TWITTER FILES: PART 7
The FBI & the Hunter Biden Laptop
How the FBI & intelligence community discredited factual information about Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings both after and before The New York Post revealed the contents of his laptop on October 14, 2020
https://twitter.com/ShellenbergerMD/status/1604871630613753856
WATCH LIVE: Kari Lake’s Attorneys Give Oral Argument In Stolen Election Lawsuit Hearing
https://youtu.be/X6mynOytFoA
US has put itself and Russia ‘on brink of direct clash’ – Moscow
The Biden administration is lying about maintaining contacts between the two countries, the Foreign Ministry says
Washington’s “dangerous and short-sighted policy” has put it “on the brink of a direct clash” with Moscow, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Monday, responding to US State Department spokesman Ned Price, who blamed Russia last week for making relations between the two countries “unstable and unpredictable.”
Moscow has “genuinely strived” to make relations with the US stable and predictable, even as Washington stokes tensions, Zakharova added.
“It is the US’ desire to maintain American hegemony at all costs… as well as its arrogant unwillingness to engage in a serious dialogue on security guarantees” that led to the current crisis, the spokeswoman said.
Russia is calling on the administration of US President Joe Biden to avoid further escalation, Zakharova said, adding that Moscow still wants to defuse tensions and is open to talking to the US at various levels.
However, the US is openly lying about maintaining contacts with Russia, Zakharova claimed. Last week, Price said that Secretary of State Antony Blinken still keeps in touch with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Zakharova called the statement a “banal lie,” adding that the last time the two diplomats spoke was July 29.
Amid the Russian military operation in Ukraine, Washington has provided massive amounts of financial and military aid to Kiev and has led the drive for sanctions on Moscow, which was also joined by US allies in the EU and elsewhere.
The conflict in Ukraine broke out after the US rejected Russia’s proposals for security guarantees in Europe, including a limit on NATO expansion to the east. Moscow repeatedly warned that Ukraine’s potential membership in the US-led military bloc would cross a red line and that arming Kiev would only prolong the conflict.
https://www.rt.com/russia/568531-us-russia-brink-direct-clash/
Biden Extends China’s Beneficial Access to US Markets – Labeled an “Insane and Treasonous” Move
Joe Biden continues to give in to the Chinese.
As TGP reported previously, in 2013, Vice President Joe Biden brokered a deal with China that gave the country access to US markets without having to comply with US compliance regulations that US companies had to comply with.
The Sarbanes-Oxley legislation costs US companies millions, if not billions, in compliance expenses since put in place after the Enron collapse in the early 2000s. For some reason, Biden thought Chinese companies should not have to comply with the requirements American companies are compelled to follow to ensure accurate financials and key controls throughout company operations worldwide. These controls are audited at least annually and at a significant cost to the entity. There are also significant costs to prepare for these audits.
Rather than ensure China’s companies were at least as accurate in their reporting and as well-controlled, Biden gave Chinese companies a pass. This deal allowed Chinese companies to obtain billions, if not trillions, in capital not available in China.
A short time later in 2013, China gave Hunter Biden – $1.5 billion to invest.
See our report on this below:
This past week the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), the same entity that China didn’t have to comply with based on Biden’s previous actions, had a vote on China. Biden will continue to give China access to US markets.
The PCAOB was proud to say:
For the first time in history, the PCAOB has secured complete access to inspect and investigate registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong. And this morning the Board voted to vacate the previous determinations to the contrary.
This historic and unprecedented access was only possible because of the leverage Congress created by passing the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act. Congress sent a clear message with that legislation that access to U.S. capital markets is a privilege and not a right, and China received that message loud and clear.
We will have to see what real authority the PCAOB will have in China. Will Chinese companies that are much higher risk than US companies, due in large part to the culture of dishonesty in China related to the CCP’s oversight of everything, have the same audits as US companies?
How will the PCAOB audit Chinese companies when they don’t speak the language?
This proposal sounds good but the practicality is very questionable.
Overall, Biden has allowed China’s unfettered access to US markets to continue. While the risk is still there.
Frank Gaffney has kept an eye on this and says:
Joe’s latest service to Communist China? An obscure federal agency known as the PCAOB cleared the way yesterday for American investors to continue underwriting the CCP threat.
That’s insane – and treasonous.
How much money did the Bidens make this time? What percentage goes to the big guy?
America is currently being sold out and sold off by criminals.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/12/biden-extends-chinas-beneficial-access-us-markets-lable-insane-treasonous/
Wisconsin’s Corrupt GOP Speaker Vos Kicks Election Integrity Warrior, Janel Brandtjen, Off of Election Committee
Wisconsin Speaker Robin Vos allowed the 2020 Election steal in Wisconsin to take place. Now he’s kicked a key Representative off the Elections Committee because of her efforts to get to the bottom of the stolen 2020 Election.
Channel 3000 in Wisconsin reported on Vos’s move.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has removed state Rep. Janel Brandtjen from the elections committee she had previously chaired.
While leading the committee, Brandtjen launched an investigation into the 2020 election in direct conflict with the probe headed by former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice Michael Gableman that Vos signed off on.
Brandtjen, R-Menomonee Falls, often butted heads with Vos, even endorsing his primary opponent in August. Last month, she was kicked out of the Republican caucus.
This isn’t corrupt Vos’s first action against Brandtjen. In November Vos kicked her out of his GOP caucus. What a piece of work.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/12/wisconsins-corrupt-gop-speaker-vos-kicks-election-integrity-warrior-off-election-committee/
Schiff Threatens Social Media Companies: “If You’ll Be Responsible Moderators of Content, We Will Give You Immunity”
https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1604599039839936512
North Carolina Supreme Court Rules Voter IDs Are Racist Because Minority Groups Don’t Know How to Get IDs or Something…
North Carolina’s far-left-biased Supreme Court did it again. These judges have no desire to uphold the US Constitution. They vote based on what they want and try to make it fit the law.
We’ve reported on the North Carolina Supreme Court’s biased ruling before.
In February a Democrat justice on the Supreme Court refused to recuse herself despite her former law partner arguing for the Democrats. This resulted in this court picking the district lines rather than the legislature.
Today HotAir reported on this court again. This time the Democrat-led court says that it won’t allow permitting voter IDs in North Carolina elections because it is racist to do so. The court just insinuated that the legislature that passed this law is racist and that is why North Carolina should not require voter IDs for voting like many states and the rest of the world.
In 2018, the North Carolina legislature passed a law that would create a new amendment to the state constitution requiring voter ID at all polling places. The law (Senate Bill 824) passed with significant support, primarily from Republicans who held a supermajority in the legislature and successfully overrode a veto by the governor. But this week, in one of the most self-contradictory rulings I’ve seen in quite a while, the state supreme court struck down the law, claiming that it was unconstitutional. Reading through the ruling is an exercise in confusion and nonsensical assumptions by the justices of the court. (The Hill)
North Carolina’s Supreme Court on Friday struck down a state voter ID requirement, finding that it was enacted with a racially discriminatory purpose and violated the state’s constitution.
Senate Bill 824 — which was passed by the state’s Republican-controlled legislature in 2018 over a veto from its Democratic governor — sought to implement a state constitutional amendment requiring photo ID to vote.
The court found that while the law appeared neutral on its face, it was enacted “to target African-American voters who were unlikely to vote for Republican candidates.”
The arguments being made here are identical to the ones we’ve heard from Democrats across the nation and they don’t make any more sense now than they did in the past. (Not that that’s ever stopped them from trying.) At the highest level of the court’s argument, they’re saying that the law is unconstitutional. But how do you declare something unconstitutional when it’s being put into the constitution?
The primary argument being made in this ruling is that the amendment was written “to target African-American voters who were unlikely to vote for Republican candidates.” So that’s crystal clear, right? They’re saying that the law is racist.
I remember once having dinner in Sydney, Australia, and mentioning that in the US voter IDs are not required and a guest from Spain was shocked that this is the case in the US.
We are too.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/12/north-carolina-supreme-court-rules-voter-ids-racist-minority-groups-dont-know-get-ids-something/
Bill Gates And Jeff Bezos Invest In Brain Computer-Interface Company
Synchron is focused on restoring some helpful capabilities to paralyzed patients, who can use its Synchron Switch, a brain computer interface (BCI), to move a computer cursor on a screen with just their thoughts. With a minimally-invasive procedure, the BCI is implanted in the blood vessel on the surface of the motor cortex of the brain via the jugular vein. Other companies, including Neuralink, use more invasive techniques that involve going through the skull.
On the surface, it appears Synchron’s goal is to help those disabled but as history teaches us, new technology is usually intercepted and used for war or nefarious plans.
Another reason brain computer-interfaces are a problem for humans is that they are susceptible of being hacked.
Just imagine if a high-profile human is hacked.
The damage that can be done by a human being controlled by an outside source is unimaginable.
Both Musk, Gates, and Bezos also have invested heavily in AI technology.
If you know anything about AI, then you know AI thrives by collecting data.
And what better way to collect data than by connecting technology to the human brain.
The thought that both the world’s richest man alongside the second richest one are both investing in brain interface technologies is quite concerning.
https://fortune.com/2022/12/15/jeff-bezos-bill-gates-invest-brain-computer-interface-startup-synchron-amid-elon-musk-neuralink-controversy/
NYC’s ‘bling’ Bishop Lamor Whitehead hit with federal charges for fraud schemes
“Bling” Bishop Lamor Whitehead — the flashy Brooklyn pastor who made headlines earlier this year when he was robbed at gunpoint during a church service — was arrested by federal agents Monday and charged with fraud, extortion and lying to the FBI.
Whitehead — who preaches a “prosperity gospel” at his Canarsie church, drives a Rolls-Royce and often wears pricey jewelry and Gucci suits — was indicted on two counts of wire fraud, one count of extortion, and one count of making material false statements, federal prosecutors said.
If convicted, he faces a maximum of 65 years in prison.
The feds allege Whitehead scammed one of his parishioners out of $90,000 of her retirement savings by promising to use the cash to buy her a home — and instead blowing it on luxury goods and clothing, according to the indictment.
In another alleged scheme, Whitehead extorted a businessman for $5,000 and asked the man to lend him $500,000 — promising he could “obtain favorable actions by the New York City government” in exchange for the cash and interest in real estate transactions, the indictment states.
“His campaign of fraud and deceit stops now,” US Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement after Whitehead’s arrest.
“If you are willing to attempt to obtain funds through false promises or threats, the FBI will ensure that you are made to face the consequences for your actions in our criminal justice system,” FBI Assistant Director Michael J. Driscoll added in a statement.
https://nypost.com/2022/12/19/brooklyns-bling-bishop-hit-with-federal-charges-for-fraud-schemes/
WTF he wants good people to cheat? God does not approve - corrupting the soul
Trump on Elections: Republicans ‘Have No Choice,’ ‘We Have to Fight’ like Democrats to Outdo them with Mail Voting, Ballot Harvesting
Former President Donald Trump told Breitbart News exclusively here on Friday that Republicans must engage and fight Democrats on mail voting and ballot harvesting like the Democrats fight, saying the GOP has “no choice” but to “live with the system that stinks” for now until Republicans get back into power and can change it for the better.
To be clear, Trump still believes there should be systemic reform to the way elections are conducted. “The best thing would be same-day voting, paper ballots, voter ID, et cetera,” he said, reiterating points he has made in public remarks and in previous interviews with Breitbart News on this front.
He also bashed the mail voting and ballot harvesting system in play nationally as broadly “corrupt.”
“The system, it’s not a question of being broken — the system is corrupt,” Trump told Breitbart News. “It’s a corrupt system. A mail-in ballot will always be corrupt. When you go to a polling location and they want your identification and everything, the way — you can’t really vote unless it’s a legit deal. If you have mail-in ballots, nobody has any idea where it’s coming from or where it’s going to and then it travels through so many hands. Jimmy Carter came out a long time ago with a number of highly respected people and they wrote something, and the one thing that come out loud and clear is that mail-in ballots are corrupt. France had it, a lot of countries had it and they went away from it now.”
While Trump questioning these matters is not particularly new, the interesting and very new detail here is Trump recognizes that for now Republicans are not in the position they need to be at in government, at the federal or state and local levels, to be able to enact major reforms on this front. So, until such time as they can, Trump says now Republicans should continue to “shame” Democrats but recognize that the system is the way it is — but more importantly Trump says the GOP should actually compete with Democrats on this battlefield in elections and try to outdo the Democrats in the mail voting.
“You’re right,” Trump said when Breitbart News noted that Republicans cannot change the rules if they are not in power. “But you can shame the hell out of people and you can shame the Democrats. The Democrats know it’s corrupt and the Democrats should want to fix it but they don’t because they do have an advantage under that system. For the time, though, we have to live with the system that stinks so we have to fight it like they do, which is your question.”
When asked specifically if Republicans should compete with Democrats on mail voting and ballot harvesting where they are legal and in practice, Trump said the GOP has “no choice.”
“They have no choice. They have to,” Trump said when asked specifically if Republicans should pursue mail votes and ballot harvesting where legal and in practice, noting too that he believes Democrats should want to fix the election system.
“But the Democrats should want to fix it too because it’s a corrupt election,” Trump said. “Our elections are totally corrupt. The Democrats should want to fix that. They don’t because it is to their benefit the way it is now. But the Republicans have no choice but to fix it. It’s going to be very hard but the Republicans have to fix it.”
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/12/19/exclusive-trump-elections-republicans-no-choice-have-fight-mail-voting-ballot-harvesting-like-democrats/
Qatar Makes Threats Against EU Natural Gas Supply Over Bribery Accusations
Qatar has obliquely threatened to cut off the EU from its supply of natural gas amid claims that the Islamist nation bribed officials in Brussels.
The Islamist nation of Qatar has expressed outrage over accusations that it bribed a number of influential bigwigs in Brussels by threatening to cut European nations off from their supplies of gas.
Numerous people, including one senior MEP, have been arrested and charged in relation to the corruption scandal which has rocked the very foundations of EU politics, with law enforcement having reportedly confiscated €1.5 million (~$1.6 million) in cash suspected to be linked to corruption.
With much of the corruption being allegedly linked back to the likes of Qatar trying to gain influence over the union’s affairs, the European Parliament has frozen ongoing work in relation to the Islamist nation, and has also banned Qatari representatives from entering the premises of parliament.
However, seemingly unhappy with the sudden degree of scrutiny, Politico reports that officials from Qatar have demanded that EU politicians drop these restrictions, calling them discriminatory.
Should Brussels refuse, the country has euphemistically suggested that the bloc’s energy supply could be put in danger.
“The decision to impose such a discriminatory restriction that limits dialogue and cooperation on Qatar before the legal process has ended, will negatively affect regional and global security cooperation, as well as ongoing discussions around global energy poverty and security,” a diplomat from the country reportedly said.
Officials also expressed disappointment in the actions of Belgian authorities specifically who had largely spearheaded the investigation, with the nation’s representative emphasising that their nation is “an important supplier of LNG” to the EU member state.
“It is deeply disappointing that the Belgian government made no effort to engage with our government to establish the facts once they became aware of the allegations,” the diplomat reportedly remarked.
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2022/12/19/here-we-go-again-qatar-makes-threats-against-eu-natural-gas-supply-over-bribery-accusations/
CBS News Admits Biden Admin Won’t Allow Media to Film Inside Illegal Immigrant Detention Centers
Margaret Brennan, moderator for CBS’ “Face the Nation,” claims the Biden administration is not allowing media organizations to film inside illegal immigrant detention centers.
Brennan made the startling but little-noticed accusation during a segment discussing the potential repercussions of Title 42 being overturned on the border crisis with Representative Tony Gonzales (R-TX).
Gonzales provided the outlet with a cell phone video he took inside one of the detention centers.
“I just want to say to our viewers who are just looking there at video that you provided to CBS that I believe you shot inside those facilities,” she said.
Brennan added, “We are relying on that cell phone video, in part because CBS News and other media organizations have not been permitted to film recently inside those facilities.”
Gonzales also shared a video from inside the illegal immigrant detention centers with Fox News.
Fox News national correspondent Bill Melugin states that the video “shows extreme overcrowding” at the Border Patrol Central Processing Center in El Paso, Texas.
Melugin notes that Gonzales claims the facility is being bombarded – even before Title 42 has lapsed – at 342% over capacity.
Is it any surprise why the Biden administration, as Brennan claims, might not want videos of the illegal immigrant detention centers getting out to the public?
Gonzales described the scene at the border as a “hurricane of migrants.”
“It is a dire situation in El Paso. As you know, the city declared a state of emergency. This is something you do when there’s a hurricane, a fire, or an earthquake,” he told Brennan. “What is happening is it’s a hurricane of migrants, and everyone is impacted.”
He described the center’s conditions as reprehensible.
“What I saw were hundreds, over 500 migrants … in a pod, they call them pods, essentially a large cell that holds about 100 people,” he explained. “There’s one bathroom, the odor is terrible. And there’s eight pods in there. And so those are the good conditions.”
Elsewhere, Gonzales claims, there are “a little over 1,000 migrants waiting in outdoor conditions, not to mention the people that are waiting by the … bridge and elsewhere.”
https://thepoliticalinsider.com/cbs-news-admits-biden-admin-wont-allow-media-to-film-inside-illegal-immigrant-detention-centers/?utm_campaign=TPI12192022BR1
Israel sinks to new low by smearing slain children as “terrorists”
Leave it to innovative Israel to sink to ever-new lows.
It isn’t anything new for the state to smear Palestinians killed by its police and military as terrorists. But it seems to be a fresh twist for Israel to try to convince the UN that most of the Palestinian children slain by its forces had “terror” ties.
According to media reports, Israeli officials planned to tell Virginia Gamba, the UN special reporter on children and armed conflict, that Palestinians are exploiting children who are then killed by its forces.
Gamba was visiting Israel, the West Bank and Gaza ahead of her annual report on the conflict’s impact on children.
“Regarding the Palestinian casualties, Israel will present data indicating that most teenagers were operatives of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror groups, or engaged in military activity or military-linked activity,” an unnamed diplomatic source told Israel’s Channel 13.
The gambit is part of Israel’s overall strategy of deflecting its responsibility for Palestinians slain by its forces.
More than 50 Palestinian children have been killed in 2022, according for Defense for Children International-Palestine.
Last year, Israeli forces and armed civilians killed 78 boys and girls in the West Bank and Gaza, making it the deadliest year for Palestinian children since 2014.
Israel’s most recent Palestinian child victim is Jana Majdi Issam Assaf, 15, who was shot while on the roof of her family’s home in the northern West Bank city of Jenin on Sunday night.
Defense for Children International-Palestine said that the girl “sustained two gunshot wounds to her upper chest and one to the right side of her head.”
The rights group added that doctors who examined the child’s body “alleged the bullet fragments and wounds were consistent with the use of expanding bullets by the Israeli military.”
Jana was the second Palestinian girl killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank this year.
Last month, Israeli soldiers shot and killed Fulla Rasmi Abdulaziz Mallouh, 14, in the town of Beitunia near Ramallah. The girl was in the passenger seat of a car that was fired upon by soldiers, hitting Fulla in the head and chest.
Chief salutes killers
In the case of Jana, the girl killed in Jenin on Sunday, Amir Cohen, the chief of Israel’s Border Police, saluted the officers who shot her.
During a military ceremony on Wednesday, Cohen said “our fighters acted morally, with values, with courage, with determination and saved lives.”
The Israeli military has said that it was likely that one of its snipers “accidentally” shot the girl.
Israel has made the same claim that a soldier “unintentionally” killed Al Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh in Jenin during May, despite all evidence and witness testimony suggesting that she was intentionally targeted.
But for Israel, the facts surrounding the death of a Palestinian at the hands of its forces do not matter. Ultimately, Palestinian civilians killed by the Israeli military are “mistakes” to be dealt with as a public relations problem and nothing more.
https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/maureen-clare-murphy/israel-sinks-new-low-smearing-slain-children-terrorists
Ethiopian Police Obtain Phone-hacking Technology From Israeli Firm Cellebrite
As many other repressive regimes, the Ethiopian federal police have been using Cellebrite’s technology at the height of a civil war that caused tens of thousands of casualties and the prosecution of 'unauthorized' news outlets
The Ethiopian police, who according to reports, are responsible for mass detention of minorities and persecution of opposition forces and journalists, have purchased technology from the Israeli digital intelligence company Cellebrite to hack into the cellphones of detainees.
The Ethiopian federal police have been using Cellebrite’s systems since 2021, at the height of the civil war between the country's prime minister’s forces and the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Force.
The flagship product of Cellebrite – a public company traded on NASDAQ – is a technology called UFED, which is used by authorities to hack into seized phones which are password-protected. This in turn allows Cellebrite’s clients to download all the information stored on those devices, including media files and text messages, call histories, contacts and more.
As Haaretz has repeatedly reported, Cellebrite clients included at the time repressive regimes under sanctions, among them Belarus, China, Hong Kong, Uganda, Venezuela, Indonesia, the Philippines and the notorious RAB death squad in Bangladesh.
In October, Haaretz reported that Russia continued to use UFED, although Cellebrite announced in 2021 that it had stopped its activities in Russia in light of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s human rights infractions.
In a letter sent by Israeli human rights lawyer Eitay Mack to Israel's Defense Ministry and Cellebrite, a number of human rights activists call for cessation of sales of the technology and support services to Ethiopia’s repressive regime.
The letter follows a harsh report by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, that details how Ethiopia has committed crimes against humanity and war crimes during the last round of fighting.
The report states that since November 2020, security and civilian forces have been responsible for “extrajudicial executions, rape and other acts of sexual violence. The widespread pillage of crops and livestock, and the looting and occupation of Tigrayan homes, destroyed sources of livelihood. Tigrayans have faced mass arrests and prolonged arbitrary detentions in formal and informal detention sites where detainees were killed, tortured, and ill-treated.”
A joint investigative commission by the UN and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission found that both sides have committed crimes against humanity, war crimes and serious infractions of human rights including intentional artillery fire against civilians, executions, torture and rape. Some 2.6 million people have been uprooted from their homes.
https://archive.ph/PmudP#selection-427.0-431.226
DC think tank puts hawkish former Aussie PM on China Center board
Does the Hudson Institute need to register under the Foreign Agent Registration Act after appointing Scott Morrison as an adviser?
Australian media outlets exploded two weeks ago with articles about current member of Australian parliament and former Australian prime minister Scott Morrison joining the advisory board of the Hudson Institute’s China Center.
“Morrison joins advisory board of Rupert Murdoch-backed think tank,” blared the Sydney Morning Herald headline, citing Murdoch’s $100,000 in annual support to Hudson. While attention on Morrison’s new role at a U.S. think tank, while concurrently serving as the member of parliament for the New South Wales seat of Cook, drew scrutiny in Australia, his appointment to the advisory board of Hudson’s China Center raises questions about whether Morrison has entered into a principal-agent relationship with the China Center. If so, Hudson may need to register with the Justice Department as the agent of a foreign principal and disclose various aspects of the arrangement.
“Understanding the nature and dimensions of Morrison’s role is important in evaluating if his addition to the team at the Hudson Institute’s China Center creates FARA (Foreign Agent Registration Act) registration obligations,” David H. Laufman, a partner at Wiggin and Dana law firm who previously oversaw FARA enforcement at the Justice Department, told Responsible Statecraft.
“It seems odd to me for a current foreign government official to have a role at a U.S. think tank. It raises obvious questions about whether a foreign government will be influencing the Hudson Institute’s devising and dissemination of content within the United States to influence U.S. public opinion or U.S. government officials,” said Laufman. “A position on a board of a program at a U.S. think tank connotes a measure of direction and control of the operations of that program.”
The Hudson Institute did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the role and responsibilities undertaken by Morrison as a member of the advisory board whose other two members are former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former diplomat Paula Dobriansky.
The China Center is clearly focused on shaping U.S.-China policy.
The Center’s website says:
The China Center at Hudson Institute studies the ideological, structural, and long-term domestic and international forces at play in shaping China’s strategic intent, sharp power capabilities, and weaknesses and vulnerabilities, with the central goal of engendering America’s value-based, non-partisan, sound and effective responses to the China challenge.
Under the leadership of Hudson Senior Fellow Dr. Miles Yu, who previously served as the senior China policy and planning advisor at the State Department, the China Center will bring together leading China experts, policy makers, and national leaders to solidify and extend the non-partisan national consensus on America’s approach to China.
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2022/12/15/dc-think-tank-puts-hawkish-former-aussie-pm-on-china-center-board/
Tunisia: former president accuses Israel of 'terrorism' in occupied Palestine
The former President of Tunisia, Moncef Marzouki, has described what is happening in occupied Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque as "terrorism" as part of an "ongoing war" by Israel against the people of Palestine and the holy sites. Marzouki made his comment as he shared his thoughts on the rise of the far right in Israel backed by extremists around the world, Alresalah.net has reported.
"The current behaviour of the [Israeli] occupation reveals its ugly face, which is getting more and more extreme with the rise of the far right," he told Alresalah.net in an exclusive interview. With racist slogans calling for the death of Arabs, he said, Israeli behaviour is a natural result given that Benjamin Netanyahu feels that he has a green light from many parties in the region.
Nevertheless, the Israeli-led siege of the Gaza Strip still needs to be lifted. "Some parties want two million people in the besieged Gaza Strip to be extinguished quietly like candles. There is no electricity for schools; no sea for fishermen; no medicine for the sick; and no food for the hungry. This prompts all free people to work by all possible means to lift the siege."
Palestine, and Gaza in particular, stressed Marzouki, will remain a thorn in the side of anyone who ignores the fact that the oppressed can resist and survive. "We stand with you because you are defending a real holy cause," he said, addressing the Palestinian people directly. "The Palestinians have given the [Arab] nation a model of perseverance, steadfastness and determination for human rights, no matter how many generations pass or difficulties intensify. The Palestinian people have only one slogan: either they win or they win."
The former Tunisian leader said that the EU and other international parties have started to recognise the need to speak to Hamas. "When I was president, I convinced them that the notion of Hamas as a terrorist organisation is wrong. It is a national resistance movement that defends a national cause." Terrorists attack across borders and target civilians. Hamas defends its homeland, within the homeland. "So by what logic is that terrorism?"
He pointed out that when he received Khaled Meshaal, the former head of the political bureau of Hamas, and the then Palestinian Authority Prime Minister, Ismail Haniyeh, the US ambassador got angry, but Marzouki insisted on his position. The Americans were not convinced, but eventually they will be forced to hold a dialogue with Hamas, he said. "Hamas is pragmatic and can deal with various positions that work in favour of the Palestinian cause. In today's atmosphere, Hamas is a ray of light, as it resists Israeli arrogance valiantly but does not carry out operations outside its homeland."
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20221219-tunisia-former-president-accuses-israel-of-terrorism-in-occupied-palestine/
Judicial Watch Sues Air Force Academy for Records about Critical Race Theory and ‘White Supremacy’
Judicial Watch announced today it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit for United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) training material records on critical race theory (Judicial Watch, Inc. v. U.S. Department of Defense (No. 1:22-cv-03510)).
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia after the Air Force Academy, a component of Department of Defense, failed to respond to an August 5, 2021, FOIA request for any and all PowerPoint presentations used for training and/or classroom instruction discussing critical race theory (CRT) and/or “white supremacy.” Judicial Watch also requested emails about this issue for Air Force Academy senior leadership.
“Marxist critical race theory and its racial division have no place at the Air Force Academy, which is training the next generations of Air Force leadership,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “And, per usual, the scandal is compounded by the cover-up of records about the propaganda program abusing Air Force cadets.”
On September 23, 2022, Judicial Watch filed a FOIA lawsuit on behalf of Stand Together Against Racism and Radicalism in the Services, Inc. (STARRS) against the U.S. Department of Defense for Air Force Academy records regarding “systemic racism,” as well as records of critical race theory at the Academy.
Judicial Watch in July 2022 sued the U.S. Department of Defense for records related to the United States Naval Academy implementing critical race theory in the training of naval recruits.
In June, Judicial Watch received of records revealing critical race theory instruction at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. One training slide contains a graphic titled “MODERN-DAY SLAVERY IN THE USA.” [Emphasis in original]
https://www.judicialwatch.org/jw-sues-air-force-academy/
World order on verge of cliff - first Israeli national intel assessment
The Intelligence Ministry on Monday unveiled the country’s first-ever national intelligence estimate report on Monday.
The world is at a transition point analogous to being on the verge of a cliff, after which a series of crises striking simultaneously will reorder the planet’s geopolitics, the place of technology, the economic order and a variety of other disciplines from health to energy, according to Israel's first government national intelligence estimate.
The report was published by the Intelligence Ministry in the vein of the type of reports issued in the United States and other Western countries. A copy was obtained by The Jerusalem Post.
According to the report, the world is at on the verge of a cliff and is likely to be struck by a variety of crises affecting all aspects of life.
Recommendations from a team of eight experts who wrote the report addressed all critical areas related to national power and resilience, including, but going far beyond, mere military power.
These recommendations focused on advancing key geopolitical alliances, serving as a geopolitical and technological bridge between countries and preemptively filling potential gaps in national resilience.
Some of the “danger” areas discussed were health, energy and water.
What did the report say about Israel?
The report also recognized a major change in Israel’s status since evolving from an energy-weak country to energy independent with the fine - in recent decades - of natural gas in its maritime coastal areas.
The recommendations were presented to a special conference on Monday including officials from all of the arms of Israel’s defense and intelligence branches.
A schedule for the closed conference obtained by The Post indicated that an unnamed top intelligence official – usually reserved for Mossad or Shin Bet officials – will present.
Former IDF intelligence chief Amos Yadlin, former National Security Council director Yaakov Amidror, Intelligence Minister Elazar Stern and Intelligence Ministry Director-General Alex Dan as well as some foreign intelligence officials were among the other presenters.
“The state needs to work harder at strengthening national resilience,” explained Intelligence Ministry official Victor Israel who was involved in drafting the report.
Explaining the thinking behind formulating the report, Israel noted that until now, when there was a crisis in an arena like the environment, there has been only limited attention, but that such processes are on the verge of passing a tipping point where the negative impact on society will be far greater than before.
He said that the US issues such a report every four years and that NATO, the European Union, Singapore and large corporations like RAND regularly issue such reports, and that the Israeli intelligence estimate tracked many of those.
The senior intelligence ministry official said that the report was a distinct change for his department which often looked ahead to trends which are 20 years away, whereas this report had a shorter focus with a 10-year outer limit.
In addition, Israel said that the report looked closely at the mutual interaction between the various trends, such as climate change, trust in government institutions, global health, supply chain and economic downturns that could have a cumulative destabilizing effect.
According to the report, it may not be easy for Israel to maintain a geopolitical balance between positive relations with the US, China and Russia as these powers move from open competition to greater conflict.
In many ways, the expectation that these tectonic struggles will replace the war with terror groups like al-Qaeda and ISIS is a disadvantage for Israel. Jerusalem thrived when countries from all corners of the globe looked to it for ideas in how to effectively combat terror.
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-725248
Gabbard says former Democrat Party, others 'rigged' 2020 election by suppressing Biden laptop story
The former Hawaii congresswoman said if the suppresser are not held accountable "they will do it again in 2024."
Former Democrat congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard says her former political party, along with the mainstream media and others, "rigged" the 2020 presidential election for Joe Biden by intentionally suppressing a story late in the race about the contents of a laptop belonging to son Hunter Biden.
Gabbard made the argument Monday on Truth Social, based on what she said were "polls," including one she added to her post, a survey from the group TIPP Insights and published in The Daily Mail, that found voters thought they lacked "critical" information about the laptop during the elections and would have voted differently had they known more.
"If the polls are accurate, we have a president who won because Dems/National Security State/MSM rigged the election by deliberately suppressing Hunter Biden laptop story,” the former Hawaii congresswoman wrote. "We need to hold them accountable, otherwise they will do it again in 2024."
The New York Post three weeks before Election Day published a story about a laptop recovered at a Wilmington, Delaware, computer repair shop that had information about the Biden family’s overseas business deals that raised concerns about Joe Biden’s involvement, or at least knowledge of them, as vice president.
Former members of the U.S. intelligence community, including some who still reportedly had a security clearance, collectively acknowledged in a letter that they couldn’t verify the story was so-called “Russian disinformation” but said it appears as such. And essentially most of the so-called “mainstream media” didn’t acknowledge the veracity of the story or write about it until recently.
Furthermore, with Elon Musk having recently taken over Twitter, he recently allowed reporters access to the decisions made by the top executives of the social media platform to limit the distribution of the story. The reporters' Twitter posts withe the communications appear to show Democrats trying to get the executive to suppress the story.
https://justthenews.com/accountability/cancel-culture/gabbard
‘Serious Disregard For These Children’s Welfare’: Biden Admin Policies Could Place Migrant Kids in Homes With Sex Offenders
Senate report alleges lack of safeguards for migrant children under Biden admin
The Biden administration’s attempts to implement a more humane immigration policy are leading it to hand migrant children over to American adults who haven’t submitted to background checks, according to a Senate report obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. That has made those kids vulnerable to everything from being placed in the custody of legal guardians who have a history of child neglect to living in homes with registered sex offenders.
The report, from Sen. Rob Portman (R., Ohio) and Republican members of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, paints a devastating picture of how the Biden administration has mismanaged the southern border, which has seen more than 2.5 million crossings since he took office. Biden’s attempt to strike a contrast on immigration with his predecessor may have backfired, putting in danger thousands of minors who have now lost contact with federal authorities, according to the report.
In an effort to reverse Trump administration policies that President Joe Biden characterized on the campaign trail as cruel and inhumane, many unaccompanied alien children who come into the custody of American officials are now handed over to adults in the United States without any vetting, the report says. Those background checks would verify, among other things, that alien children are not given to guardians who are on the sex offender registry.
Few executive actions under former president Donald Trump drew more ire from the media and left-wing activists than his "family separation policy." That policy, which ordered law enforcement to separate children from illegal alien parents apprehended at the southern border was meant to deter future illegal border crossings. But Biden, who, according to the Senate report, is overseeing an immigration system that is reducing "protections for [unaccompanied alien] children against abuse and trafficking," has avoided the same level of scrutiny from the press and Democrats.
Federal agencies responsible for releasing children into the custody of a legal guardian in the United States, such as HHS and the Office of Refugee Resettlement, told Senate Republicans that they do not believe they are responsible for "protecting unaccompanied alien children from abuse and trafficking after placement with a sponsor." That shocking admission, the report states, is a "plain" contradiction of the agencies’ statutory obligations.
"[Health and Human Services has refused] to implement systems designed to ensure the safe release of children and accept legal responsibility for unaccompanied alien children after they are paired with a sponsor, as required by law," the report states.
Reversing his predecessor’s hawkish immigration policies has been a priority for Biden from the start. Some of his first actions as president targeted the southern border, such as a February 2021 executive order that required "agencies to conduct a top-to-bottom review of recent regulations, policies, and guidance that have set up barriers to our legal immigration system." That move, followed by others announced the next month, were, Biden said, part of a strategy to create a "fair, safe, and orderly immigration system."
The practice of waiving background checks for adults who take in alien children began shortly thereafter as the Biden administration prioritized the identification of adult caregivers in order to avoid keeping children in holding facilities or returning them to their home countries.
https://freebeacon.com/biden-administration/serious-disregard-for-these-childrens-welfare-biden-admin-policies-could-place-migrant-kids-in-homes-with-sex-offenders/
More Than 35,000 Dead Ukrainian Servicemen Considered Missing – Leaked Document
Russian sources have shared another secret document that was reportedly obtained by Russian hackers from the so-called from the Anarchist Kombatant group.
According to the leaked document from the Personnel Center of the Armed Forces of Ukraine that was sent to the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine the number of dead Ukrainian soldiers who were cognized as missing is 35,382 servicemen, as of November 30.
These are servicemen whose bodies were left on the battlefield. They were not taken home and buried. Their families will not receive any compensation because they were recognized as missing.
The annex to the letter contains a complete list of all dead but missing servicemen as of November 30, 2022. Most of them include servicemen of land forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, 667 sheets with names, surnames and dates of birth. Then there are the Defense forces (546 sheets), amphibious assault troops (398), special operations forces (316) and representatives of the Navy (242 sheets).
The Kiev regime is trying its best in an attempt to hide the real losses of the AFU. Earlier, Ursula Von der Leyen let it slip that the total number of dead servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is about 100,000 people. Adviser to the office of the President of Ukraine Mikhail Podolyak later assured that the number of dead was only about 10 thousand servicemen. In his turn, Zelensky reduced the number up to 8 thousand.
https://southfront.org/more-than-35000-dead-ukrainian-servicemen-considered-missing-leaked-document/
AstraZeneca Boss kneels before The Great Reset King
Last Wednesday, Pascal Soriot, CEO of AstraZeneca was knighted by World Economic Forum and Great Reset King Charles III at Windsor Castle.
The two men and Covid profiteering are no strangers. In November 2021, then Prince Charles opened a new AstraZeneca research centre. Charles saw an exhibit on the pandemic and a demonstration of how augmented reality headsets can help with laboratory work, before hearing about the company’s “net zero” targets. Soriot accompanied Charles on a tour through the new facility.
Seven months later, Soriot – born and raised in France, a citizen of Australia and a doctor of veterinary medicine – was awarded a knighthood in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2022 for services to UK life sciences and the response to Covid. Last week Charles dished out the honours.
https://expose-news.com/2022/12/18/astrazeneca-boss-kneels-before-the-great-reset-king/
https://twitter.com/RaheemKassam/status/1604891896048144384
Authorities take medicines and doping substances worth over EUR 40 million off the market
Over 10.5 million medicinal products seized, 349 suspects arrested or reported to the judicial authorities, and 10 clandestine labs shut down
Europol coordinated the third edition of operation Shield, a global effort to target trafficking of counterfeit and misused medicines and doping substances. The operation was led by France, Greece, Italy and Spain, and involved police and customs authorities from 28 countries (19 EU Member States and 9 third-party countries). The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) coordinated the customs agencies while the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) offered financial support. Frontex, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the World Customs Organisation (WCO) and national medicine agencies further supported the operation, which took place between April and October 2022.
During the operation, law enforcement officers dismantled 59 criminal groups and arrested or reported to the judicial authorities 349 suspects. Simultaneously, authorities seized massive amounts of misused, falsified or counterfeit medicines, doping products and substances and illegal food and sport supplements, as well as counterfeit COVID vaccines, sanitary products and medical devices. Doping substances and medicines for erectile dysfunction were amongst the most seized items. In order to increase prevention and awareness, some participating states launched anti-doping campaigns and performed both ‘in-competition’ and ‘out-of-competition’ controls.
Operation Shield III in a nutshell:
seizures worth over EUR 40 million
more than 10.5 million units of medicines and doping substances seized
over 1 million counterfeit COVID tests seized
195 investigations carried out
349 suspects arrested or reported to judicial authorities
59 organised crime groups investigated
10 underground labs shut down
588 websites monitored
89 websites shut down
over 218 000 shipments checked
over 74 000 shipments seized
3 526 anti-doping controls ‘in-competition’ carried out (39 positive)
3 245 anti-doping controls ‘out-of-competition’ carried out (9 positive)
Misuse of medicine a serious societal issue
The trade and consumption of medicines not prescribed by medical professionals or a medical framework continues to pose a social problem, fostering illegal activity. Misuse spans the desire for psychotropic, recreational or performance-enhancing effects and extends to unintended means of consumption. This can cause growth in demand that is unable to be legally met, which incentivises trafficking - mostly with product diverted from the legitimate supply chain.
In addition, falsified medicines are introduced among those diverted from the legitimate supply chain. These are manufactured in underground laboratories where criminals work under questionable hygienic circumstances and safety measures, leading to health risks for end consumers. Furthermore, counterfeit medicines will often not produce the desired effect and leave the consumer untreated.
Medicine trafficking lucrative for organised crime
In the course of the operation, many cases of large-scale medicine trafficking were uncovered, confirming that it can be as lucrative as or even more lucrative than narcotics trafficking. While these crimes generate massive illicit gains for traffickers and counterfeiters, the public finances and the social care systems of some Member States are inflicted with massive financial costs. The public health cost is also significant, be it because of treatment of addictive behaviours or the consequences of overdoses or stock shortage.
https://www.europol.europa.eu/media-press/newsroom/news/authorities-take-medicines-and-doping-substances-worth-over-eur-40-million-market
14 countries tackle violent extremism online in a coordinated referral action day
More than 800 items flagged to 34 platforms affected by the proliferation of violent extremist content online
On 15 December 2022, the European Union Internet Referral Unit (EU IRU) at Europol coordinated the second Referral Action Day (RAD) against violent right-wing extremist and terrorist content online. The coordinated action involved specialised units from 14 countries, including 13 EU Member States (MS) and one non-EU country*.
The participating authorities were involved in detecting and flagging terrorist content to online service providers and evaluating their responses. The activities resulted in the referral of 831 items to 34 affected platforms. Referred materials include content produced by or favouring proscribed right-wing extremist organisations. It also includes content disseminated in relation to terrorist attacks motivated by violent extremism. Such materials include livestreams, manifestos, claims and celebrations of attacks.
Violent extremism still a growing concern since Bratislava and Buffalo
Since the first Referral Action Day targeting this type of online content in 2021, the threat posed by violent extremism and terrorism is still on the rise. The terror attacks in Buffalo (USA) and Bratislava (Slovakia) illustrated a concerning proliferation of violent right-wing extremist and terrorist activities on a global scale. The perpetrators of these attacks were part of transnational online communities and took inspiration from other violent right-wing extremists and terrorists. In their manifestos, terrorist actors have highlighted the pivotal role of online propaganda in the radicalisation process. This shows how the abuse of the internet continues to be an important aspect of violent right-wing radicalisation and recruitment.
RADs consolidate law enforcement’s efforts to tackle the creation and dissemination of violent extremist and terrorist propaganda online. During the coordinated activities, the participants refer content linked to propaganda material to online service providers, inviting them to evaluate and remove the content breaching their terms of service. The platforms are invited to reinforce their moderation protocols to avoid this type of abuse in the future.
*Czechia, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Malta, The Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, United Kingdom.
—
Headquartered in The Hague, the Netherlands, Europol supports the 27 EU Member States in their fight against terrorism, cybercrime, and other serious and organised crime forms. Europol also works with many non-EU partner states and international organisations. From its various threat assessments to its intelligence-gathering and operational activities, Europol has the tools and resources it needs to do its part in making Europe safer.
https://www.europol.europa.eu/media-press/newsroom/news/14-countries-tackle-violent-extremism-online-in-coordinated-referral-action-day
Honeywell UOP to Pay Over $160 Million to Resolve Foreign Bribery Investigations in U.S. and Brazil
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/honeywell-uop-pay-over-160-million-resolve-foreign-bribery-investigations-us-and-brazil
Epic Games Inc., Developer of Fortnite Video Game, Agrees to $275 Million Penalty and Injunction for Alleged Violations of Children’s Privacy Law
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/epic-games-inc-developer-fortnite-video-game-agrees-275-million-penalty-and-injunction
Kushner to be the new CEO of Twitter????
Pinal County, Arizona Sheriff Mark Lamb Loses Son and Infant Granddaughter in Car Crash
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/12/tragic-pinal-county-arizona-sheriff-mark-lamb-loses-son-infant-granddaughter-car-crash/
January 6 Committee Expected to Criminally Refer Trump to Justice Department
The January 6 Committee will vote on Monday whether to criminally refer Trump to the Justice Department.
“The January 6 committee plans to issue at least three criminal charges against Trump, including obstructing an official proceeding, conspiracy to defraud the government, and inciting or assisting an insurrection” NBC News reported.
It will ultimately be up to US Attorney General Merrick Garland whether or not to charge Trump.
NBC News reported:
The House Jan. 6 committee met Sunday to finalize its plans to issue at least three criminal referrals for former President Donald Trump, NBC News has learned exclusively.
The committee, gathering publicly Monday, is expected to vote on referrals asking the Justice Department to pursue at least three criminal charges against Trump related to the Capitol riot: obstructing an official proceeding, conspiracy to defraud the government and inciting or assisting an insurrection.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said in part during the meeting overheard by NBC News that he believed referrals were “warranted.” A source familiar with the committee’s plans told NBC News about the meeting and its location in the Capitol complex.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/12/developing-january-6-committee-expected-criminally-refer-trump-justice-department/
Hillsong founder Brian Houston tells court his father was a 'serial paedophile'
Hillsong founder Brian Houston has told a Sydney court he believes his father was a "serial paedophile", and the responses to abuse allegations when they first came to light were not "all they should have been".
Key points:
Brian Houston denies he was part of a "cover-up" of his father's abuse of a boy in the 1970s
He says he did not believe his father was "a danger" to the public by the time the claims were known
Brian Houston is giving evidence before a hearing at the Downing Centre Local Court
Mr Houston said, in hindsight, a public statement should have detailed why Frank Houston was stood down from the Assemblies of God church in 1999, instead of internal messaging about a retirement.
At the time, he thought his father was not "a danger" to the community due to his failing health and belief the offending took place within a "season" during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
It came during the second day of his evidence at a special fixture in Downing Centre Local Court, where he has pleaded not guilty to concealing the indictable offence of another.
It is alleged 68-year-old Brian Houston failed to report to police his father's abuse of a seven-year-old boy at a home in Sydney's eastern suburbs in the 1970s.
He denies claims of a "cover-up" or that he was aware a $10,000 payment to victim Brett Sengstock was allegedly designed to buy his silence.
His lawyers say it was reasonable not to report the abuse claims as the victim had asked for authorities not to be involved.
Asked if he would have spoken to police if he had his time over again, Mr Houston said he was "conflicted" about how to answer.
"Because I believe did the right thing," Mr Houston said.
"Brett Sengstok said to me … 'I don't want you going to the police.' I feel I'd do the same thing again."
The court has heard that within a year of Frank Houston confessing to his son in late 1999, Brian Houston learned of more complainants living in the family's homeland of New Zealand.
He said his "stomach dropped" when he was told during a phone call with a New Zealand-based pastor in 2000 that a man was seeking a meeting with him to speak about Frank Houston.
They met at a cafe in Sydney's CBD, where the man alleged he had been abused by Frank Houston at the Houstons' Wellington home in the late 1960s.
"I was really devastated again," Brian Houston said.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-19/brian-houston-tells-court-father-was-serial-paedophile/101788456
https://web.archive.org/web/20200624090509/https://www.thesiriusreport.com/geopolitics/white-hats/