MEDIA Comments turned off

How American Journalism Died By Victor Davis Hanson

Posted By on September 17th, 2020

https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/09/how-american-journalism-died/

“The news as we once understood it is dead.It has been replaced by the un-news: a political narrative created by partisans who believe the noble ends of destroying Trump justify any biased means necessary — including destroying their own reputation and craft.”

Media partisans believe that destroying Trump justifies any biased means necessary.

In 2017, the liberal Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy at Harvard University found that 93 percent of CNN’s coverage of the Trump administration was negative. The center found similarly negative Trump coverage at other major news outlets.

The election year 2020 has only accelerated that asymmetrical bias — to the point that major newspapers and network and cable-news organizations are now fused with the Joe Biden campaign.Sometimes stories are covered only in terms of political agendas. Take COVID-19.

The media assure us that the Trump administration’s handling of the pandemic has been a disaster. But their conclusions are not supported by any evidence.

In the United States, the coronavirus death rate per million people is similar to, or lower than, most major European countries except Germany.

When the virus was at its worst, before the partisan campaign of this election year heated up, the governors in our four largest states had only compliments for the Trump administration.

Democrats Andrew Cuomo of New York and Gavin Newsom of California and Republicans Greg Abbott of Texas and Ron DeSantis of Florida effusively praised the administration’s cooperation with their own frontline efforts.

The most recent conclusions of impartial heads of federal agencies responsible for coordinating national and state policies are about the same.

EDUCATION Comments turned off

Education Department opens investigation into Princeton University after president deems racism ’embedded’ in the school by Tiana Lowe

Posted By on September 17th, 2020

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/exclusive-education-department-opens-investigation-into-princeton-university-after-president-deems-racism-embedded-in-the-school

The Department of Education has informed Princeton University that it is under investigation following the school president’s declaration that racism was “embedded” in the institution.

President Christopher Eisgruber published an open letter earlier this month claiming that “racism and the damage it does to people of color persist at Princeton” and that “racist assumptions” are “embedded in structures of the University itself.”

According to a letter the Department of Education sent to Princeton that was obtained by the Washington Examiner, such an admission from Eisgruber raises concerns that Princeton has been receiving tens of millions of dollars of federal funds in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which declares that “no person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”

Eisgruber’s letter branding the 274-year-old university racist came after a summer of unrest rife with race riots and an open letter from hundreds of Princeton faculty members who wrote, “Anti-Black racism has a visible bearing upon Princeton’s campus makeup.” The admission was followed by dozens of “anti-racist” policy change demands. Among them were calls for select faculty race quotas and to “reconsider” the use of standardized testing for admissions.

Now, the Education Department has sent a formal records request as it pursues its investigation. Its main point of contention is whether Princeton has lied to the public with its marketing and to the department in its promise not to uphold racist standards, in accordance with receiving federal funds.

BOOKS Comments turned off

The Permanent Coup: How Enemies Foreign and Domestic Targeted the American President by Lee Smith |

Posted By on September 17th, 2020

From the phony Russia collusion narrative to the coordinated riots laying waste to US cities, it’s the same ongoing operation orchestrated by the left and targeting not just President Trump but hundreds of millions of Americans who revere their country and what it stands for. For the first time, crusading investigative journalist Lee Smith reveals who was responsible and the never before known involvement of Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and senior military officials who engineered a coup against a sitting president.

Beginning in late 2015, political operatives, intelligence officials, and the press pushed a conspiracy theory about Trump-he was a Russian asset and spied on his campaign and his presidency in order to undo an election.

Because the ultimate goal of the anti-Trump operation is not simply to topple the president but rather to change the character and constitution of the country, the Deep State’s machinations didn’t stop even after Trump was cleared of charges of “colluding” with Moscow. Their efforts became even more fierce, more desperate, and more divisive, threatening to scar America permanently.

In their zeal to bring down President Trump, Deep State conspirators had unwittingly revealed the origins of the anti-Trump operation and exposed corruption at the very highest levels of the Democratic party-including former Vice President Biden and his boss, Barack Obama.

Lee Smith brings to this story the same incisive reporting and commentary that distinguished his runaway bestseller, The Plot Against the President. His investigation, identifying crimes and abuses committed by senior US officials, was later confirmed by a major Department of Justice report.

For The Impeachment Plot, Smith again enjoys unrivaled and exclusive access to the main players defending America and uncovering Deep State crimes-including Congressman Devin Nunes and the president’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani.

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Lee Smith :America’s China Class Launches a New War Against Trump The corporate, tech, and media elites will not allow the president to come between them

Posted By on September 17th, 2020

https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/americas-china-class-fights-trump

Chances are that by the time you get to the end of this article, there will be news of another information operation targeting Donald Trump. There’s one a day now—each trumpeting a new mortal threat to the republic or some dastardly revelation based on sources that are usually anonymous. Whatever it is, it will serve the same purpose as the hundreds of similar sallies launched over the last four years—namely, to preserve and protect the position and privileges of America’s ruling elite.

Trump stories are rarely about Trump. The same stories, or versions of them, would have targeted anyone who threatened to sever the American political, corporate, and cultural elite’s economic lifeline to the Chinese Communist Party. It is largely because Trump sought to decouple the United States from the CCP that America’s China Class, which owns the platforms on which Americans communicate, has waged a relentless campaign of information warfare against him through its social media and prestige media brands.

Consider the last two anti-Trump info ops: He gratuitously denigrated the historical suffering of African Americans, and he expressed contempt for America’s war dead. These are the sort of false allegations that political operatives are tasked to manufacture and disseminate during election season. Their purpose is to reinforce a negative impression of the opposing party among whatever cohort is being addressed, and make the target spend resources—time and money and sometimes blood—on defense. That’s politics 101, since the time of the Romans.

What’s new is that this is now journalism too. Since the internet defunded the press at the end of the 20th century and social media became the dominant player in America’s information space, journalism has abandoned the traditional standards and practices that once defined reporting. For instance, the smear holding that Trump is contemptuous of the military was supposedly based on four anonymous sources recalling exchanges from three years ago, which have been contradicted by dozens of named sources, some of whom were physically present when the comments were supposedly made—and some of whom have been public Trump opponents. In traditional journalistic terms, that’s not a news story—that’s a failed attack line.

MY SAY: Comments turned off

MY SAY: A MEMORABLE ROSH HASHANA POST 9/11

Posted By on September 17th, 2020

On 9/11, 2001 my husband and I were in Brussels, Belgium.  As the horrific events unfolded, our  ship made its way to Dover, England where we waited anxiously for a flight to New York which was scheduled for September 17th, 2001.

Two hours into our flight the pilot announced that a credible threat to our craft had been discovered and we would reroute to Canada at maximum speed.  After a harrowing couple of hours, we landed on a grass field in Goose Bay, Labrador a Canadian Air-Force base with no access by car and ultra-tight security. We were permitted to take only essential medications, and rushed to waiting buses.

On the way to the base, the pilot explained that the bomb threat was serious and under investigation and urged us to cooperate fully with officials.

At the base, after we were thoroughly searched and endlessly interrogated , we were ushered to a large room where we  made closely monitored short calls to reassure families, followed by snacks, cocktails, soft drinks, dinner and CNN broadcasts. Our overnight accommodations were spare but comfortable soldiers’ bunks underground.

At breakfast on September 18, the first day of Rosh Hashanah, the pilot assured us that our plane had been thoroughly searched by a special anti-terror team from Ottawa, and was safe for departure. It was a tense flight.

At J.F.K. airport a stone faced and sullen immigration officer asked endless questions and stared at our faces and passports repeatedly. Suddenly, he stamped our passports, smiled broadly and said:

“Welcome home to the United States and have a very happy New Year.”

We made it home in time for a festive and memorable celebration of the holiday with our entire family.

Whatever your faith I wish you and all people of good will a happy, healthy and sweet New Year. God bless America now and forever!

שנה טובה

ISRAEL, WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Arabs: Israel Is Not Our Enemy by Khaled Abu Toameh

Posted By on September 17th, 2020

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/16518/arabs-israel-enemy

“Times change, everything has changed, except for the Palestinian mood that rejects anything and everything.” — Saudi writer Amal Abdel Aziz al-Hazany, Asharq al-Awsat, September 15, 2020.

“Palestinian leaders are the main cause for the suffering of their people. They have achieved nothing for the Palestinians. They only care about power and achieving personal and partisan gains at the expense of the Palestinian issue.” — Emirati political analyst Issa bin Arabi Albuflasah, Al Bayan, September 12, 2020.

“We were told that Israel’s slogan was [to expand] ‘From the Euphrates to the Nile.’ Iran, however, does not hide its expansionist ideological trend, which it is already practicing through its militias in Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen. Turkey, on the other hand, is seeking to seize new sources of energy in Libya and has sights on Africa along the Red Sea. These developments prompted the moderate Arabs to start reconsidering previous their political positions.” — Saudi writer Fahd al Degaither, Okaz, September 14, 2020.

“The Palestinian issue concerns the Arab peoples who want a solution, but the leaders benefit from the status quo. These leaders benefit from the problems and suffering of their people. There is no solution under corrupt leaderships.” — Saudi writer Osama Yamani, Okaz, September 11, 2020.

Al-Shkiran also advised the Palestinians to hold their leaders accountable on two levels: “The first is political accountability: The reasons and causes of the continued rejection of all realistic deals that were offered to them since the beginning of the problem until today. Second: Opening the files of corruption. The Palestinian has the right to ask about the billions of dollars paid by the Gulf states for the Palestinian cause. All that money has disappeared.” — Saudi writer and researcher Fahd al-Shkiran, Asharq Al-Awsat, September 16, 2020.

A growing number of Arabs, particularly those living in the Gulf, say they finally understand that Israel is not the enemy of the Muslims and Arabs. This change of heart manifested even before the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed peace agreements with Israel during a ceremony at the White House on September 15. It is the direct result of the expansionist ambitions of Iran and Turkey in the Arab world and the feeling among Arabs that those two states pose the real threat to their national security.

Until recently, it was unimaginable to see Arabs openly admitting that they had been mistaken in their belief that Israel was the enemy of the Muslims and Arabs. Now, Arabs seem to have no problem saying that they were wrong all these years about their attitude toward Israel. These Arabs now are saying out loud that Iran and its proxies in the Arab world, and not Israel, are the real enemies of Arabs and Muslims.

WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

The Possible Limits of China-Russia Cooperation by Lawrence A. Franklin

Posted By on September 17th, 2020

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/16517/china-russia-cooperation

China even recently claimed that Vladivostok, the most prominent city in Russia’s Far East, is historically Chinese territory.

China seems to see Russia less as an economic partner than as a source for extraction of energy and raw materials.

While disapproving Russia’s assaults on sovereign states, China seems to have no problem asserting its own will in and around other states, for instance, in the South and East China Seas, India, and the Galapagos Islands.

China is already successfully challenging Russia for influence among the post-Soviet states in Central Asia, particularly in Tajikistan.

Mainly, this bilateral condominium might be doomed to collapse because there is no trust in the relationship.

China and Russia’s coordinated policies in foreign affairs and economic endeavors belie deep-seated fissures that might well prevent their current period of cooperation from evolving into a sustained alliance.

Despite China’s planned participation in Russia’s annual Caucus 2020 exercises on September 21-26, Sino-Russian history is so replete with war, unequal treaties and racism, there seems little probability that their present military cooperation will succeed in developing into a military alliance.

HOMELAND SECURITY Comments turned off

An October Surprise in the Waiting President Trump should take his shot for a hat trick on terrorism. By Lloyd Billingsley

Posted By on September 17th, 2020

https://amgreatness.com/2020/09/16/an-october-surprise-in-the-waiting/

At the Republican National Convention last month, Carl and Marsha Mueller told the nation how in 2013 their daughter Kayla was kidnapped by Islamic State terrorists, tortured, and repeatedly raped by the Islamic State’s Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. During this 18-month ordeal, Kayla’s father explained, the government let them down, but “if Donald Trump had been president when Kayla was captured, she would be here today.”

That is uncertain, but another reality is undeniable.

Under President Trump, the U.S. military set up Task Force 814, named for Kayla’s August 14 birthday. In Operation Kayla Mueller last October, the task force took out al-Baghdadi. The ISIS chieftain was not the only terrorist in Trump’s sights. 

As Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told the RNC, “the president approved a strike that killed the Iranian terrorist Qasem Soleimani. This is the man most responsible for the murder and maiming of hundreds of American soldiers and thousands of Christians across the Middle East.” That went down on January 3, but President Trump still has unfinished business on the terrorism front. 

On November 5, 2009, at Fort Hood, Texas, U.S. troops prepared for deployment to Afghanistan. U.S. Army Major Nidal Hasan, a self-described “soldier of Allah,” shouted “Allahu Akbar” and opened fire on the unarmed Americans. Hasan killed 13, including, Private Francheska Velez, 21 and pregnant. The soldier of Allah wounded 42 others, including Sargeant Alonzo Lunsford, an African American who took seven bullets from Hasan. 

The killer was never described as a racist, and the Obama Administration passed off the mass murder as “workplace violence,” not even gun violence. Vice President Joe Biden issued a 58-word statement expressing sympathy for the families of “the brave soldiers who fell today.” No word from the vice president about who killed the brave soldiers, in the “senseless tragedy.” 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) lamented the “unspeakable tragedy,” and “the losses of those who were killed.” On the other hand, the San Francisco Democrat failed to number the victims or name any of them. Pelosi also failed to call out Hasan and offered no thoughts on what might have motivated “the gunman” to murder 13 Americans.

HOMELAND SECURITY Comments turned off

Front Line Dispatch from China’s Economic War Against the U.S. We are engaged in an economic war with the CCP and the future of our nation is more important than any company’s quarterly earnings report. By Curtis Ellis

Posted By on September 17th, 2020

https://amgreatness.com/2020/09/16/front-line-dispatch-from-chinas-economic-war-against-the-u-s/

The Chinese Communist Party’s economic war against the United States continues.

The CCP is preparing to launch a major campaign to fleece American investors of billions of dollars to fund its drive for global hegemony.

And it’s getting help from some of the biggest names on Wall Street, a virtual fifth column for the brutal Marxist-Leninist regime.

Here’s the latest dispatch from the front: Ant Technology Group (Ant Group), formerly known as Ant Financial Services Group, is a subsidiary of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding, the e-commerce giant that made Jack Ma one of the world’s richest men. 

Ant provides financial technology (fintech) products and services. It’s expected soon to issue an initial public offering in Hong Kong and Shanghai to raise $30 billion—the largest IPO in history.

It’s important to reiterate the risks involved with investing in any CCP-controlled or affiliated company—which means any Chinese company. Even “private” Chinese companies are beholden to the Chinese government according to its National Intelligence Law and security laws and regulations.

When President Trump barred the pension funds of civilian and military employees of the federal government from investing in index funds that include Chinese companies, National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow and National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien explained: 

The financial impact of this risk is significant: scandals involving Chinese companies in recent years have cost investors billions of dollars. In addition, the Chinese Government currently prevents companies with Chinese operations listed on U.S. exchanges from complying with applicable U.S. securities law, leaving investors without the benefit of important protections.

The Obama-Biden Administration struck the deal that exempts Chinese companies from U.S. securities laws. 

WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Horton Hears a WHO By Allan J. Favish

Posted By on September 17th, 2020

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2020/09/horton_hears_a_who.html

The editor-in-chief of the United Kingdom-based medical journal The Lancet, Richard Horton, continues to mislead the world, this time about the Communist Party of China’s and the World Health Organization’s responsibility for the worldwide spread of the Wuhan virus, aka the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).  I have written about their responsibility for AT here, here and here.

Several months ago Horton mislead the world about a drug being used to treat the virus. On June 5, 2020 The Lancet retracted an article that falsely maligned the use of the drug hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for the Wuhan virus.  The article was used by the propaganda division of the Democratic Party, aka the mainstream media, to attack President Donald Trump.

It is time for another retraction, but this time, for statements made during an interview.  On September 4, 2020, at 17:57 into an interview on C-SPAN, Horton praised the performance of the Chinese government and the World Health Organization regarding their response to the virus.  This exchange occurred:

Q: You have, as you mentioned, been at this field for 30 years.  You think back to the earlier pandemics, Ebola, SARS, that have come into being, and your own publication’s response to it.  You say it’s been nine months.  It feels like to all of us like it’s been a lifetime, I think.  But can you comment about the speed with which the scientific community is responding to this compared to even recent past?

A:  Yes, you know, it’s interesting because there’s been a lot of, so much criticism of China and the World Health Organization.  And I understand why because this virus has turned all of our lives and our children’s lives upside down.  And it’s understandable that we’re angry about it.