Downer raised Russia concerns at US embassy without government approval

Former foreign minister Alexander Downer acted without clearance from Australian officials when he contacted United States diplomats four years ago to raise concerns about potential Russian interference in the US presidential election.

A new memoir by former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull reveals that Mr Downer raised his concerns directly with the US embassy in London in July 2016 but had "no authority from Canberra" to do so.

The move was crucial to the launch of an FBI investigation into the Russian support for the election of US President Donald Trump, who dismissed the inquiry as a "witch-hunt" and ordered an inquiry into the affair.

Mr Downer, the Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom at the time, met Trump aide George Papadopoulos in London in May 2016 and was told the Russians had "damaging" material on Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton.

While Mr Downer mentioned this in a cable to the Department of Foreign Affairs, the information was not acted upon until he later chose to raise it with the deputy at the US embassy in London, Elizabeth Dibble.

In his new memoir, A Bigger Picture, Mr Turnbull says Mr Downer did this without checking with the department.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/downer-raised-russia-concerns-at-us-embassy-without-government-approval-20200416-p54kho.html

15 House Democrats Call to Replenish Small Business Relief Fund Despite Pelosi’s Objections

Fifteen House Democrats have called to replenish the small business relief fund despite House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) objections.

On Thursday morning, the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) small business relief fund, otherwise known as the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), officially ran out of money.

The PPP’s loss of funding sparked outrage from congressional GOP leaders such as House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) also called to replenish the fund “ASAP.”

As Speaker Pelosi continues to object to a clean refunding of the small business relief fund, House Democrats broke with the Democrat leader to call for immediate refunding of the PPP.

Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO) said, “The @SBAgov ’s Paycheck Protection Program has just run out of money, leaving business owners who are trying to pay their employees stranded. We need to fund the PPP and other SBA programs — there are small businesses counting on our support.”

Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) said, “Congress must immediately replenish funds for the Paycheck Protection Program. Millions of small businesses are counting on this program to cover expenses and pay their workers. We have to get this right.”

Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) said, “Congress must act quickly to replenish SBA funds for small business relief. I’m hearing despair from businesses of all sizes, and many mom and pop shops are on the verge of shutting down.”

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/04/17/15-house-democrats-call-to-replenish-small-business-relief-fund-over-pelosis-objections/

FARRELL: FBI IG Redactions Should Have Been The Headlines

It is becoming ever more clear that the “Russian collusion” narrative against Donald Trump was the result of a Kremlin disinformation effort transmitted by a dossier paid for by the Clinton campaign and knowingly pushed into the justice system by willing allies at the FBI. The more we learn about the investigation into the 2016 Trump campaign, the more troubling it gets.

In recent weeks, there have been several important revelations about the “Crossfire Hurricane” investigation that further damages the reputation of the Bureau and others involved in the case. The notion that there was any collusion between the Trump team and Russia has, of course, long been debunked. But now it seems more likely that the real collusion was between the Kremlin and Trump’s detractors.

Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s report on FBI misconduct was supposed to clear up these questions. But key aspects of that report were redacted, supposedly “in the interests of national security.” Yet, as in other cases, when the redactions are revealed, it turns out they have more to do with saving the investigators from embarrassment than protecting sources and methods.

Key here is information that was buried in footnotes of the Horowitz report, and recently partly declassified through the efforts of Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Ron Johnson (R-WI). They show that the anti-Trump dossier compiled by former British intelligence operative Christopher Steele drew from sources traceable back to Russian intelligence.

One U.S. agency assessed that the sections of Steele’s work which detailed Donald Trump’s supposedly scandalous behavior during a 2013 trip to Moscow were “false” and “the product of RIS [Russian Intelligence Services] ‘infiltrating a source into the network’ of a [redacted] who compiled a dossier of information on Trump’s activities.” Why was this critical information hidden in a redacted footnote in the Horowitz report? It should have been a major headline, but that’s exactly why someone redacted it.

Another section dealing with former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen’s supposed trip to Prague as part of the imaginary collusion scheme was criticized by an intelligence agency which “did not have high confidence in this subset of Steele’s reporting and assessed that the referenced material was part of a Russian disinformation campaign to denigrate US foreign relations.”

https://dailycaller.com/2020/04/17/farrell-fbi-ig-redactions-should-have-been-the-headlines/

Why Did This Exist in the First Place?! California Shuts Down Chinese Birth-Tourism Motel That Took Advantage of American Birthright Citizenship

A city in California has ordered the shutdown of a “birth-tourism” motel that specifically catered to pregnant Chinese women who travel to the United States to deliver babies and earn them citizenship.​

Council members in the city of Orange voted unanimously to revoke the JR Motel’s conditional use permit on Thursday and ordered them to shut down by the end of the month.

The JR Motel does not rent rooms to the public, instead, they only cater to wealthy Chinese families who travel to the states to give birth and take advantage of America’s birthright citizenship.

“Though the practice isn’t illegal, city officials said such long-term residency at the motel fits the category of a boarding or lodging house, and the location, 428 E. Lincoln Avenue, is not zoned for either,” the OC Register reports.

The motel was also in violation of multiple building, fire and safety codes.

“His violations were egregious. And from the get go,” Councilwoman Kim Nichols told the Register.

A lawyer for the motel owner had fought for city council to hold off on making a decision until May so that the owner could attempt to sell the property. The owner, Chi Huang, claims he has several interested buyers, but did not disclose who or where they were from. The register reports that 10 of the rooms are currently occupied by pregnant women from China who cannot travel back now due to the restrictions from the coronavirus. They claim that they are not accepting any new “clients.”

“His client, from 2015 to present, demonstrated very little respect for our law, very little respect for our community, very little respect for the human life of his tenants. And he was focused solely on making money,” Councilman Chip Monaco told his colleagues during a video conference where they made their decision. “Yet Mr. Lu right now is asking us to give his client an opportunity to make money on the back of all the violations we have seen to date.”

“I am in no way interested in helping Mr. Huang capitalize and make money yet again on his poor bad faith behavior in this town. If there was ever a case to revoke a (permit,) if there are any criminal charges we could pursue, I would be completely and 100 % supportive of that,” Monaco said.

California is a popular destination for birth tourism.

“In 2015, federal agents raided homes and apartments across Southern California in a first-of-its-kind raid targeting birth tourism companies. Last December, an Irvine woman was sentenced to a 10-month-prison term, believed to be the first sentence handed to a birth tourism operator helping foreign nationals commit immigration and visa fraud. The woman had already served that time in prison and was released upon sentencing, which included an order of deportation. She didn’t wait to be deported, her attorney said, and left for China in early January,” the Register report concluded.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/04/exist-first-place-california-shuts-chinese-birth-tourism-motel-took-advantage-american-birthright-citizenship/

China must come clean on coronavirus, former Australian foreign minister Alexander Downer says

China must come clean on coronavirus or it will "arouse the wrath" of the world, former foreign minister Alexander Downer warns.

The broad scientific consensus holds that SARS-CoV-2, the virus' official name, originated in bats.

But Mr Downer says there's still speculation on whether it jumped to humans directly, in wet markets or escaped from scientific labs.

He's told the Australia-UK Chamber of Commerce that the world will demand answers from China after the pandemic.

"For China this is a slow burn. So far China sending masks and testing kits, some of which apparently don't work too well, to other countries and saying, 'Oh look we're here to help you'," Mr Downer told a webinar on Friday.

"Come on guys, you started it in the first place, let's find out how that happened and let's do our best to make sure that can never happen again."

"If China resists that I think that they will arouse the wrath of the international community."

Mr Downer says if China isn't transparent, some countries will try to counter its global influence "which will be confrontational and prima facie not to be encouraged".

He called for China and World Health Organization to lead a probe, but it must involve scientists from the international community, including the West.

"There has to be a proper investigation into how this happened, where it came from, and China will be, I think in time, be put under huge pressure to agree to that investigation," he said.

Mr Downer also said Chinese exporters could suffer as countries reviewed their supply chains for raw materials and essential products.

The former foreign minister believes Australia and the UK in particular will mull their dependence on Chinese pharmaceuticals and rare earth metals like lithium.

"There will be an examination of these things and a realisation that we've perhaps become too dependent on China and other parts of the world and we're going to have to become a little bit more independent," he said.

For breaking news alerts and livestreams straight to your smartphone sign up to the 9News app and set notifications to on at the App Store or Google Play.

You can also get up-to-date information from the Federal Government's Coronavirus Australia app, available on the App Store, Google Play and the Government's WhatsApp channel.

https://www.9news.com.au/world/coronavirus-china-must-come-clean-alexander-downer/8017b933-2fda-4c95-9272-c01a972e397a

China’s state media, CGTN (China Global TV Network), have produced videos for the Middle East audience that spread the story that covid19 was made by the US.

As if there isn’t already enough hatred against the US in the Middle East.

This is an act of war.

https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/chinas-state-media-cgtn-china-global-tv-network-have-produced-videos-for-the-middle-east-audience-that-spread-the-story-that-covid19-was-made-by-the-us/

Crude Crashes As Mega-Techs Soar Amid Record Surge In Deaths, Unemployment

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/crude-crashes-mega-tech-stocks-soar-amid-record-surge-deaths-unemployment

Bill Gates Being Destroyed on Twitter is the Most Uplifting Thing You’ll See Today

On Gates’ own Twitter page, nearly every post of his is flooded with people calling him out for the damage his vaccine programs have caused, and declaring their right to refuse any vaccine about to be rolled out for this. The following post is an instant classic:

On #WorldHealthDay — and every day — I want to thank all of the health heroes for their sacrifices and for keeping us safe. pic.twitter.com/0x9QFSrlQb

— Bill Gates (@BillGates) April 7, 2020

Some choice comments include this one created by people of the Democratic Republic of Congo who do not wish to be guinea pigs for Covid-19 vaccine trials in Africa:

Go to hell pic.twitter.com/XOyVvNU4zC

— Kim Jong UN (@AfricanRiser) April 7, 2020

And this one reminds us of the close ties between Gates and Anthony Fauci. Conflict of interest, you say?

pic.twitter.com/s7C5s5VmJA

— BYMVHR 9th (@Bymvhr) April 8, 2020

Someone else posted a picture of Gates with known pedophile and sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein:

Bill can’t stop a computer virus and was never elected to any role in public health https://t.co/qX9Gy1mSTU pic.twitter.com/hbpQhhl6O4

— M Hawk (@MHawkin87611346) April 7, 2020

And there are memes:

pic.twitter.com/WizkFm8VhA

— Silvina (@C15E20) April 11, 2020

A declaration of medical independence:

WE DO NOT CONSENT! We know what you’ve been up to Bill. 👀

— Muffins Mckay (@monkeyinheels) April 7, 2020

https://www.wakingtimes.com/2020/04/15/bill-gates-being-destroyed-on-twitter-is-the-most-uplifting-thing-youll-see-today/

CDC expert issues chilling warning that U.S. coronavirus death toll of 34,846 is just 'the tip of the iceberg' as 'untold numbers' of people who haven't been tested are dying at home

As the COVID-19 death toll neared 34,800 in the US on Thursday, an advisory panel expert from the Centers of Disease Control (CDC) has issued a chilling warning that the ­­alarming number is just the 'tip of the iceberg'.

Mark Hayward, a sociology professor at the University of Texas-Austin who is an expert on mortality statistics for the CDC, believes the country's coronavirus death count is being severely underestimated.

The purported inaccuracy of the figures could be caused by a number of factors. Staff shortages in certain states may be causing delays in reporting the latest figures to the CDC,and an 'untold' number of people potentially infected by the disease have also been also dying at home before they could be tested. Medical examiners do not test people after death.

'­­The biggest challenge in obtaining an accurate tally of COVID-19 deaths is to [be able to] implement widespread testing,' Hayward explained to Newsweek.

'Locales that lack testing and where populations are rural, reside in nursing homes, or people live alone are likely to be major contributors to the undercount; note that these are not mutually exclusive categories.

'There are also varying standards (and timing of rollouts) of testing by state,' Hayward continued. 'Cause-of death classification schemes have also been evolving and it's not always straightforward in assigning COVID-19 as a cause of death. I think the biggest barrier, though, is the lack of testing.'

As of Thursday evening, 3,420,39 people in the US have been tested for the virus – less than one percent of the country's total population.

It's precisely this lack of widespread testing that has led Hayward to believe the US death count, which currently stands at 34,846, is just the 'tip of the iceberg'.

Just how underreported the deaths are, Hayward says he can't be certain.

He said: 'I do not have an actual figure of underreporting and this will vary over time as testing becomes more widespread. The degree of under-reporting will vary across localities in the U.S. and over time.

'The geographic and temporal variability are tightly linked because of the geographic differences in testing.'

Hayward also pointed out that it's hard to use other countries as a standard to gauge how underreported death statistics may be, 'given differences in vital registration systems'.

Having an accurate understanding of the country's death toll is imperative for mitigation purposes, not only to know when stay-at-home and social distancing orders may appropriately be lifted, but to also help spot any potential emerging hotspots for the virus.

Identifying a potential hotspot before an explosion in COVID-19 cases will allow local and federal governments to mobilize the required resources to prevent an outbreak – potentially saving thousands of lives in the process.

Chief of the CDC's mortality statistics branch, Robert Anderson, reiterated this point to ProPublica.

'One of the reasons we count deaths is to allocate resources to where they need to go,' Anderson said. 'It becomes a little more time-sensitive when you're dealing with something like a pandemic.'

http://www.stationgossip.com/2020/04/cdc-expert-issues-chilling-warning-that.html

Pro-Abortionists in Australia Urge Emergency Coordinator To Override Abortion Restrictions

Governments around the world are taking measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus, including the South Australian state parliament, which passed a COVID-19 emergency response bill last week.

The bill named a new emergency state coordinator and gave him special authority to remove certain medical-related restrictions, including those imposed by what pro-choice activists say are “outdated abortion laws.”

Pro-choice activists are now calling for Police Commissioner Grant Stephens, who serves as state coordinator, to use his newfound powers to make abortion more accessible — namely by allowing doctors to prescribe abortion medication via telehealth appointments.

“These powers could be used to overcome existing legal barriers to abortion care, particularly telehealth services, which allow for early abortion medication and care to be coordinated by a practitioner over the phone,” the liberal Human Rights Law Centre said in a news release.

“The Government’s COVID-19 Emergency Response Bill is an important step towards safe access to abortion during this crisis period,” Adrianne Walters, associate legal director at the group, said in a statement.

“The State Coordinator should use his powers to override medically unnecessary outdated legal barriers, in particular, the requirements for an abortion to take place in a prescribed hospital, for two doctors to be involved and for a woman to have resided in SA for two months.”

“South Australia’s outdated abortion laws force many women to travel long distances and interact with more health professionals than is medically needed,” Walters added. “The laws were already causing unjustified hardships, especially for women in regional and remote areas, and are now also inconsistent with COVID-19 public health measures.”

According to the Australian Associated Press, all other states in the country have laws that permit women to receive telehealth abortion consultations “for early abortion care.”

“New emergency powers that passed SA Parliament last night should be used urgently to ensure safe access to abortion care for SA women during #Covid_19 pandemic #COVID19au,” Walters tweeted.

The HRLC argued that women who want to obtain an abortion should not have to face the “unnecessary” risk of catching COVID-19 by coming into a clinic.

If the pro-choice activists get their way, women could receive abortion-inducing medication, particularly a drug called RU486, in the mail and take it without having an in-person consultation with a doctor first, pro-lifers say.

Meanwhile, the HRLC is making no secret of its desire to use the coronavirus pandemic to get abortion laws in South Australia changed permanently.

“While steps can, and should, be taken during this crisis period to remove legal barriers to abortion care, this is being done through the grant of extraordinarily broad executive powers,” Walters said.

“These powers are rightly temporary, and should be used proportionately, such as to address critical healthcare matters. Once the COVID-19 emergency has ended, the permanent reform of abortion laws in line with SALRI’s recommendations, should be pursued as a matter of urgency.”

But if politicians take steps to make abortion more accessible during the pandemic, then perhaps they will recognize abortion as an “essential” service, Walters indicated.

“Positive steps have been taken by the Attorney General and politicians across Parliament to end the criminalisation of abortion. The impact of COVID-19 on access to abortion highlights the pressing need for abortion to be decriminalised and finally treated as essential healthcare,” she said.

But Love Adelaide, a nonprofit pro-life organization in Australia, is pushing back, creating a petition to send to Stephens and other government officials.

In a Facebook post, the group argued that the RU486 drug should not be available to obtain through the mail because of the dangers it poses to women.

“The situation is now dire for the health and wellbeing of women of South Australia. There is a strong push happening to have Telemedicine put in place to sell women the Abortion drug RU486. DIY abortions should not be promoted, as they carry many unacceptable risks and complications,” the post said.

“Unsupervised self-administration of RU486 will lead to more hospital admissions due to the known risks of RU486, namely failing to remove the unborn child’s residual body parts, hemorrhaging, high blood pressure, vomiting, cramping and sepsis,” Wendy Francis, a spokeswoman for an advocacy group called the Australian Christian Lobby, added.

http://www.cuzzblue.com/2020/04/pro-abortionists-in-australia-urge.html