Commentary: Obama’s CIA Asked Foreign Intel Agencies to Spy on Trump Campaign

Obama CIA

The revelation that the U.S. intelligence community, under the Obama administration, sought the assistance of the “Five Eyes” intelligence alliance to surveil Donald Trump’s associates before the 2016 election is a chilling reminder of the lengths to which the Deep State will go to protect its interests and challenge its adversaries. (The Five Eyes countries are the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.) This bombshell, reported by a team of independent journalists, exposes a dark chapter in American political history, where foreign intelligence services were reportedly mobilized against a presidential candidate.

The alleged operation against Trump and his associates, which predates the official start of the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation, is a stark example of political weaponization of intelligence. The involvement of foreign allies in surveilling American citizens under the pretext of national security raises serious questions about the integrity of our democratic processes and the autonomy of our nation’s intelligence operations.

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WikiLeaks Founder Assange Begins Major Legal Fight Against Extradition to U.S.

Julian Assange Trial

Julian Assange’s attorneys on Tuesday began a major legal challenge in the United Kingdom to stop the WikiLeaks founder’s extradition to the United States on espionage charges. 

Assange, who has been in a maximum security prison in London for the past five years, was unable to attend the first day of a two-day High Court hearing due to his health, his attorney, Edward Fitzgerald, said, according to The Associated Press. 

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Brits Buck ‘Gender Identity Ideology’ in Schools, Strange Bedfellows with Red States

by Greg Piper   The United Kingdom pioneered the legal practice of recognizing a person as the opposite sex without a surgical operation nearly 20 years ago. Its gender-identity clinic for children was created before the fall of the Soviet Union. But as 2023 draws to a close, the U.K.’s. educational policy for gender-confused children is leaning toward red America. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Department for Education published “non-statutory guidance” for schools in England this month that resembles legislation and school board policies in conservative U.S. states that have quickly provoked litigation. The alignment is all the more surprising because supporters of Britain’s governing Conservative Party, at least on social views, more closely resemble Democrats than Republicans in the U.S. Addressing schoolchildren by pronouns that correspond with their sex, and requiring them to use restrooms and locker rooms in line with their anatomy, may be the only subject of agreement among Brits and Idahoans other than an affinity for potatoes. Nearly half of U.S. states joined a brief last week backing The Gem State in a legal challenge to its sex-separation law for schools. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals halted a federal district judge’s order refusing to block SB 1000 in October. The Biden administration and American mainstream…

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Trip to U.K. Solidifies Possible Financial Help with Property Insurance Reform

As part of the last leg of a four-country trade mission, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis met with political and business leaders in the U.K. to address ongoing and new trade relationships. He also secured a commitment from British companies to increase access to property insurance carriers to stabilize Florida’s market.

While in London, DeSantis met with Foreign Minister James Cleverly and MP Kemi Badenochs, the Secretary of State for Business and Trade and president of the Board of Trade in the UK.

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Documents: U.S. and UK Had ‘Confidentiality Agreement’ to Hide Vaccine Adverse Events

Newly obtained documents from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reveal that before the FDA approved the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 shots, the United States and United Kingdom health regulators struck a deal to keep information about vaccine injuries hidden from the public.

Judicial Watch obtained the 57 pages of heavily redacted records through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against HHS.

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Authorities Punish Catholic Priest for Silently Praying Outside Abortion Clinic

Authorities in the United Kingdom charged a Catholic priest with violating a censorship zone when he silently prayed outside an abortion clinic while holding a sign that said “praying for free speech.”

Father Sean Gough, a pro-life priest stationed in Wolverhampton, England, had also parked his car in the area near the abortion clinic, which is covered by a Public Spaces Protection Order, according to Alliance Defending Freedom International. Authorities also took issue with Gough’s car, which has an “unborn lives matter” bumper sticker on it, ADF said.

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Queen Elizabeth II Dead at 96

Queen Elizabeth II passed away on Thursday at the age of 96, surrounded by family at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, according to a statement from Buckingham Palace.

Officials announced Tuesday that the queen was under medical supervision, and her family traveled to her summer residence in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, to be by her side.

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Truss Tapped to Be Britain’s Next Prime Minister, Draws Comparisons to Margaret Thatcher

Liz Truss, a hawkish diplomat who has drawn comparisons to Margaret Thatcher, was chosen Monday by the Britain’s Conservative Party to be the country’s next prime minister.

Truss, 47, defeated Rishi Sunak, a former chancellor of the Exchequer, in the race to succeed the scandal-tarred Boris Johnson. She captured 57% percent of the vote and will assume office Tuesday when installed by Queen Elizabeth II.

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The Heavy Favorite to Replace Boris Johnson as U.K.’s Next Prime Minister Described as a ‘Thatcherite’

Liz Truss, the United Kingdom’s foreign secretary, believes in limited government and low taxes in the vein of former leader Margaret Thatcher — and that’s why she’s set to be the U.K.’s next prime minister, Nile Gardiner, a researcher at the Heritage Foundation and former Thatcher aide, told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

A former Liberal Democrat who at one point called for the abolition of the royal family and opposed Brexit even after establishing herself as an exemplar of the conservative Tories, Truss has overtaken Britain’s top financial minister, Rishi Sunak, in the race to replace Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Her “Thatcherite” qualities, referring to the “Iron Lady” Margaret Thatcher who championed national strength and fiscal restraint, make her the candidate Britain sorely needs, Gardiner told the DCNF.

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‘Coordinated Campaign on a Grand Scale’: US, UK Spymasters Issue Dire Warning on Chinese Espionage

by Micaela Burrow   Heads of intelligence agencies in the U.S. and UK warned against a widespread Chinese espionage campaign in a unique joint statement Wednesday. FBI Director Christopher Wray and MI5 Director General Ken McCallum addressed an audience of leaders in business and academia outside of the MI5 headquarters to rally against what McCallum called a “coordinated campaign on a grand scale.” The two warned of escalating Chinese attempts to steal data and technology from UK and U.S. innovators and disrupt the nations’ economies. “The most game-changing challenge we face comes from the Chinese Communist Party,” said McCallum. “The Chinese government is set on stealing your technology—whatever it is that makes your industry tick—and using it to undercut your business and dominate your market,” said Wray, according to The Wall Street Journal. “They’re set on using every tool at their disposal to do it.” Wray said in February that the FBI opens a new investigation into alleged Chinese espionage every 12 hours, according to NBC News. China represents the “biggest long-term threat” to security for the U.S. and its western allies, Wray said, according to Fox News. #FBI, @CISAgov, and @NSAGov issued a #CybersecurityAdvisory about the ways in which People’s Republic of China state-sponsored #cyber…

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Commentary: Five Key Findings from a Huge Study of Dog Life Expectancy

Veterinary scientists associated with National Taiwan University and The Royal Veterinary College in the United Kingdom have completed a massive study of pet dogs’ life expectancy in the United Kingdom, providing unprecedented, evidence-backed estimates of how long owners can expect their pooches to live.

The researchers made use of the VetCompass database for their study. VetCompass is composed of anonymous patient data from primary-care veterinary practices in the UK. During the study period from January 1st, 2016 to July 31st, 2020, the researchers monitored 876,039 dogs from 18 recognized breeds as well as crossbred dogs, observing a total of 30,563 confirmed deaths.

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Department of Energy to Release Millions of Barrels of Oil From Reserve to Combat Surging Gas Prices

The Department of Energy (DOE) announced Tuesday the release of millions of barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to combat soaring gas prices.

The DOE approved the release of 13.4 million barrels from its SPR, marking the second-largest exchange from the reserve and bringing the total amount of oil released from the cache to almost 40 million barrels.

Exchange contracts for the released oil have were awarded to seven companies. President Joe Biden authorized a plan in November 2021 to release 50 million barrels of crude oil from the SPR in a coordinated effort with China, India, Japan, South Korea and the U.K. to combat surging gas prices and assist in the COVID-19 pandemic recovery.

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‘No Interest in Fossil Gas’: Green Group Takes over Global Fracking Company

A prominent U.K. green energy group took over a firm dedicated to fracking for natural gas, vowing to halt all fossil fuel production and cancel further development, The Guardian reported.

The North Yorkshire-based firm Third Energy, which has been a major producer of natural gas in the U.K for decades, was acquired by Wolfland Group, a company that develops renewable energy solutions across the nation, The Guardian reported. Third Energy will now be led by Wolfland director Steve Mason, a prominent anti-fracking activist.

“The current energy crisis has shown that we must be energy independent as a nation and that fossil fuels need to be urgently replaced by clean renewable energy supplies, which will lead to cheaper energy and help us tackle climate change,” Mason said, according to The Guardian.

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Data From Around the World – Including Antarctica – Show Omicron Favoring the Fully Vaccinated

The coronavirus has reached remote Antarctica, striking most of the 25 Belgian staffers at a research station, despite all of them being fully vaccinated, passing multiple PCR tests, and quarantining before arrival.

Two thirds of the researchers working in Belgium’s Princess Elisabeth Polar Station have caught Covid, the Daily Telegraph reported, “proving there is no escape from the global pandemic.”

None of the cases are severe, according to the Telegraph. There are two emergency doctors at the station monitoring the situation.

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Report: Online Trolls Could Be Jailed for Two Years Under Proposed United Kingdom Law

Social media users that post certain kinds of offensive content could face a prison sentence of up to two years under a proposed United Kingdom law, The Times reported.

The Online Safety Bill, a piece of proposed legislation overhauling the U.K.’s online communications laws, will include a provision that criminalizes content that causes “likely psychological harm,” with sentences reaching up to two years, according to The Times. Examples of newly-illegal social media posts include “knowingly false communication” with the intention to cause “emotional” harm, as well as “pile-ons” in which a group of people coordinate to send unpleasant messages to one user.

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Facebook Fined Nearly $70 Million After Ignoring UK Government Orders

Facebook’s seemingly-unending stream of bad publicity continued this week, when it was fined nearly $70 million by the United Kingdom for what is being described as a deliberate lack of compliance into an anti-trust investigation. 

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has been investigating Facebook’s acquisition of Giphy for nearly a year, and ordered the company to produce information “required information related to an initial enforcement order (IEO) placed on it by the watchdog, despite repeated requests for it to do so,” according to TechCrunch. 

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UK’s Parliament Holds Biden in Contempt as France and Britain Forced to Rescue Citizens Trapped in Kabul

The Biden administration’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan and the desperate situation in Kabul has angered U.S. allies, leaving them scrambling to evacuate their citizens and the Afghans who supported them during the 20 year war.

The United Kingdom’s Parliament on Wednesday held Joe Biden in contempt for Afghan debacle, with one veteran MP saying the U.S. abandoned its Afghan allies and disregarded their sacrifices.

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Adam Smith’s Grave Targeted by Pro-BLM Investigation

In Scotland, the gravesite and memorial of Adam Smith, the Enlightenment philosopher who is widely considered the father of modern capitalism, is now being targeted by local officials’ in an investigation over possible ties to “slavery and colonialism,” as reported by Breitbart.

The Edinburgh City Council launched a formal review of various statues, memorials, monuments, and other historical locations throughout the city in the aftermath of the far-left race riots last summer. The investigation is seeking any potential candidates for “removal or re-interpretation” if any of them are found to allegedly have ties to “racism and oppression.” The council consists almost entirely of members of left-wing parties, including the Labour Party and the Scottish National Party.

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United Kingdom Approves AstraZeneca Coronavirus Vaccine

The United Kingdom became the first country to approve AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine as the nation combats a sharp spike in confirmed cases.

The vaccine, developed in partnership with Oxford University, can be stored at much warmer temperatures than other approved candidates. Its approval followed an official recommendation from Britain’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, and the country has already purchased 100 million doses, the company said in its statement.

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Coronavirus Vaccines Can Guard Against New, More Contagious UK Strain, Experts Say

The two coronavirus vaccines that have been approved for emergency use authorization in the U.S. will be able to combat a new, more contagious strain of the virus in the U.K., experts said Monday.

Vaccines made by pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Moderna will be effective against the new strain, which is “very similar” to previous strains at the genetic level, University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation affiliate assistant professor Vin Gupta told CNBC. The Food and Drug Administration has approved both vaccines for emergency use authorization after large-scale human trials showed efficacy of more than 90%.

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UK Must Prepare for a No-Deal Brexit, Boris Johnson Says

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned that a potential no-deal break from the European Union is likely unless the bloc had a “fundamental” change in position.

The European Union and the United Kingdom have struggled to strike a trade deal amid their negotiations, leading each side to blame the other as the end-of-year deadline approaches, the Associated Press reported.

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Britain’s Boris Johnson says COVID-19 Has Been a Disaster

Prime Minister Boris Johnson acknowledged Monday that the coronavirus pandemic has been a “disaster” for Britain, as he announced a spending splurge designed to get the country — and his faltering Conservative government — back on track.

As the U.K. emerges from a three-month lockdown, Johnson has lined up big-money pledges on schools, housing and infrastructure, in an attempt to move on from an outbreak that has left more than 43,000 Britons dead — the worst confirmed death toll in Europe.

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U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson Admitted to Intensive Care with Coronavirus – UPDATED

Boris Johnson

UPDATE: The Office of the Prime Minister issued the following statement late Monday:

Since Sunday evening, the Prime Minister has been under the care of doctors at St Thomas’ Hospital, in London, after being admitted with persistent symptoms of coronavirus.

Over the course of this afternoon, the condition of the Prime Minister has worsened and, on the advice of his medical team, he has been moved to the Intensive Care Unit at the hospital.

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U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson Hospitalized with Coronavirus After 10 Days in Self-Quarantine

The UK’s Office of the Prime Minister announced in a brief statement Sunday that Boris Johnson has been hospitalized on the advice of his doctor.

“The Prime Minister has tonight been admitted to hospital for tests,” the statement said, adding:

This is a precautionary step, as the Prime Minister continues to have persistent symptoms of coronavirus ten days after testing positive for the virus.

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Commentary: Realignment and Race in the Anglosphere

Two national elections, one decisive and the other a cliffhanger, have shaken the politics of the West to its core. In the United Kingdom, just last month, Conservative candidate Boris Johnson won a resolute victory for himself and his party. In the United States, barely three years ago, Republican candidate Donald Trump won the presidential election in a stunning upset where he narrowly lost the popular vote but logged a solid victory in the Electoral College.

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Populist Electoral Wins Hit the Globalist Establishment Worldwide

by Ben Whelon   A string of populist electoral wins in Australia, India and the U.K. are beginning to transform the global political landscape as nations revolt against mass migration, climate change legislation and traditional party establishments. In recent weeks, several nations have placed anti-establishment groups in power, many of which advocate strict immigration policies and hold nationalist sympathies. As discontent with the establishment continues to fester across the globe, here are some of the highlights from the biggest developments in the past month. Australia returns Scott Morrison’s conservative Liberal party in election upset  Polling pointed to a disaster for Australia’s right-leaning Liberal-National Coalition in the federal election held May 18. But what was supposed to be Australia’s “climate change election,” with leading parties supporting sweeping climate legislation, turned to a stunning upset, according to The New York Times. Not only did the Liberal-National Coalition retain power; it gained seats in Parliament and earned an outright majority, with 77 seats, the Guardian reported. The party leader, incumbent Prime Minister Scott Morrison (pictured, center), came to power when the nation’s previous leader, Malcolm Turnbull, resigned in 2018. Morrison campaigned against greater immigration and cut the nation’s net intake, per the Sydney Morning Herald. He also moved against…

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Few Signs of Breakthrough as U.K.’s Prime Minister May Set to Unveil ‘Brexit Plan B’

Theresa May

Prime Minister Theresa May was set to unveil her new plan to break Britain’s Brexit deadlock on Monday — one expected to look a lot like the old plan that was decisively rejected by Parliament last week. May was scheduled to brief the House of Commons on how she intends to proceed. There were few signs she planned to make radical changes to her deal, though she may seek alterations to its most contentious section, an insurance policy known as the “backstop” that is intended to guarantee there are no customs checks along the border between EU member Ireland and the U.K.’s Northern Ireland after Brexit. The EU insists it will not renegotiate the withdrawal agreement, and says the backstop is an integral part of the deal. “This is the text we all invested ourselves in,” Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl said as she arrived for a meeting of EU ministers in Brussels. British lawmakers are due to vote on May’s “Plan B,” and possible amendments, on Jan. 29, two months before Britain is due to leave the EU. Britain and the EU sealed a divorce deal in November after months of tense negotiations. But the agreement has been rejected…

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British Lawmakers Warn They Will Vote Against Brexit Deal

  It took Britain’s Theresa May and 27 other European Union leaders just 40 minutes to sign the Brexit deal after two years of tortuous negotiations, but the trials and tribulations of Britain’s withdrawal agreement approved Sunday in Brussels are far from over. As they endorsed the 585-page agreement, and a 26-page accompanying political declaration that sets out the parameters of negotiating a possible free trade deal between Britain and the European Union, powerful political foes in London plotted strategies to undo it. There is little evidence Britain’s embattled prime minister will have sufficient support to win legislative endorsement of the deal in a House of Commons vote next month. That was clearly on the minds of European Commission officials Sunday as EU leaders gave their backing to the terms of Britain’s split from Brussels after 44 years of membership. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker warned that Britain cannot expect to get a better deal, if its parliament rejects the agreement. “Now it is time for everybody to take their responsibilities, everybody,” he said. “This is the deal, it’s the best deal possible and the EU will not change its fundamental position when it comes to this issue, so I…

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Media-Fueled Demonstrators Flood Streets to March Against Trump in London

London Trump protest

A giant balloon (pictured) depicting President Trump as a screaming orange baby flew over London Friday as tens of thousands marched through the streets to protest the American leader’s visit to the U.K. The diaper-clad infant, with a quiff of hair and a mobile phone for tweeting, was the centerpiece of demonstrations protesting Trump’s policies on issues ranging from immigration and race relations to women and climate change. “Depicting Trump as a baby is a great way of targeting his fragile ego, and mocking him is our main motivation,” said Matthew Bonner, one of the organizers. “He doesn’t seem to be affected by the moral outrage that comes from his behavior and his policies. You can’t reason with him but you can ridicule him.” Anger over Trump’s visit has already had consequences. Just a week after Trump’s inauguration, Prime Minister Theresa May invited the president for a state visit, the type of event that normally includes glittering horse-drawn carriages and a state dinner hosted by the monarch. That morphed into this two-day “working visit” with much less pomp and circumstance amid concern about security and crowds in central London. Protest organizers say they plan to stage demonstrations in some 50…

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Report: Britain’s May to Urge Trump to Avoid London Protests During UK Visit

Reuters   British Prime Minister Theresa May will urge U.S. President Donald Trump to avoid protesters in central London during his UK visit in July and instead meet her at her country residence, the Sun newspaper reported on Sunday. The details of the plan will be given to the White House by Kim Darroch, British ambassador to the United States, the report said. There are two proposals that will be made to the White House by Darroch upon May’s approval – one for a Downing Street visit or one based at Chequers, a 16th-century manor house 60 km (40 miles) northwest of London – the report said, citing a source, who added it would be made clear that May prefers the meeting take place at Chequers. Trump will also be asked to have tea with Queen Elizabeth at Windsor Castle, a royal residence west of London and not at Buckingham Palace, according to the report. Darroch will suggest to the White House that Trump does not visit Britain’s houses of parliament, the Sun reported. May’s office was not immediately available for comment. Trump will travel to Britain in July for a working visit with May, after months of back-and-forth over…

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Highlights from the Final Brexit Agreement

David Davis and Michael Barnier

by Rev. Ben Johnson   On Monday afternoon, David Davis of the UK and Michel Barnier of the EU revealed that their governments had agreed on the shape of their relationship during the first two years after Brexit. Here’s what it will look like: A 21-month transition period: The UK will officially leave the European Union on March 29, 2019. Monday’s announcement adds a 21-month transition period, which will end on December 31, 2020. During this phase, the UK will enjoy all “the benefits, the advantages of the single market and the customs union,” Barnier said at today’s joint press conference in Brussels. The UK hoped for a full two years, but Davis deemed the agreed time limit “close enough.” Businesses had hoped for a period of stability to adjust to a post-Brexit business environment, and the government wanted more time to negotiate a final agreement with the EU. Adam Marshall of the British Chambers of Commerce called the agreement “a milestone that many businesses across the UK have been waiting for.” The UK will accept EU decisions with no input: In that 21-month period, the UK will be a rule taker, not a rule maker. The UK agrees to “be bound by the obligations…

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At Least 19 Dead, 50 Injured After ‘Possible Terrorist Attack’ at Ariana Grande Concert in England

At least 19 people were killed and 50 injured Monday night in an explosion at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, that police are treating as a possible terrorist attack. The explosion happened near an entrance to the 21,000-seat arena just minutes after Grande’s concert ended and the singer left the stage, witnesses said. Manchester…

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