This is a problem

Investment firm says still on track to merge with Trump’s social media company despite SEC probe

New subpoena earlier this week hasn’t changedDigital World Acquisition Corp.’s plans to merge with Trump Media and technology Group.

https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/all-things-trump/investment-firm-says-still-track-merge-trumps-social-media-company

Investors - pic one

https://fintel.io/so/us/dwacu

Citigroup Inc. top holdings - pic 2

https://www.holdingschannel.com/13f/citigroup-inc-top-holdings/

Selway Asset Management top holdings - pic 3 and 4

https://www.holdingschannel.com/13f/selway-asset-management-top-holdings/

U.S & UK Announce Aim to Create New Anti-Russia Military Alliance

Because of their unexpected difficulties in getting Ukraine and Finland into their existing anti-Russia military alliance, NATO; both the U.S. and the UK Governments are now trying to create a new anti-Russian military alliance consisting of only themselves plus nations that border on Russia, so that U.S. & UK nuclear missiles can become posted onto Russia’s border a mere five-minutes-flying-time away from their blitz-nuclear-annihilating Moscow — too short a time for Russia to be able to launch its retaliatory weapons. The goal is to conquer Russia in such a fast manner that Russia won’t be able to retaliate to a sudden U.S. and UK nuclear attack. Ever since at least 2006, the goal has been to do this (it’s called “Nuclear Primacy” — the ability for the U.S. to win a nuclear war against Russia). However, obtaining this result from NATO is turning out to be too slow, if it will be able to be achieved, at all. And, therefore, the U.S. and UK Governments have designed an alternative method, which might be quicker.

So far as is yet publicly known, this plan originated not in Washington but in London; however, the “Special Relationship” that exists between those two Governments is so intimate so that a proposal of this type would almost certainly have been worked out carefully between those two Governments before anything became publicly known about it. Furthermore, the core military nature of this alliance has been carefully hidden in the publicly available verbiage regarding it, so that it is publicly known as being an alternative to the EU, not to NATO — the military alliance, which it clearly is, and has been motivated as being.

https://southfront.org/u-s-uk-announce-aim-to-create-new-anti-russia-military-alliance/

https://archive.ph/TR1qG

Boris Johnson's secret plan to divide Ukraine from Russia and the EU: the European Commonwealth

https://archive.ph/AUOf7#selection-8925.0-8925.95

America’s Decline in Life Expectancy Accelerated in 2020

The United States has experienced decreasing life-expectancy ever since 2014 (when it peaked at 78.9 years), but in the latest year that the World Bank reports, 2020 (which was the first year of the covid-19 pandemic), this decline greatly accelerated, by plunging 1.51 years (1.8 years for men, and 1.2 years for women), to 77.28 years (74.5 for men, 80.2 for women).

Liechtenstein was the worst-performing nation in 2020, declining 2.35 years.

Kazakhstan was the second-worst, declining 1.81 years.

Russia was the third-worst, declining 1.75 years.

Serbia was the fourth-worst, declining 1.71 years.

America, at -1.51 years, was the fifth-worst in the entire world.

Spain and Bulgaria were almost as bad as America, and were tied as being the sixth and seventh worst, by declining 1.50 years.

Lithuania was the eighth worst, by declining 1.35 years.

Poland was the ninth-worst, declining 1.30 years.

Romania was the tenth-worst, declining 1.25 years.

Belgium was the eleventh-worst, declining 1.20 years.

Italy was the twelfth-worst, declining 1.15 years.

Slovenia was the thirteenth-worst, declining 1.00 years.

Luxembourg was the fourteenth-worst, declining 0.90 years.

Switzerland was the fifteenth-worst, declining 0.80 years.

Oman was the 16th-worst, declining 0.72 years.

Netherlands, Sweden, Portugal, and Austria were tied as being seventeenth through twentieth-worst, declining 0.70 years.

Only 39 of the 194 tabulated countries experienced a decline. All 155 other countries experienced either no change (3), or else they increased life-expectancies (152). However, amongst all countries, there was a decline of 0.02 years, because the declining countries were declining more than the increasing countries were increasing.

The very fact that life-expectancies declined, at all, is extraordinary. For example, the site ourworldindata.org says that, between the years 1800 and 2012, life-expectancies increased in all countries. And according to the U.N., which has tracked nations’ life-expectancies in five-year intervals ever since 1950, up until 2020, global life-expectancies increased from 46.96 years during the five-year period 1950-1955, to 72.28 years during the five-year period 2015-2020; and, so, life-expectancies were clearly soaring throughout that 1950-2020 period. But, it might now be over.

https://southfront.org/americas-decline-in-life-expectancy-accelerated-in-2020/

>>16451585

yep, many here put the blinders on when it comes to Trump

House Republicans demand Department of Defense answer for Pride Month spending

The House Republicans are demanding a financial breakdown from the Department of Defense for all Pride Month-related expenses. They claim that the military’s misplaced priorities could impact military readiness.

House Republicans led by Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs have called on the Department of Defense to explain its use of taxpayer dollars to promote Pride Month.

The Department of Defense under the direction of U.S. President Joe Biden, has instituted a number of efforts to promote diversity and inclusivity in all three branches of the military and the Space Force, which includes the Air Force’s LGBTQ Initiative Team (LIT), which is designed to identify and address issues impacting diversity and inclusion.

Rebel News reported earlier this year that the Air Force created mandatory “safe spaces” for airmen to share their feelings as part of a broader “cultural shift.”

As detailed by the Daily Caller, several social media accounts, including the U.S. Marine Corps and Space Force, have highlighted initiatives related to Pride Month. The Air Force founded an LGBTQ Initiative Team and Indigenous Nations Equality Teams (INET) as working groups that “builds on the successes of the Department of the Air Force’s other teams and allows the Department of the Air Force to identify and address the issues impacting diversity and inclusion for Airmen and Guardians.”

The Air Force recently canceled a Drag Queen Story Hour at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany due to criticism from Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, the Daily Caller reported.

The House Republicans are demanding a financial breakdown from the Department of Defense for all Pride Month-related expenses. They claim that the military’s misplaced priorities could impact military readiness.

“The Department of Defense must be focused on the growing threats facing our nation,” said the Republicans in an open letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. “Your department’s budget is consistently among the highest in the federal government and while you consistently ask Congress for more funding, you’ve chosen to use it to promote social programs instead of advancing military preparedness.”

“The Left’s woke LGBTQ agenda has infiltrated the U.S. military under the Biden regime,” said in a statement to the Daily Caller. “The U.S. military is designed to defend our nation and our freedoms. However, it is unacceptably using taxpayer money to advance a social agenda and virtue signal.”

Since Biden took office in 2021, the State Department has been flying Pride flags outside several American embassies.

https://www.rebelnews.com/house_republicans_demand_department_of_defense_answer_for_pride_month_spending

Hundreds arrested and millions seized in global INTERPOL operation against social engineering scams

International police cooperation targets telecommunication fraud, business mail compromise (BEC) and associated money laundering

LYON, France – A worldwide crackdown on social engineering fraud has seen scammers identified globally, substantial criminal assets seized and new investigative leads triggered in every continent.

The two-month (8 March – 8 May 2022) Operation, codenamed First Light 2022, saw 76 countries take part in an international clampdown on the organized crime groups behind telecommunications and social engineering scams.

Police in participating countries raided national call centres suspected of telecommunications or scamming fraud, particularly telephone deception, romance scams, e-mail deception, and connected financial crime.

Although results are still coming in, preliminary figures reached so far include:

1,770 locations raided worldwide

Some 3,000 suspects identified

Some 2,000 operators, fraudsters and money launderers arrested

Some 4,000 bank accounts frozen

Some USD 50 million worth of illicit funds intercepted

Social engineering fraud refers to scams which manipulate or trick people into giving out confidential or personal information which can then be used for criminal financial gain.

Tangible results

Based on intelligence exchanged in the framework of the operation, the Singapore Police Force rescued a teenage scam victim who had been tricked into pretending to be kidnapped, sending videos of himself with fake wounds to his parents and seeking a EUR 1.5 million ransom.

A Chinese national wanted in connection with a Ponzi scheme estimated to have defrauded nearly 24,000 victims out of EUR 34 million was arrested in Papua New Guinea and returned to China via Singapore.

Get-rich-quick schemes

With the Internet creating new online career prospects, companies and professionals who turn to e-commerce affiliate and EBShopp business opportunities are increasingly being scammed.

As part of Operation First Light 2022, the Singapore Police Force arrested eight suspects linked to Ponzi-like job scams. Scammers would offer high-paying online marketing jobs via social media and messaging systems where victims would initially make small earnings, and subsequently be required to recruit more members to earn commissions.

Making the case: INTERPOL police capabilities

Emerging trends uncovered during operations were shared with member countries in the form of INTERPOL purple notices detailing:

the way money mule herders are laundering money through the personal bank accounts of victims;

how social media platforms are driving human trafficking, entrapping people into forced labour, sexual slavery, or captivity in casinos or on fishing vessels;

an increase in vishing fraud with criminals pretending to be bank officials to trick victims into sharing online log-in details;

a growth in cybercriminals posing as INTERPOL officials to obtain money from victims believing themselves to be under investigation.

“Telecom and BEC fraud are sources of serious concern for many countries and have a hugely damaging effect on economies, businesses and communities.”

https://www.interpol.int/News-and-Events/News/2022/Hundreds-arrested-and-millions-seized-in-global-INTERPOL-operation-against-social-engineering-scams

Turkey: Arrested Kurdish Journalists Face Court over Terrorism Charges

Turkey: Arrested Kurdish Journalists Face Court over Terrorism Charges

Print article

Published: 15 June 2022

Written by OCCRP

Journalists who were detained last week during a mass raid in the Kurdish stronghold of Diyarbakir have been taken to court on Wednesday to face terrorism charges.

The move was condemned by local and international journalist associations as a crackdown on free press as well as on Kurds.

The state-run Anadolu Agency reported that more than 20 media workers were detained in connection with TV broadcast from Belgium and the U.K. which authorities labeled as terrorist organization propaganda.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its Turkish affiliates condemned the arrests and the use of terrorism charges to criminalise journalism, and urged for their immediate release.

“Turkish authorities continue to crack down on journalists, accusing them of practising terrorism. The IFJ strongly opposes these arrests and stands in solidarity with all Kurdish media workers currently in prison for doing their job,” said Anthony Bellanger, IFJ General Secretary.

“Journalism is not terrorism,” he added.

The German Journalists Association issued a unanimous statement, with chairman Frank Überall saying "that fits with Erdogan's anti-media course, with which he has been suppressing independent voices for years."

Journalists in Turkey often face prosecution for their work and those of Kurdish origin in particular.

”These raids were actually an unusual form of routine practices with which we [Kurdish journalists] are familiar with,” Sedat Yılmaz, a senior editor at the Mesapotamia News Agency, whose journalists are among those detained, told OCCRP in a phone interview.

“Usually they target individuals - but this one was a mass arrest instead,” he added.

https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/16436-turkey-arrested-kurdish-journalists-face-court-over-terrorism-charges

Fed Raises US Interest Rate by 75 Points, Biggest Hike in 28 Years

The US Federal Reserve warned during the previous raise earlier this year that it planned to continue increasing the interest rate throughout the year to fight historically high inflation in the country that has started to severely affect ordinary people's budgets.

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 75 points, bringing its value to between the 1.5-1.75% range. This is the third time the Fed has raised rates this year, and is the biggest one-time increase in 28 years since 1994.

By increasing interest rates and trying to slow down the overheated economy, the Fed is looking to reign in inflation that reached 8.6% year-on-year in May, continuing its rise compared to April values of 8.3%.

"We continue to see risks for inflation to the upside. We are highly attentive to risks of high inflation and strongly committed to bringing it down. Since the Fed's May meeting, inflation has again surprised to upside. Our overarching focus is using our tools to bring inflation back down to our 2% goal in keeping with longer-term inflation", Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said.

Following the previous decision to raise interest rate, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell warned that it was not the last increase, and that the regulator will likely up rates several times throughout 2022 until inflation starts to drop. The members of the Fed's Open Market Committee have offered different predictions regarding what interest rate will look like by 2023, varying between 2.75% and 4.5%.

The Fed raised the rate in March for the first time since December 2018 and after a long period of keeping it extremely low. The regulator even reduced it to 0-0.25% in 2020 to aid the stagnating economy due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Rapid economic restoration and growth that followed in 2021 brought about the first signs of anomalous inflation in November 2021. Similar phenomena were witnessed in other countries as well, including in the UK and the EU. Amid criticism of being unable to deal with the issue, US President Joe Biden routinely blames the Russian special operation in Ukraine and President Vladimir Putin personally for flaming high inflation in the US.

https://sputniknews.com/20220615/fed-raises-us-interest-rate-by-75-points-biggest-hike-in-28-years-1096351635.html

Fully Vaccinated and Boosted Dr. Fauci Tests Positive for COVID-19 Pandemic For First Time Since COVID Began

On Wednesday, Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, and Chief Medical Advisor to President Biden, tested positive for COVID-19 on a rapid antigen test.

Dr. Fauci is fully vaccinated and has been boosted twice. This is his first positive diagnosis since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic

He is currently experiencing mild symptoms. He will go into self-isolation and continue working from home. He has not recently been in close contact with President Biden or other senior government officials.

Dr. Fauci will follow the COVID-19 guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and medical advice from his physician and return to the NIH when he tests negative.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/06/breaking-dr-anthony-fauci-tests-positive-covid-19-pandemic-first-time-since-covid-began/

Outrage as Australia's energy crisis worsens with hospitals ordered to reduce electricity use and millions warned not to use appliances at night: 'We're rationing power like a 3rd world country'

Sydney hospitals ordered to reduce electricity use amid unfolding energy crisis

Health staff asked to reduce air-conditioning to 20C and avoid using printers

In the middle of winter, NSW households were told to conserve electricity

Advised not to use dishwashers and other appliances to avoid a blackout

National Electricity Market was suspended for first time ever on Wednesday

Instead the Australian Energy Market Operator is controlling the power supply

Australia's energy crisis has deepened, with the National Electricity Market suspended, hospitals ordered to reduce electricity use and millions of people urged not to use basic appliances, despite the freezing winter weather.

Anthony Albanese and energy minister Chris Bowen will hold an emergency meeting with industry and union leaders on Thursday to discuss the growing crisis, which has been likened to the situation in 'third world countries'.

The potential for mass blackouts has increased with about 1800MW of coal-fired power not operating in Queensland and 1200MW of capacity offline in the states of NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania.

The Tomago aluminium smelter in NSW, the country's biggest electricity user, was also forced to cut production to reduce the chance of a blackout.

NSW Treasurer Matt Kean on Wednesday evening begged residents not to run dishwashers until late at night, and Sydney hospital staff were ordered to conserve power in all non-clinical settings.

'This is the result of two-and-a-half decades of policy failures by all sides of politics,' Victorian state Liberal MP Tim Smith said on Wednesday night.

'Like a third world country, we are rationing power in the two first weeks of winter.'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10919303/Australias-energy-crisis-worsens-Anthony-Albanese-hold-emergency-meeting-Thursday.html

Why tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes is FURIOUS with Australia as he plans the largest decarbonisation project in the world: 'We have made this problem ourselves'

Mike Cannon-Brookes says Australia has created the energy crisis problem

The tech billionaire squarely blames broken generators and coal and gas costs

Mr Cannon-Brookes wants to accelerate the closure of coal-fired power plants

The Atlassian co-CEO was coy about whether he would become AGL director

Tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes says Australia has itself to blame for the current energy crisis.

'At some point we have to admit we have made this problem ourselves,' he told a business summit on Wednesday.

'We got into this with 10-plus years of inaction.'

He said the cause is simple - not enough renewable energy in the grid, broken generators, and coal and gas are very expensive.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10918415/Mike-Cannon-Brookes-says-broken-generators-coal-blame-Australias-energy-crisis.html

Look another Billionaire who wants us all dead

Report Shows Kansas Law Enforcement Seized $21 Million From People, Most Of Whom Were Never Charged With Crimes

A new report on asset forfeiture arrives at the same conclusions every other report on the subject has: forfeiture makes money for cops, does almost nothing to stop illegal activity, and rarely, if ever, results in criminal convictions. (via CJ Ciaramella at Reason)

The new report [PDF], put together by the Americans for Prosperity Foundation (AFPF), takes a look at the forfeiture racket in Kansas. Fortunately, a new law mandates more detailed reporting on forfeitures, meaning the AFPF actually had some data to work with.

Not that it’s necessarily comprehensive or accurate data. Law enforcement agencies have way more enthusiasm for inconsistently enforcing laws than they do for complying with them. A deep dive into the data performed by a Kansas news outlet found the reports delivered by agencies was incomplete, inaccurate, and outdated. It also discovered the overseer of this mandate — the Kansas Bureau of Investigation — didn’t seem to care that the information it was being given was inaccurate or incomplete.

Sometimes you just have to work with what you have, which is what the Foundation has done. What already looks pretty bad might be even worse than it appears. What it does show is it’s steady work for the state’s cops, even if it’s not really the sort of work that actually delivers results to anyone but the law enforcement agencies profiting from seizures.

The report points out the $21 million collected over the last two years is the equivalent of walking off with $13,000 of other people’s property every day. But that $13k/day takes a few hours to add up. To reduce the likelihood of losing what they’ve seized, most forfeitures involve amounts that are too small to result in serious legal challenges.

In many cases, the cost of recovering the property is greater than the value of the property seized. The Institute for Justice estimates the average cost to hire an attorney to fight a simple state forfeiture case is $3,000. Half of all seizures in the KASFR database have a value of $3,100 or less. Most people whose property has been seized by Kansas law enforcement are better off forfeiting what was taken.

This is why Kansas law enforcement agencies have been able to hold onto 91% of the property they’ve seized. And they’ve done so while securing a conviction in less than a quarter of all forfeiture cases. The small percentage who’ve managed to get their property back have engaged in protracted legal battles and endured law enforcement stonewalling. The average time from seizure to return of property in Kansas is 419 days.

Sure, there are some exceptions to these rules. Occasionally, cops make a really big bust.

Last year, a Kansas county sheriff ’s office worked with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) to seize $165,000 from an armored vehicle.

The van was transporting the proceeds from legal medical marijuana sales made in Missouri to Colorado. The DEA surveilled the vehicle as it retrieved cash from legally operating dispensaries, then alerted a Kansas sheriff ’s deputy when the van re-entered Kansas. The sheriff ’s deputy stopped the vehicle and seized the cash without charging the driver with a crime or even issuing a traffic citation.

Sounds impressive. It isn’t. The DOJ has already returned $1.2 million seized from this same cash transport company by California law enforcement. The company, Empyreal, is still suing Kansas law enforcement for the DEA-aided seizure detailed above. How does seizing money from a company transporting legally-obtained cash help fight the Drug War? It doesn’t. And no one in Kansas law enforcement or the DEA seems to care.

As long as it remains profitable, Kansas law enforcement will continue to participate in this somehow-lawful scam. But at least the new reporting mandates will give us an idea how much of mockery of justice it has become in that state.

https://www.techdirt.com/2022/06/13/report-shows-kansas-law-enforcement-seized-21-million-from-people-most-of-whom-were-never-charged-with-crimes/

Rhode Island to Ban Magazines That Hold More Than 10 Rounds

A separate bill will ban the sale of shotguns and rifles to any individual under the age of 21

Rhode Island Governor Daniel McKee is expected to a sign a bill that will ban the sale of guns and ammunition to individuals under the age of 18. The bill was recently passed by the state legislature.

Democratic Senate Majority Whip Maryellen Goodwin sponsored the bill in the state’s Senate, while Democratic State Rep. Teresa Tanzi sponsored the House version of the legislation.

In addition, the state legislature passed another bill that will ban magazines that hold more than 10 rounds. The Rhode Island gun control measures — which passed Tuesday night — are expected to be signed into law by Governor McKee.

“High-capacity magazines have no legitimate purpose for hunting or self-defense,” Democratic committee Chair Sen. Cynthia Coyne said in a statement. “They enable shooters to unleash torrents of bullets and inflict maximum harm in mere seconds, making them a tool of the trade for mass shootings, drug trafficking and gang violence.”

Under the bill, those who already own large-capacity magazines or weapons will have 180 days to permanently alter them so they comply with the law, surrender them to police, or sell them to buyers in places where they remain legal. Law enforcement and military personnel are exempted.

“This is rather breathtaking,” the Rhode Island Republican Party said of the gun control measures. “In just a few months, tens of thousands of Rhode Island gun owners could become felons. Never have so many law-abiding citizens been put at risk for jail time since the days of Prohibition when possession of alcohol was a crime.”

Another bill will prohibit the sale of rifles and shotguns to anyone under the age of 21. Young adults in that age range are already prohibited from purchasing handguns.

“It is well-settled science that teenage and post-teenage brains are still developing,” Democratic Sen. Maryellen Goodwin said in a statement. “It’s common sense that we shouldn’t be selling lethal weapons to people who we’ve decided are not old enough to buy cigarettes or beer.”

A similar ban young adult gun ban was recently ruled unconstitutional in California.

https://nationalfile.com/rhode-island-to-ban-magazines-that-hold-more-than-10-rounds/