Narrative control

DuckDuckGo to Down-Rank Sites Associated With Russian Disinformation

https://www.pcmag.com/news/duckduckgo-to-down-rank-sites-associated-with-russian-disinformation

Gabriel Weinberg is the CEO & Founder of DuckDuckGo, the Internet privacy company that empowers users take control of their personal information online, without any tradeoffs. DuckDuckGo offers online privacy tools including a non-tracking alternative to Google search, and a mobile privacy browser and desktop browser extension that allows you

https://www.crunchbase.com/person/gabriel-weinberg/

Facebook, Instagram To Allow Calls For Violence Against Russians Over Ukraine Invasion

Two weeks after Facebook users were given the green light to praise Ukraine's openly neo-nazi military unit, the Azov Batallion, the Meta formerly known as Facebook will allow posts on Facebook and Instagram, from a handful of countries, calling for violence against 'Russians and Russian soldiers' when discussing the Ukraine invasion, according to Reuters, citing internal emails that someone felt strongly enough about to leak to the media.

https://theintercept.com/2022/02/24/ukraine-facebook-azov-battalion-russia/

White House briefed TikTok stars on Ukraine invasion, Jen Psaki told influencers that Russia 'hacked' 2016 election

https://www.theblaze.com/news/white-house-tiktok-russia-election

Twitter to launch dark web service to defy Russian block

https://www.cbs42.com/news/business/twitter-launches-tor-service-bypassing-russias-block/

Germany-Based Webhosting Censored SouthFront

https://southfront.org/germany-based-webhosting-censored-southfront/

Russia opens criminal investigation of Meta over death calls on Facebook

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/11/russia-opens-criminal-case-against-meta-over-death-calls-on-facebook.html

Russia to Brand Facebook Parent Company an ‘Extremist Organization’

https://www.ntd.com/russia-to-brand-facebook-parent-company-an-extremist-organization_751039.html

YouTube Blocks Russia-Funded Channels Worldwide, Halts All Monetization in Russia

https://www.ntd.com/youtube-blocks-russia-funded-channels-worldwide-halts-all-monetization-in-russia_751466.html

=US Consulate In Iraq Hit By "Multiple Missiles", Iran Launch Suspected==

The US consulate in Erbil, Iraq has been hit with multiple missiles, which has been attributed to Iran in early, yet unconfirmed reports. Sky News Arabia reports that the consulate, located in Kurdistan, was hit. No casualties have been reported, a US official told Reuters.

According to BBC journalist Shabnam Shabani, "The governor of Erbil, Omed Khoshnaw, stated that multiple missiles fell in the area, saying it was unclear whether the target was the US consulate or the airport in the city. According to INA, five explosions were heard in the attack."

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/us-consulate-iraq-hit-multiple-missiles-iran-launch-suspected

JP Morgan Hires Ex-Jailbirds As Staffing Shortage Worsens

As JP Morgan and the other major Wall Street banks struggle to hire enough personnel, Insider reports that the banks are now turning to an unlikely place: the largest bank in the US has hired thousands of people with criminal records and hundreds with disabilities like autism, Brian Lamb, JPMorgan's global head of diversity, equity, and inclusion revealed during an interview on Thursday. In total, the bank employees more than 200K people around the world.

But right now, the company is "tapping into the talent pools that have historically been left behind," Lamb said. This includes people who have formerly been incarcerated, who typically have a more difficult time getting hired.

As we noted early last month, the US had 4.6 million job openings according to the latest data released in February. Looking at the details, job openings increased in several industries with largest increases in accommodation and food services (+133,000), information (+40,000), and nondurable goods manufacturing and state and local government education (+31,000 each). Job openings decreased in finance and insurance (-89,000) and in wholesale trade (-48,000).

https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/jp-morgan-hires-ex-jailbirds-staffing-shortage-worsens

More than 1 ton of fentanyl seized in NYC in 2021 — soaring 206 percent in one year

The flow of fentanyl into New York City soared to record highs in 2021.

Law enforcement seized 2,420 pounds of the synthetic opioid across the state last year, with 95 percent of that haul, 2,300 pounds, in the Big Apple alone, according to disturbing new Drug Enforcement Administration data obtained by the Post.

The annual total represents a staggering 206 percent increase over the previous record 790 pounds of fentanyl seized in 2020.

“Throughout my 30 years in law enforcement I have never seen anything with greater killing power,” warned DEA New York Division acting special agent in charge Tim Foley.

Overdose deaths in NYC peaked at 596 in the first quarter of 2021, the latest period for which the city has data, steadily rising each quarter since 2018. More than 100,000 Americans died of drug overdoses last year — a 29 percent spike in just one year.

Fentanyl increasingly arrives in New York City in ready-to-ingest pill form, designed to look like legitimate OxyContin, Vicodin or Adderall, among other prescription drugs.

The DEA of New York seized 82,087 fentanyl pills in 2021, up more than fourfold over the 19,378 pills found in 2020.

New York City authorities seized $4 million worth of fentanyl, heroin and cocaine in a drug trafficking bust in May 2021.

China is coming under increasing scrutiny for its role in fueling the crisis.

“Criminal drug networks in Mexico are mass-producing deadly fentanyl and fentanyl-laced fake prescription pills, using chemicals sourced largely from China,” the DEA claims in its new “One Pill Can Kill” campaign.

A multi-agency federal report released last month by the Commission on Combating Synthetic Opioid Trafficking calls fentanyl “a slow-motion weapon of mass destruction.”

It demands action to stop the flow of “precursor chemicals” from China used to manufacture the synthetic drug in Mexico.

“The expansion of [China’s] chemical and pharmaceutical sectors has outpaced the government’s efforts to regulate them, creating opportunities for unscrupulous vendors to export chemicals needed in [fentanyl’s] illegal manufacture,” the report states.

It blames the fentanyl crisis on America’s addiction to painkillers caused by the Food and Drug Administration’s ill-fated decision to approve OxyContin in 1995, which was “falsely marketed as an easy, nonaddictive fix for pain.”

Drug overdoses in America have “steadily climbed” since that decision, the report states.

https://nypost.com/2022/03/12/more-than-1-ton-of-fentanyl-seized-in-nyc-in-2021/