Tag: hypocrisy

America’s Hypocrisy as an Authoritarian State Being Exposed as Ukraine Flounders

Even though a growing number of Western elites are awakening to the reality that Ukraine is headed for defeat and will drag NATO along with it, the so-called intellectual cognoscenti of foreign policy, like the editorial board of the NY Times, continue to indulge fantasies and delusions. They conclude a Sunday editorial pleading for more money for Zelensky and the losing cause with this:

Mr. Trump and his followers may argue that the security of Ukraine, or even of Europe, is not America’s business. But the consequence of allowing a Russian victory in Ukraine is a world in which authoritarian strongmen feel free to crush dissent or seize territory with impunity. That is a threat to the security of America, and the world.

The Washington and New York establishments continue to insist that Vladimir Putin is an “authoritarian strongman.” I have one word of advice — look in the damn mirror and pay attention to what is happening in the United States before you mount your moral high horse and gallop off to lecture other countries on democracy and human rights.

When I read the penultimate sentence in the paragraph above I asked myself the question, “How many political prisoners are there in Russia?” I was not surprised by the answer.

“For political prisoners, the situation is often worse, because the state aims to additionally punish them, or additionally isolate them from the world, or do everything to break their spirit,” Vaypan said. His group counts 680 political prisoners in Russia.

Guess what? The United States has prosecuted (and persecuted) twice as many political prisoners than Russia.

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GOOGLE WON’T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT ISRAEL USING ITS PHOTO SOFTWARE TO CREATE GAZA “HIT LIST”

THE ISRAELI MILITARY has reportedly implemented a facial recognition dragnet across the Gaza Strip, scanning ordinary Palestinians as they move throughout the ravaged territory, attempting to flee the ongoing bombardment and seeking sustenance for their families.

The program relies on two different facial recognition tools, according to the New York Times: one made by the Israeli contractor Corsight, and the other built into the popular consumer image organization platform offered through Google Photos. An anonymous Israeli official told the Times that Google Photos worked better than any of the alternative facial recognition tech, helping the Israelis make a “hit list” of alleged Hamas fighters who participated in the October 7 attack.

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Hate crime law: Glasgow LGBT+ sex shop designated official reporting centre for controversial new laws

Police Scotland has been urged to drop an LGBT+ sex shop as an official reporting centre for Scotland’s new hate crime legislation after the outlet’s designation was described as “ill-thought” out.

The controversial Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act, which was passed back in March 2021, will come into force on April 1.

This legislation makes it illegal to stir up hatred against protected characteristics, such as age, disability, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity.

To help members of the public report incidents of hate crime, Police Scotland has designated numerous sites as ‘third party reporting centres’, with most being based in community buildings such as citizens’ advice bureaux, housing associations, libraries and council buildings.

However, Police Scotland is coming under fire for listing an LGBT+ sex shop called Luke and Jack in Glasgow’s Merchant City as one of these sites.

Other venues listed as third party reporting centres include a mushroom farm in North Berwick, a demolished office block in West Dunbartonshire, and a salmon and trout wholesalers in Duns.

Scottish Conservative MSP Annie Wells said: “Serious questions must be asked as to who thought a sex shop was an appropriate setting to report a hate crime. The SNP’s act is flawed enough without asking people to relay their experiences in this sort of outlet in the heart of the city centre.

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White House pushed Trans Day messaging on English accounts, but not to Spanish speakers

The Biden White House social media account “La Casa Blanca” did not post anything related to “Transgender Day of Visibility” while the English White House account on X made a post on Easter to declare the LGBTQ recognition day. 

Over the weekend, the Biden administration faced backlash for issuing a proclamation for March 31 as “Transgender Day of Visibility” when the holiest Christian holiday, Easter Sunday, fell on the same day. A proclamation from Biden was issued about March 31 on Good Friday that read, “By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 31, 2024, as Transgender Day of Visibility.” The day was established in 2009 and Biden has proclaimed it repeatedly during his administration.

On Easter Sunday, Biden’s social media accounts made several different posts about both Easter and “Transgender Day of Visibility.” One account, that was lacking any post related to the LGBTQ holiday, however, was the Spanish iteration of the White House account, “La Casa Blanca.” 

The posts that were issued for the Spanish White House account only celebrated Easter and Cesar Chavez.  

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White House Responds to Christian and GOP Backlash Over ‘Transgender Day of Visibility’ Proclamation — Does Not Apologize

The White House has responded to the backlash from Christians over the “Transgender Day of Visibility” proclamation issued by Joe Biden.

Biden declared March 31 to be a holiday honoring transgender people — but this March 31, of course, is Easter.

“NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 31, 2024, as Transgender Day of Visibility,” the White House proclamation declared. “I call upon all Americans to join us in lifting up the lives and voices of transgender people throughout our Nation and to work toward eliminating violence and discrimination based on gender identity.”

Biden, who says he is a “devout” Catholic, has also banned religious artwork from the White House Easter egg competition.

Naturally, the absurd gesture sparked massive outrage from Republicans, including former President Donald Trump.

The Trump campaign issued a statement saying, “It is appalling and insulting that Joe Biden’s White House prohibited children from submitting religious egg designs for their Easter Art Event, and formally proclaimed Easter Sunday as ‘Trans Day of Visibility.’ Sadly, these are just two more examples of the Biden Administration’s years-long assault on the Christian faith. We call on Joe Biden’s failing campaign and White House to issue an apology to the millions of Catholics and Christians across America who believe tomorrow is for one celebration only — the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

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Letitia James Faces Growing Pressure to Prosecute Jon Stewart over Property Overvaluation

New York Attorney General Letitia James is facing mounting pressure to prosecute comedian Jon Stewart after it was revealed that he overvalued his Manhattan home — the same so-called “offense” for which James is prosecuting former President Donald Trump.

Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), radio host Andrew Wilkow, and Trump attorney Alina Habba are among those calling for “Tish” to show that no one is above the law.

Jon Stewart was recently found to have overvalued his Tribeca duplex  by more than 800 percent when he was selling it back in 2014. The embarrassing revelation comes after the comedian used Monday’s episode of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show to claim Trump was “lying” when valuing his own properties.

Now Stewart has egg on his face, with pressure building on James to ensure the equal application of the law.

Rep. Collins recently posted that he is looking forward “to Letitia James sending the NYPD to haul Jon Stewart to jail and seize his property.”

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NBC REJECTS TRUMP VOICE BUT EMBRACES WAR PARTY

“YOU WOULDN’T HIRE a made man, like a mobster, to work at a DA’s office, right?” MSNBC host Rachel Maddow said this week of NBC’s decision to hire former Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel, a decision the network later reversed. “You wouldn’t hire a pickpocket to work as a TSA screener.” 

But NBC does just that with another party: its pro-war stable of retired military generals and admirals who hold forth on wars and threats to national security. A partisan voice if there ever was one, the TV generals and admirals are all the more scandalous because the network presents them as objective “analysts” as they sit on defense industry and corporate boards that profit from forever wars, including ones not being fought by the United States directly. The conflict is not just tolerated by NBC, it is also never disclosed. (NBC did not respond to a request for comment on its current conflict of interest policies.)

“The U.S. needs to get involved in a leadership role here [in Haiti] and very quickly,” retired four-star Adm. James Stavridis said on the air earlier this month, speaking of the deteriorating situation. Stavridis calls for the deployment of a U.S.-led intervention force, warning of the consequences of inaction. “In the ’90s, we had waves of migration, refugee-driven, from Haiti,” he said.

The host, NBC News’s Gabe Gutierrez, to his credit, pushed back. “Admiral, you know this better than anybody else: The history of American intervention in the Americas has not always been that great,” he said. But the network, in giving Stavridis a platform — just as they would have done with McDaniel — doesn’t bother to mention that their “analyst” profits from the use of military force. For example, Stavridis serves as partner of the investment firm Carlyle Group, owner of major defense contractors and which lists the admiral among its Global Aerospace and Government Services Team. 

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Report: Jon Stewart Found to Have Overvalued New York Home After Accusing Trump of ‘Lying’ About Property Values

Comedian Jon Stewart is facing online mockery after a new report showed that he overvalued his New York City home during a sale.  The revelation comes after Stewart devoted a recent episode of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show to ridiculing former President Donald Trump over his New York civil case involving real estate valuations.

On Monday’s show, Jon Stewart accused Trump of “lying”  about the valuation of some of his properties, claiming Trump’s “shenanigans cost the city of New York.”

But documents obtained by the New York Post appear to show that Stewart once overvalued his own New York home by more than $16 million.

In 2014, the comedian reportedly sold his 6,280-square-foot Tribeca duplex to financier Parag Pande for $17.5 million. But, according to 2013-2014 assessor records obtained by The Post, the property had the estimated market value of only $1.882 million. The actual assessor valuation for property tax purposes was $847,174.

Records also show that Stewart paid property taxes based on that assessor valuation price — in other words, what he accused Trump of doing.

The report has inspired online mockery of Stewart.

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ACLU, Once a Defender of Free Speech, Goes After a Whistleblower

Among the unfortunate changes of recent years has been the transformation of the American Civil Liberties Union from an advocate for free speech and other individual rights into just another progressive political organization. Historically, despite much pushback, the group defended the right of people from across the political spectrum to advocate and protest. But the organization has become unreliable on the issue; most recently in the very 21st century debate over gender identity, which sees the ACLU of Missouri targeting a whistleblower who is critical of medical transitions for minors.

“Strange evening,” journalist Jesse Singal wrote March 7 on X (formerly Twitter). “The ACLU of Missouri subpoenaed Jamie Reed, demanding (among other stuff) all her communications w/me. I emailed them saying (politely) wtf, you’re the ACLU. Got a call from a lawyer there saying it was a mistake – ‘It’s a big team.’ Okay.”

The subpoena Singal attached (supposedly since modified, though a redacted version of the original remains publicly available through the Missouri courts website) demanded of Reed “all communications, including any documents exchanged, between you and Jessie Singal concerning Gender-Affirming Care provided at or through the Center.” It also sought “all communications, including any documents exchanged, concerning Gender-Affirming Care involving media or between you and any media outlet or any member of the media” (journalist Benjamin Ryan says that would include him). The subpoena also demanded Reed’s communications with state officials, legislators, and advocacy organizations.

Jamie Reed, it should be noted, isn’t a party to the case behind the subpoena, which is a challenge to Missouri’s 2023 ban on “gender transition surgery” and “cross-sex hormones or puberty-blocking drugs” for minors. But she was a motivator for that legislation as a former staffer at the Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital who developed significant doubts about what she believed to be a lack of safeguards in place regarding permanent changes to children’s bodies and lives. In a widely read piece for The Free Press, she described such interventions as “medically appalling.”

Whether you agree with Reed or not, she’s a sincere advocate for a position on an issue that commands attention and has serious policy implications. Just this month, New York magazine published a piece arguing that minors have an absolute right to change their bodies, while Britain’s National Health Service stopped prescribing puberty blockers for children in gender identity cases because of doubts about their safety or effectiveness. Reed is engaged in public debate of the sort that civil libertarians defend, so it’s bizarre to see the ACLU of Missouri putting the screws to her over her advocacy. Or it would be if the ACLU wasn’t undergoing a painful and very public transformation.

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Illegal Immigration Is Illegal: Mexico Disagrees

The second-largest source of income for Mexican drug cartels is human trafficking into the U.S. Laws discouraging illegal immigration challenge that income. The cartels have so much sway over the Mexican government that even the country’s president is speaking out against Texas laws countering illegal immigration.

Earlier this week, a confrontation broke out between Texas Army National Guard troops and a group of migrants who charged a border wall in El Paso. Texas Governor Abbott has called the immigration crisis an invasion.

Attempting to stem the flow of illegals, he came under fire, allegedly for passing a law making illegal entry from Mexico into the U.S. a crime. The irony of this statement is that it is already “illegal” to enter the U.S. illegally.

To be more accurate, Abbott has not made illegal entry into the United States a crime; he has instructed his police officers to enforce existing laws, arrest lawbreakers, and restore legality by deporting the illegals.

Under Title 8 federal authority, it is illegal to enter the US at non-ports of entry, and the punishment is deportation and a five-year ban on future immigration.

Social media accounts in Mexico provide instructions on how to enter the US illegally, including encouraging people to enter at illegal points of entry. Human traffickers, transitional criminal organizations, however, are selling illegal access to the US.

The criminals, generally linked to drug cartels, accept money from the migrants, promising safe passage, but they are being led to illegal entry ports. The money that cartels are earning from illegal human trafficking to the US is used to buy more guns, politicians, and judges, further destabilizing Mexico.

Title 8 states, “The Secretary of Homeland Security shall take such actions as may be necessary to install additional physical barriers and roads (including the removal of obstacles to detection of illegal entrants) in the vicinity of the United States border to deter illegal crossings in areas of high illegal entry into the United States.”

This is one of the many points of contention between Governor Abbott and the federal government. The governor, along with many American Conservatives, is questioning why the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is not doing more to prevent illegal immigration and why the Federal government would challenge the Texas governor’s assertion that he has the authority to protect the border of his state to keep his citizens safe.

Additionally, Title 8 mandates the erection of physical barriers to prevent illegal entrance to the US. However, when Governor Abbott implemented barriers, he faced vilification from the media, and the federal government ordered him to remove them.

Governor Abbott’s efforts to enforce immigration law have been challenged at both the state and federal levels. Twenty-five GOP state governors have signed the “Stand with Texas” declaration, expressing support for Governor Abbott and defending the border.

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