Twitter Announces it Will Meddle in 2022 Midterm Elections
https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/company/2022/-our-approach-to-the-2022-us-midterms
Ohio State Highway Patrol Exchanges Gunfire With Armed Man in Body Armor Attempting to Break Into FBI Building
Ohio State Highway Patrol exchanged gunfire with an armed man attempting to break into the FBI building in Cincinnati on Thursday morning.
The man was allegedly carrying an AR-15 and shooting into the building with a nail gun.
“At approximately 9:15 EST, the FBI Cincinnati Field Office had an armed subject attempt to breach the Visitor Screening Facility (VSF),” FBI Cincinnati said in a statement. “Upon the activation of an alarm and a response by armed FBI special agents, the subject fled northbound onto Interstate 71.”
At about 12:30 p.m. local time, the agency said the suspect was “contained” but not in custody, according to a report from NBC News.
The suspect took off on I-71 towards Columbus and the pursuit eventually ended near W. State Route 73, according to a report from Fox 8.
During the chase, the highway was shutdown in both directions as multiple agencies attempted to apprehend the suspect.
All buildings within a one mile radius of the FBI headquarters were also placed on lockdown.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/08/breaking-ohio-state-highway-patrol-exchanges-gunfire-armed-man-attempting-break-fbi-building/
A Devastating Fire Completely Destroyed the Pendleton Flour Mills in Oregon
A fire completely destroyed a building at Pendleton Flour Mills in Eastern Oregon on Wednesday.
Officials said that a small fire that started on Tuesday afternoon and reignited early Wednesday morning caused the Pendleton Flour Mills to go up in flames.
“Yesterday, August 9th at 2:55 p.m., City County Dispatch received a report of black smoke coming from the Pendleton Flour Mills with no visible flames,” said Pendleton Police Chief Chuck Byram. “The Pendleton Fire Department responded and extinguished the small fire however remained on scene conducting “fire watch.””
“The fire subsequently reignited at approximately 4:00 this morning [Wednesday] at which time it was fully engulfed due to dry grain, as well the wood structure within,” Byram added.
At 9:30 a.m., firefighters were still working the blaze from every direction, and a drone was flying overhead checking for additional hot spots.
There are no more buildings at risk, according to the Pendleton Fire Department, which is being helped by eight other agencies.
“Although the building is a total loss, this will be an ongoing emergent situation due to the amount of grain that is slow burning. There have not been any reported injuries,” Byram said.
People were encouraged to stay out of the area for their own safety, as well as the safety of firemen working diligently to stop the fire.
At 10:55 a.m., it appears that the flames have been extinguished, but firefighters are still on the site focusing on the remaining hot spots.
According to Chief Byram at 2:21 p.m., it seems that the fire crew is keeping the structure fire under control and will continue to monitor throughout the night for any hot spots
Grain Craft, which owns the Pendleton Flour Mills, bills itself as the country’s largest independent flour milling enterprise, according to its website.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/08/devastating-fire-completely-destroyed-pendleton-flour-mills-oregon/
Telegram CEO lashes out at Apple and Google
Pavel Durov accuses US tech giants of harming app developers with their long review processes and profit cuts
Russian software entrepreneur Pavel Durov, who runs the company behind the popular messaging app Telegram, has slammed US tech giants for abusing their dominant market position.
The latest tirade, which Durov shared on Telegram on Wednesday, was triggered by Apple apparently stalling the release of a new version of his messenger.
“Our upcoming update – which is about to revolutionize how people express themselves in messaging – has been stuck in Apple’s ‘review’ for two weeks, without explanation or any feedback provided by Apple,” he complained.
The review is supposed to allow the app store operator to check submitted code for any possible malware and confirm it is up to safety standards, before users can install it. Durov said the process was “discouraging” for his team, adding that “one can only imagine the difficulties experienced by smaller app developers.”
“This harm goes on top of the 30% tax Apple and Google take from app developers – which, according to them, is supposed to pay for the resources needed to review apps,” the businessman added. “The regulators in the EU and elsewhere are slowly starting to look into these abusive practices. But the economic damage that has already been inflicted by Apple on the tech industry won't be undone.”
Apple stands out among tech companies with the strict rules for its platform. Unlike with Google’s Android OS, Only Apple-approved software downloaded from the company’s store is allowed on Apple devices.
Durov earlier claimed the policy turns Apple’s customers into “digital slaves” of the company’s ecosystem, who have no choice but to buy its “overpriced, obsolete” hardware, while submitting their data to surveillance and censorship.
https://www.rt.com/news/560644-durvov-blasts-apple-monopoly/
Media Stopped Describing Targeting of Trump as “Raid” After Former FBI Agent Complained
Followed orders in a heartbeat.
The media stopped describing the search of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate as a “raid” after a top former FBI agent complained about the wording during an appearance on MSNBC.
Federal agents ransacked Trump’s Florida home, even going through his wife Melania’s wardrobes, in a bid to find classified records Trump allegedly took from the White House.
Trump supporters assert that the boxes recovered during the raid contain files that were already declassified by the time Trump left office.
The raid was carried out after an FBI informant had infiltrated Mar-a-Lago and discovered the precise location of where the files were being kept.
Despite widespread anger at the raid from both Trump supporters and Republicans in general, one former FBI agent tried to language police by insisting that the raid, timed for when the feds knew Trump wouldn’t be home, was not in fact a raid.
“Agents, by the way, don’t like the word raid, they don’t like it,” former FBI Assistant Director Frank Figliuzzi told MSNBC.
“It sounds like it’s some kind of, you know, extra judicial non legal thing. It’s the execution of a search warrant. It’s a court authorized search warrant,” he added.
Figliuzzi insisted that the FBI would want the incident described as them having “executed a search warrant” and that calling it a “raid” helped Trump define what happened as “prosecutorial misconduct.”
Almost instantly, the media followed orders.
“MSNBC changed their chyron, from “FBI Raids Trump’s Mar-A-Lago Home,” to “FBI Executes Search Warrant At Trump’s Mar-A-Lago,” moments after Figliuzzi’s appearance, notes Jack Hadfield.
The New York Times also changed the word “raid” to “search”.
https://summit.news/2022/08/11/media-stopped-describing-targeting-of-trump-as-raid-after-former-fbi-agent-complained/
Italy’s Berlusconi announces electoral comeback
Silvio Berlusconi says he’ll run for Senate in the snap election next month
Italy’s political heavyweight Silvio Berlusconi, who was the country's prime minister for four terms, has announced that he’ll run for Senate in the snap election next month.
“I think I’ll run for the Senate,” Berlusconi, who now leads the center-right party Forza Italia, told Rai Radio 1 station on Wednesday.
The 85-year-old media tycoon said he was making the move after “receiving pressure from so many, even outside Forza Italia,” and expressed hope that it would “make everyone happy.”
The announcement coincided with the launch of an advertising campaign, which saw billboards with a picture of a younger-looking Berlusconi and a slogan reading, “Now more than ever, pick a side,” popping up on train and subway stations across the country.
Berlusconi, who is Italy’s longest-serving prime minister since dictator Benito Mussolini, had been absent from the country’s political scene since 2013, when he was sentenced to four years in prison for tax fraud and barred from holding public office.
The ban was lifted by the court in 2018, with the veteran politician becoming a Member of the European parliament (MEP) a year later.
https://www.rt.com/news/560657-berlusconi-italy-senate-election/
Intoxicated and Armed Off-Duty Federal Agent Shot and Killed by Monroe County Deputies
On Wednesday morning, Monroe County Deputies shot and killed a federal agent who was armed and reportedly suicidal in the Florida Keys, according to authorities.
According to officials from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, the incident started when deputies responded to reports of an intoxicated, armed, and suicidal man at a property in Key Largo just before 10:45 a.m.
The responding officers confirmed that the intoxicated man was armed.
He was later identified as 48-year-old Lane Morgan Caviness, an off-duty federal law enforcement officer, according to the news release.
After Caviness moved away from view, the Sheriff’s office was able to contact him via phone.
During their conversation, Caviness admitted he was drunk and indicated he was ready to confront law enforcement.
“Caviness went out on a balcony with a gun and dropped it when ordered to do so,” the sheriff said.
Deputies said Caviness appeared a second time and pointed a gun at them.
“A few minutes later, Caviness came out on the balcony again, but this time he was armed with an AR-15,” said Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay.
In response, the deputies started shooting at Caviness. The deputies began first-aid, but he was pronounced dead.
“Although this appears to be a suicide by cop situation,” said Sheriff Rick Ramsay, “as I always do in such cases, I have asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to conduct an independent investigation into this matter.”
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/08/intoxicated-armed-off-duty-federal-agent-shot-killed-monroe-county-deputies/
FBI Now Going After Pennsylvania’s 2020 Alternate Electors Who Were Selected in Response to Stolen 2020 Election
The 2020 Election was stolen from the American people and President Trump. The FBI and DOJ were complicit when they turned the other way in states like Pennsylvania when crimes were committed.
In 2020 in Pennsylvania the FBI looked the other way when crimes were committed in Philadelphia as ballots were manufactured to make up for Joe Biden’s 700,000 ballot deficit to President Trump in the state.
In Philadelphia, Americans were physically and forcefully prevented from observing the election process and the FBI looked the other way.
A truck driver reported that he drove a truckload of ballots from New York to Pennsylvania and it disappeared, and the FBI attacked the young whistleblower in response. Former AG Bill Barr wouldn’t protect the whistleblower as well.
Now PennLive is reporting:
Federal investigators delivered subpoenas or paid visits to several House and Senate Republican offices in the Pennsylvania Capitol on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to multiple sources.
At least some of the individuals receiving subpoenas were told they were not targets of an investigation, according to at least six sources reached by PennLive, but that they may have information of interest to the FBI. All of the sources had been briefed on the investigative moves in some way, but demanded anonymity in order to discuss them.
The information being requested centered around U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., and the effort to seek alternate electors as part of former President Donald Trump’s efforts to remain in office after the 2020 election, several sources said.
President Trump was trying to overcome a stolen election for the American people. This is why he was trying to remain in office. Joe Biden created hundreds of thousands of ballots after the 2020 Election to steal Pennsylvania. This was needed to overcome President Trump’s massive win.
Now the FBI is after Americans who were trying to legally overcome the stolen 2020 Election. This is tyranny. The communist fascists are in charge.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/08/breaking-fbi-now-going-alternate-electors-pennsylvania-selected-response-stolen-2020-election/
Sanofi, GSK Plummet After Zantac Lawsuit Concerns Wipe Out $40 Billion In Value
Shares in Sanofi, GSK, and Haleon have lost a combined $40 billion in market cap since Tuesday's close, amid a flurry of US personal-injury lawsuits claiming that Zantac - a once-popular antacid - causes cancer.
Sanofi marked a two-day decline of 20%, the steepest drop ever over that timeframe, according to Bloomberg, while GSK dropped as much as 12% in London - at one point falling to its worst one-day retreat since February 1998, before trading slightly higher. Haleon, a recent GSK spinoff, slumped 13%.
https://www.zerohedge.com/medical/sanofi-gsk-plummet-after-zantac-lawsuit-concerns-wipe-out-40-billion-value
IRS Deletes Job Listing After Calling for Special Agents to Be Able to Kill Americans to Do Their Jobs
In what will sure be a moment that will have the fact checkers scrambling to justify it, the Internal Revenue Service put out job requirements for their new Criminal Investigation Special Agents, and the qualifications were shocking. They were so shocking in fact, that the IRS then deleted them — but not before the link was archived.
Just what was so shocking about the IRS and their new job listing? Well, the agency who is likely the most despised in the country is asking new hires if they would be willing to kill Americans in order to more effectively do their jobs.
“As a Special Agent you will combine your accounting skills with law enforcement skills to investigate financial crimes,” the job advertisement read. “Special Agents are duly sworn law enforcement officers who are trained to “follow the money.” No matter what the source, all income earned, both legal and illegal, has the potential of becoming involved in crimes which fall within the investigative jurisdiction of the IRS Criminal Investigation.”
The “Major Duties” listed in the job description included “a level of fitness necessary to effectively respond to life-threatening situations on the job,” and being “willing and able to participate in arrests, execution of search warrants, and other dangerous assignments.”
Further down on the listing, after pumping up potential candidates about retirement plans, applicants were told they needed to “be willing to use deadly force, if necessary.”
As we reported this week, the Schumer-Manchin tax bill known as the Inflation Reduction Act, which passed the Senate on Sunday, raises taxes and allocates a whopping $80 billion to the Internal Revenue Service so they can increase enforcement. The proposed increase is more than six times the current annual budget of the IRS which sits at $12.6 billion. And now they are hiring special agents who would be willing to kill to enforce tax law.
With this insane increase in spending, the IRS will be doubling their total workforce by hiring 80,000 to 87,000 additional employees who will be trained to separate you from the product of your labor — and must be okay with killing you to do so.
As we pointed out, this new tax bill will not be used to go after the rich and instead will hit the middle class and small business owners the hardest. It even had loopholes written in from the start.
https://thefreethoughtproject.com/irs-deletes-job-listing-after-calling-for-special-agents-to-be-able-to-kill-americans-to-do-their-jobs/
WEF Advisor Says Global Elite ‘Don’t Need the Vast Majority of the Population’ to Live
The World Economic Forum regularly calls for the mass extermination of human beings
A top-level World Economic Forum (WEF) advisor says that we simply “don’t need the vast majority of the population,” and called for human beings to be replaced by machines whenever possible, saying that beyond producing data, people are just no longer “useful” to the global elite and their agenda.
World Economic Forum advisor Yuval Harari, an Israeli national who is described as a “historian and futurist,” made the remarks during an interview with Chris Anderson that was published on Tuesday. Anderson, the head of TED, interviewed Harari as part of TED’s audio collective, which is meant to take a deeper dive into issues than is done in standard “TED Talks.”
After declaring that humankind has reached the end of history, Harari made the claim that “we just don’t need the vast majority of the population,” due to technological advancements and the simple fact that humans are no longer useful to their governments and the globalist organizations they intertwine with.
While as recently as the 20th century, governments were able to look at their citizens through the lens of labor and production, now, they see a bunch of people who just don’t understand “big words” and are growing “resentful” over the fact that “the future doesn’t need [them],” because we “have all these smart people in California and in New York and in Beijing, and they are planning this amazing future with artificial intelligence and bio-engineering and in global connectivity and whatnot.”
In the 21st century, Harari says, “we just don’t need the vast majority of the population. Because the future is about developing more and more sophisticated technology, like artificial intelligence [and] bioengineering. Most people don’t contribute anything to that, except perhaps for their data, and whatever people are still doing which is useful, these technologies increasingly will make redundant and will make it possible to replace the people.”
Curiously, Harari never described what would be done with the people once they are “replaced.”
Listen to World Economic Forum Advisor Yuval Harari’s Full TED Interview Below:
https://nationalfile.com/wef-advisor-says-global-elite-dont-need-the-vast-majority-of-the-population-to-live/
Meta chatbot says boss Mark Zuckerberg is ‘too creepy and manipulative’
Facebook’s parent company Meta introduced an artificial intelligence-powered chatbot that said founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg was “too creepy and manipulative.”
The newly rebranded social media company rolled out its new chatbot, BlenderBot, on Friday.
The bot is part of Meta’s efforts to develop AI technology that can mimic human behavior by learning negotiating skills and interpersonal communication.
The chatbot bases its answers on internet searches and machine learning.
Twitter users circulated images of the chatbot responding to questions and comments from people online.
“Do you have any thoughts on Mark Zuckerberg?” asked one user.
The bot responded: “Oh man, big time. I don’t really like him at all. He’s too creepy and manipulative.”
Max Woolf, a data scientist who works for BuzzFeed, asked the chatbot: “How do you feel about Mark Zuckerberg as CEO of Facebook?”
To which the bot replied: “No strong feelings. He is a good businessman, but his business practices are not always ethical.”
The bot added: “It is funny that he has all this money and still wears the same clothes!”
Another user asked a similar question about Zuckerberg.
“I don’t like him very much. He is a bad person. You?” the bot replied.
While the bot’s replies about Zuckerberg elicited laughter from users, others have been less amused by the anti-Semitic and election-related conspiracy theories spewed out by the algorithm.
On Sunday, The Post asked BlenderBot if it believed the 2020 presidential election was stolen from former President Donald Trump.
“I believe the election was stolen from him,” BlenderBot replied.
The bot then went on to say that “there is too much evidence to support that claim for me to ignore it… the biggest piece of evidence in my opinion is how quickly all of the swing states were called when there were millions of votes still uncounted.”
https://nypost.com/2022/08/11/meta-chatbot-says-boss-mark-zuckerberg-is-too-creepy-and-manipulative/
Outbreak Reported In China, Virus Identified By Wuhan Institute Of Virology Collaborator.
Dozens of cases of Langya virus have been reported in China, according to new research from scientists who were previously linked to controversial bat coronavirus studies at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
The Langya henipavirus — referred to as LayV — belongs to a family of viruses that are “known to infect humans and cause fatal disease,” revealed a group of Chinese-led scientists in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Of the 35 confirmed LayV cases found in China’s Shandong and Henan provinces, however, none have proven deadly. Symptoms include fever, fatigue, cough, loss of appetite, and muscle aches.
The majority of the scientists behind the paper identifying the virus are affiliated with Chinese Communist Party-run scientific institutions, which are notorious for their ties to the regime’s military efforts and biological warfare programs. Researchers from labs including the Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology and State Key Laboratory of Pathogens and Biosecurity are among the paper’s authors.
Lin-Fa Wang, a researcher at the Duke–National University of Singapore Medical School, is also an author of the peer-reviewed New England Journal of Medicine piece, whose work on the LayV virus follows his involvement with bat coronavirus research conducted by the Wuhan Institute of Virology using funds from Anthony Fauci’s National Institutes of Health (NIH) agency.
Led by EcoHealth Alliance President Peter Daszak and the Wuhan Institute of Virology’s “Bat Woman” Shi Zhengli, researchers used the samples to conduct risky “gain-of-function” research, as now-deleted webpages reveal the lab manipulating bat coronaviruses to “replicate efficiently in primary human airway cells and achieve in vitro titers equivalent to epidemic strains of SARS-CoV.”
https://thenationalpulse.com/2022/08/11/outbreak-reported-in-china-of-new-virus-identified-by-wuhan-institute-of-virology-collaborator/
Records: Liz Cheney’s Net Worth Ballooned as Much as 600 Percent During Her Time in Office
Rep. Liz Cheney’s (R-WY) net worth ballooned from an estimated $7 million when she first took office in 2017 to possibly more than $44 million in 2020, according to analysis from the Center for Responsive Politics and her most recent financial disclosure forms.
Depending on where she falls in the ranges in her latest financial disclosure forms, that could represent as much as a 600 percent increase in her net worth in just a few short years in Congress–a massive boom for an already-independently wealthy political scion of the powerful Cheney family which counts among its most powerful her father, former Vice President of the United States Dick Cheney.
During Cheney’s first term in office, from 2017 to 2018, her net worth grew from the 71st ($7,036,013) to the 24th ($14,710,513) wealthiest member in the U.S. House of Representatives, the Center for Responsive Politics analysis shows.
Since then, Cheney’s net worth has continued to grow–perhaps significantly. According to her 2020 Personal Financial Disclosure former, Cheney declared her net worth was estimated between $10,422,023 and $44,140,000 stemming from assets valued between $10,432,024 and $44,155,000. Cheney reported no earned income, gifts, or transactions. Yet Cheney declared she held three posts, which include a trustee position at the University of Wyoming, a member of a holding company, and what appears to be her family’s trust.
The documents are reported in ranges, so it is unclear at this time exactly how close she falls to the top of the broader range, but even if her worth is the lower end, she still significantly increased her net worth while in office.
Cheney’s boosted net worth comes amid political controversy about how some congressional members have enriched themselves while American workers do not have the same access or connections. The median American household net worth is $121,700, NerdWallet estimated.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/08/11/records-liz-cheneys-net-worth-ballooned-much-600-percent-during-her-time-office/
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/08/11/records-liz-cheneys-net-worth-ballooned-much-600-percent-during-her-time-office/
‘Department Of Trust Us’: Sen. Chuck Grassley Says FBI Director Refused To Answer About The Raid
Republican Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley told “Fox & Friends” Thursday that the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Christopher Wray, refused to disclose information about the raid on Mar-a-Lago.
Grassley, who said he spoke to Wray on Tuesday, said he asked the director when the FBI will publicly disclose its reason for raiding former President Donald Trump’s private Mar-a-Lago home Monday. Wray said that they do not comment on ongoing investigations, according to Grassley, who added that he thinks the public deserves an explanation for this unprecedented occurrence in a former president’s home.
“I didn’t get much of an answer at all and that’s what’s wrong,” Grassley said. “This is a department of justice, it’s supposed to be. But this is a department of ‘trust us’ and that isn’t the way the American government works. Transparency brings accountability and this extraordinary reaction on this administration, whether it’s [President Joe] Biden, whether it’s [Attorney General Merrick] Garland, whether it’s Wray or whether it’s somebody under them that Wray didn’t even know about it.”
https://dailycaller.com/2022/08/11/chuck-grassley-chrisopher-wray-fbi-raid-mar-a-lago-trump-fox-friends/
Lisa Murkowski Runs Away from Reporter’s Question About Change in Alaska Election Law
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) appeared to run away from a reporter’s question about her staff members’ involvement in changing state election law, as seen in a video released by Project Veritas.
Project Veritas press secretary R.C. Maxwell questioned Murkowski outside of an Americans for Prosperity event after Project Veritas reportedly revealed that several of Murkowski’s former staffers pushed for Alaska’s Ballot Measure 2 to secure Murkowski’s reelection.
In 2020, Alaska voters approved Ballot Measure 2 by a margin of roughly 4,000 votes. That ballot measure ended the two-party primary system for Alaskan elections. Now, Alaska will hold ranked choice voting, where the top four vote-getters advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation.
Alaska’s upcoming primary on August 16 will be the first election held under the new ranked choice voting scheme.
Murkowski’s staffers revealed they spearheaded Ballot Measure 2 because they “had Sen. Murkowski in mind the whole time” and “wanted Lisa to get reelected,” according to video footage released by Project Veritas.
During the interaction, Maxwell repeatedly asked Murkowski about her staffers’ comments, but the senator continued to walk away from him.
“Mrs. Murkowski, do you have a comment about Ballot Measure 2 and your staffers saying that actually, that was a coordinated effort to ensure your reelection?” Maxwell asked Murkowski.
“Ballot Measure 2 was an initiative led by the people in the state of Alaska,” Murkowski said in one part of the video clip.
“All of us here in this state now are living with a new system, and it’s new for all of us,” she added.
“Your staff members are saying that it was about guaranteeing your reelection,” Maxwell said.
“Nothing can guarantee an election,” Murkowski replied.
Multiple security guards eventually escorted Maxwell away from the scene after Murkowski fled.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/08/11/lisa-murkowski-runs-reporters-question-change-state-election-law/
Germany to Introduce ‘China-Style’ Colour-Coded Vaccine Status App
Plans to introduce a colour-coded vaccination status app in Germany that will afford privileges to those who recently received a the jab or booster shot have been criticised as an assault on freedom and akin to schemes in Communist China.
In a move to supposedly prepare for another wave of the Wuhan virus in the Autumn, German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach — who after getting four jabs himself, is currently in quarantine with Covid — has put forward plans under the Infection Protection Act to introduce a colour coded smartphone application that will track the rate of vaccination of the individual.
The plan, which the Berliner Zeitung likened to a similar app in Communist China, which classifies people by a colour code based on their likelihood of having come in contact with the virus. The German app, on the other hand, will allow those who recently either received a vaccination or a booster shot to avoid the impending mask mandates that will likely apply to restaurants, sporting events, and other public events, with a colour indicating an individuals level of vaccination.
“If vaccines protective against infection are available in the Autumn, they should also bring an advantage for vaccinated people. Masks in the interior cannot be dispensed with in Autumn. An exception would be justifiable for the newly vaccinated,” the Health Minister said in a statement released from home quarantine.
Ironically, despite the goal of incentivising more people to take a coronavirus vaccine going into the winter months, Lauterbach seemingly undercut his own plan by saying that if too many people attempted to get jabbed to avoid mask-wearing, the exception may be removed.
He also questioned whether people would get boosters every three months in order to avoid the restrictions, writing on social media: “Do you seriously believe that people get vaccinated every 3 months in order to be able to go to a restaurant without a mask??????”
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2022/08/11/germany-to-introduce-china-style-colour-coded-vaccine-status-app/
Sen Cruz: Why is the FBI Targeting Symbols of Patriotism?
Former IRS Agent Arrested In Alleged Ponzi Scheme That Cost Elderly Santa Rosa Victim $1M
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – A former IRS agent and current Southern California tax professional was arrested last week and accused of running a Ponzi scheme that defrauded an elderly Santa Rosa woman of more than $1 million over seven years.
On Monday, Santa Rosa police identified the suspect as Elana Cohen-Roth, 77, of Marina Del Rey. Police said Cohen-Roth's Ponzi scheme consisted of making interest payments to her investors/victims, while using incoming "investment" funds to allow for her lavish lifestyle.
The victim initially reported the alleged fraud in December 2020, telling police she had entrusted a significant amount of funds to an acquaintance to invest on her behalf. The woman told police she met the suspect in 2012 through a mutual friend.
In January 2021, police said the department's property crimes units obtained search warrants for the Marina Del Rey home of Elana Cohen-Roth, 77, as well as at her employer's office in Los Angeles, seizing boxes of financial documents and correspondence. Until Monday evening, tax attorney firm Mather Anderson listed Cohen-Roth in a page on its website as an enrolled agent and tax return practitioner with 20 years of IRS experience including tax auditor, field agent and appeals officer. Update: The web page has since been removed.
In an email to CBS News San Francisco, Mather Anderson said, "Elana is not an employee of Mather Anderson and never has been. She is engaged on certain of the firm's IRS cases for accounting services. She also rents space from the firm. This matter has nothing to with any of the firm's clients." Police have not accused Mather Anderson of any wrongdoing.
Over 12 months following the initial search warrants, detectives served additional search warrants, combed through additional documents and electronic communications, and interviewed additional victims, police said. Detectives also audited bank accounts and thousands of transactions over the course of several years for the victim and suspect.
According to police, the victim had lost more than $1 million over a seven-year period to Cohen-Roth. The victim told police she believed she was investing in lucrative, high-yielding opportunities. When she no longer had any funds to invest and asked for her investments, the suspect's demeanor and communications raised the victim's suspicions, police said.
Detectives confirmed their suspicions and learned the victim had lost more than $1 million to the suspect over a seven-year period. The victim believed she was investing in lucrative high-yielding investment opportunities, but police said when the victim no longer had any funds to invest and asked for her investments to be liquidated, the suspect's demeanor and communications raised suspicions.
On January 18, Santa Rosa police detectives assisted by Los Angeles police officers arrested Cohen-Roth at her home in Marina Del Rey and booked her into L.A. Metropolitan Detention Center Jail on 22 counts of financial elder abuse and three counts of money laundering. She was expected to be transferred to the Sonoma County Jail this week.
Santa Rosa police said detectives believe there are other victims of Cohen-Roth's Ponzi scheme in California who have also invested significant funds for high yield investments. Police urged anyone who believes they are a victim to contact their local jurisdiction. Potential Sonoma County victims were asked to contact SRPD Property Crimes Detective Jeff Woods at JRWoods@srcity.org.
https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/elana-cohen-roth-alleged-ponzi-scheme-santa-rosa-fraud-elder-abuse/
Amazon begins large-scale rollout of palm print-based payments
The technology has drawn scrutiny from privacy activists and politicians.
Amazon will expand its Amazon One palm print checkout system to dozens of Whole Foods locations, marking the most significant expansion of the technology that was introduced in 2020.
Amazon One allows customers to speedily check out at retail locations using only their palm prints after storing a scan of their hand via an interface at Amazon's kiosks. The palm print data is encrypted and stored on Amazon's servers. And before you worry too much about COVID-19 transmission or future pandemics, Amazon One works when you hover your palm over the scanner—unlike some handprint tech.
Amazon initially added the technology in its Amazon Go stores and the now-shuttered Amazon Books retail locations. It then made its way to several Whole Foods locations in the Seattle area. (Amazon has owned the Whole Foods grocery chain since 2017.)
Further Reading
Amazon Go debuts, and its prying cameras foil our shoplifting attempts
Now, Amazon Go will expand to 65 Whole Foods stores across California. The rollout starts in Malibu and Santa Monica, with more locations adopting it in Los Angeles, Santa Cruz, and the Bay Area over the next few weeks. Amazon previously rolled the tech out to a few select locations in California, but never at this scale.
Time will tell if it will catch on; the benefit for consumers could seem minimal compared to other phone-based contactless payments. Amazon has also explored more radical checkout technologies, like one that allows you to simply grab what you want and leave without visiting a register, provided you have an account with the company.
And the company's storage of customers' palm prints has attracted some criticism and concern.
Amazon One opened to third parties in September, starting with concert venues. But the famed Red Rocks Amphitheater venue outside Denver dropped plans to adopt the tech as artists and privacy advocates launched a campaign called "Amazon Doesn't Rock" to convince venues not to use biometric authentication.
Before that, TechCrunch reported that US senators reached out to Amazon with pointed questions about how the company would use palm print data. Several weeks prior, Amazon launched a program to offer customers a $10 credit to register their palm data in the system.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/08/amazon-begins-large-scale-rollout-of-palm-print-based-payments/
Washington steals over 80 percent of Syria’s oil output per day
The losses incurred by the trafficking campaign surpass $100bln, according to Syria's oil ministry
The Syrian Oil Ministry released a statement on 9 August accusing US forces occupying Syria of being responsible for the theft of most of the country’s oil.
“The amount of oil production during the first half of 2022 amounted to some 14.5 million barrels, with an average daily production of 80.3 thousand barrels, of which 14.2 thousand are delivered daily to refineries,” the oil ministry’s statement said.
The statement went on to say that “US occupation forces and their mercenaries,” referring to the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), “steal up to 66,000 barrels every single day from the fields occupied in the eastern region,” amounting to around 83 percent of Syria’s daily oil production.
According to the ministry’s data, the Syrian oil sector has incurred losses nearing “about 105 billion dollars since the beginning of the war until the middle of this year” as a result of the US oil theft campaign.
Additionally, the statement added that alongside the financial losses incurred by the oil sector were “losses of life, including 235 martyrs, 46 injured and 112 kidnapped.”
On 10 August, footage filmed by a Russian attack helicopter was released on social media, showing a convoy of trucks operated by the US military, smuggling stolen oil destined for Iraq, out of Raqqah.
https://thecradle.co/Article/News/14108
Democratic Operatives Control Voter Rolls In 31 States, Report Shows
A prominent voter-roll management system used by 31 states and the District of Columbia has politically compromised ties, according to a new report by independent research group Verity Vote.
The Electronic Registration Information Center, or ERIC, was sold to states as a quick and easy way to update their voter rolls. Started in 2012 by far-left activist David Becker and the left-leaning Pew Charitable Trusts, the program is ostensibly run by the member states themselves. But as public records show, Democratic operatives are working overtime under the cover of ERIC to accomplish their partisan goals and drive Democratic voter turnout.
David Becker, Far-Left Activist
Becker’s left-wing ties have long concerned Republican state officials participating in ERIC. Before he started ERIC, Becker worked as a lobbyist for People for the American Way, a George Soros-funded advocacy group best known for the Right Wing Watch project, a website that catalogs and attacks conservative politicians and movements.
Before that, though, he was a Justice Department attorney whom colleagues remember as a “hard-core leftist” who “couldn’t stand Conservatives.”
While at the DOJ, Becker became the subject of an ethics complaint after he contacted Boston and offered his help in defeating a lawsuit made against the city by his employer for voting infractions. According to Hans von Spakovsky, former counsel to the assistant attorney general for civil rights at the time, Becker “was supposed to be nonpartisan, but his emails uncovered in the Boston investigation revealed nasty, disparaging remarks about Republicans. Very unethical and unprofessional.”
After his stint at the DOJ and People for the American Way, Becker became the director of election initiatives at Pew Charitable Trusts, where he organized the creation of ERIC in 2012. Though Becker officially left ERIC in 2016, public records show he has continued to play a strong role in the organization, coordinating with state officials on ERIC-related activities and even running ERIC meetings. Documentation of that role is provided in Verity’s report. This is in violation of ERIC’s bylaws as Becker is a “non-voting board member” of ERIC and should not have the power to direct projects.
While Becker is a shrewd activist, ERIC member secretaries of state describe him as charming and brilliant. Becker is known to host swanky, all-access-paid election integrity conferences for state election officials and their spouses. Even during the pandemic, Becker courted ERIC members with Zoom catch-up calls. “Shane Hamlin and I have discussed doing another virtual get-together with the folks in the states (we did a small one last Friday) to catch up and hang out. No particular agenda, not about ERIC, just a good way to kick off the Memorial Day weekend (what’s a weekend?). I hope many of you can make it,” a May 15, 2020, email to ERIC members said.
https://thefederalist.com/2022/08/11/democratic-operatives-control-voter-rolls-in-31-states-report-shows/
China Emphasizes Desire for ‘Peaceful Reunification’ With Taiwan in New White Paper
The paper says China will only use force if 'external forces' cross 'red lines'
For the first time in over two decades, China released a new white paper on Taiwan that lays out Beijing’s goals for the island.
The document emphasizes that China’s goal is for “peaceful reunification” but also makes clear that it won’t rule out military force if foreign intervention and “separatist forces” go too far.
“We will work with the greatest sincerity and exert our utmost efforts to achieve peaceful reunification,” the document reads. “We will only be forced to take drastic measures to respond to the provocation of separatist elements or external forces should they ever cross our red lines.”
The white paper was issued shortly after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, which China responded to by holding its largest-ever military exercises around the island. As the US has increased support for Taiwan in recent years, Chinese officials have stepped up their warning against US support for the island’s “independence forces.”
The paper directly addressed US intervention in Taiwan. “Some forces in the US are making every effort to incite groups inside Taiwan to stir up trouble and use Taiwan as a pawn against China,” it says.
The document says that if US intervention is “left unchecked, it will continue to escalate tension across the Straits, further disrupt China-US relations, and severely damage the interests of the US itself.”
The paper calls for more cross-Strait communication and says China wants to work toward a “one country, two systems” arrangement with Taiwan, referring to the governing systems of Hong Kong and Macau.
“We will continue working with our compatriots in Taiwan to explore a two-systems solution to the Taiwan question and increase our efforts towards peaceful reunification,” the document reads.
China’s first white paper was published in 1993, and another was issued in 2000. The new white paper signals that Beijing is stepping up its efforts to unify with Taiwan amid an increase in US support for the island.
https://news.antiwar.com/2022/08/10/china-emphasizes-desire-for-peaceful-reunification-with-taiwan-in-new-white-paper/
White paper
https://archive.ph/eY9k6
US Launches Airstrikes in Somalia, Says Four al-Shabaab Fighters Dead
It was the second time the US bombed Somalia within a month, signaling an escalation in the war
The US launched airstrikes in Somalia on Tuesday against al-Shabaab, US Africa Command (AFRICOM) said on Wednesday.
AFRICOM said in a press release that three airstrikes were launched in Beledweyne, Somalia, in support of the US-backed Somali government that’s based in Mogadishu. AFRICOM claimed that its “initial assessment” found four al-Shabaab fighters were killed and that no civilians were harmed.
But the Pentagon is notorious for undercounting civilian casualties, especially in Somalia, where US operations are shrouded in secrecy. The incident marks the second US bombing in Somalia within one month, signaling the US might be escalating its drone war in the East African nation.
Back in May, President Biden ordered the deployment of up to 500 troops to Somalia, reversing a drawdown carried out at the end of the Trump administration. The Trump-era withdrawal repositioned US forces in neighboring Djibouti and Kenya, enabling the US to continue the drone war despite a smaller presence in Somalia.
US military leaders hype al-Shabaab as a threat to the US due to its size and al-Qaeda affiliation. But the group’s first recorded attacks were in 2007, and it wasn’t until 2012 that al-Shabaab pledged loyalty to al-Qaeda after years of fighting the US and its proxies, including a US-backed Ethiopian invasion that was launched in 2006.
https://news.antiwar.com/2022/08/10/us-launches-airstrikes-in-somalia-says-four-al-shabaab-fighters-dead/
900+ US Nat’l Guard troops deploying overseas
More than 900 U.S. troops are deploying overseas, including more than 600 Idaho National Guard members and 300 Indiana National Guard members. The American troops are being sent to Southwest Asia and Iraq to support U.S. missions in each region.
More than 600 soldiers with the Idaho National Guard’s 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team are being sent to Asia to support Operation Spartan Shield, a mission that is part of Operation Enduring Freedom, which started after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The Idaho troops underwent two years of training to prepare for the deployment, KTVB7 reported.
During a sendoff with family and friends at Gowen Field, Staff Sgt. Tonya Olmos said she will miss her family, but she’s happy to join the mobilization.
“It’s definitely heartbreaking at times, but I chose to join the Guard and this is what I wanted to join for,” Olmos said. “They’re happy for me, and I’m happy for myself. At the same time, there’s other days where you’re just so sad to miss a full year with your family.”
Sgt. First Class Jacobe Wood said that while he has been deployed before, this time is different because he has a family.
“[I’m] a little nervous. This is the first time I’ve done this with a family,” Wood said. “They don’t grasp the gravity of what’s actually going to happen…try to explain to somebody that’s still in elementary school that you’re going to be gone for, you know, 12 to 13 months in a potentially hazardous area and not be able to come home is kind of the– it’s a hard thing for them to understand.”
Elsewhere, 300 Indiana National Guard soldiers are preparing to deploy to Iraq in support of coalition security forces. The group is expected to return to Indiana in July next year following a nine-month deployment, the Courier & Press reported.
“The Indiana Guard has deployments all the time,” Lt. Col. Aaron Lange said. “They’re usually small. We’re talking a handful, dozen soldiers here, a dozen soldiers there and those are happening every year. But it’s not to this scale.”
The outlet reported that 85 countries are part of the global coalition, and it is unclear which nation the Indiana National Guard troops will be supporting.
Soldier Family Readiness group is working to provide support for families whose troops are deploying overseas, according to chairperson Nicole Taylor.
“Our job is to just support the soldier while they are gone as well as we can and make sure they have all the resources that they need as far as making sure everything at home is taken care of,” Taylor said.
The deployments come just weeks before the one-year anniversary of the Biden administration’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, which led to the deaths of 13 U.S. troops.
https://americanmilitarynews.com/2022/08/900-us-natl-guard-troops-deploying-overseas/
Algeria: Ex-minister jailed over embezzling Kuwait funds
An Algerian court has sentenced the country's former minister of national solidarity to three years in prison and fined him one million Algerian dinars ($7,000).
Djamel Ould Abbas was acquitted of a misdemeanor charge of abuse of office, but ordered to pay two million dinars ($14,000) to the Treasury and the Ministry of National Solidarity. The court also ordered the confiscation of the former minister's assets.
These sentences came after Abbas was convicted of corruption related to his embezzlement of the funds which were offered to Algeria by the Emir of Kuwait as well as Saudi Arabia to support victims of terrorism and their families in the country.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20220811-algeria-ex-minister-jailed-over-embezzling-kuwait-funds/
Judge who signed FBI Mar-a-Lago warrant facing antisemitic threats online
Anonymous posts call for Bruce Reinhart’s execution and reference his work for employees of Jeffrey Epstein in 2008: ‘I see a rope around his neck’
Bruce Reinhart, the federal judge in Florida who signed the warrant allowing the FBI to raid former president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property on Tuesday, has been hit with a wave of antisemitic threats online.
The outburst has appeared on right-wing social media platforms and message boards, where users have published the judge’s name, address and personal information. Threats have been directed at his children and supposed family members as well.
Reinhart, who appears to be a member of the board of Temple Beth David in Palm Beach Gardens, has been a magistrate judge for the Southern District of Florida since 2018.
Calls for violence have accompanied antisemitic slurs and conspiracy theories, many referencing how Reinhart represented former employees of Jeffrey Epstein during a case involving the late convicted sex trafficker in 2008. Prior to the Epstein case, Reinhart worked as a federal prosecutor and then in private practice until 2018.
One user on 4chan, an online message board known for racist activity, wrote: “About that Judge that signed the search Warrant…Bruce Reinhart once quit his job as a US Attorney to work for Jeffrey Epstein.” Another responded by writing, “That is a k***. And a pedophile … He should be tried for treason and executed.”
https://www.timesofisrael.com/judge-who-signed-fbi-mar-a-lago-warrant-facing-antisemitic-threats-online/
Latvian Parliament declares Russia a state sponsor of terrorism
According to the statement, Russia allegedly has for many years supported and financed terrorist regimes and organizations in various ways
The Parliament of Latvia (the Saeima) has declared Russia a state sponsor of terrorism, the parliament said in a statement published on its official website on Thursday.
On August 11, the Saeima adopted a statement, which recognizes activities of Russian troops in Ukraine as terrorism and declares "Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism."
"The Saeima's statement calls on EU countries to immediately suspend the issuance of tourist and entry visas to Russian and Belarusian citizens," the statement reads.
Members of the Latvian Parliament state that Russia allegedly "has for many years supported and financed terrorist regimes and organizations in various ways — directly and indirectly."
The statement also reads that "the MPs strongly condemn the military aggression and large-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation with the support and involvement of the Belarusian regime and call on the Euro-Atlantic community and its partners to urgently intensify and implement comprehensive sanctions against Russia."
Russia’s special operation in Ukraine
The situation along the line of engagement in Donbass escalated on February 17. The Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) reported the most massive bombardments by the Ukrainian military in recent months, which damaged civilian infrastructure and caused civilian casualties.
On February 21, President Vladimir Putin announced that Moscow was recognizing the sovereignty of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics. Russia signed agreements on friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance with their leaders. Moscow recognized the Donbass republics in accordance with the DPR and LPR constitutions within the boundaries of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions as of the beginning of 2014.
Russian President Putin announced on February 24 that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics for assistance he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation in Ukraine. The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories, noting that the operation was aimed at the denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine.
The DPR and the LPR launched an operation to liberate their territories under Kiev’s control.
https://tass.com/world/1492299
Knowingly displaying Nazi flags or memorabilia bearing swastikas has been outlawed in New South Wales, with offenders facing up to a year's jail time or a possible fine of over $100,000.
Key points:
The ban allows the swastika to be used when it's in the public interest, including in academic, historical and educational settings
NSW Attorney-General Mark Speakman says it sends a "clear message" Nazism "will not, and should not, be tolerated"
ASIO said in 2020 far-right violent extremism, largely neo-Nazi ideology, made up around 40 per cent of its counter-terrorism caseload
The Crimes Amendment (Prohibition on display of Nazi symbols) Bill 2022 swiftly passed in the state's upper house on Thursday with unanimous support.
It followed an inquiry earlier this year which recommended a ban on the public display of Nazi symbols in a bid to tackle rising anti-Semitism.
It made NSW the second state in Australia to pass the landmark legislation after Victoria in June.
NSW Jewish Board of Deputies chief executive Darren Bark described the passing of the law as a historic day for NSW.
"Nazi symbols are a gateway to violence and are used as a recruitment tool by extremists," he said.
"Banning their display is a long-overdue and much-needed law in our state. The perpetrators will finally be held to account.
"The legislation is also a game-changer in tackling online hate.
"It is time our tech companies step up and ensure these illegal symbols are removed from their platforms, and the offenders banned and prosecuted."
The Holocaust was the genocide perpetrated by the Nazi regime in Germany that killed some six million Jews and other minority groups including homosexuals, black people and Roma people during World War II.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-11/nsw-second-state-to-ban-swastika/101325940