News of the World

[DerVVulfman]

BITCOIN FOUNDER'S IDENTITY
COULD BE REVEALED IN CASE

The identity of 'Satoshi Nakamoto' (a pseudoname) could be revealed in Florida Court Case

The family of a deceased computer scientist named David Kleiman contends he created the now-famed cryptocurrency along with Craig Wright while using Satoshi Nakamoto as a name to hide behind. And his heirs are suing to get $70 Billion dollars, which is what the Wall Street Journal is claiming to be half of the Bitcoin stash.  Meanwhile, Wright claims he created Bitcoin on his own. However, the heirs to Kleiman claim they have proof that the two were partners.



The trove of bitcoin cash has never been touched, and the fact that neither Wright nor Kleinman's family have produced a private key has many skeptical about both their claims.

WHISTLEBLOWER RELEASES EMAIL
FBI CREATED PROBLEMATIC THREAT TAG

Protests at School Board Members spark the use of CounterTerrorism Tools

According to House Judiciary Committee Republicans, an eMail dated on October 20 is proof that federal counter-terrorism was deployed against those parents protesting at school board meetings.  This eMail discovered after US Attorney General testified in a Congressional Hearing that the DOJ and FBI  were not using such techniques and tools.

Needless to say, The House Judiciary Committee wasn't pleased. The letter they sent stated they "willfully misled the committee" in his October 21 Testimony.

First page: House Judiciary Letter to Merrick Garland

And they have now invited Garland back to amend and correct his testimony.

[kyonides]

Former College Professor Charged With Starting 4 California Wildfires

A former criminal justice professor was charged by a federal grand jury for allegedly starting four California wildfires in Northern California earlier in 2021.
Gary Stephen Maynard, 47, faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count, said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California a statement Thursday.
But “any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables,” according to a news release from the Depatment of Justice.
Maynard allegedly started fires behind fire crews battling the sprawling Dixie Fire, which destroyed hundreds of structures in July and August, prosecutors said in court papers, according to media reports.
Maynard, a resident of San Jose, is alleged to have set the Cascade and Everitt fires in July, and he’s alleged to have started the Ranch and Conard fires on Aug. 7. The fires, prosecutors said, threatened to trap firefighters as they battled the larger Dixie Fire nearby.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Anderson said in an August detention memo that he started “setting fires behind the first responders fighting the Dixie Fire,” which “increased the danger to the first responders” on the scene, reported CBS News.
U.S. Forest Service began investigating Maynard on July 20 after the Cascade Fire was reported near Mount Shasta. Before he was arrested, officials said that he was living out of his car and traveling alone across Northern California, according to court papers.

Kyle Rittenhouse Acquitted on All Counts

KENOSHA, Wisconsin—Jurors acquitted Kyle Rittenhouse on all counts on Friday.
The jury reached the verdict just after 12:10 p.m. local time and the foreman read it aloud in the Kenosha County Courthouse shortly afterwards.
Rittenhouse, 18, sat quietly before the verdict was read. Afterwards, he started shaking and breathing heavily. He hugged his lawyer.
“You were a wonderful jury to work with,” Kenosha County Circuit Judge Bruce Schroeder told jurors.
Schroeder also told the court not to react, “no matter how strongly” they feel about the decision.
Rittenhouse faced up to life in prison for five charges, including first-degree reckless homicide. A sixth charge was dropped on Monday.
...
Rosenbaum and Huber died from their wounds. Grosskreutz survived with a gunshot wound to his right bicep.
Defense lawyers and Rittenhouse said all three shootings were in self-defense. Prosecutors said Rittenhouse was negligent and reckless in his handling of the weapon and should have surrendered to those attacking him.
Wisconsin National Guard troops were stationed earlier this week about 60 miles outside of Kenosha in case riots started in response to the verdict.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, had called for peace no matter what the jury decided.

 So how exactly do the prosecutors expect Rittenhouse to survive the attack? By getting murdered by his very own attackers!?
Besides there are peaceful ways to protest on the streets, they had no justification for attacking bypassers nor point anybody out for defending themselves. Blame police or the National Guard for not doing their job!  Yet, we all need the police, like it or not, for criminals won't stop robbing, beating and killing people if there's no authority around willing to arrest them. So defunding police departments defeats the purpose of protecting the people from evil.

Biden briefly transfers power to Vice President Harris
while he undergoes routine colonoscopy

President Joe Biden transferred power to Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday for the brief period of time when he was under anesthesia for a routine colonoscopy, the White House said.
The temporary delegation of power to Harris made her, for a time, the first female acting president in U.S. history. Biden resumed his role as president before noon, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.
Psaki had noted in a press statement that the same process was followed in 2002 and 2007, when then-President George W. Bush underwent the same medical procedure.
“The Vice President will work from her office in the West Wing during this time,” Psaki said Friday morning.
Former President Donald Trump, 75, reportedly refused anesthesia for a medical procedure, precisely because he did not want to hand power to then-Vice President Mike Pence, according to a book from his third press secretary, Stephanie Grisham.
The White House said it will publicly share a written summary of the 78-year-old Biden’s physical later Friday afternoon. Biden, the oldest president to take office, turns 79 on Saturday.

I dunno what might have happened if she had retained those presidential powers any longer.  Just kidding.

[kyonides]

Sweden’s first female prime minister quits hours later

Hours after being tapped as Sweden’s first female prime minister, Magdalena Andersson resigned Wednesday after suffering a budget defeat in parliament and her coalition partner the Greens left the two-party minority government.

The government’s own budget proposal was rejected in favor of one presented by the opposition that includes the right-wing populist Sweden Democrats. Sweden’s third-largest party is rooted in a neo-Nazi movement. The vote was 154-143 in favor of the opposition’s budget proposal.

Andersson, leader of the Social Democratic party, decided it was best to step down from the post more than seven hours after she made history by becoming the first woman to lead the country.

Andersson, who was finance minister before briefly becoming prime minister, informed parliamentary Speaker Andreas Norlen that she is still interested in leading a Social Democratic one-party government.

Norlen, the speaker of Sweden’s 349-seat parliament, said he will contact Sweden’s eight party leaders ”to discuss the situation.” On Thursday, he will announce the road ahead.

 It's true she failed to pass the budget her party had already proposed but it's weird to quit just a couple of hours later. Instead of furthering women's cause she simply demonstrated she was not the kind of leader Sweden ever needed. Yet, she still wants to come back!?

It would be better to let the next prime minister, either male or female, try to rule his or her country wisely than letting her return to that position after such a failure that proved her lack of charisma.

Samsung says it will build $17B chip factory in Texas

Samsung said it plans to build a $17 billion semiconductor factory outside of Austin, Texas, amid a global shortage of chips used in phones, cars and other electronic devices.
...
Samsung said it will start building the Texas plant next year and hopes to begin operations in the second half of 2024. The South Korean electronics giant chose the site based on a number of factors, including government incentives and the “readiness and stability” of local infrastructure, said Samsung Vice Chairman Kinam Kim, speaking alongside the Republican governor.

The chip shortage has emerged as both a business obstacle and a serious U.S. national-security concern. Short supplies of semiconductors kicked off by COVID-era shutdowns have hampered production of new vehicles and electronic devices for more than a year. New questions of economic and national security are also at stake since many U.S. companies are dependent on chips produced overseas, particularly in Taiwan, which China has long claimed as its own territory.

NASA launches spacecraft to test asteroid defense concept

NASA launched a spacecraft Tuesday night on a mission to smash into an asteroid and test whether it would be possible to knock a speeding space rock off course if one were to threaten Earth.

The DART spacecraft, short for Double Asteroid Redirection Test, lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in a $330 million project with echoes of the Bruce Willis movie “Armageddon.”

If all goes well, the boxy, 1,200-pound (540-kilogram) craft will slam head-on into Dimorphos, an asteroid 525 feet (160 meters) across, at 15,000 mph (24,139 kph) next September.

“This isn’t going to destroy the asteroid. It’s just going to give it a small nudge,” said mission official Nancy Chabot of Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, which is managing the project.

Dimorphos orbits a much larger asteroid called Didymos. The pair are no danger to Earth but offer scientists a better way to measure the effectiveness of a collision than a single asteroid flying through space.

Dimorphos completes one orbit of Didymos every 11 hours, 55 minutes. DART’s goal is a crash that will slow Dimorphos down and cause it to fall closer toward the bigger asteroid, shaving 10 minutes off its orbit.

The change in the orbital period will be measured by telescopes on Earth. The minimum change for the mission to be considered a success is 73 seconds.

The DART technique could prove useful for altering the course of an asteroid years or decades before it bears down on Earth with the potential for catastrophe.

This is the second time this year that we learn about a space project that was inspired by a movie.
Is this going to become the new trend in space exploration?

UN nuclear chief: Inspection curbs limiting Iran monitoring

The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog warned Wednesday his inspectors are close to being unable to “guarantee” they know what’s going on at all of Iran’s nuclear sites.

Rafael Mariano Grossi’s words sharply contrasted with the optimistic tone his Iranian hosts offered the day before. They signal the Islamic Republic’s harder line as renewed talks over Tehran’s tattered nuclear deal with world powers resume next week.

They also represent a stark alarm for nuclear nonproliferation experts after Grossi’s trip to Tehran produced no breakthrough to restore its ability to fully monitor its program.

The International Atomic Energy Agency’s inspectors remain unable to access surveillance footage and face greater challenges in trying to monitor Tehran’s rapidly growing uranium stockpile, some of which is now enriched up to 60% purity — a short technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90%.
...
Pressed on whether any progress had been made, Grossi said that “in terms of the substance, no, quite clearly, we were not able to make progress.” However, he said that having got to know the new Iranian officials was “a positive element” and “this will certainly help.”

But he warned: “We are close to the point where I would not be able to guarantee continuity of knowledge.” He did not specify a timeframe, but said a long lack of access to a centrifuge parts production site near the northern city of Karaj “would at some point prevent me from continuing to say that I have an idea of what is going on.”

It's not like Iran had no right to build nuclear plants if badly needed but they haven't shown any proof of their good will to keep it safe. Actually, they have stockpiled lots of enriched uranium way beyond what they actually need to simply produce energy.

Since Israel has been accusing them of producing enriched uranium to develop nuclear bombs, the Iranian government should simply allow inspectors to verify whether the claims are true. If they got nothing to hide from IAEA inspectors, why are they desperately blocking their access to facilities and videoclips? Can't they see that such actions fully support Israeli claims instead of dissipating any doubts?

The following article won't be a football or soccer fan's favorite at all.

World Cup host Qatar used ex-CIA officer to spy  on FIFA

The tiny Arab nation of Qatar has for years employed a former CIA officer to help spy on soccer officials as part of a no-expense-spared effort to win and hold on to the 2022 World Cup tournament, an investigation by The Associated Press has found.

It’s part of a trend of former U.S. intelligence officers going to work for foreign governments with questionable human rights records that is worrying officials in Washington and prompting calls from some members of Congress for greater scrutiny of an opaque and lucrative market.

The World Cup is the planet’s most popular sports tournament. It’s also a chance for Qatar, one of the wealthiest countries in the world, to have a coming-out party on the world stage.

The AP’s investigation found Qatar sought an edge in securing hosting rights by hiring former CIA officer turned private contractor Kevin Chalker to spy on rival bid teams and key soccer officials who picked the winner in 2010. Chalker also worked for Qatar in the years that followed to keep tabs on the country’s critics in the soccer world, the AP found.

The AP’s investigation is based on interviews with Chalker’s former associates as well as contracts, invoices, emails, and a review of business documents.

The surveillance work included having someone pose as a photojournalist to keep tabs on a rival nation’s bid and deploying a Facebook honeypot, in which someone posed online as an attractive woman, to get close to a target, a review of the records show. Operatives working for Chalker and the Persian Gulf sheikhdom also sought cell phone call logs of at least one top FIFA official ahead of the 2010 vote, a review of the records show.

[kyonides]

Hundreds of FedEx packages found dumped in Alabama woods

HAYDEN, Ala. - An Alabama sheriff is trying to figure out how hundreds of FedEx packages ended up dumped in the woods.

An estimated 300 to 400 packages of various sizes were found in a ravine near the small town of Hayden on Wednesday, the Blount County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

Deputies were sent to guard the scene until FedEx workers could arrive to pick up the packages, Sheriff Mark Moon said. FedEx sent multiple trucks and drivers from across the South to load up the packages, Moon said.

Photos posted on the sheriff's Facebook page show the packages strewn about the forest and piled at the bottom of a wooded hillside.

Illinois families file lawsuit against Travis Scott, Live Nation

After two close friends died in the Astroworld concert tragedy, their families are filing wrongful death lawsuits against Travis Scott, the Live Nation entertainment company, and more.

The families of Jacob "Jake" Jurinek, 20, and Franco Patino, 21, both from Naperville, Illinois, are among the latest to file lawsuits as a result of the Nov. 5 Astroworld concert tragedy in Houston, Texas, which killed 10 people and injured hundreds.

The lawsuit states that Scott and Live Nation failed to protect the individuals at the concert.

"Defendants egregiously failed in their duty to protect the health, safety, and lives of those in attendance at the concert, including but not limited to the failure to provide adequate security personnel to implement crowd control measures, proper barricades, and the failure to provide a sufficient amount of emergency medical support," the suit states.

Oh and that's not the only lawsuit filed against the singer. Here's another one: Astroworld Lawsuits: Family of 14-year-old victim suing Travis Scott

[kyonides]

WHO Explains Why It Skipped ‘Xi’
When Naming New COVID-19 Variant Omicron

The World Health Organization (WHO) has explained why it skipped the Greek letters “nu” and “xi” in naming the new COVID-19 variant Omicron.

“Two letters were skipped—Nu and Xi—because Nu is too easily confounded with ‘new’ and Xi was not used because it is a common surname and [the] WHO best practices for naming new diseases … suggest avoiding ‘causing offence to any cultural, social, national, regional, professional, or ethnic groups,'” the United Nations agency told The Epoch Times in a statement on Nov. 27.

The WHO best practices for naming new diseases were developed in conjunction with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the U.N. and the World Organisation for Animal Health in 2015.

Professor Jonathan Turley, a criminal attorney and professor at George Washington University, speculated that the WHO “is again avoiding any discomfort for the Chinese government” in skipping the “Xi” letter and naming it Omicron.

“The new variant was expected to be Nu but any additional variant would then be Xi, which happens to be the name of the Chinese leader,” he wrote on Twitter.

“It is not clear if there is another reason for the decision to skip over Nu and Xi, but W.H.O.’s history with the investigation into the origins of the pandemic has fueled speculation as to a political motive. It is a demonstration of the continuing credibility problems for the organization after its original inquiry. Even the new panel has been criticized for its imbalance and the background of its members.”
...
The WHO earlier this year adopted letters of the Greek alphabet to have “easy-to-pronounce and non-stigmatising labels” for variants of the virus.

Inflation Lifting Corporate Profits, Eating Away Wage Gains

With the U.S. annual inflation rate at a 30-year high, economists and market analysts are spotlighting the expanding financial divide between corporations and their employees.
In today’s inflationary environment, large companies are reporting greater profits and revenues. At the same time, Americans have witnessed all their wage gains from over the last 12 to 15 months eliminated. For many workers, real wages are down in multiple sectors of the United States economy.
As the Omicron variant climbs to the top of the list of concerns for consumers, investors, and policymakers, the country has ostensibly given up on inflation being a transitory event.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell retired the word “transitory” during an appearance in Congress on Tuesday. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment fell in November, while inflation expectations for the next one and five years remained high. In addition, the number of S&P 500 companies citing “inflation” on third-quarter earnings calls is the highest it has been in more than a decade.
...
According to data compiled by financial data firm FactSet, S&P 500 companies reported year-over-year revenue growth of 17.3 percent in the third quarter of 2021. This is above the 12.6 percent estimate on June 30 and the 14.9 percent forecast on September 30.
The performance topped the five-year average growth rate of 5.8 percent and the ten-year average growth rate of 3.5 percent. The 17.3 percent figure is the second-best reading since FactSet started tracking this metric in 2008.
Every sector posted growth in the July-to-September period, led by energy (74.5 percent), materials (32 percent), communication services (20.6 percent), and information technology (19.1 percent).

China ‘Single Greatest Priority’ for UK’s MI6 Intelligence Agency

Speaking at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in London, MI6 chief Richard Moore listed China, Russia, Iran, and international terrorism as the “Big Four” priorities for Western intelligence communities, but stressed that “adapting to a world affected by the rise of China is the single greatest priority for MI6.”
Moore also said “there is no doubt” that the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan has not just boosted the morale of terrorists globally, but has also emboldened regimes such as China, Russia, and Iran.
Moore warned that Chinese spy agencies are “highly capable” and are mounting “large-scale” spying operations against the UK and its allies. “This includes the targeting of those working in government, industries, or on research of particular interest to the Chinese state. They also monitor and attempt to exercise undue influence over the Chinese diaspora.”
Moore said Chinese intelligence officers seek to exploit the “open nature” of Western societies and the Chinese regime has been attempting to “distort public discourse and political decision making across the globe.”

[kyonides]

UK threatens Clearview AI with nearly $23M fine
over its facial recognition tech

British regulators say they intend to fine Clearview AI, a facial recognition company that bills itself as the world’s largest, nearly $23 million for “alleged serious breaches” of the nation’s data protection laws.

The fines stem from a joint investigation by the U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and its Australian counterpart. The ICO now awaits a response from Clearview AI before possibly levying the fine in mid-2022.
...
U.K. Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham said on Monday “Clearview AI Inc’s services are no longer being offered in the UK. However, the evidence we’ve gathered and analysed suggests Clearview AI Inc were and may be continuing to process significant volumes of UK people’s information without their knowledge.”
...
In the U.K., the ICO is perturbed that Clearview AI may have collected images of people in the U.K. without their knowledge by scraping social media platforms and other online sources. U.K. law enforcement agencies also used Clearview AI services but on a trial basis, and the company’s services are no longer available in that country.

Beyond concerns about collecting information without individuals’ knowledge, the ICO says that Clearview AI appears to have failed to comply with U.K. data protection laws in other ways, such as not having a process to keep data from being retained indefinitely and not meeting higher protection standards for biometric data.

Germany: Burglars knock hole in wall to steal Lego bricks

German police are looking for witnesses after burglars broke through the wall of a toy store to steal dozens of Lego sets.

Police said Tuesday that the theft took place over the weekend in the western town of Lippstadt.

The burglars left about 100 empty cardboard boxes behind, German news agency dpa reported.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether the burglars had taken the instruction books.

 Perhaps they needed to build a golem  lego set.

Amazing Japanese Artist Hand Cuts
3-Dimensional Octopus From a Single Sheet of Paper

Rendered by hand and as delicate as fine lace, this Japanese artist’s paper-cut art is winning people over with its impressive and incredible details.

Born in 1973, Masayo Fukuda—known as “Kiriken Masayo”—has mastered the art of kirigami, or paper cutting, with about 30 years spent studying the intricate practice.

The talented artist who hails from Chiba Prefecture, Japan, has enjoyed working with her hands ever since she was a child. Being a huge fan of cartoons, she would draw made-up characters inspired by her favorite manga characters and loves the work of Katsuhiro Otomo to this day.

An art graduate who also works repairing watches by trade, Masayo first discovered her passion for paper cutouts when she was in high school.
...
A life-sized octopus, rendered on a single sheet of white A2 paper using an artist’s scalpel, is widely considered one of her best works. Thanks to Masayo’s dexterity, each bulging eye and every undulating tentacle appears to lift straight off the page.

“The point I was particular about was the depth and three-dimensionality of the overlapping legs,” Masayo said, referring to the paper-cut octopus she made in 2018. “I drew it over and over, looked at it from a distance, drew it, and redrew it again. It took about two months from the rough sketch to completion."

[kyonides]

Archeologists Find Roman-Age Bronze Handle
Depicting Man Being Fed to the Lions

A relic of Roman England’s brutal past was unearthed under the floor of a Roman town house in Leicester—an elaborately decorated bronze handle of a key was found, which depicts a “Barbarian” man being fed live to a lion, with four naked, terrified children huddled below.

Archeologists from University of Leicester Archaeological Services (ULAS) discovered the unique object in the late Roman town house which was excavated in 2016. The bronze handle was studied at King’s College London, and findings have just been published in journal Britannia.

...
The bronze artifact depicts a bearded man grappling with a lion which is wrapped around his body and biting his head; underneath, four wide-eyed naked children are depicted gripping each other, the two older ones appearing to be comforting the younger ones, one child appearing to hold a stone.

The harsh penalty of executing criminals and prisoners in the arena in public spectacle was sanctioned under Roman law—defined by the Latin term “damnatio ad bestias,” according to the university.

The key handle is one of the few pieces of direct evidence bespeaking of the harsh penalty faced by those who resisted Roman rule. Another rare example includes the pelvis of a skeleton unearthed at Roman York exhibiting a puncture mark from a toothed animal.
...
Roman towns and cities often had amphitheaters or theatres where such displays would be held. Notably, a Roman theatre was recently discovered next to the town house where the bronze key handle was excavated in Leicester. It is tempting to imagine the owner of this particular bronze handle having witnessed such barbaric spectacles with his own eyes.

Yes, ancient Romans could be quite brutal  if they were given any chance to demonstrate what would end up happening to any dissidents.

[kyonides]

POLITICS Chris Cuomo says he’s ending
his SiriusXM radio show after CNN fired him

Chris Cuomo said Monday that he is ending his SiriusXM radio show two days after being fired by CNN as a prime-time host over what an attorney says are claims he committed sexual misconduct against a woman.
Cuomo announced the departure from SiriusXM in a tweet.

“The way my time ended at CNN was hard,” Cuomo wrote. “While I have thick skin, I also have a family, for whom the past week has been extraordinarily difficult. So, right now, I have to take a step back and focus on what comes next.”
“That means I will no longer be doing my SiriusXM radio show.”

First his brother Andrew and now Chris Cuomo.  That's what happens when you're a desperate guy that can't let a woman go away for any reason.

Tesla is replacing faulty Autopilot cameras in some cars
internal documents say

Tesla is replacing repeater cameras in the front fenders of at least several hundred Model S, X and 3 vehicles made in Fremont, California, although the company has not yet initiated a voluntary recall, according to internal service documents the company distributed in late November.

Internal communications said that the repeater cameras on some Model S, X and 3 vehicles made by Tesla in the U.S. have faulty PCBs, or printed circuit boards, inside. A bad PCB can lead to the cameras losing “electrical continuity” and failing well before those cameras could be reasonably expected to need an upgrade or replacement.

Repeater cameras, which are positioned below and slightly in front of the side view mirrors in the front fenders of some Tesla vehicles, enable driver assistance features, like Autopilot, Navigate on Autopilot and Smart Summon, for example. They also provide drivers with visibility into what’s happening around their car’s blind spots.
When the repeater cameras are not working, drivers typically see a black box or choppy video feed on their Tesla’s main display, and they may get alerts that their Autopilot function is limited. Drive Tesla, a Canadian blog for Tesla owners and enthusiasts, wrote about the repeater camera issues in December 2020.

It's amazing how it took them a whole year to deal with this security issue.
 Of course, some people might blame the microchip crisis for this.

Biden administration will not send any official representation to 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, Psaki says

The Biden administration will not send any "diplomatic or official representation" to Beijing for the 2022 Winter Olympics, White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed Monday, amid the People’s Republic of China’s "ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity" in Xinjiang.

Beijing is set to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in February. Human rights activists and congressional Republicans have called for a boycott of the event amid international criticism of China’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims in the northwest region of Xinjiang, its crackdown on protesters in Hong Kong, and its policies toward Tibet and Taiwan.

During a White House press briefing, Psaki said the athletes on Team USA "have our full support," but an official delegation will not travel to the games.

"The Biden administration will not send any diplomatic or official representation to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games, given the PRC’s ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang and other human rights abuses," Psaki said.
...
"U.S. diplomatic or official representation would treat these games as business as usual in the face of the PRC’s egregious human rights abuses and atrocities in Xinjiang, and we simply can’t do that," Psaki said.

Putin sets world on edge amassing Russian troops along Ukraine border

Russian President Vladimir Putin has the whole world anticipating his next move as he builds up a massive military presence along his country’s border with Ukraine, with U.S. officials anticipating an imminent invasion early next year.

The White House said over the weekend that President Biden and Putin will sit down for a video conference this week, where Biden will raise concerns about Russia’s military activity and "reaffirm the United States’ support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine."

Satellite imagery obtained by Fox News on Sunday highlights several locations within western Russia, as well as one location in Crimea, where Russian tactical battle groups containing troops and equipment have been deployed.

"The plans involve extensive movement of 100 battalion tactical groups with an estimated 175,000 personnel, along with armor, artillery and equipment," a Biden administration official told Fox News.

Biden said he plans to have a "long discussion" with Putin on Tuesday and outline a "meaningful set of initiatives" that will make it "very, very difficult," for Russia to invade Ukraine.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Monday the administration is prepared to impose "high impact economic measures that we've refrained from using in the past" if Russia fails to deescalate or moves forward with any plans to invade Ukraine.

James Anderson, president of the Institute of World Politics and former deputy undersecretary of defense for policy, told Fox News that the administration’s "tough talk is fine," but that a "robust package" of measures is needed in order to deter Russia from escalation, including providing Ukraine with the lethal weaponry it needs to defend itself.

PM Naftali Bennett: Israel will not be bound to nuclear deal with Iran

Israel will not be bound by a new nuclear deal with Iran, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Tuesday.

"We hope the world does not blink, but if it does, we do not intend to. We stand at the outset of a complex period," Bennett added.

The remarks came ahead of talks next week in Vienna, Austria, with the parties to the 2015 nuclear deal.
...
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz echoed the statements this week, reiterating that the Jewish state will not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon.
...
Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Mariano Grossi was in Iran on Tuesday for talks.

His goal: to get greater access from Iran to inspect nuclear sites. The inspectors have not had access to surveillance cameras in Iran’s declared nuclear facilities.

Honestly it's quite hard to believe any Iranian proposal except those like producing more enriched uranium than allowed by IAEA. Plus the ayatollah definitely hates Israel and even Sunni Muslims.

Greek Orthodox priest heckles Pope Francis, calls him 'a heretic'

A Greek Orthodox priest decried Pope Francis as "a heretic" during a visit to Athens on Saturday.

The pope arrived in Greece for a three-day visit that many Greek Catholics hoped would help bring the Eastern and Western churches closer together.

But the orthodox priest, dressed all in black, shouted in Greek "Pope, you are a heretic" three times as the pope passed a building. Police led the priest away, but he fell to the ground during the incident, Reuters reported.

Witnesses said he shouted loud enough for the pope to hear the commotion, but the Pope appeared not to notice as he entered the residence of Archbishop Ieronymos.

The pope also met small protests when he visited the island of Cyprus before moving on to Greece.

The pope and archbishop appeared more in-sync during their discussions as both leaders called for cooperation between all Christians to protect the environment and care for migrants.

 Now that I think about it, that priest is totally right about his claim. The pope has heavily altered the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church indeed. The only remaining Christians in that religious group would be those opposing him to be precise. Yet, the pope pretend he cares about people, mainly migrants. What he never admits is that there's no single migrant in the Vatican so it's easy to ask other nations to shelter migrants if you don't have to follow your own advice.

Besides Greece is supposed to be a free country so anybody not just that priest is entitled to cry out loud what he or she thinks about any political or religious leader around the world.

By the way, Ghislaine Maxwell's trial has begun if IIRC.

[kyonides]

BBC has invested more than £150million in
Chinese state-owned companies
accused of links to appalling human rights violations

• The BBC has been criticised for investing in Chinese-state owned companies 
  
• China has received condemnation for a string of alleged human rights abuses
  
• Around two million Uighur Muslims are held in detention camps in Xinjiang
  
• The BBC's own Beijing correspondent John Sudworth forced to flee this year 
  
• Despite this, BBC poured an extra £40million in Chinese state-controlled firms in previous financial year
  

At least 10 companies alleged to support Beijing’s totalitarian regime, including two owned by the ruling communist party, have been handed funds from the pension contributions of almost 47,000 current and former BBC staff.
The licence fee-funded corporation has invested at least £155.8million in these firms, however the true figure is likely to be even higher as the BBC pension fund only declares its 20 largest shareholdings.
Documents show that the BBC’s pension fund holds undisclosed interests in six Chinese firms, including one that is part of a company blacklisted by the United States government.
Beijing, aided by dozens of tightly-controlled private firms, is accused of persecuting Uighur Muslims in the Xinjiang region, where two million people are allegedly locked up in horrific ‘re-education camps’ where they allegedly face forced sterilisation, torture, and death.
...
Despite this, the value of the shares in Chinese state-controlled firms held by the BBC’s fund increased by more than £40million in the year to March 31.

Last night former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith described the scale of the investment in Chinese state-owned firms as ‘astonishing’ and called on the Corporation to stop funding firms linked to the repressive regime.

[kyonides]

Senate rejects Biden vaccine mandate for businesses, with 2 Democrats joining Republicans

The Senate voted Wednesday to repeal a President Biden-backed federal COVID-19 vaccine mandate for private businesses.
The final vote was 52-48. Moderate Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Jon Tester of Montana joined Republicans to vote in favor of the repeal.
Republicans brought the repeal to the Senate floor under the "Congressional Review Act," which allows Congress to review presidential executive orders. Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., who sponsored the resolution, said the mandate was an example of the "heavy hand of government" hurting businesses.

The mandate prompted immediate legal challenges from several states as well as business and religious groups. Last month, a federal appeals court enacted a temporary hold on enforcement of the mandate pending the outcome of litigation.

Even with Senate approval, the GOP-backed resolution is unlikely to overturn the mandate. The Democrat-controlled House is not expected to take up the measure and President Biden would likely veto the bill if it cleared Congress.