Treasurer Josh Frydenberg warns President Vladimir Putin’s military advances have an ‘eery similarity’ to Hitler’s prior to WWII

The federal Treasurer has issued a worrying commentary on Russia's military advances saying if Ukraine falls "there could be other countries in their sights down the track".

Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has issued a strong warning amid Russia’s violent invasion of Ukraine.

Mr Frydenberg’s frightening admission comes as the Australia imposed sanctions on 11 additional Russian banks and government entities meaning the majority of the country’s banking assets now covered.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is entering its fourth week with President Vladimir Putin increasing aggression on major cities forcing hundreds of thousands of civilians to flee their homes.

Speaking to Sky News Australia host Rowan Dean, Mr Frydenberg said Mr Putin’s military advances reminded him of the events in the lead up to World War II.

“Putin’s actions in Ukraine have an eery similarity to what Hitler did in the Sudetenland in the late 1930s,” he said.

“We remember Neville Chamberlain went off to see Hitler and got a signed piece of paper saying that Hitler wasn’t going to advance on any other countries in Europe and Chamberlain declared peace in our time well it was anything but that.”

Since President Putin ordered the "special military operation" on February 24 world leaders have voiced their condemnation for the invasion, slapping various sanctions on Russian banks, politicians and oligarchs.

Mr Frydenberg applauded the western nations and Australia for standing up to Russia’s attempts to seize Ukraine as he admitted if they were successful the impact would be widespread.

“The world is right, liberal democracies are right to stand firm against this aggression this naked aggression from Vladimir Putin and Russia,” he said.

“But I do fear that if they take Ukraine there could be other countries that could be in their sights down the track.”

Overnight President Putin took a fresh swipe at the West claiming it has been “bullying” Russians living abroad because of the actions of the Kremlin.

"In many Western countries, people, just because they come from Russia, are subject to real bullying today," President Putin said in an address.

"They are denied medical care, their children are expelled from schools, their parents are deprived of jobs, they ban Russian music, culture, literature – trying to cancel Russia."

Leaders in Ukraine have openly condemned the Russian President for the military attacks which have become increasingly targeted on civilian areas.

Mariupol’s Mayor Vadim Boychenko unleashed on the Russian President saying the recent surge in bombing was “genocide”.

“The only word to describe what has happened today is genocide, genocide of our nation, our Ukrainian people,” Mr Boychenko said in a video message.

Up to 80 per cent of the homes in the key port city have been destroyed with up to 30,000 residents forced to flee while another 350,000 seek shelter around Mariupol.

https://www.skynews.com.au/world-news/treasurer-josh-frydenberg-warns-president-vladimir-putins-military-advances-have-an-eery-similarity-to-hitlers-prior-to-wwii/news-story/642abecd22729f389e62929b8ded76f2

Nazi supporting Jew calls Putin Hitler for fighting the Nazi's

US outsourced dangerous infections studies to other countries – Lavrov to RT

Pentagon-funded labs in nations bordering Russia and China need to be opened up for inspections, the Russian FM said

Russia suspects Pentagon-funded bioresearch laboratories in foreign nations, including those in Ukraine, may pose a threat because of the secrecy surrounding their work, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told RT. Washington apparently didn’t want to risk exposing its own people to the pathogenic threat, he suggested.

“The Americans some years ago decided that it was too dangerous to do [such research] on their own soil. So, they moved all these threatening and dangerous activities to other countries,” Lavrov claimed.

“More and more they concentrate their research and experiments around the borders of the Russian Federation and China,” he remarked.

Lavrov was referring to biolabs funded by the Pentagon’s Defense Threat Reduction Agency, the existence of which was highlighted during Russia’s attack on Ukraine. The Russian military claims it has discovered evidence that the work in Ukrainian labs funded by the US Department of Defense had military applications.

Washington has denied the claims, which had reiterated Russia’s previous suspicions about research undertaken on foreign territory in return for American grants. The US government said the labs existed to study emerging infections throughout the world and served as an epidemic early warning system.

https://www.rt.com/russia/552221-lavrov-biolabs-international-inspections/

Fauci Says He’s Considering Stepping Down

Dr. Anthony Fauci said in a new interview that he is considering stepping away from the position he’d held since 1984.

Fauci, the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), was asked during a podcast released March 18 whether he was mulling retirement or transitioning to a less-demanding job.

“I certainly am because I’ve got to do it sometime,” Fauci, 81, said.

“I can’t stay at this job forever, unless my staff is going to find me slumped over my desk one day. I’d rather not do that,” he added.

Fauci was appointed to his position in 1984 during the Reagan administration.

Fauci’s comments came after Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) failed in his effort to get support for a measure that would eliminate the NIAID and create three new institutes in its stead.

Paul, who has clashed with Fauci during multiple congressional hearings, said Fauci has become has become a “dictator-in-chief.”

“No one person should have unilateral authority to make decisions for millions of Americans,” Paul, a doctor, said.

Fauci and his agency had not responded to requests for comment on the measure.

Paul and other Fauci critics have taken issue with how the doctor misled the public on his agency’s funding for the Chinese lab located near the first cases of COVID-19 were recorded, his support for harsh measures during the pandemic, and his admission that he lied about the effectiveness of masks because of worries there wouldn’t be enough for health care workers.

Fauci, who has also been preparing for investigations Republicans have pledged into the COVID-19 response, has called Paul a partisan whose accusations aren’t rooted in facts.

Without mentioning Paul, the podcast host asked Fauci in the new interview whether he would leave his post soon, noting that besides Dr. Francis Collins, who exited from his position as director of the National Institutes of Health in late 2021, Jeffrey Zients was stepping down as the White House COVID-19 response coordinator.

“I have said that I would stay in what I’m doing until we get out of the pandemic phase, and I think we might be there already,” Fauci said. “If we can stay in this, then we’re at a point where I feel that we’ve done well by this but I don’t have any plans right now to go anywhere, but you never know.”

The doctor also said he doesn’t have many interests outside of health.

“I unfortunately am somewhat of a unidimensional physician-scientist-public health person. When I do decide I’m going to step down—whenever that is—I’m going to have to figure out what I’m going to do,” he said. “I’d love to spend more time with my wife and family, that would be nice.”

https://www.ntd.com/fauci-says-hes-considering-stepping-down_754086.html

Retired Cook County judge arrested in Florida on suspicion of soliciting a prostitute during human trafficking enforcement operation

A retired Cook County judge was among more than 100 people who were arrested by investigators in central Florida as part of a six-day undercover human trafficking campaign called “Operation March Sadness 2,” the sheriff’s office said Wednesday.

Daniel Peters, 66, of Palos Hills, told detectives he is a retired judge in the Cook County 4th Subcircuit and a special assistant for legal affairs at the Cook County sheriff’s office in Illinois. Peters retired from the sheriff’s office last year. He was charged with soliciting a prostitute, according to a statement from the Polk County sheriff’s office. Polk County is about 55 miles east of Tampa and about 65 miles southwest of Orlando.

Mary Wisniewski, a spokeswoman for the Office of the Chief Judge in the Circuit Court of Cook County said in an email, “Court records indicate that a Daniel L. Peters served as a judge” from Aug. 1, 2011 to Dec. 1, 2014. However, Wisniewski said the office was unable to confirm “that this is the same person who was arrested in Florida.”

During the operation, detectives identified both prostitutes who posted online ads and those who were seeking out prostitution online in an effort to identify and free any victims who were being forced into prostitution or anyone who was participating in human trafficking, the sheriff’s office said. Detectives also identified adults who engaged in inappropriate communication with people they believed were children.

Undercover detectives communicated with alleged solicitors online and arranged to meet at a location where they were arrested. Members of anti-trafficking organizations also were on-site to speak with prostitutes to determine if they were victims of human trafficking and were offered resources and counseling.

Of the 108 people arrested as part of the campaign, there was one woman from Florida charged with human trafficking, four men from Florida arrested for preying on children online, 26 arrested for offering to commit prostitution and more than 70 arrested for seeking out prostitution. The oldest person arrested was a 67-year-old man and the youngest was a 17-year-old boy, both arrested for soliciting a prostitute.

“The arrests of a human trafficker and four child predators alone makes this whole operation worthwhile,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said. “The online prostitution industry enables traffickers and victimizes those who are being trafficked. Our goal is to identify victims, offer them help and find and arrest those who are profiting from the exploitation of human beings. Johns fuel the trafficking and victimization. Where there is prostitution, there is exploitation, disease, dysfunction and broken families.”

The campaign, which began March 8, was coordinated by the sheriff’s office with the help of police from nearby towns, including Winter Haven, Haines City, Lake Wales and Auburndale. Also participating was the office of the state attorney 10th Judicial Circuit, members from the Florida Department of Children and Families and anti-human trafficking organizations One More Child, Heartland for Children and Selah Freedom of Sarasota.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-retired-cook-county-judge-arrested-prostitution-trafficking-florida-20220317-peebrvcwpfdazjooojfbadx4hi-story.html