Following a new wave of island-wide protests in Cuba over the past several days, there are worrying indicators that the authorities are repeating the repressive tactics they used for decades and also during the crackdown on protesters on 11 July last year, said Amnesty International today.
“In the latest wave of protests that have lasted several days, Cubans are exercising their simple but historically repressed rights to freedom of expression and assembly. Alarmingly, it seems the authorities are repeating the tactics of repression they used last year to detain and silence protesters, hundreds of whom remain in prison,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International.
“The international community must condemn the cycles of repression we are seeing in Cuba in the strongest possible terms. It is unacceptable for authorities to keep intimidating, threatening, detaining, stigmatizing, and attempting to silence anyone who demands necessities like electricity, food, and freedom.”
Since the start of protests in late September, Amnesty International has received reports of on-going internet interference, deployment of police and military, including cadets, to repress the protests, and arbitrary detentions.
Starting on the evening of 29 September, the Cuban authorities appear to have intentionally shut down internet access throughout the country. The internet outage lasted for at least two consecutive nights.
Cuban authorities control the country’s only telecommunication network and have often restricted internet access during politically sensitive times or moments of protests.
Alarmingly, it seems the authorities are repeating the tactics of repression they used last year to detain and silence protesters, hundreds of whom remain in prison.
Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International
Amnesty International has heard that the latest internet outages have made it hard for families to communicate following the passage of hurricane Ian, at a time when many people have had their homes damaged. They have also impacted the ability of independent human rights observers, including Amnesty International, and independent journalists to document the human rights situation in the country. Journalist Luz Escobar told Amnesty International that her internet was cut three nights in a row, impacting her ability to work, and that as of 4 October, several other journalists working at her independent online newspaper, 14 y medio, were without internet.
Amnesty International’s Crisis Evidence Lab has also analysed several videos that did not appear online before these protests. One video which Amnesty International analysed was filmed on Street 41, at the corner of 66 in Havana, Cuba, and appears to show the deployment of plain-clothed military cadets, armed with baseball bats, chanting pro-government slogans, including “I am Fidel.”
Another video, which also first appeared online in the context of the protests, and which is consistent with other videos Amnesty International has verified from the protests, appears to also show cadets with baseball bats chasing and then detaining protesters.
The Cuban authorities have developed a sophisticated machinery for controlling any form of dissent and protest, as previously documented by Amnesty International. While state security officials often carry out surveillance and arbitrary detentions of critics, the Committee for the Defence of the Revolution (local members of the Communist Party who collaborate with state officials and law enforcement agencies) also provide the state with information about, what is considered, “counter-revolutionary activity.” “Acts of repudiation” – demonstrations led by government supporters with the alleged participation of state security officials – are also commonplace and aimed at harassing and intimidating government critics.
While communication with Cuba remains stunted due to internet interference, Justicia J11, a group established following the crackdown on protesters in July 2021 – has reported 26 detentions since 30 September, mostly of young people and artists, 19 of whom they reported remained in detention as of 4 October 2022.
Cuban authorities criminalized nearly all those who participated in the protests in July 2021, including some children, but flatly denied any human rights violations, and placed the blame for the economic situation almost exclusively on the US economic embargo. Similarly, on 2 October 2022, President Díaz-Canel downplayed the widespread nature of the latest protests and suggested that a minority of “counter-revolutionaries” with connections outside Cuba, had carried out “acts of vandalism such as blocking roads or throwing rocks” and would be dealt with with the “force of the law.”
Background
Following the passage of hurricane Ian, the electricity has been cut in multiple parts of the island, adding to the frequent electricity outages in recent months. NASA night-time light data showed a significant decrease in lights between 23 September, before the passing of Ian, and after, on 30 September.
Electricity outages have exacerbated violations of economic and social rights in the country, as in recent months Cubans have had to line up for many hours to buy food and other necessities, in the context of widespread food shortages.
The recent protests have occurred just 14 months after the similar widespread protests on 11 July 2021, which were followed by a crackdown on dissent. Hundreds remain imprisoned for the 11 July protests, including three prisoners of conscience: artists Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and Maykel Castillo Pérez, as well as leader of the non-official opposition, José Daniel Ferrer García. Other prisoners of conscience named by Amnesty International at the time were released on the condition of going into exile.
The post Cuba: Tactics of repression must not be repeated appeared first on Amnesty International.
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Two climbers, an American and a Swiss, die from exhaustion in first fatalities on Everest this year
Puwei Lui, 55, from the US, and Abdul Waraich, 41, (pictured) from Switzerland, collapsed while descending the slopes of the mountain on Wednesday, hiking company officials said.
Over 15,000 Gas Stations Out of Fuel Nationwide
Gas shortages eased slightly overnight in some states but worsened in others as Colonial Pipeline works to bring one of the nation’s major fuel conduits back online. More stations were out of gas in Florida, Maryland, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Mississippi early Thursday compared to Wednesday night, according to GasBuddy. In Florida, 30 percent of […]
The post Over 15,000 Gas Stations Out of Fuel Nationwide appeared first on NTD.
Rep. Liz Cheney Leaves Door Open for 2024 Presidential Run, Won’t Leave GOP
Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), after she was ousted from her House Republican leadership position, said Thursday that she won’t leave the GOP and did not rule out running for president. In an interview with “Today,” Cheney, now the former House Republican Conference chair, was asked several times about whether she wants to run for president in 2024 to prevent former President Donald Trump from winning the presidency again. “I’m going do everything that I can—both to make sure that that never happens, but also to make sure that the Republican Party gets back to substance and policy,” Cheney said, adding that she will “absolutely” again run for Wyoming’s lone House seat in 2022. Cheney, the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, also said that she will not leave the Republican Party. House Republicans in a Wednesday morning voice vote stripped Cheney of her position following her repeated public criticism …
Bannon’s War Room | Morning Edition Hour 1 | Recorded May 13, 2021 | Video: 48 Minutes 33 Seconds
Episode 943 – The Big Truth (w/ Mark Finchem, Boris Epshteyn, Dr. Lawrence Sellin). Guests are: Mark Finchem, Boris Epshteyn, Dr. Lawrence Sellin
Bannon’s War Room | Morning Edition Hour 2 | Recorded May 13, 2021 | Video: 48 Minutes 37 Seconds
Episode 944 – A World Spinning Out of Control (w/ Barletta, Jim and Joe Hoft, Boykin, Kassam, Klein). Guests are: Lou Barletta, Jim and Joe Hoft, Lt. Gen. (Ret.) William G. Boykin, Raheem Kassam, Mort Klein.
Bannon’s War Room | Evening Edition | Recorded May 13, 2021 | Video: 48 Minutes 59 Seconds
Episode 945 – Here Come the Receipts … Fraud in Maricopa and the Coming Digital Currency Revolution. “That’s not a choice, that is the antithesis of choice,” Kassam said. “No freedom until you get this thing stuck in you.” Our guests are: Boris Epshteyn, Matt Jeftovic.
BREAKING: Maricopa County Elections Officials DELETED ENTIRE DATABASE from Voting Machines – Including “All Election Information” from Main Database
Last week, the Gateway Pundit reported about the emergency meeting that was called by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, after the County was reportedly unable to provide passwords to the auditors performing an audit of the county’s 2020 Election results. They also did not provide access to the routers which were requested in the audit as well.
This afternoon, it was discovered that “the entire database” for the 2020 General election, showing the “Results Tally and Reporting,” has been deleted!
‘American Idol’ finalist Caleb Kennedy out after KKK-themed video surfaces
“American Idol” top-five finalist Caleb Kennedy has left the show after a video surfaced showing him next to someone wearing what appears to be a Ku Klux Klan hood.
A representative for the show confirmed to The Post that Kennedy will no longer be moving forward in the competition.
The singer, 16, posted a statement about his departure on Instagram Wednesday.
“Hey y’all, this is gonna be a bit of a surprise but I am no longer gonna be on ‘American Idol,’” he wrote. “There was a video that surfaced on the internet and it displayed actions that were not meant to be taken in that way. I was younger and did not think about the actions, but that’s not an excuse. I wanna say sorry to all my fans and everyone who I have let down. I’ll be taking a little time off social media to better myself, but saying that, I know this has hurt and disappointed a lot of people and made people lose respect for me. I’m so sorry! I pray that I can one day regain your trust in who I am and have your respect! Thank you for supporting me.”
Over A Year Into The Pandemic, Politicians Are Still Getting Caught Ignoring Their Own COVID Restrictions
- Many lawmakers who have ordered or urged citizens not to leave their homes due to the coronavirus pandemic have not followed their own advice.
- Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, for example, repeatedly implored residents not to travel but ignored her own advice, attended President Joe Biden’s inauguration, and visited her father.
- “Like a lot of children of parents who have health issues or relative who have health issues, I showed up when I was needed,” she said Wednesday. “I did a lot of cooking, a lot of cleaning.”
Former Ellen producer SLAMS DeGeneres for ‘duping fans into believing she’s a nice person’
A producer who worked on The Ellen DeGeneres Show has come out swinging against her former employer – after the talk show host, 63, announced on Wednesday she was ending her program after 19 seasons.
Award-winning producer Hedda Muskat said DeGeneres’ show was destined for failure because she’d misled her fans into believing she was a ‘nice person’.
‘The viewers have spoken. Her ratings have been in the toilet for a long, long time now, her show has not been fun, it has not been interesting,’ Ms Muskat said on Australian breakfast show Sunrise.
Facebook board upholds Trump suspension
By BARBARA ORTUTAY, The Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO — Former President Donald Trump won’t return to Facebook — for now.
The social network’s quasi-independent Oversight Board voted to uphold his ban from the platform after his account was suspended four months ago for inciting violence that led to the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
While uploading the suspension, the board faulted Facebook for the way it made the decision.
“It was not appropriate for Facebook to impose the indeterminate and standardless penalty of indefinite suspension,” it said.
The board says Facebook has six months to reexamine the “arbitrary penalty” it imposed on Jan. 7 and decide on another penalty that reflects the “gravity of the violation and the prospect of future harm.”
Newsmax Apologizes for False Claims of Vote-Rigging by a Dominion Employee
The right-wing news site said it had found “no evidence” for pro-Trump conspiracy theories about Eric Coomer, who was Dominion’s director of product strategy and security.
Robert Downey Junior Discusses The Movie Tropic Thunder | Video: 10 Minutes 54 Seconds
On the Joe Rogan Show, Robert Downey, Jr. discusses whether or not Tropic Thunder could be made today.
Medical Racism: The New Apartheid | Video: 3 Minutes 38 Seconds
Medical Racism: The New Apartheid – From post-Civil War era and the Tuskegee Experiment to the present, explore the medical experimentation on Blacks in this unprecedented journey to unearth the truth.
Biden Admin To Resume Construction On Border Wall Amid Crisis
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) will resume construction on part of the border wall in the Rio Grande, according to Fox News.
Construction is set to resume on a 13.4 mile stretch of border wall after complaints from local residents and politicians, according to the report.
BREAKING: .@FoxNews has confirmed via the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that construction on a 13.4 mile stretch of border wall in the Rio Grande Valley will *RESUME* after pressure from local residents & politicians.
The Biden admin previously halted all wall construction in Jan.— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) May 12, 2021
USACE announced it has “resumed DHS-funded design & construction support on approx. 13.4 miles of levee in the Rio Grande Valley that were partially excavated or at various levels of construction when work on the wall was paused for review.”
The statement said USACE had started work to repair the Rio Grande Valley’s flood levee, but “this remediation work will not involve expanding border barrier.”
The Biden administration had previously halted the border wall construction in January, saying the wall was “not a serious policy solution.”
San Diego Sector Border Patrol has apprehended dozens of sex offenders so far in fiscal year 2021
San Diego Sector Border Patrol agents have arrested more than three dozen sex offenders so far during fiscal year 2021.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported that authorities apprehended a man on Sunday and discovered via records checks that “the Mexican national had been previously convicted of Sexual Abuse in the 1st Degree by Forceable Compulsion.” The individual was a registered sex offender in the state of New York.
He was subsequently removed to Mexico, according to CBP.
“This year there has been an alarming uptrend in the apprehension of convicted sex offenders,” U.S. Border Patrol San Diego Sector Chief Patrol Agent Aaron Heitke said. “Thankfully, our agents are continually on the alert for bad actors who attempt to cross the border illegally.”
Santa Clara U. President Resigns After Inappropriate Behavior, Officials Say
A Jesuit priest who delivered the homily at a Mass for the inauguration of President Biden has resigned as the president of Santa Clara University after he engaged in inappropriate behavior, university officials said on Wednesday.
An investigation by the Jesuits West Province found that the priest, the Rev. Kevin O’Brien, “engaged in behaviors, consisting primarily of conversations, during a series of informal dinners with Jesuit graduate students that were inconsistent with established Jesuit protocols and boundaries,” the chairman of the university’s board of trustees said in a statement to the university community.
“The Province also advised the Board that alcohol was involved and that no inappropriate behavior was found in any settings outside of these dinners,” the statement said.
The statement, which did not elaborate further on the behavior, said that Father O’Brien, who had been placed on leave in March, notified the board of trustees that he was resigning on Sunday, and that the board accepted his resignation on Monday.
“The Board of Trustees takes this situation very seriously and fully supports those who came forward to provide their accounts,” said the statement from the board chairman, John M. Sobrato.
Children could soon get a COVID vaccine after Maryland kids pave way in trial
Brothers Christian, 8, and Gerald Mugera, 11, volunteered for a clinical trial of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for children … (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)
Eight-year-old Christian Mugera went first, extending his arm for a blood draw and then a needle stick for a dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. His brother, 11-year-old Gerald, wanted to follow, but staff struggled to get a blood sample.
Their father, Dr. Charles Mugera, called them stoic in their potential contribution to science, as they were among the first scheduled to participate in a trial at the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health. The study is assessing the safety and efficacy of the Moderna vaccine in young children.
“We did explain to them about the trial,” Mugera said. “But more importantly for them, they think getting the vaccine will bring life back to normal. That’s more convincing for them. They know they get to go to school and see their friends.” While Christian got a shot Tuesday, Gerald wasn’t able to because the staff never could obtain his blood sample. That’s needed to test participants for antibodies.
Scientists running the trial say it’s important both that individual kids and society are protected. Children are the last and potentially pivotal group in the vaccination effort to end the pandemic.
“Without children, we are unlikely to have enough people vaccinated to completely turn the epidemic,” said Dr. James Campbell, a pediatric infectious disease specialist in the medical school and the site’s principal investigator.
Cryptocurrency market tanks after Tesla suspends bitcoin transactions
The global cryptocurrency market lost hundreds of billions of dollars in value after Tesla CEO Elon Musk said his company was suspending the use of bitcoin for vehicle purchases, a report said.
Musk made the announcement via tweet just after 6 p.m. Wednesday, at which point the entire cryptocurrency market was valued at about $2.43 trillion, CNBC reported, citing data from Coinmarketcap.com.
Arizona Adopts Election Reform Bill That Stops Some Voters from Automatically Receiving Absentee Ballots
by Andrew Trunsky
Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey signed an election reform bill Tuesday that could stop thousands of voters from automatically receiving an absentee ballot ahead of an upcoming election.
SB 1485 would remove voters who have not participated in Arizona’s last four elections from its permanent early voting list, which allows them to automatically receive absentee ballots ahead of elections. Partisan primaries are included as separate elections, meaning that a voter could be removed if they fail to vote back-to-back election cycles, but they must also first fail to respond to mail notices alerting them.
“Arizona is a national leader when it comes to election integrity and access to the ballot box, and today I signed #SB1485 to continue that legacy,” Ducey wrote on Twitter after signing the bill.
Voters are barred from removal until 2025, meaning that those on the roles will remain through the next two electoral cycles. The bill passed the state Senate earlier Tuesday on a 16-14 party-line vote.
Critics say that the bill could remove over 125,000 voters, a disproportionate share of whom are Latino.
The bill faced a rocky journey through Arizona’s Republican-controlled state legislature. After passing in the Senate and amended before passing the House, it temporarily stalled when the Senate was set to pass the amended version due to a controversial audit of the 2020 election that had begun in the state, but ultimately passed.
The GOP-backed audit of the state’s mail-in ballots follows multiple reviews that found no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the state, which President Joe Biden narrowly won.
The audit has alarmed both Arizona election officials and the Department of Justice, which has suggested that it may violate federal election laws.
Schools ditch student mask requirements in growing numbers
As a lengthy, bitter fight over mask requirements for students neared its conclusion, the chairperson of a Florida school board announced that she would agree to lift a mandate that had been in place since September even though she preferred leaving it in place until the end of the academic year. Parents hurled insults in response.
“Communist! Democrat!,” opponents of making children wear masks in school shouted as board chair Wei Ueberschaer and the district superintendent explained at a May 3 meeting that they still considered masks advisable. “This is Santa Rosa County, America, not China!”
Moments later, the Santa Rosa school board voted unanimously to make masks optional for all grades effective immediately, joining dozens of other U.S, communities in declaring that masks were or would soon no longer be mandatory for students.
The debates have been emotional and highly divisive around the country, in some cases leading to the involvement of police. A few beleaguered school boards, caught between the demands of anti-mask parents and the appeals of employee unions, eliminated student mask rules only to reverse or revise the decisions. Where many see a continued need to protect children who aren’t vaccinated against COVID-19, opponents argue that masks make students uncomfortable and mandates impinge on freedom.
“The mask is a personal choice, and I wore it at the beginning, but I just decided that it wasn’t about the mask anymore,” said Cynthia Licharowicz, a Milton, Florida, parent who opposed Santa Rosa County’s rule. “So I decided to take it off, and I wanted my child to have the same choice.” . . .
MSNBC’s Melber: Cheney Ouster All to Appease the ‘Deceitful Vanity’ of ‘One Blogger in Florida’
MSNBC anchor Ari Melber said Wednesday on his show “The Beat” that the ouster of Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) from Republican House leadership was “all to appease one blogger in Florida,” referencing former President Donald Trump.
124 Retired Generals Warn of Marxist Threat
More than 100 retired military leaders are warning about the threat of Marxism and socialism. They say today’s fight to preserve the constitutional republic of the United States is unlike any other since its founding in 1776.
Detroit on use of Zuckerberg’s CTCL election funding: ‘We have created a new normal’
The Department of Elections reported that what it was most proud of in its allocation of its $7.4 million grant was that it “allowed us to hire more quality staff because we were able to pay them more.”
Dominion Worker Drops Newsmax From Lawsuit After Network Apologizes for Allegations
A Dominion Voting Systems worker has dropped a lawsuit against Newsmax after the broadcaster apologized to him for allegations it said were unfounded. Newsmax apologized to Eric Coomer, Dominion’s director of product strategy and security, for covering claims by lawyers for former President Donald Trump and others that he “played a role in manipulating Dominion voting machines, Dominion voting software, and the final vote counts in the 2020 presidential election.” “Newsmax subsequently found no evidence that such allegations were true,” the company said in a statement. “Newsmax has found no evidence that Dr. Coomer interfered with Dominion voting machines or voting software in any way, nor that Dr. Coomer ever claimed to have done so. Nor has Newsmax found any evidence that Dr. Coomer ever participated in any conversation with members of ‘Antifa,’ nor that he was directly involved with any partisan political organization.” “We would like to apologize for …
Man convicted of consensual gay sex in the ’90s doesn’t have to register as sex offender: judge
A man convicted of consensual gay sex in the ’90s doesn’t have to register as a sex offender in Montana, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday.
Randall Menges was arrested as a teenager in 1993 and did seven years behind bars in Idaho for violating the state’s “crimes against nature” law.
Today, Menges couldn’t be arrested for his sexual activity but was still required to register as a sex offender in Montana.
“None of the governmental interests in maintaining a sexual offender registry are served by Menges’ inclusion,” US District Judge Dana Christensen wrote.
Menges must now be removed from the registry by May 21, and the judge ordered to clear records that say he was ever subject to registration.
“I guess I’m just grateful, honestly, that the judge actually listened and was fair because for the last few years of my life … I don’t feel like anything’s been fair,” Menges said Wednesday, according to the Associated Press.
The real steal is coming
The substitution of Rep. Elise Stefanik for Rep. Liz Cheney is an alarm, signaling that the Republican Party no longer will be bound by law or custom.
War is peace.
Freedom is slavery.
Ignorance is strength. — George Orwell, “1984”
Welcome to the funhouse world the Republican Party is building. Up is down. Black is white. Lies are truth.
The great cause that Republicans are uniting around is “election integrity.” That’s rich. The reality is that somebody did attempt to steal the 2020 election — Donald Trump. During the days and weeks following his loss, he brayed endlessly that the outcome was fraudulent, laying the groundwork for an attempt to overturn the voters’ will.
From the White House, he made multiple calls to local election officials demanding that they find votes for him. He dialed up members of local canvassing boards, encouraging them to decertify results.
At a time when Trump’s toadies were calling for legislatures to ignore the popular vote and submit alternate slates of electoral college votes, he engaged in flagrant election interference by inviting seven Michigan state legislators, including the leaders of the house and senate, to the White House on Nov. 20. What did they discuss? You can surmise from their statement issued after the meeting: “We have not yet been made aware of any information that would change the outcome of the election in Michigan and, as legislative leaders, we will follow the law and follow the normal process regarding Michigan’s electors…”
Trump phoned a Georgia elections investigator who was conducting a signature audit in Cobb County and asked her to find the “dishonesty.” If she did, he promised, “you’ll be praised. … You have the most important job in the country right now.”
The then-president phoned Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger 18 times. When he finally got through, he wove a tangled theory of voting irregularities that crescendoed to a naked plea to falsify Georgia’s vote: “So what are we going to do here, folks? I only need 11,000 votes. Fellas, I need 11,000 votes.”
Trump entertained ideas such as declaring martial law, seizing the nation’s voting machines and letting the military “rerun” the election. He turned loose his Kraken-conspiracy nuts and his pillow man to spread lies about Dominion Voting Systems, Black-run cities like Philadelphia and Chinese bamboo ballots.
The Trump campaign and its allies filed more than 60 lawsuits challenging election procedures and lost all but one. Pennsylvania was found to have erred in extending the period to fix errors on mail-in ballots. The case was a matter of three days and a small number of votes that would not have changed Pennsylvania’s outcome.
And then came the ultimate attack on election integrity — the violent attack on the Capitol and on members of Congress and the vice president as they were fulfilling their constitutional duties.
Leaving no doubt about his intentions for the riot, Trump told a crowd in February that the only thing that prevented the violent mob from successfully hijacking the official tally of the Electoral College votes was the “cowardice” of Mike Pence.
Today, we stand on the precipice of the House Republican conference ratifying this attempt to subvert American democracy. They are poised to punish Liz Cheney for saying this simple truth: “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.” In her place, they will elevate Elise Stefanik, whose claim to leadership consists entirely of her operatic Trump followership.
Let’s be clear: The substitution of Stefanik for Cheney is a tocsin, signaling that the Republican Party will no longer be bound by law or custom. In 2020, many Republican officeholders, including the otherwise invertebrate Pence, held the line. They did not submit false slates of electors. They did not decertify votes. They did not “find” phantom fraud. But the party has been schooled since then. It has learned that the base — which is deluded by the likes of Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham and Mark Levin — believes the lies and demands that Republicans fight.
As my colleague Amanda Carpenter put it, the 2024 mantra is going to be “Steal It Back.”
If Cheney must be axed because she will not lie, then what will happen if Republicans take control of Congress in 2022 and are called upon to certify the Electoral College in 2024? How many Raffenspergers will there be? How many will insist, as Pence did, that they must do what the Constitution demands? How many will preserve any semblance of the rule of law and the primacy of truth?
With this sabotage of Cheney, House Republicans are figuratively joining the Jan. 6 mob.
Mona Charen is policy editor of The Bulwark and host of the “Beg to Differ” podcast. Her most recent book is “Sex Matters: How Modern Feminism Lost Touch with Science, Love, and Common Sense.”
New survey of US Jews reveals worries, strengths, divisions
The survey of 4,178 Jewish Americans was conducted between November 2019 and June 2020 — long before the current escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. However, the findings reflected skepticism among U.S. Jews regarding that conflict — only one-third said the Israeli government was sincere in seeking peace; just 12% said Palestinian leaders were sincere in that regard.
A comprehensive new survey of Jewish Americans finds them increasingly worried about antisemitism, proud of their cultural heritage and sharply divided about the importance of religious observance in their lives.
The survey, released Tuesday by the Pew Research Center, estimated the total Jewish population in the country at 7.5 million — about 2.3% of the national population.
The survey of 4,178 Jewish Americans was conducted between November 2019 and June 2020 — long before the current escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. However, the findings reflected skepticism among U.S. Jews regarding that conflict — only one-third said the Israeli government was sincere in seeking peace; just 12% said Palestinian leaders were sincere in that regard.
Compared with Americans overall, Jewish Americans, on average, are older, have higher levels of education and income and are more geographically concentrated in the Northeast, according to Pew.
Yet even as the Jewish population is thriving in many ways, concerns about antisemitism rose amid the deadly attacks in 2018 and 2019 on the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh; the Chabad of Poway synagogue in Poway, California; and a kosher grocery store in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Three-quarters of Jewish Americans say there is more antisemitism in the U.S. than five years ago, and 53% say they feel less safe. Jews who wear distinctive religious attire such as head coverings are particularly likely to feel less safe.
The impact of such worries on people’s behavior seems limited: Pew reported that the vast majority of American Jews — including those who feel less safe — say concern about antisemitism hasn’t deterred them from participating in Jewish observances and events.
Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union of Reform Judaism, said American Jews believe they are being singled out for attacks and vitriol, yet also see antisemitism as part of a broader national problem of bigotry and intolerance.
“We have to get a lid on the tolerance of intolerance in the United States,” he told The Associated Press. “Hatred and bigotry existed before five or six years ago, but in recent years it has become OK to do it in a very public, unrestrained way.”
Don Lemon Begs Mother to Follow Science and … Take Off Her Mask
CNN is the recognized leader in Pandemic Panic Porn. Whenever you see someone having a meltdown over someone not wearing their mask good enough, the smart money is that person isn’t getting their info from BlazeTV. They’re getting it from the network with the bright purple death counter running 24/7. The network that shamed people who have even slightly challenged the official narrative. The network that based their editorial decisions on what would be worse for Trump. The same network who watches Fox News and complains about their pandemic coverage. That CNN.
So when Don Lemon goes on CNN and bashes his mother for still living in fear … c’mon son.
She chipped her tooth during the pandemic and she won’t go to the dentist. And I say, “Mom, you can go to the dentist, it’s safe.” Sanjay is going to do a house call on her because this is real, people are having trouble reemerging into society.
And if you are going to say during the entire pandemic and I am talking to you, mom and I’m talking to you my other friend – and I won’t say your name because she’ll get mad at me. If you are going to say I believe in the science and the scientists, then now on this side of the pandemic, then you must believe in the science and scientists as well.
Some of us have been maskless outside this whole time. Living in (mostly) silent judgment of those wearing them. I wonder where Don Lemon’s mom learned to live in such fear?
- CNN Doctor Wants You Masked Up Every Winter from Now On, but Not Because of COVID
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- This is CNN: Analyst Demands Biden Only Allow Americans’ ‘Freedom’ for Most Insane Reason Yet
- CNN Director Says Quiet Part Out Loud, Admits Network Purposely Exploits Pandemic Fear
To be kinda fair to Lemon, Joe Biden doesn’t help. Whenever Americans start to show the slightest bit of hope, Biden puts on an extra mask and stands out in an empty field just to be spiteful. People like Don Lemon’s mother are just following the former vice-president’s example. We’re a news cycle away from Biden sending his aide to gather up every mask in a five-mile radius and sewing them together as a new suit. The virtue signaling is strong in Biden.
But people have been taught to live in constant fear for over a year. Any time anyone attempted to provide the slightest bit of hope, they were shut down. They were shut down on CNN and by people like Don Lemon. Instead of putting his mother on blast, he should take a look at the cryon under his smug face. Then take a look in the mirror.
Schumer: ‘The big lie is spreading like a cancer’ among GOP
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) offered fiery criticism of Republicans on Tuesday for efforts around the country to tighten voter laws amid unproven claims made by former President Trump that the 2020 election was stolen.
Schumer, speaking at a Senate Rules Committee meeting on a sweeping elections overhaul bill, accused Republicans of trying to act upon the “big lie that the election was stolen” to “placate” and “please” Trump.
“Unfortunately, the big lie is spreading like a cancer among Republicans. It’s enveloping and consuming the Republican Party, in both houses of Congress,” Schumer said.
Schumer pointed to the likely ousting of Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) as House Republican Conference chair. Frustration with Cheney has boiled over among House Republicans after she’s pushed back against Trump’s false claim that the election was stolen.
“Liz Cheney spoke truth to power, and for that, she’s being fired,” Schumer said.
Schumer also criticized Republicans for not pushing back against state laws that add restrictions on the ability to vote.
“Every Republican in this room knows Joe Biden won the election fair and square. Every Republican knows that Donald Trump perpetrated the big lie. But the price of admission in today’s Republican Party is silence in the face of provable lies,” Schumer said.
The Senate Rules Committee is set to vote on a sweeping bill to overhaul elections that has divided Congress along party lines.
May 12, 2021 | Nightly News Rebroadcast | Video: 50 Minutes 40 Seconds
The Secretary of State announces sanctions on a Chinese official alongside the annual International Religious Freedom report, an influential name in American politics has just been stripped of power, and gasoline shortages surge in Georgia and Virginia following the cyberattack on Colonial Pipeline.
To Many Americans It Seems Official: With Biden In Office The Same Old Warmongers Are Back In Power | The Middle East Continues To Fall Apart Without Trump Peace Policies
The following is from Rachael Bunyan For Mailonline.
Israel under fire: Terrifying footage shows Hamas rocket blow up a bus, yards from civilians, while other videos show dozens of Iron Dome missiles shooting down bombardment over Tel Aviv
- Footage shows a bus erupting in flames in central city of Holon, near Tel Aviv
- In other videos, Israel’s Iron Dome’s missiles can be seen lighting up the night sky in Tel Aviv as they shot down rockets fired by Hamas militants
- Residents hid in their houses and under shelters as scores of rockets fired
Who is Miles Taylor, author of the ‘Anonymous’ NYT op-ed on Trump?
Miles Taylor — who on Wednesday revealed himself to be the author of the infamous “anonymous” New York Times op-ed slamming the president — is a former Department of Homeland Security staffer campaigning against Trump’s re-election.
Between 2017 and his resignation in April 2019, Taylor, 33, worked in DHS, including as chief of staff for Kirstjen Nielsen, the former secretary of homeland security.
A lifelong Republican, Taylor went public with his criticism of Trump this summer, and in August released a video endorsing Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden in the 2020 election.
That month, he also penned a Washington Post op-ed, under his own name, claiming the US is less safe under Trump, who governs “based on “whim, political calculation and self-interest.”
In response, Trump called Taylor a “disgruntled employee” in a tweet.
‘Rationals’ vs. ‘radicals’: Anti-Trump Republicans threaten third party
The letter, headlined: “A Call For American Renewal,” is an exploratory move toward forming a breakaway party, two of its organizers said. The group is dismayed by what it says is a modern Republican Party driven by its allegiance to Trump, who continues to falsely claim the 2020 election was stolen from him.
“The Republican Party is broken. It’s time for a resistance of the ‘rationals’ against the ‘radicals,'” said Miles Taylor, one of the organizers. Taylor, while serving in the Trump White House, wrote an anonymous opinion piece in the New York Times in 2018 headlined: “I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration.”
UN Warns of ‘Full Scale War’ Between Israel, Palestinians After Residential Building Collapses
Israel carried out hundreds of airstrikes in Gaza on Wednesday after Palestinian militants fired rockets into Tel Aviv and Beersheba, according to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), amid videos showing a 13-story residential tower collapsing in Gaza—while a United Nations envoy warned of a large-scale conflict erupting. “Terrorists in Gaza are firing a barrage of rockets into southern Israel,” the IDF wrote on Twitter on Wednesday morning. In subsequent tweets, the IDF confirmed that it targeted a multitude of Hamas targets, including “Hamas squads operating anti-tank missiles” and posted a video when Israeli forces struck “a terrorist squad preparing to launch an explosive UAV from Gaza into Israel.” It continued, “We just struck a Hamas rocket launcher preparing to fire 10 rockets at Israeli families & homes in the cities of Ashdod and Ashkelon. The IDF continues to thwart terrorist squads and rocket fire from Gaza.” Gaza officials told the Reuters …
Oops! | “Seychelles brings back curbs despite vaccination success”
The Seychelles, which has fully vaccinated over 60% of its population against Covid-19, is bringing back restrictions amid a rise in cases.
The archipelago of nearly 100,000 people recorded close to 500 new cases in the three days to 1 May and has about 1,000 active cases.
A third of the active cases involved people who had had two vaccine doses, the country’s news agency said.
The rest had either had a single dose or were unvaccinated.
Schools have been closed and sports activities cancelled for two weeks. Bars, restaurants and shops are to close early and some gatherings have been banned.
“Despite all the exceptional efforts we are making, the Covid-19 situation in our country is critical right now with many daily cases reported last week,” Health Minister Peggy Vidot told a press conference on Tuesday.
More than four-fifths of the active cases were among Seychellois people, with the remainder made up of foreigners.
The Seychelles, which relies on tourism for much of its income, began vaccinating its population in January using Chinese-made Sinopharm vaccine doses donated by the United Arab Emirates.
By mid-April about 60% of the vaccine doses administered in the country were Sinopharm, with the rest Indian-made AstraZeneca vaccine doses, Bloomberg reported.
EXC: Fauci-Funded Researchers Headlined Wuhan Lab ‘Gain Of Function’ Conference.
Recipients of grants from Dr. Anthony Fauci’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases headlined a Wuhan Institute of Virology conference focusing on “gain of function research and gene editing,” The National Pulse can exclusively reveal.
A press release from the Wuhan Institute of Virology – believed by many to be the source of COVID-19 – recounts the “2nd China-U.S. Workshop on the Challenges of Emerging Infections, Laboratory Safety and Global Health Security.”
The May 2017 event was “co-organized by U.S. National Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), CAS and Hubei Society for Microbiology.”
According to the Wuhan lab, the event had five academic sessions, the first of which was “gain of function research, gene editing, targeting and delivery and other novel biotechnology.”
US Protests Over Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Ignite In Major Cities
Supporters of both Israel and the Palestinian territories gathered for demonstrations in response to increasing conflict in the region across multiple U.S. cities.
Israel increased airstrikes against Hamas fighters and other militants in Gaza on Wednesday after the groups launched a volley of rockets at Tel Aviv, Israel’s largest city Tuesday, the Associated Press reported.
Protesters gathered outside Israeli consulates in New York, New York, and Los Angeles, California, while demonstrators met at the State Department building in Washington, D.C. before marching.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators met outside the Israeli consulate in New York City and heated exchanges began when counter-protesters carrying Israel flags showed up, CBS New York reported.
“My mother lives on the edge of Gaza,” protester Sophie Sassoon said, according to CBS New York. “She’s in a shelter as we speak … This is war. I will not sit and watch the only democracy in the Middle East be ripped apart.”
Bannon’s War Room | Morning Edition Hour 1 | Recorded May 12, 2021 | Video: 47 Minutes 46 Seconds
Episode 940 – The Next Venezuela … How to Stop America’s Jump Over Socialism to Communism.
Paxton said it’s now or never to fix our elections, because Texas could have been just like Georgia last November if he had caved to the litigious onslaught from the left. Guests are: Matt Gaetz, AG Ken Paxton, Mike Lindell.
Bannon’s War Room | Morning Edition Hour 2 | Recorded May 12, 2021 | Video: 47 Minutes 48 Seconds
Episode 941 – 360 Degree Conflict of Interest … Following the Money of Bill Gates and Dr. Fauci.
“They ruined a nation within a 100 days,” he said. “Maybe it’s satire maybe it’s tongue in cheek, but Wired magazine is publishing articles saying, ‘Hey, you know what we can do with the cicadas? Eat them.’” Guests are: Naomi Wolf, Raheem Kassam, Frank Gaffney.