NATO to keep Ukraine at arm’s length

Kiev will be permitted to join the US-led bloc “when allies agree and conditions are met”

NATO has reaffirmed its readiness to grant Ukraine membership at some point in the future. A joint statement released during the annual summit of the US-led bloc said Kiev would be invited to join only “when allies agree and conditions are met,” but it will be allowed to bypass the so-called Membership Action Plan that is usually required for candidate members.

“We reaffirm the commitment we made at the 2008 summit in Bucharest that Ukraine will become a member of NATO, and today we recognize that Ukraine’s path to full Euro-Atlantic integration has moved beyond the need for the Membership Action Plan,” the statement read.

Ukraine has become “increasingly interoperable and politically integrated with the US-led bloc,” it stated. It also outlined the need for “additional democratic and security sector reforms” in the country.

“The alliance will support Ukraine in making these reforms on its path towards future membership. We will be in a position to extend an invitation to Ukraine to join the alliance when allies agree and conditions are met,” the statement concluded.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg further elaborated on the matter at a press conference, stating that the bloc must first ensure that Ukraine achieves a “victory” in its ongoing conflict with Russia. Should Kiev not succeed, its NATO membership will be out of the question, he warned.

The pledge falls short of calls by top Ukrainian officials, who have repeatedly urged the US-led alliance to accept the country right away or at least produce an official “invitation” for it at the summit. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky made an apparent last-ditch attempt to influence the bloc’s joint statement hours before it was released, taking to social media to criticize NATO and demand “respect” for Ukraine from the alliance.

“It’s unprecedented and absurd when [a] time frame is not set neither for the invitation nor for Ukraine’s membership. While at the same time vague wording about ‘conditions’ is added even for inviting Ukraine,” Zelensky wrote, referring to a draft of the document that was partially leaked to the media.

https://www.rt.com/news/579554-nato-summit-communique/

LIVESTREAM: Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Holds Hearing with “Proximal Origins” Authors on COVID-19 Lab-Leak Suppression

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/07/livestream-select-subcommittee-coronavirus-pandemic-holds-hearing-proximal/

Select Subcommittee on the COVID Pandemic Releases Explosive Report on COVID-19 Lab Leak Hypothesis – Reveals Coordinated Effort, Led by Dr. Fauci, to Suppress COVID-19 Lab-Leak Theory

https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/2023.07.11-SSCP-Interim-Staff-Report-Re.-Proximal-Origin_FINAL.pdf

BofA Ordered To Pay $250 Million For Opening Fake Accounts, Charging Illegal Fees

Bank of America has pulled a Wells Fargo - and has agreed to pay $150 million in fines and $100 million to customers for opening unauthorized credit card accounts, improperly charging extra fees, and withholding rewards, according to US regulators.

The bank was fined by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for "systematically double-dipping on fees imposed on customers with insufficient funds in their account."

BofA also failed to pay advertised credit card reward bonuses, and enrolled customers in new cards without their authorization or knowledge, the CFPB said in a statement.

The $150 million is broken down into a $90 million penalty to the CFPB, and $60 million to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The bank did not admit to or deny the allegations as part of the settlement, Bloomberg reports.

"Bank of America wrongfully withheld credit-card rewards, double-dipped on fees and opened accounts without consent," said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra in a Tuesday statement, adding "These practices are illegal and undermine customer trust."

The consumer-protection agency found that Bank of America charged consumers a $35 overdraft fee and then “double-dipped” by allowing fees to be charged repeatedly for the same transaction, according to the statement. That allowed the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank to generate “substantial additional revenue,” the bureau said.

Bank of America said in an emailed statement that it “voluntarily reduced overdraft fees and eliminated all non-sufficient fund fees in the first half of 2022.” It declined to address the case or the allegations against the lender.

In early 2022 BofA vowed to cut back on fees charged to customers for insufficient funds to cover check and debit-card charges, after Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said they "snatch billions from struggling families," and that "big banks raked in billions from this abusive practice" during the Covid-19 pandemic.

While BofA did take some steps to reduce the impact on consumers, it didn't completely eliminate overdraft fees - as had been under consideration.

The CFPB also said that BofA employees had been opening credit card accounts for consumers without their knowledge dating back to 2012 - leading to unjustified fees being charged, and impacting borrowers' credit, according to the statement.

BofA also withheld cash rewards or bonus points earned by tens of thousands of customers for signing up for credit cards, according to regulators.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/bofa-ordered-pay-250-million-opening-fake-accounts-charging-illegal-fees

Cost of doing business

Attorney General Ashley Moody Calls on Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to Testify, As Report Highlights Platform as Top App Used by Human Traffickers

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody has issued a formal call for Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to testify before the State’s Human Trafficking Council. This follows a revealing report that highlights Meta platforms – Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger – as the most frequently used by human traffickers.

Florida’s Statewide Council on Human Trafficking revealed shocking results in a recent survey of Florida law enforcement agencies. The Florida Legislature had mandated this investigation to assess the prevalence and impact of social media platforms’ role in human trafficking within the state.

Law enforcement agencies were asked to report instances since 2019 where social media had been employed to facilitate human trafficking, including victim recruitment, trafficking operations, or victim control. Agencies were also asked to identify the specific platforms used.

According to the letter from Moody, out of 271 reported instances of social media usage in human trafficking, 146, or over 53%, were linked to Meta platforms – Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger. This figure is dramatically higher than that of the second most-used platform, Snapchat, which was implicated in just 19 cases.

According to the 2022 Federal Human Trafficking Report, Facebook was the top platform used for recruitment of human trafficking victims from 2019 to 2022, with Facebook and Instagram combined representing 60% of the top ten platforms cited in the study.

In a joint investigation conducted by The Wall Street Journal and researchers at Stanford University and the University of Massachusetts Amherst, it was revealed that Instagram, the social media platform owned by Mark Zuckerberg, is serving as a hub to “connect and promote a vast network of accounts openly devoted to the commission and purchase of underage-sex content.”

Unlike traditional forums and file-transfer services associated with illicit content, Instagram’s algorithms actively encourage and recommend such activities, effectively connecting pedophiles and guiding them to content sellers, WSJ reported.

Major social media sites have also reported an increase in suspected instances of child sexual abuse material, which includes child sex trafficking cases. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s 2022 CyberTipline Reports by Electronic Service Providers revealed a shocking 27 million, or 85%, of reported incidents came from Meta platforms.

The Chair of the Council, who also serves as Florida’s Attorney General, has issued an invitation to Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, to address these findings before the Council. The next Council meeting is set for October 2, 2023.

https://www.myfloridalegal.com/newsrelease/attorney-general-moody-calls-meta-ceo-zuckerberg-florida-testify-about-use-meta

Hunter Biden, Associates Took Millions From Chinese Company That Paid 'Missing' Biden Witness Now Charged By DOJ

The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday charged a key witness in the investigation into alleged Biden family corruption for taking money from the same Chinese firm that paid Hunter Biden’s businesses and associates millions, according to DOJ records.

Gal Luft, a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen, allegedly “willfully” failed to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) while working to “advance the interests of China” in the U.S. by brokering the illegal sale of Chinese weapons and Iranian oil to China, according to the DOJ. The DOJ alleges that Luft’s think tank, the Institute for the Analysis for Global Security, accepted at least $700,000 from CEFC China Energy beginning in 2015, which happens to be the same Chinese firm that allegedly sent millions to accounts linked to Hunter Biden and his associates, in 2017, according to a Senate committee report and a Washington Post review of Biden documents.

“For years, Gal Luft, the defendant, a dual U.S.- Israeli citizen, and others known and unknown, engaged in multiple international criminal schemes, including a scheme to act within the United States to advance the interests of the People’s Republic of China (“China”) as agents of China-based principals, without registering as foreign agents as required under U.S. law,” the DOJ indictment states.

A CEFC subsidiary sent $100,000 to Owasco P.C., a firm controlled by Hunter Biden, on Aug. 4, 2017, just days after Hunter sent a text to CEFC associate Raymond Zhao in which he cited his “ability to forever hold a grudge” if certain business was not conducted. That text message mentioned that Hunter’s “father” was nearby at the time, referring to President Joe Biden; pictures from Hunter Biden’s laptop show that Joe was with Hunter on the day the text message was sent.

Additionally, that CEFC subsidiary sent payments totaling over $5 million to Hudson West III, a business linked to Hunter, on Aug. 8, 2017, according to a Senate report. Hudson West III then paid Owasco, Hunter’s personal corporation, nearly $5 million.

The DOJ’s indictment cites as evidence against Luft behavior also allegedly exhibited by Hunter Biden.

The DOJ claims that Luft knowingly violated FARA by seeking to influence U.S. foreign policy toward China and “concealed these efforts by creating the false appearance that they were simply the sharing of sincere opinions of an independent expert on national security and international relations,” according to the DOJ indictment.

Meanwhile, Republicans lawmakers, like Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, have previously called on the DOJ to assess whether or not Hunter Biden may have willfully failed to register under FARA.

In May 2017, Hunter Biden sent a message to his business associate Tony Bobulinski about setting up a shell company apparently in order to avoid registering as a foreign agent.

https://dailycaller.com/2023/07/11/hunter-biden-cefc-luft-china/

EU Censorship Tsar Says Social Media Sites Face Ban if They Don’t Remove ‘Calls for Revolt’, Footage of Riots

European Commissioner Thierry Breton declared that social media sites will face bans if they do not remove “calls for revolt” or content that shows riots under new censorship measures set to be imposed next month by Brussels.

The EU’s Commissioner for the Internal Market, the architect of the Digital Services Act (DSA), which will be fully implemented on August 25th, said that “social networks have not done enough” to censor content during the recent waves of unrest and rioting in France following the police shooting of an Algerian-heritage teenager last month.

Appearing on FranceInfo radio on Monday, Mr Breton said that content such as hate speech and “calls for revolt” will “no longer be possible from August 25th.”

“When there is hateful content, content that calls for revolt, for example, that also calls for killing or burning cars, they will have the obligation in the moment to erase them. If they do not do so, they will be immediately sanctioned.”

The Digital Services Act states that platforms with at least 45 million users within the EU will come under more regulatory scrutiny next month, with those that fail to comply face fines of up to six per cent of their global revenue and a potential ban from the 27-nation bloc entirely.

The censorship measures, supposedly intended to prevent so-called ‘hate speech’ and ‘disinformation’, are so onerous that even Mark Zuckerberg’s new Twitter rival, Threads, has refrained from launching in Europe out of concern about complying with the law.

Breton, the former French Finance Minister, said that platforms must “demonstrate to us [to the European Union] that they have taken steps to enforce the law”.

The Frenchman continued to blame the social media algorithms “that push, as we know, these highly viral content [images of urban violence] because it brings advertising”.

Breton said that “all this will be strictly forbidden,” suggesting that videos documenting unrest could be blocked throughout the EU in a similar fashion to what occurs in countries such as Communist China.

While Brussels is set to demand that social media companies enforce its censorship demands, French President Emmanuel Macron went a step further last week during a meeting with 300 mayors in Paris. The besieged president suggested that the government could impose a blackout to “cut off social networks” when “things get carried away” during riots.

The government has argued that rioters often use social media to locate each other in the madness, thereby increasing their effectiveness in causing mayhem and evading law enforcement.

Yet, even for the French, this was apparently a step too far, with the leaders of most major parties — outside of the actual Communist Party of France — condemning Macron’s censorship scheme as akin to communist dictatorships.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2023/07/11/eu-censorship-tsar-says-social-media-sites-face-ban-if-they-dont-remove-calls-for-revolt-footage-of-riots/

Mass Abduction Of Children, Which Zelensky Is Silent About. Where Do Ukrainian Children Disappear In Europe?”

Ukraine has repeatedly raised the issue of allegedly illegal export of children from the territories returned by Russia in various international organizations. Attempts to accuse Belarus and Russia of exporting Ukrainian children are in fact an information operation to cover up the monstrous trafficking of children, in which the collective West and Ukrainian government agencies are involved.

The Western press writes, and the Ukrainian government is silent about the truth behind hundreds and even thousands of children missing in Western Europe, taken there from the territories controlled by the Kiev regime. Shocking data is spread among various social activists, including in Europe. According to them, the black market of child trafficking for sexual exploitation rates up to $34 billion. Since the beginning of Russian Special Military Operation, 200,000 Ukrainian children have gone missing, according to Kyiv’s officials.

For example, about 500 children were taken to Poland and Israel from the territory of Donbass, controlled by Kyiv forces, by a little-known organization “Ukraine without orphans”. Many of those children have parents who now cannot find any trace of their kids.

In the Netherlands, activists reported the disappearance of 170 Ukrainian teenagers.

Another public scandal broke out after 40 pupils of the Ukrainian orphanage disappeared on their way from Madrid to the Canary Islands. The Spanish authorities and the police reported a certain Ukrainian citizen who was supposed to meet children in the Canaries. LINK

In Lithuania, several adults were detained after they attempted to cross the border with a group of 43 children under the pretext “for adoption to other countries” without any official documents. Fortunately, the operation was thwarted and children were sent to the Lithuanian Center for Family and Child Support.

About 160 orphans were evacuated from southern Ukraine to Turkey, where their trace was lost. According to the Turkish Anadolu agency said: “The children were placed in a classified hotel in Antalya, allegedly for security reasons”. The further fate of these children is unknown.

Who are children in Ukrainian orphanages? Just a product for sale! No one looks for them! No one knows what their names are, what they look like, what they complain about. The fate of hundreds of children from orphanages taken from Ukraine to Europe remains unknown.

The cases are egregious and unfathomable; their huge number is certainly shocking and the biggest problem is the lack of clear statistics on how many Ukrainian children disappeared.

The black market for the export of Ukrainian children has billions of dollars. Beneficiaries in this lucrative business are high ranked officials of the Kyiv regime, who are covering mafia clans. LINK

https://southfront.org/mass-abduction-of-children-which-zelensky-is-silent-about-where-do-ukrainian-children-disappear-in-europe/

Risk of cancer and pregnancy complications up to 70% higher in neighborhoods where tap water is most contaminated with PFAS 'forever chemicals' — with counties in North Carolina and Iowa among worst-affected

Water in several cities was found to have PFAS contamination of up to 186 ppt

The standard from the Environmental Protection Agency is capped at a 4 ppt

Cities where tap water is laced with toxic 'forever chemicals' have above-average rates of disease and pregnancy complications, a DailyMail.com analysis shows.

The majority of neighborhoods with the highest levels of PFAS chemicals in drinking water suffer more cancer diagnoses and deaths than the rest of the country each year and see more babies born at a dangerously low weight.

Experts said the findings were 'concerning' and that they warranted a 'national study' into whether PFAS contamination is causing serious health problems across the country, though they cautioned the correlation was not definitive proof of a link.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are microscopic, man-made chemicals that can take thousands of years to break down in the environment or in the human body, hence the name 'forever chemicals'.

They have been loosely linked to a slew of serious health problems, but especially cancer and pregnancy complications.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-12283215/Cities-highest-levels-PFAS-forever-chemicals-drinking-water-higher-rates-cancers.html

Transgenderism a “scientifically baseless movement,” says endocrinologist

Everything the Endocrine Society is currently pushing with regards to "gender-affirming care," especially for children, is completely unscientific, a prominent endocrinologist has warned.

In a recent piece he co-wrote for The Wall Street Journal, Dr. Roy Eappen criticized the Endocrine Society's false claims about "transitioning" children with drugs and surgery, stating that the whole thing is a "scientifically baseless movement" pushing an ulterior agenda.

Shamefully, some of these false claims made by the Endocrine Society were used by a federal judge to block an Arkansas law that aimed to protect children from the pharmaceutical chemicals and destructive surgical procedures being pushed on them by the LGBT mob.

With the help of Ian Kingsbury of the medical advocacy group Do No Harm, Dr. Eappen did a phenomenal job at blowing holes in the Endocrine Society's false, pro-trans claims, which are destroying countless children's lives.

"… over the past decade transgender activists have co-opted the Endocrine Society and other professional organizations to promote such treatments for adolescents and even young children," Dr. Eappen and Kingsbury warn.

"Their guidelines are based on flimsy evidence, giving the appearance that invasive and irreversible treatments are beneficial for young patients despite a growing body of evidence to the contrary. The guidelines have been used by lawmakers in states such as California and New York to endanger children – and now by judges to block state efforts at protecting youngsters."

http://www.domigood.com/2023/07/transgenderism-scientifically-baseless.html

Girl found in Camp Pendleton barracks was raped by Marine, family alleges

A girl was found at Camp Pendleton more than two weeks after she had been reported missing, according to her family, who alleges she was raped by a Marine on the military base north of San Diego.

The girl’s aunt, Casaundra Perez, said in a video posted to TikTok on Thursday that her niece, whom she did not identify by name, went missing from her home near Spring Valley on June 10 and was found at the base June 28.

A photograph posted to Instagram by the account notinregz, which shares content submitted by military personnel, shows an unidentified Marine in handcuffs being escorted by military police officers. The post included a photo of what it said was a handwritten logbook from Camp Pendleton that says military personnel found a 13-year-old girl in the barracks June 28. The Los Angeles Times could not verify the authenticity of the logbook page.

A Marine with Combat Logistics Battalion 5 was taken into custody for questioning by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service the day the girl was found, 1st Marine Logistics Group spokesperson Capt. Charles Palmer confirmed.

The Marine is on active duty and assigned to the battalion stationed at Camp Pendleton, Palmer said.

“This command takes this matter and these allegations very seriously. The incident is under investigation, and we will continue to cooperate with NCIS and appropriate authorities,” Palmer said in a statement.

It is unclear whether the Marine who was taken in for questioning remains in military police custody.

In the TikTok video, Perez alleged that her niece had been trafficked and accused military personnel of trying to “cover up” the case and shift blame to the girl for the alleged sexual assault.

Perez said “security looked her (niece) in the face and allowed this man to bring a minor onto base.”

“Our family is worried about retaliation from the military and the man that has trafficked my niece,” said Perez, who could not be reached for comment.

NCIS spokesperson Jeff Houston said in an email the agency does not comment on or confirm details relating to ongoing investigations.

According to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, a 14-year-old girl who had been last seen June 9 and reported missing by her grandmother June 13 was found at Camp Pendleton. The grandmother said the girl had run away from home before but had quickly returned, according to the Sheriff’s Department.

https://americanmilitarynews.com/2023/07/girl-found-in-camp-pendleton-barracks-was-raped-by-marine-family-alleges/

Democrats want DOJ to turn over info on Barr, Durham trip to Italy

House Judiciary Committee Democrats are asking the Justice Department (DOJ) to turn over information about a trip former Attorney General Bill Barr and special counsel John Durham took to Italy after reviewing a tip about possible financial crimes carried out by former President Trump.

Durham was appointed to investigate the FBI’s handling of the initial probe into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia.

But in the course of that investigation, the Justice Department received a tip from Italian officials alleging wrongdoing by Trump, spurring an unusual trip by both gentlemen.

“Because of the strength and seriousness of this evidence, Attorney General Barr acknowledged that the Department was compelled to investigate, but instead of allowing the investigation to proceed through normal channels, he asked Mr. Durham to handle the investigation secretly,” ranking member Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) wrote in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland.

The investigation of the tip prompted Barr to give Durham criminal prosecution powers — a detail that fueled speculation there may have been criminal wrongdoing by those investigating Trump rather than possible wrongdoing by the president himself.

Instead, Durham lost the two trials he brought to court with juries quickly delivering not guilty verdicts.

In a June appearance before Congress, Durham said little about the trip, stressing that high level DOJ staff were needed to properly engage with the Italian officials.

He also said that “investigative steps were taken, and grand jury subpoenas were issued” but that he saw no reason to include information about the episode in his report.

Nadler described the move as an end run around special counsel statutes designed to “provide independence from political pressure and to ensure public confidence in the fairness of an investigation.”

“In this instance, it appears that Attorney General Barr turned the Special Counsel regulations on their head and used the Special Counsel not to promote independence and fairness, but to bury a potentially significant criminal investigation from the public,” Nadler wrote.

“Mr. Durham’s refusal to explain his decision not to charge former President Trump after secretly investigating him for alleged financial crimes is highly concerning, especially considering Mr. Durham’s extensive public discussion of evidence that was rejected by juries which acquitted the defendants that he charged.”

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4091023-democrats-want-doj-to-turn-over-info-on-barr-durham-trip-to-italy/

Spanish climate minister flies on private jet to eco-conference, gets out of limo a hundred yards before venue to ride bike for the cameras

Riding that bike actually created more emissions because the vehicle train presumably had to stop and idle while she was getting out her bike.

Sadly, no one over at Google told the Bard AI the "Rules for Thee" policy.

https://notthebee.com/article/spanish-minister-flies-on-private-jet-to-climate-conference-gets-out-of-limo-one-block-before-venue-to-ride-bike-for-the-cameras

Republicans Slip Massive Foreign Worker Expansion into DHS Funding Bill

House Republicans have slipped a massive foreign worker expansion into their Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spending bill, a blow to the GOP’s promise to protect the nation’s working class from powerful special interests.

After markups and hearings, Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee approved the DHS spending bill which would blow the lid off blue-collar migration caps to the United States, spurring an influx of foreign visa workers in the labor market with whom working class Americans would have to compete for jobs.

“Who represents the working class? This bill suggests it’s not necessarily Republicans,” Jeremy Beck of NumbersUSA told Breitbart News.

Specifically, the $91.5 billion funding measure would loosen H-2A visa rules so that more industries related to the agricultural sector could import foreign workers and rewrites the program so that jobs do not have to be seasonal or temporary.

The H-2A visa program, as currently implemented, allows U.S. farms to annually outsource an unlimited number of American agricultural jobs to foreign workers, who can extend their stay for up to three years.

Fraud and abuse are widespread across the program, with one recent lawsuit accusing a western Michigan farm of trafficking foreign H-2A visa workers into blueberry picking jobs where they were paid slave wages and housed in egregiously poor conditions.

Most notoriously, earlier this year, black Americans scored a settlement against two U.S. farms along the Mississippi Delta after they were fired and replaced with foreign H-2A visa workers from South Africa.

Beck called the H-2A visa program a “medieval system” that relies on “cheap back-breaking labor while other countries are mechanizing and workers are being paid high wages to man machines.”

“This is a way to push off mechanization indefinitely when you have relatively compliant, affordable labor,” he said. “The people who broker these visa programs advertise it as ‘It will save you money.'”

In addition, the DHS spending bill includes an expansion of the H-2B visa program which allows U.S. employers to import about 66,000 foreign workers for seasonal non-agricultural jobs in industries like construction, landscaping, hospitality, and food services, among others.

The provision included in the bill, though, ensures that foreign workers who arrived in the U.S. on H-2B visas in the prior three years would not count against the annual cap. Beck estimates that the provision could see at least 200,000 additional foreign H-2B visa workers in the labor market.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/07/10/republicans-slip-massive-foreign-worker-expansion-dhs-funding-bill/

New Dem-backed bill could see California judges consider a convicted criminal's RACE in sentencing to 'rectify racial bias' if it's passed into law

The bill would add a section to the Penal Code of California regarding race

Republican Assembly Member Tom Lackey disagrees and says the courts should be color-blind

The proposal comes as the state is considering paying billions to black residents in reparations

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12285465/New-bill-California-judges-consider-convicted-criminals-RACE-sentencing.html

Flashback: Pro-LGBTQ magazine “The Advocate” publishes story about how “unfair” sex offender registry is to gays…

An article recently resurfaced from a left-wing pro-LGBTQ magazine called “The Advocate” that shockingly advocates for child sex predators under the age of 18 who end up on the National Sex Offender Registry. The magazine goes to the extent of labeling it “unfair” that these minors, whom they describe as merely “playing doctor,” are included on the list of offenders. According to The Advocate, these young perpetrators face embarrassment and social exclusion. Meanwhile, the lives of their innocent victims are forever changed for the worse.

Putting aside whether or not the sex offender registry is justified in all edge cases, which could admittedly over-penalize some youth behavior that perhaps should or should not cause one to be stigmatized for life, the the real catastrophe, according to The Advocate, is that a disproportionate number of the youths on the registry are queer.

Shocker!

The Advocate:

It’s hard to believe that until recently, there were still laws on the books that made it illegal to be gay. Our legal system may no longer explicitly prohibit same-sex relationships, but we have found new ways to criminalize queer kids. We label them as sex offenders.

Across the country, children are put on sex-offense registries for behaviors that range from “playing doctor” to streaking to having consensual sex with peers a few years apart in age. The statistics are scary: out of 800,000 people on registries, one out of four — more than 200,000 — are under the age of 18. A child as young as 8 years old can be labeled as a “deviant.” Additionally, initial investigations show a disproportionate number of these youth are queer.

https://www.revolver.news/2023/07/lgbtq-magazine-the-advocate-story-about-how-unfair-sex-offender-registry-is-to-gays-resurfaces-at-worst-possible-time/

July 8, 2023 - Ed Sheeran concert in Pittsburgh - 2 people went into cardiac arrest, 17 people were taken to the hospital

Ed Sheeran took to the stage at the city's Acrisure Stadium on Saturday, July 8, to entertain the biggest Pittsburgh crowd he's ever played in front of, with an estimated 51,000 fans piling in to see the Englishman.

Things took a turn among some gig-goers, though, who fell ill during the performance. Emergency services were called to more than 37 incidents, and 17 people were taken to hospital, including a stadium worker and a medic.

https://makismd.substack.com/p/mass-casualty-concerts-when-covid

“DOJ Is Trying to Bury Me to Protect Joe, Jim and Hunter Biden” – Whistleblower Gal Luft Launches GiveSendGo Campaign After Biden’s AG Charges Him

The Justice Department indicted Biden corruption whistleblower, Gal Luft on Monday just one week after he released a video detailing criminal allegations against the Biden Crime Family.

Gal Luft, a dual US-Israeli citizen, was hit with an 8-count indictment.

“LUFT, 57, a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen who formerly resided in both Maryland and Israel and is now a fugitive, has been charged with the following offenses, which carry the maximum prison terms listed below. The statutory maximum penalties are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant would be determined by a judge.” – the US Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of New York announced.

Missing Biden corruption whistleblower Dr. Gal Luft released a 14-minute video to The New York Post on Thursday detailing damning allegations against Joe Biden and his family in a massive international bribery scheme filmed in an undisclosed location while on the run from the Biden regime and Department of Justice.

In February Gal Luft the Merrick Garland-Joe Biden DOJ arrested Gal Luft in Cyprus and accused him of being an arms dealer.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/07/doj-is-trying-bury-me-protect-joe-jim/

‘Where Are These Tapes?’ – Grassley Blasts the FBI For Hiding the 17 Smoking Gun Tapes Incriminating Joe Biden in Bribery Scheme

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) told Fox Business host Larry Kudlow that the FBI is stonewalling his efforts to obtain the 17 smoking gun tapes incriminating Joe Biden in a bribery scheme involving a Ukrainian oligarch.

Joe Biden refuses to answer questions about a bribery scheme alleging he received a $5 million bribe from Mykola Zlochevsky, the Ukrainian oligarch who runs Burisma Holdings.

Last month Grassley revealed Mykola Zlochevsky said he kept 17 audio recordings of conversations with Joe Biden (2) and Hunter Biden (15) as an insurance policy.

“According to the 1023, the foreign national possesses fifteen audio recordings of phone calls between him and Hunter Biden. According to the 1023, the foreign national possesses two audio recordings of phone calls between him and then Vice President Joe Biden. These recordings were allegedly kept as a sort of insurance policy for the foreign national in case that he got into a tight spot,” Grassley said on the Senate floor last month.

“The 1023 also indicates that then Vice President Joe Biden may have been involved in Burisma hiring Hunter Biden,” Grassley added.

Larry Kudlow asked Grassley what happened to the smoking gun audio tapes.

“What do you think? Do you think the FBI has the tapes? Do you think there is only one set of tapes? What’s happened to these tapes?” Larry Kudlow asked Grassley.

“I want the FBI to tell me because that’s the only place that I can get the information because they have the responsibility to investigate,” Grassley said.

Grassley said he is still working to get the unclassified FD-1023 document released to the public.

https://twitter.com/bennyjohnson/status/1678771144734949382

British intelligence in the dock for CIA torture

Recent developments raise the prospect that British intelligence agents could finally face justice for their little-known role in the CIA’s global torture program.

Britain’s foreign and domestic intelligence apparatus is facing scrutiny by a tribunal tasked with intelligence oversight. On May 26, London’s infamously opaque Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) unanimously issued a landmark ruling which means the complaints of two Saudis brutally tortured at CIA black sites and jailed for years in Guantanamo Bay can finally be heard, at least behind closed doors.

The British government insisted that the Tribunal, which explicitly examines wrongdoing by London’s security and intelligence agencies, did not have jurisdiction over the cases of Mustafa al-Hawsawi and Abd al-Rahim Nashiri. But the IPT disagreed.

Noting that “the underlying issues raised by this complaint are of the gravest possible kind,” the tribunal declared that “if the allegations are true, it is imperative that that should be established,” as “it would be in the public interest for these issues to be considered.”

The ruling means the Tribunal is likely to hear a complaint from Mustafa al-Hawsawi, who’s remained in US custody since American troops captured the man they claim is “a senior al-Qaida member” in 2003.

Al-Hawsawi bounced between CIA black sites for three years before being shipped to the US torture camp in illegally-occupied Guantanamo Bay in 2006. Along the way, he was subjected to brutal “enhanced interrogation” techniques, including rectal examinations conducted with “excessive force,” from which he was severely injured and reportedly suffers ongoing health problems to this day.

Lawyers for al-Hawsawi say they have proof that British intelligence agents illegally “aided, abetted, encouraged, facilitated, procured and/or conspired” with the US to torture and abuse their client.

Al-Hawsawi is one of just five remaining Guantanamo detainees to have been charged over alleged involvement in the 9/11 attacks.

https://thegrayzone.com/2023/07/11/british-intelligence-cia-torture/

>>19162387

yep same ol shit give me money and I'll tell you what I know

Inside Melbourne's wild swinging community and the A-listers having group sex at a popular secret location - including AFL players and rock stars

The owner of a popular swingers bar in Melbourne has lifted the lid on his celebrity clientele.

Matt, who runs Between Friends Wine Bar, said a long line of A-list stars have visited his venue since it opened two years ago.

'We have had rock stars come in. Some people come in using pseudonyms, some are incognito,' he said on Sam Newman's You Cannot Be Serious podcast.

A swingers bar is a venue designed for various couples and singles (both male and female) to hook up and engage in sexual activities, ranging from a couple to a group of participants.

Matt said several high-profile AFL and cricket players have also frequented his bar.

'We have had a lot of football players come along, cricket players. I love the fact that we have had people from all sides of the political spectrum,' he explained.

'It is huge. I take great pride in the fact that we have had lawyers, doctors, teachers, police and celebrities.'

However, he remained tight-lipped about the identity of his famous clientele, revealing some even use fake names to avoid recognition.

'We have been doing this for two years and you would think you would run out of the pool of people interested in the lifestyle, but it just goes from strength to strength,' he said.

Matt added that the big appeal of the venue was that it was a safe and non-judgmental environment perfect for both returning patrons and newcomers.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-12285531/Inside-Melbournes-swinging-community-stars-having-group-sex-popular-secret-location.html

Level III Sex Offender Arrested on Child Pornography Charges for a 5th Time

https://www.justice.gov/usao-ri/pr/level-iii-sex-offender-arrested-child-pornography-charges-5th-time