NY Taxpayers Pay $750,000 to Bury Power Lines So Wealthy Residents Can See the Ocean View

The wealthy elite who drive along scenic Montauk Highway have been so bothered by overhead power lines blocking views of the horizon across the Atlantic Ocean that they recently convinced local officials to use $750,000 in taxpayer funds to bury the lines underground.

New York State grants and money from the tony East Hampton Town will fund the plan to remove 2,240 linear feet of lines along the highway and other neighboring streets that lead to Montauk, the scenic East End of Long Island, Newsday reported.

"Placing the utility lines underground will significantly enhance the scenic vista at the gateway to Montauk," East Hampton Town Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc said.

The main benefit of putting wires underground is improved aesthetics for the drive into Montauk, dubbed “The End” for being the end of Long Island, and whose lighthouse is a tourist attraction.

But the subterranean lines also result in fewer wind and lightning outages than overhead lines, according to PSEG, the energy company that owns the soon-to-be-relocated lines.

While regular tree trimmings aren’t required like for overhead wires, underground ones are susceptible to flooding and may take longer and be more expensive to repair, Newsday reported.

The moves comes after residents like John Keeshan have advocated for years to open the landscape at the entrance to Montauk’s downtown.

He describes a visit to Montauk as the New York version of a drive along California's Pacific Coast Highway.

Keeshan, a real estate agent, represents clients selling pricey homes, including most recently a two-bedroom, one-bathroom for $1.85 million.

The Montauk median household income was $96,389 in 2019, compared to the $72,108 state-wide median income.

Who can’t appreciate scenic ocean views while driving to one of the most exclusive areas in New York? But state and local taxpayers shouldn’t be the ones to foot the bill.

https://www.realclearpolicy.com/articles/2021/11/29/ny_taxpayers_pay_750000_to_bury_power_lines_so_wealthy_residents_can_see_the_ocean_view_804919.html

January 6, 2020

Jeffrey Epstein was blackmailing politicians for Israel's Mossad, new book claims

The deceased American financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell were Israeli spies who used underage girls to blackmail politicians into giving information to Israel, according to their alleged Mossad handler.

The couple reportedly ran a "honey-trap" operation in which they provided young girls to prominent politicians from around the world for sex, and then used the incidents to blackmail them in order to attain information for Israeli intelligence.

The claims are being made by the alleged former Israeli spy Ari Ben-Menashe in a soon-to-be-released book "Epstein: Dead Men Tell No Tales" in which he said that he was the handler of Ghislaine's father Robert Maxwell, who was also an Israeli espionage agent and was the one who introduced his daughter and Epstein to Mossad.

"See, fking around is not a crime. It could be embarrassing, but it's not a crime," Menashe wrote in the book. "But fking a fourteen-year-old girl is a crime. And he was taking photos of politicians f**king fourteen-year-old girls—if you want to get it straight…They [Epstein and Maxwell] would just blackmail people like that."

The handler Ben-Menashe, himself an Iran-born Israeli businessman who says he worked for Mossad from 1977 to 1987, is a mysterious figure who was arrested in 1989 in the US on charges of arms dealing. He was acquitted in 1990, however, only after a jury accepted that he was acting on behalf of the Israeli state. Israel then denied that Menashe has any links with its intelligence services and attempted to distance itself from him, despite the fact that other news reports both in the US and Israel confirmed he was acting on the country's behalf.

The new book, which also speculates that Maxwell may have worked for other governments as a double or triple agent, says that despite reports Epstein and Ghislaine met in the early 1990s in New York, they in fact met earlier through her father who introduced Epstein to Mossad before Ghislaine joined in the activities later.

Jeffrey Epstein, who was facing charges for sex trafficking minors, was found dead in his New York prison cell on 10 August. According to official reports he committed suicide, but there has been much speculation and evidence put forward that he was in fact killed, with many stating he may have been assassinated due to his knowledge of the figures he blackmailed and the acts they committed.

The statements made by Ben-Menashe are so far unsubstantiated, but if proven true they would provide significant evidence of Israel being involved in the blackmail of senior and prominent politicians and figures in the US.

This would only add to the state's already-revealed track record of manipulating Western nations' political systems, as was seen in the revelations of the Israeli lobby's attempt to "take down" British and US politicians revealed in the past few years.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200106-jeffrey-epstein-was-blackmailing-politicians-for-israels-mossad-new-book-claims/

CDC Pushes Booster Shot for All Adults, Cites Omicron Variant

The Centers for Disease control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday updated its recommendations on COVID-19 vaccinations, now saying that everyone aged 18 and older “should get a booster shot.”

The update, announced by CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, cites the recent emergence of the Omicron variant of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus that causes the COVID-19 disease.

“CDC is updating its recommendation on [COVID-19] vaccinations: everyone 18 yrs & older should get booster shot,” Walensky said in a statement. “We have much to learn about [the Omicron variant], but we do know that COVID-19 vaccines are our best tool to avoid serious illness [and] hospitalization.”

“The emergence of [the Omicron variant] further emphasizes importance of vaccination, boosters, [and] prevention efforts needed to protect against [COVID-19],” she added. “I strongly encourage the 47 million adults who are not yet vaccinated to get vaccinated as soon as possible.”

According to the CDC’s website, as of Monday, everyone aged 18 years or older “should get a booster” at least 6 months after completing their main Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccination series, or at least 2 months after completing their main Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 vaccination series.

People “may choose” whichever COVID-19 vaccine as their booster shot.

“Some people may prefer the vaccine type that they originally received, and others may prefer to get a different booster. CDC’s recommendations now allow for this type of mix and match dosing for booster shots,” the website states.

“You may experience side effects after getting a COVID-19 vaccine,” it states. “These are normal signs that your body is building protection against COVID-19.”

The booster shots are the same formulation as the current COVID-19 vaccines available in the United States.

Those receiving the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine would only receive half the dose that is given in the primary vaccine series.

According to the CDC, reactions that have been reported after people received their booster shots “were similar to those of the two-shot or single-dose primary series.” The agency says people can use v-safe, a smartphone-based tool, to tell the CDC about any side effects.

https://www.ntd.com/cdc-pushes-booster-shot-for-all-adults-cites-omicron-variant_707715.html

Ex-L.A. Special Counsel Agrees to Plead Guilty to Accepting Nearly $2.2 Million Kickback for Arranging Collusive Lawsuit Against LADWP

https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/ex-la-special-counsel-agrees-plead-guilty-accepting-nearly-22-million-kickback