Mark Meadows: Republican Senators Will Be Taken to the Cleaners If They Think This Impeachment Trial Is Going to be a Fair Process

On Tuesday morning Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) joined Steve Bannon and crew on their daily War Room broadcast.

During today’s episode Mark Meadows warned Senate Republicans that if they think this is going to be a fair process in the Senate they better wake up.

Rep. Mark Meadows: The state of play is that in the Senate many times they have this gentleman’s way of interacting with their colleagues. And I can tell you that they will be taken to the cleaners if they think this is going to be a fair process. It wasn’t fair in the House. It won’t be fair in the Senate. This is all about 2020. It is all about November. And I can tell you, you have too many people from the Senate running for president that actually are on the nomination platform tonight on a debate. And what you have is a real fight between them and the President of the United States. So it will not be fair and the sooner that our Senators recognize that, and you’re right, Rand Paul has recognized that, he is willing to go into the fight. I’ve encouraged some of our other senators, some of our other champions that honestly have a huge microphone to do the same thing… Based on what I see, there is no case you should dismiss this right away… Rand Paul is setting the example.

This was a great segment.

Mark Meadows is ALWAYS worth listening to.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/01/mark-meadows/

VICTORY! Mandatory Vaccine Bill Fails After Thousands Show Up to Protest in New Jersey

A bill in New Jersey that would’ve stripped parents and children of their right to informed consent by allowing them to object to mandatory vaccinations failed on Monday. Much to the chagrin of the tyrants who claim ownership over the bodies of others, the bill that would have eliminated religious exemptions to mandatory vaccinations failed to pass the New Jersey state legislature.

According to reports, the bill was canceled in the Senate before the vote because lawmakers knew they lacked the passing votes. The proponents of the bill vowed to reintroduce it on Tuesday but this gives opponents a new time frame on the public hearing and voting process.

The victory for medical freedom was an emotional and dramatic one as thousands of pro-freedom protesters showed up at the Statehouse to voice their concern over the government removing their right to informed consent. Naturally, those who want to remove your freedom of choice and sovereignty over your own body and force you to take an injection even if it goes against everything you believe in, were furious. They even vowed “war.”

“We’re ready to go to war over this,” Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D), told reporters Monday, according to NJ.com. “We will pass this bill. This is about public health. It’s about protecting people.”

Others, who don’t agree with the government forcing people to undergo medical procedures against their will, disagreed.

Sue Collins, co-founder of the New Jersey Coalition for Vaccination Choice, told NJ.com this was “a victory for both religious and medical freedoms” in the state.

“There is a lot of work to be done now to formulate legislation that will truly improve public health,” Collins said. “This bill would not have achieved that and would have stripped fundamental rights.”

The battle over this bill began last year when the United States saw a rise in measles cases across the country. While New Jersey saw just 19 cases, ground zero was just to the north of them. More than 70 percent of the 1,282 cases in the nation occurred, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Rockland County, NY and New York City. In 61 of these cases, patients were hospitalized with complications, including pneumonia and encephalitis, the CDC said. There were zero deaths.

https://thefreethoughtproject.com/victory-mandatory-vaccine-bill-fails-after-thousands-show-up-to-protest-in-new-jersey/

The Elite's 1926 Eugenics Exhibit Sums up What They Think About You and Your Family!

Exactly 92 years after the infamous Buck v. Bell decision, the Center presents a partial screening of “A Dangerous Idea: Eugenics, Genetics and the American Dream”—an award-winning documentary exploring the legal history of the eugenics movement in the United States. Following the screening, join the film’s co-writer and executive producer Andrew Kimbrell, acclaimed author and journalist Daniel Okrent, and law and bioethics scholars Paul Lombardo and Dorothy Roberts for a conversation exploring the dark history of eugenics and the Constitution.

Thanks for sharing, I know they think of us as cattle. Planned Parenthood has decimated many of the poor, those who can’t afford to have a child or whatever. Vaccines have caused so many childhood disorders, it’s very tragic. Pray always without ceasing, the hour is very late and judgement is coming.

https://youtu.be/B_aFjlYXwcA

JPM Smashes Expectations: Reports Most Profitable Year Ever Thanks To Massive 86% FICC Surge

Q4 earnings season has officially begun, and once again it has done so on the right foot, with JPMorgan - which as a reminder is the bank that started QE4 in October by triggering the repo market crisis in September - reporting quarterly earnings that as has been traditionally the case for the past year, beat on the top and bottom line.

JPM reported Q4 revenue and EPS of $29.21BN and $2.57, both solidly beating expectations of $27.96BN and 2.30, respectively, and as one can expected, a solid improvement to the dismal Q4 2018 quarter when the bank as well as its peers buckled as the S&P briefly tumbled into a bear market.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/jpm-smashes-expectations-reports-most-profitable-year-ever-thanks-massive-86-ficc-surge

1,200 French doctors RESIGN from supervisory roles in protest over govt funding for public hospitals

Almost 1,200 hospital doctors in France are resigning from supervisory roles in protest over public hospital funding and the government’s handling of employee concerns about staffing levels.

Medical staff have accused the government of failing to engage in negotiations over public hospital services and what they say are serious shortfalls in funding. In an open letter to French Minister of Health Agnès Buzyn, the resigning doctors on Tuesday criticized the budget laid out for public hospitals in 2020 as “too little, too partial, too spread out over time.”

The deterioration of the working conditions of professionals is such that it calls into question the quality of care and threatens the safety of patients,” the doctors added.

Thousands of other hospital staff and caregivers have signed a letter of support for the doctors, backing their calls for hiring additional staff and increasing the salaries of young doctors and non-medical staff.

“The resigning doctors ask nothing for themselves,” the letter reads. “They continue to treat.”

“The population must respond to their call. Their warning cry must be heard by the government.”

The move comes as the French government is already under serious pressure to resolve ongoing strikes and protests opposing its proposed pension plan reforms. The Macron administration says the changes will streamline multiple pension plans into one, but unions are objecting to retirement age increases and say the alterations will cost workers some of their hard-earned benefits.

https://www.rt.com/news/478228-french-doctors-resign-macron-government/

Pelosi Sets Wednesday Vote to Send Articles of Impeachment to Senate

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi set a Wednesday vote to send the two articles of impeachment against President Trump over to the Senate.

For several weeks power-hungry Pelosi refused to send the articles of impeachment to the senate unless they bowed to her demands to call in more White House witnesses.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to cede his authority, pushed back against Pelosi and forced her to cave.

Associated Press reported:

Speaker Nancy Pelosi met privately Tuesday at the Capitol with House Democrats about next steps, ending her blockade a month after they voted to impeach Trump on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

Pelosi said the House will vote to transmit the charges and name the House managers for the case. She warned the Republican-led Senate off any idea of simply dismissing the case against Trump.

“The President and the Senators will be held accountable,” Pelosi said in a statement. “The American people deserve the truth, and the Constitution demands a trial.”

“This strange gambit has achieved absolutely nothing,” McConnell said on Monday of Pelosi’s threats and delay tactics.

The Senate “was never going to allow the Speaker to dictate” how to handle a trial. “The Senate will not be sucked into this precedent-breaking path,” McConnell said touting the separation of powers between the two chambers of congress.

The Kentucky Senator again blasted Pelosi from the Senate floor on Tuesday.

“Do these sound like leaders who really believe we are in a constitutional crisis, one that requires the ultimate remedy?” McConnell asked.

“It will fall to the Senate to end it with seriousness and sobriety,” he said.

Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) told reporters on Monday that the GOP caucus does not have 51 votes to dismiss the articles of impeachment.

It would take 51 votes in the Senate to dismiss the articles of impeachment.

Currently there are 53 Republican Senators and 47 Democrats, including 2 Independents who caucus with Democrats.

In order for the Senate to convict Trump and remove him from office, two-thirds of the Senate would have to vote in favor of removal which means 20 Republican Senators would have to turn on Trump, a highly unlikely scenario.

https://www.rt.com/news/478207-iran-plane-arrests-ukraine-shootdown/

Elizabeth Warren Vows to Cancel Student Loan Debt Via Executive Powers on Day 1

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) vowed Tuesday to cancel the bulk of student loan debt on the first day of her presidency via executive action.

Warren made her promise just hours before the Democrat debate in Des Moines, Iowa.

“The Department of Education already has broad legal authority to cancel student debt, and we can’t afford to wait for Congress to act,” Warren wrote in a Medium post, promising to use “existing laws” — citing the Higher Education Act — to implement her student loan debt cancellation plan which will bring relief to 42 million Americans, she claims.

Per her plan:

I’ll direct the Secretary of Education to use their authority to begin to compromise and modify federal student loans consistent with my plan to cancel up to $50,000 in debt for 95 percent of student loan borrowers (about 42 million people).

I’ll also direct the Secretary of Education to use every existing authority available to rein in the for-profit college industry, crack down on predatory student lending, and combat the racial disparities in our higher education system.

Warren announced her $640 billion student college debt relief program in April. Under Warren’s proposal, individuals with a household income of less than $100,000 could see $50,0000 in student debt effectively erased. Americans with household incomes of up to $250,000 would see a reduction in student loan debt relief, but less than those who have smaller household incomes.

The presidential hopeful has repeatedly claimed her “Ultra-Wealth Tax” will cover the cost of her proposals, which include universal child care, universal pre-k, and free college tuition.

Warren touted the proposals during a CNN town hall in New Hampshire last year. She said:

We’re going to roll back student loan debt for about 95 percent of students who have debt. That’s part one. And part two is to make sure that we never get in this mess again on student loan debt and that is to make college universally available with free tuition and fees and to put more money into Pell grants so that students of color, so that our poorest students have real access to college and that we put real money into our historically black colleges and universities.

“The future of our economy and the lives of a generation of student loan borrowers are at risk, and I’m committed to seeing this fight through no matter what,” Warren added in her Medium post.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has also issued a plan to address student loan crisis, vowing to “cancel all student debt” and pay for it by “imposing a tax on Wall Street speculation.”

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/01/14/elizabeth-warren-vows-to-cancel-student-loan-debt-via-executive-powers-on-day-1/

Germany: Huge Raids on Suspected Chechen Islamist Terror Plotters

BERLIN (AP) – German police raided premises in four states early Tuesday on suspicion that Chechen Islamists were scouting locations for an attack, officials said.

Berlin prosecutors said the raids took place at nine locations in the German capital and the states of Brandenburg, North Rhine-Westphalia and Thuringia.

In a statement, prosecutors said the suspects, who are aged 23 to 28, are accused of “having scouted out locations for a possible later attack motivated by Islamism.”

“According to current information there was no concrete threat of an attack yet,” prosecutors added.

Authorities acted after discovering photographs on a suspect’s cellphone during a police check.

Some 180 officers were involved in Tuesday’s raids, during which police seized cash, knives and data storage devices.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/01/14/germany-raids-suspected-chechen-islamist-terror-plotters/

EU: Hungary Can’t Make ‘Soros Network’ NGOs Identify as ‘Foreign-Funded’ Under EU Law

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) – Restrictions imposed by Hungary on the financing from abroad of non-governmental organizations are incompatible with EU law, according to an opinion issued Tuesday by the European Union’s Court of Justice.

In 2017, Hungary adopted legislation forcing NGOs receiving foreign funding of more than 7.2 million forints ($24,090) a year to register the fact with the courts and identify themselves as foreign-funded in their online and printed publications. NGOs also have to list foreign sponsors giving them more than 500,000 forints ($1,670, 1,500 euros) annually.

The law is nominally meant to increase transparency among civic groups and boost efforts against money laundering, but the non-binding opinion issued by Advocate-General Campos Sánchez-Bordona found that the rules are disproportionate and unjustified, and they unduly restrict the free movement of capital and interfere with a number fundamental rights, including the right to freedom of association and the protection of private life and personal data.

The EU Court of Justice, based in Luxembourg, is beginning to deliberate in the case. While it is not forced to follow the opinion of the Advocate-General, the court’s rulings are often similar to the opinions.

The legislation, approved in June 2017, was described at the time by Amnesty International as a “vicious and calculated assault on civil society” meant to silence critical voices in Hungary.

The Hungarian government said the rules would serve to vet the “Soros network” — NGOs which get at least some of their funding from the Open Society Foundations set up by Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros, whom Prime Minister Viktor Orban has repeatedly said seeks to influence Hungarian policies.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/01/14/eu-hungary-cant-make-soros-network-ngos-identify-as-foreign-funded-under-eu-law/

Italy: Post-Salvini Left Govt Ups Migrant Allowance, 1,500 Sail from Libya in Four Days

In just four days, 22 boats containing around 1,500 migrants have launched from the Libyan mainland toward Italy, as the leftist coalition increases the daily allowance for them.

The figures come from the NGO group Alarmphone who monitor migrant distress calls in the Mediterranean. Alarmphone reported that of the 1,500 migrants, 237 of them have been picked up by NGO vessels belonging to the migrant transport NGOs Sea-Watch and Open Arms.

Another 97 have reached Italy alone, according to Il Giornale.

Alarmphone has warned that due to the escalating tensions in Libya they expect more migrants will attempt to leave the country, echoing statements from UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) mission head Jean-Paul Cavalieri that there were over 200,000 internally displaced persons as a result of the conflict there.

Some have estimated the true number of migrants in Libya wanting to come to Europe to be anywhere from 500,000 to 800,000 people.

The NGO also congratulated the migrant rescue vessels operating off the Libyan coast, stating: “In addition to creating a safe path and saving hundreds of refugees, NGOs play a crucial role in monitoring the Mediterranean to monitor deterrence efforts against migrants by authorities and mass violations of human rights on the maritime border.”

Italy’s leftist coalition government of the Five Star Movement (M5S) and the Democratic Party (PD), who have re-opened Italy’s ports to migrant transport NGOs, have continued to undo the security decrees enacted by populist former Interior Minister Matteo Salvini when his League (Lega) party was in coaltion with the Five Stars.

The new coalition has increased the daily allowance for migrants, while under Salvini the amount had been slashed to 21-25 euros per day.

Salvini’s cuts to the migrant daily allowance were slammed by pro-migration NGOs, who complained that they would see reduced profits due to the policy.

Salvini replied to their concerns in March of last year stating: “Who saw immigration as a trough is, from today, on a diet.”

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/01/14/italy-post-salvini-left-govt-ups-migrant-allowance-1500-sail-from-libya-in-four-days/

Female Mexican Cartel Commander Dies After Military Shootout

Mexican military forces killed a female cartel commander who supposedly ordered a deadly ambush that killed 13 police officers last year.

Known as “La Catrina,” Maria Guadalupe Esquivel was an emerging commander with Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG) who died during a series of raids late last week in Michoacán. Military forces managed to arrest a total of 16 operators, including Esquivel, who died hours later from injuries.

A native of Tepalcatepec, Esquivel, 21, was described as coming from a middle-class family and a good student before being drawn into a life of crime. She was allegedly recruited by Miguel “El M2” Fernandez who was a regional commander for CJNG in Michoacán.

https://www.breitbart.com/border/2020/01/14/female-mexican-cartel-commander-dies-after-military-shootout/

Pompeo: Killing Soleimani Part of a ‘Broader Strategy’ Applying to China, Russia

Killing general is meant to show 'real deterrence'

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo still has not totally abandoned the pretext that the US assassination of Gen. Qassem Soleimani was based on an “imminent threat,” but is moving to rebrand the operation as part of a broad new strategy “that also applies to China and Russia.”

Pompeo set this rather disturbing claim out in talks at Stanford’s Hoover Institute. He avoided mention of the “imminent threat” talking point that President Trump has since abandoned. He says that killing Soleimani was part of the Trump Administration’s goal of “real deterrence.”

He said nations have to understand that the US is not only capable of imposing cost on nations by killing their leaders but “willing to do so,” saying that the killing put the US in the “greatest position of strength ever.”

Pompeo presented the killing of Soleimani as part of the same strategy that has seen the US sending lethal military aid to Ukraine, and withdrawal of the US from arms control deals and testing of intermediate-range nuclear weapons. He also said sending more ships through the South China Sea was “restoring credibility.”

https://news.antiwar.com/2020/01/13/pompeo-killing-soleimani-part-of-a-broader-strategy-applying-to-china-russia/

During Yemen’s Annual Martyr Week, Anti-American Sentiment Prevails

The level of anti-American sentiment is skyrocketing in Yemen reports Ahmed AbdulKareem, thanks in large part to US support for Saudi Arabia’s bloody war on the country.

SANA’A, SADAA, YEMEN — As the ongoing war and blockade against their country enters its sixth year, Yemenis are commemorating the annual Martyr Week amid an increasing feeling of hatred and resentment towards the United States, a feeling never seen at this level in the war-torn country.

In Yemen, a country far from the prosperous and bustling United States, the size of cemeteries has increased dramatically in the past five years, with new burial sites springing up to house victims of the weapons supplied by western countries, particularly by the United States, as well as the blockade, hunger, and disease that have accompanied them.

Ebtisam al-Harazi is just four-years-old, but as she stands atop her father’s grave amid a meadow of martyrs’ shrines, she knows who sleeps in the soil beneath her and the type of weapon that killed her father. “This my dad,” she says, as she kisses a colorful portrait of her father perched upon a coffin-shaped mound beyond a low stone wall.

Ebtisam’s father was killed by a Saudi warplane that delivered a U.S.-made bomb to the al-Sultan zone in the Old City of Yemen’s capital Sana’a in July of 2015. The attack killed and injured dozens of residents and caused tremendous damage to the city, built long before the United States even existed as a nation.

Fatemah, Ebtisam’s widowed mother, packed flowers to place at her husband’s memorial site, “It is the martyr’s anniversary. We come here to share old times with our loved ones,” she told MintPress. Their visit to the memorial has become a tradition since 2015 when the war against their home began.

This particular memorial sits in 50th district, in the middle of Sana’a, and is the resting place of more than 1,000 men, women, and children killed by the Saudi-led coalition along with countless bodies of fighters killed in clashes against coalition forces. The shrines are ensconced with ornamental flowers and small trees planted by visitors who have come to honor the deceased.

The annual feast of the Martyr Week, an important occasion marking the beginning of December, kicked off in Yemen last Wednesday. It has become, for Fatimah and other Yemenis, a somber occasion amid a suffocating blockade, the threat of epidemics, rubble, tears, and the fear of the may lie ahead.

For eight consecutive days, residents in northern Yemen commemorate those that have been killed by the Saudi-led coalition. Program include held exhibitions, public festivals, and meetings where victim’s families discuss how they cope with the war.

https://www.mintpressnews.com/yemen-annual-martyr-week-anti-american-sentiment/264084/

3-Star: We Must Combat Russian Attempts to Influence Troops Online

Russian misinformation efforts are reaching into the military ranks, and it appears to have led some to view the country as more friend than foe.

A survey released last month shows that nearly half of military households – 46% – polled by the Reagan National Defense Survey in October said they view Russia as a U.S. ally. Last year, more than a quarter of active-duty households polled in the organizations annual survey said they had an unfavorable view of NATO.

The survey is commissioned by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to promoting the legacy of the late commander in chief. Voice of America first reported on the 2019 findings.

Marine Lt. Gen. Lori Reynolds is one of the top Pentagon leaders working on policies and strategies for operating in the information space. That includes what Russia might be doing to influence troops and their families on social media, smartphone apps and other sites.

"We need to do a better job of making sure that Marines of all ranks are understanding what the strategic environment really is," she told reporters at the Pentagon last week. "Our Marines are going to be victims of what's happening in the information environment as well as anybody else."

U.S. intelligence agencies found that Russia used sophisticated misinformation methods to influence the 2016 election. Kristofer Goldsmith, a chief investigator with Vietnam Veterans of America, has researched Russia's reach with the military and veteran communities.

His findings are detailed in a 192-page report called "An Investigation Into Foreign Entities Who Are Targeting Servicemembers and Veterans Online." It includes alarming examples of full veteran brands being created online – only they're fake and managed outside the U.S.

One example Goldsmith detailed in his report was the "Being Patriotic" Facebook page with hundreds of thousands of followers that regularly posted divisive political memes under the guise of supporting troops.

But as Goldsmith notes in his investigation, the page was managed by a troll agency based in Russia that sought to spread that country's political and business interests. The "Being Patriotic" page was also cited in Robert Mueller's report on the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/01/14/3-star-we-must-combat-russian-attempts-influence-troops-online.html

US confirms ‘avoidable’ death of Egyptian-American Moustafa Kassem in custody

The United States on Monday confirmed the death of Egyptian-American Moustafa Kassem in a prison in Egypt where he has been in custody since 2013, and vowed to continue raising Washington’s concerns over Cairo’s poor human rights record, Reuters reports.

“I am deeply saddened to learn today the death of US citizen Moustafa Kassem who’d been imprisoned in Egypt,” Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs David Schenker told a State Department briefing.

“His death in custody was needless, tragic and avoidable,” he said. “I will continue to raise our serious concerns over human rights and Americans detained in Egypt at every opportunity,” Schenker said.

Kassem was sentenced to prison in September 2018, along with dozens of others over a 2013 sit-in which ended with security forces killing hundreds of protesters.

The sentencing, which included jail terms for more than 600 others, concluded a mass trial of people accused of murder and inciting violence during the pro-Muslim Brotherhood protest at Rabaa Adawiya square in Cairo.

Washington is Cairo’s closest Western ally and one of its top aid donors.

Rights activists say Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has overseen an unprecedented crackdown on freedoms in Egypt since he took power in 2014. Sisi and his backers say the measures are needed to keep Egypt stable and to counter threats from Islamist militants.

Rabaa square was the single most deadly incident in unrest that followed the 2011 popular uprising that toppled Egypt’s longtime leader Hosni Mubarak.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200114-us-confirms-avoidable-death-of-egyptian-american-moustafa-kassem-in-custody/

Third GOP senator says he'll support Iran war powers resolution

Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) said on Tuesday that he will support a revised resolution that would rein in President Trump’s ability to take military action against Iran without congressional approval.

Young said he was supportive of what he called “Kaine 2.0,” referring to a revised war powers resolution authored by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.).

“I will be supporting, shall we call it, Kaine 2.0., the newer Kaine language, should I have an opportunity to vote on it,” Young told reporters.

Young is the third Republican senator to say he will support the resolution. Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) have both said they will support it.

Democrats need four Republican senators to break with them to pass the resolution, which would require Trump to end hostilities against Iran within 30 days unless he gets Congress to sign off on them.

Several GOP senators, including Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), have not said how they would vote on the resolution.

Kaine has been making changes to his resolution as he’s tried to gather more Republican support. He removed two paragraphs in the "findings" section that directly mention Trump over concerns from Republicans and some Democrats that it was too political.

Kaine also said he was working in some of the language from a House-passed war powers resolution into his, specifically changing his wording about removing troops to the lower chamber's use of “termination of the use of U.S. armed forces” in hostilities against Iran after some colleagues raised concerns that “removing” suggested a pullback of U.S. troops from the region.

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/478175-third-gop-senator-says-hell-support-iran-war-powers-resolution

Court in Ukraine orders investigation of Poroshenko, Obama administration members

Ex-US vice-president, Joseph Biden is also suspected of corruption, according to a member of the Ukrainian parliament

KIEV, January 14. /TASS/. Ukraine’s Supreme Anti-Corruption Court has obliged the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) to launch a probe into seizure of government power and corruption suspicions. The cases mention the names of the United States’ 44th president, Barack Obama, former Ukrainian president, Pyotr Poroshenko and ex-US vice-president, Joseph Biden, a member of the Ukrainian parliament from the Opposition Platform - For Life party, Renat Kuzmin, said on Tuesday.

"Ukraine’s Supreme Anti-Corruption Court has obliged the NABU to investigate the suspicions over the seizure of government power in Ukraine and of the embezzlement of state budget money and international financial assistance by members of the Obama administration in collusion with Poroshenko," Kuzmin said on his Facebook page. Also, Kuzmin in his post mentioned Biden’s name and attached a copy of the corresponding court resolution.

https://tass.com/world/1108495

Judge holds Wisconsin Elections Commission and its members in contempt, fines them for refusing to purge voter rolls

An Ozaukee County Circuit Court judge found three Wisconsin Elections Commission members and the commission in contempt of court Monday after failing to comply with his order to remove thousands of people from the state’s voter rolls.

Judge Paul Malloy fined the commission’s Democrats, Ann Jacobs, Mark Thomsen and Julie M. Glancey, $250 ­­each, daily until up to 209,000 outdated voter registrations are removed from the rolls. The Elections Commission has also been fined $50 a day.

Malloy said he didn’t think he went overboard in his December ruling. But the commission was “condescending” in their decision not to follow it.

Before his ruling, Malloy made reference to one of the election commissioners — who he did not name — appearing on a radio show and saying the commission didn’t have to comply with the court’s original order to remove people from the voter rolls. The incident bothered Malloy.

“If people are free to disregard a court’s order, where do you start and stop with that?” Malloy said. “How do you enforce that? What happens to our justice system if people say that’s just one guy’s interpretation? What happens when people no longer come to court when they are subpoenaed? Our justice system will cease to work.”

After the ruling, Karla Keckhaver, an attorney for the Elections Commission, immediately said the commission would appeal.

The case is being closely watched in battleground Wisconsin, a state President Donald Trump won by fewer than 23,000 votes in 2016.

The conservative group, the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL) filed the contempt motion with Malloy, who ordered the state to remove the names Dec. 13. The motion asked Malloy to fine members of the commission up to $2,000 for each day they don’t comply.

The Elections Commission met twice after Malloy’s ruling, first on Dec. 16 and a second time on Dec. 30.

Both times, the panel’s three Republicans have voted to purge the state’s voting list while the three Democrats have voted to wait.

WILL also filed a motion with the Wisconsin Supreme Court asking justices there to take the appeal directly.

At the same time, the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin has filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block Malloy’s ruling. That lawsuit argues that removing these voters from Wisconsin’s registration rolls would violate their 14th Amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution.

Keckhaver asked Malloy to hold off on his decision until the Supreme Court could make its decision. She said she believes that could happen any day.

https://www.thedailysheeple.com/judge-holds-wisconsin-elections-commission-and-its-members-in-contempt-fines-them-for-refusing-to-purge-voter-rolls/

Interesting

Syrian Army’s Creeping Offensive On Idlib. Neverending Ceasefires Explained

A new ceasefire in the Greater Idlib region of northwestern Syria started on January 12, at 00:01 local time. The ceasefire, once again brokered by Turkey and Russia, followed a series of successful advances by pro-government forces in southern Idlib. Just a few hours after start of the ceasefire, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly the official branch of al-Qaeda in Syria) and its supposedly ‘moderate’ counterparts shelled Aleppo city, targeting the districts of Shahba, al-Khalidiyah, al-Neil, al-Sabeel and Tishreen. At least 3 civilians were killed and 5 others – injured.

Despite this, the Syrian Army halted all of its offensive operations and air and artillery bombing campaigns against militants’ military infrastructure across Greater Idlib. Now, government troops open fire only in response to attacks by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and its allies. They, in coordination with the Russian Reconciliation Center, also opened three humanitarian corridors (Al-Hobait – in southern Idlib, Abu Duhur – in southeastern Idlid, and Al-Hadher – in southwestern Aleppo) allowing civilians to leave the militant-controlled areas. The Idlib ‘opposition’ reacted by establishing own checkpoints near the corridors and imposing an unofficial tax for every persons that want to leave.

The new ceasefire effort caused a strong negative reaction among supporters of a military solution of the Idlib militants question. They reasonably say that the peace cannot be achieved in this part of Syria as long as al-Qaeda-style groups like Hayat Tahrir al-Sham dominate there. So, if Turkish-backed ‘moderate rebels’ cannot separate from al-Qaeda, they should face a military operation. In own turn, supporters of Idlib armed groups claim the army, Russia and Iran were just scared by their military might or, another version, the ceasefire is just another form of aggression because it allows civilians to leave Idlib, thus removing ‘human shields’ from the area. However, it seems that all these are a part of the larger trend.

Since the establishment of the Idlib de-escalation zone in September 2018, there have been 3 notable army operations against radical militants:

The April-June 2019 offensive, when government troops liberated Kafr Nabudah town and a number of nearby villages in northwestern Hama;

The August offensive that led to the liberation of Khan Shaykhun and nearby areas in southern Idlib;

The November-December operation in southern Idlib in the framework of which around 30 villages and settlements were liberated, and the army deployed in a striking distance from Maarat al-Numan, another key militant stronghold on the M5 highway.

All of these operations ended and even were interrupted by a number of temporary ceasefires. In general, the loop looked the next way:

Turkey, Russia, Damascus and the Turkish-backed ‘opposition’ agree on de-escalation efforts and the separation of “terrorists” and “moderate rebels”;

“Moderate rebels” do not separate from “terrorists”. Attacks on army positions across the contact line continue. Leaders of Idlib militant groups claim that the ‘bloody Assad regime’ is terrified and vow to crush the regime and its supporters;

The army and the Russian Reconciliation Center open humanitarian corridors allowing civilians to leave Greater Idlib. Militants try to prevent this sabotaging the effort. Despite this, some people leave;

Government forces launch an offensive delivering a blow to militants and liberating a notable chunk of territory;

The ‘international community’ and mainstream media report about numerous atrocities of the army against forces of the young Idlib democracy. Turkey and Russia agree on another ceasefire. The situation repeats.

At the first look this approach looks contrary to a straight logic. It is hard to imagine that somebody believes that the real ceasefire and political settlement is possible with al-Qaeda as one of the key powerbrokers on the ground. Nonetheless, it leads to apparent results: more and more civilians are being evacuated from Idlib and the Syrian Army liberates more and more areas. During the December offensive, even Hayat Tahrir al-Sham supporters had a suspicious that something was going wrong. In these conditions the main question is that how many such ceasefires will be needed to get rid of all radicals in the region?

https://thesaker.is/syrian-armys-creeping-offensive-on-idlib-neverending-ceasefires-explained/

Iran Shoots Down Passenger Plane and Kills 57 Canadians, So Trudeau Blames Trump

Try to imagine for a moment that you're a world leader. You represent a first-world country with millions of people. It isn't one of the main countries, but it's still pretty good. Let's say, I dunno, Canada. And let's say that an Islamic dictatorship – Iran, for example – has just shot down a civilian airliner carrying dozens of your countrymen. Nobody was shooting at Iran, but Iran shot down a plane full of innocent people. The Iranian government lies about it for days, until the evidence is overwhelming and finally they have to admit responsibility.

What do you tell the people of Canada? Whose fault is it? Who do you blame?

If you're Justin Trudeau, and the president of the United States isn't a Democrat, the question answers itself.

"I think if there were no tensions, if there was no escalation recently in the region, those Canadians would be right now home with their families. This is something that happens when you have conflict and war. Innocents bear the brunt of it."

So it's America's fault that Iran killed those Canadians. Hey, you can't blame Iran, right? They're the victims here. You can't fault them for defending themselves, even though the U.S. wasn't shooting at them. They thought we were shooting at them, because they were retaliating for the death of their top terrorist. It's America's fault, because #OrangeManBad.

You don't want people to think Justin Trudeau likes Trump, do you?

It would never even occur to me to want to live in Canada, but today I'm especially glad I don't. I can't even imagine watching Iran kill 57 of my fellow citizens, and then watching the leader of my country absolve Iran of blame. I don't hate Trump enough to think that makes sense. I don't hate anyone enough to think that makes sense.

Iran did this. It's Iran's fault. They admitted they did this. The United States didn't do it. "Conflict" and "tensions" and "escalation" didn't do it. Iran did it.

But this nonsense isn't exactly a surprise. Trudeau's gonna Trudeau. This is what he is.

Incidentally, I'm glad Trudeau isn't coloring his beard. Or any other part of his face.

https://pjmedia.com/trending/iran-shoots-down-passenger-plane-and-kills-57-canadians-trudeau-blames-trump/

Trump Admin Asks Supreme Court to Allow ‘Public Charge’ Rule to Take Effect

The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to lift a nationwide block that prevents a rule governing the admission of new immigrants into the United States from taking effect.

In an emergency request (pdf) to the top court, the Justice Department asked the justices to stay a pair of injunctions issued by a New York district court that blocks the “public charge” rule from being implemented while the cases are played out in court.

The rule, which was issued last year, provides clarification about what factors would be considered when determining whether someone is likely at any time in the future to become a public charge. A “public charge” refers to an individual who is likely to become primarily dependent on the government for subsistence, by receiving assistance such as food stamps or Medicaid. The rule will consider a person a public charge if they receive at least one government benefit for more than 12 months in a three-year period.

The rule was challenged in several states, leading to injunctions that prevented the rule from going into effect on Oct. 15, 2019. Two federal appeals courts—the Fourth Circuit and Ninth Circuit—lifted similar injunctions last month. Despite the partial wins, the rule still cannot be implemented because the injunctions from New York will continue to apply across the country.

Three states—New York, Connecticut, and Vermont—and a group of immigration organizations sued the Trump administration, in separate cases, to stop the rule of taking effect. A New York district court found in favor for the challengers, prompting an appeal.

On Jan. 8, a three-judge panel at the U.S Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit denied lifting the nationwide halt issued by the district court.

The Justice Department argued in their request that a stay on the injunctions is appropriate because the Supreme Court is likely to take up the appeals from the Second Circuit because two other appeals court have already concluded that the rule is likely to be upheld.

They argued that the “decisions by multiple courts of appeals have been rendered effectively meaningless within their own territorial jurisdictions because of a single district court’s nationwide injunctions, starkly illustrate the problems that such injunctions pose.”

https://www.theepochtimes.com/trump-admin-asks-supreme-court-to-allow-public-charge-rule-to-take-effect_3203007.html

Abby Martin Blocked From Speaking at Georgia Southern for Refusing to Sign Pro-Israel Loyalty Oath

Journalist Abby Martin has revealed that she was blocked from delivering a keynote speech at Georgia Southern University for refusing to "sign a contractual pledge to not boycott Israel" to comply with Georgia's anti-Boycott, Divest and Sanctions law.

"After I was scheduled to give keynote speech at an upcoming @GeorgiaSouthern conference, organizers said I must comply with Georgia's anti-BDS law and sign a contractual pledge to not boycott Israel," Martin said Friday on Twitter. "I refused and my talk was canceled. The event fell apart after colleagues supported me."

https://www.informationliberation.com/?id=61106

Leftist Jews Want to Stop Normal Americans From Protesting Israel’s Wars

Americans are sick of wars. For nearly 20 years, America’s armed forces have seen endless bloody, wasteful, and stupid fighting all over the world. If Americans were given the chance to vote directly on the issue, they would vote overwhelmingly for a more peaceful policy.

So why has the been no real anti-war movement? You would think that, after 19 years of constant Middle Eastern wars, with thousands of Americans killed, tens of thousands wounded, and untold trillions of dollars wasted, the people would stand up and say, “Enough already!”.

But, through three presidents, two republicans and one democrat, the US government has stuck to its war-loving policies. This shows that anti-war protests have been a miserable failure. Protestors have not been able to push the government (or the media, for that matter) to do anything to change course.

Why have Americans failed to make their government give them what they want?

The problem is that the anti-war movement has been hijacked. It has been taken over by some of THE VERY SAME PEOPLE who have the most to gain from endless wars!

https://russia-insider.com/en/politics/leftist-jews-want-stop-normal-americans-protesting-israels-wars/ri28159

The Robots Are Coming, And They Are Going To Take Over Millions Of Jobs

When we get to a point where literally just about everything can be done more cheaply and more efficiently by robots, the elite won’t have any use for the rest of us at all. For most of human history, the wealthy have needed the poor to do the work that is necessary to run their businesses and make them even wealthier. In this day and age we like to call ourselves “employees”, but in reality we are their servants. Some of us may be more well paid than others, but the vast majority of us are expending our best years serving their enterprises so that we can pay the bills. Unfortunately, that paradigm is rapidly changing, and many of the jobs that humans are doing today will be done by robots in the not too distant future. In fact, millions of human workers have already been displaced, and as you will see below experts are warning that the job losses are likely to greatly accelerate in the years to come.

Competition with technology is one of the reasons why wage growth has been so stagnant over the past couple of decades. The only way it makes sense for an employer to hire you is if you can do a job less expensively than some form of technology can do it.

As a result, close to two-thirds of the jobs that have been created in the United States over the past couple of decades have been low wage jobs, and the middle class is being steadily hollowed out.

But as robots continue to become cheaper and more efficient, even our lowest paying jobs will be vanishing in enormous numbers.

https://www.dcclothesline.com/2020/01/14/the-robots-are-coming-and-they-are-going-to-take-over-millions-of-jobs/

Iowa man sentenced to 9 years for receiving child pornography

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — A northeastern Iowa man was sentenced Monday to nine years in federal prison for receiving child pornography over the internet.

This sentence resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Iowa police departments of the cities of Evansdale and Waterloo, and the Black Hawk County (Iowa) Sheriff’s Office.

Derek Clemens, 31, of Evansdale, Iowa, was sentenced before United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams to 108 months’ imprisonment. His sentence follows an Aug. 5, 2019, guilty plea in which Clemens pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography.

At his plea hearing, Clemens admitted that, between March 2018 and October 2018, he knowingly received child pornography. In his plea agreement, Clemens also admitted that he possessed child pornography on a cell phone and a memory card, which included depictions of prepubescent children.

In addition to his prison sentence, the court imposed a special assessment of $100 and ordered Clemens to make $3,000 in restitution to a victim depicted in the videos he possessed. Clemens must also serve a 10-year term of supervised release and comply with all sex offender registration and public notification requirements.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel.

This investigation was conducted under HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 25,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child exploitation material, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2019, more than 3,500 child predators were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.

https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/iowa-man-sentenced-9-years-receiving-child-pornography

This again