Reader’s Links for May 11, 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

79 Replies to “Reader’s Links for May 11, 2021”

  1. https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/05/96-of-us-users-opt-out-of-app-tracking-in-ios-14-5-analytics-find/

    96% of US users opt out of app tracking in iOS 14.5, analytics find
    Some of the first data on user behavior exceeds advertisers’ worst fears.
    SAMUEL AXON – 5/8/2021, 4:59 AM

    The Facebook iPhone app asks for permission to track the user in this early mock-up of the prompt made by Apple.
    Enlarge / The Facebook iPhone app asks for permission to track the user in this early mock-up of the prompt made by Apple.

    It seems that in the United States, at least, app developers and advertisers who rely on targeted mobile advertising for revenue are seeing their worst fears realized: Analytics data published this week suggests that US users choose to opt out of tracking 96 percent of the time in the wake of iOS 14.5.

    How Apple’s new App Tracking Transparency policy works
    When Apple released iOS 14.5 late last month, it began enforcing a policy called App Tracking Transparency. iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV apps are now required to request users’ permission to use techniques like IDFA (ID for Advertisers) to track those users’ activity across multiple apps for data collection and ad targeting purposes.
    The change met fierce resistance from companies like Facebook, whose market advantages and revenue streams are built on leveraging users’ data to target the most effective ads at those users. Facebook went so far as to take out full-page newspaper ads claiming that the change would not just hurt Facebook but would destroy small businesses around the world. Shortly after, Apple CEO Tim Cook attended a data privacy conference and delivered a speech that harshly criticized Facebook’s business model.

    Nonetheless, Facebook and others have complied with Apple’s new rule to avoid being rejected from the iPhone’s App Store, though some apps present a screen explaining why users should opt in before the Apple-mandated prompt to opt in or out appears.

    This new data comes from Verizon-owned Flurry Analytics, which claims to be used in more than one million mobile apps. Flurry says it will update the data daily so followers can see the trend as it progresses.

    Based on the data from those one million apps, Flurry Analytics says US users agree to be tracked only four percent of the time. The global number is significantly higher at 12 percent, but that’s still below some advertising companies’ estimates.

    The data from Flurry Analytics shows users rejecting tracking at much higher rates than were predicted by surveys that were conducted before iOS 14.5 went live. One of those surveys found that just shy of 40 percent, not 4 percent, would opt in to tracking when prompted.

    Flurry Analytics’ data doesn’t break things down by app, though, so it’s impossible to know from this data whether the numbers are skewed against app tracking opt-in by, say, users’ distrust of Facebook. It’s possible users are being more trusting of some types of apps than others, but that data is not available.

  2. https://www.chicagocontrarian.com/blog/chicagos-unscrupulous-media-cooks-up-another-fiction

    Chicago’s Unscrupulous Media Cooks up Another Fiction
    May 7, 2021PATRICK DENT

    The Windy City’s liberal media had a tale to tell about a fake anti-Asian hate crime

    The propensity for Chicago journalists to deliver biased news has always aroused both suspicion and anger among Chicago residents. A bias that many journalists in the Windy City do not even attempt to conceal, many of Chicago’s news figures have often been described as “cunning,” scheming” and “duplicitous,” and readers have simply concluded a majority of print or television reporters strictly abide by the maxim “the ends justify the means.” There is the rare qualification to this dictum, but only when overwhelming evidence to the contrary emerges and dismantles the media’s preferred narrative.

    Most recently, Chicago residents got another good look at how its media operates and media’s willingness to superimpose a racial narrative over a news event. Unsurprisingly, race played no role in the May 1 incident in Logan Square. Though Chicago’s media would have you believe otherwise, Chicago police officers are in a unique situation where, on a regular basis, they are able to witness an incident first-hand, then observe the media mangle the story for their own purpose and in real time. While former president Donald Trump may have popularized the term “fake news,” Chicago police have for years understood the local media is an agenda-driven propaganda engine of the Left. So prevalent is the media bias, sites such as CWB Chicago and HeyJackass have become required reading for the intellectually curious as other news sources seem to be fake by design.

    Over the past weekend, officers serving with the 14th District responded to Logan Square where a man had driven his pickup truck onto the parkway separating the east and westbound traffic on Logan Boulevard and into a group of picknickers. Unfortunately, the driver of the vehicle briefly pinned a woman under his vehicle, leaving her injured. The 57-year-old driver of the truck, Timothy Nielsen, has previous convictions for aggravated kidnapping, theft, and even extorting money from an escort service operator. Nielsen is alleged to have become enraged at “yuppies with dogs” picnicking and is also said to have told a bystander “watch what I’m going to do” before jumping a curb and striking the 42-year-old white woman. Clearly a newsworthy story, the truth – that a white career criminal attempted to murder a white woman – was not the story the Chicago media chose to run with.

    Although “yuppie with dog” is not a protected class, an acquaintance of the injured woman just so happened to be Asian. At least one news outlet began reporting that a witness heard Nielsen yell an Asian slur. However, of the numerous other witnesses closer to the incident, none could confirm any slur against Asians was uttered, and the original source was uncertain what Asian slur Nielsen allegedly shouted. Unable to corroborate this detail, news outlets refused to let facts get in the way of their agenda and even started to simply report that “other news agencies” were reporting anti-Asian slurs were declared by Nielsen prior to the attack.

    Expectedly, once the seed was planted, the local media (in truth, a cog of the Democrat machine) was off to the races with their favorite pastime: Dividing the city via identity politics. Calls for a full investigation of this “anti-Asian hate crime” baffled the members of the Chicago Police Department (CPD), who were busy conducting a full investigation of the numerous crimes perpetrated during the incident but found no evidence of hatred for anything other than unattended dogs frolicking in the grassy parkway and young professionals picnicking on the grass. Not content with focusing blame where it belonged, demands were made for Mayor Lightfoot and CPD to take action to address this imaginary racism.

    The hardworking members of CPD must have been surprised as the media broadcast a press conference by the head of the Asian American Caucus, all but accusing the police of negligence, even as officers succeeded in charging the man with attempted murder, likely ensuring a lengthy prison sentence. That the media obsessed over a spurious anti-Asian slur being hurled prior to the attack and not a white woman nearly killed by Nielsen proves that no matter how heinous the crime, if the facts do not fit the Left’s political agenda, you cannot expect to get any real news.

    There is a reason young murder victims Lydia Jimenez, who was shot in the head by random gunfire; Jaslyn Adams, who was slain in what was believed to be an attempted gang hit; and Serenity Arrington, who had her head nearly severed by her mother, are not household names, but a gun-toting gang member Adam Toledo is known to the public. Chicago’s media cannot afford to report legitimate news. Actual reporting would expose how the “progressive” Left in Chicago is failing its residents resulting in the murders of young children by gangs and creating an environment where a 13-year-old gang member is martyred for being comfortable enough to carry a gun and commit an attempted murder.

    By not holding criminals responsible, Kim Foxx has emboldened violent offenders across the City of Chicago. With warm weather on the way, Chicago is on the cusp of experiencing the violent fallout from the failed experiment of “social justice.” Reconciling the racist impact of policies like prioritizing teacher unions over children, encouraging the destruction of the family structure in the black community, or refusing to hold criminals accountable is impossible for Chicago’s dishonest media to do.

    Social justice is the code word for ignoring the problems the Left has created by refusing to enforce the law, and instead targeting police officers or others who direct attention away from the genuine problem of higher crime rates in certain neighborhoods. With at least 45 shot and 5 homicides this last weekend, focusing on anon-existent hate crime is all the media can do to distract from their complicity in the epic failure of Progressive policies. Expect more stories searching for a police officer or a racist (sexist, homophobic etc.) villain as the media’s culpability in violence continues to make honest reporting impossible for them to perform. While murders brought on by their Progressive agenda soar, the media and their friends like Kim Foxx will need all the distractions they can get.

  3. This was going to be a reply to Richard’s post far below but I decided that perhaps it was more pertinent than I realized so I posted it here:
    Richard
    on May 10, 2021 at 2:35 pm said:
    “The only reason they (aliens)would have to be friendly with us is that they are enemies of a different race that is unfriendly with us. Think of it as as Interstellar politics among competing races or Empires. Or they could be on different political parties in their own race/planet.
    Having said that they definitely aren’t the great galactic wizards come to save us from ourselves.”

    M reply: As we have no known alien enemies then they have no need to be friendly unless you are implying that more than one species is involved and that perhaps what we are seeing may be part of their conflict extending to this planet already?

    Interesting!

    But when I read of some genuine alien debris dropping out of the sky I will believe it. But then, why would they need to use biological creatures when unmanned drones would do as well?
    Perhaps all we are seeing is a resource mapping of this planet by multiple “interested alien groups” one or more, of whom, may or may not be, in contact (?controlling)with our elite.

    One of the classical space opera scenarios has us not allowed to join the galactic UN until we “get our own house in order” by reducing population and consumption markedly. Funny that!

    • One this is for certain, Michelle, is that in the era in which we are living there is always a new mother of all narratives ready to enter from stage Left. Timing seems to depend on the political efficacy (to use a fashionable word) of the current fiction.

      • You have a very good point there, this could be setting the stage for a very nasty dictatorship “that will be necessary to stop the pending alien invasion from space.” That one is unlikely since any aliens could rock bomb us to oblivion or release one or more real nasty pathogens and dispose of us that way.

        All of the scenarios I have mentioned come from Golden Age and Sliver Age Science Fiction novels from engineers and scientists.

    • (But then, why would they need to use biological creatures when unmanned drones would do as well?)

      Unmanned drones are fine up to a point but while it has limitations the best observation interment is the Mark 1 eyeball. You use robots when the environment is very thunderous but the rest of the time you use biological beings, a robot programs to look for gold will go past the other mineral deposits that are there. This problem can be solved by developing true artifice intelligence but that creates problems that are orders of magnitude worse.

  4. Washington Governor Signs Bill Mandating Critical Race Training in Public Schools

    Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has signed into law a bill that incorporates the doctrine of “equity, cultural competency, and dismantling institutional racism” into the training for all K–12 educators across the state.

    Under Senate Bill 5044 (pdf)—which passed the state legislature in April—school districts in Washington must use one of three professional learning days to specifically train all staff in the topics of “cultural competency, diversity, equity, or inclusion.”

    Those topics were among several listed in the bill’s text: “The legislature plans to continue the important work of dismantling institutional racism in public schools and recognizes the importance of increasing equity, diversity, inclusion, antiracism, and cultural competency training throughout the entire public school system by providing training programs for classified staff, certificated instructional staff, certificated administrative staff, superintendents, and school directors that will be provided in an ongoing manner.”

    https://www.ntd.com/washington-governor-signs-bill-mandating-critical-race-training-in-public-schools_610411.html

  5. The Morning Briefing: What Are Democrats So Afraid of in Maricopa County?
    Stephen Kruiser
    7-9 minutes
    Top O’ the Briefing

    Happy Monday, dear Kruiser Morning Briefing friends. Please, have some celery.

    It has been a few weeks since we have discussed the kinda/sorta election that happened last November. We’ve got the unfortunate reminder of the nightmare occupying the Oval Office but we need to keep examining the, um, weirdness from last year to figure out how to avoid having it happen again.

    The disinformation campaign run by the Democrats about Georgia’s new election law shows how invested they are in making all of the “irregularities” from the last election permanent. Those of us with questions about what exactly happened are just supposed to shut up. Curiosity is racism or something now.

    https://pjmedia.com/columns/stephen-kruiser/2021/05/10/the-morning-briefing-what-are-democrats-so-afraid-of-in-maricopa-county-n1445655

  6. (Richard: More Third World Country actions by the US Government)

    FBI exceeds warrant with mass seizure of safe deposit boxes; will probe claimants
    Eric Boehm, Reason May 11, 2021
    FBI exceeds warrant with mass seizure of safe deposit boxes; will probe claimants
    Pixabay

    Share Tweet Flip

    [Ed. – Huh? The FBI seizes a whole bunch of people’s stuff without cause — any cause; the depositors’ name were not in the warrant and nothing is alleged against them — and then wants them to come claim their stuff so they can be investigated? It’s not supposed to work that way.]

    Howard tells Reason there was no attempt made by the FBI to contact him, his wife, or their heirs—despite the fact that contact information was taped to the top of their box. Six weeks later, the couple is still waiting for their property to be returned. …

    Legal efforts to force the FBI to return the items seized during the March 22 raid have so far been unsuccessful, but at least five lawsuits are pending in federal court.

    A federal grand jury indicted U.S. Private Vaults (USPV) on counts of conspiracy to distribute drugs, launder money, and avoid mandatory deposit reporting requirements. …

    Trending: First (possibly last) look at founders of newly ‘liberated city’ in Colorado

    In order to have the contents of their boxes returned, federal authorities are asking owners to come forward, identify themselves, and describe their possessions. Some owners … may rightfully object to being subjected to the scrutiny of federal law enforcement when they have done nothing wrong.

    […]

    Importantly, the warrant “does not authorize a criminal search or seizure of the contents of the safe-deposit boxes,” according to a copy of the warrant contained in court filings. The warrant also states that it “authorize[s] the seizure of the nests of the boxes themselves, not their contents.”

    Continue reading ?

    https://libertyunyielding.com/2021/05/11/fbi-exceeds-warrant-with-mass-seizure-of-safe-deposit-boxes-will-probe-claimants/

  7. Tomorrow is the last day of Ramadan so I thought I would listen to the man fro Iraq, living in London, Ontario, CANADA, the Canadian leader of the terrorist group Hibz ut-Tharir and what he is spewing today in the year of 2021:

    Islam, Islam, Islam, no capitalists, follow Shari’ah law, the army – all Muslims are members of the army and they do have paid soldiers. they have military police and regular police.

    Treasury #1 the spoils of war.

    Court of Injustices, no women are allowed, women are not allowed in any position of ruling. The state is in charge of morals, the Islamic state that is.

    He insists women must be covered, only there hands and face may be exposed, hmmm, it is 2021.

    Imams must be strong individuals.

    Sometimes when I listen to him, I slip back in time – hundreds of years. I do believe he would be much much happier in Iraq.

  8. CBC – Moderna VP says mixing vaccines ‘is feasible’ but warns more clinical data needed

    Moderna vice-president and head of infectious disease research Andrea Carfi tells Power & Politics that mixing the AstraZeneca vaccine with an mRNA dose is possible, but there’s not enough data yet to support changing course.

    • BBC – Concerns that Eid would lead to Covid spike in Pakistan

      […] fears rise in Pakistan in the run up to Eid.

      It was shortly after Eid last year that Pakistan’s hospitals first struggled to cope with the influx of Covid patients.

      The period leading up to the festival, which marks the end of the month of Ramadan is usually the busiest of the year for retailers.

      But a partial lockdown began at the weekend and will last until next week.

      All non-essential businesses have been closed, while domestic tourism has been banned.

      Officials hope that reducing transmission rates now will not only save lives but also prevent further, more stringent lockdowns.

      The greater challenge will be posed by families holding their own private gatherings as they traditionally would to celebrate Eid.

    • Associated Pravda- Scientist hopes to aid in vaccine hesitancy

      Government Scientist Kizzmekia Corbett is answering questions from the public about the COVID-19 vaccine.

      This as a new AP-NORC poll shows reluctance to get the vaccine has gone down in the last few months.

    • CBC – ‘We saw this wave coming,’ says Winnipeg mayor

      Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman joins Power & Politics to discuss rising case counts in Manitoba and if the province should have implemented restrictions sooner.

    • CBC – Officials short on reopening details as Ontario expected to remain in lockdown

      The Ontario government has signalled COVID-19 restrictions will stay in place a little longer, but many, including business owners, are starting to look for a roadmap to reopening.

      Health officials would only say daily infections have to drop below 1,000 to trigger any policy change.

    • CBC- Companies bringing COVID-19 vaccines to essential workplaces

      Some companies have started organizing COVID-19 vaccine clinics at essential workplaces, including warehouses in Ontario’s Peel Region, which have been hard hit by outbreaks.

    • CBC – Prairie provinces see COVID-19 surge

      The COVID-19 pandemic is surging across the Prairies.

      Alberta has the worst per-capita case rate, Manitoba is seeing a spike and Saskatchewan is on shaky ground.

    • global news – COVID-19 variant first seen in India designated as global concern, WHO says

      The World Health Organization (WHO) said Monday the coronavirus variant first identified in India, the B.1.617, was being designated as one of global concern, citing preliminary studies showing it spreads more easily.

      The variant has already spread to other countries and many nations have moved to cut or restrict movements from India.

      Soumya Swaminathan, WHO’s chief scientist, said that studies were underway to examine the transmissibility, severity of the disease the B.1.617 causes and the response of antibodies in people who have been vaccinated.

    • ctv news – ‘They’re dying of thirst’: Advocate on military report into long-term care homes

      CEO of CanAge, Laura Tablyn Watts discusses reports saying dozens of residents at two Toronto long-term care homes died of dehydration NOT FROM THE VIRUS

    • MAY 11 2021 – Exchange between Sen. Rand Paul and Anthony Fauci

      Sen. Rand Paul: “Dr. Fauci, do you still support…NIH funding of the lab in Wuhan?”

      Dr. Anthony Fauci: “Senator Paul, with all due respect, you are entirely and completely incorrect…

    • Thank God for Dr. Frances O. Kelsey, one of her first applications was Thalidomide, which was Doctor prescribed in dozens of countries all around the world. Dr. Kelsey, despite constant pressure from the drug company refused to approve Thalidomide because of inadequate evidence.

      Thousands of women in Canada were prescribed the drug and they suffered miscarriages, babies born still borne, many died after a few months and thousands who did survive were born with severe birth defects – – hands and feet projecting directly from their hips and shoulders.

      Today drug companies recommended old people get the vaccine
      – well some in their 40s -50s
      -well some in their 20s – 30s
      -well some children 12 and up
      – well babies too

      You may not mix the “vaccines” well maybe you can.
      The vaccines are NOT FDA approved – well not yet.
      First wave
      Second wave
      Third wave
      Many people have waited months for their second “jab”

      Do we know for sure there will not be a tsunami?

    • ctv news -Can Alberta afford to halt AstraZeneca vaccines? This doctor thinks so

      Infectious disease specialist Dr. Sumon Chakrabarti discusses Alberta’s decision to stop giving the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

    • Wall Street Journal – What Would a Vaccine Passport Look Like?

      Startups, governments and nonprofits are racing to create so-called “vaccine passports,” or digital health passes aimed at helping people travel and safely move around in public.

      WSJ explains what it would take to get a global digital health pass system off the ground.

    • France pr4vd4 – French lawmakers vote in favour of introducing vaccine pass

      • yahoo news – France’s MPs reject virus health pass

        In a surprise vote, France’s National Assembly has decided by a thin margin against introducing a coronavirus health pass that would regulate entry to certain places.

        The vote, with 108 deputies against versus 103 in favour, was thanks to the centrist Mouvement Democrate (MoDem) party, which usually supports President Emmanuel Macron’s La Republique en Marche (LREM).

        “We had given red lines,” said MoDem’s Philippe Latombe but there had not been any dialogue or interest in hearing what lawmakers had to say, which is why MoDem decided to reject the draft bill article.

        Macron had regarded the health pass as a key tool in relaxing coronavirus restrictions as it would allow people to prove, for example, that they had tested negative for the virus or were fully vaccinated.

        Many deputies had criticised the article, however, as being too imprecise and said that numerous questions had not been clarified.

        Macron’s government can still request a second consultation.

        https://au.sports.yahoo.com/frances-mps-reject-virus-health-181314405.html

    • the gateway pundit – Bombshell Report Reveals CDC Risk of Covid Transmission Outdoors Greatly Exaggerated

      A bombshell report from the New York Times revealed the CDC greatly exaggerated the risk of Covid transmission while outdoors.

      According to the NY Times, the 10% transmission rate was based “partly on a misclassification” of some transmission in Singapore in a setting with a mix of indoors and outdoors.

      The real outdoor transmission rate is 1% or less!

      “There are limited data on outdoor transmission,” a CDC official told the Times. “The data we do have supports the hypothesis that the risk of outdoor transmission is low. 10 percent is a conservative estimate from a recent systematic review of peer-reviewed papers. CDC cannot provide the specific risk level for every activity in every community and errs on the side of protection when it comes to recommending steps to protect health. It is important for people and communities to consider their own situations and risks and to take appropriate steps to protect their health.”

      Senator Susan Collins confronted CDC Director Rochelle Walensky about the report and said it is yet another example of conflicting guidance coming out of the agency Tuesday during a hearing.

      “The topline result was less than 10%, published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, one of our top infectious disease journals,” Walensky said. “That is where that came from, it was from a published study that synthesized studies from many places.”

      Susan Collins said she doesn’t trust the CDC anymore.

      =========================================
      twitter @therecount

      Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) tells CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky: “I always considered the CDC to be the gold standard. I don’t anymore.”

      https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1392137054948057095

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

      https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/05/bombshell-report-reveals-cdc-risk-covid-transmission-outdoors-greatly-exaggerated/

      =================================================
      NYT – A Misleading C.D.C. Number

      We have a special edition of the newsletter on a misleading C.D.C. statistic.

      on this page :

      https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/11/briefing/outdoor-covid-transmission-cdc-number.html

    • Montreal Gazette – Vaccine QR code: Can restaurants and workplaces use the code to ensure a safe reopening?

    • city news Montreal – Quebec youth key to province’s vaccination campaign

      “It’s now the turn of young people. I ask them to get vaccinated as soon as they can,” says Premier Legault as Quebec opens up vaccinations to all adults as of Friday.

    • CDC Director Walensky Encourages Children to Ask for Covid Vaccine

      The director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is “encouraging children to ask for the vaccine” after regulators on Monday expanded the use of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to children as young as 12.

      “I would encourage all parents to get their children vaccinated,” said Dr. Rochelle Walensky during a Senate hearing on Tuesday.

    • city news Toronto – Ontario pauses use of AstraZeneca as first dose vaccine

    • Children shouldn’t wear face masks in school, Florida’s governor says

      Children should not wear face masks in school. That was the stern message from Florida Gov.Ron DeSantis on Tuesday, suggesting that local school districts should get rid of their mask mandates which have been in place for nearly a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    • Meanwhile in Canada yesterday, the Parliamentary Special Committee on Canada-China relations is still trying to get answers to why Canada was sending viruses to China and why two Chinese scientists working here were fired. The Public Health Agency is citing confidentiality and privacy concerns and the PSCCCR is citing Section 18 of the Constitution which addresses Parliamentary privilege, and which overrides the right to privacy. When I left for dinner last night they were discussing a motion which would give the PHA 2 weeks to come up with the information and documents. Livestreamed by Garnett Genuis on his Facebook page. (hard to link to here).

  9. CBC – More than 2,000 migrants arrive on Italian island

    About 20 boats carrying more than 2,000 migrants have arrived at the tiny island of Lampedusa, southwest of Sicily, overwhelming Italy’s migrant housing centre there.

    • Italy: Lampedusa faces emergency after more than 2,000 arrive by sea

      The small Italian island of Lampedusa was facing an emergency after more than 2,000 refugees and migrants arrived within 24 hours between Sunday and Monday.

      Footage filmed on Tuesday shows aid and medical workers helping them disembark a vessel.

      It’s been reported that on Monday night patrol ships picked up several hundred people from small rubber boats and brought them to the island.

      The numbers of refugees on Lampedusa are estimated to have tripled compared to the previous year.

  10. 12+ Iranian Gunboats Swarm 6 U.S. Warships, Dozens Of Warning Shots Fired
    By Ryan Saavedra

    May 10, 2021 DailyWire.com

    (COMBO) This combination of file pictures created on July 22, 2019 shows Iranian Revolutionary Guards driving speedboats at the port of Bandar Abbas on July 02, 2012 (L), and the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD 4) as transiting the East Sea during exercises on March 7, 2016. – Iran’s seizure of a British-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz was a “legal measure”, the spokesman for the Islamic republic’s government said on July 22. Iran impounded the Stena Impero tanker on allegations it failed to respond to distress calls and turned off its transponder after hitting a fishing boat. (Photos by Atta KENARE and Craig Z. Rodarte / various sources / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – MANDATORY CREDIT “AFP PHOTO /US NAVY/GREG Z RODARTE” – NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS
    KENARE,CRAIG Z. RODARTE/AFP via Getty Images

    Iranian military gunboats with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, a designated terrorist organization, swarmed several U.S. warships on Monday that were escorting a U.S. submarine.

    “Over a dozen Iranian gunboats harass formation of six U.S. warships including guided-missile submarine Georgia,” Fox News Pentagon correspondent Lucas Tomlinson said. “U.S. Coast Guard cutter fired warning shots in response in Strait of Hormuz.”

    https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-12-iranian-gunboats-swarm-6-u-s-warships-dozens-of-warning-shots-fired

  11. Biden Uses Police Week Statement Honoring Fallen Officers to Lash Out at Cops
    Jack Cowhick
    May 10, 2021 at 12:46pm

    Just before National Police Week, the president seemingly just couldn’t miss yet another chance to wrongly slam peace officers.

    In a statement Friday, two days before the start of National Police Week, President Joe Biden expressed gratitude to the country’s fallen police officers and stated that his administration would work to support local law enforcement through the aftermath of COVID-19, following in the footsteps of those who came before him.

    And yet, as promising as the first part of his statement was, the president almost immediately used it to unceremoniously slam law enforcement.

    https://www.westernjournal.com/biden-uses-police-week-statement-honoring-fallen-officers-lash-cops/

  12. Texas AG blasts ‘mob rule,’ police chief after angry driver is only person charged when Black Lives Matter militants ‘illegally shut down traffic’
    Dave Urbanski
    4-5 minutes

    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton blasted “mob rule” and Plano’s police chief after an angry driver caught on video confronting Black Lives Matter militants for blocking traffic was the only person charged in Saturday’s incident.
    What are the details?

    After Paxton caught wind of the viral showdown, he issued a statement Monday decrying “a group of radical-left armed agitators and a police chief unwilling to enforce the law.”

    The Texas AG said that after “a group of militant BLM protesters illegally shut down traffic underneath a major highway,” an “Antifa-like character pulled what appears to be a gun and pointed it at the man” who had exited his car “to demand the mob clear the way.”

    Image source: YouTube screenshot

    Paxton added that “rather than disperse the crowd or arrest the lawbreakers, the lone police officer told” the driver who confronted the group to “go away.”

    More from the AG’s statement:

    https://www.theblaze.com/news/texas-ag-mob-rule-blm-militants?utm_source=theblaze-breaking&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20210511Trending-AGPaxtonBLMProtests&utm_term=ACTIVE%20LIST%20-%20TheBlaze%20Breaking%20News

  13. CDC risk of coronavirus transmission outdoors greatly exaggerated, bombshell report finds
    Alexandria Hein
    3-4 minutes

    A stunning New York Times report claims that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s estimate that the risk of coronavirus transmission while outdoors is around 10% is greatly exaggerated.

    The CDC has cited the estimate to back up its recommendation that vaccinated individuals do away with masks in certain outdoor situations, but should keep wearing masks during others.

    According to the Times, the 10% benchmark is based “partly on a misclassification” of some virus transmission in Singapore at various construction sites that may have actually taken place in indoor settings. Singapore also classified settings that were a mix of indoors and outdoors as outdoors, including construction building sites, the outlet reported.

    placeholder

    https://www.foxnews.com/health/cdc-risk-coronavirus-transmission-outdoors-greatly-exaggerated-report

  14. School reports its chaplain for telling pupils they’re allowed to disagree with LGBT teaching
    Ian Gallagher
    27-34 minutes

    A school secretly reported its chaplain to the anti-terrorism Prevent programme after he delivered a sermon defending the right of pupils to question its introduction of new LGBT policies.

    The Reverend Dr Bernard Randall told pupils at independent Trent College near Nottingham that they were allowed to disagree with the measures, particularly if they felt they ran contrary to Church of England principles.

    Among them was a plan to ‘develop a whole school LGBT+ inclusive curriculum’.

    Having decided that Dr Randall’s sermon was ‘harmful to LGBT’ students, the school flagged him to Prevent, which normally identifies those at risk of radicalisation.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9557845/School-reports-chaplain-telling-pupils-theyre-allowed-disagree-LGBT-teaching.html

  15. D.C. jail treatment of Capitol riot defendants draws bipartisan outrage
    By Greg Piper
    8-10 minutes

    A short drive from the U.S. Capitol, 1,500 inmates are stuck in their jail cells 22 hours a day. Until last month it was 23, and they were also barred from going outside.

    A smaller group of inmates may have it even worse: those awaiting trial for alleged crimes in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. They’ve been placed in “restrictive housing,” a maximum-security designation.

    The plight of nearby inmates has received surprisingly little attention on Capitol Hill for the better part of a year, since the District of Columbia Department of Corrections issued its “medical stay-in-place” policies for COVID-19 mitigation.

    That only changed in late April, and it flipped the partisan script. Rep. James Comer, ranking Republican on the House Oversight Committee, demanded better treatment for the inmate population at large, while Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Dick Durbin spoke up for inmates accused of insurrection to keep Donald Trump in office.

    https://justthenews.com/government/local/dc-jail-treatment-capitol-riot-defendants-draws-bipartisan-outrage?utm_source=RC+Investigations+Today&utm_campaign=68b6e73dff-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2016_11_11_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d042379c8d-68b6e73dff-85695671&mc_cid=68b6e73dff&mc_eid=c4a952ab77

  16. Texas farmer finds five abandoned migrant girls under 7 on his land as border crisis worsens
    Jennifer Smith
    7-9 minutes

    Five abandoned girls from Honduras and Guatemala were found on Sunday on the land of a Texas farmer, hungry and crying after being left by their families to try to get into the country alone in another example of the worsening border crisis.

    Three of the girls are from Honduras. They are seven, three and two. The other two are from Guatemala and are aged five and 11-months-old.

    They are now at Uvalde Station, where they’ll be processed, before being given to Health and Human Services.

    Jimmy Hobbs, the 75-year-old farmer and his wife Katie gave an interview to Texas Congressman Tony Gonzales which was posted on Twitter after the pair submitted photos and videos to social media groups that campaign for tighter border control.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9566251/Texas-farmer-finds-five-abandoned-migrant-girls-7-land-border-crisis-worsens.html

  17. Fed-up public confronting far-left mobs, and everybody has a gun

    An armed public is shouting back at Black Lives Matter protesters, who are now marching with rifles and pistols, and a longtime law enforcement officer says it’s only a matter of time until things go south.

    It is nothing new for a local news anchor to report BLM protesters illegally blocked a city intersection, or a YouTube video shows white diners being harassed to support the movement, but the radical group’s in-your-face tactics have grown more dangerous in recent weeks after BLM marchers have been seen with handguns in holsters and semi-auto rifles dangling around their necks.

    On the day of the Kentucky Derby, BLM protesters in Louisville were marching toward Churchill Downs when they confronted diners at La Chasse, an upscale restaurant. It was outside the restaurant that an armed customer produced a small-caliber pistol, and the already-tense scene went wild because one of the protesters, standing just feet away, was armed with an AR-15 rifle.

    https://www.gopusa.com/?p=110102?omhide=true

  18. frontpagemag.com
    Biden Endorses Waiving Covid-19 Vaccine Patent Protections – Frontpagemag
    Joseph Klein
    11-14 minutes

    Benefitting China and harming America.

    President Biden has taken his radical agenda to a whole new level by supporting a proposal to suspend the World Trade Organization’s protections for pharmaceutical companies’ coronavirus vaccine intellectual property, including specifically patents. Biden caved to pressure from developing countries and congressional Democrats in endorsing what would amount to one of the most significant expropriations of private property in American history.

    “The administration believes strongly in intellectual property protections, but in service of ending this pandemic, supports the waiver of those protections for Covid-19 vaccines,” declared Katherine Tai, the United States trade representative, in announcing the Biden administration’s decision.

    https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2021/05/biden-endorses-waiving-covid-19-vaccine-patent-joseph-klein/

  19. Biden Put Past Life Healer in Charge of School Reopenings – Frontpagemag
    Daniel Greenfield
    9-11 minutes

    Betraying parents while working out “karma and deeply seated issues on the cellular level.”

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

    In November, the American Federation of Teachers was touting Kelly Trautner’s views on safe school reopenings. Earlier in the pandemic year, Trautner had promoted a webinar on a safe return to schools. By 2021, the AFT’s Director of Healthcare, was offering her own lessons on “yoga and pranayama practices” and “meditation and mindfulness”.

    As a certified yoga teacher and “Registered Karuna Reiki Master” (meaning she had mastered Stage III of Holy Fire of the pseudoscience which includes “healing past life issues” and “clearing cellular memories from the DNA”), this was something Trautner was qualified to do.

    https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2021/05/biden-put-union-past-life-healer-charge-school-daniel-greenfield/

  20. Iran Building Precision-Guided Missiles for Hezbollah – Frontpagemag
    Hugh Fitzgerald
    9-11 minutes

    What “resisting” Israel really means.

    Iran claims that its citizens are in Syria mainly to help with rebuilding the country’s infrastructure. Israel has good reason to think — and act — otherwise. Asked to comment on reports that Iran was building highly lethal weapons– precision-guided missiles — for Hezbollah, Iran feigned indignation. “Israel Intensifying Air War in Syria Against Iranian Encroachment,” Algemeiner, April 22, 2021:

    Iran’s Foreign Ministry did not respond to requests for comment. Iran has said it has military advisers in Syria to help Assad’s forces, and will continue a policy “resisting” US and Israeli power in the wider Middle East.

    Nothing says “resisting” Israeli power like shipping 150,000 missiles to Hezbollah for future launches against Israel, even though at the time those missiles were shipped Israel had not attacked a single Iranian target, inside or outside Iran.

    https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2021/05/iran-building-precision-guided-missiles-hezbollah-hugh-fitzgerald/

  21. (Richard: An interesting article, my first thought was China but it could be Russia, they would love to do more damage to our energy production and distribution system then Biden has done. don’t forget a lot of Russia’s hard currency comes from selling Natural Gas to Europe and out export of Natural Gas hurts their bottom line. On the other hand China wants to do a lot of damage to the US and shift the blame to other nations so Biden won’t be forced to act against them. You choose.)

    Russian Ransomware? Critical Pipeline Targeted in Cyberattack
    Evan Maguire
    4-5 minutes

    Over the weekend, the Georgia-based energy infrastructure company Colonial Pipeline announced that it shut down all pipeline operations after a cyberattack, causing gasoline futures to rise. In a press release, the company said, “On May 7, the Colonial Pipeline Company learned it was the victim of a cybersecurity attack. We have since determined that this incident involves ransomware.” In response to the attack, Colonial Pipeline had to take systems offline. As of late Sunday night, some of the smaller lines were back online, but not the main conduits. Colonial aims to have the system back up and running at full service by the end of this week.

    Colonial Pipeline may not be well known, but it is one of the most important parts of America’s energy infrastructure. The company runs pipelines through 14 states, stretching from New Jersey to Texas. One hundred million gallons of fuel are transported through the system daily. Almost half of the fuel consumed on the East Coast passes through Colonial’s system. The attack brought much of this crucial activity to a halt.

    https://spectator.org/colonial-pipeline-cyber-attack/

  22. Queen to Announce Voter ID Requirements in UK to Tackle Election Fraud
    Matt Margolis
    2-3 minutes

    “Britons will have to show photo ID to vote in future general elections,” reports The Guardian. And the reason is obvious: to combat voter fraud.

    The Queen is expected to formally announce the proposal in a speech on Tuesday.

    Just like in the United States, this commonsense approach to fighting voter fraud is being met with accusations of racism from its opponents, who apparently think minorities are incapable of acquiring identification like everyone else.

    That’s not all.

    The voter ID requirement is one of a number of voting reform proposals, including one “which will also include a limit on the number of postal votes that can be handed in on behalf of others,” which is being justified by ministers “as a way to reduce the risk of electoral fraud.”

    https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/matt-margolis/2021/05/10/queen-to-announce-voter-id-requirements-in-uk-to-tackle-election-fraud-n1445721

  23. Jen Psaki says the quiet part out loud about Joe Biden | TheHill
    Joe Concha, Opinion Contributor
    6-7 minutes

    “A lot of times, we say, ‘Don’t take questions,’” she continued. “But he’s going to do what he wants to do because he’s the president of the United States.”

    Think about that for a moment, and ask yourself this: Isn’t it amazing, almost disturbing, that the leader of the free world, a man who received more votes than any other candidate in U.S. history, is being told when he’s allowed to speak to reporters outside of the desired controlled environment?

    For giggles, picture former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany saying it’s “not something we recommend” regarding President TrumpDonald TrumpCaitlyn Jenner says

    https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/552492-jen-psaki-says-the-quiet-part-out-loud-about-joe-biden

  24. Pelosi shows off her playbook for handling Republicans
    Alayna Treene,Glen Johnson
    4-5 minutes

    As Republicans fight among themselves, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is showing the myriad ways she deals with the GOP herself.

    Between the lines: We’ve seen Pelosi cut opponents off at the knees, like she did with President Trump, or pretend to forget their names, as she did to Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.). Now she’s feeding oppo research against her House counterpart, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), so others can use the same harsh rhetoric to frame the Republicans as the party of dysfunction.

    https://www.axios.com/pelosi-mccarthy-republicans-ca32a4a2-ac6b-4289-9e14-2c9186b0214b.html

  25. Beijing Revises Its ‘Maritime Traffic Safety Law’ to Pave the Way for Expansion
    By Winnie Han
    4 minutes

    The Chinese regime, on April 29, passed a revised draft of the “Maritime Traffic Safety Law” that will be formally implemented on Sept. 1. According to a China issues expert, the move provides a legal basis for China’s maritime expansion and may bring more instability to the Indo-Pacific region.

    The revised draft of the Maritime Traffic Safety Law is the same as the Maritime Police Law passed earlier this year, and the previously revised Marine Environmental Protection Law. All mention of “coastal waters” have been changed to “maritime jurisdiction.” A report reviewing the results of the bill states that the term “coastal waters” is not precise, and the scope of this law is not limited to “coastal.”

    https://www.theepochtimes.com/mkt_breakingnews/beijing-revises-its-maritime-traffic-safety-law-to-pave-the-way-for-expansion_3810325.html?utm_source=newsnoe&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=breaking-2021-05-11-1&mktids=e72756da926c16b9ca3c23707d5ccf85&est=ogff02DnJ77k5Ddue0ydMlEJ%2FGZozmN2ha92gMvKdKn1PWHiSbVsboWDPFI%3D

    • Epoch Times Reporter in Hong Kong Attacked by Bat-Wielding Man
      By Frank Fang
      6-7 minutes

      A reporter for the Hong Kong edition of The Epoch Times was assaulted on May 11 by an unidentified man wielding an aluminum softball bat, in an attack believed to be orchestrated by the Chinese regime in its latest attempt to silence reporting by the publication.

      Sarah Liang was outside her residential building when the midday attack took place. The assailant hit her with the bat more than 10 times before fleeing in a car, leaving Liang with bruises on both of her legs.

      https://www.theepochtimes.com/mkt_breakingnews/epoch-times-reporter-attacked-by-man-with-baseball-bat-in-hong-kong_3810809.html?utm_source=newsnoe&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=breaking-2021-05-11-1&mktids=e72756da926c16b9ca3c23707d5ccf85&est=kTUhHfawEcEpUvvX9Wy%2Fs%2FqB2beveXzl9J5VrgPNGJPa%2FzRdXRpM%2BJdY31A%3D

      (Richard: The weather is warming up and China is getting active, they are pushing in the Mountains claiming half of Mount Everest, are pushing hard at Taiwan, pushing hard at the Philippines, cracking down on the independent papers in Hong Kong and are starting the process where they are going to claim all of the area inside the 9 dash line as exclusive Chinese territory. While they are serious about all of their efforts some are designed to draw attention away from other actions.

      The attack in Hong Kong is serious and the CCP intends to force all non Government controlled media out of Hong Kong. The big question is, is they the beginning of harassment campaign that will include arrest and detention of the Epoch Times people in Hong Kong?

      Mount Everest is probably designed to draw attention there for a short time, although they may try to arrest some climbers on their side of the mountain.

      The legal moves to claim all of the territory inside the nine dash line is serious but this probably the opening move to establishing a very fraudulent legal claim to reefs and inhabited islands on the western side of the Philippines.

      The harassment of Taiwan, they are trying to put a lot of wear and tear on the Taiwanese Air Force and Pilots. They probably hope that at some point some one on the Taiwan side shoots down a PLA fighter or bomber giving them the perfect excuse to invade.)