Not One or Two, But 8 Officers in Single Dept Busted Using and Running Steroid Ring

Wichita, KS — — As the Free Thought Project reports on a regular basis, cops across the country are often caught committing the same crimes for which they routinely kidnap and cage people. From stealing from charities to selling drugs they steal from their jobs as cops, many police officers have proven to be as bad or worse than than the criminals from which they claim to protect society. The following instance out of Kansas, in which multiple cops were busted using, distributing and selling steroids, proves this notion.

According to a report out of Wichita this week, the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office suspended a whopping eight deputies for using, distributing and selling steroids. These public servants weren’t only dosing themselves with the juice, but they were making money selling it—likely to their fellow cops. The sheriff assures the public that despite this large number, it was only these eight deputies.

“Throughout the day, we did numerous interviews,” said Sheriff Jeff Easter. “This is all contained within this group of deputies using, selling, and possessing steroids. Selling was transpiring between these deputies as well. It doesn’t appear it has been introduced into the facility.”

After the seven men and one woman — yes, a female deputy was involved—were suspended and not arrested, they were all given paid vacations.

“All of these folks have been relieved of duty with pay pending the outcome of any charges that might be filed,” said Sheriff Easter. “We believe it all took place outside of the facility.“

According to investigators, they found “some evidence” and are testing it before proceeding any further.

“We have to get that tested, that will take a little bit,” said Sheriff Easter.

KSN reports that the sheriff is now shuffling positions around to cover the deputies’ shifts. He said fortunately 33 detention deputies have just graduated and another class of 25 just started Monday. The jail employs 223 detention deputies.

“This is not behavior that we expect out of our deputies by no means, so that puts a strain on some of the deputies that are friends with these particular folks,” said Sheriff Easter.

We agree.

Despite all of the accused individuals being public servants, none of their names were released.

According to the Wichita Eagle, Easter said the deputies could face felony charges of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance and misdemeanor charges of unlawful possession of a controlled substance.

However, that has yet to happen. A civilian caught selling or possessing steroids would most likely not be afforded these same privileges.

https://thefreethoughtproject.com/not-one-or-two-but-8-officers-in-single-dept-busted-using-and-running-steroid-ring/

https://twitter.com/IsraeliPM/status/1227660066700042242

Foreign interference

In Video: Turkish-backed ‘Moderate Rebels’ Wear ISIS Insignias

Just an ordinary Turkish-backed ‘moderate rebel’ in the Syrina province of Idlib. He wears an ISIS insignia and keeps strong democratic feelings in his heart.

https://southfront.org/in-video-turkish-backed-moderate-rebels-wear-isis-insignias/

WARTIME STATUS (MARTIAL LAW) DECLARED FOR THE CITY OF BEIJING

Wartime Status Order – Beijing

Party Committee of Beijing Centers for Disease Control

In order to further discipline, compact responsibility, and ensure that all prevention and control work is carried out in an efficient and standardized manner, the Party Committee of the Beijing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a wartime state order, requiring its party members and employees to fully recognize the “critical period”, “critical moment”, and “keys” The urgency and importance of the moment, consciously established a “very conscious” and entered a “wartime state.”

The first is to insist on using “state of war” to lead the thinking.

The center not only fulfills the city’s epidemic prevention and control duties, provides professional technical support duties for government decision-making, but also implements the “unit responsibility” of the “quartet responsibility” to protect the safety and health of all employees, both of which are equally important and cannot be sidelined. Under the unified leadership of the Party Committee, it unconditionally obeys the decision-making and deployment of the Party Committee in the wartime state and serves the current prevention and control work. It resonates at the same frequency, obeys unified orders, unified commands, and acts.

The second is to insist on strengthening implementation with “wartime standards.”

All party members and cadres must take overall consideration into account and resolutely put an end to work mistakes caused by this mistake. All employees must unconditionally obey work scheduling and consciously obey management. Strengthen the work style and achieve “the end of the day and the end of the day”; adhere to the problem-oriented, responsibility-oriented, sensitive matters in the prevention and control, unexplained events and the work of leaders at all levels, to understand the situation and guide commence to work.

The Party Committee of the #Beijing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just issued a wartime state order to contain the #COVID19 coronavirus outbreak. In other words, full MARTIAL LAW declared on 21 million people.

www.yangtse.com/zncontent/276541.html

Dawu County in Hubei province announces “wartime” lockdown due to coronavirus, bans people from leaving their home

https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/dawu-county-in-hubei-province-announces-wartime-lockdown-due-to-coronavirus-bans-people-from-leaving-their-home/

Global Elites Shun Commercial Airlines, Look to Private Jets as Coronavirus Death Toll Surges

Wealthy travelers and major corporate clients are rejecting commercial airline travel and looking to private jets as a way to isolate themselves from the deadly coronavirus outbreak.

The uptick in interest comes as more airlines cut scheduled flights to and from mainland China and Hong Kong in the wake of the spread of the disease that originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

UK-based consultancy Ascend by Cirium said the number of flights scheduled to operate to, from and within China had dropped by 34 percent from Jan. 23 through Feb. 11, Reuters reports.

At the same time the number of deaths and new cases spiked dramatically on Thursday after authorities changed the way they count infections in a move that will likely fuel speculation that the severity of the outbreak has been under-reported.

The hard-hit central province of Hubei reported 242 deaths in just one day and 14,840 new patients — by far its biggest one-day tally since the crisis erupted last month. The jump raised the death toll to 1,355 and the total number of nationwide infections to nearly 60,000.

China has now placed some 56 million in virtual quarantine in Hubei and its capital, Wuhan, since late last month and restricted movements of millions more in cities far from the epicentre in an unprecedented effort to contain the virus.

As those restrictions bite, more elite fliers are looking to private jets as a way to exit to China or conduct their activities across the globe, executives say.

For others, flying privately has always been a way of life.

A South American government asked PrivateFly, a global booking service for charter flights, to set up four flights out of Wuhan, the Chinese city at the center of the coronavirus outbreak, although the request might not be possible, chief executive Adam Twidell told Reuters.

Jackie Wu, president of Hong Kong-based JetSolution Aviation Group, said her company had received a “significant increase of private flight charter requests,” from Asia.

The requests are mostly for flights departing from Hong Kong or China to destinations like Auckland, Taipei, Phnom Penh, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.

She said she cannot fulfill about half of those requests because of travel bans on visitors from China, but the enquiries keep coming no matter, according to the Reuters report.

A similar flood of interest came back in 2014 when fear of the deadly virus Ebola and instability around the world pushed demand for private jet charter flights to new levels.

As Breitbart News has reported, private jet demand has never been stronger as their sales continue to defy expectations, with private jet lovers will fork out a combined $248 billion over the next ten years, buying 7,600 private planes

The users span private, corporate, and government clients including the United Nations and the European Union as well as politicians on the campaign trail.

The new private jets are expected to be bought by multinational companies and the super-rich over the next decade, each of which will burn 40 times as much carbon per passenger as regular commercial flights, predicted a report by aviation firm Honeywell Aerospace.

About 690 new business jets took to take to the skies in 2019 alone, a nine percent increase on 2018, as businesses and the wealthy refresh their fleets with new models released by three of the world’s biggest private jet manufacturers.

https://www.breitbart.com/asia/2020/02/13/global-elites-shun-commercial-airlines-look-to-private-jets-as-coronavirus-death-toll-surges/

Israeli McCarthyism is on a witch-hunt

For showing any level of support for Palestinian rights, teachers find themselves at risk of being fired

Israeli McCarthyism does not stop at the classroom door.

Meir Baruchin, a high school civics teacher in Rishon Letzion, was recently fired after speaking critically in class and on Facebook about Israeli policy in the occupied territories and the killing of Palestinian civilians by the Israeli military.

Baruchin, who has taught for more than 30 years, often uses his Facebook page to share articles about the Israeli occupation and its day-to-day impact on the lives of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza. These posts are framed within an unequivocal moral stance against oppression and violence.

He has urged young Israelis not to join the army and called pilots who bombed a Gaza building, killing nine members of one family, "murderers". In response to being summoned for a disciplinary hearing, Baruchin said he aimed to encourage students to think independently, noting that some statements attributed to him were not made in the classroom.

Opposing the occupation

This is not the first time a teacher in Israel has paid a price for taking a stance critical of the occupation and of human rights violations. About six years ago, a high school student sent a letter to Israel's education minister, complaining about how a teacher, Adam Verta, had spoken against the state of Israel, cast doubt on the morality of the Israeli army, and generally espoused "extreme leftist" opinions in the classroom.

Verta was summoned to a disciplinary hearing and subsequently fired. During the hearing, the text of which became the script for a play, Verta said - among other things - that "our tragedy in Israel is that the discourse that addresses human rights, the meaning of human life and freedom of expression has become identified with leftist extremism". And "leftist extremism" in Israel is under attack by whatever means the regime can seize.

https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/israels-education-ministry-witch-hunt

Hungarian Minister Declares Mass Migration a Threat to Humanity

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has labelled mass migration a threat to humanity during a counter-terrorism conference in Vienna.

The Hungarian minister called on the United Nations (UN) to put funding towards fighting global terrorism, calling on the international organisation to spend less on facilitating mass migration.

“[W]e are calling on the UN to include the fight against terrorism in its budget, to spend more on the global fight against terrorism and less on migration, for the benefit of all the world’s citizens,” Szijjártó said.

He went on to note that mass migration has been connected to at least 30 terror attacks since the migrant crisis in 2015, and proposed four steps to restore security in Europe, including defeating the Islamic State terror group, strengthening national borders, supporting communities fleeing terror, and having the UN recognise terrorism as a major threat to be dealt with.

The minister went on to add that promoting mass migration could present “a very serious threat to the whole of humanity”, Hungarian news programme Hirado reports.

Szijjártó specifically called out the UN Global Migration Compact, which he previously criticised in 2018, calling it an attempt to legalise illegal immigration.

“The UN Compact is more dangerous, however, because it is a global initiative, meaning it will have a greater effect than [European] policy and represents a risk to the whole world,” he said.

Hungary, along with several other countries including the United States, Australia, and Israel, rejected the migration pact, with another dozen countries abstaining from voting in December of 2018.

Szijjártó has also been highly critical of the migration policies of the European Union, stating in September that the political bloc was attempting to “cram mandatory migrant quotas down the throats of European countries”.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/02/13/hungarian-minister-declares-mass-migration-threat-humanity/

South Korea's government explores move from Windows to Linux desktop

In what may prove to be the biggest migration from Windows to the Linux desktop, the South Korean government is looking into shifting from Windows 7 to a trio of Linux desktops.

With Windows 7 in its support coffin, some institutions are finally giving up on Windows entirely. The biggest of these may be the South Korean government. In May 2019, South Korea's Interior Ministry announced plans to look into switching to the Linux desktop from Windows. It must have liked what it saw. According to the Korean news site Newsis, the South Korean Ministry of Strategy and Planning has announced the government is exploring moving most of its approximately 3.3 million Windows computers to Linux.

The reason for this is simple. It's to reduce software licensing costs and the government's reliance on Windows. As Choi Jang-hyuk, the head of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, said, "We will resolve our dependency on a single company while reducing the budget by introducing an open-source operating system."

How much? South Korean officials said it would cost 780 billion won (about $655 million) to move government PCs from Windows 7 to Windows 10.

In its first steps, the Ministry of National Defense and National Police Agency are already using the Ubuntu Linux 18.04 LTS-based Harmonica OS 3.0. While based on Ubuntu, this Linux desktop also borrows heavily from Linux Mint. It uses the Cinnamon 4.2 desktop environment and Mint apps. Harmonica 3.0 also includes Korean-created programs such as the Naver Whale browser.

Meanwhile, the Korean Postal Service division is moving to TMaxOS. This is a Linux-based operating system, but TMaxOS had had a controversial history of living up to its open-source licensing requirements. It's also closely tied to the Tmax cloud. This desktop has its own unique desktop interface and uses its own Chromium-based browser, ToGate.

The Debian Linux-based South Korean Gooroom Cloud OS is also being used by Defense and the Ministry of Public Administration and Security. Unlike the other two, this is primarily a cloud-based desktop with more in common with Chrome OS than traditional Linux desktops.

Windows will still have a role to play for now on South Korean government computers. As the Aju Business Daily, a South Korean business news site, explained: Government officials currently use two physical, air-gapped PCs. One is external for internet use, and the other is internal for intranet tasks. Only the external one will use a Linux-based distro.

Eventually, by 2026, most civil servants will use a single Windows-powered laptop. On that system, Windows will continue to be used for internal work, while Linux will be used as a virtual desktop via a Linux-powered cloud server. This looks to eventually end up as a Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS) model.

It's early days yet. This move may be meant to win significant discounts from Microsoft for Windows licenses. We may also see both Windows and Linux as running primarily in a DaaS mode by then.

Still, a significant number of South Korean desktops will move to Linux in the near-term, while in the long-run many more of them may end up running Linux virtual desktops off Windows systems. Only time, politics, and governmental budgeting will tell.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/south-koreas-government-explores-move-from-windows-to-linux-desktop/

Foreign Aid Just Empowers Corrupt Regimes. End It.

The Senate’s vote to acquit Donald Trump on both articles of impeachment this month brought a much-needed end to the tiring impeachment saga America has been subject to in the last few months.

The impeachment controversy arose when President Donald Trump initially withheld military aid from Ukraine unless President Volodymyr Zelensky provided revelatory information about political rivals such as presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden’s business dealings. After a whistleblower alleged that Trump may have abused power, the managerial class was off to the races to launch an impeachment inquiry against him. For the past few months, DC pundits have yammered on about the implications of impeachment while the rest of the country has been busy getting on with their lives the way that normal people not living off government largesse do.

Now that the impeachment trial is over, maybe we can actually talk about more relevant issues like foreign aid. For more than seventy-five years, foreign assistance has played an integral role in American foreign policy. In 2019, a total of $39.2 billion was spent on foreign assistance, and at a quick glance it has left a lot to be desired.

School textbooks tend to make foreign aid look like a simple process, but as with anything the government runs, foreign aid has its obligatory share of red tape. Fergus Hodgson of Econ Americas noted that “Little of the development funds trickle down to the target communities,” in explaining why countries like Ethiopia and Haiti remain backwards. More importantly, Hodgson provided an unpleasant depiction of where foreign aid money generally goes:

A confiscatory portion goes to the pockets of federal bureaucrats and U.S. contractors, and another sizable chunk goes to urban, middle-class, or affluent partners in recipient countries. Further, one-fifth of U.S. aid goes through local governments, which tend to be corrupt and incompetent.

As far as the countries where the bulk of foreign aid is going, they’re not necessarily the most institutionally sound. War-ravaged countries such as Afghanistan ($5.1 billion), Iraq ($880 million), and Yemen ($565 million) received substantial aid in the fiscal year of 2018—be it in economic or military form. The first two countries have been subject to US invasions, in which the US government may have spent more than $5 trillion trying to turn them into Western-style democracies. In the case of Yemen, the US has been dragged into a proxy war all thanks to its “special relationship” with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. After nearly two decades of nation building, there appears to be no end in sight to American involvement in the region.

Thanks to the ruling class’s Russophobia, Ukraine was easy to side with in the Crimean conflict after Russia ramped up its intervention in the Crimean Peninsula. This resulted in the US disbursing a total of $559 million in aid to Ukraine in 2018. Foreign aid to Ukraine was at the center of the now concluded impeachment charade.

None of the aforementioned countries are exemplars of clean governance. Transparency International’s 2018 Corruption Perceptions Index revealed that Afghanistan, Iraq, Ukraine, and Yemen have putrid corruption rankings of 172nd, 168th, 120th, and 176th place, respectively.

Foreign Aid Encourages Bad Behavior

https://governmentslaves.news/2020/02/13/foreign-aid-just-empowers-corrupt-regimes-end-it/

Mexican Government Deploys Elite Marines to Combat Drug Cartels Thanks to Pressure From the Trump Administration

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador recently deployed Mexico’s underutilized elite marine force to combat drug cartels, after facing pressure from the Trump administration to step up its fight against the flow of narcotics, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.

The WSJ noted that this decision represents a change from a “counternarcotics strategy that largely ended the pursuit of high-profile arrests and focused almost exclusively on poverty alleviation.”

“We are operating again,” one senior Mexican navy officer stated. He added, “The targets we need to go after have been defined.”

For a broader context, this strategy came about after growing concern from the Trump administration that Mexico has failed to keep the drug trade in check in light of last November’s cartel murder of nine American citizens. According to some estimates, Mexico’s total murders in 2019 is on the verge of exceeding 2018’s record of 36,685.

U.S. Attorney General William Barr has led the charge in putting pressure on Mexico to step up its security measures.

On two occasions, Barr visited Mexico to encourage AMLO to use Mexican marines as part of a more robust counternarcotics plan against drug traffickers. Additionally, he advised AMLO to strengthen the extradition process of suspects who have escaped the U.S. while being wanted for crimes. Last month, Barr advised the Mexican government to target fentanyl labs, in addition to clamping down on seaports being used to deliver some of the chemical inputs used in the labs.

The Mexican marines, the Mexican security force which U.S. officials have the most confidence in, successfully carried out high-profile arrests and killings of cartel leaders during the last two decades. Most notable in these apprehensions, include the two times drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán was arrested.

This new strategy is a stark contrast to AMLO’s “hugs, not bullets” approach which focused on addressing poverty instead of taking cartels head on.

Thanks to Trump’s pressure, AMLO is starting to get the memo and is beginning to take his country’s security seriously.

https://governmentslaves.news/2020/02/13/mexican-government-deploys-elite-marines-to-combat-drug-cartels-thanks-to-pressure-from-the-trump-administration/

Texas Border City Ex-Mayor Arrested on Federal Fraud Charges

Federal agents arrested a former Texas border city mayor for allegedly using his position to steer a municipal public relations services contract. He is also accused of selling some of his real estate interests to the City at an inflated price. Two charges of wire fraud stemming from an indictment were handed down by a grand jury this week.

Jose Adolfo “Fito” Salinas, 81, the long-time mayor of La Joya who was ousted last year, is currently in federal custody. Salinas faces two wire fraud charges, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas.

One of the charges relates to Salinas allegedly using his position to sell real estate to the City at a highly inflated rate. Federal authorities also arrested his daughter, Frances Salinas, who was the interim director for the City’s public housing authority in December 2019. Agents also arrested Sylvia Garces Valdez, the vice-chairwoman of the La Joya Housing Authority Board and an employee at the La Joya Independent School District.

The second charge relates to a public relations services contract where the City of La Joya hired Garces Valdez to run municipal social media accounts. As Breitbart Texas reported in August, the contract contained an unusual clause that called for Garces to receive a $12,000 retainer. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Frances Salinas was set to receive some of the money that the City paid to Garces Valdez.

La Joya is a known human and drug smuggling corridor with a long history of corruption. In early 2019, a jury in a federal trial convicted former La Joya Police Chief Geovanni Hernandez on drug trafficking charges for his role in protecting loads he believed were tied to the Gulf Cartel. Court testimony pointed to Hernandez bragging about being friends with a former leader of the cartel. Hernandez is now serving a 20-year prison sentence.

La Joya is the same city that in 2014 was the scene of a three-hour standoff and shootout where 29-year-old Joaquin “El Cruzador” Cibrian, a prison gang member working for the Gulf Cartel, died in a hail of bullets after shooting two police officers. That shootout began when detectives from another city tried to arrest Cibrian for the execution of a 19-year-old man from Mexico over a stolen cocaine load. After shooting the two officers, Cibrian barricaded himself in a house until SWAT officers retaliated.

https://www.breitbart.com/border/2020/02/13/texas-border-city-ex-mayor-arrested-on-federal-fraud-charges/

AIPAC is a ‘hate group’ ‘weaponizing anti-Semitism’, says US Congresswoman

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, better known as AIPAC, has been condemned as a “hate group” by US Congresswoman Betty McCollum. The Democratic representative for Minnesota denounced the pro-Israeli group in a scathing response to an advert which she described was “weaponizing anti-Semitism” to “incite followers” of the lobby group to attack her and other Democratic colleagues.

McCollum expressed outrage at having her image plastered on the controversial AIPAC advert which labelled Democrats “anti-Semites” for their support of the Palestinians. “Radicals in the Democratic Party are pushing their anti-Semitic and anti-Israel policies down the throats of the American people,” the lobby group had said on Facebook. “America should never abandon its only democratic ally in the Middle East.” It urged its supporters to sign a letter of protest and not “abandon Israel”.

“The decision by AIPAC to use my image in paid Facebook ads weaponizing anti-Semitism to incite followers by attacking me, my colleagues, and my work promoting human rights for Palestinian children detained in Israeli military prisons is hate speech,” McCollum said in her response to the advert.

The statement expressed dismay at a petition linked to the add describing McCollum and her Democratic colleagues as being “more sinister” than the Daesh terror group. The AIPAC petition linked to their ads designed to mobilise supporters stated: “It’s critical that we protect our Israeli allies especially as they face threats from Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, ISIS and – maybe more sinister – right here in the U.S. Congress.”

“This is not a call to action, it is incitement,” said McCollum. “Elected representatives in Congress “more sinister” than ISIS?” added the 65-year-old in disbelief.

McCollum believes she is being targeted by AIPAC because of a bill she has sponsored that seeks to protect Palestinian children from Israeli torture. “AIPAC wants its followers to believe that my bill, H.R. 2407, to protect Palestinian children from being interrogated, abused, and even tortured in Israeli military prisons is a threat more sinister than ISIS,” said McCollum. “This is not empty political rhetoric. It is hate speech.”

Promising not to be cowered by AIPAC’s hateful ad McCollum said: “I will not back down from my commitment to peace, justice, equality, and human rights for Palestinians and Israelis. I want Jews, Muslims, Christians, and all people to be safe, secure, and able to find hope and opportunity – in the U.S., in Israel, and in Palestine.”

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200213-aipac-is-a-hate-group-weaponizing-anti-semitism-says-us-congresswoman/

BP invested $35bn in Egypt, despite widespread corruption

British Petroleum (BP) has invested $35 billion in Egypt making it one of the largest foreign investors in the country. As analysts have pointed out, this means it more or less controls the energy supply in the country producing 50 per cent of Egypt’s natural gas consumption.

The investments come in spite of repeated calls by rights groups for foreign investment to be conditioned on the improvement of human rights in Egypt, where some 60,000 political detainees have been jailed since 2013.

In 2015, BP secured a $12 billion investment deal for a gas project in the West Nile Delta under which it would sell 100 per cent of the gas produced from two offshore blocks in Egypt, despite the fact that the traditional foreign investors share is 20-30 per cent.

Former Egyptian MP Hatem Azzam has previously estimated that BP’s deal cost the Egyptian people some $32 billion.

The following year British investments in Egypt hit $30 billion, making it the country’s highest foreign investor.

Since his rise to power the Egyptian president has promised to revive the economy, even asking Egyptians to forego their freedoms in exchange for a healthy economy.

Yet under his rule the poverty rate has risen in the country – now over one third of Egyptians live below the poverty line, leading ordinary citizens to ask where these multi-billion investments are going.

Egyptian whistleblower Mohamed Ali last year revealed corruption within the inner circles of the regime, detailing how the president and his wife built opulent palaces whilst the ordinary population struggle to buy basic commodities as austerity measures are rolled out across the country under the terms of an IMF loan.

Floods in Egypt last October highlighted the lack of investment in the country’s infrastructure where the heavy rain flooded the streets and social media users complained about ineffective drainage systems in the city.

Transparency International’s 2019 Corruption Perceptions Index revealed that Egypt’s corruption score is 35/100 which puts it at the lower end of the index, indicating a significant problem with public sector corruption.

In January, when Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi visited the UK as lead speaker at the African investment conference, protesters again called on the government to raise the issue of human rights with its major ally.

Instead, following Al-Sisi’s visit, the UK’s ambassador announced £6.5 billion ($8.5 billion) worth of commercial deals had been signed between Egypt and Britain.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200213-bp-invested-14bn-in-egypt-over-5-years-despite-widespread-corruption/

Cities Create New Ways To Expand Neighborhood Surveillance Programs

Cities and towns are creating new ways to expand neighborhood surveillance programs known as police cam-share programs.

An article in The Baltimore Sun revealed that the Baltimore County Council wants more businesses and homeowners to purchase CCTV surveillance equipment.

The bill would create a voluntary private security camera registry for property owners with devices pointed toward a public right-of-way, according to the proposal. The program would map where cameras are located to help detectives identify possible security footage in areas where crimes happened.

How do cities and towns expand police cam-share programs? By offering to waive permitting fees, that’s how.

That is what makes the Baltimore County Council’s Bill unique from other police cam-share programs.

The County will waive the alarm permit fee the installation of a new alarm system that includes private security or surveillance cameras or the upgrade of a current alarm system that includes such cameras.

The Baltimore County Council wants to create a neighborhood surveillance network by offering homeowners and businesses a savings of $34.00-$113.00.

Under the proposal the county would waive alarm permitting fees for new alarm system installations — which start as low as $34 for homes and $113 for commercial buildings — that include private security or surveillance cameras if the owner signs up for the registry. The county would also waive fees for any updates to current alarm systems that include those cameras.

https://www.activistpost.com/2020/02/cities-create-new-ways-to-expand-neighborhood-surveillance-programs.html

Trump lashes out over Kelly criticism: 'He misses the action'

President Trump on Thursday tore into his former chief of staff John Kelly, deriding his job performance and accusing him of breaching decorum after Kelly openly criticized the president's rhetoric and decisionmaking.

Trump lashed out at Kelly after reports circulated that his former chief of staff and Homeland Security secretary defended migrants, the press and Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who was reassigned from his post after testifying against Trump in the impeachment inquiry.

"When I terminated John Kelly, which I couldn’t do fast enough, he knew full well that he was way over his head. Being Chief of Staff just wasn’t for him," Trump tweeted. "He came in with a bang, went out with a whimper, but like so many X’s, he misses the action & just can’t keep his mouth shut, which he actually has a military and legal obligation to do."

The president went on to claim Kelly's wife told him the former administration official and four-star general respected him "greatly" and "will only speak well of" him.

Trump nominated Kelly to serve as his Homeland Security secretary before appointing him chief of staff in July 2017. He stayed on in that role for roughly 17 months, stepping down at the end of 2018.

Trump has a tendency to lash out at former administration officials who openly criticize him, having tweeted angrily about former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, former national security adviser John Bolton and former communications director Anthony Scaramucci, among others.

Kelly appeared Wednesday night at a Drew University event in New Jersey, where he laid out a number of disagreements with Trump's policies and comments.

Kelly defended Vindman, saying he acted properly in reporting his concerns with Trump's July 25 call with the Ukrainian president. He said the media is "not the enemy of the people," dismissing an attack frequently deployed by the president. Kelly described migrants as "overwhelmingly good people," an implicit rebuke of Trump's warnings of dangerous caravans and the need to curb immigration.

Kelly's tenure was marked by his turbulent relationship with Trump. Kelly tried to rein in some of the president's more impulsive behavior and curb leaks within the White House, but the administration continued to struggle with infighting and controversy.

His successor, Mick Mulvaney, has been acting chief of staff for more than 400 days. Mulvaney has in the past been critical of Kelly's approach to the job, saying it hurt morale.

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/482935-trump-lashes-out-over-kelly-criticism-he-misses-the-action

Moscow Court imposes fine on Facebook for breach of Russian personal data law

A similar fine was imposed on Twitter earlier today

MOSCOW, February 13. /TASS/. The judicial district of the Justice of the Peace in Moscow’s Tagansky District imposed a fine on Facebook totaling 4 mln rubles ($62,800) for breach of Russian legislation on protection of personal data, TASS reports from the court room.

"The court ruled to recognize Facebook as the guilty party under Part 8 of Article 13.11 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offenses (Breach of Russian Federation laws in personal data sphere) and set a fine in the amount of 4 mln rubles," the judge said. Facebook has a right to appeal against the decision within ten days.

A similar fine was imposed on Twitter earlier today. The social network representatives did not arrive at the court session.

Under the Russian law on personal data, which took effect on September 1, 2015, national and foreign companies are obliged to keep and process personal data of Russian users in the territory of Russia.

https://tass.com/economy/1119889

Sex offender rabbi Berland remanded in miracles-for-cash probe

When attorney for elderly rabbi raises concerns over his health, judge suggests he take Mentos mints, which he allegedly gave out as a ‘wonder drug’

The Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court on Thursday extended by eight days the detention of Rabbi Eliezer Berland, a convicted sex offender who has been arrested anew for allegedly fleecing millions of shekels from terminally ill patients by promising miraculous recoveries.

Judge Sharon Lary-Bavly wrote in her decision that Berland “cynically exploited” his alleged victims by, among other things, giving “Mentos to patients under the guise of medication.”

During the deliberations Berland’s attorney Amit Hadad raised the issue of his client’s poor health as a reason to not keep him in custody.

Lary-Bavly shot back, “Give him a Mentos.”

Dozens of Berland’s supporters demonstrated outside the court during the proceedings, their vocal protests audible in the courtroom.

Berland was arrested for fraud after hundreds of people complained to police against him for selling prayers and “wonder drugs” to desperate members of his community, and for promising families of handicapped individuals that their loved ones would be able to walk and families of convicted felons that their loved ones would be freed from prison.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/sex-offender-rabbi-berland-remanded-in-miracles-for-cash-probe/

Lead Juror In Roger Stone Case Ran For Congress As A Democrat In 2012

A former Democratic congressional candidate came forward Wednesday as the foreperson on Roger Stone’s jury.

The foreperson on Roger Stone’s jury ran for Congress as a Democrat in 2012, it was revealed Wednesday.

Tomeka Hart revealed her role on the jury in a Facebook post defending four prosecutors who quit the Stone case in protest over a revision to the Trump confidante’s recommended prison sentence.

Hart’s social media activity shows she closely followed the special counsel’s Russia investigation, and frequently posted negative stories about President Donald Trump.

A former Democratic congressional candidate whose social media accounts are replete with criticism of President Donald Trump came forward Wednesday as the foreperson on the jury that convicted longtime GOP operative Roger Stone at a trial in November 2019.

According to multiple news reports, Tomeka Hart revealed her role on the jury in a Facebook post supporting the four prosecutors who withdrew from the Stone case Tuesday in protest over a revision in a sentencing recommendation for the GOP operative.

“I have kept my silence for months. Initially, it was for my safety. Then, I decided to remain silent out of fear of politicizing the matter,” Hart wrote on Facebook, adding: “But I can’t keep quiet any longer.”

CNN first reported Hart’s post but did not note that she was a Democrat. Commercial Appeal, a news outlet affiliated with USA Today that spoke to Hart, reported details of her professional background. Those details match up with the same person who ran for Congress in 2012. A Politico reporter who covered Stone’s trial identified Hart as a former congressional candidate.

Hart, who did not respond to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment, lost to incumbent Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen in the 2012 primary.

Hart’s social media accounts show she kept a close eye on developments in the special counsel’s investigation.

Her Twitter feed shows dozens of references to Trump, many of them links to negative stories about the Republican. In a Twitter post on Aug. 19, 2017, Hart quoted a tweet referring to Trump as the “#KlanPresident,” in an apparent reference to the KKK.

She also retweeted a post from CNN analyst Bakari Sellers criticizing Stone defenders who were upset over the circumstances of his arrest on Jan. 25, 2019. More than a dozen FBI agents raided Stone’s home in South Florida.

https://theduran.com/lead-juror-in-roger-stone-case-ran-for-congress-as-a-democrat-in-2012/

>>8125363

attack the sauce but not the content FFS amateur hour

New York Schools Gang Unit Pushes the Criminalization of Children

An obscure unit of the New York City Department of Education tasked with addressing “gang and youth violence” in the city’s public schools has been promoting a set of guidelines that reveal serious ignorance of adolescent behavior and perpetuate false and racist stereotypes.

The guidelines, which youth advocates warn put students’ rights and potentially lives at risk, were compiled in a handbook by the Gang Prevention & Intervention Unit, a division of the DOE’s Office of Safety and Youth Development, which relies heavily on schools’ formal relationship with the New York City Police Department. The 14-page handbook is an alarmist compilation of dubious and often absurd claims, listing “personality changes” and “alcohol/drug use” as warning signs of gang involvement and cautions that “females” joining gangs are at higher risk of pregnancy and sexual diseases. The handbook also repeats sensationalistic folklore about gangs, like the idea that initiations require the murder of “an innocent victim, rival gang member, or even a police officer.”

The “GPIU Gang Awareness Information” handbook is part of a set of documents that were obtained through a public records request by the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and shared exclusively with The Intercept. It’s not clear how long the guidelines have been in place or how widely they have been used within the city’s schools. Little is known about the GPIU, a unit that dates back to the 1990s but remains largely unknown to the public. While the GPIU technically operates under the DOE, the documents appear to have been compiled at least in part by police officers and repeatedly encourage educators to reach out to law enforcement, raising questions about the collaboration between schools and police at a time when the city has ramped up the targeting of gangs.

As The Intercept has reported, in recent years the NYPD has massively expanded a secretive “gang database” that lists tens of thousands of New Yorkers, mostly black and Latino men, even as gang-related incidents make up a fraction of crime in the city. Police can add individuals to the database based on a set of broad and arbitrary criteria that include the people they associate with and locations they frequent — criteria that critics say effectively punish entire communities. You don’t even have to commit any crimes to be added to the database, and there is no clear way for people to learn whether they are listed on it or why.

More

https://theintercept.com/2020/02/13/new-york-city-schools-gang-law-enforcement/

Barclays News: British Bank Regulators Investigating CEO Jes Staley's Relationship To Jeffrey Epstein

Epstein was found dead in his New York jail cell while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges

Epstein was a client of Staley's when the latter headed JPMorgan's private bank

Staley said he has been fully transparent about his relationship with Epstein

British bank regulators are investigating Barclays PLC CEO Jes Staley for his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, the financier who was found dead in his New York jail cell last summer while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges, the investment bank said Thursday.

The Financial Conduct Authority, Britain’s main banking regulator, and the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority opened their investigation in December, following an initial inquiry seeking assurances Staley had not be involved in impropriety or lied about his relationship to Epstein.

“The FCA and PRA confirm there is an investigation concerning Mr. Staley. We are unable to comment any further,” the FCA said.

Barclays (BCS) shares were trading lower at midday Thursday.

Questions about the inquiry overshadowed conference call on Barclay’s quarterly results, which showed pretax 2019 profits up 25%.

“It’s been very well known that I had a professional relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. It goes back to the year 2000 when I was asked to run the JPMorgan private bank. And he … already was a client when I joined the private bank,” Staley said.

Saying he regretted the relationship, Staley added: “Obviously I thought I knew him well, and I didn’t. And for sure with hindsight of what we all know now, I deeply regret having had any relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.”

Staley is among a handful of Wall Street financiers linked to Epstein. He visited Epstein a decade ago when the latter was serving a jail sentence in Florida for soliciting prostitution from a minor and listed Epstein as a reference on a license to set up a bank.

The investigation comes less than two years after Staley was fined $848,627 for attempting to identify a whistleblower at the bank.

Barclays said a review conducted by outside lawyers concluded Staley had been transparent about his relationship with Epstein.

https://www.ibtimes.com/barclays-news-british-bank-regulators-investigating-ceo-jes-staleys-relationship-2921869

McClatchy Files For Bankruptcy: What Does Chapter 11 Mean For The Newspaper Publisher?

Newspaper publisher McClatchy Co. (MNI) has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection along with its 53 wholly owned subsidiaries. The company said operations will continue as usual at its 30 newsrooms as it undergoes restructuring and plans to emerge from bankruptcy in the next few months.

McClatchy owns several local news outlets, including the Miami Herald, Kansas City Star, The Charlotte Observer, The News & Observer in Raleigh, North Carolina, and The Star-Telegram in Fort Worth, Texas.

McClatchy said it has secured $50 million in debtor-in-possession financing from Encina Business Credit, which combined with its operating cash flow, will allow it to continue operating all of its local news outlets, it said.

"McClatchy's Plan provides a resolution to legacy debt and pension obligations while maximizing outcomes for customers and other stakeholders," Craig Forman, president and CEO at McClatchy said in a statement. "When local media suffers in the face of industry challenges, communities suffer: polarization grows, civic connections fray and borrowing costs rise for local governments. We are moving with speed and focus to benefit all our stakeholders and our communities."

The company has grown its digital-only subscription base by nearly 50% year-over-year with digital accounting for 40% of its revenues. McClatchy has over 200,000 digital-only subscribers, and over 500,000 paid digital customer relationships.

McClatchy has reduced its operating expenses by 23.3% or $186.9 million over the last three years, paying down debt of about $153.5 million. The company’s pension plan at the time of filing is estimated at $1.393 billion, with $580 million in voluntary contributions made by McClatchy.

As part of its restructuring plan, McClatchy has asked to maintain employee wages and benefits as well as its commitments to stakeholders. The company expects its creditors and vendors to be unaffected by the Chapter 11 filing with some delays in payment that McClatchy anticipates will be resolved when it emerges from bankruptcy.

McClatchy announced its restructuring plans in November 2019. The company expects to emerge as a private business going forward, removing its listing from the NYSE.

Total revenues for Q4 are expected to be $183.9 million, down 14% from fourth quarter 2018, with advertising revenues of $89.7 million and audience revenues of $80 million. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be $33.3 million.

The company’s full-year guidance is anticipated to have revenues of $709.5 million, down 12.1% from 2018 with advertising revenues at $337.1 million and audience revenues of $321.8 million. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be $98.2 million for the year.

https://www.ibtimes.com/mcclatchy-files-bankruptcy-what-does-chapter-11-mean-newspaper-publisher-2921763

US Continues Crackdown On Huawei, Adds Racketeering Conspiracy Charge

President Trump's top economic advisor Larry Kudlow has been commenting this afternoon on the Covid-19 outbreak in China.

The overall theme is the Trump administration is "quite disappointed" in China's response to the virus outbreak as confirmed cases and deaths soar.

Kudlow said the U.S added new charges against Huawei, including racketing conspiracy to the list. The Chinese telecom was already facing criminal charges for allegedly violating U.S. sanctions against North Korea and Iran.

He said Trump spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping last week about assisting in any efforts to contain the virus.

Kudlow is now blaming the virus outbreak and Boeing 737 Max production halt for why the U.S. economy could slip below the 3% mark in 1Q.

E-Mini S&P500 futures slipped 12bps on headlines from Kudlow.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/us-continues-crackdown-huawei-adds-racketeering-conspiracy-charge

Harvard, Yale under federal investigation for shady foreign gifts

The U.S. Department of Education is investigating Harvard and Yale after the Ivy League institutions failed to report millions in foreign gifts.

The probe is part of an ongoing federal effort to get to the bottom of billions in undisclosed foreign gifts at colleges across the country.

The Department of Education has opened an investigation into the millions of dollars in foreign funding going to Harvard and Yale Universities.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the Department of Education is continuing a review that American colleges did not disclose $6.5 billion in foreign funding, including monies from China and Saudi Arabia.

“If colleges and universities are accepting foreign money and gifts, their students, donors, and taxpayers deserve to know how much and from whom…"

In a letter to Harvard, the Department of Education asked the Ivy League institution to disclose all information regarding gifts and connections to China, Iran, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. The Department of Education also asked Harvard to disclose any connections it may have to Huawei and ZTE, two Chinese telecommunications companies, and Kaspersky Labs, the Russian cybersecurity firm.

The Wall Street Journal previously reported that Huawei has been accessing mobile phone networks around the world through "back door" methods traditionally used by law enforcement.

https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=14374

IDF appoints general to lead new Iran Command as threat escalates

Momentum plan will also see military open a new infantry division as well as close one tank battalion and one air force squadron in the coming year.

The IDF will be establishing a new Iran Command as one of the top priorities of Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi’s ‘Momentum’ multi-year plan, which aims to obtain a considerable military advantage over Israel’s foes.

The new Iran Command will be led by a major general and will be dedicated to and focused on analyzing threats posed by Iran and planning Israel’s campaign against the Islamic Republic.

It will bolster the IDF’s attack capabilities, including using technological means for IAF jets to destroy enemy targets; increase the military’s intelligence superiority; and expand it’s intelligence gathering on the Islamic Republic including by satellites, as well as bolster Israel’s cyber capabilities, both defensive and offensive.

The plan was approved by Defense Minister Naftali Bennett and presented to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and will be presented to the cabinet for approval. On Thursday, Kochavi presented the plan to all IDF commanders with the rank of lieutenant colonel and higher.

“After a thorough and in-depth process with the chief of staff, IDF commanders and the defense establishment, I endorsed the Momentum Plan that will allow the IDF to strike at the enemy faster, with greater force, with greater lethality, and thus defeating the enemy and achieving victory,” Bennett said on Thursday, adding that the plan will allow the military to end any future conflict in a decisive manner.

“The IDF is fast, strong and deadly,” he stressed.

The army believes it is of the utmost importance to build the military for threats it will face some 30 years in the future and [therefore] built the new multi-year plan accordingly, with new concepts and methods of warfare which have been adapted to the challenges of the urban battlefield saturated with enemy fire.

According to the military, while there remains a gap between the IDF and her enemies, it is closing quickly and Israel needs to take advantage of the strategic opportunity to stay one step ahead of its enemies by making the necessary changes.

While the budget for the multi-year plan has not yet been agreed to with the Finance Ministry, the IDF says that the resources available to it – the budget for 2020 and with the US Memorandum of Understanding, along with changes in internal priorities – will allow the IDF to implement many of the decisions of the plan.

If not, the military believes that there will be a risk to Israel’s national security.

https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/IDF-appoints-general-to-head-up-new-Iran-Command-as-threat-escalates-617507

PRAY FOR EACH OTHER