Episode 921 – China Hands … How American Elites Sold Us Out to the Chinese Communist Party.
“Well, it’s really up in the air,” he said. “We need a rejuvenation of the American people and we need a reinforcement of the fundamentals, what’s america about? It’s about human rights, freedom…I don’t think kids are taught citizenship anymore in schools, we get a lot of woke history but we don’t get real history.” Guest is: Clyde Prestowitz.
Skip The Scoop | Seek Understanding
Verizon Agrees to Sell Yahoo, AOL to Apollo for $5 Billion
Apollo Global Management Inc. agreed to pay about $5 billion to acquire Yahoo and AOL from Verizon Communications Inc. as the wireless company exits its ill-fated foray into the media business.
The private-equity firm is paying $4.25 billion in cash for a 90% share of the media assets. Verizon will keep a 10% stake and $750 million of additional preferred stock in the new company, called Yahoo, that will be formed to operate the business.
The Wall Street Journal earlier reported the potential sale of Verizon’s media assets to Apollo. Verizon Media, which mostly struggled to grow against Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Facebook Inc., generated $7 billion in revenue last year.
Apollo’s strategy for the business revolves around getting more revenue from each of its 900 million active monthly users. Verizon’s positioning of the media business as a complement to its core mobile business—aimed at helping it add subscribers and reduce the number of people who quit—meant it hasn’t pursued some opportunities to maximize the value of each asset, executives at the private-equity firm
May 3, 2021 | Nightly News Rebroadcast | Video: 52 Minutes 29 Seconds
Bill and Melinda Gates Announce Divorce After 27 Years; Biden Raises Refugee Cap to 62,500. The Biden administration has just increased the limit for foreigners seeking refuge in the United States, President Joe Biden visited an elementary school and a community college in Virginia to sell his latest spending plan, and violent riots broke out on the West Coast on May 1.
Trump Lawyer Jenna Ellis Challenges Liz Cheney to Debate on 2020 Election Integrity: ‘Name the Time and Place’
Jenna Ellis, a former Trump campaign lawyer, is challenging Rep. Liz Cheney to debate election integrity in the 2020 election.
On Monday, Rep. Liz Cheney insisted on Twitter that the 2020 presidential election “was not stolen.”
“Anyone who claims it was is spreading THE BIG LIE, turning their back on the rule of law, and poisoning our democratic system.”
Cheney was responding to a Trump statement released Monday morning that “The Fraudulent Presidential Election of 2020 will be, from this day forth, known as THE BIG LIE!”
In response to Cheney’s tweet, Ellis pointed out that “Election officials in at least six states violated the law in the administration of the 2020 election. That’s called cheating.”
“If you have the guts to debate me on this, name the time and place,” Ellis tweeted to Cheney.
Hillary Clinton voices concern on Biden’s Afghanistan withdrawal, warns of ‘unintended’ consequences
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is putting a warning label on fellow Democrat President Biden’s decision to pull all U.S. troops out of Afghanistan.
“I know it is a very difficult decision,” Clinton said Sunday on CNN “This is what we call a wicked problem. You know there are consequences both foreseen and unintended of staying and of leaving. The president has made the decision to leave.”
Biden, who during the Obama administration was vice president when Clinton was the country’s top diplomat, said last month that all of the remaining 2,500 U.S. military troops in Afghanistan will leave by Sept. 11 – roughly 20 years they arrived in the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks.
Clinton said her major concerns are the potential collapse of Kabul and the Taliban taking over the country, which could result in the resuming of global terrorist activities.
New York area will lift capacity restrictions May 19
The New York tri-state area will jointly lift most of the coronavirus capacity restrictions on businesses and restaurants starting May 19, governors announced Monday.
Govs. Andrew Cuomo (D) of New York, Ned Lamont (D) of Connecticut and Phil Murphy (D) of New Jersey said retail stores, food services, theaters, fitness centers, amusement parks, hair salons, museums and other businesses will be allowed to operate at full capacity for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic.
“The tide is turning against COVID-19 in New York, and thanks to our increasing vaccination rates, as well as our successful, data-based regional approach, we’re able to take more steps to reopen our economy, help businesses and workers, and keep moving towards returning to normal,” Cuomo said in a statement.
The announcement of May 19 represents a significant acceleration from the July 1 target for full reopening set by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) just four days ago.
A day later, Cuomo declared that indoor capacity would increase for restaurants and bars statewide from 50 to 75 percent starting on May 7.
Walgreens launching mobile clinics, walk-in COVID-19 vaccinations
Walgreens’ mobile clinics and select stores will offer vaccinations with no appointment needed. Also Monday, Illinois officials reported 2,049 new, confirmed COVID-19 cases and 28 more deaths, raising the state death toll to 22,047.
Walgreens on Monday launched mobile clinics in Chicago to bring COVID-19 vaccines to underserved communities — no appointments necessary.
And starting Wednesday, some Walgreens locations also will offer walk-in vaccinations, with no need to book online in advance.
Details on where the mobile clinics will be set up, or on which store locations will offer walk-in vaccinations, were not immediately available.
“We understand the important role Walgreens has and will continue to play in removing access barriers to the COVID-19 vaccine,” John Standley, president of Walgreens, said in a statement. “Mobile clinics and the other models we use will allow us to bring vaccines to the heart of the most impacted communities, as well as addressing common barriers like transportation and convenience for those who want to get vaccinated.”
Austin residents vote to ban homeless encampments
More than half of Austin residents voted Saturday to reinstate a ban on homeless encampments in the city.
Fifty-seven percent of voters in the Texas state capital said they were in favor of reinstating criminal penalties for camping in public spaces via Proposition B, the Austin American-Statesman reported.
The controversial measure was one of eight proposals on the ballot. More than 150,000 Austin residents cast a vote, with 85,830 voting in favor and 64,409 against, according to the paper.
The vote comes after the city’s mayor, Stever Adler, and the city council in July 2019 canceled a more than 20-year-old ordinance that banned camping in public spaces.
Denmark Ditches J&J COVID Vaccine, Says Benefits ‘Do Not Outweigh Risk’ of Blood Clots
Denmark on Monday became the first country to exclude Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) COVID vaccine from its vaccination program over a potential link to blood clotting disorders.The Danish Health Authority said in a statement it had concluded “the benefits of using the COVID-19 vaccine from J&J do not outweigh the risk of causing the possible adverse effect in those who receive the vaccine,” Reuters reported.
Danish health officials noted the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) conclusion that “there is a possible link between rare but severe cases of blood clots and the COVID-19 vaccine from J&J,” referring to an investigation last month into eight U.S. reports of rare blood clots — one of which was fatal — that occurred after recent vaccination.
Unlike the Danish Health Authority however, the EMA concluded the benefits of using the J&J vaccine outweigh the risks. The EMA did recommend adding a warning to J&J’s vaccine label, and the company said it would comply with that measure.
“Taking the present situation in Denmark into account, what we are currently losing in our effort to prevent severe illness from COVID-19 cannot outweigh the risk of causing possible side effects in the form of severe blood clots in those we vaccinate,” the health authority said.
Denmark stopped using AstraZeneca’s vaccine last month after European regulators found a possible link between AstraZeneca’s COVID vaccine and “very rare” blood clots.
Both J&J and AstraZeneca vaccines use a modified adenovirus vector technology as opposed to the mRNA technology used in the Moderna and Pfizer’s COVID vaccines.
Florida Gov. DeSantis Suspends Local COVID-19 Emergency Orders, Bans Vaccine Passports
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill banning COVID-19 vaccine passports and also announced an executive order that suspends all local pandemic emergency mandates effective July 1.
DeSantis signed Senate Bill 2006, passed by Florida state lawmakers last month granting DeSantis the ability to override local emergency orders. The bill also includes a ban on vaccine passports that would levy fines of $5,000 per violation.
“I’m going to sign the bill. It’s effective July 1. I’ll also sign an executive order pursuant to that bill invalidating all remaining local emergency COVID orders effective on July 1,” the Republican governor said in a news conference in St. Petersburg on Monday. “But then, to bridge the gap between then and now, I’m going to suspend, under my executive power, the local emergency orders as it relates to COVID.”
Describing his executive orders as the “evidence-based thing to do,” DeSantis said that proponents of lockdowns “really are saying you don’t believe in the vaccines, you don’t believe in the data, you don’t believe in the science.” He added: “We’ve embraced the vaccines. We’ve embraced the science on it.”
The order suspending local emergency mandates only affects governments, not businesses.
The ‘Left’ Has Learned, The Quickest Way To Shut Down Your Opponent’s Objections Is To Call Them A ‘Racist’ | Just Ask ‘Minorities’ | “GOP Whip Montoya Blasts ‘race-baiting’ In Session”
House Minority Whip Rod Montoya, R-Farmington
SANTA FE — House Minority Whip Rod Montoya, R-Farmington, had some harsh words for legislative leaders this week as the special session got underway, accusing lawmakers of “aggressive race-baiting” and unjustified allegations of bullying and sexism.
He outlined his thoughts in a three-page letter to Democratic and Republican leaders in both chambers of the Legislature.
Montoya said that as a Hispanic man married to a Native American woman, he is tired of white progressives offering platitudes about climate change as Navajo coal miners and others lose their jobs.
“Members of the Democrat Party regularly use such terms as ‘marginalized peoples,’ ‘institutional racism,’ and ‘implicit bias’ to avoid having to answer legitimate policy questions,” Montoya said. “While this may be an effective way to shut down opposition, it does not benefit us as a lawmaking body.”
Bannon’s War Room | Morning Edition Hour 1 | Recorded May 3, 2021 | Video: 48 Minutes 24 Seconds
Episode 917 – The Great Reset to the Great Realignment … (w/ Cpt. M. Bannon, Gracia, Rachmuth).
“Ilegals are having gun battles on their ranches, they’re finding dead bodies, their homes are being broken into,” Gracia said. “They don’t have the manpower to address this.” Guests are: Cpt. Maureen Bannon, Bianca Gracia, Sloan Rachmuth.
Anti-Woke Faction Opposed To Critical Race Theory Wins Texas School Board Race
- Candidates opposed to critical race theory swept Saturday’s race in Southlake
- School district had been embroiled in bitter controversy for nine months
- Last summer, plans for diversity training were announced after offensive video
- Conservative parents fiercely opposed plan, saying it called for ‘diversity police’
- Others insisted new curriculum was needed to battle racism and inequity
- Now, candidates opposing the diversity plan win board seats by wide margins
- It comes amid a national debate over critical race theory in classrooms
Candidates opposed to teaching ‘critical race theory’ in the classroom have swept a local school board election in Texas, following a bitterly contested campaign that saw passions rise on both sides.
In Saturday’s election in Southlake, candidates opposed to the new curriculum won the two open seats on the Carroll Independent School District board overwhelmingly, with nearly 70 percent of the vote.
The election followed a harsh dispute over plans the district introduced last summer to require diversity and inclusion training after a video went viral showing some of its high school students laughing as they shouted the N-word.
Parents packed school board meetings to oppose the plan, arguing it would create ‘diversity police’ and discriminate against white children. Some even pulled their kids out of the district, and one mother sued, pausing the plan’s implementation.
Bannon’s War Room | Morning Edition Hour 2 | Recorded May 3, 2021 | Video: 48 Minutes 16 Seconds
Episode 918 – Shut Up and Get Your Gene Therapy…NY Times and Fauci Move the Herd Immunity Goal Posts.
“They’re saying shut up and get your vaccination,” Kassam said. “Or shut up and get your gene therapy, I should say.” Guests are: Cpt. Maureen Bannon, Mike Lindell, Marylyn Todd, Dustin Cournoyer, Mark Finchem.
Bannon’s War Room | Evening Edition | Recorded May 3, 2021 | Video: 40 Minutes 16 Seconds
Episode 919 – It’s a Small World of Election Rigging … Raffensberger Ties in NH. Heather Mullins, of Real America’s Voice, reports on the battle over the forensic audit in New Hampshire. Mullins reveals another reason for uproar against Verified Voting: its head worked with Brad Raffensberger in Georgia. Guests are: Cpt. Maureen Bannon, Boris Epshteyn, Mark Finchem.
ADL’s Official Stance On Israel | “Support Israel: A Jewish and Democratic State”
Israel is the national homeland of the Jewish people. The overwhelming majority of Jewish people around the globe, regardless of political orientation, consider a connection to Israel a part of their Jewish identity.
For decades, ADL has worked to support a secure Jewish and democratic state of Israel and to promote a strong and constructive US-Israel relationship. ADL is a strong advocate for a two-state solution, calling for a mutually negotiated and sustainable peace agreement that can ensure security, self-determination and dignity for both Israelis and Palestinians. We champion policies and initiatives that foster Israeli-Palestinian understanding and people-to-people engagement and call out those who would undermine such progress and ultimately peace. ADL celebrates wider Israeli-Arab normalization and peace efforts in the region as a critical driver for regional security, stability and people-to-people understanding.
Understanding the complexities of current issues confronting Israel, both external threats and internal challenges, is important in helping to separate facts from misleading assertions and misrepresentations. Through analysis and action, ADL seeks to unpack historical and contemporary developments, and encourage thoughtful, informed and fair discourse about Israel, Israeli-Palestinian relations, and Israel’s place in the broader Middle East and the world.
ADL recognizes that, like all other countries, Israel should not be exempt from criticism, however ADL educates and engages on how certain harsh expressions about the Jewish state and Zionism can be antisemitic. We raise awareness about efforts to delegitimize Israel’s existence, which is often a characteristic of the BDS (boycott, divestment, sanctions) movement’s campaigns and initiatives. (link to anti-Israel page)
On the ground in Jerusalem, ADL’s Israel office advocates for a Jewish and democratic state and works to help build a cohesive society. We speak out on issues of hate, discrimination and inequities, and actively oppose initiatives that would serve to undermine Israel’s vibrant democratic institutions and pluralistic fiber. We advocate in support of vulnerable and minority communities – Jewish, Muslim, and Christian – including Ethiopian, Charedi, Bedouin, Druze, LGBTQ+ and African asylum seekers. We work in partnership with civil society organizations and activists across Israel to strengthen our reach and bring diverse Israeli communities and coalitions together. Our educational programs engage Israelis of all backgrounds on issues of understanding, tolerance and respect.
John Kerry Threatens Israel With Boycotts (2014)
US Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday threatened Israel that a failure in the peace talks would lead to global boycotts and delegitimization of the Jewish state. The warning comes as no surprise to those familiar with reports earlier in the month, which revealed that Kerry is orchestrating the European boycottsagainst Israel.
Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon responded to Kerry’s threats of boycotts, saying “we respect Secretary of State Kerry but will not hold talks with a gun to our head. Friends don’t put ultimatums on the security of the state of Israel.”
Speaking at a security council in Munchen, Germany, Kerry also mentioned Defense Secretary Moshe Ya’alon’s comments calling Kerry “messianic” and “obsessive” in trying to force Israel to submit to a peace deal, which would include massive territorial withdrawals and an Arab capital in Jerusalem.
Former Security Adviser: John Kerry Undermined Trump in Unapproved Iran Talks
Former Secretary of State John Kerry repeatedly undercut President Donald Trump’s foreign policy towards Iran during unauthorized talks with senior Iranian officials, according to Keith Kellogg, the former chief of staff for the National Security Council under President Donald Trump.
ADL To Kerry: ‘Your Threats Destroy Peace Talks’ (2014)
Abraham Foxman, Director of the Anti-Defamation League, issues sharp response to US Secretary of State’s remarks against Israel.
In yet another backlash, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) issued a letter slamming the boycott threats against Israel from US Secretary of State John Kerry Tuesday.
Kerry’s comments at the Munich Security Conference Saturday have sparked an immense backlash from the Israeli government. He said then, “today’s status quo absolutely, to a certainty, I promise you 100 percent, cannot be maintained. It’s not sustainable. It’s illusionary,” Kerry stated. “You see for Israel there’s an increasing de-legitimization campaign that has been building up [. . .] there are talk of boycotts and other kinds of things. Are we all going to be better with all of that?”
The ADL’s response strongly condemns Kerry’s comments.
Apparently, Human Rights Watch Disagrees With ADL’s Stance On Israel | Video: 3 Minutes
One would think, if you listen to the ADL, that the debate on Israel is between Anti-Semites, or more kindly, Gentiles and Jews. It’s more complicated. There’s actually a very strong and vibrant debate on Israel between those of us who are either Jewish or have Jewish ancestry. Tied into this debate is a mix of political affiliations, many times expressed as ‘Left’ and ‘Right’. Even this is complicated and not quite accurate because the differences also lie in the gamut of beliefs from pure Atheism to strict Orthodoxy. In any case, as the ADL makes a strong push to reform it’s image to the general public and particularly to those deeply involved in politics with some knowledge of the history of the ADL, Human Rights Watch has ‘Crossed A Threshold’ and strongly suggested Israel is guilty of ‘crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution.’ ~ Human Rights Watch
Gov. Abbott praised by Anti-Defamation League over racist posts by GOP leaders in Texas
DALLAS – The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) praised Texas Governor Greg Abbott Monday for denouncing racist posts by several Texas Republican County Chairs, but also called on the governor to take concrete measures, and use input from the African American community, to address institutional racism in the Texas Republican party and beyond after nearly a dozen social posts of the same conspiratorial nature were identified as coming from local party officials.
Texas GOP Chairman Allen West Joins Gab After Party Takes Account Down
Just days after the governing body of the Republican Party of Texas voted to leave the free-speech social media platform Gab, Texas GOP Chairman Allen West has created a Gab account of his own.
His first Gab post was dedicated to discussing why critical race theory is subversive, rooted in Marxism, and must be combated. His second post came just nine minutes later: a picture of the Constitution, with West’s caption stating his support for free speech. . . .
Could We Soon See Liz Cheney Gone from Leadership?
Source: AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File
Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), who is the chair of the House Republican Conference and the third-highest ranking Republican in the U.S. House, has found herself in the news quite a bit lately. Matt reported last week that she said she thinks she may even run for president in 2024, after being particularly vocal in impeaching Trump the second time around, while she continues to trash him to this day. Well, Republican leaders have had enough of her, and may even be willing to push her out, according to Axios.
On Saturday, Jonathan Swan, Glen Johnson and Alayna Treene reported, “Scoop: GOP leaders threaten Cheney ouster.” Honestly, it sounds like House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA), the highest and second-highest ranking Republicans in the House, respectively, have been fed up with her for some time.
Hubble Watches How a Giant Planet Grows
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope is giving astronomers a rare look at a Jupiter-sized, still-forming planet that is feeding off material surrounding a young star.
“We just don’t know very much about how giant planets grow,” said Brendan Bowler of the University of Texas at Austin. “This planetary system gives us the first opportunity to witness material falling onto a planet. Our results open up a new area for this research.”
Though over 4,000 exoplanets have been cataloged so far, only about 15 have been directly imaged to date by telescopes. And the planets are so far away and small, they are simply dots in the best photos. The team’s fresh technique for using Hubble to directly image this planet paves a new route for further exoplanet research, especially during a planet’s formative years.
Fake News: New York Times, WaPo, NBC forced to retract false claims about Giuliani
The New York Times, Washington Post and NBC News all issued retractions Saturday for their coverage of Rudy Giuliani following a raid of his Manhattan apartment by the FBI.
The Times appended their correction to a story about the role Giuliani may have played in the 2019 recall of ambassador Marie L. Yovanovitch and whether he received a warning from the FBI about Russian disinformation.
“An earlier version of this article misstated whether Rudolph W. Giuliani received a formal warning from the F.B.I. about Russian disinformation. Mr. Giuliani did not receive such a so-called defensive briefing,” The Times wrote Saturday in a note attached to the piece.
The Washington Post’s correction, on a story about prominent Americans being targeted by Russian disinformation, was similar.
“An earlier version of this story, published Thursday, incorrectly reported that One America News was warned by the FBI that it was the target of a Russian influence operation,” the paper said.
Coronavirus Crackdown: Judge Orders Canadian Church Locked to Prevent Sunday Worship Services
A judge in Woolwich Township in Ontario, Canada, has ordered Trinity Bible Chapel be locked to prevent Sunday worship services.
Boeing fires dozens of employees for ‘racist’ behavior
Boeing fired 65 employees and disciplined 53 others for “racist, discriminatory or otherwise hateful conduct,” according to a report.
British public now trust Amazon more than the Royal Mail
Britons now trust Amazon more than Royal Mail when it comes to deliveries (but we still have faith in its postmen!).
- Royal Mail CCO Nick Landon sent an internal message to his 140,000 staff
- He said ‘all of our pride should be dented by Amazon Logistics taking top spot’
- The Royal Mail was privatised in 2013 and is still the biggest courier in the UK
Sen. Manchin says he was ready to ‘stay and fight’ during Capitol riot
Sen. Joe Manchin said he was prepared to hold his ground and fight when a crowd of Trump supporters converged on the US Capitol on Jan. 6 as Congress voted to certify the 2020 election.
”My intention was to stay and fight: ‘Let ‘em in. Let’s go at it.’ But I didn’t know what was going on,” Manchin (D-W.Va.) told USA Today in an interview published Monday.
“You had a lot of people chanting. I didn’t think anything of that. But within 10 or 15 minutes, a SWAT team comes in with all of their gear and says ‘You guys are out of here. Just go now. Don’t even stop,’” the 6-foot-3 former football standout said.
Manchin, a moderate Democrat from the state former President Donald Trump won by nearly 40 points in the 2020 election, has found himself at a position of influence in the 50-50 divided Senate, armed with a vote that could advance or doom Democratic initiatives.
Two of those issues are statehood for Washington, DC, and getting rid of the filibuster that would allow Democrats to pass legislation with 51 votes instead of 60 — both measures he opposes.
EXC: A Top U.S. Teacher Training Org is Partnered With A Chinese Communist Group Promoting ‘Socialist’ Nursery Rhymes.
The Erikson Institute – one of America’s premier graduate schools training teachers and influencing classroom curricula – is engaged in a “long-term cooperative relationship” with a Chinese Communist Party group overseeing the regime’s Communist Youth League and publishing books including “nursery rhymes embodying the core values of socialism” and magazines praising Xi Jinping and Karl Marx, The National Pulse can reveal.
Study Found Toxin from Genetically Modified Crops is Showing up in Human Blood
A new study is causing fresh doubts about the safety of genetically modified crops. The research found Bt toxin, which is present in many GM crops, in human blood.
Bt toxin makes crops toxic to pests, but it has been claimed that the toxin poses no danger to the environment and human health; the argument was that the protein breaks down in the human gut. But the presence of the toxin in human blood shows that this does not happen.
India Today reports:
“Scientists … have detected the insecticidal protein … circulating in the blood of pregnant as well as non-pregnant women. They have also detected the toxin in fetal blood, implying it could pass on to the next generation.”
May Day 1971: Daniel Ellsberg on Joining Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn at Historic Antiwar Direct Action
This week marks the 50th anniversary of the 1971 May Day protests, when tens of thousands of protesters demonstrated against the Vietnam War in Washington, D.C., and brought much of the capital to a standstill through acts of civil disobedience. The mass demonstrations terrified the Nixon administration, and police would arrest over 12,000 people — the largest mass arrest in U.S. history. Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg, who attended the May Day protests, says it was part of a wave of popular discontent about the war that mobilized millions. “There was a movement of young people who felt that what was happening in the world … was wrong, had to change, and they were ready to risk their careers and their lives to try to change it. And we need that right now,” Ellsberg says. He recently spoke with Amy Goodman at an event marking the 50th anniversary of the release of the Pentagon Papers. We play excerpts from that conversation, which also included National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden.
The False and Exaggerated Claims Still Being Spread About the Capitol Riot
What took place at the Capitol on January 6 was undoubtedly a politically motivated riot. As such, it should not be controversial to regard it as a dangerous episode. Any time force or violence is introduced into what ought to be the peaceful resolution of political conflicts, it should be lamented and condemned.
But none of that justifies lying about what happened that day, especially by the news media. Condemning that riot does not allow, let alone require, echoing false claims in order to render the event more menacing and serious than it actually was. There is no circumstance or motive that justifies the dissemination of false claims by journalists. The more consequential the event, the less justified, and more harmful, serial journalistic falsehoods are.
Yet this is exactly what has happened, and continues to happen, since that riot almost seven weeks ago. And anyone who tries to correct these falsehoods is instantly attacked with the cynical accusation that if you want only truthful reporting about what happened, then you’re trying to “minimize” what happened and are likely an apologist for if not a full-fledged supporter of the protesters themselves.
One of the most significant of these falsehoods was the tale — endorsed over and over without any caveats by the media for more than a month — that Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick was murdered by the pro-Trump mob when they beat him to death with a fire extinguisher. That claim was first published by The New York Times on January 8 in an article headlined “Capitol Police Officer Dies From Injuries in Pro-Trump Rampage.” It cited “two [anonymous] law enforcement officials” to claim that Sicknick died “with the mob rampaging through the halls of Congress” and after he “was struck with a fire extinguisher.”
Is There a Case for Legalizing Heroin?
In 2013, the Columbia psychologist and drug-addiction researcher Carl Hart published a book that was a specific kind of success: it made him into a public character. The book, “High Price,” is in part a memoir of Hart’s adolescence in a poor Miami neighborhood, documenting the arrival of cocaine there in the eighties. Two cousins, whom as a child he’d looked up to, are exiled from their mother’s house for using cocaine, move into a shed in her back yard, and steal her washer and dryer to pay for drugs. The narrative of Hart’s ascent, to the Air Force, graduate school in neuroscience, and, eventually, Ivy League tenure, is interspersed with evidence from his career as an addiction researcher, in which he spent years paying volunteers to use drugs in a controlled hospital setting and observing the results. Hart argues that the violence and despair that defined the crack epidemic had more to do with the social conditions of Black America than they did with the physical pull of drugs. The book begins with his father beating his mother with a hammer after drinking. Hart’s view is that the attack was not about alcohol. “As we now know from experience with alcohol, drinking itself isn’t a problem for most people who do it,” Hart wrote. “The same is true of illegal drugs, even those we have learned to fear, like heroin and crack cocaine.”
CENSORED: Toensing, former Deputy Assistant Attorney General and diGenova, former U.S. Attorney & Special Counsel | Video: 9 Minutes 38 Seconds
Toensing’s resume includes Chief Counsel of the Senate intelligence committee, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, and lawyer for whistleblowers on government misconduct.
Joe diGenova served as Special Counsel to the House of Representatives, Chief Counsel to the Senate Rules Committee, and former United States attorney for the District of Columbia. He also was Independent Counsel investigating the improper search of then-candidate Bill Clinton’s passport file by the George H. W. Bush administration. And in 1997, he was Special Counsel investigating the Teamsters Union.
“Over the years, the ABA puts out all sorts of statements about do not condemn lawyers because they’re representing people at Guantanamo Base who are terrorists. This is in the great tradition of American lawyers representing the most despised defendants, because under our Constitution, even the worst person is entitled to a quality defense. But that doesn’t apply to lawyers who represent Donald Trump or support Donald Trump or come out and speak on his behalf.” ~ Joe diGenova speaking to Sharyl Attkisson, the embodiment of Girl Power in journalism.
Are fully vaccinated liberals afraid to remove their masks because they’ll look like Republicans?
There might finally be an answer to what many believe is inexplicably weird and contradictory mask-wearing guidance from the CDC: Liberals are afraid to remove their masks in case it might make them look like Republicans.
The report from the DCist “overheard of the week” column alleges that two masked women were walking in downtown Washington D.C discussing the recent update to the CDC guidance when one apparently said, “I guess I’m vaccinated so I don’t have to wear a mask outside but… I really don’t want people to think I’m a Republican.”
Earlier this week, the CDC announced updates to their face veiling guidelines, which are alleged to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. The new guidelines say vaccinated individuals can forgo the face mask when they are outside unless they are in crowds of people.
Stone Says He Took ‘Not a Dime’ From Anyone Seeking Trump Pardon
The Daily Beast reported Thursday that Stone offered to help Joel Greenberg, a former Florida tax collector who’s expected to plead guilty this month, get a pardon from President Donald Trump before he left office. The pardon was never granted.
The report was based on alleged text messages between Stone and Greenberg, as well as an alleged written confession by Greenberg saying that he and Gaetz, a Florida Republican and Trump ally, paid for sex with women as well as with a 17-year-old girl.
Stone, who was himself pardoned by Trump after being being convicted of lying to Congress and tampering with witnesses in an effort to protect the president during the Russia probe, said in a text message late Friday that his communications with Greenberg were “clipped out of context.”
“I told Greenberg he would need a lawyer (I am not a lawyer) and that he should be prepared to wire a $250,000 retainer to the right lawyer if he could find one,” Stone said. “I made no effort whatsoever to secure a pardon for Mr. Greenberg and I took not a dime from him or anyone else seeking a pardon.”
To be tracked or not? Apple Is now giving us the choice
By Brian X. Chen, The New York Times Company
If we had a choice, would any of us want to be tracked online for the sake of seeing more relevant digital ads?
We are about to find out.
On Monday, Apple released iOS 14.5, one of its most anticipated software updates for iPhones and iPads in years. It includes App Tracking Transparency, a new privacy tool that could give us more control over how our data is shared.
Here’s how it works: When an app wants to follow our activities to share information with third parties such as advertisers, a window will appear on our Apple device to ask for our permission to do so. If we say no, the app must stop monitoring and sharing our data.
A pop-up window may sound like a minor design tweak, but it has thrown the online advertising industry into upheaval. Most notably, Facebook has gone on the warpath. Last year, the social network created a website and took out full-page ads in newspapers denouncing Apple’s privacy feature as harmful to small businesses.
A big motivator, of course, was that the privacy setting could hurt Facebook’s own business. If we choose not to let Facebook track us, it will be harder for the company to see what we are shopping for or doing inside other apps, which will make it more difficult for brands to target us with ads. (Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has disputed that his company’s business will be hurt by Apple’s policy.)
“This is a huge step in the right direction, if only because it’s making Facebook sweat,” said Gennie Gebhart, a director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital-rights nonprofit.
But, she added, “One big question is: Will it work?”
Gebhart and other privacy experts said Apple’s new feature might not be enough to put an end to shady tracking on iPhones. It could simply push developers and ad-technology firms to find loopholes so they can continue tracking people in different ways, she and others said.
Doctors prescribe more opioids to COVID-19 ‘long haulers,’ raising addiction fears
COVID-19 survivors are at risk from a possible second pandemic of opioid addiction, given the high rate of painkillers being prescribed to these patients, health experts say.
A new study in Nature found alarmingly high rates of opioid use among COVID-19 survivors with lingering symptoms at Veterans Health Administration facilities. About 10% of COVID-19 survivors develop a mysterious condition known as long COVID, struggling with often disabling health problems even six months or longer after a diagnosis.
For every 1,000 long COVID patients who were treated at a Veterans Affairs facility, doctors wrote nine more prescriptions for opioids than they otherwise would have. They also wrote 22 additional prescriptions for benzodiazepines, which include Xanax and other addictive pills used to treat anxiety.
Although previous studies have found many COVID-19 survivors — also known as long haulers — experience persistent health problems, the new study is the first to show they’re using more addictive medications, said Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, the lead author.
(READ) FBI releases Seth Rich-related documents | “The records appear to suggest that someone could have paid for his death.”
Courtesy: Democratic National Committee
The FBI has released documents pertaining to the 2016 unsolved murder of Seth Rich, a Democrat National Committee (DNC) worker.
The records appear to suggest that someone could have paid for his death.
There was much speculation after Rich’s murder that he — rather than “Russia” — was the person who had leaked sensitive, internal DNC emails to WikiLeaks.
Among other things, the documents included emails exposing numerous scandals related to Hillary Clinton. They also showed that the DNC was taking steps that favored Clinton over her challenger, Bernie Sanders.