https://www.rt.com/news/623395-cia-russiagate-fired-intel/

Top CIA analyst behind Russiagate loses her job – Economist

The officer played a key role in claims that Moscow meddled in the 2016 election in favor of Trump

One of the CIA’s most senior Russia analysts has lost her job during President Donald Trump’s campaign to depoliticize the intelligence services, The Economist reported on Thursday.

The officer, whose identity was not disclosed, oversaw the drafting of a report accusing Russia of interfering in the 2016 US presidential election in favor of Trump.

The Economist described her as “the country’s top intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia,” who coordinated operations related to the former Soviet Union. According to the outlet, her security clearance was revoked on August 19, along with those of 36 other current and former officials.

The Kremlin denied the allegations of election meddling, while Trump and the Republicans denounced them as a “hoax” by former President Barack Obama and the Democrats to delegitimize Trump’s first election victory and undermine his presidency.

Since mid-July, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has released multiple documents that she claims expose a coordinated effort by senior Obama-era officials to falsely accuse Trump of colluding with Russia.

Earlier this week, Gabbard announced that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which oversees 18 agencies, will be reduced by nearly 50%. The US intelligence community has become “plagued with unauthorized intelligence leaks, politicization, and weaponization of intelligence,” she said.

Gabbard also said the Foreign Malign Influence Center (FMIC), created by Congress in the wake of the Russiagate allegations, will be significantly scaled back and stripped of some of its core functions.

https://www.rt.com/news/623454-china-decries-uk-embassy-construction-decision-postponement/

China’s ‘super embassy’ in London sparks spy panic

The British authorities have reportedly demanded that Beijing explain “greyed out” areas in the layout of the massive compound

Plans for China’s so-called “super embassy” in London have been delayed after UK officials demanded clarification over “greyed-out sections” of its design and Beijing refused to disclose further details, according to the Financial Times. China has slammed the move.

The project, dubbed a “super embassy” in British media, would be the largest such compound in Europe. It has faced multiple bureaucratic setbacks since Beijing first applied for a permit in 2022.

On Saturday, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in the UK voiced “serious concern” over the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s postponement, saying Beijing had followed all “customary diplomatic practices” and relevant procedures in its application and had provided comprehensive answers to the questions posed by British officials.

“It is an international obligation of the host country to provide support and facilitation for the construction of diplomatic premises,” the spokesperson stated, noting that the UK is also planning to erect a new building for its own embassy in Beijing.

On Friday, the Financial Times reported that Beijing had refused to “identify… the rationale and justification” for the “greyed out” Cultural Exchange Building and Embassy House in the compound layout, despite a request from Housing Secretary Angela Rayner.

Chinese officials said Wednesday they did not deem it “necessary or appropriate to provide full internal layout plans… in order to understand what has been permitted,” according to the FT.

The Ministry of Housing soon thereafter said it would delay the decision on the application until October 21.

China bought the five-acre Royal Mint Court site near the Tower of London in 2018. Beijing has since sought to build an embassy complex there, which is expected to be ten times larger than the diplomatic mission’s current premises. Aside from the main building, it would encompass offices, 225 homes, and a cultural exchange center, according to media reports.

Critics have argued that China could use the “super embassy” for covert surveillance activities.

In recent years, London and Beijing have repeatedly traded allegations of espionage.

https://americafirstreport.com/commiefornia-high-speed-rail-boondoggle-considers-screwing-over-merced-to-keep-the-zombie-project-going/

Commiefornia High-Speed Rail Boondoggle Considers Screwing Over Merced to Keep the Zombie Project Going

California’s ongoing “zombie program” of high-speed rail is considering skipping a city that has been planning for a station for years.

Merced, a city with nearly 100,000 residents, is not happy. Mayor Matthew Seratto says the people have been planning for the potential boost to the city for a long time and now their dreams are being quashed.

“It’s a big impact. I mean, we’ve had a lot of been a lot of expectation, a lot of planning, a lot of people have bought property intending to develop it. We have a whole area around that, the station, which, you know, is ripe for transit-oriented development as well and for a lot of economic development. So, you know, could really have a significant negative impact if it doesn’t, you know, if it doesn’t arrive,” Serratto said.

According to Your Central Valley:

A new report released by the California High Speed Rail Authority gives new insight into the profitability of the current project and what routes the project could take first.

Some of the new proposals include the possibility of not bringing the rail to the City of Merced.

“I think we were a little surprised, taken a little off guard by it,” Merced Mayor Matthew Serratto said.

He said over the past few years, they’ve had a close working relationship with high-speed rail officials, making some of the proposals included in Friday’s report that much more of a shock.

The report looks at a few different options, starting with the current Merced to Bakersfield plan. In that section of the report, the HSRA said, “This specific scenario would not achieve a positive profitable outcome.”

It then goes on to show other options, including a few where, instead of going to Merced with high-speed rail, they connect Madera to Gilroy. Those scenarios offer service to Merced with regional railways.

Billions have already been wasted on the project, which many are saying has been a government money-laundering scheme for decades.