NATO deploys reserves amid Balkan tension

British troops are among those who have arrived in Kosovo

NATO has brought reserve troops to Kosovo for training, increasing the alliance’s presence in the breakaway province by up to 1,000 soldiers. As military tensions with Serbia simmer, a commander for the bloc said that more could be deployed in the near future.

Colonel Christopher Samulski, a regional commander with NATO’s KFOR Kosovo mission, told reporters on Wednesday that the soldiers had been brought in “as part of normal contingency planning,” Reuters reported.

Samulski did not reveal how many reserves had arrived but said that they amounted to a “battalion-size” unit, with a battalion generally numbering between 500 and 1,000 troops. The commander said that the First Fusiliers of the British Army are among those taking part in the training.

Around 3,700 KFOR troops are usually stationed in Kosovo at any one time.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, almost a decade after NATO waged a bombing campaign against Serbia on behalf of ethnic Albanian separatists in the province. Kosovo’s independence is recognized by 97 out of 193 UN member states, most of them US allies. Serbia, Russia, and China are among those who do not recognize Kosovo’s independence.

Tensions between Kosovo and Serbia escalated in August after Pristina passed a law banning Serbian-issued documents and vehicle license plates. Kosovo tried to enforce the new measure by sending heavily armed special police to take control of the Serbia-Kosovo border while local Serbs resisted by erecting roadblocks and engaging in violent clashes with Pristina’s forces.

Kosovo then agreed to delay the implementation of the law until September 1, before extending the deadline to October 31. With this date looming, Samulski said that “other reserves that lie outside Kosovo” could be made available “should we deem that they are required, based on the current situation on the ground.”

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has accused Kosovo of threatening his country’s security by sending its special forces to border regions. Having earlier vowed to “save our people” in Kosovo from “persecution and pogroms” if necessary, Vucic warned lawmakers in Belgrade on Tuesday that “the danger is close, objective and serious.”

https://www.rt.com/news/563282-nato-deploys-reserves-kosovo/

FBI Suspends Whistleblower Who Claimed Bureau Is Mishandling Jan. 6 Investigations: GOP

House Republicans said Tuesday that the FBI suspended a whistleblower who pushed back against the bureau’s handling of Jan. 6 Capitol breach investigations.

“The FBI SUSPENDED a whistleblower for refusing to carry out the Bureau’s politicized investigations,” House Judiciary Republicans wrote on Twitter. It did not provide more details, including the identity of the alleged whistleblower or why the person was suspended.

The Twitter post also included portions of a recent letter sent by Republicans to FBI Director Christopher Wray, which contained allegations from the whistleblower in question. That person claimed that the FBI altered its rules to create the illusion that domestic violent extremism (DVE) appears more often than it really does.

“The FBI’s case categorization creates the illusion that threats from DVE are present in jurisdictions across the nation, when in reality they all stem from the same related investigation concerning the actions at the Capitol on January 6,” a letter sent by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) to FBI Director Christopher Wray read, which was also cited by House Judiciary Republicans in the Twitter post.

Describing the FBI processes as an “artificial case categorization scheme,” Jordan wrote that it allows FBI leaders to “misleadingly point to ‘significant’ increases in DVE threats nationwide.”

A spokesperson for the FBI declined to comment on the GOP’s allegations when contacted by The Epoch Times on Wednesday. The Epoch Times asked the FBI to confirm whether there is a whistleblower who accused the bureau of mishandling Jan. 6 investigations, if that person was suspended by the FBI, or the reasons why.

What the Whistleblower Alleged

“This scheme allows you to continue to support on paper your assertion that ‘[t]he FBI is a field-based law enforcement organization, and the vast majority of our investigations should continue to be worked by our field offices,’ while actually running the investigation from Washington,” the whistleblower was quoted as saying by the GOP letter.

At one point, the person asserted that the FBI’s leaders took agents away from child sexual abuse cases and assigned them to Jan. 6-related cases.

In response to the letter, a spokesperson for the FBI disputed those claims in a statement to The Epoch Times on Tuesday.

“The FBI is charged with protecting the American people from a wide variety of threats, from terrorism, cyber threats, and violent crime to public corruption, hate crimes, and crimes against children,” the spokesperson said, adding the agency’s “commitment to one does not come at the expense of another.”

The FBI, meanwhile, only “investigates individuals who commit or intend to commit violence and other criminal activity that constitutes a federal crime or poses a threat to national security,” the statement said.

Jordan’s letter to Wray requested the FBI director hand over all documents and communications relating to the FBI Washington’s procedures for opening Jan. 6 investigations, the number of agents involved, and other details about the probe.

https://www.ntd.com/fbi-suspends-whistleblower-who-claimed-bureau-is-mishandling-jan-6-investigations-gop_844520.html

John Kerry Wants To Restart Climate Talks With Nation Engaged In A Secret Nuclear Buildup

White House climate envoy John Kerry said Tuesday that he wants to restart climate talks with China, just one day before President Joe Biden on Wednesday accused China of secretly building up its nuclear arsenal.

John Kerry expressed his desire to restart bilateral climate talks with China after the country halted negotiations in response to Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. In his address at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Biden criticized China for undermining the international “nuclear non-proliferation regime” by building up its nuclear capabilities with little transparency and urged nations to pursue nuclear arms control measures.

“China is conducting an unprecedented, concerning nuclear buildup without any transparency,” Biden said of China’s nuclear weapons program during his UN speech.

China is estimated to currently possess roughly 350 nuclear warheads, but is projected to triple that number within a decade, senators and experts said during an Armed Services hearing on Tuesday. China has also not yet signed any strategic arms control agreements with the U.S.

“They suspended … they didn’t terminate [the climate talks],” Kerry said at a New York Times climate event, making a clear distinction between the two terms. “I really hope China will decide sometime in the next days it is worth coming back to this because we owe it to humankind.”

Kerry said that he had attempted to contact China’s Special Representative for Climate Change Affairs Xie Zhenhua, whom he has a close relationship with, to reopen climate talks, but stated that he has received no response. Kerry was optimistic that negotiations could resume and claimed that he could foresee China cooperating with the U.S. to pursue the international climate agenda that seeks to phase out fossil fuels.

Kerry also praised China in late August, claiming that the communist nation had “outperformed its commitments” to curb carbon emissions and embrace renewable energy.

China began accelerating its efforts in April to stockpile nuclear warheads that were capable of striking the continental U.S, according to The Wall Street Journal.

China produces over 30% of the world’s emissions and relies heavily on coal, a fuel source that emits about twice the amount of greenhouse gases as natural gas, an energy source that is more commonly used in the U.S. Beijing has also indicated that it will increase its coal consumption for the next several years as it works to fuel its economy, according to a July Greenpeace report.

China’s willingness to prevent climate change is “highly insufficient,” according to Climate Action Tracker

The White House did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

https://dailycaller.com/2022/09/21/john-kerry-climate-nuclear-china/

Denmark's Queen Margrethe II tests positive to COVID-19 after attending funeral of Queen Elizabeth II

The Queen of Denmark has tested positive to COVID-19 one day after attending the state funeral for Queen Elizabeth II in London.

Key points:

Queen Margrethe tested positive to the virus on Tuesday evening

She attended the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II the day before alongside a number of other royals

This is the second time she has had COVID-19 this year

In a statement, Denmark's royal family said Queen Margrethe II had cancelled all of her official activities for the week after testing positive on Tuesday evening.

The 82-year-old was among 2,000 people who crammed into London's Westminster Abbey to farewell Queen Elizabeth on Monday.

She sat next to her heir Crown Prince Frederick during the service, and was also seen walking into the abbey alongside King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, Sweden's King Carl Gustav XVI and Queen Silvia, as well as Spain's Queen Letzia.

Denmark's royal palace said Frederik and his wife, the Australian Crown Princess Mary, would take Magrethe's place at an official event at Copenhagen's Christiansborg Palace this week.

Margrethe previously tested positive for the virus in February. At the time, the palace said she had received three doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Her half-century reign makes her Europe's longest-serving monarch following the September 8 death of Elizabeth, 96, who ruled for 70 years.

Out of respect for the late British monarch, Margrethe had asked her court to adjust the program for her own 50-year anniversary commemorations, which had been due to take place on September 10 and 11.

Margrethe was proclaimed Queen on January 15, 1972, a day after her father, King Frederik IX, died following a short illness.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-22/queen-denmark-tests-positive-covid/101464642

LAWSUIT FILED IN FED COURT Against Dishonest MI SOS Benson Claims She BROKE THE LAW When She Outsourced Voter Roll Cleanup To Radical Leftist Third-Party Group

100 Percent Fed Up reports – Today, grassroots organization Pure Integrity Michigan Elections filed a lawsuit against Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson for violating the federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) when she contracted with the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) under the auspices of cleaning up Michigan’s voter rolls.

If this sounds like a big deal, it’s because it is.

The Secretary of State, as Michigan’s chief election officer. She oversees the Bureau of Elections, which will now consider the alleged breach of federal law. From an optimist’s perspective, the BOE now has the opportunity to right a major wrong and set their boss on the right track.

Thomas More Society attorneys filed the complaint against Benson on behalf of non-profit Pure Integrity Michigan Elections (PIME) and this writer who serves as PIME’s president. The complaint was filed on Sep. 21, 2022, in accordance with Secretary of State-HAVA requirements.

“Membership in ERIC is a disaster,” said Patrice Johnson, chair of PIME. “Federal law prohibits states from sharing their voters’ confidential information, let alone with an opaque third-party organization that refuses to respond to Freedom Of Information Act requests and shares residents’ legally protected, personal information with biased contractors and subcontractors.”

The ERIC Agreement states that ERIC was formed to “reform the election system of the United States” and it may share informatio with “contractors and subcontractors.”

“Excuse me,” Johnson said, “but that’s the role of our elected state legislature, not some four-employee, Soros-funded Delaware nonprofit that hasn’t published an annual report since 2017.”

The congressionally enacted Help America Vote Act (HAVA) requires the secretary of state to maintain and implement Michigan’s Qualified Voter File, the secure voter list used by the Bureau of Elections and more than 1,500 Michigan election clerks, without outside assistance. However, Benson violated this federal law by contracting with Electronic Registration Information Center to maintain and implement Michigan’s Qualified Voter File.

Thomas More Society Special Counsel Erick Kaardal asserts that Benson’s decision to avoid her federally designated constitutional duty and to illegally outsource voter file maintenance and implementation could wreak havoc on the state’s election process and potentially rig Michigan’s federal elections toward certain candidates, a clear violation of the Help America Vote Act.

“Under the Help America Vote Act, maintaining state voter registration is seen as such a core governmental purpose that Congress deemed that it cannot be delegated to any other organization, including the Electronic Registration Information Center,” Kaardal explained. “As every Michigan resident knows, some things must be done by oneself. Similarly, the Help America Vote Act requires the Michigan secretary of state to fulfill her constitutional duty and maintain the Qualified Voter File by herself, even if she does so badly.”

“When SOS Benson joined Michigan in ERIC, she claimed her goal was to clean up the state’s voter rolls,” Johnson added. “Today, the number of Michigan’s registered voters has climbed to more than 104% of its voting-age population. That impossible number could function like a slush fund of phantom voters for fraudsters to dip into.”

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/09/breaking-lawsuit-filed-fed-court-dishonest-mi-sos-benson-claims-broke-law-outsourced-voter-roll-cleanup-radical-leftist-third-party-group/

Whistleblower Identified: FBI Special Agent Steve Friend Goes Public – Exposed Disgusting FBI Lies and Unprecedented Attacks on Conservative Americans — JAIL CHRIS WRAY!

New York Post reporter and author Miranda Devine joined Tucker Carlson on Wednesday night to discuss the latest FBI whistleblower.

In July FBI whistleblowers revealed to Congressional Republicans that FBI leadership is ‘pressuring’ agents to artificially pad domestic terrorism data.

According to the FBI agents the Bureau is weaving a narrative that helps the Biden Regime while painting Trump supporters as terrorists.

Then on Monday Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) released information from a new FBI whistleblower.

According to the latest whistleblower, the FBI is moving agents off of child sexual abuse investigations to instead pursue political investigations.

The whistleblower says the FBI is creating a false narrative by reclassifying Jan. 6 cases as separate instances of “domestic terrorism.”

Via the House Judiciary GOP:

The FBI whistleblower described how a “manipulative” practice by the FBI overstates the “domestic violent extremism” (DVE) threat nationwide by categorizing Jan 6-related cases as originating in field offices around the country rather than “stemming from a single, black swan incident” in Washington, D.C.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/09/whistleblower-identified-fbi-special-agent-steve-friend-goes-public-exposed-disgusting-fbi-lies-unprecedented-attacks-conservative-americans-jail-chris-wray-video/

At Least 7 Dead In Iran As Anti-Hijab Protests Grow

A fifth day of protests in Iran have resulted in multiple deaths amid a security crackdown, following the death last week of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old from Iranian Kurdistan who reportedly died due to being roughed up by police for "unsuitable attire" - or not conforming to Islamic Republic standards of a hijab.

Iranian officials say seven people have died since protests erupted Saturday, following Amini's funeral, where women began removing their headscarves in protest, sometimes burning them in public displays of defiance. Demonstrators have decried instances of what they say is 'live fire' tactics and deadly forced used by police to disperse the protests, which have now spread across several provinces.

At least one of the dead has been reported as a security member, coming also amid hundreds of arrests. "Crowds cheered when women burned their hijabs on a bonfire in Sari on Tuesday, the fifth successive day of unrest," BBC has reported of scenes coming from the country Tuesday. "Activists said a woman was among three protesters shot dead by security forces in Urmia, Piranshahr and Kermanshah."

Dozens of videos showing fierce anti-hijab protests, as well as chants against the country's 'morality police' have been circulating widely on the internet.

According to a description of some of the viral protest videos reviewed by The New York Times:

Protesters have been calling for an end to the Islamic Republic, chanting things like “Mullahs get lost,” “We don’t want an Islamic republic,” and “Death to the supreme leader.” Women have also burned hijabs in protest against the law, which requires all women above the age of puberty to wear a head covering and loose clothing.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/least-7-dead-iran-anti-hijab-protests-grow

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/least-7-dead-iran-anti-hijab-protests-grow