World
Argentina’s Milei Calls Out Spain’s First Lady Over Corruption
Spain has withdrawn its ambassador to Buenos Aires after Argentina’s President Javier Milei slammed Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez over his wife’s alleged corruption during a anti-socialism rally in Madrid.
Javier Milei a staunch libertarian referred to Sanchez’s wife Begona Gomez as “corrupt” during a rally in Madrid organized by the far-right Vox party and attended by several of its overseas friends.
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares stated that he expects Milei to apologize.
Other ministers also attacked Milei’s statement, in which he referred to socialism as “cursed and carcinogenic”. Sanchez leads Spain’s Socialist Party.
“With his behaviour, Milei has brought the relationship between Spain and Argentina to its most serious state in recent history,” Albares said in a video statement.
Milei’s visit breached diplomatic convention by refusing to meet with Spain’s King Felipe and Sanchez, instead promoting his book at a party gathering alongside Vox leader Santiago Abascal.
Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, stated in a post on social messaging app X that “attacks against family members of political leaders have no place in our culture”.
Political freedom, prosperity, social cohesion based on fiscal redistribution, respect in public debate are pillars of the EU.
Attacks against family members of political leaders have no place in our culture: we condemn and reject them, especially when coming from partners. https://t.co/xLk19J8GSe
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) May 19, 2024
Spain’s largest opposition party, the conservative People’s Party (PP), declined to support Madrid’s position, claiming that Sanchez should have provided explanations concerning the alleged corruption issue weeks ago.
“His silence generates internal doubts, but also distrust abroad,” a PP source said, adding that the party’s mission was to oppose the Spanish government, not Milei.
In April, a local court said that it was investigating allegations of influence peddling and commercial corruption against Sanchez’s wife, which were raised in a private complaint by Manos Limpias, or Clean Hands, an anti-corruption activist group.
However, Madrid’s prosecuting authorities later announced that it was asking to have the case dismissed due to a lack of evidence.
Sanchez decided to stay in office after five days of deliberating his future after the investigation into his wife was publicized.
Wife of Span’s PM investigated for corruption
In April, a Spanish judge has initiated a preliminary investigation against Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s wife over corruption allegations, raising political tensions in Madrid to unprecedented heights.
The judge’s surprising decision against Begoña Gómez provoked outrage in Sánchez’s Socialist-led administration, which denounced the claims as “false” and blamed them on rightwing rivals.
The judge, Juan Carlos Peinado, initiated judicial proceedings after receiving a complaint from a labor union regarding influence peddling. It claimed that Gómez obtained favors from private companies that secured government contracts and received subsidies.
Spain’s justice minister, Félix Bolaños, criticized the case as “one more false allegation”.
On Wednesday, Sánchez addressed parliament, “On a day like today, and despite the news I have heard, despite everything, I still believe in justice in my country.”
The union that submitted the complaint was Manos Limpias (Clean Hands), which has a history of filing anti-corruption lawsuits and whose leader has far-right connections. Its complaint was based on a series of stories published by news outlets, including El Confidencial.
Before deciding whether or not to proceed with the case, the judge must call witnesses and analyze the evidence.
Manos Limpias claims that Gómez obtained favors from executives at Air Europa and its parent company, Globalia, while serving as the director of an Africa research center at IE University in Madrid for over four years, until 2022.
Manos Limpias linked her actions to the airline’s €475 million bailout in late 2020, as it tried to survive the coronavirus outbreak.
Gómez has remained silent on the claims in recent weeks and was not available for comment on Wednesday. Globalia has declined to respond.
IE University reported receiving four airline tickets from Globalia as part of an event sponsorship contract in 2020, but stated that it had never received any money from Globalia or its Africa center.
The conservative opposition demanded that Sánchez deliver quick “explanations” to parliamentarians regarding the case.
According to Esther Muñoz, deputy secretary of the opposition People’s Party, the silence of the government’s head is highlighting his wife, not the People’s Party.
Other ministers in Sanchez’s government responded to the opposition. Spain’s deputy prime minister, María Jesús Montero, stated, “we are facing the worst PP in history” and accused it of aligning with “practices and discourses of the extreme right”.
In recent weeks, Sánchez’s government has concentrated on approaching regional and EU elections, passing only a few pieces of legislation.
The PP has postponed the approval of a controversial plan that would provide amnesty to Catalan separatists involved in a 2017 secession push. Sánchez’s minority coalition government is reliant on the votes of Catalan legislators, who will not support any new legislation until the amnesty bill passes.
A Catalan regional election on May 12 will put Sánchez’s standing to the test following the amnesty pact. The Catalan branch of Sánchez’s Socialist Party is leading polls, followed by the extreme separatists Junts for Catalunya.
Source: Financial Times, Reuters
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World
Biden Escalates Ukraine War With Long-Range Missiles
The Kremlin announced on Monday that President Joe Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to hit targets inside Russia with US military long-range missiles is “fuel to the fire” and will exacerbate international tensions.
Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to employ US military long-range missiles to strike deep within Russia has raised concerns about growing tensions, with many fearing that this decision could lead to world conflict.
On Monday, with less than two months remaining in office, President Joe Biden authorized American-provided Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to strike deep within Russia.
“It is obvious that the outgoing administration in Washington intends to take steps and they have been talking about this, to continue adding fuel to the fire and provoking further escalation of tensions around this conflict,” said Peskov, the spokesman for the president.
Peskov reminded journalists of a September statement by President Vladimir Putin, who stated that enabling Ukraine to target Russia would dramatically raise the stakes.
It would alter “the very nature of the conflict dramatically,” Putin stated. This would mean that NATO countries, the United States, and European countries would be at war with Russia.”
Peskov asserted that Western countries that deliver longer-range weaponry also provide targeting services to Kyiv. “This fundamentally changes the modality of their involvement in the conflict,” he said.
Ukraine War Escalation
In June, Putin threatened that if NATO permitted Ukraine to utilize the arsenal of its partners to attack Russian territory, Moscow would send longer-range weapons to others to strike Western targets.
“The Westerners supply weapons to Ukraine and say: ‘We do not control anything here anymore and it does not matter how they are used.'” Putin had said. “We can also say, ‘We supplied something to someone — and now we have no control over anything.'” “And let them think about it.”
Putin again emphasized Moscow’s willingness to deploy nuclear weapons if it perceived a threat to its sovereignty.
Biden’s decision will “mean the direct involvement of the United States and its satellites in military action against Russia, as well as a radical change in the essence and nature of the conflict,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry stated.
The new policy has unpredictable consequences. ATACMS, with a range of roughly 300 kilometers (190 miles), can travel deep behind Ukraine’s 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line, although their range is modest compared to other types of ballistic and cruise missiles.
President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on January 20, has not responded, but he won the election on promises to stop the conflict, and some people close to him have decried the action as a hazardous escalation.
Missile Decision Sparks Anger
The Military Industrial Complex appears to want to start World War III before my father has a chance to restore peace and rescue lives. We need to lock in those $Trillions. Life be damned!! Imbeciles!” Donald Trump Jr., the President-elect’s son, posted on X
“On his way out of office, Joe Biden is dangerously trying to start WWIII by authorizing Ukraine to use U.S. long-range missiles against Russia,” said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., on X. “The American people gave a mandate on November 5 against these exact American last decisions.”
Rebekah Koffler, a former Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) officer and author of “Putin’s Playbook,” speculated that the stories were a “trial balloon to disrupt Trump” and that Biden may not have authorized the ATACMS strikes yet.
According to Dani Belo, PhD, Director of Security and International Relations at Global Policy Horizons Research Lab, Ukraine’s ability to currently hit Russian territory has the potential to escalate the war with Russia.
However, Donald Trump’s victory is likely to moderate the escalation.
There is speculation that Donald Trump’s administration would restrict military hardware deliveries to Ukraine, putting political pressure on Kyiv to resolve the crisis. This implies Ukraine has no motivation to escalate now and lose its fighting capability in a matter of months.
Russia sees no reason to escalate the situation at this time. Moscow expects that Trump’s administration will try to finish the war soon, so the Kremlin will likely take a wait-and-see approach until the new presidential administration takes office without significantly escalating the conflict. As a result, any escalation is unlikely.
Source: AP
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A Court Filing Reveals Elon Musk Flatly Rejected OpenAI’s ICO in 2018.
(VOR News) – Elon Musk, the billionaire and CEO of Tesla, claims in a subsequent court filing that was submitted on November 14 that he was successful in stopping OpenAI from doing an initial coin offering (ICO) in 2018.
According to the filing requirements, this information was disclosed.
Musk and his legal team have claimed that two of OpenAI’s founders, Greg Brockman and Sam Altman, tried unsuccessfully to create a token in early 2018 to help the company grow. To the best of our knowledge, this was the founders’ intention.
Elon Musk accurately described the scenario.
Elon Musk made the remark during the pertinent time period, according to the lawsuit’s accusations.
This, in his opinion, would lead to a significant decline in trust in OpenAI and everyone involved in the initial coin offering (ICO). These statements are extracted from his initial declaration.
A unique project backed by Altman, Worldcoin launched a token twenty-three years ago with the goal of creating digital identification for verified individuals.
Furthermore, the company in charge of token distribution was Worldcoin. Through the use of the token, Worldcoin was able to authenticate individual identities.
When OpenAI was first founded, it was a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating safe artificial general intelligence (AGI).
In this context, the acronym AGI stands for artificial global intelligence. “Musk has continuously voiced concern about the grave threat that these sophisticated systems pose to humanity,” his attorney wrote in the complaint. These sophisticated technologies represent a serious threat to humankind.
“Musk remains apprehensive regarding this threat.” “Musk regards these threats with the utmost seriousness.” “Elon Musk has harbored these concerns for an extended period.”
This led to Musk joining OpenAI’s board of directors and continuing to serve as co-chair of the board. Furthermore, he was appointed to that board of directors post.
Elon Musk contributed $44 million to the enterprise.
OpenAI declared in a March 5th news release that it was imperative that the company adopt a profit-making structure in order to obtain the necessary funding to achieve its objectives. In order to enable OpenAI to fulfill its objectives, this transition was necessary.
According to both the OpenAI statement and the amended filing, Elon Musk advocated for the combination of OpenAI and Tesla to help the artificial intelligence startup with its financial issues.
The aforementioned measures were implemented to mitigate the challenges that the organization was facing at that specific moment. Musk submitted his resignation as an OpenAI employee in February 2018.
He founded his own artificial intelligence company, which he named XAI, in the ensuing years. His efforts directly led to the achievement he achieved.
We are deeply disappointed that our friendship with someone we have always held in the highest respect has deteriorated.
As we started to make significant strides toward OpenAI’s goal on our own, this person, who had previously motivated us to achieve greater heights, abruptly predicted that we would fail, established a rival company, and filed a lawsuit against us, according to the group’s press release.
In August of this year, Musk filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEOs, Altman and Brockman, claiming that they had violated federal RICO statutes, engaged in unfair competition, and committed fraud. OpenAI is the target of legal action taken by Elon Musk.
According to Elon Musk, they have engaged in additional illegal activity. Microsoft was named as one of the defendants in the dispute in the updated complaint, which was submitted on November 14.
It’s being presented as a case at the moment. Microsoft and OpenAI started working together in 2019, and Microsoft committed $1 billion in the partnership.
In July 2023, OpenAI’s native cryptocurrency, Worldcoin (WLD), was made available to the general public. Not too long ago, an article published by The Block disclosed this knowledge. When the market closed on November 15 at 11:36 p.m. Eastern Time (16:36 UTC), the price of a share of WLD was $2.21.
SOURCE: TB
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World
Trump Appoints Robert F. Kennedy Jr to Head HHS
President-elect Trump appointed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr) to run the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), sending Democrats and Big Pharma allies into a tailspin.
“I am delighted to announce Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and medicine firms, which have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation regarding public health,” Trump stated in his announcement.
“The safety and health of all Americans is the most important role of any administration, and HHS will play an important role in ensuring that everyone is safe from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives that have contributed to this country’s overwhelming health crisis.
Mr. Kennedy will restore these agencies to gold-standard scientific Research and Transparency traditions, stopping the Chronic Disease Epidemic and making America Great and Healthy Again!” Trump added.
Reactions to RFK Jr HHS Appointment
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) oversees the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Medicare, Medicaid, and the National Institutes of Health.
Kennedy is a former environmental justice lawyer who has recently started an anti-vaccine nonprofit. He ran for president as an independent candidate in 2024 but dropped out to join Trump’s closest circle.
House Republicans have reacted to Donald Trump’s nomination of former presidential contender Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary.
Chip Roy, a Texas congressman, calls it “great news”. He tells me, “We need disruption throughout the federal government.” He’ll be fantastic at HHS [the Department of Health and Human Services] to do that.”
Roy adds that he expects Kennedy’s candidacy will clear the Senate.
“There’s been a few Kennedy’s in the Senate in the past so maybe there’ll be some legacy there that they will want to move him through,” he speculates.
South Carolina Congressman Ralph Norman concurs with Roy on Kennedy’s confirmation in the Senate: “I believe he was an excellent choice by the president, as have all of them. Kennedy is interested in, and passionate about, the medical industry. He will do a terrific job with it.”
According to Public Citizen, a progressive nonprofit group focused on consumer protection, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “is a clear and present danger to the nation’s health.”
He should not be allowed to enter the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), let alone be appointed director of the nation’s public health agency.”
“Donald Trump’s mishandling of public health policies during the Covid outbreak resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths. “By appointing Kennedy as secretary of HHS, Trump is courting another policy-driven public health disaster,” the organization continued.
Apu Akkad, an infectious disease physician at the University of Southern California, described the statement as a “scary day for public health”.
Meanwhile, pharmaceutical stocks such as Pfizer and Moderna plummeted following news of Kennedy’s nomination for HHS Secretary, as investors considered his potential impact on vaccine sales.
Novavax and BioNTech finished down more than 7%, with almost all losses occurring when word of the selection broke—Novavax shares fell to $7.22, and BioNTech shares fell to $103.56.
Moderna’s stock closed 5.6% at $39.77, reaching its lowest point of the year.
Sanofi’s stock fell 3.4% to $47.82, continuing a weeks-long share price decline that began after the company’s latest earnings report last month.
Pfizer lost less than its competitors on Thursday, closing down 2.6% at $26.02, despite having its sharpest drop of the day immediately following the RFK Jr. announcement.
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