Police open a homicide investigation in the Northland settlement of Omapere after a body was found in a residential house this morning.
Another person at the scene was taken into custody on other matters. Police are not seeking anyone else in connection with the investigation, although no charges have yet been laid.
A post mortem examination and formal identification procedures will take place shortly.
In an interview with Counterspin Media, Vicki, who works as a first responder tells of her dealings with medical staff following the passing of her mother.
Here’s a brief summary of the interview:
John Ransom is a political and financial writer and editor whose work has appeared at Townhall.com, Newsmax, the Daily Caller and IBT. He splits his time between the US and Asia.
The Democrat House speaker has become the latest member of Congress to show the rest of us how to make money on Wall Street. But please don’t put it down to insider trading, because that’s illegal.
In case you missed it, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) is being panned by the Twitterverse, if not by regulators and ethicists, for a series of stock transactions conducted by her husband Paul.
“The week before the House Judiciary Committee voted on reigning in big tech,” reported Fortune in July, “Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband exercised a bullish bet on Google-parent Alphabet, in a timely transaction that netted him $5.3 million.”
Despite all the early optimism of a post-Covid economic revival, soaring inflation stoked by the government’s multi-billion-dollar stimulus schemes is threatening to ruin Joe Biden’s dreams less than a year since he took office.
At the beginning of this year, the mainstream media was blasting rays of optimism over America’s Covid-19 economic recovery, which, owing to the combination of a successful vaccine rollout, huge injections of government money and a sheer disregard for human life, allowed the US to roar back in recovery.
Hal Brands, who authored an article the other week claiming that China’s rise was “over,” in April proclaimed “America’s Come-From-Behind Pandemic Victory” and stated the US was “the true winner.” Still technically on course for economic growth of just under 6% for the year of 2021 (following a -3.5% retraction in the previous year), it didn’t seem unrealistic at first glance that such optimism was displaced.
Yet by October, the bright lights of hope have faded into a murky grey of misery. The emerging post-Covid-19 world and economy isn’t like the old one. Surging commodity and energy prices have caused chaos the world over, squeezing supply chains and coinciding with a tidal wave of inflation which doesn’t seem to be slowing down. It’s hitting hard in the US, where inflation rose to a 13-year high of an annually adjusted 5.4%. The US Federal Reserve has insisted this phenomenon is “transitionary” – ignoring the bulk of evidence that it clearly isn’t. Already around the world, certain countries are now pushing up interest rates to try to cool down the flow of credit, leading to GDP projections coming down.
However, the bigger elephant in the room is that these price rises are the product of America’s own self-defeating and ill-calculated economic policies, namely ploughing trillions into the economy to force it to restart, leading to a spree of uneven consumption. It’s also been hit by the effects from the imposition of strident tariffs on imports from China, imposed during the Donald Trump era but maintained by President Biden.
Despite being hailed as measures that would boost US industry and hurt China’s, they have not served to shift manufacturing whatsoever and have instead translated into steep price rises, as China remained the only supply chain capable of riding out the storm. The result is now a vicious cycle of inflationary pressure, or better termed “stagflation,” which amounts to an early setback for Biden’s economic policy, which is still peppered with the obsession of “America First.”
Recent export data shows that despite its well-reported power crisis, China’s exports boomed in September and its trade surplus over the US jumped 12% to $28.1 billion in August.
Such an outcome is deeply ironic, not least because it remains the aim of US trade policy to not only try to contain China’s economic growth but to bring manufacturing “home.”
It hasn’t worked, primarily because no other country besides China has got the industrial and logistical capacity to meet global demand, coupled with political stability and certainty stemming from its handling of Covid-19. In America, both Trump and Biden pursued stimulus bills and mega investments into the US economy, producing an earthquake of unprecedented demand which breezed over their sacred tariffs, and causing ricocheting price rises throughout the entire supply chain.
It’s become a vicious cycle. Commodity, energy and price costs have all surged, leading to China’s Producer Price Index soaring to an all-time high, which will then be exported in the form of rising prices for goods throughout the entire world.
The US is importing more and more from China, not less, simply because it has no feasible alternative to handle the demand of an economy that’s been on stimulus “steroids.” Yet now, as we are seeing with GDP projections, it has got to the point where inflation has begun to wear down growth because it naturally suppresses consumption, as wages tend not to keep up with businesses prioritizing their profit margins. US GDP was constantly forecast to reach 7% at the start of this year, Fortune even produced a ridiculous article claiming it would overtake China’s percentage rise, but now it has slipped to under 6% as the post-Covid “stagflation” takes root.
What are Biden’s options? The most obvious one to offset inflation would be to cancel the counterproductive, self-defeating and useless Trump tariffs, but as explained previously: he can’t do that because that is politically toxic; these tariffs are a quasi-religious, sacred white elephant. Protectionism, “China bad” and “American jobs first” are the new normal. But if this kind of inflation is what is happening now, imagine what it would be like if the US hypothetically doubled down on manufacturing at home? The US has, as it is, attempted to force through a nationalistic economic strategy in a globalized modern world, and it is threatening to make the wheels fall off the train.
On that note, it is ironic that the mainstream media is relentlessly reporting a “crisis” in China over its electricity shortages, yet fails to see what has caused this in context and how this problem is interlocking. There’s one root problem: A US economic strategy over the past few years that has been premised on eye-watering contradictions, the mixing of trade protectionism with a money supply on steroids overdose.
As Brand’s April article shows us, the US wanted to be back first, they wanted to be back “best,” they wanted to “win” the pandemic and had to show China who was boss at all costs. It certainly has been at all costs: It’s overheated the economy and left Biden’s economic policies in disarray before his first year is even up.
The third season of the series, which covers Monica Lewinsky and Bill Clinton’s affair and the surrounding scandal, is bang on the money, and I should know, because I too was an intern for a powerful Democrat in the 1990s.
American Crime Story: Impeachment is like American fast food; tasty, quick and probably not very good for you. There is sex and politics delivered in a palatable PG 13 sort of way. It is a docudrama, where the actual events are as melodramatic as they were in the 1990’s, when then-President Bill Clinton’s affair with the then-22-year-old White House intern Monica Lewinsky and cover up became grounds for impeachment (previously, the series has covered the trial of O.J. Simpson and the assassination of Gianni Versace).
Many Americans remember where they were when Bill Clinton told the nation defiantly, that he “did not have sexual relations with that woman.” Only later did we come to understand that he did not think of oral sex as actual sex by definition. He sounded convincing maybe only to himself.
Monica Lewinsky’s two year emotional and physical relationship with the President of the United States was publicly reduced to cruel and puerile jokes about blowjobs. The young intern was internationally slut-shamed on an industrial level. The salacious details of Clinton’s affair emerged on the website Drudge Report. This was the first time the internet had really been used as a vehicle for weaponizing shame and objectifying the victim, and in many ways laid the foundations for the hideous internet culture we have today. Like a train wreck, people rubbernecked, reading in feigned horror and lascivious interest details of oval office blowjobs. The very private actions of two individuals were held in public scrutiny to be judged.
I related to parts of the storyline. I had come forward with my own history. However, mine was a history of being sexually harassed and sexually assaulted by my former boss, then-Senator Joe Biden. The public shaming weaponized by resources from his campaign to silence me through media and social media was devastating. I related to the loss of career, reputation, and of course being threatened with prison for speaking up.
I also worked with some of the same people that Monica Lewinsky did in the 1990s. I was, over the course of my time in Washington, an intern for Congressman Leon Panetta and a subordinate of the famed press secretary, Evelyn Lieberman, who worked for Joe Biden at that same time I was in his Senate office. Evelyn was world-weary (with good reason) as she wrangled the international press for politicians like Biden and Clinton, hiding their dirty little secrets.
At the scheduled intern lunch, we got to eat at the members-only restaurant with Congressman Panetta, he was asked about Bill Clinton, who at the time was just becoming a name in the New Hampshire primaries. Leon threw back his head, bellowed his famous laugh, and said: “Bill Clinton? He is not going to be a contender for president; he is a snake-oil salesman.” The intern who asked blushed as he admitted he was going to volunteer there for his campaign. Leon chuckled and answered it would be a good experience. Later, Leon would become Clinton’s chief of staff before he became the head of the CIA.
When the story broke about my history with Biden, Leon denied ever remembering me even though I had spoken to him and his wife Sylvia just a few years earlier, at an art opening in Carmel, California. Leon would not even tiptoe around the issues with Biden and he resigned abruptly from Clinton’s White House. Unlike his colleagues, Leon had no cloying Washington whispers about him. He collected secrets but did not create them.
A distinct difference with this drama series to others about this time in history, is that Monica Lewinsky is one of the producers. The episode depicting the FBI sting operation targeting Monica was a particularly uncomfortable peek inside the tactics the feds use to get terrified and vulnerable witnesses talking. There is a team of female voices retelling this history and an emphasis on the difficulty it causes when sex gets mixed into the work for a powerful person. In two hours of the series, Monica is looking for a way to professionally land after her affair with Clinton has ended; this is where the power differential and consent are explored from a female view.
However, Monica isn’t the only woman in Clinton’s past the series explores. Juanita Broderick’s history with Clinton and her unwillingness to come forward as the impeachment proceedings intensify is covered. Juanita is now outspoken about the brutal way she was sexually assaulted by Clinton and described the event and its aftermath in her book, “You Better Put Some Ice on That”, the phrase Clinton used to her after he allegedly punched her.
The real “American Crime Story” of Impeachment was hidden and concealed during the Impeachment of Bill Clinton.
“Jane Doe #5” is no Bill & Monica consensual affair. It’s “When Bill Raped Juanita”. Stay tuned. More to come. #IAmJaneDoeNo5 pic.twitter.com/0QCH6MpNsy— Juanita Broaddrick (@atensnut) October 2, 2021
Juanita’s history with Clinton remains, to a large extent, suppressed in corporate media. In a recent discussion with Juanita, she and I discussed the times Clinton approached her to apologize and conversely the scary encounter with Hilary regarding Juanita’s ordeal.
The way Paula Jones was class-shamed and battered for telling her account of turning Bill Clinton down is also covered. Paula in particular became a target of Clinton’s guard dog and campaign manager, James Carville, who, to my mind, looks like how Satan would if he took human form. He famously said about Jones, “See what you get when you drag a hundred-dollar bill through a trailer park,” and continues to consult on powerful Democratic campaigns including Joe Biden’s.
I would contend that the playbook of dehumanizing, class-shaming, slut-shaming and humiliating women who dare to discuss sexual harassment and sexual assault was perfected by the Democratic elites to protect their own from the public. Sadly, the public continue to blame the victims ensnared in sexual scandals and, in an irrational, hostile way, protect the abuser. The enablers of these men weaponize the media for their own narratives and set the tone of how the victim is to be treated.
The acting in the series is superb. Clive Owens channels Clinton’s charisma and creepiness with style. Paulson captures Linda Tripp with such clarity she all but steals the show. It is good to see the Clintons, for once, not portrayed with reverence but in a more real light. They epitomize Lord Acton’s overused, but accurate, quote “absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
It has long puzzled me why Clinton, who literally had the world in his pocket, engaged in such predatory and self-destructive behavior. I can only surmise that powerful men in a patriarchal society, with free reign to plunder at will, need to find new ways to stimulate themselves. They need something with more edge, something risky; their lack of emotional intelligence means their more primitive urges only become amplified with power.
As the MeToo movement still flails around in partisan politics, picking and choosing survivors to be believed, there is still so much to be done to change the frustrating ignorance around sexual politics. Shame and sexual repression are not working for American society and do little to advance the collective growth of consciousness around these discussions. One of the messages that comes through in American Crime Story: Impeachment is that US culture is still developing an approach which enables women to truly hold equal power and rights, not have their careers ended by the sexual whims of powerful men.
The very contrasting treatment of whistleblowers willing to testify against Facebook with that of the imprisoned WikiLeaks founder shows us that the Establishment’s support of those ‘spilling the beans’ is highly selective.
All whistleblowers are equal, but some are more equal than others. Or, we could more specifically say, whistleblowers whose revelations aid ruling-class agendas are put in front of Congress and handed the mic, while those whose revelations expose ruling-class agendas are persecuted and end up in maximum-security jails.
This week we learnt that a second Facebook whistleblower, one Sophie Zhang, was willing to testify before Congress less than two weeks after we had Frances Haugen with her revelations.
“Facebook’s products harm children, stoke division and weaken our democracy,” Haugen told senators. The company put profits before “the common good.” Which is exactly what the faux-communitarian pro-censorship elites wanted to hear. There is a war going on against Facebook at the moment, in case you hadn’t noticed, but those who are waging it don’t have the same issues with Mark Zuckerberg’s social media giant that you and I might have.
We are concerned that Facebook already censors too much in the political sphere, but the ruling elites are concerned that it doesn‘t censor enough. They want more government control over the internet. In fact, they want total government control over the internet, as in China, the country they routinely criticise on “human rights” grounds, but who they are doing their best to copy.
The elites don’t like the fact that Zuckerberg’s platform gives Joe Bloggs a voice – that Joe might use his voice to question hegemonic narratives, and post “non-approved” material. Joe Bloggs needs to be put in his place. As do those who produce the “non-approved” material he shares with his friends.
Haugen’s testimony furthered that pro-censorship, pro-control agenda, which is why her words got such glowing coverage in the mainstream media.
It’ll be the same with Zhang. When she left Facebook last year, the former data scientist penned a lengthy memo alleging that the company was failing to tackle misinformation. She wrote, “I know that I have blood on my hands by now.” Apparently, she is going to talk about “multiple fake accounts on Facebook” that have been “undermining elections and political affairs around the world.”
What’s the betting that ‘them darn Russkies’ (who of course stopped Saint Hillary Clinton from becoming president in 2016), will come into the spotlight again – and that the combined effect of Haugen and Zhang‘s testimony will be to strengthen Facebook censorship still further?
Meanwhile, as Haugen and Zhang are feted because they are saying exactly what the political class wants to hear, (and, as Glenn Greenwald points out, have the potential to earn millions of dollars from the SEC whistleblower program) the world’s most famous ‘whistleblower’ is still languishing in Belmarsh Prison.
Julian Assange spilled the beans on what Western (and other governments) were doing in secret with our money – but instead of being lauded by the media for the service he was doing for democracy, he was eviscerated. There was no invitation for him to address Congress. And no prospect of him winning awards of millions of dollars from US state bodies.
Those attacking Assange will say he endangered national security, but in truth, it was the illegal wars which the WikiLeaks founder sought to shine a light on which did that.
One fears that Julian will never leave prison alive. His life these past 10 years has resembled a Kafkaesque nightmare. He is the ‘Josef K’ of our times – with his ‘Trial’ never-ending.
Assange has paid a terrible price for telling us what went on behind the curtain – things which we were never meant to find out, but which were our right to know. Which is what makes the current adulation of the Facebook “whistleblowers” by those who stay silent on Assange‘s treatment, or who actually support it, so nauseating.
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Telegraph.
Armored vehicles have rolled into Beirut as the Lebanese capital descended into chaos, with crowds led by Hezbollah and Amal groups demonstrating against Tarek Bitar, the lead judge of the port blast investigation.
Beirut resembled a warzone on Thursday as the army deployed armored vehicles to a divided area of the city where deadly skirmishes erupted following an attack on a protest. The army declared that the troops would fire at any armed individuals on the capital’s streets.
The Lebanese army deployed a range of armored vehicles, including tanks and trucks with mounted machine guns. Sources on the ground suggest the troops have moved toward a building from which militants are allegedly based.
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ latest win in preseason was marred by violence in the stands at Heinz Field, as a woman slapped another fan in the face before he then KO’d her male accomplice in scenes later shared on social media.
With quarterback Ben Roethlisberger returning to score two touchdowns, the home team beat the Detroit Lions 26-20.
Improving their record to 3-0 before the NFL season kicks off on September 12 against the Buffallo Bills, the Steelers have delivered their best start to a campaign in 11 years.
And while their fans should have been enjoying the action and getting excited about a possible first Superbowl appearance since that period, in 2010, others preferred to argue amongst themselves and get physical.
Heinz field lit tonight pic.twitter.com/14YaS4lYKw
— Troy (@CLEtroyjames) August 22, 2021
In one incident, two clips of which have been seen a combined 100,000 times already, a blonde woman and African-American man are having it out on different rows of the 70,000 capacity stadium.
While the latter party is cool-headed in the beginning, the former yells crazily at her seated male accomplice, who is wearing a cap, to “shut up”.
She then slaps the man square in the face, causing him to restrain himself from hitting her before the woman’s male friend rises to engage in a brawl with the African-American man.
Knocked out for his troubles, the man slumps in his seat with the cap knocked off his head as his female partner shields him from further blows, with several fellow matchgoers screaming in disbelief.
On the internet, the masses took the side of the slapped man for defending his corner.
“She had it coming,” said one.
“And that dude gets knocked out AND verbally humiliated when he wakes up.”
“I hate to say this; but expect A LOT of this in the coming season,” predicted one onlooker.
“Everywhere. Fans were already crazy pre-pandemic, people have only gotten worse.”
Supporting this point, mass brawls and KOs have already been seen at venues around the US during boxing shows and baseball games since lockdown, with Los Angeles the setting for one such fracas just last weekend while an NFL preseason meeting took place.
The RT Documentary’s film St. Basil’s: an icon of Russia, is a journey inside Russia’s most famous cathedral. Compared by many to a mad confectioner’s fantasy for its shapes and colours, it also boasts a rich history and many legends surrounding its existence over four centuries.
When tourists come to Moscow, taking a selfie in front of St. Basil’s is an absolute must. The famed cathedral has seen Arnold Schwarzenegger and Pink Floyd. During the 2018 FIFA World Cup, more people visited St. Basil’s than Luzhniki Stadium, where the finals were held.
The cathedral was built in the 16th century to mark Russia’s victory over Kazan Khanate. Such a triumph at the time was basically what WWII was for Russia in the 20th century. Initially, it was called the Cathedral of the Intercession on the Moat. Still, people renamed it St. Basil’s to honour Basil the Blessed, the holy fool and a miracle worker beloved by ordinary people and feared by Ivan the Terrible.
During the major renovation in 1931, there was an attempt to remove the Cathedral of the Red Square, but Stalin personally decided against it. And the cathedral stayed, inspiring artists and photographers and bringing joy to visitors. Though St. Basil’s is now a museum, it still has a functioning choir. The performance is accessible to all people who can enjoy their singing in the perfect cathedral acoustics. Another musical feature of St. Basil’s that a lucky few encounter is catching the church bell chime.
What other wonders does legendary St. Basil’s have in store for its visitors?
The COVID Doctor by RT Documentary takes a peek into the life of a COVID doctor, Oleg Abakumov. He fights the disease in the red zone of one of the COVID hospitals in Moscow and runs an informative and creative Instagram, where he dispels medical myths and, in his own words, “translates from medical to Russian”.
Oleg’s Instagram is popular because every topic is framed into a themed photoshoot to draw attention and be more comprehensible. Oleg is convinced it is good for a doctor to run a blog if they have the resources; that is why he takes his blogging very seriously. This, of course, can’t interfere with the hospital job.
Oleg is originally from a Russian town near Voronezh, but when he heard about the COVID pandemic and the disease spreading in Moscow, he took off immediately. He sees his work in the COVID red zone as fighting a war and is convinced approaching every patient with a good rapport does half the job. And he should know — Oleg was a sickly child with asthma. So he knew the hospital life from the patient’s point of view, and when he grew up, he wanted to come back as a doctor. This is why he became a pulmonologist.
How does he manage to combine his hospital duties and running a blog?