Pablo Picasso Portrait de femme au col d’hermine (Olga) 1923
Gulf
https://twitter.com/i/status/1876677300399362196
God bless you @jordanbpeterson and every single word of this.
— Laurence Fox (@LozzaFox) January 7, 2025
CNN Musk
CNN just ran a five-minute segment attacking @elonmusk for speaking out against the r*pe gang scandal in the UK.
This is how they framed it:
Tapper: "Musk is taking aim at a staunch U.S. ally."
Chyron: "Elon Musk lashes out at UK Prime Minister."
Robertson: "Elon Musk is… pic.twitter.com/Zo0nyS5gaV
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) January 7, 2025
Denmark
If you weren't yet convinced that Europe is stepping into its century of humiliation, that ought to do it pic.twitter.com/mQ9pPsgbjZ
Trump says that the US need Greenland "for national security purposes" and "for the free world", and claims that "people really don't even know if…
— Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) January 8, 2025
Rob Roos
NEW: Ursula von der Leyen's secret texts with Albert Bourla, potentially led to Pfizer securing a record breaking ¢71,000,000,000 (Billion) Euros.
Remember them saying we'd be "fully vaccinated" at 2 x doses? Ursula signed every EU citizen up for 10 x doses.
As former EU… pic.twitter.com/mE5NZzy5o7
— Humanspective (@Humanspective) January 6, 2025
2 weeks out, and who dominates the headlines? The king himself.
• Trump Not Ruling Out Using Military Force To Reclaim Panama Canal, Greenland (ET)
President-elect Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he would not rule out the possibility of using military or economic coercion to take control of the Panama Canal and Greenland, emphasizing their strategic significance to U.S. national security. Speaking at a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort, Trump said that he “cannot assure” that military or economic coercion would not be used to take control of these two strategic locations, in response to a question. “ No, I can’t assure you on either of those two, but I can say this, we need them for economic security,” Trump responded. “It might be that you’ll have to do something. Look, the Panama Canal is vital to our country. It’s being operated by China. We gave the Panama Canal to Panama. We didn’t give it to China, and they’ve abused it. They’ve abused that gift.”
Trump in recent social media posts expressed his frustration over China’s expanding influence in the canal, despite it having been built by the United States more than 110 years ago at great financial and human cost. The Panama Canal, which opened in 1914 after a decade of construction led by the United States, was gradually handed back to Panama under a 1977 treaty signed by President Jimmy Carter. During his speech, Trump criticized Carter for handing over the Panama Canal. “Carter gave it to them for $1. … I thought it was a terrible thing to do. It was the most expensive structure ever built in the history of our country,” Trump said. The president-elect said that this action cost Carter the election in 1980. In 1999, Panama assumed full control of the canal, which has since become one of the busiest shipping routes in the world, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Construction of the canal, however, came at a high human cost. Official estimates suggest that around 5,600 workers died during the U.S.-led effort to build the canal. Additionally, nearly 22,000 people are estimated to have died during an earlier French-led construction attempt. Trump reiterated that 38,000 people died during the waterway’s construction. “They laugh at us because they think we’re stupid, but we’re not stupid anymore. So the Panama Canal is under discussion with them right now,” Trump said during the press conference. Trump also said the United States needs Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, for “national security purposes.”
“People have been talking about it for a long time. You have approximately 45,000 people there,” Trump said. “They should give it up, because we need it for national security. That’s for the free world. I’m talking about protecting the free world. “You have China ships all over the place. You have Russian ships all over the place. We’re not letting that happen. We’re not letting it happen.”
Fetterman
https://twitter.com/i/status/1876817024359518631
The last 4 years have been so bad in both countries…
• Trump Posts Maps Of Canada As US Territory (RT)
US President-elect Donald Trump has shared two maps on social media showing Canada as American territory. He posted the images hours after officials in Ottawa rejected his repeated claim that Canadians would be better off under US rule. Trump took to his Truth Social platform on Tuesday to share a map of the US and Canada as a single country, with the state border erased and the words ‘United States’ superimposed on the new entity. He then posted an image of the territory of both nations painted in the colors of the US flag, accompanied by the words “Oh Canada.” Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Trump suggested that the US could use “economic force” to absorb its northern neighbor, whose goods he threatened to hit with harsh tariffs.
“You get rid of that artificially-drawn line and you take a look at what that looks like, and it would also be much better for national security,” Trump argued. Canada’s outgoing prime minister, Justin Trudeau, wrote on X that “there isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States.” Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the opposition Conservative Party, similarly said that “Canada will never be the 51st state.” Despite the rejection of Trump’s proposal to absorb America’s northern neighbor, politicians in Ottawa have stressed the importance of maintaining good bilateral ties as Canada enters election season. Trudeau announced earlier this week that he would step down as prime minister and leader of the Liberal Party, due to his shrinking popularity.
Greenland can’t defend itself. Neither can Denmark. Yeah, they’re part of NATO. But that already means the US must defend it.
• Trump Confirms Visit By His Son, Donald Trump Jr, to Greenland (Sp.)
US President-elect Donald Trump confirmed that his son Donald Trump Jr. and a number of representatives would travel to Greenland on a visit. Earlier, the DR broadcaster reported that Trump’s son would arrive on Tuesday on a private visit to Greenland. “I am hearing that the people of Greenland are ‘MAGA.’ My son, Don Jr, and various representatives, will be traveling there to visit some of the most magnificent areas and sights,” Trump said on Truth Social. According to Trump, “if, and when” Greenland becomes part of the United States, its residents will benefit greatly.
“We will protect it, and cherish it, from a very vicious outside World. MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!” the politician added. Greenland was a colony of Denmark until 1953. It remains part of the kingdom, but it received autonomy with the possibility of self-government and independent choice in domestic policy in 2009. In 2019, a series of publications appeared in the media that Trump was considering the possibility of buying Greenland. Later, Trump himself confirmed to journalists that he was interested in this issue “strategically.” At the same time, Greenland said that the island was not for sale, and Denmark expressed hope that Trump was joking, calling the very idea of a sale absurd.
Greenland coming in hot… well, actually, really really cold!!!! pic.twitter.com/IhLKVOfYVM
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) January 7, 2025
“..if the conversation with Weidel gains above-average visibility on X [..] the European Commission will look into whether the service provided users with the option to, for example, turn off streaming..”
They just want to ban AfD.
• EU Commission Threatens Musk Ahead of Interview With AfD Leader (RMX)
The European Commission will check whether the X platform promotes an interview between its owner, American entrepreneur and billionaire Elon Musk, and the leader of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) Alice Weidel, the body’s spokesman Thomas Regnier said on Monday, reports the Do Rzeczy news portal. Regnier said that under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which among other things governs content moderation rules on internet platforms, platforms must respond to “potential threats to EU electoral processes,” including providing above-average visibility to content promoting political forces, including content posted on X by Musk himself, the EU official said. The interview is taking place ahead of Germany’s snap parliamentary elections, enraging the political establishment. “The foundation of the DSA is freedom of speech. Mr. Musk has the right to express his private views and political opinions about the EU both online and offline,” Regnier said, adding that nothing prevents Musk from conducting an interview with Weidel, which will be streamed on his platform.
However, if the conversation with Weidel gains above-average visibility on X, as part of the procedure against this platform conducted in December 2023, the European Commission will look into whether the service provided users with the option to, for example, turn off streaming and whether it used algorithms to give it greater visibility. It is unclear what threshold the EU commission would set for “greater visibility,” as Musk’s posts tend to garner millions of views and sometimes tens of millions of views regardless of what he posts. He does have, after all, over 200 million and followers. In addition, both he, Weidel, and many others have been promoting the interview in the last weeks. Last month, Musk openly expressed his opinion that “only the AfD can save Germany.”
And they called it democracy..
• Germany’s Gun Grab? Saxony-Anhalt Begins Disarming AfD Members (RMX)
Authorities in Germany have begun withdrawing gun ownership licenses from Alternative for Germany (AfD) members, who are deemed a “danger to public safety.” So far, five AfD members have received a notice that their gun license would be revoked, while another member voluntarily returned his license after a revocation procedure was initiated. Another 51 cases are currently being examined by authorities, according to data released by the Saxony-Anhalt Interior Ministry in response to a request for information from the Left Party. Hunters and sport shooters will also have their gun licenses canceled by authorities. In total, there are 74 members of the AfD in Saxony-Anhalt that hold a firearms license, with 49 registered as sport shooters and 25 as hunters.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1787484137600733207
The revocation of gun licenses comes after the Office of the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), Germany’s powerful domestic intelligence agency, classified the AfD as “certainly right-wing extremist.” With this designation, AfD members suddenly faced a litany of problems. For one, authorities could spy on their communications without any warrant; however, authorities could also seize their firearms, and members could also face issues with government employment. The efforts to disarm AfD members won praise from the Left Party’s parliamentary group leader Eva von Angern. “The first revocation notices show that, after individual examination, these people pose a threat to public safety,” she said to German news outlet Mitteldeutsche Zeitung.
As Remix News has reported in the past, the BfV has also been active designating the AfD as an extremist threat in other states such as North Rhine-Westphalia, where gun owners are also under threat of having their firearms taken away from them. The BfV is a highly politicized intelligence agency targeting domestic “threats” to the constitutional order, while critics contend it is designed to snuff out political opposition. The agency is currently monitoring AfD members in a number of states, including tapping their phones and surveilling their internet communications, all without a warrant. Currently, their membership in the party offers enough legal grounds to target what is the second-largest party in the country. In 2023, the Gera Administrative Court ruled that the Thuringian Ministry of the Interior cannot revoke firearms licenses of AfD members in a blanket measure; however, it left the door open for individual cases.
If they try to block him, they’ll have a huge fight on their hands. Kennedy’s presence is important for Trump.
• Senate Democrats Consider Support For RFK Jr. As Health Secretary (ZH)
As the Biden administration gears up for the confirmation hearings of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for the role of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, a surprising development has occurred within the Senate. Despite considerable backlash from many in the Democratic Party due to Kennedy’s controversial views on vaccinations, a few Senate Democrats are reportedly keeping an open mind about voting for him. Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and John Fetterman (D-PA) may throw support behind Kennedy, according to The Hill. They share Kennedy’s criticisms of heavy corporate influence over the food industry and advocate for a shift towards less chemical-laden approaches in America. This openness aligns with their ongoing efforts to address the shortcomings in the U.S. food system, despite the contentious nature of Kennedy’s nomination.
“I think Bernie will give him a fair review,” said one source close to the Senator’s office. “I definitely think his Senate office will use the opportunity to point out the shortcomings of the industrial food system, supply chains, etc.,” the source continued. “I think they’ve been doing a little of that already.” “Their perceived openness comes despite a fervent backlash against Kennedy’s nomination from many within the Democratic Party, where his controversial stances on vaccinations still could be a deciding factor for many who see his views as dangerous for public health.” -The Hill. Kennedy’s efforts to be confirmed involve reaching out to Republican senators as well, from whom he needs a substantial majority to secure his position, given the potential lack of unanimous Democratic support.
His meetings on Capitol Hill and public calls for support are part of a strategic push to showcase his health agenda, which focuses heavily on reforming food industry practices and promoting healthier lifestyles. The nomination has placed Democrats in a difficult position. Many spent the last election distancing themselves from Kennedy after his switch from the Independent party, wary of his ability to draw third-party support that could impact general election outcomes. His nomination by Trump has forced them to reassess their stance, especially as Kennedy reemerges in the political spotlight. Despite some Democrats’ willingness to consider Kennedy’s nomination, others remain staunchly opposed. Senators like Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and potential concerns from other liberal members reflect the deep divisions within the party regarding Kennedy’s fitness for the role, especially concerning his vaccine views.
Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), has publicly criticized efforts associated with Kennedy’s nomination, particularly around vaccines – calling it “outrageous and dangerous for people in the Trump Transition to try and get rid of the polio vaccine” in a post last month to X. Kennedy recently visited Capitol Hill to discuss his health agenda – which he telegraphed would be central to his approach at HHS. While there, he met with Republican Sens. John Barrasso (WY), Shelley Moore Capito (W. VA.), and Marsha Blackburn (TN). That said, he’ll have slightly more breathing room if he can convince even one Democrat to vote for him. “I am no expert on Fetterman, but my sense is that he and [Sanders] will vote for RFK,” said progressive Nina Turner, a former congressional candidate who’s close to Sanders.
Fetterman had previously talked shit about Kennedy, however, saying in November, “I’m not going to really take any kind of advice [from] a dude that chainsaws whale heads and delivers dead bears into a park.” That said, the Pennsylvania politician may be open after all. “Fetterman has impressed me with his willingness to meet with Trump’s nominees without the normal partisan spin and insults attached to the process,” one pro-Kennedy source told the outlet. “To me, he’s signaling to MAGA that he’s open to working together on areas that can benefit the people and help everyday people.” “Fetterman,” the source added, is “definitely a swing vote for all of Trump’s nominees.”
In 12 days, he’ll head the FBI. Check your engines..
• National Sheriffs’ Association Endorses Kash Patel For FBI Director (JTN)
The National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA) on Monday endorsed President-elect Donald Trump’s FBI director nominee Kash Patel, and urged the Senate Judiciary Committee to confirm his nomination quickly. Trump nominated Patel in November, before FBI Director Christopher Wray even announced his intention to resign under the next Trump administration. Wray said he will resign his post on Jan. 20, the first day of Trump’s new administration. NSA President Kieran Donahue shared his endorsement in a letter to Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley and Ranking Member Dick Durbin, saying the association believed Patel had the “credentials, skills, temperament, commitment, and experience” for the post.
“We are pleased to give our enthusiastic endorsement of Mr. Patel’s nomination to be the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and urge the Committee hold hearings expeditiously,” Donahue wrote, per Fox News. “We believe there will be broad support for Mr. Patel and we look forward to his swift confirmation by the full United States Senate.” Donahue stated that Patel would prioritize bringing the FBI back to its previous standards, and restore confidence in the bureau by providing more transparency, and collaboration.
“Mr. Patel promised NSA – if confirmed – his unwavering dedication to working hand in glove with local, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement at the rank-and- file and leadership levels,” the president wrote. “His commitment to the reciprocity of access-to-advise is essential to combating the most serious security and policing challenges ahead. We are certain Mr. Patel’s engagement will result in vital and effective partnerships nationwide to protect communities large and small.” Donahue also highlighted the importance of Patel’s position in keeping the country safe, after the Biden administration’s policies reportedly “undermined the rule of law and burdened our nation with great risk and vulnerability.”
“Equally detrimental are the border policies that permit unchecked access to our homeland,” he continued. “These two factors have sadly but predictably granted domestic and international criminals unprecedented opportunity to victimize or endanger the citizens and residents of our nation. As a result, countless communities across America are under siege.” The sheriff said that the association wants to work more closely with federal law enforcement but was not granted the opportunity under President Joe Biden. “Our federal law enforcement hierarchy, armed with knowledge gained through local collaboration, must be heard by the decisionmakers in Washington,” he concluded. “In this time of uncertainty, it is critical the Federal Bureau of Investigation be led by someone who has the complete confidence of the President.”
Stuck.
• Federal Judge Blocks Release Of Jack Smith’s Classified Documents Report
Update (1240ET): U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon on Tuesday blocked the release of a special counsel’s final report into President-elect Donald Trump, pending a decision by an appeals court. The order bars special counsel Jack Smith and the Department of Justice (DOJ) from releasing the report until the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals reviews a motion submitted by Trump’s co-defendants. “Pending resolution of the Emergency Motion filed in the Eleventh Circuit … Attorney General Garland, the Department of Justice, Special Counsel Smith, all of their officers, agents, and employees, and all persons acting in active concert or participation with such individuals are temporarily enjoined” from releasing or transmitting the final report, Cannon’s order stated.
* * *
As Zachary Stieber detailed earlier via The Epoch Times, Special counsel Jack Smith is preparing a final report on the case involving President-elect Donald Trump and two others, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) confirmed on Jan. 7. Smith’s office is preparing a two-volume report to explain Smith’s prosecution decisions, lawyers for Smith’s office and the DOJ said in a filing to U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon. One of the volumes pertains to the case Smith brought against Trump, former aide Walt Nauta, and Mar-a-Lago manager Carlos De Oliveira. Attorney General Merrick Garland “has not yet determined how to handle the report volume pertaining to this case,” but will commit to not releasing it to the public before 10 a.m. on Jan. 10, the lawyers added. Smith will not transmit the report to Garland before 1 p.m. on Jan. 7.The details by the government came after Nauta and De Oliveira, through their lawyers, urged Cannon to enter an order blocking Smith from sharing the report with anybody else, and from taking any further actions to complete it. The release of the report, they said, “would directly infringe on Nauta’s and De Oliveira’s Fifth Amendment due process rights, taking on the status of a public form of an invalid new indictment, replete with unfairly prejudicial assertions of alleged offenses going well beyond any assertions in the indictment and other public filings.” The lawyers said that Cannon needs to act quickly because they believe that the government will issue the final report within the next few days. Federal law states that each special counsel shall provide the attorney general with a confidential report “explaining the prosecution or declination decisions reached by the Special Counsel.”
Smith brought two cases against Trump. Both were dropped after Trump won the 2024 election and started preparing to take office again. Trump’s lawyers told Garland in a separate letter that they were able to review a draft of the report recently in Washington and that there are serious problems with the document. “The Draft Report violates fundamental norms regarding the presumption of innocence, including with respect to third parties unnecessarily impugned by Smith’s false claims,” the lawyers said. Releasing the report to the public would violate the Presidential Transition Act, according to the lawyers. Both sets of lawyers highlighted how Cannon previously found that Smith was unconstitutionally appointed as a special counsel.
“Because Smith has proposed an unlawful course of action, you must countermand his plan and remove him promptly. If Smith is not removed, then the handling of his report should be deferred to President Trump’s incoming attorney general, consistent with the expressed will of the People,” Trump’s lawyers told Garland. “Finally, should you disagree with the positions set forth below, we respectfully request notice of that decision prior to the unlawful release of any report so that we can pursue injunctive and other relief to protect the rights of President Trump, others unfairly implicated by Smith’s work, and the people of this great Nation who elected President Trump to run the government and put an end to the weaponization of the justice system,” they added. Smith’s office and the DOJ said the brief, early morning filing would be followed by a more detailed response to the emergency motion by 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
Cannon
BREAKING: Judge Cannon Blocks Release of Special Counsel Report on Trump’s Criminal Cases, Trump Reacts at Mar-a-Lago |
Not a good day for Jack Smith.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon has temporarily blocked the release of special counsel Jack Smith’s report on the criminal… pic.twitter.com/xMk8axWJCI
— Overton (@overton_news) January 7, 2025
Extreme lawfare.
• Merchan Rejects Trump’s Attempts To Delay Sentencing In Hush Money Case (JTN)
New York Judge Juan Merchan on Monday rejected President-elect Donald Trump’s legal team’s attempts to delay the sentencing in the former president’s hush money case. The judge last week set the sentencing date for this coming Friday, Jan. 10, just 10 days before Trump is scheduled to be sworn into office. Merchan also rejected Trump’s attempt to dismiss the case, after his legal team cited the former president’s reelection and the fact that other pending cases against the president-elect that have already been dropped. Merchan has indicated that he is unlikely to impose any jail time in the case. Trump was convicted last year on 34 counts of falsifying business records in connection with a 2016 payment his then-attorney, Michael Cohen.
“This Court has considered Defendant’s arguments in support of his motion and finds that they are for the most part, a repetition of the arguments he has raised numerous times in the past,” Merchan wrote in Monday’s ruling. Merchan’s decision not to dismiss the case now that Trump has won the presidency, means that the convictions still stand, making Trump the first person convicted of a felony to win the Oval Office. However, Trump has vowed to appeal the verdict.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1876380949157667314
“There were a lot of mistakes made” in negotiations between Moscow and Washington during the period preceding Russia’s military campaign against Kiev..”
• Trump Blames Biden For Ukraine War (RT)
US President Joe Biden’s inept handling of the tensions between Russia, Ukraine and NATO has led to a conflict between Moscow and Kiev, President-elect Donald Trump told a press conference on Tuesday. Had Washington not offered the Ukrainian authorities a prospect of joining the US-led military bloc, the war could have been avoided, Trump believes. Washington’s desire to see Ukraine in NATO at some point despite Moscow’s legitimate concerns is what has triggered the conflict, the president-elect told journalists, adding that he believes that Biden “broke” a deal that America had with Russia on how far the US-led military bloc could expand. “Moscow has repeatedly stated even before President Vladimir Putin came to power that it does not want to see NATO in Ukraine,” Trump stated, adding that it “has been written in stone.”
Biden nonetheless insisted that “they should be able to join NATO,” he added. The president-elect also said he “could understand” how Russia was “feeling about” having a foreign military bloc “right on their doorstep.” “There were a lot of mistakes made” in negotiations between Moscow and Washington during the period preceding Russia’s military campaign against Kiev, he said. “When I heard the way that Biden was negotiating, I said: ‘you’re going to end up in a war,’ and it turned out to be a very bad war,” Trump said, adding that the ongoing conflict could still escalate even further and become “much worse than it is now.” The president-elect referred to the ongoing conflict as a “disaster” that “should have never happened” and called it “Biden’s fiasco.” He also vowed to “straighten up” the situation, while still admitting it will be “a tough one.”
According to Trump, it would have been much easier to prevent the conflict from breaking out back in 2022 than to settle it now. Answering one of the journalists’ questions, Trump said that he might need up to six months after taking office to help Moscow and Kiev reach a deal. Previously, he had repeatedly vowed to end the conflict in 24 hours. He still expressed his hope that it could be done “long before six months.” In late December, Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed that Biden offered him to delay Ukraine’s membership in NATO at the organization’s 2021 summit in Geneva. For Moscow, Kiev’s accession to the US-led bloc was unacceptable “whether it’s in one year or ten years,” the Russian leader said at that time.
First, do your homework: “Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that Kellogg needs to “delve deeper into the Ukrainian issue”.
• Trump’s Ukraine Aide Postpones Trip To Kiev – Reuters (RT)
US president-elect Donald Trump’s key Ukraine aide has postponed a planned trip to Kiev until after the Republican’s inauguration, Reuters reported on Tuesday. Retired lieutenant general Keith Kellogg initially planned to visit the city in early January to meet the Ukrainian leadership. No specific date for a future visit has been set, the news agency added. Bloomberg reported last month that Kellogg was also open to meetings in Moscow, if invited. The trip would focus on gathering information rather than implementing any specific policy goal, the outlet claimed. Reuters, however, did not mention the Russian capital in its report on Monday. Kellogg previously expressed concerns about the protracted nature of the Ukraine conflict, stating that “this has become a war of attrition that’s going to kill a whole generation of young men.”
Trump has repeatedly claimed he can resolve the conflict within 24 hours of taking office. The president-elect has also criticized outgoing President Joe Biden’s decision to permit Kiev to launch US-supplied missiles deep into Russia, describing it as a dangerous escalation. Trump has warned that he may cut off aid to Ukraine if it refuses to pursue a peace agreement. He indicated last month that he expects Vladimir Zelensky to consider accepting certain territorial concessions as part of a potential peace deal.
Moscow has repeatedly stated that it is ready to engage in a dialogue on Ukraine without preconditions, based on the 2022 Istanbul preliminary agreements and the situation on the ground. Among the conditions for a peaceful settlement, Vladimir Putin has named the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the Donbass, along with the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, as well as Kiev abandoning its plan to join NATO. A peace plan, co-authored by Keith Kellogg and presented to Trump earlier this year, proposes freezing the conflict along the current front line and preventing Ukraine from joining NATO for ten years. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that Kellogg needs to “delve deeper into the Ukrainian issue”.
“..there are grounds to assert this authority of reversal, but it will take years in court..”
• Trump Plan to “Un-Ban” the Biden Drilling Order Could Prove Difficult (Turley)
After a presidential campaign where both President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris pushed back on claims that they were trying to shut down much of the fossil fuel industry, Biden waited until the final days of his administration to ban oil and gas drilling over 670 million acres of America’s coastline. President-elect Donald Trump responded that“It’s ridiculous. I’ll un-ban it immediately. I have the right to un-ban it immediately.” It will likely be more difficult than a simple “un-ban” order. Environmental groups will likely push a “sue, baby, sue” campaign to counter Trump’s “drill, baby, drill.” In his statement, Biden justified the move to counter the “climate crisis.” A White House announcement stated that “President Biden has determined that the environmental and economic risks and harms that would result from drilling in these areas outweigh their limited fossil fuel resource potential.”
The question is whether the order can handcuff Trump in pursuing one of the main parts of his campaign platform to unleash America’s fossil fuel resources. This is all familiar ground. Biden acted under Section 12(a) of the 1953 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), which states that the president “may, from time to time, withdraw from disposition any of the unleased lands of the Outer Continental Shelf.” As noted in a Congressional Research Service report there is an ongoing debate over whether presidents can reverse the withdrawals of prior presidents. Trump faced that question in 2017 when he sought to overturn a ban by President Barack Obama in order to open up Alaska’s Beaufort and Chukchi seas and some parts of the Atlantic to oil and gas exploration.
Two years later, a judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska struck down Trump’s order. While acknowledging that the law is ambiguous, it did not find express authority for such reversals. Litigation ran out the clock and Biden later overturned Trump’s executive order. So, there are grounds to assert this authority of reversal, but it will take years in court. The alternative and preferred route would be Congress. This is an issue that should ultimately rest with Congress. This ambiguous law is unfortunately common in poorly crafted provisions giving presidents sweeping authority. Sen. Mike Lee (R., Utah), chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, has already pledged to “push back using every tool at our disposal.”
The no. 1 censor…
• Meta Culpa: Zuckerberg Joins Musk in the Global Fight for Free Speech (Turley)
“Faithful friends are hard to find.” For the free speech community, those words from Shakespeare have long been tragically true. Indeed, until Elon Musk bought Twitter (now X), we were losing ground around the world to an unprecedented anti-free speech coalition of government, corporate, media, and academic interests. Now, Musk may have added a major new ally that could help turn the tide for free speech: Mark Zuckerberg. In a new video, Meta’s CEO announced that the company would adopt X standards and restore free speech protections across Facebook, Instagram, and Meta platforms. Meta will also end its third-party fact-checking program, introduce a ‘community notes’ system, and focus on removing criminal and fraudulent material—the very guidelines proposed by some of us in prior years. For the free speech community, it was like the United States entering World War II to support Great Britain.
Where Musk stopped the progress of the global anti-free speech movement, Zuckerberg could actually help us regain ground around the world. As one of Zuckerberg’s most vocal critics over free speech, it is admittedly hard to trust. We all love redemptive sinners, but it would be more impressive if the redemption preceded the apprehension. So allow me a brief cathartic moment… In the last few years, a mix of House investigations and litigation has forced more of the censorship system under the Biden Administration into public view. That is expected to draw even greater attention with the continued discovery in Missouri v. Biden, showing years of false statements about the extent of this government-corporate alliance across social media platforms. In my recent book, The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage, I wrote about Zuckerberg and Meta’s record on censorship, including their failure (until recently) to release the Facebook files.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1876630108158787925
Meta resisted efforts to uncover this evidence for years, even after Musk released the Twitter Files and revealed a censorship system described by one court as perfectly “Orwellian.” While Zuckerberg portrayed Meta as an unwilling partner in this censorship system in his video, he and the company ignored many years of objections from many of us regarding the critical role the company plays in targeting and censoring opposing viewpoints. Facebook even ran a creepy ad campaign to try to convince young people to embrace what they call “content modification” as part of their evolution with technology. It did not work. When the anti-free speech movement targeted Musk, Zuckerberg did nothing for years. Fearing that other companies might restore free speech protections, members of Congress, including now Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), sent a chilling letter to Facebook stating that it should not even consider such a move or risk becoming “part of our ongoing oversight efforts.”
In a November 2020 Senate hearing, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), D-Conn., warned Zuckerberg and other CEOs that he and his Senate colleagues would not tolerate any “backsliding or retrenching” by “failing to take action against dangerous disinformation.” While Musk defied those threats, the pressure seemed to work with Zuckerberg. It was not until the Republicans won both houses and the White House that Zuckerberg and Meta decided that free speech was worth fighting for. In his exclusive interview with Fox News, Meta’s chief global affairs officer, Joel Kaplan, admitted that the Trump election changed the situation for Meta: “We have a new administration coming in that is far from pressuring companies to censor and [is more] a huge supporter of free expression.”
It is a chilling statement if one thinks of what might have happened if Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, arguably the most anti-free speech ticket in history, had won. The suggestion is that the new spring at Meta would have turned into a frozen tundra for free speech. Around the world, free speech is in a free fall. Speech crimes and censorship have become the norm in the West. A new industry of “disinformation” experts has commoditized censorship, making millions in the targeting and silencing of others. An anti-free speech culture has taken root in government, higher education, and the media. We will either hold the line now or we will lose this indispensable right for future generations. Zuckerberg could make this a truly transformative moment but it will take more than a passing meta-culpa. We need Zuckerberg now more than ever. So, with that off my chest, I can get to what I have longed to say: Mr. Zuckerberg, welcome to the fight.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 8, 2025
“..similar developments in a host of huge US companies, including Walmart, Ford, John Deere, Lowe’s, Harley-Davidson, Jack Daniel’s, Microsoft, United Airlines and Boeing.”
• McDonald’s Latest To Bail On DEI Goals (ZH)
Bowing to a mix of court rulings, consumer backlash, and rational attentiveness to self-interest, US institutions are abandoning the cult of diversity, equity and inclusion. The latest domino to fall is an American icon: McDonald’s on Monday announced it is curtailing many of its diversity initiatives. The news came in an open letter to McDonald’s its owner/operators, employees and suppliers. Among other factors influencing the move away from DEI, the company pointed to the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling that struck down race-centric admissions practice. “We…assessed the shifting legal landscape to anticipate how this ruling may impact corporations such as McDonald’s,” the firm wrote. The McDonald’s return to rationality follows similar developments in a host of huge US companies, including Walmart, Ford, John Deere, Lowe’s, Harley-Davidson, Jack Daniel’s, Microsoft, United Airlines and Boeing. While reaffirming McDonald’s commitment to inclusion, the company announced it would “modify…a few practices.” Among them:
• We are retiring setting aspirational representation goals and instead keeping our focus on continuing to embed inclusion practices that grow our business into our everyday process and operations.
• We are pausing external surveys to focus on the work we are doing internally to grow the business.
• We are retiring Supply Chain’s Mutual Commitment to DEI pledge in favor of a more integrated discussion with suppliers about inclusion as it relates to business performance.
McDonald’s vague reference to “pausing external surveys” almost certainly refers to an annual Human Rights Campaign survey that grades companies on LGBTQ inclusion, while the supply chain DEI pledge was McDonald’s quest to impose DEI schemes on the company’s suppliers, demanding they promise to “accelerate cultures of inclusion and belonging.” When announcing that pledge, McDonald’s said it was starting with 20 US-based suppliers, with an ambition to impose it “across McDonald’s value chain by 2025.” Instead, 2025 is the year the scheme is evaporating.Perhaps the best component of McDonald’s announcement was an embrace of what might be called benevolent neutrality: “We are also excited to introduce a new concept: the power of OUR “Golden Rule” — treating everyone with dignity, fairness and respect, always.” Robby Starbuck, the conservative who’s been blazing a highly effective, boycott-threatening, anti-DEI warpath on prominent consumer-brand companies, implied that his imminent targeting of McDonald’s triggered the announcement, noting that he’d told the company on Friday that he was working on a story about their practices. In a social media post, Starbuck celebrated the McDonald’s move and the broader trend it’s part of: “Our campaigns are so effective that we’re getting the biggest companies on earth to change their policies without me even posting a story exposing their woke policies first. Companies can see that America wants sanity back. The era of wokeness is dying right in front of our eyes. The landscape of corporate America is quickly shifting to sanity and neutrality. We are the trend, not the anomaly anymore.”
Some of McDonald’s woke infrastructure will remain, but it’s being renamed to better align with how the company will approach things going forward. “We are evolving how we refer to our diversity team, which will now be the Global Inclusion Team. This name change is more fitting for McDonald’s in light of our inclusion value and better aligns with this team’s work,” McDonald’s said. McDonald’s noted that 30% of its US leaders come from “underrepresented groups.” However, that’s only 1% higher than it was in 2021, according to Associated Press. It had targeted 35% as the goal for year-end 2025. McDonalds went all-in on diversity schemes in 2021, the year after George Floyd’s death in the custody of Minneapolis police set off a DEI mania that swept across America and western Europe. In addition to the social pressure, the company had also been hit by lawsuits alleging sexual harassment against employees and racial discrimination against black former franchise owners. As the Great DEI Rollback continues, the only question is…who’s next?
16
Grandpa Larry is such a kind soul ♥️ pic.twitter.com/uXnvApk89g
— B&S (@_B___S) January 7, 2025
Sharks
A guy was filming some resting sharks… And suddenly…pic.twitter.com/eCivgFI5eU
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) January 8, 2025
Everytime
— Doglover (@puppiesDoglover) January 7, 2025
Joke
With all the news about Jimmy Carter’s funeral, I thought I would share this:
It’s only 92 seconds, but you do have to wait till the very end ! pic.twitter.com/R2y9cVjm1h
— BlueDream (@58bugeye) January 7, 2025
Turn around
He deserves a treat.pic.twitter.com/HTzcxcrK2q
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) January 7, 2025
Louis
Beautiful song and iconic voice … pic.twitter.com/egV7S5vEOA
— The Figen (@TheFigen_) January 6, 2025
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