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Is the Electoral Fix Already In?
Matt Taibbi
The 2024 presidential race increasingly looks like it will be decided by lawyers, not voters, as Democrats unveil plans for America's first lawfare election.
The fix is in. To “protect democracy,” democracy is already being canceled. We just haven’t admitted the implications of this to ourselves yet.
On Sunday, January 14th, NBC News ran an eye-catching story: “Fears grow that Trump will use the military in ‘dictatorial ways’ if he returns to the White House.” It described “a loose-knit network of public interest groups and lawmakers” that is “quietly” making plans to “foil any efforts to expand presidential power” on the part of Donald Trump.
The piece quoted an array of former high-ranking officials, all insisting Trump will misuse the Department of Defense to execute civilian political aims. Since Joe Biden’s team “leaked” a strategy memo in late December listing “Trump is an existential threat to democracy” as Campaign 2024’s central talking point, surrogates have worked overtime to insert existential or democracy in quotes. This was no different:
The Frankfurt School and the Culture of Victimhood
"When you rinse it right down, the PC/Cultural Marxist revolution has as its objective the emasculation of the white male and the eradication of all values and power systems which are laid at his door, including religion, tradition and the normative family."
One of the legacies of the 1960s ideological culture to the present is what is called ‘political correctness’ (PC), which the average citizen perceives as a weird and slightly infuriating agenda to stop people talking about certain things, but in an irritating rather than a worrying way. The restricted topics form a pattern of sorts, but it is difficult for the uninitiated to say what it is. There is a general sense that it has to do largely with sexual preferences and ‘gender stuff’, feminist diktats and what is called 'diversity' and 'multiculturalism'.
The phrase 'political correctness’ has tripped off the lips of alleged conservatives for so long that it is no longer a tool of clarity. 'PC' is generally regarded as a prim, precious, faintly amusing obsession with the relentless promotion of 'equality', and ‘rights' for what are called ‘minorities'. Most people are unsure why such areas are subject to a particular regime of untouchability, but don't really worry about it too much because there are lots of other things to worry about already and, without getting into too much detail, they are broadly in favour of things like ‘rights’ and ‘equality’.
A standard meme of modern political discourse is the intellectual who, when challenged that some element thrown up by political activism or activity is ‘political correctness gone mad’, simply grins and shakes his head and says: ‘If I hear one more time this nonsense about political correctness, I'm going to start screaming!’ This manner of implying that PC is simply a perverse and eccentric invention of the enemies of ‘equality' and ‘rights’ is just one of the weapons in the armoury which has been developed to protect the very phenomenon being denied. Similarly, depictions of a continuing orchestrated conspiracy, which allow activists operating under the general banner of what has become known as ‘Cultural Marxism’ to dismiss claims of political correctness as 'conspiracy theory'. The point is that the conspirators are no longer around and are not needed now, having long ago constructed a mechanism that operates more or less by its own momentum.
AI Faces Its ‘Oppenheimer Moment’ During Killer Robot Arms Race
by Jonathan Tirone
Tel Aviv-based +972 Magazine reported this month that
Israel was using an artificial intelligence program called
“Lavender” to come up with assassination targets
Regulators who want to get a grip on an emerging generation of artificially
intelligent killing machines may not have much time left to do so, governments were warned on Monday.
As autonomous weapons systems rapidly proliferate, including across battlefields in Ukraine and Gaza, algorithms and unmanned aerial vehicles are already helping military planners decide whether or not to hit targets. Soon, that decision could be outsourced entirely to the machines.
“This is the Oppenheimer Moment of our generation,” said Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg, referencing J. Robert Oppenheimer, who helped invent the atomic bomb in 1945 before going on to advocate for controls over the spread of nuclear arms.
Western Weapons From Ukraine On Darknet Marketplaces
Oriental Review Editorial
The failure of the Ukrainian counteroffensive and the prospects for a peaceful resolution of the conflict further boost the activities of arms smuggling participants at all levels.
On January 10, 2024, the U.S. Department of Defense Office of Inspector General released a report admitting that the Pentagon was unable to trace the fate of weapons delivered to Ukraine costing more than USD 1 bn.
The 'lost' weapons listed in the document included not only small arms but also man-portable air defense systems, guided anti-tank missiles, and even medium-range AIM-9X missiles.
A large number of weapons offered for sale are available in the Ukrainian segment of the Darknet. The goods may be picked up at a designated place once they are paid for in cryptocurrency. Such a scheme rules out personal contact between the buyer and the seller, the ability to track the transaction, and identify parties to the transaction in the future. The weapons are sold by corrupt officials and commanders of the Ukrainian army. Arguments that Ukrainians are unable to use high-tech weapons due to the lack of appropriate training among Ukrainian soldiers are raised in explanation of the sale.
Debt Dollars – The Unused Leverage
By Adil Aboobakar
U.S. Treasuries or War Bonds?
When U.S. taxpayers protest the use of their tax dollars to continually fund wars, the assumption is only 67% correct, as of the first Fiscal Semester 2024 [1].
The assumption is that the U.S. government is only funded by tax dollars. Yet, no.
The U.S. government borrows. And it can borrow very easily, from both Americans and the whole world. The latter is often very enthusiastic in lending.
In fact, there are reasons why a government might prefer to borrow to fund wars rather than increase taxes. It is cheaper, quicker, and puts less stress on the voters’ pockets. And if the government can borrow from other countries, far from home, that is even better. We have seen this during the Iraq War, and during the Gaza War. Swap shoes for a second, it makes political sense.
U.S. Treasuries are debt securities issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury (USDT), the national treasury and finance department of the federal government. The purpose of these debt securities is to finance the federal government’s borrowing needs, including to fund wars.
The Gaza Flotilla Sails While Blinken Attempts to Take Focus from Israeli / U.S. Genocide of Gaza to China
Cargo and small passenger ship of the 2024
Gaza Flotilla. FFC Coalition photo
By Colonel Ann Wright
While I am in Istanbul, Turkiye with hundreds of international participants from 40 countries who are attempting to sail in the Gaza Freedom Flotilla to break the illegal Israeli naval blockade of Gaza and bring food and medicine to starving Palestinians in Gaza, the survivors of the Israeli / U.S. genocide of Gaza, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is brazeningly attempting to divert world attention from U.S. complicity in the genocide of Gaza to China’s human rights issues.
Hundreds of thousands of university students in the United States are defying the Biden administration’s blatant attempt to divert eyes away from Gaza by their remarkable stand for Palestine in their camps on college campuses across the country.
Biden and his band of politicos in the White House and in Congress are seriously misjudging the mood of citizens around the world who can see with their own eyes the slaughter Israel and the U.S. are doing to those in Gaza . . . and the West Bank.
A Bleak Future for Bees: The Somber Reality of CCD's Impact on Nature
Bee population decline, honeybee health, pollinator decline, pesticide impact on bees, bee colony collapse, neonicotinoid toxicity, bee health crisis, saving pollinators, protecting bees, beekeeping sustainability
Bee Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) was first noted by a Pennsylvania beekeeper named Dave Hackenberg in November 2006. Hackenberg, who owned a beekeeping business in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, reported a sudden and significant loss of bees in his colonies, sparking concern among experts about the emergence of CCD. Three-fourths of the world's flowering plants and about 35 percent of the world's food crops depend on animal pollinators to reproduce. That's one out of every three bites of food you eat. More than 3,500 species of native bees help increase crop yields.
Neonicotinoids are a class of neuro-active insecticides chemically like nicotine. They act on the central nervous system of insects, leading to paralysis and death. These pesticides are widely used in agriculture to protect crops from pests, as they are effective against a broad range of insects.
However, neonicotinoids have been implicated in the decline of bee populations worldwide. Bees are essential pollinators for many crops, including fruits, vegetables, and nuts. When bees encounter neonicotinoids through contaminated pollen and nectar, it can harm their health and behavior.
Mediterranean and Japanese Diets, Herbs, Longevity Brain Health: An Analysis
Tracy Turner
The Mediterranean and Japanese diets have long been linked to longevity and brain health. These dietary patterns emphasize the consumption of whole, nutrient-dense foods and share several key components that contribute to their health benefits. We will explore the similarities and differences between these two diets, the role of teas, culinary herbs, vitamins, herbal supplements, superfoods, and the importance of seafood and omega-3 fatty acids in promoting longevity and brain health.
Mediterranean Diet
The Mediterranean diet is based on the traditional eating habits of people living near the Mediterranean Sea, particularly those from Greece, Italy, and Spain. This dietary pattern emphasizes consuming fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds while including moderate amounts of fish, poultry, dairy, and eggs. It limits the intake of red meat, processed foods, and added sugars. The Mediterranean diet also encourages the use of healthy fats, such as olive oil, as the primary source of fat in the diet. Cook with Olive Oil and eat Greek Yogurt, both at least twice a week.
‘Tolerance’ is the new totalitarianism
[June 16, 2017] It’s been fun learning over the past week or so that I am an extremist. I hadn’t previously considered myself to be one, but it’s now been pointed out so many times over the past few days, by certain young left-leaning folks, that I can no longer be in any doubt. In fact, I assume that I, along with other like-minded people, must now just wait for the powers-that-be to start issuing little badges with the letter “E”, to warn others that there are dangerous people with unwholesome views in their midst.
Until recently, I’d sort of thought of extremists as being those bearded head-chopper chaps with their black flags, or radical anarchist types intent on bringing down the State. Compared to them, I’m a fantastically dull extremist. Happily married for 17 years; raising six fairly contented children; held down jobs since leaving university 20-odd years ago; never been in trouble with the law; taxes paid into the Treasury’s redistribution scheme; an elder in a local Anglican church; no links to any terrorist organizations; good relations with neighbors; and by and large, pretty relaxed and content with my lot.
But according to Napoleon’s puppies (I’ll explain that in a moment), none of this counts for diddly squat, and I am indeed to be regarded on a par with chaps heading out for an extended holiday in one of those “training camps” in David Cameron’s New Libya.
US Campus Protests: Hundreds Arrested amid Crackdown on Pro-Palestine Students
Staff, Agencies
Dozens of protesters were arrested on Wednesday while participating in pro-Palestine demonstrations across US college campuses.
At least 34 protesters, including a member of the media from a local news station, were arrested during protests at the University of Texas in Austin, and at least 50 more were detained by police at the University of Southern California [USC].
The arrests come amid a wave of demonstrations at campuses across the US, which began last week after students at New York’s Columbia University set up encampments calling for the university to divest from weapons manufacturers with ties to “Israel”.
The crackdown led to mass suspensions and arrests of hundreds of students in New York and other cities.
House speaker, Mike Johnson, jumped into the fray on Wednesday with a visit to Columbia’s campus, where he faced jeers from the pro-Palestinian protesters and called for the resignation of the university’s president.
Flanked by several Republican members of Congress, Johnson denounced the demonstrations as “mob rule” and condemned what he called a “virus of antisemitism” at colleges nationwide.
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