Assistant To US House Sergeant At Arms Charged With 10 Possession Of Child Porn Felonies

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) was alerted to illicit images that were uploaded to a Dropbox account.

An investigation was later launched into it.

The owner of the account was Stefan Bieret, who is an Assistant to the House Sergeant at Arms.

He has now been charged with 10 felonies pertaining to possession of child porn.

Fox 5 DC reported:

An Assistant to the Sergeant at Arms for the U.S. House of Representatives has been arrested and charged with ten felonies related to the possession of child pornography.

Detectives from the Fairfax County Police Department searched the house of Stefan Bieret, 41, of Burke and recovered multiple electronics.

Bieret works under the House Sergeant at Arms whose job is to maintain order on the House side of the US Capitol.

According to journalist Jake Sherman, “Capitol insiders will know Stefan very well.”

Epoch Times reported:

Legistorm, a platform that identifies congressional staff, showed that as of April, Bieret was employed by the House Sergeant at Arms, who is responsible for maintaining order on the House side of the U.S. Capitol complex. Bieret’s current employment status is unclear.

“Capitol insiders will know Stefan very well,” journalist and political analyst Jake Sherman wrote on Twitter. “A longtime employee of the House Sergeant at Arms. If you’re in the Capitol on a regular basis, you will have seen this face.”

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/10/assistant-us-house-sergeant-arms-charged-10-possession-child-porn-felonies/

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/10/assistant-us-house-sergeant-arms-charged-10-possession-child-porn-felonies/

‘Illegal Religious Texts’ – Apple Removes Quran and Bible Apps in China at the Request of Govt Officials

Apple removed a Quran app and a Bible app at the request of Chinese officials.

The Chinese officials said the apps, Quran Majeed and Bible App by Olive Tree, broke laws on “illegal religious texts.”

Apple removed the apps because it is their policy to “comply with local laws.”

“According to Apple, our app Quran Majeed has been removed from the China App Store because it includes content that is illegal in China as determined by the CAC, which is not in compliance with the App Store Review Guidelines,” Hasan Shafiq Ahmed, head of growth at Pakistan Data Management, told Business Insider in an email.

Business Insider reported:

Apple has taken down a Quran app and a Bible app in China at the request of Chinese officials, the company confirmed to the BBC.

The apps, which are called Quran Majeed and Bible App by Olive Tree, were first reported as having been taken down by activist website Apple Censorship on Tuesday.

Apple directed the BBC to its Human Rights policy, which says: “We’re required to comply with local laws, and at times there are complex issues about which we may disagree with governments and other stakeholders on the right path forward. “

Apple told the BBC that Chinese officials had said the apps breached laws on hosting illegal religious texts.

Quran Majeed has over 5 million downloads on the Google Play Store, while Bible App by Olive Tree has just over 1 million.

The developer of the Quran Majeed app confirmed to Insider the app had been removed from China’s App Store, and said Apple had instructed it to contact the the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC).

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/10/illegal-religious-texts-apple-removes-quran-bible-apps-china-request-govt-officials/

Nebraska AG Issues Opinion on Doctors Prescribing HCQ and Ivermectin for COVID Treatment Will Not Face Punishment

The Office of the Attorney General in Nebraska issued an opinion Friday in response to the request of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services that states there’s no “clear and convincing evidence that a physician who first obtains informed consent and then utilizes Ivermectin or hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 violates the UCA (Nebraska’s Uniform Credential Act).”

Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson together with his Solicitor General and Assistant Attorney General issued their opinion in response to a request by Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services CEO, Dannette Smith. She wanted the AG’s office to examine carefully whether doctors could face legal action or be subject to discipline if they prescribed the meds for COVID treatment.

“Allowing physicians to consider these early treatments will free them to evaluate additional tools that could save lives, keep patients out of the hospital, and provide relief for our already strained healthcare system,” AG Doug Peterson wrote.

The Office of AG pointed to multiple medical journal articles, research, and case studies. They mentioned the study from Lancet that was later on retracted because of its flawed statistics regarding the use of HCQ.

After receiving your question and conducting our investigation, we have found significant controversy and suspect information about potential COVID-19 treatments. A striking example features one of the world’s most prestigious medical journals–the Lancet. In the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Lancet published a paper denouncing hydroxychloroquine as dangerous. Yet the reported statistics were so flawed that journalists and outside researchers immediately began raising concerns. Then after one of the authors refused to provide the analyzed data, the paper was retracted, but not before many countries stopped using hydroxychloroquine and trials were cancelled or interrupted. The Lancet’s own editor in chief admitted that the paper was a “fabrication, “a monumental fraud,” and “a shocking example of research misconduct in the middle of a global health emergency.

Because of conflicting data on the treatments by the principal authors, “We find that the available data does not justify filing disciplinary actions against physicians simply because they prescribe ivermectin or hydroxychloroquine to prevent or treat COVID-19,” the opinion said.

Office of AG also used the study from the Mahmud and Niaee research team and many more about Ivermectin’s role as prophylaxis.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/10/nebraska-ag-issues-opinion-doctors-prescribing-hcq-ivermectin-covid-treatment-will-not-face-punishment/

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich: Facebook Admits to Aiding Human Smuggling

Arizona Attorney General requested that U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland investigate Facebook for their facilitation of human smuggling at the Arizona southern border.

Facebook admitted in a letter to allowing “people to share information about how to enter a country illegally or request information about how to be smuggled.”

Facebook claims to censor and remove other content that assists human traffickers and drug traffickers but AG Brnovich says that the mechanisms they use are “paper tigers”.

Facebook is somehow able to censor every conservative thought and post that comes across the internet, but they leave some room for human traffickers.

By not banning this content and allowing the promotion of illegal smuggling, Facebook is a “direct facilitator” of this heinous crime.

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich made the following press release on Wednesday.

Attorney General Brnovich: Facebook Admits to Aiding Human Smuggling

Attorney General Mark Brnovich is asking U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate Facebook’s alleged facilitation of human smuggling at Arizona’s southern border and stop its active encouragement and facilitation of illegal entry.

General Brnovich wrote to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg after media reports detailed how human smugglers and drug cartels use the platform to advertise their smuggling services. After several follow-up requests by the Attorney General’s Office (AGO), Facebook provided an in-depth response on August 30th, 2021, stating it allows “people to share information about how to enter a country illegally or request information about how to be smuggled.”

“This is another example of how out of touch Big Tech is with America,” said Attorney General Mark Brnovich. “The cartels are seizing control of our southern border, and shame on anyone who is exploiting this crisis to enrich themselves.”

States are largely preempted from enforcing federal immigration laws and certain criminal statutes related to human smuggling. It is the federal government’s responsibility to enforce our nation’s immigration laws, and specifically, the Department of Justice’s responsibility to investigate and prosecute these crimes.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/10/arizona-attorney-general-mark-brnovich-facebook-admits-aiding-human-smuggling/

Judge Orders Chicago’s Police Union President John Catanzara to STOP TALKING and Encouraging Members to Defy Mayor Lightfoot’s Vaccine Mandates

John Catanzara, the head of Chicago’s police union, advised police officers NOT to comply with the city’s COVID-19 mandatory vaccine and reporting requirements.

Catanzara told fellow officers to openly defy Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s vaccine deadline.

John Catanzara announced he will go into a no-pay status following the deadline.

Watch before fascist YouTube deletes it.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/10/judge-orders-chicagos-police-union-president-john-catanzara-stop-talking-encouraging-members-defy-mayor-lightfoots-vaccine-mandates/

Psaki Hit With Ethics Complaint Over Hatch Act Violation

During the Trump Administration, we discussed a series of Hatch Act violations by officials and the response of the White House Chief of Staff that “nobody really cares.” It is certainly true that the Hatch Act represents little more than a speed bump in governmental ethics as was evident this week when White House press secretary Jen Psaki was hit by a complaint from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). To the credit of CREW, the group is showing the same vigor in defending ethics in this Administration.

However, these cases highlight the toothless quality of the Act.

Psaki responded to a question about the Virginia gubernatorial race by acknowledging she had “to be a little careful about how much political analysis I do” from the podium. However, she then tossed caution to the winds and declared:

“Look, I think the president, of course, wants former Governor McAuliffe to be the future governor of Virginia. There is alignment on a lot of their agenda, whether it is the need to invest in rebuilding our roads, rails, and bridges, or making it easier for women to rejoin the workforce.”

The key prohibition is that executive branch employees from “us[ing their] official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election.”

CREW further notes in the complaint:

“Activities covered by this prohibition include a federal employee’s use of their official authority or position while participating in political activity. “Political activity” is defined as “an activity directed toward the success or failure of a political party, candidate for partisan political office, or partisan political group.” The Hatch Act further prohibits most federal employees from engaging in political activity while on duty, but it does not prohibit certain employees appointed by the President from doing so. However, if these officials do engage in political activity, they must do so in their personal capacities and the costs associated with their political activity must not be paid with money derived from the United States Treasury.”

For her part, Psaki seemed to shrug off the complaint and said that she should probably “choose my words more carefully.”

The Hatch Act remains a largely aspirational law given the lack of real enforcement elements.

These complaints serve a purpose in flagging inappropriate commentary. The line between politics and government can be easily blurred in the White House where officials are asked for the political position of the President on a host of different issues, including close races like the one in Virginia. That does not take away from the important work that CREW does but the law often seems more honored in the breach.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/psaki-hit-ethics-complaint-over-hatch-act-violation

At least 3 killed as 4.8 magnitude earthquake hits Indonesia's tourist island of Bali

At least three people have been killed and seven others injured after a 4.8 magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia's tourist island of Bali just before dawn on Saturday, the country's search and rescue agency has said.

It was mainly felt in the Karangasem and Bangli districts on the east side of the island, causing people to flee their homes in panic.

The US Geological Survey put the magnitude of the earthquake at 4.8, saying that its epicenter was located 62 kilometers (38.5 miles) northeast of the port town Singaraja at a depth of 10 kilometers. The initial quake was followed by a 4.3 magnitude aftershock.

Two of those killed were buried under a landslide triggered by the quake, and another victim, a three-year-old girl, was hit by falling debris. Those injured mainly suffered fractures and head wounds, the agency said, adding that it was still collecting data on casualties and destruction.

Bali, which is often called the ‘Island of the Gods’, only reopened to international tourists earlier this week after 18 months of curbs aimed at stemming the spread of Covid-19. However, foreign visitors are only expected to start flocking to the island next month as direct international flights haven’t resumed yet.

Indonesia is a vast archipelago, located on the so-called ‘Ring of Fire’ – an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Ocean –so quakes and eruptions are quite common for the nation of 270 million.

The last major earthquake hit the country in January. It had a magnitude of 6.2 and resulted in at least 105 deaths and nearly 6,500 injuries.

https://www.rt.com/news/537662-bali-indonesia-earthquake-fatalities/

John Bolton blames Trump for Covid-19 deaths, laments Afghanistan withdrawal & wants regime change in Iran in RT interview

Withdrawing from Afghanistan was bad, sanctions are good, regime change in Iran is the only way, and Donald Trump is to blame for US Covid-19 deaths, his former advisor John Bolton told RT’s Going Underground.

Speaking with RT’s Afshin Rattansi, Bolton remained true to his hawkish foreign policy views, addressing the recent US pullout from Kabul, the rise of Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K), sanctions against Iran, Cuba and Venezuela, the 2018 bombing of Syria, and more.

Bolton served as Trump’s national security advisor from April 2018 to September 2019, and frequently clashed with the 45th president on how aggressive the US policy should be. He was fired after Trump called for US withdrawal from Afghanistan – something he still considers a mistake.

Calling Trump’s peace deal with the Taliban “flawed in many respects,” Bolton said it was essentially adopted by President Joe Biden, who disregarded warnings from the Pentagon, State Department and the White House to plow ahead.

“This is a retreat by the US from the international stage, something Biden believed in since at least 2009, ironically Trump believed in it too. I think it’s a mistake for the US, I think it’s a mistake for global stability, certainly it’s a mistake for the people of Afghanistan,” Bolton told Rattansi, arguing that the Taliban takeover will lead to the country once again serving as a base for terrorists.

https://www.rt.com/usa/537617-john-bolton-iran-afghanistan-trump/

‘Failed’ former Health Secretary Matt Hancock loses UN Africa job just hours after celebrating the appointment online

Former UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock won’t become the special envoy for a United Nations commission working on Africa’s recovery from Covid-19, after the UN suddenly decided not to take his appointment forward.

The job of UN envoy for financial innovation and climate change for the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) was seen as a chance for Hancock to revive his career after his scandalous resignation from the UK government this June.

The 43-year-old was forced to quit his job as health secretary after being photographed kissing a female aide at his office in violation of the coronavirus social distancing rules.

He celebrated the United Nations appointment on Twitter earlier this week, saying that he was honoured to be appointed as a special representative and work “to help African economic recovery from the pandemic and promote sustainable development.”

The former health secretary attached screenshots of a letter from the UN’s under-secretary general, Vera Songwe, to his tweet, in which she praised his “success” in overseeing the Covid-19 response in Britain, as well as his “fiscal and monetary experience.” He also received congratulations on the new job from some of his Conservative Party colleagues.

However, it turned out on Saturday that the UN gig won’t be happening after all for Hancock, an MP for West Suffolk.

“Hancock’s appointment by the UN Economic Commission for Africa is not being taken forward. ECA has advised him of the matter,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said, as cited by media site PassBlue.

The press release on the British politician’s new role in the commission has also apparently been removed from the ECA’s website.

The BBC reported on Saturday that it “understands the organisation has decided not to go ahead with the appointment” of Hancock, who is yet to comment on the matter.

The announcement by Hancock that he was joining the ECA sparked controversy as it coincided with the release of a parliamentary committee report slamming the British government’s response to the pandemic. Among other things, its authors labeled the lockdowns and social distancing rules during the early weeks “one of the most important public health failures the United Kingdom has ever experienced.”

UK opposition parties and human rights groups expressed serious doubts surrounding Hancock’s appointment, with Global Justice Now director Nick Dearden saying, “The last thing the African continent needs is a failed British politician. This isn’t the 19th century.”

Amnesty International noted that while he was health secretary, Hancock “opposed calls to lift intellectual property rights that would allow Covid-19 vaccines to be produced worldwide and ensure access to life-saving vaccines for billions of people.”

It’s unclear if the UN’s decision not to appoint Hancock was motivated by the backlash or other reasons.

https://www.rt.com/uk/537683-hancock-un-envoy-africa/

US Navy outlines discharge policy for unvaccinated sailors, includes possible punishments of recouping cost of training and education

The United States Navy announced new details about its COVID-19 vaccine mandate that goes into effect next month. The Navy noted that a newly created panel that will oversee the administrative discharge process for unvaccinated sailors could recoup the cost of training and education for service members who refuse to get the coronavirus vaccine.

All active-duty sailors are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Nov. 28. Service members in the selected reserve must be fully vaccinated by Dec. 28. Technically, sailors must have both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine or the one dose of the Johnson & Johnson by Nov. 14 so they can complete the 14-day waiting period to achieve full vaccination status by Nov. 28.

Those who refuse to get the vaccine by the deadline and do not have a medical or religious exemption will be discharged. Those service members will receive no lower than a general discharge under honorable conditions, which could result in the loss of some veterans' benefits.

To oversee the administrative discharge process for unvaccinated sailors, the Navy recently established the COVID Consolidated Disposition Authority. The CCDA has the authority to punish unvaccinated sailors by recouping the cost of training, education, and more.

"The CCDA may also seek recoupment of applicable bonuses, special and incentive pays, and the cost of training and education for service members refusing the vaccine," the U.S. Navy stated in a press release.

"For Navy service members refusing the vaccine, the CCDA also retains the authority for administrative processes regarding removal of warfare qualifications, additional qualification designations (AQD), Navy Enlisted Classifications (NEC), or sub-specialties, except in cases where removal authority is otherwise authorized by law or Executive Order," the Navy said.

Adm. William Lescher, Vice Chief of Naval Operations, said the CCDA would "ensure a fair and consistent process" for the discharge of unvaccinated sailors.

As of Wednesday, 94% of active-duty sailors are fully vaccinated and 99% have received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to the U.S. Navy. For reserve sailors, 72% are fully immunized against COVID-19 and 78% received at least one dose.

The Washington Post reported that 76.5% of active-duty Marine Corps personnel are vaccinated, and a mere 38% of Marine Corps Reserve personnel are vaccinated. There are reportedly 60,000 Air Force service members who are not fully vaccinated ahead of the branch's Nov. 2 deadline. Only about 40% of the Army Reserve and National Guard are vaccinated, but they have a vaccination deadline of June 30, 2022.

According to Navy data released on Oct. 13, there have been a total of 163 COVID-19 deaths within the branch, of which 102 were civilian employee deaths.

The U.S. Navy has 347,487 active duty personnel, 96,710 reserve personnel, and 281,161 civilian employees as of July 2021.

https://www.theblaze.com/news/us-navy-vaccine-mandate-discharge

Resolution to Stop CCP Organ Harvesting

A conservative grassroots organization is calling on U.S. lawmakers to address the Chinese Communist Party’s forced organ harvesting atrocities. NTD’s Cynthia Cai spoke with the president of its Solano County chapter to hear why he believes the U.S. needs to hold the CCP accountable.

https://www.ntd.com/resolution-to-stop-ccp-organ-harvesting_689533.html

US Set to Pay $712 Per Patient for Merck’s COVID-19 Pill

Merck is set to get $712 per treatment course for its COVID-19 pill from the U.S. government—even as it costs a fraction of that to produce, and is reportedly on track for a price of $12 in India.

The gap between production costs and the price for molnupiravir is gigantic and emblematic of a problem some say requires Congress or the U.S. government to intervene, implementing price caps or utilizing so-called march-in rights. Others, though, warn that such measures would curb innovation and lead to fewer drugs coming onto the market.

Merck filed for emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration for its drug this week, after it said an interim analysis of trial data show it cut hospitalizations in COVID-19 patients. An FDA’s advisory panel will consider the drug in November.

The treatment, a collection of pills given over five days, would be the first of its kind since the pandemic started.

Originally developed by Emory University with U.S. government funding, the drug was licensed by Ridgeback Biotherapeutics last year. Efforts to get authorization during the Trump administration were stymied, leading Ridgeback to turn to Merck.

Researchers this month pegged the cost of production for the 5-day treatment course at $17.74 (pdf) and estimated Merck could make a sustainable amount even if it priced a course as low as $19.99.

Melissa Barber of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Dzintars Gotham of the King’s College Hospital used the cost of the active pharmaceutical ingredient and other numbers to calculate the estimate.

The U.S. government committed last year to obtain 1.2 billion treatment courses if the drug received regulatory clearance. According to a contract (pdf) obtained by Knowledge Ecology International, the cost of each treatment would be $712.

“This price is equal to about 35 times the estimated sustainable generic price,” Barber and Gotham said.

It’s also 46 times as much as Indian manufacturers plan to charge for a generic version, according to Leena Menghaney, the South Asia head of Médecins Sans Frontières Access Campaign.

“The molnupiravir case illustrates why the ‘TRIPS Waiver’ is so urgently needed, which would waive intellectual property for COVID-19 medical tools during the pandemic and would remove legal barriers so that countries the world over could produce versions of these medicines and more lives could be saved,” she said in a statement, referring to a proposal to waive intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines and treatments.

Merck did not respond to requests for comment for this article. After public criticism of the cost of the company’s antiviral, an executive, Dr. Nicholas Kartsonis, said the price it charged the U.S. government isn’t the final figure.

“We set that price before we had any data, so that’s just one contract,” Kartsonis told the Associated Press. “Obviously we’re going to be responsible about this and make this drug as accessible to as many people around the world as we can.”

Merck in a press release Monday said it was “committed to providing timely access to molnupiravir globally, if it is authorized or approved, and plans to implement a tiered pricing approach based on World Bank country income criteria to reflect countries’ relative ability to finance their health response to the pandemic.”

https://www.ntd.com/us-set-to-pay-712-per-patient-for-mercks-covid-19-pill_689729.html

Conservatives resign from Biden’s Supreme Court packing commission

Two conservative members have resigned from a commission tasked with studying the issue of adding new members to the United States Supreme Court.

Caleb Nelson, law professor and a former clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas, and Jack Goldsmith, a former top Department of Justice lawyer under President George W. Bush, both left the commission Friday, The Hill reported.

“These two commissioners have chosen to bring their involvement to a close,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates told The Post. “We respect their decision and very much appreciate the significant contributions that they made during the last five months in terms of preparing for these deliberations.”

The commission was established by President Biden in April as an olive branch to progressives outraged by the rightward drift of the court in recent years. Conservatives have long derided any move to expand the nine-judge court as a partisan court-packing scheme.

The commission threw cold water on liberal hopes Thursday after the release of preliminary findings which did not take a favorable view of expansion.

“The risks of Court expansion are considerable, including that it could undermine the very goal of some of its proponents of restoring the Court’s legitimacy,” it read. “Recent polls suggest that a majority of the public does not support Court expansion.”

https://nypost.com/2021/10/16/conservatives-resign-from-joe-bidens-supreme-court-commission/

DOJ Says It’s Independent After Biden Calls for Prosecution of People Who Defy Jan. 6 Subpoenas

The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday said it will decide whether to take action against people who defy subpoenas from a congressional panel investigating the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol.

“The Department of Justice will make its own independent decisions in all prosecutions based solely on the facts and the law. Period. Full stop,” a DOJ spokesperson told news outlets in a statement.

President Joe Biden earlier in the day told reporters that he would like the congressional panel and the DOJ to act against the people ducking subpoenas.

“I hope that the committee goes after them and holds them accountable,” Biden said in Washington.

“I do, yes,” he added when asked if he thinks the DOJ should initiate prosecution.

Biden has previously said the DOJ would act independently during his administration.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki later sought to clarify Biden’s remarks, writing on Twitter that the president “supports the work of the committee and the independent role of the Department of Justice to make any decisions about prosecutions.”

The post drew pushback from Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.), who responded by wondering if the DOJ would be charging Biden’s son Hunter Biden, who is under investigation for alleged tax fraud.

“How about the millions of illegals crossing our southern border? There is nothing independent about this DOJ. They serve the far left and only care about investigating conservatives,” Steube said.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) convened a panel earlier this year to probe the Capitol breach after Senate Republicans rejected a measure to establish a Jan. 6 commission.

The panel has only two Republicans and both voted to impeach former President Donald Trump.

It has issued a flurry of subpoenas in recent weeks, including to former Trump administration officials Kash Patel, Mark Meadows, and Steve Bannon.

https://www.ntd.com/doj-says-its-independent-after-biden-calls-for-prosecution-of-people-who-defy-jan-6-subpoenas_689739.html

Virginia Tech To Limit Football Attendance After Viral ‘F**k Joe Biden’ Chant, Calls Students ‘Selfish, Inappropriate, And Embarrassing’

Students and football fans face harsh punishments for daring to criticize Joe Biden

Virginia Tech will limit the attendance of their own students at football games beginning this Saturday, after a video showing a massive group of them filling the school’s Lane Stadium with chants of “F— Joe Biden” went viral online, inspiring sports fans across the nation to follow suit in what the school describes as “selfish, inappropriate, and embarrassing behavior.”

The announcement from the Virginia college known for its agriculture and engineering programs has infuriated their fan base which, politically and culturally, often stands in stark contrast to their upper class rivals at the ultra-liberal University of Virginia.

Beginning this Saturday, when the Hokies football team takes on the Pittsburgh Panthers, student attendance will be limited to season ticket holders as well as a lesser amount of ticket lottery winners and game day conduct will be more tightly controlled and monitored by school law enforcement, which threatens to ban rule “violators” from the school’s athletic facilities.

In a public release signed by the school’s Athletic Director, Vice President for Student Affairs, and Chief of Police announcing the game day changes, students were chastised for their “selfish, inappropriate, and embarrassing behavior,” which in addition to the Biden chants, was reportedly reflected in general student conduct related to ticket sales, as well as stadium entry and exiting.

“Over the last several weeks, we have heard too many stories of selfish, inappropriate, and embarrassing student behavior at home football games,” the statement reads. “What we have heard falls short of Virginia Tech standards – and most importantly, creates an unsafe environment for all who attend.”

“This week, we are asking that every student attending this Saturday’s home game (and all future games) take personal responsibility for a safe and positive fan experience that reflects the best of our community,” continued the statement, before laying out the new list of rules for students enjoying the action.

As previously reported by National File, Virginia Tech students helped kick off a nationwide trend, leading thunderous chants of “F— Joe Biden” during the school’s early September game against the North Carolina Tarheels, as other identical or similar chants seemed to develop simultaneously at stadiums across the country.

https://nationalfile.com/virginia-tech-to-limit-football-attendance-after-viral-fk-joe-biden-chant-calls-students-selfish-inappropriate-and-embarrassing/

Berlin Elections to be Reviewed and Possibly Rerun Due to Voting ‘Irregularities’

Berlin’s Constitutional Court announced that it will be reviewing last month’s election results amid widespread reports of “irregularities”.

On September 26th, the German capital held elections at the federal, state, and local council levels.

Now, Berlin’s state Constitutional Court will need to decide if elections will need to be redone in two districts of the city, the western Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf district and the eastern Marzahn-Hellersdorf district.

Berliners were forced to wait for hours at polling stations that ran out of ballot papers, with the Berlin marathon causing delays in bringing more ballots. Many voters reported receiving the wrong type of ballots, and it is claimed that loopholes allowed minors to vote, according to state broadcaster Deutsche Welle.

Lolita Cigane, the head of the Organization for Security and Co-operation (OSCE) in Europe’s election-monitoring team, said that approximately ten per cent of polling centres in the city experienced voting irregularities, or 207 out of 2,257 stations.

Berlin Election Commissioner Petra Michaelis, who resigned last month following the polling day chaos, said that violations of election regulations could have impacted the results of the state election.

While in other countries close results trigger an automatic recount, in Germany they have to be formally initiated by a court.

At present, the state election results put the Social Democrats in first place, with the Greens and the Christian Democrats in second and third, respectively.

The chairman of the Bundestag election review committee, Patrick Sensburg of the Christian Democrats, has called for the entire election to be held again, saying: “In the Berlin election for the House of Representatives, I see objective violations of the electoral law.”

There has been no indication that the irregularities in Berlin could overturn the federal election to replace Angela Merkel’s party as Germany’s leading political force.

In the September elections, Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) suffered a humiliating loss under the leadership of Armin Laschet to the Social Democrat Party (SPD), which secured 25.7 per cent of the vote compared to 24.1 per cent for the CDU.

The left-wing party did not secure enough of the vote share to win power outright despite the CDU having its worst-ever result, however, forcing leader Olaf Sholz into negotiations with the Greens and the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP).

On Friday, the heads of the three parties met to discuss forming a so-called “traffic light” coalition government, so named because the parties’ colours are red, green, and yellow.

“We are convinced that we can conclude an ambitious and viable coalition agreement,” they said.

It is likely that a new federal government will take weeks or even months to form and it is still possible for Merkel’s party to cling on to power if it convinces the Greens and the FDP to form a coalition with them over the SPD, even without election reruns.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2021/10/16/berlin-election-faces-possible-redo-amid-voting-irregularities/

Poland Passes Law to Turn Away Migrants at Border and Build a Wall

The Polish parliament has passed a new law that will see illegal migrants turned away at the border and banned from entering Poland for a number of years, and a wall on the border with Belarus funded.

The legislation was passed on Thursday by Poland’s parliament, and will allow Polish border guards to turn away migrants at the border and push them back to the country they illegally crossed from.

The law also states that anyone caught entering Poland illegally will be banned from entering the country again from a period of six months to three years, and also states that asylum claims from those who have entered Poland illegally can be ignored, broadcaster SVT reports.

According to the EU-funded website InfoMigrnats, there are exceptions for asylum seekers who have come directly from a country where their lives and freedoms are threatened and have not stopped in other countries before coming to Poland.

Polish lawmakers have also given the go-ahead to build a wall on the roughly 250-mile border with Belarus, estimated to cost around €353 million.

The former Soviet Socialist Republic is believed to be engineering the surge in crossings by migrants — originally from Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia, for the most part — in order to punish Poland for sheltering Belarusian dissidents.

Poland’s Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski said the wall would be a “solid high barrier with a surveillance system of cameras and movement sensors.”

A similar barrier has been built in Greece along the country’s land border with Turkey and is also equipped with “extremely technologically advanced” surveillance systems according to the Minister of Citizen Protection, Michalis Chrysochoidis.

Both Greece and Poland are among 12 signatories to a letter addressed to the European Union earlier this month which called on the political bloc to do more to tackle illegal immigration.

Tensions along the border with Belarus have increased in recent weeks, with reports that Belarusian forces opened fire at Polish personnel stations along the border, although no one was injured during the inciden.

A spokeswoman for the Polish border guard speculated that the shots fired were not live ammunition.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2021/10/16/poland-passes-law-to-turn-away-migrants-at-border-and-build-a-wall/

News Top Southern Baptist Convention official resigns amid infighting over handling of sexual abuse cases

Top Southern Baptist Convention official resigns amid infighting over handling of sexual abuse cases

A top Southern Baptist leader announced his resignation on Thursday following weeks of internal turmoil over how the denomination should handle investigations into sexual abuse cases.

Ronnie Floyd made the announcement in a letter sent to members of the committee saying that he could no longer serve in the role. His last day will be Oct. 31.

Floyd is the president and CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee, which acts on behalf of the convention when the SBC isn’t in session during its two-day annual meeting.

Earlier this month, members of the Nashville-based committee agreed to waive attorney-client privilege as part of investigations on sexual abuse cases over the past two decades.

Floyd had sided with legal counsel, who advised against it.

The nation’s largest protestant denomination has been rocked by reports of hundreds of sexual abuse cases, which were uncovered in 2019 by the Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News.

“Due to my personal integrity and the leadership responsibility entrusted to me, I will not and cannot any longer fulfill the duties placed upon me as the leader of the executive, fiscal, and fiduciary entity of the SBC,” Floyd wrote in his letter Thursday.

“In the midst of deep disappointment and discouragement, we have to make this decision by our own choice and do so willingly, because there is no other decision for me to make,” he added.

Before becoming the highest-ranking official of the SBC executive committee, Floyd spent more than three decades as the pastor of Cross Church, a megachurch in Arkansas.

He served as president of the convention from 2014 to 2016. In 2019 he succeeded Frank Page as the committee’s president.

Page, who’s now the main pastor at the Pebble Creek Baptist Church in South Carolina, resigned from his post in 2018 over a “morally inappropriate relationship.”

https://www.cracknewz.com/2021/10/top-southern-baptist-convention.html

British Politician Warns Facebook Is Colluding With The ‘New World Order’ to Kill Independent Media Forever

British politician George Galloway has warned that Facebook is secretly colluding with the ‘New World Order’ to eradicate free speech and kill off independent publishers forever.

In an op-ed for RT, Galloway pointed out that the recent spate of Facebook ‘whistleblowers‘ emerging at the same time that Big Tech has vowed to “reduce the presence of politics” on the site is all part of a coordinated plan to further control free speech online.

Galloway writes:

“If you had told me during the years I sat with Nick Clegg in the British Parliament that the achingly liberal member for Sheffield Hallam – later to become deputy prime minister of the UK and Sir Nick ­– would become chief censor of the biggest public square on the planet, Facebook, I would never have believed it.

In the 2010 general election, when Clegg got the Liberal Democrats off to a flying start in the televised debates, “I agree with Nick” became the catchphrase of his trailing opponents. What began as an expedient has now become compulsory.

Because if you’re on Facebook and Sir Nick Clegg takes a dislike to what you have to say, you won’t be heard for long.

I declare an interest. I am heavily invested in free speech on Facebook. I have 600,000 followers on there – more than nearly all UK political figures – and an audience for my speeches and clips etc. of many millions.

When I read Clegg’s pronunciamento recently that he was going to cut back on political content on the platform I saw it as a threat. Pictures of my breakfast are but a small part of my Facebook oeuvre.”

Rt.com reports: According to Clegg, “One of the things we have heard from users both from the US and around the world since the election is people want to see more friends, less politics. So we have been testing ways in which we can reduce the presence of politics for people’s Facebook experiences.”

Then I watched with fascination the orchestral manoeuvres in the dark of a congressional inquiry into Facebook where a whistleblower, Frances Haugen, was whistling a highly convenient tune for the powerful – in the company and in the powerhouses of the establishment – and I realised we were all being played. And that Nick Clegg is no longer a liberal.

Facebook will fight to the death to stop those with the “wrong” opinions from being heard. Cue: something must be done!

https://en-volve.com/2021/10/16/british-politician-warns-facebook-is-colluding-with-the-new-world-order-to-kill-independent-media-forever/

With Nod to Military Action Against Iran, US Gives In to Israeli Pressure

Israel sees restoration of ties with Democrats

Secretary of State Tony Blinken said all options are on the table against Iran, giving a clear nod to threats to attack militarily. This is exactly the sort of threat Israel has wanted, and Israeli officials are congratulating one another in getting that out of the US.

“All options” was a catch-all term for the US in threatening anyone, but Israeli officials felt the US wasn’t saying it nearly enough against Iran, presenting this as a split between Israel and the Democrats, a rift they now see as healing.

Israeli officials saw limited threats against Iran as a sign that the US realistically hadn’t kept some options on the table. It isn’t clear that the US is any closer to attacking Iran now, however.

The US is resisting key aspects of a deal, and warning time is running out for Iran. This, and the threats to attack, are part of the bargaining effort, not serious signs an attack is imminent.

Apart from Israel, the US would likely face major international opposition for a unilateral attack. The US stated goal is to return to the JCPOA and see Iran returned to it as well. Iran seems wholly prepared for that, on the condition that the US actually honors the deal and that they get some sort of assurance that the US won’t back out again like they did last time.

The assurance will likely be difficult, as Iran is such a political hot button in the US that many candidates will run specifically on dishonoring any deal reached with them.

https://news.antiwar.com/2021/10/14/with-nod-to-military-action-against-iran-us-gives-in-to-israeli-pressure/

Van Gogh stolen from Rothschilds by Nazis to be auctioned in New York

‘Wheatstacks’ expected to fetch at least $20 million; sale going ahead after agreement reached between estate of current owner and heirs of two Jewish art collectors

NEW YORK (AP) — A watercolor by Vincent van Gogh that was seized by the Nazis during World War II will be sold next month at auction in New York, where it is expected to fetch a price of $20 million or more, the auction house Christie’s announced.

Christie’s is auctioning the 1888 work, “Wheatstacks,” after facilitating negotiations between the Texas oilman’s heirs who own it now and the heirs of two Jewish art collectors who owned it at different times before it was looted by the Nazis. Details of the settlement are confidential, a Christie’s spokesperson said.

“Wheatstacks” will be auctioned Nov. 11 along with other artworks from the collection of Edwin L. Cox, a Texas oilman who died last year at age 99.

The work depicts three haystacks towering over harvest workers on a bright summer day.

It was purchased in 1913 by industrialist Max Meirowsky, who fled Germany for Amsterdam in 1938 fearing Nazi persecution.

Meirowsky entrusted “Wheatstacks” to a Paris-based art dealer, who sold it to Alexandrine de Rothschild, a member of the renowned Jewish banking family.

Rothschild fled to Switzerland at the onset of World War II and her art collection, including the van Gogh watercolor, was confiscated by the Nazis during the Occupation.

It is unclear where the artwork was between the end of the war and the 1970s, but Cox bought it at the Wildenstein gallery in New York in 1979.

Giovanna Bertazzoni, vice chair of 20th- and 21st-century art at Christie’s called the artwork one of the most powerful works on paper by van Gogh ever to appear on the open market.

“Everything is breathtaking: the iconic subject, the perfect condition of the gouache, the intensity of the ink in the trademark cross-hatchings and twirls defining the landscape, the ambitious scale of the composition,” she said in a news release Thursday.

Prior to the auction, the watercolor will be on view at Christie’s in London from October 17 to October 21, marking the first time that it has been publicly exhibited since a 1905 van Gogh retrospective at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/van-gogh-stolen-from-rothschilds-by-nazis-to-be-auctioned-in-new-york/

Rothschild's are victims narrative being pushed

Soros-tied group met with FBI during Russia collusion probe, hired Christopher Steele

Democracy Integrity Project founder Dan Jones testifies about extensive contacts with Clinton campaign-tied figures, including Michael Sussmann and Glenn Simpson.

A group funded by George Soros and other donors to continue investigating the Russia collusion allegations after the 2016 election met with the FBI, offering its assistance to agents and alerting them it was working with one of their terminated confidential sources in the case, Christopher Steele, according to court testimony made public Friday.

Former FBI analyst Daniel Jones' testimony, released in a D.C. Superior Court civil case, recounts in painstaking detail how he formed the group The Democracy Integrity Project in early 2017, raised money for it and continued a private investigation into alleged Russian and other interference in the 2016 election.

Jones acknowledged in his testimony that he worked post-election with some of the key figures tied to Hillary Clinton's campaign and its now discredited Russia collusion allegations, including recently indicted former campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann and investigative researcher Glenn Simpson.

But in one of his biggest revelations, Sussmann testified he hired the author of the now-infamous and discredited Steele dossier to assist his work and felt obligated to alert the FBI when he met with Russia collusion investigators in March 2017. "I proactively reached out to the FBI," Jones testified.

"The purpose of that meeting was to alert the FBI, a place that I had worked with and who I had maintained contacts with who are still there, that the Democracy Integrity Project as an organization existed and that we were collecting information on foreign government interference in elections and that we had the information on foreign government interference in elections, as well as the fact that I had engaged the services of Christopher Steele for the Democracy Integrity Project and alerting them to that, given the public nature of what had transpired from the Bureau on this."

You can read the full testimony here:

File

DanJonesDepoAlfacase.pdf

By the time of Jones' meeting with the FBI in March 2017, the bureau had terminated the former British MI6 agent Steele as a confidential informant in the Russia case for leaking to the news media. Counterintelligence agents had also debunked some of the Steele dossier's allegations as Russian disinformation, inaccurate or unprovable and learned his research had been paid for by the Clinton campaign through its law firm Perkins Coie, where Sussmann worked.

File

Steele2017FBIDebriefing.pdf

But Steele wasn't the only figure tied to the Clinton campaign's earlier Russia collusion operation that engaged with TDIP.

Jones testified that Simpson helped him raise money for his non-profit TDIP and Jones then hired Simpson's Fusion GPS firm to investigate election issues starting in early 2017. Records introduced during the testimony showed the donor-funded TDIP paid Simpson's firm about $3.3 million for its work.

Simpson's firm had previously done similar work for the Clinton campaign.

While TDIP's list of donors is not public, a spokesman for Soros previously confirmed in 2019 that the liberal megadonor was one of the group's funders.

https://justthenews.com/accountability/russia-and-ukraine-scandals/soros-tied-group-met-fbi-during-russia-collusion-probe

Additional sexual assault accusation revealed against Shimon Peres

Rina Mazliah revealed an anonymous accusation of sexual assault against Shimon Peres a few days after Colette Avital came forward with allegations against the former president and prime minister.

An unnamed former secretary accused Shimon Peres of sexual assault, Israeli news reporter Rina Mazliah revealed to N12 on Saturday.

"He pulled me toward him and put his hand under my shirt," said the anonymous woman. "I said to him 'wait wait' and he pushed me up against the wall. I pushed him and ran away. I have an awful memory of him."

This accusation follows those made by former MK Colette Avital who alleged last week that Peres had sexually assaulted her in the 80's.

Avital told Haaretz that Peres pinned her to a door and tried to kiss her while he was prime minister in 1984.

She also said that on another occasion, he invited her to his hotel room for breakfast while they were on a diplomatic mission in Paris and tried to push her onto the bed when she entered the room.

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/additional-sexual-assault-accusation-revealed-against-shimon-peres-682194

New Escalation: Israel Assassinated Syrian Official, Ex-Lawmaker In Al-Quneitra

On October 16, the Israeli military assassinated Medhat al-Saleh, director of the Golan Affairs Office in the Syrian government.

According to the Beirut-based al-Mayadeen TV, al-Shaleh was shot and killed by the Israeli military while he was visiting ‘Ayn At Tina site, which is located right on the Separation of Forces Line that separates Syria’s al-Quneitra from the Israeli-occupied part of the Golan Heights.

The Syrian government has not commented on the incident so far; neither did Israeli which does not usually acknowledges assassinations.

Al-Saleh, a native of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, spent 12 years in jail for “resisting” Israeli authorities. After being released, he moved to Syria in 1998 where he became a member of its parliament, the People’s Assembly, until 2005.

Al-Saleh became the director of the Golan Affairs Office, which is tasked with supporting Syrians living under the Israeli occupation in the Golan Heights, on the same year.

In 2010, al-Saleh’s name returned to the spotlight when Israel uncovered a Syrian spy ring in the Golan. Tel Aviv claimed that the ring was being run by none other than al-Saleh. The ring collected information on the operations of Israeli Navy submarines and was about to abduct a Syrian pilot who defected to Israel in the 80s.

At the time, the Syrian government refuted Israel’s accusations, which may have been just an attempt to prevent anyone from al-Golan from contacting al-Saleh.

The Israeli military and intelligence were reportedly behind several assassinations that targeted local fighters and officials in al-Quneitra in the last few years.

The assassination of al-Saleh may lead to a major escalation, especially that it took place after a series of Israeli airstrikes on central Syria that left Iranian-backed forces threatening Tel Aviv with a “very harsh response”.

https://southfront.org/new-escalation-israel-assassinated-syrian-official-ex-lawmaker-in-al-quneitra/

WTF!? Biden’s USAID Launches $125 Million Project To Find 12,000 New Viruses.

Joe Biden’s U.S. Agency for International Development launched a new $125 million dollar project with Washington State University and foreign collaborators to discover over 10,000 novel viruses in nature.

The ambitious program follows the agency funding a similar form of research conducted by EcoHealth Alliance and its controversial partner: the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Many experts believe this Chinese Communist Party-run lab is the source of COVID-19.

The new program, announced by Washington State University (WSU) on October 5th, will endeavor “to collect over 800,000 samples in the five years of the project.”

“This process is expected to yield 8,000 to 12,000 novel viruses, which researchers will then screen and sequence the genomes of the ones that pose the most risk to animal and human health,” a summary adds.

The program relies on collaboration with foreign countries, as its description outlines its efforts to “build scientific capacity in partner countries” focusing on coronaviruses, filoviruses, and paramyxoviruses. While WSU’s foreign collaborators have not been identified yet, in the past, the school has partnered with Chinese Communist Party-linked technology firms including DJI for research.

DJI has admitted complying with Beijing’s data requests, leading the U.S. Army to ban their use in 2017, citing cyber vulnerabilities. The office of U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Los Angeles also sent a memo stating officials have “moderate confidence” DJI’s commercial drones and software are “providing US critical infrastructure and law enforcement data to the Chinese government.”

“The project plans to partner with up to 12 targeted countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America to carry out large-scale animal surveillance programs within their own countries, safely, using their own laboratory facilities,” a WSU summary explains.

“We will work to not only detect viruses but also build capacity in other countries, so the United States can collaborate with them in carrying out this important work,” said Felix Lankester, lead principal investigator for the project.

https://thenationalpulse.com/news/bidens-usaid-launches-project-to-find-novel-viruses/

https://news.wsu.edu/press-release/2021/10/05/wsu-to-lead-125-million-usaid-project-to-detect-emerging-viruses/

Three charged in ‘highly disturbing’ child pornography cases in Martin County

STUART, FL – The Martin County Sheriff’s Office has labeled three alleged child pornographers’ crimes as ‘highly disturbing’ after a month-long operation has finally led to their arrests.

“The details of all of these cases are so disturbing, the paperwork is difficult to read, but the end result of two, and the beginning of a third case, is an important reminder to our citizens that we are doing everything possible to protect your children and locate the suspects targeting them,” the office said. “During the month of October, the following cases were addressed.”

23-year old Nikolas Cook of Stuart was sentenced to 70-years in prison after pleading guilty to producing, distributing, and possessing child pornography. In 2020, Martin County Detectives arrested Cook after intercepting internet chat traffic involving the suspect. The chat traffic included explicit images of sexual abuse of a young child. Further investigation revealed that Cook was storing, creating, and distributing hundreds of images and videos of child pornography and child sex abuse that included children as young as three years old.

29- year old Coltin Plummer of Jupiter was sentenced to 50-years in prison after being convicted of production and distribution of child pornography. In 2020, using a social media platform, Plummer targeted and sent lewd messages and disturbing child sexual abuse photos to more than one dozen juvenile victims in Martin County, Ohio, South Carolina, and Canada. With those images, Plummer included threats to rape the victims and kill their families if they did not reciprocate by sending him nude or compromising photos of themselves. Once tracked, detectives discovered Plummer was storing hundreds of images of child pornography, that he says he downloaded from the dark web and sent to his victims in order to scare them into sending nude and compromising photos of themselves.

55-year old Timothy Dwayne Woltmann of Stuart was arrested last week after detectives intercepted social media activity which included the uploading of some of the most disturbing videos and images of sexual abuse involving an infant and other prepubescent children. Detectives were able to track Woltmann to his home in Stuart where they discovered additional videos and images of child pornography and bestiality in his possession. Woltmann remains in custody on a 1.7-million dollar bond.

“We would like to recognize and thank our Special Victim’s Unit, including Detective Brian Broughton, Detective Matthew Killough, Detective Ingrid Faison, Detective Christine Polizzi, and Detective Ismael Hau, who work diligently in the face of the most difficult cases, collecting and reviewing crucial evidence that includes deeply disturbing child pornography and child sex abuse images in an effort to track and arrest those engaged in this activity,” MCSO said. “In partnership with our resident FBI Agents, arrests are made. With the cooperation and dedication of our local State Attorney’s Office, warrants are issued, and through our Federal Courts, convictions are achieved and sentences are strong.”

https://www.shorenewsnetwork.com/2021/10/16/three-charged-in-highly-disturbing-child-pornography-cases-in-martin-county/

Lockheed Martin Is Lobbying Against Biden’s Reconciliation Bill While Pushing Targeted Bailout of Weapons Industry

The weapons company is trying to gut the Build Back Better bill while, at the same time, seeking “emergency reimbursement” in the 2022 defense bill.

The weapons company Lockheed Martin is part of a corporate group that is aggressively lobbying against a proposed corporate tax increase that would help pay for the $3.5 trillion ($350 billion annually) reconciliation bill. The manufacturer of bombs and fighter jets, at the same time, is also backing a separate corporate effort to win a weapons industry bailout in the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act.

The dual campaigns backed by the weapons giant, one of the largest military contractors in the world, are a glaring example of how the same companies that oppose a modest increase in corporate contributions to the public coffer simultaneously believe that corporations should be able to take from this public coffer to pad their bottom line.

Lockheed Martin is listed as a “member” of the “Reforming America’s Taxes Equitably (Rate) Coalition,” which says its mission is to “defend the United States’ globally competitive corporate tax rate.” (Among the other corporate backers of the group are Altria, AT&T, and Capitol One.)

In May 2021, it was reported that the Rate Coalition hired Forbes Tates partners to lobby against President Biden’s proposal to increase the corporate tax rate: The lobby firm which began reaching out months ago to Democrats in the House and Senate. This effort is picking up pace along with political efforts to pass—and obstruct—the reconciliation bill. On September 15, the Rate Coalition wrote a letter to the leadership of the House Ways and Means Committee opposing any increase at all to corporate taxes. And the group is also churning outadvertisements in Arizona, New Hampshire, and Virginia that are specifically aimed at putting pressure on Democrats to oppose corporate tax increases.

The group’s social media specifically pushes Sen. Joe Manchin to torpedo Biden’s Build Back Better bill.

The Rate Coalition isn’t the only corporate effort to defeat the reconciliation bill. From the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to the Business Roundtable, the group has no shortage of allies. But the Coalition distinguishes itself from the others for its laser focus on opposing any corporate tax hike at all. “We believe that our country’s globally competitive corporate tax rate, once the highest in the world, is benefitting American businesses, American workers and American consumers,” says the group, which is fronted by senator-turned-lobbyist Blanche Lincoln. The splash page on its website, unable to pass up on a touch of red-baiting, reads,

“AMERICA CAN’T BUILD BACK BETTER WITH A HIGHER RATE THAN CHINA”.

For some important context, the proposed corporate tax increase is relatively modest, aimed at partially reversing the 2017 tax cuts which reduced the tax rate for large corporations from 35 percent to 21 percent. The Biden administration initially proposed that this rate be brought up to 28 percent. The version passed by the House Ways and Means Committee on September 15 calls for 26.5 percent. Either way, corporations are still benefiting from the 2017 cuts. The “emergency” of a looming tax hike that will cause “a range of deleterious outcomes,” as the Rate Coalition puts it, is entirely manufactured.

https://www.globalresearch.ca/lockheed-martin-is-lobbying-against-bidens-reconciliation-bill-while-pushing-targeted-bailout-of-weapons-industry/5758749

https://www.globalresearch.ca/lockheed-martin-is-lobbying-against-bidens-reconciliation-bill-while-pushing-targeted-bailout-of-weapons-industry/5758749

Pandora Papers Reveal Offshore Finances of the Global Elite Currying Influence in the U.S.

A trove of 11.9 million records released last week exposed the offshore financial secrets of hundreds of politicians, billionaires, celebrities, royal family members and other wealthy individuals in more than 200 countries and territories across the globe.

The Pandora Papers records obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists shine a light on how the world’s wealthy elite use offshore shell companies to avoid disclosing their assets, and the firms that help them do it.

Many of the big names in the Pandora Papers have also sought to influence U.S. policy and public opinion in the U.S., an OpenSecrets analysis finds.

One law firm mentioned in more than 7,500 documents in the data leak is Baker McKenzie.

Although internal Baker McKenzie records are not included among the leaked files, the firm is mentioned more than any other big U.S. law firm.

The Pandora Papers files highlight the law firm’s role in lobbying to shape laws and regulations around the world in countries including Australia and the United Arab Emirates. The documents show the firm tried to influence policies concerning money laundering and tax shelters.

Many of the Pandora Papers records mentioning Baker McKenzie come from three offshore providers: Trident Trust in the British Virgin Islands, Alcogal in Panama and Asiaciti Trust in Singapore.

Baker McKenzie has also represented foreign governments seeking to influence policy and public opinion in the U.S.

In 2020, Baker & McKenzie registered as a foreign agent for the first time since 1992 as part of its work for the Republic of Congo. In the past year, the firm has been paid nearly $1.3 million for foreign influence operations reported in Foreign Agents Registration Act.

Issues related to tax avoidance and companies with a presence outside the U.S. have also been central to Baker McKenzie’s recent lobbying for domestic clients.

The law firm’s lobbying for the Fair Credit Coalition and the Global Business Alliance, a trade association that represents U.S. subsidiaries of companies headquartered abroad, has focused on base erosion and an anti-abuse tax aimed at preventing multinational companies operating in the U.S. from avoiding domestic tax liability by shifting profits abroad.

The firm’s recent lobbying for Boeing focused on foreign-derived intangible income, the portion of a U.S. company’s intangible income from assets such as patents, trademarks and copyrights that comes from serving foreign markets.

In the first half of 2021, Baker McKenzie brought in $220,000 from domestic lobbying clients following $860,000 from domestic clients for lobbying in all of 2020.

In addition to lobbying clients, Baker McKenzie has worked for a range of clients in other capacities that are not required to be disclosed in lobbying or FARA disclosures.

https://www.globalresearch.ca/pandora-papers-reveal-offshore-finances-of-the-global-elite-currying-influence-in-the-u-s/5758722

Gun lawyer hired to protect Gladys Berejiklian in the fight of her life at corruption inquiry got Cardinal George Pell out of jail and charges $25,000 a day - but who's paying the bill?

Gladys Berejiklian will be represented at a corruption hearing by Bret Walker SC

Mr Walker is one of Australia's top barristers and can charge up to $25,000 a day

He has represented bikie gangs, former PM Kevin Rudd and Cardinal George Pell

ICAC is investigating Ms Berejiklian's relationship with former MP Daryl Maguire

Mr Maguire quit Parliament after admitting seeking payment in a property deal

Ms Berejiklian is in a relationship with her previous barrister Arthur Moses SC

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10086895/Gladys-Berejiklian-lawyer-Bret-Walker-got-George-Pell-jail-charges-25-000-day.html