Controversial religious discrimination bill put off until after the election, following all-nighter debate
https://7news.com.au/politics/faith-protection-laws-pass-lower-house-c-5638713
Arizona State Rep. Mark Finchem Challenges House Speaker to Public Debate On Decertification: “Here’s My Cards. I’m Waiting To See Yours.”
Arizona Speaker of the House Rusty Bowers is expected to stonewall State Representative Mark Finchem’s historic resolution to reclaim Arizona’s fraudulent 2020 electors.
The Gateway Pundit reported that Mark Finchem introduced HCR 2033, a resolution to set aside and decertify three 2020 county elections and reclaim Arizona’s 2020 Presidential electors using the State Legislature’s plenary powers, granted by the Constitution.
peaker Rusty Bowers later told reporters that this resolution was “obviously unconstitutional and profoundly unwise” and indicated that he would not allow this bill to receive fair consideration.
When speaking to TGP correspondent Jordan Conradson, Finchem challenged Rusty Bowers and his attorneys to a public debate on the constitutionality of HCR 2033.
Finchem: The purpose of this body is to hear bills, to deliberate on proposals, to examine public policy. Frankly, I was shocked at the statement by the Speaker of the House. That tells me that he has every intention of blocking the passage, or at least even the consideration of ACR 2033. And if people want to read the evidence that is contained in the nine pages of this document, it is damning evidence. And anyone who denies that the evidence exists, they’re willfully disregarding the evidence that’s been turned over to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office. The document itself is an indictment of sloppy process and criminal behavior. Many of the things that are noted in there are crimes in the Arizona Elections Procedure Manual. Okay, so if we’re a nation of laws, and we live under the rule of law, that means that when you have things that happen in an election that make that election irredeemably compromised and with the jurisprudence that is listed on the last two pages of the resolution, items 12 and 13 detail the authority under the US Constitution. And there’s jurisprudence that goes all the way back to the late 1800s. That talks about the plenary authority of the legislature to step in, when a crime has been committed, and it affects an election. So for the Speaker of the House to say, “well, it’s unconstitutional?” I’m happy to put my constitutional scholars and lawyers up against whoever is advising him. And frankly, I think it would be great for us to have a public debate so that the people know what’s really going on instead of having it behind the doors of the legislature. This is not going away. And until this is fully examined, and the people are fully satisfied, they are going to believe that justice has been denied. And I suppose that’s one of the reasons that I’ve been elevated to some sort of champion for the people who believe that justice is denied. Now, was that the intention of this? No. But that seems to have been how it’s always played out. Now. What’s the next step? There will be members who are probably going to receive a lot of pressure and a lot of encouragement from their constituents. There may be people that come alongside and say, “Look, we really want this to come to the floor and we want to have the opportunity to vote on it.” Beyond that, we’ll just let this thing sit for a little while and let people contemplate their next move.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/02/exclusive-arizona-state-rep-mark-finchem-challenges-house-speaker-public-debate-decertification-cards-waiting-see-video/
Australian War Crimes Report
Australia’s special forces are accused of unlawfully killing 39 Afghanis and “blooding” younger recruits by demanding they murder civilians and plant evidence on their bodies to cover up the alleged crimes.
“None of these alleged crimes was committed in the heat of the battle. The alleged crimes were non combatants or no longer combatants.”
The report follows a four-year inquiry examining the conduct of the special forces in Afghanistan that interviewed 423 witnesses and reviewed more than 20,000 documents and 25,000 images.
War crimes are defined as the murder and cruel treatment of non-combatants and persons that are seriously wounded, been captured or are prisoners of war.
https://afghanistaninquiry.defence.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-11/IGADF-Afghanistan-Inquiry-Public-Release-Version.pdf
Australian government and media seek to bury Afghanistan war crimes
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/03/27/afgh-m27.html
Ottawa City Councilman: Freedom Convoy Protesters Are ‘Well-Known Radicals,’ ‘Miscreants’
Matthew Luloff, an Ottawa City Councilman, told American taxpayer-funded NPR that the “Freedom Convoy” protests against coronavirus-related mandates in the city were fueled by “miscreants” embracing “hate symbols,” which defies on-the-ground reports showing peaceful demonstrations attracting people of all ages.
Luloff said the protest had “morphed into something much uglier” than what eyewitness reports had proven, without offering concrete evidence.
“When you say ugly, describe that to me,” an NPR host for Morning Edition asked Luloff.
“So some of the most well-known radicals in this country have now descended upon the capital,” Luloff said, failing to name any.
“Some of them are calling for violence. Some of them are threatening individual politicians. There have been, you know, threats against life and limb. And it’s incredibly discouraging. We’ve seen some hate symbols. We’ve seen flyers distributed that are acutely anti-Semitic,” he said.
“Now, at the same time, there are people within this group that are demonstrating downtown with legitimate concerns, but you don’t have a productive conversation at the business end of a gun or the grill of a semitruck,” Luloff argued.
“Among some of the demands by the protesters is that the vaccine mandates end nationwide,” the NPR host asked. “Will the prime minister [Justin Trudeau] give in to these demands?”
Luloff blamed Trudeau’s intransigence on the issue — he has steadfastly refused to meet the protesters or address their concerns in any way — on the United States:
The prime minister has aligned our vaccination policy with the United States so that cross-border truckers are required to be vaccinated. The United States is our largest trading partner, and it is important that on policy matters like this that we are aligned to ensure the proper flow of goods. And so, essentially, it’s the municipality that is paying for the grievances that these truckers and other miscreants, frankly, have with the federal government.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/02/09/ottawa-city-councilman-freedom-convoy-protesters-are-well-known-radicals-miscreants/
Canadian YouTuber Viva Frei: ‘Legacy Media’ Are ‘Outright Lying’ About Freedom Convoy
Canadian YouTuber David Freiheit, who operates under the name Viva Frei, told Breitbart News on Tuesday in Ottawa, ON, that the “legacy media” and “politicians” are “outright lying” about the Freedom Convoy in Canada’s capital city.
Freiheit has done hour-long livestreams from Ottawa across recent days, documenting events at and around Parliament Hill in the city’s downtown core.
“The first thing you need to know is that … the legacy media of Canada is outright lying,” Freiheit said when asked what distant observers should know about the ongoing demonstration in Ottawa. “The politicians are outright lying. They’re banking on the fact that a majority of the people are getting their news from the same outlets that they pay to lie.”
Those consuming and trusting “legacy news media,” he warned, end up believing false characterizations of the protest.
He remarked, “If you believe what you were told, you would not feel safe walking here, and you would think that something is going on here that is not going on here.”
The demonstrations include “people crying with joy,” he shared, while others “are crying from tragedy that they’ve gone through the last two years.”
The Freedom Convoy renewed many Canadians’ sense of patriotism, Freiheit held.
“People are saying that their face muscles hurt from smiling so much, and that they haven’t smiled so much in two years, that they haven’t been this proud to be Canadian in two years, and that they haven’t felt this level of patriotism in two years,” he stated.
Frei echoed sentiments shared by other demonstration supporters framing the event as defined by “love.”
He concluded, “When they talk about a summer of love, this would be a winter of love. [It is] nothing but people walking around, hugging, playing hockey, eating outside. This is nothing but the most peaceful, peace-loving, law-abiding people you’ve ever seen. They’re shoveling the sidewalks. They’re cleaning up their garbage. Just look around, it’s a thing of beauty.”
https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2022/02/09/exclusive-video-canadian-youtuber-viva-frei-legacy-media-are-outright-lying-about-freedom-convoy/
Pentagon advisor calls for more diversity in US military
Senior advisor to US Defense Secretary argues that the push to get more minorities into the US military has nothing to do with “culture wars”
Bishop Garrison, a senior advisor to US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, pledged his support for more “diversity, equity, and inclusion” in the US military on Wednesday. He insisted the policy has nothing to do with ideology or a “culture war,” arguing that the approach would make the US military “more lethal” instead.
In a speech to the Center for a New American Security, Garrison said the military needed to do more to attract minority soldiers, who currently comprise roughly 41% of the US armed forces.
“We have to find out ways of getting to a broader talent pool and broader interest groups in order to bring those highly qualified, talented individuals in,” Garrison declared, claiming that a large percent of minorities “tend to get out” of the military before advancing to higher positions.
“We need to take a very data-driven approach to get a better understanding as to what's actually happening here. What is the problem? And how can we address it?” he added.
Garrison said he wanted “as many leaders and members of the total force as possible” to view diversity efforts “as a force multiplier.”
“[Garrison] wants them to see the program as a way to make the U.S. military more successful in achieving critical missions and in making forces more lethal,” the Pentagon said in a statement.
The senior advisor insisted that the military’s diversity efforts were not “diversity for diversity’s sake” and were “not just something that has to be done because of some type of cultural ideology or culture wars that are going on.”
“That's not the case at all,” stressed Garrison.
Garrison’s speech was criticized by conservatives, arguing that priorities of the US President Joe Biden administration with regards to the military have been misplaced.
https://www.rt.com/news/548855-pentagon-advisor-more-diversity/
KEK
Iran is ‘No. 1 destabilizing’ threat in Middle East, CENTCOM nominee says
The officer nominated to lead U.S. Central Command wants to use artificial intelligence to counter Iran, which he called the “No. 1 destabilizing factor” in the region.
America must step up its capabilities and maintain strong relationships, said Lt. Gen. Michael Kurilla, the commanding general of the XVIII Airborne Corps and the nominee to lead America’s military missions in the Middle East.
“Iran is the No. 1 destabilizing factor in the Middle East right now with their malign behavior,” Kurilla said at a Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing. “Going through our partners and allies and strengthening those with a united front from all the partners and allies is the best way to confront them.”
He said the military must make better use of artificial intelligence, especially to counter Iran. He said the XVIII Airborne Corps does quarterly exercises to learn to use AI to detect targets for strikes, something he would bring to U.S. Central Command if he is confirmed.
“We must continue investing in technology, to include Artificial Intelligence and machine learning platforms and programs, to increase our ability to detect, defend, and respond to conventional Iranian military capabilities,” Kurilla wrote in written responses to questions from senators.
At the hearing, the Army general said it’s critical to help partners in the region to improve cyber defenses that can protect them from Iran’s “very capable offensive cyber capability.”
Kurilla also addressed the ballistic missiles that the Iranian-backed Houthis have recently fired into Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. In addition to working to integrate regional allies’ air defense systems to defend against such attacks, he also said it’s critical to publicly call out when Iran is behind strikes like those because it can prompt Tehran to pause its violence.
“We have to make sure we expose the Iranian malign behavior,” he said. “I have found that any time Iran’s hand behind this is exposed, it is helpful.”
Officials from the United States as well as from Iran, China, Russia, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom will meet Tuesday in Vienna for the latest round of talks to try to revive the Iran nuclear deal, from which President Donald Trump withdrew. Kurilla said that any “enforceable agreement” that comes out of the talks must ensure that Iran does not get a nuclear weapon.
He also acknowledged, however, that any sanctions relief offered to Iran in exchange for ending its pursuit of a nuclear weapon could end up hurting America on the battlefield.
“There is a risk with sanctions relief that Iran would use some of that money to support its proxies and terrorism in the region and if they did it could increase risk to our forces in the region,” he said.
https://americanmilitarynews.com/2022/02/iran-is-no-1-destabilizing-threat-in-middle-east-centcom-nominee-says/
Biden admin names Mike Bloomberg to lead military board
On Wednesday the Pentagon announced billionaire former Republican New York City Mayor and 2020 Democrat Presidential Candidate Mike Bloomberg will lead the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Board.
In a press briefing, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby announced Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had nominated Bloomberg to serve as the chair of the Defense Innovation Board.
Kirby’s comments about Bloomberg begin after the 3 min mark in this video:
https://americanmilitarynews.com/2022/02/biden-admin-names-mike-bloomberg-to-lead-military-board/
convoy protest: Police say protest may go on for days; 120 people arrested, 2 officers 'assaulted'
Wellington District Commander Superintendent Corrie Parnell has confirmed this afternoon that 120 people have been arrested at Parliament grounds.
It comes as police crack down on anti-mandate protesters who have been camped on Parliament's lawn since Tuesday.
About 4:30pm today, the crowd cheered loudly as police moved back from the line they held for several hours, allowing the protestors to swell forward.
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" protesters cheered, signalling a peaceful contrast to confrontations earlier today.
A heavy line of police has been gradually moving into the protesting crowd today in a series of scuffles, with protesters taken away in handcuffs throughout the day.
"In terms of the 120 arrested today the charges are trespass or obstruction," Parnell told media this afternoon. No one has been charged with assault at this stage.
Parnell said protesters were given a trespass notice after they were bailed, which meant they could not return to Parliament grounds. CCTV and drones are being used to monitor and identify protesters who may return after being arrested and trespassed.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-omicron-convoy-protest-police-say-protest-may-go-on-for-days-120-people-arrested-2-officers-assaulted/BAUWYUH4FHNHYPWN2HUK47XFKE/