Society's ChildS


Gavel

Appeals court hammers prosecution over FBI conduct in Whitmer kidnap "plot"

whitmer kidnap suspects fbi entrapment
© Kent County, Mich., Jail /Associated PressBarry Croft Jr., left, and Adam Fox
The much-anticipated appeal hearing was held Thursday for Barry Croft and Adam Fox, the alleged "ringleaders" of the 2020 militia conspiracy to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Croft and Fox were convicted of plotting to kidnap Whitmer after their second trial in late 2022. At their first trial earlier that year, a jury acquitted two other men while failing to reach a verdict for Croft and Fox.

The two men appealed their convictions on multiple grounds. Thursday's hearing focused largely on the conduct of FBI informants and their handling agents.

Comment: Good on the judges. The FBI's conduct constituted entrapment. No more, no less


Laptop

Google makes u-turn on yanking pro-Trump ad after conservatives complain

trump town hall south carolina 2024
© Fox News/Tampa Free PressTrump on Fox News Town Hall in South Carolina
The election is still six months away, and Big Tech is already seeking to help President Biden, who is failing and flailing, stay in office.

Google pulled an ad over the weekend that supported former President Donald Trump.

The ad featured a Biden campaign worker calling a black male voter. The voter admits to voting for Biden in 2020, which thrills the campaign worker.

Then, the voter responds, saying, "Everything costs more" since Biden took office. That includes rent, to which the Biden backer responds by noting Biden is helping pay rent for "newcomers."

Mr. Potato

Bill Gates wants to use AI for genetically modifying beef cows to "save the planet"

bill gates
Microsoft founder Bill Gates recently discussed how AI could fight climate change on his podcast, Unconfuse Me With Bill Gates, and it was just the type of unhinged conversation you would expect from the same man who touts synthetic beef, depopulation, preventing cows from burping and experimental geoengineering.

He made his latest remarks in an interview with data scientist Hannah Ritchie. When their conversation turned to artificial intelligence and its potential utility in addressing environmental issues, he shared his surprise at how quickly the technology has been advancing.

"I was very stunned how the AIs went from basically not being able to read or write at all, to doing that in a very facile way," he told her.

When asked if he thought AI could play a role in taking action on the climate, he answered, "Absolutely." He then cited the example of genetically modifying beef cattle with AI so that they produce less methane, or using AI to somehow produce "meat without the cow."

Comment: Though not directly connected to fake beef, see the following on the known detrimental effects of other types of synthetic protein. Can one reasonably expect much better from the person who promotes MRNA vaccines?




Star of David

Israeli police raid Al Jazeera media after government issues shutdown order

al jazeera network logo
© REUTERSIsrael’s Parliament in April ratified a law allowing the temporary closure in Israel of foreign broadcasters considered to be a threat to national security.
Israeli authorities raided a Jerusalem hotel room used by Al Jazeera as its office after the government decided to shut down the Qatari-owned TV station's local operations on May 5, an Israeli official and an Al Jazeera source told Reuters.

Video circulated online showed plainclothes officers dismantling camera equipment in a hotel room, which the Al Jazeera source said was in East Jerusalem.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Cabinet shut down the network for as long as the war in Gaza continues, saying it threatened national security.

Al Jazeera said the move was a "criminal action" and the accusation that the network threatened Israeli security was a "dangerous and ridiculous lie" that put its journalists at risk.

It reserved the right to "pursue every legal step".

Evil Rays

US: Man tries to shoot pastor during service livestream, suspect's relative found dead

pastor shot
Bernard Junior Polite, 26, told Glenn Germany he was "hearing voices" that told him to shoot him on Sunday. Pennsylvania State police said "the firearm failed to discharge."
A Pennsylvania man has been arrested after he tried to shoot a pastor during a sermon that was being livestreamed Sunday, hours before a relative was found dead in a home where the suspect lived, authorities say.

Bernard Junior Polite, 26, of Braddock, had walked into Jesus Dwelling Place Church in the 400 block of Lobinger Avenue in Allegheny County just after 1 p.m.

He entered the church and pointed a firearm at the pastor as he was delivering a sermon and attempted to shoot, "but the firearm failed to discharge," Pennsylvania State Police said in a news release.

Comment: It bears similarity to an incident last month in Australia: Bishop and 3 worshipers attacked with knife on livestream in Sydney Orthodox church, comes just 48 hours after mall attack

Meanwhile, today in the UK a man seemingly shouting "Allahu Akbar" chased a policeman down the street with a chainsaw:


See also:


No Entry

Protests against mass migration hit streets of Dublin

migration dublin
© RollingNews.ieProtesters marching as part of an anti-immigration march in Dublin city centre today.
A large crowd gathered at the Garden of Remembrance in the north inner city this afternoon before marching down O'Connell Street and onto the Custom House where speeches were made.

Videos and photographs from the march show a large crowd marching down O'Connell Street holding a variety of placards and signs. The crowd were also holding Irish flags, and chanted 'Ole, Ole, Ole, Ole' at one point.

They also chanted "out, out, out" and "our streets".

Comment: As the fallout of mass migration policies in Europe, Australia, and the US, worsens, there's been a number of potentially divisive, and sometimes suspect, related incidents of late; and this is in addition to the criminal activity that has come to be associated with weaponised mass migration:



Eye 2

Kevin Spacey: 10 men accuse 'soulless monster' of sexual assault in new docuseries

spacey
© CHRIS J RATCLIFFE/GETTY IMAGES
"I felt like I was staring at a soulless monster," Daniel, an actor, says of his alleged sexual assault by Kevin Spacey in a new Channel 4 documentary promising a "forensic look" at the Oscar winner's rise to stardom and his alleged sexual misconduct.

Spacey Unmasked features 10 men, Daniel among them, to tell their stories of alleged abuse at the hands of Spacey. None of them were involved in the London trial that saw the actor acquitted of nine charges in July 2023, and all but one have never spoken out before. The charges stemmed from alleged acts that occurred from 2001 to 2013; Spacey was artistic director of London's Old Vic Theatre from 2004 until 2015.

In between clips of prolific award wins and talk-show wisecracks, Spacey Unmasked features the testimonies of a group of men — identified by their first names only — that span five decades, ranging from a teenage Spacey at high school to the height of his House of Cards fame, as well as his time at the Old Vic.

Comment: Previously:


Red Flag

Denmark to allow 15-year-olds get abortions without parental consent

doctor
© Getty Images / ArLawKa AungTun
The Danish government announced on Friday that it will permit women to have their pregnancies terminated until 18 weeks after conception instead of 12. The new legislation marks the first time the Nordic country has eased its abortion rules in 50 years.

Additionally, girls over age 15 will get the right to have an abortion without parental approval. The government lowered the age requirement to keep it in line with the country's age of consent.

"Choosing whether to have an abortion is a difficult situation, and I hope that the young women can find support from their parents. But if there is disagreement, it must ultimately be the young woman's own decision whether she wants to be a mother," Marie Bjerre, Minister for Digitization and Gender Equality, said.

X

VisitBritain issues 50-page inclusivity guide advising against words like 'blacklist', 'man hours' and 'blindspot'

tourism UK
Britain's flagship tourism agency has told workers they can't use words such as 'blindspot' or 'man hours' anymore as the language is not inclusive.

Instead of man hours, travel agency VisitBritain told firms hosting guests from overseas to say 'person hours' as to not to offend anyone.

According to its 50-page language guide, the word 'blacklist' should be replaced by 'deny list' and 'blindspot' by 'missed opportunity'.

Bad Guys

The machinery of fascism revisited

Hitler stamp
Fascism became a swear word in the US and UK during the Second World War. It has been ever since, to the point that the content of the term has been drained away completely. It is not a system of political economy but an insult.

If we go back a decade before the war, you find a completely different situation. Read any writings from polite society from 1932 to 1940 or so, and you find a consensus that freedom and democracy, along with Enlightenment-style liberalism of the 18th century, were completely doomed. They should be replaced by some version of what was called the planned society, of which fascism was one option.

A book by that name appeared in 1937 as published by the prestigious Prentice-Hall, and it included contributions by top academics and high-profile influencers. It was highly praised by all respectable outlets at the time.