The CFR LOVES Domestic Propaganda!
The former editor of Time / former Undersecretary of State for Public Policy thinks the US government propagandizing its own citizens is just fine and dandy. And where did he deliver these remarks? At the CFR, of course!
https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/the-cfr-loves-domestic-propaganda/
New EU internet copyright laws will give US web giants a huge financial advantage and subject Europeans to mass surveillance, data privacy expert warns
The EU has approved new copyright rule which protects content being shared
It forces tech giants such as Google to pay publishers and artists for their work
Copyright expert Cory Doctorow warned it would make US tech firms overmighty as smaller companies relied on their filtering software
A leading authorities on online data privacy has warned new EU copyright regulations will give US tech firms money and data from hobbled European rivals.
Yesterday the EU has adopted copyright reforms championed by the media despite opposition from Google and campaigners saying it restricts internet freedom.
The reform, which got final approval from the European Council on Monday, was loudly backed by news publishers and artists who want protection over their content being shared.
But German Data Privacy Commissioner Ulrich Kelber, who is also a computer scientist, warned before the measure passed that its Article 13 will exacerbate the problem of market concentration in the tech sector, and expose Europeans to particular risk of online surveillance and manipulation.
Article 13 requires that online communities, platforms, and services prevent their users from committing copyright infringement, rather than ensuring that infringing materials are speedily removed.
In an official statement on the Directive, Kelber warned it would lead to the use of automated filters, which would be powered by the industry's largest firms, since they have the resources to build and run the software.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6926293/New-EU-internet-copyright-laws-web-giants-huge-financial-advantage.html
DEBANKING: Chase Bank Says “moral character” a Reason Why They Don’t Do Business with “those types of people”
Man’s Chase Payment Processing Shut Down, Suspects Political Targeting of Provocative Conservative Merchandising
Chase Bank Unable to Produce Reason for Account Termination
Chase Corporate Global Media Relations: “Chase is not involved with any like, you know, alt-right people”
Other Conservative Voices and Chase Bank Customers Also ‘Debanked’ Recently
(Washington DC) Project Veritas has released a video report (the full 10 minute version can be found below) about a man whose Chase bank account was shut down without being given a reason. The report, which includes testimony from Enrique Tarrio, the man whose Chase account was terminated, features undercover video of conversations with bank professionals discussing the account’s closure.
Said Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe,
“Are there unwritten Chase policies that Mr. Tarrio and others were in breach of? ‘Debanking’ appears to be a new frontier in American politics.”
Insiders can contact Project Veritas here.
Before the account’s termination, Tarrio, whose website sells provocative conservative merchandise, spoke to Chase bank professionals. Tarrio says that phone operators for Chase were unable to explain why his business account was being terminated.
Conversations in various Chase bank offices were recorded and provided to Project Veritas.
Multiple Chase account and bank managers were unable to assist Tarrio, saying that inquiries regarding the closure of his business account would have to be directed to the “executive office.”
Said one of the Chase bankers, Marcel Smith:
“I see nothing that indicates any reason why the account should be closed, I don’t see any outstanding transactions or anything ridiculous.”
Chase bank typically gives its customers a reason for account closures, says Smith:
“I’ve never seen them not give a response to someone whose account they had closed.”
An analyst from the Chase executive office, Nora, told Tarrio that his account was being closed for various clerical issues. In a phone conversation with Nora, which was published by Project Veritas, Tarrio clarifies there were no clerical issues.
“The Right Relationship is Everything”
Undercover audio from a conversation with a Chase employee working in Chase Corporate Global Media Relations reveal that Chase bank makes political judgments about their customers.
JOURNALIST: I don’t want to do business with anyone who does business with Steve Bannon, or any of these alt right people, and that’s just one of my prerequisites.
CHASE: Right, right. As far as I’m concerned, we’re not connected with Steve Bannon.
JOURNALIST: Do you have standards in place that would preempt such relationship with anyone, um of Steve Bannon’s –
CHASE: Oh definitely. Definitely, definitely.
JOURNALIST: That’s what I’m calling to inquire about. Tell me more.
CHASE: Right so I mean, Chase is not involved with any like, you know, alt right people or anything. I really can’t name names but it’s basically like we don’t get involved with any of that…
JOURNALIST: … I don’t expect for you guys, I’m not talking about who you guys give money to –
CHASE: No, just any business relationships, period.
JOURNALIST: Really? Okay… So I mean on my end I’m talking about people like Trump supporters for instance. The MAGA, whatever – make, whatever the hell they, those types of people, I mean individuals –
CHASE: Right, right. I know what you mean, but like I said the call is being recorded, monitored, so I can’t get too political. And say I don’t support these people, or this, but you know, any kind of business entity, people like that, no moral character or anything like that, the bank usually doesn’t get involved with that.”
Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe believes that transparency could clear up issues like Mr. Tarrio’s. In order to investigate more issues, Project Veritas receives tips from insiders in technology, government, education, and other professional fields here.
https://www.projectveritas.com/2019/04/16/debanking-chase-bank-says-moral-character-a-reason-why-they-dont-do-business-with-those-types-of-people/
Ukraine Presidential Election: Group Of People With Machine Gun Detained Near Zelensky’s Home
A group of 3 “criminals” was detained near a home of “one of the candidates for the President of Ukraine”, Anton Gerashchenko, a member of the Council of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, reported last night.
He provided no details into the “candidate”, who had been threatened, but the provided location of the incident confirms that this was an area near the home of the presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelensky, who is expected to achieve victory over the current Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko in the upcoming second round of the presidential election.
https://southfront.org/ukraine-presidential-election-group-of-people-with-machine-gun-detained-near-zelenskys-home/
Judicial Watch Sues FBI For Records of Communications and Payments to Dossier Author Christopher Steele
Conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch filed a lawsuit against the FBI on Tuesday for records of communications and payments to dossier author Christopher Steele.
Judicial Watch filed the lawsuit after the FBI failed to respond to a September 27, 2018, FOIA request (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 1:19-cv-00572)).
Judicial Watch is seeking:
All records of communications between any official, employee, or representative of the FBI and Mr. Christopher Steele, a former British intelligence officer and the owner of the private firm Orbis Business Intelligence.
All records related to the proposed, planned, or actual payment of any funds to Mr. Steele and/or Orbis Business Intelligence
All records produced in preparation for, during, or pursuant to any meetings or telephonic conversations between any official, employee, or representative of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Mr. Christopher Steele and/or any employee or representative of Orbis Business Intelligence
The time frame for Judicial Watch’s request is March 9, 2017 to September 27, 2018.
Former British spy Christopher Steele was paid by Hillary Clinton and the DNC [through law firm Perkins Coie and oppo research firm Fusion GPS] to compile a 35-page Russia dossier to smear Donald Trump.
The dossier, which still has not been verified was then used by Obama’s FBI and DOJ to obtain a FISA warrant and three subsequent renewals to spy on Trump campaign advisor Carter Page.
The FBI also paid Steele to be a “confidential human source” [CHS] prior to firing him as a source on November 1st, 2016 after he disclosed his relationship to the FBI to reporters.
Documents previously obtained by Judicial Watch revealed the FBI made a total of 11 payments to Christopher Steele, however, the docs were almost completely redacted.
Other heavily redacted documents recently obtained by Judicial Watch revealed that twice-demoted DOJ official Bruce Ohr acted as a backchannel for Steele to the FBI after the bureau terminated its relationship with Steele.
“How and why did the FBI pay Christopher Steele, who was already being funded by the Clinton campaign and DNC through Fusion GPS?” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “That we had to sue for this basic information shows the FBI may have something more to hide.”
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/04/judicial-watch-sues-fbi-for-records-of-communications-and-payments-to-dossier-author-christopher-steele/
We’ve Gone Through The Looking Glass
“It is almost unbelievable that the Democrats and their media adjunct are trying to deny that the Obama administration spied on the Trump presidential campaign. Are they unaware of the multiple FISA warrants obtained to spy on Carter Page? Do they not know that the fake Fusion ‘dossier’ was the basis for those FISA warrants, thus eliminating any question about whether the point was to spy on the Trump campaign? Are they unaware of many news reports of federal agencies recruiting multiple human intelligence assets to report on the Trump campaign? And if they are aware of those generally-acknowledged facts, what on God’s green Earth are they talking about? The issue has almost become one of epistemology. The Democrats and the liberal press are committed to a narrative that turned out to be wrong. Nevertheless, facts that run counter to the cherished narrative somehow turn into a ‘debunked conspiracy theory.’”
Well.
https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/weve-gone-through-the-looking-glass/
Saudi Arabia, Israel, US All Sought Bashir’s Ouster: So How Real Was the Sudan Revolution?
Last week’s events in Sudan appear to be yet another example of foreign governments manipulating real dissent against an authoritarian government in order to install yet another authoritarian government more friendly to their interests but to the detriment of the people.
KHARTOUM, SUDAN — Last Thursday, the decades-long rule of Sudan’s president Omar al-Bashir came to an end, as the country’s long-time leader was ousted in a military coup that followed months of protests against his rule, which began in 1989. Bashir’s overthrow was widely hailed in the U.S. as a “revolution” brought on by a people-powered movement, in which women played a prominent role. Indeed, the symbol of this recent “revolution” has become 22-year-old student Alaa Salah, after a picture of her speaking to a crowd went viral last Tuesday, with some in international media dubbing her “Sudan’s statue of liberty.”
Given the intense news cycle that occurred last week — from Israel’s elections, to the Trump administration’s troubling declaration aimed at Iran’s military, to the recent arrest of Julian Assange in Ecuador’s London embassy — little international attention was paid to last week’s military coup in Sudan. For many, last week’s events seem simply the logical conclusion of months of protests aimed first at rising food prices and subsequently at Bashir’s nearly thirty-year rule. Yet, the reality of what has recently transpired in Sudan could not be further from that assumption.
While Bashir’s lengthy rule over Sudan has been filled with many despotic, authoritarian actions and state-sponsored violence over the years, and while many Sudanese citizens were likely all-too-eager for a change in government, powerful forces — the United States among them — had long sought Bashir’s ouster for other reasons, much of their motive linked to the country’s oil reserves.
https://www.mintpressnews.com/saudi-arabia-israel-us-all-sought-bashirs-ouster-how-real-was-sudan-revolution/257417/
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Though the planned “quick and graceful” exit of Bashir did not materialize as planned, the Obama administration notably played an outsized role in partitioning Sudan into Sudan and South Sudan in 2011, a decision that resulted in Sudan’s government losing access to 80 percent of its oil resources as well as in the brutal civil war still raging within South Sudan. The partition undeniably weakened Sudan’s economy and government, the effects of which are still very much felt today.
A major motivator in the U.S.’ efforts to partition Sudan into two countries was the prospect of gaining a foothold in its oil sector, which China had come to dominate. Yet, China’s dominance in Sudan and South Sudan’s oil economy remains unchallenged to date.
Notably, while the U.S. has had difficulty making inroads in South Sudan’s oil sector, Israel quickly forged ties with South Sudan’s government soon after its creation and signed a major oil deal with its government in 2013. Media reports on the deal claimed that Israel’s growing ties with South Sudan were aimed at weakening the Bashir-led government in Sudan. The same year this oil deal was signed, the U.S., Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar were accused of orchestrating a “color revolution” against Bashir that failed to secure his removal from power.
Since then, U.S. involvement in efforts targeting Bashir’s rule have been mostly covert and achieved through “soft power” organizations aimed at “democracy promotion,” such as the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the National Endowment for Democracy NED).
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WiFi Being Removed from Schools Worldwide
Schools Worldwide Removing the Wi-Fi and Reducing Exposure
This page hosts a running list of INDIVIDUAL schools that have removed Wi-Fi or reduced Wi-Fi radiation. The information is divided into country/state government action on public schools first and then a list of private schools. Scroll down for the list.
Please note that the countries of Cyprus, France, Belgium and Israel are among the countries that have banned Wi-Fi in classrooms for young children and/or taken major measures to reduce radiation exposure.
Learn more about government and country action here. Learn more about PTAs and Teacher Unions taking action here.
In 2017, the Maryland State Children’s Environmental Health And Protection Advisory Council issued first ever Recommendations for Wired Internet In Schools and Minimizing RF Classrooms:
The Maryland State Children’s Environmental Health and Protection Advisory Council (CEHPAC) issued a Report advising the Department of Education to recommend local school districts reduce classroom wireless radiation exposures by providing wired—rather than wireless—internet connections.
Introductory information for teachers and decision makers includes:
New Jersey Education Association “Minimize health risks from electronic devices” Article, PDF of Recommendations
Read a the Santa Clara Medical Bulletin article by Dr. Cindy Russell on Schools and Wireless
EHT’s Briefing on Wireless Radiation and Children’s Health
Safe Schools 2012, Wi-Fi in Canadian Schools: A Health and Safety Issue
Best Practices
Upper Sturt Primary School WiFi and Cell Phone Policy: A great example of policy independant schools can practically implement.
Collaborative for High Performing Schools Low EMF Criteria/Blueprint For Schools: This criteria gives plans to school on how to reduce and eliminate exposures.
Medical Recommendations
Connecticut Department of Health, Vienna Medical Association, Cyprus Medical Association, Athens Medical Association, Child and Youth Service Geneva Switzerland, EMF Scientist Appeal
https://ehtrust.org/schools-worldwide-removing-wifi-reducing-exposure/
Instagram Blocks Iran Revolutionary Guard Pages After US Terror Listing
Instagram has begun blocking pages belonging to Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) following the organization's official listing as a “Foreign Terrorist Organization”, or FTO on Monday.
The commander of the IRGC's elite Quds force, Qassem Soleimani, finally had his page blocked following this week's designation. He had maintained the account for two-and-a-half years, for which he frequently posted anti-American political messages and threats. And the IRGC's official page was also blocked, which had nearly 1 million subscribers.
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-04-16/instagram-blocks-iranian-guards-pages-after-us-terror-listing
Trump May Regret His Fed Takeover Attempt
Some things are too important to leave to politicians. One such thing: the money supply. That’s why the Federal Reserve is an independent agency, at least in theory.
Presidents like this arrangement because it lets them disclaim responsibility when the Fed does something unpopular. But that only works if the president doesn’t even try to assert control. Trying to influence the Fed, as Trump is doing, has three possible outcomes—and two of them are bad for Trump. Either…
He fails to influence the Fed and makes himself look impotent, or
He succeeds in influencing the Fed and takes blame for its mistakes, or
He succeeds in influencing the Fed and the economy grows.
Other presidents have tried this, and it didn’t end well.
Not So Independent
Trump had the chance to make a quick impact by filling several Federal Reserve Board vacancies in his first two years. He didn’t seize that opportunity. That was unfortunate. The Fed needs broader representation. It shouldn’t be all bankers and economists. And that isn’t just my personal preference.
The Federal Reserve Act orders presidents to nominate Fed governors with “due regard to a fair representation of the financial, agricultural, industrial, and commercial interests, and geographical divisions of the country.”
Presidents of both parties have long ignored this law, and senators let them do it. Now bankers run the Fed, supported by PhD-holding economics professors. We have seen the results. I think some more diversity would make the Fed work better.
Trump seems to agree, but he has a different kind of diversity in mind. He wants to add Herman Cain and Stephen Moore to the Fed board. Either would certainly bring a new perspective, but not the kind the law requires.
Cain and Moore would not represent “agricultural, industrial, and commercial interests.” They would represent partisan political interests, and specifically those of President Trump.
Again, I don’t expect saint-like neutrality. Everyone has opinions. But the US has plenty of thoughtful, well-educated people who would do their best to consider the data and make good policy decisions.
Cain and Moore aren’t in that category. They’ve already decided what monetary policy they want. And (surprise!) it’s exactly what President Trump wants: lower interest rates.
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-04-16/trump-may-regret-his-fed-takeover-attempt