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Nancy Pelosi's on her last legs

Miranda Devine
New York Post
Sun, 25 Jul 2021 10:17 UTC
Pelosi
© AP/Scott Applewhite
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
Nancy Pelosi used to point her angry finger at Donald Trump, but she leaves him in the dust when it comes to busting norms, dividing Congress and causing mayhem. If anyone is to blame for the hyper-partisanship in Washington these days, it's the spiteful House speaker.

She behaves more like a Mafia don waging a gang war than a dignified, fair and honest presiding officer, which is what the speaker's role requires.

Pelosi abuses her power in ways that once were unthinkable. Her speakership has been the antithesis of Lincoln's entreaty to "the better angels of our nature." Everyone in Congress — and, by extension, the nation — has been sullied by the spite and vitriol she has injected into the political sphere. There is no grace or Christian charity, just the barren wasteland of the zero-sum game, power for power's sake.

It's made all the worse by her increasingly frantic claims to be a "devout Catholic."

The fact that all this venom is packaged in the shape of a small, elderly, expensively shod woman has bestowed upon her an element of deference her actions do not deserve. But last week there were a couple of signs that she's finally worn out her welcome.
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Target

Big Tech companies to target right-wing militias & 'attacker manifestos' through same database used to identify terrorists


RT
Mon, 26 Jul 2021 21:35 UTC
ProudBoys speaker
© Reuters/Alisha Jucevic
Proud Boys Second Amendment Rally in Salem Oregon
A joint 'counterterrorism' organization formed by Big Tech companies like Facebook and Microsoft will begin more aggressively targeting right-wing militia groups and manifestos on their platforms.

The Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT) has primarily focused on videos and images released by terrorist groups identified by the United Nations, including the Taliban.

The group will be expanding the scope of material they target in the coming months, according to a report from Reuters. New material flagged will include "attacker manifestos" often linked to white supremacism, as well as right-wing and neo-Nazi militia groups allegedly posing a threat. Right-wing groups that have grown in popularity in the last few years, like the Proud Boys and Three Percenters, have already been identified in the system.

Included in this Big Tech group are Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and others. The sharing of information between companies allows them to see what content is being banned and, in turn, they can ban similar content on their platform.

Comment: The public voice is now at the mercy of an elite non-government power structure to point, accuse and censor. What are its connections to private data? Access? Provider?

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Jet5

US steps up airstrikes this week to support Afghan forces

Robert Burns
Air Force Times
Tue, 27 Jul 2021 04:53 UTC
F-15C Eagle
© Sr. Amn. Keifer Bowes/Air Force/U.S. Air Forces Central Command
An F-15C Eagle refueling
The U.S. military this week has launched additional airstrikes in support of Afghan government forces in their fight against the Taliban, using both conventional warplanes and armed drones, the Pentagon said Tuesday.

The strikes, following several conducted last week, indicate stepped up U.S. support after weeks of battlefield gains by the Taliban as U.S. troops complete their withdrawal. The aircraft are being flown from bases outside of Afghanistan because the U.S. military has pulled all of its combat planes out of the country.

"A number of strikes have occurred over the last several days from both manned and unmanned strike platforms," Maj. Robert Lodewick, a Pentagon spokesman, said. He did not provide further details. Other officials had said last week's airstrikes targeted Taliban positions in combat as well as military equipment that had been captured by the Taliban.

Gen. Frank McKenzie, the head of U.S. Central Command, who is overseeing the U.S. military withdrawal and making decisions on air support for Afghan troops, said on Sunday that airstrikes had been increasing. "We're prepared to continue this heightened level of support in the coming weeks if the Taliban continue their attacks," McKenzie said.

He also said the U.S. was providing "contract logistics support both here in Kabul and over-the-horizon in the region, funding for them, intelligence sharing, and advising and assisting through security consultations at the strategic level."
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Mr. Potato

Off his meds? Zelensky says Ukraine is rightful heir to historic Kievan Rus & 'distant relatives' like Russia should not claim it

Jonny Tickle
RT
Wed, 28 Jul 2021 17:50 UTC
zUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
© AFP / Stephanie Loos
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
In a rebuke to an essay written by Russian President Vladimir Putin, his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky has revealed his view that "distant relatives," like Moscow, should not try to claim the history of the Kievan Rus.

Zelensky was speaking on the 1,033rd anniversary of the Baptism of Kievan Rus, when Vladimir the Great converted to Christianity. This society was a loose federation of peoples in modern-day Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia, all united under a monarchy - the Rurik dynasty.

Comment: Putin is correct. Ukraine in its current form, as a nation state, was not created due to centuries of homogenous cultural development.

The history of Ukraine as an artificial state

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Eye 2

Rep. Jim Banks: Pelosi booted me from January 6 Probe to hide her responsibility for security breakdown

Pam Key
Breitbart
Sun, 25 Jul 2021 17:06 UTC
jim banks nancy pelosi capitol hill riot investigation

Vodka Nan had Rep. Banks deep-sixed from the Jan 6 "investigation" for calling out her security failures as head of the Capitol Police
Representative Jim Banks (R-ID), one of the two GOP lawmakers blocked by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) from serving on the January 6 Select Committee, said on this week's broadcast of Fox News Sunday that the Speaker was trying to avoid questions about her responsible for the "breakdown of security" that allowed for the storming the Capitol.
"It's more clear than ever that Nancy Pelosi is not interested in investigation. She's only interested in a narrative. She claims the reason that she booted me from the committee was because of antics on the part of Jim Jordan and I. In hindsight, what I realize what she means by that now is that we were prepared to ask questions that no one else has asked and demand answers as to why the Capital was vulnerable to an attack on January 6th? Why was there a systemic breakdown of security at the Capitol on January 6th? If you're going to investigate January 6th, why not ask those questions? That's all that this comes down to. She has already predetermined a narrative about Donald Trump, about Republicans. She doesn't want to talk about what happened at the Capitol that day to make sure something like that never happens again."

Comment: It's not looking good for Vodka Nan. Will the 'I hold the gavel' martinet be able to pull this off, or will her underlings finally have enough?

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Green Light

North Korea, South Korea discuss summit, rebuilding blown-up liaison office: sources


South China Morning Post
Wed, 28 Jul 2021 17:18 UTC
Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in
© AP
Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in
North and South Korea are in talks to reopen a joint liaison office that Pyongyang demolished last year and hold a summit as part of efforts to restore relations, three South Korean government sources with knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un have been exploring ways to improve strained ties by exchanging multiple letters since April, the sources said on condition of anonymity due to diplomatic sensitivity.

The discussions signal an improvement in ties that have deteriorated in the past year after three leaders' summits in 2018 promised peace and reconciliation.

Inter-Korean talks could also help restart stalled negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington aimed at dismantling North Korea's nuclear and missile programmes in return for sanctions relief.
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Cow Skull

Biden says cyberattacks could lead to a 'real shooting war' with a major power

Dave DeCamp
AntiWar.com
Tue, 27 Jul 2021 00:00 UTC
bullshit meter
The US is constantly accusing Russia and China of cyberattacks

The US is constantly accusing countries like Russia and China of carrying out cyberattacks, and comments from President Biden on Tuesday suggest he could use these claims as a pretext for military intervention. He warned that if Washington ended up in a "real shooting war with a major power," it could be the result of a cyberattack on the US.

"You know, we've seen how cyber threats, including ransomware attacks, increasingly are able to cause damage and disruption to the real world," Biden said in a speech during a visit to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. "I think it's more likely we're going to end up — well, if we end up in a war, a real shooting war with a major power, it's going to be as a consequence of a cyber breach of great consequence."

Comment: How many times now has the US political/security/media establishment accused Russia and/or China of cyberattacks or hacking with ZERO credible evidence?! More times than we care to list here - that's for sure! But here are just a few:

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Chess

China pledges support for Taliban in Afghanistan, but demands it cut ties to East Turkestan Islamic Movement

Catherine Wong
South China Morning Post
Wed, 28 Jul 2021 16:32 UTC
taliban meet china foreign ministry
© China Foreign Ministry handout
The Taliban delegation with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Tianjin on Wednesday.
Afghanistan's reconstruction, while demanding that it cuts ties with the East Turkestan Islamic Movement - blamed by Beijing for attacks in its Xinjiang region.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi made the remarks during talks with a nine-member delegation led by the Taliban's chief negotiator and co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in the northern city of Tianjin on Wednesday.

It was the first time a senior member of the organisation had visited China since the Taliban's capture of several key districts in Badakhshan and Kandahar provinces. Taliban fighters have taken control of around half the country up to its border with the Chinese region of Xinjiang, and US air strikes continue to support Afghan security forces.

Comment: China realized it was in its best interest to engage the Taliban as early as 2016: Along with Russia, they have the pragmatism to understand that dialogue is the only way to bring security to all players in the region:

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Vader

Ecuador bows to the Empire: Strips Julian Assange of citizenship


The Guardian
Tue, 27 Jul 2021 16:15 UTC
assange protest sign
© Vuk Valcic/Sopa Images/Rex/Shutterstock
Pro-Julian Assange protesters at Piccadilly Circus, London demanding his release from Belmarsh prison.
Authorities cite unpaid fees and problems in naturalisation papers relating to WikiLeaks founder

Ecuador has revoked the citizenship of Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks who is currently in a British prison.

Ecuador's justice system formally notified the Australian of the nullity of his naturalisation in a letter that came in response to a claim filed by the South American country's foreign ministry.

A naturalisation is reconsidered when it is granted based on the concealment of relevant facts, false documents or fraud. Ecuadorian authorities said Assange's naturalisation letter had multiple inconsistencies, different signatures, the possible alteration of documents and unpaid fees, among other issues.

Comment: The UK, the US, and Assange: A tale of three extraditions

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Light Saber

Czech Supreme Court overrules Health Ministry's mask mandate following failure to provide evidence


RT
Tue, 27 Jul 2021 16:01 UTC
Czech mask
© AFP / Michal Cizek
FILE PHOTO. Prague, Czech Republic.
The Czech Supreme Administrative Court (NSS), the country's highest authority over executive actions, overruled the Health Ministry's mask mandate on Tuesday, declaring the measure unjustified and threatening to cancel it.

In a statement posted to the court's website, the NSS issued a final judgement warning that the Health Ministry's rule ordering the wearing of masks in buildings and on public transport in the Czech Republic will be cancelled within three days if the ministry does not provide sufficient justification for the measure.

So far, the NSS claims the ministry has been "systemically ignoring" its decision, despite the court having the final say over executive actions taken by the Czech government.

Comment: Conditions on our planet are such that the concerted, nefarious actions of governments everywhere has turned our lives into one big life threatening experiment, and, thanks to certain defiant states in the US as well as countries like Sweden, the data very clearly shows that lockdowns, restrictions, masks and experimental vaccines actually cause more death than the relatively harmless coronavirus ever could:

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