Israeli NSO Group is well known for selling hacking software to government clients

By Lindsay Kornick | Fox News -- The Washington Post neglected to reference an Israeli firm’s Democratic connections when releasing an investigation into a hacking scandal. On Sunday, the Washington Post published an article titled "Private Israeli spyware used to hack cellphones of journalists, activists worldwide." The investigative report revealed the Israeli firm NSO Group was responsible for the successful hacks of 37 smartphones belonging to journalists, activists, and business executives. The piece explained, "Military-grade spyware licensed by an Israeli firm to governments for tracking terrorists and criminals was used in attempted and successful hacks of 37 smartphones belonging to journalists, human rights activists, business executives and two women close to murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, according to an investigation by The Washington Post and 16 media partners."

The investigation also emphasized that other phones could have likely been targeted as well, conflicting with the NRO Group’s original claim of only targeting terrorists or suspected criminals. This investigation led to the NRO Group’s name trending through Twitter as well as several critiques from journalists. However, the 4000-word article neglected to reference the firm’s connections to an advisor for President Joe Biden. In a Twitter thread, New York Times reporter Kenneth Vogel explained that the NSO Group had paid the company SKDK, the Democratic-aligned firm of Biden advisor Anita Dunn until late 2019. "The Israeli firm NSO GROUP was behind the spyware used to hack journalists & human rights activists, a @WashingtonPost investigation reveals. Not included in the story: NSO GROUP paid @SKDK (BIDEN adviser ANITA DUNN's firm) for advice until late 2019," Vogel tweeted. He further explained, "NSO GROUP also paid BEACON GLOBAL STRATEGIES (a firm started by JEREMY BASH, an MSNBC analyst who served as CIA & Pentagon chief of staff under OBAMA) until early 2020

 The truth about the Syrian funds in Lebanon does not total more than 6 Billion Dollars

 And this money was placed in Lebanese banks because they did not have other option 

There were many sanctions from the international community not to move out the money from Syria

.. ومصادر مصرفية لبنانية تردّ عليه by annahar.com --
ليست المرة الأولى التي يتحدث فيها الرئيس السوري بشار الأسد عن أن في المصارف اللبنانية ما يراوح بين 40 إلى 60 مليار دولار ودائع للسوريين محتجزة في هذه المصارف ولذلك لا يتمكن الاقتصاد السوري من النهوض. ولا يتحدث الرئيس السوري عن ان تلك الاموال هرّبها اصحابها من المصارف السورية وليسوا في صدد اعادتها ولو تم تحريرها  حاليا من لبنان، بل سيجهدون لتحويلها الى دولة ثالثة.  
مصادر مصرفية لبنانية استغربت عبر وكالة "أخبار اليوم" هذا الكلام وقالت إن سبب عدم نهوض الاقتصاد السوري هو الحرب التي شهدتها البلاد منذ العام 2011، والعقوبات المفروضة على سوريا ونظامها ومؤسساته، إضافة إلى أن عملية إعادة الإعمار لم تبدأ بعد وليس من دولة واحدة حليفة للنظام السوري بدأت عملها في هذا الإطار، وشددت هذه المصادر على أن كلام الأسد يأتي في إطار الذرائع التي يريد من خلالها تبرير ركود الاقتصاد السوري وتراجعه، متجاهلا المشاكل الداخلية التي يعانيها النظام هناك.

by ncregister.com -- WASHINGTON — Bishop Gregory John Mansour of the Eparchy of St. Maron in Brooklyn, New York, and Bishop Abdallah Elias Zaidan of the Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles spoke with the Register at the 2021 International Religious Freedom Summit in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. They shared how the beleaguered nation of Lebanon is a “religious haven” for so many faiths, including Christians, and detailed some of the threats and challenges to that coexistence. Bishop Mansour went to Lebanon earlier this month for the synod of bishops’ meeting with the head of the Maronite Church, Patriarch Cardinal Béchara Boutrous Rai.

Bishop Mansour called Lebanon “unique” because “it was formed, on purpose, to be a religious haven for Christians and Muslims.” He summarized the history of its formation, which was “at the initiative of the Maronite patriarch, Patriarch Elias Hoayek,” who in 1919 “went on a boat from Lebanon to Versailles, France, to meet with the Allied forces after they had defeated the Ottoman Empire so that a Lebanon carved out of the Middle East could include Christians and Muslims alike and the boundaries even were purposefully designed so that Sunni, Shiite and Christians could live in conviviality.” “By God’s grace, he got his way, and Lebanon was formed in a national pact between the religious communities, which is at the very heart of it. It was a pact between the religious communities, 18 different communities in Lebanon,” he said. Drawing on the history of its formation, Bishop Mansour said that he and Bishop Zaidan were at the religious-freedom summit in order to “promote and to advocate for a Lebanon that continues to be, as Pope John Paul II said, ‘more than a country, a message.’”

Current Challenges

Bishop Zaidan told the Register that, today, Lebanese Christians are facing challenges to that message, including “fear of that abuse of power outside the government from militia, specifically Hezbollah, that could undermine the existence of the country as an independent country, which means this would undermine democracy.” “That’s why the Church always stands for the government to be a strong, unified government for everybody,” he said. “Lebanon is a country for all, not just the Christians, not just one Muslim [group]; it’s for everybody to have and enjoy religious freedom — freedom at all sides, not freedom from religion, freedom of religion. And we want peace.” He continued, “That’s why our Patriarch Cardinal Rai has been a great advocate for neutrality of Lebanon, so that Lebanon can continue its mission; and we ask all the countries of the world to support that effort and to come together and support Lebanon.”

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Saturday the main impediment to investment in the country was money stuck in ailing Lebanese banks. In a speech after being sworn in as president for a fourth term, Assad said estimates suggested the frozen funds were worth between $40 billion and $60 billion. "Both figures are enough to depress an economy like ours," he said. Lebanon is in the throes of a deep economic meltdown that is threatening its stability. Lebanese banks have locked depositors out of their accounts and blocked transfers abroad since the start of the country's crisis in late 2019. Many Syrian front companies had long circumvented Western sanctions by using Lebanon's banking system to pay for goods which were then imported into Syria by land.

Assad also said Syria would continue working to overcome difficulties caused by the Western sanctions imposed over its decade-long war. "Sanctions haven't prevented us from securing our basic needs but they have created some choke points," he said. "We will continue to work to overcome them without announcing what methods we used before to do that or what we will use in the future." Syrian authorities blame Western sanctions for widespread hardship, including soaring prices and people struggling to afford food and basic supplies. Assad secured a fourth term in office in a May election, winning more than 95% of the votes.