Far Left Attorney for Indicted Ukrainian Lev Parnas Trolls President Trump and Rudy Giuliani with Hammer-Time
Joseph A Bondy, the lawyer for indicted Ukrainian Lev Parnas, tweeted out a video of Parnas posing with Donald Trump and some of his associates in an apparent attempt to troll the President.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/01/far-left-attorney-for-indicted-ukrainian-lev-parnas-trolls-president-trump-and-rudy-giuliani-with-hammer-time-video/
Navy: Releasing UFO Files Would Cause 'Exceptionally Grave Damage To US National Security'
A trove of classified materials associated with an infamous UFO incident marked TOP SECRET are so sensitive that their release would cause "exceptionally grave damage" to US national security according to the Navy.
https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/navy-releasing-ufo-files-would-cause-exceptionally-grave-damage-us-national-security
China Pressures World into Silence on Its Human Rights Record: Report
The Chinese regime’s intensifying efforts to thwart global scrutiny of its human rights abuses pose an “existential threat” to the international system, a rights group said on Jan. 14.
Human Rights Watch (HRW), a U.S.-based nonprofit, in an annual report documenting human rights conditions around the world, said the Chinese regime was carrying out the “most pervasive and brutal oppression in decades.” Meanwhile, outside its borders, Beijing was using its economic clout to silence its critics and extend its censorship to the rest of the world.
“No other government flexes its political muscles with such vigor and determination to undermine the international human rights standards and institutions that could hold it to account,” Kenneth Roth, HRW’s executive director, wrote in the report released on Tuesday.
Roth experienced this firsthand when he was denied entry to Hong Kong on Jan. 12, where he was due to hold a press conference about the report. The city has been roiled by ongoing pro-democracy protests against the Chinese regime’s increasing encroachment into the city’s freedoms and autonomy.
“I had hoped to spotlight Beijing’s deepening assault on international efforts to uphold human rights,” Roth said in a statement on Sunday. “The refusal to let me enter Hong Kong vividly illustrates the problem.”
Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam on Jan. 14 declined to comment on Roth’s case. Earlier, however, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson indicated that the Chinese regime had been involved in the decision to bar entry.
“It is China’s sovereign right to decide who shall be granted entry and who shall be denied it,” Geng Shuang said at a regular briefing on Jan. 13.
Geng also suggested the refusal was linked to the nonprofit’s advocacy regarding the Hong Kong protests. He accused the group of “inciting violence” and “separatist activities” in the city.
Roth, at a Tuesday press conference at the United Nations in New York City, dismissed the explanation as “preposterous,” saying the it’s “frankly ludicrous [to suggest] that my colleagues and I have the capacity to mobilize a million people or more on the streets repeatedly over the last six months.”
The Chinese regime has consistently framed the demonstrations as the work of foreign forces inciting protesters from behind the scenes.
“The Chinese government is terrified of admitting this genuine desire for democracy on territory that they rule,” Roth said. “Because if they admit that this is an indigenous, natural, and spontaneous desire, rather than what they claim is a foreign imposition … then what’s happening in Hong Kong might spread to the mainland—and that’s really the big fear.”
In December, Beijing announced sanctions on HRW and other U.S.-based nonprofits, in retaliation to the United States enacting the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which supports the city’s protest movement and threatens to impose sanctions on Chinese and Hong Kong officials involved in rights abuses in the city.
In a section on Hong Kong, the HRW report said Hong Kong police used “excessive force” to disperse protesters, including by “beating those subdued on the ground.” It added that police have “increasingly restricted freedom of assembly” in the city.
https://www.efreenews.com/a/china-pressures-world-into-silence-on-its-human-rights-record-report
SYRIA UPDATE
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.
Cont. Image 1 & 2
https://southfront.org/syrian-armys-creeping-offensive-on-idlib-never-ending-ceasefires-explained/
Military source: Air defenses confront Israeli air aggression on T4 airport, shoot down a number of the missiles
SANA-A military source announced that the army air defenses confronted an air aggression perpetrated by Israeli warplanes on T4 airport in Homs eastern countryside, from the direction of al-Tanf on the Syrian-Iraqi borders, and shot down a number of the missiles.
“Nearly at 22.10 p.m. on Tuesday January 14, 2020, the Israeli warplanes perpetrated a new aggression on T4 airport from the direction of al-Tanf region,”
https://sana.sy/en/?p=182698
Military Situation In Syria On January 14, 2020 (Map Update)
A brief overview of the recent developments in Syria:
Civilians started leaving the militant-held part of Greater Idlib via humanitarian corridors (Abu al-Duhur, al-Habbit, al-Hader) established by the Syrian Army;
A civilian was killed by militants’ shelling in the Jam’ayat al-Zahraa area of Aleppo city;
The Syrian Army shot down a drone launched by militants near the Jub Ramlah area;
An ISIS attack was reproted near Rusafah. Pro-militant sources claim that several Syrian Army soldiers were killed;
ISIS claimed that its cells ambushed a Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) unit in the Dubian area. 5 Kurdish fighters were reportedly killed.
https://southfront.org/military-situation-in-syria-on-january-14-2020-map-update/
Regime Helicopters Drop Leaflets West of Aleppo Calling on Civilians to “Depart”
Ahead of an expected push by the Syrian army, leaflets have been dropped calling on civilians to leave the area to avoid being used as human shields writes Hashtag Syria.
https://syrianobserver.com/EN/news/55371/regime-helicopters-drop-leaflets-west-of-aleppo-calling-on-civilians-to-depart.html
Idlib Civilians Start Leaving Via Opened Humanitarian Corridors (Photos)
Idlib civilians started leaving the militant-held area via humanitarian corridors (Abu al-Duhour in southeastern Idlib, al-Habbit in southern Idlib, and al-Hader in southern Aleppo) opened in the framework of the January 12 ceasefire agreement.
https://southfront.org/idlib-civilians-start-leaving-via-opened-humanitarian-corridors-photos/
INCOMING
Trump’s ex-adviser Flynn moves to withdraw guilty plea in Mueller investigation - court papers
https://www.rt.com/usa/478280-flynn-guilty-mueller-withdraw-plea/
Conspiracists say lasers and exploding smart meters used to start bushfires to make way for a new train network
Thousands of Australians appear to believe lasers and exploding smart meters are being used to start fires to make way for a new train network.
Thousands of Australians appear to believe lasers and exploding smart meters are being used to start our bushfires to make way for a new train network.
A Storyful investigation with news.com.au has found the conspiracy theory has spread far and wide on social media — with “directed-energy weapons” (DEWs) posts being shared tens of thousands of times in the past few weeks.
Those who believe the theory say the bushfires in this unprecedented season are being started using weapons which harness the focused power of technology such as lasers or microwaves.
And, many of the posts claim the fires have been deliberately started by a shadowy global elite in order to clear land for a high-speed rail network from Brisbane to Melbourne.
The deadly bushfires have also been seized on by networks of local and international conspiracy theorists, many of whom claim the fires are part of UN-led global plot to depopulate the world and seize control for a one-world government under the guises of climate change.
As part of this wider conspiracy, theorists believe the alleged high-speed rail network will force all of us into big cities where we can be controlled by the government.
Posts to Facebook show bright lines — supposedly laser beams — emanating from unsourced and unverified pictures of Australia’s bushfires to back up their argument.
https://www.news.com.au/technology/online/social/conspiracists-say-lasers-and-exploding-smart-meters-used-to-start-bushfires-to-make-way-for-a-new-train-network/news-story/24f154722befb3b3c20b748e3336ea19
Google Says It’s Eliminating Cookies From Browsers
Google on Tuesday announced it would begin phasing third-party cookies out of its Chrome web browser, following in the steps of competitors Safari and Firefox.
However, unlike those two companies that banned cookies outright, Google will phase out their support for cookies “within two years,” Justin Schuh, director at engineering for Chrome, wrote in a blog post.
“Some browsers have reacted to these concerns by blocking third-party cookies, but we believe this has unintended consequences that can negatively impact both users and the web ecosystem,” he continued.
Google cited user concerns about cookies including privacy and data collection, pledging to replace them with new technical solutions.
Cookies allow companies to track patterns of specific users and are often used for targeted advertising.
In Tuesday’s blog post, Google argued that banning them immediately would encourage other bad behavior in its place, like fingerprinting, a cookie-less method used to identify web users.
During the two year period until it drops services for third party cookies altogether, Google will use some new methods to block cross-website tracking.
Chrome will require that cookies designated for third party use can only be accessed using secure connections starting in February
https://thedcpatriot.com/google-says-its-eliminating-cookies-from-browsers/