- Chris Hedges: The Democrats Are Now The War Party
Chris Hedges: The Democrats Are Now The War Party
The Democrats position themselves as the party of virtue, cloaking their support for the war industry in moral language stretching back to Korea and Vietnam, when President Ngo Dinh Diem was as lionized as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
All the wars they support and fund are “good” wars. All the enemies they fight, the latest being Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping, are incarnations of evil. The photo of a beaming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Kamala Harris holding up a signed Ukrainian battle flag behind Zelensky as he addressed Congress was another example of the Democratic Party’s abject subservience to the war machine.
The Democrats, especially with the presidency of Bill Clinton, became shills not only for corporate America but for the weapons manufacturers and the Pentagon. No weapons system is too costly. No war, no matter how disastrous, goes unfunded. No military budget is too big, including the $858 billion in military spending allocated for the current fiscal year, an increase of $45 billion above what the Biden administration requested.
The historian Arnold Toynbee cited unchecked militarism as the fatal disease of empires, arguing that they ultimately commit suicide.
There once was a wing of the Democratic Party that questioned and stood up to the war industry: Senators J. William Fulbright, George McGovern, Gene McCarthy, Mike Gravel, William Proxmire and House member Dennis Kucinich. But that opposition evaporated along with the antiwar movement. When 30 members of the party’s progressive caucus recently issued a call for Biden to negotiate with Putin, they were forced by the party leadership and a warmongering media to back down and rescind their letter. Not that any of them, with the exception of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have voted against the billions of dollars in weaponry sent to Ukraine or the bloated military budget. Rashida Tlaib voted present.
The opposition to the perpetual funding of the war in Ukraine has come primarily from Republicans, 11 in the Senate and 57 in the House, several, such as Marjorie Taylor Greene, unhinged conspiracy theorists. Only nine Republicans in the House joined the Democrats in supporting the $1.7 trillion spending bill needed to prevent the government from shutting down, which included approval of $847 billion for the military — the total is boosted to $858 billion when factoring in accounts that don’t fall under the Armed Services committees’ jurisdiction. In the Senate, 29 Republicans opposed the spending bill. The Democrats, including nearly all 100 members of the House Congressional Progressive Caucus, lined up dutifully for endless war.
This lust for war is dangerous, pushing us into a potential war with Russia and, perhaps later, with China — each a nuclear power. It is also economically ruinous. The monopolization of capital by the military has driven U.S. debt to over $30 trillion, $6 trillion more than the U.S. GDP of $24 trillion. Servicing this debt costs $300 billion a year. We spend more on the military than the next nine countries, including China and Russia, combined. Congress is also on track to provide an extra $21.7 billion to the Pentagon — above the already expanded annual budget — to resupply Ukraine.
“But those contracts are just the leading edge of what is shaping up to be a big new defense buildup,” The New York Times reported.
“Military spending next year is on track to reach its highest level in inflation-adjusted terms since the peaks in the costs of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars between 2008 and 2011, and the second highest in inflation-adjusted terms since World War II — a level that is more than the budgets for the next 10 largest cabinet agencies combined.”
The Democratic Party, which, under the Clinton administration aggressively courted corporate donors, has surrendered its willingness to challenge, however tepidly, the war industry.
“As soon as the Democratic Party made a determination, it could have been 35 or 40 years ago, that they were going to take corporate contributions, that wiped out any distinction between the two parties,” Dennis Kucinich said when I interviewed him on my show for The Real News Network.
“Because in Washington, he or she who pays the piper plays the tune. That’s what’s happened. There isn’t that much of a difference in terms of the two parties when it comes to war.”
In his 1970 book “The Pentagon Propaganda Machine,” Fulbright describes how the Pentagon and the arms industry pour millions into shaping public opinion through public relations campaigns, Defense Department films, control over Hollywood and domination of the commercial media. Military analysts on cable news are universally former military and intelligence officials who sit on boards or work as consultants to defense industries, a fact they rarely disclose to the public. Barry R. McCaffrey, a retired four-star army general and military analyst for NBC News, was also an employee of Defense Solutions, a military sales and project management firm. He, like most of these shills for war, personally profited from the sales of the weapons systems and expansion of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
On the eve of every congressional vote on the Pentagon budget, lobbyists from businesses tied to the war industry meet with Congress members and their staff to push them to vote for the budget to protect jobs in their district or state. This pressure, coupled with the mantra amplified by the media that opposition to profligate war funding is unpatriotic, keeps elected officials in bondage. These politicians also depend on the lavish donations from the weapons manufacturers to fund their campaigns.
Seymour Melman, in his book “Pentagon Capitalism,” documented the way militarized societies destroy their domestic economies. Billions are spent on the research and development of weapons systems while renewable energy technologies languish. Universities are flooded with military-related grants while they struggle to find money for environmental studies and the humanities. Bridges, roads, levees, rail, ports, electric grids, sewage treatment plants and drinking water infrastructures are structurally deficient and antiquated. Schools are in disrepair and lack sufficient teachers and staff. Unable to stem the COVID-19 pandemic, the for-profit health care industry forces families, including those with insurance, into bankruptcy. Domestic manufacturing, especially with the offshoring of jobs to China, Vietnam, Mexico and other nations, collapses. Families are drowning in personal debt, with 63 percent of Americans living paycheck to paycheck. The poor, the mentally ill, the sick and the unemployed are abandoned.
Melman, who coined the term “permanent war economy,” noted that since the end of the Second World War, the federal government has spent more than half its discretionary budget on past, current and future military operations. It is the largest single sustaining activity of the government. The military-industrial establishment is nothing more than gilded corporate welfare. Military systems are sold before they are produced. Military industries are permitted to charge the federal government for huge cost overruns. Massive profits are guaranteed. For example, this November, the Army awarded Raytheon Technologies alone more than $2 billion in contracts, on top of over $190 million awarded in August, to deliver missile systems to expand or replenish weapons sent to Ukraine. Despite a depressed market for most other businesses, stock prices of Lockheed and Northrop Grumman have risen by more than 36 and 50 percent this year.
Tech giants, including Amazon, which supplies surveillance and facial recognition software to the police and FBI, have been absorbed into the permanent war economy. Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Oracle were awarded multibillion-dollar cloud computing contracts for the Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability and are eligible to receive $9 billion in Pentagon contracts to provide the military with “globally available cloud services across all security domains and classification levels, from the strategic level to the tactical edge,” through mid-2028.
Foreign aid is given to countries such as Israel, with more than $150 billion in bilateral assistance since its founding in 1948, or Egypt, which has received over $80 billion since 1978 — aid that requires foreign governments to buy weapons systems from the U.S. The U.S. public funds the research, development and building of weapons systems and purchases them for foreign governments. Such a circular system mocks the idea of a free-market economy. These weapons soon become obsolete and are replaced by updated and usually more costly weapons systems. It is, in economic terms, a dead end. It sustains nothing but the permanent war economy.
“The truth of the matter is that we’re in a heavily militarized society driven by greed, lust for profit, and wars are being created just to keep fueling that,” Kucinich told me.
In 2014, the U.S. backed a coup in Ukraine that installed a government that included neo-Nazis and was antagonistic to Russia. The coup triggered a civil war when the ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine, the Donbass, sought to secede from the country, resulting in over 14,000 people dead and nearly 150,000 displaced, before Russia invaded in February. The Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to Jacques Baud, a former NATO security advisor who also worked for Swiss intelligence, was instigated by the escalation of Ukraine’s war on the Donbass. It also followed the Biden administration’s rejection of proposals sent by the Kremlin in late 2021, which might have averted Russia’s invasion the following year.
This invasion has led to widespread U.S. and E.U. sanctions on Russia, which have boomeranged onto Europe. Inflation ravages Europe with the sharp curtailment of shipments of Russian oil and gas. Industry, especially in Germany, is crippled. In most of Europe, it is a winter of shortages, spiraling prices and misery.
“This whole thing is blowing up in the face of the West,” Kucinich warned. “We forced Russia to pivot to Asia, as well as Brazil, India, China, South Africa and Saudi Arabia. There’s a whole new world being formed. The catalyst of it is the misjudgment that occurred about Ukraine and the effort to try to control Ukraine in 2014 that most people aren’t aware of.”
By not opposing a Democratic Party whose primary business is war, liberals become the sterile, defeated dreamers in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s “Notes from the Underground.”
A former convict, Dostoevsky did not fear evil. He feared a society that no longer had the moral fortitude to confront evil. And war, to steal a line from my latest book, is the greatest evil.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 12/27/2022 – 23:20 - What China's Accelerated Reopening Means For The Economy And Markets
What China’s Accelerated Reopening Means For The Economy And Markets
On the evening of 26 December, China released new guidelines to significantly relax its Covid control policy for domestic infections and inbound travelers, effective 8 January 2023. As reported previously, key measures include i) removing quarantine requirements for Covid cases, ii) abandoning the risk district classification system, and iii) shifting to a de facto “0+0” regime for inbound travelers. In a note from Goldman’s China strategy chief, Hui Shan, he writes that while the new guidelines as a major step towards the full reopening, he cautions on the increased challenges to China’s medical system in the near term. He adds that the frontloaded China reopening timetable adds conviction to the bank’s below-consensus forecast for Q4 GDP growth (+1.7% yoy) and above-consensus 2023 GDP forecast (+5.2% yoy)
1. Key takeaways from the new guidelines
On the evening of 26 December, China’s National Health Commission (NHC) released new guidelines to significantly relax its Covid control policy for domestic infections and inbound travelers (Exhibit 1).
The new guidelines are as follows:
- On the management of Covid: China will immediately rename the term “Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia” (新冠肺炎) to “Novel Coronavirus Infection” (新型冠状 病毒感染). It will downgrade the management of the disease from the current top-level Category A to less strict Category B, effective 8 January 2023, after which China will no longer impose quarantine measures for Covid cases, will no longer trace their close contacts, and will no longer identify high/low-risk districts of Covid.
- On policies for inbound travelers: China will abandon the requirements of frequent testing and centralized quarantine for inbound travelers (although a negative 48hr PCR test result before departure to China is still required). Inbound travelers will be allowed to enter the community immediately upon health declaration, and various restrictions on the international routes of airlines will be removed. China also pledged to make it easier for foreigners to obtain inbound travel visas, and gradually normalize domestic residents’ outbound travel.
- On medical preparations: China pledged to further strengthen its medical preparations to cope with the reopening, including pushing up the vaccination rate for the elderly population, improving the supply of Covid-related medicines and test kits, expanding intensive care units (ICUs), and enhancing the supply of medical resources in the rural areas.
2. Another significant step towards full reopening
China has rapidly relaxed its Covid policies since November, featured by the Covid “20 measures” on 11 November, “10 measures” on 7 December, and the new guidelines on 26 December. China’s new guidelines, which will de facto reopen borders and abandon quarantines, are a significant step towards the full reopening (or, the “living with Covid” mode).
According to Goldman, the most important change in the guidelines lies with cross-border policies, which implies a de facto “0+0” regime for eligible inbound travelers starting from 8 January 2023 (vs. the current “5+3”). That said, on the domestic front, the downgrade of Covid management and removal of quarantine requirements appear to be an “after the fact” adjustment, as in practice many people who have tested positive have been allowed to go to work and enter public places in recent weeks.
However, amid the rapid reopening, the challenge to China’s medical system may have been significantly escalated, especially for less developed inland and rural areas amid the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday. This highlights the urgency of more and faster policy efforts to boost elderly vaccination and other medical resource supply (e.g., ICU beds, oral pills, and medical staff).
3. Implications for growth and markets
High-frequency mobility data (Exhibit 2) and December Emerging Industries PMI (EPMI) pointed to weaker growth momentum during the frontloaded “exit wave”, on the back of surging infections, a temporary labor shortage and increased supply chain disruptions. Although the NHC stopped the release of Covid case data, experience from Hong Kong and Taiwan suggests daily new cases may peak in late December or January in mainland China (Exhibit 3). According to Goldman, this adds conviction to the bank’s below-consensus forecast for Q4 GDP growth (+1.7% yoy) countered by above-consensus 2023 GDP forecast (+5.2% yoy).
Furthermore, Goldman also maintain the view that China reopening is positive for CNY, and that improved growth expectations in 2023 might outweigh unfavorable factors such as deterioration in goods and services trade balances. On FX, the bank expects small appreciation of the USDCNY over the 12-month horizon to 6.90.
On the spillover effects of China reopening, Hong Kong and Thailand may benefit the most from the international tourism channel if China removes visa restrictions and outbound travel gradually normalizes.
More in a full note from Goldman available to professional subs.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 12/27/2022 – 23:00 - Younger Parents Say Their Kids Are Indifferent To The American Flag
Younger Parents Say Their Kids Are Indifferent To The American Flag
Authored by Nathan Harden via RealClear Wire,
A new survey suggests that younger parents don’t share the same values or priorities for civics education as their older peers. According to the survey, conducted by RealClear Opinion Research and funded by the conservative Jack Miller Center, nearly nine out of ten Americans agree that teaching children about our nation’s founding principles is “very important.” But seven out of ten don’t think schools are doing a good job of it.
The survey was conducted in November and included responses from more than one thousand likely voters on topics related to education, civics instruction, and the American founding. As first reported by my colleague, RealClearPolitics reporter Phil Wegmann, their answers revealed that both Republicans and Democrats value civics education. Contrary to how it’s often portrayed in the news cycle, civics education is not merely a concern on the right.
Still, there were some partisan differences. Democrats demonstrated more confidence in the public school system to deliver what kids need to know about the American founding, while Republicans were more likely to see private schooling or homeschooling as the best way to do the job. Republicans were also more likely to say that they believe schools are promoting a biased political agenda, and that their children were not free to express their ideas at school.
But the most striking differences weren’t partisan. Instead, they emerged when comparing the responses of young parents to those of older parents.
To the question, “What emotion do you believe your children feel when they see the American flag?” most parents responded positively. “Pride” and “gratitude” together made up more than 63% of the responses, compared to 5.8% who said their children felt “shame” or “disgust” when they see the flag.
About 30% overall said their children felt “indifference” when they saw the flag. But when you consider younger parents as a group that number was much higher. 52.6% of parents aged 18-24 said their children felt indifference to the flag. For parents aged 25-34, that number is 41.6%.
Let’s call it the civics education age gap. And while the survey asks parents specifically what their kids think about the flag, data from additional questions on the survey suggest that younger parents may share some of that indifference about America in general.
On the question of how to portray the flawed figures of America’s founding, overall, 92.5% of respondents said public schools should “portray historical figures honestly with the understanding that we can teach a person’s achievements even if their views do not alight with values of today.” Only 7.5% of all respondents believe that “if the views of historical figures do not align with the values of today, we should minimize or avoid teaching about their historical achievements.” On this question, the responses of young parents aged 18-24 differed only slightly from the average parent—9.8% of them believe we should minimize the achievements of problematic historical figures, or even avoid teaching about them altogether. For parents aged 35-34, that number was 8%.
The context for this survey is, of course, our culture’s ongoing debate over how to teach kids about the impact of racism and slavery on our country, and what those things mean about our national identity. The disagreement could be boiled down to the question, “Is America Good?” Thomas Jefferson is a prime example. He was a racist slave owner who nevertheless expressed ideas that gave birth to a new kind of political freedom, and whose words, “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal” would one day be uttered by Martin Luther King in defense of civil rights for those slaves’ descendants.
At a recent event in Washington, D.C. where the results of the survey were discussed, education and civil rights activist Bob Woodsen spoke of the importance of allowing for “redemption” when we consider our flawed founding fathers and our national identity. Hans Zeiger, president of the Jack Miller Center, put it this way, “We can be honest about our history without being romantic about it.”
When asked which aspects of civics education should have priority, over 70% of parents said the focus should be “teaching students the principles underlying American politics, such as the history and ideas behind the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution.” On the other hand, nearly 23% said the priority should be “teaching students how to actively promote change in government.” Among parents aged 18-24, that number was nearly 55%.
The vast majority of Americans today agree that civics education is important, and that civics education should include an honest assessment of our nation’s flaws and our flawed founding fathers. But younger parents seem to embrace a more pessimistic view of our nation and a more activist vision of the civics classroom. If these differences were to endure as younger parents age, one wonders what the civics age gap portends. One wonders what it will mean for our nation if younger parents, and their children, allow no place for redemption.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 12/27/2022 – 22:40 - Visualizing EV Production In The US By Brand
Visualizing EV Production In The US By Brand
How long will Tesla hold onto its dominant electric vehicle (EV) market share?
This is one of the biggest questions facing the U.S. automotive industry. On one hand, Tesla has a very strong brand and loyal customer base (similar to Apple). The company also has a headstart in EV production and spends more on R&D per car than its competitors.
On the other hand, legacy automakers such as Volkswagen are eager to overtake Tesla. As the incumbents, they have decades more experience in building cars and are investing billions of dollars to catch up.
To keep you up to date on this evolving story, Visual Capitalist’s Marcus Lu uses data from the EPA’s 2022 Automotive Trends Report. in the following infographic:
Data for the 2021 Model Year
Although it comes from a 2022 report, the comprehensive production data used in this infographic is for the 2021 model year.
The table below breaks out total production by EV and PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle).
*Rounded to nearest 1,000. Numbers may not add up due to rounding. Includes top 14 manufacturers with U.S. footprint
Toyota and Stellantis are the two biggest legacy automakers in this dataset, though it’s worth pointing out that they only produced PHEVs. Toyota’s first EV, the bZ4X, isn’t slated for release until 2023.
Stellantis appears to be even further behind, though the company has plenty of untapped potential with brands like Jeep and Ram. In a recent interview, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares revealed that the company has set aside $36 billion for electrification and software.
Legacy Brands with the Most Momentum
When it comes to building EVs, some legacy brands have moved quicker than others.
Among these legacy brands is Volkswagen, which has made a major commitment to EVs in the fallout of its Dieselgate scandal. The group aims to produce 22 million EVs by 2028, and is rolling out various models including the ID.3 hatchback, the ID.4 SUV, and the ID. Buzz (an electric revival of the classic Microbus).
Ford is also showing good pace, announcing $22 billion in EV investment between 2021 and 2025. The brand produced its 150,000th Mustang Mach-E in Nov. 2022, and is aiming to build 270,000 of them in 2023 alone.
Ford’s highly anticipated F-150 Lightning has also received over 200,000 reservations. Production of the Lightning is expected to be 15,000 in 2022, 55,000 in 2023, and 80,000 in 2024. Rivian, Ford’s primary rival in the electric pickup truck segment, is on track to reach 25,000 vehicles in 2022.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 12/27/2022 – 22:20 - Fighting The 'Psyopcracy'
Fighting The ‘Psyopcracy’
Authored by Joe Lauria via ConsortiumNews.com,
It is a hard thing to combat because it’s not a physical enemy but rather messages that lodge themselves in millions of people’s minds. And it has come to rule over us.
Cathy Vogan, the executive producer of Consortium News‘ webcast CN Live!, recently coined a new term to describe rule by psyops, or psychological operations: psyopcracy. According to Wikipedia:
“Psychological operations (PSYOP) are operations to convey selected information and indicators to audiences to influence their emotions, motives, and objective reasoning, and ultimately the behavior of governments, organizations, groups, and individuals.
The purpose of United States psychological operations is to induce or reinforce behavior perceived to be favorable to U.S. objectives.”
William Casey, C.I.A. director under Ronald Reagan, said: “We’ll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false.”
Thus the American people are continuously subject to a number of psychological operations otherwise known as “the news.”
U.S. intelligence officials feed journalists disinformation to create a false narrative that is intended to mislead the public and cover-up what is actually taking place. The constant reinforcement of these lies becomes entrenched in the public mind and after time comes to be accepted as unquestionable truth.
Here’s an explanation of how the C.I.A. did it in Vietnam:
Through such operations, the American people were led to believe for years that the United States was winning in Vietnam, when it was actually losing, as the Pentagon Papers proved.
Since then, many examples have followed of completely false stories being planted into people’s minds to start and keep a war going, the fake WMD narrative in Iraq perhaps the most infamous.
Blind Faith (Eden Gallanter/Creative Commons)
Today the war people are being fooled about is in Ukraine. Sometimes a psyop doesn’t involve inserting false information, so much as leaving out what’s true.
The American people, and by extension people around the world, have been led to believe that an unprovoked Russian madman started the war last February.
That’s because they are purposely not told that the war actually began in 2014 after a U.S.-backed coup in Kiev led Russian speakers in Donbass to declare independence, after which the coup government militarily attacked them.
Other facts are removed from the story, such as Russia’s proposed treaties with the U.S. and NATO last December that would have prevented Russia’s intervention in the Ukrainian civil war.
Robert Parry, the founder of this website, in March 2017 wrote the article, “How US Flooded the World with Psyops,” in which he reported for the first time:
“Newly declassified documents from the Reagan presidential library help explain how the U.S. government developed its sophisticated psychological operations capabilities that – over the past three decades – have created an alternative reality both for people in targeted countries and for American citizens, a structure that expanded U.S. influence abroad and quieted dissent at home.
The documents reveal the formation of a psyops bureaucracy under the direction of Walter Raymond Jr., a senior CIA covert operations specialist who was assigned to President Reagan’s National Security Council staff to enhance the importance of propaganda and psyops in undermining U.S. adversaries around the world and ensuring sufficient public support for foreign policies inside the United States.”
A psyopcracy?
— Cathy Vogan (@CathyVoganSPK) December 24, 2022
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So many people are subject to psyops that telling the truth becomes a formidable task. You become the one that is out of step. You are the one that seems to be mad.
* * *
Tyler Durden
Tue, 12/27/2022 – 22:00 - Aussie Cops Ask Neighbors To Rat Out 'Anti-Government, Anti-Police, Or COVID-Vaccine Conspiracy Theorists'
Aussie Cops Ask Neighbors To Rat Out ‘Anti-Government, Anti-Police, Or COVID-Vaccine Conspiracy Theorists’
Australian police are using a brutal ambush on two cops to encourage residents to rat out neighbors who are skeptical of the Covid-10 vaccine, or harbor anti-government views.
On December 12, two Brisbane police officers were gunned down by a family of rural Australians, who opened fire as the two officers approached their home. Constables Rachel McCrow, 29, and Matthew Arnold, 26 died in the attack, while a third officer, Constable Randall Kirk, was shot in the leg but managed to escape. A fourth officer, Keely Brough, fled to safety in the bushes.
Later that evening, members of the rural family were killed in a shootout with tactical police.
In response to the incident, Deputy Commissioner Tracy Linford suggested that neighbors need to assume anyone who harbors non-mainstream views is clearly a threat.
“As I said before, if there’s anybody out there that knows of someone that might be showing concerning behavior around conspiracy theories, anti-government, anti-police, conspiracy theories around COVID-19 vaccination as what we’re seeing with [shooting perpetrators] the Train family, we’d want to know about it. We want to know about that. And you can either contact the police directly or go through Crime Stoppers,” she said.
In response, Rebel News‘ Avi Yemini replied: “Queensland Police appealing to the public to dob in their neighbours who “are anti-government or believe Covid-19 vaccine conspiracy theories.””
🚨Queensland Police appealing to the public to dob in their neighbours who “are anti-government or believe Covid-19 vaccine conspiracy theories”.
ARE YOU PAYING ATTENTION YET?!
— Avi Yemini (@OzraeliAvi) December 26, 2022
This has not sat well with many:
1984 in 2022. What kind of world do they want to live in. What kind of world do they want to leave for future generations.
— Nole (@skyxxngd) December 26, 2022
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We are allowed to oppose the government and police.
— Alèquin the Great (@AlequinGreat) December 26, 2022
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Here is the neighbours pic.twitter.com/HLUsSgQHPO
— Sydney965🧙♀️♏️🔮🌸 (@sydney9651) December 26, 2022
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Authoritarianism, and totalitarianism, at its finest…
Bravo @ausgov, you’re making it less likely for any sort of tourism to occur in Australia…
There was a time that I, and many others , dreamt of visiting Australia…@ausgov police, you are a disgrace.
Happy Chanukah!
— Reliable Brain 🇺🇸 (@ReliableBrain) December 26, 2022
Tyler Durden
Tue, 12/27/2022 – 21:40 - Texans As Young As 18 Can Carry Guns After State Drops Appeal
Texans As Young As 18 Can Carry Guns After State Drops Appeal
Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
People as young as 18 can carry handguns in Texas after the state dropped an appeal of a recent order.
Handguns in a store in Houston, Texas, on Sept. 9, 2022. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images) Texas officials were prepared to make their case against the order, which found a Texas law barring people aged 18–20 from carrying handguns unconstitutional, but abruptly asked to withdraw the appeal on Dec. 20, court records show.
Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit for the withdrawal and the appeals court granted the unopposed request. McCraw did not say why the state, which filed a notice of appeal in September but never filed a brief outlining its position, was backing down. The department did not return a request for comment.
The Firearms Policy Coalition, which sued the state over the law, celebrated the move.
“We applaud Texas for doing the right thing and accepting the district court’s ruling against its law prohibiting 18-to-20-year-old adults from carrying firearms in public,” Cody Wisniewski, the coalition’s senior attorney for constitutional litigation, said in a statement. “Not only do young adults have the same constitutionally protected right to bear arms as all other adults, they are also among the reasons we have a Second Amendment, Constitution, and Country in the first place.”
The law was still in effect because U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman, a Trump appointee who used to serve as a justice on a Texas appeals court, stayed his order blocking it to give the state time to seek an appeal and, if an appeal was sought, for the appeals court to rule on it.
The Law
Texas law says that people younger than 21 cannot carry handguns in any place not “on the person’s own premises or premises under the person’s control; or inside of or directly en route to a motor vehicle or watercraft that is owned by the person or under the person’s control.”
The law has led to criminal penalties for young people who carry guns, whether openly or in a concealed manner.
The law does not apply to young adults who obtain a license to carry a handgun, but another part of the Texas code states that a person must be at least 21 to get such a license.
“Accordingly, while Texas allows law-abiding adults 21 years of age or older—and 18-to-20-year-old adults in or honorably discharged from the military—to exercise their rights to keep and bear arms in public, the State bans ordinary, law-abiding adults who are 18-to-20 years of age from exercising their right to carry a handgun for self-defense in public,” the coalition said in its lawsuit, which was joined by several young adults seeking to carry.
At the same time, 18- to 20-year-olds can carry rifles, the plaintiffs noted.
The law violates Supreme Court rulings including District of Columbia v. Heller, the suit asserted.
Defendants argued that the law was constitutional under Supreme Court precedent, including Heller, in part because prohibitions on young adults carrying handguns have been around for years.
Pittman’s Order
The Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
Pittman sided with the plaintiffs, concluding that “the people” include 18- to 20-year-olds.
The amendment does not mention age restrictions, and in Heller, the Supreme Court found that “the people” refers to “all members of the political community, not an unspecified subset,” the judge noted. Also, in another decision on gun rights, the court said that “ordinary, law-abiding, adult citizens … are part of ‘the people’ whom the Second Amendment protects.”
Read more here…
Tyler Durden
Tue, 12/27/2022 – 21:20 - Rachel Levine Calls For Tech Companies To Control "Misinformation" On Gender Affirming Care
Rachel Levine Calls For Tech Companies To Control “Misinformation” On Gender Affirming Care
Biden’s trans Assistant Secretary for Health and honorary four-star admiral, Rachel Levine (formerly known as Richard Levine) has called for Big Tech companies to control “misinformation” on gender affirmation care (hormone treatments and sex change surgeries). This is yet another example of open attempts by government officials to demand tech conglomerates and social media websites enforce the establishment narrative while censoring anyone who disagrees.
Recent Twitter File data dumps indicate extensive collusion between government agencies like the FBI and social media in an attempt to silence dissent on hotly debated topics from the existence of the Hunter Biden laptop to the draconian covid pandemic response. In most cases, the government has sought to silence facts and evidence and label accurate arguments as “misinformation.” Another issue which leftist officials seem to obsess over is the trans identity movement.
Representatives claim to engage in activism in the name of civil rights, but trans people have the same exact rights and legal protections as anyone else in the US and equality is already a fact of life for them. Instead, their goals are more akin to special treatment and extraordinary privileges well beyond the rights enshrined in the US Constitution or the law. It is hard to think of any other group in the western world that gets more attention and protection from government and corporations than trans people. In essence, they demand the power to control people’s speech, language and thoughts in the name of insulating trans people’s feelings and mental health.
Rachel Levine’s comments on “misinformation” are clearly in response to the massive push-back coming from the public when it comes to the numerous oversteps by the trans community and the government.
The establishment has recently lost control of the narrative and they are seeking to get it back.
Specifically, a large number of Americans are fighting against the imposition of trans ideology on children and the use of hormone therapies and gender based surgeries on kids.
In the past five years there has been an accelerated expansion of trans related policies applied within public institutions, especially when it comes to public schools.
Keep in mind that trans people (or people claiming to be trans) only represented 0.39% of the population in 2016. Only six years later around 1.9% of the general population and a suspicious 5% of teens identifying as trans.
One could argue that such a jump defies scientific and statistical logic and can only be explained by the growing pervasiveness of trans ideology in schools and media. In other words, it is likely that many people identify as trans today because they want to join an artificially created trend, or, they want to get a piece of the pie when it comes to special treatment.
Studies involving gender reassignment or hormone therapy often conclude that patients experience a notable decline in depression or need for mental health services afterwards. But, after peer review these conclusions change, indicating that there is no significant advantages to gender affirmation care. The media runs with the initial story, and then never reports on the retractions.
People like Levine assert that the science is all but settled and any contrary information is “dangerous” to the public.
What Levine calls an “onslaught” is merely the natural correction of false information being pumped out by the government and the corporate media.
Science should never become political, and when it does it is no longer science – It is cultism. This goes for climate change, covid vaccines and gender affirmation treatments.
Science is ever evolving with theories and counter-theories. To suppress all counter-theories and contrary evidence in support of a single narrative is anti-science.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 12/27/2022 – 21:00 - 12 States Allow Home Equity 'Theft' Over Homeowners' Tax Payment Shortfalls, Study Says
12 States Allow Home Equity ‘Theft’ Over Homeowners’ Tax Payment Shortfalls, Study Says
Authored by Matthew Vadum via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
Twelve states and the District of Columbia allow local governments and private investors to seize dramatically more than what is owed from homeowners who fall behind on property tax payments, according to a new report.
Christina M. Martin, senior attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation, in a file photo. (Courtesy of Pacific Legal Foundation) The practice, which Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) calls “home equity theft,” is documented in what the organization bills as the first national study aimed at exposing “the injustice of home equity theft through tax foreclosure.”
“Our findings are alarming,” PLF’s strategic research director, Angela Erickson, said in a statement.
“Home equity theft is robbing thousands of people of their homes and all the equity they’ve built. A system that allows governments and private investors to take more than what is owed creates a perverse incentive to work against the homeowner—not with the homeowner—to get the tax debt paid.”
Homeowners lost more than $777 million in life savings on more than 5,600 homes, based on their market value, in transactions that took place from 2014 to 2021. The true total is probably higher because statistics from New York state and some statistics from the other states studied were not available. On average, homeowners lost 86 percent of their equity, the study found.
Government entities, which often unload properties for a fraction of their market value, collected an estimated $26 million more than they were owed on about 1,300 homes. At the same time, private investors, who purchase tax liens, took in about $250 million more than what they were owed on about 2,600 homes.
Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, South Dakota, and the District of Columbia have laws on the books that let local governments and private investors “steal” substantial amounts of home equity from homeowners who are late on their property taxes, according to PLF.
Nine other states—Alaska, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas, and Wisconsin—safeguard home equity in the foreclosure process but provide loopholes that permit governments or private entities to capture excess equity value that PLF says should belong to the homeowner.
These laws allow government officials and investors to take homes that have been in families for generations and leave some people homeless over tax debts that, in some cases, work out to less than 1 percent of their property’s value, according to PLF.
In one case, a county in Michigan seized a man’s house over an $8.41 underpayment, leaving him with nothing. The report notes that in the end, the homeowner prevailed when the Michigan Supreme Court determined that the county had acted unconstitutionally.
PLF takes the position that these so-called tax-and-take transactions violate the Fifth Amendment, which prevents the government from taking property without just compensation, and the Eighth Amendment, which bans excessive penalties.
Some government treasurers’ organizations, counties, and tax lien investors who “personally profit off the system in some of these states” are in favor of laws that lead to home equity theft, Christina Martin, a senior attorney at PLF, told The Epoch Times.
“Everybody else seems to be against it—groups on the left, right, [and] center,” she said.
“The vast majority of people seem to be against this. And most people actually have no idea this is even happening.”
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), an alliance of conservative lawmakers, is opposed to home equity theft. Laws should be changed to require surplus profits to be returned to a home’s prior owner after a “tax lien investor or county collects what it is due and any other debts or levies on the property are paid,” ALEC says.
The Epoch Times reached out to the Government Finance Officers Association, the National Governors Association, and the National Conference of State Legislatures for comment but had not received a reply from any of the three organizations as of press time.
PLF currently has three home equity theft-related petitions from homeowners pending before the Supreme Court, all of which are scheduled to be considered by the justices on Jan. 6, 2023.
Two are from Nebraska. One petition (pdf) is Fair v. Continental Resources, court file 22-160, and the other (pdf) is Nieveen v. Tax 106, court file 22-237. A petition (pdf), Tyler v. Hennepin County, court file 22-166, is from Minnesota.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 12/27/2022 – 20:40 - These Were The Deadliest Countries For Journalists In 2022
These Were The Deadliest Countries For Journalists In 2022
Reporters Without Borders (RWB) counts a total of 57 journalists and media workers that have been killed this year because of their job, including eight killed in Ukraine. Additionally, RWB has recorded 532 that are imprisoned as of December 14.
In the infographic below, Statista’s Martin Armstrong shows the places where the most journalists were killed in 2022 (16 countries not shown had one death each).
You will find more infographics at Statista
In Mexico, journalists’ deaths with a direct link to their journalistic work represented almost 20 percent of the worldwide total.
As detailed by RWB:
“At least 80 journalists have been killed in connection with their work in Mexico in the past ten years (including 46 in the past five) despite repeated calls from civil society and international organizations for the government to combat the violence more effectively.”
The report goes on to reference the killing of journalist Lourdes Maldonado López, who was “in principle enjoying (state) protection in Baja California ” when she was gunned down outside her home in January.
Turning attention to Ukraine, now the second most dangerous country for media workers since the Russian invasion on February 24, RWB count 8 deaths in the country as 2022 comes to a close:
“They include Maks Levin, a Ukrainian photojournalist who was deliberately shot by Russian soldiers on March 13, according to the conclusions of an RWB investigation”.
Russia itself currently has 18 journalists imprisoned.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 12/27/2022 – 20:20 - China Had Biological Weapons Ambitions Long Before Pandemic: House Intelligence Committee Member
China Had Biological Weapons Ambitions Long Before Pandemic: House Intelligence Committee Member
China had made clear its biological weapons ambitions long before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio), a member of the House Intelligence Committee.
Security personnel keep watch outside the Wuhan Institute of Virology during the visit by the World Health Organization (WHO) team tasked with investigating the origins of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, on Feb. 3, 2021. (Thomas Peter/Reuters) Wenstrup together with Republicans on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) released a report (pdf) on the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic on Dec. 14.
“Our State Department has put things out over the past, even going back to 2005, that China is interested in offensive bioweapons,” Wenstrup told the “Capitol Report” program on NTD, the sister media outlet of the Epoch Times, on Dec. 16.
The lawmaker singled out the work of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA)’s Fifth Institute of the Academy of Military Medical Sciences (AMMS), the military’s top medical research body.
“In 2005, the U.S. State Department publicly stated the U.S. assessment that China also operates an offensive biological weapons program, specifically identifying two Chinese entities as likely involved, one of which is the Fifth Institute. In a 2006 declaration of compliance with the Biological and Toxic Weapons Convention, China acknowledged that the Fifth Institute specifically conducts research on SARS coronaviruses,” the report reads.
Doctor and Congressman Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) interview with NTD Capitol Report April 2, 2022. Wenstrup also took note of the book titled “The Unnatural Origin of SARS and New Species of Artificial Humanized Viruses as Genetic Weapons,” released by AMMS in 2015.
“The book described how to create weaponized chimeric SARS coronaviruses, the potentially broader scope for their use compared to traditional bioweapons, and the benefits of being able to plausibly deny that such chimeric coronaviruses were artificially created rather than naturally occurring,” the report states.
The congressman, who is also a medical doctor, said that the military research institute had also collaborated with the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the body at the center of the lab leak theory of the pandemic origins.
Wenstrup said there were “published articles with scientists from the Fifth Institute, as well as the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) … combining their military with their other areas of research.”
He further pointed to a scientist with the PLA’s Fifth Institute, General Zhou Yusen, who had reportedly worked with the WIV for years prior to the pandemic.
According to Wenstrup, Zhou was “heavy into the gain of function type research or chimeric research.”
“Notably, in the spring of 2020, as global COVID-19 cases surpassed 7 million and COVID-19 deaths surpassed 400,000, General Zhou reportedly died under mysterious circumstances,” according to the GOP report.
Challenging the Intelligence Community
The lawmaker noted that an update to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI)’s declassified assessment (pdf) of the origins of COVID-19 released in October 2021 did not address important information that indicates the Chinese regime’s interest in offensive bioweapons.
“The declassified updated assessment also failed to address the AMMS’ publicly stated interest in the development of engineered coronaviruses for biological weapons purposes,” the GOP report states.
“The IC [intelligence community] should be transparent regarding what it does or does not know regarding the relationship between the PLA’s Fifth Institute of the Academy of Military Medical Sciences (AMMS), which China has publicly admitted conducts bioweapons research and coronavirus experiments, and the WI,” the report continues.
Wenstrup specifically pointed to Zhou’s death under questionable circumstances, saying “We want to know what the intelligence community knows about his work, and also about his untimely death and the circumstances around that.”
Lack of Cooperation
The lawmaker highlighted that China has consistently failed to cooperate with investigations into the origins of COVID-19.
“When they finally did let people come to China, they really didn’t let them into the lab and to see everything. As a matter of fact, they [investigation group] had to be held in quarantine for one or two weeks before they even got to have a conversation,” he said, referring to a team of World Health Organization-recruited scientists who visited China in early 2021 to probe the pandemic origins.
“And interestingly, the only person they would allow from America was a gentleman named Peter Daszak, who was with EcoHealth Alliance, who was getting NIH [National Institutes of Health] funding, and then working with the Chinese on coronavirus type of research,” he added.
Daszak is the president of EcoHealth Alliance, a New York-based nonprofit that has drawn considerable scrutiny over funneling federal funding to the WIV for research on coronaviruses, which some experts say amounted to gain-of-function research.
Given the history of collaboration between Daszak and WIV, Wenstrup said there was potential for bias.
Further Investigation
Wenstrup said that the committee would continue to probe the pandemic origins, especially after the Republicans take the gavel in the new year.
Read more here…
Tyler Durden
Tue, 12/27/2022 – 20:00 - Russia Dismisses "Smokescreen" Kyiv Offer Of February Peace Talks
Russia Dismisses “Smokescreen” Kyiv Offer Of February Peace Talks
In the last few weeks there’s been increasing public talk of achieving peace through direct negotiations coming out of both Ukrainian and Russian officials. But for now, each side is sticking to their respective strict demands, making the possibility of serious talks coming to fruition anytime soon highly unlikely. Yet it’s at least a positive that the word “negotiations” is even in the air at this point.
The latest back-and-forth began with a Monday statement by Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba, who called for a peace summit to be held by the end of February with the mediation of UN Secretary-General António Guterres. However, his key sticking point, which proved to be a non-starter for Moscow, was that Russian officials first face a “war crimes court” for the invasion of Ukraine.
“Every war ends in a diplomatic way,” Kuleba said. “Every war ends as a result of the actions taken on the battlefield and at the negotiating table.” He added while talking about a UN venue, “This is really about bringing everyone on board.”
Short-lived talks during the opening weeks of the invasion. BelTA/TASS And as Politico reported of the top Ukrainian diplomat’s Monday remarks, “Asked about whether they would invite Russia to the summit, he said that Moscow would first need to face prosecution for war crimes at an international court.” Kuleba then stipulated, “They can only be invited to this step in this way.”
Kuleba then went on the attack, speaking of the Russians: “They regularly say that they are ready for negotiations, which is not true, because everything they do on the battlefield proves the opposite.”
In part, this was all a reaction to weekend comments by President Vladimir Putin saying he’s ready to negotiate “with everyone involved” in the Ukraine conflict.
The Kremlin’s official response to Kuleba’s latest comments came via head of the Russian State Duma Committee on international affairs Leonid Slutsky – who it should be noted would likely head any future Russian delegation in talks with Ukraine. Slutsky dismissed the Ukrainian calls for a war crimes tribunal as a “smoke screen.”
“Ukraine is still not ready to hold peace negotiations; all the statements made by [Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry] Kuleba are a smoke screen,” Slutsky said, and further according to state media:
Slutsky underscored that it was the Ukrainian side that withdrew from the Istanbul peace process, instead choosing a path of escalation. “It wasn’t us who were evading peace talks, it wasn’t us who staged the provocation in Bucha,” he added.
Slutsky noted that “the ball is still in Kiev’s court,” adding that the goals of the special military operation remain the same, those being the denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine.
He emphasized Moscow’s key stipulation that talks are possible if the West halts its ongoing weapons pipeline to Ukraine’s armed forces.
“Russia has repeatedly called on the international community, including at the parliamentary level, asking to stop arming the Kiev regime; however, Western states continue sponsoring and supplying heavy weapons. This is what the UN should pay greater attention to,” the lawmaker said, after UN leadership appeared to back Kuleba’s call for peace talks.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 12/27/2022 – 19:40 - Emergency Preps From A To Z
Emergency Preps From A To Z
Authored by Ashley Allen via The Organic Prepper blog,
Emergency preparedness is serious business but not all of our endeavors need to take on the gravity of life and death. This is a fun list, and while the suggestions are solid, it is by no means a list that covers everything you need to be prepared.
Without further ado, here’s an alphabetical list of preps that could serve you well.
Emergency Preps from A-Z
I’ve chosen one prep for each letter of the alphabet to help you get ready for disasters large or small.
A – Alcohol-based hand sanitizer: It’s important to have hand sanitizer on hand in case you don’t have access to soap and water. Alcohol-based hand sanitizer can help reduce the spread of germs and bacteria. Not a fan of hand sanitizer and prefer a natural approach? Here’s an article that explains when to use what kind of product.
B – Battery-powered radio: In the event of a power outage, a battery-powered or hand-crank radio can be a vital source of information. It can help you stay updated on weather forecasts, evacuation orders, and other important alerts. We recommend this one.
C – Cash: In an emergency, ATMs and credit card machines may not be available, so it’s important to have a supply of cash on hand. This can be used to purchase necessary supplies or pay for evacuation expenses. Put back small bills. You may not be able to get change during a crisis.
D – Drinking water: It’s important to have a supply of clean drinking water in case the water supply is disrupted or contaminated. Consider storing bottled water, or filling up jugs or other containers with tap water in case of an emergency. Here’s an article on water storage.
E – Emergency contact list: Having a list of emergency contacts can be invaluable in an emergency situation. This should include phone numbers for family members, friends, neighbors, and any relevant agencies or organizations. This is an important part of an emergency binder. Get a printable template here.
F – Fire extinguisher: A fire extinguisher can be a crucial tool for putting out small fires or containing them until the fire department arrives. It’s important to have one on hand in case of a fire emergency. Here’s an article on choosing and maintaining your fire extinguishers.
G – Generator: A generator can provide a reliable source of power in the event of a power outage. This can be especially important for those who rely on electricity for medical equipment or other essential needs. Daisy has this one for her apartment, and here’s some advice on choosing a larger one.
H – Hazardous materials kit: In the event of a chemical spill or other hazardous materials incident, it’s important to have a hazardous materials kit on hand. This should include protective gear, such as gloves and respirators, as well as supplies for cleaning up and neutralizing the hazard.
I – Insurance documents: In the event of a natural disaster or other emergencies, it’s important to have copies of your insurance documents on hand. This can help you quickly file a claim and get the financial assistance you need to recover. This printable helps you create a home inventory for insurance purposes.
J – Jacket: A warm jacket can be essential in an emergency situation, especially if you are evacuated to a location with a different climate than you are used to. It’s important to have a jacket that is appropriate for the weather in your area, as well as any locations you may need to evacuate to.
K – Knife: A knife can be a useful tool in a variety of emergency situations, including cutting through debris, opening cans, and preparing food. It’s important to have a reliable and durable knife on hand in case you need it. Here’s some advice on choosing a knife.
L – Light source: In the event of a power outage, a light source can be essential for navigating your home and performing tasks. This can include flashlights, candles, or a headlamp. This article discusses different types of emergency lighting.
M – Medical supplies: A basic first aid kit should be part of your emergency preparedness kit. This should include supplies like bandages, gauze, and pain medication, as well as any prescription medications you or your family members may need. Check out this article about OTC medications and medical supplies.
N – Non-perishable food: It’s important to have a supply of non-perishable food, such as canned goods, dried fruits and nuts, and protein bars, in case you don’t have access to fresh food. These items will keep for a long time without refrigeration and can help sustain you in an emergency situation. Here’s some advice on building your prepper food supply.
O – Oxygen tanks: If you or a family member relies on oxygen tanks for medical purposes, it’s important to have a supply of tanks on hand in case of an emergency.
P – Pet supplies: If you have pets, it’s important to include them in your emergency. Here’s a printable checklist.
Q – Quick clotting products: Quick clotting powder is a highly effective bleeding control agent that helps to stop bleeding within minutes of application. It is made from a clay-like substance that is applied directly to the wound, where it absorbs excess blood and helps to form a clot. This can be a lifesaving tool in situations where traditional methods of bleeding control, such as applying pressure to the wound, are not enough. Here’s a source of Quik Clot gauze and Celox powder.
R – Respirator mask: In the event of a natural disaster or other emergency situation, it’s possible that the air quality may be compromised. A respirator mask can help protect you from inhaling harmful particles and contaminants in the air. Here’s our guide to respirators and masks.
S – Smoke detector: A smoke detector is a vital component of any emergency preparedness plan. It can alert you to the presence of fire in your home, giving you the opportunity to evacuate or take other safety measures. Be sure to test your smoke detectors regularly and replace the batteries as needed.
T – Tent: A tent is an important item to have in an emergency because it can provide shelter in case you need to evacuate your home or if you are caught in an unexpected outdoor situation. A tent can protect you from the elements and provide a sense of security. Here are the pros and cons of bugging out with a tent.
U – USB charger: In an emergency, it’s important to have a way to charge your phone or other electronic devices. A USB charger can be a lifesaver, especially if you need to use your phone to call for help or stay in touch with loved ones. This portable charger has fantastic reviews on Amazon and is very reliable.
V – Vaseline: Vaseline is a versatile product that can be used in a variety of emergency situations. It can be used to protect and moisturize skin, as well as to seal small cuts and scratches. In a survival situation, Vaseline can also be used as a fire starter or to lubricate gear.
W – Water filter: A water filter is essential in an emergency because it can allow you to access clean drinking water if your regular source is compromised. There are many different types of water filters available, including straw filters, gravity filters, and pump filters. Choose one that is appropriate for the situation you may face. We recommend a gravity-fed water filter for home use and a Sawyer Mini or Lifestraw when you’re on the go.
X – X-Acto knife: An X-Acto knife is a precise cutting tool that can be used to cut through a variety of materials, including paper, fabric, and plastic. It can be especially useful in an emergency if you need to cut through small items or make precise cuts.
Y – Y: Yellow rubber cleaning gloves – You know the kind – your mother and grandmother swore by them to protect their hands when doing dishes. Yellow rubber gloves can be worn when handling hazardous materials, cleaning up after an emergency, or handling human waste.
Z – Ziptop bags: Ziptop bags are a useful item to have in an emergency because they can be used to store and protect a variety of items. They are great for organizing supplies and keeping them dry, and they can also be used to store food or other perishable items.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 12/27/2022 – 19:20 - Impoverished Canadians Seek Euthanasia As A Solution While Trudeau Vacations In Jamaica
Impoverished Canadians Seek Euthanasia As A Solution While Trudeau Vacations In Jamaica
Poverty stricken Canadians are going to food banks not just for help in feeding themselves and their families, but also to ask about government assisted suicide as a potential solution to their struggles. Canada’s cost of living crisis is growing (as is America’s crisis), with inflation ongoing and spiking interest rates crushing lower and middle class workers with increased debt burdens. The average monthly food costs for a family of four in Ottawa is around $1000 and the average monthly rent is $2000.
Canada’s euthanasia laws are becoming alluring to those people that cannot afford rising expenses and see no other way out.
The nation’s revised medical assistance in dying (MAID) came into force on March 17, 2021. The new law includes changes to eligibility, procedural safeguards, and the framework for the federal government’s data collection and reporting regime.
On March 17, 2021, Parliament passed legislation that makes important changes to who may be eligible to obtain medical assistance in dying and the process of assessment. These changes took effect immediately. Under the current laws a patient must have a grievous and irremediable medical condition in order to receive assisted suicide, but apparently many Canadians believe they should have access even when they are healthy.
Justin Trudeau was confronted by Global News with a video interview of a food bank CEO relating her story of multiple recipients asking about government supported suicide. His response is politically typical, with a show of general concern and assertions that his resolve is deepened to “step up” and help impoverished families (discussion begins at 13:30).
Immediately after this interview, Trudeau is set to enjoy a scheduled family vacation to Jamaica. In 2019, Trudeau’s vacation to Costa Rica leeched Canadian taxpayers for nearly $200,000 in flight costs, and this does not include the added costs of extended protection in a foreign province by Royal Canadian Mounted Police. That’s a lot of money that could go to helping hundreds of families in need.
It should be noted that it was Trudeau’s oppressive (and long running) pandemic restrictions that directly aided in triggering declining economic conditions in Canada, including supply chain disruptions and higher inflation. While Trudeau tries to blame the war in Ukraine for the terrible conditions (the inflation crisis started long before the Ukraine conflict), it cannot be denied that his authoritarian policies are at least partly responsible for the financial troubles of millions of Canadian citizens.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 12/27/2022 – 19:00 - Special Forces Insider: The CIA Is Directing Sabotage Attacks In Russian Territory
Special Forces Insider: The CIA Is Directing Sabotage Attacks In Russian Territory
Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,
The CIA has been using a European NATO country’s intelligence services to conduct sabotage attacks inside Russia since the February invasion of Ukraine, investigative journalist Jack Murphy reported on Saturday, citing unnamed former US intelligence and military officials.
The report said that no US personnel are on the ground in Russia but that the operations are being directed by the CIA. The US is using an ally’s intelligence services to add an extra layer of plausible deniability, and a former US special operations official told Murphy that layer was a major factor in President Biden signing off on the attacks.
A fire at the Russian Aerospace Forces’ Central Scientific Research Institute in Tver in April, via TASS. Murphy said he didn’t name the NATO country whose intelligence services were being used in the report because “doing so might endanger the operational security of cells that are still operational inside of Russia.”
The report appeared on Murphy’s personal website, and in a note at the end of the piece, he explained why it wasn’t published by a media outlet. “While working with editors at mainstream publications I was asked to do things that were illegal and unethical in one instance, and in another instance I felt that a senior CIA official was able to edit my article by making off the record statements, before he leaked a story to The New York Times to undermine this piece,” he wrote.
According to the report, the covert campaign inside Russia has been years in the making. Two former military officials said that the NATO country’s spy services had hidden a cache of explosives and equipment in Russia more than a decade ago, and some of the gear has been used recently.
A former US special operations official and US person briefed on the campaign said that the CIA didn’t get involved with the NATO country’s operations inside Russia until 2014. The first time sleeper cells entered Russia that were directed by both the CIA and the NATO ally’s spy service was in 2016, and more entered the country in the following years.
The NATO ally provided the undercover operatives with stories to explain their presence in Russia and documents to back them up. The report said that around the time Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, the NATO ally’s spy service activated its sleeper cells inside Russia using covert communication, and they were ready for orders on what targets to strike.
It’s not clear how many attacks the sleeper cells have been responsible for, but there has been a series of mysterious explosions at Russian military facilities, powerplants, and railways since the invasion. The report suggested that the saboteurs could have been behind an April fire at the research institute of Russia’s Aerospace Defense Forces, which killed over 20 people.
The sabotage operations that the CIA is overseeing require a presidential finding. President Obama signed a finding before he left office that allowed covert action against Russia over allegations that Moscow interfered in the 2016 election, a claim that has never been proven.
Certainly plausible, given the number of strategic objects that have gone boom in Russia since Feb. 24… https://t.co/JvGQRivZcT
— Mark MacKinnon (@markmackinnon) December 25, 2022
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According to The Washington Post, Obama’s finding allows “planting cyberweapons in Russia’s infrastructure, the digital equivalent of bombs that could be detonated if the United States found itself in an escalating exchange with Moscow.” Murphy cited a former CIA official who said the finding also allowed sabotage operations against Russia, although other former officials he spoke with said the current operations would have required an amendment or an entirely new finding.
A CIA spokesperson denied the allegations made in the report, but Murphy pointed out that the spy agency can legally deny the existence of its covert operations.
The CIA directing sabotage inside Russia risks a major escalation between NATO and Russia and could lead to a nuclear escalation. Ukraine has recently stepped up its own attacks inside Russian territory, and according to The Times, the Pentagon tacitly endorsed recent drone strikes that hit air bases deep inside Russian territory, adding to the risk of escalation.
In his note at the end of the report, Murphy said that he published the story to inform the public:
“Indeed, the Russian government knows perfectly well who is sponsoring these sabotage strikes. Moreover, the intelligence community wants them to know. The only party left in the dark is the public at large, left unaware of the shadow war taking place behind the scenes,” he wrote.
The CIA is using a European NATO ally’s spy service to conduct a covert sabotage campaign inside Russia under the agency’s direction, according to former U.S. intelligence and military officials.
-> My guess is secret NATO ally here is Poland! https://t.co/3A10CsZpH0
— Jeffrey Kaye (@jeff_kaye) December 25, 2022
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Murphy said that the article “went through a vigorous fact-checking process, and was deemed newsworthy as the strategic bombings of Laos and Cambodia or the CIA’s secret drone campaign in Pakistan.”
* * *
Note: Jack Murphy is a US special forces combat veteran turned journalist who specializes in reporting on clandestine operations, including investigative reports for Yahoo News and other major publications.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 12/27/2022 – 18:40 - Arizona Considers $5.5 Billion Water Desalination Plant, 200-Mile Pipeline From Mexico To Combat Drought
Arizona Considers $5.5 Billion Water Desalination Plant, 200-Mile Pipeline From Mexico To Combat Drought
Arizona’s Water Infrastructure Finance Authority has been tasked with reviewing a proposal for a multibillion-dollar project to construct a water desalination plant in Mexico that would pump water through a 200-mile pipeline to the border state as part of an effort to counter its drought-driven water uncertainty.
The Arizona Republic said the state water finance board recently passed a non-binding resolution supporting a potentially massive seawater desalination plant in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez that Israel-based desalination plant operator IDE Technologies would construct.
Through reverse osmosis membranes, the plant would separate salt from seawater and pump the fresh water through a pipeline across the Mexico-US border to a reservoir west of Phoenix. IDE said the new plant could replace declining Colorado River water that flows through the Central Arizona Project’s aqueduct.
IDE claims the new plant could supply 300,000 acre-feet of water or enough for a million households. IDE aims to begin operations at the new plant by the second half of 2027.
The proposal still requires further review and support from the US and Mexico.
Andy Tobin, a member of the water finance board and a former speaker in the Arizona House of Representatives, said, “folks are running out of water,” suggesting “the risk here clearly, in the case, outweighs the rush” to get this project underway to prevent a worsening water crisis.
If Arizona commits to the project, residents in Maricopa, Pinal, and Pima counties would pay higher water costs but at least won’t have a fear of running out of water.
The proposal also includes securing water for Mexico. The project could cost upwards of $5 billion to construct. Plans for a water desalination plant show the drought-stricken state quickly needs a solution to new water sources.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 12/27/2022 – 18:20 - Students Speak Out On Anti-White, Anti-Christian, Anti-American Culture At Florida University
Students Speak Out On Anti-White, Anti-Christian, Anti-American Culture At Florida University
Authored by Darlene McCormick Sanchez via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
Florida may be “where woke goes to die,” according to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has repeated the line in many speeches.
A journalism student at a Florida university, who asked to be identified only as Mia, said professors on her campus openly disparage Christians, America’s founders, and whites. (Courtesy of Mia) But talk of its demise is greatly exaggerated, according to some university students in the state and an organization that tracks progressive policies on college campuses.
Six conservative students attending a major Florida university told The Epoch Times, on condition of anonymity, about their frustration with the anti-white, anti-Christian, and anti-American environment on campus and in classrooms that make them feel uncomfortable at best and threatened at worst.
Across the country, parents have pushed back against their community school boards for allowing radical race and gender theories in grades K-12. But experts told The Epoch Times that the same pushback hasn’t happened at the college level—the birthplace of Critical Race Theory (CRT).
CRT, the experts said, is rampant across the nation, not just in Florida. And that means conservative students nationwide are struggling to navigate college systems, where they face disdain for their beliefs and encouragement to reject their core values.
On a campaign stop in rural North Florida on Nov. 3, 2022, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, scorns left-wing ideology, saying “Florida is where ‘woke’ goes to die.” (Nanette Holt/The Epoch Times) Carol Swain, a retired political science and law professor at Vanderbilt University and a frequent television analyst on race relations, sympathizes with the struggle conservatives face at colleges.
But she urges students to think strategically before outing themselves as holding conservative views, which are often unpopular among or even demonized by fellow students and professors.
Conservative students should pick their battles carefully, Swain told The Epoch Times, to successfully finish college—because the country needs young conservative voices in the professional world.
“There are key players that you want in position—you want [conservatives] to become university professors, or whatever profession they’re trying to go into,” Swain said.
‘Extremist’ views
A Christian law student, who supports the National Rifle Association (NRA), told The Epoch Times he didn’t know he’d been reported as “an extremist” for expressing conservative views until FBI agents knocked on his apartment door. They questioned him about his political views for more than an hour.
A journalism student said she felt bullied by a professor who forced students to parrot her scorn for America’s “systemic racism” and affirm “progressive talking points” on immigration, gender-identity issues, “queer theory,” intersectionality, transgenderism, religious faith, and the ideas of Karl Marx, author of “The Communist Manifesto.”
“I can’t write what I truly believe” about these issues, Mia said. “When I did that, I got an F. In order to pass a class, I have to affirm leftist ideas I don’t believe in. When I repeat all the talking points and present them as ideas I believe wholeheartedly, I get As.”
“It feels like being brainwashed when they reward you for repeating their ideas and punish you for saying things that go against their beliefs.”
A Florida university student, who asked to be identified only as Mia, sits with her Bible at home on Christmas break on Dec. 22, 2022. Expressing Christian views on campus draws scorn from professors, who openly talk about their “hate” for Christians, she told The Epoch Times. (Courtesy of Mia) At the core of the students’ struggle is the university’s apparent glorification of CRT, a Marxist-derived ideology that substitutes race or gender for class struggle. The theory divides people into two groups—oppressors and the oppressed—based on factors such as skin color or sexual orientation.
One of the leading architects of modern CRT is Ibram X. Kendi, who attended Florida A&M University, and later taught at the University of Florida. Kendi’s book, “How to be an Antiracist,” promotes fighting racism by discriminating against groups that, according to Kendi, are “oppressors,” such as white males. Antiracism practices often are taught in classes and employer trainings that promote “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI).
Students said CRT, gender theory, and other topics considered “woke” are flourishing at their Florida university.
That’s despite attempts by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis to stop racial activism in education and workplaces in his state by formally banning CRT training and discrimination.
CRT controversy
In April, DeSantis signed the Stop Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees Act, also known as the Stop WOKE Act. The law prohibits discriminatory classroom instruction, such as CRT. And it prohibits employers from forcing workers to attend antiracism and CRT training.
The law bans instruction that implies someone is responsible for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race, color, sex, or national origin. The measure also allows Floridians to sue if they believe their school or workplace has violated the law.
The Stop WOKE Act originated as a response to the spread of CRT and other social justice concepts widely promoted by works such as The New York Times’ 1619 Project, which paints America as a country founded on slavery and characterizes the nation’s Founding Fathers as racists.
While the 1619 Project has been rejected by many academics, historians, and politicians, its teachings have been embraced just as vigorously by many liberals and progressives. Many have held it up as a model of how history should be taught to children and college students.
New York Times Magazine reporter Nikole Hannah-Jones, creator of The 1619 Project, speaks as colleagues hold a rally outside The New York Times headquarters in New York City, on Dec. 8, 2022. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images) Under the Stop WOKE Act, Florida university faculty members who teach CRT could be fired as part of post-tenure reviews. A violation of the Stop WOKE Act would make schools ineligible for what is known as performance funding. That’s extra money awarded by the state for measurable successes, such as high graduation rates and impressive median earnings of alumni.The threat of facing those repercussions for teaching CRT has sparked legal challenges.
Several Florida college professors and students filed a lawsuit challenging the Stop WOKE Act. They claim the law chills free speech in the classroom, confuses professors, and violates their First Amendment rights.
Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, issued a preliminary injunction against the law in November. The DeSantis administration is appealing the decision.
Hostile Environment
Florida college students who spoke with The Epoch Times described a campus culture focused on race and social justice and hostile to conservative or Christian views. They asked to use pseudonyms to protect their identity, fearing retaliation for speaking publicly.
Jeff, a pre-law freshman, told The Epoch Times he felt pressure in an economics course to write about globalization as a “good thing,” even though he disagrees with it.
Globalization is a movement to reduce trade barriers and build closer political, social, and economic ties between countries. It has been criticized by conservatives, who warn it’s moving countries toward a one-world government that would strip away the sovereignty of nations.
Ellen, a Florida college freshman, said her classes have elements of gender theory, climate change, and race woven into teachings on business. One class defined professional attire by showing what would be appropriate for men, women, and people who identified as both genders, or neither.
Sam Brinton, shown at an event in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Nov. 17, 2019, was the first “gender fluid” person in federal government leadership. Brinton served under President Joe Biden as a deputy assistant secretary in the Office of Nuclear Energy until being charged with luggage theft twice. (Tasia Wells/Getty Images for The Trevor Project) In a required philosophy course, Ellen’s classmates seemed convinced they were doomed to die from what they were taught were human-caused climate changes, she said. The view that fluctuations in weather patterns might be a normal, natural occurrence that’s happened throughout history was not presented by the professor, she said.
And when the professor announced that President Joe Biden had recommitted the United States to the Paris Climate Accords, the room erupted in applause, she recalled. Unwilling to cheer, the moment made her feel alienated, she said.
In an introductory business course that focused on DEI, another student, Luis, said he was told to list all his “identities,” including being a white, heterosexual, Catholic male. The point of the assignment seemed to be to make white students feel ashamed, he said.
He ignored the risk of stigma and wrote that he would like to perpetuate his Irish-American bloodline.
Demonstrators denouncing “systemic racism” in law enforcement and calling for the defunding of police departments kneel in Maria Hernandez Park in the borough of Brooklyn in New York City on June 5, 2020. (Scott Heins/Getty Images) Journalism major Mia spoke of a required class in which the professor emphatically spoke about “white privilege” and “systemic racism” as fact. If students wrote about views contrary to the professor’s anti-white, anti-establishment positions, their grades suffered, she said.
Speaking among themselves, classmates indicated they were afraid to ask questions or assert their true beliefs, she said.
One professor, who lauded the teachings of Marx, warned students on the first day of class that “hate speech,” which the professor didn’t define, would be reported to the dean, Mia said. It had a chilling effect.
The professor also warned students not to get “too comfortable” in writing about their beliefs in a journaling assignment, Mia said. That could lead to students being reported and punished, the professor promised, indicating she’d lodged formal complaints against students for such violations.
The professor praised students who acknowledged, with apparent regret, that their parents had not raised them to hold views similar to the professor’s but were thankful to finally be learning about progressive beliefs, Mia said.
Writing Satire for an ‘A’
The traditional belief that journalists should question authority and think for themselves was not taught in the required journalism class, Mia said. All assignments in the class would be “viewed through a lens of social justice,” students were told on the first day.
White people were described as “privileged” in readings assigned by the black professor, Mia said.
Students were told by the professor that it’s a “myth” that journalists must report both sides of a story. For example, if a journalist covers a story involving members of the Ku Klux Klan, the public doesn’t have to hear from them, the professor told the class, Mia said.
“Our government and social institutions have created advantages that disproportionately channel wealth, power, and resources to white people,” a slide from the professor proclaimed. “This affects everyone, whether we are aware of it or not.”
In a required journalism class at a major Florida university, the professor spends most of the time teaching about race, class, gender-identity, and sexual orientation, rather than principles of journalism, according to a student who asked to be identified only as Mia. (Courtesy of Mia) Students faced the ethical dilemma of choosing between turning in writings that affirmed the professor’s views, with which they disagreed, or failing the class, Mia said.
When she turned in a paper with views that opposed her professor’s, but were attributed to others, Mia received a failing grade. In that assignment, she defended Christianity as an institution that helped end slavery. That position was attacked by a teaching assistant, who penned scathing comments.
Desperate to pull up her grade, Mia came up with a plan. She’d pretend to agree, pursuing assignments as if writing for the satirical, social-media powerhouse, The Babylon Bee.
“It’s horrible. I feel so fake,” Mia told The Epoch Times. “I’m not learning anything, except to write things I don’t believe.”
Conservative on Campus
A Christian now studying law, Robert was only an undergraduate when he discovered the risk of being known as a conservative on campus. That revelation quickly became clear when two FBI agents knocked on his apartment door at 9 a.m. They told him they’d received an anonymous tip that he was “an extremist.”
“They did ask me if I was an extremist or was a member of extremist groups,” he told The Epoch Times. “I asked them to define it. When they hesitated, I asked if being a Christian or a member of the NRA qualified. They said, ‘No.’”
To their credit, Robert said, the two agents seemed to be “reasonable people.” They told him that, after speaking with him, they had no idea why someone would report him. He was told the case against him would be closed, he said.
Environmental activists rally on Capitol Hill in Washington, on March 25, 2022. (Alex Wong/Getty Images) Robert, now a second-year law student, says Florida’s new Stop Woke Act is “toothless.” Teachings that applaud principles of CRT, such as the need for “social justice,” are ubiquitous on campus, he said. In law courses, students are taught to consider skin color with regard to crime and punishment.
Robert said that because blacks have suffered racism at the hands of whites, students debated if “systemic racism” should be considered when sentencing people of color.
Discussions centered on whether black people should be punished less severely than white people for similar crimes to compensate for historical oppression of blacks by whites, and because whites, on average, live longer, Robert said.
“The new trend is to see the difference and discriminate,” he said.
‘Tear up the Constitution’
Robert, who focuses on constitutional law, recalled students arguing that the U.S. Constitution was illegitimate from the start, and was written by racist, old, white men. The professor didn’t express that he condoned that point of view, but he didn’t offer a rebuttal, either, Robert said.
Law students, he added, “talk about how we should tear up the Constitution.”
A slide showing part of a quiz on bankruptcy law describes a scenario involving divorced lesbians, though gender and sexual orientation have nothing to do with the concept. (Courtesy of Chris) Chris, a third-year law student, objects to the pervasive LGBT ideology woven into classes.
“What does homosexuality have to do with bankruptcy, right?” he asked. “They were literally just pushing this same-sex, homosexual agenda.”
When answering questions on timed exams, students often lose precious moments trying to determine if gender is pertinent to the legal concept, or if it’s just an attempt to “virtue-signal,” Chris said.
Legal textbooks routinely use “she” when describing situations in which gender is not specified, Chris said. That causes confusion.
“I had to get used to reading these textbooks constantly referring to a lawyer as she.”
Traditionally, it’s been considered correct to use “he” and “him” as gender-neutral pronouns. Progressives have insisted on using other pronouns such as “she” and “they” when gender is not specifically designated. And failing to use a person’s “preferred pronouns” has meant harsh punishments, such as expulsion for students and termination for instructors around the country.
Conchy Vasquez (R) and Jony Rozon, both engineers at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Division Newport, discuss the importance of using correct pronouns in a training video for the U.S. Navy. (Courtesy of the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service) “The left preaches tolerance…until they become strong,” and then tolerance for opposing views ends, Chris said. “That’s what we saw with the communist revolutions.”
‘Our Policy is Not to Comment’
Ray Rodrigues, Chancellor of the State University System of Florida, assumed the post to oversee the state’s universities in November. He was asked by The Epoch Times about students’ claims that professors teach CRT and radical gender theory as irrefutable truth, and how students say they fear speaking out against such class material.
“As you know, the legislature passed legislation regarding this issue, and we have prepared a regulation to implement that legislation,” spokeswoman Renee Fargason, an assistant vice chancellor for public affairs, wrote in an emailed response. “It has been enjoined by the Court, and our policy is to not comment on pending litigation.”
She directed The Epoch Times to the Board’s Statement of Free Expression.
The iconic Century Tower on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville, Fla. on July 30, 2022. (Nanette Holt/The Epoch Times) Florida universities actively promote CRT, according to the Critical Race Training in Education database maintained by the Legal Insurrection Foundation.
Florida colleges follow CRT principles by renaming campus spaces after progressive icons, and they present race-based workshops and resources for students and staff, the organization says. The Sunshine State’s universities also have encouraged students to report each other for “biased” speech or beliefs, according to the database.
For example, the University of Florida in Gainesville made headlines for naming a study room on campus in honor of Karl Marx. The school removed the name after media attention in March.
At Florida State University in Tallahassee, the College of Education offers antiracism training resources, including a list of children’s books to “combat racism” in children as young as 3.
The college’s website cites Harvard research asserting that by age 5, “white children are strongly biased towards whiteness. To counter this bias, experts recommend acknowledging and naming race and racism with children as early and as often as possible.”
The University of Central Florida in Orlando was sued by Speech First in 2021 for creating rules and regulations that “suppress and punish speech about the political and social issues of the day.”
The lawsuit described a campus atmosphere where students reported each other for “biased” views, triggering investigations by the university. Students were forced to sit through lectures on university-approved speech that Speech First compared to a “reeducation camp.” The result was students became afraid to voice their views, the lawsuit stated.
Toeing the Line
Cornell law professor William Jacobson, founder of the Legal Insurrection Foundation, said the experiences of the Florida students are typical throughout the states.
Conservative students at Cornell and at institutions around the country have complained to him about the same issues, he told The Epoch Times.
The increasing popularity of CRT prompted him to launch CritialRace.org in 2020.
Students are being conditioned to go along with a professor’s political views and say whatever is necessary in order to survive their courses, even going against their own deeply held beliefs, he said.
“It’s a massive problem because one bad grade in a course can keep you out of graduate school. Students are mostly terrified of going against the professor. That’s something I hear all the time.”
As the reach of CRT has expanded, so has the scope of CriticalRace.org, Jacobson said. The database now includes private medical, military, and K-12 schools. It has examined hundreds of U.S. higher education institutions and documented critical race training courses.
The problem is that universities have developed what Jacobson calls “systemic repression.” By hiring politically progressive professors and mandating progressive policies, administrators create a culture that allows little room for dissent.
“That’s the complete opposite of what higher education is supposed to be about,” Jacobson said.
Students parrot materials and professors’ views to survive their courses, he said. Meanwhile, administrators pretend the students aren’t being pressured. And when students complain, administrators may demand proof that students were penalized for speaking against a professor’s beliefs.
“How are you going to prove it without putting yourself at risk?” Jacobson asked.
Pervasive Problem
Swain, who wrote “Black Eye For America: How Critical Race Theory is Burning Down the House,” agrees that student fear is a pervasive problem.
“I have often told conservative students that they have rights. They should be protected against discrimination,” Swain said.
Going along with racial and gender ideology to get through college is more common than people realize, Swain said.
The political left has persuaded many students to jettison whatever values and principles they’d held for most of their early lives, she added.
It starts with freshman orientation, the first day on campus, she said. That’s when established students and administrators let new students know that their past beliefs—based on their religion or family values—are unsophisticated.
To understand the opposition, conservative students should become familiar with Saul Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals,” a guide of progressive beliefs, Swain said. The book advocates for deception, infiltration, and manipulation to win political power.
Read more here…
Tyler Durden
Tue, 12/27/2022 – 18:00 - Elon Musk Says 100 Starlink Terminals "Active" In Iran Amid 100 Days Of Unrest
Elon Musk Says 100 Starlink Terminals “Active” In Iran Amid 100 Days Of Unrest
More than a hundred days since the Iranian anti-government protests began, the longest since the 1979 Islamic revolution, SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk announced Starlinks are operational in the region.
On Monday, Musk tweeted, “Approaching 100 Starlinks active in Iran.” He tweeted at Wall Street Silver, who posted a video showing Iranian women walking around without hijabs.
Streets of Iran now … more freedom for the women to choose whether they cover their hair or not.
— Wall Street Silver (@WallStreetSilv) December 26, 2022
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
In September, Musk said he would activate Starlink terminals in Iran. At the time, he responded to the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s tweet that the US would “advance internet freedom and the free flow of information” to Iranians.
Starlink satellite broadband service — already in use across Ukraine — would allow Iranians to circumnavigate the government’s authoritarian control over the internet and social media platforms amid widespread social unrest.
The government has blocked YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, Telegram, Snapchat, and Medium for fear these Western social media platforms could support continued uprisings and spread information that acts like a megaphone. But with Starlink terminals, access to the outside world is now possible.
Over the years, especially during the Arab uprisings a decade ago, social media played a critical role in mobilizing young protesters — some referred to the unrest as Facebook or Twitter revolutions.
Reuters nor any other Western media outlet questioned who or what organizations were operating the terminals and for what purpose. If we had to guess, one logical assumption might be the terminals are used by anti-government groups with support from Western nations to disseminate information from the outside world and help organize protests to overthrow the government.
And this could be true.
It’s clear Elon Musk is coordinating with the White House in its regime-change scheme targeting Iran
Starlink is not a tool of “free speech”; it’s a weapon of hybrid warfare to destabilize a sovereign state (like the CIA’s fake Twitter in Cuba, ZunZuneo)https://t.co/vRpF07nnOl
— Ben Norton (@BenjaminNorton) December 27, 2022
Tyler Durden
Tue, 12/27/2022 – 17:40 - Time For Everyone To Go Galt
Time For Everyone To Go Galt
Authored by Charles Hugh Smith via OfTwoMinds blog,
An Inconvenient Revolution
It’s inconvenient when those whose sacrifices are essential to the system get fed up and find some other way to live.
Convenience isn’t just about small appliances. It’s also about ruling nations. Let’s start with the semantics of ruling nations. Some labels might be viewed as somewhat inflammatory (Kleptocracy, anyone?), so let’s stick with the neutral Ruling Order.
Some things have been extraordinarily convenient for the Ruling Order. Take the life and death of one Jeffrey Epstein, an intel “asset” who assembled a veritable goldmine of dirt on an astounding collection of bigwigs, and then became, well, inconvenient.
Very conveniently, the security camera in his cell failed, the guards dozed off and he hung himself in this fortuitous interlude. This was the acme of convenience.
Extending the Surveillance State into Big Tech’s planetary-wide social media networks was also convenient, and a bargain to boot. Instead of all that expensive stuff the Communist State in China had to pay for, America’s Ruling Order just put the squeeze on Big Tech and saved a bundle.
The Surveillance State assumes that any revolt / revolution can either be nipped in the bud by identifying foreign influences / domestic extremists, or crushed by foreknowledge of the storming of the barricades.
In conventional times, these are pretty safe assumptions. But the times are no longer conventional, and so the Ruling Order is in effect investing its treasure and confidence in fighting the last war.
It’s convenient if rebelling citizens organize themselves in visible networks and concentrate into groups that can be crushed by force. It’s inconvenient if the revolution is not neatly organized and crushable but an invisible revolution of not showing up.
In other words, a revolution of getting fed up and opting out, of finding some other way to live rather than spending 10 years paying down the student loans and another 30 years paying down the mortgage and the last few years of one’s life watching the tides of financial excess erode the sand castles of pensions and retirement.
There’s a consequential asymmetry to the inconvenience caused by people getting fed up and opting out. The average worker not showing up is consequential but not catastrophic. But when the managerial class thins out, and those doing the dirty work thin out, there are no replacements, and the system breaks down.
Few are willing to make the beds, empty the bedpans and work in slaughterhouses. When those willing to do the work nobody else wants to do quit, the system collapses. Those with higher expectations will not volunteer to do the dirty work, and many are unable to do the work even if they are willing. It’s too hard and too physically punishing. (Says a guy who’s carried stupid amounts of lumber up hillsides where no forklift could go.)
Despite what many of us may think, the majority of workers lack the experience and tools to manage complex operations. (Those of us who try soon reach our limits.) Many lack a deep enough knowledge to fix major breakdowns. When the critical operational and managerial people retire, quit, or find some other way to live, the system breaks down.
All the surveillance and all the force that the Ruling Order depends on to maintain its dominance is useless when people get fed up and quit supporting the system with their labor and their borrowing / spending. All the surveillance and facial recognition software is worthless, all the monitoring of kitten and puppy photos on social media, all the tracking of foreign influence–none of it matters any more.
It’s inconvenient when those whose sacrifices are essential to the system get fed up and find some other way to live. Yet this is the inevitable consequence of a system hopelessly corrupted by fraud, inequality and unfairness, a system rigged to benefit the few at the expense of the many. People eventually get fed up and opt out.
They don’t throw themselves on the gears of an odious system, they simply stop greasing the gears with their time, effort, experience, debt and money. It doesn’t take many opting out to trigger decay and collapse. The Pareto Distribution applies. The system can adjust to the first 4% opting out, but those consequential few trigger the decay of the commitment of the next 20%, and the system cannot survive when the 20% find some other way to live. The 80% can still be willing to grease the gears but that’s no longer enough to maintain the coherence of the system.
The asymmetry of decay and collapse is inconvenient.
* * *
My new book is now available at a 10% discount ($8.95 ebook, $18 print): Self-Reliance in the 21st Century. Read the first chapter for free (PDF)
Tyler Durden
Tue, 12/27/2022 – 17:20
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