Kremlin dismisses reports claiming Russia supplied ‘faulty’ lung ventilators to US

On Tuesday, the US Federal Emergency Management Agency confirmed to TASS earlier reports on the disposal of 45 lung ventilators delivered to the US from Russia this spring

MOSCOW, October 21. /TASS/. The Kremlin has rejected the possibility that the artificial lung ventilators that Russia had shipped to the US in the spring could have been of inferior quality, Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Wednesday, commenting on FEMA’s reported disposal of the Russian lung ventilators in the United States.

Responding to a question on whether the Russian side could have shipped faulty devices to the US, the Kremlin representative said: "No, this couldn’t have [happened]." "These artificial lung ventilators are widely used in medical institutions in Russia in various cities," the spokesman said. He stated that any device may sometimes malfunction and require repair. "Arguments that they were designated for a different voltage are also questionable, because there are converters, surge protectors, and so on, there are no problems with that," he emphasized.

The spokesman recalled that this aid was sent at a critical time for the US and other countries due to the spread of the coronavirus. "That is why, everything that was within our power, within the technological and technical capacities of Russia, was done in order to send this aid," he stressed. "Then, the time came when [our] American colleagues decided what to do with it, so that’s not our issue anymore," the Kremlin representative pointed out.

Peskov emphasized that during that period, "many countries were exchanging aid," despite "sporadic and ugly attempts to politicize it." "We have always been against [politicizing the issue of aid during the pandemic]," the spokesman added.

On Tuesday, the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) confirmed to TASS earlier reports about the disposal of 45 lung ventilators delivered to the US from Russia this spring.

In April, Russian artificial lung ventilators were shipped to warehouses in New York and New Jersey where due to the spread of the coronavirus a possible shortage of such medical equipment was expected. However, FEMA explained that the situation there had improved, which meant that the devices were not needed anymore, but were still kept in reserve. The FEMA representative did not respond to a request to specify whether the disposal of the devices was related to any problems with their use or a malfunction.

https://tass.com/society/1214631

Opposition fumes, plans court challenge after submarine probe vote voided

Lapid accuses Netanyahu’s allies of eroding democracy after parliament speaker overturns vote that approved inquiry; Meretz head, good governance group vow to petition top court

Opposition lawmakers on Wednesday assailed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin overturned a plenum vote to establish a parliamentary inquiry into a major graft case in which several allies of the premier face criminal charges.

Levin, a Likud party ally of Netanyahu’s, revoked the initial vote on a technicality and the proposal was then rejected in a second vote, amid chaotic scenes and vocal protests from the opposition.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, whose Yesh Atid-Telem party backed the motion, said the government’s behavior voided the Knesset’s role in Israeli democracy.

“I’ve been a member of Knesset for eight years. Never has a vote been canceled after the vote.I’ve spoken to the longest-serving members of this house; none of them remember something like this,” Lapid said in a televised statement. “If you can cancel votes, you can close the Knesset. It isn’t needed anymore.”

https://www.timesofisrael.com/opposition-fumes-plans-court-challenge-after-submarine-probe-vote-voided/

Rumblings — Far Left Debate Commission Proposes BANNING ALL CONTENT on Hunter and Joe Biden’s Foreign Laundering Scandals

If this is true President Trump needs to pull out of Thursday’s debate — but wait until the last minute to do so.

According to Jason Miller, a Trump 2020 Senior Advisor, the far left debate commission is now banning ALL QUESTIONS on Joe Biden’s multi-million dollar foreign corruption and money laundering operations!

Earlier this week the debate commission unilaterally decided to cut the mics during the debate.

And before that the debate commission decided to change the topic in the final debate away from foreign policy so Joe Biden will not have to defend his tragic record and pay-for-play schemes.

This would also prevent President Trump from discussing his historic Isreali-Arab peace deals, his NATO successes, his peace talks with Kim Jong Un and his peace deal between Kosovo and Serbia.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/10/wow-rumblings-far-left-debate-commission-proposes-banning-content-hunter-joe-bidens-foreign-laundering-scandals/

White House pushing for stimulus deal within next 48 hours

The White House is projecting optimism in negotiations with Democrats on stimulus legislation, saying that the goal is to reach an agreement within the next 48 hours.

“I am optimistic. We do share one goal and that is hopefully to get some kind of deal in the next 48 hours or so,” White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said in an interview on Fox Business on Wednesday morning, discussing ongoing talks with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

Meadows said the discussions had entered a “new phase” as the White House and Democratic negotiators wrangle over language of a potential bill, though he noted that the two sides remain apart on the price tag. Meadows cited state and local assistance as the primary source of disagreement.

“I can tell you that the negotiations have entered a new phase, which is more on the technical side of trying to get the language right if we can agree upon the numbers,” Meadows said. “We are still apart, still a number of issues to work on, but the last 24 hours have moved the ball down the field.”

Speaking to reporters later Wednesday, White House communications director Alyssa Farah likewise said that officials were optimistic there could be “some movement” on a potential deal within 48 hours.

"The president's position is we're willing to go up on the number for PPP [Paycheck Protection Program] loans and the direct payments,” Farah told reporters at the White House. “Some of the issues still surround state and local and some of the other issues but we're at the table, conversations are happening. I think it's kind of the best place we've been in, so cautious optimism."

Aides had already reported progress following another phone call on stimulus between Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Tuesday. The pair have been speaking daily and are expected to talk again on Wednesday.

But the White House could face opposition from Republicans even in the event a deal with Pelosi is reached. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who has pushed back on a price tag at or above the White House’s current $1.8 trillion offer, on Tuesday publicly committed to bringing it to a vote on the Senate floor but did not say he would do so before Election Day on Nov. 3.

McConnell reportedly told GOP senators privately that he had warned the White House against reaching an agreement with Pelosi before the election because it could disrupt the confirmation of Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett.

Meadows, in an exchange with reporters on Wednesday, denied receiving any such warning from McConnell and said he believed there would be adequate votes in the Senate to get a deal approved that Trump could sign.

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/522071-white-house-pushing-for-stimulus-deal-within-next-48-hours

These five people are allowed to tweet but one of America’s oldest newspapers can’t

Louis Farrakhan, Richard Spencer, Nicolas Maduro, O.J. Simpson have more freedom on Twitter than New York Post

Alexander Hamilton must be rolling over in his grave.

The New York Post, one of America's oldest newspapers, founded by America's first monetary expert-turned pop culture icon, has been muzzled on Twitter for reporting a bombshell that could affect the presidential election.

Twitter has refused to unlock the New York Post's account since last Wednesday unless the outlet deletes multiple tweets about its reporting on 2020 Democratic nominee Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, the Post reported.

https://www.foxnews.com/media/twitter-allows-farrakhan-spencer-dictators-new-york-post-censored

Israel had a secret embassy in Bahrain for 11 years - report

This secret diplomatic office's existence was classified and has only recently come to light.

While the signing of the Abraham Accords signifies the first official diplomatic ties between Israel and Bahrain, the Jewish state has, in fact, been operating a secret embassy in the Bahraini capital of Manama for over a decade, according to a report by Axios.

For 11 years, Israel has worked to conduct diplomacy with Bahrain in secret, through the use of a front company. However, this secret diplomatic office's existence was classified and has only recently come to light following a short report by KAN last week.

According to this investigative look at over a decade's worth of clandestine diplomatic ties between Israel and Bahrain, the idea of a secret diplomatic mission was brought up in 2007-2008 during a series of meetings with Bahraini Foreign Minister Khaled bin Ahmad Al Khalifa and his then-Israeli counterpart, Tzipi Livni. The decision to open the mission in Manama was preceded by the closing of an Israeli mission in Qatar, according to Israeli security officials.

According to the report, the mission was registered on July 13, 2009, under the name of the front company known as The Center for International Development, though it has since changed its name and its current name remains classified. Bahraini records registered the firm as a company providing marketing, promotion and investment services, and its website explained it was a consultant to Western companies interested in non-oil investments in the region. Furthermore, the website boasted a strong network of Bahraini and regional contacts to help.

Like all companies, The Center for International Development had employees. However, the employment criteria was extremely narrow: Israeli diplomats possessing dual nationality. This can be seen in some of its shareholders and board-members. One of its shareholders detailed in public records, Brett Jonathan Miller, is South African, but he would later be appointed Israeli consul general to Mumbai. Another shareholder was Belgian citizen Ido Moed, who currently serves as cyber coordinator in the Foreign Ministry. Even its CEO was a diplomatic officer, though his identity remains classified save for the fact that he was an American national. He was only appointed in 2018, and has recently been replaced.

To keep up the charade, all diplomats involved possessed cover stories backed by profiles on the popular business and networking social media platform LinkedIn.

And though this mission was small and clandestine, officials told Axios that it was incredibly profitable, with hundreds of business deals struck by Israeli companies in Bahrain due to the mission's activities. Most importantly, however, is what the existence of this mission means for Israeli-Bahraini relations going forward. Immediately after relations were officially established on Sunday, Israel sent a formal request to open an embassy in Manama. However, this undertaking has been made incredibly simple by the existence of the mission, as all the groundwork and infrastructure is quite literally already in place.

"All we have to do is change the sign on the door," an Israeli official told Axios.

https://www.jpost.com/arab-israeli-conflict/israel-had-a-secret-embassy-in-bahrain-for-11-years-report-646464

President Trump Was Impeached to Protect Hillary Clinton & Joe Biden from Corruption Scandals!

Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton appeared on “Lou Dobbs Tonight” for a panel discussion with along with John Solomon and Michael Flynn’s lead attorney Sidney Powell to discuss Biden’s Russian disinformation claims.

https://www.judicialwatch.org/videos/trump-impeached-protect-clinton/

Netanyahu plunged to new depths in submarine scandal vote – analysis

What matters is that because Zohar did not have the coalition ready in time for the key vote and lost, suddenly Israelis are talking about submarines again.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants the “Submarine Affair” submerged well below the surface of the public’s consciousness.

For the most part, he has been successful at preventing the scandal from drowning him. His advisers were investigated and indicted. And Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit has resisted pressure to acknowledge any wrongdoing by Netanyahu in the affair.

Former defense minister Moshe Ya’alon and other top figures in the opposition have been trying unsuccessfully for years to put what is known as Case 3000 back on the public agenda.

But that all changed in one fleeting moment in the Knesset plenum on Wednesday.

It does not matter whether the 25 to 23 vote in favor of a parliamentary probe of Netanyahu was legal or not. It is irrelevant whether coalition chairman Miki Zohar called for a roll-call vote before or after regular voting had already begun.

The vote itself was also insignificant, because it would have changed nothing. Forming a parliamentary commission of inquiry would have required three more votes in the Knesset plenum and three votes in the Knesset House Committee.

What matters is that because Zohar did not have the coalition ready in time for the key vote and lost, suddenly Israelis are talking about submarines again. They are remembering what Netanyahu was accused of in Case 3000, and it looks very bad for the prime minister.

Just like in the vote itself, Netanyahu apparently did not break the law. But Israel purchased very expensive – and apparently unnecessary – submarines from a company connected to his cousin and close adviser, who made a large sum of money on the deal.

Disallowing the vote after it took place looked very undemocratic, even if it was legally unproblematic. It will undoubtedly refuel political demonstrations against Netanyahu, which are permitted again after the end of the lockdown.

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/netanyahu-plunged-to-new-depths-in-submarine-scandal-vote-analysis-646472

Larry Johnson: Discredited Intel “Professionals” Push Lie About Russian Interference

A letter published on Monday, October 19, 2020 with the signatures of 50 “former intelligence” officials is a self-inflicted wound of comedy and absurdity wrapped in the specious claim of special expertise.

Thank God none of these clowns still hold a position anywhere in the national security bureaucracy. Their inability to grasp basic facts and engage in simple reasoning perhaps explains why the Obama team abandoned American military and intelligence officials at Benghazi in September 2012 and why they considered ISIS as “a junior varsity” team.

Basically, this group of mediocrities are sure that the Hunter Biden emails are part of some nasty Rooskie plot:

. . . we write to say that the arrival on the US political scene of emails purportedly belonging to Vice President Biden’s son Hunter, much of it related to his time serving on the Board of the Ukrainian gas company Burisma, has all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.

There is only one teeny, tiny problem. They have no facts to back up their deluded judgment, supposedly based on years of experience. Just goes to show that experience without real intelligence is no substitute for competence.

Let us start with the facts that are documented:

1. Hunter Biden signs a work order on 12 April 2019 with The Mac Shop in Wilmington, Delaware to recover data on the hard drive of a Mac Laptop damaged by water.

1. The repair is completed on the 17th of April. Hunter Biden is notified by email and phone that the laptop and hard drive are ready to be picked up. Total cost–$85. Hunter did not respond.

1. In September of 2019, the owner of the Mac Shop talked with his dad about the Biden computer and the fact that it had material that might be relevant to the Ukraine issue. Father and son decided the best course of action was to approach the FBI. The father, who lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, volunteered to make the approach.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/10/larry-johnson-discredited-intel-professionals-push-lie-russian-interference/

More Trouble For Airline Industry? Cathay Pacific To Lay Off 5,900 Employees Amid Pandemic

More Trouble For Airline Industry? Cathay Pacific To Lay Off 5,900 Employees Amid Pandemic

https://www.ibtimes.com/more-trouble-airline-industry-cathay-pacific-lay-5900-employees-amid-pandemic-3065660

Europol: Police in Europe, Latin America Crack Down on Trafficking

In a joint operation earlier this month, Spanish and Dutch police cracked down on drug trafficking routes from Latin America to Europe, seizing six metric tons of cocaine.

Police raided locations in the Dutch cities of Amsterdam, Papendrecht, Rotterdam, Utrecht and the Spanish cities of Valencia and Malaga. (Source: Europol)Police raided locations in the Dutch cities of Amsterdam, Papendrecht, Rotterdam, Utrecht and the Spanish cities of Valencia and Malaga. (Source: Europol explained)The two authorities raided locations across both Spain and the Netherlands, arresting five suspects for their alleged involvement in an international drug smuggling network, involving sophisticated technology and military logistics.

“Individuals with military training and experience in war missions supported the logistical set-up of the criminal network,” Europol explained. “The suspects are believed to have used self-developed encrypted mobile applications to communicate with their counterparts.”

One of the five suspects is believed to be the leader of the group. Along with the suspects and cocaine, police seized jewelry, cash, and the encrypted devices.

At the same time, police in France and Colombia worked to dismantle an international human trafficking network, Europol said Tuesday.

In a series of raids around Paris in early October, French police seized nearly $150,000 in assets and identified 9 victims from several countries who had been trafficked for the purposes of prostitution and sexual exploitation by a Colombian organized crime group.

“The organized crime group composed of Colombian nationals has been active since November 2015,” Europol said. “The suspects recruited their victims from South America and the EU and exploited them in several rental apartments in Paris and other cities spread over three French regions.”

According to Europol, the victims were trafficked through Italy, Spain and Switzerland en route to France.

https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/13285-europol-police-in-europe-latin-america-crack-down-on-trafficking

Europe's COVID-19 Spending Spree Unmasked

As countries across Europe went into lockdown earlier this year to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, there was one early and obvious casualty: transparency. In the rush to obtain critical supplies, many countries suspended their usual public procurement rules, resulting in billions of euros of spending that remains largely hidden from the public.

Interactive and Map: Europe’s COVID-19 Procurement

Browse and search data obtained by journalists on over 20 billion euros’ worth of spending by European countries to deal with COVID-19.

Read more

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So we at the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) decided to find out what happened to that money.

Along with media partners in 37 countries, we collected information from over 37,000 COVID-19 related tenders and contracts worth over 20.8 billion euros (U.S $24.5 billion), running from February to October this year. They cover key goods such as personal protective equipment (PPE), ventilators, tests, and medications.

Download data tables here:

Covid-19 Public Spending Tracker

Unit Prices Data Master List

The Top One Percent Largest Contracts and Tenders

The 50 Biggest Suppliers

What we found was often fascinating. Governments bought respirator masks at prices that varied wildly, from just twenty cents per unit to 37 euros each. The pandemic also prompted a boom for hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, controversial drugs promoted by many as a miracle treatment for COVID-19, despite limited evidence. Data obtained by reporters showed the number of large contracts for these drugs increased 15-fold so far this year. Dexamethasone, a steroid that has met with more clinical success, saw a 36-fold increase.

You can browse the data yourself at our interactive here.

https://www.occrp.org/en/coronavirus/europes-covid-19-spending-spree-unmasked

The data is far from complete, but it gives an unprecedented view of just what Europe’s governments have been spending their billions on — and where things may have gone astray.

Bargains and Black Holes

The data we obtained gives just a snapshot of Europe’s COVID-19 spending. We pulled data from the European Union’s procurement portal, Tenders Electronic Daily, and national and regional governments.

The number of contracts we obtained from each country reflected its level of transparency, not necessarily how much it spent.

We obtained the most contracts, roughly 15,000, from Portugal. Despite its relatively small size, it was one of the few European countries to publish all its contracts online, along with an overview of its COVID-19 related purchases.The runner-up, with 12,000 contracts, was Russia.

Other countries have been virtual black holes of information. Belgium, the Netherlands, and Denmark rejected reporters’ data requests outright, typically arguing that it was necessary to preserve secrecy so as to not undermine negotiations for the purchase of goods. In response to a freedom-of-information request, Norway provided some details on contracts, such as company names, but would not give price information.

https://www.occrp.org/en/coronavirus/europes-covid-19-spending-spree-unmasked