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Executive Order canceling the Constitution

Biden/Constitution
© Andrea Widburg
US President Joe Biden • US Constitution
On April 15, President Biden signed an Executive Order on Blocking Property with Respect to Specified Harmful Foreign Activities of the Government of the Russian Federation. Contrary to its title, this EO is not about Russia.

It is designed to allow the Biden administration to deprive American citizens and organizations of their rights and property by arbitrarily linking those persons to real, imagined, or vaguely defined activities of the Russian government.

The Biden administration unilaterally makes the determination and requires neither criminal acts nor intent. The punishment is blocking assets and a prohibition on any dealing with the accused person. Spouses and adult children of individuals found guilty by accusation under this EO are punished, too.

The EO was preceded by some distracting maneuvers, both diplomatic (hostile rhetoric toward Russia) and military (sending naval ships toward the Black Sea and recalling them back, as if dealing with Russian threats). Thus, many people assumed that the EO was directed at Russia, and completely missed the fact that it is directed at dissent here, at home.

Over the past four years, the Democrat Party, Fake News, and Big Tech have been frequently portraying their opponents as Russian trolls or Russian misinformation operators. The Russian collusion narrative, initially invented to overthrow the Trump administration, has been used to smear many conservative movements. Now this effort has been crowned by an Executive Order.

Comment: Unconscionable!!! Russia has been made the excuse to go after Americans. Does Biden even know what he signed? This is downright shameful!


Pirates

Germany's upper house approves plan to give government power to OVERRULE states on lockdown

Frauenkirche mask germany
© JENS SCHLUETER / AFP
A sign reading "Mask mandatory, cover your mouth and nose! hangs on a lamp post in front of the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) at Neumarkt square in Dresden, eastern Germany, on April 12, 2021, amid the novel coronavirus / COVID-19 pandemic.
Germany's Bundestag, the country's upper house of parliament, has approved a law that gives Chancellor Angela Merkel's government greater powers to combat coronavirus, including overruling federal states to impose restrictions.

Once it comes into effect on June 30, the law will give the government the ability to impose evening curfews on states, declare restrictions on gatherings, reduce crowds at events and limit shop-opening times, as well as close schools and force students to learn remotely. These measures would be used if an area exceeded a seven-day incidence rate of 100 new infections per 100,000 residents over three consecutive days.

The law still requires approval from President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, which he is expected to give later on Thursday, making the legislation official and allowing it to be published in the Federal Gazette.

Comment: It should be pretty clear by now that authorities across the Western world are participating in a coordinated attack on citizen's freedoms: Also check out SOTT radio's: MindMatters: Interview with Rod Dreher: How to Survive the Coming Soft Totalitarianism


Mail

The US Postal Service is running a 'covert operations program' that monitors Americans' social media posts

USPS
© AFP/Getty Images
Headquarters of USPS in Washington DC
The law enforcement arm of the U.S. Postal Service has been quietly running a program that tracks and collects Americans' social media posts, including those about planned protests, according to a document obtained by Yahoo News.

The details of the surveillance effort, known as iCOP, or Internet Covert Operations Program, have not previously been made public. The work involves having analysts trawl through social media sites to look for what the document describes as "inflammatory" postings and then sharing that information across government agencies.

March 16 government bulletin, marked as "law enforcement sensitive" and distributed through the Department of Homeland Security's fusion centers revealed:
"Analysts with the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) Internet Covert Operations Program (iCOP) monitored significant activity regarding planned protests occurring internationally and domestically on March 20, 2021. Locations and times have been identified for these protests, which are being distributed online across multiple social media platforms, to include right-wing leaning Parler and Telegram accounts."
A number of groups were expected to gather in cities around the globe on March 20 as part of a World Wide Rally for Freedom and Democracy, to protest everything from lockdown measures to 5G.

Comment: Et tu Postal Service? Is the PTA next?


Nuke

Putin: Russia developing high-tech nuclear and laser weapons, warns 'provocateurs' will regret crossing country's red lines

Peresvet weapon/Putin
© Wikipedia/Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev
Peresvet laser weapon • Russian President Vladimir Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the vast majority of the country's Soviet-era atomic stockpile will soon be replaced by modern weapons, warning that Moscow is intent on defending itself against foreign aggression. Speaking as part of his annual address to the Federal Assembly in Moscow on Wednesday, Putin said that his government
"wants to have positive relationships with everyone on the international stage, including those with whom relations have broken down recently. We really don't want to burn bridges."
At the same time, however, he cautioned:
"Those who mistake this stance for weakness need to know that Russia's response [to any aggression] will be asymmetrical, swift and harsh. Those planning provocations will regret their deeds in a way they have not regretted anything else for a long time."
As part of the country's plans to defend itself, he said, its stockpile of strategic weapons is currently being overhauled, updating older Soviet-era equipment in favor of next-generation technology, such as "hypersonic and laser" armaments.

Comment: Russia gives fair warning...likely on deaf ears.


Footprints

Biden administration: US troops leaving Afghanistan may remain in neighboring countries

2 soldiers/chopper
© Shah Marai/AFP/Getty Images
US forces leave Kabul
The chief of the Pentagon's Central Command said on Tuesday the U.S. military may keep troops near Afghanistan after the delayed withdrawal planned for September 11, 2021.

Speaking to the House Armed Services Committee, Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie, Jr., reportedly stated the Pentagon is engaged in "detailed planning" to ensure that the U.S. military can act against threats in Afghanistan without a permanent presence there. McKenzie's comments followed assurances last week from Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a visit to Kabul that the United States would remain an active participant in the construction of a democratic Afghanistan in a civilian capacity even after troops leave.

Under President Donald Trump, the U.S. government negotiated a deal with the Taliban in which the terrorist organization agreed not to attack U.S. troops or harbor foreign terrorist organizations like al-Qaeda in exchange for American troops to fully withdraw from the country by May 1, 2021. President Joe Biden announced this month that he would not honor the deal and extend America's military presence there through September 11, 2021, the 20th anniversary of the al-Qaeda attacks on the U.S. homeland that prompted the Afghan War. Biden described his extension of the war as an acknowledgment that the war had gone on too long.

"It's time for American troops to come home," Biden declared. McKenzie's remarks suggested that the American troops may not be returning home, but relocating elsewhere in central Asia.

Comment: The general doesn't want to leave the MidEast any time soon. There are too many US targets to warrant a decrease in regional assets. If Ukraine becomes ground zero, the 9/11/21 extension serves proximity.


Arrow Down

New Zealand 'uncomfortable' with expanding Five Eyes' remit, says its foreign minister

Nanaia Mahuta
© Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images
New Zealand’s foreign minister, Nanaia Mahuta,
New Zealand's foreign minister, Nanaia Mahuta, says her country won't provoke or engage with China through the Five Eyes alliance aside from on intelligence matters, in a major accommodation of Chinese concerns.

The Five Eyes alliance is a network of five like-minded countries - the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand - that share security-related intelligence. Recently, members have invoked the alliance on broader matters, such as Hong Kong's creep towards authoritarianism or the mistreatment of Uyghurs in China's Xinjiang region.

This has infuriated Chinese officials, who see the group as attempting to curtail China's sovereignty.

Last year, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian responded with anger to a statement about Hong Kong, saying "if they dare to harm China's sovereignty, security and development interests, they should beware of their eyes being poked and blinded".

Speaking at a meeting of the New Zealand China Council on Monday, Mahuta said New Zealand did not want to see a widening of the scope of the intelligence network.
"We are uncomfortable with expanding the remit of the Five Eyes. We would much rather prefer to look for multilateral opportunities to express our interests."

Dominoes

China tells Australia not to make relationship 'even worse' after two trade deals canceled

Wang Wenbi
© GREG BAKER/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin takes a question during the daily briefing in Beijing on July 24, 2020
China has warned Australia not to make relations between the two nations "even worse" on Thursday after Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne announced the cancellation of two trade deals with China the day before, saying the arrangements were "inconsistent with Australia's foreign policy."

The deals, between China and the Australian state of Victoria, were a part of China's Belt and Road Initiative, a massive, multibillion-dollar project aimed at expanding trade across Asia to Europe and connecting dozens of countries by building infrastructure such as railways and ports, according to the Associated Press.

"We urge the Australian side to abandon its Cold War mentality," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Thursday. He urged the country "not to go further down the wrong path so as to avoid making China-Australia relations, which are already facing serious difficulties, even worse."

Black Cat 2

Aunty Maxine runs her mouth: Waters', Biden's pre-Chauvin verdict comments come under fire as defense eyes appeal

Maxine Waters
© Unknown
Rep. Maxine Waters, (D-CA)
Derek Chauvin's murder conviction was met with widespread approval among those seeking justice for George Floyd, but the trial's outcome may not be set in stone thanks to remarks from influential political leaders such as Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., and President Biden himself.

Waters, who had visited Minnesota before the verdict was announced, said that if Chauvin is not convicted of murder, protesters should "stay in the street," "get more active," and "get more confrontational." In a New York Post op-ed, former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy warned that this alone would be grounds for appeal.

"Because of her, this isn't over," McCarthy wrote.

Comment:


Chess

Russia to withdraw troops from deployment on border with Ukraine, Moscow confirms, as major snap exercises in Crimea conclude

russian missiles
© Russian Ministry of Defense
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has announced that troops deployed in the west and south of the country in recent days will soon begin returning to base, saying they have now passed tests of their combat readiness.

The chief of the country's military revealed on Thursday that a number of units of the regular army and airborne divisions had been transferred to the area, near the shared border with Ukraine, as part of surprise military exercises. The buildup had caused alarm in Kiev, and been cited by Western nations as a potential precursor to an invasion, which the Kremlin repeatedly denied.

According to Shoigu, "the goals of the sudden inspection have been fully achieved. The troops demonstrated their ability to ensure reliable defense of the country."

Comment: Ukraine continues to try and stab Russia in the back. They have requested the EU remove Russia from the SWIFT system of international bank transfers, which is used almost worldwide. Russia has called such a move a "declaration of war."

Considering how inept and impotent the previous economic sanctions against Russia were, this seems like another hopeless attempt to kneecap the Russian economy.


Bad Guys

US troops in Syria seem to be getting hit with directed-energy attacks, Pentagon throws shade at Russia

US troops syria
© US Army/Spc. Jensen Guillory
The US is investigating what appears to be directed-energy attacks on US troops, and the Pentagon suspects Russia is behind them, Politico reported.

Four national-security officials involved in the investigation told Politico that the Department of Defense has been investigating the incidents of suspected attacks since last year.

Two sources told Politico that this included incidents in Syria, where troops developed flu-like symptoms last fall.

Comment: It's entirely plausible that the culprit is closer to home. See: Sonic attacks in Havana, Cuba: CIA-specialty false flag?