USA - A new study spells out in alarming detail how easy it is for American security services and law enforcement agencies to bypass conventional legal routes to access all manner of confidential data from your phone. RT recently reported on a leaked document, which exposed how the Federal Bureau of Investigation and US law enforcement can access a wealth of data from popular messaging apps via methods such as court orders and subpoenas. Users would no doubt be shocked to learn the readiness with which WhatsApp and iMessage might hand over highly sensitive, private information without their knowledge or consent. However, the findings of a new report from the Center for Democracy and Technology make for even more disturbing reading – for they starkly reveal how US security and intelligence services can easily access an even wider array of personal data from private providers, and in the process circumvent legal processes.

EUROPE - The move to enshrine ‘hate crimes’ into its founding treaties will just be another flashpoint for clashes between Brussels and the likes of Hungary and Poland. The European Commission is proposing to add “hate crimes” to one of the founding treaties of the European Union. This will give Brussels more power to punish member states that it deems are not effectively tackling hate speech, misogyny, and homophobia. According to Politico, which has seen the draft text, “the proposal comes in the wake of social movements like the #MeToo campaign and Black Lives Matter protests.” The European Commission text says, “hate is moving into the mainstream, targeting individuals and groups of people sharing or perceived as sharing ‘a common characteristic,’ such as race, ethnicity, language, religion, nationality, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, sex characteristics or any other fundamental characteristic, or a combination of such characteristics.”

USA - At least 70 people are thought to have been killed in Kentucky, and there are multiple fatalities at an Amazon distribution center in Illinois, after at least 18 tornadoes ripped across the South and Midwest of the US on Friday night. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said at a briefing midday on Saturday the death toll was now 'north of 70' and that 'it may in fact end up exceeding 100 before the day is done.' 'This will be, I believe, the deadliest tornado system to ever run through Kentucky,' he added. 'It is indescribable. The level of devastation is unlike anything I have ever seen.' The early casualty estimates suggest that the tragedy is the deadliest tornado strike in Kentucky in more than a century, on a scale last seen in 1890 when twisters killed 76 in the Louisville area. One tornado among the dozens that struck is estimated to have a damage path of more than 200 miles, which would approach or exceed the all-time global record.

USA - A war is being waged in Fairfax County, Virginia — one that will have implications far beyond its local influence. In September, local mother Stacy Langton confronted the school board after finding questionable content in the library at Fairfax High School. The resulting video of her presentation went viral. The two books she addressed were “Lawn Boy” by Jonathan Evison and “Gender Queer,” a graphic novel by Maia Kobabe. While many would shrink from confronting school officials or stating so specifically why they find these books objectionable, Langton made it very clear what the offensive content was and what was at stake. “The illustrations include fellatio, sex toys,” she said at the meeting, describing and illustrating in the books’ own words and images just how explicit the content was. At one point, the board urged her to tone it down and appeared to be cutting her off, saying that there were children present — an ironic concern, given the subject.

VATICAN - The Catholic Church has apologized to parents after a bishop in Sicily told a congregation packed with children that “Santa Claus does not exist,” and that the modern Father Christmas was invented by the Coca-Cola company. “First of all, in the name of the bishop, I express my regret for this declaration which has generated disappointment in the smallest children,” the Italian press quoted Don Alessandro Paolino of the Diocese of Noto as saying.

USA - Dr Naomi Wolf, a Rhodes Scholar and former Clinton Administration advisor, went off on the medical elites on Steve Bannon’s War Room: We’re seeing this state by state. There’s some kind of contract where governors have to deliver a certain percent of vaccinated in order to get something from pharma or in order to fullfill their contract. So you can see this structure over and over of, well we have to reach 70% of 80% of vaccinated or you don’t get your rights back. And, this is not how America works. I have my rights. She (New York Governor Hochul) can’t make me…

GERMANY - Olaf Scholz’s swearing in as Germany’s chancellor on Wednesday followed well-practiced protocol — with one exception: Unlike most of his eight postwar predecessors, Mr Scholz took God out of his oath. When Mr Scholz omitted the final four words — “so help me God” — of the traditional oath, it was rare for a new German chancellor. But it was not a first for Mr Scholz: The oaths he took as mayor of Hamburg in 2011 and as finance minister in 2018 were also nonreligious. The oath for an incoming chancellor, as laid out in article 56 of Germany’s Constitution, reads as follows: “I swear that I will dedicate my strength to the good of the German people, that I will enhance their prosperity, avert harm from them, respect and defend the Constitution and the laws of the federal state, fulfill my duty conscientiously and exercise justice toward everyone. So help me God.”

USA - One of the strangest statues that I have ever seen in my entire life has just been set up right outside UN Headquarters in New York City. When I first heard about this, I could hardly believe that the global elite would be so brazen, and so I checked into this very carefully. Unfortunately, this is not just a bad rumor. This absolutely gigantic statue is called “The Guardian of International Peace and Security”, and it looks like something out of a science fiction movie. It does not resemble any known creature on this planet. Instead, it appears to very closely resemble a “beast” that is described in the Book of Revelation. Before I go any further, let me share with you what the United Nations is saying about this new statue… A guardian for international peace and security sits on the Visitor’s Plaza outside #UN Headquarters. The guardian is a fusion of jaguar and eagle and donated by the Government of Oaxaca, Mexico @MexOnu. It is created by artists Jacobo and Maria Angeles. And just by coincidence, it has been painted in LGBT colors.

CHINA - Evergrande, the embattled Chinese property developer, has defaulted on its debt, according to Fitch Ratings. The credit ratings agency on Thursday downgraded the company and its subsidiaries to "restricted default," meaning that the firm has failed to meet its financial obligations. Fitch said the downgrade reflects the company's inability to pay interest due earlier this week on two dollar-denominated bonds. The payments were due a month ago, and grace periods lapsed Monday. Fitch noted that Evergrande made no announcement about the payments, nor did it respond to inquiries from the ratings agency. "We are therefore assuming they were not paid," Fitch said. Evergrande has about $300 billion in total liabilities, and analysts have worried for months about whether a default could trigger a wider crisis in China's property market, hurting homeowners and the broader financial system. The US Federal Reserve warned last month that trouble in Chinese real estate could damage the global economy. Other Chinese developers are also in trouble. On Thursday, Fitch downgraded the Kaisa Group to "restricted default."

USA - Time has run out for hundreds of local healthcare employees who were not comfortable getting the COVID vaccination. After a series of medical and religious exemption deadlines this fall, the final numbers are out. Because of the mass firing, there are 7 hospitals in the area that are no longer doing surgeries. While the county itself does not have a vaccine mandate, it is widely believed that Joe’s “mandate” may have caused the hospitals to fire 500 workers.

USA - Back in September, White House chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci threatened that the Biden regime was going to "mandate" everyone take Big Pharma's experimental shots if the "recalcitrant group" of unvaxxed Americans were not "persuaded" to submit. "We have a pretty hardcore group of people that we're trying to persuade them - or mandate them if they're not persuaded - to get vaccinated," Fauci said. Fauci issued similar threats during an interview with MSNBC on Wednesday. "I would prefer, and we all would prefer that people would be voluntarily getting vaccinated, but if they're not gonna do that, sometimes you've got to do things that are unpopular, but that clearly supersede individual choices and are directed predominantly at the communal good," Fauci said.

USA - To those who are paying attention, the demonization and discrimination against the unvaccinated is eerily similar to extremely dark times throughout human history. These historical events are riddled with the suffering and death of millions of innocent people all because the media and government dehumanized a group of people and convinced the majority that they need to rid themselves of the “unclean.” Unscientific vaccine mandates are laying waste to human rights across the planet. Lacking all logic and reason, even if you’ve had covid-19 and have superior immunity over someone who only took the jab, you are denied entry into public places and treated like a second-class citizen. In Australia and Austria, the unvaccinated are fined and even arrested if they attempt to go out in public. Mainstream news outlets across the world continue to shame the unvaccinated, stoking fear and hatred against them over their personal medical choices. President Biden even took to demonizing the unvaccinated, blaming them for the economic downturn, supply chain debacle, and claimed — without merit — that they are “costing jobs.”

USA - The outage at Amazon.com Inc’s cloud-computing arm left thousands of people in the US without working fridges, roombas and doorbells, highlighting just how reliant people have become on the company as the Internet of Things proliferates across homes. Multiple Ring users even said they weren’t able to get into their homes without access to the phone app, which was down. Others said they weren’t able to turn on their Christmas lights. Smart lightbulbs stopped responding to voice commands, many people reported. Basic household chores also became impossible for some. The outage prompted people to reflect on the pitfalls of having a “smart” home that’s overly dependent on not only the internet, but one company in particular - while those with “dumb” homes gloated that their fridges and light switches were working just fine.

USA - 59 years after the Cuban missile crisis, a new source of tension threatens to bring the United States and Russia to the brink of war. But instead of John F Kennedy, we have Joe Biden and his hapless minions in the White House. On Tuesday US Senator Roger Wicker went on television and told Fox News viewers that a nuclear first strike against the Russians should be an “option” that the Biden administration should keep open… That will definitely calm nerves in Moscow. I can’t believe that any member of Congress would be so reckless. Ever since the 2016 presidential election, politicians in Washington have been relentlessly demonizing Russia, and now our relations with the Russians are at an all-time low.

USA - In recent months there has been increased naval activity and tensions between countries jostling for control off their coastlines. This includes Iran buzzing a US ship with a helicopter, leading defense companies in Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) agreeing to work on unmanned surface vessels, tensions in the Black Sea off the coast of Ukraine, and tensions between the US, China, the Philippines and other countries. The exercise with the Israelis and Gulf countries is linked to threats in the region, particularly from Iran. Tehran continues to harass US ships in the Persian Gulf. In July, an Iranian drone attacked a commercial tanker in the Gulf of Oman, killing two crew members. This all appears to point to a new global focus on the sea and competition for naval supremacy. Competition at sea could have major ramifications. A naval arms race between Britain and Germany helped lead to World War I. The shadows of war are now growing over a swathe of water from Europe to Asia. Major trade routes and supply chain woes could be affected by naval rivalries. This has happened in the Gulf of Oman, where commercial ships have been attacked. The next clash could happen in the Black Sea or off the coast of Taiwan.