Tag: hypocrisy

Biden Warns of Tech Oligarchs’ Power in Farewell Speech, Ignoring His Own Role in Expanding Digital Censorship

Outgoing President Joe Biden concluded his presidency with a farewell address on Wednesday night, sharply criticizing what he termed the “tech-industrial complex” while urging tighter accountability for social media platforms. Ironically, Biden’s remarks highlighted the decline of free press and the dangers of “misinformation,” even as his administration has often been linked to censorship efforts and suppression of dissenting viewpoints.

During his speech, Biden drew parallels to President Dwight Eisenhower’s famous warning about the “military-industrial complex.” He stated, “Six decades later, I’m equally concerned about the potential rise of a tech-industrial complex that could pose real dangers for our country as well.” His comments painted a picture of concentrated power in the hands of tech oligarchs, whom he accused of enabling an “avalanche of misinformation and disinformation” to flourish unchecked.

The president, leaving office with historically low approval ratings, accused social media platforms of abandoning fact-checking efforts and contributing to the erosion of public trust. “The free press is crumbling. Editors are disappearing. Social media is giving up on fact-checking,” Biden said.

Biden’s condemnation of social media fact-checking policies appeared aimed directly at Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, whose platform recently transitioned away from third-party fact-checking to a “community notes” model reminiscent of the system employed by Elon Musk’s X.

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Famed Liberal Cartoonist Arrested for Possession of Child Porn — Report

According to NBC News, Darrin Bell, a 49-year-old Pulitzer Prize-winning leftist political cartoonist from the California Bay Area was arrested Wednesday in Sacramento County on suspicion of possession of child pornography.

He was booked into the Sacramento County jail on possession of child porn, according to Internet Crimes Against Children detectives who were tipped off by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

While searching Bell’s home, investigators discovered 134 videos of child pornography linked to an account owned and controlled by Bell in addition to computer generated/artificial intelligence child pornography, according to authorities, NBC News reported.

Bell previously drew cartoons for the Daily Californian and contributed to the San Francisco Chronicle in addition to other media outlets. He got his start at UC Berkeley.

One example of his work likens supporters of President Donald Trump to Nazi Party members.

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Vatican Promises Stiff Penalties for Illegal Aliens Crossing its Border

The Vatican City State has enacted stiffer penalties on anyone entering its territory or violating its airspace without permission, threatening offenders with fines and jail time.

The Vatican has hiked both monetary sanctions and prison sentences for those who violate its tight security regulations, Catholic News Agency reported Wednesday.

Through a recent decree, signed by Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, president of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State, violators will face monetary fines ranging from 10,000 to 25,000 euros and prison sentences from one to four years.

The Vatican City State, the world’s only completely walled-in sovereign territory, has several entry points, all but one of which — the Saint Anna gate — are locked tight from dusk until dawn. The gates are manned by the Swiss Guard, with gendarmes carrying firearms not far off.

“Unless the act constitutes a more serious crime, anyone who enters the territory of Vatican City State with violence, threat, or deception is punished with imprisonment from one year to four years and a fine from € 10,000.00 to € 25,000.00,” the Italian-language text reads.

The document goes on to clarify that sneaking into Vatican territory is included in its understanding of entering by “deception.”

“Entry by fraudulent circumvention of the State’s security and protection systems or by evading border controls shall be deemed to have occurred ‘by deception,’” the decree elucidates.

Penalties will be more severe if illegal entry is carried out with the aid of weapons, dangerous substances, or as a group. In addition, they are increased by two-thirds if there is forced entry through the border control while driving a vehicle, the text stipulates.

In May, 2023, a driver stormed the border of the Vatican City State in his car, sailing through two security check points before eventually being apprehended.

The 40-year-old man was initially denied entry at the Vatican’s Saint Anna gate by the Pontifical Swiss Guard, after which he maneuvered his car away from the gate only to return at high speed, dispersing the sentries who leapt out of the vehicle’s path.

The new decree also introduces new provisions concerning unauthorized overflight of Vatican airspace, including with the use of drones, with penalties of up to three years in prison.

Last August, Pope Francis suggested that immigration laws should not be made stricter but rather looser, to allow more immigrants to cross international borders, adding that turning away migrants is a “grave sin.”

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DESPICABLE: Democrats Including Elizabeth Warren Allegedly Caught Raising Money to Boost Scandal-Plagued Dem Fundraising Platform Under Guise of Helping California Fire Victims

Democrats never fail to let a crisis go to waste, even if it means the victims potentially getting shortchanged.

As The Gateway Pundit previously reported, a massive 3,000-acre wildfire raged out of control and engulfed homes in Pacific Palisades, California, on Tuesday afternoon. Shocking and heartbreaking footage has emerged showing people abandoning their cars and running for their lives.

Tragically, several individuals have lost their homes, entire livelihoods, and even their lives over the past several days as fires have spread all across Southern California and show no signs of abating. Meanwhile, firefighters are having issues with water pressure thanks to politicians.

On Friday evening, the leftist Democrat hosts for the podcast Pod Save America announced on X they were hosting California Governor Gavin Newsom to let him continue to blame everyone but himself for the catastrophic wildfires destroying Southern California. Shortly afterward that post, they posted another one where their followers could supposedly ‘help’ the victims of the wildfires.

The post reads, “If you want to help those impacted by the California wildfires, please donate at http://votesaveamerica.com/relief. ”

During their show with Newsom, they also encouraged donors to pony up to help the victims as well.

Not to be outdone, Democratic politicians, including Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), joined the fray.

While this sounds like a nice gesture at first glance, it turns out to be a mirage once one clicks on the donation link. Viewers are sent to a Democratic political action committee/fundraising platform’s website called ActBlue.

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Senate Democrats Mocked Over Cringeworthy Video Where They Suddenly Claim to be Fighting for Average Americans

Senate Democrats are trying to rebrand themselves. After years of constantly working to stop anything Trump wanted to do, they suddenly want everyone to know that they are not here to be ‘against’ anyone.

They suddenly claim to want you to be able to keep more of your paycheck and that they want to work to bring down the cost of living.

The video that they produced to deliver this message is pure cringe and they are getting dragged for it on social media.

FOX News reports:

Montage of Senate Democrats pledging to oppose Trump’s bad policies mocked as ‘cringe’

Senate Democrats released a video on Thursday to message their priorities ahead of President-elect Donald Trump taking office, however the video was met with criticism for being out of touch and “cringe.”

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J. shared the video on his X account and captioned with, “Senate Democrats are here to fight for you.”

In the video, Senate Democrats spoke directly to the camera, promising to work with “anyone” that would make life better but would oppose President-elect Donald Trump and Republicans if they “do things to hurt you.”

Several Democratic senators, who are from close states or are up for re-election, were noticeably absent from the video. Sens. John Fetterman, Pa., Jeanne Shaheen, N.H., Maggie Hassan, N.H., Ruben Gallego, Ariz., Mark Kelly, Ariz., Jon Ossoff, Ga., Gary Peters, Mich., Chris Murphy, Conn., did not appear in the video.

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Gabbard reverses course on key intel-gathering tool as nomination teeters

Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii), President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for director of national intelligence, is changing her tune on a key intelligence-gathering authority she once sought to repeal as her Senate confirmation hangs in the balance.

Gabbard’s past criticisms of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act have emerged as a central issue in her confirmation process, leaving GOP senators — including some in leadership — increasingly skeptical about the former Democrat’s confirmation prospects.

In her first public comments since being nominated, Gabbard told us in an exclusive statement that she now supports Section 702, saying the program is “crucial” and “must be safeguarded to protect our nation while ensuring the civil liberties of Americans.”

“If confirmed as DNI, I will uphold Americans’ Fourth Amendment rights while maintaining vital national security tools like Section 702 to ensure the safety and freedom of the American people,” Gabbard said.

In private meetings, senators are questioning Gabbard about legislation she introduced in 2020 that would repeal Section 702.

However, Gabbard now appears to be walking that back, citing Fourth Amendment protections implemented since then to prevent the incidental collection of Americans’ data:

“My prior concerns about FISA were based on insufficient protections for civil liberties, particularly regarding the FBI’s misuse of warrantless search powers on American citizens. Significant FISA reforms have been enacted since my time in Congress to address these issues.”

Inside Gabbard’s Senate meetings: Multiple senators from both parties who met with the former Hawaii lawmaker in recent days told us they emerged from those sessions unsure about Gabbard’s position on the 702 program. During these meetings, senators have pressed Gabbard on her previous public statements on the issue, as well as her votes against 702 reauthorization throughout her eight years in Congress.

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Twisting the Terrorism Narrative

There was absolutely nothing stopping them. But not one single member of Western mainstream media ever visited a bomb site in Lebanon to verify whether Israeli claims it was a Hezbollah base or missile site were true because they knew the answer is negative, as I found across dozens of bomb sites, and that is not the narrative they are paid to promote.

But when a narrative they are paid to promote came to the fore, they flocked to Damascus – driving right past the bombed civilian homes, ambulance centres and schools of Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley to get there – to promote Syria’s new Israel-, U.S.A- and Turkey-sponsored “democratic” government of entirely “reformed” HTS (Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham) Wahhabists.

Now in the past I had unfortunate arguments with some who broadly take a similar view of politics to me – Vanessa Beeley comes to mind – because I was never a fan of the Assad regime and its human rights record. Nevertheless, I consistently preferred Assad to the NATO-, Gulf- and Israel-sponsored extremist Wahhabi “rebels” who were fighting him.

But you can acknowledge Assad’s human rights abuses without subscribing to the ludicrous atrocity propaganda that spewed out of the mainstream media – 150,000 prisoners in one jail, 100,000 people in a mass grave, the “body press” whose plywood-pressing surfaces were peculiarly unstained, the suntanned American prisoner who had been “locked in a room for seven months”, the splendidly groomed dissident prisoner “rescued” by CNN.

Atrocity propaganda is as old as warfare. Like the “60 beheaded babies” of Oct. 7, or the 100,000 prisoners in a mass grave, it will doubtless recur indefinitely despite being nonsense. The installation of HTS by the NATO powers and Israel was a propaganda orgy of “joy” and “liberation.”

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OF COURSE: Climate Change Warrior Kathy Hochul Has Spent More Than $400K on Private Jets

New York Governor Kathy Hochul cares very deeply about climate change. She recently signed a bill that aims to fine fossil fuel companies $75 billion for supposed damage to the climate.

In her personal life however, she follows a different set of rules, naturally.

Hochul has spent a small fortune on private jets. Doesn’t that kind of violate the whole ‘save the world from climate change’ thing?

The New York Post reported:

Gov. Hochul, NY’s biggest climate-change booster, has spent $415K on private jets: ‘It’s very wasteful’

She’s taking a tough line on fossil fuels — except the ones she’s spewing.

Gov. Hochul — who recently approved a controversial law that will force oil, natural-gas and coal companies to pony up $75 billion for carbon emissions allegedly contributing to global warming — has taken at least 30 flights aboard private jets since 2021, state Board of Elections records show.

The $415,000 tab was picked up by her campaign committee, records show.

“It’s very wasteful, especially for an elected official. There is no reason why any elected official in New York should be taking a private jet. Nearly everywhere in New York or upstate has a [commercial] airport that will take you anywhere in the country. New York is one of the most well-connected places on the planet,” said a local pilot experienced in private aviation.

Hochul flew with two private-airline companies, Zephyr Jets and Apollo Jets, in the last four years. It is unclear what the destinations were, but no flight cost less than $5,000 while her most expensive was trip was billed Jan. 17 for $38,594.00, records show.

Is anyone surprised?

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The Glaring Hypocrisy and Embedded Deceptions of the Global Food Giants

Bryce Martinez (18) from Pennsylvania is mounting a legal challenge against major food companies, alleging that their ultra-processed foods (UPFs) led to his development of Type 2 diabetes and fatty liver disease at the age of 16.

The 11 firms listed in the lawsuit are Kraft Heinz, Mondelez, Coca-Cola, Post Holdings, PepsiCo, General Mills, Nestle’s (US), WK Kellogg, Mars, Kellanova and Conagra.

UPFs have undergone multiple processing steps and often contain additives, preservatives and artificial ingredients. These UPFs have become staples in many households. Examples of UPFs are prepackaged soups, many breakfast cereals, sauces, frozen pizza, ready-to-eat meals, hot dogs, sausages, sodas, ice cream and store-bought cookies, cakes, candies and doughnuts.

Martinez’s legal team contends that the big food corporations have deliberately engineered their products to trigger addictive responses. His lawyers at Morgan & Morgan, a major US law firm, says the case is unprecedented and includes claims for conspiracy, negligence, fraudulent misrepresentation and unfair business practices.

Martinez had regularly consumed popular UPFs throughout his childhood. The lawsuit challenges the food industry’s argument that consumers have free choice in their dietary decisions. It argues that the notion of free choice is compromised by aggressive marketing tactics, especially aimed at children, and the addictive nature of these products.

UPFs are highly profitable for corporations. The same companies that dominate the UPF market are intertwined with investment firms like BlackRock and Vanguard, which also hold stakes in the pharmaceutical industry. This dual investment creates a cycle where investment firms profit from both the sale of harmful foods and the treatment of diseases associated with these products.

Furthermore, the prevailing economic system creates a paradoxical situation where workers, whose pension funds are often managed by these same investment giants, find themselves financially tethered to a cycle that undermines their own health and well-being.

There is a famous quote often attributed to farmer, poet and campaigner Wendell Berry:

People are fed by the food industry, which pays no attention to health, and are treated by the health industry, which pays no attention to food.”

For a long time, that has served both industry’s interests very well.

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Corporate America Goes From Disowning Trump to Lavishing Him With Cash: Here’s What They Want

Donald Trump’s inauguration fund is set to top the $107 million it raised in 2017 – which was nearly double the $61 million raised by Joe Biden in 2021. Corporate America is lavishing the president-elect with cash, hoping he’ll support their interests, and let bygones be bygones regarding statements and actions against him over the past four years.

Major companies that walked lockstep with the establishment in denouncing Donald Trump after the 2020 election and the January 6, 2021 chaos at the Capitol have pulled a major about-face amid his comeback, giving generously to his inauguration fund and hoping he’ll forget their statements about the “threat to democracy” he and his supporters purportedly posed just four years ago.

Who are the biggest corporate flip-floppers, and what do they want from Trump? Here’s a breakdown:

Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America: Big Pharma trade group donating $1 million (which means access to exclusive VIP events, including black tie ball and personal “candlelight dinner” with the Trumps). In 2021, PhRMA CEO Steve Ubl said the events of January 6 “violate the values of our nation” and canceled donations to Republicans rejecting the 2020 vote’s outcome.

Ford and Toyota: Ford briefly froze political donations after January 6, and promised to vet politicians supporting Trump. Now they’re giving him $1 million. Toyota, also pledging $1 million, similarly halted donations to those refusing to certify Biden’s 2020 victory.

Stanley Black & Decker: Giving Trump $1 million this time around, up from a paltry $25,000 in 2017.

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