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Notorious Israel spyware under renewed US investigation


MEMO
Thu, 04 Mar 2021 01:51 UTC
NSO Group
© Greg Otto/Scoop News Group
The notorious Israeli NSO Group, whose invasive Pegasus spyware is alleged to have been used to target human rights defenders and journalists around the world, is under renewed investigation by the US.

American attention over the spyware's use was raised two months ago when the Israeli firm was labelled "powerful and dangerous" in a joint legal filing. Calls were made for the company to be held liable to US anti-hacking laws.

Concerns over the NSO Group were such that the FBI launched an investigation in early 2020 only for it to be stalled. But the US Department of Justice (DoJ) is said to be showing renewed interest in the case.

DoJ lawyers recently approached the messaging app WhatsApp with technical questions about the alleged targeting of 1,400 of its users by NSO Group's government clients in 2019, reported the Guardian citing a person with knowledge of the matter.

It is not clear, however, which suspected hacking targets DoJ investigators are examining or what phase the investigation is in. The Jerusalem Post suggested that the renewed efforts could be part of the Biden administration's agenda to increase its emphasis on human rights and crackdown on the Saudis.
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Bandaid

Omar disappointed that 'we're sending money to less people than the Trump administration'

Jordan Williams
The Hill
Sat, 06 Mar 2021 18:34 UTC
ilhan Omar
© Greg Nash
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.)
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) called it "disappointing" that Democrats are "sending money to less people" than former President Trump's administration with its coronavirus relief bill.

While the current $1.9 trillion proposal includes $1,400 stimulus checks — higher than the $600 and $1,200 approved in previous stimulus bills last year — it also includes tighter caps on who would receive a partial check.

Individuals making up to $75,000 would be eligible for the full stimulus check, while those making between $80,000 and $100,000 — or couples making double that - will get no money, despite getting partial checks in previous bills.

Comment:

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Alarm Clock

Thanks, Sleepy Joe: Texas rep says 'we are weeks, maybe even DAYS away from a crisis on the southern border'

Rick Moran
PJMedia
Sat, 06 Mar 2021 18:19 UTC
honduran migrants Biden illegal immigration mexico border
© AP Photo/Sandra Sebastian
Honduran migrants, right, clash with Guatemalan soldiers and police who keep them from advancing toward the US border, on the side of the highway in Vado Hondo, Guatemala, Monday, Jan. 18, 2021
Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) has been sounding the alarm for weeks about the growing crisis at the southern border, telling anyone who would listen that the crisis is real and will spiral out of control unless something is done.

Cueller hasn't exactly hit the panic button, but the reality is that numbers don't lie. About 10,000 people trying to enter the United States last week were apprehended — 2,500 in the last two days alone. Border Patrol data shows that In October 2020, there were 71,922 apprehensions, while in November, data showed 72,091 apprehensions. In January, data showed a significant rise with 78,323 apprehensions.

"We are weeks, maybe even days, away from a crisis on the southern border. Inaction is simply not an option," said Congressman Cuellar. "Our country is currently unprepared to handle a surge in migrants in the middle of the pandemic."

Comment:

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Beaker

The Antibody Deception

Rosemary Frei
rosemaryfrei.ca
Tue, 02 Mar 2021 15:50 UTC
covid pcr test
The world has been fixated for months on novel-coronavirus PCR testing, contact tracing and vaccination.

Meanwhile, another major part of the Covid biomedical complex has received far less attention: the use of antibodies for detecting, diagnosing and treating infection with the novel coronavirus.

Hundreds of antibodies have been approved for these purposes since January 2020. And hundreds more are poised to start being marketed soon.

This is part of the biomedical gold rush: by last summer already, antibodies were on track to become the most lucrative medical product, with global revenue projected to reach nearly half a trillion dollars by 2024. Profit margins in the range of 67% aren't uncommon.
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Eagle

German court suspends surveillance of far-right AfD, for now


DW
Fri, 05 Mar 2021 07:51 UTC
Flag
© Hendrik Schmidt/dpa-Zentralbild/picture alliance
German court suspends surveillance of far-right AfD, for now
An ongoing legal challenge brought by the Alternative for Germany is holding up the domestic intelligence agency's plans to monitor the party.

Germany's domestic intelligence agency must not declare the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party a case for surveillance until proceedings brought by the party to challenge such a move have concluded, a court order stated on Friday.

German media had reported a day earlier that the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), had placed the entire AfD under surveillance.

The BfV was apparently unable to announce the decision officially due to the ongoing legal dispute.

Comment: See also:

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Eye 1

Cambodia has ZERO Covid-19 deaths yet threatens 20 years' imprisonment for breaking lockdown - France calls up 4,400 police to enforce curfew in Paris


RT
Fri, 05 Mar 2021 14:04 UTC
cambodia covid
© AFP / Tang Chhin Sothy
A medic (2nd L) wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) talks to a woman waiting to take a Covid-19 coronavirus test at the National Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh on February 23, 2021.
New legislation adopted in Cambodia would make violating coronavirus measures a serious offense punishable by up to two decades behind bars. The harsh law has been criticized as a way to crack down on dissent.

Passed unanimously by the country's parliament on Friday, the law calls for a three-year prison sentence for those who break quarantine orders, and up to twenty years in jail for any group that intentionally spreads the virus.

Cambodia's Health Minister Mam Bunheng hailed the law as a way to "protect public health."

The southeast Asian nation has registered 932 Covid cases since the start of the pandemic, but has yet to record a single death linked to the virus.

Comment: If the coronavirus was the threat that governments claimed it to be, it's likely they wouldn't need to deploy increasing numbers of their security forces to remind citizens of the supposed threat.

See also:

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Bullseye

WHO report finds coronavirus did NOT originate at Wuhan market or state lab - but it may have leaked from a lab elsewhere

Jon Lockett
The Sun
Thu, 04 Mar 2021 12:00 UTC
Embarek
© AP
Peter Ben Embarek admitted they didn't get 'hard facts or detailed data' from the lab
A TEAM of World Health Organisation experts probing the origins of Covid-19 is scrapping a top level report on its recent mission to China, say reports.

No reasons were apparently given for the decision to ditch the interim report but the move comes after a string of delays and a dramatic U-turn by the WHO.


Comment: It would appear that the report discredited the propaganda coming out of the West and so it's a smeared as a 'whitewash'.


And after it was accused of "a whitewash" by saying it found Covid probably did not originate at the Wuhan wet market or from a state science lab leak.

The much-heralded probe had been plagued by delays, concern over access and bickering between Beijing and Washington.

Comment: For more on the massive US biowarfare research programs: Ethnic-Specific Weapons: Leaked Documents Reveal US Diplomats in Georgia Trafficking Human Blood And Pathogens For Pentagon Biowarfare Laboratory

See also: Salisbury Nerve Agent Attack Uncovers $70 Million Pentagon Bioweapons Program at Porton Down

And check out SOTT radio's:

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Sheriff

'They're bugs & we will crush them!' Putin issues fiery warning about activists & criminals taking advantage of children online


RT
Thu, 04 Mar 2021 14:16 UTC
Putin
© Sputnik / Alexei Druzhinin / Kremlin via REUTERS
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a meeting with participants of the We Are Together nationwide volunteer campaign at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia March 4, 2021.
Russia's president has condemned "criminals" using the internet to target children for nefarious purposes, such as encouraging attendance at political rallies, like those in support of jailed opposition figure Alexey Navalny.

In a meeting with civic volunteers on Thursday, Vladimir Putin claimed that some accounts were even encouraging minors to commit suicide, arguing that they would feel the full force of the law. "When the police get to these freaks," he said, "they might be Rambo on the internet, pushing a boy or a girl to jump from a roof, but they will fill their pants. When the bastard is sitting there in front of you, he's a bug and we don't mind just crushing him."

The president's comments come on the back of another colorful comparison aimed at those taking advantage of children online. During a meeting at the Ministry of Internal Affairs on Wednesday, Putin told officials that more action was needed to crack down on people using the internet to "try to take advantage of children in cold blood [in order to] achieve their own selfish, 'ferret' goals."

Comment: And, understandably, Putin has the full support of many parents in Russia: "Just like in Ukraine and Belarus": TikTok condemned by Russian parents association over calls for youth to attend Navalny protests

See also: Pro-western liberal, anti-migrant nationalist, or political opportunist: Who exactly is Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny?

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X

No-show Joe? VP Harris continues high-level talks without Biden, speaks to Israeli PM Netanyahu


RT
Fri, 05 Mar 2021 16:34 UTC
Kamala Harris
© Reuters/Jonathan Ernst
US VP Kamala Harris
Vice President Kamala Harris has spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu without President Joe Biden being present, the latest in a series of calls to world leaders usually conducted by the president.

Harris spoke to Netanyahu on Thursday, with a White House readout of the call saying she "underscored the Biden-Harris Administration's commitment to the US-Israel partnership," and affirmed her opposition to the International Criminal Court prosecuting Israeli soldiers for alleged war crimes.
Nothing about the call was surprising, as unwavering support for Israel is a given no matter which party is in charge in Washington. However, Biden's absence was notable.

Comment: The cover-up and snow job are not sustainable. The emperor has no clothes.

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Attention

'For the People Act' confirms it: Our Democracy has officially replaced the American Republic

Nebojsa Malic
RT
Thu, 04 Mar 2021 20:33 UTC
Razor wire Capitol
© Reuters/Joshua Roberts
Long and narrow Democracy as seen through razor wire
If there were any doubts that a civil war had in fact been waged in the US, and that the side that "fortified" the 2020 election and redefined the republic as "Our Democracy" triumphed, HR1 should dispel the last vestiges of them.

The bill, also named "For The People Act" of 2021, passed in the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives in a 220-210 vote on Wednesday. Only one Democrat was opposed.

The 800-page bill basically codifies all the problematic practices of the 2020 election into law. There's an expansion of mail-in ballots and extended deadlines to count them, but also automatic voter registration, a waiver for voter IDs, and nationwide ballot-harvesting, California-style. It also shifts the authority to draw congressional districts from states, criminalizes broadly defined "interference" in elections, and so much more.

Whatever one may think of the Heritage Foundation, its analysis of the bill is factually accurate. Don't take my word for it, though, read it and compare it to the actual text.

Comment: See also:
Dem-led House passes HR1 'For the People' act, aimed at federalizing US elections

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