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Mon, 27 Sep 2021
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Whistle

Georgia Sec. of State Raffensperger investigating all key 2020 election whistleblowers

Raffensperger and others
© unknown/LinkedIn/AP/Brynn Anderson/Twitter/KJN
State of Georgia
(L) Garland Favorito • Bridget Thorne • (R) Susan Voyles • Brad Raffensperger
For the past several months the office of Georgia Secretary of State (SOS) Brad Raffensperger has been quietly investigating whistle blowers who believe they detected potential fraud in the November 2020 election. That's right. The Raffensperger's Inspector General office has an active investigation into the key witnesses who testified before the Georgia General Assembly and signed affidavits for the exhibits of the Fulton County ballot inspection lawsuit! These witnesses swore they detected potentially counterfeit ballots in the Fulton County hand count audit that occurred on November 14th and 15th. They also observed a variety of other anomalies.

The November 2020 election was certified by December 11th and Raffensperger told the Wall Street Journal on December 12th, 2020 that:
"November's election was the most secure in history. In Georgia, there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud and no significant issues with absentee ballots."
Of course, none of that is true. Reports of many counterfeit mail-in ballots, thousands of missing test ballots, several Dominion voting system malfunctions, numerous missing chain of custody forms, major hand count audit errors and even foreign interference into Georgia county election servers have dominated the news.

While Raffensperger continues to insist there is no evidence of election fraud he also continues to investigate potential election fraud AFTER the election was certified. SOS Investigator Paul Braun has contacted virtually all the key affiants in the Fulton County ballot inspection case and attempted to interview them. However, they contend that he did not seem interested in finding potential fraud but was more interested investigating them. Some examples follow.

Comment: The potential victims of Raffensperger/Braun scheme were savvy enough to avoid the traps.

See also:
Why a judge has Georgia vote fraud on his mind: 'Pristine' Biden ballots that looked xeroxed (Susan Voyles/Garland Favorito)


Cult

Tucker Carlson was blackmailed by NSA for seeking an interview with Putin

tucker carlson monitored
© Fox News
Tucker Carlson has been trying to get an interview with Vladimir Putin for his show.
Fox News prime-time host Tucker Carlson claimed Wednesday that his identity was "unmasked" and illegally leaked to the media in retaliation for his attempts to score a sitdown with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Carlson initially accused the National Security Agency (NSA) on June 28 of monitoring his emails in an effort to find damaging material that would force Fox to take his top-rated show, "Tucker Carlson Tonight," off the air. That claim prompted a rare public denial from the agency, which stated that Carlson "has never been an intelligence target".

Off the top of Wednesday's show, Carlson said he had learned the previous day that "sources in the so-called intelligence community told at least one reporter in Washington what was in those emails, my emails."


Comment: A month ago, an NBC reporter successfully interviewed the Russian president without US intelligence interference.

So why can't Tucker Carlson interview him?

The control freaks are such control freaks, they want to ensure that 'only the right people' conduct any and all business related to Russia (or US foreign policy generally).

That's why Trump's draw-down of US troops from Afghanistan was 'bad', but Biden's 'good'. That's why Biden's 'infrastructure plan' is 'good', but Trump's 'bad'. That's why [insert identical policy position here] is 'approved' depending on who is saying or enacting it.

NBC's Keir Simmons can interview Putin because Simmons 'is our guy'. Carlson cannot because 'he is a loose canon' who might 'stray from the party line' and indulge in 'too much frank and honest conversation' with the Russian president.

Americans cannot be allowed to see how much more they have in common with Putin than they do with 'US intel community members'...

See also:


Arrow Up

Rand Paul says he will introduce bill to scrap mask mandate 'farce'

sen rand paul
© GREG NASH/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Senator Rand Paul declared Thursday that he intends to introduce legislation that would scrap mask mandates, specifically on planes, calling the practice a 'farce'.

Paul noted that he intends to seek a repeal of Joe Biden's executive order mandating masks on public transit.

Paul tweeted that he will seek "immediate repeal of the mask mandate on planes" when the Senate reconvenes next week, adding, "let people travel in peace!"

Comment: See also:


Sherlock

Lebanese minister denies request to quiz security chief over Beirut blast

interior minister Mohamed Fahmy

Interior minister Mohamed Fahmy
A Lebanese minister has denied a request by the judge probing the Beirut port explosion to question a top security official, a document seen by Reuters on Friday showed, as attempts to deliver justice over the catastrophe continue to flounder.

Nearly a year after the Aug. 4 explosion, which killed more than 200 people, wounded thousands and devastated swathes of the capital, many Lebanese are furious that no senior officials have been held to account.

The blast was caused by a massive quantity of explosive chemicals that had been stored unsafely at the port for years.


Comment: That theory seems highly unlikely: Forbes asks: 'Was Israel responsible for the Beirut explosion?'


Attention

'Ending the war' in Afghanistan?

The media is all abuzz with the US "drawdown", but does that really mean the war is over?

Us Soldiers Afghanistan
© Off-Guardian / Reuters
The "big news" in the last couple of days is the American "drawdown" in Afghanistan. Yes, after nearly two decades, the US is finally pulling its troops out of one of the many countries they never had a legal right to be in.

"President" Biden re-affirmed today that the US will be pulling all its forces out of the country by August 31st, adding that the people of Afghanistan must "decide their own future".

This is being sold all across the media as an end to the (totally illegal and obviously economically motivated) war. Not only that, but the universal message is that ending the war is a bad thing.

The Economist headlines "America's longest war is ending in crushing defeat", and warns that life for the Afghanistan people will be worse once NATO has left.

Politico mournfully atones that America "never understood" its war there. While the New York Times comes over all nostalgic and compares the US leaving Afghanistan to the "betrayal" at the end of the Vietnam war in 1975.

Further coverage is already trying to sell us the "cost" of the US withdrawal.

The BBC is reporting that the Taliban are making territorial gains, and the Guardian report that Iran and Russia will step into the "diplomatic vacuum" in the region.

The Evening Standard is going one better, and already priming people for the idea NATO forces will have to go back and start again: "We've left Afghanistan but we may well be back".

But is all this messaging accurate? Is the fighting really over? Did Biden just end a war?

Clock

Britain won't return to normal until at least next spring, Chris Whitty warns

uk covid deaths
Britain will not return to a pre-pandemic normal this year even though ministers are pressing ahead with Freedom Day, Chris Whitty warned today.

England's chief medical officer hinted that some curbs may have to be rolled back later this year when the NHS faces a 'difficult winter'.

But, in a glimmer of hope, Professor Whitty claimed he anticipated that the UK could return to the 'status quo' by next spring.

However, he admitted that he would be 'surprised' if British life managed to return to pre-Covid normality before then, adding it was 'going to take quite a long time to get back to normality'.

Covid hospital admissions and deaths are expected to rise in the weeks and months after July 19, when all social distancing measures are due to be lifted in England.

Officials are also bracing for a rise in other respiratory illnesses that have been suppressed by lockdown measures during the pandemic, such as flu.

But it's hoped enough people will have been vaccinated or protected due to prior infection by next spring that the coronavirus will no longer trigger a deadly surge.

Speaking to the Local Government Association's (LGA) annual conference, Professor Whitty said: 'There will almost certainly be a Covid surge [in winter] and that will be on top of a return to a more normal respiratory surge.

X

As social media giants censor free speech online, Russia and China lead the charge to break free from American control of the web

Twitter/Facebook/Paris
© Getty Images/metamorworks/AFP/Olivier Douliery/Ethan Miller
When it comes to online censorship, few voices outside the Western mainstream are safe. Not even a US president. Now, this near-total lack of accountability among tech giants is pushing states to develop sovereign internet spaces.

Over the past few years, China and Russia have taken the lead in nationalising the internet, putting their own mark on the online world and championing alternatives to foreign platforms. As a result, somewhat predictably, both governments have been accused of attempting to clip the wings of the supposedly ultimate space for freedom of expression, turning it into an instrument of government power.

Increased state control over the digital space deserves scrutiny and, in many cases criticism. But the efforts in Moscow and Beijing to assert national control over what goes on online is a reaction to what is perceived there as increasing digital authoritarianism on the part of the US.

As Washington's power in the world wanes, the US has become increasingly inclined to use its role in the global economy, its international companies and its place in major international institutions to coerce both adversaries and allies to uphold its former authority. The natural consequence is that its rivals have sought to reject American influence online, as well as offline.

Pistol

Haiti's president killed by 'foreign hit squad' of ex-Colombian military & Haitian-Americans, 11 arrested inside 'Taiwan embassy'

Moise investigation culprits/arms
© Reuters/Estailove St-Va
Weaponry, mobile phones, passports and other items are being shown to the media along with suspects in the assassination of President Jovenel Moise
Port-au-Prince, Haiti • July 8, 2021
Haiti's national police force has claimed that two Americans and 26 Colombians were responsible for the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, while Taiwan has confirmed that 11 arrests were made at its diplomatic compound.

At least 28 people carried out the murder plot earlier this week, police chief Leon Charles told reporters on Thursday, noting that several suspects were brought into custody, while others were killed in firefights with authorities.
"We have arrested 15 Colombians and the two Americans of Haitian origin. Three Colombians have been killed while eight others are on the loose. Weapons and materials used by the assailants were recovered. We will strengthen our investigation and search techniques to intercept the other eight mercenaries."
Rifles, machetes and other tools that were seized were displayed on a table near the police chief.


Comment: See also:

Haiti president Jovenel Moïse assassinated - UPDATE


Briefcase

'I love talking about election fraud': Trump says he's 'looking forward' to sitting for deposition in Big Tech lawsuit

Trump GoogTwitFace
© Facebook/Twitter/Google/Otago Daily Times/KJN
Former US President Donald Trump and Big Tech
Donald Trump has revealed that he plans on and is committed to giving a deposition in the recently announced class-action lawsuit against the Big Tech companies Facebook, Twitter, and Google.

After announcing that he would be the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit against the various social media companies who banned his accounts following the January 6 Capitol riot, Trump expanded on his role in the suit in an interview with Bill O'Reilly.

"I look forward to it, actually," the former president said, when asked about sitting for a deposition in the suit, which will mean answering direct questions about the day of the Capitol riot and facing the accusation he incited an insurrection - an accusation from Democrats that morphed into an impeachment vote which ultimately failed in the Senate.

Trump confirmed to O'Reilly that he would address the Capitol riot issue head-on and even get into the accusations of "election fraud."

"I love talking about the election fraud," he said.
Both Trump and O'Reilly described the legal battle ahead as a "war."
"Everything's a war," Trump said. "With me, life is a war."
Facebook, Twitter, and Google, the former president added, "may be in the process of destroying our nation."

Footprints

Taliban strike key Afghan city as US speeds up withdrawal

Afghan Security
© AFP/Getty Images
Afghan security personnel stand guard along a road in the western city of Qala-i- Naw after the Taliban launched a major assault on the provincial capital.
The Taliban fought their way into the centre of a key western Afghan city on Wednesday and accepted the surrender of senior security officials, as militants and Afghan government representatives met in Iran for negotiations.

Insurgents attacked Qala-i-Naw, the capital of Badghis province, overnight and seized the provincial headquarters of the police and the intelligence service, the National Directorate of Security (NDS), before being pushed back by special forces.

The Taliban have taken swaths of Afghanistan as the US has accelerated the departure of its forces in recent weeks despite warnings from Afghans and the US commander on the ground that such a rapid exit could tip the country into full-blown civil war.

The attack on Qala-i-Naw was the first major assault on a provincial city since the militants began their sweeping advance, although several others have been encircled and are in effect besieged.

The US has announced its withdrawal is now more than 90% complete.

Comment: Videos shared online purported to show members of the Taliban riding into Qala-e-Naw on motorbikes.

Local media said the Taliban offensive on Qala-e-Naw was the first time they have taken over a provincial capital since US President Joe Biden's announcement in April that American troops would begin to withdraw from Afghanistan, with only a few hundred set to remain. The latest update from the Pentagon on Tuesday said the US has now withdrawn around 90% of its troops and equipment from Afghanistan.

The Taliban now control around one third of the country's 421 districts and district centers.
Force strength and strategy are the two important aspects in the post-US occupation scenario:

The areas under Taliban control in the north are increasingly strategic, running along Afghanistan's border with central Asian states. The Taliban in previous surrenders have shown video of Afghan soldiers taking transportation money and returning to their homes. From those who didn't return, many have joined the Taliban ranks as deserters from the Afghani army.

The Taliban reportedly captured the city of Farah, another provincial capital, and the largest city of the Farah Province in western Afghanistan. Footage of the city showed dozens of Afghani army soldiers, many of which were killed. Hundreds are being killed on each side every day, with reports coming in from scores of Taliban being killed by Afghan security forces, and still the Taliban are the ones coming in on top and capturing even more areas.
See also: