Gantz: Our window to prepare for an earthquake is closing fast

‘I am not a prophet, but statistics show that in the next few years we will face such a scenario'

The authorities and infrastructure in Israel are not prepared to deal with an earthquake – and actions are needed immediately, Defense Minister Benny Gantz warned on Tuesday.

Speaking at a National Emergency Management Authority (RAHEL) conference, Gantz said that more reports and conferences are not what Israel needs, but actions that will affect real change.

“I am not a prophet, but statistics show that in the next few years we will meet this scenario, and the window of opportunities is closing,” Gantz said.

“We don’t need more talks and warnings – we need immediate actions,” he said. “We need RAHEL to gather all the different elements. In the past few decades our readiness for earthquakes was improved, but still – in Israel today there are some 80,000 housing units in severe danger of collapsing in case of an earthquake,” he added.

“There are another 4,000 government buildings under the same risk. In a realistic scenario, we might get to thousands of deaths and tens of thousands of injuries within hours,” Gantz said.

The defense minister then compared the situation to Israel's lack of readiness ahead of and during the current pandemic.

“In these very days we pay a heavy price with people’s lives due to instability. In order to prevent a future disaster, in an earthquake or any other danger – tsunami or a chemical or cyberattack – we need to have management and political stability,” he argued.

“However, during the corona period, there were positive measures that were taken, and we can learn from them, such as strengthening the [government's] ties with local authorities," Gantz said. "But during the corona [period] we had time to learn and respond. In an event such as an earthquake, there is no time…. Hence the preparation should start now.”

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/gantz-our-time-window-to-get-prepared-for-an-earthquake-is-closing-656782

Declassified! The Russia informant transcript the FBI didn't want Americans to see

In secretly recorded talks with informer Stefan Halper, Carter Page dispelled key Russia collusion allegations before FISA warrant was even approved.

Four days before the FBI secured a surveillance warrant against him in fall 2016, Trump campaign adviser Carter Page repeatedly knocked down the key allegations at the heart of the Russia collusion investigation while talking to a government informant who was wearing a wire.

Page's unwitting statements of innocence to informer Stefan Halper were never shared with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court before it approved four warrants authorizing a full year of surveillance of Page's communications.

Page's exculpatory statements were kept from the American people for four years until President Trump declassified them on his final day in office last week. They were obtained by Just the News.

"The core lie is that I met with these sanctioned Russian officials, several of which I never even met in my entire life, but they said that I met them in July," an FBI transcript quotes Page as telling Halper during an Oct. 17, 2016 interaction at Halper's farm in Northern Virginia.

At the time, Page was unaware Halper was informing for the FBI or recording him, and unwittingly believed his host was just a fellow academic interested in his research and campaign work.

You can read the transcript here:

File

HalperPageIntercept11-2016.pdf

The memos show Halper was repeatedly coached by the FBI on how to penetrate the Trump campaign foreign policy circle starting in August 2016 and how to quiz Page about several sensational allegations of collusion made by fellow FBI informant and former MI6 operative Christopher Steele in his now infamous dossier.

For instance, Halper prodded Page on whether he had played a role changing the Republican National Committee's platform in summer 2016 to make it more favorable to Russia, as Steele's dossier had alleged.

"I would have thought the platform committee would be a place where there would be an opportunity to clarify a relationship with the Russians or others, and you could have been very helpful," Halper said at one point.

Page — referred to in the transcript by his FBI code name "CD" or "Crossfire Dragon" — responded by claiming he stayed away from the platform changes, leaving it to other members of the Trump campaign team to handle.

"Well again, totally off the record, but I — members of our team were working on that and you know again in retrospect it's way better off that I, you know, remained at arms length," Page explained.

Similarly, Page steadfastly denied he knew anything about the Trump campaign working with WikiLeaks to release Hillary Clinton's hacked emails before the election, another key allegation in the now-debunked Russia collusion narrative.

"I guess what they're trying to do is work out the link between the Russians and WikiLeaks, what do we know about that?" Halper asked.

https://justthenews.com/accountability/russia-and-ukraine-scandals/declassified-russia-informant-transcript-fbi-didnt-want

https://justthenews.com/sites/default/files/2021-01/HalperPageIntercept11-2016.pdf

https://justthenews.com/sites/default/files/2020-12/CarterPageFISA.pdf

https://justthenews.com/sites/default/files/2020-03/DOJOIG%20report%20on%20Russia%20FISA.pdf

https://justthenews.com/sites/default/files/2021-01/HalperOperationalPlanScenario2Memo.pdf

Portland teacher indicted over summer Antifa riot

A Portland teacher, who originally had her charges dropped following an arrest at a violent Antifa protest, has had her charges reinstated after police submitted additional evidence, The Post Millenial reports.

Malia Lynne Trammell (or Treammell), 29, was a Portland high school teacher who was indicted on one count of felony riot, felony identity theft, second-degree criminal mischief, interfering with a peace officer and third-degree escape, according to a report by Andy Ngo and Mia Cathell.

Malia Lynne Trammell, 29, of Portland, has been indicted over an #antifa riot where she's charged with felony rioting, felony identity theft, criminal mischief, escape & more.

She's a teacher.

Read my breaking report co-written w/@MiaCathell: https://t.co/mL5w5zOOe7

— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) January 25, 2021

According to the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office, in Aug. 2020, Trammell and a group of rioters used metal spike devices to puncture a Portland Police vehicle’s tire during a riot outside a police station.

The riot became violent and officers attempted to arrest Trammell after she allegedly damaged a police vehicle. Trammell slipped out of her backpack and escaped. However, she fell while turning a corner and was arrested by police. Officers recovered multiple rebar spike devices in her backpack, according to the report.

Trammell was reportedly released without bail last summer and her charges were dropped by district attorney Mike Schmidt.

Five months later, the Portland Police Bureau completed an investigation and re-submitted the case to the district attorney’s office. The charges were then reinstated by the grand jury.

According to the report, Trammell has also been accused of faking her identity to authorities.

Trammell’s arraignment was held January 20, 2021 and she is scheduled to appear again in court March 10.

https://saraacarter.com/portland-teacher-indicted-over-summer-antifa-riot/

Huawei Ghostwrote Op-Ed for MIT Scholar

Prof still worked with Chinese tech giant even after lab cut ties

As one American university after another suspended research ties with Huawei for its alleged ties to Chinese espionage, MIT Media Lab founder Nicholas Negroponte offered a full-throttle defense of the company.

"Don't ban Huawei," read a May 2019 column published under Negroponte's name. "The U.S. should collaborate with leading technology companies and their research labs, rather than banning them."

Negroponte, however, did not write the column, at least according to Huawei employee Winter Wright, who noted on his LinkedIn profile that he ghostwrote the article on behalf of the MIT scholar, whose research center has received millions of dollars in research funding from the Chinese tech company.

The op-ed is one aspect of the years-long relationship between Huawei and Negroponte, which continued even after MIT cut ties with the company following a 13-count federal indictment. For years, Negroponte praised Huawei and defended it against criticism; Huawei in turn funded the MIT Media Lab, a world-class research institute that Negroponte founded in 1985.

Neither Wright nor Negroponte returned requests for comment.

Negroponte is one of America's most influential public intellectuals, boasting extensive ties to the tech and government worlds. Negroponte was an angel investor in such prominent U.S. tech companies as Skype, while his brother, John Negroponte, served as the deputy secretary of state for the Bush administration.

The partnership between Negroponte and Huawei is just one example of the extensive monetary ties that exist between China and U.S. colleges. China's military-industrial complex has funneled $88 million to U.S. universities in recent years, a Washington Free Beacon review of records found. More than 100 American colleges at one point hosted a Confucius Institute, a Chinese government-funded Mandarin program that has received bipartisan criticism for being a threat to academic freedom on American campuses.

Huawei started working with MIT as far back as in 2008, when a research group under the MIT Media Lab listed the Chinese tech company's U.S. subsidiary as an industry partner. Negroponte's relationship with Huawei can be traced to 2011, when he gave a presentation at a Huawei-hosted MIT junket praising China for building telecommunication infrastructure in Africa. MIT Media Lab formally listed Huawei as a corporate sponsor between the 2012 and 2017 fiscal years. Corporate sponsorship gave the Chinese company extensive privileges, including "access to all of the research conducted at the Lab" and "full intellectual property rights."

https://freebeacon.com/national-security/huawei-ghostwrote-op-ed-for-mit-scholar/

Biden to sign series of executive orders aimed at racial equity

President Biden on Tuesday will sign four executive actions meant to advance racial equity in the United States, including directing his administration to fully implement a law combating housing discrimination and another to mitigate xenophobia against Asian Americans.

Biden will sign a memorandum directing the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to begin the process of rooting out systemic racism in the housing market by analyzing areas where the previous administration’s policies undermined fair housing laws.

The order also implores the department to fully enforce the Fair Housing Act, senior administration officials said on a press call.

In July, the Trump administration rolled back Obama-era housing guidance known as the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule. Implemented in 2015, the provision required jurisdictions that receive federal funding to look for and analyze patterns of housing discrimination and then present a plan to address the practices if they existed.

Trump, however, didn’t view the rule — an add-on to the 1968 Fair Housing Act — as helpful, claiming that the guidance would “destroy” suburbs around the country.

Biden's executive order fulfills one of the many campaign promises the Democrat made around advancing racial equity while running for president.

Biden will also sign an executive order ending the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) use of private prisons, as part of the new administration’s broader criminal justice reform agenda.

Additionally, the president will sign a memorandum directing federal agencies, including the departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Justice, to take steps to stop xenophobia and violence towards Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. The memo also acknowledges what officials described as xenophobic behavior on the part of the previous administration.

Biden will sign the four executive actions Tuesday afternoon during a White House event focused on his racial equity agenda.

“Today’s actions are a continuation of the president’s commitment to embed equity across our entire agenda,” said a senior administration official. “We have more work to do, but these are important first steps.”

The actions follow multiple orders that Biden signed when he took office last Wednesday, including a directive that ordered the federal government to “pursue a comprehensive approach to advancing equity for all.”

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/535900-biden-to-sign-series-of-executive-orders-aimed-at-racial-equity

US Authorizes Transactions With Houthis Despite Earlier Terrorist Designation

On January 25, the US Treasury Department authorized transactions Yemen’s Houthis (officially known as the Ansar Allah movement) for 30 days despite the earlier designation of the movement as a foreign terrorist organization by the Trump administration.

The issued license allows all transactions involving the Houthis or any entity in which it owns 50% percent or more – though not its blacklisted leaders – until February 26, 2021.

“Foreign financial institutions do not risk exposure to … sanctions … if they knowingly conduct or facilitate a transaction” for the Houthis, the Treasury Department clarified.

This moves goes contrary to the Trump administration’s designation of the movement as a terrorist group on January 11, nine days before new US President Joe Biden took office. The move was made as a part of the US-led anti-Iranian campaign in the region due to the Houthis’ close ties with Iran and their successful war against the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.

It is not expected that the Biden administration will fully reverse the move or fully turn back from supporting Saudi Arabia and the UAE in the Yemeni conflict. Nonetheless, it may try to soften some of the Trump administration’s latest decision to widen its freedom of maneuver in the potential negotiations with Iran.

A brief summary of the recent developments:

The Liaison and Coordination Officers’ Operations Room (loyal to Ansar Allah) reported 161 ceasefire violations in al-Hudaydah during the past 24 hours;

On January 25, Saudi-led coalition warplanes conducted 18 airstrikes on the Sarwah area;

On January 25, Saudi-led coalition warplanes conducted 2 airstrikes on the Nate area;

On January 25, an explosion took place in the Mansoura district of Aden city;

On January 25, Yemeni people in various cities held large-scale protests against the US hostility and the siege of Yemen.

https://southfront.org/us-authorizes-transactions-with-houthis-despite-earlier-terrorist-designation/

Israelis Say They Will Attack Iran If US Returns to Nuclear Deal

Earlier this month, a Likud minister openly threatened to attack Iran if Biden revives the JCPOA

Israeli officials have made their opposition to the Biden administration returning to the Iran nuclear deal known. Some have even threatened a military strike on Iran if President Biden revives the deal, known as the JCPOA.

An Israeli source affirmed this to Breaking Defense in an article published on Monday. “Israel needs to know — and fast — whether Washington plans to stop Iran’s race to the bomb or take some action to do this,” the source said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

The source said that Israeli intelligence is monitoring Iran’s nuclear facilities closely. Israeli airstrikes on Syria were also mentioned, which have ramped up in recent months. “This pressure will continue and grow, as a preparation for a direct attack on targets in Iran,” the source said of airstrikes in Syria.

Israel always claims its airstrikes in Syria hit Iranian targets, but they usually strike Shia militias. Last week, an Israeli airstrike hit Syria that reportedly killed four civilians and destroyed three houses.

Earlier this month, Tzachi Hanegbi, an Israeli minister from the Likud party, made the most direct public threat against Iran. Hanegbi said that if the US returns to the JCPOA that “Israel will again be alone against Iran” and will attack Iran’s nuclear program.

Breaking Defense, its source, and Haneegbi all push the narrative that Iran is racing towards a bomb when that is not the case. One example they use is the fact that Iran recently increased uranium enrichment to 20 percent, which is still vastly lower than the 90 percent needed for weapons-grade uranium.

Despite the hype, the 20 percent enrichment has a civilian purpose. It allows Iran to make fuel rods for its Tehran Research Reactor, a facility that was built by the US in the 1960s that can produce medical isotopes.

Another crucial piece of context left out of the Breaking Defense article is the reason why Iran started enriching uranium at 20 percent. Iran’s parliament passed a bill to increase enrichment after the November assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the prominent Iranian scientist who was killed in an apparent Israeli plot. So it was Israeli aggression that led to the increased enrichment.

Iran has maintained that it is willing to return to compliance with the JCPOA if the Biden administration lifts sanctions. Any more attacks from Israel could prevent Iran from decreasing enrichment levels.

https://news.antiwar.com/2021/01/25/israelis-say-they-will-attack-iran-if-us-returns-to-nuclear-deal/

Revealed: Jeffrey Epstein Received At Least $200 Million From Billionaires Les Wexner And Leon Black

Jeffrey Epstein received $158 million from billionaire Leon Black and $46 million at a bare minimum from billionaire Les Wexner, according to the latest numbers.

NEW: Apollo CEO/chairman/billionaire Leon Black paid Jeffrey Epstein $150 million over five years – nearly three times as much as previously known. But he will remain chairman of the board. By @mattgoldtein26 and me https://t.co/DwLKNKukHW

— katie rosman (@katierosman) January 25, 2021

Leslie Wexner was sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein's benefactor until about 2007. In the years after, Leon Black stepped in, paying Epstein at least $150 million in fees for financial services the some say had a market value of about $5 million. https://t.co/DwLKNKukHW

— katie rosman (@katierosman) January 25, 2021

From New York Times, "Apollo C.E.O. to Step Down After Firm Finds More Payments to Jeffrey Epstein":

The founders of Apollo Global Management, one of the world’s biggest private equity firms, engaged in a brief power struggle this weekend over control of the firm, a rift that opened up after an inquiry revealed that one founder Apollo’s chief executive and chairman, Leon Black had paid more than $150 million to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

On Monday, Mr. Black announced his plan to step down as chief executive this year. “I have advised the Apollo board that I will retire as C.E.O. on or before my 70th birthday in July and remain as chairman,” he said in a statement.

The review ordered by the firm’s board at Mr. Black’s behest in October, after The New York Times detailed at least $75 million in payments found that Mr. Black had paid Mr. Epstein $158 million in a five-year period ending in 2017. He had also lent Mr. Epstein more than $30 million, only $10 million of which was paid back, the report found.

Mr. Black’s payments effectively bankrolled the lifestyle of Mr. Epstein whom Mr. Black viewed as a “confirmed bachelor with eclectic tastes,” according to the report in the years after his 2008 guilty plea in Florida to a prostitution charge involving a teenage girl.

Les Wexner admitted in January 2020 that Epstein got well over $46 million from him (Wexner, after being exposed as Epstein's money man, released a ridiculous story claiming Epstein "misappropriated vast sums" of his money and said $46 million that Epstein donated to Wexner's wife's foundation represented only a "portion" of the funds he took).

Wexner also appears to have given Epstein tens of millions worth of property and let him use his properties for free.

Victoria's Secret mogul Les Wexner let former friend Jeffrey Epstein abuse girls at his mansion

“The bombshell allegations are part of a shareholder lawsuit brought against senior leadership at L Brands…” https://t.co/WDp9mG8iql

— blmohr (@blmohr) January 15, 2021

Epstein's estate is reportedly $600 million and Wexner and Black appear to be his biggest sources of funding.

Epstein entered into a "partnership worth millions" in 2015 with Ehud Barak, the former Prime Minister of Israel and the head of Israeli Military Intelligence.

Barak also reportedly regularly visited Epstein's other apartment building in New York (which was majority owned by Epstein's mysterious brother Mark who bought the apartments off Les Wexner) where underage girls say they were trafficked.

EXCLUSIVE: Married Israeli politician Ehud Barak is seen hiding his face entering Jeffrey Epstein's NYC townhouse as bevy of young beauties were also spotted going into mansion - despite his claim he NEVER socialized with the pedophile and his girlshttps://t.co/wQBJDkfVzt

— HomerB (@HomerB33) July 16, 2019

https://www.informationliberation.com/?id=62023

Border Wall Contractors Told to Stop Construction by Tuesday Night: Congressman

All Customs and Border Protection (CPB) construction on the U.S.-Mexico border wall will stop by the end of Tuesday, according to a Democratic congressman whose district is located along the border.

“I received notification that in accordance with President [Joe] Biden’s executive order, all CPB contractors have now been formally notified by CBP Procurement to pause construction activities on CBP self-executed projects,” Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) said in a statement. “While CBP cannot speak on behalf of the U.S. Department of Defense or U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), it is expected that DOD and USACE are undertaking parallel action on CBP-funded border wall projects that they are overseeing.”

The Epoch Times has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees the CBP, for comment about the wall construction halt.

The Trump administration had obtained billions of dollars in funding to construct the wall. Over the last four years, amid legal and congressional battles, about 450 miles of the wall were built along the border.

The wall stoppage on Tuesday complies with Biden’s executive orders that were issued last week. The order halted projects where money was shifted from military projects to the border.

“This is a promising step in our work to halt construction of the ineffective and wasteful border wall and undo the damage that borderlands have experienced these past four years,” Cueller continued in his statement. “However, our work continues. I remain steadfast in my commitment to working with the new administration until every border wall contract is terminated and all construction crews leave our border communities.”

https://www.theepochtimes.com/all-border-wall-construction-will-be-stopped-tuesday-night-congressman_3672101.html

Democrat Stephanie Murphy Pushes Legislation to Ban Anyone Who Participated in “Stop the Steal” Activities and Anyone in Q-Anon from Holding a Security Clearance or Joining Military

Leading House Democrat Stephanie Murphy proposed in 2020 to end tariffs on Chinese imports amid the spread of Wuhan Virus, essentially rewarding the Chinese for their secretive and problematic handling of the virus that is quickly spreading to all corners of the globe.

This was in March before the China virus ravaged the nation.

On Friday Rep. Stephanie Murphy pushed legislation that will bar Q-Anon supporters and anyone who participated in “Stop the Steal” activities from from holding office in the public sector or joining the military.

The media tells us Murphy is a “moderate” Democrat.

Via Big League Politics:

Murphy, who is a member of the House Armed Services Committee, has recently proposed a bill that would prevent members of the ‘Stop the Steal’ movement along with subscribers to ‘QAnon’ from being able to obtain security clearances. Security clearances are a necessity for Americans who wish to join the US Military and also a requirement to obtain a number of federal jobs.

This bill would essentially bar any American that has rallied in support of President Trump post-election or publicly voiced concern about election fraud from being able to hold a job in the Armed Forces or any federal law enforcement agency.

According to an article by the Daily Beast:

The legislation, titled the Security Clearance Improvement Act of 2021, requires applicants looking to obtain or renew their federal security clearances to disclose if they participated in the Jan. 6 rally in Washington—or another “Stop the Steal” event—or if they “knowingly engaged in activities conducted by an organization or movement that spreads conspiracy theories and false information about the U.S. government.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/01/pro-china-democrat-stephanie-murphy-pushes-legislation-ban-anyone-participated-stop-steal-activities-anyone-q-anon-holding-security-clearance-joining-military/

Putin in First Talk With Biden: Normalisation of US-Russian Ties in Interests of Both States

While the Biden administration has previously expressed readiness to work with Moscow to prevent the expiration of the last remaining arms control accord between the two countries, it is reportedly not planning on "resetting" the deteriorating relations with the Kremlin.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has said in his first telephone talk with newly sworn-in US President Joe Biden that a normalisation of ties between Washington and Moscow is in the interests of both countries. Putin added that an improvement in the dialogue between the two powers would also benefit the whole world due to their influence on global security and stability.

The two presidents over the phone also discussed the issue of the rapidly approaching expiry of the New START treaty – the last arms accord between the two states limiting their nuclear arsenals. Both Biden and Putin expressed satisfaction with the preliminary agreement on the treaty's extension. The formal procedures for the New START extension will be concluded in the coming days, the Kremlin said soon after the end of the presidents' conversation.

https://sputniknews.com/world/202101261081887952-putin-in-first-talk-with-biden-normalisation-of-us-russian-ties-in-interests-of-both-states/

China-New Zealand relations: upgrade to free-trade agreement eliminates nearly all trade tariffs

Pact widens existing trade deal between Beijing and Wellington that was last upgraded in November 2019, after a similar review between China and Australia failed to manifest last month

All New Zealand dairy exports to China will also be tariff-free by 2024, while wood and paper products from New Zealand get a boost from the revamp

China and New Zealand have completed a review and expansion of their free-trade agreement a month after Beijing and Canberra abandoned an opportunity to do the same.

China’s commerce minister, Wang Wentao, and New Zealand’s minister for trade and export growth, Damien O’Connor, signed an “upgrade” to the China-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) at a virtual ceremony on Tuesday.

The pact widens the existing trade deal between the countries that commenced in 2008 and was last upgraded in November 2019

after three years of negotiations.

“Signing the upgrade [shows that] China is taking concrete action towards practising multilateralism and building an open world economy, and it is an important step in our strategy to lift free-trade zones,” Wang said in a statement published on the website of China’s Ministry of Commerce.

The signing’s timing was also symbolic, occurring a day after Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke

at the virtual World Economic Forum, asking for global economies to increase multilateralism and openness while setting aside ideological confrontations that could “push the world into division, even confrontation”.

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3119318/china-new-zealand-relations-upgrade-free-trade-agreement

>>12721764

not fake news dumb ass

British Virgin Islands corruption scandal threatens its dependable tax haven reputation

The territory, whose shell companies have repeatedly played a role in notorious global crime schemes, also may be blacklisted by the EU after the Brexit deal.

The British Virgin Islands is reeling from a corruption scandal that threatens to upend the territory’s reputation as one of the world’s most dependable tax havens.

Last week, outgoing BVI Governor Augustus Jaspert announced a commission of inquiry to investigate allegations of corruption and the misuse of millions of dollars in public funds.

The inquiry will focus on a range of claims and alarming discoveries. In a Facebook video posted during his last week as governor, Jaspert referred to accusations he heard during his time in office from officials, journalists and members of the public, including one case in which $40 million earmarked for COVID-19 relief was allegedly siphoned to political allies. In another case under investigation, the BBC reported, cocaine worth almost $250 million was found in the home of a local policeman.

The inquiry is backed by the United Kingdom, which oversees the BVI as an overseas territory. The BVI governs its domestic affairs and raises its own taxes but relies on the United Kingdom for defense and diplomatic matters.

“A consistent and deeply troubling array of concerns have been put to the Governor by local institutions and the community,” U.K. foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, said in a statement to parliament. “We cannot ignore such serious allegations.”

The BVI is one of the world’s most popular tax havens and attracts legitimate business corporations, celebrities, multimillionaires, and criminals alike. The island offers cheap and simple shell companies that allow their owners to avoid registering their names in public.

While owning and piping money through BVI companies is legal, shell companies created on the island are a regular feature in the world’s most notorious scandals. BVI companies appeared in a $2 billion scheme in the name of a close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the “corruption pact” that last week saw Israeli tycoon, Beny Steinmetz, sentenced to jail.

https://www.icij.org/investigations/paradise-papers/british-virgin-islands-corruption-scandal-threatens-its-dependable-tax-haven-reputation/

Arizona sex trafficker sentenced to 10 years in prison

MESA, Ariz. - A local area man was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Jan. 7, for sex trafficking three women, including one minor, in a probe spearheaded by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Mesa Police Department.

Louis Broadway-Phillips, 27, pleaded guilty to Illegal Control of an Enterprise, Attempt to Commit Sex Trafficking of a Minor, Sex Trafficking, Tampering with a Witness and Influencing a Witness.

“Homeland Security Investigations is fully committed to utilizing every resource it has at its disposal to confront and aggressively combat the threat of sex trafficking,” said Scott Brown, special agent in charge for the HSI Phoenix Office. “We are most impactful when we partner with local law enforcement to ensure every lead and detail is thoroughly investigated to hold traffickers accountable for their atrocious crimes that have forever changed victims' and survivors' lives.”

Broadway-Phillips advertised on the internet, transported the women to hotel rooms, and forced them to perform prostitution acts in exchange for money during the time period of Sept. 2017 to April of 2018.

In April 2019, Broadway-Phillips was indicted by a State Grand Jury with Sex Trafficking and Illegal Enterprise crimes (CR 2019-001998). While on release and pending trial for those crimes, Broadway-Phillips threatened and attempted to convince all three women not to testify against him by contacting them himself, as well as using his friends and social media to harass and intimidate the women. In Oct. 2019, Broadway-Phillips was charged in a new case (CR 2019-146684) for Influencing and Tampering with Witnesses.

“Justice demands that we hold traffickers accountable for their actions,” said Attorney General Mark Brnovich. “Perpetrators use coercion and fear to re-victimize their vulnerable trafficking victims over and over. I commend Mesa Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations for their diligent work on this case. We will continue to work together to protect the most vulnerable in our communities.”

“This is just one of many cases that underscores the importance working together with our state and federal partners,” said Mesa Police Chief Ken Cost. “The relentless work by all investigators brought justice to everyone victimized. We will continue our commitment to serve and protect our community in the fight against sex trafficking.”

Assistant Attorney General Shawn Steinberg with the Arizona Attorney General’s Office prosecuted the case.

In October 2020, DHS stood up the CCHT, an ICE-led center that integrates DHS investigative and enforcement operations, victim assistance, intelligence, outreach and training to effectively respond to human trafficking on a global scale. In fiscal year 2020, ICE arrested 1,746 individuals in connection with human trafficking and identified and assisted more than 400 victims. The top five locations for human trafficking criminal arrests by HSI were Atlanta, Georgia; Dallas, Texas; Los Angeles, California; Phoenix, Arizona; and Tampa, Florida.

Nationwide, HSI participates in a variety of human trafficking awareness events in January and throughout the year to educate medical professionals, key industries and the general public to identify indicators of trafficking activities. The recognition of human trafficking by others can save a victim’s life and help the investigation and prosecution of traffickers.

https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/arizona-sex-trafficker-sentenced-10-years-prison

U.S. Suffers Sharpest Rise in Poverty Rate in More Than 50 Years

The end of 2020 brought the sharpest rise in the U.S. poverty rate since the 1960s, according to a study released Monday.

Economists Bruce Meyer, from the University of Chicago, and James Sullivan of the University of Notre Dame found that the poverty rate increased by 2.4 percentage points during the latter half of 2020 as the U.S. continued to suffer the economic impacts from Covid-19.

That percentage-point rise is nearly double the largest annual increase in poverty since the 1960s. This means an additional 8 million people nationwide are now considered poor. Moreover, the poverty rate for Black Americans is estimated to have jumped by 5.4 percentage points, or by 2.4 million individuals.

https://www.blacklistednews.com/article/79101/us-suffers-sharpest-rise-in-poverty-rate-in-more-than-50.html

The Great Reset: The Rise Of the Techno-Fascist System Is Now 'In Your Face'

My recent interview with The Epoch Times’ Joshua Phillip has sparked a rash of research and investigative journalism in order to see if what I revealed was true. Journalist Leo Hohmann, for one, is fearlessly reporting on the World Economic Forum’s Great Reset and calling it out for what it is: a “blatant, in-your-face assault.” ⁃ TN Editor

The blatant, in-your-face assault on free speech by America’s largest tech companies is about more than just stifling political dissent – it’s about advancing the agenda of globalist technocrats with designs on seizing the world economy, says Patrick Wood, founder and director of Citizens for Free Speech.

In an interview with Joshua Phillip of the Epoch Times, Wood connected the dots between the Big Tech takeover of society, the “Great Reset” being launched this week in Davos by the World Economic Forum, and the ongoing attempt to crush free speech.

It’s all part of a global revolution now in progress. Yet few people are aware of what’s happening because coverage of the Great Reset has been blacked out by the corrupt, totally controlled establishment media.

You can watch this extremely important 27-minute interview with Wood below:

Big Tech Dominance Ties to Technocracy Agenda—Interview with Patrick Wood on the Rise of Technocracy

This revolution isn’t being fought with guns and tanks like the revolutions of old.

Its advocates walk in the halls of the United Nations, the Vatican, the International Monetary Fund, the British House of Windsor, the World Economic Forum, the European Union and now the White House. It’s allies work in the bureaucracies of the Washington swamp, in state Capitols and some of the clueless foot soldiers who staff your local City Hall.

Many Americans can sense that big changes are on the way now that President Trump is gone and Biden is blindly signing executive orders while grumbling to his handlers that “I don’t even know what I’m signing here” [see video below].

https://www.blacklistednews.com/article/79103/the-great-reset-the-rise-of-the-technofascist-system-is-now-in-your.html

Welcome Back to the American Police State

After covering for left-wing violence throughout his campaign, President Biden wasted no time in labeling the January 6th capitol rioters as domestic terrorists, implying culpability of nearly half the country who believe the (most likely true) notion that the 2020 election was rigged and rife with voter fraud.

Election integrity is not what I’ve set out to discuss in this article, but if you have not yet looked into the evidence try researching the over 700 affidavits written by election workers alleging voter irregularities, statistical anomalies such as Biden losing nearly all bellwether counties, winning less counties than Obama overall, and somehow earning vast numbers of votes in a small handful of swing counties with histories of corruption, and dominion voting systems switching votes from Republicans to Democrats.

If you were paying much attention during Obama’s time in office, you may remember that the former president’s administration prosecuted more whistleblowers and journalists than any sitting president in American history. Additionally, the Obama/Biden duo also put a record number of American citizens on government watch lists, which you can never get off of.

Candidate Obama lied through his teeth when he promised to reign in the American surveillance state and then proceeded to use it to full capacity to take out undesired journalists and whistleblowers who were exposing corruption in his administration. He then lied about it again when Edward Snowden blew the whistle on abuses of power at the NSA.

President Biden’s rhetoric regarding the capitol rioters is reminiscent of the anti-Muslim sentiment we saw directly after the terrible acts on 9/11. Vast numbers of people with no association to terrorism are now being placed in the same category as those who stormed the capitol on the 6th.

By the way, I fully support the federal government in defending the capitol building. The rioters who made their way into restricted areas, stole objects from inside, and caused damage should be punished accordingly. That type of behavior is not acceptable and is more akin to a hot civil war than a questionable election. It also got Trump banned from Twitter and accelerated the degradation of free speech and privacy in the United States.

Joe Biden, who has bragged on multiple occasions of being an original author of the freedom-destroying Patriot Act and other similar bills which curtailed our freedom, is now readying a new wave of legislation aimed at removing more of our rights and advancing the American Police/Surveillance State very quickly.

Former congresswoman and Democrat presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard spoke out against calls for new domestic terrorism legislation, adding that the federal government is engaging in the ‘targeting of almost half the country’ and of ‘anybody who loves freedom’.

Even NBC News published a piece arguing against the bill with the fear that these new powers will someday be used “against black and brown people”. I appreciate them speaking out against Orwellian legislation, but it is quite sad that the primary concern of many on the left seems to be whether the rights of those with the correct skin color are being violated, not those belonging to Americans as a whole.

During one of the presidential debates late last year, candidate Biden declared the radical left-wing domestic terror group ANTIFA just ‘an idea’. This overarching double standard is incredibly telling because it shows, very sadly, that we are in fact in the middle of a serious conflict. The entire political, intelligence, academic, communications and cultural establishment is currently seeking to squash the rights of freedom-loving Americans to a point where we may never get them back.

To be fair, Biden is not in control of the government or military. Just yesterday he was caught in a hot mic moment admitting that he did not even know which executive order he was signing or what its contents were. From the sidelines, an unknown voice told him to ‘sign it anyway’ and he did. That voice may have been house majority leader Nancy Pelosi or Vice President Kamala Harris.

In the short time Biden has been president, we have already seen a significant push to control the economy with one-sided globalistic trade deals, ramp up military tensions in the middle east with more boots on the ground in Syria, and now control those at home who dissent against tyranny.

Welcome to the re-emerged American police state nobody asked for, but everyone knew was coming.

https://www.blacklistednews.com/article/79098/welcome-back-to-the-american-police.html

The Attempt to Install a One-Party Oligarchy is Predestined to Fail

Scattered throughout the length and breadth of the United States are those who have experienced first-hand the tyranny of despotic rulers and repressive one-party oligarchies. Today, many of us that came here as refugees are watching with bemusement and a mild sense of trepidation as the oblivious, self-absorbed, puerile wannabe autocrats in the Ruling Class are hell-bent on imposing their dysfunctional version of one-party dictatorial rule on a nation they apparently neither know nor understand.

The vast bulk of this cadre of self-styled intellectuals and societal elites are little different from those in various European nations. They are not only beset with a severe case of narcissism but are among the most gullible and easily manipulated due to their overweening need to feel superior to those they perceive to be lesser fellow citizens. This sense of superiority eventually manifests itself in an immutable belief that they are preordained to rule the unwashed masses. Thus, they easily fall sway to a charismatic leader or are willing to accept any inane philosophical theory or deviancy that helps embed their status among the nation’s elites.

George Orwell in a letter written in 1944 (5 years prior to the publication of his seminal work 1984) wrote the following:

There is this fact that the intellectuals are more totalitarian in outlook than the common people. On the whole the English intelligentsia have opposed Hitler, but at the price of accepting Stalin. Most of them are perfectly ready for dictatorial methods, secret police, systemic falsification of history etc. as long as they feel it is on ‘our’ side.

The current iteration of the American Ruling Class has not only embraced dictatorial methods as a means to their ends but are astonishingly ill-educated thanks to decades of indoctrination rather than education at America’s universities. This ill-education encompasses not only an inability by the vast majority to reason and generate an original thought but also a breathtaking ignorance of the history of mankind, and a profound inability to comprehend the American experience and citizenry.

The history of the 20th Century is replete with examples of nations that have succumbed to one-party tyrannical rule. In all cases these countries share at least one of two common threads. First, due to global or regional wars, they suffered overwhelming destruction to their societies and economies, opening the door for those espousing Marxism/socialism as a cure for the nation’s ills. Second, none of these nations had a centuries long history of freedom and self-determination.

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2021/01/the_attempt_to_install_a_oneparty_oligarchy_is_predestined_to_fail.html

‘None of Biden’s Initial Actions Help Law Abiding Americans’

Beyond the virtue signalling and moral platitudes, there are a series of unprecedented moves being made by Democrats, including statehood for Washington, DC and Puerto Rico, packing the Supreme Court with leftwing activist judges, and opening the southern border in order to harvest unlimited future Democratic Party votes. Now they have full power, it’s not just about changing policy – they want to change the system itself. This is the vision of a One Party State which they are now vying for.

As an example, Joe Biden’s symbolic act of placing a bronze bust of Latino union leader Cesar Chavez in the Oval Office is designed to win back his party’s lost Hispanic voter support, but it belies actual history of Chavez’s legacy.

Host Tucker Carlson examines the new president’s top priorities and Executive Orders on his first full day in office, and how Democrats are trying to sow more conflict and division in the country. Watch:

https://21stcenturywire.com/2021/01/26/none-of-bidens-initial-actions-help-law-abiding-americans/

Conservative Journalist Andy Ngo Flees The Country Over Antifa Death Threats

Conservative journalist Andy Ngo has fled the United States after receiving death threats from Antifa terrorists.

The Portland-based journalist - a regular presence documenting violent Antifa activity in the Pacific Northwest (and having been assaulted for his coverage) - has fled to the United Kingdom.

"My hometown of Portland, Oregon is the epicenter of American Antifa," Ngo told Sky News Australia in a Saturday interview. Ngo noted that US politicians who rightly condemned the January 6 riots at the Capitol were "at best silent last year when my city was literally under siege."

"At worse they actually promoted some of the crowd funded campaigns," he added.

Ngo described the increasingly violent death threats he's received, telling Sky "For a number of months now, there's just been increasing threats of violence against me, promises by Antifa extremists to kill me."

"It's pained me a lot, temporarily having to leave the country and home that settled my parents who came there as political refugees," he added.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/journalist-andy-ngo-flees-country-amid-antifa-death-threats

>>12721942

shill keeps saying stuff is fake news but provides no sauce ignore

CBS suspends president, senior VP who were accused of racist, sexist conduct in the workplace

Accused of creating a hostile work environment

CBS placed two of its executives on leave after they were accused of creating a hostile work environment including perpetrating racism and sexism.

CBS took the spotlight in 2018 following sexual harassment and abuse allegations against former chairman Les Moonves, who was quickly forced out of the company in disgrace.

What are the details?

According to a Tuesday report from the New York Times, CBS placed Peter Dunn and David Friend on administrative leave following the allegations.

Dunn is the president of CBS television stations, and Friend is the senior vice president of news for TV stations.

The Times reported that the suspension came after an emerging report that detailed accusations of the hostile environment, "including making disparaging remarks about female and black employees."

In a statement on the suspension, the network said, "CBS is committed to a diverse, inclusive, and respectful workplace where all voices are heard, claims are investigated, and appropriate action is taken where necessary."

A weekend report from the Los Angeles Times stated that several employees accused Dunn and Friend of "bullying female managers and blocking efforts to hire and retain black journalists."

The outlet reported the Dunn declined to comment on the allegations against him.

Friend, however, insisted that the allegations couldn't be farther from the truth.

"These comments I may have made about our employees or prospective hires were only based on performance or qualifications," he told the Los Angeles Times in a statement. "Not about anyone's race or gender."

Friend added, "I believe that I — and our stations — have a strong track record of hiring, supporting, and placing women and BIPOC journalists in important roles as anchors, reporters, and news directors."

The New York Times reported that the National Association of Black Journalists called for both Dunn's and Friend's firings immediately following the allegations.

Roland S. Martin, the organization's vice president of digital, said, "We aren't satisfied with lip service. We don't want promises that things will change."

"We are heartened by our discussion with [CBS CEO] George [Cheeks] and [company executive vice president and global head of inclusion] Marva [Smalls] that there will be real, substantial, and substantive changes to CBS to ensure that it is a welcoming place for black and other journalists of color to work, rise, and succeed," Martin added.

https://www.theblaze.com/news/cbs-suspends-execs-accused-of-sexism-racism

Watch Newsom Squirm When Asked if He Lifted California’s Strict Stay-at-Home Order For Political Reasons, Including Recall Efforts

On Monday California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) lifted the strict regional stay-at-home order from all regions across the state even though Covid cases and deaths are soaring.

The 7 day average of new cases is higher now than it was in early December when Gavin Newsom imposed the regional lockdowns and curfew.

Newsom is hiding the key information used to drive his decisions and said the data is just too complex and would confuse and potentially mislead the public.

Many people believe Newsom lifted the stay-at-home order due to political reasons.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/01/watch-newsom-squirm-asked-lifted-californias-strict-stay-home-order-political-reasons-including-recall-efforts/

Tulsi Gabbard: Brennans, Schiffs, and Big Tech Oligarchs More Dangerous than Mob that Stormed Capitol

Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard blasted former CIA Director John Brennan, House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), and big tech “oligarchs” seeking to censor fellow Americans after the January 6 Capitol riot.

Gabbard shared a video statement online where she criticized them for trying to take away Americans’ constitutionally protected rights. She said in the video:

The mob that stormed the Capitol on January 6 to try to stop Congress from carrying out its constitutional responsibilities were behaving like domestic enemies of our country. But let’s be clear. The John Brennans, Adam Schiffs, and the oligarchs in big tech who are trying to undermine our constitutionally protected rights and turn our country into a police state with KGB-style surveillance are also domestic enemies, and much more powerful and therefore dangerous than the mob that stormed our Capitol.

The video included a clip of Brennan’s remarks in a January 20 interview with MSNBC, where he said that the Biden team is “now moving in laser-like fashion” to uncover “what looks very similar to insurgency movements” that include libertarians:

We are now looking forward that the members of the Biden team who have been nominated or have been appointed are now moving in laser-like fashion to try to uncover as much as they can about what looks very similar to insurgency movements that we’ve seen overseas, where they germinate in different parts of the country and they gain strength and it brings together an unholy alliance frequently of religious extremists, authoritarians, fascists, bigots, racists, Nativists, even libertarians.

Gabbard concluded with an appeal to President Joe Biden:

Now President Biden, I call upon you and all members of Congress from both parties to denounce these efforts by the likes of Brennan and others to take away our civil liberties that are endowed to us by our creator and guaranteed in our constitution. If you don’t stand up to these people now, then our country will be in great peril.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/01/26/tulsi-gabbard-brennans-schiffs-and-big-tech-oligarchs-more-dangerous-than-mob-that-stormed-capitol/

https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.539612/gov.uscourts.nysd.539612.127.0_1.pdf

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/17318376/united-states-v-maxwell/

US Judge Rejects Biden's Halt of Deportation After Texas Legal Challenge

Earlier in the month, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed first legal action against the Biden administration over the initiative of 100-day deportation freeze, accusing the president of violating of immigration law and failing to consult with Texas on the matter.

US federal judge Drew Tipton on Tuesday issued a temporary restraining order, blocking Joe Biden's 100-day deportation freeze initiative for 14 days after the legal challenge initiated by Texas Attorney General.

The court also ordered the parties to propose a briefing schedule no later than 28 January.

"This TRO is granted on a nationwide basis and prohibits enforcement and implementation of the policies described in the January 20 Memorandum in Section C entitled "Immediate 100-Day Pause of Removals" in every place Defendants have jurisdiction to enforce and implement the January 20 Memorandum", the court said.

BREAKING: Texas AG @KenPaxtonTX wins temporary stoppage of freeze on deportations of migrants. pic.twitter.com/gLXcol74FM

— Michael Board (@MikeBoard1200) January 26, 2021

​The block of deportation freeze prompted swift reaction from AG Ken Paxton, who touted Texas as "the FIRST state in the nation to bring a lawsuit against the Biden Admin[istration]".

"AND WE WON", Paxton tweeted Tuesday. "Within 6 days of Biden’s inauguration, Texas has HALTED his illegal deportation freeze. This was a seditious left-wing insurrection. And my team and I stopped it."

VICTORY.

Texas is the FIRST state in the nation to bring a lawsuit against the Biden Admin.

AND WE WON.

Within 6 days of Biden’s inauguration, Texas has HALTED his illegal deportation freeze.

This was a seditious left-wing insurrection. And my team and I stopped it.

— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) January 26, 2021

​Last week, Paxton took legal action against the Biden administration ordering "a blanket halt on nearly all deportations of illegal aliens" for 100 days. Texas Attorney General asserted that the move had breached the agreement between the state and the federal government.

"Border states like Texas pay a particularly high price when the federal government fails to faithfully execute our country’s immigration laws. Your attempted halt on almost all deportations would increase the cost to Texas caused by illegal immigration", Paxton said in his press release on 21 January.

https://sputniknews.com/us/202101261081888256-us-judge-reportedly-rejects-bidens-halt-of-deportation-after-texas-legal-challenge/

Watch: All the ways your phone tracks your location