How Fact-Checkers ‘Deceived The Public’ About Possible Virus Outbreak From Wuhan Lab

It’s not an accident that most Americans are just starting to hear about the lab leak theory of COVID-19 origin as a potential legitimate source for the global pandemic’s outbreak. It’s because the theory was suppressed for more than a year by corporate media fact-checkers and their allies in Big Tech.

The pages of The New York Times and The Washington Post have been filled with articles in recent weeks about the newfound potential legitimacy of the lab-leak theory. The theory posits that COVID-19 was accidentally released from the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China, potentially after being genetically engineered as a part of “gain-of-function” research.

Evidence for the lab-leak theory has been publicly available but censored from the public on social media.

When the theory first began to surface in early 2020, fact-checkers far and wide decried it as a conspiracy theory. In September 2020, PolitiFact labeled the lab leak theory as a “pants-on-fire” lie that was “inaccurate and ridiculous.” The premature fact-check has now been retracted in May.

Furthermore, Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting called it a “lunatic conspiracy theory.”

Republicans like Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton and former President Donald Trump were chastised for wondering aloud if the pandemic could have originated in the Wuhan lab. Now, some members of the media are admitting that the story got buried for political purposes.

Now, these very same fact-checkers that incorrectly labeled the theory false — before an alternative explanation was remotely close to being available — are declaring that the lab-leak hypothesis is “suddenly credible.” That just isn’t true. Reports began surfacing almost immediately after the pandemic began about a potential lab-leak, and enterprising journalists in various corners of the discourse were talking about the theory long before the Glenn Kesslers of the world came around.

“All evidence available today was available twelve months ago, and most evidence available today was available fifteen months ago,” Rutgers University chemical biology professor Richard Ebright told the Daily Caller.

https://dailycaller.com/2021/05/28/covid-19-coronavirus-wuhan-lab-leak-media-censorship-facebook/

Migrant Who Raped Minor Avoids Deportation By Refusing Coronavirus Test

A 21-year-old Afghan asylum seeker found guilty of raping a 14-year-old girl has avoided deportation from Sweden by refusing to take a test for the Wuhan virus.

The Afghan was convicted of raping a 14-year-old girl in September of 2019 when he, and another young Afghan male, had taken the girl to an apartment after she ran away from a Swedish youth home.

The girl was given alcohol and fell asleep. When she woke up one of the men was in the process of raping her and the other Afghan later raped her as well, the Daily Mail reports.

Both of the migrants, due to their ages, were sentenced to just one and a half years for the rape. One of the migrants was allowed to remain in the country as he had already spent an extended period in Sweden, but the 21-year-old was set for deportation.

He has managed to avoid being deported because he refuses to take a coronavirus test and also refuses to be vaccinated against the virus.

Migrants Avoid Deportation from Sweden by Refusing Coronavirus Tests https://t.co/nuQTHKdIQd

— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) May 4, 2021

“He does not take the test or the vaccine because he does not want to go back. He will be injured if he does,” the Afghan migrant’s Swedish foster mother claimed, and added that she had seen Facebook posts that stated people could avoid deportation by refusing the coronavirus test.

Earlier this month, Mikael Holmgren, acting head of the Border Patrol section in the western region, noted that there were at least several cases a week of migrants avoiding deportation by refusing to take the coronavirus test.

“Many of these that we have in custody have been here even before the pandemic. So when it drags on, and they don’t agree to PCR tests, we can’t deport them. In the end, we have to let them go,” he said.

The pandemic has been a major problem for deportations in Sweden, with authorities complaining of issues relating to travel restrictions as early as April of last year.

Coronavirus: Sweden May Release Illegal Migrants Set For Deportation https://t.co/1wkvVsvbL3

— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) April 5, 2020

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2021/05/30/migrant-who-raped-minor-avoids-deportation-by-refusing-coronavirus-test/

Trudeau Party MP Apologizes for Urinating On Parliamentary Call a Month After Being Caught Naked

Liberal Party of Canada MP William Amos apologised for urinating during a parliamentary virtual call just a month after he appeared nude on another parliamentary call.

Mr Amos released a statement on social media platform Twitter on Thursday evening saying that he had been attending a non-public parliamentary virtual meeting the day prior and had urinated on camera without realising it.

“I urinated without realizing I was on camera. I am deeply embarrassed by my actions and the distress they may have caused anybody who witnessed them,” Amos said, and added: “While accidental and not visible to the public, this was completely unacceptable and I apologize unreservedly.”

Please see my statement. Veuillez lire ma déclaration. pic.twitter.com/ICc8WjqNZi

— William Amos (@WillAAmos) May 28, 2021

Amos also stated that he would be stepping aside as Parliamentary secretary in order to “seek assistance” but was not clear as to what he was seeking assistance for.

The statement was mocked by many on social media, with some users comparing Amos to disgraced former U.S. Congressman Anthony Weiner, while journalist Alex Pierson wrote: “Wee Willy needs help to not whip out his member during work? That’s a new one.”

Many pointed out that the incident is the second involving Amos being nude on camera during a parliamentary virtual meetings in just six weeks, as he was caught walking around his office nude during a call in April.

Trudeau Party MP Caught Naked During Parliamentary Video Call https://t.co/vN4gukGIK0

— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) April 16, 2021

“My video was accidentally turned on as I was changing into my work clothes after going for a jog. I sincerely apologize to my colleagues in the House of Commons for this unintentional distraction. Obviously, it was an honest mistake and it won’t happen again,” Amos said last month prior to it happening again this week.

Last month’s incident also parked mockery, with Alberta provincial Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Devin Dreeshen calling it “too much transparency.”

Leader of the Government in the House of Commons Pablo Rodriguez called for an investigation into the matter as the photo of Mr Amos was allegedly leaked to Toronto Sun journalist Brian Lilley.

Rodriguez also had a virtual meeting call gaffe in recent weeks, yelling “oh f**k!” during Question Period in the House of Commons on May 3rd. He apologised just minutes later to the Speaker of the House for his outburst.

Liberal House Leader Pablo Rodriguez yells “Oh, f**k!” during question period, promptly apologizes. pic.twitter.com/QxuGARrEC0

— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) May 3, 2021

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2021/05/30/trudeau-party-mp-apologizes-for-urinating-on-parliamentary-call-a-month-after-being-caught-naked/

Baltimore School Board Declares That Any Student Who Failed Will Pass Regardless

The Board claimed black people have faced "unique circumstances" during the coronavirus pandemic

Any Baltimore student who failed classes this school year will still be able to pass onto the next year regardless, the school board for the city has announced.

The announcement was made by Baltimore City Public Schools CEO Sonja Santelises during a virtual meeting of the city’s school board on Tuesday. “As we approach the end of the 2020-2021 school year, we all recognize that students have experienced incredibly significant challenges and interruptions in their learning,” Santelises said, saying that the district has developed “a fair and straightforward process for evaluating and reporting students’ progress in the current school year.”

Santelises noted that work groups comprised of teachers, students, and others had been looking at their “existing assessment and grading practices and regulations through the lens of the unique circumstances that black people have faced.” Santelises did not confirm exactly what those “unique” circumstances were, or why black people were seemingly more affected by the pandemic than every other ethnic group.

Joan Dabrowski, the Baltimore City Schools Chief Academic Officer, said that the board was looking to avoid “the punitive approach to failing students and the default reaction to unfairly retain students,” and that instead they will be showing “a commitment and a belief in our students as we plan for a multi-year academic recovery. We will work with them as we recognize that there is unfinished learning and there are credits that have been unearned, and we want to support all of those students as we work to recognize the space they’ve been in.” (VIDEO: School Board Member Arguing For Mandatory Masks Nearly Passes Out While Wearing Mask)

The plan would see various changes regarding the grading system throughout the school ages. Children in Grades 2 through 5 will have the U grade, which stands for “Unsatisfactory” to an NC grade instead, which stands for “Not Completed.” In Grades 6 through 8, the classic F for “Fail” grade will also be replaced with “Not Completed.” Grades 9 through 12 will also replace F with NC, although in their case, the NC will stand for “No Credit.” No changes will be made to the grades of younger children.

“In all of these instances we want to emphasize the word ‘yet’,” Dabrowski said, adding that students would hopefully be brought back over the summer or in the fall for in-person learning in order to complete their failed classes. At the present time, any student who received an NC grade would be allowed to continue to their next grade level.

“Clear strategies” and support systems for those students would be set up to help them complete their classes, but there was no indication that there would be any negative repercussions for those students who never went onto complete the classes that they failed if they did not finish them during the summer or the fall. (READ MORE: Teacher Placed on Leave After Bullying Student for Not Wearing Mask During Lunch)

A Department of Education report from April claimed that around “3 million students have either been absent from or have not been actively participating in remote learning since the beginning of the pandemic,” and that these students were more likely to be “English learners, students with disabilities, students in foster care, students experiencing homelessness, students from low-income backgrounds, Native American youth, and migratory students.”

Multiple cases of teachers misbehaving themselves while participating in virtual learning sessions have hit the news during the coronavirus pandemic. National File reported in February that Marc Schack, a Maryland teacher, was given “administrative leave” after he was caught masturbating on a Zoom call with disabled and special education students still watching, while earlier this month, Amanda Fletcher, a 37-year-old Spanish teacher for a prestigious New York school was suspended after she “appeared to suck the nipple of an unidentified topless male” as she “rocked her head back and forth” on a Zoom call last year.

https://nationalfile.com/baltimore-school-board-declares-that-any-student-who-failed-will-pass-regardless/

Coming Soon: China's Navy Patrolling Off New York

Chinese planners are not only thinking of the continent [Africa], they are also eyeing islands in the Atlantic, specifically Terceira, one of the Azores.

On that island, part of Portugal, there is a port and, of even greater interest, Air Base No. 4. Better known as Lajes Field, the facility is jointly operated by the U.S. Air Force and its Portuguese counterpart.

If China controlled the base, the Atlantic would no longer be secure…. Chinese planes could patrol the northern and central portions of the Atlantic and thereby cut air and sea traffic between the U.S. and Europe. Beijing would also be able to deny access to the nearby Mediterranean Sea.

Pentagon budget cutters have been scaling back activities at Lajes, making it a "ghost base." As a result, Lajes is ripe for China to take it over.

China could get a base even closer than [Lajes]. About 90 miles east of Palm Beach, on Grand Bahama Island, a Hong Kong-based business is spending about $3 billion on a deep-water container facility, the Freeport Container Port.

Sri Lanka is perhaps the model for China's militarization of the Bahamas. In addition to the overly large facility in Freeport, there is a Chinese-funded port on Abaco Island, also part of the Bahamas. The port in Abaco is essentially useless from a commercial point of view and could fall into Beijing's hands.

China, therefore, could have two naval bases close to Florida, unless the Biden administration moves fast to block Chinese penetration of the Bahamas.

At the moment, America is, with trade and investment, strengthening a hostile Chinese regime, which has declared the U.S. to be its enemy. Last year, America's two-way trade with China totaled $560.1 billion.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/17414/china-navy-patrol-new-york

Droves of lockdown protesters flood London for weekly ‘Freedom March’

A protest in London has drawn a large number of participants, united by their mistrust of how the British government is handling the Covid-19 situation. Such events are part of a larger movement that’s gripping Western countries.

In the latest weekly demonstration, tens of thousands marched through the streets of the British capital under the banner “Unite for Freedom”. The rally brought together groups of people who are variously unhappy with the prolonged lockdowns imposed by the government, mistrustful of Covid-19 vaccines and harbour anti-government sentiments.

Politician David Kurten, formerly of the UK Independence Party, estimated that the gathering was larger than the one held last weekend. “We are all out, normal people, not wearing any masks, not taking any vaccines, demanding that the government give us back the civil liberties that they never had the right to take away,” he said, summarizing the protesters’ cause.

The biggest ever London Freedom Rally has begun. pic.twitter.com/d08Kg116sY

— David Kurten (@davidkurten) May 29, 2021

Anti-lockdown protests similar to the one in London have been happening on a regular basis in many Western countries and are sometimes met with police action.

In the UK, the mistrust in government policies has been fuelled by an often-shifting narrative, which started with a call to endure a short period of restrictions to “flatten the curve” of Covid-19 infections and protect the National Health Service from being overwhelmed, but instead went on for months.

Not on the news #londonprotest#Londonpic.twitter.com/jIgP8mujj3

— Steve (@IamStevacus) May 29, 2021

Make sure you get the numbers right this time @BBCNews@itvnews@SkyNews@Channel4News@LBC#londonprotestpic.twitter.com/6YgUKbya3h

— Alan D Miller (@alanvibe) May 29, 2021

Boris Johnson’s government has warned that outbreaks of the ‘Indian variant’ of Covid-19 could slow down the promised easing of restrictions in the country. Pubs and restaurants in England have recently been allowed to serve customers indoors in groups of up to six – or two households – once again, and other public venues have had their restrictions partially lifted. Outdoor public gatherings are normally restricted to 30 people, and social distancing between groups is advised.

https://www.rt.com/uk/525169-london-freedom-march-protest/

117 Employees File Lawsuit Against Texas Hospital for Requiring COVID-19 Vaccine

More than 100 employees at Houston Methodist hospital filed a lawsuit against their employer for requiring all staff members to receive the COVID-19 vaccine or they would lose their jobs.

Saying the COVID-19 vaccines are experimental and they don’t want to be “guinea pigs,” the 117 employees argued in court that it’s unlawful for their employers to require them to take the shots.

“Methodist Hospital is forcing its employees to be human ‘guinea pigs’ as a condition for continued employment,” their lawsuit (pdf) states. Adding that that the hospital’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate “requires the employee to subject themselves to medical experimentation as a prerequisite to feeding their families,” the employees wrote that they took issue receiving “experimental COVID-19 mRNA” vaccines, such as ones made by Pfizer and Moderna.

“For the first time in the history of the United States, an employer is forcing an employee to participate in an experimental vaccine trial as a condition for continued employment,” their lawsuit stated.

The plaintiffs cited a letter—included in the lawsuit—from the CEO and president of Houston Methodist, Marc Boom, who allegedly directed employees to “please see the HR policy that outlines the consequences of not being compliant by June 7, which include suspension and eventually termination.”

Meanwhile, at the top of the lawsuit, an alleged quote from David Bernard, a CEO of Houston Methodist branch, was included. Bernard purportedly told an employee that “100 percent vaccination is more important than your individual freedom … Everyone [sic] of you is replaceable. If you don’t like what your [sic] doing you can leave and we will replace your spot.”

But a spokesperson for Houston Methodist disputed the quote in a statement to The Epoch Times, saying Sunday that Bernard “did NOT say that to this disgruntled employee,” and he “has respect for all his employees—we are a values-based organization with respect as one of our core values.”

The lawsuit also asserted that employers’ mandating COVID-19 vaccines is problematic because “there is much” the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “does not know about these products even as it authorizes them for emergency use, including their effectiveness against infection, death, and transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that is allegedly the cause of the COVID disease.” The FDA approved an emergency use authorization for the vaccines made by Moderna and Pfizer in December, and gave the emergency authorization for Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine in early 2021.

The lawsuit was filed by Jared Woodfill, a Houston-area attorney, who said in an interview that the Houston Methodist mandate violates the Nuremberg Code of 1947 that was written after the fall of the Nazi regime in Germany.

https://www.ntd.com/117-employees-file-lawsuit-against-texas-hospital-for-requiring-covid-19-vaccine_620690.html

Snopes at it again

https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/snopes-at-it-again/

How Much Is Biden's Family Ties To China Affecting Administration's Decisions?

Former chief assistant U.S. Attorney and Fox News donor Andrew McCarthy responded Thursday to reports Vice President Joe Biden met with his son’s Russian and Ukrainian business colleagues saying, "Hunter Biden’s business is access."

During an exhibition on "The Story", McCarthy slammed the president’s son and ex-business partner Devon Archer, who was sentenced in a federal scam case in the Southern District of New York.

"These guys were not in business to produce value. They were in business because they were related to or had close relationships to high-ranking people in the United States government and they provided access," said McCarthy. So I think people ought to be very concerned about this," he continued.

"China is our biggest geopolitical problem. How is it that we don’t have a thorough investigation into what the Bidens' financial relationship is with China? Which was one of the big issues in the campaign that get swept under the rug," McCarthy added.

Host Martha MacCallum regarded the loss of curiosity from the American media between the appearance of disputes of interest between the Biden family, China, and Ukraine.

McCarthy agreed, continuing, "It should have been a curiosity for American reporters and it should have been a curiosity for American voters."

"The bottom line, and this was completely confirmed by what we learned about Hunter’s laptop, which they never really questioned the authenticity… So what you get is every time Barack Obama, as president, puts Joe Biden in charge of American foreign policy, with respect to a country — whether it’s Ukraine or Russia or China — those countries see some reason, who knows why to pay millions of dollars to Hunter Biden."

China is not scared to fire shots at the Biden administration, particularly regarding foreign policy, as accusations that China is covering up the origins of the coronavirus pandemic put additional strain on its relationship with the U.S.

Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said peace is "fraying at the edge" as the U.S. competes with China and other powers in his commencement address at the Air Force Academy on Wednesday.

"We are now in the 76th year of the great power peace following World War II, and it is under stress," Milley told graduating cadets. The four-star general admitted the U.S. was in "a great power competition with China and Russia." The challenge, he added, has been to stay competitive but avoid a "great power conflict."

The pandemic pays: Top CEOs now earn $12.7m on average after receiving 5% median pay rise despite the pandemic ravaging their firms' profits and tanking the economy

CEOs saw their compensation packages rocket by an average of five per cent last year even as COVID-19 ravaged the US economy.

Although many chief executives saw their base salaries cut, they were handed stock options which ended up swelling their total compensation beyond what they'd have received had coronavirus not battered the US economy.

Among the most eye-catching pay rises was that given to Carnival cruise lines CEO Arnold Donald. His total pay soared by $13.3 million in 2020 - up 19 per cent from 2019 - after he was handed $5.2 million in stock options to encourage him to stay with the firm.

The value of those options could rise or fall, experts say, although cruise lines are expecting a bumper summer amid predictions of a vacation-booking bonanza by COVID-weary Americans.

Donald enjoyed the bumper pay boost despite Carnival sinking to a $10.2 billion loss for the fiscal year, as COVID-19 halted sailings, with cruise lines including Carnival yet to resume sailings.

The CEO takes home 302 times more a year than the average Carnival worker, whose salary sits at $44,000.

The median pay package for a CEO at an S&P 500 company hit $12.7 million in 2020, according to data analyzed by Equilar for The Associated Press.

Since median pay symbolizes the middle pay package, that means half the CEOs in the survey made more, and half made less.

It's 5 percent more than the median pay for that same group of CEOs in 2019 and an acceleration from the 4.1 percent climb in last year's survey.

Chipotle Mexican Grill CEO Brian Niccol earned $38 million in 2020, up 137.5 percent from the $16 million he earned last year. His base salary rose from $1.2 million in 2019 to $1.24 million in 2020.

Niccol was handed $14.8 million in bonuses and incentives due to the healthy fast food chain's 'stellar' performance during COVID, with takeout one of the few pleasures still available to Americans while most of the economy was shuttered. The median employee pay at Chipotle is $13,127, meaning Niccol earns 2,989 times more annually than the average worker at his firm.

Lowe's CEO Marvin Ellison earned $23 million in 2020, up 98 percent from the $11.62 million he earned last year. His base salary was $1.5 million. Almost 60 per cent of Ellison's pay package was comprised of stock options for the retailer, valued at $14 million. Ellison received a further $5.8 million as part of a 'non-incentive equity plan' offered by the Lowe's board. The median employee pay at Lowe's is $24,554, meaning the CEO to average worker pay ratio is 940 to 1.

http://www.madnesshub.com/2021/05/the-pandemic-pays-top-ceos-now-earn.html

American Airlines joins Southwest in suspending alcohol services following flight attendant assault

American Airlines has joined Southwest Airlines (LUV) in suspending alcohol services on flights, the airline said Saturday. The decision follows a recent assault of a Southwest flight attendant that resulted in a serious injury.

"Flight attendants are on the front lines every day not only ensuring our customers' safety, but are also calming fears, answering questions, and enforcing policies like federally-required face masks," said Brady Byrnes, managing director of flight service at American, in a memo to flight attendants obtained by CNN.

"Over the past week we've seen some of these stressors create deeply disturbing situations on board aircraft," the memo said. "Let me be clear: American Airlines will not tolerate assault or mistreatment of our crews."

Like other airlines, American (AAL) first suspended alcohol sales in March 2020 to minimize interaction between crew and passengers and to ensure safer flights.

The airline said services will remain suspended through September 13. The date coincides with the end of the Transportation Security Administration's mask mandate for all planes.

The mandate requires masks on all travelers in airports, airplanes, terminals, trains, buses and boats. It was set to end on May 11 but the TSA extended it to September.

American's extended suspension on alcohol service comes after the airline reinstated beverage services including alcohol on May 1 in all of its domestic premium cabins.

The airline says alcohol will continue to be offered in first and business class cabins but only inflight. Alcohol sales were initially slated to resume on the airline's main cabin on June 1, but will remain paused.

"While we appreciate that customers and crewmembers are eager to return to "normal," we will move cautiously and deliberately when restoring pre-COVID practices," Byrnes said in the memo.

"We also recognize that alcohol can contribute to atypical behavior from customers onboard and we owe it to our crew not to potentially exacerbate what can already be a new and stressful situation for our customers," Byrnes said.

On May 23, a Southwest passenger was arrested on suspicion of felony battery causing serious injury after she allegedly struck a flight attendant during a flight from Sacramento to San Diego, according to a statement from the Port of San Diego Harbor Police Department.

The flight attendant suffered facial injuries and lost two teeth, according to Lyn Montgomery, president of the union that represents Southwest's flight attendants.

Following the incident, Southwest made the decision to "re-evaluate the restart of alcohol service on board" and suspended services indefinitely.

In a statement, United (UAL)said Saturday that it is still serving alcohol on flights that are more than two hours long. Similarly, Delta (DAL) said it is serving beer, wine and cocktails on its flights.

Since the beginning of the year, about 2,500 reports of unruly behavior by passengers have been reported, including about 1,900 reports of passengers refusing to comply with the federal face mask mandate, the FAA said in a news release on Monday.

https://www.cracknewz.com/2021/05/american-airlines-joins-southwest-in.html

Hong Kong Authorities Warn of 5-year Prison Term for Attending Tiananmen Massacre Vigil

Following the ban by Hong Kong’s police on the annual candlelight vigil held at Victoria Park to commemorate victims of China’s 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre, the Security Bureau warned Hongkongers against taking part in this year’s vigil on June 4, or the commemorative long-distance run Sunday, May 30.

It said in a statement issued on May 29:

The relevant meetings and procession are unauthorised assemblies. No one should take part in it, or advertise or publicise it, or else he or she may violate the law.

The bureau warned that under the Public Order Ordinance, offenders will face up to five years in prison for attending, or one year for promoting, the vigil.

The statement also cited Hong Kong National Security Law in listing potential offences:

If anyone attempts to challenge the law, including the Prohibition on Group Gathering, Public Order Ordinance, Hong Kong National Security Law, etc., the Police will deal with it seriously in accordance with the law.

Four pro-democracy activists, including Joshua Wong, were handed four to 10-month jail sentences on May 6 for attending last year’s vigil in Victoria Park. A dozen more pro-democracy activists are still awaiting trial for attending, inciting or organizing the vigil.

Hong Kong had held candlelight vigils to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre for over 30 years—since 1990—until the police banned the event for the first time last year, citing “public health concerns.”

This year, the Hong Kong police also using the COVID-19 pandemic restriction on public gatherings to justify its decision. In a letter issued on May 27 to the event’s organizer, the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China (HK Alliance), the police claimed that the event would threaten public health.

As daily cases of COVID-19 subsided to single digits in May, restrictions on social distancing were relaxed and crowds have emerged in shopping malls and beaches in the past week. This lead HK Alliance to file an appeal to the police objection but this failed and the organizers have to stop all promotion of the vigil:

The Alliance firmly believes that Hong Kong people will never forget June 4, and we also ask Hong Kong people to mourn June 4 with perseverance and wisdom, under lawful, safe, peaceful and rational circumstances, in their own way, at the right time and place. May the truth prevail!

Last year, thousands of Hongkongers spontaneously lit candles in more than a dozen public spots, including Victoria Park to commemorate the Tiananmen Massacre, despite the police ban.

It is anticipated similar activities will take place all over Hong Kong. The Catholic Church has stated that it will continue its tradition of hosting a “Mass for the Dead” on June 4 at seven of its churches across Hong Kong.

Whether the police will press charges on such decentralized gatherings will be worth observing:

https://www.activistpost.com/2021/05/hong-kong-authorities-warn-of-5-year-prison-term-for-attending-tiananmen-massacre-vigil.html

Netanyahu meets Egyptian spy chief, demands return of captives in Gaza

Meeting comes as Israeli foreign minister tells counterpart in Cairo that reconstruction will not happen if no solution found for Israelis held by Hamas

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanded the return of Israeli captives being held in Gaza in a meeting with the head of Egypt’s intelligence services Sunday, as Jerusalem and Cairo held high-level talks centered on shoring up a truce with terror group Hamas in the Palestinian enclave.

The meeting came as Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi told his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry, that Jerusalem would not allow Gaza reconstruction to move ahead without a solution in place for the return of two civilians and the remains of two soldiers, held in Gaza for the better part of a decade.

Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed entered the Strip of their own accord in 2015, and their families say they suffer from mental illness. Hamas is also holding the bodies of Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin, two IDF soldiers who were killed during the 2014 Gaza war.

Egypt has looked to take a leading role in following up on a ceasefire it helped broker earlier this month that halted 11 days of intense fighting between Israel and Gaza, including being involved in reconstruction efforts.

Abbas Kamel, the head of Egypt’s intelligence services, was dispatched along with a security delegation to Jerusalem to meet with Netanyahu, and later traveled to Ramallah for talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, before being slated to travel to Gaza for discussions with Hamas officials.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-meets-egyptian-spy-chief-demands-return-of-captives-in-gaza/

Over 230 suspects behind bomb hoaxes caught in Russia this year

The Interior Ministry’s press service told that this figure was 2.1% fewer than the same period in 2020

MOSCOW, May 30. / TASS /. Russia’s police tracked down over 230 people who made false bomb threats across the country over the past four months of this year, the Interior Ministry’s press service told TASS on Sunday.

"From January to April 2021, the number of people who have committed crimes under Article 207 of the Russian Criminal Code (deliberate false report about an act of terrorism) reached 232," the press service stated. This count carries a maximum sentence of up to ten years behind bars.

The Interior Ministry reported that this figure was 2.1% fewer than the same period in 2020. Such false bomb threats usually targeted schools, railway stations, courts and hospitals.

A wave of bomb threats has swept across Russian cities and towns since November 2019. Unidentified persons email about bombs planted at courts, schools, shopping malls, stores, universities, and on flights. All these emails have been mostly sent from abroad. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said that five foreign resources, which had sent out thousands of hoax bomb threats, were blocked.

https://tass.com/society/1295807

Death and double standards: Harder to attribute mortality to vaccine than to COVID?

Comorbidities are downgraded as causal factors in death when they overlap with COVID, whether the latter is verified or even merely suspected.

Stephanie Dubois, a British model aged 39, and Lisa Shaw, a BBC radio presenter aged 44, died within a day of each other due to serious thrombotic episodes after receiving the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. Neither had underlying health conditions.

Dubois' case has now been referred to the European Medicines Agency (EMA), as she lived in Cyprus, but she left her own account of her tragic decline on her Facebook page:

May 6: "So I had the vaccination today! I hate needles, today was no exception … And now I feel horrendous … pizza and bed for me."

May 14: "Woke up feeling fine and then within an hour I had full body shakes, all my joints seized, and I was struggling to breathe and was cold to the bone with a persistent headache and dizziness … Mum and dad came to look after me and took me for a Covid test, which thankfully was negative … but it still doesn't explain what the problem is. Maybe I'm having a prolonged reaction to my Covid jab last week."

That same day she was admitted to the hospital.

May 18: "Done being ill now … Couple more tests today! PS — I still don't like needles — feeling tired."

May 19: Dubois went into a coma.

Shaw's family said in a statement: "Lisa developed severe headaches a week after receiving her AstraZeneca vaccine and fell seriously ill a few days later … She was treated by the [Royal Victoria Infirmary's] intensive care team for blood clots and bleeding in her head."

According to Britain's medical watchdog, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), there have been 332 cases of blood clotting leading to 58 deaths from the AZ vaccine. Statistically, that is very small compared to the estimated 23.9 million first doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine and 9.0 million second doses administered in the U.K. by the same date.

The death of Dubois highlights how much harder it is to attribute deaths to the vaccines than it is to claim death by COVID. Deutsche Welle has even run a fact-check article on other cases titled "No links found between vaccinations and deaths."

The German state broadcaster and publisher sought to debunk claims made in many other countries, including Italy, Austria, South Korea, Germany, Spain, Belgium and the U.S. In a case in a Norwegian nursing home, it quoted the EMA stating: "Pre-existing diseases seemed to be a plausible explanation for death. In some individuals, palliative care had already been initiated before vaccination."

Statens Legemiddelverk of the Norwegian Medicines Agency claimed, "Every day, an average of 45 people die in Norwegian nursing homes … therefore, deaths that occur close to the time of vaccination is expected, but it does not imply a causal relationship to the vaccine."

Figures for deaths attributed to COVID, meanwhile, are not scrutinized to the same level. Comorbidities are downplayed as causal factors in death when they overlap with COVID — whether the latter is verified or even merely suspected.

https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/coronavirus/death-and-double-standards-harder-attribute-mortality-vaccine-covid

OSHA says employers who mandate the COVID vaccine won't have to report its adverse effects

Agency wants to avoid "discouraging workers" from receiving shot.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has relaxed its rules for reporting work-related adverse events involving the COVID-19 vaccine, releasing employers from an earlier requirement that they report any incidents suffered by their employees due to a mandated vaccine.

In April, OSHA said on its website that any businesses that require the COVID-19 vaccine as a condition of employment are required to report adverse reactions that arise from an employee's taking the vaccine.

"If you require your employees to be vaccinated as a condition of employment (i.e., for work-related reasons), then any adverse reaction to the COVID-19 vaccine is work-related," the agency said, directing employers to follow standard reporting protocol in such cases.

Yet by this month, OSHA had reversed that determination, updating the guidance on its website to clarify that employers no longer have to make an entry in the business's "OSHA recordkeeping log" if an employee experiences a medical event due to the vaccine.

"[The Department of Labor] and OSHA, as well as other federal agencies, are working diligently to encourage COVID-19 vaccinations," the new guidance states. "OSHA does not wish to have any appearance of discouraging workers from receiving COVID-19 vaccination, and also does not wish to disincentivize employers' vaccination efforts."

"As a result, OSHA will not enforce 29 CFR 1904's recording requirements to require any employers to record worker side effects from COVID-19 vaccination through May 2022. We will reevaluate the agency's position at that time to determine the best course of action moving forward."

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, meanwhile, has listed numerous potentially fatal adverse events associated with the COVID-19 vaccine, though all of them appear to be rare relative to the tens of millions of shots administered so far.

Among those alleged adverse events is "thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome," a condition which involves blood clots, as well as anaphylaxis, a condition which, in the rare instances it has been reported, "almost always occurs within 30 minutes after vaccination."

The CDC, via its Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, says that several thousand deaths have occurred following the administration of the COVID-19 vaccine, though "a review of available clinical information, including death certificates, autopsy, and medical records has not established a causal link to COVID-19 vaccines."

"Over 285 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered in the United States from December 14, 2020, through May 24, 2021," the agency reported on its website."During this time, VAERS received 4,863 reports of death (0.0017%) among people who received a COVID-19 vaccine."

https://justthenews.com/government/federal-agencies/osha-says-employers-who-mandate-covid-vaccine-wont-have-report-its

The 4-stage brainwashing con that’s turning America into a Communist-run country

Have you noticed how many people are scared to death to remove their masks even though nearly all mask rules have been lifted in America? That’s because they are ALL brainwashed by the media and an elaborate plan to slow-walk 200 million Americans (or more if they can pull it off) right into their own early graves. Everyone else left will either be poor and starving or locked up in concentration camps, scheduled for execution via sudden blood clots (booster vaccines).

From fake news to false flags, and from a fake pandemic to fake election ballots, the playbook for turning America into a communist hell-hole is not complicated; in fact, it’s pretty obvious, and it’s happening now. Keep in mind this can all be accomplished inside of 20 years, or one generation.

It’s called “Psychological Warfare Subversion,” and a former Soviet-era deception expert, named Yuri Bezmenov, explained the communist blueprint plan to a “T” nearly 4 decades ago. The Democrats and Globalists running Washington DC and all the Blue states right now are devaluing all things holy and sacred to our Republic, and we are currently knee-deep in the highest “art of warfare,” which involves no fighting at all — just brainwashing through subversion using television, movies, videos, websites and social media.

Communism is being installed in America right now through psychological warfare subversion in 4 easy ‘playbook’ stages

As Yuri Bezmenov, the KGB propaganda expert once stated:

The highest art of warfare is not to fight at all… but to subvert anything of value in the country of your enemy until such time that the perception of reality of your enemy is screwed up to such an extent that he does not perceive you as an enemy, and that your system, your civilization and your ambitions look to your enemy as an alternative, if not desirable then at least feasible. That’s the ultimate purpose, the final stage of subversion, after which you can simply take your enemy without a single shot being fired.

STAGE 1: Destruction of Religion, Human Value, and School Curriculum (2008 – 2016)

Obama ‘hypnotizes’ everyone into believing there’s rampant racism ‘gone wild’ in America, even though he’s the first Black President. He also gets everyone focused on sex and gay everything. Also, many mass shootings were staged to initiate a government gun grab of all automatic weapons, especially machine guns, but the plan fails miserably. Opiate business in Afghanistan skyrockets to support American prescription ‘pandemic’ of opioids (heroin pills). Obama was a “sleeper cell” terrorist working from within against, and from the top. Meanwhile, Obama puts 45 million Americans on welfare. Step one complete, right out of the commie playbook.

https://www.dcclothesline.com/2021/05/30/the-4-stage-brainwashing-con-thats-turning-america-into-a-communist-run-country/

Biden's EEOC Says Your Employer Can Force You to Get Vaccinated

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says there’s nothing in federal law that can prevent an employer from compelling employees to be vaccinated in order to work.

However, the EEOC also said that for employees who have a religious objection or a physical disability that prevents them from receiving the vaccine, an employer must provide “reasonable accommodations.” Those accommodations could include forcing an unvaccinated employee to wear a mask, be socially distanced from other employees, or allowed to work from home.

Wall Street Journal:

The updated guidance is intended to answer frequently asked questions, EEOC Chairwoman Charlotte Burrows said in a statement. She said the agency will continue to update and clarify its assistance for employers.

The commission is an independent, bipartisan agency that enforces workplace civil-rights laws. The five-person body is led by Ms. Burrows, a Democrat whom President Biden elevated to the top position. It also includes three Republican members nominated by former President Donald Trump.

Many employers are forgoing a vaccine requirement in lieu of incentives.

JBS USA, the biggest U.S. beef processor, and Pilgrim’s Pride, a top poultry supplier, won’t require plant workers to get the vaccine, a spokesman for the companies said. A Bolthouse Farms spokesman said the company didn’t have plans to mandate vaccinations. Dollar General, Trader Joe’s and Instacart Inc. didn’t respond to requests for comment Friday.

Keira Lombardo, chief administrative officer for Smithfield Foods Inc., said the pork giant is making vaccines available for plant workers but isn’t requiring them at this time.

The EEOC said employers may provide employees and their family members information about the benefits of vaccines and how to obtain them. It noted the vaccines are available free of charge.

Those employers who still leave employees a choice while making the vaccine freely available are making the right call. In a couple of months, even wearing a mask won’t be necessary as the virus will be largely gone from large swaths of the country. It’s likely to come back in the fall and winter, but with 70-75 percent of the nation vaccinated, it’s not likely to be a big problem.

“To the extent that employees are concerned that coming back to the workplace will put them at risk of getting Covid-19, anything that helps an employer get more employees vaccinated will help make the case that the workplace is safe,” said Marc Freeman of the Chamber of Commerce.

It’s no one’s business why someone doesn’t get vaccinated, which is why the employer mandate will probably be fought in court. When does the idea of “safety” override our right to privacy? That’s the question that will be decided by a federal court in the next few months.

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/rick-moran/2021/05/29/bidens-eeoc-says-an-employer-can-force-you-to-get-vaccinated-n1450781

Gary D. Barnett - Government is Our Mortal Enemy

This can only be described as a plot to destroy the bulk of humanity for the single goal of destroying everything achieved to date, all for the express purpose of restructuring a world where the few control the many in a global technocratic system based on a master and slave society.

The initial announcement (and now current narrative) that the Chinese through a U.S. funded & controlled lab, purposely or 'accidentally' released a deadly virus on their own population with the intent to cause death worldwide, is ridiculous, but was easy to sell to an ignorant and gullible population that had been pre-conditioned to fear any monster claimed by the people's masters to be a threat.

Consider that this 'coronavirus' plot began at least 21 years ago with the exercise called "Dark Winter."

Consider the Rockefeller Foundation's viral pandemic simulation in 2010 called "Lock Step."

Consider the 8 month long Trump virus simulation in 2019 called Crimson Contagion, that supposedly began in China.

And consider that 2 months before the fake Covid pandemic was announced, the Bill Gates simulation called "Event 201." took place. These are just four telegraphed conspiratorial events among at least five other exercises acted out beginning two decades before this current plandemic. It should be obvious to any individual with even an infinitesimal ability to think that this coup was planned far in advance.

For total control to be achieved, for planned deaths to occur, for panic to spread like wildfire, for reproduction to be manipulated and harmed, for depopulation efforts to be successful, for eugenics to once again become mainstream, for the convenient destruction of human immune systems to be achieved, for government allowed looting and rioting to take place, for massive division to become universal, & for children to be altered and conditioned in order to be controlled in the future, much planning and reaction to anticipated consequences had to be previously designed.

Masks led to harmful health, psychological, and immune system side effects. Social distancing led to the destruction of families, behavioral changes meant to force communist type compliance, and eliminated vitally needed social interaction.

Lockdowns led to business closings, extreme job loss, economic destruction, poverty, deadly emotional and mental problems, and a loss of self-worth.

Quarantine led to more isolation, sickness, and death. Travel restrictions caused friends and family members to be completely separated. The closing of schools harmed the minds of children and parents, caused more job loss for working families, and the psychological damage has led to any manner of horrible outcomes, including a massive increase in abuse and suicides.

The closing or interference in supply lines due to all these horrendous planned reactions also caused food shortages across the country. In addition, the income replacement scam meant to condition for universal income has vastly enriched the already rich, and caused great inflation in virtually every sector of the economy, which has been harmful to all.

This is a short list of the very detrimental results of intentional further government intervention into the lives of all; defended as a sympathetic response by what the same government caused in the first place.

After all this carnage by the state against the people, the final solution said to be the savior of mankind, is a poisonous experimental set of injections that will dehumanize the world's population, leaving all that accept it at the mercy of the state and its medical criminals in the pharmaceutical and technological industries.

It is not meant to cure, but to alter the mind and body; and to deform, sicken, sterilize, and kill. Once a great majority succumb to this 'vaccination' scheme, the ruling class will have won.

This can only be described as a plot to destroy the bulk of humanity for the single goal of destroying everything achieved to date, all for the express purpose of restructuring a world where the few control the many in a global technocratic system based on a master and slave society.

https://henrymakow.com/2021/05/gary-barnett-government-mortal-enemy.html

Israel Coalition Talks: Bennett Backs Deal to Oust Netanyahu; PM Decries 'Fraud'

Netanyahu accuses Bennett of committing 'fraud of the century' with coalition efforts

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Naftali Bennett, whom he invited on Sunday once again to join his potential coalition, of committing “the fraud of the century” after Yamina’s chairman announced he would seek a unity government with Yair Lapid – and without Netanyahu.

Netanyahu said he made “incredible” offers to Bennett’s party that would have prevented a “dangerous left-wing government,” but Bennett, according to the prime minister, “only cares about himself.”

Bennett announces backing for unity government with Lapid

Yamina Chairman Naftali Bennett announced that he will do his best to form a coalition government Yair Lapid on Sunday, capping weeks of speculation over whether the right-wing politician would agree to such an effort.

The four election cycles Israel has gone through within two years meant the country was "losing its ability to function," and the country's leadership is "showing hate and divisions to cover up failures," Bennett said.

Bennett also asserted that the idea of a coalition made up solely of right-wing parties was not a true possibility. "It's either a fifth election or a unity government," he said. "Netanyahu knows it well."

At what Bennett called "a crucial moment," he said "we must take responsibilty. I intend to do my best to form a government with my friend, Yair Lapid."

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/elections/EXT-LIVE-all-eyes-on-bennett-as-netanyahu-scrambles-to-foil-gov-t-1.9857230

Petition to Revoke the Covid-19 Vaccines: Dr. Meryl Nass

Massive malfeasance by the CDC and FDA that cost lives

https://www.globalresearch.ca/video-dr-meryl-nass-details-possible-fda-cdc-crimes-petition-revoke-eua-covid-vaccines/5746534

>>13793520

sauce

Big Tech fuckery continues

I'm back from a week at my mom's house and now I'm getting ads for her toothpaste brand, the brand I've been putting in my mouth for a week. We never talked about this brand or googled it or anything like that. As a privacy tech worker, let me explain why this is happening. 🧵

First of all, your social media apps are not listening to you. This is a conspiracy theory. It's been debunked over and over again. But frankly they don't need to because everything else you give them unthinkingly is way cheaper and way more powerful.

Your apps collect a ton of data from your phone. Your unique device ID. Your location. Your demographics. Weknowdis. Data aggregators pay to pull in data from EVERYWHERE. When I use my discount card at the grocery store? Every purchase? That's a dataset for sale.

They can match my Harris Teeter purchases to my Twitter account because I gave both those companies my email address and phone number and I agreed to all that data-sharing when I accepted those terms of service and the privacy policy.

Here's where it gets truly nuts, though. If my phone is regularly in the same GPS location as another phone, they take note of that. They start reconstructing the web of people I'm in regular contact with.

The advertisers can cross-reference my interests and browsing history and purchase history to those around me. It starts showing ME different ads based on the people AROUND me. Family. Friends. Coworkers.

It will serve me ads for things I DON'T WANT, but it knows someone I'm in regular contact with might want. To subliminally get me to start a conversation about, I don't know, fucking toothpaste. It never needed to listen to me for this. It's just comparing aggregated metadata.

The other thing is, this is just out there in the open. Tons of people report on this. It's just, nobody cares. We have decided our privacy just isn't worth it. It's a losing battle. We've already given away too much of ourselves.

https://unrollthread.com/t/1397032784703655938/

Turkish Mob Boss Opens Up On Weapons Shipments To Al-Qaeda In Syria

Turkish mob boss Sedat Peker has opened up in a new video about the Turkish government involvement in illicit trade with Syria and the transfer of weapons to the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front.

Peker, once described as an ultra-nationalist and an ally of the ruling AK Party of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, began revealing information about the corruption of senior Turkish officials and their involvement in illicit activists after a fallout with the authorities. The new video, which was uploaded to YouTube on May 30, was his eighth.

In the video, Peker explains in details, unveiling names, how smuggling with Syria is being run by a ring of influential Turkish figures and commanders of the al-Nusra Front, now known as Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham.

“Let’s open the first Pandora’s box, what do you need in order to carry on commerce in Syria? You go to Mr Metin Kıratlı, the Presidential Director of Administrative Affairs in the Külliye [the name Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan uses for his presidential complex],” Peker said. “Smuggled crude oil, tea, sugar, aluminum, copper, used cars… These add up to billions of dollars, huge sums of money.”

According to Peker, after getting Kıratlı’s approval those who wish to smuggle goods to or from Syria should approach the MT Group, where they would appeal to Murat Sancak, an ally of Erdogan and the heir to Turkey’s leading military vehicle manufacturer BMC, as well as to Ramazan Öztürk, the son of BMC Board Member Talip Öztürk.

“After you pass them, you can go to the finances guy of al Nusra, Abu Abdurrahman. He sometimes goes by Abu Sheima. That is how trade works now,” Peker said.

Peker also said about the transfer of weapons by Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization, MİT. The mob boss explained how he was involved in the process that started with an initiative to support Turkmen fighters in Syria with non-lethal equipment.

“Drones, radios enough for all fighters there, bulletproof vests, this, that, trucks’ full…” Peker said. “We thought up this project, and spoke with a lawmaker friend of ours. He took the idea and passed it along to the necessary places. Then they said they would give us extra trucks, to travel alongside ours.”

According to Peker, the extra trucks, which were sent with the “aid” convoy that carried his own name, were loaded with weapons.

“We didn’t know what was in the vehicles,” Peker said, before clarifying. “When I say we didn’t know, I mean there were weapons, I am not a naïve child.”

The operation was not handed by the MİT, rather by SADAT, a defense consultancy company that is known to be owned by a former security adviser to Erdogan. Peker claimed that he was a financer.

https://southfront.org/turkish-mob-boss-opens-up-on-weapons-shipments-to-al-qaeda-in-syria/

Hunter Biden Violated His Divorce Settlement in 2017 While at Same Time He Was Hanging Out in Strip Clubs Playing with Sex Toys

Hunter Biden violated his 2017 divorce settlement by refusing to pay back property taxes or deeds for one of their homes.

Via a Washington Examiner investigation.

Although Hunter Biden made millions, he hampered his ex-wife’s quest to build a new life after their 2017 divorce by refusing to pay back property taxes or deed over one of their homes to her, according to documents obtained by the Washington Examiner.

Biden’s actions violated his divorce settlement agreement and resulted in the federal government garnishing Kathleen Biden’s $5,345 tax return. She was also unable to refinance a home in her own name in 2018, Kathleen Biden’s divorce attorney, Rebekah Sullivan, wrote in a letter to Hunter Biden.

At the time, Biden was making up to $50,000 a month from his consultant job with the Ukrainian gas company Burisma Holdings. Property records show the couple owned homes in Washington, D.C., Delaware, and on a lake in Indiana.

So what was Hunter Biden doing at this time?

Well, besides his lucrative contract with the Ukrainian Burisma Board Hunter Biden was known to unwind at the Hustler Club in New York City.

As reported earlier by Cassandra Fairbanks — Hunter Biden’s fondness for strip clubs continues to unfold, revelations came out on Wednesday that not only did he impregnate a DC stripper, he also had sex toys used on him by dancers at the Hustler Club in New York City.

A salacious report from Page Six exposed how the former Vice President’s son sent a staffer to buy a dildo so that strippers could use it on him during one of his visits to Larry Flynt’s Hustler Club NYC in Hell’s Kitchen.

Page Six also revealed earlier this week that Biden was suspected of smoking crack in the VIP lounge of a DC strip club.

Around that same time we found out an Arkansas woman fathered a baby by Hunter Biden and the paternity test proved it was his.

Great guy. Great family.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/05/hunter-biden-violated-divorce-settlement-2017-time-hanging-strip-clubs-playing-sex-toys/

Texas Gov. Candidate Don Huffines, Rep. Bryan Slaton Call For Special Session To Ban Transgender Surgery, Castration For Minors

Texas Republicans killed three bills meant to stop child chemical castrations and transgender surgeries in the 2021 session

Despite Texas House Republicans repeatedly calling the 2021 session the “most conservative in history”, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and others have called for a special session to pass conservative legislation that died in the House. Abbott and many calling for a special session have neglected to call for it to address the three bills aimed at banning child chemical castrations and transgender surgeries that died at the hands of House Speaker Dade Phelan, Calendars Committee Chair Rep. Dustin Burrows, and Health Committee Chair Rep. Stephanie Klick, all Republicans.

In a statement posted to Twitter, Abbott’s primary challenger Don Huffines wrote, “Once again, Texans were failed by cowards in Austin. Republican politicians, despite having trifecta control in Texas, worked with Democrats to kill a number of key GOP bills. I support calls for an imminent special session and believe we must pass every GOP priority,” wrote Huffines. “Among the bills that Republicans killed were legislative efforts to end taxpayer-funded lobbying, ban social media companies from silencing conservatives, prevent biological boys from playing in girls’ sports, and outlaw sex change surgeries and controversial hormone therapist for children – all of which have strong support amongst Texas Republican voters.”

Abbott remained uncharacteristically silent on virtually all of these topics, and was harangued by Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller on Tucker Carlson Tonight for his silence regarding transgender surgeries and chemical castrations for minors. Huffines added, “Greg Abbott, who has refused to support legislation on any of these critical topics, indicated that he will call a special session,” but notes, “he has made no indication that GOP priorities will be addressed.”

Texas conservatives have made their priorities clear, but these priorities continue to be met with inaction and excuses.

We cannot afford to wait any longer for results on top GOP issues.

Texans deserve leadership—no excuses. pic.twitter.com/UbL3LsqNMf

— Don Huffines (@DonHuffines) May 26, 2021

In an email sent to his supporters, Rep. Bryan Slaton added his voice to the call for Texas Republicans to hold a special session and pass legislation ending chemical castrations and transgender surgeries for minors. “Republicans in the Texas House have killed numerous Texas GOP priorities this session: The abolition of abortion, banning child genital mutilation, monument protection, and more, all failed to pass,” wrote Slaton. “We need a special session immediately in order to pass SB 29, 12 and 10, along with the remaining Republican priorities and building the wall. The voters gave us a mandate when they elected republicans to the majority, and they are expecting us to get these bills passed, and we must do so.”

The call for a special session comes after National File exposed that virtually all top Texas Republicans – Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Phelan, and Klick – received over $250,000 in combined donations from Texas’s first clinic offering transgender chemical castrations for children. Patrick alone has received $120,000 from the clinic’s PAC since 2016, something former U.S. House candidate Chris Ekstrom told National File is unsurprising.

“I wish I could say I’m surprised that Dan Patrick is taking money from the chemical castration lobby. But during the last session, to my horror, I realized that Dan Patrick was totally unaware of the Monuments Protection Act until we forced him at a meeting of the True Texas Project to acknowledge that Republicans expected him to do something about it,” said Ekstrom. “After the meeting, he promptly pushed it through the Senate, where it then died in the House, just like S.B. 1311. Is this déjà vu? $120,000 isn’t chump change, and apparently Dan knew which way the wind was blowing in the House.”

https://nationalfile.com/texas-gov-candidate-don-huffines-rep-bryan-slaton-call-for-special-session-to-ban-transgender-surgery-castration-for-minors/

Victim of Tennessee plane crash starred in 1996 ‘Tarzan’ series

A former Hollywood star who played Tarzan on television in the 1980s and 1990s was among the victims of the plane crash that left his Christian diet guru wife and five other members of their church dead in a Tennessee lake on Saturday.

Joe Lara, 58, was the husband of 66-year-old Gwen Shamblin Lara, founder of the controversial Remnant Fellowship church and author of “The Weigh Down Workshop.”

A native of San Diego, Joe Lara played the legendary jungle hero in the 1989 CBS made-for-TV flick “Tarzan in Manhattan” and again in the short-lived spin-off series “Tarzan: The Epic Adventures” that aired from 1996 to 1997.

He and his wife, who married in 2018, crashed into Percy Priest Lake moments after take-off from nearby Smyrna, Tennessee along with her son-in-law Brandon Hannah, and longtime Remnant members David L. Martin, Jennifer J. Martin, Jessica Walters and Jonathan Walters, all of Brentwood, Tennessee, authorities said.

All are believed to have perished in the crash. Investigators on Sunday continued to scour the lake for the bodies of those on board, none of whom were legally licensed to fly the 39-year-old Cessna 500 series plane, the Nashville Tennessean reported.

The medical certification on Joe Lara’s license had expired in 2017, according to federal records. Live tape of the unknown pilot’s communication with the control tower suggested a mechanical failure, the Tennessean said.

His wife’s Remnant Fellowship has grown to as many as 1,500 members and 150 congregations since its founding in 1999, according to the local paper.

Shamblin Lara controversially believed being overweight is a sign of greed and gluttony. She also preached strict obedience of parents and corporal punishment of children.

In 2003, two members of the church were convicted of beating their 8-year-old son to death with a glue stick, the Tennessean said.

Shamblin Lara’s group posted bond for the couple, who both received life in prison.

https://nypost.com/2021/05/30/victim-of-tennessee-plane-crash-starred-in-1996-tarzan/

'It was smoke and mirrors': Why New Zealand's government appears spooked by the prospect of anyone examining its dealings with China

We've really hit a nerve in Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's office since they found out we were running a story this weekend on New Zealand's relationship with China.

It's kind of reminded me a bit of the old quote commonly attributed to George Orwell: "Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed. Everything else is just public relations."

Here's what New Zealand would probably rather we didn't report:

When the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing group (USA, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) released joint statements condemning China's repeated human rights violations and encroachments in Hong Kong, New Zealand refused to sign them.

New Zealand's Foreign Minister, Nanaia Mahuta, said she was "uncomfortable" with the statements being made by New Zealand's traditional allies about China, adding her country would respect Beijing's "particular customs, traditions and values".

New Zealand's Trade Minister, Damien O'Connor, said Australia needed to show China more "respect" and "exercise a little more diplomacy".

Over the last month we've made numerous requests to interview New Zealand's Trade Minister and Foreign Minister on their government's ties to China but were repeatedly knocked back.

Yet the Prime Minister's office this week had the gall to claim our story would be unfair because the New Zealand government hadn't been approached for comment.

https://9now.nine.com.au/60-minutes/60-minutes-tom-steinfort-new-zealand-and-chinas-business-dealings/58164252-5451-4737-a936-53f9762a0e7d