They Courted Chinese Investment. Now They're Running for President

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie did not attend. It was instead his trusted lieutenant governor, Kim Guadagno, who celebrated the foreign investment. In person.

Christie had deputized Guadagno to oversee economic development, and she brought a message from Trenton to the suburb of Bridgewater. “We stand at a ribbon cutting,” Guadagno said, surrounded by American and Chinese executives in a non-descript parking lot, “which solidifies New Jersey’s commitment to Huawei. And Huawei’s commitment to New Jersey.”

It was 2011, and the nation still reeled from recession. The Chinese telecom giant was promising hundreds of good paying jobs, not economic espionage, human rights abuses, or national security troubles. The Christie administration welcomed the win.

“This is the story,” Guadagno proclaimed, “of New Jersey’s comeback.”

A year later, Charles Ding, one of the executives at her side that day, was summoned before the House Intelligence Committee. He testified that Huawei was not a national security threat. They did not believe him. Within the decade, the Department of Justice would charge Huawei with federal racketeering and conspiracy to steal American trade secrets.

The Bridgewater facility is now closed, and Christie is once against a presidential candidate. Like other Republicans, he condemns the “communist dictatorship” in Beijing and regularly warns of a future where “China is setting the tone for this world.” His campaign declined to comment.

But Christie isn’t unique. Each of the governors who will condemn China publicly at the second GOP primary debate oversaw Chinese investment in their states. Some even courted it. For years. Their realignment cannot be dismissed simply as political opportunism, however. The conversion reflects, instead, a larger shift in national opinion, and in Republican orthodoxy, driven by the perception that China is an irresponsible economic rival and military adversary.

That, plus a once-in-a-century global pandemic that killed more than a million Americans.

Twelve years ago, when the Christie administration courted Huawei, opinion was split on the China question: 42% of Americans held an unfavorable view of the emerging superpower while 40% reported a favorable one. Had New Jersey passed on Huawei then, another state likely would have welcomed them.

Governors in 2011 were not entirely blind to the risks of doing business with Beijing, namely human rights abuses and worrying geopolitical tensions. Plenty were still certain they saw the reward. “China was widely regarded as the next big thing,” said Kyle Jaros, a professor at Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs, who recalled how through the first two decades of the new millennium, “many states concluded they couldn't miss out on the huge business opportunities China offered.”

“Until the past few years,” Jaros said of what may now seem like ancient history, “governors from red states and blue states alike actively courted Chinese investment, led frequent trade delegations to China, and generally favored an ‘open for business’ approach.”

https://realclearwire.com/articles/2023/09/25/they_courted_chinese_investment_now_theyre_running_for_president__149804.html

Bob Menendez Faces First Court Appearance in Federal Bribery Case

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) will face a federal judge for the first time Wednesday to answer bribery charges as a swelling chorus of Democratic senators voice their demands for his resignation.

The charges relate to allegations he used his powerful post to secretly advance Egyptian interests and do favors for three New Jersey businessmen, as Breitbart News reported.

Specifically, Federal prosecutors in Manhattan last week accused Menendez, 69, and his wife of accepting gold bars and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash in exchange for the senator using his influence to aid Egypt’s government and interfere with law enforcement probes of the businessmen.

A defiant Menendez — who was forced to step down as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee after the indictment was brought last week — says allegations he abused his power to line his own pockets are baseless and he refuses to resign.

New Jersey’s senior third-term senator pointed to his heritage as a Latino American as a driver behind the alleged “campaign” against him and has called the prosecution’s accusations “baseless”

He has said he’s confident he will be exonerated and has no intention of leaving the Senate, AP reports.

The probe marks the third time Menendez has been under investigation by federal prosecutors. He has never been convicted. His last trial involving different allegations ended with jurors failing to reach a verdict in 2017.

Fellow New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker on Tuesday joined the calls for Menendez to resign, saying in a statement the indictment contains ”shocking allegations of corruption and specific, disturbing details of wrongdoing.”

Around half of Senate Democrats have now said that Menendez should step down, including several running for reelection next year, as they fear for their own reputations and that of the party in the wake of the growing scandal.

Democrats narrowly control the chamber with 51 seats, including three independents who normally vote with them, to the Republican’s 49. Democratic New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, who would appoint a temporary replacement should Menendez step aside, has also called for him to resign.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/09/27/bob-menendez-faces-first-court-appearance-in-federal-bribery-case/

Pentagon infiltrated by Iran: Report

A report based on internal emails of senior Iranian Foreign Ministry officials involved in an influence operation known as the Iran Experts Initiative claims that a Pentagon staff member contributed to the initiative.

Emails obtained by Semafor and Iran International suggest that Iranian Foreign Ministry officials conducted a secret influence operation, starting in 2014, to strengthen Iran’s position on global security matters, especially in relation to its nuclear program.

The Iran Experts Initiative is reported to have operated by establishing a network of influential researchers and academics throughout the United States and Europe.

Based on the emails obtained by Semafor, the Iran Experts Initiative, which is believed to have provided diplomats working for Iranian president Hassan Rouhani with access to influential policy circles during former President Barack Obama’s administration, used the Institute for Political and International Studies think tank to promote positive messages surrounding discussions of a nuclear between Iran and the United States.

Email correspondence for the Iran Experts Initiative reveals an exchange where an Iranian official noted that he had gained the support of Ariane Tabatabai, an academic he met with in Prague. Tabatabai reportedly agreed to be part of the “core group of the IEI,” according to the emails.

According to Semafor, Tabatabai is the Pentagon’s current chief of staff for the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations, which is a position that requires a U.S. security clearance. Tabatabai also worked on the Iran nuclear negotiation team under the Biden administration.

Emails from the Iran Experts Initiative indicate that Tabatabai contacted Iran’s Foreign Ministry at least twice before attending policy events.

Tabatabai emailed Mostafa Zahrani, head of the Institute for Political and International Studies think tank, in June of 2014, explaining that she had met Saudi Prince Turki al Faisal, a former ambassador to the United States, and requesting Zahrani’s opinion on whether she should accept his invitation to Saudi Arabia.

Tabatabai also asked Zahrani whether she should attend a workshop at Ben-Gurion University in Israel centered around Iran’s nuclear program.

“I am not interested in going, but then I thought maybe it would be better that I go and talk rather than an Israeli like Emily Landau who goes and disseminates disinformation,” she said. “I would like to ask your opinion, too, and see if you think I should accept the invitation and go.”

An email reply from Zahrani stated, “All things considered, it seems Saudi Arabia is a good case, but the second case [Israel] is better to be avoided. Thanks.” In response to Zahrani’s email message, Tabatabai indicated that she would “take action” with regard to Saudi Arabia and would keep Zahrani “updated on the progress.”

Another email between Tabatabai and Zahrani indicates that Tabatabai told Zahrani about her scheduled Congressional testimony pertaining to the Iran Nuclear Deal. In an email dated July of 2014, Tabatabai shared that she would be appearing before congressional committees along with William Tobey and Gary Samore, both Harvard academics.

“I will bother you in the coming days,” she wrote. “It will be a little difficult since both Will and Gary do not have favorable views on Iran.”

While neither the Pentagon nor the State Department commented on the substance of the Iran Experts Initiative email correspondence, Semafor reported that the Pentagon remained supportive of Tabatabai.

“Dr. Tabatabai was thoroughly and properly vetted as a condition of her employment with the Department of Defense,” the Pentagon stated. “We are honored to have her serve.”

https://americanmilitarynews.com/2023/09/pentagon-infiltrated-by-iran-report/

Egyptian National Indicted With Bob Menendez Is Arrested At Kennedy Airport

Wael Hana, an Egyptian national who was indicted last week on corruption charges with Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Tuesday and later made his initial appearance in court.

Hana pled not guilty and was “granted release on a $5 million personal recognizance bond and strict conditions, including the surrender of his passport,” The New York Times reported. He faces one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud.

Prosecutors alleged that Hana, who is also an American citizen, helped facilitate meetings between Menendez and Egyptian government officials in an effort to get Menendez to increase U.S. aid to the Egypt.

Hana was a longtime friend of Menendez’s wife, who was also charged, and had started a halal meat company, IS EG Halal, that “the sole certifier of halal meat imported to Egypt, and the government said it became the conduit for a stream of money to the senator,” the report added.

CNN noted that the USDA contacted the Egyptian government in 2019 and objected to giving IS EG Halal a virtual monopoly over its competition.

“When Official-1 attempted to explain why the monopoly was detrimental to U.S. interests, MENENDEZ reiterated his demand, in sum and substance, that the USDA stop interfering with IS EG Halal’s monopoly,” the indictment said. “Official-1 did not accede to MENENDEZ’s demand, but IS EG Halal nevertheless kept its monopoly.”

Menendez, his wife, and the two other businessmen charged in the indictment are expected to make their arrangements in court on Wednesday, according to Reuters.

The federal indictment against Menendez and his wife was unsealed on Friday and accused the senator and his wife of accepting bribes from the three businessmen in exchange for actions that he took as chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee. According to the DOJ, the bribes were intended to protect the businessmen and to benefit Egypt.

Menendez faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted of the charges, which include conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, and conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right.

“Those bribes included cash, gold, payments toward a home mortgage, compensation for a low-or-no-show job, a luxury vehicle, and other things of value,” the indictment said. Federal authorities reportedly found gold bars and nearly $500,000 in cash stuffed throughout the senator’s home that they traced back to the businessmen Menendez allegedly worked with.

http://www.yourdestinationnow.com/2023/09/egyptian-national-indicted-with-bob.html

Feds Have Interviewed 100 Witnesses In Criminal Probe Of Biden’s Handling Of Classified Material: Report

Federal officials have reportedly interviewed approximately 100 witnesses in their criminal investigation of President Joe Biden’s handling of classified material while he was vice president in the Obama administration and while he was a U.S. Senator for the state of Delaware.

ABC News reported that the interviews have mainly focused on former Biden aides and military aides and the procedures that were used when handling the material. Interviews have been conducted as recently as last week and some of the witnesses have been asked to return for additional questioning, the report said.

The investigation — which is being led by Special Counsel Robert Hur, a Trump-era U.S. attorney — has “apparently uncovered instances of carelessness from Biden’s vice presidency,” the report said, echoing the type of language that was used in the FBI’s decision to not charge Hillary Clinton over her handling of classified material during the 2016 presidential election.

The report said that the witnesses who have been interviewed have made it seem as though “the improper removal of classified documents from Biden’s office when he left the White House in 2017 was more likely a mistake than a criminal act.”

The report noted, though, that the special counsel has not reached a conclusion about whether Biden will be charged and the investigation is not over.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was an aide for Biden, was one the people reportedly interviewed by investigators.

The report added:

Investigators have shown witnesses email chains dating back to at least 2010 and asked for context about those exchanges, sources said. Witnesses have also been pressed about the use of cabinets and safes, sources said. … Sources said investigators are asking witnesses, especially former military aides, granular questions about internal procedures for handling classified materials, apparently seeking to understand the minutiae of how the vice president obtained, consumed, and discarded classified briefing materials.

It has already been reported that some of the documents that were recovered by investigators during a search of Biden’s home were from his time in the U.S. Senate.

The special counsel investigation into Biden has similarities and differences from the special counsel investigation into former President Donald Trump’s handling of classified material.

The biggest difference between the two cases is that when classified material was found at Biden’s office and home, investigators were contacted, the documents were recovered, and Biden appears to have complied with the investigation whereas Trump is accused of obstructing his investigation.

http://www.stationgossip.com/2023/09/feds-have-interviewed-100-witnesses-in.html

FBI refuses to release documents in probe into possible nationwide voter registration fraud

Bureau responds to Just the News FOIA request by suggesting the investigation is still ongoing.

The FBI took over a 2020 probe into voter registration fraud that began in Michigan but has denied a Freedom of Information Act request regarding the investigation, citing an exemption in that law regarding ongoing investigations.

According to the dozens of pages of police reports from the Muskegon Police Department and Michigan State Police, a firm called GBI Strategies was under scrutiny as an organization central to alleged voter registration fraud in the 2020 presidential election. The matter was initially investigated by city and state authorities before the FBI took over.

Contacts between local law enforcement and the FBI continued into 2022 but there is no evidence of what happened after that in the memos obtained by Just the News through requests made under Michigan's own Freedom of Information Act.

Last week, the FBI denied a Freedom of Information/Privacy Acts request from Just the News regarding records from the investigation into GBI Strategies.

The request sought “copies of all reports, documents, and records about GBI Strategies, including all communication and correspondence regarding investigations of GBI Strategies with Michigan government officials, city and state law enforcement agencies in Michigan, and all other state government officials and law enforcement agencies involved in investigations of GBI Strategies.”

The FBI’s response partially reads: “The material you requested is located in an investigative file which is exempt from disclosure.”

The FBI cited 5 U.S. Code § 552(b)(7)(A) for exempting disclosure of the records, specifically, "records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that the production of such law enforcement records or information … could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings."

The agency’s response continued: “The records responsive to your request are law enforcement records; there is a pending or prospective law enforcement proceeding relevant to these responsive records, and release of the information could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings.”

Police from Michigan interviewed GBI Strategies employees in 2020 and cited specific instances of registrations that appeared suspicious or fraudulent, the previously obtained memos show. A Michigan State Police memo described the possible crime being investigated as "Election Fraud by Forgery."

File

60-368-20X (1).pdf

The Michigan attorney general's office confirmed last month that there was a state investigation into thousands of suspected fraudulent voter registrations, which was referred to the FBI, the Bridge Michigan reported.

Danny Wimmer, press secretary for the State Attorney General, told Just the News in August that among 8,000 to 10,000 voter registration forms that were submitted to the Muskegon clerk before the 2020 general election, some were suspected to be fraudulent.

https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/elections/fbi-denies-foia-request-docs-investigation-possible-nationwide-voter

Azerbaijan detains former Nagorno-Karabakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan

The detainee was handed over to other government agencies so they make further decisions about his future, according to the statement

The Azerbaijani border guard service said its officers have detained former State Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh Ruben Vardanyan as he attempted to cross into Armenia.

"On September 27, Ruben Vardanyan, born in 1968, who was staying on the territory of the country illegally and used to hold the position of the so-called state minister of the so-called Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, was detained at the Lachin border checkpoint. He was taken to Baku under the escort of members of the rapid response forces," the agency said in a statement.

The detainee was handed over to other government agencies so they make further decisions about his future, according to the statement.

Vardanyan’s wife Veronika Zonabend earlier confirmed reports that he had been detained.

Russian businessman Vardanyan co-founded Troika Dialog, Russia’s oldest brokerage, in 1991 and also served as the first president of the Moscow School of Management Skolkovo. In September 2022, he renounced his Russian citizenship and moved to Nagorno-Karabakh. Vardanyan was appointed the unrecognized republic’s state minister in November 2022 and was removed from the post in February.

https://tass.com/world/1681253

Israel strikes Hamas sites after border unrest leaves 11 Gazans wounded

IDF responds to 12th consecutive night of riots along security fence as Hamas seeks to draw attention to its economic woes and put pressure on foreign donors, experts say

Israeli airstrikes hit several targets in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, the IDF said, after Palestinian protesters flocked for the 12th straight day to the enclave’s frontier with Israel for demonstrations that have devolved into violent clashes with Israeli security forces.

There were no reports of casualties in Gaza from the Israeli airstrikes, but Palestinian health officials reported that Israeli forces shot and wounded 11 protesters during Tuesday’s rioting along the border.

The Israeli army said that it used a drone, helicopter and tank to strike multiple posts in northern and southern Gaza belonging to the Strip’s Hamas rulers in response to what it described as “violent riots” at the security fence between Gaza and Israel.

The protests involve Palestinians throwing stones and explosive devices, burning tires and, according to the Israeli military, shooting at Israeli soldiers.

Hamas, the terror group that seized control of Gaza in 2007, has said that young Palestinians have organized the protests in response to surging violence in the West Bank and alleged provocations in Jerusalem.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-strikes-hamas-sites-after-border-unrest-leaves-11-gazans-wounded/

Nurse Testifying To What COVID Patients Actually Died From

https://rumble.com/embed/v3imaum/?pub=4

James Biden confirmed to FBI family tried to help Chinese firm buy US energy assets

President's brother told agents Hunter Biden believe CEFC company was tied to China's president

President Joe Biden's brother told the FBI the first family – including Hunter Biden – tried unsuccessfully to help a Chinese company buy U.S. energy assets and did so believing the firm's leader was tied directly to Communist Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to explosive new documents made public Wednesday by the House Ways and Means Committee.

James Biden told the FBI in an interview last year about efforts by him and Hunter Biden to help the CEFC energy firm in China buy a liquid natural gas facility on Monkey Island off the coast of Louisiana, and that he personally met once with the company's chairman, Ye Jianming, according to the FBI interview report released by the committee.

"James B noted (Hunter) portrayed CEFC to him as Chairman Ye was a protégé of President Xi," FBI agents wrote in the report.

The bombshell revelation further contradicting President Biden's claim his family made no money from China was released as part of a cache of documents turned over to the committee by FBI whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Zielger.

James Biden said he assisted Hunter Biden in the dealings with CEFC, but they ultimately did not consummate the Monkey Island deal.

"James B recalled that the life changing meeting was the deal with Monkey Island. Monkey Island was off the coast of Louisiana near the Gulf of Mexico. James B stated that there was room for a port to be developed and that the properties were pre-approved," the FBi memo stated. "The island was 50-100 miles from the Gulf of Mexico and that there was a clear passage to offload and load gas. CEFC was supposed to buy it from Greg Michaels (“Michaels”) (the CEO and Owner in control of Monkey Island).

The president's brother also acknowledged he worked with the Louisiana state government to help get regulatory approval for the deal before it fell through.

"James B recalled talking with appropriate people in the governor’s office regarding the permits and recalled that it was supposed to be on a fast," the FBI memo stated,

https://justthenews.com/accountability/political-ethics/james-biden-confirmed-fbi-family-tried-help-chinese-firm-buy-us

China’s Tencent Profited Off Fraudulent PPP Loans

Tencent co-owned a main investor in startup that helped expedite COVID relief program loans

China’s Tencent profited off fraudulent federal COVID relief program loans, according to court records reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon.

The court records reveal that Tencent co-owned one of the main investors in Womply, a San Francisco startup that raked in $2 billion in 2021 by helping businesses get expedited Paycheck Protection Program loans—and which was accused of profiting from "rampant fraud" in the application process.

Tencent, which also owns WeChat and a large stake in the parent company of TikTok, has faced scrutiny by the U.S. government over national security risks. In 2021, the Trump administration issued an executive order banning transactions with Tencent due to its connections to the Chinese government. President Joe Biden rescinded the ban after taking office, but ordered a security review of the company's apps.

Tencent’s financial ties to Womply could raise new questions about abuse of the PPP program, despite efforts from lawmakers to prevent foreign entities from profiting. The Small Business Administration, which oversaw the disbursement of nearly $800 billion in taxpayer funds throughout the pandemic, estimates that more than $200 billion was awarded to "potentially fraudulent actors," according to a June inspector general report.

"Congress approved Paycheck Protection Program loans to prevent a recession from huge wave of layoffs—not to send taxpayer dollars to China," said Gabriel Noronha, a former State Department official who now serves as the executive director of the Polaris National Security think tank. "It’s unacceptable that the parent company of TikTok is making money off government fraud—especially when we’re in the middle of increasing debt and national security crises."

The news comes less than a year after the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis released a report detailing Womply’s failures to weed out blatantly bogus loan applications. Another investigation found that the company helped fast-track loans for fraudsters who used photographs of Barbie dolls and other false documentation to apply for the federal relief funds, according to the Messenger.

The findings led the Small Business Association, the agency that oversaw the PPP program, to suspend its work with Womply earlier this year.

Womply was founded by Toby Scammell, who was convicted of insider trading in 2014. The company "was responsible for handling eligibility and fraud verification for over a million PPP loans" from applicants looking to fast-track the process.

Womply pulled in over $2 billion in fees through its PPP work. But Womply’s lending partners told congressional investigators that the company’s fraud prevention practices appeared to be "put together with duct tape and gum," allowing "rampant fraud" into the PPP program.

https://freebeacon.com/national-security/chinas-tencent-profited-off-fraudulent-ppp-loans/

DHS stonewalls on legal basis for policing 'misinformation, disinformation, malinformation'

Group that filed FOIA requests and sued agency says nature of redactions shows it's "either overstating its authorities or it's abusing FOIA exemptions to avoid transparency."

The Department of Homeland Security is not only hiding the purported legal basis for its authority to police misinformation, disinformation and malinformation – the latter sometimes jeered as "true but inconvenient" – but also any explanation for invoking an unexpected Freedom of Information Act exemption to hide them.

Hastily stitched together 22 years ago to prevent another Islamic terrorist attack but since turning its sights on domestic political disputes, the agency gave Just the News a lengthy defense of its work against disinformation but not an answer to how disclosure of its "MDM Space" legal authorities would imperil law enforcement work.

The purported authorities are among nearly 1,700 pages of "heavily redacted" internal DHS documents related to the short-lived Disinformation Governance Board, according to the Americans for Prosperity Foundation, which obtained the documents by filed a Freedom of Information Act request and a lawsuit last year and has posted each new batch over the past nine months.

The agency also heavily redacted over 100 pages of internal communication between Nina Jankowicz, the board's executive director before it was disbanded last year, and her staff in response to another FOIA request. It hid most of the legal justifications and talking points DHS created to defend the board from "blowback."

That ongoing blowback, which ranges from the left-leaning ACLU to Republican lawmakers, is causing headaches for both agencies doling out misinformation grants and the academic institutions and researchers using them to study and shape messaging on elections, COVID-19, Hunter Biden and the environment among other subjects.

DHS redacted Disinformation Board emails despite claiming nothing to hide – Just the News NowJust the News Now with Madeleine Hubbard – March 29, 2023 DHS heavily redacted Disinformation Board emails despite claiming agency had nothing to hide Michigan

https://justthenews.com/government/federal-agencies/dhs-stonewalls-legal-basis-policing-misinformation-disinformation

Greg Reese: Whistleblower Claims Advanced Technology In Antarctica Can Cause Earthquakes!

https://www.bitchute.com/video/UeFBJPsMskq7/

Egyptian rights group says 73 supporters of a presidential challenger have been arrested

Egyptian authorities have detained at least 73 campaign volunteers for a challenger to incumbent President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi in the December election, a rights group said Tuesday.

The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights said the detainees were volunteers working for presidential hopeful and critic Ahmed Altantawy. The dozens of supporters face a variety of charges including joining a terrorist group — government parlance for the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood — and spreading false news. Seven of them remained in detention as of Monday, the group said.

Egypt’s chairman of the National Election Authority, Waleed Hamza, on Monday announced details of elections due by next year, saying the presidential polling would be held over three days in December. The outcome is widely anticipated to be a foregone conclusion in favor of the incumbent el-Sissi. The former defense minister has led the country since 2014 and has faced criticism from the West over his country’s human rights record and crackdown on political dissent.

Altantawy, who announced his candidacy in the spring of this year, is part of a small group of politicians who have stepped up to challenge el-Sissi. Altantawy is a former lawmaker who returned to Egypt from Lebanon in May, who has said he wants to provide a democratic alternative to el-Sissi’s government, describing its treatment of political opponents as unlawful and unjust.

Altantawy has previously complained that Egyptian security agencies have harassed his campaign staff and family, and also claimed that authorities have spied on him through cutting-edge technology.

El-Sissi led the military overthrow of an elected but divisive Islamist president in 2013 amid street protests against his one-year rule. Since then, authorities have launched a major crackdown on dissent. Thousands of government critics have been silenced or jailed, most of them Islamists but also many prominent secular activists, including some of those behind the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

El-Sissi was first elected in 2014 and then reelected in 2018 for a second four-year term. Constitutional amendments, passed in a referendum in 2019, added two years to his second term, and allowed him to run for a third, six-year term.

Other presidential candidates who have thrown their hat into the ring publicly include Abdel-Sanad Yamama, head of the Wafd party, one of Egypt’s oldest; Gameela Ismail, head of the liberal Dostour, or Constitution, party; and Farid Zahran, head of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party.

https://apnews.com/article/elsissi-altantawy-detained-president-election-674006af350ebb659e171fd82cebda65

J6 prosecutor arrested after allegedly stabbing motorist who crashed into him on Tampa bridge

Scruggs was arrested on charges of aggravated assault, aggravated battery, and armed burglary.

A US Attorney who previously appeared on behalf of the government in a January 6 case has been arrested after being accused of stabbing a motorist on an Old Tampa Bay bridge.

On Tuesday, Florida Highway Patrol said that a 40-year-old Tampa man and his 43-year-old wife were driving south on Interstate 75 when they came across a vehicle stopped in the travel lanes of the Howard Frankland Bridge around 9:24 am, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

The 35-year-old driver, also of Tampa, was seen slumped over in his vehicle, police said. The couple pulled in front of his vehicle to assist.

The 40-year-old man was unable to get inside the vehicle, so he walked back to his car for something that could break the window. During this, the 35-year-old woke up, accelerated forward into the couple’s vehicle, then backed up and attempted to get around their car.

The man, in his attempt to get around the car, crashed into 38-year-old Patrick Douglas Scruggs’ sedan as he was driving by the scene.

Highway Patrol said that Scruggs pulled over, got out of his car, and approached the driver of the vehicle that hit him. Scruggs allegedly broke a window and began stabbing the 35-year-old with a pocketknife.

The couple attempted to intervene, but were allegedly threatened by Scruggs with the knife.

A St. Petersburg Police Department officer driving by the scene pulled over to help, and detained Scruggs before calling for assistance.

The 35-year-old man was taken to a local hospital with injuries that were described as serious, but not life-threatening.

Scruggs was arrested on charges of aggravated assault, aggravated battery, and armed burglary. He was released from Pinellas County Jail on Tuesday night after posting $65,000 bail.

In one post viewed by the Tampa Bay Times that has since been removed, Tara Jex Iglinski said she saw the incident as it was unfolding.

Iglinski said she saw a man "holding the knife and I saw the arms of the guy sticking out the window like he was pleading for help- and his arms were all cut up," with accompanying photos showing a man holding a knife and standing next to the car, with the driver showing bloody arms.

https://thepostmillennial.com/j6-prosecutor-arrested-after-allegedly-stabbing-motorist-who-crashed-into-him-on-tampa-bridge

No Whites Allowed: S&P 100 companies adopt a secret “people of color only” policy…

Thanks to a shocking new report, it’s clear that S&P 100 companies have gone alarmingly anti-white and fully racist. How did this happen? What turned these US corporations into advocates for racism? Tracing it back, this disturbing shift has roots in the BLM riots following George Floyd’s death—a career criminal and drug addict, who threatened to murder a pregnant woman while his buddies ransacked and robbed her home. In the aftermath, BLM Marxists seized the national conversation, and pushed a false narrative about systemic “racism.” Corporate America responded with pledges for sweeping changes. According to this latest report, they’ve certainly made changes—by actively marginalizing white people in the workforce in an alarming way. Corporate America vowed to diversify like never before. And guess what? They weren’t just blowing smoke. New data shows that the S&P 100 companies made a whopping 300,000-plus hires over the past year, with a staggering 94 percent going to people of color.

Bloomberg:

The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission requires companies with 100 or more employees to report their workforce demographics every year. Bloomberg obtained 2020 and 2021 data for 88 S&P 100 companies and calculated overall US job growth at those firms.

In total, they increased their US workforces by 323,094 people in 2021, the first year after the Black Lives Matter protests — and the most recent year for which this data exists.

The overall job growth included 20,524 White workers. The other 302,570 jobs — or 94% of the headcount increase — went to people of color.

People of color make up a minority of the US population, and in most cases are underrepresented at big US companies. In 2021, Hispanic, Asian and Black people made up a vast majority of the added workers — a trend that, analysts say, is necessary to overcome their historic underrepresentation.

The biggest shifts happened in less-senior job categories. White people held fewer of those roles in 2021 than they did in 2020, whereas thousands of people of color were added to the ranks.

But the trend continued up the job ladder in top, high-paid jobs, too: Companies increased their racial diversity among executives, managers and professionals.

White people still hold a disproportionate share of the top, highly paid jobs in the US at S&P 100 companies. But the share of executive, managerial and professional roles held by people of color increased by about 2 percentage points compared with 2020 — more than double the average annual gains at big and mid-sized US companies in previous years.

It’s hardly a shock to see this trend unfold when you consider the climate we’re in. The current narrative gives a free pass to anti-white hate.

In February, conservative “Dilbert” creator Scott Adams found himself in hot water for discussing a troubling poll. The survey revealed that 26 percent of Black respondents disagreed with the statement, “It’s OK to be white.” As a result, numerous outlets severed ties with Adams, branding him as “racist” for merely spotlighting this deeply concerning view held by nearly 30 percent of the Black respondents. Just look at how the race baiters in the corporate media spun the story.

https://youtu.be/4L9-9H-uO3s

https://revolver.news/2023/09/no-whites-allowed-sp-100-companies-adopt-a-secret-people-of-color-only-policy/

https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/media-releases/all

Former Jacksonville Sheriff’s Officer Sentenced To More Than 11 Years In Federal Prison For Attempted Online Enticement To Engage In Sexual Activity With A Minor

https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/pr/former-jacksonville-sheriffs-officer-sentenced-more-11-years-federal-prison-attempted

Australia's causes of death report in graphs show full picture of COVID-19, heart disease and suicide

Data from the Australia Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has revealed COVID-19 to be one of the leading causes of death in 2022 in Australia.

It's the first time an infectious disease has been in the top five causes of death since 1970.

The latest causes of deaths report shows COVID-19 accounted for 9,859 of 190,939 deaths last year.

These were the top diseases in order of deaths:

COVID deaths have grown significantly since the disease first hit Australian shores.

Lockdowns kept Australia's COVID death toll low when compared globally, but from 2022 when borders were opened and the nation returned to business as usual, that number skyrocketed.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-27/abs-deaths-in-graphs-covid-heart-disease-suicide/102907992

FFS

Biden admin awards $1 billion to improve 'tree equity,' expand access to green spaces

"Trees make a difference," the USDA stated. "Studies show that communities with access to trees and green spaces are associated with improved health outcomes, reduced crime, lower average temperatures, and an influx of other kinds of investments and new economic opportunities."

The $1 billion in taxpayer dollars will be used for 385 grant proposals to "increase equitable access to trees and green spaces." The grants are funded through the administration's Inflation Reduction Act.

https://www.theblaze.com/news/biden-admin-awards-1-billion-to-improve-tree-equity-expand-access-to-green-spaces

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