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Caesar

Best of the Web: Trump announces plan to pull 12,000 troops out of Germany - 6,400 of whom will return to US

trump us troops
The US is planning to pull nearly 12,000 troops out of Germany in a move the Pentagon insisted was about long-term strategy but which Donald Trump said was to punish Berlin for low defence spending.

Of a total of 11,900 personnel that will be leaving Germany under the proposal, 6,400 will be returning to the US, from where they could be used for rotational deployments in eastern Europe and around the world, while 5,600 will be repositioned within other Nato countries, particularly Belgium and Italy.

The defence secretary, Mark Esper, said the move would begin within weeks, but also stressed that planning for the redeployment was in its early stages and it would cost several billion dollars.

He repeatedly denied that the decision was motivated by Trump's frequently expressed desire to move troops out of Germany to teach Berlin a lesson for not spending enough on defence. The Pentagon put out a statement saying the withdrawal would "strengthen Nato, enhance the deterrence of Russia" and boost the flexibility of the US military.

Comment: Will wonders never cease. A retired military man at a think-tank not distorting a common sense position the president takes!

Again we note that Trump is proactively pushing to make good on his electoral promise to scale down US overseas deployments. And again it's *crickets* from the 'traditional anti-war left'...


Bullseye

Best of the Web: The 'Systemic Racism' myth

hidden figures film movie black women NASA
© Hopper Stone/Hopper Stone, SMPSP; TM/2017 Twentieth Century Fox FilmStill shot from the film 'Hidden Figures'
Our nation faces a fork in the road and a decision to either continue down the same path of systemic racism or to confront our past honestly. - Bree Newsome

Systemic : fundamental to a predominant social, economic, or political practice

Institutionalized : established as a common and accepted part of a system or culture

I watched the movie Hidden Figures last weekend. It's a fantastic documentary about the brave and brilliant black women who worked for NASA in the early 60s and the rampant racism of the era. While I was very young, I do remember what it was like. And I've seen nothing like it since.

Sheriff

Best of the Web: Institutional racism in policing is a leftist fiction

police arrest handcuffs
© Shutterstock
The media loves to tote the narrative that black Americans are far more likely to be victims of police violence.

With renewed calls for reformed policing ringing through the U.S., it is important to separate fact from fiction.

In the wake of George Floyd's tragic death, Democrats like Joe Biden are vowing to address "institutional racism" yet lack basic understanding of the issue.

If Democrats truly want to solve police brutality they should do a little research.

Che Guevara

Best of the Web: Democrats make mockery of Barr 'hearing'

william barr attorney general
US AG William Barr, worthy of the honorific.
If it's a "hearing," Bill Barr asked with an irked tongue in cheek, "aren't I the one who's supposed to be heard?"

His frustration was more than justified. Judiciary Committee chairman Jerry Nadler (D., N.Y.) and the other Democrats who control the House demanded for months that Barr come to a "hearing" and "testify." But of course, it wasn't anything like an actual hearing, and they didn't want him to testify — as in actually answer questions. The session was a coveted election-year opportunity for Democrats to berate the attorney general of the United States in five-minute installments, accusing Barr of corruption, perjury, violating his oath, betraying the Constitution — at one point, even of killing thousands of COVID-19 victims (apparently, by being attorney general during a pandemic).

Especially at the beginning of the hearing, Barr easily parried the hostile questions — soliloquies with question-marks at the end. He picked apart their misstatements and disingenuous premises, and answered with aplomb. Democrats thus dropped the threadbare pretense that this was a hearing. In the main, the rest of the afternoon was devoted to raging, mock-anguished perorations about how Trump is a dictator and how Barr is helping him destroy our democracy.

These were punctuated by the occasional petulant demand that Barr answer "yes or no" a question that was either loaded or incoherent. When Barr would begin to answer, there would be foot-stomping, indignant, "I'm reclaiming my time" interruptions, claims that there was no question pending (usually after a question had just been posed), and then more Democrat filibustering about how the American people could clearly see that Barr was afraid to answer their questions . . . that they wouldn't let him answer.

It was an embarrassing spectacle.

Comment: Here's just one 'questioning' of the United States Attorney General that took place yesterday. This basically went on for 4 hours! Barr was stoic and funny in handling the Democrazis on this occasion, but the author is correct that the hyper-partisan nature of US politics spells doom for the US...


Actually, hang on... here's another sample of yesterday's 'hearing':





Die

Best of the Web: This is a critical point in US history. We've entered a dangerous, chilling period that could lead to a race or civil war

U.S. flag burns
© REUTERS/Ringo ChiuA U.S. flag burns by protesters at Donald Trump's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame during an anti-Trump rally in in Los Angeles, California, U.S., July 4, 2020
American democracy is in peril. Russiagate, Stormy Daniels, a politically motivated impeachment... the repeated coups d'états to try to remove an elected president, all show that Democrats will stop at nothing to overthrow Trump.

The Democratic Party and its willing cabal of party activists will do anything in its power to get rid of Donald Trump. This cabal works hand in hand with their friends over at the fake news media who report that the widespread rioting, race wars, looting and arson are nothing more than "peaceful protests." The stark choice on offer for the 2020 US Presidential election is a modified Trump or Biden's unknown handlers.

Documents declassified by the Director of National Intelligence John Radcliffe and released last week are excellent examples of this cabal in operation. These prove that in 2016, the top law enforcement agency in the USA, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, used "defensive briefings" to illegally spy on the president-elect to help further the fatuous and baseless Trump/Russia allegations. Were Obama and Biden involved? This was a coordinated attempt to stage a coup d'état against the 45th democratically elected president of the United States of America, Donald J Trump.

Comment: It doesn't matter who wins or loses in November, the manipulators will continue to play their games while the rest of society suffers.


Gold Seal

Best of the Web: Impressions from an informal meeting with Asma al-Assad, Syria's first lady

asma assad
© facebook.com/AsmaalAssad.FirstLady/
I had been sitting in a small entrance room for what seemed less than a minute when the door opened and Syria's first lady, Her Excellency Asma al-Assad, greeted me with a warm smile, welcoming me inside a slightly larger sitting room. In official meetings I had had over the years in Syria, I was accustomed to a secretary or assistant escorting me into the meeting room. Asma al-Assad, however, does things up close and personal.

Over the years in Syria, I had heard from people I encountered that she and President Assad routinely meet with their fellow Syrians in crowded venues, mixing and engaging with the people. I had also seen countless photos and videos of the Assads visiting Syrians in their homes around the country.

While I have been to Syria over a dozen times in the past seven years, it had never occurred to me to request a meeting with the first lady. But when that opportunity recently presented itself, I leapt at the chance to speak with one of the most beloved figures in Syria, and to hear her thoughts on her country, her fellow Syrians, and on the plights they are all in. And as it turned out, it was a chance to hear her poignant insights on her role as a mother, a citizen, the wife of the President and a leader in her own right.

Even before assuming the role of Syria's first lady, Asma al-Assad made it a priority to focus on the development of Syria, and over the years since she's headed organizations focusing on a range of development issues, including financial, educational and vocational. To effectively work on the many issues she does, her level of awareness of Syrians' situation on the ground is crucial.

Cross

Best of the Web: Why is wokeness the only protected religion in America?

George Floyd mural
© Getty Images / Joshua Lott for The Washington PostA woman prays outside Scott Food Mart at a makeshift memorial and a mural for George Floyd in the 3rd Ward on June 9, 2020 in Houston, Texas
With a law being proposed by the Senate to withhold Covid relief funds to states that discriminate against the religious, a question needs to be asked. Why does the Church of Woke get special treatment?

The First Amendment of the American Constitution outlines that the Government will not show favoritism for or against any religion. As such, persecution against religious groups is decidedly unconstitutional. Keep in mind that the Puritans were fleeing England for America for exactly that reason. However, with the Covid-19 situation we've seen quite a bit of hammering down on religious services.

Gatherings of the Church of Woke, however, don't get such scrutiny.

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) introduced the SACRED act (Safeguarding Americans from Coronavirus and Religious Exercise Discrimination) that would withhold Covid-19 relief funds from states that have hammered on the religious for exercise of religion. This would include situations such as Jews being fined during a New Jersey funeral for not practicing "proper" social distancing.

In another example, a drive-thru Christian church service in Mississippi saw people being ticked $500 each for attending. There is now a lawsuit being filed against the police for this action. Keep in mind they stayed in their cars. There was also the situation of Rodney Howard, though his case was much earlier during the pandemic, bringing much more scrutiny. Many churches were forced to shut down by the government, and as a response President Trump declared them essential in May.

Sheriff

Best of the Web: Myth of systemic police racism

Atlanta police
© REUTERS / Elijah NouvelagePolice officers stand guard during a Juneteenth protest in Atlanta.
George Floyd's death in Minneapolis has revived the Obama-era narrative that law enforcement is endemically racist. On Friday, Barack Obama tweeted that for millions of black Americans, being treated differently by the criminal justice system on account of race is "tragically, painfully, maddeningly 'normal.' " Mr. Obama called on the police and the public to create a "new normal," in which bigotry no longer "infects our institutions and our hearts."

Joe Biden released a video the same day in which he asserted that all African-Americans fear for their safety from "bad police" and black children must be instructed to tolerate police abuse just so they can "make it home." That echoed a claim Mr. Obama made after the ambush murder of five Dallas officers in July 2016. During their memorial service, the president said African-American parents were right to fear that their children may be killed by police officers whenever they go outside.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz denounced the "stain . . . of fundamental, institutional racism" on law enforcement during a Friday press conference. He claimed blacks were right to dismiss promises of police reform as empty verbiage.

This charge of systemic police bias was wrong during the Obama years and remains so today. However sickening the video of Floyd's arrest, it isn't representative of the 375 million annual contacts that police officers have with civilians. A solid body of evidence finds no structural bias in the criminal-justice system with regard to arrests, prosecution or sentencing. Crime and suspect behavior, not race, determine most police actions.

Fire

Best of the Web: Portland 'looks like downtown Baghdad' as 'homemade bomb explodes at protest'

explosives bomb portland courthouse
© TwitterVideo captured what appears to be an explosive device being detonated at a Portland Courthouse
Portland was left "looking like downtown Baghdad" after violence erupted at protests and a homemade bomb exploded in a fireball outside a federal courthouse.

A "Molotov cocktail, or similar destructive device" was hurled at a federal building in the early hours of Tuesday morning in Oregon's largest city. Violent protests have plagued the city of Portland since the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

A Deputy US Marshal, who requested to remain anonymous and has been working outside the courthouse for weeks, called his surroundings "scary."

"You open those doors out, when the crowd is shaking the fence, and - on the other side of that fence are people that want to kill you because of the job we chose to do and what we represent," he explained.

"I can't walk outside without being in fear for my life. I am worried for my life, every time I walk outside of the building."

Comment:


Dollars

Best of the Web: How LGBT nonprofits and their billionaire patrons are reshaping the world

transgender flag
© Ink Drop/Shutterstock
Transgender ideology is being pushed on us by corporate interests through their philanthropic arms.

In an August 2018 New Yorker article, Elizabeth Kolbert asks, "Are today's donor classes solving problems or creating new ones?" Kolbert describes a form of charity that aims to not just help people but to improve them. This "improvement" aligns with the giver's particular vision of what constitutes improvement, of course. And the people who need to be improved are treated as children — for whom the donor, naturally, gets to decide what is best.

Kolbert describes how this form of giving becomes exploitation. We might add: not just exploitation, but elite-driven, highly self-interested social engineering. We see these characteristics on brilliant display in the philanthropy behind the modern LGBT movement.

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