Anonymous ID: 5abbef March 7, 2023, 7:09 p.m. No.18465312   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5438 >>5478 >>5606 >>5704 >>5757

>>18464997

tyb good BPM o7

 

>US lawmakers call for declassified Covid origins report

 

Republicans have pressed the federal government to publish more information about the genesis of the global health crisis

 

he US House Intelligence Committee has adopted its own version of a bill seeking to force the government to declassify all that it knows about the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic, namely information that relates to a major virology lab in China, from which US officials have claimed the virus originally escaped.

 

A Senate-approved bill moving through Congress was given a rubber stamp by the Republican-controlled intel committee on Tuesday, aiming to require Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines to “make available to the public as much information as possible” about the beginnings of the virus, as well as “any and all information relating to potential links between the Wuhan Institute of Virology” and Covid-19.

 

“The American public deserves answers to every aspect of the Covid-19 pandemic, including how this virus was graded and specifically, whether it was a natural occurrence or was the result of a lab-related event,” committee chairman Mike Turner said. “The intelligence community does have more information about Covid-19 than the public has seen.”

 

The legislation was approved unanimously by the committee and will now head for a floor vote in the House, after which it would be destined for President Joe Biden’s desk for a signature.

 

The GOP-led push to declassify information follows an updated assessment by the Department of Energy, which recently concluded the virus likely leaked from the Wuhan lab, though the department only endorsed that theory with “low confidence.” Days later, FBI Director Christopher Wray appeared on Fox News to declare that Covid-19 “most likely” emerged from the virology facility, citing a bureau report that has not been made public.

 

Republican Senators Josh Hawley and Mike Braun initially proposed similar legislation in 2021, and though the bill was passed in the upper chamber, it was never enacted into law. It was reintroduced and passed again overwhelmingly last week.

 

“The Senate already passed my bill with​ ​[Hawley] ​​to make every bit of evidence we know about the Covid lab leak declassified for the American people to see the facts without corporate or government censors. President Biden needs to declassify everything we know today​,” Braun wrote in a tweet in late February, soon after the Wall Street Journal was first to report the Energy Department’s revised conclusion.

 

Though the original bill never received the president’s signature, so far the White House has not given any indication it will veto the measure.

 

Beijing, for its part, has vocally denied suggestions the pathogen escaped from the Wuhan virology lab, rejecting the theory as a way to smear China’s image abroad. On Monday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry accused Washington of “spreading myths” about the origins of the pandemic, urging for an international probe into the matter within the United States following similar investigations in the People's Republic.

 

https://www.rt.com/news/572618-us-lawmakers-covid-origins/

Anonymous ID: 5abbef March 7, 2023, 7:14 p.m. No.18465344   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5384 >>5444 >>5478 >>5606 >>5704 >>5757

China presses for Covid origins probe in US

 

Washington has ignored concerns over its “bio-military bases” both at home and abroad, Beijing said

 

The World Health Organization (WHO) should launch a new investigation into the origins of Covid-19 in the United States, China has said, rejecting charges by Washington that the deadly pathogen escaped from a high-security virology lab in Wuhan.

 

Asked about recent comments by WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus – who called on China and other nations to be “transparent in sharing data” regarding the genesis of the health crisis – Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning insisted Beijing has “shared more data and research findings than any other country and contributed the most on origins-tracing.”

 

“Tracing the origins of the virus is a matter of science. This study should be and can only be conducted jointly by scientists around the world,” Mao told reporters on Monday, adding that the US government has only hampered those efforts by “politicizing, weaponizing and instrumentalizing the issue.”

 

Mao’s remarks came days after FBI Director Christopher Wray claimed the virus “most likely” originated in a leak from a Chinese lab in comments to Fox News, citing a bureau assessment that has not been made public. The Department of Energy has also reportedly altered its stance on the matter, recently endorsing the lab-leak theory, though only with “low confidence.”

 

The Foreign Ministry spokesperson accused Washington of “spreading myths” without “supporting evidence,” saying the allegations have only “poisoned the atmosphere for science-based global origins-tracing.” She noted the WHO had already visited China on two occasions to probe the issue and concluded the leak hypothesis was “extremely unlikely,” but said no similar investigation had been carried out in the US.

 

“The US, however, ignored these science-based conclusions and recommendations and kept pressurizing WHO into repeatedly demanding origins-tracing in China. It is quite clear what the US is trying to achieve,” Mao continued. “While claiming to take origins-tracing seriously, the US has never invited WHO expert groups to the US for joint study, or shared any early data. Instead, it has turned a blind eye to the world’s concerns about US bio-military bases at Fort Detrick and around the world.”

 

https://www.rt.com/news/572557-china-covid-origins-us/

Anonymous ID: 5abbef March 7, 2023, 7:16 p.m. No.18465364   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5478 >>5564 >>5606 >>5704 >>5757

Fox News hit with election complaint

 

Media Matters claims Rupert Murdoch’s network gave in-kind contributions to Republicans in 2020

 

Media Matters for America has filed a Federal Election Commission complaint against Fox News, claiming the cable network has provided an illegal contribution to the Republican Party in the 2020 US election. MMFA’s head talked up the complaint on Monday, as Fox aired previously unavailable footage of the January 6 Capitol riot.

 

Fox operates “more like a partisan operation than a news network,” Angelo Carusone told Democracy Now! on Monday evening, adding he anticipated “a lot more” FEC complaints going forward.

 

The MMFA is basing its complaint on one of the documents produced in the ongoing defamation lawsuit against the cable network by Dominion Voting Systems, which is seeking $1.6 billion in damages. According to the discovery in that trial, Fox owner Rupert Murdoch gave then-President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner, “confidential information” about a campaign ad for Democrat Joe Biden.

 

MMFA is arguing that the FEC “press exemption” would not apply in this case, and that Murdoch’s act amounts to “an illegal corporate in-kind contribution.”

 

“If you try to get around that disclosure law… by giving something that is the equivalent of money, that you would need to spend money on, or that could be considered something of value for a political campaign, you’re either not supposed to do it or it’s supposed to be disclosed,” Carusone told Democracy Now!

 

Carusone’s interview coincided with Fox News showing video from the 2021 riot at the US Capitol, which the new House Speaker Kevin McCarthy – a California Republican – provided to Tucker Carlson, the most-watched evening news host in the US. The footage Carlson aired directly contradicted the narratives about the Capitol “insurrection” put forth by Biden and the Democrats. MMFA has gone after Carlson numerous times, accusing him of everything from “election denial” to racism.

 

The Republican National Committee has previously complained to the FEC that Twitter had given an in-kind contribution to the Democrats in the 2020 election, by censoring the New York Post’s factually true story about Hunter Biden’s laptop. Biden, the Democrats and MMFA denounced the report – falsely, as it turned out – as “Russian disinformation.” The RNC filed their claim in October 2020, just weeks before the election. The FEC rejected it, without explanation, in September 2021.

 

https://www.rt.com/news/572603-fox-news-election-complaint/

Anonymous ID: 5abbef March 7, 2023, 7:18 p.m. No.18465386   🗄️.is 🔗kun

UK mulls spy-balloon fleet of its own

 

The project is aimed at giving London and its NATO allies ‘an advantage over adversaries’

 

The UK government is researching the possibility of creating its own high-altitude surveillance airships, according to the March issue of Desider, a magazine produced by Britain's Ministry of Defence. This comes shortly after the scandal over a Chinese “spy balloon” in US airspace.

 

The UK defense ministry last year signed a £100 million ($118.6 million) contract to research “stratospheric uncrewed air systems,” according to The Times’ report published Monday. Britain is considering buying a fleet of spy balloons, it added.

 

Project Aether is a research initiative that aims to “better understand the stratosphere and the high-altitude platforms that could operate there,” Ross Corbett, the project’s military requirements manager told Desider. The research is assigned to the British Defence Equipment and Support’s Future Capabilities Group, London’s “hub for strategic research and innovation.”

 

“Successfully exploiting [the stratosphere] could mean huge potential benefits,” Corbett said. He also explained that there was still a lot of testing to be done before Britain could operate surveillance airships at 50,000 to 80,000 feet above Earth for long periods of time.

 

The proposed “high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned air systems” could be used for “intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and rebroadcast activities” by the UK armed forces and their NATO allies, Corbett said.

 

Project Aether is working with the American Sierra Nevada corporation, British company Voltitude and the European joint venture Airbus, one of the leaders of the global aerospace industry. Corbett claims that the research will help the UK secure an “operational advantage over our adversaries.”

 

This comes after the highly-publicized scandal between Washington and Beijing in which the US accused China of flying a “spy balloon” over American soil and downed it with a fighter jet. China blasted the US for “overreaction” and insisted it was a civilian airship that had blown off course.

 

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in February that he was ready to shoot down any Chinese balloons if they were spotted in UK airspace. Sunak added that he would “do whatever it takes to keep our country safe.” Defense secretary Ben Wallace alleged in a comment to tabloid The Sun that China has “probably spied” on Britain, adding that “simple things like weather balloons” could be turned into sophisticated surveillance gear.

 

https://www.rt.com/news/572610-uk-spy-balloon-research/

Anonymous ID: 5abbef March 7, 2023, 7:22 p.m. No.18465412   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5478 >>5606 >>5704 >>5757

Zuckerberg’s tech giant to sack thousands more people – Bloomberg

 

Meta is expected, as soon as this week, to begin a second round of job cuts in four months

 

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, is planning a new series of layoffs affecting thousands of employees as soon as this week, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

 

Last November, the social networking giant announced a major cost-cutting plan that included sacking nearly 11,000 people, or some 13% of its workforce. The reported upcoming dismissals would be in addition to those.

 

The staff reductions are being driven by the company’s financial targets, according to people familiar with the matter, as cited by the news agency.

 

In February, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said his corporation was focused on “cutting projects that aren’t performing or may no longer be crucial” and that it plans on “removing layers of middle management to make decisions faster.” He also pitched 2023 as the “Year of Efficiency,” aimed at drastic cost cuts.

 

https://www.rt.com/business/572560-meta-facebook-layoffs-costs/

Anonymous ID: 5abbef March 7, 2023, 7:27 p.m. No.18465451   🗄️.is 🔗kun

Ukraine considers LGBTQ breakthrough

 

Legalizing same-sex unions for soldiers would also please Kiev’s “Western allies”

 

Ukraine’s former deputy culture minister has proposed legalizing same-sex civil partnerships, arguing it would both reward the service of LGBTQ soldiers and please Kiev’s foreign backers. Inna Sovsun of the Golos party announced on Tuesday that she has submitted the bill to the Verkhovna Rada for consideration.

 

“Legalization of single-sex relationships is very important to me now, because if I come home [dead], my partner can’t even bury me,” was one of the arguments from the Ukrainian LGBT Soldiers and Allies’ Facebook community that Sovsun quoted in announcing her bill.

 

The bill is a product of nine months of work, involving two NGOs. It would establish legal grounds for people in same-sex relationships to regulate property ownership, inheritance, pensions and death benefits, Sovsun argued.

 

“I could say that this is what our Western allies are demanding of us – and it is true, they are,” but 56% of Ukrainians agree that LGBTQ people should be entitled to civil partnerships, she wrote. “As a society, we have matured beyond the ‘Russian swamp’ and Soviet worldview.”

 

Because Ukraine values “human dignity and freedom,” Ukrainians are “simply a different biological species” than Russians, she concluded.

 

While Sovsun did not provide a source for her figures, the percentage correlates to a 2017 online survey commissioned by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA).

 

Ukraine decriminalized homosexuality in 1991, but its constitution defines marriage as a voluntary union between a man and a woman (Article 51). As late as 2018, the Justice Ministry in Kiev argued there were no legal grounds for same-sex civil partnerships.

 

Sovsun represents Golos, a self-described “liberal” and “pro-European” party that supports President Vladimir Zelensky’s ruling majority. They won 20 seats – out of 450 – in the 2019 election, though 11 MPs have since broken away to set up their own party, called ‘Justice.’ Sovsun herself was deputy minister of science and education between 2014 and 2016 – following the US-backed coup in Kiev – when the government’s move to restrict the use of Russian language helped touch off the unrest in Donbass.

 

https://www.rt.com/russia/572607-ukraine-lgbt-civil-partnership/

Anonymous ID: 5abbef March 7, 2023, 7:33 p.m. No.18465492   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5514 >>5606 >>5704 >>5757

Russia bans Soros-funded NGO

 

Germany-based Transparency International has been designated as a threat to constitutional order

 

The Prosecutor General’s Office has declared Transparency International unwelcome in Russia, describing the Berlin-based organization on Monday as going beyond its mandate to interfere into the country’s internal affairs.

 

“It has been established that the activities of this organization clearly go beyond its declared goals and objectives,” the office said in a statement. “Formally acting as an organization fighting corruption around the world, it interferes in the internal affairs of the Russian Federation, which poses a threat to the foundations of its constitutional order and security.”

 

The Russian chapter of Transparency International was declared a foreign agent in 2015. Monday’s decision means Russian nationals could face prison time if they worked for the organization, and penalties for giving it financial aid or disseminating its materials.

 

Founded in 1993 by a group that included former World Bank officials and US intelligence operatives, Transparency is best known for its annual ‘Corruption Perception Index’ (CPI), which ranks countries on a scale of their perceived propensity for graft. It lists among its donors a plethora of Western government agencies and powerful trusts, including Open Society Foundations, the network of controversial businessman and sponsor of neoliberal causes, George Soros.

 

The organization withdrew the accreditation of its US chapter in 2017 over “differences in philosophies, strategies, and priorities.” TI-USA was widely criticized for being a front for multinational corporations, giving its Integrity Award to then-US secretary of state Hillary Clinton in 2012 and blocking calls to help NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden in 2013.

 

Transparency International Brazil is currently under investigation for alleged collusion with prosecutors in the ‘Car Wash’ scandal, which was used to convict former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on trumped-up corruption charges. Da Silva’s conviction was later thrown out and he won the 2022 election.

 

https://www.rt.com/russia/572545-transparency-international-unwelcome-prosecutors/

Anonymous ID: 5abbef March 7, 2023, 7:37 p.m. No.18465523   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5692

EXCLUSIVE: This Is the Mexican Border City Cartel Boss Behind Killing, Kidnapping of U.S. Citizens

 

Soon after the rescue and return of two of four U.S. citizens kidnapped by the Gulf Cartel in Matamoros, Breitbart Texas learned the identity of the crime boss ultimately responsible for the crimes.

 

Known in the criminal underworld as “La Kena or Ciclon 19,” Jose Alberto Garcia Vilano is the current Gulf Cartel operational leader in Matamoros.

 

Mexican federal law enforcement sources revealed that La Kena has gunmen running security throughout the city and they would be the ones that shot at the four U.S. citizens. The security teams known as “La Guardia” carry out enforcement operations for the Gulf Cartel and chase rivals when entering the city.

 

Ultimately, the order to take them would have to be given by La Kena or someone in his inner circle with his approval, law enforcement source said.

 

On Tuesday morning, Mexican authorities were able to find four U.S. citizens who had been kidnapped on Friday. The rescue took place at a stash house in a rural area known as Tecolote on the outskirts of the city. The rescue came after hours of raids by Mexican authorities working with their U.S. counterparts. In addition to the FBI, Breitbart Texas was able to learn that agents from Homeland Security Investigations in Harlingen and HSI Brownsville were working closely in the case.

 

Authorities were able to find one injured man, a woman, and two deceased males. In a large security operation, authorities moved the two victims to Veteran’s International Bridge where they crossed them in an ambulance to Brownsville and turned them over to federal authorities. It remains unclear when the bodies of the two other victims will be repatriated.

 

The case began on Friday afternoon when Latavia “Tay” McGee, Shaeed Woodard, Zindell Brown, and Eric James Williams crossed from Brownsville into Matamoros reportedly to get cosmetic surgery.

 

Details of what prompted the attack by the Gulf Cartel are unclear, however, federal authorities confirmed that gunmen chased the white minivan with the four U.S. citizens. During the chase, the minivan crashed into a vehicle and the gunmen began firing. One of those stray bullets hit an innocent bystander.

 

With complete impunity, the gunmen were able to throw the four Americans into a white pickup and leave before Mexican authorities arrived.

 

El Tecolote sits east of Matamoros, a short distance from La Bartolina, a rural area used by the Gulf Cartel to incinerate hundreds of victims. For years, the Gulf Cartel has used La Bartolina as a clandestine site where they use 55-gallon drums to burn bodies and scatter ashes.

 

https://www.breitbart.com/border/2023/03/07/exclusive-this-is-the-mexican-border-city-cartel-boss-behind-killing-kidnapping-of-u-s-citizens/

Anonymous ID: 5abbef March 7, 2023, 7:40 p.m. No.18465547   🗄️.is 🔗kun

German army struggles with NATO obligations – media

 

Bundeswehr is short of battle-ready tanks to man NATO’s rapid deployment force, German media report

 

Germany would hardly be ready to fulfill its NATO commitments in the event of an emergency requiring an immediate military response, broadcaster ZDF has reported. Berlin was scheduled to form the core of the military bloc’s Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) this year. Yet, the military unit responsible lacks battle-ready tanks for the mission, the broadcaster said on Monday, citing internal documents.

 

The VJTF is expected to be the first to meet an adversary in case NATO is attacked. The 8,000-strong force must be ready to send its troops to the front within two to seven days, but the Bundeswehr Tank Battalion 393 is hardly up to the task, ZDF reported.

 

The unit, based in the central German state of Thuringia, is the only one in the German Army equipped with the state-of-the-art Leopard 2A7V main battle tank. However, not enough of them are combat-ready.

 

At least 30 out of the unit’s 44 heavy equipment tanks must be battle-ready at any time through the year to meet the VJTF requirements. In January, the unit had only 17 tanks ready for action, according to the internal documents seen by ZDF. In February, this number increased to 20, still below the VJTF standards.

 

Estimates by Bundeswehr seen by ZDF show that the battalion will not be ready for the VJTF mission this year, since the number of combat-ready tanks in its possession is unlikely to exceed 23 at any time.

 

The German military has already extended the period for mandatory tank maintenance from 12 to 24 months in order to increase the number of combat-ready panzers in the 393rd Battalion. Otherwise, 11 more tanks would have been deemed unfit for service, ZDF reported.

 

According to the broadcaster, the unit would have to “borrow” tanks from another battalion based in the southern state of Bavaria. However, that unit had its own issues with tank availability, and its armor did not undergo an official VJTF certification.

 

The issue was blamed on a maintenance plant owned by the German defense industry giant KMW. Internal documents showed that the maintenance backlog was discussed during a top-level “crisis meeting” in mid-February.

 

Officially, Berlin still maintains that it is ready to fulfill its NATO obligations. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius did admit a “backlog of maintenance and repairs” during his visit to Lithuania this week, but insisted that the issue “will now be resolved.”

 

“There is no doubt that the mission can be accomplished,” he told journalists, referring to the VJTF.

 

The news comes as Germany prepares to send 14 of its Leopard 2 tanks to Kiev as part of another Western military aid package.

 

https://www.rt.com/news/572617-germany-lack-tanks-nato-obligation/

Anonymous ID: 5abbef March 7, 2023, 7:45 p.m. No.18465563   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5575

Russell Fry Outraged over Kidnapped Americans: Mexican Cartels’ ‘Rampant Illicit Activity’ Affects Every State

 

Rep. Russell Fry (R-SC) spoke out about the four Americans recently abducted in Mexico, revealing at least one of them is from his district and emphasizing that border states are not the only ones affected by Mexican drug cartels’ “rampant illicit activity.”

 

Fry, a freshman member of Congress, made the revelation after U.S. and Mexican authorities confirmed on Tuesday, per Breitbart News’s Texas team, that a Gulf Cartel cell operating in Matamoros, a city just over the border, was responsible for killing two of the four Americans amid the violent kidnapping.

 

Fry said:

 

It is heartbreaking to hear about the tragic killing of two of the four Americans abducted in Mexico. I want to share my deepest condolences with the victims’ family members and loved ones as they grieve.

 

Thank you to all those involved in working to bring them home. Our office is in contact with federal agencies and the family of one of the abducted Americans who lives in our district. We are supporting them in every way we can.

 

Latavia “Tay” McGee, Shaeed Woodard, Zindell Brown, and Eric Williams, had crossed into Mexico through Brownsville, Texas, and according to President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, were traveling for medical purposes.

 

The names of which two were killed had not been made public at the time of this publishing.

 

The four individuals had grown up in South Carolina together and “were bonded ‘like glue,’” Brown’s sister Zalandria told CNN.

 

Fry represents South Carolina’s Seventh District in an eastern section of the state that includes Myrtle Beach.

 

In the wake of the abduction and killings, Fry warned the Mexican drug cartels, which the Drug Enforcement Agency deems “the greatest criminal drug threat” to the U.S., “wield more power than ever before.”

 

“This horrible incident sheds more light on the violence that stems from their rampant illicit activity that impacts not only our border states but my home state of South Carolina,” Fry said.

 

He added, “We cannot continue to turn a blind eye to the deadly cartel activity that’s happening right across our southern border and taking American lives.”

 

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/03/07/russell-fry-outraged-over-kidnapped-sc-resident-cartels-rampant-illicit-activity-affects-every-state/

Anonymous ID: 5abbef March 7, 2023, 7:49 p.m. No.18465582   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5587 >>5611

Infamous COVID ‘Sex Ban’ Split UK Government, Leaked Messages Reveal

 

Britain’s infamous COVID-19 “sex ban” split the UK government at the time of its introduction, leaked messages have revealed.

 

A prohibition on couples living in different households from seeing each other during lockdown — billed as a “sex ban” by the country’s media and pundit class — caused controversy within government, leaked messages have reportedly revealed.

 

The revelations come amid the leaking of around 100,000 Whatsapp messages to The Telegraph largely revolving around the country’s former Health Secretary, Matt Hancock.

 

According to a report by the publication on Monday, some of these messages have revealed a significant degree of trepidation over a ban on inter-household romantic couples from seeing each other, with some feeling the ban would ultimately be unrealistic.

 

“[T]he biggest Q of the day for our finest political journalists is: can I see my boyfriend or girlfriend if we don’t live in the same household?” a spokesman for then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson wrote in one message, asking the country’s scientific experts to give their advice on what the government should do.

 

In response, England’s Chief Medical Officer, Chris Whitty explained that “realism” would be needed in regards to any lockdown restrictions, with the official saying that he feared people would not listen to advice telling them to avoid their significant other for many weeks.

 

“If it’s a regular partner I don’t think people are likely to listen to advice not to see them for 3 weeks or maybe more,” he wrote. “We could say; if they can avoid seeing one another they should, and if either of them has an older or vulnerable person in the house they must.”

 

However, despite their being agreement that this should be the stance taken by government, Matt Hancock and colleagues instead announced a much harsher ban later that day.

 

Instead of couples being asked to stay apart, deputy Chief Medical Officer for England, Dr Jenny Harries announced that couples would need to make a decision of either living together or remaining apart during lockdown.

 

“Make your choice and stick with it,” Hancock said, summing up the restrictions.

 

Hancock would go on to regret telling the public to “stick” with their romantic decisions though, with images of the married Health Secretary kissing his then-aide being leaked to the British press the following year.

 

Apart from being a salacious scandal in its own right, the kiss was also in breach of COVID guidelines at the time, something that resulted in Hancock ultimately resigning from his position as health secretary.

 

“I understand the enormous sacrifices that everybody in this country has made — that you have made — and those of us who make these rules have got to stick by them,” he said at the time. “And that’s why I’ve got to resign.”

 

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2023/03/07/infamous-covid-sex-ban-split-uk-government-leaked-messages-reveal/

Anonymous ID: 5abbef March 7, 2023, 7:53 p.m. No.18465593   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5602 >>5634

US spies say ‘pro-Ukrainian group’ bombed Nord Stream – NYT

 

Anonymous agents cited unspecified intelligence to deny US responsibility for the pipeline attack

 

Unspecified new intelligence “suggests that a pro-Ukrianian group” was behind the September 2022 attack on Nord Stream pipelines, the New York Times reported on Tuesday, quoting anonymous US officials.

 

The Times’ unnamed sources said they “believed the saboteurs were most likely Ukrainian or Russian nationals, or some combination of the two” and that “no American or British nationals were involved.” They further said they had no evidence Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky or his “top lieutenants” were involved, or that the “any Ukrainian government officials” directed the attack.

 

The anonymous officials could not say who directed or paid for the “operation,” and said it was possible the attack “might have been conducted off the books by a proxy force with connections to the Ukrainian government or its security services.”

 

The bombs that tore apart three of four pipeline strings at the bottom of the Baltic Sea were “most likely” planted by experienced divers, “who did not appear to be working for military or intelligence services,” but may have received “specialized government training in the past,” the anonymous officials claimed.

 

They also said US President Joe Biden and his top aides “did not authorize” the attack on Nord Stream and that “there was no US involvement” in the blasts. These statements directly address last month’s report by investigative journalist Seymour Hersh, who accused the US of ordering the bombing and planting the explosives.

 

While Western European officials also believe the attack was state-sponsored, “US officials have not stated publicly that they believe the operation was sponsored by a state,” the Times noted.

 

Some officials see “Ukraine and its allies” as having “the most logical potential motive” to destroy the pipelines. It was unclear who they meant by allies; though Poland has been the most outspoken critic of Nord Stream, the US and the entire NATO bloc have sent more than $100 billion worth of weapons and other aid to Kiev over the past year.

 

“Any findings that put blame on Kyiv or Ukrainian proxies could prompt a backlash in Europe and make it harder for the West to maintain a united front in support of Ukraine,” the Times reporters noted.

 

The Nord Stream explosions happened five weeks after the Moscow car bombing that killed Russian journalist Darya Dugina. Anonymous US spies told the Times last October they believed “elements” within the Ukrainian government – but not Zelensky – were responsible, but declined to name anyone. Kiev has officially denied any responsibility whatsoever.

 

“After the Nord Stream operation, there was hushed speculation – and worry – in Washington that parts of the Ukrainian government might have been involved in that operation as well,” the Times reported on Tuesday.

 

The anonymous officials who spoke to the paper said there was “no evidence so far” the Ukrainian government was involved, and that President Joe Biden’s trust in Zelensky “has been steadily increasing.” The Times did acknowledge that American intelligence has “limited visibility into Ukrainian decision-making,” despite Kiev’s “deep dependence” on the US.

 

https://www.rt.com/russia/572605-nord-stream-nyt-ukraine-link/

Anonymous ID: 5abbef March 7, 2023, 7:55 p.m. No.18465598   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5612

Russia and Ukraine conduct prisoner swap

 

The Russian Defense Ministry reported the return of 90 servicemen, while Kiev says it got back 130

 

Some 220 troops have been released from captivity as Russia and Ukraine conducted the latest in a series of prisoner swaps, the Russian Defense Ministry and the Presidential Office in Kiev reported on Tuesday.

 

The ministry said it managed to secure the return of 90 of its servicemen, who were in “mortal danger” while in captivity. It’s noted that all those who were released will be transported to Moscow, where they will be provided with all necessary medical and psychological assistance.

 

Meanwhile, the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andrey Yermak, wrote on Telegram that 130 people had been returned to the Ukrainian side – 126 servicemen and four servicewomen.

 

He noted that these soldiers were members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, National Guardsmen, border guards, and state special transport service. Yermak also stated that, of the 130 prisoners, 87 were Mariupol defenders, and 71 were from the Azovstal steel plant, which was the final battleground for the city in the spring of 2022.

 

Most of the people returned to the Ukrainian side have serious injuries, Yermak claimed, adding that all necessary assistance would be provided to them.

 

https://www.rt.com/russia/572604-russia-ukraine-conduct-prisoner-exchange/

Anonymous ID: 5abbef March 7, 2023, 8:02 p.m. No.18465630   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5643

Chinese minister warns of conflict unless US changes course

 

BEIJING (AP) — China’s foreign minister has warned Washington of “conflict and confrontation” if it fails to change course in relations with Beijing, striking a combative tone amid conflicts over Taiwan, COVID-19 and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

 

Qin Gang’s language appeared to defy hopes China’s might abandon confrontational “wolf warrior” rhetoric. It followed an accusation by Chinese leader Xi Jinping that Western governments led by the United States were trying to encircle and suppress China.

 

Washington’s China policy has “entirely deviated from the rational and sound track,” Qin said at a news conference Tuesday during annual meeting of China’s ceremonial legislature.

 

China’s relations with Washington and Japan, India and other Asian neighbors have soured as Xi’s government has pursued assertive policies abroad.

 

“If the United States does not hit the brake, but continues to speed down the wrong path, no amount of guardrails can prevent derailing and there surely will be conflict and confrontation,” Qin said in his first news conference since taking up his post last year. “Such competition is a reckless gamble, with the stakes being the fundamental interests of the two peoples and even the future of humanity.”

 

On Monday, Xi accused Washington of hurting China’s development.

 

“Western countries led by the United States have implemented all-round containment, encirclement and suppression of China, which has brought unprecedented grave challenges to our nation’s development,” Xi was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua News Agency.

 

In the face of that, China must “remain calm, maintain concentration, strive for progress while maintaining stability, take active actions, unite as one and dare to fight,” he said.

 

A State Department spokesman, Ned Price, said Washington wants to “coexist responsibly” in a global trade and political system and denied the U.S. government wants to suppress China.

 

“This is not about containing China. This is not about suppressing China. This is not about holding China back,” Price said in Washington. “We want to have that constructive competition that is fair” and “doesn’t veer into that conflict.”

 

U.S. officials are increasingly worried about China’s goals and the possibility of war over Taiwan, the self-ruled island democracy claimed by Beijing as part of its territory. Many in Washington have called for the U.S. government to make a bigger effort to counter Chinese influence abroad.

 

https://apnews.com/article/china-congress-2023-qin-us-1938a701c0d7a2114a18226962de4879

Anonymous ID: 5abbef March 7, 2023, 8:08 p.m. No.18465669   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5682 >>5757

WHO’s plans to become global health dictator move forward while we’re distracted with “lab leaks” and “lockdown files”

 

As World Health Organisation (“WHO”) dictators gathered to strategise on how to remove nations’ sovereignty by hijacking “public health,” US Senators pushed back with an effort to reinforce congressional power to authorise treaties and a UK Member of Parliament requested an urgent debate on the proposed “treaty.”

 

Proposed amendments to the International Health Regulations (“IHR”) would give WHO new far-reaching powers to counter “misinformation and disinformation,” introduce global vaccine passports, increase WHO’s surveillance capabilities and enable WHO’s Director General to declare an international public health emergency at any time – which monkeypox and now potentially bird flu are examples.

 

This is all happening at a time when, conveniently, corporate media is awash with revelations of the “lab leak” origins of SARS-CoV-2 and ‘The Lockdown Files’. Is it coincidence? Or are they distracting us so there’s less resistance? Or are they hoping the world’s population will beg for WHO to take over because our governments have failed us?

 

Who are they? Only 13% of WHO’s budget comes from member states. The other 87% comes from mostly private institutions and individuals.

 

The following are some recent articles published on WHO’s power grab. Click on the section title to read the full article. But first, some background as a reminder of what the dictators at WHO are doing and when.

 

Background

WHO is currently working on two agreements that will expand its powers and role in declared health emergencies and pandemics: amendments to the IHR and a new “treaty” that has similar intent to the IHR amendments. Both are following a path through WHO committees, public hearings and revision meetings, to be put to the World Health Assembly.

 

The proposed WHO CA+ or “Pandemic Treaty” is also referred to as the ‘Pandemic prevention, preparedness and response accord’. A Conceptual Zero Draft of the accord was discussed in December 2022, shared with member states on 1 February 2023, and considered by WHO member states and “relevant stakeholders” during a meeting from 27 February – 3 March 2023. A final draft will be submitted for consideration by the 77th World Health Assembly in 2024, with a progress report to the 76th World Health Assembly in 2023.

 

In parallel with the pandemic accord negotiations, governments are also discussing amendments to the IHR. At a meeting which took place from 20 – 24 February 2023, more than 300 proposed amendments to the IHR were considered. The proposed IHR amendments will also be presented to the World Health Assembly in 2024, and would together, with a future pandemic accord, provide “a comprehensive, complementary, and synergistic set of global health agreements.”

 

The entire WHO effort is based on the false assumption that pandemic preparedness would actually work. But in fact, all it has done is create new pandemics. The pandemic preparedness concept is a dangerous money grab for a new biodefense industry.

 

The proposed new powers sought by WHO, and the pandemic preparedness industry being built around it, are not hidden. The only subterfuge is the farcical approach of media and politicians in many nations who seem to pretend that the proposals do not exist or, if they do, will not fundamentally change the nature of the relationship between people and centralised non-State powers.

 

https://expose-news.com/2023/03/07/whos-plans-to-become-global-health-dictator/

Anonymous ID: 5abbef March 7, 2023, 8:17 p.m. No.18465697   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5757

DEA Admin.: Cartel Fentanyl Traffickers ‘Are all over Social Media’ and the Platforms Aren’t Stepping up

 

During a town hall on CNN on Tuesday, DEA Administrator Anne Milgram stated that drug cartel “traffickers and the people selling it for them are all over social media” and that social media companies are failing to do enough to stop this. She specifically mentioned that Snapchat has failed to show the agency or any outside experts the technology they use to take down drug dealers’ accounts.

 

Milgram said, “So, one of the things we’ve seen is that the cartels are flooding the U.S. with fentanyl, and one of the things they’re doing is their traffickers and the people selling it for them are all over social media. So, it used to be that someone who was purchasing drugs would go into an open-air drug market or have to know a dealer. Now, every single American that has a cell phone, a smartphone, literally has a drug dealer in their pocket. There is no more dangerous place right now in the United States than social media sites where hundreds of millions of Americans are on every day.”

 

She later added, “The social media companies, in my view, are not doing nearly enough to stop the harm. We have seen that there are ways that they can take action. In the past, they had stopped terrorism videos. We’ve seen changes that have come in things like human trafficking through congressional laws. What they have not been willing to do up until this point in time, in my view, is take responsibility for what their sites are — what’s happening on their sites every day.”

 

Milgram then reacted to a statement by Snapchat that they are doing their part and are using the latest technology to shut down drug dealers’ accounts by stating, “We know that’s not accurate. We are all over social media. We’re doing investigations of cases that come from social media, and we routinely are finding posts that are on all of the social media platforms for days, for weeks, for months. And it is unacceptable. I believe there has to be greater accountability. I believe that — even think about what you just said, that they’re telling us that they’re doing everything they can and they won’t show us that technology. They won’t let outside experts come in. They will not, at this point, allow auditors or others who could actually help them improve their platforms come in. And that can’t be acceptable. We’re talking about 107,735 [American lives] lost between August of 2021 and August of 2022. Whatever they’re doing is not enough.”

 

https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2023/03/07/dea-admin-cartel-fentanyl-traffickers-are-all-over-social-media-and-the-platforms-arent-stepping-up/

Anonymous ID: 5abbef March 7, 2023, 8:20 p.m. No.18465711   🗄️.is 🔗kun

Senate Intel. Chair on Chinese Crane Spying Fears: ‘We Need to Declassify More’ on Chinese Companies Spying, Drones Are Similar Issue

 

On Tuesday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Special Report,” Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) reacted to reports that officials are concerned that Chinese cranes could be used to spy on port traffic in the United States by calling for greater declassification of information on Chinese companies spying in the U.S. and noted that there are similar issues with the large percentage of drones in America that are made in China.

 

Warner said, [relevant remarks begin around 2:35] “I think one of the things that we have not done a good job on is, if we in the intelligence community find examples where Chinese companies are following the directions of the Communist Party and…using these tools for spying, we need to declassify more of this. I think about Huawei under President Trump. We called out that it was a problem, and — but it took us a while before we declassified enough information to prove the case that it was a national security threat. So, now, Bret, we’re spending American taxpayer dollar[s] to rip out Huawei equipment from different communities because we know it’s a national security threat and we’re finding the same as we convince our allies, particularly in Europe, to take out Huawei equipment. We need a comprehensive — rather than this whack-a-mole approach, let’s take on this company or that application, we need a rules-based, comprehensive approach that will also require the intelligence community to lay out the facts so we can make the case.”

 

He continued, “On the question of cranes, we’ve got a port in Virginia. I know we’ve got some of these Chinese cranes in place. If there’s evidence, I’d like to see it. I know — I think about an area where I’ve been active as well, the field of drones. 80%-plus of commercial drones that are used in America are made in China. I think we need to realize that in — at least in 2023, national security goes well beyond tanks and guns and ships and planes. It really does go into who controls each of these technology domains.”

 

https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2023/03/07/senate-intel-chair-on-chinese-crane-spying-fears-we-need-to-declassify-more-on-chinese-companies-spying-drones-are-similar-issue/