WORLD NEWS
Corrupt Socialist Lula Beats Bolsonaro in Brazil’s Closest Presidential Election in Decades
The top electoral authority in Brazil announced on Sunday evening that 77-year-old hardline socialist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, once convicted and sentenced to over two decades in prison for alleged corruption, had won this year’s presidential election against incumbent conservative Jair Bolsonaro.
Concerned relatives raced to hospitals in search of their loved ones Sunday as South Korea grieved the deaths of at least 153 people, mostly in their 20s and 30s
Italy Plans to Allow Unvaccinated Health Care Workers to Return to Work
Italian health care workers who have been suspended for rejecting COVID-19 vaccines will soon be able to return to work, the European country’s top health official said on Oct. 28.
Orazio Schillaci, who was appointed by Italy’s newly formed ruling coalition to lead the Ministry of Health, said his administration is working on a measure that would reinstate unvaccinated doctors and nurses before the end of the year.
US, South Korea to Hold Large-Scale Air Drills Amid North Korea’s Missile Provocations
The United States and South Korea will hold a large-scale joint air exercise involving 240 military aircraft next week to bolster their combat readiness amid North Korea’s ongoing missile provocations.
The drill, known as the Vigilant Storm, will run from Oct. 31 to Nov. 4 and involve major air missions such as close air support, defensive counter air, and emergency air operations, the U.S. Air Force said in a statement.
Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping said during the recently-concluded 20th Party Congress that China would open up economically to the world. But experts warned that this would mean obliterating international rules in the regime’s favor at the expense of the free world.
Russia Suspends Ukraine Grain Deal Over Ship Attack Claim
KYIV, Ukraine—Russia announced Saturday that it will immediately suspend its implementation of a U.N.-brokered grain deal.
The Russian Defense Ministry cited an alleged Ukrainian drone attack Saturday against Russia’s Black Sea Fleet ships moored off the coast of occupied Crimea as the reason for the move. Ukraine has denied the attack, saying that the Russians mishandled their own weapons.
The Russian declaration came one day after U.N. chief Antonio Guterres urged Russia and Ukraine to renew the grain export deal, which was scheduled to expire on Nov. 19. Guterres also urged other countries, mainly in the West, to expedite the removal of obstacles blocking Russian grain and fertilizer exports.
The U.N. chief said the grain deal—brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in July—helps “to cushion the suffering that this global cost-of-living crisis is inflicting on billions of people,” his spokesman said.
Report: Joe Biden Working on Another $50 Billion Ukraine Aid Package After Midterms
President Joe Biden is considering another large block of funding for Ukraine after the elections, particularly if Democrats lose their majorities in the House and Senate, the report notes, citing “officials familiar with the discussions.”
UK Crime at Record High, Woke Police Solving Smaller Proportion of It than Ever
Recorded crimes in England and Wales have reached their highest-ever level, while the proportion of crime being solved by their increasingly woke police forces has dipped to its lowest-ever level.
Some 6.5 million offences were recorded in the two Home Nations of the United Kingdom — Scotland and Northern Ireland keep their own statistics — with a mere 5.4 per cent of them resulting in a charge in the year to June, according to The Telegraph.
Biden’s Open Border: Previously Deported Illegal Alien Reenters U.S. After Sexually Assaulting Girl
A previously deported illegal alien again crossed the United States-Mexico border, under President Joe Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS), after having been convicted of sexually assaulting a fourth-grade girl.
In February 2021, illegal alien Carlos Bartolo Rios of Mexico pleaded guilty to third-degree sexual conduct and exposing a minor to obscene material after a fourth-grade girl told law enforcement that she had been repeatedly raped by Rios in North Charleston, South Carolina.
Report: U.S. Air Force to Base Nuclear-Capable B-52 Bombers in Australia
The U.S. will deploy up to six nuclear-capable B-52 Stratofortress bombers to a remote Australian airbase in a move experts say is aimed directly at China, a report Monday details.
Shanghai Disney: Visitors unable to leave without negative Covid test as park shuts
Shanghai Disney has become the latest high-profile venue to shut its gates thanks to China’s strict zero-Covid policy, trapping visitors inside.
People have been told they will not be allowed out of the theme park until they can show a negative test.
It comes after Shanghai reported 10 locally transmitted cases on Saturday.
China’s controversial zero-Covid policy has already seen millions of people repeatedly locked down, sometimes in unusual locations.
Over 130 dead after bridge collapses into river in India; officials fear death toll could rise
At least 132 people were killed after a century-old cable suspension bridge collapsed into a river Sunday evening in the western Indian state of Gujarat, sending hundreds plunging in the water in one of the worst accidents in the country over the past decade, officials said.
Officials told local media over a hundred people plunged into the Machchu river when the bridge in the state’s Morbi district collapsed.
U.S. NEWS, POLITICS & GOVERNMENT
Over 20 Million Have Voted So Far Ahead of 2022 Midterms
More than 20 million Americans have cast absentee ballots or voted in-person ahead of the 2022 midterms, according to researchers in an update on Sunday morning.
Some 12.5 million have cast mail-in ballots while nearly 8 million have voted early and in-person, data from the University of Florida’s Election Project shows. The project compiles voting data for states that report early voting
Florida Officials Looking Into Allegations of Widespread Ballot Harvesting Operation
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is considering investigating an alleged long-running and widespread ballot harvesting operation among black communities in the central part of state.
Law enforcement officials are considering probing the matter on the recommendation of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ new election crimes unit, the Office of Election Crimes and Security (OECS), officials confirmed.
DeSantis’ new election crimes body was established this year
Arizona GOP Gubernatorial Nominee Thanks Liz Cheney for ‘Biggest Fundraiser Yet’
Arizona Republican governor frontrunner Kari Lake responded on Friday to Rep. Liz Cheney’s (R-Wyo.) “anti-endorsement” efforts, saying a television ad she sponsored and recently broadcasted caused a surge in campaign donations.
“Thank you for your generous in-kind contribution to my campaign,” Lake wrote mockingly in a letter to Cheney that was shared on Twitter.
“Your recent television ad urging Arizonans not to vote for me is doing just the opposite,” she continued. “Our campaign donations are skyrocketing and our website nearly crashed from traffic as people rushed to learn more about my plan to put Arizona First and join our historic political movement.”
New Information Emerges About Suspect’s Background After Attack on Paul Pelosi
David DePape, the man accused of attacking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband with a hammer last week in the couple’s California home, has been “mentally ill for a long time,” according to a woman who identified herself as DePape’s former life partner.
Oxane Taub, a nudist activist who’s currently incarcerated in the California Institution for Women after being convicted on abduction charges last year, told ABC7 that DePape, 42, suffered from mental health issues.
“Hello, this is Gypsy Taub. I am the ex-life partner of David DePape and the mother of his children,” Oxane “Gypsy” Taub told the local media outlet over the weekend. “He is mentally ill. He has been mentally ill for a long time.”
Members of Congress Float Expanding Security to Family Members After Paul Pelosi Attacked
Expanding security to additional members of Congress and relatives could be a good idea after U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband was attacked inside their home in California on Oct. 28, according to some lawmakers.
“I understand that the speaker has a detail but we really need, at least for the leadership, to have Capitol Police at the residences like we do for Supreme Court justices,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said on CNN.
Khanna said he was surprised to learn that no U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) officers were at the Pelosi residence when a male suspect entered early Friday.
Arizona GOP Governor Frontrunner Kari Lake Accuses Legacy Media of Spreading ‘Fake News’ of Burglary
Arizona Republican governor frontrunner Kari Lake lashed out at the legacy media for spreading “fake news” about her alleged involvement in a burglary of Democratic rival Katie Hobbs’ campaign headquarters on Oct. 25, without providing evidence.
In a 30-minute press conference the day after the break-in, Lake claimed that the only reason Hobbs accused her was that she was losing in the polls.
“Guys, we’re going to do a tutorial on how fake bogus, defamatory news is made,” Lake told a gauntlet of legacy media outlets in Phoenix.
“We know the world is watching us.”
Lake said while meeting with police officers and firefighters, “my desperate opponent, who is sinking like a lead weight in water, pulled a stunt, and you guys fell for it. She put out a defamatory statement, and you all ran with it.”
“You didn’t do your journalistic duty. It was malpractice in journalism like I’ve never seen before. And it was an effort, I believe, to influence this election.”
2020 Census Errors Affect Elections, Aid Blue States, Hurt Red States
Republican-leaning states have been shortchanged at least three congressional seats and electoral college votes because their population was undercounted in the 2020 census. Democrat-leaning states received at least one extra seat and vote due to census overcounts and kept at least two they should have lost, according to an analysis of Census Bureau’s post-census survey.
The bureau acknowledged the errors but said there’s no way to correct them until the next census in 2030.
FBI Asks Court for 66 Years to Release Information From Seth Rich’s Computer
The FBI is asking a U.S. court to reverse its order that it produce information from Seth Rich’s laptop computer.
If the court does not, the bureau wants 66 years to produce the information.
Rich was a Democratic National Committee staffer when he was killed on a street in Washington in mid-2016. No person has ever been arrested in connection to the murder.
U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant, an Obama appointee, ruled in September that the bureau must hand over information from the computer to Brian Huddleston, a Texas man who filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for the info.
The FBI’s assertion that the privacy interest Rich’s family members hold outweighed the public interest was rejected by Mazzant, who noted the bureau cited no relevant case law supporting the argument.
But the ruling was erroneous, U.S. lawyers said in a new filing.
Outlets Falsely Report Clarence Thomas Dined With Ron DeSantis Day Before Striking Down Roe v. Wade
Several news outlets falsely reported that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas had lunch with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis one day before he helped strike down Roe v. Wade.
Raw Story and the Independent published the reports, citing emails obtained by the American Oversight group.
The outlets said the emails showed Thomas, a George H.W. Bush appointee, and DeSantis, a Republican, dined on June 23, one day before Thomas and other justices struck down Roe v. Wade in their decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
But the emails actually showed Thomas and DeSantis met for lunch in 2021.
Raw Story corrected its story.
AOC Criticizes Biden for Excluding Illegal Migrants in Marijuana Pardon
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) has faulted President Joe Biden for not including undocumented immigrants in his blanket pardon he announced in early October for people convicted of possessing marijuana on a federal level.
The New York lawmaker made the comments during an episode of “Pod Save America” that came out on Oct. 25. Her comments were part of a discussion on how the Democrat Party has not done enough to win over Latino voters.
“I can at least say with Latino voters, we’ve never tried as a party. The Democratic Party has not tried in terms of Latino electorates,” she said.
She added,” We really need to step up both in our efforts on campaign, but also in our efforts in governance.”
As an example, Ocasio-Cortez pointed out how the Dream Act has not been passed into law.
The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, is legislation that would allow illegal immigrants, who came to the United States as minors, a chance to earn lawful permanent residence and eventually naturalized citizenship.
She went on to criticize Biden’s pardon, which has since drawn mixed responses from Congress.
“And even recently with President Biden’s marijuana executive order, I very much applaud that he went there, but he exempted people who were convicted if they were convicted while they were undocumented,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
Judge Dismisses Charge Against Former DEA Agent Who Trespassed at Capitol on Jan. 6
A federal judge has dismissed a charge against a former Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent who was still working for the administration when he went onto U.S. Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, 2021.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump appointee, on Oct. 27 tossed a charge of lying to the government for Mark Ibrahim, a former DEA agent.
The charge stated that Ibrahim “did willfully and knowingly make materially false, fictitious, and fraudulent statements and representations in a criminal matter in the District of Columbia” by telling a government agent that he didn’t knowingly expose his firearm and DEA badge while on Capitol grounds.
He said he had his badge and firearm on his person on Jan. 6, 2021, but they were “never exposed,” saying “not that I know of,” according to a partial transcript of the interview released by Ibrahim’s lawyer.
7 Biden-Harris quotes that will come back to haunt them in midterm elections
Over the past two years, Americans have watched the Democrat Party and their allies on the left become radicalized right before their eyes.
Whether it was the Defund the Police movement, the economy-killing Green New Deal, the insane open border policy, or the brutally divisive rhetoric, time and time again President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have done the bidding of radical far left-wing forces that have a vice grip on today’s Democrats.
Now, less than three weeks before the 2022 midterm elections and with Democratic prospects for holding onto their razor-thin majorities in Congress grimmer than ever, polls are indicating that Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and their comrades on the left are about to face their day of reckoning.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Fuel Company Issues Diesel Shortage Warning, Says US ‘Rapidly Devolving’
A major fuel supply company has issued an alert about diesel fuel shortages in several Southeastern U.S. states.
States that are expected to experience shortages include Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, and South Carolina, Mansfield Energy said in an alert last week. The company also noted “extremely high prices in the Northeast.”
Alternative Economies: The Defense Against Technocracy?
Technocracy intends to destroy capitalism and free market economics, replacing it with a resource-based economic system that obviates private property, insures poverty and dependence upon the scientific dictatorship for survival. States have the power to withdraw from this attack and create alternative free-market alternatives.
Midterm Elections May Offer Last Chance to Avert Economic Disaster: Experts
Amid a continuing rise in inflation, excessive federal spending, and growing public alarm about the state of the economy, the Nov. 8 midterm elections may represent one of the last opportunities to attain a legislative majority that’s willing and able to reverse the catastrophic fiscal policies pushing the country toward an implosion similar to the debt crisis that befell Greece in 2009, according to one economic expert.
‘I Chose God’: Hobby Lobby CEO Gives Away Ownership of the Company Citing Faith Over Wealth
The 80-year-old billionaire CEO of the retail franchise Hobby Lobby, David Green, has made headlines for his decision to give away ownership of the company. Rather than continue as a business owner, Green wishes to be a “steward for God.”
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
New US Chip Ban Could Cripple Chinese Development of AI and Supercomputers
As every aspect of modern life becomes digitized, not just the economies of nations but their sovereign influence will increasingly rely on the command of technology, with supercomputers being a centerpiece of the competition.
On Oct. 7, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced sweeping new export controls that will cut China off from cutting-edge chipmaking equipment and certain advanced semiconductor chips made with U.S. technologies, regardless of whether the chips were manufactured in the United States or not.
The move is Washington’s latest effort to hamstring China’s military modernization and the development of its supercomputers.
HEALTH
Top Five Habits for a Healthier Life
In my interview on “The Joe Cohen Show,” I discussed several fundamental health principles that virtually everyone can integrate into their lives to achieve better health
Even small changes add up to meaningful health improvements over time, especially when you know where to focus your energy
Eliminating vegetable/seed oils from your diet and getting more sun exposure top my list of healthy habits
Embracing time restricted eating, which means limiting your eating window to six to eight hours per day, is also important
Exercise and protecting yourself from electromagnetic fields round out my five top habits for a healthier life
How to Assess Your Biochemical Individuality
Functional genomics testing looks at the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs, pronounced “snips”) of genes
The urine organic acid test (OAT) can provide valuable insight into your biochemical individuality, and combined with genomics testing can help chart a course for healing complex, chronic health problems
G6PD insufficiency, the most common enzyme insufficiency in the world, can result in a significant loss of NADPH, thereby increasing inflammation and decreasing mitochondrial function
Elevated oxalate is a common cause of chronic pain and fibromyalgia. One way to lower your oxalate level is to take Epsom salt baths, as the sulfate will displace the oxalates
If you suspect oxalates are part of your health problems, combining high-oxalate food with calcium-rich foods or a calcium supplement will prevent the oxalate from causing a problem by binding to the calcium in your digestive tract
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 15,000 die every year from Clostridium difficile, a bacterium that may trigger watery diarrhea, fever, dehydration and kidney failure. It is evolving to a superbug, and has adapted to sugars commonly found in a Western diet. It also produces spores capable of resisting disinfectants
Antibiotics are what has turned this minor player, accounting for up to 3% of bacteria in normal flora, to a major health concern; when antibiotics disrupt the normal flora, harmful bacteria such as C. diff are able to thrive and spread in the environment
Although fecal transplants are new to Western medicine, they were reportedly being used as far back as 1,700 years ago. Colonoscopies have been the most successful means of using the treatment, but they come with risks; one study compared administration using capsules or colonoscopy and found a 96.2% prevention of recurrence in both groups
Fecal transplants should only be done by a trained team as the donor stool must be free of disease; even under investigational conditions lethal mistakes have been made
→ Power Mall Product of Recommendation: Paratrex Harmful Organism Cleanse
Paratrex is a unique formula designed to help create an environment that’s hostile to invading organisms while promoting a natural cleansing of your body. It’s made with a blend of herbs and other all-natural ingredients, and it’s enhanced with fulvic acid to promote absorption. If unwanted, internal guests are affecting your health, Paratrex can help bring it all back in balance.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
Biden Falsely Claims Gasoline Prices Were ‘Over $5’ When He Took Office
President Joe Biden incorrectly claimed on Thursday that the price of gasoline was over $5 a gallon when he entered the White House, while the then-average price of regular gasoline was just $2.39.
“Today, the most common price of gas in America is $3.39—down from over $5 when I took office,” Biden said during a Thursday speech on the CHIPS and Science Act in Syracuse, New York, claiming declining gas prices are adding up to real savings for families. “We need to keep making that progress by getting energy companies to bring down the price of a gallon of gas to reflect the cost of paying for a barrel of oil,” the president added.
The world’s largest active volcano, Mauna Loa, on the Big Island of Hawaii has displayed an increase in seismic activity in recent months, prompting officials to warn residents of a potential eruption.
Mauna Loa is among the world’s most active volcanoes, having erupted 33 times since 1843, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
During the last eruption in 1984, lava flowed down its eastern flank before coming to an abrupt stop just 4.5 miles (7.2 kilometers) short of Hilo, the most populous town on the island.
While scientists say an eruption isn’t imminent, they remain alert due to a recent spike in earthquakes at the summit of the volcano, which makes up 51 percent of the island’s landmass, meaning it can be difficult to predict which areas might be impacted by a potential eruption.
GARDENING, FARMING & HOMESTEADING
https://heavensharvest.com
COVID RELATED NEWS
Unholy Alliance — Faith Leaders Pushing Pharma Fraud
A key component of the campaign to entice people into taking the experimental COVID shots has been to enlist “trusted messengers,” from social media influencers and celebrities to medical doctors and faith leaders. The U.S. government has established formal collaborations with faith-based organizations for the sole purpose of pushing the government’s narrative
According to Walmart, many of the company’s most successful vaccination clinics have been held after Sunday services. Facebook ads in which faith leaders promoted the COVID jabs also outperformed other “trusted messengers,” including health care providers
Evangelical pastors, theologians and seminary heads across the U.S. followed the lead of Dr. Francis Collins, a self-proclaimed Christian and the former head of the National Institutes of Health, who leveraged his relationships with church leaders to convince Christians that submitting to lockdowns and COVID jab mandates was a matter of obedience to God
A number of faith leaders have insisted that Jesus himself would get the jab, were he here today. But not once did Jesus advise people to rely on the tools — or word — of man. Instead, he warned of a future time when even the elect will fall prey to a grand deception
Hindsight, scientific evidence and statistical data allow us to conclude that many faith leaders led their flocks astray. The COVID shot does not protect you from infection and death, nor does it protect anyone else. It was all a lie, and excess death rates skyrocketed after the rollout of the COVID shots
COVID Reset: The Day of Reckoning Is Coming
Despite two-and-a-half years of experimental lockdowns that showed no discernable benefit, they’re not about to let go of the pandemic anytime soon. And why would they, when it’s the perfect excuse to usher in this? Here’s how to prepare yourself for the upcoming onslaught.
New Neurologic Side Effects From the COVID-19 Vaccinations
A 56-year-old roofing contractor and friend of the family had his first ever seizure while working on the rooftop of a hotel building. His coworker used all his might in a harrowing rescue maneuver to keep the helpless seizing man from falling further over the edge to his death many stories below.
As a result of this neurological event, the contractor had a prolonged severe concussion, broken ribs, and underwent countless x-rays and scans during a hospitalization and follow-up clinic visits. He went on temporary disability and his small business was shut down. Months later he had difficulty controlling high blood pressure and felt weak and dizzy. After an exhaustive diagnostic evaluation there was no explanation for the seizure.
He reached out to ask, “could this have been caused by my COVID-19 vaccine?” Fan and coworkers from Taiwan reported a 22-year-old man who had his first seizure six days after the second Moderna shot.
Judicial Watch announced today it received 43 pages of heavily redacted records from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding the COVID-19 booster vaccine.
Judicial Watch obtained the records in response to a February 2022 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) that was filed after HHS failed to respond to a September 3, 2021, FOIA request for records of communication from the former director and deputy director of the FDA’s Office of Vaccines Research and Review, Dr. Marion Gruber and Dr. Philip Krause, (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (No. 1:22-cv-00293)).
Hurt by an mRNA Injection? Doctor Offers a Way to Help
Mainstream media outlets continue to steadfastly naysay or refuse to acknowledge the unprecedented number of people who have been hurt by COVID-19 injections. Despite what is beginning to seem like willful blindness, there is little doubt that these injections are causing some people harm.
According to peer-reviewed scientific literature, COVID-19 injections have a myriad of serious side effects, some of which are lethal. Recent research has shown an elevated risk of sometimes very serious heart problems, neurological disorders, facial paralysis, and even psychosis. In a peer-reviewed study published in August, Italian microscopists found that 94 percent of vaccinated people who were being seen for a health issue presented with abnormal blood.
Natural Ways to Increase Autophagy and Detox Spike Proteins After COVID Infection, Vaccination
At least 10 to 30 percent of individuals infected by SARS-CoV-2 have experienced post-COVID syndrome (also known as long-hauler syndrome, or long COVID). In the United States, 18 to 19 percent (nearly 1 in 5) of adults who reported ever having had COVID-19 currently have symptoms of long COVID, defined as symptoms lasting three or more months that were not present prior to having COVID-19.
“Post-COVID-vaccine syndrome,” a newly coined term by Dr. Paul Marik, is defined as the temporal correlation between receiving a COVID-19 vaccine and the beginning or worsening of clinical manifestations which are sufficient to diagnose a COVID-19 vaccine-induced injury when symptoms cannot be explained by other concurrent causes.
Both types of diseases have contributed to the fact that 8 percent (nearly 1 in 13) of U.S. adults, regardless of prior COVID-19 infection, currently have post-COVID-like conditions.
EXCLUSIVE: CDC Officials Told They Spread Misinformation but Still Didn’t Issue Correction: Emails
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officials were alerted that they spread misinformation about child COVID-19 deaths but still did not issue corrections, according to emails obtained by The Epoch Times.
Drs. Katherine Fleming-Dutra and Sara Oliver were told within days of presenting to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel, in June that statistics from a preprint study they shared were wrong, the emails show. But after internal discussion about how to respond, neither the CDC nor the officials corrected the false information.
Fleming-Dutra and Oliver both referenced the study, which has not been peer reviewed, while the CDC’s advisers weighed whether to recommend the agency grant emergency authorization for COVID-19 vaccines for babies and toddlers.
The committee ultimately recommended the CDC authorize Pfizer and Moderna shots for children as young as 6 months of age and the CDC quickly accepted the recommendation.
A week later, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky appeared to cite the false statistics while urging parents to get their children vaccinated, despite no evidence the vaccines protect against severe illness and despite the clinical trials returning substandard or unreliable results for shielding against infection.
CANCEL CULTURE
Facebook Has Ex-CIA Agents Censoring You
Many of the people in charge of moderating content at Facebook have been recruited from the government, including the Central Intelligence Agency, FBI and Department of Defense
So many ex-government workers are now employed by Facebook that’s it’s difficult to view Meta as a private company instead of a government partner, intent on silencing anyone who speaks out against the official narrative
In January 1977, Washington Post reporter Carl Bernstein’s 25,000-word article was published in Rolling Stone, detailing the close relationship between the CIA and the press
The program was known as Operation Mockingbird and involved the CIA paying hundreds of journalists to write fake stories and spread propaganda instead of real news
Musk Says Accounts Suspended for ‘Minor’ Reasons Will Be ‘Freed From Twitter Jail’
Elon Musk, Twitter Inc.’s new boss and Tesla CEO, revealed on Friday that people whose accounts were suspended for “minor and dubious reasons” will be reinstated.
“Anyone suspended for minor and dubious reasons will be freed from Twitter jail,” Musk posted Friday evening. He did not disclose when suspended accounts might be reinstated.
The billionaire’s message came as a response to Mikhaila Peterson, a Canadian-born podcaster who hosts experts on her show, “The Mikhaila Peterson Podcast,” to discuss a variety of topics that are often shied away from
Elon Musk Mocks Twitter’s Human Resources Bots After Getting ‘Management 101’ Message
New Twitter owner Elon Musk appeared to mock his company’s human resource bots after receiving a “management 101” notice.
Musk, who acquired the social media platform for $44 billion last week, posted what he said was an autogenerated message to him and mocked it.
“Hey Elon,” the automated message began. “It’s time to start Managing @Twitter (M101)!”
It added: “M101 covers what it means to be a good manager at Twitter by showing you how to create opportunities for impact, help your Tweeps grow their careers, and demonstrate care for your team.” The message added that Musk, who owns Twitter, has 30 days to complete the “mandatory course.”
“Just received this email from Twitter,” Musk wrote early on Sunday. “This is an actual, real email that was autogenerated.”
The Supreme Court Should Protect Online Editorial Rights
In May of last year, Florida enacted a law imposing severe restrictions on the editorial freedom of large social media platforms, ostensibly in an effort to stop “censorship” of conservative viewpoints. The law imposes both content moderation restrictions and transparency requirements. The content moderation restrictions require platforms to host and display any and all posts by registered political candidates and “journalistic enterprises,” ban platforms from changing how they moderate more than once every thirty days, and allow platforms to be sued for up to $100,000 for each post they moderate “inconsistently.” The transparency requirements compel disclosure of private editorial processes, including detailed definitions platforms use to identify offensive content and spam.
NetChoice, a trade association of online businesses, brought a First Amendment suit in federal court against Florida, arguing that the law infringes on private platforms’ right to choose the content they host. The district court ruled in favor of NetChoice and preliminarily enjoined the entirety of the law. Florida appealed to the Eleventh Circuit (where Cato previously filed in support of NetChoice). The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court’s injunction on the law’s content moderation restrictions but reversed it on the transparency requirements. Florida then filed a petition to the Supreme Court, asking it to take up the case and partially reverse the Eleventh Circuit’s judgment so that the entirety of the law may go into effect. NetChoice has now filed a cross‐petition to the Supreme Court, asking the Court to take the case and reverse a different part of the Eleventh Circuit’s judgment so that the entirety of the law is blocked from going into effect. Cato has filed an amicus brief in support of NetChoice’s cross‐petition.
In our brief, we explain that the First Amendment explicitly prohibits the government from censoring private speech and media. And as the Eleventh Circuit noted, the fact that the First Amendment’s fundamental guarantees cannot be tossed aside for short‐term, partisan ends “would be too obvious to mention if it weren’t so often lost or obscured in political rhetoric.” However, from Florida to California, politicians of all stripes have introduced over 100 bills in the last year to control what content gets shared on the internet. Giving the government the power to compel, suppress, or evaluate speech does not combat censorship; it is the very definition of censorship—and precisely what the First Amendment was written to prevent.
Florida’s law would chill platforms’ protected speech, undermine their right to exclude, and violate the privacy interest that social media platforms have in their editorial source data. The law’s disclosure requirements would hand malicious actors a blueprint to circumvent website security measures, inviting an influx of spam and vile content. And the law’s content moderation restrictions would give journalistic enterprises and registered political candidates carte blanche to post threats, racial slurs, and other vile content—content that would surely fall beyond Florida’s understanding of suppressed “conservative” viewpoints.
The Fifth Circuit (where Cato also filed in support of NetChoice) recently upheld a substantially similar Texas law regulating social media. That decision conflicts with part of the Eleventh Circuit’s holding, creating disagreement among lower courts about the extent of First Amendment protection for online speech. Without clarification from the Supreme Court, states will usher in a new era of overweening regulation, creating a domestic “splinternet” where information available to users will become regionally divided based on which content local politicians prefer. To prevent the First Amendment from becoming a hollow guarantee in the digital age, the Supreme Court should grant review and strike down all of the Florida law.
GOOD NEWS
Alleged Intruder Chases Resident, Gets Shot Dead
An alleged home intruder in Alexandria, Louisiana, chased a resident Saturday morning before the intended target shot him dead.
ICYMI
PDF Download Halloween-Tis the Season to Be Evil by William Schnoebelen (past Power Hour Guest)
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