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Cloud Precipitation

Best of the Web: Severe hailstorm slams Guadalajara, Mexico with 5 FEET of hail!


Vallarta Daily News
Sun, 30 Jun 2019 17:49 UTC
hail
A heavy rain and hail storm affected the municipalities of the metropolitan area of ​​Guadalajara and Tlaquepaque, around one o'clock this Sunday morning.

The accumulation of ice was unusual, in Tlaquepaque there were streets where it reached up to one meter in height, so emergency services used heavy machinery for the removal.

"We are doing hail removal work and also verifying the buildings that were affected by hail," said the head of the State Unit for Civil Protection and Firefighters of Jalisco, Víctor Hugo Roldán.


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Caesar

Best of the Web: Putin: 'The Liberal ideal has started to eat itself'


RT
Sat, 29 Jun 2019 13:55 UTC
Putin
© UnknownRussian President Vladimir Putin
Though it's attractive in general, liberalism has overreached on multiple issues, such as immigration, and is now "eating itself," Vladimir Putin said, just days after he'd suggested that the ideology has failed Western societies.

Liberalism still remains "multifaceted" and there's no need to be arguing about its overall attractiveness, the Russian president told reporters on Saturday, during a final press conference at the G20 summit in Japan. In the meantime, the philosophy has its own setbacks, he pointed out. "The liberal ideal has started to eat itself."

In Putin's view, liberal approaches to immigration is a real problem. "In some European countries, parents are told that girls should not wear skirts at schools," he asserted, adding that "people are living in their own country ... why has it come to that?"

His latest remarks summed up what he'd told the Financial Times in a much-talked-about interview this week. Speaking to FT's Lionel Barber and Henry Foy, he called liberalism "obsolete" and said it has now come into conflict "with the interests of the overwhelming majority of the population."

Comment: From RT: Putin comments on the Golunov drug arrest scandal
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the now-dropped drug charge recently brought against investigative journalist Ivan Golunov was a clear case of "power abuse" that shouldn't go without repercussions for those responsible.

"Regarding the situation with Golunov, it's not injustice, it's lawlessness," Putin said at his final press conference at G20 summit in Osaka, Japan. "It's a complete power abuse, it must be investigated and certain decisions must be made regarding the case," the head of state added.

The charges against Golunov were dropped a short while later, with Russia's interior minister announcing that Golunov was cleared of all charges due to a lack of evidence against him.
From RT: Putin's remarks on '5 or 6' genders - should not enforce agenda on kids
There are no high tempers in Russia about LGBT groups, but they shouldn't instill their views on under-18s, Vladimir Putin said, adding the ever-growing types of genders may somehow be confusing.

Putin's latest interview with the Financial Times seems to have hit a nerve, as many public figures, among them singer Elton John, rushed to voice unease over some parts of it. Even at the G20 summit in Osaka, the Russian President couldn't avoid being challenged into explaining his stance on sexual minorities and liberalism.

Russia has "very relaxed attitude towards the LGBT community, we aren't biased against them," but the minority must not aggressively disseminate its views among minors who may not be able to decide on their own, he told reporters. "Let's give children an opportunity to grow up and decide afterwards who they want to be. Leave them alone," Putin urged. "[They] invented 6 or 5 genders. Transformers, trans... I have no idea what that even is."

Another part of the problem is that "this part of the society" is advancing their views "by force" on the majority, Putin said, citing "so-called sexual education" as an example. "Let them live as they wish. But some things do appear excessive to us."

Yet, the legendary singer accused Russia of "hypocrisy" and complained that his film 'Rocketman' was "heavily censored" by the country's distributors.

Calling Elton John "a genius musician," Putin argued: "I think he's wrong on this, we have very calm attitude towards the LGBT community, we aren't biased against them."
From RT: Claims of Russia's aggressiveness but an illusion to solve domestic problems
Moscow has no aggressive intensions against any country, but other countries' policies will always be met with a symmetrical response, Vladimir Putin said during a final press conference at G20 summit in Osaka, Japan.

"I want to tell you the good news - we don't have any intentions to carry out aggressive actions against anyone," Putin said when asked if Russia is ready to "choose a different path" in order to improve ties with the UK and the West. "[Russia's aggressiveness] is an illusion, wishful thinking to have a foreign adversary whose presence is good for solving domestic policy issues."

An enormously tense meeting between Putin and Theresa May made headlines on Friday, as did the prime minister's icy handshake and a warning that there will be no improvement of bilateral ties until Moscow stops "the irresponsible and destabilizing activity" against the UK.

While Moscow has no plans to intimidate anyone, its actions "will always mirror those of our partners," Russian president argued. "We'll treat others the same way we're treated by them. I want everyone to remember this."

That said, Russia is more than interested in "improving" ties with London and other Western countries. "Common sense" should, and hopefully will, prevail, he added.

See also:

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Bullseye

Best of the Web: Putin Says 'Liberal Idea Obsolete': The Woke Suffer Existential Shock

Simon Rite
RT
Fri, 28 Jun 2019 17:23 UTC
donald Tusk
© www.imago-images.deDonald Tusk has a moment of existential brain freeze
I imagine a shocked hush descending on newsrooms across the western world; perhaps a disturbance in the woke forcefield had warned them in advance. Vladimir Putin had questioned liberalism.

In an interview with the Financial Times ahead of the G20 meeting in Japan, the Russian President gave his view of : "...the so-called liberal idea, which has outlived its purpose."

The shock in the headlines was palpable, how could anyone question the dominance of liberalism? Liberals will accept anything (literally, that is the point) but they turn distinctly authoritarian when their beliefs are questioned.

Comment: The full interview:



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Eye 1

Best of the Web: Orwell's 1984 no longer reads like fiction. It's the reality of our times

Robert Bridge
RT
Fri, 28 Jun 2019 16:06 UTC
1984
© Getty Images / gremlin
70 years ago, the British writer George Orwell captured the essence of technology in its ability to shape our destinies in his seminal work, 1984. The tragedy of our times is that we have failed to heed his warning.

No matter how many times I read 1984, the feeling of total helplessness and despair that weaves itself throughout Orwell's masterpiece never fails to take me by surprise. Although usually referred to as a 'dystopian futuristic novel', it is actually a horror story on a scale far greater than anything that has emerged from the minds of prolific writers like Stephen King or Dean Koontz. The reason is simple. The nightmare world that the protagonist Winston Smith inhabits, a place called Oceania, is all too easily imaginable. Man, as opposed to some imaginary clown or demon, is the evil monster.

In the very first pages of the book, Orwell demonstrates an uncanny ability to foresee future trends in technology. Describing the protagonist Winston Smith's frugal London flat, he mentions an instrument called a 'telescreen', which sounds strikingly similar to the handheld 'smartphone' that is enthusiastically used by billions of people around the world today.
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Attention

Best of the Web: Memo to Trump: Trading out Bolton for Tulsi would be a smart move

Patrick J. Buchanan
buchanan.org
Fri, 28 Jun 2019 14:42 UTC
tulsi gabbard
"For too long our leaders have failed us, taking us into one regime change war after the next, leading us into a new Cold War and arms race, costing us trillions of our hard-earned tax payer dollars and countless lives. This insanity must end."

Donald Trump, circa 2016?

Nope. That denunciation of John Bolton interventionism came from Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii during Wednesday night's Democratic debate. At 38, she was the youngest candidate on stage.

Gabbard proceeded to rip both the "president and his chickenhawk cabinet (who) have led us to the brink of war with Iran."

In a fiery exchange, Congressman Tim Ryan of Ohio countered that America cannot disengage from Afghanistan: "When we weren't in there they started flying planes into our buildings."
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Evil Rays

Best of the Web: The 5G Dragnet: Backbone of Totalitarian Surveillance

James Corbett
The Corbett Report
Fri, 21 Jun 2019 00:00 UTC
5G Dragnet
Telecom companies are currently scrambling to implement fifth-generation cellular network technology. But the world of 5G is a world where all objects are wired and constantly communicating data to one another. The dark truth is that the development of 5G networks and the various networked products that they will give rise to in the global smart city infrastructure, represent the greatest threat to freedom in the history of humanity.

For those with limited bandwidth, CLICK HERE to download a smaller, lower file size version of this episode.

For those interested in audio quality, CLICK HERE for the highest-quality version of this episode (WARNING: very large download).


Watch this video on BitChute / DTube / YouTube or Download the mp4
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Bullseye

Best of the Web: The economic entrails at the heart of the 'deal of the century'

Alastair Crooke
Strategic Culture
Tue, 25 Jun 2019 20:46 UTC
trump netanyahu
© Flickr/israel-mfa
It is nothing new to say that the 'Deal of the Century' is - and always was - in essence an economic project. Indeed, it seems that its political ramifications are viewed by the White House as little more than the ineluctable consequences to an a priori economic architecture, already in the process of being unfolded.

In other words, it is the economic facts on the ground that are intended shape the political outcome - an attenuated political landscape that anyway has been minimised by Trump's pre-emptive removal of key pieces of any Palestinian negotiating leverage.

The financial squeeze on the Palestinians is well attested. On the one hand, the Palestinian Authority (historically dependent on Saudi subvention) is gently slipping into bankruptcy; whilst Gaza is held in virtual abject dependency through the drip-feed of subventions channelled into Gaza by Qatar, with Israeli permission - the size of this latter monthly 'lifeline' subvention being carefully adjusted by Israel according to what it judges to be the norms of (generally Hamas) 'good conduct'.

Comment: See also:

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NPC

Best of the Web: Paul Joseph Watson on Modernity

Paul Joseph Watson
Summit News
Sun, 16 Jun 2019 21:11 UTC
miley cyrus abortion cake
VICE said my distaste for modernity is borne out of me being a "deeply bitter bully" who "derives no pleasure whatsoever from his life".

Here's my response.

The end of the world as we know it.

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Bullseye

Best of the Web: Goad, threaten, backtrack: Trump & Bolton's Iran policy is confusing, dangerous & achieves NOTHING

Igor Ogorodnev
RT
Tue, 25 Jun 2019 17:44 UTC
trump and bolton
© Getty Images/Sean Gallup
Washington's fuzzy and high-drama "maximum pressure" approach to Iran has no realistic endgame - but is good for making the world a more unstable place for both America's adversaries and allies.

National Security Advisor John Bolton's Tuesday claim that US diplomats are "surging" across the Middle East in search of a "path to peace" only to encounter "deafening silence" from Tehran might have ordinarily seemed merely mendacious.

But considering the extraordinarily rich array of pronouncements and actions from the White House in the past week, most are no longer sure if Bolton is playing the diplomat, gaslighting us or actually believes his words. If - surely, like many of the world's foreign ministers - you are struggling to keep up, here is the timeline since Thursday, when Iran admitted shooting down an American drone:
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Attention

Best of the Web: American Pravda: NY Times admits it sends stories to US government for approval before publication

Ben Norton
The Grayzone
Tue, 25 Jun 2019 14:13 UTC
New York Times, subway
© Getty Images North America / Ramin Talaie
The New York Times casually acknowledged that it sends major scoops to the US government before publication, to make sure "national security officials" have "no concerns."

The New York Times has publicly acknowledged that it sends some of its stories to the US government for approval from "national security officials" before publication.

This confirms what veteran New York Times correspondents like James Risen have said: The American newspaper of record regularly collaborates with the US government, suppressing reporting that top officials don't want made public.

Comment: Nice that the NYT decided to come clean about its relationship to the intelligence community. But the proof was there all along.

As the quote attributed to George Orwell goes:
"Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed; everything else is public relations."
or propaganda . . . .

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