BARR LIED! FOIA Requests Reveal There Were No DOJ Investigations on Election Fraud After 2020 Election as Bill Barr Claims

In December 2020, US Attorney General Bill Barr said there was “no evidence” of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election.

Barr said there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election, defying President Donald Trump’s ongoing efforts to reverse the results.

Barr repeated this claim several times since leaving office as President Trump’s Attorney General.

Now there is proof that Bill Barr is and was lying.

On Thursday former Trump adviser Jeffrey Clark, the Director of Litigation at the Center for Renewing America, joined Steve Bannon on The War Room.

Jeffrey Clark told Steve the Center for Renewing America sent out FOIA requests to 12 US Attorney districts from the 2020 battleground states.

Bill Barr sent out a memo on November 9, 2020, saying there should be investigations of the elections.

Jeff Clark told Steve Bannon the FOIA requests have come back from every district but one with NO DOCUMENTS.

No investigations were done as a result of that memo. There is only one of the 12 districts that has not yet come in and that’s the eastern district of Pennsylvania.

The US Attorney of the Eastern District asked to investigate issues in his district. Barr denied the request!

Bill Barr lied to the American public. Now he got caught.

Jeffrey Clark joined The War Room on Thursday to break the news.

https://youtu.be/Xp-EGJ9FdEM

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/09/bill-barr-lied-foia-requests-reveal-no-doj-investigations-election-fraud-2020-election-bill-barr-claimed-video/

Ohio BP Explosion Kills Two, Fourth Gas Plant Explosion Since June

Two employees were killed last night in an explosion at the BP Toledo, Ohio refinery.

The BP Toledo refinery was “safely shut down” in response to Tuesday night’s fire where two employees died.

The cause of the fire is not yet known.

Reuters reports:

BP said on Wednesday two of its staff were killed after sustaining injuries in a fire at its 150,800 barrel-per-day Toledo, Ohio, refinery.

“The fire was extinguished last night and refinery was safely shut down and remains offline,” a company spokesperson said.

“All other staff is accounted for and our employee assistance team is on site.”

The cause of the fire is not known, but leaking fumes from a crude unit may have caused the ignition in another unit at the facility, a source told Reuters.

The first report surfaced at 6:35 PM on the WTVG14 abc website

🚨#BREAKING: Massive explosion reported at BP Refinery with reports of injuries

The refinery has been operating for over 100 years on a parcel of land that covers 585 acres and processes approximately 160, 000 barrels of crude oil a day.

This is the fourth fossil fuel disruption/explosion since June in our nation.

Reuters shares that Freeport, Texas, LNG was taken offline on June 8, 2022, and will not return to service until mid-November per “Upstream Energy Explored”.

Freeport, Texas provides 20% of all U.S. LNG processing and one of the largest US exporters in the nation.

On July 7, 2022, in Fort Bend County, near Houston, Texas, an explosion occurred to a natural gas line. The fire was quickly extinguished.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/09/going-ohio-bp-explosion-kills-two-fourth-gas-plant-explosion-since-june/

Ukraine Threatens 5-Year Prison Sentence For Anyone Voting In "Sham Referendums"

Starting last month Ukrainian lawmakers began seeking to implement severe consequences for those participating in Russia-sponsored referendums in occupied territories of Ukraine. For example, a law is being pushed through parliament which criminalizes obtaining a Russian passport in temporarily occupied territories, Ukrainian sources reported last week, according to Yahoo News.

Proposed possible punishments have included losing Ukrainian citizenship, or even lengthy jail sentences. But other officials have argued for a more compromising approach given the necessity of survival in occupied areas. But now the Ukrainian government has reiterated its willingness to impose steep penalties for even participating in any Kremlin-sponsored vote to join the Russian Federation.

Russian President Putin's Wednesday morning address announcing partial mobilization also affirmed plans to move forward with referendums in the LPR, DPR, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions.

Ukraine has responded by warning its citizens that any official who promotes or organizes the voting faces a "prison term of five to ten years" - as well as possible asset seizure by the state, and being barred from employment in select positions for up to 15 years.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk announced this week that a five year prison term is currently being considered for anyone caught participating in "sham referenda" by government authorities:

"Some lawyers believe that those actions fall under Article 110 part 1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, ‘Infringement on Ukraine’s territorial integrity,’ punishable with a prison term of up to five years," she told the Strana portal on Tuesday.

She further called on citizens currently in occupied to territories to "leave, if possible."

Vereshchuk was cited further as follows according to a Russian media translation of her words:

"This [may] mean imprisonment for up to five years. So, once again I strongly advise residents of the temporarily occupied territories: do not take a [Russian] passport, do not go to referendums, do not cooperate with the occupiers and leave, if it’s possible," the official stated.

Below is what a law proposed last week in Ukrainian parliament stipulates:

acquisition of citizenship or obtaining a Russian passport by state officials or representatives of local self-government in the absence of signs of high treason;

propaganda, public appeals, and coercion to act correspondingly;

restriction of the rights of people who have not received citizenship or passports from the Russian Federation.

But the important distinction was added: "The Ministry of Reintegration of the Temporary Occupied Territories noted that obtaining a Russian passport in the temporarily occupied territories is justified only if a person thus tries to return to the territory controlled by Ukraine through Russia and third countries," according to a Ukrainian report republished in Yahoo.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/ukraine-threatens-5-year-prison-sentence-anyone-voting-sham-referendums

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/ukraine-threatens-5-year-prison-sentence-anyone-voting-sham-referendums

Russian Nukes Can Be Used To Defend Annexed Ukraine Regions, Kremlin Warns

Once again Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, has served the role of issuing more severe 'read between the lines' warnings and threats fresh off President Vladimir Putin's Wednesday speech announcing partial mobilization of national forces and which confirmed referendums of occupied portions of Ukraine to join the Russian Federation.

Putin's most alarming line came when he said, "If the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, we will certainly use all the means at our disposal to protect Russia and our people," following with "It’s not a bluff." He had also stressed Moscow is ready to use "all available" means to protect its "territorial integrity".

Medvedev has taken the president's words further in Thursday statements, stressing that regarding Russian-seized territory and the move to vote in several areas - including the LPR, DPR, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions - "there is no going back" and that even a 'nuclear option' could be on the table.

"The Donbas [Donetsk and Luhansk] republics and other territories will be accepted into Russia," he posted to Telegram. That's when the former president and top national security official doubled down on Putin's nuclear warning, stating:

Russia has announced that not only mobilization capabilities, but also any Russian weapons, including strategic nuclear weapons and weapons based on new principles, could be used for such protection.

Putin and Medvedev's statements mark the first time any top Russian officials have affirmed readiness to bring newly acquired Russian territories under Moscow's nuclear doctrine.

However, it remains that Russian forces do not yet control 100% of any of the four main territories where annexation votes are to be held - with some referendums set for early as this weekend according to prior reports.

To review of the past 48 hours of Kremlin decision-making which is poised to escalate this war even further, here is the logical course of what just got enacted in the call-up of some 300,000 reservists:

Conscripts were previously told they won't be sent to Ukraine to fight because they are stationed/defend inside Russia

Ukrainian-held territories are now about to vote to join the Russian Federation.

When these territories join Russian then they are "inside Russia." They are Russian oblasts and attempts to defend (formerly) Ukrainian territory would then mark an invasion of Russian territory supported by NATO equipment.

Thus Medvedev's warning of 'willingness' to use nukes covers these territories inside Ukraine.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/russian-nukes-can-be-used-defend-annexed-ukraine-regions-kremlin-warns

Ex-minister sentenced to death

The verdict on China’s former justice minister, Fu Zhenghua, was later commuted to life in prison

Former Chinese justice minister Fu Zhenghua has been sentenced to death for corruption and abuse of power, state media reported on Thursday, adding that the sentence would be commuted to life imprisonment after two years.

Prosecutors convicted Fu of using his authority as the nation’s top public security official to trade favors for gifts and money worth some 117 million yuan ($17.3 million). In return for helping others with business operations, legal cases, and securing official positions, the high-ranking People’s Political Consultative Congress figure accepted bribes, abusing his power, the Intermediate People’s Court in Changchun in the Jilin province said in its verdict, as reported by state media.

The disgraced official served as justice minister from 2018 to 2020 after a lengthy career in law enforcement and the security service. He had also spearheaded several major corruption investigations of his own. He fell under suspicion in October, accused of “serious violations of discipline and national laws.”

Three former provincial police chiefs were also sentenced earlier this week, accused of both corruption and disloyalty to President Xi Jinping. All, including Fu, were allegedly part of a rival faction led by former high-ranking security official Sun Lijun, who is awaiting sentencing on charges of accepting bribes, manipulating the securities market, and owning illegal firearms.

Xi has made cracking down on corruption a cornerstone of his rule since assuming the country’s highest office in 2012. Over 100,000 people were indicted for graft during his first three years in office alone, with investigations opened against more than 1,500 public officials. Dozens of senior military officials have also been punished since he began his crusade against the so-called “tigers and flies.”

Xi is expected to be endorsed by the Party for a third term in October, which will make him the first Chinese leader since Mao Zedong to serve three terms. In June, he reiterated his “zero tolerance” policy for corruption in a speech to the Politburo Standing Committee, warning that he would “resolutely eliminate the two-faced person who acts against the party’s yang and yin.”

https://www.rt.com/news/563346-china-justice-sentenced-death-corruption/

Texas Governor Designates Mexican Cartels as Terrorists

Mexican drug cartels operating in the state of Texas are now classified as terrorists, as Texas Gov. Greg Abbot issued an executive order on the designation on Sept. 21.

https://www.ntd.com/texas-governor-designates-mexican-cartels-as-terrorists_844694.html

Here’s A List Of Some Consumer Brands Committed To A Woke Agenda (In Case You Want to Start Avoiding Them)

Amazon

Coca-Cola

Johnson & Johnson

Nike

Disney

Ben & Jerry’s

Kellogg

Adidas

https://dailycaller.com/2022/09/21/consumer-brands-woke-agenda-conservatives/

China Recruited Scientists Who Worked At Top US National Security Lab, Report Says

China paid scientists up to $1 million to leave their work on sensitive weapons technologies at the U.S.’ top nuclear lab and develop weapons for China, according to an intelligence report published Wednesday.

The report from Strider Technologies details Beijing’s campaign to embed 162 Chinese scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratories, where the U.S. first developed nuclear weapons, in sensitive U.S.-funded research over the last three decades. At least 13 of the scientists later returned to China through the subversive “talent programs” to advance Chinese research in deep-earth-penetrating warhead, hypersonic missile, quiet submarine and drone technologies, according to the report.

The talent programs present a “direct threat to U.S. national security,” Greg Levesque, a co-founder of Strider and the lead author of the report, told CBS News. “China is playing a game that we are not prepared for, and we need to really begin to mobilize.”

At least one of the Chinese scientists held a “Q Clearance,” providing access to top-secret information related to U.S. national security, according to the report.

“Our national security and defense require fierce protection of critical technology development,” a spokesperson from the Department of Energy told the Daily Caller News Foundation, adding that the agency is committed to safeguarding the private research that “underwrites the United States’ technology leadership.”

The report did not identify or make allegations of illegal activity by Los Alamos or any individuals named. However, a former Los Alamos employee pleaded guilty in 2020 to misrepresenting his involvement in China’s Thousand Talents Program.

The Justice Department described the program as “an initiative by the Chinese government to recruit people with access to and knowledge of foreign technology and intellectual property.” Often, China takes advantage of privileged access to U.S. research through the talent programs, stealing formulas, processes and other innovations for Chinese labs, according to a 2019 bipartisan Senate report.

The number of Chinese students, researchers and scientists who return to China has increased dramatically over the past decade, the Senate report stated.

https://dailycaller.com/2022/09/22/china-recruited-scientists-los-alamos-laboratories/

British P.M. Truss Tells U.N. World Needs an ‘Economic NATO’ Against Dictators – But Doesn’t Mention China

British Prime Minister Liz Truss told the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday that free nations should band together and “act as an economic NATO” to defend prosperity against the malevolent influence of authoritarian regimes like Russia and China.

Truss’ speech was no doubt shaped by Europe’s energy crisis, with a hard winter looming as Russia shuts off its gas pipelines and uses energy as a weapon. A great deal of her presentation focused on developing defenses against China’s and Russia’s weaponization of global supply chains.

Perhaps much of Truss’ advice is coming too late, after decades of globalism and absurd “green energy” policies put those supply chain and energy weapons in the hands of autocrats, but at least she appeared to appreciate the severity of the problem.

“We will ensure that we can’t be coerced or harmed by the reckless actions of rogue actors abroad. We will transition to a future based on renewable and nuclear energy, while ensuring the gas used during that transition is from reliable sources, including our own North Sea production. We will be a net energy exporter by 2040,” the British prime minister promised.

“We won’t be strategically dependent on those who seek to weaponize the global economy,” she vowed.

https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2022/09/22/british-p-m-truss-tells-u-n-world-needs-an-economic-nato-against-dictators-but-doesnt-mention-china/

Ukraine perfect testing ground for new US weapons – official

US defense companies should send their new weapons to Ukraine so they can be tested in actual combat against Russian forces, Kiev’s deputy defense minister, Vladimir Gavrilov, has said.

Gavrilov made the suggestion during a speech before hundreds of American defense industry representatives and military acquisitions personnel at the Future Force Capabilities Conference and Exhibition in Austin, Texas on Wednesday.

“If you have some ideas, or some pilot projects to be tested before mass manufacturing, you can send it to us and we will explain how to do it. And in the end you will get the stamp, proved by the war in Ukraine. You will sell it easy,” he said, as cited by the Military Times.

According to the deputy defense minister, startup companies, including those involved in anti-drone and anti-jamming equipment, have already brought new technologies to the Ukrainian battlefield.

“And they come back with a product that is competitive in the market now because it was tested in a combat zone,” Gavrilov said, without revealing the companies that have worked with Ukraine in this capacity.

His comments were made on the day Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization, which he said is necessary because Russia has been fighting “the entire Western military machine” in Ukraine. Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu later stated that around 300,000 reservists are planned to be called up.

In view of this shift in Russia’s tactics, Kiev will require more counter-drone and electronic warfare technologies, armored vehicles, and long-range anti-tank and precision fire weapons, Gavrilov said.

Ukraine is now almost entirely dependent on weapons supplied by the US, UK, EU, and other nations, according to Shoigu, as most of the Soviet-made hardware it had before the fighting began in late February has been destroyed by Russian forces.

Moscow has long criticized the West for delivering weapons to Kiev, saying it only prolongs the fighting and increases the risk of a direct confrontation between Russia and NATO. “The US, in fact, is teetering on the brink of turning into a party to the conflict” due to its polices, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned on Wednesday.

https://alethonews.com/2022/09/22/ukraine-perfect-testing-ground-for-new-us-weapons-official/

LITHIUM mining for electric vehicles is incredibly destructive to the environment and about as far from “green” as you can imagine

Electric vehicles are promoted as the solution for combating “climate change.” Governments are currently incentivizing the production of electric vehicles, while punishing the fossil fuel industry. However, lithium mining for electric vehicles is incredibly destructive to the environment, and is about as far from “green” as one could imagine. Not to mention, most of the lithium-ion batteries produced today come from China and require water-intensive mining operations that ravage natural environments throughout Australia, Argentina and Chile. The process depletes ground water, and leaves behind toxic wastewater that contaminates fields and harms wildlife. The mining process is not carbon dioxide free, either. The mining process releases 15,000 kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions for every ton of lithium that is extracted.

There are serious environmental risks to extracting lithium for the production of lithium-ion batteries

When lithium is extracted from salt mines, the miners must drill into the salt flats and pump out a salty, mineral-rich brine. The brine is placed in large pools, so the water can evaporate out. When the brine evaporates, it leaves behind a sludge of potassium, manganese, borax and lithium salts that must be filtered out further. The process pollutes nearby aquifers and lowers the water table, interfering with water sources in the local environment.

The lithium extraction process takes several months, displaces valuable water resources, and leaves behind a toxic trail of wastewater in the local environment. It takes approximately 500,000 gallons of water to produce one ton of lithium. When mining companies head into countries like Chile, they use up a majority of the region’s water, unjustly affecting small communities.

According to the Institute of Energy Research, Chile’s Salar de Atacama is one of the driest places on Earth, yet the mining companies are allowed to use up 65% of the region’s water. After the brine is removed from the salt flats, the water table automatically falls, disrupting the natural flow of water that is needed for wells and agriculture. These large-scale disruptions can always be blamed on “climate change” as the lithium mining industry plunges ahead, with no regard for the environmental damage wrought in its wake.

Water quality, wildlife populations, and crops all adversely affected by lithium mining

The toxic chemicals that are used to extract the brine are ultimately discarded into the local environment, where they contaminate streams, crops, wildlife and local ecosystems. The toxic chemicals, which include hydrochloric acid, leak from the evaporation pools and pollute the nearby water supply. Additionally, the large open pit mines displace arsenic into the nearby streams and rivers, where it will eventually deposit into agricultural land and be taken up by the crops. This downstream pollution is dangerous to wildlife, too. For example, in May of 2016, the Liqi River was polluted by the Gangizhou Rongda Lithium mine. The river turned up with dead fish, yak and cows.

https://www.newstarget.com/2022-09-21-lithium-mining-for-electric-vehicles-destroys-environment.html

https://www.newstarget.com/2022-09-21-lithium-mining-for-electric-vehicles-destroys-environment.html

Russia says will take seriously any sign for improvement in relations with US

Moscow approves nomination of new US ambassador, deputy foreign minister says

The Russian deputy foreign minister on Thursday said Moscow will take seriously any sign from the US regarding improvement in relations.

"We will take the slightest sign of readiness to move towards improving very seriously, whether it's public signals, whether it's some actions, but so far, unfortunately, the trend and the tendency are opposite," Sergey Ryabkov told a news conference in Moscow.

The US and its European allies have imposed unprecedented sanctions on Moscow, and has supplied Kyiv with weapons and supplies in the wake of Russia's war on Ukraine.

Ryabkov said Moscow has formally approved Lynne Tracy for the post of the US ambassador to Russia.

"They requested an agreement (formal consent) for it some time ago. They announced just recently that she had just been nominated for this position. And we gave agreement," he said.

Tracy, a career diplomat, was nominated by US President Joe Biden earlier this week.

Asked about reforming the UN Security Council, Ryabkov said Russia has long advocated for the expansion of its permanent and non-permanent members.

"It is commendable that finally the American president has stated what the Russian Federation has been talking about for a long time, in favor of which it speaks out.

"There are candidates who are quite worthy of becoming permanent members of the Security Council," he said.

Currently, the UN Security Council has five permanent members - the UK, US, China, Russia, and France – who have the veto power. Ten members of the Security Council, elected on a geographical basis, have the status of non-permanent members.

Biden, addressing the 77th UN General Assembly session on Wednesday, said the US believed that the UN should undertake more measures to reform its processes and working methods to “become more inclusive so it can become more representative of the world in which we live.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been questioning the unfair order, which gives a few leaders unchecked power, for many years, saying: "The world is bigger than five."​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/world/russia-says-will-take-seriously-any-sign-for-improvement-in-relations-with-us/2692415

Senate ratifies climate treaty that will raise cost of home appliances

'The last thing the American people need right now is another household necessity rising in price'

A group of 50 Senate Democrats and 19 Republicans voted to pass the Kigali Amendment to the 1987 United Nations (UN) Montreal Protocol. The amendment, which 27 Republicans voted to oppose, will limit the production and use of HFCs, man-made chemicals that are primarily used for cooling and refrigeration, by 85% over 15 years, which could substantially increase consumer and business costs in related industries.

“The last thing the American people need right now is another household necessity rising in price, but the Senate’s ratification of the Kigali Amendment does just that,” Ben Lieberman, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Lieberman also said that the treaty would limit the supply of HFCs that are needed to run most air conditioners and refrigeration systems.

“Not only will repairs of existing equipment go up, but the cost of new systems designed to use one of the pricey new replacement refrigerants will also rise,” he continued.

HFCs threaten Earth’s ozone layer and contribute to climate change, according to the UN. The chemicals have a planet-warming effect that is hundreds to thousands of times more potent than carbon dioxide, according to the EPA.

Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana voted in favor of the treaty after previously arguing that the act would be both good for the planet and the domestic economy, according to a press release. Louisiana is home to a Honeywell plant that makes chemicals that can be used instead of HFCs, according to a November 2021 Honeywell press release.

Kennedy’s office did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

The UN treaty classifies China as a developing nation and gives the nation an extra ten years to limit the production of HFCs, according to a fact sheet. However, the Senate voted to accept Republican Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan’s amendmentto the bill that classifies China as a developed nation to prevent its industry from gaining an unfair over the U.S.

“We are encouraged that the Senate took action to rescind China’s status as a developing nation under the Kigali Amendment, and hope that this commonsense step is replicated in all other agreements involving China, ” Lieberman said.

The Biden administration submitted the treaty for ratification in 2021 and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved it in May 2022 with both Democratic and Republican support. Nearly 200 governments, including the Obama administration, originally agreed in 2016 to phase out HFCs.

https://www.wnd.com/2022/09/senate-ratifies-climate-treaty-will-raise-cost-home-appliances/

Israeli-Syrian Escalation Moves To Frontlines

Israel’s repeated attacks on Syria have apparently begun to affect the situation along the main frontline in the Golan Heights.

An Israeli attack that targeted the capital of the war-torn country, Damascus, on September 17 resulted in some tensions along the frontline.

Four F-16 fighter jets of the Israeli Air Force carried out the attack from the direction of the Golan Heights. The fighter jets launched four cruise missiles and ten guided glide bombs at the southern outskirts of Damascus. Two missiles and six bombs were successfully intercepted by Syrian Pantsir-S1 and Buk-M2E air defense systems. However, impacts were reported.

Two structures in Damascus International Airport and an air-defense base in the nearby district of al-Kiswah were hit.

The main target of the attack was reportedly the “Lebanon Corps Support Office” of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The office allegedly supports pro-Iranian forces in Syria, and more importantly Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon.

Five Syrian service members were killed as a result of the attack. All of them were reportedly air defense operators.

The deadly attack was apparently meant to disturb Iranian weapons shipments meant for Hezbollah in Lebanon. Earlier this year, Tel Aviv accused the IRGC of smuggling weapons to Syrian airports aboard civilian airliners.

Two days after the attack, on September 19, an unusual incident was reported on the frontline between Israel and Syria in the Golan Heights.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said that they fired at four suspects who hurled objects along the separation line with Syria towards Israel.

Israeli troops crossed the separation line and opened fire at the suspects. One of the men was seriously wounded. He was detained by the IDF and later evacuated by helicopter to a hospital in Israel.

Later the IDF claimed that the suspects were planting anti-personnel mines along the separation line. These claims were refuted by several sources in the southern Syrian governorate of al-Quneitra, who said that the four men were just collecting firewood.

The alleged attack in the Golan Heights will likely lead to a further escalation. Israel responded to similar events in the past by launching large-scale aerial attacks on Syria.

Israel intensified its attacks on Syria in the last few months in a bid to pressure Damascus to move away from its allies, namely Iran and Hezbollah. However, this will not apparently happen any time soon.

Damascus and its allies have not responded to any of Israel’s recent attacks as of yet. Still, they don’t appear to be planning to succumb to pressure from Tel Aviv. Tensions will likely continue and move closer to the frontline on the Golan Heights.

https://southfront.org/israeli-syrian-escalation-moves-to-frontlines/

European spyware investigators criticize Israel over sale of Pegasus software

EU lawmakers accuse Israeli government of lacking transparency in granting export licenses for NSO Group products, particularly criticizing usage by Poland and Hungary

European Parliament members investigating the use of surveillance spyware by European Union governments sharply criticized Israel on Wednesday for a lack of transparency in allowing the sale of powerful Israeli spyware to European governments that have used it against critics.

The European lawmakers also condemned the Polish government for refusing to meet with them during a fact-finding visit to Warsaw that ended Wednesday.

“It is regrettable and we condemn the fact that the Polish authorities did not want to cooperate with our investigation committee,” Jeroen Lenaers, the head of the delegation, said at a news conference in Warsaw. “We think it also is a telling sign of the complete lack of importance this government attaches to checks and balances, to democratic scrutiny and to dialog with elected representatives.”

The committee is investigating the use by governments of Israeli-made Pegasus spyware and other invasive surveillance tools, viewing such technology as a threat to democracy in the 27-nation bloc.

Pegasus was developed by Israeli security firm NSO Group and is designed to breach mobile phones and extract vast amounts of information from them, including text messages, passwords, locations and microphone and camera recordings. The company markets the technology as a tool to target criminals but many cases have been discovered worldwide of governments using it against dissidents, journalists and political opponents.

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Sophie in ‘t Veld, the rapporteur of the inquiry, said the committee has learned that the NSO Group has sold spyware to 14 EU governments, using export licenses issued by the Israeli government. It learned that NSO stopped selling to two of those, but won’t say which ones. They are widely believed to be Poland and Hungary due to their democratic backsliding.

“Why can we not say with certainty that Poland was one of the two countries of which the contract has been terminated?” she said. “Why is it that NSO is allowed to operate in the European Union, conduct its finances through Luxembourg, sell its products to now 12 member states, products that have been used to violate the rights of European citizens and to attack democracy of the European Union?”

Israel, an ally, should “cooperate with us in the protection of our citizens,” she said.

In ‘t Veld also she would expect most EU countries to use spyware in rare cases, and with oversight, but that others including Poland have used it “against citizens,” making it “a tool for an authoritarian political agenda.”

Greece has been rocked by revelations that Nikos Androulakis, a European Parliament member and head of Greece’s third-largest political party, was put under surveillance last year with Predator spyware when he was running for his PASOK party’s leadership. A financial journalist also was under surveillance.

That follows revelations of spyware use against government critics in Poland and Hungary and against Catalan separatists in Spain.

During the visit, which began Monday, the 10-member delegation met with Poles targeted by the spyware, including a prosecutor and a senator, and other officials including members in the opposition-controlled Senate investigating Pegasus use.

They will publish a report on their findings and recommendations on November 8.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/european-spyware-investigators-criticize-israel-over-sale-of-pegasus-software/

Zelensky to U.N.: ‘Formula for Peace’ in Ukraine Begins with ‘Punishment’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky presented a five-point “formula for peace” between him and invading Russia during the United Nations General Assembly debate on Wednesday, identifying the first step as “punishment.”

Zelensky addressed the forum from Kyiv, a move that the Assembly voted to allow by 101 members to seven. Zelensky named and shamed the seven — the communist nations of Belarus, Cuba, North Korea, Eritrea, Nicaragua, plus Russia and Russian proxy Bashar al-Assad’s Syria — accusing them of fearing his words.

Ukraine is currently embroiled in a nearly nine-year-old war with Russia that began with the invasion and colonization of Ukraine’s Crimea region and the beginning of the ongoing conflict in the Donbas region, where pro-Russian separatists have declared the establishment of two “sovereign” states. In February, Russian leader Vladimir Putin announced that he was recognizing the Donbas’s Donetsk and Luhansk “People’s Republics” as countries and that he would send Russian armed forces into Ukraine at their request to “de-Nazify” Zelensky’s government. Zelensky, elected as the “pro-Russian” candidate in a free and fair election in 2019, has expressed offense at being branded a Nazi, noting his Jewish heritage.

Putin’s efforts in Ukraine have stalled since the bombing of the greater Kyiv area in the first half of the year. Ukrainian forces have recently claimed to have recaptured several southern municipalities. Putin announced a partial military mobilization, including conscription, on Wednesday intended to reverse what outside observers believe to be a significant decline in Russian field success in the war.

Zelensky discussed the war before the General Assembly through the lens of a five-point plan that he argued could be applied universally to any conflict to achieve peace. Prior to revealing the plan, he insisted to those urging Ukraine and Russia to attempt talks that the time for diplomacy had ended and that talks had indeed been attempted, but failed.

“We held 88 rounds of talks in various formats to prevent this war, just from the beginning of my presidency until February 24 this year,” he recalled.

Zelensky claimed his peace plan would necessarily require significant reform of the United Nations, later questioning the logic of permanent seats on the Security Council for rogue states like Russia, and the toothlessness of U.N. agencies.

“I will present a formula that can work not only for us, but for anyone who may find themselves in similar circumstances as we did,” he said. “It is a formula that punishes crime, protects life, restores security and territorial integrity, guarantees security, and provides determination. There are five preconditions for peace.”

Punishment, as he noted, was the first step in his plan to end wars.

Zelensky called for universal sanctions on Russia, from banning Russian tourists from entering free states to barring Russia from participating in international fora like the Security Council, also including commercial sanctions to impoverish the Russian economy.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/09/21/zelensky-u-n-formula-peace-ukraine-begins-punishment/

Biden Orders 100 Million At-Home COVID Test Kits In Anticipation Of A Fall Infection Surge

The U.S. has ordered over 100 million at-home Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) test kits from domestic manufacturers ahead of a potential case surge in autumn – and the midterm elections. Big Pharma companies are known allies of Democrats, so one can easily figure out where this leads.

But the White House and mainstream media will try to avoid that kind of conversation. In fact, the White House said this is only a short-term solution to the problem.

Dr. Anthony Fauci has been warning of a “likely” fall surge as early as April. The Biden administration predicted nearly 100 million Americans getting infections in the fall and winter, warning that the number was a median estimate and many more cases are possible, especially if a new variant appears.

President Joe Biden’s administration has repeatedly – and unsuccessfully – asked Congress for more pandemic funding. Last week, it requested $22.4 billion in emergency funding for the fall.

In a statement, the White House said: “The administration is acting, within its limited funding, to increase the supply of at-home COVID-19 tests in the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) by purchasing over 100 million additional at-home, rapid tests from domestic manufacturers.”

The administration also warned that it would be unable to provide enough tests, vaccines, and treatments without more funding. It insisted that replenishing the existing stockpile of at-home tests will help meet some testing needs in the months ahead and will put the U.S. in a better position to manage a potential increase in testing demand in the fall and winter. (Related: Australian COVID-19 test kit manufacturer recalls 195,000 at-home kits due to high rate of false positives.)

https://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/biden-orders-100-million-at-home-covid-test-kits-in-anticipation-of-a-fall-infection-surge

Jared Kushner Criticizes Sending Migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, Says ‘Seeing Them Used as Political Pawns is Very Troubling’

Jared Kushner is criticizing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for sending migrants to Martha’s Vineyard.

Appearing on Fox News, Kushner asserted that “we have to remember that these are human beings, they’re people, so seeing them being used as political pawns is very troubling to me.”

Kushner was a lifelong Democrat before serving in the Trump administration. He donated to Hillary Clinton’s campaign in 2008 and was a supporter of Barack Obama.

The former senior advisor to President Donald Trump and husband of Ivanka Trump is described in Peter Navarro’s new book as the “clown Prince himself,” “Rasputin in training,” and a “rich, run-of-the-mill liberal New York Democrat cum slumlord with a worldview totally orthogonal” to Trump’s.

Last year, Kushner praised Joe Biden’s foreign policy in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal.

“The Biden administration called Iran’s bluff early,” Kushner wrote. “It should continue to play the strong hand it was dealt.”

Kushner was also a leading proponent of Trump’s First Step Act, which helped to lower inmate populations and free criminals sooner. According to reports, Trump has since said that he regretted following his son-in-law’s lead on that initiative.

“One person who spoke with the president interpreted his thinking this way: ‘No more of Jared’s woke s***.’ Another said Trump has indicated that following Kushner’s advice has harmed him politically,” Axios reported in 2020.

At the time, Tucker Carlson blasted the legislation and blamed Kushner for it.

“In 2016, Donald Trump ran as a law-and-order candidate because he meant it,” Carlson said. “And his views remain fundamentally unchanged today. But the president’s famously sharp instincts, the ones that won him the presidency almost four years ago, have been since subverted at every level by Jared Kushner.”

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/09/jared-kushner-criticizes-sending-migrants-marthas-vineyard-says-seeing-used-political-pawns-troubling/

China files formal protest over Biden’s comments on defending Taiwan

Beijing on Monday hit back at US President Joe Biden’s comments that US forces would defend Taiwan in the event of an invasion, warning Washington that it should not underestimate China’s determination to defend its sovereignty.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said China has lodged a formal complaint with the US, pointing out that Mr Biden’s comments send a “seriously wrong signal” to separatist forces in Taiwan.

China was “strongly dissatisfied and resolutely opposed” to Mr Biden’s comments, said Ms Mao at a regular press briefing.

“We are willing to strive for peaceful reunification with our greatest sincerity and efforts. At the same time, we will not tolerate any activity aimed at secession and reserve the option to take all necessary measures,” she said.

China views Taiwan as a renegade province and has not ruled out the use of force in its quest for reunification with the self-ruled island.

“There is only one China in the world, Taiwan is a part of China, and the government of the People’s Republic of China is the only legitimate government of China,” said Ms Mao.

China’s angry rebuke was drawn by comments that Mr Biden made during an interview on CBS’ news programme 60 Minutes which was broadcast on Sunday.

Mr Biden was asked whether US forces would defend Taiwan, to which he replied: “Yes, if, in fact, there was an unprecedented attack.”

Asked if this would mean that unlike in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the US would send its forces — its men and women — to defend Taiwan from a Chinese invasion, Mr Biden again said “yes”.

The interview marked the fourth time that Mr Biden had veered from the longstanding US policy of “strategic ambiguity” on Taiwan, where the US does not make clear whether it would respond militarily in the event of an invasion of Taiwan.

But this is the first time Mr Biden has explicitly referred to deploying US boots on the ground if Taiwan is attacked.

A White House spokesman later said that US policy towards Taiwan has not changed.

“The President has said this before, including in Tokyo earlier this year. He also made clear then that our Taiwan policy hasn’t changed. That remains true,” said the White House spokesman.

Mr Biden’s comments come at a tense time across the Taiwan Strait, after US Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan last month.

https://americanmilitarynews.com/2022/09/china-files-formal-protest-over-bidens-comments-on-defending-taiwan/

Key congressman says Hunter Biden was 'operative for foreign influence,' belongs in jail

California Republican Rep. Darrell Issa alleges "free pass" for president's son on tax evasion, signals GOP probe of undisclosed lobbying for foreign clients.

Alleging that Hunter Biden "clearly" acted as "an operative for foreign influence" who failed to disclose foreign earnings and clients, an influential congressman is questioning why it has taken four years to decide whether to prosecute President Joe Biden's son.

"It's surprising that he didn't go to jail," California Republican Rep. Darrell Issa said Monday on the "Just the News, Not Noise" TV show.

Before the 2020 presidential election, damaging revelations from Hunter Biden's abandoned laptop began surfacing in independent media outlets, leading to allegations of wide-ranging misconduct by the president's son, including alleged tax evasion, money laundering, business dealings with entities tied to China's ruling communist regime, undisclosed lobbying for foreign clients and trading on his father's name and foreign policy clout to secure overseas business.

Establishment media outlets and major social media platforms attempted to ignore, censor or discredit the laptop story during the 2020 campaign, while, according to recent whistleblower reports, the FBI's Washington Field Office sought to block criminal investigation of the allegations. Mainstream legacy outlets like the New York Times and Washington Post belatedly acknowledged the authenticity of the laptop long after the 2020 election was decided.

"[W]hen you deliberately don't disclose income — even in the thousands of dollars, much less the millions of dollars — that's a crime," said Issa. "It's a felony. And usually, at best, you get to pay compensation and plead to a crime in lieu of maybe going to jail. That's not the case [with Hunter Biden]. He appears as though he's getting a free pass, and just paying now what he should have paid years ago.

"And the reality is, the laptop also reveals that this was a man making millions but always in financial trouble … [with] ex-wife payments, child support payments and, quite frankly, his drug addiction."

If Republicans gain a majority in the House in the midterm elections, one of the issues surrounding Hunter Biden they will look at, Issa revealed, is whether the president's son benefited from selective enforcement of the 1938 Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).

Obscure and rarely enforced with criminal penalties over the last half-century, the measure was weaponized during the Trump administration by a politically biased Department of Justice, according to Issa and other critics, to target Trump associates such as Paul Manafort and retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn in an effort to extract incriminating testimony against Trump.

"Hunter Biden was an operative for foreign influence, and did use or at least appears to have used his father and others for that game," the California Republican continued. "Meaning he lobbied, and when you lobby and you don't disclose that, you've committed a crime. So one of the things we're going to look at is this selective prosecution and whether this law needs to either be scrapped or real teeth to be put into it so that it's consistent in prosecution. Which unless they prosecute Hunter Biden, certainly it wasn't."

In a "60 Minutes" interview Sunday night, Joe Biden was asked if he thought his son's foreign business dealings created a conflict of interest.

"There's not a single thing that I've observed at all that would affect me or the United States relative to my son Hunter," the president replied.

"I love my son, number one," Biden later said. "He fought an addiction problem, he overcame it, he wrote about it."

Hunter Biden's attorney has not responded for comment.

https://justthenews.com/government/white-house/tueskey-congressman-says-hunter-biden-was-operative-foreign-influence

Drug trafficking operation nets record seizures and 1,333 arrests

LYON, France – An international operation coordinated by INTERPOL has laid bare the vast scale of drug trafficking with the seizure of illicit narcotics and precursor chemicals worth more than USD 717,000,000 and the arrest of 1,333 suspects worldwide.

Operation Lionfish V (23 June - 31 July) targeted the trafficking of illicit drugs along air, land and maritime routes in 22 countries worldwide via a coordinated cross-border approach, with more than 291 tonnes of precursor chemicals and 35.5 tonnes of narcotics seized.

While traditional drugs like cocaine and cannabis continue to represent a significant share of the illicit drugs market, the operation underscored the rise in the production and sale of synthetic drugs such as methamphetamine, Captagon and ketamine.

Precursor chemicals are especially valuable to criminal organizations because they allow them to produce an endless supply of synthetic drugs with a very high profit margin. The production of synthetic drugs does not rely on environmental or external factors like cocaine and heroin and can be manufactured in urban settings close to major transportation hubs.

Operational results

During the five-week operation authorities recovered 1.8 tonnes of ketamine, 683 kg of methamphetamine and 581 kg of Captagon. Significant seizures also included:

20.2 tonnes of cocaine

11.7 tonnes of cannabis

158 kg of heroin

65,100 tablets and 48 kg of Tramadol

9,500,000 pseudoephedrine tablets used to manufacture methamphetamine

dozens of firearms, rockets and explosives

A clandestine super-lab capable of producing thousands of kilograms of ketamine was dismantled in Cambodia, where police arrested an individual wanted internationally on an INTERPOL Red Notice for alleged transnational drug smuggling offences.

The 1,333 arrests made during the operation include 25 different nationalities, further highlighting how drug trafficking is a global problem which requires a global response.

Indian authorities made the largest single seizure of heroin during the operation after 75.3 kg of the drug were intercepted in the Port of Mundra. In a statement, India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) underlined how the country’s National Central Bureau for INTERPOL coordinated with law enforcement agencies globally, for concerted action against drug networks with international linkages, with a view to disrupt, dismantle and degrade illicit drug networks.

The operation showed that traffickers use various types of transport modes to smuggle their narcotics including containerized maritime cargo, air couriers, postal/express mail services, commercial vehicles, GOFAST vessels and small aircraft.

https://www.interpol.int/en/News-and-Events/News/2022/Drug-trafficking-operation-nets-record-seizures-and-1-333-arrests

Up to 9 million Aussies affected in major Optus data breach

A whopping nine million Australians have had their personal information compromised in a major cyberattack on Optus.

https://www.news.com.au/technology/online/hacking/up-to-9-million-aussies-affected-in-major-optus-data-breach/news-story/c3e98ef6123f4871739cc1525fddd6ef

LIVE: Alex Jones testifies at defamation trial

September 30: Pope Imposes Deadline for Vatican to Transfer Assets to Bank

Pope Francis on Tuesday imposed an Oct. 1 deadline for all Holy See offices and Vatican-linked institutions to deposit their assets with the Vatican bank.

Francis’ decree follows his decision earlier this year to entrust management of all Vatican assets to one office — the patrimony office known as APSA — in a bid to end decades of mismanagement that culminated with a scandal over a 350 million-euro investment in a London property. Ten people, including former Vatican officials and external brokers, are on trial in the Vatican tribunal on finance-related charges related to the deal.

The Vatican’s economy ministry in July issued a new investment policy requiring all Vatican departments to transfer their assets and investments to APSA via its accounts at the Vatican bank, known as the Institute for Religious Works, or IOR. No specific deadline was given, but the decree published Tuesday says all assets must be transferred by Sept. 30.

The need for a new decree imposing a fixed deadline and stressing there were no exceptions to the regulation suggests some offices or institutions were hoping to keep external accounts or investments.

https://www.cryptogon.com/?p=64791

Default day for the corp?

Hunter gone wild! Unhinged videos show the president's son dancing shirtless, slipping down a waterslide naked and entertaining hookers at debauched pool party in $4,140-per-night Malibu rental

WARNING: EXPLICIT CONTENT

Videos and photos obtained by DailyMail.com show Hunter Biden dancing shirtless, stripping naked and sliding down a waterslide into a pool at a home in Malibu in 2018

Other pictures show him having group sex and entertaining hookers at the $4,140-per-night luxury rental

In September and October 2018 Hunter rented lavish vacation homes around Los Angeles

He invited prostitutes to his wild pool parties and even took one photo showing two hookers naked in the hot tub with a jar of marijuana nearby

New photos and videos show Hunter Biden's wild and debauched parties at a luxury Malibu AirBnB.

In the videos Hunter is seen riding across the lawn on a bicycle, stripping naked and sliding down a waterslide into the $4,140-per-night property's pool.

Other pictures show him having group sex and entertaining hookers in his luxury rental's hot tub in 2018.

The videos were stored on Hunter's abandoned laptop and obtained by DailyMail.com.

This comes as President Biden spoke highly of Hunter and praised him for overcoming drug addiction in an interview aired Sunday night.

'I love my son, number one,' Biden said when asked about whether Hunter's work or past struggles could be a liability on the 2024 campaign trail. 'He fought an addiction problem and he overcame it, he wrote about it.

'And no, there is not a single thing that I've observed, at all, that would affect me or the United States relative to my son Hunter.'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11228367/Wild-videos-Hunter-Biden-going-waterslide-naked-entertaining-hookers.html

image issues

Protect the elite class at any cost - they're all whores for the $

GOP senators block bill requiring dark money groups to disclose donors

Sen. Josh Hawley said he is concerned donors would be "doxxed, and hassled, and harried, and harmed."

Senate Republicans on Thursday blocked a Democrat-led measure to require so-called dark money groups disclose the identities of donors who contribute more than $10,000 during an election cycle.

The vote in the 100-member chamber was 49-49 with every present Republican voting against the bill and every present Democrat voting for it.

The bill is not new, however. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) first introduced the legislation in 2010 and it has been reintroduced every Congress since.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) told Insider that he is concerned the donors would be harassed.

"I don't want to see them doxxed, and hassled, and harried, and harmed, and that's what this bill is about," he said.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) cited a 1958 Supreme Court decision that determined that the state of Alabama, which at the time was largely controlled by segregationist Democrats, could not force the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to disclose its members.

"Racist Democrats wanted to go after the NAACP and persecute their supporters," Cruz said. "Democrats have wanted to do this for a long time."

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) criticized the GOP for not supporting the bill, which he introduced.

"Unfortunately, the Republican party has become as dependent on dark money as a deep-sea diver is on his air hose," he said. "And so even though my colleagues know that the public hates this stuff, they try to respond to that hatred with their own efforts to paint us as a dark-money party."

https://justthenews.com/government/gop-senators-block-bill-requiring-dark-money-groups-disclose-donors

Ukraine Has Been in State of Lawlessness Since 2014, Lavrov Says

Ukraine descended into chaos in late 2013 after the Yanukovych government reversed course on penning an association agreement with the European Union in favor of integration with the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union instead. In February of 2014, the Ukrainian president was overthrown in a US-sponsored coup, sparking the present security crisis.

The terms "impunity" or "lawlessness" aptly characterize the situation that Ukraine has been in for over eight years now, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said.

"As I understand it, today's meeting was motivated by the desire of some delegations to discuss the subject of lawlessness/impunity in Ukraine. I think this is very, very timely, because this term - lawlessness/impunity, reflects what has been happening in this country since 2014," Lavrov said, speaking at a United Nations Security Council ministerial meeting on Ukraine on Thursday.

"For more than eight years the Ukrainian Army and nationalist militant formations have been killing the inhabitants of the Donbass with impunity, only because they refused to recognize the results of the criminal, bloody, anti-constitutional coup in Kiev, because they decided to defend rights guaranteed to them under the Ukrainian Constitution, including the right to freely use their native Russian tongue," the foreign minister said.

Lavrov accused Kiev of spending years waging a "total frontal offensive" against the Russian language through a series of laws adopted in 2017, 2020, and 2021, all of which he said were directed at "squeezing out the Russian language, in fact, its total ban."

The minister compared Ukrainian authorities' destruction of Russian-language books in schools and the demolition of monuments to Russian writers to the kind of thing the Nazis in Germany did in the 1930s.

Referendums a Type of 'Response' to Zelensky's Request

Lavrov characterized the planned referendums set to take place in Donbass, Zaporozhye, and Kherson as a response to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's demand that any self-identifying Russians get out of the country.

"The pinnacle [of Kiev's anti-Russian policy] was an interview with Mr. Zelensky on August 5 of last year, when he advised everyone who feels Russian to leave for Russia for the sake of their children and grandchildren," Lavrov said.

"It seems to me that these decisions which the residents of a whole range of Ukrainian regions on holding referendums are a response to his request," the diplomat said.

https://sputniknews.com/20220922/ukraine-has-been-in-state-of-lawlessness-since-2014-lavrov-says-1101094810.html