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The far-left New York Times disgraced itself Monday by clearing sitting Vice President Kamala Harris of obvious and blatant plagiarism. Now the expert used by the Times to exonerate Harris says he did not do a full analysis.

Monday afternoon, journalist Christopher Rufo dropped the bombshell that Harris “plagiarized at least a dozen sections of her criminal justice book, Smart on Crime.”

The 2009 nonfiction work, coauthored with Joan O’C. Hamilton, was written while Harris was the district attorney of San Francisco and gearing up to run (successfully) for California’s attorney general.

With the help of Dr. Stefan Weber, an internationally famous “plagiarism hunter,” Rufo provided one jaw-dropping example after another of Harris directly copying and pasting paragraph after paragraph into her book that were written by others. She did this without attribution or quote marks. In other words, she not only stole text from other sources, but she also stole ideas, reporting, and scholarship. That is textbook plagiarism.

Additionally, per Rufo, “Harris copied virtually an entire Wikipedia article into her book without providing attribution to Wikipedia” [and] “fabricated a source reference, inventing a nonexistent page number.”

Kamala has been caught red-handed. There is no defending this. Nevertheless, while reporting on the Rufo bombshells, I warned Breitbart News readers that the “corporate media will almost certainly either ignore this scandal or attempt to wrist-flick and ‘fact check’ it away as a ‘Republican-fabricated controversy.’

Within just a few hours, that is precisely what the New York Times did. “Conservative Activist Seizes on Passages From Harris Book,” reads the easily predicted Times headline.

Even more predictable… The Times article lied to its readers to protect Kamala:

The passages called into question by Mr. Rufo on his Substack platform involve about 500 words in the approximately 65,000-word, 200-page book. Ms. Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, wrote the book with another author when she was the district attorney in San Francisco.

In a review of the book, The New York Times found that none of the passages in question took the ideas or thoughts of another writer, which is considered the most serious form of plagiarism. Instead, the sentences copy descriptions of programs or statistical information that appear elsewhere.

Then comes this beauty… The Times enlisted its own plagiarism expert to back its claim that this is no big deal:

Jonathan Bailey, a plagiarism consultant in New Orleans and the publisher of Plagiarism Today, said on Monday that his initial reaction to Mr. Rufo’s claims was that the errors were not serious, given the size of the document.

Then the Times accused Rufo of racism.

But now the Times’ lies are all coming undone.

First, Rufo torpedoed the Times’ primary defense:

The Times claims that I only argued that Kamala Harris plagiarized “five sections” involving “about 500 words.” But this isn’t true. In my story, I wrote that Stefan Weber argued there are “more than a dozen” instances of “‘vicious plagiarism.'” This past Saturday, I provided the Times not only with my written analysis, which argues that there are “more than a dozen,” but with Weber’s full dossier, which included 18 allegations of varying severity. So, the Times deliberately withheld this crucial contextual information from its readers and from the supposed plagiarism expert, who, based on this limited information, called it “not serious.” They could have easily confirmed the “more than a dozen” point, but instead, lied by omission.

Further, Rufo posts passages he said he gave directly to the Times that make mincemeat out of the claim “that none of the passages in question took the ideas or thoughts of another writer[.]” The fact she cut and pasted a Wikipedia page alone kills that defense.

And then the bottom fell out of the Times’ lies when its own expert, the aforementioned Jonathan Bailey, took to Xwitter Monday to confirm he had not done a fully analysis of the book and that his “quotes were based on information provided to me by the reporters and spoke only about those passages.”

The problem for Bailey is that if he looks at all the material Rufo provided and concludes she’s guilty of plagiarism (which she most definitely is), if he speaks that truth out loud, he’ll be personally and professionally ruined. If he lies and says Kamala is not guilty of plagiarism, everyone will know he lied, even those who want him to, and his reputation will never recover.

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https://www.breitbart.com/the-media/2024/10/15/nolte-nyt-expert-who-cleared-kamala-plagiarism-admits-he-didnt-do-full-analysis/

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Never mind persuading the public to buy electric vehicles, an emerging challenge for the green energy reset in Germany is getting them to keep them, with a soaring number of EV owners switching back to internal combustion.

One in three electric vehicle owners switched back to gasoline or diesel cars this year, data from Germany’s largest car insurer states, a growing trend suggesting even those who took the leap aren’t finding the new technology as suitable for their lifestyles as hoped. As stated, the abolition of the electric car subsidy encouraging new purchases with a hefty €4,500 to €6,000 ($4,900, $6,500) taxpayer-funded discount continues to be felt.

Germany plans to abolish the sale of almost all new internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles by 2035, but has a long way to go in the next decade to square this with the public, a report on new data in Die Welt finds. While a survey that 29 per cent of Germans would only ever consider an electric car if forced by law and only 18 per cent say they would consider an electric for their next car purchase, actual observed behaviour is more instructive.

Just 3.6 per cent of ICE drivers made the switch to electric in Germany this year, it is stated, with electric vehicles accounting for 2.9 per cent of vehicles on the country’s roads. Yet at the same time, 34 per cent of electric car owners switched back to ICE so far this year.

This is a figure that has risen year-on-year all this decade, with the switch-back rate to gasoline now double the 14 per cent observed in 2021. As observed in the German press: “Apparently, electric cars cannot convince many owners to stick with this form of propulsion in the long term.”

Earlier data reported on earlier this year stated demand for electric vehicles was falling across the continent, with demand in Germany falling nearly 29 per cent.

The switch to electric is already causing major heartache for German auto manufacturers, who have invested heavily in battery technology only to find sales weak and their products meaningfully undercut by Chinese imports. Earlier this year Mercedes-Benz announced its original plans to make the company fully electric by 2030 were being scaled back, with ICE cars still to be made into next decade.

Just this month, the European Union moved to place tariffs of up to 35 per cent on Chinese imports. While this may protect European car makers from cheap imports, it may also slow the electric transition as it starves the European market of cheaper models.

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https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2024/10/15/german-drivers-giving-up-on-electric-vehicles-data-shows/

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Former President Donald Trump vowed that if elected president, he would cut energy prices “in half” within a year of taking office.

During a town hall event in Oaks, Pennsylvania, on Monday, Trump told the crowd that he would “bring down” the cost of energy by 50 percent during his first year in office.

Trump added that the United States has “so much energy” that is not being used, noting that the U.S. is getting “energy from Venezuela.”

“And, when we get everything else down — houses — everything’s going to come, it’s going to be beautiful. You’re going to have a house,” Trump told the crowd. “Just wait a little while, give me a little while, let me get in. One year from January 20th, we will have your energy prices cut in half all over the country.”

Trump has previously vowed that if elected president, his administration would cut energy and electricity prices in half “within twelve months,” adding that at a “maximum,” it would be 18 months.

A report from S&P Global in July 2024 found that “between 2018 and 2023,” the electricity prices for households in the United States increased by 21.9 percent.

States such as California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire saw the highest increase in energy prices during this period.

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https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/10/14/trump-vows-cut-energy-prices-half-year-taking-office/

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President Donald Trump announced today that he will hold a massive rally at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, October 27, 2024, at 5:00 PM EDT.

This event is set to be one of the largest political gatherings in the city’s recent history, with Trump addressing thousands of supporters in the 19,500-seat arena, known as the “World’s Most Famous Arena.”

This announcement follows a statement earlier this year from Trump during his interview with Laura Ingraham on FOX News, where he revealed plans for rallies in the South Bronx and at Madison Square Garden. Now, the historic event is officially on the calendar.

New York is reeling from the harmful effects of the dangerously liberal policies championed by Kamala Harris and Democrats like Eric Adams. Since Kamala took office, the average New York household has been forced to spend an additional $28,537, including $4,282 more on food, $4,918 more on shelter, $3,992 more on energy, and $8,912 more on transportation. These disastrous economic policies are draining the bank accounts of hardworking New Yorkers.

Additionally, thanks to Kamala’s reckless open-border policies, over 210,000 migrants have flooded into New York City since the Spring of 2022, draining vital government resources and overwhelming the city.

The consequences are staggering. The influx of illegal migrants is expected to cost the city a shocking $10 billion, and it’s not just the financial burden—crime is spiraling out of control. According to local police officers, illegal immigrants are responsible for about 75 percent of arrests in midtown Manhattan.

Last month, a news report sounded alarms after an illegal Venezuelan migrant with suspected gang ties allegedly committed 22 crimes in just six months, yet he still hasn’t been deported. This is the chaos Harris has unleashed on New Yorkers.

President Trump’s message to New York City is simple and built on his winning record: If you want to return to the strongest economy in over 60 years, rising wages, quality jobs, strong borders, and safer neighborhoods, then vote for the Trump-Vance ticket.

Date and Time: Sunday, October 27, 2024 5:00PM EDT

Venue: Madison Square Garden New York, NY 10001

Timeline of Events: 12:00PM – Doors Open 5:00PM – 45th President of the United States Donald J. Trump Delivers Remarks

As The Gateway Pundit previously reported, tens of thousands of voters turned out in the Bronx despite fears of violence from Democrats, who had a minimal presence at the rally despite 15 or more politicians and groups trying to disrupt the rally with their weak protest.

The Bronx rally came after President Trump delivered remarks to a massive crowd of roughly 100,000 supporters in Wildwood, New Jersey.

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https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/10/its-official-trump-announces-historic-rally-madison-square/

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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) signed a number of gun control bills on Wednesday, one of which requires licensed gun dealers to post signs warning would-be buyers about alleged dangers associated with firearms.

Spectrum News 1 posted about the new law, which forces gun dealers’ signs to “[include] a paragraph explaining how guns in the home increase the risk of suicide, death during a domestic dispute or unintentional death to children.”

The sign “must also include contact information for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.”

North County Now noted five other gun controls were signed by Hochul, which do everything from banning Glock switches to requiring “firearms licensing officers, like those who issue concealed carry licenses, to provide information regarding state resources related to safe storage of firearms, child access prevention and firearm violence prevention.”

Glock switches are already illegal in the United States, per the ATF, but Hochul apparently found it necessary to make them illegal again.

New York has adopted numerous gun controls following SCOTUS’s Bruen (2022) ruling, many of which have subsequently been struck down.

Most recently, on October 11, 2024, U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra Jr. found that New York’s ban on concealed carry on private property open to the public is unconstitutional.

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https://www.breitbart.com/2nd-amendment/2024/10/14/ny-gov-signs-bill-requiring-gun-dealers-post-signs-warning-dangers-firearm-ownership/

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HOUSTON, Texas — Texas Department of Public Safety troopers arrested a Venezuelan migrant for allegedly recruiting middle school students into the violent Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang.

Texas DPS troopers arrested 32-year-old Jorgenys Robertson Cova in Houston on October 7, Fox 26 Houston reported. The arrest of the Venezuelan migrant who entered the U.S. illegally during the Biden-Harris administration sent shockwaves through the southwest Houston community of Sharpstown. Cova is suspected of recruiting middle school students for the Tren de Aragua gang.

Fox 26 interviewed local residents, who said: Residents of the Sharpstown community, where the schools are located, expressed concern over the growing threat. Janice, a local resident, remarked, “A lot of things have happened that are on the news, so if it’s happening elsewhere it might also be happening in our neighborhoods as well, and we’re unaware of it.” The community’s sense of safety has been rattled by the news as they call for increased police and authority intervention to prevent an escalation to “a serious situation,” Janice noted.

“I think it’s bad for the neighborhood and for the community and I think the police department and authorities need to do something about it before we get to a serious situation,” another neighbor said.

The arrest of the suspected TdA gang recruiter is part of a crackdown on the Venezuelan prison gang ordered by Texas Governor Greg Abbott. During an exclusive interview with Breitbart Texas in late September, Governor Abbott said he is making all available tools available to law enforcement to take action against the violent TdA gang.

Governor Abbott recently designated the Venezuelan prison gang as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, unleashing additional law enforcement tools to be employed against TdA gang members.

As part of the State’s crackdown on TdA gang members, Governor Abbott posted a reward of $5,000 for “any information that leads to the identification and arrest of known or suspected members of this gang who have been or are involved in heinous crimes. Texas will not let these thugs use our state as a base of operations to terrorize our citizens.”

“Our goal is to make sure we find them, identify them, locate them, arrest them, and lock them up,” Abbott stated during the Friday interview.

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https://www.breitbart.com/border/2024/10/14/texas-arrests-tren-de-aragua-gang-member-for-recruiting-at-houston-middle-school/

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A Democrat candidate for the North Carolina House was arrested and charged after being seen removing campaign signs for former President Donald Trump.

Lowell Simon, who serves as the head of the Democrat Party in Moore County, admitted he had “removed” the Trump signs on Thursday evening, and acknowledged that he “shouldn’t have done that,” according to WRAL News.

“My worse angels got the better of me and I removed the signs,” Simon admitted in a statement. “I shouldn’t have done that. I didn’t do it in the stealth of night or anything. I did it when it was five o’clock in the afternoon.”

The Moore County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a Facebook post that a deputy who had been “responding to an unrelated call” noticed Simon removing campaign signs from a community, and “followed up at Simon’s residence.”

On Octobber 10, 2024, at approximately 5:25 p.m., a sheriff’s deputy working in the West End area observed Lowell Simon removing campaign signs from the roadside along Seven Lakes Drive. The deputy, who was responding to an unrelated call at the time, later followed up at Simon’s residence, where the signs were found in his vehicle. Simon admitted to removing the signs, which were then recovered and returned to their originial owner.

Simon was charged with “two counts of misdemeanor larceny of political signs,” according to the sheriff’s office.

On Friday, “a warrant for Simon’s arrest was issued,” regarding the removal of the signs, the Moore County Sheriff’s Office added in the Facebook post.

Simon was “released under a written promise to appear in court,” and is set to appear at the Moore County District Court on October 30, 2024, according to the sheriff’s office.

“If people are going to break the law, myself included, there should be consequences,” Simon said, according to WRAL News, claiming he is faced with Democrat signs being removed and stolen as well. “But, the law should be applied equally. I understand that sometimes you catch the criminal and sometimes you don’t, but it has to be applied equally.”

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https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/10/12/north-carolina-democrat-candidate-arrested-stealing-trump-signs/

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Military conscription enforcers have carried out a major raid at a rock concert in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev. Multiple videos, allegedly of men being detained, have been circulating on social media since Friday’s show.

The operation reportedly involved over 50 officers, who checked the papers of male concertgoers outside the Palace of Sports. Many of those who had issues with their documents or refused to show their IDs altogether were detained, according to local media.

Videos from the scene captured the crowd chanting “Shame on you” as armed officers took people away and put them in police vehicles. It is unclear how many men ended up being detained.

The band, Okean Elzy, is one of Ukraine’s most famous rock groups; around 8,000 people reportedly attended.

Following the show in Kiev, many people went online to sell their tickets to the band’s upcoming performances in other Ukrainian cities, according to the media.

This spring, faced with manpower shortages, mounting losses and military setbacks in the conflict with Russia, Kiev lowered the draft age from 27 to 25 and significantly tightened mobilization rules, obliging potential recruits to report to conscription offices for “data validation,” which often means a trip straight to the front.

Multiple videos have popped up on social media in recent months, showing conscription officers trying to snatch people in the streets, gyms and shopping malls.

The Times reported last week that “efforts to boost conscription are becoming increasingly deceitful, coercive and violent” in Ukraine, but they still appear to be insufficient to reach Kiev’s goal of recruiting an extra 200,000 troops by the end of the year.

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https://www.rt.com/russia/605611-ukraine-recruiters-raid-kiev/

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The education budgets for America’s small towns and states are skyrocketing as the huge wave of of the Biden-Harris administration’s migrant children are diverted into American primary schools.

As these migrants flood into public schools, administrators are shifting more budget dollars towards dealing with children who speak a dozen different languages, and some who have had little or no education in their home countries before they came to the U.S., and this shift of budget dollars necessarily takes resources away from native students.

The surge began in 2021 when Biden’s ill-fated border policies kicked into high gear and caused a continually growing influx of English Language Learners (ELL) who have to be taught English before being taught the rest of a school’s curriculum. Swing state Pennsylvania, for instance, saw a 40 percent rise in the number of EEL students, according to the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The huge number of non-English speaking students has caused schools to rush to hire staffers who can speak more than just English and Spanish. And the problem is not merely the huge amount of money these new resources cost, but it has raised the issue of where to actually find the potential employees to fill that role.

Again, looking at Pennsylvania’s experience, in 2020 the state reported that there were 71,766 ELL students. By this year, though, that number had blown up to 99,889 such students, a 40 percent rise.

Another contrast was seen in these numbers, as well, in that the number of native-born American students declined during that same time period.

The situation is redounding negatively for American students, the DNCF noted. One parent said that her daughter lost the opportunity to enroll in Head Start in her small Pennsylvania town of Charleroi because the district had to shift resources to cater to a large increase in Haitian children who had entered school.

The Charleroi school budget is telling. In 2020, the school had spent $105,000 on ELL students. But by this year that cost had skyrocketed to $505,000 as the city’s school district saw a 1,100 percent increase in ELL students, most of who are Haitian.

“The impact of the immigrants has affected our school district tremendously,” Charleroi council member Larry Calaschi told Breitbart News last month, “and so from the borough standpoint, it’s impacted our budget to where and the school districts. We weren’t prepared for any of this. We did not get any help from the federal government or the state government.”

“The school district, it’s going to affect them because families are leaving the borough and then being replaced by the Haitian community, or Liberian, or the immigrants in general, to where they’ve had to hire interpreters. They’ve had to pay for resources that they weren’t prepared for and restructure the way the learning process is in the Charleroi school district,” Calaschi continued.

“All that has an impact on the American student, to where they have to learn how to coexist, right? And that’s a tough thing for the teachers and the school district. And I tell you what, I give them big kudos for the job that they do up there, and we’re not seeing a dime coming in. They have cried for monies from the state and federal government, and they’re not receiving it,” he said.

Charleroi, Pennsylvania, is hardly alone. The Shaler School District suffered a 406 percent increase in ELL students and the nearby Shippensburg schools were hit with an increase of 280 percent. And Philadelphia’s numbers went from 15,530 ELL students to a massive increase to 23,377.

The question is, what good is being done? Is it incremental, negligible, or completely useless? The statistics are not yet clear as this phenomenon is fairly new. But one hint might be seen in California, where students of migrant parents have very low numbers of subject proficiency.

According to the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CASPP), migrant students are not doing well. The agency reported that only 24% of migrant students meet state standards for English Language Arts (down from 24.2% the year prior), a mere 15.8% are in line with math skills (up from 14.8%), and it is just 11.7% for science, which is about flat from last year

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https://www.breitbart.com/education/2024/10/11/catering-to-non-english-speaking-kids-sends-education-costs-skyrocketing/

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A claim that former US President Donald Trump had as many as seven phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin since leaving office in 2021 is not true, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.

”It’s a typical bogus story in the context of the pre-election political campaign,” the Russian official told The New York Times on Tuesday, when asked about the purported communications described by journalist Bob Woodward in his new book, ‘War’.

The story was based on claims made by an unnamed aide to Trump, the author said. The Republican candidate’s presidential campaign has dismissed the content of ‘War’ as “made-up stories” by an author “who suffers from a debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome.”

The New York Times said it reached out to serving and former officials in the current and previous administrations and the US intelligence community. The 20 sources said they had no knowledge of Trump-Putin calls taking place in the nature described in Woodward’s book.

’Russiagate’ – the narrative that Trump was somehow beholden to Putin after receiving assistance from Russia to be elected president in 2016 – was heavily promoted during his presidency by his rival, Hillary Clinton, and media outlets hostile to the Republican.

An investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller, which was supposed to unearth evidence of Trump’s “collusion” with Moscow, resulted in no charges being filed that would substantiate the allegations of such ties. Trump claims that the “Russia hoax” was part of a wider “witch hunt” conducted by his political enemies.

Related claims that Russia meddled in the 2016 election through social media were used by the US to justify a crackdown on unfettered discourse online as a fight against “misinformation.”

“If the platforms – whether it’s Facebook or Twitter/X or Instagram or Tik Tok, whatever they are – if they don't moderate and monitor the content, we lose total control,” Clinton told media host Michael Smerconish in an interview last month.

US intelligence has been claiming that Russia is secretly using misinformation and AI-generated content to bolster Trump’s bid for a second term.

Senior Russian officials, including Putin, have argued that it makes no sense for Moscow to favor either candidate from the two main US parties, since neither would be able to alter the confrontational policies preferred by American elites. Moscow maintains that it does not interfere in foreign elections as a matter of principle.

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https://www.rt.com/news/605470-trump-putin-woodward-book/

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By Tarik Cyril Amar, a historian from Germany working at Koç University, Istanbul, on Russia, Ukraine, and Eastern Europe, the history of World War II, the cultural Cold War, and the politics of memory.

As the world teeters on the verge of a massive war in the Middle East that could turn into World War Three, it is hard to even notice other important events.

What seems to overshadow everything else is the hideous spectacle of Israel and the collective West co-perpetrating a genocide in Gaza while also producing multiple attacks and massacres in the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, and Iran, as well as issuing ceaseless threats to do even worse if the victims dare fight back. When Gaza is being exterminated and Beirut is burning, why would people turn to look, for instance, at sleepy Strasbourg?

And yet, on October 1, that’s where a quietly historic event took place, namely the first major public appearance of Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, publisher, and outstanding investigative journalist, after his release in June from some 14 years of vicious American-British persecution and incarceration, some of which, according to UN special rapporteur Nils Melzer and the prestigious medical journal The Lancet, amounts to torture.

Though he is now free, Assange has not, it is important to note, received justice and most likely never will: A victim of outrageous abuses of state power, the crimes againsthim have not even been acknowledged by their perpetrators. Instead, to escape further persecution he was forced through a plea deal to pretend to recognize his own non-existent guilt. As he put it in Strasbourg – clearly with ironic reference to the title of a famous Soviet dissident’s memoir – he “chose freedom over unrealizable justice.”

What the Assange saga says about the state of the American empireRead more What the Assange saga says about the state of the American empire Justice for him “is now precluded” in the future, too, because Washington has written into the plea deal that he “cannot file a case at the European Court of Human Rights or even a freedom of information act request” in the US. So much, again, for the rule of law in the “rules-based order”: Perverted to the last moment and beyond. This extremely murky outcome also means, again in Assange’s own words, that he is “not free today because the system worked,” but because he pleaded guilty to, in effect, journalism, which is, of course, simply not a crime.

The occasion for Assange’s statement and short Q&A session in Strasbourg was a deceptively small-scale hearing at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE, a 46-nation organization not to be confused with the EU). Organized by PACE’s Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, the hearing preceded a full debate that addressed a detailed report on Assange’s treatment and its “chilling effects on human rights.” That debate took place on October 2. Its key result was PACE’s official confirmation that Assange was a political prisoner. Despite Washington’s blatant abuse of the 1917 Espionage Act to persecute him, everyone not completely brainwashed by US propaganda has, of course, long known that much.

And not just any political prisoner: All political prisoners suffer unjustly and deserve support. But, due to the worldwide reverberations of his persecution by the US, the rogue hegemon of the West, history will look back on Julian Assange as the single most important political prisoner of the first post-Cold War decades, without a grain of hyperbole. The issues at stake were and remain of global importance and will shape the future of humanity, for better or worse: freedom of expression; the role of free, unimpeded media in holding the powerful to account; their increasingly aggressive efforts to shut down such challenges, especially across borders; the lack of protection for individuals targeted by powerful states that manipulate or disobey their own laws; and, last but not least, the enormous abuses suffered by ordinary people, especially in the Global South, at the hands of a West that wages wars of aggression and torture campaigns and now is co-perpetrating genocide.

That was one reason the meeting in Strasbourg was so important. The other is the fact that Assange’s fate is connected to the horrors that are currently being inflicted on the Middle East. For it was Assange’s revelations of decades of crimes committed by the US and its Western followers in the Middle East (broadly understood) that most of all led to his ordeal.

While he also came under Russiagate/Russia Rage fire for exposing Democratic Party corruption and manipulations during the 2016 elections which Hillary Clinton still cannot believe she lost, that was not the key issue. And Assange has obviously not somehow functioned as a Russian agent. Indeed, in Strasbourg he bent over backwards repeatedly to falsely imply equivalence between the systematic mass murder by Israel of (mostly) Palestinian journalists and the killing of their counterparts from both sides in the Ukraine war.

Julian Assange once told me his secret to surviving impossible oddsRead more Julian Assange once told me his secret to surviving impossible odds What really started tripping up WikiLeaks was their exemplary investigative work on US atrocities during the fundamentally illegal war of aggression in Iraq. That painted a first big American target on Assange’s back in 2010. In that year, WikiLeaks released the by-now famous video ”Collateral Murder” that provided clear evidence of war crimes committed in 2007 by a merrily murderous (and chatty!) crew of American gunship pilots. More revelations, including about what in effect were death squads run by the US and their auxiliaries during the US-NATO war in Afghanistan, as well as US ’rendition’ programs – that is, kidnapping, black sites, and torture, including in Europe – followed.

There was only one other WikiLeaks exploit that rivaled its exposure of the very dirty realities of the so-called Great War on Terror (and its sequels) in enraging the US: the “Vault 7” documents, released in 2017, that, in Assange’s own summary in Strasbourg “revealed the CIA’s vast production of malware and viruses, its subversion of supply chains, its subversion of antivirus software, cars, smart TVs and iPhones.”

After that, and under the same Donald Trump who may well be the next US president and flaunts his friendship with X owner Elon Musk, who pretends to promote “free speech,” the US pulled out all the stops. As Assange explained during the Q&A in Strasbourg this week, WikiLeaks had angered the national security state, “one of the constitutive powers” of the real political system in the US. In response, then-CIA Director Mike Pompeo “launched a campaign of retribution” that included not only Assange’s brutalization by isolation and incarceration but also “plans to kidnap and to assassinate him” inside the embassy of another state (Ecuador) in another country (the UK). “Theft, hacking attacks, and the planting of false information” were used against Assange’s associates and WikiLeaks staff. In a particularly vile and creepy episode, his wife and infant son were in the Americans’ sights as well. Instructions were given to obtain DNA from his baby son’s diaper.

It is obvious that Assange was compelled to strike a plea deal that perverted justice. Yet, one fact is too often overlooked because we have become used to it: With myriad crimes committed against those invaded and occupied in the Middle East, those spied upon and manipulated everywhere, and those trying to expose these abuses, not a single perpetrator has ever been prosecuted or even investigated, as the PACE report stresses. If the impunity of genocidal apartheid Israel on its current rampage through the Middle East puzzles you, keep in mind that the West as a whole has a much larger, long-standing culture of impunity.

Why Assange’s plea deal is bad news for investigative journalismRead more Why Assange’s plea deal is bad news for investigative journalism This legal nihilism can be creative. After 2017, to go after Assange, some of the finest minds of US jurisprudence invented a whole new and completely perverse theory. In Assange’s concise summary, according to this piece of skullduggery, “only US citizens have free speech rights; Europeans and other nationalities do not have free speech rights.” At the same time, the US “Espionage Act still applies to them regardless of where they are. So, Europeans in Europe must obey US secrecy law with no defenses at all,” that is even less than what American citizens are formally granted under their first amendment rights. “An American in Paris” (note the Gene Kelly allusion this time), Assange pointed out, “can talk about what the US government is up to – perhaps. But for a Frenchman in Paris, to do so is a crime without any defense and he may be extradited just like me.”

The ongoing case of Julian Assange is about many crucial things. But if I had to pick only one as the single most important question, it would be this almost comically arrogant and crude US overreach. Not because it is such an obvious slap in the face to every other state in the world; that’s just the American establishment’s way. They really can’t, it seems, help themselves.

What makes this the decisive issue is something else: Whatever perversions and abuses American leaders will come up with, they will affect either only the US, as they should, or all of us, as they often do now. In other words, the US does not have healthy boundaries. It will always overstep, as long as it feels strong enough. Or that others are weak enough. The first, strategic step toward at least limiting and containing American abuses is for other countries to preserve or reclaim their sovereignty. In that regard, it is sadly ironic that Assange spoke in the EU before a European institution. Because, notwithstanding PACE’s best efforts, Western Europe is the part of the world least likely to regain sovereignty. Others, however, have never lost it or are well on their way to reasserting it.

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https://www.rt.com/news/605166-julian-assange-us-pace/

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The Supreme Court said Friday it will decide whether to block a $10 billion lawsuit Mexico filed against leading U.S. gun manufacturers over allegations their commercial practices have helped caused much bloodshed there

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court said Friday it will decide whether to block a $10 billion lawsuit Mexico filed against leading U.S. gun manufacturers over allegations their commercial practices have helped caused much bloodshed there.

The gun makers asked the justices to undo an appeals court ruling that allowed the lawsuit to go forward despite broad legal protections for the firearm industry.

A federal judge has since tossed out the bulk of the lawsuit on other legal grounds, but Mexico could appeal that dismissal. Mexico argues the companies knew weapons were being sold to traffickers who smuggled them into Mexico and decided to cash in on that market. The government estimates 70% of the weapons trafficked into Mexico come from the United States.

The defendants include big-name manufacturers such as Smith & Wesson, Beretta, Colt and Glock. They say Mexico has not shown the industry has purposely done anything to allow the weapons to be used by cartels and is trying to “bully” gunmakers into adopting gun-control measures.

Originally filed in 2021, the lawsuit was initially tossed out by a district court who cited legal protections for gun makers from damages resulting from criminal use of firearms.

But the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals revived the case under an exception to that law. The gunmakers appealed that ruling to the Supreme Court, arguing they have followed lawful practices and the case has no business in American courts.

U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor in Boston again dismissed the case against six of the eight companies in August, ruling Mexico had not provided concrete evidence that any those companies’ activities in Massachusetts were connected to any suffering caused in Mexico by guns.

Still, with some claims remaining and an appeal possible, the gun makers argue the 1st Circuit ruling could hang over the industry for years if allowed to stand.

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https://www.breitbart.com/news/supreme-court-will-weigh-mexicos-10-billion-lawsuit-against-u-s-gun-makers/

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Multiple whistleblowers have come forward to expose the mismanagement at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) just as Hurricane Helene devastates the southeastern U.S.

According to a letter from Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), whistleblowers allege that FEMA withheld critical pre-disaster funds and failed to issue deployment orders to first responders, leaving Americans stranded in the wake of the storm.

In a bombshell letter sent to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) outlined a litany of complaints from whistleblowers across federal, state, and local emergency management agencies.

According to these whistleblowers, FEMA’s failure to release necessary funds and provide clear orders has left “hundreds if not thousands” of service members and first responders in limbo, as they sit idle in hotels while the southeastern U.S. suffers the devastating effects of Helene, according to the Daily Mail.

The allegations come as FEMA’s credibility continues to crumble under mounting evidence of gross mismanagement. This follows Mayorkas’s admission that FEMA “does not have enough funds to make it through the hurricane season.”

How is this possible, given that Congress just approved a $20 billion emergency package for FEMA? The whistleblowers claim the agency is diverting resources to other priorities—specifically, providing aid to illegal immigrants and using taxpayer dollars to cover the costs of border enforcement failures.

The Gateway Pundit previously reported that over $1 billion, which should have been used for American disaster relief, has instead been redirected into resettling illegal immigrants through programs like the “Shelter and Services Program.”

Gaetz did not mince words in his letter to Mayorkas:

“Yesterday, you stated that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which is a part of your department, "does not have enough funds to make it through the hurricane] season."

This news comes after FEMA has spent hundreds of millions of raspayer dollars on migrants due to Border Czar Kamala Harris' open border instead of prioritizing funding for Americans impacted by disasters.

My office has been in contact with whistleblowers in numerous emergency-management functions at the federal, state, and local levels, and they all point to the same critical mismanagement issues. FEMA has wasted taxpayer funds, misappropriated funds, and left orher federal, srate, and local responders withour deployment orders on the ground.

As reported and further confirmed by my office, hundreds, if not thousands of service members were deployed by the Department of Defense to North Carolina and have sat idle, waiting for FEMA.

We have confirmed FEMA employees deployed, on the clock, awaiting orders in hotels. FEMA pre-disaster aid was withheld, exacerbating the emergency. It is also public that NGOs have purchased airline tickets for migrants through the use of FEMA funds.

The aftermath of Hurricane Helene is a major disaster, and your waste and unpreparedness are leaving Americans in distress—unable to access food, water, or medicine—and expecting help, with none coming.

Please provide answers to the following questions to my office by October 11, 2024:

(1) What policies and regulations of the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA prevent emergency funds from being wasted on illegal immigrants, including what conditions are placed on grantees of the agency?; and

(2) Of FEMA's total budget for FY 2024, what portion of funds can be guaranteed to have been spent solely on American citizens, and what portion of funds was or may have been spent on noncitizens?; and

Trending: BREAKING: Former Mesa, CO Clerk and Gold Star Mother Tina Peters Sentenced to 9 Years in Latest Political Persecution

(3) In FY 2024, what portion of funds in the Disaster Relief Fund has been spent on non-disaster-relief programs, such as providing services to illegal aliens or providing routine training to FEMA employees
authorized our of general appropriations.”

The American public deserves to know how their hard-earned tax dollars are being spent, especially during times of crisis. As we face an unprecedented hurricane season, the failure of FEMA to prioritize American citizens over non-citizens is not just a misallocation of resources—it’s a national disgrace, it's treason.

The time for accountability is now.

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https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/10/whistleblowers-blow-lid-fema-pre-disaster-funds-allegedly/

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The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is waging a PR battle to combat ‘rumors’ and ‘confusion’ about the failures of the Biden-Harris administration to take care of Americans affected by Hurricane Helene.

In a post on X Twitter on Thursday, FEMA said, “There has been a lot of rumors spreading about the #Helene response. Rumors can create confusion & prevent people from getting assistance they need. Help us share accurate information: http://fema.gov/helene-rumors

Hurricane Helene: Rumor Response

Help keep yourself, your family and your community safe after Hurricane Helene by being aware of rumors and scams and sharing official information from trusted sources.

Do your part to the stop the spread of rumors by doing three easy things:

Find trusted sources of information. Share information from trusted sources. Discourage others from sharing information from unverified sources.

Rumors

Rumor: FEMA does not have enough money to provide disaster assistance for Helene. Fact: FEMA has enough money right now for immediate response and recovery needs. If you were affected by Helene, do not hesitate to apply for disaster assistance as there is a variety of help available for different needs.

October 3, 2024

Rumor: FEMA is asking for cash donations and turning away volunteers. Fact: This is false: FEMA does not ask for or generally accept any cash donations or volunteers for disaster response. We do encourage people who want to help to volunteer with or donate cash to reputable voluntary or charitable organizations. After a disaster, cash is often the best way to help as it provides the greatest flexibility for these reputable organizations working on the ground to purchase exactly what is needed.

If you encounter someone claiming to represent FEMA and asking for donations, be careful as that is likely a scam. Government employees will never solicit money.

Learn more about how to help after a disaster: How to Help After Hurricane Helene

October 3, 2024

Rumor: Funding for FEMA disaster response was diverted to support international efforts or border related issues. Fact: This is false. No money is being diverted from disaster response needs. FEMA’s disaster response efforts and individual assistance is funded through the Disaster Relief Fund, which is a dedicated fund for disaster efforts. Disaster Relief Fund money has not been diverted to other, non-disaster related efforts.

October 3, 2024

Rumor: FEMA is confiscating donations for survivors. Fact: Rumors about FEMA turning away donations, stopping trucks or vehicles with donations, confiscating and seizing supplies often spread after a disaster. These are all false.

FEMA does not take donations and/or food from survivors or voluntary organizations. Donations of food, water, or other goods are handled by voluntary agencies who specialize in storing, sorting, cleaning, and distributing donated items.

FEMA does not conduct vehicle stops or handle road closures with armed guards — those are done by local law enforcement.

October 3, 2024

Rumor: FEMA will only provide $750 to disaster survivors to support their recovery. Fact: This is false.

One type of assistance that is often approved quickly after you apply is Serious Needs Assistance, which is $750 to help pay for essential items like food, water, baby formula, breastfeeding supplies, medication and other emergency supplies. There are other forms of assistance that you may qualify to receive once you apply for disaster assistance. As your application continues to be reviewed, you may still receive additional forms of assistance for other needs such as support for temporary housing and home repair costs. Learn more about the types of assistance available. If you have questions about your disaster assistance application and what you qualify for, contact us at 1-800-621-3362 to speak with a FEMA representative.

October 3, 2024

FEMA spokeswoman Jaclyn Rothenberg also posted on X:

“There are many dangerous, misleading rumors spreading about #Helene response, which can actively prevent survivors from getting help. Our top priority is ensuring that disaster assistance is reaching people in need. .@FEMA does not ask for donations. We do encourage people who want to help volunteer with or donate cash to reputable organizations working on the ground to purchase exactly what is needed. After a disaster, cash is often the best way to help as it provides the greatest flexibility for these reputable organizations working on the ground to purchase exactly what is needed..@FEMA is not taking donations meant for #Helene survivors. Rumors of FEMA armed guard stopping vehicles with donations, or taking donations from organizations are false. Voluntary agencies that specialize in handling donations are active on the ground in areas affected by Helene.”

DC Draino responds: “Rumor: “FEMA is completely failing the people of NC and TN” Fact check: True”

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https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/10/fema-sets-up-rumor-control-battle-confusion-about/

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is getting skewered on social media for releasing a message asking drone pilots to no longer fly their drones “near or around rescue and recovery efforts” for Hurricane Helene victims.

” Drone pilots: Do not fly your drone near or around rescue and recovery efforts for Hurricane Helene,” the U.S. Department of Transportation said in an X post.

“Interfering with emergency response operations impacts search and rescue operations on the ground,” it continued, sharing a video of Buttigieg repeating this sentiment.

“Our goal is to make sure that funding is no obstacle to very quickly getting people the relief that they need and deserve,” he said.

“There’s also some safety issues that come up, for example, temporary flight restrictions to make sure that the airspace is clear for any flights or drone activity that that might be involved in helping to allow those emergency responders to do their job,” he added:

That call was met with plenty of criticism, particularly in light of the Biden-Harris administration’s lackluster response, prompting individuals to send assistance directly to their fellow Americans.

Needless to say, feedback on that demand was not good for the Harris administration.

“Hey loser, too late, real Americans started the rescue effort days ago, so pathetic,” one X user pointed out as another added, “You would think more eyes in the sky would be a good thing when there are people that need to be rescued but what do i [sic] know.”

Others said the government’s call is part of a “coverup,” while others emphasized that “government personnel are hampering private relief efforts while failing to provide significant, effective relief effort.”

“Government personnel should not interfere with private efforts,” that individual added.

This call from the Biden-Harris administration follows Vice President Kamala Harris coming under fire after opting to party with celebrities in Los Angeles at a glitzy fundraiser following Hurricane Helene.

As Breitbart News reported:

“Oh, it’s good to be home!” Kamala Harris reportedly exclaimed to the crowd gathered for a Harris-Walz fundraiser at the JW Marriott in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon.

Her prioritization of Hollywood stars over the millions victims of Hurricane Helene has resulted in a negative news cycle for her campaign. Former President Donald Trump is set to visit storm-ravaged parts of Georgia on Monday and will assist with the distribution of relief aid.

Notably, it was former President Donald Trump who quickly traveled to Valdosta, Georgia, delivering relief items and previewing more for victims of the storm in North Carolina.

RELATED — Donald Trump Leads Moment of Silence for Lives Lost from Hurricane Helene

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https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/10/03/pete-buttigieg-skewered-telling-drone-pilots-stay-away-hurricane-recovery-efforts/

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Jusayin.

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Has there been a mass catnapping in the American northeast, or is something else at play?

Some 20 cats have gone missing without a trace in Bangor, Maine, leaving residents and officials perplexed and disturbed at the disappearances.

Authorities have not discovered any remains in the search for the missing cats.

The situation was realized in late August, as up to 16 cats were reported missing over the course of a month. The number of missing cats soon increased.

“There was never this kind of spike of this kind of activity,” Matt Morgan, the owner of missing feline Eloise, told WCSH-TV, “and the animals that disappeared were either found later, or it just wasn’t at that rate.”

For the owners, the disappearances are a source of anxiety and unease.

“There’s really a hole in my heart without her,” Anne Foster, the owner of another missing cat, Frankee Blue Eyes, told WCSH of her missing cat.

“It’s like you’re in grief,” she later continued, “but you can’t really grieve, because you don’t know if they’re actually gone.”

Trisha Bruen, Bangor’s animal control officer, told WCSH that wildlife is to blame for the city’s unprecedented spike in cat disappearances.

According to Bangor Daily News, Bruen pointed to a bobcat that was recently hit by a car, suggesting it could have been responsible for many of the cats’ disappearances.

Owners of the missing cats, and at least one government agency, are casting serious doubt on the wildlife theory.

“The question is, where’s her collar?” Foster asked. “Where’s her remains, if it was an animal?”

The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife dismissed the wildlife theory altogether, pointing out that the area has been a longtime home for predators, but only recently became something of a Bermuda Triangle for cats.

“We do not believe that wildlife is responsible,” MDIFW Communications Director Mark Latti told Maine Wire.

“The neighborhood has had foxes, coyotes and fisher there for years without incident, yet during this recent time period of about two months, 16 cats disappeared.

“If it were wildlife-related, you would not have seen that sudden surge of cats disappearing.”

While one of the vanished cats has since returned home after being reported missing, the locations of the other 19 remain unknown.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

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https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/09/disturbing-wave-cat-disappearances-hits-us-town-officials/

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The federal government has released data showing more than 155,000 migrants have been convicted — or face charges — for criminal traffic offenses as Americans’ auto insurance bills rise rapidly.

The huge imported population of dangerous, drunk, drugged, or reckless drivers was revealed in a report by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency within the Department of Homeland Security.

For example, the data shows that 77,074 undetained migrants have been convicted of criminal traffic offenses, and an additional 46,269 migrants face criminal traffic charges.

These migrants are not detained by ICE, but some may be detained by other government agencies. Many of the drivers crossed the border years before President Joe Biden’s economic deputies pulled in roughly 10 million illegal, illegal, temporary, and quasi-legal migrants.

The data also shows that 2,663 migrants have been convicted of stealing a vehicle, but are not detained by ICE. An additional 1,593 migrants face theft charges and are also not detained.

The data does not show how many Americans have been killed or injured by migrant drivers.

The data was provided to Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) on September 25 by Patrick Lechleitner, the acting chief of ICE. Cities “‘Sanctuary’ policies can end up shielding dangerous criminals, who often victims these same communities,” Lechleitner wrote.

Auto insurance rates climb as more drivers crash their cars and as more autos are stolen.

The connection between the White House’s migration policy and Americans’ monthly insurance rates is spotlighted in Springfield, OH., where insurance bills are rising by roughly 30 percent because the 20,000 imported Haitian migrants are crashing and damaging their cars at very high rates.

In a September 8 TikTok video, Springfield resident, Dustin Geisel said the inflow of Haitians raised his auto-insurance rates:

I live in Springfield, Ohio, where the influx of Haitians are and we had a enormous amount of car accidents because they don’t know how to drive. So now, because that, my car insurance has gone up significantly. I might as well be taking out another car payment at this point just to cover my cars, but the government makes it so that you have to have car insurance. So I thought, you know, I’m going to shop around and see if I can find a cheaper rate. And all of the other insurance companies have given me the same rate, if not more, so I don’t have a chance.

The rising accidents and insurance rates are such a problem that even Ohio’s pro-migration GOP governor, Mike DeWine, has taken notice.

“My wife Fran and I have been in Haiti several times and driving [there is] just very, very different,” DeWine told ABC. He added:

Again, Haiti is not [sic] a country [where] many people don’t drive at all. There aren’t that many cars per capita. And people who do drive in Haiti are very, very different than they are in the United States … So the challenge is to get driver training for these individuals so that when they do go on the road, you know they will be safe. We have a law in Ohio that says that once you turn 18, or if you’re over 18, you can get a driver’s license in the state — you have to pass a test, but you don’t have to have any driver’s training, which is kind of a big loophole in our law. It’s a real problem.

Nationwide, including both Americans and migrants, the U.S. courts showed a dramatic spike in its caseload for criminal traffic offenses in the 12 months before April 2023. “Filings for defendants charged with traffic offenses jumped 49 percent to 2,491 (this total does not include defendants charged with traffic crimes in petty offense cases disposed of by magistrate judges),” the courts’ report said.

Auto insurance rates are lowest in low-migration states, including Maine, Idaho, and Vermont, and highest in Florida and Louisiana, according to an August report at USNews.com. The site ranked Ohio are the fourth cheapest state, but that is expected to change.

Drivers in Nevada, for example, are facing a 30-percent increase by November, according to a September 11 report by 8NewsNow. “Last year was around 20, 30 bucks [per month],” driver Mesoud Rezaei told the outlet of his rate increase. “I don’t know why this year it’s raised a lot.”

Insurify.com, which helps consumers find auto insurance, reported on August 11:

The cost of full-coverage car insurance increased by 15% in the first half of the year, despite industry expert predictions that rate hikes could slow in 2024. The average annual full-coverage premium now costs $2,329, according to Insurify data. Insurify predicts California, Missouri, and Minnesota could see car insurance costs increase by more than 50% in 2024. Damage from severe storms and wildfires contributes to rising rates in the states. Maryland has the highest car insurance costs in the U.S., with an average full-coverage rate of $3,400 annually. New Hampshire drivers pay the least, at an average of $1,000 annually. Crime by poor or alienated migrants is also helping to raise insurance rates in the United States and Canada.

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https://www.breitbart.com/2024-election/2024/09/30/auto-insurance-rises-amid-155000-migrant-traffic-criminals-suspects/

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A comet that has not been visible from Earth for more than 80,000 years was spotted in the skies over the weekend, and may come again in mid-October.

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, also known as Comet A3, was captured on camera by Chile-based astronomer Yuri Beletsky in the Atacama Desert on Thursday morning.

The comet was visible from various countries, with faint images also being captured from Bengaluru, India, and Colorado, U.S.

Despite the comet’s existence only being discovered in 2023, scientists have determined that it was last visible about 80,000 years ago based on its elliptical trajectory, according to earth.com.

Even though it was already spotted from Earth, the comet is expected to swing back around its orbit from the Sun and possibly become visible again October 12-20.

“During this time, Comet C/2023 A3 will climb higher in the sky each night and will slowly fade in visibility as it continues its journey out of the solar system,” the scientific outlet reported.

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https://www.breitbart.com/science/2024/09/29/comet-visible-first-time-80000-years-captured-over-chilean-desert/

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Barack Obama courted the ‘deep state’ during his rise to power, and was powerless to disobey their orders once in office, the former US president’s half-brother has told Going Underground host Afshin Rattansi.

In an interview set to air on Monday, Malik Obama told Rattansi that before he entered the corridors of power, Barack Obama “was a really humble, really nice person.”

However, “to be the president of the USA, he had to have the backing of certain people like the Clintons” and “the [George] Soros people…the ones who are really controlling everything out there.”

Keeping their backing, along with the support of the deep state, was crucial to Barack Obama, and Malik suggested that his half-brother wouldn’t have dared oppose the 2014 coup in Ukraine or the 2011 regime-change operation against Muammar Gaddafi in Libya.

“He would have lost his support,” Malik said. “He would not be what he is today, because those people are the ones that propped him up and he had to play to them.”

“That’s why I like President Trump,” he continued, “because he does things his own way. He reached out to North Korea and met the leader there. [Obama] could have done that for Muammar Gaddafi. I think he’s just… he’s a simp.”

The term ‘deep state’ refers to the unelected and often unknown government bureaucrats who steer government policy, particularly the leaders of intelligence agencies and the military.

Malik Obama has the same father as the ex-president, and visited the White House several times during his brother’s first term in office. However, he later claimed that Barack was “cold and ruthless,” and blasted him for abandoning his Kenyan family. He has since made a series of bizarre claims about the former president, apparently announcing last year that Barack Obama is “definitely gay,” and alleging in 2017 that he was born in Kenya.

Malik Obama is a vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump, who before running for office in 2016 challenged Barack Obama to produce his birth certificate over doubts he was born in the US. Trump later abandoned the dispute and admitted that Obama was born in the US.

During the full interview with Rattansi, Malik Obama discussed the current state of his relationship with his brother, and Barack’s alleged role in forcing President Joe Biden to end his reelection campaign.

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https://www.rt.com/news/604901-malik-obama-deep-state/

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Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota is officially ending its Olympics sponsorship following the Paris Games, Chairman Akio Toyoda announced in a podcast posted on the company’s YouTube channel this week. According to Toyoda, this summer’s Olympics demonstrated that the event has become “increasingly political.”

Toyota struck a ten-year sponsorship agreement with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2015. Toyota’s Olympic Partner contract was reported to be worth $835 million, the IOC’s largest sponsorship deal at the time. It was to span four Olympics but could be renewed upon expiry in 2025. Toyoda said, however, that he has become disillusioned with the event, which no longer puts athletes first.

“I’ve wondered for a while now whether the event is truly putting athletes first… It is also becoming increasingly political,” the chairman stated. Previously, he said, “the Olympics should simply be about watching athletes from all walks of life, with all types of challenges, achieve their impossible.”

The 2024 Olympic Games were riddled with scandals, from the much-maligned opening ceremony – which many people claimed was intended to mock Christianity – to the controversy surrounding the women’s boxing competition. The events drew criticism worldwide, but the IOC stood by its decisions, with outgoing president Thomas Bach hailing the “gender parity” of the Games.

However, according to media reports, even prior to the Paris Olympics, some people at Toyota expressed concerns over how sponsorship money is handled by the IOC, which they claimed was not used effectively to support athletes and promote sports. Some experts also say Toyota’s decision may be influenced by the memory of the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, which took place at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic and was highly criticized for this. Toyota was even forced to halt any Olympics-themed advertising on Japanese TV during the event.

According to the Japan Times, Toyota had hoped to retain its sponsorship of the International Paralympic Committee, but the IOC reportedly demanded that it sponsor either both events or none.

Toyota is not the only sponsor opting out of its partnership with the IOC. Another Japanese company, Panasonic, which has sponsored the Olympics since 1987, also announced its withdrawal earlier this month. The electronics giant cited “management considerations” as the reason for the move.

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https://www.rt.com/business/604911-toyota-olympics-sponsorship-end/

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Once again, Stay Out Of The Weeds!

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As reported in The Gateway Pundit.

"Border Czar Kamala Harris visited the southern border in Douglas, Arizona, on Friday and claimed that she will “do more to secure our border” after creating the worst border crisis in history."

This may well be technically true.

They don't say "we will secure the border," just that they will "do more."

Even the smallest step in the right direction is "more."

Most will not see it at all. The mind hears "secure" and they happily accept it and pass it along, willingly perpetuating the deception. But it's the qualifier that matters. They make an implied promise never intended to be kept.

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Jordan Conradson - TGP, goes on to miss the point entirely and demonstrate this by writing,

"We know this isn’t true because if she had any intention of securing the border, she would do it now."

She never said she would "secure the border."

You can almost hear the voices later stating that "we said we would do more, and we have been doing more..."

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This technique applies to every "Issue of Concern" of the voting public.

Details are the wrong battlefield.

The "Underlying Techniques" are what people must be taught to look for and understand. They will then be able to recognize the deception for themselves and respond appropriately.

This applies to the big stories and to daily life as well.

If the border is properly secured as in this example, then there is little need to "do more."

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"Kamala Harris Claims She Will Finally Secure The Border if She Wins: “Our System Must be Orderly and Secure” - TGP

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/09/what-joke-kamala-harris-claims-she-will-finally/

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Two years ago, the Nord Stream gas pipelines were destroyed in an economic and environmental terrorist attack. The explosions severed a key economic connection between Western Europe and Russia, contributing to the de-industrialization of the EU and intensifying Russia’s economic reorientation towards China and India. The geopolitical ramifications were immense, yet we know very little about what really happened. How is this possible?

The US and its NATO allies initially insisted that Russia was certainly the perpetrator, and their stenographers in the media reported confidently that “everything is pointing to Russia.” No evidence was presented, yet NATO even suggested the attack on its critical infrastructure could trigger collective defense under Article 5. Besides indirectly threatening the world’s largest nuclear power with war, the US-led military bloc also used the attack on Nord Stream to justify escalating the conflict in Ukraine and to further militarize the Baltic Sea and other seas. Strengthening NATO’s ability to protect undersea infrastructure was also an important argument for why Finland and Sweden should join NATO.

The story of Russia blowing up its own pipeline could rely on a strong consensus as all dissent to the narrative could be dismissed as repeating the Kremlin’s talking points. Similar stories such as Russia’s alleged continued bombing of a nuclear power plant under its own control or Russia attacking the Kremlin with drones did not make any sense either. Yet, in the absence of common sense, the political and media elites could explain that this was straight out of the “Russian playbook.”

However, reality eventually asserted itself around the time of journalist Seymour Hersh’s article that blamed the US for the attack. Thereafter, the US began to shift the blame to Ukraine. In one of the latest developments, the Wall Street Journal reported that the US knew about the Ukrainian attack in advance and “the CIA warned Zelensky’s office to stop the operation.”

It seems highly unlikely that the US was not involved in the attack on Nord Stream, yet the new and updated narrative is nonetheless interesting as it is an admission that the US knew about it ahead of time. It is an admission that the US and NATO lied to their own populaces and the entire world when they blamed Russia, and then used that lie to escalate the war in Ukraine, militarize the Baltic Sea, and push for further NATO expansion.

Our lack of knowledge about what really happened to the Nord Stream gas pipelines is the result of the narrative being protected from reality. Blissful ignorance has become the foundation for NATO unity, and facts are thus treated as the great enemy. Yet, as the demand for unity also upholds what can only be described as the Stockholm Syndrome, let’s review how the Nord Stream narrative has been spared an encounter with reality.

The US announces its objective to destroy Nord Stream

Preventing the economic integration and cooperation between Russia and Germany as two key centers of power has been a centuries-old hegemonic objective of the US and Britain. The RAND Corporation, a think tank linked to the intelligence community, wrote a report in 2019 sponsored by the Army Quadrennial Defense Review Office about how to weaken Russia and make it overextend. Besides destabilizing Russia’s borders and bleeding Moscow in Ukraine, the report outlined the objective of cutting its energy ties to Western Europe: “A first step would involve stopping Nord Stream 2.”

The US opposition to the pipeline included political pressure and economic sanctions against the companies of European allies who participated in the project, a hegemonic ambition sold to the public as defending Europe. In July 2020, then-US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo proclaimed: “We will do everything we can to make sure that that pipeline doesn’t threaten Europe.” US Senator Tom Cotton announced in May 2021 that “there is still time to stop it.… Kill Nord Stream 2 now, and let it rust beneath the waves of the Balti’.” On January 14, 2022, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan also threatened the pipeline: “We have made clear to the Russians that pipeline is at risk if they move further into Ukraine.” Senator Ted Cruz similarly used very direct language calling for stopping Nord Stream: “This pipeline must be stopped and the only way to prevent its completion is to use all the tools available to do that.”

On February 7, 2022, President Biden stood next to German Chancellor Scholz at a press briefing, warning that if Russia invaded Ukraine, then ”there will be no longer a Nord Stream 2. We will bring an end to it.” When asked by a journalist how he would end a project under German control, Biden responded: ”I promise you, we will be able to do that.” US spokesperson, Ned Price, was explicit: “I want to be very clear: if Russia invades Ukraine one way or another, Nord Stream 2 will not move forward.” Undersecretary of State for Policy Victoria Nuland used the exact same words: “If Russia invades Ukraine, one way or another, Nord Stream 2 will not move forward.”

The attack on Nord Stream and the subsequent victory lap

On September 26, 2022, the German-Russian Nord Stream pipelines were destroyed. The former Foreign Minister of Poland, Radek Sikorski, tweeted: “Thank you, USA” accompanied by a picture of the destroyed pipeline. The day after the attack, on September 27, 2022, leaders from Poland, Norway, and Denmark attended a ceremony in Poland to mark the opening of the new Norway-Poland Baltic Pipe that was constructed to reduce dependence on Nord Stream.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken argued that the destruction of Nord Stream presented “a tremendous opportunity to once and for all remove the dependence on Russian energy.” Blinken offered to “help” Western Europe to replace Russian gas with much more expensive American fuel. Nuland joined in celebrating the attack: “I am, and I think the Administration is, very gratified to know that Nord Stream 2 is now, as you like to say, a hunk of metal at the bottom of the sea.”

Washington could take a brief pause in rejoicing over the destruction of Europe’s critical energy infrastructure to reassure the world that it must have been the Russians who attacked their own pipelines. Russia had first invested billions into its evil plan of making Western Europe dependent on its energy and then transitioned into its new evil plan of blowing up the pipelines. Moscow could alternatively have turned off the valves and saved billion dollars’ worth of infrastructure, but the Russian playbook works in mysterious ways. Western European politicians entrusted with protecting their national interests and the media – which is supposed to report on reality – insisted that only Russia would have carried out such a horrendous attack. Anyone suggesting the US could have been the perpetrator was smeared by the political and media elites as spreading “Russian propaganda.”

Blaming Ukraine

Hersh then reported that the US had coordinated the attacks with the use of a US Navy diving team. The report was largely ignored by the media. When it was mentioned, it was mostly ridiculed and the reliability of the author undermined. The legendary investigative journalist – who exposed the cover up of the My Lai massacre in Vietnam and detailed the US military’s torture of prisoners in Abu Ghraib in Iraq – was suddenly sold to the public as a senile old discredited conspiracy theorist carrying water for Putin.

Then, the US began to shift the blame to Ukraine. The Washington Post reported in June 2023 about leaked CIA documents revealing that US intelligence and the Biden administration knew at least three months before the attack on Nord Stream that the “Ukrainian military had planned a covert attack on the undersea network, using a small team of divers who reported directly to the commander in chief of the Ukrainian armed forces.” How could the media report on the US lying about Russia being behind the attack, and what kind of narrative could be constructed when the only two suspects are the US and Ukraine? When the narrative-driven media did not have a narrative, the solution was simply a media blackout. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, committed to making excuses for the attackers and instead blaming Russia, suggested that it was too soon to blame Ukraine as the attack on Nord Stream could have been a “false flag” attack to blame Ukraine. Other Western European politicians simply concluded that it was best to stop digging as they would not like what they would find. The same EU officials who had for years spoken about the objective of “European sovereignty” now displayed complete subordination to Washington.

The US was nonetheless cautious not to delegitimize the Ukrainian government, blaming instead rogue Ukrainian elements who had acquired a sailboat with diving equipment. This story was uncritically presented to the public after it had been explained for months that only a state actor could be behind such a complicated operation. Yet, the media was urged not to engage in speculation until EU countries had completed their investigations and shared their findings with the world. Then, Sweden announced in October 2022 that it would not establish a joint investigation team with allies such as Germany due to national security. In February 2024, Stockholm announced it had closed its probe into the attack on Nord Stream as the case did not fall under its jurisdiction.

As Russia was blocked from participating in the investigations, it put forward a resolution to the UN Security Council calling for the establishment of an international independent investigative commission into the attack. Western countries rejected this and blocked the UN resolution. After all, an independent fact-finding mission could threaten the narrative that NATO unity rests upon.

By August 2024, the Nord Stream narrative evolved yet again, as the Wall Street Journal reported that Zelensky had been involved in the attack and that the CIA had allegedly attempted to stop it. The German government reassured its partners that the alleged Ukrainian attack on Nord Stream and Berlin’s weapon supplies to Ukraine were two separate issues, and the Nord Stream investigation would not have any bearing on support for Ukraine.

Reality threatens the unifying narrative

Without a Russian perpetrator as the foundation for solidarity, the Western Europeans have begun to turn on each other. Narrative control has subsequently become difficult. A German official has claimed that Poland sabotaged investigations into the Nord Stream attack by not arresting a suspected Ukrainian diver named “Volodymyr Z,” instead allowing him to escape back to Ukraine. August Hanning, the former head of Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service, has accused both Poland and Ukraine of being involved. Hanning has also questioned the sailboat narrative as: “operations of such dimensions are inconceivable without the approval of the political leaders of the countries involved.”

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk responded to the Germans: “To all the initiators and patrons of Nord Stream 1 and 2. The only thing you should do today about it is apologise and keep quiet”. The president of the Czech Republic, Petr Pavel, argued that if Ukraine was behind the attack on Nord Stream, then it was a legitimate target. The narrative is thus shifting from denial to justification of the terrorist attack. Germany continues to be humiliated by its key partners and allies, some that were behind the operation and others justifying the attack on its critical infrastructure. This is all happening while Germany’s energy-intensive industries collapse and its economy subsequently falters.

However, the Stockholm Syndrome phenomenon should not be underestimated. Western Europeans will memory-hole these uncomfortable facts and continue to ignore their own interests. There will soon be a new script to be followed diligently and a swift return to the simple and comfortable worldview of good versus evil, in which liberal democracies stand united under the leadership of the benign leadership of the US against the evil Russians.

This piece was first published on Glenn Diesen’s Substack and edited by the RT team.

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https://www.rt.com/news/604776-two-years-nord-stream-attack/

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Germany urgently needs an independent parliamentary probe into the Nord Stream sabotage, German left-wing politician Sahra Wagenknecht said in a video published on Thursday. If it’s proven that Kiev was behind the 2022 attack on the gas pipeline, it should be held responsible, she added.

The lawmaker, who also leads her own party – the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) – questioned what she calls Berlin’s ongoing “deafening silence” a full two years after the incident. Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s cabinet has stubbornly refused to share any substantial details about the ongoing inquiry into the blasts or its results with the parliament, she argued.

“The need for investigation is all the more urgent since Ukraine, which is a recipient of billions of German taxpayers’ money, is the chief suspect,” Wagenknecht said.

“If Ukraine is responsible for the terrorist act against the German energy supply, the arms deliveries must end immediately and the question of compensation must be put on the table.”

The MP cited numerous Western media reports which claim a group of Ukrainian divers blew up the Russian undersea pipelines that had delivered natural gas to Germany. The allegedly privately funded group was supposedly acting on orders from Ukrainian General Valery Zaluzhny, who was later dismissed and made Kiev’s ambassador to the UK, Der Spiegel reported earlier this month.

“Anyone who has friends like this really does not need any enemies,” Wagenknecht said, adding that “if this story is true, then we really have had a scandal of the century.” She cited other reports suggesting that Berlin may have been warned by the CIA about the potential attack but still took no action.

The subsequent government silence in the wake of the attack raises even more questions, she added.

“This refusal to cooperate with parliament and the public makes the establishment of an investigative committee, requested… by the BSW, ever more urgent,” Wagenknecht said. Berlin has yet to provide any official information on the probe. In August, German media reported that the authorities had issued a first arrest warrant in the case, allegedly for a Ukrainian national identified as “Vladimir Z.”

Germany is the second-biggest donor of military aid to Ukraine, totalling over €10 billion ($11.19 billion) between January 2022 and June 2024, according to the Kiel Institute for World Economy. Berlin has also provided Kiev with almost $5 billion in humanitarian and financial assistance over the same period, according to the think tank’s estimates.

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https://www.rt.com/news/604800-kiev-pay-nord-stream-sabotage/

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Norwegian police have issued an international warrant for a man believed to be involved in the supply chain of a batch of explosive-stuffed pagers which exploded in the hands of Hezbollah militants last week.

The National Criminal Investigation Service of Norway (Kripos) say they issued international an warrant on Thursday for a Norwegian connected to the sale of exploding pagers. The 39-year-old wasn’t named in reported in the national press, other than to say — as in the report of Norwegian newspaper Dagsavisen, for instance — that he was “born in another country, but is a Norwegian citizen and has lived in Norway for twelve years.”

Foreign media named the wanted man as Rinson Jose, described as a “Norwegian Indian man” by Britain’s The Guardian, and a man with “dual Norwegian and Indian citizenship” by the Dutch Broadcasting Foundation (NOS). According to government documents, the man founded Norta Global Ltd in Sofia, Bulgaria in 2022, a company thought to be part of the convoluted supply chain that saw pagers with added explosives sent to Hezbollah.

Rinson Jose is reported to have travelled to the United States last week on the same day of the pagers distributed by Hezbollah to its networks exploded, injuring thousands and killed at least 12. The Indian was said by his Norwegian employer to have travelled to Boston for a business conference, but he went missing soon after arriving in America.

Oslo Police said they had received a missing person report. They said in a statement: “A missing persons case has been opened and we have sent out an international warrant for the person.”

Wires service Reuters managed to speak to a man they belive was Jose last week in the immediate aftermath of the blasts, and say of their telephone call with the man that he declined to comment on the pagers and hung up on their journalist when probed further. He is not known to have been heard from since.

As reported last week, investigators attempting to trace the adulterated pagers have, perhaps typically for what most presume to be intelligence agency wet work, come across a complex web obfuscating the origin and route of the digital devices. Branded and sold under the name of a Taiwanese brand, that company said it had licenced out its identity to a Hungarian business to sell a particular pager model, which itself denied being involved in manufacturing and stated it was simply an “intermediate”.

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https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2024/09/27/norwegian-indian-man-sought-by-police-over-exploding-pagers/

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