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The Nordic Times

Polaris of Enlightenment

Wednesday, January 22, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

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https://nordictimes.com/world/crypto-fraudster-sentenced-faces-110-years-in-prison/

World

Crypto fraudster sentenced – faces 110 years in prison

Published 9 November 2023
– By Editorial Staff
Sam Bankman-Fried himself claims that he has done nothing wrong.
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A court in New York, after a five-week trial, has determined that cryptocurrency founder Sam Bankman-Fried was guilty of extensive fraud and embezzlement when a sum equivalent to approximately 7.7 billion euros disappeared from his cryptocurrency exchange FTX – now he faces the possibility of being sentenced to 110 years in prison.

The cryptocurrency founder has secretly transferred customers’ money to his own trading company Alameda Research, which then lost a large part of it in what was described as “failed trades”.

According to the Wall Street Journal, FTX deployed more than half of the users’ assets and several billion dollars vanished without a trace.

Bankman-Fried, who is also one of Joe Biden’s and the Democrats’ biggest financiers, has consistently claimed that he did not commit any crime intentionally but that he acted in “good faith” – and blamed the alleged incompetence of his employees.

However, the court did not accept this, instead finding that the Jewish American entrepreneur was fully aware of what he was doing when he transferred customers’ money to his own hedge fund without their knowledge. During the trial, several high-ranking employees and FTX executives testified against Bankman-Fried.

The actual sentence to be imposed will be announced at a later date.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

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https://nordictimes.com/world/trump-issues-1500-pardons-tied-to-capitol-protests/

World

Trump issues 1,500 pardons tied to Capitol protests

Donald Trump's USA

Published today 12:32
– By Editorial Staff
Trump has described those convicted as “hostages” and previously promised to release them.
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As promised, Donald Trump has issued a sweeping pardon for more than 1,500 people who were involved in various ways in the so-called storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

The pardon, signed shortly after Trump’s presidential inauguration, covers nearly everyone who has been charged or convicted in connection with those events and includes people previously convicted of various degrees of crimes – from minor misdemeanors to serious violent offenses.

Among those pardoned are Stewart Rhodes, founder of the group Oath Keepers, who was previously sentenced to 18 years in prison, Enrique Tarrio, former leader of the Proud Boys, who served a 22-year prison sentence, and Jacob Chansley, known as the “QAnon Shaman”. The pardon applies to both those already serving sentences and those whose trials are still ongoing.

Relatives and supporters of the pardoned have gathered outside prisons to celebrate the decision, arguing that these are political prisoners who were illegally detained by the Biden administration and have now been released.

They argue that the judicial processes have been characterized by extreme legal uncertainty, with many of those who participated in the protests being sentenced to several years in prison on very arbitrary grounds, despite the fact that they do not appear to have acted in a threatening or violent manner. Instead, many in the MAGA community believe that most of the sentences were purely political and that the main purpose was to deter similar protests against those in power in the future.

“A defining moment”

– We are deeply thankful for President Trump for his actions today, said James Lee Bright, a lawyer representing Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes,

– This marks a pivotal moment in our client’s life, and it symbolizes a turning point for our nation. We are optimistic for the future, as we now turn the page on this chapter, embracing new possibilities and opportunities, commented Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio’s lawyer Nayib Hassan.

However, left-liberal politicians and media outlets are raging against the decision, claiming that many of those pardoned are dangerous “extremists” – a criticism that Trump himself does not seem to attach much importance to.

He has described those convicted as “hostages” who have had their lives destroyed.

– They’ve served years in jail, and, if you look at the American public, the American public is tired of it.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/world/trump-initiates-us-withdrawal-from-who-again/

World

Trump initiates US withdrawal from WHO – again

Donald Trump's USA

Published today 11:06
– By Editorial Staff
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO and Donald Trump sign the withdrawal agreement.
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Donald Trump has announced that the United States will leave the World Health Organization (WHO). This is the second time the President has tried to leave the UN body.

On Monday, his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order to begin the process of withdrawing from the WHO, citing the organisation’s handling of COVID-19, lack of reforms and its alleged dependence on political influence from member states.

During the COVID-19 crisis, the WHO advocated for forced vaccinations and recommended lockdowns. It has also been criticized for trying to influence private lives through advice such as refraining from hugging each other during Christmas. The UN agency’s actions during the pandemic have been widely criticized, with some arguing that the organization should make amends for the harmful consequences of the lockdowns.

Trump also points out that the organization is demanding “unfairly onerous payments from the United States”, which are completely disproportionate to the assessed payments of other countries.

“China, with a population of 1.4 billion, has 300 percent of the population of the United States, yet contributes nearly 90 percent less to the WHO“, the White House writes.

Attempted to withdraw as early as 2020

This is not the first time Trump has tried to withdraw from the WHO. He took steps to leave the organization in 2020, accusing it then of aiding China in efforts to “mislead the world” about the origins of COVID-19. Joe Biden then reversed the decision when he took over as President.

The United States has been a member of the WHO since its creation in 1948 and its withdrawal would make it the only major power not in the organization, which currently has 194 members.

Within 12 months, the US will have left the organization, according to Trump.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/world/left-liberal-outrage-after-musks-gesture/

World

Left-liberal outrage after Musk’s gesture

Donald Trump's USA

Published yesterday 16:37
– By Editorial Staff
Elon Musk's notable gesture.
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During Trump’s inauguration ceremony yesterday, Elon Musk drew attention when he ended a speech with a gesture in which he clutched his chest and raised his arm upwards at an angle twice.

Outraged left-liberal media and opinion makers quickly accused Musk of making a “Nazi” salute – but he himself seems to be taking the storm of criticism in stride.

After a short speech in which Musk emphasized the importance of Trump’s election victory, he made a somewhat unusual gesture in which he first slapped his right hand across his chest and then extended it diagonally with an open hand. The gesture was repeated twice during his appearance.

Accusations quickly began to fly that the world’s richest man had made a “Hitler salute” – and several TV channels covering the ceremony chose to pause their regular coverage and instead focus on discussing the purpose of the arm gesture and whether it should be seen as “Nazi”, “fascist” or something else entirely.

“US billionaire Elon Musk appeared to make a Heil Hitler salute at the Washington DC Trump parade”, wrote the Jerusalem Post, for example, and the UK’s The Guardian claimed that “Elon Musk appears to make back-to-back fascist salutes“.

“So tiresome”

However, the multi-billionaire himself does not seem to be particularly bothered by all the fuss, writing on X that his opponents “need better dirty tricks”.

“The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired”, he notes.

Somewhat unexpectedly, the tech mogul has also received support from the Jewish lobbying organization ADL, which tracks and monitors alleged anti-Semitic activity around the world.

“It seems that Elon Musk made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute, but again, we appreciate that people are on edge”, it said in a statement.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/world/the-multi-billionaires-flock-around-trump/

World

The multi-billionaires flock around Trump

Donald Trump's USA

Published yesterday 15:41
– By Editorial Staff
Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg are two of the multi-billionaires who have recently visited Trump.
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In the weeks leading up to Donald Trump’s inauguration as president, his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach has been transformed into a gathering place for some of the world’s most powerful and wealthy people.

In addition to Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates and Sergey Brin, among others, have recently visited Trump’s private club, described as “a new center of power” in the United States.

According to Bloomberg’s review, six of the world’s richest people have visited Trump since his election win in November. Several of the visitors are longtime Trump allies, while others appear to be trying to build relationships with the president-elect.

Among the visitors is Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, whose private jet landed at Palm Beach International Airport on November 26. Meta has confirmed that Zuckerberg attended a dinner and met with members of Trump’s team.

Following this visit, the tech giant soon also announced its plans to remove fact-checking from its platforms and reduce censorship, decisions that are believed to have been made to make Trump more sympathetic to the company and its business.

Amazon’s founder and former richest man in the world, Jeff Bezos, visited Trump in December. According to media reports, Amazon has since pledged to donate $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund and to fund a documentary about Melania Trump.

Vaccine lobbyist and multi-billionaire Bill Gates, former CEO of Microsoft, is another high-profile name who flew to Palm Beach in late December and confirmed he had a three-hour dinner with Trump.

Venture capitalists and Google executives

It is no secret that Elon Musk and Donald Trump have a very close relationship today, and the world’s richest man, who has been appointed the president’s chief efficiency officer, has visited Mar-a-Lago on more than a dozen occasions since the election win and spent several weeks there.

Other billionaires such as Sergey Brin (Google), Larry Ellison (Oracle), Gina Rinehart (Hancock Prospecting), and the Winklevoss twins (cryptocurrency) are also reported to have visited Mar-a-Lago in recent weeks to get a chance to talk one-on-one with the next President of the United States.

Other names on Bloomberg’s list include businessman Howard Lutnick, whom Trump has appointed Secretary of Commerce, biotech mogul Patrick Soon-Shiong, cryptocurrency pioneers the Winklevoss twins, and casino billionaire Tilman Fertitta.

Yesterday’s inauguration ceremony was also attended by a number of the world’s richest men – including Zuckerberg and Bezos. Many of the business leaders and tech moguls invited are also reported to have made significant contributions to Trump’s inauguration fund.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com