FBI raided Chinese ‘police station’ in NYC: Report

The FBI raided a suspected outpost of Chinese police tucked away in New York City’s Chinatown last fall, seizing materials from one of the secretive operations for the first time known to the public, anonymous sources revealed to the New York Times.

The office was one node in a network of Chinese police outposts around the world that officials are increasingly worried about as a way for China to spy on foreign countries and keep tabs on its people abroad.

The Chinatown outpost was on the third floor of a six-story office building on a busy street, the Times reported. It was raided by FBI counterintelligence agents working on a criminal investigation with the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

At least 102 such outposts have been documented in 53 countries in recent months by the human rights group Safeguard Defenders. FBI Director Christopher Wray said in November that he’s “very concerned” about the outposts, which he called “police stations.”

“It’s a long-arm power to show their own citizens inside China that their government is so strong,” said Safeguard Defenders researcher Chen Yen-ting. “We have the power to reach globally, and even if you go out, you’re still under our control.”

The Chinese Embassy said “there is no need to make people nervous” about the so-called outposts, which it said are staffed by volunteers helping Chinese nationals with routine tasks like renewing their Chinese driver’s licenses, the Times reported.

But in Chinese state media, the Times found them referred to as “overseas police service centers” that are “collecting intelligence” and solving crimes for Chinese nationals without the help of local authorities.

A list of police outposts showed the addresses of Chinese restaurants and associations, the Times reported. Police outposts have been set up in Japan, Italy, France, Britain, Germany, Hungary and the Czech Republic, among other countries, by at least four regions of China, according to the Times.

https://americanmilitarynews.com/2023/01/fbi-raided-chinese-police-station-in-nyc-report/

Politicians and commentators are blocked online in Brazil after censorship order targets Bolsonaro support

The censorship power lies with a single judge, Alexandre de Moraes.

Brazil is facing a wave of censorship, targeted towards politicians and commentators that have shown support for President Jair Bolsonaro.

Several targets have had their social media accounts censored in Brazil following a censorship court order from Alexandre de Moraes, president of the Superior Electoral Court and justice of the Supreme Federal Court. De Moraes is known for a string of such censorship orders and for pressuring social media platforms to block politicians and commentators.

Brazilian commentator and podcaster Monark, whose official name is Bruno Aiub, and Federal Deputy Nikolas Ferreira were among those targeted and their accounts were “withheld,” the term Twitter uses when it suspends an account in response to a court order.

The accounts can still be viewed in other countries, or from within Brazil with the use of a VPN.

Ferreira is a staunch Bolsonaro supporter and Monark has praised but also criticized some aspects of Bolsonaro’s politics and says he refuses to push any agenda.

Ferreira has 2 million followers and Monark had 1.4 million followers on Twitter.

Ferreira’s Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok accounts have also been blocked. He also had his accounts blocked during during the election cycle in 2022, accused of spreading “misinformation” is his support of Bolsonaro.

In November, Monark’s YouTube account was also censored following a decision by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE).

At the time, Monark said de Moraes was acting “like a dictator.”

Journalist Glenn Greenwald shared translated details of the censorship order on his Rumble show System Update on January 13th, showing that Facebook, Tumble, Telegram, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube all received censorship orders.

Speaking to Greenwald, Monark said that when his channel gets censored by a court order in the country, he isn’t given any information about it, or how to appeal, and has now way of defending himself against such orders.

“My channel was censored months ago and in that process I didn’t have access to any information so I believe in this new process I will not have any information from the government, and no ability to defend myself,” Monark said to Greenwald.

“My lawyers cannot find any information that help me to defend my case. I don’t even know what I’m being accused of. This is very unusual. This is not the correct legal process.”

https://reclaimthenet.org/monark-nikolas-ferreira-censorship-order-brazil/

Police find baby in locked cage during drug bust in Haifa

Mother of six arrested for false imprisonment, neglect and abuse; detectives find large quantities of suspected illicit drugs next door, arrest two residents

Police said Monday that they had rescued a baby discovered locked inside a metal cage during a drug search in an apartment building in the northern city of Haifa.

Detectives were “shocked” to find the 1-year-old boy in the enclosure, with only a pillow and a bottle, police said in a statement. The baby’s five other siblings were also located in the apartment.

The 35-year-old mother was not present when they arrived at the home on Sunday evening, police said.

“She was brought to the scene, then arrested by detectives for false imprisonment, neglect and abuse of a helpless minor,” police added. The whereabouts of the children’s father were not immediately clear.

Municipal welfare officers were dispatched to the home to take care of the child and his siblings, according to the statement.

building in Haifa, January 15, 2023. (Israel Police)

Police said Monday that they had rescued a baby discovered locked inside a metal cage during a drug search in an apartment building in the northern city of Haifa.

Detectives were “shocked” to find the 1-year-old boy in the enclosure, with only a pillow and a bottle, police said in a statement. The baby’s five other siblings were also located in the apartment.

The 35-year-old mother was not present when they arrived at the home on Sunday evening, police said.

“She was brought to the scene, then arrested by detectives for false imprisonment, neglect and abuse of a helpless minor,” police added. The whereabouts of the children’s father were not immediately clear.

Municipal welfare officers were dispatched to the home to take care of the child and his siblings, according to the statement.

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During the operation, police arrested two men, aged 22 and 27, in a different apartment inside the same building after finding substances suspected to be crystal meth and hashish in commercial quantities.

Police said they would ask the Haifa Magistrate’s Court to extend the custody of the three suspects.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/police-find-baby-in-locked-cage-during-drug-bust-in-haifa/

UN recognizes Holon as Israel's first center of climate crisis knowledge

Holon is Israel's first city to be recognized as a center of resilience in line with the framework of MCR2030 (Making Cities Resilient).

The Israeli city of Holon has been recognized by the United Nations as a center for climate change emergency knowledge.

This makes Holon the first city in Israel to be a center of resilience against climate change disasters.

The announcement was made by UN Undersecretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) Mami Mizutori in a ceremony at the Holon Municipality alongside Holon Mayor Motti Sasson.

Why is Holon recognized by the UN as Israel's first center of climate change crisis resilience?

Holon is Israel's first city to be recognized as a center of resilience in line with the framework of MCR2030 (Making Cities Resilient). This means Holon has now joined the ranks of major global cities such as Milan, Barcelona and Manchester, which will mean giving top priority to handling climate change and sharing knowledge and resources.

https://www.jpost.com/environment-and-climate-change/article-728712

Meet the Green Energy Group Behind the Study That's Driving Calls To Ban Gas Stoves

Rocky Mountain Institute partnered with China to implement 'economy-wide transformation' away from oil and gas

The green energy group behind a study cited in Consumer Product Safety commissioner Richard Trumka Jr.'s call to ban gas stoves has partnered with the Chinese government to implement an "economy-wide transformation" away from oil and gas.

Colorado-based nonprofit Rocky Mountain Institute, which published the December study that attributes 13 percent of U.S. childhood asthma cases to gas-stove use, is hardly staffed by an objective group of scientists.

The organization is demanding "systemic change and economy-wide transformation" to address a climate crisis it says we must go to great lengths to avoid. In 2013, for example, the Rocky Mountain Institute joined forces with China's National Development and Reform Commission—the government agency tasked with planning the communist nation's economy—to produce a report that advised China to replace existing appliances and generators with "clean energy technologies." The commission went on to set climate goals that included energy reduction targets. When local provinces in 2021 failed to meet those targets, the commission pushed them to implement electricity rations, prompting "dimmed traffic lights that cause chaos" and "half-cooked rice in rice cookers."

The Rocky Mountain Institute is far from the first green energy group to advocate for the banning of gas stoves, which nearly 40 percent of U.S. homes use. But the nonprofit's newfound influence reflects the Biden administration's alignment with the left's loudest climate activists. President Joe Biden has already proposed a natural gas phaseout in federal buildings, which would ban fossil-fuel equipment in new buildings by 2030. Leading green energy groups applauded the move, which will cost taxpayers millions of dollars annually, the Washington Free Beacon reported in December.

Beyond its public mission statement and work with the Chinese government, the Rocky Mountain Institute's biases are reflected in its gas-stove study, academic leaders told the Free Beacon. The study—which spans just nine paragraphs—was based on a hodgepodge of different data and methodologies spanning various years and countries, ranging from 2019 U.S. Census data to conclusions from a 2018 analysis in Australia.

Structuring a study that way is questionable, according to Yale University professor of medicine Dr. Harvey Risch. Moreover, the conclusions of the institute's study differs from what the organization is saying publicly.

"This paper does not do any research on possible association between residential natural gas use and risk of childhood asthma," Risch told the Free Beacon. "It only calculates a percent of childhood asthma that could be attributable to residential natural gas use and risk of childhood asthma."

That distinction is important, Risch said, particularly when calling for such a dramatic public policy proposal that would change how tens of millions of Americans prepare their food. The study was also ethically dubious, according to Risch, as its authors stated they held no conflicts of interest despite working for climate change activist groups. The Rocky Mountain Institute's board, for example, is filled with executives at green energy corporations with a financial interest in banning the use of fossil fuels.

https://freebeacon.com/biden-administration/meet-the-green-energy-group-behind-the-study-thats-driving-calls-to-ban-gas-stoves/

It’s Official: The 118th Congress Will Do Jack All To Stop Big Tech’s Abuses

“Republican House Shifting Tech Focus From Antitrust To Censorship, More Investigations.”

“More investigations.” That was the headline last week from Sinclair’s National Desk, making it official: The Republicans of the 118th Congress intend to do precisely jack all to effectively rein in the most powerful companies the world has ever seen, and by extension, will do precisely jack all to rein in their abuses.

But maybe “jack all” is not a fair descriptor: They will, after all, hold hearings on censorship by private companies in collusion with the left-wingers in the federal government. They’ll give speeches in those hearings, bang the gavel, and berate Silicon Valley executives over Zoom, or maybe even in person. Congressman Jim Jordan will take off his sportcoat and give totally true speeches about the un-American abuses of power taking place in America’s tech industry.

Then he and his colleagues will go on Fox News to talk about it. They’ll fundraise off what they said on TV. The fundraisers will make good money, too, because people care about this issue. “Donate now to get more viral clips of us ‘owning the libs.’”

“Send more money for more investigations.”

Republicans love investigations. Remember Benghazi? How about Hillary Clinton’s servers? Or Fast and Furious — the one about that time President Barack Obama’s attorney general funneled weapons to Mexican cartels to help score a propaganda win against legal American gun owners. That doozy ended up with a mass murder at a children’s birthday party, a slain Border Patrol agent named Brian Terry, and countless other cartel atrocities. What it did not end with is Attorney General Eric Holder in prison. Rather, when his boss left office a few years later he bragged about his “scandal-free administration.”

That’s alright, though; the investigations dragged on, TV appearances abounded, celebrities were made, and campaign money was minted.

It’s no surprise we’re in for a repeat episode this time around. No one expected a Republican leader from California to take the lead against Big Tech, and Jordan’s office has been staffed by Silicon Valley defenders for years. When men like Sen. Josh Hawley and Rep. Ken Buck fought for the American Innovation and Choice Online Act this summer and fall, they knew it was the last game in town: A Republican majority would be too afraid of appearing hostile toward Big Business to tackle Big Tech on their own, and Democrat minorities are notoriously disciplined in their unwillingness to help when out of power.

Voters, however, should recognize the theater for what it is. It’s the reality of where the Republican Party stands today. GOP lawmakers have learned to talk like conservative populists, decrying the abuses of Big Business, but when Big Businesses, say, mandate unproven and dangerous medical procedures for employees or customers, they shrug and mutter something impugning Reagan. The message: The government should defend its citizens, unless it’s against Big Business.

https://thefederalist.com/2023/01/16/its-official-the-118th-congress-will-do-jack-all-to-stop-big-techs-abuses/

Biden: To take "on the federal government, you need some F-15s. You don't need an AR-15."

https://twitter.com/disclosetv/status/1615051471132758019

Guido Goldman, the CFR and the German Marshall Fund

As Kissinger’s International Seminar was revealed to be a CIA-funded program, the elites of the CFR hatched a plan to create a new organization to train young global leaders. The Harvard-based German Marshall Fund was created by a CIA-linked Kissinger protégé named Guido Goldman. Their goal: The total capitulation of Russia.

Guido Goldman, the founder and driving force behind the German Marshall Fund, was the son of Nahum Goldmann, one of the most influential Zionist leaders in history who was central to the creation of the modern state of Israel. While Guido Goldman took great pains to distance himself publicly from his father’s legacy, throughout the late-60s, events in the Middle-East and Eastern Europe led to Goldman retreading in his father’s historical footsteps, helping to significantly influence major geopolitical events. The German Marshall Fund (GMF), as well as other powerful organizations Goldman has helped found, continue to wield considerable power and influence on the global stage.

In this article, we will investigate Guido Goldman’s German Marshall Fund and discover how one group of Establishment men, almost all of them high ranking members of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), created leadership programs, funded political propaganda for broadcast on various forms of mainstream media, and infiltrated positions within government.

High ranking members of the CFR had previously established a Harvard based program for training potential international young global leaders through Kissinger’s International Seminar. But when the Harvard seminar was exposed in 1967 as being CIA-funded, the influential CFR members involved began creating a new and improved iteration of the scheme, carefully crafted to meet very similar ends. Just as Kissinger’s seminar had originally been the brainchild of CFR bigwig William Yandell Elliot, the new and improved program was also the work of another top man at the CFR, Guido Goldman.

However, Guido Goldman wasn’t only a Harvard grandee, a high-ranking CFR member and the head of one of the most well-connected intellectual think tanks in the US, he and the GMF also had well concealed but incontrovertible links to the US Central Intelligence Agency.

More

https://unlimitedhangout.com/2023/01/investigative-reports/guido-goldman-the-cfr-and-the-german-marshall-fund/