DeSantis Tells Antifa and Black Lives Matter to Stay Out of Florida or There Will Be Consequences

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is warning Black Lives Matter and Antifa to stay away from the state or “there will be consequences.”

DeSantis explained that he supports the First Amendment and peaceful protests — but will not tolerate rioters the way liberal states have.

“The minute you harm somebody else, or you harm somebody’s property, or you do these types of things, the only way we’re going to stop it is to have very swift penalties for it,” DeSantis stated during a press conference.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/05/watch-desantis-tells-antifa-black-lives-matter-stay-florida-will-consequences/

Over €1 million in cash seized as part of investigation into tobacco smuggling ring

An international law enforcement operation coordinated by Europol and Eurojust with the involvement of 3 countries has resulted in the arrest of 12 suspects, including the masterminds, belonging to a Russian-speaking organised crime group involved in the illegal cigarette trade. The arrests took place in Belgium (11) and France (1) and included the leaders of the criminal organisation.

Between 4 and 5 May, some 28 premises belonging to the crime gang were searched in Belgium (17), France (10) and the Netherlands (1). The investigators seized over €1 million in cash, alongside 11 vehicles and hundreds of counterfeit cigarette cartridges. The necessary supplies to make 1.8 million cigarette packages were also discovered at one of the searched locations. Two of the individuals arrested in Belgium are awaiting surrender to the French authorities under a European arrest warrant.

This international sweeps follows a complex investigation initiated in July 2020 by the Belgian Federal Judicial Police of Leuven (Federale Gerechtelijke Politie Leuven), in close cooperation with the Belgian Customs (Douane), the French Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie Nationale), the French Judicial Customs (SEJF), the Dutch Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD), with international activities coordinated by Europol and Eurojust. This operation was carried out in the framework of the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT).

The criminal syndicate, composed mainly of Chechen nationals, was involved in the large-scale production and distribution of counterfeit cigarettes. It is believed that this organised crime group is responsible for the distribution of at least 100 million cigarettes since the autumn of 2020, with an estimated value of more than €45 million.

The counterfeit cigarettes were stored in warehouses in Tienen, Belgium, before being subsequently distributed among buyers from France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

European coordination

Europol’s Analysis Project SMOKE coordinated the international activities between the involved Member States by providing its secure communication platform, running cross-checks against its database and providing analytical support and operational expertise.

Europol also organised operational meetings to prepare for the action day. Experts of its European Financial and Economic Crime Centre (EFECC) were deployed to Leuven to support the Belgian authorities during the action day.

A Joint Investigation Team (JIT) was set up by Eurojust between the Belgian and French authorities

The investigation is still ongoing into the money laundering allegations.

https://www.europol.europa.eu/newsroom/news/over-%E2%82%AC1-million-in-cash-seized-part-of-investigation-tobacco-smuggling-ring

US sends more warplanes to Afghanistan to protect troop pullout

WASHINGTON — The United States has deployed a dozen additional warplanes to bolster protection of American and coalition troops making a final withdrawal from Afghanistan as Taliban insurgents step up pressure on Afghan government forces, top Pentagon officials said Thursday.

Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said F-18 attack planes have been added to a previously announced package of air and sea power — including the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier in the North Arabian Sea and six Air Force B-52 bombers based in Qatar — that can be called upon as protection for withdrawing troops. Also part of that previously announced package are several hundred Army Rangers.

U.S. officials said before the withdrawal began that they expected the Taliban to attempt to interfere, even as the insurgents continue pressuring government forces, especially in Helmand and Kandahar provinces in southern Afghanistan.

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2021/05/06/us-sends-more-warplanes-to-afghanistan-to-protect-troop-pullout/

Ayatollah Khamenei Calls Israel "Not A Country, But A Terrorist Base" As Vienna Talks Intensify

In a fiery Friday sermon on the occasion of "Quds Day" — an Iranian Islamic holiday that commemorates the expected "liberation of Jerusalem" and which falls every year on the last Friday of Ramadan — Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called Israel a "not a country, but a terrorist base".

The Islamic Republic's top cleric and leader also asserted that Israel's "downfall" is "imminent" and that it remains every Iranian and Muslim's duty to fight it. "Israel is not a country, but a terrorist base against the nation of Palestine and other Muslim nations," Khamenei said in the live televised remarks.

"Fighting this despotic regime… is everyone's duty," he added. For over the past week the rhetoric coming from Iran's top leaders has grown more noticeably threatening and bellicose towards Tel Aviv and Washington (or rather even more than usual), including the release of at least two state media clips depicting the imagined destruction of the Capitol Building in Washington and the Dimona nuclear reactor in southern Israel.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/ayatollah-khamenei-calls-israel-not-country-terrorist-base-vienna-talks-intensify

New York Hedge Fund Founder Kamensky Sentenced to Prison in Neiman Marcus Fraud

NEW YORK—The New York hedge fund founder who predicted he might “go to jail” for corrupting the sale of some assets during the bankruptcy of Neiman Marcus was sentenced on Friday to six months in prison.

Daniel Kamensky, 48, of Roslyn, New York, had pleaded guilty in February to bankruptcy fraud for pressuring Jefferies Financial Group not to bid for securities belonging to the luxury retailer’s creditors so his now-closed Marble Ridge Capital LP could buy them at a lower price.

U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan said she found Kamensky “deeply remorseful,” but said he “came undone” from the pressures of running Marble Ridge.

“He betrayed his profession, his duty to others, his relationships,” she said. “He broke the law.”

Kamensky, who has also worked as a bankruptcy lawyer, had specialized at Marble Ridge in “distressed” investing, and once had $1.2 billion of assets under management.

According to prosecutors, Kamensky exploited his role as co-chair of a Neiman creditors committee last July 31 to block Jefferies from bidding 30 cents per share for securities he wanted to buy for 20 cents per share.

Prosecutors said Kamensky threatened to stop doing business with Jefferies if it pursued its bid, and asked an employee there to lie about what he had done.

“Do you understand … I can go to jail,” prosecutors quoted Kamensky as saying. “They’re going to say that I abused my position as a fiduciary, which I probably did, right?”

Prosecutors had sought 12 to 18 months in prison, while Kamensky requested probation. The defendant was also sentenced to six months of home confinement and to pay a $55,000 fine.

“There is no excuse for my behavior, and I am deeply regretful and embarrassed for my conduct,” Kamensky said before being sentenced.

More than 100 people sent letters supporting leniency.

Neiman filed for Chapter 11 protection last May and emerged in September under new owners. A bankruptcy judge in December approved a settlement of Neiman’s own claims against Kamensky.

The case is U.S. v. Kamensky, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 21-cr-00067.

https://www.ntd.com/new-york-hedge-fund-founder-kamensky-sentenced-to-prison-in-neiman-marcus-fraud_609675.html

Josh Hawley Keeps His Children off Social Media: ‘Their Business Model Is Addiction’

Appearing Friday on SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Daily with host Alex Marlow, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), author of The Tyranny of Big Tech, explained how he and his wife do not allow their young children to utilize social media due to concern over what he described as the platforms’ addictive features.

A transcript is as follows:

ALEX MARLOW: You have a young family, as do I. Have you thought about technology devices being age-restricted? I’m just getting to that point where I’m starting to think some of this stuff. Have you given that much thought?

SEN. JOSH HAWLEY: This is something that my wife and I have thought a lot about. It’s really started me getting concerned about this issue some years ago because I do have three small children. Just looking at the effects of these devices and these platforms on my young kinds, is what started us as a family about thinking about this issue and then digging into it. In our own family, I can tell you we don’t allow our small children to have these devices, they’re not on social media, we don’t allow them to be exposed to these platforms. I think that is an important choice we made as a family, and I think every parent has to consider how control they’re giving to these tech companies by allowing them to track their children and allow them to build information about their children.

I’ve also proposed some limits to the addictive features that these companies use. Their business model is addiction. And for adults too. I think we need to confront some of these addictive features that they used to try to get us online all the time so they can take data, take stuff from us, and then sell to make money on it.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/05/07/josh-hawley-protects-his-children-from-using-social-media-their-business-model-is-addiction/

World Health Organization approves China's Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine for emergency use

The World Health Organization has approved a COVID-19 vaccine from China's state-owned drug maker Sinopharm for emergency use, a boost to Beijing's push for a big role in inoculating the world.

Key points:

It is the first Chinese vaccine to be given emergency approval by the WHO for any disease

A group of experts say the Sinopharm vaccine is 78.1 per cent effective after two doses

The WHO says it will be added to the COVAX scheme for poorer countries to access

The vaccine, one of two main Chinese coronavirus vaccines that collectively have already been given to hundreds of millions of people in China and elsewhere, is the first developed by a non-western country to win WHO backing.

It is also the first time the WHO has given emergency use approval to a Chinese vaccine for any infectious disease.

A WHO emergency listing is a signal to national regulators that a product is safe and effective.

It also allows it to be included in COVAX, a global program to provide vaccines mainly for poor countries, which has hit supply problems.

"This expands the list of COVID-19 vaccines that COVAX can buy, and gives countries confidence to expedite their own regulatory approval, and to import and administer a vaccine," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a briefing.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-08/who-approves-china-sinopharm-vaccine-emergency-use/100125762

>>13607390

I watched this it's good

Ohio GOP calls on Rep. Anthony Gonzalez to resign for voting to impeach Trump

The leadership of the Ohio Republican Party has censured Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (R-Ohio) and is calling for him to resign from Congress for voting to impeach former President Donald Trump.

On Friday, the party's central committee adopted two resolutions — the first censuring Gonzalez and nine other Republican representatives for "their votes to support the unconstitutional, politically motivated impeachment proceeding against President Donald J. Trump." The second resolution, which narrowly passed, called on Gonzalez to resign, WCMH-TV reported.

Gonzalez, a former NFL wide receiver, is currently serving his second term in the U.S. House of Representatives representing Ohio's 16th Congressional District. He was one of 10 Republican House members to vote in favor of impeaching Trump after the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. He is now facing a primary challenge from Max Tiller, a former Trump aide who is running with an endorsement from the former president.

The resolution censuring Gonzalez called the impeachment — which was tried in the U.S. Senate after Trump had left office — "meritless, unprecedented, unconstitutional and purposeless."

At the time, Gonzalez explained his vote, saying, "The President of the United States helped organize and incite a mob that attacked the United States Congress in an attempt to prevent us from completing our solemn duties as prescribed by the Constitution.

"During the attack itself, the President abandoned his post while many members asked for help, thus further endangering all present. These are fundamental threats not just to people's lives but to the very foundation of our Republic," he said.

"When I consider the full scope of events leading up to January 6th including the President's lack of response as the United States Capitol was under attack, I am compelled to support impeachment."

See my full statement on impeachment below. https://t.co/pBBYRI2RUP

— Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (@Rep. Anthony Gonzalez)1610571632.0

Two of the prominent Republican candidates running to succeed retiring Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) in the U.S. Senate came out in support of the Ohio GOP's decision.

Jane Timken, who served as the state party chairwoman before stepping down to run for Senate, said she was in full agreement with Gonzalez's censure.

"As President Trump's hand-picked Party Chair who traveled 150,000 miles across Ohio supporting his agenda, I fully agree with the censure of Anthony Gonzalez," she tweeted. "The impeachment was a sham that betrayed the Constitution and went against Ohioans' interests."

Former state treasurer Josh Mandel, who is running against Timken in the GOP Senate primary, criticized her for not censuring Gonzalez sooner.

"Tomorrow the Ohio Republican Party will finally vote to censure Anthony Gonzalez for his vote on the sham impeachment of President Trump," said Mandel. "Question: Why did Jane Timken refuse to censure Gonzalez when she was Chairman? She clearly had time to do so. So what's the real reason?"

Gonzalez is not the only pro-impeachment Republican to face backlash from his state's party. In February, the Wyoming Republican Party officially censured Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) for her vote to impeach Trump. Now it appears that Cheney will be ousted from Republican leadership in the House, demonstrating that the political future of Trump-critical Republicans looks bleak.

https://www.theblaze.com/news/ohio-gop-anthony-gonzalez-resign-impeachment

Whatever Happened to QAnon?

Back in February, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was stripped of her committee roles, despite her expression of "regret" for some of her more extreme views. One of the charges against Rep. Greene is that she has supported QAnon, whose central claim is that there exists an elite whose members exercise political power and who indulge in promiscuity and other corrupt forms of behavior.

In a Washington Post article co-written by Isaac Stanley-Becker and Rachel Bade, Greene was dismissed as having endorsed the "baseless theory" of QAnon. Stanley-Becker and Bade devoted most of their article to critiquing QAnon rather than addressing Greene's policies, including her unwavering support for the police. Yet without evidence to corroborate it, the Post authors rejected the central claim of QAnon: that a powerful cabal of elitists, some with a history of pedophilia and other corrupt practices, exists within the Democrat party and the media that support it.

Maybe liberal journalists don't know corruption when they see it. Perhaps they don't believe that promiscuity or prostitution is "corrupt." Or that using cocaine and other illegal drugs is "corrupt," or even that sex with underage persons is "corrupt." By that definition, the press can maintain that liberal politicians are not corrupt, so they can dismiss QAnon's thinking as a "baseless theory."

A Time magazine story of April 16 offered a similar critique of certain conservatives who purportedly view "former President Donald Trump as a messianic figure battling a cadre of deep-state operatives." This is a good example of rhetorical fudging: is it that Trump is viewed as a "messianic figure" or that he is "battling … deep-state operatives"? I don't know any conservatives who view the former president as a "messianic figure," but there are plenty who see him as having battled the Deep State – and for good reason.

Most of us know corruption when we see it, and we know there is an element of truth in QAnon's charges. It goes back a long way — to the Kennedys, the Clintons, and hundreds of lesser figures. We were disgusted when, in March 1962, Marilyn Monroe offered herself up as a "birthday present" for President Kennedy in front of an approving audience of Washington liberals. And we were disgusted by the repeated accusations of Bill Clinton's philandering and sexual assault, including those by Juanita Broaddrick, Leslie Millwee, Paula Jones, and Kathleen Willey — this in addition to Clinton's admitted affairs with Monica Lewinsky and Gennifer Flowers. One must ask the same question one asks of JFK and of his brothers: how many other illicit affairs were there, and why do liberals like Kennedy and Clinton so often stoop to this level?

The national media don't view the Kennedys, Clintons, or Bidens as corrupt, and electronic media may be systematically covering up their evidence. If one Googles "most corrupt Democrats," the result will be pages of results on "Trump corruption." It appears that Google and other high-tech players are suppressing information about the corruption of the liberal elite.

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2021/05/whatever_happened_to_qanon.html

Psaki Repeatedly Dodges Reporter Who Claims, “There’s a Growing Perception That This is Really Just the Third Term of Obama”

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Friday dodged a reporter who brought up the obvious: The Biden Administration is really just Obama’s third term.

Biden has brought back many of Obama’s toxic government officials and all of his jobs-killing executive orders reek of Obama.

Joe Biden also speaks to Barack Obama everyday but the White House refuses to release transcripts of their phone calls.

Jen Psaki acted surprised when the reporter pointed out that this is just Obama 3.0.

“There’s a growing perception that this is really just the third term of President Obama,” the reporter said.

“Who’s saying that?” Psaki retorted.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/05/psaki-repeatedly-dodges-reporter-claims-growing-perception-really-just-third-term-obama-video/

Suneel Smacks Back at Bangkok, Presses Allegations of FBI Tampering With Cami Child Porn Pics

In this article, I will respond to Bangkok’s challenge regarding the claim of evidence tampering.

First, a significant correction: I am not claiming that the FBI agents in Raniere’s case planted child porn.

I am claiming they planted pictures of an adult woman, Cami, which they then backdated so that Cami appears to be 15 in the pictures. Why? If the pictures are from 2005, Cami is 15. If the pictures are from 2010, Cami is 20, and there is no valid predicate act for the racketeering charge of possession of child porn or sexual exploitation of a minor.

I would first direct Bangkok to review the evidence presented in this Frank Report exclusive published prior to Raniere’s sentencing.

There are a few points worth reiterating.

First: FBI agents seized a hard drive, a camera and a camera card from Raniere’s library on March 27, 2018.

Sometime after they seized it, the FBI lost custody of one of the devices, the camera card. During the time, the FBI “lost custody” it was accessed and altered by some unknown person on September 19, 2018 (which is about six months after the devices were collected.)

Finally the card arrived at the evidence lab in an unsealed cellophane bag.

The government’s expert witness FBI forensic examiner Brian Booth, of the Computer Analysis Response Team (CART), testified to these facts on June 13, 2019 at the trial of Raniere:

Booth: The file system data appears to have been changed.

Raniere’s Defense Attorney Paul DerOhanessian: When we say “changed,” it was changed while it was in the possession of the FBI?

Booth: If I’m taking the dates on when we received it, it would appear so.

DerOhanessian: Do you have any record in any piece of evidence or notes that reflects the accessing of Government Exhibit 524 [camera card] by any representative of the FBI on September 19, 2018?

Booth: No, I do not.

DerOhanessian: And with respect to Government Exhibit 524, the LEXAR card, was that submitted to you in a bag of some sort?

Booth: Yeah, it was a cellophane bag.

DerOhanessian: Was it a sealed cellophane bag?

Booth: No, it was not.

More

https://frankreport.com/2021/05/07/suneel-smacks-back-at-bangkok-presses-allegations-of-fbi-tampering-with-cami-child-porn-pics/

At Vatican conference, Chelsea Clinton calls for global crackdown on anti-vaccine social media posts

‘I personally very strongly believe there has to be more intensive and intentional and coordinated global coordination of the content on social media platforms.’

VATICAN CITY, May 7, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) — Chelsea Clinton has spoken out against freedom of vaccine-critical speech at a Vatican conference dedicated to dialogue.

Speaking during a pre-recorded online meeting, Clinton, 41, responded to a question about so-called “vaccine hesitancy” regarding COVID-19 vaccines by saying that there must be a global effort to crack down on vaccine-critical social media posts.

“I personally very strongly believe there has to be more intensive and intentional and coordinated global coordination of the content on social media platforms,” she said.

“We know that the most popular video across all of Latin America for the last few weeks that now has tens of millions of views is just an anti-vax, anti-science screed that YouTube has just refused to take down.”

Clinton added that anti-vaccine content created in the United States “flourishes” across the world by way of social media platforms. Her attempts to convince the managers of these sites to remove the material has not worked, she said.

“We know that — because I have tried — that appealing to the leadership of these companies to do the right thing has just not worked, and so we need regulation.”

Clinton is the Vice President of the Clinton Foundation and the daughter of former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Like her parents, she is an outspoken advocate for abortion.

She appeared alongside Dr. Paul Farmer of Harvard Medical School and Dr. Walter Ricciardi, the Italian president of the World Federation of Public Health Associations, at a pre-recorded online meeting forming part of the Fifth International Vatican “Unite to Prevent & Unite to Cure” conference. Their meeting was first aired today.

Clinton said that the Clinton Foundation has been doing what it can to convince the “vaccine hesitant” and the “vaccine refusers” to take doses of the COVID-19 vaccines. She believes it is important to differentiate between people who are “hesitant” and those in the “refusal group.” The “hesitant” have questions that she can answer, for instance regarding the speed at which the vaccines were developed, their ingredients, and “conspiracies about microchips.”

The people in the “refusal group,” “often young people, don’t think they need the experimental vaccine or would prefer to wait a few years before taking it, Clinton added. They also include people in communities who “have been maltreated” by the American “health system for generations.”

Clinton said that her foundation thinks about “how we talk to black Americans, indigenous Americans, Latinos who know that members of their community have often been mistreated or even manipulated or exploited by our health care system.”

In response, the Clinton Foundation passes on advice to people trusted by those communities to convince them to take the COVID-19 injections.

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/breaking-at-vatican-conference-chelsea-clinton-calls-for-global-crackdown-on-anti-vaccine-social-media-posts?utm_source=featured&utm_campaign=standard

Member of White Supremacist Gang Pleads Guilty to Violent Assault and Conspiracy to Sell Firearms

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/member-white-supremacist-gang-pleads-guilty-violent-assault-and-conspiracy-sell-firearms