RAF Croughton – the military base where her husband Jonathan was stationed – in Northamptonshire in August 2019.

https://www.rt.com/uk/495495-diplomat-wife-teenager-immunity-deal/

PRAY FOR EACH OTHER

Navy Aviation Boatswain’s Mate 2nd Class Sarah Dudrey Busts into Pro-Trump Rally Screaming “F*ck Trump!” – Should be Discharged

This weekend video captured a Navy recruit busting into a pro-Trump street rally, harassing people and screaming, “F*ck Trump!”

The woman was later identified as Aviation Boatswain’s Mate 2nd Class Sarah J. Dudrey.

It’s definitely Sarah Dudrey.

Sarah took an oath to obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of her officers.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/07/disgusting-navy-aviation-boatswains-mate-2nd-class-sarah-dudrey-busts-pro-trump-rally-screaming-fck-trump-discharged/

@ABC,@CBSNews, and @NBCNews skip Strzok notes admitting no Russia connection to Trump campaign

Almost a month after the broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC) covered up the release of FBI notes showing that President Obama and Vice President Biden had guided the Michael Flynn investigation, agency officials were working to obfuscate the truth. That was according to newly declassified notes from disgraced FBI agent Peter Strzok proved that the bureau knew there were no connections between the Trump campaign and Russia in early 2017.

Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC) released the documents on Friday, but in the meantime, none of the broadcast networks showed an interest in giving them airtime. Fortunately, Fox News Channel reporter David Spunt dedicated a report to the documents during Tuesday’s Special Report.

“Four years after allegations of collusion between the Russians and Donald Trump’s campaign, a newly declassified note from the man who helped run the investigation tells a different tale,” Spunt announced at the top.

Reading from Strzok’s contemporaneous notes pertaining to a New York Times article from after President Trump’s inauguration, Spunt reported that investigators knew there were zero connections between the Trump campaign and Russia:

“We have not seen evidence of any individuals affiliated with the Trump team in contact with IOs,” IOs meaning Russian intelligence officers, wrote then-FBI Agent Peter Strzok, according to newly declassified documents released on Friday.

(…)

Strzok wrote the comment next to a February 2017 New York Times article alleging contacts between the Trump campaign and the Russians. Senator Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham released the documents to the public.

www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/nicholas-fondacaro/2020/07/21/hiding-truth-nets-skip-strzok-notes-admitting-no-russia

#BREAKING @JudicialWatch Sues FBI, DOJ, DNI for Records On Obama WH Meeting On Michael Flynn and Now Debunked Steele Dossier – Sara A. Carter

What would our nation do without JW, awesome.

Remember Susan Rice's email to self… t.co/GXLe53e7NM

— Sara A. Carter (@SaraCarterDC) July 21, 2020

https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/abccbsnews-and-nbcnews-skip-strzok-notes-admitting-no-russia-connection-to-trump-campaign/

Connecticut public health laboratory confirms nationwide coronavirus tests are flawed, creating huge spike in false positives

A public health laboratory in the state of Connecticut has determined that Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) tests being administered all across the country are fundamentally flawed, which is part of the reason why the nation is now seeing a massive spike in supposed new infections.

The error was identified in the testing platform manufactured by a company known as Thermo Fisher Scientific, which provides Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) tests to many different commercial laboratories across the U.S. In Connecticut alone, this flawed test has resulted in at least 90 people, mostly living in nursing homes and assisted care facilities, testing positive for the virus when they are actually healthy and normal.

It was employees at Connecticut’s official state laboratory that first discovered the flaw and brought it to the public’s attention. Their hope is that the problem can be quickly rectified, allowing clinics all over the country that have been using the faulty test to switch to something else, as well as to account for and discard any erroneous data that came from its use.

Dr. Deidre S. Gifford, Connecticut’s acting public health commissioner, has indicated that her agency is reaching out to labs all across her state to determine how many of them have been using the flawed test. Josh Geballe, Governor Ned Lamont’s chief operating officer, is also reaching out to all clinicians who have tested people with the flawed test to find out who was tested, where they live, and what results were gathered.

“In a state like ours, which is using large-scale, intense testing to keep down transmission, we are going to have false positives,” admitted Dr. Albert Ko, a Yale University epidemiologist and co-chair of Gov. Lamont’s reopening advisory committee, about the situation.

“And that’s going to happen even in the best of tests because none of them are 100 percent positive,” he added, noting that the scientists who uncovered the flaw deserve “a shout-out” for the contributions in bringing much-needed scrutiny to the testing process.

How many other coronavirus testing kits are also producing false positives?

https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/connecticut-public-health-laboratory-confirms-nationwide-coronavirus-tests-are-flawed-creating-huge-spike-in-false-positives/

German scientists to host a 4,000-person indoor concert to study how coronavirus spreads by tracking the movements of fans and coating their hands in glowing sanitizer in an effort to learn how to hold safe events

German scientists are planning to stage a concert for 4,000 participants to track how COVID-19 spreads and see if large indoor events can be held safely.

A team from the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg are recruiting people for a 'coronavirus experiment' at an indoor stadium in Leipzig with singer-songwriter Tim Bendzko on August 22.

Concertgoers, in masks, will wear a device around their necks that sends a signal at five-seconds intervals showing where they are in the stadium.

Researchers will also use fluorescent hand sanitizer to identify high-touch areas and fog machines to see how vapors play a role in spreading the virus.

http://www.womensystems.com/2020/07/german-scientists-to-host-4000-person.html

California apartment building locked down under mandatory quarantine of all residents, with MANDATORY COVID-19 testing; all key cards deactivated, security guards posted at entrances during “lockdown”

Residents of an apartment building in Ventura, California, found themselves prisoners in their own homes as they were “locked down” in their own apartment building and subjected to mandatory covid-19 testing and quarantine restrictions.

Natural News has acquired a letter that was sent by the property manager to all 78 residents of the 7-story apartment building, which is located at 137 S. Palm Street in the City of Ventura, California. The building caters to seniors and disabled residents and is government-subsidized housing. We have confirmed the authenticity of this letter, which is shown below, with certain redactions to protect the names of the property managers who are being subjected to threats.

The letter warns that all residents of the building are ordered to appear at the “Palms Community Room” to participate in mandatory testing for covid-19 on July 17, 2020 (last Friday). It states, “All residents residing at 137 S. Palm MUST be tested for the Covid-19 virus. After testing has been completed, all residents MUST QUARANTINE in their unit until test results are received.”

In other words, the 78 residents of the building were ordered to subject themselves to covid-19 tests against their will, and then were essentially held prisoner in their apartments. The letter continues, “Effectively immediately, the Palms building has been placed on lockdown.”

More

https://www.naturalnews.com/2020-07-21-california-apartment-building-locked-down-mandatory-quarantine-covid-19-medical-tyranny.html

NSA leaker Reality Winner and 500 other inmates at Texas prison are at the center of one of the biggest COVID-19 outbreaks at a federal facility after cases more than double in just two days

Former NSA contractor Reality Winner, who was convicted of leaking classified documents to a news website, has tested positive for the coronavirus at a federal medical prison in Texas where more than 500 other inmates have come down with COVID-19.

The number of confirmed cases at the Federal Medical Center-Carswell in Fort Worth jumped to 510 on Tuesday, only two days after the Bureau of Prisons reported that 200 women there had tested positive for the virus.

Only the federal prison in Seagoville, also located in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, had more infected inmates, with 1,156 cases as of Tuesday.

'We're like a whole bunch of hamsters in a cage chasing our own tails,' said Carswell inmate Holli Chapman.

FMC-Carswell holds female inmates with medical and mental health issues. It currently has 1,357 prisoners.

http://www.cuzzblue.com/2020/07/nsa-leaker-reality-winner-and-500-other.html

Facebook 'contributes to the rape and torture of children' by allowing paedophiles to hide behind encryption, says Australia's federal police chief

The Australian Federal Police commissioner has accused Facebook of contributing to the rape and torture of children.

Reece Kershaw has torn into tech giants for allowing paedophiles to hide behind end-to-end encryption.

'If I was running those companies, and you were going to contribute to the rape and torture of children, I can't see why that's a good thing,' he told the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday.

Mr Kershaw said Australian tech companies were extremely co-operative in helping the AFP weed out criminals exploiting encrypted platforms.

'The tech companies here are excellent and have been very helpful and supportive of what we have been trying to achieve,' he said.

'I'm not that happy with, obviously, Facebook and others.'

Mr Kershaw said his officers would be further disadvantaged by tech companies planning to use even more secure communication methods.

'Paedophiles are counting down the days because they cannot wait,' he said.

He said Australians could no longer ignore news of child exploitation.

'As a country we need to be more outraged,' Mr Kershaw said.

He challenged Australians who opposed legislation giving law enforcement access to encrypted communications to explain it to victims of child exploitation.

http://www.stationgossip.com/2020/07/facebook-contributes-to-rape-and.html

Federal eviction moratorium ends on Friday, putting more than 12.3 MILLION households - or 30% of all renters nationwide - at risk of being kicked out of their homes

A moratorium on evictions from homes with federally backed mortgages is set to expire on Friday, putting millions of households at risk of eviction as the economy continues to struggle under coronavirus shutdowns.

The eviction ban, part of the CARES Act passed in March, applies to tenants who rent in homes owned by a homeowner with a federally backed mortgage held by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

The Urban Institute estimates that about 12.3 million households have been protected by the moratorium, or about 30 percent of all renters nationwide.

Once the moratorium lapses, landlords will be able to give their delinquent tenants 30 days' notice and then begin filing eviction paperwork in late August.

http://www.domigood.com/2020/07/federal-eviction-moratorium-ends-on.html

1970: 25% Of Native American Women Sterilized Via A New U.S. Law

Following the passage of an often-forgotten law called the Family Planning Services and Population Research Act of 1970, physicians sterilized at least 25% of Native American women of childbearing age, possibly even more. Throughout the early '70s, any Native woman who received health care through the Indian Health Service was targeted by this awful clandestine program. Many of the procedures were done without the knowledge of the victims, who often only found out when they tried to conceive later in life, and some women were even forced or coerced by physicians. The sterilization of Native American women finally came to light in the 2010s thanks to Jane Lawrence, a historian who tracked the procedures performed on Native women throughout the '60s and '70s.

A Reaction To Decline On Reservations

After Native Americans were placed on reservations in the 1800s, their numbers plummeted quickly. By 1900, there were fewer than 250,000 Native Americans in the country, partially thanks to a sky-high infant mortality rate resulting from conditions on the reservations. Rather than allow their people to completely disappear, many Native women had more children than they otherwise would, even if it meant compromising their own health. It's believed that these "extraordinarily high birth rates" are what kept Native Americans from disappearing completely.

http://www.webnewsys.com/2020/07/1970-25-of-native-american-women.html