Singapore Government officials rebut Bloomberg, South China Morning Post articles on Pofma

SINGAPORE - Government officials have rebutted articles by Bloomberg and the South China Morning Post (SCMP) on Singapore's fake news law, the latest in a series of such responses to media outlets.

In her reply released on Tuesday (Dec 31), Ms Ho Hwei Ling, press secretary to Minister for Communications and Information S. Iswaran, said all three versions of an article Bloomberg ran had alleged that the Singapore Government uses the law to suppress dissent and the right to free expression.

This is untrue, she said, noting that the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma) was used to issue correction directions. This allows the public to access both the original posts and corrections, and decide for themselves which is true.

"No information or view has been suppressed," she stressed.

Ms Ho also said the Bloomberg article published on Dec 27, "Singapore Goes on Global Offensive to Defend 'Fake News' Law", had criticised the Government's responses to foreign media stories on Pofma.

"We have never shied from answering our foreign critics on any issue. They can say what they please. All we insist upon is the right of reply," she said.

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/government-officials-rebut-bloomberg-south-china-morning-post-articles-on-pofma

Democrat Rep. Al Green Admits ‘Genesis of Impeachment Was… When Trump Was Running For Office’ (VIDEO)

Democrat Rep. Al Green says the darndest things.

Rep. Green previously stated during a media appearance that Trump must be impeached so he doesn’t get reelected.

The Texas Democrat then claimed during an appearance on MSNBC that we need to impeach Trump to ‘deal with slavery.’

Now he’s claiming that the ‘genesis of impeachment was when Trump was running for office,’ further proving the entire thing is a sham.

At least Al Green was being honest.

The Democrat-media-complex was plotting to prevent Trump from winning the White House in 2016 and his upset victory sent them into overdrive.

“Basically, the Democrats have wanted to impeach Trump from day one…Exhibit one, Congressman Al Green has been calling for the man’s impeachment for 2 years now, what’s your response to that charge?” MSNBC host Chris Hayes asked Rep. Green.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/12/democrat-rep-al-green-admits-genesis-of-impeachment-was-when-trump-was-running-for-office-video/

Iraqi protesters withdraw from US Embassy in Baghdad (VIDEOS)

Paramilitary leaders have ordered their supporters to leave the heavily fortified US Embassy compound in Baghdad, Iraq, as American troops reinforced the besieged facility.

Live footage from RT’s video agency Ruptly showed protesters with Hezbollah flags withdrawing en masse in their vehicles. Some lingered behind at the scene of the clashes, where tear gas and stun grenades were reportedly fired again on Wednesday. By Wednesday evening, however, the US military stated that all had departed.

https://www.rt.com/news/477276-protesters-leave-baghdad-embassy/

Head of Robotics Company Warns of Catastrophic Consequences for Mankind if AI is Used in Conflicts

In November, a report by Army Times detailed how the US military plans to enhance the capabilities of soldiers via a human-machine fusion, including connecting human brains to computers in order to control vehicles.

Rich Walker, the head of Shadow Robot Company, warned of catastrophic consequences for mankind if artificial intelligence is used in military conflicts. In an interview with the Daily Express, he claimed that organisations that are studying the use of autonomous weapons systems in conflicts say that using AI in these circumstances is a bad idea. "The positives of doing it are so small compared to the huge stack of negatives, so really we shouldn’t be doing this”, Walker cited the organisations as saying.

He said that the international community should treat this technology the same way it treats other dangerous technologies that people resort to in desperate situations. “We don’t allow people to use chemical weapons in war, we don’t allow people to use biological weapons and the use of land mines and cluster mines is heavily regulated or controlled”, Walker explained.

https://sputniknews.com/science/202001011077917122-head-of-robotics-company-warns-of-catastrophic-consequences-for-mankind-if-ai-is-used-in-conflicts/

Hong Kong Protesters Vandalise HSBC Offices Across Hong Kong

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Hong Kong protesters vented their anger at the HSBC banking group on Wednesday as they vandalised its headquarters, offices and cash machines across the city in a new wave of anti-government unrest.

"We strongly condemn the acts of vandalism and damage directed at our premises repeatedly in the last few days. We believe these are unjustified", the group said in a statement.

Over a million demonstrators marched through the autonomous Chinese city on New Year’s Day. Police said hardcore protesters thrashed public facilities and were dispersed with tear gas.

The scene outside #HSBC headquarters on Queen's Road, Central. #HongKong #SparkAlliance #2020NewYear #banking #realestate #redcapitalism #Beijing #XiJinping #CarrieLam #BorisJohnson #Trump #CCP pic.twitter.com/2jyoZy7mhT

— Sam Pye (@freddie1999) January 1, 2020

https://sputniknews.com/asia/202001011077916913-hong-kong-protesters-vandalise-hsbc-offices-across-hong-kong/

Europe: Anti-Christian Attacks Reach All-Time High in 2019

The issue of anti-Christian vandalism was rarely reported by the European media until February 2019, when vandals attacked nine churches within the space of two weeks. The issue made headlines again in April 2019, when a suspicious fire gutted the iconic Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Since then, however, the European media are once again shrouding facts in silence.

"Seeking to destroy or damage Christian buildings is a way of 'wiping the slate clean' of the past." — Annie Genevard, MP, Republicans Party, in an interview in Le Figaro, April 2, 2019.

"In the past, even if one was not a Christian, the expression of the sacred was respected. We are facing a serious threat to the expression of religious freedom. Secularism must not be a rejection of the religious, but a principle of neutrality that gives everyone the freedom to express his faith." — Dominique Rey, Bishop of Fréjus-Toulon, in an interview with the Italian magazine Il Timone, August 5, 2019.

We are witnessing the convergence of laicism — conceived as secularism, which relegates the faithful only to the private sphere and where every religious denomination is banal or stigmatized — with the overwhelming emergence of Islam, which attacks the infidels and those who reject the Koran. On one hand, we are mocked by the media … and on the other, there is the strengthening of Islamic fundamentalism. These are two joint realities." — Dominique Rey, Bishop of Fréjus-Toulon, in an interview with the Italian magazine Il Timone, August 5, 2019.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15366/europe-anti-christian-attacks#.Xgxyd4v3pMY.twitter

The Takeover: China Is Building Enormous Self-Sustaining Chinese Cities All Over The African Continent

During colonial times, European powers exploited Africa for the vast resources that it possesses. But what China is doing today is actually much worse. Yes, the Chinese greatly desire African resources, but ultimately what they want is Africa itself. But instead of conquering Africa using military force, China is using economics instead. Today, more than 10,000 Chinese-owned firms are operating in Africa, and virtually every major road, bridge, railway and skyscraper is being built by the Chinese. As a result, most African nations are very deeply indebted to China at this point. And as you will see below, when those debts go bad that gives the Chinese a tremendous amount of leverage.

Many people believe that the endgame for China is to make a whole lot more money and to gain control over a whole lot more resources. And China is undoubtedly pursuing those goals, but as Forbes has noted, ultimately what this is about is turning Africa “into another Chinese continent”…

The reason Chinese corporations are in Africa is simple; to exploit the people and take their resources. It’s the same thing European colonists did during mercantile times, except worse. The Chinese corporations are trying to turn Africa into another Chinese continent. They are squeezing Africa for everything it is worth.

https://themostimportantnews.com/archives/the-takeover-china-is-building-enormous-self-sustaining-chinese-cities-all-over-the-african-continent

This Is Not 1979, And Donald Trump Is Not Jimmy Carter

Iran has just made a tragic mistake. When Iranian proxies directly attacked the U.S. embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday, it sent shockwaves across the entire planet. Of course it immediately reminded many of us of the Iranian hostage crisis, and that episode turned out great for the Iranians. In November 1979, a group of Iranian militants stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehran, and they took 52 American citizens hostage. For the next 444 days, the United States was absolutely humiliated by the Iranians. President Jimmy Carter looked like a pathetic weakling in the eyes of the rest of the world, and his inability to get the hostages back helped to pave the way for the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980.

Perhaps the Iranians were attempting to recapture that magic by having their proxies storm the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, but it is not 1979 anymore, and Donald Trump is not Jimmy Carter.

The Iranians appear to think that they can intimidate Trump the same way that they have intimidated other U.S. presidents, and they also seem to believe that if they put enough pressure on him that the U.S. will eventually relent and leave the region.

But anyone that knows Trump understands that he never backs down.

https://themostimportantnews.com/archives/this-is-not-1979-and-donald-trump-is-not-jimmy-carter

>>7683846

That's Very possible but there's still this

China’s Investments in Africa: What’s the Real Story?

Jan 19, 2016….notice the date

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In December, Chinese president Xi Jinping offered a whopping $60 billion loan and aid package to Africa, according to Voice of America. Xi said that China aims to develop infrastructure, improve agriculture and reduce poverty on the continent. This is only the latest example of China’s burgeoning economic presence in Africa. Its investment there has skyrocketed in recent years from $7 billion in 2008 to $26 billion in 2013, according to figures cited at a Wharton Africa Business Forum held last fall. But the relationship is fraught with controversy.

Opponents assert that it is exploitative for China to finance African infrastructure projects in exchange for the continent’s natural resources. Some accuse China of “neo-colonialist” behavior as it acquires the raw materials like oil, iron, copper and zinc that it urgently needs to fuel its own economy. Supporters, on the other hand, say that China’s initiatives to build and improve infrastructure such as roads, railways and telecom systems have been a boon to Africa’s manufacturing sector; have freed up domestic resources for other critical needs such as health care and education; and have aided everyone doing business on the continent.

Three experts from the front lines of the China-Africa relationship offered their views on this complicated issue at the Forum. (The panel was provocatively titled “China in Africa: The Real Story.”)

https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/chinas-investments-in-africa-whats-the-real-story/

Religious People Think Democrats Will Strip Our Rights Because It’s True

A professor claims religious people are afraid of atheists and Democrats because they're projecting ignorance and hatred. Maybe instead religious people just follow the news.

White evangelicals fear atheists and Democrats would strip away their rights. Why?” asks a recent op-ed in the Washington Post. The op-ed author, Paul A. Djupe, a professor at Denison University and scholar with the Public Religion Research Institute, offered two completely out-of-touch reasons.

The first is “because that’s what they’re hearing, quite explicitly, from conservative media, religious elites, partisan commentators and some politicians, including the president.” The second is an “inverted golden rule,” meaning white evangelical Protestants “express low levels of tolerance for atheists, which leads them to expect intolerance from atheists in return.”

It’s not about projection or an authoritarian impulse. Religious conservaties worry atheists and Democrats will strip their rights because they have repeatedly witnessed attempts, typically by Democrats, to strip them of their religious liberties.

https://thefederalist.com/2020/01/01/religious-people-think-democrats-will-strip-our-rights-because-its-true/

How we survive the surveillance apocalypse

"Go, go gadgets" has long been the attitude in my house. Perhaps yours, too: A smartphone made it easier to stay in touch. A smart TV streamed a zillion more shows. A smart speaker let you talk to a smart thermostat without getting out of bed. That's progress, right?

Now I've got a new attitude: It's not just what I can get out of technology - I want to know what the technology gets out of me.

For the past year, I've been on the trail of the secret life of our data. What happens when you put your iPhone to sleep at night? Does Amazon's Alexa eavesdrop on your family? Who gets to know where you drive - and where you swipe your credit card?

Trying to get straight answers has been, literally, a full-time job. I've digested the legal word salad of privacy policies, interrogated a hundred companies and even hacked into a car dashboard to grab my data back. There are lots of stories about online threats, but it feels different watching your personal information streaming out of devices you take for granted. This year I learned there is no such thing as "incognito." Just stepping out for an errand, I discovered, lets my car record where I shop, what I listen to and even how much I weigh.

https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/How-we-survive-the-surveillance-apocalypse-14943110.php?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter