Month: August 2023

Authored by Kevin Stockland via The Epoch Times,

Large money-center banks appear to be in the vanguard of a movement to build a system of personal social credit scores.

This week, British bank Barclays became the latest to be accused of shutting the accounts of its customers for political or religious reasons. This followed revelations in April that Coutts, a private bank owned by British Bank NatWest, was alleged to have closed the accounts and publicized personal information of conservative politician Nigel Farage, one of the foremost Brexit advocates and a supporter of the policies of former U.S. President Donald Trump. 

And British banks are not alone. Many say that America’s largest banks are in lockstep with UK banks in establishing political and social criteria for their customers, and punishing those who don’t comply.

“Sadly, what we’re seeing now with NatWest and Barclays isn’t surprising,” Justin Haskins, director at the Heartland Institute, told The Epoch Times. 

“There is a mountain of evidence that shows many of America’s largest and most powerful banks are discriminating against customers because of their ideological, social, cultural, religious, or political views.”

“Through various environmental, social, and governance (ESG) policies and frameworks, banks regularly choose to screen out customers who are deemed ‘reputational risks’ or considered part of industries disfavored by elites and their powerful institutions,” Mr. Haskins said.

UK Ministers Find Fault With Discriminating Banks

In contrast to the United States, where regulators have taken no action, UK ministers have stepped in to defend their citizens against political discrimination. 

“Andrew Griffith, the economic secretary of the UK, met with some of the major banks recently and got them all to commit to a principle of non-discrimination, based on lawful expression,” Michael Ross, counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), told The Epoch Times.

In addition, laws are currently in works to ban UK banks from discriminating against customers on a political or religious basis.

UK Treasury Minister Baroness Penn stated last week: “I think the point that we can all agree on is that the right to lawful freedom of speech is fundamental. And where that has seemed to be brought into question through the provision of services, we have cause to worry.”

UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly stated that the closure of Mr. Farage’s accounts was “wrong on so many levels.”

“This completely undermines the trust we have in our banking and financial systems,” Mr. Cleverly said. “We are better than this.”

UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman posted to Twitter on July 19: “The Coutts scandal exposes the sinister nature of much of the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion industry. Apparently anyone who wants to control our borders & stop the boats can be branded ‘xenophobic’ & have their bank account closed in the name of ‘inclusivity.’”

The headquarters of the private bank Coutts in London on July 28, 2023. (HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images)

As part of the new UK regulations, banks that close customer accounts will be required to give a reason, and customers will have the right to appeal the bank’s decision. Banks who continue to discriminate may lose their licenses.

Meanwhile, British banks themselves appear to be turning against these policies, or at least of the unfavorable publicity they are now facing as a result. 

On July 26, NatWest Chief Executive Alison Rose resigned after Mr. Farage’s allegations were substantiated and it was revealed that she had discussed Mr. Farage’s details with BBC news. Ms. Rose stated that she was guilty of a “serious error of judgment.” 

On Thursday, Peter Flavel, CEO of Coutts, also resigned, saying he took “ultimate responsibility” for the closure of Mr. Farage’s bank accounts. The UK government data watchdog has promised an investigation, sending a letter to banks to remind them that customers’ personal information should be kept private. 

John Edwards, the UK’s information commissioner said: “The banking duty of confidentiality is over a hundred years old, and it is clear that it would not permit the discussion of a customer’s personal information with the media.

“We trust banks with our money and with our personal information,” Mr. Edwards stated. “Any suggestion that this trust has been betrayed will be concerning for a bank’s customers, and for regulators like myself.”

US Banks Also Discriminate, Experts Say

JPMorgan Chase, America’s largest bank, has also faced allegations of political and religious discrimination. 

“We’re already seeing this happening in the U.S.,” ADF’s Mr. Ross said. 

“Before this, there was obviously Sam Brownback and the National Committee for Religious Freedom,” he said, referring to accounts allegedly closed by JPMorgan Chase. “Chase also canceled Defense of Liberty a couple years ago, retired General Michael Flynn, the Family Council—all of them are designated either high risk or reputational risk.”

In May, longtime JPMorgan Chase shareholder David Bahnsen brought a shareholder action against the bank, claiming that it had closed the accounts of a religious organization established by former senator and U.S. Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback for political reasons.

While the action ultimately failed to gain majority support from shareholders, Mr. Bahnsen stated, “One thing I am certain of is that the next time a bank manager decides to close an account for somebody like Ambassador Brownback, they’re going to think twice about doing it. This was covered far and wide by both the left wing press and the right wing press, and I do not believe it looked good upon JPMorgan.”

In November 2021, WePay, a payment services company owned by JPMorgan Chase, abruptly canceled services they were providing for Defense of Liberty, a conservative organization, for an event featuring Donald Trump Jr. WePay said at the time that they would not serve anyone who promotes “hate, violence, racial intolerance, terrorism, the financial exploitation of a crime.”

This prompted Missouri Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick to threaten to halt state business with the bank.

People pass a sign for JPMorgan Chase & Co. at its headquarters in Manhattan in New York City on Oct. 2, 2012. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

In July 2021, Family Council faced similar denial of service.

“Although Family Council generally tries to avoid doing business with companies like Chase, at 10:29 am on July 7, 2021, our office received a terse email from our credit card processor—a company owned by J.P. Morgan Chase—saying, ‘Unfortunately, we can no longer support your business.’ At 10:30 AM they terminated our account, and we could no longer accept donations,” Family Council stated.

“For nearly two years we had used this company to process donations that our supporters made to Family Council and the Education Alliance via our websites. If you gave by credit or debit card, this company handled the transaction. Without a processor, it’s impossible for a nonprofit to accept donations online.”

On March 23, financial officers from 14 states wrote a letter to JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon expressing their “concern that the bank is engaged in what appears to be politically motivated de-banking of certain industries, individuals and groups.”

“A large number of our pension funds are direct shareholders of Chase, and as stewards of our states’ investment dollars, we are concerned that the company’s recent pattern of apparent politically motivated de-banking constitutes a breach of its fiduciary duty,” they stated. “Under the law, you and the other officers of the company must act to maximize profit and must not subordinate the company’s long-term financial well-being to extraneous personal or political ends.”

And on May 2, 19 State attorneys general wrote a letter to Mr. Dimon stating: “It is clear that JPMorgan Chase & Co. has persistently discriminated against certain customers due to their religious or political affiliation. 

“This discrimination is unacceptable,” the AGs wrote. “Chase must stop such behavior and align its business practices with the anti-discrimination policies that Chase proclaims.” 

Discrimination Could Spread Beyond Politics

Some say they are concerned that bank discrimination could spread beyond political and religious views to a broader social credit system that might also include things like environmental behavior and gun control.

“There is every reason to believe that current discriminatory practices in banking could soon expand to personal CO2 emissions or gun purchases,” Mr. Haskins said.  

“Banks and other financial institutions have already started to discriminate with gun companies, either through higher fees or rates or by refusing to do business entirely, and every large bank in the United States, from Bank of America to Citi and Wells Fargo, have said they have started the process of phasing out CO2 emissions from their entire business model, including lending and banking services,” he said. “This will take a few decades to complete, but if these banks go through with their plans, individuals and companies that rely on fossil fuels—almost everyone today—will be greatly affected.”

“The policies they use to do this are very expansive policies, like ‘reputational risk’ or ‘politically exposed person,’” Mr. Ross said.

“There’s not really a limiting principle there, and so we can certainly see it aimed at any sort of political opponent or anyone who has views that activists or even government actors think are unpopular.”

“We’ve been carefully monitoring Chase, which de-banked General Flynn and de-banked other conservatives, then last fall de-banked Ambassador Brownback’s organization,” Scott Shepard, a director at the National Center for Public Policy Research, told The Epoch Times. 

“And just this last week, they de-banked a couple of doctors who are out talking about the inefficacy of [COVID-19] vaccines, that they won’t stop transmission, that they won’t make takers immune, etc., and the bank still hasn’t explained why,” Mr. Shepard said.

“We’ve seen similar behavior at Bank of America, along with Bank of America sharing private information about the transactions of customers without warrants. And last week, we found out that that happens all the time; [FBI Director] Chris Wray says so.”

FBI Director Christopher Wray testifies during a House Judiciary Committee about oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Capitol Hill in Washington on July 12, 2023. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

At a Congressional hearing on July 12, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) asked Mr. Wray: “George Hill, former FBI supervisory intelligence analyst in the Boston field office, told us that Bank of America, with no legal process, gave to the FBI gun purchase records with no geographical boundaries for anybody that was a Bank of America customer. Is that true?” 

To which Mr. Wray replied: “A number of business community partners all the time, including financial institutions, share information with us about possible criminal activity, and my understanding is that that’s fully lawful.” 

Some have argued that, as private companies, banks are free to do business with whichever customers they choose. However, this position has been challenged on the grounds that financial services are critical to the ability of people and organizations to be able to function in modern society. 

“Banks in particular receive a ton of bailouts and public benefits from the government and from taxpayers here,” Mr. Ross said. “They do this so that they can serve the public.”

“So when they turn around and start weaponizing these financial services to cut off people with views they don’t like, they’re breaking the public trust,” he noted.

“The American banks that seem to be leading these de-banking and discrimination policies are the too-big-to-fail banks,” Mr. Shepard said. “If you’re backstopped by American taxpayers, you get to keep your profits but we cover your losses—you may not discriminate against the viewpoint of any American.”

The Epoch Times requested comments from JPMorgan Chase, NatWest, and Barclays for this article but did not receive a response by time of publication. 

Moscow has offered to negotiate a nuclear drawdown on the European continent with the United States, with a Kremlin official identifying the conditions for Russia withdrawing its tactical nuclear weapons from Belarus.

But based on the main condition, it is without doubt going to be a non-starter, and yet highlights Russia’s very real – and what many may see as very legitimate – concerns. The senior foreign ministry official, Aleksey Polishchuk, told RIA Novosti in a fresh interview that the United States must dismantle its nuclear infrastructure and remove all its nuclear warheads from Europe. 

Polishchuk explained that President Putin ordered nuclear weapons to Belarus “in response to years-long destabilizing nuclear policies by NATO and Washington, as well as the fundamental changes that have recently taken place in key areas of European security.”

According to his words, he said “Russia could consider withdrawing its tactical nuclear weapons from Belarus if the US and NATO end their hostile policies toward Moscow and Minsk.” Polishchuk serves as director of the foreign ministry’s department of CIS (ex-Soviet) countries – Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine.

“This implies the complete withdrawal of all U.S. nuclear weapons to US territory and the elimination of the corresponding infrastructure in Europe,” Polischuk stressed.

“This forced containment measure is designed to ensure the security of the Union State [of Belarus and Russia], which, as you know, has a common defense space,” he said. 

Putin had by mid-June confirmed that the first Russian nuclear warheads had already positioned in Belarus, and this was later validated by his counterpart, President Viktor Lukashenko. Western mainstream media headlines and pundits had hyperventilated over the nuclear transfer.

Later, after the Wagner mutiny saw a number of units of the mercenary group set up at Belarusian bases, concern rose among NATO countries especially in eastern Europe over whether Wagner would play a role in securing and overseeing the Russian tactical nuclear weapons.

You will find more infographics at Statista

The Kremlin has long highlighted Washington’s nuclear hypocrisy as part of providing Europe with the so-called NATO nuclear umbrella. This even has including positioning tactical nuclear weapons in Turkey, which lies just across the Black Sea from Russia.

Authored by John Cody via Remix News,

Germans are facing an increasing range of economic problems, including recession, inflation, falling real wages, and even the beginnings of deindustrialization, but Green Party MP Green Party Johannes Wagner is claiming that Germans have a “moral duty” to give up their wealth.

German Green Party MP Johannes Wagner says Germans should give up their wealth.

Wagner took to Twitter to express his outrage that Germans do not want to give away their wealth.

“It’s such a shame that so many people don’t see (or don’t want to?) what incredible prosperity we have in Germany. We are one of the richest countries on Earth. We can still give so much. And also have a moral obligation to do so,” he wrote.

Es ist so schade, dass so viele Menschen nicht sehen (wollen?), was für einen unglaublichen Wohlstand wir in Deutschland haben.

Wir sind eines der reichsten Länder dieser Erde.

Wir können noch so viel geben.
Und haben auch eine moralische Verpflichtung dazu.

— Johannes Wagner, MdB (@yooHannes) July 27, 2023

The MP earns more than €10,000 a month in income per month, as well as additional benefits such as paid travel and other expenses, placing him among the highest earners in Germany. He will also receive a generous pension due to his high salary as a state employee.

In another tweet, Wagner called for “more redistribution of the wealth of the super-rich.”

However, he did not mention how this money would be redistributed.

Wagner was hit by a range of negative comments on social media. Besides increasing poverty and economic headwinds facing Germany, users pointed out that the median net wealth of young Germans is far below that of other EU countries, while the federal government has soaring debt totaling 2.5 trillion.

As Remix News reported last year, the proportion of poor people in Germany reached a new high, according to the Federal Statistical Office, with the data highlighting a sea change in the German economy. The report also only covered data up until the end of 2021 before the dramatic increase in food and energy prices in 2022.

“The findings are shocking, the economic effects of the pandemic are having a full impact,” said Ulrich Schneider, the director of the German Welfare Parity Association, at the time. His association plays a large role in helping deliver and coordinate social welfare services in the country, with 10,000 organization members and association branches in all 15 German states.

“Never before has a higher value been measured based on the official micro census, and never before has poverty spread so rapidly as during the pandemic,” said Schneider, who added that there are “more poor people than we’ve ever had.”

As Remix News also reported this year, at the same time that Germany vows to continue spending heavily on its liberal migration policy — more than €36 billion in 2023 alone — an increasing number of the country’s senior citizens are reported to be at a growing risk of poverty.

Federal government data published under a request from Alternative for Germany (AfD) lawmakers revealed that 28.1 percent of the German elderly are at risk of poverty, a figure that is higher than the EU average of 27.4 percent and far greater than its Western European neighbors of France (19.1 percent), Belgium (17.4 percent), and Luxembourg (9.3 percent).

Authored by Caitlin Johnstone,

The Biden administration looks set to become even more warlike than it already was if you can imagine, with virulent Russia hawk Victoria Nuland and virulent China hawk Charles Q Brown now being elevated to lofty positions by the White House.

Nuland, the wife of alpha neocon Robert Kagan, has been named acting deputy secretary of state by President Biden, at least until a new deputy secretary has been named. This places her at second in command within the State Department, second only to Tony Blinken.

In an article about Nuland’s unique role in souring relations between the US and Russia during her previous tenure in the State Department under Obama, Responsible Statecraft’s Connor Echols writes the following of the latest news:

Nuland’s appointment will be a boon for Russia hawks who want to turn up the heat on the Kremlin. But, for those who favor a negotiated end to the conflict in Ukraine, a promotion for the notoriously “undiplomatic diplomat” will be a bitter pill.

A few quick reminders are in order. When Nuland was serving in the Obama administration, she had a now-infamous leaked call with the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. As the Maidan Uprising roiled the country, the pair of American diplomats discussed conversations with opposition leaders, and Nuland expressed support for putting Arseniy Yatseniuk into power. (Yatseniuk would become prime minister later that month, after Russia-friendly former President Viktor Yanukovych fled the country.) At one memorable point in the call, Nuland said “Fu–k the EU” in response to Europe’s softer stance on the protests.

The controversy surrounding the call — and larger implications of U.S. involvement in the ouster of Yanukovych — kicked up tensions with Russia and contributed to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to seize Crimea and support an insurgency in eastern Ukraine. Her handing out  food to demonstrators on the ground in Kyiv probably didn’t help either. Nuland, along with State Department sanctions czar Daniel Fried, then led the effort to punish Putin through sanctions. Another official at State reportedly asked Fried if “the Russians realize that the two hardest-line people in the entire U.S. government are now in a position to go after them?”

In a 2015 Consortium News article titled “The Mess That Nuland Made,” the late Robert Parry singled out Nuland as the primary architect of the 2014 regime change operation in Ukraine, which, as Aaron Maté explained last year, paved the way to the war we’re seeing there today. Hopefully her position winds up being temporary.

In other news, the Senate Arms Services Committee has voted to confirm Biden’s selection of General Charles Q Brown Jr as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, replacing Mark Milley. A full senate vote will now take place on whether to confirm Brown — currently the Air Force Chief of Staff — for the nation’s highest military office.

Brown is unambiguous about his belief that the US must hasten to militarize against China in the so-called Indo-Pacific to prepare for confrontation between the two powers, calling for more US bases in the region and increased efforts to arm Taiwan during his hearing before the Senate Arms Services Committee earlier this month.

Biden’s Joint Chiefs Pick Wants More Bases in Asia to Prepare for War With China
Gen. Charles Q. Brown has been nominated to replace Gen. Mark Milley
by Dave DeCamp@DecampDave https://t.co/q0WAJj0lJC pic.twitter.com/z6cxX1Og6f

— Antiwar.com (@Antiwarcom) July 12, 2023

Back in May, Moon of Alabama flagged Brown’s nomination in an article which also noted that several advocates of military restraint had been resigning from their positions within the administration, including Wendy Sherman, the deputy secretary of state who Nuland has taken over for.

It’s too soon to draw any firm conclusions, but to see voices of restraint stepping down and proponents of escalation stepping up could be a bad portent of things to come

* * *

My work is entirely reader-supported, so if you enjoyed this piece please consider sharing it around, throwing some money into my tip jar on Patreon, Paypal, or Substack, buying an issue of my monthly zine, and following me on Facebook, Twitter, Soundcloud or YouTube. If you want to read more you can buy my books. The best way to make sure you see the stuff I publish is to subscribe to the mailing list on Substack, which will get you an email notification for everything I publish. For more info on who I am, where I stand, and what I’m trying to do with this platform, click here. All works co-authored with my husband Tim Foley. 

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The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party, also known as the “Black Party” in South Africa, is a far left Marxist movement with a membership in the millions.

The party has consistently called for the eradication of all white South Africans, though this fact often goes completely ignored by the western media.

At a rally this week packed with members wearing communist red, EFF leader Julius Malema hyped up the mob with a racially charged chant of ‘Kill the Boers! Kill the farmers!’

The word Boer is used in South Africa to describe white farmers of Dutch heritage, or white people in general. 

Shocking video shows South Africa’s black party singing “kill the Boer (Whites), kill the White farmer”

This is all downstream from the rotten secular religion of wokeness and CRT plaguing America today.

You have been warned.

WATCH.

pic.twitter.com/P4T8XqSjMq

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) July 31, 2023

As a reminder, in 2022, The Equality Division of the Supreme Court in South Africa has ruled that the song “Kill the Boers” was not a case of “hate speech.” 

The hateful song, which celebrates the killing of Dutch settlers in South Africa, is protected by freedom of expression and must be left to the political debate within society, according to the court.

EFF members are suspected in the past of engaging in attacks on white owned farms and murdering farmers; horrifying crimes which the media has consistently denied are a problem in the region.  In some cases perpetrators are acquitted by courts despite ample evidence of their guilt. 

In 2018, as the violent attacks and death threats against white farmers in South Africa ramped up, a delegation of 30 South African farming families arrived in Russia’s Stavropol region seeking refuge.

“It’s a matter of life and death – there are attacks on us. It’s got to the point where the politicians are stirring up a wave of violence,” Adi Slebus told the media at the time.

“The climate here [in the Stavropol region] is temperate, and this land is created by God for farming. All this is very attractive.”

It appears the rhetoric (and actions) are once again boiling over.

South African political leaders claim the attacks are not racially motivated. 

“anti-racist” means “anti-white” #WhiteGenocide pic.twitter.com/Kg5nH2glGX

— Robert Sepehr (@robertsepehr) July 31, 2023

As many in the US have noted, the rise of Marxist movements in South Africa may be a glimpse into America’s future if something is not done soon to stop the proliferation of woke ideology. 

Calls for racial violence against white people have become commonplace, and though any similar public declarations within the US by white supremacist groups are admonished as reprehensible, if minority activists do it, it’s simply called “political speech.”

Not surprisingly, coverage of the EFF rally by the western media has been thoroughly washed, with the majority of news outlets not mentioning the underlying atmosphere of racial hatred. 

It’s no different from their treatment of the BLM riots, which were described as “mostly peaceful” and “fiery but peaceful” protests as neighborhoods in multiple American cities burned. 

Luckily, there is a growing contingent of moderate and conservative minorities refusing to submit to the far-left plantation. 

One can only hope that this will be enough to diffuse racial tensions in the US in the coming years. 

Unfortunately, South Africa may be too far gone into the clutches of Marxist fanaticism to turn back. 

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Some energy industry groups are expressing concern that the White House will declare a COVID-19-like emergency—but for the climate instead.

“They’re leaning to that direction,” U.S. Oil and Gas Association President Tim Stewart told Just the News in an article published on July 30. “If you grant the president’s emergency powers to declare a climate emergency, it’s just like COVID.”

An emergency declaration on the climate could give the president “vast and unchecked authority to shut down everything from communications to infrastructure,” said Mr. Stewart, who has been a critic of the Biden administration.

Infrastructure around water and electricity could be affected by such a decision, he said.

“They can literally do exactly what they did in COVID,” Mr. Stewart said. “If you disagree with the climate emergency, [speech] can be shut down. We really need to be paying attention to that because that power could be extended indefinitely until the ‘climate emergency’ is over. Who knows how long that would last.”

The White House press office didn’t respond by press time to a request by The Epoch Times for comment about whether the administration might be preparing such a declaration.

President Joe Biden and other administration officials have said that the United States and the world are in the midst of a “climate crisis” and have used language describing it as an emergency. So far, Mr. Biden has stopped short of declaring an emergency, although some Democrats and environmental groups have pushed the idea.

About 60 congressional Democrats recently backed legislation known as the “Climate Emergency Act of 2021,” sponsored by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), that would require the Biden administration to make a climate-related emergency declaration.

Last week, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres released an alarmist message saying that “the era of global warming has ended” and “the era of global boiling has arrived.” Using adjectives that included “terrifying,” Mr. Guterres said U.N. member states “must turn a year of burning heat into a year of burning ambition.”

A number of legacy media outlets, including the Los Angeles Times, have floated proposals such as purposefully implementing an “occasional blackout” to “help solve climate change.” A Guardian article published last week calls on the Biden administration to “declare a climate emergency” and states that it “must do so now.”

Mr. Stewart recently said the LA Times article and similar reports are part of a “propaganda war” that’s designed to “condition the public to think people it is their duty to the State to be miserable, cold, and hungry.”

“It wasn’t too long ago that even posing a question like this would be considered preposterous even from Democrats,” he said. “After all—one of the defining problems of Third World countries is the lack of reliable energy infrastructure and supply.”

Amid relatively high temperatures across the East Coast last week, the White House sent out what it described as the “first-ever” heat wave hazard alert for people working outside.

“President Biden has asked the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue the first-ever Hazard Alert for heat, and DOL will also ramp up enforcement to protect workers from extreme heat,” a White House fact sheet released on July 27 states. “For years, heat has been the number one cause of weather-related deaths in America.”

At the time, Mr. Biden’s announcement came as about 40 percent of the U.S. population was under heat advisories, according to the National Weather Service. As of July 30, the hot weather was mostly relegated to the southeastern United States, the agency stated.

The largest power grid operator in the country also issued an emergency alert, which ended on July 28, because of high demand.

“PJM has issued these alerts to help prepare generators for the onset of intense heat,” the grid operator said. “A Hot Weather Alert helps to prepare transmission and generation personnel and facilities for extreme heat and/or humidity that may cause capacity problems on the grid.

“Temperatures are expected to be near or above 90 degrees in these regions, which drives up the demand for electricity.”

Notably, data from the Environmental Protection Agency show that some of the hottest heat waves in the United States occurred in the 1930s and particularly in 1936. At the same time during that same decade, the Dust Bowl occurred, greatly damaging farmland across the central United States while sparking a mass exodus of farmers to Southern California that inspired author John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath.”

Earlier this year, PJM released a report that suggested that state and federal policies to de-carbonize the grid are “[presenting] increasing reliability risks during the transition, due to a potential timing mismatch between resource retirements, load growth and the pace of new generation entry.”

De-carbonization of the grid refers to the reduction of fossil fuel usage and greater reliance on solar, wind, and hydroelectric power sources.

Authored by Allan Stein via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Pastor Artur Pawlowski’s troubles with the Canadian authorities began long before his sermon to commercial truckers encouraging their peaceful defiance against what he thought were “oppressive” public health mandates for COVID-19.

In 2005, he began serving and ministering to downtown Calgary—Alberta’s poor and downtrodden. “In other words, feeding the homeless and praying for them, which is now illegal,” he described to The Epoch Times in a telephone interview while under house arrest in Calgary following his court conviction in May for inciting mischief and violating his release conditions.

The police eventually showed up at Mr. Pawlowski’s church, telling him he couldn’t feed the homeless by law. Neither was he allowed to assemble or preach in public.

Such actions are also illegal and punishable with tickets, fines, and even jail time.

“They even have laws on the books that distributing printed materials—Bibles and Gospel tracts—is illegal. So I got tickets for that,” Mr. Pawlowski said.

He added that tensions with the authorities had reached the point where police showed up at his church weekly.

During the pandemic, he received 40 tickets for COVID-19 violations, including one for a Christmas celebration he said drew a response from over 100 police officers, 52 police vehicles, as well as anti-terrorism units.

Over 300 Citations

Between 2005 and 2015, Mr. Pawlowski said he received over 300 citations for refusing to stop preaching, feeding the homeless, and doing what he thought was helpful to those in need.

He was arrested and charged in 2006 for reading the Bible in public, and considers being the first Canadian to receive a COVID-19 ticket for feeding the homeless a badge of honor in what he’d say was righteous defiance.

“I asked them a simple question: ‘What do you think will happen to the homeless if we kick them out of shelters and shut down soup kitchens?’” he said of his efforts.

Mr. Pawlowski, pastor of the Cave of Adullam ministry and founder of Street Church Ministries in Calgary, said he has also been granted some victories in the eyes of the law. He won significant court battles through Alberta’s provincial courts of appeal.

On Aug. 9, Mr. Pawlowski, a native of Poland and an acolyte of the “Solidarity Movement,” could receive up to 10 years in prison for the charge of “inciting mischief” during Canada’s nationwide trucker protests last year.

The protests rose in response to the public health rules of Canada’s Trudeau administration, sparking a massive “Freedom Convoy” from like-minded residents that threatened to bring the nation’s economy to a halt unless COVID-19 restrictions that were also impacting the economy and mental health were lifted.

Response to Government Overreach

As a Christian minister, Mr. Pawlowski said he believed he was waging a spiritual battle against “government overreach” during the pandemic, even if it means he has to pay fines, get arrested, or go to jail.

On Feb. 7, 2022, at the border crossing blockade in Coutts, Alberta, Mr. Pawlowski told a crowd of commercial truckers, “It’s about time for Canadians to rise up and start roaring.”

“For the first time in two years, you’ve got the power. They’ve got the guns, yes—it’s all useless when you all rise up. There is no tyrant big enough that can stop [the] masses.”

Canadian authorities arrested and charged him with inciting mischief and interfering with essential infrastructure under Alberta’s Critical Infrastructure Defense Act of 2020.

The Critical Infrastructure Defense Act “protects essential infrastructure from damage or interference caused by blockades or similar activities, which can cause significant public safety, social, economic and environmental consequences.”

Mr. Pawlowski said Canadian authorities also accused him of promoting “genocide” for referencing the Solidarity Movement contributing to the fall of communism in Poland.

“Of course, if you listened to my service, you will know that I said no guns, no swords, just stand for God and human rights during my sermon three times,” he said of the accusation.

Mr. Pawlowski said he spent 50 days in prison, mostly in solitary confinement surrounded by concrete cells, before he was placed in maximum security and a psychiatric ward without evaluation.

The court found him guilty of inciting mischief in May. Judge Gordon Krinke placed him under 12-hour daily house arrest until his sentencing date.

“So, encouraging Canadians to stand for God and state human rights is a criminal act, a terrorism act,” said Mr. Pawlowski, who needs special permission to leave his house between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. “Therefore I am guilty, and all of them are guilty, according to this judge.”

Months later, he is “still under house arrest in Calgary,” he said.

Belief on Trial

“I am the first Canadian where my sermon and speech were on trial. Everything was about what I said. The lawyers argued what I meant. It was a charade, a show trial—a joke,” Mr. Pawlowski said.

“I was not allowed to say a word as they debated what I said and what I meant. They couldn’t agree on the wording.”

Mr. Pawlowski said he is also the first Canadian citizen charged with eco-terrorism in the history of Canada.

“And now, the judge ruled I am the first Canadian ever to be found guilty of inciting mischief and eco-terrorism,” Mr. Pawlowski said. “The Canadian courts are upside down. I am a political prisoner. It has nothing to do with law and order,” he expressed.

An Alberta Crown Prosecution Service spokesman told The Epoch Times in an email that the agency has “no comment on this matter.”

Sarah Miller of JSS Barristers is currently representing Mr. Pawlowski in the case. She said she “currently cannot speak to media regarding this case while the sentencing is outstanding.”

However, Ms. Miller said she does not expect sentencing to occur on Aug. 9. Rather, the proceedings will “set the date for sentencing.”

“I hope to be able to speak publicly about this case in the future,” Ms. Miller added.

Son Expresses Cry for Help

The pastor’s son, Nathan Pawlowski, recently testified in the European Parliament about the “consequences of abuse of power under the guise of help” during the pandemic by the Canadian government.

“I am here today in desperation—a cry for help,” Nathan Pawlowski said by videolink from Canada. “I would like to tell you all the things about freedom and democracy that I like, but I no longer know those things.

“They have been taken away from us Canadians. Canada has fallen. We no longer have freedom of religion, freedom of speech, or the right to assemble, associate, or express ourselves, or have free media or disagree with the government.”

Nathan Pawlowski said his father could be imprisoned for up to a decade for his trucker sermon and referenced the Solidarity Movement.

“This case sets a precedent with all Canadians—and the world—if you allow this to happen,” he said.

He explained that his father was charged with preaching and reading the Bible publicly because the government had ruled that the Bible is “hateful and isn’t inclusive.”

“My father told the truckers to stand for their rights, Solidarity-style, and to do so peacefully.”

“If he goes down, we are all lost as Canadians. If a pastor goes to prison, what can they do to the rest of us?” the younger Pawlowski said.

‘Seen This Movie Before’

In a video recording played by his son, Mr. Pawlowski also addressed the European Parliament—as a political dissident “born behind the Iron Curtain of Poland, crushed by the iron fist of oppression” in Canada.

“Freedom is more than a word—it’s a measure of our humanity, courage, and determination. It’s a cost borne by soldiers, journalists, and volunteers,” he said.

Mr. Pawlowski told The Epoch Times he had received offers of money and government positions in exchange for his silence, but he’s “not for sale.”

“I have seen this movie before” under communism in Poland, he said. “It does not end well.”

The Biden administration on Friday announced a proposal to require raising fuel economy standards to 58 miles per gallon.

The proposal, from the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), would aim for a respective 2% annual increase for passenger cars, and a 4% increase in light trucks’ Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for 2027 – 2032 models, and would require 2030 – 2035 “heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans” to boost fuel economy by 10% per year.

“If finalized as proposed, the updated standards would save Americans hundreds of dollars at the pump,” reads a NHTSA press release. “all while making America more energy secure and less reliant on foreign oil.”

CAFE requirements are not as stringent as an Environmental Protection Agency proposal in April to cut vehicle tailpipe emissions. NHTSA is barred by law from considering electric vehicles fuel economy in setting standards.

The EPA said its proposed 2027-2032 standards would cut emissions by 56%, or 13% annual average pollution cuts and result in 67% of new vehicles in 2032 being electric.

NHTSA estimates its proposal would cut gasoline consumption by 88 billion gallons through 2050. –Reuters

The NHTSA also estimates $18 billion of “combined benefits” would be realized as a result.

The rule, according to the agency, “will encourage manufacturers producing (internal combustion engine) vehicles during the standard-setting timeframe to achieve significant fuel economy, improve energy security, and reduce harmful pollution by a large amount.”

The NHTSA is seeking comment on five alternatives, ranging from not hiking requirements to raising them annually by 6% for cars and 8% for light trucks.

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation which represents GM, Toyota, Volkswagen and others has asked the EPA to soften its emissions proposal, calling it “neither reasonable nor achievable.”

Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday rejected Australian concerns about WikiLeaks founder and Australian citizen Julian Assange, who faces up to 175 years in prison if extradited to the US and convicted for exposing US war crimes.

Blinken was in Australia with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to discuss bolstering military ties between the US and Australia. At a press conference during the visit, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Canberra has made clear to Washington that it wants the US to drop its case against Assange.

“We have made clear our view that Mr. Assange’s case has dragged on for too long and our desire that it be brought to a conclusion. And we’ve said that publicly, and you would anticipate that that reflects also the position we articulate in private,” Wong said.

Blinken confirmed that the issue has been discussed but rejected Australia’s concerns. He said Australia must recognize the US’s position on Assange, claiming the Wikileaks founder’s alleged actions risked “very serious harm to our national security.”

“Mr. Assange was charged with very serious criminal conduct in the United States in connection with his alleged role in one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of our country,” Blinken said. “So I say that only because just as we understand sensitivities here, it’s important that our friends understand sensitivities in the United States.”

Assange has been indicted under the Espionage Act by the US Justice Department related to documents WikiLeaks published that it obtained from former Army Private Chelsea Manning. But Assange obtained the material using standard journalistic practices, and if he is convicted in the US, it would set a grave precedent for press freedom.

Assange has been held in London’s Belmarsh Prison since April 2019 and recently filed another appeal against the UK’s decision to extradite him to the United States. “Mr. Assange has filed a renewal of appeal application in the UK,” Wong said. “The Australian Government is not party to these legal proceedings, and nor can we intervene with them. Having said that, we will continue to offer him consular assistance and to convey our expectations about his treatment.”

While Wong says the Australian government wants the case against Assange to be brought to an end, it has not impacted ties between the US-Australia. After signing the AUKUS military pact that will eventually allow Canberra to acquire nuclear-powered submarines, the US and Australia continue to increase military cooperation.

After two days of talks in Australia, the two sides announced the US would expand its military presence in the country by sending more submarines, adding regular rotations of US Army watercraft, and collaborating on joint missile production. The US expansion in Australia is part of its military buildup to prepare for a future war with China.

While former Hunter Biden business partner Devon Archer spills the beans about Burisma, Joe, and the Biden family dealings, the Daily Mail revealed on Monday that Hunter Biden’s real estate firm received a $40 million investment from a Russian oligarch, Yelena Baturina, the billionaire widow of the former mayor of Moscow.

Baturina also wired $3.5 million to a Hunter-linked company, in what her brother, Viktor Baturin, tells the Daily Mail was “a payment to enter the American market.”

And which, as Devon Archer testified on Monday, kept her off the sanctions list.

DailyMail.com can now reveal that Hunter’s financial relationship with Baturina was far more extensive, with her firm investing $40million in a real estate venture by Hunter’s company Rosemont Realty.

In 2012 Hunter’s firm had a $69.7million plan to invest in 2.15million sq ft of office space in seven US cities.

Documents outlining the plan said the money came from a mix of investors, including $40million from Inteco Management AG, a Swiss company owned by Baturina.

The Inteco group is a plastics and construction behemoth that made Baturina the richest woman in Russia at the time. She has a current net worth of $1.4billion according to Forbes. -Daily Mail

Baturina wired the $3.5 million on February 14, 2014, when Joe Biden was Vice President of the United States. The wires were made in a series of payments to Rosemont Seneca Thornton LLC, for “Consultancy Agreement DD12.02.2014.”

The deal had been negotiated in 2012. In 2016, Baturina established a US office to oversee her US investments, and in 2016 she invested $10 million in commercial buildings near the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

The payments were flagged in suspicious activity reports filed with the US Treasury Department.

Hunter’s lawyer, George Mesires (not the bong guy) has previously denied that the money went to Hunter.

“Hunter Biden had no interest in and was not a co-founder of Rosemont Seneca Thornton, so the claim that he was paid $3.5 million is false,” he told CNN in September 2020.

The emails came to the Daily Mail via the anti-corruption group, the Kazakhstani Initiative on Asset Recovery.

Now, we find from Devon Archer that Joe Biden met with Baturina in Georgetown before the $40 million investment, after which she was left off the Biden administration’s sanctions list.

LAST YEAR: Karine Jean-Pierre refused to say why Biden didn’t sanction Russian billionaire Elena Baturina — nor if Biden met with her in Georgetown while he was VP.

Today, Hunter’s former business partner testified that meeting did, in fact, happen.pic.twitter.com/trzfN9ilMK

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 31, 2023

More:

8) The Biden Administration’s public sanctions list for Russian oligarchs does not contain Baturina.

— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) July 31, 2023

And your daily reminder that Trump was impeached for simply asking about shady Biden family dealings.