==

Statement Regarding the Ongoing Trial of Jussie Smollett==

The below is a statement from Dr. Melina Abdullah, Director of BLM Grassroots and Co-Founder of BLM Los Angeles, regarding the ongoing trial of Jussie Smollett:

As abolitionists, we approach situations of injustice with love and align ourselves with our community. Because we got us. So let’s be clear: we love everybody in our community. It’s not about a trial or a verdict decided in a white supremacist charade, it’s about how we treat our community when corrupt systems are working to devalue their lives. In an abolitionist society, this trial would not be taking place, and our communities would not have to fight and suffer to prove our worth. Instead, we find ourselves, once again, being forced to put our lives and our value in the hands of judges and juries operating in a system that is designed to oppress us, while continuing to face a corrupt and violent police department, which has proven time and again to have no respect for our lives.

In our commitment to abolition, we can never believe police, especially the Chicago Police Department (CPD) over Jussie Smollett, a Black man who has been courageously present, visible, and vocal in the struggle for Black freedom. While policing at-large is an irredeemable institution, CPD is notorious for its long and deep history of corruption, racism, and brutality. From the murders of Fred Hampton and Mark Clark, to the Burge tortures, to the murder of Laquan McDonald and subsequent cover-up, to the hundreds of others killed by Chicago police over the years and the thousands who survived abuse, Chicago police consistently demonstrate that they are among the worst of the worst. Police lie and Chicago police lie especially.

Black Lives Matter will continue to work towards the abolition of police and every unjust system. We will continue to love and protect one another, and wrap our arms around those who do the work to usher in Black freedom and, by extension, freedom for everyone else.

https://blacklivesmatter.com/statement-regarding-the-ongoing-trial-of-jussie-smollett/?cf_chl_jschl_tk=RIh.LzItIKtFt5JazCzlPInwdJledotL7y4yNamG5rg-1639073576-0-gaNycGzNCGU

Lin Wood Says Kyle Rittenhouse is Planning to Sue Him

Lin Wood on his Telegram channel early Thursday morning says that Kyle Rittenhouse is planning to sue him.

According to Wood, “Kyle says I am a liar. What lies have I told about him?“

Lin then added, “Kyle said I stole money from him? What money and when?”

I believe what Rittenhouse is upset about, is that Wood’s group used his name to raise $2 million for collateral for his bail. Where is that money now? Why wasn’t that money given to Rittenhouse’s mother? Those are questions that truly need answered, do they not? Why has Wood not addressed this?

You can read the full statement from Wood below:

https://thedcpatriot.com/lin-wood-says-kyle-rittenhouse-is-planning-to-sue-him/

Top Pfizer and Moderna Shareholders Netted $10B This Week from Omicron

The discovery of the Omicron coronavirus variant caused the wealth of eight top Pfizer and Moderna shareholders to skyrocket by a combined €9 billion ($10.31 billion) in one week, according to campaigners.

The campaigners from Global Justice Now said pharmaceutical executives are “making a killing from a crisis they helped to create”, with vaccine inequality helping to create the conditions for the Omicron variant to emerge.

Moderna’s shares skyrocketed after the announcement of the variant and settled at $310.61 per share on December 1st, up 13.61 per cent from the previous Wednesday. Pfizer’s shares rose by 7.41 per cent from $50.91 per share to $54.68 per share.

www.breakingnews.ie/world/omicron-variant-made-e9-billion-for-top-pfizer-and-moderna-shareholders-campaigners-say-1223700.html

https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/top-pfizer-and-moderna-shareholders-netted-10b-this-week-from-omicron/

FDA authorizes Pfizer booster for 16 and 17 year olds

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Thursday authorized booster shots of Pfizer and BioNTech's coronavirus vaccine for 16- and 17-year-olds, a move meant to bolster protection against the delta and emerging omicron variants.

The announcement comes a day after Pfizer said preliminary evidence shows a booster shot provides the most protection against infection from the omicron variant, though two doses still offer protection against severe disease.

“Vaccination and getting a booster when eligible, along with other preventive measures like masking and avoiding large crowds and poorly ventilated spaces, remain our most effective methods for fighting COVID-19,” acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock said in a statement.

“As people gather indoors with family and friends for the holidays, we can’t let up on all the preventive public health measures that we have been taking during the pandemic. With both the delta and omicron variants continuing to spread, vaccination remains the best protection against COVID-19," Woodcock said.

Boosters will be available for anyone in that age group who received the initial dose at least six months ago, as soon as Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky endorses the authorization.

Pfizer is currently the only vaccine authorized for people under the age of 18. The vaccine has been authorized for children as young as 5, but boosters were only available for adults.

However, many states have decided to open eligibility for boosters to all ages, regardless of FDA action.

“Since we first authorized the vaccine, new evidence indicates that vaccine effectiveness against COVID-19 is waning after the second dose of the vaccine for all adults and for those in the 16- and 17-year-old age group. A single booster dose of the vaccine for those vaccinated at least six months prior will help provide continued protection against COVID-19 in this and older age groups," said Peter Marks, head of the FDA's vaccine division.

The FDA said the decision to authorize boosters for 16- and 17-year-olds was based on safety and efficacy data for people aged 18 to 55.

But the agency did not convene its outside expert advisory panel, which has previously raised questions about the risks of myocarditis and pericarditis — rare but serious cases of inflammation of the heart muscle and surrounding tissue, respectively — associated with the vaccine.

In a statement, the FDA said it determined that "the benefits of a single booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine or Comirnaty outweigh the risks of myocarditis and pericarditis in individuals 16 and 17 years of age."

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/585096-fda-authorizes-pfizer-booster-for-16-and-17-year-olds

Israel's Air Force One, 'Wing of Zion,' is ready but still grounded

The plane is officially ready, but Prime Minister Naftali Bennett currently has no plans to use it.

Wing of Zion, Israel’s answer to Air Force One, was officially declared ready to fly this week – but Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s office has no plans to use it.

“It has not yet been decided whether and in what format to operate the aircraft,” Bennett’s spokesperson said this week, adding that it will not be used on his next flight abroad.

The Prime Minister’s Office did not give a reason for the Wing of Zion’s grounding.

Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked said that Bennett plans to use the plane, but the PMO did not change its response following her remarks.

“There is no reason that it should stay… in storage at the Israel Aerospace Industries and there is no reason to pay for commercial flights,” Shaked said in an interview with KAN Reshet Bet on Thursday morning.

The state purchased the 25-year-old blue Boeing 767 five years ago, and has spent the intervening time customizing it to the needs of the prime minister and president who are meant to use it. The project cost NIS 750 million.

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid strongly opposed the plan to buy the plane when he was finance minister in 2013-2014, and continued to criticize it in the ensuing years, using it as a symbol of alleged corruption by former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Lapid’s view on the plane has led some commentators to assert that Bennett is not using the plane for political reasons.

Israeli prime ministers and presidents previously rented planes from local airlines.

Israel Aerospace Industries workers’ union chairman Yair Katz ceremoniously removed the “experimental” sticker from the Wing of Zion after it received its official authorization to fly this week.

“What I found outrageous is that I see work that dozens of our good workers did” left unused, Katz said.

“We were given a mission to turn an old plane into one appropriate for the use of the leaders of the State of Israel,” he recounted. “Any senior government figure on an official state visit can take a plane… and also run the country while flying. That is what’s great about this plane. It is an office in the air with strict levels of confidentiality.”

Katz took issues with those calling the plane a symbol of corruption.

“It is modest, not luxurious or sparkling. It’s practical. There is no reason in the world not to use it, except for political declarations,” he stated.

The union head said that he finds it frustrating that the government would “waste money” renting planes from private companies when the Wing of Zion is ready.

“It doesn’t need special upkeep other than security,” he said. “There is a special hangar in an air force base. The big expenses were already paid. So the arguments about whether it was necessary in the first place are no longer relevant. Now we just need to use it.”

A spokesperson for President Isaac Herzog, who would also utilize Wing of Zion if it is put into use, had no comment.

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/israels-air-force-one-wings-of-zion-is-ready-but-still-grounded-688296

Biden Administration Asks Supreme Court To Ignore Harvard Discrimination Case

Biden came under fire for excluding Asians from his 'diverse' cabinet

The Biden administration urged the Supreme Court to ignore a case alleging that Harvard discriminates against Asians in admissions.

The lawsuit accuses Harvard of holding Asians to a higher standard and racially balancing its classes and asks the Court to ban the use of race in college admissions. In a legal brief filed Wednesday night, the Justice Department said the plaintiffs have not given persuasive reasons to revisit landmark rulings that authorize affirmative action.

Though President Joe Biden prioritized female and minority appointments to senior posts, top Democrats panned the lack of Asian representation in his administration. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D., Ill.) and Mazie Hirono (D., Hawaii) threatened to tank some of Biden's picks over the lack of Asian nominees. Despite the dustup, the Justice Department's brief tethers Biden's personnel goals to affirmative action practices at elite schools like Harvard.

"Among other things, the government has a vital interest in drawing its personnel—many of whom will eventually become its civilian and military leaders—from a well-qualified and diverse pool of university and service academy graduates," the brief reads.

The petition will become a priority issue inside the Court after the new year. The justices finalize their docket for each term at the end of January, and the Harvard case is their biggest piece of pending business. If the case is granted before the January cutoff, arguments will be scheduled for the spring, with a decision to follow in June 2022. But with sensitive decisions on abortion and gun rights coming this summer, the Court might defer action until later in the year.

The plaintiffs in the case, an advocacy group called Students for Fair Admissions, broadly allege that anti-Asian stereotypes infuse a personality appraisal of each applicant. They also say Harvard builds its classes along racial lines. A federal trial court and the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with Harvard and rejected those allegations.

The government said there is no reason for the Supreme Court to double-check those findings or reconsider its landmark affirmative action cases. There's added reason to avoid revisiting precedent in a case involving Harvard, the administration warned. When the Court first authorized race-conscious admissions in a 1978 case, Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, it singled out Harvard's practices as a national benchmark.

"Revisiting this Court's settled precedent in the specific context of Harvard's admissions process would place the disruption of … reliance interests in stark relief. Harvard's approach has been a point of reference in decisions addressing other institutions' policies since Bakke," the brief reads. "There, Justice Powell cited Harvard's process as ‘an illuminating example' of how a school's compelling interest in student-body diversity can be pursued without quotas or racial balancing."

Another reason to turn down the appeal is that the plaintiffs' central allegation—Harvard discriminates against Asian applicants—is "factually and legally distinct" from their challenge to affirmative action in general, the government argued. Relying on stereotypes to penalize a racial group isn't allowed under Bakke and its successor cases. It wouldn't make sense, the government said, to reconsider affirmative action in a case where the plaintiff's most serious claim doesn't implicate the Court's precedents.

The Justice Department during the Trump administration backed Students for Fair Admissions. The department was expected to flip sides after the change in administrations. The Court in June called on the Justice Department to give its views on the case.

https://freebeacon.com/courts/biden-administration-asks-supreme-court-to-ignore-harvard-discrimination-case/

>>15164911

indeed 911

US Appeal Decision on Assange on Friday at High Court

The ruling by the High Court in London on the U.S. appeal in the case of Julian Assange will come in court at 10:15 am London time Friday, WikiLeaks said.

https://consortiumnews.com/2021/12/09/us-appeal-decision-on-assange-on-friday-at-high-court/

Iraq Says US-led Coalition Combat Missions In The Country Are Over

On December 9, Iraqis National Security Advisor Qasim al-Araji announced that the US-led coalition had officially ended its combat missions in Iraq.

“Today, we finished the last round of dialogue with the [US-led] international coalition, which we started last year,” al-Araji said in a statement. “We officially announce the end of coalition forces’ combat missions and their withdrawal from Iraq.”

However, the National Security Advisor went on to stress that Iraqi will continue to cooperate with the US-led coalition in “training, advising and empowerment.”

Around two months ago, Major General Yahya Rasool, a spokesman for the Commander in Chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces, announced that US forces assigned to combat missions had begun withdrawing from the country.

The US has been working with its allies in the Iraqi government to rebrand its military presence in the country as a “training mission” for a while now. Pro-Iranian forces in Iraq, who want a full US withdrawal from the country, are not pleased with this plan.

In November pro-Iranian forces issued a final warning to the US. The forces called on Washington to withdrew all of its troops from Iraq before the end of December 31, promising a heated battle if their demand was not fulfilled.

The demands of a full US military withdrawal from Iraq gained momentum following the assassination of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, Deputy-Commander of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units, and Commander of Iran’s Quds Force, Qassim Soleimani early in 2020.

https://southfront.org/iraq-says-us-led-coalition-combat-missions-in-the-country-are-over/

Terrorist attack in 3 2 1…

Syrian Military Intelligence Agent Survives Assassination Attempt In Al-Quneitra

On December 9, an alleged agent of the Syrian Military Intelligence Directorate (MID) survived an assassination attempt in the southern governorate of al-Quneitra.

Hassan Hza’a Mohamad was approaching his car in front of his house in the town of Mamtinah, which is located in the eastern al-Quneitra countryside, when it blew up. An explosive device planted under the car was reportedly the cause of the explosion.

The explosion completely destroyed the car. Nevertheless, Mohamad survived without sustaining any wounds whatsoever.

According to local sources in al-Quneitra, Mohamad is a local pro-government leader who works directly under the command of the MID.

The attempt on Mohamad’s life was likely orchestrated by radical opposition supporters or ISIS cells. It is also possible that the Israeli intelligence, who have been very active in al-Quneitra, was behind the attempt.

Al-Quneitra experienced a number of targeted attacks in the last few months. On October 16, the Israeli military assassinated Medhat al-Saleh, director of the Golan Affairs Office in the Syrian government and an ex-lawmaker, while he was visiting a site right on the Separation of Forces Line with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. On October 17, Abdullah al-Sharida, cochairman of the Reconciliation Committee in the governorate, survived an assassination attempt with an explosive device in his hometown al-Kusajba.

https://southfront.org/syrian-military-intelligence-agent-survives-assassination-attempt-in-al-quneitra/

Israeli Health Official Tells Public to Prepare For Endless Boosters: 'We Will Need to Take The 4th Shot, The 5th Shot, The 6th Shot And The 7th'

Israeli Health Ministry vaccination advisory committee member and deputy chief of Israel's biggest hospital Professor Arnon Afek is telling the public to prepare not only to take their fourth "booster" shot but also their fifth, sixth and seventh.

"Those who think we won't need to take more boosters are wrong," Afek said Monday. "We will need to take the fourth shot, the fifth shot, the sixth shot, and the seventh shot."

"As long as the pandemic continues in places like Africa, where only few are vaccinated, new variants of COVID-19 will develop and the need to protect against them with vaccines, will continue," he said.

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, who appears to be working in cahoots with the Israeli government, has said repeatedly people are going to "need" "annual revaccinations."

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said during an interview on Tuesday that "there's not going to be an endpoint to this vaccination program."

They're telling us exactly what they have planned and yet many people don't want to believe them.

As I've said repeatedly, this is the textbook "Foot-in-the-door technique":

Foot-in-the-door (FITD) technique is a compliance tactic that aims at getting a person to agree to a large request by having them agree to a modest request first.

This technique works by creating a connection between the person asking for a request and the person that is being asked. If a smaller request is granted, then the person who is agreeing feels like they are obligated to keep agreeing to larger requests to stay consistent with the original decision of agreeing. This technique is used in many ways and is a well-researched tactic for getting people to comply with requests. The saying is a reference to a door to door salesman who keeps the door from shutting with his foot, giving the customer no choice but to listen to the sales pitch.

On August 31, two top vaccine regulators at the FDA resigned in protest over the Biden regime's plan to roll out boosters without any safety data only for the shots to get approved weeks later based off the "gut feeling" of FDA vaccine advisory panelists.

https://www.informationliberation.com/?id=62732

Rumble CEO says the platform is preparing to compete with Amazon and Microsoft

Building out its hosting infrastructure.

Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski has revealed that the video platform, billed as a free-speech friendly and neutral alternative to YouTube, is building its own internet infrastructure, including a cloud service, that will make it immune to censorship.

Appearing on Fox Business, Pavlovski was asked how the company – which recently announced it would go public in Q2 of 2022 – intends to defend itself from the type of censorship that targets apps and platforms at the level of infrastructure, citing Parler as an example.

He said that the difference is in Rumble building its services from the ground up instead of relying on Big Tech and being vulnerable to various forms of “canceling.”

The Rumble CEO told Fox anchor Maria Bartiromo that the purpose of the upcoming merger with CF Acquisition and raising about $400 million is to protect the company’s independence, expand its presence internationally – and build a robust infrastructure and a cloud services business that will be able to compete with Amazon’s AWS and Microsoft’s Azure.

Pavlovski also said that Rumble from the beginning relied on its own hardware in its own data centers instead of on the cloud provided and controlled by Big Tech.

Now, the plan is to continue to build the video platform along with Rumble’s cloud services business to ensure “immunity” from cancel culture – that is informing many censorship decisions made by dominant tech corporations.

“We’re taking the internet to its roots, by restoring it to its roots and defending that free and open internet,” he said, adding that this will be possible by building a robust and independent infrastructure underpinning the video service.

Pavlovski also said that Rumble is currently mostly present in the US market, and that there, it now has 15 percent of YouTube’s US audience in terms of monthly active users, and is growing at the same rate as the fastest ever growing platform, TikTok.

Rumble has grown from 1.6 million average monthly active users in the third quarter of 2020 to 36 million a year later, he revealed.

A statement announcing that Rumble was to go public said that the company is valued at $2.1 billion, and that its founder and CEO will retain voting control.

https://reclaimthenet.org/rumble-ceo-says-the-platform-is-preparing-to-compete-with-amazon-and-microsoft/

https://rumble.com/vqd7kp-maria-bartiromo-discusses-rumbles-relative-size-vs-youtube-and-its-plans-to.html

Former Aerospace Outsourcing Executive Charged for Key Role in a Long-Running Antitrust Conspiracy

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-aerospace-outsourcing-executive-charged-key-role-long-running-antitrust-conspiracy

Former University of Guam Professor and Co-Defendants Sentenced in Bid-Rigging Scheme

https://www.justice.gov/usao-gu/pr/former-university-guam-professor-and-co-defendants-sentenced-bid-rigging-scheme

Mayor of Guaynabo Arrested for Accepting Bribes & Executive Assistant to Mayor of Trujillo Also Arrested for Accepting Bribes

https://www.justice.gov/usao-pr/pr/mayor-guaynabo-arrested-accepting-bribes-executive-assistant-mayor-trujillo-also-arrested

Classified Docs Reveal Massacres of Palestinians in '48 – and What Israeli Leaders Knew

Testimonies continue to pile up, documents are revealed, and gradually a broader picture emerges of the acts of murder committed by Israeli troops during the War of Independence. Minutes recorded during cabinet meetings in 1948 leave no room for doubt: Israel's leaders knew in real time about the blood-drenched events that accompanied the conquest of the Arab villages

The discussions were fraught with emotion. Cabinet minister Haim-Moshe Shapira said that all of Israel’s moral foundations had been undermined. Minister David Remez remarked that the deeds that had been done remove us from the category of Jews and from the category of human beings altogether. Other ministers were also appalled: Mordechai Bentov wondered what kind of Jews would be left in the country after the war; Aharon Zisling related that he had had a sleepless night – the criminals, he said, were striking at the soul of the whole government. Some ministers demanded that the testimonies be investigated and that those responsible be held to account. David Ben-Gurion was evasive. In the end, the ministers decided on an investigation. The result was the establishment of the “committee to examine cases of murder in [by] the army.”

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium.HIGHLIGHT.MAGAZINE-classified-docs-reveal-deir-yassin-massacre-wasn-t-the-only-one-perpetrated-by-isra-1.10453626

>>15165159

IMF urges global regulation of cryptocurrencies

The International Monetary Fund is urging all countries to work together to deal with the fallout from the surge in cryptocurrencies and other new forms of financial assets as the Reserve Bank tempers expectations it will soon offer its own digital currency.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/imf-urges-global-regulation-of-cryptocurrencies-20211209-p59g4d.html

Inside Australia's most high-powered Christmas party as Lachlan and Sarah Murdoch host a Who's Who of society from media moguls to corporate titans, sport bosses and actresses - but ONE major figure has snubbed it

Newscorp co-chairman Lachlan Murdoch and wife Sarah hosted their annual Christmas party

It is attended by Newscorp friends and stars downunder at the power couple's Bellevue Hill mansion

Newscorp and Sky News executives mixed with showbiz stars, politicians and business leaders

Australia's fanciest Christmas bash brought together a glittering array of powerbrokers from showbiz, politics, business, sport and media on Thursday.

Dozens of smartly-dressed A-listers gathered at the palatial mansion News Corp co-chairman Lachlan Murdoch shares with wife Sarah in the exclusive Sydney suburb of Bellevue Hill.

The soiree is the annual end-of-year gathering for friends to the Newscorp world down under - and its biggest stars.

Home and Away and Nova radio star Kate Ritchie, Qantas boss Alan Joyce, Atlassian founder and billionaire Scott Farquhar topped the prestigious guest list.

But there was one very notable absentee: broadcasting legend and former Sky ratings champion Alan Jones, who snubbed the event.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-10291633/Michael-Wipfli-Murdoch-Christmas-drinks-Ritchie-Joyce-Stefanovic.html

U.S. Attorney Announces Unsealing of Indictment Charging 16 Individuals with Cocaine Trafficking

https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdpa/pr/us-attorney-announces-unsealing-indictment-charging-16-individuals-cocaine-trafficking

>>15165552

gatekeeper is here