Reader’s Links for February 5, 2021

Each day at just after midnight Eastern, a post like this one is created for contributors and readers of this site to upload news links and video links on the issues that concern this site. Most notably, Islam and its effects on Classical Civilization, and various forms of leftism from Soviet era communism, to postmodernism and all the flavours of galloping statism and totalitarianism such as Nazism and Fascism which are increasingly snuffing out the classical liberalism which created our near, miraculous civilization the West has been building since the time of Socrates.

This document was written around the time this site was created, for those who wish to understand what this site is about. And while our understanding of the world and events has grown since then, the basic ideas remain sound and true to the purpose.

So please post all links, thoughts and ideas that you feel will benefit the readers of this site to the comments under this post each day. And thank you all for your contributions.

This is the new Samizdat. We must use it while we can.

About Eeyore

Canadian artist and counter-jihad and freedom of speech activist as well as devout Schrödinger's catholic

99 Replies to “Reader’s Links for February 5, 2021”

  1. gunpowdermagazine.com
    Missouri and Montana Make Moves to Stand Up to Federal Firearms Laws
    Teresa Mull
    2-3 minutes

    By: Teresa Mull

    Missouri and Montana are taking matters into their own hands and they watch and wait for the federal government to begin its assaults on the Second Amendment.

    GPM has been tracking the growing number of states that have put in place safeguards against the Biden administration and its imminent federal gun control, which promises to be extreme. See here, for example, what Shelia Jackson Lee proposes we impose on law-abiding American gun owners. It could hardly get any worse!

    Now, Missouri and Montana have joined other states – including Arizona, Iowa, and Texas – to try to prevent terrible gun policies at the federal level from ruining the freedom of its residents.

    In Missouri, HB 85, a bill to reject and not enforce any federal gun law that violates the Constitution, has been approved by the House. The bill (which can be read in full here) declares, in part:

    All federal acts, laws, executive orders, administrative orders, court orders, rules, and regulations, regardless of whether they were enacted before or after the provisions of sections 1.410 to 1.485, that infringe on the people’s right to keep and bear arms as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and Article I, Section 23 of the Constitution of Missouri shall be invalid to this state, shall not be recognized by this state, shall be specifically rejected by this state, and shall not be enforced by this state.

    “We are here to defend those rights against an out-of-control federal government,” said Rep. Jered Taylor. “And that’s exactly what this bill does.”

    In Montana, where legislators are debating the merits of Constitutional Carry, Rep. Jedediah Hinkle has introduced a bill to “ban state employees from enforcing or implementing federal bans on firearms, magazines or ammunition, except in certain cases, including those related to fully automatic firearms, violent felons, and domestic violence,” reports the Associate Press.

    GPM will continue to track the trend of states standing up for their Second Amendment rights as the battle for liberty continues.

    Stay tuned.

    Teresa Mull (te****@gu***************.com) is editor of Gunpowder Magazine.

    https://www.gunpowdermagazine.com/missouri-and-montana-make-moves-to-stand-up-to-federal-firearms-laws/

  2. ‘I Got Completely Screwed.’ Trump Officials Denied Parental Leave Benefits After Biden Inauguration
    Matt Margolis
    5-6 minutes

    Pregnant women who served in the Trump administration, but were suddenly out of a job when President Biden took office, are being denied parental leave benefits by the Biden administration, according to a shocking report from Politico.

    “I got completely screwed,” Vanessa Ambrosini, who worked in the Trump administration for four years, told Politico. “There were no caveats in that language saying anything about if the administration turns, you get nothing and of course, that happened and so I got nothing.” Her benefits had been approved for January through March by the Commerce Department’s human resources office, but she was informed the day before her baby was due that her leave would be discontinued after January 20, effectively canceling a benefit she was already using.

    https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/matt-margolis/2021/02/03/i-got-completely-screwed-trump-officials-denied-parental-leave-benefits-after-biden-inauguration-n1422897

  3. Hunter Biden Gets $2 Million Advance On Book Deal – True Daily
    True Daily Staff
    2-3 minutes

    Hunter Biden Gets $2 Million Advance On Book Deal

    February 4, 2021 Government, Media

    Hunter Biden is releasing a book about his struggle with addiction and with the book set to go public soon he is getting a $2 Million advance on the book. Many are taking issue with this as Joe Biden stated he would not be using his office to make money for him or his family. More from The Daily Mail:

    https://truedaily.news/2021/02/04/hunter-biden-gets-2-million-advance-on-book-deal/

    • Hunter Biden is to publish a memoir about his battle with drugs
      Martin Gould
      14-17 minutes

      Drugs, prostitutes, shady dealings, a quickie marriage — President Joe Biden’s son Hunter is too easily depicted as sleaze in human form.

      Who else would have left his wife and jumped into bed with his recently departed brother’s widow only for her to end the affair when he got a stripper pregnant?

      Is it only Hunter who could have received two special waivers to join the military and be commissioned at a special ceremony in the White House, but then blow his chance on his very first day when a blood test came back positive for cocaine?

      Who but Hunter who could receive a diamond from a would-be Chinese business partner whose existence would come to light in divorce papers?

      https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9223909/Hunter-Bidens-memoir-Beautiful-Things-April.html

    • WaPo – Fox News has dropped ‘Lou Dobbs Tonight,’ promoter of Trump’s false election fraud claims

      […]The announcement comes one day after the election technology company Smartmatic filed a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News, parent company Fox Corp. and several on-air commentators, including Dobbs.

      […]Former president Donald Trump responded to the news in a statement Friday evening: “Lou Dobbs is and was great. Nobody loves America more than Lou. He had a large and loyal following that will be watching closely for his next move, and that following includes me.”

      https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2021/02/05/lou-dobbs-canceled-fox/

      ==================================================

      CNN – Fox Business suddenly cancels ‘Lou Dobbs Tonight,’ its highest-rated show

      […]The pro-Trump propaganda bent juiced Dobbs’ ratings. But his far-right programming choices repeatedly caused consternation within the company, a source close to the matter said, and his program was a loss leader for Fox because many advertisers didn’t want to be associated with his content.

      […] Dobbs “remains under contract at Fox News but he will in all likelihood not appear on the company’s networks again.”
      This is something known in the TV business as “pay or play” — a network can opt to keep paying a host but not put them on TV, keeping them out of the hands of rival outlets.

      […]Fox is clearly under enormous legal pressure from Smartmatic and another voter systems firm, Dominion, which has threatened to sue the network, but has not done so to date.
      Smartmatic’s suit against Fox named Dobbs and two other Fox hosts, Jeanine Pirro and Maria Bartiromo, as defendants.

      https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/05/media/lou-dobbs-fox-show-canceled/index.html

      ================================================
      Lou Dobbs on twitter :

      https://twitter.com/loudobbs

  4. 11 PKK terror suspects arrested in Turkey
    https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkey/11-pkk-terror-suspects-arrested-in-turkey/2135462

    “Turkish gendarmerie forces on Friday arrested 11 people over their alleged links to the PKK terror group in Istanbul and the eastern province of Bitlis.

    Local gendarmerie teams in Bitlis conducted an operation to nab the suspects, who had been identified as members of the PKK terror group, a statement by the governor’s office said.

    In Bitlis-based operation which was carried out in Istanbul simultaneously, the teams also seized a Kalashnikov infantry rifle, a large number of cartridges, two unlicensed shotguns, nine smart mobile phones, and a hand-held camera.

    In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and the EU – has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people including women, children, and infants.”

  5. Swedish troops join French-led Takuba task force in Mali
    https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20210205-swedish-troops-join-french-led-takuba-task-force-in-mali

    “Swedish soldiers have deployed in a new European special forces mission fighting jihadists in Mali, French military sources said on Friday.

    “The first operations have been carried out,” French military spokesman Frederic Barbry said of the Swedes, adding that they would stay in Mali until the end of the month.

    The Swedish parliament approved the deployment of up to 150 soldiers to the so-called Takuba task force in June last year, with reinforcements of up to 100 others. The mandate expires on December 31, 2021.

    Backed by three US-made Black Hawk helicopters and a medical unit, the Swedes are being stationed in the Liptako region, a volatile zone close to Mali’s border with Niger and Burkina Faso.

    Several jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) reputedly operate in the area.

    The Swedish army, questioned by AFP, confirmed that it “already has personnel in the sector.”

    Their arrival is a boost for France, which has 5,100 troops stationed in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad as part of efforts to stabilise the arid and poverty-wracked region.

    Paris has been urging its European partners to share this burden…”

  6. Republicans Call Double Standard on Greene’s Committee Removals, Point to Omar Remarks
    By Tom Ozimek
    February 5, 2021 Updated: February 5, 2021
    biggersmaller Print

    Several Republican lawmakers alleged a double standard in the Democrat push to strip Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) from two committee posts over her past comments and actions, while Democrat lawmaker Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) faced no such censure for her past incendiary remarks.

    The House on Thursday adopted a resolution along largely partisan lines to remove Greene from the House Budget Committee and the House Education and Labor Committee, with eleven Republicans joining Democrats in voting to punish the Georgia firebrand for past comments, like saying that the 9/11 terror attacks and some school shootings were false flag operations.

    Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas) filed an amendment late Tuesday (pdf) that would instead eject Omar from the Committee on Foreign Affairs, rather than Greene from the Committee on the Budget. In advancing the amendment, Babin cited anti-Semitic remarks Omar had made.

    https://www.theepochtimes.com/republicans-call-double-standard-on-greenes-committee-removals-point-to-omar-remarks_3686264.html?utm_source=newsnoe&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=breaking-2021-02-05-2

  7. Germany: Could this new booklet protect girls from FGM?
    https://www.dw.com/en/germany-could-this-new-booklet-protect-girls-from-fgm/a-56476511

    “Female genital mutilation is “an archaic crime” but also an issue that Germany has to face up to, said lawmaker Franziska Giffey. Mothers and daughters may both benefit from a new booklet, said one commentator…

    In Germany alone, 68,000 women and girls are thought to have undergone the procedure. Around 15,000 girls are considered at risk in the country…”

  8. The French government is trying to silence popular conservative commentator Éric Zemmour
    https://rmx.news/article/article/the-french-government-is-trying-to-silence-popular-conservative-commentator-eric-zemmour

    “The campaign against influential conservatives in France is ramping up, and this time, popular French conservative polemicist Éric Zemmour is in the crosshairs.

    He is being targeted by a Journalistic Ethics and Mediation Council created in December 2019 on the initiative of the French government and President Emmanuel Macron. Although this Council has no power to impose sanctions, it is there to exert pressure journalists over so-called ethical and moral offenses, whereas, by European standards, the freedom of expression of journalists and commentators is already particularly limited in France because of the existence of freedom-destroying laws that are unique in Europe.

    “On Tuesday, the Journalistic Ethics and Mediation Council condemned the lack of professional ethics of Christine Kelly and Éric Zemmour on the CNEWS program ‘Face à l’Info.’ An umpteenth offensive of the ‘cancel culture’ against the conservative camp” wrote the only right-wing mainstream weekly in France, Valeurs Actuelles, on Jan. 28.

    “Face à l’info” is a news and debate program on current affairs presented by journalist Christine Kelly and hosted by writer, columnist and polemicist Zemmour.

    According to Challenge magazine, which claims to have information “from corroborating sources”, “the rise in the ratings of Face à l’info worries the government. President Emmanuel Macron is preparing a second presidential campaign, and the columnist’s analyses influence a certain segment of public opinion. Zemmour’s influence is growing to the point that the Élysée Palace would not be in favor of the takeover of Europe 1 by the Canal+ Group, a subsidiary of Vivendi, controlled by Vincent Bolloré who is the Breton billionaire who is the employer of Zemmour.”

    After CNEWS was warned about Zemmour’s comments on Islam and the Algerian war by the French broadcasting authority (CSA), made up of members who are ideologically and politically close to the current left-wing majority, it is now the turn of the new Council for Journalistic Ethics and Mediation (CDJM) to go on the offensive against the conservative polemicist.

    In a statement, the CDJM condemned Éric Zemmour’s remarks describing Taha Bouhafs, an extreme left-wing activist and reporter for the Le Média website, as an Islamist and indigenist activist. Le Média is a news site close to the far-left party, La France Insoumise (LFI), which is often itself accused of complacency towards Islamist and indigenist movements in France. In today’s France, “Iindigenist” refers to a BLM-style racialist (some would say anti-White racist), “Decolonial” movement (see here for additional explanations).

    Criticizing the CDJM’s communiqué, Valeurs Actuelles recalls the radically anti-Zionist stance taken by this Taha Bouhafs and his role in launching a “March against Islamophobia” in November 2019. Many media outlets have since reported that Islamists were given a prominent place in the march. Some associations that co-organized the event, such as Baraka City and the Committee against Islamophobia in France (CCIF), which are close to the Muslim Brotherhood, were dissolved after the beheading in October 2020 of teacher Samuel Paty by a Chechen Islamist.

    Valeurs Actuelles also underlines the very leftist-progressive composition of the CDJM, with members who have committed militant acts in favor of the anti-Zionist causes in the past, which could explain the complacency of this Council of Ethics which was pushed by Macron in favor of a far-left activist reporter close to the Islamist and indigenist movement.

    As for the CDJM’s president, Patrick Eveno, Valeurs Actuelles highlights his radically progressive ideology and his links with Le Monde, the leading daily newspaper of the left and center in France, which means, in large part, of Macron’s electorate.

    When the Journalistic Ethics and Mediation Council was set up at the end of 2019, journalists’ and editors’ societies of the French press agency AFP, Challenges, Europe 1, L’Express, Le Figaro, Franceinfo TV, France 3 National, France Bleu, France Info, France Inter, LCI, Mediapart, L’Obs, Le Parisien, Le Point, TF1, La Tribune, TV5 Monde, and 20 Minutes published an open letter explaining their refusal to take part.

    In this open letter, journalists from these major public and private media outlets explained that “they do not trust the way the CDJM is being created today” because “it is a government initiative” and “the worst thing that can be done to the media today would be to force them to comply with an artificial standard of ethics. It is readers who judge journalists, not journalists who judge each other.”

    The journalists’ and editors’ societies of these media groups also drew attention to the fact that “the creation of this CDJM comes at a time when alarming signals are being given. In addition to the virulent declarations of several political leaders against the press, two laws have been passed since the election of Emmanuel Macron, marking a circumvention of the 1881 law guaranteeing the free practice of our profession and the free information of citizens… In both cases, the unanimous request of the professional organizations that it should be explicitly stated in these texts that their provisions did not concern the normal exercise of the profession of a journalist, which falls within the scope of ordinary procedures, always in accordance with the 1881 Act, was refused by the government and its majority. For all these reasons, we refuse to fall into what we consider at this stage to be a trap.”

    There are now fears that the moral condemnation of Zemmour by a council of “ethics” and “mediation” is being used in order to stifle dissent in the lead up to the 2022 elections in France, especially with even left-wing outlets calling the CDJM’s legitimacy into question.”

  9. Just File It Away for Now, and Remember the File
    Dov Fischer
    8-10 minutes

    OK. The Democrats now have removed Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from committee assignments. File it away for now.

    Lookit: if we end up two years from now with Republican leaders like Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan — they really were quite a pair, weren’t they? — then fuggediboudit. But if we emerge in two years with some populist conservatives, rooted in the Trump philosophy that he epitomized but that transcends Trump himself, now they have precedent to pull out the file and throw Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, and all that riff-raff and Democrat Left drek off committees.

    You see how it works? Admittedly, it does not always work, but it often works. You let the Democrat Left overreach when they have the power — because, frankly, you cannot stop them if they have the power — and then you use their rules later when the tide turns. That is how we got all those amazingly great federal judges under President Trump. Harry Reid, as Democrat Senate majority leader, abandoned the filibuster on judicial appointments, and the GOP under Mitch McConnell proceeded to approve Trump judicial appointments and federal office holders by simple majorities, bypassing the filibuster.

    https://spectator.org/marjorie-taylor-greene-committee-assignments-file/

  10. Voting Company Smartmatic Sues Fox News, Others For Allegedly Running ‘Disinformation Campaign’
    Tim Pearce
    4-5 minutes

    The voting company Smartmatic filed a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News’ parent company Fox Corporation, as well as Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani and Trump ally Sidney Powell on Thursday.

    Smartmatic accused the defendants of participating in a cynical campaign to capitalize off the election, asserting that each privately knew that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris had won the election. The defendants, Smartmatic alleged, used the election loss as an opportunity to smear the voting company for profit.

    “In their story, Smartmatic was a Venezuelan company under the control of corrupt dictators from socialist countries,” the company’s complaint says. “In their story, Smartmatic’s election technology and software were used in many of the states with close outcomes. And, in their story, Smartmatic was responsible for stealing the 2020 election by switching and altering votes to rig the election for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.”

    https://www.dailywire.com/news/voting-company-smartmatic-sues-fox-news-others-for-allegedly-running-disinformation-campaign

  11. Republicans, Democrats Say They Don’t Want Trump to Testify in Impeachment Trial
    By Zachary Stieber
    February 5, 2021 Updated: February 5, 2021
    biggersmaller Print

    Senators from both parties said Thursday they don’t want former President Donald Trump to testify during the upcoming impeachment trial.

    “Of course not. They want a ridiculous show trial because they’re more motivated by partisan anger than they are to actually solving the very real problems we have in this country. We need to get to work and do our jobs,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) told reporters on Capitol Hill.

    Asked the same question, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) shook his head as he walked away.

    Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the lead House impeachment manager, asked Trump in a Feb. 4 letter to testify in person about his disagreements with the impeachment resolution the House passed last month.

    “In light of your disputing these factual allegations, I write to invite you to provide testimony under oath, either before or during the Senate impeachment trial, concerning your conduct on January 6, 2021,” Raskin wrote.

    https://www.theepochtimes.com/republicans-democrats-say-they-dont-want-trump-to-testify-in-impeachment-trial_3686201.html?utm_source=newsnoe&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=breaking-2021-02-05-1

  12. Biden’s Chinada Challenge – Frontpagemag
    Lloyd Billingsley
    6-7 minutes

    Will “Big Guy” Joe Biden come through for the “not bad folks” of Communist China?

    Joe Biden is on record that the Chinese Communists are “not bad folks, folks,” and “not competition for us.” The Delaware Democrat, is facing a crucial decision on China, by way of Canada, that deserves careful monitoring.

    In December of 2018 in Vancouver, Canada arrested Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou on a U.S. extradition warrant. China responded by taking captive Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. As Solarina Ho of CTV News reports, Trudeau has spoken to Joe Biden about the case and “should the U.S. withdraw its charges against Meng, it could give China a reason to release Kovrig and Spavor,” now in their third year of captivity.

    https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2021/02/bidens-chinada-challenge-lloyd-billingsley/

  13. High-Tech Lynching at DePaul – Frontpagemag
    Joseph Klein
    9-11 minutes

    Philosophy professor and Freedom Center Shillman Fellow slandered as being “violently transphobic”.

    The Left’s thought police at DePaul University in Chicago have come after Dr. Jason D. Hill, a tenured professor of philosophy and a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center. The leftwing fascists treat every expression of views they don’t like on a controversial issue as evidence of bigotry against one or another so-called “oppressed” minority. The censors demand conformity or punishment for dissenting views.

    In Dr. Hill’s case, one of his former students, Grace Gallant, charged that he is “violently transphobic.” Gallant claimed the professor “said that we would be discussing ‘if a biological man could ever be a woman.’” Gallant complained that this alleged remark Dr. Hill is accused of making was “not just offensive and hurtful, but it’s so archaic, useless and immature to have these kinds of conversations in class.”

    https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2021/02/high-tech-lynching-depaul-joseph-klein/

  14. 150 People Were Shot in Chicago Since Illinois Sent the National Guard to D.C. – Frontpagemag
    Daniel Greenfield
    7-9 minutes

    Democrats occupy D.C. while their own people die every day.

    Daniel Greenfield, a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the Freedom Center, is an investigative journalist and writer focusing on the radical Left and Islamic terrorism.

    After shooting deaths shot up 75% in Chicago, Governor Pritzker announced that he was dispatching 500 more National Guard troops to fight “the dark forces of racism” in D.C.

    Washington D.C. may be suffering from “the dark forces of racism” since it’s currently in the hands of the party of racism, slavery, and segregation, but those National Guard troops would do a lot more good in Chicago where 81%, the majority of shooting victims, are black.

    https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2021/02/150-people-were-shot-chicago-illinois-sent-daniel-greenfield/

  15. Trip to Vietnam Reconfirmed my Hatred of Communism – Frontpagemag
    Dennis Prager
    6-7 minutes

    The lie about American “empire” — and about Vietnamese freedom.

    Ten years ago, I wrote a column reflecting on my reactions to visiting Vietnam. Given the lack of revulsion to, and even flirtation with, communism (or its more mildly named version, socialism) among many young Americans, it is worth revisiting.

    It was difficult to control my emotions — specifically, my anger — during my visit to Vietnam. The more I came to admire the Vietnamese people — their intelligence, love of life, dignity and hard work — the more rage I felt toward the communists who brought them (and, of course, us Americans) so much suffering in the second half of the 20th century.

    https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2021/02/trip-vietnam-reconfirmed-my-hatred-communism-dennis-prager/

  16. Ford Production Takes a Hit – Life Money Stuff
    ()x
    1-2 minutes

    Ford is being forced to cut shifts at two factories that build its best-selling F-series trucks because of a semiconductor chip shortage that has been affecting the auto industry in recent weeks. The shift cuts are supposed to be temporary.

    https://lifemoneystuff.com/2021/02/04/ford-production-takes-hit/

    (Richard: GM is cutting production due to shortage of chips, Ford is probably suffering from the same problem and both are taking major hits due to the Wuhan Flu has cut into their sales.)

  17. Democrat Introduces Gun Control Bill: Psych Evaluations, Ammo Bans, Federal Gun Registry
    Ryan Saavedra
    4-5 minutes

    Democrat Rep. Shelia Jackson Lee (TX) introduced a gun control bill near the start of the current Congress that, if passed, could make California’s strict gun control laws seem tame by comparison.

    H.R.127 states that its purpose is to “provide for the licensing of firearm and ammunition possession and the registration of firearms, and to prohibit the possession of certain ammunition.”

    The bill calls for the U.S. Attorney General to establish a licensing and registration system through the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), which would increase the federal government’s ability to monitor gun owners’ purchases and the location of their firearms by requiring them to inform the government of the “make, model, and serial number” of the firearms that they own and adds that the firearm owner must tell the government “where the firearm is or will be stored.” In order to obtain a license, individuals must also complete “at least 24 hours of training.” Individuals can be stripped of their license and must get their licenses renewed.

    https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrat-introduces-gun-control-bill-psych-evaluations-ammo-bans-federal-gun-registry?itm_source=parsely-api?utm_source=cnemail&utm_medium=email&utm_content=020521-news&utm_campaign=position1

  18. The New Zealand Royal Commission Undermines NZ’s New Gun Laws

    (from theepochtimes.com)

    [Ed: Our esteemed Northern colleague, distinguished researcher Gary Mauser, PhD, graciously offered for DRGO to publish his newest work. We believe the American government would also do well to learn from New Zealand’s experience.]

    In their December report about the 2019 terrorist attack in Christchurch, the findings of the New Zealand Royal Commission critically undermined the justifications for the new Draconian firearms laws. Following the attack, Prime Minister Ardern promised, “Our gun laws will change,” going on to impose a wide range of new firearms restrictions. Ardern exploited public horror to expand government powers following the plans she and the police had started before the terrorist attack.

    Never let a crisis go to waste

    https://gatdaily.com/the-new-zealand-royal-commission-undermines-nzs-new-gun-laws/

  19. Trump Takes Down Hollywood One More Time – After Guild Considers Expulsion, Donald Trump Resigns: “Who Cares”
    Adam Casalino
    3 minutes

    Trump Takes Down Hollywood One More Time – After Guild Considers Expulsion, Donald Trump Resigns: “Who Cares”
    What’s Happening:

    Long before Trump shook up D.C., he was helping the entertainment industry rake in the big bucks.

    Television, Hollywood, and even the media fawned over Trump and his iconic show, The Apprentice.

    But once he entered politics, vowing to put America first, they all turned on him. And it seems, all these years later, Hollywood is still bitter.

    The Screen Actors Guild, using the events of January 6 as an excuse, is considering expelling him. But Trump beat them to the punch.

    https://thepatriotjournal.com/hollywood-trump-guild-resign/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=pjnewsletter

  20. thepatriotjournal.com
    Biden’s Defense Secretary Orders Military ‘Stand-Down’ – Pentagon Plans To Root Out All Conservative ‘Extremism’
    Adam Casalino
    3-4 minutes

    Biden’s Defense Secretary Orders Military ‘Stand-Down’ – Pentagon Plans To Root Out All Conservative ‘Extremism’
    What’s Happening:

    Is Biden trying to root out all traces of conservativism in our society? He might be, starting with the military.

    The U.S. Armed Forces have long been a haven for conservative Americans. That’s because they attract young men and women who patriotically want to fight for our freedoms.

    (Not a lot of leftists eager to do that!)

    But in recent weeks, we’ve seen attempts by Biden’s administration at cracking down on conservative among the military.

    https://thepatriotjournal.com/biden-secdef-military-pentagon-root/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=pjnewsletter

    • Richard: Obama purged a lot of good officers because they weren’t supporting the far left political positions. Now Biden is looking to purge the entire US military of all conservatives This is going to give China, Iran and Turkey a green light to do what they want.

  21. VA secretary nominee sails through confirmation hearing | TheHill
    Ellen Mitchell
    4-5 minutes

    Denis McDonoughDenis Richard McDonoughGarland could be stuck in Senate limbo for several more weeks Overnight Defense: Biden warns of sanctions after Myanmar coup | Biden asks Supreme Court to cancel border wall arguments | Dem urges screening of troops’ social media This week: Biden, Democrats face decision point on coronavirus relief MORE, President Biden’s pick to head the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), wants to get the nation’s veterans through the coronavirus pandemic starting day one, if confirmed.

    “The president directed me to focus on getting out veterans through this pandemic,” McDonough said in his opening statement to the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee at his confirmation hearing.

    The task is a daunting one. If confirmed, McDonough would be responsible for the massive undertaking of administering COVID-19 vaccines to millions of veterans and VA employees across the country.

    McDonough, a White House chief of staff under former President Obama, also vowed he would have a “relentless focus” on providing timely, top health care to veterans; ensuring they have access to VA benefits; reducing veteran suicide and homelessness; making the agency more inclusive for women, minority and LGBTQ veterans; and building trust.

    https://thehill.com/policy/defense/536218-va-secretary-nominee-sails-through-confirmation-hearing-faces-challenges-ahead

  22. Border Patrol Agents Arrest 11 Iranians in Arizona Who Illegally Entered US
    By Jack Phillips
    February 4, 2021 Updated: February 4, 2021
    biggersmaller Print

    The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said its agents arrested a group of 11 Iranians who illegally entered the United States.

    According to a news release from the agency, agents saw the group near San Luis, Arizona, on a bridge.

    Border Patrol agents then “determined the group had illegally crossed the international border into the United States. The group was arrested and taken to Yuma Station for processing,” according to the release. “The five females and six males are were [sic] all from Iran, a Special Interest Country.”

    The agency said that Yuma Sector agents “regularly encounter people from all over the world,” including so-called “Special Interest Countries.”

    “For the last two fiscal years, Yuma Sector Border Patrol agents have led the nation in apprehending illegal crossers from Iran. Yuma Sector agents apprehended eight Iranian nationals in [2020], compared to just 14 from all other border patrol sectors combined. So far in [2021], Yuma Sector agents have apprehend[ed] 14 nationals from Iran,” the agency said.

    https://www.theepochtimes.com/border-patrol-agents-arrest-11-iranians-in-arizona-who-illegally-entered-us_3685335.html?utm_source=newsnoe&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=breaking-2021-02-04-3

  23. Biden revokes terrorist designation for Yemen’s Houthis
    https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/biden-revokes-terrorist-designation-yemens-houthis-75719656

    “President Joe Biden’s administration is moving to revoke the designation of Yemen’s Houthis as a terrorist group, citing the need to mitigate one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters.

    President Donald Trump’s administration had branded the Iranian-backed Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization, a move that limited the provision of aid to the beleaguered Yemeni people, who have suffered under a yearslong civil war and famine.

    A senior State Department official confirmed the move Friday after members of Congress were notified of the administration’s plans. The official, who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the removal changed nothing about the Biden administration’s views of the Houthis, who have targeted civilians and kidnapped Americans.

    “Our action is due entirely to the humanitarian consequences of this last-minute designation from the prior administration, which the United Nations and humanitarian organizations have since made clear would accelerate the world’s worst humanitarian crisis,” the official said.

    The move comes a day after Biden announced an end to offensive support to Saudi Arabia’s campaign against the Houthis.

    The Obama administration in 2015 gave its approval to Saudi Arabia leading a cross-border air campaign targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who were seizing ever more territory, including Sanaa. The Houthis have launched multiple drone and missile strikes deep into Saudi Arabia. The U.S. says the Saudi-led campaign has entrenched Iran’s role in the conflict, on the side of the Houthis.

    U.S. targeting assistance to Saudi Arabia’s command and control was supposed to minimize civilian casualties in the Saudi-led airstrikes. But bombing since then has killed numerous Yemeni civilians, including schoolboys on a bus and fishermen in their boats. Survivors have displayed fragments showing the bombs to be American-made.

    Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut praised the Biden administration’s move, saying, “The designation did not impact the Houthis in any practical way, but it stopped food and other critical aid from being delivered inside Yemen and would have prevented effective political negotiation.””