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Martial law masquerading as law and order in the US

John W. Whitehead
The Rutherford Institute
Mon, 16 Sep 2019 16:57 UTC
"Since when have we Americans been expected to bow submissively to authority and speak with awe and reverence to those who represent us? The constitutional theory is that we the people are the sovereigns, the state and federal officials only our agents. We who have the final word can speak softly or angrily. We can seek to challenge and annoy, as we need not stay docile and quiet." — Justice William O. Douglas, dissenting, Colten v. Kentucky, 407 U.S. 104 (1972)
US Police
© A Government of Wolves
Forget everything you've ever been taught about free speech in America.

It's all a lie.

There can be no free speech for the citizenry when the government speaks in a language of force.

What is this language of force?

Militarized police. Riot squads. Camouflage gear. Black uniforms. Armored vehicles. Mass arrests. Pepper spray. Tear gas. Batons. Strip searches. Surveillance cameras. Kevlar vests. Drones. Lethal weapons. Less-than-lethal weapons unleashed with deadly force. Rubber bullets. Water cannons. Stun grenades. Arrests of journalists. Crowd control tactics. Intimidation tactics. Brutality.

This is not the language of freedom.

This is not even the language of law and order.

This is the language of force.

Unfortunately, this is how the government at all levels — federal, state and local — now responds to those who choose to exercise their First Amendment right to peacefully assemble in public and challenge the status quo.

This police overkill isn't just happening in troubled hot spots such as Ferguson, Mo., and Baltimore, Md., where police brutality gave rise to civil unrest, which was met with a militarized show of force that caused the whole stew of discontent to bubble over into violence.

A decade earlier, the NYPD engaged in mass arrests of peaceful protesters, bystanders, legal observers and journalists who had gathered for the 2004 Republican National Convention. The protesters were subjected to blanket fingerprinting and detained for more than 24 hours at a "filthy, toxic pier that had been a bus depot." That particular exercise in police intimidation tactics cost New York City taxpayers nearly $18 million for what would become the largest protest settlement in history.
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Chess

Groundhog Day: Lewandowski's expected testimony should prove Democrats are nothing but a 'circus act'

Sara Carter
saraacarter.com
Tue, 17 Sep 2019 16:42 UTC
Corey Lewandowski

Corey Lewandowski
House Judiciary Committee Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler is setting up for another 'Groundhog' day of questioning hoping to find something, anything to impeach President Donald Trump. They won't.

It's exhausting and Tuesday they are publicly questioning Trump supporter Corey Lewandowski. If it's anything like the last time Lewandowski was questioned it's going to be worth watching because he won't play their game.

Lewandowski said on Twitter Tuesday he's "excited about the opportunity to remind the American people today there was no collusion no obstruction. There were lots of angry Democrats who tried to take down a duly elected President. Tune in. #Senate2020."

Comment: Indeed, the Democratic circus has begun. Fortunately, Mr Lewandowski, supported by Republican members of the committee, has their number, and refuses to play along. It's amusing to watch him turn the Democrats' own absurdities against them.

A small sample:





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Handcuffs

Pervert alert: Penn. State Sen. Mike Folmer arrested on child porn charges

Natalie Musumeci
New York Post
Tue, 17 Sep 2019 16:48 UTC
mike folmer
© AP
A Pennsylvania state senator was busted Tuesday on child porn charges, the state Attorney General announced.

Republican Sen. Mike Folmer, 63, was charged with sexual abuse of children, possession of child pornography, and criminal use of a communication facility after law enforcement found images of child pornography on Folmer's cellphone when they executed a search warrant at his Lebanon home.

Officials said an investigation into the matter began after authorities received a tip that a user of the microblogging site Tumblr uploaded an image of child pornography to the site.

The investigation led officials to Folmer's home.

"This defendant serves as a state Senator and was entrusted to honor and represent his community in the Pennsylvania Capitol," said Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said in a statement announcing the charges against Folmer.

"I will continue to say it — no one is above the law, no matter what position of power they hold. I will continue to work to protect children and hold those who abuse them accountable," Shapiro said.

Comment: Given the prevalence of this kind of thing in government, it's enough to make one wonder if Folmer did something to upset the applecart. Politicians are usually protected for this sort of thing, unless they run afoul of their masters. Of course, it's always possible Folmer was simply too reckless to justify any sort of protection. Either way, good riddance.

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Star of David

Israeli Blue and White Bloc overtakes Likud by 1 seat with 93% of votes counted


Sputnik
Wed, 18 Sep 2019 16:33 UTC
israeli elections
© REUTERS / AMIR COHEN
The Israeli opposition centrist Blue and White (Kahol Lavan) alliance is overtaking incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party by one seat with 93 percent of the votes counted, the Israeli Central Elections Committee (ICEC) said Wednesday.

"With 93 percent of the votes counted, 'Blue and White' took a lead over Likud with 32 seats against 31," the committee announced its official preliminary results.

The ICEC added that an alliance of four Arab parties, the so-called Joint List, has received 13 seats in the Knesset election, followed by the ultra-Orthodox Shas party and Yisrael Beiteinu, both receiving nine seats in the parliament.

Comment: See also: As usual, Netanyahu decides to play identity politics:
"Now more than ever, with the vast security challenges that lie ahead for the country, a government must not be established that depends on anti-Zionist Arab parties. That's our commitment to the country and to our voters", Netanyahu said.


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Question

The many questions we should be asking surrounding the US push to war with Iran

Tom Luongo
Gold, Goats N' Guns
Tue, 17 Sep 2019 00:00 UTC
middle east bombing
When President Trump fired National Security Adviser John Bolton last week rational people the world over cheered.

When there was news that Trump would meet on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly with Iran's President Rouhani in a few weeks there were sighs of relief.

When Benjamin Netanyahu goes to Moscow to get Vladimir Putin's blessing to continue airstrikes in Syria and was told no, the world said, "Finally! Enough is enough."

The problem is that there were also very powerful people who were not happy about these things.

Moreover, there are a lot of nervous people out there worried that Tuesday's election in Israel will not go the way they want it.

A lot of people have invested a lot of time and money in ensuring Netanyahu stays in power. And I don't just mean Bibi himself, who will likely go to jail on corruption charges if he doesn't win.

I mean a lot of people in the U.S., Saudi Arabia, the U.K. and in Europe, all of the places where anti-Russian, anti-Iranian and pro-Israeli sentiments abound.

And this brings up the main question I always have in the wake of one of these major escalations of tensions with the country currently catching the Twin Eyes of Sauron in D.C. and Tel Aviv.
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Bizarro Earth

Netanyahu gives interviews on election day despite Israel's legislative ban


Sputnik
Wed, 18 Sep 2019 00:59 UTC
netanyahu
© REUTERS / RONEN ZVULUN
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continued to give media interviews on election day and also called on Twitter supporters to vote, despite the fact that such activities are prohibited by the law.

According to Israeli law, election campaigns on radio and television must be completed at 7 p.m. on the day before the election. Nevertheless, on election day, Netanyahu was interviewed by the Kol Chai broadcaster. The incumbent prime minister also was broadcasting live on Facebook and was actively publishing messages on Twitter, encouraging supporters to vote.

"Right-wing voters, have you gone crazy? Come out now to vote for the Likud to stop a left-wing government with the Arab parties," Netanyahu said.

Comment: RT reports:
'Israel at historic juncture': Netanyahu refuses to concede as Gantz claims 'mission accomplished'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to fight on even as exit polls showed him tied or lagging behind his main opposition rival, with a slim chance of assembling the coalition needed for a fifth term.

"We won't have and can't have a government dependent on anti-Zionist Arab parties," Netanyahu proclaimed as the crowd of his supporters booed and chanted 'we don't want unity.'

"Israel needs a strong government, a stable government, a Zionist government, a government that is committed to Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people."

The embattled PM stopped short of claiming a victory - or conceding his defeat - saying instead "we are waiting for the real results. One thing is clear: Israel is at a historic juncture."


Netanyahu's chief rival for the premiership, retired General Benjamin 'Benny' Gantz, gave his followers a cheerful "mission accomplished" speech in the early hours of Wednesday, encouraged by the exit polls.

"We will wait for the actual results, but the way things stand, we've fulfilled our mission," he said at Blue and White HQ in Tel Aviv, adding that Netanyahu "did not succeed in his mission."

Negotiations to form a national unity government are under way, Gantz said. Blue and White has previously said they were open to such a government with Likud, but only without Netanyahu anywhere in the picture.
What does it say about a candidate who flouts his country's basic laws? Although this is of course to be expected with Netanyahu:

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Eye 1

Facebook will bankroll an 'independent supreme court' to moderate your content & set censorship precedents

Helen Buyniski,
RT
Wed, 18 Sep 2019 01:05 UTC
facebook money
© Reuters / Dado Ruvic
Facebook has unveiled the charter for its 'supreme court,' a supposedly independent content moderation board that will take money from, and be appointed by, Facebook itself - while making binding decisions. What could go wrong?

Facebook has released preliminary plans for an "Oversight Board" tasked with reviewing content disputes. The 40-member body, referred to previously as Facebook's "supreme court," will have the authority to make binding decisions regarding cases brought to it by users or by the social media behemoth itself, according to a white paper released Tuesday, which stresses that the new board will be completely independent of Facebook, by popular request.

The company has clearly taken pains to make this new construct look independent, the sort of place a user might be able to go to get justice after being deplatformed by an algorithm incapable of understanding sarcasm or context. But board members will be paid out of a trust funded by Facebook and managed by trustees appointed by Facebook, while the initial board members will also be appointed by Facebook.

"We agreed with feedback that Facebook alone should not name the entire board," the release states, proceeding to outline how Facebook will select "a small group of initial members," who will then fill out the rest of the board. The trustees - also appointed by Facebook - will make the formal appointments of members, who will serve three-year terms.

Comment: Facebook already does pretty much what they like, so having their own "supreme court" to moderate content is all show and games. Don't expect a fair hearing. But to include other companies to fall under their 'jurisdiction' will be yet another blow against free speech. See also:

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Bad Guys

Oil supply is back, but we don't know yet who is responsible - Saudi energy minister


RT
Tue, 17 Sep 2019 18:00 UTC
Saudi Aramco
© Reuters / Ahmed Jadallah
FILE PHOTO: Saudi Aramco's Ras Tanura oil refinery and oil terminal in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia's energy minister said that its oil supplies had resumed and that its oil market would be "fully back online" by the end of September following attacks which Washington blames on Iran while Riyadh is still probing.

Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman told the media that oil production in October would reach 9.89 million barrels per day and 12 million bpd by the end of November.

"We are asking the world to help us to help secure oil," he said, adding that Riyadh expect no decline in oil exports and "no oil cargoes were canceled."

Comment: RT also reports:
Both drones and cruise missiles were used to attack the refinery at Abqaiq and the Khurais oil field, flying over southern Iraq and Kuwait to avoid Saudi air defenses, according to CNN's source. This information was also quoted by AFP, but it was unclear whether their source was the same official or a different one.

CBS News quoted a "senior US official" who said the Saudi air defenses did not stop the drones and missiles because they were pointed south, to detect and prevent attacks from Yemen.

While Washington immediately blamed Iran for the attack, the Saudi authorities have been more circumspect, with Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman saying they "don't know" who was behind it just yet.

France was likewise skeptical, with Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian telling reporters he had seen no evidence indicating the origin of the attack just yet.

"Up to now, France does not have any proof that would allow us to say where the drones came from," Le Drian, who is on a working visit to Egypt, told reporters on Tuesday.

Speaking at a news conference with his Egyptian colleague, Le Drian urged a "strategy of de-escalation" and seconded Saudi calls to involve the UN in the investigation.
See also:

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Megaphone

"Tremendous concern": Jordan's King Abdullah says Israel annexing settlements would be "disaster"


RT
Tue, 17 Sep 2019 20:00 UTC
merkel jordan
© Reuters / Fabrizio Bensch
The King of Jordan has come out harshly against any Israeli plans to annex new territory in the West Bank, predicting a "disaster" for what remains of the peace process with the Palestinians, and for a two-state solution.

Speaking at a press conference in Berlin on Tuesday following a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Jordan's King Abdullah II denounced recent Israeli threats to annex all existing settlements in the West Bank, among other provocative proposals from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"So these types of statements, I think, are a disaster to any attempt to move forward to the two-state solution," the King said, adding that Jordan looked at the situation with "tremendous concern" because "it does not bode well for trying to get Israelis and Palestinians together."

Comment: See also:

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Bullseye

Objections by Poland and Lithuania to Nord Stream 2 are geopolitical not economic - analyst


RT
Tue, 17 Sep 2019 19:29 UTC
Nord Stream
© Reuters / Stine Jacobsen
Pipes being laid for Nord Stream 2 pipeline in the Baltic Sea, September 13, 2019
It is "rubbish" for Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki to claim that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which will deliver a supply of cheap gas from Russia to the EU, is a "threat" to European energy security, analyst John Laughland told RT.

Morawiecki said at a press conference on Tuesday that the pipeline, currently under construction, posed a "threat to energy security" in the Baltic region. Poland and the Baltic states have consistently complained that the project affords Russia too much leverage over Europe's energy supply, despite the fact that EU heavyweight Germany has backed the project, touting its economic benefit.

"The opening of a new pipeline does not threaten energy security," international commenter John Laughland told RT, explaining that Russia was not going to prevent Europe from going elsewhere for gas if it wanted to.

Comment: See also:

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