National and international media news & headlines compiled by CLG

State Dept. gives law enforcement, intelligence agencies unrestricted access to Americans’ personal data | 3 Nov 2022 | The State Department is giving law enforcement and intelligence agencies unrestricted access to the personal data of more than 145 million Americans, through information from passport applications that is shared without legal process or any apparent oversight, according to a letter sent from Sen. Ron Wyden to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and obtained by Yahoo News. The information was uncovered by Wyden during his ongoing probe into reporting by Yahoo News about Operation Whistle Pig, a wide-ranging leak investigation launched by a Border Patrol agent and his supervisors at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center. On Wednesday, Wyden sent a letter to Blinken requesting detailed information on which federal agencies are provided access to State Department passport information on U.S. citizens.

Princeton University teams with Anti-Defamation League to create database tracking non-criminal criticism of politicians | 2 Nov 2022 | The Anti-Defamation League has partnered with researchers from Princeton University on a new subjective “data collection initiative” to track so-called threats and criticism of elected officials. Although presently aimed at tracking “incidents” involving local politicians, the Bridging Divides Initiative is intended to “expand beyond local officials to state and federal.” There are already indicators that the BDI may inherit the ADL’s partisan bias, as criticisms of politicians who promote critical race theory, draconian health measures, and “LGBTQ+” propaganda have already been tracked and recorded as threats and harassment… Princeton University announced that the BDI had been launched to “systematically evaluate threats and harassment of local officials across the United States using public event-based data.” The ADL Center on Extremism, which touts itself as the “foremost authority on extremism, terrorism and hate,” partnered with Princeton researchers on the BDI to do what they perceived law enforcement to be incapable of doing or unwilling to do.

Leaked Documents Reveal Homeland Security’s ‘Expansive’ Influence Over Social Media Censorship | 2 Nov 2022 | Leaked government documents reveal that U.S. government officials have access to a special portal through which they can directly flag Facebook and Instagram posts and request that the posts be “throttled or suppressed,” The Intercept reported Monday. As of Oct. 31, the “content request system” at facebook.com/xtakedowns/login was still live despite the public uproar earlier this year when attorneys general in 20 states threatened legal action unless the Biden administration immediately disbanded the “Orwellian’ Disinformation Governance Board. Michael Rectenwald, Ph.D., [CLG News Founder] author of Google Archipelago: The Digital Gulag and the Simulation of Freedom, told The Defender: “The Intercept’s reporting validates what many knew was being undertaken by the Department of Homeland Security, despite the scrapping of its Disinformation Governance Board.” Rectenwald said the coordination between government and media companies validates his claim that social media companies are not merely “private companies” but are “state and uni-party apparatuses” — what he has called “governmentalities” — “augment the state by adding precision, scope, and penetration to state power.”  

Changing of the Guard: Can Musk Deliver on His Promises for Free Speech and Information? By CLG Founder Michael Rectenwald | 31 Oct 2022 | Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter and his immediate firing of top brass represents a potential weakening of the Big Digital woke cartel that controls information, censors content, censures and bans users, and serves as a propaganda arm of leftist totalitarian statists. Given their cooperation with and promotion of leftist statism, it is more than evident that Twitter, Facebook, Google, and others have served as state apparatuses, as what I have called “governmentalities.” Musk’s takeover not only represents a potential blow to the woke cartel but also to the globalist statists whom it so assiduously serves…Musk’s takeover will now demonstrate just how much this cartel and the statists they support can manage to infringe property rights by controlling what Musk can do with his own property… I am one of the recent victims of Twitter’s cancellation of dissident voices.  

UK spies building secret ‘terror army’ in Ukraine – Grayzone | 4 Nov 2022 | UK military-intelligence operatives are reportedly working to create and train a covert terrorist force in Ukraine assigned to attack Russian targets in Crimea on behalf of the Kiev government. Working through a private British intelligence services firm called Prevail Partners, the operatives signed an agreement with the Odessa branch of the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) to build the so-called “partisan” terror army, The Grayzone reported on Thursday, citing leaked documents detailing the plans. The work is conducted in close coordination with the SSU and is possibly funded at least partly by Ukrainian oligarch Andrey Sadovoy, who is the mayor of Lviv and heads the country’s TRK Lux media company. “Their plans called for the secret army to conduct sabotage and reconnaissance operations targeting Crimea…precisely the kind of attacks witnessed in past weeks,” The Grayzone wrote.

U.S. troops on the ground in Ukraine – media | 1 Nov 2022 | American troops are on the ground in Ukraine, where they are monitoring NATO arms deliveries to the country, an anonymous Pentagon official told several U.S. media outlets on Monday. It is unclear how many personnel are involved, or where they are located. Speaking to the Associated Press, NBC News, and other members of the Pentagon press pool, the official said that the contingent of troops is led by Brigadier General Garrick Harmon, the U.S. defense attache to Kiev. “There have been several of these inspections,” the official told reporters, without revealing where the examinations have taken place. He added that the checks are not happening “close to the front lines,” but where security conditions allow.

Group of 7,000 mercenaries present in Zaporozhye – local politician | 31 Oct 2022 | Mercenaries from Poland and Georgia and Chechen militants constitute a group of more than 7,000 in the Kiev-controlled city of Zaporozhye, the leader of the movement We are together with Russia, Vladimir Rogov, told TASS on Monday. “There are more than 7,000 of them. Chechen militants, Poles and Georgians have begun to interact,” he said, adding that Poles, Georgians and Chechen militants predominated among the mercenaries in the city. “Now the so-called ‘shaitans’ (literally meaning devils, a derogatory reference to anti-Russian Chechen militants – TASS) and also Poles and Georgians dominate in Zaporozhye. These are the three main large ethnic groups of mercenaries,” he stressed. Rogov added that a large number of militants from the Kraken unit were also present in the city.

Terrorist plot foiled at Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant – Russia –Officials have said a cache with explosives was uncovered at the Zaporozhye facility | 3 Nov 2022 | A Ukrainian terrorist attack on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant has been thwarted, Russian officials have said, adding that the plot aimed to render the adjacent city of Energodar without heating during the winter. “We have received information that our secret services have foiled a terrorist attack on the Zaporozye Nuclear Power Plant,” Nikolay Patrushev, Secretary of Russia’s Security Council, said on Wednesday. Vladimir Rogov, a senior Zaporozhye regional official, told news agency RIA Novosti that the alleged plot had been orchestrated by the Ukrainian government. He said that a cache with explosives had been discovered at the plant and that it had been placed there sometime after Russia’s military operation began in late February and before Moscow’s forces seized the facility in March.

Gunfire strikes child-filled family home of Republican who campaigns in bulletproof vest | 3 Nov 2022 | The FBI is investigating a shooting that took place last month at a North Carolina home belonging to the parents of Pat Harrigan, a former Green Beret and Republican candidate running for Congress, according to reports. WBT News reported Thursday that the FBI is involved in the investigation. Harrigan’s campaign manager told The Carolina Journal that a suspect shot into the home of his parents in Hickory. He said Harrigan’s children were in the home at the time and the shot entered just a few feet from where they were sleeping. As of Thursday, there have been no arrests in the incident. Harrigan’s campaign has not confirmed that the FBI is involved in the investigation.

Pennsylvania Supreme Court bars counting incorrectly dated absentee ballots | 1 Nov 2022 | The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Tuesday handed the Republican Party an enormous election integrity win ahead of the November midterm elections, ruling that the commonwealth may not count incorrectly dated or undated absentee ballots. “The Pennsylvania county boards of elections are hereby ORDERED to refrain from counting any absentee and mail-in ballots received for the November 8, 2022, general election that are contained in undated or incorrectly dated outer envelopes,” the two-page court order reads. “We hereby DIRECT that the Pennsylvania county boards of elections segregate and preserve any ballots contained in undated or incorrectly dated outer envelopes,” it continued.

2000 Mules Investigator and True the Vote Founder Arrested and Taken Into Custody One Week Before Mid-Term Elections | 31 Oct 2022 | This morning, Federal Judge Kenneth Hoyt held True the Vote founder Catherine Engelbrecht and True the Vote investigator Gregg Phillips were arrested and held in contempt of court over their refusal to identify a confidential informant who helped them obtain information that led to the discovery and later, evidence that the East Lansing, Michigan-based, election software company, Konnech Inc., was storing election-related data on servers in China. The courageous duo have been taken into custody by U.S. marshals and are currently being held… Konnech, much like Dominion, almost immediately sued True the Vote as a way to silence them and keep them from speaking out about the bombshell information they provided to reporters at The Pit related to Konnech and the unlawful transfer of information from America to China.

Trump preparing post-midterm campaign announcement – report | 4 Nov 2022 | Former President Donald Trump’s advisers are reportedly eyeing a Nov. 14 announcement of a comeback campaign to return to the White House in 2024. Citing “three sources familiar with the sensitive discussions,” Axios reported that the former president is hoping to capitalize on likely Republican gains in the midterms and build momentum for his own presidential race. Republicans are widely expected to the win the House of Representatives and are increasingly favored to win the Senate among election forecasters. Trump is currently facing several state, local and federal investigations over a host of issues, including his efforts to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election [coup] and his handling of classified materials.

DeSantis to Rally Crowd: ‘Florida Is Where Woke Goes to Die’ | 5 Nov 2022 | With just four days until Election Day, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis launched a 13-stop “Don’t Tread on Florida” tour on Nov. 4, plotting a course from top to bottom, and from side to side across the state. Appearing with his wife, Casey, he aimed to connect with voters one last time before Tuesday. DeSantis appears to lead against his Democratic challenger, former Congressman Charlie Crist, by 11 points, according to a mid-October poll by Florida Atlantic University. The poll suggests DeSantis has an overall approval rating of 53 percent. But he hasn’t been counting on that. On Nov. 4, his campaign announced that its well-organized army of volunteers had knocked on the doors of two million homes to reach Florida voters.

It’s a Coup: Team Biden Bragged About Rigging Brazil Election Against President Bolsonaro Before Election Day By Ali Alexander, Founder of “Stop the Steal” | 1 Nov 2022 | Just two days ago, Foreign Policy, one of these magazines where the international order hides their symbols and forecasts their plans, admitted–and bragged–that Biden was involved in Brazil’s presidential election. “How Team Biden Tried to Coup-Proof Brazil’s Elections,” reads the headline. Biden personnel from the White House, Defense Department, State Department, and CIA all took part in threatening the Bolsonaro administration in rare, escalatory diplomatic meetings. Then, they took their false narratives to the corporate media. They did this to Trump too, using the perception that he was in control of his administration when really the bureaucrats were rogue when FBI Director Chris Wray and Christopher Krebs, the former director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, used federal government resources to head off any lawful election challenges… One of the reasons we know the 2020 election was illegitimate is that Joe Biden’s results had no down ballot success, a statistical improbability because of what we know about political science, behavior psychology, and down ballot participation rates. In fact, not one House Republican incumbent lost. House Republicans actually gained 14 seats in 2020. What just happened in Brazil is “mathematically impossible,” says international politico Matthew Tyrmand… There’s never been one like the American election in 2020 or the Brazilian election in 2022. Voters don’t vote in those patterns and data has never been tabulated in these patterns. Mass uniformity in ballot returns is statistically improbable (read: impossible).  

Republicans’ chief House investigator vows to take on bureaucracy, starting with vaccine royalties | 4 Nov 2022 | The congressman who would lead the most powerful investigative committee in the House if Republicans win the midterms is sending an unmistakable advance warning to the permanent federal bureaucracy: It’s time to “get rid of some of these useless bureaucrats who are just a drain on the American taxpayer.” Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, the ranking Republicans on the House Oversight Committee, told Just the News on Thursday evening his top three investigative priorities include Biden family corruption, the insecure southern border and the origins and handling of the COVID-19 pandemic… “We’re seriously concerned about not just the origination of COVID, but also a lot of the COVID spending,” Comer said during a wide-ranging interview on the “Just the News, No Noise” television show. “We’re concerned about the royalties that high ranking government officials were getting for vaccine sales. We’re concerned about the slush fund at the NIH [National Institutes of Health].”

U.S. Capitol Police officers weren’t watching live home security cameras when Paul Pelosi was attacked | 1 Nov 2022 | Officers from the U.S. Capitol Police have live video surveillance outside the Pelosi’s San Francisco residence, but weren’t watching it when David DePape, 42, allegedly attacked Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, sources tell Fox News. The officers were monitoring a live-feed of many cameras, which include surveillance of the capitol complex, but also monitor some points away from the capitol, which include the Pelosi residence. According to sources, an officer was monitoring the feeds and saw police lights on a dark street outside the Pelosi’s residence. When going through surveillance footage, the officer saw the alleged attack on Oct. 28, when DePape allegedly struck Paul Pelosi, people briefed on the incident said, according to the report.  

NBC silent after retracting Paul Pelosi report under mysterious circumstances | 4 Nov 2022 | NBC News caused a firestorm on social media after it retracted its explosive reporting on last week’s attack of Paul Pelosi. On Friday’s installment of Today, NBC News national correspondent Miguel Almaguer went viral for stunning revelations of what apparently transpired when police arrived to Pelosi’s San Francisco home. “Sources familiar with what unfolded in the Pelosi residence now revealing when officers responded to the ‘high priority call,’ they were seemingly unaware they’ve been called to the home of the Speaker of the House,” Almaguer told viewers. “After a ‘knock and announce,’ the front door was opened by Mr. Pelosi. The 82-year-old did not immediately declare an emergency or tried to leave his home but instead began walking several feet back into the foyer toward the assailant and away from police. It’s unclear if the 82-year-old was already injured or what his mental state was, say sources.” Almaguer concluded his report by telling Today co-host Craig Melvin, “We still don’t know exactly what unfolded between Mr. Pelosi and the suspect for the 30 minutes they were alone inside that house before police arrive.”

Pelosi attack suspect, who was in US illegally, makes first court appearance –David DePape, a 42-year-old Canadian who overstayed his visa decades ago, is accused of attacking Paul Pelosi in his San Francisco home | 1 Nov 2022 | David DePape, the illegal immigrant from Canada accused of breaking into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s multimillion-d-llar San Francisco home [encased in security cameras] last week and assaulting her husband with a hammer, pleaded not guilty in court at an arraignment on a slew of felony charges Tuesday. They include attempted murder, residential burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, false imprisonment of an elder and threats to a public official and her family. Appearing in person, the 42-year-old DePape was seen wearing a cast on his arm, orange jail jumpsuit and coronavirus face mask during his arraignment around 1:45 p.m. local time. Public defender Adam Lipson later said his client had sustained a dislocated shoulder.