Hmm… America Keeps Getting Attacked By Nations It Hates In Ways Only The CIA Can See

I’d like to tell you a folktale. It’s called “The Emperor’s New 9/11”.

Once upon a time there was an Emperor who loved war and military expansionism. He was always searching for new ways to instigate military conflicts without losing the support of the international community or waking up the populace to the fact that they’re just propagandized cogs in the machine of a globe-spanning Empire which uses endless military and economic violence to maintain its unipolar hegemony.

One day two men calling themselves Intelligence Experts came into town claiming that they had devised a wondrous new type of enemy threat that is invisible to the common folk.

“Is it as good as 9/11?” asked the Emperor excitedly. “Oh how I loved how that one allowed me to initiate a new era of military expansionism on the pretence of fighting global terrorism!”

“It’s even better!” explained the Intelligence Experts. “This magical enemy threat is comprised of Cyber Attacks which are completely invisible to public scrutiny, and you have complete control over where and when they happen. You just name a foreign government you don’t like, and we’ll say they have attacked the democracy of the Empire!”

“You mean the pretend democracy I lied to them about having?” asked the Emperor.

“Of course,” said the Intelligence Experts. “So you just name the disobedient government you want a fight with and we’ll give you your new 9/11.”

“Hmm, well I’m not very fond of the Russians,” said the Emperor. “They’ve been brazenly acting against our interests on the world stage and they keep getting friendlier with China. Let’s set to work on them first.”

So the Intelligence Experts set to work weaving their narrative about Russian Cyber Attacks. The Emperor put his mass media to work knitting together wonderful yarns of the Emperor’s wonderous new 9/11, simultaneously invisible to commoners yet outrageous and necessitating an aggressive response.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/hmm-america-keeps-getting-attacked-nations-it-hates-ways-only-cia-can-see

BLM protesters chant 'Every city, every town, burn the precincts to the ground!' as second night of Philadelphia riots erupt

Not really a 'peaceful' protest

Black Lives Matter protesters in Philadelphia were recorded reciting a violent anti-police chant during the second night of rioting over the deadly police shooting of Walter Wallace Jr. on Monday.

The protesters' chant was recorded by Blaze TV reporter Elijah Schaffer, who was told to stop recording shortly after capturing the video.

"Every city, every town, burn the precincts to the ground!" They chanted on the video before the frame jerks as an Antifa girl hits his camera. She is heard saying, "Stop filming!"

Protesters immediately mobilized after video of the police shooting of 27-year-old Wallace went viral on social media.

The video shows Wallace walking toward police as they yell at him and eventually shoot him. Police say he was armed with a knife and allegedly had it out as he approached them and ignored their commands.

https://www.theblaze.com/news/philadelphia-blm-chant-police-violence

How the Left Is Using Americans' Empathy and Decency to Destroy Us

A lot of people are upset and worried about how easy it was for the various state governments to perform illegal takings on the population by preventing businesses from operating or from operating normally for months on end, in the absence of an immediate and pressing emergency.

Yes, I know COVID-19 was presented as an immediate and pressing emergency. But presenting it as such doesn’t make it so.

Yes, it is dangerous, mostly to the very elderly and severely immune-compromised. Yes, it behooves a civilized society to protect those people.

Which we didn’t do. Instead, we treated the virus as though it were uniformly dangerous and just as likely to kill the family’s four-year-old as grandma. We closed schools (and re-opened a number of them as daycare centers), selectively closed stores (because apparently, the virus is far less dangerous in pot dispensaries than in bookstores, say), mandated ridiculously low occupancy for restaurants (anyone who has dined out in both NYC and anywhere out West knows that in the West our tables are already “distanced”) and generally set our hair on fire and ran around screaming that it hurts.

Which it very well should, because stupidity should hurt. Most Democrat-controlled states in fact seem to have gone out of their way to “make it hurt,” including Governor Newsom’s insistence that Californians not celebrate Thanksgiving.

I’ll be honest: Both this and the embrace of COVID-chic masks—even though there is no scientific evidence they work, and scientific evidence that they don’t is being actively suppressed—has me in a funk and has been very bad for my productivity (both fiction and non-fiction this year).

I’m mostly worried that the same media that has sold these stunts, and the absolute necessity for authoritarian government in America, will now sell the need to get rid of orangemanbad over the recession and unemployment the left themselves caused.

But unlike most of the commenters on my blog, I don’t think this means something very fundamental has changed about Americans.

Yes, Americans are in a panic and obeying nonsensical (mask) orders and outright harmful ones, like the closing of businesses that are no more or less harmful than the ones being left open.

But they’re not doing this because they are in a panic for themselves.

Sure, a few of them are. I’ve run across people who scream at me that I want to kill them. (Of course I don’t. Or at least not until they start throwing a fit over the fact that I’m walking outside without a mask, or perhaps telling them the world is not coming to an end over a respiratory virus. Depending on the intensity of the fit and how irrational it gets, sometimes I think wishfully about kicking their behind, though.)

But the majority of Americans aren’t complying with the crazy mandates because they fear for themselves. No. Most of them are doing it because they want to be nice or good. Specifically, they want to be nice or good to their fellow citizens.

https://pjmedia.com/columns/sarah-hoyt/2020/10/27/how-the-left-is-using-americans-empathy-and-decency-to-destroy-us-n1097734

5:5

Former AFP officer says any 'federal ICAC' must have the power to tap politicians' phones

A former Australian Federal Police corruption buster has compared the Federal Government's proposed new anti-corruption body to the toothless models set up by developing countries.

Key points:

The Federal Government announced plans for a commission overseeing law enforcement agencies and the public service in 2018

The Government says details of the proposed watchdog will be revealed "soon"

Independent MP Helen Haines introduced legislation for an alternative corruption watchdog on Monday

Chris Douglas, who spent three decades fighting corruption with the AFP, told 7.30 Australia was "falling short of international standards" in plans to tackle corruption via a Commonwealth Integrity Commission.

"The public integrity component of the Commonwealth Integrity Commission would rate probably on par with some of the models I've seen in Africa," he said.

"It's woeful. It's ineffective."

Mr Douglas, who is now a financial crime consultant specialising in anti-money laundering and anti-bribery in Africa and Australia, said a federal ICAC would only be effective if it had the power to conduct undercover surveillance on ministers, MPs and their staff, including phone taps, listening devices, location tracking and deploying undercover agents.

"The commission needs to have a full range of powers," he said.

"We need to have these covert resources allocated… to enable it to look for corruption rather than just rely upon it being reported.

"By shielding one particular group of people and not applying the full range of powers to them it raises the question — what have you got to hide?"

It has been almost two years since the Federal Government first announced its proposal for a Commonwealth Integrity Commission.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison recently blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for delaying its set-up.

But independent MP Helen Haines told 7.30 the introduction of a national anti-corruption body had never been as important as it was now.

"The Government is spending amounts of money never before seen in our history," Ms Haines said.

"We are walking into, essentially, a trillion dollars' worth of debt."

On Monday, the crossbencher unveiled legislation for her own version of an anti-corruption body following months of consultation with retired judges, public servants and even Coalition MPs.

For the bill to get up, some Coalition MPs would need to be willing to cross the floor.

"I've been contemplating this since the beginning of the year, waiting for the Government's bill," Ms Haines said.

"It's become increasingly clear to me as the year rolled on, that bill was not going to come."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-28/ex-afp-officer-scathing-federal-anti-corruption-commission/12821806

Prime Minister announces new High Court justices ahead of dual retirement

The daughter of a former High Court chief justice, and a former Melbourne tax lawyer will be the two new faces on the High Court bench.

Key points:

The appointments come as two High Court judges near the mandatory retirement age

Justice Jacqueline Gleeson is currently a Federal Court judge, and is the daughter of former chief justice Murray Gleeson

Simon Steward enters the High Court after sitting on the Federal Court bench in Melbourne

The two current Federal Court Judges Jacqueline Gleeson and Simon Steward will replace outgoing Justices Virginia Bell and Geoffrey Nettle.

Justice Gleeson is currently in the Federal Court in Sydney, while Justice Steward is on the Federal Court bench in Melbourne.

"They are outstanding judges, they have been outstanding members of the legal and broader Australian community," Attorney-General Christian Porter said.

Justice Gleeson's father, Murray Gleeson, also served on the High Court bench as chief justice.

"It's not really possible to appoint her honour Justice Gleeson without noting she is the oldest daughter of former High Court chief justice Murray Gleeson," he said.

"I'm told that's a first in common law countries."

Two of the current High Court justices are approaching the mandatory retirement age of 70.

Justice Nettle will be replaced first, by Justice Steward, in early December.

Justice Bell's birthday is not until March next year, with the new Justice Gleeson to take up her High Court seat at the start of the month.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-28/new-high-court-judges-announced-ahead-of-justices-retirement/12789596