GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik is Listed as a Member of the World Economic Forum on the Group’s Website

Before the media called her “right-wing,” GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik worked for the Bush Administration and Paul Ryan. She’s also linked to the globalist World Economic Forum.

GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik is listed as a member of the shadowy World Economic Forum on the group’s website, in a profile that is accompanied by a glowing biography. Stefanik is a lifelong GOP insider who started working with the Bush Administration shortly after graduating from Harvard and replaced Liz Cheney when she was ousted as GOP Conference Chair.

“Congresswoman Elise Stefanik proudly represents New York’s 21st District in the House of Representatives,” her World Economic Forum profile and accompanying biography read. “She was elected by her freshman peers in the 114th Congress to serve as the Freshman Representative on the Policy Committee.”

The profile does not appear to have been updated since the election of AOC, breaking Stefanik’s record as the youngest woman ever elected to Congress, and reports that Stefanik is “proudly the youngest woman ever elected to Congress in United States history.”

Thereafter, the profile explains her deep ties to the GOP establishment, as if to build up her “street cred” within the World Economic Forum’s globalist community.

“In 2012, Elise served as Director of Vice Presidential Debate Prep to Paul Ryan. From 2006-2009, Elise served in the West Wing of the White House as part of President George W. Bush’s Domestic Policy Council Staff and in the Chief of Staff’s office,” the bio explains. “She graduated with honors from Harvard University.”

Though she was elected in 2014 as a “moderate” and has supported far-left legislation like the so-called “Equality Act,” which would open girls’ restrooms to men nationwide, corporate media has dubbed Rep. Stefanik a right-wing conservative. Unfortunately, her political history and WEF associations indicate otherwise.

Led by Klaus Schwab, the billionaire son of a major Third Reich Industrialist, the World Economic Forum has gained extreme influence over governments around the world and is accused of engineering the recent collapse of Sri Lanka. According to their own public plans, the WEF says that they intend to “capture” various offices in government to expand and consolidate their influence over the globe.

The WEF has promoted population control to the tune of exterminating billions of people. Recently, top WEF advisor Yuval Harari made headlines for announcing that the global elite “don’t need the vast majority of the population” to be alive and said that most humans are only needed for the data they produce. In an interview, Harari boasted that soon, people will wear “biometric sensors” at all times, allowing the CCP and Big Tech to monitor every breath they take.

https://nationalfile.com/gop-rep-elise-stefanik-is-listed-as-a-member-of-the-world-economic-forum-on-the-groups-website/

Russian Oil Oligarch Who Criticized Ukraine War 'Falls' Out Of Hospital Window To His Death

Ravil Maganov, the vice president and chair of the board of directors of Russian oil giant Lukoil, died after falling out of a sixth floor hospital window in Moscow on Thursday, state-controlled media reported.

Maganov was in Moscow's Central Clinical Hospital - reportedly a top-notch medical facility that serves senior Russian officials and other elite clients - when he "fell out of the window" and died from his injuries, an unnamed "informed source" told Russian news agency Interfax.

The state news agency RIA Novosti followed up with confirmation from a representative of the presidential administration, which manages the hospital campus. A law enforcement source told the outlet that the death was likely a suicide.

Maganov's death comes hours after the US Justice Department announced a warrant to seize a $45 million Boeing aircraft belonging to Lukoil.

Perhaps most notably, Maganov's death comes almost six months to the day after Lukoil released a statement expressing "deepest concerns" about Putin's war in Ukraine.

Falling short of naming it as an invasion - which is outlawed in Russia - the statement was nonetheless a striking departure from the Kremlin's messaging.

Lukoil confirmed Maganov's death, stating that it came "after a lengthy serious illness," and there is speculation that the 67-year-old may have taken his own life after receiving bad news about his condition.

However, as Insider notes, Maganov's death is the latest in a string of unexplained or untimely deaths of Russian magnates connected to the energy industry in the last months.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/russian-oil-oligarch-who-criticized-ukraine-war-falls-out-hospital-window-his-death

Biden White House Colluded With Big Tech To Censor COVID Info, Emails Prove.

Officials from the Biden White House and other federal agencies have repeatedly colluded with social media companies, including Twitter and Facebook, on censoring COVID-19 stories.

The relationship between the federal government and major social media platforms was unearthed through a lawsuit filed by Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt and Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry in May.

Though more documents and emails are expected to be revealed as a result of the lawsuit, currently available communications obtained by the offices of the Attorneys General already show a deep relationship between 45 officials from the Department of Homeland Security, Center for Disease Control, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Office of the Surgeon General, and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

Officials from the aforementioned agencies have communicated with social media platforms on issues such as COVID-19 “misinformation” and, in response, censorship.

“The discovery provided so far demonstrates that this Censorship Enterprise is extremely broad, including officials in the White House, HHS, DHS, CISA, the CDC, NIAID, and the Office of the Surgeon General; and evidently other agencies as well, such as the Census Bureau, the FDA, the FBI, the State Department, the Treasury Department, and the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. And it rises to the highest levels of the U.S. Government, including numerous White House officials,” explained the Attorneys General.

Examples of emails obtained via the lawsuit include a senior Facebook official emailing the Surgeon General stating, “I know our teams met today to better understand the scope of what the White House expects from us on misinformation going forward.”

The same senior official sent an additional email to the Department of Health and Human Services, noting, “Thanks again for taking the time to meet earlier today.” Then, the official continued to discuss the measures Facebook was implementing to address COVID-19 “misinformation,” including mass removal of pages and individuals from the platform.

https://thenationalpulse.com/2022/09/01/emails-show-federal-government-colluded-on-covid-censorship/

Over 50 Biden Administration Employees, 12 US Agencies Involved in Social Media Censorship Push: Documents

Government lawyers only identified 45 officials at five agencies—the Department of Homeland Security, CISA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and Murthy’s office—who communicated with social media companies on misinformation, but documents they produced showed others were involved, including officials at the Census Bureau and the Departments of Treasury and State.

Responses from the Big Tech companies also revealed more officials involved with the effort.

Meta has disclosed that at least 32 federal officials, including top officials at the White House and the Food and Drug Administration, were in communication with it about content moderation. Many of the officials were not identified in the response by the government.

YouTube disclosed 11 officials not disclosed by the government and Twitter identified nine, including senior officials at the State Department.

“The discovery provided so far demonstrates that this Censorship Enterprise is extremely broad,” plaintiffs said, adding later that “it rises to the highest levels of the U.S. Government, including numerous White House officials.”

Additionally, the FBI was not identified even though the agency recently said, after Meta CEO revealed that the bureau reached out before the 2020 election, that it routinely issues communications to social media companies.

More discovery is needed to uncover the full breadth of the pressure campaign, plaintiffs told the judge overseeing the case.

https://www.ntd.com/over-50-biden-administration-employees-12-us-agencies-involved-in-social-media-censorship-push-documents_834141.html

Co-Founder Of Hedge Fund Backed By Soros Arrested For FX Manipulation

30 years ago, George Soros made $1 billion on a FX trade that many said then smacked of manipulation and the Hungarian was lucky to avoid arrest. Today, his protege was not so lucky.

Neil Phillips, the co-founder and CIO of UK-based hedge fund Glen Point Capital was charged with scheming to manipulate the FX market, the DOJ revealed in an unsealed indictment this morning. The 52-year-old was arrested in Spain on a request from the US earlier this week; he was charged with conspiring to manipulate the US dollar-South African rand (USD/ZAR) exchange rate during thin volume trading on Christmas Day 2017 to trigger a $20 million payment under a barrier options contract.

Glen Point had about $1.5 billion in capital at the start of the year and was originally started by former BlueBay fund managers Jonathan Fayman and Phillips, who ran a $1.4 billion macro hedge fund at BlueBay from 2009 to 2014. The fund was seeking to sell itself to hedge fund Eisler Capital - run by former co-head of Goldman's global securities unit Ed Eisler - as recently as March, but the deal fell apart "due to disagreement over the level of risk Glen Point’s fund could take". The two London-based firms started in 2015 and trace their roots back to macro trading. Eisler has been expanding into other strategies in a bid to compete with industry giants such as Millennium Management and Citadel for capital and talent.

Glen Point received its seed capital from billionaire George Soros, an famous FX and macro trader himself, who is one of the fund's original backers.

According to prosecutors, Phillips bought a digital option for the USD/ZAR currency pair in late October 2017 that was set to expire on Jan. 2, 2018. The option had a notional value of $20 million and a barrier rate of 12.50 ZAR to USD, and entitled the fund to a $20 million payment if the rate went below 12.50 before the expiration date.

With the option set to expire, Phillips began making spot trades in an effort to push the exchange rate lower late on Christmas Day, while directing a Singapore-based employee of an unidentified bank to sell $725 million in exchange for more than 9 million in South African rand, according to prosecutors. That pushed the exchange rate below the trigger, allowing Phillips to collect more than $15.6 million from the deal, according to the statement.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/co-founder-hedge-fund-backed-soros-arrested-fx-manipulation

Taiwan Shoots Down Drone Off Chinese Coast For The First Time

After two prior episodes in as many consecutive days which saw Taiwan military outposts on outlying islands fire warning shots against intruding unidentified drones, a fresh incident Thursday has resulted in an unidentified civilian drone being shot down near the Chinese mainland.

"The Jinmen Defense Command of the Army stated that at 12:30 p.m. today, an unidentified civilian aerial camera was found to enter the airspace over the restricted waters of Shiyu Island," Taiwan's Defense Ministry said. "The Ministry of Defense will continue to search, monitor, and monitor closely to maintain the security of the defence area."

Like the prior incidents which just resulted in warning shots, the drone entered restricted waters near one of the Kinmen islands just off the Chinese mainland.

Thursday's drone shootdown took place a distance of a mere minutes by boat ride from the Chinese coast, which has caused some pundits to question whether these incidents have involved civilian operated hobby drones from the mainland's Fujian.

Shi Islet is the smallest Taiwanese island which has long had military personnel stationed on it, and is virtually a rock sticking out of the sea lying just northwest of Taiwan's Lesser Kinmen.

As Reuters details, this is being widely viewed as likely part of a stepped-up Chinse harassment and pressure campaign against Taiwan since Nancy Pelosi's August 2nd visit:

Since mid-August, a number of civilian drones have been spotted flying over the outlying island of Kinmen, 180 kilometres from Taiwan's main island but less than 10 kilometres from China. On one occasion, on August 16, two Taiwanese soldiers wearing masks reportedly threw rocks at a Chinese drone when it flew above their military post.

The Kinmen Defence Command said two other Chinese drones were detected at Little Kinmen island and nearby Lion islet on Saturday and Monday respectively. The one that passed over Lion islet at around 4 pm was flying very low, only 30 meters from the ground, it said.

China has increased its antics in the Taiwan Strait since the visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Taiwan is warning that its military won't hesitate to exercise right of self-defense and to counter-attack in the event of Chinese forces entering its territory.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/taiwan-shoots-down-intrusive-civilian-drone-chinas-coast

House Oversight Committee Reaches Deal to Get Trump’s Financial Records

The Democrat-led House Oversight Committee announced Thursday that it reached an agreement with former President Donald Trump’s attorneys and required his accounting company to hand over his financial records to the panel.

“After numerous court victories, I am pleased that my Committee has now reached an agreement to obtain key financial documents that former President Trump fought for years to hide from Congress,” House Oversight Chairwoman Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) said in a statement Thursday about the deal.

It means, according to Maloney, that accounting firm Mazars USA will hand over “critical documents” that will “inform the Committee’s efforts” in its investigation into Trump. Maloney did not provide any more details, including the contours of the settlement, and Trump’s team has not yet issued a public statement on the matter.

“Under the agreement reached by the Committee, former President Trump has agreed not to further appeal the D.C. Circuit’s ruling, and Mazars USA has agreed to comply with the court’s order and produce responsive documents to the Committee as expeditiously as possible,” the Oversight Committee said in the statement.

The Epoch Times has contacted Trump’s team for comment.

https://www.ntd.com/house-oversight-committee-reaches-deal-to-get-trumps-financial-records_834108.html

Legality questioned of mass-surveillance tool that warrantlessly tracks US citizens and their 'patterns of life'

The cellphone tracking tool Fog Reveal has been utilized by law enforcement agencies across the U.S. to track American citizens and study their movement. The tool — to which access is secured by way of subscription — helps investigators and others bypass cellphone companies and internet service providers when seeking users' historical GPS data. Fog Reveal has also been used to track citizens without search warrants, prompting some to question whether it violates the Fourth Amendment.

Fog Data Science is a Virginia-based company founded by Robert Liscouski, the former head of the Department of Homeland Security's National Cyber Security Division. The company buys geolocation data collected by a variety of cellphone apps such as Waze, Tinder, or Starbucks and time-stamped through wifi, Bluetooth, and cell towers. It visually renders this data intelligible and accessible to subscribers via its Fog Reveal interface, on which members of law enforcement and private-sector clients can search a mobile device's location data by time and place.

The third-party apps installed on phones by users are critical to the data capture. According to company documents acquired by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) through Freedom of Information Act requests, "Based on each mobile device manufacturer's operating system configuration and the user's security settings, these apps can continuously broadcast the [Advertisement Identification Number] and location information for these mobile devices."

Following devices through their advertising IDs (AINs) rather than the users' names, Fog Reveal can pinpoint a device as well as historically detail a person's routine or "pattern of life." A given target's links to other individuals, places, and devices can also be established using this tool.

The Chino Police Department, for instance, used the tool to determine, through the process of elimination and investigation, which mobile device belonged to a particular suspect. They subsequently ascertained where the suspect was before the commission of an alleged crime and where he traveled to after the fact.

Fog Data Science has access to 250 million digital devices in the U.S. monthly, 15 billion signals collected daily, and the ability to mine data pertaining to patterns of life reaching back two years.

Fog Data's "investigative process" consists of four steps:

"Enter the address, date and time of the incident, and then search";

"Review the results of signals displaying what Smart Devices are present";

"Run a 180 day pattern of life on Smart Devices of interest"; and

"Identify the Smart Devices 'bed-downs' or other locations of interest."

Just as the company does not require police officers to obtain a warrant or other court order to acquire this data, many police departments reportedly do not require their officers to get a warrant.

The EEF suggested that this data capture and utilization is illegal, citing the 2018 case Carpenter v. United States, where "the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Fourth Amendment requires police to get a warrant before seizing historical location data, called 'cell site location information,' from phone companies."

Accordingly, the seizure and warrantless purchase of Americans' location data would similarly run afoul of the Constitution.

It is not entirely clear, however, whether Fog's quasi-anonymous mass-collection of data constitutes a violation, especially in light of the high court's narrow ruling.

https://www.theblaze.com/news/mass-surveillance-tool-used-warrantlessly-may-violate-4th-amendment

Dutch Govt Refuses to Budge on Green Agenda Timeline in Second Meeting with Farmers

The Dutch government said that the timeline for the implementation of draconian climate standards is not up for discussion in the second meeting between the cabinet and representatives of farmers’ organisations on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s handpicked “mediator” between the government and the Dutch farmers, former Hague mayor Johan Remkes said that the proposed timeline of cutting nitrogen emissions by 50 per cent by 2030 is not on the table, according to public broadcaster Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS).

This comes despite the leader of the centre-right Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and Deputy Prime Minister Wopke Hoekstra previously declaring that the 2030 deadline was not “sacred”, leading farmers’ representatives to believe that the timeline for the EU-driven agenda would be up for discussion in the meeting on Wednesday.

Bart Kemp of the farmer action group Agractie — which refused to attend the first meeting with the government over the refusal to discuss the timeline — said prior the sit down: “We have to start from the drawing board… It is now up to the cabinet to show that they want to take action and make a start on restoring trust. A game for the stage, we are not falling for that.”

“I get the feeling more and more that talking about the goals and the conditions is just wasting time,” farmer Tineke van den Berg said following the meeting.

The globalist Rutte government has argued that it needs to reduce emmissions of nitrogen, which livestock emit naturally, in order to fullfil requirements for the European Union’s Natura 2000 agenda, which designates vulnerable habitats for both animals and plants that must be protected. The government has said that it will need to cut emissions by 50 per cent by 2030, with some areas needing to be cut by between 70 and 95 per cent, threatening the ability for many farms to remain open.

Meanwhile in Germany, mass farmer tractor protests were staged throughout the country on Wednesday, from Stuttgart to Saxony, with demonstrations against the government’s plan to limit critical pesticides, including organic products, in order to once again fullfill the mandates of the European Union’s Natura 2000 “protected habitat” agenda.

As in the Netherlands, where the nitrogen emissions cap could see up to 30 per cent of livestock farms shut down, farmers in Germany warned that the ban on pesticides could result in many local fruit and vegetable farms shut down, as well as larger agricultural farms, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported.

It follows a similar farmers’ protest in Belgium on Monday evening, in which farmers attempted to break into the city hall of Hoogstraten after the local council ignored the overwhelming opinion of the public and signed off on the Flemish government’s plan to impose similar nitrogen emissions standards to The Netherlands.

The collapse of the talks between the Dutch farmers and the government will likely result in further protests, with farmers previously blockading key infrastructure with tractors as well as blocking highways with burning bales of hay and piles of tyres to demonstrate their frustration over the government’s assault on their industry.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2022/09/01/dutch-govt-refuses-to-budge-on-green-agenda-timeline-in-second-meeting-with-farmers/

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2022/09/01/dutch-govt-refuses-to-budge-on-green-agenda-timeline-in-second-meeting-with-farmers/

Meloni Launches Manifesto Promising To Halt Illegal Migration and Support Italian Birth Rates

Polls show a steady lead for the right-wing alliance in the September 25 Italian elections, with Meloni’s conservatives promising aid to families to stem falling birthrates, and populist Salvini vowing action on immigration.

Social conservative Brothers of Italy (FdI) leader Giorgia Meloni has launched the party’s election manifesto promising to support “Made in Italy” goods, halt illegal immigration, and support the country’s birth rates.

The Brothers of Italy leader launched the 40-page manifesto this week, which promises first to support Italian families and look to increase the country’s birth rate, which is one of the lowest in Europe and fell to record lows during the first year of the Chinese coronavirus pandemic in 2020.

Among the pro-family policies is a payment of 300 euros per month for children during their first year, which reduces to 260 euros per month until the child is 18. The FdI also want to reduce value-added taxes (VAT) on childhood products such as baby formulas and wants to make the first hundred thousand euros of any first home purchase tax-free.

Meloni’s party also promises to do more to showcase Italian producers of various goods from wine to luxury and cultural products, including producing “Made in Italy” certificates for companies and promoting commercial tourism for Italian-made products.

The manifesto also looks to abolish the citizenship income introduced by the Five Star Movement in their previous coalition government with populist Matteo Salvini’s League, a coalition ally of the Brothers of Italy heading into this month’s election. The party is looking to introduce a new alternative to the citizenship income for those who are elderly or unable to work but looks to increase training and labour resources for those who are able to work.

Illegal immigration has become a major issue of the election campaign for Meloni’s ally Matteo Salvini, who again visited the island of Lampedusa, which has become repeatedly overwhelmed due to illegal immigrant arrivals this year.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2022/09/01/meloni-launches-manifesto-promising-to-halt-illegal-migration-and-support-italian-birth-rates/

Education Sec. Cardona: Huge Drop in Math, Reading Scores ‘Not Surprising’ with Remote Learning

Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said Thursday on CNN’s “New Day” that the worst drop in math and reading scores in decades is disturbing but not surprising because of remote learning during the coronavirus pandemic.

Anchor Brianna Keilar asked, “There’s a new statistic out, hugely alarming, to parents and really anyone, I think, in our society, this is the National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the nation’s report card, and it was released overnight. It showed the worst drop in math and reading scores in decades for fourth-grade students. What is that telling you? Is that a repudiation of remote learning during the pandemic?”

Cardona said, “You know, that is very alarming. It’s disturbing, but it’s not surprising, keeping in mind a year and a half ago, over half of our schools were not open for full-time learning. The first thing we did when we got in is ensure that our schools are open for in-person learning. We went from 47% when the president took office to 100 percent by November. Look, in-person learning is where we need to focus. We need to double down on our efforts. I’m very concerned about those scores, and I know that we have the resources now, and we need to maintain the same level of urgency we had two years ago to get our students back into making sure that our students get support.”

https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2022/09/01/education-sec-cardona-huge-drop-in-math-reading-scores-not-surprising-with-remote-learning/

Ex-Chicago high school dean accused of sex with teen, posing as stepfather to help her get abortions

Brian Crowder, 40, was charged with criminal sexual assault

Brian Crowder, 40, was working at the Greater Lawndale High School for Social Justice in 2013 when he allegedly began a relationship with the girl, who was 15 at the time, according to WTTW-TV. Prosecutors say it began with Crowder sending the student messages over Snapchat, which led to them regularly having sex for about two years.

"Brian Crowder has not worked at Social Justice since September of 2021 and was terminated by the district in November of 2021," school principal Omar Chilous said in a letter sent out to families on Wednesday. "I know this is difficult news for our entire community, and our counselors, social workers, and psychologists are available for students who need support."

Prosecutors say that the relationship involved the two having sex multiple times a month between 2013 and 2015, the outlet reported. In 2014, she reportedly became pregnant and Crowder allegedly posed as her stepfather so he could sign a consent form for her to get an abortion. This allegedly happened again the following year.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/ex-chicago-high-school-dean-accused-sex-teen-posing-stepfather-help-get-abortions

Documents Reveal Advanced AI Tools Google Is Selling to Israel

Google employees, who have been kept in the dark about the “Nimbus” AI project, have concerns about Israeli human rights abuses.

Training materials reviewed by The Intercept confirm that Google is offering advanced artificial intelligence and machine-learning capabilities to the Israeli government through its controversial “Project Nimbus” contract. The Israeli Finance Ministry announced the contract in April 2021 for a $1.2 billion cloud computing system jointly built by Google and Amazon. “The project is intended to provide the government, the defense establishment and others with an all-encompassing cloud solution,” the ministry said in its announcement.

Google engineers have spent the time since worrying whether their efforts would inadvertently bolster the ongoing Israeli military occupation of Palestine. In 2021, both Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International formally accused Israel of committing crimes against humanity by maintaining an apartheid system against Palestinians. While the Israeli military and security services already rely on a sophisticated system of computerized surveillance, the sophistication of Google’s data analysis offerings could worsen the increasingly data-driven military occupation.

According to a trove of training documents and videos obtained by The Intercept through a publicly accessible educational portal intended for Nimbus users, Google is providing the Israeli government with the full suite of machine-learning and AI tools available through Google Cloud Platform. While they provide no specifics as to how Nimbus will be used, the documents indicate that the new cloud would give Israel capabilities for facial detection, automated image categorization, object tracking, and even sentiment analysis that claims to assess the emotional content of pictures, speech, and writing. The Nimbus materials referenced agency-specific trainings available to government personnel through the online learning service Coursera, citing the Ministry of Defense as an example.

Jack Poulson, director of the watchdog group Tech Inquiry, shared the portal’s address with The Intercept after finding it cited in Israeli contracting documents.

“The former head of Security for Google Enterprise — who now heads Oracle’s Israel branch — has publicly argued that one of the goals of Nimbus is preventing the German government from requesting data relating on the Israel Defence Forces for the International Criminal Court,” said Poulson, who resigned in protest from his job as a research scientist at Google in 2018, in a message. “Given Human Rights Watch’s conclusion that the Israeli government is committing ‘crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution’ against Palestinians, it is critical that Google and Amazon’s AI surveillance support to the IDF be documented to the fullest.”

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Though some of the documents bear a hybridized symbol of the Google logo and Israeli flag, for the most part they are not unique to Nimbus. Rather, the documents appear to be standard educational materials distributed to Google Cloud customers and presented in prior training contexts elsewhere.

Google did not respond to a request for comment.

The documents obtained by The Intercept detail for the first time the Google Cloud features provided through the Nimbus contract. With virtually nothing publicly disclosed about Nimbus beyond its existence, the system’s specific functionality had remained a mystery even to most of those working at the company that built it. In 2020, citing the same AI tools, U.S Customs and Border Protection tapped Google Cloud to process imagery from its network of border surveillance towers.

Many of the capabilities outlined in the documents obtained by The Intercept could easily augment Israel’s ability to surveil people and process vast stores of data — already prominent features of the Israeli occupation.

https://theintercept.com/2022/07/24/google-israel-artificial-intelligence-project-nimbus/

US inks deal to sell Israel 4 refueling planes it needs for potential Iran strikes

Boeing KC-46’s to arrive in 2025 at the earliest; deal to cost Israel nearly $1 billion, with funds coming from military aid Washington provides to Jerusalem

Aircraft manufacturer Boeing signed a contract with the US Department of Defense on Thursday to supply Israel with four KC-46 refueling planes, the company said in a statement.

The multi-role aircraft makes mid-air refueling possible for fighter jets and other aircraft, but can also be used for military transport.

For Israel, the aircraft are seen as necessary to conduct potential major strikes against targets in Iran, some 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) from Israel and far outside the normal flight range of Israeli jets.

The KC-45 aircraft are to replace the Israeli Air Force’s current fleet of aging refueling planes, which includes KC-130 Hercules and converted Boeing 707s.

The new refuelers are scheduled to arrive in 2025 at the earliest. Israel has asked that this date be moved up — which would require the US to give up its spot in line to receive planes from Boeing — but Washington has thus far rejected the request.

The deal will cost Israel $927 million, according to the contract, with the money coming from the $3.8 billion that Israel receives annually from Washington as part of the 10-year memorandum of understanding between the two countries.

Under the agreement, Israel has the option to purchase four more KC-46 planes in the future as well.

Defense Minister Benny Gantz hailed the signing of the contract, saying it was “further proof of the alliance and the strategic relations” between the Israeli and US defense establishments.

“The refueling planes we are purchasing, along with the procurement of a new F-35 squadron, heavy transport helicopters, submarines, and advanced armaments — will serve the IDF amid the enormous challenges, near and far, that are about to be faced,” Gantz said in a statement.

The first KC-46 was delivered to the US Air Force in 2019 and the service has ordered 179 of the planes, set to be delivered by 2027.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-inks-deal-to-sell-israel-4-refueling-planes-it-needs-for-potential-iran-strikes/

After first call with Lapid, Zelensky says expects Israel to join Russia sanctions

Ukrainian leader also seeks ‘practical assistance’ for war effort; Lapid highlights support for war-torn nation, warns again against visiting Uman for Rosh Hashanah pilgrimage

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday said he expects Israel to join international sanctions against Russia, following his first conversation with Prime Minister Yair Lapid.

The two countries have had a somewhat rocky relationship since Russia invaded Ukraine, as Israel seeks to balance its ties between the two warring nations.

Zelensky also called for Israel to continue providing aid to Ukraine.

“I count on [Israel’s] accession to the sanctions on Russia and provision of practical assistance to Ukraine in countering the aggression of the Russian Federation,” Zelensky said in a statement after the call.

Lapid’s office said he had highlighted his support for Ukraine and wished Zelensky a happy independence day, which Ukraine marked last week.

The two also discussed the war, with the prime minister expressing condolences for those killed and wounded and calling for a diplomatic solution, Lapid’s office said.

Lapid also urged Israelis not to visit the western Ukrainian city of Uman during Rosh Hashanah for an annual pilgrimage to a religious site there. Israeli officials have repeatedly warned against making the trip this year, with the Foreign Ministry on Thursday saying visiting could pose a “real and immediate risk to lives” due to the war.

Thursday’s call was the first conversation between the two leaders since Lapid became prime minister. In his previous job as foreign minister, Lapid had more explicitly pro-Ukrainian views than his predecessor as premier, Naftali Bennett.

Lapid’s government has sent large shipments of protective gear and began to provide direct financial support for civil aid organizations operating in the war-torn country in July.

Lapid has, however, continued Bennett’s policy of not providing Ukraine with advanced defense systems, including Iron Dome, or with offensive weapons.

Israel has sought to maintain ties with Russia, which controls the airspace over Syria and which has a large Jewish community.

Israel regularly carries out airstrikes in Syria, which Jerusalem sees as crucial for maintaining security on the northern border, including by halting Iranian weapons transfers to the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon.

In the months following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Bennett sought to utilize Israel’s unique relationships with the two countries and held multiple calls with both Putin and Zelensky in an attempt to mediate a ceasefire. He traveled to Moscow in March, where he became the first foreign leader to meet in person with Putin since the invasion began.

Bennett’s government also set up a field hospital outside the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, which operated there for six weeks earlier this year. Israel also provided shipments of helmets and flak jackets to Ukraine in April. At the time, then-foreign minister Lapid also explicitly accused Russia of war crimes, in what were then the strongest comments against Moscow by a top Israeli official.

Despite Israel’s efforts to maintain its ties with Russia, the countries have been increasingly at odds as Moscow has become irked at Israeli support for Ukraine.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/after-first-call-with-lapid-zelensky-says-expects-israel-to-join-russia-sanctions/

Eight boosted mice: Critics pan FDA for preelection Omicron jab approval based on irrelevant data

Epidemiologist says using BA.1 data to approve BA.4/5 booster is like equating pizza and cake. COVID subcommittee chair cheers approval on eve of midterms after denouncing Trump for pressure to approve vaccines before 2020 election.

Mainstream media have joined prominent doctors in questioning the FDA for its reliance on animal studies to approve so-called bivalent COVID-19 boosters for ages 12 and up, even as the shots are already being forced on low-risk, "fully vaccinated" populations such as college students.

Commissioner Robert Califf and Peter Marks, director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said the FDA was using the same process for boosters combining ancestral and currently dominant Omicron BA.4/5 components that it follows for annual flu shots.

"This is the number one question people are asking," Califf said in a press conference Wednesday. The agency has "extensive experience in the past with strain changes made without clinical data based on the totality of available evidence," Marks said, citing flu vaccines.

The FDA didn't give Just the News access to the interactive Zoom feed to ask questions, just the one-way YouTube stream, and didn't answer requests for the evidence behind their claims.

Wake Forest University imposed the bivalent boosters nearly a month before their approval "to strengthen our community's collective immunity," with no exemption for even recently boosted community members. It hasn't yet decided whether to renew its flu vaccine mandate.

The Mercury News emphasized that bivalent booster "studies about efficacy, so far, have only been completed in mice." Eight mice in Pfizer's study "generated a 2.6-fold increase in neutralizing antibody levels" against BA.4/5 compared to its current booster, while "lab work" showed Moderna's caused an 8-fold increase.

Those figures were left out of the FDA's press release on its emergency use authorization of the two boosters, as was any mention that the "nonclinical data" came from animals.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said the feds didn't have time to wait on human data. Otherwise, "we will be using what I would consider to be a potentially outdated vaccine" for an expected COVID surge, she told Conversations on Health Care.

This shows midterm elections are behind the rush to approve boosters, University of California San Francisco epidemiologist Vinay Prasad tweeted. Unless agencies are "firewalled" from politics, the feds will "approve anything to lower cases right before the vote" regardless of safety concerns.

https://justthenews.com/government/federal-agencies/eight-boosted-mice-fda-panned-omicron-jab-approval-based-irrelevant

World Trade Bridge CBP Officers Seize $7.6 Million in Cocaine

LAREDO, Texas—In two more large cocaine interceptions this week, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Office of Field Operations (OFO) officers at Laredo Port of Entry seized cocaine valued at $7.6 million within tractor trailers in two separate enforcement actions.

“Within a four-day span, our frontline CBP officers at Laredo Port of Entry seized a total of three significant loads of cocaine in the cargo environment; more than $19 million in cocaine in three separate interceptions,” said Port Director Alberto Flores, Laredo Port of Entry. “These seizures perfectly illustrate our officers’ firm resolve to uphold our border security mission and keep our community safe.”

The larger seizure occurred on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2022, at the World Trade Bridge when a CBP officer referred a 2009 International tractor hauling a shipment of furniture for a secondary inspection. The tractor trailer was referred for a canine and non-intrusive inspection system examination, resulting in the discovery of 285 packages containing nearly 718 pounds of alleged cocaine within the shipment. The narcotics had an estimated street value of $5,535,880.

The other seizure also occurred on Aug. 30, 2022 at World Trade Bridge. CBP officers referred a tractor trailer hauling a shipment of steel rolls for a secondary inspection. A non-intrusive inspection system and canine examination yielded discovery of 110 packages containing a total of 270 pounds of alleged cocaine. The cocaine had an estimated street value of $2,084,200

CBP seized the narcotics in both enforcement actions. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) special agents are investigating the seizures.

https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/local-media-release/world-trade-bridge-cbp-officers-seize-76-million-cocaine

https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/local-media-release/world-trade-bridge-cbp-officers-seize-76-million-cocaine

Movie Producer Pleads Guilty To Conspiring To Operate A Prostitution Business

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/movie-producer-pleads-guilty-conspiring-operate-prostitution-business

Missouri AG Schmitt’s Lawsuit Against Biden Admin with TGP as Plaintiff REVEALS GOVERNMENT-WIDE ‘CENSORSHIP ENTERPRISE’!!!

Big Tech Doc Dump Proves Government Deliberately Withheld Documents from Plaintiffs!

If this were a Star Wars spinoff, we’d call it “Free-Speech Wars II: The Good Guys Strike Back.”

BIG news in the Missouri v. Biden federal free-speech lawsuit today.

The Gateway Pundit previously reported in May that Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, along with Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, filed a lawsuit (Missouri v. Biden) against the Biden Administration, including Biden himself, Anthony Fauci, the Department of Homeland Security and nearly a dozen federal agencies and Secretaries.

The suit alleges a massive coordinated effort by the Deep State (permanent administrative state) to work with Big Tech to censor and manipulate Americans – from average citizens to news outlets – on issues including the Hunter Biden Laptop from Hell, 2020 Election Integrity, COVID-19 origin and extent skepticism, COVID-19 vaccine skepticism, among other issues.

Here’s a copy of the First Amended Complaint:

Zuckerberg’s admission came after the Missouri v. Biden lawsuit forced Facebook to turn over documents – he was going to end up admitting it anyway.

It constituted a turning point in the battle for the preservation of the First Amendment and Free Speech in America. His admission proved that the US Government and Big Tech coordinated to censor speech.

Previously, the government’s lawyers kept trying to portray all of this as a conspiracy theory.

NOPE. NOW, IT’S A CONSPIRACY FACT.

TODAY we report that the Missouri Attorney General’s Office caught the Biden Administration red-handed.

After forcing Twitter and Facebook to unload a massive trove of documents, Schmitt’s Office was able to uncover two (2) explosive facts:

FIRST, that the Biden Administration withheld enormous amounts of evidence of the censorship from the materials they were supposed to produce in discovery. This is a big no-no. And

SECOND, that the US Government’s “Censorship Enterprise” was and is a MASSIVE EFFORT ACROSS SCORES OF FEDERAL AGENCIES to coordinate with Big Tech to CENSOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AND CONTROL THEIR THOUGHTS AND BELIEFS.

TENS OF THOUSANDS of records including consistent and ongoing communications between the Big Tech and (for example) DHS, CDC, NIAID, the Census Bureau, the US Surgeon General, the State Department, the Treasury, the FBI, the US ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION (!!!), and on and on and on.

These documents prove that Big Tech views itself as an arm of the federal government – and the US Government views it the same way.

We now have irrefutable proof that Big Tech censored and continues to censor Americans to force-feed the nation with US Government PROPAGANDA. It’s all there in black and white.

Millions of Americans have been censored because their speech didn’t match the US Government’s preferred narrative.

This is the definition of Fascism.

Because he caught them withholding evidence, MO AG Schmitt is now asking the Court to force the government to turn over more records which they previously said didn’t exist. You can see the MO and LA Attorneys General’s arguments and those of the Government (arguing against disclosure), here. See documents below:

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/09/caught-red-handed-missouri-ag-schmitts-lawsuit-biden-admin-tgp-plaintiff-reveals-government-wide-censorship-enterprise/

Vladimir Putin pays respects to former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev but won't attend his funeral

Russian President Vladimir Putin has paid tribute to Mikhail Gorbachev but will not attend the late former Soviet leader's funeral, a decision reflecting the Kremlin's ambivalence about Mr Gorbachev's legacy.

Key points:

The Kremlin says Mr Putin is unable to attend the funeral due to work

Mr Putin praised Gorbachev as a man who left "an enormous impact on the course of world history"

Gorbachev will be buried at Moscow's Novodevichy cemetery but will not receive a state funeral

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that prior to departing for a working trip to Russia's westernmost Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad, Mr Putin visited a Moscow hospital where Gorbachev's body is kept before Saturday's funeral to lay flowers at his coffin.

"Regrettably, the president's working schedule wouldn't allow him to do that on Saturday, so he decided to do that today," Mr Peskov said in a conference call with reporters.

Russian state television showed Mr Putin walking to Gorbachev's open coffin and putting a bouquet of red roses next to it. He stood in silence for a few moments, bowed his head, touched the coffin, crossed himself and walked away.

Gorbachev, who died on Tuesday, will be buried at Moscow's Novodevichy cemetery next to his wife Raisa after a farewell ceremony will be held at the Pillar Hall of the House of the Unions, an iconic mansion near the Kremlin that has served as the venue for state funerals since Soviet times.

Asked if Gorbachev will be given a state funeral, Mr Peskov said the funeral will have "elements" of a state funeral, such as honorary guards, and the government will help organise them. He wouldn't elaborate how the ceremony will differ from a full-fledged state funeral.

Mr Putin's decision to pay a private visit to the hospital while staying away from Saturday's public farewell ceremony combined with uncertainty surrounding the funeral's status reflect the Kremlin's uneasiness about the legacy of Gorbachev.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-02/putin-pays-tribute-to-gorbachev-but-wont-attend-his-funeral/101398238

On Wednesday a Texas group of patriots, the Dallas 1776 Bridge Brigade, unveiled a giant banner of Hunter Biden naked in a jockstrap over the interstate.

The banner was dropped on Wednesday from the Northpark Park Boulevard Bridge over Central Expressway.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/09/naked-hunter-biden-jockstrap-pops-dallas-interstate-overpass/

FBI Doctored Mar-a-Lago Photo, Added Their Own Docs to Create a Crime Scene that Didn’t Exist

This was all a lie. The FBI created the crime scene, inserted their own documents, and then photoshopped the document. What a disgrace.

1. We know that the FBI wanted to make this look like a crime scene.

We know this because at the bottom of the photo provided to the court there is the number 2A, indicating a this was a crime scene photo as well as a type of tape measure across the bottom of the photo. The corrupt FBI threw the photos on the floor themselves. They staged this.

We know this because the containers were right next door. The documents would have been placed on a table had the FBI wanted to take a picture of the documents. Showing them as scattered across the floor is for show and indicates they were found this way, a lie we explain below. Also, the cabinets are right next to the documents which is likely where they were stored. They weren’t stored on the floor.

1. The FBI inserted documents into the photo.

The cover sheets in the above photo that were red, yellow, and brown were inserted by the FBI. They are the FBI’s cover sheets. We know this for various reasons. The Trump White House did not need these cover sheets in the documents they held because they had their own cover sheets.

If you look closely at the photo above, the document right above the 2A is folded back. The papers are stapled together as they should be. If you look at that batch you see there already was a cover sheet on that document. It says “Please store in…”. That is the real cover sheet.

The red, yellow, and brown cover sheets were inserted. If you look closely at the yellow cover sheets, they are paper clipped to the documents. The documents would have been stapled. They are paperclipped because they were inserted by the FBI.

Also, the front cover sheet in brown showing SCI says the following wording:

Handling, storage, reproduction, and distribution of the attached document must be in accordance with the applicable executive orders statutes and agency implementing regulations.

This document was inserted. The FBI inserted this to indicate that the “agency implementing regulations” – i.e. the DOJ – is involved in the maintenance of these records but this is not the case. The President has the right to documents that are his. They are his property and an inserted document saying something different is simply not true.

1. The photo was altered or photoshopped after it was taken (i.e. the FBI was tampering with evidence).

Throughout the picture there are sections in white. It would be proper for the FBI to take pictures of the crime scene and then add paper to cover up the classified info and then take photos to cover up any classified information. However, we know that these white sections are redactions to the photo.

When looking a the picture above, you can see that the white space was added to the picture by the white outlines around the black boxes in the first photo above. These photos were tampered with.

Finally, did the FBI Agents who invaded the President’s home have the proper credentials to review classified information? How bout the agents who made the call to photoshop the photo? How bout the employees who photoshopped the photos? Were they properly credentialed?

This is a crime scene but it is the FBI and DOJ that acted like criminals. They created a false crime scene. They inserted docs. They tampered with evidence.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/09/huge-breaking-exclusive-fbi-doctored-mar-lago-photo-added-docs-create-crime-scene-didnt-exist/

Zelensky Renting Beachside Mansion Sparks Italian Media Frenzy

A new controversy in Italian media is the story that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's alleged mansion in Italy was rented to a Russian couple for a staggering 50 thousand euros in August.

On Aug. 31, centered on the front page of the Italian newspaper "Il Tirreno," is the title "Zelensky affitta a russi" (translated into English: "Zelensky Rent To Russians"). A picture of the luxury villa was also featured on the front page.

The villa in Forte dei Marmi, a seaside town in Tuscany, is said to be owned by "an Italian company that belongs to another in Cyprus, and belongs to Zelensky's wife," according to la Repubblica.

La Repubblica noted a media frenzy has erupted over reports of an "alleged Russian couple who would have rented the villa of the Ukrainian leader."

"The news of the alleged Russian couple who would have rented the villa of the Ukrainian leader, had been circulating for a few days in Versilia and was reported by the Tyrrhenian, who writes about some photos that appeared on social media portraying a Russian tourist in the park of the villa, in Vittoria Apuana."

Remember, in the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Zelensky urged Italy to stop Russian oligarchs from using the country as a safe haven.

"Almost all of them use Italy as a place for vacation. So don't be a resort for murderers," the Ukrainian president said in March.

Zelensky recently convinced Europe to suspend the 2007 visa facilitation agreement with Moscow to curb Russian tourist inflows entering the bloc.

La Repubblica quoted the mayor of the town who said this about the mansion:

"We did not have any news and frankly until the outbreak of the war, the only information we had about the villa, which is located in the Villa Apuana area, is that it was owned by a company, among other things, it has always been rarely inhabited."

Meanwhile, there were denials that Russians stayed in Zelensky's alleged mansion:

"There were no Russians or Ukrainians in the villa of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky". The real estate agent of Real Estate Forte dei Marmi Villas speaks, Claudio Salvini, who denies the rumors: "What has been written is a conjecture. The villa was rented to a couple for the summer, I won't tell you if they reside in London or not, but I assure you it can't be Russians because we are absolutely forbidden to rent to Russians and Ukrainians "Salvini stresses. – la Repubblica

People have protested in front of the villa, holding signs that read: "Stop the weapons to the war comedian (Zelensky)."

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/media-frenzy-after-zelensky-rents-out-italian-beachside-mansion

Whistleblower: FBI Infiltrated By Commies & Jihad! - Drew Hernandez & Former FBI Agent John Guandolo

https://rumble.com/embed/v1fjlez/?pub=4

>>17477777

Amazon Powered Down All Its Solar Panels Because They Kept Catching On Fire: REPORT

Amazon removed all solar panels from its warehouse roofs’ in 2021 after its installations malfunctioned, leading to multiple fires and electrical explosions across its North American warehouses for over a year, according to CNBC.

Solar panels caused “critical fire or arc flash events” in at least six of its 47 North American warehouses with solar installations, between April 2020 and June 2021, according to internal documents acquired by CNBC. The fires caused Amazon to remove all its solar installations temporarily as the company had to reassess its systems to make sure they were designed, operated and maintained correctly before they could be brought back online.

Arc flashes are a form of electrical explosion and can result in serious injury or even death, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Amazon’s 2021 sustainability report that the company released at the beginning of August did not mention the removal of solar panels nor the numerous fires that resulted from solar installations. In the report, Amazon claimed that 115 of its warehouses worldwide would be powered by rooftop solar installations, up from more than 90 in the middle of the year.

“The rate of dangerous incidents is unacceptable, and above industry averages,” an Amazon employee wrote in one of the internal reports.

https://dailycaller.com/2022/09/01/amazon-powered-down-solar-panels-because-they-kept-catching-fire/

Judge does not issue ruling on Trump's 'special master' request

The Justice Department argued that it is unnecessary and even harmful to national security if a special master is appointed

The Florida judge presiding over former President Donald Trump's request to appoint a "special master" to review documents seized by the FBI during its raid of Mar-a-Lago did not issue a ruling at the conclusion of the hearing, but she plans on unsealing an inventory of what agents took, as well as a status report from the investigative team.

Trump's legal team argued Thursday against Justice Department prosecutors in front of Florida Southern U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee.

Cannon did not issue a ruling from the bench, Guardian reporter Hugo Lowell said. Despite unsealing a "detailed inventory" and the FBI team's status report, she kept the "filter team report sealed," following an objection from Trump's attorneys, Lowell stated.

She also reserved ruling on a request from a filter team attorney to turn materials over that are potentially related to privileged material.

Judge Cannon did not give a specific date or time as to when she will release her written ruling but said it will come "in due course," Fox reported.

The Justice Department argued in a filing Tuesday that the appointment of a special master – a third-party overseer – is "unnecessary and would significantly harm important governmental interests, including national security interests."

Trump's attorneys responded Wednesday, saying a "fair-minded" Justice Department "that truly embraced the highest ethical standards would, and should, agree" to such a neutral observer.

A heavily-redacted version of the affidavit used for the warrant in the FBI's raid of Trump's Florida home was released last week despite the Justice Department's protests.

https://justthenews.com/government/courts-law/trump-squares-justice-dept-court-over-special-master-review-fbis-seized-docs

Bed, Bath & Beyond To Close 150 Stores 18 Months After Canceling MyPillow

In January 2021, Bed, Bath & Beyond sided with the liberal mob and dropped MyPillow products from their stores.

Liberals celebrated:

In response, conservatives boycotted Bed, Bath & Beyond — and bought their bedding from MyPillow.com using promo code TGP directly instead (Gateway Pundit benefits when you use that code).

Now, this:

Bed, Bath & Beyond is closing 150 stores:

Bed Bath & Beyond on Wednesday announced swift and significant steps it is taking to try to revive its struggling business, including layoffs, store closures and a shake-up of the brands on its shelves.

On a call with investors, the New Jersey-based retailer laid out details of its latest turnaround push. It said it has started closing about 150 of its “lower producing” namesake stores. It will also slash costs by shrinking head count by about 20% across its corporate and supply chain workforce.

Canceling MyPillow was a big mistake!

They forced conservatives to choose between a big box store and a man who fights for conservatives.

With MyPillow winning, will other retailers stop fighting conservatives?

Will we return America to the open economy it should be?

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/09/bed-bath-beyond-closes-stores-canceling/

The recent release of 2021 Census data revealed a shocking "one million homes were unoccupied".

This statistic sent housing commentators, government agencies and policymakers into a spin. At a time of significant housing shortages, this extra million homes would surely make a big difference. They could provide housing for some homeless, ease the rental affordability crisis, and get first-home owners into their first home.

There has been a great deal of speculation about how this has happened. Has it been caused by overseas millionaires buying up housing and leaving it as an empty investment? Is it Airbnb taking up homes that could be used for families? Or are cashed-up Gen-Xers double-consuming by living in one house while renovating another?

So, why were 1,043,776 dwellings empty on census night?

In fact, we've got a pretty good idea of what's going on.

First, it's not a new phenomenon. When we compare 2021 with previous censuses, a slightly smaller percentage of our private dwelling stock was classified as unoccupied — just under 10 per cent, compared with nearly 11 per cent at the previous census in 2016.

Since the release of the data, many journalists have pointed to this startling number of empty homes, portraying them as abandoned or left empty. There is almost certainly a much more ordinary and less startling story to tell. We suspect there are three main explanations.

A big part of the story is how the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) determines whether a dwelling is occupied or not. In short, it does its best by using a variety of methods, but, for the majority of dwellings, occupancy "is determined by the returned census form". If a form was not returned, and the ABS had no further information, the dwelling was often deemed to be unoccupied.

This is important to our interpretation of the empty homes story. At any one time, lots of things are going on in the housing market, and most of it is a long way from abandoned or empty.

For example, 647,000 dwellings were sold in 2021. This means many thousands of dwellings were unoccupied on census night because they were up for sale or awaiting transfer.

The second and perhaps most important contributor to the empty homes story is holiday homes. Estimates vary, but we know 2 million Australians own one or more properties other than their own home. It's estimated up to 346,581 of these properties may be listed on just one rental platform, Airbnb.

It's part of the census design to pick a night of the year when the most Australians are at home. If you think back to Tuesday, August 10 2021, it was a Tuesday night in mid-winter, so many of Australia's holiday homes would have been empty — and counted as unoccupied.

Where are these unoccupied dwellings located?

If we map the distribution of unoccupied dwellings across Australia, two things stand out.

Firstly, unoccupied dwellings tend to be concentrated in sea-change and inner-city holiday spots, such as Victor Harbor in South Australia (as the map below shows) , Lorne in Victoria and Batemans Bay in New South Wales. This reinforces the holiday homes explanation.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-02/housing-property-australias-one-million-empty-homes/101396656

No wonder rents are so high - manufactured demand