peppertree
peppertree's JournalMinneapolis riots: This is what a False Flag looks like
In this 3-minute video taken in Minneapolis during today's protests and disturbances stemming from the murder of George Floyd by now-fired police officer Derek Chauvin, a white man in his 20s is seen systematically smashing store windows.
He did so while in heavy disguise designed to mislead bystanders (and the media) into concluding that he's a black protester.
The man has not been as yet identified, much less arrested.
At: https://goldenageofgaia.com/2020/05/29/this-is-what-a-false-flag-looks-like/
A big Thank You to TheRickles for first finding and posting these news.
Trump campaign installs Bill Stepien (of Bridgegate fame) as Parscale's No. 2
Donald Trump’s reelection campaign is elevating a longtime top political adviser to the president to the role of deputy campaign manager.
Bill Stepien, who formerly served as White House political director and had been advising the reelection effort, will serve under Brad Parscale, who has been campaign manager since 2018.
But the promotion was seen by some in the White House as a check on Parscale.
Trump has long relied on Stepien, a former top adviser to then-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, for political counsel.
Though Stepien was never convicted in relation to Bridgegate, a number of e-mails that surfaced in 2014 revealed the close Christie aide allegedly knew about the 2013 lane closure incident - widely seen as an act of political retribution against the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee, New Jersey.
At: https://www.politico.com/news/2020/05/26/trump-campaign-bill-stepien-281955
Former Christie aide Bill Stepien (left), with President Donald Trump and Senate candidate Matt Rosendale in Montana in 2018.
Stepien, implicated in the 2013 Bridgegate scandal that effectively ended Christie's presidential ambitions, has now been promoted to deputy campaign manager.
Rosenstein to testify in Senate on Trump-Russia probe
Source: Reuters
A key figure behind the U.S. investigation into links between Russia and President Donald Trump’s 2016 election campaign will testify next week before a Republican-led Senate committee examining the origins of the probe, the panel said on Wednesday.
Former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed former U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller in 2017, will testify on June 3 as part of a Senate Judiciary Committee examination of an FBI probe of Trump campaign officials code-named “Crossfire Hurricane,” which led to the Mueller investigation.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham said Rosenstein would offer “new revelations” about federal surveillance practices.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia-rosenstein-idUSKBN23330H
Former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein
Northam to require Virginians to wear masks starting Friday
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced that, starting Friday, Virginians will be required to start wearing face coverings inside public places to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
The Democratic governor also said that Northern Virginia, Accomack County and the city of Richmond will enter phase one of reopening by Friday.
“I am taking this step because science increasingly shows us that the virus spreads less easily when everyone is wearing face coverings,” Mr. Northam said Tuesday at a press conference.
Over 40,000 Covid-18 cases have been reported in Virginia thus far, including 1,281 deaths.
At: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/may/26/ralph-northam-require-virginians-wear-masks-starti/
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam inspecting a crowded beach in Virginia Beach on Saturday.
The visit helped persuade the governor to enact strict face mask rules throughout the commonwealth.
Complaint filed against Argentina's Macri for wide-reaching illegal surveillance
A complaint filed in an Argentine federal court on Tuesday against former President Mauricio Macri, his head of intelligence and former business partner, Gustavo Arribas, and Arribas' deputy, Silvia Majdalani, after files were discovered in the Federal Intelligence Agency (AFI) pointing to extensive warrantless surveillance during Macri's tenure.
In what current AFI Director Cristina Caamaño called a "systemic process of illegal intelligence," the surveillance operation involved warrantless hacking of e-mail accounts of at least 87 individuals - many of them prominent figures in Argentine politics, journalism, labor, law enforcement, and the legal profession.
At least four police departments and one governor were also under surveillance in the program, which files show to have begun no later than June 2, 2016 - six months after Macri took office.
Your friends closer
The complaint, submitted to Federal Judge Marcelo Martínez de Giorgi and prosecutor Jorge di Lello, has rocked Argentine politics not only for the scope of the operation - but for the fact that it included numerous staunch supporters of the former president.
Macri, 61, who was defeated for re-election last October amid the worst recession in two decades, has been the focus of numerous scandals involving alleged warrantless wiretapping of both public figures and relatives - including his own sister, the late Sandra Macri.
Elizabeth Gómez Alcorta, currently Minister of Gender and Diversity, today announced her intention to become the first formal plaintiff in this case. Gómez Alcorta, 47, represented jailed indigenous activist Milagro Sala - a staunch opponent of Macri.
"In my law firm I suffered a rather peculiar robbery, on January 10, 2018," she noted. "They took nothing but my computer."
At: https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&tab=wT&sl=auto&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pagina12.com.ar%2F268313-el-espionaje-ilegal-durante-el-macrismo-la-lista-completa-de
Former Argentine President Mauricio Macri; his head of intelligence and former business partner, Gustavo Arribas; and Arribas' deputy (and operational head of intelligence), Silvia Majdalani.
All three are now the focus of a complaint stemming from Federal Intelligence (AFI) files showing extensive (and warrantless) surveillance against both opponents and supporters alike during Macri's 2015-19 tenure.
Macri has been the focus of numerous prior espionage scandals (see https://www.democraticunderground.com/110869037).
Jimmy Cobb, jazz drummer on Miles Davis' 'Kind of Blue,' dies at 91
Jimmy Cobb, legendary jazz drummer and member of Miles Davis' First Great Sextet, died Sunday at his Manhattan home of lung cancer, NPR reports. He was 91.
Cobb, who was with Davis' group for almost three decades, was best known for his work on Davis' landmark, "Kind of Blue," which many critics have called the best jazz album of all time.
He played on many other of Davis' albums - but Davis wasn't the only jazz icon Cobb worked with. Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington, John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, Pearl Baily and Nancy Wilson are among the dozens of others.
At: https://www.thewrap.com/jimmy-cobb-jazz-drummer-on-miles-davis-kind-of-blue-dies-at-91/
Jazz drummer Jimmy Cobb, 1929-2020.
Cobb was the last surviving member of the legendary 'Kind of Blue' session, Miles Davis' landmark 1959 album.
Trump Calls On Governors To Reopen Houses Of Worship
Source: Huffington Post
President Donald Trump announced Friday that he was designating churches, synagogues and mosques as “essential places that provide essential services” as the nation continues to combat the coronavirus, despite lacking legal power over state governance.
“Some governors have deemed liquor stores and abortion clinics as essential, but have left out houses of worship. It’s not right,” Trump said. “So I’m correcting this injustice by calling houses of worship essential.”
“If they don’t do it, I will override the governors,” the president threatened.
Trump has previously attempted to wield his authority over state governors, particularly those who have criticized him - but legal scholars say he has little formal power to force governors or businesses to do what he wants.
Read more: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-orders-governors-reopen-houses-of-worship_n_5ec805a7c5b6d58115252efc
Lawd have mercy.
Matthew McConaughey delivers 110,000 donated masks to Texas rural hospitals
Actor Matthew McConaughey, a Texas resident, is delivering 110,000 masks to rural hospitals in the state.
He posted a picture Thursday night on Facebook of himself wearing a mask and his wife, Camila Alves, loading a truck.
"Hitting the road to get em to rural hospitals in need across Texas," he wrote.
“This is not about politics. It’s about us," he said in an ad released last week.
While health care workers are struggling with shortages, masks remain optional for the public at a statewide level in Texas.
The state's largest cities — Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Austin — have made them mandatory; but the governor says those areas cannot enforce the rule.
At: https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/499118-matthew-mcconaughey-delivers-110000-donated-masks-to-texas
Leading man Matthew McConaughey and his wife, Camila Alves: Doing Abbott's and Trump's jobs for them.
'Not dropping out': Kelly Loeffler vows to stay in Senate race against Doug Collins
Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler said she had no plans to drop out of the contest to keep her Senate seat despite a stock-trading controversy.
"Not only am I not dropping out, but I'm gonna win,” the Republican told Politico.
Loeffler has had a rocky few months since being appointed to replace Sen. Johnny Isakson, who resigned in December 2019 due to health concerns.
Loeffler was one of several senators accused of insider trading ahead of the coronavirus-induced stock market drop, although she maintains that she did nothing wrong.
In a poll from earlier this week, Loeffler trailed Rep. Doug Collins in the jungle primary for her seat. The Civiqs/Daily Kos poll showed Loeffler trailing Collins by 12% to 34%, respectively.
But Loeffler pointed to a different poll from Public Opinion Strategies conducted from May 4 to May 7 that showed a closer race, with Collins at 19% and Loeffler at 18%.
At: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/not-dropping-out-kelly-loeffler-vows-to-stay-in-senate-race-against-doug-collins
Embattled Georgia Senator Kelly Loeffler and husband Jeff Sprecher: Tipped to win?
Argentine GDP fell 11.5% in March as lockdown kicked in
Economic activity in Argentina slumped 11.5% in March compared to the same month in 2019, as the nationwide lockdown to tackle the spread of the coronavirus pandemic kicked in.
It was the largest decline registered by the INDEC statistics bureau since the 2002 post-convertibility crisis, illustrating the impact of the quarantine on economic activity. An even worse collapse is anticipated in April, given that the federal stay-home order only began on March 20.
The sectors that were hardest hit were fishing (minus 48.6%), construction (minus 46.5%), and hotels and restaurants (minus 30.8%). The only area that registered growth was electricity, gas and water services (up 6.7%), as Argentines mostly stayed home.
INDEC data shows that first quarter GDP declined by 5.4% from the same time a year earlier.
GDP had already declined 5.8% in the first quarter of 2019 from a year earlier - when a debt bubble known locally as the "financial bicycle" crashed under former President Mauricio Macri.
President Alberto Fernández, who defeated Macri last October, is negotiating a broad debt restructuring with creditors on $66 billion in sovereign bonds.
Argentina currently owes a total of $250 billion in foreign currency-denominated public debt - including $44 billion to the IMF. Over $34 billion is owed this year alone to private and foreign creditors.
IMF Director Kristalina Georgieva declared that the country needs debt relief of between $55 billion and $85 billion.
At: https://www.batimes.com.ar/news/economy/economic-activity-fell-115-in-march-as-lockdown-kicked-in.phtml
A quiet weekday morning in Buenos Aires' normally bustling Constitución Station.
A federal stay-home order issued on March 19 has helped curve the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic in Argentina - which has fewer than one-sixth the cases seen in neighboring Chile (a country with under half its population).
The restrictions, however, have led a sharp deepening of the country's two-year "Macrisis" - its worst debt and economic crisis in two decades.
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