Students returning home from college to China’s Xinjiang region earlier this year were shocked to discover their families had been detained in one of the country’s internment camps.
Worse yet, authorities in Xinjiang had prepared scripts to handle the student’s questions and threaten them from acting out for fear their families could be detained longer. The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/11/16/world/asia/china-xinjiang-documents.html">obtained 403 pages</a> of Chinese documents detailing how the communist country has been interning Muslim-minorities in the country and how they managed to keep the detentions secret for so long. Until this year, China denied the existence of the camps, but then changed their tune and claimed they were educational facilities to better the lives of Muslims.
One document obtained by the Times showed a script for Xinjiang authorities to use to answer student questions.
“They’re in a training school set up by the government,” was to be the answer to students asking what had happened to their families. If the student continued to ask questions, authorities were to tell them that while their relatives were not criminals, they couldn’t leave the “schools.”
Authorities would then threaten the students by saying their relatives could be detained longer or shorter depending on the student’s actions.
“I’m sure that you will support them, because this is for their own good and also for your own good,” authorities would say.
The Times also reported the documents suggested Chinese authorities “were directed to tell people who complained to be grateful for the Communist Party’s help and stay quiet” even as students questioned how their tuition would be paid and who would plant crops. The Times included a list of key disclosures from the documents:
<ul>
<li>
<blockquote>President Xi Jinping, the party chief, laid the groundwork for the crackdown in a series of speeches delivered in private to officials during and after a visit to Xinjiang in April 2014, just weeks after Uighur militants <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/25/world/asia/china-executes-3-over-deadly-knife-attack-at-train-station-in-2014.html">stabbed more than 150 people at a train station</a>, killing 31. Mr. Xi called for an all-out “struggle against terrorism, infiltration and separatism” using the “organs of dictatorship,” and showing “absolutely no mercy.”</blockquote>
</li>
<li>
<blockquote>Terrorist attacks abroad and the drawdown of American troops in Afghanistan heightened the leadership’s fears and helped shape the crackdown. Officials argued that attacks in Britain resulted from policies that put “human rights above security,” and Mr. Xi urged the party to emulate aspects of America’s “war on terror” after the Sept. 11 attacks.</blockquote>
</li>
<li>
<blockquote>The internment camps in Xinjiang expanded rapidly after the appointment in August 2016 of Chen Quanguo, a zealous new party boss for the region. He distributed Mr. Xi’s speeches to justify the campaign and exhorted officials to “round up everyone who should be rounded up.”</blockquote>
</li>
<li>
<blockquote>The crackdown encountered doubts and resistance from local officials who feared it would exacerbate ethnic tensions and stifle economic growth. Mr. Chen responded by purging officials suspected of standing in his way, including one county leader who was jailed after quietly releasing thousands of inmates from the camps.</blockquote>
</li>
</ul>
As The Daily Wire has previously reported, news of the camps is beginning to trickle out of China. Last month, a former prisoner <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/former-prisoner-in-one-of-chinas-re-education-camps-speaks-out-torture-and-rape-were-common">described</a> how inmates were routinely tortured, sexually abused, and even experimented on.
As the documents obtained by the Times show, anyone who speaks out against the camps get punished. In late October, a police chief who criticized the camps <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/police-chief-in-china-expresses-concern-over-re-education-camp-gets-detained">was detained</a>, and the documents said that in the midst of the crackdown, politicians who expressed concern were removed.

President Xi

Internal Chinese Documents Reveal How The Country Implemented Its Mass Internment Of Muslims

China

It appears the Department of Justice Inspector General report into the origins of the FBI investigation into President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign may finally be released … soon.
As such, the same media that touted the investigation into Trump’s campaign &#8212; which found no evidence of Russia collusion &#8212; is now trying to discredit the report on how that investigation was started and whether any crimes were involved.
On Thursday, The Washington Post published an article claiming witnesses interviewed by the DOJ’s IG would not be permitted to submit written feedback. Later in the day, the Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/justice-dept-watchdog-wont-let-witnesses-give-written-feedback-on-report-about-fbis-russia-probe-sparking-fears-of-inaccuracy/2019/11/14/1236d0aa-070d-11ea-b17d-8b867891d39d_story.html">updated</a> its story with clarification from the IG’s office, which said those witnesses would be able to submit feedback “consistent with rules to protect classified information.”
“As part of our factual accuracy review, and consistent with our usual practice, we are providing witnesses with the opportunity to review portions of the report that relate to them,” said IG spokeswoman Stephanie Logan. “Also consistent with our practice, we undertake every effort to ensure witnesses can provide their comments and we are clarifying to witnesses that they will be able to provide written comments, consistent with rules to protect classified information.”
The Post had reported the comments from anonymous witnesses who claimed they could not submit feedback and could only review sections of the investigation pertaining to them “in a secure area, after signing nondisclosure agreements.” They were also allegedly told they could not take any notes they made regarding the document with them when they left. All the claims published by the Post were from anonymous sources.
On Twitter, some used the Post’s article to push the narrative that whatever IG Michael Horowitz found in his report is tainted by bias. One of the authors of the Post report, Devlin Barrett, shared the article (he followed up his initial tweet by including the IG’s clarification).
CNN analyst Susan Hennessey used Barrett’s initial tweet to foment the idea that the report would not be credible.
“This is extremely irregular. There are growing signs that there are serious problems with the IG report and questions as to whether this is designed to be an honest accounting of the views of the IG or a political document driven by Barr’s conspiracy theories,” Hennessey tweeted.
In April, The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/expect-media-turn-its-attention-discrediting-ashe-schow">reported</a> that media outlets would do this to Horowitz’s report, since it investigates the false narrative that the media pushed for the first two years of the Trump administration.
At that time, Politico’s Natasha Bertrand went to great lengths to claim the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court routinely used unverified information to grant warrants to spy on U.S. citizens – like Carter Page. She also attempted to redeem the credibility of Christopher Steele, who put together the infamous Steele Dossier, much of which has either been discredited or unproven.
Bertrand, a true believer of the Russian-collusion narrative, tried to suggest Horowitz was not knowledgeable nor was he willing to learn about the FISA process. Of course, Bertrand’s sources for these claims were all anonymous.

Three blindfolded businessmen

As Expected, Media Move To Discredit IG Report Regarding Origins Of The Russian Collusion Narrative

Media Bias

Michael Horowitz

As cold as it gets in Massachusetts during the winter, car owners are going to have to resist the urge to warm up their cars before driving – or else they will be fined by the state.
Mass Live <a href="https://www.masslive.com/news/2019/11/idling-your-car-in-massachusetts-for-too-long-this-winter-to-warm-it-up-could-land-you-a-500-fine.html">reported</a> Thursday that Massachusetts law Chapter 90 Sec. 16A states: “No person shall cause, suffer, allow or permit the unnecessary operation of the engine of a motor vehicle while said vehicle is stopped for a foreseeable period of time in excess of five minutes.”
This means that idling one’s car for more than five minutes “could result in a $100 fine for the first offense, and up to $500 for each subsequent offense,” the outlet reported.
In a statement, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection said, “The goal of the Massachusetts Anti-Idling Law is to improve air quality by reducing unnecessary air pollution from idling vehicles.”
There are several exceptions for the fine, including idling the car to defrost a windshield. The law also <a href="https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXIV/Chapter90/Section16A">does not apply</a> to:
<blockquote>(a) vehicles being serviced, provided that operation of the engine is essential to the proper repair thereof, or
(b) vehicles engaged in the delivery or acceptance of goods, wares, or merchandise for which engine assisted power is necessary and substitute alternate means cannot be made available, or
(c) vehicles engaged in an operation for which the engine power is necessary for an associate power need other than movement and substitute alternate power means cannot be made available provided that such operation does not cause or contribute to a condition of air pollution.</blockquote>
An <a href="https://www.mass.gov/files/documents/2018/02/20/idling-faq.pdf">explainer</a> issued by the state government in 2018 went into a little more detail about the exemptions. For example, using the engine to power additional devices, such as a wheelchair lift or the lift on the back of a truck, is exempted. That explainer also claims that idling vehicles can warm up within five minutes and that cars warm faster when driven. Still, the government says five minutes “should be the maximum amount of time unless weather conditions are extreme,” but it doesn’t define “extreme.”
The explainer also said that stopping and starting a car to avoid the idling limit does not cause more pollution and that starters don&#8217;t wear out faster with this method.
The law has been in effect for years, but thankfully, <a href="https://patch.com/massachusetts/southend/anti-idling-laws-rarely-enforced-in-boston-1c19588f">according to Patch</a>, it doesn’t appear to be enforced all that often – at least not in Boston. Patch was actually criticizing the government for not being more proactive in fining citizens, but the article still gives the impression that the anti-idling law is rarely enforced.
For good reason – it is difficult to tell how long a car has been idling unless someone has been watching it. This would require police to sit around watching running vehicles instead of dealing with actual crime. Of course, Massachusetts has an answer for that: Residents can call to tattle on their neighbors who leave their cars running too long.
<a href="https://www.redstate.com/kiradavis/2019/11/15/massachusetts-winter-can-fined-warming-vehicle/">H/t Kira Davis</a>

Vehicles On Street During Snowfall

Heating Up Your Car This Winter Could Get You Fined In Massachusetts

Massachusetts

In an interview airing on the BBC Saturday night, Prince Andrew says he made a mistake by continuing to hang out with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, but blamed his continued friendship on his “honor.”
“The problem was the fact that once he had been convicted I stayed with him,” the Duke of York told the BBC’s Emily Maitlis. “That’s the bit I kick myself for on a daily basis because it was not something that was becoming of a member of the Royal Family and we try and uphold the highest standards and practices and I let the side down, simple as that.”
When Maitlis asked Andrew why he would stay at Epstein’s house after charges that he had sex with underage girls, the Duke said, “It was a convenient place to stay.”
“There is … I mean I’ve gone through this in my mind so many times,” Andrew said. “At the end of the day, with a benefit of all the hindsight that one could have, it was definitely the wrong thing to do. But at the time I felt it was the honorable and right thing to do and I admit fully that my judgement was probably colored by my tendency to be too honorable, but that’s just the way it is.”
The Daily Mail <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7691013/I-let-Prince-Andrew-tells-BBCs-Emily-Maitlis-wrong-stay-Epstein.html">published</a> the full video of Andrew’s interview. He also rejected the allegations made against him by Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts, who said the Duke had sex with her when she was just 17. Andrew said he had “no recollection of ever meeting this lady, none whatsoever.”  There is a photo of the prince and Roberts “with his arm around the teenager’s bare waist alongside Epstein’s alleged ‘madam’ Ghislaine Maxwell,” the Mail reported.
Still, celebrities take photos with people all the time whom they may not remember.
Roberts claimed that she met Andrew in 2001, had dinner with him and danced with him at a nightclub in London. She claimed she had sex with him in Maxwell’s house.
The Mail reported that interviews such as this one with the royal family are extremely rare. The last time a family member spoke about a personal matter was in the 90s, when both Princess Diana and Prince Charles spoke of their divorce.
The Guardian <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/nov/16/top-lawyer-calls-prince-andrew-bbc-interview-catastrophic-error">reported</a> that top media lawyer Mark Stephens (who previously represented James Hewitt when he was alleged to have had an affair with Diana), said Andrew’s interview was a “catastrophic error.”
“This strategy only works if you’ve got a complete and full answer to every possible question, and here there are too many loose ends,” Stephens told the outlet. “If he’d kept his silence he’d have been able to remain outside of the case, as he’s a witness and is entitled to diplomatic immunity. He was a private individual and now he’s waived that privacy.”
As the Mail reported, the last time a royal family member spoke to the media about a personal issue (Charles and Diana), it also was viewed as a disaster for the monarchy.

Prince Andrew

Prince Andrew Says His ‘Tendency To Be Too Honorable’ Made Him Pal Around With Jeffrey Epstein

Jeffrey Epstein

As Sen. Kamala Harris’ (D-CA) campaign for her party’s presidential nomination continues to implode, some in the media are looking for answers.
ABC News shot first, <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/kamala-harris-proof-america-ready-woman-color-president/story?id=66610615&amp;cid=social_twitter_abcn">asking</a> if Harris “proof that America isn&#8217;t ready for a woman of color as president?” The article began with quotes from Harris making the argument herself.
She had previously spoken about her “electability” several times, and in May she went ahead and wondered whether “America was ready for a woman and a woman of color to be president of the United State of America.” She made the claim on “The View.” This statement set her up with the tired and ready-made excuse in case she lost the primary: It’s because America is racist and misogynist.
Of course, that ignores the two elections of former President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton’s 2016 nomination. It also ignores the fact that she is currently in a Democratic primary, meaning the people she is calling racist and sexist are her fellow Democrats.
This point seemed lost on ABC as well, since it asked if “America” was ready for a black woman of president, when they were really asking if Democrats were ready for a black woman nominee.
Regardless, the notion that Harris’ failing campaign has anything to do with her sex or race is absurd. She is a bad candidate, like so many others in presidential primaries. She had a terrible track record as a prosecutor in California. She got national attention when she became a senator and seemed to be a star in her party. She thought that was enough to get her the nomination.
But she was not the only Democratic star to run. She’s had to contend with former Vice President Joe Biden and Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bernie Sanders of Vermont. They were all also Democrat stars. There was also Sen. Cory Booker, whose campaign never really flourished, and former Rep. Robert “Beto” O’Rourke, who started on a high but quickly fizzled.
Politico <a href="https://www.politico.com/amp/news/2019/11/15/kamala-harris-campaign-2020-071105">reported</a> Friday that Harris’ campaign aides told the outlet there was a lack of leadership and “discipline” in the campaign. Staffers told Politico that campaign manager Juan Rodriguez and Harris’ younger sister, Maya, are at odds among senior leadership. One senior staffer said Rodriguez has “all the responsibility with none of the authority,” while another said Rodriguez “chose to defer to Maya” instead of taking the lead.
A few weeks ago, Harris laid off most of her New Hampshire staff in order to focus on Iowa, a move that appeared to be an indication her campaign was flailing.
As The Daily Wire’s Eric Quintanar <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/turmoil-at-team-harris-campaign-wasted-her-talent">reported</a>, Harris’ campaign has struggled from the start, beginning with her struggle to decide whether she supported the elimination of the private health insurance industry.
She had a shining moment at the first debate where she called out Biden’s prior opposition to busing, but a month later she <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/kamala-harris-now-same-page-biden-when-it-comes-ashe-schow">walked back her position</a>, saying she was merely open to busing. In another debate, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard was able to knock Harris off her guard by bringing up the fact that the former California prosecutor “put over 1,500 people in jail for marijuana violations” and later laughed about smoking marijuana herself.
Harris’ campaign failures are the result of her past as a ruthless prosecutor and her inability to pick a policy position on multiple issues. Her campaign woes are her own failures and cannot be blamed on her skin color or sex.

Kamala Harris

Kamala Harris’ Campaign In Free Fall, ABC Blames ‘America’

2020 Election

U.S. Customs and Border Protection were surprised to discover liquid cocaine packaged inside 24 bottles of shampoo inside a man’s suitcase at the Houston airport.
The bottles totaled 35 pounds and contained $400,000 worth of liquid cocaine, Fox 10 Phoenix <a href="https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/400k-of-liquid-cocaine-found-hidden-in-24-shampoo-bottles-in-luggage-at-houston-airport-cbp">reported</a>. Officers at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport discovered the drugs, thanks to a K9 unit, and questioned the man who was carrying them, a 26-year-old  Columbian citizen, after he picked up the checked luggage. From Fox 10:
<blockquote>CBP says officers questioned the passenger, and that interaction led them to conduct a baggage search where they discovered the two dozen shampoo bottles concealing the liquid cocaine valued at $400,000.
Authorities say a K9 alerted to the bottles in a manner to indicate the presence of narcotics, and a test conducted by officers indicated the substance was cocaine.
“Our officers are the first line of defense at our ports of entry, so they are trained in the various smuggling methods people use to bring illicit goods into the U.S.,” said CBP Port Director Shawn Polley.  “We take every opportunity to intercept those illicit goods before they enter our communities, in this case it was 35 pounds of liquid cocaine.”</blockquote>
The drugs were seized and the man was sent back to Columbia, the outlet reported.
This was just the latest large drug bust this year.
In mid-June, federal law enforcement officials in Philadelphia seized 16.5 tons of cocaine &#8212; the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/record-bust-feds-seize-33000-pounds-cocaine-worth-ryan-saavedra">largest bust</a> in the history of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
“A U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations-led multi-agency inspection of shipping containers aboard the MSC Gayane resulted in a substantial cocaine seizure in Philadelphia on June 17, 2019,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement. “Authorities continue to process the seized cocaine and continue its inspection aboard the vessel in the Port of Philadelphia. Authorities have made two arrests, and will release a final tally and additional details when this operation concludes.”
U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain added: “This is one of the largest drug seizures in United States history. This amount of cocaine could kill millions – MILLIONS – of people. My Office is committed to keeping our borders secure and streets safe from deadly narcotics.”
In September, police in Virginia arrested more than 30 people who were suspected of possessing “enough fentanyl to kill 14 million people,” <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fentanyl-drug-bust-investigators-seize-enough-fentanyl-to-kill-14-million-people-in-massive-bust/">according to CBS News</a>. The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/35-people-arrested-virginia-having-enough-fentanyl-ashe-schow">reported</a> that it was the largest drug bust in the state in the past 15 years, and authorities seized more than 30 kilograms each of fentanyl and heroine, along with five kilograms of cocaine and more than $700,000.
“This opioid crisis is not an issue that is happening someplace else, or to someone else. It’s happening right here in Norfolk,” U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, G. Zachary Terwilliger, said during a press conference at the time of the arrests.
“We’re not talking about $500 and $600 deals, we’re talking hundreds of thousands of dollars,” he added. “You know, $20,000 in the trunk of somebody’s car in a gym bag, you know, behind a local restaurant.”
And in late October, police in North Carolina <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/6800-pounds-of-marijuana-39-pounds-of-cocaine-200000-seized-as-part-of-drug-trafficking-scheme">arrested four people</a> in connection with a drug trafficking scheme. In that bust, authorities seized 6,800 pounds of marijuana, 39 pounds of cocaine, and $200,000. One of the four who was arrested was charged with trafficking heroin.

Drugs

Border Patrol Found $400k Worth Of Liquid Cocaine In Shampoo Bottles At Houston Airport

Texas

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has arrested an illegal alien who was previously jailed for alleged rape and other criminal charges.
Jesus Romero-Bisos was released by the Philadelphia Police Department on October 17 even though ICE had placed an immigration detainer. Philadelphia police had arrested Romer-Bisos “or the criminal offenses of rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse by forcible compulsion, unlawful contact with a minor/sex offense, statutory sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault without consent, sexual assault, endangering the welfare of a child, corruption of minors, indecent assault of a person less than 13 years old, reckless endangerment of another person and harassment,” ICE <a href="https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-captures-illegal-alien-released-philadelphia-custody-despite-detainer-criminal">reported</a>.
Romero-Bisos was also charged “in a second scheme of criminal conduct with unlawful restraint with serious bodily injury, indecent assault without consent, simple assault and harassment.
Despite these charges and the immigration detainer, the Philadelphia police department released Romero-Bisos. The police department told The Daily Wire that all inquiries regarding Romero-Bisos’ release were being referred to the office of Philadelphia Mayor James Kenney. The mayor’s office did not immediately return a Daily Wire inquiry.
Three weeks later, on November 8, deportation officers with ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) found Romero-Bisos and arrested him. He is currently in ICE custody pending immigration proceedings.
“ICE is willing to work with local law enforcement at all times,” said ICE Philadelphia Field Office Director Simona Flores-Lund. “ICE shares the city’s ultimate objective to protect public safety and national security while simultaneously preserving the critical community-police bond. Unfortunately, elected officials are putting politics before the law, and most significantly before the safety of the communities they swore to serve.”
Philadelphia is a sanctuary city, meaning it won’t cooperate with federal immigration officials to deport illegal immigrants. As ICE explained, these policies put citizens at risk by allowing potentially dangerous individuals into the communities. The organization said that the lack of cooperation from local law enforcement increases “the likelihood that other individuals previously not targeted for arrest will be taken into ICE custody.”
This incident has occurred even though ICE field agents in Philadelphia arrested 45 illegal immigrants in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and West Virginia. As The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ice-offices-across-the-country-arrested-hundreds-of-criminal-illegal-immigrants-last-week">reported</a>, most of the illegal immigrants arrested had previous criminal histories, “including driving under the influence and sex-related crimes.”
“ERO deportation officers are committed to enforcing the immigration laws set forth by our legislators,” said Simona Flores-Lund, field office director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Philadelphia at the time of the arrests. “Targeted operations like this reflect the vital public service that ERO officers do every day to protect the nation, we will continue to conduct similar operations, while seeking to ultimately remove criminal aliens with a final order of removal and other immigration fugitives who pose a threat to public safety.”
Many of the illegal immigrants arrested by ICE at the time had been released from prison despite detainers requested by federal immigration officials.

Anti-ICE activists

ICE Arrests Illegal Alien Released From Prison Despite Rape Charges

Illegal Immigration

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Rape

Chinese propaganda films are being made in New Zealand, and the filmmakers are getting a tax rebate from the government.
New Zealand news outlet Stuff <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/117367305/chinese-propaganda-films-are-being-made-in-new-zealand-at-taxpayer-expense">reported</a> that a new film, Wolf Warrior 2, is “a militaristic Chinese propaganda film, partly made in New Zealand.” The tagline for the new film reads:
<blockquote>Anyone who offends China, no matter how remote, must be exterminated.</blockquote>
Further, the film qualified for New Zealand’s screen production grant, which returned $243,000 to the producers after they spent $1.2 million making the New Zealand part of the film. Park Road Post, a post-production facility, received the money from the propaganda film. The facility is owned by Peter Jackson’s production company, WingNut Films.
Stuff reported that the film team received a “taxpayer-funded rebate,” but this is inaccurate. The money did not come from taxpayers. The money was given back to the film team after they overpaid taxes.
More from Stuff:
<blockquote>The film was not made directly by the Chinese Government, but by a slew of Chinese state-owned enterprises, including the China Film Group Corporation, China&#8217;s largest film producer, and Bona Films.
Bona Films is a subsidiary of China Poly Group, another state-owned enterprise. China Poly Group is an unusual conglomerate housing the world&#8217;s third largest art auction house and a real estate business, and has &#8220;longstanding ties to the military and the family of the former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping,&#8221; according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/25/arts/design/chinese-arts-company-goes-public-in-bid-to-grow.html">The New York Times</a>. </blockquote>
The first Wolf Warrior was made with the help of China’s military, which supplied real aircraft for the film and 32 active tanks.
Stuff also reported that researcher and China expert, Professor Anne-Marie Brady, has a report coming out that will explain how the cooperation between New Zealand and China may be a financial boon to the smaller country at the expense of its culture.
“It will have a chilling effect on our cultural scene,&#8221; she told Stuff.
The reason is that New Zealand’s films will have to follow Chinese censorship rules in order to tap into the massive cinematic market in the communist country.
The demand to bow to China’s censorship has affected numerous films, not just in New Zealand, but also the U.S. Most recently, American filmmaker Quentin Tarantino <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bravo-quentin-tarantino-refuses-to-censor-once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood-for-china">refused to recut</a> his most recent film, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” to appease Chinese censors. His stand against China came after the NBA apologized for a general manager’s tweet in support of Hong Kong protesters.
Stuff reported on another New Zealand film caught in the controversy:
<blockquote>New Zealand-made Mulan, directed by Whale Rider director Niki Caro, has copped criticism for its overly militaristic pro-China tone ahead of its release.
People have threatened to boycott the film, after it&#8217;s star, Liu Yifei, posted a meme from the Communist Party&#8217;s People&#8217;s Daily saying &#8220;I support the Hong Kong police&#8221; on social media, alongside a heart emoji.
The post went up a day after the UN Humans rights office said the Hong Kong police were &#8220;employing less-lethal weapons in ways that are prohibited by international norms and standards.”</blockquote>

Chinese propaganda

New Zealand Is Making Chinese Propaganda Films

New Zealand

Vanilla. To some it is the most basic flavor available, in need of spicing up with the help of chocolate, strawberry, or caramel. To others, it is perfect on its own.
To Long Island attorney Spencer Sheehan, “vanilla” means dollar signs. The attorney, from Great Neck, New York, told local outlet <a href="https://www.newsday.com/business/vanilla-lawsuit-sue-lawyer-1.37603576">Newsday</a> that he had filed 27 lawsuits just this year on behalf of consumers who have been mislead about vanilla flavoring. Sheehan has fired the lawsuits, according to Newsday, against companies that produce “yogurt, cookies, oatmeal, almond milk, soy milk, cream soda and ice cream labeled as ‘vanilla.’&#8221;
Sheehan is seeking $5 million in damages in each of the lawsuits he has filed. The lawsuits have been filed against numerous companies, including Turkey Hill LP, Danone North America LLC, and Voortman Cookies Limited.
Sheehan’s issue with the companies is how they label their vanilla-flavored products, since most don’t use actual vanilla beans.
&#8220;A lot of these companies are aware that I&#8217;m correct,&#8221; Sheehan told Newsday in late October. &#8220;If we&#8217;re saying vanilla ice cream, we&#8217;re saying the flavor comes from vanilla, which is an integral part of the ice cream. The only flavoring in the product should be vanilla from vanilla beans.&#8221;
Perhaps Sheehan will next take the companies to task for using the words “ice cream” when the product is actually a “frozen dairy dessert.” Distinctions like this come from the Food and Drug Administration, which regulates how companies can describe their products. (In some cases, the regulations aren’t clear enough, as can be plainly seen on “gluten-free” products that can send people with real gluten allergies to the hospital.)
Many “vanilla” flavored products aren’t made exclusively with vanilla beans, Newsday reported, but with a combination of vanilla extract and synthetically produced vanillin, which is much cheaper.
In his lawsuit against Turkey Hill, Sheehan alleges the company misrepresents in its labeling “the percentage of vanilla compared to the overall flavor component.&#8221; In his lawsuit against Danone North America, Sheehan claims the company uses the label, “vanilla with other natural flavors” as a way around government regulations. A spokesman for Danone told Newsday that the company is “confident that our vanilla flavor labeling is fully compliant and is in no way deceptive to consumers.&#8221;
Sheehan’s lawsuit against Voortman brought up the disconnect between the company’s packaging, which states its vanilla wafers are made with “real vanilla,” and the fact that neither vanilla nor vanillin are listed on the ingredients.
Sheehan told Newsday that no judge has ruled on the class-actions status of any of his lawsuits, adding that many cases like these don’t get that far and are settled out of court.
Some of Sheehan’s previous legal cases involved animal welfare. Sheehan, described by Newsday as “a vegetarian involved with animal rescue groups,” previously helped the “subway vigilante” keep squirrels in his apartment. Bernhard Goetz has been arrested for injuring four African-American teenagers with a pistol in 1984. He claimed they were about to mug him. Goetz was able to keep his squirrels.
In another of Sheehan’s cases, he helped a Florida woman keep her pet alligator, Rambo.

Turkey Hill

This Lawyer Has Filed 27 Lawsuits Against Food Companies Over &#8216;Vanilla&#8217; Flavoring

food

Lawsuit

Today in weird animal news: A Russian man tried to board a flight with his cat, Viktor (not pictured above), but the animal weighed more than the 18-pound limit for animals to be transported in the plane’s cabin. The Russian man, Mikhail Galin, refused to stow Viktor in the cargo area, so he instead hired a body-double to fool the airport scale and airline staff in order to smuggle his furry friend onto the flight.
NBC News <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/overweight-cat-body-double-flight-scam-leaves-owner-without-thousands-n1080621">reported</a> that Galin detailed his plot on his Facebook page after he and Viktor landed in Vladivostok from Moscow. “Photos showed Viktor standing on Galin’s lap, gazing out the window, as his owner sipped champagne,” the outlet reported, adding that Galin’s deception was “reminiscent of a bank heist or spy thriller.”
Galin and Viktor’s journey began in Latvia’s capital city of Riga. Galin told NBC that he flew from there on an Aeroflot flight to Moscow, where he would transfer to Vladivostok. Galin said he had no trouble bringing Viktor into the airplane’s cabin in Riga, but when he transferred in Moscow, things got hairy.
When Galin was asked to store Viktor in cargo due to his weight (Viktor weighs 22 pounds), he refused and forfeited his ticket. Galin then posted on Facebook asking for anyone in Moscow who owned a cat that looked like Viktor that weighed less than 18 pounds to help him.
“That is how he found Phoebe, the cat that would act a Viktor’s body double,” NBC reported. “Galin then used his Aeroflot miles to book a business class seat to Vladivostok the next day. That cat’s owners met Galin at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport, where it was weighed in Viktor’s place.”
The owners then exchanged cats and Galin and Viktor were on their way.
After posting about the experience on Facebook, Aeroflot confirmed the details using security camera footage and revoked Galin’s frequent flyer miles. Galin had accrued 370,000 miles. Aeroflot also said that Galin removing Viktor from his cat carrier was part of the reason his miles were forfeited.
“In connection with several counts of deliberate violation of the air carriage agreement, Aeroflot has decided to exclude this passenger from the Aeroflot Bonus loyalty program,” the airline said. “All miles accumulated during his entire participation in the program will be cancelled.”
“The law is harsh, but it is the law,” Galin told NBC. “I violated the rules, and the carrier has every right to take action.”
The outlet reported that Russian parliament looked into Viktor’s predicament. Vladimir Burmatov, chair of the State Duma’s ecology committee, asked Aeroflot CEO Vitaly Savelyov “to return the nullified miles to the owner of the fat cat and revise the rules for transporting animals [toward] greater flexibility,” NBC reported.
Burmatov also suggested allowing pet owners to pay excess weight fees for animals that exceeded the limit.
NBC reported that Galin told them “Viktor has fully recovered from a bad case of air sickness and was now prepared to give interviews,” though the outlet did not interview the cat.

Cat in carrier

Russian Cat Was Too Fat For Flight, So Owner Hired A Body Double

animals

cats

Russia

Approximately 360 rockets have been fired into Israel from the Gaza Strip since Israel’s targeted airstrike on Palestinian terrorist leader Baha Abu al-Ata, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Thanks to Israel’s Iron Dome System, however, more than 90% of those rockets have been intercepted.
An IDF spokesperson told The Daily Wire that Chief of the General Staff, Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohavi, “visited the area of the Gaza Division with the Commanding Officer of the Southern Command, Maj. Gen. Herzi Halevi, the Commanding Officer of the Ground Forces, Maj. Gen. Yoel Strick, the Commanding Officer of the Gaza Division, Brig. Gen. Eliezer Toledano and additional division officers.”
Kohavi has conducted a situation assessment in the field with those officers and was briefed on the current situation. Kohavi was also briefed on Israel’s preparations to counter future Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) threats, including the use of anti-tank and sniper fire.
In a series of <a href="https://app.activetrail.com/S/eiwixajfjff.htm">press releases</a>, the IDF announced its aircraft had “targeted a number of Islamic Jihad terror targets in the Gaza Strip.”
“Among the sites struck were several rocket launchers, located above and below ground, as well as an underground terror infrastructure and operations rooms of the Islamic Jihad terror organization,” one press release said. “In addition, earlier today, three terror operatives launched rockets at Israeli territory from the northern Gaza Strip. In response, a short while ago, an IDF aircraft targeted the operatives. A hit was identified.”
In another <a href="https://app.activetrail.com/S/eiwixajwx33.htm">press release</a>, the IDF said it had completed “an additional strike on Islamic Jihad terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip.”
“A primary rocket warhead manufacturing facility where rockets and unique raw materials used for long-ranged rockets are produced in the southern Gaza Strip was among the targets struck. In this strike, the IDF increased the rate of its attacks and the type of targets,” the IDF reported.
The IDF said that it also targeted the PIJ’s Khan Yunis headquarters &#8212; a weapons storage site. The site was in the home of Adam Abu-Hadayid, a PIJ operative in its rocket-launching unit.
The IDF Navy also targeted a PIJ naval commando unit vessel, which was used to train terrorists for future maritime attacks.
On Tuesday, The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/palestinian-terrorist-killed-in-israeli-airstrike-afp-calls-him-simply-palestinian">reported</a> that the IDF killed al-Ata in a targeted airstrike at his home. The PIJ responded by launching more than 200 rockets to Israel.
The Left-leaning Amnesty International announced on Twitter that it was condemning Israel’s “attack on the Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights whose office in Gaza was struck by an Israeli missile earlier this morning.” The organization said strikes “targeting civilian buildings is a violation of international law.”
Amnesty had to follow up that tweet by explaining there was “conflicting information” regarding the hit on the ICHR’s office after people said that it was not an Israeli airstrike but a misfired rocket from Gaza. Rather than apologize for immediately blaming Israel, Amnesty called for an impartial investigation into the situation.
This reporting blunder comes after the Agence Free-Presse declined to call al-Ata a terrorist in its tweets regarding his death. The AFP merely reported that a “Palestinian” was killed by Israel, giving the impression that it was an innocent civilian.
Update: Article updated to include newly released statistics from the IDF.

Palestine Israel Conflict

IDF: 360 Rockets Have Been Fired From Gaza Into Israel Since We Killed Palestinian Terrorist

Israel

Israel Defense Forces (IDF)

Palestinians

Wednesday marked the first day of Democrats’ impeachment hearings against President Donald Trump. The hearings are centered around Trump’s July 25 phone call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky regarding an alleged quid pro quo. Trump is accused of withholding military aid from Ukraine in order to force the nation to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter. The elder Biden is the current Democratic frontrunner in the 2020 primary.
Neither of the first two witnesses called were on the July 25 phone call. Ambassador William Taylor has not even spoken to Trump, and admitted in previous closed-door testimony that his only knowledge of the situation comes from New York Times reporting.
Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) used his <a href="https://republicans-intelligence.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=996">opening statement</a> as the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee to point out the Democrats &#8212; specifically, Chairman Adam Schiff’s &#8212; past attacks on Trump that turned out to be overblown.
“In a July open hearing of this committee following publication of the Mueller report, the Democrats engaged in a last-ditch effort to convince the American people that President Trump is a Russian agent. That hearing was the pitiful finale of a three-year-long operation by the Democrats, the corrupt media, and partisan bureaucrats to overturn the results of the 2016 presidential election,” Nunes said. “After the spectacular implosion of their Russia hoax on July 24, in which they spent years denouncing any Republican who ever shook hands with a Russian, on July 25 they turned on a dime and now claim the real malfeasance is Republicans’ dealings with Ukraine.”
Nunes then reminded viewers that Schiff (who he does not specifically name) previously claimed he had “more than circumstantial evidence” of Trump colluding with Russia during the 2016 election and had tried to obtain nude photos of Trump from two radio pranksters.
Nunes then said Democrats on the Intelligence Committee now expect people to take their new claims on Ukraine misconduct “at face value.”
“But anyone familiar with the Democrats’ scorched-earth war against President Trump would not be surprised to see all the typical signs that this is just a carefully orchestrated media smear campaign,” Nunes said.
Among the examples Nunes cites are that “The witnesses deemed suitable for television by the Democrats were put through a closed-door audition process in a cult-like atmosphere in the basement of the Capitol, where the Democrats conducted secret depositions, released a flood of misleading and one-sided leaks, and later selectively released transcripts in a highly staged manner.”
“At a prior hearing, Democrats on this committee read out a purely fictitious rendition of the President’s phone call with President Zelensky,” Nunes said in another example. “They clearly found the real conversation to be insufficient for their impeachment narrative, so they just made up a new one.”
Nunes also recalled Schiff’s office having prior communications with the whistleblower. Schiff now claims he does not know the identity of the whistleblower while simultaneously saying that if Republicans reveal his identity during the hearings they will face an ethics complaint.

Devin Nunes

Devin Nunes’ Impeachment Opening Statement Takes Aim At Adam Schiff’s Past Blunders

Adam Schiff

Donald Trump

Back in May, 58-year-old Jennifer Hernandez was arrested after multiple attempts to enter CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. As Hernandez awaited a trial for her trespassing charges, she showed up at the D.C. home of former President Barack Obama, despite a court order blocking her from any government-related facilities.
Let’s rewind. On April 22, Hernandez showed up at CIA headquarters. She drove through the main vehicle entrance and then entered the main building, The Military Times <a href="https://www.militarytimes.com/off-duty/military-culture/2019/05/08/woman-arrested-for-trespassing-at-cia-headquarters-and-asking-for-agent-penis/">reported</a>. She was, of course, stopped by a CIA police officer. She claimed she was in the building to meet with a recruiter for her employment application. Her story was quickly debunked, and she was asked to leave, which she did.
On May 1, Hernandez returned. She again said she needed to speak with her recruiter and was again told to leave, this time with a handwritten warning. On May 2, Hernandez appeared at the agency again and again claimed she needed to speak with her recruiter, saying his phone had been turned off so she could only contact him in person. Police interviewed Hernandez at that time, and yet again asked her to leave.
Undeterred, Hernandez showed up the next day, on May 3. Her North Carolina ID had not been returned to her the previous day. On this day, Hernandez asked to speak with “Agent Penis,” her alleged recruiter. She was given her ID card back and said she would take the bus home. She refused to get on the bus, allegedly telling police officers, “do you really think I’m going to leave?” She was arrested and charged with a trespassing misdemeanor.
WTOP now <a href="https://wtop.com/local/2019/11/judge-says-woman-arrested-in-cia-trespass-looking-for-agent-penis-later-visited-obama-home/">reports</a> that Hernandez was released prior to her trial and visited the D.C. home of Obama. U.S. District Court Judge John Anderson has been trying to find a way to resolve Hernandez’s case without jail time.
“You have to meet people halfway,” Anderson reportedly said while trying to convince Hernandez to get mental health treatment to avoid a criminal prosecution.
“We’re trying to help you, not punish you,” Anderson said, adding that “The restraint the government is showing is unusual and appreciated.” The government had not objected to Hernandez being released before trial.
Anderson also told Hernandez that the court wanted to get her “to a safer place and get you the help you need.”
Whitney Minter, Hernandez’s federal public defender, told reporters that she was working with prosecutors and probation officials to avoid a trial, and was considering having Hernandez plead not guilty by reason of insanity.
Hernandez reportedly told the court that one of her family members had been trying to kill her for the past 22 years and mentioned other alleged threats. She said she would never go back to Obama’s home.
“Tell me what to do, and I will abide by the law.”
Anderson told her: “You shouldn’t be going to places like the CIA and the Obamas’ house. You have to fight the callings, and you just can’t go back there.”
Anderson also said he wanted “to get this resolved in a nonjudicial way.”

CIA logo hat

Remember The Woman Who Went To The CIA Asking For Agent Penis? She Just Showed Up At Obama&#8217;s House

Mental Illness

A miniature “fanged” deer-like mammal long thought to be lost to time was recently rediscovered in Vietnam’s coastal forests.
The deer, called the silver-backed chevrotain, is about the size of a soccer ball, and is one of 10 known species of chevrotain in the world, which are primarily found in Asia. This particular species had not been seen since 1990, was recently rediscovered. Scientists who found the tiny deer published their findings in the scientific journal Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution on Monday.
The discovery is significant as the silver-backed chevrotain was one of 25 other animals included on the Global Wildlife Conservation’s (GWC) list of most wanted lost species. This chevrotain is the first mammal on the list to be rediscovered.
“We had no idea what to expect, so I was surprised and overjoyed when we checked the camera traps and saw photographs of a chevrotain with silver flanks,” An Nguyen, associate conservation scientist for GWC and expedition team leader, said in a press release. “For so long this species has seemingly only existed as part of our imagination. Discovering that it is, indeed, still out there, is the first step in ensuring we don’t lose it again, and we’re moving quickly now to figure out how best to protect it.”
The animal was first described in 1990 when four chevrotains were found in southern Vietnam. The animal wasn’t recorded again until 1990, when a Russian expedition found a fifth chevrotain. The GWC explained that little is known about the species or its conservation status, which makes it one of the highest mammal conservation priorities in the region.
To find the animal, researchers relied on claims from local villagers and government officials, who claimed to see a small gray chevrotain. Other species of chevrotain appear to be brown, but the silver-backed chevrotain is known for its, well, silver appearance.
A field team set up three camera traps and watched them for five months in the area locals claimed to have seen the chevrotain. The researchers were rewarded with 275 photographs of the chevrotain. Scientists then set up another 29 cameras in the area and collected another 1,881 photos over the next five months.
“The rediscovery of the silver-backed chevrotain provides big hope for the conservation of biodiversity, especially threatened species, in Vietnam,” said Hoang Minh Duc, head of the Southern Institute of Ecology’s Department of Zoology, in the GWC press release. “This also encourages us, together with relevant and international partners, to devote time and effort to further investigation and conservation of Vietnam’s biodiversity heritage.”
Photos and videos of the expedition and the chevrotain can be found <a href="https://assets.globalwildlife.org/web/5288ea84a4ae858b/media-kit--miniature-fanged--deer--rediscovered-tiptoeing-through-vietnam-s-coastal-forests/">here</a>.
The GWC press release said researchers are now looking into how many of this chevrotain species are in the forests of Vietnam and how stable the population is to better understand what conservation efforts are needed. The GWC also reported that even though the chevrotain looks like a tiny deer and is nicknamed the “mouse-deer,” it is neither a mouse nor a deer. It is actually the world’s smallest ungulates, or hoofed mammals. They weigh less than 10 pounds, are shy, solitary mammals, and appear to walk on the tips of their tiny hooves. They also have two small fangs.
In January, another animal from the GWC’s list of most wanted lost species <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/weird-animal-news-two-animals-long-thought-extinct-ashe-schow">was discovered</a> in Indonesia. Wallace’s Giant Bee was last seen in 1981, but rediscovered in 2019.

Chevrotain

Miniature &#8216;Fanged&#8217; Deer-Like Mammal Long Thought Extinct Rediscovered In Vietnam

Vietnam

Wrongful convictions are a serious problem in America. We do not know how many people have been convicted for crimes they never committed, but we do occasionally hear the stories of those who have.
The Washington Post on Tuesday told <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/crime-law/2019/11/12/prosecutors-take-larger-role-reversing-wrongful-convictions-philadelphia-da-exonerates-men-wrongly-imprisoned-murder/">the story</a> of Terrance Lewis, who a judged ruled must have been innocent after he spent 12 years in prison for a murder charge. Even though the judge determined “the court believes that Petitioner is innocent&#8230;it is more likely than not that no reasonable juror would have convicted Petitioner,” the judge rejected Lewis’ appeal on procedural grounds. Lewis would spend another nine years in prison before he would be released thanks to the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office’s newly relaunched Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU).
Lewis spent a total of 21 years in jail for a murder he didn’t commit.
As the Post reported, Philadelphia has released 10 men who were wrongly convicted of murder since the beginning of 2018.
The releases were helped by defense attorney Larry Krasner, who took over Philadelphia’s DA office and relaunched the CIU.
“You take an oath to seek justice,” Krasner told the Post. “That means innocent people go home. It also means, if you have an innocent person in jail, the guilty one got away.”
The Post also reported that seven of the 10 men released “were convicted by longtime district attorney Lynne Abraham, a tough-on-crime prosecutor who regularly sought maximum punishments and death sentences.”
More from the Post:
<blockquote>The National Registry of Exonerations counted 151 exonerations last year, 68 of them in homicide cases, and found that the exonerees had spent a total of 1,639 years behind bars, or about 11 years per person. Conviction Integrity Units in prosecutors’ offices took part in 58 of those exonerations. The registry has tallied 2,500 wrongful convictions since 1989, costing defendants more than 22,000 years incarcerated.</blockquote>
CIU’s have been launched in 49 district attorneys’ offices across the country. Michigan, New Jersey, and North Carolina also have statewide conviction review offices.
The CIU’s look for prosecutorial misconduct, corrupt cops, and bad forensic science to exonerate the wrongly convicted.
“Some cities, such as Chicago and Philadelphia, have focused on corrupt cops who manufactured cases and won false convictions,” the Post reported. “Others, such as Houston, have cleared large numbers of cases by looking at flawed drug-testing systems that resulted in dozens of wrongful convictions.”
One of the corrupt cop cases took place in Philadelphia. Homicide detective Philip Nordo had been accused of intimidation and the sexual assault of witnesses. Defense attorneys then looked into this cases, resulting in three murder convictions being overturned. One of those innocent men, Jamaal Simmons, had never been arrested until 2009, when he was accused of murder. One of the key witnesses in the case said Nordo threatened him into identifying Simmons.
“I thought people were going to go up there and tell the truth, and I’m going to be free,” Simmons told the Post. “When I got convicted, I was crushed. Sentenced to 15 to 30 years.”
Simmons was freed in 2018.

Wrongful Conviction

Philadelphia Prosecutors Release 10 Men Wrongly Convicted Of Murder

Crime

Philadelphia

During CNN’s Monday night town hall with former Vice President Joe Biden, the current Democratic front runner was asked about how he connects with people who have experienced tragic losses in their lives.
Biden was asked the question by anchor Carol Burnett, who noted that Biden lost his first wife and daughter in a car accident in 1972 and his son Beau four years ago to brain cancer. The question was an obvious giveaway to let Biden show his personal side, but his response was comforting to those who have experienced personal grief.
“You know, a lot of people have suffered more than I have,” Biden said. “And I’ve been really – sounds bizarre to say – lucky in the sense that I’d had an incredible family. When I lost my wife and daughter I had my best friend in the world, my sister and my brother; they moved in to help me raise my kids. My mom was there when I lost Beau. I had my son Hunter who was a great comfort and my daughter Ashley.”
“Everybody’s different, but what I found is the way you overcome enormous tragedy is you’ve got to find purpose in your life,” Biden added, suggesting a good way to find purpose is to get involved in something the person one lost cared about.
But it was one of his closing lines that really stuck out:
<blockquote>There will come a time, if any of you are going through it, where the thought of the person you lost will bring a smile to your lips before it brings a tear to your eye. That’s when you know you’re going to be able to make it. That’s when you’ll know. But it’s hard.</blockquote>
Biden has suffered perhaps more loss than any other presidential candidate in the current election. In 1972, Biden’s first wife, Neilia, and 13-month-old daughter died in a car crash after Neilia drove into the path of an oncoming tractor-trailer. Biden’s two young sons, Hunter and Beau, were also in the car, but survived. It appears Neilia may have looked the wrong way at a stop sign and may not have realized that the road she was crossing did not have a stop sign, leading to the crash.
For nearly a decade, Biden claimed the truck driver had “drank his lunch” that day, yet prosecutors had said there was no such evidence to back up the claim. In 2008, while running as Barack Obama’s vice-presidential candidate, the daughter of the truck driver asked Biden to apologize for the way he had lied about her father. It does not appear as if Biden has done so. The driver’s daughter said that even though her father lived another 27 years after the crash, he avoided celebrating Christmas because the crash happened on December 18 and haunted him the rest of his life. He had tried to help Neilia and her daughter after the crash.
In 2015, Beau Biden died of brain cancer at the age of 46.

Presidential Candidate Joe Biden

Joe Biden Gives Heartfelt Answer About Grief And Loss

Joe Biden

NPR has provided another example of the left-leaning media outlets claiming there is “no evidence” to back up Republican claims, even when the same phrase is not used when Democrats make similar claims.
On Sunday, NPR published <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/11/10/777300611/skeptics-urge-bevin-to-show-proof-of-fraud-claims-warning-of-corrosive-effects?utm_source=facebook.com&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=npr&amp;utm_term=nprnews&amp;fbclid=IwAR2q7VYzsqWt4is_yUMjz8pqOr3xGtSHTOXKymMubnaPpBX9f6Kdz9o_1EM">an article</a> about Gov. Matt Bevin (R-KY) claiming election fraud led to his loss. While promoting the article on social media, NPR wrote: “Without providing evidence, Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin questioned the election&#8217;s legitimacy. And he isn&#8217;t the first politician to do so. Elections specialists worry that unsubstantiated claims about voter fraud erode confidence in democracy.”
The article is almost entirely about Bevin’s claims, which is fine. NPR glosses over major cases of candidates claiming voter fraud for election losses. The outlet mentions then-Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s claims about “rampant voter fraud” even though he won his election. Scott and President Donald Trump are the only named politicians in the article that raised doubts about the election. The article does not mention Stacey Abrams at all, even though she has been on a year-long tour of the country claiming she actually won the governor’s race in Georgia last year. NPR wrote a single sentence alluding to her loss, saying, “Democrats also have continued to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/10/30/did-racially-motivated-voter-suppression-thwart-stacey-abrams/">blame the results</a> of the Georgia gubernatorial election on election administration issues that they say suppressed turnout.”
NPR employed the “without providing evidence” trick after Bevin made his claims. The outlet struck a different tone when covering Abrams, a Democrat. As pundit Stephen Miller <a href="https://twitter.com/redsteeze/status/1194244354564509696">pointed out</a>, NPR did not make the “no evidence” claim when covering Abrams’ non-concession speech.
“In a fiery speech, Stacey Abrams insisted this was no normal concession, decrying what she called “deliberate and intentional” voter suppression by Brian Kemp that she believes led to this result in Georgia’s governor race.”
Abrams has not provided any evidence to support her claims of voter suppression. In fact, voter participation had doubled in Georgia since the state’s 2014 gubernatorial election. Yet Abrams is not called out on her constant claims to the contrary.
Bevin has said there were “a number of significant irregularities” in the Kentucky gubernatorial election last week. He said his team was working on getting “affidavits &#8212; and other information that will help us to get a better understanding of what did or did not happen.&#8221;
The “no evidence” claim from NPR comes just after Politico employed <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/politico-claims-no-evidence-exists-that-ukraine-colluded-with-clinton-campaign-dnc-in-2016-dismissing-earlier-reporting">a similar tactic</a> to criticize Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani. On Friday, Politico reported that “No evidence has emerged to support” Giuliani’s claims that Ukrainian officials worked with Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign and the Democratic National Committee to undermine Trump. In January 2017, however, Politico had reported on just such evidence.
The “no evidence” qualifier has been used repeatedly by left-wing media outlets during the Trump administration. Outlets such as CNN include it in news chyrons to mislead viewers about what Trump officials have said. Other media outlets use it while ignoring context and important information that backs up the claims in order to give the false impression that the Trump administration is somehow more dishonest than any other previous administration. Had Fox News used this tactic under the Obama administration, these outlets would have gone apoplectic.

Stacey Abrams

NPR Strikes Different Tone When Writing About Matt Bevin’s Election Fraud Claims Than Stacey Abrams’

National Public Radio (NPR)

A Palestinian terrorist leader was killed in an Israeli airstrike Tuesday morning, yet the Agence France-Presse referred to him simply as a “Palestinian.”
In a tweet thread announcing  the death of Baha Abu al-Ata, a senior leader of the militant group Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), the AFP first reported, simply, “Breaking: Palestinian killed in new Israel strike in Gaza: Hamas ministry.”
A follow-up tweet contained the European Union’s demand for a “rapid and complete de-escalation” after Israel struck Gaza. The next tweet in the thread is the only one that mentions that the Palestinian killed was a terrorist. “VIDEO: Israel&#8217;s military has killed a commander for the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad in a strike in the Gaza Strip, prompting retaliatory rocket fire,” the tweet said.
The final tweet in the thread just repeated: “Breaking Palestinian killed in new Israeli strike: Gaza ministry.”
The thread ignores important context surrounding al-Ata’s death. Other media outlets provided that context. The Times of Israel <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-girds-for-several-days-of-fighting-after-some-150-rockets-fired-at-israel/">reported</a> that the country launched the targeted attack on al-Ata, whom Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanya called the “chief terrorist in Gaza.”
&#8220;He initiated, planned and carried out many terrorist attacks. He fired hundreds of rockets at communities in the area adjacent to the Gaza Strip, whose suffering we have seen,&#8221; Netanyahu said at a press conference in Tel Aviv. &#8220;He was in the midst of planning additional attacks in the immediate short term. He was a ticking bomb.&#8221;
In response, more than 150 rockets have been fired at Israel since al-Ata’s death. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reportedly shot down 50 of the rockets, and did not retaliate for six hours. The BBC <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-50386164">reported</a> that 17 Israelis were “lightly wounded” in attacks, including an eight-year-old girl who is now in stable condition.
In addition to al-Ata, Israel also struck the home of a second PIJ leader in the Syrian capital of Damascus, according to Syria’s state news agency.
The AFP’s tweets ignoring why the “Palestinian” was killed is reminiscent of the obituary The Washington Post wrote for ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s death. Al-Baghdadi was the world’s top terrorist and killed himself by blowing up himself and several members of his family to avoid U.S. capture. The Post originally headlined its obituary: “Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Islamic State’s ‘terrorist-in-chief,’ dies at 48.” The headline was then changed to refer to al-Baghdadi as an “austere religious scholar at helm of Islamic State.” The headline was changed again to call al-Baghdadi the “extremist leader of Islamic State.”
The Post’s article wrote of al-Baghdadi in far more favorable terms than other terrorists.
“Acquaintances would remember him as a shy, nearsighted youth who liked soccer but preferred to spend his free time at the local mosque,” the Post wrote of the terrorist leader.
This was a different tone than the Post struck when Osama bin Laden was killed during the Obama administration. Bin Laden was called the “leader of terrorist group al-Qaeda” when he died, with no headline changes. Further, the Post waited until the 34th paragraph in its article to acknowledge that al-Baghdadi was a serial rapist of women he held as sex slaves.

Baha abu al-Ata

Palestinian Terrorist Killed In Israeli Airstrike. AFP Calls Him Simply &#8216;Palestinian.&#8217;

Terrorism

Last week, former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions spoke at a Northwestern University College Republicans event. The school newspaper, The Daily Northwestern, sent two reporters to cover the event – one to cover the event itself and another to report on the protesters outside.
The paper printed photos from the event, which necessarily included photos of the protesters. Students then complained, claiming they were not only traumatized by Sessions’ presence, but also re-traumatized after their photos appeared in the paper.
In <a href="https://dailynorthwestern.com/2019/11/10/lateststories/addressing-the-dailys-coverage-of-sessions-protests/">an editorial</a> published Sunday, the Daily apologized for covering a newsworthy event and for engaging in journalism. From the editorial:
<blockquote>One area of our reporting that harmed many students was our photo coverage of the event. Some protesters found photos posted to reporters’ Twitter accounts retraumatizing and invasive. Those photos have since been taken down. On one hand, as the paper of record for Northwestern, we want to ensure students, administrators and alumni understand the gravity of the events that took place Tuesday night. However, we decided to prioritize the trust and safety of students who were photographed. We feel that covering traumatic events requires a different response than many other stories. While our goal is to document history and spread information, nothing is more important than ensuring that our fellow students feel safe — and in situations like this, that they are benefitting from our coverage rather than being actively harmed by it. We failed to do that last week, and we could not be more sorry.</blockquote>
The former Attorney General speaking is only a “traumatic event” in the minds of the students so brainwashed to believe that speech is violence and Republicans are literally trying to ensure their deaths. No Republican student would claim to feel unsafe or in need of therapy of Eric Holder spoke on campus.
The Daily also apologized for its journalism methods. The paper’s reporters used the Northwestern student directory to reach out to students via phone to see if they would want to be interviewed for an article.
“We recognize being contacted like this is an invasion of privacy, and we’ve spoken with those reporters — along with our entire staff — about the correct way to reach out to students for stories,” the paper’s editorial staff wrote.
The paper also claimed that naming students put them at risk for disciplinary action, even though the protest did not turn violent and no university in today’s outrage culture would dare discipline students for merely protesting.
“Ultimately, The Daily failed to consider our impact in our reporting surrounding Jeff Sessions,” the editorial staff wrote. “We know we hurt students that night, especially those who identify with marginalized groups.”
Going forward, the paper said it would take steps to ensure no student could ever feel hurt due to reporting. The paper’s staff said it would “work to balance the need for information and the potential harm our news coverage may cause.”
Finally, the editorial staff said it hoped it could “rebuild trust that we weakened or lost last week.”

Jeff Sessions

Northwestern University Apologizes For Campus Newspaper Editorial Covering Jeff Sessions Event

Northwestern University

The media under President Donald Trump have continuously embarrassed themselves by reporting major news stories that turn out to be false.
The latest example comes from Talking Points Memo, who reported that the Trump administration was firing Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman after he testified about his concerns over Trump’s July 25 call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky. Vindman testified earlier this month that he twice raised concerns about a potential quid pro quo with National Security Counsel attorneys. The first time was after Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, allegedly said in a meeting that the Ukraine needed to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter’s dealings in the country. Hunter Biden had received a lucrative board position on a Ukraine energy company while his father was Vice President. The elder Biden also bragged about getting Ukraine’s top prosecutor fired; that prosecutor was also looking into Hunter’s Ukraine business.
Vindman also said he raised his concerns after Trump’s call with Zelensky. Vindman claimed in his testimony before congressman that his recollection of the call was different than the official transcript that was declassified and released. It could be that the transcript was altered to make Trump’s call not so damning, but it could also be that Vindman’s own bias affected his memory of the call, as well as what has been reported in the media since the call.
On Sunday, podcast host Scott Dworkin tweeted:
BREAKING: Trump has fired Lt Col Vindman, whose damning testimony confirmed Trump tried to bribe and extort Ukraine. This firing is an abuse of power and another impeachable offense. Trump retaliated against an American patriot, on Veteran’s Day weekend. Disgusting and pathetic.
The tweet currently has nearly 35,000 retweets and 95,000 likes and is still climbing. Three hours later, Dworkin posted an article from Talking Points Memo to back up his tweet. Just minutes later, Dworkin tweeted that it was now “being reported Vindman isn’t being removed and is set to serve out his term.” That tweet has, at the time of this writing, only received 748 retweets and nearly 2,000 likes – far less than the tweet with false information.
Josh Marshall, editor and publisher of Talking Points Memo, explained what happened in his own tweet thread. Marshall said National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien “clearly and I think intentionally suggested that Lt Col Vindman was being sent back to the Pentagon after his testimony.”
Marshall suggested that O’Brien’s wording made it seem as though they removing O’Brien from the NSC, yet Vindman’s lawyer said that Vindman still had a job.
Here’s what O&#8217;Brien actually said on CBS:
Well- well look, one of the things that I&#8217;ve talked about is that we&#8217;re streamlining the National Security Council. It got bloated to like two hundred and thirty six people from- up from 100 in the Bush administration under President Obama. We&#8217;re streamlining the National Security Council. There are people that are detailed from different departments and agencies. My understanding is he&#8217;s- is that Colonel Vindman is- is detailed from the Department of Defense. So everyone who&#8217;s detailed at the NSC, people are going to start going back to their own departments and we&#8217;ll bring in new folks. But we&#8217;re going to get that number down to around 100 people. That&#8217;s what it was under Condoleezza Rice. She came and met with me. I met with a number of my successors.
It could be construed that Vindman may be rotated out due to his testimony – perhaps he knew this was happening and it colored his testimony. But the media went with “fired” and “removed,” as if it was a punishment, when they had no such evidence to back it up.

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Ashe Schow

Articles by Ashe Schow