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Merkel explains why she wasn’t surprised by Russia’s offensive in Ukraine
The Minsk Agreements became “eroded” and the EU was reluctant to talk to Moscow, the former German chancellor told Der Spiegel
Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she was not surprised when the conflict between Russia and Ukraine broke out in late February. The retired leader was speaking to Der Spiegel in a lengthy interview published on Thursday.
“It did not come as a surprise,” Merkel told the outlet. By then, “the Minsk Agreements were eroded,” the former chancellor stated, referring to the 2014 ceasefire deal brokered by Germany and France, which were designed to give the eastern regions special status within Ukraine.
She also said her efforts to establish another dialogue platform for Russia and the EU in 2021 had come to nothing.
“I wanted, together with [French President] Emmanuel Macron, to create an independent European discussion format with Putin through the European Council,” Merkel said, explaining that she faced opposition from other members of the EU’s top body.
“I no longer had the strength to assert myself,” she noted, as everyone knew she was about to step down. She faced the same problem on her farewell visit to Moscow, sensing she no longer had the ability to influence Putin, for whom she said “only power counts.”
The former German leader said she “wished for a more peaceful time” after her departure and would have “pushed for [her initiative] further” had she decided to lead her party into the 2021 parliamentary elections and won.
The former chancellor also acknowledged that she had not moved forward “even a millimeter” in resolving not only the Ukraine crisis, but the tensions between “Transnistria and Moldova, Georgia and Abkhazia,” as well as the crises in Syria and Libya. “It was time for a new approach,” she said.
Merkel, however, defended her opposition to admitting Georgia and Ukraine into NATO, arguing that she “bought time” for Kiev to better prepare for the Russian offensive.
However, Merkel still believes that Berlin should not be “the first nation to send state-of-the-art tanks” to Kiev, warning that it would only damage Berlin’s relations with Moscow. “Russia would then be only further set against Germany,” she said.
Merkel faced criticism at home over the conflict for supposedly making the German economy too reliant on Russian gas. The ex-chancellor defended her decisions, saying that buying gas from Moscow was the best way towards a green future and the move away from coal.
https://www.rt.com/news/567189-merkel-ukraine-russia-conflict-surprise/
Dr. Fauci at Deposition Insists Misinformation and Disinformation Should Not Be Tolerated Unless It Comes from Him
The day before Thanksgiving, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, along with Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, deposed Anthony Fauci (head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases [NIAID]) at the National Institutes for Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland.
The Gateway Pundit previously reported in May that the Missouri and Louisiana Attorneys General filed a lawsuit (Missouri v. Biden) against the Biden Administration, including Joe Biden himself, Anthony Fauci, the Department of Homeland Security and nearly a dozen federal agencies and Secretaries.
Fauci was deposed on Wednesday. And The Gateway Pundit’s Jim Hoft and attorney John Burns were present at the deposition and witnessed the questioning for seven hours.
Back in November 2021. Dr. Fauci famously said, “I represent science,” and condemned the voices who pointed out his numerous lies, flip-flops, and inconsistencies.
During questioning on Wednesday Dr. Fauci was asked repeatedly on what he thought of criticism of his management of the pandemic and his failed policies.
Dr. Fauci gave this shocking statement considering his own well-documented record on disinformation and outright lies.
Fauci told the panel, “Well, it is very clear that, as I’ve said 10 multiple times before, that misinformation and 11 disinformation, particularly that encourages people to avoid lifesaving interventions can certainly result in the unnecessary death of people whose lives would have been saved. So when misinformation and disinformation leads people to avoid a lifesaving intervention, that is equivalent to contributing to the death of that person.”
More…. Fauci added this, “It is very clear that, as I’ve said multiple times before, that misinformation and disinformation, particularly that encourages people to avoid lifesaving interventions can certainly result in the unnecessary death of people whose lives would have been saved. So when misinformation and disinformation leads people to avoid a lifesaving intervention, that is equivalent to contributing to the death of that person.”
Mr. Sauer asked Dr. Fauci if he thought that allowing both sides to openly debate their positions on hotly contested issues is important, like the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine or the origins of the COVID-19 virus?
Dr. Fauci responded, “You know, when you say allowed to debate, I think honest debate is important. But then he added that “when it goes beyond debate and leads people who are unwitting about these things to do things that are clearly detrimental to their life and their safety, I find that disturbing.” Fauci then alleged that how this is mitigated “is not in my lane.”
Fauci used this argument to shut down thousands of voices who opposed his unscientific dogma and totalitarian edicts.
The Gateway Pundit will continue to report on the Fauci deposition in the coming days.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/11/dr-fauci-deposition-insists-misinformation-disinformation-not-tolerated-unless-comes/
Sorry if it's pb/lb.
Tennessee State Senator Pleads Guilty to Campaign Finance Scheme
Tennessee State Senator Brian Kelsey pleaded guilty today to violating campaign finance laws and conspiring to defraud the Federal Election Commission (FEC) as part of a scheme to benefit his 2016 campaign for U.S. Congress.
According to court documents, Kelsey, 44, of Germantown, admitted that he conspired to, and did, secretly and unlawfully funnel money from multiple sources, including his own Tennessee State Senate campaign committee, to his authorized federal campaign committee. Kelsey, who was a practicing attorney, and his co-conspirators, including Joshua Smith, also caused a national political organization to make illegal and excessive contributions to Kelsey’s federal campaign committee by secretly coordinating with the organization on advertisements supporting Kelsey’s federal candidacy, which caused false reports of contributions and expenditures to be filed with the FEC.
Kelsey and his co-conspirators orchestrated the concealed movement of $91,000 – $66,000 of which came from Kelsey’s State Senate campaign committee, and $25,000 of which came from a nonprofit corporation that publicly advocated on legal justice issues – to a national political organization for the purpose of funding advertisements that urged voters to support Kelsey in the August 2016 primary election. Kelsey and his co-conspirators also caused the political organization to make $80,000 worth of contributions to Kelsey’s federal campaign committee in the form of coordinated expenditures.
Kelsey pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the FEC and aiding and abetting the acceptance of excessive contributions on behalf of a federal campaign. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 9, 2023, and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison on each count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Joshua Smith pleaded guilty last month to aiding and abetting the solicitation, receipt, direction, transfer, and spending of soft money in connection with a federal election. He is awaiting sentencing.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Mark H. Wildasin for the Middle District of Tennessee, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee, and Special Agent in Charge Douglas Korneski of the FBI Memphis Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI is investigating the case.
Trial Attorney John Taddei of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section, Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Klopf for the Middle District of Tennessee, and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Pritchard for the Western District of Tennessee are prosecuting the case.
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/tennessee-state-senator-pleads-guilty-campaign-finance-scheme
Court hears secretly recorded phone call between Pope Francis, top Cardinal
Pope Francis was secretly recorded during a phone call with one of his former top cardinals discussing the Holy See’s payments to free a nun held hostage by al-Qaeda-linked militants in northern Africa.
In a shocking legal move, the recorded phone call between Pope Francis and Cardinal Angelo Becciu — one of 10 defendants in an ongoing embezzlement trial — was played before the Vatican court.
In the call, Becciu can be heard asking the Pope to confirm that he had authorized payments to free the nun, who was kidnapped in 2017. She was eventually released last year and met with the pope.
Journalists were asked to leave the courtroom before the tape was played because the recording had not yet been formally admitted into evidence, but a transcript from the Italian Financial Police was published by Italian news agency Adnkronos, CNN reported.
The recording was made on July 24, 2021 — just three days before Becciu was to be put on trial for alleged embezzlement and abuse of office — and 10 days after Pope Francis had been released from the hospital in Rome for intestinal surgery, according to the outlet.
Beccui can be heard asking the Pope to confirm that he had authorized payments to self-described security consultant Cecilia Marogna, who has also been named as a defendant in the trial. Marogna was to then pay the British firm, Inkerman Group, to free the nun.
https://nypost.com/2022/11/26/pope-francis-secretly-recorded-phone-call-heard-at-cardinal-angelo-becciu-trial/
Biden Regime Bans World’s Largest Sugar Producer from Exporting to the U.S. Amid Forced Labor Claims – But China Gets a Pass
On Wednesday, the Biden regime banned the world’s largest sugar producer from exporting its product to the United States due to suspicions that it was produced using forced labor.
“Effective November 23, 2022, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel at all U.S. ports of entry will detain raw sugar and sugar-based products produced in the Dominican Republic by Central Romana Corporation Limited (Central Romana),” US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said in a statement.
Although Central Romana is headquartered in the Dominican Republic, it is owned by the Fanjul family, who are influential sugar barons based in West Palm Beach, Florida, according to UPI.
Due to information suggesting that forced labor is being used by Central Romana, CBP issued a Withhold Release Order (WRO).
According to CBP, they have identified five of the International Labour Organization’s 11 indicators of forced labor during its investigation: abuse of vulnerability, isolation, withholding of wages, abusive working and living conditions, and excessive overtime.
“This Withhold Release Order demonstrates CBP’s commitment to protect human rights and international labor standards and to promote a fair and competitive global marketplace,” said CBP Acting Commissioner Troy Miller. “The agency will continue to set a high global standard by aggressively investigating allegations of forced labor in U.S. supply chains and keeping tainted merchandise out of the United States.”
“CBP continues to set the international standard for ensuring that goods made with forced labor do not enter U.S. commerce,” said AnnMarie R. Highsmith, Executive Assistant Commissioner, CBP Office of Trade. “Manufacturers like Central Romana, who fail to abide by our laws, will face consequences as we root out these inhumane practices from U.S. supply chains.”
One user commented on this decision, “So let me get this right possible forced labor in the Dominican republic but China has slave labor and this administration is in bed with them. Dominican Republic is not buying up land around our military bases plus they do not have their own police department in our country like China does. I guess if Dominican Republic was bribing this administration like China is they would not be banned. But wait, wasn’t it Nancy that wanted cheap/slave labor from the illegal aliens to work out farms?”
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has conducted a widespread incarceration and political indoctrination campaign against Uyghurs, who are mostly Muslim, and other ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang, a large region in western China.
In Xinjiang, the government is the trafficker, according to the U.S. Department of State.
Business and Human Rights Resource Center reported:
In March 2020, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) published a report Uyghurs for sale: ‘Re-education’, forced labour and surveillance beyond Xinjiang, which identified 83 foreign and Chinese companies as allegedly directly or indirectly benefiting from the use of Uyghur workers outside Xinjiang through potentially abusive labour transfer programs.
ASPI estimates at least 80,000 Uyghurs were transferred out of Xinjiang and assigned to factories in a range of supply chains including electronics, textiles, and automotives under a central government policy known as ‘Xinjiang Aid’. The report identified 27 factories in nine Chinese provinces that are using Uyghur labour transferred from Xinjiang since 2017.
ASPI reached out to the 83 brands to confirm their relevant supplier details. Where companies responded before publication, they have included their relevant clarifications in their report.
Business & Human Rights Resource Centre invited Abercrombie & Fitch, adidas, Amazon, BMW, Gap, H&M, Inditex, Marks & Spencer, Nike, North Face, Puma, PVH, Samsung and UNIQLO to respond; their responses are provided. We invited Apple, Esprit, and Fila to respond; they did not. L Brands sent its response after publication of our Weekly Update, in October 2020.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/11/biden-regime-bans-worlds-biggest-sugar-producer-exporting-u-s-amid-claims-forced-labor/
Joe Biden Dines at Restaurant in Nantucket Called “Brotherhood of Thieves”
Joe and Jill Biden are spending the Thanksgiving weekend at a $30 million estate in Nantucket, Massachusetts.
The Biden clan took Air Force One to Nantucket to enjoy a long Thanksgiving weekend while many Americans skipped a traditional turkey dinner due to Bidenflation.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/11/joe-biden-dines-restaurant-nantucket-called-brotherhood-thieves-video/
UK bans Chinese-made surveillance cameras at 'sensitive' sites
China's intelligence law stipulates that all Chinese companies must grant full access to information upon the government's request.
UK Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Oliver Dowden told members of parliament on Thursday that the UK government departments had been instructed not to install Chinese-manufactured surveillance cameras in "sensitive" government locations, British newspaper The Independent reported on Thursday.
"Departments have therefore been instructed to cease deployment of such equipment on to sensitive sites, where it is produced by companies subject to the national intelligence law of the People’s Republic of China," Dowden said.
China's intelligence law stipulates that all Chinese companies must grant full access to information upon the government's request.
Following a thorough review of present and future threats conducted by the UK Government Security Group regarding the use of Chinese surveillance cameras in government buildings, the agency concluded that "additional controls are required."
Dowden added that governmental institutions must not only cease to install further Chinese-made devices but also fully disconnect the cameras that are already set in place.
The Chancellor further requested government staff to exercise the ban at locations that are not deemed "sensitive."
In August this year, the UK Parliament shut down its TikTok account due to concerns over possible information leakage to China.
Last month, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered Huawei equipment to be purged completely from Britain’s 5G network by the end of 2027.
On November 15, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak claimed that China is a systemic threat to UK values and the "most state-based threat to our economic security," adding that Britain will consider supplying weaponry to Taiwan.
https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/uk-bans-chinese-made-surveillance-cameras-at-sensitive-sites
Focus on the Family in Colorado vandalized with graffiti days after
Club Q tragedy: 'Blood is on your hands'
Over the weekend, a shooting at Club Q left five people dead and 17 wounded
A sign outside the Focus on the Family facility in Colorado Springs, Colorado, was vandalized on Thanksgiving, just days after a mass shooting at an LGBTQ bar left five people dead and 17 wounded.
The morning of Nov. 24, officials reported graffiti at the facility that read: "Their blood is on your hands five lives taken." A piece of metal was left leaning against the large stone sign, which quoted 2 Corinthians 11:14-15.
A day later, the graffiti message was mostly covered with cardboard and plastic.
Focus on the Family President Jim Daly addressed the vandalism, calling for community members to love and pray and not to spread hate.
"We recognize the community is hurting in the aftermath of the reckless and violent actions of a very disturbed individual. This is a time for prayer, grieving, and healing, not vandalism and the spreading of hate," he said, according to FOX 21.
He added: "Focus on the Family is privileged to be one of many organizations in our city positioned to help and support the needs of struggling individuals and families."
"The families of the five individuals killed in Saturday night’s senseless attack are in our prayers. We urge everyone to pray for peace and we also pray for the individual or group responsible for this mischievous and unwarranted defacing of our ministry’s property," Daly also said.
Some people have criticized Focus on the Family, a global Christian outreach ministry, for being homophobic as it often differs from the LGBTQ community on issues of sex education and gender ideology, among others.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/focus-family-colorado-vandalized-graffiti-days-after-club-q-tragedy
Did you see the movie "Focus" about imprinting an image in the mind of the deceiver?
>Did you see the movie "Focus" about imprinting an image in the mind of the deceiver?
^Movie Story.
BREAKING EXCLUSIVE – WE CAUGHT THEM – Corrupt FBI Caught Inserting Docs at Mar-a-Lago Raid to Make Trump Look Bad
This nation is broken. Those in charge of our system of justice are crooks. The Department of Justice is not just. Its leaders are like foxes in the hen house or criminals running the police station.
In our article posted by The Gateway Pundit on September 1, 2022, only a few weeks after the unprecedented, unnecessary and unlawful raid of the President’s home on August 8, 2022, we noted that the FBI inserted documents into the documents it stole from President Trump during the raid.
We reported that the FBI created the crime scene, inserted their own documents, and then photoshopped the document. Here is what we reported:
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We know that the FBI wanted to make this look like a crime scene.
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 to indicate 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.
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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.
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
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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.
Finally, did the FBI Agents who invaded the President’s home have the proper credentials to review classified information? How about the agents who made the call to photoshop the photo? How about 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.
Earlier this week the FBI confirmed our reporting.
Conservative Treehouse reported (emphasis added):
In a recent court filing [Document Here] President Trump through his legal counsel has requested Judge Cannon to unredact and unseal the search warrant affidavit used as the predicate for the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago. Apparently, the DOJ have yet to provide President Trump with the constitutionally required predicate documents to support their search.
Additionally, the DOJ previously leaked to media about “empty folders with classified banners” as part of the evidence cache they collected. According to the filing the DOJ has since presented three different versions of their evidence collection list, with the most recent list dropping any claims of “two empty folders with classified banners.”
he crooks at the FBI deleted the files because they had previously inserted them to make it look like the President had classified documents laying all over the place at Mar-a-Lago.
Any and all involved in this illegal search and seizure – from Biden to AG Garland to Chris Wray to those overseeing and involved – should be thrown in prison.
This was the President’s home they illegally raided.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/11/breaking-exclusive-caught-corrupt-fbi-caught-inserting-docs-mar-lago-raid-make-trump-look-bad/
Critics erupt on Biden after ‘sick’ comment on semi-automatic gun purchases: 'Sheer ignorance'
Biden told reporters that the purchase of semi-automatic weapons had 'no socially redeeming value'
Biden faced intense backlash from critics on Thanksgiving after speaking out against the purchase of semi-automatic weapons.
During a press event in Nantucket, Massachusetts, Biden reiterated his previous support for new gun restrictions while speaking about the recent mass shooting in Colorado.
"The idea we still allow semi-automatic weapons to be purchased is sick," Biden said. "Just sick. It has no socially redeeming value. Zero. None. Not a single solitary rationale for it except profit for the gun manufacturers."
A reporter then asked Biden if he would be able to make any movement on new gun laws while Republicans control the House in the next Congress, to which the president said he would make that assessment as he counts votes.
Biden told reporters that the purchase of semi-automatic weapons had 'no socially redeeming value'
Biden calls for new gun control laws before GOP takes House: 'I'm going to try to get rid of assault weapons'
President Biden faced intense backlash from critics on Thanksgiving after speaking out against the purchase of semi-automatic weapons.
During a press event in Nantucket, Massachusetts, Biden reiterated his previous support for new gun restrictions while speaking about the recent mass shooting in Colorado.
"The idea we still allow semi-automatic weapons to be purchased is sick," Biden said. "Just sick. It has no socially redeeming value. Zero. None. Not a single solitary rationale for it except profit for the gun manufacturers."
A reporter then asked Biden if he would be able to make any movement on new gun laws while Republicans control the House in the next Congress, to which the president said he would make that assessment as he counts votes.
HUNTERS FEAR 'END OF FIREARM SALES' UNTIL OREGON CREATES GUN PERMIT SYSTEM
"I'm going to try," Biden said. "I’m going to try to get rid of assault weapons."
Prominent Twitter users pointed out that semi-automatic weapons typically include handguns, rifles, and shotguns, which account for a large swathe of the gun sales in the U.S.
"So essentially all guns are on the Big Guy’s chopping block," Hollywood actor James Woods tweeted.
"Wow. Are there any guns Biden would not ban?" Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton asked.
U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., said that Biden was "maligning most gun owners" with his stance on firearm purchases and noted that Americans rejected gun control measures floated by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
Missouri’s 4th Congressional District U.S. Rep.-elect Mark Alford called Biden’s stance on gun laws "sheer ignorance," and cited an article noting that semi-automatic weapons make up 50% of all gun sales in America.
Several other right-leaning Twitter users also called out the president for his comments about gun purchases.
Earlier this year, Biden's call for an assault weapons ban fell flat with Republicans, even as nearly two dozen GOP senators bucked the gun lobby to advance a bipartisan gun bill.
Democrats control the House by a narrow margin until January. The Senate, meanwhile, is split 50-50 between both parties. For a sweeping gun control package to pass, including a ban on assault weapons, at least 10 GOP supporters will be needed to break the Senate's 60-vote filibuster threshold.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/critics-erupt-biden-sick-comment-semi-automatic-gun-purchases-sheer-ignorance
Georgia's election reforms made it easier to vote
HILLARY CLINTON IS AN ELECTION DENIER
After tallying the votes and conducting the county-by-county audit required by state law, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger certified Georgia's Nov. 8 election results on Tuesday. They show that 3.95 million Georgians voted — an all-time record for a midterm election and nearly 80% of the 2020 presidential turnout. This compares quite favorably to the drop-off in turnout in other states, such as New York, where turnout this year was only 66% of 2020, and California, where it was only 53%. Georgia voters are clearly very engaged and participate in midterm elections in large numbers. That is a very good thing and a credit to the state's governance.
What's more, the election was run so smoothly and efficiently that Raffensperger was able to deliver the certification early, as he announced in a press release Tuesday.
Democrat Stacey Abrams, the election denier who just lost her second Georgia governor's race this month, has been put in an awkward position. She has never admitted that she lost her race in 2018, and she claims that voter suppression was the reason for the outcome in both years.
Despite record turnout, Abrams has been forced to maintain that Georgians' votes are being suppressed. Her argument has been that record turnout does not necessarily rule out vote suppression. On any meaningful scale, this argument is both implausible and ridiculous. The high vote totals most certainly do prove that people had ample voting access, in spite of (or perhaps thanks to) the election reform bill that was so heavily criticized. In fact, these results suggest the law made it easier for most people to vote, not harder, just as Republicans argued at the time.
The lies that Abrams, Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), President Joe Biden, and other Democrats told about Georgia's election reform law reflect poorly upon their sincerity because they knew they were not telling the truth. No claim is too wild or implausible for Democrats to make if they have a chance of raising racial tensions and scaring their voters to the polls. Unfortunately, their falsehoods on this matter cost Atlanta baseball's All-Star game.
Abrams has now lost two elections and one federal lawsuit alleging problems with Georgia's voting. Her second loss is by a margin of nearly 300,000 votes, up from her 55,000-vote loss in 2018. Maybe, instead of blaming the phantom of voter suppression, she should accept that Georgian voters are not that into her.
Meanwhile, voters taking part in the Dec. 6 runoff between Republican Herschel Walker and Warnock can feel confident that their votes will count and the result will be decided fairly, one way or the other.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/fairness-justice/georgias-election-reforms-made-it-easier-to-vote
>>17824955 mis Addendum
When Georgia legislators passed their post- COVID election reform bill, Democrats staged a public freakout. They alleged this was a "Jim Crow" voter suppression law and that Republicans were making it harder for people to exercise their right to vote.
This was, of course, nonsense, but the media dutifully reported Democrats' false claims as if they were fact. This lack of integrity had serious consequences for Georgia. But this week, there is evidence that their claims were bogus.
US FCC bans sales, import of Chinese tech from Huawei, ZTE
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is banning the sale of communications equipment made by Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE and restricting the use of some China-made video surveillance systems, citing an “unacceptable risk” to national security.
The five-member Federal Communications Commission said Friday it has voted unanimously to adopt new rules that will block the importation or sale of certain technology products that pose security risks to U.S. critical infrastructure. It’s the latest in a years-long escalation of U.S. restrictions of Chinese technology that began with President Donald Trump and has continued under President Joe Biden’s administration.
“The FCC is committed to protecting our national security by ensuring that untrustworthy communications equipment is not authorized for use within our borders, and we are continuing that work here,” said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, a Democrat, in a prepared statement.
Huawei declined comment Friday. Along with Huawei and ZTE, the order affects products made by companies such as Hikvision and Dahua, makers of widely used video surveillance cameras.
The FCC’s order applies to future authorizations of equipment, though the agency leaves open the possibility it could revoke previous authorizations.
“Our unanimous decision represents the first time in FCC history that we have voted to prohibit the authorization of new equipment based on national security concerns,” tweeted Brendan Carr, a Republican FCC commissioner.
Carr added that as “a result of our order, no new Huawei or ZTE equipment can be approved. And no new Dahua, Hikvision, or Hytera gear can be approved unless they assure the FCC that their gear won’t be used for public safety, security of government facilities, & other national security purposes.”
Hikvision said in a statement that its video products “present no security threat” to the U.S. but the FCC’s decision “will do a great deal to make it more harmful and more expensive for US small businesses, local authorities, school districts, and individual consumers to protect themselves, their homes, businesses and property.”
https://apnews.com/article/biden-technology-donald-trump-national-security-federal-communications-commission-6904d9fc598321fadc8bccb430efd800
Here We Go: CDC Says It’s Monitoring a New COVID Variant Known as “XBB” – Deemed ‘Most Vaccine Resistant Strain Ever’
On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that it is monitoring a new COVID-19 variant known as “XBB,” which is responsible for an estimated 3.1% of all new infections in the United States, according to Yahoo News.
Back in October, health officials in the US said they were tracking a new Covid strain that is being called the “most vaccine-resistant ever” after causing a surge in cases in Singapore.
The recent outbreak of infections in Singapore has been traced to XBB, a “recombinant” of the Omicron subvariants BA.2.10.1 and BA.2.75.
“Preliminary research suggests the Omicron subvariant XBB might carry a higher infection risk and be more resistant to neutralizing antibodies from booster vaccine doses and antibody drugs, but more studies are needed, according to Verywell Health.
According to the latest weekly estimates from the CDC, the Northeast is where the strain has spread the farthest. In this week’s CDC’s “Nowcast,” over 5% of infections in the areas spanning New Jersey through Maine are related to XBB.
Earlier this month, the CDC offered preliminary estimates suggesting XBB is potentially doubling in proportion about every 12 days. That could be faster than the current pace of the BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 variants now dominant across the country.
However, the Biden administration’s top COVID officials and experts say they do not think XBB will pose a new threat on the scale of when the Omicron variant first emerged a year ago.
“Where we’ve seen surges, they’ve seen mostly it be driven by seasonality, people coming inside, spending more time around one another, but not being specifically being driven by the emergence of a new variant,” the CDC’s Ian Williams told a meeting of the CDC’s emergency response and preparedness advisers earlier this month.
XBB is one of several new lineages that have displaced BA.4 and BA.5, the Omicron variant siblings that had driven a wave of cases over the summer. As of this week, the CDC says BA.5 has fallen to less than 1 in 5 new infections nationwide and BA.4 has now virtually disappeared.
The strain’s arrival also comes at a time when most regions, including the Northeast, are seeing relatively flat or slowing COVID-19 hospitalization rates.
Around 3 in 4 Americans currently live in counties deemed at “low” COVID-19 Community Levels, the lowest tier of precautions recommended by the agency, according to figures released Friday by the agency.
“However, there’s a lot of worry that a new variant could emerge and start us all over again. So there’s a lot of work focusing on making sure we’re prepared and thinking about that and watching if it emerges around the world, so we can become prepared,” Williams added.
Yahoo News reported:https://www.yahoo.com/news/cdc-says-now-tracking-covid-193926976.html
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/11/go-cdc-says-monitoring-new-covid-variant-known-xbb-deemed-vaccine-resistant-strain-ever/