Attacking the Source: Establishment Loyalists’ Favorite Online Tactic

The demand that only mainstream establishment media sources be used to argue against establishment narratives is inherently contradictory, says Caitlin Johnstone.

If you’re skeptical of Western power structures and you’ve ever engaged in online political debate for any length of time, the following has definitely happened to you.

You find yourself going back and forth with one of those high-confidence, low-information establishment types who’s promulgating a dubious mainstream narrative, whether that be about politics, war, Julian Assange, or whatever. At some point they make an assertion which you know to be false – publicly available information invalidates the claim they’re making.

“I’ve got them now!” you think to yourself, if you’re new to this sort of thing. Then you share a link to an article or video which makes a well-sourced, independently verifiable case for the point you are trying to make.

Then, the inevitable happens.

“LMAO! That outlet!” they scoff in response. “That outlet is propaganda/fake news/conspiracy theory trash!”

Or something to that effect. You’ll encounter this tactic over and over and over again if you continually engage in online political discourse with people who don’t agree with you. It doesn’t matter if you’re literally just linking to an interview featuring some public figure saying a thing you’d claimed they said. It doesn’t matter if you’re linking to a WikiLeaks publication of a verified authentic document. Unless you’re linking to CNN/Fox News (whichever fits the preferred ideology of the establishment loyalist you’re debating), they’ll bleat “fake news!” or “propaganda!” or “Russia!” as though that in and of itself magically invalidates the point you’re trying to make.

And of course, it doesn’t. What they are doing is called attacking the source, also known as an ad hominem, and it’s a very basic logical fallacy.

Most people are familiar with the term “ad hominem,” but they usually think about it in terms of merely hurling verbal insults at people. What it actually means is attacking the source of the argument rather than attacking the argument itself in a way that avoids dealing with the question of whether or not the argument itself is true. It’s a logical fallacy because it’s used to deliberately obfuscate the goal of a logical conclusion to the debate.

“An ad hominem is more than just an insult,” explains David Ferrer for The Quad. “It’s an insult used as if it were an argument or evidence in support of a conclusion. Verbally attacking people proves nothing about the truth or falsity of their claims.”

This can take the form of saying “Claim X is false because the person making it is an idiot.” But it can also take the form of “Claim X is false because the person making it is a propagandist,” or “Claim X is false because the person making it is a conspiracy theorist.”

https://consortiumnews.com/2019/12/17/attacking-the-source-establishment-loyalists-favorite-online-tactic/

Nevada accuses US government of 'secret plutonium smuggling'

RENO, Nev. – Nevada wants a federal judge to declare illegal what it calls the U.S. government's “secret plutonium smuggling operation” and order the removal of weapons-grade material already shipped to a security site north of Las Vegas over the state's objections.

The latest filing in a yearlong legal battle asks U.S. District Judge Miranda Du in Reno to reject the government's motion to dismiss the state's lawsuit. Nevada is challenging the Energy Department's covert shipment of the highly radioactive material from South Carolina last year.

The department insists the issue is moot because it already has promised that no more plutonium will be brought to Nevada.

“DOE's decision to transport plutonium from South Carolina to Nevada has been consummated and cannot be ‘undone,'” the government said in a motion to dismiss the lawsuit last month.

https://www.blacklistednews.com/article/75750/nevada-accuses-us-government-of-secret-plutonium.html

Ex-School Teacher Accused Of Trying To Set Up Teen Sex Meeting

Officials in New York announced the arrest of Charles E. Hustis III for attempted enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity.

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “As alleged, Charles Hustis used his social media account in an attempt to persuade an innocent minor victim to meet with him and perform sexual acts. Sexualizing and preying on minors is unconscionable. Our Office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners at all levels of government to keep our children safe and stop those who seek to take advantage of them.”

FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. said: “Predators who use their access to children for their own sexual gratification are a parent’s worst fear come true, and their actions can cause detrimental impacts on the victims. I want to thank the agents and detectives who worked this case for the speed with which they acted once they had the information regarding Mr. Hustis’s position in a school. If anyone in the community believes their child may have been a victim, we ask for them to call us at 1-800-CALL-FBI.”

Sheriff Robert L. Langley Jr. said: “This is another example of why all law enforcement agencies should continue to work together at the local and federal levels in order to better serve their communities. The Putnam County Sheriff’s Department looks forward to continuing our already good working relationship with the FBI and other federal agencies.”

According to the allegations in the Complaint:

Between at least on or about December 8, 2019, and December 16, 2019, Hustis, a former teacher and public official in Cold Spring, New York, communicated over Facebook Messenger with a 16-year-old victim (“Victim-1”). During these communications, Hustis sent Victim-1 sexual images, including photographs of himself, and attempted to arrange a meeting with Victim-1 with the understanding that Hustis and Victim-1 would perform various sexual acts. Hustis was arrested by law enforcement officers on December 16, 2019, after he arrived at a meeting location that he had arranged with Victim-1, expecting to bring Victim-1 back to his apartment for sexual activity.

Hustis, 36, of Cold Spring, New York, is charged with one count of attempted enticement of a minor, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison.

https://breaking911.com/ex-school-teacher-accused-of-trying-to-set-up-teen-sex-meeting/

IRS Grants Tax-Free Status to Antifa Group Run by a Violent Black Militant

An organization run by veteran left-wing extremist Daryle Lamont Jenkins, One People's Project, has 501(c)(3) status, according to a public document obtained by National Justice.

The IRS filing shows that OPP received favorable determination in March 2017, which means that people subsidizing this group's activities can write contributions off on their taxes. The above image, obtained through Open Source Intelligence, shows Jenkins tabling the "Antifa" booth at the 2018 New York Left Forum.

Jenkins, based out of Somerset, New Jersey, is a prominent figure in violent left-wing paramilitary circles and one of their chief spokesmen. In 2018, a film called "Skin" dramatized Jenkins' collaborative effort with the Southern Poverty Law Center to remove tattoos from a skinhead.

A source familiar with paramilitary groups organizing in Philadelphia and New Jersey told us that Jenkins plays the role of bridging the gap between masked terrorists and respectable liberals.

https://russia-insider.com/en/irs-grants-tax-free-status-antifa-group-run-violent-black-militant/ri28029

FBI Director Wray Lied in 2018 Statement – Rebutted Nunes on GOP Lawmaker’s Completely Accurate Statement on FISA Court Abuse!

FBI Director Christopher Wray lied in a 2018 statement and smeared Congressman Nunes in an effort to cover for his agency’s FISA abuses.

In January of 2018, shortly before then-House Intel Chairman Devin Nunes was set to release his 2-page FISA memo revealing FBI criminal misconduct in targeting Trump campaign advisor Carter Page with surveillance warrants, the FBI smeared Nunes saying it had “grave concerns” about his memo’s accuracy.

“As expressed during our initial review, we have grave concerns about material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo’s accuracy,” the FBI said in a statement just days before Nunes released the FISA memo.

The FBI appeared to be taking the side of then-ranking member Adam Schiff who relentlessly attacked Nunes and called his FISA memo a “profoundly misleading set of talking points drafted by Republican staff attacking the FBI and its handling of the investigation.”

But Nunes was right all along.

Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz testified last Wednesday morning before the Senate Judiciary Committee led by Chairman Lindsey Graham.

Horowitz confirmed what Congressman Nunes stated in his FISA memo that he released nearly 2 years ago — the FISA warrants used to spy on Trump campaign advisor Carter Page was based “ENTIRELY” on information from the phony, Hillary-funded Steele dossier.

Nunes was widely mocked by the media and Democrats following the release of his FISA memo but he was right all along.

Christopher Wray knew Nunes was telling the truth, but lied in his statement in an effort to block the release of the FISA memo.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/12/fbi-director-wray-lied-in-2018-statement-rebutting-nuness-fisa-abuse-memo-citing-grave-concerns-with-inaccuracies-and-omissions/

"No Individuals Have Been Held Accountable": WSJ Editorial Board Slams FISA Circus

Following the release of the DOJ Inspector General's report revealing that the FBI deceived the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court in order to spy on former Trump campaign aide Carter Page, presiding FISC Judge Rosemary Collyer issued a rare public rebuke - while ordering the agency to clean up its act, and fast.

Collyer noted despite the FBI's "heightened duty of candor," officials fabricated evidence and concealed information from the court which harmed their argument that Page was an "agent of a foreign power," fabricated evidence.

Because of this, the court is now concerned about "whether information contained in other FBI applications is reliable."

Those involved in the operation to take Trump down, meanwhile, are scrambling to downplay the IG report while taking as little responsibility as possible. After the FBI first tried to pass the buck - insisting that the Page applications were legit since the FISA court approved them, former FBI Director James Comey's feet were finally held to the fire by Fox News host Chris Wallace last weekend:

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/no-individuals-have-been-held-accountable-wsj-editorial-board-slams-fisa-circus-theatre

Lawsuit: Apple, Google, Tesla Profit from African Child Labor

A slew of high-tech companies including Apple, Google, and Tesla are being sued by a group of Congolese families whose children allegedly died or were severely injured while mining cobalt that is used to produce lithium-ion batteries found in smartphones and electric cars.

The human rights organization International Rights Advocates filed the suit Sunday in a Washington, D.C. federal court on behalf of 14 families from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Their suit claims that the companies knowingly aided and abetted the “cruel and brutal” use of young children to mine cobalt, which is a key ingredient for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. The other companies named in the suit are Microsoft and Dell.

“The young children mining Defendants’ cobalt are not merely being forced to work full-time, extremely dangerous mining jobs at the expense their educations and futures; they are being regularly maimed and killed by tunnel collapses and other known hazards common to cobalt mining in the DRC,” the complaint alleges.

An attorney for the plaintiffs said the case represents “extreme abuse of innocent children.”

“We will do everything possible to get justice quickly for the children we represent,” Terry Collingsworth, lead counsel for the plaintiffs, in a statement.

“In my 35 years as a human rights lawyer, I’ve never seen such extreme abuse of innocent children on a large scale. This astounding cruelty and greed need to stop.”

Worldwide demand for cobalt is rising due to the ubiquity of smartphones and the growing popularity of electric cars.

The lawsuit notes that Apple, Google, and Tesla, among other companies, obtain their cobalt through a supply chain that includes European industrial giants Glencore, which mines the cobalt in Africa, and Umicore, which processes the cobalt and sells it to tech companies.

Children who work in Congolese mines earn as little as $2 a day. Many have experienced severe physical injuries and fatalities while on the job, according to the complaint.

The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified damages related to the fatalities and injuries, as well as for mental anguish.

They are also asking the judge to order the tech companies to create a monetary fund dedicated to the medical care of individuals hurt while working in the cobalt mines.

https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2019/12/16/lawsuit-apple-google-tesla-profit-from-african-child-labor/

More Than 700 Clowns Pen Letter In Support Of Impeachment Trial

WASHINGTON, D.C.—As the Democrats move ever closer to impeaching President Trump, over seven hundred clowns have signed a letter in support of an impeachment trial. These experts in wacky mischief and broad humor say in the letter that the impeachment trial should be “wacky fun for all ages.”

“It’ll be craaaazy!” said Bonkers, a spokesperson for the Clowns.

Republicans have tried to suggest the letter is partisan in nature. “It would be nothing to wave a letter around a university and find seven hundred hyper-partisan academics willing to sign anything against Trump,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnel. “I’m not sure a clown college would be any different.”

Bonkers dismissed the partisan concern. “We just wrote this letter because we think it’s going to be a fun show for everyone!” Bonkers went on to describe how the spectacle will involve politicians — a subset of clowns — all scrunching their faces and saying how serious things are, a gag sure to draw laughter from the audience watching at home. “We just want joy for everyone!” said Bonkers. “Bring on the impeachment trial!”

President Trump has condemned the letter, though. “I’m scared of nothing,” he said. “In addition to that, I’m scared of clowns.”

https://www.theburningplatform.com/2019/12/18/more-than-700-clowns-pen-letter-in-support-of-impeachment-trial/

Turkey And Israel Consider Offshore Gas Pipeline Through East Mediterranean

On December 15th, Israel’s official radio station reported that Turkey was prepared to negotiate with Tel Aviv a potential gas pipeline to Europe.

“Ankara has expressed its willingness to enter into negotiations with Jerusalem on transferring Israeli gas supplies to the European continent through Turkish territory,” reported state-run Kan radio.

“A high-ranking Turkish energy source has conveyed a message in this regard to Israel, explaining that his country is waiting for the formation of a stable government in Israel and the appointment of a new energy minister to discuss this issue,” the statement said.

Kan radio’s diplomatic correspondent Amichai Stein said that Israeli officials were also ready to discuss the building of a gas pipeline with Turkey.

Reportedly, the Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned Israeli chargé d’affaires Roey Gilad to warn him that Israeli plans to build a gas pipeline in the Eastern Mediterranean jointly with Greece, Italy and the Greek Cypriot administration would require Turkey’s approval.

On December 15th, in a televised interview Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan presented a map in which he showed where the Israeli gas pipeline would go through, and that it would need Turkish approval to happen at all.

https://southfront.org/turkey-and-israel-consider-offshore-gas-pipeline-through-east-mediterranean/

Taking their ISIS oil biz legit? Reminder below

How ISIS Oil Flows Through Turkey And Israel On Its Way To Europe

https://www.mintpressnews.com/211910-2/211910/

Judicial Watch: Court Hearing on Thursday on Clinton Email/Benghazi

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch today announced that a hearing was ordered to be held in federal court before U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth on Thursday, December 19, regarding continuing discovery in the Clinton email scandal.

The court is considering whether to allow Judicial Watch to question Hillary Clinton and her top aide in person and under oath about the email and Benghazi controversies. Judicial Watch attorneys will also request the deposition of Paul Combetta, who was the IT specialist working on the Clinton server at Platte River Networks. Judge Lamberth specifically raised concerns regarding Combetta’s transfer of Clinton’s emails into a Gmail account, carterheavyindustries@gmail.com. The judge told Judicial Watch to “shake this tree” on the issue. Judicial Watch will ask the court for permission to subpoena Google for information from that account. Hillary Clinton is also fighting the court’s previously ordered release of an “after action memo” created by Clinton lawyer Heather Samuelson in December 2014 that memorializes the Clinton team’s review and processing of Clinton’s emails.

Judicial Watch’s lawsuit seeks records concerning “talking points or updates on the Benghazi attack” (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of State (No. 1:14-cv-01242)). Judicial Watch famously uncovered in 2014 that the “talking points” that provided the basis for Susan Rice’s false statements were created by the Obama White House. This Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit led directly to the disclosure of the Clinton email system in 2015.

In December 2018, Judicial Watch announced court-ordered discovery into whether Secretary Clinton’s use of a private email server was intended to stymie FOIA; whether the State Department’s intent to settle this case in late 2014 and early 2015 amounted to bad faith; and whether the State Department has adequately searched for records responsive to Judicial Watch’s request. The court also authorized discovery into whether the Benghazi controversy motivated the cover-up of Clinton’s email. The court ruled that the Clinton email system was “one of the gravest modern offenses to government transparency.” The State and Justice Departments continue to defend Mrs. Clinton’s and the agencies’ email conduct.

“Judicial Watch uncovered new evidence of Clinton email misconduct and cover-up,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “The Clinton email scandal – and the related Benghazi scandal are not going away. It is well past time for Mrs. Clinton to explain her email scheme to the court.”

https://www.judicialwatch.org/press-releases/judicial-watch-court-hearing-on-thursday-on-clinton-email-benghazi/

Census Bureau Still Hiring Felons, Child Sex Offenders Pass Background Check

A decade after a federal probe exposed the U.S. Census Bureau for hiring serious criminals to enter the homes of unsuspecting Americans to gather statistics for the decennial count, the shocking practice continues. As the agency prepares to employ half a million workers in the coming months, it is still enlisting criminals such as sex offenders to help conduct the 2020 count. One regional office recently discovered that it hired a man convicted of a felony involving sex with a child. Despite his criminal record, the man passed the Census Bureau’s background check and a Charlotte, North Carolina Area Census Office (ACO) employed him.

This month the agency’s inspector general offers troubling details of the case in a report that, incredibly, concludes the Bureau still can’t ensure felons—including sex offenders—do not get hired. “Mr. Kenneth Mabry began working in August 2018 as a regional recruiting manager for the Charlotte ACO after successfully completing a pre-employment suitability determination, despite having a prior criminal record,” the watchdog writes in a document addressed to federal lawmakers. “He was arrested on March 12, 2019, charged with two felonies (sexual offense with a child, indecent liberties with a child), and subsequently terminated on March 14, 2019.” The IG reveals that, although under certain conditions, the government allows a convict to be hired into federal service, Mabry’s hiring did not follow the guidelines, “bringing to question the Bureau’s judgement in this case.”

It appears to be a broader agency-wide issue at the Census Bureau that has persisted for many years. It’s not like there isn’t a vetting system in place to screen workers. When one of the 248 regional offices recruit a candidate, the Census Investigative Services (CIS) at the agency’s headquarters in Suitland, Maryland is charged with conducting a pre-employment suitability review. The process includes sending fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and a credit history as well as self-disclosed criminal record to CIS for review. Mabry’s fingerprint review noted a felony conviction in 2013 for misconduct with a child in addition to a 2011 arrest. He is also a registered sex offender, yet the CIS specialist issued a favorable recommendation. A CIS supervisor must approve the perspective employee’s file.

https://www.judicialwatch.org/corruption-chronicles/census-bureau-still-hiring-felons-child-sex-offenders-pass-background-check/

Thousands of IDF troops and reservists drill in the North, West Bank

Bennett: Iran will sink into the sands of Syria

Over a thousand IDF reservists are in the midst of a large-scale drill in the West Bank, training to stop terror threats against Israeli civilians by Palestinian terrorists as Defense Minister Naftali Bennett and IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi toured a drill in the Golan Heights.

The week-long drill in the West Bank began on Sunday with the call-up to the two battalions of reservists and will end on Thursday. It saw live-fire exercises in the field as well as simulators and Krav Maga courses for the reservists.

Col. Ori Levi, Commander of the Central Command’s Lachish Training School, told The Jerusalem Post that during the drill he wanted to “challenge the troops” during the drill.

According to Levy, for the soldier in the field it doesn’t matter if there may be a group behind a cell, but the lone wolves have to be stopped before carrying out an attack.

“On other fronts we use artillery or air power but in the West Bank you need to know how to deal with enemies which are much closer, be that by shooting at close range or by Krav Maga. We didn’t drill on how to look for Hamas, but how to stop and strike at those planning to carry out an attack.”

The reservists, Levy said, “are very professional. 90% percent of those we called up came to the drill. I thought less would show up, the usual amount is between 80%-85% showing up.”

“I’m very proud to know that when called up they will be there.”

The IDF has significantly stepped up the scope and frequency of its combat training in order to improve its readiness. As part of the IDF’s five-year Gideon plan, the military has returned to 17 weeks of consecutive training, an increase from the 13 weeks soldiers trained for the past 15 years.

But, according to Levy, the IDF needs to train even more.

https://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Thousands-of-IDF-troops-and-reservists-drill-in-the-North-West-Bank-611316

BLACKOUT: Mainstream Media Ignore FISA Court Slamming FBI Over Trump-Related Surveillance Applications

The chief judge of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) blasted the FBI on Tuesday, slamming the bureau’s handling of surveillance applications against former Trump campaign aide Carter Page.

In a scathing four-page public order, presiding judge Rosemary M. Collyer said the reliability of information coming from the bureau is now suspect.

Wait, you didn’t hear about Judge Collyer’s order?

That’s because ABC’s “World News Tonight,” NBC’s “Nightly News” and CBS’ “Evening News” all skipped the story, according to the Media Research Center (MRC).

“A complete and total blackout. That was how ABC, CBS, and NBC reacted on their Tuesday evening newscasts,” MRC news analyst Nicholas Fondacaro wrote. “Instead of reporting on this damning order by the top FISC judge, the broadcast networks were salivating over impeachment.”

Wrote MRC:

Instead of reporting on this damning order by the top FISC judge, the broadcast networks were salivating over impeachment. NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt eagerly proclaimed President Trump would occupy a “rare and dishonored place in American history.” And ABC and NBC gushed about former Trump campaign staffer Rick Gates getting sentenced to three years of probation.

Meanwhile, Fox News Channel’s Special Report kicked off its broadcast with the breaking news. “Breaking tonight, the FISA court is fighting back not against the critical inspector general’s report, but against the FBI,” announced anchor Bret Baier, skipping past the opening teases.

“This is a stunning rebuke of the FBI by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. In its order of this afternoon, the court chastised the FBI for the FISA abuses brought to light in the recent inspector general’s report,” reported correspondent Doug McKelway.

CNN completely skipped the story during the primetime hours of 8-11 p.m. ET, too, according to a search of transcripts, Fox News reported.

Here’s what Judge Collyer said: “The frequency with which representations made by FBI personnel turned out to be unsupported or contradicted by information in their possession, and with which they withheld information detrimental to their case, calls into question whether information contained in other FBI applications is reliable. The FISC expects the government to provide complete and accurate information in every filing with the Court.

“Without it, the FISC cannot properly ensure that the government conducts electronic surveillance for foreign intelligence purposes only when there is a sufficient factual basis,” the judge wrote.

The judge’s order followed the release of a 434-page report from the Justice Department’s internal watchdog, who found FBI requests to spy on a Trump campaign adviser under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act were rife with errors and omissions — and maybe some flat-out deceptions.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/12/mainstream-media-ignore-fisa-court-slamming-fbi-over-trump-related-surveillance-applications/

==

Assaf Rappaport Steps Down as Head of Microsoft Israel's R&D==

Rappaport first joined the company in 2015 with the $320 million acquisition of his cloud security startup Adallom; he is leaving the tech giant to launch a new startup

Israeli entrepreneur Assaf Rappaport has stepped down as Microsoft's head of research and development in Israel, Microsoft announced Wednesday. Rappaport was appointed to the role in January 2018, filling a position that has been vacant since Microsoft's former head of research in the country, Yoram Yaacovi, stepped down in September 2017. Rappaport was 34 at that time.

Rappaport is leaving to launch his own startup, the company said.

https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3776031,00.html

Large U.S. study finds that marijuana laws (both recreational & medical) appear to significantly reduce prescription opioid use.

Abstract

While recent research has shown that cannabis access laws can reduce the use of prescription opioids, the effect of these laws on opioid use is not well understood for all dimensions of use and for the general United States population. Analyzing a dataset of over 1.5 billion individual opioid prescriptions between 2011 and 2018, which were aggregated to the individual provider-year level, we find that recreational and medical cannabis access laws reduce the number of morphine milligram equivalents prescribed each year by 11.8 and 4.2 percent, respectively. These laws also reduce the total days supply of opioids prescribed, the total number of patients receiving opioids, and the probability a provider prescribes any opioids net of any offsetting effects. Additionally, we find consistent evidence that cannabis access laws have different effects across types of providers, physician specialties, and payers.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167629618309020?via%3Dihub

https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/large-u-s-study-finds-that-marijuana-laws-both-recreational-medical-appear-to-significantly-reduce-prescription-opioid-use/

Trump Has Given Israel Immunity To International Law

In Israel’s treatment of Occupied Palestine, Israel has been violating international law for decades. Under international law, an occupying power is not permitted to incorporate the occupied land into its own domain. However, Israel has persistently done so, evicting Palestinians from their homes, villages, and farm lands in order to build apartments for Jewish immigrants.

As people learned of the fate suffered by Palestinians at Israel’s hands, criticism of Israel’s policy toward Palestinians by human rights activists grew, and boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movements arose.

These developments are inconvenient for Israel. Israeli media have indicated that the Israeli government is ready to complete the annexation of Palestine by evicting the remaining Palestinians and incorporating the remaining Palestinian land into Israel. Prior to taking this step, Israel wants to silence critics and prevent BDS action.

In the US the Israel Lobby has attempted to have the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act, the Israel Anti-Boycott Act, and the Strengthening America’s Security in the Middle East Act passed. However these acts clearly violate Constitutionally-protected free speech and protest, and Congress, although happy to please the Israel Lobby, doesn’t want to pass acts that the Supreme Court will obviously overturn. The ACLU opposes these acts on First Amendment grounds.

So the Israel Lobby has turned to Donald Trump to achieve by executive order what they have not achieved by legislation.

As the Israel Lobby has succeeded in equating criticism of Israeli government policies with anti-semitism or hatred of Jews, Trump’s executive order against anti-semitism permits the US government to cut off money to universities and organizations in which criticism of Israel is expressed in lectures, colloquiums, or debates.

Trump’s executive order has initiated a debate whether Trump has in effect declared Jews to be a nationality. See, for example, https://www.unz.com/pgiraldi/trump-creates-a-new-nation/ and

https://groups.google.com/forum/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer#!msg/newsfromunderground/IuhQIQZgu_w/3M3-kW-1BwAJ .

This is the wrong debate. The issue is why should Israel be the only country among the approximately 200 on earth whose policies cannot be criticized? Why should Israel be the only country that cannot be sanctioned and boycotted? Why should this special protection be given to Israel at the expense of the US Constitution.

Trump’s executive order silences the Palestinians and those sympathetic to their dispossession. Why in an allegedly free country has President Trump imposed censorship that protects Israel from accountability?

It would seem that this is a far more serious offense by Trump against the US Constitution than the allegations behind the impeachment inquiry.

Allegedly Trump represents the little people against the Establishment, but how are powerless people protected by overturning their First Amendment rights? They hardly have a voice as it is.

As Stephen Lendman reports, Israel being all powerful, is pushing also the British government to protect Israel from accountability to international law: https://stephenlendman.org/2019/12/uk-tories-intend-anti-bds-legislation/

https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2019/12/18/trump-has-given-israel-immunity-to-international-law/

There’s a simple reason your new smart TV was so affordable: It’s collecting and selling your data, and serving you ads

If you don’t pay full price for the product, you are the product. That awesome new TV will be sure to make your life better, just don’t talk too loud near it.

The vast majority of televisions available today are “smart” TVs, with internet connections, advertising placement, and streaming services built in.

Despite the added functionality, TV prices are lower than ever — especially from companies like TCL and Vizio, which specialize in low-cost, high-tech smart TVs.

There’s a simple reason that smart TVs are priced so low: Some TV makers collect user data and sell it to third parties.

Massive TVs with razor-thin frames, brilliant image quality, and built-in streaming services are more affordable than ever thanks to companies like Vizio and TCL.

If you want a 65-inch 4K smart TV with HDR capability, one can be purchased for below $500 — a price that may seem surprisingly low for such a massive piece of technology, nonetheless one that’s likely to live in your home for years before you upgrade.

But that low price comes with a caveat most people probably don’t realize: Some manufacturers collect data about users and sell that data to third parties. The data can include the types of shows you watch, which ads you watch, and your approximate location.

www.businessinsider.com/smart-tv-data-collection-advertising-2019-1

Mormon Church to Remove 400,000 Children From Boy Scouts Amidst Widespread Allegations of Child Abuse

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) will be disenrolling over 400,000 young church members from the Boy Scouts as of Jan. 1, 2020, and putting the children in the church’s own equivalent of the program.

This represents an 18 percent drop in overall enrollment within the Boy Scouts, and there will be under 2 million scouts enrolled in the program in 2020 for the first time since the World War II era. The institution is moving closer and closer to bankruptcy under the weight of allegations of a massive child abuse scandal.

The close relationship with the LDS and the Boy Scouts lasted nearly a century, but will soon come to an end. The Mormons believe that the Boy Scouts have abandoned the traditional values that the institution once stood for.

“The reality there is we didn’t really leave them; they kind of left us,” high-ranking LDS leader M. Russell Ballard said about the split.

The Boy Scouts announced in recent years that they would welcome homosexual troop leaders and scouts. This immediately opened the door for degeneracy to permeate throughout the formerly wholesome program.

https://governmentslaves.news/2019/12/18/mormon-church-to-remove-400000-children-from-boy-scouts-amidst-widespread-allegations-of-child-abuse/

>>7547892

Either that or he's keeping them close as the Rothschild Zionist state of Israel is last.

Saudi side removed already.

Soros media dems etc side is being taken down now

>>7547901

>Polygamists say only they can do fucked up shit

KEK. Sad but true tho

https://twitter.com/love4thegameAK/status/1207334466118504448

Interesting Pelosi's attire

>>7547960

>>7547508 See

Rep. Steve King EVISCERATES Democrats and the Biden Crime Family’s Criminal Actions in Ukraine (VIDEO)

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Democrats are set to impeach President Donald Trump today based on lies and non-crimes.

Lawmakers are taking turns on the House floor delivering their argument for or against the sham impeachment.

Rep. Steve King (R-IA) took to the floor on Wednesday and EVISCERATED the Democrats and their lawless attempts to cover the criminal actions of the Biden Crime Family.

Most Americans forget that Democrats pulled out their impeachment stunt after Joe Biden got caught in a multi-million dollar pay-for-play with his crackhead son.

Rep. Steve King: This is the largest and most massive cover-up of such a list of crimes in our country and to go so far as to bring impeachment hearings to try to cover all of this up… You’re accusing Donald Trump of doing what Joe Biden has confessed of doing!. Joe Biden was not the opponent of Donald Trump. He’s in a 21 way primary and he’s running third in that race! His opponents are the other 20 Democrats. How would anyone dig into that mess of 21 people and decide he’s going to go overseas and pull some maneuver like this. You have to sign him a motive… But the reality is it was Biden who was doing the extortion of pay for play in order to protect his own son. And it was Donald Trump who was following the law.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/12/rep-steve-king-eviscerates-democrats-and-the-biden-crime-familys-criminal-actions-in-ukraine-video/