The University of Delaware received 1850 boxes of documents, 415GB of material from Biden
An eMail from Hunter Biden to a Burisma colleague shows classified knowlege.
Senator Ted Cruz Wrote:Hunter Biden didn't write that. Hunter Biden is not an expert on Ukraine. He's not an expert on Eastern Europe. He's not an expert on Russia, but that email did help get him on the board of Burisma.
It did help get him paid $83,000 a month because it showed a level of expertise not coming from him, but he was getting it from somewhere. That's clearly from some sort of briefing. We don't know whether it was a classified briefing or not, but that is the sort of analysis that is often within a classified briefing.
And this email is unusual in the Hunter Biden emails, there's a level of scholarship and erudition that if it magically appeared, somehow it doesn't appear in the other emails he's sending
Meanwhile, the University of Delaware, President Biden's Alma mater, was given funds to archive and maintain the 1800+ boxes of documents that were just revealed to exist. However, the University has yet to release the information on who was financially responsible, who paid the University for this duty or privilege. According to the University, they insist they will not release any of the documents until two years after Biden has left public office.
Classified records have been found in various locations already, the nature not as yet revealed. However, some content appeared to have been used by the President's own son, who was actually living at his Delaware residence where one batch was found. And if these classified documents implicate the Biden's financial well-being, that can very well reveal criminal liability.
For 50 year, oil companies have extracted oil from the Amazon, no regulations halting how they conduct their operations which have been detrimental to the rainforest. And right now, a Chinese owned oil company is working to build access to deeper inside the lush green. And much of what was originally protected land is being bought, abused and destroyed.
But while oil in Yanusi and most of the Amazon is distributed worldwide, approximately 66% of the oil goes to the United States, the vast majority specifically to California itself. And 1 in every 7 tanks of gas, diesel or jet fuel pumped in Southern California last year came from the Amazon rainforest.
Up is down, left is right and sideways is straight ahead. - Cord "Circle of Iron", 1978 (written by Bruce Lee and James Coburn... really...)
Quote:Thousands of federal workers applied for and received COVID-19-related unemployment benefits and continued getting their regular paychecks during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), who’s calling for a federal investigation to identify the offenders and recover the tax dollars improperly paid to them.
“Staff from numerous government agencies, including the IRS, TSA [Transportation Security Administration], FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency], the U.S. Postal Service, Amtrak, and the Secret Service, have been detected receiving jobless benefits while also being on the federal government’s payroll,” Ernst said in a Jan. 30 statement.
“Some were even paid overtime at the same time [they were] claiming to have lost wages due to the pandemic. Others were so blatant, they actually applied for jobless benefits from their work computers.
“In addition to fleecing taxpayers, these unscrupulous bureaucrats have also tarnished the reputation of the other dedicated civil servants, many of whom worked long hours in essential jobs during the pandemic.”
More than $5 trillion in federally funded COVID-related benefits—including $716 billion in state-administered unemployment compensation—were authorized in response to the pandemic, which began in January 2020. More than 1 million Americans have died as a result of COVID-19.
Quote:A decision handed down by the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia dismissed a Chapter 11 petition filed by a recently created J&J subsidiary LTL Management in October to address more than 38,000 lawsuits from plaintiffs alleging the company’s baby powder and other talc products caused cancer.
Before the bankruptcy filing, J&J faced costs from $3.5 billion in verdicts and settlements, including one in which 22 women were eventually awarded a judgment of more than $2 billion, according to court records.
“Applied here, while LTL faces substantial future talc liability, its funding backstop plainly mitigates any financial distress foreseen on its petition date,” wrote a three-judge panel on Monday. They noted that “good intentions” like protecting the “J&J brand or comprehensively resolve litigation … do not suffice alone,” they wrote.
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A legal scholar with the University of Richmond told the paper that J&J will now have to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. “The only prospect left for J&J is an appeal to the Supreme Court,” Carl Tobias said, “which grants review in a minuscule percentage of appeals.”
A jury in Missouri ordered the New Jersey-based company to pay some $4.7 billion in damages to dozens of women who asserted their cancer was caused by the company’s talc products. The company appealed to cut the payout in half, but it has still paid more than $2 billion in damages.
Quote:Federal Election Commission lawyer Lisa Stevenson told Trump attorney Derek Ross on Jan. 27 that the FED is granting his team a request for another 45-day extension, according to a brief letter published online (pdf). Trump was previously given an extension on Dec. 16, according to Bloomberg News.
“While President Trump has made diligent effort to prepare his report, due to the complexity of his financial holdings, President Trump needs additional time to compile the necessary information and complete the report,” his lawyer wrote to the agency on Jan. 26 (pdf).
Under federal law, presidential candidates are mandated to report information on their assets, income, and debt within 30 days of becoming a candidate. They can file for two 45-day extensions.
The FEC’s extension was granted after Trump made his first campaign appearance in several primary states, including in New Hampshire and South Carolina.
He is the first Republican to announce a 2024 White House bid.
Quote:In an emailed statement to NTD News, House Oversight Committee Communications Director Jessica Collins confirmed that former Twitter executives Vijaya Gadde, James Baker, and Yoel Roth will testify before the committee on Feb. 3. Collins further confirmed that the platform’s handling of the Biden laptop allegations will be a point of focus for the committee, which is now under Republican control.
The hearing comes about a month and a half after new Twitter owner Elon Musk began releasing tranches of the company’s internal communications to journalists in an ongoing series dubbed the “Twitter Files.”
In December, the sixth installment of the Twitter Files indicated that FBI employees flagged content on Twitter that Twitter employees would then review and often remove from the website.
In the seventh installment of the Twitter Files, journalist Michael Shellenberger detailed Twitter communications suggesting the FBI had conditioned the platform in advance to distrust troves of documents like the ones the New York Post reported on in its Hunter Biden laptop articles.
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FBI officials communicated and warned Twitter executives throughout 2020 that state actors would likely attempt “hack-and-leak operations” in October 2020 to discredit the Biden family. Those FBI communications specifically warned that such efforts could target Hunter Biden.
The New York Post obtained a copy of the documents from the allegedly abandoned laptop and published a series of articles in October of 2020 that revealed what the contents of the laptop showed regarding various foreign business activities in which Hunter Biden was involved.
Quote:The Memphis Fire Department said it fired three employees following the release of video footage that showed the deadly arrest of Tyre Nichols and the immediate aftermath.
Nichols, 29, died in hospital on Jan. 10, three days after his violent encounter with Memphis police officers when they tried to arrest him in a traffic stop gone wrong. The City of Memphis released video footage of Nichols’ interactions with police officers on Jan. 27.
The fire department statement released on Monday said an internal review found that emergency medical technicians Robert Long and JaMicheal Sandridge “failed to conduct an adequate patient assessment of Mr. Nichols” after they arrived, while fire Lt. Michelle Whitaker remained in her vehicle.
Nichols was handcuffed on the ground, leaning against a police vehicle. He was left there for 14 minutes without medical attention after Long and Sandridge arrived at the scene.
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Fire Chief Gina Sweat said that Long, Sandridge, and Whitaker “violated numerous [fire department] policies and protocols,” and as a result, the three “have been terminated.”
“Their actions or inactions on the scene that night do not meet the expectations of the Memphis Fire Department and are not reflective of the outstanding service the men and women of the Memphis Fire Department provide daily in our community.”
Quote:Pro-life activist Mark Houck was found not guilty by a federal court in Philadelphia on Jan. 30 on charges that arose from an October 2021 altercation outside a Planned Parenthood clinic.
Houck was accused of twice violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which prohibits “violent, threatening, damaging, and obstructive conduct intended to injure, intimidate, or interfere with the right to seek, obtain, or provide reproductive health services.”
Specifically, the Department of Justice (DOJ) alleged that Houck assaulted Bruce Love, a 72-year-old clinic escort, on two occasions—once by pushing him to the ground as he was escorting patients from the clinic and a second time during a verbal altercation in front of the facility.
Houck’s attorneys, however, argued that Love was “extremely aggressive” and had been “harassing” Houck’s 12-year-old son before any altercation ensued.
Houck, a father of seven, was arrested by the FBI in September in an early morning raid that was widely criticized by conservatives as evidence of the Biden administration’s political weaponization of the agency.
“If he was truly a danger to the community, they wouldn’t have waited a year to prosecute,” noted Patrick Breen, Houck’s attorney and vice president of the Thomas More Society, following Houck’s arrest.
"For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ," 1 Thessalonians 5:9
Maranatha!
The Internet might be either your friend or enemy. It just depends on whether or not she has a bad hair day.
Quote: Wrote:A Democrat-led U.S. Senate committee is alleging that President Donald Trump weaponized the Department of Justice—based on a New York Times report citing anonymous sources—and is vowing to examine former special counsel John Durham’s inquiry for misconduct.
Durham had been evaluating the alleged mismanagement by law enforcement and intelligence agencies of the Trump–Russia investigation after being appointed by former Attorney General Bill Barr.
“These reports about abuses in Special Counsel Durham’s investigation—so outrageous that even his longtime colleagues quit in protest—are but one of many instances where former President Trump and his allies weaponized the Justice Department,” Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) alleged in an online statement.
Durbin was reacting to a Jan. 26 New York Times report that accused Durham of failing to bring charges against Trump based on information from Italian officers that alleged suspicious financial dealings.
However, The New York Times admits that allegations in the report lack sources who are willing to talk on the record.
“The current and former officials who discussed the investigation all spoke on the condition of anonymity,” the report reads.
The report was released after the U.S. House of Representatives approved the formation of the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, from which Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) has already launched an investigation into the use of federal law enforcement and national security agencies against conservatives.
The New York Times report also accused Durham of using Russian intelligence documents to delve into the emails of a George Soros assistant and alleges that Durham’s aide, Nora Dannehy, resigned in 2020 over questions about prosecutorial ethics concerning Michael Sussmann, who was the lawyer representing Democrats during the probe into Trump’s alleged link to Russia.
So that's the actual reason why they want to chase Durham down.
But let us make a recap of what actually happened last year...
Quote:A large portion of the funds allocated to Durham went to personnel compensation and benefits, while the rest dealt with rent, travel, utilities, and related expenditures. About a third went to “contractual services,” including IT services and “litigative support,” according to the report.
So they simply want to deny what has already been determined by the same DOJ as normal expenditures for a special counsel working on such a convoluted case. Wonderful work, Durbin, just wonderful...
Quote:Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said that he believes a prediction made by four-star Air Force Gen. Mike Minihan that the United States will go to war with China in 2025 is correct.
A memo issued by the general, according to NBC News, said that “I hope I am wrong .. my gut tells me we will fight in 2025″ about the potential conflict. He added that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will be looking closely at Taiwan’s 2024 presidential election that might prompt leader Xi Jinping to escalate military aggression against the region.
“Xi secured his third term [as CCP general secretary] and set his war council in October 2022. Taiwan’s presidential elections are in 2024 and will offer Xi a reason,” Minihan wrote. The 2024 U.S. presidential elections would also create a “distracted America” that could benefit the Chinese regime, he said.
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On Sunday, McCaul, the head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told Fox News that he believes the general’s prediction is accurate. “I hope he’s wrong,” McCaul told “Fox News Sunday.” “I think he’s right though, unfortunately.”
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He claimed that the current administration is “projecting weakness” that will create an avenue for the CCP to take military action.
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“I want to be completely clear. It’s not only not inevitable, it’s highly unlikely,” Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) told Fox News on Sunday, noting that “anything is possible” and that “generals should be cautious.”
A weakness like sending too much weaponry to Ukraine when they don't know how or when they would get their own stocks back to normal levels. I mean, US still has a chance for it never send its F35s to that nation until now. In doing so, that would soon become the final nail in the coffin before getting attacked preemptively by the CCP. Thus Taiwan, and probably even Japan, could fall in a matter of weeks or months.
Quote:President Joe Biden has seemingly ruled out that the United States will be providing Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets. In a short exchange with reporters on Jan. 30, Biden was asked if the United States would be providing F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, to which he simply replied, “No.”
Biden’s comments follow a similar announcement from Germany’s chancellor, who also declined to send such fighter jets. Ukraine has been pushing its allies for advanced warplanes to help Kyiv take control of its airspace, but the United States and its partners fear that this could lead to further escalation with Russia.
The Kremlin could argue that the F-16s could be used to hit targets inside Russia, which Moscow could interpret as a significant escalation in the war. Despite Moscow’s accusations of NATO aggression, member countries like the United States and Germany have been hesitant to provide military aid that might escalate the conflict.
The F-16 is widely considered one of the world’s most reliable fighter jets, armed with precision-guided missiles. The United States Air Force states that the F-16 fighter jet has the ability to carry precision-guided bombs and missiles and can reach speeds of 1,500 mph.
Quote:Experts say the Chinese regime wants to take advantage of the vacuum created by the American exit, eyeing more than $1 trillion worth of Afghanistan’s minerals including rare earth elements, while outwitting other regional competitors.
Taliban recently signed a 25-year contract with China’s Xinjiang Central Asia Petroleum and Gas Co (CAPEIC) to extract oil from an area of 4,500 square kilometers of Amu Dariya basin in Afghanistan’s three northern provinces of Sarpol, Jawzjan, and Faryab, according to a statement on Twitter by Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesperson for the Taliban-run administration.
“The company (CAPEIC) will invest $150 million in one year and $540 million in the next three years. In this contract, the [Taliban administration] will be a 20% partner, and this share will increase to 75%,” said Mujahid. “About 3,000 Afghans will be employed in this project.”
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The erstwhile U.S.-backed Afghan regime signed a similar deal with the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) to develop oil blocks in the Amu Darya basin in December 2011. Work on this project was halted in 2013 and the Chinese staff left the country after disagreements emerged about the transportation route of oil from Afghanistan to China. It was also under threat by the Taliban insurgency.
The Xinjiang branch of PetroChina was a subsidiary of CNPC and the CAPEIC was restructured from it in June 2000, according to the China Project.
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According to official figures (pdf), Afghanistan has 300 documented copper deposits with 30 million metric tons (MTs) of copper, 2.3 billion MTs of iron ore deposits in western Afghanistan along the Herat fault system through central Afghanistan and north of the Panjshir valley and possibly into Badakhshan, and 1.4 million MTs of rare earth materials.
Obviously, the Chinese government and military branches love the idea of making tones of money even from the very few years of the explotation of those mines.
Quote:A British MP who escaped death when an Iranian diplomat, Assadollah Assadi, was intercepted before he could bomb a rally of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) in Paris in 2018 has described it as “worrying” that Belgium was considering swapping Assadi for a Belgian citizen in an Iranian jail.
Earlier this month Olivier Vandecasteele, a humanitarian worker, was jailed for at least 12 years and given 74 lashes after being convicted of espionage following a secret trial in Iran.
Bob Blackman, a Conservative MP, told a conference at the Houses of Parliament in London on Monday it was a “shocking development” for Belgium to consider swapping Vandecasteele for Assadi, who was jailed for 20 years in Antwerp in February 2021 for plotting a bomb attack against the rally, which was attended by several British MPs as well as U.S. and European politicians.
Blackman said the bomb had been smuggled into Belgium in an Iranian diplomatic pouch and he said that if Assadi was sent back to Iran he would be “treated as a hero” by the regime of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
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Among the British MPs who spoke at the rally was David Amess, a British Conservative MP who was later murdered by an Islamist terrorist at his political surgery in Essex.
Blackman said Britain and the European Union should have taken much tougher action after Assadi’s conviction and he said of the regime in Tehran: “They suppress their people and they execute their enemies. We must treat them accordingly.”
Blackman then quoted Winston Churchill, who once said, “An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.”
"For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ," 1 Thessalonians 5:9
Maranatha!
The Internet might be either your friend or enemy. It just depends on whether or not she has a bad hair day.
Quote:The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee held its first hearing Wednesday on the Biden administration’s handling of border security. Following that hearing, several committee members discussed impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for failing to take necessary actions to secure the border.
Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.) told NTD that he would favor impeaching Mayorkas, though he noted the committee’s majority has not yet reached a decision on the matter.
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“The numbers that we’re talking about, almost 5 million people between the ports of entry illegally coming, that’s pretty real,” Biggs continued; “1.5 million known got-aways, plus unknown got-aways; the amount of drugs and fentanyl, you still only apprehending and interdicting about 10 percent, according to their estimate, but you have more than ever. You’ve got more terrorists coming in, you got more criminal gang members.”
Biggs said the situation at the U.S. border is not an accident or a matter of negligence, but a “feature of the system that [Mayorkas has] put in place.
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Fallon argued that Mayorkas had illegally implemented catch-and-release directives and, through his leadership, “recklessly released” more than 1,000,000 illegal immigrants into the United States.
Fallon brought an additional impeachment charge alleging Mayorkas had perjured himself when he told Congress, under oath, that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has maintained “operational control” over the security of the U.S. border. In a third impeachment charge, Fallon accused Mayorkas of having slandered U.S. Border Patrol agents with his comments about allegations they had whipped illegal immigrants who attempted to cross the border.
People, I think some of you might love immigrants coming to any specific country, but think about it for a moment. If a minimal set of conditions cannot be provided by any state or nation for millions of immigrants to live decently till they can get a job or study at school or college, without becoming a heavy burden for nationals, how can you keep a border open?
At some point you got to close it, like it or not. Leaving them with the doors wide open can only end in one way: criminality soaring by the increase in the number of gangs and gangsters operating in that country, especially around a nation's borders. And guess who will be some of the first victims? Yes, the immigrants themselves. This is something I have been watching as it happens in several regions of my own country!
Quote:The late Queen Elizabeth II will not be featured on Australia’s five-dollar note going forward, instead, a new design that “honours the culture and history of the First Australians”—a term to refer to Aboriginal Australians—will replace the monarch.
The country’s five-dollar bill has featured the late Queen since 1992 and was due to be replaced with her son, King Charles III.
Yet on Feb. 2, the Reserve Bank of Australia announced the swap.
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The Bank would consult with representatives of Indigenous Australians, noting that the new design would take “a number of years” to be finalised and printed.
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The current 50-dollar bill already features famous Indigenous man David Uniapon, an author, activist, musician, and preacher.
While the five-dollar note also includes the Forecourt Mosaic, which is based on a Central Desert dot-style painting by Michael Nelson Jagamara.
The face of King Charles III is expected to be seen on Australian coins later this year.
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However, federal opposition leader Peter Dutton said the move aligned with calls to change the date of Australia Day.
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“I think it’s another attack on our power systems on our society and our institutions,” he added.
What does the old saying go? If it ain't broke, don't fix it!
Quote:House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has fired back after the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) warned him not to visit Taiwan amid reports of a potential trip to the democratic island.
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Republicans have voiced their support for a potential visit to Taiwan by McCarthy, which is rumored to be in the works.
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Improving U.S.-Taiwan relations has become a bipartisan rallying point in recent months, following a 2022 visit to Taiwan by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
In response to that visit, the CCP engaged in a series of provocative military actions aimed at intimidating both Taiwan and the United States, including firing several missiles directly over Taiwan which subsequently landed in the waters of Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
Quote:A U.S. judge on Monday said the names of two people who helped guarantee bail for indicted FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder Sam Bankman-Fried should be made public, but put his ruling on hold pending an expected appeal.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan ruled in favor of several media outlets including Reuters that sought the names.
The judge said that while the public had only a “weak” right to know who Bankman-Fried’s guarantors were, it outweighed Bankman-Fried’s arguments for confidentiality, including that the guarantors’ safety could be imperiled.
Kaplan also said the names will remain under seal until at least Feb. 7, because “the question presented here is novel and an appeal is likely.”
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Bankman-Fried, 30, has been confined at his parents’ home in California, after pleading not guilty to fraud for allegedly looting billions of FTX customer dollars.
His parents, both professors at Stanford Law School, had co-signed a $250 million bond for their son, with two other guarantors required to sign $500,000 and $200,000 bonds.
Quote:Norwegian scientists have made a discovery of rare earth metals in the country’s northern region. The findings have the potential to transform the country’s economy and secure its place as a major player in the global market for high-tech and green technology.
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Today, China is believed to account for more than 80 percent of many metals that are needed for green energy solutions, such as rare earth metals used in electric cars and wind turbines.
Karl Kristensen, a consultant for Bergfald Environmental Consultants, says that the green shift in economics will only multiply the world’s dependence on these materials. He warned that China has almost complete control of the market for rare earth metals.
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The discovery in Norway was made during a routine survey of the region and was confirmed through extensive drilling and analysis. The deposits are believed to be among the largest of their kind in the world, and the potential for further discoveries in the area is significant.
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) was responsible for conducting the research that led to the find.
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It follows an announcement from LKAB, a Swedish mining company, earlier in January 2023. LKAB announced the discovery of Europe’s largest deposit of rare earth oxides in the country’s far north.
Quote:According to The Australian, Japanese Consul-General Tokuda Shuichi had written a letter to the NSW government to express the concerns of Japanese companies about the coal reservation measure introduced in mid-January.
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Any interruption to the supply will likely affect the Japanese economy, which has suffered from the global energy crisis following the war in Ukraine and undermine Australia’s reputation as a coal exporter.
It was also reported that NSW Energy Minister Matt Kean and Premier Dominic Perrottet had received similar written communications from at least one major Japanese power company.
On Jan. 19, the NSW government announced that all thermal coal companies in the state would be required to reserve seven to ten percent of their output for the domestic market to reduce the impact of the coal price cap introduced by the federal government in December 2022.
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At the same time, the NSW government extended the coverage of the coal price cap to all coal mines in the state instead of the 12 mines under the original plan.
With the new measure, the NSW government expected a drop in thermal coal prices, which would reduce the pressure on energy companies that abide by the price cap of $125 (US$89) a tonne.
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NSW Minerals Council CEO Stephen Galilee said the measure was rushed and a radical change of approach as it was extended to coal producers not currently involved in domestic coal supply.
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Meanwhile, Idemitsu, a Japanese conglomerate that has been investing in the Australian resources industry for over 40 years, condemned the policy for its impact on the company’s operation.
"For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ," 1 Thessalonians 5:9
Maranatha!
The Internet might be either your friend or enemy. It just depends on whether or not she has a bad hair day.
Quote:Russian President Vladimir Putin sought to rally Russians around the war in Ukraine on the occasion of Nazi Germany's defeat in Stalingrad 80 years ago , at a ceremony to mark the anniversary of the Soviet victory.
"We are again being threatened by German Leopard tanks!" Putin said, in reference to Germany's recent decision to supply advanced Leopard battle tanks to Kyiv.
The Russian leader also placed flowers on the grave of the Soviet marshal responsible for defending the city and paid a visit to the main memorial complex in Volgograd, as the city is now called, where he held a minute of silence.
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Until 1961, Volgograd was known as Stalingrad, after then-Soviet strongman Josef Stalin. During World War II, over one million lost their lives in the battle that stretched from 1942 into the following year. It was the deadliest battle of the war, but it halted Nazi Germany's advance into Soviet territory.
Russian officials have gone to lengths to draw comparisons between fighting Nazis in World War Two and Ukraine.
But Ukraine has rejected these comparisons, as the country suffered devastating consequences including a famine induced by Stalin, known as the Holodomor, and a genocide of its Jewish population carried out by Nazi forces, in addition to mass civilian casualties.
On Wednesday, a new bust of Stalin was erected in the city alongside busts of two Soviet commanders, Georgy Zhukov and Alexander Vasilyevsky, one day before the presidential visit and commemoration festivities.
Quote:European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen landed in Kyiv ahead of a major summit to show European support for Ukraine. She told Ukrainian President Zelenskyy the bloc was preparing more sanctions against Russia.
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However, he also expressed disappointment that the pace of EU sanctions against Moscow had "slightly slowed down" in recent months.
At a joint press conference, von der Leyen responded: "We will introduce, with our G7 partners, an additional price cap on Russian petroleum products, and by the 24th of February — exactly one year since the invasion started — we aim to have the 10th package of sanctions in place."
The EU leader was accompanied by a team of 15 other commissioners, including the bloc's top diplomat Josep Borrell.
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[Borrell] also promised €25 million ($27.5 million) to remove landmines in areas recaptured by Ukrainian forces.
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the EU has made it clear that it will not admit a country at war — and that it has serious financial and political reforms to make first.
Quote:Several European countries, including Germany, temporarily shut their consulates in Istanbul this week, citing security concerns. Turkey says they are waging "psychological warfare."
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According to a diplomatic source cited by the AFP news agency, envoys from Germany, Belgium, Britain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden and the United States were called to attend a meeting at the Foreign Ministry.
Germany shut its Istanbul consulate on Wednesday... At least six other countries took the same step as a precaution.
The US consulate remains open, as the complex is not in Istanbul's city center and is therefore considered to be a less vulnerable target. Washington has, however, joined a number of other governments in issuing travel warnings advising citizens to be vigilant and avoid tourist hotspots.
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"They are waging psychological war against Turkey," Soylu told Turkey's NTV news channel. "They are trying to destabilize Turkey."
Soylu, who is known for his anti-Western rhetoric, said the travel alerts and consulate closures were part of a plot to prevent Turkey's tourism sector from rebounding.
Quote:Edgewell Personal Care Co. has expanded the nationwide voluntary recall of its Banana Boat sunscreens because some samples were found to have unexpected levels of benzene, a cancer-causing chemical.
In a recall notice issued on Jan. 30, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that the company’s recall now includes four batches of the Banana Boat Hair & Scalp Sunscreen Spray SPF 30.
On Jan. 27, the company, which initially issued the recall in July 2022, voluntarily added one additional lot to the original recall that involved three batches.
The lot code of the latest recalled product is 20301CF. The codes of the previously recalled products, which are found on the bottom of the can, are 20016AF, 20084BF, and 21139AF.
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According to the FDA, people can be exposed to benzene via inhalation, orally, or through the skin. The chemical can potentially result in cancers, including leukemia and blood cancer of the bone marrow, as well as blood disorders, which can be life-threatening.
Quote:FedEx sent an announcement to employees Wednesday informing them that the package delivery company is reducing the size of its officer and director team by more than 10 percent and consolidating some teams and functions.
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Rivian said that it is cutting 6 percent of its workforce, or about 840 jobs. The electric truck and SUV maker currently has a headcount of approximately 14,000.
Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said in an email that teams across the company would be impacted, but that the reductions would not affect manufacturing jobs. The company recently added a second shift at its plant in Normal, Illinois.
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Also on Wednesday, the online sports betting company DraftKings said that some teams within the company are being reorganized in a bid to increase efficiency, leading to about 140 job cuts.
"For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ," 1 Thessalonians 5:9
Maranatha!
The Internet might be either your friend or enemy. It just depends on whether or not she has a bad hair day.
Quote:What U.S. officials say is a Chinese government surveillance balloon is now soaring over the northwestern end of Missouri. This is in line with a generally southeasterly track that the balloon has been following since it was first publicly spotted over Montana on Wednesday...is the latest in a string of similarly concerning incidents in recent years.
Earlier today, the U.S. National Weather Service's (NWS) offices in Pleasant Hill, Missouri, near Kansas City in that same state, Tweeted out pictures showing what looks to be the balloon in the distance. Other images have since emerged from elsewhere in the state. A private pilot flying a Cessna Citation business jet apparently reported seeing a "derelict balloon adrift" at approximately 50,000 feet near Kansas City, which may be the Chinese balloon.
This all matches up with independent modeling of its likely path, which has it continuing in a generally southeasterly direction across the United States toward the Atlantic Ocean. The projections could, of course, change significantly as time goes on.
At a press conference today, Pentagon Press Secretary U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder simply said that the balloon had moved eastward from Montana since yesterday and was now over the central Continental United States. He added that it was at an altitude of around 60,000 feet. Earlier reports said that the balloon had traveled across Alaska's Aleutian Islands and parts of northwestern Canada before moving south into the contiguous United States.
"The North American Aerospace Defense Command [NORAD] continues to monitor it closely," Ryder added. "Again, we currently assess that the balloon does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground at this time."
They're monitoring it closely, they say!?
That's nonsense!
Why should they treat an enemy country like an ally? They haven't even figured out what they pretend by sending such balloons to Canada and the US... and even Costa Rica!!
Quote:An unidentified white object has been spotted in the skies above Costa Rica.
The mysterious object, which looked like a hot-air balloon, was observed over the Pacific on Thursday.
On Friday, China said it was looking into reports a Chinese spy balloon had flown in US airspace after the Pentagon said on Thursday it was tracking an object hovering over North America.
Pictures and videos were soon being shared on social media — with some users in Costa Rica speculating the object may have come from space.
Twitter user Eduardo Costa said the “UFO was also seen in Costa Rica” while Manuel Hernandez said it could be seen from the towns of Zapote and Grecia in the Alajuela Province.
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But researchers at the institution said they had not launched a balloon on Thursday.
“We always do it in co-ordination with Civil Aviation, through a project with Nasa for the validation of satellite instruments and this balloon that was seen today does not really belong to us,” said Cicanum director Elian Conejo.
Quote:F-35A stealth fighters from the U.S. Air Force have, for the first time, deployed to America’s northernmost military base, at Thule in Greenland, where they took part in a North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) exercise that ran from January 15-31.
Located 750 miles north of the Arctic Circle, Thule Air Base is playing an increasingly important strategic role in regards to Russia, in particular, which is looking to expand its capabilities in the region, while U.S. officials have been warning about Chinese interest in the Arctic, too.
Four F-35As were at Thule (pronounced too-lee) as of January 16. The insignia on one of the jets is that of the 356th Fighter Squadron, the “Green Demons,” which suggests that the jets have been deployed from Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska, another facility with very important Arctic-related tasking. Geographically, these would also be the closest F-35As available for the exercise.
The stealth jets took part in Operation Noble Defender 23-2.1, a NORAD joint exercise that also involves the Royal Canadian Air Force, or RCAF, for a total of around 225 U.S. and Canadian personnel, at multiple locations in the Arctic, and the coasts of Canada and the United States. As well as the F-35As at Thule, accompanying imagery shows a CF-18 Hornet from the RCAF’s 3 Wing Bagotville operating out of Iqaluit Airport in Nunavut in the Canadian North.
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The U.S. Department of Defense described Noble Defender 23-2.1 as part of “a series of long-planned NORAD operations validating the command’s capability and readiness to defend the United States and Canada against threats from every avenue of approach, in any environment, and demonstrate the ability to integrate with other defense and security partners for a holistic defense of North America.”
And yet, they did nothing to stop a so called weather ballon that is spying on Canada and US on behalf of the CCP. What a great job protecting those countries, guys!
Quote:Former President Donald Trump unveiled a new military policy as part of his 2024 presidential campaign this week, proposing to develop “a state-of-the-art, next-generation missile defense shield” to protect the United States from hypersonic missiles.
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“Just as Israel is now protected by the Iron Dome, a dream once thought impossible, America must have an impenetrable dome to protect our people,” Trump said. “We have technology that is unsurpassed, but our past leaders haven’t really wanted to use it.”
“Hypersonic missiles move at many times the speed of sound and six times faster than current missiles. Armed with nuclear weapons, they could annihilate entire cities and even countries within minutes, and we can not let this happen,” Trump said.
He said the threat is rising because other world leaders don’t have respect for the current president, and if the United States becomes involved in a war, it would likely dwarf World War I and World War II.
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In 2021 the world was shocked and Pentagon officials were blindsided by reports that a Chinese missile circled the Earth before descending near the target.
Since then, the US and China have both worked relentlessly to improve their hypersonic capabilities, and one analyst believes the United States is losing the race.
Quote:The Biden administration’s new Department of Labor (DOL) rule allowing 401(k) managers to invest in Environmental Social Governance (ESG) funds will harm two-thirds of America’s retirement accounts, according to Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach..
Kobach said that the Jan. 30 change was being done “in the name of this left-wing partisan agenda.”
He said, “There should be no partisan agenda when it comes to investing our funds. It should be done based purely on financial return without any regard to whether it helps left-wing causes or right-wing causes.”
Kansas is one of the 25 states suing the Biden administration over its rule allowing 401(k) managers leeway to invest in ESG funds by stipulating that the managers can decide to invest by considering “nonpecuniary benefits.”
Meaning they can make investing decisions where the benefits aren’t related to financial gain.
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“And our lawsuit says, ‘Hey, wait a minute, that violates the express terms of [the Employee Retirement Income Security Act] ERISA,’ which is the 1973 Act that President [Gerald Ford] signed into law that is designed to protect the employee retirement savings in these funds.
I don't fully agree with Kobach, the cause they would fund does matter as well. Or would you invest in Chinese weaponry just because that makes you earn lots of money?
Quote:House Judiciary Republicans issued subpoenas to FBI Director Christopher Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland to produce documents about alleged FBI investigations of parents at school board meetings in response to a controversial directive that Garland issued in late 2021.
The Epoch Times reviewed the subpoena, signed by Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), which forces Wray to turn over relevant documents to the House Judiciary Committee on March 1 at 9:00 a.m. ET due to the alleged “misuse of federal criminal and counterterrorism resources.”
The subpoena wants “all documents and communications referring or relating to” meetings with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in connection to Garland’s memo issued in October 2021 to address “violent threats” that were allegedly made against school officials that Republicans later described as a politically motivated attempt to squash dissent. It also seeks to compel documents and communications relating to the establishment of a related Department of Justice task force.
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The Oct. 4, 2021, memo directed the FBI to team up with local law enforcement agencies and U.S. Attorneys to identify possible threats at school board meetings.
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All documents and communications relating to the FBI’s “EDUOFFICIALS” threat tag and related investigations are also sought by House Judiciary Republicans, according to the subpoena. Weeks after Garland’s announcement, House Judiciary Republicans, citing whistleblower testimony, revealed how the FBI created the threat tag to track allegedly threatening statements at board meetings and said it was proof that counterterrorism resources were being used against parents.
"For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ," 1 Thessalonians 5:9
Maranatha!
The Internet might be either your friend or enemy. It just depends on whether or not she has a bad hair day.
Now comes a weird situation that is quite uncommon for journalism in general. They have posted 2 articles that are pretty much the same but with minimal changes.
Quote:The White House and the CIA have responded to a report that CIA Director, William Burns, offered Russian President Vladimir Putin a fifth of Ukraine's territory to end the ongoing war as part of a peace plan drawn up on behalf of President Joe Biden.
A CIA official told Newsweek that claims in the report from Swiss-German newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) that Burns took a secret trip to Moscow in January and that there was a peace proposal put forward by the director on behalf of the White House were "completely false."
Last month, Burns traveled in secret to meet and brief Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, The Washington Post reported.
Burns is said to have submitted the plan in mid-January to put an end to the war, which began on February 24, 2022. The story was reported by NZZ on Thursday, citing high-ranking German foreign politicians.
Both Kyiv and Moscow reportedly rejected the proposal.
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According to the newspaper, the proposal offered "around 20 percent of Ukraine's territory"—approximately the size of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region.
Kyiv reportedly shut down the proposal "because they are not willing to have their territory divided" while Russian officials said they "will win the war in the long run anyway," reported NZZ, which has been described as the Swiss newspaper of record.
Sean Savett, the deputy spokesperson at White House's National Security Council, told Newsweek that the report from NZZ is "not accurate," and that the CIA would say the same.
According to the news outlet the German politicians said Biden wanted to avoid a protracted war in Ukraine, and so, offered the territory as part of the peace plan.
And when Ukraine and Russia both rejected the proposal, the Biden administration pledged to provide Kyiv with Abrams tanks, NZZ reported.
Then the same reporter rushed to published pretty much the same article again with slight modifications. Or should I say WH's requests for editing the contents? After the Twitter files, everything is possible.
Quote:The U.S. has shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon off the coast of South Carolina as multiple assets have entered the area to recover its debris.
The saga that began with the balloon's appearance high above Billings, Montana, on February 1 reached its climax Saturday with an explosion and the balloon's subsequent fall from high altitude. Videos of the shootdown showed an F-22 Raptor launching an air-to-air missile at the balloon for the kill. This would be the F-22's first 'kill.'
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"On Wednesday, President Biden gave his authorization to take down the surveillance balloon as soon as the mission could be accomplished without undue risk to American lives under the balloon’s path," Austin said. "After careful analysis, U.S. military commanders had determined downing the balloon while over land posed an undue risk to people across a wide area due to the size and altitude of the balloon and its surveillance payload. ... Today’s deliberate and lawful action demonstrates that President Biden and his national security team will always put the safety and security of the American people first while responding effectively to the PRC’s unacceptable violation of our sovereignty."
Austin also thanked the Canadian government for its assistance in tracking the balloon in its part of North American Aerospace Defense Command. In remarks to the press pool, President Biden confirmed he ordered the balloon shot down on Wednesday once it could be done without risk of collateral damage.
Quote:A second Chinese “surveillance balloon” was spotted flying over Latin America after another one traveling across the continental U.S. was detected earlier in the day, officials confirmed Friday evening.
“We are seeing reports of a balloon transiting Latin America. We now assess it is another Chinese surveillance balloon,” Brig. Gen Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, said. “We have no further information to provide at this time.”
The Chinese Foreign Ministry confirmed in a statement earlier on Friday that the high-altitude balloon that was first seen over Montana on Wednesday belongs to China, but claimed it is a weather balloon that was blown off course by wind.
U.S. officials countered the comment, instead speculating that it is a surveillance balloon. They have not shot it down over fears that doing so could risk public safety.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed a scheduled trip to China after the balloon was detected. A State Department official said the conditions are “not right” for Blinken to make the trip at this time and noted that the balloon is a violation of international law and U.S. sovereignty.
...
Republicans slammed the Biden administration after reports of the first balloon surfaced, saying that the balloon should be shot down immediately.
Quote:Montana officials have issued a statement saying that reports of a “massive explosion” taking place in the sky near where a Chinese spy balloon was spotted are inaccurate after a video went viral on social media purporting to show several blasts in the sky over Billings and what could be debris falling to the ground.
Two explosions and a trail of smoke in the sky over Billings Montana, where the balloon had been flying over the region, were captured on camera on Friday.
Dolly Moore, who shot the video and shared it on Twitter, said she saw a jet zooming by “so fast” followed by explosions.
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In an appearance on Tucker Carlson Tonight, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte said he had just been informed of an apparent explosion and that authorities were “monitoring the situation” and would provide an update when more information became available.
Initially, the City of Billings put out a statement on Twitter saying that they were aware of the video and claims of a “massive explosion” over Billings but that no plane crashes had been caught on radar and no emergency crews had been called in to respond to any incidents.
In a follow-up statement, the City of Billings said that Gianforte and the Montana Department of Emergency Services had confirmed there was no explosion in or around Billings, Montana.
Oh really? So if it had done any damage to buildings or killed people or birds, they would still deny it?
Quote:A jury on Friday decided Elon Musk didn’t defraud investors with his 2018 tweets about electric automaker Tesla in a proposed deal that quickly unraveled and raised questions about whether the billionaire had misled investors.
The nine-member jury reached its verdict after less that two hours of deliberation following a three-week trial. It represents a major vindication for Musk, who spent about eight hours on the witness stand defending his motives for the August 2018 tweets at the center of the trial.
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Not long after the verdict came down, Musk took to Twitter—the social media platform he now owns—to celebrate.
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Nicholas Porritt, an attorney who represented aggrieved Tesla investors, said he was disappointed after urging the jurors in his closing arguments to rebuke Musk for reckless behavior that threatened to create “anarchy.”
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Shortly before boarding his private jet on Aug. 7, 2018, Musk wrote on Twitter that he had the financing to take Tesla private, even though it turned out he hadn’t gotten an iron-clad commitment for a deal that would have cost $20 billion to $70 billion to pull off. A few hours later, Musk sent another tweet indicating that the deal was imminent.
Quote:U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta on Feb. 3 gave the defense and prosecutors one week to explain why he shouldn’t act following a published interview of Thomas Adams Jr., the defendant.
Adams told the State Journal-Register that he wouldn’t change anything he did on Jan. 6, adding: “I didn’t do anything. I still to this day, even though I had to admit guilt, don’t feel like I did what the charge is.”
The comments on Feb. 1 came one day after attorneys for Adams reached an agreement on facts in the case with prosecutors. In the agreement, the parties agreed that the government would show that Adams entered the U.S. Capitol through a breached door without authorization and made his way to the Senate chamber before being escorted out of the building by law enforcement officers.
The parties presented the agreement to Mehta, an Obama appointee. Mehta decided, based on the facts, that Adams was guilty of obstruction of an official proceeding and entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds.
The type of proceeding is called a stipulated trial. It’s a version of a bench trial, which features a judge deciding on guilt or innocence rather than a jury.
And it is a dangerous kind of trial for defendants for sure.
Quote:U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Saturday that “significant progress” has been made toward Australia’s acquisition of a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines “at the earliest possible date” under the AUKUS security pact.
Austin met with Australian defense minister Richard Marles in Washington on Saturday to discuss the trilateral AUKUS.
...
The two nations also seek to work closely with Japan to address regional challenges in the Indo-Pacific.
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For the AUKUS security pact, Marles reiterated that Australia, the United States, and Britain were building a “three-way ecosystem” that will benefit all three nations. The federal government is set to unveil its nuclear submarine plan in March.
...
He noted that Washington’s complex regulations and export control laws, such as the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), could delay the transfer of necessary technologies for the submarines by years.
In recent months, there has been speculation that U.S. shipyards will be unable to supply Australia with additional submarines because of a lack of extra capacity.
Quote:The maker of a type of over-the-counter eye drops is recalling the product after federal officials linked it to drug-resistant infections that may have led to at least one death in the United States, said officials Thursday.
Global Pharma Healthcare issued a recall Wednesday for artificial tears made by EzriCare Artificial Tears after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued advisories saying they might be contaminated and linked to an outbreak of Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria.
“Global Pharma Healthcare is notifying the distributors of this product, Aru Pharma Inc. and Delsam Pharma and is requesting that wholesalers, retailers, and customers who have the recalled product should stop use,” the notice said.
Both the FDA and CDC said that there were 55 cases reported across 12 states, including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Quote:Nichols, 29, passed away in the hospital on Jan. 10, three days after a violent encounter with five Memphis police officers during a traffic stop that ultimately ended with Nichols succumbing to injuries sustained in the incident. The encounter was captured in video recordings made public by the city of Memphis on Jan. 27.
In a statement, Memphis PD said it concluded that former officer Preston Hemphill, 26, violated multiple department policies, resulting in his termination. Hemphill had already been suspended on Monday with pay, pending a hearing.
Hemphill was charged with violations of personal conduct, truthfulness, use of a conducted energy weapon (TASER), uniform and equipment regulations, and processing of recovered property, according to Memphis PD.
Memphis PD said the investigation into the five other officers charged over Nichols’s death is ongoing, with updates expected to be released in the near future.
Hemphill was hired by the MPD in March 2018.
Now they are even firing officers that were not caught on that terrible video.
"For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ," 1 Thessalonians 5:9
Maranatha!
The Internet might be either your friend or enemy. It just depends on whether or not she has a bad hair day.
Quote:The popular streaming service is planning to put an end to password sharing beginning in early 2023, according to The Wall Street Journal.
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The company has introduced fees for people sharing accounts not living in the same household in order to fight a decline in subscribers.
Thursday, February 2nd, Netflix responded after statements like "Love is dead - Netflix, 2023" or "Cancel Netflix" flooded the internet. They have now rescinded their previous attempt to crackdown on password sharing.
For those who have read the recent News of the Cyberworld article:
Quote:Facebook and Instagram have threatened to restrict or ban Project Veritas from their platforms, both owned by Meta, after a journalist confronted a senior YouTube official about the removal of a video about Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccines.
...
The video shows the reporter approaching Halprin in public regarding YouTube’s removal of a video featuring a senior Pfizer official, unaware he was being recorded, discussing how the company is considering mutating the COVID-19 virus to develop new vaccines proactively.
True, you may read articles denouncing the video. However, internal memos from Phizer itself (presented here) reveal that the man presented in the video is indeed Jordan Walker, Director, Researcn & Development, Strategic Operations at Phizer. So the video content is coming straight from the source.
So you should be wary of Phizer. And while this is not as new for the news, it is very much pending to the above articles...
Quote:Officials in Colombia confirmed a sighting of an airborne object similar to a balloon flying over its territory, although it’s not clear if it’s of Chinese origin.
In a statement Saturday as U.S. officials shot down a Chinese spy balloon near the Carolina coastline, the Colombian military said its air defense service “detected an object above 55,000 feet” that “entered Colombian airspace in the northern sector of the country,” according to a translation. The object, it said, was moving at a speed of about 25 knots per hour, or “characteristics similar to those of a balloon.”
The Colombian Air Force was deployed and it followed the object until it left the country’s airspace.
“It was possible to determine that this [object] did not represent a threat to national security and defense, as well as air safety,” the statement said. Other details were not provided.
U.S. military officials recently said another Chinese balloon was spotted somewhere over Latin America but did not specify its location. No other official confirmation of unidentified balloons flying over other Latin American countries has been issued as of Sunday.
Yeah, the other Latin American country being Costa Rica as reported by your servitor.
Quote:The package includes $425 million in arms and equipment drawn from existing U.S. stockpiles, as well as $1.75 billion in Ukraine Assistance Security Initiative (UASI) funds, which Ukraine can use to purchase new weapons—particularly those related to air defense—from manufactures contracted with the U.S. Department of Defense.
In Friday’s announcement, the Pentagon said the package includes “critical air defense capabilities to help Ukraine defend its people.”
...
Specifically, Ukraine will receive additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), additional 155 millimeter artillery rounds, additional 120 millimeter mortar rounds, 190 heavy machine guns with thermal imagery sights and specialized anti-drone ammunition, 181 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Vehicles, 250 Javelin anti-armor systems, 2,000 anti-armor rockets, Claymore anti-personnel munitions, and many other items of field equipment.
With the $1.75 billion USAI funds, Ukraine will be able to order from a range of air defense hardware, including two HAWK air defense firing units, four air surveillance radars, anti-drone warfare systems, and anti-aircraft guns and ammunition. Ukraine may also buy equipment needed to integrate Western air defense launchers, missiles, and radars into their existing air defense systems.
“In total, the United States has now committed $30 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden Administration,” the Pentagon said, noting that the United States has sent more than $32 billion in military aid to Ukraine since the 2014 Crimea crisis and more than $29.3 billion since last February, when Russia launched what it called a “special military operation” against Ukraine.
So Biden can't shoot down a single balloon in US airspace but wants to protect Ukrainian skies!?
Quote:“This never happened. It would have never happened,” Trump told the outlet, adding that the Chinese regime “respected us greatly” under his leadership. “It never happened with us under the Trump administration and if it did, we would have shot it down immediately,” added Trump. “It’s disinformation.”
Before the balloon was shot down, Trump on his social media platform Truth Social had called for the U.S. military to shoot down the balloon last week after it was spotted near Billings, Montana.
“Now they are putting out that a Balloon was put up by China during the Trump Administration, in order to take the ‘heat’ off” the Biden administration, Trump wrote Sunday. “China had too much respect for ‘TRUMP’ for this to have happened, and it NEVER did.”
"For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ," 1 Thessalonians 5:9
Maranatha!
The Internet might be either your friend or enemy. It just depends on whether or not she has a bad hair day.
Quote:An indignant China on Monday used diplomatic channels to accuse the U.S. of indiscriminate use of force when the American military shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon, saying the act had “seriously impacted and damaged both sides’ efforts and progress in stabilizing Sino-U.S. relations.”
It was the second time in just over 48-hours Beijing proclaimed its innocence and denied any foul play was involved in the balloon flyover entering U.S. air space before being shot down.
China repeated the assertion it was a harmless, non-military weather research “airship.”
Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng said he lodged a formal complaint with the U.S. Embassy hours earlier to set out Beijing’s distress over the “U.S. attack on a Chinese civilian unmanned airship by military force.”
...
“However, the United States turned a deaf ear and insisted on indiscriminate use of force against the civilian airship that was about to leave the United States airspace, obviously overreacted and seriously violated the spirit of international law and international practice,” Xie said, according to the Associated Press.
China would “resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies, resolutely safeguard China’s interests and dignity and reserve the right to make further necessary responses,” he said.
China has already said it reserved the right to “take further actions” and criticized the U.S. for “an obvious overreaction and a serious violation of international practice.”
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning provided no fresh details, repeating China’s insistence the object was a civilian balloon intended for meteorological research, had little ability to steer and entered over the U.S. by accidentally diverging from its course.
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Elsewhere a Chinese military expert who requested anonymity told the official Global Times news outlet, “This is like shooting a mosquito with a cannon, which is not only overreacting but also impractical.”
Huh? Who had violated another country's sovereign airspace first?
They forced the Air Force to fly around the balloon to jam its communications as much as possible!
Quote:A Chinese corn mill proposal in Grand Forks, North Dakota, on land that’s located within 15 miles of the Grand Forks Air Force Base, is set to be terminated after the U.S. Air Force warned that the project poses a “significant threat to national security.”
Grand Forks Mayor Brandon Bochenski announced on Jan. 31 that he plans to stop the project by Fufeng Group, a large Chinese agribusiness, in response to a request from U.S. authorities.
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The move came not long after Sens. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) and John Hoeven (R-N.D.) shared a Jan. 27 letter (pdf) from the Air Force stating that the branch has an “unambiguous” view that the “the proposed project presents a significant threat to national security with both near- and long-term risks of significant impacts to our operations in the area.”
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum issued a statement on Jan. 31 supporting the decision.
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Ben Grzadzielewski, a Grand Forks resident who has been leading a grassroots campaign against the project, said that the project’s termination “goes to show you that the people still have the ability to rise up and overcome.”
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Fufeng USA, the U.S. subsidiary of Fufeng Group, will still own the 370-acre farmland they purchased in Grand Forks in the fall of 2021.
Quote:U.S. companies were involved in at least 37 percent of the total investment transactions in China’s artificial intelligence (AI) sector between 2015 and 2021, according to a new report.
The report (pdf), published by the Georgetown University Center for Security and Emerging Technology, found that $40.2 billion in investment transactions into Chinese AI companies had U.S. backing, although it was unclear what percentage of that amount was made by U.S. investors or their overseas counterparts.
The venture capital (VC) was given to 251 Chinese AI companies, primarily at angel, seed, and pre-seed stages of investment.
...
“Earlier stage VC investments in particular can provide intangible benefits beyond capital, including mentorship and coaching, name recognition, and networking opportunities. As such, U.S. outbound investment in Chinese technology, and particularly AI, merits additional attention and tracking.”
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This means that any data or technologies developed by China-based companies with U.S. backing could be directly used by the CCP to improve upon its military capabilities, in line with the regime’s “military-civil fusion” strategy.
...
The U.S. investments also include major funding for Chinese companies whose research could tangibly benefit the Chinese military’s pursuit of AI and autonomous systems.
“Some of the largest investments include Goldman Sachs’s solo investment in 1KMXC, an AI-enabled robotics company, as well as an investment by three U.S.-based VC firms in Geek+, an autonomous mobile robot company,” the report states.
Quote:On Jan. 26, President Joe Biden announced the extension of Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) for eligible Hong Kong residents for two years. The DED had been set to expire on Feb. 5.
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“By unilaterally imposing on Hong Kong the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (NSL) in June 2020, the PRC has undermined the enjoyment of rights and freedoms in Hong Kong, including those protected under the Basic Law and the Sino-British Joint Declaration,” it added.
The memorandum noted that at least 150 opposition politicians, activists, and protesters have been detained on politically motivated NSL-related charges since June of 2020, including secession, subversion, terrorist activities, and collusion with a foreign state or external power. More than 1,200 political prisoners are now behind bars on the island, and more than 10,000 have been arrested on other charges related to anti-government protests.
The White House stressed that The United States “will continue to stand firm in our support of the people in Hong Kong.”
Quote:Avoiding an incident like the Jan. 6 Capitol riots in Australia is one reason why voters should support a major alteration to the country’s Constitution, says Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
In his latest bid to win over the public for The Voice to Parliament proposal, the prime minister claimed such a “sensible” change would protect Australia’s democracy against “poisonous conspiracy theories.”
Albanese also alluded to the controversy around the 2020 U.S. presidential election result, as well as the more recent Brazilian uprisings, saying “we must also heed the warning they carry.”
...
Also, in a salvo aimed at critics of his Labor government’s proposal, the prime minister said there were people pushing “misinformation on social media” about The Voice.
“Drumming up outrage, trying to start a culture war. That’s an inevitable consequence of trying to achieve change,” he said.
...
The main thrust of the Voice to Parliament campaign is to embed an advisory body into the Constitution that “would enable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to provide advice to the Parliament on policies and projects that impact their lives.”
However, the proposal has raised a swathe of questions over the extent of the powers of such a body, with critics pondering if the body, for example, would have the power to veto legislation. Could it hold up bills already passed by the existing houses of Parliament? Who would decide who sits on the new advisory body? And why does it need to be enshrined into the Constitution instead of just legislated via Parliament?
And that's exactly how you instaurate a tyranny in Australia.
Who made any specific group the experts on policies?
Are they trying to subvert the system by avoiding having to respond for their decisions as lawmakers?
Quote:Iran’s supreme leader on Sunday reportedly ordered an amnesty or reduction in prison sentences for “tens of thousands” of people detained amid nationwide anti-government protests shaking the country, acknowledging for the first time the scale of the rebellion.
The decree by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, part of a yearly pardoning the supreme leader does before the anniversary of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, comes as authorities have yet to say how many people they detained in the demonstrations. State media also published a list of caveats over the order that would disqualify those with ties abroad or facing spying charges—allegations which have been met with wide international criticism.
Khamenei “agreed to offer amnesty and reduce the sentences of tens of thousands accused and convicted in the recent incidents,” the state-run IRNA news agency said in a Farsi report. A later IRNA report carried by its English-language service said the pardons and commuted sentences were for “tens of thousands of convicts, including the arrestees of the recent riots in Iran.” Authorities did not immediately acknowledge the discrepancy in the reports.
...
“Khamenei’s hypocritical pardon doesn’t change anything,” wrote Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam of the Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights. “Not only all protesters must be released unconditionally, but also it is a public right that those who ordered the bloody repression and their agents are held accountable.”
...
Meanwhile, a long-detained opposition leader and the former prime minister of the Islamic republic in 1981 to 1989 called for a nationwide referendum about whether to write a new constitution.
Quote:Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett emerged as an unlikely intermediary in the war’s first weeks, becoming one of the few Western leaders to meet President Vladimir Putin during the war in a snap trip to Moscow last March.
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“I asked ‘what’s with this? Are you planning to kill Zelenskyy?’ He said ‘I won’t kill Zelenskyy.’ I then said to him ‘I have to understand that you’re giving me your word that you won’t kill Zelenskyy.’ He said ‘I’m not going to kill Zelenskyy.’”
Bennett said he then called Zelenskyy to inform him of Putin’s pledge.
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Bennett said that during his mediation, Putin dropped his vow to seek Ukraine’s disarmament and Zelenskyy promised not to join NATO.
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Reacting to Bennett’s comments in his widely reported interview, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote Sunday on Twitter that Putin was not to be trusted.
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Bennett stepped away from politics and is now a private citizen.
Isn't that like asking your dad or mom if Santa really exists and will drop by to leave you some presents this Christmas? Just saying.
"For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ," 1 Thessalonians 5:9
Maranatha!
The Internet might be either your friend or enemy. It just depends on whether or not she has a bad hair day.
News of the World
Classified records have been found in various locations already, the nature not as yet revealed. However, some content appeared to have been used by the President's own son, who was actually living at his Delaware residence where one batch was found. And if these classified documents implicate the Biden's financial well-being, that can very well reveal criminal liability.![[Image: QrnbKlx.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/QrnbKlx.jpg)
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Wonderful work, Durbin, just wonderful...
I mean, US still has a chance for it never send its F35s to that nation until now. In doing so, that would soon become the final nail in the coffin before getting attacked preemptively by the CCP. Thus Taiwan, and probably even Japan, could fall in a matter of weeks or months.
Talking about aircraft...
Chinese government and military branches love the idea of making tones of money 
even from the very few years of the explotation of those mines.
gangsters operating in that country, especially around a nation's borders. And guess who will be some of the 
first victims? 
Yes, the immigrants themselves. This is something I have been watching as it happens in several regions 
If it ain't 
broke, don't fix it! 
weird situation that is quite uncommon for journalism in general. They have posted 2 articles that are pretty much the same but with minimal changes. 
As if.
Oh really? So if it had done any damage to buildings or killed people or birds, they would still deny it? 
officers that were not caught on that terrible video. 
