Paul D. Thacker
@thackerpd
1) Twitter Files #FauciPharmaFiles
Last December, @elonmusk
sent out his viral tweet about Fauci.
Fauci went on Fox News and said he had "no clue what [Elon] was talking about."
https://twitter.com/thackerpd/status/1649037538663727106
Far-Left BuzzFeed News Shuts Down… DEVELOPING
BuzzFeed News is shutting down.
BuzzFeed is best known for publishing the fake, Hillary Clinton-funded Russia dossier in January 2017 shortly before Trump’s Inauguration.
The fake news outlet was sued for publishing the Russia dossier.
Last year it was reported that BuzzFeed was losing $10 million a year.
Now they’re shutting down.
CNN reported:
BuzzFeed News, the Pulitzer Prize-winning digital news website that that took the internet by storm roughly a decade ago and inspired jealousy from legacy media organizations, will shutter, BuzzFeed chief executive Jonah Peretti announced Thursday.
The move was part of broader layoffs across BuzzFeed, Peretti said in a memo to staffers, with the company moving to slash 15% of its workforce, or 180 employees.
“While layoffs are occurring across nearly every division, we’ve determined that the company can no longer continue to fund BuzzFeed News as a standalone organization,” Peretti told staffers.
BuzzFeed has “begun discussions with the News Guild,” the union which represents staffers at the company, about the actions.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/04/far-left-buzzfeed-news-shuts-down-developing/
Twitter Files: Dr. Anthony Fauci "Lied Under Oath"
Today's long-awaited installment of the 'Twitter Files' is brought to us by journalist Paul Thacker, former lead investigator for Sen. Chuck Grassley, via The DisInformation Chronicle (emphasis ours),
“A lot of people are spouting out a lot of things about me and Twitter,” Fauci told Fox News. “I’ve never had a Twitter account. I don’t intend on having a Twitter account, and I’ve had nothing to do with Twitter. So I don’t know what they’re talking about when they say that.”
Fauci made similar claims during an almost 7-hour deposition. While under oath, the then-medical advisor to President Biden denied using Twitter or even paying attention to social media.
“I don’t do social media.”
“Since I don’t have a Twitter account, I don’t see tweets.”
“I’m so dissociated from social media … I’ve never gotten involved in any of that.”
“The social media and Twitter, I told you, I don’t have a Twitter account. I don’t tweet. I don’t do Facebook. I don’t do anything.”
Not true according to a new Twitter File uncovered during a visit to Twitter’s San Francisco HQ that shows Anthony Fauci…taking over the White House’s Twitter account. “Dr. Anthony Fauci did an account takeover for @WHCOVIDResponse,” reads a Twitter internal COVID-19 monthly update.
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/twitter-files-dr-anthony-fauci
https://twitter.com/thackerpd/status/1649037538663727106
CORRUPT Antony Blinken Was Behind Gathering 50+ Members of Intel Community to Lie and Sign Bogus Letter on Hunter Laptop Being Russian Disinformation
Current Secretary of State Tony Blinken was reportedly behind the effort to put together a list of government intel leaders to claim that the Hunter Biden laptop was Russian disinformation. This narrative was another liberal lie.
According to a report in the New York Post yesterday, it was the current Secretary of State, Tony Blinken, who called an Intel insider to put together a list of Intel leaders who would sign a report stating the lie that Hunter Biden’s laptop was Russian disinformation.
The New York Post writes:
In sworn interview, Morell has admitted it was Joe Biden’s presidential campaign that prompted the infamous letter in which Morell and 50 fellow former intelligence officials falsely claimed that material from Hunter Biden’s laptop published by The Post before the 2020 election was Russian disinformation, sources in the House Judiciary Committee have confirmed.
Tony Blinken, now secretary of state, was the Biden-campaign foreign-affairs adviser who urgently phoned Morell in October 2020 to suggest the laptop was a Russian plant.
This doesn’t surprise anyone who is aware of the corrupt US government Intel community.
The Post writes:
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan will release a report in the next couple of weeks tracing the origins of the “Dirty 51” letter, showing it constituted corrupt interference in the 2020 presidential election.
TGP previously reported on the list of individuals from the Intel community who signed off on the lie that Hunter’s laptop was Russian disinformation.
Here is the first set of spies identified:
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/04/reports-showing-that-antony-blinken-was-in-charge-of-getting-over-50-intel-people-to-sign-bogus-letter-on-hunter-laptop/
Facebook labels Seymour Hersh's reporting ‘false’
The US social media giant has cited counterclaims by “independent fact-checkers” from Norway and Ukraine
Facebook has been criticized after opting to label reports by US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh as “false.” Hersh has made claims about American involvement in the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines and the alleged theft of US aid by Kiev, although the social media giant said “fact-checking” by outlets connected with Norway and Ukraine justified its use of the label.
Hersh claimed in February that last year’s sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, which were built to transport gas from Russia to Germany, had been ordered by US President Joe Biden and carried out by a joint US-Norwegian team. Both nations have denied any responsibility.
Hersh’s article on the pipeline sabotage, which he published on the platform Substack, is now flagged as “false information” by Facebook, journalist Michael Shellenberger noted on Thursday. Facebook uses third parties, which it considers independent fact-checkers, to make decisions on whether to warn users about the content of links posted on the platform.
While Hersh’s claims are disputed, Facebook “has decided to take a side” and is “censoring” the veteran journalist, Shellenberger argued.
The fact-checker in this case was Norwegian public broadcaster NRK. On March 14, the organization reprinted an article by Faktisk.no, a media watchdog which counts NRK as among its partners. The watchdog claimed that, based on open source data, Hersh was mistaken about the alleged involvement of Norwegian Navy ships in the Nord Stream sabotage.
“Whether Hersh is wrong or right, his reporting should be debated publicly, not censored,” insisted Shellenberger, who recently helped expose social media censorship as part of the Twitter Files.
“Facebook’s actions are antithetical to America’s tradition of free and open debate and its rejection of secretive, authoritarian censorship,” he added.
Hersh published another bombshell report last week in which he claimed that US intelligence was aware of large-scale embezzlement of American aid money by the Ukrainian leadership. Facebook likewise labeled the report as “false,” citing the opinion of StopFake.org – a Ukraine-based, Western-funded media watchdog created to combat “Russian disinformation.”
StopFake disputed Hersh’s allegation because Substack is a self-publishing platform, rather than a so-called legacy outlet. It also referred to statements by US officials, who claimed they had seen no evidence of American aid being diverted in Ukraine. If Hersh’s allegations were true, the corruption “would be known to American auditors, and it would have negatively impacted assistance to Ukraine,” the outlet stated.
Hersh compared the situation in Ukraine to what happened in Afghanistan during the two decades of US military presence there. Reports by American inspectors exposed rampant corruption year after year, but that did not appear to affect US spending on “reconstruction” efforts in any significant way.
https://www.rt.com/news/575053-facebook-brands-hersh-reporting/
The COVID Vaccine Injury Payments are Here – What will You Receive?
Recently, the US government announced that it had approved three payments to Americans injured by the COVID-19 vaccine. These three payments, including two for myocarditis – a potentially life-threatening heart condition – are the first payments made by the government to victims of the COVID-19 vaccine.
According to the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS), more than 1,500,000 have reported adverse events after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. Despite this monumental number of injured Americans, the Health and Resources Service Administration’s Countermeasure Injury Compensation Program (CICP) paid out a measly $4,634.89 to the first three claims.
Healthcare advocates and leaders in the fight for medical freedom were quick to criticize the government’s shocking low payouts.
Lauro Bono, acting President of Children’s Health Defense reacted to the payments by saying,
“The CICP is a pathetic, government-run program that gives complete liability protection to the very industries profiting from the COVID vaccine or product. While victims linger with their injuries, paying out-of-pocket for expenses, or at worst die, the industries run to the bank.”
In the wake of the government’s dereliction of duty in caring for those who have been injured by the COVID-19 vaccine, many Americans are asking what they can do to protect themselves and their families.
The good news is that Americans don’t have to rely on the government. Dr. Peter McCullough and the freedom fighting medical professionals at The Wellness Company have released an over-the-counter supplement, Spike Support Formula, that can help protect you against spike protein – the culprit behind the vast majority of post COVID and post COVID vaccine injuries and illness.
https://www.zerohedge.com/sponsored-post/covid-vax-injury-payouts-show-government-wont-protect-you-here-how-you-can-protect
White House Says 'Extreme MAGA Republicans Holding The American Economy Hostage' With Debt Plan
The White House on Thursday slammed the long-awaited GOP debt limit proposal announced on Wednesday by Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), calling it a "blueprint to devastate hard-working American families" - and invoking "MAGA" not once, but twice.
"Yesterday, Speaker McCarthy sided with the extreme MAGA wing of his conference and released a blueprint to devastate hard-working American families. MAGA House Republicans are holding the American economy hostage in order to take a hatchet to programs Americans rely on every day to make ends meet," said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre in a statement.
The bill pairs a debt ceiling increase expected to last into next year with what McCarthy said would be about $4.5 trillion in savings generated in part by cutting Biden administration priorities.
It aims to raise the debt limit by $1.5 trillion or through March 31, 2024, whichever comes first, and it proposes reverting discretionary spending caps to fiscal 2022 levels while limiting growth to 1 percent annually over the next decade. -The Hill
According to Jean-Pierre, House Republicans who vote for the bill will be voting "to cut education, veterans medical care, cancer research, meals on wheels, food safety, and law enforcement," adding that they would also be voting to offshore American manufacturing, reduce health care for Americans, threaten food assistance for older Americans, boost energy bills, raise taxes and "protect wealthy tax cheats."
"That stands in stark contrast with President Biden’s Budget, which Invests in America, lowers costs for hardworking families, and cuts the deficit by asking the super-wealthy and largest corporations to pay their fair share," she continued.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries compared notes with the White House, saying in a Wednesday night statement "House Democrats will oppose any effort to hold the economy hostage as part of any scheme by Extreme MAGA Republicans to jam its right-wing agenda down the throats of the American people."
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/white-house-says-extreme-maga-debt-proposal-holding-american-economy-hostage
Klaus Schwab Openly Pushes WEF Candidate in Paraguay’s Brazil-Style Election ‘Coup’
Klaus Schwab and the World Economic Forum are meddling in Paraguay's Presidential Election, which is slated for April 30th and will be conducted electronically, like in Brazil.
World Economic Forum leader Klaus Schwab is openly meddling in Paraguay’s upcoming presidential election, backing a left-wing ticket complete with one of the WEF’s hand-picked “Young Global Leaders” as a Brazil-style pre-election “coup” takes shape. Just last week, it was announced that a team of Brazilian hackers tied to that nation’s openly communist and narco-linked President are under investigation in Paraguay, where they’re currently operating with the suspected intent to hack and rig the nation’s electronic election on behalf of the WEF ticket.
The Paraguayan campaign of Presidential nominee Efrain Alegre and Vice Presidential nominee Maria Soledad Nuñez Mendez of the Authentic Radical Liberal Party (PLRA) is not only backed by Brazilian election hackers and the US deep state but by Klaus Schwab and the World Economic Forum (WEF).
VP nominee Mendez, locally known as “Sole,” is a close associate of Klaus Schwab and the World Economic Forum, serving as one of the globalist outfit’s highest-ranking South American members. Mendez has been named a WEF “Young Global Leader” and studied at globalist breeding grounds like Georgetown and Oxford. She is also associated with the World Bank.
In an email obtained by National File, Klaus Schwab openly declared his support for Mendez and the PLRA’s left-wing ticket, which seeks to completely overhaul the nation of Paraguay, thrusting it into the “Great Reset” while geopolitically pivoting the nation toward Communist China (CCP).
“Of course, we would be delighted if a YGL (Young Global Leader) would come out as a winner of the election,” Schwab wrote, adding that he’d also copied Marisol Argueta to the message chain, “who is our head of Regional Agenda for Latin America, to follow up.”
https://nationalfile.com/exclusive-klaus-schwab-openly-pushes-wef-candidate-in-paraguays-brazil-style-election-coup/
Appeals Court Grants Bragg’s Request to Temporarily Freeze House Subpeona For Pomerantz
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals this morning issued a temporary administrative hold on the return date of the House Judiciary Committee’s congressional subpoena to Mark Pomerantz, a former prosecutor at Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office.
Pomerantz investigated former President Donald Trump’s finances before leaving Bragg’s office in February 2022 in protest of Bragg’s initial unwillingness to bring an indictment against Trump. Bragg then brought the indictment against Trump in late March, prompting Rep Jim. Jordan (R-Ohio), Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, to launch a probe into what Jordan calls a “politically motivated” prosecution against a former president. Jordan subpoenaed Pomerantz to seek his testimony. In response, Bragg sued the House Judiciary Committee and Pomerantz to prevent Pomerantz from testifying.
The appeals court’s Thursday order temporarily froze a lower court’s ruling on Wednesday that declined Bragg’s request to block Pomerantz from testifying to Congress. It delays Pomerantz’s testimony until the appeals court decides if the subpoena should be put on hold permanently or if the lower court’s decision should be reversed.
The court indicates that the order does not reflect its opinion of the merit of Bragg’s case but is only a temporary hold to allow it to review Bragg’s application. The court instructed the parties to complete court filings on a permanent stay on the ruling on Saturday.
It came as the latest development in the legal clash between House Judiciary Committee lawmakers, which centers on the question of whether Congress has the authority to become involved in the Manhattan DA’s prosecution of a former president.
District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil, a Trump appointee, answered in the negative to that question in a Wednesday ruling. She ordered that the congressional panel has the authority to become involved in the investigation of Trump because it has legitimate legislative interests.
The lower court’s order came after an hourlong verbal clash between Theodore J. Boutrous Jr., counsel for Bragg, and House general counsel Matthew Berry in the Southern District Court of New York. It gave the Judiciary Committee’s lawmakers a victory in their legal clash with Bragg.
https://www.ntd.com/appeals-court-grants-braggs-request-to-temporarily-freeze-house-subpeona-for-pomerantz_914581.html
UK Minister: Jail Social Media Bosses Who Fail to Censor ‘Harmful’ Content
Social media bosses who fail to censor “harmful” content on their sites should be jailed, plans announced by a UK minister have stipulated.
Technology and Science Secretary Michelle Donelan has announced plans to see social media executives thrown in jail should they fail to censor so-called “harmful” content on their websites.
The jail threat is to be part of the UK’s Online Safety Bill, a widespread censorship plan that some tech giants claim will also effectively ban end-to-end encryption for private internet users.
As it currently stands, the bill will give control of social media regulation to Britain’s broadcasting regulator Ofcom, which mandates platforms under its control to censor “all forms of expression which spread, incite, promote or justify hatred” based on various progressive characteristics, including transgenderism.
According to a report by The Telegraph, Donelan has now confirmed that she wants any social media boss who ignores the new restrictions to be jailed, justifying such an extreme measure with reference to protecting children.
Such a measure will reportedly be used as a last resort to deal with executives that “have consented or connived in ignoring enforceable requirements” to censor content, including so-called “disinformation” from a foreign state, which government officials claim would amount to “risking serious harm to children”.
Companies will also face fines of up to 10 per cent of their global revenue should they dare to ignore Britain’s demands to preemptively delete or obscure posts violating its coming censorship regime.
Backed by wide-swathes of the Tory party, the Online Safety Bill has been met with horror from a number of big tech companies, who have warned that the legislation would effectively kill privacy on many parts of the internet.
Both Facebook’s WhatsApp messaging service, as well as one of its main rivals, Signal, have warned that measures requiring them to automatically detect child abuse material in private messages would effectively destroy end-to-end encryption and enforce a system of mandatory surveillance on its user base.
The two platforms have now both vowed to leave the UK market if the bill is made law.
“[W]e would absolutely 100% walk rather than ever undermine the trust that people place in us to provide a truly private means of communication,” Signal President Meredith Whittaker previously told the BBC regarding the legislation.
“We have never weakened our privacy promises, and we never would,” she went on to say.
Regardless, the idea that handing control of the internet to Ofcom to increase child safety is questionable, given their censorship of UK television is already allowing concerning material to be broadcast.
For example, the country’s publicly-funded Channel 4 recently aired a programme that involved transgender individuals stripping naked in front of children in order to “educate them”.
The show has been praised as depicting a “truly powerful moment” of trans people stripping naked in front of children, with the show garnering just under 1,000 official complaints from the public. There has been no indication that the broadcast of the show will be suspended pending an investigation.
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2023/04/20/uk-minister-jail-social-media-bosses-who-fail-to-censor-harmful-content/
National Health Organization Pushes Critical Race Theory into Medical Field
The National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN), a children’s health organization created by Congress, proposed the use of racially biased hiring criteria in order to “dismantle … white supremacy culture.”
A 22-page document from the organization affirms the core tenets of Critical Race Theory before applying them to the medical industry in an approach that is referred to as “health equity.” It also urges a series of actions, which include enacting racial preferences in the hiring process.
Titled “Being Anti-Racist is Central to Trauma-Informed Care: Principles of an Anti-Racist, Trauma-Informed Organization,” the document expresses a belief in systemic racism and calls on organizations “to dismantle the white supremacy culture that continues to uphold … racism.”
“Systems and organizations must shift beyond performative action toward the fundamental transformation of becoming anti-racist and trauma-informed,” the document reads.
It also goes on to define racism not simply as prejudice based on race but instead as “a system of structuring opportunity and assigning value based on phenotype (‘race’).”
“For any organization to become truly trauma-informed, it must work to dismantle racism along with the white supremacy culture that holds racism in place,” the NCTSN claims. The organization also references slavery when it says, “Our society has done little to consistently address our traumatic past.”
The document goes on to claim that the study of trauma “has been shaped by a Eurocentric approach focused on individual ‘psychopathological’ responses to trauma types most likely to affect white children, centering interventions developed by white clinicians,” and “often based on research with white children and families.”
One section lists the principles of an “anti-racist, trauma-informed organization.” Principles include a commitment “to equity-based governance” and “power redistribution.” Organizations are also urged to take “sustained steps to dismantle racism, white supremacy, and privilege in our structures, policies, procedures, practices, performance evaluations, and outcomes.”
Perhaps most shocking, the document brazenly encourages organizations to embed racial preferences in the hiring process. The document tells organizations to “prioritize the hiring, development, promotion, and retention of people who are Black at all levels of the organization.”
https://www.breitbart.com/social-justice/2023/04/20/national-health-organization-pushes-critical-race-theory-medical-field/
Biden’s DEA Chief Under Investigation For Allegedly Handing Out Massive No-Bid Contracts To Past Colleagues: REPORT
The Biden administration’s Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) chief is under investigation for allegedly handing no-bid contracts worth millions of dollars to previous colleagues, The Associated Press reported Thursday, citing sources familiar with the probe.
The Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General is conducting the investigation after at least a dozen employees, including some of DEA Administrator Anne Milgram’s previous associates, were hired under the contracts, according to the AP. One portion of the probe centers around $4.7 million for “strategic planning and communication” contracts handed to Milgram’s previous colleagues from the New Jersey attorney general’s office and at New York University, where she served as a professor, that exceeded the pay for government employees.
“Some of these deals look very swampy,” Scott Amey, general counsel of the nonpartisan Project on Government Oversight, said of the months-long probe, according to the AP.
The work the associates have been tasked with involves handling intelligence, data analytics, community outreach and public relations, according to the AP.
One of the contracts went to Milgram’s previous state director of gangs, guns and violent crime when she served as New Jersey attorney general, Jose Cordero, a veteran New York City police official, according to the AP. Within weeks of starting her job at the DEA, Milgram gave Cordero a data analysis crime stats contract now worth roughly $400,000.
“Contracts should never be awarded based on who you know,” Amey said, according to the AP.
The DEA said in a statement that it’s working toward a noble vision to crack down on major national security threats, according to the AP.
“DEA has acted with urgency to set a new vision, target the global criminal networks responsible for hundreds of thousands of American deaths, raise public awareness about how just one pill can kill, and promote and recruit hundreds of highly talented people,” it said, according to the AP. “These changes have been made through an extensive and multi-part process, and we are committed to ensuring that DEA is working relentlessly to protect the national security, safety, and health of the American people.”
A DEA spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment. The OIG’s office couldn’t be reached for comment.
https://dailycaller.com/2023/04/20/bidens-dea-chief-under-investigation-for-allegedly-handing-out-massive-no-bid-contracts-to-past-colleagues-report/
LinkedIn Allows Recruiters To Filter Job Candidates By Race
LinkedIn implemented features that appear to let recruiters filter potential job candidates by their demographic characteristics.
Users on the professional social media network who edit the demographic information on their profiles, such as their race, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, and current or former military service, can let the platform use the information for “diversity in recruiting” tools, which “allow your demographic information to be used in LinkedIn recruiting features to help recruiters find a more diverse group of qualified candidates.”
The Daily Wire verified the existence of the features after screenshots posted by concerned LinkedIn users circulated on social media.
LinkedIn meanwhile updated a webpage one month ago explaining that the platform “may use your personal demographic information in recruiting features to surface qualified members that may diversify the group of candidates displayed to recruiters” who work for companies with “public commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion.” Answers to the personal demographic questions are “never directly shared with recruiters or companies,” the webpage added, noting that users can “opt out of this use of your personal demographic information in your settings.”
Increasing the percentage of females or racial minorities in corporate workforces are goals often pursued by firms devoted to diversity, equity, and inclusion, also known as DEI, as well as the environmental, social, and corporate governance movement, commonly known as ESG. Both philosophies have rapidly grown in prominence among leading firms in recent years, even as skeptics contend that they mingle political and social causes with core business objectives in a manner that compromises or distracts from profitability.
Many companies in a variety of sectors, from media and communications to pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, publicly tout diversity programs as they seek to hire applicants based partly on their race and sex. The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, which ranks among the world’s foremost postsecondary business programs, recently unveiled a new set of DEI concentrations for undergraduate and graduate students.
LinkedIn, which software behemoth Microsoft purchased in 2016, also leverages user demographic information for removing “unfair bias from our products,” examining data such as salary ranges and career trends for “purposes such as assessing and improving pay equality,” and providing “aggregate insights to help employers and hiring managers in their efforts to identify more diverse candidates,” according to the webpage.
“Our vision is to create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce, and we are working hard to ensure that all members have equal access to these opportunities,” the company added. “One way to make sure people have equal access is to understand the gender, race, ethnicity, and other important demographic information of our members and then to measure whether or not all are being afforded opportunities equitably on our platform.”
http://www.domigood.com/2023/04/linkedin-allows-recruiters-to-filter.html
Biden’s DOJ Indicts Four Americans for Their Political Views on Russia
The allegation is that members of the African People’s Socialist Party were involved in a 'foreign malign influence campaign'
The Justice Department has indicted four Americans, including three members of the African People’s Socialist Party and Uhuru Movement (APSP), over their political views on Russia, a step that has grave implications for First Amendment rights.
The allegation against the Americans is that they were involved in a “foreign malign influence campaign” directed by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB). The DOJ also indicted three Russians related to the case, including Aleksandr Ionov, who was initially charged last year.
Ionov is a Moscow resident who founded the Anti-Globalization Movement of Russia (AGMR), a non-governmental organization. The DOJ claims that Ionov used the AGMR to conduct Russia’s “malign influence campaign” and recruited Americans to spread “Russian propaganda.” The indictment alleges the Russians were involved in a 2019 local election in St. Petersburg, Florida, one city where the APSP is based.
“Russia’s foreign intelligence service allegedly weaponized our First Amendment rights – freedoms Russia denies its own citizens – to divide Americans and interfere in elections in the United States,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen.
Offices and homes affiliated with the APSP were raided by the FBI in 2022 over the group’s connections to the AGMR. Omali Yeshitela, the leader of the APSP who was indicted by the DOJ, pointed out after the raid that his group has worked with organizations around the world for decades.
“At our First Party Congress held in Oakland, California in 1981, we received solidarity statements from organizations and governments from around the world,” Yeshitela wrote in an article published by Antiwar.com in March 2023.
“This helps to give lie to the notion that our connection to a Russian NGO is evidence of an illicit relationship that we would have with a ‘foreign power,'” he said.
https://news.antiwar.com/2023/04/19/bidens-doj-indicts-four-americans-for-their-political-views-on-russia/
Convicted Sex Offender Arrested for NOT Registering – Dressed Up Like Elmo at Farmers Market in Utah
A shocking revelation came to light on April 14, when a convicted sex offender was arrested for failing to register himself as a sex offender at his new address in Utah.
The Utah County Sheriff’s Office disclosed that a detective was appointed to look into the Lehi Farmers Market as it had been reported to be operating against state code and zoning ordinances. During the investigation, detectives discovered that one of the operators of the Lehi Farmers Market, Larry Neff Jarvis, 74, was a registered sex offender on the Utah Sex Offender Registry.
Despite being registered at a different location in Saratoga Springs, Utah, Jarvis was discovered to reside at the same address as the farmers market, but he had failed to update his address. The farmers market activities reportedly catered to children, such as a petting zoo and tractor rides. According to Utah Department of Corrections records, Jarvis was convicted of two counts of attempted sexual assault in 1995. In photos provided by the sheriff’s office, Jarvis can be seen with a child on Instagram.
As per Utah law, sex offenders must obtain written permission from the parents of a child before being in their presence. The authorities charged Jarvis with a third-degree felony for failure to update his sex offender registry address and a class A misdemeanor for sex offender violation in protected area.
Jarvis was released from jail after a few hours of being booked and posting a $5,000 bond. In a Facetime interview with KUTV, Jarvis apologized to the community and claimed that he had no intention of hiding or concealing his past offenses.
“I’m trying to improve myself and be helpful to others. I really am sorry that I offended everyone and apologize for any kind of fear or undue concern that I caused them, especially for my sweet wife, and other people I know and worked with,” Jarvis said.
In a statement posted on Facebook, the Lehi Farmers Market assured its customers that they were looking into all concerns and cooperating with law enforcement to ensure the farm’s safety. They explained that they had aimed to provide a place where families could experience farm life and that they were following the guidance of law enforcement to address every concern.
“This is a very difficult time. We will tirelessly work until we have addressed every concern,” the statement read.
As the investigation continues, it is important to ensure that the safety and well-being of children in the community are protected. This incident highlights the need for strict laws and policies to ensure that sex offenders cannot operate in areas where children are present.
https://thedcpatriot.com/convicted-sex-offender-arrested-for-not-registering-dressed-up-like-elmo-at-farmers-market-in-utah/
Israeli food tech startup debuts first texturized chickpea protein ‘meat’ burger
Meat. The End, a developer of soy-based Whopper burger for Burger King Israel, launches burger made from chickpea protein flake that mimics the taste and smell of meat
Israeli food tech startup Meat. The End (MTE) on Thursday announced the debut of what it calls the world’s first texturized plant-based burger made of chickpea protein, which it says mimics the taste, smell and bite of the real thing.
Founded in 2020, MTE develops protein ingredients for the meat alternative market with a focus on improving the texture. The launch of the burger made from texturized chickpea protein comes after the startup last year inked a deal to develop plant-based Whoppers for Burger King Israel based on texturized soy protein.
MTE uses 100% chickpea protein concentrate in powder or granular form, which is undergoing an advanced extrusion process to create from it a firm meaty texture.
“Climate change and its impact on agriculture and crops, the ongoing rise in beef prices, and most recently other crises such as the war in Ukraine put enormous pressure on the global food supply chain and the need to rethink and seek diverse protein sources,” MTE founder and CEO Dr. Yishai Mishor told The Times of Israel. “As result of our unique scientific and technological work, we present a texturized chickpea protein burger which once in your mouth mimics the texture, firmness and juiciness of a ‘real’ meat burger, without any competition as far as we know.”
Mishor noted that over the past 10 years, the plant-based meat alternative industry has been mainly focusing on soy protein and more recently on pea protein as sources. Chickpea is a rich source of protein, is non-GMO, and is allergenic free.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-food-tech-startup-debuts-first-chickpea-based-meat-burger/
Israel to reportedly test missile warning system in Kyiv next month
Report says IDF Home Front Command will deploy system to Ukrainian capital, then expand to other cities if successful; array does not include missile interception
An early warning system that Israel is developing for Ukraine to sound an alert of incoming Russian strikes will reportedly be stationed in Kyiv next month as part of a pilot program.
Citing unnamed Israeli and Ukrainian officials, the Walla news site said officers from the IDF Home Front Command have met several times in Poland with officers from Ukraine in recent months for talks on deploying the system, which is similar to the one used in Israel.
However, unlike in Israel, the system set for deployment in Ukraine will feature alerts only, without interception capabilities. Ukraine had urged Jerusalem to supply it with missile interceptor capabilities, but Jerusalem has so far refused, as Israeli leaders seek to avoid overly antagonizing Russia.
This hesitance appears largely linked to Israel’s strategic need to maintain freedom of operations in Syria, where Russian forces largely control the airspace. Israel is one of the few countries that maintains relatively good relations with both Ukraine, a fellow Western democracy, and Russia.
The meetings included discussions on the need to tweak the system, with the sides noting Ukraine is vastly bigger than Israel and is targeted by more advanced missiles, according to the report.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-to-reportedly-test-missile-warning-system-in-kyiv-next-month/
Soros Non-Profits Conspiring to Keep Trump OFF THE BALLOT in 2024 Using Anti-Confederate Law from 1868.
Two non-profits which have received funding from George Soros’s behemoth Open Society Foundations are going to court to try and ban Donald Trump from running for President again using laws originally intended to exclude Confederate rebels from federal office.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) and the ironically named ‘Free Speech for People’ group are seeking to use the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution – ratified in 1868 – to stop the former president making a second run at the White House in 2024, instead of letting the American publicz decide at the ballot box.
Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which concerns ‘Disqualification from Holding Office’, states the following:
No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
“We have had two major insurrections in this country. One was the Civil War, which gave rise to Section 3. And one was Jan. 6,” said CREW chief counsel Donald Sherman in comments to the Jeff Bezos-owned Washington Post.
CREW’s allies in Free Speech for People have previously brought challenges against Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene and former representative Madison Cawthorn, although the Greene failed in court and the Cawthorn case was abandoned when he lost a primary challenge.
“What these undemocratic organizations are doing is blatant election interference and tampering,” said Steven Cheung, a Trump campaign spokesman, of the legal action.
“They are not even trying to hide it anymore and it is sad they want to deprive the American people of choosing Donald Trump — the overwhelming front-runner by far — as their President. History will not judge them kindly.”
Follow the Money.
Curiously missing from the Washington Post coverage of the Section 3 campaign is any real discussion of the background of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and Free Speech for People.
Both, it turns out, are backed by the Democrat-affiliated ActBlue organization, which enabled fundraising for Joe Biden’s presidential campaign.
https://thenationalpulse.com/2023/04/20/soros-non-profits-conspiring-to-keep-trump-off-the-ballot-in-2024-using-anti-confederate-law-from-1868/
Judicial Watch: Biden Justice Department Refuses to Reveal Names of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s Staff
Judicial Watch announced today that the Department of Justice refuses to release the names of staffers working in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office in two investigations targeting former President Donald Trump and other Americans.
On December 9, 2022, Judicial Watch filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for:
All staff rosters, phone lists, or similar records depicting all employees hired by or detailed to the office of Special Counsel Jack Smith.
The Justice Department responded on April 12, stating that records responsive to Judicial Watch’s request have been located, but are being withheld “pursuant to Exemptions 6 and 7(A)” of FOIA:
Exemption 6 pertains to information the release of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. Exemption 7(A) pertains to records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, the release of which could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings.
Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith in November to take over two investigations involving Trump, who is running for president in 2024.
The first investigation involves Trump’s handling of classified documents he retained at his Mar-a-Lago, Florida residence after leaving the White House in January 2021.
The second investigation regards Trump’s challenge of the 2020 presidential election results, which allegedly included a plan to submit separate slates of electors to block Congress from certifying Democrat Joe Biden’s victory.
Previous Judicial Watch and other investigations of Special Counsel Robert Muller’s investigative team highlighted anti-Trump bias and partisan hiring. FBI official Peter Strzok was secretly removed from Mueller’s team after anti-Trump and political text messages were uncovered.
“One can only conclude, after seeing the uproar over the anti-Trump, partisan Mueller operation, that the Garland Justice Department has something to hide about Jack Smith and his prosecutors again targeting Trump and other Republicans with unprecedented investigations,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “Special Prosecutor Jack Smith isn’t above the law and the American people have the right to basic transparency and accountability.”
Through FOIA, Judicial Watch has uncovered many records regarding the Mueller team.
https://www.judicialwatch.org/jack-smiths-staff/
TikTok Lobbyists Visited White House at Least 40 Times in Past Year
Visits show TikTok's extensive clout inside the Biden administration
Executives at high-powered firms hired by TikTok for lobbying and strategic consulting visited the White House at least 40 times in the past year, according to official White House visitor records.
The Chinese social media platform and its parent company, ByteDance, are mounting a massive public relations blitz as lawmakers are seeking to ban the app due to national security, espionage, and data privacy concerns. ByteDance and TikTok have spent $13 million on federal lobbying since 2019 and hired heavyweight firms such as influential Democratic public relations shop SKDK.
Those hired guns have had the ear of the White House, the records show. Former Louisiana Democratic senator John Breaux, a TikTok lobbyist at Crossroads Strategies, visited the White House at least three times last year, most recently for an event on Dec. 21. Stephanie Leger Short, another TikTok lobbyist who works with Breaux, attended a June 23 meeting with White House adviser Mitch Landrieu. Breaux also met with White House official John Podesta last November.
Other visitors included former Tennessee Democratic congressman Barton Gordon, a ByteDance lobbyist who attended White House events on Dec. 1 and last September, and Lauren Aronson, a ByteDance lobbyist who visited twice in September.
None of the lobbyists and firms responded to requests for comment. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
While it's unclear if TikTok was discussed during any of the visits—which included a mix of large events and small private meetings—the number of contacts shows the extensive clout of TikTok's growing lobbying network inside the White House.
Former Democratic congressman Joseph Crowley (N.Y.)—who, Politico reported, helped arrange meetings for TikTok on Capitol Hill last month—is also listed at least four times in the 2022 visitors' logs. Crowley met with presidential special assistant John McCarthy in August and White House adviser Mariana Adame in September, according to records.
Jamal Brown, a former spokesman for the Biden campaign who was hired by TikTok in November, also made numerous visits in June, August, and December. Paul Thornell, a ByteDance lobbyist with Mehlman Consulting, appeared in the visitors' logs at least three times last year.
Executives from SKDK, a well-connected Democratic public affairs firm that was reportedly hired by TikTok in recent months, were frequent White House guests as well. Hilary Rosen, a partner at the firm, visited at least five times since last June, according to records.
SKDK chief executive Douglass Thornell and firm partner Oren Shur met with White House official Caitlin Meloski, a special assistant to the National Economic Council, on Dec. 20, the Washington Free Beacon previously reported. Pia Carusone, managing director at SKDK, visited three times in November and December.
While the Biden administration recently backed a bill that was framed as a TikTok "ban," some China hawks slammed the legislation as a smokescreen that doesn't actually require the government to take any action against the social media app.
Critics say the Biden administration has been reluctant to take on TikTok because the social media app is so valuable to Democratic political campaigns—and could boost the Biden campaign's outreach to young progressives in the 2024 presidential election. Biden commerce secretary Gina Raimondo recently argued that Democrats could "lose every voter under 35, forever," if TikTok is banned.
"If administration officials appear highly susceptible to TikTok's lobbying efforts, it's probably because they're highly dependent on the app for political reasons," said Michael Sobolik, a China expert at the American Foreign Policy Council. "The Biden administration claims to be serious about TikTok, but the facts suggest otherwise."
"Democratic operatives are already planning to push Biden's reelection agenda on the Chinese-controlled app," he added.
https://freebeacon.com/biden-administration/tiktok-lobbyists-visited-white-house-at-least-40-times-in-past-year/
White House insists no 'political interference' in Hunter Biden probe after IRS whistleblower comes forward
An IRS whistleblower alleges the Biden administration is mishandling the federal investigation into Hunter Biden
The White House on Thursday dismissed allegations from a whistleblower who claims the Biden administration has mishandled the federal investigation into Hunter Biden, and said President Biden has upheld his commitment to ensure the investigation is "free from any political interference."
"Since he took office and consistent with his campaign promise that he would restore the independence of the Justice Department when it comes to decision-making in criminal investigations, President Biden has made clear that this matter would be handled independently by the Justice Department, under the leadership of a U.S. Attorney appointed by former President Trump, free from any political interference by the White House," White House spokesman Ian Sams told Fox News Digital on Thursday.
"He has upheld that commitment," he added.
The White House comment came after an IRS criminal supervisory agent seeking whistleblower protections said the investigation into Hunter Biden is being mishandled by the Biden administration. The whistleblower is claiming "clear" conflicts of interest, including by giving the president’s son "preferential treatment," and says politics are "improperly infecting decisions and protocols that would normally be followed by career law enforcement professionals in similar circumstances if the subject were not politically connected."
Hunter Biden has been under federal investigation since 2018. The federal investigation into his "tax affairs" began amid the discovery of suspicious activity reports (SARs) regarding funds from "China and other foreign nations."
In 2020, it became known that the FBI had subpoenaed the laptop purportedly belonging to Hunter Biden in the course of an existing money laundering investigation.
Hunter Biden confirmed the investigation into his "tax affairs" in December 2020, after his father was elected president. The investigation is being led by Trump-appointed Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss.
Since taking office, the White House has maintained that the president never spoke to his son about his business dealings, and has continued to say that the president was never involved in them. Officials also say the president has never discussed investigations into members of his family with the Justice Department.
Ahead of his presidency, Biden’s campaign proposed a plan to "prevent the president or White House from improperly interfering in federal investigations and prosecutions."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/white-house-insists-no-political-interference-hunter-biden-probe-after-irs-whistleblower
Israel opens first embassy in Turkmenistan, only 17 km. from Iran’s border
Cohen's Turkmen counterpart called the embassy’s opening “historic” and underlined the importance of political and diplomatic interactions with Israel.
In a historic move, Israel opened its first-ever embassy in Turkmenistan on Thursday, just 17 kilometers from Iran’s border, as part of its push to strengthen its ties in the area of the Caspian Sea and Central Asia.
“it is symbolic that now after 30 years of deepening our relations … I am here to inaugurate the permanent embassy of Israel in Turkmenistan,” said Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, who traveled to the country’s capital of Ashgabat for the occasion.
Upon his arrival in the country’s capital on Wednesday night, Cohen tweeted,” I came to open an Israeli embassy 17 km from the border with Iran…the relationship with Turkmenistan is of great security and political importance, and this visit will strengthen the position of the State of Israel in the region.”
First Israeli FM to visit Turkmenistan since 1994
Cohen is the first Israeli Foreign Minister to visit that country since former president Shimon Peres went there in 1994 when he was foreign minister, just one year after Israel and Turkmenistan established diplomatic relations in 1993.
On his way to Turkmenistan, Cohen visited Azerbaijan, another country that borders Iran. Both nations are on the Caspian Sea.
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-739858
IRS whistleblower bombshell expands Hunter Biden scandal to coverup, obstruction concerns
"It's deeply concerning that the Biden Administration may be obstructing justice by blocking efforts to charge Hunter Biden for tax violations," House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer says.
In the half century since Watergate, the adage that the coverup can be worse than the crime has been emblazoned in the American psyche of political scandal. And while historians still debate whether that adage was true or not for the Nixon scandal, allegations of coverup, false testimony or obstruction have transformed many a political controversy since.
On Wednesday, an IRS whistleblower's stunning disclosure to Congress that "preferential treatment and politics" were "improperly infecting" the Hunter Biden investigation instantly transformed the scandal that has most bedeviled the Biden presidency.
Lawmakers instantly began expanding their long-running influence-peddling probe into the Biden family's pursuit of millions of dollars in foreign business deals to questions of whether there has been a coverup, whether Attorney General Merrick Garland gave false testimony and whether the case offers a fresh example of what Republicans says is a two-tier system of justice.
"It's deeply concerning that the Biden Administration may be obstructing justice by blocking efforts to charge Hunter Biden for tax violations," House Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer, (R-Ky.), the lead Biden family investigator in the House, told Just the News. "The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability has been following the Bidens' tangled web of complex corporate and financial records."
"It's clear from our investigation that Hunter and other members of the Biden family engaged in deceptive, shady business schemes to avoid scrutiny as they made millions from foreign adversaries like China," Comer added. "We've been wondering all along where the heck the DOJ and the IRS have been. Now it appears the Biden Administration may have been working overtime to prevent the Bidens from facing any consequences."
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-Mo.), who has the legal authority to free the whistleblower from tax privacy laws so he can share his concerns with the public, vowed a swift and vigorous investigation.
https://justthenews.com/accountability/political-ethics/irs-whistleblower-bombshell-expands-hunter-biden-scandal-coverup
https://twitter.com/MikeGil21446788/status/1649045320846770176
https://youtu.be/XeIJmZpqmWU
Who Runs the World? - Organized Crime’s Front Groups & Secret Societies
Who Are the World Economic Forum, The Council of Foreign Relations, the Trilateral Commission, Freemasonry, Bohemian Club, Skull & Bones and the Bilderberg Group
https://www.dropbox.com/s/xx0vs2f2w40u7yl/2010%20Bilderberg%20CFR%20Trilateral%20Chart.pdf?dl=0
https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4ea49022-ce7f-47de-960a-b6fa12de3a62_1920x1080.png
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/fowe1h6ys4duko1/AAA3ejZBm7fdq7uoqwIJMemVa?dl=0&preview=Organized+Crime%E2%80%99s+Front+Groups+-+WEF.pdf
1st Amendment Authorized Assange’s Possession of Classified Data
The Espionage Act, as it is applied to the WikiLeaks publisher or any other journalist, also violates basic norms of due process, argues Bruce Afran.
Last week marked four years of WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange being held at Britain’s Belmarsh Prison while he awaits the outcome of his fight to block extradition to the United States.
While the U.S. government is also charging Assange with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion, the core of its case is that Assange violated the 1917 Espionage Act by “possessing” and releasing “defense” material that caused “injury” to the United States or gave “advantage” to other nations, a boundless and limitless standard that can turn virtually any journalist or blogger into a criminal defendant.
No other direction, definition or limitation appears in this law that is now being applied to Assange.
As the government uses it against Assange, the Espionage Act would criminalize any media organization that receives or publishes “defense information” that embarrasses the government. This unlimited grasp of the Espionage Act is awe-inspiring in its capacity to criminalize journalistic endeavors.
Faced with such limitless horizon for prosecution, it would be impossible for any journalist or internet publication to know when their writing will lead to prosecution, a legal posture that will chill or destroy virtually all sensitive journalism.
Assange is being prosecuted, at least in part, as retaliation for speech. The government charges that WikiLeaks published U.S. “rules of engagement” in Iraq but WikiLeaks says it released these only after the U.S. defended the “Collateral Murder” video by claiming the killings were within the laws of war and the rules of engagement.
All this was of intense public interest and well within the bounds of journalism. To use the undefined contours of the Espionage Act to prosecute Assange in this way certainly smacks of retaliation for protected First Amendment activity.
The Espionage Act’s unconstrained language allows precisely what it has been used historically to achieve: the prosecution of dissidents for speech.
https://consortiumnews.com/2023/04/19/1st-amendment-authorized-assanges-possession-of-classified-data/
https://consortiumnews.com/2023/04/19/1st-amendment-authorized-assanges-possession-of-classified-data/
Big Ag panicking as legislators push mandatory labeling for mRNA gene-altered meat
Believe it or not, pork producers have been “vaccinating” their pigs with mRNA-based “vaccines” since at least 2018 – without telling the public, of course. But new legislation out of Missouri, if passed, would change that.
Missouri House Bill 1169 would require the labeling of all products that have the potential to edit or otherwise alter human genes. This includes meat derived from animals that have been injected with mRNA chemicals.
“All customized mRNA ‘vaccines’ are untested,” warns Dr. Joseph Mercola. “Only the mRNA platform itself has been approved.”
According to the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, there are no current mRNA vaccines licensed in the United States for use in beef cattle. Apparently just pigs are being injected for the time being – but that could soon change as well.
We are also hearing reports that some cattlemen are, in fact, injecting their herds with mRNA chemicals illegally and without anybody knowing about it. Does this mean that some beef products currently on the market are tainted with mRNA?
The Missouri bill seeks to get ahead of this new trend, which was spawned by the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) “pandemic,” by making it illegal to sell meat from animals that received mRNA injections without proper labeling of such.
https://www.dcclothesline.com/2023/04/20/big-ag-panicking-as-legislators-push-mandatory-labeling-for-mrna-gene-altered-meat/
ChatGPT is scraping people’s personal data without their consent – it could become banned in the EU
ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot developed by OpenAI and released in November 2022. In the past few weeks, several Western data protection authorities have started investigations into how OpenAI collects and processes the data powering ChatGPT. They believe it has scraped people’s personal data, such as names or email addresses, and used it without their consent.
The Italian authority has blocked the use of ChatGPT as a precautionary measure, and French, German, Irish, and Canadian data regulators are also investigating how the OpenAI system collects and uses data. The European Data Protection Board, the umbrella organisation for data protection authorities, is also setting up an EU-wide task force to coordinate investigations and enforcement around ChatGPT.
The Italian authority says OpenAI is not being transparent about how it collects users’ data during the post-training phase, such as in chat logs of their interactions with ChatGPT.
“What’s really concerning is how it uses data that you give it in the chat,” says Leautier. People tend to share intimate, private information with the chatbot, telling it about things like their mental state, their health, or their personal opinions. Leautier says it is problematic if there’s a risk that ChatGPT regurgitates this sensitive data to others. And under European law, users need to be able to get their chat log data deleted, he adds.
Italy has given OpenAI until 30 April to comply with the law. This would mean OpenAI would have to ask people for consent to have their data scraped or prove that it has a “legitimate interest” in collecting it. OpenAI will also have to explain to people how ChatGPT uses their data and give them the power to correct any mistakes about them that the chatbot spits out, to have their data erased if they want, and to object to letting the computer program use it.
If OpenAI cannot convince the authorities its data use practices are legal, it could be banned in specific countries or even the entire European Union. It could also face hefty fines and might even be forced to delete models and the data used to train them, says Alexis Leautier, an AI expert at the French data protection agency CNIL.
OpenAI’s violations are so flagrant that it’s likely that this case will end up in the Court of Justice of the European Union, the EU’s highest court, says Lilian Edwards, an internet law professor at Newcastle University. It could take years before we see an answer to the questions posed by the Italian data regulator.
Read more: OpenAI’s hunger for data is coming back to bite it, MIT Technology Review, 19 April 2023
On 30 March, the day before ChatGPT was taken offline in Italy, Engadget noted that a public challenge in the USA could put a temporary stop to the deployment of ChatGPT and similar AI systems. The non-profit research organisation Centre for AI and Digital Policy (“CAIDP”) had filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) alleging that OpenAI is violating the FTC Act through its releases of large language AI models like GPT-4. That model is “biased, deceptive” and threatens both privacy and public safety, CAIDP claims. Likewise, it supposedly fails to meet Commission guidelines calling for AI to be transparent, fair and easy to explain.
CAIDP president Marc Rotenberg was among those who signed an open letter dated 22 March demanding that OpenAI and other AI researchers pause work for six months to give time for ethics discussions. OpenAI founder Elon Musk also signed the letter.
https://expose-news.com/2023/04/20/chatgpt-scraping-peoples-data-without-their-consent/
Carlyle-linked Group owns Dominion
A private equity firm run by “veterans of The Carlyle Group” which bought a 76% stake in Dominion Voting Systems for only $38 million in 2018 is cashing in massively on Dominion’s $787 million settlement with Fox News.
Staple Street Capital bought Dominion Voting Systems in 2018, with a $38 million equity check and an $80 million enterprise value. It might have been the best private equity deal ever.
[…] By the numbers: Denver-based Dominion will be required to pay taxes on its windfall, plus give a hearty portion to attorneys. But this is still a massive amount of cash for a company of its size.
– Dominion currently generates around $45 million in annual EBITDA, up from $10 million in 2018, according to comments this morning from Staple Street co-founder Hootan Yaghoobzadeh on CNBC.
Look ahead: Yaghoobzadeh told CNBC that settlement proceeds will be distributed to shareholders, adding that Dominion management and employees “own a very significant stake in the business.”
https://www.newswars.com/obscene-787-5-million-settlement-with-fox-news-turns-dominion-into-private-equity-gold/
The co-founders of Staple Street Capital, Stephen D. Owens and Hootan Yaghoobzadeh, are veterans of The Carlyle Groupand Cerberus Capital Management, respectively, and first worked together in Carlyle's US Buyout Group starting in 1998. Our team has completed over 100 transactions involving complicated corporate carve outs, operational turnarounds, management led buyouts, public-to-privates, restructurings, refinancings and/or recapitalizations.
https://staplestreetcapital.com/Team
'Era of Limited Conflicts Is Over,' Israeli Defense Minister Warns
Gallant admits Israel 'doubled the rates of attacks in Syria' and warned of Iran's 'increasing self-confidence' as it continues to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in terrorist proxies, as Israeli intelligence estimates a convergence of arenas
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant briefed on Thursday military correspondents, and asserted that "it's the end of the era of limited conflicts" amid the recent flare-up between Israel and militants from Gaza, the West Bank, Syria, Lebanon and Iran.
Israeli intelligence officials estimate that a shift has occurred in regard to security tensions, and that the Israeli Defense Forces must prepare for a situation in which limited confrontations in one arena with terrorist organizations are over.
"We are facing a new security era in which real threats are possible from all fronts at once," warns Gallant. "We have operated for years under the assumption that conflicts on one front can be held – but this is a phenomenon that is fading away," Gallant indicated, noting that "nowadays there is a rising phenomenon of a convergence of arenas."
Iran, Israeli intelligence estimates, is the engine that feeds the hostile environment that surrounds Israel and is continued to be considered Israel's foremost strategic threat outside of the country's borders that threatens its security. "Iran is the driving force in the convergence of arenas as it transfers resources, ideology and training to its allies," the intelligence estimates indicate.
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-04-20/ty-article/.premium/era-of-limited-conflicts-is-over-israeli-defense-minister-warns/00000187-9f1b-d6e9-a997-9f9f5d750000
Criminal Charges Against Alec Baldwin Over Killing of ‘Rust’ Cinematographer DROPPED
Criminal charges against actor Alec Baldwin have been dropped in New Mexico, according to Baldwin’s attorneys.
Earlier this year, Alec Baldwin was charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter for the shooting death of Halyna Hutchins.
Baldwin shot and killed 42-year-old Halyna Hutchins and injured 48-year-old Joel Souza on the movie set of ‘Rust’ in Santa Fe, Mexico in October 2021.
Baldwin pulled the trigger on the set of ‘Rust’ – according to FBI analysis.
Now, all charges are going to be dropped against the 65-year-old actor.
“We are pleased with the decision to dismiss the case against Alec Baldwin & we encourage a proper investigation into the facts and circumstances of this tragic accident,” according to Baldwin’s attorney per NBC.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/04/criminal-charges-against-alec-baldwin-over-killing-of-rust-cinematographer-dropped/
NATO chief visits Ukraine as Russia tries to bolster army recruits
Ukraine's future lies in NATO, the Western military alliance's chief Jens Stoltenberg said during his first visit to the country since Russia's invasion 14 months ago.
Key points:
Mr Stoltenberg met with Mr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, affirming Ukraine's "rightful place" in NATO
Russia advertises for men to volunteer in latest war campaign
Denmark and The Netherlands say the will send Ukraine more tanks on top of those already promised
"Let me be clear: Ukraine's rightful place is in the euro-Atlantic family. Ukraine's rightful place is in NATO. And over time, our support will help you to make this possible," Mr Stoltenberg told reporters during a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv.
He pledged continued military support for Ukraine, saying that, so far, NATO allies had trained tens of thousands of Ukrainian troops and provided 65 billion euros ($105.95 billion) of military aid alone.
"NATO stands with you today, tomorrow and for as long as it takes," Mr Stoltenberg said, before inviting Mr Zelenskyy to July's NATO summit in Lithuania.
The NATO secretary-general's visit is likely to irk Russia, which regards the alliance as a hostile military bloc bent on encroaching on what it sees as its sphere of influence and opposes Ukraine's efforts to join NATO.
The Kremlin told reporters on a conference call on Thursday that one of the aims of what Moscow calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine was to prevent Ukraine ever joining NATO.
"…otherwise it will present a serious, significant danger to the security of our country," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Ukraine announced a bid for fast-track membership of NATO last September after the Kremlin said it had annexed four Ukrainian regions that its troops have partially occupied.
Russia calls for 'real' men
The Russian military launched a video campaign to lure more professional soldiers to fight in Ukraine which challenges those interested to show they are "a real man" and swap what it casts as hum-drum civilian life for the battlefield.
The ad, set to stirring music, follows a report from British military intelligence and Russian media reports that suggest Moscow is seeking to recruit up to 400,000 professional soldiers — on a volunteer basis — to bolster its forces in Ukraine.
The ad has so far been released on major Russian social networking sites.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-20/nato-chief-visits-kyiv-supports-ukraine-russia-advertises-army/102249694
'He is a big deal': Senior DHS official has office raided, leaving more questions than answers
Brian Sulc is executive director of the Transnational Organized Crime Mission Center at the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Intelligence and Analysis. The office is responsible for providing intelligence assessments on major transnational organized crime operations, border security, and terrorist activity.
On Monday, Federal Protective Service officers escorted Sulc out of the DHS building and searched his office, Rolling Stone reported. It's not clear what agents were searching for.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/04/democrat-delegate-from-virgin-islands-stacey-plaskett-threatens-twitter-files-journalist-matt-taibbi-with-imprisonment/