Author: HP McLovincraft

Seeker of rabbit holes. Pessimist. Libertine. Contrarian. Your huckleberry. Possibly true tales of sanity-blasting horror also known as abject reality. Prepare yourself. Veteran of a thousand psychic wars. I have seen the fnords. Deplatformed on Tumblr and Twitter.

TV Anchor Sues Boston CBS Affiliate, Claims White Employees Targeted by Corporate DEI Policies

A veteran television anchor for Boston, Massachusetts’ CBS affiliate filed a lawsuit claiming she was demoted to fulfill corporate diversity quotas.

Katherine Merrill Dunham, who is white, claimed that WBZ-TV “exploited” diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies imposed by CBS and Paramount Global, taking “career-ending action” against her.

The lawsuit stated that CBS has said “diversity, equity and inclusion standards need to be a top priority for leadership in every corner.” The suit also cited CBS executives that claimed WBZ-TV was “too White” and had the “least diverse station for on air talent,” and the “Whitest of all their stations.”

In September 2023, WBZ hired black meteorologist Jason Mikell, and Zack Green, a white meteorologist, was let go.

“On February 22, 2024, Defendant Mikell made an inappropriate sexual innuendo about Ms. Merrill on air. Specifically, he implied that Ms. Merrill and her co-anchor had sexual relations at a gazebo. Mikell was not disciplined for his sexually charged remark,” the lawsuit stated.

Fox News continued:

WBZ, CBS and Paramount took no action to investigate Merrill’s complaint about Mikell’s aggressive confrontation and threatening treatment of her, nor did they investigate the previous complaints lodged by Merrill’s colleagues about Mikell’s “sexually charged” comment on air about Merrill, according to the complaint that was obtained by Fox News Digital.

However, Merrill was informed “that an investigation was being conducted into allegations that she treated coworkers differently because of their race.”

“Merrill vehemently challenged the validity of Defendant Mikell’s allegations and denied (and denies) any of her actions, inactions, or comments were as described or motivated by overt racism or unconscious bias,” the complaint read. “Based on the falsity and/or and misleading nature of Defendant Mikell’s allegations, Defendant Mikell acted with malice and/or improper motive in lodging a complaint against Ms. Merrill.”

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Ninth Circuit Rules ISPs Can’t Be Forced to Unmask Users Under DMCA

The Ninth Circuit has ruled that internet service providers cannot be compelled to unmask users through subpoenas under the DMCA, reinforcing long-standing precedent that these subpoenas were never meant to apply to providers that simply offer access to the internet.

The decision blocks an increasingly common tactic copyright owners use to sidestep due process and extract user identities without judicial oversight.

We obtained a copy of the opinion for you here.

The case came about after a copyright owner targeted 29 Cox Communications subscribers accused of sharing the film Fall (2022) through BitTorrent. Rather than filing a lawsuit or seeking a judge’s permission, the copyright holder went straight to a court clerk to obtain a subpoena.

Although Cox was under no obligation to do so, the company notified the affected subscribers. Only one responded to object, triggering a legal dispute that has now resulted in a firm ruling from the Ninth Circuit.

The dispute is a simple but critical distinction. The DMCA outlines separate protections depending on the type of service provided.

Web hosts fall under Section 512(c) and can receive takedown notices for content they store, while IAPs are covered under Section 512(a), which protects them from liability as long as they are acting as neutral conduits for internet traffic.

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Breakthrough: Israel to Lead World’s First Human Spinal Cord Implant Using Patient’s Own Cells

Tel Aviv University researchers are preparing for the world’s first spinal cord implant in humans using engineered tissue grown from the patient’s own cells, marking a breakthrough that could restore walking ability to paralyzed patients within the coming year.

The groundbreaking procedure, developed at Tel Aviv University’s Sagol Center for Regenerative Biotechnology, uses a fully personalized approach that transforms a patient’s blood and fat cells into functional spinal cord tissue. Professor Tal Dvir, head of the research team, explained that “more than 80% of the animals regained full walking ability” in preclinical trials using the engineered implants.

The innovative process begins by reprogramming blood cells from patients through genetic engineering to behave like embryonic stem cells capable of becoming any type of cell in the body. Meanwhile, fat tissue from the same patient is used to extract substances such as collagen and sugars to produce a unique hydrogel that serves as the foundation for the implant.

“We take the cells that we’ve reprogrammed into embryonic-like stem cells, place them inside the gel, and mimic the embryonic development of the spinal cord,” Professor Dvir said. The result is a complete three-dimensional spinal cord implant that contains neuronal networks capable of transmitting electrical signals.

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OMG: Donors Funneled Millions of Dollars Through Fidelity, Bank of America and Goldman Sachs to the Vera Institute of Justice to “Tip Illegals Off”

The O’Keefe Media Group on Wednesday released its latest investigation into big financial institutions that have funneled millions of dollars into an organization that monitors federal immigration enforcement and helps illegal aliens evade deportation.

Santiago Mueckay, a Vera Institute Policy Advisor described how the organization “tracks ICE movements” and “pushes that information out” so illegals can evade federal agents.

Meanwhile, Keane Bhatt, a Policy Advisor for the Congressional Progressive Caucus, admitted they secured “injunctions” to “stop deportation flights.”

Per the O’Keefe Media Group:

According to O’Keefe Media Group’s (OMG) latest investigation, major corporations including Goldman Sachs, Fidelity, Bank of America, and Universal Music Group have funneled millions of dollars to the Vera Institute of Justice, an organization that monitors federal immigration enforcement and circulates that information to help illegal immigrants evade deportation, according to documents reviewed by OMG and multiple sources familiar with the matter. Goldman Sachs contributed $5 million, Fidelity donated $1.3 million, and Bank of America gave $175,000, and Universal Music Group has contributed $50,000.

These revelations follow undercover footage of Santiago Mueckay, a Vera Institute Policy Advisor, who described how the nonprofit “tracks ICE movements” and “pushes that information out” so individuals can avoid federal agents. Mueckay also named high-profile contributors, saying that “Jeff Bezos” and “Bill Gates” were among Vera’s financial backers.

A review of Vera’s public-facing materials shows the group is not solely focused on immigration. On its website, Vera declares that America is “over-policing” and “over-enforcing” in Black communities, openly aligning with movements like Black Lives Matter and demanded to “defund police and shift power to communities.” The organization has also supported “Know Your Rights” campaigns that instruct immigrants on how to resist enforcement actions, advising them to demand warrants, refuse to open their doors, and rely on local governments to block ICE.

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Rogue Leftist Group Creates Target List Of Trump-Linked Billionaires For Its Foot Soldiers  

The Department of Class Solidarity, an emerging left-wing activist group, launched a project to “audit” and track over 1,000 billionaires across the U.S. Their stated goal is not financial transparency, but political warfare: to document billionaire ties to President Trump, and then equip activists with the tools to, in their words, “defeat them.”

The group recently published its first five audits, each featuring a high-profile billionaire with direct or indirect links to the Trump agenda. The names include some of the wealthiest and most influential figures in American business: Elon Musk, Palantir CEO Alex Karp, former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) official Antonio Gracias, Silicon Valley “supervillain” Peter Thiel, and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos.

Each billionaire’s profile is accompanied by a stylized “wanted poster,” underscoring the group’s framing of billionaires as political enemies.

On its website, the Department of Class Solidarity describes itself as a kind of revolutionary intelligence hub for activists:

“The Department of Class Solidarity arms organizers, activists, and everyday people with the tools to expose the billionaires ransacking our democracy. Welcome to the war room of the working class.”

Another section of the site highlights the scale of the project:

“There are nearly 1,000 billionaires in our United States. We’re auditing every single one to arm the working class with the knowledge we need to defeat them.”

The campaign is already building toward action. Organizers are promoting a “People vs. Billionaires Week of Action” scheduled for 21–27 August, leading into a Labor Day National Day of Action on Monday, 01 September.

While only 15 events are currently scheduled, the group is clearly attempting to establish a long-term campaign that will target wealthy elites, tie them to the Trump agenda, and generate social pressure against their businesses and political activities.

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Court Upholds Nearly $1 Million Fine Against Restaurant That Ignored Pandemic Indoor Dining Ban

A Washington state restaurant that ignored a 2020 state COVID-19 pandemic order must pay a fine of $936,000 – $18,000 per day, for each day it remained in operation while the state’s emergency order banning indoor dining was in place, an appeals court has ruled.

The ban, imposed in late 2020 by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D), went into effect following a jump in cases and hospitalizations (unaudited!). In response, the owners of Stuffy’s II restaurant, Bud and Glenda Duling, ignored the order – resulting in the financial punishment. 

The fine was levied by the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries – which the Dulings say they cannot pay. Meanwhile, the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals did not have their back, refusing to weigh in after saying they don’t have the authority to deal with constitutional matters. A superior court judge upheld the decision.

Despite providing tax returns showing that it operated at a loss in 2020 and received a PPP loan, the court ruled that the Dulings have not provided evidence that their company cannot pay the fines.

“Duling has not demonstrated that it is unable to pay the fine or that the fine is excessive,” Judge Rebecca Glasgow wrote for the unanimous panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals of the State of Washington judges that considered the case. “There is nothing in the record about what savings or assets Duling had,” Glasow continued, adding “Duling had ample opportunities to provide additional documentation and deposition testimony to support its contention that it was unable to pay the fine, and it did not do so.”

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Intelligence Reports: Hezbollah Helping ‘Transnational Cocaine Trafficking’ in Latin America

Intelligence reports revealed an international criminal network linking Iran and its proxy Hezbollah with the Venezuelan regime’s Cartel of the Suns and Colombia’s FARC and ELN Marxist terrorist groups, Colombian outlets reported this week.

According to the Colombian magazine Semana, Middle Eastern intelligence agencies provided the information to the Colombian Armed Forces in a report. Semana and the Bogotá-based Blu Radio both claimed to be in possession of a copy of the report, which reportedly details that Iran, through Hezbollah, provided “financial, logistical, and doctrinal support, especially in the context of transnational cocaine trafficking.”

Iran’s support, the report detailed, allowed the criminal alliance linking Hezbollah, the Venezuelan regime and the Cartel of the Suns, the Marxist National Liberation Army (ELN), and FARC’s Second Marquetalia group to establish “drug trafficking corridors, safe havens, illicit military operations, and extractive activities” along the Colombian-Venezuelan border.

Blu Radio detailed that the collapse of Venezuela’s governance structures allowed criminal networks such as ELN to infiltrate state structures and consolidate its presence in the Venezuelan states of Apure, Táchira, and Zulia, all of which neighbor Colombia.

The report then explained that the Cartel of the Suns, run by dictator Nicolás Maduro and other high-ranking members of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela and the nation’s military, has “evolved” into a more complex structure that interacts with Colombian armed groups. The Maduro regime’s repressive DGCIM Military Counterintelligence Directorate reportedly “acts as a protector of this network, guaranteeing impunity and eliminating dissent.” High-ranking generals from the DGCIM, the Venezuelan National Army, and the National Guard, the radio station said, are presumably involved in the criminal network.

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Texas Dem Has ‘Oh Sh*t’ Moment After ‘Felony’ Bathroom Call

A Texas Democratic lawmaker who fled the state earlier this month abruptly hung up on a call with Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin and other top party leaders on Wednesday, after she says she was warned that she was committing a felony.

“Sorry, I have to leave,” state Rep. Nicole Collier (D) said during the call – interrupting Martin. “They said it’s a felony for me to do this. Apparently I can’t be on the floor or in a bathroom.”

“You told me I was only allowed to be here in the bathroom,” she told someone off camera. “No, hold on — bye everybody, I’ve got to go.”

Collier snuck off to the Texas Capitol’s bathroom to participate in the call as the state House moved forward with a vote on a GOP-friendly House map (that the Dems fled the state to try and block, only to return after their their paychecks were changed to in-person pickup). 

Democrats who wanted to leave and come back to the Capitol in between House meetings could only do so after “agreeing to be released into the custody of a designated DPS officer appointment under the rules of the House,” according to Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows (R). They also have to sign a form saying they will come back to the state Legislature.

Collier declined to agree to the terms and instead has slept inside the state House in protest. –The Hill

Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) called the incident “outrageous,” adding “Rep. Collier in the bathroom has more dignity than Donald Trump in the Oval Office.”

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Islamic Extremist Terrorist Attacks Are Not a Conspiracy Theory: Here’s the Real Data

Liberals and Democrats would have you believe that diversity is our strength and that Islamic extremist terrorism is merely a right-wing conspiracy theory. They also claim that other groups commit as many, or even more, terrorist attacks. The numbers tell a very different story.

According to Fondapol, a French think tank, between 1979 and May 2021, at least 48,035 Islamist terrorist attacks took place worldwide, causing more than 210,000 deaths. The overwhelming majority of this violence has occurred in Muslim-majority countries: 86.3% of attacks happened there, accounting for 88.9% of all deaths, over 222,000 lives lost.

ISIS alone has been responsible for enormous casualties. Between 2002 and 2015, groups affiliated with the Islamic State carried out more than 4,900 attacks, killing over 33,000 people and injuring 41,000. Using machine learning analysis, researchers attributed another 15,000 deaths to ISIS since 2007, bringing the total death toll to about 40,000.

Since 2014, Europe has endured more than 20 fatal Islamist terrorist attacks. France was hit hardest between January 2015 and July 2016, suffering eight major incidents, including the January 2015 Île-de-France attacks, the November 2015 Paris attacks that left 130 dead, and the July 2016 Nice truck attack that killed 86. In 2017, the United Kingdom saw three major attacks within four months: the Westminster attack, the Manchester Arena bombing, and the London Bridge attack. According to Europol, 62 people were killed in ten completed jihadist attacks across the European Union that year.

Outside Europe, some of the deadliest incidents were even more devastating. In 2018, the Taliban attack on Ghazni, Afghanistan, killed 466 people after assailants armed with mortars, explosives, and firearms stormed the city. That same year, ISIL was responsible for 1,328 deaths worldwide.

In 2019, the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka killed 270 people, including at least 45 foreign nationals and five Americans, in coordinated ISIS-related suicide bombings targeting churches and luxury hotels.

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Judge Refuses To Release Epstein Files, Says DOJ Should Do It Instead Of Legal ‘Diversion’

A Clinton-appointed federal judge on Wednesday denied the Trump administration’s request to unseal grand jury materials used to charge Jeffrey Epstein with sex trafficking, and instead said that the federal government is the ‘logical party’ to dump said ‘files.’

“The information contained in the Epstein grand jury transcripts pales in comparison to the Epstein investigation information and materials in the hands of the Department of Justice,” US District Judge Richard Berman wrote in a 14-page ruling, in which he said there is “clear precedent and sound purpose” for keeping the records under seal – and that the DOJ failed to show the Epstein papers demonstrate a “special circumstance” which would justify their release. 

You do it…

According to Berman, the government has already conducted a comprehensive investigation into Epstein, and has assembled a “trove” of documents, interviews and exhibits. In fact, the government has such a mountain of evidence outside of that case – records which “dwarf” the “70 odd pages” of grand jury materials, that Berman cited it as a “significant and compelling reason” to reject the request. 

“The Government is the logical party to make comprehensive disclosure to the public of the Epstein Files,” wrote Berman, adding “By comparison, the instant grand jury motion appears to be a ‘diversion’ from the breadth and scope of the Epstein files in the Government’s possession.”

Berman’s ruling is the latest in a saga pitting Trump – a former Epstein associate whose previous AG Bill Barr ‘presided’ over the death of the disgraced pedophile. Barr’s father, who wrote pedo-centric short stories – hired Epstein to teach children at the Dalton school in the early 1970s when Barr Senior was headmaster. 

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