Mar 14

Today’s News 14th March 2018

  • These Are The Regions The Ultra Rich Want To Leave

    As part of Knight Frank’s latest Wealth Report, a survey of over 500 leading private bankers and wealth advisers was conducted to gain insights into the mindset of the world’s ultra rich.

    The respondents, who represent roughly 50,000 ‘ultra high net worth individuals’ (UHNWIs), were asked whether their clients planned to permanently emigrate to another country.

    As Statista’s Martin Armstrong shows, the responses varied depending on the region the wealthy individual was currently residing in.

    Infographic: The Regions the Ultra Rich Want to Leave | Statista

    You will find more infographics at Statista

    While the target country could of course be within the same region, the largest share of UHNWIs with itchy feet were from Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States – 45 percent said they planned to emigrate.

  • Russia's Hypersonic Missiles Didn't Surprise America But They Awed The World

    Authored by Andrew Korybko via Oriental Review,

    President Putin unveiled Russia’s hypersonic response to the US’ so-called “missile defense shield” and restored the strategic nuclear balance between the two Great Powers.

    This dramatic announcement came during his annual State of the Nation address which this time included multiple videos showcasing each of the weapons systems that he described in his speech. President Putin was clear, however, that these armaments are for defensive purposes and were created in response to the US pulling out of the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty in 2002 and thereby completely upsetting the erstwhile parity that had hitherto stabilized their relations.

    Now, though, the advantage that the US had hoped to attain over Russia in presumably neutralizing its nuclear second strike deterrence with time and eventually blackmailing Moscow & the rest of the world has been nullified and balance has returned to the highest levels of International Relations. The international reaction to this realization was immediate, with the Mainstream Media decontextualizing key excerpts from President Putin’s speech in order to frame them as aggressively announcing a new arms race, though the Alternative Media was much fairer in their depiction of Russia’s revolution in military affairs by accurately conveying the country’s peaceful and stabilizing intentions in unveiling its state-of-the-art hypersonic weaponry.

    For whatever the reasons, both audiences were left with the distinct impression that this development caught the US completely off guard, but nothing could be further from the truth.

    It’s inconceivable that American intelligence agencies had no idea that Russia was developing these armaments, especially after Moscow announced its intentions over a decade ago like President Putin reminded everyone. This fact debunks the prevailing narrative, advanced for different reasons by the Mainstream and Alternative Medias, that the US was surprised by Russia’s revelation. Instead, it points to President Putin carrying out a clever soft power strategy for improving his country’s image throughout the rest of the world.

    He and his advisors wisely calculated that now would be the best time to announce their military developments to the international community, especially after the disappointment that Trump has proven to be when it comes to restoring bilateral relations due to the fierce “deep state” “civil war”that he’s embroiled in. Moreover, the outstanding job that the Russian Aerospace Forces have done in Syria have made their equipment world-famous, suggesting that there might be a strong demand for the country’s hypersonic weapons exports in the future.

    After all, the recent selling spree of S400s to a multitude of countries, including non-traditional partners such as Turkey and Saudi Arabia, totally changes the strategic military equation and further erodes America’s previous military dominance in the sphere of offensive air and missile capabilities, so it logically follows that Russia would also have an interest in undermining the US’ defensive capabilities in this regard as well. It’ll still likely be some years before Russia even considers selling this technology, but it will inevitably proliferate with time, just like drones and all other game-changing advances before it have done too.

    The US certainly expected for this to happen but likely didn’t anticipate being humiliated on the global stage after President Putin exposed the billions of dollars that American taxpayers invested in their country’s so-called “missile defense shield” as being useless against Russia, so Trump might soon be planning his government’s own reciprocal announcement in order to “save face” and convince the world that his military-driven policy of “America First” will indeed “Make America Great Again”.

  • Bitcoin Sinks As Google Moves To Ban All Crypto, ICO Ads In June

    Mimiccing its biggest rival for ad dollars – Facebook – Google will ban online advertisements promoting cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings, and “other speculative financial instruments” starting in June.

    Some aggressive businesses found a loophole: purposely misspelling words like “bitcoin” in their ads. A Google spokeswoman said the company’s policies will try to anticipate workarounds like this.

    The reaction was immediate across the crypto space but for now is somewhat subdued…

    Alphabet’s Google said the new policy will become effective in June across ads bought on its search and display-advertising network, as well as its YouTube unit.

    But, as The Wall Street Journal reports, the policy also will restrict ads for nontraditional methods of wagering on the future movements of stock prices and foreign-exchange, such as binary options and financial spread-betting, Google said.

    Google said last year it removed more than 130 million ads that were used by hackers to mine for cryptocurrency. That is a very small percentage of the ads run on Google’s ad network.

    The company’s director of sustainable ads, Scott Spencer, declined to comment on how much potential ad revenue the company would be turning away by enacting the new policy, saying the decision was made to prevent consumer harm.

    One wonders when the crackdown will start on inverse VIX ETFs, or just S&P ETFs, or brokerages? Aren’t they all capable of doing consumers “harm”?

    As a reminder, here is Facebook’s justification:

    We want people to continue to discover and learn about new products and services through Facebook ads without fear of scams or deception. That said, there are many companies who are advertising binary options, ICOs and cryptocurrencies that are not currently operating in good faith.

    This policy is intentionally broad while we work to better detect deceptive and misleading advertising practices, and enforcement will begin to ramp up across our platforms including Facebook, Audience Network and Instagram. We will revisit this policy and how we enforce it as our signals improve.

    We also understand that we may not catch every ad that should be removed under this new policy, and encourage our community to report content that violates our Advertising Policies. People can report any ad on Facebook by clicking on the upper right-hand corner of the ad.

    This policy is part of an ongoing effort to improve the integrity and security of our ads, and to make it harder for scammers to profit from a presence on Facebook.

    Which roughly translated is “because we know what’s best for you!”

  • Retired Green Beret Fears "Marxist Wolves Circling The 2nd Amendment"

    Authored by Jeremiah Johnson (nom de plume of a retired Green Beret of the United States Army Special Forces) via SHTFplan.com,

    There’s no need at this point to pull any punches, and the Marquis of Queensbury rules have already been tossed out the window. The wolves are circling to bring down the 2nd Amendment. Those wolves are the establishment. There are no political parties: the political parties are merely the illusion of choice. The government has been removed from the control of “We the People” for more than a century. The wolves are the Federal Government, the State Governments, the Local and Municipal Governments. The wolves are the Democrats, the Republicans, and the far-left parties (Communists, Greens, etc.).

    The wolves employ the coyotes: the youth, misguided and misled, who are interested in partying and doing the minimal to “get by” in life…an entitlement mindset. They know not that they will be “pruned” by the tree-trimmers…the ones who will rout these saplings out before they become aware…aware of the truth. The tree-trimmers are the ones who would chop down the tree of liberty…that selfsame tree that needs (in the words of Thomas Jefferson) to be watered from time to time with the blood of patriots and the blood of tyrants.

    The youth are critical to the wolves from a voting perspective, because (as de Tocqueville wrote) they enable the wolves to attain victory through “the tyranny of the majority,” in which rights are trampled by using numbers to tip the balance and allow majority rule…no matter how mindless or uninformed. No matter that the mindless vote for one reason, while the wolves have another purpose in mind. Coyotes, the mindless, who will be enslaved and pruned when the right time arises.

    First the guns: they must have the guns.

    On Friday, Governor (in name only) Rick Scott of Florida signed a new, lovely law that is onerous to the Constitution and directly assaults the 2nd Amendment. This excerpt from the AP holds the basic parameters:

    …the law,…raises the minimum age to buy rifles from 18 to 21; extends a three-day waiting period for handgun purchases to include long guns; and bans bump stocks, which allow guns to mimic fully automatic fire.

    As can be seen, the law is onerous to the Constitution. There is nothing that needs to be explained about the wording in the 2nd Amendment “shall not be infringed upon,” regarding the right to keep and bear arms. Marbury vs. Madison established the fact that any law that is onerous to the Constitution is null and void, plain and simple.

    The problem is their “public safety” and “extraordinary circumstances,” that arm the wolves for slashing the throats of the deer in the name of the “public good.”

    Go ahead and take it to court. Go ahead. You’ll automatically open yourself up…come forth before the barbarian hordes. You’ll be identified, monitored, followed, and placed upon their list. You will be marginalized further. You’re already marginalized and outside of normative behavior if you’re a veteran, a patriot, a person who believes in God and freedom of worship, and anyone who is against the national sovereignty of the United States being removed in favor of global governance.

    The paradigm has shifted and is being shifted: the globalist initiative is replacing the Constitution for the new American existing social, political, and economic order.

    Go ahead and take it to court. The NRA is filing a suit to prevent it. Nevertheless, the wheels are in motion. You will be fighting against the State…a “creature” with unlimited resources, with the media in its pocket, with thousands of actors/victims and other “living stage props” to use to garner public sentiment against you.

    Read “The Running Man,” by Richard Bachman (a pen-name used by Stephen King…and read the book, as the movie is BS and was to sell, not to give the true concept of what the Running Man “contest” was about).

    Here’s an excerpt of that excellent work, spoken by the head of the Network, Dan Killian, to the hero/protagonist Ben Richards:

    “Your work record has been spotty and you’ve been fired…let’s see…a total of six times for such things as insubordination, insulting superiors, and abusive criticism of authority.”

    Richards shrugged.

    “In short you’re regarded as antiauthoritarian and antisocial.  You’re a deviate who has been intelligent enough to stay out of prison and serious trouble with the government, and you’re not hooked on anything.”

    Killian then goes on to tell Richards about the Running Man.

    “The program is one of the surest ways the Network has of getting rid of embryo troublemakers such as yourself, Mr. Richards.  We’ve been on for six years.  To date, we have no survivals.  To be brutally honest, we expect to have none.”

    “Then you’re running a crooked table,” Richards said flatly.

    Killian seemed more amused than horrified.

    “But we’re not.  You keep forgetting you’re an anachronism, Mr. Richards.  People won’t be…rooting for you to get away…They want to see you wiped out, and they’ll help if they can.”

    Our society is upon the cusp of a transformation to that one…a society where it is mandatory to have a free television (termed the “FreeVee) in every home…to provide a modern form of the Roman “Games” of the Flavian Amphitheater and the Circus Maximus…enrapturing and distracting the public. A society where drugs are legalized and encouraged. A society of a repressive police state, where a rigid class structure has been established. A society that consists of most of the populace as dumbed-down, dependent upon the government for subsistence. A society where government and the oligarchy openly pollute the skies, while they walk around with filters to protect against it…at taxpayer expense.

    A society of ghettos, of third-world living conditions, with heavily-guarded mansions and office buildings sporadically dotting the megalopolises. A society of economic decay and crony capitalism. A society that presents “freedom” and “patriotism” as binding ribbons in a theatrical manner to ensure conformity and social “groupthink” and actions of the herded. Rigidity of thought, of conformity, and the haves pursue thrills and personal gratification and the have-nots are too dulled, too herded, and too uneducated to enable a shift in the other direction.  A society where the guns are gone…have been gone for a while.

    First, they need to get the guns, and they’re doing it now…with incremental slowness, but the snowball is beginning to build up speed and mass: In the end, they’ll go door to door.

    On Friday night, 3/9/18, the largest Veterans’ home in the country had another shooting.  A 36-year-old former patient of the home went in and killed three psychological workers…whom the President came out on Saturday and praised glowingly as martyrs and heroines…tireless workers who strove for the benefit of veterans. I’m sure there’s more to the story than that…but there’s the narrative, awaiting the crafting of the wolves and their slime of the mainstream media.

    The bill is entitled the “Marjory Stoneman Douglas Public Safety Act,” after the school where the Cruz shooting occurred. The bill in Florida targets the youth…and now they have a pretext to come after the Veterans with this shooting.  Always for a reason of protecting the public.

    But who will protect us from them, from the government?  Well, we will: that is what the 2nd Amendment is for. The right to bear arms is our right…merely affirmed by the Constitution (and wisely so). As explained in the Declaration of Independence, when the “old guards” need to be changed…the guns are when they won’t bow out gracefully.

    Government is when the leaders derive just powers…just, mind you…from the consent of the governed. We haven’t had true stewardship for a long time in the United States…I don’t care about the semantics…it is the end state that matters. The current state that we are in. The government goes against the wishes of the people.

    The government always manages to drum up Republicans who will vote along with the Democrats to ram legislation down our throats.  In Illinois, gun confiscation is going to be finalized with a bill commanding those 18 to 20 years of age to turn in weapons that were legally purchased.  The article is entitled “Gun Confiscation Begins in Illinois,” dated 3/10/18, by Daniel J. Sobieski of American Thinker. Read it. Here are some of the key provisions for that “legislation” as mentioned in the article:

    The bill that will now head to the Illinois Senate, HB 1465,

    Makes it unlawful for any person within the State to knowingly deliver or sell, or cause to be delivered or sold, an assault weapon, assault weapon attachment, .50 caliber rifle, or .50 caliber cartridge to, any person under 21 years of age.

    Makes it unlawful for any person under 21 years of age to knowingly possess an assault weapon, assault weapon attachment, .50 caliber rifle, or .50 caliber cartridge 90 days after the effective date of the bill. Provides exemptions and penalties.

    Provides that it is unlawful for any person within the State to knowingly deliver or sell, or cause to be delivered or sold, a large capacity ammunition feeding device to a person under 21 years of age.

    Provides that it is unlawful for any person under 21 years of age to possess a large capacity ammunition feeding device within the State.

    Proving the line from the movie “The Patriot” with Mel Gibson is the truth of the matter: “An elected legislature can trample a man’s rights as easily as a king.”

    Let’s really think about all of this. The piece “The Running Man” mentioned above can clearly be viewed as a work of dystopian literature, and it’s easy for most people to see the tie-in to our society’s degradation on the slope toward the society in the book.

    How about we take it a step further? The main character in the book, Ben Richards, wanted to make the big dollars to help his sick daughter and enable her to recover. His back against the wall and hemmed in by a society that predetermined his entire existence, “The Running Man” was the only avenue for him.

    How about with these guys, such as the one in the VA home that killed those three women…and then shot himself?

    Everybody always comes out with the same theories…the “hidden Blackhawk helicopters backing up the shooter,” as in Vegas…always the 2nd and 3rd shooters on the grassy knoll. But what if the answer is a lot simpler than that?

    How about the shooter is approached from the government…beforehand…and goes on his rampage with the express (and agreed-upon) end being he (the shooter) blows his own brains out? In exchange, the government, per say, might set up a tax-free account for 5 or 10 million for his family…who are oblivious to the agreement. He frees his family from poverty, and there’s nobody around to question his “insane motives,” and the government has its tool to be able to advance a totalitarian agenda even further…complete with (as in the “Hunger Games”) a list of “the fallen,” now martyred…with cannon fire in the background and a “grieving nation.”

    How about that possibility? Because if anyone discounts the possibility, you better discount everything you have ever seen and/or read about that the government has done. They have the resources, the money, the ability. They have the planning skills to carry it out. They also will always be able to find someone to use in this capacity.

    We are at the cusp of a totalitarian takeover by the government in the guise of governance for the public good and using de facto law that is passed off as de jure. By the time it is challenged in the “legal eagle” manner, it will be too late. Those in power will not relinquish it, and more: they will subvert every right to ensure they are in power and not you. All authority does come from the barrel of a gun: they don’t carry firearms to protect you. They carry them to dominate you, and they can enslave you at a moment’s notice. The 2nd Amendment was to protect the citizens from an out of control government hell-bent on controlling your every action: a tyranny.

    Jefferson: “When the government fears the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny.”

  • "This Was Bad. Obviously She Was Wrong": Former Campaign Manager Slams Hillary Over Absurd Comments

    Hillary Clinton received a harsh rebuke from her own former campaign manager and longtime aide, Patti Solis Doyle, who said that Clinton painting Trump voters as racist or sexist was “not helpful to Democrats going into the midterms and certainly not going into 2020,” and that the party would have to distance themselves from her.

    Speaking to a Mumbai audience on Sunday, Clinton called Trump voters racists and misogynists – a flashback to her disastrous “basket of deplorables” comment during the election. 

    …I won the places that represent 2/3 of America’s gross domestic product. So I won the areas that are optimistic, diverse, dynamic, moving forward. And his whole campaign “Make America Great Again,” was looking backwards.

    You know, you didn’t like black people getting rights, you don’t like women, you know, getting jobs, you don’t wanna see that Indian American succeeding more than you are. 

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    Solis Doyle, who ran Hillary’s Senate campaigns and her failed 2008 run against Barack Obama until she was replaced by Maggie Williams, told HLN host S.E. Cupp that Clinton seems to be having trouble coming to grips with her 2016 election loss, and wishes that she would “stop doing it so publicly.” 

    Cupp: Based on the reaction of most people… …is this getting lost in translation? ’cause it sounds really bad. 

    Solis Doyle: Look. This was bad. I can’t sugarcoat it. She was wrong and clearly it’s not helpful to Democrats going into the midterms and certainly not going into 2020. She’s put herself in a position where Democrats are going to have to distance themselves from these remarks and distance themselves from her.

    Cupp: I think the remarks were unfortunate…

    Solis Doyle: It seems to me she’s still struggling with coming to terms on how she lost and why she lost, which, you know, is human and normal – particularly this level of loss. I do wish she would stop doing it so publicly.

    Cupp: I don’t wanna beat you over the head with this – The deplorables – the basket of deplorables moment was a turning point in the campaign and should have been a real lesson. Criticize Trump, but going after Trump voters is a no-win proposition.

    Solis Doyle: Look, obviously she was wrong to, with a broad brush, to paint all of the people in the states she lost to paint them as racist or sexist. Obviously that’s wrong. 

    Summing it all up, here is Tucker Carlson:

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  • "Asteroids, WWIII, Or North Korea" – South Dakotans Transform Military Bunkers Into Survivalist Homes

    The motto “always be prepared” is wise advice, but, as RT reports, one man is taking the mantra to the max. He’s got former military bunkers spanning a space that is three-quarters the size of Manhattan, and is selling them to survivalists.

    Survivalists and so-called “preppers” are often the brunt of jokes, with insults ranging from “paranoid” to “weird” and everything in between. But Robert Vicino couldn’t disagree more. He runs a company which is currently focused on transforming military bunkers into doomsday shelters.

    The shelters are in Middle of Nowhere, USA, otherwise known as Edgemont, South Dakota. It’s barely on the map, but it’s about to host the “largest survival community on the planet.” That’s big news for a town with a population of just 774 people.

    Describing the bunker community as “large” is perhaps an understatement. “…This base is 18 square miles (47 square kilometers), about three quarters the size of Manhattan,” Vicino told RT’s Ruptly agency. He says the community has 575 bunkers and will be able to hold between 6,000 and 10,000 residents.

    If the idea has you imagining some kind of “tiny home” situation, think again. “This place is huge,” Vicino said while giving Ruptly a tour of a 2,200 square foot bunker. It’s “bigger than most houses in the world.” That’s likely a good thing, if you’re planning on having to spend the rest of your days inside an underground bunker with your crazy Aunt Martha.

    Vicino says it would be nuts not to prepare for the worst, as each bunker will cost buyers just $25,000. 

    “To not have this and to have a back-up plan for mankind, to have an insurance policy, is crazy. The cost we are able to do this… it’s nothing. It’s crazy not to, it’s nothing more than life assurance.”

    He also had a rebuttal for anyone who thinks those backing the project are crazy. He said those buying such structures “are people that are aware. They are not paranoid, they are highly intelligent, they read a lot.”

    When it comes to possible reasons someone might need to flee to their underground bunker, Vicino’s answers ranged from natural disaster to a nuclear attack by Kim Jong-un. Basically, just about anything that could be scary for Earthlings.

    “The whole world is concerned… some are concerned about North Korea, others are concerned about an economic collapse, others are concerned about World War III… there’s threats from the sun, a coronal mass ejection, there’s threats of asteroids hitting the earth and there`s near misses every week now…”

    But there’s a catch if you decide you want to spend the rest of your days in one of Vicino’s bunkers. The nearest town is 30 minutes away and there’s no mobile connectivity. Of course, if the world is coming to an end, that’s probably the least of anyone’s concerns.

    Vicino’s company also offers luxury survivalist dwellings in the German town of Rothenstein. Those bunkers cost more than $25,000, however, as the complex boasts swimming pools, theaters, gyms, restaurants, and a helicopter service.

  • Pennsylvania Special Election: With 99% Of Precincts Reporting, Lamb And Saccone Are Tied

    Update: Like they say, every vote counts…

    With 99.4% of precincts reporting, Tuesday night’s special election looks like it will come down to a few hundred votes or less. Democrat Conor Lamb has maintained a steady lead all night, though it has narrowed as totals from some of the more rural districts have trickled in.

    According to the New York Times, Lamb has a 0.1% lead:

    Lamb

    As one twitter pundit pointed out, such a close race is bad news for Republicans – especially considering President Trump carried the 18th district by 20 percentage points.

     

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    Meanwhile, RNC spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany defended Saccone by claiming Lamb managed to perform so well by “essentially running as a Republican” in the deep-red district.

    “He’s pro-gun. He says he’s personally pro-life. He says he’s pro-coal, he’s tariff. He says he’s anti-Nancy Pelosi,” McEnany said on ABC News ahead of the election results Tuesday.

    As one reporter reminds us, there’s no automatic recount provision for non-statewide Pennsylvania elections – candidates must request a recount, an outcome that is looking increasingly likely.

     

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    A New York Times chart shows how voting patterns in Washington, Green and Allegheny counties have “evolved” since election night 2016.

    Penn

    Some pundits pushed back against the notion that Tuesday’s race is a harbinger of doom for Republicans.

     

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    And another reporter points out that there are about 1,200 absentee ballots that won’t be counted until tomorrow…so whatever the final outcome is, it won’t be available tonight…

     

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    * * *

    The polls have officially closed in Tuesday’s special election in Pennsylvania’s 18th district – a patch of coal and steel country in southwestern Pennsylvania that includes swaths of suburban Pittsburgh surrounded by many far more rural areas.

    Once a reliably Democratic district, President Trump carried the 18th by 20 percentage points – blowing out Hillary Clinton and even far surpassing the 12-point lead captured by Mitt Romney back in 2012.

    Lamb

    But most polls of likely voters show 33-year-old Democrat Conor Lamb, a Marine veteran who has pledged not to support Nancy Pelosi, and also to oppose gun control, against Republican state House member Rick Saccone, a staunch Christian conservative.

    Trump has twice visited the district – most recently on Saturday night, when he unveiled his 2020 campaign slogan “Keep America Great” to uproarious cheers. And senior Trump surrogates, including Kellyanne Conway and Donald Trump Jr. have also made appearances.

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    The race the race was triggered when former GOP Congressman Tim Murphy resigned after reportedly urging his mistress to have an abortion.

    Saccone, widely considered a weak candidate with a lackluster local fundraising operation, has benefited from a flood of outside money. Lamb, who is running in a district where Democrats didn’t even field a candidate to oppose Murphy, has been successful raising money locally, and hasn’t received as much help from the Democratic establishment. Indeed, Lamb comes from a prominent local political family: His grandfather was a prominent Democratic politician in the Pennsylvania, and his uncle holds a senior city job in Pittsburgh.

    Regardless of who wins tonight, their tenure in Congress may be short-lived. The 18th district is set to disappear thanks to a Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision forcing the state to redraw its districts. Whoever wins will need to make a difficult choice about which district they will run in.

    So far, with 21% of precincts reporting, Lamb leads with a 15 percentage-point lead over Saccone. In terms of votes, Lamb is up 23,558 to 17,437.

     

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    * * *

    Even if the Democrats triumph tonight, for some, it will feel like a Pyrrhic victory.

    The Bernie Sanders-loving progressive wing of the Democratic Party will be horrified to learn that, if Lamb wins, more Democrats in Trump-positive districts will seek to mimic Lamb’s approach – i.e. run as conservative Democrats who oppose the party leadership, gun control and abortion.

    With that in mind, we’re certain the good people over at Emily’s List will be thrilled to welcome Lamb into the House.

    And to be sure – if Lamb does win – we imagine President Trump will be ready with a tweet disavowing Saccone and deflecting the blame for his defeat.

  • Facebook Blamed By U.N. Investigators For Spreading Hate Speech In "Possible Genocide"

    U.N. human rights experts investigating a “possible genocide” in Myanmar are blaming Facebook for their role in “spreading hate speech.” The criticism, levied on Monday, is a fairly transparent example of the ongoing push to force social media platforms to monitor and regulate opinions deemed unfavorable or controversial (prior to the 2020 U.S. election, we assume, which Putin and Russian spies have surely hacked already).

    Facebook did not immediately respond to the criticism, however the company has previously said it has made efforts to remove hate speech in Myanmar and block people who have consistently shared such content. 

    More than 650,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar’s Rakhine state into Bangladesh since insurgent attacks sparked a security crackdown last August. Many have provided harrowing testimonies of executions and rapes by Myanmar security forces.

    The U.N. human rights chief said last week he strongly suspected acts of genocide had taken place. Myanmar’s national security adviser demanded “clear evidence”. –Reuters

    Lawyer and former Attorney General of Indonesia, Marzuki Darusman – who chairs the U.N. Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, says that social media had played a “determining role” in Myanmar.

    “It has … substantively contributed to the level of acrimony and dissension and conflict, if you will, within the public. Hate speech is certainly of course a part of that. As far as the Myanmar situation is concerned, social media is Facebook, and Facebook is social media,” he said. 

    It should be noted that Darusman came under fire in 2011 over a “discredited” report claiming that more than 40,000 civilians were killed in crossfire between Sri Lankan authorities and the Tamil Tiger rebels – with the Sri Lankan government calling the report “erroneous and replete with conjecture and bias.” 

    The Darusman Report’s assertion that ‘a range of up to 40,000’ civilian deaths during the last phase of the war ‘cannot be ruled out,’ was reported in the media as if it was a factual statement that 40,000 civilians died. Some reports went further citing this ‘UN Report’ as having found that ‘over 40,000’ had been killed. –Daily Mirror

    Facebook was a large part of public, private and civil life in Myanmar – used by the government to disseminate information to the public.

    “Everything is done through Facebook in Myanmar,” says U.N. Myanmar investigator Yanghee Lee, nothing that while Facebook had helped the impoverished country, it had also been used to spread hate speech. 

    “It was used to convey public messages but we know that the ultra-nationalist Buddhists have their own Facebooks and are really inciting a lot of violence and a lot of hatred against the Rohingya or other ethnic minorities,” she said.  “I’m afraid that Facebook has now turned into a beast, and not what it originally intended.”

    A prominent critic of Islam, Myanmar monk named Wirathu emerged from a one-year preaching ban on Saturday and claimed that his anti-Muslim sentiment had nothing to do with violence in Rakhine state. 

    Facebook says it suspends and will sometimes remove any user “consistently shares content promoting hate,” when asked last month about Wirathu’s account. 

    “If a person consistently shares content promoting hate, we may take a range of actions such as temporarily suspending their ability to post and ultimately, removal of their account.”

    (*cough* especially before the 2020 U.S. election *cough* as deemed by the hyper-liberal Facebook thought police at the ADL) 

  • Massive X-Class Solar Storm To Slam Earth Tomorrow, Could Knockout Satellites, Power

    A solar storm caused by an X-Class solar flare facing directly towards earth is likely to hit tomorrow. The brunt of the activity will be in the higher latitudes, however the aurora it generates could result in Northern Lights as far south as Michigan and Maine, as well as parts of Scotland and Northern England.

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    The X-class flare was the first of two, according to NASA. It is the largest in 2018, as well as one of the largest in the sun’s current cycle known as the solar minimum which began in 2007. The arrival of the storm could leave commercial flights and GPS systems vulnerable to disruption – however the storm is currently considered a G-1, or “minor geomagnetic storm,” which could become more serious depending on how the charged particles hit the earth.

    Below is a visualization of a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME)

    Coronal holes and coronal mass ejections (CME) visible via x-ray imaging

    The storm also coincides with the formation of “equinox cracks” in the Earth’s magnetic field – which typically occur around the March 20 and September 23 equinoxes every year.

    This is called the the “Russell-McPherron effect,” named after the researchers who first explained it. The cracks are opened by the solar wind itself.  South-pointing magnetic fields inside the solar wind oppose Earth’s north-pointing magnetic field. The two, N vs. S, partially cancel one another, weakening our planet’s magnetic defenses. This cancellation can happen at any time of year, but it happens with greatest effect around the equinoxes. Indeed, a 75-year study shows that March is the most geomagnetically active month of the year, followed closely by September-October–a direct result of “equinox cracks.” –Spaceweatherarchive.com

    NASA and European spacecraft have detected these cracks for several years.

    “We used to think the connection was permanent and that solar wind could trickle into the near-Earth environment anytime the wind was active,” said David Sibeck of the Goddard Space Flight Center in 2008. “We were wrong. The connections are not steady at all. They are often brief, bursty and very dynamic.”

     

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