Best of the Web:


Bullseye

Best of the Web: Cheats do prosper — at the nation's expense

Helen Dale
Law & Liberty
Wed, 12 Jul 2023 18:04 UTC
protest dei college admissions race
© AP Photo / Jose Luis MaganaA person protests outside of the Supreme Court in Washington, June 29, 2023
If higher education is about signaling academic attainment, then it helps no-one when the signal is scrambled.

During the second half of high school, I learnt the phrase "affirmative action" and what it meant. I was in the US with my father — he was in the country for work reasons — and met some of his American colleagues' children.

The system outlined to me did my head in. They recounted how personal essays — plus things like volunteering, sport, and church — played a large role in admission to one of the nation's better universities.

I could no more imagine writing an essay telling the University of Queensland why I wanted to study law than I could imagine milking a bull. The reason was simplicity itself: I got straight As and couldn't stand the sight of blood, so medicine was out.

At various points in multiple conversations, I attempted to describe the Australian system:
Read More...
Health

Best of the Web: Why the COVID-19 vaccines could never prevent transmission

A Midwestern Doctor
The Forgotten Side of Medicine
Sat, 24 Jun 2023 00:00 UTC
covid vaccine
Recently, the lies conducted to push the vaccines have been brought back to the public's attention. This is partly because of the numerous videos now circulating that show just how many times a spokesman for them contradicted himself while making false promises about the vaccines to sell them to the American public on national television (which he later denied ever claiming) and partly because recent FOIA disclosers again proved our officials who pushed the vaccines were not transparent with the public:
Emails obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request show that CDC Director Rochelle Walensky and former NIH Director Francis Collins were aware of, and discussed, "breakthrough cases" of COVID in January 2021 — right when the vaccines became widely available. In her email, Walensky says that "clearly," it is an "important area of study," links to a study raising the issue, and assures the person she is sending it to that Dr. Anthony Fauci is looped into these conversations.

However, in public, Walensky was saying something quite different. Two months after discussing this data, she said vaccinated people "don't carry the virus" and "don't get sick." In a congressional hearing, after it became clear people were able to get infected with COVID even after receiving the vaccine, she defended her original statements by claiming it was true at the time she said it — namely, for the strands we were dealing with in early 2021.
Read More...
USA

Best of the Web: Joe Biden - The personification of the failing US Empire

James Knustler
knustler.com
Fri, 07 Jul 2023 18:46 UTC
If cocaine is so prevalent in the West Wing that there is somehow 'extra' cocaine just laying around, when is the White House going to start drug testing its employees? — Margot Cleveland
Brandon and Son
© Twitter
Consider for a moment, and be grateful for, how perfect "Joe Biden" is as president of this foundering republic. He and his family project the rectified essence of every depravity now driving the life of our nation to some murky bottom, where it may be forced to assess its sorry state, repent, and perhaps recover (or just give up and die). There he stands, without ambiguity or conscience: "Joe Biden," the personification of a failed state.

As a criminal enterprise, for instance, the Biden family influence-peddling operation among foreign powers reflects exactly the racketeering character of corporate America today — which is to say, making money dishonestly, and often for doing nothing. In America's biggest industry, finance, this is absolutely the case. You may have forgotten what finance is, and what it's supposed to do: namely, to lend money for activities intended to produce things of value, useful things that people need and want, sometimes even public works that benefit everyone in society.

American Finance now is in the business of receiving free money (loans at minimal interest) from government-chartered central banks (issuing "credit" from nowhere), that banks, hedge funds, private equity outfits, and sundry freebooters can roll into instruments such as interest-yielding bonds (loans back to government) and derivatives (algorithmic bets derived, abstracted from, and tuned to market movements) magically multiplying money that finally produces nothing of value — though it may translate into yacht purchases, alimony payments, luxury suites at ballparks, private Caribbean islands, and traffic in humans for use as sex toys.
Read More...
Bullseye

Best of the Web: Will the Ukraine war be the undoing of the European Union? - former UN Assistant Secretary-General

Michael von der Schulenburg
Meer
Mon, 10 Jul 2023 09:58 UTC
Zel and Bid
© president.gov.ua/Creative CommonsUkraine President Volodymyr Zelensky • US President Joe Biden: Energy and utility groups have reported more than half the combined losses, according to FT analysis of direct impact of the Ukraine war.
With the ending of the division of Europe, we will strive for a new quality in our security relations while fully respecting each other's freedom of choice in that respect. Security is indivisible, and the security of every participating state is inseparably linked to that of all the others. We therefore pledge to cooperate in strengthening confidence and security among us and in promoting arms control and disarmament.

(Charter of Paris for a New Europe November 21, 1990)
The madness of war reigns again in Europe. The delusion that only weapons provide security is once again in high season among politicians, think tanks, and the media across Europe. It has become acceptable once again in Europe that human sacrifices are being offered at the altar of alleged decisive battles. As if we had learned nothing from the past, the Ukrainian counter-offensive is now supposed to become such a decisive battle that it should bring a military solution to what we could not or did not want to achieve politically. In doing so, we Europeans are leaving the future of Ukraine and Europe, and perhaps even that of the world, to the unpredictability, fury, and brutality of the battlefield. And all of this, although it remains completely unclear what "solution" could be expected through the present intensification of the war, will certainly not bring peace to Europe.

Comment: Considering how contrary to EU interests the conflict is, it's reasonable to assume that the delusions driving it are multifaceted, and that the agenda is not intended to profit Europe, the EU, nor its peoples: Also check out SOTT radio's: NewsReal: France Riots Suddenly End - NATO's Ukraine War Racket - Climate Hysteria Spikes



Read More...
UFO

Best of the Web: First 'proper' UFO crash? 14 years before Roswell, Italian fascist govt studied crashed UFO - Intel whistleblower claims it's been in US govt possession since 1945

Josh Boswell and Chris Sharp
Daily Mail
Mon, 03 Jul 2023 20:42 UTC
italy ufo
An artist's impression of the alleged 1933 UFO crash outside Magenta in northern Italy shows a craft shaped like a saucer
A top US intelligence officer claims World War II American forces retrieved a UFO that crashed in Italy in 1933 - and Italian researchers say they have the documents to prove it.

Former top National Reconnaissance Office staffer David Grusch shocked the world last month when he revealed he had blown the whistle in sworn testimony to Congress and government watchdogs, about an alleged secret US program that has obtained multiple 'non-human' flying saucers.

Grusch claims one of these alien spacecraft crashed in Northern Italy in 1933, and was secreted away by Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, before it was captured by American forces at the end of World War II and shipped to the US.

DailyMail.com understands Grusch was briefed on the supposed June 1933 crash by a staffer who allegedly worked on the 'non-human' craft in a secret US government program.
Read More...
Tornado1

Best of the Web: Storm Poly: Flights and trains cancelled as strongest-ever summer storm hits Netherlands and Germany


Euronews
Thu, 06 Jul 2023 18:47 UTC
A man walks his dog by uprooted trees following
© AFPA man walks his dog by uprooted trees following a storm in Haarlem, on July 5, 2023.
A powerful summer storm has hit the Netherlands Schipol Airport killing two people and forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights.

A record-breaking summer storm hit the Netherlands and Germany on Wednesday, killing at least two people, blowing trees onto houses and forcing one of Europe's busiest airports to cancel or delay hundreds of flights.

Meteorologists said Storm Poly was the strongest on record to hit the Netherlands in the summer months.

Authorities issued a rare "code red" warning for millions of people in the low-lying nation to stay indoors.

Read More...
Eye 1

Best of the Web: Behavioral Engineering: Britain drilled to accept lockdowns in future, says 'nudge unit' chief


The Telegraph
Thu, 06 Jul 2023 18:00 UTC
masks london lockdown
© AFPMajor disasters leave an 'enduring trace on society', Prof Halpern said. Exclusive: Professor David Halpern predicts the population would comply with another lockdown because they 'know what the drill is'.
Britain has been drilled to comply with lockdown under a future pandemic, the chief executive of the 'nudge unit' has said.

Professor David Halpern told The Telegraph that the country had "practised the drill" of wearing face masks and working from home and "could redo it" in a future crisis.

Last Tuesday, Matt Hancock told the public inquiry that Britain must be ready to combat future disease outbreaks with wider, earlier and more stringent lockdowns.
Read More...
Cassiopaea

Best of the Web: 'Shooting stars' of plasma seen raining down on the sun for the first time ever

Robert Lea
Space.com
Wed, 05 Jul 2023 11:31 UTC
sun shooting stars
© ESA/Solar Orbiter EUI/HRI/Patrick AntolinThe European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter sees a partial section of the sun with spectacular meteor-like displays.
Astronomers have spotted never-before-seen meteor-like streaks seemingly rain on the surface of the sun, but you should think twice before attempting to catch these falling stars.

"If humans were alien beings capable of living on the sun's surface, we would constantly be rewarded with amazing views of shooting stars, but we would need to watch out for our heads!" Patrick Antolin, a solar physicist at Northumbria University in London and lead author of the discovery, said in a statement.

These solar shooting stars are quite different from shooting stars that appear over Earth, which are fragments of space dust, rock, or small asteroids that enter the atmosphere at high speeds and burn up, creating streaks of light. The solar shooting stars are giant clumps of plasma dropping to the star's surface at incredible speeds.

Comment: See also: Solar maximum could hit us harder and sooner than we thought

Read More...
Popcorn

Best of the Web: Solar maximum could hit us harder and sooner than we thought

Harry Baker
Live Science
Wed, 26 Jul 2023 12:00 UTC
solar maxmium minimum cycle
© NASA/Solar Dynamics ObservatoryThis image shows how the sun's appearance changes between solar maximum (on the left) and solar minimum (on the right). The sun is quickly approaching a major peak in solar activity. Experts warn it could potentially begin by the end of 2023, years before initial predictions suggested.
From a distance, the sun may seem calm and steady. But zoom in, and our home star is actually in a perpetual state of flux, transforming over time from a uniform sea of fire to a chaotic jumble of warped plasma and back again in a recurring cycle.

Every 11 years or so, the sun's magnetic field gets tangled up like a ball of tightly wound rubber bands until it eventually snaps and completely flips — turning the north pole into the south pole and vice versa. In the lead-up to this gargantuan reversal, the sun amps up its activity: belching out fiery blobs of plasma, growing dark planet-size spots and emitting streams of powerful radiation.


Comment: New research shows that two solar cycles occur at the same time, lasting 17 years each.


This period of increased activity, known as solar maximum, is also a potentially perilous time for Earth, which gets bombarded by solar storms that can disrupt communications, damage power infrastructure, harm some living creatures (including astronauts) and send satellites plummeting toward the planet.

Comment: See also: And check out SOTT radio's:

Read More...
Binoculars

Best of the Web: French police say 'we're at war with vermin' as urban riots spread


Zero Hedge
Sat, 01 Jul 2023 23:33 UTC
paris police
© AP Photo / Lewis JolyPolice officers face protesters in Paris, on June 30, 2023.
"If I was to put money on it I would say that we're going to see another night of violence," SKY News' Siobhan Robbins said while reporting on a gun store that was looted.


* * *

Social unrest spread like cancer across French cities for a fourth consecutive night, with hundreds of buildings and vehicles set ablaze. President Emmanuel Macron's government struggled to contain the violence, which was sparked on Tuesday after a teenager was shot dead by a police officer.

In an update on Saturday, France's Interior Ministry said 2,500 fires were reported overnight. Rioters set fire to 1,350 vehicles and 235 buildings nationwide. About 1,300 people were arrested, while the government mobilized 45,000 police officers with armored vehicles to quell the violence.

According to The Telegraph, French police said they were "at war" with "savage hordes of vermin" on Friday night. The country's top police unions threatened revolt unless Macron's government restored law and order.
"Today the police are in combat because we are at war. Tomorrow we will enter resistance and the government should be aware of this," police unions said.
Footage of the chaos overnight:

Comment: A more complete version of the police statement, from RT:
"Now that's enough," said the statement by the Alliance Police Nationale and UNSA Police, posted on Facebook on Friday evening.

"Faced with these wild hordes, asking for calm is no longer enough, you have to impose it!" the unions said, adding that the only political signal needed at this moment is to restore the order in the republic.

"Our colleagues, like the majority of citizens, can no longer endure the dictates of these violent minorities. Now is not the time for union action but for the fight against these 'harm-makers'. Submitting, capitulating and pleasing them by laying down our arms is not the solution, given the gravity of the situation."

The police must show solidarity, put down the riots as quickly as possible, and restore the rule of law, the unions demanded, but warned the government that they expect "concrete measures for legal protection" of the officers going forward.

"Today the police are in combat because we are at war. Tomorrow we will be the resistance, and the government will have to realize this," the unions said in conclusion.
Meanwhile, Macron is blaming video games.
"Platforms and networks are playing a major role in the events of recent days," he said of the unrest. "We've seen them - Snapchat, TikTok and several others - serve as places where violent gatherings have been organized, but there's also a form of mimicry of the violence which for some young people leads them to lose touch with reality."

The president added that youths were taking to the streets to act out "the video games that have intoxicated them," going on to urge parents to keep their children at home.
He's not wrong about Snapchat and TikTok, but the problem runs a bit deeper than that, and should be fairly obvious.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki made his own take this pretty clear on Twitter:
On Friday, Morawiecki uploaded a clip on his Twitter page in support of a Polish-backed plan called "Europe of Secure Borders." The video depicted French streets and cars engulfed in flames, with rioters smashing store windows. The pictures of contrasted with peaceful and tidy Polish cities bustling with life.

"We do not want such scenes on Polish streets," the caption in the video read.


...
Morawiecki's tweet coincides with his harsh criticism of a migration overhaul proposal that would give EU members three options: accept relocated asylum seekers, pay €20,000 ($21,000) for each rejected applicant, or finance operational support.

By embracing this migration reform "Europe encourages smugglers to send more transports," the Polish premier charged. "If we invite 30,000, [then] 300,000 will come. If we invite a million, 30 million will come. It's an endless spiral," he said, adding that opening Europe's borders would not only empower criminals but also result in "an increased risk of terrorism in Europe."



Read More...