Conflicts of interest alleged in ‘multi-layered web of influence’ as Big Pharma pays millions to informal Parliament groups

Health-related semi-formal working groups of the British Parliament are taking millions in donations from the pharmaceutical industry, which presents an obvious potential for conflicts of interest, a new study has said.

All-Party Parliamentary Groups, or APPGs, are the less-regulated cousins of select committees, where MPs and peers interested in a certain topic can work together. There are currently over 700 of them, focused on issues from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, and from a genetic condition called ‘22q11 Syndrome’ to zoos and aquariums.

Just like the formal parliamentary working groups, APPGs can raise awareness of certain problems, hold inquiries, and produce reports, but they have fewer formal rules as to how they should operate. For example, they are allowed to involve external organizations to co-author their publications, or take funding from external sponsors to cover their administrative expenses or organize events.

A new study published in the scientific journal PLOS One focuses on 146 health-related registered APPGs and the money some of them received from the drug industry.

Between 2012 and 2018, pharmaceutical companies provided almost £2.2 million ($3 million), or roughly 30 percent of all funding received by 58 such groups, the study’s authors estimate.

The money in question was paid either by drug companies themselves or through industry-funded patient organizations, which authors of the study consider lobbyist vehicles for the corporations. They said the arrangement is part of a “multi-layered web of influence” that corporations have on policy making.

The APPGs for Cancer and Health were the biggest recipients by value, with the former receiving virtually all its funding (99.61 percent) from industry sources. 22 groups received 100 percent of their external funding from them.

“We suggest that, in the context of health related APPGs, payments from the pharmaceutical industry represent institutional conflicts of interest as they create circumstances where the primary interest (policymaking in the interests of public health) is at risk of being unduly influenced by the secondary interest (the pharmaceutical industry’s goal of maximising profits),” the study said.

The researchers backed up their argument by pointing to the content of the output that the informal groups have made over the years. Seven publications by APPGs for Cancer and HIV that involved input from external organisations named 28 contributors from 13 different companies. Nineteen of them had provided payments to the APPG publishing the report, which “suggests that there is a link between providing payments to APPGs and being involved in their activities.”

https://www.rt.com/uk/527586-uk-parliament-big-pharma/

Mike Pence Says He Was ‘Proud’ to Certify the Election for Joe Biden

Former Vice President Mike Pence said that he was proud to certify the election for Joe Biden during a speech at the Reagan Library on Thursday.

Pence also asserted that he did not have the authority to reject or return electoral votes.

“Now there are those in our party who believe that in my position as presiding officer over the joint session that I possess the authority to reject or return electoral votes certified by the states,” Pence said. “The Constitution provides the vice president with no such authority before the joint session of Congress.”

Former President Donald Trump had called for him to reject the votes in certain states that were still finding anomalies.

“And the truth is, there is almost no idea more un-American than the notion that any one person could choose the American president,” Pence said. “And I will always be proud that we did our part on that tragic day to reconvene the Congress and fulfilled our duty under the Constitution.”

Pence was recently heckled by Trump supporters while speaking at a conservative conference.

A new book also alleges that he had praised a Trump aide that unloaded on the then-president over his response to Charlottesville.

The author continued on to write, “Cohn told Trump that his lack of clarity had been harmful to the country and that he’d put an incredible amount of pressure on people working in the White House. He told Trump that he might have to quit. No one backed Cohn up. Others in the room, including Pence, remained quiet.”

“Cohn returned to his office after the meeting broke up. Following a few minutes behind, Pence climbed the flight of stairs and appeared at the threshold of Cohn’s door,” the book claims. “‘I’m proud of you,’ Pence told him, safely out of earshot of the president.”

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/06/watch-mike-pence-says-proud-certify-election-joe-biden/

Biden Justice Department Suing Georgia Over New Voting Law

The Justice Department is suing Georgia over a sweeping new voting law passed by the state's Republican-led legislature, marking the first major step taken by the Biden administration to interfere with state-level election laws enacted since the 2020 election.

According to the New York Times, this will be one of the highest-profile enforcement actions since 2013, when the Supreme Court neutered the government's ability to stop states from passing laws viewed as facilitating voter discrimination.

The lawsuit shows that the Justice Department under the Biden administration intends to use the remaining tools at its disposal to aggressively fight state actions that it sees as potentially disenfranchising minority voters.

Mr. Garland said earlier this month that the department would deploy all of its available tools to combat voter discrimination. -NYT

The DOJ is expected to accuse Georgia of effectively discriminating against nonwhite voters through the Election Integrity Act of 2021, which requires voter ID on absentee ballots, limits the use of drop boxes, expands early in-person voting, bars officials from sending out unsolicited absentee ballot request forms, narrows the window for requesting an absentee ballot, and makes it a crime for outside groups to give voters food or water while waiting in line to vote. The law also affords state legislators greater control over how elections are administered, and shortens runoff elections.

This, according to President Biden, is "Jim Crow in the 21st century."

As the Times notes, the lawsuit comes days after GOP lawmakers blocked Democratic voting legislation.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/watch-live-justice-department-suing-georgia-over-new-voting-law

6 cases of Lambda Covid variant first found in Peru confirmed in England

Public Health England (PHE) has recorded six cases of the new Lambda variant of Covid-19, widespread in South America. The UK has seen a recent surge in Covid cases as a result of the more easily transmitted Delta variant.

The six Lambda cases announced on Friday are all linked to international travel, PHE said, four of which were detected in London, another in the southwest of England, and one in the West Midlands.

The announcement was made in PHE’s update to its infectious diseases information on Friday, where it also noted that the Lambda variant was registered as a ‘Variant Under Investigation’ on June 23 by the UK government.

At present, PHE said, there is no evidence to suggest that the variant has the capability of causing more serious illness or diminishing the efficacy of Covid vaccines.

First detected in Peru and now found in over 25 countries, Lambda (also referred to as C.37) has spread like wildfire through Latin America. According to the Peruvian government, the variant makes up over 80% of Covid infections. The strain also runs rampant through Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Ecuador.

Peruvian virologist, Pablo Tsukayama, expressed concern to German news outlet DW at how quickly the Lambda strain has spread through the country.

“We had 200 Lambda infections in December…by the end of March, it made up half of all samples taken in Lima. Now, three months later, we are looking at more than 80% of all infections nationwide,” Tsukayama said. “Lambda has become the dominant variant in Peru in a very short period of time."

News of the Lambda strain’s arrival in the UK has emerged as the country continues to battle the Delta variant, which the government said now accounts for approximately 95% of all coronavirus infections. British health officials on Friday said that Delta cases have increased 46% from the previous week.

At present, the daily average of Covid cases in the UK is just under 12,000. The recent sharp influx of cases has been attributed to the Delta variant’s higher transmissibility, being 60% more transmissible than other strains.

https://www.rt.com/uk/527607-peru-lambda-covid19-confirmed-england/

Lambda's to the slaughter

Another Judge Blocks Biden's Debt Relief Program For Non-White Farmers

A federal judge in Florida temporarily halted the White House’s $4 billion debt relief program that targeted farmers on the basis of race, saying Wednesday that it was discriminatory.

U.S. District Judge Marcia Morales Howard ruled in favor of Florida-based farmer Scott Wynn, who is white, and who filed a lawsuit to block the program in May. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) implemented the program as part of President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package that sought to distribute funding to “socially disadvantaged farmers.”

The rule’s “rigid, categorical, race-based qualification for relief is the antithesis of flexibility,” Howard wrote (pdf) Wednesday.

“The debt relief provision applies strictly on racial grounds irrespective of any other factor.”

The USDA program could continue to provide funds in the meantime as the court attempts to determine what provisions should be considered unconstitutional, the judge said. Howard also noted that some minority farmers have faced hurdles in the past but said that the current policy is discriminatory against white farmers.

“It is undeniable—and notably uncontested by the parties—that U.S.D.A. had a dark history of past discrimination against minority farmers,” the judge ruled.

“It appears that in enacting Section 1005, Congress relies, albeit without any ill intention, on present discrimination to remedy past discrimination,” she wrote.

Section 1005 refers to the provision that Wynn’s lawsuit had argued was discriminatory.

She added:

“On the record before the Court, it appears that in adopting Section 1005’s strict race-based debt relief remedy Congress moved with great speed to address the history of discrimination, but did not move with great care."

Another judge in Wisconsin had issued a similar ruling earlier this month on the controversial provision and issued a temporary restraining order after a group of white farmers filed a lawsuit against the USDA insisting they be included in the program.

U.S. District Judge William Griesbach, in issuing a temporary restraining order, wrote that “plaintiffs are excluded from the program based on their race and are thus experiencing discrimination at the hands of their government,” noting the farmers who filed the lawsuit “have established a strong likelihood that Section 1005 of the ARPA is unconstitutional.”

Signed into law on March 11, ARPA (the American Rescue Plan Act) directs the federal government to hand out $1.9 trillion in federal funds. Section 1005 stipulates that the USDA “provide a payment in an amount up to 120 percent of the outstanding indebtedness of each socially disadvantaged farmer or rancher as of January 1, 2021,” according to the text of the law.

Farmers and ranchers who are black, Native American, Hispanic, Asian, Hawaiian, or Pacific Islanders are eligible for a loan regardless of whether they’ve suffered any discrimination in obtaining loans or elsewhere. The law also doesn’t take into account their present economic situation.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/another-judge-blocks-bidens-debt-relief-program-non-white-farmers

Scalise Charges Democrats "Trying To Cover Up For China" On COVID Origin

Minority Whip Steve Scalise has slammed Democrats in the House for failing to hold hearings relating to the origins of the pandemic, noting that without subpoenas it is near impossible to get health officials to turn up to any Republican led hearing.

“[N]ot a single hearing by Speaker Pelosi in the House on this. It’s like they’re trying to cover up for China instead of getting basic answers that we all ought to want to find the truth about,” Scalise charged during an appearance on Fox News.

He continued, “We should be trying to get the answers to this. We are trying to get those answers. And if they don’t allow hearings, it’s hard to get those answers. Because those officials don’t come in.”

“That’s why we’re going to be having our own hearing next week and we’ve called a lot of witnesses to come forward, good, respected scientific and medical experts that hopefully can shed more light on this,” the Louisiana Rep. added.

Scalise further asserted “frankly, Speaker Pelosi, they have the subpoena powers. They should be bringing everybody in who had communication with those scientists at the Wuhan lab.”

“China’s surely not being forthright,” Scalise emphasised, adding “The Communist Party there is hiding evidence, maybe has destroyed evidence.”

As we reported yesterday, a scientist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle claims to have located genetic sequences from early coronavirus cases in China that had been deleted from both US and Chinese databases. The sequences show the virus was circulating in Wuhan before any cases were linked to the infamous wet market.

It “seems likely that the sequences were deleted to obscure their existence,” Dr Jesse Bloom noted in his paper.

Jamie Metzl, an advisor for the World Health Organisation, has also urged that “The Chinese have engaged in a massive cover-up that is going on until this day, involving destroying samples, hiding records, placing a universal gag order on Chinese scientists and imprisoning Chinese citizen journalists asking the most basic questions.”

Former head of British intelligence agency MI6, Sir Richard Dearlove, has also warned that it may be too late now to hold the communist state accountable because it will have probably destroyed all that evidence. Dearlove is on record with his form belief that the pandemic was caused by a lab leak and then covered up.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/watch-scalise-charges-democrats-trying-cover-china-covid-origin

Iranian Facility Attacked Wednesday Was On List Of Targets Israel Gave To US

Iran is downplaying a Wednesday attack that targeted a centrifuge production building in a small city outside of Tehran. Iranian officials say the attack was thwarted, while Israeli media is reporting damage was done.

When it comes to covert attacks inside Iran, Israel is the obvious suspect, although Israeli officials rarely take credit. According to The New York Times, the centrifuge facility, which was reportedly targeted by a small quadcopter drone, was on a list of targets Israel presented to the US back in 2020.

An unnamed intelligence official told the Times that in early 2020, Israel proposed attacking the building to former President Trump, then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and Gina Haspel, who was CIA chief at the time. Killing Iranian scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh and attacking the Natanz nuclear facility were also on the list of proposed Israeli attacks, which both happened later in the year.

Israel proposed hitting the Iran Centrifuge Technology Company, or TESA, to former US president Donald Trump along with then-secretary of state Mike Pompeo and Gina Haspel, at the time director of the CIA, an intelligence source told The New York Times. — The Times of Israel

Fakhrizadeh was killed in November 2020. The Natanz facility was sabotaged in the summer of 2020 and again this past April, which coincided with the US and Iran starting indirect negotiations to revive the nuclear deal.

The new head of Israel’s Mossad spy agency recently threatened more covert attacks, warning that Iran would "continue feeling Mossad’s might."

Iran nuclear site hit Wednesday was on list of targets Israel gave US – report https://t.co/MbddKeYWV8

— The Times of Israel (@TimesofIsrael) June 24, 2021

On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett made comments that were interpreted by Israeli media as him hinting that Mossad was behind the alleged drone attack on Iran’s centrifuge facility.

"Our enemies know — not from statements, but from actions — that we are much more determined and much more clever, and that we do not hesitate to act when it is needed," Bennet said at a graduation ceremony for Israeli Air Force pilots.

https://news.antiwar.com/2021/06/24/report-iranian-facility-targeted-in-attack-was-on-list-of-targets-israel-gave-to-us/

Judge Overseeing George Floyd Case DENIES Former Police Officer Derek Chauvin New Trial

Former police officer Derek Chauvin, who was made famous last year after the death of George Floyd during his arrest, has been denied a request for a new trial.

The judge in Minneapolis overseeing former Police Officer Derek Chauvin’s case has denied a request for a new trial.

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin’s post-verdict motion for a new trial has been denied.

Hennepin County District Court Judge Peter Cahill ruled Thursday night that Chauvin “failed to demonstrate … the Court abused its discretion or committed error such that Defendant was deprived of his constitutional right to a fair trial.”

Cahill also ruled that Chauvin failed to demonstrate prosecutorial or juror misconduct.

Prosecutors have requested a 30-year prison sentence.

Derek Chauvin, the former police officer who killed George Floyd on a Minneapolis street last year, is set to be sentenced Friday to a potentially lengthy prison stay.

Chauvin, 45, was convicted in April on charges of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for his role in Floyd’s death.

Prosecutors for the state of Minnesota requested a 30-year prison sentence, saying it “would properly account for the profound impact of Defendant’s conduct on the victim, the victim’s family, and the community,” according to a sentencing memo.

Chauvin never knew that day when he went to work that his name would be shared around the world along with his actions during the arrest of Floyd. Floyd died during the arrest having taken a lethal dose of drugs beforehandt. However, Chauvin’s actions during the arrest led to the verdict in his case.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/06/judge-overseeing-george-floyd-case-denied-former-police-officer-dereck-chauvin-new-trial/

India’s IT minister blasts Twitter after being locked out of account amid state’s ongoing row with tech giant

The minister for information technology in India has blasted Twitter after it locked him out of his account for an hour for an alleged copyright issue. New Delhi and Twitter are currently embroiled in a dispute over new IT rules.

On Friday, Ravi Shankar Prasad, India’s minister for communications, electronics and information technology, lambasted Twitter for temporarily blocking his account, saying the platform was not “the harbinger of free speech” that it claimed to be.

In a series of posts on Twitter, sent after he had regained access, the minister said that the decision to block him for almost an hour was evidence that Twitter are only interested in their own agenda and will arbitrarily remove users from their platform if you don’t “tow the line they draw.”

Sharing screenshots showing that his account had been locked, he stated that Twitter blocked him on grounds that he was in violation of the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

Friends! Something highly peculiar happened today. Twitter denied access to my account for almost an hour on the alleged ground that there was a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of the USA and subsequently they allowed me to access the account. pic.twitter.com/WspPmor9Su

— Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) June 25, 2021

It is not clear which of Prasad’s posts allegedly contravened the DMCA, but Twitter confirmed to reporters that access was temporarily restricted because of a DMCA notice. The US firm also noted that a tweet was withheld.

“Per our copyright policy, we respond to valid copyright complaints sent to us by a copyright owner or their authorized representatives,” a Twitter spokesperson said.

Doubling down on previous comments, Prasad stated that Twitter, and any social media platform, will need to abide by India’s new IT rules, which have proven controversial among tech firms.

In recent months, India and Twitter have been embroiled in an ongoing row about the firm’s non-compliance with new IT rules. Under the rules, effective since May, social media firms operating in India are accountable to legal requests for the swift removal of posts on their platforms, and are also required to share details on the origins of the posts.

The rules state that the platform must remove the posts in question within 36 hours of an administrative or legal order being issued.

“If any foreign entity believes that they can portray itself as the flag bearer of free speech in India to excuse itself from complying with the law of the land, such attempts are misplaced,” Prasad previously stated in a series of tweets.

https://www.rt.com/news/527614-india-twitter-minister-blocked/

Amazon and Google under UK competition watchdog scrutiny for not ‘doing enough’ to tackle fake review scourge on their platforms

Citing suspicions that Amazon and Google have not adequately addressed their fake review problems, the UK’s competition regulator has launched probes against the tech giants in relation to breaches of consumer protection law.

Announcing the opening of formal investigations on Friday, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said “specific concerns” were raised about whether the two companies were “doing enough” to detect “fake and misleading reviews or suspicious patterns of behaviour.”

An initial sweep, which began in May 2020, cast doubts on whether the firms investigate and remove such reviews, and if they impose “adequate sanctions” to deter reviewers or businesses from violating rules on honest posts – by taking action against repeat offenders in particular.

“Our worry is that millions of online shoppers could be misled by reading fake reviews and then spending their money based on those recommendations,” CMA Chief Executive Andrea Coscelli said in an official statement.

“Equally, it’s simply not fair if some businesses can fake five-star reviews to give their products or services the most prominence while law-abiding businesses lose out,” Coscelli added.

https://www.rt.com/uk/527561-amazon-google-uk-competition-regulator-scrutiny/

‘Astonishing double standards’: Brits outraged after BoJo accepts Health Secretary Matt Hancock’s apology for snogging aide

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has accepted Health Secretary Matt Hancock’s apology for breaking coronavirus guidelines by smooching an aide. Some Brits are furious, given Hancock’s history of zero-tolerance on such encounters.

Hancock was caught red-handed on Friday when the Sun published images taken from a CCTV camera of the minister – who is married with three children – snogging aide Gina Coladangelo. Hancock’s handsy encounter was in violation of his own coronavirus guidelines, which state that co-workers should remain two metres apart from each other, and earlier laws forbidding “casual” sexual encounters between non-cohabiting adults.

The minister apologised for breaking social distancing guidelines, stating that he was “very sorry” for letting the country down. Hancock’s apology was evidently enough for Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and Downing Street announced later on Friday that his apology was accepted and the “matter closed.”

Legions of Twitter commenters weren’t as forgiving as Johnson, especially as Hancock supported the resignation last year of Professor Neil Ferguson, who was caught breaching the lockdown restrictions he helped draft to meet his married lover.

The Labour Party led the charge against Hancock, calling out his double standards on Ferguson and demanding “he must go.”

Matt Hancock: If you break the rules you should resign.Also Matt Hancock: I broke the rules. I'm not resigning.He must go. pic.twitter.com/6PsaeJw2dZ

— The Labour Party (@UKLabour) June 25, 2021

So Johnson just accepts the apology of Hancock for breaking rules, and says case closed whilst others have resigned over it. Sorry but what is this govt??

— Zoe Bedford 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇳🇱🇪🇺🏳️‍🌈 (@Z_BGlass) June 25, 2021

Boris might “consider the matter closed” over Hancock. But I’m willing to wager the 1000s of protestors taking to London’s streets tomorrow won’t agreeHuge anger in the air over astonishing double standards https://t.co/8ZS8UNJnuP

— Martin Daubney (@MartinDaubney) June 25, 2021

By accepting Hancock's apology the Prime Minister has effectively just said deceiving and lying to people is cool and breaking the CV restriction rules they enforce on the rest of us is OK for them as long as they say sorry afterwards.Wow. 😡

— BritishPatriot (@Eldever1) June 25, 2021

https://www.rt.com/uk/527615-matt-hancock-apology-resign/

New Research Shows Coronavirus Lockdowns Cost More Lives Than They Saved

A new study from the National Bureau of Economic Research has put yet another nail in the already closed coffin of the pro-lockdown narrative.

Over the past twelve months economic researchers, data analysts, medical professionals, and policy critics alike — as well as we journalists who’ve covered their findings — have all collectively reported ad nauseam the absolutely useless farce that were, and in many places still are, the use of stay at home orders and other lockdown policies as a means of combating Covid-19.

Just within this month alone, TFTP has covered two major findings regarding the study of the impact of lockdowns. On June fifth, an MIT scientist reported a data analysis of the economic impact of the lockdown — noting that whilst it played a key contributing role to the sharp rise of unemployment, it did not make a significant reduction in deaths.

And just day’s ago, on June 22, a Harvard University study reiterated the fact that while this policy did not save lives it simultaneously decimated the economy; while modern robber barons such as Zuckerberg, Gates, and Bezos saw their portfolios expand exponentially. This was yet another report that, much like the aforementioned, did not receive national headlines from the corporate media.

Now this most recent study from the NBER compounds these findings even further. After analyzing data from 44 countries and all 50 states, they have found that not only have these restrictions not saved lives, and greatly exacerbated the destruction of the working class — but have in fact resulted in an increase of excess mortality. At the end of the day, they cost more lives than they saved.

Among the findings for the study, the authors conclude —

In every region the study observed, it found that the utilisation of stay at home mandates resulted in either no change or increases in excess deaths.

In every U.S. state, the study found either “no change in excess deaths, or in many U.S. states, spikes in excess deaths following the implementation of shelter-in-place policies.”

Countries and states that had longer duration stay at home mandates were found to have had higher excess deaths.

Countries or states that implemented stay at home mandates earlier did not have lower excess deaths than countries and states that were slower to put restrictions in place.

States did not see decreases in excess deaths until 20 weeks after the lockdown policies were brought into effect.

An exception was found in the countries Australia, Malta, and New Zealand, and the island of Hawaii where the shelter-in-place orders that were issued showed a slight decrease in excess deaths.

freestar

Unfortunately reports like this are becoming commonplace among those who “follow the science”, that is, those of us who actually do so rather than simply claiming to, only to then regurgitate whatever narrative is parroted by propagandists.

https://thefreethoughtproject.com/new-research-shows-coronavirus-lockdowns-cost-more-lives-than-they-saved/

John McAfee’s widow says antivirus pioneer was not suicidal — and feared he’d be ‘WHACKD’

John McAfee’s widow insisted Friday that the cybersecurity tycoon was not suicidal — as it emerged that he was so convinced he’d be set up, he got a giant arm tattoo reading “$WHACKD.”

“His last words to me were ‘I love you and I will call you in the evening,’” Janice McAfee, 38, said outside the Barcelona penitentiary where her husband was found hanged on Wednesday.

“Those words are not words of somebody who is suicidal,” she said, demanding a “thorough investigation” into her 75-year-old husband’s death while he awaited extradition to the US on tax fraud charges.

Just three days before McAfee’s death, his widow had accused the US government of wanting the software entrepreneur to “die in prison” to “make an example of him for speaking out against the corruption within their government agencies.”

McAfee had been even blunter about his conspiracy fears in November 2019 — tweeting a photo of his arm tattoo and predicting that he could be murdered and it would be made to look like suicide.

“Getting subtle messages from U.S. officials saying, in effect: ‘We’re coming for you McAfee! We’re going to kill yourself,'” he tweeted at the time, three months after Jeffrey Epstein’s jail-cell suicide.

“I got a tattoo today just in case. If I suicide myself, I didn’t. I was whackd,” he wrote.

Spanish officials have insisted there were no signs of foul play in his death, although autopsy results could take “days or weeks.”

His death came after Spain’s National Court ruled to extradite him to the US, where he faced up to three decades of imprisonment for allegedly evading more than $4 million in taxes.

“We had a plan of action already in place to appeal that decision,” his widow insisted of the ruling.

“I blame the US authorities for this tragedy: Because of these politically motivated charges against him, my husband is now dead,” she said.

“Even though he was born in England, America was his home,” Janice McAfee said.

“He came there when he was a child. He had his first girlfriend there, his first case, you know, his first job. He made his first millions there and he wanted to be there.

“But, you know, politics just wouldn’t allow for that to happen,” she said.

https://nypost.com/2021/06/25/john-mcafees-widow-says-he-wasnt-suicidal-and-feared-hed-be-whackd/

Leftists Infiltrated 1/6 Protests Disguised As Pro-Trump Reporters While Working With Democrat News Outlets

The activists further allegedly gave tips to the FBI to how to infiltrate Trump rallies

A bombshell report from independent journalist L has confirmed that leftist activists infiltrated the Capitol Hill protests on January 6th disguised as conservative reporters, with those activists allegedly giving tips to the FBI as to how to infiltrate Trump rallies.

The astounding report, from the independent journalist known as L, detailed the presence of leftist activists and so-called actors Water Masterson and Peter Scattini, during the Capitol Hill protests on January 6th. Masterson and Scattini, both “TikTok comedians,” attended the protests disguised as supporters of President Trump, with Masterson posing as a reporter for OANN and Fox News.

In a video clip posted by L, Masterson describes to Scattini that you have to “blend in” as a Trump supporter in order to be successful in their infiltration. “I know you can’t stomach [wearing an American flag mask],” Masterson said to his accomplice, “but you need to have a visual identifier.” Scattini joked that he didn’t know if the pair were “committing crimes” by portraying themselves as reporters for various different news organizations.

Not only had Masterson and Scattini infiltrated the protests, successfully disguising their leftist politics, they were both seen well within the grounds of the Capitol, near the scaffolding on the West side of the building. Despite being visited by the FBI as a result, neither of them received charges. In fact, according to Scattini, Masterson even gave the FBI agents tips in order to infiltrate Trump rallies.

L further noted that Masterson had a history of working with the leftist news organization, The Young Turks, appearing alongside Cenk Uygur in YouTube videos, and had reported for them from DC on January 21st this year, according to screenshots gathered from social media. Scattini clarified that he has no connection to the TYT, and further distanced himself from the activities of Masterson.

Speaking exclusively to National File, L revealed that there is a far greater number of loosely affiliated “creators” who collaborate with each other and infiltrate Trump rallies. L said that when she was investigating Masterson and Scattini, she noticed that there is a “lot of overlap between these leftist actors and activists that do this. This circle keeps getting bigger.” L argued that the activists are “working to poison the well against conservatives” by painting a distorted picture of the representatives of these rallies.

National File can reveal another activist within this loose network, known as Crackhead Barney, was also in attendance at the Capitol Hill protests. In an interview reposted to their Twitter, she can be seen interviewing Jake Angeli, also known as the Q Shaman. L noted that Crackhead Barney spends much of her time filming protests in NYC and DC.

https://nationalfile.com/bombshell-leftists-infiltrated-1-6-protests-disguised-as-pro-trump-reporters-while-working-with-democrat-news-outlets/

Congressional Democrat Hides Face From Screen, Shouts ‘Racist’ At Bob Good For Opposing Critical Race Theory

"They adjourned the meeting and they actually called the police to come in and arrest parents," Good said, immediately before Norcross shouted "racist!" over him.

A Democrat member of Congress who had hidden his face from view shrieked “racist” over Virginia Representative Bob Good’s remarks during a video chat-based Congressional hearing on education this week as the conservative Congressman from Virginia’s 5th District spoke out against the use of critical race theory in schools.

On-screen to address the hearing which featured Biden Education Secretary Miguel Cardona and largely centered around the adoption of critical race theory into K-12 education, Good spoke out on the previously reported events of this week’s Loudoun County School Board meeting where district parents were arrested for opposing critical race theory after left-wing board members moved to shut down public comment.

Before he could finish, Good was shouted over with an accusation of racism by New Jersey Democrat Don Norcross, who attempted to hide his face from view but was given away when his name flashed across the screen upon speaking.

“One of the largest counties in Virginia, the board of education there, rather than take parental criticism they shut down public comment,” Good said in addressing the hearing. “They adjourned the meeting and they actually called the police to come in and arrest parents,” he continued, immediately before Norcross shouted “racist!” over him.

Seeming to have ignored the left-wing heckler, Good then warned Cardona and fellow members of Congress against spreading the anti-white curriculum nationwide, saying “I hope you will not nationalize a culture war that started in Virginia.”

In a tweet posted shortly following the incident, Good reiterated his opposition to critical race theory, calling for Americans to “stand strong” against the radical doctrine.

Norcross denies having shouted out “racist” during the hearing, but as many online commenters have pointed out, “everyone knows how webcams work.”

https://nationalfile.com/video-congressional-democrat-hides-face-from-screen-shouts-racist-at-bob-good-for-opposing-critical-race-theory/

Biden to Evacuate Thousands of Afghans to 3rd Countries to Await U.S. Visas

The Biden administration revealed Thursday it will evacuate thousands of Afghans who helped the departing U.S. military during the war to other countries until American entry visas for them and their families are processed.

Asked about the “mass evacuation” to third countries expected before the looming U.S. military withdrawal, President Joe Biden told reporters Thursday, “They’re going to come. We’ve already begun the process. Those who helped us are not going to be left behind.”

“They’re welcome here just like anyone else who risked their lives to help us,” he added.

“I am confident that at some point, we’ll begin to evacuate some of those people soon,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told a House panel on Wednesday.

Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who testified alongside Austin, added, “I consider it a moral imperative to take care of those that have served along our side. We are prepared to execute whatever we are directed.”

Citing anonymous administration officials on Thursday, the New York Times reported:

With the American military in the final phases of withdrawing from Afghanistan after 20 years of war, the White House has come under heavy pressure from lawmakers and military officials to protect Afghan allies from revenge attacks by the Taliban and speed up the lengthy and complex process of providing them special immigrant visas.

On Wednesday, administration officials started notifying lawmakers that they will soon begin what could be a wholesale move of tens of thousands of Afghans. Officials said the Afghans would be moved out of Afghanistan to third countries to await the processing of their visa requests to move to the United States.

The officials declined to say where the Afghans would wait, and it is not clear whether third countries have agreed to take them. The opportunity to move will be given to people who have already begun the application process.

[…]

A senior administration official said that under the plan, family members of applicants would also be moved out of Afghanistan to a third country to await visa processing. Transportation out of Afghanistan will not come with any assurance that a visa to the United States will be granted. It was unclear whether people who somehow do not qualify would be sent back to Afghanistan or left in a third country.

More than 18,000 Afghans, with over 50,000 family members, are caught up in bureaucratic limbo waiting to obtain a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV), available to people who face threats because they worked for the U.S. government, a lengthy and complex process long plagued by chronic delays and backlogs.

President Biden told reporters he does not yet know which countries will take the Afghans who worked for the U.S. government and military as interpreters, drivers, engineers, security guards, fixers, embassy clerks, contractors, and other capacities.

Biden added that he plans to discuss that issue during his Friday meeting with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2021/06/25/biden-to-evacuate-thousands-of-afghans-to-3rd-countries-to-await-u-s-visas/

GOP Video: Biden Administration’s ‘Border Crisis Fueling Opioid Crisis’

The Republican National Committee’s research team released a video via Twitter on Friday depicting the Biden administration’s “border crisis fueling the opioid crisis.”

The video shows CBS Nightly News with Norah O’Donnell reporting on “a flood of drugs coming into this country at the Mexico border.”

“Record amounts of opioids and along with them deadly consequences,” O’Donnell reports.

Due to the border crisis, “fentanyl seizures have increased 800 percent” from last April in Texas, the CBS footage shows.

Biden’s open borders agenda has deadly consequences.

His border crisis is fueling the opioid crisis. pic.twitter.com/QQBleEvWQv

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 25, 2021

“We had a 1000 pounds of methamphetamine seized, a 1000 pounds of cocaine seized,” the video continues. “So those narcotics numbers are very high.”

“The drugs coming across the border here are fueling an unprecedented epidemic across the country,” says a reporter walking near the Southern border. “The toll of which can be counted in the skyrocketing number of overdose deaths.”

Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris will inspect the southern border Friday, 93 days after assuming charge of the epidemic in March from President Joe Biden.

The impromptu inspection comes after more than 50 House Republicans demanded June 20 that Biden replace Harris for failing to secure the southern border. Just five days earlier, former President Donald Trump planned a trip to the border with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) on an official visit before Harris had made any visiting plans.

The reason for the lack of border security by the Biden administration is unknown.

The administration seems to have few real solutions to the crisis after revoking the former administration’s border security policies, such as ending the “Remain in Mexico” policy.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/06/25/gop-video-biden-administrations-border-crisis-fueling-opioid-crisis/

Ghislaines Family Ties to Sex Cult

Ghislaine Maxwell was born in 1961, in Maisons Laffitte, France. She’s the ninth and youngest child of Elisabeth and Robert Maxwell, a Czech born British media proprietor (and intelligence triple agent MI6 | Mossad | CIA).

Ghislaine is a British socialite with vast connections among the international elite, is in the news these last 2 months for her longstanding association to the billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who was charged with child sex trafficking charges before being murdered in custody. Of course thats the mainstream media version, in reality she is a madame, a human trafficker and a pedophile; in essence, a criminal.

The narrative is wrong, she wasn’t Epstein’s right hand, she was Epstein’s handler and the main contact the man had with the Mossad Israeli intelligence agency.

In 2012, Maxwell founded The TerraMar Project, a nonprofit organization that advocated the protection of oceans. She gave a lecture for TerraMar at the University of Texas at Dallas and a TED talk, at TEDx Charlottesville in 2014. Maxwell accompanied Stuart Beck, a 2013 TerraMar board member, to two United Nations meetings to discuss the project. Notable people like the billionaire mogul Richard Branson openly endorsed her projects.

The TerraMar Project announced closure on 12 July 2019, less than a week after charges of sex trafficking brought by New York federal prosecutors against Epstein became public. An associated, UK-based company, Terramar (UK), continues to exist, with Maxwell listed as a director.

Where is Ghislaine hiding? Will she ever be held accountable? Join us as we discuss her links with intelligence and more importantly, the Rothschild dynasty, the same family who is said controls Mossad since its creation.

MORE

https://www.bitchute.com/video/maNCA4YNKzmR/

https://youtu.be/Tq1Zr6GYf_8

https://youtu.be/ZPVJ8Abxd_Y

https://robscholtemuseum.nl/?s=Ghislaine+Maxwell

https://robscholtemuseum.nl/?s=Robert+Maxwell

https://robscholtemuseum.nl/?s=Jeffrey+Epstein

https://robscholtemuseum.nl/?s=The+TerraMar+Project

https://robscholtemuseum.nl/?s=MI6

https://robscholtemuseum.nl/?s=Mossad

https://robscholtemuseum.nl/?s=CIA

https://robscholtemuseum.nl/?s=NASA

https://robscholtemuseum.nl/?s=Aleister+Crowley

https://robscholtemuseum.nl/?s=Jack+Parsons

https://robscholtemuseum.nl/?s=Jet+Propulsion+Laboratory

https://robscholtemuseum.nl/total-disclosure-td-19-ghislaine-maxwell-1-teaser-the-duran-robert-ghislaine-maxwell-the-bridge-between-london-ny-brett-bender-ghislaine-maxwells-family-ties-to-sex-cult/

Microsoft Exemption From Antitrust Bill Followed Company Donation to Top Democrat

Rhode Island congressman David Cicilline swore off big tech money in 2019

Rep. David Cicilline (D., R.I.) exempted Microsoft from a bill he sponsored to regulate big tech three months after he received $5,800 in donations from Microsoft president Brad Smith, FEC filings show.

Cicilline's decision to accept the money marked an about-face for the Rhode Island congressman, who swore off big tech money in 2019. Cicilline is the lead sponsor of the American Choice and Innovation Online Act, which would ban tech companies above a certain size from using their platforms to unfairly promote their own products. The bill originally applied to platforms with 500,000 monthly active users. Earlier this month, the threshold was quietly changed to 50 million active users, a change that would exempt Microsoft.

Cicilline did not explain why the bill text had changed to exclude Microsoft. But the donation from Microsoft’s CEO raises questions of how much influence tech companies have over bills designed to regulate their industry. In 2019, Cicilline announced he would not take money from big tech companies.

On Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee debated a package of bills that would force big tech companies to provide data to competitors and give the Federal Trade Commission more tools to regulate them. Rep. Thomas Massie (R., Ky.) displayed an early draft of the bill marked "confidential Microsoft" obtained from a whistleblower, and suggested that Microsoft had received an early copy. Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D., Calif.) proposed an amendment that would make Microsoft subject to the bill once again, which was defeated in an 18-25 vote.

Brad Smith has bragged about his company’s close ties to the Hill, telling CNBC "there are times when I call people who I don’t personally know, and somebody will say ‘you know, your folks have always shown up for me at my events. And we have a good relationship. Let me see what I can do to help you.’" When Microsoft attempted to buy TikTok, Smith personally called dozens of lawmakers to push the bid through.

As pressure on tech from Washington has increased over the past year, so has aggressive lobbying from big tech companies. Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly called Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday to complain that the antitrust bills were rushed. The bills are the products of an 18-month House investigation into market power in the tech industry.

The lobbying pressure has not gone unnoticed on the Hill. In a June 22 Senate hearing, Senator Mike Lee (R., Utah) was visibly frustrated as he blasted "well compensated lobbyists and their nonprofit proxies" who "pervert conservative economic and legal philosophy into a defense of big tech monopoly." Facebook and Amazon are now the largest corporate lobbying spenders in the country.

Cicilline’s spokesman claimed in April 2021 that he does not accept money from executives at tech firms. At the time, Politico noted that Cicilline had received $1,000 from a lobbyist for Apple. Smith has praised Cicilline in the past.

Microsoft has recently censored terms offensive to the Chinese Communist Party, including "Tiananmen Square" and "tank man," from its search engine Bing. It also banned discussion of the "lab leak" hypothesis from LinkedIn, the social networking platform it owns.

https://freebeacon.com/democrats/microsoft-exemption-from-antitrust-bill-followed-company-donation-to-top-democrat/

CDC Reports 51% Increase in Suicide Attempts Among Teenage Girls

Beth Palmer was 17 and dreaming of becoming a singer in March 2020 when the United Kingdom went into lockdown because of the coronavirus. One month later, she was dead.

“She was a wonderful, wonderful daughter. She was just funny, she lit up the room,” said Mike Palmer, Beth’s father. “She was so affectionate and loving as well. She basically had the world at her feet. She had everything, everything to live for.”

Palmer didn’t die of the coronavirus. She took her own life.

An aspiring singer and vocal student at the Access Creative College in Manchester, Palmer crumbled in isolation. Her family states that she had previously shown no signs of struggling with her mental health. However, she claimed the mandated stay-at-home order felt like centuries.

“She couldn’t finish college, she couldn’t go out and see her friends. She felt as though this three-month lockdown was to her 300 years,” her father said in a video that went viral last year.

Unable to finish college, see her friends, or pursue her passion, the usually vivacious and affectionate Palmer became obsessive in her fear that the lockdown would never end.

In the weeks following her death, Palmer’s family spoke out on the implications of the stay-at-home order and to warn parents of the struggles their children might be facing, saying “no one should feel isolated enough to do this.”

Tragically, new government data show Palmer’s death is part of a global trend of teen’s seeking to escape the toll of government lockdown.

Troubling CDC Data

Newly released data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveal a surge in self harm and hospitalizations from poor mental health among teens in 2020.

Overall, the number of psychiatric-related hospital visits among young people increased 31 percent last year. For young women like Palmer, this number was far more grievous. Suspected suicide attempts in girls increased 50.6 percent, compared to a 3.7 percent increase in young men.

As the report concludes, the implications of lockdowns, such as “physical distancing; barriers to mental health treatment; increases in substance use; and anxiety about family health and economic problems” all particularly affected children, contributing to a widespread increase in suicidal thoughts.

https://www.naturalblaze.com/2021/06/cdc-reports-51-increase-in-suicide-attempts-among-teenage-girls.html

Half of Adults Infected in Latest COVID-19 Outbreak Were Fully Vaccinated: Israeli Official

About 90 percent of new COVID-19 infections in Israel were caused by the CCP virus’s Delta variant, officials said, while adding that about half of the adults infected in the recent outbreak were fully vaccinated.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/mkt_app/half-of-adults-infected-in-latest-covid-19-outbreak-were-fully-vaccinated-israeli-officials_3874223.html?v=ul

Bill Clinton’s Ex-Adviser Who Compared Fauci to Satan Suspended From Twitter for COVID Conspiracies

Naomi Wolf became famous after her first book about unrealistic standards of physical beauty. She is described as a leading spokeswoman of third-wave feminism. In recent years, Wolf has been criticised for promoting “crazy” conspiracy theories, including about Edward Snowden and Daesh*.

Naomi Wolf, former political adviser to 42nd US President Bill Clinton, has been suspended from Twitter for posting anti-vaccine remarks. Wolf spread a popular conspiracy theory claiming that inoculations against the coronavirus contain microchips, which are purportedly implanted to control the population. In one of her posts, she wrote that vaccines allegedly contain a “software platform that can receive uploads”.

She also claimed that vaccines "made by Apple" allow time travel, compared leading US expert on infectious diseases Dr Anthony Fauci to "Satan", and insisted that the urine and faeces of vaccinated people should be separated from general sewage until studies reveal their effect on water.

Did… did Naomi Wolf get one of her unhinged anti-vaxx theories from listening to a stranger talk about Pym particles in Avengers: Endgame? pic.twitter.com/TPI1l0oHX9

— Tom Taylor (@TomTaylorMade) June 5, 2021

​

the tweet that did it was incredible. pic.twitter.com/QFT0vTbzUr

— Grand Canyon Brimhall (Wants your SPAC to fail) (@wispywildcat) June 5, 2021

​

At the end of May, she was duped by a journalist into posting a screenshot that contained a quote about vaccines from a doctor called John Sims, who was actually a porn star.

pic.twitter.com/eMBxV1w95F

— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) March 21, 2021

​Her suspension from Twitter has drawn mixed reactions, with some users praising the social media platform for what they described as a battle against misinformation…

Yes, Naomi Wolf is finally banned from Twitter. I won't signal-boost her lies, but I will say this: As a historian of #autism, I've been reading vile anti-vaccine propaganda for 20 years, and Wolf's claims were as out-there and delusional as I've ever seen.

— Steve Silberman (@stevesilberman) June 5, 2021

Shocked it lasted for so long, tbh pic.twitter.com/2Of2SGkWCb

— Jared Holt (@jaredlholt) June 5, 2021

​…while others contended that Twitter’s move was a violation of freedom of speech.

Anyone who loves freedom, including Naomi Wolf, needs to realize the Left is now the enemy of freedom. Join the right and we can win this fight! pic.twitter.com/HLD6kv16Hn

— Dinesh D'Souza (@DineshDSouza) June 5, 2021

​

Dr. Naomi Wolf is the latest in a countless string of doctors, scientists, and researchers that have been suspended from Twitter for stating their professional opinions or questioning government policies.

Lawmakers must act NOW to protect free speech online. We must demand this. pic.twitter.com/0o5dGYzSbF

— Dr. Simone Gold (@drsimonegold) June 5, 2021

Wolf has often been accused of spreading conspiracy theories as well as twisting the truth and historical records in her books. She has argued that Edward Snowden, a former CIA contractor who exposed an NSA mass surveillance campaign, "is not who he purports to be, and that the motivations involved in the story may be more complex than they appear to be".

https://sputniknews.com/us/202106061083085782-bill-clintons-ex-adviser-who-compared-fauci-to-satan-suspended-from-twitter-for-covid-conspiracies/

Louisiana: Another FBI Agent Arrested for Raping Small Children

Louisiana State Police announced today that they busted a serial sexual deviant that has preyed on multiple children over a five year period.

What is most alarming about the case is that the individual in question, 51-year-old David Harris, is an active duty FBI agent at the New Orleans field office.

According to charging documents, agent Harris is accused of numerous crimes across multiple parishes, including Aggravated Crimes Against Nature (which under Louisiana criminal code means forced sodomy or bestiality), Indecent Behavior with Children under the age of 13. Attempted Rape, Obscenity, and Witness Intimidation.

Agent Harris is the second FBI agent in two months to be charged for sodomizing children under the age of 13.

Recently, FBI employees have been arrested for grooming kids on the internet, using their authority and powers to sexually and financially extort women, and an attempted murder case in Washington DC where an off-duty agent shot an unarmed vagrant on a crowded public train because he was angry at the foul language the victim was using.

According to a press release from the Louisiana State Police Bureau of Investigations: Special Victims Unit, Harris’ rampage began in 2016, when he allegedly began committing sex crimes against multiple persons — adults and children. State police began investigating him in February when the victims began reporting Harris’ activity.

By and large, state detectives are at a disadvantage when trying to investigate FBI agents due to the immense power bestowed upon them that supersedes local law enforcement. The incredible surveillance powers, lack of oversight and powerful connections individual FBI agents have access to can also serve to intimidate both victims and witnesses into silence.

While there is no database keeping tally of FBI agents arrested for serious crimes, they appear to attract a higher than average rate of sexual deviants and criminals.

According to the latest employment data from the Bureau, there are only 13,412 special agents operating nationwide, with over 20,000 support personnel.

The FBI employs roughly the same amount of people as the NYPD, but while comparatively rare cases of New York beat cops committing crimes against children enjoy widespread media attention and morally righteous Justice Department press releases, as with an incident last winter, the press is less eager to report on more frequent abuses of this type by federal agents.

The Bureau is known for being meticulous and rigorous in examining the minds, political views and character of recruits, which suggests that individuals prone to deviant behaviors are being selected for. With public confidence in the FBI at an all time low, arrests of agents like David Harris will only worsen the beleagured secret police agency’s reputational crisis.

https://www.unz.com/estriker/louisiana-another-fbi-agent-arrested-for-raping-small-children/

Tel Aviv Pride Parade returns with fanfare after last year’s COVID cancellation

Heavy police presence secures the event in which tens of thousands are participating, as Health Ministry recommends wearing masks even at crowded outdoor pride festivities

https://www.timesofisrael.com/tel-aviv-pride-parade-returns-with-fanfare-after-last-years-covid-cancellation/

Virginia Gives Illegal Immigrants In-State Tuition at Public Colleges, Aid for Private Universities

Starting this fall Virginia will offer illegal immigrants discounted in-state tuition at taxpayer-funded colleges as well as financial aid to attend private universities. This month the state’s governor, Ralph Northam, signed the new law during a heavily publicized visit to Marymount University, a private Arlington college with an enrollment of about 3,200. “These students have grown up in our communities across Virginia,” the Democrat lawmaker said during the signing. “They’ve attended the same schools as their classmates and neighbors, they have taken the same tests, they have played on the same teams, eaten in the same lunch rooms and even gone to the same dances. They are valued members of our communities, and they are Virginians in every sense of the word except for immigration status – something that was chosen for them, not by them, by families just wanting a better life for their children.”

Virginia has 15 public four-year universities, according to its State Council of Higher Education, and dozens of private institutions that will help educate illegal immigrants on taxpayer dime. While more than a dozen other states offer illegal aliens discounted tuition at public universities, Virginia is taking it a step further by also doling out money for a private education. The money will flow through a special program called Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant (TAG) that annually provides tens of thousands of legal state residents with grants to attend private institutions of higher learning. To be eligible, candidates must be a domiciliary resident of Virginia as defined by the state code, which essentially says individuals shall establish by “clear and convincing evidence” domicile in the Commonwealth for a period of at least one year immediately succeeding the establishment of domiciliary intent. It is not clear what if any changes will be made to the code so illegal immigrants meet the criteria.

More than 12,370 undocumented students are enrolled in higher education in Virginia and the state sees 2,000 illegal immigrants graduate high school annually, according to the Higher Ed Immigration Portal, a platform that tracks and supports undocumented and international students in the U.S. Additionally, Virginia has an illegal immigrant population of 265,830, the group’s figures show. The nonprofit claims that its mission is to build a diverse movement of partners and stakeholders advocating alongside immigrant and international students. Its goal is to expand access to higher education, degree completion, and post-graduate career success. “The U.S. is home to more than 427,000 undocumented students enrolled in higher education,” the portal states. “In their pursuit of higher education, undocumented students actively ready themselves to fill critical skill shortages and become better positioned to support their families, communities, and the U.S. economy.”

https://www.judicialwatch.org/corruption-chronicles/virginia-gives-illegal-immigrants-in-state-tuition-at-public-colleges-aid-for-private-universities/

Biden names new special envoy for LGBTQ+ rights

Biden is also expected to make Pulse Nightclub a national memorial

President Biden announced Friday that he has named Jessica Stern as the special diplomatic envoy at the State Department for LGBTQ rights.

Her responsibilities will involve ensuring that U.S. diplomacy and foreign assistance promote and protect LGBTQ rights on the global stage.

Stern will also help put in place a presidential memorandum to advance the rights of LGBTQ people and bring together like-minded governments, nonprofits and corporations to uphold equality and dignity, according to the White House.

Stern is currently the executive director of Outright Action International, which defends human rights internationally and works to prevent abuses of the LGBTQ community. She is also an adjunct professor at Columbia University in New York City.

Later today, Biden is expected to sign into law a measure that makes Pulse Nightclub in Orlando Fla, a national memorial. The nightclub is the location of the deadliest shooting against the LGBTQ+ community in history, when 49 people were shot and killed, and 53 others were injured during the shooting in June 2016.

https://justthenews.com/government/state-houses/biden-names-new-special-envoy-lgbtq-rights

In Georgia’s largest county, 'an army of temps' oversaw an election rife with security issues

Fulton County has used personnel agencies for years.

They were doing things eagerly but incorrectly."

That was a judgment rendered in a Georgia election monitor's report last year detailing what the investigator said were a series of problems brought on by improperly trained temporary staffers handling the absentee ballot scanning operation in Fulton County.

Fulton, Georgia's largest county, was a key to Joe Biden's 2020 win in the state and, ultimately, the nation. The county has long been suspected as a locus of election mismanagement and incompetence. Last year's election in Fulton — which, as with the rest of the United States, included mass absentee balloting on an unprecedented scale — has continued to draw scrutiny for apparent failures of election security and protocol.

Several recent Just the News reports revealed major data issues with Fulton County's election management as well as significant and persistent security concerns highlighted by a state-appointed investigator who oversaw the Fulton absentee ballot operation.

Among the issues underscored by that investigator, Carter Jones, were problems with temporary staffers recruited by Fulton County to manage numerous aspects of its election.

"Some temp staff are down to help and over-eager to do so," Jones wrote at one point in his report. "[N]eed them to help less bc they're making extra problems."

In multiple cases, Jones reported on what appeared to be tension between Fulton County employees and temporary staffers, specifically those employed by Happy Faces, an Atlanta-area personnel group.

"Shaye had issues with them not following her direction b/c they said that they were taking order from the Happy Faces rep (who was not fully trained on correct procedure) and not her," Jones wrote, claiming that the confusion had resulted in workers doing things "eagerly but incorrectly."

At one point Jones alluded to what appeared to be a potential security issue brought about by Happy Faces workers. "Learned that waiting until lunch was a powerplay by Ralph because he didn't trust the Happy Faces people," he wrote. "He had a big problem with them fixing the issue w/ Abbey's box away from the cameras this morning."

Potential link to Stacey Abrams

Happy Faces came under scrutiny this week for its apparent, but still unconfirmed connection to Georgia Democratic activist Stacey Abrams. Georgia court documents indicated that NowAccount — a microfinance company cofounded by Abrams and one in which she may still hold a financial stake — had at one point in the past had a financial relationship with Happy Faces.

Happy Faces CEO Michael Hairston this week said Happy Faces had never had any financial arrangement with NowAccount, that the group had considered an arrangement with the financial services firm but had ultimately passed.

https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/elections/georgias-largest-county-army-temps-oversaw-election-rife-security-issues

Greater Idlib: Syrian Army Shells More Turkish Posts Following Ceasefire Violations

On June 25, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) shelled three posts of the Turkish military in the northwestern region of Greater Idlib.

In the morning, the army shelled two Turkish posts in the northern outskirts of the government-held town of Saraqib in southern Idlib. No human losses were reported. However, a gathering of Turkish military vehicles was hit, according to the London-based for Human Rights.

A few hours later, the SAA artillery pounded a third Turkish post near the town of Qmenas, also in southern Idlib. There were no losses, however.

The SAA artillery strikes were most likely a response to recent violation of the ceasefire in Grater Idlib, which was brokered by Russia and Turkey on March 5 of last year. The Russian Center for Reconciliation in Syria records 30 to 40 ceasefire violations every day.

In the last few days, Turkish-backed militants, led by al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, stepped up their attacks. Several government-held towns and villages around Greater Idlib were shelled by the militants.

The SAA resumed its artillery strikes on Turkish forces in Greater Idlib recently in an attempt to pressure Ankara into implementing the ceasefire agreement.

While Turkey is doing nothing to stop ceasefire violations in Greater Idlib, it continues to provide militants in the region with military support.

https://southfront.org/greater-idlib-syrian-army-shells-more-turkish-posts-following-ceasefire-violations/

Pot Problem: Cannabis Recalled Over Possible Salmonella Contamination, Allergy Concerns

A number of marijuana products have been recalled over possible contamination of Salmonella and Aspergillus at several cannabis dispensaries and establishments in Arizona, according to the state’s Department of Health Services.

The affected cannabis products have not caused any illness to date, but health officials said it is making the recall “out of an abundance of caution.”

Salmonella can cause diarrhea that can be bloody, fever, and stomach cramps. Some people may also experience symptoms of nausea, vomiting, or headache. Symptoms from ingesting Salmonella typically start within six hours to six days of infection and can last four to seven days after handling the contaminated product.

Aspergillus can cause an allergic reaction or infection in individuals that are already sick with another illness. Symptoms can range from asthma or cold-like symptoms to fever and chest pain.

The affected cannabis products included in the recall include the cannabis brands Harvest Platinum, Modern Flower, Sol Flower Dispensaries and Establishments, EHF (Elephant Head Farms), Mohave Cannabis, Tru Infusion Flower, and The Pharm.

A full list of marijuana products impacted by the recall can be viewed here.

The Arizona Department of Health Services is urging consumers to dispose of the recalled marijuana. The potentially contaminated cannabis should not be ingested, inhaled, or consumed.

If a consumer has consumed any of the recalled products or has any of the described symptoms for Salmonella or Aspergillus infection, they should contact their healthcare provider or seek emergency medical treatment.

The recalled marijuana products were found to be positive for Salmonella or Aspergillus in independent third-party laboratory tests.

https://www.ibtimes.com/pot-problem-cannabis-recalled-over-possible-salmonella-contamination-allergy-concerns-3235784

Hawley Wants Canada Added to Watchlist of Religious Freedom Violators for Pastor Arrests

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) on Thursday appealed to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) to consider adding Canada to its special watchlist—alongside the likes of Afghanistan, Cuba, and Iraq—in response to arrests of Canadian pastors who held services that allegedly violated COVID-19 restrictions.

The USCIRF’s special watchlist (SWL) is a list of countries where state-sanctioned violations of religious freedoms meet two of the elements of the agency’s “systematic, ongoing, and egregious” test. A secondary list, called the Countries of Particular Concern (CPC), features countries like China and Iran that meet all three criteria and whose governments engage in or tolerate “particularly severe” violations, such as torture.

In his letter (pdf) to Nadine Maenza, USCIRF chair, the Missouri Republican expressed his “deep concern” that religious freedom “is in peril across our nation’s northern border,” citing several recent examples of Canadian pastors being arrested for non-compliance with pandemic health rules.

“On June 14, Pastor Tim Stephens of Fairview Baptist Church in Calgary, who was previously arrested in May, was arrested again at home in front of his wife and children,” Hawley wrote. “Media outlets captured heartbreaking video of the pastor’s children sobbing as they held their father’s hand through the barred window of a police car.”

Calgary police arrested Stephens at his home a day after he held an outdoor church service for his congregation, allegedly in defiance of the Alberta Health Service’s (AHS) public health orders, according to a news release from the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, the non-profit legal organization that’s representing Stephens in court.

“It is our position that AHS is engaged in an intentional act of public deception and abuse of authority in arresting Pastor Stephens and others,” said Jay Cameron, Justice Centre Litigation Director, in a statement.

Fairview Baptist congregants were worshiping outdoors for the second Sunday in a row after the AHS physically closed down the church building on June 5.

In a statement, AHS said that “services that exceed allowed capacities have taken place at the Church each Sunday, with minimal to no masking or physical distancing occurring,” and that the agency physically closed the church to prevent access to the building until Stephens could “demonstrate the ability to comply with these restrictions.”

https://www.theepochtimes.com/hawley-wants-canada-added-to-watchlist-of-religious-freedom-violators-for-pastor-arrests_3874390.html

Portland Police: Calm Down Everyone, The Man We Shot Was White!

Portland police late Thursday night issued a statement clarifying that the person they allegedly shot in the back while he was running from them "armed" with a screwdriver outside a motel in Northeast Portland was white and not a person of color as antifa had claimed.

Protesting may actually have been valid in this case as the Oregonian reported that a witness told them the white victim was shot in the back by the black police officer while running from police:

A Portland police officer shot a man after he came at the officer with a screwdriver outside a Motel 6 near the Oregon Convention Center on Thursday evening, sources say.

Police initially were called to the Northeast Holladay Street motel on a report of a suicidal man. They met the man in the area of the lobby, according to sources with knowledge of the shooting who were not authorized to speak publicly about it.

The man went back to his room at one point, but police were later talking to him outside. Two officers were asking him whether he wanted to be taken to a hospital.

Police eventually told the man they needed to pat him down before he got into an ambulance. The man became agitated and came at an officer with a screwdriver, according to sources.

The man appeared to have a weapon in his hand, said Kalli Temple, who lives across the street from the motel and watched the scene unfold from her window. Police approached him and looked as if they were trying to get him to drop it, she said.

But he ran from them, Temple said.

An officer then shot the man from about 8 to 12 feet away as he fled toward the nearby Kaiser Permanente Park, she said.

The officer is Black, a source said. The man is white, according to police.

The man was taken to a hospital, and his condition wasn’t immediately clear. Temple said it appeared he had been having a mental health crisis.

No officers were hurt.

Did Portland police just try to quell criticism of a potentially unjust shooting just by playing the race card?

There was a similar case in Minnesota back in April where the police seem to have tipped the media and protesters off that a carjacker they shot and killed was a white man.

https://www.informationliberation.com/?id=62332

https://www.informationliberation.com/?id=62332

Justin Trudeau introduces worst censorship law of any western democracy

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Liberal Party announced another bill aimed at censoring speech in Canada — and this one might be the worst yet.

In effect, this new bill will make Justin Trudeau the boss of YouTube in Canada.

On yesterday's episode of The Ezra Levant Show, Ezra explained to viewers how the worst parts of this bill are being ignored by the mainstream media.

The bill, which makes an attempt at defining hate, would create a confusing law based around emotions. It could effectively define hate as whatever the government chooses it to mean. But how would that work in practicality, because as Ezra says, everybody “hates” something:

[The law] means whatever the government wants it to mean at any moment.

Justin Trudeau is full of hatred for people he doesn’t like — his political opponents. Trudeau constantly calls his opponents racist and sexist and homophobic. So does the rest of his cabinet. They even call their enemies Nazis. But by having such vague and subjective definitions, they can guarantee that they will only prosecute their enemies hate — never their own.

Or put another way: we’re all guilty of hate. Every single human being hates something. And loves something. And is sad about something. It’s part of our humanity, part of our healthy, normal personalities.

Part of being a good person is learning to control your darker emotions — hatred, sorrow, jealousy, etc. — and to express them positively.

I think some of the best people among us take their darkest feelings and transform them into something constructive, whether it’s just hard work; or even art; or positive political change.

I think hatred — a sense of injustice or hurt at an underlying grievance — is a major motivation for people to fix that underlying grievance, wouldn’t you?

So we’re all guilty of these thought crimes, these emotion crimes. We just are. So now it comes down to: who will be prosecuted. Since we’re all guilty.

This is cancel culture turned into law.

Help us fight against this new censorship law — the world's worst censorship law. Sign our petition at StopC36.com

https://www.rebelnews.com/justin_trudeau_introduces_worst_censorship_law_of_any_western_democracy

Belgian Security Services Firm Agrees to Plead Guilty to Criminal Antitrust Conspiracy Affecting Department of Defense Procurement

Company to Pay $15 Million Criminal Fine

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/belgian-security-services-firm-agrees-plead-guilty-criminal-antitrust-conspiracy-affecting

==U.S. Attorney Announces Extradition And Guilty Plea Of Israeli Securities Trader For Participating In A Global Insider Trading Ring

Insider Trading Charges Are Also Unsealed ==

Against a Second Israeli Trader for Participating in the Same Multimillion-Dollar Scheme

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/us-attorney-announces-extradition-and-guilty-plea-israeli-securities-trader