“The STF and Dictator Alexandre de Moraes say they will no longer try to impose a fine of R$50,000.00/day on Brazilians who use VPNs to access X!”
Tag: Politics
Germany’s right-wing AfD wins ‘historic victory’ in state elections spurring protests from leftists
Germany’s Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is celebrating Monday after its “historic success,” in state elections. The populist, right-wing party won a solid plurality in the eastern state of Thuringia
DEREK YOHE: The pro-life movement must embrace incrementalism or face irrelevance
The stakes are too high to fidget with votes simply because Trump does not pass the puritanical “white glove” test.
DAVID KRAYDEN: Does Kamala want to build the wall to keep illegal immigrants out or to keep Americans in?
Along with her foot-in-mouth running mate Gov. Tim Walz – a commie-loving Maoist – Harris has put together the worst Marxist clown show presidential tickets in American history.
BREAKING: Brazil’s Supreme Court forms majority to uphold ban on X—Starlink refuses to comply
Musk’s satellite internet provider Starlink has said that it would not uphold the court’s ban on the social media platform. Starlink has over 250,000 customers in the nation.
German podcast forced by court to delete episode over ‘misgendering’
“In Germany, a person who was born biologically male and is legally considered a woman can no longer be called a man.”
The Rise Of Global Conformism
The Rise Of Global Conformism
Authored by Bruce Davidson via The Brownstone Institute,
At a formal ceremony for retiring professors at my university, each retiree got an opportunity to make a short speech. In my own speech, I mentioned that my last few years coincided with the Covid panic. Far more than the disease itself, what shocked me was the worldwide mass mind that sprang into existence seemingly overnight.
All over the world, suddenly people were subjected to all-encompassing propaganda and pressures to conform to the same Covid policies. In contrast, a university should be a place to protect and encourage individual thinking, I maintained.
Aside from the Covid phenomenon, in recent years I have often observed the tendency for novel ideas to spread rapidly around the world and quickly become established orthodoxy that precludes debate and criticism. This amounts to a kind of toxic global conformism.
“Toxic conformism” can be defined as aggressively promoted compliance with evil and/or harmful behavior in order to remain in good standing with others. In response to Covid, the universal, rapid implementation of toxic conformity may be unique in history.
There is nothing wrong with conformity per se, as long as it represents adhering to the reasonable expectations of a sane society. For example, conformity to norms of politeness has great merit in most circumstances, as anyone can appreciate who participates in a civil society, such as Japan’s. Only the immature and maladjusted believe that defying reasonable norms of behavior is somehow always commendable.
However, the kind of conformity we currently observe on an international scale is not organic or reasonable. It is imposed by fiat from those with power and influence, despite the doubts and objections of many. It is not the product of wholesome social development and rational, willing acceptance.
These days a great problem for Japanese people–as well as for citizens of other nations–is not conformity to their own society and culture; it is mandatory conformity to powerful international organizations like the UN and the WEF. Since their agendas are often foolish and unreasonable, conforming to their expectations often causes great harm.
Whenever I hear about a new idea rapidly spreading in Western media and cultural circles–e.g., “People should eat bugs”–I know that in a matter of weeks or months, I will be hearing the same idea in the Japanese media and elsewhere. News stories about bug farms, recipes for preparing meals with bugs, and propaganda explaining that bugs are not repulsive but rather tasty and nutritious will soon be everywhere. Actually, this very thing is happening at present.
Obediently, most in Japan will think and do as they are told, or at least they will accept the superior wisdom and virtue of bug-eating, though they may not personally feel inclined to embrace a diet of bugs.
A few years later (or even sooner), the Gospel of Bug Eating will likely also be widespread in the religious world, especially among academic pundits and megachurch/parachurch leaders. They will go through the Bible and church history with a magnifying glass looking for texts and traditions to support insect consumption. Since he subsisted on a diet of locusts and honey (Mark 1:6), even John the Baptist will find himself on the bandwagon (more on this phenomenon later).
The pace of global conformism has been immeasurably amplified through the power of social media and the Internet. Therefore, international bodies like the WEF and the UN, along with national governments, are very anxious to control online communication. As the French thinker Jacques Ellul put it, “Propaganda must be total” or it fails in its goal of making people “psychologically unified.”
Long before the Internet, Ellul analyzed powerful modern influences tending to create a mass mind in his books Propaganda and The Technological Society. Instead of serious reading, which develops rational thought, in modern times people are often swayed by emotionally charged (but often misleading) visual images and verbal sloganeering from movies and TV. More recent technological innovations have made Ellul’s observations and warnings even more pertinent.
Largely as a result of social media, somehow it became “cool” to be a global conformist in the eyes of many. During the Covid experimental injection mania, many posted “I got my Covid 19 vaccine” on Facebook, even in their profile pictures.
Similarly, trendy buzzwords from abroad like diversity and sustainability were quickly adopted in business and educational circles in Japan, even though many native English speakers have found such terms to be vague and irrational. In regard to the “sustainability” bandwagon, one Japanese think-tank consultant commented to me recently about his business-world associates, “These people really believe putting SDG badges on their suits is such a cool thing to do–I think it’s embarrassing.”
Japanese adoption of the overseas term diversity seems especially odd in light of Japan’s obviously monocultural society. In reality, uniformity has often been their strength, for better or worse. Moreover, a fixation on diversity has been a pretext for discriminating against Japanese and other Asians in American university admissions.
In other unlikely places, one meets with striking examples of the new global conformism, such as the traditional religious world. As Meghan Basham reveals in her book Shepherds for Sale, the new globalism has even captured many evangelical Christian elites. Though the Apostle Paul urged in one of his letters “Do not be conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2), many evangelical leaders now eagerly align themselves with various globalist causes.
For instance, bestselling author and megachurch leader Rick Warren brags about his ties to the WEF and the UN. One incentive for these leaders has been to obtain funding from secular globalist institutions and wealthy influencers, such as George Soros and The Rockefeller Foundation.
Likewise, working with the CDC and the NIH, The Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College created the website “Coronavirus and the Church” to promote Covid 19 injections and other governmental Covid policies. Franklin Graham notably declared that Jesus would get a Covid shot.
In my view, such declarations by prominent religious figures and organizations are not only ignorant and foolish but also abusive. No one is under any moral obligation to be injected with experimental substances. Unsurprisingly, some wits lampooned statements like Graham’s with “Woke Jesus” memes depicting him insisting that his followers wear masks and get Covid shots.
Nevertheless, opposition to global conformism does not mean retreating into an attitude of suspicion and hostility to all things foreign, new, or unfamiliar. Even without pressure from the powerful to implement the desires of international elites, the world’s various peoples often influence each other by the attractions and achievements of their respective societies.
For example, Korean dramas and Japanese anime now have a multitude of fans all over the world. Furthermore, innovative, beneficial medical practices in the West eventually have been adopted by many Korean and Japanese doctors. However, nowadays aggressive global conformism often propagates detrimental practices and ideas around the world.
Tyler Durden
Mon, 09/02/2024 – 09:40
UK’s Online Safety Act May Be Canary In The Coalmine For Canada Under Online Harms Act
UK’s Online Safety Act May Be Canary In The Coalmine For Canada Under Online Harms Act
Authored by Pete Menzies via The Epoch Times,
We need to talk about Julie Sweeney.
She’s a 53-year-old English woman who used to live in Church Lawton, Cheshire, and she once had a Facebook account. Today, she’s in prison, serving a 15-month sentence after being convicted under new Criminal Code provisions in the United Kingdom’s Online Safety Act.
From all available accounts, Ms. Sweeney had—at least until this summer—lived without causing any trouble or having any negative interactions with the local constabulary. Then, on Aug. 3, she lost her temper during the height of the British riots that ensued following the murders of little girls in a Taylor Swift dance class and wrote something really nasty on a local community group Facebook page.
“Don’t protect the mosques,” she posted to the 5,100-member group. “Blow the mosque up with the adults in it.”
That’s a very ugly thing to say and within hours one individual who read it complained to the police, who promptly arrested Ms. Sweeney. According to the Crown prosecutor, upon being taken into custody, Ms. Sweeney told officers, “I’m not being rude but there are a lot of people saying it.”
That’s not good. But it is important to note that while there was indeed violence directed towards the mosque, Ms. Sweeney’s comments related to the aftermath. There is no evidence which I can find in the coverage of the case that her post inspired anyone to do harm to the building, to anyone in or around it, or that it became a rallying cry of any kind. Nor was there any proof offered that she seriously wished for the mosque “with the adults in it” to be blown up.
We can all agree that it was a truly dreadful thing to say. And we should all acknowledge that, other than writing and hitting “send,” Ms. Sweeney’s crime is entirely about something hideous that she said—in a post later deleted—not something she did or inspired someone to do.
She admitted in court that the post was made in anger, that it was unacceptable, and that she didn’t intend to inspire fear which, if you were a regular attendee at the mosque, you likely would have felt if you read it.
People can debate whether statements of that nature should be censured by civil society through shaming, shunning, and blocking or through the intervention of the state.
What really catches the eye in this case, though, is the intensity with which the presiding judge punished her upon accepting her guilty plea.
According to the Daily Mail, her lawyer had told the court that Ms. Sweeney “accepts it was stupid.”
“This was a single comment on a single day,” he said.
“She lives a quiet, sheltered life in Cheshire and has not troubled the courts in her long life. Her character references show she lives a kind and compassionate lifestyle. She has been primary carer for her husband since 2015.”
The judge said he took Sweeney’s good character and what he termed a “heart-rending” letter from her husband into account but that “even people like you need to go to prison because a message must go out that, if you do these terrible acts, the court will say to you, “You must go to prison.”
Really? Even if one thinks speech should be a matter for the Criminal Code, wouldn’t it seem more appropriate for the outcome to be something along the lines of a summary conviction or a suspended sentence with a ban on using social media
Sending Ms. Sweeney to prison, particularly when the UK’s prisons are so overcrowded the government was already preparing to release thousands of criminals early, really speaks to the mindset of the Crown and the judge when it comes to cracking down on online speech.
Clearly this sort of speech has, in their view, become a more serious matter than common physical assault, the sentence for which is a maximum of six months, which can be elevated up to two years if motivated by race or religion.
Why should Canadians care? Because Ms. Sweeney and her nation’s Online Safety Act may very well be the canaries in our coalmine.
Justice Minister Araf Virani, architect of Canada’s Online Harms Act, has already cited the UK experience as something that has informed his approach. To be fair, he hasn’t said he agrees with it all, but he is the man who has been appointing the judges who will be sentencing people convicted of Bill C-63’s new offences once they become law. He will also be in charge of hiring the Human Rights Commissioner, big job given it will be tasked with managing thousands of complaints from people made to feel uncomfortable by something someone posts online.
When that’s done, he’ll be looking for someone to fill the role of Digital Safety Commissioner to patrol how social media companies in Canada manage speech deemed to be problematic.
If those appointees see the world the same way Ms. Sweeney’s judge does—that speech is more harmful than action—some very interesting times are just around Canada’s corner.
* * *
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times or ZeroHedge.
Tyler Durden
Sun, 09/01/2024 – 23:20
German Ruling Coalition Crushed In Regional Elections As AfD Scores First Victory For German Right-Wing Party Since WWII
German Ruling Coalition Crushed In Regional Elections As AfD Scores First Victory For German Right-Wing Party Since WWII
Two months after the European political establishment suffered a crushing blow in the French elections, on Sunday afternoon we witnessed another demonstration of just how unpopular Europe’s political elite has become when German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s ruling coalition was crushed in two regional elections in eastern Germany on Sunday, with populist parties on both the right and left winning about half the votes in both Thuringia and Saxony.
#BREAKING #Germany Exit polls indicate the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is poised to win the state election in Thuringia.
Marking the first time for a Right-wing party to lead in a German state since WWII. pic.twitter.com/sRsmHDlbJ0
— The National Independent (@NationalIndNews) September 1, 2024
The Alternative for Germany, often defined as “far-right” by most liberal media outlets, is on course for victory in Thuringia on 30.5%, according to projections Sunday for public broadcaster ARD; it represents the first victory for a German right-wing party on a state ballot since World War II (history buffs may recall that Thuringia is where the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, aka NSDAP, won their first state election in 1929).
A German far-right party is projected to win in regional elections for the first time since 1945, exit polls show https://t.co/ydtdPV95A4
— CNN (@CNN) September 1, 2024
What is just as shocking was the voter revulsion to Germany’s ruling coalition: the three parties in Scholz’s ruling alliance — the Social Democrats, the Greens and the Free Democrats — between them got less than 15% in each of the two states, while the FDP missed the 5% threshold for getting into either regional parliament and the Greens fell short in Thuringia. The only mainstream party to do relatively well was the conservative CDU, which is projected to win in Saxony – by the narrowest of margin vs the ADP – and finish second in Thuringia.
Germany’s AfD party on course to become the strongest party in the German state of Thuringia.
Exit polls predict the anti-immigration party has gained some 33% of the vote, neck and neck in Sachsen.
The tide is turning. pic.twitter.com/PL35fJLxJH
— Tommy Robinson 🇬🇧 (@TRobinsonNewEra) September 1, 2024
Alice Weidel, a co-leader of the AfD, called the party’s performance “historic” and “a requiem” for the coalition in Berlin and said voters clearly want the AfD in government as the strongest party in Thuringia. Scholz’s coalition “should be asking itself if it can even continue in office,” Weidel told ARD. While it’s unlikely to be able to convince any other party to join it in coalition, with more than a third of the seats in the state parliament it could potentially block major decisions such as judicial appointments.
It’s not just the right that is soaring: in Sunday’s voting, a new far-left party, the Buendnis Sahra Wagenknecht, was on 15.8% in Thuringia and 12% in Saxony, according to early projections and exit polling. Founded only in January after Wagenknecht split from the Left party, it’s likely to play a key role in attempts by mainstream parties to keep the AfD out of power in Thuringia.
Today’s results are the latest bitter blow to German chancellor Scholz and his deeply unpopular government and highlight the risk it faces ahead of the next national election due in just over a year. The picture looks equally dire for another state ballot in three weeks in Brandenburg: the region that surrounds the capital Berlin and is home to Scholz’s Potsdam constituency.
Parties opposing arms supplies to Ukraine lead polls in the eastern German elections 09/01 pic.twitter.com/nm3Ot2nQwW
— Ignorance, the root and stem of all evil (@ivan_8848) September 1, 2024
After months of squabbling over spending priorities, nationwide support for the three ruling parties has dwindled to record lows, while support for parties opposing financial and weapons supplies to Ukraine continues to soar. Backing for the conservative CDU/CSU alliance is on around 32% – roughly the same as the SPD, Greens and FDP combined – and the AfD is in second place on about 18%.
According to Bloomberg, the crushing defeat for the unpopular ruling parties in Saxony and Thuringia could prompt renewed calls for an early general election and fuel debate about whether Scholz is the right man to lead the Social Democrats into the ballot next September.
Kevin Kuehnert, the SPD general secretary, said the results in the two regions also send a message to the national government in Berlin: “We need to explain and communicate our policies more and much better, this applies not only for Saxony and Thuringia but for Germany as a whole,” Kuehnert told ZDF in a TV interview, adding that “we must become more self-confident within the ruling coalition and show much clearer to voters what the SPD stands for.” Which of course, is not the problem: Germany as a whole knows very well what SPD’s policies are, and is revolting against them.
Despite its victory in Thuringia, the AfD, which Germany’s authorities have classified as “right-wing extremist” in both regions that voted Sunday as well as nearby Saxony-Anhalt, has no clear path to forming a government as all other political groups have ruled out cooperating with the party — a firewall similar to the one that thwarted Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally in France after President Emmanuel Macron called a snap legislative election in June. That should limit any impact on financial markets, which were unsettled by the rise in popularity of French fringe parties.
Wagenknecht, whose party’s policies include stopping aid for Ukraine and curbing immigration, again ruled out any cooperation with the AfD in Thuringia. She indicated that she was ready to govern in a coalition with the CDU and the SPD.
“I don’t think that we’re seen by voters as an AfD light,” she told ZDF. “We are simply closing a representation gap in the political spectrum.”
The CDU’s solid performance Sunday could also impact the process of choosing a conservative chancellor candidate. The leader of the party, Friedrich Merz, seems likely to secure the nomination and can claim some credit for the success in Saxony.
However, a number of other hopefuls can’t yet be ruled out, including North Rhine-Westphalia Premier Hendrik Wuest and Bavaria Premier Markus Soeder, who leads the Christian Social Union, the CDU’s sister party in the southern region.
Merz has said the CDU and CSU will decide on their joint candidate after the Brandenburg vote. The final state election before the next national ballot is at the beginning of March in Hamburg, the port city where Scholz used to be mayor and his SPD rules in coalition with the Greens.
Some 3.3 million people were eligible to vote in Saxony, which borders Poland and the Czech Republic, and about 1.7 million in Thuringia.
Tyler Durden
Sun, 09/01/2024 – 19:15
The Guardian calls for arrest of Elon Musk along with boycotts of Tesla, X, Space X for ‘disseminating lies and hate’
“Regulators around the world should threaten Musk with arrest if he doesn’t stop disseminating lies and hate on X.”