The Real Reason Why Bill Gates Is Now the US’ Biggest Farmland Owner

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Late last year, Eric O’Keefe was researching a mysterious recent purchase of 14,500 acres of prime Washington state farmland. His magazine, The Land Report, tracks major land transactions and produces an annual list of the 100 biggest US landowners.

Sales of more than a thousand acres are “blue-moon events,” O’Keefe noted, so this one stood out. And Eastern Washington has some of the richest, most expensive farmland in the country. But the purchaser of record was a small, obscure company in Louisiana. . .

He assigned his research team to dig a little deeper. Soon they came back with the answer: The Louisiana company was acting on behalf of Cascade Investment LLC, the secretive investment firm that manages most of the huge fortune belonging to Bill Gates.

O’Keefe knew Gates had been acquiring farmland for years, mostly through various Cascade subsidiaries. The mogul’s holdings include large tracts in Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, California, and about a dozen other states. With the Washington state acreage and other recent additions to his portfolio, O’Keefe calculated, Gates now owns at least 242,000 acres of American farmland. . .

The Land Report scoop made headlines. Many stories focused on Gates’ longstanding interest in climate change and sustainability and suggested those concerns might be driving the land purchases. Newsweek called him a “sustainable agriculture champion.” (Read more from “The Real Reason Why Bill Gates Is Now the Us’ Biggest Farmland Owner” HERE)

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Big Business Sides With Leftists in Pushing Highly Destructive ‘Equality Act’

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The country’s most powerful business interests are openly collaborating with a radical advocacy group to push sweeping legislation that would set women back decades at the expense of an extreme, elite agenda. The left’s historic skepticism of corporate power has morphed into a demand for more of it.

The Human Rights Campaign, an LGBT activist group with far-left interests, has assembled a coalition of the world’s most powerful corporations to support the Equality Act. Scroll through the incredible list and you’ll find massive corporations from Amazon to Bain to Best Buy aligned with HRC’s radical mission.

The Equality Act, passed by the House on Thursday, is a deeply radical bill that would put women in danger, erode free speech and religious rights, and destroy Title IX gains for girls’ sports. These claims about its potential consequences are not a cartoonish right-wing intimidation campaign — they are agreed upon by conservatives and honest progressive, feminist experts alike. . .

Corporate America, along with the media, is now run by extremists who’ve brought radical cultural leftism from academia into the corridors of power. They now share the very same cultural priorities as far-left groups like HRC. The effect of this shared cultural consensus is that businesses use their corporate power to push radical cultural leftism on the rest of the country because the media demands and cheerleads such efforts, eliminating the risk of bad press. (Read more from “Big Business Sides With Leftists in Pushing Highly Destructive ‘Equality Act’” HERE)

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Amazon Strips Clarence Thomas Documentary From Streaming Service During Black History Month

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Amazon stripped a documentary on conservative Justice Clarence Thomas, the only black justice currently serving on the Supreme Court, from its streaming service during Black History Month.

“This video is currently unavailable to watch in your location,” the website reads when the title is clicked. . .

Amazon appeared to drop the PBS title, “Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words,” while still promoting a wide array of feature films under the category of Black History Month such as “All In: The Fight For Democracy,” with Stacey Abrams and two movies on Anita Hill, Thomas’ accuser of sexual misconduct who attempted to derail his confirmation. All come free to stream with a Prime membership.

The Thomas documentary released in January last year remains available to purchase on DVD. A simple search for “Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words,” comes up short for the title however. To find it, users must include “DVD” in the search box, and the documentary will come up as the 10th result. A search for “RBG” on the other hand, will bring three documentaries on Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s documentary to the top after promoting a sponsored post of her biography, “Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.” (Read more from “Amazon Strips Clarence Thomas Documentary From Streaming Service During Black History Month” HERE)

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It’s Time for Biden to Halt ‘What Looks Like a COVID-19 Cover-up’

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China is testing President Biden, but his party is still preoccupied with Donald Trump. Chinese authorities refused to provide World Health Organization investigators with raw data on early COVID-19 cases that could help them determine how and when the coronavirus spread in China. The stakes in learning as much as we can from this pandemic couldn’t be higher. But it’s unclear if our new leaders are ready to confront China’s increasingly intransigent leaders, who are keen to promote unlikely theories on the origins of the virus that absolve them of culpability. . .

President Biden has yet to speak publicly about China’s refusal to hand over raw data on early cases, but Jake Sullivan, his national security adviser, issued a statement. “At this critical moment, protecting the WHO’s credibility is a paramount priority,” he said. “We have deep concerns about the way in which the early findings of the COVID-19 investigation were communicated and questions about the process used to reach them.”

The statement was better than nothing, but there was no call to action or mention of potential consequences if China fails to comply, which is exceedingly likely given Beijing’s track record on transparency and COVID-19. . .

The Chinese government should be given a deadline to turn early COVID-19 case data over to the WHO and there must be clear consequences for failure to comply. Any number of sanctions, including asset freezes and travel bans for China’s leaders, should be on the table. We should also strongly encourage the WHO to immediately send its team of investigators back to China. They should remain there until China’s leaders fully cooperate, and if they don’t, team members should hold daily press conferences to shame them. . .

China doves and free-trade-at-all-costs types will insist that we can’t afford to confront China, which is our third largest trading partner. But when you stack up the economic cost that may arise from rising tensions with China against the potential cost of enduring another pandemic, the choice is clear. It’s time for Joe Biden and other world leaders to send a clear, united message to China that the world will not allow them to persist in what looks like a COVID-19 coverup. (Read more from “It’s Time for Biden to Halt ‘What Looks Like a COVID-19 Cover-up'” HERE)

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Antifa Destroys Downtown Portland in Response to Biden’s ‘Kids In Cages’

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Protests raged in downtown Portland, Oregon, on Saturday as rioters smashed windows of downtown businesses and vandalized the offices of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Profanity-laden slogans and messages like “No kids in cages” were spray-painted on ICE’s field office.

About 150 demonstrators marched through Portland’s Pearl District and damaged businesses that included Starbucks, Chipotle, Umpqua Bank and Urban Pantry, according to Fox News.

(Read more from “Antifa Destroys Downtown Portland in Response to Biden’s ‘Kids In Cages'” HERE)

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LinkedIn Yanks ‘Be Less White’ Diversity Training Lesson Following Intense Backlash

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LinkedIn has removed a training seminar from its site that encouraged attendees to “be less white.” . . .

A description of the course promised attendees that the training “gives you the vocabulary and practices you need to start confronting racism and unconscious bias at the individual level and throughout your organization. There’s no magic recipe for building an inclusive workplace. It’s a process that needs to involve people of color, and that needs to go on for as long as your company’s in business. But with these tools at your disposal, you’ll be well on your way.”

Elsewhere in the webinar, white participants were encouraged to be “less white, less arrogant, less certain, less defensive, less ignorant, and more humble.” . . .

Earlier this week, LinkedIn announced that it would no longer host the webinar on its site.

Nicole Leverich, vice president of corporate communications at LinkedIn, told Newsweek in a statement that the site provides a “wide variety of learning content, including more than 270 courses on the topic of diversity, inclusion, and belonging.” (Read more from “LinkedIn Yanks ‘Be Less White’ Diversity Training Lesson Following Intense Backlash” HERE)

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Cuomo Calls Sexual Harassment Allegations ‘Workplace Jokes’

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Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Sunday tried to explain away allegations of sexual harassment as “jokes” that were misinterpreted as “unwanted flirtation” — as his office caved on the state attorney general’s request to appoint an investigator to probe the claims.

“At work sometimes I think I am being playful and make jokes that I think are funny. I do, on occasion, tease people in what I think is a good natured way,” said Cuomo in a prepared statement.

“I now understand that my interactions may have been insensitive or too personal and that some of my comments, given my position, made others feel in ways I never intended,” he continued. “I acknowledge some of the things I have said have been misinterpreted as an unwanted flirtation. To the extent anyone felt that way, I am truly sorry about that.”

The statement came one day after former Cuomo staffer Charlotte Bennett, 25, alleged to the New York Times that the 63-year-old governor made a series of inappropriate remarks that left her convinced he “wanted to sleep with” her. (Read more from “Cuomo Calls Sexual Harassment Allegations ‘Workplace Jokes'” HERE)

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FDA Experts Recommend Johnson & Johnson Single-Dose Vaccine

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A panel of vaccine experts has voted unanimously to recommend authorization of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine, setting it up for the Food and Drug Administration to allow its release within hours.

The vaccine, developed by Johnson & Johnson-owned Janssen Pharmaceuticals, takes a single shot to provide the full measure of protection from illness due to COVID-19. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines already in use in the United States require two shots spaced out by three weeks and four weeks, respectively. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is also much easier to store and transport than other vaccines because it doesn’t require ultracold temperatures to keep it viable for up to three months.

While the FDA does not have to act on the panel’s recommendation, it often does. The consensus among experts on Friday indicates that the vaccine will likely be granted an emergency use authorization from the FDA on Saturday, just as the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines were authorized hours after the panel ended its all-day deliberations. (Read more from “FDA Experts Recommend Johnson & Johnson Single-Dose Vaccine” HERE)

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Judge Rules Arizona’s Maricopa County Must Turn Over 2.1 Million November Election Ballots to Senate

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A judge on Friday ruled that Maricopa County must provide some 2.1 million ballots from the Nov. 3 election to the Arizona state Senate and allow access to its election equipment to conduct an audit.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Timothy Thomason ruled that subpoenas issued by Arizona’s state Senate are valid and should be enforced, and he disputed arguments from Maricopa County officials saying the subpoenas are unlawful. The county previously stated that multiple audits have been sufficient and said ballots should be sealed.

“The Court finds that the subpoenas are legal and enforceable,” Thomason wrote (pdf) in his ruling. “There is no question that the Senators have the power to issue legislative subpoenas. The subpoenas comply with the statutory requirements for legislative subpoenas. The Senate also has broad constitutional power to oversee elections.”

He argued that the “Arizona legislature clearly has the power to investigate and examine election reform matters,” adding that senators can “subpoena material as part of an inquiry into election reform measures.” (Read more from “Judge Rules Arizona’s Maricopa County Must Turn Over 2.1 Million November Election Ballots to Senate” HERE)

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Intel Finds Saudi Crown Prince Approved Murder of U.S. Reporter; Biden Spares Prince

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A U.S. intelligence report released Friday determined that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman signed off on the operation that led to the killing and dismemberment of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

In response, the Biden administration has issued sanctions on several individuals linked to the murder, but the prince himself will be spared any punishment over fears that holding him accountable might threaten the relationship between the two allied nations. . .

The Washington Post reported that the intelligence document states, in part:

“We assess that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey to capture or kill [Khashoggi]. Since 2017, the Crown Prince has had absolute control of the Kingdom’s security and intelligence organizations, making it highly unlikely that Saudi officials would have carried out an operation of this nature without the Crown Prince’s authorization.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a statement reacting to the report and vowing “accountability for the murder” of Khashoggi. In the press release, Blinken announced a new “Khashoggi Ban,” which allows the State Department to impose visa restrictions against individuals believed to be involved in the type of “extraterritorial counter-dissident activities” such as what happened to The Post columnist. (Read more from “Intel Finds Saudi Crown Prince Approved Murder of U.S. Reporter; Biden Spares Prince” HERE)

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