newswars--2020-02-28--Idiocracy: 38% of Americans Refuse To Drink Corona Beer Due To Coronavirus

A new study shows 38 % of Americans “ would not buy Corona under any circumstances ” because of fears related to the coronavirus .
The survey , conducted by 5W Public Relations , questioned 737 American beer drinkers over the phone and asked about Corona beer and the deadly coronavirus infecting people around the world .
In addition to the nearly 40 % of Americans who refuse to drink the beer altogether , 4 % of those who used to drink Corona have stopped drinking it and 14 % said they just won ’ t order it in public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were confused about whether or not Corona beer is related to the coronavirus .
Another survey , conducted by YouGov , found consumers ’ desire to purchase Corona is at its lowest in two years and that Corona ’ s buzz score , a metric measuring favorability , has dropped significantly since the beginning of the year .
Coincidentally , Corona is currently trying to roll out a new product called Corona Hard Seltzer , which was met with mockery online .
Corona deleted an advertisement for the product on Twitter that said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after negative feedback .
Corona ’ s parent company , Constellation Brands , has seen their stocks drop 4 % on Friday and 8 % on Thursday .
However , the plunge could be a result of the entire stock market being hit with fear of coronavirus spiraling out of control .

A new study shows 38% of Americans “would not buy Corona under any circumstances” because of fears related to the coronavirus.
The survey, conducted by 5W Public Relations, questioned 737 American beer drinkers over the phone and asked about Corona beer and the deadly coronavirus infecting people around the world.
In addition to the nearly 40% of Americans who refuse to drink the beer altogether, 4% of those who used to drink Corona have stopped drinking it and 14% said they just won’t order it in public anymore.
16% of those surveyed were confused about whether or not Corona beer is related to the coronavirus.
Another survey, conducted by YouGov, found consumers’ desire to purchase Corona is at its lowest in two years and that Corona’s buzz score, a metric measuring favorability, has dropped significantly since the beginning of the year.
Coincidentally, Corona is currently trying to roll out a new product called Corona Hard Seltzer, which was met with mockery online.
Corona deleted an advertisement for the product on Twitter that said, “Coming Ashore Soon,” after negative feedback.
Corona’s parent company, Constellation Brands, has seen their stocks drop 4% on Friday and 8% on Thursday.
However, the plunge could be a result of the entire stock market being hit with fear of coronavirus spiraling out of control.


newswars--2020-02-28--‘Surfing Attacks’ Could Let Hackers Read Your Texts

Ultrasonic waves can activate Siri on your cellphone and have it make calls , take images , or read the contents of a text to a stranger , researchers report .
All that can be done without the phone owner ’ s knowledge , too .
Attacks on cell phones aren ’ t new , and researchers have previously shown that ultrasonic waves can be used to deliver a single command through the air .
The new research , however , expands the scope of vulnerability that ultrasonic waves pose to cellphone security .
These waves , the researchers found @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to activate voice recognition systems and—with the addition of some cheap hardware—the person initiating the attack can also hear the phone ’ s response .
“ We want to raise awareness of such a threat , ” says Ning Zhang , assistant professor of computer science and engineering at the McKelvey School of Engineering at the Washington University in St. Louis .
“ I want everybody in the public to know this.
” The researchers were able to send “ voice ” commands to cellphones as they sat inconspicuously on a table , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ addition of a stealthily placed microphone , the researchers could communicate back and forth with the phone , ultimately controlling it from afar .
Ultrasonic waves are sound waves in a frequency that is higher than humans can hear .
Cellphone microphones , however , can and do record these higher frequencies .
“ If you know how to play with the signals , you can manipulate them such that when the phone interprets the incoming sound waves , it will think that you are saying a command , ” Zhang says .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to transmit these “ commands ” through solid surfaces , the research team set up a host of experiments that included a phone on a table .
Attached to the bottom of the table was a microphone and a piezoelectric transducer ( PZT ) , which is used to convert electricity into ultrasonic waves .
On the other side of the table from the phone , ostensibly hidden from the phone ’ s user , is a waveform generator to generate the correct signals .
The team ran two tests , one to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and another to make a fraudulent call .
The first test relied on the common virtual assistant command “ read my messages ” and on the use of two-factor authentication , in which a passcode is sent to a user ’ s phone—from a bank , for instance—to verify the user ’ s identity .
The attacker first told the virtual assistant to turn the volume down to Level 3 .
At this volume , the victim did not notice their phone ’ s responses in an office setting with a moderate noise @ @ @ @ @ @ @ message from a bank arrived , the attack device sent the “ read my messages ” command to the phone .
The response was audible to the microphone under the table , but not to the victim .
In the second test , the attack device sent the message “ call Sam with speakerphone , ” initiating a call .
Using the microphone under the table , the attacker was able to carry on a conversation with “ Sam.
” The team tested 17 different phone models , including popular iPhones , Galaxy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ two were vulnerable to ultrasonic wave attacks .
How to Protect Against The Attacks They also tested different table surfaces and phone configurations .
“ We did it on metal .
We did it on glass .
We did it on wood , ” Zhang says .
They tried placing the phone in different positions , changing the orientation of the microphone .
They placed objects on the table in an attempt to dampen the strength of the waves .
“ It still worked , ” he says .
Even at distances as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attacks also worked on plastic tables , but not as reliably .
Phone cases only slightly affected the attack success rates .
Placing water on the table , potentially to absorb the waves , had no effect .
Moreover , an attack wave could simultaneously affect more than one phone .
Zhang says the success of the “ surfing attack , ” as it ’ s called in the paper , highlights the less-often discussed link between the cyber and the physical .
Often , media outlets report on ways in which our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in : Are our cellphones ruining our eyesight ?
Do headphones or earbuds damage our ears ?
Who is to blame if a self-driving car causes an accident ?
“ I feel like not enough attention is being given to the physics of our computing systems , ” he says .
“ This is going to be one of the keys in understanding attacks that propagate between these two worlds.
” The team suggested some defense mechanisms that could protect against such an attack .
One idea would be the development of phone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ discriminate between ultrasonic waves and genuine human voices , Zhang says .
Changing the layout of mobile phones , such as the placement of the microphone , to dampen or suppress ultrasound waves could also stop a surfing attack .
But Zhang says there ’ s a simple way to keep a phone out of harm ’ s way of ultrasonic waves : the interlayer-based defense , which uses a soft , woven fabric to increase the “ impedance mismatch.
” In other words , put the phone on a tablecloth .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Distributed System Security Symposium in San Diego .
The research team also included researchers from Michigan State University , the University of Nebraska-Lincoln , and the Chinese Academy of Sciences .
Support for this work came from the National Science Foundation .
This article was originally published in Futurity .
It has been republished under the Attribution 4.0 International license .
Mike Adams guest hosts The Alex Jones Show to break down the pitfalls being set for Trump amid the coronavirus outbreak .

Ultrasonic waves can activate Siri on your cellphone and have it make calls, take images, or read the contents of a text to a stranger, researchers report.
All that can be done without the phone owner’s knowledge, too.
Attacks on cell phones aren’t new, and researchers have previously shown that ultrasonic waves can be used to deliver a single command through the air.
The new research, however, expands the scope of vulnerability that ultrasonic waves pose to cellphone security. These waves, the researchers found, can propagate through many solid surfaces to activate voice recognition systems and—with the addition of some cheap hardware—the person initiating the attack can also hear the phone’s response.
“We want to raise awareness of such a threat,” says Ning Zhang, assistant professor of computer science and engineering at the McKelvey School of Engineering at the Washington University in St. Louis. “I want everybody in the public to know this.”
Controlling Phones From a Distance
The researchers were able to send “voice” commands to cellphones as they sat inconspicuously on a table, next to the owner. With the addition of a stealthily placed microphone, the researchers could communicate back and forth with the phone, ultimately controlling it from afar.
Ultrasonic waves are sound waves in a frequency that is higher than humans can hear. Cellphone microphones, however, can and do record these higher frequencies.
“If you know how to play with the signals, you can manipulate them such that when the phone interprets the incoming sound waves, it will think that you are saying a command,” Zhang says.
To test the ability of ultrasonic waves to transmit these “commands” through solid surfaces, the research team set up a host of experiments that included a phone on a table.
Attached to the bottom of the table was a microphone and a piezoelectric transducer (PZT), which is used to convert electricity into ultrasonic waves. On the other side of the table from the phone, ostensibly hidden from the phone’s user, is a waveform generator to generate the correct signals.
How Surfing Attacks Work
The team ran two tests, one to retrieve an SMS (text) passcode and another to make a fraudulent call. The first test relied on the common virtual assistant command “read my messages” and on the use of two-factor authentication, in which a passcode is sent to a user’s phone—from a bank, for instance—to verify the user’s identity.
The attacker first told the virtual assistant to turn the volume down to Level 3. At this volume, the victim did not notice their phone’s responses in an office setting with a moderate noise level.
Then, when a simulated message from a bank arrived, the attack device sent the “read my messages” command to the phone. The response was audible to the microphone under the table, but not to the victim.
In the second test, the attack device sent the message “call Sam with speakerphone,” initiating a call. Using the microphone under the table, the attacker was able to carry on a conversation with “Sam.”
The team tested 17 different phone models, including popular iPhones, Galaxy, and Moto models. All but two were vulnerable to ultrasonic wave attacks.
How to Protect Against The Attacks
They also tested different table surfaces and phone configurations.
“We did it on metal. We did it on glass. We did it on wood,” Zhang says. They tried placing the phone in different positions, changing the orientation of the microphone. They placed objects on the table in an attempt to dampen the strength of the waves. “It still worked,” he says. Even at distances as far as 30 feet.
Ultrasonic wave attacks also worked on plastic tables, but not as reliably.
Phone cases only slightly affected the attack success rates. Placing water on the table, potentially to absorb the waves, had no effect. Moreover, an attack wave could simultaneously affect more than one phone.
Zhang says the success of the “surfing attack,” as it’s called in the paper, highlights the less-often discussed link between the cyber and the physical. Often, media outlets report on ways in which our devices are affecting the world we live in: Are our cellphones ruining our eyesight? Do headphones or earbuds damage our ears? Who is to blame if a self-driving car causes an accident?
“I feel like not enough attention is being given to the physics of our computing systems,” he says. “This is going to be one of the keys in understanding attacks that propagate between these two worlds.”
The team suggested some defense mechanisms that could protect against such an attack. One idea would be the development of phone software that analyzes the received signal to discriminate between ultrasonic waves and genuine human voices, Zhang says. Changing the layout of mobile phones, such as the placement of the microphone, to dampen or suppress ultrasound waves could also stop a surfing attack.
But Zhang says there’s a simple way to keep a phone out of harm’s way of ultrasonic waves: the interlayer-based defense, which uses a soft, woven fabric to increase the “impedance mismatch.”
In other words, put the phone on a tablecloth.
The researchers presented the results at the Network and Distributed System Security Symposium in San Diego.
The research team also included researchers from Michigan State University, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Support for this work came from the National Science Foundation.
This article was originally published in Futurity. It has been republished under the Attribution 4.0 International license.
Mike Adams guest hosts The Alex Jones Show to break down the pitfalls being set for Trump amid the coronavirus outbreak.


newswars--2020-02-28--Lebanese Students Sprayed With Disinfectant To Prevent Coronavirus

Video filmed at a school in the Lebanese capital of Beirut on Tuesday shows medical staff spraying students with disinfectant @ @ @ @ @ Albayan School told Storyful the precautions were part of a campaign to protect students from @ @ @ @ @ them on prevention methods .
The disinfectant used on the children is called , “ @ @ @ @ @ 100 % safe on humans and pets , ” according to the Boecker website .
@ @ @ @ @ rollout similar programs if the virus continues to spread ?

Video filmed at a school in the Lebanese capital of Beirut on Tuesday shows medical staff spraying students with disinfectant as they entered classrooms.
Albayan School told Storyful the precautions were part of a campaign to protect students from the virus and to educate them on prevention methods.
The disinfectant used on the children is called, “Microbecs™ – a non-irritant and 100% safe on humans and pets,” according to the Boecker website.
Will American schools begin to rollout similar programs if the virus continues to spread?


newswars--2020-02-28--Americans Avoiding Corona Beer Due to Virus

Many American beer drinkers are avoiding Corona due to the spread of coronavirus , according to a new survey .
The Mexican beer is suffering from a branding hit due to the international spread of a virus with a similar name .
According to a survey conducted by 5W Public Relations , sales are lagging globally for Corona : 38 % of beer-drinking Americans would not buy Corona under any circumstances now .
Among those who said they usually drink Corona , only 4 % said they would stop drinking Corona , but 14 % said they wouldn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ % of beer drinking Americans were confused about whether Corona beer is related to the coronavirus .
Branding consultants believe the beer ’ s name has been hard-hit by the spread of the virus .
“ There is no question that Corona beer is suffering because of the coronavirus .
Could one imagine walking into a bar and saying “ Hey , can I have a Corona ?
” or “ Pass me a Corona , ” said Ronn Torossian , CEO of 5W Public Relations .
“ While the brand has claimed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ linkage between the virus and the beer company , this is a disaster for the Corona brand .
After all , what brand wants to be linked to a virus which is killing people worldwide.
” Mike Adams guest hosts The Alex Jones Show to break down the pitfalls being set for Trump amid the coronavirus outbreak .
Also , Ultra 12 is back by popular demand !
Get the ultimate source of energy at 40 % off now !

Many American beer drinkers are avoiding Corona due to the spread of coronavirus, according to a new survey.
The Mexican beer is suffering from a branding hit due to the international spread of a virus with a similar name.
According to a survey conducted by 5W Public Relations, sales are lagging globally for Corona:
38% of beer-drinking Americans would not buy Corona under any circumstances now.
Among those who said they usually drink Corona, only 4% said they would stop drinking Corona, but 14% said they wouldn’t order Corona in a public venue
16% of beer drinking Americans were confused about whether Corona beer is related to the coronavirus.
Branding consultants believe the beer’s name has been hard-hit by the spread of the virus.
“There is no question that Corona beer is suffering because of the coronavirus. Could one imagine walking into a bar and saying “Hey, can I have a Corona?” or “Pass me a Corona,” said Ronn Torossian, CEO of 5W Public Relations.
“While the brand has claimed that consumers understand there’s no linkage between the virus and the beer company, this is a disaster for the Corona brand. After all, what brand wants to be linked to a virus which is killing people worldwide.”
Mike Adams guest hosts The Alex Jones Show to break down the pitfalls being set for Trump amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Also, Ultra 12 is back by popular demand! Get the ultimate source of energy at 40% off now!
Dan Lyman: Follow @CitizenAnalyst


newswars--2020-02-28--Watch Infowars’ Owen Shroyer Get Kicked Out Of CPAC 2020

Owen Shroyer , host of Infowars ’ War Room , was kicked out of CPAC 2020 for an unknown reason @ @ @ @ @ McInnes was booted from the event .
Watch Owen talk to the press about his @ @ @ @ @ Savanah Hernandez tweeted , “ Owen Shroyer and I are about to be kicked out @ @ @ @ @ ’ t given us a reason , ” just before video of Shroyer being escorted @ @ @ @ @ Shroyer and I are about to be kicked out of CPAC .
They haven ’ @ @ @ @ @ .
We were conducting interviews with congressmen .
We have broken no rules # CPAC2020 @ @ @ @ @ wants to aid in destroying America .
Might as well help get Bernie elected too @ @ @ @ @ Hernandez wrote .

Owen Shroyer, host of Infowars’ War Room, was kicked out of CPAC 2020 for an unknown reason just one day after Gavin McInnes was booted from the event.
BREAKING: Owen Shroyer removed from CPAC pic.twitter.com/rDVYbsrCm2 — J Owen Shroyer (@allidoisowen) February 28, 2020
Part 2:
Part 3:
Part 3 pic.twitter.com/5u967rq3UW — J Owen Shroyer (@allidoisowen) February 28, 2020
Part 4:
Part 5:
Watch Owen talk to the press about his CPAC ban:
Owen Shroyer and InfoWars are getting kicked out of CPAC https://t.co/nuY3dx3gCq — Ashley StClair 🇺🇸 (@stclairashley) February 28, 2020
Infowars reporter Savanah Hernandez tweeted, “Owen Shroyer and I are about to be kicked out of CPAC. They haven’t given us a reason,” just before video of Shroyer being escorted out was posted.
Owen Shroyer and I are about to be kicked out of CPAC. They haven’t given us a reason. We were conducting interviews with congressmen. We have broken no rules #CPAC2020 — Savanah H. (@sav_says_) February 28, 2020
“Nice to know CPAC wants to aid in destroying America. Might as well help get Bernie elected too at this point,” Hernandez wrote.


newswars--2020-02-28--Trump Announces US-Taliban Peace Deal

Trump Announces US-Taliban Peace Deal

President Donald Trump says the US is about to sign agreements with the Taliban and the government of Afghanistan that could provide a way for withdrawal of troops from that country after almost 20 years of war .
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is headed to Qatar , where he will witness the signing of an agreement with the Taliban in Doha , while Defense Secretary Mark Esper will “ issue a joint declaration ” with the government in Kabul , Trump announced on Friday .
“ If the Taliban and the government of Afghanistan live up to these commitments @ @ @ @ @ @ @ forward to end the war in Afghanistan and bring our troops home.
” The US president described the upcoming commitments as “ an important step to a lasting peace in a new Afghanistan , free from Al Qaeda , ISIS , and any other terrorist group that would seek to bring us harm ” and urged the people of Afghanistan “ to seize this opportunity for peace and a new future.
” From what Pompeo has told reporters , the agreement will provide for a “ conditions-based and phased ” withdrawal of some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and negotiations between the Taliban and the government in Kabul .
While hedging his bets about the prospects of peace , Trump noted this would be “ substantial progress ” on his 2016 campaign promise to end the war .
He walked that commitment back in August 2017 , escalating the war effort against the Taliban , only to see more US troops die without much progress .
Trump ended his announcement by thanking “ hundreds of thousands of American warriors who have proudly served in Afghanistan ” and honoring the “ service @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have made for the American people.
” Over 6,000 Americans , both active duty military and contractors , have been killed over the 19 years of war in Afghanistan according to official estimates .
The US first sent troops to Afghanistan in October 2001 , less than a month after hijacked airplanes struck the World Trade Center and the Pentagon .
The attack was blamed on Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda , and the Taliban government of Afghanistan was accused of sheltering them .
With the Taliban defeated by December 2001 and Al-Qaeda @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bush changed the mission from revenge to “ reconstruction , ” an open-ended recipe for US troops staying in the country forever .
Bin Laden was eventually found in Pakistan and killed in 2011 .
Mike Adams guest hosts The Alex Jones Show to break down the pitfalls being set for Trump amid the coronavirus outbreak .

President Donald Trump says the US is about to sign agreements with the Taliban and the government of Afghanistan that could provide a way for withdrawal of troops from that country after almost 20 years of war.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is headed to Qatar, where he will witness the signing of an agreement with the Taliban in Doha, while Defense Secretary Mark Esper will “issue a joint declaration” with the government in Kabul, Trump announced on Friday.
“If the Taliban and the government of Afghanistan live up to these commitments, we will have a powerful path forward to end the war in Afghanistan and bring our troops home.”
The US president described the upcoming commitments as “an important step to a lasting peace in a new Afghanistan, free from Al Qaeda, ISIS, and any other terrorist group that would seek to bring us harm” and urged the people of Afghanistan “to seize this opportunity for peace and a new future.”
#BREAKING: US President Donald Trump in a statement makes the US Taliban peace deal announcement which is expected to take place in Doha in few hours. @SecPompeo will witness the signing of the agreement and @EsperDoD will issue joint declaration with Afghan Govt. pic.twitter.com/p4xVSXvGry — Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) February 28, 2020
From what Pompeo has told reporters, the agreement will provide for a “conditions-based and phased” withdrawal of some 13,000 US troops currently in Afghanistan, and negotiations between the Taliban and the government in Kabul.
While hedging his bets about the prospects of peace, Trump noted this would be “substantial progress” on his 2016 campaign promise to end the war. He walked that commitment back in August 2017, escalating the war effort against the Taliban, only to see more US troops die without much progress.
Trump ended his announcement by thanking “hundreds of thousands of American warriors who have proudly served in Afghanistan” and honoring the “service and the sacrifices you and your families have made for the American people.”
Over 6,000 Americans, both active duty military and contractors, have been killed over the 19 years of war in Afghanistan according to official estimates.
The US first sent troops to Afghanistan in October 2001, less than a month after hijacked airplanes struck the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The attack was blamed on Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda, and the Taliban government of Afghanistan was accused of sheltering them.
With the Taliban defeated by December 2001 and Al-Qaeda on the run, President George W. Bush changed the mission from revenge to “reconstruction,” an open-ended recipe for US troops staying in the country forever. Bin Laden was eventually found in Pakistan and killed in 2011.
Mike Adams guest hosts The Alex Jones Show to break down the pitfalls being set for Trump amid the coronavirus outbreak.


newswars--2020-02-28--Infowars Reporters Kicked Out of CPAC – Watch Live

Also catch the streams at infowars.com/show and Banned.video .
Make sure to follow Owen on Tik Tok : Watch & @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus , economy , more Start your weekend informed with this bombshell Friday edition of @ @ @ @ @ the world !
Tune in !
On this Friday transmission of The David Knight Show @ @ @ @ @ at “ coronanomics ” ( economic reactions to coronavirus ) as well as rumors of @ @ @ @ @ and how the virus could disturb the 2020 election .
Stay tuned to this live @ @ @ @ @ Jones , Owen Shroyer and other Infowars crew members who will be reporting from CPAC @ @

Owen Shroyer hosts this LIVE edition of War Room, weekdays 3-6 p.m. CT.
Also catch the streams at infowars.com/show and Banned.video.
Make sure to follow Owen on Tik Tok:
Alex Jones Show – Confirmed: CDC Set Trap With Coronavirus Allowing a Month of Incubation
Watch & share this vital broadcast on coronavirus, economy, more
Start your weekend informed with this bombshell Friday edition of the most banned broadcast in the world! Tune in!
Follow Infowars on Telegram:
David Knight Show: Economic Shutdown? Coronavirus Ravaging Stocks Worldwide
Will markets continue to plunge?
On this Friday transmission of The David Knight Show, we’ll look at “coronanomics” (economic reactions to coronavirus) as well as rumors of the Pope catching the illness and how the virus could disturb the 2020 election.
Stay tuned to this live broadcast for updates on Alex Jones, Owen Shroyer and other Infowars crew members who will be reporting from CPAC 2020.


newswars--2020-02-28--Petition Calls on Trump to Impose Strict Border Control in Response to Coronavirus

A petition on the White House website calls on the Trump administration to address the coronavirus outbreak by imposing strict border control measures .
“ The coronavirus outbreak is reaching pandemic levels while infection numbers increase around the globe , ” reads the petition listed at the official “ We the People ” site .
“ As travelers fly to and from outbreak zones , United States citizens are put at risk of a similar outbreak occurring here in America , ” the petition created by “ A.J.
” on February 28 states .
“ We are asking the administration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ screening at ports of entry to prevent the spread of the disease.
” The petition comes as Italy , South Korea , and China have all closed their borders in efforts to stop the COVID-19 virus from spreading , while close to 60 countries report cases of the illness as of Friday .
“ Israel is also blocking entry for people who were recently in Japan , Hong Kong , Macau , Thailand , Singapore and , of course , China , ” reports Fortune Magazine .
The petition requires 100,000 signatures before @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Even as the coronavirus begins to spread around the continent , EU officials have steadfastly refuse to implement border controls , insisting that the sanctity of open borders is more important .

A petition on the White House website calls on the Trump administration to address the coronavirus outbreak by imposing strict border control measures.
“The coronavirus outbreak is reaching pandemic levels while infection numbers increase around the globe,” reads the petition listed at the official “We the People” site.
“As travelers fly to and from outbreak zones, United States citizens are put at risk of a similar outbreak occurring here in America,” the petition created by “A.J.” on February 28 states.
“We are asking the administration to impose strict border control measures and screening at ports of entry to prevent the spread of the disease.”
The petition comes as Italy, South Korea, and China have all closed their borders in efforts to stop the COVID-19 virus from spreading, while close to 60 countries report cases of the illness as of Friday.
“Israel is also blocking entry for people who were recently in Japan, Hong Kong, Macau, Thailand, Singapore and, of course, China,” reports Fortune Magazine.
The petition requires 100,000 signatures before it can merit a White House response.
Sign the petition here: https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/impose-strict-border-controls-response-coronavirus-until-we-can-figure-out-what-hell-going
Even as the coronavirus begins to spread around the continent, EU officials have steadfastly refuse to implement border controls, insisting that the sanctity of open borders is more important.


newswars--2020-02-28--Coronavirus Fears Continue to Spark Panic Buying in U.S., UK, Japan & New Zealand

Fears over the coronavirus impacting supply chains have continued to drive panic buying of food , water , toilet paper and surgical masks across numerous major countries today .
More than 50 countries now have confirmed coronavirus cases , with the worst hit countries outside of China being Iran and Italy .
BBC News reports that at least 210 people in Iran had died from the virus , way higher than official government figures .
This has prompted panic buying as customers desperately stock up on supplies in anticipation of potential shortages .
Photos out of northern California show shelves @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Face masks are also completely sold out in numerous stores .
Hand sanitizer , thermometers and oat milk are also in hot demand as supplies are exhausted .
Cough medicine and other flu drugs are also running low .
Another photo from a Target in St. Paul MN illustrates the demand for tinned food .
“ Stores everywhere selling out of masks , ” reports Seattle news station KIRO 7 , noting that a box of surgical masks on Amazon is also retailing over $ 1000 dollars .
In the United Kingdom @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been experiencing “ exceptionally high demand ” with customers placing “ particularly large orders ” .
The retailer is telling customers that they may have to make their orders further in advance due to shortages .
The New Zealand Herald reports that people are “ stocking up for the apocalypse ” despite there just being a single confirmed coronavirus case in the entire country .
“ One shopper described lengthy queues , with water , hand sanitiser , soap and tissues flying off the shelves , ” states the report , adding that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Auckland as soon as they opened .
Meanwhile , in Japan store shelves are being emptied of toilet paper despite an industry body ’ s request for people to stay calm .
Kyodo News reports that stock is being exhausted just 5 minutes after it is placed on shelves at drug stores and supermarkets .
After photos of empty shelves went viral on social media , the Japanese government had to step in to reassure citizens , “ Most toilet paper used in Japan is produced domestically and the supply chains remain intact.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said yet again today that “ stigma ” is a bigger threat than the coronavirus .
So despite the threat of a global pandemic and mass panic buying , at least we know people ’ s feelings won ’ t be hurt .
My voice is being silenced by free speech-hating Silicon Valley behemoths who want me disappeared forever .
It is CRUCIAL that you support me .
Please sign up for the free newsletter here .
Donate to me on SubscribeStar here .

Fears over the coronavirus impacting supply chains have continued to drive panic buying of food, water, toilet paper and surgical masks across numerous major countries today.
More than 50 countries now have confirmed coronavirus cases, with the worst hit countries outside of China being Iran and Italy. BBC News reports that at least 210 people in Iran had died from the virus, way higher than official government figures.
This has prompted panic buying as customers desperately stock up on supplies in anticipation of potential shortages.
Photos out of northern California show shelves being emptied of respirators and bottled water.
These photos are from yesterday and the day before. Respirators and cheaper water = empty shelves. Northern California. pic.twitter.com/2LpfMON3VL — TrueBlue (@TrueBlueAmeric3) February 27, 2020
Face masks are also completely sold out in numerous stores.
both mask sections at Home Depot looking empty. also the water section at target… #coronavirus #COVIDー19 pic.twitter.com/CV4Urjt5hl — danthedecentralist (@decentralistdan) February 26, 2020
Home Depot was cleared out. 3M must be super upset about how things are going. pic.twitter.com/oVHZDbK2pa — j_st_n (@unquity) February 28, 2020
Hand sanitizer, thermometers and oat milk are also in hot demand as supplies are exhausted.
Cough medicine and other flu drugs are also running low.
Continued…. Empty shelves where masks and cough/ flu medicines and thermometers in baby sections. Vaporub, you nsme it, gone. pic.twitter.com/VPBzr2Aq8Q — S. (@vixengolden) February 28, 2020
Another photo from a Target in St. Paul MN illustrates the demand for tinned food.
Empty shelves at Target in St. Paul MN.. far away from any infected cases. #coronavirus #COVIDー19 pic.twitter.com/nbyfz6sg7C — Kristen (@thebecks2018) February 27, 2020
@Target Empty shelves on a Sunday morning in Florissant MO. What’s the deal!? pic.twitter.com/94rD47hejF — Becky Hill (@scottbec) February 23, 2020
“Stores everywhere selling out of masks,” reports Seattle news station KIRO 7, noting that a box of surgical masks on Amazon is also retailing over $1000 dollars.
In the United Kingdom, online supermarket Ocado said it had been experiencing “exceptionally high demand” with customers placing “particularly large orders”.
The retailer is telling customers that they may have to make their orders further in advance due to shortages.
The New Zealand Herald reports that people are “stocking up for the apocalypse” despite there just being a single confirmed coronavirus case in the entire country.
“One shopper described lengthy queues, with water, hand sanitiser, soap and tissues flying off the shelves,” states the report, adding that there were huge lines at supermarkets across Auckland as soon as they opened.
Meanwhile, in Japan store shelves are being emptied of toilet paper despite an industry body’s request for people to stay calm.
Kyodo News reports that stock is being exhausted just 5 minutes after it is placed on shelves at drug stores and supermarkets.
After photos of empty shelves went viral on social media, the Japanese government had to step in to reassure citizens, “Most toilet paper used in Japan is produced domestically and the supply chains remain intact.”
Meanwhile, the WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said yet again today that “stigma” is a bigger threat than the coronavirus.
So despite the threat of a global pandemic and mass panic buying, at least we know people’s feelings won’t be hurt.
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newswars--2020-02-28--Ex-NFL Player To Trump: “You’re the First Black President”

During a White House roundtable celebrating Black History Month on Thursday , former NFL safety Jack Brewer told President Trump , “ Man , you ’ re the first black president.
” Mr .
Brewer was joined by conservative commentators Diamond and Silk , Martin Luther King Jr. ’ s niece Alveda King and comedian Terrence Williams , among others .
“ Mr .
President , ” Brewer said .
“ I don ’ t mean to interrupt , but I ’ ve got to say this because it ’ s Black History Month .
Man , you are the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by cheering while President Trump grinned and nodded with approval .
Continuing , the former Minnesota Viking told the president , “ I ’ ve been a Democrat all my life but I ’ m not a Democrat now .
You ’ ve changed me .
You touched me .
And you made my work go to another level .
You inspire me .
And every time I go into those prisons and I ask my guys how many of them had their sentences reduced and they raise their hands , I know @ @ @ @ @ @ @ work and I thank you for that.
” Brewer , who is also an ordained minister and Fordham University professor , will likely trigger a massive freakout from liberals on the internet .
However , Brewer isn ’ t the only black American who thinks Trump is doing great things for the black community .
Watch below as a Wisconsin voter says Trump is “ the blackest president we ever had.
” Watch the full meeting on YouTube below :

During a White House roundtable celebrating Black History Month on Thursday, former NFL safety Jack Brewer told President Trump, “Man, you’re the first black president.”
WATCH: President Trump was called the FIRST BLACK PRESIDENT at the Black History Month White House roundtable: “I don’t wanna interrupt, but I gotta say this cause it’s Black History Month. Man, you’re the First Black President.” pic.twitter.com/ejgvSZrYt8 — Benny (@bennyjohnson) February 28, 2020
Mr. Brewer was joined by conservative commentators Diamond and Silk, Martin Luther King Jr.’s niece Alveda King and comedian Terrence Williams, among others.
“Mr. President,” Brewer said. “I don’t mean to interrupt, but I’ve got to say this because it’s Black History Month. Man, you are the first black president.”
The room answered by cheering while President Trump grinned and nodded with approval.
Continuing, the former Minnesota Viking told the president, “I’ve been a Democrat all my life but I’m not a Democrat now. You’ve changed me. You touched me. And you made my work go to another level. You inspire me. And every time I go into those prisons and I ask my guys how many of them had their sentences reduced and they raise their hands, I know I’m doing God’s work and I thank you for that.”
Brewer, who is also an ordained minister and Fordham University professor, will likely trigger a massive freakout from liberals on the internet.
However, Brewer isn’t the only black American who thinks Trump is doing great things for the black community.
Watch below as a Wisconsin voter says Trump is “the blackest president we ever had.”
Watch the full meeting on YouTube below:


newswars--2020-02-28--Physicists Discover Mind-Blowing New Material by Accident

Peter Andrews is an Irish science journalist and writer , based in London .
He has a background in the life sciences , and graduated from the University of Glasgow with a degree in Genetics American physicists believe that they have discovered a strange state of matter entirely new to science – and they did it all completely by accident .
Famously , many of the greatest scientific discoveries have been accidental .
Alexander Fleming let bread go moldy and discovered penicillin .
Archimedes splashing about in the bath stumbled upon how to measure the volume of a solid .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the modern world ’ s overly-regimented and bureaucratic scientific community that such unintentional breakthroughs never seem to happen anymore .
Western university-industrial complexes are burdened with never-ending paperwork , and huge resources devoted to ethical and health and safety requirements .
These modern innovations have their benefits , of course , but they do have a major downside , in that they completely smother the more spontaneous side of the scientific method .
But now , a team of scientists at Northeastern University in Boston , Massachusetts , have made an exciting and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ materials science .
This team has previously made several leaps forward in the world of materials science by stacking ultra-thin 2D layers on top of each other to form new structures .
These sheets are only a couple of atoms thick – so thin , in fact , that the electrons within them are restricted to movement in just two dimensions ( hence their name ‘ 2D materials ’ ) .
Such materials are too small to see even with the use of microscopes .
Swastik Kar , an associate professor of physics @ @ @ @ @ @ @ co-authors of the study , describes the new discovery as “ a perfectly repeatable array of pure electronic puddles ” in between the two ultra-thin layers .
The rules of quantum physics make it energetically favorable for the electrons to pool into these predictable patterns , despite the fact that they should repel each other due to their negative charge .
“ It ’ s almost like a new phase of matter , because it ’ s just purely electronic , ” Kar added .
On the potential applications of the discovery , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are discovered , imagination is the limit.
” When he first saw the way the material was behaving , he was convinced it must be a mistake , but says the team ’ s discovery could have major implications in communications , storing information , and a raft of possibilities “ we may not have even thought of yet.
” Moving electrons around is the essence of all electrical technology , from solar panels to spark plugs , and iPhones to Xboxes .
The potential applications of a breakthrough like this are too @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if larger questions might be addressed by seeing particles behave in unexpected ways such as this .
A trend is now beginning for some of the biggest scientific breakthroughs to emerge on the frontier of materials science , and specifically nanotechnology .
By investigating the nanoscale , right down to the level of individual particles like electrons and protons , strange properties begin to emerge – properties that do not seem to make sense in the context of a rigid Newtonian universe .
For over a century , many of the world ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ marry the two great theories of physics , Newtonian ( or Standard Model ) and quantum .
The search for a Grand Unified Theory , or Theory of Everything , obsessed Einstein , Hawking and many others besides .
Could materials science be the unlikely battleground where the answers will finally be revealed ?
We will have to wait and see , but until then , we ’ re likely in line for some sleeker smartphones , not to mention faster computer speeds .
Mike Adams guest hosts The Alex Jones Show to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump amid the coronavirus outbreak .

Peter Andrews is an Irish science journalist and writer, based in London. He has a background in the life sciences, and graduated from the University of Glasgow with a degree in Genetics
American physicists believe that they have discovered a strange state of matter entirely new to science – and they did it all completely by accident.
Famously, many of the greatest scientific discoveries have been accidental. Alexander Fleming let bread go moldy and discovered penicillin. Archimedes splashing about in the bath stumbled upon how to measure the volume of a solid.
It’s perhaps an indictment of the modern world’s overly-regimented and bureaucratic scientific community that such unintentional breakthroughs never seem to happen anymore. Western university-industrial complexes are burdened with never-ending paperwork, and huge resources devoted to ethical and health and safety requirements. These modern innovations have their benefits, of course, but they do have a major downside, in that they completely smother the more spontaneous side of the scientific method.
But now, a team of scientists at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, have made an exciting and accidental discovery in the often-overlooked field of materials science. This team has previously made several leaps forward in the world of materials science by stacking ultra-thin 2D layers on top of each other to form new structures. These sheets are only a couple of atoms thick – so thin, in fact, that the electrons within them are restricted to movement in just two dimensions (hence their name ‘2D materials’).
Such materials are too small to see even with the use of microscopes. Swastik Kar, an associate professor of physics at Northeastern University and one of the co-authors of the study, describes the new discovery as “a perfectly repeatable array of pure electronic puddles” in between the two ultra-thin layers. The rules of quantum physics make it energetically favorable for the electrons to pool into these predictable patterns, despite the fact that they should repel each other due to their negative charge.
“It’s almost like a new phase of matter, because it’s just purely electronic,” Kar added.
On the potential applications of the discovery, Kar said that “when such phenomena are discovered, imagination is the limit.” When he first saw the way the material was behaving, he was convinced it must be a mistake, but says the team’s discovery could have major implications in communications, storing information, and a raft of possibilities “we may not have even thought of yet.”
Material world
Moving electrons around is the essence of all electrical technology, from solar panels to spark plugs, and iPhones to Xboxes. The potential applications of a breakthrough like this are too extensive to list, but one wonders if larger questions might be addressed by seeing particles behave in unexpected ways such as this.
A trend is now beginning for some of the biggest scientific breakthroughs to emerge on the frontier of materials science, and specifically nanotechnology. By investigating the nanoscale, right down to the level of individual particles like electrons and protons, strange properties begin to emerge – properties that do not seem to make sense in the context of a rigid Newtonian universe.
For over a century, many of the world’s greatest minds have been trying to marry the two great theories of physics, Newtonian (or Standard Model) and quantum. The search for a Grand Unified Theory, or Theory of Everything, obsessed Einstein, Hawking and many others besides. Could materials science be the unlikely battleground where the answers will finally be revealed? We will have to wait and see, but until then, we’re likely in line for some sleeker smartphones, not to mention faster computer speeds.
Mike Adams guest hosts The Alex Jones Show to break down the pitfalls being set for Trump amid the coronavirus outbreak.


newswars--2020-02-28--Congolese Migrants Riot in Paris, Set Fire to Dozens of Vehicles

A crowd consisting primarily of Congolese migrants rioted in Paris , setting fire to dozens of vehicles as firefighters battled blazes around the Gare de Lyon train station .
The station was partially evacuated late Friday as police urged the public to avoid the area .
“ At least 30 motorcycles , scooters & rental cars have been torched .
Part of a building was also set alight , ” tweeted reporter Oliver Miocic .
Another video shows plumes of black smoke rising from a large fire near the station .
RT reports that the mob “ tried to prevent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and video footage appears to confirm that .
The crowd were rioting in response to Congolese singer Fally Ipupa performing at a nearby venue .
“ Congolese expats regularly speak out against artists from home who perform in France or Belgium , accusing them of being close to former DR Congo president Joseph Kabila and his successor Felix Tshisekedi , ” reports the Telegraph .
Before the concert , police vowed to mobilize “ significant resources ” in order to “ prevent any disturbance to public order.
” They appear to have failed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the videos , diversity in France continues to be a strength .
My voice is being silenced by free speech-hating Silicon Valley behemoths who want me disappeared forever .
It is CRUCIAL that you support me .
Please sign up for the free newsletter here .
Donate to me on SubscribeStar here .

A crowd consisting primarily of Congolese migrants rioted in Paris, setting fire to dozens of vehicles as firefighters battled blazes around the Gare de Lyon train station.
The station was partially evacuated late Friday as police urged the public to avoid the area.
“At least 30 motorcycles, scooters & rental cars have been torched. Part of a building was also set alight,” tweeted reporter Oliver Miocic.
Lots of damage caused by protesters setting fire to parts of Gare de Lyon. At least 30 motorcycles, scooters & rental cars have been torched. Part of a building was also set alight. Reports it is linked to this evening’s concert of Congolese star Fally Ipupa. #garedelyon pic.twitter.com/66TqMqqrcn — Oliver Miočić (@olivermiocic) February 28, 2020
Another video shows plumes of black smoke rising from a large fire near the station.
You’ll be forgiven for thinking that this is a video from some war in the Middle East but it actually is migrant riots today in Paris near #GareDeLyon.Congolese migrants are fighting the police because some singer(FallyIpupa)that they don’t like will play pic.twitter.com/3LMNsdoexD — BasedPoland (@BasedPoland) February 28, 2020
RT reports that the mob “tried to prevent firefighters from putting out the blaze” and video footage appears to confirm that.
The crowd were rioting in response to Congolese singer Fally Ipupa performing at a nearby venue.
“Congolese expats regularly speak out against artists from home who perform in France or Belgium, accusing them of being close to former DR Congo president Joseph Kabila and his successor Felix Tshisekedi,” reports the Telegraph.
Before the concert, police vowed to mobilize “significant resources” in order to “prevent any disturbance to public order.” They appear to have failed miserably.
As you can tell from the videos, diversity in France continues to be a strength.
Important incendie en cours à proximité de la Gare de Lyon après des tensions entre opposants a la tenue du concert de Fally Ipupa à Bercy et les forces de l’ordre. pic.twitter.com/FwaIL2Iew9 — Remy Buisine (@RemyBuisine) February 28, 2020
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newswars--2020-02-28--How the IRS and DOJ Set Up Donald Reynolds Using Dubious Firearms Charges—Part 2 of the CMU Series

On June 19th , 2008 , Donald Reynolds was one of a very small number of African-Americans in Tennessee to have “ class-3 federal stamps.
” The stamps allowed him to keep silenced fully-automatic firearms without hassle from law enforcement , at least theoretically .
Reynolds had passed an extensive multi—federal-agency background check in order to qualify for the stamps .
His name and fingerprints were then entered into a federal database that easily allows federal agents to browse lists of such weapons and their owners—almost as if they are window shopping .
Twenty-nine-year-old Reynolds kept his record spotless his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ eligibility to remain in that federal database too .
“ They knew I was 100 percent legitimate , ” Reynolds points out now .
He adds that his entire family was background checked on a regular basis due to his father ’ s security clearance and work at Oak Ridge National Laboratory .
Yet Reynolds ’ perfect record and his family ’ s history of national service didn ’ t seem to matter on that fateful pre-summer day in 2008 .
Federal agents , led by IRS employee Brian Grove and Assistant U.S. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ local Knoxville , Tennessee , Police Department , still swarmed Reynolds ’ home and that of his parents nearby .
They claimed they would find a large quantity of drugs .
Grove , Plowell , and their team didn ’ t find any controlled substances or piles of dirty cash on Reynolds that day though—and they never would .
But that didn ’ t seem to matter then either .
They still seized all of Reynolds ’ lawfully-obtained and federally-authorized fully-automatic firearms and Reynolds hasn ’ t seen them since , except in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not the same ) weapons were recovered from the bloodstained hands of violent drug-cartel members south of the U.S.-Mexico border , however , in the aftermath of the Justice Department ’ s poorly-thought-out “ Operation Fast and Furious.
” DOJ–planners named the operation after the popular street-racing movie franchise—and it was , perhaps , an even less-realistic concept .
The idea was for federal agents to watch and record but not “ take down ” the sale of firearms , including high-capacity fully-automatic weapons like those of Reynolds , to arms smugglers who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and then for the authorities to trace the weapons across the border and through to their delivery on the other side .
The operation turned into a disaster instead , and a full-blown public-relations nightmare for the DOJ .
Innocent victims , like U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian A. Terry and Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( ICE ) Special Agent Jaime Zapata , were mowed down by cartel members using the weapons before they were recovered .
Others , like ICE Special Agent Victor Avila , were seriously wounded .
The truth @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only obtained the firearms thanks to the Justice Department .
Even before then , though , the Obama/Holder DOJ seemed to consider it imperative to keep Reynolds quiet .
But that wouldn ’ t be a simple matter .
Reynolds , who still maintains that he did nothing wrong , steadfastly refused to stay silent and work for the feds as an informant/distributor , or to back down in court and take a plea deal that would ’ ve branded him a confessed drug dealer for life .
He says his bail was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ turned down the final such offer .
Reynolds then had no choice but to prepare for trial behind bars .
Reynolds planned to rely on his family and his connections to the music industry in order to get the word out about what happened—and how he was being set up by the Justice Department as a minority fall guy .
In November , 2007 , Reynolds signed a distribution deal—not with the feds or a drug cartel—but with Universal Records .
Vegas Style Entertainment and its leader , Vince Carol , helped broker @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cousin , Jermany Victor James , who used the stage name Dirtbag and performed with legends like Sean “ P .
Diddy ” Combs , would get high-profile musicians involved .
Reynolds now believes the feds threatened his cousin and others , including his employees , in order to stop them from providing evidence and testifying in his defense .
He says James could ’ ve shown he legitimately earned the income that Grove claimed was drug money , among other things , and his employees could ’ ve backed up his alibi @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no fewer than 10 defense attorneys , but none were willing to confront the DOJ and the corruption permeating his case head-on .
Instead , he says , they each started out strong , but then mysteriously started pushing him to accept a plea deal that seemed more in their best interest than his , or the public ’ s .
Adding to this mystique , Reynolds reports that Eric Holder personally attended some of his pre-trial hearings .
The judge in Reynolds ’ case in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Like any judge trying any case , Varlan was supposed to be neutral and detached .
The record reflects , however , that Varlan represented the Knoxville Police Department in federal court before he became a judge , and this was the same police department that participated in the raids on Reynolds and his family .
The trial transcripts from United States v. Donald Reynolds , perhaps unsurprisingly , exude a bias on the part of Judge Varlan , one that laypeople perceive , in favor of the prosecution .
Reynolds says Varlan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prosecutors , and thereby prevented him from mounting an adequate defense for the jury .
When prosecutors alleged that Reynolds used drug money for purchases , for example , Reynolds says Varlan blocked him from showing bank statements refuting those claims .
And when the DOJ told the jury about the money-counting machines seized from Reynolds ’ home , he says Varlan prevented him from showing that he used the counters to handle in-person ticket sales at legitimate live events like concerts and parties .
Reynolds ’ trial transcripts also reveal a treasure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about “ Operation Fast and Furious , ” perhaps because at that point prosecutors had less to hide .
Across days of testimony in early 2010 , for example , numerous undercover informants , including cartel-smuggler and star-witness Joshua Correa , detailed running assault rifles to Mexico , orchestrating hits , bringing thousands of kilos of cocaine , heroin , and other drugs across the border to Texas , and more .
Reynolds reports that he knew nothing about these activities before his trial , though he had done business with the legitimate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cover to mask his illicit income .
Most of the government witnesses had signed cooperation agreements and were testifying against Reynolds in hope of receiving lighter sentences for themselves .
They would ’ ve been scared for their lives , it seems from their testimony , to take the stand against cartel members .
Perhaps testifying against Reynolds was a safer alternative for them .
Further , while Reynolds was standing trial from jail , Correa testified against him while out on bail , even though Correa was closely associated with the notoriously @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a hit on U.S. soil .
When Reynolds ’ attorneys asked to see the order U.S. District Court Judge Marcia A. Crone of the Eastern District of Texas issued allowing Correa to stay free pending sentencing despite his criminal history , the DOJ didn ’ t provide it and Judge Varlan refused to order prosecutors to turn it over for use cross-examining Correa .
Correa also mentioned that his cartel had been looking for a “ cop killer , ” i.e .
a firearm capable of penetrating standard U.S.-police—issued body armor , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ such weapons .
But not all the dots were visible to Reynolds until much later .
Only when “ Operation Fast and Furious ” made headlines , would Reynolds put it together ; the testimony about running “ cop killer ” weapons down to Monterey , Mexico , about the Zetas , the plea deals for Correa and others , Correa ’ s bail pending sentencing , Placido Benitez ( a name Reynolds had never before heard ) , paid hits , and so-called “ life debts.
” In the meantime , he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a judge he didn ’ t know had represented the police , against a drug-trafficking charge that was unsupported by the seizure of any drugs from him at any time , with lawyers who tried desperately to quit his case and coerce him into taking a plea deal he didn ’ t want .
Yes , according to the prosecution ’ s own witnesses , all of Reynolds ’ firearms were legitimately purchased and properly permitted .
No , most people who actually import hundreds of kilos of cocaine , as he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t also jump through every state and federal hoop to register their weapons .
That ’ s like a bank robber running out mid-heist to top off a parking meter .
But , in the end , common sense isn ’ t so common—especially in federal court .
The prosecution put on its show for weeks .
Reynolds ’ defense attorneys rested his case after just 1 day .
Life plus 75 years came the sentence from Judge Varlan—some 45 years longer than Joaquín “ El Chapo ” Guzmán Loera later received as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was a non-violent first-time offender .
The DOJ charged him with importing 300 kilos of cocaine though , while Correa , the trafficking mastermind who helped order a hit on American soil for the Zetas , was allowed to plea to trafficking 34 kilos instead of the 1,000+ kilos he admitted to bringing across the border .
Correa was then allowed to “ earn ” a further reduction to his sentence by testifying against Reynolds , a man whom , by all accounts , he ’ d never met .
To the DOJ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this is justice .
When Reynolds heard about “ Operation Fast and Furious ” much later , it dawned on him .
He would ’ ve been the ideal straw-man weapons purchaser for the DOJ during its operation .
He was young , well-connected , trusted in the hip-hop community , and he ran legitimate businesses that would ’ ve made an effective front .
If any of his firearms were recovered , they would ’ ve traced back to him , giving his would-be handlers plausible deniability .
Wiser , but still @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his story out .
And once he got to the FCI Terre Haute communications management unit ( CMU ) , he started accumulating prison disciplinary charges due to those efforts , the First Amendment notwithstanding .
“ It feels like there ’ s really no such thing as the Constitution ; like it ’ s an illusion for the public to believe in , until it happens to them too—heaven forbid , ” Reynolds remarks now .
Reynolds also learned his actions as an inmate hidden inside a CMU can have dramatic consequences @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Reynolds tried to send a letter some months ago , for one possible example , to then-chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform , Elijah Cummings ( D-MD ) .
Cummings ’ s office previously helped curtail some potentially-unlawful government activity against Reynolds when he reached out from another facility during his ill-fated appeal .
A little while after Reynolds tried to send this more recent message , however , a joint DOJ/local SWAT team went on a paramilitary-style raid of his mother ’ s house mere minutes before @ @ @ @ @ @ @ two 15-minute-long live-monitored weekly telephone calls home .
When Reynolds greeted his mom on the phone that day , an assault rifle had just been pointed in her face from point-blank range .
Representative Cummings ’ s office apparently never got the letter Reynolds recently sent , detailing how the DOJ tried to recruit him for “ Operation Fast and Furious , ” how it obtained his weapons , which would ’ ve traced back to him instead of the Justice Department if not for the unexpected media revelations much later about the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the IRS and the Obama/Holder DOJ in order to cover their tracks .
As one might expect , it ’ s rather normal for correspondence addressed to elected officials , which would otherwise be subject to special mail protections if it were sent by prisoners elsewhere , to go missing when , instead , it ’ s sent from inside a CMU , where all such outgoing mail gets reviewed by the Federal Bureau of Prisons ( FBOP ) before it ’ s allowed to leave .
When Cummings passed away , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , mentioning his above , Reynolds ’ s hope for help from Washington seemed to dim .
But Reynolds had just read Stonewalled by former CBS News journalist Sharyl Attkisson .
Months after his trial , Attkisson broke the story on Fast and Furious at CBS .
Her coverage won awards .
The Obama White House resisted bitterly , asserting executive privilege to keep documents secret .
A top administration official had a brother who is a top CBS executive .
And Attkisson ’ s computers and telephones started behaving strangely .
Multiple @ @ @ @ @ @ @ target of state-sponsored hackers .
They found classified documents embedded deep in her computer ’ s operating system , which later could ’ ve been used to charge her criminally for unauthorized access .
Rather than back Attkisson , CBS seemed to back away from supporting her .
She eventually left the network .
Many questions remain about Fast and Furious .
And Reynold ’ s case seems to fit like a missing puzzle piece .
After Stonewalled , Attkisson sued Eric Holder along with other unnamed agents of the Obama administration .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ , and she ’ s now had her own experience going up against the DOJ in federal court .
Her suit was dismissed without discovery , triggering a spirited dissent this May from U.S .
Circuit Judge Andrew Wynn Jr , who wrote , “ Attkisson never got a meaningful opportunity to pursue her claims because the government did everything in its power to run out the clock.
” Reynolds now hopes The Intercept , Michelle Malkin , David Knight , RT , and others will interview Attkisson and ask her about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not supported by fellow journalists .
“ I hope they ask her what she thinks happened to my family , ” Reynolds says .
And while their families may face suppression efforts on the outside , the inside of a CMU can be an even more dangerous place for non-violent political prisoners like Reynolds .
Click here to read An ISIS-Inspired Murder and DOJ Cover-up in the CMU—Part 3 of the CMU Series .

On June 19th, 2008, Donald Reynolds was one of a very small number of African-Americans in Tennessee to have “class-3 federal stamps.” The stamps allowed him to keep silenced fully-automatic firearms without hassle from law enforcement, at least theoretically.
Reynolds had passed an extensive multi—federal-agency background check in order to qualify for the stamps. His name and fingerprints were then entered into a federal database that easily allows federal agents to browse lists of such weapons and their owners—almost as if they are window shopping.
Twenty-nine-year-old Reynolds kept his record spotless his entire life in order to maintain his eligibility to remain in that federal database too.
“They knew I was 100 percent legitimate,” Reynolds points out now.
He adds that his entire family was background checked on a regular basis due to his father’s security clearance and work at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Yet Reynolds’ perfect record and his family’s history of national service didn’t seem to matter on that fateful pre-summer day in 2008. Federal agents, led by IRS employee Brian Grove and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracee Plowell, along with the local Knoxville, Tennessee, Police Department, still swarmed Reynolds’ home and that of his parents nearby. They claimed they would find a large quantity of drugs.
Grove, Plowell, and their team didn’t find any controlled substances or piles of dirty cash on Reynolds that day though—and they never would.
But that didn’t seem to matter then either. They still seized all of Reynolds’ lawfully-obtained and federally-authorized fully-automatic firearms and Reynolds hasn’t seen them since, except in photographs.
Later, similar (if not the same) weapons were recovered from the bloodstained hands of violent drug-cartel members south of the U.S.-Mexico border, however, in the aftermath of the Justice Department’s poorly-thought-out “Operation Fast and Furious.”
DOJ–planners named the operation after the popular street-racing movie franchise—and it was, perhaps, an even less-realistic concept.
The idea was for federal agents to watch and record but not “take down” the sale of firearms, including high-capacity fully-automatic weapons like those of Reynolds, to arms smugglers who were suspected of supplying violent Mexican-drug-cartel members, and then for the authorities to trace the weapons across the border and through to their delivery on the other side.
The operation turned into a disaster instead, and a full-blown public-relations nightmare for the DOJ. Innocent victims, like U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian A. Terry and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Special Agent Jaime Zapata, were mowed down by cartel members using the weapons before they were recovered. Others, like ICE Special Agent Victor Avila, were seriously wounded.
The truth eventually came out, that the killers only obtained the firearms thanks to the Justice Department.
Even before then, though, the Obama/Holder DOJ seemed to consider it imperative to keep Reynolds quiet. But that wouldn’t be a simple matter.
Reynolds, who still maintains that he did nothing wrong, steadfastly refused to stay silent and work for the feds as an informant/distributor, or to back down in court and take a plea deal that would’ve branded him a confessed drug dealer for life. He says his bail was revoked under a contrived scenario when he turned down the final such offer.
Reynolds then had no choice but to prepare for trial behind bars.
Reynolds planned to rely on his family and his connections to the music industry in order to get the word out about what happened—and how he was being set up by the Justice Department as a minority fall guy.
In November, 2007, Reynolds signed a distribution deal—not with the feds or a drug cartel—but with Universal Records. Vegas Style Entertainment and its leader, Vince Carol, helped broker the deal. Reynolds hoped that his cousin, Jermany Victor James, who used the stage name Dirtbag and performed with legends like Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, would get high-profile musicians involved.
Reynolds now believes the feds threatened his cousin and others, including his employees, in order to stop them from providing evidence and testifying in his defense. He says James could’ve shown he legitimately earned the income that Grove claimed was drug money, among other things, and his employees could’ve backed up his alibi.
Reynolds also says he went through no fewer than 10 defense attorneys, but none were willing to confront the DOJ and the corruption permeating his case head-on. Instead, he says, they each started out strong, but then mysteriously started pushing him to accept a plea deal that seemed more in their best interest than his, or the public’s.
Adding to this mystique, Reynolds reports that Eric Holder personally attended some of his pre-trial hearings.
The judge in Reynolds’ case in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee was Thomas A. Varlan. Like any judge trying any case, Varlan was supposed to be neutral and detached. The record reflects, however, that Varlan represented the Knoxville Police Department in federal court before he became a judge, and this was the same police department that participated in the raids on Reynolds and his family.
The trial transcripts from United States v. Donald Reynolds, perhaps unsurprisingly, exude a bias on the part of Judge Varlan, one that laypeople perceive, in favor of the prosecution.
Reynolds says Varlan barred him from presenting evidence that contradicted prosecutors, and thereby prevented him from mounting an adequate defense for the jury. When prosecutors alleged that Reynolds used drug money for purchases, for example, Reynolds says Varlan blocked him from showing bank statements refuting those claims. And when the DOJ told the jury about the money-counting machines seized from Reynolds’ home, he says Varlan prevented him from showing that he used the counters to handle in-person ticket sales at legitimate live events like concerts and parties.
Reynolds’ trial transcripts also reveal a treasure trove months before the truth came out about “Operation Fast and Furious,” perhaps because at that point prosecutors had less to hide.
Across days of testimony in early 2010, for example, numerous undercover informants, including cartel-smuggler and star-witness Joshua Correa, detailed running assault rifles to Mexico, orchestrating hits, bringing thousands of kilos of cocaine, heroin, and other drugs across the border to Texas, and more. Reynolds reports that he knew nothing about these activities before his trial, though he had done business with the legitimate auto-trading shop where Correa worked as a cover to mask his illicit income.
Most of the government witnesses had signed cooperation agreements and were testifying against Reynolds in hope of receiving lighter sentences for themselves. They would’ve been scared for their lives, it seems from their testimony, to take the stand against cartel members. Perhaps testifying against Reynolds was a safer alternative for them.
Further, while Reynolds was standing trial from jail, Correa testified against him while out on bail, even though Correa was closely associated with the notoriously violent Zeta cartel and personally helped order a hit on U.S. soil. When Reynolds’ attorneys asked to see the order U.S. District Court Judge Marcia A. Crone of the Eastern District of Texas issued allowing Correa to stay free pending sentencing despite his criminal history, the DOJ didn’t provide it and Judge Varlan refused to order prosecutors to turn it over for use cross-examining Correa.
Correa also mentioned that his cartel had been looking for a “cop killer,” i.e. a firearm capable of penetrating standard U.S.-police—issued body armor, and that someone told him Reynolds could get such weapons. But not all the dots were visible to Reynolds until much later.
Only when “Operation Fast and Furious” made headlines, would Reynolds put it together; the testimony about running “cop killer” weapons down to Monterey, Mexico, about the Zetas, the plea deals for Correa and others, Correa’s bail pending sentencing, Placido Benitez (a name Reynolds had never before heard), paid hits, and so-called “life debts.”
In the meantime, he was fighting for his freedom in front of a judge he didn’t know had represented the police, against a drug-trafficking charge that was unsupported by the seizure of any drugs from him at any time, with lawyers who tried desperately to quit his case and coerce him into taking a plea deal he didn’t want.
Yes, according to the prosecution’s own witnesses, all of Reynolds’ firearms were legitimately purchased and properly permitted. No, most people who actually import hundreds of kilos of cocaine, as he was accused of doing, don’t also jump through every state and federal hoop to register their weapons. That’s like a bank robber running out mid-heist to top off a parking meter.
But, in the end, common sense isn’t so common—especially in federal court. The prosecution put on its show for weeks. Reynolds’ defense attorneys rested his case after just 1 day.
“Guilty,” came the verdict.
Life plus 75 years came the sentence from Judge Varlan—some 45 years longer than Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán Loera later received as an actual cartel kingpin. And Reynolds was a non-violent first-time offender. The DOJ charged him with importing 300 kilos of cocaine though, while Correa, the trafficking mastermind who helped order a hit on American soil for the Zetas, was allowed to plea to trafficking 34 kilos instead of the 1,000+ kilos he admitted to bringing across the border. Correa was then allowed to “earn” a further reduction to his sentence by testifying against Reynolds, a man whom, by all accounts, he’d never met.
To the DOJ and many federal judges like Varian, this is justice.
When Reynolds heard about “Operation Fast and Furious” much later, it dawned on him. He would’ve been the ideal straw-man weapons purchaser for the DOJ during its operation. He was young, well-connected, trusted in the hip-hop community, and he ran legitimate businesses that would’ve made an effective front. If any of his firearms were recovered, they would’ve traced back to him, giving his would-be handlers plausible deniability.
Wiser, but still undeterred, Reynolds kept trying to get his story out. And once he got to the FCI Terre Haute communications management unit (CMU), he started accumulating prison disciplinary charges due to those efforts, the First Amendment notwithstanding.
“It feels like there’s really no such thing as the Constitution; like it’s an illusion for the public to believe in, until it happens to them too—heaven forbid,” Reynolds remarks now.
Reynolds also learned his actions as an inmate hidden inside a CMU can have dramatic consequences for his loved ones still at home.
Reynolds tried to send a letter some months ago, for one possible example, to then-chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Elijah Cummings (D-MD). Cummings’s office previously helped curtail some potentially-unlawful government activity against Reynolds when he reached out from another facility during his ill-fated appeal.
A little while after Reynolds tried to send this more recent message, however, a joint DOJ/local SWAT team went on a paramilitary-style raid of his mother’s house mere minutes before Reynolds was scheduled for one of his two 15-minute-long live-monitored weekly telephone calls home.
When Reynolds greeted his mom on the phone that day, an assault rifle had just been pointed in her face from point-blank range.
This continued interference by the DOJ agents is only being carried out to impede on my rights and the facts that were not presented in my case. They are so determined not to have the public, nor the overseers in the House, such as Elijah Cummings, become aware of their misconduct—to avoid an investigation into years of government abuse of power used for their own personal benefit. It’s not a coincidence that my placement in the CMU is being used by these rogue government agents to identify and attack anyone who tries to aid in my liberty. If exposed, the results would show that my case and many others were knowingly created based on the lies of these agents in order to steal and subject Americans like me to losses of life, liberty, and property. It’s no different from the time of King George III. What was the purpose of the Declaration of Independence? And the Bill of Rights?
–Donald Reynolds from the FCI Terre Haute “black-site” CMU
Representative Cummings’s office apparently never got the letter Reynolds recently sent, detailing how the DOJ tried to recruit him for “Operation Fast and Furious,” how it obtained his weapons, which would’ve traced back to him instead of the Justice Department if not for the unexpected media revelations much later about the failed operation—and how he was railroaded by the IRS and the Obama/Holder DOJ in order to cover their tracks.
As one might expect, it’s rather normal for correspondence addressed to elected officials, which would otherwise be subject to special mail protections if it were sent by prisoners elsewhere, to go missing when, instead, it’s sent from inside a CMU, where all such outgoing mail gets reviewed by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP) before it’s allowed to leave.
When Cummings passed away, which was months after Reynold’s quote, mentioning his above, Reynolds’s hope for help from Washington seemed to dim.
But Reynolds had just read Stonewalled by former CBS News journalist Sharyl Attkisson. Months after his trial, Attkisson broke the story on Fast and Furious at CBS. Her coverage won awards.
The Obama White House resisted bitterly, asserting executive privilege to keep documents secret. A top administration official had a brother who is a top CBS executive. And Attkisson’s computers and telephones started behaving strangely.
Multiple digital forensic teams confirmed Attkisson was the target of state-sponsored hackers. They found classified documents embedded deep in her computer’s operating system, which later could’ve been used to charge her criminally for unauthorized access.
Rather than back Attkisson, CBS seemed to back away from supporting her. She eventually left the network.
Many questions remain about Fast and Furious. And Reynold’s case seems to fit like a missing puzzle piece.
After Stonewalled, Attkisson sued Eric Holder along with other unnamed agents of the Obama administration. Her allegations of unlawful interference echo Reynolds’, and she’s now had her own experience going up against the DOJ in federal court. Her suit was dismissed without discovery, triggering a spirited dissent this May from U.S. Circuit Judge Andrew Wynn Jr, who wrote, “Attkisson never got a meaningful opportunity to pursue her claims because the government did everything in its power to run out the clock.”
Reynolds now hopes The Intercept, Michelle Malkin, David Knight, RT, and others will interview Attkisson and ask her about being Stonewalled by the Obama Administration and not supported by fellow journalists.
“I hope they ask her what she thinks happened to my family,” Reynolds says.
And while their families may face suppression efforts on the outside, the inside of a CMU can be an even more dangerous place for non-violent political prisoners like Reynolds.
Click here to read An ISIS-Inspired Murder and DOJ Cover-up in the CMU—Part 3 of the CMU Series.