Rep. Daniel McCarthy Announces Arizona Legislators Invoked Article 2, Section 1 – Meaning Arizona is Officially a Contested Election

Arizona Republicans on Monday called for the decertification of their state’s false election results.

As Cristina Laila reported — last week Arizona Rep. Mark Finchem issued a call to withhold the state’s Electoral College votes for Joe Biden because “he believes there is enough significant evidence of fraud to invalidate the state’s votes.”

Finchem also blasted Doug Ducey.

“I believe Doug Ducey signed a fraudulent document and he knew it!,” Finchem said.

Arizona House Majority Leader Warren Petersen released a statement Sunday night ahead of Monday’s press conference: “The election should not have been certified with the number of irregularities and allegations of fraud. Especially troubling to me are the allegations surrounding the vendor Dominion,” Petersen said in the press release. “It is imperative that a forensic audit occur immediately of the equipment and software. Upon any showing of fraud the legislature should immediately convene to decertify the vote.”

On Monday Rep. Daniel McCarthy (R-) told the patriotic crowd that legislators invoked Article 2, Section 1 meaning — Arizona is officially a contested election!

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/12/rep-daniel-mccarthy-announces-arizona-legislators-invoked-article-2-section-1-meaning-arizona-officially-contested-election/

https://www.rightjournalism.com/video-gop-rep-mccarthy-claims-that-he-has-a-signed-letter-from-arizona-legislators-invoking-article-2-section-1-of-the-united-states-constitution-which-means-that-we-have-a-contested-outcome-in-ar/

Muslim Brotherhood suspect and Saudi billionaire linked to same offshore companies, Austrian report says

Paradise Papers revealed the suspected radical, a Viennese entrepreneur, was listed as the director of shell companies in the British Virgin Islands, Malta, and the Bahamas.

One of 30 people in Austria suspected to be members of the Islamic fundamentalist group Muslim Brotherhood was the director of offshore companies linked to a Saudi billionaire, according to an investigation by Austrian media outlets profil and Ö1.

The man, described as a 37-year-old Viennese entrepreneur with Iraqi roots, is suspected of “participating in a terrorist, subversive and criminal organization” and was a target of the police investigation into the group and the Palestinian extremist organization Hamas, the report said

The inquiry, which led 930 officers to raid 60 apartments, shops and clubs in four federal states last month, had no connection to the Vienna terror attack that killed four and injured 23 on November 2, according to officials cited by Deutsche Welle.

The Austrian report ー based on police records ー does not name the suspect, nor the Saudi businessman, for fear of hampering the ongoing probe into possible terror financing.

The pair’s link to shell companies in the British Virgin Islands and other offshore financial centers was revealed for the first time after the reporters’ examination of Paradise Papers, a trove of leaked documents obtained by Süddeutsche Zeitung and shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists in 2017.

The 13.4 million files include incorporation documents, emails, contracts and other records from two offshore service providers and the company registries of some of the world’s most secretive countries.

https://www.icij.org/investigations/paradise-papers/muslim-brotherhood-suspect-and-saudi-billionaire-linked-to-same-offshore-companies-austrian-report-says/

OCC Says JPMorgan Chase Has $29.1 Trillion of Custody Assets, $8 Trillion More than the Assets of All Banks in the U.S.

America’s largest bank has a total of $2.87 trillion of its own assets. But, somehow, it has managed to attract more than 10 times its own assets on a custodian basis.

On November 24 the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) fined JPMorgan Chase $250 million for wrongdoing that was apparently too deplorable to be spoken out loud to the public. The specific details were cloaked in this phrase: “failure to maintain adequate internal controls and internal audit over its fiduciary business.”

We went to the OCC’s Consent Order connected to the fine to see if there were the typical smoking gun internal emails or at least some clue as to what the actual illegal activity was. There were zero clues, just more obfuscation. What we did see, however, was a dollar figure that popped our eyes wide open. The OCC Consent Order said this:

“The Bank maintains one of the world’s largest and most complex fiduciary businesses with total fiduciary and related assets of $29.1 trillion, including $1.3 trillion in fiduciary assets and $27.8 trillion of non-fiduciary custody assets.”

To put that $29.1 trillion into the proper perspective, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is reporting that as of November 30 of this year, there were a total of 5,031 federally-insured banks and savings associations in the United States. The amount of assets held by all 5,031 of these financial institutions was $21 trillion — $8 trillion less than JPMorgan Chase has in custody assets.

JPMorgan Chase is the largest bank in the United States. To put the $29.1 trillion into even sharper focus, JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A., according to the FDIC, has a total of just $2.87 trillion of its own assets. But, somehow, it has managed to attract more than 10 times its own assets on a custodian basis.

If the idea of numbered Swiss bank accounts is floating around in your brain right now, you can be forgiven.

In September, when the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) released a bombshell investigative report about money laundering for criminals at some of the largest Wall Street banks, it had quite a bit to say about JPMorgan Chase. (The ICIJ investigation was based on secret documents leaked from FinCEN, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a unit of the U.S. Treasury.)

According to the ICIJ report, JPMorgan Chase was involved in moving illicit funds for the fugitive, Jho Low, involving the notorious looting of public funds in Malaysia. Jho Low has been accused by multiple jurisdictions of playing a key role in the embezzlement of more than $4.5 billion from a Malaysian economic development fund, 1MDB. JPMorgan Chase moved $1.2 billion in money for Jho Low from 2013 to 2016, according to the report…

https://riggedgame.blog/2020/12/07/occ-says-jpmorgan-chase-has-29-1-trillion-of-custody-assets-8-trillion-more-than-the-assets-of-all-banks-in-the-u-s/

Wall Street to Begin Betting on Water Scarcity

Though the international community recognizes water access as an essential human right, hedge fund managers and public water agencies are poised to begin profiting off water scarcity, which experts say will worsen in the coming years in the U.S. as well as other countries.

As Bloomberg reported late Sunday, water will be treated as a commodity and traded on Wall Street for the first time starting this week, with market participants able to bet on or against potential water scarcity.

The Chicago-based global markets company CME Group first announced in September—as wildfires linked to higher temperatures and drought raged across the West Coast—that it would soon offer contracts within California’s $1.1 billion spot water market.

“Climate change, droughts, population growth, and pollution are likely to make water scarcity issues and pricing a hot topic for years to come,” RBC Capital Markets managing director and analyst Deane Dray told Bloomberg Sunday.

Progressives, climate action campaigners, and rights advocates expressed shock Monday that traders are poised to treat water scarcity—which plagues two billion people around the world and is expected to affect two-thirds of the population in the next four years—as an opportunity to profit.

“If we do nothing about the climate crisis and if we do nothing about our system, which fuels extreme inequality, this is a small indicator of our very dark destiny,” tweeted former New York congressional candidate Lindsey Boylan.

“What could possibly go wrong?” tweeted environmental lawyer Scott Hecht sarcastically, adding that the U.N. officially recognized the human right to water in 2010.

In the water market, based on the Nasdaq Veles California Water Index, market participants will be able to claim quarterly contracts through 2022, betting on the prices of 10 acre-feet of water, equal to about 3.26 million gallons.

CME Group told Bloomberg that agriculture producers, public water agencies and utilities, and Wall Street investors have discussed participating in the market.

Human rights non-profit Dig Deep and the U.S. Water Alliance released a study last year showing that more than two million people in the U.S. lack access to running water. Even in the wealthiest country on the planet, the share of households that will face unaffordable water bills is expected to skyrocket to 36% from 12% over the next five years, according to a 2017 analysis published in the journal PLOS One, due to an “increasing strain on water prices” brought on by the climate crisis, water quality, and other factors.

Indigenous rights defender and journalist Ruth H. Hopkins tweeted that in addition to rising global temperatures and the prevalence of drought—which affected nearly half of the continental U.S. this fall, in the most widespread drought the country has seen since 2013—water supply is negatively affected by fossil fuel projects which “continue to poison it.”

“If nothing else does it, this should make you passionate about climate change,” author and former Democratic presidential primary candidate Marianne Williamson tweeted.

https://www.blacklistednews.com/article/78717/wall-street-to-begin-betting-on-water.html

>>11950972

THE LI BLOODLINE

The Sin Tax: How the Tobacco Industry’s Heated-Tobacco Health Offensive is Sapping State Revenues

In July this year, senators in Rome received a letter from the local head of tobacco company Philip Morris, containing what he promised was “very important news for Italy.”

The letter highlighted the U.S. Food and Drug in Administration’s (FDA) decision that month to allow Philip Morris International (PMI) to market its flagship heated tobacco device, IQOS, as exposing users to fewer harmful substances than traditional cigarettes.

“The FDA clearance confirms that IQOS, although not without risk, is a fundamentally different product from cigarettes,” wrote the president of Philip Morris Italy, Marco Hannappel.

“The FDA’s decision further contributes to the growing international consensus of independent science that IQOS is a better choice than continuing to smoke.”

tobacco/blowing-unsmoke/Lettera-Philip-Morris-Italia.jpg

Credit: OCCRP

The president of Philip Morris Italy, Marco Hannappel, wrote to Italy’s senators heralding the FDA’s decision in July.

PMI wasn’t just celebrating in Italy. In September, Colombia’s Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism received a similar letter celebrating the “historical decision taken by the FDA for the first time” to grant this authorization for an alternative to cigarettes.

The letters, obtained by OCCRP’s partners, the Italian investigative TV program Report and Colombia’s Cuestión Pública, are the latest evidence of PMI’s push to market IQOS — which heats tobacco but actually doesn’t set it alight — as a supposedly healthier alternative to smoking.

PMI also went on a media drive to highlight the FDA’s decision, releasing press statements heralding the announcement as a “public health milestone” and featuring in laudatory news stories published across at least seven key IQOS markets. “Success for the tobacco heaters,” read one headline in the online version of the German medical newspaper Ärzte Zeitung.

But the PR offensive wasn’t just aimed at promoting IQOS. It was also part of the tobacco industry’s push to ensure the new generation of heated tobacco products (HTPs) are taxed less than cigarettes, on the basis that they do less damage to people’s health.

Tobacco control experts have criticized the FDA’s decision, arguing it “amounts to endorsing HTPs” even though there is insufficient evidence to prove they benefit the health of the population.

https://www.occrp.org/en/loosetobacco/blowing-unsmoke/the-sin-tax-how-the-tobacco-industrys-heated-tobacco-health-offensive-is-sapping-state-revenues

CCP: Nuclear War Makes the Fear

Editor: Victor Torres

Author: 天灭中共777

Picture: 文一

Translator: 小木头

On December 8, 2020, Toutiao published an article with title, “If Nuclear War happens, Will Ordinary People Survive? Experts: ‘3 places to stay safe’”

This article emphasizes the danger of the nuclear war. It says that the modern weapons are upgrading with more advanced technology, and it poses a growing threat to human beings. The reason why different countries do not dare to start war easily is that they are actually afraid of these weapons.

The article suggested three safe locations to avoid damages from the nuclear explosion: the mountain area away from city, the underground construction such as metro station, basement, or underground shopping mall, and the bomb shelters. In the end of the article, it refers what Albert Einstein said, “I don’t know which weapon will be used in World War III, but I do know that World War IV must have been fought with stones and sticks.”

In this sensitive period, Toutiao’s article begs the question: Firstly, does CCP plan to use the nuclear weapons? Secondly, are they worried about the possible nuclear strike? Thirdly, CCP is trying to intimidate the West into not using nuclear weapons easily. In any cases, CCP has already clearly realized its unstoppable destiny and is now suffering the deep fear and anxiety. At this moment, we must be careful of the hurriedly jump-over the wall, which may bring even more catastrophe to Chinese people and even, the whole world. The best option is: strike firstly before they take any action, to kill CCP with a thunderous force at once, to avoid the any possible fight back.

https://gnews.org/629536/

5.5 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Southwest of Salina Cruz, Mexico

According to the US Geological Survey, the epicentre of the quake was located at a depth of 25.6km.

A 5.5-magnitude earthquake hit Mexico, 10 km to the south of Salina Cruz, the country's national seismological organisation said.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) has measured the quake at 5.4 on the Richter scale, adding that its epicentre was registered at a depth of 25.6km.​

Photos were shared online of people standing outside in Salina Cruz after the quake.

https://sputniknews.com/latam/202012081081399337-55-magnitude-earthquake-hits-southwest-of-salina-cruz-mexico/

Israel’s Best Friend: Turkey Proposes Tel Aviv “Mutually-Beneficial” Maritime Deal

The supposed defender of Islam and conservative values, Turkey, is rushing to build closer relations with Israel.

On December 7th, a study was published looking into the possibility of a maritime teal between Turkey and Israel.

The article was written by Retired Admiral Prof. Cihat Yayci and Zeynep Ceyhan from Bahçeşehir University. As the architect of Turkey’s “Blue Homeland Doctrine” and the Turkish-Libyan maritime delimitation agreement, Yayci and Ceyhan argue that Turkey and Israel should become neighbors in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Cihat Yayci is a known close confidant of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Among other things, Yayci claims that this would be a win-win scenario for Israel and Turkey.

“Delimitation of the Maritime Jurisdiction Areas between Turkey and Israel in Conformity with International Law: A pragmatic win-win

Turkey and Israel are two continental mainland coastal states of the eastern Mediterranean. Two countries can be seen to have coastlines which are positioned opposite to each other. In the light of their coasts that face one another, it becomes clear when diagonal lines are applied that, much like how Turkey and Libya share a maritime border, Turkey and Israel also share a maritime border.

According to this border shared by Turkey and Israel, in agreement with the principles of proportionality, land domination over sea, non-encroachment and equitability, and by using diagonal lines to delimit the maritime jurisdiction areas, it is lawful and possible for Turkey and Israel to make a delimitation agreement with each other. If Israel signs a delimitation agreement with Turkey, instead of the GCA, then it will obtain up to 16,000 km2 of maritime jurisdiction area. According to the Turkish-Israeli maritime border, Israel not only gains approximately 16,000 km² of maritime area, but this includes the entirety of parcel 12 known as the Aphrodite field, large amounts of the parcels numbered 8, 9 and 11, along with a portion of the parcels numbered 7 and 10. At the same time, Turkey gains around 10,000 km² of maritime area along with portions of the parcels numbered 1,5,6,7,8 and 10.

While such a delimitation agreement will be greatly beneficial for both Turkey and Israel, it is imperative to note that the delimitation line to be drawn in this regard would not be touching the island of Cyprus. Furthermore, the delimitation agreement between Israel and Turkey would not affect the current maritime jurisdiction areas of Egypt.”

https://southfront.org/israels-best-friend-turkey-proposes-tel-aviv-mutually-beneficial-maritime-deal/

Both Turkey and Israel have been huge supporters of ISIS

NATO Is Determined to Find Threats and Challenges to Justify Its Existence

Government and media propaganda has firmly convinced most of the citizenry of the West that Russia invaded Crimea, and the truth has dissolved in the swirling miasma that the anti-Russia movement has dubbed as history.

In March 2014 the ethnically Russian province of Crimea declared itself to be separate from Ukraine. There was a referendum on sovereignty by its 2.4 million inhabitants, and there was not a single case of bloodshed in the entire process. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) was asked by the government of Crimea to send representatives to monitor the referendum but refused to do so, and the development was strongly condemned by the United States. 90 percent of the inhabitants of Crimea are Russian-speaking, Russian-cultured and Russian-educated, and they voted to “dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another” in order to rejoin Russia. It would be strange if they did wish accession to a country that not only welcomes their kinship, empathy and loyalty but is economically benevolent concerning their future.

Nevertheless, the surge of propaganda continues, and the most recent waves have been created by an intriguing policy paper titled NATO 2030; United for a New Era, which makes it clear that the U.S.-Nato military alliance is now intent on “Strengthening NATO’s political role and relevant instruments to address current and future threats and challenges to Alliance security emanating from all strategic directions.”

This wide-ranging objective opens the gates for Nato to meddle even more deeply in the affairs of nations that have nothing to do with the North Atlantic and continue its confrontation of Russia by intensifying the military build-up around its borders and escalating provocative operations by land, sea and air.

There is prominent assertion in the “United for a New Era” paper that “NATO stands as history’s most successful alliance” which deserves comment and mirth. This is the military grouping that is now stumbling and fumbling its way out of Afghanistan where it has achieved precisely nothing in the way of establishing stability. On November 17 Secretary General Stoltenberg tried to put the best face on the shambles of Nato’s humiliating retreat by declaring “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.” What he didn’t say was that President Trump had not spoken with him or any Nato member about his decision to initiate precipitous withdrawal of U.S. troops and that the country is, as noted by the Council on Foreign Relations, in a state of civil war that is “worsening”. The place is approaching anarchy, with, for example, The New York Times recording that in the period 22-26 November, “At least 19 pro-government forces and 33 civilians were killed in Afghanistan in the past week. The deadliest attack took place in Bamiyan, considered one of the most secure provinces in Afghanistan, killing 18 people and wounding 59 others in blasts in the provincial capital. In Kabul, the capital, 10 civilians were killed and 51 others were wounded when 23 rockets were fired by a small truck. The rockets hit different areas all over the city.”

https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2020/12/08/nato-determined-find-threats-and-challenges-to-justify-its-existence/

Snopes: Fmr Pfizer VP Did Not Say CV Vaccine Causes 'Female Sterilization,' Only That It's 'Possible'

This is one hell of a fact check.

From Snopes, "Did 'Head of Pfizer Research' Say COVID-19 Vaccine 'Is Female Sterilization'?" as highlighted by DrunkWoodworker on Twitter:

How reassuring!

Note how Palma a Snopes blogger brushes over Yeadon's remarkable bio:

Dr Mike Yeadon has a degree in biochemistry and toxicology and a research-based PhD in respiratory pharmacology. He has spent over 30 years leading new medicines research in some of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, leaving Pfizer in 2011 as Vice President & Chief Scientist for Allergy & Respiratory. That was the most senior research position in this field in Pfizer. Since leaving Pfizer, Dr Yeadon has founded his own biotech company, Ziarco, which was sold to the worlds biggest drug company, Novartis, in 2017.

The UK government is openly saying that pregnant women should not take Pfizer's vaccine and women in general "should avoid becoming pregnant until at least two months after being vaccinated," according to The Independent.

mRNA vaccines are brand new, experimental technology and the long-term effects are completely unknown. That we don't know whether this vaccine could cause infertility is a major issue.

COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine BNT162b2 is not recommended during pregnancy.

It is unknown whether COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine BNT162b2 is excreted in human milk. A risk to the newborns/infants cannot be excluded.

It is unknown whether … has an impact on fertility.https://t.co/ajKIuTZGsF

— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) December 6, 2020

Rushed vaccines pose a serious risk of "immune enhancement," whereby people who get the vaccine can actually get a worse reaction to the virus. Reuters acknowledged the risk earlier this year.

The CEO of Pfizer, Albert Bourla, sold off 62 percent of his stock on the same day his company announced their vaccine was supposedly 90 percent effective (where is the SEC?).

This virus has a 99.5 percent survival rate for those under 70 years old, according to the CDC's best estimate.

https://www.informationliberation.com/?id=61945

Biden Will Be 'Ultimately Supportive' Of Cryptocurrency, Circle CEO Says

Jeremy Allaire said digital currencies will be core building blocks of "changes that will make America more competitive"

Many in the political spectrum still do not understand cryptocurrencies, he said

Stablecoins would likely face competition from central bank digital currencies

Jeremy Allaire, the CEO of digital currency company Circle, said he is confident that the incoming Biden administration will be supportive of cryptocurrencies.

Since the Biden administration said it would be focused on making the country more competitive by bringing in infrastructure changes, it would be supportive of cryptocurrencies because digital currencies are core building blocks in those changes, Allaire told CNBC on Monday.

"I think they will ultimately be supportive because of the big infrastructure change as big as the initial commercial internet. They (the upcoming administration) are going to be focused on infrastructure changes that will make America more competitive and this is absolutely going to be a core building block of that," he told CNBC.

There continue to be some misunderstandings about cryptocurrencies at both ends of the political spectrum but some are now looking at the sector more constructively, he said.

When asked how to differentiate Bitcoin from stablecoins, Allaire defined the latter as a cryptocurrency with a value pegged to, for example, the U.S dollar, which was the case for USDC, Circle's own stablecoin. Every 1 USDC is backed with 1 U.S. dollar that is in a financial institution, he added.

Stablecoins could likely face competition once central banks start issuing central bank digital currencies. CBDCs are digital forms of money that are backed with the central bank's reserves as opposed to current versions of electronic money, which are backed by money from one's bank account or mobile wallet.

Stablecoins are also facing a challenge from the G20. It leaders, in the recent Leaders' Declaration, said no "so-called global stablecoins should commence operation until all legal regulatory and oversight requirements are addressed."

https://www.ibtimes.com/biden-will-be-ultimately-supportive-cryptocurrency-circle-ceo-says-3097265

Nothing Is Safe: Unknown Individuals Stole Radio And Other Equipment From Russia’s “Doomsday Plane”

On December 7th, or maybe earlier, unknown individuals opened the cargo hatch and stole equipment from the “Doomsday plane” at the airfield in Russia’s Rostov region.

This was announced by a representative of the transport department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in the North Caucasus Federal District.

He said that a representative of the Beriev Taganrog Aviation Scientific and Technical Complex addressed the police.

An investigation was underway, according to RIA Novosti’s source.

Another RIA Novosti source said that the matter concerns the Il-80 aircraft, which was undergoing maintenance, radio equipment disappeared from it.

The Il-80 is a command post created on the basis of the Il-86 airliner. It is designed to control Russia’s forces in the case of a nuclear war, it is called the “Doomsday Aircraft”.

The Beriev Aircraft Company is part of the United Aircraft Corporation and specializes in the development, production, modernization and repair of amphibious aircraft and special aviation complexes.

It is planned for the IL-80 to be replaced by a more modern aircraft soon.

Spacious, protected, high-tech – in the near future, the Armed Forces will receive new air command posts based on the long-haul Il-96-400M command aircraft.

In the event of the outbreak of the third world war, it is from the board of the “flying headquarters” that the country’s top military and political leadership will organize defense and command troops on the ground, at sea and in the air. Today only Russia and the United States have aircraft of this class.

Relations between the nuclear powers have escalated in recent years.

The diplomats reached a dead end, the sides recalled the ambassadors. The armed forces are brought to maximum readiness. Strategic bombers take off, nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines go into the ocean, mobile ground-based missile systems are deployed on combat patrol routes.

Fearmongering regarding the “Third World War” is frequent.

This is, however, mostly fantasy, luckily.

Both Russia and the United States are well aware that a full-scale war can quickly develop into a nuclear one and lead to tens of millions of victims.

However, the military is always preparing for the worst. Both sides assume that the first blow in such a conflict will decapitate the enemy, deprive him of the ability to control troops and organize any resistance. The main target is military and political centers.

During a period of escalation, the Russian leadership and the highest command personnel of the Armed Forces will be transported under strict secrecy to a military airfield, where winged command posts will await them. The main task of the crews of “doomsday planes” is to get the top officials of the state out of the attack and give them the opportunity to control the country’s defense from the air. The combat stability of these command posts is ensured by escort fighters and tankers. A similar tactic was developed in the United States during the Cold War.

It should be reminded that despite being called “Doomsday planes”, they are still, regardless, simply a piece of technology which is not inoculated against the actions of animals and human impunity. Back in 2019, the US Doomsday plane was grounded by a bird that got inside one of its outer engines.

https://southfront.org/nothing-is-safe-unknown-individuals-stole-radio-and-other-equipment-from-russias-doomsday-plane/

"It's Outrageous": Bank Of America Flags $2 Billion In Potential Unemployment Fraud Spanning 640,000 Accounts

In September, we noted how California saw a staggering 72% decline in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) applications after the state started cracking down on suspected scammers.

Yet despite the state's efforts, Bank of America on Monday estimated that fraud in California's unemployment benefits system could total $2 billion across 640,000 accounts which have exhibited suspicious activity, and which should be investigated according to the LA Times - which adds that this is "the highest estimate of fraud yet in a system that has paid $110 billion since the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a wave of joblessness in California beginning in March."

Red flags include claims filed in the names of infants, children and centenarians - along with people living in other states, according to a bank official.

Fraudsters typically apply for unemployment debit cards under false pretenses, then immediately withdraw the funds via ATMs as soon as they hit the accounts, officials told Patch.com in September.

"Due to the pandemic, we have seen a dramatic increase in unemployment fraud through EDD," the Torrance Police Department told Patch, adding that they saw an increase in EDD debit-card scams in September.

"It is outrageous," said Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. "We understand that there was an effort to push as much money into the economy as possible but there has got to be some controls. Here it is like they have opened up a bag of cash in the middle of a tornado and hoped that it ends up someplace where it is supposed to be."

BofA arrived at their estimates after working with the state Employment Development Department (EDD) to institute various fraud prevention measures designed to detect fraud, according to the bank's director of California government relations, Brian Putler.

"As a result of these efforts, we have identified more than 640,000 accounts for EDD to evaluate as to whether they are fraudulent and the associated card should be frozen or account closed," he said, adding "Our assessment is that there is activity consistent with fraud in those accounts on the order of approximately $2 billion."

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/its-outrageous-bank-america-flags-2-billion-potential-unemployment-fraud-spanning-640000

Suspected Chinese spy reportedly slept with, courted US officials to gain intel

A suspected Chinese spy slept with at least two Midwestern mayors and got close to California lawmakers, including Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell, as part of a years-long intelligence-gathering operation conducted by China’s top civilian spy agency, according to a report Tuesday.

The woman, a Chinese national named Fang Fang or Christine Fang, selected local politicians in the Bay Area and across the country who showed promise of making it big nationally, between 2011 and 2015, Axios reported.

Fang helped raise funds for Swalwell’s 2014 re-election campaign and interacted with the congressman at a number of events during that time, but there is no evidence of any illegal contributions being made and Federal Election Commission records don’t indicate that Fang made any donations.

Foreign nationals are prohibited from making US political donations.

“Rep. Swalwell, long ago, provided information about this person — whom he met more than eight years ago, and whom he hasn’t seen in nearly six years — to the FBI. To protect information that might be classified, he will not participate in your story,” the congressman’s office said in a statement to Axios.

Federal investigators, alarmed by Fang’s behavior, informed Swalwell about her in 2015.

At that point, Swalwell, who has not been accused of any wrongdoing, cut off all contact with Fang.

Fang abruptly left the country in 2015.

She also helped raise funds for Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) in 2013 and volunteered for Democrat Ro Khanna’s unsuccessful 2014 House bid.

Gabbard “has no recollection of ever meeting or talking with her, nor any recollection of her playing a major role at the fundraiser,” a spokesperson said in an email to Axios.

A spokesman for Khanna said he saw Fang at some political gathering but they did not have any further contact with her and her name doesn’t appear on any staff records.

https://nypost.com/2020/12/08/suspected-chinese-spy-slept-with-courted-us-politicians-report/

China Summons US Diplomat Over "Barbaric" HK-Related Sanctions, Vows Retaliation

China has summoned the US ambassador from America's embassy in Beijing on Tuesday, outraged over the latest Trump administration sanctions on 14 top Chinese officials over allegations they are suppressing democracy in Hong Kong.

Specifically it was the acting top US diplomat, Chargé d’Affaires Robert Forden, who Beijing lodged its protest to while vowing it will take "reciprocal" retaliation, according to Reuters.

This after China's top diplomat Wang Yi urged for dialogue to remain open with the US at all levels, including exchanges and travel among officials.

On Monday the Department of the Treasury announced it had designated 14 individuals who are all members of China’s National People's Congress, after last month Hong Kong's Beijing-backed government expelled four opposition member's from its legislature. The officials were also seen as having a direct role in the controversial national security law which paved the way for the ongoing crackdown in Hong Kong, which has also seen prominent activists flee or arrested.

The sanctioned Chinese officials are now banned from travel to the US in addition to the targeted financial measures. As Reuters underscores, "This is likely the first time that all 14 vice chairpersons of China’s lawmaking body, the National People’s Congress, have come under U.S. sanctions."

Here's what Chinese vice foreign minister Zheng Zeguang told the summoned US diplomat:

"U.S. barbaric actions will only invoke the intense anger of the Chinese people against anti-China forces in the United States and cause 1.4 billion Chinese people, including our compatriots in Hong Kong, to fully recognize the U.S. devious intentions and strengthen the resolve of the Chinese government in implementing the Hong Kong National Security Law," he said.

Forden responded to the formal Chinese diplomatic protest charge that Beijing has repeatedly suppressed freedom and democracy in Hong Kong while making politically motivated unjust arrests of peaceful activists, according to a paraphrase of a US embassy statement.

In the meantime tensions continue to spiral over the Taiwan issue, with Beijing specifically condemning continued US arms sales to the breakaway republic.

China's Ministry of Commerce is further demanding the US reverse course on its recent move to ban Xinjiang cotton and its products based on allegations of "forced labor" related to Uighur 'reeducation' and labor camps which have been widely reported on.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/china-summons-us-diplomat-over-barbaric-hk-related-sanctions-vows-retaliation

The Cartel Project | Revealed: The Israelis Making Millions Selling Cyberweapons to Latin America

The middlemen serving as conduits in arms and cyber deals are an elite group with massive networks. They are key to selling Israeli tech in the Americas. This is the story of two of them

When Israeli start-up companies develop their products, their target audience is almost always the American market. The United States is where they hope to sell their products, it’s where they do their market research and where they recruit their first salespeople.

All this is true until it comes to offensive cyber tools. When a company develops cyber products designed to track people or to steal information from them, the target is often a different country, also located in the American continent, a country often associated with organized crime and government corruption.

More

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/tech-news/.premium-revealed-the-israelis-selling-cyberweapons-to-latin-america-1.9356753

Israel eases rules on cyber weapons exports despite criticism

August 22, 2019

Israel is easing export rules on offensive cyber weapons, despite accusations by human rights and privacy groups that its technologies are used by some governments to spy on political foes and crush dissent.

A rule change by the defense ministry means companies can now obtain exemptions on marketing license for the sale of some products to specific countries, a source close to the cyber sector told Reuters.

Israel, like other big defense exporters, closely guards details of its weapons sales and its export rules are not widely known, but the defense ministry confirmed the change had gone into force about a year ago in response to Reuters’ questions.

Industry specialists say the change makes a speedier approval process possible for the sale of cyber weapons, or spyware, which are used to break into electronic devices and monitor online communications.

Israel’s defense ministry said the rule change “was made to facilitate effective service to Israeli industries while maintaining and protecting international standards of export control and supervision”.

It said a marketing-license exemption was granted only under “certain conditions related to the security clearance of the product and assessment of the country toward which the product will be marketed” and that companies were still required to hold an export license. The Israeli government and the companies declined to comment on which neighboring states are among spyware customers.

In a sign the government could make more changes, the economy ministry – which is responsible for promoting economic growth and exports – is setting up a division to handle exports of cyber technologies that have offensive and defensive capabilities.

“This is part of a reform that is essentially allocating more resources to the economy ministry for this important issue,” a ministry spokeswoman said.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-hackers/israel-eases-rules-on-cyber-weapons-exports-despite-criticism-idUSKCN1VC0XQ

US Air Force Gives Three Firms Contracts to Build ‘Skyborg’ Drone AI Prototypes

he US military is looking toward fielding more advanced artificial intelligence systems in future conflicts, including autonomous drones flying under the command of a human pilot. AI pilots have already bested humans in dogfights.

In its quest to develop an autonomous unmanned “loyal wingman” system to accompany manned fighters into combat, the US Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLMC) has handed out contracts to three firms to build prototypes for testing by next summer.

On Monday, the Air Force announced it had awarded three contracts “to produce missionized prototypes” by May 2021.Boeingwas given $25.7 million;General Atomicswas given $14.3 million; andKratos Unmanned Aerial Systemswas given the largest amount at $37.8 million.

The three firms, plus Northrop Grummanwere given $400 million contracts in July that advanced them past the opening phase of Air Force selection.

The unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) won’t be controlled by a remote operator on the ground, however: they’ll be governed by the Skyborg Vanguard program, an artificial intelligence system that will one day be able to work alongside human pilots up in the sky.

Each firm has extensive experience with UAVs. Kratos has already built the XQ-58 Valkyrie for an early stage of the program, a stealthy drone that aesthetically mirrors the F-35 and F-22 fighters it could one day accompany into battle. Boeing has also built its own loyal wingman, the Airpower Teaming System (ATS), for the Australian military, rolling out its first model earlier this year, and General Atomics recently announced its experimental Avenger UAV, once intended to replace the MQ-9 Reaper, had demonstrated autonomous capability in air-to-air combat drills thanks to a new software upgrade.

According to the Air Force, the loyal wingman system will be an “atrittable” asset over the battlefield, able to scout ahead of manned aircraft, focus on specific targets and even take an incoming missile intended for a manned aircraft.

In addition to the trio of contracts intended to develop the aircraft component of Skyborg, the Air Force has handed out contracts to more than dozen other firms to develop all the components of the Skyborg AI, such as navigation, targeting, communication and other functions.

Computer pilots are becoming skilled enough to outwit their human counterparts, too. In August, the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) hosted a competition for dogfighting algorithms on a flight simulator, with the winning program getting to fly against a real human F-16 fighter pilot. Stunningly, the AI bested the veteran aviator in all five matches.

https://sputniknews.com/military/202012081081399315-us-air-force-gives-three-firms-contracts-to-build-skyborg-drone-ai-prototypes/

China-Funded ‘Fact-Checker’ Lead Stories Pushes Bullsh*t That Fulton County “Suitcase” Scandal Was Debunked — Will They EVER Tell the Truth?

We’ve reported numerous times on events in Georgia on election night at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta. We’ve now uncovered more on the incident that exemplifies the 2020 election in Georgia.

Last Thursday Cristina Laila reported on the explosive video that was revealed during the Georgia ballot counting at the State Farm Arena where crooked Democrats pulled out suitcases full of ballots and began counting those ballots without election monitors in the room.

Trump’s legal team showed a video from the State Farm Arena tabulation center after poll workers were told to leave at 10:25 PM. The poll workers signed sworn affidavits saying they were told to leave at that time.

A few liberal election “workers” stayed behind and were seen pulling suitcases full of ballots out from under tables to be tabulated after the GOP inspectors and media left the room!

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/12/china-funded-facebook-fact-checker-lead-stories-pushes-bullsht-fulton-county-suitcase-scandal-debunked-will-ever-tell-truth/

Ratcliffe: China’s Penetration of Gov’t Networks ‘Significant and Growing Every Day’

On Monday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe stated that China’s penetration into American government networks is “significant and growing every day.”

Host Tucker Carlson said, [relevant exchange begins around 3:00] “[G]ive us a sense of China’s penetration into our networks, government networks.”

Ratcliffe responded, “Well, it’s significant and growing every day. And Tucker, you made a great point in your opening about Russia. Listen, they’re a dangerous adversary. I don’t mean to minimize them, but you made the point correctly about economically, Russia can’t compete the way China can. The largest economy in the world is the United States. The second-largest is China. Russia’s not in the top ten. Italy, Brazil, and the state of Texas have a larger economy than Russia. So, as dangerous as Russia can be, they cannot compete with us the way China is, and China has a very specific plan to do that. And one of the ways that China has made their way to the top is they understand that information is the key to their dominance. So, they’re going to get there any way they possibly can. That’s what subsidizing Huawei and ZTE is all about. Those are Chinese companies that are run by the Chinese government. They know that they can steal more information if they run the telecommunications networks over which our information travels. That’s one of the ways that China has gotten so good in terms of getting into our networks and into our information society.”

https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2020/12/07/ratcliffe-chinas-penetration-of-govt-networks-significant-and-growing-every-day/

Staggering data shows just how destructive COVID-related lockdowns have been on the restaurant industry

'… economic free fall as a result of mandated closures and capacity limits due to the coronavirus pandemic'

The National Restaurant Association published a report on Monday detailing the destructive consequences that coronavirus-related lockdowns have had on the restaurant industry nationwide.

According to data shared with congressional leadership, the NRA said that 110,000 restaurants — or about 17% of all eateries nationwide — have shut their doors long-term or permanently since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing lockdowns.

"The vast majority of permanently closed restaurants were well-established businesses, and fixtures in their communities. On average these restaurants had been in business for 16 years, and 16% had been open for at least 30 years," the NRA said.

In fact, the NRA found that 87% of full-service restaurants reported, on average, a 36% drop in revenue during the pandemic, while revenue is projected to continue tanking for at least the next three months.

But the problems don't end there. Because restaurants have spent money modifying their business plans to accommodate take-out business and indoor dining regulations, restaurants told the NRA that expenditures are actually, on average, greater than in pre-pandemic times.

"For nearly nine months, restaurants—our nation's second-largest private sector employer—have been in an economic free fall as a result of mandated closures and capacity limits due to the coronavirus pandemic," the letter to congressional leadership read.

In the letter, Sean Kennedy, the NRA's vice president for public affairs, implored Congress to pass economic relief for the restaurant industry.

"What these findings make clear is that more than 500,000 restaurants of every business type— franchise, chain, and independent—are in an unprecedented economic decline," Kennedy wrote. "And for every month that passes without a solution from Congress, thousands more restaurants across the country will close their doors for good."

Congressional inaction — stymied by House Democrats wanting to spend trillions of dollars on a second economic relief package — has unfortunately led to the closure of at least 10,000 additional restaurants over the last several months, Kennedy said.

"In short, the restaurant industry simply cannot wait for relief any longer. Efforts in Washington to find the 'perfect' solution are laudable, but the lack of progress in the meantime has led too many operators to give up on the government and close down for good," he wrote. "Since our last update to you, less than three months ago, an additional 10,000 restaurants have closed nationwide."

https://www.theblaze.com/news/staggering-data-shows-just-how-destructive-covid-related-lockdowns-have-been-on-restaurant-industry

https://restaurant.org/news/pressroom/press-releases/restaurant-industry-in-free-fall-10000-close-in

https://restaurant.org/downloads/pdfs/advocacy/covid-19-restaurant-impact-survey-v-state-results.pdf

Top Democrat Hoyer Accuses Republicans of ‘Threatening Democracy’ by Voting Down Inaugural Committee Resolution Naming Biden as President-Elect

Congressional Republicans on the bipartisan Inaugural Committee voted down a resolution by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) naming Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden president-elect. The committee vote on Tuesday was 3-3, with all three GOP members voting against the resolution.

In a statement released after the vote, Hoyer accused Republicans of threatening democracy, “The extent to which Republicans are refusing to accept the outcome of the election and recognize Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as our next President and Vice President is astounding. Their continued deference to President Trump’s post-election temper tantrums threatens our democracy and undermines faith in our system of elections.”

The committee members are Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Hoyer, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Sen. Roy Blount (R-MO).

Politico’s Heather Caygle reported via Twitter on the vote:

“NEW: The Inaugural Committee fails to pass simple resolution essentially acknowledging Biden as president-elect after all Republicans opposed. Hoyer offered the resolution, which failed 3-3. Other committee members are Pelosi, McConnell, McCarthy, Blunt and Klobuchar…The resolution was very basic, per folks with knowledge. It would’ve notified American people that Congress is preparing for inauguration of Biden and Harris “in coordination with health experts” as “we observe this transition of power.”

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/12/top-democrat-hoyer-accuses-republicans-threatening-democracy-voting-inaugural-committee-resolution-naming-biden-president-elect/

https://twitter.com/LLinWood/status/1336390714859671559

Lin Wood

@LLinWood

Light up those switchboards & inundate their emails.

Demand they do their jobs.

#FightBack

‘Never In My Whole Career’: USPS Truck Carrying ‘Fraudulent Ballots’ Vanishes, Driver Still Unable To Locate

Jesse Morgan, a subcontracted United States Postal Service driver who felt his truck that mysteriously vanished was carrying “fraudulent ballots,” highlighted how trailers never go missing.

The remarks came during Morgan’s War Room: Pandemic interview, where host Steve Bannon inquired about the frequency of mail trucks or trailers vanishing.

In response, Morgan repeatedly noted that it “never” happens:

Never. Never. I mean unless it’s stolen, like I mean and chopped up in pieces or something but never. It never gets stolen. It never just goes.

“It doesn’t happen. It does not happen. Trust me. It doesn’t happen. I’ve never had a trailer just go MIA on me. I never, in my whole career, had that,” he added.

Morgan also outlined how he felt federal investigators were neglecting their duty to investigate his missing trailer, emphasizing they’ve done “nothing” to recover the piece of USPS property:

During the interview, I mean I can understand where they’re are at, but basically, the one gentleman is kind of like mixing up my words or didn’t understand what I was saying. I speak pretty clear, I mean, you saw, obviously probably, the press conference that day, and I didn’t tell them anything different from what I told everyone that day but for some reason, it was hard to comprehend that. So I give this information, and then what they want to do with it, instead of investigating the information I gave, is go and start harassing my family, start asking questions, my family, how did I get here or whatever, you know.

Morgan, a whistleblower from the Amistad Project, first told his story at the group’s recent press conference:

“On October 21, he arrived at Bethpage where he saw 24 gaylords (large cardboard containers used by USPS) and was told they contained mail-in ballots. He saw 24 gaylords containing bulk mail bins filled with identically-sized ballot envelopes stacked crosswise, which likely contained 144,000-288,000 ballots or more. He could see contained handwritten return addresses and one was even marked Certified Mail, prompting the expediter to remark that the person must have really wanted the ballot to get to its destination. Both of these observations revealed the ballots had already been completed and were being returned to be counted.

https://thenationalpulse.com/breaking/ballot-trailer-vanishes/