I said now what would you say
Now we're calling you a radical
A liberal, oh fanatical, criminal
Oh won't you sign up your name
We'd like to feel you're acceptable
Respectable, oh presentable, a vegetable!
Monday, December 20, 2021
Pentagon issues rules aimed at stopping rise of extremism
Remember Kids, One Way To Hide Your Extremism Is Never To Arrive At A Meeting Or Work On Time...It's A Dead Giveaway
WASHINGTON — Warning that extremism in the ranks is increasing, Pentagon officials are issuing detailed new rules prohibiting service members from actively engaging in extremist activities. The new guidelines come nearly a year after some current and former service members participated in the riot at the U.S. Capitol, triggering a broad department review.
Senior defense officials tell The Associated Press that fewer than 100 military members are known to have been involved in substantiated cases of extremist activity in the past year, but they warn that the number may grow given recent spikes in domestic violent extremism, particularly among veterans.
Officials said the new policy doesn’t largely change what is prohibited, but is more of an effort to make sure troops are clear on what they can and can’t do, while still protecting their First Amendment free speech rights. And for the first time, it is far more specific about social media.
The new policy lays out in detail the banned activities, which range from advocating terrorism or supporting the overthrow of the government to fundraising or rallying on behalf of an extremist group or “liking” or reposting extremist views on social media. The rules also specify that commanders must determine two things in order for someone to be held accountable: that the action was an extremist activity, as defined in the rules, and that the service member “actively participated” in that prohibited activity.
Previous policies banned extremist activities but didn’t go into such great detail, and also did not specify the two step process to determine someone accountable.
What was wrong yesterday is still wrong today, said one senior defense official. But several officials said that as a study group spoke with service members this year they found that many wanted clearer definitions of what was not allowed. The officials spoke about the new rules on condition of anonymity because they have not yet been made public.
The military has long been aware of small numbers of white supremacists and other extremists among the troops. But Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other leaders launched a broader campaign to root out extremism in the force after it became clear that military veterans and some current service members were present at the Jan. 6 insurrection.
The risk of extremism in the military can be more dangerous because many service members have access to classified information about sensitive military operations or other national security information that could help adversaries. And extremist groups routinely recruit former and current service members because of their familiarity with weapons and combat tactics.
Officials said that while the substantiated cases may be small, compared to the size of the military, which includes more than 2 million active duty and reserve troops. The number...
Senior defense officials tell The Associated Press that fewer than 100 military members are known to have been involved in substantiated cases of extremist activity in the past year, but they warn that the number may grow given recent spikes in domestic violent extremism, particularly among veterans.
Officials said the new policy doesn’t largely change what is prohibited, but is more of an effort to make sure troops are clear on what they can and can’t do, while still protecting their First Amendment free speech rights. And for the first time, it is far more specific about social media.
The new policy lays out in detail the banned activities, which range from advocating terrorism or supporting the overthrow of the government to fundraising or rallying on behalf of an extremist group or “liking” or reposting extremist views on social media. The rules also specify that commanders must determine two things in order for someone to be held accountable: that the action was an extremist activity, as defined in the rules, and that the service member “actively participated” in that prohibited activity.
Previous policies banned extremist activities but didn’t go into such great detail, and also did not specify the two step process to determine someone accountable.
What was wrong yesterday is still wrong today, said one senior defense official. But several officials said that as a study group spoke with service members this year they found that many wanted clearer definitions of what was not allowed. The officials spoke about the new rules on condition of anonymity because they have not yet been made public.
The military has long been aware of small numbers of white supremacists and other extremists among the troops. But Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other leaders launched a broader campaign to root out extremism in the force after it became clear that military veterans and some current service members were present at the Jan. 6 insurrection.
The risk of extremism in the military can be more dangerous because many service members have access to classified information about sensitive military operations or other national security information that could help adversaries. And extremist groups routinely recruit former and current service members because of their familiarity with weapons and combat tactics.
Officials said that while the substantiated cases may be small, compared to the size of the military, which includes more than 2 million active duty and reserve troops. The number...
Like it never even happened: Tennis star Peng Shuai denies ever accusing anyone of sexual assault
Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai recanted on Sunday her accusation that a retired Communist Party official sexually assaulted her, denying that she ever claimed anyone forced her to have sex against her will.
In an “exclusive” interview with Singaporean media outlet Lianhe Zaobao, Peng Shuai asserted that she had “never said or written that anyone sexually assaulted” her.
“I have to clearly stress this point,” she declared in the video that was translated originally by Reuters.
The tennis star found herself splashed across international headlines in November after she wrote a 1,600-word post on Chinese social media platform Weibo on Nov. 2 that charged Chinese former Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli with forcing her to have sex with him despite her repeatedly telling him no three years ago following a round of tennis. In her post, she also alleged that Zhang’s wife guarded the door as he assaulted her.
The post recounts how Zhang and his wife allegedly took Peng to their home where the assault occurred.
“I have no proof, and it would be impossible for me to keep any evidence,” the post stated. “You denied everything afterward (…) That afternoon I originally did not consent and cried the whole time.”
Her post was taken down within 30 minutes of being aired on the social media website. Peng Shuai, 35, then mysteriously disappeared from social media and from public view for two to three weeks. The Chinese state-controlled media imposed an apparent blackout on the matter and rumors swirled concerning the fate of the tennis star.
She now claims that the post was a “private matter” and alleges that people “have many misunderstandings” about it.
During the whole sordid affair that the Chinese did their best to silence and cover up, Peng did two video calls with the International Olympic Committee where she assured them of her well-being.
Peng Shuai’s limited appearances occurred after the...
“I have no proof, and it would be impossible for me to keep any evidence,” the post stated. “You denied everything afterward (…) That afternoon I originally did not consent and cried the whole time.”
Her post was taken down within 30 minutes of being aired on the social media website. Peng Shuai, 35, then mysteriously disappeared from social media and from public view for two to three weeks. The Chinese state-controlled media imposed an apparent blackout on the matter and rumors swirled concerning the fate of the tennis star.
She now claims that the post was a “private matter” and alleges that people “have many misunderstandings” about it.
During the whole sordid affair that the Chinese did their best to silence and cover up, Peng did two video calls with the International Olympic Committee where she assured them of her well-being.
Peng Shuai’s limited appearances occurred after the...
Who Poses the Real Threat to Democracy?
The long running campaign to paint Republicans as a threat to democracy has backfired.
Approximately a week after voters shocked Democrats by electing Donald Trump as president, Democratic donors and high-ranking officials met to discuss “taking back power,” from Trump. As noted by Politico, “if the agenda is any indication, liberals plan full-on trench warfare against Trump from Day One.” The attendees included House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. In mid-December the speaker’s daughter, Christine Pelosi, one of the electors appointed to cast a vote in the Electoral College, helped launch one of the most audacious efforts to reverse an American presidential election in history. She and many of her co-conspirators had a plan to defeat Trump by flipping the electors who performed the little-noticed but crucial task of representing actual voters to the Electoral College.
Christine Pelosi and her co-conspirators wrote the director of national intelligence to demand a “briefing” on the “intelligence” supposedly showing collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. She wrote,
The Electors require to know from the intelligence community whether there are ongoing investigations into ties between Donald Trump, his campaign or associates, and Russian government interference in the election, the scope of those investigations, how far those investigations may have reached, and who was involved in those investigations. We further require a briefing on all investigative findings, as these matters directly impact the core factors in our deliberations of whether Mr. Trump is fit to serve as President of the United States.
We know now that Pelosi was referring to the Steele dossier, the original source of the Russia collusion hoax. Steele wrote it while in the pay of Hillary Clinton herself. She commissioned it to smear Donald Trump with a whispering campaign meant to distract from her own legal problems and kneecap her political rival. The Steele dossier was a work of fiction and a fraud. Although the Pelosi plan did not influence the final outcome in the Electoral College, it did result in two Trump electors disregarding thousands of lawfully-cast ballots to substitute their own judgment.
Last month, the Washington Post finally acknowledged the failure of the long running campaign to paint Republicans as a threat to democracy. Like so many other political messages, it was carried out by multiple supposedly independent news outlets. Business Insider recently wrote a headline typical of the genre, “The GOP has proven to be an even greater threat to democracy than Trump in 2021.” What’s really being said is that the very existence of a party in opposition to the Democrats “threatens democracy.”
Yes, we could be so much more democratic if we had only one party like that Jeffersonian paradise in the People’s Republic of Korea. Business Insider went on to repeat verbatim the official talking points justifying a one-party regime.
But are Republicans actually seeking to shut down democracy? No. Instead the article equates opposition to the highly partisan election-related legislation now pending in Congress with opposition to “saving” democracy from the bogeyman of “voter suppression.” Opposition to the bill, in the logic of the Business Insider author, is exactly the same as opposition to democracy itself. Neat trick.
The Heritage Foundation, which maintains a database recording more than 1,000 incidents of confirmed voter fraud, has challenged the central claim of this pending legislation, i.e. that it will “save democracy.” Instead, Heritage argues, “H.R. 1 is an 800-page monstrosity that would usurp the role of the states. It would not only eliminate basic safety protocols, but mandate new, reckless rules and procedures.” These new procedures include a provision that would...
Photos: Contractor Who Was Building Trump's Wall Officially Builds 1st Section of Border Wall for Texas
Even though the Biden administration halted construction of the border wall in January, Texas decided to take matters into its own hands.
Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin shared photos of the project in a Twitter thread on Friday showing the progress made in the effort ordered by Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.
Melugin reported that the state is using the same contractor that the Trump administration used, which is good news for that company.
The goal is to fill “gaps” in the Starr County region of the Rio Grande Valley, where migrants are constantly flowing through.
In addition, the construction is taking place on state land using state funds, which would make it extremely difficult for the federal government to pursue action against Texas.
But the federal government has already made its disapproval clear, as it has refused to sell the steel that is quite literally sitting at the border, since it was meant to be used for a wall that was under construction during former President Donald Trump’s administration, Melugin reported.
Right now, it is only 1.7 miles long, but it is a crucial starting point for the state’s self-sufficient project.
Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush told “The Donlon Report” on NewsNation on Thursday about the critical decision to secure the border without...
Build Back Bankrupt Turns Into Another Major Failure For Joe Biden And Nancy Pelosi
Appearing on ‘Fox News Sunday,’ Sen. Joe Manchin said he could not support President Biden and Nancy Pelosi’s multi-trillion-dollar spending plan, tanking Build Back Bankrupt.
In “The Hollow Men,” poet T. S. Eliot wrote that the world would end not with a bang but a whimper. To much of the left, their world (for the time being, anyway) ended Sunday morning on a Fox News soundstage.
Appearing on “Fox News Sunday,” Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, indicated he could not support the multi-trillion-dollar spending plan President Biden and congressional Democrats had spent the second half of this year working to enact.
“I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation. I just can’t. I’ve tried everything humanly possible. I can’t get there….This is a no on this legislation. I have tried everything I know to do,” Manchin said.
Procedurally, Manchin’s comments carry no official weight. Democrats could still work to rewrite the legislation to meet his concerns and resurrect its chances for passage, much as they did with Obamacare following the shock election of Republican Scott Brown to Massachusetts’ U.S. Senate seat in January 2010.
But tonally, it feels like the end of the road, with Manchin speaking in a resigned, even deflated tone, much more in sorrow than in anger. If he could not bring himself to support the legislation after nearly six months of negotiations and deliberations, it seems unlikely that anyone or anything could get him to...
The 90 Miles Mystery Video: Nyctophilia Edition #873
Before You Click On The "Read More" Link,
Please Only Do So If You Are Over 21 Years Old.
If You are Easily Upset, Triggered Or Offended, This Is Not The Place For You.
Please Leave Silently Into The Night......
The 90 Miles Mystery Box: Episode #1573
You have come across a mystery box. But what is inside?
It could be literally anything from the serene to the horrific,
from the beautiful to the repugnant,
from the mysterious to the familiar.
If you decide to open it, you could be disappointed,
you could be inspired, you could be appalled.
This is not for the faint of heart or the easily offended.
You have been warned.
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