Italy’s Radical Leftists Vote to Allow Prosecution of Former Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini for Refusing Migrant “Invaders” from Far Left NGO Ship

The Italian Senate voted that former Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini is eligible for prosecution for preventing migrants from a European NGO ship from landing in Italy.

An Italian court eventually forced authorities to accept the ship of third world migrants into their country.

The Houston Chronical reports:

The Italian Senate voted by a large margin Wednesday to allow the prosecution of right-wing opposition leader Matteo Salvini for making 131 rescued migrants to remain on a coast guard vessel for days when he was Italy’s interior minister.

Salvini’s fellow senators let stand a Senate commission’s vote to lift his immunity as a lawmaker so Italy’s Tribunal of Ministers can decide if he effectively held the migrants hostage last summer.

The Senate vote fell 84 short of the number needed to overturn its commission’s decision on Salvini’s immunity last month. Salvini insisted during Wednesday’s pre-vote debate that he would be proud to stand trial for defending Italy’s borders, but senators from his anti-migrant League skipped the vote.

Once the tally was announced, he immediately compared himself to impeached U.S. President Donald Trump, who has called the investigations during his presidency as the work of Democratic opponents and vindictive political enemies on the left.

“I, like Trump?” Salvini tweeted. ”He has a few more billions and a few more years, but it’s a bad little habit of the left, going around in the world, to try to win by judicial means.”

Amy Mek has a twitter thread that discusses the very popular Salvini’s actions:

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/02/italys-radical-leftists-vote-to-allow-prosecution-of-former-deputy-prime-minister-matteo-salvini-for-refusing-migrant-invaders-from-far-left-ngo-ship/

Pentagon Chief Mark Esper Cautions World: ‘Wake Up’ to China Threat

China steals Western capabilities, intimidates smaller nation states and seeks “advantage by any means and at any cost,” U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper cautioned on Saturday as he cast the world’s most populous nation as a disruptive threat to world order.

Esper used an address at the 2020 Munich Security Conference in Germany to give a comprehensive condemnation of China that he said topped the Pentagon’s list of potential adversaries, followed by Russia and “rogue states” such as North Korea and Iran.

“The Chinese Communist Party is heading even faster and further in the wrong direction – more internal repression, more predatory economic practices, more heavy-handedness, and most concerning for me, a more aggressive military posture,” he said.

He said Beijing has made clear its long-term intentions and said Europe and the rest of the world must “wake up” to the threats that China poses.

He also accused Beijing of deploying a “nefarious strategy” through the telecommunications firm, Huawei.

The warnings follow a similar one made last September in London when Esper cautioned European allies to be wary of China’s growing global influence, as Breitbart News reported.

On that occasion Esper said countries that grow too dependent on Chinese investment and trade become susceptible to coercion and retribution when they cross Beijing.

Esper was making the case for the Trump administration’s argument for doing more to counter what he called efforts by China and Russia to “disrupt the international order” to gain advantage.

He returned to that theme again on Saturday, oulining the risks involved.

“The Communist Party and its associated organs, including the People’s Liberation Army, are increasingly operating in theaters outside its borders, including Europe, and seeking advantage by any means, and at any cost,” he said.

“While we often doubt the transparency and forthrightness of Beijing, when it comes to their security aims, we should take the Chinese government at its word,” he said. “They have said that by 2035, the PRC intends to complete its military modernization, and, by 2049, it seeks to dominate Asia as the preeminent global military power.”

With words that echoed the Trump administration’s criticisms of Iran, Esper said China represses its people and threatens its neighbors.

“We want China to behave like a normal country,” Esper said, adding “and that means the Chinese government needs to change its policies and behaviors.”

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, speaking at the conference later in the day, dismissed the U.S. criticisms, and accused Washington of engaging in a “smear campaign” against Beijing.

Wang said Esper’s comments about the Communist single-party state’s intentions were “not based on facts.”

“I can categorically say that all accusations against China are lies,” Wang said, adding: “But if we replace the subject of the lie from China to America, maybe those lies become facts.”

https://www.breitbart.com/asia/2020/02/16/pentagon-chief-mark-esper-cautions-world-wake-up-to-china-threat/

Cardinal Zen: Vatican Is ‘Giving Everything’ to China’s Communists

ROME — Cardinal Joseph Zen said this week that the Vatican seeks compromise with China’s Communist Party (CCP), but they want “complete surrender.”

Zen — the former bishop of Hong Kong — has been a vocal critic of the Vatican’s rapprochement with the CCP, insisting that Pope Francis is “naïve” in dealing with a country he knows little about.

In September, 2018, the Vatican signed a secret agreement with China regarding the appointment of future Catholic bishops in the country. The provisions of the deal have never been made public but Vatican observers unanimously assume that the Holy See yielded some authority in the naming of bishops to the CCP.

“The pope doesn’t know much about China. And he may have some sympathy for the Communists, because in South America, the Communists are good guys, they suffer for social justice,” Zen told Catholic News Agency (CNA). “But not the [Chinese] Communists. They are persecutors.”

“So the situation is, humanly speaking, hopeless for the Catholic Church: Because we can always expect the Communists to persecute the Church, but now [faithful Catholics] don’t get any help from the Vatican,” he said.

“The Vatican is helping the government, surrendering, giving everything into their hands,” Zen said.

Last December, Cardinal Zen said that Pope Francis’ policies in dealing with the CCP are “killing” the underground Church in that country.

“Unfortunately, my experience of my contact with the Vatican is simply disastrous,” the cardinal said, noting his particular distress over the Vatican’s deal with Beijing over the naming of bishops and a subsequent Vatican document allowing Catholic clergy to register with the state-run pseudo-church.

“A secret agreement, being so secret you can’t say anything,” Zen said of the deal. “We don’t know what is in it. Then the legitimization of the seven excommunicated bishops. That’s incredible, simply incredible.”

“But even more incredible is the last act: the killing of the underground,” he said.

“Now they finished their job,” the cardinal said in reference to a document bearing the title “Pastoral guidelines of the Holy See concerning the civil registration of clergy in China” regarding Catholic priests enlisting in the state-controlled Catholic Patriotic Association (CPA), which does not recognize the authority of Rome.

The document offered Chinese clergy the opportunity to register with the CPA in good conscience as long as they specify that they are acting without failing in their duty “to remain faithful to the principles of Catholic doctrine.”

While hastening to insist it “understands and respects the choice of those who, in conscience, decide that they are unable to register under the current conditions,” by explicitly authorizing membership in the CPA, the Vatican has removed its support for those who do not wish to do so.

This last act is “simply incredible,” Cardinal Zen said. “The document says, ‘To minister openly, you need to register with the government.’ And then you have to sign. To sign something in which it says that you have to support the independent church.”

“The document contains something against our orthodoxy and they are encouraged to sign,” he said. “When you sign, you accept to be a member of that church under the leadership of the communist party. So terrible, terrible.”

The next time I see the pope, “I’m going to tell him ‘you are encouraging a schism. You are legitimizing the schismatic church in China,’” Zen said. “Incredible.”

https://www.breitbart.com/asia/2020/02/16/cardinal-zen-vatican-is-giving-everything-to-chinas-communists/

The Koch-Soros Quincy Project: A Train Wreck Of Neocon And 'Humanitarian' Interventionists

Those hoping the non-interventionist cause would be given some real muscle if a couple of oligarchs who've made fortunes from global interventionism team up and pump millions into Washington think tanks will be sorely disappointed by the train wreck that is the Koch/Soros alliance.

The result thus far has not been a tectonic shift in favor of a new direction, with new faces and new ideas, but rather an opportunity for these same old Washington think tanks, now flush with even more money, to re-brand their pet interventionisms as "restraint."

The flagship of this new alliance, the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, was sold as an earth-shattering breakthrough - an "odd couple" of "left-wing" Soros and "right-wing" Koch boldly tossing differences aside to join together and "end the endless wars."

That organization is now up and running and it isn't pretty.

To begin with, the whole premise is deeply flawed. George Soros is no "left-winger" and Koch is no "right-winger." It's false marketing, like the claim that drinking Diet Coke will make you skinny. Both are globalist oligarchs who continue to invest hundreds of millions of dollars to create the kind of world where the elites govern with no accountability except to themselves, and "the interagency," rather than an elected President of the US, makes US foreign policy.

As libertarian intellectual Tom Woods once famously quipped, "No matter whom you vote for, you always wind up getting John McCain." That is exactly the world Koch and Soros want. It's a world of Davos with fangs, not Mainstreet, USA.

A 'New Vision'?

Anyone doubting that Quincy is just a mass re-branding effort for the same failed foreign policies of the past two decades need look no further than that organization's first big public event, a February 26th conference with Foreign Policy Magazine, to explore "A New Vision for America in the World."

Like pouring old wine into new bottles, this "new vision" is being presented by the very same people and institutions who gave us the "old vision" - you know, the one they pretend to oppose.

How should anyone interested in restraining foreign policy - let alone actual non-interventionism - react to the kick-off presentation of the Quincy Institute's conference, "Perspective on U.S. Global Leadership in the 21st Century," going to disgraced US General David Petraeus?

Petraeus is, among many other things, an architect of the disastrous and failed "surge" policy in Iraq. He is still convinced (at least as of a few years ago) that "we won" in Iraq…but that we dare not end the occupation lest we lose what we "won." How's that for "restraint"?

While head of the CIA, he teamed up with then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to develop and push the brilliant idea of directly and overtly training and equipping al-Qaeda and other jihadists to overthrow the secular government of Bashar Assad. How's that for "restraint"?

When a tape leaked of Fox News contributor Kathleen T. McFarland meeting with Petraeus at the behest of then-Fox Chairman Roger Ailes to convince him to run for US president, Petraeus told her that the CIA in his view is "a national asset…a treasure." He then went on to speak favorably of the CIA's role in Libya.

But the absurdity of leading the conference with such an unreconstructed warmongering interventionist is only the beginning of the trip down the Quincy conference rabbit hole.

http://ronpaulinstitute.org/archives/featured-articles/2020/february/15/the-koch-soros-quincy-project-a-train-wreck-of-neocon-and-humanitarian-interventionists/

Claim: Boris White House Visit Cancelled After Trump ‘Slammed’ Phone Down in China Row

Boris Johnson cancelled a planned visit to the White House after a row over China in which President Trump slammed the phone down on him, according to reports.

Prime Minister Johnson was originally due to visit the White House last month following his election win, before postponing the meeting until February.

However, following a heated phone call with the American leader, the Prime Minister has cancelled his trip for fear causing a deeper rift, according to Business Insider.

Donald Trump was said to have been “apoplectic” in his phone call with Johnson while discussing the Briton’s decision to allow Chinese tech giant Huawei help build the United Kingdom’s 5G network, before slamming the phone down on the British leader.

Washington believes Huawei represents a significant security risk, and that Britain’s deal with it will compromise the world-beating Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network which encompasses the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.

A post-Brexit trade deal between the U.S. and the United Kingdom has been seen as a top priority for both Trump and Johnson, yet spats over the requested extradition of the wife of an American diplomat, Iran, and Huawei have reportedly caused friction between them.

The Prime Minister and the President will now not meet until June at the G7 summit at Camp David.

In response to the cancelled White House visit, Stever Baker, chairman of the European Research Group (ERG) of Brexiteer Tory MPs, told The Times: “We need to be negotiating with the U.S. now. I’m concerned that our negotiating mandate isn’t already out there. Time is running out with our best ally as we head to a presidential election.”

Mr Johnson has refrained from making foreign trips to secure trade deals for Britain — which it had not been allowed to do during its time in the EU — and let his foreign secretary Dominic Raab take the lead.

Downing Street has reportedly cancelled trade missions to New Zealand and Australia, with an official at the prime ministerial residence saying there is “a lot of concern about this.”

“If we don’t do any trade tours this year, it’s going to affect the entire Brexit process,” they said.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/02/16/claim-boris-white-house-visit-cancelled-after-trump-slammed-phone-down-in-china-row/

Murder in Mexican Border State Amusement Park Points to Independent Narco Gangs

MONTERREY, Nuevo Leon – Multiple cells of independent meth dealers managed to grow in power and size to the point where they began to actively clash with other drug cartels who are trying to control all the drug markets.

Unlike the border cities of Reynosa and Nuevo Laredo where large scale gun-battles are commonplace, the violence between cartels and independent cells in Monterrey manifests itself in the form of targeted assassinations. The violence comes after the Cartel Del Noreste faction of Los Zetas made a big push to control the distribution of meth in the Monterrey metropolitan area.

One of the most recent hits took place this week in the bathroom of an amusement park called Bosque Magico (Magical Forest) when a gunman approached Rodolfo “El Rodo” Hinojosa Hernandez and shot at him four times with a 9mm handgun. One of the shots struck Hinojosa in the head killing him almost instantly. Two other gunmen waited for the assassin outside of the amusement park inside an SUV with Tamaulipas license plates. Authorities believe the murder is tied to a turf war with the CDN-Los Zetas or that it could be payback for other murders tied to a drug gang led by El Rodo.

https://www.breitbart.com/border/2020/02/16/exclusive-murder-in-mexican-border-state-amusement-park-points-to-rise-of-independent-drug-distribution-cells/

Oligarch Buys Political Party - Seeks to Become President

February 15, 2020 "Information Clearing House" - Mike Bloomberg is the world's ninth richest person. An oligarch known for strong racism and insulting sexism who once was the Republican mayor of New York City. He since decided that he wants to become president.

As he saw no chance to run for a Republican party that is happy with Trump he filed to run as a Democratic candidate. Bloomberg has since bought the Democratic Party in every state as well as the DNC:

The DNC told Mike Gravel they wouldn't change the debate rules for any candidate. "That's our #1 rule - we can't change the rules for anybody."

A few months later, they changed the debate rules to let oligarch Bloomberg into the debates… after he gave the DNC $300K.

His political tactic is very simple. He does not talk about issues, as people would not like what he has to say, but simply spends tons of money:

He’s dropping huge sums of money: on staff and resources, on TV advertisements, and on Facebook ads, where Trump has long dominated. And he’s attempting to overcome his stodgy public image with the help of a meme army and through well-catered campaign events seemingly designed to convince voters that life under a wealthy technocrat might not be so bad. “I think it’s classy,” one supporter told the Times at a Philadelphia campaign rally complete drink station and a selection of cheesesteaks, hoagies, and brie-and-fig appetizers. “I feel like it’s a nightclub in here. This is what he needs to get people going.”

To this date Bloomberg has spent more than $350 million for his campaign. He is willing and can afford to put several billions into it.

Over the years Bloomberg has given more than $10 billion to build a political and philanthropical empire. He used that money to suppress voices critical of him:

In 2015, Center for American Progress researchers wrote a report on U.S. Islamophobia, w/a 4300-word chapter on the Bloomberg-era NYPD.

When the report was published, the chapter was gone.

By then, Bloomberg had given CAP ~$1.5mm. That number has grown.

The really bad thing is that it works:

3 months ago, polls found Mike Bloomberg “widely disliked” with the highest negatives in the race. Now he’s a top 3 contender for the Democratic nomination. One of the richest humans ever is trying to upend every part of the process. And this is just the stuff we know about.

The Democratic Party and lots of its bought off functionaries seem to be happy with this. They do not mind that it makes the U.S. look worse than the Ukraine. Yes, U.S. politics are always corrupt. But outright buying one's way into office is exceeding the usual stench.

But would Bloomberg, with Hillary Clinton as running mate, really be able to bring out the votes that are needed to beat Trump? I for one doubt it.

Atrios is appalled by the whole scheme but still falls for it:

Bloomberg is bad for lots of reasons, and one of them is PEOPLE SHOULD NOT BE SO WILLING TO EMBRACE A BILLIONAIRE WHO IS BUYING (not just ads, but people) THE ELECTION WITH HIS ABSURD FORTUNE. I mean, ok, sure, if it's BLOOMBERG OR TRUMP I'll choose Bloomberg, but why are people establishing this as the choice? It's absurd. The only person who can beat an asshole (fake, I know) billionaire is another asshole billionaire? Broken brains everywhere.

"[I]f it's BLOOMBERG OR TRUMP I'll choose Bloomberg" is, in my view, exactly the wrong response to this hijacking of a party and election. It is this behavior that makes Bloomberg's move possible in the first place.

Any good response to billionaires hijacking elections must demonstrate that campaigns by rich people have a high risk to fail. To vote for a third party or to abstain is the only responsible reaction to it.

This article was published by "Moon Of Alabama"-

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/52993.htm

Israel a ‘racist state’ and ‘apartheid regime’

Report ‘first of its type’ to conclude ‘apartheid system persecutes Palestinian people’

A UN agency published a report on Wednesday accusing Israel of imposing an “apartheid regime” of racial discrimination on the Palestinian people, and said it was the first time a UN body had clearly made the charge.

Israel’s foreign ministry spokesman likened the report, published by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), to Der Stürmer – a Nazi propaganda publication that was strongly anti-Semitic.

The report concluded that “Israel has established an apartheid regime that dominates the Palestinian people as a whole”. The accusation – often directed at Israel by its critics – is fiercely rejected by Israel.

UN under-secretary general and ESCWA Executive Secretary Rima Khalaf said the report was the “first of its type” from a UN body that “clearly and frankly concludes that Israel is a racist state that has established an apartheid system that persecutes the Palestinian people”.

ESCWA comprises 18 Arab states in Western Asia and aims to support economic and social development in member states, according to its website. The report was prepared at the request of member states, Khalaf said.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York the report was published without any prior consultation with the UN secretariat.

“The report as it stands does not reflect the views of the secretary-general [Antonio Guterres],” said Dujarric, adding that the report itself notes that it reflects the views of the authors.

US outrage

The United States, an ally of Israel, said it was outraged by the report.

“The United Nations secretariat was right to distance itself from this report, but it must go further and withdraw the report altogether,” the US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, said in a statement.

The Israeli ministry spokesman, Emmanuel Nahshon, commenting on Twitter, also noted the report had not been endorsed by the UN secretary general.

“The attempt to smear and falsely label the only true democracy in the Middle East by creating a false analogy is despicable and constitutes a blatant lie,” Israel’s UN ambassador Danny Danon said in a statement.

The report said it had established on the “basis of scholarly inquiry and overwhelming evidence, that Israel is guilty of the crime of apartheid”.

“However, only a ruling by an international tribunal in that sense would make such an assessment truly authoritative,” it added.

The report said the “strategic fragmentation of the Palestinian people” was the main method through which Israel imposes apartheid, with Palestinians divided into four groups oppressed through “distinct laws, policies and practices”.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/middle-east/un-report-says-israel-a-racist-state-and-apartheid-regime-1.3012189

Cryptocurrency Has To Succeed Or The Central Bankers Fail

A new Digitized Monetary System is here. Bitcoin was created to excite the masses to accept a digital future. The push for Cryptocurrency and Central Bank Digital Currency adoption will succeed because it has too. The transformation into a more convenient, faster, and user friendly method to exchange funds plays right into the Central Bankers hands.

https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/cryptocurrency-has-to-succeed-or-the-central-bankers-fail/

Malachi 4:02

But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.

Dozens of civilians killed in Saudi-UAE-led air raids in Yemen

Attacks in al-Jawf come after a Saudi fighter jet crashed in the same area, with Houthis claiming to have shot it down.

20 hours ago

Yemen's Houthi rebels say more than 30 civilians have been killed in air raids carried out by a Saudi-UAE-led military coalition, with the United Nations confirming the death toll as it deplored a "shocking" failure to protect the war-torn country's unarmed population.

Saturday's air raids in northern al-Jawf province came hours after the Houthis said they had shot down a Saudi fighter jet in the same area with an advanced surface-to-air missile.

More:

Saudi fighter jet crashes in northern Yemen's al-Jawf province

30 Yemenis medically evacuated for the first time in three years

Houthis possess arms 'similar' to those made in Iran: UN report

"Preliminary field reports indicate that … as many as 31 civilians were killed and 12 others injured in attacks that hit al-Hayjah area of al-Maslub district in al-Jawf governorate," said a statement from the office of the UN resident coordinator and humanitarian coordinator for Yemen.

The statement said "humanitarian partners" deployed rapid response teams to provide medical assistance to the wounded, many of whom were being transferred to hospitals in al-Jawf, as well as the capital, Sanaa.

'Unjustified tragedy'

The Houthis said women and children were among the dead and wounded in the air raids, while the Western-backed coalition fighting the rebels acknowledged the "possibility of collateral damage" during a "search and rescue operation" at the crash site of the Saudi plane.

A statement released by the official Saudi Press Agency did not specify the fate of the crew of the Tornado jet or the cause of its crash.

Commenting on the killing of the civilians, Lise Grande, the UN's humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, said: "So many people are being killed in Yemen - it's a tragedy and it's unjustified. Under international humanitarian law parties which resort to force are obligated to protect civilians.

"Five years into this conflict and belligerents are still failing to uphold this responsibility. It's shocking."

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/02/dozens-civilians-killed-saudi-uae-led-air-raids-yemen-200215201123271.html

Israel: ‘Peace is only made with vanquished enemies’

The mayor of Tel Aviv Ron Huldai ordered the removal on Friday of highway billboards that appeared to call for the surrender at gunpoint of Palestinian leaders for the sake of peace.

“Peace is made ONLY with vanquished enemies,” said the billboards, which showed photo-shopped images of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, blindfolded and supplicating in a war-zone as helicopters hover, and buildings behind them reduced to mere rubbles.

Mayor Huldai said: “The images incite violence that is reminiscent of ISIS and Nazi acts”, reported Israel’s News 1.

Israel’s stand-off with the Palestinians has grown newly tense since last month’s unveiling of US President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan, which they rejected as biased.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200216-israel-peace-is-only-made-with-vanquished-enemies/

NYC Taxpayers Spending Millions on Cyber Center with Controversial Ties to Israeli Intelligence

New York City taxpayers are on the hook for a multi-million dollar cyber center in the heart of Manhattan with deep ties to Israel’s high-tech intelligence apparatus.

Early last week, the city of New York launched — with little media scrutiny — one of two new massive cybersecurity centers that will be run by private Israeli firms with close ties to Israel’s government, the so-called “Mega Group” tied to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal and prominent pro-Israel lobby organizations operating in the United States. The centers were first announced in 2018 as was the identity of the firms who would run them: Israel-based Jerusalem Venture Partners and SOSA.

As MintPress has reported on several occasions, all three of these entities have a history of aggressively spying on the U.S. federal government and/or blackmailing top American politicians, raising concerns regarding why these companies were chosen to run the new centers in the heart of Manhattan. The news also comes as Israeli cybersecurity companies tied to Israeli military intelligence Unit 8200 were revealed to have access to the U.S. government’s most classified systems and simulating the cancellation of the upcoming 2020 presidential election.

he new cybersecurity centers are part of a new New York City public-private partnership called “CyberNYC” that is valued at over $100 million and officially aims to “spur the creation of 10,000 cybersecurity jobs and make New York City a global leader in cyber innovation.” CyberNYC is an initiative of New York City’s Economic Development Corporation.

However, the companies that will be responsible for creating those cybersecurity jobs will benefit foreign companies, namely Israeli and most of the jobs to be created will go to foreigners as well, as media reports on the partnership have quietly noted. Those reports also stated that, while the stated purpose of the centers is to create new jobs, the Israeli firms chosen to run them — Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP) and SOSA — view it as an opportunity to provide Israeli cybersecurity companies with a foothold into the American market and to see Israeli cybersecurity products adopted by both small and medium-sized American businesses, not just large corporations and government agencies.

For example, the founder of JVP and former Knesset member, Erel Margalit, told the Jerusalem Post that “the center we are setting up [in New York] will assist Israeli hi-tech companies in collaborating with customers and companies in the US and around the world.” More recently, ahead of the opening of the cybersecurity center that Margalit’s firm will manage, he told the Times of Israel that “New York is about something else, it’s about the drama of taking investors from Israel and Spain or Paris and other places and taking them to the next business level.” In other words, the companies set to benefit from these new centers will be foreign and mainly Israeli, as JVP invests the vast majority of its funds in Israeli start-ups.

Given that Wilson Lin, the head of CyberNYC, explained the reason behind the initiative as the fact that “there are not enough well-trained people in cyber security to fill the jobs that are required for a safer, more thriving commercial sector,” the statements of JVP’s founder strongly suggests that those “well-trained people” will not be Americans in New York, but will be brought in from abroad, namely Israel’s cybersecurity sector.

Cont. from images:

Thus, much as Israel’s cybersecurity industry has long been fused to Israel’s military and intelligence apparati, the Paul Singer-funded and Israel-backed policy has openly sought to bring American companies and government agencies into the fold in order to prevent boycotts of Israel. Though the so-called “anti-BDS laws” that have been passed in several U.S. states are one facet of this push, the use of Israeli tech, namely cybersecurity, sector to pursue this same end has received decidedly less coverage.

New York City has long been a major focus on this policy, with the growth of Israel hi-tech start-ups present in New

The number of Unit 8200 alumni working in NYC’s tech sector has grown so much that they host an annual gala closed to the press where the goal, per Haaretz, is “to try to connect startups and early stage entrepreneurs from 8200 EISP (the Israeli accelerator for Unit 8200 alumni) with clients and venture capital funds in the United States.” One of the main players at that gala is Guy Franklin, the CEO of SOSA, which was chosen to run the other NYC cybersecurity sector.

More

https://www.mintpressnews.com/cybernyc-taxpayers-millions-cyber-center-israel-ties-intelligence/264984/

Meeting southern mayors, PM again warns of possible Gaza op before elections

Local officials demand ‘change of policy,’ say sporadic rocket fire and airborne arson attacks have become intolerable

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday met with mayors from southern Israel over the spiraling violence around the Gaza Strip, and again warned that Israel could launch a military operation against Palestinian terror groups in the restive enclave before the March 2 election.

“Prime Minister Netanyahu updated the regional council heads on the latest developments related to Gaza and said we are prepared for all scenarios, including a wide-scale operation,” a statement from the premier’s office said of his meeting in Jerusalem on Sunday with the mayor of Sderot and heads of the Sdot Negev, Eshkol, Hof Ashkelon, and Sha’ar Hanegev regional councils.

The meeting came after rocket fire renewed overnight from Gaza, prompting retaliatory Israeli raids.

The mayors of the Gaza-adjacent communities demanded a “change of policy vis-a-vis terror groups in Gaza.”

“In the past two years we have been experiencing a war that we can no longer ignore,” they said in a joint statement. “In the past month alone, we have absorbed dozens of rockets and at the same time, the balloon terrorism from the Strip has grown more serious and more dangerous.”

The mayors also addressed rumors of a looming ceasefire deal between Israel and the Gaza terror groups, saying “any talk of an arrangement is entirely removed from [the reality] on the ground.”

The prime minister earlier this month cautioned that a military campaign could be launched before the election. In September, Netanyahu issued a similar warning that a war could break out before the previous national vote that month. That threat came shortly after he was pulled offstage in southern Israel during a campaign event due to rocket fire. The scene repeated itself later last year, in December, when the prime minister was similarly rushed to shelter.

Palestinian terrorists fired at least two rockets at southern Israel on Saturday night, apparently hitting open fields and causing no injuries, despite recent reports from both sides of the border of a ceasefire agreement, the military said. In response, Israeli jets carried out airstrikes in the Gaza Strip overnight Saturday, targeting Hamas installations.

The rockets appeared to strike outside the community of Kibbutz Kissufim, just east of the Gaza border, in the Eshkol region. Residents of the area reported hearing the sound of an explosion.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/meeting-southern-mayors-pm-again-warns-of-possible-gaza-op-before-elections/

Nearly 10k Military Personnel From 110 Nations In Wuhan China Weeks Before Coronavirus Outbreak

Did Bill Gates & World Economic Forum Predict Coronavirus Outbreak? An Inside Look May Shock You! https://www.activistpost.com/2020/01/…

Interview: Author of US BioWeapons Act Believes The WHO & China Are Lying About The Coronavirus https://www.activistpost.com/2020/02/…

Coronavirus A Bioweapon? White House Investigates, As Military Sets Up Quarantine Sites Across U.S. https://www.activistpost.com/2020/02/…

2019 Military World Games https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Mi…

7th International Military Sports Council Military World Games https://www.defense.gov/Explore/Spotl…

2019 CISM MILITARY WORLD GAMES https://www.dvidshub.net/feature/2019…

Event 201 http://www.centerforhealthsecurity.or…

U.S. delegation arrives in Wuhan for Military World Games http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019…

Over and over again, the military has conducted dangerous biowarfare experiments on Americans https://www.businessinsider.com/milit…

https://www.blacklistednews.com/article/76273/nearly-10k-military-personnel-from-110-nations-in-wuhan-china-weeks-before-coronavirus.html

Four Killed in Tourist Plane Crash in France

According to France 3 TV channel, a tourist Piper PA 28-181 plane which was built in 1988, crashed on the Larzac plateau, between Millau and La Cavalerie, in the town of Creissels, at about 1 pm local time.

Four people were killed when a tourist plane registered at the Angoulême aeroclub crashed several kilometres north of the runways of the Millau-Larzac aerodrome on Sunday.

For yet unknown reasons, the pilot lost control of the aircraft, and the plane caught fire on touchdown, killing the pilot and three passengers, France 3 reported. The broadcaster added, citing its colleagues from South West, that there were two pilots on board the plane, both were experienced. Also, there was a 15-year-old boy, who was preparing to pass his aeronautical initiation certificate, and this flight was a gift to him from the club. The fourth victim was the father of one of the pilots.

The Bureau of Investigation and Analysis (BEA) for Civil Aviation Security announced on Twitter that its team of investigators would arrive at the scene on Monday morning.

The Piper PA-28 is a four-seater light aircraft manufactured by Piper Aircraft (US). It has a 180 horsepower engine and is considered a very reliable aircraft by pilots.

https://sputniknews.com/europe/202002161078330099-four-killed-in-tourist-plane-crash-in-france—report/

Bashar al-Assad Says States Hostile to Syria Continue to Defend Terrorists

Earlier in the day, the Speaker of Iran’s Parliament Ali Larijani arrived in Damascus to hold talks with the Syrian leadership over the recent developments in the country.

Syria President Bashar al-Assad said during the meeting with Iran’s Ali Larijani that countries hostile to Syria continue to defend terrorists, the president's press-service reported on Sunday.

"Countries hostile towards Syria continue defending terrorists, who use civilians as live shields," the statement reads.

The Syrian head of state has once again expressed his determination to drive out terrorists from his country.

Ali Larijani said that Iran would continue supporting Syria's war against terrorism and expressed hope that the Syrian people will be able to free their land.

Earlier in the day, prior to his flight to Damascus, Larijani said that Syria had shown that the Axis of Resistance – Iran’s sphere of influence in the Middle East – is pursuing “good objectives.”

The Syrian government’s campaign to retake the last rebel-held province of Idlib has been met with resistance by Turkey, which maintains a strong presence in the region.

The day before, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan demanded that Syrian government forces immediately withdraw from areas close to Turkish observation posts in Idlib.

The situation in Idlib has escalated in recent weeks after Turkish military units came under fire from Syrian government forces, and two Syrian helicopters were shot down.

Ankara has accused the Syrian government forces of violating the ceasefire in Idlib and has threatened military force unless the situation changes. Damascus, in turn, has stated that it has the right to retaliate against continued militant attacks on civilians and government forces in Idlib.

https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202002161078329972-syrian-president-assad-says-states-hostile-to-syria-continue-to-defend-terrorists/

President al-Assad receives Larijani, renews Syrian people’s determination to liberate all Syrian territory from terrorism

Damascus, SANA_ President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday received a delegation from the Iranian Shura Council headed by its Speaker Ali Larijani.

During the meeting, the successes achieved by the Syrian Arab Army and its allies in the war against terrorist organizations in Idleb and Aleppo were reviewed, and congratulations were exchanged over the recent victories against terrorism that led some Western countries, on top the United States, to escalate their hostile stances towards Syria and Iran.

President al-Assad said that countries hostile to the Syrian people are still trying to protect terrorists who take civilians as hostages and human shields, stressing that this cannot be allowed to continue at the expense of the life, security and the stability of the citizens.

He reaffirmed that the Syrian people are determined to liberate all Syrian territories from terrorism.

For his part, Larijani affirmed his country’s continued support for Syria in its efforts to eliminate terrorism on all its territories, stressing the importance of the recent victories against the terrorists.

He expressed his confidence in the ability of the Syrian people to complete the liberation of all their lands and restore Syria’s position in the region.

The meeting also discussed developments in the region and on the international arena in light of the policy of spreading chaos and destabilization pursued by some Western countries, led by the United States.

Both sides agreed on the need for joint action to expand the circle of countries that reject these policies and cooperate with them in order to not allow the world to be drawn into more wars.

The meeting also touched upon the strategic relations between the two countries, including the parliamentary ones, and the importance of strengthening these relations which have been proven to be essential to protect the two countries and achieve the interests of their peoples.

https://www.sana.sy/en/?p=185599

>>8155792

Nice

Employee Tells Bloomberg ‘I’m Pregnant’ — Bloomberg Tells Employee ‘Kill It’

Michael Bloomberg is a Democrat and Democrats like to kill “fetuses” so this story may very well be accurate.

From The Daily Wire…

As Democrat presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg continues to ascend in the polls, more and more questions are beginning to surface about his treatment of women in the workplace.

The Washington Post highlighted several of the allegations made against Bloomberg, the most disturbing of which involved Bloomberg allegedly telling a top saleswoman at his company that she should “kill” her baby while she was pregnant.

The woman, Sekiko Sakai Garrison, says that she told Bloomberg that she and her husband were having a baby and that Bloomberg told her to “kill it.”

In a lawsuit Garrison filed against Bloomberg, in which he settled with her, she said the following happened:

On April 11, 1995 at approximately 11:20 a.m., Bloomberg was having a photograph taken with two female Company salespeople and a group of N.Y.U. Business School students, in the company snack area. When Bloomberg noticed Garrison standing nearby, he asked, “Why didn’t they ask you to be in the picture? I guess they saw your face.” Continuing his penchant for ridiculing recently married women in his employ, Bloomberg asked plaintiff, “How’s married life? You married?” Plaintiff responded that her marriage was great and was going to get better in a few months: that she was pregnant, and the baby was due the following September. He responded to her “Kill it!” Plaintiff asked Bloomberg to repeat himself, and again he said, “Kill it!” and muttered, “Great! Number 16!” suggesting to plaintiff his unhappiness that sixteen women in the Company had maternity-related status. Then he walked away.

The Post interviewed former Bloomberg employee David Zielenziger, who said he witnessed Bloomberg making the comments and that Bloomberg’s behavior was “outrageous. I understood why she took offense.”

“I remember she had been telling some of her girlfriends that she was pregnant,” Zielenziger said. “And Mike came out and I remember he said, ‘Are you going to kill it?’ And that stopped everything. And I couldn’t believe it.”

https://www.dcclothesline.com/2020/02/16/employee-tells-bloomberg-im-pregnant-bloomberg-tells-employee-kill-it/

Turkish-Backed Militants Suffer Catastrophic Losses In Western Aleppo (Photos, Video)

On February 16, al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and its Turkish-backed allies launched another attack on the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) newly-established positions in the western Aleppo countryside.

The attack targeted the towns of Kafr Halab and Miznaz, which were both liberated by the army and its allies earlier this month.

Dozens of militants and several armored vehicles took part in the large-scale offensive, that was allegedly backed by the Turkish Armed Forces. A suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (SVBIED) was also used.

In spite of their good preparations and large numbers, the attackers were crushed in the vicinity of Kafr Halab and Miznaz. The SAA, backed by the Syrian Arab Air Force (SyAAF) and the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS), repelled the attack within a single hour.

According to pro-government sources, the army destroyed eleven armored vehicles and battle tanks of HTS and its allies. The terrorist groups also lost 60 of their elite fighters.

This was the third such attack on Kafr Halab and Miznaz this month. In the most recent attack, which took place two days ago, the army destroyed three ACV-15 armored personnel carriers (APCs) which were supplied to the militants by Turkey.

The militants’ repeated attacks in western Aleppo don’t only reflect their desperation, but also the desperation of their main backer, Turkey. Ankara’s ever increasing support to the militants has failed to stop or even slow down the army’s advance in the region, thus far.

https://southfront.org/turkish-backed-militants-suffer-catastrophic-losses-in-western-aleppo-photos-video/

Syrian Military Foiled Drone Attack On Homs Refinery And Nearby Gas Factories

On February 16, the Syrian military foiled a drone attack on the Homs refinery and nearby gas factories, Syria’s state-run news agency SANA reported. According to the report, government forces intercetepd at least 5 drones launched by militants.

During the past months, the Homs oil and gas facilities became a target of two large drone attacks that caused notable damage to the infrastructure there. The most recent took place on February 4, when drones hit gas and oil facilities there causing fires and putting a part of the infrastructure out of operations for a period.

https://southfront.org/syrian-military-foiled-drone-attack-on-homs-refinery-and-nearby-gas-factories/

>>8155834

Greece – The Clearance Sale of Greek Military Bases to the United States

On 5 October 2019, in Athens, Greek Minister for Defence Nikólaos Panayotópoulos, and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo signed a “Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement”.

The Greek Parliament ratified the Agreement, which grants the United States the use of all Greek military bases. They will be used by the US armed forces not only for the storage of weapons, supplies and training locations, but also for “emergency response” operations, which in reality means attack missions.

The base at Larissa is particularly important, where the US Air Force has already stored MQ-9 Reaper drones, and also the base at Stefanovikio, where the US Army has already deployed Apache and Black Hawk helicopters.

The Agreement was defined by Greek Minister for Defence Nikólaos Panayotópoulos, as “advantageous for our national interests, because it increases the importance of Greece in the context of US planning”. An importance that Greece has enjoyed for a long time – we only have to remember the bloody coup d’État perpetrated by the colonels, organised in 1967 in the context of the Stay-Behind operation directed by the CIA [1], and followed, here in Italy, with the period of massacres beginning with the attack at the Piazza Fontana in 1969.

During the same year, a detachment of the US Navy was transferred from the base in Sigonella, Sicily and settled in Greece, at Souda Bay on the island of Crete. Today, Souda Bay is one of the most important USA/NATO aero-naval bases in the Mediterranean, used for the wars in the Middle East and North Africa. The Pentagon will be investing in Souda Bay the additional sum of 6 million Euros, which will be added to the 12 million it will be investing in Larissa, announced Panagiotopoulos, presenting it as a great opportunity for Greece.

However, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis pointed out that Athens had already signed an agreement with the Pentagon for the modernisation of the F-16 fleet, which will cost Greece 1,5 billion dollars, and that Greece is also interested by the possibility of buying drones and F-35 fighters from the USA.

Greece is also notable for being, after Bulgaria, the European ally which for many years has given the highest percentage of its GDP (2,3%) to military expenditure.

The Agreement also guarantees that the USA will enjoy “unlimited use of the port of Alexandroupolis” [3], which is situated on the Aegean Sea close to the straits of the Dardanelles, which link the Mediterranean to the Black Sea across Turkish territory, and therefore constitute an essential passage for maritime transit, especially for Russia. Furthermore, the neighbouring territory of Eastern Thrace (the small European part of Turkey) is the point at which the gas pipeline Turk-Stream arrives from Russia via the Black Sea.

The “strategic investment” that Washington is already making in the port infrastructures, aims at making Alexandroupolis one of the most important US military bases in the region, capable of blocking the access of Russiaan ships to the Mediterranean, and at the same time, hindering China which hopes to make Piraeus an important port of call on the New Silk Road.

“We are working with other democratic partners in the region to fend off evil actors like Russia and China [4], particularly Russia, which is using energy as an instrument of its negative influence”, declared the US ambassador in Athens, Geoffrey Pyatt, emphasising that “Alexandroupolis has a crucial role to play in the energetic security and the stability of Europe”.

The “Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement” with the USA is presented in this context, and was ratified by the Greek Parliament with 175 voices for, from the centre-right of the government (New Democracy and others) and 33 against (Communist Party and others), while 80 declared that they were “present” according to the formula of the US Congress, the equivalent of abstention, in use by the Greek Parliament. Syriza abstained, the Coalition of the Radical Left led by Aléxis Tsípras. First of all resigning from the government, now in the opposition, in a country which, after been obliged to sell off its own economy, is now selling off not only its military bases, but also what is left of its sovereignty.

https://www.globalresearch.ca/greece-clearance-sale-military-bases-united-states/5703788

Netanyahu: ICC has become a political tool against Israel

The prime minister said that he worked with the National Security Council and Foreign Ministry to get these countries to come out against the ICC chief prosecutor’s push to put Israel on trial.

Israel has many friends in the fight against the International Criminal Court’s attempt to turn Israel’s existence into a war crime, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the opening of a cabinet meeting on Sunday, thanking the seven countries which he said filed amicus briefs to the court in support of Israel.

“The International Court in The Hague turned into a political device against Israel,” Netanyahu said. “At the moment, it is trying to turn the fact of our existence in our homeland into a war crime. We are fighting it and by our side, I must say, are many friends in the world.”

Netanyahu thanked Germany, Australia, Austria, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Uganda for joining the US in recent days in arguing that the ICC does not have the authority to prosecute Israel.

“They are trying to prevent the ugly politicization of the International Court, but unfortunately, it’s already there. The fact that many countries stood by us and the US is a fact that should encourage all friends of Israel around the world and all citizens of Israel,” he added.

The prime minister said that he worked together with the National Security Council and Foreign Ministry to get these countries to come out strongly against the ICC chief prosecutor’s push to put Israel on trial.

Friday was the deadline for countries and organizations to petition the ICC to be allowed to state their position on whether the court has the jurisdiction to rule on alleged war crimes committed by Israel and the Palestinians. Part of the jurisdictional ruling would be considering whether the Palestinians can legally be considered a state.

Germany wrote to the court “that a Palestinian state and the determination of territorial boundaries can be achieved only through direct negotiations between Israelis and the Palestinians,” drawing a distinction between upgrades to the Palestinian Authority’s status in the UN and legal status as a state.

If ICC does adjudicate war crime lawsuits against Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former IDF chief of staff Benny Gantz, his primary rival for the premiership, would be targeted.

https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Netanyahu-ICC-has-become-a-political-tool-against-Israel-617757

With Sanders surging in the polls, Israel lobby spends big bucks to sink his chances in Nevada

After emerging as the Democratic frontrunner in wake of Iowa and New Hampshire primaries, Bernie Sanders heads to Nevada leading in polls but facing new opposition: the Israel lobby and its vast cash reserves.

Despite being pipped at the post in Iowa by Pete Buttigieg (with the help of a malfunctioning voting app, his supporters claim), Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders came out victorious in last week’s New Hampshire primary. With the Nevada primary just a week away, a Morning Consult poll published this week put the progressive senator ten points ahead of Joe Biden, the former vice president and until now, the supposed frontrunner for the 2020 nomination.

While the news has energized Sanders’ supporters, it’s also motivated mainstream Democrats and establishment talking heads, who’ve taken to slamming Sanders as a “communist,” and a “left-wing version of Trump.”

These are familiar talking points to Sanders, who has spent his entire political life an avowed socialist. Yet Sanders now faces fresh attacks from the powerful Israel lobby.

Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI) is a super PAC headed by Democratic pollster Mark Mellman. With a week to go until the Nevada showdown, the group has been airing ads criticizing Sanders’ “electability” — a nebulous concept that nobody but political strategists seem to understand. The ads begin airing on Saturday.

For Mellman’s organization, the strategy is not a new one. DMFI spent $800,000 on anti-Sanders ads in Iowa, prompting Sanders himself to slate the “big-money interests” for attempting to derail his campaign with “negative ads.” The exact amount spent in Nevada is still unknown.

https://governmentslaves.news/2020/02/16/with-sanders-surging-in-the-polls-israel-lobby-spends-big-bucks-to-sink-his-chances-in-nevada/

https://twitter.com/charliekirk11/status/1229097254729859072

HORRIFIC ABUSE Teen, 17, ‘confessed to raping 11-year-old relative 100 times before she gave birth in bathtub’

A TEEN confessed to raping his relative around 100 times — after she gave birth to his baby in a bathtub, according to a report.

Norvin Leonidas Lopez-Cante, 17, was hit with a slew of charges, including rape and incest, after he admitted to having sex with his 11-year-old relative, KSDK reported.

Police began to investigate after Lopez-Cante’s father, Francisco Javier Gonzalez-Lopez, brought an infant to a hospital in Missouri, claiming someone left the baby on his front porch.

The baby’s umbilical cord and placenta were still attached and their body temperature was just 90 degrees, the news outlet reported, citing charging documents.

Two days later, cops went to Gonzalez-Lopez’s home to interview him. There, the father said his son, Lopez-Cante, was the baby’s father — and that the 11-year-old was the mother.

Gonzalez-Lopez reportedly claimed he didn’t know the child was pregnant or that she was being raped until she gave birth in a bathtub at home on Tuesday.

Lopez-Cante was read his Miranda Rights before he is said to have confessed to having sex with the girl about 100 times and about twice a week.

He also said he didn’t know she was pregnant, per KSDK.

It's unclear how Lopez-Cante and his father are related to the 11-year-old, who has only been identified as family member.

Lopez-Cante was charged with statutory rape, statutory sodomy and incest, and his bond was set at $25,000 cash only.

His father, Gonzalez-Lopez, was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and his bond was set at $10,000 cash only.

Documents claim Gonzalez-Lopez was illegally in the U.S. and had previously been deported.

https://www.the-sun.com/news/408147/missouri-teen-raped-relative-100-times-pregnant/