Anonymous ID: 820104 Jan. 29, 2024, 1:52 p.m. No.20325593   🗄️.is đź”—kun   >>5604 >>5729 >>5856 >>5883 >>6059 >>6104 >>6153 >>6247 >>6263

Beware: Yellen's Treasury Expected to Borrow $1 Trillion Monday

 

This week is a big one including an FOMC announcement. Something equally big on the Treasury side is also due this week; The Treasury’s Quarterly Refunding Announcement (QRA) is made. In the past these were not that exciting. But, given the fiscal dominance propping the economy and the deficit spending it invites, this is now very important. The last QRA announcement October 30th, 2023, had a large impact on all markets as Michael Hartnett explains.

 

Hartnett's QRA Take

The Bond and Stock rally from November 1 to Dec 31 were in large part a result of Yellen’s last QRA announcement. Michael Hartnett notes that in his most recent Flow Show report below. First Hartnett told us what was behind the November and December Bond rally:

 

From Hartnett: Gold Inflows are Back, "Baby Bubble" Thesis Update

 

Oct 30th Q4 US Treasury QRA (Quarterly Refunding Announcement… $776bn vs consensus was $852bn) was the catalyst for epic Wall St rally… yields sank from 5% to 4%, SPX 4.1k to 4.8k…

 

Here is what happened back then to Bonds, Stocks, and Gold

 

Bonds stopped cratering, then ramped higher the rest of the year…

 

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2024-01-28/beware-yellens-treasury-expected-borrow-1-trillion-monday

Anonymous ID: 820104 Jan. 29, 2024, 1:56 p.m. No.20325609   🗄️.is đź”—kun   >>5624

This is EPIC

 

Man: No new wars! We’re done with the military-industrial complex!

 

Haley: None of us want new wars.

 

Man: We know where your money comes from, Nikki! We know! We’re sick of the wars, and we want America First!

 

https://youtu.be/7zbl55npZSg

Anonymous ID: 820104 Jan. 29, 2024, 2:19 p.m. No.20325749   🗄️.is đź”—kun   >>5807 >>5856 >>6059 >>6104 >>6153 >>6247 >>6263

DEVELOPING: Biden DOJ Serves House Sergeant at Arms with Grand Jury Subpoena

 

Biden’s Justice Department on Monday served the House Sergeant at Arms a grand jury subpoena for documents.

 

“House of Representatives Sergeant at Arms William McFarland announced his office was served a grand jury subpoena by the Justice Department, sparking a wave of theories on social media Monday afternoon,” Newsweek reported.

 

“McFarland formally notified House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, of a subpoena on Monday,” according to Newsweek.

 

It is unclear what the subpoenaed documents are related to or what the grand jury is investigating.

 

“This is to notify you formally pursuant to rule 8 of the rules of the House of Representatives that the office of the sergeant at arms for the House of Representatives has been served with a grand jury subpoena for documents issued by the U.S. Department of Justice,” House Reading Clerk Susan Cole said on Monday.

 

Some speculated the grand jury subpoena is related to the January 6 Capitol protest.

 

“I am hearing other potential reasons for this but Rep. Loudermilk did say his committee wanted to interview Paul Irving, Pelosi’s sergeant at arms on Jan 6 who resigned the next day. (The committee has not yet interviewed him)” investigative reporter Julie Kelly said.

 

“Irving and Michael Stenger, McConnell’s SAA, repeatedly denied requests for National Guardsmen on Jan 6 including on that day.” Julie Kelly said. “As I said, this could relate to something else but since DOJ is involved it is safe to assume a sinister purpose.”

 

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/01/developing-biden-doj-serves-house-sergeant-arms-grand/

Anonymous ID: 820104 Jan. 29, 2024, 2:27 p.m. No.20325777   🗄️.is đź”—kun   >>5856 >>6059 >>6104 >>6153 >>6247 >>6263

Fiji hit by sex scandal as Australia's eSafety Commissioner orders removal of 'intimate images'

 

When Fiji's Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka took office more than a year ago, dealing with a sex scandal involving two of his ministers would have been at the very bottom of a list of potential threats to his government.

 

But for the past week in Fiji, it's all people are talking about — and depending on who you talk to, some say it has become so serious that Mr Rabuka's hold on power is on a knife's edge.

 

Add in the fact it's a scandal involving Mr Rabuka's education minister and former son-in-law, a fellow minister and former beauty queen, leaked text messages — that the accused say are "fake" — and "intimate photos", and you have the type of plot usually reserved for make-believe political dramas.

 

"This story has got the potential to rock [Fiji's] coalition government," former Fiji resident and Victoria University of Wellington comparative politics Professor Jon Fraenke told the ABC.

 

"Some individuals have been shocked and horrified by this story.

 

"But for me, I do think [these] kinds of things are best kept out of politics."

 

Affair 'fake news'

An island nation of just under 1 million, Fiji is deeply religious with entrenched socially conservative family values. Yet its recent history is also shrouded by military-backed coups.

 

After 16 years under the draconian reign of coup-leader Frank Bainimarama, Mr Rabuka came to power in late 2022 through a democratic vote.

 

Some believed it would be the start of a new dawn for the country as it moved away from autocratic rule and the army's overt influence in the country's politics.

 

But Mr Rabuka, a former coup leader himself, was forced to piece together a rag-tag coalition of three parties with often conflicting social and political ideals.

 

And these differing views have been on full-display over the past week as the scandal engulfed the island nation's political debate.

 

The incident itself dates back to August.

 

It is alleged that during a parliamentary study trip to Melbourne sponsored by Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs, Fiji's then-education minister, Aseri Radrodro, a married man, had an affair with the country's Minister for Women and Children and former beauty queen Lynda Tabuya.

 

Ms Tabuya has denied the allegations, labelling them "fake news".

 

But late last week the scandal crossed borders.

 

On Friday Australia's eSafety Commissioner became involved, ordering the Australian-hosted website Grubsheet Feejee to remove intimate pictures allegedly taken of Ms Tabuya during the alleged tryst.

 

Ms Tabuya last week told local Fiji media that the texts and inappropriate images circulating on social media were fabricated. She said she has filed a complaint with the Fiji Police who she says have been helping her remove the images from online sources.

 

The ABC has contacted both Ms Tabuya and Mr Radrodro for comment.

 

But there's more.

 

Last week Mr Rabuka removed Mr Radrodro from his cabinet, accusing him of insubordination for firing board members of Fiji's National University without his knowledge.

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-30/fiji-sex-scandal-ministers-australia-e-safety-commissioner/103400102

Anonymous ID: 820104 Jan. 29, 2024, 2:34 p.m. No.20325799   🗄️.is đź”—kun   >>5856 >>6059 >>6104 >>6153 >>6247 >>6263

Put nuclear weapons in Cuba – Russian MP

 

Aleksey Zhuravlev has suggested that Moscow should deploy missiles in “friendly” countries

 

Russia should place its nuclear weapons in “friendly countries” near the US in response to Washington’s alleged plans to move its own tactical arms to Europe, lawmaker Aleksey Zhuravlev has suggested.

 

His comments came after The Telegraph reported on Saturday that the US is looking to deploy its nuclear weapons in the UK for the first time in 15 years, in order to counter a supposedly increased threat from Russia.

 

In a post on Telegram, Zhuravlev, who is first deputy chairman of the Russian parliamentary defense committee and leader of the Rodina (Motherland) party, pointed out that Britain has its own nuclear weapons, and that the US has already deployed part of its atomic arsenal to several European countries close to Russia.

 

“Therefore, it’s unlikely that additional deployment [of nuclear weapons to the UK] would have an effect on the military-political landscape,” Zhuravlev surmised.

 

Nevertheless, the politician suggested that Moscow should consider deploying its own nuclear weapons closer to the US and send them to “friendly countries like Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua.”

 

Zhuravlev admitted, however, that weapons systems have made a big leap in the years since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. “Russian hypersonic missiles launched from our territory would reach the US faster than subsonic ones launched from the American underbelly,” the MP wrote.

 

He also pointed out that Russia has strategic aviation as well as a vast arsenal of submarines stationed in unknown locations around the world’s oceans.

 

“We have ways to respond to any encroachments by the US and NATO, which it controls,” Zhuravlev said.

 

https://www.rt.com/russia/591482-russia-nuclear-weapons-us/

Anonymous ID: 820104 Jan. 29, 2024, 3:02 p.m. No.20325903   🗄️.is đź”—kun

Lendlease whistleblower and lawyer Tony Watson – the law is failing to protect whistleblowers

 

Recently, the Human Rights Law Centre reviewed every whistleblower case to go to judgment in Australia. They found no successful judgment in favour of a whistleblower under our public or private whistleblower regimes.

 

Last year was not a good year for whistleblowers in Australia.

 

In March, the South Australian District Court ruled that whistleblower protections for making public interest disclosures do not extend to conduct preceding the making of the disclosure. In gathering evidence, Richard Boyle allegedly taped private conversations and photographed taxpayer information.

 

In August, the Full Federal Court ruled that I am not entitled to protection under Australia’s current whistleblower laws, which commenced on 1 July 2019, even though I made protected disclosures after the law commenced and started my case in April 2022.

 

And in November, David McBride pleaded guilty in the ACT Supreme Court to stealing and disclosing Commonwealth property after his public interest defence was ruled unavailable. McBride had leaked information to journalists highlighting the intensive investigation of soldiers in combat.

 

This inaccessibility of whistleblower protections continues a regrettable trend in Australia, but it should not be so.

 

Importance of whistleblower role

It is in everybody’s interest that we protect those who call out wrongdoing. Professor AJ Brown, Professor of Public Law and Policy at Griffith University and a Board member of Transparency International, appeared before the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Ethics and Professional Accountability on October 6th, 2023. Professor Brown said:

 

“Since I last appeared before this committee in 2017, we have certainly completed a lot more research which confirms that whistleblowing is the single most important and significant way in which wrongdoing comes to light…It does not matter which industry or which sector of the economy, or which institutions, we are talking about.”

 

We know that the best defence, and the best deterrent, against wrongdoing of all types is the whistleblower. Unsurprisingly then, our current whistleblower laws were introduced in 2019 amid much fanfare. Scores of politicians spoke of the importance of whistleblowing, and the strength and efficacy of today’s laws.

 

So what has gone wrong? Either the courts are failing to interpret the legislation properly, or, if the courts’ constructions are fine, it must be that something has gone wrong with the drafting.

 

Australia’s courts have emphasised that protective and beneficial legislation (like whistleblower laws) should be construed liberally, having regard to its underlying objectives. So, as far as possible,

 

protection of whistleblowers should be found and provided, rather than undiscovered and denied, given the mischief and the remedy at which the legislation is directed.

 

Following my loss in the Federal Court as to whether I am protected by today’s Whistleblower Laws, the Federal Court eviscerated my statutory claims against Lendlease and PwC, so that my sole remaining statutory claim is in s1317AD of the Corporations Act as it existed at 30 June 2019.

 

My issue is that s1317AD, as it stood on 30 June 2019, was repealed on 1 July 2019. In other words, the Federal Court has reversed the repeal legislated by the Government.

 

https://michaelwest.com.au/lendlease-whistleblower-finds-no-justice/

Anonymous ID: 820104 Jan. 29, 2024, 3:09 p.m. No.20325942   🗄️.is đź”—kun   >>5945 >>6059 >>6104 >>6153 >>6247 >>6263

CAUGHT: US Border Patrol Makes Migrant Exchange near Eagle Pass, Texas

 

Witnessing a live migrant exchange is a stark reminder of the complex and challenging issues surrounding immigration policies. The unmarked van’s clandestine drop-off, captured in real-time, raises questions about the transparency and effectiveness of current border control measures. The scenes unfolding near Eagle Pass, Texas, underscore the need for comprehensive and humane solutions to address the ongoing immigration challenges.

 

https://citizenwatchreport.com/caught-us-border-patrol-makes-migrant-exchange-near-eagle-pass-texas/

 

https://youtu.be/GBq1x8DLqVI

Anonymous ID: 820104 Jan. 29, 2024, 3:58 p.m. No.20326183   🗄️.is đź”—kun   >>6247 >>6263

UN workers helped Hamas kidnap Israelis – NYT

 

The allegations that led nearly a dozen countries to suspend aid payments to UNRWA remain unverified

 

Several aid workers with the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA helped kidnap Israelis and arm Hamas during its attack on October 7, the New York Times claimed on Sunday citing the contents of a secret Israeli government report.

 

The dossier allegedly details Israel’s claims about twelve UNRWA employees said to be involved in the raid. Seven were teachers with the agency and two more worked at its schools in other capacities, while the other three were a clerk, social worker, and storeroom manager. Ten of the workers were also allegedly members of Hamas, whose civilian wing remains the legally-elected government of Gaza despite its classification as a terrorist group by West Jerusalem, while another was said to be affiliated with Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

 

A school counselor from Khan Younis supposedly worked with his son to kidnap an Israeli woman, while a social worker from Nuseirat reportedly removed a dead Israeli soldier’s body back to Gaza and helped distribute vehicles and ammunition ahead of the raid. Another three men allegedly received text messages summoning them to meeting points on October 7, with one ordered to bring rocket-propelled grenades.

 

Two US officials told the New York Times that while they had been briefed on the Israeli allegations, they had not verified the details. Washington was nevertheless first to cut off UNRWA’s funding on Friday, followed by Canada and over half a dozen more on Saturday.

 

Because UNRWA lacks any emergency cash reserves, it may have to curtail the vital services it provides to some 5 million Palestinians starting in February. The funding cutoff comes at a precarious time for Gaza’s residents, many of whom already face hunger and starvation. Over 85% of them have been displaced from their homes since the war began, according to the UN.

 

Israel’s accusations came just days after the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to take action to prevent genocide in Gaza, including by allowing more aid deliveries to reach the territory’s besieged residents. While the ruling indicated the court found South Africa’s genocide case against Israel to have some merit, it stopped short of issuing an immediate demand for a ceasefire.

 

https://www.rt.com/news/591499-unrwa-helped-hamas-israel/

Anonymous ID: 820104 Jan. 29, 2024, 4:02 p.m. No.20326197   🗄️.is đź”—kun   >>6208 >>6233 >>6246 >>6247 >>6263 >>6281

Texas Meteorologists Believe Mysterious Blob Spotted on Radar Was Military “Chaff”

 

Meteorologists in Northern Texas were baffled last week when their radar systems detected a thinly-shaped blob drifting across the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

 

The National Weather Service reported its radar systems picked up a strange blob sweeping over the Dallas Fort Worth area despite it not raining.

 

After further examination, the National Weather Service of Fort Worth stated that their “best guess is chaff.”

 

The NWS continued, “The military will sometimes run exercises where they release chaff, and it’s completely harmless. But it definitely shows up on radar as it is quite reflective.”

 

Chaff is a “radiofrequency countermeasure released by military aircraft, ships, and vehicles to confuse enemy radar.”

 

Chaff was first used on the battlefield during Operation Gomorrah in Germany and notably used the day before D-Day.

 

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/01/texas-meteorologists-believe-mysterious-blob-spotted-radar-was/

 

Disease X?