Illinois Gov. Signs Bill Preventing ‘Book Bans’ While Standing In Front Of Sexually Explicit Books

Illinois Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker signed a bill on Monday aimed at stopping book bans in public schools while standing in front of books that have been deemed sexually explicit and pornographic.

Under the new legislation, libraries will not be eligible to receive state grants if they remove books from their collections or refuse to sign the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights, which indicates “materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.”

“Book bans are about censorship, marginalizing people and marginalizing ideas,” Democrat Gov. Pritzker said at Chicago’s Harold Washington Public Library.

Pritzker signed the bill in front of a shelf of books that have been contested in other states over what some critics have described as pornographic content. Many of the books, including “Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe, feature explicit illustrations of sex acts. The shelf also showcased “This Book is Gay” by Juno Dawson, which similarly features graphic sexual depictions, and even provides detailed instructions for various sex acts. Dawson responded to critics, claiming the book is “definitely not pornographic.”

CEO of Equality Illinois Brian Johnson lauded the bill, remarking, “If reading materials are denied to us, we are denied an opportunity to learn about ourselves.”

The legislation comes as parents across the country have objected to books like “Gender Queer” and “This Book is Gay” being featured in public school libraries.

Meanwhile in Florida, a law went into effect earlier this year requiring books in school libraries to be approved by a librarian or media specialist. Those who provide pornographic books to students could be charged with a third degree felony.

Gov. Pritzker is the cousin of Jennifer Pritzker, a transgender-identified billionaire who has been instrumental in the effort to normalize child transgenderism. Jennifer Pritzker’s Tawani Foundation contributed more than $100,000 to the ACLU to fight a Tennessee law banning the medical transition of minors. Pritzker also gave $500,000 to the Lurie Children’s Hospital’s gender and sex development program in 2016. Pritzker also provided the initial grant money to the gender identity clinic when it first opened in 2013.

Pritzker’s Tawani Foundation also donated $25,000 to Harbor Camps, an overnight summer camp for children as young as 8 years old who identify as “transgender or non-binary.”

Meanwhile, the foundation gave $45,000 to Chicago’s Francis W. Parker School, which Project Veritas reported had given sex toys to students in a lesson on “queer sex.”

http://www.stationgossip.com/2023/06/illinois-gov-signs-bill-preventing-book.html

Central Bank of Nigeria’s Governor Suspended and Arrested After Waging All-Out War on Cash

For the moment, it is not entirely clear why Godwin Emefiele has been removed from his post and detained by Nigeria’s secret police, but there are a whole slew of possible reasons.

Something rather out of the ordinary occurred in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation and largest economy, this past weekend: the (now former) Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, was suspended from office by the country’s newly elected President Bola Tinubuand. Hours later, Emefiele — who had been at the helm of the CBN for nine years, during which time the Nigerian currency lost 65% of its value and inflation almost tripled — was taken into custody by Nigeria’s secret police, the State Security Service (SSS).

Governors of central banks, which are generally independent authorities, are rarely suspended from their posts, and they are hardly ever arrested. For the moment, it is not entirely clear why Emefiele has been detained but there are a whole slew of possible reasons. The arrest follows a months-long investigation into his office by the SSS, which tried unsuccessfully to arrest him in December on allegations of “financing terrorism, fraudulent activities, and economic crimes of national security dimension.”

All-Out War on Cash

Those “economic crimes of national security dimension” presumably now include waging an all-out war on cash, with dire consequences for Nigeria’s already embattled economy. Between January and February, the CBN withdraw all high-denomination notes from circulation and failed to replace them with the newly designed notes it had promised, triggering a cash crunch. The central bank also placed stringent limits on the daily cash withdrawals of anyone who could access cash. As with India’s brush with demonetisation in 2016, the result was unmitigated chaos and economic pain — in a country where 63% of the population was already poor and 33% unemployed.

In March, the central bank finally paused the cash swap program until the end of the year, but only at the dogged insistence of Nigeria’s Supreme Court. By then, the lives, jobs and businesses of untold numbers of people had been upended. Inflation soared to an almost 18-year high. Preliminary data showed that economic growth for the first quarter of 2023 came in more than one percentage point lower than in the previous quarter, which Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics attributed to the “adverse effects of the cash crunch.”

What’s more, irreparable damage was done to public trust in the country’s central bank and banking system, which is ironic given that lack of trust is one of the biggest obstacles to public adoption of the country’s floundering central bank digital currency (CBDC), the e-Naira. The online newspaper Premium Times called for the arrest and prosecution of Emefiele, arguing that the cash withdrawal limits the CBN had imposed were an infringement on people’s basic rights:

“[M]ost have had to live with a frightening range of infringements since the banknotes swap policy came into effect. These have ranged from the economic (loss of earnings platforms across the economy’s informal sector), through the emotional (having to beg for cash from friends, family, neighbours and strangers to meet basic needs) to the conceptual (just struggling to make sense of the policy’s design, implementation and expected outcomes).”

https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2023/06/central-bank-of-nigerias-governor-who-tried-to-entrench-a-cashless-economy-has-been-suspended-and-arrested.html

In First Month in Office Crime Jumps 38% Under New Chicago Mayor Johnson

When Chicagoans voted out Lori Lightfoot and put Mayor Brandon Johnson in charge, they doubled-down on the progressive soft on crime approach and went full commie.

And they are getting exactly what they voted for.

The latest data reveals increases in almost all major crimes, with total crime growing 38% over the same time last year, during May 15, 2023 – June 11, 2023, Johnson’s first month in office.

Wirepoints reports:

The latest police CompStat data shows almost all major crimes grew during the mayor’s first month (May 15, 2023 – June 11, 2023), with the total crime count growing 38% vs. the same month last year.

Aggravated batteries were up 17% and burglaries increased 12%. Criminal sexual assaults were up 5%. Car thefts continued their out-of-control spiral, up 153%. Even shootings were up 12%.

Only homicides fell over the period, declining 5%. That’s three less people murdered in that one month period, but unfortunately, still a rounding error in a city that has led the country in homicides for eleven straight years (see Wirepoints’ survey of America’s 75-largest cities for more).

http://www.womensystems.com/2023/06/in-first-month-in-office-crime-jumps-38.html

Ted Cruz Grills Mark Zuckerberg Over Alleged Instagram Pedophile Network

Texas Senator Ted Cruz sent a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Monday asking for answers from the social media giant in relation to the bombshell report last week accusing Instagram of facilitating a “vast pedophile network.”

Cruz, the ranking member on the Senate Commerce Committee, said in the letter that he intended to investigate the report and requested documentation regarding Meta’s handling of child sexual abuse material that made its way onto Instagram, which is owned by Meta.

“It is shocking and disturbing that Instagram may be actively facilitating the sexual exploitation of children. This horrifying report certainly calls into question whether platforms like Instagram should continue receiving civil liability immunity in cases where the design of their own systems proactively facilitates illegal and harmful activity,” Cruz said in a statement to The Daily Wire.

“Given this example and Meta’s past refusal to adequately answer my questions about Facebook and Instagram’s recommendation algorithms, I think it’s time for the Commerce Committee to hear directly from Mark Zuckerberg why his company’s products are allegedly enabling pedophiles,” the Texas Republican added.

The letter was written in response to a report from The Wall Street Journal alongside researchers at Stanford University and the University of Massachusetts Amherst that said that Instagram allowed and promoted accounts that openly purchased and commissioned “underage-sex content.”

Accounts on Instagram have posted “menus” that offered inappropriate content, including “imagery of the minor performing sexual acts with animals,” according to researchers from the Stanford Internet Observatory. Other “menus” reportedly offered videos of children hurting themselves or “meet-ups” with kids.

Cruz’s inquiry into Meta’s handling of abusive material is part of another investigation he launched in February to look into the treatment of conservative content by tech giants Google, Twitter, TikTok, and Meta.

“As the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee may soon move to consider children’s online safety legislation, this disturbing report further calls into question whether platforms should enjoy Section 230 immunity from civil liability in cases where the design of their own systems proactively [facilitates] illegal and harmful activity,” Cruz wrote in the letter.

Cruz asked Meta to provide a list of sexually abusive hashtags that Meta blocked and how many times they were promoted by the network’s algorithm. He also asked how many times a user account believed to be under 18 was accessed from one of the abusive hashtags.

Additionally, the Texas Senator asked how many resources were being devoted by Meta to child safety and told the company to preserve all documentation of its communications and policies on the issue.

In response to the Journal’s report, Meta said that it was continually fighting against the proliferation of abusive material.

“Child exploitation is a horrific crime,” said Meta, the parent company of Instagram. “We’re continuously investigating ways to actively defend against this behavior.”

http://www.womensystems.com/2023/06/ted-cruz-grills-mark-zuckerberg-over.html

NATO Increases Military Spending Over Ukraine, and Israeli Exports Break Record

Germany is about to sign the largest arms deal in Israeli history, and diplomats who've spoken to Haaretz say this is just the beginning: 'Europe lived peacefully until Feb 24, 2022. That morning, they woke up with a whole new understanding of things'

Jun 14, 2023 4:02 pm IDT

Germany and Israel are advancing the largest-ever Israeli defense export deal; Finland becomes the first European country to acquire Israel's David's Sling air defense system; Elbit Systems is awarded a $305 Million contract with the Netherlands; Estonia is purchasing Israeli drones in a deal worth more than 100 million euros.

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/security-aviation/2023-06-14/ty-article-magazine/.premium/nato-increases-military-spending-over-ukraine-and-israeli-exports-break-record/00000188-b8e8-d1d6-a7b9-fbfd53490000

"Biden's Executive Order 14067 Increases Surveillance of Your Financial Transactions"

All Digital Transactions After $600 Reported To The IRS - 1/1/2023

Hidden in section 4 of this order is some DEEPLY disturbing language.

You see, in just a few paragraphs, our current president has set the stage for…

Legal surveillance of all US citizens

Complete control of all bank accounts and purchases

The ability to crush free speech and silence opposing voices

All this time freedom-loving patriots have focused on guns.

We’ve always expected the Democrats to take them away. (And they’re working on this believe me.)

But what they’re doing with this bill is much, much worse.

They’re Going After Your Money.

This might seem a little over the top. But according to leading experts, it’s 100% TRUE.

The goal of this bill is simple.

What Democrats want is nothing more than to make the US dollar obsolete.

They want to do away with paper cash.

In the not-so-distant future, those bills you have will soon be no better than toilet paper.

https://link.breitbart.com/view/6300bed292570219860d04f3ix6h9.bljl/b5eef299

US Intel Community Buying Swaths of Commercial Data, Replicating Mass Surveillance Program

A report released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) on Friday shows the intelligence community is purchasing massive amounts of Commercially Available Information (CAI) that can “reveal sensitive and intimate information about individuals.”

CAI is data that is available for purchase, often to non-government entities. The information is typically labeled as anonymous. However, the ODNI report, dated January 2022, says, “Although CAI may be “anonymized,” it is often possible (using other CAI) to deanonymize and identify individuals, including US persons.”

The CAI poses a significant risk to Americans. “It can be misused to pry into private lives, ruin reputations and cause emotional distress and threaten the safety of individuals.” The document continues, “Even subject to appropriate controls, CAI can increase the power of the government’s ability to peer into private lives to levels that may exceed our constitutional traditions or other social expectations.”

As CAI has become more available, intelligence agencies have begun vacuuming up vast amounts of data. While ODNI does not reveal the full scope of the information purchases, it names Accenture, Acxiom, CoreLogic, Epsilon, Intelius, LexisNexis, Oracle (Datalogix), Thomson Reuters and Verisk as major contractors working with the US government.

Senator Ron Wyden said the ODNI did not know which agencies were purchasing CAI. The ODNI report called for the intelligence community to “develop a multi-layered approach to catalog, to the extent feasible, the acquisition and use of CAI across its 18 elements.”

The Wall Street Journal described the swaths of data collected as intrusive as the mass surveillance the government directly collects. “CAI has grown in such scale that it has begun to replicate the results of intrusive surveillance techniques once used on a more targeted and limited basis,” the outlet noted.

Part of the reason for relying on CAI is it is less regulated than other forms of information collection. The ODNI report admits that stricter rules for the data harvesting should be used as CAI data can be as intrusive as information collected by a search warrant. “CAI includes information on nearly everyone that is of a type and level of sensitivity that historically could have been obtained, if at all, only through targeted (and predicated) collection,” the report stated, adding, “and that could be used to cause harm to an individual’s reputation, emotional well-being or physical safety.”

Wyden said the collection of CAI was violating the Fourth Amendment. “If the government can buy its way around Fourth Amendment due-process, there will be few meaningful limits on government surveillance,” he said.

https://libertarianinstitute.org/news/us-intel-community-buying-swaths-of-commercial-data-replicating-mass-surveillance-program/

https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/ODNI-Declassified-Report-on-CAI-January2022.pdf

Israel records $12.5 billion in defense exports, 25% to Arab neighbors

Abraham Accords countries gave a boost to the State of Israel's defense exports.

The Defense Ministry on Wednesday announced a record $12.556 billion in defense exports during 2022, with Israel getting a boost from new Abraham Accords’ countries.

These new allies accounted for almost 25% of exports.

Though the report did not name countries, it is known that the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have purchased defense products and Morocco and Sudan are also part of the Abraham Accords.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said, “The remarkable data unveiled by the Israeli defense establishment, reaching new heights in defense exports, showcases the State of Israel's strength and excellent technological capabilities. Through the creativity and innovation of both the Israeli defense establishment and the Ministry of Defense, we not only outpace our adversaries but also sustain our qualitative edge.”

Defense Ministry Director-General Eyal Zamir stated, “Global instability increases the demand for Israeli air defense systems, drones, UAVs, and missiles, and we continually work to preserve our capabilities and strengthen them.”

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-746274

Israel doesn't want to arm Ukraine Nazi's directly but their arms are going to Ukraine via third parties

US taxpayer funds flowed to Chinese entities that conducted coronavirus research before COVID pandemic: GAO

The FBI and the Energy Department have said COVID-19 likely emerged from a lab leak in China

An independent watchdog agency found that U.S. taxpayer funds flowed to Chinese entities known for conducting coronavirus research, including the Wuhan Institute of Virology and an arm of the People’s Liberation Army, ahead of the COVID-19 global pandemic.

The findings are included in a Government Accountability Office report titled "NIH Could Take Additional Actions to Manage Risks Involving Foreign Subrecipients," first obtained by Fox News Digital.

The GAO, a nonpartisan agency which investigates federal spending, found that U.S. taxpayer dollars from two federal agenciesthe National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)directed funds to American universities and the non-profit EcoHealth Alliance.

The report found those funds were subsequently redirected to the Wuhan Institute of Virology as well as the Wuhan University and the Academy of Military Medical Sciences (AMMS), which is an arm of the People’s Liberation Army of the Chinese Communist Party.

The report comes after House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner, R-Ohio, and Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, lead Republicans in demanding that the GAO conduct a "comprehensive accounting of all public funds the United States Government disbursed" to the Chinese entities from January 2014 through December 2021. Turner and Wenstrup made that request to the GAO in April 2022.

"The selected entities are government institutions or laboratories in China that conduct work on infectious diseases, including pandemic viruses, and have had actions taken by federal agencies to address safety or security concerns," the report states. "All three selected Chinese entities received funds."

The report states that between 2014 and 2021, all three Chinese entities received more than $2 million combined from the U.S. government "through seven subawards" the GAO identified.

The National Institutes of Health provided $200,000 directly to Wuhan University for a period of March 2018 through February 2020. Neither the Wuhan Institute of Virology nor the Academy of Military Medical Sciences received money directly from NIH during that time period.

However, all three selected entities received "first-tier subawards."

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/us-taxpayer-funds-flowed-chinese-entities-conducting-coronavirus-research-covid-pandemic-gao

Portland opens felon-operated homeless village, neighborhood residents report issues of theft, fights and open drug dealing

Most of our team have served life sentences in prison. They’ve spent 20+ years in a confined environment where their survival depends on their ability to read people in unpredictable situations."

Neighbors are calling out the convicted felon managers of a new Portland homeless village for being the epicenter of crime in the neighborhood.

Only weeks after the city cleared out a massive homeless encampment and opened the new Safe Rest Village, housing 67 people who were formerly living in tents along the Peninsula Crossing Trail, residents told KATU that the situation has not improved.

George Siebert, who has lived in his University Park home for 42 years, told the outlet, "Life is pretty miserable because we live in a kind of anxiety. We are on the edge every time somebody walks by."

During the interview, next to Siebert’s front steps, “a man on a bicycle rode past, flipped the middle finger, and yelled a profanity.” Siebert said he has seen worse, including drug use on his property, theft of his water, and fighting on the way to or from the Safe Rest Village. "Every time there is a commotion, we jump to the windows. We're looking at our cars to see if they're not getting broken into."

Other neighbors including Chrisanne Boles shared a security video with the outlet showing "known drug dealers" openly selling their on the curb right outside their homes in broad daylight. "They've stolen, I don't know how much stuff out of my yard. They're bold enough now they come up on my porch and steal cigarettes."

Boles added, "The ones that are really homeless and not doing the drugs, I have compassion for them. These ones right here, I have no compassion. They're not trying to help themselves. I've called the cops. The cops don't do nothing, right? What can they do?"

Urban Alchemy, the organization that operates the homeless village is staffed by convicted felons. According to its website, "Most of our team have served life sentences in prison. They’ve spent 20+ years in a confined environment where their survival depends on their ability to read people in unpredictable situations. This teaches them instincts that you can’t learn in a classroom."

The California-based non-profit was awarded a 5-year, $50 million contract in April to operate homeless villages for Portland. In its proposal, Urban Alchemy claimed it is capable of running five of these types of facilities.

The organization claims to have 28 contracts totaling $61 million in four different cities with nine different government agencies.

In March, it was revealed that an employee at Urban Alchemy’s San Francisco branch allegedly shot someone while on a break during a shift outside one of the organization’s homeless shelters in November 2022.

Kirkpatrick Tyler, Urban Alchemy's Chief of Government and Community Affairs told KATU in a statement regarding the problems at the Safe Rest Village: "The Peninsula Crossing Safe Rest Village is providing life-saving housing and services to 68 Portlanders who were suffering on the street just a week ago. Urban Alchemy is proud of the work we have done in collaboration with the City of Portland to bring it online. We are taking immediate steps to add two more practitioners per shift to provide safety and service monitoring and engage the areas surrounding the safe sleep to determine illicit activity."

https://thepostmillennial.com/portland-opens-felon-operated-homeless-village-neighborhood-residents-report-issues-of-theft-fights-and-open-drug-dealing

Their numbers are growing by the thousands

This is a Army of Veterans who are prepared to do whatever is necessary to uphold the Constitution

https://web.archive.org/web/20230613102017/https://twitter.com/MichaelDeLauzon/status/1668526098857213952

https://canadafreepress.com/article-comment/this-is-a-army-of-veterans-who-are-prepared-to-do-whatever-is-necessary-to-uphold-the-constitution