Two Cops in Mexican Border State Tied to Cartel Kidnapping

Two municipal police officers in the border state of Nuevo Leon were linked to an arrest-turned-kidnapping on behalf of a ruthless cartel lord. The victim was tortured and killed.

The case took place in ritzy San Pedro, where local police officers arrested a drug trafficker on a petty charge only to eventually turn him over to hitmen working for a feared drug lord who authorities claim has ordered murders in Texas as well. The incident took place in early June when San Pedro Police Officer Juan Carlos Garcia Marin and his partner arrested 37-year-old Gonzalo Fernando “El Terry” Rodriguez Galindo on a charge described as “administrative in nature,” U.S. law enforcement sources working in Mexico revealed to Breitbart Texas. Soon after the initial arrest, a judge issued a fine for the petty offense and ordered El Terry’s release.

https://www.breitbart.com/border/2020/07/10/exclusive-two-cops-in-mexican-border-state-tied-to-cartel-kidnapping/

China to Further Use Panama Canal as Important Means to Encourage Global Trade, Beijing Says

China, which actively promotes economic globalization, will further develop friendly relations with Panama and use the Panama Canal to encourage global trade, the office of the Chinese Foreign Ministry's spokesperson said ahead of the centenary anniversary since the canal's official opening to commerce, marked on 12 July.

"China, as an active protagonist in protecting and promoting economic globalization, will continue to deepen friendly relations with Panama and use the Panama Canal to fulfill the important role of stimulating global trade," the office said.

When asked about the canal's significance to China, the spokesperson's office said that it connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, the East and the West, and thus is of great importance for water transport and the economy, adding that the Chinese people have longstanding ties with the Panama Canal, as many ethnic Chinese people participated in its construction, expansion and administration.

"As of now, amid the process of globalization, China is paying close attention to the important status of the Panama Canal as a logistic axis, as well as the important role it plays in stimulating global trade," the office added.

According to the ministry, China has already become the second-largest partner of the Panama Canal. In the 2019 fiscal year, the country's cargo turnover amounted to 40 million tonnes or approximately 15.4 percent of the channel’s total cargo turnover in 2019.

The Panama Canal, which was informally open to traffic in August 1914, is one of the two most strategic artificial waterways in the world, along with the Suez Canal.

https://sputniknews.com/world/202007091079839814-china-to-further-use-panama-canal-as-important-means-to-encourage-global-trade-beijing-says-/

>>9916771

Just stop Rabbi we know you run the CCP

Chinese stocks have gained pretty much every single day in the last four weeks. Insane

Chinese stocks have gained pretty much every single day in the last four weeks. Insane pic.twitter.com/FywY5erjxj

— David Ingles (@DavidInglesTV) July 8, 2020

#China's #MarginTrading picks up as stocks crack into a bull market.

The top securities regulator CSRC published a list of 258 illegal margin financing platforms on Wednesday and warned investors of risks.t.co/VGuFgMazhg

— YUAN TALKS (@YuanTalks) July 8, 2020

https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/chinese-stocks-have-gained-pretty-much-every-single-day-in-the-last-four-weeks-insane/

Vanessa Guillen's Mother Calls Fort Hood Officials 'Clowns in a Circus'

In an emotional interview, the family of Army Spc. Vanessa Guillen, the Fort Hood, Texas, soldier who was allegedly murdered by a fellow male soldier, said Friday that they are determined to make sure that other soldiers never face a similar fate.

"She was taken away from me in the most horrible way, yet they take it as if it was a joke. My sister is no joke. My sister is a human being," Vanessa's sister, Lupe, said during an interview on ABC13.com.

Fort Hood leaders announced Monday that they had briefed the family Sunday that human remains found in Bell County had been identified as Guillen's through DNA analysis.

The 20-year-old 3rd Cavalry Regiment soldier who disappeared April 22 was allegedly murdered by Spc. Aaron Robinson, according to a July 2 criminal complaint filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas.

Police attempted to apprehend Robinson on June 30, but he produced a firearm and took his own life, Army investigators have said.

"Speak about it because we cannot let this happen again; we cannot just say, 'Oh, the man killed himself,'" Lupe said. "My sister was taken away. It could have been your sister, your friend."

Federal authorities filed a criminal complaint charging 22-year-old Cecily Aguilar, a civilian and the estranged wife of a former Fort Hood soldier, with conspiracy to tamper with evidence in Guillen's disappearance, according to the complaint.

Robinson told Aguilar that he killed Guillen "by striking her in the head with a hammer" while on base April 22 and smuggled her body to a remote site in Bell County, according to the complaint. Aguilar allegedly then helped Robinson mutilate and dispose of Guillen's body.

Speaking in Spanish, Vanessa's mother, Gloria, told ABC13 that Fort Hood officials were "clowns in a circus" who had lied to her.

Military.com contacted Fort Hood for comment on the interview but did not receive an immediate response.

ABC13 reported that Gloria wants Congress to investigate the post's handling of the case.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York, and Rep. Jackie Speier, D-California, recently signed a letter calling on Pentagon Acting Inspector General Sean O'Donnell to conduct "a full investigation of the circumstances surrounding SPC Guillen's disappearance."

Fort Hood officials have said that they are open to independent review. Maj. Gen. Scott Efflandt, deputy commander of III Corps and Fort Hood, in late June requested that Army Forces Command send a seven-member inspector general team to the post to determine whether its Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention Program, or SHARP, was working effectively and properly offering support to soldiers.

This is not enough for Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois, who recently requested that the Government Accountability Office conduct an immediate review of the Army's implementation of SHARP.

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/07/10/vanessa-guillens-mother-calls-fort-hood-officials-clowns-circus.html

Lebanon: 7 arrested over rape, abuse of Syria boy

Seven men have been arrested in Lebanon over the rape and abuse of a 13-year-old Syrian boy that took place over a two-year period, IranWire reports. The eighth suspect in the case is still being sought by security officials.

The case came to light at the end of June after a video, filmed by three Lebanese youths, including the son of a senior Hezbollah official, showing their rape and torture of the young Syrian boy went viral on social media.

According to a report by Aram news outlet, in the video, the three youths repeatedly captured the boy while he was trying to escape, abusing him sexually, verbally and physically.

The video appeared online after an argument broke out among the eight abusers, causing a rift in the group, IranWire reported. The film sparked the Attorney General in the eastern Lebanese town of Zahle to file a case against the perpetrators, leading to their arrest.

Lebanese and Syrians alike reacted angrily on social media, calling on local authorities to take swift punitive action against the perpetrators, who are rumoured to be members of Hezbollah.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200710-lebanon-7-arrested-over-rape-abuse-of-syria-boy/

Compounding Pharmacy Mogul Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Health Care Fraud and Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/compounding-pharmacy-mogul-pleads-guilty-conspiracy-commit-health-care-fraud-and-conspiracy

Florida man indicted for sex trafficking children, online enticement

JACKSONVILLE, Florida – A Florida man was charged counts of sex trafficking children and four counts of using a cellular phone to entice children to engage in unlawful sex acts in a grand jury indictment Thursday. This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, and the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office.

According to the indictment, beginning by at least some date in 2016, Edward Alan Hardin, 33, of Pomona Park, began soliciting a child victim to engage in commercial sex acts, knowing that the victim was younger than 18 years old. In 2020, Hardin allegedly used a cellular telephone to entice the victim to engage in unlawful sexual activity, including unlawful sexual activity with a minor and custodial sexual battery, in violation of Florida statutes, and attempted production of child pornography in violation of federal law.

The indictment further alleges that, at least from July 21, 2018, and through a date in March 2020, Hardin used a cellular telephone to entice a second child victim to engage in unlawful sexual activity, including unlawful sexual activity with a minor, in violation of Florida statutes; statutory rape, in violation of Georgia Code; and production of child pornography, in violation of federal law.

It is further alleged that on a date in late 2017, or early 2018, Hardin engaged in sex trafficking of a third child, and caused that victim to engage in a commercial sex act.

Hardin faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years, and up to life, in federal prison for each count, followed by a term of 5 years, and up to a lifetime of supervised release. The indictment also notifies Hardin that the United States intends to forfeit assets used in the offense.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has violated one or more of the federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

The case will be prosecuted by the office of United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez, Middle District Florida, Assistant United States Attorney Laura Cofer Taylor.

This investigation was conducted under HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 25,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child exploitation material, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2019, more than 3,500 child predators were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.

https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/florida-man-indicted-sex-trafficking-children-online-enticement

Ford Foundation Donates Millions to Groups That Support ‘Defund the Police’ Movement

NEW YORK, NY- Ford Motors built America’s first police cruiser in 1950 and today the company holds roughly 65 percent of the market share for police cars.

This past May in Detroit, Ford Motors unveiled its newest Police SUV, complete with technology that temporarily raises interior temperatures to help reduce “viral concentrations” inside the vehicle. In 2019, Bill Gubing, a Ford engineer said about its new Interceptor police vehicle:

“Whether patrolling or sitting idle, the all-new Police Interceptor Utility will change the way officers work. Everything about it was designed for keeping police officers safe, comfortable, and ready for action.”

REVEALED: Ford Motors Makes Millions from Police Cruisers While the Ford Foundation Donates Millions to ‘Defund The Police’ https://t.co/J6P360D5Ma

— Raheem Kassam (@RaheemKassam) July 7, 2020

Meanwhile, in New York City, the Ford Foundation is proudly taking part in the “Defund the Police” movement as mentioned on their website:

“We’ve seen our grantees at the forefront of the change that’s taken place over the last few days–from City Council of Minneapolis’s pledge to dismantle the police department to reimagine the public safety, to Mayor Garcetti’s commitment to divest $250 million of the LAPD’s budget.”

Founded in 1936 by Edsel Ford, the Ford Foundation is one of the country’s most recognized charitable organizations. In 2019, it handed out $500 million in grants to promote a “just, fair, and peaceful world with opportunity for all.”

Now, for the first time since 1976, a member of the Ford Motors dynasty sits on the Board of the Foundation. Henry “Sony” Ford III, the Director for Investor Relations for Ford Motor Company joined the Foundation’s Board of Trustees in February 2019 to help drive its “racial injustice” agenda.

Mr. Ford oversees grant-making policies, management and governance at the Foundation. He also serves as a public ambassador for the Foundation’s work. The move was aimed at giving the Ford Foundation more legitimacy as it presses forward with its social justice policies, but it could spell trouble for the Ford car company.

Since 2016, Ford Foundation has given roughly $7.8 million to Black Lives Matter and other similar groups through a partnership with Borealis Philanthropy. These groups are now the public face of the “Defund the Police” movement. The movement was actually born from a group seeded by the Foundation back in 2015 called Black Youth Project 100 (BYP 100) at the University of Chicago. Their mission was to “Disband, Disarm, Disempower” the police.

Since the group’s founding, the Ford Foundation has given them $3.1 million. BYP100 now serves as central command, recruiting protestors, providing professional protestor training, and coordinating protests in cities across the U.S.

https://www.lawenforcementtoday.com/ford-foundation-donates-millions-to-defund-the-police/?fbclid=IwAR3u5ZLmbRFFSYS8_yVtNS6jfywd7M2zwJ5sgmi7QLiigQT6hXyzw2AHtLc

Fauci on Trump claim that 99 percent of COVID-19 cases are 'harmless': 'Obviously not'

Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, in an interview published Friday pushed back on President Trump's claim that 99 percent of coronavirus cases are "harmless," saying that it is "obviously not" the case.

“I’m trying to figure out where the president got that number," Fauci told The Financial Times. "What I think happened is that someone told him that the general mortality is about 1 percent. And he interpreted, therefore, that 99 percent is not a problem, when that’s obviously not the case."

Trump earlier this month said that 99 percent of coronavirus cases are "totally harmless," a claim not backed by evidence. Previous estimates from experts have said about 80 percent of coronavirus cases do not require hospitalization and 20 percent do, though there remains uncertainty about how many cases are going undetected.

The comments come amid growing public distance between Trump and Fauci. Trump has been seeking to downplay the virus, while Fauci and a wide range of other experts have warned of the danger of the worsening outbreaks around the country, which are leading to spikes in hospitalizations in hard-hit states.

"Dr. Fauci is a nice man, but he's made a lot of mistakes," Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity on Thursday evening, saying experts had shifted their advice on masks, for example.

Fauci told The Financial Times that he had not seen Trump in person since early June.

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/506719-fauci-on-trump-claim-that-99-percent-of-covid-19-cases-are-harmless

Herd immunity level for COVID-19 in Moscow high enough to ease curbs — mayor

On July 13, wearing face coverings will not be mandatory outdoors, except public transport, stores and other public spaces in the capital city

MOSCOW, July 10. /TASS/. The herd immunity threshold for COVID-19 in Moscow is at the level that allows relaxing the restrictions imposed in the city amid the pandemic, moreover a second wave is not expected in the city in the near future, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said in a televised interview with the Russian channel Rossiya-24 on Friday.

"On the basis of experience and conversations with a variety of experts, doctors and specialists of Rospotrebnadzor [the Russian consumer watchdog], I can see that we managed to pass the peak and no second wave is expected in the foreseeable future. We believe that the population in Moscow has developed herd immunity, which lets us ease the restrictions with confidence," he said.

Sobyanin pointed out that he takes calmly any coronavirus forecasts. The Moscow mayor said that people have "got used to the threat" and constantly expect bad news.

Nevertheless, Sobyanin recalled, the Russian capital hosted the Victory Day Parade and voting on amendments to the Russian constitution in recent weeks.

"Prior to the parade, there had been lots of prognoses, including negative. But nothing bad happened," the mayor said adding that there were rumors that the authorities were understating morbidity rates.

"Nothing like that. Those were all lies. It can be stated today that we have been witnessing the disease rate going down over these days and weeks," Sobyanin concluded.

Earlier, Sobyanin signed a decree on the next stage of easing coronavirus restrictions. On July 13, wearing face coverings will not be mandatory outdoors, except public transport, stores and other public spaces. Educational institutions, amusement and recreational parks and cultural centers will reopen on that day.

On August 1, theaters, cinemas and concert halls with under 3,000 seats could reopen, but their seating capacity will be cut by half.

https://tass.com/society/1177067

Florida Governor Says “If You Can Do Home Depot, If You Can Do Walmart, You Can Definitely Do the Schools.”

Liberals are in an absolute mental meltdown of a fit across America today because of something that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said. Editors Note: He’s not wrong.

The Florida governor at a briefing today, said these simple words that are echoed by Americans and most parents everywhere.

“If you can do Home Depot, if you can do Walmart, you can definitely do the schools.”

https://thedcpatriot.com/ha-florida-governor-says-if-you-can-do-home-depot-if-you-can-do-walmart-you-can-definitely-do-the-schools-video/

Driver in failed human smuggling attempt that left 7 dead in Southeast Texas sentenced to federal prison

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The driver in a failed human smuggling attempt that left six unlawfully present aliens and a second smuggler dead in Southeast Texas in June 2019 was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in federal prison.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Corpus Christi, Texas, conducted the investigation with assistance from HSI Houston, the U.S. Border Patrol, Corpus Christi Police Department, Houston Police Department, U.S. Marshals Service and Nueces County Sherriff’s Office.

Mexican citizen Ivan Dario Puga-Moreno, 31, was sentenced July 9 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to 10 years in federal prison for conspiracy to transport unlawfully present aliens into the United States causing death or serious bodily injury. Puga-Moreno pleaded guilty to the charges on Feb. 2. In handing down the sentence, U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos upwardly departed from U.S. sentencing guidelines.

On June 5, 2019, authorities discovered a wrecked Chevrolet Suburban in a ditch in Robstown, Texas. Five unlawfully present aliens and another smuggler were found deceased at the scene with 10 more requiring hospitalization due to their significant injuries. A sixth alien later died at the hospital. Puga-Moreno had been attempting to smuggle a total of 18 unlawfully present aliens with brush guide Agustin Gutierrez-Gonzalez who was from his hometown in Mexico.

After the crash, Puga-Moreno fled the scene of the accident and failed to call 911 for assistance. He fled to Houston in an attempt to avoid arrest, but was subsequently apprehended by HSI Houston on June 6. Further investigation revealed he had fled the scene with the assistance of Gutierrez-Gonzalez, 33, Elena Ruiz, 35, of Corpus Christi, and Mayra Chaver, 32, of Honduras.

At the time of his plea, Puga-Moreno admitted he was driving the vehicle and was evading police.

Ruiz, Chaver and Gutierrez-Gonzalez also pleaded guilty, admitting they helped Puga-Moreno flee and evade arrest after the crash. They are set for sentencing at a later date.

Puga-Moreno is illegally present in the U.S. and is expected to face removal proceedings following his release from prison.

https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/driver-failed-human-smuggling-attempt-left-7-dead-southeast-texas-sentenced-federal

Army Investigating Training Materials That Declare 'MAGA' Is 'Covert White Supremacy'

The U.S. Army is officially investigating a handout to personnel at the Redstone Arsenal that was included in a presentation on “Racism and Discrimination” that listed the Trump campaign slogan “MAGA” as “covert white supremacy.”

The army is following up on a complaint from Republican Congressman Mo Brooks of Alabama, whose district includes Redstone. Brooks believes the handout violates the Hatch Act, which prevents the military from engaging in partisan politics. The congressman sent a letter to Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy, copied to Trump, Attorney General William Barr, and others.

Military Times:

[Brooks] “demanded an investigation into Army personnel illegally using federal government resources to distribute racist and partisan political propaganda in direct violation of the federal Hatch Act and any number of military regulations,” according to a statement on his website. And he said that the Army must “prosecute and fire” Redstone Arsenal personnel responsible.

Cynthia O. Smith, an Army spokeswoman, said that “as soon as Department of the Army leaders were made aware of these products the Army initiated a 15-6 investigation to determine how this happened. The Army does not condone the use of phrases that indicate political support. The Army is and will continue to remain an apolitical organization.”

The program is part of the Army’s Project Inclusion listening-tour handouts which, on the surface, appear fairly harmless. But the handout suggests something much different.

Lynchings, hate crimes, the n-word, swastikas and burning crosses are among those things considered “overt white supremacy,” according to the handout. “Make America Great Again,” “Eurocentric Education,” “not challenging racist jokes,” and “Celebration of Columbus Day” are among the many phrases and actions considered “covert white supremacy,” according to the handout.

Brooks pointed to specific pages in the handouts that were deeply offensive — and frankly stupid.

“Disturbingly, the Army chose Redstone Arsenal as the first location on a tour that will cover all Army 4 star commands,” Brooks said in a statement on his website.”The illegal, racist and politically partisan material includes a pyramid graphic that claims the following are evidence of “White Supremacy”, and, hence, racism.”

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/rick-moran/2020/07/10/army-investigating-handout-that-declared-maga-was-covert-white-supremacy-n629596

Would You Be Willing to Die for the Cause of Ending 'Systemic Racism'?

My colleague Stacey Lennox covered the incredible report that the city of Seattle was requiring white employees to go through a special kind of “diversity training.” The training session was called “Interrupting Internalized Racial Superiority and Whiteness,” which is just another way of saying “you don’t feel guilty enough, white boy.”

Not only do white people not feel guilty enough, but they must also be “re-educated” in order to eliminate all vestiges of white supremacy.

When “individualism,” “intellectualization,” and “objectivity” are “vestiges” of feelings of white superiority, it’s clear what the goal of this “training session” is — they want everyone to be stupid sheep who lack critical thinking.

There’s much more, of course, and you should read Stacey’s take on the seminar coming from the point of view of a former human resources professional. But you have to wonder: is the city proud to sponsor this seminar? Why aren’t they broadcasting the gist of it to residents and voters? Where are the press releases, the mayor’s press conference, the glowing approval of the black community?

Obviously we’re too stupid to “understand.”

“So far, the City of Seattle has refused to provide the names of the diversity trainers, the budget for the program, or the video of the session.”

This should tell us that the city is not “proud” of their efforts to deprogram white people. And why should they be? Brainwashing is a shameful thing to do — even when misguided cretins in Seattle believe it to be in a good cause.

There is a very dark message being given in this seminar: white people are so besotted with privilege and white supremacy that their self-loathing and shame aren’t enough. To even the score, whites must be prepared to sacrifice their lives to avoid any hint that they are better than anyone else.

In order to acknowledge your complicity in white privilege, you must give up “‘the land’ and your ‘guaranteed physical safety’ in order to be an ‘accomplice’ for racial justice.”

Employees were also taught how to “interrupt” their whiteness by being “honest and implicate yourself either in the moment or in past experiences in which you acted or thought similarly.”

“Don’t blame others. Don’t distance. Don’t make yourself seem ‘better.’ ‘None of us is,’” a handout said. “You are also white and what someone else did today you may do tomorrow.”

Heaven forbid the thought would cross your mind that you shouldn’t give up “guaranteed personal safety” for the cause. Would you die for the cause of ending “systemic racism”? If so, please go to the head of the line. I’ll be right behind you.

This is a recipe for a mental illness pandemic. When you constantly question yourself and your motivations, your self-esteem plummets, your confidence disappears, depression could easily set in. The pressure on the psyche would be enormous. It may even cause some people to suffer a psychotic break. All to satisfy some ignoramuses’ notion of dystopian payback for white supremacy.

I doubt whether a white person designed this seminar. Indeed, the city of Seattle probably scoured the dregs of academia to come up with someone angry enough at whites to really want to make them pay.

I don’t believe Lenin, Mao, Hitler, or any of the Kims ever imagined “re-education” in quite the same way as the perpetrators of this outrage on free peoples.

https://pjmedia.com/columns/rick-moran/2020/07/10/would-you-willingly-die-for-the-cause-of-ending-systemic-racism-n628611

Technocrats Pitch Surveillance System To Detect Next Pandemic

Scientific experts said Thursday that a wildlife surveillance system must be developed before the next pandemic emerges.

Evidence shows the virus that causes COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, came from bats that likely passed the virus onto another species before infecting humans, according to the World Health Organization.

Infectious disease experts, ecologists, wildlife biologists and other experts argue, in a paper published in the journal Science, that a decentralized global system of wildlife surveillance must be established before the next pandemic.

“It’s impossible to know how often animal viruses spill over into the human population, but coronaviruses alone have caused outbreaks in people three times in the last 20 years,” co-author Jennifer Philips said in a press release.

Phillips, who is an associate professor of medicine and co-director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, was referring to outbreaks from the SARS, MERS and COVID-19 epidemics.

“Even a decade ago it would have been difficult to conduct worldwide surveillance at the human-wildlife interface,” Philips continued. “But because of technological advances, it is now feasible and affordable, and it has never been more obvious how necessary it is.”

Researchers said in the paper that expansion into wild areas for resources due to population growth has exacerbated the problem.

Wildlife animals caught for consumption, sold at wildlife markets as exotic pets or held in crowded or unsanitary conditions have also made spillover of viruses into human population more likely, the researchers say.

The surveillance system would monitor wildlife markets and other hotspots to identify whether a virus in animals could spread to humans by comparing genomic sequence data.

https://www.activistpost.com/2020/07/technocrats-pitch-surveillance-system-to-detect-next-pandemic.html

Claire McCaskill’s Multimillionaire Husband Took PPP Loan

Ex-senator has criticized program for rewarding corporations

The real estate investment firm founded by the multimillionaire husband of former Democratic senator Claire McCaskill took a Paycheck Protection Program loan worth up to $1 million, continuing its strategy of capitalizing on government programs to maximize profits.

Sugar Creek Realty, a St. Louis firm founded by Joseph Shepard, was one of thousands of companies to receive money from the small-business relief program, which was designed to help companies keep employees on the payroll during the coronavirus pandemic. The firm took between $350,000 and $1 million on April 6 that allowed it to keep 75 people employed, according to figures released by the Small Business Administration.

The loan came just four days after McCaskill, a two-term Democratic senator from Missouri who was unseated in 2018, expressed doubt that the PPP would effectively get money to businesses in need.

"They need to get this figured out. Fast," McCaskill wrote on April 2, sharing an article on how it was "unrealistic" to believe the Trump administration would be able to dole out the billions in aid.

They need to get this figured out. Fast.

Banks warn of chaotic launch of small business lending program https://t.co/zjKtNTMeWU

— Claire McCaskill (@clairecmc) April 2, 2020

McCaskill, an MSNBC political commentator, had also argued that firms like her husband's should not be the ones receiving aid money from the government. In late March she said on MSNBC that the program should "focus on the workers, not focus on big corporations."

"I feel personally about this," McCaskill said during an interview with Brian Williams. "I spent years waiting tables, and I understand what this means to millions of Americans just in the restaurant and bar industry to say nothing of all the other small businesses that are travel-related, tourist-related, that are going to shrivel up if we do not get help to them first. Let's focus on the workers, not focus on big corporations."

Sugar Creek Realty, a firm that specializes in profiting from government affordable housing programs, turned out to be one of the first firms to get a loan. The company did not respond to numerous inquiries into how the coronavirus pandemic impacted its business and what the funds were used for.

McCaskill was forced to answer for Shepard's business dealings during her failed 2018 reelection campaign after reports emerged that the firm made millions of dollars by selling Low-Income Housing Tax Credits to high-earners looking for a tax break. The company received more than $131 million in federal subsidies while McCaskill was in the U.S. Senate.

Though McCaskill kept her finances separate from Shepard and the two filed taxes separately, she was known to use his private jet on the campaign trail in Missouri.

https://freebeacon.com/democrats/claire-mccaskills-multimillionaire-husband-took-ppp-loan/

Gun-Control Group Behind $4 Million Election Push Takes Coronavirus Relief

Brady Center received up to $1 million

One of the country's leading gun-control groups took a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan worth up to $1 million even as its PAC pledged to spend millions in the 2020 elections.

The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence received between $350,000 and $1 million on April 10 to support 41 employees, according to the Small Business Administration. The center is the educational arm of the Brady organization, which also features a political advocacy arm, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, as well as the political action committee Brady PAC. In March, the Brady PAC endorsed presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and announced it would spend $4 million to help elect him and other gun-control candidates to office.

Liam Sullivan, a spokesman for the Brady Center, defended the loans, saying that the pandemic had affected the organization's funding and caused it to cancel major fundraising events, including its annual gala.

"Like other nonprofits, the Brady Center is funded by giving and fundraising events, both of which obviously have been impacted and will be impacted for the foreseeable future," he said. "We just applied and were approved, obviously, under the same sort of criteria as others with concerns for payroll."

Sullivan also emphasized that the Brady Center and Brady PAC are legally separate groups and the Brady Center is not involved in election spending. It is, however, common for money to be moved between aligned organizations like the Brady Center, Campaign, and PAC. Federal records show the Brady PAC paid the Brady Campaign more than $50,000 for use of its staff and travel reimbursements in April, and the Brady Center reported owing the Brady Campaign more than $1.1 million in 2015.

The SBA documents also show that other major gun-control advocates have benefited from the PPP program, which was designed to help small businesses stay afloat during coronavirus shutdowns. The Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, the educational arm of Giffords, accepted a loan worth between $150,000 and $350,000 on April 28 in order to meet payroll for 16 employees. Giffords, which did not respond to a request for comment, announced a nationwide tour supporting gun-control candidates that appears to be spearheaded by its advocacy arm. The group said it would spend a "six figure sum in online engagement" on the tour alone.

"This is the year we will elect a gun safety majority in the Senate," former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, cofounder of the group, said in a statement.

A Free Beacon review of the Small Business Administration records did not find listings for PPP loans given to prominent gun-rights groups, though the disclosures only include loans of more than $150,000. The National Rifle Association, which has struggled during the pandemic and even had to lay off a significant number of staff members, confirmed that none of its arms had taken any PPP loans. Alan Gottlieb, whose gun-rights organization has an education and advocacy arm, said no part of his organization took PPP loans because he believed it was unethical to do so.

https://freebeacon.com/latest-news/gun-control-group-behind-4-million-election-push-takes-coronavirus-relief/

FARRELL: Samantha Power’s Massive Unmasking Effort

From Chris Farell’ Op-Ed for The Daily Caller:

This week Judicial Watch filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the State Department seeking information on former UN Ambassador Samantha Power’s potential abuse of her authority to unmask the identities of U.S. citizens whose names appear in intelligence reports.

Power was the most active of the serial unmaskers in the Obama administration. She – or someone acting in her name – made over 260 such requests in her last year as ambassador and was actively unmasking people right up to Donald Trump’s January 2017 inauguration. Note that Power testified in 2017 before the House Intelligence Committee that she did not personally make the requests, but if that is true it is still unclear who did.

The State Department has rebuffed previous attempts to reveal the full extent of the Power unmasking effort, but there is new interest since the May 13 release of a declassified memorandum from the Director of National Intelligence identifying officials who requested unmasking the identity of former National Security Adviser Michael T. Flynn in National Security Agency (NSA) foreign intelligence reports. Power submitted seven such anti-Flynn requests, which were granted.

This unmasking effort began well before – and continued well after – Flynn’s legitimate contact with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak and involved 39 people, including Power, various other ambassadors, intelligence officials, and outgoing Vice President Joe Biden. The list of requests ends on January 12, 2017, which may be related to the Justice Department Inspector General announcing a review of unauthorized releases of confidential information that same day.

https://www.judicialwatch.org/in-the-news/farrell-power-unmasking/

Leaked Recordings Confirm The West’s Concealment Of Ukrain’s Terrorist Policy In Crimea

On June 9, Member of Ukrainian Parliament Andrii Derkach published a number of phone records. On one of them, people pretended to be Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and former US Vice President Joseph Biden discussed a sabotage operation in Crimea that took place in August 2016. These recordings have become a serious accusation against the Ukrainian authorities, as well as Western countries, which, knowing about the incident, preferred to support Poroshenko’s position based on lies.

Ukrainian forces tried to carry out terrorist attacks in the North of the Crimean Peninsula. The Federal Security Service (FSB) of the Russian Federation has received operational information that allies of Ukrainian raiders, Yevgeny Panov and Andrey Zakhteya, were meeting a Ukrainian squadron on the territory of Crimea on the night of August 7 to carry out terrorist attacks on the Peninsula’s critical infrastructure. The operations were prepared by the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. The interception of the sabotage group by Russian Special Forces unit “Vimpel” of the FSB took place near the village of Suvorovo near the Crimean-Ukrainian border. The raiders opened fire. During the firefight, the commander of the Special Forces unit, Lieutenant Colonel Roman Kamenev, was killed. Russian Special Forces eliminated two militants and disarmed three others. Ukrainian supporters Yevgeny Panov and Andrey Zakhteya were arrested.

In the evening of the same day, another group of Ukrainian raiders was stopped on the Crimean-Ukrainian border. They were hiding in a swampy area on the technological dam across the Sivash Bay. The Ukrainians aimed to mine the road to the dam and power lines. During the clashes with Russian forces, a Russian 22-year-old mechanic-driver of the airborne fighting vehicle, Corporal Semyon Sychev, was killed. Russian militants of the 247th Guards Air Assault regiment, who were seconded to guard the Ukrainian border, were also wounded. Ukrainian weapons were found at the site: 20 improvised explosive devices with a total capacity of more than 40 kg, ammunition and special means of initiation, regular anti-personnel and magnetic mines, as well as grenades and special weapons.

These were not the only diversions prevented by Russian forces in Crimea. Numerous acts were planned on other critical infrastructure, such as the Kerch ferry or Simferopol international airport. If the Ukrainian raiders had not been stopped, the explosions on the dam across the Sivash would have affected hundreds of residents of nearby villages.

https://southfront.org/the-wests-concealment-of-ukrains-terrorist-policy-in-crimea-leaked-recordings-confirm/

New Steele evidence strengthens Durham prosecution as frustration over inaction grows

A British court decision unmasks new evidence of FBI abuses in the Russia collusion probe.

It was in London that the whole Russia collusion caper began four years ago, so it seems only fitting that as the discredited probe enters its final phase that damning new evidence of the FBI’s failures would emerge back in England.

This week when a British judge ruled against the former FBI human source Christopher Steele, the decision delivered more than an order for the former spy’s company to pay damages to two Russian businessmen maligned by his dossier.

It also introduced new incontrovertible evidence that bolsters Attorney General William Barr's and U.S. Attorney John Durham’s probe into whether the FBI engaged in misconduct and criminally deceived the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to win permission to spy on the Trump campaign.

Buried in Justice Mark Warby’s ruling were several new pieces of evidence that answer long lingering questions about just what the FBI knew, and when it knew it.

For instance, Congressional Republicans have long questioned when exactly the FBI knew that Steele’s dossier was a product ordered up for the Hillary Clinton campaign and Democratic Party. After all, the bureau never revealed the connection to the FISA court despite its central relevance to the motives of the dossier.

Warby’s lengthy ruling unearthed a gem of new evidence to answer the question: Steele kept his own notes of what he told FBI agents the first time he met them on July 5, 2016 in London to discuss his anti-Trump Russia research.

And, Warby revealed, the notes make clear that Steele told his FBI handlers from the get-go that the dossier’s “ultimate client were (sic) the leadership of the Clinton presidential campaign.”

So the FBI knew immediately that the dossier it used to justify a FISA warrant targeting the Trump campaign was a political opposition research product designed to help Clinton defeat her Republican opponent and did not divulge the connection.

That’s not all that Warby’s decision provided to American investigators.

The ruling discloses that officials at the State Department where Hillary Clinton had served as secretary of state were uniquely involved in Steele’s efforts to bring the dossier to attention, including Mrs. Clinton’s former Russia expert Assistant Secretary Victoria Nuland, Clinton's successor as secretary of state John Kerry and Joe Biden’s former national security adviser Tony Blinken.

Steele “elaborated, by explaining that his understanding in July 2016 was that the FBI officer he met had cleared his lines with the Assistant Secretary of State, Victoria Nuland,” the judge disclosed.

And after Trump won the election, the judge added, Steele disclosed he gave copies of his dossier to longtime Clinton friend Strobe Talbot in hopes it would get to the top of the State Department.

https://justthenews.com/accountability/russia-and-ukraine-scandals/new-steele-evidence-strengthens-durham-prosecution

Bank settlement could provide prosecutors roadmap to punishing Epstein's collaborators

'Anyone connected to Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking and abuse activity should be extremely concerned by the New York State Department of Financial Services' investigation,' a sex crimes experts tells Just the News.

If federal prosecutors are looking to punish more than the socialite Ghislaine Maxwell for the late Jeffrey Epstein's alleged underage sex ring, New York regulators' settlement this month with Epstein's former bank may provide an intriguing roadmap.

Buried in documents attached to Deutsche Bank's $150 million penalty agreement with the New York State Department of Financial Services is a long list of suspect activities, including withdrawals of money by lawyers, payments to Russian models and other women, and financial transactions with people previously identified by federal authorities as co-conspirators in Epstein's prior plea deal on charges of prostitution with a minor more than a decade ago.

The story still being unraveled now by federal and state prosecutors is how Epstein managed to allegedly keep his sex empire going after becoming one of America's most famous registered sex offenders.

Experts say the extensive documentation made public with the bank case, including a consent order, places a bullseye over transactions and players in Epstein's orbit now facing new legal exposure. And it could augment a list of names contained in Epstein's "black book" of contacts that investigators have possessed for years.

"It seems as if anyone connected to Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking and abuse activity should be extremely concerned by the New York State Department of Financial Services investigation that was announced on Monday," said J. Robert Flores, a former federal prosecutor and assistant district attorney in Manhattan who specialized in sex crimes and reviewed the settlement documents at the request of Just the News.

The New York state case followed just days after federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York unsealed an indictment against Maxwell, a longtime associate of Epstein who is now charged with aiding and abetting the late mogul's sexual escapades with underage girls.

Epstein, the government contends, was the paymaster before he committed suicide after being jailed last year. Prosecutors portray Maxwell as one of the key recruiters of young victims. Deutsche Bank's admissions make it at the least an unwitting and negligent financial facilitator.

And now, the question that the world awaits to be answered is whether any powerful or mighty figures who were clients, facilitators or conspirators in Epstein's escapades will also be brought to justice.

Flores sees the outlines of a prosecutorial roadmap in the bank investigation, and expects some with exposure to possibly seek early deals with prosecutors.

https://justthenews.com/nation/crime/ny-state-regulators-fines-deutsche-bank-150-million-and-links-jeffrey-epstein

Israel to UNSC: Empower UNIFIL to better monitor Hezbollah in Lebanon

Brigadier-General Shlomi Binder who commands Division 91 said that “Hezbollah’s terrorist army” was active on the border an attempting to destabilize the region.

The UN’s peace keeping mission on the Lebanese southern border (UNIFIL) must be better empowered to monitor violations by Hezbollah, Israeli officials said on Friday afternoon as they toured the area with 12 foreign ambassadors and diplomats.

Friday’s Foreign Ministry and IDF tour comes in the midst of an Israeli and US campaign to sway the UN Security to expand the the UN Interim Force in Lebanon’s scope of operation in advance of the mandate’s expected renewal this August.

“UNIFIL’s mandate must be fully and effectively implemented to ensure the maintenance of regional stability and to prevent Hezbollah’s fortification in southern Lebanon. We expect the UNSC member states to adopt a decision that will allow the force to fulfill its mission without restrictions,” said Avivit Bar-Ilan, who heads the Foreign Ministry’s Bureau for UN and International Organizations.

Brigadier-General Shlomi Binder who commands Division 91 said that “Hezbollah’s terrorist army” was active on the border an attempting to destabilize the region.

Both Foreign Ministry and IDF officials briefed the foreign diplomats on Hezbollah’s activity and underscored the dangers of the terror tunnels Hezbollah dug and attempted to dig under the borders, so that it could attack Israel. UNIFIL has had difficulty reporting back to the UN on the matter because it has not been granted full access to areas where the tunnel openings are in southern Lebanon.

During the tour, the foreign diplomats were shown Hezbollah tunnel fortifications on the Israeli side of the border.

At a May UNSC meeting on UNIFIL, US Ambassador to the UN Kelly Craft said that Hezbollah for “all intents and purposes, dictates to UNIFIL where and when it can patrol.”

Craft also accused the Lebanese government of preventing UNIFIL from accessing and investigating Hezbollah terror tunnel sites located within UNIFIL’s area of operations.

“Now, we see UNIFIL barred from the places it used to patrol and prevented from inspecting sites clearly used for military activity,” Craft said.

From November 1 to February 18, UNIFIL was prevented 13 times, sometimes violently, from carrying out its mandate, Craft said.

Despite UNIFIL, Hezbollah armed itself, stockpiled munitions, dug tunnels for terrorist fighters, built factories to upgrade its rockets and used women and children as shields in assaults on UNIFIL peacekeepers, Craft said.

UNIFIL has a force of 10,500 peacekeepers from 45 different countries. It has been monitoring the Israeli-Lebanese border since 1978, and its mandate is renewed annually.

https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/israel-to-unsc-empower-unifil-to-better-monitor-hezbollah-in-lebanon-634652

Serbia Protest Explosion – Vučić Caught Between Coronavirus and Color Revolution

On the evenings of July 7th and 9th, a wave of unrest swept through several Serbian cities – chiefly Belgrade – in opposition to an announcement from Vučić that Belgrade would return to the government mandated coronavirus quarantine lockdowns.

Largely the protests were peaceful if energetic, with the vast majority of protesters of all ages and walks of life observing norms and voicing their opposition to the announcement that quarantine would return. Many of those protesting were not anti-Vučić per se, and their issues were not political in the electoral sense, but opposed the return to lockdowns which seem arbitrary and capricious at this point.

Vučić Responds Reasonably to Peaceful Protesters

In response to the protests, the Serbian government heard and understood the nature of the grievances, and did something quite rational – in a statement aired on live television, Vučić rescinded the return to quarantine order, which was otherwise to go into effect on the weekend of July 10th.

Because the government could not be seen as bending to opposition politics, and in part because it is also true, government talking points have stressed a difference between the peaceful protesters and the breakaway group of violent and radical opposition.

Additionally fueling the Belgrade and Novi Sad protests in Serbia were mixed grievances, which when unraveled are actually distinctly at odds with each other.

On the one hand is the criticism from the ultra nationalist right that the government used a more or less fake coronavirus as a pretext to move back the election date from April 26th to June 21st, and the social distancing provisions in place which precluded large rallies and gatherings as part of the campaigns.

Meanwhile, other grievances mostly from the Europhile liberal left criticized government for precisely the opposite – lifting quarantine lockdowns prematurely just in order to have an election – despite that elections were delayed already once until the coronavirus curve was ‘flattened’.

The opposition, whether liberal or nationalist, relies on such campaign rallies as well as U.S. deep-state controlled social media to promote their ideas and work. This is because local media – they claim with some justification – is overly sympathetic to the ruling party and Vučić.

More

https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2020/07/10/serbia-protest-explosion-vucic-caught-between-coronavirus-and-color-revolution/

Sara Carter: While SJWs Want To ‘Fundamentally Change This Nation,’ Hong Kongers Are Fighting For Liberty

During an episode of “The Sara Carter Show” Thursday, host Sara A. Carter recalled a conversation she had with Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Andy Chan Ho-Tin in Seoul, South Korea last year. Beijing recently passed its national security law, seizing on what remained of Hong Kong’s autonomy, which has been central to Chan’s fight.

“I want you to think about what’s happening in the United States of America,” Carter explained to listeners. “Now, Andy Chan is young. When I did this interview with him, he was 29 years old.”

She recanted how Chan ” founded the Hong Kong National Party. He believes in the independence of Hong Kong and the freedom for his people. And you all saw that on the news, young people stepping out into the streets, waving flags, even American flags because they believe in what this nation was founded on: Freedom.”

She stressed that while some radical liberal “people, some people like representative Ilhan Omar” and others want to “fundamentally change this nation from freedom and liberty and a bastion of hope.”

“Built on yes, not perfection, but with the founding fathers what (Chan) was saying, is what Thomas Jefferson said, that is fundamentally true, that all people are created equal. It is the reason why, thank God, slavery ended in this country under Abraham Lincoln.”

Chan and those fighting alongside him in Hong Kong have great admiration for the American way of life and want Hong Kong to emulate those basic fundamental values that honor the liberty of all individuals, she said.

It’s something young people in the U.S. are taking for granted, she added, stating that unfortunately, we’ve seen the radical left take take advantage of the horrible tragedy of George Floyd’s death at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer, Carter explained.

“It is the reason why we fight for civil rights and equitable solutions for all people,” said Carter. “It’s the reason why we have, a beautiful transition of power.”

” It’s the reason why our soldiers, men like my husband, who went overseas to fight terrorists did so to protect our national security in our country. It’s the reason why we have intelligence officials, FBI officials, law enforcement officials protecting our nation,” said Carter.

“There is a reason why we fight for these fundamental beliefs for a Constitution, for our Bill of Rights. And now so many young people want to throw that away. While people like Andy Chan and young people in Hong Kong and in China and in other parts of the world are fighting to just be able to just speak, to say they don’t agree with their government, they don’t agree with the rules that are imposed on them,” she added.

https://saraacarter.com/sara-carter-while-sjws-want-to-fundamentally-change-this-nation-hong-kongers-are-fighting-for-liberty/

Louisiana Task Force Seizes $7 Million In Drugs, Weapons, Arrests 4

NEW ORLEANS – A Louisiana State Police task force that includes personnel from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New Orleans seized more than $7 million in marijuana, illegal firearms, and arrested four suspects on state drug trafficking charges July 8.

After a month-long investigation into members of a drug-trafficking organization, task force agents executed six search warrants in St. Tammany and Orleans Parishes. In addition to seizing more than 5,300 high-grade marijuana plants, the task force seized a small amount of cocaine, suboxone, two vehicles, two illegal firearms, and approximately $75,000 in U.S. currency.

The drugs and weapons were seized from two separate marijuana grow houses in St. Tammany Parish and Orleans Parish. Hung Q. Nguyen, Phi Q. Nguyen, and Tuan Q. Nguyen were arrested and booked into the St. Tammany Parish Jail for Cultivation of Marijuana, Possession with Intent to Distribute Schedule I Controlled Dangerous Substance, Creation/Operation of a Clandestine Laboratory, Drug Conspiracy, and Racketeering.

Hau Trung Pham was also arrested and booked with two counts of Possession of Schedule II Controlled Dangerous Substance and Possession of a Firearm in the Presence of a Controlled Dangerous Substance.

“HSI remains committed to working with our law enforcement partners to investigate and disrupt drug trafficking in our communities,” said Gilbert Trill, HSI New Orleans acting special agent in charge. “The outcome of this investigation is a testament to the successful collaboration between federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.”

https://breaking911.com/louisiana-task-force-seizes-7-million-in-drugs-weapons-arrests-4/

Mysterious Large Explosion Rocked Idlib City In Northwestern Syria

On July 10 in the afternoon, a large explosion rocked the eastern outskirts of the militant-held city of Idlib in northwestern Syria.

Initially, opposition sources reported that the explosion, which took place in Idlib’s industrial zone, was the result of a drone strike. At least two U.S. combat drones were allegedly circling over the city when the explosion occurred.

more recent satellite image of the place of the blast/strike. the building to the south (blue outline) was destroyed before already pic.twitter.com/pX0Ukx25t8

— Samir (@obretix) July 10, 2020

These claims were later denied by activists, who said that the explosion took place in an ammunition depot of al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham. The terrorist group is infamous for stashing weapons and ammunition near heavily populated areas, especially in Idlib city.

Pro-government sources also said that the explosion took place in an ammo depot. However, they claimed that it was struck by a combat drone of the Syrian military and its allies. If true, the strike may have been a response to a recent failed attack in northern Lattakia. The attack was a violation of the ceasefire in Greater Idlib.

The large explosion reportedly killed two unidentified men. A third individual sustained serious burns all over his body and is now in a critical condition.

More information about the mysterious explosion is likely to emerge in the next few days. All current speculations are possible. All the current speculations are possible.

https://southfront.org/mysterious-large-explosion-rocks-idlib-city-in-northwestern-syria-video-photos/

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