They’re lobbying for Ukraine pro bono – and making millions from arms firms.1/3March 1, 2023

Some of Washington’s most powerful lobbyists are providing their services to Ukraine for free, but they also have financial incentives for aiding the country

Some of Washington’s most powerful lobbyists are providing their services to Ukraine for free – but at the same time, they are taking in millions in fees from Pentagon contractors who stand to benefit from the country’s war with Russia.

Following Russian president Vladimir Putin’s internationally condemned decision to invade Ukraine there was an outpouring of support to the besieged nation from seemingly every industry in America. But, arguably, one of the most crucial industries coming to Ukraine’s aid has been Washington’s powerful lobbying industry.

The invasion has led some of the lobbying industry’s biggest players to do the unthinkable – lobby for free. While the influence industry may have altruistic reasons for representing Ukraine pro bono, some lobbying firms also have financial incentives for aiding Ukraine:they’ve made millions lobbying for arms manufacturers that could profit from the war.

The surge in pro-bono Ukraine lobbying

US law requires agents of foreign principals who are engaged in political activities to make periodic public disclosures of their relationship under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (Fara). Twenty-five registrants have agreed to represent Ukrainian interests pro bono since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Before the war, just 11 Fara registrants were working on behalf of Ukrainian interests.

“I don’t recall a comparable surge in pro-bono work for any foreign principal,” said David Laufman, a partner at the law firm Wiggin and Dana, who previously oversaw Fara enforcement at the justice department.

Many of these new pro-bono Ukrainian lobbyists arepushing for greater US military support for the Ukrainian military. As one registrant explained in a Fara filing, they intend “to lobby members of the US government to increase US Department of Defense spending on contracts related to equipment and other efforts which will aid the ability of the Ukrainian military to succeed in its fight against the Russian military”.

While many of these pro-bono lobbyists may be doing this work purely out of solidarity with Ukraine, some of the firms working free of charge for Ukraine have an added incentive.

Hogan Lovells

Before winning the speakership in the new Republican Congress, Representative Kevin McCarthy warned that Republicans wouldn’t approve a “blank check” for Ukraine aid once they took power. But,just last week the GOP’s biggest fundraiser agreed to provide pro-bono assistancein loosening Congress’s purse strings when it comes to Ukraine.

On 16 February, former senator Norm Coleman, senior counsel with the law firm Hogan Lovells, filed Fara paperwork revealing that he is pro-bono lobbyist for afoundation controlled by the Ukrainian oligarch Victor Pinchuk. Coleman oversaw the raising and spending of over $260m in funds supporting Republican congressional candidates in the 2022 midterm elections.

Coleman, who has extensive experience as a lobbyist for foreign interests via his longstanding role as an agent for Saudi Arabia, was already busy at work for Ukraine. Emails from 4 February disclosed as part of Coleman’s Fara disclosures, revealed him requestingassistance from senators Lindsey Graham and Thom Tillis’schiefs of staff in hosting an event at the Capitol “to give members of Congress a better understanding of the horrific loss of life and the tragic agony that the people of Ukraine have experienced over the course of the last year as a direct result of Russian war crimes” and “do as much as possible to ensure continued, strong, bipartisan support for the truly heroic efforts that this administration and Congress have made to provide the essential military and economic assistance to Ukraine”.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/01/ukraine-lobbyists-washington-defense-industry

>>18428491

2/3

While Hogan Lovells conducts this work pro bono, two of the firm’s paying clients,Looking Glass Cyber Solutions and HawkEye 360, have extensive defense department contracts and an interest in the conflict in Ukraine.

Looking Glass, which paid Hogan Lovells $200,000 in 2022, holds afive-year contract with the Department of Defenseto “to provide tailored cyber threat intelligence data and enhance the mission effectiveness of US military cyber threat analysts and operators” and writes on its website about the role of such threats in Russia’s military strategy.

HawkEye 360, which also paid $200,000 to Hogan Lovells in 2022, similarly is a defense department contractor, specializing in detection and geolocation of radio signals. Their detection network conducted analysis in Ukraine and their website boasts of identifying GPS interference in Ukraine, appearing to be part of Moscow’s “integration of electronic warfare tactics into Russian military operation to further degrade Ukraine’s ability for self-defense”. Hogan Lovells did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

BGR

BGR Government Affairs (BGR), a lobbying and communications firm, began working pro bono for two Ukrainian interests last May. The contracts arewith Vadym Ivchenko, a member of Ukraine’s parliament, and Elena Lipkivska Ergul, an adviser to Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

In 2022 BGR made more than half a million dollars lobbying for Pentagon contractors, some of whom arealready profiting from the Ukraine war.Raytheon, for example, which paid BGR $240,000 to lobby on its behalf in 2022, according to OpenSecrets, has already been awarded more than $2bn in government contracts related to the Ukraine war.

Indeed, two days before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, aBGR adviser was publicly calling for increased military aidto Ukraine in the face of Putin’s recognition of the so-called Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics as independent states.

“Militarily, the United States and Nato allies need to get far more serious about helping Ukraine defend itself,” wroteKurt Volker, BGR senior adviserand former US Nato ambassador, in an article published by the Center for European Policy Analysis (Cepa).

His article, “Buckle Up: This is Just the First Step”, was promoted on the BGR website. Cepa did not disclose Volker’s BGR affiliation in the article.

“BGR has no conflict of interest and is proud of its work on behalf of Ukraine and all of its clients,” said BGR’s president, Jeffrey H Birnbaum, in a statement responding to questions about whether their work posed any such conflict.

Mercury

Mercury Public Affairs (Mercury), a lobbying, public affairs and political strategy consultancy, began working pro bono forGloBee International Agency for Regional Development (“GloBee”), a Ukrainian NGO, in mid-March 2022. The firm made headlines for agreeing to work for a Ukrainian client pro bono. The firm’s Fara filing later in the year shows that Mercury’s work consisted of sending just four emails on Globee’s behalf in the first three and a half months of this arrangement.

Mercury, like BGR, was also working on behalf of Pentagon contractors in 2022, while working for a Ukrainian client pro bono. All told, Mercury reported being paid more than $180,000 for lobbying on behalf of Pentagon contractors in 2022.…

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/01/ukraine-lobbyists-washington-defense-industry

>>18428504

3/3

Mercury’s work for aUkrainian clientis also notable because before the Ukraine war the firm had, for years, been working on behalf of Russian interests.

This work included lobbying on behalf ofRussia’s Sovcombank, as well as a Russian energy company founded by the Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska.Deripaska was recently implicated in a scheme to bribe an FBI agent that was investigating him.

Mercury dropped both of these Russian clients when the Ukraine war began, but not before earning nearly $3m from these Russian interests in the five years before the firm agreed to work for a Ukrainian client pro bono, according to Fara filings. Mercury did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Navigators Global

On 29 April 2022 Navigators Global, which describes itself as an “issues management, government relations and strategic communications” firm, registered under Fara to represent the committee on national security, defence and intelligence of the Ukrainian parliament. According to the firm’s Fara filing, theyreached out to dozens of key members of Congresson behalf of the Ukrainian parliament – including eight phone calls, texts and emails with McCarthy – and contacted the House and Senate armed services committees two dozen times.

As Navigators Global was doing this pro-bono lobbying of the policymakers in Congress with, arguably, the greatest sway over US military assistance to Ukraine, thefirm was also raking in revenue from Pentagon contractors. Specifically, in 2022 Navigators Global made $830,000 working on behalf of defense contractors, according to lobbying data compiled by OpenSecrets. The firms’ lobbying filings also show that their work for these contractors was directed, among other issues, at the FY23 National Defense Authorization Act, the defense policy bill that increased spending on the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative by half a billion dollars. Navigators Global did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Ogilvy

On 26 August 2022 Ogilvy Group, a giant advertising and public relations agency, registered under Fara towork with the ministry of culture and information policy of Ukraineon the ministry’s Advantage Ukraine Initiative. The initiative’s website describes it as the “Investment initiative of the Government of Ukraine”. The top listed investment option is Ukraine’s defense industry.

Ogilvy is joined in this endeavor by fellow Fara registrantsGroup M and Hill & Knowlton Strategies, as well as the marketing company Hogarth Worldwide, which has not registered under Fara.

While the Ogilvy Group spread “the messagethat Ukraine is still open for business”, as its statement of work with the ministry explains, Ogilvy Government Relations was lobbying for Pentagon contractors who paid the firm nearly half a million dollars in 2022. These two Ogilvy organizations are technically separate entities. They are owned by the same parent company, WPP.

At least one of the contractors that Ogilvy Government Relations lobbies for,Fluor, would appear to directly benefit from increased US military supportfor Ukraine and heightened US military presence in Europe more generally. In 2020, the US army’s seventh army training command awardedFluor with a five-year Logistics Support Services contract, which a Fluor spokesman explained, “positions Fluor for future work with the US European Command and the US Africa Command headquarters located in Germany”. Fluor paid Ogilvy Government Relations $200,000 for lobbying in 2022, according to OpenSecrets. Ogilvy did not respond to a request to comment on the record.

As the war in Ukraine heads into its second year, US defense spending continues to balloon.Weapons and defense contractors received nearly half – $400bn – of the $858bn in the 2023 defense budget. (Because Biden intentionally left in $85 billion in Afghanistan)

“There’s high demand for weapons to transfer to Ukraine and to replenish shrinking US stockpiles … contractors are seeing billions of dollars in Ukraine-related contracts.” said Julia Gledhill, who investigates defense spending at the government watchdog the Project On Government Oversight.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/01/ukraine-lobbyists-washington-defense-industry

>>18428515

They lowered their English reading and writing standards so migrants can take the job. And Park Service paid $20,000 for the signs to go up

>>18428529

Amazing how gov releases the BS of lab leak to divert from Bidan’s stolen papers, Ukraine with US money flowing like a spigot, Chinese spies in Congress and all over the congress, Pfizer exposed and admitting they are doing gain of function, we’ve got a war waging idiot in the WH, his entire Admin are Foreign Agents for China and other countries, E. Palestine had a chemical spill that not only will probably kill people there, but the hazardous toxins went into the Ohio River where 1/3 of US drinking water cones from, Canada is becoming a full blown totalitarian state far surpassing communist Russia back the day, Harp most likely used on Turkey anc Syria to prove to Erdogan never to ho against NATO, South America all of it now us ruled by marxist communist bought by China, just over our southern border, reported by heritage 7 million plus illegal migrants crossed over border and disappeared in the US, with about 3 million are got aways because they are criminals and terrorist, and whatever else was occupying our real attention.

But sure lets focus on where the fucking mostly harmless virus came from, they’ll never tell us really, but it occupies our attention and conversation and not focus on the crimes of Fauci, Collins, NIH and all else involved in NWO to get Trump out office.

And while we are talking about it ==People seemingly Don’t know what the work “likely” means= The gov didn’t confirm a damn thing, so it means, It “means we’re guessing and practicing 5GW on the public again and no one notices”.

We are like cats with a laser pen drawn

I could care less where it came frommore concerned that Pharma is willfully killing 1/2 the people of the world

1 Mar, 2023 13:34

Pentagon makes prediction on Ukraine conflict timeline

Hostilities may drag on for several more years, with Kiev relying on foreign aid, a senior official has warned

The armed conflict inUkraine may last for three more years, though predicting the timeline is challenging, a senior Pentagon official has said during a hearing on Capitol Hill.

“We do not know the course and trajectory of the conflict,” US Under Secretary of Defense Colin Kahl told members of the House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday. “The conflict may end six months from now, or it may end two years from now or three years from now.” (He meant to say “It really depends on how much MIC and oligarchs need tp make, they are pretty greedy so it might be another Viet Nam or Afghanistan is the true answer”)

The hearing was being held to look into military assistance to Ukraine, which the administration of President Joe Biden has pledged to provide for “as long as it takes” for the country to prevail. Some lawmakers have criticized what they consider a blank check to Kiev, citing corruption concerns and the cost to American taxpayers.

Rep. Ro Khanna, a Democrat from California, asked Kahl how many more times the Biden administration would ask Congress to open the purse for Ukraine and what the end game would look like. The under secretary replied that it wasup to Kiev to decide “what peace settlement” it was prepared to accept. (Liar! US and UK has been determining everything Kiev are puppets)

“Our position has been to make sure that at whatever point they enter those conversations, they do so from a position of strength,” he explained.

It is true that “Ukraine continues to depend on assistance from the US” and that will not change “for some period of time,” Kahl stated. He said the Pentagon would provide aid, regardless of how the battlefield situation develops.

“Even if the conflict in Ukraine dies down – and nobody can predict whether that will happen –Ukraine is going to need a military that can defend the territory it clawed back”from Russia, the under secretary advised. (Fucking insanity)

The Ukrainian government has declared that the only outcome it will accept is retaking all lands it claims sovereignty over. It also wants Moscow to pay war reparations and for the Russian leadership to stand trial before an international court.

According to US media, the Biden administration is said to have informed Kiev behind closed doors that it cannot indefinitely expect the level of support it has enjoyed so far. Washington reportedly urged Ukraine to prepare for a counteroffensive in the spring and summer, before drawing the conflict down.

Moscow has said it prefers a diplomatic solution to its concerns about NATO influence in Ukraine and radical nationalist elements among Ukrainian troops, but is ready to continue military action due to Kiev’s refusal to negotiate. The Kremlin also says Ukraine must recognize the outcome of referendums held in its former provinces, which delivered a result in favor of joining the Russian Federation

(Bidan put the kibash on Austin, Milley and Kellogg all sayinglast week, it will end in a negotiated peace agreement because Ukraine can’t win. They released this to lie again and scare the shit out of the world.)

https://www.rt.com/news/572262-pengaton-ukraine-conflict-timeline/

1 Mar, 2023 12:42

Seismologist behind Türkiye quake prediction issues another warning

The first week of March will be “extremely critical,” Frank Hoogerbeets says

Dutch seismologist Frank Hoogerbeets, who rose to international prominence after predicting the devastating earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria last month, has said that the world could be hit with another major quake in the coming days.

Hoogerbeets, who makes his forecasts based on the motions of celestial bodies, published a video on YouTube on Monday in which he warned that “the first week of March is going to be extremely critical.”

“A convergence of critical planetary geometry around March 2 and 5 may result in large to very large seismic activity, possibly even a mega-thrust earthquake around March 3 and 4 and/or March 6 and 7,” the description to the clip read.

In the video itself, the seismologist claimed that the power of the supposedimpending quake “may be well over 8 magnitude.”

The affected area could stretch thousands of kilometers, from the Kamchatka Peninsula and the Kuril Islands in Russia’s Far East, all the way down to the Philippines and Indonesia, Hoogerbeets said.

“I’m not exaggerating. I’m not trying to create fear. This is a warning,” insisted the scientist, who works at the Solar System Geometry Survey (SSGEOS).

The head of the Kamchatka branch of the Geophysical Survey of Russia’s Academy of Sciences, Danila Chebrov, has questioned Hoogerbeets’ predictions and described him as an “amateur.” The connection between the movements of the planets in the solar system and seismic activity on Earth “is rather weak, and it’s problematic to use it as the main prognostic tool,” Chebrov explained.

On February 3, Hoogerbeets issued a tweet that read: “Sooner or later there will be a magnitude 7.5 earthquake in this region (South-Central Turkey, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon).”

Three days later, a 7.8 magnitude quake struck Türkiye and Syria. The disaster has caused the deaths of more than 50,000 people, with powerful aftershocks continuing in the region to this day.

Dutch seismologist Hoogerbeets has made predictions down the years which didn’t come true. Commenting on his work earlier this month, Susan Hough of the US Geological Survey insisted that no scientist has “ever predicted a major earthquake.” Hough told NPR that the spot-on forecast for the quakes in Türkiye and Syria was just a coincidence. “It’s the stopped clock that’s right twice a day, basically,” she said.

https://www.rt.com/news/572257-earthquake-prediction-turkey-syria/

‘We will prosecute death threats’: Arizona’s new attorney general fights to protect election workers.1/3

Rachel Leingang

In less than two months on the job, Arizona’s Democratic attorney general, Kris Mayes, reassigned a unit tasked with investigating election fraud to instead focus on protecting voting rights. She then publicly took former attorney general Mark Brnovich, a Republican, to task for hiding documents that showed the 2020 election was free from widespread fraud.

“Obviously, there are clear differences between me and my predecessor on these issues,” Mayes said.

In Arizona, where a Democratic governor and Republican-controlled legislature are unlikely to agree on any major alterations to election law, the biggest changes for democracy could instead come from the attorney general’s office. As the state’s top prosecutor, Mayes has the power to investigate voting crimes and bring charges against those who break election laws.

Before winning the attorney general’s office, Mayes was a reporter and an attorney and a member of formerDemocratic governor Janet Napolitano’s administration. A Republican until 2019, Mayes said she switched parties because the GOP’s embrace of Trumpism left her and other moderate Republicans behind. (Shit she’s part of the McCain, Arizona and Mexico Mafia in AZ)

Her perspective on elections differs greatly from her predecessor. In his last two years in office, Brnovich tried to play both sides of election issues, seeking to appease the far-right flank of his party in pursuit of a US Senate seat while not filing charges for widespread fraud. At first, he defended Joe Biden’s victory in the state, but over time, cast doubt on Maricopa county’s elections.

Mayes also contrasted strongly with her Republican challenger in the 2022 race, Abe Hamadeh, who she narrowly beat. Hamadeh embraced the falsehood that Trump won the 2020 election and was one of several election deniers who lost their statewide races in the increasingly purple state.

The attorney general’s race was among the closest in the state’s history. It went to an automatic recount, where her lead of 511 votes fell to 280 votes because of human errors in one Arizona county. Hamadeh has sued over the election, and his case is still ongoing.

Since taking office in January, Mayes has dramatically shifted the office’s priorities. She announced that an election integrity unit created by the state legislature at Brnovich’s behest to investigate voter fraud will instead focus on voting rights and protecting elections officials.

She also released documents that Brnovichconcealed from the public that showed his office’s investigation into the 2020 election in the state’s largest county did not find widespread fraud. Mayes said she released the documents because Arizonans had a right to know the results and because her office has a “solemn duty to be honest and transparent”.

Several major election cases hang in the balance, including prosecutions for ballot collection in a border community, potential charges against county supervisors who initially refused to certify the 2022 election and inquiries into people who publicly posted voter signatures. Mayes wouldn’t comment on these ongoing issues.

Mayes spoke with the Guardian about her office’s plans for election protection and prosecution. The interview has been condensed for length and clarity.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/mar/01/arizona-attorney-general-interview-elections

>>18428736

2/3

You plan to change the focus of your office’s election integrity unit. At a basic level, do you think that the unit needs to exist?

The short answer is yes, repurposed in the way that we anticipate. There is a real need in the state of Arizona to protect voting rights and to protect elections officials against threats to their lives and and against the harassment and intimidation that they’ve been facing. And of course, every election cycle there’s ahandful of actual voter fraud cases that come through this office. Those will continue to be investigated in the normal course of our work and under the law. But I think this unit needs to be repurposed toward protecting voters and especially elections officials. We’re seeing a sad exodus of elections officials from their jobs in the face of all of this harassment and these death threats. We obviously just saw the Cochise county elections director resign from her post because of all of the harassment she found herself facing, and that can’t go on. I want to be very clear that we will prosecute anyone who engages in death threats or attempts to interfere in the conduct of our elections going forward.

Do you plan for your office to take proactive stances on voting rights issues?

Some of it depends on what actually passes out of this legislature and gets signed. But yeah, I do anticipate using the bully pulpit here in the AG’s office to push back against legislation that would undermine voting rights. And obviously, if there are any instances of attempts to suppress the vote or voting rights, we will take action against that through this new unit.

When it comes to protecting elections officials, is that something that you think mostly will come from people referring things to your office or is there any kind of proactive work that your office could take on that?

I would like to head out to our 15 counties and have a conversation with county attorneys, sheriffs and the elections officials themselves about this. I’ve already had a conversation with [Maricopa county sheriff Paul] Penzone about working together to protect elections officials in the 2024 cycle. I had a conversation with the Yavapai county sheriff about it. So I anticipate having one-on-one conversations with local law enforcement about this and hopefully standing up a concerted effort together to work on this in advance of 2024. I’ve even thought about working towards the creation of a taskforce on this issue.

Have you gotten any pushback to changing the focus of the unit?

Not really, interestingly enough, no. I’m sure there are folks amongst Republican legislators who are not huge fans, but I haven’t heard that specifically yet.

Arizona, in some cases, inspired other states to create these kinds of units. Does it make sense to have these kinds of units? Is Arizona’s experiment with it something that should be replicated?

I wouldn’t offer any advice to other states. Each state has its own circumstances to address. We wouldn’t have created this unit in this way today, obviously, it’s not the kind of unit that I would create. We’re reorganized in a very, very different way. I certainly wouldn’t advise other states to create an election integrity unit the way it was created under my predecessor.

Looking ahead to 2024, what sorts of things do you think need to be in place to improve elections before then or ensure that 2024 is a safe and secure election both for people running it and for voters?

I’m gonna leave that primarily up to the secretary of state and county elections officials. I know they’re working on the election procedures manual, the EPM. This office will play a role in helping to review that. We want to get back to the more normal situation in which the various elections officials, including this office, are working together on the EPM. That hasn’t happened in the past. I think this office refused to approvethe EPM in the last few years under the previous administration, so that needs to happen.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/mar/01/arizona-attorney-general-interview-elections

>>18428748

Distraction Incoming I think!

3/3

I think that there needs to be this really concerted focus on protecting elections officials and making sure that folks know we will prosecute any attempts to intimidate or engage in violence against our elections officials, period, full stop. I’m going to be making that clear. I want to get that message out there, so that we can provide some deterrence to this behavior going forward. Our democracy depends on the ability of good people to step forward and serve as elections officials.

A slate of people in Arizona signed on to documents claiming Trump won the state, calling themselves the state’s electors. Is that something you’re investigating?

We aregoing to investigate the fake electors. I can confirm that.

Because there is a justice department investigation into that issue, is that something that separately you undertake or do you work with them on it?

We are planning to reach out to federal officials on that matter. Beyond that, I’m not going to comment on it.

How do you think your predecessor did on election issues?

Obviously there are a lot of differences between how I intend to address elections matters and in the way my predecessor did. I would never have handled the 2020 election investigation the way he did, and certainly would not have handled the release of these documents the way he did. Beyond that, I’m going to let him speak for himself. But, obviously, there are clear differences between me and my predecessor on these issues.

There’s still this ongoing lawsuit from your Republican challenger in 2022, Abe Hamadeh, as well. Is that something that is in any way distracting from your work? How are you managing that?

It’s not really been a distraction at all. We’ve sort of compartmentalized that and it’s something that my outside attorneys and legal team is handling. We’ll just await the decision of the Mohave county judge who’s handling that, but we’re really busy here carrying on the work of the people of Arizona.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/mar/01/arizona-attorney-general-interview-elections

Kekkity

https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/1630685224748171265?s=20

https://twitter.com/DC_Draino/status/1630680898961133569?s=20

15 hours ago

Nick Sortor gives update on East Palestine, Ohio

https://rumble.com/embed/v28pq0o/?pub=4

>>18428733

Amen, the souls of God will be safe.

Anons, please tell me the truth and prove this Bidan nightmare will be over soon! Two more years may break the mind of millions.

God have mercy on us and take Bidan and Admin out now! According to your will let it be done!

Full Interview Video – FBI Director Chris Wray Defends Organization from Criticism: “Not a Single FBI Investigation Handled Inappropriately”

March 1, 2023 | Sundance | 157 Comments

FBI Director Christopher Wray sat down for a lengthy (as broadcast) interview with Fox News human cabbage patch doll, Brett Baier. {Direct Rumble Link}

It isalmost too difficult to encapsulate the amount of parseltongue that flows so easily from Director Wray. Even when given specific examples of FBI storm troopers over aggressive tactics against targets, and examples of hypocrisy within FBI actions of similar situations that were handled completely differently, Chris Wray swears there is no actual difference present.

When asked about documented evidence showing FBI agents requesting social media platforms to remove content and users (Twitter files), the FBI Director says theagents do not request social media platforms to remove content and users. That’s his story and he’s sticking to it. Director Wray maintains the same standard of denial when asked about FBI targeting parents at school board meetings. If being obtuse was a crime, Chris Wray would be a career criminal. WATCH:

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2023/03/01/full-interview-video-fbi-director-chris-wray-defends-organization-from-criticism-not-a-single-fbi-investigation-handled-inappropriately/

https://rumble.com/embed/v28pprm/?pub=4

Distraction Time: Despite Previously Being Banned as Too Dangerous, John Kirby Confirms Biden White House Support for “Gain of Function” Virus Manipulation

February 28, 2023 | Sundance | 153 Comments

“Gain of function” is the innocuous sounding term for the manipulation of a toxic virus to make it more toxic. Gain of function is essentially the weaponization of a virus to make it more lethal and explore the consequences of the biological outcome. Because there are risks this type of research could produce a dangerous pandemic virus that would escape the biolab environment, “gain of function” research was previously banned.

As the COVID-19 pandemic (SARS-CoV-2) now appears to have originated as an outcome of “gain of function” research, White House spokesperson for strategic policy, John Kirby, is asked if Joe Biden supports that type of biological experimentation. Kirby delivers a lot of words, but eventually admits, yes, the White House supports experiments with viruses to make them more dangerous. WATCH:

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2023/02/28/despite-previously-being-banned-as-too-dangerous-john-kirby-confirms-biden-white-house-support-for-gain-of-function-virus-manipulation/

https://youtu.be/R6ElnaAqpgo

Well, there it is – NATO General Secretary Says Ukraine Will Definitely Become a NATO Member Once Conflict with Russia Concludes

(Personally I think Sundance is misreading this)

February 28, 2023 | Sundance | 279 Comments

After the western alliance previously swore that NATO would not put any member NATO state on the doorstep of Russia, a promise that was weak and viewed by many as false – ultimately influencing the decision by Russia, NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg said today that Ukraine will be joining NATO as soon as the conflict is concluded.

Now, given that statement, why would Russia even fathom entering any type of peaceful resolution to the conflict. In essence, Stoltenberg has just turned the conflict in Ukraine into a zero-sum issue for Russia. The only way Russia can keep NATO away from its border is to win violently against Ukraine. WATCH (00:42 prompted):

Do you really believe the United States would be okay with Russia establishing forward military bases in Mexico or Canada? Why should Russia permit U.S. and NATO military bases on its borders?

We almost went to war when Russia was assisting Cuba with weapons and missiles, and the U.S. will not permit any Russian interests in North America. Why should Russia accept U.S. interests on their doorstep?

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2023/02/28/well-there-it-is-nato-general-secretary-states-ukraine-will-definitely-become-a-nato-member-once-conflict-with-russia-concludes/

https://youtu.be/2-ajU9cMpKg