It’s almost like these governments were all working together somehow
There appears to be some kind of international organization running the governments of what once we sovereign nations.
https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/its-almost-like-these-governments-were-all-working-together-somehow/
NATO chief warns of high price if Trump pulls troops out of Afghanistan
BRUSSELS (AP) - NATO could pay a heavy price for leaving Afghanistan too early, its chief warned Tuesday after a U.S. official said President Donald Trump is expected to withdraw a significant number of American troops from the conflict-ravaged country in the coming weeks.
NATO has fewer than 12,000 troops from dozens of nations in Afghanistan helping to train and advise the country's national security forces. More than half are not U.S. troops, but the 30-nation alliance relies heavily on the United States for transport, air support, logistics and other assistance. It's unlikely that NATO could even wind down its operation without U.S. help.
"We now face a difficult decision. We have been in Afghanistan for almost 20 years, and no NATO ally wants to stay any longer than necessary. But at the same time, the price for leaving too soon or in an uncoordinated way could be very high," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement Tuesday.
He said Afghanistan still "risks becoming once again a platform for international terrorists to plan and organize attacks on our homelands. And ISIS (Islamic State) could rebuild in Afghanistan the terror caliphate it lost in Syria and Iraq."
The U.S. decision comes just days after Trump installed a new slate of loyalists in top Pentagon positions who share his frustration with the continued troop presence in war zones. The expected plans would cut U.S. troop numbers almost in half by Jan. 15, leaving 2,500 troops in Afghanistan.
U.S. officials said military leaders were told over the weekend about the planned withdrawal and that an executive order is in the works but has not yet been delivered to commanders.
NATO took charge of the international security effort in Afghanistan in 2003, two years after a U.S-led coalition ousted the Taliban for harboring former al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. In 2014, it began to train and advise Afghan security forces, but has gradually pulled troops out in line with a U.S.-brokered peace deal.
Stoltenberg said that "even with further U.S. reductions, NATO will continue its mission to train, advise and assist the Afghan security forces. We are also committed to funding them through 2024."
NATO's security operation in Afghanistan is its biggest and most ambitious undertaking ever. It was launched after the military alliance activated its mutual defense clause - known as Article 5 - for the first time, mobilizing all the allies in support of the United States in the wake of the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington.
"Hundreds of thousands of troops from Europe and beyond have stood shoulder to shoulder with American troops in Afghanistan, and over 1,000 of them have paid the ultimate price," Stoltenberg said.
"We went into Afghanistan together. And when the time is right, we should leave together in a coordinated and orderly way. I count on all NATO allies to live up to this commitment, for our own security," he said.
The United States is by far NATO's biggest and most influential ally. It spends more on defense than all the other countries combined. But Trump's term in office has marked a particularly tumultuous time for the organization. He has routinely berated other leaders for not spending enough on defense, and has pulled out of security agreements that European allies and Canada consider important for their security, such as the Iran nuclear deal and the Open Skies aerial surveillance pact.
French President Emmanuel Macron said last year that NATO was suffering from "brain death," in part due to a lack of U.S. leadership.
Stoltenberg has refrained from publicly criticizing Trump or his decisions since Trump came to power in 2016.
http://www.yourdestinationnow.com/2020/11/nato-chief-warns-of-high-price-if-trump.html
Former Facebook leaders are now transition insiders
The president-elect has hired former Facebook executives even though some in his camp consider the company enemy No. 1.
Some on the Biden campaign thought they had two opponents to beat: first Donald Trump and then Facebook.
But people with close ties to Facebook and CEO Mark Zuckerberg have already become inside players in the Biden transition, suggesting that the president-elect is not slamming the door on the company.
Former Facebook board member Jeff Zients is co-chairing Biden’s transition team. Another former board member is an adviser. Two others — one who was a Facebook director and another who was a company lobbyist — have taken leadership roles. And Biden himself has a friendly relationship with a top Facebook executive, former U.K. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.
That set-up is already creating an awkward contrast with the vocal Facebook-haters in the party. DNC’s chief mobilization officer Patrick Stevenson tweeted last week that “the two biggest institutional threats to our democracy are the Republican Party and Facebook.” Campaign spokesperson Bill Russo argued shortly after the race was called for Biden that Facebook is “shredding the fabric of our democracy.”
One senior Democratic strategist close to the campaign put it more plainly. “We basically think they’re an immoral company,” said the strategist, speaking anonymously to discuss the thinking inside the party. “There are thousands and thousands of people in their 20s and 30s and 40s who will be incensed to find themselves working for Secretary of Commerce Sheryl Sandberg, or taking a soft touch to Facebook because Nick Clegg and Joe Biden go way back.”
Much of the anger comes from rancor over the company’s failure to prevent Russian misinformation campaigns in the 2016 election and a feeling that Facebook didn’t do enough to address the spread of false information or hate-filled posts in the 2020 race. Others in the progressive wing of the party, including Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, have focused on Facebook’s market power and called it a monopoly that needs to be broken up.
The question becomes whether, after Inauguration Day, a Biden administration acts on the anger coming from the Democratic party’s anti-Facebook factions or if it absorbs Facebook back into the Democratic establishment, embracing the friendly relationship of the Obama years.
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/11/16/the-biden-teams-tug-of-war-over-facebook-436672
DE BLASIO’S NYC: Rockefeller Christmas Tree Mostly Destroyed in Transit, City Can’t Erect Properly
The iconic Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree went viral on social media Wednesday, and not in a good way. Images appeared of New York City workers mostly destroying the tree as they struggled to erect the traditional tourist destination.
Say hello to the 2020 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree! Hailing from Oneonta, NY, this Norway Spruce will arrive at Rockefeller Center this Saturday, November 14 to kick off the holiday season.
How tall do you think this year’s tree is? pic.twitter.com/UMmxiY3toV
— Rockefeller Center (@rockcenternyc) November 11, 2020
See you soon, NYC! 🎄 pic.twitter.com/j5k6vYJGvS
— Rockefeller Center (@rockcenternyc) November 12, 2020
Let the holiday season begin! The 2020 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree has officially arrived at the Plaza. 🎄 pic.twitter.com/RapXlMt1Fb
— Rockefeller Center (@rockcenternyc) November 14, 2020
The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, ladies and gentlemen! Let’s give 2020 a round of applause. pic.twitter.com/kRt8qCNudo
— Liam Stack (@liamstack) November 17, 2020
What is this, a joke? This is the Rockefeller Christmas tree for 2020. It depicts @NYCMayor‘s city as it stands today: broken, empty, drained of its life, by failed leadership and incompetence. pic.twitter.com/1S0qyIbmE1
— Bernard B. Kerik (@BernardKerik) November 18, 2020
Watch the tree’s slow deterioration above.
https://hannity.com/media-room/de-blasios-nyc-rockefeller-christmas-tree-mostly-destroyed-in-transit-city-cant-erect-properly/?utm_source=socialflow
Georgia lawmaker says Israeli government ‘asked me’ for anti-boycott law she introduced
A Georgia state legislator who has pushed the state law opposing boycotts of Israel testified at a hearing that the Israeli consulate “asked me” to introduce an amendment to the law, and she did. The lawmaker appeared at the hearing in March with an Israeli consular officer seated at her side, and introduced him to the House committee.
State Rep. Deborah Silcox made her comments a month after Benjamin Netanyahu bragged that Israel was promoting these laws. Netanyahu tweeted on February 12:
Whoever boycotts us will be boycotted… In recent years, we have promoted laws in most US states, which determine that strong action is to be taken against whoever tries to boycott Israel.
The Israeli government’s intervention was first reported by the Council on American-Islamic Relations in a March press release. I learned about it from an interview with a lawyer who is suing the state of Georgia, which was posted on Empire Files by journalist Abby Martin last Friday.
Here is the back-story.
Thirty-two states, including Georgia in 2016, have adopted laws denying state funds to those who advocate boycotting Israel. The U.S. Senate has passed a bill urging other states to do so (The “Combatting BDS Act of 2019”). Last summer the Forward reported that an organization that has helped draft these laws received a grant from the Israeli government.
In February 2020, Abby Martin was “disinvited… from delivering a keynote speech at an academic conference” at Georgia State University, losing out on a $1000 honorarium, because she refused to sign what she calls an “Israel loyalty oath,” affirming that she would not engage in boycotts against Israel.
Backed by several groups including the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Martin then sued Georgia State in federal court, saying that it had violated her First Amendment rights by applying the law.
A month after that suit was filed, Rep. Deborah Silcox testified before the Georgia House’s Governmental Affairs committee in favor of a bill she had introduced to raise the floor on the contracts governed by the law — from $1000 to $100,000.
Martin’s attorney, Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, says raising the floor for contracts is an attempt to get Martin’s suit thrown out as moot. When $100,000 is at stake, contractors are far less likely to challenge the law, she says.
The law’s supporters are afraid of legal challenges, because higher courts are sure to strike down the law as unconstitutional, Verheyden-Hilliard says.
At the hearing on March 11, Silcox can be seen sitting and chatting with a man in the front row before she testifies, then introducing him to the committee.
“Thank you Mr Chairman…. I do want to introduce briefly Harold Hershberg, who’s here with me with the Israeli consulate… I appreciate him coming down this morning to join us.”
Silcox goes on to say that Israel asked her to raise the monetary limit.
“We have had some issues on a small scale with this and so the Israeli consulate and a number of people have asked me to raise the limits.”
Harold Hershberg is listed as the director of government and political affairs for the Israeli consulate in Atlanta.
https://mondoweiss.net/2020/11/georgia-lawmaker-says-israeli-government-asked-me-for-anti-boycott-law-she-introduced/
Five Amazon Employees Stole $592,000 Worth of iPhones
Five Amazon employees in Madrid have been arrested over stealing US$592,000 worth of iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro models.
iPhone 12 Theft
The group accomplished this by secretly putting iPhones into various packages and removing them at the last minute. After the weight differences were detected, Amazon installed hidden cameras to investigate the issue.
That is, someone, probably an accomplice, bought something relatively cheap on Amazon, and before it was sent they exchanged the contents of the package for an iPhone.
Three were arrested upon leaving their job, one was arrested during work, and the fifth voluntarily surrendered. They are currently awaiting trial.
https://www.macobserver.com/news/five-amazon-stole-iphone-12/
U.S. paid $14,000 for ambassador to New Zealand to fly 400 miles on private jet to avoid quarantining for 14 days
The United States government paid for ambassador Scott Brown and his wife to fly domestically in New Zealand on a private jet so they could avoid going into quarantine at the border, documents show.
Just about everybody who returns to New Zealand is required to spend 14 days in a hotel guarded by the military as part of the nation's strict strategy to keep out the coronavirus. But the Browns were able to use their special status as diplomats to avoid staying in a hotel, and instead isolated themselves at their home in Wellington.
The Browns' special treatment has upset many New Zealanders. Documents released to The Associated Press under official information laws show the case was discussed by top officials and lawmakers and was not resolved until days before they arrived back.
The Browns returned to New Zealand in late August after spending a month in the U.S. on what the ambassador described as a 'working vacation.'
After arriving at Auckland Airport, the Browns went to a private runway and left for Wellington on a chartered jet, documents show. That was because regular domestic flights can't be used by new arrivals who might be carrying the virus.
U.S. officials did not immediately provide the cost of the flight, although one charter operator said such a trip would typically cost between 10,000 and 20,000 New Zealand dollars ($7,000- $14,000).
The U.S. Embassy in New Zealand said Wednesday that the flight was paid for by the embassy and the U.S. State Department, freed up hotel space for returning New Zealanders and was cost-effective.
'As the Browns were at home, the U.S. taxpayer was saved the cost of per diem and other expenses which they would otherwise have been entitled to claim,' the embassy wrote in an email.
The documents indicate the discussion about the couple's return began back in June, when Brown wrote an email to New Zealand officials saying, 'I need to be assured that I will be able to get into my car and drive home and self-isolate.' The ambassador added, 'It would be problematic for me to do my job in a hotel.'
Brown told officials that he and his wife, Gail, would make sure they tested negative for the virus in the U.S. before returning.
New Zealand officials responded that top lawmakers in the government's Cabinet were discussing what to do about diplomats - who they can't force into quarantine because of their special status under the Vienna Convention - and 'we are hopefully close to the decision-point on these issues.'
But the uncertainty would drag on for weeks.
An initial plan had the ambassador completing his two-week quarantine in Auckland at the home of the U.S. consul-general. A second plan had Brown driving the eight-hour trip back to Wellington.
'We'll have his vehicle pre-positioned at the airport with food, water, and extra fuel, and will arrange a `contact-less´ handover of the keys,' U.S. officials wrote in an email.
Brown, a former Republican senator from Massachusetts, has close ties with President Donald Trump and was once considered a possible running mate
Brown, a former Republican senator from Massachusetts, has close ties with President Donald Trump and was once considered a possible running mate
In the end, U.S. officials told their counterparts it was their preference to book a charter flight. Brown wrote that he'd gotten approval for the plan from Washington.
'I am hopeful that this rock solid, logical plan can be approved so I can start the balls moving to make it happen,' Brown wrote on August 20 from the U.S., just a week before he was due to arrive back.
The following day, New Zealand officials wrote to say the Ministry of Health had given the plan the thumbs-up.
'Outstanding!' a U.S. official responded.
Brown, a former Republican senator from Massachusetts, has close ties with President Donald Trump and was once considered a possible running mate. Brown and his wife plan to return to the U.S. permanently within the next few weeks, where Brown will take up a new role as president and dean of New England Law school in Boston.
http://www.hideoutnow.com/2020/11/us-paid-14000-for-ambassador-to-new.html
Saudis Offer Yemen Ceasefire If Houthis Accept Buffer Zone
Trump may foil Yemen peace talks with new measures
Saudi Arabia is continuing to try to sort out some progress on peace in Yemen, and is now offering to endorse a UN-backed ceasefire if the Houthis agree to a buffer zone at the Yemen-Saudi border.
Yemen and the Saudis have fought along the border for years, and it’s not surprising that the Saudis would want to at least preclude more such fighting as part of the peace process. They may need to hurry, however.
That’s because the Trump Administration is reportedly planning to declare the Houthis “terrorists” for nominally having ties with Iran, and once they do so, it will virtually forbid further peace talks going forward.
That would be a bad move for the US, as the Saudis really seem to want to wind down this war, and diplomacy is really the only way to accomplish that. The US may see calling the Houthis terrorists as another anti-Iran move, but it also greatly complicates the region.
https://news.antiwar.com/2020/11/17/saudis-offer-yemen-ceasefire-if-houthis-accept-buffer-zone/
Four Members of Los Angeles-Based Fraud Ring Indicted for COVID-Relief Fraud
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/four-members-los-angeles-based-fraud-ring-indicted-covid-relief-fraud
Fitton: Election Needs to Be Decided by State Legislatures–Too Many Irregularities!
Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton joins ‘Watters World’ on @Fox News to discuss what he calls a ‘blown election’ in Pennsylvania.
https://www.judicialwatch.org/videos/fitton-too-many-irregularities/
Proposed Biden Gun Tax Could Top $34 Billion
Report: 20 million ARs, 150 million ammunition magazines would be taxed under Biden proposal
American gun owners could face tens of billions of dollars in new taxes to keep the guns they already own under Democrat Joe Biden's gun ban and tax plan.
At least 20 million rifles and 150 million ammunition magazines would be caught up in the sales ban and registration scheme Biden touted on the campaign trail, according to a National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) report. The new taxes would cost Americans more than $34 billion, according to a Washington Free Beacon analysis.
NSSF told the Washington Free Beacon the sheer number of affected guns and magazines could pose a significant problem for Biden's gun-control plans.
"I think if [Biden and his team] were smart, they would look at those numbers and get an idea of where America stands on gun ownership and gun rights," NSSF spokesman Mark Oliva said.
Biden wants to ban new sales of AR-15 rifles and similar firearms as well as any ammunition magazine holding more than 10 rounds—sizes that come standard on most modern rifles and handguns. He would pay some owners to surrender the affected guns they legally own and force everyone else to register the guns under the National Firearms Act. The proposal would require owners to pay a $200 tax stamp for each item.
The report said the kinds of rifles Biden wants to ban made up nearly half of all rifles produced in 2018. Oliva said the group's estimates may actually be undercounts. While NSSF used the latest Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives manufacturer reports, those only cover up to 2018, and Oliva said AR-15s have continued to grow in popularity since then.
"That manufacturer's report comes out [with] an 18 to 24-month delay," Oliva said. "That number is probably significantly higher now."
Oliva pointed to record sales in 2020 as evidence that the amount of ARs and ammunition magazines holding more than 10 rounds has only increased in recent months. He said the firearms Biden hopes to ban are popular because they offer modularity and customizability while being effective for hunting, sport shooting, and home defense.
The report, which was released Monday, also found that 11.4 million firearms were made or imported into the United States in 2018. A further 9.3 million were made or imported in 2019. That brings the total number of firearms on the American market between 1991 and 2019 up to nearly 214 million.
Oliva said those numbers, combined with the fact that Americans increasingly favor AR-15s and other rifles targeted by Biden and gun-control advocates, are evidence the country is not interested in strict new gun laws.
"America's attitude on gun control is shifting more toward the idea that we need to protect our rights and away from the idea we need government control of our destiny," he said.
The Biden campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
https://freebeacon.com/democrats/proposed-biden-gun-tax-could-top-34-billion/
MTA To Fire 9,000 Workers, Slash Subway Service By 40% Without $12BN Federal Bailout
The MTA just gave millions of New Yorkers a fantastic reason to leave the city: on Wednesday, the state-controlled agency announced some of the most onerous budget cuts in its history to try and offset the the plunge in ridership, and the other depredations that have resulted from COVID-19 placing unprecedented strain on the system.
After ending the subway's famed 24-7 service during the COVID-19 lockdown, the MTA is proposing a 40% cut in weekday service and layoffs of 9,367 MTA workers (8k from the subway/bus system in the city, and another 1k from Metro-North). Many of these workers fought on the front lines of the crisis as the virus swept through the city last spring
One advocate for riders told the Daily News that this "would absolutely be an end to the New York way of life," if the cuts become reality.
"People expect to leave their home or office and get a train or bus within a very reasonable wait of time," Albert said. "Cuts of this magnitude mean virtually no social distancing. It’s just a nonstarter to me."
And unless the federal government steps in with funding to assist the state in rebuilding the subway, it's possible that NYC's reputation as the 'city that never sleeps' could be tarnished forever. Another advocate described it as a "doomsday" budget proposal.
In addition to the weekday cutbacks, weekend service could be cancelled entirely, or at least sharply restricted.
To be sure, cutbacks would also impact bus routes, though the agency says it's trying to ensure that riders across NYC aren't "more than a half mile away" from a bus or subway line.
The plan is expected to be approved during Wednesday's meeting of the MTA board, which is controlled by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The firings alone would save the MTA more than $1.27 billion annually. That's far short of the $12 billion federal bailout that the MTA has asked for. Even with these cuts, along with $1.5 billion in money earmarked for construction moved to the operating budget, the MTA won't be able to cover its nut through 2023, necessitating fare hikes. Notably, all this is happening as the virus continues to accelerate across the state, around the country.
If federal aid doesn't come through, authorities have warned they would be left with no choice but to raise subway fares by 36% to $3.75 from $2.75, an unprecedented jump. Such a massive inflationary hit could squeeze hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of low-income riders.
MTA Chairman Pat Foye said Tuesday that his "hand would be forced" if "the federal government doesn't come through with the funding." Union leaders are urging the state to raise taxes on gasoline or stock trades before approving more layoffs at the MTA.
Tony Utano, the head of TWU Local 100, warned that "the MTA’s budget proposal is an outrageous and cowardly surrender to the coronavirus, and a slap in the face of every transit workers…tossing thousands of workers onto the street and leaving entire neighborhoods without service are not answers."
As we wait to see if the proposal will be enacted, we can't help but wonder how many people would want to stay in NYC if it had no restaurants, no bars and no subway service?
Wouldn't the city seem a lot less appealing?
https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/mta-fire-9000-slash-subway-service-40-without-12bn-federal-bailout
Nearly 200 arrested in sexual exploitation of a single Florida teen
Sunshine State authorities busted a massive child sex trafficking network — accused of exploiting a single teen — this week, ending a two-year probe that netted 178 arrests, including a high-profile booster for Florida State University, according to a report and police.
The operation, called “Stolen Innocence,” which began in November 2018, wrapped up on Tuesday — and those allegedly involved face charges ranging from solicitation of prostitution to human trafficking of a minor, the Tallahassee Police Department said in a press release.
It began when department investigators spotted images of a child posted on a website that advertises sex for money, authorities said. The girl was 13 and 14 when most of the alleged offenses occurred — but the abuse may have begun even before her 13th birthday, Elizabeth Bascom, one of the lead investigators, told The Tallahassee Democrat.
A total of 72 suspects were charged with misdemeanors and notices to appear, and 106 people were hit with felony charges — 18 of those being charged federally, according to authorities.
Those swept up in the investigation include a former chairman of the Seminole Boosters, Inc., a fundraising arm for Florida State University Athletics, a former write-in candidate for local office, and a physical education teacher, according to the Democrat.
Several women were also allegedly involved, charged with helping to arrange paid “plays” with the teen in exchange for cash, according to the report.
The teen was rescued by the police department’s Special Victims Unit, and cooperated in efforts to bring charges against those who allegedly exploited her, the outlet reported.
She is “on the road to recovery, and she’s doing well given the situation,” Elizabeth Bascom, one of the lead investigators, told the local paper.
“She does have things to say,” Bascom said. “She was able to say that this has seriously impacted her life, and it is very difficult at times. But she is working to get her life back.”
A number of defendants claimed in sworn interviews that the girl’s mother wouldn’t allow anyone to have sex with her teenage daughter unless they came with drugs or money, according to police reports obtained by the Democrat.
A police spokeswoman could not confirm to the Post Wednesday whether the teen’s mother was involved in the network in any capacity.
Some of the defendants described the encounters taking place inside a filthy apartment, as well as various hotels and motels, according to the report.
Social media, including Facebook, as well as apps and text messages, were used to arrange the meetings — creating a long trail of electronic evidence, the outlet reported.
Federal authorities were also involved in the investigation.
“[Our investigators] worked tirelessly to bring justice to the victim in this case and were able to make an unprecedented number of human trafficking related arrests,” Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell said in a statement. “I could not be prouder of the steadfast efforts of our investigators and the joint effort with our partners to stop the illegal and dehumanizing practice of human trafficking.”
https://nypost.com/2020/11/18/nearly-200-arrested-in-florida-child-sex-trafficking-bust/
Federal judge cancels hearing for Trump’s Pennsylvania election case
A federal judge on Wednesday canceled a planned evidentiary hearing on President Trump’s challenge to Joe Biden’s win in Pennsylvania.
Judge Matthew Brann instead gave the Trump campaign until 5 p.m. to respond to a defense motion to dismiss the case, according to an order posted online.
Brann also set the same deadline for the campaign to file new motions seeking a preliminary injunction to block certification of the election results and permission to amend its suit for a second time.
The order came a day after Brann heard about four hours of oral arguments on Tuesday from lawyers including former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who took over Trump’s case after a series of other lawyers bailed out.
Giuliani, a former Manhattan US attorney, appeared rusty during his first appearance in federal court in about three decades, at one point mistaking Brann for another judge who earlier rejected a different suit filed by the campaign, according to The Associated Press.
Brann also noted that Trump’s suit was “alleging that the two individual plaintiffs were denied the right to vote” while “asking this court to invalidate more than 6.8 million votes, thereby disenfranchising every single voter in the commonwealth,” CNN reported.
In addition to canceling the hearing that had been set for Thursday, Brann’s order denied a request from Trump campaign lawyer Linda Kerns to withdraw from the case.
Kerns didn’t offer a reason when she filed the motion on Monday but it came hours after she claimed to have received an “abusive voicemail” from a lawyer at an opposing firm.
Kerns also said she’d been subjected to “continuous harassment in the form of abusive emails, phone calls, physical and economic threats, and even accusations of treason — all for representing the President of the United States’ campaign in this litigation.”
https://nypost.com/2020/11/18/federal-judge-cancels-hearing-for-trumps-pa-election-case/
Biden Transition Leader Advocated For US & Chinese Communist Party to ‘Work Together On Gene Editing’
Mahlet Mesfin, a member of Joe Biden’s transition review team, advocated for U.S. and China collaboration on scientific endeavors including “gene editing” in response to coronavirus.
Mesfin, an alum of the Obama administration’s National Security and International Affairs branch of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, also served as a visiting scholar at the University of Pennsylvania’s Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement.
Now Mesfin finds herself on the Biden transition team, heading the Art and Humanities agency review team.
Mesfin, however, has advocated for closer scientific ties between the Chinese Communist Party and the U.S., penning an op-ed entitled “Why the Nobel Prize shows the US and China need to work together on gene editing.”
The piece focuses on the scientific community’s response to coronavirus, specifically between U.S. and China.
Mesfin fails to attribute any blame on the Chinese Communist Party for spawning the disease, instead of blaming “tense bilateral relations” on “politized [sic] claims over the origin and spread of the coronavirus” – ostensibly a typo meant to read “politicized.”
She laments that these claims “damper prospects of cooperation, especially in areas of biomedical research” despite the fact the Chinese Communist Party maintains a concerted and demonstrable effort to poach American science secrets, researchers, and intellectual property.
As U.S. officials describe it, the Chinese Communist Party has an “expansive approach to stealing technology and intellectual property” in order to “advance its military and economic power, and to achieve global scientific dominance.”
Mesfin echoes similar sentiments in a Foreign Affairs op-ed entitled “It Takes a World to End a Pandemic,” focusing intensely on U.S. and China cooperation.
Mesfin appeared to praise China’s transparency in handling the disease, insisting “in December, a group of Chinese researchers published the genetic sequence of the new virus online” and the “data allowed the international scientific community to start developing diagnostic tests and explore treatment options.”
In reality, even by late December, Chinese Communist Party officials were still silencing and intimidating doctors attempting to report on the disease.
Mesfin also laments that the “pandemic comes at a time of rising nationalism around the world,” noting that “insularity and xenophobia cannot possibly produce an effective response to this global crisis.”
https://thenationalpulse.com/exclusive/biden-transition-china-science-collaboration/
All-powerful CDC calls for concentration camps in America, including the invasion of homes and neighborhoods
The mass surrender of individual liberties and property rights in 2020 has emboldened a dangerous merger between power-drunk government officials and public health authoritarians. An all-powerful Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is now plotting to turn American communities into concentration camps using a variety of family separation strategies.
These concentration camps are justified because the CDC is “keeping you safe.” In the name of safety, the agency now seeks to forcibly limit contact between individuals deemed “high risk” by separating them from their family and the general “low risk” population. Public health mandates are already targeting families in their own homes, mandating the number of people who can gather in individual residences during the holiday season.
CDC seeks to label “high risk” individuals, separate them from their families and the rest of society
The CDC now claims the power to separate “high risk” individuals from their families and the general population, so they can be relocated to safe camps called “green zones.” These “green zone” camps will be set up in neighborhoods at the community level. The “high-risk” individuals would not be able to make human contact with family members or others in the community, as they are forcibly separated. The goal is to destroy the family unit and cause further human suffering. The goal is to lock up and corral the weakest people in the population, suppressing their immune systems and their lives further so they can rapidly infect one another and die off. It’s genocide.
The CDC wants to take control of the community and they also want to take over each and every household. One of their “shielding” approaches focuses on separating people in their own homes, designating a specific room to physically isolate high-risk individuals from the rest of the family. The CDC warns “low-risk” household members not to enter the “green zone” established by the CDC in their own home! Inhabitants are required to wash their hands and use face coverings if they need to provide essential services to the high-risk family members cordoned off inside their own home. Furthermore, “low-risk household members must continue to follow social distancing and hygiene practices outside the house.” (Related: Are you ready to live in a medical police state – your body monitored, your movement tracked, and your family forced into home arrest and isolation?)
Contact tracers are the CDC’s army and they will be trained to take over neighborhoods and homes
https://dcdirtylaundry.com/all-powerful-cdc-calls-for-concentration-camps-in-america-including-the-invasion-of-homes-and-neighborhoods/
Georgia residents, Vernon Jones are at the Capital demanding a meeting with the Secretary of State
Georgia residents marched to the State Capitol with Democratic Rep.Vernon Jones leading the way Wednesday shouting “stop the steal’ and demanding a meeting with Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
Jones, a supporter of President Donald Trump, said the integrity of the Georgia election has been shaken, as more and more irregularities have been disclosed. Moreover, the discovery of thousands of ballots that were not uploaded into the voting system is stunning evidence that the state may need to conduct a thorough investigation into what happened.
Raffensperger has come under fire for accusing fellow Republicans, including Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina, and others for saying they were pressuring him into throwing out legally cast absentee ballots, in an effort to reverse President Trump’s narrow loss in the state.
Ben Hendrick, a cyber security expert and GOP observer, who worked the Cobb County recount facility over the weekend, told me that Republicans are demanding an investigation into the missing ballots and irregularities. He marched alongside Jones at the rally on Wednesday.
He said frustration is mounting in Georgia and the GOP is doing everything it can to ensure that every legitimate vote counts.
President Trump supporters, along with Georgia residents, went to the Capitol Wednesday demanding to speak to the Secretary of State about the irregularities in the general election.(video provided by Georgia resident Ben Hendrick)
https://saraacarter.com/breaking-georgia-residents-democrat-vernon-jones-are-at-the-capital-demanding-a-meeting-with-secretary-of-state/
Pentagon shakeup means more civilian oversight for special operations
More than three years after Congress mandated that the Defense Department elevate its civilian head of special operations to the same level as a military service secretary, that order has finally been carried out.
Acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller on Wednesday signed a memo realigning the assistant defense secretary for special operations/low-intensity conflict to report directly to him, as the Army, Navy and Air Force secretaries currently do.
“I also want to highlight that this particular change has been analyzed, debated and refined over the course of the past 30 years,” Miller said during a ceremony at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Indeed, Congress created the ASD/SOLIC position with the 1987 National Defense Authorization Act, when it unified the services' special operations elements with their own combatant command, Special Operations Command.
But in the intervening years, officials on both the uniformed and civilian sides of the house lamented that ASD SO/LIC, which is housed within the office of the defense undersecretary for policy, didn’t have enough authority or direct communication with the defense secretary to effectively manage and advocate for special operations forces.
SOCOM, in some ways, operates as both a combatant command and its own service, but without a civilian responsible for its manning, training and equipping.
The change is overdue because of how much SOCOM has grown in size and strategic importance since its inception, retired Army Lt. Gen. Mike Nagata, a former SOCOM boss who served most recently as director of the National Counterterrorism Center’s Directorate of Strategic and Operational Planning, told Military Times.
“An underlying problem, in my humble opinion, that needs to be addressed, is the inability of an assistant secretary of defense to discharge the larger and larger responsibility of civilian oversight of policy, advocacy and support and the service secretary-like oversight on acquisition and procurement,” Nagata, now a strategic advisor for CACI, said. “SOCOM has not remained the same organization. It has grown not just in size, but in scope of missions and political and strategic importance. SOCOM and the SOF enterprise is not like anything we have seen before and an assistant secretary can’t keep up with that change.”
The 2017 NDAA sought to remedy that by elevating the position and cutting out the bureaucracy between ASD SO/LIC and SECDEF, but it has taken years for DoD to put it into practice.
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2020/11/18/pentagon-shakeup-means-more-civilian-oversight-for-special-operations/
California Medical Association Officials Among the Maskless Guests Who Joined Gavin Newsom at Swanky Birthday Dinner
Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom (CA) last Friday was forced to issue a statement after he got caught breaking his own authoritarian Covid order.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Gavin Newsom and his wife attended a birthday party with at least a dozen people from several different households for his advisor Jason Kinney last week.
Newsom attended a dinner party at The French Laundry, a restaurant in Napa Valley that charges $800 per person for their tasting menu while he tells Californians they can’t gather with their families for Thanksgiving.
Last night the photos of Newsom’s swanky dinner party was leaked to Fox LA.
No one at the dinner party was social distancing and nobody was wearing masks.
In fact, Newsom wasn’t following his own order to “wear a mask in between bites of food.”
There’s more…
On Wednesday it was revealed that California Medical Association officials were among the maskless guests who joined Newsom at The French Laundry.
Politico reported:
California Medical Association officials were among the guests seated next to Gov. Gavin Newsom at a top California political operative’s opulent birthday dinner at the French Laundry restaurant this month.
CEO Dustin Corcoran and top CMA lobbyist Janus Norman both joined the dinner at the French Laundry, an elite Napa fine dining restaurant, to celebrate the 50th birthday of lobbyist and longtime Newsom adviser Jason Kinney, a representative of the powerful interest group confirmed Wednesday morning.
Both Norman and Corcoran are friends of Kinney, as is Newsom, who referred this week to his 20-year friendship with Kinney. In a photo obtained by Fox LA, Norman is clearly visible seated to Newsom’s left.
Attorney Harmeet Dhillon raised a great point.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/11/california-medical-association-officials-among-maskless-guests-joined-gavin-newsom-swanky-birthday-dinner/