Anonymous ID: 14b767 April 15, 2022, 4:34 a.m. No.16080319   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>0539 >>0794 >>0828 >>0951 >>1013 >>1027

15 Apr, 2022 11:16

HomeBusiness News

Twitter mulling ‘poison pill’ defense against Musk buyout – reports

 

The tactic is used by corporations against hostile takeovers

 

Twitter’s board is considering adopting a “poison pill” strategy to protect the company from a hostile acquisition bid, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing its sources. This follows billionaire Elon Musk’s $41 billion offer to buy the company.

 

Also known as a shareholder rights plan, a ‘poison pill’ is a defense tactic used by a target company to prevent or discourage a hostile takeover attempt. The measure allows existing shareholders the right to purchase additional shares at a discount, effectively diluting the ownership interest of a new, hostile party.

 

Twitter could announce the poison pill as soon as Friday, the sources said. Another scenario under consideration is valuing the offer as too low, they added.

 

On Thursday, Musk offered $54.20 a share in cash for Twitter, valuing the company at $43 billion. The billionaire said it was his “best and final” offer. In late March, Musk became the social media network’s largest shareholder after acquiring a 9% stake in the company.

 

Twitter’s board met on Thursday to review the proposal. One of the company’s investors, Saudi Arabia’s Prince Al Waleed bin Talal, reportedly said the deal doesn’t “come close to the intrinsic value” of the popular social media platform.

 

Speaking later on Thursday at a TED Conference, Musk said he wasn’t sure he “will actually be able to acquire it.” The businessman said he intends to retain “as many shareholders as is allowed by the law,” rather than keeping sole ownership of the company himself.

 

https://www.rt.com/business/553915-twitter-poison-pill-musk/

Anonymous ID: 14b767 April 15, 2022, 4:38 a.m. No.16080333   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>0539 >>0794 >>0951 >>1013 >>1027

15 Apr, 2022 10:54

HomeWorld News

Biden ‘offers handshake to imaginary friend’kekkity

 

The latest moment of confusion for the US president occurred in North Carolina

 

US President Joe Biden has been widely mocked following a public appearance on Thursday. After delivering a speech in North Carolina, he appeared to offer a handshake with no one there to receive it.

 

The president visited North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro to make a 40-minute address on the economy. After finishing his remarks on how his administration has worked to rebuild supply chains and kickstart an economic recovery, Biden turned right and stretched his hand out as if he was offering it for a handshake. He then turned his back to the audience and stood for a second or two, before walking off the stage.

 

Biden’s political opponents interpreted the hand gesture as the latest episode of apparent confusion, which the 79-year-old politician has demonstrated on several occasions during his presidency.

 

Richard Grenell, who served as US ambassador to Germany and acting director of national intelligence in the Trump administration, called it a moment of “weakness” that the entire world sees. GOP Senator Ted Cruz tweeted an eyes emoji in response to footage of the episode. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said it is “incredibly embarrassing” to have Biden as president.

 

Some Twitter users said Biden wanted to shake hands with an imaginary friend or a ghost. Others gave him the benefit of the doubt. “It was clearly a hand gesture (a playful ‘How’s that?’) to his people,” one self-described “solidly on the right” user said, dismissing Grenell’s criticism.

 

Since the 2020 presidential campaign, Biden has been far less energetic than in previous years. On several occasions, he has appeared to drift in his train of thought when making public addresses or speaking to the media. Critics claim these are signs of deteriorating mental capacity,which Biden supporters deny(yes they have dementia also)

 

https://www.rt.com/news/553924-biden-handshake-offer-video/

Anonymous ID: 14b767 April 15, 2022, 4:41 a.m. No.16080338   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>0539 >>0794 >>0951 >>1013 >>1027

15 Apr, 2022 10:45

 

Italy rejects ruble payment for Russian gas

 

The Italian Foreign Ministry says giving in to Moscow’s “blackmail” would violate EU sanctions

 

Russia’s demand for ruble payments for natural gas cannot be fulfilled, according to Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, who says doing so would breach EU sanctions.

 

“We cannot pay in rubles; Russia introduced a double billing scheme from euro to rubles, this is impossible as it would mean bypassing sanctions against the [Russian] Central Bank,” Di Maio said in an interview with Italy’s Radio 24.

 

According to him, Russia has imposed an embargo against itself “from a technical point of view.”

 

Di Maio also said the Italian government is currently working on new channels for supplies of natural gas, adding that Prime Minister Mario Draghi had already visited Algeria, and was planning to negotiate on extra supplies with Angola and Congo in the near future.

 

“I am convinced that Italy should not tolerate any form of blackmail. We need to diversify the supplies, we haven’t done it yet, but we have to,” he said.

 

In March, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the “hostile countries” which imposed sanctions on Moscow must now pay for Russian natural gas in rubles only.

 

The demand received a negative response from most of the EU. However, some nations, including Hungary and Slovakia, said they were willing to accept this method of settlement. The Kremlin also indicated that in the future, all Russian commodities will have to be paid for in rubles.

 

https://www.rt.com/business/553916-italy-rejects-ruble-russia-gas/

Anonymous ID: 14b767 April 15, 2022, 4:44 a.m. No.16080345   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>0539 >>0794 >>0951 >>1013 >>1027

15 Apr, 2022 05:17

 

India gets more Russian S-400s – media

 

New shipment of Russian military gear comes amid US pressure campaign on New Delhi to sever ties with Moscow

 

India has received an order of Russian S-400 air defense systems, according to local media, with officials stating the shipments would continue despite Western efforts to force countries around the world to scuttle relations with Moscow over its ongoing military campaign in Ukraine.

 

The missile platforms arrived in the country by air and sea and have since been deployed in “designated locations,” senior government officials told India Today on Thursday, noting the S-400s are “now operational.”

 

“We are continuing to receive our consignments without any delays or issues, and the latest consignment of overhauled engines was received a few days ago despite the war [in Ukraine],” one unnamed official said.

 

Russia is a top arms supplier to the Indian military, which is currently “stockpiling spares and equipment,” the sources added, though they said those efforts may encounter difficulties in the future due to Western sanctions and “banking system restrictions” on Moscow.

 

The latest shipment comes more than a month into Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, which has triggered a wave of penalties from the United States and its allies. Washington and others have also repeatedly pushed India to end its trade and security relations with Russia, but the pressure has so far had little effect. In addition to the continued arms deliveries, New Delhi also agreed to buy up more Russian oil and coal in recent weeks. Indian and Russian officials have also discussed a ruble-rupee payment mechanism for trade between the countries, bypassing the dollar and the euro.

 

During an event at the Atlantic Council on Wednesday, US Treasury Secretary JanetYellen warned that a “unified coalition of sanctioning countries” would not be “indifferent” to nations that “undermine” the penalties on Russia, blasting those still “sitting on the fence.”

 

India’s acquisition of S-400 technically runs afoul of a 2017 US law, the Countering American Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), which was passed in response to allegations of Russian meddling in US elections. However, Washington has so far been reluctant to either apply or waive restrictions, keeping the sanctions card at hand in ongoing talks with New Delhi.

 

https://www.rt.com/news/553906-india-russia-missile-system/

Anonymous ID: 14b767 April 15, 2022, 4:46 a.m. No.16080348   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>0539 >>0794 >>0951 >>1013 >>1027

15 Apr, 2022 11:06

 

NATO warships arrive to Baltic Sea

 

A group of NATO navy warships is set to carry out exercises with allies in the region

 

A group of NATO warships belonging to the Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1) and Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1 (SNMCMG1) have started arriving in the Baltic Sea to partake in joint exercises with allied and partnered nations, with some having already docked in a port in Tallinn, Estonia, according to a NATO press release published on Thursday.

 

The bloc announced the move on Monday, saying “NATO regularly deploys maritime forces in the Blatic Sea in order to maintain a credible and capable defensive capability in accordance with treaty obligations.”

 

The SNMG1 consists of flagships from the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany and the United Kingdom, while the SNMCMG1 is composed of Norwegian, Belgian, German, Estonian, British and Dutch mine layers and minesweepers.

 

These are two of a total of four task groups comprising ships from various allied countries that are continuously available to NATO to perform different tasks ranging from participation in exercises to operational missions.

 

Four ships from the SNMG1 group arrived at the Port of Tallinn on Thursday, where they were joined by the Canadian frigate HMCS Halifax (FFH 330).

 

"I am very pleased to welcome the SNMG1 teams in Tallinn," said commodore Jüri Saska, commander of the Estonian Navy. "The call is especially important in the current security situation, in which our neighbor to the east has taken up arms against the freedom and independence of the people of Ukraine."

 

Saska added that a strong maritime presence on NATO’s eastern border showcased the speed, flexibility and determination of the alliance to defend member states on land, by air and at sea.

 

The group is set to conduct routine operations and joint exercises with the Estonian Navy next week, which are intended to “improve interoperability among NATO forces and increase shared knowledge of maritime tactics, while promoting professionalism among sailors, cultural understanding and trust,” according to the NATO press release.

 

https://www.rt.com/news/553920-nato-warships-baltic-sea/

Anonymous ID: 14b767 April 15, 2022, 4:51 a.m. No.16080354   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>0361

15 Apr, 2022 00:26

HomeWorld News

NATO reveals new European nuclear plans

 

US nuclear bombs “shared” with European allies will be deployed on Lockheed Martin jets, NATO explains

 

NATO planners are updating the US “nuclear sharing” program to account for most European allies planning to buy F-35 joint strike fighter jets, the military bloc’s director of nuclear policy said this week. Lockheed Martin’s fifth-generation fighter has been embraced by multiple US allies, including most recently Germany, despite the Pentagon’s own misgivings about the program.

 

“We’re moving fast and furiously towards F-35 modernization and incorporating those into our planning and into our exercising and things like that as those capabilities come online,” Jessica Cox, director of the NATO nuclear policy directorate in Brussels, said on Wednesday, adding that “By the end of the decade, most if not all of our allies will have transitioned” to the F-35.

 

Cox spoke during an online discussion hosted by the Advanced Nuclear Weapons Alliance Deterrence Center (ANWA DC), a US think tank, according to Defense News.

 

Her remarks come a month after Berlin said Germany would replace its aging Tornado jets with F-35s, committing to buy up to three dozen and specifically citing the nuclear sharing mission as factoring in the decision.

 

Cox said that other NATO allies currently operating the F-35, such as Poland, Denmark, and Norway, might be asked to support nuclear sharing missions in the future, adding that NATO “will also have some operational advantages with the F-35 since there will be opportunities for enhanced networking and integration across the force.”

 

In addition to Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, and Turkey are currently hosting an estimated 150 US nuclear weapons – mainly B-61 gravity bombs, intended to be carried by smaller fighter-bombers like the Tornado or the F-16 – according to estimates by British think tank Chatham House.

 

Finland and Sweden have recently voiced a desire to join NATO, and Helsinki already announced it would buy some 60 F-35s in early February. Russia has responded by saying it would be forced to reposition some of its troops and nuclear deterrent accordingly.

 

The US first deployed some of its nuclear bombs in Europe in the 1960s. Ending this program was high on the list of security demands Moscow presented to the US and NATO in December 2021, which were rejected in January – a month before the escalation of hostilities in Ukraine.

 

Russia launched its military offensive in Ukraine on February 24, following Kiev’s failure to implement the terms of the 2014 German and French-brokered Minsk Protocol, designed to give the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Lugansk special status within the Ukrainian state. Moscow has now recognized the Donbass republics as independent states, and demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join the US-led NATO military bloc.

 

The F-35 was originally proposed as a cost-effective modular design that could replace multiple older models in service with the US Air Force, Navy, and the Marines. In reality, it turned into three distinct designs with a lifetime project cost of over $1.7 trillion, the most expensive weapons program in US history.

 

In addition to the price tag, the fifth-generation stealth fighter has also been plagued with performance issues, to the point where the new USAF chief of staff requested a study into a different aircraft in February 2021.

 

General Charles Q. Brown Jr. compared the F-35 to a “high end” sports car, a Ferrari one drives on Sundays only, and sought proposals for a “clean sheet design” of a “5th-gen minus” workhorse jet instead. Multiple US outlets characterized his proposal as a “tacit admission” that the F-35 program had failed.

 

https://www.rt.com/news/553904-nato-f35-nuclear-plans/

Anonymous ID: 14b767 April 15, 2022, 4:55 a.m. No.16080364   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>0365

14 Apr, 2022 15:17

HomeRussia & FSU

Germany explains limits to Ukraine weapons supply

 

Berlin cannot send just any arms stored by its military industry to Kiev, a top official claims

 

Germany has to do “everything” to support Ukraine but that does not mean sending just any weapons it has in its stockpiles to Kiev, Eva Hoegl, the Bundestag's commissioner for the Armed Forces, told Handelsblatt daily on Wednesday.

 

Berlin has already been doing “more than suggested in the public debate” when it comes to military aid for Ukraine, Hoegl believes. Still, that does not mean that Berlin should freely give away just anything it has in store since that would just make no sense, the commissioner argued.

 

To make “responsible” decisions, the German authorities have to first look at what Ukraine can effectively use, Hoegl said. “We cannot simply deliver everything a [German] company has somewhere in its backyard like the 50-year-old Marder infantry fighting vehicles,” she explained, adding that she believed the government and the Federal Security Council would explore all reasonable possible options.

 

Asked if NATO members should supply Ukraine with modern western heavy equipment instead of Soviet-era military hardware that risks running out of spare parts, Hoegl replied it was not up to Berlin to decide on that.

 

“I do not believe in national solo efforts,” she said, adding that “NATO and the EU must certainly give some thought to it.”

 

Earlier on Wednesday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told RBB radio that Berlin was doing enough to support Ukraine already, adding that Germany would not send any arms to Ukraine that would require German presence on Ukrainian soil.

 

Hoegl has meanwhile admitted that the German Armed Forces – the Bundeswehr – have not resolved their own issues with a shortage of military equipment and supplies. “I believe it is scandalous that 184,000 [German] soldiers do not have everything they need” in terms of personal equipment, she told Handelsblatt, adding that “it is now clear to everyone that the Bundeswehr is not fully operational and there is a need for action with regard to materials, personnel and infrastructure.”

 

According to Hoegl, soldiers deployed on missions in Mali and Afghanistan over the past few years have sometimes even had their protective vests missing. Various units also have to share some equipment to be able to train. There should not be situations in which “units have to stop their exercises to make equipment available for another unit,” she said, adding that “it has to change.”

 

Only 77% of the German Armed Forces’ heavy military equipment is combat-ready, Hoegl said, adding that when it comes to personal weapons and equipment, the level of combat-readiness is significantly lower.

 

Hoegl has welcomed Berlin’s decision to beef up the defense budget through a one-time special fund of €100 billion ($108 billion) in the wake of the start of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine. She believes that just allocating the money is not enough and military procurement procedures have to change as well.

 

The German Armed Forces have been struggling with equipment shortages for years now. In 2020, it was reported that the army lacked infantry fighting vehicles to the extent that some soldiers had to use cars during drills. In 2019, the German Chief of Defense General Eberhard Zorn admitted that the military would be not fully equipped for combat until around 2031.

 

https://www.rt.com/russia/553882-germany-pick-weapons-send-ukraine/

Anonymous ID: 14b767 April 15, 2022, 5 a.m. No.16080375   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>0416 >>0539 >>0794 >>0951 >>1013 >>1027

14 Apr, 2022 13:18

HomeRussia & FSU

Ukrainian helicopters carried out strikes in Russia – Moscow

 

Two attack helicopters reportedly entered Russian airspace and delivered at least six strikes on residential buildings

 

Russia has claimed that two Ukrainian helicopters were responsible for an attack on the border village of Klimovo in Bryansk Region on Thursday, which left seven people injured. The incident had earlier been attributed to the Ukrainian military by the region’s governor.

 

An update on the attack was given by the national Investigative Committee, which said it was treating the incident as a criminal conspiracy. Its statement outlined that two Ukrainian military attack helicopters crossed into Russian airspace at around midday local time, flying at a low altitude.

 

The aircraft fired heavy weapons at the village, delivering at least six strikes on residential buildings, the statement said. Seven people were injured and six houses were damaged in the attack, the investigators said.

 

Earlier, health officials said a two-year-old boy and his mother, who is pregnant, were among the seven victims of the attack. Two people were said to be in a serious condition.

 

It was one of two separate incidents in the border area on Thursday that Russian officials blamed on Ukrainian forces. The second was the alleged Ukrainian shelling of a border crossing some 40km southwest of Klimovo.

 

Russian border guards said a group of some 30 refugees from Ukraine came under mortar fire as they were passing the checkpoint. Nobody was hurt in the attack, but two civilian cars were damaged, the report said.

 

On April 1, a similar Ukrainian air raid targeted an oil storage facility in the Russian city of Belgorod. Investigators reported that two helicopters fired at least four missiles, causing significant damage on the ground.

 

The Russian Defense Ministry on Wednesday warned it may escalate military action in Ukraine if the country’s military conducts more attacks on targets in Russia. “Decision-making centers” in Kiev may be targeted, the statement said.

 

https://www.rt.com/russia/553872-ukrainian-helicopters-attack-russia/

Anonymous ID: 14b767 April 15, 2022, 5:06 a.m. No.16080391   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>0642

14 Apr, 2022 13:53

HomeWorld News

The US has The Hague Invasion Act, but wants The Hague to target Russia

 

Washington wants Putin in the International Criminal Court, but its law allows “all means necessary” to prevent cases against USA

 

Amid the fog of war in Ukraine and the total absence of any due process to assess the various violent scenes emerging from the conflict there – a process which normally takes years – the Biden administration is already looking for a way to get the International Criminal Court in The Hague to start from Washington’s desired result and work backwards.

 

“The Biden team strongly wants to see President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and others in his military chain of command held to account,” according to the New York Times.

 

Except that the US isn’t even a member of the court, so what authority, moral or otherwise, does it have? And neither is Russia, as of 2016, so any efforts to target Russia would amount to little more than symbolism. The lack of satisfaction that Washington would get, compared to the potential risks that it could itself incur, makes the lack of self-awareness even more flagrant. Why would Washington risk opening a massive Pandora’s Box against itself by suddenly expressing its newfound interest in defending international law?

 

Until now, Washington had no use for the ICC, and refused to consider any talk of war-crimes accusations against American officials or military personnel within the context of its various armed interventions around the world.

 

In 2002, amid the US invasion of Afghanistan, and just ahead of its bombing of Iraq and removal of Saddam Hussein from power, Congress passed The American Service-Members’ Protection Act, known informally as The Hague Invasion Act, which allows “all means necessary and appropriate to bring about the release of any U.S. or allied personnel being detained or imprisoned by, on behalf of, or at the request of the International Criminal Court.” It also prohibits cooperation with, and extradition of Americans to, the court for trial.

 

Not long after the legislation was signed into law by President George W. Bush, the war crimes accusations against Washington officials started flying within the context of its global war on terror. Human Rights Watch cited “coercive interrogation methods approved by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld for use on prisoners at Guantánamo,” as well as photos of prisoner abuse by US soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison.Disturbing images aside, Geneva Conventions have historically permitted unlawful enemy combatants to be shot on sight and denied prisoner of war treatment. The US played on that discrepancy and may have been legally justified in doing so based on international law going back to the Peace of Westphalia. But in the heat of armed conflict, emotions run high and often overwhelm the interest in due process. One would think that Washington would be at least willing to accord the same consideration to the actors in the Ukraine conflict that it demands for itself.

 

Other American wartime acts described casually as “war crimes” and “atrocities” abound over the past two decades. Sixteen civilians were killed in Afghanistan by a US soldier in theKandahar Massacre in 2012. In 2015, a US warship hit Kunduz hospital, with the NGO Doctors Without Borders (MSF) calling it a war crime.

 

The American private military contractor, Blackwater, was accused of murdering 17 civilians and injuring 20 more in the Nisour Square Massacre in Iraq. To quell overwhelming anger in Iraq, Washington made a deal with the new Iraqi government to hold the contractors responsible accountable through the American courts – a maneuver that Washington has used to justify its rejection of the ICC. Except that despite several Blackwater contractors having been convicted and sentenced for crimes ranging from manslaughter to murder, former President Donald Trump – whose Secretary of Education, was the sister of Blackwater founder and longtime major Republican Party donor, Erik Prince – ultimately issued pardons to four of those responsible, just before Christmas Day, 2020.Trump cited the soldiers’ “long history of service to the nation,” in his decision, which provoked worldwide outrage….

 

Fast forward to 2022, and “war crimes” guilt – which, by definition, can only be determined by a judge – is being recklessly bandied for propaganda purposes, including by President Joe Biden himself. While Team Biden tries to figure out how to manipulate a court whose authority Washington categorically rejects into doing its bidding, it may want to first consider how it plans to engage while avoiding its own exposure to war-crimes trials.

 

https://www.rt.com/news/553816-us-putin-hague-criminal-court/

Anonymous ID: 14b767 April 15, 2022, 5:39 a.m. No.16080483   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>0504 >>0523 >>0532 >>0539 >>0794 >>0951 >>1013 >>1027

SEX, LIES, AND UFOS: PENTAGON’S HEAD OF COUNTERINTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY OUSTED

TIM MCMILLAN·BREAKING NEWSDEFENSEUAP·APRIL 14, 2022

 

As the Pentagon’s Director for Defense Intelligence and a senior executive in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security OUSD(I&S), Garry Reid was in charge of all counterintelligence, security, and law enforcement operations within the Department of Defense.

 

This, in addition to heading up the Afghanistan Crisis Action Group, the office tasked with evacuating Afghan refugees during America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan.

 

Now, in an exclusive, The Debrief has learned that Reid was recently dismissed from his responsibilities within the U.S. government.

 

Before his ousting as Director of Defense Intelligence, Reid had been the subject of a nearly two-year-long investigation by The Debrief. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, multiple current and former Pentagon employees told The Debrief Reid had engaged in wide-ranging misconduct and corruption for years.

 

In the past four years, the DoD’s Inspector General’s Office had investigated Reid on numerous allegations, including maintaining a sexual relationship with a subordinate employee, sexual harassment, and fostering a hostile work environment.

 

In 2020, the IG Office found that Reid had violated Joint Ethics Regulations by creating an appearance of an inappropriate relationship or preferential treatment with a female subordinate and mishandling of Controlled Unclassified Information.

 

In May 2021, Reid was named in yet another formal IG complaint, this time involving former Director of National Programs Special Management Staff at OUSD(I&S), Luis Elizondo.

 

In his complaint, Elizondo accused Reid of playing a central role in obfuscating information regarding the Pentagon’s intriguing newfound interest in “unidentified aerial phenomena,” more commonly known as UFOs. Reid was also accused of maliciously misleading the public about Elizondo’s involvement with the DoD’s quasi-secret UFO program, the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP).

 

It’s not entirely clear what led to Reid’s recent dismissal. However, multiple defense officials familiar with the situation told The Debrief they believed the weight of the numerous past allegations, the disastrous withdrawal of refugees from Afghanistan, and current investigations into misconduct were too significant, and ultimately led to his dismissal.

 

In an email, Senior Spokesperson for the Department of Defense’s Public Affairs Office, Susan Gough, did not refute that Reid had been dismissed. However, the DoD declined to provide any further comment on the matter at this time.

 

Sex…

According to a “Report of Investigation” obtained by The Debrief via the Freedom of Information Act, in late 2019, Reid was investigated by the DoD’s Inspector General’s Office regarding four separate complaints of him having sexual affairs with subordinate employees, sexual harassment and creating a “negative work environment.”

 

Two of the complaints accused Reid of having a sexual affair and providing preferential treatment to a female subordinate, identified in the report as “Employee 1.”

 

Various witnesses told IG investigators they had observed Reid and Employee 1 engaging in questionable behavior, including kissing, hugging, and close personal interactions. “They definitely stand closer to each other than I would stand next to any of my [colleagues],” one witness told investigators.

 

In 2018 and 2019, Reid and Employee 1 took personal trips out of town together on at least two occasions. During a third official trip to Europe in 2018, investigators said Reid and Employee 1 took two days of personal leave to go “sightseeing.”

 

Daily lunches between Reid and Employee 1 also raised eyebrows among co-workers.

 

According to witnesses, Reid and Employee 1 frequently enjoyed office lunches together, with some accounts saying the door to Reid’s office was often seen closed. Several witnesses also described the lunchtime powwows as “very weird.”

 

“[There were] two place settings, like … a restaurant” complete with “salt and pepper shakers, a side table, and some sparkling water,” witnesses were quoted saying.

 

IG investigators determined that for more than a year, Reid and Employee 1 regularly commuted to work and went to the gym together. One witness described the couple’s carpooling as “odd.”….

 

https://thedebrief.org/sex-lies-and-ufos-pentagons-head-of-counterintelligence-and-security-ousted/

Anonymous ID: 14b767 April 15, 2022, 5:50 a.m. No.16080523   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>0539 >>0794 >>0951 >>1013 >>1027

>>16080483. Continued

Sex, Lies, and UFOs: Pentagon’s Head of Counterintelligence and Security Ousted

 

Lies…

 

In 2020 the DoD Inspector General’s Office investigated Reid regarding another allegation that he was involved in an inappropriate sexual affair with a subordinate female co-worker, identified in reports as “Employee 2.”

 

The dynamics of the IG’s investigation quickly changed when Employee 2 denied that she had been in a sexual relationship with Reid, instead claiming she had been the victim of repeated sexual harassment.

 

Employee 2 admitted she had never confronted Reid, who was her supervisor, about the unwanted interactions out of fear of the consequences.

 

“If you tell Reid, ‘I’m really not comfortable with that, that’s really inappropriate,’ then you have Hell to pay. Your life is miserable. And it just wasn’t worth it. So you put up with it,” Employee 2 was quoted.

 

“I just felt like this is a real crappy thing that I have to put up with. … So, I don’t, I mean, it’s not like I was like, ‘Oh my God, I’ve been violated. I need to call the sexual assault helpline,” said Employee 2 when asked how the kisses and hugs made her feel.

 

“Like, I’m so conditioned to just deal with it. [It] sucks that women have to put up with this, and I’m one of them, and it’s just part of doing business.”

 

When confronted with the allegations, Reid told investigators that he had “never sexually harassed anybody, male or female.” Reid did not deny, however, that he occasionally hugged or kissed Employee 2, but only on the cheek. Reid said Employee 2 never told him his kisses were unwelcome or gave a “negative response.”

 

“I sit here watching TV with Harvey Weinstein and everything else going on here, and again I’m still in shock that you came in here, and you told me of all the things you included, that I sexually harrassed [Employee 2],” said Reid. “But I did nothing of the sort and did everything to the contrary to help her, and she agreed with the help, and she would be the first to tell you I helped her.”

 

Reid went on to say he thought perhaps Employee 2’s allegations of sexual harassment were out of “revenge and retaliation” because he did not support her career advancement. “She took that very negatively – – that [I] didn’t have her back.”

 

During their investigation into the sexual harassment allegations, IG investigators said they examined text messages and emails between Reid and Employee 2. Investigators said messages showed Employee 2 “frequently engaging Reid in common interest conversations” and seemed to show “support for his work.”

 

In light of Reid admitting to on occasion kissing or hugging Employee 2, the IG office concluded: “Considering the totality of the relationship between Mr. Reid and Employee 2, we did not find sufficient evidence to determine that Mr. Reid’s conduct toward Employee 2 constituted sexual harassment or some other form of misconduct.”

 

The Debrief was able to speak with a female former Pentagon official who was familiar with the IG’s 2020 investigation into Reid for sexual misconduct and harassment. The former official requested anonymity out of concern for reprisal. The Debrief verified the former official was indeed in a position to comprehensively understand the workplace dynamics in OUSDI under Reid’s leadership.

 

According to the former official, Reid’s inappropriate behavior towards female employees was apparent and widely known amongst the staff at OUSDI. “He was extremely arrogant. It didn’t matter who was around, senior civilian staff, attorneys, military officials. It didn’t matter. He would still do completely inappropriate things.”

 

The career female defense official said she understood why “Employee 2” in the IG investigation didn’t initially report Reid’s behavior, and it only came to light due to another allegation of misconduct.

 

Another current female defense official who was not working in the Pentagon during the IG’s initial investigation, but whose current position put her in contact with Reid and OUSD(I&S) told The Debrief that she would like to hope things are changing for the better. However, evidence often suggests otherwise.

 

Let’s be honest here. He [Reid] didn’t get run off until he screwed up Afghanistan and a man [ Elizondo] filed an IG complaint,” said the current female Defense official.

 

“As a woman, personally I look at his behavior and think he’s a pig,” the current female Defense official added. “Professionally, I’d consider him a huge CI [counterintelligence] risk. If I’m a foreign adversary, I realize all I need to do to compromise this guy is wave a skirt in front of him. It’s kind of remarkable he was the head of counterintelligence.”

 

https://thedebrief.org/sex-lies-and-ufos-pentagons-head-of-counterintelligence-and-security-ousted/

Anonymous ID: 14b767 April 15, 2022, 5:58 a.m. No.16080564   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>0580

>>16080504

He obviously was very corrupt, but I think theres a much bigger story, like stealing and selling military equipment, drug money, etc

 

Counterintelligence is the psyop experts

Anonymous ID: 14b767 April 15, 2022, 6:04 a.m. No.16080588   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>0670 >>0794 >>0951 >>0967 >>0971 >>1017

Kekkity

 

I am begging libs to please find another framework for understanding literally anything on God's blessed green earth–please, open a different book, watch something else,just find one road that doesn't lead to Hitler, I ask but for a crumb

 

https://twitter.com/emeriticus/status/1514623089342046209?s=20&t=7fN5Edkf8xP-uKbVE7uX2A

Anonymous ID: 14b767 April 15, 2022, 6:14 a.m. No.16080624   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>0632

=•Elon Musk's "Threat" to Restore Free Speech on Twitter Provokes Liberal Panic==. Today at 3 pm ET.

 

During the failed liberal campaign to force Spotify to remove Joe Rogan's podcast — remember that? — I wrote that the real lesson from that tawdry episode was that the central religious belief of American liberals now is censorship. Silencing, deplatforming and otherwise preventing their adversaries from being heard is their paramount goal, their primary weapon. This is how I saw the anti-Rogan campaign:

 

American liberals are obsessed with finding ways to silence and censor their adversaries. Every week, if not every day, they have new targets they want de-platformed, banned, silenced, and otherwise prevented from speaking or being heard (by "liberals,” I mean the term of self-description used by the dominant wing of the Democratic Party).

 

For years, their preferred censorship tactic was to expand and distort the concept of "hate speech” to mean "views that make us uncomfortable,” and then demand that such “hateful” views be prohibited on that basis. For that reason, it is now common to hear Democrats assert, falsely, that the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech does not protect “hate speech." Their political culture has long inculcated them to believe that they can comfortably silence whatever views they arbitrarily place into this category without being guilty of censorship.

 

Constitutional illiteracy to the side, the “hate speech” framework for justifying censorship is now insufficient because liberals are eager to silence a much broader range of voices than those they can credibly accuse of being hateful. That is why the newest, and now most popular, censorship framework is to claim that their targets are guilty of spreading “misinformation” or “disinformation.” These terms, by design, have no clear or concise meaning. Like the term “terrorism,” it is their elasticity that makes them so useful.

 

As I noted yesterday in reporting on the unprecedented censorship regime imposed in the West in the name of the war in Ukraine, a series of ostensible crises — Russiagate, the 1/6 riot, the COVID pandemic and now this war — have, in rapid succession, convinced not just liberals but increasingly large numbers of Westerners in many ideological camps not only to tolerate but to crave state/corporate censorship. They have somehow inverted history so that they now believe that it is not censorship that is the favored tool of fascists, tyrants and authoritarians — even though every fascist and despot in history used censorship as a key means for maintaining power — but instead believe that it is free speech, free discourse, and free thought that are the instruments of repression.

 

Few events have revealed this twisted framework as vividly as the news that Elon Musk offered on Wednesday to buy Twitter and take it private. The fact that Musk has repeatedly denounced Twitter's increasingly heavy-handed and clearly ideological censorship regime does not mean he is earnest in his intention to restore free speech to the platform, but the mere possibility that he does intend to do so has sent censorship-dependent liberals into spasms of panic and hysteria. Before the morning was over, some were even comparing Musk's offer to . . . . . the rise of Nazism in the 1930s:

 

I will undoubtedly have more to write about these potentially exciting and encouraging developments as they proceed. Few things are more potentially positive than the restoration of free discourse on major internet platforms. For now, given the newness of this news, I will discuss it this afternoon on my Callin podcast at 3:00 pm ET.

 

During today's show, I will also — in the most preliminary and reluctant way — wade a bit into the emerging discourse around "grooming” and fights over school curricula. The New York Times’ Ross Douthat published this week an interesting and insightful primer into this debate. Though I do not agree with all of it, it provides a helpful analytical starting point for the discussion.

 

https://greenwald.substack.com/p/elon-musks-threat-to-restore-free?s=w

Anonymous ID: 14b767 April 15, 2022, 6:15 a.m. No.16080635   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>0672 >>0710 >>0766

 

Very good point

 

If the success of your political movement, your national ambitions, or your wars, depends upon the need to censor dissent and silence your adversaries, that's a pretty strong indication that you have zero confidence in the beliefs you want to propagate, probably for good reason.

 

https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1514627752174960640?s=20&t=7fN5Edkf8xP-uKbVE7uX2A

Anonymous ID: 14b767 April 15, 2022, 6:20 a.m. No.16080662   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>0680 >>0683

These people are really sick, mental illness runs rampant in a decaying society

 

https://twitter.com/JohnBasham/status/1514693071631532042?s=20&t=7fN5Edkf8xP-uKbVE7uX2A

Anonymous ID: 14b767 April 15, 2022, 6:37 a.m. No.16080748   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>0794 >>0951 >>0967 >>0971 >>1017

The Battle of the Century: Here’s What Happens if Elon Musk Buys Twitter

Anons will want to read this very long article

 

…The Tucker Carlson Paradox applies in its most extreme form to a platform like Twitter. Twitter’s market capitalization of barely $30 billion is extremely modest by Big Tech standards. Even Snapchat is twice as valuable. And yet, as the global public square, Twitter is also the epicenter of narrative formation, a key promotional vehicle for journalists and celebrities, and an increasingly critical stage for public diplomacy and hybrid warfare between state powers. Twitter gets to decide which “freedom fighters” deserve to have their slogans go viral and which “authoritarians” and “domestic terrorists” need to be suppressed and censored. Twitter’s relatively marginal market cap belies theexistential threat it would pose to every dominant institution in the United States (including the national security apparatus) if it implemented a policy of real unfettered free speech.

 

If Elon Musk bought Twitter and did nothing more than return it to the speech norms it had ten years ago, that act alone would constitute a “national security threat.” The threat posed to America’s joke institutions and the clowns who run them would be, in fact, existential.

 

This is not to dissuade Musk from purchasing Twitter — just the opposite, in fact. Revolver points this out to demonstrate how bold a move it would be — one of the very few which, if successful, would be a genuine game changer rather than a fake and performative gesture.

 

But if Musk opts for the path of boldness and glory, he should be prepared for historic backlash from the regime. The entire system would mobilize against Twitter reflecting the same cancellation strategies the Regime systematically employs to control politicians, websites, major businesses, and even countries. Twitter would get the “George Floyd” treatment on steroids. The Regime would employ the “George Floyd” tool recently used to “cancel” Russia, but directed with laser-like focus on a single company and its lone brilliant, iconoclast leader.

 

Step 1: Blame the platform for its users.

 

The moment Twitter stopped telling users what they are supposed to think, elites would immediately treat Twitter as responsible for what all its users think and do. Twitter would be blamed for every so-called act of “racism” “sexism” and “transphobia” occurring on its platform. All of this would be presented not merely as a moral failure, but as an explicit danger. Last summer the Department of Homeland Security labeled “white supremacists” the top domestic terror threat. In February, DHS announced America was in a “heightened threat environment” due to “misinformation” and anti-vaccine rhetoric proliferating online…

 

It was becoming a real, viable alternative to Twitter. So the press and Big Tech retaliated. Articles equating Parler with “hate speech” proliferated.

 

When the events of January 6 happened, the ground had already been prepared to nuke Parler, and the decisive attack was instantaneous. Protesters first breached the Capitol building around 2:00 p.m., and by 4:41 the New York Times had already blamed Parler for it. Within three days, the narrative had hardened: Parler was responsible for any criminal activity by its users, and deserved collective punishment for it.

 

Step 4: Deplatforming

 

Think Twitter is too big to ever take down? Think again. If America’s ruling class acting in concert can silence a sitting United States president they are capable of cutting off virtually anything. Twitter itself has shown how it can be done, by simply banning links to web content it doesn’t want shared. In 2020, Twitter blocked links to the New York Post’s bombshell Hunter Biden story. The same year, Facebook blocked all links to Unz.com…

 

The above scenarios barely constitute the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the dirty tricks the Regime could employ to destroy a hypothetically free-speech twitter.

 

None of the above is meant to dissuade Elon musk or any other brave billionaire from purchasing Twitter and liberating America’s digital public square. The path above is not certain, and while the American security state is powerful, it is also incompetent, and anything but invincible. The Globalist American Empire will never be brought down unless people like Elon Musk are ready to step up to the plate with genuinely bold, risky, and meaningful moves like buying and liberating Twitter.

 

But it will not be easy. It will be a war. Let the battle begin.

 

https://www.revolver.news/2022/04/elon-musk-buy-twitter-free-speech-tech-censorship-american-regime-war/

Anonymous ID: 14b767 April 15, 2022, 6:45 a.m. No.16080780   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>0794 >>0951 >>0967 >>0971 >>1017

Leftists Warn That If They Can't Ban Opposing Viewpoints They'd Have To Actually Defend Their Beliefs

 

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—A growing number of left-leaning voices are concerned about a dangerous increase in free speech if Elon Musk buys Twitter. Early reports confirm that this is because they would have to debate their opponents, instead of just banning them.

 

"Any statement that I don't like is literally incitement, promoting violence, and an existential threat to worldwide democracy" tweeted one user named Resist_The_System90210. "I never had to debate a real person, as Twitter just buries them in the 'additional replies, including those that may contain offensive content' to protect me!"

 

Don Lemon called out the widespread misunderstanding about so-called "free speech" on his "Don Lemon Tonight" segment: "There are obviously limits to free speech. You can't yell 'fire' in a theater, or claim that you can still catch and spread COVID even if you have the vaccine, or talk about the laptop proving that Joe Biden's son leveraged his Dad's position to make a fortune for the family - free speech is more like speech that I already agree with and won't hurt prevailing liberal narratives."

 

One commenter disagreed, however, on the grounds that Twitter was already an unbiased bastion of free speech principles. "If Elon takes over Twitter, he'll let literal Nazis like Donald Trump and Gina Carano say whatever they want! I won't be safe!"

 

At time of publishing, left-wing Twitter users were relieved to find that Elon was outbid by a CCP-connected Chinese oligarch.

 

Having difficulty staying afloat in today's rapidly changing economic landscape? Duke Geralt LéMaster provides some insightful tips to help you cope in these trying times.

 

https://babylonbee.com/news/liberals-worried-that-if-they-cant-ban-opposing-viewpoints-theyll-actually-have-to-defend-their-ideas

Anonymous ID: 14b767 April 15, 2022, 6:59 a.m. No.16080848   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>0854 >>0880 >>0951 >>0967 >>0971 >>1017

This is hilarious, WAPO saying a fantastically rich person cant own a media. Do they even fucking know Bezos owns them?

 

Someone should send put the dick pics announcements Bezos did. Kek

 

https://twitter.com/MaxAbrahms/status/1514924022810779648?s=20&t=gh8Sge1htTa_iWyAWHHRqA

Anonymous ID: 14b767 April 15, 2022, 7:04 a.m. No.16080874   🗄️.is 🔗kun

>>16080826

The thing that perplexes me, how they have no concept of the hypocrisy they throw up constantly, or they totally ignore it, or they dont have a soul or brain