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“Our Country Is Being Poisoned”: 270,000 Overdose Deaths Catapult Fentanyl As Major Voter Topic In Presidential Race – by Tyler Durden –https://www.zerohedge.com/political/our-country-being-poisoned-270000-overdose-deaths-catapult-fentanyl-major-voter-topic -“In a recent interview on Fox News, former President Donald Trump warned, ‘Our country is being poisoned from within by the drugs and by all of the other crime that’s taking place.’.. According to the latest provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between November 2019 and October 2023, there have been a shocking 270,000 overdose deaths from synthetic opioids – or about 80,000 overdose deaths per year – across the nation… American voters are increasingly frustrated with progressive policies that have backfired, resulting in the loss of countless American lives, many of them young people… This is how China uses open southern borders to poison the American people…
American voters are increasingly frustrated with progressive policies that have backfired, resulting in the loss of countless American lives, many of them young people… This is how China uses open southern borders to poison the American people… A new Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll of nearly 5,000 registered voters shows 8 in 10 voters in seven swing states believe fentanyl misuse is a “very important” or “somewhat important” issue when deciding who to vote for in November. The drug overdose issue trumps abortion, climate change, labor and unions, or the wars in Ukraine and Gaza… Early in President Biden’s first term, he stated one of the central pillars of his “Unity Agenda” was to solve the overdose crisis. Fast-forward to today, Biden’s team of clowns has failed as they prioritize open southern borders over the well-being and health of law-abiding taxpayers. Just think about that for a few seconds…”Dr. Reiner Füllmich Statement From Prison – ‘Their House of Cards is Collapsing’ – by – https://expose-news.com/2024/03/27/dr-fullmich-statement-from-prison-their-house-of-cards-is-collapsing/ – “Dr. Reiner Füllmich has continued to analyse evidence of the crimes against humanity from prison. that he and the Corona Committee had been working to expose since 2020. The corruption is being increasingly seen worldwide and “Their house of cards is collapsing” according to Reiner, “and we as international attorneys will do our best to speed up that process and make sure that Justice is done.” He adds ‘The windows of truth that are opening worldwide and the light that shines through these windows is in the process of identifying all of those who are responsible, no one will escape Justice.‘.. Reiner Füllmich made this statement in a a break from the his trial due to the Easter holidays which has followed eight days in court. He has now been able to summarise the criminal proceedings against him and concludes that Hoffman and Antonia Fischer were only interested in ‘getting their hands on the Corona Committees donation. He claims that ‘through ‘fraud and extortion’, they had gotten their hands on roughly 1.5 million euros of his and his client’s money.’ – Viviane Fischer, however, has confirmed in court that they both took loans in order to secure the Corona Committee’s donations which were at risk from “government attack, but they were both able to pay the monies back… What this means is accusations that Reiner had embezzled committee funds are unfounded. In fact, there seems to be no reason for the man to have been kept in jail at all, and he believes, as many others do, that the criminal proceedings are an effort to shut him up and put him in jail and can see that the ‘DA’s case, is dead in the water… ‘Reiner therefore, seems to be more positive for the future, which can be heard in his statement which you can listen to in full in the video of the audio below. However, I have also transcribed the audio recording verbatim and have added it underneath the video for those unable to play videos… Statement From Dr. Reiner Füllmich 22nd March 2024 – Transcript: Dear friends, because of the Easter holidays there is a two- week break in the criminal proceeding against me… This gives me a chance to summarise the current status, the status quo of that proceeding, but it also gives me a chance to look beyond this proceeding at a very positive development that is happening in reality in that reality which is the backdrop to the efforts to shut me up and put me in jail… It looks like the corona pandemic which actually opened my eyes and made me aware of an up until then unimaginable web of lies is um now unraveling and even officially unraveling as a planemic… The windows of truth that are opening worldwide and the light that shines through these windows is in the process of identifying all of those who are responsible, no one will escape Justice… Without Scientific Basis. – 1:09 A new article by German journalist Paul Schreyer, in the publication Multipolar is based on on intensive research and a number of lawsuits which were brought under the German version of FOIA. the Freedom of Information Act… And it clearly shows that, this article clearly shows that the German equivalent of the CDC, the RKI which up until March 16th of 2020 based on real science, had informed the public that the Corona virus was nothing but the flu, changed its tune overnight when on March 16th a high ranking member of the RKI who was intimately connected with a plandemic industry and its mouthpiece that WHO in tandem with much of the rest of the Western World of course, decided that there was now reason to escalate the hitherto harmless situation into a pandemic and scare the hell out of the population to test their obedience… This happened without any scientific basis, without any scientific basis, it was based purely on a political signal from the plandemic industry and its mouth piece the WHO.”If (Elon Musk) SpaceX’s Secret Constellation Is What We Think It Is, It’s Game Changing (Updated) – https://www.twz.com/space/if-spacexs-secret-constellation-is-what-we-think-it-is-its-game-changing – “The U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) is reportedly acquiring a constellation of hundreds of intelligence-gathering satellites from SpaceX, with a specific focus on tracking targets down below in support of ground operations. Though details about this project are still very limited, there are clear parallels to what the U.S. Space Force has previously said about a highly classified space-based radar surveillance program, which it first publicly disclosed around the same time SpaceX is said to have gotten its NRO contract. If this program is the one we think it is, it could bring about a revolution in both tactical and strategic space-based sensing… Starshield, SpaceX’s government-sales-focused business unit, has been working on the new low Earth orbit (LEO) spy satellites under a $1.8 billion contract it received in 2021 from NRO, according to a report from Reuters this past weekend, citing five anonymous sources familiar with the deal. The Wall Street Journal had previously published a story about the existence of the contract in February, but did not name NRO as being involved or provide specific details about the deal’s scope of work… At the time of writing, neither SpaceX nor its CEO Elon Musk appear to have directly responded to the Reuters article or otherwise commented on the details therein. NRO, a U.S. military organization that serves as America’s main remote sensing intelligence arm, and is so secret that its existence was not publicly acknowledged until 1992, declined to comment on the specifics of any deal with SpaceX, according to Reuters… “We’ve changed our procurement methods to take advantage of LEO technologies,” Troy Meink, NRO’s principal deputy director, said in a speech at the Satellite 2024 conference on Monday, according to SpaceNews. “Our main priority is to meet the requirements with minimum risk… When the new constellation, or at least an initial segment thereof, might begin collecting intelligence operationally, if it hasn’t already, isn’t clear. SpaceX has been launching relevant prototype satellites since 2020, before its formal contract with NRO, and “a U.S. government database of objects in orbit shows several SpaceX missions having deployed satellites that neither the company nor the government have ever acknowledged,” per Reuters…As for why SpaceX is the one to deliver this constellation to the Pentagon, it pioneered the capability and is really the only experienced contractor in this area at this time, although that will change in the years to come… The Starshield business unit was only publicly unveiled in 2022 and its first confirmed contract, for space-based communications services, came from the U.S. Space Force the following year. The U.S. Army has also publicly evaluated communications capabilities provided by Starshield. The U.S. military has also tested SpaceX’s commercial Starlink space-based communications service on multiple past occasions… In the context of the Reuters report about its work for the NRO, SpaceX’s Starshield website does currently list “Earth Observation” as one of its three main focus areas. The other two are “Communications” and “Hosted Payloads.” – “Starlink already offers unparalleled end-to-end user data encryption. Starshield uses additional high-assurance cryptographic capability to host classified payloads and process data securely, meeting the most demanding government requirements,” according to the Starshield site. “Starlink’s inter-satellite laser communications terminal, which is the only communications laser operating at scale in orbit today, can be integrated onto partner satellites to enable incorporation into the Starshield network.” – Laser-based communications systems are capable of sending large amounts of information quickly and are also highly secure and resistant to electronic warfare jamming, as you can read more about here… Details about the specific capabilities of the satellites NRO is reportedly acquiring from SpaceX are scant. Reuters reported that they can “track targets on the ground and share that data with U.S. intelligence and military officials” and will be “bearing Earth-imaging capabilities that can operate as a swarm.” – There is no indication one way or another from Reuters‘ story what kind of ‘imagery’ the satellites are designed to capture. This, in turn, raises questions about whether the kind of intelligence product being described here is really part of a broader space-based ground surveillance capability. Also, traditional electro-optical and infrared imagery taken from low Earth orbit isn’t widely used for real-time tracking targets on the ground, at least on a large scale… In May 2021, now-retired Gen. Jay Raymond, then head of Space Force, disclosed that his service was “building GMTI [Ground Moving Target Indicator] from space” and was “actively working to be able to provide that capability” as part of a classified program. Space Force subsequently told Breaking Defense that the development of this particular space-based GMTI capability could be traced back to a 2018 project within the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office (RCO)… GMTI refers to a mode found on certain radars, which allows them to discriminate between moving targets on the ground and static ones, and can track these moving targets’ activity over time. GMTI as we know it today came in part out of the Pentagon’s multi-faceted Pave Mover initiative of the latter Cold War period. Radar with GMTI can usually also provide synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery, which is the ability to capture highly detailed image-like ground maps, even through cloud cover, smoke, and dust, and at night… GMTI capability has improved remarkably over the years and the hardware associated with it has become far more compact, especially with the introduction of active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars and improved processing power. Combining GMTI and SAR can provide far greater context data being collected. These capabilities have become so sensitive that the combination of these modes can even provide automated identification and classification of what targets GMTI is picking up… (MUCH more in online article)”
From the It-Just-Gets-Better Desk: RAND Corporation: “Internet Of Bodies May Lead To Internet Of Brains By 2050” – by The Sociable – https://www.activistpost.com/2024/03/rand-corporation-internet-of-bodies-may-lead-to-internet-of-brains-by-2050.html – “The Internet of Bodies ecosystem may lead to the Internet of Brains sometime between 2035 and 2050, according to a UK Defence-commissioned RAND report… Commissioned by the UK Defence Science and Technology Laboratory and conducted by RAND Europe and Frazer Nash Consulting, the study “Cultural and technological change in the future information environment” looks at six technologies and information environments and their implications for British defense… They include:
- Automated information systems
- A virtual metaverse
- Augmented and mixed reality
- Advanced connectivity
- Human augmentation
- Information security
A major theme running through these information environments is transhumanism — the merger of humans and machines. – According to the report, “Advances in object connectivity may eventually extend to human bodies. Researchers refer to the potential development of an internet-linked network of human-connected devices collecting end users’ biometric data as an ‘internet of bodies […] An ‘internet of bodies’ may also ultimately lead to an ‘internet of brains’, i.e. human brains connected to the internet to facilitate direct brain-to-brain communication and enable access to online data networks.’” – The Internet of Bodies and the coming Internet of Brains fall specifically under the category of “human augmentation technologies,” which “refer to technologies that enhance human capabilities, either physically or cognitively.” – According to the report, the technological applications most associated with human augmentation include: Wearable devices and implants for tracking and analyzing physiological and environmental data (e.g. biochips and implantable sensors). These technologies aim to achieve real-time continuous monitoring of physiological data to understand human health conditions and performance – Sensory augmentation technologies such as hearing and retinal implants designed to improve or augment sensory activities, particularly vision and hearing. Smart prosthetics are a related category, including exoskeletons, i.e. whole-body robotic suits that enhance end users’ physical capabilities and improve their mobility, strength, endurance and other abilities – Brain-computer or brain-brain interfaces that establish direct communications between human brains and/or computer devices – Elon Musk’s Neuralink is the latest example of a brain-computer interface that received much publicity for helping a paralyzed man, but what happens when human augmentation goes from healing to enhancement? – Transhumanism may lead to superhuman abilities, but those abilities may be reserved for only a select chosen class while the rest of us programmable plebs could exist in a constant state of surveillance and control until we become irrelevant… According to the report, “While some experts predict the tactical improvement of human capabilities, others have explored the potential emergence of ‘trans-humanism’ within the 2050 timeframe… “This concept describes ‘a new form of human (a trans-human) […] where information and communication technologies and biomedicine will fundamentally improve the human condition and greatly enhance human intellectual, physical and psychological capacities.” – For the chosen ones, they could receive human performance enhancement that would give them the ability to never tire, think smarter, move faster, jump higher, see farther, hear better, hit harder, live longer, adapt stronger, and calculate quicker than any other human being on the planet… Meanwhile, the fourth industrial revolution is already merging our physical, biological, and digital identities in order to monitor, manipulate, and reprogram our behavior… If and when humans become fully integrated with machines on a large scale, where will the technology end and the human begin? – The authors of the RAND report say that “Given the direct embedding of technology into human cognitive, physical and psychological functions, substantial levels of human augmentation may ‘[blur] the notions of identity and of what it means to be human’, introducing new normative lenses on humanity and producing new stigma for those not seen as attaining those norms.” – On an individual level, if you wish to remain a natural human and not become part of “Homo sapiens technologicus,” you might not be able to compete in the workplace, and you might be rendered part of the useless class of human… On an international level, countries, cultures, and communities that don’t participate in the transhumanist experiment may find themselves easily conquered by those that do… The report adds, “The social dynamics of human augmentation adoption may include disparities in access to relevant technologies, thus introducing new forms of digital exclusion whereby the economically disadvantaged cannot access the same enhancement level as other societal segments.” – At the same time, natural humans who don’t get chipped may have an advantage in that they may not be as easily manipulated and controlled by thoughts or memories that may not be entirely their own… In other words, transhumanism may lead to super-human capabilities for some, and mind control for others… Manipulation and control are other areas of concern with human augmentation, the Internet of Bodies, and the Internet of Brains… False information, images, sounds, memories, and thoughts could one day be downloaded to these devices and uploaded to the human brain with devastating effect… According to the report, “Sensing technologies (e.g. hearing implants), in particular, carry a risk of interference, whereby devices could be manipulated to provide erroneous information to the end user… “Such manipulation of sensory inputs would substantially amplify current threats from artificially creating or manipulating visual and auditory information (e.g. images and videos)… “Therefore, human augmentation could undermine end users’ cognitive safety and influence their ability to assess the credibility of information they receive while using human augmentation technologies.” – Read full story here…”
AIPAC Talking Points Revealed – Documents show that the powerful lobby is spreading its influence on Capitol Hill by calling for unconditional military aid to Israel and hyping up threats from Iran – by Luke Goldstein –https://prospect.org/world/2024-03-14-aipac-talking-points-revealed/ – Need to Know News headline: “Leaked Documents: AIPAC Israeli Lobby to Spend $100 Million on US Elections and May Draw US into War – “NATIONAL HARBOR, MARYLAND – This week, approximately 1,600 foot soldiers from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) congregated inside the garish yet functional Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, for the PAC’s annual policy conference. It took place this year amid Israel’s bloody war in Gaza, which has left at least 30,000 Palestinians dead and is turning into a critical wedge issue in the 2024 elections… Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed attendees by videocast, along with Israeli ambassador to the U.S. Michael Herzog. According to an incomplete speaker list, the entire Democratic and Republican leadership in Congress delivered remarks—Sens. Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell and Reps. Hakeem Jeffries and Mike Johnson. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) and Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) were both in attendance, among other representatives… In past years, the conference has been a media spectacle, with a widely disseminated lineup of powerful speakers to showcase AIPAC’s enduring political influence. This year, however, it was locked down, with few social media posts and broadcast speeches, largely because of the threat of disruptions from anti-war protests. The goal of this year’s low-key gathering was to fire up attendees for AIPAC’s 2024 agenda, before sending them off to Capitol Hill to strong-arm Congress on supporting Israel… More from Luke Goldstein – The Prospect has obtained documents from the conference that preview the PAC’s lobbying blitz on Capitol Hill this week. The documents reveal AIPAC’s legislative strategy and the talking points it will use to support an unconditional $14 billion military funding package that has thus far been held up, among other policy changes. They also include numerous positions on aspects of the U.S. response to the war that have not previously been made public, from abolishing the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to opposing recent restrictions imposed by the Biden administration on Israeli settlers. There is no mention of a two-state solution. .. “This is damning evidence that AIPAC is completely aligned with the far right of the Israeli government even as tensions emerge between Netanyahu and the Biden administration,” said Raed Jarrar, advocacy director at Democracy for the Arab World Now…Though many of the policy positions are consistent with AIPAC’s past advocacy, this trove of files offers a rare glimpse into the conversations the PAC holds with members of Congress behind closed doors, and the arguments it’s deploying… THOUGH THE PRIMARY MOTIVATION FOR THE CONFERENCE was lobbying, the event also informed members about the PAC’s congressional spending plans. AIPAC has pledged to drop over $100 million on campaigns this election cycle to defeat any congressional candidates critical of Israel… This week, the PAC touted its prowess to members as “dollar for dollar, the largest contributor to candidates in the 2022 midterm elections,” via its super PAC United Democracy Project. One brochure even pulls quotes from critical articles in The Intercept and Slate as testaments to its pre-eminence as an electoral juggernaut… AIPAC has long described itself as a bipartisan organization that endorses the full leadership of both parties, despite the fact that financial disclosures show that many of its top donors overwhelmingly back GOP candidates, including former President Trump. Yet in 2022 and this year, almost all of AIPAC’s electoral spending has come in Democratic primaries… At the conference, the lobby did not hide its slant in campaign funding. In one pamphlet given to conference attendees, the only featured Democrats were from safe blue seats where they’d defeated a more progressive “anti-Israel” candidate in the primary, such as Reps. Haley Stevens (D-MI), Shontel Brown (D-OH), and Glenn Ivey (D-MD). The featured Republicans, however, either flipped their seats or represented highly contested frontline races held by only narrow margins. Those were Reps. Young Kim (R-CA), Don Bacon (R-NE), and Ken Calvert (R-CA)… AIPAC is instructing members to make assertions of fact to congressional staff that are not supported by credible evidence other than statements by the Israel Defense Forces… It’s been clear for several election cycles that AIPAC might sway the electoral map more so for Republicans, but this document all but signals that directly to its members… The pamphlet does try to refute charges that the lobby opposes all progressives. It takes a dig at its critics by claiming to have raised more money for endorsed Congressional Progressive Caucus members, at $1.8 million, than left-aligned groups Justice Democrats, J Street, and EMILYs List combined… But the talking points promoted at the conference for its members to use on the Hill tell a different story. They’re exclusively directed at combating rhetoric and policy from Democrats, Squad members, cease-fire advocates, and even President Biden, who has only recently mildly criticized Netanyahu’s handling of the war… The legislative packet is directed at defending Israel’s military actions in Gaza against any calls for conditioning military assistance, as well as the findings of the International Court of Justice investigation. AIPAC is also using the ongoing war and threat from Hamas to call for further sanctions against Iran, potentially pulling the U.S. into a broader regional war… AIPAC is instructing members to make assertions of fact to congressional staff that are not supported by credible evidence other than statements by the Israel Defense Forces, according to experts who reviewed the documents. “They’re going to the Hill to repeat a foreign government’s talking points,” said Matt Duss at the Center for International Policy, a former policy adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders… The lobbying files promote the familiar though contested line that “Israel does not target civilians.” This has been questioned due to the sheer body count of Palestinian civilians, women and children, during the war, compared to members of Hamas, along with the stated intentions by several Israeli officials to “eliminate everything” in Gaza. The IDF has justified the high casualty numbers by saying that Hamas weaponizes civilians as human shields. Yet the IDF has authorized airstrikes on sites with dense civilian populations such as hospitals and refugee camps, most recently at the “Flour Massacre” at the end of February, when the IDF opened fire on civilians gathered around an aid truck delivery, killing over 100… But even more controversial is that AIPAC is telling members of Congress that “Israel is not blocking the delivery of aid to Gaza,” and that “reports that people are starving in Gaza are false.” Neither claim is supported by findings of international authorities, nor by recent actions undertaken by the United States government. Just last week, the U.S. air-dropped aid packages into Gaza, circumventing Israeli border officials, and at the State of the Union address President Biden announced intentions to set up a port for deliveries. These actions were only necessary because Israel has made it difficult to get aid through checkpoints, such as during one recent incident where the Israeli navy fired at an aid convoy. The EU’s foreign-policy chief last week said that starvation in Gaza is being used as a weapon of war… “AIPAC wants Congress to disregard not just credible international institutions, but also their own eyes, and to simply take Israel’s word for what’s happening in Gaza in spite of the Israeli government’s ongoing pattern of disinformation,” said Omar Baddar, a policy analyst on Middle Eastern affairs… Despite being a longtime donor and supporter of President Biden’s, AIPAC’s talking point also goes on the attack against him for recent remarks that, however tepidly, indicate a shift in tone. Biden has distanced himself from Netanyahu, embracing the language (if not the full meaning) of cease-fire, and more recently indicated a potential red line, should Israel launch a ground invasion of the Gaza border city of Rafah… AIPAC dedicates an entire section of its file for members to rebuke the president’s comments, under the subhead “Why is President Biden dictating to Israel how to fight this war,” while simultaneously demanding military assistance from his government… It advises members to say “concerns about the conduct of the war against Hamas are best delivered privately,” and “public statements that show divergence … are unhelpful and could embolden Hamas and Iran.” – In AIPAC’s talking points, Hezbollah is mentioned nearly as much as Hamas, often in the same breath as proxies for Iran… The documents reveal numerous advocacy positions that AIPAC has not been forthright about publicly. They include opposing the Biden administration’s memorandum on arms sales in February, which merely asks for written assurances from countries receiving aid that they’re complying with existing laws. They also oppose recent U.S. sanctions against West Bank settlers who have engaged in violence against Palestinians. AIPAC deems these measures “unnecessary.” – Though AIPAC says it welcomes humanitarian assistance included in an emergency military package for Israel, it demands that none of that aid go through UNRWA even though the group has proven to be one of the most effective international vehicles for distributing assistance. That’s because AIPAC is pushing for a complete defunding and abolition of UNRWA after reports by the IDF that a handful of its staffers were aiding Hamas. The IDF has not provided evidence to back up these claims… AIPAC now indicates it’s open to a stand-alone Israel military aid package without Ukraine aid, which is a significant tactical change according to Dylan Williams, vice president for government affairs at the Center for International Policy, who used to work for J Street. AIPAC had sought for Israel aid to be included within a broader bill, ostensibly because of the principle that “rising aid lifts all boats.” This also had the effect of insulating Israeli aid from potential challenges or conditions… The fact that AIPAC has now shifted to accepting a stand-alone bill could indicate a fracturing of the foreign-aid NGO coalition because of the war. It could also mean that AIPAC believes it can exert enough pressure on members to get the votes for Israel aid, set aside from the messier politics of Ukraine funding and the border bill that it was originally attached to… A STRIKING THEME ACROSS THE CONFERENCE AND LEGISLATIVE PACKET is the focus placed on the threat from Iran. In AIPAC’s talking points, Hezbollah is mentioned nearly as much as Hamas, often in the same breath as proxies for Iran… An entire pamphlet from the conference is dedicated to the “multi-front threat” from seven different groups, not just in Gaza but across Lebanon, Syria, Iran, and Iraq. “Iran and its terrorist proxies are waging war against the Jewish state,” the pamphlet states, which is an “even greater threat” than Hamas… AIPAC has long lobbied for more hawkish measures against Iran. But its talking points suggest that it’s now using the October 7 attacks and the current war as a pretext to push for greater U.S. involvement against the Islamic Republic. Other than military funding for Israel, the main pieces of legislation AIPAC is supporting both entail stronger actions to cut Iran off from the global economy. Those are the Iranian Sanctions Enforcement Act and the SHIP Act, which would crack down on any foreign ports and refineries that process petroleum exported from Iran in violation of existing U.S. sanctions. The SHIP Act passed the House in early November… “AIPAC hopes to see Iran’s economy crippled through sanctions as a means of drying up Iran’s support for Hezbollah, which they seem to think will give Israel the upper hand in a conflict that many see as imminent,” said Baddar… AIPAC’s push for these actions comes as the war in Gaza threatens to escalate into a regional war. Recently, Israel has exchanged rocket fire with the Shiite political party Hezbollah along its northern border with Lebanon, where the IDF reports it assassinated a key Hamas target. If Hezbollah and Israel directly go to war, it would pull other Arab nations in and put pressure on the U.S. to back its closest ally in the region… The documents further emphasize U.S. involvement by highlighting the three Army troops killed in January in a drone strike on a base in Jordan, which officials have linked to Iran… “This is a repeated tactic we’ve seen. When there’s more attention on Israeli military actions against Palestinians and the occupation, the government pivots to fears about Iran,” said Duss… At the beginning of the war, there was immediate speculation that Iran and China gave Hamas directives to carry out the October 7 attacks, though those claims are still unfounded. As public perception shifts against Israel, potentially pulling U.S. policy with it, AIPAC appears poised to drum up more threats about Iran’s role in the war.”
‘Unconstitutional’: FBI Demanded Identities of Users Who Watched Certain YouTube Videos – “This is the latest chapter in a disturbing trend where we see government agencies increasingly transforming search warrants into digital dragnets. It’s unconstitutional, it’s terrifying and it’s happening every day,” states surveillance watchdog.. – by Jamie White – https://needtoknow.news/2024/03/unconstitutional-fbi-demanded-identities-of-users-who-watched-certain-youtube-videos/ – “The FBI demanded that Google turn over the names, addresses and phone numbers of tens of thousands of users who watched certain YouTube videos. Police also requested that Google provide identification for people who viewed and/ or interacted with targeted Youtube livestream videos. Privacy experts contended that the FBI’s move was unconstitutional because it violated the 1st Amendment’s free speech protections and freedom from unreasonable searches outlined in the 4th Amendment. Police also lacked probable cause… The FBI demanded that Google turn over the identities of tens of thousands of users who watched certain YouTube videos… Federal investigators obtained court-ordered subpoenas for any YouTube viewers who watched tutorials on mapping with drones and augmented reality software… The subpoena included names, addresses, telephone numbers, and browsing history for Google accounts for at least 30,000 people, tracing traffic to the relevant videos for the first week of January 2023… The government also wanted the IP addresses of non-Google account owners who viewed the videos.
“There is reason to believe that these records would be relevant and material to an ongoing criminal investigation, including by providing identification information about the perpetrators,” the authorities claimed, according to Forbes… Google was also told to keep the request secret until it was unsealed earlier this week. It’s unknown if Google complied with the subpoena… But that wasn’t the only case of the FBI trampling on privacy rights… From Forbes: In another example, involving an investigation in New Hampshire, the Portsmouth Police received a threat from an unknown male that an explosive had been placed in a trashcan in a public area. The order says that after the police searched the area, they learned they were being watched over a YouTube live stream camera associated with a local business. Federal investigators believe similar events have happened across the U.S., where bomb threats were made and cops watched via YouTube… They asked Google to provide a list of accounts that “viewed and/or interacted with” eight YouTube live streams and the associated identifying information during specific timeframes. That included a video posted by Boston and Maine Live, which has 130,000 subscribers. Mike McCormack, who set up the company behind the account, IP Time Lapse, said he knew about the order, adding that they related “to swatting incidents directed at the camera views at that time.” – Google issued a statement assuring users that it protects their privacy… “With all law enforcement demands, we have a rigorous process designed to protect the privacy and constitutional rights of our users while supporting the important work of law enforcement,” said Google spokesperson Matt Bryant… “We examine each demand for legal validity, consistent with developing case law, and we routinely push back against overbroad or otherwise inappropriate demands for user data, including objecting to some demands entirely.” – Privacy experts contended that the FBI’s move was unconstitutional because it violated the 1st Amendment’s free speech protections and freedom from unreasonable searches outlined in the 4th Amendment… “This is the latest chapter in a disturbing trend where we see government agencies increasingly transforming search warrants into digital dragnets. It’s unconstitutional, it’s terrifying and it’s happening every day,” said Albert Fox-Cahn, executive director at the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project. “No one should fear a knock at the door from police simply because of what the YouTube algorithm serves up. I’m horrified that the courts are allowing this.” – Electronic Privacy Information Center’s senior counsel John Davisson echoed that sentiment and pointed out the FBI’s request disregarded probable cause… Read full article here…“
