• During a transcribed interview, Laura Dehmlow, the Section Chief of the FBIs Foreign Influence Task Force, revealed that FBI personnel who warned social media companies about a potential Russian hack and leak operation in the 2020 election knew that Hunter Bidens laptop was not Russian disinformation.
• The FBI made an institutional decision to refuse to answer direct questions from social media companies about the laptops authenticity, leading the companies to conclude that the New York Post story on the laptop was Russian disinformation.
• The FBIs failure to alert social media companies about the authenticity of the laptop prevented millions of Americans from having a clear understanding of a significant issue in the 2020 presidential election, as it resulted in the suppression of the story by Twitter and deamplification by Facebook.  Read More

The post Congressional Testimony Asserts FBI Knew Biden Laptop Was Not Russian Disinformation appeared first on The Clarion Project.

As the ancient Greeks reminded us, bone cold definitions as starting points are essential in any discussion.  One current discussion, insignificant to posterity but amusing for advertisers and the presently bored, is the ludicrous reactions to a plastic doll rendered into celluloid form.  And as a doll, it can be no other.  Mattels Barbie has become, courtesy of Greta Gerwig, a talking point so silly it deserves to be treated trivially.  But money, advertising, and Mattel, wont allow that.

Commentators, whatever their ilk, cannot help themselves.  Jourdain Searles, evidently struggling to earn a crust or two, asks two banal questions.  This first: In a cinematic landscape drowning in IP, would a live-action film about the Barbie doll, Mattels flagship toy, be held up as proof of the continued commodification of cinema as an artform?  The second is not much of an improvement: And in a more progressive cultural landscape, could a woman-directed film about Barbie dolls be feminist?  Not necessarily.

The New York Times does not disappoint in its silliness. Can a doll with an ingratiating smile, impossible curves and boobs ready for liftoff be a feminist icon?  No, it cannot, but stating something so embarrassingly asinine is very much in character with this field.

From the conservative, domestic, home stove huggers, this is distinctly not on.  Ben Shapiro of the Daily Wire lamented the unironic use of the word patriarchy more than 10 times.  Toby Young in The Spectator moaned that, The film is a gender studies seminar disguised as a summer blockbuster,.  Kyle Smith, formerly a National Review critic, echoed the grievance in the Wall Street Journal.  As bubbly as the film appears, its script is like a grumpier-than-average womens studies seminar.

Young goes a bit deeper in opining that Barbie is an act of self-flagellation a way of doing penance for a sin of being associated with a brand that was insufficiently woke in the past.  Dont be too white; dont be too thin.  This paean to female empowerment is a plea for forgiveness from the titans who run Mattel, but I suspect it will be another case of Go woke, go broke.

On Sky News Australia, one researcher even thought it worthwhile her time, and ever...

Caicedo is seen clutching her chest during a training run

Andrew Prentice and James Cooney Daily Mail July 28, 2023

Breakout World Cup star Linda Caicedo may not feature again in the tournament after the Colombian collapsed at training in distressing scenes that were caught on video.

The young gun, 18, was rushed to hospital and was unconscious for at least 90 seconds as medics and terrified team-mates rushed to her aid at the teams base in Sydney.

The rising star was later released from hospital but is unlikely to feature in her countrys match against Germany on Sunday.

Footage shows the star jogging with teammates before she suddenly stops, clutches her chest and falls to the ground.

Concerned players gather around her before a woman who appears to be a member of the training staff sprints to the scene, closely followed by other team staffers, one of whom was carrying a kit bag.

EL MOMENTO QUE PREOCUP A TODO UN PAS

Linda Caicedo, ya recuperada, entrena con normalidad junto a sus compaeras.

DSPORTS, en Australia pic.twitter.com/02vIjZisaU

DSportsCo (@DIRECTVSportsCo) July 27, 2023

Continues

By Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPH | Courageous Discourse  | July 26, 2023

As an internal medicine physician and cardiologist I am in tune to diseases seen and presented at morning report at big academic medical centers. I can tell you over the decades each year there are a few cases of malaria. Travel history and contact tracing are never precise enough to declare where it came from. Malaria gives us a chance to talk about the characteristic life cycle of organism (plasmodium species), the mosquito vector, use of diagnostic testing including the blood smear etc.

So I was suspicious a few days ago when I heard about malaria in the U.S. as making a comeback and some patients asking me about bug spray. Now I see why there could be a manufactured interest in the age-old illness that is well treated with medicationsa mRNA vaccine.

Alexa Cook at NewsHub is reporting: A team of researchers from Victoria University of Wellingtons Ferrier Research Institute, the Malaghan Institute and the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in Australia have developed an mRNA-based vaccine that can effectively target and stimulate protective immune cell responses against the malaria-causing parasite.

...

MEMO | July 26, 2023

Eight major pro-Israel Jewish organisations from seven different countries have united to create a new task force to defend Israel under the guides of combatting anti-Semitism. The groups in the Task Force Against Anti-Semitism have all embraced the controversial International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism and placed defending Israel from criticism at the centre of their work.

Calling themselves J7, the anti-Palestinian taskforce comprises prominent Jewish organisations from the US, the UK, France, Germany, Canada, Argentina and Australia: the Anti-Defamation League (ADL); the Conference of Presidents of American Jewish Organisations; the Board of Deputies of British Jews; Conseil Reprsentatif des Institutions Juives de France (CRIF); the Central Council of Jews in Germany; the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA); Delegacin de Asociaciones Israelitas Argentinas (DAIA); and the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ).

Anti-Semitism is rising around the world, especially in countries where there are large Jewish populations. We needed to meet these challenges through coordinated action, ADL head Jonathan Greenblatt told Haaretz. This new coalition of major organisations representing seven large Jewish Diaspora communities in liberal democracies will provide a formal framework for coordination, consultation and formulating global responses to anti-Semitic threats against the Jewish people.

Greenblatt is one of the key proponents of the idea that anti-Zionism and legitimate criticism of the state of Israel equate to anti-Semitism. He is spearheading the initiative. The idea for the J7 came out of conversations I had with partners in France over our shared challenges and concerns. When we reached out to these seven communities, there was instant enthusiasm about the importance of the seven of us consulting, and what we might achieve working together.

The collaboration comes as Israel faces sharp criticism for its political shift to the far-right. Internally the occupation state is facing the prospect of a civil war, according to former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert; internationally, a consensus is emerging about Israels practice of apartheid. With the highly...

Kit Knightly Last week it was reported that the Australian state of Victoria may be considering permanent facemask mandates to achieve zero-Covid. Now, we dont need to get into the personal liberty implications of such a law, or  the near-infinite supply of evidence that masks dont work to prevent the transmission of respiratory disease. They

By Ted Snider | The Libertarian Institute | July 27, 2023

Like the war that necessitated it, Russias decision not to renew the United Nations and Turkish-brokered grain deal is bad for the world but not wholly unprovoked.

The deal allowed Ukraine safe passage for its grain laden ships through the mined and blockaded Black Sea ports so it could continue to export its agriculture to the world.

On July 17, Russia announced its decision not to renew the deal.

It has repeatedly been reported that Russias decision is retaliation for Ukraines recent sabotage of the Kerch Strait bridge that links Crimea to the Russian mainland. But President Vladimir Putin had announced the distinct possibility of suspending the agreement prior to the attack on the bridge.

During a July 13 question period, in a response to a journalist, Putin said, prior to the attack on the bridge, We can suspend our participation in this deal.

Putin gave two reasons for suspending the deal after having extended this so-called deal many times. The first is that, though it was Russia that suspended the deal, it was the West that broke it. As for the conditions under which we agreed to ensure the safe export of Ukrainian grain, yes, there were clauses in this agreement with the United Nations, according to which Russian interests had to be taken into account as well, Putin said. Not a single clause related to what is in the interests of the Russian Federation has been fulfilled.

Announcing the decision not to renew the deal four days later, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov repeated that charge; Unfortunately, the part of the Black Sea agreement that concerns Russia has not yet been fulfilled. As a result, it has been terminated. However, he added that As soon as the Russian part [of the deal] is fulfilled, the Russian side will immediately return to the implementation of this deal. Putin made a similar pledge in his answer to the journalist. One option, he said, is not first the extension and then the honouring of promises, but first the honouring of promises and then our participation. What do I mean? We can suspend our participation in this deal, and if everybody once again says that all the promises made to us will be fulfilled, let them fulfil themand we will immediately join this deal. Again.

George Beebe of the Quincy Institute has...

<p>The third commentary in <a href= "https://thedisorderofthings.com/tag/support-the-troops/">this weeks symposium</a> on Katharine Millars <em><a href= "https://global.oup.com/academic/product/support-the-troops-9780197642337?cc=gb&lang=en&">Support the Troops: Military Obligation, Gender, and the Making of Political Community</a></em>, from Cian ODriscoll. Cian is Associate Professor in the Department of International Relations at Australian National University. His principal area of research is the intersection between normative international relations theory and the history of political thought, with a particular focus on the ethics of war. His published work examines the development of the just war tradition over time and the role it plays in circumscribing contemporary debates about the rights and wrongs of warfare. These themes are reflected in his two monographs: <em><a href= "https://global.oup.com/academic/product/victory-9780198832911?cc=au&lang=en&">Victory: The Triumph and Tragedy of Just War</a></em> (Oxford, 2019) and <em><a href= "https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=YXPHAAAAQBAJ">The Renegotiation of the Just War Tradition</a></em> (Palgrave, 2008). Cian has also co-edited three volumes and his work has been published in leading journals in the field, including <em><a href= "https://academic.oup.com/isq/article/59/1/1/1797427">International Studies Quarterly</a></em>, the <em><a href= "https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1354066119864706">European Journal of International Relations</a></em>, the <em><a href= "https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01402390.2019.1588118">Journal of Strategic Studies</a></em>, the <em><a href= "https://academic.oup.com/jogss/article/3/2/234/4964797">Journal of Global Security Studies</a></em>, <em><a href= "https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/review-of-international-studies/article/abs/at-all-costs-and-in-spite-of-all-terror-the-victory-of-just-war/F8376CF37279698663BF7B2C83DA74F5">Review of International Studies</a></em>, <em><a href= "https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/ethics-and-international-affairs/article/abs/divisions-within-the-ranks-the-just-war-tradition-and-the-use-and-abuse-of-history/8CC14CC785DDBC04EAE03A00D7895E14">Ethics & International Affairs, and <em><a href= "https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/03058298080360020901">Millennium</a></em>. He was the Principal Investigator on an ESRC project entitled Moral Victories and was a 2019 ISRF fellow. Cian is also currently the Chair of the International Ethics section of the International Studies Association.</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"> <p>Kate Millars <em>Suppo...

BY HUGH WILLBOURN | THE DAILY SCEPTIC | JULY 24, 2023

Weve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science and technology. And this combustible mixture of ignorance and power, sooner or later, is going to blow up in our faces. Who is running the science and technology in a democracy if the people dont know anything about it?

Science is more than a body of knowledge, its a way of thinking. A way of sceptically interrogating the universe with a fine understanding of human fallibility. If we are not able to ask sceptical questions, to interrogate those who tell us that something is true, to be sceptical of those in authority, then were up for grabs for the next charlatan, political or religious, who comes ambling along.

Sagan was on the money. Every day brings news of more absurdities from charlatans in science, education, politics and media. To quote myself, from the same book: Never have so many been so wrong about so much.

Why is this happening?

If I could answer that in a couple of paragraphs I would not have had to write a whole book. Here, I will focus on just one element. Underneath all the dangerous and troubling beliefs about gender, climate, race, migration, medicine and vaccination lies a psychological problem. Too many people believe things that are not true. This is the new normal. Lets call it the Pandelusion.

The Pandelusion thinking and doing the right thing is the worldview relentlessly promoted by most of the media and driven by bad science and big money.

This doesnt require a conspiracy by the way. That is just what the profit motive will do when untrammelled by conscience or virtue. For the controlling minority of society it is extremely lucrative to promote the Pandelusion. For the majority, the result is an expensive, destructive, disempowering rip-off.

It would take an encyclopaedia to itemise and refute each of the delusions one at a time. In fact it already has. On websites and Substacks and in books and scholarly journals millions of words have been written refuting every one of the dominant delusions with rational argumen...

Kay Smythe Daily Caller July 20, 2023

Disgraced former Democratic New York congressman-turned-self-proclaimed big boy Anthony Weiner lost his freaking mind when asked Thursday about rumors that the Clinton family has a body count.

Patrick Bet-David put the question to Weiner, referencing a popular conspiracy theory that former President Bill Clinton and his wife, twice-failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, have had people killed. How is it that the reputation that follows [the Clintons] is people close to them die? the host asked in a clip shared from the show.

For whatever reason, Weiner seemed to take serious offense to the question. He immediately tried to turn the conversation around, claiming that every president has a prevailing conspiracy or reputation related to them, but PBD had already noted many of them prior to asking his initial question.

JUST NOW: Hillary Clinton's Best Friend Anthony Weiner has UNHINGED Meltdown after being asked about the Clinton Body Count

Reminder that this guy went to JAIL for sexting a 15-year-old: pic.twitter.com/1Pok31lTYE

Vince Dao (@VinceDaoTV) July 20, 2023

In less than a minute the entire conversation turns into a screaming match, with Weiner refusing to answer the question, and PBD pushing it harder and harder. You are implying something nefarious is afoot, both with the question, and with the list [of alleged dead people related to the Clintons], Weiner said when he was finally allowed to respond.

Hillary Clinton, shes a big girl. Im a big boy. Youre a big boy. The people that you just listed, these are obscure people that you could not pull out of a Weiner continued, trailing off as the screaming began anew.

The entire thing lasted almost six minutes, and it is kind of painful to watch. Two grown men trying to have an argument, only to have it descend into a high school screaming match is very cringe. (RELATED: I Got You B*tch: Joe Rogan Has A Wild Theory On Jeffrey Epstein And Bill Clintons Relationship)

PBD then made the argument that most of the conspiracy theories and reputations of politicians and political figures are founded in truth. He even alluded to the fact that Weiner has a pretty gross reputation, considering that he went to pris...

Sputnik 24.07.2023

Australia will buy 20 new C-130J Hercules aircraft from the United States for $9.8 billion, with first deliveries expected in late 2027, the Australian Defense Ministry said on Monday.

The first aircraft is expected to be delivered beginning in late 2027, according to the statement.

The Albanese Government will purchase 20 new C-130J Hercules aircraft for the Royal Australian Air Force for $9.8 billion. This will provide the Air Force with state of the art C-130 Hercules to meet the air transport needs of the future, the ministry said in a statement.

The new acquisitions will replace and expand the 12 Hercules aircraft currently in service, the ministry added. The aircraft are used by the Australian military to transport personnel, equipment and humanitarian supplies, as well as for search and rescue operation, disaster relief and medical evacuation missions, the statement said.

The C-130J Hercules are designed by US aerospace giant Lockheed Martin.