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August 2019

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Help Hong Kong by Defending Taiwan By Matthew Continetti

By on August 24th, 2019

https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/08/hong-kong-crisis-taiwan-defense/

The future of democracy in the Indo-Pacific depends on our reinforcing Taiwan.

In October 1950 the People’s Liberation Army entered Tibet. The Communists made short work of the Tibetan military. The following year, representatives of the Dalai Lama signed a treaty with the People’s Republic of China (then all of two years old). The “Agreement of the Central People’s Government and the Local Government of Tibet on Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet,” or the “Seventeen-Point Agreement” for short, promised that Beijing would uphold Tibetan autonomy, refrain from interfering with Tibetan politics or with the affairs of the Dalai Lama, and respect the religious freedom of Tibetan Buddhists.

These were words on a page. Before long, the Chinese Communists began to exert pressure over the Tibetan people. Occupation forces spread throughout the region. The authorities collectivized agriculture and broke down institutions of civil society. Farmers and militia rebelled. The resistance was quashed, and the Dalai Lama began an exile that continues today. Tibet, like Xinjiang province to its north, is a cantonment of the People’s Republic.

The Seventeen-Point Agreement is the model for Chinese territorial acquisitions. Verbal pledges of freedom are meaningless. What matters is the correlation of forces and facts on the ground. Communists have no trouble speaking of autonomy and local control. Until the moment Beijing dominates the councils of government and independent power centers have been crushed.

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McCabe and Papadopoulos: Two-Tiered Justice By Andrew C. McCarthy

By on August 24th, 2019

https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/08/andrew-mccabe-george-papadopoulos-two-tiered-justice/

“Equal justice under the law” is not supposed to be an aspiration or a quaint slogan. It is supposed to be a guarantee.

The date of a meeting, that’s all the lie was about.

George Papadopoulos claimed that a meeting he’d had with the mysterious Maltese professor, Josef Mifsud, happened slightly before the green-as-grass 28-year-old was recruited into the Trump campaign. In reality, it was slightly after.

It wasn’t a very important lie. It was of no consequence to the FBI or the special counsel’s investigation. Papadopoulos was such an afterthought that the Bureau did not bother to interview him until late January 2017 — about 10 months after he met Mifsud. By the time Papadopoulos was charged, the Trump–Russia investigation had been ongoing for well over a year — it was already clear that there was no conspiracy.

Yet that didn’t stop Mueller’s staff and Rod Rosenstein, their Justice Department superior, from indicting Papadopoulos on a felony charge. Nor did it stop them from exhorting a federal court to impose a sentence of incarceration. (The judge thought so little of the case, a prison term of 14 days was imposed.)

It wasn’t enough that prosecutors and agents had scared the bejesus out Papadopoulos by scheming to arrest him as he disembarked from a flight in the early evening – after the court was closed, ensuring that young George would spend the night in jail. The fact that he had voluntarily spoken to the feds, that he had counsel who’d made themselves and him available to Mueller’s prosecutors, that he was no flight risk – none of that counted for anything. After all, what fun would it be to call his lawyers and arrange his surrender for processing and quick release on bail? Not when government officials could flex their muscles and show him who’s boss, right?

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Bill Maher on David Koch Death: ‘I’m Glad He’s Dead’ and ‘I Hope the End Was Painful’ By Rick Moran

By on August 24th, 2019

SHAME ON HIM!! RSK

https://pjmedia.com/trending/bill-maher-on-david-koch-death-im-glad-hes-dead-and-i-hope-the-end-was-painful/

Bill Maher made his bones in the entertainment world as a comedian. He should have stuck with stand-up.

His monologue from Friday’s Real Time on HBO simply can’t be believed:

Fox News:

“Real Time” host Bill Maher minced no words Friday night regarding the news that Republican megadonor and billionaire philanthropist David Koch had died at age 79 following a long battle with cancer.

“F— him… I’m glad he’s dead,” Maher said.

“And now, some funeral news to report. Yesterday David Koch of the zillionaire Koch brothers died .. of prostate cancer,” Maher said during his opening monologue, sparking some applause from his mostly liberal audience.

“I guess I’m going to have to re-evaluate my low opinion of prostate cancer.”

The HBO star joked that Koch’s family expressed gratitude that he “lived long enough to see the Amazon catch fire” and that condolences poured in “from all the politicians he owned.”

“As for his remains, he has asked to be cremated and have his ashes be blown into a child’s lungs,” Maher quipped.

After briefly acknowledging the “harsh words” he had for Koch and predicting condemnation, Maher doubled down on his disdain for him and his brother, Charles Koch.

“He and his brother have done more than anybody to fund climate science deniers for decades. So f— him, the Amazon is burning up, I’m glad he’s dead, and I hope the end was painful.”

Forget ideology. Forget politics. How does a civilized human being get to the point where voicing such sentiments is believed to be accepted by anyone in society — even political allies?

Thinking such thoughts is bad enough. Most of us would be ashamed of ourselves for celebrating anyone’s demise and hoping “the end was painful.” It’s barbaric. The words are disconnected from conscience in a way that makes Maher less human.

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POLITICS Comments turned off

Stacey Abrams benefits from a ‘voter suppression’ tale By Lisa Boothe

By on August 24th, 2019

https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/458562-stacey-abrams-benefits-from-a-voter-suppression-tale

Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams lost her 2018 gubernatorial bid to Republican Brian Kemp by nearly 55,000 votes, but she still refuses to concede. Instead, she claims the election was stolen from her. She has uncritically peddled that falsehood in countless interviews on national television and has capitalized off of it, by starting the group Fair Fight.

Fair Fight just launched a multimillion-dollar “voter protection” initiative for the 2020 election in 20 competitive states. As the face of the group, Abrams stands to benefit politically from the increased national presence. This begs the question: Is Fair Fight about fighting voter suppression or raising Abrams’ profile?

The Associated Press recently raised this conundrum by pointing out that the “organization has paid for advertisements featuring Abrams and some of her travel and organized national watch parties when she delivered the Democratic rebuttal to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union.” And while there is no evidence of illegality, Abrams’ actions “could prompt questions about whether the nonprofit is inappropriately supporting her political ambitions,” the AP’s report stated.

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POLITICS Comments turned off

Climate Change Divides Dems as DNC Plots 2020 Strategy . By Susan Crabtree –

By on August 24th, 2019

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2019/08/23/climate_change_divides_dems_as_dnc_plots_2020_strategy_141086.html

SAN FRANCISCO­ — With their presidential standard-bearer far from certain and the country’s Rust Belt once again pivotal to winning the White House, Democrats are already wrestling with how hard to push their green agenda.

The Democratic National Committee, at its summer meeting here this week, rejected a resolution by activists to back a climate-specific television debate, sparking angry protests from environmentalists who interrupted the meeting. Besides displaying the party’s seams on the issue, the move also risks alienating young voters whose energy and turnout are essential for victory in November 2020.

Symone Sanders, a top strategist for former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign, was the leading voice against the resolution during Thursday’s DNC summer meeting. Sanders argued that having single-issue debates would be disruptive to an already lengthy debate process that forces candidates to spend more time prepping for the face-offs instead of talking to voters.

“This would throw the whole process into a free for all,” she said, also referring to the issue as “dangerous territory in the middle of the primary process.”

Tad Devine, a leading Democratic media strategist, backed her up on Twitter.

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MY SAY:IF DONALD TRUMP FUNDED RESEARCH THAT CURED CANCER THIS IS HOW THE MEDIA WOULD COVER IT

By on August 24th, 2019

WSJ: THE CURE WAS LONG IN THE WORKS WHEN SCIENTISTS INVOLVED TRUMP

THE DAILY NEWS: MONEY TALKS TRUMP FUNDED CANCER BREAKTHROUGH FOR POLITICAL GAIN

THE NEW YORK TIMES: ANONYMOUS INSIDER ALLEGES THAT TRUMP STOLE THE PROTOCOLS

RACHEL MADDOW:  WHAT THE #$@&FU*!?XX

CNN: DEAD PATIENTS CAN’T TALK- HOW ONLY THE RICH WILL BENEFIT

CHRIS MATTHEWS: DOCTOR ALLEGES THAT TRUMP HARASSED HER WITH A BUNSEN BURNER

DAVID FRENCH N.R.O.: THANK THE SCIENTISTS NOT TRUMP

THE NEW YORK POST: KUDOS TO DON AND THE DOCS

FOX NEWS: QUESTIONS REMAIN ABOUT SIDE EFFECTS

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ANTI-SEMITISM Comments turned off

The Left’s ‘Three Rs’: Russia, Racism, and Recession For the Left, the most important “R” is missing: Reality. Thaddeus G. McCotter

By on August 24th, 2019

amgreatness.com/2019/08/23/the-lefts-three-rs-russia-racism-and-recession/

Long ago when I was young, the fundamental building blocks of education were “the three Rs”: reading, writing, and arithmetic.

Today, for the less-than-edifying Left, the basic brickbats of their 2020 campaign against President Trump also comprise three “Rs”: Russia, racism, and recession.

Tragically, among those suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome, the most important “R” is missing. That would be reality. Consequently, the cudgels of their “three Rs” campaign likely won’t prevent another four years of the presidency that has been the bane of their existence. If anything, that campaign is likely to boost his reelection chances next year.

The first of the Left’s three Rs stands for “Russia,” specifically the notion that President Trump is a compromised Putin stooge who, along with his campaign, conspired with the Russian government to steal the 2016 presidential election.

Having run with this seditious myth for more than two years, until Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report and his own congressional appearance wrecked the narrative, the Left quickly dumped the trope down the memory hole. Of course, for the more gullible Russia-gate dead-enders, the Left will tweak it every now and again to spur campaign contributions and voter turnout. For those who produced, perpetuated, and pimped this big lie—and who may well find themselves in legal jeopardy—the Left will only trot out the Russian-collusion scam for a broader audience on an as-needed basis, so as to provide a faux, affirmative defense for their potential malfeasance.

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POLITICS Comments turned off

Here’s Why 2020 Dems Are Dropping Like Flies By Tyler O’Neil

By on August 24th, 2019

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/heres-why-2020-dems-are-dropping-like-flies/

On Friday, Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) — Seth who? — will become the fourth candidate to drop out of the race for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. In fact, three candidates dropped out in the past two weeks: former Gov. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), current Gov. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.), and now Moulton. Americans can expect to see more Democrats throw in the towel as August 28 approaches.

While a whopping 21 candidates received the privilege of debating on stage in June and July, the threshold to qualify for the September and October debates is much higher, and only 10 have qualified so far. August 28 is the cut-off for the September 12 and 13 debates. Democrats need to have at least four polls showing them at two percent or higher and at least 130,000 unique donors.

The top three candidates: former Vice President Joe Biden and Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) have qualified for the September debates, along with seven others. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) has taken a tumble in the polls and now ranks with Pete Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Ind., in a middle tier above the lower tier of candidates.

Far-Left Radicalism May Cost Dems 2020, Presidential Drop-Out Warns

Five candidates in that lower tier have also qualified for the September debates: Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.); former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas); former HUD Secretary Julián Castro; and entrepreneur Andrew Yang.

Tom Steyer, the environmentalist activist who made his billions by investing in coal, has reached the donor threshold and just needs one more qualifying poll. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) needs two more polls. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) has only broken two percent in one poll and her campaign says she’s close to the donor threshold. Author Marianne Williamson stays she has enough donors but she hasn’t broken two percent in any qualifying poll.

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FROM DPS

By on August 24th, 2019

Sweden: Purchases of self-defense pepper sprays surge as rape crisis deepens By Arthur Lyons https://voiceofeurope.com/2019/08/sweden-purchases-of-self

Self-defense pepper sprays are selling like hotcakes as Sweden’s ongoing rape crisis seems to be getting worse, according to local media. During June and August, retailers and manufacturers of pepper sprays used for self-defense have reported a 90 percent increase in sales.

Unpacking the Tlaib and Omar Propaganda Tour Jonathan Feldstein
https://unitedwithisrael.org/unpacking-the-tlaib-and-omar-propaganda-tour/ 

Given the hate and malice, allowing Tlaib and Omar to come to Israel could have ended in any number of scenarios that would have created no less bad PR for Israel, perhaps much worse.

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ISRAEL, WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Palestinians: Victims of Arab Discrimination, Racism by Khaled Abu Toameh

By on August 24th, 2019

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14771/palestinians-arabs-discrimination-racism

The controversy surrounding the crackdown on illegal workers and businesses, and the increased fear in Lebanon that the Palestinian protests could plunge the country into violence and anarchy, are likely to escalate in the coming days: the Lebanese authorities appear determined to continue.

Lebanon’s discriminatory and apartheid laws and measures against Palestinians are not new. According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Palestinians in Lebanon are excluded from key facets of social, political and economic life. Palestinian refugees face legal restrictions that limit their rights, including the prohibition to work in 39 professions and to own property. Moreover, they have limited access to state-provided services such as health and education. Professions that remain prohibited for Palestinians include healthcare, engineering, transport, fishing, and the public sector and law.

It takes little imagination to predict the global uproar were, say, Israel to ban Arabs from working as engineers, can drivers, nurses or physicians. The international community and pro-Palestinian groups, however, seem distinctly indifferent about the plight of Palestinians in an Arab country.

While the Lebanese people’s fear of Palestinian violence in their country is warranted, there is no reason why any Arab country should be subjecting Palestinians to discriminatory and apartheid regulations. The story of the mistreatment of Palestinians in Lebanon is a microcosm of a bigger problem: the Arab “betrayal” and “abandonment” of Palestinians.

It is time for the Arab countries to replace lip service to the Palestinians with deeds. It is also time for the international community and so-called pro-Palestinian groups to start reckoning with the real suffering of Palestinians, particularly in Lebanon.

The Lebanese are angry. Why? Because Palestinians are protesting a crackdown on illegal foreign workers in Lebanon, thereby exposing Lebanese racism and a hatred of their Palestinian brothers.

For the past three weeks, thousands of Palestinians in Lebanon have been demonstrating against the Lebanese authorities’ crackdown on illegal workers, which is directed mainly against Palestinians and Syrians living there.

“The Palestinians are not foreigners in Lebanon,” said the Palestinian academic and political analyst, Abdel Sattar Qassem.

“Palestinians in Lebanon are refugees and, as such, they should be treated in accordance with international regulations concerning refugees. The Palestinians have been a strong economic pillar of Lebanon. They initially contributed to the advancement of the primitive Lebanese economy; they plowed the land, planted and harvested, and set up projects that supported Palestinians and Lebanese. The Palestinians have also contributed to Lebanon’s security and they are still prepared to fight to protect Lebanon and maintain its security. It is true that some Palestinian factions have made mistakes related to the civil war in Lebanon, but later they realized this mistake and fixed it.”

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