UK deputy ambassador detained by IRGC on espionage claims

Video footage released by the IRGC claimed to show the deputy ambassador near a site where Iran was conducting missile exercises.

The deputy head of the United Kingdom's mission in Iran, Giles Whitaker, and a number of other diplomats were detained by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) on claims of spying and taking samples of soil from a "prohibited area," Iranian media reported on Wednesday.

Video footage released by the IRGC claimed to show the deputy ambassador near a site where Iran was conducting missile exercises.

In January 2020, then UK ambassador to Iran, Rob Macaire, was arrested at a vigil for the 176 people who were killed when a Ukraine International Airlines aircraft was shot down by the IRGC. Protests broke out throughout Iran, including in Tehran, after the plane was downed.

Macaire was released and returned to London for a period of about three weeks before returning to Iran in February 2020. Simon Shercliff is the current British ambassador to Iran.

https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-711375

Directors of FBI, MI5 deliver joint warning to business leaders about global Chinese spying effort

From England, Christopher Wray and Ken McCallum issued a warning to the business sector about ongoing, massive Chinese espionage operations.

The heads of the FBI and Britain's domestic intelligence and security service – MI5 – issues a rare joint warning to Western business leaders about the threats posed by Chinese espionage, particularly efforts to steal intellectual property from Western tech outfits.

In a joint appearance on Wednesday at MI5 headquarters, FBI director Christopher Wray and MI5 director-general Ken McCallum encouraged industry leaders not to underestimate the scope of Beijing's espionage campaign.

Wray said to the audience, according to the Wall Street Journal, "The Chinese government is set on stealing your technology – whatever it is that makes your industry tick – and using it to undercut your business and dominate your market. They’re set on using every tool at their disposal to do it."

China, said McCallum, is engaged in a "coordinated campaign on a grand scale," which indicates a "strategic contest across the decades."

It is well-known, though not necessarily well combated, that China utilizes state-sponsored hacking on a global scale with operatives all around the world in order to gain access to technology it desires.

Wray said that, at present, the FBI opens a new counterintelligence investigation into China close to every 12 hours. McCallum, likewise, noted that MI5 is overseeing seven times as many investigations into suspicious Chinese activity as it was in 2018.

https://justthenews.com/government/security/directors-fbi-mi5-deliver-joint-warning-business-leaders-about-global-chinese

IDF chief of staff candidate suggests ramping up assassinations of IRGC leaders

In 74-page document titled ‘Countering Iran’s regional strategy,’ Eyal Zamir warns that Tehran-backed militias in Syria would join Hezbollah in battle

Eyal Zamir, one of the leading candidates to take over as the next chief of the Israeli military, warned in a lengthy report that Iran has managed to establish a significant foothold in Syria and called for more assassinations of Iranian military officials to curb such efforts.

In a 74-page document published as part of his current position as a research fellow at the Washington Institute, Zamir said Iran has managed to establish a comprehensive military infrastructure within Syria and has deployed missiles and UAVs that are a direct threat to neighboring Israel.

The report, titled “Countering Iran’s regional strategy” and dated May 8, was released Tuesday.

“Some of the Iranian militias base themselves in special camps in Syria, and in the case of an Israeli campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon, they could conceivably fire missiles from deep within Syria at Israeli targets,” Zamir wrote.

Last month, the IDF held a major military exercise in Cyprus, simulating a ground offensive deep inside Lebanon in a potential war against the Iran-backed Hezbollah. The exercise was part of the military’s largest drill in decades, simulating all-out war with an emphasis on Israel’s northern frontier.

Hezbollah alone has long been a significant adversary for the IDF, with an estimated arsenal of nearly 150,000 rockets and missiles that can reach anywhere in Israel.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-chief-of-staff-candidate-suggests-ramping-up-assassinations-of-iranian-officials/

Russian authorities investigated Jewish Agency for three years

Russia has been inspecting the Jewish Agency for three years before ordering it to stop operations in the country.

The Jewish Agency has been under investigation by Russian officials for the past three years, during which information and hardware from their offices were examined closely.

In a letter sent to the Jewish Agency this week, revealed exclusively by The Jerusalem Post, the Agency received a list of what the Russian Justice Ministry sees as violations of the law and the consequences of these violations.

As reported on Tuesday, a senior Israeli diplomatic official said that “Russia has claimed that the Jewish Agency illegally collected information about Russian citizens.”

As every organization would do, especially ones that promote immigration to another country, the Jewish Agency’s offices in Russia collect information about people who apply for aliyah or who participate in their activities.

According to DLA Piper, a multinational law firm, amendments to the Russian Data Protection Act were adopted and came into force in 2015. The amendments require all personal data operators to store and process any personal data of Russian individuals within databases located in Russia (subject to few exceptions).

Violations of Russian law

According to the amendment, the penalty for violation of this requirement is ultimately the blocking of websites involving unlawful handling of Russian personal data.

According to the Russian law, in order to transfer personal data outside Russia’s borders, the operator has to ensure that the rights of personal data subjects will have a high level of protection in the new country destination – before actually transferring the data.

The ministry indicated that the agency officials in Russia have violated the law, since the information gathered there is shared with its offices in Jerusalem or with Israeli government offices in order to proceed with immigration.

The letter stated that the agency should respond to the allegations and may have to cease activities in Russia if found guilty of the charges.

https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-711342

UK Gov 2019 Report states all UK Airports must close within the next 10 years, beef and lamb is to be banned, and construction of new buildings must cease in the name of “Climate Change”

The report states that all airports must close between 2020 and 2029 excluding Heathrow, Glasgow and Belfast airports, which can only stay open on the condition that transfers to and from the airport are done via rail.

All remaining airports must then close between 2030 and 2049 as to meet the legal commitment of zero emissions by 2050 every citizen of the United Kingdom must “stop using aeroplanes” for a significant period of time.

https://expose-news.com/2022/07/06/2019-ukgov-report-all-airports-close/

Russia Deployed 600 Paratroopers At Key Northeastern Syria Airport

The Russian military had deployed 600 paratroopers at al-Qamishli Airport in northeastern Syria, Russian sources revealed on July 3.

The first batch of 300 paratroops arrived at the airport, which is the main base of the Russian military in the northeastern Syria, on July 1. Two days later, a second batch of 300 paratroopers arrive at the airport. The paratroops were moved into the airport aboard several Russian Il-76 airlifters.

The deployment came amid ongoing preparations by Turkish military and its proxies to launch a new large-scale operation against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northern and northeastern Syria.

The Russia military has been bolstering its presence in al-Qamishli airport to deal with this new Turkish threat. In May, Su-34 fighter bombers and Ka-52 attack helicopters were deployed at the airport. Later in June, the airport’s defenses were straightened with several additional Pantsir-S1 air-defense systems.

While Russia is not a backer of the SDF, it is the guarantor of several de-escalation agreements with Turkey on northern and northeastern Syria.

Moscow believes that a new Turkish military operation in northern and northeastern Syria could hurt the humanitarian situation in these regions, push Kurds towards separatism and even risk a full-blown confrontation between Ankara and Damascus.

Russia has been engaging diplomatically with Turkey to prevent a new operation, so does Iran. Yet, recent statements by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan indicate that Ankara is determined to go on with military plans.

https://southfront.org/russia-deployed-600-paratroopers-at-key-northeastern-syria-airport-photos/

The Corporatization of Just About Everything

Back in the day, a Yale law professor named Charles Reich wrote a bestselling book called The Greening of America. His masterwork topped The New York Times best seller list and drew a ton of popular attention. Reich argued that American society was undergoing a major shift in cultural awareness (He used “consciousness,” a word that no longer seems to be in vogue) and opined that this would lead to a major and lasting revitalization of our deepest cultural norms and values. It was a noble thought.

It is possible that just about every major social and political mega-problem we’re now facing can in some way be traced to varying degrees of corporatization — from renewed interest in war as a solution to international relations to Big Pharma’s capture of health care to the influence of dark money in our political system to a climate crisis fed and ignored by Big Energy.

One reason the book drew so much interest is because of Reich’s background. He was a former editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Journal and a friend of Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas. In writing about something as retrospectively “mushy” as the consciousness movement of the sixties, Reich’s unique stance might then have been described as “establishmentarian as hippie” but also more contemporary than “old school.” His impressive background provided both gravitas and a strong air of credibility to the prevailing Zeitgeist. (Fun fact: among Reich’s students, William and Hillary Clinton.)

The sixties, of course, disappeared into the black hole of cultural amnesia that was the Reagan era. But as Reich continued his own personal and intellectual journey, he was having none of the social trend whereby many Boomer culture warriors eventually became yuppies, merrily plunging themselves into the consumer society they once railed against. Instead, and to his credit, Reich continued to develop his ideas and aspirations in the direction of the massive changes needed to right the ship of state. And many younger folks of his vintage learned and matured from the protests and educational rebellions of the sixties.

In 1995, Reich followed up with a second book that was titled Opposing the System that offered a prophetic warning about what would happen if corporations became powerful enough to “run the show.” Unlike his previous masterwork, the book was, for the most part, roundly ignored by the mainstream media. It was simply too radioactive. By chance, I happened to pick it up at a used bookstore and remember marveling at how it was shunted off to the remainder shelves after the smashing success of “The Greening of America.” So thoroughly was this book buried in the collective memory that when the LA Times wrote his obituary (Reich died in 2019), it wasn’t even mentioned.

Does ‘The System’ Still Exist?

Whatever anyone might want to say about the excesses or over-reach of the Sixties, with the influential younger demographic of the time, there was a widespread perception and understanding that the U.S. government was increasingly being influenced by corporations.

But that was a bit too simplistic. The semi-invisible power structure that guided many policy decisions had far-reaching tentacles and was basically an interlocking directorate of corporations working in tandem with a variety of educational and governmental institutions. It was this system of values that constituted “the establishment.”

https://consortiumnews.com/2022/07/06/the-corporatization-of-just-about-everything/

Fugitive mafia boss extradited from Brazil to Italy

Lyon, France: Rocco Morabito, a convicted Italian drug lord linked to the ‘Ndrangheta mafia, has been successfully extradited from Brazil to Italy, accompanied by Italian law enforcement officers belonging to the INTERPOL Cooperation Against ‘Ndrangheta (I-CAN) project.

Morabito is considered a top international drug broker and one of the most wanted fugitives in the world, according to the Italian Ministry of Interior. The extradition follows intensive cooperation between the INTERPOL National Central Bureaus (NCBs) in Brazil and Italy.

Arrested in Brazil in March 2021 through a joint operation between the Brazilian Federal Police and the Italian Carabinieri with support from INTERPOL, Morabito had spent 23 years on the run from Italian justice, which sentenced him to 30 years in prison.

Morabito was previously set to be extradited from Uruguay after he was arrested in the country in a 2017 operation led by the Italian Carabinieri’s Special Operation Division and Investigative Unit. In 2019, however, he escaped from prison and an INTERPOL Red Notice was issued against him.

“The extradition of Rocco Morabito sends a powerful message: however strong the criminal web of mafia groups may be, our global police network is stronger,” said Giovanni Bombardieri, Chief Prosecutor of the Antimafia Prosecution Office of Reggio Calabria.

“‘Ndrangheta operatives leverage immense financial resources to avoid facing justice, but by mobilizing law enforcement through INTERPOL, we will find them and ensure they account for their actions in the end.”

https://www.interpol.int/News-and-Events/News/2022/Fugitive-mafia-boss-extradited-from-Brazil-to-Italy

Santa Teresa CBP Officers Seize 1,037 Pounds of Methamphetamine

SANTA TERESA, N.M – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers working at the Santa Teresa port of entry commercial cargo lot intercepted 1,037 pounds of methamphetamine from a dump trailer being hauled by a truck.

“Excellent job by our CBP officers in intercepting this enormous quantity of a very dangerous drug,” said acting Santa Teresa Port Director John Hawkins. “To put this into perspective during the last fiscal year CBP officers working in the El Paso Field Office area of operations seized 8,798 pounds of methamphetamine combined.”

CBP officers made the seizure June 30 after an individual driving a truck hauling a dump trailer applied for entry into the U.S. from Mexico at the Santa Teresa port. CBP officers selected the vehicle for a secondary inspection.

CBP officers conducted a non-intrusive inspection where they identified anomalies in the appearance of the dump trailer. Further examination led CBP officers to the discovery of 208 bundles with a combined weight of 1,037 pounds of a substance which tested positive for the properties of methamphetamine.

The narcotics and truck were seized by CBP, and the driver was turned over to Homeland Security Investigations for prosecution.

https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/local-media-release/santa-teresa-cbp-officers-seize-1037-pounds-methamphetamine

Tasmania Police apologise to abuse victims over paedophile James Geoffrey Griffin. Tasmania Police was handed credible evidence that a man working as a children's nurse had been discussing child abuse online, four years before he was charged, but nothing was done because it was "filed inappropriately".

Tasmania's Commission of Inquiry into Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Institutional Settings has turned its focus to the Department of Justice.

It began by examining who and what police knew about James Geoffrey Griffin prior to 2019.

It was Tiffany Skeggs who made the first formal report.

She went to police in May 2019 and told them Griffin had groomed and abused her over a number of years.

Police in Hobart began an investigation and sent the file up to Launceston in July 2019, where it was given to Detective Senior Constable Glenn Hindle.

As he began to look into Griffin, he found other entries in the system.

"I recall there being about four or so entries sporadically over a period of years where he did come to attention for concerning behaviours," he told the commission.

The entires on file dated back a decade, beginning in 2009 with a report Griffin had been upskirting girls on the Spirit of Tasmania ferry where he sometimes worked as a medic.

Senior Constable Hindle said a search of Griffin's address didn't reveal any corroborating material and so the investigation was dropped — but it was in the system, with a note that Griffin had "above average ability to encrypt his data".

The next notification was in 2011 and involved historical child abuse allegations.

The report came from Child and Fami

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-06/tas-police-apology-griffin-commission-of-inquiry/101212248

Western Australia paedophile let out of prison again

A Western Australian paedophile has been let out of prison again, despite allegedly breaching his supervision order.

Bradley Pen Dragon is vowing to fight claims he was stashing pictures of children just days after his controversial release last month.

The serial paedophile was granted bail on Wednesday, less than a fortnight after allegedly breaching his supervision order.

He was taken to a secret hideout somewhere in Perth's south-eastern suburbs.

Just two days into his newfound freedom, police said the 62-year-old was busted with pictures of children in the form of "newspaper clippings" and "works of art" he'd created behind bars.

His lawyer said the images were "innocuous" and Dragon didn't realise he had them, claiming he found them packed in his prison belongings and turned them straight over to police the following morning.

The court heard the artworks included a collage of faces and a bargirl painting featuring a female at a table with bottles of wine.

The magistrate said they were not convinced that one depicted a child.

In granting him bail, the magistrate said Dragon, even if guilty of breaching his supervision order, wouldn't be punished with a jail sentence and if he were to stay locked up he would likely lose his accommodation.

The convicted rapist is no longer confined to a cell, instead free but at the mercy of 62 strict conditions imposed by a court.

He will face court in October for the alleged breach.

https://www.9news.com.au/national/western-australian-paedophile-bradley-pen-dragon-out-of-prison/0c08518a-1ca2-4606-a448-33b72db0e71a

Exposé reveals Twitter, other social media platforms routinely hire former feds: It's a 'revolving door'

Alan MacLeod of MintPress News has just released an exposé of the hiring practices in Silicon Valley, particularly at Twitter, and his findings suggest that many social media companies have filled some of their highest security positions and most influential positions with former members of federal agencies, including the FBI, CIA, and the military.

According to MacLeod, former high-profile FBI figures Dawn Burton, Karen Walsh, Jim Baker, Mark Jaroszewski, and Douglas Turner, as well as former FBI agents listed as Matthew W., Patrick G., and Bruce A., and FBI employees Cherrelle Y. and Laura D. all once held or currently hold positions at Twitter related to policy, security, finances, or legal issues.

Whistleblower Coleen Rowley, a former FBI agent, said she's not at all surprised, claiming that there's now a "revolving door" between federal agents and the companies they were once charged with policing.

In all, dozens have made the jump from federal law enforcement to social media, and MacLeod argued that the cozy relationship between the two sectors creates a myopic feedback loop that affects social media policies regarding censorship and disinformation, just as it reifies the prestige of federal agencies.

“These [tech] companies are using the mythical aura of the FBI," Rowley said. "They can point to somebody and say, ‘Oh, you can trust us; our CEO or CFO is FBI.'”

And Twitter and the FBI are not the only entities to do so. Facebook, TikTok, the CIA, even the Army and Marine Corps all have crossovers between social media and the federal government, and some of those crossovers have gigs in Silicon Valley and with the federal government at the same time.

And not just the U.S. federal government. In 2019, Gordon Macmillan, Twitter's head of editorial for the entire Europe, Middle East, and Africa region, was also discovered to be a member of what MacLeod called "the British Army’s notorious 77th Brigade," which he said is "dedicated to online warfare and psychological operations."

MacLeod carefully noted, however, that none of the persons mentioned in his piece are considered bad actors and that "there is a limited pool of people qualified in these sorts of fields." However, MacLeod also argued that the career pipeline from federal agency to social media platform is both bad optics and, as Rowley says, a conflict of interest.

“In terms of their outlooks on the world and on the question of misinformation and internet security, you couldn’t get a better field of professionals who are almost inherently going to be more in tune with the government’s perspective" than former federal agents now working for social media companies, Rowley said.

https://www.theblaze.com/news/expose-reveals-twitter-fbi

Carlos Santana Collapses Mid-Concert Due To ‘Serious Medical’ Issue

Between songs, Santana collapsed on stage and medical professionals were forced to rush the guitarist to a hospital.

The 74-year-old posted an update on his condition on Facebook just after midnight on Tuesday. “Just taking it easy. Forgot to eat and drink water so I dehydrated and passed out. Blessings and miracles to you all,” Santana said.

After Santana was taken off stage, an employee from the concert venue announced the show was over due to a “severe medical emergency.”

The rock star was introducing the song “Joy” just before his collapse. Alisa Zee, a spectator, told CNN that Santana seemed conscious and waved to the crowd while being led off stage by medical staff.

“He had just started a song that was about joy and love,” Zee explained. “He called for healing for the world. It was during that song that he collapsed.”

On Wednesday, an official statement was posted to Santana’s website with the title “Carlos Overcome with Heat Exhaustion and Dehydration.”

The statement reads:

Rock Legend Carlos Santana was over-taken by heat exhaustion and dehydration during a concert Tuesday (July 5) evening in Michigan. The guitar great was taken from his show at Pine Knob Music Theatre (formerly DTE Energy Music Theatre), an outdoor amphitheater in Clarkston, some 40 miles northwest of Detroit, Michigan. Carlos was taken to the emergency department at McLaren Clarkston for observation and is doing well, it was announced by Santana’s manager Michael Vrionis tonight. “The show for tomorrow July 6th at The Pavilion at Star Lake (formerly the S&T Bank Music Park) in Burgettstown, PA. will be postponed to a later date. More details to follow thru Live Nation,” Mr. Michael Vrionis added.

A video of the incident was posted to Twitter.

WATCH:

Video of the moment Carlos Santana collapsed onstage—very scary to see, hope he’s OK pic.twitter.com/YBztWqo0pO

— TrivWorks (@TrivWorks) July 6, 2022

COVID-19 vaccine skeptics voiced their concern over Santana’s health on Twitter.

“There should be an investigation to determine if these dangerous Covid vaccines had anything to do with Carlos Santana‘s recent health scare,” one user commented.

“Carlos Santana was just about to be doing a concert for the vaccinated only. To go you had to show proof of your vaccine. So sad that he refused to listen those of us that are good people that tried to warn everyone,” another individual posted on Twitter.

Stay tuned to National File for any updates.

https://nationalfile.com/video-carlos-santana-collapses-mid-concert-due-to-serious-medical-issue/

Watch: Trudeau Admits He Is "Banning" Guns

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/watch-trudeau-admits-he-banning-guns

US Imposes Sanctions On Iran Oil Producers After Failure To Revive Nuclear Deal

So much for Iranian oil flooding the market.

After days, and weeks and months and years of failed attempts to revive the JCPOA, aka the Iranian nuclear deal, on Wednesday the Biden administration announced it was putting sanctions on 15 individuals and entities who have been involved in illicit sales and shipments of millions of dollars' worth of Iranian oil.

The newest sanctions, unveiled by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, come as the latest efforts to revive the Iran nuclear deal failed just last week.

"The United States is designating 15 individuals and entities that engaged in the illicit sales and shipment of Iranian petroleum, petroleum products, and petrochemical products. These entities, located in Iran, Vietnam, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Hong Kong, have supported Iranian energy trade generating millions of dollars' worth of illicit revenue," Blinken said in a statement.

"While the United States is committed to achieving an agreement with Iran that seeks a mutual return to compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, we will continue to use all our authorities to enforce sanctions on the sale of Iranian petroleum and petrochemicals," added Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson.

Blinken said that the three Iran-based entities sanctioned by the State Department include: Zagros Tarabaran-E Arya, which is a shipper of Iranian petroleum products; Persian Gulf Star Oil Company is the largest producer of gas condensate in Iran; and East Ocean Rashin Shipping Co. Ltd., which is a port agent and freight forwarder of Iranian petroleum and petrochemical products.

"The United States has been sincere and steadfast in pursuing a path of meaningful diplomacy to achieve a mutual return to full implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). It is Iran that has, to-date, failed to demonstrate a similar commitment to that path. Absent a change in course from Iran, we will continue to use our sanctions authorities to target exports of petroleum, petroleum products, and petrochemical products from Iran," Blinken said.

Bottom line: the Biden admin has lost patience with Iran, having realized Tehran never intended to bring the JCPOA deal to closure on mutually acceptable terms. Expect creeping sanctions to accelerate and to envelop more and more official Iranian entities as long as Tehran continues toying with Biden. And since there is no reason why Iran should change its behavior - after all the middle east oil producer sells as much as oil as it wants to China who ignores US sanctions and buys both Iranian and Russian oil at significant discounts (in fact, Iran is now competing to undercut Russia on oil price) - the only loser here are US consumers and motorists who will not benefit from the potential pool 1-2 mmb/d of legitimate Iranian exports which would sharply lower US gas prices. Instead the only winner here will be China.

https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/us-imposes-sanctions-iran-oil-producers-after-failure-revive-nuclear-deal