dear lord…
https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20240314-dutch-far-right-firebrand-wilders-says-he-won-t-be-prime-minister
Issued on: 14/03/2024 - 01:18
Dutch "far-right" firebrand Wilders says he won't be prime minister despite election win
Dutch "far-right" leader Geert Wilders said Wednesday that he would not be prime minister despite his stunning election win in November, due to a lack of support across the political spectrum.
"I can only become Prime Minister if ALL parties in the coalition support it. That was not the case," Wilders said on X. "The love for my country and voters is bigger and more important than my own position."
The announcement came on the eve of an eagerly awaited report on Dutch coalition talks, amid speculation of a breakthrough that could result in a technocratic government.
The man overseeing the negotiations, Kim Putters, has said the bickering parties were ready to take the "next step" after two days of "good and intense" talks at a country estate.
Wilders posted on X that he wanted a "right-wing cabinet… less asylum and immigration. The Dutch come first."
Party leaders have been tight-lipped during the process but public broadcaster NOS reported that the most likely outcome for Thursday's report was an "extra-parliamentary" or technocratic cabinet. It is unclear exactly what form this could take, but it is expected that four party leaders will serve as MPs.
Parties would appoint the members of the cabinet but they could be drawn from "ordinary" party members or even from outside politics, according to media reports.
Wilders stunned the Netherlands and Europe with a convincing victory in November elections that put him in pole position to lead coalition negotiations.
Unlike Britain, France or the United States for example, the Netherlands has a very fractured political system that means no party is strong enough to govern on its own.
The far-right leader's Freedom Party (PVV) therefore started talks with the centre-right Liberal VVD party, the BBB farmers' party, and a new party, the New Social Contract (NSC).
The NSC, led by anti-corruption champion Pieter Omtzigt, was the other new factor in the election, gaining 20 seats and making it indispensable in any coalition.
Nexit referendum?
But cracks began to show in the talks almost immediately, with sniping on social media and by the NSC in particular raising questions about the PVV's far-right manifesto.
Among other things, the PVV manifesto calls for a ban on mosques, the Koran and Islamic headscarves. It also wants a binding referendum on a "Nexit" – the Netherlands leaving the European Union.
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20240313-eu-parliament-adopts-historic-rules-on-ai
Issued on: 13/03/2024 - 12:53 Modified: 13/03/2024 - 12:55
EU parliament approves landmark AI law
The European Parliament gave final approval on Wednesday to wide-ranging EU rules to govern artificial intelligence, including powerful systems like OpenAI's ChatGPT.
he EU has been racing to pass the new law to protect citizens from the possible risks of AI while also nurturing innovation.
Senior European Union officials say the rules, first proposed in 2021, will protect citizens from the possible risks of a technology developing at breakneck speed, while also fostering innovation on the continent.
Brussels has sprinted to pass the new law since OpenAI's Microsoft-backed ChatGPT arrived on the scene in late 2022, unleashing a global AI race.
There was a burst of excitement for generative AI as ChatGPT wowed the world with its human-like capabilities – from digesting complex text to producing poems within seconds, or passing medical exams.
Further examples of generative AI models include DALL-E and Midjourney, which produce images, while other models produce sounds from a simple input in everyday language.
The far-reaching regulation passed with the support of 523 lawmakers in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, with 46 voting against.
The EU's 27 states are expected to endorse the text in April before the law is published in the EU's Official Journal in May or June.
"Today is again an historic day on our long path towards regulation of AI," said Brando Benifei, an Italian lawmaker who pushed the text through parliament with Romanian MEP Dragos Tudorache.
"(This is) the first regulation in the world that is putting a clear path towards a safe and human-centric development of AI," Benifei added, speaking just before the vote.
"We managed to find that very delicate balance between the interest to innovate and the interest to protect," Tudorache told journalists before the vote.
The EU's internal market commissioner, Thierry Breton, hailed the vote.
"I welcome the overwhelming support from the European Parliament for the EU AI Act," he said. "Europe is now a global standard-setter in trustworthy AI."
Rules covering AI models like ChatGPT will enter into force 12 months after the law becomes official, while companies must comply with most other provisions in two years.
AI policing restrictions
The EU's rules known as the "AI Act" take a risk-based approach: the riskier the system, the tougher the requirements – with outright bans on the AI tools deemed to carry the most threat.
For example, high-risk AI providers must conduct risk assessments and ensure their products comply with the law before they are made available to the public.
"We are regulating as little as possible and as much as needed, with proportionate measures for AI models," Breton told AFP.
Violations can see companies hit with fines ranging from 7.5 million to 35 million euros ($8.2 million to $38.2 million), depending on the type of infringement and the firm's size.
There are strict bans on using AI for predictive policing and systems that use biometric information to infer an individual's race, religion or sexual orientation.
The rules also ban real-time facial recognition in public spaces but with some exceptions for law enforcement, although police must seek approval from a judicial authority before any AI deployment
…
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20240312-syrian-president-s-uncle-to-face-swiss-trial-for-war-crimes
Issued on: 12/03/2024 - 13:11 Modified: 12/03/2024 - 13:09
Syrian president's uncle to stand trial in Switzerland for crimes against humanity
Rifaat al-Assad, an uncle of the Syrian president, will stand trial in Switzerland for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity that decades ago earned him the nickname "The Butcher of Hama".
The office of Switzerland's Attorney General (OAG) said it was charging the former Syrian vice president and former Syrian army officer with a long list of crimes committed in February 1982, during a notorious clash between the Syrian military and Islamist opposition in the town of Hama in western Syria.
There was no immediate official reaction from Syria nor from Rifaat al-Assad, who is believed to be in Syria.
The uncle of Syria's current president Bashar al-Assad was being "charged with ordering homicides, acts of torture, cruel treatments and illegal detentions", the OAG said in a statement.
His alleged "war crimes and crimes against humanity", it said, were committed "in his capacity as commander of the defence brigades … and commander of operations in Hama", in central Syria.
They took place "within the context of the armed conflict and the widespread and systematic attack launched against the population of the city of Hama", it said.
Executions, torture
Syrian security forces deployed to Hama in early February 1982 to suppress an insurrection by the Islamist opposition, and the operation allegedly ended at the end of the same month.
The OAG highlighted that the defence brigades "were purportedly the main forces in charge of the suppression".
"In this context, several thousands of civilians were allegedly victims of different abuses, ranging from immediate execution to detention and torture in specifically-created centres," it said.
According to the indictment, the armed conflict in question is estimated to have caused between 3,000 and 60,000 deaths in Hama, most of them civilians.
The criminal proceedings in Switzerland were initiated under so-called international jurisdiction, which allows countries to prosecute alleged crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide regardless of where they were committed.
The initial Swiss complaint against Rifaat al-Assad was filed in 2013 by TRIAL International, a rights group that works with victims and pushes Switzerland to prosecute alleged international criminals.
"It's another step for justice for the Syrian people!" TRIAL chief Philip Grant said in a statement celebrating the indictment.
Along with several other past and ongoing proceedings in France and Germany, the new trial, he said, would help examine "the responsibility of the highest Syrian officials" and shed "light on the crimes committed by the al-Assad's clan against its own people during the past decades".
The organisation also quoted one of three victims who will serve as civil plaintiffs in the case hailing the proof "that such powerful persons can be brought to justice".
Exile
The attorney-general's office had already in 2021 requested permission to issue an international arrest warrant for the now 86-year-old, but the justice ministry initially balked, arguing Switzerland did not have jurisdiction to pursue him.
But a year later, a Swiss court overruled the justice ministry position, highlighting that Rifaat al-Assad had been staying at a Geneva hotel when Swiss prosecutors first launched their investigation in 2013.
This provided a path to pursuing him over alleged war crimes, it said, allowing the OAG to issue an international arrest warrant in 2022.
It remains unlikely that the defendant, who recently returned to Syria after 37 years in exile, will show up in person for the trial, for which a date has yet to be set.
But his presence may not be necessary: Swiss law allows for trials in absentia under certain conditions.
Rifaat al-Assad, long a pillar of the regime in Damascus, was forced into exile in 1984 after a failed attempt to overthrow his brother, late president Hafez al-Assad.
He travelled to Switzerland and later France, working in opposition to the Syrian regime, before finally returning home in 2021.
He has made no public appearance since then, but last April, he appeared in a picture alongside the current president and the first lady, along with other family members.
https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20240310-ukraine-slams-pope-s-white-flag-comment-vowing-never-to-surrender-to-russia
Not sure what is up with the link name, but it does lead here..
Issued on: 10/03/2024 - 22:01
Al-Qaeda in Yemen announces death of leader Khalid Batarfi
Al-Qaeda's branch in Yemen has announced the death of its leader Khalid Batarfi and named a successor, SITE Intelligence Group reported Sunday.
The monitoring service said Batarfi's body was shown in footage released by Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in burial shroud and wrapped in a flag bearing the jihadist group's name.
"God took his soul while he patiently sought his reward and stood firm, immigrated, garrisoned and waged jihad," SITE quoted an AQAP veteran as saying of Batarfi in the nearly 15-minute video.
There were no immediate details of the time or cause of Batarfi's death. He was believed to be in his 40s.
AQAP announced in February 2020 that Batarfi had been appointed its leader, following the death of his predecessor, Qassim al-Rimi, in a US drone strike on Yemen.
The United States considers Al-Qaeda's Yemen branch the most dangerous faction of the global jihadist network, and the State Department designated Batarfi in 2018 a "global terrorist".
SITE said the group had named as its new chief Saad bin Atef al-Awlaki, who last appeared in a video released in February 2023 urging Sunni tribesmen to join AQAP.
The Sunni extremist group thrived in the chaos of years of war since 2014 between Yemen's Saudi-backed government and Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
AQAP has carried out operations in Yemen against both the Houthis and government forces.
It has also carried out sporadic attacks abroad, including on the offices of the French satirical publication Charlie Hebdo in 2015 and a 2019 mass shooting at a US naval base in Florida, in which a Saudi air force officer killed three American sailors.
https://www.france24.com/en/asia-pacific/20240309-pakistan-lawmakers-elect-asif-ali-zardari-to-second-term-as-president
Issued on: 09/03/2024 - 15:06
Pakistan lawmakers elect Asif Ali Zardari to second term as president
Pakistan's lawmakers elected Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday as the country’s president for the second time.
He is the widower of assassinated former premier Benazir Bhutto and the father of former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.
Zardari secured 411 votes from national and provincial lawmakers. His opponent, Mehmood Khan Achakzai, who is backed by the party of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan, received 181 votes.
The Pakistani presidency is a largely ceremonial role. Zardari was previously in the job between 2008 and 2013.
He was the favorite to win on Saturday because of his alliance with Pakistan’s other political dynasty, the Sharifs, and his key role in talks to form a coalition government after the disputed national parliamentary election on Feb. 8.
Last month’s poll was overshadowed by militant violence, an unprecedented cellphone shutdown and vehement claims of vote-rigging from Khan’s party.
The ‘generals’ elections’ in Pakistan that turned against the military
Khan was kicked out of office in 2022 and has faced a number of legal challenges since then. He's currently serving multiple prison terms.
Zardari also has been dogged by criminal cases. He spent 11 years behind bars before becoming president, but was never convicted and has denied any wrongdoing. He has been arrested and indicted on various charges in recent years.
He will take the oath of office on Sunday.
They're vaccinating children in Africa (again)
This time for malaria (could've sworn there was already a cheap, proven drug for that… strange)
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-02-high-efficacy-good-safety-profile.html
Feb 2, 2024
High efficacy and good safety profile for the R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine in African children
by University of Oxford
Kaplan-Meier estimates of the time to first episode of clinical malaria in the modified per-protocol population at seasonal sites (A), standard sites (B), and all sites (C). Credit: The Lancet (2024). DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(23)02511-4
Phase III trial results of the R21/Matrix-M vaccine developed by Oxford University and Serum Institute of India Pvt Ltd, leveraging Novavax's Matrix-M adjuvant, has confirmed high efficacy and supported regulatory approvals and licensure in several African countries.
The R21/Matrix-M vaccine was designed in 2011 as a potential improvement on the RTS, S/AS01 malaria vaccine designed in the 1980s. A Phase II trial in Burkina Faso, reporting in 2021, was the first to show that R21/Matrix-M could reach the WHO-specified target of 75% efficacy in African children.
Recent WHO endorsement will lead to the initial rollout of R21/Matrix-M in the coming months. The new results are published in The Lancet.
The trial investigators immunized over 4,800 young children in a trial in Burkina Faso, Kenya, Mali and Tanzania and found on average 78% vaccine efficacy over the first year of follow-up across all sites in the 5–17 month age group, the age range group which is studied for most malaria vaccines.
Efficacy over this period was broadly similar across sites and in different transmission settings. Safety data from the trial have been reassuring with no serious adverse events linked to immunization. No other vaccine has reported over 55% efficacy in the same age group.
A booster dose at a year maintained good efficacy over the following 6–12 months. The vaccine also reduced infection rates in children measured at 12 and 18 months after vaccination suggesting a potentially beneficial effect in reducing malaria transmission.
(body too long, some omitted)
(body too long, some omitted)
Professor Adrian Hill, chief investigator of the R21/Matrix-M Phase III trial said "The continued high efficacy of this new vaccine in field trials is very encouraging, and consistent with the high efficacy and excellent durability observed in a smaller four-year Phase IIb trial. These data support an important role for the unique high-density nanoparticle display of the conserved repeat region of the malaria parasite circumsporozoite protein, a feature in the design of the R21 vaccine, in providing such high vaccine efficacy and, thereby, an important new tool for malaria control."
Significantly increased immune responses to the R21/Matrix-M vaccine and slightly higher vaccine efficacy were observed in 5- to 17-month-olds compared to 18- to 36-month-olds malaria vaccines, supporting planned vaccine deployment initially from 5 months of age in young African children.
The vaccine is licensed to the Serum Institute of India (SII), the world's largest vaccine manufacturer and a long-term partner of the University of Oxford. This is critical because vaccinating those at high risk of malaria will be important in stemming the spread of the disease, as well as protecting the vaccinated. Matrix-M adjuvant is manufactured by Novavax AB and provided to Serum Institute of India for formulation into the final vaccine drug product.
Adar Poonawalla, CEO, Serum Institute of India, said, "The Lancet study on R21/Matrix-M Phase III trials mark a significant advancement in our battle against this global threat. Our collaboration with the University of Oxford has been instrumental in developing the R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine. We are dedicated to making this vaccine available, especially in Africa, where malaria poses a substantial threat to millions of lives, bringing us closer to a malaria-free world."
Professor Alassane Dicko, Principal Investigator in Mali of the R21/Matrix-M vaccine said "It has been very exciting to generate high efficacy data with the new R21/Matrix-M vaccine so quickly. I predict that this vaccine should be very impactful in preventing malaria deaths in African children."
John C Jacobs, CEO of Novavax commented "Approximately 1,300 children die from malaria every day, a staggering statistic for a preventable disease. The R21/Matrix-M Phase III efficacy data published in The Lancet reinforce the potential of R21/Matrix-M vaccine to protect children against this disease."
https://www.businessinsider.com/deadly-fried-chicken-shop-explosion-yanjiao-china-suspected-gas-leak-2024-3
A devastating fried chicken shop explosion in China has killed 7 people and injured 27 others, the authorities say
Matthew Loh Mar 14, 2024, 4:28 AM UTC
A fireball explosion from a suspected gas leak in the town of Yanjiao has killed seven people.
The intense blast seized national attention in China and drew controversy when frontline staff blocked local reporters.
The explosion comes as China tries to revamp its gas safety following a series of fatal blasts in 2023.
A suspected gas leak explosion in a fried chicken store has killed seven people and injured 27 others in Yanjiao, a town just east of Beijing, state media and authorities said on Thursday morning local time.
The blast obliterated the store's building complex, leaving only its frame intact, as seen in available photos and footage on social media.
Dashcam footage from nearby vehicles showed a fireball erupting from the building, followed by dust and smoke rising several floors high.
Several neighboring storefronts sustained severe damage, while cars and traffic lights on the main road were scorched and caked with dust — indicating the explosion's reach.
Nearby storefronts in Yanjiao were damaged by the blast on Wednesday.
Nearby storefronts in Yanjiao were damaged by the blast on Wednesday.
State media channel CCTV published nighttime footage of excavators digging through the building's rubble.
The store exploded at 7:54 a.m. on Wednesday, the municipal Emergency Management Bureau said in a statement on Thursday, seen by Business Insider.
Rescue work was completed by 11 p.m. on Wednesday, and 14 injured have been discharged from hospital, the statement said. Authorities earlier reported that two people died from the blast, but this number later grew to seven people.
The dramatic explosion has seized national attention in China and drew further controversy after local journalists trying to report on the blast were filmed being pushed or escorted away by frontline workers.
One CCTV reporter, Yang Hailing, had her live broadcast interrupted by two uniformed men, who rushed to block the camera and forced the outlet to cut back to its studio anchors.
Another state media reporter, Xu Mengzhe, was seen physically struggling with a group of policemen who surrounded her and two colleagues.
"The three of us reporters are being pushed around by more than 10 people. Take a good look," said Xu in a clip posted on social media. She wore a jacket with a logo for China Media Group, a state-owned broadcasting company.
Xu was eventually allowed to conduct a live TV broadcast of the direct site and the destruction of the blast.
Amid online backlash, local authorities released a statement that the government workers were told to apologize. But the statement also blamed the reporters, saying they insisted on staying despite being told that gas may still be leaking at the site.
An overhead view of the street on Yanjiao where an explosion killed seven people.
The explosion obliterated most of the structure in Yanjiao, leaving only the building's frame.
"Due to the poor communication skills of frontline staff and their rough and simplistic methods, this caused misunderstandings among journalists and public doubts, resulting in negative social impacts," the statement said.
The China Journalists Association defended the state reporters in a statement on Wednesday, though it stopped short of condemning the local officials.
"They must not control public opinion, simply and crudely obstructing media reporters from performing their duties," the association said.
The blast at Yanjiao comes months after China released new national guidelines for gas stoves in August to revamp gas safety following a series of deadly explosions in 2023.
https://apnews.com/article/thailand-politics-thaksin-chiang-mai-pheu-thai-6d7bbe4de0d0e6ef16b3dfb55cc00caf
Former Thai leader Thaksin makes first public appearances after release from detention
Updated 5:52 AM UTC, March 14, 2024
BANGKOK (AP) —
Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra began his first public appearances since leaving detention, with an early morning visit to a shrine in Bangkok on Thursday before flying to his home province of Chiang Mai in the country’s north.
The controversial billionaire, a longtime rival of the country’s conservative elite who was toppled in a coup in 2006 but remains influential in politics, arrived before dawn at the capital’s City Pillar, accompanied by his youngest daughter Paetongtarn, the leader of governing Pheu Thai party.
Thaksin spent years in exile to avoid a jail term for corruption, a charge he always denied, but returned to Thailand as his allies in parliament formed a coalition government with military parties associated with the coups that repeatedly drove him and his allies out of power.
He was immediately sent to prison but within hours was moved to a city center hospital after he was diagnosed as being seriously ill. Soon afterwards, his eight-year sentence was commuted to one year. He was released on parole last month and left the hospital after six months without having spent a single night behind bars.
This lenient approach provoked claims of preferential treatment. It was widely speculated he benefited from a political deal struck with his former enemies in the military and conservative royalist establishment to block the progressive Move Forward Party from forming a government following last year’s general election.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-68536285
Jacob Zuma - the political wildcard in South Africa's election
6 hours ago By Farouk Chothia, BBC News, Johannesburg
Despite being a disgraced former president who was sent to jail, Jacob Zuma is turning out to be the political wildcard in South Africa's election campaign.
This follows his dramatic decision to ditch the governing African National Congress (ANC) for the newly formed party uMkhonto we Sizwe, meaning Spear of the Nation.
The 81-year-old is leading its campaign in the 29 May general election, urging people to turn their backs on the ANC led by his successor, President Cyril Ramaphosa.
"Zuma is, as ever, playing a mischievous hand," political analyst Richard Calland told the BBC.
"He doesn't want power, but leverage in the ANC. He wants to dethrone Ramaphosa for a more pliable leader," he said.
The two most recent opinion polls suggest that Mr Zuma's party - known by the acronym MK - is making a huge impact, gaining around 13% of the national vote and 25% in the former president's political heartland of KwaZulu-Natal.
But Angelo Fick, the director of research at the Auwal Socio-Economic Research Institute in Johannesburg, believes that the party will get fewer votes, especially in the ballot for the national parliament.
"I'll be surprised if it gets 6%," he told the BBC.
Named after the ANC's former armed wing, the MK party is hoping to hold the balance of power come the end of May
To back up his view, he cited the performance of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in the first election it contested after expelled ANC youth leader Julius Malema formed the party.
Mr Malema took much of the ANC youth membership into the EFF, but the party only got 6% of the national vote in 2014, and 11% in 2019.
"The MK party is far weaker than the EFF was in 2014," Mr Fick said.
Prof Calland said Mr Zuma was the key to the party getting votes.
"He has a certain charisma and populist appeal. He still holds some loyalty and credibility, especially among people in KwaZulu-Natal," he added.
The MK party is hoping to hold the balance of power, especially as various opinion polls suggest that the ANC could lose its outright majority in the national parliament for the first time since it took power at the end of white-minority rule three decades ago.
"Once we enter minority government territory, every single percentage matters. If the MK party gets 3%, it could be the difference between the ANC getting 48% and 51%," Prof Calland said.
Paddy Harper, the South African Mail & Guardian newspaper's KwaZulu-Natal correspondent, said the ANC "was potentially at its weakest in the province, and it will be a massive blow to the party if it loses control of the provincial government".
Alex Jones & co. are planning another violent erection to blame on MAGA
Heather Mullins
@TalkMullins
Leaving this
@RealAlexJones
prediction here.
He says the framework is being laid now to create a violent uprising that gets blamed on Trump AFTER he is elected, but before he takes office, so that they can use the setup to convince Congress to decertify Trumps win to put an end to the violence.
This is VERY similar to what they did on J6. They manufactured an insurrection that they blamed on Trump, and then members of Congress like
@KLoeffler
, who originally said they were going to decertify Joe Biden’s win in interviews I did with her because of fraud and issues in her State, changed her mind and CERTIFIED Biden’s win because of J6!
What was SUPPOSED to happen on J6, was Representatives from each State that had dueling electors, fraud, and other issues were going to present the issues to America (that the fake news didn’t), then refuse to certify the results and legally send it back to the States.
BUT FOR the events of J6 caused by hundreds of undercover federal agents, informants, and antifa dressed as Trump supporters that breached Capitol barriers before Trump had even finished speaking, that Nationally televised presentation of the 2020 election issues NEVER got to happen.
The deep State had a clear motive to stop the truth from getting out that day. They organized J6. NOT Trump.
So this prediction by Alex Jones is 100% plausible because they’ve done it before.
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https://twitter.com/TalkMullins/status/1767893086196133951
https://twitter.com/WallStreetApes/status/1768235349610999943
TikTok ban breakdown
Wall Street Apes
@WallStreetApes
EXCELLENT TikTok Ban Breakdown
“I know for a fact they're not trying to ban TikTok for the reason that it's owned by China. You know how I know that? Because it's not f* owned by China. It's just f** not.”
Fact Checkers Say “In 2021, a Chinese state-owned enterprise purchased a "golden share" stake in ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, allowing the Chinese government to outvote all other shareholders.”
Well in 2021, China's Government bought only a 1% stake in the main domestic unit of TikTok owner ByteDance.
ByteDance told Insider the domestic unit that sold the golden shares "has no ownership, visibility, or input into ByteDance's global operations."
Mainstream media outlets like Wall Street Journal says not to listen to anything the company says, “The government's purchase of the golden shares was partly intended to give Beijing a say in what happens to TikTok's algorithm”
This has NOT been proven but they’re all running with it.
Reuters Fact Checkers say there are many golden stake shares that expand the Chinese government’s influence in TikTok but they also say “Reuters was not able to ascertain how many other data-rich firms authorities were seeking to take a golden share in.”
So they don’t actually even know for sure, they’re just reporting it. 🤡
-
“60% of the company is owned by international investors, including US investors
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20% is owned by its founders
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The other 20% is owned by the employees. Nearly 10,000 of which are US citizens
And I know they're not trying to ban it to protect the private information of Americans from the CCP. Do you know how I know that?
Because all American user information is on servers in Texas, already overseen by a US company called Oracle.
So we know it's not because it's owned by China, and we know it's not to protect our personal information. So the only valid question is, why do they wanna ban it? And the answer to that is this isn't about TikTok.
If you actually take the time and read through the bill that they just passed, here's one very important thing that this bill allows them to do.
That is to shut down or take control of any social media platform that they claim interferes with the election. And who would make that determination? President. The president would have complete power on whether or not to shut down a social media platform. Oh, and if that platform wanted to appeal it, that is gonna be ruled by the DC Court of Appeals.
This concentrates power over all social media platforms that don't wanna get in line, that don't wanna give the government what they want, that don't wanna do what the government says. That's all this is about. See, they tried to do this before. They tried to do it with Facebook and Instagram, but Facebook and Instagram got in line. They didn't do it with Twitter for a while because Twitter was doing what they told them to do.
But then once Elon bought it, they tried it again because x wouldn't get in line. But they couldn't build up enough support for that,
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1, because Elon's a f* billionaire,
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2, because he's an American who's liked and they couldn't get enough support to shut him down.
So now they're trying it again using the specter of Chinese own.
Aren't you worried about your privacy? Now if I was worried about my privacy, I wouldn't use Google. I wouldn't use Alexa. I wouldn't shop on Amazon. I wouldn't use facial recognition on my phone. I wouldn't go on Facebook and Instagram because we know they're stealing our information. I wouldn't hold this phone in my hand because we all know it's listening.
And people are wondering why the government was able to come together and agree on this. Why wouldn't they? Why would the government not come together and agree on granting themselves power? Because that's all this bill does. It takes away your right to privacy and communication and gives it to them.”
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TikTok ban bill text
https://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20240311/HR%207521%20Updated.pdf