Columbian businessman wanted by US had Maduro-Iran letter

Alex Saab carried a letter from Maduro asking for Iranian petrol and medicines when he was arrested on a US warrant.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro speaks during a ceremony marking the start of the judicial year at the Supreme Tribunal in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, January 22, 2021 

[Matias Delacroix/AP Photo]

22 Jan 2021

A Colombian businessman was carrying a letter from Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro accrediting him to Iran’s supreme leader when he was arrested on a US warrant last year, according to a new court filing in a politically charged corruption case ratcheting up tensions between the United States and the South American nation.

Lawyers for Alex Saab made the filing in Miami, Florida US federal court Thursday just hours after prosecutors in the African nation of Cape Verde said they granted the 49-year-old Colombian house arrest as he fights extradition to the US to face money laundering charges.

US officials believe Saab holds numerous secrets about how Maduro, his family and top aides allegedly siphoned off millions of dollars in government contracts amid widespread hunger in the oil-rich nation. He was detained last June when his jet made a refuelling stop on a flight to Tehran, where he was allegedly sent to negotiate deals to exchange Venezuelan gold for Iranian petrol.

The Trump administration made Saab’s extradition a top priority, at one point even sending a Navy warship to the African archipelago to keep an eye on the captive and discourage any plans by Venezuela to try to sneak him out of jail.

In Caracas, Saab’s prosecution is seen as a veiled attempt at regime change and is likely to complicate any effort by Maduro to seek a fresh start with the Biden administration, as is the continued imprisonment of several Americans in Caracas, including six Venezuelan-American oil executives and two former Green Berets caught in a failed raid seeking to capture Maduro.

The Iranian oil tanker Forest was the first of three Iranian ships to arrive in Venezuela, is part of the second shipment of fuel from Tehran [File: Juan Carlos Hernandez/AP Photo]

Lawyers at the Baker & Hostetler law firm filed a motion seeking to dismiss the US charges, arguing Saab is immune from prosecution as a result of the many diplomatic posts he has held for Maduro’s government since 2018.

As evidence, they presented letters signed by Maduro’s foreign minister purportedly accrediting Saab as a special envoy for humanitarian aid as well as a resolution — signed last month — naming him Venezuela’s alternate permanent representative to the African Union in Ethiopia.

There is also a letter, addressed to Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in which Maduro asked the Iranian supreme leader to help Saab obtain an “urgent” shipment of five million barrels of petrol following the arrival of several previous shipments from Iran. Another apparent diplomatic note, from the Iranian Embassy in Caracas, referred to Saab’s upcoming “official” visit and a request for the delivery of Iranian-made medicines.

“The arrival of the Iranian petroleum ships has marked a historic milestone in our bilateral relations and firmly and decisively sealed the love of the Venezuelan people for Iran,” Maduro wrote in the June 11 letter, which Saab was purportedly carrying at the time of his arrest. “The collective emotion of Venezuela when the vessels carrying the Iranian flag arrived in our jurisdictional waters is indicative of a victory in the relations between sovereign states, never subjected to any empire.”

The Trump administration in 2019 recognised opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s rightful leader, closed the US embassy in Caracas and imposed stiff oil sanctions on Maduro’s socialist government.

Saab’s lawyers have argued that the US campaign against Maduro, who himself was indicted in New York federal court on drug trafficking charges, is no substitute for international law.

“The irregular diplomatic relations between the United States and Venezuela do not permit the Court to ignore the Vienna Convention,” Saab’s lawyers said in the filing. ”Whatever its opinion of Mr Maduro, the United States continues to recognize Venezuela as a sovereign member of the community of nations, and the law of nations requires it to respect that state’s sovereign rights, including to dispatch diplomatic emissaries to any other country in the world.”

Federal prosecutors in Miami indicted Saab in 2019 on money laundering charges connected to an alleged bribery scheme that pocketed more than $350 million from a low-income housing project for the Venezuelan government that was never built.

The dismissal motion cited the late-1980s prosecution of former Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega to argue that Saab should be allowed to enter a defence even before extradition. Normally, defendants who are considered fugitives are barred from being heard in federal court.

Saab’s lawyers also challenged the US court’s jurisdiction, saying that Saab had not travelled to the US in nearly three decades and that proceeds from the alleged scheme were deposited into Miami bank accounts belonging to unnamed co-conspirators.

“The United States has only the barest alleged connection to the underlying supposed crimes,” the filing said.

Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza wrote Saab’s extradition to the US would put Venezuela ‘at great risk’ [Fausto Torrealba/Reuters]

Venezuela’s government has vehemently objected to Saab’s prosecution as a veiled attempt at regime change by the Trump administration and have ordered him to resist extradition at all costs.

“We have reasonable grounds to believe that if you are extradited to the United States, you will be put under pressure, whether legitimately or not, to disclose that information and thus put our country at great risk,” says a letter signed by Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza that was part of Thursday’s filing.

A court in Cape Verde ruled this month that Saab can be extradited to the US although the island nation’s Supreme Court must give final approval.

On Thursday, prosecutors in the island nation said they were moving Saab to house arrest while the appeals process plays out because he had already been detained longer than the maximum allowed.

Saab’s legal team in the extradition case, which is led by Spanish jurist Baltasar Garzon, celebrated the decision as long overdue, saying he spent seven months in jail in “inhumane conditions” that exacerbated his health problems. Under home detention, Saab can now receive proper treatment, the lawyers said in a statement.

“We will continue to appeal and demand respect for Alex Saab’s diplomatic immunity and that his extradition to the US be rejected as unfounded because it is a clear case of political persecution in pursuit of a larger objective, in this case the government of Venezuela,” Garzon said in a statement.

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Columbian businessman wanted by US had Maduro-Iran letter | Crime News | Al Jazeera

Nigel Farage loses nearly 50,000 followers after Twitter suspends QAnon accounts



Adrian Zorzut
Published: 12:49 PM January 22, 2021


A Twitter crackdown on supporters of the QAnon conspiracy theory has seen Nigel Farage lose almost 50,000 followers.

Analysis of data by social media analytics website Social Blade shows that the Reform UK leader lost 49,000 followers in a single week after Twitter suspended 70,000 QAnon accounts following the US Capitol riots, Left Foot Forward has revealed.

The website revealed Farage's followers increased on a weekly basis throughout 2020, with a whopping 10,000 deciding to follow him in the first week of January.

Farage supported Donald Trump throughout his presidency and regularly praised him on US media and at his rallies.

QAnon is an unfounded conspiracy theory which claims Trump is fighting against a Satan-worshipping paedophile elite.

Nigel Farage has never expressed support for QAnon and there is no suggestion that he supports it privately. He also condemned the storming of the Capitol, which could have contributed to the loss of followers.

Ring-wing figures around the world suffered similar drops in supporters.

In Australia, the Guardian reported that right-wing politician Pauline Hanson lost 2,500 followers and other members of her party lost between 1,000 and 2,000.

Boris Johnson lost 6,000 on the Saturday after the storming and 2,000 on the Sunday. Priti Patel, Liam Fox and James Cleverly all lost a few hundred supporters in the relevant week.

The centre-left politicians Left Foot Forward analysed did not experience a fall in followers. Keir Starmer, Jacinda Ardern, Anthony Albanese and Joe Biden all increased their followers that week.

Colorado geophysicist accused in U.S. Capitol riot tried to flee to Switzerland, feds say

A federal judge said the actions by Jeffrey Sabol, a 51-year-old born in Utica, New York, were “beyond the pale and it is troubling to a degree that is really ... shocking."

 “This is a man who just can’t face the fact that he is facing a felony charge because of his actions on Jan. 6"

The Associated Press
 Jan 22, 2021

Supporters of President Donald Trump try to break through a police barrier, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

By Larry Neumeister, The Associated Press

NEW YORK — A Colorado geophysicist accused of dragging a police officer down steps to be beaten by an American flag outside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 was ordered held without bail Friday after a prosecutor said the man afterward tried to flee to Switzerland and commit suicide.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew Krause, based in White Plains, said during an electronic hearing that he found the alleged actions by Jeffrey Sabol, a 51-year-old born in Utica, New York, “beyond the pale and it is troubling to a degree that is really … shocking.”

Krause said the allegations were “very disturbing, deeply troubling” and that Sabol needed to remain behind bars as a danger to the community and a risk to flee. Sabol was arrested Friday morning at the Westchester Medical Center.

“What we see is Mr. Sabol, part of a group of people dragging a law enforcement officer down the steps of a building at the Capitol, where that officer has been repeatedly assaulted by a number of people, apparently including Mr. Sabol,” Krause said.

The judge said he also saw video footage that showed Sabol going back up the stairs after the first officer was dragged down to possibly look for someone else to bring “down those stairs into the teeth of that mob that was at the Capitol that day.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Gianforti said Sabol identified himself to law enforcement authorities as the black-gloved man in the video wearing a brown or tan jacket, a black or gray helmet and a green backpack.

“We see the defendant dragging a police officer down a set of stairs just outside the Capitol,” Gianforti said. “This allows another man, who’s standing nearby, to beat that police officer with an American flag ironically, as the officer is being dragged down the stairs.”

The prosecutor said other images show the defendant holding a police baton across a police officer’s neck, and “we have reason to believe he may have assaulted another police officer to procure that baton.”

Gianforti said Sabol had offered investigators “self-serving statements” saying he was trying to protect the officer but had also “admitted to being in a fit of rage that day and that the details of the day were quote cloudy.”

Gianforti noted the video evidence and said: “I would just submit that a picture is worth a thousand words.”

After the attack, the prosecutor said, Sabol booked a flight from Boston Logan International Airport to Zurich, Switzerland, where he would not be able to be extradited to the U.S.

Sabol’s lawyer, Jason Ser, argued for his client’s release on $200,000 bail, saying the man had steady employment for decades — Ser said Sabol’s job, in which he supervises other employees and contractors, involves removing unexploded ordinances from testing grounds for the military — and the support of family that includes a longtime girlfriend, an ex-wife, three children and parents.

He said video of the actions by his client were not as clear cut as they had been described by a prosecutor and noted that Sabol was currently charged only with civil disobedience charges that carry a potential maximum penalty of five years in prison.

He said his client was coherent, stable and cooperative with federal law enforcement authorities after he underwent treatment at a psychiatric facility for a week and spent several days at the Westchester Medical Center.

Both the judge and the prosecutor referenced Sabol’s suicide attempts in the wake of the attack, though Ser told pretrial services his client was no longer suicidal.

“I’m sorry for what Mr. Sabol has been through since he left the Capitol but I think, your honor, that his suicide attempts can be taken as consciousness of guilt and in some respect really the ultimate flight attempt,” Gianforti said. “This is a man who just can’t face the fact that he is facing a felony charge because of his actions on Jan. 6.”

FASHIONFASCHISTA


Melania Trump dons symbolic outfit as she exits the White House - and fans react
The former First Lady made her final exit with husband Donald Trump

JANUARY 20, 2021 - JENNI MCKNIGHT HELLO 

Melania Trump opted for a chic all-black outfit on Wednesday as she joined husband Donald Trump for their final walk out of the White House

The former First Lady channelled Audrey Hepburn in a black skirt and matching jacket, covering her eyes behind a large pair of square, black sunglasses.

She accessorised with a classic Birkin bag, long gloves and kept her hair pinned back in a low chignon as she held onto her husband's arm as they walked to Marine 1 for the last time.

WATCH: Melania Trump makes stylish exit from the White House for the final time

Melania's choice of colour did not go unnoticed by fans on social media, with many claiming her decision to wear black could be a nod to the state of her husband's future.

One posted on Twitter: "Melania wearing black as she attends the funeral of her husband lol #InaugurationDay."

Another said: "Melania wore black on her way out of the WH. Symbolic?" A third added: "Melania departs the White House wearing black like she’s attending a funeral, finally an appropriate outfit."

Melanie channelled Audrey Hepburn for her final White House look

Others though simply praised how stunning she looked, with one commenting: "Melania has a very Audrey Hepburn look ... she’s all in black ... she just looks gorgeous, as always..."

However, research in the field of psychology revealed black is seen by others as a symbol of prestige, power and intelligence, making it a fitting choice for Melania's exit.

"Black is a colour that is taken seriously", colour and design consultant Karen Haller previously said.

The former First Lady and President boarded a plane to Palm Springs, Florida

Speaking ahead of boarding the plane to Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, Melanie said that "being your First Lady was my greatest honour".

She added: "Thank you for your love and your support. You will be in my thoughts and prayers. God bless you all, God bless your families and God bless this beautiful nation."

HER NEXT POSITION IS AS MS FLORIDA ORANGE JUICE

Pariah-in-Chief: Donald Trump is $1bn in debt, an impeachment trial is due next week, criminal charges are possible – and he’s being abandoned by banks, cronies and even his Mar A Lago neighbours

Trump reportedly only spoke to those agreeing he was cheated in the election

Businesses, banks, sponsors, politicians have either tried to distance themselves

He owes more than $1bn in loans on various hotels, mansions, and golf courses

By TOM LEONARD IN WASHINGTON DC FOR THE DAILY MAIL
PUBLISHED: 22 January 2021

There were still a few minutes left of Donald Trump’s troubled tenure as U.S. president, but his First Lady had had enough.

When the pair disembarked from Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport on Wednesday, Trump paused for one last photocall.

His wife, however — who’d changed en route from a fitted suit and heels into a flowing Gucci kaftan and flats — barely broke her stride.

She headed straight for the waiting limousine, leaving him to wave for the cameras and small crowd on his own.

Melania, at least, knew that it was all over. For her, the departure from the White House may have come not a moment too soon.

There were still a few minutes left of Donald Trump’s troubled tenure as U.S. president, but his First Lady had had enough

But one can hardly say the same for her husband who, even now, has not fully conceded defeat in the 2020 election.

The motorcade moved ‘unusually slowly’ as it took the Trumps to their glitzy $160 million Florida pleasure palace, Mar-a-Lago, perhaps so the soon-to-be ex-president might have one last bask in the adulation he craves from a few thousand fans lining the route.

And you can’t blame him for enjoying it while he could. For the man so obsessed with ‘winning’ is discovering just how painful it can be to lose — and on an epic scale.

While the Trump movement may not be finished, its figurehead is now a pariah for many of those who had enthusiastically buoyed him up with funding, business, friendship, connections and votes.

Trump was already an isolated and, according to some, deranged figure in the Oval Office, talking only to those willing to agree he was cheated out of a second term, when he shamelessly encouraged his supporters to invade the U.S. Capitol two weeks ago.

That violent insurrection left five dead, including a policeman, and the sanctity of U.S. democracy badly battered.

The motorcade moved ‘unusually slowly’ as it took the Trumps to their glitzy $160 million Florida pleasure palace, Mar-a-Lago, perhaps so the soon-to-be ex-president might have one last bask in the adulation he craves from a few thousand fans lining the route

Businesses, banks, sponsors, politicians and even members of his own family have either tried to distance themselves or completely deserted him — not only hurting his fragile ego, but also his wallet as he struggles to cope with a looming $1 billion debt and business empire in crisis.

A man who’s been compared to a Mafia boss, for the importance he attaches to loyalty, has seen scores of friends and allies fall away in his darkest hour.

Even Mar-a-Lago — an eye-wateringly expensive private members’ club at a 118-room Jazz Age chateau that is now the principal Trump home — may not be such a welcoming sanctuary.

The estate he pompously referred to as the ‘Winter White House’ can only remind him of his glory days, when he held court among fawning sycophants.

Some Mar-a-Lago staff called him ‘the King’ and every night the loudspeakers on the terrace would blare out ‘Hail to the Chief’ — a tune honouring the president — as he progressed to dinner, and everyone jumped to their feet to applaud.

Businesses, banks, sponsors, politicians and even members of his own family have either tried to distance themselves or completely deserted him — not only hurting his fragile ego, but also his wallet as he struggles to cope with a looming $1 billion debt and business empire in crisis

What tune will they play now and will anyone be clapping?

It is being reported locally that the scenes of January 6 as the Capitol was stormed were the final straw for many of his billionaire Palm Beach neighbours and even some of the Mar-a-Lago set. Some plan to stop paying their annual $16,000 fees and drop out of the 500-member club, even though they cannot recoup their joining fee, currently standing at $200,000.

Others, who joined purely for the chance to rub shoulders with a president, must be wondering if it’s worth it now that he’s an ex-president who managed just one term.

Billionaire businessman Nelson Peltz, a Palm Beach resident, said this week: ‘I voted for him in this past election. Today, I’m sorry I did that.’

He described the Capitol attack as ‘a disgrace’, adding: ‘As an American, I’m embarrassed.’

An unnamed super-rich philanthropist who has frequently held charitable events at Mar-a-Lago told the local newspaper: ‘He is over. Trump is marked and is going to be a huge liability for Palm Beach and Mar-a-Lago. Do you really think any charity is going to sign up to go to Mar-a-Lago now? No.’

Republicans and other conservative groups are expected to do the same, depriving Trump not just of an audience but of money — a lot of it. Last year, one Republican fund-raising event at Mar-a-Lago brought Trump revenues of $25 million.

Some of his immediate neighbours have made their feelings clear by writing to the local authority to object to his permanent presence, citing a 1993 agreement banning anyone from living there full-time as it is a social club.

Sadly for the protesters — many motivated by the huge disruption that, as an ex-president with a large security detail, his move will bring — they won’t get rid of him that easily.

Trump owns other large homes on the island, including two just outside Mar-a-Lago’s gates.

Palm Beach historian Laurence Leamer points out that the sedate enclave has always regarded Trump as far too vulgar. They tolerated him, but only because he was the president.

‘They’re concerned about low taxes and high stock markets — they got that and now enough of this guy, be gone,’ he says.

Palm Beach historian Laurence Leamer points out that the sedate enclave has always regarded Trump as far too vulgar. They tolerated him, but only because he was the president

Mr Leamer believes Trump will be miserable in Palm Beach for several reasons. For instance, now, he must put up with living directly under a Palm Beach airport flight path that was diverted for security reasons but — as he’s no longer president — will be reinstated. ‘This is a social island and he’s not social at all,’ Mr Leamer added. ‘He’s got to be the centre of things.’

He predicted that Mar-a-Lago, where business boomed after Trump became president, won’t give him much of a ‘buzz’ now as the crowds simply won’t come. Uber-rich Floridians aren’t the only ones less keen on rubbing shoulders with The Donald. During his final days in Washington, there were numerous resignations amongst his staff leaving him largely with just three White House advisers, many years younger than him.

Political allies who for years never uttered a word of reproach, are increasingly speaking out against him, anxious not to be forever tarnished by association.

The formerly steadfast Trumpite Senator Lindsey Graham summed it up for many when he said: ‘Count me out. Enough is enough.’

Two universities that had awarded him honorary degrees have now rescinded them and there has even been a crack in the solidarity of Trump’s most loyal battalion — his children.

After years of instilling in them the family creed of self-interest and self-preservation, perhaps it shouldn’t have surprised him that daughter Ivanka — widely believed to be planning a White House run herself one day — put her own political future first, when she reportedly said she wanted to attend Joe Biden’s inauguration.

Family rifts aside, the most pressing matter for Trump is his finances. Myriad banks and businesses have distanced themselves from Trump since the Capitol outrage. Three of the four banks that held his largest deposits have cut their ties with him, while three law firms have dropped Trump as a client

A White House insider said Trump’s favourite child was ‘worried that her promising political career is in jeopardy and she’s doing whatever she can to save her reputation’.

Trump was said to have been furious with Ivanka and husband Jared Kushner, who had also been senior adviser to him, and regarded it as an insult. (In the event, Ivanka didn’t go, and the Trump White House officially insisted there was never any possibility she would).

Increasingly, Trump is turning to his sons, Donald Jr and Eric, who are among the few people left talking to him.

Family rifts aside, the most pressing matter for Trump is his finances. Myriad banks and businesses have distanced themselves from Trump since the Capitol outrage.

Three of the four banks that held his largest deposits have cut their ties with him, while three law firms have dropped Trump as a client.

A string of other banks as well as major corporations including Amazon, Ford, Walt Disney and supermarket giant Walmart say they will not be making donations to Trump’s supporters in Congress. And the city Trump considers his own — New York — has turned against him, too.

The authorities say they will end contracts with the Trump Organisation for two ice-skating rinks and a carousel in Central Park, as well as a golf course in the Bronx, on the grounds that ‘inciting an insurrection’ against the government is a crime.

New financial details provided by Trump as he left office reveal his properties lost $120 million in revenue last year because of the pandemic. The Trump Organisation has also suffered from a customer backlash against the Trump name — once the company’s great asset — which has further driven away business

At the same time sponsors of Trump Organisation events are backing out, while major tenants are fleeing Trump properties.

This includes his office building at 40 Wall Street, where both the Greater New York Girl Scouts and a TB charity have peremptorily announced they intend to end their leases which cost $664,000 and $900,000 a year in rent respectively.

On Thursday, his first day as an ex-president, Donald Trump spent time on the golf course, but even his beloved sport is souring towards him.

The Professional Golfers’ Association of America (PGA), the U.S. governing body, has ended an agreement to play the prestigious PGA Championship at Trump National Golf Club in New Jersey.

The next day, the R&A, which governs golf worldwide, announced it had no plans to take the British Open back to the Trump Turnberry course in Scotland, citing the controversy over its owner.

All of this comes at a time when Trump needs cash more than ever. Although he’s hardly broke — not yet, at least — he owes more than $1 billion in loans on a dozen of his various hotels, mansions, buildings and golf courses. Some $300 million must reportedly be repaid by 2024.

New financial details provided by Trump as he left office reveal his properties lost $120 million in revenue last year because of the pandemic.

The Trump Organisation has also suffered from a customer backlash against the Trump name — once the company’s great asset — which has further driven away business.

Banking consultant Bert Ely predicted Trump’s ‘very serious’ business problems which have been accumulating over recent years would ‘come to a head now that he’s left office’.

He added: ‘He’s done enormous reputational damage to himself.’

Adding to the financial pressure, the U.S. tax man is conducting an audit on a previous tax refund Mr Trump received and may decide he didn’t deserve it, leaving him to pay back more than $100 million.

And, of course, Trump doesn’t only face a threat to his wallet but also to his liberty.

He no longer enjoys presidential immunity from civil or criminal prosecution, and is being eyed up by a wolfish pack of Democratic politicians and prosecutors who would love to make their name by being the one to land a blow on the man so legally adept he was once dubbed ‘Teflon Don’.

First, though, he faces an impeachment trial in the Senate.

Initial assumptions that Republicans would automatically save him now look premature, after leader Mitch McConnell told colleagues he favoured impeaching Trump as it would make it easier to ‘purge’ him from the party.

Trump also faces a wide-ranging criminal investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney in New York into whether the Trump Organisation is guilty of various frauds — some of which carry a long prison sentence.

At the same time, the New York Attorney General is undertaking a civil investigation into whether the Trump Organisation is guilty of property fraud, lying about the value of its properties to more easily secure bank loans or to lower its taxes. This investigation could turn into a criminal one.

There is more. Trump could also be charged with obstruction of justice over attempts to impede the Mueller inquiry into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election, and with separate election interference in the state of Georgia (when Trump asked its governor to help overturn Biden’s victory there).

Then there are the civil lawsuits claiming he benefited financially from his presidency as well as sexual misconduct lawsuits by various women stretching back decades.

Trump faces a possible year in prison over claims his company falsified business records to hide payoffs to ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal and porn star Stormy Daniels to stay quiet about alleged sexual relationships with him.

Meanwhile, even some of the right-wing extremists responsible for his pariah status have turned on him. The Proud Boys are furious he didn’t stop them being charged over the Capitol attack.

They mocked him this week as a ‘total failure’ and other groups involved in the Capitol riot have echoed that sentiment.

And these are the same people that Trump will be hoping would vote for his Patriot Party, a new political alliance that he is said to be considering establishing.

One sympathetic Republican politician said of the former president yesterday: ‘He now needs some time for himself.’

That’s just as well. There are precious few others who seem to want to share it with him.

 Norwegian MP Who Nominated Trump for Nobel Peace Prize Warns About Big Brother

SOCIETY  15.01.2021Get short URL

by Igor Kuznetsov

In days following the US Capitol siege, Donald Trump has been banned from almost all major social media platforms; this has sparked an exodus of users to alternative platforms in an attempt to avoid what is seen as censorship.

Norwegian MP and liberal-conservative Progress Party heavyweight Christian Tybring-Gjedde has condemned the recent purge of the social media, during which thousands of accounts were deleted, including that of US President Donald Trump, and the closure of alternative social media network Parler, marketed as a “free speech” alternative to Twitter.

In a lengthy Facebook post, Tybring-Gjedde called the decision “unwise” and warned of “selective freedom of speech”.

“Firstly, there is no historical experience that gagging free speech somehow leads to less aggression and rebellion, but even more serious is that we allow a few people to act as opinion police and define which utterances can be accepted and which must be censored,” Tybring-Gjedde, who outside of Norway is most known for nominating Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, said.

Tybring-Gjedde warned of far-reaching consequences.

“They ban from actual access to the platform and justify this with the fact that the probability that Trump writes something the technology giants do not find acceptable is high and that they therefore want to be careful. A parallel can be that you arrest an alleged thief, not only for the allegation that the person has stolen, but in anticipation of the next potential theft because the probability of relapse is high. Don't even try, Big Brother doesn't only see you, but also reads your thoughts.”

Tybring-Gjedde also emphasised that the way in which this is done may seem illegal, suggesting that “such prejudice violates the principle of legal defence”.

In a subsequent comment to the news outlet Resett, Tybring-Gjedde ventured that many are reluctant to look at the issue in a principled way because “the hatred of Trump is almost total”.

“Additionally, he comes from the right. Then the principles often vanish,” Tybring-Gjedde told Resett.

The Progress Party heavyweight called for a public discussion about “the power that the media giants have usurped” and pledged to address this development at the next party meeting.

The Facebook post sparked an influx of comments, with many Norwegians agreeing with Tybring-Gjedde. Many invoked other Orwellian metaphors, drawing parallels between “Big Tech censorship” and the classic dystopia 1984.

In days following the US Capitol siege, Donald Trump has been banned from almost all major social media platforms. While Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Reddit have all banned him, payment giant Stripe has prohibited the Trump campaign from receiving donations and Shopify has shut down two stores linked to Trump.

The social media giants' exclusion of Trump has unleashed a landslide of users switching to other social media to avoid the meddling seen as opinion policing. Social media alternatives such as Parler, Gab and Telegram have gained millions of users

REPOSTED FROM SPUTNIK VOICE OF THE GRU FOR TRUMPERS

A GLASS OF VODKA AND YOU GOTTA GET NAKED...

Naked man ‘wrapped in guts’ goes on rampage with dad’s severed head: report

By Yaron Steinbuch

January 22, 2021 

Enlarge Image

Dmitry Ponomarenko, 30, was found wrapped in intestines and holding his dad's severed head, according to a report.dumskaya.net

A naked maniac covered with intestines went on a rampage in Ukraine — hitting parked cars with his father’s severed head in front of horrified passers-by, according to a report.

“A naked and bloodied man wrapped in guts and holding the head of a man came out of the front, sat on a bench and lit a cigarette,” a neighbor in Odessa told local media, the Sun reported.

Shocked residents called police, who rushed to the scene and found the naked psycho, 30-year-old Dmitry Ponomarenko, according to the outlet.

Holding the decapitated head of his father, Ponomarenko declared to cops that “he is a god who is not worshipped,” local media reported.

Azathoth | The H.P. Lovecraft Wiki | Fandom

Police found the headless corpse of 53-year-old Igor Ponomarenko lying on a bed in the apartment.

In the kitchen, they discovered the sliced and gutted body of family friend Aleksandr Demchenko, 32, the Sun reported.Dmitry Ponomarenko, 30, was found wrapped in intestines and holding his dad’s severed head, according to a report.dumskaya.net

Ponomarenko reportedly said he killed the men “because he had to.”

He has been charged in the double murder.

SEE EMOTIONAL PLAGUE

   

"The Dreams in the Witch House" by H. P. Lovecraft

www.hplovecraft.com › writings › texts › fiction › dwh

He knew his room was in the old Witch House—that, indeed, was why he had taken it. There was much in the Essex County records about Keziah Mason's trial, ...

Oxford Covid vaccine: Scientists hail ‘exciting’ potential new candidate which could be effective in low doses

The candidate, named RBD-SpyVLP, could be as effective in lower doses making it easier to manufacture in large quantities and be used in conjunction with other vaccines, early animal studies suggest

By Paul Gallagher i NEWS January 22, 2021 

A potential new coronavirus vaccine from Oxford University could be as effective in lower doses making it easier to manufacture in large quantities and be used in conjunction with other vaccines, early animal studies suggest.

The candidate, named RBD-SpyVLP, produces a strong antibody response in mice and pigs, providing vital information for the further development of the vaccine. Although this type of vaccine is not a competitor for the first wave of vaccines, it is hoped that it will be useful as a standalone vaccine or as a booster for individuals primed with a different Covid vaccine. Current guidance is for the same vaccine to be used in the required two doses to maximise protection.

Greater antibody response

The Oxford-produced candidate contains part of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein called the receptor binding domain (RBD), which a range of protective neutralising antibodies can bind to in a way that blocks infection. The RBD is attached to a virus-like particle (VLP) that contains no genetic material using Oxford’s SpyTag/SpyCatcher technology, a kind of protein “superglue”.

Studies by Oxford and The Pirbright Institute revealed the potential vaccine generated a greater antibody response in mice than administering the RBD alone. Pirbright researchers tested the RBD-SpyVLP vaccine in pigs as a large animal model to establish if different dosages would affect the immune response

.

Pirbright’s pig model has previously been used to test the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine now in use across the UK (Photo by JUAN MABROMATA/AFP via Getty Images)

The study also examined samples taken from the nose and mouth of vaccinated pigs and found specific antibodies of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, were present. The teams described the finding as “promising” since antibodies at the site of entry for SARS-CoV-2 could be important for providing robust protection.

Interestingly, no difference was found in the magnitude of antibody response when comparing vaccine dose levels. This suggests that the smaller dose tested, which is the same as intended for humans, may provide equal protection to larger doses or that even lower doses of the vaccine could be effective.
Pig model

Pirbright’s pig model has previously been used to test the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine now in use across the UK, which demonstrated that two doses produced a stronger immune response in pigs than one. Pigs have similar immune, respiratory and physiological characteristics to humans, and can therefore provide vital knowledge about the response to candidate vaccines that can inform human clinical trials. This model has been shown to predict vaccine outcome in humans, particularly in influenza studies.

Professor Simon Graham, who led the pig studies at Pirbright, said: “These results offer valuable insights into the kind of immune responses that the RBD-SpyVLP vaccine could trigger in humans. Further understanding the dose required to elicit a strong immune response is key for the progression of vaccine development and scaling up for manufacture.”

‘Exciting and promising’

The researchers said their work, published in Nature Communications, provides vital information for the further development of the vaccine. They also tested the stability of the vaccine and found it is highly resilient, stable at room temperature and can be freeze dried without losing its power to immunise. These properties would reduce dependence on cold chains for transport and storage and facilitate global distribution, such as those needed for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

Professor Melanie Welham, Executive Chair at the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) said: “These latest results into the immune response from the Oxford Covid-19 vaccine candidate, RBD-SpyVLP, are both exciting and promising. By drawing on scientific knowledge from multiple disciplines, researchers have collectively demonstrated the ability to improve and advance development of the vaccine.”

Vaccine development has progressed at an unprecedented pace, with the World Health Organisation reporting 173 vaccine candidates in preclinical trials, 64 that have moved to human clinical trials and three that have received temporary authorisation for use in the UK.

THE CRISIS OF CAPITALIST PRODUCTION

Moderna And Pfizer Need To Nearly Double COVID-19 Vaccine Deliveries To Meet Goals

THE NEED FOR NATIONALIZATION & CENTRAL PLANING OF PRODUCTION COVID-19

A COVID-19 vaccine hub taking appointments only stands in Brooklyn as New York City begins to run low on doses Friday.
SPENCER PLATT / GETTY IMAGES

By SYDNEY LUPKIN • NPR

Originally published on January 22, 2021 

With a spotlight on COVID-19 vaccine distribution shortcomings, there's another bottleneck that could prevent inoculations from significantly speeding up in the near future: Pfizer's and Moderna's ability to scale up manufacturing and deliver doses to the U.S. government.

The companies promised to deliver 100 million doses apiece to the United States by the end of March. But they'll need to make huge leaps in a short time to meet that goal.


In the last few weeks, they've each been steadily delivering about 4.3 million doses a week, according to an NPR examination of vaccine allocation data. But to hit their targets of 100 million doses on time, they each need to deliver 7.5 million doses a week for the next nine weeks.

"I think it is going to be a real challenge for them to hit that contracted target. There's just no question about that," said consultant John Avellanet, who's advised pharmaceutical companies since the 1990s on manufacturing and compliance issues.

The companies would need everything to go right.

And a lot can go wrong. Equipment breaks and needs repair. Doses need to pass quality tests before they can be shipped. And the production process depends on companies maintaining a steady supply of chemical ingredients, glass vials and skilled labor.

"In some ways, it's almost a miracle that they've been able to produce what they've been able to produce," Avellanet said.

Pfizer and Moderna vaccines both rely on messenger RNA, or mRNA, to protect against the virus. Although mRNA vaccines have been studied for a decade, it's the first time they've been used on a massive scale.

"It's one thing to make 300 vials or let's say even for a clinical trial, 3,000 vials. It's a whole other game to make 4 million, 7 million," Avellanet said. "And all of a sudden, the demands are huge. And so you're going to end up with machinery that gets out of calibration, that breaks down ... and so forth and so on. And so that can slow the process dramatically."

What's more, RNA is fragile, said David Gortler, who until Wednesday afternoon was the senior adviser to the now-former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn.

"Going back to my Yale days when I was a lowly fellow inside of a molecular biology lab, I had to work with RNA myself," he told NPR. "And RNA is something which is very, very delicate and it can be inactivated, just like — we used to joke — just by looking at it the wrong way."

Gortler is a pharmacist and pharmacologist who specializes in drug quality and supply chain issues. He said he understands that Pfizer and Moderna are already working at "maximal capacity" with existing facilities. Building new facilities would require FDA inspections and "take a very long time."

When it comes to COVID-19 vaccines, he said quality is even more important than speed.

"I'd rather hear the companies have fallen short of their production goal, but managed to maintain their quality control because all of this really depends on the quality control," he said. "It's really the case for all drugs. So like I said before, but in this case, just because of the particular nature of this drug and the specific fragility of dealing with anything RNA-related, it's important to take a step back."

Asked about why vaccine delivery appeared to be behind and what's being done to speed it up, Operation Warp Speed spokesperson Michael Pratt in the Trump administration sent NPR the following statement just before the Biden administration took over:

Both companies continue to scale up production, and current forecasts indicate we are on track to allocate 200 million doses by the end of March across the vaccine portfolio. Operation Warp Speed continues to assess all available avenues to assist manufacturers to optimize and maximize their production processes as requested/required.

The new administration has said it plans to use the Defense Production Act to increase production. The Trump administration used the Defense Production Act 18 times as part of Operation Warp Speed, according to a Dec. 29 statement from the White House press secretary.

Moderna said it hasn't been releasing weekly or monthly production estimates, so it couldn't provide more details about how it will deliver significantly more doses to the United States in the coming weeks to meet its first-quarter goal.

"We continue to be on track with our expectations of delivering 100 million doses of vaccine by the end of Q1, and 200 million doses by the end of Q2," Moderna spokesperson Ray Jordan wrote in an email to NPR. "Production and releases are not linear and we have explained that we have been successfully scaling up our production yields over time."

On Dec. 15, Vice President Pence visited the Catalent contract manufacturing facility making finished vaccine doses for Moderna, where leadership told him they were completing 500,000 doses a day and hoped to double production to meet delivery goals. They described employees working "tirelessly" and volunteering to work Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Pfizer didn't respond to NPR's request for comment. But it slashed vaccine deliveries for some European Union countries this week, according to Reuters.

Gortler said he worked at Pfizer for several years, and if it's running behind, it's probably because of its attention to quality. "I'm sure that if they're rejecting things, that's actually what you want to hear," he said. "So in my mind, it's a good thing."

To hit their goals, Moderna and Pfizer each need to increase shipments to 7.5 million doses from 4.3 million per week in a hurry.

The task is difficult but not impossible.

John McShane, a managing partner at the health care product consulting firm Validant, said he's "guardedly optimistic" that the companies will be able to scale up manufacturing drastically and deliver 100 million doses each by March 31.

He said there are three main "levers" the companies can pull to increase production: add equipment, increase the yield per batch and find ways to shorten the time it takes to go from raw materials to finished, internally approved product.

"Those are three pretty big levers," McShane said. And outsourcing could help, too. "One CMO [contract manufacturing organization] with the right capacity could double your throughput overnight," he added.

What's more, he said, it's likely that the doses Moderna and Pfizer plan to deliver on March 31 are already somewhere in the production process.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

THE CRISIS OF CAPITALIST PRODUCTION 

AstraZeneca to cut COVID-19 vaccine delivery to EU by 60%, reports

THE NEED FOR NATIONALIZATION & CENTRAL PLANING OF PRODUCTION COVID-19

The company says the delay is due to "production problems" at a vaccine factory in Belgium run by its partner Novasep.


Saturday 23 January 2021 UK

The delivery issues are understood to have been caused by production problems at a plant in Belgium

AstraZeneca will cut deliveries of the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine to the European Union by 60% in the first quarter of the year, according to Reuters news agency.

The company was expected to deliver around 80 million doses to the 27 EU countries by the end of March, an EU official told the agency.

However, it now expects that to be cut to 31 million doses due to "production problems" at a vaccine factory in Belgium run by its partner Novasep.

Stella Kyriakides, the European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, said on Twitter: "@EU_Commission and Member States expressed deep dissatisfaction with this.

"We insisted on a precise delivery schedule on the basis of which Member States should be planning their vaccination programs, subject to the granting of a conditional marketing authorisation.

"The @EU_Commission will continue to insist with @AstraZeneca on measures to increase predictability and stability of deliveries, and acceleration of the distribution of doses."

A statement from AstraZeneca said: "While there is no scheduled delay to the start of shipments of our vaccine should we receive approval in Europe, initial volumes will be lower than originally anticipated due to reduced yields at a manufacturing site within our European supply chain.

"We will be supplying tens of millions of doses in February and March to the European Union, as we continue to ramp up production volumes."

The EU drug regulator is due to decide on approval of AstraZeneca's vaccine on 29 January, with a deal to purchase at least 300 million doses, with an option for an additional 100 million already signed

Europe's immunisation campaign has already been hampered by a temporary shortfall in the supply chain of vaccine developers Pfizer and BioNTech, who are retooling a site in Belgium to boost output.

Earlier the Financial Times reported that supplies to the UK would not be affected.