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THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF TWEETS: TWITTER IS HIRING AN ALARMING NUMBER OF FBI AGENTS

Twitter has been on a recruitment drive of late, hiring a host of former feds and spies. Studying a number of employment and recruitment websites, MintPress has ascertained that the social media giant has, in recent years, recruited dozens of individuals from the national security state to work in the fields of security, trust, safety and content.

Chief amongst these is the Federal Bureau of Investigations. The FBI is generally known as a domestic security and intelligence force. However, it has recently expanded its remit into cyberspace. “The FBI’s investigative authority is the broadest of all federal law enforcement agencies,” the “About” section of its website informs readers. “The FBI has divided its investigations into a number of programs, such as domestic and international terrorism, foreign counterintelligence [and] cyber crime,” it adds.

For example, in 2019, Dawn Burton (the former director of Washington operations for Lockheed Martin) was poached from her job as senior innovation advisor to the director at the FBI to become senior director of strategy and operations for legal, public policy, trust and safety at Twitter. The following year, Karen Walsh went straight from 21 years at the bureau to become director of corporate resilience at the silicon valley giant. Twitter’s deputy general counsel and vice president of legal, Jim Baker, also spent four years at the FBI between 2014 and 2018, where his resumé notes he rose to the role of senior strategic advisor.

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Texas mayor and teacher Matt McIlravy arrested for soliciting child online

The mayor of a town in Texas was arrested for online solicitation of a child, a report said.

Pilot Point Mayor Matt McIlravy was charged with a second-degree felony for the offense, according to KTVT-TV.

The mayor, who is also a teacher, was busted by a Dallas Police undercover operation, the station said.

McIlravy is a married father of two boys that works as a design engineer and also serves as a men’s prayer meeting leader, according to his government profile.

He was recently elected mayor of the city of less than 4,000 north of Dallas. His Facebook campaign page did not list a political affiliation.

McIlravy’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Post.

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Biden ‘Nanny State’ Comes For The Smokers

One day after the Biden administration said it would develop a rule requiring tobacco companies to reduce nicotine levels in cigarettes, a new report via WSJ said the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is preparing to order Juul Labs Inc. to take its e-cigarettes off the U.S. market.

WSJ cites people familiar with the matter who said the FDA decision could come as soon as today. 

“The marketing denial order would follow a nearly two-year review of data presented by the vaping company, which sought authorization for its tobacco- and menthol-flavored products to stay on the U.S. market,” WSJ notes. 

Juul has spent the last several years attempting to regain the trust of the FDA and the public. The company limited marketing and stopped selling fruity flavors in 2019 — since then, sales have tumbled. 

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350,000 trout to be euthanized after bacteria outbreak at two Eastern Sierra fish hatcheries

Two fish hatcheries in the Eastern Sierra are fighting a bacteria outbreak that is causing them to euthanize nearly 350,000 trout.

On Monday, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) announced that nearly 350,000 catchable rainbow trout need to be euthanized as they are showing signs of Lactococcus petuari, a bacteria that sickens fish.

CDFW said this outbreak was first detected in April at the Black Rock Hatchery in Independence and Fish Springs Hatchery in Big Pine. According to CDFW, these two hatcheries usually provide fish for stocking waterways in the Inland Deserts Region.

‘Because this is a significant loss of fish that would normally be stocked for anglers in the 2022 season, CDFW is working to contract with an external vendor to provide catchable rainbow trout for planting in Mono County,” CDFW wrote in a statement.

CDFW said this contract could be approved by as early as July, allowing for stocking to begin shortly thereafter.

In the meantime, other CDFW hatcheries across California have stepped in to support the eastern Sierra hatcheries by providing and stocking fish in priority waters.

“This loss is a huge disappointment, but we were prepared for this possibility and are doing all we can to ensure to continued angling opportunity for the public,” CDFW Fisheries Supervisor Russell Black said.

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Over 40 Attacks Targeted Pro-life Group Since Supreme Court Leak

More than 40 attacks against pro-life individuals and organizations have been recorded since the leak of a Supreme Court draft opinion indicating a potential overturn of Roe v. Wade, according to a report released on June 16.

The report, published by Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, says the over 40 incidents that have occurred in recent weeks involve violence, vandalism, and intimidation.

“Every abortion is an act of violence—violence against the unborn child who is killed and violence against the mother who is wounded in one of the deepest ways possible,” Marjorie Dannenfelser, the group’s president, said in the statement accompanying the report.

“In contrast to that inherent violence, the vast network of pregnancy centers, maternity homes, and other organizations across America exist to peacefully and lovingly serve women and families,” it said.

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Biden admin orders ammo maker to stop selling 5.56 rounds to Americans

The Biden administration has reportedly ordered an ammunition manufacturer to stop selling Americans some 5.56mm rounds, which is the most common for the AR-15 semi-automatic rifle.

In an effort to severely limit the sale of ammo used in AR-15s, the U.S. military has ordered Winchester – which manages the U.S. Army’s Lake City ammunition plant – to stop selling its excess M855/SS109 (5.56mm) ammo to the public, The Truth About Guns reported citing a source close to the matter.

The Lake City plant, located in Independence, Missouri, produces nearly 30 percent of the commercial market’s sales of 5.56 ammo.

Larry Keane, the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s general counsel and senior vice president, first revealed the administration’s plans in a tweet on Wednesday.  

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Ukraine Unveils Mini “Terminator” Ground Robot Equipped With Machine Gun

The latest war machine headed to Ukraine’s front lines isn’t a flying drone but a miniature 4×4 ground-based robot — equipped with a machine gun.

According to Forbes, Ukrainian forces are set to receive an uncrewed ground vehicle (UGV) called “GNOM” that is no bigger than a standard microwave and weighs around 110lbs.

GNOM isn’t radio-controlled and has a 2,000 meter (1.25 mile) spool of fiber-optic cable mounted on the rear that offers operators a jam-proof way to control it on the modern battlefield without being detected or signal jammed by Russian electronic warfare equipment.

“Control of GNOM is possible in the most aggressive environment during the operation of the enemy’s electronic warfare equipment.

“The operator doesn’t deploy a control station with an antenna, and does not unmask his position. The cable is not visible, and it also does not create thermal radiation that could be seen by a thermal imager,” said Eduard Trotsenko, CEO and owner of Temerland, the maker of the GNOM.

“While it is usually operated by remote control, GNOM clearly has some onboard intelligence and is capable of autonomous navigation. Previous Temerland designs have included advanced neural network and machine learning hardware and software providing a high degree of autonomy, so the company seems to have experience,” Forbes said.

The 7.62mm machinegun mounted on top of the “Terminator-style” robot will provide fire support for Ukrainian forces in dangerous areas. The UGV can also transport ammunition or other supplies to the front lines and even evacuate wounded soldiers with a special trailer.

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‘Jane’s Revenge’ group appears to threaten violence if Supreme Court overturns Roe

The militant abortion rights organisation Jane’s Revenge appears to be calling for an “night of rage” in the nation’s capital should the Supreme Court, as is expected, overturn Roe v. Wade later this month.

A flyer signed with the group’s name circulating in Washington, DC reads, “THE NIGHT SCOTUS OVERTURNS ROE V. WADE HIT THE STREETS YOU SAID YOU’D RIOT.”

It continues, “TO OUR OPPRESSORS: IF ABORTIONS AREN’T SAFE, YOU’RE NOT EITHER.’ JANE’S REVENGE.”

Those threats may not be idle. Jane’s Revenge has taken responsibility for the firebombing of multiple anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers since a draft of the high court’s looming Roe v Wade opinion was leaked to Politico in May, claiming attacks in Madison, Wisconsin, Des Moines, Iowa, and other locations.

Very little is concretely known about the group, which operates a website and has spread its messages with graffiti and flyers, but has said that it is comprised of multiple other unidentified groups and does not have any known core members. Some have expressed skepticism that the group is in fact a left-wing militant organisation and postulated that it may instead be a right-wing organisation maneuvering to turn people against the group’s goal of abortion rights for all.

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Some “UFO Abductions” Were Simulated Psychological Warfare Experiments, Says Dr. Jacques Vallée

Dr. Jacques Valée is an academic who holds a masters degree in astrophysics and a Ph.D., in computer science. He co-developed the first computerized map of Mars for NASA in 1963. The subject of UFOs first attracted his attention as an astronomer in Paris, and he subsequently became a close associate of J. Allen Hynek, who headed the US Air Force’s investigation into the UFO phenomenon, known as Project Blue Book.

Valée is one of the foremost researchers of the UFO phenomenon. He as been investigating it for decades. With governments around the world now acknowledging the phenomenon after years of ridicule, it would be encouraging for them to work with researchers like Valée. This, unfortunately, does not happen.

In one of his latest books, Forbidden Science 4, he shares a record of his private study into unexplained phenomenon between 1990 and the end of the millennium, during which he was traveling around the world pursuing his professional work as a high-technology investor. It’s a bit of a diary, documenting his experiences and encounters/meetings as he tries to examine and explore the phenomenon.

In an entry dated Thursday 26 March 1992, Vallée writes:

“I have secured a document confirming that the CIA simulated UFO abductions in Latin America (Brazil and Argentina) as psychological warfare experiments.”

If this is true, it’s quite concerning. Reading this line from his book triggered me back to earlier in his book when he mentions one of many conversations he’s had with Ron Blackburn, a former Colonel in the US Air Force.

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Police Report Proves Plainclothes Electronic Surveillance Unit Members Were Embedded Among Jan. 6 Protesters

While there is growing speculation that federal agents and Capitol Police were involved in instigating acts of violence during the Jan. 6, 2021 protests and recording responses for the purposes of entrapment, evidence now proves that “plainclothes” members of a special Electronic Surveillance Unit (ESU) were embedded among the protesters for the purposes of conducting video surveillance. Evidence also points to a day of security deficiencies and police provocation for the purpose of entrapment.

According to a report—First Amendment Demonstrations, issued Jan. 3, 2021, by Chief of Police Robert Contee of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), Homeland Security Bureau, Special Operations Division, obtained exclusively by The Epoch Times—the MPD began to activate Civil Disturbance Unit (CDU) platoons on Jan. 4, 2021. Full activation of 28 platoons was scheduled to occur on the following two days.

According to the Department of Justice website, “A CDU is composed of law enforcement officers who are trained to respond to protests, demonstrations, and civil disturbances for the purpose of preventing violence, destruction of property, and unlawful interference with persons exercising their rights under law.”

The objective of MPD was “to assist with the safe execution of any First Amendment demonstration and ensure the safety of the participants, public, and the officers.” CDU personnel and Special Operations Division  (SOD) members were to “monitor for any demonstration and/or violent activity and respond accordingly,” according to the report.

There has been speculation that federal agents and Capitol Police were involved in instigating acts of violence during the protests for the purposes of entrapment. As Red State reported in October 2021, “multiple surveillance videos show masked men opening up the doors to the U.S. Capitol Building to allow protesters to enter. In fact, one video shows them entering while Capitol Police officers simply stand around. Yet, we have no idea who those men are.”

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