WHO Director General Dr. Tedros Says We “Must Prepare” for Potential H5N1 Human Bird Flu Pandemic

As COVID-19 winds down, the World Health Organization (WHO) has issued another warning that countries should prepare for the possibility of another pandemic caused by H5N1.

This comes after cases of the virus strain jumping from birds to mammals were reported.

“Over the past few weeks, there have been several reports of mammals, including minks, otters, foxes, and sea lions, having been infected with H5N1 avian influenza,” said WHO’s Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a media briefing on global health issues Tuesday.

“H5N1 has spread widely in wild birds and poultry for 25 years, but the recent spillover to mammals needs to be monitored closely. For the moment, WHO assesses the risk to humans as low,” he added.

According to Tedros, they have only seen “rare and non-sustained transmission of H5N1 to and between humans” since H5N1 first emerged in 1996.

“But we cannot assume that will remain the case, and we must prepare for any change in the status quo. As always, people are advised not to touch or collect dead or sick wild animals, but to report them to the local authorities,” he continued.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is working with national authorities and partners to track the situation and investigate any human cases of H5N1 infection when they arise.

“WHO’s global laboratory network, the Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System, identifies and monitors strains of circulating influenza viruses, and provides advice to countries on their risk to human health and available treatment or control measures,” Tedros said.

WHO urged countries to “strengthen surveillance in settings where humans and farmed or wild animals interact.”

According to Tedros, WHO is maintaining dialogue with pharmaceutical companies to ensure that sufficient vaccine and antiviral supplies are on hand for widespread distribution should they be required.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/02/go-director-general-dr-tedros-says-must-prepare-h5n1-human-bird-flu-pandemic-video/

US Links China's Military To 'Balloon Surveillance Program' That Targeted Over 40 Countries

As debris from the shot-down Chinese balloon recovered from the Atlantic Ocean presumably continues to be analyzed, US officials have been cited in Reuters and The Wall Street Journal to describe that the alleged spy balloon was part of a much bigger than previously believed "balloon surveillance program" by China which has targeted over 40 countries.

"The United States will also explore taking action against PRC entities linked to the PLA that supported the balloon's incursion into U.S. airspace," a senior State Department official said in a statement released Thursday.

"We are confident that the balloon manufacturer has a direct relationship with China's military and is an approved vendor of the PLA, according to information published in an official procurement portal for the PLA," the official said.

But notably, the State Department did not reveal whether ongoing examination of the actual wreckage from the balloon that passed over the United States late last week before it was shot down Saturday off the South Carolina coast is primarily informing the current assessment.

However, The Wall Street Journal does hint that the recovered debris points in the direction of it being a spy balloon:

The Chinese balloon that crossed the U.S. was outfitted with antennas likely capable of collecting communications, a senior State Department official said Thursday, adding that the Biden administration is preparing to take action against China’s surveillance program.

Providing details the U.S. has gathered since tracking and shooting down the balloon, the official said the balloon was also equipped with large solar panels capable of powering an array of intelligence-collection sensors. The manufacturer of the balloon has a direct relationship with the Chinese military, the official added.

The statements provide less than certainty, given the official used qualifiers such as it being "likely capable" of collecting communications, and further that its solar panels are "capable" of powering intelligence-collection sensors. At this point it seems a smoking gun has yet to be presented for public view based on the actual balloon shot down.

According to more via Reuters, describing the Chinese balloon manufacturer, "The company also advertises balloon products on its website and hosts videos from past flights, which appear to have overflown at least U.S. airspace and the airspace of other countries, the official said, without naming the business."

"The official said the United States has collected high-resolution imagery of the balloon from U-2 aircraft flybys that revealed it was capable of conducting signals intelligence collection operations, the report continues. The official then said, "China had conducted similar surveillance flights over more than 40 countries on five continents."

China has sarcastically quipped that the US has launched a "war on weather balloons" - continuing to reject that it was for spying…

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/us-links-chinas-military-balloon-surveillance-program-targeted-over-40-countries

German State-Sponsored Media Building Worldwide Project Against “Increasing Disinformation”

Is censorship going global?

The German state-sponsored news outlet ZDF is working with state-sponsored news outlets from Canada, Switzerland, and Belgium to “develop online-based solutions to enable civic engagement and democratic discourse in digital space away from hate comments and increasing disinformation.”

That means censorship.

ZDF reported:

Together with public broadcasters from Canada (CBC), Switzerland (SRG SSR) and Belgium (RTBF), ZDF wants to develop online-based solutions to enable civic engagement and democratic discourse in digital space away from hate comments and increasing disinformation .

The international research project “Public Spaces Incubator” aims to develop and test innovative building blocks for open and respectful online discussions. The focus is on the interests of the users. Commercial aspects are irrelevant.

ZDF Director Dr. Norbert Himmler: “Democracy thrives on an open and fair dialogue in society. We must not leave that to the major American platforms. The ‘Public Spaces Incubator’ project is intended to show ways in which public broadcasting can create independent and fact-based communication spaces in the digital world can build. Our common goal is to counter the increase in hatred, violence, propaganda and defamation on social media with a public service alternative.”

The four broadcasting companies are conducting the research project in cooperation with the non-profit organization New_ Public, which has extensive experience and expertise in non-profit-oriented digital communication. Co-founder Eli Pariser is known in Germany as the author of the book “The Filter Bubble: How We Are Being Disenfranchised on the Internet”. Parisian and co-founder Deepti Doshi, together with the New_Public team, design interdisciplinary digital spaces to strengthen democratic civic coexistence.

During the 1930s, the German state-controlled media also colluded with western media outlets.

A major example of this was the Associated Press.

In return for access to Germany, The Associated Press agreed to not publish anything “calculated to weaken the strength of the Reich abroad or at home”.

The Guardian reported (March 2016):

The Associated Press news agency entered a formal cooperation with the Hitler regime in the 1930s, supplying American newspapers with material directly produced and selected by the Nazi propaganda ministry, archive material unearthed by a German historian has revealed.

…

In an article published in academic journal Studies in Contemporary History , historian Harriet Scharnberg shows that AP was only able to retain its access by entering into a mutually beneficial two-way cooperation with the Nazi regime.

The New York-based agency ceded control of its output by signing up to the so-called Schriftleitergesetz (editor’s law), promising not to publish any material “calculated to weaken the strength of the Reich abroad or at home”.

This law required AP to hire reporters who also worked for the Nazi party’s propaganda division. One of the four photographers employed by the Associated Press in the 1930s, Franz Roth, was a member of the SS paramilitary unit’s propaganda division, whose photographs were personally chosen by Hitler. AP has removed Roth’s pictures from its website since Scharnberg published her findings, though thumbnails remain viewable due to “software issues”.

Ninety years later, is it happening again?

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/02/comes-german-state-sponsored-media-building-worldwide-project-increasing-disinformation/

https://presseportal.zdf.de/pressemitteilung/zdf-und-internationale-partner-starten-forschungsprojekt-fuer-offenen-dialog-im-netz

“Fit and Healthy People are Dropping Down with Heart Issues” – Fed-Up Aussie Journalist Says He’s ‘Done with COVID Vaccines’ on Live TV

Popular Australian television presenter and journalist for the Nine Network, Karl Stefanovic, has shocked his viewers after he publicly criticized the latest recommendations for a fifth booster shot of the Covid vaccine on live TV.

On Wednesday, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (ATAGI) released new recommendations for Covid-19 booster shots for all adult Australians. People above the age of 30 are recommended to get the fifth jab, while those between the ages of 18 and 29 should get the fourth jab.

During Wednesday’s episode of Nine Network’s breakfast program Today, fully vaccinated Stefanovic said that the shot could lead to “heart issues.”

“As you know, I’m not a glowing ambassador for more than two shots. I’ve just decided that I’ve had covert a couple of times, and I’m done with the vaccines,” Stefanovic said.

Stefanovic was part of an advertisement for Australia’s vaccination campaign.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/02/fit-healthy-people-dropping-heart-issues-fed-aussie-journalist-says-done-covid-vaccines-live-tv-video/

Russian Parliament Speaker on Nord Stream Attack: “Joe Biden is a Terrorist Who Must be Brought to Justice”

The Speaker of the Russian parliament Vyacheslav Volodin branded US President Joe Biden a “terrorist” after a report by veteran US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh blamed Washington for sabotaging the Nord Stream pipelines last year. Russia is calling for a special session of the UN security council, while the German AfD party wants a parliamentary investigation.

Volodin called the purported US Nord Stream sabotage “an act of intimidation of its vassals, who decided to develop their economy in the interests of their own citizens.” He demanded an international investigation to “bring Biden and his accomplices to justice,” and to make sure that the nations affected by this “terrorist attack” are paid compensation.

The AfD (Alternative for Germany) party has called a special session of the German Bundestag (parliament) on the charges for Friday, and is demanding a parliamentary inquiry.

Seymour Hersh is one of the most renowned investigative journalists in the United Sates, who revealed the My Lai massacre in Vietnam, receiving a Pultizer Prize 1970. He also reported that the CIA was involved in Watergate 1974, and broke the Abu Ghraib scandal in Iraq 2004.

On Wednesday, Hersh posted a story on his substack claiming that the US Navy blew up the Nord Stream pipelines Sept. 26.

The story largely echoes what Gateway Pundit recently reported on the attack.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/02/russian-parliament-speaker-nord-stream-attack-joe-biden-terrorist-must-brought-justice/

Teen Steps in to Prevent Rape of 13 Year Old Girl: Alleged Attacker is Migrant with 11 Prior Convictions

A 49-year-old Algerian migrant with a series of criminal convictions was arrested after a teenager stopped him as he was allegedly trying to rape a 13-year-old girl in a suburb of the French city of Bordeaux.

The incident took place Saturday in Cenon on the outskirts of Bordeaux and saw the 49-year-old Algerian migrant approach the 13-year-old on the street. The girl was reportedly on the phone with her mother at the time.

According to Frédérique Porterie, public prosecutor in Bordeaux, the Algerian “came running towards her, grabbed her, pushed her and knocked her down before pulling her by the hair and running his hand through her trousers” the newspaper Le Figaro reports.

The Algerian then sat on top of the girl and attempted to force her into performing oral sex on him, and then strangled her. The girl was only able to escape after another teenager, a young man, intervened and was himself assaulted by the migrant.

Police later arrived around 5:50 pm and arrested the 49-year-old, who had been surrounded by witnesses. According to investigators, the suspect has already been convicted of crimes eleven times in the past and had served a sentence for violence resulting in unintentional death after being convicted in 2012.

The Algerian also proceeded to attack police during his time in custody, biting two police officers and punching another.

The man, said to be a regular cannabis user, claimed while in police custody that he had no memory of the events for which he was arrested but a judicial investigation has begun on counts of rape against a minor under the age of 15 along with rebellion and voluntary violence against police.

The case is just the latest within the last year involving a migrant arrested or accused of raping children, such as a case from April of last year in which an African from Ivory Coast was taken into custody in Nogaro for allegedly sexually and physically abusing 28 children, including two infants, over a period of several years.

In October, a French father was subjected to a criminal investigation for beating a migrant male he alleged had sexually abused his six-year-old daughter after breaking into their family home.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2023/02/09/teen-steps-in-to-prevent-rape-of-13-year-old-girl-alleged-attacker-is-migrant-with-11-prior-convictions/

German Tank Deliveries to Ukraine Leaving ‘Huge Gap’ in Country’s Defences

Germany’s decision to send tanks to Ukraine will leave a “huge gap” in the country’s defences, an official from the country has warned.

Eva Högl, the German parliament’s Commissioner for the Armed Forces, has warned that her country’s decision to hand over 14 advanced Leopard 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine could jeopardise the EU nation’s ability to defend itself.

As a result, she has urged that the country’s military are given replacements for the 14 tanks being sent abroad as soon as possible.

“The 14 Leopards coming from Panzer Battalion 203 in Augustdorf are creating a huge gap there because they don’t have enough to train and be fully operational themselves,” Die Welt reports Högl as explaining, with the official saying that the €100 billion (~$107 billion) set aside to replace exported equipment must be spent on quickly replacing the vehicles.

She went on to add that while those in Germany’s military understood the apparent need to send weapons to Ukraine, the sheer volume of weaponry being exported was endangering their ability to do their job.

“In all my visits to the troops, I find that the soldiers feel that there is an urgent need for Ukraine to be supported — with everything that it needs,” she said. “On the other hand, the Bundeswehr is very affected by the fact that a lot of equipment is being handed over.”

“We have to keep an eye on our own operational readiness,” she went on to say.

Högl’s warning echoes a similar statement made by officials in other countries that have been sending weapons to Ukraine in the hopes of aiding its fight against Russia.

In Britain, there are increasing fears regarding the state of the country’s military, with the opposition Labour Party’s shadow defence secretary, John Healey, warning that armaments exports were putting the armed forces at risk if anything donated to Ukraine is not replaced.

“Ukraine is depleting our military stockpiles and the Government is acting too slowly to replenish them,” the Labour MP warned, adding that the military could very easily be “left short” if nothing is done.

Despite these warnings though, it does not appear that weapons deliveries will calm down anytime soon, with the Zelensky administration continuing to push for increasingly powerful weapons to be sent from the West to Ukraine.

On top of the Leopard 2 tanks already promised to Ukraine, for example, Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands have now all agreed to send a quantity of older Leopard 1 tanks to the country along with a “spare parts and ammunition package”.

Meanwhile, Britain has announced that it will begin training Ukrainian pilots to fly NATO-style Western fighter jets, a declaration that appears to indicate that at least some countries will indeed end up sending the country advanced combat aircraft in the near future.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2023/02/09/german-tank-deliveries-to-ukraine-leaving-huge-gap-in-countrys-defences/

Entire NJ Town Council, Mayor Switch From Democrats To Republicans

A New Jersey town council and the mayor of the town have unanimously decided to switch parties — from Democrat to Republican.

The town council of East Hanover, population 11,000, consists of Council President Frank DeMaio, Jr., Councilwoman Carolyn Jandoli and Councilmen Brian Brokaw, Sr. and Michael Martorelli. Along with Mayor Joseph Pannullo — a Democrat who ousted Republican Mayor William Agnellino in 2007 — they will join the Republican Party, the New Jersey Globe reported.

“Municipal leaders have a responsibility to best represent their constituents, and it is our belief this change of party is in the best interest of the community,” Pannullo stated. “As the nastiness, rhetoric, and social media vitriol of national politics continues to infiltrate local governance, we collectively determined this was the best course of action to keep the focus on local issues impacting our community — combating the overburdening and unrealistic fair-share housing mandates, keeping taxes stable, enhancing our parks and investing in public safety needs to be our local priorities. Every decision my administration makes is about putting East Hanover first; this is no different.”

The five Democrats were reportedly convinced to change parties by Hanover Mayor Ace Gallagher, according to Morris County GOP Chair Laura Marie Ali.

“The entire Republican Party in Morris County is welcoming Mayor Pannullo and East Hanover’s four Council members to our family with open arms and great excitement,” Ali said. “East Hanover is an exceptionally run town with great leadership. It is clear we share the same values as Mayor Pannullo and his Council and we are so excited to have them be part of our Republican family.”

“Today’s complete party flip on the East Hanover Township Council — a first in New Jersey history — is an early signal of the Republicans’ growing momentum ahead of the critical November elections, Bob Hugin, chairman of the New Jersey Republican State Committee celebrated. “Voters know that any official running with a ‘D’ next to their name in our one-party control state is responsible for aiding and abetting the radical Phil Murphy agenda that is driving energy prices up and people out of their homes.

Senate Minority Whip Anthony M. Bucco called the Democrats’ switch “a major win for the Republican Party and shows how out of touch and extreme the Democrat party has become,” adding, “We welcome these well-respected local leaders to our party as we continue to expand our party’s reach.”

http://www.cuzzblue.com/2023/02/entire-nj-town-council-mayor-switch.html

Samuel García Sepúlveda: The WEF’s Man In Mexico

Samuel García Sepúlveda, the current Governor of the Mexican state of Nuevo León, recently attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Has he been tapped to be the next President of Mexico?

Over the last 3 years, thousands of Americans, Canadians, Australians, and Europeans have come to Mexico, seeking to avoid COVID-19 measures. This is because throughout the COVID panic Mexico was one of a handful of places that did not enact quarantines, travel restrictions, or shot mandates.

Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador was very outspoken over the last 3 years, often speaking out against lockdowns, masks, mandatory shots, and in favor of not living in fear. Mexico City doctors also enacted a (short lived) program of disseminating Ivermectin, before the international Fact Checkers shamed them into stopping. A few Mexican towns even chose to outright reject the COVID-19 shots and refuse to allow them into their communities.

Some tourists coming to Mexico also appreciate the fact that many small towns have either overthrown corrupt politicians, or voted to abandon the current government paradigm altogether.

Additionally, many of those avoiding COVID measures also look to Mexico as a potential safe haven against the rise of technocracy and digital surveillance. However, as I reported in April 2021, there are, indeed, attempts to bring various technocratic programs to Mexico, including biometrics for cellphone use, and a national ID card, to name a few. As of February 2023, these programs are not in existence, but clearly we can see there are efforts to turn Mexico into an all-pervasive surveillance state, similar to many modern Western nations.

With all that said, it is clear that the architects of the Technocratic-Agenda 2030-Great Reset vision have not forgotten Mexico.

Samuel García Sepúlveda: Agent of the WEF?

This brings us to Samuel García Sepúlveda, the current Governor of one of Mexico’s northern states, Nuevo León. At only age 35, García Sepúlveda is quickly becoming one of the youngest rising political stars in Mexico.

This is why it is not surprising that he was invited to participate in the World Economic Forum’s 2023 gathering in Davos, Switzerland. Although there were other Mexican citizens representing banks and oil companies like PEMEX, García Sepúlveda was the only Mexican politician in attendance at Davos. The invitation of García Sepúlveda should not come as a surprise given that Nuevo León is near the U.S.-Mexico border and is home to Monterrey, the second largest city in Mexico.

Following the conclusion of the WEF annual meeting, García Sepúlveda posted several photos on his Facebook page, including a photo of him and the WEF founder, Klaus Schwab.

“We had three intense days of work at the World Economic Forum, we had meetings with presidents of Latin American countries, world leaders and first-level entrepreneurs,” Samuel García Sepúlveda wrote. “We show off our state to keep attracting investments, because opportunities don’t come alone, you have to go and look for them. In the #NuevoNuevoLeón we will continue to work to be the first in everything and the economic engine of Mexico.”

Within days of the conclusion of Davos 2023, Mexican media reported that García Sepúlveda had invited Klaus Schwab to come visit Mexico. Schwab has apparently accepted the invitation.

“Many important businessmen from Nuevo León come to Davos, and I invited him (Schwab) and he agreed to go soon,” García Sepúlveda told La Razon.

https://www.activistpost.com/2023/02/samuel-garcia-sepulveda-the-wefs-man-in-mexico.html

UPDATE | James O’Keefe placed on leave by Project Veritas board…

An internal message sent to Project Veritas employees by the organization’s executive director, Daniel Strack, said that O’Keefe would be taking “a few weeks of well-deserved PTO.” An image of the message was shared by a source familiar with the organization’s internal operations, and its authenticity was confirmed by a current employee. When reached for comment on his personal cell phone, O’Keefe said nothing in response and did not respond to follow-up calls and text messages.

Through a Project Veritas spokesman, Strack later released a statement on behalf of the organization. “Like all newsrooms at this stage, the Project Veritas Board of Directors and Management are constantly evaluating what the best path forward is for the organization,” the statement read in part. It did not directly address questions about O’Keefe’s employment status. “There are 65+ employees at Project Veritas dedicated to continuing the mission to expose corruption, dishonesty, waste, fraud, and other misconduct in both public and private institutions,” the statement read. “To our supporters: We hear you, we care about you, and we will never give up.”

O’Keefe is his organization’s guiding ideological force and onscreen face, but his status as its day-to-day manager has become uncertain amid reports of internal turmoil, and lawsuits from former employees.

Strack’s internal message to employees made reference to what he called “a distracting time” and said that a board meeting had been held to discuss “the health of the organization” and that while “we have not come up with final solutions yet we have made a few immediate decisions.” The message said two top Project Veritas executives, including the nonprofit’s chief financial officer, had been “reinstated.”

Multiple sources said that the pair had recently been fired by O’Keefe.

A meeting of the Project Veritas board is scheduled for Friday, when O’Keefe’s potential removal is set to be discussed. The source said that Project Veritas was currently divided between a group of employees who are perceived to be loyal to O’Keefe, including his communications adviser, R.C. Maxwell, and the board, which has been dissatisfied with what it perceives as O’Keefe’s mismanagement.

Matthew Tyrmand, a journalist who serves on Project Veritas’ board, said he was about to walk into a meeting and could not talk when reached on his cell phone on Wednesday. When asked specifically if O’Keefe was being ousted, he replied: “I just said I was walking into a meeting and this was not the appropriate time. What don’t you understand about that?” He did not respond to subsequent phone calls.

https://citizenfreepress.com/breaking/breaking-james-okeefe-placed-on-leave-by-project-veritas-board/

Another “Conspiracy Theory” Has Been Proven True, And It Brings Us Even Closer To Nuclear War

We now know who blew up the Nord Stream pipelines, and it shouldn’t be a surprise to any of us. The corporate media tried very hard to convince us that the Russians were behind the sabotage when it originally happened, but that didn’t make any sense at all. It took 15 years to build the Nord Stream pipelines, and the total cost ultimately surpassed 20 billion dollars. So why would the Russians blow up pipelines that they had invested so much to construct and that were so critical to their own national economy? Sadly, many Americans unquestionably believed the narrative that was being pushed by the Biden administration, but now we have learned that it was the Biden administration that was actually behind the attack.

Legendary journalist Seymour Hersh has just published an extremely detailed article entitled “How America Took Out The Nord Stream Pipeline” in which he lays out precisely what happened. If you are not familiar with Hersh, the following is some good background information about him from Wikipedia…

Hersh first gained recognition in 1969 for exposing the My Lai Massacre and its cover-up during the Vietnam War, for which he received the 1970 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting. During the 1970s, Hersh covered the Watergate scandal for The New York Times and revealed the clandestine bombing of Cambodia. In 2004, he reported on the U.S. military‘s mistreatment of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison. He has also won two National Magazine Awards and five George Polk Awards. In 2004, he received the George Orwell Award.[7]

As you can see, Hersh is not just another journalist.

He was winning awards long before many of you were even born.

And he would never go ahead with a story like this unless his source was rock solid.

According to Hersh’s source, the plan to blow up the pipelines came from a task force that was originally formed in December 2021…

In December of 2021, two months before the first Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine, Jake Sullivan convened a meeting of a newly formed task force—men and women from the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the CIA, and the State and Treasury Departments—and asked for recommendations about how to respond to Putin’s impending invasion.

Apparently Sullivan made it quite clear that the task force was supposed to “come up with a plan for the destruction of the two Nord Stream pipelines”, and it was also quite clear that Sullivan was “delivering on the desires of the President”…

What became clear to participants, according to the source with direct knowledge of the process, is that Sullivan intended for the group to come up with a plan for the destruction of the two Nord Stream pipelines—and that he was delivering on the desires of the President.

More

https://themostimportantnews.com/archives/another-conspiracy-theory-has-been-proven-true-and-it-brings-us-even-closer-to-nuclear-war

Rebels leave behind labyrinth of tunnels under Syria’s Ghouta

Jobar (Syria) (AFP) – Tunnels stretch into the darkness, some wide enough to drive a car through. In Eastern Ghouta, Syrian rebels left behind an underground labyrinth, fitted with hospitals and military headquarters.

“This network of tunnels is a real spider’s web,” said a Syrian army official who escorted journalists on a visit Monday to areas of the Damascus suburb recaptured from the rebels.

President Bashar al-Assad’s forces have recaptured 95 percent of Eastern Ghouta since launching a blistering air and ground assault six weeks ago on the besieged enclave, imposing evacuation agreements on rebel groups.

In the capital’s Jobar district, an entrance to the underground network lies in the basement of a school converted into military headquarters by the Islamist group Faylaq al-Rahman.

The tunnels are dug about 15 metres (50 feet) deep. The walls are reinforced with metal rods and the tunnels are equipped with surveillance cameras and lights.

Some corridors are wide enough to drive a car through, while others can only be accessed on foot.

The network is about five kilometres (three miles) long, connecting Jobar with the rebel-held areas of Ain Tarma and Zamalka.

On Saturday, the army took full control of the area following a Russian-brokered evacuation deal which saw thousands of fighters and civilians bussed out of Ghouta.

In talks leading up to the deal, Russia, the Syrian government’s strongest ally, demanded that the rebels hand over the plans of the tunnel network.

In one underground room, shells arranged by firing range sat in chests marked with the names of Damascus districts.

The rebels who once held the area regularly shelled the capital, killing and wounding civilians.

“The network of tunnels connected ammunition warehouses under buildings, places difficult to identify for the Syrian air force,” the military official said.

The official SANA news agency said the military also found two underground field hospitals, equipped with medical equipment and medicine.

With rebel-held Eastern Ghouta under government siege since 2013, tunnels were used to smuggle food, medicine and fuel into the area.

In 2017, government troops tightened the siege, destroying many tunnels. Jobar’s network, however, survived.

At the exit of the tunnel, not a single civilian was in sight, only soldiers who scanned streets lined with buildings smashed into concrete carcasses and littered with rubble and corrugated metal.

https://www.breitbart.com/news/rebels-leave-behind-labyrinth-of-tunnels-under-syrias-ghouta/

Rail Companies Blocked Safety Rules Before Ohio Derailment

Norfolk Southern helped convince government officials to repeal brake rules — and corporate lobbyists watered down hazmat safety regs.

Before this weekend’s fiery Norfolk Southern train derailment prompted emergency evacuations in Ohio, the company helped kill a federal safety rule aimed at upgrading the rail industry’s Civil War-era braking systems, according to documents reviewed by The Lever.

Though the company’s 150-car train in Ohio reportedly burst into 100-foot flames upon derailing — and was transporting materials that triggered a fireball when they were released and incinerated — it was not being regulated as a “high-hazard flammable train,” federal officials told The Lever.

Documents show that when current transportation safety rules were first created, a federal agency sided with industry lobbyists and limited regulations governing the transport of hazardous compounds. The decision effectively exempted many trains hauling dangerous materials — including the one in Ohio — from the “high-hazard” classification and its more stringent safety requirements.

Amid the lobbying blitz against stronger transportation safety regulations, Norfolk Southern paid executives millions and spent billions on stock buybacks — all while the company shed thousands of employees despite warnings that understaffing is intensifying safety risks. Norfolk Southern officials also fought off a shareholder initiative that could have required company executives to “assess, review, and mitigate risks of hazardous material transportation.”

The sequence of events began a decade ago in the wake of a major uptick in derailments of trains carrying crude oil and hazardous chemicals, including a New Jersey train crash that leaked the same toxic chemical as in Ohio.

In response, the Obama administration in 2014 proposed improving safety regulations for trains carrying petroleum and other hazardous materials. However, after industry pressure, the final measure ended up narrowly focused on the transport of crude oil and exempting trains carrying many other combustible materials, including the chemical involved in this weekend’s disaster.

Then came 2017: After rail industry donors delivered more than $6 million to GOP campaigns, the Trump administration — backed by rail lobbyists and Senate Republicans — rescinded part of that rule aimed at making better braking systems widespread on the nation’s rails.

Specifically, regulators killed provisions requiring rail cars carrying hazardous flammable materials to be equipped with electronic braking systems to stop trains more quickly than conventional air brakes. Norfolk Southern had previously touted the new technology — known as Electronically Controlled Pneumatic (ECP) brakes — for its “potential to reduce train stopping distances by as much as 60 percent over conventional air brake systems.”

But the company’s lobby group nonetheless pressed for the rule’s repeal, telling regulators that it would “impose tremendous costs without providing offsetting safety benefits.”

That argument won out with Trump officials — and the Biden administration has not moved to reinstate the brake rule or expand the kinds of trains subjected to tougher safety regulations.

https://www.levernews.com/email/0d4b524a-5d32-4a05-b39b-3e67750b46fd/?ref=lever-daily-newsletter

Top Biden admin official's husband is CEO of, has $25 million stake in green energy financing firm

Johns' family ties to a massive financial stake in a green energy firm 'could present an issue,' ethics expert tells Fox News Digital

Senior Department of Energy (DOE) official Wahleah Johns' spouse is the top executive and co-founder of a green energy firm that specializes in financing solar projects.

Johns — who was selected to lead the DOE's Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs in January 2021 — is married to Billy Parish, the CEO of the California-based Mosaic, according to Office of Government Ethics filings reviewed by Fox News Digital. Overall, Parish has more than $1 million in vested stock options of Mosaic and an up to $25 million stake in the firm, the filings showed.

Parish co-founded Mosaic more than a decade ago as a crowdfunding startup which has since grown into a solar financing giant that has provided more than $10 billion in funding to residential solar and energy-efficient installations for contractors and consumers.

Mosaic works with a network of more than 700 installation companies, according to Warburg Pincus, a private equity firm that provided $220 million in financing to the company in 2016. The company has boasted that its platform is used by the "majority of the nation's top solar installers" including SunPower, Vivint and NRG Energy.

However, the direct family ties between Johns, who has focused much of her efforts in office on boosting solar projects, and such a major a solar loan provider could present a conflict of interest depending on Mosaic's relationship with the DOE and whether it has recently obtained funding from the federal agency, an ethics expert said.

"If Mosaic has received funding from the Department of Energy or if they're slated to become a recipient of any funding, like any of the grants or loan guarantees, that could present an issue," Michael Chamberlain, the director of government watchdog group Protect the Public's Trust, told Fox News Digital in an interview.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/top-biden-admin-officials-husband-ceo-25-million-stake-green-energy-financing-firm

Israel will strike any weapons Iran sends to Syria under guise of aid - Saudi report

An unnamed Israeli official rejected reports that Israel was planning to provide aid to Syria.

Israel will not hesitate to strike any weapons Iran sends to Syria under the guise of humanitarian aid, amid rescue efforts after a devastating earthquake in the country, an unnamed Israeli military official told the Saudi Elaph newspaper on Thursday.

The anonymous official added that there is intelligence indicating that Iran intends to take advantage of the crisis to send weapons and equipment to Hezbollah and Syria.

The official additionally addressed claims that Israel was ready to provide humanitarian aid to Syria, saying that Israel had received no such requests and that the reports were seemingly published in order to push Israel into issues that "have nothing to do with it." The official stressed that Israel is ready to provide aid wherever necessary if it is asked to do so.

Iran has sent multiple cargo aircraft to Syria since earthquake

A number of Iranian aircraft carrying humanitarian aid have landed in Syria in the days since the earthquake. Hezbollah and Iran-backed militias in Iraq have also joined humanitarian efforts in Syria since the disaster.

The last alleged Israeli airstrike to target Syria was reported in late January after a convoy of trucks crossing from Iraq to Syria was hit by airstrikes. The convoy was reportedly carrying weapons hidden amid food and other products, according to the Elaph report.

https://www.jpost.com/arab-israeli-conflict/article-731139

"We Want To Be On The Right Side Of History": Ubisoft Partners With Police to Jail Gamers For Their In-Game Speech

Ubisoft, the company behind the Assassin's Creed and Rainbow Six franchises, has not only partnered with the Anti-Defamation League to fight "hate" in gaming but is also now working with British police to jail gamers for their speech.

British state media is reporting on the news as a great new innovation.

From BBC, "Toxic gaming tackled by Ubisoft's unique police alert system":

Rape jokes, racism, bullying - if you've picked up a controller, or scrolled a mouse, to dabble in some online gaming then you've likely come across plenty.

The gaming industry, like others where people interact online, has been trying to figure out how to get to grips with behaviour like this for years.

Ubisoft, makers of major franchises like Assassin's Creed and Rainbow Six, has now signed a first-of-its-kind deal with police to try and tackle the issue for its players.

The hope is for this agreement to start a conversation within the industry and see others follow suit.

Working with police

Online gaming is a joyful experience for millions of people every day.

It's a space where friendships are forged and memorable experienced shared. During the pandemic online games were a saviour for many people's mental health. However its dark side is also plain to see. Abusive behaviour, deaths threats and grooming - can be found in online gaming spaces.

"We want to be on the right side of history," says Damien Glorieux a senior director of the Newcastle-based Ubisoft Customer Relationship Centre.

It's here, and at four other locations around the world, that staff monitor how players of Ubisoft games are getting on - responding to requests for help and actively getting involved with the communities that have evolved around their titles. They deal with everything from purchasing issues to online toxicity.

Other companies have similar set-ups, but what's unique here is the involvement of local law enforcement.

The deal between the company and Northumbria Police works in two parts.

Firstly, it sees specialist officers share their knowledge and expertise on harmful online interactions with the 200-strong team working at the centre in Newcastle, who then apply that training to their daily work.

Secondly, an agreement is in place so that in extreme cases, where there is a threat to life or potential serious harm spotted, staff can fast track the information to police.

They will then decide whether or not to act.

Glorieux explains to BBC News: "We have millions of players, and tens of millions of interactions - so how can we spot incidents?

https://www.blacklistednews.com/article/84075/we-want-to-be-on-the-right-side-of-history-ubisoft-partners-with-police-to-jail-gamers-for-their.html

DeSantis Management and Branding Team Schedule Nationwide Book Tour in Advance of 2024 Announcement

If you start from the baseline that everything in federal U.S. politics is a construct to be managed by the financial stakeholders who ultimately control all policy, then things make more sense. Through this prism you can spot the proactive moves, positions and predictable patterns organized by those in control; what has previously been labeled as “The Big Club.”

“Moving Florida Governor Ron DeSantis into position for 2024 with careful branding and management, is one large Republican club operation done with forethought and intent.”

There are obviously trillions at stake, and people are now more awake to how that matters in the bigger picture of controlled corporate politics. Remember, the RNC and DNC are private corporations, essentially private clubs, who operate to the benefit of the major donor membership.

The major club donors are those who have vested interests in domestic or multinational political policy; therefore, the controlling elements of each private corporation are the primary stakeholders in the outcome of the policy the political clubs create through selected candidates. The Wall St billionaires, hedge funds, multinational corporations etc, essentially make investments by trying to control outcomes.

At its core, the financial outcomes of policy are the motives of the donor investments. This simple truth needs constant reminders, because it’s not a conspiracy to see the planning, organization and manipulation that goes into club politics. In this reference, the GOP club.

Just as Big Tech is in the targeting business to remove users and rebellious voices adverse to their ideological interests, so too does the Big Republican Club carry the same motive and intent. The financial people associated with Republican politics are ruthless and their tentacles are everywhere. In the 2016 election they were caught off-guard, negatively impacted by the America-First policies of Donald Trump and now in 2024 taking additional steps, aggressive steps, to ensure a tighter control system.

Big Con is just as destructive as Big Tech, as both are motivated by the same dynamic. In 2024 we are going to see a far more violent, in the desperate sense of the word, response from Big Con. When the people inside the GOPe club have their money threatened, they get extremely brutal. No one attacks the republican base voter with more vitriol than the Republicans who control the club system.

Not enough people understand this dynamic, and too few MAGA ‘America First’ voices realize the scale of how severely the Republican club hates them.

The Republican club organizes their plan, and they will seek to destroy anyone and anything that gets in their way. There are trillions at stake, and multiple billions inside those trillions are directly in the controlling bank accounts of the Republican club operators.

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2023/02/09/desantis-management-and-branding-team-schedule-nationwide-book-tour-in-advance-of-2024-announcement/

Israel steps up Jerusalem home demolitions as violence rises

Ratib Matar’s family was growing. They needed more space.

Before his granddaughters, now 4 and 5, were born, he built three apartments on an eastern slope overlooking Jerusalem’s ancient landscape. The 50-year-old construction contractor moved in with his brother, son, divorced daughter and their young kids — 11 people in all, plus a few geese.

But Matar was never at ease. At any moment, the Israeli code-enforcement officers could knock on his door and take everything away.

That moment came on Jan. 29, days after a Palestinian gunman killed seven people in east Jerusalem, the deadliest attack in the contested capital since 2008. Israel’s new far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called not only for the sealing of the assailant’s family home, but also the immediate demolition of dozens of Palestinian homes built without permits in east Jerusalem, among other punitive steps.

Mere hours after Ben-Gvir’s comments, the first bulldozers rumbled into Matar’s neighborhood of Jabal Mukaber.

For many Palestinians, the gathering pace of home demolitions is part of the new ultranationalist government’s broader battle for control of east Jerusalem, captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war and claimed by the Palestinians as the capital of a future independent state.

The battle is waged with building permits and demolition orders — and it is one the Palestinians feel they cannot win. Israel says it is simply enforcing building regulations.

“Our construction is under siege from Israel,” Matar said. His brothers and sons lingered beside the ruins of their home, drinking bitter coffee and receiving visitors as though in mourning. “We try really hard to build, but in vain,” he said.

Last month, Israel demolished 39 Palestinian homes, structures and businesses in east Jerusalem, displacing over 50 people, according to the United Nations. That was more than a quarter of the total number of demolitions in 2022. Ben-Gvir posted a photo on Twitter of the bulldozers clawing at Matar’s home.

https://apnews.com/article/politics-israel-government-palestinian-territories-jerusalem-bab35518d9b80ce4c7d1513edb163e2d

Disinformation Inc: Meet the groups hauling in cash to secretly blacklist conservative news

Well-funded "disinformation" tracking groups are part of a stealth operation blacklisting and trying to defund conservative media, likely costing the news companies large sums in advertising dollars, a Washington Examiner investigation found.

Major ad companies are increasingly seeking guidance from purportedly "nonpartisan" groups claiming to be detecting and fighting online "disinformation." These same "disinformation" monitors are compiling secret website blacklists and feeding them to ad companies, with the aim of defunding and shutting down disfavored speech, according to sources familiar with the situation, public memos, and emails obtained by the Washington Examiner.

Brands, which have been seeking to promote products online through multiple websites to expand their digital footprint, are turning to corporate digital ad companies keyed into global markets. In turn, some of these companies are contracting "disinformation" trackers to obtain private information about which websites they should purportedly "defund."

The Global Disinformation Index, a British group with two affiliated U.S. nonprofit groups sharing similar board members, is one entity shaping the ad world behind the scenes. GDI's CEO is Clare Melford, former senior vice president for MTV Networks, and its executive director is Daniel Rogers, a tech advisory board member for Human Rights First, a left-leaning nonprofit group that says disinformation fuels "violent extremism and public health crises."

"It's devastating," Mike Benz, the State Department's ex-deputy assistant for internal communications and information policy, told the Washington Examiner. "The implementation of ad revenue crushing sentinels like Newsguard, Global Disinformation Index, and the like has completely crippled the potential of alternative news sources to compete on an even economic playing field with approved media outlets like CNN and the New York Times."

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/technology/disinformation-conservative-media-censored-blacklists