After Attorney Obtains Evidence US Government Has Communications Between Seth Rich and WikiLeaks – DOJ Again Refuses Request to Perform Additional Search

In June 2016, Ellen Nakashima, a Deep State favorite from the Washington Post, released a report that the Democrat National Committee (DNC) had been hacked by Russia. The firm that validated this was Crowdstrike and its President Shawn Henry confirmed the claims. In December 2016, Ms. Nakashima followed up her reporting with the outlandish claim that the CIA had determined that Russia hacked the DNC because they wanted Trump to win the election. Nakashima also reported that the the Intel Community had determined that Russia also sent the emails to WikiLeaks. This position was reinforced by the Mueller gang in their efforts to have President Trump removed from office.

WikiLeaks did release DNC emails related to John Podesta, Hillary Clinton’s Campaign Manager, in the months before the 2016 Presidential election which showed massive corruption combined with an elitist attitude from members of the Hillary Clinton team – all willing to do whatever it took to win the election.

On March 8, 2020 and before on June 16, 2019, we presented arguments against the Mueller gang’s assertion that the DNC was hacked by Russians.

Cyber expert Yaacov Apelbaum posted an incredible report with information basically proving that the DNC was not hacked by the Russians.

Then, after years of being hidden by corrupt lying Representative Adam Schiff in Congress, a number of testimonies related to the Russia collusion sham were unveiled after Schiff received pressure from Richard Grenell, the Acting Director of National Intelligence (ADNI) to release the transcripts. One transcript was from Crowdstrike’s Shawn Henry who stated under oath that Crowdstrike had no evidence that Russia even “exfiltrated” the emails from the DNC. The whole ‘Russia stole the DNC emails and sent them to WikiLeaks’ story was a fraud.

Many people suspected that in 2016 a young man working for the DNC by the name of Seth Rich, copied emails from the DNC and shared them with WikiLeaks. Mr. Rich was murdered in Washington D.C. in July 2016 but his wallet, phone and watch were found on his person when the police arrived at the scene. We reported numerous oddities surrounding his death.

For years the Seth Rich story has been covered up and labeled a conspiracy. However, we reported numerous incidents and activities within the Deep State related to covering up the Seth Rich story. We recently reported that Judicial Watch released documents obtained in a FOIA request. These emails revealed that corrupt cops Peter Strzok and Jonathan Moffa were copied in an email regarding a report from Daily Mail where ex-Brit Craig Murray claimed he traveled to Washington DC and obtained Clinton emails in an exchange in a wooded area near American University.

The Mueller gang never looked into the Seth Rich matter and never interviewed Julian Assange from WikiLeaks to determine who provided him the DNC emails which were reportedly the cause of the Russia collusion sham.

In a prior post related to this subject we detailed the many actions taken over the past few years to determine if Seth Rich was the one who provided emails to WikiLeaks.

Recently, transcripts of a conversation between George Papadopoulos and a confidential informant believed to be Stefan Halper were released by the DOJ. This transcript confirms that Papadopoulos was spied on and recorded, and that they discussed the WikiLeaks emails and likely Seth Rich.

We know from our previous reporting that a Deep State Anti-Trump former Assistant US Attorney claimed under oath that the FBI did examine Seth Rich’s computer and that she met with an FBI Agent and prosecutor from the Mueller gang. This indicates the meeting should have been recorded but the FBI continues to claim no records related to Seth Rich are available!

We reported in mid-February how Attorney Ty Clevenger, who represents a client who is being sued for his comments about Seth Rich, reported to the courts that despite numerous assurances from the FBI that they had no information related to Seth Rich, emails related to Seth Rich were identified and provided to Judicial Watch. It looked like the FBI was lying to Clevenger all this time.

Attorney Clevenger sent a letter to ADNI Rick Grenell ten days ago.

According to Ty, the NSA, knows exactly who sent the records to Wikileaks. So does the FBI.

Clevenger goes on to state the most shocking statement related to the Russia collusion sham to date:

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/05/exclusive-attorney-obtains-evidence-us-government-communications-seth-rich-wikileaks-doj-refuses-request-perform-additional-search/

Letter from Attorney Ty Clevenger to Acting DNI Richard Grenell

https://www.scribd.com/document/460698548/Letter-from-Attorney-Ty-Clevenger-to-Acting-DNI-Richard-Grenell#from_embed

Who Wrote This? White House Releases Strategy Document Regarding China that Does Not Include President Trump’s Strong Positions and Policies Towards China

The White House released a document this week on the US strategy with China. It came far short of what President Trump’s policy is with China.

Lou Dobbs spoke about the policy statement on the White House web site this week entitled: United States Strategic Approach to the Peoples Republic of China.

KT McFarland spoke on the National Security Strategy with China released this week with Lou Dobbs on FOX Business:

Throw it in the trash – that doesn’t reflect President Trump’s thinking. And President Trump himself is actively engaged in the China policy. He knows it’s the most important national security issue we face right now. How to deal with China? How to deal with China’s ambitions?

https://youtu.be/vC0ZPRSLIRY

China’s actions in releasing the China coronavirus and allowing its citizens to travel the world with the virus was like sending out individual bio-weapons around the world.

President Trump knows how badly China wants Biden to win the 2020 election.

Democrats know how much the coronavirus helps their cause – It’s almost like they are working with China:

President Trump is best for the long term stability and prosperity of America. He has done more to address China’s atrocious activities across the globe than any President ever.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/05/wrote-white-house-releases-strategy-document-regarding-china-not-include-president-trumps-strong-positions-policies-towards-china/

81% Of Canadian COVID Deaths Are In Nursing Homes

From the beginning of the Coronavirus mass panic, one the main talking points for western governments was that “No one is immune. The disease can kill anyone at any time.”

Various versions of this propaganda set piece were used and recycled across all media platforms, whereby government’s intention was actually to scare the public into accepting ‘lockdown’ or the shutdown of society and the economic, supposedly in order to “save lives.”

However, after a number of weeks that fear narrative is rapidly collapsing as real data and evidence comes flowing in – which shows that the overwhelming majority of public were never at any serious risk of dying from COVID-19.

In Europe, the UK and in the US, the overwhelming majority of COVID fatalities have been with elderly persons, and within that demographic nearly all have been from care homes.

This fact alone destroys western governments’ case for sweeping lockdown policies and school closures.

https://21stcenturywire.com/2020/05/21/report-coronavirus-in-canada-81-percent-of-covid-19-deaths-in-nursing-homes/

CDC admits to giving misleading COVID-19 testing data. Several states have been making the same mistake.

'It's apples to oranges'

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention admitted that it is combining viral and antibody tests when reporting its overall testing totals, a decision which scientists say paints an inaccurate picture of the state of the pandemic in America.

The test mix was first reported by NPR's WRLN station in Miami after a nationwide analysis found major discrepancies between state reports on testing and CDC reports.

"It's apples to oranges. The two tests measure two different things," said Mary Jo Trepka, a professor of epidemiology at Florida International University.

"You've got to be kidding me," said Ashish Jha, director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, in a report by The Atlantic. "How could the CDC make that mistake? This is a mess."

The Atlantic report also found that the CDC is not alone in making the mistake — Pennsylvania, Georgia, Texas, Vermont and other states have also been conflating the results of the two different types of tests. Virginia and Maine only recently stopped.

What exactly is the mistake?

Viral tests — also known as PCR tests due to a process known as polymerase chain reaction — are administered to discover whether someone has an acute, current infection of COVID-19. These tests are what public officials are referencing when confirmed cases are reported.

Antibody, or serology tests, on the other hand, measure whether or not an individual might have come into contact with COVID-19 in the past. They do this by testing an individual's blood to see if their immune system has developed antibodies in response to the disease.

CDC guidelines note that antibody tests are adequate for research but not for individual use, "i.e., to test people who want to know if they have been previously infected."

Why does it matter?

By conflating the results of the two tests, the CDC, along with several states, have been making it more difficult to understand the meaning of positive and negative tests.

"The viral testing is to understand how many people are getting infected, while antibody testing is like looking in the rearview mirror. The two tests are totally different signals," Jha added in The Atlantic report. He added that combining the results makes the date "uninterpretable."

The conflation also makes it more difficult to judge whether the country or an individual state has improved in their viral testing capacity, since results may be buffeted by the inclusion of antibody tests.

"If they are reporting the numbers of real time PCR tests, plus the number of serology tests together, it's hard to interpret and hard to know how many people are actually screened for an acute infection," added Trepka.

It's important to remember that the test results do not merely amount to a technical error, but have wide-ranging consequences for state and local leaders who make decisions on when to reopen their jurisdictions based on the data.

https://www.theblaze.com/news/cdc-misleading-covid-testing-data

Cop Arrested for Terrorizing and Sexually Grooming Little Girl He Stalked on Minecraft

Illustrating the sadistic and predatory nature of those who claim to “keep us safe,” for five years, Pasquale Salas terrorized a young girl he met on Minecraft. For much of that time Salas was a police officer. Not until he was caught in the act and arrested in 2019 did the Matagorda County Sheriff’s Office fire him.

Last week, Salas pleaded guilty to federal charges of cyberstalking and sexual exploitation of a minor after prosecutors say he coerced a young girl into sending explicit videos and photos of herself to him and then threatening harm to she and her family once she tried to break it off.

The girl, whose name is being withheld because she was a minor and a victim of abuse which is sexual in nature, said the online relationship with the police officer started when she met him on Minecraft in 2014. Salas coerced her into sending him nude pictures of herself. She did. And then he threatened to release those photos to friends and family should she ever try and get out of the cyber-affair.

That all ended in 2019 when she at age 17 told police investigators what Salas was doing to her. The investigation began in Massachusetts where the teen lived and led authorities to Texas where Salas was protecting and serving the public in Matagorda County. According to MassLive:

Salas and the girl began exchanging messages in private chat rooms via Skype and Shapchat and also text-messaged one another. During their conversations, authorities said, Salas repeatedly coerced the girl to send explicit photos and videos of herself. The girl sent Salas hundreds of sexually explicit videos and images of herself at his request. Authorities said he also sent sexually explicit images of himself to her as they communicated on Minecraft.

When investigators started combing through Salas’ digital records they uncovered 1700 calls in one year alone between the cop and the victim he’d been grooming online. He not only controlled her mentally and emotionally but he also had control of her social media accounts. In exchange for her sexually explicit nude photos Salas compensated her:

Salas sent the girl jewelry, Edible Arrangements, iTunes gift cards and gave her access to his Amazon Prime account, court records said.

There were consequences for not fully obeying the officer’s commands too.

https://thefreethoughtproject.com/cop-guilty-preying-little-girl-minecraft/

Spain: Populist VOX supporters protest the government’s dreadful response to virus

Several thousand supporters of Spain’s populist party took to the streets of Madrid on Saturday to express their discontent with the government’s mismanagement of the Wuhan coronavirus crisis.

In Spain, where more than 28,000 people have died as a result of the government’s poor response to the virus, the authorities have cautiously started to ease restriction measure that were first put in place on March 14. However, in Madrid and Barcelona, where the outbreak was more severe, strict lockdown measures have remained, Spanish newspaper La Razon reports.

Protesters waved Spanish flags, honked horns, and chanted slogans calling for the left-wing government to resign.

Santiago Abascal, the president of Vox, along with other party leaders, showed up alongside demonstrators on the top of an open double-decker bus that was parked in Plaza de Colón. Abascal, who named the protest the “Caravan for Spain and Liberty”, addressed protesters by radio so that everyone could hear him from their vehicles.

“We are here to defend our freedom. The threat to the freedom of Spain is being led by an illegitimate government that has become a criminal government, one that is incapable of protecting its people and is directly responsible for the worst management of this crisis on the whole planet,” Abascal said.

“Let us never forget what they have done to us. Have no doubt that we will take them to the courts. They know it and they are afraid of your freedom, which is why they are trying to intimidate us.”

https://voiceofeurope.com/2020/05/spain-populist-vox-supporters-protest-the-governments-dreadful-response-to-virus-video/

GAI’s Eggers: Mass Mail-in Voting Brings ‘Voter Role Irregularities Into Play’

Saturday on Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends Weekends,” Government Accountability Institute research director Eric Eggers explained if vote-by-mail was done on a mass scale that would bring “voter role irregularities into play.”

Host Jedediah Bila said, “In Detroit alone, there could be 30,000 more registered voters than citizens of legal voting age. How would this work in November? Here to discuss is Government Accountability Institute Research director Eric Eggers. Welcome to the show. How is that possible in Detroit to have 30,000 more registered voters than citizens of voting age?”

Eggers said, “The sad reality is this is not limited to the city of Detroit. I mean, yes, a lawsuit found 30,000 more registered voters than citizens of legal age. They also found 2500 dead people that were registered to vote in the city of Detroit. This is actually a problem nationwide. The U.S. Supreme Court in a decision last decade cited statistics that said one in eight voter registrations in this country that’s a 24 million have significant problems or completely inaccurate. So it’s not just limited to Detroit. But I think we’re wise to be–to use the term from the congressman in the previous segment village length and concerned because you have to remember in 2016, Donald Trump won the state of Michigan by fewer than 11,000 votes. So if you start talking about more than 30,000 registered voters and citizens of legal voting age in the city of Detroit alone, I think that’s pretty concerning.”

He added, “We should all be in favor of everyone being able to vote safely, and mail-in balloting has been done successfully across the country and for a long time. But there is a difference between people voluntarily choosing to cast a mail-in ballot as by the way 1 million people in the state of Michigan choose to do regularly and mailing everyone a ballot as they are doing in California or as they are about to do in the state of Michigan, mail everyone an absentee ballot request form. What it does brings all these voter role irregularities into play. Now you’ve got the guaranteed likelihood of people who shouldn’t be receiving a ballot, people that aren’t real voters because they have either moved or dead or, you know, they are on the roll erroneously those people will now have the opportunity or request forms will go to addresses for those people. And we know that there are forces out there attempting to sway elections. Look at what happened in Philadelphia recently. An elections judge was just charged with literally stuffing the ballot box. So, it’s not as if, you know, the idea that people are trying to sway elections illegally haven’t been proven. We saw one literally just this week in a major American city.”

https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2020/05/23/gais-eggers-mass-mail-in-voting-brings-voter-role-irregularities-into-play/

Former Border Force Boss: Boat Migration Is ‘Major Threat’, Australia-Style Patrols Needed

The former head of UK Border Force has called illegal boat migration from across the English Channel a “major threat” to Britain’s border security and has called for the British government to adopt a strict Australia-style approach and return illegal aliens to France.

Speaking to the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee on Friday, Tony Smith CBE said: “This was declared a critical incident by the Home Secretary last year.

“In my experience, critical incidents are declared in order to put out the fire, if you like, with a task force and that when the fire’s put out we return to business as normal.

“It’s too enduring to be just a critical incident. I think this is becoming a major threat, I’m afraid, to the UK border,” he warned.

The remarks come after widespread coverage, initially sparked by Nigel Farage’s investigative journalism reports, that the French authorities are escorting migrant boats practically from the shores of northern France to British territorial waters, where they coordinate with the British authorities in the “handover” of illegal aliens who are then transported the rest of the way to England.

In light of the revelations, Home Secretary Priti Patel was forced to confront 30 Conservative MPs outraged at the French and British authorities colluding in the transport of migrants. However, according to sources speaking to Guido Fawkes, Patel claimed that French naval vessels were powerless to stop the migrants in their dinghies, and that under international law they can only intervene if the illegals consent. The French were merely shadowing the vessel in case it went into distress, it was suggested.

There has been no indication that the British government is making any efforts to change the (non-binding) international laws which are supposedly tying the authorities’ hands, however.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/05/23/former-border-boss-says-boat-migration-becoming-major-threat-australia-style-patrol/

Five Alleged Rwandan Genocide Perpetrators Live Openly in Britain, Four on State Welfare

A former Secretary of State for International Development has revealed that at least five suspected Rwandan genocide perpetrators are living openly in Britain, with four of them on taxpayer-funded state benefits.

Andrew Mitchell, a Member of Parliament for the governing Conservative party, publicised the scandal in an article for The Times following the arrest of Félicien Kabuga, another Rwandan genocide suspect, in Paris, France, where he has been living under an assumed name.

“The authorities there received worldwide praise for their actions in apprehending him,” wrote Mitchell, who was responsible for Britain’s exorbitant foreign aid budget from 2010 to 2012 during David Cameron’s premiership, followed by a brief stint as Chief Whip.

“No such praise awaits the British legal authorities,” he lamented.

“No fewer than five alleged Rwandan genocide perpetrators live in the UK, not in hiding but in plain sight… four of the accused are living on British benefits.”

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/05/23/five-alleged-rwandan-genocide-perpetrators-live-openly-britian/

Dozens of Turkish soldiers invade and occupy small patch of Greek land, install their flag and set up camp along disputed border

Turkish troops have invaded and occupied a small patch of Greek land Greece on their contested border.

Around 35 soldiers marched on to a floodplain site on the east bank of the River Evros at Melissokomeio yesterday.

Turkish soldiers and police special forces now have a solid presence within the Greek territory and have camped in the pocket of Apiary at Feres, reports Greek site Army Voice.

At the camp there is now a small Turkish flag flying from a tree. Troops have rejected Greek demands to withdraw.

http://www.yourdestinationnow.com/2020/05/dozens-of-turkish-soldiers-invade-and.html

Attorney: 1,200 California Pastors Agree To Reopen May 31 In Defiance Of Stay-At-Home Order – CBS San Francisco

SACRAMENTO (CBS / AP) — More than 1,200 California pastors say they will resume in-person services on May 31 in defiance of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s stay-at-home order to slow the spread of the new coronavirus.

Newsom has gradually allowed some businesses to reopen as the state’s number of virus-related hospitalizations has flattened. But churches are still banned, along with hair salons and sporting events. Newsom said Monday churches could reopen in weeks, not months.

But many churches are tired of waiting. Wednesday, a lawyer representing a church in Lodi that has sued Newsom said more than 1,200 pastors have signed a “declaration of essentiality” that announces their plan to reopen on May 31 while observing physical distancing and other precautions.

Attorney Robert Tyler said some pastors represent multiple churches. He expects as many as 3,000 churches across California could have in-person services on May 31.

“This letter was not sent for the purposes of asking for permission,” he said.

sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2020/05/21/1200-california-pastors-agree-to-reopen-may-31-defy-newsomf-stay-at-home-order/

iAero Boeing 737-800 lands at the San Diego Airport with part of its vertical stabilizer missing ‘during the flight while the crew was unaware of the damage’

A Boeing airplane was reportedly seen landing in San Diego International Airport with parts of its tail and the flight crew was reportedly unaware.

On Tuesday, an iAero Airways Boeing 737-800 flight took off from Southern California Logistics Airport, or Victorville, at 3:14pm and arrived at the San Diego airport at 3:55pm.

Although no unusual incidents were reported during the brief flight, aviation enthusiast Doug Kempf revealed the plane's vertical stabilizer was partially broken by the time it landed.

Kempf shared photos of the Boeing 737-800, a registered N820TJ model built 22 years ago, to Twitter on Wednesday.

Yesterday I posted the photo on the left of N820TJ landing in San Diego with parts of its tail missing,' he wrote.

He added that another user sent him an additional photo and claimed that the damage occurred while in flight. The crew was reportedly unaware.

A second user named Menno Swart also shared photos of the Boeing plane with the caption, 'What is wrong with this picture?'

http://www.stationgossip.com/2020/05/iaero-boeing-737-800-lands-at-san-diego.html

Sydney Powell just dropped “The Hammer” on Fox Business. Reveals that Obama had a massive widespread secret surveillance system called The Hammer to illegally spy on ALL THE DEMS‘ POLITICAL OPPONENTS.

Nixon tapped one phone.

He’s reviled and hated.

Obama used the intelligence agencies to listen in on all his political opponents.

Dindu Nuffin

https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/sydney-powell-just-dropped-the-hammer-on-fox-business-reveals-that-obama-had-a-massive-widespread-secret-surveillance-system-called-the-hammer-to-illegally-spy-on-all-the-dems/

A pandemic of conspiracy theories spreads across the internet and around the world

Depending on who you talk to, the current coronavirus pandemic might be the natural product of evolution, the result of a lab accident or a biological weapon designed by the Chinese. Lockdown measures to impose social distancing restrictions are responsible measures designed to protect public safety or they’re part of a Democratic Party plot to destroy the economy in order to diminish President Trump’s chances of reelection in November. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease specialist, is either a respected medical professional or devious member of the “deep state” who is using the coronavirus (which he may or may not have helped create) to control the public through a mandatory vaccination.

And those are just some of the narratives that are spreading within the United States.

In countries around the world, equally implausible ideas are circulating, derived in part from their particular political and historical situations, but also cross-pollinating with a wide array of conspiracy theories, misinformation and state-sponsored content, ranging from blatant propaganda to more subtle disinformation campaigns. In some cases, the dearth of verifiable information has resulted in the spread of misinformation by fairly reputable and well-intentioned sources. The coronavirus “infodemic,” however, has allowed a host of malign actors — from the Russian government to domestic extremists to scam artists peddling bogus cures — to exploit existing societal fissures for their own political or personal gain.

http://www.yourdestinationnow.com/2020/05/a-pandemic-of-conspiracy-theories.html

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>>9289130

So far, the British versions of these demonstrations have remained relatively small compared to their counterparts in Germany and the United States. Over the weekend, former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn’s brother, Piers, was among 19 protesters arrested at a gathering of about 50 in London in defiance of social distancing measures. According to the Guardian, prior to his arrest, Corbyn had used a megaphone to promote the discredited 5G conspiracy theories, claim that “vaccination is not necessary” and declare that the coronavirus pandemic is a “pack of lies to brainwash you and keep you in order.”

After initially resisting the implementation of nationwide lockdown measures, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently issued a new set of rules designed to continue facilitating as much social distancing as possible, while allowing those who can’t work from home to go back to work, with the exception of hospitality and nonessential retail workers.

The Middle East

Jankowicz pointed to the Middle East as an example of a region where cultural and religious beliefs and political convictions including distrust of powerful outside forces, especially the United States, have allowed a mix of conspiracy theories, misinformation and state-sponsored propoganda to flourish.

During a panel discussion on this topic last week, Merissa Khurma, project manager for Middle East special initiatives at the Wilson Center, outlined the most prevalent examples of coronavirus-related misinformation that have been circulating across the Middle East. Among them are a number of bogus claims about the coronavirus that have proliferated primarily through social media, including baseless warnings that the virus can cause infertility in men, and unproven methods for preventing infection, such as eating garlic, drinking warm water every 15 minutes, and praying five times a day.

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President Dwight Eisenhower, in His 1961 Farewell Speech, Prophetically Warned Us of the Country Being Ruled By an Unelected ‘Scientific-Technological Elite’

President Dwight D. Eisenhower was one of the most intelligent men to sit in the Oval Office. He wasn’t just a good leader. He was also quite prescient, known for his discussion of the Military Industrial Complex during his farewell speech in 1961. This was essentially a prediction of what we saw with the Vietnam War and both Gulf Wars, particularly the second that was driven by this so-called Military Industrial Complex.

But in the same speech, he told of another challenge America would face, a challenge that we’re seeing rearing its ugly head today during the coronavirus crisis. His fear was that scientific-technological elite would drive policy. When you read this quote, keep Dr. Anthony Fauci, Bill Gates, and other scientific-technological elites in mind.

In holding scientific research and discovery in respect, as we should, we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientific-technological elite.

We are seeing this very clearly happening today. It is the scientific-technological elite who are driving lockdown policies. Our “leaders” are deferring to these elites in ways that are harming our nation and destroying our very future. We will be discussing Bill Gates specifically in our NOQ Report Podcast later this afternoon, but I addressed Eisenhower’s words and the current state of affairs in this latest episode.

As long our leaders allow their decisions to be driven almost exclusively by the “approved” doctors, we’re going to continue these piecemeal “ends” to the lockdowns. We need to hear all of the facts. Eisenhower’s warning must be heeded.

NOQ Report Podcast.

You may want to watch, Secret History of Silicon Valley. Definitely aligns with Eisenhowers speech, since it was all being developed on the west coast at that time.

James Corbett did a video on that video, which adds additional context to the original lecture.

https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/president-dwight-eisenhower-in-his-1961-farewell-speech-prophetically-warned-us-of-the-country-being-ruled-by-an-unelected-scientific-technological-elite/

Weight Watchers 'fires 4,000 employees on a five-minute Zoom call' despite announcing plan to begin reopening studios after coronavirus lockdown

Fired Weight Watchers employees have claimed that the weight-loss company laid off thousands of staff members over a five-minute Zoom call last week.

The company confirmed it was letting go of an undisclosed number of staff as a result of studio closures caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

It came despite moves to begin reopening studios as the stay-in-place orders lift across the country.

Angered staff have gone online to voice their disgust at the way in which long-term employees were unceremoniously let go, with some claiming the number fired was as high as 4,000 people.

http://www.stationgossip.com/2020/05/weight-watchers-fires-4000-employees-on.html

Gaming company NVIDIA shows off AI that was able to recreate Pacman in just four days by watching gameplay

Nvidia's AI can recreate playable games just by watching gameplay

It was able to construct code of Pacman in just four days

The tool could be used to help generate levels and other game aspects

It also has applications in generating algorithms outside of video games

Gaming company Nvidia says that it's developed an artificial intelligence that can recreate playable games just by watching them.

The AI is able to absorb visual inputs as well as whatever actions a player inputs into the game. It's then able to reproduce code that translates into a playable game.

In a demonstration, Nvidia showed how its AI was able to re-construct a playable version of the game Pacman after just four days of watching gamers play it.

'It learns all of these things just by watching,' said Nvidia’s vice president of simulation technology, Rev Lebaredian, according to The Verge.

'[It’s] similar to how a human programmer can watch many episodes of Pacman on YouTube and infer what the rules of the games are and reconstruct them.'

As noted by The Verge, while the AI's recreation isn't a carbon copy of Pacman - the aesthetic isn't quite as polished and the mechanics aren't as nuanced - it nailed the basic principles of the arcade classic.

Outside of being a novel use of AI in game development, Nvidia's demonstration is significant for its implications on making programming easier.

For instance, Nvidia says that the AI could be used to help blend elements of different games or design different levels.

While still in its infancy, Nvidia says that the AI could even have applications outside the video game world and could be used to develop algorithms.

For instance, the company said in a briefing, the AI could design navigation algorithms by watching robotic trolleys.

As noted by The Verge, using AI to generate games or virtual worlds isn't novel but Nvidia's AI improves on previous attempts in several ways.

For one, the company's 'memory module' system - which lets the AI store a map of the game - makes the end product more consistent.

It's also able to differentiate between static and dynamic aspects of a game.

There are still some major obstacles into making the AI a practical, however. According to The Verge, the system required watching 50,000 'episodes' of Pacman.

Since generating that many human-played game hours was unrealistic, the team decided to computer generate the gameplay hours.

However, the AI used to simulate gameplay was too good at the game, making it difficult for Nvidia's system to understand concepts like dying.

http://www.scoopyweb.com/2020/05/gaming-company-nvidia-shows-off-ai-that.html

Car rental giant Hertz files for bankruptcy protection with $19BILLION of debt after share prices plummet and 10,000 staff are laid off amid the coronavirus pandemic

Car rental company Hertz filed for Chapter 11 on Friday after failing to reach a standstill agreement with its top lenders.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Hertz has roughly $19billion of debt.

That staggering amount is made up of '$4.3billion in corporate bonds and loans and $14.4 billion in vehicle-backed debt held at special financing subsidiaries'.

Florida-based Hertz began bankruptcy protection proceedings in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware, in an attempt to avoid a forced liquidation of its vehicle fleet after bookings dropped off overnight due to the coronavirus pandemic.

'Today's action will protect the value of our business, allow us to continue our operations and serve our customers, and provide the time to put in place a new, stronger financial foundation to move successfully through this pandemic and to better position us for the future,' Chief Executive Paul E. Stone said.

http://www.yourdestinationnow.com/2020/05/car-rental-giant-hertz-files-for.html

ANOTHER 42 MILES: $1.3 Billion Contract For Border Wall Awarded

A North Dakota company won a $1.3 billion bid to build another 42 miles of President Trump’s wall on the U.S.-Mexico border — the largest border wall contract ever awarded at more than $30 million per mile.

Fisher Sand & Gravel Company was awarded the $1.275 billion contract on May 6, an Army Corps of Engineers spokesperson told CBS News‘ David Martin.

“Republican U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota confirmed the $1.3 billion contract for building the 42-mile section of wall through “really tough terrain in the mountains” in Arizona. That’s about $30 million per mile,” the Associated Press reported.

Trump has promised to build 450 miles of wall along the border with Mexico by the end of the year. So far, the government has awarded millions of dollars in contracts for construction of 30-foot-tall barriers, along with new lighting, technology and infrastructure. The Trump administration says it has already built 187 miles of wall. Some of it is new, but most is replacing old, much shorter barriers that officials say were not sufficient.

The massive fence will be painted black because “that’s what the president wanted, plain and simple,” Cramer said. Such a fence will absorb heat, making it far more difficult to climb. “Plus, it won’t be an ugly, rusty thing that everyone is putting up now.”

Back in April 2019, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP) released drone footage of a “new border wall system” being installed near San Luis, Arizona, a site where foreigners have been seen pouring into America.

“CBP has constructed over 60 miles of new border wall system along the SW border since 2017 and expects to complete 450 miles by the end of 2020,” the Border Patrol said in a post on Twitter.

The new section is triple-layered enforcement zone that employs an 18’ bollard wall, the agency said. “Illegal border crossings in San Luis, AZ, in 2005 versus the same location today: In 2005, 10’ landing mat failed to impede and deny illegal entries. Today, CBP has a triple layered enforcement zone which includes an 18’ bollard wall,” the CBP said on Twitter.

http://www.hideoutnow.com/2020/05/another-42-miles-13-billion-contract.html

Censorship-Free Social Network “Explodes” After Adding 200,000+ New Users In Just A Few Days

The censorship-free alternative media platform Minds went down temporarily on Thursday, but came back online shortly after. When the site came back online, representatives of Minds say that the outage was a result of over 200,000+ new people signing up for the site one the same day. A large number of sign-ups were from Thailand, where increased internet censorship has forced users from mainstream platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

“Yesterday we saw 200,000+ new users. We are thrilled to provide privacy, internet freedom and digital rights for Thai netizens. This is exactly the reason Minds exists,” Minds CEO Bill Ottman said in a statement.

Some of the most notable social media users to recently migrate to Minds includes Wiroj Lakkana-adisorn, an MP for the disbanded Future Forward Party; social critic Sarinee Achavanuntakul, writer-translator Tomorn Sookprecha, satirical TV host Winyu “John” Wongsurawat, and academic Pavin Chachavalpongpun.

https://www.activistpost.com/2020/05/censorship-free-social-network-explodes-after-adding-200000-new-users-in-just-a-few-days.html

Israel is a safe haven for criminals and terrorists

David Sheen, a friend of mine and a fellow journalist, published a great investigative story the other month. It tells a tale of murder, racism, duplicity, and justice denied.

In October 1985, Palestinian-American civil rights activist Alex Odeh was murdered by Zionist fanatics in California.

Odeh was blown to smithereens by a pipe bomb. His murderers have never been arrested.

Hours after Odeh’s brutal slaying, Irv Rubin, the national chairperson of the Jewish Defence League (JDL) at the time, justified the murder: “I have no tears for Mr. Odeh. He got exactly what he deserved.”

Despite a $1 million reward being announced by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for information leading to the conviction of Odeh’s killers, no arrests have ever been made.

The police and the FBI’s main suspects have so far escaped justice. They are Baruch Ben-Yosef (born Andy Green) and Israel Fuchs (formerly known as Keith Fuchs).

They have been able to do so for one reason: Ben-Yosef/Green and Fuchs fled the US for Israel some months after the terrorist bombing.

In my view, they are being protected by the Israeli government.

The FBI is being obstructed in its investigation by the Israelis. On the flip side, it seems clear that the US government is not exactly pulling out all the stops. No pressure is being put on Israel to bring Odeh’s killers to justice, to extradite them to stand trial in the US, or even to cooperate with the investigation in any way.

As Sheen detailed in his extensive piece, Odeh was a Palestinian born in the majority-Christian village of Jifna in the West Bank (close to a particularly extremist Israeli colony). He dedicated his life and activism in the US working for the Arab-American Discrimination Committee, or ADC.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200523-israel-is-a-safe-haven-for-criminals-and-terrorists/

More than 1,300 Veterans Given Hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19

Roughly 1,300 patients at Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities have received hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 since late March, according to VA Secretary Robert Wilkie.

In a letter to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, this week, Wilkie said that, between Feb. 1 and April 23, the VA purchased more than 6.3 million tablets of the antimalarial drug, which was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in late March on an emergency use basis to treat the novel coronavirus.

Hydroxychloroquine is normally used to treat lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, and the VA dispenses roughly 1 million pills of it a month for those conditions, according to Wilkie.

The secretary said the VA purchased such a vast amount to ensure that it had a sufficient supply for patients with those diseases, as well as those with COVID-19.

"During this tracked time period, VA used about 18,000 of the tablets for COVID-19, which equates to .28%," he wrote.

Wilkie's letter was a response to Schumer's request May 10 that the VA explain its bulk purchases of the medication and use to treat veterans with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.

Hydroxychloroquine has been widely touted as a treatment by President Donald Trump, who admitted this week that he has taken it as a prophylaxis to prevent infection.

Schumer said he and several veterans groups have concerns about the use of the medication on VA patients, many of whom are older and have underlying health conditions that make them more susceptible to the drug's most severe side effect, a disruption of regular heart rhythms.

"Veterans' groups remain deeply concerned that the VA has made large purchases of this drug and appears to have administered it to veterans despite the well-known, and in some cases, fatal risks," he wrote Wilkie.

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/05/23/more-1300-veterans-given-hydroxychloroquine-covid-19.html

India court freezes assets of billionaire who fled UAE

An Indian court has ordered to freeze the assets of billionaire, B.R. Shetty, who earlier fled the UAE with his wife, considering those funds as personal guarantees of debt to the Bank of Baroda, India’s international bank.

The Financial Times reported that the court order is the step taken by India’s most prestigious bank to recover a $250 million debt in the form of loans granted to NMC Health and other companies linked to Shetty.

Dharmendra Chatur, the lawyer representing the Bank of Baroda stated: “A court in Bengaluru has concluded that a prima facie case has been filed to protect the interest of the Bank of Baroda against Shetty and his wife, and the next court session will be held on 8 June.”

At a meeting last March, Shetty agreed to secure his liability to the Bank of Baroda, according to court documents.

A source familiar with the case indicated that Shetty signed an agreement with the bank to mortgage more than 16 real estate assets in India, at a value of $10-15 million.

The case dates back to when the Indian billionaire, owner of NMC Health, fled the UAE in February. Thus, Shetty is facing persecution for at least five legal suits filed against him.

Media outlets explained that Shetty’s financial problems caused the trade of his companies’ shares in the London Stock Exchange to be suspended.

Foreign media reported that the Indian billionaire had fled Dubai after seizing $6.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200523-india-court-freezes-assets-of-billionaire-who-fled-uae/

As a serving PM in the dock, Netanyahu takes Israel into Berlusconi territory

From Sunday, the only audience that matters for a brilliantly persuasive premier is 3 District Court judges… unless he musters the power, as ex-Italian PM did, to change the law

When Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu won the Israeli election on May 29, 1996, defeating incumbent Shimon Peres, he became, at age 46, the youngest politician ever to lead the country.

On July 20, last year, Netanyahu outlasted Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, to become cumulatively the longest-serving premier in Israeli history. He has since surpassed 5,000 days in office — accumulated during his first term from 1996-9, and in his record-breaking, 11-year-plus consecutive term since returning to office in March 2009.

On Sunday, May 24, Netanyahu is setting another, unhappier precedent — becoming the first serving prime minister in Israeli history to appear in court on criminal charges — fraud and breach of trust in Cases 1000, 2000 and 4000, with the additional charge of bribery in Case 4000.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/as-a-serving-prime-minister-in-the-dock-netanyahu-enters-berlusconi-territory/