Judge reverses 'Save James' ruling, gives mother power to transition 8-year-old son at father's expense​​: report

A Dallas judge has effectively reversed a previous ruling that would have granted the divorced father and mother of 8-year-old James Younger equal say in his medical and psychological care.

school as a girl named "Luna" and subject him to transition therapy and medical procedures at the expense of his father, Jeffrey Younger, the "Save James" Facebook page reported Tuesday.

"James and Jude did NOT have a victory in court today. Judge Mary Brown has condemned James and Jude to a life of therapy, confusion, and abuse without even having a hearing. There are no other words for what has happened today," a post on the page read.

"She has forced James to live as 'Luna' in a school surrounded by teachers and therapists who do not acknowledge that he has said multiple times to multiple people (without Jeff around) that he wants to be a boy and hates being forced to be a girl," the post continued.

http://www.scoopyweb.com/2020/08/judge-reverses-save-james-ruling-gives.html

The New Zealand Story: First They Take Your Guns – Then They Set Up Mandatory Coronavirus Quarantine Camps

In March 2019 New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern passed gun-grabbing legislation following a mass shooting at Christchurch mosque.

Ardern banned assault rifles and military-style semi-automatic weapons just six days after the Christchurch mosque attacks.

http://www.yourdestinationnow.com/2020/08/the-new-zealand-story-first-they-take.html

Election mail crisis deepens as USPS tells Pennsylvania it can't deal with state's mail-in ballots in time and postmaster general's secret Oval Office meeting with Donald Trump is revealed

Election worries increasing over mail-in voting

Postal system warned Pennsylvania its ballots may not be delivered in time because election deadlines are too tight

State officials asked court to extend voting deadlines, which means result in state may not be known for days after Election Day

Meanwhile President Donald Trump was revealed to have held an Oval Office meeting with Postmaster Louis DeJoy last week

White House called it a 'congratulatory' meeting on his appointment

Concerns about mail-in voting have deepened after the postal service warned officials in the critical battleground state of Pennsylvania that some ballots may not be delivered in time.

Additionally, it was revealed President Donald Trump had an Oval Office meeting last week with Postmaster General Louis DeJoy amid allegations the billionaire mega-donor to the Republican Party has put policies in place that are holding up delivery of the mail.

The White House told The Washington Post the meeting was a 'congratulatory' meeting because DeJoy was recently appointed to the position but it came before his tense meeting on Capitol Hill last week with Democratic Leaders Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer.

More

http://www.mr-mehra.com/2020/08/election-mail-crisis-deepens-as-usps.html

New Jersey To Become 9th State To Adopt "Universal Mail-In Voting"

It appears media organizations including Bloomberg have corroborated a CNN report published Thursday claiming that New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (a former Goldman Sachs executive) is preparing to announce Friday that the state's November election will be conducted mostly via mail-in ballots.

The announcement, likely the latest bit of political posturing by a governor who clearly craves the national profile enjoyed by his colleague in Albany, comes as President Trump's political opponents rail against Trump's remark about defunding the US post office to ensure that mail in voting won't be an option. Though these appear to be more inflammatory words as Trump continues his strategy of playing purely to his base, many critics on Twitter are complaining about Trump threatening "the last shred of democracy we have left", even though he later said he "wouldn't veto" a bill with the funding attached (it's basically a re-run of when Trump suggested that the election should be delayed).

After conducting its primaries almost entirely by mail, NJ would become the ninth state to move to this type of voting for the Nov. 3 presidential vote. Washington DC also plans to automatically send ballots to registered voters.

News of the plan, which was first reported by a local paper by the New Jersey Globe before it was picked up by CNN, followed the controversy over Trump's remark by just a few hours.

During an interview on Fox Business yesterday, Trump said that if USPS doesn't get the $25 billion earmarked in the Democratic stimulus plan, then it won't have the money to handle mail-in ballots. The Trump Administration has already approved a $10 billion loan to the Post Office back in the spring.

Of course, while liberals like to ignore the possibility for fraud, there are clearly millions of people around the US (many of them misguided leftists) who would have no problem with filling out a few ballots sent to deceased family members, pets, or people who have long since moved and submitting them in the name of "preserving democracy".

Rigging an election to save Democracy? Sounds like a perfectly logical notion to us. And let's not forget, NJ's wave of remote voting earlier this year came with more than its fair share of problems, too.

The turnout expected in the November vote would be much, much larger - even if NJ is widely considered "safe" for the Democrats.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/new-jersey-becomes-9th-state-adopt-universal-mail-voting

WHO Urges People To Not Fear Being Infected with COVID from Food Packaging

The World Health Organization said Thursday that people shouldn’t worry about contracting the coronavirus from food or food packaging.

Reuters reported that WHO emergencies program director Mike Ryan made the declaration during a news briefing.

“People should not fear food or food packaging or processing or delivery of food,” Ryan said in Geneva.

“There is no evidence that food or the food chain is participating in transmission of this virus. And people should feel comfortable and safe,” he added.

The statement was a direct break from Chinese officials for the international health group; China has claimed that chicken wings imported from Brazil tested positive for the coronavirus.

Reuters reported Wednesday that Chinese authorities said a sample taken from the surface of chicken wings imported into the southern city of Shenzhen contained the virus.

Officials also tested the packaging of frozen shrimp from Ecuador in a city in the Anhui province, and the packaging tested positive for the virus, China claimed.

The positive tests on food and food packaging sent Chinese authorities scrambling to contact those who might have come into contact with the food, Reuters reported.

“It is hard to say at which stage the frozen chicken got infected,” a Chinese official said.

According to Medical Xpress, WHO epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove said China had tested hundreds of thousands of packages and “found very, very few, less than 10 positive in doing that.”

“We know that the virus can remain on surfaces for some time,” she said. “If the virus is actually in food — and we have no examples of where this virus has been transmitted as a food-borne, whereas someone has consumed a food product — the viruses can be killed, like other viruses as well, if the meat is cooked.”

The WHO statement assuring the international public not to fear reporting from inside China is unusual for the public health body, which has been accused of assisting China’s efforts to cover up the initial spread of the virus last year and early this year.

In January, the WHO reported a false claim that the coronavirus cannot be spread between persons.

“Preliminary investigations conducted by the Chinese authorities have found no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission of the novel #coronavirus (2019-nCoV) identified in #Wuhan, #China,” the WHO tweeted on Jan. 14.

http://www.stationgossip.com/2020/08/who-urges-people-to-not-fear-being.html

WHO running cover for the CCP again

Israel has taken out 1/3 of Syrian air defenses in last two years

844 surface-to-air missiles have been fired towards Israeli jets since 2018.

Israel has destroyed one-third of Syrian air defenses in the past two years, and close to a thousand surface-to-air missiles have been launched towards Israel Air Force jets during missions for its “war-between-wars” campaign targeting Iranian infrastructure in the war-torn country.

Israel has been carrying out its war-between-war campaign against Iran since 2013, striking thousands of targets in Syria, and according to foreign reports in neighboring Iraq, in order to prevent the smuggling of advanced weaponry to Hezbollah in Lebanon and the entrenchment of its forces in Syria where they could easily act against Israel.

Israel does not comment on most alleged strikes, but it has been accused of carrying out strikes around the capital of Damascus as well as deep inside Syrian territory including in northern Syria near the Turkish border as well as the al-Bukamal region near the Syrian-Iraqi border.

Nevertheless, with an increase in strikes by Israel, the Syrian regime began to respond and fire surface-to-air missiles at Israeli jets. According to data seen by The Jerusalem Post, 844 such missiles were fired between 2017-2020 compared to just two fired between 2010-2013.

In response to the firing of the missiles, IAF jets struck the launchers and have taken out regime air-defense batteries such as Sa2, Sa17, Sa22, and SA5. Dozens of Syrian regime soldiers were killed in the strikes.

https://www.jpost.com/arab-israeli-conflict/israel-has-taken-out-13-of-syrian-air-defenses-in-last-two-years-watch-638516

Illegally attacking your neighbors is a war crime

After UAE, Bahrain will be next to sign peace deal, says Israel official

Bahrain is likely to follow the UAE in signing a peace agreement with Israel, an Israeli official said yesterday. The Hebrew Kan channel quoted the unnamed official as saying “Bahrain is expected to be the next country, which will establish official relations with Israel”.

No time frame was specified, or further details given, although the report by the broadcaster also mentioned that a senior US official told Palestinian media that Bahrain and Oman are expected to normalise ties with Israel in the near future.

Bahrain was the first Gulf state to officially comment on the diplomatic move between the UAE and Israel. According to the Bahrain News Agency, Manama welcomed the peace agreement and extended its congratulations to the UAE for “taking steps to enhance the chances for Middle East peace”.

Jared Kushner, a senior adviser and son-in-law to President Donald Trump also hinted that another Arab country could make a deal with Israel “in the coming days”.

Yesterday Trump made the announcement that the UAE and Israel had formally normalised relations. In exchange for recognition, Israel will allegedly “suspend” its plans to annex large swathes of the occupied West Bank. The agreement, known as the Abraham Accord was lauded by the UAE’s the National, which framed the event as Israel freezing its expansionist plans thanks to UAE diplomacy.

It also mentions that other Gulf nations, including Qatar and Oman, have ties with Israel, but the only Arab states with full diplomatic relations are Jordan, Egypt and Mauritania after peace agreements in 1994 and 1979 and 1999, respectively. Although Mauritania froze relations as a result of Israel’s war on Gaza in 2014.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200814-after-uae-bahrain-will-be-next-to-sign-peace-deal-says-israel-official/

Centcom Chief Expects Long-Term Presence in Iraq

ISIS fight to continue for years to come

Gen Frank McKenzie, while saying that at some point the US wants to get “smaller” in Iraq, says that won’t happen soon, and confirmed he predicts US troops to stay for years to come, nominally to fight ISIS.

This came amid Gen. McKenzie accusing Iran of getting in the way of the fight against ISIS, which boils down to Iran being the excuse for US troops to stay in Iraq, despite ISIS largely no longer existing, and Iraq wanting US troops out.

McKenzie’s narrative allows the US to have its cake and eat it too, both saying they want to leave Iraq and not actually having to do it, with an open-ended excuse in mind.

McKenzie made similar comments on Syria just the day prior, saying that ISIS forces are likely to reconstitute themselves in Syria, where US troops are not present in great numbers.

https://news.antiwar.com/2020/08/13/centcom-chief-expects-long-term-presence-in-iraq/

Forever wars

Julian Assange Court Case Delayed Again in Bizarre Circumstances

“I have never in my career faced so much difficulty attempting to trial monitor as in Julian Assange’s case.” — Rebecca Vincent, Director of International Campaigns for Reporters Without Borders.

There were bizarre scenes at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London today, as the extradition process of Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange (present via videophone from Belmarsh prison) was again delayed.

Proceedings were held up this morning so Assange could converse for the first time in five months with his legal team. The prosecution team failed to turn up at the hearing because they were told events started at 3:30 p.m. Only five members of the press were allowed to enter the courtroom to monitor proceedings. Other journalists, observers, and NGOs attempting to listen via telephone could not, as they were given the number to another courtroom. One journalist who did make it inside claimed that the judge, Vanessa Baraitser, was, “clearly reading from a pre-written ruling.”

Assange sat in a conference room used by the entire prison, without a mask, and was seen coughing a number of times. At one point, proceedings in the courtroom were interrupted by screaming coming from another booth in Belmarsh prison, loud enough to cause a delay. Present at the hearing, Assange’s mother, Christine, warned that he would not survive extradition to the United States.

Perhaps most bizarre, however, is that the United States Department of Justice dropped its original indictment in June, just two days after Assange’s defense team submitted their full and final evidence for the extradition hearing. Today was the first time Assange saw the charges against him. Yet they are almost identical to those previously issued, save for slightly broadening the scope to include some interactions with hacking groups in 2011. The U.S. D.O.J. itself admitted that their new indictment “does not add additional counts to the prior 18-count superseding indictment returned against Assange in May 2019,” leading Wikileaks to allege that the U.S. is attempting to string the process along until after the November election, in order to avoid any negative consequences for the Trump administration. “This was the worst hearing so far,” said Kristinn Hrafnsson, the organization’s current editor-in-chief. “The U.S. government seems to want to change the indictment every time the court meets, but without the defence or Julian himself seeing the relevant documents.” If found guilty, Assange faces up to 175 years in prison.

The defense team, led by Edward Fitzgerald QC, was given a week to decide whether to ask for a hearing scheduled for September 7 to be postponed. However, they must do that without the input of their client, as Belmarsh prison denied them a post hearing video conference.

https://www.mintpressnews.com/assange-extradition-case-delayed-again-in-bizarre-circumstances/270424/

How the privately owned Federal Reserve Bank is quietly taking ownership of what we call America

In this episode, we look under the hood of the Fed’s massive, three-trillion-dollar expansion of its balance sheet, rationalized by officials as a necessary response to… what else? The pandemic. Fair enough.

But that’s not the end of the story. Whenever the Fed creates new reserves to purchase assets, it invariably claims that those reserves don’t “leak out” into the real economy. As this video proves, that claim is completely false. It all depends on how the Fed structures the transactions that ensue once new reserves are created and are spent on assets.

https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/how-the-privately-owned-federal-reserve-bank-is-quietly-taking-ownership-of-what-we-call-america/

Clinesmith, In Order to Save Himself, Has Implicated Others on Crossfire Hurricane — Who Ultimately Hid the Exculpatory Info From the FISA Court?

Former FBI Attorney Kevin Clinesmith is expected to plead guilty to altering Carter Page evidence to support the FISA warrant used to spy on the Donald Trump campaign in 2016.

However, Clinesmith, in order to save himself, implicated others on Crossfire Hurricane.

38-year-old Clinemsith altered an email from CIA investigators used to request a FISA warrant and renewals on Trump campaign advisor Carter Page.

Carter Page previously worked as a source for the CIA, however Clinesmith falsely said Page was “never” a CIA source.

According to Durham’s charging document, “certain individuals” on the Crossfire Hurricane were told in an August 2016 memorandum that Page was a CIA asset — so who else knew?

Despite members of the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane team knowing Carter Page was a CIA asset, that information was omitted from the first three FISA warrants on Page.

“Mr. Clinesmith had provided the unchanged C.I.A. email to Crossfire Hurricane agents and the Justice Department lawyer drafting the original [October 2016] wiretap application,” Techno Fog posted from the New York Times report.

So who else knew about the lies?

According to the Associated Press, Clinesmith will be charged in a DC court with one count of making a false statement.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/08/clinesmith-order-save-implicated-others-crossfire-hurricane-ultimately-hid-exculpatory-info-fisa-court/

Trump dodges question about whether he backs GOP candidate's belief in QAnon

President Trump on Friday would not say whether he agreed with Georgia congressional candidate Marjorie Taylor Greene's support of the QAnon conspiracy theory after hailing her as a "future Republican star."

Trump was asked during a briefing about his tweet congratulating Greene on her primary victory and specifically whether he agreed with her views on QAnon, which posits that Trump will expose and arrest a "deep state" cabal of Democrats and elites who control the government and run sex trafficking rings.

"She did very well in the election. She won by a lot. She was very popular," Trump said. "She comes from a great state. And she had a tremendous victory, so absolutely I did congratulate her."

Trump ignored a follow-up question about QAnon specifically and moved on to another reporter.

The conspiracy theory has been blamed for violent incidents, and social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook have taken action in recent weeks to suspend groups and accounts associated with the theory.

The president on Wednesday offered his full-throated support for Greene, who has also made incendiary comments about Muslims and Black people.

"Congratulations to future Republican Star Marjorie Taylor Greene on a big congressional primary win in Georgia against a very tough and smart opponent," Trump tweeted. "Marjorie is strong on everything and never gives up — a real WINNER!"

Greene won the GOP primary in Georgia’s 14th District to replace outgoing Rep. Tom Graves (R). She defeated neurosurgeon John Cowan in a runoff after neither candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote in the June 9 primary. Greene won with 60 percent of the vote on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press.

She has garnered national attention after Politico unearthed past racist, anti-Semitic and Islamophobic comments she made, including comparing Democratic donor George Soros to a Nazi, saying the 2018 midterms were like an “Islamic invasion of our government” and asserting that African Americans "are held slaves to the Democratic Party."

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/512061-trump-dodges-question-about-whether-he-backs-gop-candidates-belief-in

Kamala Harris Claims She Pushed Taxpayer-Funded Gender Reassignment Surgery For Inmates

As Attorney General, Kamala Harris claims that she helped push for taxpayer-funded gender reassignment surgeries for California inmates.

In 2015, Harris defended the California corrections department in a case regarding gender reassignment surgeries for inmates as ‘necessary’. The outcome of the case allowed for convicted murderer Shiloh Quine to receive gender reassignment surgery.

Harris stated, “I worked behind the scenes to not only make sure that that transgender woman got the services she was deserving. So it wasn’t only about that case. I made sure that they changed the policy in the State of California so that every transgender inmate in the prison system would have access to the medical care that they desired and need.”

In an interview with the same foundation, Harris’ running mate Joe Biden called it a ‘sin’ for Christians, Muslims and Jews to not accept transgender people.

The foundation interviewer questioned, “You know, I know there’s lots of other people of faith who use their faith to try to justify discrimination against transgender people. What would you tell folks like that?”

Biden answered, “I tell em’, look, it’s totally inconsistent. If you’re whether you’re a Christian and Muslim, a Jew. Whatever your background is, the fact of the matter is that all the confessional faiths all talk about the need to treat people. What the Lord said, you know. What you’re doing to least of my children you’re doing to me. I mean, we’re all God’s children. “

Biden continued, “What? Who is to say that? Somebody who is the judge whether or not if you’re lesbian, gay, trans, queer? I mean, who is to make that judgment? Especially if it’s done from your heart. Look, I mean, we know so little about how the brain functions. We know so little about how human nature is organized itself within an individual. The idea that somebody can tell you that you can’t be who you are in your heart, your soul is just wrong. That’s the sin. The sin is not being LGBTQ.”

Click below to watch the video!

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/08/watch-kamala-harris-claims-pushed-taxpayer-funded-gender-reassignment-surgery-inmates-video/

Dolly Parton’s SHOCKING Support of BLM ‘Do We Think Our Little White Asses Are the Only Ones that Matter? No!’

This is a shocking story coming out about Country Music legend Dolly Parton standing up for the Marxist Black Lives Matter movement.

The Country Music leged is making it very clear that she supports the radical Black Lives Matter group.

In an interview with Billboard magazine, she addressed various topics, including protests against racism and police brutality. While Parton hasn’t attended the protest she voiced her support.

“I understand people having to make themselves known and felt and seen,” she said. “And of course Black Lives Matter. Do we think our little white asses are the only ones that matter? No!”

Parton also went into why she caved and changed the name of a Civil-War-themed dinner attraction at her theme park’s in Tennessee and Missouri. She changed the name of The Dixie Stampede to just “The Stampede” after she claims she was just made aware that the word “Dixie” had to do with the Confederacy.

“There’s such a thing as innocent ignorance, and so many of us are guilty of that,” she told Billboard Magazine.

“When they say ‘Dixie’ was an offensive word, I thought, ‘Well, I don’t want to offend anybody. This is a business. We’ll just call it The Stampede.’ As soon as you realize that [something] is a problem, you should fix it. Don’t be a dumbass. That’s where my heart is. I would never dream of hurting anyone.

Yes Dolly, because the Black Lives Matter movement just can’t wait to go to The Dixie Stampede in Branson, Missouri, or in the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee. Way to cave to the counter culture. There’s no one that supports the BLM movement that’s buying Dolly Parton CD’s and shirts, for the love of God..

https://thedcpatriot.com/dolly-partons-shocking-support-of-blm-do-we-think-our-little-white-asses-are-the-only-ones-that-matter-no/

Trump suggests Clinesmith guilty plea 'just the beginning' of Durham probe fallout

Clinesmith's attorney says, 'It was never his intent to mislead'

President Trump said Friday the news that former FBI attorney Kevin Clinesmith will plead guilty to making a false statement is "just the beginning" of the fallout from U.S. Attorney John Durham's review of the Russia investigation.

"That's just the beginning, I would imagine. This… what happened should never happen again," Trump said at a White House briefing Friday afternoon. "You'll be hearing more."

He also called Clinesmith a "corrupt FBI attorney," part of former FBI Director James Comey's "very corrupt FBI."

Clinesmith was referred for potential prosecution by the Justice Department's inspector general's office over an altered email about former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page claiming he was "not a source" for another government agency. Page has said he was a source for the CIA.

The DOJ relied on that assertion as it submitted a third and final renewal application in 2017 to eavesdrop on Page under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

Two sources close to the investigation told Fox News on Friday that Clinesmith will plead guilty.

"Kevin deeply regrets having altered the email. It was never his intent to mislead the court or his colleagues as he believed the information he relayed was accurate," Shur said in a statement. "But Kevin understands what he did was wrong and accepts responsibility."

The Department of Justice charging document states the Clinesmith “did willfully and knowingly make and use a false writing and document, knowing the same to contain a materially false, fictitious, and fraudulent statement and entry in a matter before the jurisdiction of the executive branch and judicial branch of the Government of the United States.”

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-clinesmith-guilty-plea-durham-russia-just-beginning

Federal Court Rules California Gun Magazine Ban and Confiscation Scheme Unconstitutional

Ninth Circuit affirms right to self-defense

A federal appeals court ruled on Friday that California's ban on the possession of ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 rounds violates the Second Amendment.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed U.S. District Judge Roger T. Benitez's 2019 ruling against the ban on magazines holding more than 10 rounds. The 2-1 decision asserted the magazine ban, which made both future sales of affected magazines and the possession of those already legally purchased punishable by up to a year in jail, was incompatible with Supreme Court precedent on gun-rights guarantees in the U.S. Constitution. Judge Kenneth Lee, joined by Judge Connie Callahan, said the ban violated Californians' right to self-defense.

"California's near-categorical ban of [large-capacity magazines] strikes at the core of the Second Amendment—the right to armed self-defense," Lee wrote in the opinion for the court. "Armed self-defense is a fundamental right rooted in tradition and the text of the Second Amendment. Indeed, from pre-colonial times to today's post-modern era, the right to defend hearth and home has remained paramount. California's law imposes a substantial burden on this right to self-defense."

The majority took issue with the state's definition of "large-capacity," pointing out that the magazines the state sought to ban and confiscate are standard in the most popular firearms on the market. It argued the law was too expansive and would make criminals of law-abiding residents who merely possessed a gun magazine in common circulation.

"The ban makes it criminal for Californians to own magazines that come standard in Glocks, Berettas, and other handguns that are staples of self-defense. Its scope is so sweeping that half of all magazines in America are now unlawful to own in California. Even law-abiding citizens, regardless of their training and track record, must alter or turn over to the state any [large-capacity magazines] that they may have legally owned for years—or face up to a year in jail."

California attorney general Xavier Becerra (D.) has defended the confiscation scheme throughout the case and made the decision to appeal to the Ninth Circuit in the wake of Benitez's decision. The attorney general now has the option of requesting an "en banc" hearing before an 11-member panel of the Ninth Circuit. His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the new ruling.

https://freebeacon.com/latest-news/federal-court-rules-california-gun-magazine-ban-and-confiscation-scheme-unconstitutional/

Alan Dershowitz hits back at Netflix over Epstein-linked allegations

AMERICAN AFFAIRS: The famed defense attorney finds the tables turned as he faces the fight of his life amid underage sex allegations connected to Jeffrey Epstein.

Alan Dershowitz has appeared on the courtroom stage, front pages and TV sets around the world as the defense attorney for some of the most notorious accused personalities of modern times – from OJ Simpson, Leona Helmsley and Jim Bakker to Patty Hearst and Claus Von Bulow, a case that resulted in the best-selling book and film Reversal of Fortune.

These days, however, one of the world’s most famous lawyers and a former prestigious Harvard law professor is engaged in the legal battle of his lifetime, defending a most important client – himself.

Amid accusations that he was a willing participant in the alleged sex trafficking operation of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein’s more than two decades ago, Dershowitz is aggressively going on the offensive.

Long labeled as an outspoken and controversial figure, Dershowitz today, like his famous clients, is now notorious himself. And he’s mad as hell.

“I’ve never had sex with an underage person. I never had sex with anybody who I met through Jeffrey Epstein. Since the day I met Jeffrey Epstein, I’ve had sex with one woman – my wife,” said Dershowitz this week in a Zoom call from his home on Martha’s Vineyard in Cape Cod, where he has been sequestered since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in March.

“The reason I’m fighting so hard is not necessarily for me, but for everybody who’s been falsely accused. Imagine what it must feel like to have lived a completely honorable life and be accused like this. I have never done anything sexually inappropriate in my life. Period.”

It’s a little jarring to see the recognizable face of Dershowitz peering calmly out of the laptop screen, only days after seeing him recently on the TV screen as one of the featured players in the “tell-all” Netflix mini-series Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich.

More

https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/alan-dershowitz-faces-reversal-of-fortune-with-epstein-linked-allegations-638557

Amazon Liable For Defective Marketplace Sales After Judge Overturns Prior Ruling

Amazon can now be held liable for defective items sold through its Marketplace platform. Thursday, the California Fourth District Court of Appeals overturned a trial court decision from 2019 involving a woman, Angela Bolger, who claimed to have received third-degree burns from a laptop battery sold through Amazon.

Amazon has long avoided consequences for defective items sold by third parties through its Marketplace, arguing that it is merely an intermediary for these transactions. However, the appeals court ruled against these assertions, arguing that Amazon is “pivotal” to the process of selling any product through their platform and should be liable for any damages they cause.

“Whatever term we use to describe Amazon’s role, be it ‘retailer,’ ‘distributor,’ or merely ‘facilitator,’ it was pivotal in bringing the product here to the consumer,” the court’s ruling read. “… We therefore reverse the trial court’s judgment in favor of Amazon.”

Bolger’s lawsuit came about after she purchased a replacement laptop battery from a Marketplace vendor listed as “E-Life,” a fake name employed Lenoge Technology. In her suit, Bolger stated that the item arrived in Amazon-branded packaging and that she received no warning about any safety issues before its arrival. Several months after receiving the battery, Bolger said that it exploded.

“As a factual and legal matter, Amazon placed itself between Lenoge and Bolger in the chain of distribution of the product at issue here,” the ruling argued. “Amazon accepted possession of the product from Lenoge, stored it in an Amazon warehouse, attracted Bolger to the Amazon website, provided her with a product listing for Lenoge’s product, received her payment for the product, and shipped the product in Amazon packaging to her.”

Amazon is currently facing a number of other legal battles involving defective third-party sales, including one in which the item was allegedly listed as an “Amazon’s Choice” product. With this appeal now in effect, these challenges could begin to make even more trouble for the tech giant.

https://www.ibtimes.com/amazon-liable-defective-marketplace-sales-after-judge-overturns-prior-ruling-3028592

US Extends Travel Restrictions at Northern, Southern Borders

The United States on Friday said it reached agreements with Mexico and Canada to extend travel restrictions at shared borders.

The restrictions will last well into September, acting U.S. Homeland Security Department Secretary Chad Wolf said in a statement on Twitter.

“We continue to work with our Canadian and Mexican partners to slow the spread of #COVID19. Accordingly, we have agreed to extend the limitation of non-essential travel at our shared land ports of entry through September 21,” he wrote.

According to the department, the restrictions will now remain in effect through 11:59 p.m. on Sept. 21, in a decision coordinated with the governments of Mexico and Canada.

The restrictions began in March, shortly after the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus outbreak was defined as a pandemic. The rules curb non-essential travel, or travelers that lack so-called essential purposes such as economic or family care reasons. Tourism and recreational travel are considered non-essential.

U.S. immigration authorities are also no longer detaining illegal immigrants, instead returning them immediately to the country they entered from. If that’s not possible, the illegal aliens are being sent to their country of origin.

The rules have been extended five times now.

In a statement in April, Wolf said that “border control, travel restrictions and other limitations remain critical to slowing the spread [of the virus] and allowing the phased opening of the country.”

https://www.theepochtimes.com/us-extends-travel-restrictions-at-northern-southern-borders_3461975.html

USPS Deactivating Mail Sorting Machines Ahead Of Election

Ahead of what will likely be the largest mail-in ballot filled election in November, the United States Postal Service is making some questionable decisions: retiring essential sorting machines right before ballots start pouring in their mailboxes.

A new report from Vice finds the USPS is struggling with budget issues and low mail volume — and now removing sorting machines from their facilities across the country without an official explanation.

The reporters found 19 mail machines from five processing facilities across the U.S. that are either already removed or will be soon. There is no official information about how many of these machines will be taken out before Election Day.

“Even to local union officials, USPS has not announced any policy, explained why they are doing this, what will happen to the machines and the workers who use them,” Aaron Gordon finds. “Nor has management provided a rationale for dismantling and removing the machines from the facility rather than merely not operating them when they’re not needed.”

“I’m not sure you’re going to find an answer for why [the machines being removed] makes sense,” said Iowa Postal Workers Union President Kimberly Karol to Vice, “because we haven’t figured that out either.”

Documents obtained by Motherboard, Vice’s technology site, show close to 15 percent of the mail system’s machines will be taken out of service. 502 machines around the country will be removed.

To further explain, Motherboard said the USPS presentation it obtained labeled this as an “equipment reduction,” instead of “mov[ing] equipment around its network” as a spokesperson had earlier said.

As fears of mail-in ballots getting lost, delayed, or tampered with increase in the national conversation, moves like this certainly don’t ease the national concerns around this widespread alternative to voting in-person.

https://saraacarter.com/usps-deactivating-mail-sorting-machines-ahead-of-election/

CBP Collects $575,000 In Penalties From Importer Of ‘Forced Labor Products’ From China

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has collected $575,000 in penalties from Pure Circle U.S.A., Inc., a company that imported ‘forced labor products’ from China, according to a press release

“As part of its trade enforcement responsibilities, CBP will hold companies accountable for importing goods produced with forced labor,” said Brenda Smith, Executive Assistant Commissioner of CBP’s Office of Trade.

“Companies have a responsibility to proactively monitor their supply chains to mitigate the risk of importing goods into the United States that were produced with forced labor.”

Pure Circle imported stevia produced in China by Inner Mongolia Hengzheng Group Baoanzhao Agricultural and Trade LLC, according to CBP. CBP began investigating the imports after it was alerted by a nongovernmental organization to its alleged inhumane activities. Later, CBP issued a Withhold Release Order on those products.

CBP has issued eleven WROs since September 2019, four of which targeted products from China.

CBP’s investigation found that Pure Circle U.S.A., Inc. imported about 20 shipments of products “that were processed in China with prison labor.” A penalty was then issued against Pure Circle. However, the products had already made their way into the U.S. before CBP found evidence of forced labor.

Many of the seizures of Chinese forced labor goods have raised concerns about China’s human rights abuses against minority populations, including Uighurs, a Turkic-ethnic minority, they’ve imprisoned in “reeducation camps” and exploited for labor. Further, China has made many attempts to stop Uighur population growth by forcing women to have abortions and forcing sterilization.

https://saraacarter.com/cbp-collects-575000-in-penalties-from-importer-of-forced-labor-products-from-china/

CIA Behind Guccifer & Russiagate – a Plausible Scenario

William Binney is the former technical director of the U.S. National Security Agency who worked at the agency for 30 years. He is a respected independent critic of how American intelligence services abuse their powers to illegally spy on private communications of U.S. citizens and around the globe. Given his expert inside knowledge, it is worth paying attention to what Binney says.

In a media interview this week, he dismissed the so-called Russiagate scandal as a “fabrication” orchestrated by the American Central Intelligence Agency. Many other observers have come to the same conclusion about allegations that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. elections with the objective of helping Donald Trump get elected.

But what is particularly valuable about Binney’s judgment is that he cites technical analysis disproving the Russiagate narrative. That narrative remains dominant among U.S. intelligence officials, politicians and pundits, especially those affiliated with the Democrat party, as well as large sections of Western media. The premise of the narrative is the allegation that a Russian state-backed cyber operation hacked into the database and emails of the Democrat party back in 2016. The information perceived as damaging to presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was subsequently disseminated to the Wikileaks whistleblower site and other U.S. media outlets.

A mysterious cyber persona known as “Guccifer 2.0” claimed to be the alleged hacker. U.S. intelligence and news media have attributed Guccifer as a front for Russian cyber operations.

Notably, however, the Russian government has always categorically denied any involvement in alleged hacking or other interference in the 2016 U.S. election, or elections thereafter.

William Binney and other independent former U.S. intelligence experts say they can prove the Russiagate narrative is bogus. The proof relies on their forensic analysis of the data released by Guccifer. The analysis of timestamps demonstrates that the download of voluminous data could not have been physically possible based on known standard internet speeds. These independent experts conclude that the data from the Democrat party could not have been hacked, as Guccifer and Russiagaters claim. It could only have been obtained by a leak from inside the party, perhaps by a disgruntled staffer who downloaded the information on to a disc. That is the only feasible way such a huge amount of data could have been released. That means the “Russian hacker” claims are baseless.

https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2020/08/14/cia-behind-guccifer-russiagate-a-plausible-scenario/

New Rocket Attack Targeted U.S. Troops In Baghdad International Airport

Late on August 14, a new rocket attack targeted Baghdad International Airport in the outskirts of the Iraqi capital, according to several sources.

Iraqi Security Media Cell said in an statement that three “Katyusha” rockets were launched at a U.S. military base within the airport. The rockets reportedly fell in the vicinity of the base.

“No significant losses [were sustained],” the statement reads.

The U.S.-led coalition has not commented on the attack, thus far. In most cases, the coalition admits its losses within 24 hours.

A few hours prior to the rocket attack, Usbat al-Tha’ireen (UT) a new Iranian-affiliated armed group, shared a phrase from Quran, reading: “So leave them alone till they meet their Day, in which they will sink into a fainting [from horror],” on its Telegram Channel. This indicated that the group may be behind the attack.

Newly-founded Shiite groups increased their attacks on U.S. troops in the last few months. Some of these groups are now threatening with a more serious escalation.

The U.S. believe that Kata’ib Hezbollah (KH) was behind some of the recent attacks. The new groups, like UT, may be a front for KH, or receiving support from it.

https://southfront.org/new-rocket-attack-targeted-u-s-troops-in-baghdad-international-airport/

Cyber-Attack Hits Israeli Military Companies, Experts Blame North Korea ‘Hackers For Hire’

Israel claimed Wednesday that it had thwarted a cyberattack by a North Korea-linked hacking group on its military industry. The Defence Ministry released a statement claiming the attack was deflected ‘in real time’ and that there was no ‘harm or disruption’ to its computer systems. However, this claim has been contradicted by experts familiar with the facts.

Security researchers at ClearSky, the international cyber-security firm that first exposed the attack, said the North Korean hackers penetrated the computer systems and were likely to have stolen a large amount of classified data. Israeli officials fear the data could be shared with North Korea’s ally, Iran.

The episode adds Israel to the list of countries and companies that have allegedly been targeted by North Korea’s hacking unit, known to private security analysts as the Lazarus Group. US and Israeli officials have claimed that the Lazarus Group, also known as Hidden Cobra, is backed by Pyongyang.

In 2018 US federal prosecutors claimed that the group of hackers was working on behalf of Lab 110, a North Korean military intelligence unit. The complaint they were investigating accused the group of playing a role in North Korea’s devastating 2017 ransom ware attack, known as ‘WannaCry’, which paralyzed 300,000 computers across 150 countries. They have also been accused of being behind the 2016 cyber-theft of $81 million from Bangladesh Bank; and the crippling 2014 cyber attack at Sony Pictures Entertainment that resulted in the leak of executive emails and destroyed more than two-thirds of the studio’s computer servers.

Though the group’s track record is mixed, North Korea’s growing army of more than 6,000 hackers has grown more sophisticated with time according to US and British officials tracking the group.

In a report published last April, officials at the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security, the Treasury Department and the F.B.I. accused North Korea of using its digital activities to evade sanctions and generate income for its nuclear weapons program. The report also accused North Korea of hiring out its hackers to other cybercriminals and countries in what has been called ‘hacking for hire’.

Israel has been fighting an escalating cyberconflict with Iran in recent months. Israel said it foiled a cyberattack on its water infrastructure in April. Two weeks later Israel launched a cyberattack against Iran’s Shahid Rajaee port facility that knocked its computers offline and temporarily disrupted shipping traffic.

With regard to the latest attack targeting Israeli’s defence industry, an Israeli security official said there was concern that the stolen data would be used not only by North Korea, but by Iran.

The operation began with a LinkedIn message last June, ClearSky researchers said. Hackers posing as a Boeing head hunter sent a message to a senior engineer at an Israeli government-owned company that manufactures weapons for the Israeli military and intelligence.

https://southfront.org/cyber-attack-hits-israeli-military-companies-experts-blame-north-korea-hackers-for-hire/

Trump Expresses Hope That Russian COVID-19 Vaccine Will Work

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin announced the registration of the world's first vaccine against the coronavirus infection after having successfully undergone trials. The production of the drug has already kicked off, with the country expecting to make around 500 million doses in the first 12 months.

US President Donald Trump has expressed hope that the vaccine developed by Russia’s Gamaleya Research Institute will be effective, but noted that American vaccines will have to undergo much larger trials in order to receive a green light for mass production.

"We hope it works. We do. They have cut off certain trials and we just feel it's important to go through the presses. We have numerous different vaccines that we think are going to work, but we want to go through a system of trials", Trump said.

POTUS also boasted of having several vaccine variants under development domestically and entering the advanced stages of tests, promising to make an announcement on the matter "in a not too distant future". He also hinted at announcing the progress achieved in terms of therapeutics related to treating the coronavirus infection.

Russian Vaccine

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin revealed on 11 August that the Gamaleya Research Institute had registered the first vaccine against COVID-19 and that its production will commence in the near future. According to the Health Ministry, at least five countries will be producing the vaccine, named Sputnik V, with a planned output of 500 million doses in the first year.

Several countries, including Brazil, Serbia, Uzbekistan, the Philippines, and Israel have already expressed varying degrees of interest in the breakthrough drug, despite the massive campaign in Western mainstream media trying to question the safety and efficiency of the vaccine. At the same time, the US announced that due to having stricter rules for releasing drugs, it won't be buying Sputnik V, claiming that it has not undergone enough trials on humans.

https://sputniknews.com/us/202008141080172997-trump-expresses-hope-that-russian-covid-19-vaccine-will-work/

Justice Department Brings Enforcement Action Against Centurylink

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-brings-enforcement-action-against-centurylink

Bronfman Family Billionaires Implicated In NXIVM Hollywood ‘Sex Cult’

The Facts:

Clare Bronfman, pleaded guilty in April to charges related to her role with NXIVM sex cult, having funded the enterprise with more than one hundred million dollars over a few years. She is currently awaiting sentencing.

Reflect On:

Why are some of the world's most powerful people being implicated with this activity? Many of these people have great power over the world's resources and in some cases, dictate government policy in multiple countries. How deep does this go?

What Happened: When Hollywood actress Allison Mack became one of multiple actresses t0 be implicated in the “NXIVM” sex cult case, it really opened more people’s eyes to the reality of sex trafficking in ‘high’ places. NXIVM was a well known company that supposedly offered executive success programs but hid behind this description and mainly operated as a sex cult. Mack is still awaiting her sentencing, she and multiple other actresses have been accused of working for the cult in a management capacity. Mack’s job was to lure women into the program under the false pretence of female empowerment. The leader, Keith Raniere, is currently in prison and awaiting sentencing for sex-trafficking. He was also accused of raping girls as young as 12–15 years old, imprisoning a woman for 18 months, child pornography, and more.

Women and possibly even children lured into the program were then convinced to sign up for a more “advanced program” called Dominus Obsequious Sororium, which required them to basically turn their lives over to the leader, Raniere. Dominus Obsequious Sororium is a quasi-Latin phrase that roughly translates to “Master Over The Slave Women.” In this case, sex slaves.

What’s even more concerning is the fact that Keith Raniere, his company, and those associated with the company ran a number of child-care facilities all over the world, under the name of “Rainbow Cultural Garden.” RCG lives on in France through a company called Athal Education Group, which Sara Bronfman-Igtet and her husband, Basit Igtet, founded and financed, the French news outlet Le Dauphine reported in December 2018.

Bronfman-Igtet is an heir to the Seagram liquor fortune. The picture you see above is her father, Edgar Bronfman receiving a medal from close friend, Bill Clinton. Her sister, Clare Bronfman, pleaded guilty in April to charges related to her role in NXIVM. Trusts and bank accounts the Bronfman sisters controlled bankrolled Raniere to the tune of $150 million from 2004 through 2010, Vanity Fair reported.

An Albany home tied to the Rainbow Cultural Garden was raided by the feds, while British authorities were investigating a Rainbow-affiliated school in London. (source) It’s hard to find decent information regarding updates.

According to Buzzfeed, “Igtet was deeply involved in NXIVM, the celebrity “sex cult” whose leadership is now under federal indictment, two sources said. Igtet proselytized for the group, BuzzFeed News has learned, while his wife, the heir Sara Bronfman, reportedly kept the cult afloat with tens of millions of dollars.”

https://www.collective-evolution.com/2020/08/13/the-billionaire-bronfman-family-implicated-in-nxivms-hollywood-sex-cult/

DHS Agencies Are Taking Millions In Cash From Travelers Every Year, Can't Be Bothered To Stop Any Crimes

In a little over 15 years, DHS agencies interacted with millions of travelers passing through our nation's airports… and relieved them of over $2 billion in cash. (And that's just agencies like the CBP and ICE. The DEA also lifts cash from airline passengers – something it loves doing so much it hires TSA agents to look for money, rather than stuff that could threaten transportation security.)

That's just one of several disturbing findings in the Institute for Justice's (IJ) new report [PDF] on the DHS's ability to separate travelers from their money. Utilizing the Treasury Department's forfeiture database, the IJ discovered the DHS is a fan of taking cash and does so more frequently at certain airports. The most popular airport for cash seizures is, by far, Chicago's O'Hare. In 2014, the airport accounted for 34% of all cash seized despite handling only 6% of all air travelers.

More travelers means more opportunities, which explains some of the increase in seizures over the past decade. But as the IJ points out, seizures are outpacing the bump in travel stats.

Between 2000 and 2016, the number of air travelers increased 46%, while the inflation-adjusted value of currency seized at airports by DHS agencies increased 140% and the number of airport currency seizure cases grew 178%.

Any international airport will be patrolled by CBP and ICE agents looking for cash to seize. And they're not looking to catch drug dealers, human traffickers, or any other criminals that might be carrying cash around. No, the most common criminal activity to result in forfeitures is nothing more than a reporting violation.

Federal law requires travelers to declare any currency over $10,000 when traveling into or out of the country. It's pretty easy to get this done when traveling into the US, as arriving visitors will be required to go through Customs and declare anything they're bringing into the country, including cash. Outbound travelers may not realize this applies to them and since they're not required to pass through Customs on the way out, they may have no idea they're violating the law. That's an opportunity DHS agencies are more than happy to capitalize on. Half of all seizures between 2000-2016 were for violating this reporting requirement.

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20200811/20065945097/dhs-agencies-are-taking-millions-cash-travelers-every-year-cant-be-bothered-to-stop-any-crimes.shtml