Zelensky Expected To Tell Congress That $45BN In New Aid Is "Not Enough"

Update(10:45ET): Zelensky is reportedly arriving to Washington D.C. aboard a US Air Force plane, according to US officials cited in CNN, after taking a high risk train ride into Poland. White House national security communications coordinator John Kirby said of the impending visit with President Biden, "The President really believes that as we approach winter, as we enter … a new phase in this war, of Mr. Putin’s aggression, that this is a good time for the two leaders to sit down face to face and talk." But this is how Reuters somewhat cynically previewed the visit:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy headed to Washington on Wednesday to meet President Joe Biden, address Congress and seek "weapons, weapons and more weapons" in his first overseas trip since Russia invaded Ukraine 300 days ago.

Surprisingly, the Associated Press additionally highlighted the latest video address by Zelensky, who yesterday while visiting a frontline fighting area in Bakhmut, said the following at a moment Congress is set to to approve $45 billion more in aid for Ukraine in the proposed massive omnibus package:

"We will pass it on from the boys to the Congress, to the president of the United States. We are grateful for their support, but it is not enough. It is a hint — it is not enough," Zelensky said.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/biden-announce-patriot-missiles-ukraine-zelensky-arrives-dc

Defense minister announces major expansion of Russian army

Sergey Shoigu says the nation’s military should amount to 1.5 million servicemen

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has announced the need to make a number of structural changes to the country’s armed forces in light of NATO’s attempts to bolster its presence on Russia’s border and expand its membership to Finland and Sweden.

During a Russian Defense Ministry meeting on Wednesday, Shoigu proposed a number of measures to strengthen the security of the Russian Federation, including creating a special grouping of troops on the country’s northwestern border and expanding Russia’s armed forces to amount to 1.5 million servicemen in total, with some 695,000 of them being contract soldiers.

Shoigu’s comments come as Helsinki and Stockholm have submitted bids to join NATO, citing a perceived threat from Russia in light of its ongoing military operation in Ukraine. Their accession to the US-led bloc is currently stalled by Türkiye and Hungary, but all other members have already welcomed their membership.

The minister also offered to “gradually” change the minimum draft age in Russia from 18 to 21 and raise the maximum age to 30, while also offering all draftees the opportunity to sign a contract with the army from the first day of service.

Shoigu went on to suggest creating a number of new military groupings, including five new artillery divisions, eight bomber aviation regiments, and one fighter regiment, as well as six army aviation brigades.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who also attended the meeting, approved the proposals for improving the country’s armed forces and instructed Shoigu to report back once these measures are deliberated with the ministerial board. Putin promised to address these proposals in detail later.

During his address to senior defense officials, Putin also emphasized the need to continue to modernize Russia’s nuclear arsenal, describing it as the key to guaranteeing the country’s sovereignty.

https://www.rt.com/russia/568687-shoigu-russian-army-expansion/

Eyes wide shut on the Balenciaga scandal

Some are too quick to explain away and dismiss the fashion brand’s controversial advert featuring children and sexualized teddy bears

The scandal provoked by Balenciaga’s latest advertisement campaigns can be seen as superfluous or understandable, but the real scandal may lie in the way some media outlets have been covering it.

In November 2022, Balenciaga posted an ad campaign on Instagram that featured children holding teddy bears dressed in BDSM gear, and another one in which a bag sits amongst papers that include a text from a Supreme Court opinion in the Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition case. The case examined whether laws banning the promotion of child pornography were in line with the First Amendment. The French luxury company apologized, deleted the posts together with its entire Instagram account and took legal action against the set designer, arguing that he was solely responsible. They have, however, already dropped it.

The scandal was as intense as it was brief. People got into analyzing the pictures more closely, even spotting what they interpreted as a drawing of the devil, the name of Baal and a “Satanic cult” cloak. Others focused on social media posts by Balenciaga designer Lotta Volkova, which apparently include imagery reminiscent of the controversial teddy bear ads, as well as gore and other questionable content (Volkova has since stated she hasn’t worked with Balenciaga since 2017 and condemns child abuse in any form). Even Kim Kardashian got emotional, though she didn’t go as far as to cut her own ties with Balenciaga. Like with the Epstein-Maxwell case, all the elements are in place for the concerned public to loudly denounce child abuse by powerful people.

One should watch or rewatch ‘Eyes Wide Shut’, as it seems more relevant than ever. And not only because Nicole Kidman is the new face of Balenciaga. Stanley Kubrick’s last movie is usually described as a simple “erotic psychological drama,” but there is more to it. Indeed, the director’s sudden death left the door open to deeper interpretations. His attention to detail was such that it is easy to think he intended to somehow depict child trafficking and prostitution rings run by powerful elites. The teddy bears are one of the details, of course, but there is another, very subtle one, hinting at the fashion industry. Towards the end of the movie, in the article that Tom Cruise’s character reads about the sudden death of a beauty queen, we can see that she was involved with some fashion designer named “Leon Vitali.” Leon Vitali was an old friend of Kubrick’s in the real world and had nothing to do with fashion. But he was the actor playing the red-cloaked master of ceremonies during an orgy Cruise’s character saw earlier. Ironically enough, we get this information in the movie from a newspaper.

https://www.rt.com/news/568180-balenciaga-advert-teddy-bear/

https://twitter.com/RepDanBishop/status/1605274350718013466

VP Harris Demands Social Media Companies "Cooperate And Work With Us" On "Protecting Our Democracy"

Vice President Kamala Harris said on Monday that she expects and “would require” social media companies to work with the Biden administration to prevent so-called misinformation and disinformation, and to “protect democracy.”

During an interview with NPR that aired on Monday, Harris was asked for her thoughts regarding the changes made at Twitter since Elon Musk took over the platform.

“I think about this issue a bit differently, which is my deep and profound concern about how misinformation and disinformation have infiltrated information streams in our country,” Harris said.

The vice president pointed to her four years as a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, during which she was actively involved in the investigation into alleged Russian interference with the 2016 elections.

Harris said that reports on the matter, both classified and public, showed that there was a “profound amount of intentional disinformation and misinformation targeting specific demographics to take advantage of what might be preexisting disparities and skepticism about the role and importance of government.”

She added that this was allegedly done to weaken American democracy.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/vp-harris-demands-social-media-companies-cooperate-and-work-us-protecting-our-democracy

School district under federal investigation for removal of LGBT library books

The Education Department's Office for Civil Rights opened an investigation earlier this month into a Texas school district regarding its removal of LGBT-themed library books, the Texas Tribune reported.

Granbury Independent School District is under federal investigation for allegedly violating Title IX, which safeguards students from discrimination based on sex, gender, and sexual orientation.

What's the background?

In January, a leaked audio recording captured Superintendent Jeremy Glenn informing the district's librarians that there would be a thorough review of specific titles on the library shelves. He noted that a review committee of parents and educators would be formed to remove books that included content inappropriate for children.

"I don't want a kid picking up a book, whether it's about homosexuality or heterosexuality, and reading about how to hook up sexually in our libraries," Glenn said. "If they want to get more information about how to become transgender, or sex, go to the public library. There's no place for it in our libraries."

Glenn stated that the district would focus on reviewing books containing sexual themes and gender ideology content. According to the superintendent, the school board and concerned parents requested the book review.

"Granbury is in a very, very conservative community. And our board is very, very conservative," Glenn added. "If it is not what you believe, you better hide it. Because it ain't changing in Granbury. And here, in this community, we're going to be conservative."

According to the district, the review process resulted in eight books being removed from school libraries.

"Two of the eight books did have LGBTQ themes, however all of the books that were removed had sexually explicit and/or pervasively vulgar content," the district stated.

In July, the ACLU launched a complaint against the district and accused Glenn's comments of creating a "pervasively hostile" environment for LGBT students.

"In this case it was made very clear, because the superintendent kind of said the quiet part out loud," Chloe Kempf, an ACLU attorney, told the Texas Tribune. "It's pretty clear that that kind of motivation is animating a lot of these policies nationwide."

"These comments, combined with the book removals, really send a message to LGBTQ students in the districts that: 'You don't belong here. Your existence is shameful. It should be censored,'" Kempf added.

If the federal investigation finds that Granbury ISD violated Title IX, the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights can force the district to make policy changes.

Neither Glenn nor the Granbury Independent School District replied to a request for comment, the Texas Tribune reported.

https://www.theblaze.com/news/school-district-under-federal-investigation-for-removal-of-lgbt-library-books

Elite Juilliard school embroiled in massive sex misconduct scandal, renowned professor put on leave

A massive sexual misconduct scandal is rocking the elite Juilliard school of music, as multiple instructors have been accused of discrimination and harassment — and one renowned professor has been put on leave after 500 people signed a letter decrying his “abuse of women and power.”

Composer Robert Beaser, 68, was sidelined for a pattern of mistreatment that included soliciting sex from students — much of which was detailed in a Dec. 12 exposé of the Upper West Side conservatory published in VAN magazine.

“Sexual discrimination and sexual harassment have no place in our school community. We take all such allegations extremely seriously,” Juilliard spokesperson Rosalie Contreras told The Post on Wednesday as news of Beaser being put on leave emerged.

In one case, Beaser allegedly offered to boost a now-former student’s career, before asking her for sex in return, the publication said.

“What will you do for me?” he allegedly said.

Beaser — who also frequently taught students in his private home — joined the Juilliard composition department in 1993, and was department chair from 1994 through 2018.

The school was reportedly made aware of allegations against him in the 1990s and again in 2017 and 2018.

https://nypost.com/2022/12/21/juilliard-prof-robert-beaser-on-leave-after-sexual-misconduct-allegations/

https://nypost.com/2022/12/21/juilliard-prof-robert-beaser-on-leave-after-sexual-misconduct-allegations/

US to provide Patriot missile system to Ukraine

The United States said Wednesday it will provide Ukraine with the advanced Patriot air defense system to help counter Moscow’s relentless aerial attacks.

The system is part of $1.85 billion in assistance unveiled in parallel with a visit to Washington by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, his first trip outside the country since Russia invaded in February.

The announcement is a significant victory for Kyiv, which had repeatedly pushed Washington for the Patriot system, and a strong sign of US support for Ukraine that will help boost the country’s defenses.

“Today’s assistance for the first time includes the Patriot Air Defense System, capable of bringing down cruise missiles, short range ballistic missiles, and aircraft at a significantly higher ceiling than previously provided air defense systems,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

Ukraine’s air defenses have played a key role in protecting the country from strikes and preventing Moscow’s forces from gaining control of the skies.

But as Russia faced increasing setbacks on the ground, it began systematically targeting critical infrastructure in Ukraine in attacks that have disrupted electricity, water and heat to millions of people.

Made by Raytheon, the MIM-104 Patriot is a surface-to-air missile (SAM) system initially developed to intercept high-flying aircraft.

It was modified in the 1980s to focus on the new threat of tactical ballistic missiles, and proved itself against Iraq’s Russian-made Scuds in the first Gulf War — the first time the system was used in combat.

Ballistic missile defense

While Russia has not used many ballistic missiles during its war on Ukraine, Washington says Moscow has discussed acquiring them from Iran.

“Unlike the other Western systems that have been provided to Ukraine, (Patriot) has some anti-ballistic missile capabilities (depending on the type of missile being used),” Karl Mueller, a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation, told AFP.

“If Russia were to acquire substantial numbers of ballistic missiles from Iran, as many have predicted, most other Ukrainian air defense systems would not provide any protection against them,” he added.

Patriot has been proven effective in Saudi Arabia against Iranian-design ballistic missiles fired from Yemen, and primary contractor Raytheon says the system has intercepted more than 150 ballistic missiles in combat since 2015.

When Russia invaded in February, Ukraine’s air defenses largely consisted of Soviet-era planes and SAM systems, which Kyiv used effectively to deny Moscow air superiority.

They have been significantly augmented since the start of the war: the United States provided NASAMS and Germany IRIS-T — two advanced systems — while older equipment such as the S-300 and HAWK systems and Stinger missiles have also been donated.

Kyiv has used various systems to battle Moscow’s cruise missiles and bomb-like Shahed-136 drones, but modern SAM system launchers and missiles — including NASAMS — are in extremely short supply.

The goal of Ukraine’s international supporters is to build multi-layer air defenses for the country consisting of low, medium and high-altitude systems that can protect against a variety of threats.

https://www.breitbart.com/news/us-to-provide-patriot-missile-system-to-ukraine/

Covid Forever: French PM Calls for Return of Masks in Closed Spaces

During the holiday season, people should once again cover their mouths with masks to prevent another outbreak of the coronavirus, French Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne said on Tuesday.

Élisabeth Borne, who was appointed as prime minister earlier this year after President Emmanuel Macron’s re-election, said that France is facing a “triple epidemic” of the seasonal flu, bronchiolitis, and the Chinese coronavirus, threatening to put heavy strains on the public healthcare system.

Therefore, she urged the public to once again wear masks in confined spaces as well as redoubling the call to take a Covid-19 vaccine, noting that they are still freely available in France.

In “a message of responsibility to citizens,” the French PM said per broadcaster BFMTV: “We all have a part and a role to play.”

She called on the public to show an “act of solidarity” with healthcare workers by putting on masks “as soon as we are in an enclosed space where there are many.”

“When we have to be with the family, we must respect barrier gestures and vaccination, that’s how we help caregivers,” Borne added.

As of Sunday, there were 37,264 new cases reported in France, a decline of 19.7 per cent from the previous week. There has also been a decline for positive test results, with just 28.66 out of every 100 tests given coming back positive, a 26.88 per cent drop since the previous week.

Yet at the same time hospitalisations have actually risen, with 24,173 people in the hospital as a result of the Wuhan virus as of December 16th, an increase of 9.57 per cent over the previous week. Intensive care cases also rose, up 17.35 per cent, with 1,393 people being treated as such.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2022/12/21/covid-forever-french-pm-calls-for-return-of-masks-in-closed-spaces/

Republicans Poised To Approve Massive FBI Funding Boost In Wake Of Twitter Files Revelations

Republicans are set to approve a massive spending bill which includes billions of dollars in funding for the FBI despite recently leaked information which found the federal agency colluded with Twitter to censor users.

The bill designated $11.33 billion for the FBI “to investigate extremist violence and domestic terrorism,” according to a summary of the bill by the House Appropriations Committee. The total is reportedly $569.6 million more than the enacted levels for the 2022 fiscal year and $524 million more than the president requested.

The FBI reportedly paid Twitter $3.5 million dollars as compensation for staff fielding the agency’s requests between October 2019 and February 2021, as was revealed during Elon Musk’s ongoing “Twitter Files” series which leaked information showing Twitter’s hand in suppressing users. The files also revealed that the FBI had close relations with Twitter staff and was involved in the suppression of the New York Post article regarding Hunter Biden’s laptop ahead of the 2020 election.

The FBI also flagged specific tweets for Twitter to remove from the platform. Former FBI agents were also employed at Twitter, according to the files.

Additional funding was set aside for United States Attorneys to “support prosecutions related to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and domestic terrorism cases.” The bill budgeted $2.63 billion, which is $212.1 million more than was budgeted for FY 2022.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) will get $1.75 billion to increase responses to gun violence, which is $215.9 million above the enacted level for FY 2022.

The 2023 omnibus bill, which ran up a $1.7 trillion total and was over 4,000 pages in length, lays out Congress’ budget for the upcoming fiscal year (FY). Both chambers of Congress will need to approve the bill before its Friday deadline to avoid a government shutdown.

Republican Rep. Dan Bishop of North Carolina tweeted on Tuesday the most “egregious provisions in the bill.” The bill also included funding for LGBTQ programs, a wax museum and upkeep for the Michelle Obama Trail.

Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell supports the omnibus bill, but several House Republicans are encouraging senators to vote “no” by threatening to oppose legislation by any senators who support the bill. The letter, which was sent on Monday, was endorsed by Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarty on Tuesday, according to The Hill.

The FBI, the House Appropriations Committee, Bishop and McCarthy did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment. The ATF declined to comment.

https://dailycaller.com/2022/12/21/republicans-fbi-funding-twitter-files-revelations/

Why Was FBI Counter Intelligence Involved With The Seth Rich Case?

The stunning revelations from the Twitter files thanks to the work of Matt Taibbi, Michael Shellenberger and Bari Weiss is providing irrefutable proof that the FBI was working to prevent the election of Donald Trump. When it comes to “Election Interference,” it was the FBI, not Russia.

The results released so far detail FBI giving direction to Twitter regarding the 2020 Presidential Campaign. I believe future releases will provide evidence that the FBI, along with the CIA, was working to destroy Donald Trump and prevent him from being elected.

One thing we know with certainty is that the FBI’s Washington Field Office was communicating via email and phone with the FBI Counter Intelligence division at FBI Headquarters about Seth Rich. The only reason the FBI Counter Intelligence division would be involved in any way with an alleged case of a routine murder following an attempted robbery of Seth Rich is because there was foreign involvement. The FBI is trying to bury that fact.

Why is the FBI stonewalling so furiously to keep its communications about Seth Rich and the alleged hack of the DNC by Russia secret? Because Russia did not hack the DNC. This is not my opinion. It is a conclusion of several cyber security professionals that flows from one very specific, easily tested claim made by the discredited Special Counsel, Robert Mueller –- i.e., that Guccifer 2.0 was a fictional identity created by Russian Military Intelligence, aka the GRU. If the GRU had concocted Guccifer 2.0, then the forensic evidence should show that this entity was operating from Russia or under the direct control of entities linked to the GRU.

One type of forensic evidence is meta data. What is meta data? This is geek shorthand to describe physical information or code that is written into a document created by a word processor software when a document is created. This data includes a variety of things, such as the date and time the document was created or modified. It tells you who created the document.

An examination of the Guccifer 2.0 documents shows that the meta data in the Guccifer 2.0 documents were manipulated deliberately to plant Russian fignerprints. This was not an accident nor an oversight due to carelessness by some computer operator.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller is correct in stating that Guccifer 2.0 was a “fictious online persona. ” But he is wrong to claim that Guccifer 2.0 was a creation of the Russian Military Intelligence. Guccifer 2.0 appears to be a creation of the CIA and was one character in a broader scheme assembled to paint Donald Trump as a lackey of Vladimir Putin.

https://sonar21.com/why-was-fbi-counter-intelligence-involved-with-the-seth-rich-case/

World Bank Approves Additional $610 Million in Financing for Ukraine

The World Bank on Tuesday said it had approved an additional financing package totaling $610 million to address urgent relief and recovery needs in Ukraine as the war with Russia continues.

The package includes an additional $500 million loan from the World Bank's International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) that is supported by a guarantee from Britain, and a new project to restore and improve access to health care and address war-related needs for health services, the global lender said.

The aid comes on top of some $18 billion already mobilized for Ukraine by the World Bank, of which some $15 billion has been disbursed.

"Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues to have devastating economic and humanitarian consequences, impacting the health sector, critical energy infrastructure, and transport networks," World Bank Group President David Malpass said in a statement.

The additional $500 million in IBRD lending for the Public Expenditures for Administrative Capacity Endurance (PEACE) Project, will help the Ukrainian government cover expenditures related to child and family benefits, salaries of public employees, and utility payments, the World Bank said.

The remaining $110 million would go to a Health Enhancement and Life-saving (HEAL Ukraine) Project aimed at improving and strengthening primary health care, addressing increased demand for mental health and rehabilitation services due to the war, and restoring services in hospitals that are facing capacity constraints, it said.

Initial funding for the project includes a 100 million euro IBRD loan, backed by a guarantee from the Government of Spain, and a $10 million grant from the Global Financing Facility for Women, Children, and Adolescents (GFF).

Additional funds for the project are expected to grow to a total of $500 million, starting with an upcoming $10 million grant through the Ukraine Relief, Recovery, Reconstruction and Reform Trust Fund (URTF).

The World Bank in October estimated the recovery costs facing Ukraine would amount to nearly $350 billion, but officials say the costs have soared further given Russia's targeting of civilian infrastructure since mid-October.

As of Dec. 6, 507 healthcare facilities in Ukraine - equivalent to 5.5% of public providers - have been destroyed or damaged, the World Bank said.

It said utilization of health services also significantly decreased during the first months of the war, with the number of childhood vaccinations down 40% compared to the previous year.

In September, it said almost a third of people living in Ukraine reported that they could not afford to buy necessary medicines.

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2022-12-20/world-bank-approves-610-million-in-additional-financing-for-ukraine

Biden Admin to Drop Half a Million on Artificial Intelligence That Detects Microaggressions on Social Media

The Biden administration is set to dole out more than $550,000 in grants to develop an artificial intelligence model that can automatically detect and suppress microaggressions on social media, government spending records show.

The award, funded through President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, was granted to researchers at the University of Washington in March to develop technologies that could be used to protect online users from discriminatory language. The researchers have already received $132,000 and expect total government funding to reach $550,436 over the next five years.

The researchers are developing machine-learning models that can analyze social media posts to detect implicit bias and microaggressions, commonly defined as slights that cause offense to members of marginalized groups. It’s a broad category, but past research conducted by the lead researcher on the University of Washington project suggests something as tame as praising meritocracy could be considered a microaggression.

The Biden administration's funding of the research comes as the White House faces growing accusations that it seeks to suppress free speech online. Biden last month suggested there should be an investigation into Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter after the billionaire declared the social media app would pursue a "free speech" agenda. Internal Twitter communications Musk released this month also revealed a prolonged relationship between the FBI and Twitter employees, with the agency playing a regular role in the platform's content moderation.

Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton likened the Biden administration’s funding of the artificial intelligence research to the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts to "censor speech unapproved by the state." For the Biden administration, Fitton said, the research is a "project to make it easier for their leftist allies to censor speech."

A spokesman for the National Science Foundation, which issued the research grant, rebuffed criticism of the project, which he said "does not attempt to hamper free speech." The project, the spokesman said, creates "automated ways of identifying biases in speech" and addresses the biases of human content moderators.

The research’s description doesn’t give examples of what comments would qualify as microaggressions—though it acknowledges they can be unconscious and unintentional. The project is led by computer science professor Yulia Tsvetkov, who has authored studies that suggest the artificial intelligence model might identify and suppress language many would consider inoffensive, such as comments praising the concept of meritocracy.

Tsvetkov coauthored a 2019 study titled "Finding Microaggressions in the Wild," which categorized microaggressions into subcategories, one of which was the "myth" that "differences in treatment are due to one’s merit." Examples of microaggressions laid out in the paper included statements like "Your mom is white, so it’s not like you’re really black," and questions including "But where are you from, originally?"

Tsvetkov also coauthored a July article that analyzed the "prominence of positivity in #BlackLivesMatter tweets" during the June 2020 George Floyd riots. Tsvetkov and her colleagues determined positive emotions like "hope, pride, and optimism" were prevalent in pro-Black Lives Matter tweets, evidence they said contradicts narratives framing Black Lives Matter protesters as angry.

Conservative watchdog groups raised alarm over the Biden administration’s funding of the research, telling the Washington Free Beacon the project represents a White House effort to curb free speech online.

https://freebeacon.com/biden-administration/biden-admin-to-drop-half-a-million-on-artificial-intelligence-that-detects-microaggressions-on-social-media/

Maricopa County elections director in Lake trial: Election Day wait times based on prior elections

Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer sought to dismiss a subpoena requiring his testimony at the trial, but the judge denied the motion.

The civil trial of Kari Lake's lawsuit began Wednesday with the testimonies of Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer and Maricopa County Director of Elections Scott Jarrett.

Jarrett explained under direct examination that the vote center wait times were based on prior elections, and calculated that voters would wait in line for about 30 minutes on average. He said that wait times included how long it would take voters to check in at the vote centers. The election director said under cross-examination by defendants' counsel that the average wait time for all voters was less than few minutes on Election Day.

When asked by Lake's legal counsel about reports from poll workers that wait times were over two hours, Jarrett said that those workers could make estimates, but unless they were timing voters, it was an assumption.

Richer was questioned by Lake's attorney Bryan Blehm about his responsibilities as the Maricopa County recorder, which include Early Voting ballots and ballots in drop boxes, including any early ballots dropped off on Election Day.

Under cross-examination by the defendants' legal counsel, Richer said that he had "absolutely not" done anything to make the ballot printers not print correctly or knew of anyone who did.

The second witness to be questioned by Lake's legal counsel is Maricopa County Elections Director Scott Jarrett.

After a decade of election failures in Maricopa County, election officials are on trial this week for their management of the 2022 election.

As the trial for Lake's lawsuit begins Wednesday against Maricopa County election officials and her Democratic gubernatorial opponent, Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, Lake's legal counsel plans to also call Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Gates to testify about their handling of the 2022 election, according to a court filing on Sunday.

Both Hobbs and Richer sought to quash subpoenas for their testimony, but the judge overseeing the case denied their motions on Monday. Later on Monday night, Hobbs asked the judge to reconsider his denial of her motion. On Tuesday, Lake's attorneys withdrew their subpoena for her testimony. Lake didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/elections/kari-lake-lawsuit-maricopa-county-put-trial-after-decade-election-issues

COVID Vaccine linked to over 750k Deaths in 38 Countries & Mass Depopulation according to Government Reports & Pfizer Documents

Covid-19 vaccination has been linked to a disturbing trend of excess deaths and negative health outcomes, according to official Government data.

In the United States alone, there have been 350,000 excess deaths related to the vaccine by September 2022. Mortality rates per 100,000 are also higher in vaccinated individuals across all age groups, including children.

In Europe, excess deaths among children have increased by a staggering 552% since the European Medicines Agency approved the vaccine for young people. Additionally, confidential Pfizer documents reveal that the vaccine’s ingredients can accumulate in the ovaries, leading to a high risk of infertility in animal studies.

These findings paint a grim picture of the potential dangers of the Covid-19 vaccine and raise serious concerns about its potential to contribute to depopulation on a global scale.

Evidence Covid-19 Vaccination causes Death

It is now officially indefensible to suggest that the Covid-19 injections are not killing people because we have official data published by the UK Government that confirms it.

This data proves that mortality rates per 100,000 are lowest among the unvaccinated in every single age group and highest among the vaccinated population.

The data was published in July by the UK Government organisation known as the Office for National Statistics (ONS), in a report titled ‘Deaths by Vaccination Status, England, 1 January 2021 to 31 May 2022‘, and it can be accessed on the ONS site here, and downloaded here.

The following two charts show the monthly age-standardised mortality rates by vaccination status for non-Covid-19 deaths in England using figures extracted from the ONS dataset –

https://expose-news.com/2022/12/21/covid-vaccine-750k-deaths-depopulationn/

Woke Nike Was a Playground for Drunken Sexual Predators, According to Just-Released Documents

Nike’s Oregon headquarters was — is? — an unsupervised playground for male executives who would get “sloppy drunk” and sexually harass female employees, according to four-year-old complaints just now unsealed as part of a lawsuit against the company.

The Beaverton, Oregon-based sports apparel company’s then-CEO, Mark Parker, apparently ignored his female employees’ complaints. Parker resigned as CEO in 2020 but still serves as Nike’s executive chairman.

The allegations include the company acting as a “boys club” where women are told to “dress sexier” and “show some skin.” Another woman claims to have walked “into a campus gym to find a senior staffer receiving oral sex from a female subordinate.”

A third complainant alleged that “sloppy drunk” executives pawed at women, or offered career mentoring over dinner but instead asked for sex.

More:

“I have twice reported bullying by a senior VP and HR said they would ‘take care of it,’ ‘we are coaching them.'” that respondent wrote, adding that she saved copies of emails to HR, which were ultimately never addressed.

“I have friends who have reported bullying,” the woman wrote. “No action was ever taken except a ‘we will talk to them.'”

After all that, you have to wonder if the “talk” consisted of, “Hey, buddy, did you score?”

Nike denies the allegations, and yet hundreds of employees “marched in protest of the company’s treatment of women at its headquarters” in 2019. That’s more than a year after the company failed to respond to the complaints unsealed this week.

This protest comes about a month after Nike was hit with a damning op-ed in the New York Times by running prodigy Mary Cain that highlighted the obstacles female athletes have faced while training with Salazar, the coach of Nike’s now-shuttered Oregon Project.

When she arrived at Nike for training, Cain said the all-male staff, including Salazar, told her she needed to be “thinner and thinner and thinner” if she wanted to improve as a runner. She also said she was “emotionally and physically abused by a system designed by Alberto [Salazar] and endorsed by Nike.”

Nike was one of the first major corporations to go woke, embracing Colin Kaepernick to the tune of a million dollars a year or more.

After criminal and drug addict George Floyd died of a fentanyl-induced heart attack during yet another arrest, here’s what Nike had to say:

Don’t pretend there’s not a problem in America. Don’t turn your back on racism. Don’t accept innocent lives being taken from us. Don’t make any more excuses. Don’t think this doesn’t affect you. Don’t sit back and be silent. Don’t think you can’t be part of the change. Let’s all be part of the change.

Accusations of abuse are nothing new for Nike. They were one of the first companies I can recall accused of using overseas sweatshop labor (or even slave labor), paid pennies an hour to produce $300 sneakers.

Why does it seem like wokeness always turns out to be just a cover for predatory men to get away with whatever they like against women — and now children, too?

Oh, right. Because it is.

https://pjmedia.com/vodkapundit/2022/12/21/woke-nike-was-a-playground-for-drunken-sexual-predators-according-to-just-released-documents-n1655329

“Should We Let Someone Who Was Elected by Cheating and Fraud Stay in Office and Continue to Destroy our Country?” – President Trump on FBI and Twitter Collusion

Last night, Jesse Watters shared his thoughts about Big Tech and FBI collusion on FOX News.

If we’ve learned anything, it’s that the government’s no longer in it for the little guy. They’re in it for themselves and it’s been in the works for years.

President Trump responded to Jesse Watters’s monologue about the Deep State agreeing that the FBI and Twitter did collude to elect Joe Biden.

“The FBI and Twitter COLLUDED to elect Joe Biden.” Jesse Watters. In other words, the 2020 Presidential Election was RIGGED & STOLEN. It all began a long time ago, they SPIED on my campaign, and tried to “RIGG” the 2016 Election, but failed. Remember, our government is doing this, not a person or party. What should be done about such a terrible thing, or should we let someone who was elected by cheating and fraud stay in office and continue to destroy our Country?

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/12/let-someone-elected-cheating-fraud-stay-office-continue-destroy-country-president-trump-fbi-twitter-collusion/

“Unexpected”: MRNA Vaccines Increase Risk of Contracting COVID-19; Each Booster Shot Raises Risk Even More in Study of 51,000 Cleveland Clinic Workers

A stunning pre-print study by the Cleveland Clinic published Monday at medRxiv shows that MRNA vaccines raise the risk of contracting COVID-19 and that each MRNA vaccine booster increases the risk of contracting COVID-19, while those who have not received any MRNA vaccine have the lowest risk of contracting COVID-19. While the increased risk was relatively minimal, the result is the opposite of how the vaccines have been sold and mandated by government authorities. The highest risk was for those who received more than three vaccines.

The study was reported by the Cleveland Clinic’s Nabin K. Shrestha, Patrick C. Burke, Amy S. Nowacki, James F. Simon and Amanda Hagen, Steven M. Gordon.

Quote from the study: “The association of increased risk of COVID-19 with higher numbers of prior vaccine doses in our study, was unexpected.”

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.12.17.22283625v1.full