As the World Cup gets fully underway, we can review the massive international campaign to make sure it never happened. The campaign was – obviously – not a success, but it involved at least seven countries and a host of lobby groups, PR firms, think tanks, and front groups. The first part of this investigation looks at the role of “Israel” which started the ball rolling back in 2014.
The origins of the anti-Qatar lobby on the World Cup
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UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg in October helped give a renewed push to the negotiations between the U.S. and Russia that eventually led to the release of basketball star Brittney Griner, a source with direct knowledge of the issue told Axios.
How the UAE helped the U.S. with Brittney Griner’s release
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on Tuesday night withdrew his request to vote on the Yemen War Powers Resolution that would end US support for the Saudi-led war and blockade on Yemen, citing White House opposition to the bill.
Sanders Withdraws Yemen War Powers Resolution Vote Over Biden Opposition
YouTube: Scheer Intelligence: War is a Cancel Culture
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The U.S. Is Drowning in Pretend Patriotism
Washington’s “Farewell Address” to the new nation was a warning about the threat of American imperial ambitions and a declaration of his high expectations for a republic of free men: “In offering to you, my countrymen, these counsels of an old and affectionate friend, I dare not hope they will make the strong and lasting impression I could wish; that they will control the usual current of the passions, or prevent our nation from running the course which has hitherto marked the destiny of nations. But, if I may even flatter myself, that they may be productive of some partial benefit, some occasional good; that they may now and then recur to moderate the fury of party spirit, to warn against the mischiefs of foreign intrigue, to guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism. …”
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But recognize that you have shamed the legacy of our first president. George Washington, who distinguished the promise of the new world from the corruptions of the old by shunning imperial conquest, said: “Our commercial policy should hold an equal and impartial hand; neither seeking nor granting exclusive favors or preferences; consulting the natural course of things; diffusing and diversifying by gentle means the streams of commerce, but forcing nothing.”
A Washington DC-area Anomaly 6 firm is marketing illegal spy tech that can scrape an individual’s most sensitive personal data by tracking their smartphone. The British Ministry of Defence and GCHQ are potential buyers.
Leaked files: private spying firm targets global population with illegal spyware
by Gilbert Doctorow
One of the first questions put to me by a reader via the Comments function with respect to Monday’s report of my initial impressions after arriving in St Petersburg was: and what is the general mood of people? I begged off answering, saying that I would have to speak to a lot more people before I could confidently answer that question.
Feet on the Ground in St. Petersburg: The Public Mood
Sanctions don’t seem to be effecting the wealthy or the middle class, in Russia, much.
Three weeks ago, President Joe Biden threatened Saudi Arabia with “consequences” after the kingdom that is the de facto leader of OPEC supported a decision to reduce oil production by about 1 million barrels.
Washington’s Oil Supply Spat With Saudi Arabia Could Backfire
A report from The Washington Post has raised doubts about a root certificate authority used by Google Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and other tech companies with ties to US intelligence. The company in question, called TrustCor, works as a root certificate authority to validate the trustworthiness of websites — and while the report found no concrete evidence of wrongdoing, it raised significant questions about the company’s trustworthiness.
A tiny company with a UPS Store address could help the government get around browser security
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[04-27-2021] Shadowy DARPA-Linked Company Took Over ‘Chunk’ Of Pentagon’s Internet
A MintPress study has found that hundreds of former agents of the notorious Israeli spying organization, Unit 8200, have attained positions of influence in many of the world’s biggest tech companies, including Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Amazon.
Revealed: The Former Israeli Spies Working In Top Jobs At Google, Facebook And Microsoft
H/T: Alan MacLeod on the Former Israeli Spies in Top Social Media Jobs
Pakistan says evidence suggests the shooting of a prominent Pakistani journalist who was living in Kenya may have been an assassination as media watchdog Reporters Without Borders called for an independent United Nations probe into the incident.
Pakistan Suggests Killing Of Journalist In Kenya Was Targeted
H/T: Imran Khan
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This famous journalist’s suspicious death in Kenya by a sniper shot to the head, which came shortly after he announced the upcoming release of an anti-corruption documentary exposing his country’s US-backed post-modern coup regime, might prove to be a tipping point in Pakistan’s political crisis.
Was Arshad Sharif Assassinated By Pakistan’s US-Backed Post-Modern Coup Regime?
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 
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