Texas Governor Orders Child Abuse Investigation Into Children Receiving Transgender Treatments

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered multiple agencies to investigate reports of kids receiving transgender treatment as child abuse.

In a letter to the Department of Family and Protective Services sent Tuesday, obtained by the Dallas Morning News, Abbott reiterated that the agency “is responsible for protecting children from abuse.”

“Consistent with our correspondence in August 2021, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has now confirmed in the enclosed opinion that a number of so-called ‘sex change’ procedures constitute child abuse under existing Texas law. Because the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) is responsible for protecting children from abuse, I hereby direct your agency to conduct a prompt and thorough investigation of any reported instances of these abusive procedures in the State of Texas,” the letter said.

Abbott noted that it is against the law to subject Texas children to a wide variety of elective procedures for gender transitioning, including reassignment surgeries that can cause sterilization, mastectomies, removals of otherwise healthy body parts, and administration of puberty-blocking drugs or supraphysiologic doses of testosterone or estrogen.

“Texas law imposes reporting requirements upon all licensed professionals who have direct contact with children who may be subject to such abuse, including doctors, nurses, and teachers, and provides criminal penalties for failure to report such child abuse,” Abbott continued.

The letter was also sent to the Health and Human Services Commission, Texas Medical Board, and Texas Education Agency. It came one day after Attorney General Ken Paxton released an opinion saying that transgender treatments on children constitute child abuse.

Several liberal district attorneys have said they will not enforce the law.

“My office will not participate in these bad faith political games,” Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee said in a statement released on Tuesday. “As the lawyers handling these cases, we owe a duty of candor to the courts about what the law really says. We’ll continue to follow the laws on the books — not General Paxton’s politically motivated and legally incorrect ‘opinion.’”

The Dallas Morning News reports:

The Travis District and County Attorneys echoed Menefee sentiments.

“The Republican leadership of this state is trying to turn loving and supportive parents into criminals, and this office will play no part in it,” County Attorney Delia Garza told The News.

The office of District Attorney Jose Garza confirmed they will likewise decline to prosecute any cases based on Paxton’s guidance.

Dallas officials have not yet commented.

Texas Attorney General Paxton has recently announced an investigation into two pharmaceutical companies that allegedly promote the use of hormone-blocking drugs for children.

The drugs are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for this purpose.

Paxton’s office is looking into whether or not Endo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and AbbVie Inc. violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act by promoting using the medications Supprelin LA and Lupron Depot for kids whose parents allege that they are transgender.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/02/texas-governor-orders-child-abuse-investigation-children-receiving-transgender-treatments/

Georgia SOS Brad Raffensperger Secretly Hired Salesforce.com to Manage Voter Rolls on the Cloud – Lawmakers Must Speak Out and Resist This Dangerous Move!

In a no-bid contract, Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced the outsourcing of Georgia’s Voter Registration System to Salesforce.com. The implementation is to be managed by the MTX Group. The new system is called the Georgia Registered Voter Information System (GRVIS).

It sits on Salesforce servers which happen to be cloud services provided by AWS (Amazon/Bezos). Salesforce is a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) vendor that provides online software as a subscription service (SaaS). It allows companies to manage and track their customers, sales leads, and customer support tickets. The users of this service range from car dealerships to clothing manufacturers.

Salesforce has helped only Democrat operatives like Democracy Works to track and register voters, then claim its “non-partisan”. MTX Group has not been in any election-type business. Both groups are now responsible for replacing ElectioNet, Georgia’s current voter registration system.

The election integrity group VoterGA provided a press release on this bizarre partnership. In their live press conference last week, VoterGA, its co-founder Garland Favorito, and its volunteer investigators provided stunning details on Salesforce, CEO Marc Benioff, and MTX. This was a no-bid contract, with no requests for proposals, and no selection criteria.

Benioff is a known liberal activist and opponent of conservatism and Republicans. He is on the Board of Trustees for the WEF (World Economic Forum) founded by Klaus Schwab, which has an agenda provided by George Soros. Salesforce.com is also involved with the “New Georgia Project” and its founder Stacy Abrams.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/02/georgia-sos-brad-raffensperger-secretly-hired-salesforce-com-manage-voter-rolls-cloud-lawmakers-must-speak-resist-dangerous-move/

CBS News Claims ‘Ukraine Crisis’ is to Blame for Increased Gas Prices, Inflation, Supply-Chain Issues

‘Massive cyberattack’ underway, Ukraine reports

Kiev says financial institutions and government departments have been taken down

Government websites and banks in Ukraine have been hit by outages as part of a reported cyberattack against the country’s digital infrastructure, with officials in Kiev saying it is a major attempt by hackers to take down online platforms.

A statement issued on Wednesday evening by the country’s Minister of Digital Transformation Mikhail Fedorov said that “at around 4.00pm, another massive ‘denial-of service’ attack on our state began. There is data to this effect from a number of banks and there are also problems with accessing the website of the national parliament, the Cabinet of Ministers and the Foreign Ministry.”

Normal service has resumed in part, he added, after traffic was switched to another provider to prevent servers going down. The Ministries of Defense and Internal Affairs also announced they had encountered technical issues with their websites earlier in the day, in addition to the security services and a number of other ministries.

The country has reported a series of cyberattacks that leaders in Kiev have blamed on Russia, amid an increasingly tense standoff across the border between the two former Soviet republics. Moscow has consistently denied any involvement in the incidents.

President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree earlier on Wednesday declaring a state of emergency across the nation as Western leaders warned that Moscow could soon launch an offensive against its neighbor.

Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the country would formally recognize the two breakaway Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, ordering his country's armed forces to begin "peacekeeping operations" in the region.

Separatist leaders and Kiev's military have accused each other of carrying out heavy shelling across the contact line in recent days. Last Friday, the rebel leaders claimed they had intelligence suggesting that Ukraine is prepared to order an offensive to reclaim the two territories.

Kiev, however, has rejected allegations that it is planning to take back the region by force, with the secretary of the country’s National Security and Defense Council, Alexey Danilov, claiming “there is an attempt to provoke our forces,” and that troops would open fire only “if there is a threat to the lives of our service members.”

https://www.rt.com/russia/550368-massive-cyberattack-underway-ukraine/

Google Maps Location Data Of 'Freedom Convoy' Donors Posted Online

Precise Google Maps locations of people in Ontario, Canada who donated to the Freedom Convoy was posted online as a result of the GiveSendGo hack that was incited by the media.

Following the legacy media-led demonization of the Canadian truckers and their supporters, the names of 90,000 people who donated to the cause were leaked.

Now a Google Maps link was posted, “pointing to locations of donors throughout the Canadian province, with each pin listing their names, donor ID, email address, and the amount they donated, including those as low as $10,” reports Breitbart.

After being public for hours, Google finally terminated the link, which has now been replaced with a message that states, “This map is no longer available due to a violation of our Terms of Service and/or policies.”

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/google-maps-location-data-freedom-convoy-donors-posted-online

China Calls US 'Culprit' For Ukraine Tensions, Vows To "Eradicate" Taiwan's "Secessionist Regime"

Early Wednesday, the President of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen, tweeted in support of Ukraine - while making clear that any attempts by China to 'take' Taiwan, now or later, will be met with force.

"Taiwan condemns Russia’s infringement on Ukrainian sovereignty & encourages all parties involved to resolve their disputes rationally & peacefully," she wrote. "Meanwhile, we will take steps to bolster our military readiness & counter cognitive warfare while ensuring economic stability."

Not so fast

Three hours later, the CCP-owned mouthpiece for the regime, Global Times, tweeted: "Taiwan is eager to grab attention from the Ukraine issue. But there is no dispute over Ukraine’s sovereignty despite disputes on its borders."

"Taiwan’s sovereignty has never existed. It’s only a matter of time that your secessionist regime will be eradicated."

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/china-vows-eradicate-taiwans-secessionist-regime

Arizona House Committee Just Approved a Bill to Make Filming Cops on the Job Illegal

Frequent readers of the Free Thought Project know that filming the cops is not a crime. Despite this being a widely known provision — held up with multiple court precedents — cops continue to violate the First Amendment protected right of citizens to film the police. Now, the Arizona House Appropriations Committee has approved a bill that would criminalize filming cops on the job, dealing a massive blow to First Amendment rights.

Republican Representative John Kavanaugh, who is a former police officer, is the lead sponsor of the legislation, House Bill 2311. According to the bill, it is illegal “for a person to knowingly make a video recording of law enforcement activity, including the handling of an emotionally disturbed person, if the person does not have the permission of the law enforcement officer” and is within 8 feet of the cop.

Kavanaugh originally stipulated a 15 foot radius, however it was later amended after multiple objections. But for many, this is still too far.

“It’s crazy thinking about that for a second. The video that led to the criminal conviction of the police officer who killed George Floyd would itself be a criminal act. And that makes no sense whatsoever,” attorney Dan Barr told FOX 10.

“Can you be arrested for standing still while wearing a GoPro under this statute?” asks T. Greg Doucette, an attorney who specializes in criminal defense and free speech law, according to Reason. “It seems the answer here is yes, which would violate the First Amendment (since standing still isn’t interfering with an officer’s duties).”

The sorts of proposals are “to chill speech, absolutely,” Doucette added. “It will empower cops to say, ‘I’m going to arrest you if you don’t stop.’ And even though many of those arrests would get dismissed as First Amendment violations, you’ll have a bunch of people who plead to avoid trial or go broke trying to vindicate their rights.” Those who violate the Arizona bill—which passed the committee 7–5 along party lines—would be subject to a 30-day jail sentence if he or she refused to stop filming after an officer demanded it.

What’s more, Barr says there are already laws on the books to prevent these kinds of problems, like getting arrested for interfering with an officer, and he’s right.

It is already illegal to interfere in police investigations. Yelling at cops or heckling them while they do their job can be construed as interfering and if it reaches a certain level to where it endangers the officers, it should probably not be tolerated.

https://thefreethoughtproject.com/arizona-house-committee-just-approved-a-bill-to-make-filming-cops-on-the-job-illegal/

CNN’s Anti-Trump Russia Hoaxer Paula Reid Is Married to a Chinese Communist Party Lobbyist.

The Jeff Zucker hire was also tasked with falsifying reports about Congressman Matt Gaetz.

The husband of CNN Correspondent Paula Reid formerly worked for a lobbying group representing Chinese Communist Party-linked companies before joining a financial advisory firm training companies on how to work with the brutal regime, The National Pulse can reveal.

Reid – who joined CNN as its Senior Legal Affairs Correspondent after working as a CBS News White House Correspondent – has frequently used her platform to spread the debunked narrative that Donald Trump colluded with Russia. Reid drew the ire of the former president during press briefings for abrasive and often flawed questions about his administration’s COVID-19 response.

Most recently, Reid was tasked by the disgraced former CNN President Jeff Zucker with falsifying reports about Congressman Matt Gaetz.

And despite Reid constantly peddling the “Russia Collusion” hoax, her husband, Jason Kolsevich, formerly worked as an analyst for the American Chamber of Commerce in China, according to his professional bio.

The Chamber, known as “AmCham China,” functions as a pro-Chinese Communist Party lobbying group, whose leadership is comprised of American compan

AmCham liaises between the Chinese Communist Party and its American members to bolster ties:

“As a primary pillar in our pursuit of improving the business environment and helping American companies succeed in China, AmCham China’s advocacy efforts address a wide scope of industry needs and extend from the central government to the local municipality levels. AmCham China advocates on behalf of our members’ evolving needs in the ever-changing China business landscape through a host of central and subnational government engagement efforts, large events such as the Annual Appreciation Dinner, and ongoing policy analysis and recommendations.”

https://thenationalpulse.com/2022/02/23/cnn-reids-husband-is-former-amcham-analyst-now-advising-ccp-jvs/

4 Killed in Helicopter Crash on Hawaii Island of Kauai

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said it is investigating the crash of a Sikorsky S-61N helicopter on Feb. 22 that left four people dead.

Four people were killed after the helicopter crashed during a training operation on the Hawaii island of Kauai, officials confirmed.

The incident occurred at the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF), which is the “world’s largest instrumented, multi-dimensional testing and training missile range,” according to the U.S. Navy.

The Navy base is located in Kauai, Hawaii, and the crash occurred shortly after 10 a.m. local time on Tuesday, the Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility said.

At the time of the incident, the helicopter—a Sikorsky S-61N—had been taking part in a range training operation on the base when it crashed on the northern side of the installation.

The helicopter was operated by Croman Corporation, which “provides range support services” to the base, the facility said. According to its website, Croman is one of the world’s most experienced operators of Sikorsky S-61 helicopters.

No one survived the crash.

The names of those killed in the incident have not yet been released.

The Epoch Times has contacted the Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility for comment.

Brian Beattie, director of operations for Croman Corporation, told Hawaii News Now that all four crew members on board the helicopter were Croman employees.

The Sikorsky S-61N had just retrieved an object from the water and was trying to drop it on the ground when something went wrong, Beattie said. S-61N aircraft are designed to carry a substantial freight or passenger payload, according to the Igor I. Sikorsky Historical Archives website.

A Kauai County spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Spectrum News Hawaii that county police and firefighters responded and were assisting the military.

“For the Kauai Fire Department, the Waimea Fire Station’s Engine 7 and Truck 7, along with the on-duty Battalion Chief initially responded to the scene, but their assistance was not required. The Navy continues to take the lead in responding to this incident,” said Alden Alayvilla, Public Information Officer for the Office of the Mayor.

Kauai Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami also confirmed the crash on Tuesday and issued a statement sharing his condolences with the families and friends of those who died.

“First and foremost, our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of those who were lost this morning in this heartbreaking tragedy,” Kawakami said. “I know there are no words that can express the extent of what you are going through or provide the solace that you need, but please know that our entire community is here for you.”

“We offer our partners at PMRF any resources they may need, and we offer the families involved our deepest condolences during this difficult time,” Kawakami added.

https://www.ntd.com/4-killed-in-helicopter-crash-on-hawaii-island-of-kauai_743685.html

Russia Dismisses Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky: ‘Child’, a ‘Monkey with a Grenade’

Russian lawmaker Andrey Lugovoy, who rose to international recognition as a top suspect in the polonium poisoning of Russian defector Alexander Litvinenko, dismissed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a “child” and a “monkey” in a rant before the Duma on Tuesday.

The state-owned newspaper Gazeta relayed Lugovoy’s remarks against Zelensky and on the growing crisis in eastern Ukraine generally caused by Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s decision to recognize his proxies in the region as a form of legitimate state government.

Putin invaded Ukraine in 2014, colonizing its Crimean Peninsula and starting an ongoing war in Donbas, an eastern region consisting of Donetsk and Luhansk. While Moscow has been arming paramilitaries fighting the Ukrainian military for eight years, Putin formally sent the Russian military into the region on Monday after declaring Donetsk and Luhansk independent states. Putin rationalized the formalizing of the invasion by claiming that the leaders of those two “countries” had requested Russian military assistance to oust the legitimate government in Kyiv.

Lugovoy, Gazeta reported, “said that, due to a lack of political experience, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reminds him of a child playing with matches.”

“I would even say more – he rather resembles a monkey with a grenade. With a toy grenade, because he has no other,” Lugovoy reportedly said.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/02/23/russia-dismisses-ukraines-volodymyr-zelensky-child-a-monkey-with-a-grenade/

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/02/23/russia-dismisses-ukraines-volodymyr-zelensky-child-a-monkey-with-a-grenade/

Poland Lifts Lockdown From March 1st, But Mask Mandates Remain

Poland is lifting most COVID-19 restrictions including limits on the people inside restaurants and theaters from March 1, but will continue with mandatory face masks indoors and isolation rules, the government said Wednesday.

Health Minister Adam Niedzielski said the lifting of most of the restrictions was possible because the number of new daily infections and hospitalizations was falling significantly, and herd immunity was above 90% as a result of both vaccinations and infections.

Discos and clubs can reopen on Tuesday, and the 50% capacity limit on the number of people on public transport and in malls, restaurants, theaters and sports venues will also be lifted. State and regional administration workers can return to work in the office.

Niedzielski said mask-wearing in indoor public places will still be required, and those infected will still need to isolate for seven days to prevent transmission of COVID-19. The government will decide whether to lift the mandatory wearing of masks in coming weeks.

Poland reported almost 20,500 new infections and 360 COVID-19-related deaths Wednesday. At the peak of the most recent infection surge in mid-January, almost 60,000 new daily infections were reported in this nation of 38 million. Over 22 million people have been fully immunized with vaccines.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2022/02/23/poland-lifts-lockdown-from-march-1st-but-mask-mandates-remain/

Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada says freedom is not unlimited and the Ottawa trucker convoy showed an 'ugly side of freedom'

Former chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada Beverley McLachlin wrote an opinion piece in which she said freedom is not unlimited, and the trucker protest in Ottawa showed an "ugly side of freedom."

"Freedom without limits slides imperceptibly into freedom to say and do what you want about people who don’t look like you or talk like you. Sadly, the Ottawa truckers’ convoy has revealed this ugly side of freedom," McLachlin wrote.

The blockade in Canada's capital city of Ottawa has been quashed, but protestors had been demonstrating in opposition to COVID-19 restrictions in the country.

McLachlin pointed to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which specifically notes that there can be limits to the freedoms it discusses.

"The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society," the text declares.

McLachlin wrote that, "Our governments must draw the difficult lines that mark the limits of freedom in a particular situation. When you must wear a mask. Whether you can cross a border without a vaccine certificate. How many people can attend a party and who gets to go to school."

"As we move forward from the pandemic into the future, we need to understand the true nature of freedom under our Constitution," McLachlin wrote. "Freedom, misconstrued as license to do and say whatever one wants, is dangerous. True freedom – freedom subject to reasonable limits that allow us to live together – is essential to a peaceful and prosperous future for us all. Let’s not allow the freedoms we cherish to become ugly freedoms."

http://www.yourdestinationnow.com/2022/02/former-chief-justice-of-supreme-court.html

How World Economic Forum Infiltrates Governments And Installs Its Members As Leaders

Maajid Nawaz, a British activist and radio broadcaster, seemed to startle Joe Rogan, a mega-star podcaster, as he outlined how Klaus Schwab’s World Economic Forum (WEF) is penetrating world governments to put its own members as leaders to establish a global “checkpoint society” in a Saturday discussion.

Nawaz, the founding head of Quilliam, a think tank dedicated to combating Islamist extremism, told Rogan in a three-hour interview broadcast Saturday that the WEF has planted its members in national leadership positions around the world to pursue the organization’s vast authoritarian goal.

Nawaz said the WEF has worked on “embedding people in government who are subscribed to” the Great Reset agenda, attempting to explain that government leaders around the world have started pulling COVID-19 mandates and constraints while keeping in place an apparatus of digital tracking and identification that shapes the embryonic phases of a digital social credit rating.

“That’s what they say,” Nawaz added, pointing out that the World Economic Forum’s webpage explains the so-called Great Reset, whose proponents have notoriously claimed that by 2030, humans will “own nothing and be happy.”

Schwab explicitly claimed that the COVID-19 reaction must be used to “revamp all aspects of our societies and economies, from education to social contracts and working conditions” in a 2020 book named “Covid-19: The Great Reset.”

Nawaz went on to explain that in 2017, Schwab predicted that the WEF’s “young global leaders” will “penetrate” world leaders’ cabinets.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, French President Emmanuel Macron, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, Microsoft founder Billy Boy, and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg are some of the participants of the WEF’s Forum of Young Global Leaders.

Blair tried to create an ID system during the Iraq war, and now is publicly pushing toward digital IDs in the post-COVID age, according to Nawaz.

The World Economic Forum has made it clear that it is interested in creating an universal digital ID system.

“So this is going to be this never-ending process to slowly move the goal posts,” Rogan surmised.

“Towards more and more authoritarianism,” Nawaz added. “Checkpoint society. It’s all there. They’ve told us this.”

https://eraoflight.com/2022/02/23/how-world-economic-forum-infiltrates-governments-and-installs-its-members-as-leaders/

OCC Releases their credit report on 14/02/2022. Aaaaand suddenly … Russia. Smells like they’re trying to prop up gas prices so they can offset losses on CMBS.

www.occ.gov/publications-and-resources/publications/shared-national-credit-report/files/shared-national-credit-report-2021.pdf

Israeli Convoy and Protest Against COVID Mandates Gets Evicted

Human rights activists, truckers, citizens protesting government COVID policies had possessions seized by police, ending six-day peaceful protest outside Knesset

Starting in the early hours last Monday morning, convoys departed from over 40 locations across the small country, from as far as the southern vacation city of Eilat, and the northern town of Metula.

Participants decorated their cars with slogans in Hebrew and some in English. “Freedom”, “I want my country back”, “Green pass = black stain” and “end the coercion” were some of what was seen plastered along the vehicles in the convoy.

Their destination was Jerusalem, the holy city from where, according to the bible the court is to “proclaim liberty throughout all the land for all its inhabitants,” and is now the seat of government of the State of Israel.

The demand was a “repeal of all the COVID and anti-democratic legislation enacted over the past two years, according to their press release.

In particular:

A total termination of all COVID restrictions and the return to normal life. Including complete cancellation of the Knesset’s “Enabling Act” which facilitates the state of emergency in Israel,

Return to a normal routine for all Israel’s children without any further school closures, quarantine periods, medical procedures on school grounds or mandatory mask wearing,

Complete opening of the economy and a ban on harassment of employees based on vaccination or testing or masking,

Full disclosure of contracts and protocols which to date have been withheld from public review,

Ending the violation of the individual’s privacy through street cameras or other illegal surveillance,

Each individual’s dignity and human rights should be respected unconditionally by the government regardless of vaccination status.

With excitement, the convoy was greeted by a few supporters at the entrance to the city.

https://www.globalresearch.ca/israeli-convoy-protest-against-covid-mandates-gets-evicted/5771658

Trump predicts China will take Taiwan after Putin invades Ukraine

Former President Donald Trump predicted on Tuesday that China will move to take Taiwan after watching President Joe Biden’s response in the face of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of eastern Ukraine.

During an appearance on “The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show,” Trump said “China’s going to be next” to take aggressive military action.

“China’s going to be next,” he said, adding, “Oh, absolutely. Not with me, they wouldn’t have.”

“They’re waiting until after the Olympics. Now the Olympics ended and look at your stopwatch, right?” Trump continued, later adding that “Putin would have never done it and [President of China Xi Jinping] would have never done it [during the Trump administration].”

When asked why Putin took military action against Ukraine during both former President Barack Obama’s administration and now during the Biden administration, Trump said he thinks Putin “sees his opportunity.”

“Even sleepy eyes Chuck Todd said this weekend during his show, I was watching it for a change, and he said, ‘How come there’s been no invasion during the period of time that the Trump administration there, but they did invade, very severely invade, with Obama, and then they waited, and then they invaded.’ This would never have happened if we were there. But he did, Chuck Todd asked that question: How come none of this was happening during the Trump administration?”

“[Putin] is acting a little differently, I think, now. I think he sees his opportunity,” Trump continued. “I knew that he always wanted Ukraine. I used to talk to him about it. I said, ‘You can’t do it. You’re not going to do it.’ But I could see that he wanted it.”

On Tuesday, Biden’s administration first formally described Russia’s latest actions in Ukraine as an invasion.

White House principal deputy national security adviser Jon Finer shared with CNN’s “New Day” the administration’s view that “we think this is, yes, the beginning of an invasion, Russia’s latest invasion into Ukraine.”

“I think ‘latest’ is important here,” Finer said. “An invasion is an invasion, and that is what is underway. But Russia has been invading Ukraine since 2014.”

In 2014, during the Obama administration, Russia annexed Crimea from Ukrainian control and has provided military support to separatist areas in eastern Ukraine. Russia had previously sent troops into the separatist areas but had denied those actions until Monday.

Finer’s comments came a day after Putin signed a document officially declaring Russia’s recognition of the two separatist areas of eastern Ukraine as sovereign, and therefore separate, from Ukraine.

https://americanmilitarynews.com/2022/02/trump-predicts-china-will-take-taiwan-after-putin-invades-ukraine/

In 1st comments, Israel backs Ukrainian ‘sovereignty,’ with no mention of Russia

Statement from Foreign Ministry expresses support for ‘territorial integrity’ of Ukraine; Israeli ambassador to Kyiv says he is prepared ‘with all options’ for potential evacuation

In its first public statement on the ongoing crisis between Russia and Ukraine, Israel’s Foreign Ministry expressed “concern” over the “serious escalation,” but stopped short of naming Russia or condemning its actions.

“Israel shares the concern of the international community regarding the steps taken in eastern Ukraine and the serious escalation in the situation,” said a Foreign Ministry statement issued Wednesday afternoon. “Israel hopes for a diplomatic solution which will lead to calm, and is willing to help if asked.”

Israel also said it “supports the territorial integrity and the sovereignty of Ukraine,” and once again expressed concern for Israeli citizens and the Jewish community in the affected regions.

“Israel is ready and willing to immediately transfer humanitarian assistance to Ukraine according to its needs and is in contact with the Ukrainian authorities regarding the matter,” the statement said, without making any mention of Russia. “Israel is continuing to engage in dialogue with its partners on ways to get the diplomatic efforts back on track.”

Hours earlier, Ukrainian diplomats said they were still waiting for Israel to weigh in after the US and European nations strongly condemned Russia for moving troops into Luhansk and Donetsk.

“We are waiting for any kind of official reaction from the Israeli side, because there is no reaction, nothing,” a spokeswoman at Ukraine’s embassy in Tel Aviv told The Times of Israel Wednesday morning. “We just really hope that they will do something that sounds the same as our Western allies.”

Ukraine has not conveyed any official complaint to Israel about its silence, she said. “They know that we are waiting, so why should we say again and again and again?”

Despite its deep strategic relationship with the US, Israel maintains robust ties with Moscow, especially over military coordination in Syria.

Michael Brodsky, Israel’s envoy in Ukraine, told The Times of Israel that he had not received any official criticism from Ukraine on the lack of condemnation of recent Russian moves to this point.

On Tuesday, US President Joe Biden ordered heavy financial sanctions against Russian banks and oligarchs, stepping up the West’s confrontation with Moscow, even as Russian lawmakers authorized Russian President Vladimir Putin to use military force outside their country.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-1st-comments-israel-backs-ukrainian-sovereignty-with-no-mention-of-russia/

Biden Touts Chinese-Backed Company at Made in America Event

Pentagon gives $35 million to subsidize MP Materials's rare earth mineral production

The White House on Tuesday featured a mining company partially owned by a Chinese mining conglomerate at an event dedicated to strengthening the domestic supply chain.

President Joe Biden announced at the event that the Pentagon would award $35 million to the Las Vegas-based MP Materials in an effort to boost U.S. rare mineral production. But MP Materials has arguably allowed China to tighten its grip on the world’s rare earth minerals supply chain. Shenghe Resources Holding, which is partially owned by the Chinese government, owns 8 percent of the company. Shenge spearheaded the deal in 2017 to help MP Materials purchase a mine at Mountain Pass, Calif., out of bankruptcy. The Chinese company is also MP Materials’s largest customer, accounting for nearly all of its $100 million annual revenue.

MP Materials’s links to China have long concerned American officials. The Department of Energy warned its scientists in 2020 not to collaborate with MP Materials executives because of China’s links to the company, Reuters reported.

"Clearly, the MP Materials ownership structure is an issue," Tom Lograsso, an official with the Department of Energy’s Critical Materials Institute, told Reuters.

The Pentagon award will subsidize MP Materials's production of heavy rare earth minerals at its mine at Mountain Pass. The minerals are used to produce high-powered magnets used in electric vehicle motors, wind turbines, and defense systems.

James Kennedy, a consultant in the rare earth minerals industry, has raised concerns about other Pentagon grants to MP Materials. Kennedy called Shenghe’s investment in MP Materials a "geopolitical ruse" that helps China maintain a monopoly on the rare earth minerals market.

Those concerns have not deterred the White House. MP Materials chairman James Litinsky spoke at the virtual White House event alongside Biden, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D., Calif.), White House infrastructure czar Mitch Landrieu, and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.

Litinsky said MP Materials was "committed to bringing the supply chain home" to the United States but made no mention of his company’s links to Shenghe Resources Holding. He said MP Materials has partnered with General Motors to produce magnets for 500,000 electric vehicle motors.

It is unclear whether the Pentagon has placed any restrictions on MP Materials’s dealings with Shenghe going forward.

Shenghe’s investment in MP Materials is part of an ambitious plan to stabilize China’s supply of rare earth minerals. The company has also partnered with companies in Greenland and Australia to mine rare minerals, Quartz reported. One goal is to "consolidate the achievements of overseas cooperation projects."

https://freebeacon.com/biden-administration/biden-touts-this-chinese-backed-company-at-made-in-america-event/

Pelosi: Putin probably 'richest man in the world because of his exploitation of his own people'

Pelosi says 'tyrant' Putin doesn't 'want the Russian people to see what democracy looks like'

California Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday the sanctions on Russia will continue to increase the longer Russian leader Vladimir Putin's aggression toward Ukraine continues.

"The sanctions are going to just continue to increase and will have an ultimately crippling impact on many sectors of the Russian economy. We have to make sure those costs continue and that the Russian people see the costs of their dictator's aggression," said Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.

Pelosi, referring to Putin as a "tyrant," said the effects of the current sanctions against Russia haven't been felt yet.

"You haven't seen the depth of these sanctions yet," she said at a news conference. "Putin is probably the richest man in the world. He has these palatial residences; that's really what got people in trouble in Russia because they showed the arrogance and the wealth with which he lived."

Pelosi also said the Ukrainian people love democracy and they do not want to live under Putin.

"He doesn't want the Russian people to see what democracy looks like," the California Democrat said. "Therefore, he wants to bring them [Ukrainians] under his domain," she said. "Follow the money in this and that's what the sanctions are about."

She also said the sanctions will help reveal the lavish lives of Russia's leaders.

"The Russian people have to see how they have been exploited by their own government," Pelosi said. "People have to know the truth."

She also said Putin is an expert at "misrepresentation."

"This is a very evil move," Pelosi said. "He's a KGB guy who happens to probably be the richest man in the world because of his exploitation of his own people that he doesn't want them to know about."

https://justthenews.com/government/congress/pelosi-says-tyrant-putin-doesnt-want-russian-people-see-what-democracy-looks

Democrat And Republican Congress Members Party in Israel As Putin Moves to Take Ukraine

As Putin geared up to take Ukraine, Democrat and Republican congress members were busy partying in Israel on an all-expenses-paid AIPAC-affiliated junket to affirm their "unwavering support" for America's "great ally" – even though Israeli officials have made it abundantly clear they will not be participating in any war over Ukraine, lest it jeopardize Israel's close relationship with Russia.

Israeli officials had to have their arms twisted into even stating they'd side with the US over Russia in the event of a larger conflict.

As the Middle East Eye reported on Monday:

Knesset foreign affairs and defence committee chairman Ram Ben-Barak told the 103 FM radio station that if the US were to place sanctions on Russia, it would put Israel in a "difficult situation".

However, ultimately, "if we ever have to choose a side, we will choose the US side", he added, as quoted by Haaretz.

Israeli Transportation Minister Merav Michaeli also told 103 FM on Monday that "there is no question that the special relationship that Israel has with the United States, that this government is working to rehabilitate and rebuild, is not the same relationship that Israel has with Russia".

"Our heart is in the direction of the United States," Diaspora Affairs Minister Nachman Shai told Channel 12, adding that Israel was working hard not to "take a clear public position, with the great hope that this crisis will end without fire, without casualties and without a military confrontation".

[…] Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid offered a more nuanced response to the tensions surrounding Ukraine, saying that Israel needs to be cautious in its approach.

"Traditionally, of course, we go with the Americans," Lapid told Israel's Channel 12 on Sunday, but noted that there are also large Jewish communities in Russia and Ukraine. He added that "our border with Syria is, for all intents and purposes, a border with Russia."

For over six years, Israel has coordinated its air force activity over Syria with Russia, allowing Israel to target Iranian forces stationed in Syria while Moscow controls the airspace.

In an interview with The Jerusalem Post, Lapid said he has to be "more careful than any other foreign minister in the world".

"I think there is an understanding of this," he said. "This is where the special relationship [with the US] comes into play. They understand this because they understand us. We have a mutual vocabulary, a language that we share."

This is our "greatest ally"?

https://www.informationliberation.com/?id=62904

Government Contractor Agrees to Pay Record $48.5 Million to Resolve Claims Related to Fraudulent Procurement of Small Business Contracts Intended for Service-Disabled Veterans

Former TriMark Executive Kimberley Rimsza to Pay Additional $100,000 Individual Penalty

https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndny/pr/government-contractor-agrees-pay-record-485-million-resolve-claims-related-fraudulent

Former State Attorney Pleads Guilty To Bribery And Extortion As Part Of Conspiracy With Defense Attorney, As Well As Wire Fraud And Filing False Tax Returns

https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/pr/former-state-attorney-pleads-guilty-bribery-and-extortion-part-conspiracy-defense