Meghan Markle gushes over activist Gloria Steinem while they discuss voting and women's rights during their 'backyard chat' - as the Duchess says she is 'glad to be home, for so many reasons'

Meghan Markle may be one of the most well known faces in the world, but that didn't stop her from coming over all starstruck when she sat down with activist Gloria Steinem for a conversation about women's rights,

representation, and the importance of voting.

The 39-year-old Duchess of Sussex appeared overwhelmed with excitement at points during her 'backyard chat' with Gloria, 86, which was filmed last month for Makers Women, a women's empowerment platform that will stream the Q&A in full on Wednesday.

However, in a short teaser clip that was posted on social media on Tuesday afternoon, viewers get a glimpse at Meghan and Gloria together, looking totally at east while relaxing in wooden deck chairs in a lush yard.

http://www.domigood.com/2020/08/meghan-markle-gushes-over-activist.html

Portland Mayor: Let Rioting ‘Burn Itself Out’

Portland mayor Ted Wheeler (D.)—who has yet to provide his police department with consistent directives to quell the riots, arson, and looting that have plagued his city for months—told Oregon Public Radio his strategy was to let the violence "burn itself out."

Wheeler told OPR reporter Rebecca Ellis last week that he expects daily protests in the city—which began in May following the death of George Floyd—to last for some time. He said he expects nightly violence that followed the protests "will ultimately burn itself out."

The mayor, who is in charge of Portland's police force, told OPR the department will adjust to the situation on its own.

"They’ve tried everything from not showing up to preemptively dispersing crowds, and some of those strategies, in my opinion, have worked well. Others have not worked well," Wheeler said. "My expectation is the police bureau will evolve, and as they see a need for change, they’ll change."

Wheeler previously proposed to top aides a "high-risk" policing approach in which police would be ordered to stand down and not respond to rioters. He never put those measures into effect, leaving local police without clear directives in dealing with crowds, whether they are rioting, looting businesses, or setting fire to government buildings.

Portland police have made more than 500 arrests since the riots began in late May, but the violence has stretched the department thin. During one recent riot, 60 calls to 911 were left unanswered as police were deployed to respond to a riot outside of a county government building. Earlier this month, Portland district attorney Mike Schmidt said he would not prosecute hundreds of those arrested for rioting-related crimes.

The death of George Floyd in police custody sparked violent protests in cities across the country. Anti-police protests and riots in Portland have targeted local government buildings and a federal courthouse for 90 consecutive nights. Throughout June and July, rioters attacked the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse, at one point barricading federal officers inside the building and shooting fireworks at them. Earlier this month, rioters set fire to the local police union headquarters.

https://freebeacon.com/democrats/portland-mayor-let-rioting-burn-itself-out/

Atlanta Police Precinct Under Attack – Armed Rioters Set Up Barricades Preventing Emergency Vehicles from Passing

Add Atlanta to the growing list of rioters in major Democrat-led cities who are destroying property and putting people’s lives at risk.

Law Enforcement Today reported last night that a police precinct in Atlanta is now under attack by radical rioters:

The rioters casually walked down the street as loud bangs occurred in the background:

The Democrats cannot win the Presidential election so they are doing all they can to make it miserable for everyone else.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/08/atlanta-police-precinct-attack-armed-rioters-set-barricades-preventing-emergency-vehicles-passing/

Trump says he's sending federal assistance to address Wisconsin protests

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President Trump on Wednesday said he would send federal officers to Kenosha, Wis., as the city grapples with unrest after the police shooting of Jacob Blake.

White House officials and Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) spoke by phone, according to Trump, and the governor accepted federal assistance with responding to the increasingly volatile demonstrations in response to Blake's shooting.

"We will NOT stand for looting, arson, violence, and lawlessness on American streets," Trump tweeted.

"TODAY, I will be sending federal law enforcement and the National Guard to Kenosha, WI to restore LAW and ORDER!" he added.

Evers's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The governor had already activated the National Guard and tweeted late Tuesday that he planned to increase its presence "to ensure individuals can exercise their right safely, protect state buildings and critical infrastructure, and support first responders and fire fighters."

Blake was shot seven times in the back by police on Sunday in an incident that was captured on video. Blake's family says he is currently paralyzed from the waist down.

Protests have persisted for three days in response to Blake's shooting, and they have grown violent at times. Two people were killed and a third was injured in a shooting late Tuesday during the protests.

Police on Wednesday arrested a juvenile in connection with the two deaths.

Blake's shooting is the latest instance this summer of police violence against a Black person. The killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Rayshard Brooks have all contributed to calls for policing reform and protests against racial injustice.

Trump has condemned the Floyd killing specifically and signed a mostly toothless executive order on police reform. But he has pivoted over the last few months to take a harder tone against demonstrations, painting them with a broad brush to accuse protesters of rioting and violence.

The president has made enforcing law and order a major theme of his reelection campaign, warning that there will be chaos in the streets under a Joe Biden presidency even as the unrest plays out on Trump's watch. Trump has also accused Biden of wanting to "defund the police," something the former vice president has said he does not support.

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/513777-trump-says-hes-sending-federal-assistance-to-address-wisconsin

Backing Arab Peace Initiative, Bahrain appears to reject US push for Israel ties

Tweeting from Manama after sit-down with Bahraini king, Pompeo says he discussed alliance for ‘countering Iran’s malign influence in the region’

Bahrain, in talks with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, said Wednesday that it was committed to the creation of a Palestinian state, implicitly rejecting his push for Arab countries to swiftly normalize ties with Israel.

Pompeo was in Manama as part of a Middle East trip aimed at building more relationships between the Jewish state and the Arab world following a landmark US-brokered deal with the United Arab Emirates.

Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa said he told Pompeo that his country remains committed to the Arab Peace Initiative, which calls for Israel’s complete withdrawal from the territories captured in 1967 in exchange for peace and the full normalization of relations.

“The king stressed the importance of intensifying efforts to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict according to the two-state solution… to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital,” the official Bahrain News Agency (BNA) reported.

The US chief diplomat has said he is hopeful other nations will follow the UAE, which earlier this month became only the third Arab country to agree to normalize relations with the Jewish state.

Bahrain, whose contacts with Israel date back to the 1990s, was the first Gulf country to welcome the UAE move and was considered a front-runner to follow in its footsteps.

In Manama, Pompeo tweeted that he met with King Hamad and his son, Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, on Wednesday morning.

“We discussed the importance of building regional peace and stability, including the importance of Gulf unity and countering Iran’s malign influence in the region,” Pompeo wrote.

He also said he discussed efforts to “advance greater unity among Gulf countries.” That was as his plane flew over Qatar on its way to the United Arab Emirates, one of four Arab nations along with Bahrain now boycotting Doha over a yearslong political dispute. Typically, Bahraini and Emirati aircraft avoid Qatari airspace as they’ve closed their own airspace to Qatar Airways.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/backing-arab-peace-initiative-bahrain-appears-to-reject-us-push-for-israel-ties/

Bosnian National Charged with Robbery and Firearms Offenses in Connection With Attack on New York City Police Officers

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/bosnian-national-charged-robbery-and-firearms-offenses-connection-attack-new-york-city-police

North Carolina State Legislator Pleads Guilty to Making a False Statement to a Bank

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/north-carolina-state-legislator-pleads-guilty-making-false-statement-bank

Trump Admin Cracks Down on China's Alleged Fentanyl Kingpin

On Tuesday the United States announced sanctions against Zhang Taotao and his Hong Kong-based Allyrise Technologies. The U.S. accuses Taotao of being one of, if not the, world’s most significant fentanyl drug kingpins.

Zhang Taotao is accused of shipping large amounts of the powerful synthetic opioid to the US. Fentanyl is less expensive than heroin and prescription painkillers, but can kill in very small doses.

Fentanyl sourced largely from labs in China has driven a spike in US drug overdose deaths. More than 31,000 Americans died after taking synthetic opioids in 2018, continuing a five-year surge.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid painkiller. The Drug Enforcement Agency says it’s 80 to 100 times more powerful than morphine. A tiny dose can be lethal.

China and Mexico are the primary sources of fentanyl illegally sold in the United States, with China accounting for the majority. It’s also the top source for precursor chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl.

Hans van Spakovsky writes that fentanyl is not only extraordinarily powerful, it’s also extraordinarily lucrative.

The profit margin is remarkable: A $3,000 investment can produce $1,500,000 in earnings.

A laboratory-made drug, fentanyl requires less time and space to produce than its agricultural counterpart, heroin. Chemists can manufacture fentanyl in small labs and use easy shipment methods.

The amount of fentanyl necessary to produce its painkilling effect is so small that manufacturers can ship it in ordinary packages such as envelopes used for ordinary letters.

Cheap production isn’t the only economic benefit suppliers have on their side. Fentanyl is said to produce a better high and be more addictive and potent than heroin (50 to 100 times more powerful).

This poison isn’t affecting only addicts. In some cases, first responders have inhaled airborne fentanyl, resulting in a contact overdose.

Along with China and Mexico, India is emerging as a source for fentanyl or precursors that are distributed in the United States.

In its statement, the State Department outlines Taotao’s kingpin role.

Taotao Zhang, a chemist and chemical supplier, has shipped synthetic opioids to the United States via multiple individuals and freight-forwarding services in order to disguise the origin of the substances. Labels disguising the substances contained in the parcel are used to avoid seizure by authorities. Once a package is received in the United States, U.S.-based distributors can generally then press one kilogram of fentanyl into up to one million counterfeit pharmaceutical pills for further distribution to domestic customers. In addition, Taotao Zhang is the director of Allyrise Technology Group Co., Limited, located in Hong Kong. Allyrise Technology Group Co., Limited is a front company for Taotao Zhang’s financial transactions.

And

As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of the individual and the entity that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons must be blocked and reported to OFAC. OFAC’s regulations generally prohibit all dealings by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of blocked or designated persons.

The Trump administration has pressured the Chinese government to crack down on its domestic fentanyl industry, which accounts for about 40 percent of the global supply. Last month, the U.S. sanctioned four other Chinese nationals for manufacturing and distributing fentanyl in the U.S.

The U.S. Treasury Department named the individuals as Songyan Ji, Longbao Zhang, Guifeng Cheng and Guangfu Zheng, and the firm as Global United Biotechnology Inc, which it said was owned and operated by the Zheng Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO) run by Fujing Zheng.

Treasury identified Fujing Zheng and the Zheng DTO as significant foreign narcotics traffickers under the U.S. Kingpin Act last August.

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/bryan-preston/2020/08/26/trump-admin-cracks-down-on-chinas-alleged-fentanyl-kingpin-n848031

Gun Sales Smash Records. Are Americans Preparing For War?

The National Shooting Sports Foundation reports some astonishing figures for gun sales in 2020:

Nearly 5 million Americans purchased a firearm for the very first time in 2020. NSSF surveyed firearm retailers which reported that 40 percent of sales were conducted to purchasers who have never previously owned a firearm.

NSSF tracks the background checks associated with the sale of a firearm based on the FBI’s National Instant Background Check System (NICS). NSSF-adjusted NICS checks for January through July 2020 is a record 12.1 million, which is up 71.7 percent from the 7.1 million NSSF-adjusted NICS January through July 2019. This equates to nearly 5 million first-time gun owners in the first seven months of 2020.

Certainly, many of those sales are related to home defense. The climate in America is becoming more dangerous and the rhetoric of revolution is being used freely and openly. This has turned some who might have been wishy-washy about guns into Second Amendment believers.

“This is a tectonic shift in the firearm and ammunition industry marketplace and complete transformation of today’s gun-owning community,” said Lawrence G. Keane, a senior vie president at the foundation.

“These first-time buyers represent a group of people who, until now, were agnostic regarding firearm ownership. That’s rapidly changing, and these Americans are taking hold of their God-given right to keep and bear arms and protect themselves and their loved ones,” he added.

The figures show that 58% of all firearms purchases were among women and Black men. Taken together, the picture that emerges is one of an America getting prepared.

But prepared for what?

When people feel less safe, they make all kinds of decisions they wouldn’t make under more normal circumstances. They buy a gun or join a cause or march in the streets. They are driven by fear and there are experts who know how to channel that fear to achieve political power.

Both sides are ramping up the fear in advance of the 2020 election. But unlike past elections, both sides are describing the outcome in apocalyptic terms. And given current events, people are believing them. When both sides are saying they won’t accept the outcome or that the count is going to be hopelessly fraudulent, the catalyst is present for an explosion of violence.

We’re are being told we’re going to die if we don’t vote the right way—or lose our freedoms or change the country irreparably. You don’t have to be a Ph.D. to see a possible future where opposing sides battle in the streets and the violence spills over into the suburbs.

Is it realistic to fear a civil war? It’s realistic to prepare for one. When logic and reason disappear from public discourse and civil order breaks down, many scenarios become realistic. Armed militias are already confronting each other, so it’s not much of a stretch to imagine a Lexington or Fort Sumter moment coming out of such a confrontation.

People buying guns aren’t stupid or smart. They’re being realistic.

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/rick-moran/2020/08/26/gun-sales-smash-records-are-americans-preparing-for-war-n848698

Ashkenazi to meet EU foreign ministers on first diplomatic trip abroad

The Foreign Minister also called on Germany to join the effort to stop the UN arms embargo from running out in October.

Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi embarked on his first official visit abroad to Berlin on Wednesday, where he is set to meet with European Union foreign ministers.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas invited Ashkenazi to Thursday’s conference of their EU counterparts.

Ashkenazi met with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier soon after his arrival, and thanked him for Germany’s recognition of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. He also updated Steinmeier on Israel’s normalization with the United Arab Emirates.

The foreign minister also called on Germany to join the effort to stop the UN arms embargo from running out in October.

Ashkenazi also spoke at a ceremony at Platform 17 in Berlin’s Grunewald Station, where there is a memorial marking Nazi Germany’s deportation of more than 55,000 Jews. He was joined by Israeli Ambassador to Germany Jeremy Issacharoff, Foreign Ministry Director-General Alon Ushpiz and representatives of the German Jewish community.

“I stand here as the foreign minister of the government of Israel and the former IDF chief of staff,” Ashkenazi said. “Jews will never again be sent to their death because they are Jewish. Never again.”

Ashkenazi warned that there are still those who wish to eliminate the Jewish people, pointing to Iran.

“We will never again stand defenseless, left at the mercy of others,” he said. “We will defend our sons and daughters while holding a sword in one hand and an olive branch in the other.”

On Thursday, Ashkenazi and Maas plan to visit the Wannsee Villa, where the Nazi “Final Solution” of genocide of the Jewish people was formulated.

After that, they will hold a work meeting with German and Israeli Foreign Ministry staff, before attending the meeting of EU foreign ministers.

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/ashkenazi-to-meet-eu-foreign-ministers-on-first-diplomatic-trip-abroad-640049

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai Made 1,085 Times As Much As Average Company Employee Last Year

Sundar Pichai received a compensation package worth $280.6 million last year

Robert Swan of Intel received $66.9 million in pay

The median pay for an Alphabet employee was $258,708 last year

Sundar Pichai, the chief executive officer of Google parent Alphabet (GOOG), received a compensation package worth $280.6 million including stock awards last year, making him the highest-paid CEO in the information technology sector.

According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, Pichai’s take home pay was 1,085 times greater than the median salary of the average Google employee. (Some Google employees may also have received stock options as well)

Pichai also collected over four times the compensation of the next-highest paid information technology CEO, Robert Swan of Intel (INTC), who received $66.9 million.

“Pichai's stratospheric take was largely due to stock grants assigned when he was promoted from CEO of Google to CEO of corporate parent Alphabet,” S&P stated.

Pichai's annual salary was fixed at $2 million, but he also received hundreds of millions of dollars through a performance-based equity package.

The median pay for an Alphabet employee was $258,708 last year – but that figure was well above the median employee pay of $117,822 for the 20 largest U.S. publicly traded information technology companies.

Swan of Intel also benefited from stock grants, with equity awards of $61.7 million.

https://www.ibtimes.com/alphabet-ceo-sundar-pichai-made-1085-times-much-average-company-employee-last-year-3035215

US Sanctions 24 Chinese Companies For Building Islands In South China Sea

Wednesday’s action is the latest in a series that have soured U.S.-China relations amid accusations from President Trump that Beijing did not do enough to prevent the coronavirus from turning into a global pandemic

China has been building islands in the area since 2013 to extend its territorial waters and has reclaimed 3,000 acres so far

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the U.S. would bar entry by individuals involved in the reclamation effort

The Trump administration on Wednesday sanctioned 24 Chinese companies for their roles in helping Beijing construct artificial islands in the South China Sea.

This is the first time the administration has justified sanctions against a Chinese firm because of Beijing’s efforts to extend its coastal waters at the expense of the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and other countries. China has been building islands in the area since 2013.

“The United States, China’s neighbors, and the international community have rebuked the CCP’s sovereignty claims to the South China Sea and have condemned the building of artificial islands for the Chinese military,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a press release. “The entities designated today have played a significant role in China’s provocative construction of these artificial islands and must be held accountable.”

The list of companies includes the China Communications Construction Co., the largely state-owned, publicly traded multinational engineering and construction company that designs and builds major infrastructure like highways, airports and oil platforms. The State Department accused the company of engaging in corruption, predatory financing, environmental destruction and other abuses.

“The United States supports a free and open South China Sea. We respect the sovereign rights of all nations, regardless of size, and seek to preserve peace and uphold freedom of the seas in a manner consistent with international law,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a press release.

The State Department barred U.S. entry by those “responsible for, or complicit in, either the large-scale reclamation construction or militarization of disputed outposts in the South China Sea, or [China’s] use of coercion against Southeast Asian claimants to inhibit their access to offshore resources.”

China has reclaimed more than 3,000 acres in the region, extending its territorial waters and “destabilizing the region, trampling on the sovereign rights of its neighbors, and causing untold environmental devastation,” Pompeo said.

https://www.ibtimes.com/us-sanctions-24-chinese-companies-building-islands-south-china-sea-3035179

Bette Midler Unleashes Xenophobic Tweet Storm on Melania Trump: 'She Still Can't Speak English!'

Anti-Trump singer/actress Bette Midler was so triggered by first lady Melania Trump’s speech on Tuesday night that she went on a blatantly xenophobic Twitter rant.

“She can speak several words in a few languages. Get that illegal alien off the stage!” she tweeted

Midler’s ranting continued with the tweet, “Why are they promoting this awful person, #melania? Was it in her contract?”

But the worst came in her next tweeet, when she lamented, “Oh, God. She still can’t speak English.”

Melania Trump was born in Yugoslavia, she is fluent in five languages, but English is not her first language.

Midler was quickly called out for her xenophobia and racism:

https://pjmedia.com/culture/matt-margolis/2020/08/26/bette-midler-unleashes-xenophobic-tweet-storm-on-melania-trump-she-still-cant-speak-english-n846856

Justice Dept. Probes Whether Some Governors Are Responsible For Nursing Home COVID Deaths

Today the Justice Department requested COVID-19 data from the governors of states that issued orders which may have resulted in the deaths of thousands of elderly nursing home residents. New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Michigan required nursing homes to admit COVID-19 patients to their vulnerable populations, often without adequate testing.

For example, on March 25, 2020, New York ordered: “No resident shall be denied re-admission or admission to [a nursing home] solely based on a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of COVID-19. [Nursing homes] are prohibited from requiring a hospitalized resident who is determined medically stable to be tested for COVID-19 prior to admission or readmission.”

“Protecting the rights of some of society’s most vulnerable members, including elderly nursing home residents, is one of our country’s most important obligations,” said Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Division Eric Dreiband. “We must ensure they are adequately cared for with dignity and respect and not unnecessarily put at risk.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control, New York has the highest number of COVID-19 deaths in the United States, with 32,592 victims, many of them elderly. New York’s death rate by population is the second highest in the country with 1,680 deaths per million people. New Jersey’s death rate by population is 1,733 deaths per million people – the highest in the nation. In contrast, Texas’s death rate by population is 380 deaths per million people; and Texas has just over 11,000 deaths, though its population is 50 percent larger than New York and has many more recorded cases of COVID-19 – 577,537 cases in Texas versus 430,885 cases in New York. Florida’s COVID-19 death rate is 480 deaths per million; with total deaths of 10,325 and a population slightly larger than New York.

The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division is evaluating whether to initiate investigations under the federal “Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act” (CRIPA), which protects the civil rights of persons in state-run nursing homes, among others. The Civil Rights Division seeks to determine if the state orders requiring admission of COVID-19 patients to nursing homes is responsible for the deaths of nursing home residents.

On March 3, 2020, the Attorney General announced the Justice Department’s National Nursing Home Initiative. This is a comprehensive effort by the department, led by the Elder Justice Initiative and in strong partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that uses every available tool to pursue nursing homes that provide substandard care to their residents. As announced on April 10, 2020, the department is also investigating the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke, Massachusetts, where COVID-19 has taken the lives of at least 76 residents.

https://breaking911.com/breaking-justice-dept-probes-whether-some-governors-are-responsible-for-nursing-home-covid-deaths/

Report: Israel selling advanced military gear to UAE for over 8 years

Israel has been selling advanced military systems and equipment to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for more than eight years, Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper revealed.

The paper’s military affairs correspondent, Alex Fishman, said the Director of the Mossad, Yossi Cohen, and Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, asked the Ministry of Public Security to grant additional permissions to sell more advanced weapons to the UAE in the context of efforts that preceded the Israeli-Emirati normalisation agreement as well as for economic reasons.

According to the paper, Israel selling advanced and offensive weapons to the UAE in 2010, after the assassination of Hamas leader, Muhammad Al-Mabhouh, in a Dubai hotel.

At the time, the Director of the Mossad, Tamir Pardo, travelled to the UAE to solve the crisis between the two countries, but Abu Dhabi’s condition was to supply it with advanced weapons systems, the paper said.

Prior to that, Israel used to prohibit the sale of advanced offensive weapons to the UAE for fear that it may direct the weapons at hostile parties, including Israel.

On the other hand, an extensive report by Israel’s the Marker newspaper indicated that Logic Industries, affiliated with Israeli businessman Mati Kochavi of the Israeli security company AGT International which is based in Zurich, has been active in the UAE since 2008.

According to the Maker’s report, the company has concluded deals worth more than $7 billion including providing the UAE with high-security services such as surveillance cameras and sensors.

On 13 August, US President Donald Trump announced a peace deal between the UAE and Israel brokered by Washington.

Abu Dhabi said the deal was an effort to stave off Tel Aviv’s planned annexation of the occupied West Bank, however, opponents believe normalisation efforts have been in the offing for many years as Israeli officials have made official visits to the UAE and attended conferences in the country which had no diplomatic or other ties with the occupation state.

However, Netanyahu repeated on 17 August that annexation is not off the table, but has simply been delayed.

https://www.blacklistednews.com/article/77847/report-israel-selling-advanced-military-gear-to-uae-for-over-8.html

The Totalitarian Future Globalists Want For The Entire World Is Being Revealed

All over the Western world ever since 9/11 there have been incremental steps towards what many liberty advocates would call a “police state”; a system in which governments are no longer restricted by the boundaries of civil liberties and are given the power to do just about anything they want in the name of public safety. The use of “the law” as a tool for injecting tyranny into a culture is the first tactic of all totalitarians.

The idea is that by simply writing government criminality into the law books, that criminality somehow becomes justified by virtue of legal recognition. It's all very circular. Whenever government abuse of the people is initiated, it's always initiated in the name of what's “best for society as a whole”. To save society, the individuals that make up a society must be sublimated or destroyed. This mentality is the complete opposite of what the Founding Fathers in America fought and died for, but as Thomas Jefferson once said:

“Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add ‘within the limits of the law’ because law is often but the tyrant’s will, and always so when it violates the rights of the individual.”

In countries like Australia, which claim to value Western democratic principles of liberty and rule by the people, the perception is that civil rights are codified into the legal framework just as they are in the US. However, there are some glaring differences and issues; specifically, Australian citizens (like many European citizens) have absolutely no means to compel their government or the elites that influence their government to limit themselves. It is these nations, in which the populations have been mostly disarmed and pacified, that any agenda for tyranny will first be established. But we will get to that in a moment…

Make no mistake, there is a very OPEN and easily identifiable agenda on the part of globalists to establish a heavily centralized police state system in every country they are able. This is not “conspiracy theory”, this is conspiracy fact.

For many years now there have been numerous analysts, economists and geopolitical experts in the alternative media that have predicted and warned the public about the globalist strategy of “order out of chaos”. In other words, the ultra-wealthy power brokers that hold influence over most governments on Earth seek to “reshape” the existing social order through the creation of crisis and disaster. By engineering public desperation, they hope to lure us into accepting restrictions on our freedoms that we would have never considered otherwise.

The goal of a single global economy and government has been spoken of by elites time and time again, yet it is still to this day called “conspiracy theory” or “paranoid delusion”. I could quote these elites and their organizations all day long, but I'll cite a few choice statements to make my point.

As former Deputy Secretary of State under Clinton and Council on Foreign Relations member Strobe Talbot wrote in an article for Time Magazine in 1992 titled 'America Abroad: The Birth Of The Global Nation':

“In the next century, nations as we know it will be obsolete; all states will recognize a single, global authority. National sovereignty wasn’t such a great idea after all.”

As elitist and Fabian Socialist HG Wells outlines in his non-fiction treatise titled 'The New World Order':

http://alt-market.com/index.php/articles/4314-the-totalitarian-future-globalists-want-for-the-entire-world-is-being-revealed

US Sanctions Russian Defence Ministry Research Institute That Worked on COVID-19 Vaccine

The Russian Defence Ministry stated in June that its 48th Central Scientific Research Institute tested the vaccine for toxicity, safety, immunogenicity and protective efficacy.

The United States has added five Russian research institutes to its sanctions lists, including the Defence Ministry's Research Institute, which was involved in work on the COVID-19 vaccine, the United States Department of Commerce statement says.

The US has gone as far as to claim that the listed institutions are working on chemical and biological weapons.

Listing by the US Department of Commerce means that the US authorities impose restrictions on the export, re-export and transfer of goods in accordance with the existing regulations to individuals and organisations that are deemed to pose risks to US national security and foreign policy interests.

Besides the 48th Central Scientific Research Institute, the US has sanctioned the Russian Defence Ministry's 33rd Central Research and Testing Institute and the State Research Institute of Organic Chemistry and Technology.

According to official information, the 33rd Central Research and Testing Institute is a leading institution in the field of radiation, chemical and biological protection.

The Russian COVID-19 vaccine, dubbed Sputnik V, was developed by the Moscow-based Gamaleya Research Institute and the Russian Defence Ministry and officially registered by the Russian government on 11 August.

The Russian Ministry of Health said that Sputnik V had undergone all the necessary checks and had been proven to be capable of building immunity against the virus.

https://sputniknews.com/world/202008261080284502-us-sanctions-russian-defence-ministry-research-institute-that-worked-on-covid-19-vaccine/

Facebook Warns Apple's New iOS Could Cut Audience Network Ad Revenue In Half

Typically, it is media companies that cower in fear any time Facebook changes its new algorithm, terrified it could result in a catastrophic drop in ad revenues. Now, it's Facebook's turn to be at the mercy of its most popular platform, in this case Apple's iOS operating system, whose new upcoming version iOS 14 could lead to a more than 50% drop in Facebook's Audience Network advertising business, the company admitted in a blog post today.

While previously Facebook had warned that iOS 14 could impact its advertising business, only today did the company outline just how profound that impact could be. The Facebook Audience Network allows mobile software developers to provide in-app advertisements targeted to users based on Facebook’s data.

In today's post-cookie world, advertisers use a unique device ID number called the IDFA to better target ads and estimate their effectiveness CNBC explains. However, in iOS 14, each app that wants to use these identifiers will ask users to opt in to tracking when the app is first launched. Facebook said its apps will not collect IDFA information on iOS 14.

The impact of the revision could be tremendous: according to Facebook, more than 1 billion people see at least one Audience Network ad every month, although many of those are probably using Android phones and will not be affected by the change. While Facebook derives virtually all revenue from advertising, it’s not known what percentage is attributable to the Audience Network versus ads on Facebook and other properties.

As CNBC adds, in Facebook's blog post it outlined steps it will take to ensure its advertising business is in compliance with Apple’s requirements. These steps will limit how effectively Facebook and its advertisers can target ads to iPhone and iPad users.

“We know this may severely impact publishers’ ability to monetize through Audience Network on iOS 14, and, despite our best efforts, may render Audience Network so ineffective on iOS 14 that it may not make sense to offer it on iOS14 in the future,” Facebook said in a blog post.

“While it’s difficult to quantify the impact to publishers and developers at this point with so many unknowns, in testing we’ve seen more than a 50% drop in Audience Network publisher revenue when personalization was removed from mobile ad install campaigns,” Facebook said. “In reality, the impact to Audience Network on iOS 14 may be much more, so we are working on short-and long-term strategies to support publishers through these changes.”

Apple has not said when iOS 14 will launch, but it’s expected to roll out this year.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/facebook-warns-apples-new-ios-could-cut-audience-network-ad-revenue-half

We Gawk at Nonsense Political Theater While the Real Enemies Go Unnoticed

Looking beyond the distractions, one can see what really matters, like detecting cancer.

Donald Trump speeches. Celebrity tweets. Corporate news repetition. Chaos. Vapidity. Manufactured dissent. Graphic fighting sports.

This is what fills our field of vision. It consumes our thoughts, overflows our brains with anti-intellectual mud. Yet most of these things are the bug splatter across the windshield. They are not the actual highway, the path forward, actually deserving of our focus.

Looking beyond these distractions, one can see what really matters. The true stuff of life and death and oppression and justice. Most of it is not “trending” on Twitter. Most of it doesn’t get the meme treatment. None of it is matched with dance numbers, going viral on Tik-Tok. But it’s there. Waiting. Waiting for most of us to care. Waiting for us to evolve.

I believe one of those issues is the fact that scientists just cured cancer. …Well, not quite. … But kinda.

They found a way to detect cancer years before symptoms arise, which generally means when it’s exponentially more treatable. Hypothetically this could save millions upon millions of lives. So why is it not plastered all over our nightly news? Why can I still flip on a cable news show without hearing about this??

The cold hard truth is there’s not enough money in stopping cancer quickly. No, not much money at all. Far better to drag cancer ooouuuuut — keep it goin’ — like a bad relationship. Why get divorced quickly and move on? Better to make each other miserable for a couple years, arguing over who gets stuff neither of us cares about — like that old armchair, cookbooks we’ve never used, torn drapes, the kids, etc.

I’ll get to how scientists can now predict cancer in a moment. But let’s back up. According to the National Cancer Institute, “In 2020, roughly 1.8 million people will be diagnosed with cancer in the United States. And an estimated 606,520 people will die of cancer this year in the U.S.”

Six hundred thousand people. That’s more than watched the Avengers movies! (Not really. Actually way more watched the Avengers. But still, you get the point.) And for now let’s ignore that a lot of that cancer is caused by massive corporations utterly destroying our natural world, dumping oil and toxins in our faces. (I’ll cover that some other time when, you know, it’s a slow news day or I have, like, a Tuesday off for a little “me-cation,” as I call it, when I like to paint my toenails.)

“In 2017, globally 9.6 million people were estimated to have died from the various forms of cancer. Every sixth death in the world is due to cancer, making it the second leading cause of death…”

https://consortiumnews.com/2020/08/26/lee-camp-we-gawk-at-nonsense-political-theater-while-the-real-enemies-go-unnoticed/

State Dept. Conduit For British Spy Also Worked With Russian Oligarch, Flip-Flopped During Testimony

A former senior State Department official that had close ties to former British spy Christopher Steele and operated as a conduit for his debunked dossier suggesting President Donald Trump’s campaign conspired with Russia during the 2016 election, also worked as a lobbyist for Russian aluminum magnet and oligarch Oleg Deripaska, who is also a controversial figure in the RussiaGate saga.

Jonathan Winer, a top aide to former Secretary of State John Kerry, worked with Deripaska prior to his involvement with Steele in the RussiaGate scandal targeting President Trump but he didn’t reveal that to lawmakers the first time they interviewed him, according to the final volume of the Senate Intelligence Committee Report.

It was Steele’s dossier, which was not verified by the FBI, that allowed agents within the bureau to obtain a warrant to spy on Carter Page, an American, whose name was tarnished in the media. Page is now suing and has recently written a book titled Abuse of Power, How An Innocent American Was Framed In An Attempted Coup Against The President.

In the report’s footnotes the Senate details:

Jonathan Winer, a decade-long professional contact of Steele’s, also worked for Deripaska, but Winer told the Committee in his first interview that he never met Deripaska in person and has not been in touch with him for 15 years. In a second interview, Winer clarified that Deripaska hired Alston & Bird, specifically Senator Bob Dole, in 2003, to help with an immigration issue. Winer, in his capacity as an attorney at Alston & Bird, provided assistance to Senator Dole. Winer cited attorney-client privilege in declining to provide details on his work for Deripaska, but he did give a general example: “For exampie, if someone, anyone, wanted to travel to the United States and couldn’t travel to the United States, I could tell somebody, these are the kinds ofthings you might have to do ifyou want to be able to come to the United States, and they’re real; they’re not bogus. It’s not a matter of doing it half-heartedly, and these are the consequences, positive and negative. That’s the kind ofthing that someone like me might tell an oligarch.” Winer Tr., pp. 23, 88-89; SSCI Transcript ofthe Second Interview with Jonathan Winer, April 18, 2018, p. 4. Winer also said that Bill Browder was one of his clients.

As you can see in the footnotes Winer originally told lawmakers that he never met Deripaska. He later flip-flopped and changed his answer, suggesting that he met the Oligarch in 2003, after Deripaska hired the law firm of Alston & Bird where Winer was working.

Alston & Bird could not be immediately be reached for comment regarding Winer’s role with Deripaska. Winer also worked on behalf of a lobbying firm in Washington D.C. that lobbied on behalf of the Russian governments energy companies, as first reported by Real Clear Politics.

However, as I originally wrote in October 2017, that company had close connections to the Clinton Foundation and others in the Obama Administration. In fact, the “Russian company, whose former executive was the target of an FBI investigation and who admitted to corrupt payments to influence the awarding of contracts with the Russian state-owned nuclear energy corporation, paid millions of dollars in consulting fees in 2010 and 2011″ to an American lobbying firm, to lobby the U.S. regulatory agencies on behalf of Russia. Read the story here.

But do you see the difference in how Winer has been treated by the Senate lawmakers versus the treatment received by Roger Stone, who also testified to lawmakers and was accused of lying to the House. He wasn’t given a second chance to clarify. In fact, he was charged with lying under oath to lawmakers and was taken into custody by an armada of federal law enforcement officials, who leaked his arrest to CNN so that it could be televised to the world.

https://saraacarter.com/state-dept-conduit-for-british-spy-also-worked-with-russian-oligarch-flip-flopped-during-testimony/

Trump and Pompeo Craft No-Win Solutions for the World

You have to hand it to the sociopaths running U.S. foreign policy, they are very adept at creating no-win scenarios for their opponents. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was just handed a major defeat at the United Nations Security Council, who voted down a resolution to extend the arms embargo against Iran.

That embargo is set to expire in October as part of the U.S. unilaterally pulling out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), known colloquially as the Iran Nuclear Deal.

But Pompeo and President Trump only wanted that vote, in my opinion, to force out into the open their ability to impose the ‘snapback’ sanctions on Iran which is a major component of the JCPOA.

Pompeo and Trump, with this vote, are now, disingenuously clawing their way back into the JCPOA by saying they have the right to invoke those sanctions on all signatories. This tact is unlikely to succeed so what’s the game plan then?

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif cuts to the heart of the matter in a recent article:

The U.S. administration’s disinformation campaign — including false and forged claims regarding a regional consensus … is a ruse to disguise its real, more malevolent motivations: having failed to collapse Resolution 2231 after over two years of the most brutal “maximum pressure” ever imposed on a nation…the U.S. now hopes to abuse its mal-interpretation of the provisions of the same resolution it abandoned in 2018 to finally destroy it. This deeply malicious U.S. behavior is evident throughout the UN, where it seeks to use the UN itself to effectively destroy the world body.

Trump wants the JCPOA gone and he’s willing to blackmail most of the U.N. Security Council to get it. Because if the arms embargo is lifted then he and Pompeo will then use their expanded sanctions capability under CAATSA to cut even more of the world out of the U.S. financial system.

And I’m not talking about little things like cutting Iran and/or Russia out of SWIFT. Those are already on the table and game-planned for by both countries. He’s not stupid enough to cut China out of SWIFT no matter how badly relations deteriorate short of open, kinetic war.

I’m talking about harsh sanctions on European persons and companies akin to what they’ve already done over something as miniscule as the Nordstream 2 pipeline to get the results in the U.N.S.C. they want.

This feeds into Trump’s growing distrust of the EU and a resurgent Angela Merkel in Germany, who he knows is actively working against his re-election. There is zero love lost between these two, since Trump has clearly targeted Merkel as his biggest enemy in Europe.

Now I’m no fan of the U.N. or most of the other post-WWII transnational institutions like the World Bank and the I.M.F. but this push by Trump and Pompeo to break the U.N. now that it no longer acts as a rubber stamp agency on U.S. foreign adventurism is the height of duplicity.

The strategy employed by Trump and Pompeo here is so absurd even the U.N.’s harshest critic, madman John Bolton, thinks they are nuts to go this route.

https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2020/08/26/trump-and-pompeo-craft-no-win-solutions-for-the-world/