Pentagon Nears F-35 Jet Deal Worth About $30 Billion
July 19th, 2022Via: Reuters:
The U.S. Department of Defense is nearing an agreement with Lockheed Martin Corp for around 375 F-35 fighter jets over three years, three sources said on Monday, amid expectations of a price increase for the most common version of the jet due to lower quantities and inflation.
New Records Detail DHS Purchase and Use of Vast Quantities of Cell Phone Location Data
July 18th, 2022Via: ACLU:
Today, the ACLU published thousands of pages of previously unreleased records about how Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and other parts of the Department of Homeland Security are sidestepping our Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable government searches and seizures by buying access to, and using, huge volumes of people’s cell phone location information quietly extracted from smartphone apps.
The records, which the ACLU obtained over the course of the last year through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit, shed new light on the government’s ability to obtain our most private information by simply opening the federal wallet. These documents are further proof that Congress needs to pass the Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act, which would end law enforcement agencies’ practice of buying their way around the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirement.
ICE’s and CBP’s warrantless purchase of access to people’s sensitive location information was first reported by The Wall Street Journal in early 2020. After the news broke, we submitted a FOIA request to DHS, ICE, and CBP, and we sued to force the agencies to respond to the request in December 2020. Although the litigation is ongoing, we are now making public the records that CBP, ICE, the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Coast Guard, and several offices within DHS Headquarters have provided us to date.
The released records shine a light on the millions of taxpayer dollars DHS used to buy access to cell phone location information being aggregated and sold by two shadowy data brokers, Venntel and Babel Street. The documents expose those companies’ — and the government’s — attempts to rationalize this unfettered sale of massive quantities of data in the face of U.S. Supreme Court precedent protecting similar cell phone location data against warrantless government access.
Private Billions Are Flowing Into Fusion
July 18th, 2022Via: Bloomberg:
Women Experience Alteration of Menstrual Cycles After COVID Vaccination
July 18th, 2022
Via: Miami Herald:
With more than 222 million people in the U.S. fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, some reports, as well as questions, have emerged about the vaccines’ potential effects on the body — including on menstrual cycles.
One dose of a COVID-19 vaccine was found to temporarily alter menstruation and was linked to a slightly longer cycle in a study published in January, McClatchy News previously reported. This work received funding from the National Institutes of Health.
Months later, another study has found menstrual cycles may temporarily change after a person gets a COVID-19 vaccine.
Thousands of people who received two COVID-19 vaccine doses experienced a change in their typical periods, including heavier periods or breakthrough bleeding, according to a study published July 15 in the journal Science Advances. The work also received NIH funding.
Of those with regular periods, 42% said they had heavier bleeding after at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, the study found. In comparison, about 44% reported their flow did not change. Additionally, roughly 14% experienced a mix of a lighter flow or no change.
Gazprom Declares Force Majeure, Will Halt Gas Flows To Germany Indefinitely
July 18th, 2022Winter is coming.
Via: ZeroHedge:
Already days before the July 22 European “Doomsday” when the scheduled Russian 10-day maintenance of the crucial Nord Stream pipeline to Germany is slated to end – but which was thrown into deep doubt given Gazprom recently said it can no longer guarantee its “good functioning” due to crucial turbines being previously held up in Canada related to sanctions – the Russian energy giant has declared Force Majeure to one major European customer.
Simply put, Gazprom declared extraordinary and extreme circumstances to void itself from all contractual obligations to this customer, thus the gas will stop flowing indefinitely, as Reuters reports in a breaking development Monday, “Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom has declared force majeure on gas supplies to Europe to at least one major customer starting June 14, according to the letter seen by Reuters.” The letter is dated July 14. “It said the force majeure measure, a clause invoked when a business is hit by something beyond its control, was effective from deliveries starting from June 14,” writes Reuters.
Nancy Pelosi Urges Support Of $50 Billion ‘CHIPS’ Bill Hours After Disclosing $8 Million Nvidia Stake
July 16th, 2022Via: ZeroHedge:
Oh, look: Nancy Pelosi is pushing legislation that stands to benefit her significantly thanks to a couple of brand new, multi-million dollar trades she has made.
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before…
This past week it hit the terminal that House Speaker Pelosi was doing a little portfolio re-jiggering, including exercising $8 million of call options in Nvidia and selling Apple and Visa calls.
Former White House Physician Says “Biden Won’t Finish His Term”
July 15th, 2022Via: Summit News:
Former White House physician Ronny Jackson says that Joe Biden “won’t finish his term” because “his mind is too far gone.”
Jackson, who served on the White House medical team in the mid-2000s and served as personal physician to both Barack Obama and Donald Trump, made the remarks on Twitter.
“Biden won’t finish his term. EVERYONE knows he’s unfit for the job. His mind is too far gone. This can’t go on any longer. He needs to RESIGN!” tweeted Jackson.
1 in 30 U.S. Kids Diagnosed With Autism in 2020
July 14th, 2022Via: The Defender:
Roughly 1 in 30 — 3.49% — of children and adolescents ages 3 to 17 were diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in 2020, according to a JAMA Pediatrics research letter published this month by a team of researchers in China.
The letter also referenced a new study showing a 53% increase in ASD in American young people since 2017.
…
There is no immediately clear explanation for why the child autism rate is now higher among lower-income families compared to higher-income families.
However, Hooker thought it might reflect the fact that more children in schools serving lower-income demographics are being diagnosed in order to get those children access to services.
Or, he said, it might be that people in lower-income demographics tend to be more vaccine-compliant because they’re participating in the CDC’s Vaccines for Children program, where they get their vaccines for free.
“You do have to wonder about vaccination rates because higher-income families tend to vaccinate less.”
Amazon Admits Giving Ring Camera Footage to Police Without a Warrant or Consent
July 14th, 2022Via: The Intercept:
Ring, Amazon’s perennially controversial and police-friendly surveillance subsidiary, has long defended its cozy relationship with law enforcement by pointing out that cops can only get access to a camera owner’s recordings with their express permission or a court order. But in response to recent questions from Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., the company stated that it has provided police with user footage 11 times this year alone without either.
“NATO and EU Sound Alarm Over Risk of Ukraine Weapons Smuggling”
July 14th, 2022“The US very seriously takes our responsibility to protect American origin defence technologies and prevent their diversion or illicit proliferation.”
*snort*
Here’s how that went in Afghanistan:
REPORTER: "So there's no US actions being taken to prevent equipment from falling into the hands of the Taliban by destroying it or anything else?"
MAJOR GENERAL HANK TAYLOR: "I don't have the answer to that question." pic.twitter.com/m0wGN1fcFR
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) August 16, 2021
— CT POLICE LIVE (@CTPOLICELIVE) August 16, 2021
NEW ? Taliban with weapons taking a helicopter ride reportedly over Herat, Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/oZM8k17WkM
— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) August 16, 2021
Via: Financial Times:
Nato and EU states are pushing for better tracking of weapons supplied to Ukraine in response to fears that criminal groups are smuggling them out of the country and on to Europe’s black market.
Since Russia launched its war against Ukraine, western states have pledged more than $10bn in military support, from portable rocket launchers and armoured vehicles to rifles and vast amounts of ammunition.
…
The potential for US weapons sent to Ukraine to fall into the wrong hands is “among a host of considerations” given the “challenging situation” on the ground in the country, said Bonnie Denise Jenkins, US under secretary for arms control and international security, on Tuesday.
“The US very seriously takes our responsibility to protect American origin defence technologies and prevent their diversion or illicit proliferation,” Jenkins told reporters in Brussels, adding that the US was in “continued contact” with Kyiv on the issue.
