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Dirtiest cities in US ranked - worst tend to be run by Democratic mayors


RT
Mon, 20 Feb 2023 16:14 UTC
Downtown Houston is cloaked in haze as a Saharan dust cloud moves over parts of Texas on Friday, June 26, 2020.
© DAVID J. PHILLIP/APFILE PHOTO: Downtown Houston is cloaked in haze as a Saharan dust cloud moves over parts of Texas on Friday, June 26, 2020.
A new study has ranked 152 cities across the US on their overall level of cleanliness and found that the five dirtiest cities are all run by Democratic mayors. The top spot went to Houston, Texas, followed by Newark, San Bernardino, Detroit and Jersey City.

The research was carried out by lawn care company LawnStarter, which evaluated each city using publicly available data on a number of factors like air quality, gas emissions, littering, pests, home quality, and resident opinions.

These factors were then compiled into four categories - pollution, living conditions, infrastructure, and consumer satisfaction. The scores were then weighted and averaged for each city, producing a final ranking of cities.

Comment: This supports other recent data shows that 'the exodus from 'liberal' US cities is accelerating', with 500,000 people leaving California in recent years.

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Brick Wall

McCarthy tells Mayorkas to 'stop lying' about border

Emily Brooks
The Hill
Thu, 16 Feb 2023 07:29 UTC
McCarthyMayorkas
© Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times/Kevin Dietsch/Getty ImagesSpeaker of the House Kevin McCarthy • Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas
Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) took aim at Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas during a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border on Thursday, fueling an argument that could help lay the groundwork for a potential impeachment.

"This has got to stop. And it starts with the Secretary of Homeland. Stop lying to the American public. Tell them the truth what's happening, and change back the regulation that we had before so our border can be secure," McCarthy said in a press conference from Cochise County, Ariz., with the border fence in the background.

McCarthy did not specify what he thought Mayorkas lied about, but Republicans have repeatedly dinged him for testifying in a congressional hearing last year that the border is secure. The issue of whether there is "operational control" at the border is central to the argument, from hard-line conservative House Republicans, that Mayorkas should be impeached.
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House

Eric Adams hands NYC union DC 37 $4.4B deal that includes 16% pay hikes, work from home

Bernadette Hogan, Carl Campanile
New York Post
Fri, 17 Feb 2023 02:37 UTC
EAdams
© Paul MartinkaNY Mayor Eric Adams cuts deal with NYC's largest civilian employees union
Mayor Eric Adams has cut a $4.4 billion deal with New York City's largest civilian employees union — which was an early backer of his campaign for City Hall — that includes more than 16% in total pay hikes over nearly five and half years and allows some employees to work remotely.

The tentative agreement with DC 37 and its 90,000 municipal workers is retroactive, beginning on May 26, 2021, and expires on Nov. 6, 2026. The total $4.4 billion value of the contract will be paid from city taxpayer coffers and by tapping labor reserves for the duration.

The deal — which must be approved by the union's rank and file — includes wage increases of 3% for each of the first four years of the contract and 3.25% in the final year.

The compounded increase comes to 16.21% for the duration of the contract. It also includes a sweetener to woo rank-and-file members to approve the deal — a $3,000 "ratification" bonus that is pensionable.

Labor sources gleefully noted that there were no concessions or givebacks from the union as part of the deal.

Comment: Did Adams do the math regarding how stay-at-home employees negatively impact daily supportive work-force-related livelihoods?

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Propaganda

Elon Musk weighs in on allegations of ChatGPT's liberal bias with viral meme: 'Captain of propaganda'

Jeffrey Clark
Fox News
Fri, 17 Feb 2023 01:28 UTC
Musk
© Carina Johansen/NTB/AFP/Getty ImagesElon Musk: "What we need is TruthGPT"
Billionaire Elon Musk took another swing at artificial intelligence service ChatGPT and the mainstream media on Thursday with a viral meme that accumulated over 254,000 likes on Twitter.

Musk has emerged as a major critic of ChatGPT amid accusations that the artificial intelligence (AI) bot engages in liberal bias.

The Tesla CEO and owner of Twitter shared a meme with the caption, "ChatGPT to the mainstream media."

"Look at me," the meme read. "I'm the captain of propaganda now."
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Pirates

James O'Keefe REMOVED from Project Veritas following Board dispute

Libby Emmons
The Post Millennial
Mon, 20 Feb 2023 19:57 UTC
Project Veritas logo james o'keefe
© Project VeritasProject Veritas founder James O'Keefe
Founder and CEO of investigative journalism organization Project Veritas is reportedly leaving the company he founded in 2011. This comes after some 16 staffers tried to oust him from the leadership of his own company, claiming, among other things, that he was difficult to work for and once even stole a sandwich, resulting in a dispute within the Board of Directors.

Neil McCabe of OAN broke the story on Twitter, saying that O'Keefe delivered his resignation in person to his staff at their Mamaroneck, New York office.

Shortly after McCabe's announcement, Project Veritas' RC Maxwell stated that the report was not accurate and that O'Keefe was in fact removed as CEO by the Board

After the 16 staffers sent the letter to the Project Veritas board of directors in early February, "James O'Keefe IS Project Veritas" began to trend on Twitter. Many supporters and donors all balked at the idea that Veritas could continue without O'Keefe at the helm and prominent conservatives gave their support for O'Keefe.

Comment: The backlash has been almost instantaneous:
People are extremely unhappy with Project Veritas and are displaying their frustration by unfollowing them on Twitter.

"Project Veritas is losing massive amounts of followers on Twitter," I shared on Twitter. "In just 30 seconds, I watched them lose 150 followers. The people want James O'Keefe."


One wonders, considering PV 's famous methodology, why there are no sting videos recording O'Keefe's 'shocking' behavior? That alone makes the whole episode suspect.


In any case, it is surely the end of Project Veritas in its present form, as intended by the PTB. BUT (and a big but it is), O'Keefe enjoys the personal support of his donors. They will surely stay with him, should he regroup, rebrand, and get back to work. We look forward to his next move.

O'Keefe's statement:





Tim Poole of Timcast had an interesting take as of February 17:



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Cult

Study finds higher cognitive ability correlates with less concern for political correctness

Noah Carl
The Daily Sceptic
Mon, 20 Feb 2023 18:54 UTC
blm black lives matter street road paint
© ShutterstockA Black Lives Matter mural in Brooklyn, New York.
Britain's elite cultural institutions - the BBC, universities, the national trust - are dominated by the woke. Since smart people tend to get ahead in life, you might assume the woke would have higher intelligence. Not so, according to a new study.

Louise Drieghe and colleagues surveyed 300 North Americans adults using the platform Mechanical Turk. To measure participants' cognitive ability, they administered the Ammons Quick Test, which involves correctly assigning words to pictures. Previous studies have shown that people's scores on the test correlate strongly with their scores on more comprehensive IQ tests, such as the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale.

The researchers also assessed participants' support for free speech and concern for political correctness. To measure the former, they constructed a 9-item scale, comprising items such as "Every individual has the unalienable right to express their thoughts freely," and "Censorship of speech leaves little room for debate and diverse points of view".

Comment: Maybe because the more intelligent members of society are out doing useful things rather than minding the business of and/or trying to control the behavior of everyone around them?

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SOTT Logo Radio

SOTT Focus: MindMatters: Industrialized Rome and Wrong 'un Politicians - with Helen Dale

Harrison Koehli and Elan Martin
Sott.net
Sun, 19 Feb 2023 00:00 UTC
helen dale
Helen Dale, lawyer and award-winning author of 3 novels, including The Hand that Signed the Paper, writes at Law & Liberty and Not On Your Team, But Always Fair. Her two-novel series Kingdom of the Wicked is an alternative history of Roman-occupied Judea in the first century and the arrest and trial of Yeshua ben Yusuf, an enigmatic man with a large following, including some radical religious zealots. If you like literary and genre fiction — and Roman history — you won't be able to put these ones down. They've got soldiers, lawyers, terrorists, and biomechs; action, romance, legal proceedings, and great characters.

Today on MindMatters we talk about the books and how Helen came to write them, blending Roman morality with modern technology, and the interesting directions that might have gone. Other topics: political systems and their compatibility with different nations and cultures, Lorenzo Warby's articles on Helen's Substack, a policy approach to countering Woke ideology, Cluster B's and ponerology in modern and historical politics, what Hannah Arendt got wrong about totalitarianism, and how lobbyists are the absolute worst.


Running Time: 01:47:15

Download: MP3 — 149 MB


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Fire

Oakland Airport halts flights due to power outage; 50,000 without power in the Bay Area

Hope Sloop
The Daily Mail
Sun, 19 Feb 2023 15:48 UTC
Oakland power outage february 2023 substation fire
© OaklandFireCA/TwitterAn Oakland Fire battalion chief said Sunday the fire is under investigation by PG&E
An outage in the area impacted roughly 50,000 customers after a fire at an electrical substation in Alameda County

A major power outage caused by a fire at an electrical substation shut down the Oakland Airport in Northern California Sunday evening.

More than 50,000 customers in the Bay Area were impacted and flights out of the area were halted after a fire broke out at a Pacific Gas and Electric substation around 1pm. Photos and videos posted on social media show stranded passengers at the airport waiting at their gates and to get through security which was shut down for hours.

A representative for PG&E confirmed the widespread outage on Twitter just after 2.50pm Pacific Standard Time and say they are 'currently investigating the details.'

The cause of the outage is unknown at this time. The incident comes as a series of substations across the United States have been targeted by individuals looking to wreak havoc on the power system.

Comment: NBC Bay Area reported:
The outage impacted over 50,000 customers, including the Oakland International Airport. A PG&E spokesperson said the utility at 7 p.m. had restored service to about 20,000 customers, but added some customers may remain without power for up to 12 hours as crews work to replace a transformer damaged in the fire.

Oakland International Airport reported an outage just before 1 p.m. when a PG&E line went out. An airport spokesperson said despite the outage, Terminal 1 had one lane open at security screening and Terminal 2 had two screening lanes open. Power at the airport was restored at 2:20 p.m.

BART said its Oakland Airport Connector was on limited service during the outage.

The blaze at a PG&E substation in the area of 5000 Coliseum Way was extinguished at 2:30 p.m., firefighters said. The public was asked to avoid the Coliseum Way corridor from High Street to 66th Avenue during the fire and response.
This is not a recent phenomenon. From 2013:

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Brick Wall

Trudeau justified in using emergency powers to end convoy: Panel


Al Jazeera
Fri, 17 Feb 2023 00:01 UTC
canada trucker protest ottawa
© Lars Hagberg/ReutersCanada invoked the Emergencies Act in February 2022 to disperse the so-called 'Freedom Convoy' anti-vaccine protests.
Canadian government met legal threshold to invoke Emergencies Act to disperse 2022 'Freedom Convoy', commission finds.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's use of an emergency measure to disperse anti-vaccine protesters who had blocked border crossings and occupied downtown Ottawa was justified, an independent panel has found.

On Friday, the Public Order Emergency Commission submitted its report to Canada's parliament on the government's decision to invoke the Emergencies Act in February 2022 in response to the so-called "Freedom Convoy" movement.

Comment: It's hardly surprising the commission issued a ruling like this. But the Canadian people, and those around the world, know what they're seeing - the not-so-slow creep of totalitarianism over Canada.

See also:

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Family

Why Gen Z is turning against woke culture

Panda La Terriere
The Spectator
Mon, 20 Feb 2023 14:13 UTC
harry styles
© AlamyHarry Styles at the Grammys
We made it into a cultural revolution - and traumatised ourselves.

The other day, in a bar in London frequented by students of the infamously 'woke' Goldsmiths University, I met a young white cis-male who said that the English were to blame for his inherited trauma because of their historic oppression of the Irish. The only problem was, he wasn't Irish - he was American and so were his parents and probably grandparents. 'Pain lasts a long time,' he assured me.

What struck me about this encounter was not that it was typical of my Gen Z generation but that it was so obviously cringe-inducing - a sort of hackneyed pick-up line. Another student at the same bar - sporting an orange mullet and a thong as a T-shirt - tried to convince me my age was a social construct.

Comment: See also:

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