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Attention

Trump: 'Biden family treated the vice presidency as a for-profit corporation'

Steven Nelson
New York Post
Wed, 14 Oct 2020 08:07 UTC
Trump
© AP/Alex BrandonUS President Donald Trump
President Trump on Wednesday slammed Joe Biden as "corrupt" following The Post's bombshell exposรฉ on Hunter Biden's alleged hard drive and emails linking the Democratic presidential candidate to his son's job at a Ukrainian energy company.

Trump told a rally crowd in Des Moines, Iowa:
"Vice President Biden, you owe the people of America an apology because it turns out you are a corrupt politician.

"The Biden family treated the vice presidency as a for-profit corporation, flying around the globe, collecting millions of dollars from China and Ukraine and Russia and other countries.

"These emails show that Biden's repeated claim that he has never spoken to Hunter about his business dealings were a complete lie. He's trying to cover up a massive pay for play scandal at the heart of his vice presidency.

"Hunter was being paid for access to his vice-president father, who was specifically put in charge of Ukraine and Russia. It's a corrupt family. Joe Biden personifies the selfish and corrupt globalists who got rich and powerful at your expense."
An alleged 2015 email from Burisma energy executive Vadym Pozharskyi, reported by The Post, thanks Hunter Biden for "giving an opportunity to meet your father" โ€” appearing to debunk Biden's claim he didn't speak with his son about his "overseas business dealings."


Comment: Questions on the content of the laptop continue. Attorney Costello added clarification:
Attorney Costello said the laptop was inoperable, but it remained unclear if the FBI retrieved the contents - and if it still existed. However, he underscored that he had in his possession a copy of the hard drive with tens of thousands of potentially damaging correspondence pertaining to Hunter Biden's Ukraine dealings, which also implicate his high-profile father.


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Magnify

PM Japarov announces he holds 'all power' in Kyrgyzstan following resignation of president


RFE/RL
Thu, 15 Oct 2020 15:35 UTC
Jeenbekov
Sooronbai Jeenbekov has resigned as the president of Kyrgyzstan
A convicted kidnapper who was sprung from prison and made prime minister this week amid unrest following Kyrgyzstsan's disputed election told a crowd outside the government building late on October 15 that the president has resigned and "all power is in my hands from now on."

Prime Minister Sadyr Japarov's declaration came hours after President Sooronbai Jeenbekov announced his resignation via his official website in the face of mass protests against the official results of parliamentary elections on October 4 that handed victory to political parties associated with Jeenbekov and his government.

"Former President Sooronbai Jeenbekov has resigned. The parliament speaker said it was impossible to perform [the president's] duties and resigned. Today, the duties of the acting president and the prime minister have passed to me," Japarov told the early evening crowd in downtown Bishkek.

Comment: See also:

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Footprints

Militia groups offer US truce in Iraq if Washington withdraws troops UPDATE

Daria Bedenko
Sputnik
Sun, 11 Oct 2020 20:53 UTC
US Troops
© AP/Ali Abdul HassanUS troops, Qayyarah Airfield, Iraq
Amid frequent attacks in the so-called Green Zone' in Baghdad, several countries, including the United States, have warned Iraq that they may shut down their embassies in the area if shellings on diplomatic missions continue.

Iraqi militia groups have agreed to temporarily stop shellings targeting the American military presence in the country, as long as the US-led coalition withdraws its troops from Iraq "in line with a parliamentary resolution", The Associated Press reported, citing three militia officials.

"The militia factions offered a truce and will refrain from targeting the US in Iraq, including the US Embassy, on the condition that American forces withdraw within an 'acceptable timeframe'", said Mohammed Mohie, a spokesman for Kataib Hezbollah.

If Washington fails to withdraw troops, however, "the resistance factions will resume their military activities with all the capabilities available to them", Mohie reportedly outlined.

Comment: There has been some progress in creating the US-Iraq framework in support of the troop withdrawal decision:

UPDATE: 15/10/2020 Iraq forms a committee to determine timeline for withdrawal of US troops
"The meeting took place at the Foreign Ministry headquarters today, Thursday, October 15, 2020, in which a technical committee emerged to undertake the task of coordinating with the US side to schedule the redeployment of US forces outside Iraq," the Iraqi Foreign Ministry wrote in a press release.

The decision was taken during a meeting involving Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, National Security Adviser Qassem Al-Araji, and a range of other security officials.

The establishment of the committee follows a series of meetings between US and Iraqi officials over the summer. In August, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhmi travelled to Washington for talks with US President Donald Trump, and a three-year timeline was established for the US withdrawal.


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Control Panel

Trump vs Deep State: Will Trump upend the neocolonial world order?

Nauman Sadiq
Global Research
Thu, 15 Oct 2020 00:00 UTC
Washington Capitol
Former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney released an extraordinary statement on Tuesday, decrying a political scene he said "has moved away from spirited debate to a vile, vituperative, hate-filled morass, that is unbecoming of any free nation." "The world is watching America with abject horror," he added.

Romney tweeted his statement under the title "My thoughts on the current state of our politics." "I have stayed quiet," he said, "with the approach of the election." "But I'm troubled by our politics," the sole Republican to vote to impeach Trump added in his statement.
"The president calls the Democratic vice-presidential candidate 'a monster'. He repeatedly labels the Speaker of the House 'crazy.' He calls for the justice department to put the prior president in jail. He attacks the governor of Michigan on the very day a plot is discovered to kidnap her. Democrats launch blistering attacks of their own, though their presidential nominee refuses to stoop as low as others," Romney, a Utah senator who was the 2012 Republican nominee for president, complained in the statement.
Though superficially trying to appear "fair and balanced" in the didactic sermon patronizingly delivered by the only adult in the room full of political upstarts, Romney's perceptible bias in the polemical diatribe was hard not to be noticed.

Comment: Don't miss: What Trump is really about

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Burka

Western anger as China, Russia elected to UN Human Rights Council and Saudi Arabia rejected over war and humanitarian disaster in Yemen

Alan Macleod
Mint Press News
Wed, 14 Oct 2020 00:00 UTC
Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud
© Manuel Balce Ceneta | APSecretary of State Mike Pompeo, right, listens to Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud speaks during their meeting at the State Department, Oct. 14, 2020, in Washington.
In a secret ballot at the United Nations yesterday, Saudi Arabia was rejected for a position on the body's 47-country Human Rights Council (HRC). The only country that did not receive the required number of votes from member states, the failure has been seen as a repudiation of the Kingdom's abysmal human rights record and its decreasing international support.

15 positions were filled yesterday, although most of them were pre-selected. Only the Asia-Pacific region faced an open vote from UN member states. Pakistan received 169 "yes" votes out of a possible 193, Uzbekistan 164, Nepal 150, and China 139. Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, received just 90.

Saudi Arabia's allies in the West had actually been campaigning to halt the election of states that draw Washington's ire, including China, Russia, and Cuba, trying to organize opposition against those nations, but were ultimately unsuccessful. China received 41 fewer votes than it did in 2016, amid increased global concern over the alleged treatment of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang Province, but ultimately comfortably surpassed the 50 percent threshold for admission.

Comment: See also:

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Airplane

Plane bias: Russia's decision to quit MH17 panel a logical result of Dutch provocations

Neil Clark
RT
Thu, 15 Oct 2020 19:50 UTC
mh17
MH17 crash site in Ukraine
Russia's decision to quit the three-sided consultations with the Netherlands and Australia on flight MH17 is not surprising. It's surprising that Moscow hasn't done this earlier, having been declared guilty from day one.

Almost as soon as the terrible news came out on 17th July 2014 that a passenger airliner had come down over eastern Ukraine with the loss of all 298 people on board, the fingers of blame in the West were pointing at Russia, and the Kremlin was declared guilty until proven innocent.

'Putin's Missile' was the headline of the Sun newspaper, implying that the Russian President had personally fired the missile which allegedly downed the airliner. 'MH17: Can Russia be held to account?' asked The Economist - again implying it was a foregone conclusion who was responsible.

Russia's guilt was already established - before any inquiry was held - and even saying 'let's wait a while before we see more evidence' could bring you under attack as part of 'Putin's lie machine.'

That has more or less been the case ever since.

Just eight days after the tragedy, the Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans said the EU would widen its already existing sanctions on Russia on account of the crash. The explanation for the disaster was simple. The plane had been shot down by separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine who had been armed by Russia. End of Story.

Comment: See also:

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Piggy Bank

Coronavirus: Test and Trace consultants paid equivalent of ยฃ1.5m salary

Ed Conway
Sky News
Thu, 15 Oct 2020 17:11 UTC
covid corona test trace app
The government is paying individual private sector consultants million-pound wages to work on its test and trace system, according to documents seen by Sky News.

Some executives from Boston Consulting Group (BCG) helping the government set up and run its testing system are being paid day rates of around ยฃ7,000 - equivalent to an annual salary of around ยฃ1.5m.

While individual consultants may only receive a portion of that sum, it is still considerably more than than any other public sector worker.

The revelation is the latest evidence of the expense of the government's testing scheme, which is budgeted to cost ยฃ12bn this year - making it one of the most expensive government programmes in recent years.

Comment: Monumental waste of money. And all for this:



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Calendar

Trump to participate in NBC town hall, competing with Biden event

Morgan Chalfant
The Hill
Wed, 14 Oct 2020 07:33 UTC
Trump
© UnknownUS President Donald Trump
President Trump will participate in an NBC News town hall held outdoors in Miami on Thursday, the network announced, setting up an evening of competing events featuring the incumbent president and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.

The events will take place in lieu of the second presidential debate between Trump and Biden, which was canceled last week after the president objected to new plans for a virtual format. The next and final debate will be held on Oct. 22.

Thursday's town hall will be moderated by Today host Savannah Guthrie and will take place outdoors at the Pรฉrez Art Museum in Miami, NBC News announced early Wednesday. Public health guidelines will be followed amid the coronavirus pandemic, the network added. The event will air at 8 p.m. for one hour, with Guthrie moderating a conversation between Trump and Florida voters on various issues.

Biden previously announced that he would take part in an ABC News town hall the same evening in Philadelphia, which will air at the same time as Trump's town hall and will run for 90 minutes.

Comment: Anti-Trumpers to boycott NBC for hosting Trump's town hall:
Trump's critics derided the network for "rewarding" him with a "platform" after he had earlier decided to skip a virtual debate with Biden. The network's fans-turned-critics launched the hashtag #BoycottNBC, calling on viewers to switch channel.

Others dug through NBC's backlog, trying to highlight the network's history of supposed malpractice in providing the president with media coverage. Unsurprisingly, Trump's notorious 2015 hosting of Saturday Night Live featured a lot.

US conservatives, however, seemingly "couldn't wait" to watch a solo Trump event without Biden plugged into it.
Bias running amok, there is no fair and equal play according to some folk.

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Stock Up

Biden's son-in-law advises campaign on pandemic while investing in Covid-19 startups

Ben Schreckinger
Politico
Tue, 13 Oct 2020 04:30 UTC
Biden Wife Daughter Soninlaw
© AP/Lau Fook Kong/The Straits TimesJoe Biden with daughter Ashley and Jill Biden with son-in-law Howard Krein
Singapore, July 2013
Howard Krein is an informal adviser to the Democratic nominee and part of a $1 million coronavirus-focused investment effort.

At the same time that Joe Biden's son-in-law, Howard Krein, has been advising Biden's campaign on its coronavirus response, Krein's venture capital business has been running a special initiative to invest in health care startups that offer solutions to the pandemic.

In March, as Covid-19 began spreading in the United States, the investment firm, StartUp Health, unveiled a new coronavirus initiative soliciting pitches from entrepreneurs with products that addressed the outbreak.

The next month, reports in Bloomberg and the New York Times listed Krein among those participating in daily calls to brief Biden on health policy during the pandemic, while StartUp Health announced its intention to invest $1 million across 10 startups with coronavirus applications within 30 days.

"StartUp Health is putting the full support of its platform and network behind building a post-Covid world that uses technology and entrepreneurial ingenuity to improve health outcomes," the firm said at the time.

Krein simultaneously advising the campaign and venturing into Covid investing could pose conflict-of-interest concerns for a Biden administration or simply create the awkward appearance of Krein profiting off his father-in-law's policies.

Comment: Profiting from his familial connection to Joe Biden and access to insider information, Krein has multiplied his investments, profits and market share to exploit victims of the 'medical lockdown fiasco'.



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Dollar

Mark Zuckerberg donates $100 million to election security after $300 million donation last month

Brianna Kraemer
Just the News
Wed, 14 Oct 2020 04:20 UTC
Zuckerbergs
© Getty ImagesPriscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, will donate an additional $100 million to help with election security to the Center for Tech and Civic Life.

The announcement was made Tuesday. Zuckerberg and his wife last month donated $300 million to assist with election safety, and Zuckerberg posted on his Facebook on Tuesday that he and his wife want to continue to help meet this urgent need in allowing for a safe election.

"Priscilla and I remain determined to ensure that every state and local election jurisdiction has the resources they need so Americans can vote," Zuckerberg posted.

The money is used for voting equipment, PPE for poll workers and to hire additional poll staff. Zuckerberg stated:
"To be clear, I agree with those who say that government should have provided these funds, not private citizens. I hope that for future elections the government provides adequate funding. But absent that funding, I think it's critical that this urgent need is met."

Comment: A quick search provided the following:
The Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL) is a Chicago, Illinois-based center-left election reform advocacy group formed in 2012. The organization pushes for left-of-center voting policies and election administration. It has a wide reach into local elections offices across the nation and is funded by many left-of-center funding organizations such as the Skoll Foundation, the Democracy Fund, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and the Rockefeller Brothers Foundation.
Draw your own conclusions!

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