Re: Jan6: The American Gulag
Democrats Political Fraud Knows No Limit... How The Democratic Party Faked An American Insurrection https://strategic-culture.su/news/2023/11/23/how-the-democratic-party-faked-an-american-insurrection/ https://twitter.com/CitizenFreePres/status/1725646919911793040 https://twitter.com/charliekirk11/status/1725664210879951276 https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/111427915261936680 Authored by Robert Bridge Last week, more than 40,000 hours of Jan. 6 Capitol Police security footage was released in the public domain that once and for all blew a hole in the pro-Trump ‘violent insurrection’ narrative so dear to the Democrats. The one question on countless Americans’ minds following the release of the damning videos was: will all those men and women recently locked away as political prisoners for dozens of decades get another day in court? Indeed, January 6 may have been a lot of things to many people, but another Boston Tea Party it most definitely was not. Social media was alight over the weekend showing one benign scene after another of the ‘insurrectionists’ casually strolling through the Capitol Building premises, exchanging pleasantries with the on-duty police officers, even giving each other fist-bumps. Here's a January 6 video they've never shown the public. A protester is uncuffed by Capitol police and then fist bumps another officer down a hallway away from everyone. pic.twitter.com/ft1yTOITLr — Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) November 17, 2023 The revelations of the true nature of the event came to light as newly appointed House Speaker Mike Johnson released the security footage, which came as a political manna from heaven for former president Donald Trump and other members of the Republican Party. “Truth and transparency are critical,” Johnson said in a prepared statement. “This decision will provide millions of Americans, criminal defendants, public interest organizations, and the media an ability to see for themselves what happened that day, rather than having to rely upon the interpretation of a small group of government officials.” Democrats, however, who have milked the ‘insurrectionist’ narrative for everything it is worth, predictably chafed at the release, calling it a ‘risk to national security.’ “It is unconscionable that one of Speaker Johnson’s first official acts as steward of the institution is to endanger his colleagues, staff, visitors, and our country by allowing virtually unfettered access to sensitive Capitol security footage,” said New York Democrat Rep. Joseph Morelle, who sits on the Committee on House Administration. “That he is doing so over the strenuous objections of the security professionals within the Capitol Police is outrageous. This is not transparency; this is dangerous and irresponsible.” And just like that the J6 Committee’s violent insurrection narrative has crumbled The Capitol Police facilitated the protesters passage through the building The vast majority of J6ers should be immediately released.pic.twitter.com/Lb1dEGT1yI — Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) November 17, 2023 For almost two years, Democrats, who managed to cherry-pick the most suggestive scenes of the footage, portrayed January 6th as everything from another September 11 to a second Pear Harbor. Last year, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC), the photogenic member of the Democrat’s radical progressive wing, was shown visibly upset after having to “relive” the events of the Capitol riot. “I am so angry. Having to relive that footage,” she sobbed, rubbing her forehead. “I know it’s not just me. This is everyone.” “These attacks killed people, traumatized people and for any of you right-winger Trump loyalists, he sent his own people to jail, and promised his own people that he would pardon them.” The inconvenient truth, however, is that only one person was killed on the day of the Capitol riot – unarmed Air Force veteran and avid Trump supporter, Ashli Babbitt, who was shot by a police officer. Now, Republicans are demanding justice be served and that the incarcerated protesters be immediately set free. “And just like that the J6 Committee’s violent insurrection narrative has crumbled,” said conservative commentator Charlie Kirk over X (formerly Twitter). “The Capitol Police facilitated the protesters passage through the building…the vast majority of J6ers should be immediately released.” However, with the Democrats still in control of Washington, D.C., together with the FBI, the Justice Department and other administrative offices, the Republicans will have to wait until November 4th – and possibly longer if they lose their White House bid – before any real justice is meted out. Meanwhile, federal officials have said there is no evidence that law enforcement officials helped coordinate the attacks. “If you are asking whether the violence at the Capitol on January 6 was part of some operation orchestrated
Re: Coronavirus: Thread
Troops Discharged Over COVID-19 Vaccine Refusal Sue US Government For Billions In Lost Wages Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times The former military members are seeking backpay, damages, and other compensation. A Navy member prepares a COVID-19 vaccine dose at a vaccination site in a file image. (DOD Photo by Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Carlos M. Vazquez II via The Epoch Times) Nicholas Bassen, an Army sergeant who was discharged in 2022 for not getting a vaccine, wants compensation of at least $120,000. The suits, filed in recent months, argue that when Congress compelled the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to rescind its COVID-19 vaccine mandate, lawmakers carefully chose their wording. "Congress expressly chose the term 'rescind', rather than more customary language such as 'repeal', 'amend', or 'clarify', to direct the DoD and the courts that the rescission should be applied retroactively," one states. To support their argument, lawyers pointed to U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's Jan. 10 memorandum, in which the retired general rescinded the mandate and ordered military leaders to remove adverse actions pertaining to vaccine refusal from the records of members still serving. Mr. Austin also said that former members could lodge petitions to request corrections to their records. "Secretary Austin acknowledged the Congressional directive to apply the Rescission retroactively by, among other things, committing to correct all of the paperwork and adverse personnel actions resulting from non-compliance with the now voided mandate and orders issued pursuant to it," one of the suits states. "We think there's some pretty strong precedent in in our favor, because when Congress repealed 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' they use the word 'repeal'. When they did this, they use the word 'rescind'," Dale Saran, one of the attorneys representing the former members, told The Epoch Times in an email. "Everybody should be made whole again," Mr. Saran added later. "They should be right back in the position they were before." Mr. Saran estimated that, if the suits are successful, then billions of dollars would go to former members. He noted that the money was already appropriated by Congress for pay and other compensation before the military discharged more than 8,000 personnel for refusing to receive a vaccine. Tens of thousands of National Guard personnel, meanwhile, were denied pay for being deemed out of compliance with the mandate. All three class-action suits were filed in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Former members interested in joining the suits can go to militarybackpay.com. U.S. Army soldiers prepare Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines at the Miami Dade College North Campus in North Miami on March 9, 2021. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images) Government Responds Military leaders have resisted calls to award backpay to people affected by the mandate, and in court filings the government urged judges to dismiss the suits. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2023, which featured the language on rescinding the mandate, does not mandate money being awarded to affected members and former members, government lawyers told the courts. In a section of the act, Congress said that "the secretary of defense shall rescind the mandate that members of the Armed Forces be vaccinated against COVID-19." "Nothing in the language of section 525 can be interpreted as mandating compensation retroactively for service members affected by the vaccination requirement retrospectively or prospectively," the lawyers said in one filing. "Indeed, the language does not contemplate, much less mandate, any compensatory rights for service members." Even if plaintiffs were correct, Congress did not intend to award backpay, the lawyers said, referencing how a proposed amendment that would have clearly awarded compensation to discharged members was voted down. "Such an amendment would have been unnecessary if the word 'rescind' already required the military to provide the monetary relief the plaintiffs seek," they said. Judges in the cases will rule in the future on the government's motions to dismiss. If successful, appeals could be lodged. If judges rule against the government, then the cases will advance. In a reply to the government, lawyers for the former members said that the defense act was a "money mandating" law, pointing to court decisions finding provisions such as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" were money-mandating provisions. "To the extent Congress left any discretion, the 2023 NDAA, in conjunction with the 2023 Appropriations Act, the Military Pay Act, and other federal laws and regulations identified in the complaint, are money-mandating because they provide clear standards for payment; state the precise amounts for payment; and set forth eligibility conditions for such payments," they said. Other Restoration In addition to awarding backpay, the courts should order the military to correct the records of those
Re: USA 2024 Elections Thread
Can Europe Become Western Again? Authored by Victor Davis Hanson via American Greatness, For the first time in a millennium, Europe no longer plays a critical role in promoting Western civilization nor in world history at large. Ostensibly it should. Some 750 million people live on the European subcontinent. Europe still remains the most popular tourist spot on earth. Its hallowed architecture, art, infrastructure, and natural beauty still remind millions of visitors of the world’s once most dynamic and grandiose civilization. Even now, European nations, in and out of the Europe Union, still produce a combined gross domestic product of $24 trillion, second only to the United States. Europe’s exports are among the world’s most coveted cars, sophisticated technology, and valued industrial goods. Yet since World War II, Europe has played an increasingly reduced role in world affairs, despite its membership in the NATO alliance and the growth of the European Union. Why? The twentieth-century traumas of World War I and II—in which some 70 million Europeans were killed—saw Europe commit near collective suicide. The ensuing Cold War hinged on protecting a relatively unarmed Europe from an aggressive nuclear Soviet empire on Europe’s borders. But as World War II and the Cold War faded into memory, Europe did not snap back and assume its centuries-old role as a world leader and beacon of Western Civilization. Instead, a weary Europe outsourced its security to the United States. It redefined itself as a postmodern, pacifist, socialist utopian project—most recently predicated on redistributionist entitlements, open borders, and radical green policies that have all inevitably ensured European decline. Europeans grew louder and whinier the less relevant they became. Although Europe has large sources of untapped hydroelectrical, nuclear, coal, and natural gas power, its green religion has all but shut down new nuclear and fossil fuel generation and closed existing plants. The result is that the cost of European energy is prohibitive for both the public and industry. Recent economic growth was essentially zero throughout the Eurozone. The European cradle-to-grave social net, and its hyper government regulations and restrictions on economic activity increasingly are unsustainable. Few European nations spend even a mere two-percent of their GDP on defense. And the result is that both Europe at large and its NATO members cannot defend their continent without the assistance of the United States. Nor can Europe project power beyond its shores to preempt dangerous threats on its own horizon or to its allies. Europe is also shrinking and aging. Its collective fertility rate of 1.5 is far below the rate of replacement. Most young people in Europe—the ancient home of Christendom—express neither belief in God nor any faith in organized religions. In many European countries, foreign-born emigrants comprise twenty percent of the population. Most of them have arrived poor, without education, in mass, illegally, with little desire to fully integrate, from inimical countries, and holding political and religious views hostile to Europe. The other half of the West is in little better condition. The United States is reeling under $33 in national debt. After embracing various bankrupt academic critical legal “theories,” major American cities are unsafe, unhealthy, and unsightly. The American southern border is wide open. Eight million illegal aliens have poured in just since January 2021, many of them hostile to the United States. America is increasingly politically, racially, and tribally divided. It has mysteriously determined not to fully utilize its vast natural resources, especially gas, oil, and rare earth metals. In this vacuum, the enemies of the West see only opportunity. Russia invaded European Ukraine. Its ongoing aggression still terrifies frontline NATO nations. China threatens periodically to storm Taiwan, as it bullies it neighbors, buzzes U.S. ships and planes, and manipulates currency, markets, and trade. Iran has armed to the teeth anti-Western terrorist organizations like Hezbollah and Hamas. Iran’s “Shiite Crescent” from Tehran to Damascus to Beirut to Palestine threatens both pro-Western Arab regimes and Israel. Iran brags that its surrogates can destroy Israel and will soon be nuclear with a global reach to both the United States and Europe. Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, presumably on the assumption that current generations of Westerners in Israel, the U.S., and Europe would not react too strongly to its precivilization barbarity if it entailed a subsequent messy war. In sum, the world is safe only when a strong America, along side its European partner, secure their borders, protect the world’s sea- and air spaces, support constitutional and pro-Western nations, and deter thuggish belligerents. Perhaps as war clouds gather and enemies multiply, Europe will rediscover its heritage
Re: Wokeism is Doomed
Derek Chauvin, Convicted In George Floyd's Death, Stabbed In Federal Prison https://twitter.com/vidsthatgohard/status/1728245562708017567 The commissary of the inmate that stabbed Derek Chauvin https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-george-floyd-overdose-death/fact-check-no-evidence-drug-overdose-was-main-cause-of-death-for-george-floyd-in-2020-idUSL1N3241XJ/ Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis cop convicted of murdering George Floyd in 2020 by kneeling on his neck for more than nine minutes while bystanders objected and said "you're killing him," has been stabbed in a federal prison. Chauvin was assaulted on Friday afternoon at Federal Correctional Institution, Tucson, Associated Press reported, citing an anonymous "person familiar with the matter." While not naming names, the Federal Bureau of Prisons did confirm that a prisoner was attacked at the 380-prisoner facility at approximately 12:30 pm local time. Prison workers performed "life-saving measures" on that prisoner, who was then transported to a hospital. No details on his condition have been released. Derek Chauvin kneeling on George Floyd's neck on May 25, 2020. Floyd's death precipitated global protests that gave participants veritable "Get Out of Covid Lockdown Free" cards as they set cities ablaze Chauvin is simultaneously serving two sentences: a 22-and-a-half year Minnesota sentence for second degree murder and a 21-year federal sentence for violating Floyd's civil rights. His lawyer had previously asked that he be kept from the general prison population for his own protection. Former cops are often targeted, and, by virtue of the details of his case and the worldwide uprisings that ensued, Chauvin presents a target of extraordinary notoriety. He spent most of his Minnesota jail time in solitary confinement. The commissary of the inmate that stabbed Derek Chauvin pic.twitter.com/YPI3xB1SPI — vids that go hard (@vidsthatgohard) November 25, 2023 The Bureau of Prisons isn't exactly doing a great job of safeguarding high-profile prisoners. To name just a couple more lapses, there's the 2019 alleged suicide of wealthy financier, serial pedophile and likely honey-pot mastermind Jeffrey Epstein, and the July 2023 stabbing of sex-abusing sports doctor Larry Nasser. "It is also the second major incident at the Tucson federal prison in a little over a year. In November 2022, an inmate at the facility’s low-security prison camp pulled out a gun and attempted to shoot a visitor in the head." - AP It had already been a terrible week for the 47-year-old Chauvin: On Monday, the US Supreme Court rejected his appeal of the state conviction. His lawyers argued that Chauvin failed to receive a free trial -- owing to pretrial publicity, and widespread anticipation that a not guilty verdict would cause a new wave of deadly, destructive protests. An appeal of the federal conviction is still working its way through the courts. This image from Floyd's funeral service puts him in the company of Martin Luther King, Jr and Malcolm X (via Click2Houston.com) In the wacky world of social justice warriors, Floyd has curiously been elevated to hero status. Floyd didn't die taking a seat at the front of a bus or marching for the right to vote, but rather as he was being arrested for allegedly trying to buy cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 bill. A postmortem toxicology report found fentanyl, norfentanyl and methamphetamine in his blood. Whatever your take on how exactly Floyd died and the extent of Chauvin's culpability, one truth is universal: Perpetrators of a wrongful death may be villains, but that doesn't make their victims virtuous.
Re: USA 2024 Elections Thread
Mass Immigration Is Fueling Surge In Violent Crime, Warns German Federal Police Office Authored by Thomas Brooke via Remix News, Mass immigration into Germany is a significant contributing factor in the surge in violent crime being reported across the country, Germany’s federal police office, the Bundeskriminalamt (BKA), has revealed. Police crime stats published on Thursday showed a considerable increase in violent crime of around 17 percent in the first half of 2023 compared to the same period last year. Violent crime in public rose by 14 percent while reports of violent offenses in private residences increased by around 3 percent, according to the BKA. The agency cited three primary factors for the concerning rise in offenses: increased mobility after lockdowns, the cost of living crisis, and mass immigration. It noted that mobility had now returned to pre-pandemic levels, which “creates more opportunities and reasons for crime,” and stated that economic burdens brought by high inflation correlate with the number of violent crimes, particularly in “economically weaker regions”. The third factor it cited was Germany’s “high immigration rate.” “When it comes to violent crimes, there is a greater increase in the number of non-German suspects,” the BKA stated. “It can be assumed that many people seeking protection have several risk factors that make violent crime more likely. These include the living situation in initial reception centers as well as economic insecurity and experiences of violence,” it added. The number of crimes involving German citizens — which includes dual citizens who may have been born elsewhere — rose by 8 percent compared to non-German suspects which increased by as much as 23 percent. Furthermore, cases involving foreign minors rose considerably by 37 percent. Read more here...
Re: USA 2024 Elections Thread
Where Europe's 'Far-Right' Has Gained Ground The media is so anti-common sense that anyone who dares to take any contrary view is called "far-right" as if they are Nazis. According to the media, “Far right” now means you’re against: - stabbing children - giving kids p*rn in school - chopping off kids’ body parts - adult men dressed as women dancing sexually for kids - giving kids irreversible drugs Raise your hand if you’re also “far right”! ♀️ — Chaya Raichik (@ChayaRaichik10) November 24, 2023 As Armstrong Economics' Martin Armstrong points out, anyone who wants to return just to normal life is now disgustingly far-right. You have to support World War III, high taxes, lifestyle sacrifice for climate change, and if you do not tell your son in 1st grade that maybe he is really a girl then you are guilty of child abuse, and your children should be taken from you by force. On Wednesday, the media-labeled 'far-right' populist PVV (Freedom Party), led by Geert Wilders, came out on top in the Dutch parliamentary elections. The party, which has promised to ban mosques and is calling for a far more restrictive immigration policy, is expected to win between 35 and 37 of the 150 seats in the Dutch House of Representatives; it previously held just 16. The following map, via Statista's Martin Armstrong provides an overview of the strength of a selection of parties on the so-called 'far right' of Europe's political spectrum. Infographic: Where Europe's Far-Right Has Gained Ground | Statista You will find more infographics at Statista These political parties have their differences, of course, but can be compared ideologically for, among other things, their strong nationalism and social conservatism. In Poland, the Law and Justice party (PiS) came to power in 2015. In the 2019 parliamentary elections, the PiS-led United Right coalition managed to retain a majority of seats in the Polish Sejm however the coalition lost its majority in the October 2023 parliamentary elections. Nevertheless, it remains in front, and the PiS currently holds 35 percent of seats (42 percent when including its coalition partners). In Hungary, Viktor Orbán's Fidesz has already been in power for over ten years, and won a landslide victory in the 2022 parliamentary elections. It currently holds 59 percent of parliamentary seats and forms a governing coalition with the Christian Democrat NKDP. In Austria, the FPÖ came to power in 2017, but after a sharp decline in the 2019 elections, the party now accounts for just 16 percent (down from 28 percent in 2017), a share similar to that achieved by the Rassemblement National after its historic 2022 legislative result in France. In Belgium, the Flemish nationalist party, Vlaams Belang, currently weighs in at 12 percent, while in Germany, the AfD is down to 11 percent after losing 11 seats in the 2021 federal elections. Any suggestion that we should return to when there was an immigration requirement and when transgender was a private decision not celebrated on a beer can, and we understood that Mother Nature had cycles all by herself and warming periods marked the rise in civilization and cold periods population declines and nations contracted, that is no longer middle ground; it is 'far-right'. ArmstrongEconomics' Martin Armstrong concludes, "never in all my years have I ever witnessed the mainstream media so FAR LEFT that they are destroying the very foundation of civilization, and they do not care. The position MUST be their view, and anything to the contrary is evil. This is NOT a free society, nor is this how civilizations are maintained. When you divide the nation in such a manner and impose your will by sheer dictatorship, the end is near."
Re: USA 2024 Elections Thread
Voters Want Age And Term Limits For Elected Officials Authored by Brett Lloyd via RealClear Wire, At a time when divisive American political rhetoric drives the headlines, and sentiment on elected officials and the direction of the country is bleak, it’s hard to find solutions in which Democrats, independents, and Republicans agree. However, in looking at “age limits” or “term limits” for federally elected officials, it’s clear these are two issues that gain vast amounts of support from across the political spectrum. In the most recent Bullfinch Group National Survey of 1,200 American adults, respondents were asked if they “support or oppose ‘term limits’ for members of Congress and the U.S. Senate, which would limit the amount of terms an elected official is allowed to serve?” While some may be surprised to see that more than 8 in 10 adults support term limits (81%), what may be more striking is the near identical support shown by self-identified Democrats, independents, and Republicans: Whatever you personally feel about term limits, one only has to look at the abysmal job approval of Congress, along with a possible (if only partial) “solution” that garners 80% support among Democrats, 81% among independents, and 82% among Republicans as at least the beginnings of a workable issue that we as Americans can get behind. Furthermore, of the 38 different questions asked to respondents in the survey, only one saw sentiment among Republicans and Democrats more aligned: the question of age limits. When respondents were asked if they “support or oppose ‘age limits’ for members of Congress, the U.S. Senate, and the President of the United States, which would serve as an upper age limit for federally elected officials?” over three-quarters of adults supported age limits (78%), with support among self-identified Democrats and Republicans at 80% and 81% respectively: If we believe the national studies that show congressional job approval in the dumps, that show favorability of elected officials could be better, or that show a majority of Americans thinking some of our elected officials are too old to productively carry out another term, then we need to be looking for tri-partisan solutions aimed directly at improving the offices and office holders in this country. Age limits and term limits seemingly fit that bill. … Now the only problem: getting our elected officials to agree. Brett Loyd is president and CEO of The Bullfinch Group.
Re: Wokeism is Doomed
Wokesters cheering for Islam will be the first to die at the hands of Islam by bullets to the skull and swords to the neck. NYPD Called After Mob Of 'Radicalized' Students Storm High School To Protest Pro-Israel Teacher Hundreds of students protesting the Israeli government formed into a threatening mob last week, rampaging through the halls of a Queens high school for nearly two hours after they discovered one of the teachers had attended a pro-Israel rally. Around 11 a.m. Monday at Hillcrest High School in Jamaica, Queens, students gathered for a protest which was planned on Facebook, which showed a photo of the teacher at a pro-Israel rally on Oct. 9, where she held a poster saying "I stand with Israel." "The teacher was seen holding a sign of Israel, like supporting it," one senior student told the NY Post. "A bunch of kids decided to make a group chat, expose her, talk about it, and then talk about starting a riot." The scene at Hillcrest High School in Queens as a Jewish teacher hid in her locked office for hours while students demanded she be fired for attending a pro-Israel rally. pic.twitter.com/jzVCEofvJS — Steve McGuire (@sfmcguire79) November 25, 2023 Several of the protesters attempted to breach the teacher's classroom, which the pro-Israel educator had barricaded herself inside of. "Everyone was yelling ‘Free Palestine!" said one senior. About 25 NYPD cops raced to the school to quell the disturbance, principal Scott Milczewski told parents. Administrators placed the school in a “soft lockdown,” activating a team of staffers and safety agents trained to handle emergencies. The NYPD was called to the school again the next day, and said cops arrested an 18-year-old student for making threats over a group chat. The student was charged with aggravated harassment. -NY Post "Everyone was screaming ‘(The teacher) needs to go!’" a ninth-grader told the outlet, adding "They want her fired." Democrat councilman Robert Holden (D-Queens) told the Post, "I don’t know why these students are so misinformed, so intolerant and so radicalized. They don’t even know the history of the Middle East. They haven’t been taught that." One senior agreed, saying "I doubt half of them know how to spell Palestine," while a sophomore suggested "They just wanted to make drama about it." "Just, like, chaos. They thought of it as fun." Students said rumors spread that the teacher “was abusing Muslims” and had taught “it was okay that children were being killed in Palestine.” Another teacher called the accusations “100% false.” At least three students who organized the riot face superintendent’s suspensions, the most severe punishment, said a source familiar with the incident. Milczewski said the law forbids him to discuss any consequences for students, but that the DOE “has a discipline code and I promise you that has been followed.” -NY Post According to Hillcrest Chancellor David Banks, "We have our whole team working very closely with the students and the teachers at the school. But what’s happening in the Middle East has gotten a lot of emotions from a lot of people. We’re still figuring out what’s going on." The incident follows a Nov. 9 citywide walkout by some 700 NYC high school students calling for a ceasefire. Some more footage. pic.twitter.com/rF9xO7xEcf — Mr. Jewish Bookery (@Jewish_Bookery) November 9, 2023
Re: Coronavirus: Thread
https://www.theepochtimes.com/health/natural-immunity-better-than-protection-from-covid-19-vaccination-study-5534822 Natural Immunity Better Than Protection From COVID-19 Vaccination: Study Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), People with protection against COVID-19 following recovery from the illness were better protected than those who received a COVID-19 vaccine, according to a new study. Colorized scanning electron micrograph of a cell (purple) infected with a variant strain of SARS-CoV-2 virus particles (pink), isolated from a patient sample. (NIAID via The Epoch Times) People who received a vaccine were nearly five times as likely as the naturally immune to test positive for COVID-19 during the Delta era and 1.1 times as likely to test positive for COVID-19 during the Omicron era, researchers in Estonia found. The vaccinated were also seven times as likely to be admitted to a hospital for COVID-19 amid the spread of the Delta variant and two times as likely to be admitted to a hospital during the Omicron period, when compared with the naturally immune, the researchers found. "Our study showed that natural immunity offers stronger and longer-lasting protection against infection, symptoms, and hospitalization compared to vaccine-induced immunity," Dr. Anneli Uusküla, with the Department of Family Medicine and Public Health at the University of Tartu, and her co-authors wrote. Previous studies have also found that post-infection immunity is superior to or similar to the protection bestowed by vaccines. Dr. Uusküla and her colleagues said they felt there were gaps in the literature on the subject, prompting them to work on the study. They drew from a pool of 329,496 adults and matched many of the adults in three cohorts. One compared people with natural immunity to those who received a vaccine; one compared the naturally immune to people who did not have documented prior infection or vaccination; and one compared the naturally immune to people with hybrid immunity, or both prior infection and vaccination. People were defined as vaccinated if they had received a full primary series of a COVID-19 vaccine and did not have a documented infection. The primary outcome was laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 occurring at any time for people without any immunity, after 60 days of recovery from a prior infection for the naturally immune, at least 14 days after completion of a vaccine for the vaccinated group, and at least 14 days after vaccination or 60 days after recovery for people with hybrid immunity. The second outcome, hospitalization, was defined as hospitalization with COVID-19 and with certain medical codes. Researchers utilized national health care records and examined data from between Feb. 26, 2020 and Feb. 23, 2022. The Delta era ended in December 2021. In the cohort comparing the naturally immune to people without prior immunity or vaccination, researchers found that the naturally immune were much better protected against hospitalization, used as a measure of protection against severe disease. "During both periods, natural immunity proved to be highly effective in protecting against reinfections progressing to severe disease and was associated with a significantly lower risk of COVID hospitalization than no SARS-CoV-2-specific immunity," the researchers said. But they also discovered that the naturally immune, while much less likely to be infected during the Delta era, were actually more likely to test positive during the Omicron era. In the comparison of the naturally immune to people with hybrid immunity, the researchers determined those with hybrid immunity were better protected against infection during the Delta era, but they were at slightly higher risk during the Omicron period. In the hybrid immunity group, just one COVID-19 hospitalization was recorded, compared to nine among the naturally immune. "Irrespective of the infection-causing variant, the protective effect of hybrid immunity in preventing infection progression to severe COVID-19 significantly exceeded that of natural immunity (although the absolute numbers of hospitalizations in the hybrid immunity subcohort were small)," the authors said. Limitations included some people being admitted to hospitals with COVID-19 but not for it, though researchers tried minimizing the issue by only including hospitalizations with codes indicating patients had respiratory disease. The research was funded by the European Regional Development Fund, Estonian Research Council, and European Social Fund. Authors declared no competing interest.
Re: Coronavirus: Thread
Pfizer Sues Poland For Bailing On COVID-19 Vaccine, Citing Shady EU Mega-Deal https://www.rynekzdrowia.pl/Finanse-i-zarzadzanie/MZ-negocjacje-z-Pfizerem-nie-doprowadzily-do-ugody-Pierwsza-rozprawa-6-grudnia,252362,1.html In April, 2021, the world learned that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had been negotiating the biggest contract ever sealed for 1.1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines via text messages back and forth with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla. And while those texts were 'somehow' lost, Pfizer is now suing Poland - which, under the EU deal struck between von der Leyen and Bourla, obligated the Polish government to purchase 60 million more doses than it did. "Pfizer and BioNTech are seeking to hold Poland to its commitments for COVID-19 vaccine orders placed by the Polish Government, as part of their contract to supply the European Union signed in May 2021," a Pfizer spokesperson told Politico, adding that BioNTech is joining the lawsuit. According to Polish newspaper Gazeta Prawa, Pfizer brought the civil case before a Brussels court because the doses were purchased through EU joint procurement contracts, drawn up under Belgian law. -Politico Poland, under the leadership of then Health Minister Adam Niedzielski and the populist PiS party, took a bold step in April 2022 by stopping vaccine deliveries, citing force majeure. This decision, influenced by both financial and epidemiological factors, echoed across Eastern and Central Europe, leading to a wave of dissent against the Commission's deal with Pfizer. Efforts to renegotiate the deal, prompted by the collective outcry of several EU countries, only partially assuaged the discontent. The demands for transparency and a more equitable agreement intensified, leading the Commission to revise the deal. However, Poland's refusal to sign the revised agreement highlighted the growing fissures between EU member states and the Commission's negotiation tactics. Fast forward to the aftermath of Poland's October election, which saw the opposition gain enough seats to potentially install Donald Tusk, a centrist figure, in power. Pfizer's lawsuit, potentially amounting to €1.2 billion, presents a formidable challenge for Tusk's administration. This move by Pfizer is not just about recouping losses but sending a stark message to other nations considering contract breaches. The Commission was able to extract commitments from Pfizer to reschedule some deliveries, but this didn't go far enough to appease the capitals. As vaccination rates flatlined, countries outside the Central and Eastern European group started joining the call for a renegotiation. At one point capitals even began asking for greater transparency on the original negotiations between Pfizer and the Commission. “What was promised? We would really like to know,” said Belgian ambassador Pierre Cartuyvels in December 2022. In May this year, the Commission quietly announced a substantial renegotiation of the offending deal. It was reducing — by an unspecified amount — the number of doses outstanding, while the deliveries would also be more spread out, into 2026. Poland, however, refused to sign up to the revised deal. -Politico According to Polish Health Minister Katarzyna Sójka in comments to Rynek Zdrowia, this is a difficult case, but there's a chance it can end "in a positive way."
Re: Coronavirus: Thread
Pfizer Failed To Disclose Risks Of Preterm Birth And Neonatal Death To Pregnant Women In RSV Vaccine Trial Authored by Megan Redshaw via The Epoch Times Pfizer failed to inform pregnant women participating in its clinical trial for the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine that the clinical trial of a similar vaccine by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) was halted after a safety signal revealed a potential risk of preterm births leading to neonatal deaths. (MargJohnsonVA/Shutterstock) Even though Pfizer knew about the potential safety signal and was studying preterm births as an “adverse event of special interest,” it continued to enroll women in its clinical trial and did not fully inform participants of the risks the vaccine may pose to their babies—and in some cases, provided misleading and contradictory statements, according to an investigation by The BMJ. “The BMJ article demonstrates Pfizer’s continued disregard for the law and patient choice,” attorney Thomas Renz told The Epoch Times in an email. “The entire point of informed consent is to ensure a patient can make a decision based on all available information. Rather than embracing the Nuremberg Code and American laws and regulations, Pfizer seems to view informed consent as a barrier to sales—something that causes vaccine hesitancy or drug hesitancy.” “There should have never been a clinical trial in pregnant women studying any injections aimed at RSV in pregnant women,” Sasha Latypova told The Epoch Times in an email. “Pregnancy and potential to become pregnant is historically the most protected class of human subjects from clinical research because the risks and potential to cause inadvertent harm are too devastating to justify scientific interest in made-up subjects like RSV.” Ms. Latypova is a retired pharmaceutical industry executive with 25 years of experience in pharmaceutical research and development and co-founder of several organizations that work with pharmaceutical companies to design, execute, collect data, and submit clinical trial data to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). According to Ms. Latypova, what was once considered a harmless cold has since been rebranded as RSV. “The vast majority of parents have not heard of RSV if they have not been exposed to CDC fear-mongering and renaming of otherwise harmless common colds. The incidence or prevalence of RSV is not known precisely because it poses no danger to anyone,” Ms. Latypova said. “In the U.S., RSV is attributed as a cause of death to about 17 infants per year out of 4,000,000+ babies—based on a review of 12 years' worth of death certificates." According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), RSV is a common respiratory virus that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms. Although most people recover in a week or two, it can be serious and is more commonly diagnosed in infants. Both GSK and Pfizer were developing an RSV vaccine for pregnant women, but GSK halted its phase 3 vaccine trial in February 2022 over a possible increased risk of preterm births and neonatal deaths in vaccinated participants. Immediately after becoming informed of the safety signal, GSK informed health authorities and updated its consent forms. There was no explanation for the increase in preterm births, but GSK told The BMJ it was still investigating the safety signal and was no longer developing its vaccine. A dispute then emerged over whether Pfizer had the obligation to inform women participating in their RSV clinical trial about the potential risk and whether their consent forms should be updated accordingly. Pfizer Failed to Inform Pregnant Women of Preterm Birth Risk The BMJ asked Pfizer whether pregnant women in its clinical trial were informed about the potential risk of preterm birth, but the pharmaceutical giant did not respond. As a result, The BMJ contacted governmental health authorities in all 18 countries where Pfizer had trial sites and reached out to more than 80 trial investigators. According to the investigation, The BMJ did not receive any responses that indicated Pfizer informed pregnant participants of the risk, and some said Pfizer continued to enroll and vaccinate pregnant women for months after the potential risk of preterm birth from GSK’s clinical trial was publicized. Charles Weijer, a bioethicist and professor at Western University in London, Canada who specializes in research ethics, told The BMJ that pregnant women should have been informed of the safety signal revealed during GSK’s clinical trial so they could consider whether they wanted to receive the vaccine or if they had already received the vaccine, whether they should seek medical advice or follow up. “Any failure to provide new and potentially important safety information data to trial participants is ethically problematic,” Mr. Weijer said. Rose Bernabe, a professor of research ethics and research integrity at the University of Oslo, told The BMJ, “The renewal of informed
Re: USA 2024 Elections Thread
Congratulations on recent elections. Many people have also been freed from Twitter jail. Expect more interesting results. Milei and Wilders Elected: Is The Libertarian Moment Finally Here? https://www.theepochtimes.com/opinion/milei-and-wilders-elected-is-the-libertarian-moment-finally-here-5535891 It used to be said that conservative guys just called themselves “libertarian” so girls would talk to them at cocktail parties. At least one well-known conservative talk show host called them “losertarians” since they didn’t always toe the line and vote Republican. Nevertheless, many of us are still convinced Henry David Thoreau, sounding very libertarian, was correct when he wrote in his 1849 book “Civil Disobedience” that “the best government is that which governs least.” Thomas Jefferson and John Locke earlier had said much the same and now, after a couple of hundred years, that libertarian view seems to be growing globally. Much of this is a reaction to the obvious: Marxism or quasi-Marxism does not work economically and, worse, it has engendered horrendous totalitarian oppression with a massive death count in China, Russia, North Korea, and Cambodia, among others. Libertarianism has started to look a lot better, especially—and ironically—in the eyes of Karl Marx’s beloved proletariat, unlike the so-called “elites,” who are a protected class. Here, in the United States, the MAGA movement that now dominates the Republican Party tilts libertarian. Its leader, 2024 presidential candidate Donald Trump, has also done so in most of his recent pronouncements. Meanwhile, in South America and Europe, even more overtly libertarian candidates have won their country’s elections. First it was economist, professor, and sometime rock musician Javier Milei in Argentina, who in reaction to the catastrophic 134 percent inflation and a concomitant rise in poverty in his country, has become the new president-elect. Then in the Netherlands, longtime political libertarian and strongly anti-immigration gadfly Geert Wilders out-paced all predictions in their elections and will attempt to form a government. Mr. Wilders success is partly due to the Dutch farmers who were fed up with new “climate change” regulations that would make it impossible for them to make a living—and therefore for many of their countrymen to eat. The corporate media and their political allies in the European Union and the United States immediately branded Mr. Milei and Mr. Wilders with their now-favorite designation “far-right,” though these men are no more far-right than Jefferson, Locke, and Thoreau, the very figures these so-called liberals and progressives—though they prefer to ignore or “forget”—once considered their intellectual heroes. What is transpiring now globally is a fight between these rising libertarians of various stripes and the incumbent statists. In recent years, despite the Trump interregnum, the statists have seemed to be in the ascendancy. The Davos/globalist set, Klaus Schwab et al., was almost assumed to have already taken power under the mantra “You’ll own nothing, and you will be happy,” a phrase that originated in a 2016 video from the World Economic Forum. It was a new supposedly benign form of communism, though oddly reminiscent of the “three rounds and a sound” (bicycle, watch, and sewing machine plus a radio) deemed sufficient for life in the Communist China of the 1950s. Meanwhile, those advocating this mantra, the aforementioned globalist set, flew in and out of that glamorous Davos resort on private jets to deliver speeches on global warming while their desired constituents, who rarely had a chance to fly business and felt lucky when they were admitted to an over-crowded airport lounge, looked on via television and internet with increasing skepticism. Globalism was a shell game taking place before their eyes. Bill Gates would never be happy “owning nothing.” He was buying up all the farms in America (that weren’t already bought by the Chinese). He and his cronies had found a new way get rich (or richer) and stay rich. Globalism was just a mask for oligarchic power, with that oligarchy extending into a one world-wide state. Why think small? National borders are so 20th Century. So a battle has been joined between these mega-statists and the libertarians (again of various stripes, often nationalist), but for the first time the latter seem to be ascendant. Mr. Wilders and Mr. Meili are not far-right or “hard-right,” to use the term adopted by The Economist, which called the Dutch leader a “headache for Europe.” (Actually men like Mr. Wilders will be Europe’s salvation, if allowed.) They are not Nazis, as they are sometimes called, or nearly so. The Nazis were socialists—the National Socialist Party—it is always worth reminding ourselves. Mr. Milei and Mr. Wilders are not far-anything. They are a return to the values enshrined in the United States’ “Declaration of Independence,” the importance of the
Re: Collapse: Is Now Locked In
1984 CBDC: Your Travel Will Be Restricted By Personal Carbon Allowances https://bombthrower.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Intrepid-Sustainable-Future-for-Travel.pdf https://www.lsnglobal.com/futurespaces/article/29990/intrepid-travel-and-the-future-laboratory-s-new-report-warns-of-travel-extinction https://www.timeout.com/news/personal-carbon-allowances-could-restrict-how-often-you-travel-according-to-a-new-report-100623 https://www.thefuturelaboratory.com/reports/2022/neo-collectivism Authored by Mark Jeftovic via BombThrower.com, “Experts suggest” your standard of living be reduced by over 85% A report on the future of travel and tourism, co-authored by a travel agency called Intrepid Travel and The Future Labs Institute, posits a future deeply impacted by climate change and restrictions on tourist travel to combat it. “A Sustainable Future for Travel”, warns of “travel extinction”, where some areas suffer such radical climate change that all tourism there ceases, and “personal carbon allowances” that will restrict how often one is permitted travel. >From the report (pardon the length, emphasis added): “Carbon Passports A personal carbon emissions limit will become the new normal as policy and people’s values drive an era of great change. As demonstrated by a worldwide tourism boom, the frequency at which we can fly is once again seemingly unlimited. Conscience and budgets permitting, we feel free to hop on planes from one place to the next. But this will change. ‘On our current trajectory, we can expect a pushback against the frequency with which individuals can travel, with carbon passports set to change the tourism landscape,’ says Raymond [Martin Raymond, Future Laboratories co-founder] Personal carbon allowances could help curb carbon emissions and lower travel’s overall footprint. These allowances will manifest as passports that force people to ration their carbon in line with the global carbon budget, which is 750bn tonnes until 2050. By 2040, we can expect to see limitations imposed on the amount of travel that is permitted each year. Experts suggest that individuals should currently limit their carbon emissions to 2.3 tonnes each year – the equivalent of taking a round-trip from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. However, the average carbon footprint in the US is 16 tonnes per person per year, 15 tonnes in Australia and 11.7 tonnes in the UK. This is in stark contrast to where we may find ourselves in the future, with 2040’s travellers forced to forgo the horizon-expanding experiences so readily embraced by today’s tourists” For all practical purposes, your carbon emissions will line up with your energy usage, give or take a relatively narrow band of efficiencies (unless we have some kind of clean energy breakthrough, and the only viable one we have, nuclear, is not considered clean energy by the climate cult). Said differently: Your standard of living is your energy usage. Reducing a society’s energy usage is the same as reducing its living standards. With this in mind, let’s look at the numbers cited by the Sustainable Future for Travel report: “Experts suggest that individuals should currently limit their carbon emissions to 2.3 tonnes each year.” The table below lays out exactly how much the standard of living for the residents of each country will have to be reduced in order to meet the recommended carbon quota set by unelected experts. This is the level of “degrowth” it will take to satisfy the objectives of climate alarmists relying on unfalsifiable premises, arbitrary computer models, and who are deliberately ignoring and suppressing countervailing data. How serious are our leaders and policymakers about reducing the citizenry’s living standards by upwards of 85%? Here is Canada’s Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault, rather blithely confirming that the government will limit natural gas usage in order to fight climate change: Reporter: There will be limitations on how much natural gas you can use in the winter? Guilbeault: Yes, absolutely, that’s what fighting climate change looks like. Full clip: Canadian Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault rather blithely answering a reporter who asked "will the government limit natural gas usage in the winter?" (Short answer: "Of Course! That's What fighting climate change looks like!") Watch: pic.twitter.com/sau9p2CMnW — Mark Jeftovic, The ₿itcoin Capitalist (@StuntPope) November 25, 2023 Why are we talking about carbon passports in the section on Central Bank Digital Currencies? (Today’s post is an excerpt from the “Eye on Evilcoin” section of this month’s Bitcoin Capitalist macro overview). Because we think CBDCs will invariably launch as, or morph into, personal carbon footprint quotas. Right now, what we call “the fiat money system” uses debt for money. That’s no longer sustainable, so what we’re expecting is an attempt to switch what
AI: Levandowski's AI Church
Former Google Engineer Pardoned By Trump Reboots 'AI Church' https://www.wired.com/story/anthony-levandowski-artificial-intelligence-religion/ https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-11-23/anthony-levandowski-reboots-the-church-of-artificial-intelligence Anthony Levandowski, a name synonymous with the pioneering of self-driving technology and a figure shrouded in Silicon Valley controversy, has made headlines again. This time, it's not about groundbreaking tech advancements or legal battles, but something far more unorthodox: the resurrection of his AI-centric church, "Way of the Future." The church was originally launched in 2015, while Levandowski, while working on Google's self-driving project Waymo. It was an ambitious endeavor, aiming to merge technology and spirituality by fostering a "spiritual connection" with AI. Despite its closure a few years later, Levandowski's renewed venture, as discussed on Bloomberg's AI IRL podcast, has already attracted a "couple thousand people," Bloomberg reports. "How does a person in rural America relate to this? What does this mean for their job?" he said. "Way of the Future is a mechanism for them to understand and participate and shape the public discourse as to how we think technology should be built to improve you." The existence of the church became public knowledge in 2017 via Wired, years before ChatGPT brought AI into the mainstream conversation. Levandowski’s idea raised eyebrows, both because of the church’s focus on “the realization, acceptance, and worship of a Godhead based on Artificial Intelligence developed through computer hardware and software,” and because of Levandowski himself. At the time, he was at the center of a high-profile legal battle related to the theft of trade secrets, sentenced to 18 months in prison, then pardoned by former President Donald Trump. -Bloomberg According to Levandowski, more sophisticated AI systems could help guide humans with moral, ethical or existential questions. "Here we're actually creating things that can see everything, be everywhere, know everything, and maybe help us and guide us in a way that normally you would call God," he said.
Re: 1984: Thread
Propaganda Censorship MindControl Indoctrination Messaging 1984 a big local problem, now turning into a centralised globally coordinated Mass Formation nightmare PsyOp... https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/inside-the-un-plan-to-control-speech-online-5534524 https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf387339 Inside the UN Plan to Control Speech Online The UN is escalating its war against 'conspiracy theories' and 'misinformation' by creating an 'internet of trust.' By Alex Newman Nov 24, 2023 A powerful United Nations agency has unveiled a plan to regulate social media and online communication while cracking down on what it describes as “false information” and “conspiracy theories,” sparking alarm among free-speech advocates and top U.S. lawmakers. In its 59-page report released this month, the U.N. Educational, Cultural, and Scientific Organization (UNESCO) outlined a series of “concrete measures which must be implemented by all stakeholders: governments, regulatory authorities, civil society, and the platforms themselves.” This approach includes the imposition of global policies, through institutions such as governments and businesses, designed to stop the spread of various forms of speech while promoting objectives such as “cultural diversity” and “gender equality.” In particular, the U.N. agency aims to create an “Internet of Trust” by targeting what it calls “misinformation,” “disinformation,” “hate speech,” and “conspiracy theories.” Examples of expression flagged to be stopped or restricted include concerns about elections, public health measures, and advocacy that could constitute “incitement to discrimination.” Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, testifies remotely during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on "Censorship, Suppression, and the 2020 Election," in Washington on Nov. 17, 2020. (Bill Clark-Pool/Getty Images) Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, testifies remotely during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on "Censorship, Suppression, and the 2020 Election," in Washington on Nov. 17, 2020. (Bill Clark-Pool/Getty Images) Critics are warning that allegations of “disinformation” and “conspiracy theories” have increasingly been used by powerful forces in government and Big Tech to silence true information and even core political speech. Just this month, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee released a report blasting the “pseudoscience of disinformation.” Among other concerns, the committee found this “pseudoscience” has been “weaponized” by what lawmakers refer to as the “Censorship Industrial Complex.” The goal: silence constitutionally-protected political speech, mostly by conservatives. "The pseudoscience of disinformation is now—and has always been—nothing more than a political ruse most frequently targeted at communities and individuals holding views contrary to the prevailing narratives,” states the congressional report, "The Weaponization of ‘Disinformation’ Pseudo-Experts and Bureaucrats." Indeed, many of the policies called for by UNESCO have already been implemented by U.S.-based digital platforms, often at the behest of the Biden administration, the latest congressional report makes clear. Deputy Director of UNESCO Xing Qu (2nd R) views some ancient manuscripts on March 31, 2021. (MICHELE CATTANI/AFP via Getty Images) Deputy Director of UNESCO Xing Qu (2nd R) views some ancient manuscripts on March 31, 2021. (MICHELE CATTANI/AFP via Getty Images) On Capitol Hill, lawmakers nevertheless expressed alarm about the new UNESCO plan. “I have repeatedly and publicly criticized the Biden administration’s misguided decision to rejoin UNESCO, putting U.S. taxpayers on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars,” House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) told The Epoch Times regarding the social-media plan. Calling UNESCO a “deeply flawed entity,” Mr. McCaul said he is especially concerned that the organization “promotes the interests of authoritarian regimes—including the Chinese Communist Party.” Indeed, UNESCO, like many other U.N. agencies, includes multiple members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in its leadership ranks, such as Deputy Director-General Xing Qu, The Epoch Times has reported. The CCP has repeatedly made clear that even while working in international organizations, CCP members are expected to follow communist party orders. Lawmakers on the House Appropriations Subcommittee dealing with international organizations are currently working to cut or reduce funding to various U.N. agencies that lawmakers say are using U.S. taxpayer money improperly. Already, the U.S. government has twice exited UNESCO—under the Reagan and the Trump administrations—due to concerns about what the administrations described as extremism, hostility to American values, and other problems. The Biden administration rejoined earlier this year over the objections of lawmakers, The Epoch Times reported. An aerial view of a sculpture at the UNESCO
Re: Wokeism is Doomed
1984: Propaganda Disney's 'Wish' Is A Theatrical Bomb And The Latest In A String Of Woke Failures Is it time to declare the Disney brand dead? Only a couple weeks ago the entertainment giant suffered one of its worst box office showings ever with the failure of The Marvels, a feminist driven girl-boss movie which was widely applauded by social justice advocates but ignored by the vast majority of the public. The film is expected to lose $200 million to $300 million once receipts are totaled and marketing costs are accounted for. In a bizarre attempt at maximum cope, the media is hailing The Marvels as the largest ever theatrical opening by a black female director. When, in fact, the movie is actually the largest box office bomb made by a black female director. Now, Disney's animated 'The Wish' is set to top that failure, falling well below box office predictions and bringing in only $32 million over a five day period including the once lucrative Thanksgiving weekend. Numerous reports suggest that Wish is opening to empty theaters across the country. Media spin doctors have attempted to jump ahead of “get woke, go broke” accusations with articles claiming that the movie is not woke, but more “Libertarian” in its messaging. This is, for the most part, a dishonest deflection. The film's producers openly admitted their woke methodology in a number of interviews including their desire to inject Diversity and Inclusion messaging. While the woke intent is more obscure than previous films, Wish features yet another precocious ethnic teen female (named Asha) banding together with her diverse cast of friends to fight a revolution against the white male patriarchy. The main villain is, of course, a white guy named “King Magnifico” who rules over the kingdom of Rosas using the magical power to grant wishes. However, the King doesn't grant everyone's wish, only some, and those who don't get their wish granted forget their wishes forever. Asha believes this is unfair and that all people should have have their wishes returned or fulfilled (perhaps a vague nod to the concept of equity in which every person is taught to expect equality of outcome, not just equality of opportunity). When Asha finds a magical power that threatens the King's monopoly, he loses his mind with envy and goes full-bore dark side to keep control. While this story arc could be interpreted as a criticism of centralized governance, the greater plot is far more socialist in its agenda. The evil King is overthrown by the power of “collective love”, the Queen sides with the revolutionaries and rules in his place and everyone gets access to equal wish fulfillment. It's a woke carnival side show. Critics also argue that the film is mostly unoriginal, with an endless list of nostalgia references and character ideas stolen from better movies made decades ago. The most common reaction to Wish from theater goers? It's boring. This has been the M.O. of modern Disney for some time now – They dig up the bones of their previous successes and try to reanimate them instead of making something new and imaginative. This is what happens when a company hires creators based on diversity stats rather than talent. Massive losses have been plaguing Disney month after month. Lightyear and Strange World featured LGBT messaging for children, which did not go over well with audiences. Indiana Jones: Dial of Destiny was another feminist replacement fantasy that bombed horribly. Almost every major Marvel and Star Wars release in theaters and on Disney+ has hit a brick wall in the past couple years, largely due to woke messaging. It's a failstorm of epic proportions. The spin machine is working overtime to defend Disney's brand. Woke films like Elemental were flops at American theaters but made more money overseas (the movie still failed to break even once marketing costs and the theater cut is added). Wish will probably be handled the same way – A disaster in the US but a “moneymaker” in South Korea or Brazil. And at this stage in the game this is the best that Disney can hope for: Breaking even. In the meantime, Disney's name is mud in America and for good reason. Rumors are swirling that the company is seeking to “de-wokify” future content, but it may be too little too late for an organization that only two years ago was so aggressive and prideful in their efforts to indoctrinate American youth.
Re: Wokeism is Doomed
White Savior Hysteria And The Real Reasons Why Leftists Hate YouTuber MrBeast There is a fundamental disconnect between the political left and the rest of the world that requires extensive investigation and dissection. For most people the idea of someone spending a solid portion of their time and finances helping those in dire need could only be considered a good thing. This is not true for the average leftist, though. For such activists we tend to find that good is evil and evil is good, and the upside down nature of their thinking bewilders those with normal brains. For the woke, the more you help people, the more you are hurting them (unless you hold a high place on the victimhood totem pole). But this juxtaposition is only part of the reason why they seem to loath YouTuber MrBeast so much. MrBeast (real name Jimmy Donaldson) has made a successful career out of engaging in philanthropy and he gets results; helping people to gain back their eyesight, saving orphanages overseas or giving poverty stricken children shoes. All of these efforts have for years garnered accusations from the political left and their organizations of “white savior” activities. They argue that the white savior trope seen in Hollywood movies (where a white man travels to desperate countries and helps non-white people get back on their feet) is an unacceptable image in our modern era of “equity and inclusion.” They claim that MrBeast is exploiting the white savior symbol as a way to elevate himself instead of simply helping others. In his latest video, MrBeast showcased his program to dig 100 wells in Africa for villages with no access to clean drinking water. The video triggered yet another social media firestorm in which leftist activists raged about a white man “pretending to help” brown people while taking attention away from what they consider to be more acceptable and progressive non-profits. They say that brown people must be helped by brown people. If white people do it, there must be a darker ulterior motive. In the western world access to clean water is usually a given and often taken for granted. Sadly, in many countries clean water is a mere dream, and lack of access holds these communities back from developing and improving their economic situation. Almost everything relies on water. The video has garnered over 115 million views so far and earns millions of dollars in ad revenue, all of which goes directly back into his charity fund to continue paying for more wells and other charity projects. So what's the problem? Is it only that MrBeast is a white guy? Who among these hundreds of villages in Africa cares that a white man helped them get access to clean water for generations to come? So far, none of them have complained. Only hyper-privileged first-world woke activists seem to care. Hatred of skin color is only a small part of the greater woke mind virus. It's important to remember that leftists are predominantly collectivists, and it is likely that their deeper disdain for people like MrBeast is rooted in their desire to undermine individualism and meritocracy. As conservatives commonly point out, good charities and individual efforts to help others are far more effective than taxation and financial appropriation by governments. Leftists love big government, but governments waste money, steal money, and misallocate money into non-helpful areas. Individual crusaders, however, inject money exactly where it needs to go and make governments look bad. In the case of MrBeast, he accomplished in a few years what African governments claimed they would do for decades. Their corruption made viable change impossible, and leftist run programs are limited by their own ideological hangups, making them useless. All it took was one “white guy” with a YouTube channel and some cash to circumvent all of that and get things done. They hate MrBeast because he represents the power of individual effort. His whiteness is just an excuse they use to avoid admitting that what they really dislike is individualism. Many defenders have pointed out the hypocrisy of the leftist reaction to MrBeast – They drone on and on about how the mega rich should contribute reparations to help those less fortunate. Yet, when someone like MrBeast does this on his own, they are outraged. The point for these activists is that the hive gets the credit. They want the mob to be seen as the hero, not the individual. They didn't force MrBeast to do good things, he just did them. Therefore, they don't get the glory they think they deserve. The political left is often portrayed as the side of empathy and compassion, but their behavior proves they are not interested in legitimately helping others. They only care about optics; constantly scheming to steal acclaim while obstructing good men in their charitable endeavors.
Re: USA 2020 Elections: Thread
> https://twitter.com/NateLF4/status/1718787546522808551 > https://twitter.com/ElectionWiz > > 50,000 ballots out of 2.1 million were randomly selected and tested. > 0 of them were on VoteSecure paper. > > https://rumble.com/vn4kgx-the-american-faces-behind-the-audit.html Even Oliver Stone Is Starting To Question The 2020 Election https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2023/11/even_oliver_stone_is_starting_to_question_the_2020_election.html Oliver Stone is a Hollywood leftist who has an odd way of being right at times. His Academy Award-winning JFK was dismissed as a conspiracy theory. Turns out he was likely closer to right all along -- as Tucker Carlson noted in one of this segments. That's not the only one. His South of the Border documentary about Latin America's wave of elected leftist dictators was initially criticized as Chavista propaganda, a glossing over of some of the region's worst rulers ... except that if you watch the thing, which I did twice, you realize he did an extraordinary job of revealing these people as the unattractive pigs that they were. Sleazy, covetous, Imelda-like, sidelong, gangsterly ... he actually exposed them in all their glory in a way their worst critics couldn't. That was a useful record of the era. He's criticized government bureaucracies' demonization of ivermectin and vaccine mandates which is credibility right there. His criticism of the way the Vietnam War was run by vested interests and swamp bureaucrats was probably spot on, too. So now he's dropped another truth bomb, or at least is circling around it. According to RealClearPolitics, which showed a segment and transcript of Stone conversing with Bill Maher: Some of the transcript (they go off on tangents) is here, emphasis mine: MAHER: Well, I mean, [Trump] doesn't concede elections. You know, the elections only count if we win theory of government. Okay. Well, come on. You know, Trump has he still has not conceded the election. He has not conceded. He does not honor them. Okay. STONE: I mean, do you know for a fact that he lost? I'm just curious. MAHER: Okay. You're going to make me -- STONE: I just don't know all of the facts. MAHER: Well I do. Is there a conspiracy theory that you don't believe? STONE: Come on, Bill. You know I'm intelligent. MAHER: Intelligent? Of course you are. But look, look, I've had many people sit here and I'd say the same thing to them. Like, the key to getting along in America is not getting into these tribal things. It's understanding that you can have somebody in your life who you go for A, B, C, and D, We are so aligned and the person is so smart and they really get it. And then E each of you thinks the other one's crazy and there's a couple of those with us, but we got A, B, C, and D, and so we just. OLIVER STONE: We'll start with that. MAHER: Yes, that's got to be enough. You can't make people like agree with you on these things. And you're right when you -- STONE: I'm just asking you, I'm not an expert on the election. I don't go on. I'm not a political junkie. You are. And you follow it very closely. Okay. MAHER: All right, then I'll give you the thumbnail sketch. They tried it in like 60 courts. It was laughed out of every court, including by Republican judges. Report The people who save this democracy were Republicans. Good Republicans. In states where Trump pressured them like the guy, the one he's on trial for in Georgia. Find me 11,000 votes. It's on tape. A guy like that saying to him, sir, we just don't do that here. I voted for you. I'm a Republican, but we just don't do that. That's what saved us. And they were Republicans. So you don't take their word for it. I mean, it would. STONE: I don't know. I mean, you went through the 2000 election. That was horrifying to me. What happened when the Supreme Court closed that down. What happened there? You know, the popular vote was -- MAHER: What should we do? Do we just keep counting votes forever? Or should we still be counting them now? STONE: No. Count them correctly. MAHER: The people who have testified that this was a fair and will [sic] run election. It's a who's who of people like Bill Barr. Mitch McConnell. You're talking about Liz Cheney. You're talking about dyed in the wool, serious conservative Republicans who went with Trump really further out than a lot of us thought they would go with a guy like McCain's not a war hero. [...] STONE: Well, I don't know the facts. And I think I would trust the accountants more than the politicians. And I'd like to know what the accountants, the guys who vote, who know the most about votes, who do the Electoral Commission's, you know. I can't take Biden's word for it on anything. MAHER: It's not his word. It's the Electoral Commission. It's Trump's own election security guy who said this was the most fair, well-run election that we've had ever. STONE: Really?
Re: Wokeism is Doomed
Wokeism implodes when their 100% Democrat controlled and Minority dominated city centers of excellence continue to fail, decade after decade after decade... Segregated Classrooms Spark Controversy As Proponents Criticize 'White Standard' School districts across the country, primarily in major, Democrat-run cities such as Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco and Oakland, have been offering segregated classes in the hopes of battling a decades-long, race-based achievement gap. Illustration: Taylor Callory for Education Week As the Wall Street Journal reports, Evanston Township, a suburb of Chicago, is the latest to introduce the controversial strategy designed to enhance the education experience of students of color - particularly in advanced placement courses. The local school's 3,600-student high school is 44% white, 24% black, 20% hispanic and 5% asian in a mix of wealthy families and lower income families. Some have suggested that the voluntary segregation of black, latino, and white students raises crucial questions about the progress made since the Civil Rights Movement. "Our black students are, for lack of a better word…at the bottom, consistently still. And they are being outperformed consistently,” said Monique Parsons, Evanston school board vice president, adding "It's not good." A white standard? According to Dena Luna, who leads black student-achievement initiatives in Minneapolis Public Schools, "A lot of times within our education system, black students are expected to conform to a white standard," underscoring what proponents have argued is a need for spaces where students of color can thrive - which, for some reason, Indian and Asian students of color don't typically require. The district offers middle- and high-school students electives focused on African-American history and social-emotional support, taught by teachers of color. Created in 2015 for Black boys, the format has expanded to Black girls and will soon expand to Latino students. An internal study showed improved attendance for Black boys in the program in 2017 and average GPAs of 2.27, compared with 2.14 for Black males districtwide. "In our spaces, you don’t have to shed one ounce of yourself because everything about our space is rooted in blackness," said Luna. Evanston's so-called 'affinity classes,' labeled AXLE for black students and GANAS for latino students, have been met with a blend of praise and skepticism. Students in these classes have reported feeling more accepted and represented. "I feel like I represent me and not the whole black race in this AP class," said one AXLE student, expressing a newfound sense of individuality in the learning environment. "It’s a safe space. In AP classes that are mostly white, I feel like if I answer wrong, I am representing all black kids. I stay quiet in those classes." This year there are at least 105 students enrolled in GNAS math courses, while another 72 are enrolled in AXLE math courses, and 14 in AXLE sophomore English class. A 2019 study on the original program for Black boys offered by the Oakland Unified School District found that students who took the affinity class were slightly less likely to drop out of school. The district also offers elective and advisory classes designated for Latino, Asian Pacific Islander and Arab students, said Jerome Gourdine, director of targeted strategies for the district’s office of equity. Evanston is taking the strategy one step further, offering courses for Black and Latino students in core math classes: algebra 2, precalculus and AP calculus, as well as an English seminar. Evanston’s classes for Black students are known as AXLE, an acronym for Advancing Excellence, Lifting Everyone, and those for Latino students are called GANAS, from a Spanish expression that means “giving it all you’ve got.” -WSJ Meanwhile, both the legality and the social impact of re-segregating classrooms is a topic of fierce debate. "Integration is a positive social good," said Max Eden, an education researcher at the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute, who believes these 'affinity classes' undermine the goal of the Civil Rights Act. "We want students to be colorblind and to treat each other only on the basis of who they are as human beings." But will it help test scores? In Evanston, around 75% of white students in 11th and 12th grade enroll in AP classes according to district data, vs. around 25% of black students and around a third of latino students. Of those, in the 2021-22 school year, 80% of white AP test takers earned a score of 3 or higher - the benchmark typically required for college credit, vs 61% of latinos and 48% of black AP students. As these initiatives continue, their impact on educational equity, racial integration, and societal implications will be closely monitored. Of course, unless students - regardless of race, are willing to devote hours of their lives to studying, preparing, and grinding out
Re: USA 2024 Elections Thread
US "Education" system Corrupt Wa$teful Communist Indoctrination Camp... Randi Weingarten's Not-So-Dandy Year https://amgreatness.com/2023/11/24/randi-weingartens-not-so-dandy-year/ Authored by Larry Sand via American Greatness, I have written about Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, many times over the years, as there is an ongoing abundance of subject matter to be explored. And 2023 has certainly not been an exception. Picking up where I left off in March... In April, Weingarten exhibited a textbook example of hypocrisy. It’s no secret that she and other union honchos hate charter schools. These schools are rarely unionized and typically do better at educating kids than the traditional public school variety. Perhaps worse for the union crowd, charters are frequently housed in public schools with extra space due to insufficient funding. Weingarten especially has it in for Eva Moscowitz, who runs the very successful Success Academy chain of charter schools in New York. Under Weingarten’s guidance, her union pressured New York City Mayor Eric Adams to cancel three of Moskowitz’s co-location proposals for the city. Yet at the very same time, Weingarten, who sits on the board of University Prep, a unionized charter, convinced the NYC Board of Education to approve a co-location for one of their schools. Also in April, Weingarten testified before the House Subcommittee on the Covid pandemic. She was there to answer questions about her union’s influence on school reopening guidelines issued by the CDC. While Weingarten insisted that her main goal was opening schools, it was anything but. She constantly argued for keeping schools shuttered through the spring and summer of 2020 when her union aggressively lobbied the CDC to adjust its school-reopening guidance. Two of its language recommendations were adopted verbatim. Yet, she had the audacity to tell Congress, “We spent every day from February (2020) on trying to get schools open. We knew that remote education was not a substitute for opening schools. We know that young people learn and connect best in person, so opening schools safely – even during a pandemic – guided our actions, which I will describe in detail.” But her “details” were really quite undetailed. She dodged, obfuscated, and even used the fact that she was 65 years old to explain her memory lapses. Additionally, Dr. Tracy Høeg, an epidemiologist, blasted Weingarten, accusing her of fudging a scientific study to wrongly argue to Congress that schools should have been kept closed during the height of COVID-19. In May, Weingarten opined in an article that “Culture Wars Harm Education.” She starts off the piece, “Nowadays I am the president of a union, but I am harking back to my years as a civics teacher as I write this column. Governors and education officials in Florida and other states are doing exactly what extremists baselessly accuse educators of doing—imposing their ideological agenda on public schools, rewriting history, stifling free expression and creating intolerance.” First off, no one is more involved with “imposing their ideological agenda on public schools” than she is. From all the sex and gender craziness to inviting Ibram X. Kendi – probably the most vocal and aggressive CRT proponent in the country – to speak at an AFT conference. His talk was touted as, “Hear from Dr. Ibram X. Kendi in this free-ranging discussion with student activists and AFT members on his scholarship and on developing anti-racist mindsets and actions inside and outside classrooms.” Regarding Weingarten’s “years as a civics teacher” – more hooey. Yes, she taught history at Clara Barton High School in Brooklyn for a few years, but in 2011, EAG News obtained her personnel file via a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request. According to the New York City Board of Education, she was hired as a substitute teacher in 1991, received a provisional license in 1993, and a certificate to serve as a substitute in 1994. Additionally, “A 1997 letter indicates she didn’t submit documentation showing she’d met requirements for licensure. No record indicates she ever served as a full-time teacher or was evaluated by a principal or other school official.” Yet she has never acknowledged these details or corrected the record. When she ran for president of New York’s United Federation of Teachers in 1998, her opponent Michael Shulman suggested that that she was not a “real teacher,” explaining, “She worked five months full-time that I’ve been aware of, in 1992, at Clara Barton High School.” He added, “Since then, she taught maybe one class for 40 minutes a day.” Also, in May, it was revealed that despite her very brief stint as a teacher, she earned 15 years’ worth of pension benefits. The New York City teacher union collective bargaining agreement allowed her to have over 11 extra years counted toward her service even though she wasn’t in the classroom. This likely came
Re: Wokeism is Doomed
USA prioritizes citizenship to thousands of Penis Flashing Rainbow Haired Pedo Twerkers who were carried across the river by Jihadis and Compatible Freeloaders to "Improve America"... Preferred Pronouns: US Border Agents Told To Use 'Woke' Language https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/preferred-pronouns-us-border-agents-told-to-use-woke-language-5535659 The Biden administration has instructed U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents not to use "he, him, she, her" pronouns when dealing with the public, according to an internal memo. "We just obtained [CBP] documents directing personnel to only use woke language when encountering individuals invading the United States," the Heritage Foundation's Oversight Project said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) guidance asks CBP staff to use "gender-neutral language" and the "self-identified pronouns and name" of any members of the public they interact with. "DO NOT use 'he, him, she, her' pronouns until you have more information about, or provided by, the individual," the memo states. It also cautions against using salutations such as "Mr., Mrs. Ms., Sir, Ma'am." The memo notes that it is generally talking about "individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, non-binary, and gender nonconforming." "This guidance should be used by all CBP employees who encounter members of the public in the course of their job duties, including but not limited to law enforcement, trade, human resources, public liaisons, and others," the memo states. The memo goes on to make the point that some LGBT individuals may "define these terms differently." “Keep in mind that gender identity (sense of self) and sexual orientation (attraction) are separate and distinct; hence, transgender people, for example, may identify as heterosexual, gay, lesbian, or bisexual,” the memo also states under a section telling CBP staff what they should "do." Amid a historic illegal immigration crisis at the southern U.S. border, the memo has been called an "unnecessary distraction" by a union leader. "We can't be worrying about whether we're going to hurt somebody's feelings," National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd told Just the News on Tuesday. Mr. Judd rejected the idea that CBP agents, swamped by thousands of illegal border crossers, now "have to be cognizant of their civil rights." He charged that the issue is not one of civil rights, but "simply a matter of preference." "Taking the time to deal with that rather than deal with the actual laws that [we're] supposed to be enforcing. This is the woke mob," he added. The guidance is "forced speech," according to Mike Howell, the director of the Oversight Project, which obtained the memo. "I guess it wasn’t enough for the Biden administration to betray the Border Patrol by purposefully unleashing chaos on the southern border," Mr. Howell told Fox News. "Now, the radical political leadership is enrolling agents in a forced-speech program to call illegal aliens by their preferred pronouns." Furthermore, the members of the public that CBP staff most often interact with are migrants and illegal border crossers, he said. "Border Patrol deals with more illegal aliens than any entity in the federal government," Mr. Howell said. "This forced language guidance is designed to coddle illegal aliens." Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.) speaks during a House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis hearing in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 19, 2021. (Susan Walsh/Pool/Getty Images) The memo has been blasted by the chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.) as an insult grappling with the border crisis. "Border Patrol agents are crying out for tools and policies that will help them do their jobs, but are being handed manuals on misgendering instead,” Mr. Green told The Daily Wire. "This makes a mockery of those who are doing their best to keep our borders secure." Mr. Green contrasted the memo's requests with the reality of the border crisis, noting that "criminal illegal aliens" have been "released into our country on [DHS] Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas's watch." At the same time, he said the committee has watched with apprehension as "a record number of individuals on the terrorist watchlist" were likewise allowed to enter the United States after being processed by border agents. He attributed this, "in large part," to CBP agents being "so overwhelmed by this unprecedented crisis.” “I’m sure, however, Americans will be comforted to know that those agents are now being trained on which pronouns these bad actors prefer," he added. The Epoch Times has contacted DHS for comment. Last year, when announcing new measures for transgender people traveling, Mr. Mayorkas touted the Biden administration's
