Biden Makes History: First President in 40 Years to Punt on Contacting Israel
https://freebeacon.com/national-security/biden-makes-history-first-president-in-40-years-to-punt-on-contacting-israel/
FUCKERY AFOOT
Military Situation In Syria On February 13, 2021 (Map Update)
On February 12, SAA artillery shelled positons of Turkish-backed forces in Barah village
On February 12, artillery of Turkish-backed forces shelled SDF positions near Tal Tamar
The US forces are currently working to establish a military airport in the Al-Omar oil field, according to local sources
The Syrian Democratic Forces, in coordination with the US-led coalition carried out two security operations and captured 9 ISIS terrorists, according to the SDF Press center
Russia supports the dialogue and negotiations between the Syrian government and the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, according to the Russian ambassador to Syria, Aleksandr Yefimov
https://southfront.org/military-situation-in-syria-on-february-13-2021-map-update/
Ammo Company Demands Customers 'Check Box Saying They Did Not Vote For Joe Biden' to Purchase Rounds
Fenix Ammunition in Novi, Michigan is demanding customers "check a box stating they did not vote for Joe Biden" in order to purchase their ammo.
https://www.informationliberation.com/?id=62046
The Selective Outrage of Jens Stoltenberg
The potential consequences from Stoltenberg’s ridiculous, appalling NATO policies and infantile wet dreams will be horrible, Martin Sieff writes.
Why was the storming of the Capitol “Shocking and Unacceptable” to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg when the violent coup toppling democracy in Ukraine with the open shameless support of the United States and the European Union was not?
“Shocking scenes in Washington, DC,” Stoltenberg tweeted on January 6. “The outcome of this democratic election must be respected.”
Yet hardly more than a month later, Stoltenberg personally welcomed with open arms at NATO headquarters in Brussels the prime minister of Ukraine, head of a government and political system that was established in 2014 with full NATO, European Union and United States support by toppling the genuinely democratic government of President Viktor Yanukovych.
Eager to stoke up thermonuclear tensions between East and West, and not caring at all if nuclear weapons fall on London, New York and Washington as a result, let alone Moscow, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyha proudly declared on February 9 that two new NATO naval bases would open on the Black Sea before the end of this year.
Yet the Black Sea has historically been a crucial defensive a region against invasion for Russia for the past quarter of a millennium since before the American Declaration of Independence in 1776.
The shocking Maidan coup in Kiev in 2014 was accompanied by a wave of killings and out of control mob violence that dwarfed the tiny, embarrassing protest that spilled over into the U.S. Capitol on January 6 and that has now been cynically rewritten in the liberal totalitarian Newspeak of the 21st Century West as an Assault of Huns and Nazi White Supremacist Hoards on All That is Holy and True.
The Democratic Party leaders of Congress – always eager to make further exceptional asses of themselves, now mindlessly record the riot as an “Insurrection.”
By contrast, in the 2014 Kiev real insurrection, President Yanukovych and his family fled Kiev in genuinely fear of their lives. Veteran U.S. Senator John McCain and serving Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland openly prowled the streets of Kiev loudly calling for revolution and the immediate and violent toppling of the constitutional government. Nuland handed out cookies to assure the rioters and revolutionaries that the U.S. government supported them. President Barack Obama and his then-vice president, one Joseph Biden, Jr. kept her in office.
On May 2, 2014, Ukrainian nationalists locked protesters in Odessa’s House of Trade Unions before setting the building on fire. Almost 50 people died and around 250 others were injured in clashes between demonstrators and radicals and the fire, according to the UN figures. No heartfelt tributes in the United States Congress for them! –
Later that same year, Stoltenberg, the former prime minister of Norway, was propelled to be Secretary-General NATO. His only previous experience in a mi any kind of security crisis was letting scores of innocent teenagers in his own ruling Labor Party to be massacred by a single crazed gunman on a supposedly safe island retreat near Oslo on July 22, 2011.
Since then, this ridiculous little “Napoleon of the North” has reveled in the empty pomp and glory of being applauded at a Joint Session of Congress and being acclaimed as a favorite puppet – sorry “statesman” by successive U.S. presidents.
Now, Stoltenberg appears especially focused on pushing the United States and Russia torwards a catastrophic collision over the Black Sea region by maniacally
https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2021/02/13/the-selective-outrage-of-jens-stoltenberg/
Military Situation In Iraq On February 13, 2021 (Map Update)
The PMU reportedly deployed three additional brigades to Sinjar to prevent and confront the possible Turkish offensive in the area, according to local sources
30 Turkish soldiers allegedly were killed in recent clashes in Gare mountain area, according to PKK
Turkey allegedly killed 33 PKK militants in Gare mountain area as part of operation Claw-Eagle 2, according to the Turkish Defense Ministry
On February 12, the PMU carried out a security operation in the south of Samarra area
On February 12, a logistical convoy of the US military was targeted by an IED attack in the Samawah area
https://southfront.org/military-situation-in-iraq-on-february-13-2021-map-update/
Looks like the Iraq war is going again!
Drug Companies Want Tax Breaks After Opioid Epidemic Lawsuit Settlements
The companies that drive the opioid epidemic are poised to make billions by claiming a court settlement for their role in the health crisis as a tax write-off.
The pharmaceutical giants plan to leverage laws passed to help struggling businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic despite their value soaring in recent months, The Washington Post reports.
The settlements stem from a series of lawsuits between four major drug companies and 49 states that accuse them of willfully ignoring the harmful effects their unrelenting dug advocacy was creating. None have taken any responsibility for the epidemic, but they eventually agreed to a combined $26 billion settlement.
Some of that money is now set to be reimbursed by the federal government. Payments to victims have long been eligible for tax deductions, but expanded allowances for businesses passed in the name of COVID-19 relief may expand that refund by 67%.
That’s driven the potential tax rebate above $1 billion per company, with some ranging significantly higher and disclaimers suggesting the tax break could be larger still than current financial statements suggest.
It has some people crying foul. Harry Cullen, an advocate in New York, called the move “incredibly insulting.”
“[It’s] as if they are donating it to these people who they harmed in the first place,” he told The Washington Post.
The drug companies involved maintain they’ve acted responsibly throughout the entire process and are simply trying to reclaim what they’re owed. Though one firm, McKinsey and Company, insists in court that “its past work was lawful and has denied allegations to the contrary,” executives have tried to strike a more balanced tone.
Kevin Sneader, the firm’s global managing partner, told The New York Times: “We deeply regret that we did not adequately acknowledge the tragic consequences of the epidemic unfolding in our communities. With this agreement, we hope to be part of the solution to the opioid crisis in the U.S.”
https://www.ibtimes.com/drug-companies-want-tax-breaks-after-opioid-epidemic-lawsuit-settlements-3144522
Michigan Senate Majority Leader Says Capitol Takeover Was ‘Staged’ and a ‘Hoax’ in Secretly Recorded Convo
Michigan State Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey was caught on camera telling officials from the Hillsdale County Republican Party that the Capitol takeover was “staged” and a “hoax.”
“It was all staged,” Shirkey says during the secretly recorded lunch meeting last week.
In the footage, which is over an hour long, Shirkey also says that Mitch McConnell “was part of it… They wanted to have a mess” so that they could impeach Donald Trump.
The video was posted on YouTube by Hillsdale County Republican Party Secretary Jon Smith, who is upset with Shirkey for repeatedly caving to Democrats.
During the conversation, Shirkey says that the June 6 protest “wasn’t Trump people.”
“That’s been a hoax from day one, that was all pre-arranged,” Shirkey adds, asserting that the people “went in on separate buses, that was all arranged by somebody that was funding everyone.”
“Why wasn’t there more security? It was ridiculous, it was all staged,” he continued.
Shirkey issued an apology for his comments in a statement released on Tuesday.
“I said some things in a videoed conversation that are not fitting for the role I am privileged to serve,” the statement said. “I own that. I have many flaws. Being passionate coupled with an occasional lapse in restraint of tongue are at least two of them.”
The Hillsdale County Republican Party voted voted 14-5 to censure Shirkey on Monday for not standing up to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on lockdowns and supporting a ban on the open carrying firearms at the state Capitol “when no violent attack with firearms has ever taken place.”
The party is also upset with Shirkey for calling armed protesters who stormed the state Capitol in April “a bunch of jackasses.”
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/02/watch-michigan-senate-majority-leader-says-capitol-takeover-staged-hoax-secretly-recorded-convo/
it's part of the linked article
Mass shooting suspect got gun licence from police department after he threatened clinic
A man charged with murder in a shooting at a Minnesota medical clinic bought the handgun he used in the attack with a permit from the local police department, even though he had been the subject of a restraining order for threatening the clinic in the past, according to a published report.
Gregory Ulrich, 67, is charged in an attack on an Allina Health clinic this week that left 37-year-old medical assistant Lindsay Overbay dead and four other people wounded. Ulrich had threatened in October 2018 to carry out a mass shooting at the clinic in Buffalo.
The threat led Ulrich to be banned from clinic property, and the following month a restraining order was granted to prohibit him from contacting a doctor at the clinic. The order also required Ulrich not to possess guns and to turn in any guns or permits he had.
But the Minneapolis Star Tribune, citing a law enforcement source it didn't name, reported on Friday that the Buffalo Police Department had granted a permit for Ulrich to buy the handgun used in the attack. Even though Ulrich had been arrested for violating the restraining order, the newspaper reported that the permit was granted because the case was dismissed due to mental incompetency.
State law appears to clearly prohibit Ulrich from obtaining a permit to purchase a handgun. The statute bans anyone who has ever been found incompetent to stand trial from buying or having a gun. The statute does allow for some instances where a person could recover the right, but they don't appear to apply to Ulrich's case.
Buffalo Police Chief Pat Budke declined to answer questions from The Associated Press about the report, saying in a statement that the city cannot release information on gun permit applications.
https://www.9news.com.au/world/report-police-granted-clinic-shooting-suspect-gun-permit/2789efc1-b503-4522-b5a6-e686a0e85cc0
China refused to provide WHO with raw data on COVID cases, says Australian investigator
An Australian infectious disease expert says Chinese authorities refused to give raw data on early COVID-19 cases to a World Health Organization-led team probing the origins of the pandemic.
Key points:
WHO investigators were in China trying to determine the origins of COVID-19
Professor Dominic Dwyer says Chinese officials would not hand over important data of 174 early cases
The summary of the investigations could be released by WHO as early as next Friday
The team had requested raw patient data on the 174 cases of COVID-19 that China had identified from the early phase of the outbreak in Wuhan in December 2019, as well as other cases, but were only provided with a summary according to Professor Dominic Dwyer.
That raw data is known as "line listings", Professor Dwyer said, and would contain details such as what questions were asked of individual patients, their responses and how their responses were analysed.
He said that gaining access to the raw data was especially important since only half of the 174 cases had exposure to the Huanan market, the now-shuttered wholesale seafood centre in Wuhan where the virus was initially detected.
"That's why we've persisted to ask for that," Professor Dwyer told Reuters on Saturday.
"Why that doesn't happen, I couldn't comment.
"Whether it's political or time or it's difficult … But whether there are any other reasons why the data isn't available, I don't know."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-02-13/china-refused-to-provide-who-with-raw-data-on-covid-cases/13152786
DOCS: Trudeau gov't handed out official talking points to criticize The Epoch Times
Tristan Laycock, the advisor to Minister Anita Anand sent a notice to members of the Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) advising them of the government organization’s official lines with regards to religious refugees from China.
The advisory, which was sent out on April 29, 2020, was sent in the wake of an article published by the CBC that initially carried the headline “Racist and inflammatory: Canadians upset by Epoch Times claim China behind virus, made it as a bioweapon,” and appeared to condemn Chinese religious refugees as “racist.”
In January, Rebel News reported that two Canada Post workers in Regina were suspended for refusing to deliver free editions of the Epoch Times newspaper. The paper is affiliated with the Falun Gong, a religious denomination persecuted by the Chinese communist government.
The document, which was made public as part of a host of COVID-related documents tabled at the Health Committee, details how members of the PSPC were urged to lead with the messaging that the government of Canada stands “shoulder to shoulder with the Canadian Chinese community during this time” in response to inquiries over the CBC article, which has since been amended following complaints.
The CBC report now carries an editor’s note that reads:
“This story has been changed from the original version. The headline on the story when it was first published cited a quote from a recipient of the Epoch Times special issue who felt some of its content was ‘racist and inflammatory.’ The headline has been changed and additions have been made to the article to clarify that CBC had originally heard from multiple sources who received the mailing and were upset by the content. The earlier headline also incorrectly stated the Epoch Times claimed China made the virus as a bioweapon. A commentary in the paper did ask the question ‘is the novel coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan an accident occasioned by weaponizing the virus at that [Wuhan P4 virology] lab.’”
The bullet points in Laycock’s advisory to the PSPC state:
“At this time of crisis, millions of Canadians of all different backgrounds are working together, many of them on the frontlines to help their fellow Canadians.”
“We need to continue in our resolve to be an open, welcoming, and respectful country, and we know Canadians share that belief. We stand shoulder to shoulder with the Canadian Chinese community during this time.”
“We understand the serious nature of these complaints and the Minister of Public Service and Procurement has asked her officials look into this matter further.”
The article advises that “if-pressed,” the official lines should be:
“Canada Post has a legal obligation under the Canada Post Corporation Act to accept all neighborhood mail for delivery subject to regulations on non-mailable matter.”
“Decisions made by Canada Post to deliver or refuse delivery of neighborhood mail are subject to the Canadian Charter of Right and Freedoms.”
https://www.rebelnews.com/trudeau_govt_handed_out_official_talking_points_to_criticize_the_epoch_times