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Rand Paul smacks down bipartisan TikTok ban bills: 'Goes against the First Amendment'

Elizabeth Elkind
Fox News
Tue, 28 Mar 2023 05:17 UTC
RPaul
© Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesSen. Rand Paul one of few Republicans opposed to Washington restricting TikTok in the U.S.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., broke from his Senate GOP colleagues on Tuesday over their opposition to TikTok, arguing that banning the popular social media app "goes against the First Amendment."

Paul told Fox News Digital:
"I think it's a really bad idea. And people need to ask themselves, 'Why does the Chinese government ban TikTok, and do we want to emulate the Chinese government?' So, I think it's a mistake. If you ban a social media platform, you know, I don't know if you get any clearer that that goes against the First Amendment."
There are currently two bipartisan Senate bills aimed at banning TikTok, a video app that exploded in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic but has raised alarms over its connection to the Chinese Communist Party.
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Smoking

Did they light up a cigarette afterward?

James Howard Kunstler
Clusterfuck Nation
Fri, 31 Mar 2023 01:00 UTC
headline
"Reading all the 2016 warnings from the Normalcy Guardians and self-professed Democracy Protectors about how there's literally nothing more corrupt or dangerous than craving the prosecution of your political opponent — especially for trivial crimes — is really quite something." — Glenn Greenwald
The New York Times enjoyed its long-delayed tantric Trumpgasm so much today that it rolled out the full-page banner headline format usually reserved for the commencement of world wars. (They took the banner down before seven o'clock this morning.) For many of the cat-ladies employed as "reporters" at the once-august paper, it was the first Trumpgasm they've ever experienced in a lifetime of emotional displacement, over-eating, and furious knitting of pink polyester hats for the crusade to root out patriarchal wickedness.

This fulfillment of a years-long psychodrama, starring the feared and loathed occult persona of a gold-coiffed "Daddy" figure who once presided in the political household, came at the hands of dragon-slayer Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, archetype of the many long-oppressed victims worked to death in the bilges of our slave ship of state — now turned righteous Woke deliverer of cosmic vengeance!
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Dollars

U.S. bank trouble heralds the end of dollar reserve system


Modern Diplomacy
Wed, 29 Mar 2023 00:00 UTC
rollBucks
The US banking system is broken, stresses The Asia Times. That doesn't portend more high-profile failures like Credit Suisse. The central banks will keep moribund institutions on life support.

But the era of dollar-based reserves and floating exchange rates that began on August 15, 1971, when the US severed the link between the dollar and gold, is coming to an end. The pain will be transferred from the banks to the real economy, which will starve for credit.

And the geopolitical consequences will be enormous. The seize-up of dollar credit will accelerate the shift to a multipolar reserve system, with advantage to China's yuan as a competitor to the dollar.

Gold, the "barbarous relic" abhorred by John Maynard Keynes, will play a bigger role because the dollar banking system is dysfunctional, and no other currency — surely not the tightly-controlled yuan — can replace it. Now at an all-time record price of US$2,000 an ounce, gold is likely to rise further.

The greatest danger to dollar hegemony and the strategic power that it imparts to Washington is not China's ambition to expand the international role of the yuan.

This crisis is utterly unlike 2008, when banks levered up trillions of dollars of dodgy assets based on "liar's loans" to homeowners. Fifteen years ago, the credit quality of the banking system was rotten and leverage was out of control. Bank credit quality today is the best in a generation. The crisis stems from the now-impossible task of financing America's ever-expanding foreign debt.
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Handcuffs

Persecution: Senior Ukrainian bishop says he's under house arrest


RT
Sat, 01 Apr 2023 17:59 UTC
ukraine bishop zelensky house arrest
© WikipediaThe vicar of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, Metropolitan Pavel
Metropolitan Pavel, Abbot of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, is suspected of supporting Russia's actions during the conflict

The leader of Ukraine's largest Orthodox Christian monastery has said he is under house arrest, marking the latest twist in Kiev's religious crackdown. Metropolitan Pavel (secular name Pyotr Lebed), a senior bishop in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), is suspected of inciting religious tensions.

The cleric, who has served as abbot of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra since 1994, told reporters about his arrest on Saturday, in a video released by the Ukrainian news network Vesti.

Meanwhile the SBU, Ukraine's domestic security service, claimed in a statement that it "had collected well-founded evidence" that the bishop was "inciting inter-religious enmity" and "justifying Russia's aggression." The two potential charges carry prison sentences of up to eight years and three years, respectively.

Comment:


More from Metroplitan Pavel:




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Red Flag

Ukraine war effort has left small European countries "morally & financially exhausted"

Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge
Sat, 01 Apr 2023 15:18 UTC
Petr Pavel Czech republic zelensky
© Le Monde/Getty ImagesCzech President Petr Pavel (left); Ukraine President Vladimir Zelensky (right)
Ukraine's Western backers have of late expressed more and more skepticism over the future success of the war effort against Russia. This doubt grew louder and more public starting two weeks ago, when Czech President Petr Pavel said in an interview with Polish media that the window is closing on a major new Ukrainian counteroffensive. He then acknowledged that his country may not be able to maintain current levels of assistance to Kiev.

"The window of opportunity is open this year. After next winter, it will be extremely difficult to maintain the current level of assistance," Pavel was quoted as saying. "War fatigue is not only the exhaustion of human resources and equipment, the destruction of infrastructure in Ukraine, but also fatigue in the countries that provide aid."

This week another small central European country has echoed the same. Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová said at a foreign policy event that Slovakia is "morally and financially exhausted" after more than a year of support given to Ukraine, and as war refugees pour in.

Comment: The minor vassals are getting restless. This does not bode well for the U.S. and NATO.

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Megaphone

It's not an insurrection when we do it: Three Democrat state lawmakers join protesters invading Tennessee state capitol

Houston Keene
Fox News
Thu, 30 Mar 2023 17:07 UTC
tennessee capitol protest gun
© Seth Herald/Getty ImagesChants of "no justice, no peace" and "save our children" echoed through the Tennessee House of Representatives chamber as pro-gun control protesters posted up both inside and outside the state capitol building.
Protesters called for an assault weapon ban in the wake of the mass shooting.

Three Democratic lawmakers in the Tennessee state House joined pro-gun control protesters who invaded the state capitol following the tragic Monday shooting in Nashville.

Chants of "no justice, no peace" and "save our children" echoed through the Tennessee House of Representatives chamber as pro-gun control protesters posted up both inside and outside the state capitol building.

Three Democrat state lawmakers — Reps. Justin Jones, Justin Pearson, and Gloria Johnson — brought the Tennessee lower chamber to a halt when they joined in chanting with the protesters.

Comment: See also:

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Snakes in Suits

Rand Paul says Fauci is lying about being retired, is secretly working for Biden admin

Paul Aubert
Trending Politics
Thu, 30 Mar 2023 00:01 UTC
rand paul sean hannity
Speaking with Sean Hannity on Tuesday, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said he has "information" that proves Anthony Fauci is lying about being retired.

"There's a massive cover-up going on, and the lead in all of the cover-up has been Fauci," the Kentucky senator said.

"We now have information that he's still working for the government, even though he says he's retired," Sen. Paul added before claiming Fauci is working for the government out of fears he might be indicted.

Comment: See also:

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Bizarro Earth

America, the reality TV show, reaches new depths with Trump's indictment

Tony Cox
RT
Fri, 31 Mar 2023 08:18 UTC
Former U.S. President Donald Trump
© Drew Angerer/Getty ImagesFormer U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a rally at the Dayton International Airport on November 7, 2022 in Vandalia, Ohio.
US politics have gotten even raunchier with the country's first prosecution of a former president.

Just when one might have supposed that American politics couldn't get any trashier, New York City prosecutor Alvin Bragg and former President Donald Trump have proven that the nation hasn't yet reached the bottom.

The US political system now resembles a reality television show, and with Trump's indictment on Thursday by a Manhattan grand jury, viewers should cringe at how vulgar and obnoxious the program has become. In fact, if it were a scripted soap opera, it would be too unbelievable and tacky for daytime TV audiences.

Consider the story line, which begins with a $130,000 hush-money payment to a porn star, stage-named Stormy Daniels, to buy her silence on allegations of an affair with the Republican Party's leading presidential candidate. Then you have the boisterous defendant, a former reality TV star who has been divorced twice and is currently married to an ex-model 24 years his junior. And don't forget Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, who is financially backed by billionaire Democratic Party sugar daddy George Soros and is so far left that he's almost allergic to prosecuting alleged crimes - unless they involve self-defense or a Republican suspect.

Comment: See also:

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Quenelle - Golden

Austria: 20 lawmakers walk out of parliament during Zelensky speech saying it 'violated principle of neutrality'


Al Jazeera
Thu, 30 Mar 2023 12:00 UTC
austria
Members of Austria’s Freedom Party left Parliament to protest the Ukrainian president’s speech over what they said was a violation of their nation’s neutrality.
Lawmakers from the pro-Russia, far-right Freedom Party have walked out of the lower house of Austria's parliament during a speech by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Zelenskyy addressed the chamber via video link on Thursday, thanking Austria for its humanitarian aid and help with projects such as clearing land mines.

The far-right politicians said they were protesting against the speech because it violated Austria's principle of neutrality.

Comment: Meanwhile in neighbouring Germany:



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Briefcase

What happens next after Donald Trump's indictment

Jordan Dixon-Hamilton
Breitbart
Thu, 30 Mar 2023 00:00 UTC
braggtrump
© Barry Williams/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service/AFP/Getty Images/KJNManhattan DA Alvin Bragg • Former US President Donald Trump
A New York grand jury voted to indict former President Donald Trump on Thursday, launching the start of criminal proceedings against the former president.

Less than two weeks ago, Trump warned of his imminent arrest based on "illegal leaks" from the Manhattan district attorney's office, which the George Soros-funded Democrat Alvin Bragg leads.

The New York Times first reported Trump's indictment on Thursday, citing "five people with knowledge of the matter." Shortly after the Times' report, Trump's legal team confirmed the indictment. Trump's attorneys Susan Necheles and Joe Tacopina said "President Trump has been indicted. He did not commit any crime. We will vigorously fight this political prosecution in Court."

In criminal proceedings, an indictment is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In New York, a grand jury of 23 individuals determined there was enough evidence to issue an indictment against Trump. The grand jury process is kept secret, but jurors typically hear evidence from the prosecutor's witnesses before deciding to issue an indictment. It is unknown what exact charges the grand jury's indictment of Trump includes.

Next, local law enforcement must process Trump, whether he voluntarily surrenders himself to authorities or will be publicly arrested in a "perp walk." However, a perp walk is unlikely as defendants accused of white-collar crimes typically coordinate a surrender date through their attorneys.

Comment: Law professor Jonathan Turley comments on this turn of events:
Thursday, during an appearance on Fox News Channel, law professor Jonathan Turley criticized the merits of the Manhattan grand jury's indictment of former President Donald Trump.

Turley deemed the indictment "legally pathetic."

"It is, it's historic, it's not necessarily good history that it is being made. It's not that I oppose the indictment of a former president. I don't even oppose the indictment of a sitting president on a constitutional basis. But this indictment, if it is reportedly following the theory that we've been talking about is political. It's a raw political prosecution. Now, the indictment may come out with a crime that none of us have heard of. But for many months, this bootstrapping theory has been put out there. This idea that you could take a misdemeanor under New York law that has expired that has a two-year statute of limitations and revive it by connecting it to a federal crime, in this case, the Federal Election violation."

"Now, there's a host of problems with that. First of all, it's a federal crime the Department of Justice chose not to prosecute. Bragg's own predecessor declined to prosecute it, but he is attempting to bootstrap that federal crime into a state case. And if that is the basis for the indictment, I think it's rather outrageous. I think it's legally pathetic."

Call this 'a third impeachment' in progress.

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