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Greek navy on 'heightened readiness' over Turkey's energy drilling activities in Mediterranean - official

Greek Coast Guard
© ReutersGreek Coast Guard vessel "Gavdos" is moored following a night patrol, at the port of Mytilene on the island of Lesbos, Greece, September 30, 2019.
Greece's navy has deployed ships in the Aegean in "heightened readiness" over Turkish energy exploration activities, a navy source said Wednesday.

The move came after the Greek foreign ministry on Tuesday formally protested to Ankara following the announcement that a Turkish drilling ship would conduct explorations in the sea area south of the Greek island of Kastellorizo in the southeastern Aegean.

"Navy units have been deployed since yesterday in the south and southeastern Aegean," the source told AFP, declining to give further detail.

Athens had said Turkish surveys in a section of the Greek continental shelf constituted an escalation of the tension in the region where the two countries dispute maritime rights.

Comment: Reuters reports:
Greece accused Turkey on Tuesday of attempting to encroach on its continental shelf in a serious escalation of tensions between the two NATO allies at odds over a range of issues.

Turkey and Greece are at loggerheads over overlapping claims for hydrocarbon resources, brought into sharper focus by attempts of EU member Cyprus to also explore for natural gas in the Eastern Mediterranean amid strong Turkish objections.

An advisory known as a Navtex was issued by Turkey's navy on Tuesday for seismic surveys in an area of sea between Cyprus and Crete. The advisory is in effect until Aug. 20.

Seismic surveys are part of preparatory work for potential hydrocarbons exploration. The Greek foreign ministry said the advisory covered part of the Greek continental shelf.

"We call on Turkey to immediately cease these illegal actions which violate our sovereign rights and undermine peace and security in the area," it said in a statement.

Mitsotakis
© AFPGreek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (L) speaks with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas prior to their meeting in Athens, Greece, on July 21, 2020.
A protest had been lodged with the Turkish foreign ministry while the United Nations, the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, NATO and the European Union had been informed.

There was no immediate comment from Turkey. Ankara says it is within its sovereign rights to explore for resources in areas it considers its continental shelf.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said earlier on Tuesday that unless Turkey backed down, European Union sanctions against its NATO ally could be inevitable.

"As long as Turkey continues to take this path, sanctions on Turkey will be a one-way street," he told German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, who was visiting Athens.

Greece and Turkey have had testy relations for decades, with occasional flare-ups. There was a sharp exchange of words earlier this year when thousands of migrants Turkey hosts tried to force their way into Greece.

They disagree over ethnically-partitioned Cyprus as well. Greece is also angry over a Turkish-Libyan deal carving out maritime boundaries that skim the southern Greek island of Crete.

Turkey seems intent on stepping on everyone's toes at the moment:


X

No-deal Brexit now 'almost certain'

brexit flags EU UK
© Luis Manuel Tapia Bolivar/Dreamstime
The UK government and the EU will fail to sign a post-Brexit trade deal, with only a few days left before Prime Minister Boris Johnson's July deadline, due to deadlock on a number of key issues, according to a report.

Ministers are working on the assumption that there will not be a deal, although it may be possible for a "basic" agreement to be reached if the EU gives ground in the autumn, The Daily Telegraph reported, citing government sources.

The newspaper added that the government expects to be trading on World Trade Organisation (WTO) terms when the transition period comes to an end. Since the UK left the EU on January 31, its relationship with the bloc has been governed by a transition arrangement which keeps previous rules in place while the two sides negotiate new terms.

Negotiations remained deadlocked this week on fishing rights, the deal's governance, the role of the European Court of Justice and so-called level playing field guarantees, the report said. A spokesperson for Johnson stated on Monday that the UK would continue to "engage constructively" with the EU in talks on a future relationship, but insisted London was not willing to give up its rights as an independent state.

Comment: See also:


Laptop

US charges two Chinese spies for a global hacking campaign that targeted COVID-19 research

Department of Justice
© Andrew Harrer / Bloomberg / Getty Images
U.S. prosecutors have charged two Chinese nationals, said to be working for China's state intelligence bureau, for their alleged involvement in a massive global hacking operation that targeted hundreds of companies and governments for more than a decade.

The 11-count indictment, unsealed Tuesday, alleges Li Xiaoyu, 34, and Dong Jiazhi, 33, stole terabytes of data from high-technology companies, around the world — including the United States, the prosecutors said.

More recently, the prosecutors accused the hackers of targeting the networks of over a dozen U.S. companies in Maryland, Massachusetts and California developing vaccines and treatments for COVID-19.

Comment: This is likely what was going down at the Chinese consulate in Houston on Tuesday.

From Click2Houston.com:

...

The U.S. said in a brief statement that the consulate was ordered closed "to protect American intellectual property and American's private information." It did not provide any details.

"The United States will not tolerate the PRC's violations of our sovereignty and intimidation of our people, just as we have not tolerated the PRC's unfair trade practices, theft of American jobs, and other egregious behavior. President Trump insists on fairness and reciprocity in U.S.-China relations," said Morgan Ortagus, a State Department spokesperson. "We have directed the closure of PRC Consulate General Houston, in order to protect American intellectual property and American's private information."

During a coronavirus press briefing, President Donald Trump was asked if he would close more Chinese "embassies."

"As far as closing additional embassies, it's always possible," Trump said. "You see what's going on, we thought there was a fire in the one that we did close and everybody said 'There's a fire! There's a fire!' But I guess they were burning documents or burning papers and I wonder what that's all about."

The Houston consulate is one of six Chinese diplomatic missions in the U.S., including the embassy in Washington, D.C. and consulates in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago.

What happened?

Tuesday night, Houston police and fire officials responded to reports that documents were being burned in the courtyard of the Consulate General of China in Houston.

HPD said they began receiving reports that documents were being burned just after 8 p.m. at 3417 Montrose Boulevard where the consulate is located.

A small amount of smoke could be seen and smelled from outside. Dozens of Houston first responders arrived at the scene but they were not allowed on the property as they did not have jurisdiction.

"You could just smell the paper burning," a witness at the scene told KPRC 2. "But, all the firefighters were just surrounding the building. They couldn't go inside."

A Houston police source told KPRC 2 that the consulate and a compound on Almeda Road, where many employees of the consulate live, are being evicted on Friday at 4 p.m.

Videos shared by a viewer who lives next to the consulate show several open bins or containers with flames coming out of them. People could be seen throwing things into the flaming bins.


The consulate was closed Wednesday but people were photographed looking at signs outside the main facility that announced that the building was shuttered.

Accusations of espionage and theft

A New York Times report cites David R. Stilwell, who oversees policy for East Asia and the Pacific at the State Department. He noted that China attempted thefts have increased in the past six months and that the "Houston consul general, the top Chinese official there, and two other diplomats were recently caught having used false identification to escort Chinese travelers to the gate area of a charter flight in George Bush Intercontinental Airport. He described the Houston consulate, which he said "has a history of engaging in subversive behavior," as the "epicenter" of research theft by the Chinese military in the United States."

Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, a senior member of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, agreed with Stilwell's comment.

"The CCP's recent targeting of U.S. coronavirus vaccine research underscores the threat of this consulate's malign activity in Houston, a biomedical research and technology hub itself. I am hopeful this action will deal a significant blow to the CCP's spy network in the U.S. and send a clear message that their widespread espionage campaigns will no longer go unchecked," he said in part in a statement.

Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, who is the acting chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, tweeted that China's Houston consulate was a "massive spy center," and that closing it was "long overdue."

In a speech last week, U.S. Attorney General William Barr described China's actions as an economic attack.

"Chinese nationals working as employees at pharma companies have been caught stealing trade secrets both in America and in China," Barr said at the time.

The Associated Press reported that the State Department said it ordered the consulate to close within 72 hours after alleging that Chinese agents have tried to steal data from the Texas A&M medical system statewide and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

China's reaction

Wang accused the U.S. of opening Chinese diplomatic pouches without permission multiple times, confiscating Chinese items for official use and imposing restrictions on Chinese diplomats in the U.S. last October and again in June. He also said that U.S. diplomats in China engage in infiltration activities.

"If we compare the two, it is only too evident which is engaged in interference, infiltration and confrontation," Wang said.

He also said that the Chinese Embassy in Washington has received bomb and death threats, and accused the U.S. government of fanning hatred against China.

President Donald Trump has blamed China repeatedly for the pandemic. Almost every day, his administration has brought fresh action against what Trump has called the rising Asian superpower's exploitation of America.

Already this week, the Commerce Department has sanctioned 11 Chinese companies over alleged human rights abuses in the Xinjiang region and the Justice Department said two Chinese stole intellectual property and targeted companies developing coronavirus vaccines.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to continue the attacks Thursday in a speech on U.S.-China relations at the Nixon Library in California.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, saying U.S.-China relations face their most severe challenge since diplomatic ties were established in 1979, asked recently if the two nations would be able to stay the course after a more than four-decade voyage.



Black Magic

Best of the Web: Vote Democrat... and Watch America Burn

US riot
"...This is the most dangerous time in the history of man. The seriousness of this plot cannot be underestimated. It is not due to any threat of conventional war or nuclear decimation, it is based on the fact that this is a psychological war waged by psychopaths against all mankind, and it is being advanced by a small group of monsters that have taken control of the minds of the masses through long-term indoctrination and policies meant to breed dependency." Gary Barnett
Which political party supported the protests, riots and looting that spread to over 400 cities across the country? Which party supported the toppling of historical monuments and statues across the country? Which party's elected officials think that the government does not have the right to defend federal property from vandals, rioters and thugs in Portland? Which party allowed a vicious mob to seize control of an area in central Seattle and declare its own sovereign nation? Which party looked on approvingly while the country descended into a "society-wide upheaval that included.. mass riots — the magnitude of which have not been seen in the U.S. since at least the 1960s." (Michael Tracy)

Which party's governors imposed lockdowns that pushed the economy into freefall destroying millions of jobs and businesses? Which party's governors issued edicts mandating the wearing of masks without a vote by the representatives of the people? Which party's leaders conducted a 3 year-long coup claiming the President of the United States was a Russian agent? Which party launched impeachment proceedings based on spurious claims that were neither serious nor verifiable? Which party has stubbornly refused to accept the 2016 presidential election results and has done everything in its power to deepen political antagonisms and polarization? Which party worked with members of the elite media and the intelligence community to infiltrate the Trump campaign with confidential informants, electronic surveillance, and other illicit skulduggery aimed at sabotaging the election and derailing Trump's political agenda?

Which party is using a public health emergency to perpetuate a state of hysteria aimed at exerting greater control over the population? Which party is deliberately prolonging the Covid restrictions in order to destroy what's left of the eviscerated US economy? Which party has shown time and again that it does not serve the interests of the people but the cadres of elite globalists that now have the Constitutional Republic in their crosshairs and plan to erase our history, our icons, our traditions, our culture, our identity and even our most heartfelt ideals in order to establish a new order governed by technocrats, financiers and plutocrats? Which party is not a party at all but a fifth column determined to subvert the elected government and divide the country into warring factions?

Comment: See also:


Pyramid

Bank For International Settlements' (BIS) march towards a central bank digital currency continues to advance

Bank for International settlements
This time last year when the Bank for International Settlements released their Annual Economic Report, it combined with the announcement of a new initiative called the 'BIS Innovation Hub' (also known as 'Innovation BIS 2025'). The BIS refer to the Innovation Hub as a medium term project that comprises three main elements:
  • Identify and develop in-depth insights into critical trends in technology affecting central banking
  • Develop public goods in the technology space geared towards improving the functioning of the global financial system
  • Serve as a focal point for a network of central bank experts on innovation
As you can see, technological innovation is at the core of the Hub's remit.

The initial phase of the project saw Hub's opened up in Switzerland, Hong Kong and Singapore. An operational agreement was signed with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority in September 2019, followed by an agreement with the Swiss National Bank in October. The Hub in Singapore began operations in November.

With phase one completed, the BIS have now moved into the second phase which they warned was going to happen when the Hub first launched. Accompanying the release of this year's Annual Economic Report, the institution announced that the Hub is expanding to new locations in both Europe and North America.

Russian Flag

Biden advance team recommends British approach to fighting Russia - spread disinfo before fact, doubt is Russian mind control

biden
A junior member of Joe Biden's team in waiting to take over the Pentagon, the State Department, and the National Security Council has recommended the US employ the British method of fighting Russia with the technique of "getting ahead of adversary tactics to strike either just before or immediately after a major decision, vote, or event."

Doubt, she concludes, is a Russian tactic of mind control. Truth by itself isn't enough to combat the Kremlin. Propaganda is required in advance to ensure public confidence and to deter Russian skepticism.

Rachel Ellehuus wrote this in a report she released at a Washington think-tank on Monday, July 20. Entitled "Mind the Gaps: Assessing Russian Influence in the United Kingdom", Ellehuus said "an analysis of the UK experience offers some indicators as to what deters Russia. In the case of the Skripal poisoning, UK officials' success was due to several factors. First, there was coordinated messaging. Rather than each department issuing its own response (creating gaps for Russia to exploit), the various stakeholders ultimately coordinated their response through the Cabinet Office...Second, the messaging was followed by the public release of evidence to include the identity of the Russian agents, closed-circuit television footage of them around the crime scene, and records of their hotel and flights. Finally, the international community called out Russia on the international norms it had violated. Their words were then followed by punitive measures."

Ellehuus presented her report in a webinar at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). She was joined by the British Ambassador to the US, Dame Karen Pierce, and Luke Harding, an info-warfare reporter. Ellehuus's report and Harding's appearance were paid for by the State Department. "On the funding", Ellehuus acknowledged by email, "this is a U.S. government grant from State Department's Global Engagement Center."

Attention

US government agrees to pay Pfizer and BioNTech $2 billion for 100 million doses of rushed coronavirus vaccine

coronavirus vaccine
The U.S. will pay Pfizer and biotech firm BioNTech $1.95 billion to produce and deliver 100 million doses of their Covid-19 vaccine if it proves safe and effective, the companies announced Wednesday.

It was the largest such deal between the government and companies racing to develop a coronavirus vaccine.

Under the agreement, the U.S. can acquire 500 million additional doses, the Department of Health and Human Services said. Germany-based BioNTech and Pfizer are jointly developing four potential vaccines.

If one of the vaccines proves safe and effective in a large phase three trial and receives regulatory approval, HHS said Pfizer will begin to deliver doses to locations across the U.S. at the government's direction. The vaccine would then be made available to Americans "at no cost," HHS said. It's unclear who the first doses of the potential vaccine would go to and how that decision would be made.

Comment: See:


Calculator

Trump wants immigration out of the census and at the center of the election

trump
© AP/Patrick SemanskyPresident Donald Trump
President Donald Trump wants to ban undocumented immigrants from being counted in the 2020 census. That's not all he's doing on immigration in 2020.

In recent months, Trump has moved to reduce the number of foreign workers in the U.S., end a program that protects children brought to the country illegally, build more than 450 miles of a wall along the southern border and sharply limit the granting of asylum claims.

Each move has pitted Trump against powerful opponents, everyone from civil rights activists to local officials to business leaders, and opened the president to numerous legal challenges. But each time, the action has also riled up Trump's most ardent supporters, a key goal with Trump's poll numbers slipping against presumptive 2020 rival Joe Biden.

Trump's most recent move targeting immigrants came Tuesday, when he signed a memorandum effectively asking the Commerce Department, which oversees the census, to collect data on undocumented immigrants — but only so Trump can remove that data from population totals in the final census count. The census is used to determine how many House members each state gets, as well as how federal funds are distributed. The memo argued it is "the President's discretion to settle the apportionment" of House members.

Like many of Trump's unilateral actions on immigration, Tuesday's announcement was quickly declared illegal by activist groups and decried by Trump's opponents as a simple attempt to intimidate immigrants.

Comment: Trump's order refers to aliens who do not have lawful immigration status. It is about who qualifies and who doesn't. Politico doesn't tell you this.

See also:
Trump signs order barring illegal immigrants from census count (includes outline of stipulations)


Document

EU leaders reach deal on coronavirus recovery package

MerkelMacron others
© John Thys/AP PoolForget social distancing: German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, speaks with French President Emmanuel Macron, center, during a round table meeting at an EU summit in Brussels, Monday, July 20, 2020.
After marathon talks, EU member states have agreed to a historic coronavirus recovery deal. Disagreements concerning access to the aid package had turned the negotiations into one of the bloc's longest-ever summits.

EU leaders agreed early Tuesday to an unprecedented €1.8 trillion ($2 trillion) aid and budget deal aimed at helping hard-hit bloc members recover from the economic fallout of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The package includes a €750-billion fund to be sent as loans and grants, as well as a seven-year €1 trillion EU budget.


Comment: Well, they surely enjoy congratulating each other...a warm and fuzzy outcome for putting the globe into panic and locking down humanity. As long as there is still money to throw after it, it's all good.


Laptop

Just a glitch? Google hides conservative and alt-media websites from search results for hours

Google
© Reuters/Arnd Wiegmann
Google excluded major conservative and alt-media outlets from its search results for hours, hiding hits for sites like Breitbart and RedState even in searches for the outlets' names - only to mysteriously revert to normal later.

Conservative sites were in a panic Tuesday morning, reporting they seemed to have been blacklisted from Google. Articles and pages published by PJ Media, Daily Caller, The Blaze, and many other sites were absent even from searches for the publication name, replaced by links to Wikipedia and other sites talking about the outlet in question - usually negatively.

Comment: The only counterbalance to a massive information aggregator, such as Google, is the power of the people (who at this point are covid captives and follow mindlessly the edicts of the pandemic players). In other words, good luck with that.