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Bizarro Earth

Media personalities encouraging political violence following El Paso & Dayton

cowboy boot shooting
© REUTERS/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus
The fatal shootings in El Paso and Dayton seem to have been weaponized, with activists claiming to oppose violence and hate now calling for violence against political rivals they hate. How is this democracy?

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) somehow found himself the object of the proverbial two-minute hate after the shootings. Protesters besieged his home, wishing him dead. Twitter celebrities engaged in fantasies of violence, endorsed and amplified by TV stars and media contributors, who angrily demanded an end to all nuance and descent into black-and-white, us-versus-them open war - all in the name of fighting "hate" and "fascism," of course.

Exhibit A:

Comment: And according to What criminology professors learned by studying every mass shooting since 1966 these commenters are actually encouraging more violence:
Third, most of the shooters had studied the actions of other shooters and sought validation for their motives.
See also: Massacre at Walmart in El Paso, Texas: Eyewitnesses Report Multiple Shooters - 'Lone Gunman' Narrative Inconsistencies


Bizarro Earth

The dream of clean energy is fueling a dirty mining boom

open pit cobalt mine
© Reuters / Jonny Hogg
Open-pit copper and cobalt mine at Tenke Fungurume in Congo's copper-producing south, January 29, 2013
A future of environment-friendly energy, where dirty engines and power plants rust in history's scrapyard, is an idyllic vision. In the cynical real world, the rush for green batteries is fueling a harmful mining boom.

By 2030, there will be 140 million electric cars on Earth, and by 2040 every third vehicle will be powered by green electricity instead of the fossil fuels that have been slowly choking the environment for the past couple centuries. That's according to assessments by Glencore Plc and BloombergNEF.

Sounds like we're on the right track and Greta Thunberg's zero-emission dream could be achieved within her lifetime. Humanity is finally coming to its senses.

Get digging

Not quite. All those cars will need batteries, and all those batteries will need to be built with a small periodic table of minerals. And all those minerals need to be mined - in some cases strip-mining the rest of the planet's explored deposits.

Comment: Environmentalists pushing the 'green agenda' have sold us a bill of goods - the technology is unreliable, it's more expensive and it's certainly not 'green' in any measure if the sourcing of component parts are pulled into the equation. See:


Handcuffs

Baltimore mother took Lyft to dispose of her 4-year-old's body in a dumpster

Malachi Lawson

Malachi Lawson, 4, of Baltimore, was found dead in a dumpster on Aug. 3, 2019.
A Baltimore mother charged in the death of her 4-year-old son searched for trash collection sites on her phone before taking a Lyft to dispose of the boy's body in a dumpster, prosecutors said.

The boy's remains was found in a dumpster Saturday with severe burns over his lower body, according to the charging document.

Alicia Lawson, 25, reported her son, Malachi Lawson, missing from his grandmother's house last Thursday, telling Baltimore police at the time that he disappeared from the front doorstep after she "went inside momentarily," according to documents released by the Office of the State's Attorney for Baltimore City, which charges her with manslaughter and child abuse.

The Baltimore Police Department and FBI created posters for Malachi shortly after he was reported missing on Thursday, conducting an extensive search for him in the area.

Comment: See also:


Camcorder

Police used streetlamps to spy on public in San Diego

Streetlamp Cameras
© San Diego Union Tribune
Gone are the days when cities used streetlamps to simply illuminate sidewalks and streets. Today's streetlamps are being used to form an inter-connected web of surveillance devices.

A recent San Diego Union-Tribune article revealed how San Diego police officers have used streetlamp video surveillance in at least 140 cases and sometimes as frequently as 20 times a month.

Let that sink in for a moment; spying streetlamps are real and police have already requested video footage from more than 140 streetlamps.

Lt. Jeffery Jordon called spying streetlamps "game changing" and that is exactly how they should be viewed. Streetlamps that are designed to spy on the public, really is a game changer.

San Diego's streetlamps are equipped with ShotSpotter microphones that police claim are not being used to listen to public conversations.

Should we believe them?

Evil Rays

Moscow becomes first city in Russia to launch 5G network

moscow
© Sputnik
A pilot 5G zone, the first of its kind, has been launched in the heart of the Russian capital on Thursday. Swedish telecom company Ericsson provided the equipment for the network, which is run by Russian mobile operator Tele2.

"Today's event means that the 5G era in Russia has already begun, after tests we are moving to use the technology via a commercial network," Tele2 CEO Sergei Edmin said, announcing the launch.

The pilot zone for the super-fast network fully covers Moscow's landmark Tverskaya street, from the Kremlin to the busy Garden Ring highway, the company said in a statement.

Comment: How unfortunate for the people in these cities. Russia may have some sense when it comes to things like GMOs, but clearly it's not at the forefront of understanding the dangers of 5G. The world can likely look forward to an explosion of disease and debilitating conditions (as if things weren't already bad enough!) as 5G blankets large swaths of the world's most populated cities.


Heart

Conservative activist, 200 volunteers clean 12 tons of trash from Baltimore streets

Scott Presler
© Courtesy of Scott Presler
Conservative activist Scott Presler after street cleanup event in Baltimore, Md., on Aug. 5, 2019.
Some 200 volunteers combed through the streets of northwest Baltimore on Aug. 5, cleaning up trash and weeds in an "Americans Helping Americans" event organized by conservative activist Scott Presler.

Starting at 7 a.m. at the corner of North Fulton Avenue and Westwood Avenue, the volunteers spread through the surrounding blocks. By 8 p.m., they had collected more than 12 tons of trash — destination junkyard.

Many locals expressed gratitude to the participants, and some joined in, Presler said in a phone call to The Epoch Times.


Pistol

Shots fired at Baton Rouge Walmart in personal altercation - one hurt, gunman apprehended

baton rouge walmater shooting
© Logan Ridenour
Scene outside of Baton Rouge Walmart.
Police are responding to reports of shooting at a Walmart store on Burbank Drive in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the WBRZ TV channel has reported.

​​Police officers have been deployed at the scene and a helicopter was spotted in the area, the report said.

​One of the witnesses shared a video of policemen detaining a suspected gunman.

Comment: Gateway Pundit reported further:
BRPD confirmed the shooting was reported around noon at the Walmart on Burbank Drive at Bluebonnet. A massive law enforcement presence, including sheriff's deputies, Baton Rouge Police and a helicopter was spotted outside the store.

The sheriff's office says the incident is not being considered an active shooting situation at this time. Authorities say they are also checking other Walmarts in the Baton Rouge area.

The Plaquemine Post South reports:
UPDATED August 7: EBRSO STATES:

"Pursuant to Deputies' investigation of the Walmart incident which occurred on 8/06/19, the below listed persons were arrested. 1 - Jacob Bess, 12/26/86, 8029 Ned Av., issued Misdemeanor Summons for Disturbing the Peace. 2 - Robert Tucker, 3/23/75, 1657 Starboard Dr., arrested for Disturbing the Peace, and Aggravated Assault with a Firearm."

ORIGINAL:

A bystander sustained gunshot wounds after an argument broke out between two patrons at a Walmart in Baton Rouge. One suspect is currently in custody, while the other remains at large.

The victim is a 42-year-old father who was in line buying a lunchbox for one of his children. He received multiple gunshot wounds and was transferred to a local hospital where he is in stable condition, according to East Baton Rouge Sheriff Sid Gautreaux.

The initial reason for the altercation is unknown.

"It escalated to both of then pulling guns and one of them firing shots. We think the guy at large is the one who fired the shots, but we won't know until we get him in custody," Sheriff Gautreaux said.

The suspect at large was wearing a black shirt and black shorts. Law enforcement has expanded their search perimeter and asks that local residents remain aware of their surroundings and notify them in case they have any information regarding the shooting.



Handcuffs

Lawyers say El Paso suspect's mom called police about gun he purchased weeks before attack

el paso, teksas
The El Paso shooting suspect's mother called the Allen, Texas, Police Department weeks before the shooting because she was concerned about her son owning an "AK" type firearm, lawyers for the family confirmed to CNN.

The mother contacted police because she was worried about her son owning the weapon given his age, maturity level and lack of experience handling such a firearm, attorneys Chris Ayres and R. Jack Ayres said.

During the call, the mother was transferred to a public safety officer who told her that -- based on her description of the situation -- her son, 21, was legally allowed to purchase the weapon, the attorneys said. The mother did not provide her name or her son's name, and police did not seek any additional information from her before the call concluded, they added.

It is not known whether the gun the mother inquired about is the weapon used in the attack. In response to public records requests for information on alleged shooter Patrick Crusius, the Allen Police Department provided no reports documenting the call from the mother.

The police said in a statement only three minor incidents -- one, a false burglar alarm at the family home, another when Crusius was a passenger in a bus involved in a minor traffic accident and a third when he ran away from home but returned 30 minutes later -- "are the entirety of our dealings with Mr. Crusius, in any capacity, be it suspect, witness, reporting party, or in any other manner."

Comment: See also: After initially denying the mother had made the call, Allen police confirmed it. Apparently, they had assumed she called the emergency line and found no records. But she apparently called a non-emergency number.


Heart - Black

American Bar Association to adopt "affirmative consent" resolution - all sex is rape unless proven otherwise

papers pen
© katleho Seisa
It's been a few years since the dangerous "affirmative consent" standard has made headlines. Many colleges and universities began adopting the standard about half-a-decade ago, following the state of California's example.

The wording changes from state to state and from school to school, but it all boils down to narrowly defining consent in such a way that it is impossible for anyone to actually have - and prove - consensual sex. These policies inevitably shift the burden of proof from the accuser to the accused, meaning the accused has to prove they obtained consent for an encounter that they saw at the time as consensual.

Proponents of the policies have never said how accused persons would be able to defend themselves from an accusation under "affirmative consent." Without video evidence that one obtained consent throughout every physical and sexual interaction, the accused would have no way to defend themselves. Even that would be risky, since someone who claims they were too drunk to consent to sex could also say they were too drunk to consent to being recorded. Given how much weight an accusation holds in today's "believe all women" society, a case of he said/she said would most likely default in favor of the accuser.

Legal groups, law professors, and attorneys were critical of the "affirmative consent" standard, yet schools and states adopted it anyway.

Stormtrooper

Picture of French police officer seemingly strangling a man is real - taken during Yellow Vest protest in Nantes

yellow vest protest police brutality
© Bsaz/Facebook
On the sidelines of a gathering in Nantes against police violence, a man was violently arrested by a Brigade Anti-criminalité agent. Captured in pictures by reporters who were present on site, the scene has been spread around social networks.

A helmeted policeman seemingly strangling a relatively old man on the ground: this black and white image has been doing the rounds on social networks. While Internet users wondered about the origin of the snapshot, some suspect that it was taken in Moscow during recent oppositional demonstrations, it is the photographer Bsaz who captured this image on August 3rd in Nantes.

Comment: More from CheckNews (machine translation):
Contacted by CheckNews, the street-reporter says: "We were in the late afternoon, it should be 16:30 or 17 hours, and we were in the city center, between the crossroads of streetcars and the street of peace. It was very tense, a person behind me was being taken care of by firefighters after a shot from LBD. "

Still according to him, "the person on the ground in the photo went to the BAC to tell them that a man was on the ground, just a little further, to ask them to calm down. This is where the BAC agent jumps on him and puts him on the ground.

He says, "He did not do anything before. He was just going to tell them that there was someone on the ground, not far away, under a blanket of survival. "

A photo showing a survival cover appears in the series of photos published by Bsaz on his Facebook account . Also contacted by CheckNews, the photographer assures: "There was indeed a wounded man on the ground, who could not be moved. And yet, teargas grenades continued to be thrown. The climate was very tense, with one injured on the ground. "

Did the man who was violently questioned attempt to alert the police to the presence of an injured person? "I did not hear it precisely, but it is possible. We were all trying to alert the police at that time, the photographer answers. They grabbed him, and when we got closer to him, while he was on the ground, they threw us a de-encircling grenade. Given the proximity to the injured person, who could not move, we were very scared for her. "

Two other demonstrators, present on the spot, and contacted by CheckNews, then ensure to have seen the man handcuffed, sitting on the ground, surrounded by men of the BAC. "He had great difficulty breathing," they say.

Evidence corroborated by a video circulating on Twitter. One recognizes the same man on the ground, at the feet of the agent of the BAC having questioned him, between two vans of police. While one of the agents tries to hide the scene with a supermarket cart, the man seems on the verge of unconsciousness, and witnesses ask the police to call for help.
While the police's version of the incident from the same article (machine translation)
When contacted by CheckNews, the Police Information and Communication Service (Sicop) gave another version of the facts: "This man was arrested because, a few minutes before - which is not shown on the video - he had thrown a glass bottle at a police officer. During his arrest, the man did not let himself be taken in, and tried to hit the police officer several times in the face (which is not clearly visible on the images)" The Sicop confirms that the man had to be taken into care of after the violent arrest, invoking the effect of tear gas: "He was taken by the police to the hospital, because he was inconvenienced by the gas."

And then what? "He came back to the police station at midnight. He was heard this morning, acknowledged the projectile throw, his custody was lifted and the investigation continues in preliminary."

Concerning the violence of the interpellation, the Sicop replied: "The colleague did as best he could. The objective was to try to keep him in handcuffs while he was handcuffed."