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Pepe the Frog has emerged as the face of the Hong Kong protests

Nicole Einbinder
Insider
Wed, 21 Aug 2019 00:00 UTC
hong kong protesters pepe the frog
© Billy H.C. Kwok/Getty Images
Protesters gather next to graffiti of "Pepe the Frog", outside the Central Government complex after a march during a demonstration on August 18, 2019 in Hong Kong, China.
Pepe the Frog is getting an image makeover this summer.

The cartoon frog with the bulging eyes and wide smile has, for years, been associated with America's alt-right — a symbol of racism and hate as the country continues to grow more divided. In 2016, Pepe the Frog was officially listed as a hate symbol by the Anti-Defamation League, as the character gained prominence on sites like 4chan and became increasingly associated with anti-Semitism and bigotry.


Comment: The Western press, along with the ADL, the SPLC and any number of other leftist organizations, have never understood Pepe the Frog. Pepe is a meme, used by thousands, if not millions of people for any number of jokes or political commentaries. Just because a small percentage (vanishingly small at that) of memes featuring Pepe are used by the alt right doesn't make the meme itself alt right. If the alt right started featuring Superman in their memes, would that make Superman alt right?


Matt Furie, the artist behind Pepe the Frog, went so far as to "kill off" his creation in a 2017 comic strip, in an attempt to rebuke the far-right's transformation of the character. In a Time magazine essay, Furie wrote that "a once peaceful frog-dude from my comic book," was morphed by racists and anti-Semites into "an icon of hate." He concluded the essay arguing that "I, the creator, say that Pepe is love."

Comment: Here's Jordan Peterson talking to Joe Rogan about the wider implications of the Pepe meme:

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Red Flag

Conspiracy Theories From The Elders of Zion to Epstein's Youngsters

Gilad Atzmon
gilad.online
Wed, 21 Aug 2019 07:44 UTC
conspiracy theory epstein 9/11
Following Jeffrey Epstein's alleged suicide last week we have been deluged by a tsunami of narratives that do not adhere to the shifting official reports of his death. Presumably a few of the intimate secrets of the most powerful people on this planet will be buried with Epstein. While it is rational to believe that people powerful enough to impoverish continents or launch world wars that kill tens of millions could easily arrange the death of a single registered sex criminal in a NY prison cell, anyone who advanced such a scenario, however plausible, was immediately denounced as a 'conspiracy theorist.'


Comment: As with 9/11 and Russiagate, Epstein's 'suicide' is yet another instance where the official story is the whackiest tinfoil hat conspiracy theory of all. This essentially proves that the term has no actual explanatory power other than to identify and smear theories that are not sanctioned by the 'reality-creators'.

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Arrow Down

Although confidence in colleges is in decline, young Americans still trust profs more than police, military

Celine Ryan
Campus Reform
Tue, 20 Aug 2019 20:22 UTC
college library books
American adults have a rapidly declining opinion of the value of a college education, but young Americans still trust college professors more than the police, military, and religious leaders.

Data released Monday by Pew Research Center reveals that the perceived value of a college education is declining among American adults. This comes just days after a separate Pew Research study revealed that American adults under the age of 30 trust college professors more than religious leaders, military personnel, and police.

According to the recent study, while most adults indicate they believe a college education is valuable, only half say that American colleges and universities are positively impacting the country. In fact, more and more Americans are signaling the exact opposite, with 38 percent stating that institutions of higher education are actually having a negative effect on society, a figure that has increased by 12 percent in just the last seven years.

This 12 percent increase can be attributed almost entirely to adults who identify as Republican or right-leaning independents. In just the past four years, the number of Republican or Republican-leaning adults who believe colleges are negatively impacting the country jumped from just 37 percent to an overwhelming 59 percent. Democrats' answers to the same question have shown little to no change.
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Display

Twitter's advertising ban of 'state-controlled' news is ideologically motivated and anti-democratic

Neil Clarke
RT
Tue, 20 Aug 2019 13:14 UTC
Twitter
The news that Twitter is to ban 'state-controlled news media entities' from advertising on its platforms raises several worrying concerns which urgently need to be addressed.

Repeat after me (with robotic hand movements): "state-controlled news media entities bad; 'state-subsidised' 'private' news media entities good!"

This seems to be the logic that Twitter is working from in light of its announcement on Monday.

The move seems to be a reaction to criticism of the social media platform for accepting advertising buys from the Chinese press agency Xinhua, which has been critical of the anti-government protesters in Hong Kong.

But underlying the new policy is some very muddled thinking. The premise seems to be that 'state-controlled news media entities' are inherently biased, and so should have their social media activities curbed whereas as 'privately-controlled' media entities aren't. It elevates the 'state' as the most powerful actor there is.

Comment: Twitter is becoming progressively more biased by the day and, ironically, seems like IT is being controlled by the worst elements of the US state propaganda machine.

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Car Black

Thousands of unsold new cars are abandoned and left to rot in lots around the world


Epic Dash
Tue, 20 Aug 2019 21:48 UTC
unsold new cars

Acres of unsold new cars in Port of Sheerness in Kent, England.
This is insane

This is what the car manufacturers DON'T want you to see. Since overproduction peaked in 2009, thousands of cars have been left in lots to waste away. Many of these photos go back to just post-recession, yet the problem of surplus still exists today.

People are not buying new cars at the rate they were pre-recession. How many families do you know who boast a new car every year? Thus, millions of brand-new are left to die in parking lots.
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Smoking

Smoking banned in Thailand homes, considered 'domestic violence' under new law

Shreya Basak
News18
Tue, 20 Aug 2019 18:43 UTC
Tobacco smoke
© Pixabay/realhardwork
The law aims at curbing smoking at home which might be hazardous for others' health residing under the same roof. In that case it will be considered as a 'domestic violence'.

Smoking in a house in Thailand can now land you in jail. Although not a blanket ban, this is a new law that is supposed to come into effect from today as per reports.

The new law, Family Protection and Development Promotion Act, was initiated by the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security and was announced in the Royal Gazette on May 22, 2019. The law aims at curbing smoking at home which might be hazardous for others' health residing under the same roof. In that case, it will be considered as 'domestic violence'.

Speaking at the 18th National Conference on Tobacco and Lung Health held in Bangkok in May 2019, Department of Women's Affairs and Family Development chief Lertpanya Booranabundit said, "If it can be proved that the health problems of family members stems from second- or third-hand smoke at home, it can lead to two court trials: one in Criminal Court for 'domestic assault' via smoke and the other at the Central Juvenile and Family Court. This could lead to a court injunction to protect the health of family members, with the smoker being sent to a rehabilitation centre to kick the habit."

Comment: The anti-smoking nonsense has become so ridiculous - why not light up as an antidote!


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Bizarro Earth

Harmful pesticides approved by Bolsonaro's government cause half a billion bees to drop dead in Brazil


Sputnik
Tue, 20 Aug 2019 21:29 UTC
dead honey bees
More than half a billion bees have died in Brazil over the last three months. The cause? Harmful pesticides, according to researchers.

Most of the bee deaths occurred in four Brazilian states: 400 million in Rio Grande do Sul, 7 million in São Paulo, 50 million in Santa Catarina and 45 million Mato Grosso do Sul, according to a report by CBS News. Neonicotinoids and fipronil, both agricultural insecticides banned in Europe, are believed to be the specific culprits behind the deaths.

Aldo Machado, vice president of Rio Grande do Sul's beekeeping association, recently told Bloomberg that his bee colony was completely eliminated 48 hours after some bees began dying.

Comment:

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Black Cat

Cop who investigated Epstein in Florida dies suddenly

Ian Cohen
Palm Beach Daily News
Fri, 01 Jun 2018 20:19 UTC
Joseph Recarey

Joseph Recarey
He solved murders, obtained confessions, worked overtime, fell in love and brought coworkers lunch.

And he still had time to crack some jokes.

Joseph Recarey, a former Palm Beach detective who had a knack for making others smile, who tackled the island's largest and most important investigations, and who cared deeply for his family and friends, died Friday, May 25, 2018, after a brief illness. He was 50.

"In my opinion, an excellent police officer has to be a good person," said former Palm Beach Police Chief Michael Reiter. "And Joe Recarey was among the best people I ever knew."

Recarey was born in Queens, N.Y., before coming to Florida with his family when he was 13. He lived in Royal Palm Beach and worked for the Palm Beach Police Department for more than 20 years beginning in 1991.

Comment: Hmm, thus far, we've not come across sudden deaths directly connected with Epstein. This makes us wonder if there are more...

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Attention

Illinois state senator offers apology for staged Trump assassination photos at fundraiser

Chris Perez
New York Post
Sun, 18 Aug 2019 11:42 UTC
Illinois Sen. Sandoval
© AP
Illinois Senator Martin Sandoval
A Democratic state senator from Illinois came under fire over the weekend after pictures were posted online showing his supporters at a fundraising event performing a mock assassination of a faux President Trump. "The tolerant left," wrote a Facebook user in response to the incident.

Photos posted by a woman who witnessed the mock assassination on Friday night show supporters of Sen. Martin Sandoval, who represents Illinois' 11th District — which includes parts of Chicago — acting out in front of guests, according to WCIA.

One of them can be seen pointing a fake machine gun at a man wearing a Trump mask and Mexican costume. The individual appears to simulate being shot — grabbing his chest and leaning back. In another photo, Sandoval can be seen standing next to the person holding the gun.

"Why is this ok?" a FB user asked. "I am sickened."
Fake assault
© Twitter
Fake assault on fake President Trump
Sandoval group
© Twitter
Political fundraiser for Senator Sandoval • Sandoval stands next to the 'shooter'
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Attention

College survey finds mental health issues are common among trans students

Jeremy Bauer-Wolf
Inside Higher Ed
Tue, 20 Aug 2019 18:38 UTC
mental health
© Routledge
Gender-nonconforming and transgender students are four times more likely to report mental health issues compared to the rest of their peers, according to a new study that is the largest so far to focus on this population of college students.

Researchers relied on data from the Healthy Minds Study, an annual online report on student mental health from college campuses across the country. The new study examined responses of more than 65,200 students from 71 American institutions who were enrolled in college between 2015 and 2017.

Roughly 1,200 respondents said they had an alternate gender identity, meaning they do not identify with the gender that matches their birth sex. The researchers grouped these students — about 2 percent of the study's sample, which included transgender students, gender-queer students and gender-nonconforming students and others — into a category called "gender-minority students."

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