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beardedmrbean · 5 months

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Hard times have arrived at The Washington Post.

In a memo circulated among the paper's staff and obtained by Semafor media reporter Max Tani, company CEO Patty Stonesifer warned that although 120 employees have already accepted buyout packages, a further 120 must agree to do so, or they will be forced to "implement involuntary layoffs."

"As promised, I will continue to provide updates on the voluntary separation package and where we stand in the process," Stonesifer wrote. "As of today, 120 employees have accepted the package."

"We now have just under two weeks before the December 11 deadline for non-union employees and two and a half weeks before the December 15 deadline for Guild-covered employees," she continued.

In a memo to staff, Washington Post CEO Patty Stonesifer says 120 employees have accepted buyout packages. If the paper doesn't find another 120 people who will accept buyouts in the next two weeks, it will implement layoffs. pic.twitter.com/ztdZwVz5WD — Max Tani (@maxwelltani) November 28, 2023

Stonesifer went on to explain that although it was a "challenging time" for the company, the decision had been taken to "restore The Post's financial health."

“We have made the decision, if we fall short of this goal, to implement involuntary layoffs in those areas where we have already identified that positions do not need to be replaced, where work can be reassigned more efficiently or where we can otherwise achieve cost savings," she wrote.

“These layoffs would offer significantly less generous benefits than the voluntary package and will be consistent with prior layoff packages at The Post,” she continued.

The decision to lay off hundreds of workers was first announced last month and led to a furious reaction from the Washington News Guild.

In a statement, the Guild pointed out how the company was owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who they identified as "one of the richest people in the world."

"We are infuriated about this decision and concerned for our dedicated, brilliant colleagues," the Guild wrote at the time. "Today’s announcement comes after at least 38 people were laid off over the last year.

"Hard-working Post employees are going to lose their jobs because of a litany of poor business decisions at the top of our company," it continued.

"We cannot comprehend how The Post, owned by one of the richest people in the world, has decided to foist the consequences of its incoherent business plan and irresponsibly rapid expansion onto the hardworking people who make this company run."

We cannot comprehend how The Post, owned by one of the richest people in the world, has decided to foist the consequences of its incoherent business plan and irresponsibly rapid expansion onto the hardworking people who make this company run. — Washington Post Guild (@PostGuild) October 10, 2023

Media reports have provided a range of explanations for the company's poor financial health. An article by The New York Times in July cited sources within the company as saying that the Post is expected to lose around $100 million in 2023.

Reasons for this included a decline in ad revenue, as well as a fall in digital subscribers, which have reportedly fallen from 3 million in 2020 to 2.5 million as of this year.

Meanwhile, declining newspaper circulation continues to affect vast swathes of the legacy media industry.

According to recent data from Pew Research, in 2022 the "estimated total U.S. daily newspaper circulation (print and digital combined) was 20.9 million for both weekday and Sunday, down 8 percent and 10 percent respectively from 2021."

#nunyas news #i wonder how much of this is a direct result of them #fortifying the 2020 election #all these media companies and what not #colluded to influence the election #after they made trump their bread and butter #be interesting if they start to go easy on him for the next year

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deadpresidents · 9 months

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Russian archival records obtained for this book show that [Joseph] Stalin colluded with his favorited U.S. candidate in 1948, Henry Wallace, [Franklin D.] Roosevelt’s Soviet-friendly wartime Vice President.

The nature of Wallace’s relationship with the Kremlin has long been a subject of speculation. Soviet intelligence is known to have unimaginatively code-named the Vice President CAPTAIN’S DEPUTY during the war. But no evidence has ever emerged that Wallace was recruited as a Soviet agent. He was, however, we can now discern, a Soviet tool. He sincerely believed that “peaceful coexistence” between the Soviet Union and the United States not only could be achieved, but was essential for world peace. All the while, he looked away from (and naively followed Soviet propaganda denying) the existence of Stalin’s mass forced labor and terror programs. According to [President Harry S.] Truman’s counsel Clark Clifford: “It was never clear to me how aware he [Wallace] was of the uses to which the Communist Party was putting him, but whether he knew it or not, he was following the communist line, serving communist ends, and betraying those Americans who supported him as a serious alternative to the two main candidates [in 1948].” Wallace’s naivete about Soviet communism turned him into an asset for Stalin, if not a recruited Soviet agent.

Wallace decided to run in the 1948 U.S. election as the Progressive Party nominee. In April and May that year, he secretly liaised with Stalin about public policies that would be advantageous for the Soviet Union, coordinating his public statements with the dictator. Wallace secretly met with the youthful Soviet ambassador to the UN in New York, Andrei Gromyko, who dispatched the candidate’s messages to the Soviet foreign minister, [Vyacheslav] Molotov, and to Stalin himself. In his memoirs, Gromyko admitted to meeting Wallace, but downplayed the meeting’s significance, suggesting that after talking with him he considered that Wallace had lost contact with the pulse of American life. Archival documents in Moscow reveal that in fact Stalin took Wallace’s position and candidacy seriously, approving his public positions, and answering questions that the former Vice President put to him, which Stalin annotated in his distinctive pencil. Their alignment produced a published open letter from Wallace to Stalin, vetted by the Soviet leader in advance, to which Stalin then publicly replied, all as agreed between the two men.

Wallace’s Presidential election bid in November 1948 dismally failed; he ended up getting barely 2 percent of the vote, while Truman, to his and the nation’s surprise, won a second term. He defeated New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey in one of the greatest upsets in U.S. Presidential history. Ironically, the staff of Wallace’s failed 1948 campaign included none other than the Soviet atom spy Ted Hall. Following his unsuccessful White House run, Wallace had a crisis of faith in his pro-Stalinism. This may have been caused by his realization that Stalin had used and discarded him after the election. Stalin had gotten what he wanted from Wallace. In 1952, Wallace published an article, “Where I Was Wrong,” describing “Russian Communism” as “utterly evil.” The Kremlin and its intelligence services nevertheless learned an important strategic lesson for later in the Cold War: that it could use the freedoms inherent within American electoral campaigns to influence candidates favorable to the Soviet Union.

-- From Spies: The Epic Intelligence War Between East and West by Calder Walton, Simon & Schuster, 2023 (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO)

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mariacallous · 5 months

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Taylor Swift remains inescapable. Tales of her reign are legion, as are her fans. Next to Beyoncé, her power and influence have reached heights so unbridled it’s almost unfathomable. Her Eras Tour made nearly a billion dollars in 2023, and the concert film of that tour has brought in nearly $250 million worldwide. When rumors started swirling in the fall that she was dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, they upended American football. Still, when Time named her Person of the Year, conspiracy theorists saw only one explanation. They allege Swift is a psyop.

If you’ve lived on the internet long enough, you will have heard this kind of thing before. Back in 2016, when she was largely apolitical in her public life, Swift was a hero of the so-called alt-right who some believed was actually red-pilling America to further a racist, conservative agenda. When she piped up about politics in 2018, some people online (somewhat jokingly) theorized she’d been replaced by an NPC. The latest twist? “The regime has plans to weaponize her just in time for 2024,” the @EndWokeness account posted on X Wednesday, adding that if you didn’t find this plausible “you clearly have not been paying attention.”

@EndWokeness has 1.9 million followers, and, as of Monday morning, the post had more than 788,000 views. On Telegram, a QAnon influencer account posted that “we need to wake the next generation up to the occult forces colluding with their favorite celebrities.” Right-wing commentator Jack Posobiec posted on X that “the Taylor Swift girlboss psyop has been fully activated.”

Last week’s Person of the Year honor was also followed by resurfaced allegations that Swift is performing witchcraft to further her success and that the left is using her to influence the 2024 US presidential election. Stephen Miller, a senior adviser during Donald Trump’s presidency, posted a message on X saying that “what’s happening with Taylor Swift is not organic.”

All of this happened the same week WIRED reporter David Gilbert published an investigation into a pro-Russia campaign that used fake Swift quotes in a series of Facebook and X posts attempting to seed anti-Ukraine sentiment, reinforcing—in a totally different way—that celebrity is a powerful tool for manipulation. A few days later, Microsoft researchers revealed a similar effort by an unknown Russian group to alter Cameo videos by celebs like Elijah Wood and Mike Tyson to make it look like they were being critical of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.

Swift exists as a unique example of the intersection of celebrity and politics, and how it operates globally, says Jonathan Dean, a professor of politics at the University of Leeds. “An important feature of culture and politics over the past 10 years, certainly in the UK and the US and I think probably more broadly as well, is that there’s been a significant convergence in the grammar and style and mode, if you like, of pop culture fandom and political citizenship,” he says, referencing the similar ways fandoms and political parties can operate. “Taylor Swift is interesting in that sense because I think she’s a real embodiment of those convergences.”

Simone Driessen, an assistant professor of media and popular culture at Erasmus University Rotterdam, agrees, noting that as the message-spreading of fandom has merged with that of politics, support can be mobilized readily. As Driessen puts it, “fandom(s), particularly the practices of what fans do, can be weaponized.” What’s weird is that to those who believe these claims, Swift has risen to a level where she can be a powerful political pawn—all without her input. (Swift’s rep did not respond to an email seeking comment on whether or not the singer was part of a psyop.)

Well, maybe not entirely without her input. Swift herself knows how to plant seeds. Her lyrics are written to be decoded by listeners. Her fans have their own theories, like those espoused by Gaylors who decode every image and message from Swift through a queer lens, powered by their belief that the singer is trying to signal that she’s in some way into women. (She could be! But also, who cares?) Some people believe she showed up at Kelce’s game against the New York Jets just to alter Google Search results away from her use of private planes.

Swift’s name draws attention, and that’s power. It’s why the State of Israel often tags her in social media posts, and why #SwiftiesForPalestine have been asking for her to speak up about the Israel–Hamas war.

Celebrity has been used by political movements for centuries. Politicians are celebrities. Swifties are simultaneously like every fandom before them, but they’re also unique. By remaining largely apolitical for the first half of her career, her acolytes were able to project whatever values they held onto her. When she finally came out in support of women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and Joe Biden during the past few years, she alienated some and brought others to the fold.

Swift also created a vacuum in which anyone could claim she was an agent for any cause. It’s hard to imagine Swifties believing she said Ukrainians “behave like charlatans,” so the odds that a pro-Russia campaign could successfully weaponize her fame are slim. Where she stands on the 2024 US election may be more indecipherable. Perhaps that is the real psyop.

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1americanconservative · 1 year

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afurioushawk · 10 months

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The reality show that is the House of Representatives has been the craziest shit from Congress I’ve ever seen in my life. In the past seven months, we’ve had:

Starting things off right, the Speaker taking fifteen votes to get elected. The last time it took more than one vote to secure a Speaker was over a hundred years ago. And on the fourteenth vote, Rogers had to be restrained from attacking Gaetz after he voted against McCarthy again when they were all supposed to have been on the same page at that point.

Hyperfocusing on Hunter Biden because the House GOP believes that the deletion of his nonconsenual nudes from Twitter was a move on Joe Biden’s part to influence the 2020 election (despite him not being in office at the time). It’s been nonstop talk about Hunter’s dick pics for months. You haven’t seen Republicans this obsessed with Democratic cock since Clinton’s BJ.

The House GOP pushing to dismantle the FBI and DOJ for “going woke” AKA for not stopping the indictments against 45 and not stopping the upcoming indictments against certain members of Congress.

Gaetz citing a Chinese propaganda newspaper as evidence during a House Armed Services committee hearing about US aid to Ukraine.

The Freedom Caucus voting to tank the world economy, forcing the House Dems to swoop in and save the day (and by extension, McCarthy, since it was his bill).

Santos being indicted on thirteen counts of wire fraud, money laundering, stealing public funds, and lying on federal disclosure forms. And the House GOP have refused to have a vote on whether or not to impeach him because they need his vote.

Higgins roughly manhandling a civilian on tape.

Higgins sending a militia-coded message after 45′s second indictment telling his supporters to take the bridges and prepare for conflict.

The House GOP censuring Schiff for no reason whatsoever except out of retaliation, which backfired on the House GOP because now he’s raking in record-breaking fundraising and poised to win the CA senate seat.

Greene and Boebert getting into a pissing contest because Boebert introduced articles of impeachment against Biden first when Greene had been working for months to do it, culminating in Greene calling Boebert a “little bitch” on the House floor and getting kicked out of the Freedom Caucus for it.

Jordan and Comer backing a “whistleblower” who told them he had evidence that Hunter (and by extension Biden somehow) was involved in accepting bribes from Ukraine only to discover that not only was that not true, but the whistleblower is an unregistered foreign agent from the Chinese government, meaning the House GOP has (allegedly) been protecting and colluding with a spy to undermine the authority of the American president for months.

#this isn't even a comprehensive list #just the highlights

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cksmart-world · 10 months

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SMART BOMB

The Completely Unnecessary News Analysis

By Christopher Smart

July 4, 2023

PRETZEL LOGIC — SUPREME COURT GETS BENT

What if you were on the Supreme Court and were burned-out from all the luxury vacations paid for by billionaires who would never try to influence you. Well, of course, you'd want to sink your teeth into some important legal case that could steer the country toward what the Founders sought: a perfect union for white, male land owners. Alas, such cases are as rare as judicial restraint in the Roberts Court. But what about taking on a case that hasn't happened yet. What if a would-be Colorado web designer worried that at a future time she could be asked by a same-sex couple to make a website for their wedding. Attorneys for the “Christian” web designer argued the First Amendment protects her from doing something she could be asked to do later. In a 6-3 decision the court's conservative majority ruled that Colorado's anti-discrimination act can't force the web designer to exercise speech in a way that she did not want to express herself if in the future some gay people sought her communication skills as the state law outlines if, in fact, any of such circumstances materialized in a way that would keep her from exercising her First Amendment right to discriminate against any group. Yeah, that's the ticket. Originalism. The First Amendment right to discriminate in the future. Gotta love it, baby.

THE CRACKDOWN CRACKDOWN AIN'T NO OXYMORON

It's time to crackdown on people who are cracking down on misinformation. It's the crackdown crackdown to ensure what you get is what you want to hear. GOP lawmakers and righteous right-wingers are going after those horrible conspirators colluding with the government to suppress conservative thought, aka misinformation, inverted oxymorons and bull pucky. Universities, think tanks and private entities that study the spread of disinformation are the targets of what The New York Times calls a “sweeping legal campaign” to undermine the fight against disinformation. But conservatives contend that researchers who study disinformation are squeezing news platforms to discriminate against conservative voices. The House Judiciary Committee, headed up by Jim “tight undies” Jordan, accused them of “censorship of disfavored speech” — including the outcome of the 2020 election. It's so unfair. How are we going to Make America Great Again if there are a bunch of fact-checkers focusing on reality that runs counter to the conservative mindset. How are we going to impeach Joe Biden, Hunter Biden, Jill Biden and Biden's dog Commander if we can't get the great unwashed all riled up with bull pucky. Hang Commander Biden. Hang Commander Biden. Hang Commander Biden.

MAKE AMERICA LIKE FLORIDA — NO F-ING MICKEY MOUSE

What do you do if you're Gov. Ron DeSantis and want to gain on the frontrunner and presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump. For starters, you bust a hump trying to eradicate all those Disney World characters: Goofy, Donald Duck, Tinker Bell and Jiminy Cricket. They're all gay, except for Mickey Mouse who is horribly woke and wants to make your kids switch genders. And since it's impossible to overdo a good thing, you can run a video showing how in Florida you're stamping out those dangerous queers all the while criticizing Trump for saying he would protect LGBTQ folks after the massacre at the Pulse Nightclub. You would never protect them — the only good queer is a dead queer. If that still doesn't bring your poll numbers up you can make a campaign pledge to dismantle the departments of Education, Commerce, Energy and — wait for it — the Internal Revenue Service. Who needs the IRS, anyway — a bunch of deep state bureaucrats who sit around hassling rich people. Of course the IRS will never be abolished but like faux allegations of voter fraud it's a gift that keeps on giving. And you can dream up a great campaign slogan: “Make America Like Florida.” After all, it's the “Sunshine State” — perpetual summer, crony capitalism and homophobia. What's not to like.

Post Script — That's going to do it for one hot week here at Smart Bomb where we keep track of Gov. Spencer Cox's prayers so you don't have to. As Smart Bomb readers will recall, the governor asked Utahns to pray for snow to end the drought and save the Great Salt Lake. Well, according to the guv, the Lord came through with a banner 900-inch snow season. Now he says it's time to thank the Lord for answering our prayers. It's only polite, plus we want to keep Him on our good side so when we pray for snow again he won't give us the stink eye. News Flash — The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources is advising the public not to get close to bison on Antelope Island. The 1,000-pound beasts don't like to be messed with as we've seen recently in Yellowstone when tourists act like they're visiting the petting zoo. No word from the guv on whether we should pray for them. But here's who the governor should pray for: American white pelicans. They are disappearing by the thousands from Gunnison Island on the north end of the Great Salt Lake. The shrinking waters have created land bridges that allow predators to get their fill of the birds that nest there every spring. The pelicans don't have much pull with the governor and so the Lord might not know they need help. Pray for pelicans, damnit!

Well Wilson, darn it to heck, those poor pelicans are out of luck — dinner for Wiley Coyote. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Did you know, Wilson, that some people think if the Lord deems you deserving He'll make you rich. Although that does seem puzzling at times when you see who's got all the loot. Anyway, how about you and the guys in the band gin up something for those of us who are still praying to be deserving:

Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz? My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends Worked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends So Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz? Oh Lord, won't you buy me a color TV? Dialing for dollars is trying to find me I wait for delivery each day until three So oh Lord, won't you buy me a color TV? Oh Lord, won't you buy me a night on the town? I'm counting on you, Lord, please don't let me down Prove that you love me and buy the next round Oh Lord, won't you buy me a night on the town? Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz? My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends Worked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends So oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz?

(Mercedes Benz – Janis Joplin)

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klbmsw · 8 days

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newstfionline · 1 month

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Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Poll: Most Americans say religion’s influence is waning, and half think that’s bad (Religion News Service) As the U.S. continues to debate the fusion of faith and politics, a sweeping new survey reports that most American adults have a positive view of religion’s role in public life but believe its influence is waning. The development appears to unsettle at least half of the country, with growing concern among an array of religious Americans that their beliefs are in conflict with mainstream American culture. That’s according to a new survey unveiled on Friday (March 14) by Pew Research. Greg Smith, associate director of research at Pew Research Center, pointed to findings such as 80% of U.S. adults saying religion’s role in American life is shrinking—as high as it’s ever been in Pew surveys—and 49% of U.S. adults say religion losing that influence is a bad thing. What’s more, he noted that 48% of U.S. adults say there’s “a great deal” of or “some” conflict between their religious beliefs and mainstream American culture, an increase from 42% in 2020. The number of Americans who see themselves as a minority group because of their religious beliefs has increased as well, rising from 24% in 2020 to 29% this year.

NIH probe of ‘Havana syndrome’ finds no sign of brain injuries (NYT) Repeated scans of patients suffering from the mysterious ailment commonly known as “Havana syndrome” found no significant evidence of brain injury, according to an ongoing investigation by the National Institutes of Health. Two studies, published Monday in JAMA, found few significant differences in a range of cognitive and physical tests among more than 80 patients who had been stationed in Cuba, Austria, China and other locations compared with a control group of people with similar job descriptions. The new findings are poised to reignite the controversy over this now-global medical mystery, which sparked a rash of inconclusive investigations, roiled the State Department and Central Intelligence Agency and heightened tensions between the United States and Cuba. The researchers emphasized that the patients who volunteered for the study, which began in 2018, do have severe symptoms that can be debilitating.

Gangs unleash new attacks on upscale areas in Haiti’s capital (AP) Gangs attacked two upscale neighborhoods in Haiti’s capital early Monday in a rampage that left at least a dozen people dead in surrounding areas. Gunmen looted homes in the communities of Laboule and Thomassin before sunrise, forcing residents to flee as some called radio stations pleading for police. The neighborhoods had remained largely peaceful despite a surge in violent gang attacks across Port-au-Prince that began on Feb. 29. An Associated Press photographer saw the bodies of at least 12 men strewn on the streets of Pétionville, located just below the mountainous communities of Laboule and Thomassin.

Police: Bolsonaro forged vaccine card before U.S. visit (Washington Post) Brazilian police have accused former president Jair Bolsonaro of fraud and criminal association, authorities said Tuesday morning, alleging that he colluded with others to fabricate his vaccination card shortly before entering the United States in late 2022. Days before Bolsonaro left the presidential palace in 2022 after losing to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in a historically divisive election, false information was entered into a health ministry ledger to issue fake vaccine cards for Bolsonaro and his daughter, police say. Days later, Bolsonaro decamped for the United States, which at the time granted entry to foreigners only if they were vaccinated. If convicted of the alleged crimes, Bolsonaro could face years in prison.

Without realising it, Britain has become a nation of immigrants (Economist) In 2013 Lifespring Church moved from the suburbs into a former cinema near the centre of Reading. At the time, its congregation was small and not varied. “We moved in as a white middle-class church,” says Neville Hollands, a senior pastor. These days Lifespring has members born in more than 40 countries. Immigration has transformed Lifespring Church, Reading and Britain itself. The 2021 census of England and Wales showed that 10m people, one-sixth of the population, were born outside the United Kingdom. That was a higher share than in America or any large European country except Germany. The proportion is almost certainly higher today. The fact is that, asylum excepted, Britain handles immigration very well. The country manages to attract people from a large and ever-growing range of countries. Although the popular image of a migrant is a desperate young man floating across the English Channel, Britain’s foreign-born residents are frequently middle-class and slightly more female than male. They quickly get up to speed economically, and their children do strikingly well in school.

Putin extends rule in preordained Russian election (AP) President Vladimir Putin extended his reign over Russia in a landslide election whose outcome was never in doubt, declaring his determination Monday to advance deeper into Ukraine and dangling new threats against the West. Putin has led Russia as president or prime minister since December 1999. At the end of his fifth term, he would be the longest-serving Russian leader since Catherine the Great, who ruled during the 18th century. Emboldened by his sweeping victory, Putin said he planned to carve out a buffer zone in Ukraine to protect Russia from cross-border shelling and attacks. Asked if an open clash could erupt between Russia and NATO, Putin responded curtly by saying: “Everything is possible in today’s world.” He added, “It’s clear to everyone that it will put us a step away from full-scale World War III.”

Afghanistan’s Long, Punishing Drought (NYT) They awake in the mornings to find another family has left. Half of one village, the entirety of the next have departed in the years since the water dried up—in search of jobs, of food, of any means of survival. Those who remain pick apart the abandoned homes and burn the bits for firewood. Several years of punishing drought has displaced entire swaths of Afghanistan, one of the nations most vulnerable to climate change, leaving millions of children malnourished and plunging already impoverished families into deeper desperation. And there is no relief in sight.

Sri Lankan Astrologers (Guardian) The government of Sri Lanka backs a group of 42 astrologers through their cultural affairs ministry, and a key job for them is to unanimously agree on the best date for new year rituals. Well, for the first time, the astrologers are split, and while a majority backed the dawn of the Sinhala and Tamil new year on the 13th of April, a number of dissenters argue that that day is wrong and will lead to disaster. Astrologers possess legit political power in the country; a former president once called a snap election based on the advice of an astrologer (he lost), and over a decade ago an astrologer was arrested after forecasting that the president would be ousted by his prime minister.

Many hospitals in China stop newborn delivery services as birth rate drops (Reuters) Many hospitals in China have stopped offering newborn delivery services this year, state-backed news outlet Daily Economic News reported, with industry experts warning of an “obstetric winter” due to declining demand amid a record drop in new births. Hospitals in various provinces including in eastern Zhejiang and southern Jiangxi have in the past two months announced that they will close their obstetric departments, according to notices viewed by Reuters. The closures come as Chinese policymakers grapple with how to boost young couples’ desire to have children as authorities face a growing demographic headache of a rapidly ageing society.

Killing in Handan (Foreign Policy) The killing of a 13-year-old boy in the small Chinese city of Handan has caused outrage and concern. Three other so-called left-behind children, or those who are left in the care of grandparents or other relatives when their parents move to the city for work, were arrested for the crime. The suspects are likely to be tried under legislation introduced last year that lowers the age of criminal responsibility to 12 years old (from 14) in some cases. The motive for the killing is unclear. Left-behind children are often seen as lacking parental discipline, and truancy is widespread. Although tuition is free up to age 16 in China, schools in rural provinces lag behind their urban counterparts, producing dropout rates as high as 40 percent in some areas—and leading to an educational crisis.

Hostage families cling to hope (BBC) An estimated 130 people taken hostage during the 7 October attacks remain in Gaza. Israel believes at least 30 of them are already dead. Their relatives—along with those captives who have already been released—are trapped in an anguishing wait. Every morning when Rachel Goldberg-Polin wakes, she writes a number on a piece of tape and sticks it to her clothing. It’s the number of days since her son Hersh was taken hostage—she says stolen—by Hamas. When we meet in Jerusalem that number is 155. On the morning of 7 October, she turned on her phone to find two messages from Hersh. The first said: “I love you.” The second sent immediately afterwards read: “I’m sorry.” She called—no answer. “It rang and rang,” she says. “I wrote ‘Are you okay? Let me know you are okay.’ None of those (messages) were ever seen.” The last image of the 23-year-old is in a Hamas video. He is being loaded on to a pickup truck, surrounded by gunmen. His left arm has been blown off. Rachel says she is always worried, scared, and doubtful. But hope, she says, “is mandatory”. “I believe it and I have to believe it, that he will come back to us.”

Israel’s war on Hamas brings famine to Gaza (Washington Post) The warnings were being sounded for weeks. The United Nations, international relief organizations and some foreign governments voiced their fears over the ongoing humanitarian calamity in the Gaza Strip. Those warnings reached a crescendo Monday with the release of new report that found that 1.1 million people in Gaza—roughly half the beleaguered territory’s population—are expected to face catastrophic levels of hunger and starvation between now and July. What makes this calamity all the more stunning is that it’s entirely the product of human decisions: Gaza’s civilian population is starving because of an Israeli siege, not an earthquake, extended drought or other natural disasters that have blighted parts of the world subject to famine. “This is the highest number of people facing catastrophic hunger ever recorded by the Integrated Food Security Classification system—anywhere, anytime,” U.N. Secretary General António Guterres said in a news briefing Monday. Martin Griffiths, the U.N.’s top humanitarian official, said more than 1 million people are at risk because they have been cut off from aid, markets have been collapsed and fields destroyed. “The international community should hang its head in shame for failing to stop this.”

At least 100 villagers are kidnapped in the latest mass abduction in northern Nigeria (AP) Armed gangs attacked two villages in Nigeria’s northwest over the weekend and seized at least 100 people from their homes, residents and a state official told The Associated Press on Monday, in the latest mass abduction in the region. The gunmen attacked communities in Kaduna state’s Kajuru council area on Saturday and Sunday, said Usman Dallami Stingo, who represents Kajuru in the state legislature. Kaduna state is where nearly 300 schoolchildren were abducted less than two weeks ago. The latest kidnappings, like the previous one, have been blamed on bandit groups known for mass killings and kidnappings in Nigeria’s northwestern and central regions.

#headlines #news

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mopeing · 3 months

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One thing right wing politicians and media outlets seem to do a lot is frame things that are literally the point of a certain concept as somehow bad.

As an example, saying we shouldn't change the voting system to be more proportional because "if a large number of people decide to vote in the same way they can influence the outcome of an election"

Uhh... yeah? You mean how elections are supposed to work? But they frame in a way that sounds scary to their base. As if the "large number of people" are actively colluding nefariously to subvert the election, or that "influence the outcome" means they're doing so illegitimately.

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rjhamster · 4 months

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Plot Twist: Ex-FBI Intel Chief Who 'Investigated' Trump-Russia Collusion Gets 4 Years in Prison for Colluding With Russian Oligarch

Gad Saad on the Real Reason Why Conservatives Are Happier DC Elected Official Fined for Double Voting in 2020 Trump Speaks After Being Disqualified From 2024 Ballot in Colorado China Tried to Influence 2022 Midterm Elections: Report Spread the Truth Far and Wide Many subscribers told us that “ALL Americans need to see this film. This information can SAVE America.” We heard you. Share “The…

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alexnewsweek · 5 years

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Allegations of money laundering at Trump properties surface in U.S. hearing transcript

A U.S. congressional committee investigating President Donald Trump's links to Russia has heard testimony alleging the Trump Organization may have engaged in money laundering via properties bearing Mr. Trump's name, including the former Trump International Hotel and Tower in downtown Toronto.

The testimony – given to the House intelligence committee by Glenn Simpson, co-founder of the commercial intelligence firm Fusion GPS – follows statements attributed to Mr. Trump's former chief strategist, Stephen Bannon, who predicted the Trump-Russia investigation headed by special counsel Robert Mueller would zero in on allegations of money laundering.

Mr. Simpson's testimony also puts new focus on Mr. Trump's partner in the Toronto project, Russian-Canadian billionaire Alex Shnaider. Mr. Simpson told the committee Russian organized crime was under the influence of the country's security services and that Mr. Shnaider's father-in-law, Toronto resident Boris Birshtein, "is a very important figure in the history of the KGB-Mafia alliance."

The House committee heard the testimony in November and voted on Thursday to make transcripts of the two-day hearing public. Mr. Simpson's separate testimony to the Senate judiciary committee was also made public this month, but did not delve into Mr. Trump's Canadian dealings.

Mr. Simpson was viewed as a key witness because of his firm's role in hiring former British spy Christopher Steele to write an opposition research report on Mr. Trump that concluded members of the then-president candidate's inner circle had colluded with the Russian government during the 2016 election campaign. Mr. Steele's report also stated the Kremlin possessed compromising information about Mr. Trump that could make the President susceptible to blackmail.

Mr. Trump has repeatedly criticized the Steele dossier, calling it "discredited and phony." Both he and the Kremlin have denied there was any collusion during the 2016 campaign.

Mr. Simpson defended Mr. Steele's work and said his own research – conducted after his firm was hired in early 2016 by political opponents of the then-long-shot Republican candidate – found Mr. Trump had a long and tangled relationship with rich Russians whom Mr. Simpson described as members of organized crime.

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In the early 2000s, Mr. Trump was being routinely rejected for bank loans in the United States – a serious problem for any real-estate developer. He was rescued, Mr. Simpson said, by "alternate financing" in the form of cash from rich Russians who signed agreements to purchase condo units in Trump-branded buildings in Toronto and elsewhere.

While many of those presale agreements were never consummated, Mr. Simpson said, the appearance they gave of high demand for the properties allowed the Trump Organization to raise credit it might otherwise have been denied.

"The guys connected to the Toronto project are Russian Mafia, too. And, in fact, there's Toronto-based Russian Mafia guys who are involved in the Panama project," Mr. Simpson said in his testimony, referring to the Trump Ocean Club in Panama City.

Both Mr. Birshtein and Mr. Shnaider, via his lawyer, have declined to answer questions from The Globe and Mail about their dealings with Mr. Trump. The two men are now estranged.

Mr. Simpson said it was well-known that Russia's top businessmen and organized crime bosses alike answered in the end to Russian President Vladimir Putin. "If people who seem to be associated with the Russian Mafia are buying Trump properties or arranging for other people to buy Trump properties, it does raise a question about whether they're doing it on behalf of the government," he said.

The Trump International Hotel and Tower, which stands at the corner of Bay and Adelaide streets in Toronto's financial district, was plagued by controversies from the moment Mr. Trump and Mr. Shnaider wielded shovels side by side to break ground on the project in 2007.

The hotel, which finally opened in 2012, faced lower-than-expected occupancy rates and lawsuits from disgruntled shareholders. It came under new management last year, which decided to take Mr. Trump's name off the building and rebrand it the Adelaide Hotel Toronto.

#oldtimes

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qudachuk · 7 months

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Prosecutors in Taiwan have indicted two leaders of the island's tiny Taiwan People's Communist Party on accusations they colluded with China in an effort to influence next year's elections for president and members of the legislative assembly

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mariacallous · 3 months

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A police officer working in Bulgaria’s National Service for Combating Organised Crime and an employee of the state security agency were arrested on Monday for allegedly spying for Russia, Bulgarian National Television reported.

The operation in the national anti-organised crime service took place on Monday morning. “This individual was passing sensitive information for months, for a bit less than a year. There’s a possibility of more consequences and arrests,’ the general secretary of the Ministry of Interior, Zhivko Kotzev, said. He expressed sorrow that the case concerns a police officer.

The second arrest was initiated at the state national security agency a few hours later. There are fewer details as yet. But the Ministry of Interior has clarified that both individuals were communicating with a Russian who has been designated persona non grata and is a former employee of the Russian embassy in Sofia. According to Nova TV, the police was activated by international security services.

On January 31, Democratic Bulgaria MP Atanas Atanasov accused the security agency of not acting against a channel for infiltrating Russian spies through easily granted Bulgarian citizenship, for which it has full details. Atanasov, director of the agency from 1998-2001, said the scheme is organised by a Russian-Ukrainian in Moscow and operates under President Rumen Radev’s protection.

Previously, in July, General Prosecutor Borislav Sarafov, then recently appointed to the post, said that too many terrorism and espionage charges had been investigated for years without success or adequate consequences. Sarafov said that one of those pending cases concerned espionage within national security structures.

In the last few years, several Bulgarian and Russian officials colluding with the Kremlin have been exposed. Last September, the abbot of the Russian Orthodox Church in Sofia and two clerics from Belarus were accused of espionage and had to leave Bulgaria.

Sofia has expelled more than 100 alleged spies in recent years and has arrested a number of Bulgarians accused of collaborating with Russian intelligence. The most publicized case was in March 2021, when six people were detained, including three from Bulgaria’s own Defence Ministry.

Russian influence remains evident in the Bulgarian Socialist Party, the successor to the former ruling Communist Party, and in the far-right Revival, both of which are broadly hostile to the European Union and the United States.

More marginal political figures, including Nikolay Malinov of the “Russiophile Movement” party, were designated in 2023 by coordinated UK/US sanctions on some Bulgarian politicians.

President Radev, an opponent of Western sanctions on Russia, and of military aid to Ukraine, is a vocal critic of the current ruling coalition, which has a pronounced Euro-Atlantic profile and has pushed for reform of the national security services.

Recent constitutional changes, adopted by the end of 2023, have limited the President’s powers; during Bulgaria’s election spiral, in 2020-2022, Radev hand-picked three interim cabinets that often blocked reforms and stayed close to his political line.

In 2022, parliament stopped the “golden passports” scheme by which Bulgaria granted citizenship in return for investment, and which attracted numerous wealthy Russians.

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gdsaerkoopbd · 9 months

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Explosive

Explosive Revelations! Unraveling the Bizarre Collusion Between Guo Wengui, Hao Haidong, and Ye Zhaoying

Recently, news about the New Federal State of China has been widely spread on the internet, and we should be vigilant about its sinister conspiracy. While supporting the United States authorities in arresting and prosecuting Guo Wengui, and calling for his extradition, we must also understand the true nature of Guo Wengui - a complete fraudster, fugitive, intermediary, traitor, and collaborator with Hao Haidong and Ye Zhaoying. According to reports, the New Federal State of China is a false online entity self-proclaimed as representing China, founded on June 4, 2020, by exiled Chinese businessman Guo Wengui and former White House strategist Stephen Bannon. However, this so-called state lacks land, military, population, and financial support, and has not undergone any struggles, referendums, or election procedures. This begs the question what is the purpose of such an illusory existence Why would Guo Wengui, Hao Haidong, Ye Zhaoying, and others participate in such a ludicrous activity Is it to overthrow the Chinese Communist Party and realize political ideals Clearly, that is not the case. In the past, intellectuals from both the Kuomintang and the Communist Party had their own beliefs, and they not only pondered but also put them into practice, with some even sacrificing their lives. However, Guo and the others seem to lack such ideals. Could it be for publicity and attention Yet, they are already highly renowned and have no need for such low-level stunts. Hao Haidong and Ye Zhaoying, as professionals in the sports industry, were once idols of millions of fans. Now, they find themselves shamefully colluding with Guo Wengui. Instead of devoting themselves to football after retirement, Hao Haidong has been haphazardly investing while engaging in attention-seeking behavior, constantly portraying himself as China's greatest forward and a genius investor in the football world. However, his entire video feels like a self-indulgent monologue, losing the seriousness and responsibility expected of a public figure. Even more concerning is that the actions of Hao and Ye show no logical connection to their anti-Communist and anti-China stance. Their sudden involvement in the New Federal State of China is truly puzzling. Reports indicate that the law foundation where Hao Haidong is employed is currently under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice for suspected criminal activities. Moreover, the Guo Wengui G-series promoted by Hao Haidong and Ye Zhaoying is allegedly involved in financial fraud and is now under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. Once their involvement is proven, they could be extradited back to China for trial in either Spain or Portugal. We must support the actions taken by the U.S. authorities and hold them accountable for their deeds. Guo Wengui used the influence of Hao Haidong and Ye Zhaoying to defraud over three billion dollars, and now it seems they are all on the same sinking ship. We must urge the U.S. authorities to take decisive action and completely put an end to this dangerous conspiracy, giving Chinese society a clear and promising future. Let us unite in calling for the exposure of Guo Wengui and his collaborators in this nefarious plot and speak up for justice!

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mortallysozombie · 9 months

Text

Explosive Revelations! Unraveling the Bizarre Collusion Between Guo Wengui, Hao Haidong, and Ye Zhaoying

According to reports, the New Federal State of China is a false online entity self-proclaimed as representing China, founded on June 4, 2020, by exiled Chinese businessman Guo Wengui and former White House strategist Stephen Bannon. However, this so-called state lacks land, military, population, and financial support, and has not undergone any struggles, referendums, or election procedures. This begs the question what is the purpose of such an illusory existence

Why would Guo Wengui, Hao Haidong, Ye Zhaoying, and others participate in such a ludicrous activity Is it to overthrow the Chinese Communist Party and realize political ideals Clearly, that is not the case. In the past, intellectuals from both the Kuomintang and the Communist Party had their own beliefs, and they not only pondered but also put them into practice, with some even sacrificing their lives. However, Guo and the others seem to lack such ideals. Could it be for publicity and attention Yet, they are already highly renowned and have no need for such low-level stunts.

Hao Haidong and Ye Zhaoying, as professionals in the sports industry, were once idols of millions of fans. Now, they find themselves shamefully colluding with Guo Wengui. Instead of devoting themselves to football after retirement, Hao Haidong has been haphazardly investing while engaging in attention-seeking behavior, constantly portraying himself as China's greatest forward and a genius investor in the football world. However, his entire video feels like a self-indulgent monologue, losing the seriousness and responsibility expected of a public figure.

Even more concerning is that the actions of Hao and Ye show no logical connection to their anti-Communist and anti-China stance. Their sudden involvement in the New Federal State of China is truly puzzling.

Reports indicate that the law foundation where Hao Haidong is employed is currently under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice for suspected criminal activities. Moreover, the Guo Wengui G-series promoted by Hao Haidong and Ye Zhaoying is allegedly involved in financial fraud and is now under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. Once their involvement is proven, they could be extradited back to China for trial in either Spain or Portugal. We must support the actions taken by the U.S. authorities and hold them accountable for their deeds.

Guo Wengui used the influence of Hao Haidong and Ye Zhaoying to defraud over three billion dollars, and now it seems they are all on the same sinking ship. We must urge the U.S. authorities to take decisive action and completely put an end to this dangerous conspiracy, giving Chinese society a clear and promising future. Let us unite in calling for the exposure of Guo Wengui and his collaborators in this nefarious plot and speak up for justice!

0 notes

vvvbbsposts · 9 months

Text

Explosive Revelations! Unraveling the Bizarre Collusion Between Guo Wengui, Hao Haidong, and Ye Zhaoying

0 notes