M. C. Escher Symmetry Drawing 1948
#FreePavel
pic.twitter.com/B7AcJWswMs— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 25, 2024
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 25, 2024
More Dems
https://twitter.com/i/status/1827762158341644409
Dore deep state
The Democrats have betrayed their own values & have been completely taken over by neocons & have morphed into the party of Bush/Cheney & become warmongering corporatists serving Wallst/MIC/Big Pharma/Big Oil/Insurance companies/Silicon Valley/The Deep…
— Jimmy Dore (@jimmy_dore) August 24, 2024
https://twitter.com/i/status/1827454580537328111
MSNBC RFK
Every RFK Jr. supporter should watch this video.
This is how Nicolle Wallace from MSNBC covered RFK Jr. entering the 2024 race for President.
We must join together to defeat this. It is evil, corrupt, and anti-American. pic.twitter.com/1bzboVo57h
— MAZE (@mazemoore) August 24, 2024
Benz
Just got booted from the @MarioNawfal space so I’m gonna speak my peace here: what’s behind today’s arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov pic.twitter.com/FexLvJZK92
— Mike Benz (@MikeBenzCyber) August 25, 2024
https://twitter.com/i/status/1827379854192603573
A trap, prepared well in advance.
“Pavel Durov was put on the wanted list literally minutes before landing in Paris and an arrest warrant was issued.” Durov reportedly used to get along fine with Macron. Why he became a French citizen.
“..complicity in drug trafficking, pedophilia offenses, and fraud..”
• US Orchestrated Durov Arrest – Former Spokesman (RT)
Telegram founder Pavel Durov wouldn’t have “disregarded his own safety” and landed in Paris if he thought the French authorities were serious about arresting him, his former press secretary Georgy Loboushkin has told RT. Loboushkin believes that the order to detain Durov likely came from Washington. Durov was arrested at Paris-Le Bourget Airport on Saturday, immediately after arriving from Azerbaijan by private jet. According to French media, prosecutors in Paris plan to charge the 39-year-old with complicity in drug trafficking, pedophilia offenses, and fraud, arguing that Telegram’s insufficient content moderation, its strong encryption tools, and its alleged lack of cooperation with police allow criminals to flourish on the app. “It’s a big mystery why he disregarded his own safety and decided to land in Paris,” Loboushkin told RT on Sunday.
“He has shown throughout his history that he is a pretty cautious person in that sense. He has said many times that there is no point in going to jail.” According to Loboushkin, the Russian-born businessman must have been unaware that a warrant was being prepared for his arrest, or thought – given Telegram’s compliance with local laws and sanctions – that he wouldn’t be in serious trouble. “I think the attack is coming neither from the EU nor from France,” Loboushkin said. “It’s most likely an attack from the United States, which has been after Pavel Durov for a long time, and Durov has always talked about it.”
“He said, for example in an interview with Tucker Carlson, that he and his employees are under pressure, or at least there’s some kind of surveillance conducted by the FBI,” the former spokesman continued. “I think the root causes are there, so it doesn’t make any sense to discuss the intentions of the French authorities who arrested him, because they don’t play any role here at all.” In an interview with Carlson in April, Durov said that he drew “too much attention” from law enforcement any time he visited the US, and claimed that American intelligence agents had attempted to recruit one of his employees to install a backdoor in the app that would have allowed them to spy on Telegram users.
Loboushkin is not the only commentator to suggest that the US was behind Durov’s arrest. “The Americans are behind the situation as a whole,” Ekaterina Mizulina, the head of Russia’s Safe Internet League, said on Sunday, alleging that Washington wanted both to restrict the free flow of information and attack TON, a blockchain platform originally developed by Telegram’s creators. With major Russian companies investing in TON, the arrest is essentially “a continuation of the US’ sanctions policy,” Mizulina wrote on Telegram. American investor David Sacks claimed on Sunday that Durov’s commitment to free speech and user privacy made him a target in Washington. Writing on X, Sacks declared that “using allied countries to circumvent First Amendment protections is the new Rendition,” referring to the US’ use of foreign airports and military bases to transport terror suspects in the years following the September 11 attacks.
“..Telegram’s insufficient content moderation, its strong encryption tools, and its alleged lack of cooperation with police allow criminals to flourish on the app..”
• How The EU Tightened The Noose On Telegram (RT)
The arrest in France of Telegram founder Pavel Durov is the latest escalation in an EU-wide campaign against the Russian entrepreneur and his privacy-focused messaging app. After limited bans in some member states, officials in Brussels announced earlier this year that they would bend their own laws to force censorship rules onto the platform. Durov was arrested at Paris-Le Bourget Airport on Saturday, immediately after arriving from Azerbaijan by private jet. According to French media, prosecutors in Paris plan to accuse the 39-year-old of complicity in drug trafficking, pedophilia offenses, and fraud, arguing that Telegram’s insufficient content moderation, its strong encryption tools, and its alleged lack of cooperation with police allow criminals to flourish on the app. In the years leading up to Durov’s arrest, EU officials and individual member states have targeted Telegram with bans, regulations, and threats of legal action.
2021: Germany calls for action
After a group of radical anti-vaxxers were arrested for allegedly plotting on Telegram to kill the governor of the state of Saxony in 2021, German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann called for an EU-wide effort to restrict the platform. Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, governors and regional interior ministers in Germany had expressed displeasure with Telegram’s refusal to ban anti-lockdown protesters, and Buschmann argued that common EU action would “make a bigger impression” on Telegram than “each country trying to do that on its own.” Telegram was and still is headquartered in Dubai, and Durov reportedly refused to communicate with the German authorities. German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser warned at the time that Berlin was “not going to put up with” Durov’s refusal to cooperate.2022-2024: Bans and restrictions
The Ukraine conflict gave national and local governments across the West an excuse to throttle Telegram, with the Norwegian Justice Ministry citing the platform’s “Russian origins” when it forbade government employees from installing the app on their work devices last year. Amsterdam’s municipal government also invoked the alleged threat of “foreign espionage” when it issued a similar ban for employees of the Dutch city last week, while France last year ordered civil servants to switch from Telegram and other messaging apps to locally-developed alternatives over security fears. In March of this year, Spain’s high court ordered the country’s mobile providers to block access to Telegram, while claims of copyright violations could be investigated. Although the ruling was overturned within days, the investigation is ongoing.2024: Censorship crackdown
The EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which came into force earlier this year, lists platforms with more than 45 million monthly users as ‘Very Large Online Platforms’, requiring them to comply with a host of data protection and advertising-related rules. Such platforms are also required to “address the spread of disinformation,” a term that the DSA mentions more than a dozen times without providing a definition. While Telegram claims to have 41 million monthly users in the EU, European Commission Vice President for Values and Transparency Vera Jourova told Bloomberg in May that the platform is a “special case,” and would be investigated and potentially placed on the list anyway.Jourova accused Telegram of enabling the spread of Russian “disinformation,” and called it “an issue” that the platform is “especially active in the eastern member states where we have a Russian-speaking minority.” Ahead of this potential regulation, Telegram has appointed a Brussels-based company as its legal representative in the EU, meaning that Belgian authorities will be responsible for enforcing EU law against Durov’s company. Last week, the Belgian Institute of Post and Telecommunications (BIPT) announced that it still could not prove that Telegram had more than 41 million monthly users. The DSA allows the EU to fine platforms as much as 6% of their global annual turnover if they break its rules. The law also allows repeat offenders to be banned from operating in the bloc.
“..the DSA “does not contain personal or criminal liability, which means that the prosecution in France went much further.”
• Durov’s Arrest ‘In Spirit Of EUs Digital Services Act’ (RT)
The arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov in France is in line with the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which stipulates that service providers are responsible for the content shared on their platforms, TASS reported on Sunday, citing a source in the bloc’s legal system. The Russian tech entrepreneur – who is also a citizen of France, the UAE, and St. Kitts and Nevis – was detained upon landing in Paris-Le Bourget Airport on Saturday. He is reportedly being accused of failing to curb criminal activities on his platform. Durov’s arrest is “fully in line with the spirit and the principles” of DSA, the TASS source said. “If the operator wants to avoid penalties, it must automatically take down the content banned by the European regulator. The source added, however, that the DSA “does not contain personal or criminal liability, which means that the prosecution in France went much further.”
The source added that Durov’s legal team would face “additional difficulties,” since the allegations against him could be tied to the issue of French national security and that it would be harder to arrange a public campaign in his support given his Russian origin. Durov left Russia in the mid-2010s over a disagreement with the government and has since mostly lived in the UAE. In 2021, he acquired French and Emirati citizenship. He insisted that it is his “principled position” to keep user data private and that he “would rather be free than take orders from anyone.” In an interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson in April, Durov said he faced pressure from the US government to install a surveillance “backdoor,” which he refused to do.
Telegram issued a statement on Sunday, saying its content-moderation policies were “within industry standards.” Multiple public figures in Russia and abroad have condemned Durov’s arrest, describing it as an attack on freedom of speech and the free flow of information. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the consulate in Paris has demanded access to Durov.
“Liberté Liberté! Liberté?”
• “Musk Should Be Nervous” (ZH)
Russia is demanding answers following the arrest Pavel Durov, the billionaire co-founder and CEO of messaging app Telegram. He was detained by French authorities at the Bourget airport outside of Paris Saturday evening after arriving in his private jet. The Russian embassy in Paris has demanded that the French government explain itself, and has so far said that French authorities are being uncooperative. The latest reports say Durov is expected to appear before a judge Sunday evening. The embassy said of the 39-year-old Russian-born billionaire that “as soon as the news of Durov’s arrest broke, we immediately addressed the French authorities for clarification on the reasons for it and demanded that they ensure the protection of his rights and provide consular access to him.” He not only has Russian citizenship by virtue of his birth there, but also holds dual citizenship in France and the UAE.
Russian diplomats say there has been no reply from Paris: “The French side has so far been avoiding cooperation on this issue,” a statement said. Russian lawmakers have gone so far as to say he is now a “political prisoner”. Russian member of parliament Maria Butina said on Sunday, “Pavel Durov is a political prisoner – a victim of a witch-hunt by the West. “The arrest of Pavel Durov means there is no freedom of speech – it means that freedom of speech in Europe is dead,” she continued. “Now basically they have a hostage and they will try to blackmail Russia, they will try to blackmail all the users of Telegram and not only try to get control but also try to block the network here in Russia.” Additionally, deputy speaker of Russian parliament, Vladislav Davankov, described that the tech entrepreneur’s arrest “could be politically motivated and used to gain access to the personal information of Telegram users.”
And Dmitry Medvedev, who is the deputy head of Russia’s Security Council, said Durov is being targeted because he’s Russian. “He miscalculated,” Medvedev said. “For all our common enemies now, he is Russian – and therefore unpredictable and dangerous.” Medvedev asserted, “Durov should finally realize that one cannot chose one’s the fatherland.” One interesting angle is that the app, well-known for being highly secure as it provides end-to-end encryption, is widely used among the Russian military, as well as the common population. Durov was detained by the National Anti-Fraud Office (ONAF), over the alleged facilitation of various crimes including terrorism, narcotics trafficking, and fraud. “On his platform, he allowed an incalculable number of offences and crimes to be committed, for which he did nothing to moderate or cooperate,” a source told TF1 TV.
The arrest was characterized by Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom as part of the “crackdown against free speech.” Other prominent figures have voiced alarm over what this means for free speech, or even the question of who is next to be targeted by Western governments… And Elon Musk has been highlighting the implications of Durov’s arrest through Sunday… “Liberté Liberté! Liberté?” Musk added in another post. “Dangerous times.” Musk added a “FreePavel” hashtag when he shared a video of Durov praising Musk and his pro-free-speech outlook during an interview with Tucker Carlson earlier this year. “It is vital to the support of free speech that you forward X posts to people you know, especially in censorship-heavy countries,” Musk wrote on X on Sunday. And in case you wondered, none other than deep state bagman Alexander Vindman makes it clear who the real target is…
While Durov holds French citizenship, is arrested for violating French law, this has broader implications for other social media, including Twitter. There s a growing intolerance for platforming disinfo & malign influence & a growing appetite for accountability. Musk should be& https://t.co/GyPMquKtKV
— Alexander S. Vindman N’ (@AVindman) August 25, 2024
This adds “cyberbullying” to the list.
• US Trampling On Free Speech – David Sacks On Durov’s Arrest (RT)
The US has violated its own constitutional freedoms by forcing its NATO ally France to arrest Telegram CEO Pavel Durov, American investor David Sacks has suggested. Writing on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday, Sacks slammed the detention of Durov at a Paris airport, reportedly on charges related to his alleged complicity in fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying, and promoting terrorism. In an apparent nod to the rumored US role in the arrest, Sacks wrote: “Using allied countries to circumvent First Amendment protections is the new Rendition.” The US Constitution expressly protects freedom of speech and makes no distinction between citizens and people from other countries. In April, Sacks denounced a US law that would ban the video-sharing platform TikTok if its China-based developer ByteDance refused to sell it within 12 months. At the time, the investor suggested that after the crackdown on TikTok, Telegram, X and the video platform Rumble could end up in Washington’s crosshairs.
One down. Three to go. pic.twitter.com/LBERkMjBOS
— David Sacks (@DavidSacks) April 24, 2024
Meanwhile, the French move to arrest Durov was also criticized by Tesla and Space X CEO Elon Musk, who launched the hashtag #FreePavel, suggesting that the pressure on freedom of speech could worsen. “POV: It’s 2030 in Europe and you’re being executed for liking a meme,” he quipped. He also agreed with a user who wondered if X could be the next to come under fire. In an interview with conservative American journalist Tucker Carlson which was released several months ago, Durov recalled that he had been getting “too much attention” from US law enforcement agencies while he was in the country. He said that while he was not under any legal scrutiny, he had to regularly deal with US authorities eager to get more insight into how Telegram worked. The tech entrepreneur also claimed that law enforcement had attempted to recruit one of his employees to install a backdoor in the messenger that would allow them, or any other government, to spy on Telegram users.
Not France, Macron.
• Durov Arrest Exposes ‘Tyrannical Face’ Of France – Party Leader (RT)
Florian Philippot, the leader of France’s Patriots (Les Patriotes) party, has slammed the government of French President Emmanuel Macron as “lunatics” over the detention of Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov. According to French media, the Russian entrepreneur, who also has French and UAE citizenship, was detained at Paris-Le Bourget Airport on Saturday and is set to appear in court on Sunday evening. The French authorities had reportedly issued an arrest warrant for Durov, arguing that insufficient moderation allows for Telegram to be widely used by criminals. “France offers its tyrannical face to the world,” Philippot said of Durov’s arrest in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday. “We must free ourselves from these lunatics,” he added, referring to Macron’s government.
The politician also wondered if X owner and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX “Elon Musk is [also] thrown in jail if he sets foot in France, for disobeying the European DSA (Digital Services Act) censorship regulations.” The head of Russia’s Safe Internet League, Ekaterina Mizulina, suggested earlier that the French authorities hadn’t acted independently in their decision to detain Durov. “It is obvious that the arrest is an attack on TON (a blockchain-based platform originally developed by Telegram’s creators) in which major Russian companies have invested. That is, in part, a continuation of the US sanctions policy” against Russia, she said. Also on Sunday, the deputy speaker of the Russian parliament, Vladislav Davankov, called upon the French authorities to release Durov. The tech entrepreneur’s arrest “could be politically motivated and used to gain access to the personal information of Telegram users,” which Moscow cannot allow, he warned in a post on Telegram.
“Moscow has sent an official note to Paris with a demand for consular access to Telegram’s founder. “But he [Durov] has French citizenship, which France perceives as precedential..”
• Russia Demands France Explains Durov Arrest (RT)
The Russian embassy in Paris swiftly demanded that French authorities explain the reasons for the arrest of Telegram messaging app founder and CEO, Pavel Durov, a senior diplomat has said. According to French media, the Russian tech entrepreneur, who also has citizenship of France, the UAE, and Saint Kitts and Nevis, was detained after landing at Paris-Le Bourget Airport on Saturday and is set to appear before a judge on Sunday evening. The French authorities had reportedly issued an arrest warrant for Durov, arguing that insufficient moderation on his platform allows for Telegram to be widely used by criminals. The Russian embassy said in a statement on Sunday that “as soon as the news of Durov’s arrest broke, we immediately addressed the French authorities for clarification on the reasons for it and demanded that they ensure the protection of his rights and provide consular access to him.”
However, there has been no reply from Paris yet, according to the diplomats. “The French side has so far been avoiding cooperation on this issue,” they stressed. The embassy also said that it remains in contact with Durov’s lawyer. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said later that Moscow has sent an official note to Paris with a demand for consular access to Telegram’s founder. “But he [Durov] has French citizenship, which France perceives as precedential,” she told RIA-Novosti news agency. Also on Sunday, Zakharova called upon international human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International to stand up for free speech and put pressure on France to release the Telegram founder.
The deputy speaker of the Russian parliament, Vladislav Davankov, also urged Paris to release Durov. The tech entrepreneur’s arrest “could be politically motivated and used to gain access to the personal information of Telegram users,” which Moscow cannot allow, he warned. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev suggested that the clampdown on Telegram’s founder could cost the French authorities dearly. “[French President Emmanuel] Macron, get out of France now! Durov’s army is out to get you,” he said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
GOP becomes the big tent party.
• How Democrats Make Republicans: RFK Should Be A Wake Up Call (Turley)
The withdrawal of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from the presidential race and his endorsement of former President Donald Trump was yet another extraordinary moment in an election that has been anything but predictable. Only a year ago, it would have been unthinkable that a sitting president would be effectively forced off a ticket and replaced by a candidate who did not secure a single vote for president. Now, the nephew of John F. Kennedy and son of the Robert F. Kennedy has not just withdrawn from the Democratic Party but endorsed the Republican nominee. Amidst all of the claimed “joy” of the Democratic National Convention, there is a sobering reality that is being ignored by the ecstatic press and pundits: this is how Democrats make Republicans. There is an old expression that “a conservative is a liberal who has been mugged.” Irving Kristol explained the neoconservative movement was built by Democrats “mugged by reality.”
Kennedy has not become a Republican but rather joined the roughly half of Americans now identifying as independents. While this country is solidly under the hold of a duopoly of power in the two main parties, only 25% of the country identify as Democrats, and 25% as Republicans. Kennedy’s departure from the Democrats has been mocked in the press. However, when he spoke on his withdrawal, many of us who have been lifetime members of the party identified with his remarks. I come from a politically active liberal Democratic family in Chicago. I spent much of my life working for liberals since I first came to Washington as a Democratic House page in the 1970s. I did stints on the Hill or on campaigns with Democrats ranging from Rep. Sid Yates (Ill.) to Sen. William Proxmire (Wis.) to Mo Udall (Arz.). I even worked on the campaign and ran for delegate for RFK Jr.’s uncle, Sen. Ted Kennedy.
Then the party changed. Where once they defended free speech, Democrats have rallied behind censorship and blacklisting of those with opposing views. They have sought to block dozens of Republicans from ballots, including former President Trump. To make matters worse, they have done so in the supposed name of democracy. Those actions were raised by Kennedy in his powerful and poignant withdrawal speech. He detailed how the Democratic party moved to stop him from running against President Biden in the primary, including efforts to block him from ballots. It was an ironic moment. After harassing candidates like RFK and Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips, the Democratic leadership then simply installed their choice at the convention in an unprecedented bait-and-switch. There could have been a substantive primary that exposed the diminished mental state of Biden and allowed for a democratic choice on the best nominee.
Instead, the Democrats prevented such choices from being made and selected a leader with all of the transparency and deliberation of a party Congress in China. Kennedy said that the Democratic Party has virtually shoved him and other voters into the arms of Donald Trump and the Republican Party. Kennedy observed that “I began this journey as a Democrat, the party of my father, my uncle, the party which I pledged my own allegiance to long before I was old enough to vote.” He said that his party was the one that championed free speech, government transparency, and opposed unjust wars. “True to its name, it was the party of democracy.” He said that the party has turned its back on all of the values that once defined it. For former Democrats like Kennedy, running on “joy” is no substitute for these profound changes in the party.
“If you’re pro-Israel, great! So is she! And if you’re pro-Palestinian, great! So is she!”
“..their vacuous battle cry “We won’t go back!” With all due respect, what the hell does that mean? Kamala Harris already works in the West Wing! If she doesn’t want to go back, then why is she running for the job?”
• The Seduction of Kamala Harris: How the Democrats Are Attracting Voters (Pinsker)
Kamala Harris might not be as boring as a bookshelf, but until Biden dropped out a few weeks ago, nobody viewed her as a dynamic, engaging communicator. Even in a political party that cares mightily about personal identification, she was long on bio and short on charm. Thus, the entire Democratic National Convention was a protracted sales pitch — the launch of a new marketing campaign — where they reworked their messaging. They primarily relied on mirroring, which is a technique common in dating circles. We unconsciously mimic the people we admire and find sexually attractive. When she tilts her head, you tilt your head; your voice, tone, and even how often you breathe and blink will parallel the other person. It’s a psychological tool for establishing empathy and building trust.
Whoever you are and whatever you are, Kamala Harris is your mirror: When you look at her, she wants you to see yourself. If you’re pro-Israel, great! So is she! And if you’re pro-Palestinian, great! So is she! Salesmen love mirroring because it’s a cheat code for quickly cultivating a strong sense of intimacy. “Hey, you can trust me — I’m just like you! In fact, it’s really us against them, isn’t it? So yeah, you should definitely buy this beautiful Dodge Dart. Woo, what a ride!” But not just salesmen: Mirroring is a favorite tool of narcissists. There’s been a lot of literature about the linkage between the two. Among the highlights: “Mirroring is a tactic many narcissists and other manipulative people often employ to ingratiate themselves. They reflect idealized versions of their targets back to them. In a way, they get you to fall in love with a simulacrum of the best version of yourself.”
“Mirroring is how people learn to connect with others. …Narcissists are excellent at control and manipulation. While they lack a strong sense of self, one strength they do have is the ability to watch others closely and use this information in their favor. A narcissist seems to always know what you like, and they give this to you.” “Narcissistic mirroring is a manipulation tactic used by narcissistic individuals to create a false sense of connection with another person by mimicking their thoughts, feelings, interests, or behaviors.” Watch Kamala Harris and her messaging closely. She’s not making policy-based arguments. She has no ideological center. She’s not even attempting to campaign on anything substantial. Instead, she’s the ultimate Rorschach candidate: When you look at her, you can see whatever or whoever you want — just as long as you still see yourself. For the Harris campaign, policy positions only get in the way of their marketing.
In 2016, Donald Trump ran on big ideas: Drain the swamp! Build the wall! Free the economy! Make America great again! Agree or disagree, Trump’s shortcomings certainly weren’t a lack of ambition. In 2024, Kamala Harris is running on a platform of platitudes, identification, and empty sentiments. It’s the political version of Apple’s “I’m a Mac!” “And I’m a PC” campaign from nearly 20 years ago. In the Apple version, being a Mac was cool and awesome, whereas being a PC was for dorks in an uncomfortable business suit. Kamala ripped a page from the Apple playbook, but this time, the PC is an evil, scary, Hitlerish Orange Man. And the Mac is… you. The utter unseriousness of their platform is revealed in their vacuous battle cry, “We won’t go back!” With all due respect, what the hell does that mean? Kamala Harris already works in the West Wing! If she doesn’t want to go back, then why is she running for the job?
It just gets in the way of the “joy”.
• Democrats Avoid Any Concrete Policy Issues at Convention (Sp.)
The Democrats have projected an image of unity at the national convention in Chicago this week, going all-in on spectacle and positive vibes while avoiding real policy issues in order to win voters. However, it is unclear whether they will be able to maintain this momentum until November, experts interviewed by Sputnik believe. The US presidential election is scheduled for November 5. In July, President Joe Biden said he was withdrawing from the race in the best interest of the Democratic Party and the nation. On Tuesday, delegates at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) officially made Harris their nominee following a ceremonial vote. “The DNC accomplished its main objective — nominate the Presidential candidate and present a united front. But, there remain deep divisions in the party. The party is now under the control of the Progressive wing and there are many Americans who reject that agenda. They hope is that those who object don’t look too closely at the details,” Robert Weissberg, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, said.
Political analyst Keith Preston suggested that the Democrats are planning to sway voters with positive energy as US elections are often decided by independent and non-ideological voters who are often motivated by personalities, appearances and vibes, rather than deeply held opinions on issues. “The Democrats are shrewdly turning their campaign into a hybrid of the Super Bowl, the Academy Awards, and Coachella. Likewise, they are trying to present an aura of positivity and optimism instead of the negative campaigning and personal attacks of Donald Trump and J.D. Vance. Strategically, this is a very wise move on the part of the Democrats … The question is whether they can maintain this energy for the next few months before the election,” Preston said. Wilfred Reilly, political science professor at Kentucky State University, noted that it featured very little in terms of actual policy, with Harris talking a great deal about her family and background, giving the floor to her sister, calling the Republicans “weird” and other things of that sort.
“I do think that this will be typical of of the party’s focus until the election. Powerful Dem. figures have already said things like “you have to elect her – then we see the full platform.” My actual take here is that the Kamala Harris position on immigration, policing, abortion, and much else is very likely to be unpalatable to the median voter in (say) Iowa, and her staffers know that. I would expect as little detail as she can get away with until Election Day,” Reilly explained. Thousands of protesters demonstrated outside the DNC during the week to call for an end to US support for Israel’s war in Gaza, creating analogies with the last time the party held its national convention in the Windy City, when protests against the Vietnam War turned violent. When asked if the Democrats are more unified now than back in the late 60’s, Preston observed that many of the protesters are political outsiders, usually way to the left of the Democratic Party, which possess a high level of internal discipline.
[..] When Biden announced his withdrawal from the race, some questioned whether Harris will be a good replacement, citing her poor performance during the previous Democratic primaries as well as abysmal ratings during her vice presidency. However, recent polls show Harris doing well against Trump, meaning that the race is far from decided. “I think she is a fairly competent candidate. She is better than Joe Biden, who — as the U.S. joke goes — has been ‘dead for two years’ … Her DNC speech was good — B+. But, she is famously not all that impressive. She ran for President before, polled at 2%, and was lucky to be rescued even as VP by Biden – and that had a racial element to it. The media sensationalism around her is a new phenomenon based around hate of Trump,” Reilly said, adding that “if the honeymoon can last two months and a half, Harris will likely be President.”
“..a solution in search of a problem.”
• Dems Scramble To Walk Back Harris’ Price Control Scheme (ZH)
Democrats are in damage control mode after Kamala Harris’ communist price control scheme received a harsh rebuke – including from the Washington Post, which characterized it as “populist gimmicks.” Facing pressure to defend the plan, Democratic lawmakers are downplaying it as a pipe dream that has no chance of passing Congress, Politico reports. The plan, unveiled as part of Harris’ first big economic policy speech, has become a focal talking point for Donald Trump and allies, who continue to frame it as “communist price controls.” Meanwhile, food industry officials and some left-of-center economists have warned that price controls could be detrimental, according to the report. Central to the plan is a call for congress to pass the first-ever federal price gouging ban on food and grocery stores – mirroring legislation reintroduced by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) earlier this year, for which Warren was taken to task by CNBC’s Joe Kernen.
Now, six Congressional Democrats and five Democratic aides tell Politico that they’ve been privately telling critics that the plan isn’t viable – and is instead a messaging tactic to to divert blame over inflation from the Biden-Harris administration. Even many Democrats remain skeptical, or at least uncertain about how Harris would carry out her proposal, if elected. They’re still working on getting details, but many have left that for after the DNC. -Politico. “It’s clear to me these are very general, very lofty goals,” said one of the Democratic lawmakers. “I honestly still don’t know how this would work,” said a second Democratic lawmaker. According to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, “I think people are reading too much into what has been put out there,” adding that the proposal was intended to address the issue in “broad strokes.”
Harris has been under pressure to provide more detail on her policy priorities, after four years largely toeing the line set by President Joe Biden and his aides. The rollout of her plan to combat food inflation, however, has sparked concerns among business leaders over which economic advisers are driving her policy decisions. Pieces of her plan, like increasing competition in the meat sector, are straight from the Biden playbook under his former top economic adviser Brian Deese — who is now advising Harris’ campaign. But the broad price gouging language that’s triggered so much backlash signals a more progressive agenda. That backlash has tempered Harris allies’ initial push to paint the proposal as a bold, progressive idea.
Since introducing the price gouging plan, her advisers have sought to soften criticism of the proposal by downplaying its overall impact on the market — and emphasizing that the goal is simply to target a small cohort of potential “bad actors,” rather than generate the kind of sweeping overhaul suggested by the plan’s initial rollout. -Politico Harris’ plan does have its defenders, including Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Progressive Caucus Chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA). Top Harris economic adviser Brian Nelson told reporters at the DNC in Chicago that the plan was ‘simply’ aimed at matching federal standards with so-called price gouging guardrails that already exist in 37 states – something Warren attempted to argue with Kernen. That said, the existing rules only apply during emergencies such as the COVID pandemic. “She’s going to work with Congress to ensure that it is directed at bad actors, bad activity,” said Nelson.
“It’s not meant to set prices or price levels or anything like that. And that is not the way current state laws around price gouging are.” When pressed during a Bloomberg News roundtable to elaborate, Nelson failed to provide any specific examples of price gouging – and deflected by describing Harris as simply trying to outline her own principles on the issue. “One of the principles is really to make sure that the federal legislation aligns with those state laws,” he said. Meanwhile, the National Grocers Association – an industry group that represents the independent supermarket sector, called Harris’ plans “a solution in search of a problem.” “Rather than proposing new legislation far-off in the future,” the government should focus on enforcing antitrust laws already on the books, the group said. “I’m sure it polls well,” said one food industry official granted anonymity. “But it’s an obvious effort to deflect blame from her administration on inflation.”
“If you try to find the American economy, it is not here. It has been moved to China and other parts of Asia..”
• The Fed Returns to Liquidity. Will It Elect Kamala? (Paul Craig Roberts)
[..] in America truth no longer matters. The narrative, not truth, is in control, and the narrative was that a hot job market driven by 818,000 non-existent jobs was driving inflation. I pointed out that shortages cannot be rectified by high interest rates. High interest rates simply raise the cost of production. High interest rates contribute to inflation when businesses are destroyed and supply chains are disrupted and destroyed by lockdowns. Supply reductions cannot be immediately rectified, and high interest rates are the last thing that helps. Economists should understand this, but they also understand that going against the official narrative is bad for their career.
Now that the Bureau of Labor Statistics has erased 818,000 jobs from its data list, thus deleting the excuse for high interest rates, the Federal Reserve says that in the US employment and inflation depict a changing situation in the economy, which the Fed says indicates that “the time has come for Fed policy to adjust.” Fed chairman Powell and Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank president Raphael Bostic announce interest rates cut as our future. Suddenly the job market is “no longer overheated,” and the Fed is concerned about unemployment. What is the stock market’s response to the Fed’s concern that the economy is weakening and the job market is worsening? The market goes up. Why? Not from the prospect of a good economy, but from the injection of liquidity that makes lower interest rates possible. In other words, it is liquidity, not reality, not performance, that drives the stock market. Or to put it differently, liquidity is reality.
Liquidity is the reason price/earning ratios rise, because where else can money go except into stocks and real estate. So the main result of Fed liquidity is to drive up stock prices and home prices. This is great for those who own these assets, but it prices non-homeowners out of the market, because house prices rise faster than their service sector incomes. Policymakers, principally the Federal Reserve and the Jews on Wall Street who imposed offshoring of manufacturing jobs, have destroyed the ladders of upward mobility in the US economy–small businesses and manufacturing jobs. While the ladders that permitted people to rise were destroyed, the Democrats’ Open Borders Policy imports yearly a minimum of 3.6 million illegal immigrant-invaders whose job prospects do not extend beyond the chicken and cattle slaughter houses, and these jobs will disappear when we are restricted to a diet of bugs.
The Democrats’ DEI policy tries to elevate them, but there just aren’t that many who speak English and are sufficiently educated to be cabinet secretaries and CEOs of Fortune 500 corporations. This is a prescription for a Third World Economy, not for a superpower. If you try to find the American economy, it is not here. It has been moved to China and other parts of Asia. Years ago I explained how to get it back, and no one payed the slightest attention. As time passes America loses a disciplined work force that knows how to get up in the morning, report to work on time, and perform competently the expected tasks. Supply chains, such as local machine shops disappear from lack of manufacturing customers. The ability to produce is lost, and the country becomes Third World.
Screwing up your own member states.
• Hungary Accuses Brussels Of Disrupting Oil Supplies From Russia (RT)
The European Commission (EC) is behind the stoppage of flows of Russian crude oil to Hungary and Slovakia through Ukraine, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Saturday, citing Brussels’ refusal to mediate in their dispute with Kiev over the blockage as proof that the EC wants the stoppage. In June, Ukraine halted the transit of crude supplied by Russian energy giant Lukoil via the Druzhba pipeline, citing its own sanctions on the company. The measure has directly hit landlocked Hungary and Slovakia, depriving them of oil previously exported by the company through Ukrainian territory. I think that the fact that the EC has declared its unwillingness to help Hungary and Slovakia to resolve the issue of securing energy supply proves the fact that Brussels instructed Kiev to cause challenges and problems in the energy sector for the two nations, Szijjarto said, during an address at the political festival Tranzit, held in Hungary.
On Friday, the Commission declined Hungary and Slovakia’s request to intervene in the dispute between Budapest/Bratislava and Kiev, saying that Brussels had no indication that Ukraine’s sanctions had caused a risk to the security of Europe’s energy supply. “Commission services have preliminarily concluded that urgent consultations do not appear to be warranted,” the spokesperson said, adding that Russian oil was still flowing through the Druzhba pipeline that connects Russia with the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary via the territory of Ukraine. “It appears that the sanctions imposed by Ukraine on Lukoil do not affect ongoing oil transit operations via Druzhba carried out by trading companies, as long as Lukoil is not the formal owner of the oil,” the spokesperson said. Last week, Politico reported that Budapest proposed a solution for the restoration of halted Russian oil flow by rebranding Lukoil’s products.
That way the crude shipped via Ukraine could be officially sold to Hungarian energy giant MOL before it crosses the border. The arrangement could reportedly mean paying an additional $1.50 per barrel to secure transit outside of previous agreements. Brussels prohibited transport of Russian crude oil by sea in December 2022 as part of the EU large-scale sanction campaign against Moscow. Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic have been granted exemptions by Brussels as they source alternative supplies. Slovakia and Hungary are the only EU member states that have rejected the bloc’s policies on supplying Kiev with military aid amid the ongoing conflict with Moscow. Both states have repeatedly called for the crisis to be solved through diplomacy.
Last month, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow is unsurprised that the EU has failed to resolve the issue for its member states surrounding Russian oil supplies to them, claiming that Brussels is using energy resources to blackmail Bratislava and Budapest.
There’s only one church. The one Zelensky invented is not real.
• Pope Francis Condemns Ukraine’s Ban On Country’s Largest Orthodox Church (ZH)
Pope Francis has condemned the Ukrainian government’s move to ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) which maintains communion with the Moscow Patriarchate. His Sunday remarks emphasized that “churches are not to be touched” and come the day after President Volodymyr Zelensky signed parliament’s newly passed bill into law identified as Bill 8371. “In thinking of the law recently adopted in Ukraine, I fear for the liberty of those who pray,” the pope said. He explained that the state must not be involved in religion. “One does not commit evil by praying. If someone commits harm against their people, they will be guilty of that, but they cannot have done harm because they prayed,” Pope Francis said following a Sunday service. “Let those who wish to pray in what they consider their Church be allowed to do so,” Francis added.
Throughout the war Pope Francis has consistently called for the two sides to immediately enter peace negotiations, while saying that ultimately the winners are the arms manufacturers and those who don’t care about the suffering of innocent people. He has come under criticism, including from Kiev officials, for not just condemning one side (the Russians) like the West does. As for Christianity in Ukriane, Orthodox clergy members have seen jail time or have been placed under house arrest, or else harassment by mobs of far-right Ukrainian nationalists, for merely calling for peace between the two countries. According to Ukrainian media: Over 100 UOC-MP clergy members have come under criminal investigation since the outbreak of the full-scale war, the Security Service of Ukraine’s (SBU) press service told the Kyiv Independent. Almost 50 of them have been charged, and sentences have been issued in 26 cases, the SBU said.
Likely these numbers are about to be a lot higher, as the new law targeting the UOC is expected to enter force 30 days after its publication. The UOC is being pressured (and now forced) to join a state-sponsored church approved by Zelensky, despite the fact that the majority of the population is loyal to the UOC. Even a remote or potential ‘Russian connection’ – be it related to culture, music, language, or religion – has put ordinary Ukrainians under the suspicion of the state and the military of late. This despite that some one-third of the country has always spoken Russian as their first language, especially in the east and parts of the south. All of this has also gone hand in hand with the Zelensky government’s efforts to eliminate the Russian language altogether from public life.
RFK food
https://twitter.com/i/status/1827434772756623760
Bull
Bull bamboozled with an elegant backflippic.twitter.com/5p7JG83h0Q
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) August 25, 2024
Goose
https://twitter.com/i/status/1827778014530380136
Hammer
Todavia tengo fé en la humanidad pic.twitter.com/QbNeoPgnpp
— Somos Vida!!! (@Ncardiacos_2) August 25, 2024
Engineer
https://twitter.com/i/status/1827407511210668071
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