Vincent van Gogh Starry night over the Rhône 1888
Brilliant Rowan
https://twitter.com/i/status/1822316145698804079
Walz superior
CNN Anchor in disbelief as Tim Walz's former Superior details how Walz quit and went around his superior to avoid going to Iraq.
"We had already received our notification of sourcing (NOS)…Yes, he had been notified" pic.twitter.com/Zv7EbwuS98— Matt Batzel (@MattBatzel) August 10, 2024
J6
— Johnny Midnight ⚡️ (@its_The_Dr) August 10, 2024
Jim summarizes the madness pretty well. And mad it is.
• “Who Elected YOU Boss of This Outfit?” (Jim Kunstler)
You might well wonder: how does the Democratic Party rank and file sustain such fervor for the wrecking crew of Harris & Walz conjured up with zero input from the Party’s demos? Just plopped onstage as by the old MGM studio heads casting a pair of iffy contract players in a “B” movie musical called Our Pronouns Are Cash and Carry. So far, Harris and Walz levitate in fake polls on gusts of idiot wind from the Party’s unofficial public relations team of the The New York Times / MSNBC / CNN / NPR media matrix. But it’s already obvious that Veep Kamala Harris’ brain is just a laugh generator triggered by anything that sounds like an idea from the material world: the economy? Hee-haw. . . Ukraine? Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha. . . The border? Tee-hee. . . Transitioning minor children? Yuk-yuk-yukity-yuk. . . The Middle East? Cackle cackle. . . .
You are well aware, I’m sure, that the veep has yet to be exposed to a single unscripted interchange with anyone outside her promotional circle. It’s been kind of a neat trick to behold, like watching a barking terrier walk around the stage on its hind legs — but after a while the audience might be thinking, What else can you show me? You must not suppose this liminal moment in history between the defenestration of “Joe Biden” and the apparent selection of Harris & Walz is anything but a transient psychotic episode in American politics. The tell is that nobody in the Dem fold is inquiring as to how it happened, and especially who is behind it. Has the Dem Party become just Speaker emeritus Nancy Pelosi’s personal mafia? It appears that she was the one who delivered the black spot to “JB.” Do Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries even matter in that supposed hierarchy, or is Mrs. Pelosi sole proprietor of the org now?
There must be a few unfettered souls among the Dem delegates who detect that, without the smoke and mirrors of the media matrix, Harris & Walz can’t possibly make the case for getting elected honestly. And the odds of successfully rigging another national election seem to be on-the-fade, too, with such obvious pranks as registering 371 illegal aliens (non-citizens) to vote using an address that turns out to be a Walmart parking lot. Yesterday, Governor Glenn Youngkin of Virginia signed an excutive order requiring paper ballots and voter ID along with other new regs. Is a trend underway among the states to clean up their acts? The so far railroaded national Dem delegates have ten more days to watch the Harris / Walz tag-team get vivisected on “X”, which, like it or not, has become the sole open conduit for news and commentary in a nation ruled by a psychopathocracy.
You can say that because the policies they promote are obviously inimical to our country’s well being — open borders, harassment, arrest and censorship of political opponents, the pointless Ukraine war, sexual mutilation of children, mass digital surveillance, medical quackery, and a policy of lying about absolutely all of it. Many still recognize insanity when they see it in action. These matters are not defensible and, deep down, they must know it, and maybe enough of the delegates will decide to do something about it — like revolt against the candidates foisted on them. One possible result, of course, is that such a revolt will rip the party to shreds. You can easily imagine chaos in the streets of Chicago among the disaffected delegates and the Antifa shock troops called forth to punish them.
Chaos for its own sake is highly valued by so-called “progressives” looking to progressively destroy the entire armature of civilized life in order to create out of the ashes a nirvana of sadomasochistic persecution and punishment — their Hieronymus Bosch Wokester utopia. I’m guessing that there will be untoward discoveries about, and mortifying blunders galore by, Harris & Walz these ten days ahead, and they will go into the Chicago convention like two pitiful creatures marked for sacrifice. Gawd knows what will emerge from the turbulence that ensues — but I’m still dogged by the feeling that the only plausible outcome is a giant flying reptile with a face like Hillary’s swooping into the arena on her great, flapping, leathery wings crying, Caw caw caw, I own you all now, you miserable cat ladies, incels, nose-rings, and sundry victims of hateful offense! Follow me once more into the glorious rapture of defeat! And it shall be done!
Russiagate lives forever.
• Decay, Decrepitude, Deceit in Journalism (Ray McGovern)
Mainstream journalism has successfully buried parts of the Russiagate story, including the role played by former President Barack Obama. Was Obama aware of the “Russian hack” chicanery? There’s ample evidence he was “all in.” More than a month before the 2016 election, while the F.B.I. was still waiting for the findings of cyber-firm CrowdStrike, which the Democratic Party had hired in place of the F.B.I. to find out who had breached their servers, Obama told Clapper and Dept. of Homeland Security head Jeh Johnson not to wait. So with the election looming, the two dutifully published a Joint Statement on Oct. 7, 2016: “The U.S. Intelligence Community (USIC) is confident that the Russian Government directed the recent compromises of e-mails from US persons and institutions, including from US political organizations. The recent disclosures of alleged hacked e-mails on sites like DCLeaks.com and WikiLeaks and by the Guccifer 2.0 online persona are consistent with the methods and motivations of Russian-directed efforts. These thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the US election process. … “
Obama’s role was revealed in 2022 when the F.B.I. was forced to make public F.B.I. emails in connection with the trial of fellow Russiagate plotter, Democratic lawyer Michael Sussmann Clapper and the C.I.A., F.B.I., and NSA directors briefed Obama on the ICA on Jan. 5, 2017. That was the day before they gave it personally to President-elect Donald Trump, telling him it showed the Russians helped him win, and that it had just been made public. On Jan. 18, 2017, at his final press conference, Obama used lawyerly language in an awkward attempt to cover his derriere: “The conclusions of the intelligence community with respect to the Russian hacking were not conclusive as to whether WikiLeaks was witting or not in being the conduit through which we heard about the DNC e-mails that were leaked.”
So we ended up with “inconclusive conclusions” on that admittedly crucial point … and, for good measure, use of both words — “hacking” and “leaked.” The tale that Russia hacked the Democratic National Committee in 2016 was then disproved on Dec. 5, 2017 by the head of CrowdStrike’s sworn testimony to Congress. Shawn Henry told the House Intelligence committee behind closed doors that CrowdStrike found no evidence that anyone had successfully hacked the DNC servers. But it is still widely believed because The New York Times and other Democrat-allied corporate media never reported on that testimony when it was finally made public on May 7, 2020. Enter Michael van Landingham. Rolling Stone’s article on July 28 about van Landingham says he is still proud of his role as one of the “hand-picked analysts” in drafting the discredited ICA.
The piece is entitled: “He Confirmed Russia Meddled in 2016 to Help Trump. Now, He’s Speaking Out.” It says: “Trump viewed the 2017 intel report as his ‘Achilles heel.’ The analyst who wrote it opens up about Trump, Russia and what really happened in 2016.” Without ever mentioning that the conclusions of the ICA were proven false, by Henry’s testimony and the conclusions of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation that found no evidence of Trump-Russia “collusion,” Rolling Stone says: “The 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA), dubbed ‘Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent U.S. Elections,’ was one of the most consequential documents in modern American history. It helped trigger investigations by the House and Senate intelligence committees and a special counsel investigation, and it fueled an eight-year-long grudge that Trump has nursed against the intelligence community.”
Rawnsley writes in Rolling Stone the following as gospel truth, without providing any evidence to back it up. “When WikiLeaks published a tranche of [John] Podesta’s emails in late October, the link between the Russian hackers and the releases became undeniable. The dump contained the original spear phishing message that Russian hackers had used to trick Podesta into coughing up his password. News outlets quickly seized on the email, crediting it for what it was: proof that the Russians were behind the campaign.” Because Rawnsley didn’t tell us, it’s not clear how this “spear phishing message” provides “undeniable” proof that Russia was behind it. Consortium News has contacted Rawnsley to provide more detail to back up his assertion.
Shameless or Just Dumb? Michael van Landingham brags to Rolling Stone that he wrote the first draft of the meretricious cornerstone of Russiagate, the "Intelligence Community" Assessment falsely blaming the Russians for helping Trump defeat Hillary in 2016https://t.co/1yWupvqvcg
— Ray McGovern (@raymcgovern) July 30, 2024
You are one small mental leap away from saying: ‘Public servants don’t need to face the public, actually’..”
• Associated Press Slammed for Giving Harris Pass on Answering Questions (Sp.)
After President Biden announced last month that he would not be seeking reelection for a second term, Vice President Kamala Harris was transformed by the Democratic Party machine and much of the media from the least popular VP in recent memory to an overnight media darling, to the chagrin of her detractors. Big three Western news agencies member the Associated Press is facing scathing criticism from readers after appearing to play down the significance of presidential candidates speaking to the media. In a piece published Friday night titled “Meet the press? Hold that thought. The candidate sit-down interview ain’t what it used to be,” AP contributor David Bauder argued that the fact that Kamala Harris “hasn’t given an interview and has barely engaged with reporters since becoming the Democratic choice to replace Joe Biden” isn’t that big a deal, and that “for journalists, the larger lesson is that their role as presidential gatekeepers is probably diminishing forever.”
The problem with interviews and news conferences, Bauder explained, is that they take away the “control” that campaigns, which have essentially become “marketing operations,” may depend on as far as campaign messaging goes. Harris’ conscious camera shyness, attributed to her well-worn tendency for embarrassing word salad remarks, contrasts her sharply from her Republican opponent, who in addition to nonstop social media posting revels in speaking with the media every chance he gets, including, most recently, through a heated interview with the National Association of Black Journalists – which the vice president skipped.The AP’s headline and messaging struck a nerve with Harris’s detractors, with the AP’s X post on the story ratioed by users peeved with the attempt to spin the candidate’s refusal to speak to media into something benign.“This is not ok! And it’s journalists’ job to say so, to hold politicians accountable. I am embarrassed for the profession,” writer and columnist Amanda Fortini wrote in response to the AP piece.
“What exactly are you drawing salaries for? If talking to the media is irrelevant and unnecessary why exactly to we need a media? What is it you’d say ya do around here?” another person quipped, quoting the line of one of the Bobs in the 1999 Mike Judge comedy Office Space. “The national press are now stumping for Harris to not do interviews. News organizations would rather protect Kamala Harris than make news. Astonishing,” someone else wrote. “Your girl is afraid to answer any questions she didn’t get in advance and didn’t memorize the answer to. And our ‘press’, especially you, are the worst in the world,” another person suggested.“You are one small mental leap away from saying: ‘Public servants don’t need to face the public, actually’,” someone else said.“This is a pretty weak editorial. Obviously the campaigns want to control messaging. But the legacy media is under no obligation to play along. The reason Harris is continuing to hide from the press is because you guys are enabling her,” another user suggested.
“Is it really worth burning your credibility for this? I mean, for Kamala specifically? For a good candidate I get it, but for Kamala?” one person asked. A spate of polling on a Harris-Trump matchup in November has flipped the script on months of polling favoring Trump against President Biden, whose ratings have declined precipitously amid handlers’ increasing in inability to hide his visibly declining mental acuity and physical state. A string of polling over the past two-and-a-half weeks now shows Trump trailing behind Harris by a 1-4 point margin, including in key battleground states, notwithstanding the vice president’s lackluster record as Biden’s border czar, and controversial record as California’s attorney general, including her attempts to keep hundreds of people, most of them African Americans, incarcerated for non-violent offenses beyond their sentences to prop up the pool of available prison labor.
We’ll see tons of polls with very different results. The NYT simply polls way more democrats. That works.
• Harris Leading Trump In Key States – NYT Poll (RT)
A New York Times poll released on Saturday shows US Vice President Kamala Harris with a significant lead over former President Donald Trump in the swing states of Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. The poll’s sampling data, however, suggests that the race could be far closer in reality. Conducted by the Siena College Research Institute, the survey of nearly 2,000 likely voters found Harris beating Trump by 50% to 46% across all three states. The poll was conducted between August 5 and 9, in the week that Harris announced Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate. Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan reliably voted Democrat from 1992 until 2016, when Trump defied almost all polling to win all three. President Joe Biden managed to flip these Rust Belt states back in 2020, but did so by razor-thin margins.
For both Harris and Trump, winning either Pennsylvania and its 19 electoral votes, or Michigan and Wisconsin’s combined 25 votes, is essential to winning this November’s election. While the poll suggests that Harris is on track to win a resounding victory in all three states, a look at its methodology suggests that the Democrat’s lead could be an illusion. For example, 45% of respondents in Michigan voted for Biden in 2020, while 39% chose Trump. In reality, Biden won Michigan by less than three points, instead of the six that the poll suggests. Similar disparities can be seen in Pennsylvania, where the poll’s sampling suggests that Biden won the state by five points in 2020, compared to 1.2 in reality, and in Wisconsin, where the poll showed Biden winning by eight points, instead of 0.6. With this oversampling of Democrats taken into account, Harris and Trump are in a statistical dead heat in all three states.
Regardless, the poll is one of several to show Harris closing in on Trump. According to an average of multiple polls compiled by RealClearPolitics, Harris is currently leading Trump nationwide by 0.5%. By contrast, Trump was leading Biden by around three points immediately before the president suspended his reelection campaign last month. Despite publishing no policy positions and taking no questions from journalists since announcing her campaign, Harris has seen her favorability rise to 48%, up from 36% in February, according to previous New York Times/Siena polls. Trump’s favorability currently sits at 46%, up from 44% in February.
“..though Latinos still continue to believe in the American Dream, nearly 88% believe that it’s harder to achieve than ever before..”
• Polling On Latinos Shows Trouble For Harris (RCW)
According to a new survey, Latinos are disillusioned with President Joe Biden and his administration’s policies. The survey, primarily sampling Latinos living in several key states such as Pennsylvania, finds that a majority feel like things are worse than they were four years ago. And a whopping 72% say that the country is headed in the wrong direction. The findings are significant because Biden comfortably won the Latino vote in the 2020 presidential election, and Latinos have traditionally voted for Democrats in previous elections. And following the dramatic shake up atop of the Democratic ticket, Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign will need to put together a coalition – which includes Latinos – if she is to win the presidency.
Unfortunately for Harris, our poll shows that the economy is front and center for most Latino voters. According to our findings, consistent with other polls, Latinos are most worried about jobs, the economy, inflation, and the high cost of living. According to our findings, two-thirds of Latinos say the state of the economy is either fair or poor. It’s no surprise, then, that our poll found that though Latinos still continue to believe in the American Dream, nearly 88% believe that it’s harder to achieve than ever before. These findings are consistent with what I am hearing every day from Latinos drawn to our workshops on financial literacy, the role of government, and English as a Second Language (ESL) classes. Hispanics are drawn to America because of the promise of a better life and want to be active in making this country better and more prosperous.
Most immigrants from Latin America and the Caribbean are not looking for handouts, but instead are looking for ways to get ahead in a country of abundant opportunity and prosperity. They know that unlike other countries – including the ones they may have fled from – the United States is where people can accomplish extraordinary things through hard work and perseverance. But as our polling makes clear, Latinos are feeling battered after years of runaway spending, crony capitalism, and ever-expanding regulations that make owning a business or raising a family more difficult. The everyday Latinos I talk to, who are working two shifts or struggling to make ends meet, are looking for solutions from our elected officials. They are looking for bold leadership and they are tired of partisan politics.
Many of us, having come from countries ruled by dictators with little chance of prosperity, are grateful to take on the responsibilities that come with living in a republican democracy where the elected officials are accountable to the people – not the other way around. We’re not a perfect nation, but the founders of this country knew that to make this a “more perfect union,” this great experiment of democracy needs an educated and vibrant citizenry. Latinos are showing that we are both and will not be seen as a monolithic, one-issue voting bloc for anyone. As one of the youngest and fastest growing demographics, Latinos will have an outsized role in determining the future of our country. This election is just the start in shaping the next chapter of America’s history.
Behold: the president.
They could use this to push Kamala forward. But they do not.
• Police Audio Corroborates Claims Biden Had A Medical Emergency In Vegas (MN)
Police audio has been released revealing that law enforcement in Las Vegas were engaged in a snap operation to secure a route for Joe Biden to get to University Medical hospital, a trauma center, corroborating previous reports that there was some sort of medical emergency involving Biden before he stepped down as the Democratic nominee. As we highlighted at the time, police sources claimed that US Secret Service informed local law enforcement that there was an emergency situation involving Biden on July 17, and to close necessary streets so that he could be transported immediately to the hospital. According to the sources, hundreds of officers and employees heard the broadcast live and set in motion emergency response procedures, with radio dispatchers asking for a “surge” of police resources to secure the area and the emergency room on standby.
The plan then abruptly changed and Biden was flown back to Delaware at high speed. Speculation was that Biden was displaying stroke like symptoms, and that he could have experienced a transient ischaemic attack, also called a “mini stroke”, a serious condition where the blood supply to the brain is temporarily disrupted. The new audio is from the Las Vegas Metro Police Department’s protective detail for Biden and was released Friday afternoon by Oversight Project, which obtained the recordings through a Freedom of Information Act request. The three recordings, containing police chatter, are not time stamped, but appear to span a few hours. In two clips, both of around four-minutes, officers are asked to respond Code 3, which is an emergency response posture.
In the third longer clip of 43 minutes, someone on the radio states “For everybody on the radio, right now they’re on a hold for something regarding the President.” The protective detail was then informed “For everyone on the radio, right now POTUS is 421. He’s being seen, so we’re just kinda waiting to see how this is shaping out. So, for everybody’s knowledge, he’s 421 right now; we’re just trying to figure out what’s going on and we’re gonna go from there.” Code 421 means a sick or injured person, according to LVMPD’s code sheet. The rest of the audio contains chatter about the protective detail quickly moving their resources to ensure a secure route for “POTUS movement.” While it is difficult to determine exact details from the audio, it is clear evidence that something significant happened to Biden. Something that the American people and the world is still not privy to.
Not the only person these days who doesn’t know what a woman is.
• No ‘Solid’ Way To Distinguish Man From Woman – IOC Chief (RT)
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach on Friday said he is not aware of a ‘scientifically solid’ way to distinguish a man from a woman, defending the body’s decision to allow two boxers whose gender eligibility has been disputed to take part in the women’s boxing championship. Bach’s words came in response to a question about whether the IOC would consider reviewing its gender identification guidelines in light of the controversy surrounding a pair of boxers, Algerian Imane Khelif and Taiwanese Lin Yu-ting, being allowed to take part in the Games as women despite previous allegations that they are actually biologically male. According to Bach, while the IOC “would be more than pleased to look into” the situation, it does not have a way to probe the gender claims of either athlete at this time.
“We have said from the very beginning, if somebody is presenting us with a scientifically solid system how to identify men and women, we are the first ones to do it. We do not like this uncertainty,” Bach stated, adding that chromosome testing is not enough to scientifically distinguish between men and women “anymore.” He noted also that “it is not possible” for the IOC to make its decisions based on “someone saying this is not a woman just by looking” or “by falling prey to a defamation campaign by a not credible organization with highly political interest.” The latter comment appears to be a jab aimed at the International Boxing Association (IBA), which disqualified both Khelif and Yu-ting from the World Championships last year after they “failed to meet the eligibility criteria for participating in the women’s competition.” The two bodies have been at odds in recent years.
In a statement released at the end of July, the IBA reiterated that “the athletes… were subject to a separate and recognized test [which] indicated that both… were found to have competitive advantages over other female competitors.” The gender controversy at the Paris Olympics sparked heated debates globally after Khelif beat Italy’s Angela Carini in the preliminary rounds at the Olympics in a bout that lasted a mere 45 seconds. The incident raised questions as to the fairness of allowing biological males to compete with females.
Last week, IOC spokesman Mark Adams claimed that all competitors approved for the Games “comply with the eligibility rules,” and cast doubts on the IBA tests. The IOC previously explained that Khelif and Lin Tu-ting had been cleared for the Games due to being “women according to their passports.” Several hours after Bach’s press briefing, Khelif won Olympic gold after defeating China’s Yang Liu in the welterweight final in Paris. The outcome sparked a new wave of heated debate online, with some social media users expressing support for Khelif, while others lambasted the IOC and called on it to strip the athlete of the award. Many also ridiculed Bach for his recent remarks, noting that there are a variety of genetic tests and accusing him of “gaslighting the world.”
“..to punish social media companies that allow the spread of “legal but harmful” content..”
• UK Police Chief Threatens Elon Musk (RT)
London’s Metropolitan Police commissioner has threatened to charge foreigners for “whipping up hatred” online, naming X owner Elon Musk as someone who could be prosecuted. The warning comes amid a nationwide crackdown against supposed hate speech following a spate of right-wing riots. “We will throw the full force of the law at people. And whether you’re in this country committing crimes on the streets or committing crimes from further afield online, we will come after you,” Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley told Sky News on Friday. Asked whether the Metropolitan Police planned on charging people posting on social media from other countries, Rowley replied: “Being a keyboard warrior does not make you safe from the law,” and named “the likes of Elon Musk” as potential targets for investigation.
As of Friday, more than 700 people had been arrested and more than 300 charged over their alleged participation in the riots, which kicked off after a teenager of Rwandan descent killed three children and injured ten others in a stabbing spree in the town of Southport late last month. Initially sparked by a false rumor that the knifeman responsible for the stabbings was a Muslim immigrant, the demonstrations grew into a wider backlash against Islam and mass immigration, culminating in rioters setting fire to a hotel housing asylum seekers in Rotherham last Sunday. Of those arrested, more than 30 have been charged with online offenses, such as sharing footage of the riots or posting content that – according to the Crown Prosecutorial Service – “incites violence or hatred.”
Critics, including Musk, have accused the government of stifling free speech, and of operating a “two-tier” justice system, in which white British suspects are punished far more severely than immigrants. Musk shared a post on Saturday highlighting the disparity between the cases of Steven Mailen and Mustafa al Mbaidib. Mailen, 54, was sentenced to more than two years in prison on Friday for shouting and “gesticulating” at a police officer during a violent demonstration in Hartlepool last week; Al Mbaidib, a 27-year-old Jordanian national, was fined £26 ($33) last month for assaulting a female police officer in Bournemouth in May.
“Sure seems like unequal justice in the UK,” Musk wrote on X. The billionaire also shared a series of memes comparing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to a Nazi officer and the British government to the totalitarian dictatorship of George Orwell’s ‘1984’. Starmer is considering amending Britain’s Online Safety Act to punish social media companies that allow the spread of “legal but harmful” content, The Telegraph reported on Friday. The act, passed by the country’s previous Conservative government, was originally set to include such a clause, but the passage was ultimately pulled after Business and Trade Minister Kemi Badenoch complained that it amounted to “legislating for hurt feelings.”
“These foreign countries could force Americans to curtail their speech under the threat of ruinous financial penalties or even arrest..”
In its hit song London Calling the Clash warns:
“London calling to the faraway towns
Now that war is declared and battle come down
London calling to the underworld
Come out of the cupboard, all you boys and girls”According to a new report, the British punk rock band may have been prophetic in 1979 in a way never foreseen in its apocalyptic lyrics. This week, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said that the police will not necessarily confine its arrests for speech crimes to London or even the United Kingdom. Rowley suggests that Americans and other citizens could be extradited and brought to London for online postings. London has been hit with days of violent protests over immigration policies, including attacks and arson directed at immigration centers. This violence has been fueled by false reports spread online about the person responsible for an attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event that left three girls dead and others wounded. Despite false claims about his being an asylum seeker, the culprit was an 18-year-old British citizen born to Rwandan parents.
News outlets and pundits have condemned the false reports and the violent protests. However, the police are moving to arrest those who are repeating false claims or engaging in inflammatory speech. Rowley is warning that they will not stop at the city limit or even the country’s borders. He warned “We will throw the full force of the law at people. And whether you’re in this country committing crimes on the streets or committing crimes from further afield online, we will come after you.” Rowley was asked by a reporter about the criticism by Elon Musk and others over the response of the government. Musk noted a video of someone allegedly arrested for offensive online comments with a question, “Is this Britain or the Soviet Union?” Pundits and politicians in the United Kingdom have called for an investigation or the arrest of Musk for merely speaking publicly on the controversy.
The reporter said that high profile figures have been “whipping up the hatred,” and that “the likes of Elon Musk” are involved in the online speech. She then asked what the London police are prepared to do “when it comes to dealing with people who are whipping up this kind of behavior from behind the keyboard who may be in a different country?”Rowley told the reporter: “Being a keyboard warrior does not make you safe from the law. You can be guilty of offenses of incitement, of stirring up racial hatred, there are numerous terrorist offenses regarding the publishing of material. All of those offenses are in play if people are provoking hatred and violence on the streets, and we will come after those individuals just as we will physically confront on the streets the thugs and the yobs who are taking — who are causing the problems for communities.”
[..] We previously discussed how Democratic leaders like Hillary Clinton called on foreign countries to use or pass censorship laws to prevent Elon Musk from restoring free speech protections on Twitter. The effort of these politicians would allow free speech to be reduced to the lowest common denominator as countries export their anti-free speech laws. When Clinton called upon Europeans to censor Americans, this is precisely what such actions would look like. These foreign countries could force Americans to curtail their speech under the threat of ruinous financial penalties or even arrest. As some of us predicted, these laws have expanded as the desire to silence others becomes an insatiable appetite. Advocacy groups have pushed the police to crackdown on their critics. Now, the threat to “throw the full force of the law at people” may be extended to the people of other nations.
We could all soon be dancing to that same tune:
“London calling, see we ain’t got no swing
Except for the ring of that truncheon thing”
Bit too convenient?
• Trump Campaign Hacked, Microsoft Says Iran-Backed Group Responsible (ZH)
Microsoft’s cyber threat assessment unit said on Aug. 9 that a high-ranking official on a U.S. presidential campaign had been hacked by an Iran-backed group, with the Trump campaign later revealing that it had been the target of a cyber attack and linked the breach to “foreign sources hostile to the United States.” The report from the Microsoft Threat Analysis Center (MTAC) indicates that an Iranian group called Mint Sandstorm that is connected to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps sent a spear phishing email in June to a high-ranking official on a presidential campaign from the compromised email account belonging to a former senior campaign adviser. “Mint Sandstorm similarly targeted a presidential campaign in May and June 2020 five to six months ahead of the last U.S. presidential election,” MTAC said, adding that the same group also tried but failed to breach an account belonging to a former presidential candidate.
No details were released on the official’s identity, but Microsoft’s threat assessment team said that the Iranian-linked breaches related to increasing attempts to influence the U.S. presidential election in November. “This recent cyber-enabled influence activity arises from a combination of actors which are conducting initial cyber reconnaissance and seeding online personas and websites into the information space,” according to the report. Following the release of the report, the Trump 2024 presidential campaign confirmed that it had been the target of a cyberattack in which campaign documents were stolen. The breach, which Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung told Politico on Aug. 10 has been attributed to “foreign sources hostile to the United States,” marks a significant development in the area of foreign interference in U.S. elections as the race for the White House heats up.
Politico reported that, on July 22, it began receiving emails from an anonymous source using the alias “Robert.” The emails reportedly contained internal documents from the Trump campaign, including a 271-page research dossier on Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), who was vetted as a potential vice presidential nominee and later chosen as former President Donald Trump’s running mate. Cheung pointed to the Microsoft report and its finding that Iranian hackers had broken into the account of a high-ranking official on the U.S. presidential campaign as evidence of involvement of a foreign hostile power in the Trump campaign breach. “These documents were obtained illegally from foreign sources hostile to the United States, intended to interfere with the 2024 election and sow chaos throughout our democratic process,” Cheung told the outlet. He also linked the timing of the breach to reports of Iranian plots against Trump, who remains a target of Iranian hostility after ordering the 2020 assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani.
“..at first glance… it seems that provisions of European law have been violated,,”
• Poland Warns Against Kicking Hungary Out Of Schengen (RT)
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Friday warned against Hungary’s potential expulsion from the Schengen Area – a measure proposed as punishment after Budapest eased its entry rules for Russians. Last month, Budapest extended its special visa regime – the National Card system – to include Russian and Belarusian nationals. The scheme allows foreigners to work in Hungary for up to two years and paves the way for them to apply for permanent residency. Hungary’s move garnered attention after European People’s Party Chairman Manfred Weber criticized it in a letter to European Council President Charles Michel, claiming the new scheme could make it easier for “Russian spies” to enter the bloc. Earlier this week, a group of 67 members of the EU Parliament sent an official letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, demanding Hungary be punished if it refuses to change its visa policy.
One of the signatories, Finnish MP Tytti Tuppurainen, proposed introducing border controls with Hungary and ultimately excluding it from the Schengen Area if its new visa requirements are not amended. According to Tusk, drastic measures are not advisable. “Exclusion from the Schengen Area is actually a prelude to exclusion from the EU,” he said at a press briefing on Friday. “I would be careful here… I put a lot of effort into removing [Hungarian Prime Minister] Viktor Orban and his party from the international group… but I would be careful with motions to expel countries from the EU,” Tusk, an outspoken critic of what he has called Budapest’s “Russian position,” added. He said he did not know the full details of Hungary’s visa decision, but “at first glance… it seems that provisions of European law have been violated along with regulations related to risks to the security of the Schengen countries.” Tusk noted that Hungary is not the only EU country that grants visas to Belarusians and Russians, so punishing it would not prevent them from entering the bloc.
Poland has been a key backer of Kiev amid the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, sending military aid and serving as a hub for Western weapons supplies. Hungary, however, has opposed funding and arming Kiev. Orban has been calling for a diplomatic solution to the conflict, and embarked on what he called a Ukraine ‘peace mission’ last month, holding talks with Kiev and Moscow to urge them to negotiate. His actions, including a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, drew criticism within the EU, with some members calling for the rotating EU presidency which Hungary currently holds to be revoked. Brussels has so far responded to criticism of Hungary’s new visa rules by asking Budapest to officially explain the move. The EU is expected to address the issue at its summit in October.
Dramatic.
• Ukraine Losing Battle to Recruit New ‘Cannon Fodder’ For NATO Proxy War (Sp.)
A drastic shortage of manpower in the Ukrainian Army has hounded the Kiev regime to such an extent that it has not only tightened its mobilization rules, but shown willingness to recruit deserters and convicted felons. The Kiev regime’s huge combat losses go hand in hand with its losing battle to recruit new “cannon fodder.” Conscription is becoming increasingly tough, despite assurances to the contrary spouted by official spokesmen for Ukraine’s military, The Wall Street Journal admitted. While troops at the front in eastern Ukraine are reportedly desperately short of men, draft dodgers are tirelessly devising strategies to avoid enlistment. Amid reports of commanders sending new recruits into the trenches without proper training, and with the only way to leave the military being injury, death, or the end of the conflagration, the outlet noted that men would rather be:
• Fleeced by smugglers, who charge up to $15,000 to get men out of the country illegally;
• Apply for postgraduate education programs (traditionally coming with an exemption from the draft), which reached a record high of 90,000 men this year;
• Go into hiding;It should be noted that the postgrad loophole has effectively been shut down “so that postgraduate study does not turn into a corrupt tool to avoid mobilization,” per Ukraine’s Ministry of Education. Draft officers are described as having fanned out across the country in a race to dole out the dreaded summonses that require one to show up at a recruitment office within days or face an arrest warrant. A law tightening Ukraine’s mobilization rules went into effect on May 18 and aims at replenishing Ukrainian forces, depleted by more than two years of NATO’s proxy conflict. Ukraine is now facing not only a drastic shortage of men to fill battle ranks, but an unprecedented demographic crisis of its own making amid efforts to forcibly mobilize men aged 18-60 and even snatching mentally and physically handicapped draft-age men off the streets.
“As Andrei Martyanov remarked, Belousov must have detailed how Kiev would simply cease to exist – and in due time, “so would D.C.”
• The Forever Wars go full War OF Terror (Pepe Escobar)
This is a very simple demonstration. Please allow me to present only two Exhibits, A and B.
Exhibit A The stunning confirmation came directly from Russian Deputy FM Ryabkov, during a quite revealing interview on Rossiya TV. Ryabkov, extremely competent, is also the leading Russian sherpa for BRICS+, preparing the summit next October in Kazan. Essentially, Russian intel discovered that Kiev intel was setting up the joint assassination of President Putin and Defense Minister Belousov during the Navy Day parade late last month in St. Petersburg. Ryabkov was very cautious – as this is a matter of national security, involving several top agencies. When asked directly whether “an action was being prepared at the Main Naval Parade” against Putin, Ryabkov was not explicit: he only acknowledged the presence of “a certain connection with this kind of event” – according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Ryabkov called this provocation being prepared by Kiev a “very alarming” episode, which was planned in connection “with our internal events in order to inflict maximum damage and obtain the maximum media effect they need.” What’s intriguing is how the plot line developed. Normally we would have Bortnikov (FSB) or Patrushev (special adviser to Putin) picking up the phone and calling the CIA’s Burns to ask for a serious explanation.
In this case it was much more hardcore. Belousov himself called the head of the Pentagon, weapons peddler Lloyd “Raytheon” Austin, and told him in no uncertain terms to tighten the leash on the Kiev goons – or else. Now imagine how the transcript of the blunt Russian message would read. As Andrei Martyanov remarked, Belousov must have detailed how Kiev would simply cease to exist – and in due time, “so would D.C.” if the Americans decided to authorize the hit. Ryabkov also referred to “some other countries” who would have been part of the package. Translation: Brits and Poles. What this little story tells us is that Moscow finally seems to be getting the picture: there’s no way to deal rationally with terror entities, except to politely tell them in their faces that if certain conditions are fulfilled, they will be incinerated with no mercy.
Exhibit B
This concerns the cosmic dementia permeating the Zionist Project. Apart from the inestimable Alastair Crooke, who called everyone’s attention to what’s really at stake, only a few people across the collective West have any idea of the “long black cloud” that may be coming down, to quote Dylan. This goes way beyond the government in Tel Aviv “losing control of the Extreme Right”. Cue to the key passages of an interview with Moshe “Bogie” Ya’alon, former Chief of Staff of the IDF and also former Defense Minister. “When you talk about Smotrich and Ben Gvir: They have a Rabbi. His name is Dov Lior. He is the Rabbi of the Jewish Underground, who intended to blow up the Dome of the Rock – and before that the buses in Jerusalem. Why? In order to hurry up the ‘Last War’.” Translation: the two most extreme members of the Netanyahu cabinet follow the same rabbi who wants to blow up Al-Aqsa mosque to rebuild the Jewish Temple, expel or kill all Palestinians, and prevail in a coming Armageddon.
Ya’alon then delivers the clincher: “This concept rests on Jewish supremacy: Mein Kampf in reverse”. In this case, “a war of Gog and Magog”. Ya’alon adds: “This is what goes into the decision-making process in the Israeli government”. The lowdown: an escathological, ultra-rabid cult is dictating policy in Tel Aviv, the HQ of a genocidal, settler-colonial construct – complete with a massive vigilante militia, or interlocking militias, of hundreds of thousands of settlers, armed to their teeth, uncontrollable, and ready to do anything, even attacking the military and the Israeli state itself. There’s absolutely no way to talk or to reason with this fanatic mob. They could only be dealt with in one precise way. And the fact is the Axis of Resistance is not there – yet.
Jeep
It was designed to be assembled in minutes by a few folks after being parachuted to an area.
This one was assembled in less than 3 minutes.
The Jeep was vital and a massive surplus inventory was given away for a few dollars by the 1970s.
Nothing really replaced it. pic.twitter.com/rP9cffZTdr
— Brian Roemmele (@BrianRoemmele) August 10, 2024
Fish
https://twitter.com/i/status/1822289345010704673
not a dog
https://twitter.com/i/status/1822027734350021031
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