Sep 02

Today’s News 2nd September 2023

  • Newly-Released Top Secret Docs Show Nixon's Intel Briefings On US-Backed Chilean Coup
    Newly-Released Top Secret Docs Show Nixon’s Intel Briefings On US-Backed Chilean Coup

    Authored by Conor Freeman via The Liberarian Institute,

    Two fifty-year old documents related to the coup in Chile were released by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the State Department last week. The democratically elected, left wing government of President Salvador Allende was overthrown in 1973 by the Chilean military, with covert CIA backing. A US-supported dictatorship led by General Augusto Pinochet was subsequently installed.

    President Richard Nixon’s daily briefs related to the coup on September 8th as well as the 11th – the day the Chilean military seized control of the government – were released. This declassification followed repeated calls for increased transparency by progressive members of Congress, human rights groups, and Santiago.

    Nixon and then National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger strongly opposed the leftist Allende government and attempted to prevent its rule. George Washington University’s National Security Archive issued a statement which says “[the documents] contained information that went to President Nixon as a military takeover that he and [Kissinger] had encouraged for three years came to fruition.”

    Nixon’s daily brief for September 8, 1973 reads “a number of reports have been received… indicating the possibility of an early military coup… Navy men plotting to overthrow the government now claim army and air force support.”

    The document – written three days before the coup – continues with a discussion of how a fascist paramilitary group “has been blocking roads and provoking clashes with the national police, adding to the tension caused by continuing strikes and opposition political moves. President Allende earlier this week said he believed the armed forces will ask for his resignation if he does not change his economic and political policies.”

    On September 11th, Nixon’s daily brief said “Plans by navy officers to trigger military action against the Allende government are supported by some key army units… The navy is also counting on help from the air force and national police.”

    After Allende’s initial refusal to resign, tanks opened fire, Air Force aircraft launched rocket attacks and bombed the presidential palace. Troops stormed in and Allende shot himself.

    “What followed [the coup] was a vicious, decades-long reign of terror and repression during which tens of thousands of Chileans were killed, tortured, or disappeared by the Pinochet regime, which continued to receive support from the CIA,” as Common Dreams’ Jake Johnson has written.

    Indeed, in 2000, the CIA conceded that “many of Pinochet’s officers were involved in systematic and widespread human rights abuses… Some of these were contacts or agents of the CIA or [US] military.”

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    Peter Kornbluh, a Chile specialist for National Security Archive, said “I’m happy that the Freedom of Information Act, together with some positive diplomacy by the Chilean government, broke a secrecy barrier that has kept us from knowing this history for 50 years.” He added that he hopes the White House will soon be “releasing all the [US records on Chile relating to the coup and its aftermath] that, inexplicably, remain secret after all this time.”

    As the Los Angeles Times noted, the US government “favored Pinochet, who for most of his 17 years of rule had good economic and military ties with Washington as he repressed many of his own people.”

    Throughout Latin America, during the Cold War, the CIA was involved in overthrowing governments, while fueling a series of proxy wars and civil wars, as well as waging terror campaigns against others. To this day, the US maintains a more than 60-year old embargo on Cuba as well as a notorious torture prison at Guantanamo Bay.

    During recent years, the US has supported coups against governments in Venezuela and Bolivia. The US currently imposes sanctions on Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba. In Venezuela, Washington’s economic war led to tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths between 2017 and 2018 as a result of vital medicines being deprived.

    Additionally, among GOP presidential candidates, there is substantial support for a potential military invasion of Mexico to ostensibly counter drug trafficking.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 09/01/2023 – 23:40

  • Marijuana Is the Sixth Biggest Cash Crop In The US
    Marijuana Is the Sixth Biggest Cash Crop In The US

    According to the Leafly Cannabis Harvest Report 2022, marijuana was the sixth most valuable wholesale crop in the United States last year at a $5 billion worth, trailing only corn, soybeans, hay, wheat and cotton.

    The calculation includes only crops in states where state-sanctioned sales of legal weed are already up and running and exclude production in medical marijuana-only states.

    Statista’s Katharina Buchholz reports that 2022 saw a cannabis harvest of 2,834 metric tons, up 24 percent from 2021.

    Infographic: Marijuana Is the Sixth Biggest Cash Crop in the U.S. | Statista

    You will find more infographics at Statista

    While the count of states having legalized marijuana stands at 23, only 15 had at the time of the release of the report come as far as opening state-licensed retail stores, mainly due to a flurry of legalization since 2021 affecting nine states. The 15 states where dispensaries are open are tied to more than 13,000 active and legal cannabis farms, according to Leafly.

    Infographic: The State of Marijuana Legalization in the U.S. | Statista

    You will find more infographics at Statista

    California had the biggest share in the harvest, producing marijuana at a wholesale value of $1 billion, followed by Colorado at $687 million, Michigan at $551 million and Oregon at $500 million.

    At wholesale crop values of between $124 million and $362 million, marijuana was also the number one cash crop in New Jersey, Alaska and Massachusetts.

    In its report, Leafly criticized that despite its prominent role, marijuana crops are not included in statistics by the USDA and are not generally considered agricultural products, which leads to marijuana farmers paying higher taxes, being ineligible for disaster relief and often have trouble finding adequate financial services.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 09/01/2023 – 23:20

  • "Even One Firearm Sale" Could Land You In Jail Under Biden's New ATF Rule
    “Even One Firearm Sale” Could Land You In Jail Under Biden’s New ATF Rule

    Submitted by Gun Owners of America,

    We hate to say we told you so, but it’s official. The Justice Department announced a new rule to amend ATF regulations and expand the definition of a firearms dealer to include those who sell even a single firearm. 

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    While earlier versions of the rule leaked to the public via the Biden administration’s allies in the corporate media hinted at a target of about five firearms sold without a license before requiring an individual to register as an FFL, the published rule seems more restrictive. Those who have sold or even “offer to engage” in a single transaction could be prosecuted for unlicensed activities.

    That’s not all. The rule is also full of unclear language that gives ATF wiggle room to prosecute gun owners as they please. Examples of actions that ATF could use to define activity as operating as an unlicensed dealer are listed, but ATF notes that the list of examples is not exhaustive. This creates a system where gun owners must prove they are not dealers to be able to sell a firearm legally.

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    We can’t stress this enough: this ATF Rule is a direct result of Republican–backed gun control. Specifically, it’s called the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, or the Cornyn-Murphy compromise. GOA and our grassroots membership warned Sen. Cornyn and his colleagues that the act could be used in this exact manner; unfortunately, our warnings fell on deaf ears, and the gun control bill became law last year.

    And, of course, the rule itself isn’t about safety. It’s about building the ATF’s illegal firearm registry. With a massive digital registry of out-of-business records that GOA has covered in-depth, this rule only expands on who is subject to information collection on their firearms purchases.

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    Consider that on top of this new rule, Biden’s ATF has adopted a “Zero Tolerance” policy for Federal Firearms Licensees. Under this policy, gun stores can be shut down for even a single minor mistake on paperwork.

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    Gun Owners of America stands ready to oppose this new ATF rule by any means necessary.

    *   *   * 

    We’ll hold the line for you in Washington. We are No Compromise. Join the Fight Now.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 09/01/2023 – 23:00

  • Brazil Displaces US As Corn-Exporter King As Trade Winds Shift
    Brazil Displaces US As Corn-Exporter King As Trade Winds Shift

    It appears that a new world order is emerging, with BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization offering trade alternatives to the hegemonic West. The latest example of a multi-polar world is the US being displaced by BRICS country Brazil as the world’s top corn supplier. 

    The US held the crown for fifty years as the world’s top corn exporter. A new Blomberg report, citing data from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), shows the five-decade reign is over:

    In the 2023 harvest year, the US will account for about 23% of global corn exports, well below Brazil’s nearly 32%, US Department of Agriculture data show. Brazil is seen holding onto its lead in the 2024 planting year that begins Sept. 1, too. Only once in data going back to the Kennedy administration did America drop out of first place before: for a single year in 2013 following a devastating drought. The US corn-exporting industry has never before spent two back-to-back years in second place — until now.

    It’s not corn. Brazil has also displaced American farmers in both soybean and wheat exports. Bloomberg explained more: 

    Losing its lead in corn exports may feel familiar to American farmers, who in the last decade have also relinquished the top spot in both soybean and wheat exports. Soy was the first to go, with Brazil definitively taking the lead in 2013. The next year, the US lost its wheat dominance, too, with the European Union, then Russia, beginning to elbow out American farmers in the global market.

    The export ag market share slide is troubling news for the domestic industry that exported $200 billion in farm products in 2022. Sliding dominance may suggest that farmer incomes may slide in the years ahead.

    Stephen Nicholson, global grains and oilseeds sector strategist with Rabobank, an agricultural lender, told Reuters:

    “When we look at US corn demand long term, we wonder where new demand is coming from. 

    “Brazil is likely taking a bigger share of the global market, ethanol has likely peaked and animal protein is likely not going to grow fast enough.” 

    The reason for the shift is a rejiggering of China’s ag trade away from the US to Brazil. China signed a deal with Brazil last year to increase gain purchases. 

    “Brazil has the ability to ramp that planting area up to meet Chinese demand in a way that the United States doesn’t,” said Matthew Roberts, senior grain analyst with consultancy Terrain.

    Plus, the Chinese are steering clear of US trade because lawmakers on Capitol Hill have been in a frenzy to weaponize the dollar and trade against Beijing. 

    “The US reminds me of the frog being slowly boiled,” Ann Berg, an independent consultant and veteran trader who started her career at Louis Dreyfus Co. in 1974, told Bloomberg. 

    Berg said, “It’s lost its dominance, but it took 40 years.”

    We’ve outlined that the emergence of BRICS as an alternative to Western hegemony will cause the global economy to evolve in three phases. For more on that, read “Breaking Dollar Hegemony, BRICS Nations Are Leading The World To Hyperbitcoinization.” Also, read “A Multi-polar World Is Emerging.”

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 09/01/2023 – 22:40

  • Conflicting Evidence Of mRNA Technology Raises Serious Concerns About Rush For Use In New Vaccine Development
    Conflicting Evidence Of mRNA Technology Raises Serious Concerns About Rush For Use In New Vaccine Development

    Authored by Megan Redshaw via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    The U.S. government and pharmaceutical companies are investing a substantial amount to develop new mRNA vaccines for infectious diseases and cancer, fueling a lucrative mRNA platform valued at $136.2 billion.

    (wacomka/Shutterstock)

    A newly established White House program announced on Aug. 23 that it is granting a total of $25 million over three years to Emory University, Yale School of Medicine, and the University of Georgia to develop personalized therapeutic vaccines against cancers and emerging infections, similar to how COVID-19 mRNA vaccines target SARS-CoV-2. They aim to use mRNA—an essential element in COVID-19 vaccines developed to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infections—to program a unique class of immune cells called dendritic cells to initiate a desired immunological response.

    Pharmaceutical companies such as Moderna, BioNTech, and CureVac are conducting clinical trials using mRNA-based vaccines with advanced melanoma, ovarian, colorectal, and pancreatic cancers. The National Institutes of Health is partnering with BioNTech to develop a personalized vaccine for pancreatic cancers. In addition to COVID-19 and cancer, other mRNA-based vaccines in development target influenza, genital herpes, respiratory viruses, and shingles.

    Although mRNA platforms are appealing because they reduce costs and shorten the vaccine development timeline, evidence and experience suggest the mRNA technology used for novel COVID-19 vaccines is associated with various harms and neither prevents COVID-19 nor its transmission.

    Evidence Challenging Vaccine ‘Safe and Effective’ Narrative

    The unprecedented rates of adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination overshadow the benefits, according to researchers from Australia who say the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, whether from the virus or created from genetic code in mRNA and adenovectorDNA vaccines, is toxic and causes a wide array of diseases.

    In their recently published paper published in Biomedicines titled, “‘Spikeopathy’: COVID-19 Spike Protein Is Pathogenic, from Both Virus and Vaccine mRNA,” the researchers explored peer-reviewed data countering the “safe and effective” narrative attached to new technologies used to develop mRNA and adenovectorDNA vaccines at “warp speed” to end the pandemic.

    Spike protein pathogenicity, termed “spikeopathy,” describes the ability of the spike protein to cause disease, and the researchers say it can affect many organ systems.

    Researchers noted the following key problem areas:

    • Spike protein toxicity (spikeopathy) from both the virus and when produced by gene codes in people vaccinated with COVID-19 vaccines.
    • Inflammatory properties in specific lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) used to transport mRNA.
    • Long-lasting action caused by N1-methyl pseudouridine in the synthetic mRNA—also referred to as modRNA.
    • Widespread distribution of mRNA and DNA codes via the LNP and viral vector carrier matrices, respectively.
    • Human cells produce a foreign protein that can cause autoimmunity.

    Now that vaccines utilizing mRNA technology have been available and widely distributed for several years, data show these vaccines produce foreign antigens in human tissues and increase the risk of autoimmune, neurological, cardiovascular, inflammatory disorders, and cancers, especially when the vaccine ingredients do not remain localized at the injection site. An antigen is any substance that stimulates an immune response. If the immune system encounters an antigen that is not found on the body’s own cells, it will launch an attack against that antigen.

    Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic data show the design of the mRNA and adenovectorDNA COVID-19 vaccines allow uncontrolled biodistribution, durability, and persistent bioavailability of the spike protein inside the body after vaccination. Pharmacokinetics is the study of how the body interacts with administered substances for the entire duration of exposure. Pharmacodynamics assesses the drug’s effect on the body more closely.

    This may explain the unprecedented number of adverse events that appear to be associated with the spike protein produced by the gene-based technologies employed by Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Johnson & Johnson, as well as the viral vector DNA technology used by other countries, researchers said.

    mRNA Vaccines Are Gene Therapy and May Cause Harm

    Gene-based COVID-19 vaccines are therapeutic products that actually fit within the FDA’s definition of gene therapy because they cause the cells of the vaccinated person to produce antigens for transmembrane expression that invokes an immune response. By design, these novel vaccine platforms risk tissue damage secondary to autoimmune responses raised against cells expressing foreign spike antigens, researchers said.

    The FDA was aware of the pathogenicity of spike proteins before releasing COVID-19 vaccines to the public. In an October 2022 meeting with its vaccine advisors, the FDA presented a highly accurate list of potential adverse events associated with COVID-19 vaccines, including neurological, cardiovascular, and autoimmune “possible adverse events.”

    React19, an organization that provides financial, emotional, and physical support to those experiencing long-term injuries from COVID-19 vaccines, provided a list of over 3,400 published papers and case reports of injuries affecting more than 20 organ systems. More than 432 peer-reviewed papers relate to papers and case reports of myocarditis, cardiomyopathy, myocardial infarction, hypertension, aortic dissection, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), tachycardia, and conduction disturbance—a problem with the electrical system that controls the heart’s rate and rhythm.

    The most common group of adverse events reported following COVID-19 vaccination to both pharmacovigilance databases and Pfizer involve neurological disorders. According to the paper, neurological symptoms and cognitive decline with accelerated neurodegenerative disease are features of acute COVID-19 vaccine injuries and, to some extent, long COVID syndrome. Research suggests (pdf) LNPs transporting the mRNA to make spike proteins can cross the blood-brain barrier and cause neurotoxic effects.

    Lipid Nanoparticles Are Toxic and Pro-Inflammatory

    It’s not just the spike protein that can cause disease. LNPs that serve as the delivery method are also toxic and pro-inflammatory.

    Research from 2018 showed even small amounts of nanoparticles taken up by the lungs can lead to cytotoxic effects. Ingested nanoparticles have been shown to affect lymph nodes, the liver, and the spleen, while when injected as a drug carrier, they can pass any barrier and translocate to the brain, ovaries, and testes, mainly after phagocytosis by macrophages, which help distribute them across the body. The effects on the reproductive system suggest lipid nanoparticles can be cytotoxic and damage DNA.

    According to the authors, two components in the mRNA lipid nanoparticle complexes, ALC-0315 and ALC-0159, are concerning, as they have never been used in a medicinal product and are not registered in either the European Pharmacopoeia or in the European C&L Inventory database. A question posed to the European Parliament in December 2021 pointed out that the manufacturer of the nanoparticles specifies the nanoparticles are for research only and not for human use. The European Commission responded that the excipient in Pfizer’s Comirnaty vaccine “has been demonstrated to be appropriate … in compliance with the relevant EMA scientific guidelines and standards.”

    Still, this could explain the root cause of numerous post-vaccination adverse events, researchers said.

    Read more here…

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 09/01/2023 – 22:20

  • Shell Quietly Ditches Failed Carbon Credit Scheme
    Shell Quietly Ditches Failed Carbon Credit Scheme

    Shell, Europe’s largest oil company, has quietly shelved the world’s largest corporate plan to develop carbon offsets, after CEO Wael Sawan laid out an updated strategy for the company that included cutting costs and doubling down on profit centers (oil and gas) – which notably omitted any mention of the company’s prior commitment to spend up to $100 million per year to build a ‘pipeline’ of carbon credits as part of the firm’s promise to achieve ‘net zero’ emissions by 2050, Bloomberg reports.

    Shell CEO Wael Sawan at a conference in Houston on March 9.Photographer: Aaron M. Sprecher/Bloomberg

    The pullback reflects both Sawan’s renewed commitment to the oil-and-gas business that generates most of Shell’s profits, and an admission that the prior goals were simply unattainable. Over the past two years, Shell barely made a dent. It spent $95 million, less than half of its initial budget, to build or invest in a portfolio of carbon projects from Western Africa to the Brazilian Amazon to Australian farmlands. They’ve generated few if any offsets, and Shell has struggled to find projects that meet its standards for quality.

    According to investigations by Bloomberg Green (how cute), many offset programs don’t deliver the environmental benefits they promise. In announcing their now-shelved programs, Shell sought to solve that problem with stringent requirements, deep pockets, and engineering expertise. What they learned was something any idiot could have told you: there’s no effective way to maintain a large enough offset program to make a difference.

    “It’s really hard to get scale from high-quality credits,” said Carbon Market Watch’s Gilles Dufrasne. “The two forces,” being volume and quality, “work against each other.”

    Shell’s carbon debacle was inspired by a 2017 Nature Conservancy paper which suggested that nature-based solutions would be a cost-effective means to offset carbon.

    And – surprise, the academics were wrong again…

    For example, four years into a plan to partner with Forestry and Land Scotland to plant over a million trees to generate “pending issuance units” (unborn carbon credits), they’ve accrued less than 0.02% of their initial goal in terms of carbon sequestration.

    And in Canada, Shell’s efforts to secure land for credits has turned into a total disaster despite the company bragging about the endeavor on its website. The company has also failed to hit its $100 million investment target, spending only about $69 million last year, which accounts for less than 1% of its total capital expenditure.

    A file photograph showing young pine trees seen from a mature pine forest.
    Georgeclerk | Getty Images

    Another project to restore mangrove trees in Senegal, which began in 2019 and has been operated by Belgian nonprofit WeForest, won’t even start producing carbon credits until 2025. Shell has also walked away from potential goldmines like the Delta Blue Carbon Project in Pakistan which would cover an area roughly twice the size of London. While the ‘fundamentals were sound,’ per Bloomberg, the company had concerns over the integrity of the project’s local partners, as well as the origins to the land rights.

    A spokesperson for Indus Delta Capital, which runs the project, said shareholders and directors in the project have been subjected to rigorous due diligence and the process by which licenses and permissions were granted is “in line with the rules of business” prescribed by both the national and regional governments. -Bloomberg

    Shell has also broken ties with a Montana grasslands project run by Vermont-based Native Energy due to disagreements over deal structures and the potential use of credits to label fossil fuels as carbon neutral.

    For Native’s part, chief executive officer Jeff Bernicke said it terminated discussions with Shell because “there was not a fit between their plan and Native’s goals and values.” There was also a concern that the credits would be used to label fossil-fuels as carbon-neutral. A spokesman for Shell said the company has a robust due diligence process and it does not comment on specific projects or the contractual agreements.

    Shell’s strategy now seems more attuned to secrecy and selective partnership. The company keeps some ventures under wraps, like its involvement in the Peruvian Amazon and an Indonesian forestry venture dubbed “Sun Bird,” perhaps to ward off competition from oil industry peers who are also elbowing their way into the carbon-credit market.

    Backup plan?

    While Shell’s expensive quagmire into carbon credits may have crashed and burned, the company has a backup plan – appease climate alarmists by simply buying ‘low-quality’ carbon credits to achieve its lofty goals of becoming ‘carbon neutral’ by 2050.

    In the words of Adam Matthews, chief responsible investment officer at the Church of England Pensions Board, “They’re no longer aligned with trying to navigate the transition in the same way that we had previously perceived.”

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 09/01/2023 – 22:00

  • FBI Data On Active Shootings Is Misleading: John Lott Jr.
    FBI Data On Active Shootings Is Misleading: John Lott Jr.

    Authored by John R. Lott Jr. via RealClear Wire,

    Americans are constantly debating policing and gun control. But to discuss these issues, we have to depend on government crime data. Unfortunately, politics has infected the data handling of agencies such as the FBI and the Centers for Disease Control.

    Last year, the CDC became the center of controversy when it removed its estimates of defensive gun uses from its website at the request of gun control organizations. For nearly a decade the CDC cited a 2013 National Academies of Sciences report showing that the annual number of people using guns to stop crime ranged from about 64,000 to 3 million. The CDC website listed the upper figure at 2.5 million.

    Mark Bryant, who runs the Gun Violence Archive, wrote to CDC officials after a meeting last year that the 2.5 million number “has been used so often to stop [gun control] legislation.” The CDC’s estimates were subsequently taken down and now lists no numbers.

    The FBI is also susceptible to political pressure. Up until January of 2021, I worked in the U.S. Department of Justice as the senior advisor for research and statistics, and part of my job was to evaluate the FBI’s active shooting reports. I showed the bureau that many cases were missing and that others had been misidentified. Yet, the FBI continues to report that armed citizens stopped only 14 of the 302 active shooter incidents that it identified for the period 2014-2022. The correct rate is almost eight times higher. And if we limit the discussion to places where permit holders were allowed to carry, the rate is eleven times higher.

    The FBI defines active shooter incidents as those in which an individual actively kills or attempts to kill people in a populated, public area. But it does not include shootings that are deemed related to other criminal activity, such as robbery or fighting over drug turf. Active shootings may involve just one shot being fired at just one target, even if the target isn’t hit. 

    To compile its list, the FBI hired academics at the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training Center at Texas State University. Police departments don’t collect data, so the researchers had to find news stories about these incidents.

    It isn’t surprising that people will miss cases or occasionally misidentify them when using news stories, but the FBI was unwilling to fix its errors when I pointed them out. My organization, the Crime Prevention Research Center, has found many more missed cases and is keeping an updated list. Back in 2015, I published a list of missed cases in a criminology publication.

    Unfortunately, the news media unquestioningly reports the FBI numbers. After 22-year-old Elisjsha Dicken used his legally-carried concealed handgun to stop what would have been a mass public shooting, an Associated Press headline noted: “Rare in US for an active shooter to be stopped by bystander.” A Washington Post headline proclaimed: “Rampage in Indiana a rare instance of armed civilian ending mass shooting.”

    The CPRC’s numbers tell a different story: Out of 440 active shooter incidents from 2014 to 2022, an armed citizen stopped 157. We also found that the FBI had misidentified five cases, usually because the person who stopped the attack was incorrectly identified as a security guard.

    We found these cases on a budget of just a few thousand dollars. Though we found that armed citizens had stopped eight times as many cases as the FBI claims, I make no assertion that we unearthed all of these stories. It is quite possible that the news media itself never covers many such incidents.

    While the FBI claims that just 4.6% of active shootings were stopped by law-abiding citizens carrying guns, the percentage that I found was 35.7%. I am more confident that we have identified a higher share of recent cases, and our figure for 2022 was even higher – 41.3%.

    The FBI doesn’t differentiate between law-abiding citizens stopping attacks where guns are banned and where they are allowed, but you can’t expect law-abiding citizens to stop attacks where it is illegal to carry guns. In places where law-abiding citizens are allowed to carry firearms, the percentage of active shootings that were stopped is 51%. For 2022, that figure is a remarkable 63.5%.

    In order to follow the FBI’s definition, we excluded 27 cases because a law-abiding person with a gun stopped the attacker before he was able to get off a shot.

    In an email I received in 2015, a bureau official acknowledged that “the FBI did not come across this incident during its research in 2015, but it does meet the FBI’s active-shooter definition.” The official noted they will miss active-shooter cases because the reports “are limited in scope.” Yet, the FBI database never added the incident.

    When the Washington Post’s Glenn Kessler reached out to the FBI for comments on our earlier work up through 2021, they emailed: “We have no additional information to provide other than what is provided within the active shooter reports on our website.”

    However, a researcher at Texas State University did respond to two of the cases we had identified in our earlier work. He argued that one case involving a shooting at a dentist office was excluded because it involved a domestic dispute and another at a strip club because it was a “retaliation murder.” We list 14 examples where the FBI list includes shooting resulting from domestic disputes and three others where a shooting started after someone was denied entry to a lounge or bar. So why the double standard? Domestic disputes and “retaliation murders” are only included when they don’t involve permit holders stopping the attacks.

    The FBI data on active shootings is missing so many defensive gun uses that it’s hard to believe it isn’t intentional. Errors can happen, but the failure to fix past reports shows a troubling disregard for the truth. The reality is that armed, law-abiding citizens are unsung guardian angels.

    John R. Lott Jr. is a contributor to RealClearInvestigations, focusing on voting and gun rights. His articles have appeared in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, New York Post, USA Today, and Chicago Tribune. Lott is an economist who has held research and/or teaching positions at the University of Chicago, Yale University, Stanford, UCLA, Wharton, and Rice.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 09/01/2023 – 21:40

  • Fired Professor Wins Key Victory In Free Speech Case Over Mask, Vaccine Policy
    Fired Professor Wins Key Victory In Free Speech Case Over Mask, Vaccine Policy

    A professor who was fired from the University of Southern Maine for challenging COVID-19 mandates has won a critical courtroom victory, after a district judge ruled that her First Amendment lawsuit against the institution can proceed.

    Patricia Griffin, who says she was fired for asking valid questions about mask and vaccination policies on campus during the COVID-19 pandemic, was granted the narrow win after the university filed a motion to dismiss the case in part. US District Judge Jon Levy ruled that while Griffin’s First Amendment claim can proceed, other charges were dismissed.

    On Aug. 18, 2021, the University of Main announced a mandatory mask policy. Six days later, Griffin took part in a luncheon meeting via Zoom, where the speaker was Glenn Cummings, president of the university. Griffin says Cummings wasn’t wearing a mask at the time.

    Later that day she sent an email to the Dean of the College of Management and Human Service, claiming that she had been following “science, data, and evidence” related to the pandemic. Griffin said in the email that she was “searching for anything that will support wearing a mask while indoors as well as vaccinating an entire school population as the optimal method for stopping the transmission of the virus. The reality is that my research has found no evidence to support these measures.“

    She attached a document to her email summarizing the results of her research, which did not find “any overwhelming support for the wearing of masks nor the mandating of vaccines, especially since the overall survival rate is 99.7 percent if infected with Covid. And finally, from a legal perspective, asking for my vaccination status is a violation of HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act).”

    She then met with the Dean in another Zoom meeting, in which she says she never refused to wear a mask, or violate university policy.

    Then, her fall semester classes were canceled. In a subsequent disciplinary conference, she was allegedly told that she wouldn’t be allowed to teach her courses 100% online unless she resigned an accepted a part-time position.

    On Sept. 8, 2021, she received a letter from Cummings notifying her that she had been suspended, and the university had moved to terminate her. She says the letter falsely stated that she refused to comply with university policy and wouldn’t wear a mask.

    She was formally terminated on Sept. 22.

    For those who enjoy deep legal dives Jonathan Turley opines further:

    We now have a positive ruling for free speech out of the District of Maine where Chief Judge Jon Levy has ruled in favor of a professor terminated by the University of Southern Maine for questioning mask and vaccination policies.

    Judge Levy’s decision in Griffin v. University of Maine System is balanced and fair. He does not offer a full-throated endorsement of the claim by Professor Patricia Griffin, but rules that she has a right to a trial on the free speech claim.

    Here are the basic facts.

    On August 18, 2021, the Chancellor of the University of Maine System announced a mandatory mask policy.  On August 24, University President Glenn Cummings held a a luncheon meeting via Zoom. Notably, Cummings was not wearing a mask. After the meeting, Griffin sent an email to the Dean of the College of Management and Human Service that read in part:

    “I first want to say how much I love teaching at [the University of Southern Maine] as well as working with such a great faculty. It really has been the highlight of my career and I owe a lot to you for sticking with me. The reason for this email is because I have been following the science, data, and evidence regarding SARS-CoV-2 and searching for anything that will support wearing a mask while indoors as well as vaccinating an entire school population as the optimal method for stopping the transmission of the virus. The reality is that my research has found no evidence to support these measures. I wanted to share the information I gathered and relied upon when making my decision regarding these mandates before the start of classes next Monday to see that my decisions are science, evidence, and data based. However, I do not want to cause any issues, especially for you, if I come to campus on Monday morning to teach my one face to face class so I wanted to give you enough time.”

    Griffin attached a letter addressed to the Dean on her own research and objections to the policies. She concluded:

    “In conclusion, I have followed the science, data, and evidence and cannot find any overwhelming support for the wearing of masks nor the mandating of vaccines, especially since the overall survival rate is 99.7% if infected with Covid. And finally, from a legal perspective, asking for my vaccination status is a violation of HIPAA.

    My expectation is the University of Southern Maine will appreciate a faculty member who embraces critical thinking and applies both inductive and deductive reasoning rather than emotions when making decisions. I am teaching three courses this fall, two online and one face to face. I welcome any evidence you can provide to the contrary of what I have found which will convince me that my conclusions about the efficacy of wearing a mask and vaccinating an entire population are wrong.”

    What followed quickly went from bad to worse for Griffin, who met with the Dean and again asked for the data supporting the University’s Policy and vaccination requirement.  While universities attacked academics who questioned these policies as opposed to “the science,” they largely refused to share the basis for the policies.

    Despite the firing or sanctioning of academics who questioned pandemic policies, many have recently admitted that the efficacy of masks (particularly the common surgical masks) were radically overstated and unsupported. Moreover, studies have shown that critics were right in claiming that natural immunities from prior bouts with Covid offered as good or better protection than the vaccine. Nevertheless, the media participated in the demonization of these experts who were disciplined at universities and denied key positions in their fields.

    In this case, Griffin alleged that immediately following the Zoom meeting, her fall semester courses were removed from the fall class list. She still did not back down and continued to ask for the data. She alleged that school officials then told her that she would not be allowed to teach courses 100% online unless she resigned and accepted a part-time position. On September 8, 2021, Cummings sent a letter to Griffin suspending her and informing her that the University would be moving to terminate her employment. Griffin alleges that the letter falsely asserted that she had refused to comply with the policies and included other false assertions.

    The issue for the court was whether Griffin was speaking as a public employee or as a citizen.

    “The “threshold inquiry” to determine whether a public employee engaged in protected speech is “whether [the employee] spoke as a citizen on a matter of public concern.” O’Connell v. Marrero-Recio, 724 F.3d 117, 123 (1st Cir. 2013). If the answer is no, the employee has no First Amendment retaliation claim. If the answer is yes, then the possibility of a First Amendment claim arises. Garcetti v. Ceballos, 547 U.S. 410, 418 (2006). “In order to survive a motion to dismiss, a plaintiff need not conclusively establish that her speech was made as a citizen; ‘it is sufficient that the complaint alleges facts that plausibly set forth citizen speech.’” Cannell v. Corizon, LLC, No. 1:14-cv-405-NT, 2015 WL 8664209, at *8 (D. Me. Dec. 11, 2015) (quoting Decotiis v. Whittemore, 635 F.3d 22, 34-35 (1st Cir. 2011)).”

    The court found that there were factors under the relevant tests that cut both ways on whether Griffin was speaking as an employee or a citizen. However, given the governing standard for review, JudgeLevy read this evidence in her favor and the right to a trial on free speech claims (though he curtailed other aspects of her complaint):

    Here, Griffin has pleaded sufficient facts to make it more than merely possible that once fully developed, the facts will support the conclusion that although Griffin’s speech related to her official duties as a public employee, the subject matter of her speech pertained to a matter of great public concern and was outside the scope of her duties as a professor of marketing. Whether the same conclusion may be true after the parties have completed discovery is another matter for another day. “[I]t is entirely possible that additional facts might show” that Griffin is not entitled to the relief that she seeks, but “absent factual development, dismissal is unwarranted” at this stage….

    Putting aside the merits for trial, what should be clear is that, if the underlying facts are proven, the university acted in an abusive and capricious manner. Faced with a dissenting faculty member, the school opted to seek her termination rather than defend its policies or allow a dialogue on these measures.

    As a public university, the Maine legislature should take note of this case and the need to reinforce free speech protections in the system. The level of intolerance for opposing views alleged in this complaint is chilling. If these facts are proven, there were grounds for termination but it was not the termination of Professor Griffin.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 09/01/2023 – 21:20

  • Watch: Pastor Forcibly Removed From School Board Meeting For Reading Aloud Porn Book From Kids' Library
    Watch: Pastor Forcibly Removed From School Board Meeting For Reading Aloud Porn Book From Kids’ Library

    Authored by Steve Watson via Summit News,

    A pastor in Florida was forcibly removed from a school board meeting when he attempted to read aloud pornographic passages from a book that was available to children.

    The man was one of around 30 parents at the Monday meeting at the Indian River County School Board.

    Pastor John K. Amanchukwu Sr. began to read from the book titled 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher, but he only got one sentence in before the board shut him down.

    “As if letting him finger me was going to cure all my problems,” the pastor read, prompting one board member to yell into the microphone “Sir, I’ll stop you there.”

    Amanchukwu’s mic was then cut off and security was called as he attempted to continue to read.

    Watch:

    As Fox News reports, other parents at the meeting were also cut off when reading from different books, all available to school children.

    However, Governor Ron DeSantis instituted a rule earlier in the year that that states parents “shall have the right to read passages from any material that is subject to an objection.”

    The rule also decrees that if parents are prevented from doing so then the materials they are objecting to must be immediately removed and discontinued from use in the school.

    Indian River County School Board member Jacqueline Rosario told Fox News that she was the only member to vote to remove the books last year and that until the new rule was instantiated, other board members ignored laws on pornographic, obscene, or sexually explicit content and continued to make the books available in school libraries. 

    “The difference now is, HB 1069 has allowed parents to read explicit books at board meetings. And if they get shut down, then the book is immediately removed. This is a good thing,” Rosario noted.

    “It is the litmus test for acceptable age appropriate and standards driven library books. If you can’t read them at a board meeting, then you can’t have them in our schools. All that is needed now is for a “passage” to be read and the book can be removed immediately,” she continued.

    Rosario added that “The superintendent and board members refused to acknowledge the gross content made available to kids until now. Finally, they don’t have a choice. It’s about time the truth be made known. Explicit, sexually graphic, pornographic, and obscene material does not belong in any school.”

    Related:

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    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 09/01/2023 – 21:00

  • Russia Puts Its Longest Range Nuke-Capable Missile On Combat Duty, Nicknamed 'Satan II'
    Russia Puts Its Longest Range Nuke-Capable Missile On Combat Duty, Nicknamed ‘Satan II’

    Russia has on Friday announced its Sarmat ICBMs are on “combat duty”. RIA has quoted the head of the country’s space agency Roscosmos, Yuri Borisov, to confirm: “the Sarmat strategic complex has been put on combat duty.”

    The nuclear-capable Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile system was previously touted by President Putin as being capable hitting “any target on Earth” – and is widely believed to be by far the longest-range missile in Russia’s arsenal (or in the world for that matter). It’s been nicknamed by NATO the “Satan II”. 

    During a prior test, via Russian media.

    The Sarmat, which is in a “superheavy” class of missiles, has a short initial boost phase which gives it better ability to elude all conventional anti-missile defense systems, given this results in a much smaller window of time to track it.

    By design, its super long-range gives it the ability to reach targets thousands of missiles away in the United States or Europe.

    According to its specifications, it’s by far the heaviest missile Russia possesses – at over 200 tons – and heavier than all foreign competitors: 

    This allows it to carry around 15 warheads, up to 750kt. (The bomb US dropped on Hiroshima was 15kt.)

    This would be enough to wipe out a country the size of France. It can also carry hypersonic missiles, rendering most missile defense systems ineffective.

    It has reportedly been in development since 2009, and has been in testing phase for several years, some test flights of which may have failed. The Sarmat has been touted as being able to reach speeds of nearly 16,000 mph.

    Last year, after a successful test, Putin described: “The new complex has the highest tactical and technical characteristics and is capable of overcoming all modern means of anti-missile defense. It has no analogues in the world and won’t have for a long time to come.”

    Via Tass

    “This truly unique weapon will strengthen the combat potential of our armed forces, reliably ensure Russia’s security from external threats and provide food for thought for those who, in the heat of frenzied aggressive rhetoric, try to threaten our country,” Putin added at the time.

    Without doubt, the timing of Friday’s announcement is also meant to spook Western leaders, as nuclear rhetoric related to the Ukraine war continues to rise, particularly in the context of Moscow having recently positioned tactical nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 09/01/2023 – 20:45

  • Federal Judge Blocks ATF's 'Tyrannical Overreach' Of Labeling Forced Reset Triggers As Machine Guns
    Federal Judge Blocks ATF’s ‘Tyrannical Overreach’ Of Labeling Forced Reset Triggers As Machine Guns

    Rare Breed Triggers (RBT), originally from Florida and currently headquartered in Fargo, North Dakota, along with the National Association for Gun Rights (NAGR), secured a “major victory” in their legal battle against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in the case National Association for Gun Rights vs. Garland in federal court in the Northern District of Texas.

    On Thursday, federal Judge Reed O’Connor issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against President Biden’s ATF’s attempt to classify Forced Reset Trigger (FRT-15) as an illegal machine gun. RBT’s email about the judge’s ruling said:

    “Federal Judge, Reed O’Connor issues a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against the DOJ/ATF related to their tyrannical overreach of the FRT-15 and other Forced Reset Triggers.”

    Judge O’Connor stated, “[T]he court finds that the Plaintiffs have demonstrated a strong likelihood of success on the merits… It is substantially likely that the ATF’s regulation containing a broadened definition of ‘machinegun’ exceeds the scope of its authority under the GCA [Gun Control Act of 1968].”

    The TRO is maintained until “either September 27, 2023, or such time that the Court rules on Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction (ECF No. 22), whichever is earlier,” according to the court.

    NAGR argued that the 5th Circuit’s recent ruling ‘bump stocks are not machine guns‘ should be applicable here. O’Connor agreed with NAGR: 

    “The Fifth Circuit’s recent analysis of the exact statutory language at issue here shows that Plaintiffs [NAGR] are very likely to succeed on the merits… Because FRTs do not enable a weapon to automatically fire multiple rounds with a single function of the trigger itself, the court finds that FRTs most likely are not machineguns under Cargill’s reasoning.”

    Owner of RBT, Lawrence DeMonico, explained in a video response: “If we win on forced reset triggers — we also win on pistol braces, bump stocks, 80% lowers, so-called assault weapons, and just about everything else the ATF is trying to ban by executive fiat right now.” 

    DeMonico continued, “It’s no secret that Joe Biden and his ATF want to persecute and prosecute every person that has purchased an FRT trigger.” 

    He noted the TRO only applies to the three plaintiffs in the case, adding, “Based on the language of the TRO — I think our chances are extremely good to get this extended to a full preliminary injunction that would protect all of NAGR’s members.” 

    DeMonico said NAGR is suing on behalf of its members, which means if the court grants a preliminary injunction — anyone who is a member (and owns an FRT-15) “should have civil and or criminal protection from the federal government until a final decision is made in this case.”

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    Commenting on NAGR’s case is Defense Distributed, which also has a case in the 5th Circuit for ‘ghost guns’ said:

    After the Fifth Circuit’s “Cargill” and “VanDerStok” decisions, this court and others have been able to sharply limit the ATF’s power to invent new regulations. This is a personal vindication for Mr. DeMonico as well, who has had to suffer DOJ’s weaponization of the courts against him and FRT innovation in New York.

    For the last few years, we’ve thoroughly covered the ATF’s battle against RBT’s FRT-15 triggers that were once legally sold as a drop-in trigger for the AR-15-style rifle that forces the trigger to reset at such a high speed that it increases the weapon’s fire rate. However, the ATF felt it was necessary to arbitrarily label them as ‘machine guns’. 

    Even to the extent that ATF agents were showing up at the homes of RBT customers to seize the trigger. 

    Remember last summer when this video went viral after ATF agents tried to conduct an inventory audit of a man who legally bought firearms? 

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    NAGR’s donation page for funding the lawsuit said, “At the request of Rare Breed Triggers, your donation will initially go towards counting you as an NAGR and NFGR member if we get an injunction against this Trigger Ban.”

    They added: “We’re helping to defend our friends at Rare Breed Triggers with a lawsuit against the ATF to protect our members and supporters who own FRTs from the ATF’s reign of terror.” 

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 09/01/2023 – 20:40

  • Pornhub Wins Free Speech Challenge To New Verification And Warning Laws
    Pornhub Wins Free Speech Challenge To New Verification And Warning Laws

    Authored by Jonathan Turley,

    There is an interesting free speech ruling in Texas in favor of the adult entertainment site, Pornhub. Senior U.S. District Judge David A. Ezra of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas ruled that a Texas law requiring age-verification and warning labels about the alleged dangers of porn contravenes the First Amendment.

    Pornography sites have long been a target for politicians with a unique alliance of religious conservatives and feminists seeking to ban or limit access to material.

    In American Booksellers Association, Inc., et al. v. Hudnut, 771 F. 2nd 323 (1985), the Seventh Circuit issued an important ruling striking down an Indianapolis ordinance that was the product of one such campaign by feminist scholars who argued that pornography leads to violence and denigration of women.

    The ordinance declared such films as obscene due to “the graphic sexually explicit subordination of women, whether in pictures or in words.”

    On the other side, there is obviously a sizable number of citizens.

    Pornhub and Xvideos are ranked in the top ten most visited sites. However, the huge number of consumers for these sites are the least likely to publicly oppose efforts to curtail or bar their availability to the general public.

    The lawsuit challenged the Texas law, which was set to go into effect Sept. 1, 2023, and would have required sites to use “reasonable age verification methods” to “verify that an individual attempting to access the material is 18 years of age or older.” In addition, pornography sites would have been forced to display a “Texas Health and Human Services Warning” in at least 14-point font. One of those warnings reads, “Pornography increases the demand for prostitution, child exploitation, and child pornography.” The warning must be accompanied by a national toll-free number for people with mental health disorders.

    Judge Ezra ruled that “H.B. 1181 is unconstitutional on its face.” The court found that “the statute is not narrowly tailored and chills the speech of Plaintiffs and adults who wish to access sexual materials . . .  [it] is not narrowly tailored because it substantially regulates protected speech, is severely underinclusive, and uses overly restrictive enforcement methods.”

    Notably, the court recognizes that “the state has a legitimate goal in protecting children from sexually explicit material online.” Moreover, the court accepts that there are “viable and constitutional means to achieve Texas’s goal, and nothing in this order prevents the state from pursuing those means.”

    The decision is well analyzed and well supported. While the age verification presents a closer question, I am particularly concerned over the compelled speech element of the warnings. Notably, many conservatives supported the challenge in 303 Creative v. Elenis, where the state of Colorado required a website design to not only offer services to same-sex couples but to remove a statement on her website that was not consistent with the state’s views. Just as religious persons have free speech rights in refusing to adhere to certain policies, non-religious or secular persons (or companies) have free speech rights in pursuing their own counter values. Here businesses are being told to express views with which they disagree. Indeed, these statements have been contested for years.

    The court also addresses the continued use of vague obscenity standards to curtail adult material. While pornography is not the preferred subject for free speech advocates, it is an area that has long raised free speech issues. Governments often target the least popular forms of speech. While these sites appear very popular, few want to be publicly seen as supporting sites widely seen as sinful or sexist.

    I do view this law as containing unconstitutional elements. However, this is likely to be just the start to a long series of challenges and appeals. These laws have been enacted in other states, including Louisiana, Mississippi, Virginia and Utah.

    Here is the opinion: Free Speech Coalition v. Colmenero

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 09/01/2023 – 20:20

  • Watch: Chicago Residents Rage As Illegal Migrant Housing Takes Over Their Neighborhoods
    Watch: Chicago Residents Rage As Illegal Migrant Housing Takes Over Their Neighborhoods

    Cook County, the home of the city of Chicago and Hyde Park township, voted with an astonishing 74% of the population in favor of the Democrat Party in the last presidential election.  The city has also been what progressives describe as a “sanctuary city” since at least 1985, which means that the city government refuses to enforce national immigration laws and often actively tries to interfere with federal agencies like ICE when they seek to detain illegal immigrants.  In this way, leftist governments have sought to undermine US border security by incentivizing migrants to enter the country without going through the proper vetting process.

    For decades conservatives and even some moderates have warned that the open border policies of the political left would lead to social and economic disaster.  Democrats happily ignored these arguments and chose instead to dismiss criticisms of illegal immigration as “racism.”  The reasons why are varied.  Some leftists believe that opening the borders is just a precursor to a sweeping amnesty for illegals who will then become a dedicated voting block for Democrats.  Others see the US as a “white patriarchy” that needs to be dismantled and replaced using a Cloward-Piven approach.  Others just want to see America burn.   

    While often holding up the cause of “empathy” for “huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” the progressive position always smelled of opportunism and dishonesty.  Now we have the proof.  With all the pontificating about how “asylum is not illegal” and “America is a melting pot”, leftist regions are finally beginning to face the consequences of their own weaponization of the border, and they really don’t like it.   

    Chicago appears to be the next in line to get a dose of karma.  Former mayor Lori Lightfoot attacked Texas Governor Greg Abbot over his relocation of migrants to the city in May, calling the move “inhumane” and “dangerous.”  Lightfoot cited a “lack of communication” with the city government, with buses of illegals arriving unannounced.  She did not seem to grasp the irony; open border policies and broad asylum regulations mean red states are constantly under siege with no way of knowing how many migrants are coming at an given time.  Federal government interference means states have limited tools to “legally” react to the invasion.  

    Cook County has been hit with at least 13,500 migrants in the past year, with hundreds being housed in Hyde Park neighborhoods, increasing tensions in an already crime addled metropolis.  The thing is, this is what residents voted for.  The Utopian fantasy of an open border society that is still able to maintain its economy and its inherent cultural structures is naive at best.  All those virtuous feelings go out the window once their neighborhoods are overrun and their city welfare programs are tapped out.  Soon, those same compassionate progressives are threatening violence.

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    New York City and Washington DC have faced similar results.  While border towns deal with millions of migrants per year (2.79 million in 2022 alone), all it took was 10,000 – 15,000 migrants to grind NY and DC into a panic.  In July, NY Mayor Eric Adams warned that the city was “out of room” and that migrant housing costs could exceed $12 billion.  DC Mayor Muriel Bowser declared a state of public emergency.  The bottom line?  These sanctuary cities don’t want any more migrants, and neither do the residents, but they continue to keep the same old policies in place. 

    So where does that leave them?  In a self perpetuating death spiral.  They’ll never admit their ideological views were unrealistic because that would be admitting conservatives were right.  So, they will continue taking in migrants and destroying their own local economy and security.  They will ride this atomic bomb all the way to ground zero.     

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 09/01/2023 – 20:00

  • Woman Says Her Daughter Was Sex Trafficked After School Hid Gender Transition
    Woman Says Her Daughter Was Sex Trafficked After School Hid Gender Transition

    Authored by Matt McGregor via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    A woman has filed a lawsuit against a Virginia school district alleging its clandestine support of her daughter’s decision to change her gender identity resulted in her being threatened, bullied, and ultimately trafficked by sexual predators.

    An LGBT activist holds pins about gender pronouns at the University of Wyoming campus in Laramie, Wyo., on Aug. 13, 2022. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)

    Michele Blair, biological grandmother and adoptive mother of 16-year-old Sage Blair, alleges in the lawsuit (pdf) filed in August that staff at the Appomattox County High School directed Sage—who has a history of mental health issues and early childhood trauma—to change her name and pronouns and to use the boys’ bathroom, all the while keeping it a secret from Mrs. Blair.

    While attending school identifying as a boy named “Draco,” Sage faced abuse from the other students because of the actions of the staff to transition her, Mrs. Blair told The Epoch Times.

    “She was being verbally, physically, and sexually harassed, with constant threats of rape from the male students, and despite this, the school still encouraged her to use the boys’ bathroom,” Mrs. Blair said.

    Among the defendants named in the lawsuit are two counselors—Dena Olsen and Avery Via—and Maryland public defender Aneesa Khan.

    According to the lawsuit, Ms. Olsen and Mr. Via played a key role in deliberately concealing Sage’s transition while engaging in inappropriate psychotherapy methods to facilitate Sage’s belief that she was a boy, which later led to increased trauma and her decision to run away in August 2021.

    Sage—identified as “S.B.” in the lawsuit—was kidnapped, drugged, and raped by an adult male who later drove her to Washington, where she was left with two brothers who drugged and raped her again before driving her to Maryland, where she was then left with a registered sex offender who kept her in a locked room only to be trafficked to other men, the lawsuit states.

    After Sage had gone, law enforcement found a note she left for her parents which read, “You’ve done your job, Jesus loves you. … I’m afraid of what is to come if I stayed. Be on your guard. There are bad people around here. … All my love,” the complaint states.

    ‘An Ideological Agenda’

    Though law enforcement rescued Sage on Sept. 2, 2021, Mrs. Blair was not allowed to take her home because Ms. Khan, who was assigned as Sage’s public offender, alleged neglect at home, an allegation that was supported by Ms. Olsen and Mr. Via based on the supposition that Mrs. Blair and her husband weren’t acknowledging Sage as a male.

    “She went with her own ideological agenda because of her belief that I was not adequately supporting Sage,” Mrs. Blair said. “We got into a courtroom, and she came up on a big Zoom screen. I called her name, saying, ‘I love you, Sage,’ and she replied, ‘I love you, Nana,’ and that was it. The public defender shut it down and convinced the judge that I was abusive because I didn’t call her by her boy name.”

    Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Robert Kershaw at one point had Mrs. Blair’s husband removed from the courtroom for forgetting to use Sage’s masculine pronouns, she said, and the judge refused to acknowledge Sage’s need for trauma care, Mrs. Blair said.

    Ms. Khan, with the assistance of Ms. Olsen and Mr. Via, had successfully convinced Judge Kershaw to have Sage put in the custody of the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services (DJS) where, at Ms. Khan’s insistence, she was housed with high-risk adolescent males who, again, sexually assaulted her, the lawsuit states.

    “I just don’t understand why he went along with it,” Mrs. Blair said.

    A month later in November, Sage fled to Texas to meet someone she’d met online who she believed was 16, but the person turned out to be another sex trafficker.

    This time, Texas authorities were able to intervene and get her back to Mrs. Blair, where she remains after having been away from home for over a year.

    “This all could have been avoided if the school had informed me of what was going on instead of keeping me in the dark,” Mrs. Blair said. “Sage would not have a lifetime complex PTSD diagnosis she will struggle with the rest of her life.”

    Sage had already spent several months in the foster care system before she was adopted by the Blairs when she was 2 years old after her father died and her mother was unable to care for her.

    “She had a history of mental health issues from early childhood trauma,” Mrs. Blair said.

    Sage has good days and bad days, Mrs. Blair said.

    “It’s a long road, but where there’s life, there’s hope, and I’m so grateful she’s alive,” she said.

    The Lawsuit

    Mary McAlister, senior litigation counsel with Child & Parental Rights Campaign, the firm representing Mrs. Blair, told The Epoch Times that they are suing school staff and the public defender for several causes of action, the first being the violation of the fundamental parental right of a parent to direct the upbringing of the child and a second being a violation of civil rights.

    “By depriving Plaintiff of critical information regarding S.B.’s gender identity and sexual harassment and assaults at school, Defendants Olsen and Via have infringed Plaintiff’s fundamental right to direct S.B.’s upbringing in that Plaintiff did not have the information necessary to make reasoned decisions regarding how to respond to S.B.’s announcement of a male gender identity and the sexual harassment she suffered in the way most appropriate for protecting S.B.’s mental health and keeping her safe,” the complaint states.

    They are suing for violation of Title IX for “deliberate indifference to sexual harassment” because, according to the complaint, school staff failed to take corrective measures when Sage reported she was being sexually assaulted.

    “As a direct and proximate result of Defendants’ deliberate indifference to the severe, pervasive and objectively offensive sexual harassment suffered by S.B.,” the lawsuit states, Sage will “continue to suffer significant physical and psychological trauma, educational disruption, and emotional distress.”

    The lawsuit alleges that Ms. Olsen, Mr. Via, and Ms. Khan violated Mrs. Blair’s fundamental right to custody of Sage because of a “perceived viewpoint about affirming an incongruent gender identity in her daughter.”

    “Mrs. Blair is informed and believes that while S.B. was in custody in Baltimore Ms. Khan asked S.B. whether S.B.’s parents called her a boy at home, to which S.B. answered no,” the complaint states. “Upon hearing that answer, Ms. Khan determined, without taking into account any of S.B.’s mental health history or life circumstances and without having any contact with Mrs. Blair, that Mrs. Blair had an unfavorable viewpoint of S.B.’s assertion of a male gender identity, and that her perceived viewpoint constituted abuse and neglect.”

    Alleged Abuse

    According to the complaint, Ms. Khan met with Ms. Olsen and Mr. Via and determined that Mrs. Blair was guilty of abuse, though they never discussed Sage’s gender identity with Mrs. Blair.

    “Despite only speaking with Mrs. Blair briefly on two occasions in August 2021, and not about S.B.’s asserted male gender identity, Mr. Via presented false sworn testimony that Mrs. Blair and her husband had been verbally abusive, emotionally abusive, and unsupportive to S.B.,” the lawsuit states. “Mr. Via also acted to provide Ms. Khan with mental health records for S.B., including the August 5, 2021 psychiatric evaluation showing a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, a diagnosis of which Mrs. Blair was not aware.”

    Mrs. Blair is additionally suing Ms. Khan for legal malpractice.

    “Ms. Khan knowingly and intentionally presented that false testimony to the Maryland court to secure an order of temporary custody with Maryland DJS so as to prevent Mrs. Blair from regaining custody and returning S.B. to Virginia,” the lawsuit states.

    The Epoch Times contacted the Maryland Office of the Public Defender for comment.

    ‘Sage’s Law’

    To see that this doesn’t happen to any more parents, Mrs. Blair got involved in telling her story to push for legislation titled “Sage’s law,” which would prohibit school staff from hiding gender identity choices from the parents.

    In January, Mrs. Blair gave her testimony before the Pre-K-12 Subcommittee of the Virginia House of Delegates, where she advocated for the passage of the bill.

    Ms. McAlister said after the bill was introduced in the 2023 legislative session, it passed the Republican-controlled House of Delegates, but when it got to the Democrat-controlled Senate, it died.

    “Every Democrat serving in the General Assembly voted against it, which is a sad commentary,” Ms. McAlister said. “But Virginia is having elections this November and the entire General Assembly is up for reelection, so if the makeup of the Legislature changes to be more Republican, then there’s great hope this law could be passed, and we’re certain Gov. [Glenn] Youngkin will sign it.”

    Since telling her story, Mrs. Blair said she’s discovered she’s not alone.

    Government agendas to separate children from their parents based on gender ideologies have ramped up since 2020, but it’s the job of the parents to be the voice of reason for their children, Mrs. Blair said.

    “We are the ones to make important personal and mental health decisions for our children,” Mrs. Blair said. “That’s not the role of the school.”

    Now, Mrs. Blair is telling other parents that they’re not alone.

    “Keep fighting for your children because we love them more than any school or court system ever could,” she said.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 09/01/2023 – 19:40

  • New Migration Data Reveals Urban Exodus Continues Despite Frozen Housing Market
    New Migration Data Reveals Urban Exodus Continues Despite Frozen Housing Market

    Despite the worst housing affordability crisis in decades and a frozen housing market, the latest migration data reveals a clear pattern: Americans continue to ditch California’s urban centers, Chicago, and Northeastern cities, flocking to Sun Belt and Southwest US cities. 

    A new report from John Burns Real Estate Consulting shows Houston, Jacksonville, Charlotte, San Antonia, Fort Worth, and Nashville still had strong inbound migration, while the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Orange County, San Diego, San Jose, Miami, Washington, DC, Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco had very negative outbound migration flows. 

    To determine migration trends, the team analyzed current postal address change forms within a few months, explaining that this data “has given us far more conviction in expressing” migration trends nationwide. 

    Here’s a snapshot of the report:

    The winners: Strong housing demand

    Strong migration continues in:

    1. Houston
    2. Jacksonville
    3. Charlotte
    4. San Antonio
    5. Fort Worth
    6. Nashville

    Previously strong migration is now trending less strong than one year ago in:

    1. Dallas
    2. Atlanta
    3. Tampa
    4. Boise
    5. Orlando
    6. Raleigh-Durham

    Previously strong migration is now trending to barely positive migration in:

    1. Phoenix
    2. Austin
    3. Las Vegas

    The losers: Weak housing demand

    Previously strong in-migration is now trending negatively in:

    1. Sacramento
    2. Riverside-San Bernardino

    Previously small out-migration is now trending as a big out-migration in:

    1. Denver
    2. Salt Lake
    3. Philadelphia
    4. Seattle

    Very negative domestic out-migration continues, which is likely somewhat offset by strong international migration, in:

    1. East Bay Area
    2. Orange County
    3. San Diego
    4. San Jose
    5. Miami
    6. Washington, DC
    7. Boston
    8. Chicago
    9. San Francisco

    The team noted the data excludes international migration. There was no mention of specific drivers pushing people out of metros, such as San Francisco, Chicago, and other Northeast cities. However, one can only assume that out-of-control violent crime and soaring shelter costs have something to do with it. 

    Migration patterns that took root in the Covid era remain persistent. We expect once the 30-year fixed mortgage rate, now hovering over 7%, hits its peak and reverses due to a worsening economic outlook or a potential U-turn in the Fed’s hiking strategy, the frozen housing market might come alive once more, resulting in even more Americans exiting progressive-run cities that have become nothing more than crime-infested hellholes. 

    Some Americans are ditching metro areas all together: Americans Panic Search “Live Off Grid” As Housing Crisis Worsens And Democrat Cities Implode. 

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 09/01/2023 – 19:20

  • Amid Massive Drought, Arizona Lawmaker Calls Out Saudi 'Theft' Of State's Water
    Amid Massive Drought, Arizona Lawmaker Calls Out Saudi ‘Theft’ Of State’s Water

    Via Middle East Eye

    A US lawmaker from the state of Arizona has introduced legislation in Congress that would impose a 300 percent tax on the sale of water-intensive crops grown by foreign companies in the state, in a bid to curb the extensive use of water in the drought-stricken state.

    The bill, titled the Domestic Water Protection Act of 2023, was introduced by Ruben Gallego, a Democrat who in a press release announcing the measure directly called out Saudi Arabia.

    Image via The Washington Post

    “Arizona’s water and crops belong in Arizona, not Saudi Arabia,” Gallego said in his statement. “No longer should foreign governments and companies be given sweetheart deals that leave Arizonans worse off.”

    “I’m proud to lead the Domestic Water Protection Act to stop these entities from stealing our state’s water.”

    Arizona has been leasing farmland to a Saudi company called Fondomonte, which uses the state’s groundwater to grow alfalfa, which is then exported to feed cows in the country.

    There is no firm data on exactly how much water the company uses, but a State Land Department report states that Fondomonte is estimated to be using as much as 18,000 acre-feet (22 million cubic metres) each year, which is enough water to supply 54,000 single-family homes.

    The estimated cost of that much water is between three to four million dollars a year.

    In one area, the Butler Valley in Arizona, Fondomonte pays only $25 per acre for the water that it uses, which is one-sixth of the market price for the land, Middle East Eye reported in November, citing a realtor in the area.

    In addition to Saudi Arabia’s Fondomonte, the United Arab Emirates company al-Dahra grows 30,000 acres (12,000 hectares) of alfalfa, garlic and onion in Arizona and California, according to the company’s website.

    The exporting of “virtual water” – water embedded in products such as produce and crops – also has a huge environmental impact on the local communities.

    And as Saudi and Emirati companies continue to pump out water from aquifers, scientists worry that they are pumping at such a rate that they will not be able to be replenished. Amid the massive drought the region is facing, with dwindling surface water supplies, these aquifers are the area’s last option for water.

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    A 2020 Arizona Department of Water Resources report found that groundwater levels in the Willcox basin in southeastern Arizona dropped roughly 2.5 metres a year in some areas from 2008 to 2018. A 2018 report estimated that at least roughly 221.8 billion litres were drawn out of the aquifer each year from 1995 to 2015.

    “As our communities in Arizona feel the intense effects of the climate crisis and prolonged drought, we are simultaneously being stripped by Saudi-owned companies of our most precious resource – our water,” Raul Grijalva, a cosponsor of the legislation, said in a press release.

    Recently, leaders in the state of Arizona have signalled their intentions to end the lease with Fondomonte, which would effectively stop the company from pumping more groundwater.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 09/01/2023 – 19:00

  • Nancy, He's Not: Uniparty McCarthy Won't Pull Trigger On Biden Impeachment Without Doubtful House Vote
    Nancy, He’s Not: Uniparty McCarthy Won’t Pull Trigger On Biden Impeachment Without Doubtful House Vote

    You know how Democrats are highly coordinated when it comes to things like spying on Trump, framing Trump with a hoax dossier, then impeaching Trump after a fat Ukraine simp named Vindman (who was offered the role of Ukraine’s Secretary of Defense) tattled on the former president for asking about Biden corruption that obviously happened? Uncanny isn’t it.

    And how was that first impeachment inquiry launched against Trump (not the other one for ‘inciting’ January 6th)?

    Nancy Pelosi simply drew out her pen and pulled the trigger, willing it into existence.

    So what about an impeachment inquiry into Biden for said obvious corruption Trump was impeached for asking about?

    Not so fast.

    On Friday, Kevin ‘Uniparty’ McCarthy decreed that he hasn’t the spine to launch an impeachment inquiry unless the entire House signs off on it. And given the GOP’s slim margins in the chamber, he can only lose four votes.

    “To open an impeachment inquiry is a serious matter, and House Republicans would not take it lightly or use it for political purposes. The American people deserve to be heard on this matter through their elected representatives,” McCarthy said in a statement to Breitbart. “That’s why, if we move forward with an impeachment inquiry, it would occur through a vote on the floor of the People’s House and not through a declaration by one person.”

    McCarthy’s comment came days after CNN reported that Republicans weren’t sure if an impeachment inquiry would have the full support of the House.

    “Leadership recognizes that the entire House Republican conference is not yet sold on the politically risky idea of impeachment,” reads the report, which was countered by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL).

    “I don’t believe that a vote of the House is required to open an impeachment inquiry,” said Gaetz, who supports a Biden impeachment and sits on the House Judiciary Committee.

    So the top Republican in the House – who’s in charge of the House, won’t use his power to try and impeach an obviously corrupt President, while the top Republican in the Senate is now glitching on a monthly basis.

    This is what ‘Rich Men North of Richmond‘ skyrocketed to #1 on iTunes.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 09/01/2023 – 18:40

  • Busing Illegal Immigrants To Blue America Is Working
    Busing Illegal Immigrants To Blue America Is Working

    Authored by Jarrett Stepman via The Epoch Times,

    Republican border-state strategy to send illegal immigrants to Democrat-run cities and states is paying off.

    On Thursday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul sent a letter to President Joe Biden begging for federal aid. Importantly, she finally acknowledged where the problem is coming from.

    “This is a financial burden the city and state are shouldering on behalf of the federal government,” Hochul, a fellow Democrat, said of the illegal immigrants pouring into New York.

    “I cannot ask New Yorkers to pay for what is fundamentally a federal responsibility,” the governor wrote. “And I urge the federal government to take prompt and significant action today to meet its obligation to New York State.”

    In a press conference following release of the letter, Hochul further complained about illegal immigrants released into the country by the Biden administration.

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    What happened to all are welcome, no exceptions?

    This is an interesting pivot from the New York governor. Until now, Democrat politicians mostly have been unwilling to criticize the White House in any way on the border security issue, or even suggest that the Biden administration is where the problem originates.

    If you want to know the reason for the sudden pivot, a new poll sheds light. The Siena College poll released Tuesday shows that New Yorkers are deeply discontented about the surge of illegal immigrants in their state and mostly blame Democrat leaders.

    “New Yorkers—including huge majorities of Democrats, Republicans, independents, upstaters and downstaters—overwhelmingly say that the recent influx of migrants to New York is a serious problem for the state,” Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg said.

    Now, this may seem meaningless in the sense that New York is unlikely to become a red state any time soon. But keep in mind that the crime issue didn’t just swing seats from Democrat to Republican in the 2022 midterm elections, it likely also gave the GOP overall control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

    Discontent over lawless Democrat policies is much worse now, and New York voters are heaping the blame on Hochul, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, and, most of all, Biden.

    Open borders and the idea that all immigration—whether legal or illegal—is a positive good is a matter of faith for Democrat Party activists. That’s less likely to be true with rank-and-file voters and independents.

    “There is no question in my mind that the politics of this is a disaster to Democrats,” said Howard Wolfson, a former deputy and political adviser to former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, in an interview with The New York Times.

    “This issue alone has the potential to cost Democrats the House, because it is such a huge issue in New York City and the coverage of it is clearly heard and seen by voters in all of these swing districts in the suburbs,” Wolfson said.

    He described the issue as a “ticking time bomb” for Democrats.

    I’d say the bomb already has gone off.

    Since Biden entered the White House in January 2021, a historic stream of illegal immigrants has poured across the U.S. southern border. This has had catastrophic consequences for many swamped communities in Texas and Arizona especially. They’ve shouldered the burden of the border crisis for years, so it’s a little rich for New York to be throwing a pity party.

    It obviously would be better if the federal government was doing its job and enforcing our laws, but until that time there’s little border states can do to “fix” the situation. All they can do is mitigate the damage.

    The Biden administration has done all it can to make sure that the border remains nice and open, er, “secure.”

    The administration’s actions have made it clear that Biden and his top officials want to flood the country with illegal immigrants.

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    And that’s where border-state busing comes in.

    Instead of carrying the entire burden of the Biden-led border disaster, Republican governors such as Greg Abbott in Texas, Ron DeSantis in Florida, and Doug Ducey in Arizona decided to ship illegal immigrants to places such as Chicago, New York, the District of Columbia, and, most amusingly, Martha’s Vineyard.

    This is hardly ideal. But if the federal government is going to foist open borders on the country, why not at least force the people who voted for this nonsense to pay more of the price for it?

    Of course, Democrats in those destinations pointed fingers at the Republican governors for their newfound troubles, and some left-wing political commentators tried to say that shipping illegal immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard—a posh, liberal vacation destination—was akin to Nazism.

    Biden’s trusty allies in the legacy media have done all they can to “contextualize” the immigration issue to protect the president from criticism.

    However, much like with the crime surge, it’s hard to pull the wool over the eyes of the American people forever when they literally see the consequences of bad policies in their neighborhoods.

    Thanks to Biden, the bill for once low-cost, sanctuary-city virtue signaling has come due.

    I suggest that if Democrat politicians want federal aid to care for illegal immigrants, they should demand that the White House work to restore the policies of the previous administration and actually attempt to get control of the border. The excuses have run out, the border crisis has become a national crisis, and blame for this mess falls on the “big guy” in the Oval Office.

    Democrats’ demands for more money should be met with a resounding “no” until the actual problem is fixed at its source.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 09/01/2023 – 18:20

  • NYPD To Send Drones Over Backyard Barbecues This Weekend
    NYPD To Send Drones Over Backyard Barbecues This Weekend

    Want to throw a barbecue in NYC this weekend? The NYPD’s got you covered – with drones.

    According to AP, the city plans to pilot the unmanned aircraft in response to complains about large gatherings over labor day weekend – including private events.

    “If a caller states there’s a large crowd, a large party in a backyard, we’re going to be utilizing our assets to go up and go check on the party,” said assistant NYPD Commissioner, Kaz Daughtry.

    Privacy advocates, and anyone who’s not down with bullshit police surveillance, naturally flipped their lid at the announcement.

    “It’s a troubling announcement and it flies in the face of the POST Act,” said privacy and technology strategist Daniel Schwarz of the NY Civil Liberties Union, referring to a 2020 city law that requires the NYPD to let people know about their surveillance tactics. “Deploying drones in this way is a sci-fi inspired scenario.”

    The move was announced during a security briefing focused on J’ouvert, an annual Caribbean festival marking the end of slavery that brings thousands of revelers and a heavy police presence to the streets of Brooklyn. Daughtry said the drones would respond to “non-priority and priority calls” beyond the parade route.

    Like many cities, New York is increasingly relying on drones for policing purposes. Data maintained by the city shows the police department has used drones for public safety or emergency purposes 124 times this year, up from just four times in all of 2022. They were spotted in the skies after a parking garage collapse earlier this year and when a giveaway event devolved into teenage mayhem. -AP

    Mayor Eric Adams, no surprise, wants the NYPD to embrace the “endless” potential of drones, citing Israel’s use of them after visiting last week. 

    Privacy advocates say that regulations aren’t sufficient to deploy mass drone surveillance, and opens the door to spying that would be illegal if conducted by a human cop.

    “One of the biggest concerns with the rush to roll out new forms of aerial surveillance is how few protections we have against seeing these cameras aimed at our backyards or even our bedrooms,” said Albert Fox Cahn, the executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (STOP).

    According to the report, approximately 1,400 police departments nationwide are using drones in some form, according to the ACLU.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 09/01/2023 – 18:00

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