Report: Organ Transplant Tourism Rising Globally; China No1 Offender

Report: Organ Transplant Tourism Rising Globally; China No1 Offender

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Published: 06 May 2022

Written by David Klein

The process of organ transplantation, developed over the last century, has been hailed as a modern miracle, but, according to a new report by Global Rights Compliance (GRC) it has also spawned a new and deadly trade that entails a shockingly brutal method called ‘Organ Pillaging.’

“This means that organs are harvested from living bodies, including without the provision of anesthetics, resulting in the death of the “donor” patient,” GRC Explained. “This practice has been condemned by civil society and governments as one of the most barbaric and heinous of international crimes that can take place.”

A global shortage of organs has seen demand far outstrip the supply available through national transplantation programs in a number of countries, the report said. This is why instances of the so-called “transplant tourism” have increased two-fold over the past two decades, now accounting for over 10% of the world’s transplants, GRC said.

Among the biggest offenders is China, where ‘tourists’ and locals are being matched with organs at rates far quicker than elsewhere in the world.

“From 2000 onwards, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) leapt from a “follower” to a “leader” of worldwide transplantation technology,” GRC said. “Despite the absence of a voluntary donation system, the organ transplantation hospitals in the PRC tripled within four years, and transplantation surgery, previously conducted nearly exclusively with kidneys, expanded rapidly to surgeries involving hearts, lungs and livers.”

Though China already claims that two thirds of all organs used in transplants were obtained from death row prisoners - who China also says consented to the donations - GRC found that the numbers don’t add up and death sentences have been on the decline, while transplants continue to rise.

Instead, many organs are believed to come from members of oppressed ethnic and religious groups in China, such as the Falun Gong Buddhist sect, and the Muslim Uyghur minority who have been imprisoned enmass over the last decade.

As such, GRC believes that the narrative around organ trafficking can't just focus on it as an organized crime, but also a human rights abuse.

“A particular focus on forced organ harvesting as crimes against humanity serves to highlight the severe risk of medical institutions and transplant associated entities being complicit in widespread or systematic attacks on civilians who are detained, and their organs forcibly extracted, killing the victims in the process,” the GRC report said.

https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/16287-report-organ-transplant-tourism-rising-globally-china-no1-offender

Mitigating Human Rights Risks

when Interacting with International

Medical Institutions & Professionals

in Transplantation Medicine

https://globalrightscompliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Legal-Advisory-Report-Do-No-Harm-April-2022.pdf

CEO of Mining Capital Coin Indicted in $62 Million Cryptocurrency Fraud Scheme

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/ceo-mining-capital-coin-indicted-62-million-cryptocurrency-fraud-scheme

Two Puerto Rico Mayors Arrested and Charged with Accepting Bribes

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/two-puerto-rico-mayors-arrested-and-charged-accepting-bribes

>>16222951

people are dying so there is no winning

If The U.S. Is Giving Ukraine Real-Time Battlefield Intel, Congress Needs To Vote On It

The New York Times claimed this week that the United States is providing real-time battlefield intelligence to Ukraine that has enabled the Ukrainians to target and kill approximately a dozen Russian generals, and helped locate and strike the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet last month.

Described as a “classified effort,” the U.S. provision of targeting intelligence to Ukraine “also includes anticipated Russian troop movements gleaned from recent American assessments of Moscow’s secret battle plan for the fighting in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine,” according to the Times.

The Times’ reporting relies on anonymous “senior American officials,” but if true it represents a sharp and unprecedented escalation of U.S. involvement in the Russo-Ukrainian war, such that Congress should immediately debate and vote on whether to authorize the use of military force in Ukraine.

Indeed, providing real-time targeting intelligence brings the United States right up to the line of belligerence, and arguably over it. The Biden administration seems to understand this. According to the Times, the administration “has sought to keep much of the battlefield intelligence secret, out of fear it will be seen as an escalation and provoke President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia into a wider war.”

The White House is right to fear this outcome, because it’s entirely possible that Putin will absolutely consider this level of battlefield participation by the United States tantamount to an act of war. That’s no doubt why the Biden administration snapped into damage control mode after the Times story about targeting intelligence published on Wednesday.

Adrienne Watson, a National Security Council spokeswoman, criticized the Times’ headline and said in a statement that battlefield intelligence was not provided to the Ukrainians “with the intent to kill Russian generals.” Asked about the Times report on Thursday, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby echoed Watson: “We do not provide intelligence on the location of senior military leaders on the battlefield or participate in the targeting decisions of the Ukrainian military.”

Then on Thursday evening, a second Times story dropped, again sourced to anonymous senior administration officials, detailing how U.S. intelligence helped Ukraine confirm the location of the Russian flagship Moskva, which on April 13 was hit by Ukrainian forces on the ground with two Neptune missiles and eventually sank. The Moskva is the largest warship sunk since World War Two, and a significant loss for the Russian Navy. Some U.S. officials cited by the Times said the American intelligence was “crucial” to the sinking of the Moskva.

The news coincides with reports earlier this week that Russia’s highest-ranking general and chief of the general staff, Valery Gerasimov, was wounded while visiting the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. (According to the Times, the strike that wounded Gerasimov was conducted without the aid of U.S. intelligence.)

In the meantime, it’s not too much to ask that Congress, as representatives of the American people, debate and vote on whether to authorize a U.S. march to war that’s now well underway.

https://thefederalist.com/2022/05/06/if-the-u-s-is-giving-ukraine-real-time-battlefield-intel-congress-needs-to-vote-on-it/

Executives resign from Sydney's Star Casino after inquiry heard allegations of serious crime at the venue

Three executives from Star Entertainment have resigned following an inquiry into the company's suitability to run its Sydney casino.

Chief financial officer Harry Theodore, chief casino officer (NSW) Greg Hawkins and chief legal & risk officer and company secretary Paula Martin have resigned.

A public inquiry has heard allegations of money laundering, fraud and criminal infiltration at the casino in Pyrmont.

Star Entertainment said in a statement further announcements would be made in relation to permanent executive appointments once finalised.

In late March, CEO and managing director Matt Bekier resigned from the Star board, claiming he wanted to take "responsibility" for the misconduct uncovered at the inquiry.

Mr Bekier told the inquiry he accepted that issues raised at the inquiry suggested a "significant, systemic and cultural" problem at the casino.

He had been at the helm of Star for eight years.

The Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority public inquiry into Star has been running for several weeks, and several damning revelations about operations at the Pyrmont venue have been disclosed.

The inquiry was told that a key figure in Star Casino's international VIP team is accused of misappropriating more than $13 million in gambling money before "disappearing" in 2020.

The senior manager, who worked with Chinese high rollers, allegedly transferred a $13.3 million payment from a junket operator into his own account, rather than the Star's.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-06/executives-resign-from-sydney-star-casino-after-inquiry/101046064

Australian Electoral Commission orders Pauline Hanson to take down political cartoons

The AEC has ordered Pauline Hanson to delete a popular cartoon series from social media for failing to adhere to electoral content requirements.

The Australian Electoral Commission has ordered Pauline Hanson to pull her popular political cartoon series from social media after it failed to abide by authorisation requirements for electoral content.

The Senator’s office on Friday received a letter, obtained by SkyNews.com.au, from the AEC, requesting all videos uploaded to Pauline Hanson’s One Nation (PHON) TikTok and Youtube accounts be removed by 8am Monday.

The letter outlines the videos, which feature caricatures of politicians and political content, “do not contain compliant authorisations”.

"We request that you immediately remove all videos communicating electoral matter in respect of the 2022 Federal Election which do not include authorisation particulars that meet the requirements of the Electoral Act and Authorisation Determination and notify us when you have done so," the letter reads.

"To be clear, the authorisation particulars on all videos must be both announced and shown."

Amassing millions of views across Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and Instagram, the animated series recently came under fire from the AEC for disinformation.

An episode titled "Please Explain Voter Fraud" was pulled from Facebook and TikTok last week after it aired incorrect claims about the upcoming election.

But a spokesperson for Ms Hanson says the latest run-in with the AEC is "no skin off our nose”.

https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/australian-electoral-commission-orders-pauline-hanson-to-take-down-political-cartoons/news-story/ded2aff539f6797a16f455dc20dce29a

Truth hurts the establishment - state based election interference

Mayor forced to resign from school board after he was caught during a video conference being fed strawberries by a mystery woman in a Vietnamese hotel

Mayor forced to resign from local school board after online meeting blunder

Peter Carter was seen being hand-fed strawberries by woman in Vietnam hotel

He had joined a Microsoft Team meeting and said he had 'really bad reception'

A mayor has been forced to step down from his role on a local school board after he was hand-fed strawberries by a woman during an online meeting.

Peter Carter, who is mayor of Port Hedland in Western Australia, was in a Vietnam hotel when he joined the Microsoft Team meeting on March 31.

Mr Carter also sits on the board at Hedland Senior High School and shared the video call with fellow members.

He said he had a 'really bad connection' during the brief 10-minute meeting and had absolutely no idea he was being watched on the other side of the screen.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10788105/Port-Hedland-mayor-resigns-school-board-hand-fed-strawberries-Vietnam-hotel-call.html

CNN: Capitol Police ‘Warning the Far Right Is Calling for Violence’ after Supreme Court Leak

On Friday’s “CNN Newsroom,” co-host and Chief National Security Correspondent Jim Sciutto reported that after the leak of the Supreme Court’s draft opinion on Roe v. Wade, “Capitol Police are warning the far right is calling for violence against a religious group planning to rally for abortion rights.”

Sciutto stated, “This morning, law enforcement officials are preparing for potential violence in the capital and nationwide after the leak of that Supreme Court draft opinion that would strike down Roe v. Wade after 50 years. Capitol Police are warning the far right is calling for violence against a religious group planning to rally for abortion rights.”

CNN Law Enforcement Correspondent Whitney Wild added that law enforcement sources “tell us that they are closely monitoring social media chatter that suggests that there’s a potential for violence against abortion clinic providers, abortion clinic staff, members of the judiciary — that would include the justices here — as well as members of the federal government. And what we know after January 6, and what law enforcement knows across the country, is that social media chatter can manifest into actual violence. … And federal law enforcement officials held a call with about 150 participants all across the country to warn them about protests that resulted in confrontations, about the possibility of future demonstrations, as well as for — the potential for violence. So, that’s what’s going on across the country. Here in Washington, there is physical proof that law enforcement officials and officials — Congressional officials, Supreme Court officials here are concerned about the potential that protests could erupt.”

After discussing the barriers that have gone up around the Supreme Court, Wild concluded, “The bottom line here is that while these protests, for the most part…here in Washington at least, have been peaceful, there have been a couple confrontations, but no physical eruptions, no real serious acts of violence here. Because police were able to intervene. They’re very concerned about it, MPD keeping some of those police resources, at least through Sunday.”

https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2022/05/06/cnn-capitol-police-warning-the-far-right-is-calling-for-violence-after-scotus-leak/

Several Billion More Genetically-Engineered Mosquitoes Approved for Release into Florida Keys

Florida Approves Release of Billions of GMO Mosquitoes

Overlooking potential public health risks, lingering scientific questions, and deficient public data, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) approved the extension of Oxitec’s two-year field trial on Wednesday, which includes releasing several billion more genetically engineered (GE) mosquitoes into the Florida Keys — one of Florida’s most ecologically sensitive areas.

FDACS’ approval comes on the heels of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granting the British biotechnology company Oxitec a two-year extension for its Experimental Use Permit for the release of a GE version of the species Aedes aegypti across Monroe County, Florida.

“FDACS should have required Oxitec to cease claiming as ‘confidential business information’ their data on the human health and environmental effects of the release of the mosquitoes,” said Jaydee Hanson, Policy Director at Center for Food Safety. “In Spain, when Oxitec withheld the data, the Spanish government told Oxitec to make public the health and environmental safety effects of their genetically engineered insect. Florida should have done the same. Moreover, FDACS should not have allowed a second major release without making public the data from the first trial and having it reviewed by unbiased scientists in the field.”

FDACS’ approval came despite unresolved public health and environmental concerns raised by scientists, public health experts and environmental groups about potential impacts of the release. The data from Florida’s 2021 field trial release of genetically engineered mosquitoes in the Florida Keys still has not been made public or reviewed by independent scientists.

“We should all be very concerned about an EPA that forgets its middle name, protection, with this approval. Our public trust is abused by Oxitec’s lack of scientific transparency and no independent scientific investigation from EPA to show this experimental insect will not create infinitely more problems than it will solve,” said Barry Wray, Director of Florida Keys Environmental Coalition. The EPA has behaved as if it is in partnership with Oxitec, disregarding the company’s history of deception and allowing a lobbyist to meet with former EPA Administrator Pruitt. “It is ethically repugnant to release these mosquitoes.”

Oxitec claims its GE mosquito field trials are intended to reduce the population of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes — one species that can carry yellow fever, dengue, chikungunya and Zika. However, the potential public health impacts of GE mosquitoes could be problematic. A Yale University study in Brazil observed that the GE mosquitoes bred with local Aedes aegypti, resulting in hybrid mosquitoes in the wild that may be more aggressive, more difficult to eradicate and may increase the spread of mosquito-borne disease.

Unfortunately, the EPA did not publicly share its entire public health analysis, and data about allergenicity and toxicity were redacted from public documents. EPA’s key environmental assessments were also insufficient and did not mandate scientific tests using caged trials ahead of environmental release.

“Poorly done, secretive science and lack of transparency is once again being rewarded with a free pass by government officials who are ignoring the voices of concerned scientists and those most impacted.” said Dana Perls, Emerging Technology Program Manager at Friends of the Earth. “First in Brazil, and now in Florida, government agencies have missed the mark and promoted the interests of a private corporation over public health and ecosystem protection.”

EPA also approved a new California field trial for Fresno, Tulare, San Bernadino and Stanislaus counties — major agricultural regions populated by farmworkers and vulnerable low-income communities. California’s Department of Pesticide Regulation is poised to decide whether to approve Oxitec’s permit for an open-air experiment in Tulare County, California. If approved, billions of GE mosquitoes could be released over a two-year period in the Central Valley, beginning in 2022.

https://www.blacklistednews.com/article/82514/several-billion-more-geneticallyengineered-mosquitoes-approved-for-release-into-florida.html

'The View' goes off the rails as co-host Sunny Hostin says a 'black Republican is an oxymoron'

A heated argument erupted on ABC's "The View" on Friday after co-host Sunny Hostin argued that black Americans who identified themselves as Republicans simply make no sense.

What are the details?

During a heated panel discussion about recently appointed White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, Hostin made the jump to blasting Republicans, and argued that a "black Republican is an oxymoron."

The segment, which initially zeroed in on a potential conflict of interest between incoming Press Secretary Jean-Pierre and her partner, CNN correspondent Suzanne Malveaux, also heard Hostin make a similar remark about Latino Republicans.

Co-hosts Hostin, Ana Navarro, and Sara Haines said that they didn't believe that the relationship between Jean-Pierre and Malveaux created any conflict of interest.

Guest and talk show host Lindsey Granger, however, said that while she understood their stance, she believed it was important to keep an open mind about potentially unethical conversations that may take place "when you're in bed with somebody."

Navarro fired back that it was a "novel idea" for Granger who she suggested was a Trump supporter to believe that a government employee and a media staffer could cohabitate without sharing potentially sensitive information.

Granger snapped, "Did I ever say I was a supporter of Trump? There are many things I don’t stand by that Trump did. Trump has done things that are racist. I'm a black woman first, so always understand that. But I do say that I have many conservative values that I will talk to you about.”

"I feel like it's an oxymoron, a black Republican," Hostin spat.

Granger fired back, pointing to Navarro.

"Why? Your friend right here is a Republican," she insisted.

Hostin argued, "I don't understand either of you. I don't understand black Republicans and I don't understand Latino Republicans."

Behar quickly cut to break in the middle of the fiery segment, ending the women's spat.

https://www.theblaze.com/news/sunny-hostin-black-republican-view

‘No Statutory Authority Exists’ to Back DHS Disinformation Board, Republican AGs Say, Warning Legal Action

A group of Republican attorneys general warned of legal action against the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) new Disinformation Governance Board, stating that “no statutory authority” exists to back its creation.

In a letter (pdf) submitted on May 5 to DHS chief Alejandro Mayorkas, Virginia’s Attorney General Jason Miyares, joined by 19 other Republican attorneys general, asked him to “immediately” disband the board that would “police Americans’ protected speech.”

“No statutory authority exists to support your creation of a board of government censors,” reads the letter to Mayorkas.

“Although Congress has considered a variety of measures to address the perceived dangers of ‘disinformation’ in the United States, none has passed. Instead, while the people’s elected representatives continue to debate this issue, you have arrogated to yourself the power to address it without congressional authorization, despite the far-reaching effects of the Disinformation Governance Board on Americans and our political process.”

Mayorkas revealed the new initiative to lawmakers during a congressional hearing on April 27, claiming to protect civil liberties and free speech, as Russia, China, and other adversaries attempt to stoke division and spread conspiracy theories or falsehoods among Americans. White House asserted earlier this week that the recently convened board on misinformation will be “nonpartisan and apolitical.”

Yet the lack of details on how the working group will function and the potential consequences of a government entity identifying and responding to “disinformation,” have drawn widespread controversies.

https://www.ntd.com/no-statutory-authority-exists-to-back-dhs-disinformation-board-republican-ags-say-warning-legal-action_776018.html