“Das Infektionsschutzgesetz!” – The Germans Are Back!

Break out the Wagner, folks … the Germans are back! No, not the warm, fuzzy, pussified, peace-loving, post-war Germans … the Germans! You know the ones I mean. The “I didn’t know where the trains were going” Germans. The “I was just following orders” Germans. The other Germans.

Yeah … those Germans.

In case you missed it, on November 18, the German parliament passed a law, the so-called “Infection Protection Act” (“Das Infektionsschutzgesetz” in German) formally granting the government the authority to issue whatever edicts it wants under the guise of protecting the public health. The government has been doing this anyway — ordering lockdowns, curfews, travel bans, banning demonstrations, raiding homes and businesses, ordering everyone to wear medical masks, harassing and arresting dissidents, etc. — but now it has been “legitimized” by the Bundestag, enshrined into law, and presumably stamped with one of those intricate official stamps that German bureaucrats like to stamp things with.

Now, this “Infection Protection Act,” which was rushed through the parliament, is not in any way comparable to the “Enabling Act of 1933,” which formally granted the government the authority to issue whatever edicts it wanted under the guise of remedying the distress of the people. Yes, I realize that sounds quite similar, but, according to the government and the German media, there is no absolutely equivalence whatsoever, and anyone who suggests there is is “a far-right AfD extremist,” “a neo-Nazi conspiracy theorist,” or “an anti-vax esotericist,” or whatever.

As the Protection Act was being legitimized (i.e., the current one, not the one in 1933), tens of thousands of anti-totalitarian protesters gathered in the streets, many of them carrying copies of the Grundgesetz (i.e., the constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany), which the parliament had just abrogated. They were met by thousands of riot police, who declared the demonstration “illegal” (because many of the protesters were not wearing masks), beat up and arrested hundreds of them, and then hosed down the rest with water cannons.

The German media — which are totally objective, and not at all like Goebbels’ Ministry of Propaganda in the Nazi era — dutifully reminded the German public that these protesters were all “Corona Deniers,” “far-right extremists,” “conspiracy theorists,” “anti-vaxxers,” “neo-Nazis,” and so on, so they probably got what they deserved. Also, a spokesperson for the Berlin police (who bear absolutely no resemblance to the Gestapo, or the Stasi, or any other notorious official-ideology-enforcing goons) pointed out that their water cannons were only being used to “irrigate” the protesters (i.e., not being aimed directly at them) because there were so many “Corona Denier” children in their ranks.

https://21stcenturywire.com/2020/11/23/das-infektionsschutzgesetz-the-germans-are-back/

Gabon’s First Family Stashed Cash in DC Property

The Bongo family has ruled Gabon for over five decades — and for nearly as long, they have been accused of looting their nation’s wealth. Authorities in France and the U.S. have over the years investigated bundles of cash, customized cars, and pricey properties, assets potentially purchased with proceeds of corruption.

Now reporters have discovered that over the past two decades, the Bongos and their inner circle — including a judge who has been instrumental in helping the family hang on to power — have purchased at least seven properties worth over US$4.2 million in and near the U.S. capital, a destination whose real estate has long attracted African dictators.

The Bongos’ Washington, D.C.-area homes were all purchased with cash.

Rules meant to prevent the laundering of illicit funds don’t require real estate professionals in the U.S. to ask questions about all-cash transactions, or to report suspicious activity to authorities. This lack of obligation has drawn repeated criticism from the Financial Action Task Force, a Paris-based global anti-money laundering watchdog, which identified it as a vulnerability in the U.S. financial system.

In an apparent effort to bridge this gap, the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has issued temporary orders in targeted locations considered to be high-risk for money laundering. In 2016, the agency ordered real estate title companies in some counties in California, New York, Florida and Texas to report all-cash property purchases over a certain amount. The most recent order, renewed earlier this month, requires title companies in 12 U.S. metropolitan areas to identify individuals behind shell companies buying property with cash.

Washington, D.C. is not on that list.

“If you go through a bank, there’s actually some pretty good rules in place,” said Gary Kalman, the director of Transparency International’s U.S.office, referring to the due diligence requirements in place for financial institutions that process mortgage loans. But “if you make an all-cash purchase with an anonymous company outside of those 12 metropolitan areas, there’s no rules whatsoever,” said Kalman.

The Bongo family’s proclivity for cash is not new to U.S. authorities. When he was president, Omar Bongo brought $1 million in shrink-wrapped $100 bills to the U.S. and handed it over to one of his daughters, Yamilee Bongo-Astier. The unemployed university student kept the stash in a bank safety deposit box and, when questioned, told bank employees that she expected additional funds from her father to purchase a $2.2 million condo in New York City, according to a 2010 Senate report on illicit financial flows into the United States.

According to the Senate report, Bongo-Astier was able to deposit large sums of her father’s cash into accounts in U.S. banks, which often did not flag her as a politically exposed person, a designation that could have triggered enhanced scrutiny of the source of those funds. She also confirmed that she bought luxury vehicles for Gabonese officials in the U.S. at her father’s request.

By the time of his death in 2009, Omar Bongo had ruled oil-rich Gabon for over four decades and amassed a fortune that reportedly included at least 183 cars, 39 luxury properties in France, and 66 bank accounts. In the country’s capital, Libreville, this accumulation of wealth exclusive to the president, his family, and their inner circle is popularly referred to as the “Bongo system.” Meanwhile, a third of Gabon’s population lives in poverty, according to the World Bank.

https://www.occrp.org/en/investigations/gabons-first-family-stashed-cash-in-dc-property

International Emmys: Watch Hollywood Toast Andrew Cuomo as He Claims Victory over Coronavirus

As New York prepares to go back under lockdown that could put thousands of people out of work, Gov Andrew Cuomo (D) accepted his International Emmy Award on Monday by claiming victory, saying that his daily coronavirus press conferences offered “authentic truth and stability.”

In what became a Cuomo love-in for the so-called “Love Gov,” a chorus of celebrities joined in to sing the governor’s praises. Stars including Robert De Niro, Billy Joel, Ben Stiller, Rosie Perez, Billy Crystal, and filmmaker Spike Lee recorded video messages extolling the governor for setting “an example to the rest of the world.”

Absent from the ceremony was any mention of Gov. Cuomo’s March directive ordering New York nursing homes to accept COVID-19 patients, which caused the virus to spread like wild fire among that state’s elderly and infirm population. His decision contributed to the state’s COVID-19 mortality rate, which currently ranks as the second highest in the nation.

Cuomo’s nursing home mandate reportedly led to 6,000 nursing home deaths from the coronavirus.

All of that was swept under the rug as International Emmys president Bruce Paisner introduced Cuomo during Monday’s virtual ceremony, saying that the governor” informed, he demanded, and he calmed people down.”

A video montage followed showing the governor’s daily press conferences. One title card touted the governor’s response, calling it, “One epic turnaround.”

Gov. Cuomo then accepted the International Emmy’s Founders Award in what appeared to be a taped message.

“What an honor and pleasant surprise during these hard times,” he said. “I wish I could say my daily COVID presentations were well choreographed… they only offered one thing — authentic truth and stability. But sometimes, that’s enough.”

He added: “I’m proud of New Yorkers who had the courage to tell the truth and the courage to stand together… to see past skin color, religion, sexual orientation.”

Cuomo concluded: “We will get through this together and we will be the stronger for it.”

During the presentation, celebrities sang Cuomo’s praises. Billy Crystal said that Cuomo “gave us hope, clarity, the truth,” adding that the governor was the “epitome of New York tough.”

Brooklyn native Rosie Perez said, “You are the man,” adding that the governor “offered your strength, leadership, direction” and

“set an example to the rest of the world.”

https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2020/11/23/international-emmys-watch-hollywood-toast-andrew-cuomo-as-he-claims-victory-over-coronavirus/