Who’s been illegally giving China US chips for nuclear weapons lab?

The top nuclear-weapons research institute in China has purchased computer chips made in the United States more than 10 times since 2020, despite being placed on a blacklist decades ago. The revelations come as the U.S. and China compete over the global supply chain of semiconductors and computer chips.

According to the Wall Street Journal, theChina Academy of Engineering Physics, run by the Chinese Communist Party, has obtained semiconductors created by Intel Corp. and Nvidia Corp.

The Chinese state-run academy, known as CAEP, acquired the chips through resellers in China, the Journal discovered during a review of procurement documents.

CAEP was one of the first institutions in China blacklisted by the United States due to its nuclear work.

Additionally, the Journal reviewed CAEP research dating as far back as a decade that referenced using American semiconductors for a variety of reasons, including generating algorithms and analyzing data.

China has a difficult time mass producing certain American-made chips, which ranged in size from 7 nanometers to 14 nanometers, the Journal reported.

International trade lawyer Kevin Wolf, who formerly served as a top Commerce Department official, said U.S. restrictions are “insanely difficult to enforce” in transactions overseas.

The United States’ Bureau of Industry and Security said American and foreign parties must conduct due diligence to avoid letting technology get into blacklisted entities hands.

“As mass-market products move through multiple parties in global supply chains, full visibility on ultimate end users is a large undertaking,” the Commerce Department agency said, according to the Journal.

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said in a recent interview that the U.S. passage of the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS and Science) Act would be a turning point in the competition between the U.S. and China for global dominance over semiconductors and computer chips.

The CHIPS Act is a spending and economic incentives bill worth about $280 billion, that directs U.S. taxpayer money to invest in science and technology. The act, which passed in August, provides more than $52 billion in direct investments for semiconductor manufacturing and research, along with a 25 percent advanced manufacturing investment tax credit.

Gelsinger said that the U.S. Chips Act makes “a clear statement that ‘oh, we are going to win back the semiconductor industry, we are going to be manufacturing it.’”

https://americanmilitarynews.com/2023/01/whos-been-illegally-giving-china-us-chips-for-nuclear-weapons-lab/

==Intel CEO: We think of ourselves as an Israeli company as much as a US company

“I just want to say that it will be centered here in Jerusalem."==

https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Intel-CEO-We-think-of-ourselves-as-an-Israeli-company-as-much-as-a-US-company-484209

Nvidia to further expand R&D operations in Israel, hire 1,000 engineers

https://www.timesofisrael.com/nvidia-to-further-expand-rd-operations-in-israel-hire-1000-engineers/

US brings military biological equipment from Ukraine to Poland, Baltic States — top brass

It is noted that Washington is also transferring the functions of contracting military biological activities to civilian agencies

The United States has transferred military biological equipment from Ukraine to chemical and pharmacological sites in Poland and the Baltic States, Chief of Russia’s Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Force Igor Kirillov said on Monday.

"As part of activities to wind down military biological operations in Ukraine, the United States are proactively engaging the material base of chemical and pharmacological plants of Poland and the Baltic States; furthermore, equipment from the Ukrainian territory was delivered there," the official said.

The Pentagon aims at creating biological weapons components and testing them on the population of Ukraine and other countries along the perimeter of the Russian border, Kirillov said. "During the special military operation, Russian servicemen obtained more than 20,000 documents and reference and analytical materials; witnesses and participants in US military biological programs were questioned. The aforementioned materials confirm the Pentagon’s intention to create biological weapons components and test them on the population of Ukraine and other countries along the perimeter of our borders," he noted.

Washington is also transferring the functions of contracting military biological activities to civilian agencies, Kirillov said. "Under pressure from the global community, Washington is changing its approaches towards organization of military biological activity, shifting the customer functions to purely civilian agencies - the Department of Health, the Department of Energy, and the Agency for International Development," the official noted. This will enable the US administration to avoid criticism on international platforms and put the US Department of Defense and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency "out of harm’s way," he added.

https://tass.com/politics/1569013

Israel clears major hurdle in bid to qualify for US Visa Waiver Program

US releases data showing rejection rate of Israeli applicants below 3% as required, but warns government has limited time to pass needed laws, ensure reciprocity for Arab travelers

Israelis took a significant step toward securing visa-free travel to the United States on Monday after months of efforts by successive governments in Jerusalem alongside the Biden administration to achieve the long-elusive goal.

A statement from the US Embassy in Israel said that the annual rejection rate of Israeli visa applications during the 2022 fiscal year (October 1, 2021-September 30, 2022) dropped below the three percent benchmark for the first time — a key requirement for any country seeking to enter the US Visa Waiver Program (VWP).

Israel still has to pass three pieces of legislation and make a “public, legislative and legal” commitment to ensuring entry rights for all American citizens by September 30, senior officials at the US Embassy in Israel said in a briefing with reporters earlier this month.

The latter obligation has been a sticking point for the US, which has long objected to the treatment of Arab and Palestinian Americans at Ben Gurion Airport, where they often suffer extended wait times and occasional deportations, particularly when declaring their intention to travel to the Gaza Strip or the West Bank.

The senior US embassy officials warned of a short timeline for Israel to fulfill all of the necessary requirements related to data sharing and information systems across various government bodies, which must be developed, implemented and tested ahead of the deadline.

The timeline might be shorter than many realize. US officials are concerned that if the necessary measures are not passed by the Knesset recess in April, it will be too late to pass and implement the legislation.

But if all requirements are met, Israelis will be able to begin traveling to the US without a visa for tourism or business trips shorter than 90 days beginning on October 1, 2023.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-clears-major-hurdle-in-bid-to-qualify-for-us-visa-waiver-program/

Biden Admin Funnels Another $1.6 Million to Beijing-Backed Green Energy Company Over Senate Objections

LanzaTech has raked in $12 million in taxpayer funds since inking deal with China-run energy giant Sinopec

The Biden administration sent another $1.6 million to a Beijing-backed green energy company even after Republicans warned the administration that the investment "impacts the national security of the United States."

President Joe Biden's Energy Department on Thursday announced the seven-figure award to LanzaTech, a carbon capture company that in April 2021 inked a partnership with Sinopec Capital, the clean energy investment arm of a Chinese state-owned oil conglomerate. This is not the first time the department has showered LanzaTech with taxpayer cash—the company received more than $10 million in grant payments in the months after it partnered with China, the Washington Free Beacon reported in December.

Those payments alarmed Senate Republicans, with Wyoming's John Barrasso urging Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm in a December letter to stop "making the same mistake of enriching China's technological efforts at the expense of taxpayers." "The awarding of these grants and loans," Barrasso wrote, "directly impacts the national security of the United States." Arkansas's Tom Cotton similarly implored the Biden administration to stop "handing millions of taxpayer dollars to a Chinese-backed company" and instead encourage "American energy production and energy independence."

Biden's Energy Department, however, failed to heed the warnings. For Barrasso, the department's decision to stand by LanzaTech is "outrageous" given the company's "direct ties to communist China."

"This isn't about protecting the environment," Barrasso told the Free Beacon. "The White House is using its far-left climate policies as an excuse to send taxpayer money to help countries that hate us."

Biden's latest LanzaTech grant could prompt additional inquiries from congressional Republicans, who are threatening to subpoena environmental groups over ties to China and Russia. "If there's evidence the Chinese government is funding their actions, we have to go after them," House Natural Resources chair Bruce Westerman (R., Ark.) said in December. "I don't care what kind of group they are."

The Energy Department did not return a request for comment. It has chosen to funnel millions in public funds to LanzaTech despite the company's federal financial disclosures, which note "that the Chinese government may intervene or influence our operations at any time." LanzaTech's filings also acknowledge that the company's partnerships with Sinopec and other Chinese entities could bring "complications" and "restrictions" should the United States bring "sanctions on certain Chinese individuals."

Beyond LanzaTech's relationship with Sinopec, the company has raised millions from CITIC Capital, a subsidiary of China's largest state-run conglomerate. LanzaTech's board of directors includes Bo Ren, who worked at CITIC's brokerage arm.

The Biden administration's affinity with LanzaTech may be explained by the company's deep political connections to top Democrats. LanzaTech counts billionaire venture capitalist Vinod Khosla as a top investor—Khosla in 2008 led then-presidential candidate Barack Obama's India policy team and hosted glitzy fundraisers for the Democrat. Jim Messina, Obama's former deputy chief of staff and campaign manager, went on to join LanzaTech's board in 2013.

https://freebeacon.com/energy/biden-admin-funnels-another-1-6-million-to-beijing-backed-green-energy-company-over-senate-objections/

Airstrikes And Media Attacks Target Iran For The Second Day In A Row

On January 30, strikes by unknown aircraft targeted a convoy of trucks on the outskirts of the Syrian border city of Al Bukamal. The attack took place a day after the Iranian Defense Ministry reported an attack by three drones on a military production facility in Isfahan.

A convoy of Iranian trucks was targeted at night in the village of Al-Harbi near the town of Abu Kamal. Israeli media reported that the Israeli Air Force struck a convoy of 25 trucks belonging to the “Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps” of Iran. According to Israeli channels, there are dead as a result of the attack.

In their turn, local sources clarified that the attack was carried out by unidentified UAVs who fired a warning shot and then struck a convoy of six trucks with at least two missiles. As a result, at least four trucks were heavily damaged. Reports on any casualties are yet to be confirmed.

Al Mayadeen sources report that Iranian trucks were carrying food to Syria, including flour and rice. Footage of the attack confirmed that there were no explosions heard in the area after the strikes. However, there would be multiple explosions if the trucks were carrying any weapons with the explosives.

Before the missile strike, an American MC-12W Liberty reconnaissance aircraft, equipped with radio and radio intelligence equipment, as well as high-quality cameras, was spotted in the area. The US UAVs were also identified by the resistance forces when the drones were flying over the border areas of Iraq and Syria on Saturday evening.

The strike could be a response to the recent UAV attack of the Iraqi resistance group Tashkil al-Warithin on the US al-Tanf base in Homs Governorate which took place on January 20.

Immediately after the attack on the trucks, pro-Israeli media sources began to spread information about a fire at the IRGC headquarter in the city of Mehabad in Iran which was allegedly a result of another attack. However, the head of the Environmental Protection Organization of Mehabad, Faruk Suleimani, refuted the reports and claimed that reeds caught fire in the vicinity of the Yusufkand wetlands with an area of more than two hectares.

Anti-Iranian media have been actively spreading fake reports on the alleged strikes in Iran for the second day in a row: LINK

On January 30, the Iranian FARS news agency showed the minor damage to the military facility in Isfahan as a result of the January 29 drone attack.

The Iranian military called the strike unsuccessful as it led to minor damage to the roof of the workshop. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian called the strike a coward attack and said that a strike on military facilities would not prevent the country from developing a peaceful atom program.

The attack took place amid the upcoming negotiations between representatives of the United States and Israel on their joint policy against Iran which is among other things is deepening military cooperation with Russia. On January 30, Blinken came to Jerusalem.

https://southfront.org/airstrikes-and-media-attacks-target-iran-for-the-second-day-in-a-row/

From a Centers for Disease Control insider: a short note on morale.

Spoiler alert: it isn't good.

I have confirmed this person’s identity. He wrote Friday, after my piece about Iraq. Here’s his note in its entirety:

Thanks for the very insightful piece. I've written to you before-I work at CDC. Initially people were very pro-vaccine, rushing to get boosters when they were first available, clamoring for the approval so they could jab their kids, etc.

Now some confide to me that they don't want more boosters, and the body count is getting noticeable-people in their 40s-60s mostly, representative of the workplace.

But I don't think they'll ever admit they were wrong: there's no face-saving way I can think of to back down and admit the truth.

Why should CDC employees be different than anyone else?

I’ve said it before, but if you work at CDC or an mRNA vaccine company or NIH or FDA, I would love to hear from you. Your confidentiality is assured.

https://alexberenson.substack.com/p/from-a-centers-for-disease-control

INTERPOL Young Global Police Leaders: Building trust in an age of disinformation and deepfakes

NEW DELHI, INDIA: The next generation of law enforcement leadership gathered in New Delhi to kick off the third edition, and first alumni edition, of INTERPOL’s Young Global Police Leaders Programme (YGPLP).

Established in 2019, the YGPLP brings together a select group of aspiring young law enforcement officials to explore emerging trends in policing and provide them with mentoring from experienced senior officers and qualified experts.

This year, participating coaches include Sigríður Björk Guðjónsdóttir, National Police Commissioner of Iceland, Krista Aas, Deputy Director General of the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board, and Nick Evans, Acting Assistant Director for Innovation and Research at the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency.

Central to the intensive and interactive discussions taking place over nine days (25 January - 2 February) was the issue of building and maintaining trust in the midst of digital disruption.

“International police cooperation must be based on clear rules, but trust is an important basis for much of the work that INTERPOL facilitates every day,” said Secretary General Jürgen Stock in his remarks to the young leaders in New Delhi.

“As the digitalization and globalization of crime increases, this trust between law enforcement in different countries has become more vital than ever – because no one nation can effectively combat a borderless threat on its own,” added Secretary General Stock.

“Recently, the entire global police community was in India for the 90th INTERPOL General Assembly,” said Subodh Kumar Jaiswal, Director of India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). “Continuing this theme, the Young Global Police Leaders Programme is an inspirational platform and I believe that the rich professional capacities, innovations and best practices developed by police in India can be a template for other countries to emulate.”

Technological breakthroughs

As part of its Global Horizon Scan, INTERPOL has been examining how trust is evolving in a digital age, with research and insights developed by the Organization’s Innovation Centre serving as a basis for discussions in India.

Emerging technological breakthroughs in areas such as neuro-imaging software and synthetic media (or ‘deepfakes’) constitute new potential tools to mass generate false information, making it more difficult for authorities to communicate and build trust.

In the YGPLP’s opening sessions in New Delhi, participants heard from experts on how to effectively maintain trust in such an environment before working together to propose solutions based on experiences in their own countries and administrations.

https://www.interpol.int/en/News-and-Events/News/2023/INTERPOL-Young-Global-Police-Leaders-Building-trust-in-an-age-of-disinformation-and-deepfakes

Manhattan DA will Begin Presenting Trump, Stormy Daniels Hush Payment Case to Grand Jury

The Manhattan District Attorney’s office has revived its criminal investigation into Trump’s ‘hush payments’ to porn star Stephanie Clifford, AKA, Stormy Daniels.

Trump has been accused of paying Daniels ‘hush payments’ in a scheme to silence her and stop the story about their alleged affair from being published in the National Inquirer.

Trump has denied the affair.

House Democrats previously launched the inquiry into the hush payments ahead of the 2020 election cycle as a way to bog down Trump and slow down his 2020 re-election campaign.

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s predecessor previously rejected the Trump ‘hush payments’ case because it wouldn’t stand up in court.

Fast-forward a couple years and now the Manhattan DA has revived the Stormy Daniel hush payments probe to counter Trump’s 2024 White House bid.

According to the New York Times, the Manhattan DA will begin presenting evidence to a grand jury on Monday.

The former publisher of the National Enquirer was seen walking into the building in lower Manhattan where the grand jury is meeting.

The New York Times reported:

The Manhattan district attorney’s office on Monday will begin presenting evidence to a grand jury about Donald J. Trump’s role in paying hush money to a porn star during his 2016 presidential campaign, laying the groundwork for potential criminal charges against the former president in the coming months, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The grand jury was recently impaneled, and witness testimony will soon begin, a clear signal that the district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, is nearing a decision about whether to charge Mr. Trump.

On Monday, one of the witnesses was seen with his lawyer entering the building in Lower Manhattan where the grand jury is sitting. The witness, David Pecker, is the former publisher of The National Enquirer, the tabloid that helped broker the deal with the porn star, Stormy Daniels.

As prosecutors prepare to reconstruct the events surrounding the payment for grand jurors, they have sought to interview several witnesses, including the tabloid’s former editor, Dylan Howard, and two employees at Mr. Trump’s company, the people said. Mr. Howard and the Trump Organization employees, Jeffrey McConney and Deborah Tarasoff, have not yet testified before the grand jury.

The prosecutors have also begun contacting officials from Mr. Trump’s 2016 campaign, one of the people said. And in a sign that they want to corroborate these witness accounts, the prosecutors recently subpoenaed phone records and other documents that might shed light on the episode.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/01/new-manhattan-da-will-begin-presenting-trump-stormy-daniels-hush-payment-case-grand-jury/

Vimeo bans documentary about parents’ concern over transgender surgery for minors

Vimeo called the documentary "hateful."

Video-sharing platform Vimeo has removed a documentary titled “Dead Name” about parents and guardians trying to prevent their kids from getting gender-related surgeries.

Vimeo claimed that the video violated its policy on “hateful conduct.”

“We can confirm that Vimeo removed the video in question for violating our Terms of Service prohibiting discriminatory or hateful content,” the video platform said. “We strive to enforce these policies objectively and consistently across our platform.”

According to the maker of the film Taylor Reece, Dead Name is “subtly explosive but does not contain hate speech or anything hateful.

“All these people talk about is how much they want to protect their children,” Reece told The Daily Signal.

Reece said that transgender activists pressured Vimeo to remove the video and that it was only online for 34 days before it was removed.

“Parents are living in the Twilight Zone, they are beside themselves and don’t know what to do about it,” Reece said. “This film is an attempt to force a conversation, not just in Republican legislatures, but around the country.”

“In the transgender world, the name is the first thing that most of these children shed,” the filmmaker added. “The erasure of who they are, their name, their history, their identity, it erodes little by little until it becomes a physical manifestation — like double mastectomies.”

Reece also said that “unless you are the parent of that child, you have no idea what this journey actually is.”

https://reclaimthenet.org/vimeo-bans-documentary-deadname/

New Zealand PM Chris Hipkins says climate change is behind Auckland floods, warns of extreme weather events in near future

Newly-appointed Prime Minister of New Zealand Chris Hipkins has blamed climate change as the driving force behind the Auckland floods and warned there is "more bad weather ahead".

New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has declared climate change is "real" and "with us" in the wake of Auckland's devastating flooding event.

Four people have died and hundreds have been left displaced after the city in the North Island was lashed by heavy rain, causing flash flooding, on Friday.

The newly-appointed PM appeared on 1News where he warned the country's extreme weather would continue.

While he labelled the floods as a one-in-a-hundred-year event, he and said extreme weather events were occurring at greater frequency than ever before.

“Climate change is real, it’s with us,” the NZ PM told 1News.

“We are going to have to deal with more of these extreme weather events in the near future; we need to be prepared for that and we need to do everything we can to combat the challenges of climate change.

"We know through the forecasts that there are more bad weather ahead."

Only three days after the city’s state of emergency declaration, Auckland residents were urged to prepare for another onslaught of storms.

Heavy rain warnings were in place for Northland, Auckland and Coromandel Peninsula from Tuesday to Wednesday with Northland forecast to be hit the worst.

Northland is on alert with the highest weather warning New Zealand has with a combination of rain, thunderstorms and strong winds.

https://www.skynews.com.au/world-news/global-affairs/new-zealand-pm-chris-hipkins-says-climate-change-is-behind-auckland-floods-warns-of-extreme-weather-events-in-near-future/news-story/b565e2eb79992f6a4554a59c0712917f

Indigenous Voice to Parliament run by ‘elites’ ignoring Aboriginal voices, claims Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price

A prominent Aboriginal Senator has claimed the Indigenous Voice to Parliament has been hijacked by “the elites” pushing an agenda.

Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has dismissed the Indigenous Voice to Parliament campaign as being run by “elites” looking to push an agenda.

Plans for the referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament have been at the forefront of the Labor Party’s policy platform since before the May election.

Under the proposal, a constitutionally enshrined Voice to Parliament would be a permanent body representing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples that would advise the government on policies relating to Indigenous issues.

Speaking to Sky News’ Paul Murray on Monday night, Senator Price said a lot of Aboriginal Australians felt they weren’t being heard amid a push from “the elites” to establish an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

“And you only have to look as far as … when you’ve got the likes of the Teals all backing in Albanese,” she said.

“When you’ve even got the leader of the Greens, who can’t even back up his First Nations spokesperson.”

Senator Price is one of the leading voices behind the ‘No’ campaign for the upcoming referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

She argues the body would divide Australians “along the lines of race” and is designed to empower “elites” in the community.

Ms Price said since establishing the ‘No’ campaign with Indigenous businessman and activist Warren Mundine, she had been inundated with messages from Aboriginal Australians.

“I’m telling you now, this is the elites pushing what they believe Aboriginal Australians need,” she said of the Voice proposal.

“We’re seeing the momentum gather already, in terms of Aboriginal people trying to get hold of us.

“So that’s who we’ll be tapping into at a grassroots level.

“There are plenty of Aboriginal people who feel like they are not being represented in this argument, and that’s who’s been reaching out to the ‘No’ committee already."

https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/politics/campaign-for-indigenous-voice-to-parliament-run-by-elites-ignoring-aboriginal-voices-claims-senator-jacinta-nampijinpa-price/news-story/34e01f66203c886c046df412f05f09bc

Calls for Immediate Suspension of the COVID-19 Vaccines Now Hit South Africa – Court Action Launched by 3 Non-profit Companies

More and more medical experts, scientists, and right group advocates in Africa are now demanding that the government should stop its COVID-19 vaccination campaign due to its devastating side effects among patients.

Vaccines against COVID-19 were first introduced in South Africa in February 2021. Its goal was to vaccinate 67% of the population, or 40 million people, at the end of the year. As of mid-January 2023, over two years later, only 35% (21 million) had been fully vaccinated, according to Gavi.

Three groups, Covid Care Alliance, Transformative Health Justice, and Free the Children-Save the Nation, have filed at the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, South Africa, arguing that the government must immediately stop administering the Covid-19 vaccine because of the mounting and indisputable evidence that they cause unprecedented levels of harm, including death.

“They accused the government, in court documents, of disregarding the well-being of millions of people by driving Covid-19 vaccination programs, in spite of not properly investigating the efficacy and safety of the vaccines,” Sunday Tribune reported.

“They claimed that authorities ignored people who suffered debilitating side effects, harassed outspoken medics, and were engaged in data scrubbing and other Irregularities to water down the impact the jabs had on South Africans,” the outlet added.

Doctor Stephanus Oosthuizen of Tongaat, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, said in an affidavit that he had seen an increase in patients with symptoms that he is unfamiliar with after the Covid-19 vaccine was introduced in the country.

“I noticed that the conditions being presented were similar to those being recorded and reported on by other doctors, which they ascribed to Covid-19 vaccine injuries,” he said in his statement, per IOL.

At least 125 incidents of adverse events were reported by Oosthuizen to the Department of Health for further investigation.

“What we are witnessing in South Africa seems to be comparative to what is reported of happening in other countries, in as far as the adverse events being witnessed among the jabbed,” he said in court documents.

One of South Africa’s leading mainstream media aired an almost ten-minute piece to discuss the calls to stop the Covid-19 vaccine.

“We know the pharmaceutical industry has a long history of criminal behavior. We are here to protect the public,” said Shabnam Mohamed, CEO of Transformative Health Justice.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/01/calls-immediate-suspension-covid-19-vaccines-now-hit-south-africa-court-action-launched-3-non-profit-companies-video/