Shifty Schiff Obtained Rudy Giuliani’s Phone Records A Day After AG Barr and US Attorney Durham Traveled to Rome – What Was He After?

Representative Adam Schiff from California reported earlier this week that he had obtained the phone records of President Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani. The date of the phone records shows as September 30th. This also happens to be the Monday after the weekend that AG Barr and his US Attorney Durham went to Rome. What was Schiff after?

We discussed AG Barr’s and US Attorney John Durham’s meetings with Italians earlier this year. Bloomberg had reported:

Italy’s spy chief Gennaro Vecchione met twice in August with U.S. Attorney General William Barr and prosecutor John Durham to help an investigation into the scandal involving President Donald Trump’s possible ties to Russia, one of Italy’s leading newspapers reported.

The first meeting took place on Aug. 15 at the U.S. Embassy in Rome, according to an article published Sunday by La Repubblica newspaper. The second happened on Aug. 27 and involved Vecchione, the head of Italy’s Department of Information Security, as well as the chiefs of Italy’s internal and external security agencies.

Both meetings were authorized by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, Corriere della Sera reported earlier this week…

…During the first meeting, Barr and Durham asked Vecchione to reveal the whereabouts of Maltese professor Joseph Mifsud, according to La Repubblica…

…According to La Repubblica, Barr and Durham also demanded proof that Italy, led at the time by Matteo Renzi, took part in the international conspiracy to discredit Trump’s campaign. In an interview published Sunday by La Stampa, Renzi dismissed the allegation as a “farce” and says he never met Mifsud.

At the Aug. 27 meeting with Barr and Durham, the heads of Italy’s security services had nothing to say to support the theory, according to La Repubblica — despite Vecchione’s initial promises.

We don’t know where the August 27th meeting took place but later Jeff Carlson at the Markets Work reported that AG Barr and US Attorney Durham traveled to Rome on August 15th and September 27th –

John Durham, the U.S. attorney tasked with investigating the origins of the FBI’s counterintelligence investigation into the Trump campaign in 2016, is expected to seek an interview with former CIA Director John Brennan and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper following an expansion of his investigation.

It was reportedly the meetings Durham and Attorney General William Barr recently had in Rome—where they obtained new evidence—that were the impetus for the broadening of the scope of the probe.

According to Fox News’ Catherine Herridge, her sources told her that Durham is now “very interested to question” Brennan and Clapper.

According to Herridge, the meetings “took place on Aug. 15 and Sept. 27, 2019, in Rome,” and that it was during one or both of these trips, that Barr and Durham “gathered new evidence.”

Ironically, Representative Adam Schiff reported this past week phone records related to President Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani recorded on the Monday after Barr and Durham’s trip to Italy, Monday September 30th, 2019.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/12/exclusive-shifty-schiff-obtained-rudy-giulianis-phone-records-a-day-after-ag-barr-and-us-attorney-durham-traveled-to-rome-what-was-he-after/

Unhinged Harvard Lawyer Noah Feldman Helped Launch Facebook Content Oversight Board — Which Explains Why Pro-Trump Publishers Were Censored to Oblivion

Facebook has been shutting down traffic to conservative websites since the 2016 election.

The fact that Facebook is targeting conservative publishers should not be a surprise to Gateway Pundit readers.

We have been reporting on this for two years now.

In July 2018 we released a study where we looked at several top conservative websites and discovered that the publishers had lost an average of 93% of their Facebook traffic.

This is a bloodbath. Facebook wiped out conservative content to American users.

In 2016 suburban voters and women would check their Facebook pages and see conservative news. That is no longer the case. And on Tuesday these voters chose Democrats.

Facebook wiped out conservative publishers. Americans will no longer see articles from conservative websites even if you follow them. Facebook took advertising dollars from all of these businesses and then changed their business plan after the 2016 election to help Democrats.

It’s working.

Facebook was able to eliminate conservative content – and conservative content to suburban voters in the midterm elections.

This helped Democrats tremendously.

On Thursday unhinged and irate Harvard Law Professor Noah Feldman went before the House Judiciary Committee for several hours to rant against Donald Trump and push for his impeachment.

Feldman is a committed Never-Trumper and has been lashing out against the Republican president since at least 2017.

Noah Feldman appeared with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in a video on censorship in July.

Zuckerberg announced that Feldman was helping Facebook with censorship and content governance.

Facebook is using this unhinged Trump-hating loon to held them with content oversight.

This helps explain the elimination of conservative content on Facebook.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/12/unhinged-harvard-lawyer-noah-feldman-helped-launch-facebook-content-oversight-board-which-explains-why-pro-trump-publishers-were-censored-to-oblivion/

China Repeats US Must Reduce Tariffs For "Phase One" Trade Deal

Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesman Gao Feng confirmed to reporters on Thursday what the Global Times had already leaked previously, namely that tariffs must be reduced by the US to reach a phase one trade deal, reported Reuters.

"The Chinese side believes that if the two sides reach a phase one deal, tariffs should be lowered accordingly," Feng told reporters.

His comments were a reiteration of Beijing's hard stance of tariff rollbacks in the last month or no phase one trade deal. Feng said both trade teams are in communication, but didn't say if the trade talks were going well.

Completion of a phase one deal was expected last month before the next round of US tariffs kick in on Dec. 15. The latest comments coming from Beijing and the Trump administration suggests the prospects of an interim deal might be pushed out to sometime in 2020.

On Tuesday, President Trump said a trade deal with China could occur after the 2020 election.

"In some ways, I like the idea of waiting until after the election for the China deal, but they want to make a deal now and we will see whether or not the deal is going to be right," Trump said.

Then on Wednesday, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokeswoman Hua Chunying said: “We do not set a deadline for reaching an agreement or not."

“Our attitude has always been clear, that is, consultations must be based on equality and mutual respect, and that the outcome must be mutually beneficial and acceptable to both sides,” Chunying said. “We hope that some people in the U.S. will earnestly heed the call of its people.”

Despite both trade teams at a standstill over "core issues of concern," the recent Hong Kong and Uighur bill has made the probabilities of an interim deal less likely in 2019, as tensions between both countries continue to escalate.

CNBC's Eunice Yoon on Wednesday tweeted:

"My sources here say #China thought it had an agreement in principle on tariff rollback in early Nov but President Trump backed away from it. So unclear how “close” two sides really are. 🤔 @business U.S., China Move Closer to #Trade Deal Despite Harsh Rhetoric."

Then Fox Bussiness released a headline on Wednesday describing how both trade teams haven't spoken in eight days, which contradicts Trump's comments earlier in the week that he's been in constant contact.

None of this mattered to algos who BTFD based on an anonymous report from Bloomberg which said nothing new but merely sparked optimism that a deal may happen even though we are now just 10 days away from the Dec 15 tariff deadline.

Meanwhile, Trump rolling back tariffs for an interim deal without addressing core intellectual property and technology transfer issues is likely not going to happen, which means the trade war could easily escalate rapidly in just 11 days.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/china-says-us-must-reduce-tariffs-phase-one-trade-deal-amid-stalled-talks

Russia ready to extend New START arms control treaty without conditions and further discussions – Putin

Moscow is ready to extend the last major nuclear arms control treaty, without conditions or discussions, President Vladimir Putin said as he reiterated Russia’s position on the New START treaty which expires in 2021.

“Russia is ready to immediately, as soon as possible, before the end of the year, extend the New START treaty without any preconditions, so that there would be no double, triple interpretation of our position later. I’m saying this officially,” the Russian president pointed out.

The New START treaty, which obliges Moscow and Washington to reduce the number of its strategic nuclear missile launchers by half, was signed in April 2010. The agreement expires in February 2021, but there’s an option for it to be extended until 2026.

Russia has already filed all the paperwork needed to begin talks on extending the treaty, but the US has not reacted to the proposal. Moscow is concerned that the Trump administration is willing to ditch New START, just like it did with the INF deal.

The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty banned Russia and the US from the fielding ground-based missiles with a range of between 500km (310 miles) and 5,500km (3418 miles) in Europe, and was the cornerstone of security on that continent since 1987. The US’ unilateral withdrawal from the deal left Russia with no choice but to abandon it as well, raising fears of a new arms race between the two countries.

https://www.rt.com/news/475121-new-start-treaty-expand-russia-putin/

Italy: 32 members of Nigerian organized crime outfits arrested

Police in Italy arrested 32 alleged members of two Nigerian organized crime outfits during coordinated operations in the southern province of Bari on Tuesday.

Most of the arrests are said to have been made at Cara of Bari-Palease, a reception center for migrants and asylum seekers. Those arrested are accused of participating in two distinct mafia-type criminal organizations with cult-like characteristics, La Gazette del Mezzogiorno reports.

Both organizations are accused of having been involved in criminal activities like drug dealing in prostitution for a long time in the region.

“This was an operation against the Nigerian mafia with the highest number of people [Nigerian mafia members] arrested in Italy,” the police said in a statement.

Italian police also confirmed having arrested 27 alleged members of a separate Nigerian crime syndicate with links to the illicit sale of drugs in the province of Trento.

The sweeps were conducted throughout a number of Italian provinces in coordination with Interpol’s German, Dutch, French, and Maltese divisions. Those arrested have been charged with crimes like sexual assault, extortion, slavery, organized prostitution, and illegal migration.

In October, Voice of Europe reported on the spread of groups associated with the Nigerian mafia throughout the continent. In Sweden, a Nigerian voodoo cult known as Black Ax has managed to gain footholds in most of the country’s main cities.

Black Axe, an organization known for drug running, human trafficking, torture, and using strange dark occult rituals, has also put down roots in Italy, Canada and elsewhere in Europe.

https://voiceofeurope.com/2019/12/italy-32-members-of-nigerian-organized-crime-outfits-arrested/

Hackers 'looking to weaponize Facebook Ad Manager' via trojan hidden in PDF reader

Self-professed “ethical hacker and reverse engineer” Vitali Kremez has discovered a new trojan, dubbed ‘Socelars’, which could be used to hack Facebook Ad Manager accounts, further endangering advertising on the platform.

Security researcher Kremez discovered that the trojan (a type of malware which misleads users as to its true purpose) had been surreptitiously distributed through a fake PDF editor called “PDFreader.” Once deployed, the trojan then steals Facebook session cookies from Chrome and Firefox and then connects them to other Facebook URLs.

“I assess this might be only the beginning of the evolution of this type of malware targeting ad and social media providers,” Kremez told BleepingComputer.com

The data at risk includes everything from email addresses, session cookies and access tokens to account ids, credit card details, Paypal emails, ad balances and spending limits for Facebook ad campaigns. After being harvested, the data is then transmitted back to the hackers' control server.

https://www.rt.com/news/475104-hackers-weaponize-facebook-ad-manager/

Nearly 30,000 failed asylum seekers have returned to Germany after being deported

Tens of thousands of failed asylum seekers who were forced to leave Germany have made it back to, and living in the country once again.

A total of 28,283 migrants who applied for asylum in Germany since 2012 have made their way back to Germany, despite having been previously deported. Around 5,000 migrants have returned multiple times after they had been denied asylum, Die Welt reports.

About 1,023 migrants currently living in Germany have already applied for asylum at least four times. Another 294 have applied at least five times.

In response to these new revelations, Chair of the Interior Committee in the Bundestag Andrea Lindholz (CSU), said: “Any violation of an existing entry ban, which is basically imposed after deportations, must end immediately in detention.”

Since 2010, Germany has accepted more than two million migrants.

About 40 percent of all welfare recipients in German are foreigners, costing German taxpayers more than 4 billion euros each month.

In the year 2040, over one third (35 percent) of Germany’s population is expected to be made up migrants or those with migrant roots, Voice of Europe reported last month.

https://voiceofeurope.com/2019/12/nearly-30000-failed-asylum-seekers-have-returned-to-germany-after-being-deported/

House Judiciary Committee: Next Impeachment Hearing on Same Day as IG Report

The House Judiciary Committee said Thursday that it will hold its next impeachment inquiry hearing on Monday, the same day that the Justice Department inspector general’s Russia probe report is scheduled for release.

The announcement comes after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) directed the panel, chaired by Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), to begin drawing up articles of impeachment over President Donald Trump’s actions toward Ukraine. Pelosi argued the president’s July 25 telephone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was an abuse of power that undermined U.S. national security. A partisan CIA analyst’s mischaracterization of the call — in which the president floated the idea of Ukraine probing allegations of corruption against former Vice President Joe Biden — was detailed in a “whistleblower,” later prompting the inquiry.

“The facts are uncontested: the president abused his power for his own personal, political benefit at the expense of our national security, by withholding military aid and a crucial Oval Office meeting in exchange for an announcement of an investigation into his political rival,” Pelosi said in a press conference.

On Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee heard from four law professors on the merits of whether to impeach the president. Monday’s hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. EST and feature presentations from Democrat and Republican counsels on the House Judiciary and Intelligence panels.

Meanwhile, the White House appears unphased by Pelosi’s announcement, and instead, said the House Democrats should be ashamed of themselves for moving forward with impeachment.

“@realDonaldTrump has done nothing but lead our country – resulting in a booming economy, more jobs & a stronger military, to name just a few of his major accomplishments,” White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham wrote on Twitter. “We look forward to a fair trial in the Senate.”

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/12/05/house-judiciary-committee-announces-impeachment-hearing-on-same-day-ig-report-will-drop/

RELEASE IT NOW

Farage suffers HUMILIATION as Brexit Party MEPs quit to back BoJo’s Tories

Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage has been dealt a hammer blow with just a week to go until polling day, after three of his MEPs, including Jacob Rees-Mogg’s sister, Annunziata, resigned to back the Tories in the general election.

Annunziata Rees-Mogg, salmon tycoon Lance Forman, and Yorkshire and Humber MEP Lucy Harris announced their resignations from Farage’s party on Thursday. They follow John Longworth MEP who was recently kicked out of the party for “repeatedly undermining” their election strategy.

Making the announcement on social media, the defectors explaining their decision insisted that if the Brexit Party competed in Labour-held constituencies against the Tories then they risk “splitting the ‘Leave’ vote and allowing a Corbyn coalition into government.”

They encouraged Brexit Party supporters to now switch their votes to PM Boris Johnson’s Conservatives.

Farage has hit out at his former colleagues, saying that he had been left “disappointed.” He claimed that they didn’t seem to understand his party were helping to hammer Labour in their “traditional heartlands” in northern England.

A Brexit Party spokesperson also took a swipe at the defectors, saying that they noted that “one of the MEPs is the sister of a cabinet minister [Jacob Rees-Mogg], another has a partner who works in the office of the same cabinet minister, and yet another is a personal friend of both Boris Johnson and Michael Gove.”

Farage announced in November that his party would not contest the 317 constituencies held by the Tories after previously stating that they intended to fight for every seat available. The move angered many of his own prospective candidates who were stood down, while others like Longworth wanted Farage to abandon the project altogether for the benefit of getting Brexit done.

https://www.rt.com/uk/475097-farage-rees-mogg-sister-quits/

70 Current and Ex-Labour Staff Give Testimony to Party Antisemitism Investigation

Seventy current and ex-Labour staffers have given testimony to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) investigation into antisemitism in the Labour Party.

The sworn statements form part of a submission by the Jewish Labour Movement seen by the BBC.

The EHRC announced that it was going to open an investigation in May into whether the party, led by far-leftist Jeremy Corbyn, had “unlawfully discriminated against, harassed, or victimised people because they are Jewish”.

The Jewish Labour Movement, which has been affiliated with the party for a century, has asked the commission to look into Labour’s handling of antisemitism investigations.

In recordings uncovered in April 2019, Mr Corbyn was heard to have admitted that evidence of antisemitism handed to the party may have been “mislaid, ignored or not used”.

The JLM submission says antisemitism in the party has become “pervasive”. The group wants Labour to admit it is “institutionally antisemitic” and that it must reform.

Details of the allegations in the submission seen by The Guardian include victims of antisemitic abuse. One individual detailed that they had experienced 22 incidents online from Labour members and in person at party meetings. Some of the abuse included being called “Zio scum”, a “Tory Jew”, a “child killer”, and being told that “Hitler was right”.

The submission also alleges Corbyn’s office interfered in antisemitism disciplinary processes, saying it was a “frequent occurrence” for staff from the leader’s office to ask to see copies of complaints and to give recommendations on disciplinary actions.

Jeremy Corbyn denied the accusations, saying: “I do not interfere with cases and… it is an independent process.”

The 70-year-old socialist added: “I deeply regret that there is any antisemitism within our society and obviously I regret the way in which some people have been hurt by it.”

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/12/05/70-current-ex-labour-staff-give-testimony-party-antisemitism-investigation/

Network of Mexican Cartel Smuggling Trails on Texas Soil, Says Border Patrol Supervisor

MADERO, Texas — Breitbart News followed Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol agents into the brush to explore a busy network of Gulf Cartel smuggling trails on the U.S. side of the Rio Grande. The tour of the trails by a Border Patrol supervisor came during a river patrol that led to the apprehension of three Chinese nationals.

While conducting a tour of the Rio Grande, McAllen Station riverine agents received a call about a group of migrants being smuggled across the river from Mexico. Breitbart News Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow and Border and Cartel Chronicles Projects Director Brandon Darby followed the agents into the brush where they witnessed the rough network of cartel smuggling pathways on U.S. soil.

“This is a cartel trail — in Texas,” the Border Patrol supervisory agent explained. “This is what they utilize to smuggle their goods, whether it is narcotics or aliens.”

The agent explained that various smuggling groups in Mexico pay the cartel for the right to cross their cargo across the river in this region.

“The cartel has full authority of what can come in and out,” the agent said. “Whatever has been paid is what’s coming through. This is their trail — this is an alien smuggling organization’s trail.”

“Connected to the cartel?” Darby asked.

“Connected to the cartel,” the agent responded. “Because the cartel allows them to use it.”

The referenced cartel it the Reynosa faction of the Gulf Cartel. Border Patrol officials previously told Breitbart News that this transnational criminal organization controls all smuggling routes through this area. This faction is covered frequently by Breitbart Texas and the Cartel Chronicles project.

The veteran agent explained that cartel gatekeepers on the south side of the river control when and where select smugglers are allowed to cross. He said a network of scouts on the Texas side of the river track Border Patrol activity and provide intelligence information to the cartels on when it might be safe to cross.

“These trails have got some work,” Marlow commented after observing the maturity of the trails.

“They’re heavily used,” the agent replied.

Darby asked if local residents have access to this area. “This is a park, it is federal land,” the agent said. “It’s highly unlikely as it’s fairly dangerous down here. If you’re a local, you really have no business down here.”

Marlow asked the agent about the likelihood of detecting the smugglers. “We have sensors and ‘Drawbridge’ cameras. They’ll notify the agents on the boats and we’ll get behind them and try to catch what we can.”

Operation Drawbridge is a Texas Department of Public Safety border security program that provides technology and manpower to assist the federal government’s efforts to secure the border.

The agent explained the Reynosa faction of the Gulf Cartel utilizes juvenile smuggling guides to move the migrants through the thick brush. He said the U.S. cannot prosecute foreign juveniles so they return multiple times.

“The best thing we can do is get a paper trail on them for smuggling and when they turn 18 possibly prosecute them,” he stated. The agent said the guides range in age from 12 to 17.

During this boat tour of the Rio Grande, a smuggling incident took place. Breitbart News witnessed the apprehension of three Chinese nationals and the arrest of their U.S. citizen alleged smuggler who picked them up after they made their way through these very trails.

The boats operated by these Border Patrol riverine agents are owned by U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Air and Marine Operations McAllen Branch.

https://www.breitbart.com/border/2019/12/05/exclusive-video-network-of-mexican-cartel-smuggling-trails-on-texas-soil-says-border-patrol-supervisor/

France adopts resolution equating 'anti-Zionism' with 'antisemitism'

France's parliament voted late on Tuesday to adopt a definition of anti-semitism that includes anti-Zionism, prompting angery from activists who believe it will restrict legitimate criticisms of Israel.

French lawmakers adopted the controversial bill, which was tabled by Paris MP Sylvain Maillard from Emmanuel Macron's La Republique en Marche centrist party, with 154 votes against 72.

The resolution adopts the definition issued by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), which states that some criticism of Israel could be anti-semitic.

"Anti-Zionist acts can sometimes obscure anti-semitic realities," the resolution says.

"Criticising the very existence of Israel as a collective composed of Jewish citizens is tantamount to hatred towards the Jewish community as a whole; just like collectively holding Jews accountable for the policies of the Israeli authorities is an expression of antisemitism," it adds.

"Such abuses increasingly make anti-Zionism 'one of the contemporary forms of antisemitism' in the words of the president of the republic."

The resolution, like the IHRA definition, is careful to state that "pointing out such abuses in no way prevents otherwise free criticism of the Israeli government's policies and positions".

Critics - which include the government's human rights watchdog the Commission nationale consultative des droits de l'homme - believe this claim is questionable.

Dozens of Jewish intellectuals slammed the new French bill saying it "delegitimises the legitimate act of criticising the state of Israel", France 24 reported.

James Cohen, a Jewish professor at the Université Sorbonne Nouvelle Paris was one of 127 signatories of the petition, which he dubbed as "problematic".

"[…] by equating antizionism with anti-Semitism, you're broadening the definition of antisemitism too much […] you're going very far afield," he said in an interview to France 24.

"Some of the people out there who oppose the policies of the state of Israel, who may even oppose the existence of the state of Israel, might also be anti-Semitic […] but that should not delegitimise the legitimate act of criticising the policies of the state of Israel," he added.

"And when it comes to the existence of the state of Israel, there are questions that need to be asked whether a one-state solution or a two-state solution could be viable. Why should this discussion not be open?"

https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2019/12/4/france-adopts-resolution-equating-anti-zionism-with-antisemitism

Buffalo Bishop Resigns Over Sex Abuse Cover-Up

The Catholic Church in America is suffering yet another in a series of seemingly never-ending crises stemming from the Church's rampant mishandling of sex abuse and misconduct claims. But finally, it looks like one of the biggest problems for the church's image in New York State has just stepped aside: The New York Times reports that Bishop Richard Malone of Buffalo has resigned after weeks of pressure from inside and outside his diocese, which is one of the largest in the US, with 600,000.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/buffalo-bishop-resigns-over-sex-abuse-cover

San Francisco Public Toilets at $28.50 a Flush

Welcome to the People's Republic of San Francisco, where socialist planning is always expensive–and doesn't work.

San Francisco officials have declared the recent test run of keeping the city’s Pit Stop public toilets open all night a success. The cost to the city is about $28.50 per flush and the city doesn't even wipe your butt for you at that price.

“This is not complicated. When people have access to a clean, safe restroom, they will use it,” Mayor London Breed said last week when she announced the city would continue to keep the three Pit Stops used in the test open all night until July of 2020 while officials consider expanding the program to other locations, reports The San Francisco Chronicle.

“We should open all of them downtown, in my district, 24 hours,” said Supervisor Matt Haney, where the sidewalks are often used as the current pit stop public toilet.

Not complicated? Open them all (at $28.50 a flush)?

Read on.

Public Works has estimated that keeping all 24 of the city’s Pit Stops open around the clock would cost an extra $8.25 million a year. A funding source has not been identified.

Notes The Chronicle:

Staffing is the primary cost. The attendants ensure the public bathrooms are kept safe, clean and used for their intended purpose. History has shown that without attendants, public toilets in some of San Francisco’s most challenging neighborhoods are used for drug activity and prostitution, and become targets of vandalism…Two-member teams staffed the toilets during the overnight hours. Just one attendant staffs them the rest of the time.

But it does not appear that SF sidewalk poopers are willing to walk far for these toilets, or maybe even go through the hassle of opening the Pit Stop door.

The Chronicle again:

[F]rom mid-August through mid-November…according to Public Works logs, the three toilets were used a total of 10,518 times between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., when they would normally have been closed…

[Though] there was a reduction in demand for [sidewalk] cleanups, that reduction doesn’t appear to be all that great…

In the quarter-mile radius around the Tenderloin Pit Stop, calls [for sidewalk cleanups] went from 188 in the three months prior to the test to 176 during the three-month test — that’s a drop of four calls per month.

Calls for cleanups in the quarter-mile radius around South of Market Pit Stop dropped to 166 from 190 — eight fewer per month. Calls in the quarter-mile around the Castro Pit Stop dropped from 68 to 61, less than three per month.

https://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2019/12/san-francisco-public-toilets-at-2850.html

Netanyahu: Iran’s aggression growing ‘but it’s empire is tottering’

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met in Lisbon on Wednesday where they spoke about the threat of Iran, Reuters reports.

“Iran’s aggression is growing but its empire is tottering. And I say, let’s make it totter even further,” Netanyahu said.

A senior Pentagon official said on Wednesday that there were indications that Iran could potentially carry out aggressive actions in the future, amid simmering tensions between Iran and the United States.

Tensions in the Gulf have risen since attacks on oil tankers this summer, including off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, and a major assault on energy facilities in Saudi Arabia. Washington has blamed Iran, which has denied being behind the attacks on global energy infrastructure.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20191204-irans-aggression-growing-but-its-empire-is-tottering-netanyahu/

Now they tell us! Peace processors say enabling Israel settlements has been US policy for 4 decades

What do Paul Wolfowitz, Dan Kurtzer, Aaron Miller, and Prince Andrew have in common?

These four privileged older white guys have all sought (and been granted) exposure in the corporate media recently. Paul Wolfowitz, one of the prime architects and advocates of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, was given this fine platform on the NYT’s opinion page in order to criticize Pres. Trump’s recent decision to withdraw (or later, reduce/redeploy) the U.S. troop presence in Syria. Dan Kurtzer and Aaron Miller, two of the leading “peace processors” guiding U.S. policy on Palestine and other Middle Eastern issues for 24 years, 1992-2016, were given this platform on the Washington Post, to comment on Trump’s policy on Israel’s illegal settlement. As for Prince Andrew, you may have heard he gave this disastrous interview to the BBC, discussing his ties to the late Jeffrey Epstein.

What struck me, however, was not that these four guys got the media coverage they sought (though more of that, in re Wolfowitz, below.) Rather, it was what they all failed to say in these media appearances. That is, not one of them said a single word about the great suffering their past actions had inflicted on vulnerable subaltern groups, or expressed sympathy with those who experienced that suffering, or took any responsibility for having inflicted it in the first place.

No, for all four of these guys, what they wanted to express in their media appearances was all about themselves. A scintilla of human sympathy for the victims of their own past acts? No, no, no.

I truly have nothing I want to say about Prince Andrew except to point out that his behavior is yet another fine argument for the ending of the very anachronistic institution known as a monarchy. The others deserve a bit more attention.

https://mondoweiss.net/2019/12/now-they-tell-us-peace-processors-say-enabling-israel-settlements-has-been-us-policy-for-4-decades/

A Second Whistle Blown On The OPCW’s Doctored Report

Another whistleblower leak has exposed the fraudulent nature of the Organization for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) report on the alleged chemical weapons attack in the Syrian city of Douma, close to Damascus, on April 7 last year.

The first leak came from the Fact-Finding Mission’s engineering sub-group. After investigating the two sites where industrial gas cylinders were found in Douma and taking into account the possibility that the cylinders had been dropped from the air it concluded that there was a “higher probability” that both cylinders were placed at both sites by hand. This finding was entirely suppressed in the final report

The engineering sub-group prepared its draft report “for internal review” between February 1-27, 2018. By March 1 the OPCW final report had been approved, published and released, indicating that the engineers’ findings had not been properly evaluated, if evaluated at all. In its final report the OPCW, referring to the findings of independent experts in mechanical engineering, ballistics and metallurgy, claimed that the structural damage had been caused at one location by an “impacting object” (i.e. the cylinder) and that at the second location the cylinder had passed through the ceiling, fallen to the floor and somehow bounced back up on to the bed where it was found.

None of this was even suggested by the engineers. Instead, the OPCW issued a falsified report intended to keep alive the accusation that the cylinders had been dropped by the Syrian Air Force.

Now there is a second leak, this time an internal email sent by a member of the Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) on June 22, 2018, to Robert Fairweather, the British career diplomat who was at the time Chief of Cabinet at the OPCW, and copied to his deputy, Aamir Shouket. The writer claims to have been the only FFM member to have read the redacted report before its release. He says it misrepresents the facts: “Some crucial facts that have remained in the redacted version have morphed into something quite different from what was originally drafted.”

The email says the final version statement that the team “has sufficent evidence to determine that chlorine or another reactive chlorine-containing chemical was likely released from the cylinders is highly misleading and not supported by the facts.” The writer states that the only evidence is that some samples collected at locations 2 and 4 (where the gas cylinders were found) had been in contact with one or more chemicals that contain a reactive chlorine atom.

“Such chemicals,” he continues, “could include molecular chlorine, phosgene, cyanogen chloride, hydrochloric acid, hydrogen chloride or sodium hypochlorite (the major element in household chlorine-based bleach.” Purposely singling out chlorine as one of the possibilities was disingenuous and demonstrated “partiality” that negatively affected the final report’s credibility.

More

https://popularresistance.org/a-second-whistle-blown-on-the-opcws-doctored-report/

Liberal Tim Pool Sees Possible Civil War: Democrats Engaged In SHOCKING Corruption, Spying On Republicans And An American Journalist

Democrats Engaged In SHOCKING Corruption, Spying On Republicans And An American Journalist. In the Democrats impeachment report they published private phone records for their chief political opponent in the impeachment inquiry Devin Nunes and a private American journalist John Solomon.

The impeachment inquiry in Trump is failing and Adam Schiff has become so desperate that he has resorted to somehow obtaining private phone details for his rivals and an American journalist. In response a media that loves to bend over backwards for Democrats pushes the narrative that Schiff asks for. That the journalist is corrupt and lying for Trump and that Nunes was involved in the Ukraine Scandal with Trump.

Devin Nunes has launched a 435$ Million suit against CNN for publishing a false story that he met with Ukrainian Prosecutor Viktor Shokin. Nunes published photos showing him in other countries including Malta.

Media companies have continually hired former intelligence officials and even Democratic operatives. Their allies in media know exactly what to say and how to say it.

Impeachment backfired on Democrats so now they are pulling out all the stops to spin absurd stories smearing republicans and journalists. This shows us a dark future as norms and rights are being violated in the name of political power

https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/liberal-tim-pool-sees-possible-civil-war-democrats-engaged-in-shocking-corruption-spying-on-republicans-and-an-american-journalist/

Heroin addicts in San Diego are dying from flesh-eating bacteria infections

San Diego County health officials are warning about potentially lethal flesh-eating bacteria infections contracted through black tar heroin drug use after nine people were diagnosed with severe myonecrosis.

Seven of them died from their infections.

San Diego County chief public health officer Dr. Wilma Wooten issued a warning in a statement on Wednesday that added that some users are also developing wound botulism.

"People who use black tar heroin are not only at higher risk of dying from an overdose, but also more prone to developing myonecrosis and wound botulism," said Wooten.

The San Diego Union Tribune described the horrific symptoms of a myonecrosis infection:

Symptoms of myonecrosis include severe pain in the area around a wound or injection site; swelling in the area around a wound; pale skin that quickly turns gray, dark red, purple or black; blisters with foul-smelling discharge; fever; air under the skin; excessive sweating; and increased heart rate.

A myonecrosis infection can lead to shock, amputations and even death if left untreated.

Five of the people who died were men, and the patients ranged from 19 to 57 years old.

County health officials warned the local medical community to look for symptoms of myonecrosis and wound botulism.

http://www.domigood.com/2019/12/heroin-addicts-in-san-diego-are-dying.html

Israel: Netanyahu ex-attorney to be charged with bribery, money laundering

Israel announced that it will likely indict seven high-ranking former Israeli officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s former attorney David Shimron, with bribery and money laundering in connection with the $2 billion submarine bribery scandal.

Among those facing charges in the case, known as Case 3000, are former chief of the Israeli Navy, Eliezer Marom, David Sharan – a former Netanyahu adviser who once headed Netanyahu’s office – and former minister Eliezer Sandberg.

The case involves the decision to acquire submarines and boats from German shipbuilder Thyssenkrupp Corporation in 2016, which led to an inquiry followed by a criminal investigation.

It involves two deals signed by Israel and the German shipbuilder Thyssenkrupp, one involving the purchase of three submarines for €1.5 billion ($1.67 billion), the other involving the purchase of missile boats for protecting gas drilling platforms, a deal worth €430 million ($477 million).

Prosecutors allege Israeli officials were bribed to push the massive deals.

Israeli police announced in November 2018 it had enough evidence to charge a number of suspects, including Shimron, who is also Netanyahu’s cousin.

Shimron represented the German firm involved and was suspected of using his influence over the prime minister in return for a major cut in the deal.

Miki Ganor, a former agent in Israel for Thyssenkrupp, who is being charged with bribery, money laundering and tax offenses, is suspected of paying Shimron a total of $75,400 to promote the Israeli naval purchases from Thyssenkrupp.

He also allegedly paid Sandberg more than $27,900 for advancing Ganor’s interests as the shipbuilder’s representative in Israel.

Some have called it the largest suspected graft scandal in the country’s history.

The indictments will be handed down pending a hearing, according the Times of Israel.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20191205-israel-netanyahu-ex-attorney-to-be-charged-with-bribery-money-laundering/

Lawmakers Want Answers on Report US May Send 14,000 More Troops to Middle East

Lawmakers called on Defense Secretary Mark Esper to clarify whether the Pentagon is considering sending as many as 14,000 U.S. troops to counter Iranian threats in the Middle East.

A Wall Street Journal report, published Wednesday, said the Defense Department is weighing an increase in force posture, but Pentagon spokeswoman Alyssa Farah tweeted that the article was inaccurate.

"To be clear, the reporting is wrong," Farah said Wednesday. "The U.S. is not considering sending 14,000 additional troops to the Middle East."

But lawmakers want to be sure.

During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Thursday, Republican Sens. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Josh Hawley of Missouri repeatedly grilled Under Secretary of Defense for Policy John Rood about the news report.

"Are you considering sending more troops to the Middle East?" Blackburn asked.

"We're concerned about the threats that we're seeing," Rood said, adding that Pentagon officials plan to brief lawmakers next week in a closed-door session about Iran's activities in the region.

When again pressed by Blackburn on whether the Pentagon is considering sending additional troops, Rood responded: "Yes."

"Is 14,000 the correct number or is there a lesser number?" she asked.

"[Esper] has not made any decisions," Rood said. "[He] continues to evaluate with the advice of others what the appropriate number of forces to be deployed to the Middle East is. … Based on what we're seeing with … the threat picture, it is possible we would need to adjust our force posture."

However, Hawley was dissatisfied with the answer, asking for a yes or no response.

Rood reiterated that the Pentagon has not made a decision and frequently reassesses troop numbers. But Hawley defended The Wall Street Journal report, saying it is clear the Pentagon is indeed considering the action.

"What you're telling me now is that [Farah] misspoke," Hawley said. "I think at this point it would be helpful to hear from [Esper] on this issue, and I'd like to hear from him today on this issue."

He added, "Some clarification is in order, and I'd like to have it in public, because now the Pentagon has made multiple, public contradictory statements."

The point of contention lies with how many troops are needed to deter Iran's antagonistic actions in the Middle East at a time when DoD officials have made clear that the Pentagon's focus should turn to aggressors such as Russia in China, as part of the National Defense Strategy (NDS).

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/12/05/lawmakers-want-answers-report-us-may-send-14000-more-troops-middle-east.html

WHO DESPERATELY WANTS A WAR????

Iranian Unrest: Cover-Up Of Mass Killings Or Infowar Conspiracy?

Media pushes forth the weaponized narrative putting the blame on Iranian authorities

The Mainstream Media is pushing forth the weaponized narrative that the Iranian government is carrying out a cover-up of mass killings that supposedly occurred during its recent unrest, though this is nothing more than an infowar conspiracy designed to make the majority of the non-violent citizens that participated in the large-scale protests suspicious of the state as well as further discredit the country’s international reputation.

Amnesty International scandalously cited unpublished and vaguely described “credible reports” to claim that over 200 people were killed during Iran’s recent unrest, adding that “the real figure is likely to be higher”. This accusation is part and parcel of the renewed Hybrid War on Iran that’s seeking to capitalize on the failed Color Revolution attempt from last month when tens of thousands of people took to the streets to protest the government’s decision to decrease fuel subsidies in order to fund a cash payment plan to the country’s most needy families. It should be said that the majority of the people who participated in these large-scale protests didn’t engage in acts of violence, but their presence at these events inadvertently served as cover for a select cadre of professional provocateurs and foreign intelligence agents to carry out attacks against law enforcement officers and public property by exploiting those people as human shields behind which to hide.

As the author wrote at the time, “Iran’s Protests Are Grassroots, Not Foreign-Driven, And That’s The Real Problem”, while also later warning in an exclusive interview with Iran’s “Young Journalists Club” that Iran is being victimized by a US Hybrid War. These two analyses might initially seem mutually exclusive but they aren’t. Legitimate grievances served too spontaneously bring a critical mass of protesters into the streets, during which time the vast majority of the participants were unwittingly turned into human shields by Hybrid War “sleeper cells” that were waiting for an opportunistic moment to carry out anti-state terrorist activities such as the ones that were previously described. The Iranian authorities ultimately prevailed in restoring law and order, though it’s presumed that some of the most radical provocateurs might have been injured or even killed throughout the course of these security operations, which could naturally occur in any country facing similar unrest.

https://theduran.com/iranian-unrest-cover-up-of-mass-killings-or-infowar-conspiracy/

PM Medvedev: Doping accusations against Russia resemble ‘endless anti-Russian soap opera’

The Russian prime minister added that a problem of consumption of banned performance enhancing drugs in Russia exists but this situation is unacceptable in sports

Continuous doping abuse accusations of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) against Russian sports look like an ‘endless anti-Russian soap opera,’ Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said in an interview with Russian television channels on Thursday.

"Everything that is connected with a doping scandal reminds me already of an endless anti-Russian soap opera as they have made a decision, introduced punishments and declared suspensions," Medvedev said.

"A bit later, something itched again and they decided — let’s look once again at the very same lists, reanalyze the very same samples to see if we have missed something and we will punish again those, who have been already punished, and in some cases we will also expand the responsibility to other athletes, regardless of their innocence," the Russian prime minister stated.

Medvedev added that a decision of the World Anti-Doping Agency on possible sanctions regarding Russian sports "will be very tough for our country."

The Russian prime minister pointed out that a problem of consumption of banned performance enhancing drugs in Russia exists but this situation is unacceptable in sports.

"Is there a doping problem here [in Russia]? Yes, there is," Medvedev said in an interview with Russian television channels on Thursday. "Obviously, this is totally unacceptable regarding common approaches to the development of sports in the modern world."

"However, I have issued instructions to our sports authorities, the Sports Ministry and other relevant bodies to stand fighting for our interests and the interests of all athletes to provide for their participation in international tournaments," Medvedev added.

The Russian prime minister went on to say that Russia must continue stepping up its fight against the abuse of performance enhancing drugs in sports.

https://tass.com/sport/1096005

Tesla Police Vehicle Ran Out of Power During a Car Chase in California

A California police department is adding fuel to the electric car debate after one of its patrol cars, a Tesla Model S, nearly ran out of juice during a vehicle pursuit last week.

It all started on a quiet Friday night in Fremont, when the city’s automated license plate reader system got a hit on a white Toyota Avalon entering the city’s limits and alerted the city’s authorities. The Toyota, wanted in connection with a felony in Santa Clara, was eventually located in an AutoZone parking lot by Fremont Police Officer Jesse Hartman at 11 p.m. on Sept. 20.

That night, Hartman was driving his department’s one and only Tesla patrol car, part of a six-month pilot program the Fremont Police Department was studying in an attempt to reduce emissions and improve efficiency. When the Toyota finally pulled out of the AutoZone parking lot, Hartman attempted to stop the vehicle.

“I lit him up and he is not yielding. We are in pursuit,” Hartman is heard saying over the radio, according to Broadcastify audio obtained by ABC News.

The pursuit then kicked off into a high-speed highway chase toward San Jose. Additional Fremont police officers and California Highway Patrol responded within minutes, as Hartman raced after the suspect at more than 100 miles per hour on Interstate-680 South.

Meanwhile, requests for a CHP helicopter were made and San Jose authorities were notified.

“120 [miles per hour] … light traffic,” one officer said on the radio, police sirens heard ringing in the background.

Then the Tesla alerted Hartman that there was an issue with the vehicle.

“I’m down to 6 miles of battery,” began Hartman. “I may lose it here in a sec. If someone else is able, can they maneuver into the number one spot?” Hartman asked the other officers on the radio.

CHP took over the pursuit, as the male suspect started to drive erratically and passed over the center divide between the north and southbound lanes.

https://thedcpatriot.com/tesla-police-vehicle-ran-out-of-power-during-a-car-chase-in-california/

Molecule Triggers Self-Destruction of Pancreatic Cancer Cells, Scientists Discover

One of the biggest challenges modern medicine has had to face is finding successful cancer treatments. And recently, treatment advances across the spectrum of cancers have continued at a rapid pace.

Lung cancer experienced significant treatment breakthroughs in 2018, primarily in immunotherapy. Other immunotherapy trials brought new treatment options to patients with a range of solid tumor and blood cancers. And also in 2018, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to James P. Allison and Tasuku Honjo for their discovery of cancer therapy by “inhibition of negative immune regulation.”

Despite these recent big steps in medicine, pancreatic cancer—and more specifically, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC)—remains a devastating diagnosis with complete surgical removal of the tumor the only chance for cure. A shocking 80-90% of patients have PDAC that is surgically incurable at the time of clinical presentation. It was estimated that 46,420 new cases and 39,590 deaths were attributable to pancreatic cancer in the United States in 2014, of which PDAC represents the vast majority.

The researchers inserted xenografts—in this case, human pancreatic cancer cells— into mice whose immune systems were suppressed so they wouldn’t reject the foreign cells, and saw the cells multiply below the skin.

They then injected the molecule PJ34 into the bloodstream of the mice to see if it would affect the tumor. After 14 days there was a substantial reduction of 80% to 90% of the cancer cells. In one mouse, the tumor completely disappeared.

“This molecule causes an anomaly during the duplication of human cancer cells, provoking their rapid cell death,” said Tel Aviv University’s Cohen-Armon in a statement. “Thus, cell multiplication itself resulted in cell death in the treated cancer cells.”

Cohen-Armon added that “no adverse effects were observed and there were no changes in the weight gain of the mice, nor in their behavior.”

“The effect of a daily treatment with PJ34 provided results with higher statistical significance than those obtained by the 3 times a week treatment with PJ34. However, both treatments caused a similar massive reduction of human proteins in the tumors, 30 days after the treatment with PJ34 has been terminated,” the study reads.

While further research needs to be done in order to calculate the appropriate doses that would have to be administered to human patients in the future, this study is encouraging news. Cohen-Armon added that the team hopes to start testing the effect of the molecule on larger animals, and eventually on humans, which could take around two years, depending on funding.

Hopefully, we can make use of these huge breakthroughs in cancer research really soon.

https://www.naturalblaze.com/2019/12/molecule-triggers-self-destruction-of-pancreatic-cancer-cells-scientists-discover.html

U.S. Role in Lebanon’s Crisis Goes Unrecognized

Of all the underlying causes of Lebanon’s current crisis, the role of the U.S. remains the least recognized, not only by Western media but also that of Lebanon.

Search “Lebanon crisis” under “news” on Google and you are unlikely to find any headlines mentioning the U.S. A more targeted search of “U.S. interference in Lebanon crisis” brings up a Reuters story that presents the idea, not as a natural premise, but instead as an isolated accusation. “Hezbollah accuses U.S. of meddling in Lebanon’s crisis.”

To the extent that any recent history is raised at all by the news media, it will be said that Lebanon has always been an arena for foreign intervention and that the sectarian system invited, since the 19thcentury, various external patrons. But the U.S. role dwarfs all others — by a long shot. The release of WikiLeaks diplomatic cables from the Middle East revealed the extent to which former U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman was the real leader of the March 14 Movement, which is the pro-Saudi coalition which formed (overnight) after the assassination of Rafiq Hariri in 2005.

The U.S. role in Lebanon has been supreme since WWII. The Suez crisis of 1956 – when the U.K., France and Israel attacked Egypt and then President Dwight Eisenhower forced them to withdraw from Egypt — marked European recognition that the U.S. had inherited the roles of both France and U.K. in the Levant.

The U.S. was instrumental in Lebanon’s 1958 crisis (a mini-civil war, really), and championed its right-wing client, President Kamil Shamun. This same president would later — as a militia leader — receive support from the U.S. during the civil war years of 1975-82, as James Stocker covers in his recent book, “Spheres of Intervention.” After Shamun’s term ended in 1958, the U.S. reached an agreement with Egypt’s President Gamal Abdel Nasser over the ascension of Lebanese Army General Fu’ad Shihabi to the presidency.

Instruments of U.S. Cold War Policy

The Lebanese government and its intelligence agencies also served as instruments of U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War. The archives of Farid Shihab, who headed Lebanon’s public security apparatus for many years in Lebanon, show the extent to which Lebanese intelligence services were spying on local communists, clearly at the behest of an outside power.

The U.S. was keen on preserving Lebanon’s capitalist system. It supported the passage of the Lebanese banking secrecy act in the 1950s, which allowed for the use of Lebanese banks by Western intelligence agencies, and the import of capital from socialist Arab countries. This banking secrecy law also allowed corrupt politicians to store the stolen fortunes from state coffers without accountability.

With its support of right-wing militias, the U.S. was also involved in the war on leftism in Lebanon and, after 1967, in the joint war with Israel against the Palestinian resistance movement in Lebanon.

More

https://consortiumnews.com/2019/12/04/the-angry-arab-u-s-role-in-lebanons-crisis-goes-unrecognized/

Globalists Want New Conflict With China. But THEIR OWN Trade Policies Gutted US Industry

Sen. John Hawley wants to end the “endless wars” in the Middle East, not to wash our hands of the American Empire which has embroiled us in conflicts all over the world which were none of our business, but to pivot toward renewing the Cold War with Russia and China.

Wall Street Journal:

“When the Berlin Wall fell 30 years ago this month, more than a few experts predicted the end of history: Communism was dead and democracy triumphant. Now U.S. power would remake the world, which would come to look a lot like America. George H.W. Bush famously called for a “new world order” of “open borders, open trade and . . . open minds,” a new era of international peace and harmony, all to be achieved by American exertion.

But history refused to end. Russia and China conspicuously pursued their own agendas and, in other regions and other places, ancient rivalries flared. None of this stopped American policy makers from pursuing their new global order. All these years later, we are living with the results: the longest war in American history, in Afghanistan; trillions of American dollars expended on failed nation-building; exhaustion at home, aimlessness abroad; and a newly dangerous world.

It’s time for a new departure. The effort to remake the world from Washington has run aground. Now a new strategy abroad must protect American interests and meet American needs by prioritizing the people who sustain America: the middle and working class. …”

https://russia-insider.com/en/economics/globalists-want-new-conflict-china-their-own-trade-policies-gutted-us-industry/ri27950

“You’re a Damn Liar!” Grandpa Joe Snaps at Iowan Who Accuses Biden of Pay-to-Play Scheme with Burisma (VIDEO)

Joe Biden, 77, is currently on an 8-day Iowa tour as he desperately tries to whip up excitement for his failing 2020 bid.

Old Grandpa Joe melted down after an Iowan confronted him about his age and his pay-to-play scheme with Burisma Holdings.

“On the other hand, you sent your son over there to get a job and work for a gas company and he had no experience with gas or nothin in order to get access to the President,” the Iowan said to Biden.

He continued, “You’re selling access to the president just like he was.”

Biden became visibly angry and lashed out at the Iowan, “You’re a damn liar, man! That’s not true!”

The Iowan was not letting Biden get away with his lies and he continued to push back!

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/12/youre-a-damn-liar-grandpa-joe-snaps-at-iowan-who-accuses-biden-of-pay-to-play-scheme-with-burisma-video/

‘Plainly inappropriate’: NSW man jailed for sex with underage relative in caravan and house

A man who had sex with a 14-year-old relative told her grandmother her pale appearance was due to “nightmares”. Warning: Graphic content

Warning: Graphic content

A man who played computer games in a caravan with his cousin’s underage granddaughter told police he spent time alone with her to “avoid” her abusive grandfather in a nearby house.

But the reality was he was having sex with the girl, who was aged 14 and 15 at the time of the offending, and had asked her to promise that she wouldn’t tell anyone.

He also told her grandmother one morning that her “pale appearance” was due to nightmares.

“This was a sad case,” Judge Alister Abadee said as he sentenced the 44-year-old man in the NSW District Court late last month.

“What started as a friendship between the offender and victim, both relatives (albeit an indirect sense), developed into a plainly inappropriate relationship leading ultimately to serious criminal behaviour sustained over a period of months.”

The man pleaded guilty to five counts of sexual intercourse with a victim under the age of 16, each charge carrying a maximum penalty of 10 years behind bars.

“The offender was indirectly related to the victim: he is the cousin of a woman who is married to a man – the paternal grandfather of the victim,” Judge Abadee said.

The offences were committed in Rydalmere, in Sydney’s northwest, between January and July 2015 when the man was aged 39 and 40.

The victim lived in the custody of her grandparents where the offender also lived in late 2014.

“The victim is a troubled youth, yearning for love and nurturing after having come from what she described as a broken family; and the offender himself had mental issues and a sense of social alienation,” the judge said.

“He disturbingly received gratification, of an emotional and sexual kind, in repeated instances, against his better judgment; and has exacerbated the victim’s pre-existing significant emotional and mental scars.”

https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/courts-law/plainly-inappropriate-nsw-man-jailed-for-sex-with-underage-relative-in-caravan-and-house/news-story/342463bbc22ab3ba5d78cf4bb9758401

https://twitter.com/StormIsUponUs/status/1070417493506703360

US Forces Reportedly Relocate Hundreds of Daesh Families From Syria to Iraq…Again

The Pentagon has repeatedly refuted accusations that US forces were involved in transporting Daesh* militants from Syria to safe havens.

Syria’s state-run news agency SANA cited local sources as saying on Thursday that the US military had transported more than 600 family members of Daesh terrorists from Syria’s northeastern province of Hasakah to neighbouring Iraq’s safe sanctuaries.

They mainly included women and children who were moved from the al-Hol refugee camp after five US Humvee military vehicles and about 30 American soldiers reportedly positioned near the camp located close to the Syria-Iraq border.

The report has been the latest in a series over the past few years to disclose the evacuation of Daesh militants and their relatives from Syria by the US forces.

In February 2018, an anonymous source from al-Hasakah said that local residents had witnessed US helicopters landing on the territory of a local prison and then leaving, apparently on a mission to evacuate jihadists.

In November 2017, reports emerged claiming that “US military aviation” was used to take Daesh commanders from the town of al-Mayadin just before it was recaptured by the Syrian army. The US Department of Defence rejected the reports as unsubstantiated.

Commenting on the matter, the Russian Defence Ministry, in turn, stated that the US-led coalition was engaged in the training of former Daesh and Nusra Front terrorists on a base near al-Hasakah in order to create the new militant formation called the "New Syrian Army."

Trump Reveals Why Some US Troops Still in Northern Syria

The Thursday evacuation comes a few days after President Donald Trump reiterated his “we keep the oil” mantra pertaining to his previous announcement about the withdrawal of all US troops from northern Syria.

“We left their border. We’ve been on their border long enough. They're doing just fine on their border. We kept the oil. I kept the oil,” Trump said referring to oil fields inside Syria’s northeast.

Russia, for its part, has repeatedly criticised Washington's decision to keep its troops stationed at major oil fields in Syria's northeast instead, calling it "illegitimate" and "destructive" for the country.

Moscow insists that these areas should be controlled by the country's government in Damascus, with Syrian President Bashar Assad asserting that Washington was simply stealing his country’s crude reserves.

https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201912051077494955-syria-us-troops-daesh-terrorists-evacuation/

NSPCC warns Facebook of becoming ‘one-stop grooming shop’ over encryption plans

Facebook is considering end-to-end encryption on Facebook Messenger and Instagram Direct.

Facebook is considering end-to-end encryption on Facebook Messenger and Instagram Direct – on top of WhatsApp, which is already encrypted – but there has been deep concern that the move could prevent child abusers being caught.

Out of 9,259 instances where police in England and Wales said they know the platform used in child abuse image and online child sexual offences, just over 4,000 were carried out on Facebook, Instagram or WhatsApp.

Instead of working to protect children and make the online world they live in safer, Facebook is actively choosing to give offenders a place to hide in the shadows and risks making itself a one-stop grooming shop

Andy Burrows, NSPCC

The data – obtained by the charity from freedom of information requests to police forces between April 2018 and 2019 – shows that 22% were reported on Instagram, followed by 19% on Facebook or Facebook Messenger.

Only 3% (299 instances) were from WhatsApp, which the NSPCC says highlights how difficult it becomes to detect crimes on an end-to-end encrypted platform.

The charity believes criminals will be able to carry out more serious child abuse on Facebook’s apps undetected without needing to lure them off to encrypted platforms, if it goes ahead with changes.

“Instead of working to protect children and make the online world they live in safer, Facebook is actively choosing to give offenders a place to hide in the shadows and risks making itself a one-stop grooming shop,” said Andy Burrows, NSPCC’s head of child safety online policy.

https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/uk/nspcc-warns-facebook-of-becoming-onestop-grooming-shop-over-encryption-plans-38755762.html

https://twitter.com/DonaldJTrumpJr/status/1202612404200312834