News of the World

[kyonides]

Republicans Spur Investigation into China-Owned Corporation
Given Billions in U.S. Tax Dollars to Build Rail Cars

The China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) is now being investigated by the Department of Transportation (DOT) Inspector General (IG) after the China-owned company has raked in billions in American taxpayer money, producing rail cars for a number of cities in the United States.

The CRRC, owned by the government of China, was initially awarded a $138 million contract with the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to build at least 45 new rail cars.

Already, the contract has been marked with delays and production issues like “‘repeated failures of water-tightness tests,’ faulty interior panels, wiring issues, repeated brake test failures, and ‘unsafe emergency exit windows,'” according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
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DOT IG has announced a probe into whether the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is properly overseeing CRRC and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority’s (SEPTA) adherence to Buy American rules.
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Chinese media outlets have previously suggested that CRRC has scored billions in American taxpayer money through contracts with cities like Philadelphia; Boston, Massachusetts; and Chicago, Illinois, to produce passenger rail cars.

Effectively, American tax dollars have helped line the pockets of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) members who control the country’s government and subsidize CRRC production costs.
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In 2019, researchers at Oxford Economics found that for every $1 billion given to a China-owned corporation to build rail cars, some 3,250 to 5,100 American jobs are lost. In other terms, every American job created as a result of a city or state contract with a Chinese firm ultimately costs 3.5 to 5.4 additional American jobs.

Narco-Surveillance Center Found near Cancun, Says Mexican President

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador announced the discovery of a cartel-run surveillance center near Cancun which operated cameras at the international airport.
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This week, Lopez Obrador made a brief announcement during one of his morning news conferences that federal authorities discovered a fully operational surveillance and communication center near Cancun.

“They even had cameras in the airport to see the planes landing and everything — a C5.” [surveillance center]

The announcement comes at a time when Cancun, Cozumel, Tulum, and the Riviera Maya have all seen a spike in cartel violence. The violence is primarily between Cartel Jalisco New Generation and allies of the Sinaloa Cartel inside tourist areas.

Cancun Mayor Ana Patricia Peralta told a local news outlet that she did not have details about the surveillance center.

Treasury to Testify Friday for Withholding Biden Family ‘Suspicious’ Wire Transfers

The Treasury Department will testify before the House Oversight Committee on Friday about its withholding of 150 suspicious activity reports (SARs) generated by the Biden family and their associates by unusual foreign or high-dollar transactions.

The Treasury’s Jonathan C. Davidson, assistant secretary for legislative affairs, will testify before the committee about why the agency has refused to provide the SARs, which often contain evidence of potential criminal activities, such as money laundering and fraud.

House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-KY) is investigating James and Hunter Biden, along with Eric Schwerin, for nine violations, including, wire fraud and money laundering. During its investigations, the Treasury has tried to stonewall Comer’s request for the SARs because the reports are a key trove of information that will provide details about the family’s foreign business transactions, along with knowledge of whether President Joe Biden remains compromised by foreign governments through his family’s business.
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In January, Davidson denied the committee’s request for 150 SARs flagged by U.S. banks, citing “improper disclosure” of relevant information that could reduce the Biden administration’s ability to “conduct of law enforcement, intelligence, and national security activities.”

While the Treasury stonewalls Comer, the Biden family’s top financial lieutenant Schwerin is expected to “soon” provide requested documents to the committee. Schwerin, who shared bank accounts with President Joe Biden and dubbed the family’s “moneyman,” was also the president of Rosemont Seneca Partners, a fund created by Hunter Biden and several associates that spawned business deals in Russia, Ukraine, China, and Romania.

Biden’s Ex-Disinformation Czar Nina Jankowicz Soliciting $100,000
to Sue Fox News and for ‘Other’ Costs

Jankowicz posted a five-minute video to her Twitter account along with a GoFundMe page asking for money to sue Fox News. According to the GoFundMe page, she is seeking to raise $100,000. So far, she has raised over $10,000.
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In April 2022, the Biden administration created the “Disinformation Governance Board,” which would be situated within the DHS to combat “disinformation” and focused on disinformation regarding the U.S. southern border but also Russian disinformation. The administration appointed Jankowicz, a former adviser to Ukraine, as its executive director.

The creation of the board and Jankowicz’s appointment garnered fierce opposition from conservatives over the prospect of the government regulating Americans’ speech, leading to the pausing of the board and Jankowicz resigning. DHS dismantled the board in August 2022.

Jankowicz said in her video she now wants to sue Fox News for “malicious, reckless lies” about her.
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Jankowicz at one point pushed the narrative that the New York Post‘s reporting on abandoned Hunter Biden laptops that contained a trove of information about his business dealings was Russian disinformation.
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She said the money raised would help her sue Fox News and support “other security and legal costs related to Fox News’ actions.” She said that includes hiring a lawyer after being subpoenaed by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH)’s Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government.

She said recently hired a lawyer to help her obtain a protective order against a harasser, and that she had to hire a separate lawyer due to being sued in what she called “frivolous, nonsensical lawsuit.”

I can't ignore the feeling that makes me think those contributors have been  scamned.

Why don't we go back to April 28, 2022 for a moment...

Biden ‘disinformation’ chief a Trump dossier author fan
and Hunter Biden laptop doubter

[Jankowicz] has a history of sharing misleading claims about British ex-spy Christopher Steele’s discredited dossier and downplaying controversy embroiling President Joe Biden's son.

Nina Jankowicz, who was a disinformation fellow at the Wilson Center and adviser to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry as part of the Fulbright Public Policy Fellowship.
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[S]he would “coordinate countering misinformation related to homeland security” and focus on Russia.
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On Aug. 7, 2020, Jankowicz tweeted about an appearance Steele made on the Infotagion podcast. “Listened to this last night — Chris Steele (yes THAT Chris Steele) provides some great historical context about the evolution of disinfo. Worth a listen," she said.
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Steele’s alleged main source, Igor Danchenko, was charged “with five counts of making false statements to the FBI,” which John Durham claims he made about the information he provided to Steele for his discredited dossier.
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Jankowicz replied that “your party funded the dossier first” and tweeted April 22, 2020, that “you’re probably aware that [the Steele dossier] began as a Republican opposition research project.”

But Steele created his discredited anti-Trump dossier after being hired in early 2016 by the opposition firm Fusion GPS, which was itself hired by the Perkins Coie law firm and Marc Elias, the general counsel for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.
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Jankowicz also said in April 2020 that “the inclusion of the Steele dossier didn’t influence the conclusions of the [intelligence community assessment].”

However, FBI Director James Comey and FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe fought to include information from Steele’s dossier in the January 2017 ICA on Russian election interference. Although the CIA and NSA ultimately overruled their efforts, the dossier was still summarized in a classified annex attached to the report.
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Jankowicz also cast doubt on the Hunter Biden laptop story while falsely claiming an intelligence community report on foreign meddling referenced it. In particular, she played a key role in trying to shoot down reports by the New York Post about the contents of the laptop believed to have belonged to the younger Biden.

The Associated Press ran a story Oct. 14, 2020, reporting, “Disinformation experts say there are multiple red flags that raise doubts about their authenticity, including questions about whether the laptop actually belongs to Hunter Biden, said Nina Jankowicz.” The report quoted her as saying that “we should view it as a Trump campaign product.”

OK, Nina. Explain to us how is it possible that the laptop found in Delaware was a mere conspiracy theory made up by the Trump administration. Especially after what Hunter Biden stated on February 2nd, 2023.

Hunter Biden threatens legal action over laptop allegations

Hunter Biden is urging an investigation into those he accuses of trafficking in stolen material from his laptop.

In letters filed on Wednesday, lawyers representing the US president's son named a computer repair shop owner and Rudy Giuliani as among those who they say had broken the law.

Hunter also threatened to sue Fox News' Tucker Carlson for defamation.

It's a shift in strategy for him to hit back after years of scrutiny, a source close to him told CBS News.

Emphasis isn't mine but BBC's.

Bill Barr likens Mexican drug cartels to ISIS, demands Biden send military

“These narco-terrorist groups are more like ISIS than like the American mafia,” Barr, 72, wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed. “Merely designating the cartels as terrorist groups will do nothing by itself. The real question is whether we are willing to go after them as we would a terrorist group.”
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Barr...said Congress should pass a joint resolution authorizing “select military capabilities” to beat back drug traffickers in the provinces of Sinaloa and Jalisco.

“Optimally, the Mexican government will support and participate in this effort, and it is likely to do so once they understand that the US is committed to do whatever is necessary to cripple the cartels, whether or not the Mexican government participates,” Barr wrote.

The former AG noted that more than 106,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2021, according to the National Institutes of Health — with nearly two-thirds of that number due to non-methadone synthetic opioids like fentanyl.

Even if I won't ever appreciate the very existence of cartels, telling the US government to literally go beyond their constitutional obligations and enter Mexican territory with the excuse that they would just go there to deal with those criminals once for all is nothing but a total overreach and a public request to justify an unlawful invasion of a neighbor country.

They should work WITH the Mexican government the WHOLE TIME and ONLY if they ALLOW them to enter their territory beforehand. Otherwise, the US claim that it defends democracy or freedom would get shattered, totally discredited in no time.