WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Hong Kong Crackdown: 200 Police Raid Newspaper, Arrest Beijing Critic Jimmy Lai By Stephen Green,

Posted By on August 10th, 2020

https://pjmedia.com/vodkapundit/2020/08/10/hong-kong-crackdown-200-police-raid-newspaper-arrest-beijing-critic-jimmy-lai-n770499

Hong Kong Apple Daily publisher Jimmy Lai was taken from his paper’s offices in handcuffs Monday morning in a raid involving more than 200 police.

Police reportedly took box after box of “evidence,” although it’s unclear what crime Lai might have committed aside from being in favor of democracy and speaking out against the authoritarian Communist government in Beijing.

Reuters reports:

Apple Daily’s Editor-in-Chief Ryan Law, who was helping film and comment on the Facebook live feed, could be seen rushing about the building as he tried to report on events breaking in his own newsroom.

“This is, I believe, the first time in Hong Kong that police have initiated a mass search on a media outlet like this,” he said, panting, as he scaled a back staircase with a colleague to get around the mass of police officers.

And:

Staffers said they asked police what legal grounds they had for entering. But these questions were largely ignored as more than 200 police streamed in, according to a live feed of the unfolding drama.

HOMELAND SECURITY Comments turned off

Security Failures at USG Media Agency Prove Need to Hire Americans First Ben Weingarten

Posted By on August 10th, 2020

tps://mailchi.mp/a569a5374206/tune-in-ill-be-speaking-on-american-ingrate-tuesday-night-2463557?e=a0fa704ef6

President Donald Trump recently issued an executive order aimed at aligning federal contracting and hiring with the interests of American workers. Just days after its issuance, we are now learning of disturbing news demonstrating how urgently needed the order was. Bombshell revelations emerging from the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) show that President Trump’s predecessor not only undermined the interests of American workers, but in so doing imperiled our national security—raising questions about the hiring practices and security procedures of other federal agencies, when it comes to non-Americans.

As detailed previously, USAGM is a little-known agency, yet one of great importance. It is the federal government’s broadcasting arm for global audiences, tasked with overseeing several networks charged with “inform[ing], engag[ing] and connect[ing] people around the world in support of freedom and democracy,” and doing so “consistent with the broad foreign policy objectives of the United States.” To achieve its mission, it directs entities such as Radio Free Europe, Radio Free Asia and, perhaps most notably, its flagship Voice of America (VOA), to represent America in broadcasting authoritative, uncensored news to peoples across the world. Among its most noble efforts are those USAGM undertakes to evade the firewalls of tyrannical regimes, providing those laboring under them with the free and open flow of information and ideas their leaders loathe.

CHARLOTTE'S NEWS WEB, ELECTIONS Comments turned off

The Tide Turns Toward Trump Kurt Schlichter

Posted By on August 10th, 2020

https://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/2020/08/10/the-tide-turns-toward-trump-n2573952?

Remember how Donald Trump was totally doomed just a couple weeks ago? Grandpa Badfinger was ridin’ high down in his basement and the GOP was going to be destroyed in November. All the smart people of smartness who make up liberal blue check Twitter tweeted it so it had to be true.

Good times. 

And then last week it all changed, turning 180 on a dime as Biden stomped on his Pelosi. It’s looking good for Trump and the Republicans again, and while there will be twists n’ turns, and while we best not get cocky (Hat Tip: Glenn “Instapundit” Reynolds) the victory most of us patriots expect is coming clearly into focus as Biden becomes clearly more unfocused.

The polls have improved not just for Trump but for the Republicans running downticket too, not that we should put great store in the polls. Keep in mind that the polls were literally the only indicator showing Biden and the Dems were winning. There’s no other manifestation of a blue wave out there. Do you see any Biden signs? There’s just one in my neighborhood, which is all LA suburban woke wine women, and that’s in a creepy house that the children fear. No, there are no Trump signs either, but then that would invite a hassle. A Biden billboard would presumably invite hosannas for wokeness. And yet, only a single strange-o has one and that’s the guy we all suspect is eating the cats that go missing. 

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

The left is our misfortune By Victor Sharpe

Posted By on August 10th, 2020

http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/sharpe/200810

Something fundamentally disquieting, like some noxious alien plant, has been allowed to take hideous root in our beloved America. Going back to 2016, when Donald Trump won the presidency, we have witnessed increasing hysteria on the Left, but also within what passes as the Establishment. After all Trump has never been a part of the establishment elites and so we now have a President who answers directly to the people and not to the Washington insider crowd.

A perfect storm has arrived – the Chinese virus – or what we are told must be called Covid-19 in order to be politically correct and not upset the Communist Chinese government. Thanks also to Dr. Fauci we have become the locked down nation, morphed into mass helplessness and forced to wear masks. Many in the medical profession consider him a hero while others have a more jaundiced opinion.

If Dr. Fauci has his way we may soon have to add goggles to cover not only nose and mouth but also eyes. Imagine looking out of the windows of our homes and seeing strangely garbed neighbors passing by.

Leftist Democrat mayors encourage the “protestors,” who in reality are rioting millennial mobsters, to get on with their dirty work because the police are being defunded so in all likelihood the spoilt millennials won’t be arrested. This is the Left’s perfect storm but is America’s misfortune.

HOMELAND SECURITY Comments turned off

The Trump Administration’s Welcome Pushback against Chinese Communist Party–Affiliated Technology

Posted By on August 10th, 2020

https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/08/trump-administration-measures-against-chinese-communist-party-affiliated-technology-welcome/

The Chinese Communist Party has been exporting its virtual panopticon to liberal democracies via WeChat, TikTok, and other online platforms. in its pursuit of more global influence. As part of a broader push against Chinese influence, the Trump administration in recent weeks has rolled out a number of measures to deal with the threat of Chinese technology. 

The White House forced TikTok into acquisition talks with Microsoft, following a U.S. government panel’s decision to force divestment from the app’s parent company ByteDance. Negotiators have until September 15 to reach a deal. After that, President Trump says he will ban the app. 

Building on this, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last week announced the “Clean Network” program, a State Department initiative to certify trusted partners who have worked to rid their products and networks of malign foreign influence.  

BOOKS Comments turned off

‘Unmasking Obama’ Also Exposes the Corrupt Media By Frank Miele

Posted By on August 10th, 2020

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/08/10/unmasking_obama_also_exposes_the_corrupt_media_143916.html

 

A slew of political books will be hitting bookshelves between now and Election Day, covering everything on the spectrum from communist propaganda to Trump hagiography.

Many of those books, such as Sean Hannity’s “Live Free or Die,” will make millions of dollars for their authors and publishers. Some have the potential to influence the election, such as disgraced FBI agent Peter Strzok’s attempt at reputation rehabilitation titled “Compromised: Counterintelligence and the Threat of Donald J. Trump.” Yet in this onslaught of new titles, literally dozens of which will attempt to capitalize on the 2020 election frenzy, there will be a few small polished gems that may be lost in the fray. One such could be Jack Cashill’s “Unmasking Obama: The Fight to Tell the True Story of a Failed Presidency” (Post Hill Press, 249 pages, available for pre-order now).

A slew of political books will be hitting bookshelves between now and Election Day, covering everything on the spectrum from communist propaganda to Trump hagiography.

Many of those books, such as Sean Hannity’s “Live Free or Die,” will make millions of dollars for their authors and publishers. Some have the potential to influence the election, such as disgraced FBI agent Peter Strzok’s attempt at reputation rehabilitation titled “Compromised: Counterintelligence and the Threat of Donald J. Trump.” Yet in this onslaught of new titles, literally dozens of which will attempt to capitalize on the 2020 election frenzy, there will be a few small polished gems that may be lost in the fray. One such could be Jack Cashill’s “Unmasking Obama: The Fight to Tell the True Story of a Failed Presidency” (Post Hill Press, 249 pages, available for pre-order now).

ELECTIONS Comments turned off

Trump Won Last Week By Steve Cortes

Posted By on August 10th, 2020

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/08/10/trump_won_last_week_143919.html

Even in a volatile political year with endless crosscurrents, once voters actually start casting their ballots it seems reasonable to assume that one traditional factor will still motivate most voters: Which candidate can create more prosperity? On this score, President Trump had an impressive weekend, and his achievements shine in contrast to Joe Biden’s week of embarrassing stumbles.

On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the July jobs report, revealing that America added 1.8 million new hires and lowered the national unemployment rate to 10.2%. This report registers as the third-highest month ever, and the combined three-month total of new jobs created stands at 9.3 million. To be sure, much work remains to return our country to the thriving job market we enjoyed in early 2020 before our world was rocked by a new virus raging around the world, which threatened to crash the global economy. The damage remains real and widespread, but recent macro data also point to recovery, as green shoots abound. For example, last week’s ISM Manufacturing Index rose to the highest level in 1.5 years, as factories powered back up. On the consumer side, the most recent existing homes sales achieved the largest monthly increase ever, as historic low mortgage rates encouraged buyer confidence.

Predictably, much of the news media sought to downplay this encouraging trend of economic renewal. “July Jobs Report Could Show Losses as Coronavirus Spreads,” CNBC had warned its audience a week before. Instead of a correction, the network doubled down. On Friday, one CNBC anchor teed up market analyst Jim Cramer this way: “It’s less about what the numbers say today and more about how you extrapolate what you think they’re gonna mean next month and the month after and the month after. How do you see it?”

IMMIGRATION Comments turned off

Trump Heroically Defies a Lawless Supreme Court The court’s ruling on young illegals is an abomination that must not stand. Matthew Vadum

Posted By on August 10th, 2020

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/08/trump-heroically-defies-lawless-supreme-court-matthew-vadum/

President Donald Trump is quietly turning a stinging defeat at the Supreme Court over an illegal amnesty for hundreds of thousands of young illegal aliens into what could end up being a victory for the Constitution and the rule of law.

The Supreme Court, of course, has no authority to tell the president of the United States that he cannot rescind an illegal executive amnesty ordered by his predecessor in the same manner it was instituted.

Normally, presidents of both parties rush to raise their arms in surrender whenever the black-robed life-tenured politicians on the high court demand it.

Not Trump.

The president appears to be taking a stand against rampant judicial supremacism by drawing inspiration from President Andrew Jackson, whose portrait proudly hangs in the Oval Office.

After the chief justice of the day overreached in Jackson’s opinion, the 7th president allegedly uttered the following immortal words: “John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it.”

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

The Alarming Progress of the Hate America Left How they have invaded American minds. David Horowitz

Posted By on August 10th, 2020

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/08/alarming-progress-hate-america-left-david-horowitz/

On the Rotunda of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington is inscribed these words: “I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.” This statement by Thomas Jefferson is the heart of the democracy in whose founding he played so central a role.  It is why the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights is the First Amendment and not the Second, or Fourth, or Fifth.

Today our nation is facing the most serious threat to establish such a tyranny in our entire history.  This threat comes from the political left, which deceptively calls its reactionary creed “progressive.” Its tyranny is advanced under the Orwellian names, “political correctness,” “cancel culture,” “wokeness” and “anti-racism,” which is a recently minted doctrine that condemns every deviation from the leftwing party line as “racist” and therefore worthy of suppression.

The gravity of this attempt to abolish our democracy can be seen in the attack on America’s founding – an attack led by America’s intellectual establishment. Under the rubric of “The 1619 Project,” The New York Times, the Pulitzer and MacArthur Foundations and other arbiters of the culture have promoted the monstrous libel that America was founded as slave state and that the American revolution was designed to preserve this hateful institution which had survived in countries all over the world for 3,000 years.

BOOKS, ENVIRONMENT AND JUNK SCIENCE Comments turned off

‘Apocalypse Never’ Takes Direct Aim at Consensus Climate Alarmism By Edward Ring

Posted By on August 10th, 2020

https://amgreatness.com/2020/08/09/apocalypse-never-takes-direct-aim-at-consensus-climate-alarmism/

A review of “Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All,” by Michael Shellenberger (Harper, 432 pages, $29.99)

This environmental humanist agenda that prioritizes love for humanity is a direct challenge to climate alarmists, who must now answer the question, as Michael Shellenberger writes “are they motivated by love for humanity or something closer to its opposite?”

An important new book by Michael Shellenberger, Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All, attempts to counter the common belief that climate change poses an imminent and existential threat to humanity and the planet. At 285 pages, this is a relatively short and very readable book, but it covers a lot of ground. And with an additional 125 pages containing over 1,000 footnotes, Shellenberger’s arguments are well documented.

The book should be required reading for politicians. It should also be required reading for Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Twitter’s Jack Dorsey, and the handful of other online communications titans who exercise almost total control over what facts and opinions make their way into public discourse. This book also belongs in the hands of climate activist journalists, for whom a 16-year-old truant is an oracle with unassailable credibility, while contrarian scientists and economists are only targets for smear campaigns.