Justin Trudeau Warns Freedom Truckers from Hidden Bunker that Crackdown Is Coming after Late Night Meeting

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the Little Castro, warned that a crackdown is coming to end the anti-vaccine Freedom Convoy protests that are crippling Canada and disrupting the elites in Ottawa from getting to their city restaurants.

Castro reportedly held late meetings on Thursday with his cabinet ministers.

The Biden regime also urged Trudeau to act against the protesters.

It could be an exciting weekend.

The Washington Examiner reported:

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is ready to “respond with whatever it takes” to end the Freedom Convoy following a series of late-night meetings with opposition leaders, key Cabinet ministers, and senior officials.

The Canadian leader has been under intense pressure from not only politicians in his own country but also from the White House to end the demonstrations against vaccine mandates that have clogged the main arteries into major Canadian cities and blocked multiple bridges, crippling cross-border business.

“The prime minister and ministers will continue to work closely with all orders of government and local authorities to respond with whatever it takes to help provinces and municipalities end the blockades and bring the situation under control,” his office said in a statement following Thursday’s meetings.

U.S. officials have urged their Canadian counterparts to use federal powers to put an end to the protest.

A White House official said on Thursday that President Joe Biden is “being regularly briefed” on the protests.

During his pudding breaks.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/02/developing-justin-trudeau-warns-freedom-truckers-hidden-bunker-crackdown-coming-late-night-meeting/

“Over 50,000 Fraudulent Votes Cast from Phantom Voters Identified in WI – More than Twice the Margin on Nov 3rd” – New Shocking Data from 2020 Election Review in WI

On Wednesday a presentation in Wisconsin on the 2020 Election results there unearthed tens of thousands of ballot issues. This is more information that this state should never have been certified and given to Joe Biden.

On Wednesday, Wisconsin Senator Janel Brandjten sponsored a presentation to go over some new data regarding the 2020 Election in the state. A team of individuals around the state worked to gather the information presented. The results showed many items that were shocking. Some have been reported here at The Gateway Pundit before but much of the information was new.

The results from the work were provided showed tens of thousands of illegally cast votes to date in Wisconsin which was more than twice the margin in the election.

There are 46,000 ballots in the state that were unverified without motor vehicle registrations. Again this was twice the margin in the election.

There are countless examples of double votes.

Double votes!

Countless examples of same exact voter registration, with different voter ID numbers pic.twitter.com/ZLvAhygs6q

— Liz Harrington (@realLizUSA) February 11, 2022

There were 625,000 dead people in Wisconsin’s voter rolls.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/02/50000-fraudulent-votes-cast-phantom-voters-identified-wi-twice-margin-nov-3rd-2020-election-review-wi-shocking/

Universities demand staff disclose ties to Jewish, Israeli groups – reports

The demand follows a freedom of information request filed with a dozen of Dutch universities by a group Jewish media called ‘anti-Israeli’

The administrations of about a dozen Dutch universities have reportedly demanded their staff hand over information on their relationships over the past 10 years with a long list of Jewish and Israeli institutions, following a request by a Netherlands-based NGO, the Rights Forum. The news was reported by the Dutch-Jewish media outlet NIW on Thursday.

The request obtained and cited by the paper asks the academic institutions whether they would share documents and information about their dealings with various Jewish entities, including Israeli universities, institutions, and companies, as well as contacts with “organizations promoting support for the State of Israel,” NIW reported.

The Rights Forum appeared to be particularly interested in student exchanges the Dutch universities had with Israeli educational institutions, but the list of Jewish organizations of concern did not stop at that. It also included the US-based Anti-Defamation League, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, and even the Dutch government’s office of the National Coordinator for Fighting Antisemitism.

https://www.rt.com/news/549077-dutch-universities-disclose-jewish-ties/

North Carolina Supreme Court Justice with Deciding Vote on Redistricting Ruling Didn’t Recuse Herself Despite Her Former Law Partner Arguing for Dems

UPDATE on Unconstitutional, Partisan NC Supreme Court Ruling from Congressional Candidate Courtney Geels

Last week, in a party-line, 4-3 vote that reversed a unanimous bipartisan trial court opinion, the Democrat-controlled North Carolina Supreme Court issued a ruling that the North Carolina Congressional districts be redrawn.

As a congressional candidate for US Congress in North Carolina, these unlawful judicial decisions primarily create chaos. The Democrat party screams, “We need democracy,” while their actions show they have no interest in giving constituents enough time to get to know the candidates who may represent them. The red-wave, confirmed by polling, is clearly scaring the Democrats, and they are pulling every string they can to hold on to power, No matter what other obstacles they throw at us, my team will continue pressing on to make sure voters know that I will stand to protect their freedoms and rights.

This partisan decision was not unexpected given that Democrat Justice Anita Earls refused to recuse herself despite major conflict-of-interest issues. The case was funded by her megadonor Eric Holder and argued by her former law partner. Of course, she cast the tie-breaking vote. To further remove any pretense of impartiality, she even bragged about the decision on Twitter.

The Court’s decision is anti-democratic. In 2020, North Carolina voters elected Republicans to control both chambers of the Legislature to draw redistricting maps and elected Republican judges for all three of the available North Carolina Supreme Court seats. In fact, NC voters chose Republican candidates for all eight available statewide judicial seats. This ruling steals from the voters the choice that they made.

Adding to the injustice, the ruling also ignores centuries of judicial and legislative precedent and contradicts any plain reading of the North Carolina Constitution. That point was emphatically made clear by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Paul Newby, in his dissent as he accused the Court of violating the long-standing separation of powers rules “by effectively placing responsibility for redistricting with the judicial branch, not the legislative branch as expressly provided in our constitution.“

Make no mistake, though this unconstitutional ruling, Democrat judges, lawyers, and activists are using the North Carolina Supreme Court as a policymaking body to impose their political ideas after voters rejected them at the ballot box.

This unnecessary court-ordered delay is unfair to North Carolinian voters. I want to go to Congress to represent the voices of the people in my district and to fight for truth, justice, and unity for them. To do that, I need to know who my voters are. This unconstitutional court ruling makes that goal more difficult but also emphasizes how important it is for us all to continue organizing together to stop this from happening again.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/02/north-carolina-supreme-court-justice-deciding-vote-redistricting-ruling-didnt-recuse-despite-former-law-partner-arguing-dems/

Trudeau Says Restrictions Are Necessary To Prevent Further Restrictions

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attempted to justify COVID-19 mandates by saying the restrictions were a way of preventing future restrictions.

Yes, really.

During a parliamentary debate, Liberal MP Joel Lightbound slammed his own party for not presenting a “roadmap” out of restrictions.

He also accused the government of weaponizing the restrictions to “wedge and stigmatize” those who are refusing to comply with the mandates.

“What a lot of the anxiety and frustration in the population lies with the fact that some people… are afraid that certain measures are being normalized and that these measures shouldn’t be normalized, that they should be extraordinary and limited in time,” said Lightbound.

“I think that would go a long way in alleviating some of the frustration, and some of the division in our society and some of the polarization. That’s essential going forward,” he added.

Trudeau responded by essentially saying people needed to comply with the mandates, particularly vaccine passports, to prevent future mandates.

“Canadians got vaccinated. I can understand frustrations with mandates but mandates are the way to avoid further restrictions,” said Trudeau.

In other words, sacrifice your freedoms in order to get your freedoms back.

Makes perfect sense!

Meanwhile, Trudeau continues to hide from Freedom Convoy truckers who are occupying downtown Ottawa as the media relentlessly demonizes them as racists and violent extremists.

Former Obama admin undersecretary of Homeland Security Juliette Kayyem yesterday called for violence against the protesters.

“Slash the tires, empty gas tanks, arrest the drivers, and move the trucks,” she tweeted.

Respondents pointed out that moving massive trucks might be difficult if they have slashed tires and no gas.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/trudeau-says-restrictions-are-necessary-prevent-further-restrictions

Prince Andrew was ‘sex pest’, masseuse claims

British royal badgered his massage therapist during nude sessions, report claims

A massage therapist who worked for Prince Andrew has told a British tabloid that the disgraced royal was a “constant sex pest,” who asked inappropriate questions about her sex life and “overstepped the line.” Andrew is facing accusations far more serious than being “creepy,” however.

In an article printed on Friday, massage therapist Emma Gruenbaum told The Sun that working for the Duke of York “always felt a bit sleazy and a bit odd really.” Reportedly hired by Andrew in 2005, she told The Sun that she massaged the prince six times and thought from the outset that he would prove a difficult client.

Andrew allegedly insisted on the massage taking place in his bedroom, despite Gruenbaum stating that this made her uncomfortable. When she noticed that the table was too high, she dropped to the floor to lower it, at which point she saidAndrew allegedly complimented her “nice a,” and asked if she would “take it up the a.”

https://www.rt.com/news/549097-prince-andrew-massage-sex/

Newly Declassified Documents Reveal CIA’s Secret Bulk Collection Program: Lawmakers

Newly declassified documents reveal the Central Intelligence Agency’s previously secret bulk collection program and problems with how it searches and handles Americans’ information, according to Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.).

The two senators sent a letter (pdf) to top intelligence officials in April 2021 calling for more details about the program and for it to be declassified.

Large parts of the letter and documents released by the CIA were declassified Thursday, with large portions redacted.

In their letter, Wyden and Heinrich requested an expedited declassification of a report by the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) on the alleged CIA bulk collection program.

That report, called “Deep Dive II,” was part of a set of studies by the watchdog board PCLOB scrutinizing intelligence community operations under Executive Order 12333, a document (pdf) signed by former President Reagan in 1981 that governs intelligence community activity.

PCLOB and its staff members have access to the classified information.

Wyden and Heinrich said in their letter that the program operated “outside the statutory framework that Congress and the public believe govern this collection” and “without any of the judicial, congressional or even executive branch oversight that comes with FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) collection.”

The senators called for more information on the program to be declassified.

“The CIA has secretly conducted its own bulk program,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter. The rest of the line was blacked out.

“This basic fact has been kept from the public and from Congress. Until the PCLOB report was delivered last month, the nature and full extent of the CIA’s collection was withheld even from the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence,” the senators said.

“Among the many details the public deserves to know are the nature of the CIA’s relationship with its sources and the legal framework for the collection” as well as the amount and kind of records being collected on Americans, Wyden and Heinrich said.

They also called on the agency to declassify information on “the rules governing the use, storage, dissemination and queries (including U.S. person queries) of the records,” stating that all of the above was in the public’s “intense” interest.

The PCLOB report noted problems with the CIA’s handling and searching of Americans’ information under the program.

According to portions of the PCLOB report’s (pdf) recommendations declassified by the CIA, a “pop-up box warns CIA analysts using the program that seeking any information about U.S. citizens or others covered by privacy laws requires a foreign intelligence purpose.”

However, the program does not require analysts to provide a justification for their search, according to the recommendations, which urged the agency to require them to do so.

https://www.ntd.com/newly-declassified-documents-reveal-cias-secret-bulk-collection-program-lawmakers_738924.html

https://www.wyden.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/HainesBurns_WydenHeinrich_13APR21%20-FINAL.pdf

DOJ Grants Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar Five SCOTUS Ethics Waivers Allowing Her to Work on High-Profile Cases

The Justice Department has waived ethics rules to allow Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar to work on a number of high-profile cases before the Supreme Court that could have huge implications for abortion and gun rights laws, according to documents filed with the Office of Government Ethics.

Prelogar, who is the federal government’s chief advocate before the Supreme Court, was granted ethics waivers that would allow her to work on five Supreme Court cases involving her former law firm, Cooley LLP, or its clients.

Specifically, the waivers allow her to work on the Students for Fair Admissions Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College case, despite her having earlier served as a guest lecturer at the law school.

The case pertains to a nonprofit called Students for Fair Admissions which disagrees with how Harvard uses race to determine which applicants to admit and is seeking to overturn the admissions policy.

Harvard has acknowledged that they use race as a factor in admission decisions, but say that such consideration doesn’t violate federal law or the Constitution.

In the Harvard case, Prelogar submitted a brief siding with the University.

The Justice Department said in its Nov. 18 waiver regarding the Harvard College case that Prelogar has “unique qualifications to meet the government’s needs in this particular matter” as a veteran appellate lawyer whose career includes both public and private service.

Prelogar has also received four other authorizations in cases that “presented potential appearance issues.”

These include Boechler v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, Patel v. Garland, and Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the latter of which has potentially huge implications for abortion.

Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the only remaining abortion clinic in Mississippi, asks the Supreme Court to determine whether the state’s ban on all elective abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy is constitutional.

The abortion ban went into effect in Texas last September and will remain as such for the foreseeable future after a federal appeals court sent a case challenging the ban to the state’s Supreme Court earlier this month.

Prelogar joined oral arguments in December on behalf of Jackson Women’s Health Organization, acting as a “friend of the court.”

The former partner at Cooley joined the Biden Justice Department in January 2021 as the principal deputy solicitor general. She was confirmed as the U.S. solicitor general in October 2021.

Prior to her being confirmed to her current position, Prelogar served on special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation of Russian alleged meddling in the 2016 election.

According to Protect the Public’s Trust, which tracks the Biden administration ethics waivers, “ethics responsibilities are an important aspect of public service” and such rules regarding ethics “ensure public officials are not using their positions of public trust for private gain for themselves or those around them, such as former employers.”

They also serve to maintain public confidence that the government is “not making decisions arbitrarily or based on inappropriate biases.”

https://www.ntd.com/doj-grants-solicitor-general-elizabeth-prelogar-five-scotus-ethics-waivers-allowing-her-to-work-on-high-profile-cases_738938.html

French convoys protesting virus rules move toward Paris

Protesters angry over pandemic restrictions are driving toward Paris in scattered convoys of camper vans, cars and trucks to blockade the French capital despite a police ban

French convoys protesting virus rules move toward ParisThe Associated PressPARIS

PARIS (AP) — Protesters angry over pandemic restrictions drove toward Paris in scattered convoys of camper vans, cars and trucks Friday in an effort to blockade the French capital, despite a police ban.

The protesters organized online, galvanized in part by truckers who have blockaded Canada’s capital and blocked border crossings. But the French action has no clear leader or goal, and comes as months of protests against French government vaccination and other anti-virus rules have been waning.

Paris region authorities deployed more than 7,000 police officers to tollbooths and other key sites to try to prevent a blockade. They threatened heavy fines and other punishments for those who defy the protest ban, which authorities said was necessary to prevent “risk to public order.”

Some of the French groups are threatening to continue their journey to the Brussels, the capital of the Belgium and the European Union, and to meet up there with drivers from other countries on Monday.

Belgian authorities also banned the threatened blockade, and a similar “freedom convoy” planned for Friday in Vienna was canceled after authorities banned it.

The French protesters have shared images of truckers in Canada who have blockaded border crossings and paralyzed downtown Ottawa while demanding an end to their country’s COVID-19 restrictions, including a rule for all truckers entering Canada to be fully vaccinated.

Some far-right and other figures in France appeared to be trying to revitalize their own protest movements, which represent a small minority of French citizens, by capitalizing on the global attention to the Canadian truckers.

The people taking part in the convoys embodied a mix of causes and vehicles, from trucks to motorcycles and camper vans. Some sported yellow vests, a symbol of a French protest movement against perceived economic injustice which largely fizzled in 2019 after the government responded to some of the participants’ concerns.

France has a very high vaccination rate, and the government is gradually easing virus restrictions. However, after French hospitals and older adults were hit hard by repeated infection surges, Health Minister Olivier Veran said Thursday that was too early for people to let down their guard.

https://www.breitbart.com/news/french-convoys-protesting-virus-rules-move-toward-paris/

Schweizer: Biden Is Giving China ‘Unfettered Access to Our Capital Markets’

Breitbart News senior contributor Peter Schweizer said Wednesday on FNC’s “Mornings With Maria” that President Joe Biden is giving China “unfettered access to our capital markets and unfettered access to our technology.”

Schweizer, the author of Red-Handed: How American Elites Get Rich Helping China Win, said, “$31 million to me is the floor, it’s not the ceiling of what the Biden family got out of their dealings in China.”

Bartiromo said, “We know that the CCP wants to overtake the United States as the number one superpower. We know the CCP is a bad actor. They’ve been stealing intellectual property for decades, they bully neighbors in the South China Sea, they disappear people like Jack Ma and Peng Shuai. Yet, we haveJoe Biden’s family accepted $31 million from the adversary, the CCP, is that treason?”

Schweizer said, “That’s a great question. What people have to understand here, to be very clear, is that China has a strategy called elite capture. This is a designed strategy to basically get leaders to bow to Beijing’s wishes. They’re not expecting them to be in complete lockstep. The strategy laid out, if you translate it to English, is roughly they want big help with a little bad mouth. So if Joe Biden is making statements about the Uyghurs occasionally, they’re fine with that. What he’s doing is giving them what they want, which is basically unfettered access to our capital markets and unfettered access to our technology.”

He added, “That raises fundamental questions about whether the president of the United States is compromised because of these financial ties that his family enjoys. That’s why what Congressman McCarthy said is so important, this needs to be investigated by somebody with subpoena power. If law enforcement’s not going to do it, it needs to be a congressional committee, so we get to the bottom of this money.”

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/02/11/schweizer-biden-is-giving-china-unfettered-access-to-our-capital-markets/

Unforeseen Consequences? Unvaccinated Nurses Called Back To Work in Finland After Mandate Causes Shortages

Health authorities in Finland have admitted they have been forced to call back unvaccinated nurses due to worker shortages a week after Finland banned the unjabbed from frontline roles in healthcare.

Last week, Finland’s amendment to its Communicable Diseases Act that banned unvaccinated healthcare workers from jobs requiring interaction with patients and customers came into effect, but some health authorities say they are forced to call back unvaccinated professionals as they faced “great” staff shortages.

The South Karelia Social and Health Care District (Eksote) health authority stated that it has had to call back some unvaccinated workers due to staffing issues.

“For special reasons, unvaccinated carers have had to be kept in work in some units because the staff shortage is so great. But there are also units where the unvaccinated do not continue working,” Eksote Director of Functional Capacity and Care Services Anu Koivumäki told broadcaster YLE.

Administrator Maijaterttu Tiainen of the municipal authority Sosteri in the hospital district of Itä-Savo, also noted that unvaccinated nurses had been called back to work.

Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin has announced that the country will be lifting all Wuhan coronavirus restrictions by mid-February as the country starts easing some restrictions this week. https://t.co/ACwJZuE0vl

— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) February 1, 2022

“Each unvaccinated worker has [met with] an infectious physician, and a separate decision has been made on working in a restricted unit for a limited period of time. They have been asked back so that the number of nurses is sufficient to ensure the care and care needed by customers and residents,” Tiainen said.

Finland is not the only country to deal with labour shortages after mandating Wuhan coronavirus vaccines for healthcare workers.

In Canada, the provincial government of Ontario has considered forcing hospitals to re-hire unvaccinated workers due to shortages.

Ontario Hospital Association head Anthony Dale stated last month that the provincial government was thinking about changes that “would make it mandatory for public sector employers, including hospitals, to re-hire employees that have been terminated for failing to comply with COVID-19 vaccination policies.”

The UK government is also moving towards scrapping mandatory vaccinations for healthcare workers, with reports at the time of the announcement noting the impact the mandate would have on staffing levels and the ability of the health service to provide care.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2022/02/11/unforeseen-consequences-unvaccinated-nurses-called-back-to-work-in-finland-after-mandate-causes-shortages/

Canadian court freezes millions of dollars of donations to Freedom Convoy on GiveSendGo

A Canadian court froze access to millions of dollars of donations intended to support the "Freedom Convoy" trucker protest on the donation platform GiveSendGo.

The court order was made at the behest of Ontario Premier Doug Ford in an attempt to quash the protest against the lockdown that has brought the city of Ottawa to a standstill.

A spokesperson for Ford confirmed the order in a statement Thursday that said organizers would be unable to gain access to donation campaigns entitled "Freedom Convoy 2022" and "Adopt-a-Trucker."

The campaigns had reportedly raised nearly $8.5 million for the convoy before the accounts were frozen.

Organizers of the protest had initially used the donation platform GoFundMe, but that account was also frozen after raising over $10 million. GoFundMe said that the campaign violated their terms of use.

The funds raised were intended to pay for gas, lodging, and food for truckers participating in the protests.

On Wednesday, Ford tweeted that he had met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about what he called an "occupation" of Ottawa and Windsor.

"We will continue working together to support our police forces as they manage these situations. We both agreed this must come to an end," he tweeted.

Trudeau has refused to meet with the organizers of the demonstration. The Biden administration has called on the Canadian government to use its federal powers to end the protest.

Police have said they have arrested about two dozen protesters in Canada.

Also on Thursday, law enforcement officials in France banned protests planned for Paris that would block traffic in that city. Protesters who violated the ban could be punished with up to two years in prison and a fine equal to more than $5,000.

Here's more about the Freedom Convoy protest:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/freedom-convoy-2022-donations-frozen-give-send-go-1.6347345?__vfz=medium%3Dsharebar

Kinzinger: ‘We Have to Recognize’ the Possibility of a Civil War with ‘Targeted Assassination, Violence’

Representative Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) said Thursday on ABC’s “The View” that we have to recognize the possibility of civil war in the United States.

Sara Haines said, “Now Trump still has a lot of power over people in this country who believe that the election was stolen. This week you said you fear that there’s a real possibility that a civil war could happen again and that our basic survival is at stake. What makes you think it could get to that point?”

Kinzinger said, “Because I think we have to recognize that possibility. In the past, I’ve said, oh, we don’t want to talk about it because, you know, I don’t want to make it likely. Let’s look at where we are. A civil war isn’t what it was in the 19th century. It’s not state against state, Blue against Gray. It’s going to be armed groups against armed groups, targeted assassination, violence. That’s what a 21st and 20th century Civil War is.”

He added, “I don’t think we have to say, you know, we’re identified now by our race, by our ethnic group. We’re separating ourselves, and we live in different realities. I don’t think it’s too far of a bridge to think that’s a possibility. I think we have to warn and talk about it so that we can recognize that and fight hard against it and put our country over our parties because our survival actually matters.”

https://www.cracknewz.com/2022/02/kinzinger-we-have-to-recognize.html

Israel issues travel warning for Ukraine amid Russian invasion fears

Foreign Ministry says families of diplomats will be evacuated, urges Israelis in the Eastern European country to consider leaving; official warns Russia may soon launch offensive

The Foreign Ministry on Friday issued a travel warning for Ukraine and announced the evacuation of the families of Israeli diplomats stationed there amid fears of a Russian invasion.

A ministry statement urged Israelis currently in Ukraine to consider leaving the country and “in any case to avoid approaching centers of tension.” It called on Israelis who are there to register with the ministry online.

Israelis planning on traveling to Ukraine should reconsider, the ministry added.

The Foreign Ministry also said it has decided to evacuate the families of diplomats and Israeli workers at the embassy in Kyiv.

The United States and several other countries have already moved to evacuate the families of diplomats from Ukraine.

The Foreign Ministry statement, which cited the “worsening of the situation” in Ukraine, did not name Russia or cite the prospect of a Russian invasion.

But a senior Israeli official told the Walla news site that the Foreign Ministry issued the travel warning and decided on the evacuations because Russia now has enough forces on Ukraine’s borders to invade.

“The Russians began a military exercise in Belarus that may soon become an offensive against Ukraine,” the unnamed official was quoted as saying.

The Foreign Ministry announcement came as the UK Jewish News reported that Jewish charities were readying plans to evacuate Ukrainian Jews in case war breaks out, and amid growing warnings over the Russian troop buildup on Ukraine’s borders.

According to a newspaper report last month, some 75,000 people living in eastern Ukraine are believed eligible for Israeli citizenship.

Russia and Ukraine have been locked in a bitter conflict since 2014, when Ukraine’s Kremlin-friendly leader was driven from office by a popular uprising. Moscow responded by annexing Crimea and then backing a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine, where fighting has killed over 14,000 people.

A 2015 peace deal brokered by France and Germany helped halt large-scale battles, but regular skirmishes have continued, and efforts to reach a political settlement have stalled. The Kremlin has accused Kyiv of sabotaging the agreement, and Ukrainian officials argued in recent weeks that implementing it would hurt their country.

Foreign policy advisers from Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine held nearly nine hours of talks in Berlin on Thursday to try to revive the stalled agreement, but made no progress.

The Berlin talks were part of renewed diplomatic efforts to resolve the biggest security crisis between Russia and the West since the Cold War.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-issues-travel-warning-for-ukraine-amid-russian-invasion-fears/

Apple facial recognition now works with masks, expanding privacy issues

Technology make it easier for police to quickly unlock iPhones for people they detain

Apple iPhone users who routinely wear masks will soon find it easier to unlock their devices and use its payment service, but not without a privacy cost.

The iOS 15.4 beta, which currently works only on newer iPhone models, tweaks its facial recognition feature to recognize owners wearing masks by "authenticating the unique features around your eyes," CNET reports.

Owners previously needed to also have an Apple Watch to unlock their phones while masked, under a tweak the company issued last spring.

The Verge says that while Apple immediately asks users installing the iOS 15.4 beta if they want to enable masked recognition, the company also warns that it's not as accurate as full-face recognition.

Privacy and civil liberties advocates highlighted the risks of Apple's facial recognition when it debuted, and New York City police illustrated the potential of passcode-free unlocking in summer 2020.

They forcibly unmasked a resident who took photos of them without masks on and held his iPhone to his face to unlock the device, though it wasn't clear whether they succeeded, according to Mashable, citing surveillance video. Courts have reached different conclusions on whether biometric data is comparable to passcodes for 4th Amendment purposes.

The resident, Anshuman Bhatia, shared the experience in a Twitter thread.

https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/privacy/apple-facial-recognition-now-works-masks-expanding-privacy-issues