US Navy picture of a diver taking part in a ‘research’ operation Picture: www.navy.mil
The wrecking last year of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline between Russia and Germany was a deliberate terror attack carried out by the US Navy, says famed journalist Seymour Hersh.
Hersh exposed the My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War, helped to expose the Watergate affair and contributed to revealing prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib.
He says that under the cover of a Nato military training exercise known as Baltops 22 in June 2022, the US Navy placed explosives on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which were then remotely detonated in September.
The pipeline attack caused damage valued at £15 billion and led to the single largest spill of methane gas ever. It spewed out the equivalent of 14.5 million tons of CO2, with a major climate impact. It also reinforced the increase in energy prices globally.
Hersh alleges that preparations for the bombing began in December 2021, several months before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Hersh said, “From its earliest days, Nord Stream was seen by Washington and its anti‑Russian Nato partners as a threat to Western dominance.”
On 7 February, president Joe Biden said, “If Russia invades Ukraine, there will be no longer a Nord Stream 2. We will bring an end to it.” Hersh writes that Biden’s statements upset US military planners.
“It was like putting an atomic bomb on the ground in Tokyo and telling the Japanese that we are going to detonate it,” Hersh’s source said.
“The plan was for the options to be executed post invasion and not advertised publicly. Biden simply didn’t get it or ignored it.”
The White House said last week that Hersh’s claims are “utterly false and complete fiction”.
A month ago, US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland said, “I think the administration is very gratified to know that Nord Stream 2 is now, as you like to say, a hunk of metal at the bottom of the sea.”
Cop on trial for child rape
A police officer in Scotland raped a girl when she was about six years old, a court heard last week.
The child, who cannot be named for legal reasons, gave evidence to the high court in Edinburgh, alleging that Martyn Coulter raped her in 2014. She said she did not tell anybody at the time because Coulter threatened her, telling her he would “beat her black and blue” if she told anyone.
Coulter, who is suspended from Police Scotland, is accused of raping a woman and assaulting her three times between June 2013 and November 2014, and is also accused of being threatening towards her.
He is further charged with raping, sexually assaulting and threatening a girl under 13. Coulter denies all charges against him.
Cop charged with rape
A serving Metropolitan Police officer has been charged with the rape of a woman 14 years ago.
PC Jordan Pascal is accused of the incident in Southend in 2009. Essex Police said he worked for the force at the time but joined the Met in 2012.
Cops called officer ‘The Rapist’
An officer investigating sex offences in a Met Police unit was nicknamed “The Rapist”, a documentary has claimed.
And after a damning report revealed vile WhatsApp messages being shared among colleagues, a senior officer allegedly told staff to delete anything incriminating.
Women & The Police also includes claims that one officer joked killer PC Wayne Couzens would not have had the money for the fuel to burn the body of Sarah Everard.
One former Met officer “Rachel”—not her real name—claimed male colleague “The Rapist” worked for the Serious Sexual Offences Unit.
Meanwhile, serving West Mercia officer “Faye” claimed a senior officer sexually assaulted her at a party and was later promoted, despite her making a formal complaint.
She said he kissed her neck and texted saying, “Pretty girl do you want to come back with me to the hotel.”
A Marine charged with taking part in the attempt on 6 January 2021 to take over the US Capitol was transferred into a highly sensitive intelligence assignment at the headquarters of the National Security Agency. The Marine confessed to his role during a security clearance interview, but was not charged until last month. Sgt Joshua Abate, a communication analyst, was assigned to the Marine Cryptologic Support Battalion. The transfer into the liaison unit after the Capitol riot placed Abate inside one of the most secretive facilities in the US.
The National Crime Agency reported last week that “three people including a husband and wife have been arrested in an investigation linked to international PPE fraud. The male is suspected of setting up a UK company solely for running a fraudulent scheme that would allow him to profit from PPE shortages during the height of the coronavirus pandemic. His wife is suspected of helping to launder the proceeds.” Any Tory link we wonder?
Ofgem lets energy thieves off again
Energy watchdog Ofgem is dragging its feet over a £2.5 billion rip-off by power giants which are slapping extra charges on customers if they do not pay by direct debit.
The regulator has been under pressure to stop firms charging customers extra if they choose to pay their bill in cash, by cheque, or over the phone using a bank card.
But it says it will not clamp down on the practice for at least two years, meaning customers—many elderly or less well-off—will continue to pay through the nose.
Companies hoard billions of pounds of customers’ cash even when they have large credit balances. Those who choose another payment route pay a heavy penalty.
The scale of the additional charges can be as much as £254 a year—almost £5 a week. The surcharge was previously capped at £79 a year.
But since 2021, the maximum that suppliers can charge customers has quietly been hiked to more than three times that figure.
Boris Johnson still making a fortune
Boris Johnson has received £2.5 million as an advance for speeches.
That means he has received earnings, hospitality and donations worth more than £5 million over the last six months since leaving office.
The former prime minister has undertaken a lucrative tour of the global speaking circuit since exiting No 10, addressing investors in the technology behind cryptocurrency, insurers and investment bankers.
He has also grabbed more than £500,000 as an advance for a memoir.
Johnson has stayed on in what is supposed to be his main job as MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip.
He has also accepted a donation of more than £1 million from Christopher Harborne, an investor in crypto based in Thailand who previously donated £6 million to the Brexit Party.
Johnson has also been taking £13,500 a month in donated accommodation from the Conservative financial backer Lord Bamford and his wife.
This includes a London townhouse and use of a property in the Cotswolds.
Things they say
‘Nobody has ever committed a crime after being executed. You know that, don’t you? There’s a 100 percent success rate’
Lee Anderson, the deputy leader of the Tory party, likes the idea of killing people
‘We’ve got generation after generation who cannot cook properly. They can’t cook a meal from scratch. They cannot budget’
Anderson isn’t that fond of the constituents he doesn’t want to kill either
‘Aliens? l will let the intel community and the counter-intelligence services figure that one out. I haven’t ruled out anything’
US general Glen VanHerck isn’t sure whether the Chinese or aliens are in the sky and need to be shot down
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