Team Biden Starts Its First Talks With Taliban By Sending Trump-Appointed Envoy

In a hugely significant example of Biden saying with his actions that essentially 'Trump had it right' on Afghanistan - the White House has confirmed it's sending top negotiators to the Middle East to continue peace negotiations with the Taliban which had controversially started as part of Trump's Afghan withdrawal plan.

For the first time in the Biden administration it will send US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad to the region, who crucially had been Trump's longtime special representative that secured a breakthrough on peace talks with the Taliban.

"Khalilizad will resume discussions on the way ahead with the Islamic Republic and Afghan leaders, Taliban representatives, and regional countries whose interests are best served by the achievement of a just and durable political settlement and permanent and comprehensive ceasefire," a White House statement said Sunday.

Based on a deal signed under Trump in February 2020, US troops were to be fully withdrawn from America's longest running war in history in May 2021; however, in the first month of the Biden White House the Pentagon said this would not happen based on the Taliban failing to uphold key terms it agreed to.

"The Taliban have not met their commitments," Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby told a Jan.28 press briefing.

Kirby said at the time that while the "goal" remained a full and timely US troops exit from Afghanistan, he underscored "we're going to be making our decisions in a sober, rational manner that is driven by what's in our best interests and the interests of our partner in Afghanistan, as well as our NATO partners and allies."

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/team-biden-starts-its-first-talks-taliban-sending-trump-appointed-special-envoy

Mitt Romney knocked unconscious, suffers black eye during fall

Sen. Mitt Romney was knocked unconscious when he fell in Boston over the weekend, leaving him with “a lot of stitches” and a black eye.

“I took a fall. Knocked me unconscious. But I’m doing better,” Romney told reporters on Capitol Hill Monday night.

The Utah Republican said he was visiting his grandchildren when he got injured.

With noticeable bruising under his right eye, Romney infused some humor into the situation.

“I went to CPAC, that was a problem,” the Republican lawmaker joked, referring to the Conservative Political Action Conference that ended Sunday.

Romney was not invited to the marquee event after receiving backlash over his vote to impeach ex-President Donald Trump.

Asked how many stitches he received, Romney claimed he was not sure.

“A lot of stitches. I don’t know how many. I asked the doctor how many stitches and she said, I don’t know, but it’s all through my eyebrow and my lip.”

https://nypost.com/2021/03/01/romney-knocked-unconscious-suffers-black-eye-during-fall/

Breaking911

@Breaking911

BREAKING: Third woman accuses NY Gov. Cuomo of sexual harassment

She claims he made unwanted advances at a wedding, and asked "Can I kiss you?" -NYT

https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1366553701385699332

Katie Porter Is Going After Congressional Millionaires. Financial Disclosures Show She’s One Of Them.

Porter has up to $2.8 million in assets, according to recent filings

Rep. Katie Porter (D., Calif.), a self-styled working-class champion who has criticized the number of millionaires in Congress, has up to nearly $3 million in assets, filings show.

According to her most recent financial disclosure report, Porter has between $1.2 million and $2.8 million in assets. Porter's leadership PAC, Truth to Power, recently solicited donations with a statement decrying the fact that millionaires comprise "a shockingly large portion of our federal government."

Porter, who entered Congress in 2019, uses her PAC to help elect other left-wing politicians. The PAC was launched in June 2020 and has raised just over a half-million dollars since. It has spent more than $200,000 funding other candidates, according to Federal Election Commission records.

"Running for office is as expensive as it is time-consuming," a fundraising email from Truth to Power states. "Ordinary folks who aren't wealthy often don't have the time—and more often, they just don't have the resources—to quit their jobs to run a campaign, hire staff, and pay the bills."

Porter has largely evaded questions on her wealth and frequently earns praise for being more "relatable" than most politicians. In early 2020, the San Francisco Chronicle wrote of how her "empathy" stems from being a single mother of three school-age children "wrestling with the same questions other working parents face."

But data also show that Porter is well above the salary threshold of the average single parent. According to the 2018 Census Bureau data, households led by single mothers took in a median $45,128 annually. Porter earns a $174,000 congressional salary—nearly four times more than what the average single mother takes in.

Porter has also falsely claimed to be the only single mother of young children in Congress.

Porter reports between $300,000 and $600,000 in mortgage liabilities, meaning her net worth at its minimum sits between $600,000 and $2.2 million. Figures in financial disclosures are reported in broad ranges rather than exact numbers. Her Truth to Power PAC did not respond to requests for comment.

Porter supports H.R. 1, a bill purported by Democrats to stymie the influence of outsized political spending, which Congress will vote on this week. Porter has said that it was her proudest vote in the last Congress and a top priority for this Congress. Republicans have attacked the bill which, among other things, funnels $5 million in public funding into reelection campaigns.

"It's absolutely disgusting that while Americans are trying to survive a pandemic, House Democrats are working to funnel $5 million in public money to their own reelection campaigns," Torunn Sinclair, National Republican Congressional Committee spokeswoman, said of the bill.

https://freebeacon.com/democrats/katie-porter-is-going-after-congressional-millionaires-financial-disclosures-show-shes-one-of-them/

Anti-Voter ID Activists Storm Georgia Capitol. Has Anyone Called the National Guard?

Georgia legislators just got serious about fixing this nation’s voter fraud problem by passing a bill requiring ID to vote absentee. The Hill reported,

The Georgia state Senate on Tuesday passed legislation that would require voters to submit a driver’s license number, state identification card number or a photocopy of an approved form of identification in order to vote absentee in the state.

Predictably, the passing of this bill sparked a protest by Democrats on Monday who don’t want anyone to know who is voting absentee. Voter ID laws mean less fraud, a thing no Democrat I’ve ever known wants. Instead, they pretend it’s “racist” to require IDs. They have no problem, however, requiring IDs to get into their conventions.

The protest at the Georgia state capitol was reported to have been joined by Georgia Democrats.

Several Democratic members of the Georgia House of Representatives joined in a spontaneous protest against Republican-led election reform bills at the Georgia State Capitol early Friday afternoon.

The House members, numbering about a dozen or so, according to 11Alive’s Doug Richards, held signs and chanted in front of the large marble staircase in the capitol building, Richards said.

“Spontaneous.” Riiiiight. Whatever the case, the police asked them to leave and mild scuffles followed.

But the thing that stood out the most to me is the lack of hyperventilating press coverage of the protest that had elements similar to the “insurrection on the Capitol” on January 6. In the video of the Georgia “insurrection” (because that’s what we’re calling trespassers at the Capitol now, right?) protesters can be seen ignoring police orders and protesting on Georgia state capitol grounds—which might not be legal anymore. Has the president* issued any executive orders banning protests on government property yet? I’d check, but there are so many it would take me till next week to get through them all.

Is the National Guard on the way? Will they build a razor-wire fence around the Georgia Capitol? Will the FBI visit every person in this crowd?

For the record, I’m against all law-breaking and storming of capitols. But I would like some consistency in the way these things are reported. Is it only an insurrection if Trump supporters break into government buildings and some people die of heart attacks and strokes? Maybe, and hear me out here, we could stop using the word “insurrection” to describe events that are not insurrections. That would be great.

https://pjmedia.com/columns/megan-fox/2021/03/01/anti-voter-id-activists-storm-georgia-capitol-has-anyone-called-the-national-guard-n1429115

New Court Documents Expose Turkish President Erdoğan's Islamic Terror Links

New evidence linking Turkish president Erdogan to Islamic terrorists has just emerged.

Osman Nuri Kabaktepe, a longtime friend and colleague of Erdogan, who was recently elected chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party’s provincial organization in Istanbul, has deep links to a Turkish terrorist group responsible for the 2003 attacks that killed 58 people in Istanbul.

Based on court documents published today, March 1, 2021, Kabaktepe “was monitored by police intelligence over his alleged links to the Muslim Youth Organization (Müslüman Gençlik Örgütü), a group that functioned as a breeding ground for armed jihadist groups such as al-Qaeda.” A wiretap that monitored Kabaktepe’s communications as far back as 2011 was submitted to court as evidence that he “was linked to the Muslim Youth terror group.”

The Muslim Youth Organization first emerged around 1985 and was led by a “radical” named Tahir Gul. Its primary goal is “to set up a religious shariah state and dismantle the secular and democratic structure of the country’s governance.”

More telling of its intentions and motives, three of the Muslim Youth Organization’s members were not only arrested in connection with a 2003 al-Qaeda terror attack in Istanbul—where 58 people were killed during the bombings of two synagogues, the British Consulate General, and an HSBC bank—but they had met with then al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and “were part of the five-member secret Shura Council (consultative body) that was involved in every step of the planning of the attacks. They were in the senior leadership of al-Qaeda’s Turkish network and were sending candidates for arms and explosives training in Afghanistan.”

Although Kabaktepe ran this very same Muslim Youth Organization/jihadi breeding ground, “Kabaktepe appears to have escaped the long arm of the criminal justice system and law enforcement”—and has now been rewarded as chairman of Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party’s provincial organization in Istanbul—“thanks to the political cover provided by Erdoğan,” his longtime sponsor (pictures of them together go back to the early 1990s).

The report explains:

He was in the number two position at the Maarif Foundation, a Turkish government entity funded by Turkish taxpayers in order to promote the political Islamist agenda abroad through schools. He was a perfect choice for Erdoğan’s global ambitions considering the fact that Kabaktepe had substantial experience as the head of the youth branches in the religious Felicity (Saadet) Party, the Turkish equivalent of the Muslim Brotherhood that was established by the late Necmettin Erbakan, the founding father of political Islam in Turkey. He graduated from a faculty of theology after completing religious high school in his hometown of Fatsa in northern Ordu province on the Black Sea coast.”

https://pjmedia.com/columns/raymond-ibrahim/2021/03/01/new-court-documents-expose-turkish-president-erdogans-islamic-terror-links-n1429269

Not to mention his son Bilal transporting and selling ISIS oil to Israel and on the the world years ago

https://freegolanheights.wordpress.com/2016/01/14/rothschild-connected-with-isis-through-erdogans-son-bilal-who-sells-legally-isis-oil/

How ISIS Oil Flows Through Turkey And Israel On Its Way To Europe

https://www.mintpressnews.com/211910-2/211910/

https://www.darkmoon.me/2015/meet-the-man-who-funds-isis-bilal-erdogan-the-son-of-turkeys-president/

National security watchdog launches investigation into secret trial of Witness J

An investigation into the top secret trial, sentencing and jailing of a former military intelligence officer has been restarted by the national security watchdog.

Key points:

The investigation will look at the effect of national security legislation on the justice system

Witness J, a former intelligence officer, was sentenced and imprisoned in secret

A public hearing by the national security watchdog will be held in June

The man, referred to as Witness J, was convicted of mishandling classified information which potentially revealed the identities of agents who had been recruited by Australian intelligence agencies.

The incredible details of his plight only became public after an investigation by the ABC, sparking a debate about transparency in Australia's legal system.

Last year the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor (INSLM), James Renwick, launched an inquiry into whether the overreach of national security legislation was responsible for the total secrecy in the case.

Witness J was given the moniker of "Alan Johns" for the purpose of the inquiry.

Dr Renwick's probe was scuttled by the COVID-19 pandemic, hampering the gathering of information before his term as INSLM ended in mid-2020.

Inside the secret case of Witness J

The Federal Government didn't want you to know about Witness J. Here's the story of his secret trial, conviction and imprisonment.

Read more

His successor, Grant Donaldson, has now launched his own investigation which will examine the effect of the National Security Information (NSI) Act on the justice system.

The NSI Act is very broad in its application, allowing the government to request strict suppression orders if it is concerned sensitive and classified information would be aired in court, potentially prejudicing the nation's national security operations.

The evidence would need to be heard as part of a trial process, but the restrictions would allow the details to remain inside the four walls of the court.

Mr Donaldson hinted at his desire to look into the issue last month, when his office's annual report was tabled in Parliament.

"Because of the extraordinary nature of the orders made in the Alan Johns matter, I am likely to review at least certain parts of the NSI Act and commence this promptly," he wrote.

"I have seen correspondence from interested parties wishing to be consulted about this matter."

Mr Donaldson noted he wanted to review the entire NSI Act, but could not do so given high profile cases currently before the courts which are covered by the strict laws.

These include the prosecution of lawyer Bernard Collaery and the former senior spy known as 'Witness K', and defamation proceedings launched by Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-02/investigation-restarted-witness-j-secret-trial/13206154

Australian Attorney-General Christian Porter alleged to have raped 16-yr-old Katharine Thornton in 1988

Attorney-General Christian Porter is the alleged “Cabinet Minister Rapist” accused of raping 16-yr-old Katharine Thornton in 1988 in Sydney. It is a national security crisis that has left the Prime Minister and federal government open to blackmail by foreign powers and immediate action needs to be taken. Any foreign country, companies or opposition politicians etc could easily blackmail Scott Morrison and/or Christian Porter by threatening to make public the allegations against Christian Porter.

I emailed Christian Porter questions today as per below, but he has refused to respond at this point.

The Australian media and other politicians have totally missed the national security crisis and focused on the rape allegations which have been dismissed by Scott Morrison as being a police matter and out of his hands. That is a lie by Morrison as the police cannot do anything given Katharine Thornton is now deceased and Morrison knows it.

Scott Morrison has said that he has been advised by AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw that he does not need to take any further action. Once again that is a lie because we know that when the Member for Manila Queensland Nationals MP George Christensen was visiting bars, for several months a year, in the Philippines the AFP investigated to see if George Christensen had been compromised as a potential blackmail target by foreign countries.

The allegations of rape against Christian Porter are a lot bigger security risk than the allegations against George Christianson yet the AFP Commissioner has not advised the Prime Minister of the security risk? That’s not believable but given the government has only a one-seat majority in parliament they can’t afford to lose even one politician, so Morrison doesn’t care about the national security threat. But all opposition politicians should and must take action even if that means naming Christian Porter in parliament with the parliamentary privilege protection that gives them against defamation action. The reality is Christian Porter won’t sue anyone as it would put a spotlight on the matter and he would lose because the matter is political communication which is protected as per the 1997 High Court judgment Lange v ABC.

Scott Morrison and the government are trying to cover-up the rape allegations against Christian Porter and the media won’t name him or Katharine Thornton, but the media’s reporting has left many clues and social media users have been investigating with some of the evidence below. In any government cover-up, it is important to get as many details as possible publically known which puts pressure on the authorities to take action and stop the cover-up.

The media has reported that Katharine Thornton said she was raped in Sydney in 1988 but first met the alleged rapist in 1986 in Adelaide. (Click here and here to read more)

Christian Porter’s Wikipedia page said he was in Sydney in 1988 as captain of the Australian team for a World debating competition but the reference to it kept being deleted on the weekend. I managed to take a screenshot when it was up and Tweeted the below. (Click here to see on Twitter)

https://kangaroocourtofaustralia.com/2021/03/02/attorney-general-christian-porter-alleged-to-have-raped-16-yr-old-katharine-thornton-in-1988/

Golden Globes: Sacha Baron Cohen wins big, and other Jewish moments

‘Borat’ star takes home several awards, going out on top after recently announcing his disguise days were over

JTA — Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat character is going out on a high note.

Cohen won best actor in a comedy or musical, and his “Borat” sequel upset the Disney+ adaptation of “Hamilton” by winning best film in the category at the Golden Globes on Sunday night.

Like its predecessor, “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” poked fun at the blatant anti-Semitism found in parts of Eastern Europe. It features a scene with Holocaust survivor Judith Dim Evans in a synagogue who helps Borat (almost) come to grips with his backward views about Jews.

But just before the film’s release, Evans’ daughter sued Cohen, claiming that her mother (who passed away after filming) did not want to appear in a comedy. That was just one of the many lawsuits and obstacles that Cohen said he has had to endure as a result of his prank disguise method of making comedic films and shows, which beyond “Borat” include the Showtime series “Who is America?”

And that’s why he said recently that his disguise days — the Borat character included — are over. In his acceptance speech for the best comedy actor award, Cohen thanked his bodyguard, who he said protected him from getting shot twice during the filming of the Borat sequel.

Cohen also could not help but poke fun at Donald Trump, whose presidency motivated Cohen to take formerly uncharacteristic public stands against hate speech and social media disinformation.

“Hold on, Donald Trump is contesting the result,” he said after winning the actor award. “He’s claiming that a lot of dead people voted, which is a very rude thing to say about the HFPA,” the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

Despite the historic nature of the Globes ceremony — hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler were featured in a split screen from opposite coasts, and small in-person audiences were made up only of essential workers who were all tested for COVID-19 — the show had its usual share of fun Jewish moments. Some Jewish stars won marquee awards, while others lost in major categories.

Here’s what you might have missed:

Dan Levy pushes inclusion

The final season of “Schitt’s Creek,” the riches-to-rags comedy featuring the Jewish father-son team of Eugene and Dan Levy, finished its historic award show run with a couple of accolades: Golden Globes for best TV comedy series and best actress in the same category for Catherine O’Hara.

Inclusion was the theme of the evening, as several presenters — including the show’s hosts — called out the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for not having a single Black member, and for snubbing acclaimed shows by Black creators, including HBO’s “I May Destroy You.” Multiple Globe winners also used their acceptance speeches to push the film and TV industry to work harder at bringing diverse voices to the table.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/golden-globes-sacha-baron-cohen-wins-big-and-other-jewish-moments/

Third Woman Accuses Cuomo Of Sexual Harassment – And There's A Picture

Update (2005ET): A third woman, former Obama administration and Biden 2020 campaign member Anna Ruch, has come forward to accuse New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) of sexual harassment at a Sept. 2019 wedding reception, according to the New York Times.

The governor was working the room after toasting the newlyweds, and when he came upon Ms. Ruch, now 33, she thanked him for his kind words about her friends. But what happened next instantly unsettled her: Mr. Cuomo put his hand on Ms. Ruch’s bare lower back, she said in an interview on Monday.

When she removed his hand with her own, Ms. Ruch recalled, the governor remarked that she seemed “aggressive” and placed his hands on her cheeks. He asked if he could kiss her, loudly enough for a friend standing nearby to hear. Ms. Ruch was bewildered by the entreaty, she said, and pulled away as the governor drew closer.

“I was so confused and shocked and embarrassed,” said Ms. Ruch, whose recollection was corroborated by the friend, contemporaneous text messages and photographs from the event. “I turned my head away and didn’t have words in that moment.”

And there's a picture…

Ruch said Cuomo's touch on her bare skin was uncomfortable, and "I promptly removed his hand with my hand, which I would have thought was a clear enough indicator that I was not wanting him to touch me."

Cuomo instead called her "aggressive" and placed his hands on her cheeks.

"He said, ‘Can I kiss you?" claims Ruch. "I felt so uncomfortable and embarrassed when really he is the one who should have been embarrassed."

Shaken, Ms. Ruch said, she later had to ask a friend if Mr. Cuomo’s lips had made contact with her face as she pulled away. The governor had kissed her cheek, she was told.

“It’s the act of impunity that strikes me,” Ms. Ruch said. “I didn’t have a choice in that matter. I didn’t have a choice in his physical dominance over me at that moment. And that’s what infuriates me. And even with what I could do, removing his hand from my lower back, even doing that was not clear enough.” -NYT

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/cuomo-hires-criminal-defense-attorney-avoids-public-scandals-mount

Now 40 Days, Biden Has Not Held Solo Press Conference

It has been 40 days since President Joe Biden’s inauguration, and he has not held a solo press conference.

A reporter asked Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Monday if President Joe Biden is scheduled to independently address the White House press corps.

“Not yet, but we will definitely have one,” Psaki said. “We will schedule it, and you’ll be the first to know. Cause you’re pivotal participants in that.”

Biden notably answered very few unscripted questions during his campaign, at which time former President Donald Trump nicknamed him “Joe Hiden.”

Breitbart News reported Biden told CNN the strategy of “hiding” in his basement during the coronavirus pandemic has worked “pretty well.”

Indeed, perhaps Biden is using the same approach during his presidency.

Trump’s administration, during his tenure, claimed he was “his own best spokesperson” and said, “He’s the most accessible president in history as all of the media knows. Just yesterday, he gaggled two or three times with the press.”

Former President Barack Obama held eleven solo press conferences his first year.

https://www.breitbart.com/the-media/2021/03/01/now-40-days-biden-has-not-held-solo-press-conference/

Joe Biden Revokes Trump’s Order Requiring Classical Architecture for Federal Buildings

President Joe Biden has revoked former President Trump’s executive order that required federal buildings be constructed in the style of American classical architectural codes.

In a series of revocations, Biden canceled Trump’s order that sought to return federal architecture to its origins of classical, Neoclassical, Art Deco, Georgian, Greek Revival, and Beaux-Arts styles that were preferred by many of the Founding Fathers and the public.

With the cancellation of the order, federal buildings will continue to be built in modernist and brutalist architectural styles without taking into consideration the local public’s opinions on the aesthetics of the buildings.

Oftentimes, the Trump order noted, classical architectural styles are openly discouraged by the federal government. To turn the tide, the Trump order requested architects to explain why they would choose a modernist style over that of traditional American classical styles when designing and constructing new federal buildings.

The order had support from the National Civic Art Society, whose president called the move a “firm” stand for “tradition and beauty in public architecture, and for the heartfelt desires of the American people.”

In recent decades, federal buildings have been constructed in modernist and brutalist styles that do not resemble the nation’s founding architectural styles. Buildings such as the Department of Health and Human Services offices, the Robert C. Weaver Federal Building, the San Francisco Federal Building, and the Salt Lake City Federal Courthouse all resemble this shift from classical tradition to cold modernity.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/03/01/joe-biden-revokes-trumps-order-requiring-classical-architecture-for-federal-buildings/