Reader’s Links for September 18th, 2024

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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.

For those interested, please check out https://vladtepesblog.substack.com/ as an another avenue of expression. The Substack is a different project in a sense. It is older videos that in the light of subsequent events, look different or of increased importance, Check it out now and again if you like.

About Eeyore

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

18 Replies to “Reader’s Links for September 18th, 2024”

  1. Today is showcase day for the Fed’s debt trap. It is expected to announce an interest rate cut. The market boils in anticipation over whether it will be a quarter, or a half-point reduction.

    Easier money gives a break to debtors, and is intended to bolster employment numbers. It also fuels inflation. All Western central banks have put themselves into this same place. Everyone is addicted to cheap money. Unfunded liabilities such as pensions and health care are not even the elephant in the room, but more the ghost of the elephant in the room. In other words corrupted msm stays away from this sore point like a Muslim terrorist now stays away from his pager. “–I ain’t answerin’ that call, Abdul!”

    Whatever the Fed has planned for today’s announcement, we know that real rates will remain negative, which is positive for real money. When the real (never mind fake government stats) rate of inflation is higher than the price of money, the net-negative price of money means fiat goes down and gold goes up.

    The ratio chasm between gold and silver must revert to the mean some sunny day. Cruising lately like a lofty Hesbollah left testicle circa 1:88, even a modest 1:40 means Ag at $60.

    This whole Modern Monetary market is utter bullshit. Bring back the banished business cycle and let us deal with reality once and for all.

    https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/dalio-says-25-gundlach-50-and-dimon-whatever-fed-does-wont-be-earth-shattering

    Reality means the proper extinguishing of debt:

    https://youtu.be/jhARoTa4RNE?si=kIJaOiKg7CSjfgB0

  6. Khaled Hassan@Khaledhzakariah
    Let me tell you something no one else will. What Israel did today is EXACTLY how you win Arabs over.

    You surprise, scare and impress them, and they’ll be on your side. Power appeals to them. Appeasement, however, gets you nothing but contempt and disrespect, which is why the US is losing to China in this tough neighbourhood.

    Peace will come. It’s just on the other side of war!
    https://x.com/Khaledhzakariah/status/1836137418073997322

    Ben B@dejo@BenTelAviv
    Israel will be mapping out injuries, hospital admissions, social media posts, electronic communications, news footage, and medical records, linking them all to people who had these pagers today.

    Forget the injuries and deaths; Israel just created a massive and growing trove of information about both known and previously unknown Hezbollah militants, as well as their supporters, partners, friends, family members, colleagues, workplaces, vehicles, and homes.

    They just created an incredibly dense and *up-to-date* social graph of an entire terrorist network, across Lebanon as well as neighboring countries. It is incredible what they just did.

    (Imagine being in a dark room with a massive Christmas tree in it. The tree has thousands of electric lights strewn all over it, but they’re unlit because the wall plug is not plugged into the wall socket.)

    (Now, plug it in.)
    https://x.com/BenTelAviv/status/1836094065970233684

    Belaaz News@TheBelaaz
    CYBERATTACK UPDATE: Saudi-Owned News Agency Al-Hadath reports that 19 Members of the IRGC were Killed and over 150 Injured as a result of yesterday’s exploding Pager Attack.

    Al-Hadath also reports that up to 500 Hezbollah terrorists may have been permanently Blinded or suffered Serious Injuries to their Eyes as a result of the attack.
    https://x.com/TheBelaaz/status/1836392061056016625

  7. KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – Ukrainian drones struck a large military depot in a town deep inside Russia overnight, causing a huge blaze and prompting the evacuation of some local residents, a Ukrainian official and Russian news reports said Wednesday.

    Meanwhile, a senior U.S. diplomat said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy´s recently announced – but still confidential – plan for winning the war “can work” and help end the conflict that is now in its third year.

    Ukraine claimed the strike destroyed Russian military warehouses in Toropets, a town in Russia´s Tver region about 380 kilometers (240 miles) northwest of Moscow and about 500 kilometers (300 miles) from the border with Ukraine.

    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2024/09/18/ukraine-drone-strike-causes-massive-blaze-at-russian-missile-storage-depot/

    • Lebanese media reported another round of explosions throughout the country midday on Wednesday.

      Initial vague reports of networked devices exploding came in from Beirut, the Bekaa Valley, and throughout Lebanon.

      If true, this would be the second consecutive day of potential sabotage and explosions in Lebanon after around 3,000 mostly members of Hezbollah were wounded by exploding beepers on Tuesday.

      According to the reports, the explosions occurred at and in parallel to the funeral of four Hezbollah members in Lebanon. The funeral was live-streamed on X but ended abruptly.

      https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-820703

    • Pro-Russia media underplays the extensive damage the Kiev regime has inflicted on pre-SMO Russian territory. We we tend to get our news from those sources since the other side pushes nothing but transparent lies.

      But some attacks have been dramatic and costly. News is seeping through to the Russian public, though it has yet to register in propaganda crafted for foreign consumption. There’s a change in tone. Too much grumbling within Stavka – strongmen of the Supreme High Command – to ignore much longer.

      Since we haven’t completely lost our minds, haven’t agreed to egregious provocations, Prez Z has been launching drones/missiles from the territory of the Baltic chihuahuas. That’s close for enough for their delivery systems to carry significant payloads. Big Booms are shredding Putin’s red lines.

      Our “pets” seem determined to drag us into the fire directly. They may even expand their incursions across the border to Belarus.

      >>>>> HUGE MISTAKE! <<<<<
      Lukashenko has a much shorter fuse than Uncle Vlad. He doesn’t have the manpower for wars of attrition, and he doesn’t do proportionate anyway. Please leave the poor, miserable Belorussians alone!

      Watch the first few minutes:
      Harvest Time – Huge Ammo Depot Destroyed…

  11. Note: a moving story, great 3 minute video summary of how Kamala ruined a family because the child was sick and in the hospital instead of in school, then boasted about it.

    Arrested by Kamala: A Black Mother’s Story
    By Joel Gilbert
    Kamala Harris’ recent boasts about her tough-on-crime record as California Attorney General have brought back into the spotlight her arrest and prosecution of single black mother Cheree Peoples in 2013, a tragedy I recount in my new short documentary, Arrested by Kamala: A Black Mother’s Story.

    There is a three minutes only version of the interview on You Tube as well, Arrested by Kamala.

    https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2024/09/arrested_by_kamala_a_black_mother_s_story.html

  12. JUST IN: Secret Service Assured Butler, PA Law Enforcement They Would “Take Care” of Building Thomas Crooks Shot Trump From
    thegatewaypundit.com/2024/09/just-secret-service-assured-butler-pa-law-enforcement/
    Sep. 18, 2024 1:20 pm
    Would-be Trump assassin is filmed waltzing down roof of building at Butler Rally before shooting President Trump. James Copenhaver video

    In a letter to acting US Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) highlights newly discovered security failures on July 13 that led to the shooting of President Trump during his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

    As revealed in the letter, Butler County law enforcement told Grassley’s staff in interviews that during security walkthroughs on July 11, they had “raised concerns to the Secret Service several times about securing the AGR complex buildings,” Grassley writes. “Butler County law enforcement officials said they told the Secret Service counter sniper that they didn’t have the manpower to cover the AGR complex buildings and asked that the whole area be ‘locked down’ and to not let people in that area because, based on their knowledge of that area, they believed people would gather there to see former President Trump.”

    However, in response to these concerns, two Secret Service agents said, “We will take care of it.”

    The Senator asks Rowe if the representations made by local law enforcement are accurate and what actions the Secret Service took to secure the area. He also asks for additional records and reiterates previous requests, which remain unfulfilled, by September 24.

    Grassley’s letter also highlights the Secret Service’s refusal to provide requested information on August 19 and September 4, 202, calling it “unacceptable” and notifying Rowe that the denial “fails to take into consideration Congress’s constitutional authority to conduct independent oversight.” Grassley continues, “It also flies in the face of your congressional testimony about responding to Congress.”

    Due to Rowe’s failure to disclose and provide information, Grassley writes, “I’ve had to go around the Secret Service to get answers.”

    On July 13, Trump was shot by Thomas Matthew Crooks while speaking in Butler, Pennsylvania. One rallygoer was killed in the shooting, and two were injured. Crooks fired the shot on top of a nearby building, where Secret Service counter snipers had a clear view of the shooter from their position at a higher elevation than the shooter behind Trump, yet they did not act. Crooks accessed the building with a ladder he bought at Home Depot the same day as the shooting.

    Additionally, as The Gateway Pundit reported, an eyewitness told the BBC that several people witnessed the shooter crawling on the roof of a local building with a rifle before Trump was shot, but they did not act until Trump was shot. According to later reports, a police officer encountered the shooter on the roof but let him go after he pointed the gun at him and before he shot Trump.

    Investigations into the matter have left more questions than answers. For example, former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle’s excuse for leaving the building unmonitored by agents was that the building “has a sloped roof at its highest point” and it wouldn’t be safe.

    Grassley’s investigation into the July 13 assassination attempt also extends to the recently foiled assassination plot by 46-year-old Pakistani national Asif Merchant and the second attempted Trump assassination in West Palm Beach last weekend.

    The second attempt on President Trump’s life came as Trump was golfing on the 5th hole of his West Palm Beach resort with real estate investor Steve Witkoff on Sunday. Shots were fired on the golf course after Secret Service agents identified a muzzle aimed at Trump through the fence line at Trump’s golf course. The shooter fled, leaving behind a Go-Pro, two backpacks, a loaded SKS-style, 7.62×39 caliber rifle with a scope, and a black plastic bag containing food.

    Officials identified the gunman as 58-year-old Routh and confirmed that he was targeting President Trump.

    Read the full letter here. https://static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/09/grassley_to_secret_service_-_follow_up.pdf

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/09/just-secret-service-assured-butler-pa-law-enforcement/

  13. Dangers of Misrepresenting History: Malcolm Gladwell, Sir John Knight, & the 2nd Amendment
    Ammoland Inc. Posted on September 18, 2024 by F Riehl, Editor in Chief

    Opinion
    1686 trial of Sir John Knight
    1686 trial of Sir John Knight

    Historical accuracy plays a crucial role in shaping debates over significant issues like gun rights. When history is misrepresented or distorted, the consequences can be profound, especially when it concerns topics as contentious as the Second Amendment. Historical accuracy plays a crucial role in shaping debates over significant issues like gun rights. In an era of intense public scrutiny and pivotal court rulings on the Second Amendment, misrepresentations of history can fuel misguided policies with far-reaching consequences.

    A recent example of this misrepresentation is found in Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History podcast, where he explores the 1686 trial of Sir John Knight and its relevance to modern gun rights discussions. While Gladwell is an expert storyteller, his retelling of this case leaves room for confusion and, ultimately, misleads his audience about the real historical context that informs the Second Amendment.

    In this article, we’ll explore how Gladwell’s retelling of Sir John Knight’s trial contributes to misunderstandings about gun rights, why historical accuracy is essential in these discussions, and how David Kopel’s fact-based critique of Gladwell’s narrative serves as a necessary corrective for anyone interested in defending the Second Amendment.
    Gladwell’s Storytelling vs. Legal History

    Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History podcast is designed to present overlooked or misunderstood stories in a new light. However, in his episode “The Sudden Celebrity of Sir John Knight,” he takes liberties with the facts in a way that alters the historical significance of the 1686 trial. Sir John Knight was acquitted of violating England’s 1328 Statute of Northampton, which forbade the carrying of arms in public to terrorize others. According to Gladwell, this case was pivotal in shaping future debates over gun rights, including the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen.
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    SCROLL DOWN TO CONTINUE READING

    Gladwell suggests that the Knight case represents a “checkmate” against historical gun restrictions. However, his retelling overstates the significance of the case, painting Knight’s acquittal as a foundational moment for gun rights in English and American law.

    In reality, the case played a much smaller role than Gladwell presents, particularly in how it has been used in discussions about American constitutional law.

    Understanding the Statute of Northampton’s True Scope

    Modern gun control advocates, including New York in the Bruen case, often cite the Statute of Northampton to argue for restrictions on public carry. However, as Stephen Halbrook notes, the statute was never intended to ban the peaceable carrying of arms—it only applied to situations where arms were carried with the intent to cause terror.

    While Malcolm Gladwell leans on the Statute of Northampton to argue for historical restrictions on carrying arms, the true legal interpretation of this 14th-century statute offers a more nuanced view. The Statute forbade carrying arms in a manner that would terrify the public, specifically “in affray of the peace.” As Stephen Halbrook notes in his article, Does a Medieval English Statute Supersede the Second Amendment?, even in England, the Statute of Northampton was not a blanket prohibition on carrying arms.

    The critical legal interpretation came from the 1686 trial of Sir John Knight, where the court emphasized that the statute applied only when arms were carried with “malo animo,” or malicious intent. The jury acquitted Knight because he did not go armed with the intent to terrify the public. This reinforces the principle that carrying arms for self-defense was lawful unless it was done to cause fear or harm.

    Halbrook also points out that many early American laws, such as those drafted by Thomas Jefferson in Virginia in 1786, followed this principle. The Virginia law forbade carrying arms “in terror of the country,” but peaceful carrying of arms remained lawful. This is a critical distinction that undermines the broad reading of the Statute of Northampton used to justify restrictive gun laws in America today.

    Misleading the Debate on Gun Rights

    Gladwell’s version of the Knight case introduces several problems in the modern debate over gun rights. First, his exaggeration of the case’s significance risks convincing listeners that gun rights have a weaker historical foundation than they actually do. By focusing on a single, relatively obscure case, Gladwell ignores a wealth of more relevant historical examples that directly informed the Founders’ understanding of the right to bear arms, such as the English Bill of Rights of 1689, which declared that Protestants could “have Arms for their Defence suitable to their Conditions, and as allowed by Law.”

    In his critique of Gladwell, David Kopel points out that the true significance of the Knight case lies in its legal context:

    the Statute of Northampton had largely fallen into disuse by the time of Knight’s trial, and his acquittal was more about the specific circumstances of his case than any grand statement on the right to bear arms. The acquittal was based on the lack of intent to cause terror, which was a key factor under English law. Gladwell’s portrayal of Knight’s trial as a major moment in the history of gun rights, therefore, inflates its importance while ignoring the broader legal context.

    The American Evolution of Gun Rights

    In America, the right to bear arms evolved into something far more expansive than its English origins.

    This divergence is crucial to understanding why the Second Amendment was framed without the qualifications that limited English rights. The Founders sought to enshrine an individual right that went beyond the restrictive English model, ensuring that American citizens could bear arms for self-defense without conditions based on their status or intent.

    As Halbrook again notes, the Second Amendment was seen by the Founders as building on English law by explicitly protecting an individual’s right to keep and bear arms without the restrictions of “condition or degree” imposed in England. St. George Tucker, one of the earliest American commentators on the Constitution, emphasized that while English law allowed for some restrictions on the carrying of arms, the Second Amendment “was without any qualification” in its protection of gun rights.

    Tucker’s interpretation illustrates the broader American view of gun rights, which went beyond England’s common law. Early American statutes continued to allow individuals to carry weapons so long as they did not do so in a way that would terrorize others.

    This understanding highlights the divergence between America’s constitutional right to bear arms and the narrower restrictions in English law, further undermining the misrepresentations found in Gladwell’s narrative.

    The Importance of Accurate History in the Gun Control Debate

    Why does this matter? Because historical misrepresentations can fuel misguided policy decisions.

    If supposedly influential figures like Gladwell portray the history of gun rights as weaker or more tenuous than it is, it opens the door for liberal policymakers to argue that modern restrictions on firearms have deeper roots in legal tradition than they actually do. This is dangerous for defenders of the Second Amendment, who rely on the robust historical foundation of gun rights to make their case against restrictive gun control laws.

    The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Bruen rested on a thorough examination of historical precedent, including colonial and early American laws, to affirm the individual right to bear arms for self-defense. The court’s focus was on the original public meaning of the Second Amendment when it was ratified in 1791, not on isolated cases from English law centuries earlier. By focusing on the Bruen decision and the historical context that informed it, defenders of gun rights can provide a much stronger case than the revisionist narrative that Gladwell offers.
    Kopel’s Corrective and the Path Forward

    David Kopel’s original article, Malcolm Gladwell’s Invented Facts Make Good Stories, provides an essential counterpoint to Gladwell’s retelling of the Knight case. Kopel meticulously breaks down Gladwell’s embellishments and false claims, offering readers a more accurate and fact-based understanding of the trial and its historical context. Importantly, Kopel reminds us that while Knight’s case may be interesting, it is not the cornerstone of the gun rights debate that Gladwell suggests.
    The Importance of Accurate Historical Analysis

    Misrepresenting historical facts can have significant consequences for modern debates, particularly when it comes to defending fundamental rights like the Second Amendment. Malcolm Gladwell’s selective retelling of Sir John Knight’s case might be entertaining, but it risks distorting the robust historical foundation that underpins gun rights.

    As both David Kopel and Stephen Halbrook demonstrate, accurate historical analysis is essential for anyone committed to preserving the Second Amendment. In a time when gun rights are frequently under attack, relying on factual, well-researched history is the only way to safeguard these freedoms.

    https://www.ammoland.com/2024/09/dangers-of-misrepresenting-history-malcolm-gladwell-sir-john-knight-the-2nd-amendment/

    https://reason.com/volokh/2024/09/11/malcolm-gladwells-invented-facts-make-good-stories/

  14. THE ENEMY WITHIN: Democrat Calls into CSPAN and Leaves Host Shocked When He Praises Would-Be Trump Assassins (VIDEO)
    thegatewaypundit.com/2024/09/enemy-within-democrat-calls-cspan-leaves-host-shocked/
    Sep. 18, 2024 4:20 pm
    Stunned CPAN host has to cut off vile Democrat Caller after he praises would-be Trump assassins. (Credit: CSPAN Screenshot)

    Many Democrats in America will not be satisfied until an assassin finally succeeds in taking out President Trump, as a shocking episode this morning on CSPAN illustrated.

    As The Gateway Pundit reported, a second attempt was made on Trump’s life Sunday, just two months after he came within a centimeter of being killed in Butler, Pennsylvania by a Democrat donor named Thomas Crooks.

    Shots were fired at the 45th president’s golf club in West Palm Beach on Sunday afternoon at roughly 1:30 pm as he was playing golf with real estate investor Steve Witkoff.

    The shooter, later identified as 58-year-old Trump hater Ryan Wesley Routh, shoved the muzzle of his rifle through the fence line at the golf course before Secret Service agents opened fire on him.

    A Democrat caller from Louisiana claiming to be a Vietnam veteran called into CSPAN Wednesday morning and told a stunned host that he was grateful the two assassins were willing to step up and try to kill Trump because he was the enemy.

    Stunned at what he was hearing, the host inquired whether the caller was advocating violence against Trump. The Democrat denied he was and claimed he was talking about defending America.

    The host then finally cut him off and moved on to the next caller.

    WATCH:

    DISGUSTING

    A Democrat caller was just cut off on CSPAN after praising the attempted assassinations of President Trump.

    This is what the unhinged rhetoric coming from the Democrat Party has done. pic.twitter.com/4anVEk3rnX

    — Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) September 18, 2024

    HOST: Willie, Democrat, good morning.

    CALLER: I just wanted to say I’m a very patriotic American. I did 20 years in the military, two tours to Vietnam, one in 1966, went back in 68.

    I look at myself and think about what we pulled as a military… destroy the enemy by all means available.

    I see we let this man Trump destroy America, and I look at it and say, well, these two people had to step up and take that shot.

    HOST (shocked): Wait, Willie. You’re not advocating violence, are you?

    CALLER: Not violence. I’m talking about defending my country.

    HOST: All right.

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/09/enemy-within-democrat-calls-cspan-leaves-host-shocked/