De Blasio Cancels Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade — Killing NYC Economy Further

Communist Mayor Bill De Blasio announced on Monday he is cancelling the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was started in 1924 by Macy’s Department Stores. It has been broadcast on national television since 1953.

More than 44 million people typically watch the parade.

The parade brings significant revenue to New York restaurants and venders.

New York STATE reached its peak COVID-19 numbers back in April.

Today the entire state sees less than ten deaths a day in a city of nine million.

The Hill reported:

This year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will be “reimagined” amid the coronavirus pandemic, with organizers opting to make the iconic holiday season kick-off event virtual.

“It will not be the same parade we’re used to,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) said Monday during a news briefing.

“It will be a different kind of event,” de Blasio said of the traditional balloon and crowd-packed festivities, which date back nearly a century.

“They’re reinventing the event for this moment in history, and you’ll be able to enjoy the spirit, the joy of that day on television and online,” de Blasio said.

The event won’t be “a live parade,” de Blasio added, but will be something “that will really give us that warmth, and that great feeling we have on Thanksgiving Day.”

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/09/de-blasio-cancels-macys-thanksgiving-day-parade-killing-nyc-economy/

UBS Contemplating Mega-Merger With Credit Suisse; Would Be Biggest Bank Deal Since Financial Crisis

Swiss financial blog Inside Paradeplatz first reported that the chairmen of Swiss banking giants UBS and Credit Suisse are exploring the possibility of a merger that would presumably fuse the two Swiss banking behemoths into a European giant with enough heft to go toe-to-toe with JPM. The news was picked up early Monday morning by Bloomberg, which reported that the project, nicknamed "Signal", is being pushed by Axel Weber, the chairman of UBS, who is working on the deal in partnership with Urs Rohner, his counterpart at UBS.

Weber has reportedly discussed the idea with Swiss Finance Minister Ueli Maurer, and an agreement could happen by early next year, according to the original report.

However, Wall Street analysts have responded to the report of what wold be the biggest banking merger since the financial crisis with skepticism. The creation of such a massive Swiss national champion would seemingly cut against European regulators' push to shrink its megabanks.

Andreas Venditti, an analyst at Vontobel, warned that executing such a transaction would be "difficult": “Regulation would be the biggest hurdle in my eyes” because requirements are tougher the larger an institution is, Venditti said, adding he doesn’t think a deal is likely.

Expanding on this notion, a team from Bank of America published a note to clients on Monday exploring the finer points of a UBS-CS tie up. While BofA banking analyst Alastair Ryan, seconded Venditti's skepticism, he managed to see at least one scenario that might lead to regulators' giving their blessing to a deal.

However "material" cost synergies and increased scale of a combined bank were identified by Ryan as the two primary benefits for shareholders.

But in a year that's seen i-banking trading revenues soar, Ryan warned that building scale in their investment banks would "not be welcomed by the market or Swiss authorities". But, on the other hand, a "larger wealth platform could accelerate the shift from their investment banks competing in the institutional big-balance-sheet areas of FICC and equities" while also speeding up the transition to predominantly focusing on wealthy clients' capital market needs."

UBS has a slight edge over CS in terms of its wealth management business, but in terms of total AUM, the two are on roughly equal footing.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/ubs-contemplating-mega-merger-credit-suisse-would-be-biggest-bank-deal-financial-crisis

NHS admissions for cancer, heart attacks, other deadly illnesses fall by thousands amid Covid-19 outbreak in UK – report

UK patients with cancer and other life-threatening conditions have been admitted to hospitals at far lesser rates as Britain’s National Health Service was prioritizing the fight against coronavirus, a new report shows.

The number of admissions for heart attacks has dropped by 6,000 in March and April compared to last year, the Daily Mail reported, citing NHS data for England. Likewise, there were nearly 137,000 fewer cancer admissions from March to June.

According to the paper, hospital admissions for diabetes and strokes fell by 36 and 17 percent respectively, while similar trends were revealed for dementia and mental health disorders, such as severe depression and anxiety.

The admission rate for non-coronavirus treatment began falling since early spring, when the UK was first hit by the outbreak and hospitals were struggling with the sudden influx of Covid-19 patients. This sparked concerns that prioritizing the fight against coronavirus would cause more people to suffer and die from other conditions.

A study by the Health Care Research Hub for Cancer in July projected up to 35,000 additional cancer deaths within a year, if the delays in diagnosis and treatment continue.

One of the patients whose life has been impacted by the delays is Sherwin Hall from Leeds. He told RT in July that he had gone to the hospital 13 times between May and early June, begging for an MRI or a CT scan, before being eventually diagnosed with cancer. He said that his repeated requests for a scan were initially denied due to the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak, and he believed that he would have better chances for survival had he been diagnosed earlier.

https://www.rt.com/uk/500640-uk-hospital-admissions-rate/

Pelosi’s Choice: Steal the Election or Be Destroyed

I’ve learned a few things about politics by watching my goats over the years. Herd queens have to be beaten to step aside. They won’t give up status willingly.

I saw this first hand when a vicious challenge ended with a broken horn, humiliation and blood. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is a tough old goat who is clearly making her last stand, facing the toughest fight of her political career.

Congress is at a crossroads over a stimulus package before the election. Pelosi has run out of good choices to force the Republicans into another bad deal, which is her trademark move.

Internal squabbling and strategic missteps has her charting a most dangerous path.

The House returns to session today facing an impasse over another stimulus bill which see both sides entrenched in their positions.

Just under two months until the election, however, the big question is, “Who has the leverage?”

Pelosi always fronts that she’s on top of things. She rules House Democrats with an iron fist and somehow always manages to win these confrontations.

But this time may be very different. Why?

This time she has no leverage. This time the Republicans have the upper hand. Even Bloomberg had to admit that the situation is not in Pelosi’s favor, while talking about all of her options.

Among the unlikely events that could now break the deadlock: President Donald Trump changing tack amid alarm about poll numbers, a sudden reversal of economic indicators that have recently trended upward, and Pelosi or Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell facing a revolt by their own vulnerable, moderate members.

It isn’t that the economic situation is good. It is that there is simply no justification for continued abject panic over COVID-19 to keep people on the dole.

Public opinion has turned against Pelosi and the Democrats in places where they pushed too hard. People want their lives back and for the looting and rioting to end.

Now they are faced with a stark choice: hope the polls are right and Joe Biden will be president on November 4th or challenge the election if they aren’t.

Neither of those choices leave Pelosi with any option to cave to Senate Republicans, especially as Mitch McConnell gave his people the opportunity to vote for something last week to take back to the voters.

All Chuck Schumer could do is filibuster.

https://tomluongo.me/2020/09/14/pelosis-choice-steal-election-destroyed/

Suga High: Abe's #2 Becomes Japan's Next PM After Landslide LDP Victory - What That Means For Japan

On Monday, two weeks after the (second and final) resignation by Shinzo Abe on Aug 28 who stepped down as Japan's Prime Minister due to deterioration in a pre-existing health condition (the same condition he cited when he quit for the first time in 2007), Japan's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) held its presidential election to appoint a successor to current LDP leader (and Prime Minister) Shinzo Abe.

The election results show that Yoshihide Suga (Chief Cabinet Secretary) won a decisive victory over the other two candidates (Fumio Kishida and Shigeru Ishiba), as widely expected, and has been elected the next LDP president. The election will be immediately followed by the wholesale resignation of the current Abe cabinet, the appointment of Suga as the next Prime Minister during a special Diet session on September 16, and Suga forming his own cabinet.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/suga-high-abes-2-becomes-japans-next-pm-after-landslide-ldp-victory-what-means-japan

64. UPDATE VIDEO - TRANNY PORN, ROGER STONE, ARMY INTELLIGENCE, SHADOW GATE

China's Global Times Warns: "China Must Be Ready For A Potential War"

August saw a bumper Chinese total social financing number, up much more than the market had expected at CNY3,580bn. That’s around USD500bn in one month in new borrowing, an annualised pace of USD6 trillion, if far lower in y/y terms due to seasonality. The last time we saw a number like that was March, when Covid was smashing growth, as it has everywhere else too: and this is an economy ostensibly doing far better than everybody else.

While it seems Beijing has gone for a bells and whistles growth approach, the details are less ‘positive’- if that is the right word. (And for market-based Western economies that have long relied on non-market-based Chinese borrowing, it is the right word.) M2 money supply was up just 10.4% y/y in August, down from 10.7%: where is this new borrowing going if it isn’t into the money supply? That should set alarm bells ringing as it’s even worse than the Western/Japanese problem of a flood of new money seeing ever-lower velocity of circulation. It may even suggest rather than the historical correlation between the ‘China credit impulse’ and global real yields meaning the latter will rise due to higher China-driven inflation and then even higher global bond yields, it may instead hold due to low bond yields and even more biting deflation.

That’s already the threat from a US economy with no new stimulus package close to being passed; from a UK economy trying to head for Hard Brexit shortly after its job-protecting furlough scheme is rolled back; and as Israel becomes the first country to enter into a second national lockdown, showing Covid-19 will still be an issue well into 2021. Plus, of course, China itself is openly talking about “internal circulation”, which would reduce the global flow-through from it to the rest of the world – with the exception of the commodities it says it will stockpile so aggressively.

Against that backdrop, there is a virtual summit today between the EU and China to try to agree a bilateral investment treaty. In typically European fashion, this began years ago in an environment where thus was entirely technocratic, and ends in one where it is geopolitical. China is openly stating it wants Europe to align with it more closely against the US just ahead of a US presidential election that could potentially prove pivotal for the future of US-EU relations.

The EU will want to show it has options. Rather inauspiciously, however, the talks begin with China having just banned German pork imports; and China’s Global Times has published an editorial which is far louder than the wolf (warrior) whistle blown at India last week titled ’China must be militarily and morally ready for a potential war’. Imagine if the New York Times published a story like that based on White House sources.

The GT argues:

“Chinese people don't want war, but we have territorial disputes with several neighboring countries instigated by the US to confront China. Some of these countries believe that the US support provides them with a strategic opportunity and try to treat China outrageously. They believe that China, under the US' strategic pressure, is afraid, unwilling or unable to engage in military conflict with them. Thus they want to pull the chestnuts out of the fire. Considering that there is also the Taiwan question, the risk of the Chinese mainland being forced into a war has risen sharply in recent times.

…

Chinese society must therefore have real courage to engage calmly in a war that aims to protect core interests, and be prepared to bear the cost. In that way, China's comprehensive strength can be effectively transformed into a strategic deterrence against all kinds of provocateurs… China must be a country that dares to fight. And this should be based on both strength and morality.”

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/chinas-global-times-warns-prepare-war

Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg Asks Alexander Vindman If Trump is Russian ‘Asset’

The Atlantic‘s Jeffrey Goldberg scored the first post-impeachment interview with Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman on Monday and asked what he described as the “key question”: “Does he believe that Trump is an asset of Russian intelligence?”

Vindman’s answer largely regurgitates left-wing conspiracy theories about Russian influence (original emphasis):

“President Trump should be considered to be a useful idiot and a fellow traveler, which makes him an unwitting agent of Putin,” he says. Useful idiot is a term commonly used to describe dupes of authoritarian regimes; fellow traveler, in Vindman’s description, is a person who shares Putin’s loathing for democratic norms.

But do you think Russia is blackmailing Trump? “They may or may not have dirt on him, but they don’t have to use it,” he says. “They have more effective and less risky ways to employ him. He has aspirations to be the kind of leader that Putin is, and so he admires him. He likes authoritarian strongmen who act with impunity, without checks and balances. So he’ll try to please Putin.”

Vindman continues, “In the Army we call this ‘free chicken,’ something you don’t have to work for—it just comes to you. This is what the Russians have in Trump: free chicken.”

Goldberg, who described Vindman as an “idealist,” also took him on a tour of the Watergate building in Washington, DC, to drive home the apparent parallels.

Goldberg did not appear to ask Vindman about his role in informing the so-called “whistleblower” in the impeachment trial (“A whistleblower shared details of the call,” he wrote).

Washington Examiner columnist Byron York told Fox News last week that Vindman had to be the “original source” for the “whistleblower” complaint: he was the only person who listened to President Donald Trump’s phone call with the president of Ukraine who thought there was anything wrong with it, and admitted telling a member of the “intelligence community.”

NBC News will also air an interview of Vindman on Monday evening, conducted by Lester Holt.

Goldberg, the Atlantic‘s editor-in-chief, was also responsible for a story earlier this month claiming that Trump had referred to dead World War I soldiers as “suckers” and “losers.” He cited four anonymous sources. The story has been disputed by more than twenty people on the record.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/09/14/atlantics-jeffrey-goldberg-asks-alexander-vindman-if-trump-is-russian-asset/

5th column

Trump’s Former Top Economic Adviser Says He’s Unsure Of Who He Will Vote For In 2020

Gary Cohn, President Donald Trump’s former National Economic Council Director, stated Monday that he is unsure of who he will vote for in the 2020 general election.

“I honestly haven’t made up my mind,” Cohn, who was replaced by NEC Director Larry Kudlow in 2018 after resigning from the administration, said during the tail end of an interview on CNBC. “I’m eager to see an economic debate between the two of them. I actually vote on issues.”

Cohn claimed to have possibly been the only Democrat “to work in the Trump administration.”

“I care a lot about the economic issues. I care about the deficit,” he continued. “I agree that this was, this corona situation was a time to allow the deficit to expand, but our current $3 trillion annual deficit that we’re having this year cannot become the new steady state.”

“I really do want to hear where the two candidates are,” Cohn added of the upcoming three presidential debates. “Just taxing to spend doesn’t make sense to me. We have to have a plan to get our fiscal house back in order.”

https://dailycaller.com/2020/09/14/gary-cohn-unsure-vote-donald-trump-joe-biden-election-2020/

Nolte: Why the Left Is Normalizing Child Pornography

If the uproar over Netflix’s Cuties tells us anything, it’s that we’re now at a point where the political left and the national media want to normalize child pornography.

There is no moral world, no sane world in which a movie like Cuties is okay. While I acknowledged in my review that Cuties is critical of the misogynist elements of traditional Islam and that that’s a perfectly reasonable message, I do not agree the movie is a critique of how social media sexualizes children.

To me, Cuties is a classic story with a classic structure. You put your hero through a difficult journey and the hero comes out the other end better for it. That’s what twerking and posting nude photos accomplish for the 11-year-old Ami, the protagonist in Cuties. This journey is portrayed as difficult but ultimately healthy. Spiritually and mentally healthy. There’s no lasting damage at the end of that journey, just growth and enlightenment. Terrible message. Indefensible.

Even if you buy the manure that Cuties is critical of sexualizing children, how is sexualizing children to criticize sexualizing children okay?

Cuties is not like a movie opposed to torture or animal abuse or rape that dramatizes torture and animal abuse and rape. The sexualization of young girls is not dramatized in Cuties. The girls are sexualized. The camera floats all over them like a pervert, even when they spread their 11-year-old legs.

So why is the left suddenly crossing this line? Why is Netflix mainstreaming soft-core child pornography? Why is it now acceptable for the elite media to publish headlines like this one?: “Cuties, Netflix Review: a Provocative Powder-Keg for an Age Terrified of Child Sexuality” — as if only backwards hicks could be “terrified” of sexualizing 11-year-olds.

Or this headline: “The Creepy Conservative Obsession With Netflix’s Cuties, Explained” — as though finding soft-core child pornography revolting and outrageous is all of a sudden a “creepy obsession.”

Those in the media not openly defending soft-core child pornography are defending it by covering up the controversy, by pretending it doesn’t exist, like CNNLOL.

Talk about silence as complicity.

So how did we get to a point where Hollywood, the national media, and the political left are openly embracing and defending crotch shots and booty shots of 11-year-old characters wearing too much makeup, tank tops, and short-shorts?

Well, I think there are a few elements at work here.

The first is that the political left hates the right so fucking much that when given the choice between defending child pornography and siding with us, they’re going to defend child pornography. Good grief, they are already defending, championing, and encouraging four months of riots, looting, arson, murder, and mayhem. These are depraved people.

https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2020/09/14/why-left-normalizing-child-pornography/

At Least 50 Shot, 11 Fatally, During Weekend in Mayor Lightfoot’s Chicago

Over 50 people were shot, 11 fatally, during the weekend in Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s (D) Chicago.

On September 13, 2020, Breitbart News reported at least 35 people had been shot, nine fatally, Friday into Sunday morning alone in Lightfoot’s Chicago.

By Monday morning ABC 7 reported the numbers had risen to 51 shot, 12 fatally. The Chicago Sun-Times reported 53 were shot, 11 fatally.

ABC 7 notes four people were shot, one fatally, in Englewood just before 4 p.m. Sunday. The victims were sitting on a porch when a passing vehicle stopped and two people jumped out and began shooting.

A 35-year-old man was shot in the head and killed, while a 26-year-old woman, 17-year-old boy, and 60-year-old man were all shot and wounded.

An 86-year-old man was shot dead in West Pullman Sunday. His body was discovered about 6 p.m. and police determined he had been shot by an “85-year-old man during a domestic incident.” Police estimate he was shot in the period between 2 p.m. Friday and 6 p.m. Sunday.

The last fatal shooting of the weekend occurred at 11:30 Sunday night, when a 28-year-old woman was killed and a 26-year-old man wounded while sitting in a vehicle in Garfield Park. Someone “on foot” outside the vehicle opened fire, shooting the woman in the back and the man in the stomach.

Breitbart News reported the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever critically wounded a U.S. Postal Service letter carrier in Lightfoot’s Chicago on Thursday.

CNN reported a USPIS press release indicating the USPS employee was “shot multiple times while working” on South Ellis Avenue.

She was left in critical condition after the bullets hit her in “the back of both legs, buttocks area, stomach and the back of her head.”

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/09/14/at-least-50-shot-11-fatally-during-weekend-in-mayor-lightfoots-chicago/

UK Minister: Snitch on Your Neighbours If They Break Coronavirus Rules

Policing minister Kit Malthouse has said that people should snitch on their neighbours if they think they are breaking the new coronavirus rules. He said he also hopes to roll out “COVID-secure marshalls” across the country to help enforce public “compliance”.

From Monday, it is illegal for Britons to gather in groups of more than six in public or private, indoors or outside. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said last week when he announced the measures that people breaking the law would be told to disperse, fined, or even arrested.

BBC Radio 4’s Today host Mishal Husain asked Mr Malthouse today whether people should snitch on their neighbours if they suspect they are breaking the law.

The policing minister responded: “If people are concerned, if they do think there has been a contravention, then that option is open to them.”

“It’s open to neighbours to do exactly that through the non-emergency number. If they are concerned and they do see that kind of thing, then absolutely they should think about that,” Malthouse added.

When explicitly asked if people should call the police on their neighbours, he said bluntly: “Yes.”

Former Supreme Court Justice Lord Sumption explains why he believes the government's 'rule of six' is unenforceable.@TomSwarbrick1 | #SwarbrickOnSunday pic.twitter.com/jWECu6bvnJ

— LBC (@LBC) September 13, 2020

Prime Minister Johnson also raised the prospect of introducing “COVID Secure Marshalls” who will “help ensure social distancing in town and city centres”.

Mr Malthouse claimed the marshalls had “proven themselves to be quite useful” in other parts of the country, “engaging” with people in high streets and city centres in “making sure we get good compliance”.

Former Supreme Court judge Lord Jonathan Sumption said that the new rules were unenforceable, writing in a letter to The Sunday Times: “The ban on socialising in groups of more than six is unenforceable except in a Stasi-style surveillance state with a poisonous network of informers.”

Later speaking to LBC, the former senior judge criticised the government for its initially prolonged lockdown, which he said had met its useful end at around April 11th, when the NHS’s intensive care capacity was increased to its peak to cope with the then-projected high number of cases.

Brexiteer Baker Slams Covid Laws, Says Britons Must ‘Live Like Free People’ https://t.co/RNQQF11Hud

— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) September 11, 2020

The government strategy since May had “lost its way”, the judge said, “when they continued lockdown after its only sensible objective had been achieved.

“The problem with the government’s present policy is that it is not possible for governments to get control of a virus that has become endemic without taking steps which are so brutal and intrusive as to destroy our society, our economy, our children’s education, and everything that makes it worthwhile to be alive.”

Lord Sumption added that of the many lessons revealed from the progress of the virus, the “most striking” is that it does not seem to make a difference what government action is taken.

“So you have the minimum government action in Sweden, the maximum government action in Spain and what is the result? Spain is currently much worse off than Sweden” he said.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/09/14/minister-tells-brits-snitch-neighbours-if-they-break-coronavirus-rules/

Man arrested twice in 12-hour span for starting fires near I-205

A man was arrested on Sunday for intentionally setting a brush fire near Interstate 205 in Portland then, just hours after he was released, he was taken into custody again for lighting six more fires, according to Portland police.

Around 4:35 p.m., officers were sent to help Portland Fire & Rescue with a small blaze burning in a section of grass along the freeway near the 9600 block of East Burnside, officials said. The fire was quickly put out and no one was injured.

About an hour later, a witness flagged down officers and told them that a man in a nearby tent had lit the fire. Domingo Lopez Jr., 45, was taken into custody and admitted to setting the fire, police said in a statement. He was found with a plastic bottle with a burnt wick attached, according to police.

He was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center on charges of reckless burning and disorderly conduct, but was released.

Around 3:30 a.m. Monday, officers were called to another report of fire in the same general area of Interstate 205. They found several small blazes and firefighters quickly put out several of them while bystanders from the community taking care of the rest.

No one was injured and no structures were damaged.

Lopez was found walking on the shoulder of the freeway a short time later and arrested, police said. He was taken to a local hospital for a mental health evaluation and charged with six more counts of reckless burning.

Despite at least three other arrests for arson around the state in recent weeks, local police departments and the FBI have roundly rejected and debunked rumors of widespread arson in relation to the massive wildfires that have burned in Oregon over the last week.

https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2020/09/man-arrested-twice-in-12-hour-span-for-starting-fires-near-i-205.html

Human Rights Commission: 163 Journalists Murdered in Mexico Since 2000

At least 163 journalists have been murdered in Mexico in the last 20 years, Mexico’s Human Rights Commission stated this week. The NGO blamed lacking protection for journalists and limited prosecution for murders.

Mexico’s Human Rights Commission (CNDH) issued a scathing statement claiming that state and federal authorities needed to double efforts to end the impunity that follows most crimes against journalists. That statement came shortly before gunmen beheaded yet another reporter.

This past week, gunmen in Veracruz beheaded Julio Valdivia Rodriguez, a journalist with El Mundo. The gunmen staged the scene to make it look like a motorcycle accident. Despite condemnation by officials, no motive or suspects have been disclosed.

According to the Human Rights Commission, since 2010, they have issued 330 recommendations in cases of journalists targeted or attacked.

“For this organization, it is needed that all cases of aggression to representatives of [media] outlets be investigated in a diligent and professional manner and that they use up all the investigation avenues with the finality of bringing those responsible to justice,” the CNDH said in their prepared statement.

Mexico is considered by international press freedom organizations as one of the most dangerous places for journalists to practice. The NGOs tend to blame officials or organized crime as directly responsible for the violence.

https://www.breitbart.com/border/2020/09/14/human-rights-commission-163-journalists-murdered-in-mexico-since-2000/

$3.6M in Counterfeit Cash Seized at Canadian Border Crossing

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers working a Canadian crossing in North Dakota seized $36,000 in fake U.S. currency.

CBP officers assigned to the Pembina Port of Entry on Wednesday observed a tractor-trailer approaching the station for entry into the United States from Canada. The driver presented a manifest indicating a load of toy guns, according to information obtained from CBP officials.

The officers referred the driver to a secondary inspection station in the commercial cargo area. During a cargo inspection, officers found nine toy guns and what appeared to be 36,000 U.S. $100 bills.

The officers inspected the bills and determined they were counterfeit. Officials destroyed the fake bills.

“Our officers work extremely hard to protect the United States from a variety of threats,” Pembina Area Port Director Jason Schmelz said in a written statement. “Working with other federal partners, CBP officers were able to keep this counterfeit currency from entering into the economy. To have such a significant seizure on the 19th anniversary of 9/11, shows the commitment all of our officers have, not only today, but every single day they come to work in order to keep our country safe from all threats.”

Reports obtained from CBP did not disclose how much counterfeit currency was seized during this fiscal year. However, CBP officers working ports of entry around the country seized $93,302,645 in unreported currency during the first 11 months of Fiscal Year 2020. This is up substantially from the totals of each of the previous five year.

During FY 2019, which ended on September 30, 2019, CBP officers seized $68,879,080 in U.S. currency. The FY 2020 seizures represent an increase of 35 percent.

https://www.breitbart.com/border/2020/09/14/3-6m-in-counterfeit-cash-seized-at-canadian-border-crossing/

'Rogue' Chinese Virologist Joins Twitter, Publishes "Smoking Gun" Evidence COVID-19 Created In Lab

On Saturday we reported that Dr. Li-Meng Yan - a Chinese virologist (MD, PhD) who fled the country, leaving her job at a prestigious Hong Kong university - appeared last week on British television where she claimed SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes COVID-19, was created by Chinese scientists in a lab.

On Sunday, Li-Meng joined Twitter - and on Monday, just hours ago, she tweeted a link to a paper she co-authored with three other Chinese scientists titled:

Unusual Features of the SARS-CoV-2 Genome Suggesting Sophisticated Laboratory Modification Rather Than Natural Evolution and Delineation of Its Probable Synthetic Route

She also posted a link to her credentials on ResearchGate, revealing her (prior?) affiliation with The University of Hong Kong and 13 publications which have been cited 557 times.

Cutting to the chase:

"The evidence shows that SARS-CoV-2 should be a laboratory product created by using bat coronaviruses ZC45 and/or ZXC21 as a template and/or backbone. Building upon the evidence, we further postulate a synthetic route for SARS-CoV-2, demonstrating that the laboratory-creation of this coronavirus is convenient and can be accomplished in approximately six months.

Here is the extended punchline:

The receptor-binding motif of SARS-CoV-2 Spike cannot be born from nature and should have been created through genetic engineering.

The Spike proteins decorate the exterior of the coronavirus particles. They play an important role in infection as they mediate the interaction with host cell receptors and thereby help determine the host range and tissue tropism of the virus. The Spike protein is split into two halves (Figure 3). The front or N-terminal half is named S1, which is fully responsible for binding the host receptor. In both SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 infections, the host cell receptor is hACE2. Within S1, a segment of around 70 amino acids makes direct contacts with hACE2 and is correspondingly named the receptor-binding motif (RBM) (Figure 3C). In SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2, the RBM fully determines the interaction with hACE2. The C-terminal half of the Spike protein is named S2. The main function of S2 includes maintaining trimer formation and, upon successive protease cleavages at the S1/S2 junction and a downstream S2’ position, mediating membrane fusion to enable cellular entry of the virus.

https://www.zerohedge.com/medical/rogue-chinese-virologist-joins-twitter-publishes-evidence-covid-19-created-lab

1/2

>>10645599

Fast-forwarding to the smoking gun:

Given that RBM fully dictates hACE2-binding and that the SARS RBM-hACE2 binding was fully characterized by high-resolution structures (Figure 3)37,38, this RBM-only swap would not be any riskier than the full Spike swap. In fact, the feasibility of this RBM-swap strategy has been proven. In 2008, Dr. Zhengli Shi’s group swapped a SARS RBM into the Spike proteins of several SARS-like bat coronaviruses after introducing a restriction site into a codon-optimized spike gene (Figure 5C). They then validated the binding of the resulted chimeric Spike proteins with hACE2. Furthermore, in a recent publication, the RBM of SARS-CoV-2 was swapped into the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of SARSCoV, resulting in a chimeric RBD fully functional in binding hACE2 (Figure 5C)39. Strikingly, in both cases, the manipulated RBM segments resemble almost exactly the RBM defined by the positions of the EcoRI and BstEII sites (Figure 5C). Although cloning details are lacking in both publications39,47, it is conceivable that the actual restriction sites may vary depending on the spike gene receiving the RBM insertion as well as the convenience in introducing unique restriction site(s) in regions of interest. It is noteworthy that the corresponding author of this recent publication, Dr. Fang Li, has been an active collaborator of Dr. Zhengli Shi since 201049-53. Dr. Li was the first person in the world to have structurally elucidated the binding between SARS-CoV RBD and hACE238 and has been the leading expert in the structural understanding of Spike-ACE2 interactions. The striking finding of EcoRI and BstEII restriction sites at either end of the SARS-CoV-2 RBM, respectively, and the fact that the same RBM region has been swapped both by Dr. Shi and by her long-term collaborator, respectively, using restriction enzyme digestion methods are unlikely a coincidence. Rather, it is the smoking gun proving that the RBM/Spike of SARS-CoV-2 is a product of genetic manipulation."

It gets better, because the Chinese scientists then presciently tried to cover their tracks:

Although it may be convenient to copy the exact sequence of SARS RBM, it would be too clear a sign of artificial design and manipulation. The more deceiving approach would be to change a few nonessential residues, while preserving the ones critical for binding. This design could be well-guided by the high-resolution structures (Figure 3)37,38. This way, when the overall sequence of the RBM would appear to be more distinct from that of the SARS RBM, the hACE2-binding ability would be well-preserved. We believe that all of the crucial residues (residues labeled with red sticks in Figure 4, which are the same residues shown in sticks in Figure 3C) should have been “kept”. As described earlier, while some should be direct preservation, some should have been switched to residues with similar properties, which would not disrupt hACE2-binding and may even strengthen the association further [ZH: i.e., the virus was weaponized and enchanced]. Importantly, changes might have been made intentionally at non-essential sites, making it less like a “copy and paste” of the SARS RBM.

Yan also discusses the infamous furin-cleavage site:

… a close examination of the nucleotide sequence of the furin-cleavage site in SARS-CoV-2 spike has revealed that the two consecutive Arg residues within the inserted sequence (- PRRA-) are both coded by the rare codon CGG (least used codon for Arg in SARS-CoV-2) (Figure 7).

The Yan Report

https://www.scribd.com/document/475998860/The-Yan-Report#from_embed

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Chad Pergram: Democrat Disruptions and Delays Could Result in a President Pelosi

FOX News congressional correspondent Chad Pergram told FBN viewers on Monday that all of the Democrat Party delays and disruptions in tabulating votes this year could possibly result in a President Pelosi. Stone Cold Crazy Nancy Pelosi could be given the White House if states do not get their votes counted on time.

Maybe this is their plan? They know senile Joe cannot win so they will steal the election with delays?

President Trump warned of this scenario back in August.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/09/chad-pergram-democrat-disruptions-delays-result-president-pelosi/

COVID cybercrime: 10 disturbing statistics to keep you awake tonight

Nine out of 10 coronavirus domains are scams. Half a million Zoom accounts are for sale on the Dark Web. Brute-force attacks are up 400%. And there's more. So much more.

On Tuesday, I'll be joining CBS Interactive's Michael Steinhart and Netenrich's Brandon Hoffman in what promises to be a fascinating webcast about attack surface intelligence. While preparing for my part of the session, I came upon a bunch of unsettling statistics about how cybercrime and cyberattacks have gotten worse since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

And since we can't be in the same room together anymore, I figured the next most neighborly thing I could do is share the pain. So let's dive in together. You might want to take a few Tums before you do. Your stomach acid level will thank me.

1. The number of unsecured remote desktop machines rose by more than 40%

As you might expect with so many new remote workers, there's been a huge surge in the number of remote desktop connections from home to work (or the cloud). According to Channel Futures citing a Webroot study, there's been over a 40% surge in machines running RDP (remote desktop protocol).

The issue with unsecured machines is that criminals can use brute force attacks to gain access to a desktop machine. And once on the network with a desktop machine… badness happens.

1. RDP brute-force attacks grew 400% in March and April alone

According to Catalin Cimpanu here on ZDNet, cybersecurity firm Kaspersky released a report in April showing a huge jump in RDP (remote desktop protocol) attacks.

All these new remote desktop connections create a target-rich environment. But here's the thing: What happens when you rush to spin up a ton of services almost overnight? Mistakes are made. That's one reason why so many remote desktops are not secure.

And what happens when you have unsecured systems? A 400% boost in brute-force attacks. Yay, humanity!

1. Email scams related to COVID-19 surged 667% in March alone

According to Barracuda Networks, the number of phishing scams related to COVID-19 exploded in March. It probably continued in April and beyond, but we only have March data right now.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/ten-disturbing-coronavirus-related-cybercrime-statistics-to-keep-you-awake-tonight/?ftag=TRE-03-10aaa6b&bhid=21735961543072688253262375158449&mid=13046731&cid=717936240

Florida man, 56, is arrested for brutal rape and murder of 14-year-old girl in Rochester on Thanksgiving Day in 1984 after police use genealogical DNA database to link him to the crime

Timothy Williams was arrested in Melbourne, Florida, last week for rape and murder of Wendy Jerome in Rochester, New York

Williams, then aged 20, is accused of stabbing and beating his 14-year-old neighbor to death on Thanksgiving Day in 1984

Evidence containing DNA was collected at the scene but initially failed to produce a match

Police later submitted DNA sample to state crime lab, which conducted a familial DNA search and generated a list of names

An additional DNA sample collected from Williams confirmed his connection to the crime scene, according to police

Nearly 36 years after a 14-year-old girl was found raped and brutally murdered in Rochester, New York, police armed with a DNA match arrested a Florida man in connection to the cold case.

Timothy Williams, 56, faces second-degree murder charges in the Thanksgiving Day 1984 killing of Wendy Jerome.

He was arrested at his home in Melbourne, Florida, last Wednesday, and authorities are bringing him to New York, Rochester officials announced at an emotional news conference on Friday.

Familial DNA information provided a list of names, including that of Williams, as investigative leads, police said.

Marlene Jerome, who worked with police investigating her daughter’s death for more than three decades, told reporters she thought she’d never see this day.

'I just wish my husband was alive to see this,' she said through tears, as Democrat and Chronicle reported. 'He died in 2011. And I know he’s up there, with her, smiling and saying it’s over. It’s finally over.'

Wendy Jerome left a friend’s house in Rochester on the evening of November 22, 1984, after delivering a birthday card, but never made it home.

Her body was found a few hours later in an alcove of a school located just three blocks from her home.

Wendy was raped, repeatedly stabbed and beaten to death, despite her efforts to fight back.

Williams was about 20 years old at the time and lived in the same neighborhood as his alleged victim. The Rochester native moved to Florida shortly after the killing, police said.

'He did not know the victim, nor did the victim’s family know him,' Rochester Police Capt. Frank Umbrino said.

Over the past 20 years, several attempts have been made to identify the suspect through DNA evidence.

http://www.mr-mehra.com/2020/09/florida-man-56-is-arrested-for-brutal.html

The CIA-visa fraud that preceded 9/11

“Shut up, do your job and ask no questions”

The “Visa Express” program – for terrorists

Did you know that the CIA ordered US officials to give visas to unqualified people from terrorist countries to enter the US – to be trained as terrorists?

Here’s the detailed story straight from the horse’s mouth.

Business as usual.

The CIA has the ability to shut down drug investigations and prosecutions – and does so frequently to protect its “assets.”

The CIA can also order visa offices to give visas to ANYONE regardless of their background or the country they come from.

Remember the so called “underwear bomber” who was let on a plane to the US without a passport? He’s the reason everyone who wants to fly has to submit to an untested radiation screening flogged by former head of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff.

The airline was forced to take the undocumented passenger by “a well dressed man in a suit” who has yet to be identified.

https://youtu.be/gu5l7a7dgP4

https://youtu.be/VucstNtPy0Q

https://www.brasscheck.com/video/the-cia-visa-fraud-that-preceded-9-11/?omhide=true

PRAY FOR EACH OTHER