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Newsom outlaws voter ID rules in California

newsom
© Getty ImagesCalifornia Governor Gavin Newsom
California governor Gavin Newsom has just signed a new law banning local governments from requiring residents to present identification to vote in elections.

The legislation - introduced by Sen. Dave Min (D-Orange County) - is a direct response to a ballot measure approved this year by voters in Huntington Beach which required people to show photo identification at the polls.
The Republican-led city, whose leaders often tussle with Sacramento Democrats, has maintained that its status as a charter city gives it home rule over elections administration.

But Attorney General Rob Bonta and Secretary of State Shirley Weber aren't buying it: The officials sued Huntington Beach in April to invalidate the law, arguing it interferes with state voting rights protections.
- Politico
California is one of 14 states that does not require voter ID at the polls - so, if a person wants to operate a car, hop on a plane, or rent an apartment in California - you need ID. Voting? Not so much.

Comment: Newsom's strategy to add thousands of migrants to the voting roster without constitutional process is a violation of the the election process, a betrayal of legit California voters and ultimately all American citizens. Should his ploy be adopted by other states with migrant influx, these actions will impact large-scale the outcomes of federal, state and local elections.


Smoking

Best of the Web: Russian MPs to back groundbreaking smoking ban that would eliminate it entirely


Comment: Yes, it's still fascism, even when Russia does it.


Smoker
© Sputnik/Pavel Bednyakov
The proposed law would prohibit the sale of nicotine and vaping products to teens in a bid to curb new addictions.

The head of Russia's parliament announced on Wednesday he expects MPs to support a bill to outlaw smoking and vaping for the next generation. It would mean that those born after 2009 will never be legally able to buy tobacco, to vape or use hookahs.

The draft law would make it illegal to sell cigarettes, vapes and similar goods to anyone born after December 31, 2009. The New People faction in the parliament, which penned the legislation, sent it to the cabinet on Wednesday.

State Duma Chair Vyacheslav Volodin backed the draft law during a parliament session later in the day.
"You say some people want to boost the budget [by taxing tobacco]. Trust me, nobody does. Everyone in this chamber will vote for and support your initiative," he promised.
The legislation tabled by the left-leaning New People faction means the legal smoking age will increase every year, eventually leading to a total prohibition for the entire population.

Comment: See also:


2 + 2 = 4

This is why the working class doesn't trust Western leftists anymore

FILE PHOTO. Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer
© Ian Forsyth/Getty ImagesFILE PHOTO. Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer
Summary

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is the perfect example of the greed that has corrupted parties that are supposed to represent the common voter

The scandal that has recently engulfed UK Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer is not just about political corruption.

There have always been corrupt politicians - even amongst the leaders of social democratic parties - although it is impossible to imagine Jeremy Corbyn or Harold Wilson accepting tens of thousands of pounds' worth of designer label clothing, gifts and free luxury accommodation from a billionaire businessman.

There is something very contemporary about Starmer's rapacious greed, and it reveals a fundamental truth about modern social democratic parties in the West - namely that these parties have long ceased to represent the interests of the working class and ordinary citizens, and today simply do the bidding of the global elites that rule and control most Western countries.

That being the case, it is hardly surprising that these elites should shower copious benefits upon political leaders that so assiduously protect their massive wealth, social status and power.

This, of course, is not a peculiarly British phenomenon. In Australia, the fondness of Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for accepting corporate largesse is legendary - although the gifts regularly received by Albanese (including free tickets to football matches and Taylor Swift concerts) seem decidedly miserly compared to the bundle of upmarket loot recently collared by Starmer and his family.

Nor should it surprise anyone that these compliant political leaders should seek to ape the luxurious lifestyles of their masters - even when they cannot quite afford to do so.

How has this fundamental political transformation come about?

Essentially it has been driven by the rise of the global elites and the new economic world order that they have created since the 1980s.

Comment:
Is it possible that some of the instances that the author brings up are better explainable by approaches from the field of psychology?

What knowledge might help a person like Rosie Duffield, if she would have the time or be interested, to find out if it is safe to "return to the party in the future, when it again resembles the party I love, putting the needs of the many before the greed of the few."?
Did a person like Keir Starmer leave his ideals?

The questions are worth exploring, though it may take time, but there is much research out there that can be useful.

MindMatter has done several shows that explore the applications of psychology and the reasons why some people behave like Keir Starmer: On SOTT, there are more than 40 articles with Ponerology in the title, including: See also: The departure of Rosie Duffield from the British Labour Party may lead other people to reflect and ask questions. Here is a screenshot of a Tweet:
Rosie Duffield
© X.Com



Roses

The most precarious place in the world to be a child: Israel's year of war on children

Palestinians children at an UNRWA school
© Omar Ashtawy/APA ImagesPalestinians children at an UNRWA school in Deir al-Balah, September 9, 2024.
Israel's onslaught against the Palestinian people has systematically targeted children in both Gaza and the West Bank. The result is a war against an entire generation.

A year into the genocide in Gaza and the intensifying military and settler onslaught in the West Bank, children have been the most consistently targeted group by Israel in all of historic Palestine.

Every year at around this time, the new school year is well underway in the Gaza Strip and university students are starting their first semesters. But since October of last year, not only is there no more school, but all education in the Gaza Strip has been decimated. This is to say nothing of the systematic killing of children throughout the war — UN chief Antonio Guterres said Gaza had become a "graveyard for children" only a month into the genocidal war. Added to that are the long-term mental and health effects children will experience as a result of exposure to disease, chronic malnutrition, and relentless violence.

Light switch

Grid apocalypse hits Carolinas: 360 substations down, power restoration could take "months"

counties
© UnknownNorth Carolina Counties affected by Hurricane Helene
Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC), representing a district in the western portion of the state battered by Hurricane Helene, released a press release Sunday detailing the infrastructure devastation.
Edwards said power outages remain widespread in Western North Carolina as of Sunday. Fast-forward to Wednesday morning, Poweroutage.US data shows more than 400,000 residents are without power in the region.

Comment: The complexity of the situation in North Carolina is near-impossible to convey. First hand reports offer but a glimpse of what it will take to restore and revive this portion of the state to functional normalcy.


Dollars

New York Catholic diocese reaches $323 mln sex abuse settlement

Catholic diocese
© APThe Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre on New York’s Long Island
A Roman Catholic diocese in Long Island, New York announced a new bankruptcy settlement on Thursday that would pay more than $323 million to about 530 sex abuse survivors who alleged they were abused by priests when they were children.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre, which serves about 1.2 million Catholics in Nassau and Suffolk counties, said earlier this year that it did not think a bankruptcy settlement would be possible, after abuse survivors rejected the diocese's previous $200 million settlement offer.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn in Manhattan, who is overseeing the case, said the deal represented "enormous progress" after the bankruptcy came "within a hair's breadth" of failure. Rockville Centre will contribute $234.8 million to a settlement fund, with four insurers contributing $85.3 million. The settlement will also receive funding from another insurer that is being liquidated in a separate insolvency proceeding and from attorneys representing abuse survivors.

Megaphone

Union boss threatens to bring US economy to its knees in dockworker strike

Harold Dagget
© @jasonahart via Twitterhe International Longshoremen’s Association’s chief negotiator, Harold Dagget
'I will cripple you, and you have no idea what that means...'

The International Longshoremen's Association's chief negotiator Harold Daggett recently stated that the recent strike by dock workers would "cripple" the United States.

"These people today don't know what a strike is. When my men hit the streets, from Maine to Texas, every single port will lock down," he said, adding that the country would collapse without dock workers. "Everything in the United States comes on a ship."

Daggett then said that American government officials would be unable to stop the strike because, ultimately, the union and workers would win.

"Who's gonna win here in the long run?" he asked rhetorically. "In today's world, I'll cripple you. I will cripple you, and you have no idea what that means. Nobody does."

Comment: Righteous and tough negotiating tactic and rhetoric or dangerous power trip - or both?

See also: It begins: US port strikes erupt, first shutdown in 50 years sparks fears of supply chain crisis


Bullseye

Julian Assange says "I pled guilty to journalism" in exchange for freedom

julian assange Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe speech
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, recently released after five years in a British prison, declared that his plea of “guilty to journalism” secured his freedom, as he addressed European lawmakers about his years of incarceration.
Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, made his first public remarks on Tuesday since his release from prison in June, telling the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe that his freedom came after pleading "guilty to journalism."

Assange, who spent five years in a British prison and seven years in self-imposed exile in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, addressed lawmakers from 46 European countries during a session of the assembly's legal affairs and human rights committee in Strasbourg, France. He detailed the impact of his years of confinement and reflected on his plea deal with the U.S. Justice Department, which concluded a long legal battle.

"I am not free today because the system worked," Assange said. "I am free today after years of incarceration because I pled guilty to journalism."

Arrow Down

The UK's 'Chicken License' rebellion - the GOOD way to deal with BAD laws

chicken protest license law britain
Apologies if you can't read their *ahem* chicken scratch.
As of today, the UK's "Chicken License" is in full effect. October 1st marked the deadline for registering your chickens with the proper authority.

Moving forward anyone caught with an unlicensed chicken will be in breach of the law and subject to fines and poultry reclamation.

I am entirely serious.

Back in March the UK govt's "Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs" (DEFRA) announced changes to the poultry registration laws, essentially redefining a "flock" from "50 birds or more" to 1.

So, from now on, everybody in the country who keeps even a single bird - not just chickens, all outdoor birds - has to register as a poultry keeper.

You understand, this is all about protecting birds and the public from avian influenza, not at all about increasing government monitoring with the final aim of stamping down on self-sufficiency.

Banish that cynical thought from your head.

Fortunately, the people of the UK have a tried-and-tested method of dealing with absurdity — more absurdity.

Fire

Teslas are spontaneously combusting in Hurricane Helene's wake

tesla fire helene hurricane
© Milos Ruzicka/Shutterstock Pinellas County/XBatteries and salt water are a bad mix.
Teslas can catch fire if they are submerged in saltwater.

Over the weekend, Hurricane Helene ravaged the southeastern U.S., flooding areas in six states and killing almost 100 people. The flooding also brought saltwater into contact with electric vehicles — specifically Teslas — causing them to catch fire.

News reports from Florida show multiple Teslas that caught on fire when parked in garages or near beaches.

On Saturday , the Pinellas County government in Florida tweeted footage of a Tesla bursting into flames inside a garage alongside a request that county residents tell officials if they left an electric vehicle after evacuating. In the video, the garage fills with smoke as the car burns.