bonginoreport--2020-08-03--Michael Goodwin: Liberals Can’t Deny the Complications of Counting Mail-In Ballots

A fundamental and tragic fact of life in America today is that whatever President Trump is for , most media and half the country instantly reject .
Even when he ’ s clearly right , the zombie-like resistance leaps into frenetic opposition .
Take the case of universal mail-in voting .
Trump insists that the plans of some states , such as California and Colorado , to counter the pandemic by mailing a ballot to every registered voter is a formula for disaster .
It will , the president says , guarantee mayhem and cast doubts on the November results @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
That ’ s unfounded , he ’ s making it up , there ’ s no evidence , blah blah blah .
Ah , but there is evidence .
Lots of it , and right in front of us , thanks to the continuing saga of two New York congressional races .
Five weeks after the Democratic primaries , no winners have been declared .
Results for two others were delayed for three weeks .
The major problem was the volume of mailed-in ballots — more than 400,000 across the city , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years ago , The Washington Post reports .
The Board of Elections , creaky , sloppy and unreliable on the best of days , is swamped .
In the race involving Democratic incumbent Carolyn Maloney and challenger Suraj Patel , in-person voting gave Maloney an edge of under 700 votes .
But some 65,000 voters returned the absentee ballots they requested , and mailed ballots trigger additional safeguards and requirements .
Among those are proof the ballots were mailed by Election Day and received within seven days of the election .
In the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ballots have been invalidated , many because they were received too late and others because they had no postmark to prove when they were mailed .
State officials , who included pre-stamped return envelopes when they sent the ballots , apparently didn ’ t know that such envelopes often don ’ t get postmarked .
Thus , there is no way to know if those ballots were marked and mailed by Election Day .
In some cases , ballots were returned late because election officials did not send them to voters until the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ signatures and ran afoul of other technicalities .
One clear result : lawsuits .
So judges will have the final say about which votes are counted .
Already an estimated 28 percent of the votes from the Brooklyn portion of the district have been tossed out .
That ’ s smoking-gun evidence of chaos and grounds to doubt the accuracy of the final outcome .
Now imagine the enormous opportunity for mischief and mistakes if every state opts for universal mail-in and 160 million ballots are mailed to registered voters and back to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like it has ever been attempted , so to assume it would go smoothly is beyond foolish .
Indeed , it would be a miracle if it weren ’ t a disaster .
And not just for the presidential election .
Congressional , state and local races all could be upended by ballot issues and disputes .
By comparison , fights over hanging chads in one state would seem like a walk in the park .
So Trump wins the argument , right ?
On the merits , he does , but he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ himself or his supporters .
Sometimes a tweet is just a tweet , and sometimes it ’ s an exploding cigar .
He specializes in the latter .
The president , who has cited the New York cases as examples , drew heated attention by tweeting a suggestion that the November election be delayed because a national mail-in plan would cause the most “ fraudulent election in history.
” “ It will be a great embarrassment to the USA , ” Trump wrote .
“ Delay the Election until people can properly , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” In a nanosecond , the chattering class declared the end of the world was near .
Even some allies were alarmed , with Steven Calabresi , co-founder of the Federalist Society , calling for a new impeachment of the president .
Eight hours later , Trump said never mind , suggesting the initial tweet was intentional misdirection .
“ Glad I was able to get the very dishonest LameStream Media to finally start talking about the RISKS to our Democracy from dangerous Universal Mail-In-Voting… ” he tweeted .
In a later press @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Do I want to see a date change ?
No , ” Trump said , “ but I don ’ t want to see a crooked election.
” Whew , emergency over .
But not the damage to Trump .
The incident was a good example of how his instinctive habit of poking the hornet ’ s nest can result in his getting stung and valid policies getting overshadowed .
His suggestion that he might try to delay the election allowed many on the left to claim they are right to worry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ voluntarily if he loses .
His clarification notwithstanding , you can bet they won ’ t let go of the incident .
Of course , the backlash also proved that the media don ’ t want to confront the obvious problems of mail-in ballots — for the obvious reason .
Many are openly hostile to Trump and don ’ t seem to mind whether the results are trustworthy nearly as much as they want the result to be that Joe Biden wins .
So while the president got them talking about the issue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ still are , is that Trump is a threat to democracy .
He ’ s not .
That dishonor belongs to those who can ’ t see straight because of their hatred for him .
The left ’ s endorsement of riots , its support for China and its disdain for the police , American history and culture are tearing this country apart .
And now the same people are willing to let the election be thrown into chaos because Trump dared to point out problems .
No tweet , no matter how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their madness .
Wokestan has come up with a new demand : “ sensitivity reads.
” That ’ s what a union representing 1,200 New York Times employees wants from the paper .
The NewsGuild said the extra layer of vetting before stories are published would make the Gray Lady ’ s content “ more diverse and equitable.
” The idea itself is bizarre , but doubly so because it reveals that Times employees turned to the union to interfere in editorial decisions and shape how stories are written .
What will they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t tell me .
I don ’ t want to know .
Reader Lydia DiBello says Mayor de Blasio is way off base in making excuses for the violent crime wave gripping New York .
She writes : “ My great-grandparents , grandparents and parents survived hot weather with no air conditioning , stock-market collapses , financial distress , pandemics , world wars and rationing of food and materials .
None of them turned to murder and shootings to ease their frustrations.
” As temperatures rise , a ‘ nightmare ’ of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Cape Cod .

A fundamental and tragic fact of life in America today is that whatever President Trump is for, most media and half the country instantly reject. Even when he’s clearly right, the zombie-like resistance leaps into frenetic opposition.
Take the case of universal mail-in voting.
Trump insists that the plans of some states, such as California and Colorado, to counter the pandemic by mailing a ballot to every registered voter is a formula for disaster. It will, the president says, guarantee mayhem and cast doubts on the November results.
Nonsense, shout the usual suspects. That’s unfounded, he’s making it up, there’s no evidence, blah blah blah.
Ah, but there is evidence. Lots of it, and right in front of us, thanks to the continuing saga of two New York congressional races. Five weeks after the Democratic primaries, no winners have been declared. Results for two others were delayed for three weeks.
The major problem was the volume of mailed-in ballots — more than 400,000 across the city, against the 23,000 received and validated four years ago, The Washington Post reports. The Board of Elections, creaky, sloppy and unreliable on the best of days, is swamped.
In the race involving Democratic incumbent Carolyn Maloney and challenger Suraj Patel, in-person voting gave Maloney an edge of under 700 votes. But some 65,000 voters returned the absentee ballots they requested, and mailed ballots trigger additional safeguards and requirements.
Among those are proof the ballots were mailed by Election Day and received within seven days of the election. In the Maloney-Patel race, at least 12,000 mailed ballots have been invalidated, many because they were received too late and others because they had no postmark to prove when they were mailed.
State officials, who included pre-stamped return envelopes when they sent the ballots, apparently didn’t know that such envelopes often don’t get postmarked. Thus, there is no way to know if those ballots were marked and mailed by Election Day.
In some cases, ballots were returned late because election officials did not send them to voters until the day before the primary. Some lacked signatures and ran afoul of other technicalities.
One clear result: lawsuits. So judges will have the final say about which votes are counted. Already an estimated 28 percent of the votes from the Brooklyn portion of the district have been tossed out.
That’s smoking-gun evidence of chaos and grounds to doubt the accuracy of the final outcome. Now imagine the enormous opportunity for mischief and mistakes if every state opts for universal mail-in and 160 million ballots are mailed to registered voters and back to election offices in the fall.
Nothing like it has ever been attempted, so to assume it would go smoothly is beyond foolish. Indeed, it would be a miracle if it weren’t a disaster.
And not just for the presidential election. Congressional, state and local races all could be upended by ballot issues and disputes. By comparison, fights over hanging chads in one state would seem like a walk in the park.
So Trump wins the argument, right? On the merits, he does, but he doesn’t make it easy for himself or his supporters.
Sometimes a tweet is just a tweet, and sometimes it’s an exploding cigar. He specializes in the latter.
The president, who has cited the New York cases as examples, drew heated attention by tweeting a suggestion that the November election be delayed because a national mail-in plan would cause the most “fraudulent election in history.”
“It will be a great embarrassment to the USA,” Trump wrote. “Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???”
In a nanosecond, the chattering class declared the end of the world was near. Even some allies were alarmed, with Steven Calabresi, co-founder of the Federalist Society, calling for a new impeachment of the president.
Eight hours later, Trump said never mind, suggesting the initial tweet was intentional misdirection. “Glad I was able to get the very dishonest LameStream Media to finally start talking about the RISKS to our Democracy from dangerous Universal Mail-In-Voting…” he tweeted.
In a later press conference, he went further, saying “Do I want to see a date change? No,” Trump said, “but I don’t want to see a crooked election.”
Whew, emergency over. But not the damage to Trump.
The incident was a good example of how his instinctive habit of poking the hornet’s nest can result in his getting stung and valid policies getting overshadowed. His suggestion that he might try to delay the election allowed many on the left to claim they are right to worry that Trump won’t leave office voluntarily if he loses. His clarification notwithstanding, you can bet they won’t let go of the incident.
Of course, the backlash also proved that the media don’t want to confront the obvious problems of mail-in ballots — for the obvious reason. Many are openly hostile to Trump and don’t seem to mind whether the results are trustworthy nearly as much as they want the result to be that Joe Biden wins.
So while the president got them talking about the issue, what they were saying, and still are, is that Trump is a threat to democracy.
He’s not. That dishonor belongs to those who can’t see straight because of their hatred for him.
The left’s endorsement of riots, its support for China and its disdain for the police, American history and culture are tearing this country apart. And now the same people are willing to let the election be thrown into chaos because Trump dared to point out problems.
No tweet, no matter how off-key, can match the danger of their madness.
NYT’s all vet
Wokestan has come up with a new demand: “sensitivity reads.” That’s what a union representing 1,200 New York Times employees wants from the paper.
The NewsGuild said the extra layer of vetting before stories are published would make the Gray Lady’s content “more diverse and equitable.”
The idea itself is bizarre, but doubly so because it reveals that Times employees turned to the union to interfere in editorial decisions and shape how stories are written.
What will they think of next?
Wait, don’t tell me. I don’t want to know.
No excuse for crime
Reader Lydia DiBello says Mayor de Blasio is way off base in making excuses for the violent crime wave gripping New York. She writes: “My great-grandparents, grandparents and parents survived hot weather with no air conditioning, stock-market collapses, financial distress, pandemics, world wars and rationing of food and materials. None of them turned to murder and shootings to ease their frustrations.”
’Phor plague
Block those metaphors!
Headline from The Boston Globe:
As temperatures rise, a ‘nightmare’ of toxic algae plagues the hidden gems of Cape Cod.


bonginoreport--2020-08-03--Roger Kimball: The Choice Before Us

Roger Kimball: The Choice Before Us

Somehow , news that the Antifa-Black Lives Matter nexus burned a stack of Bibles in front of the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse in Portland the other night put me in mind of President Trump ’ s magisterial speech in Krasinski Square , Warsaw , just over three years ago .
A short digression : has any other modern president delivered so many brilliant speeches ?
The Warsaw speech was tip-top , but then so was his 2020 State of the Union speech and , just last month , his magnificent speech at Mount Rushmore .
And let ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Houses of Congress in 2017 or his speech at the General Assembly of the United Nations that same year .
Barn-burners all .
I said at the time that the president ’ s Warsaw speech was worthy of comparison with Pericles ’ Funeral Oration as described by Thucydides .
Naturally , that comment occasioned much obloquy , but mostly , I ’ d wager , from people who have never read Thucydides .
Mounting a wide-ranging and spirited defense of core Western values and achievements , Trump noted that what made the West @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and power .
Equally important was its commitment to such enabling civilizational values as individual liberty , the rule of law , religious freedom , and a generous and innovative spirit of curiosity and exploration .
“ The world has never known anything like our community of nations , ” Trump said .
We write symphonies .
We pursue innovation .
We celebrate our ancient heroes , embrace our timeless traditions and customs , and always seek to explore and discover brand-new frontiers .
We reward brilliance .
We strive for excellence and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ God .
We treasure the rule of law and protect the right to free speech and free expression .
The president said quite a bit about God in that speech , noting that it was Pope John Paul II ’ s public Mass there in 1979 that lit the fuse that would eventually bring down the hideous , freedom-blighting scourge of Soviet Communism .
Commemorating that moment , the White House today has posted “ Heroes of Western Civilization , ” a tribute to the heroes of the Warsaw uprising 76 years ago @ @ @ @ @ @ @ brief video clip from the President ’ s Warsaw speech in which he recalls the one million Poles who gathered in Victory Square to celebrate Mass with Pope John Paul II .
They cried out with a single voice , he said , “ We want God.
” Back at home , left-wing radicals burn Bibles , assault and murder policemen and civilians , set fire to courthouses , vandalize and loot all manner of businesses .
On Friday , thugs in Portland placed a pig ’ s head on an American flag @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
They put a policeman ’ s cap atop it , doused it with a firestarter , and set it aflame .
The name of George Floyd , the career criminal who died in police custody at the end of May , was at first invoked mantra-like to justify or at least to explain this explosion of savagery .
Now , a couple of months later , there are still ritual invocations of his name but , really , you don ’ t hear too much about Floyd .
The real agenda has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Barack Obama summed it up when he said , in 2008 , that he was after the fundamental transformation of the United States of America .
Cities like Portland give us a glimpse of what that transformation would entail .
The clips of the savages burning Bibles put me in mind of Heinrich Heine ’ s solemn observation that Dort wo man Bücher verbrennt , verbrennt man auch am Ende Menschen : “ Wherever people burn books , they also end up burning men.
” It may seem melodramatic , but here @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the choice between the spirit of mayhem , burning pigs ’ heads , and burning Bibles , on the one side , and the traditional American spirit that cherishes the rule of law , free expression , and fructifying engines of prosperity , on the other .
This time , we ’ ve traveled to the very edge of the abyss .
Will we tip over into the furnace or pull back at the last moment and choose civilization over anarchy ?
I think we will choose civilization .
I hope so .
@ @ @ @ @ @

Somehow, news that the Antifa-Black Lives Matter nexus burned a stack of Bibles in front of the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse in Portland the other night put me in mind of President Trump’s magisterial speech in Krasinski Square, Warsaw, just over three years ago.
A short digression: has any other modern president delivered so many brilliant speeches? The Warsaw speech was tip-top, but then so was his 2020 State of the Union speech and, just last month, his magnificent speech at Mount Rushmore. And let’s not forget his speech before both Houses of Congress in 2017 or his speech at the General Assembly of the United Nations that same year. Barn-burners all.
I said at the time that the president’s Warsaw speech was worthy of comparison with Pericles’ Funeral Oration as described by Thucydides. Naturally, that comment occasioned much obloquy, but mostly, I’d wager, from people who have never read Thucydides.
Mounting a wide-ranging and spirited defense of core Western values and achievements, Trump noted that what made the West so important was not just its wealth and power. Equally important was its commitment to such enabling civilizational values as individual liberty, the rule of law, religious freedom, and a generous and innovative spirit of curiosity and exploration. “The world has never known anything like our community of nations,” Trump said.
We write symphonies. We pursue innovation. We celebrate our ancient heroes, embrace our timeless traditions and customs, and always seek to explore and discover brand-new frontiers. We reward brilliance. We strive for excellence and cherish inspiring works of art that honor God. We treasure the rule of law and protect the right to free speech and free expression.
The president said quite a bit about God in that speech, noting that it was Pope John Paul II’s public Mass there in 1979 that lit the fuse that would eventually bring down the hideous, freedom-blighting scourge of Soviet Communism.
Commemorating that moment, the White House today has posted “Heroes of Western Civilization,” a tribute to the heroes of the Warsaw uprising 76 years ago. Embedded in that post is a brief video clip from the President’s Warsaw speech in which he recalls the one million Poles who gathered in Victory Square to celebrate Mass with Pope John Paul II. They cried out with a single voice, he said, “We want God.”
Back at home, left-wing radicals burn Bibles, assault and murder policemen and civilians, set fire to courthouses, vandalize and loot all manner of businesses.
On Friday, thugs in Portland placed a pig’s head on an American flag outside the city’s Justice Center. They put a policeman’s cap atop it, doused it with a firestarter, and set it aflame.
The name of George Floyd, the career criminal who died in police custody at the end of May, was at first invoked mantra-like to justify or at least to explain this explosion of savagery. Now, a couple of months later, there are still ritual invocations of his name but, really, you don’t hear too much about Floyd. The real agenda has come more and more to the fore. Barack Obama summed it up when he said, in 2008, that he was after the fundamental transformation of the United States of America. Cities like Portland give us a glimpse of what that transformation would entail.
The clips of the savages burning Bibles put me in mind of Heinrich Heine’s solemn observation that Dort wo man Bücher verbrennt, verbrennt man auch am Ende Menschen: “Wherever people burn books, they also end up burning men.”
It may seem melodramatic, but here is the awful choice we face: the choice between the spirit of mayhem, burning pigs’ heads, and burning Bibles, on the one side, and the traditional American spirit that cherishes the rule of law, free expression, and fructifying engines of prosperity, on the other.
This time, we’ve traveled to the very edge of the abyss. Will we tip over into the furnace or pull back at the last moment and choose civilization over anarchy? I think we will choose civilization. I hope so. It could go either way.


bonginoreport--2020-08-03--Rachel Bovard: Big Tech Faces Scrutiny On the Hill

The fight over Big Tech is an existential question about the power of megacorporations to commoditize and control every feature of our being—and the larger questions that poses about the nature of liberty .
Big Tech was in the spotlight this week as the CEOs of Google , Apple , Facebook , and Amazon were grilled by lawmakers on the House subcommittee on antitrust for over five hours .
The goal of the hearing was oversight—for Congress to use its investigatory powers to examine whether the question of whether these companies have violated the country ’ s existing antitrust laws @ @ @ @ @ @ @ way of doing in Congress , the hearing became a proxy for all kinds of problems and concerns that policymakers have with Big Tech .
Representative Jim Jordan ( R-Ohio ) led with the issue of anti-conservative bias , firing off a litany of examples where Big Tech has de-platformed or suppressed conservative viewpoints—most recently , appointing themselves the arbiters of scientific debate by banning a video of doctors discussing the potential effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment and preventative for COVID-19 .
Systemic bias is hard to prove , but important when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Republican defenders of tech are always quick to point out that these are private companies and are not bound by the First Amendment .
In theory , they are free to suppress whatever views they want .
But that sidesteps the vital issue of scale and its downstream effects on free and independent thought .
Facebook and Google ( which includes YouTube ) , and to a lesser extent , Twitter , operate as a functional public square .
They are the channels through which news is made and consumed for billions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , in particular , filters information for 92 percent of the globe .
When Google takes a step , like it recently did , to suppress the appearance of conservative websites in search results , the ramifications are enormous .
Google independently defines terms in the English language , modifies the search results around terms like “ abortion ” and “ immigration , ” tweaks algorithms on behalf of big businesses over smaller ones , and self-preferences its own products in search terms over those of competitors ( even when a competitor ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the search at hand ) .
Earlier this year , Facebook removed content promoting anti-lockdown protests in cities all across America .
The company was within its rights , but walking right up to the line of a private entity acting as an arm of the government .
If there was a robust marketplace in Big Tech , and Google and Facebook didn ’ t have near-total dominance over presenting information to the world , this would hardly matter .
But the sheer scale of Google ’ s power means it can , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ entire points of view , businesses , and other information from 92 percent of the planet—and keep those billions of people from knowing that alternative information exists .
The ramifications for independent thought—not to mention commerce , behavior , and elections—are immense .
It ’ s More Than Just Bias But , critically , committee Republicans also showed their depth on other key issues with Big Tech—namely , how entangled these firms are with China , and the lengths to which they are willing to go to ensure they ’ re never removed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Rep. Ken Buck ( R-Colo. ) unleashed an assault on Google ’ s Sundar Pichai for his company ’ s willingness to work with the Chinese military while it cites “ ethical concerns ” over partnering with the American military .
He repeatedly brought up Big Tech ’ s role in helping China suppress its minority Muslim population , the use of slave labor in manufacturing plants , and alluded to Apple ’ s removal of apps helping the protestors in Hong Kong .
In a particularly striking moment , Rep. Greg @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the CEOs if China steals technology and intellectual property from American firms .
Every CEO except for Facebook ’ s Mark Zuckerberg denied it happens—despite the well-documented evidence that it does .
Rep. Kelly Armstrong ( R-N.D. ) asked some key questions about Google ’ s recent decision to eliminate it ’ s third-party ad competitors from its browser , Chrome .
Cynically , the company marketed this as a “ privacy policy ” that eliminated ad trackers , known as cookies .
But , as Armstrong ’ s question made clear , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s Google ’ s ad competitors that are not .
Committee Democrats also pressed on allegations that Amazon uses third-party seller data to undercut its competitors , that it swipes ideas from its smaller competitors with impunity , and that it does little to counter the counterfeit products running on its site that do serious damage to established brands—even when those brands choose not to do business with Amazon .
The goal of the committee—as is the goal of antitrust investigations at the Department of Justice , the Federal Trade Commission , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ensure that a free and fair market still exists in tech .
We need a market where competitors actually can “ build their own ” platform , and compete on the merits from an equal footing .
Economic Reductionism on the Right But what to do about Big Tech is still an unsettled and internecine battle on the Right .
On the day of the hearing—again , to examine whether or not existing antitrust laws have been broken—a coalition of right-leaning groups announced it would be pushing back against the use of antitrust @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rewrite antitrust laws .
While some are debating whether or not antitrust law needs an update , that is not at all what is at issue in ongoing investigations into Big Tech .
Rather , those issues center on whether or not Big Tech has violated antitrust laws already on the books and , if so , how those laws should be enforced .
But the party that believes in the rule of law—and opposes amnesty for lawbreakers— can not seem to agree that rule-breakers should be punished , at least not if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ G and rhyme with “ oogle.
” The party of small business is also curiously uncurious about how companies like Amazon treat their smaller competitors , or the brand damage that is done to businesses by unchallenged counterfeit operations .
Rather , the attitude of D.C. Republicans toward Big Tech was summed up nicely by the Washington Examiner ’ s Tiana Lowe , who saw the entire hearing this way : Yes , these companies have generated immense wealth and jobs ; although their soaring corporate profits aren ’ t necessarily making their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But that , by itself , should not spare them from the scrutiny required to discover nefarious market behavior—and it should not blind conservatives to the broad scope of the issue , which encompasses the state of free thought as well as free and fair markets .
The continued insistence that all that matters here are the economics of quarterly earnings reports exposes the reductiveness of Beltway conservatism and corporatist libertarianism , both of which distill everything to an economic outcome—usually whatever benefits big business the most .
It ’ s a brittle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ossifies into ideology , rather than embracing the fullest definition of individual liberty : one in which the individual is not compelled to bend the knee to a tyrannical government , or a tyrannical corporation .
Even Friedrich Hayek acknowledged the “ legitimate function of the state power to regulate monopolies and curtail industry practices in restraint of trade.
” The American people seem to grasp what some D.C. Republicans can not : the fight over Big Tech isn ’ t about job creation , large platforms , or who is richer than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ question about the power of megacorporations to commoditize and control every feature of our being , and the larger questions that situation poses about the nature of liberty .
Is it truly “ freedom ” to have the entire world at the mercy of Google ’ s decisions about what they can see , Facebook ’ s decisions about how and what we can say , or Amazon ’ s ability to ruin the reputations of businesses that don ’ t even use their services ?
Conservatism , traditionally understood , is well @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , perhaps this quote from Barry Goldwater—whom Reason magazine called “ America ’ s first libertarian politician—summed it up nicely in Conscience of a Conservative : “ The enemy of freedom is unrestrained power , and the champions of freedom will fight against the concentration of power wherever they find it .
”

Big Tech was in the spotlight this week as the CEOs of Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon were grilled by lawmakers on the House subcommittee on antitrust for over five hours.
The goal of the hearing was oversight—for Congress to use its investigatory powers to examine whether the question of whether these companies have violated the country’s existing antitrust laws. But, as things have a way of doing in Congress, the hearing became a proxy for all kinds of problems and concerns that policymakers have with Big Tech.
Representative Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) led with the issue of anti-conservative bias, firing off a litany of examples where Big Tech has de-platformed or suppressed conservative viewpoints—most recently, appointing themselves the arbiters of scientific debate by banning a video of doctors discussing the potential effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment and preventative for COVID-19.
Systemic bias is hard to prove, but important when one considers how dominant these platforms are. Republican defenders of tech are always quick to point out that these are private companies and are not bound by the First Amendment. In theory, they are free to suppress whatever views they want. But that sidesteps the vital issue of scale and its downstream effects on free and independent thought.
Facebook and Google (which includes YouTube), and to a lesser extent, Twitter, operate as a functional public square. They are the channels through which news is made and consumed for billions of people around the world. Google, in particular, filters information for 92 percent of the globe. When Google takes a step, like it recently did, to suppress the appearance of conservative websites in search results, the ramifications are enormous.
Google independently defines terms in the English language, modifies the search results around terms like “abortion” and “immigration,” tweaks algorithms on behalf of big businesses over smaller ones, and self-preferences its own products in search terms over those of competitors (even when a competitor’s result might be more relevant to the search at hand). Earlier this year, Facebook removed content promoting anti-lockdown protests in cities all across America. The company was within its rights, but walking right up to the line of a private entity acting as an arm of the government.
If there was a robust marketplace in Big Tech, and Google and Facebook didn’t have near-total dominance over presenting information to the world, this would hardly matter.
But the sheer scale of Google’s power means it can, simply by tweaking an algorithm, remove entire points of view, businesses, and other information from 92 percent of the planet—and keep those billions of people from knowing that alternative information exists. The ramifications for independent thought—not to mention commerce, behavior, and elections—are immense.
It’s More Than Just Bias
But, critically, committee Republicans also showed their depth on other key issues with Big Tech—namely, how entangled these firms are with China, and the lengths to which they are willing to go to ensure they’re never removed from the top of the market pyramid.
Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) unleashed an assault on Google’s Sundar Pichai for his company’s willingness to work with the Chinese military while it cites “ethical concerns” over partnering with the American military. He repeatedly brought up Big Tech’s role in helping China suppress its minority Muslim population, the use of slave labor in manufacturing plants, and alluded to Apple’s removal of apps helping the protestors in Hong Kong.
In a particularly striking moment, Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) asked each of the CEOs if China steals technology and intellectual property from American firms. Every CEO except for Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg denied it happens—despite the well-documented evidence that it does.
Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.) asked some key questions about Google’s recent decision to eliminate it’s third-party ad competitors from its browser, Chrome. Cynically, the company marketed this as a “privacy policy” that eliminated ad trackers, known as cookies. But, as Armstrong’s question made clear, the cookies are still there. It’s Google’s ad competitors that are not.
Committee Democrats also pressed on allegations that Amazon uses third-party seller data to undercut its competitors, that it swipes ideas from its smaller competitors with impunity, and that it does little to counter the counterfeit products running on its site that do serious damage to established brands—even when those brands choose not to do business with Amazon.
The goal of the committee—as is the goal of antitrust investigations at the Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission, and by 50 state attorneys general—is to ensure that a free and fair market still exists in tech. We need a market where competitors actually can “build their own” platform, and compete on the merits from an equal footing.
Economic Reductionism on the Right
But what to do about Big Tech is still an unsettled and internecine battle on the Right. On the day of the hearing—again, to examine whether or not existing antitrust laws have been broken—a coalition of right-leaning groups announced it would be pushing back against the use of antitrust against Big Tech and any attempt to rewrite antitrust laws.
While some are debating whether or not antitrust law needs an update, that is not at all what is at issue in ongoing investigations into Big Tech. Rather, those issues center on whether or not Big Tech has violated antitrust laws already on the books and, if so, how those laws should be enforced.
(It should also be noted that antitrust laws provide plenty of remedies besides “breaking up Big Tech.” And there are also plenty of policy remedies outside of antitrust itself.)
But the party that believes in the rule of law—and opposes amnesty for lawbreakers—cannot seem to agree that rule-breakers should be punished, at least not if the names of those rulebreakers start with G and rhyme with “oogle.” The party of small business is also curiously uncurious about how companies like Amazon treat their smaller competitors, or the brand damage that is done to businesses by unchallenged counterfeit operations.
Rather, the attitude of D.C. Republicans toward Big Tech was summed up nicely by the Washington Examiner’s Tiana Lowe, who saw the entire hearing this way:
[Bezos and Zuckerberg] have created nearly 900,000 jobs that didn’t exist previously. They’ve created more than $2 trillion in wealth through entrepreneurship & innovation. Just remember that when people who’ve never created a single job or dollar of GDP in their lives vilify them.
Yes, these companies have generated immense wealth and jobs; although their soaring corporate profits aren’t necessarily making their way down to the working class. But that, by itself, should not spare them from the scrutiny required to discover nefarious market behavior—and it should not blind conservatives to the broad scope of the issue, which encompasses the state of free thought as well as free and fair markets.
The continued insistence that all that matters here are the economics of quarterly earnings reports exposes the reductiveness of Beltway conservatism and corporatist libertarianism, both of which distill everything to an economic outcome—usually whatever benefits big business the most.
It’s a brittle, flimsy, and shallow conservatism that ossifies into ideology, rather than embracing the fullest definition of individual liberty: one in which the individual is not compelled to bend the knee to a tyrannical government, or a tyrannical corporation. Even Friedrich Hayek acknowledged the “legitimate function of the state power to regulate monopolies and curtail industry practices in restraint of trade.”
The American people seem to grasp what some D.C. Republicans cannot: the fight over Big Tech isn’t about job creation, large platforms, or who is richer than whom. It’s an existential question about the power of megacorporations to commoditize and control every feature of our being, and the larger questions that situation poses about the nature of liberty.
Is it truly “freedom” to have the entire world at the mercy of Google’s decisions about what they can see, Facebook’s decisions about how and what we can say, or Amazon’s ability to ruin the reputations of businesses that don’t even use their services?
Conservatism, traditionally understood, is well equipped to handle this moment. Though, perhaps this quote from Barry Goldwater—whom Reason magazine called “America’s first libertarian politician—summed it up nicely in Conscience of a Conservative: “The enemy of freedom is unrestrained power, and the champions of freedom will fight against the concentration of power wherever they find it.”


bonginoreport--2020-08-03--NBA and MLB Ratings Crash Following Protest Filled Debuts

As the NBA and MLB return from their coronavirus-imposed hiatus , it appears TV viewers are not interested in what the increasingly woke leagues have to offer .
With both baseball and basketball draped in all sorts of Black Lives Matter and social justice symbolism for their opening games , a substantially smaller number of fans tuned-in to the rest of the week ’ s games .
According to Outkick.com , neither league did well .
As for the opening games , Outkick reported that the return of the NBA on TNT saw the following numbers : “ To be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ return night 1 , here is night 2 , ” ( July 24 ) he wrote , adding : The Athletic ’ s Ethan Strauss also noted that the numbers continued to fall off for MLB : For good measure , Strauss also pointed out that baseball can ’ t blame the coronavirus .
The virus didn ’ t stop people from watching Tom Brady golf with Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson back in May .
Indeed , the charity golf match earned record TV ratings in May .
Dubbed “ The Match @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Brady , Phil Mickelson , Peyton Manning , and Tiger Woods peaked at an amazing 6.3 million viewers and raised more than $ 20 million for charity .

As the NBA and MLB return from their coronavirus-imposed hiatus, it appears TV viewers are not interested in what the increasingly woke leagues have to offer.
With both baseball and basketball draped in all sorts of Black Lives Matter and social justice symbolism for their opening games, a substantially smaller number of fans tuned-in to the rest of the week’s games.
According to Outkick.com, neither league did well.
As for the opening games, Outkick reported that the return of the NBA on TNT saw the following numbers:
Lakers-Clippers: 3.4 million
Pelicans-Jazz: 2.1 million
ESPN’s MLB return numbers were also underwhelming:
Yankees-Nationals: 4.0 million
Dodgers-Giants: 2.8 million
Outkick’s Ryan Glasspiegel added more ratings numbers on Twitter.
“To be fair since I compared MLB vs NBA return night 1, here is night 2,” (July 24) he wrote, adding:
MLB (last Friday, ESPN)
Mets-Braves (4p) – 922K
Brewers-Cubs(7p) – 1.0M
Angels-As (10p) – 797K
NBA (last night ESPN) (July 31)
Celtics-Bucks (6:30p) – 1.3M
Mavs-Rockets (9p)- 1.7M
The Athletic’s Ethan Strauss also noted that the numbers continued to fall off for MLB:
MLB really fell off after opening day. In general, both leagues aren't getting the audience one might expect from a nation that's been deprived of entertainment for months https://t.co/GazeoR9SNB — Ethan Strauss (@SherwoodStrauss) August 2, 2020
For good measure, Strauss also pointed out that baseball can’t blame the coronavirus. The virus didn’t stop people from watching Tom Brady golf with Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson back in May.
Indeed, the charity golf match earned record TV ratings in May.
Dubbed “The Match II,” the game featuring Tom Brady, Phil Mickelson, Peyton Manning, and Tiger Woods peaked at an amazing 6.3 million viewers and raised more than $20 million for charity.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Facebook at: facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston.


bonginoreport--2020-08-03--Twitter Faces Possible $250 Million FTC Fine

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey addresses students during a town hall at the Indian Institute of Technology ( IIT ) in New Delhi , India , November 12 , 2018 .
Twitter on Monday disclosed that it expects to lose as much as $ 250 million for using personal information users provided for security purposes to target advertising instead , after receiving a draft complaint from the Federal Trade Commission .
The stock dropped about 1 % after hours on the announcement .
The company made the disclosure in its second quarter 10-Q financial filing with the SEC , saying that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Company 's use of phone number and/or email address data provided for safety and security purposes for targeted advertising during periods between 2013 and 2019 .
The Company estimates that the range of probable loss in this matter is $ 150.0 million to $ 250.0 million and has recorded an accrual of $ 150.0 million . ''
The estimate comes after the FTC sent a draft complaint to Twitter on July 28 for violating the company 's 2011 consent order with the federal agency .
That consent order required Twitter to establish and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the company from misleading consumers about the extent of its security and privacy practices .
`` The matter remains unresolved , and there can be no assurance as to the timing or the terms of any final outcome , '' the company said in the financial filing .
The company also updated various aspects of its quarterly filing to reflect the impact the possible impact of a recent security breach , in which attackers took over accounts from well-known people and companies and used them to solicit bitcoin payments .
Twitter said the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its user base and it could impact its brand and reputation among advertisers .
`` This security breach may have harmed the people and accounts affected by it , '' the company said in the filing .
`` It may also impact the market perception of the effectiveness of our security measures , and people may lose trust and confidence in us , decrease the use of our products and services or stop using our products and services in their entirety . ''
The filing comes after a 17-year-old in Tampa , Florida @ @ @ @ @ @ @ behind the security breach and scam .
Correction : The possible fine mentioned in Twitter 's 10-Q was not related to the recent bitcoin scam security breach .

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey addresses students during a town hall at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in New Delhi, India, November 12, 2018.
Twitter on Monday disclosed that it expects to lose as much as $250 million for using personal information users provided for security purposes to target advertising instead, after receiving a draft complaint from the Federal Trade Commission.
The stock dropped about 1% after hours on the announcement.
The company made the disclosure in its second quarter 10-Q financial filing with the SEC, saying that, "The allegations relate to the Company's use of phone number and/or email address data provided for safety and security purposes for targeted advertising during periods between 2013 and 2019. The Company estimates that the range of probable loss in this matter is $150.0 million to $250.0 million and has recorded an accrual of $150.0 million."
The estimate comes after the FTC sent a draft complaint to Twitter on July 28 for violating the company's 2011 consent order with the federal agency. That consent order required Twitter to establish and maintain a comprehensive security program and barred the company from misleading consumers about the extent of its security and privacy practices.
"The matter remains unresolved, and there can be no assurance as to the timing or the terms of any final outcome," the company said in the financial filing.
The company also updated various aspects of its quarterly filing to reflect the impact the possible impact of a recent security breach, in which attackers took over accounts from well-known people and companies and used them to solicit bitcoin payments. Twitter said the breach could hurt its ability to grow its user base and it could impact its brand and reputation among advertisers.
"This security breach may have harmed the people and accounts affected by it," the company said in the filing. "It may also impact the market perception of the effectiveness of our security measures, and people may lose trust and confidence in us, decrease the use of our products and services or stop using our products and services in their entirety."
The filing comes after a 17-year-old in Tampa, Florida, was arrested and accused of being behind the security breach and scam.
Correction: The possible fine mentioned in Twitter's 10-Q was not related to the recent bitcoin scam security breach.


bonginoreport--2020-08-03--Trump Approval Back to 51%, Supporters 70% More Enthusiastic Than Biden’s

President Trump , scratching back to just 4-6 points behind challenger Joe Biden , is being bolstered by new polls showing a surge in his approval rating and a widening “ enthusiasm gap ” favoring him over his Democratic foe .
Just out is the daily Rasmussen Reports presidential approval rating for Trump at 51 % .
Notably , said Rasmussen , at this stage of his presidency , former President Barack Obama had a 44 % approval rating .
Add to that new polling from Economist/YouGov that shows the president ’ s supporters far more enthusiastic about him , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Biden ’ s .
When asked , “ How do you feel about the presidential candidates listed below ?
” 40 % of Biden ’ s supporters said “ enthusiastic ” compared to 68 % of Trump ’ s supporters .
And when asked , “ How enthusiastic are you about voting for president in the upcoming presidential election in November ?
” 53 % of Biden ’ s supporters said “ extremely or very enthusiastic ” compared to 76 % of Trump supporters .
What ’ s more , Trump supporters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to vote this year compared to past years , with 55 % for Trump and 53 % for Biden .
The survey , however , noted that the “ enthusiasm gap ” wrongly predicted that Mitt Romney would edge Obama in 2012 .
The survey follows three others from last week that found Trump to be catching up to Biden , who had widened his lead in one poll to 15 points over the president .

President Trump, scratching back to just 4-6 points behind challenger Joe Biden, is being bolstered by new polls showing a surge in his approval rating and a widening “enthusiasm gap” favoring him over his Democratic foe.
Just out is the daily Rasmussen Reports presidential approval rating for Trump at 51%.
Notably, said Rasmussen, at this stage of his presidency, former President Barack Obama had a 44% approval rating.
Add to that new polling from Economist/YouGov that shows the president’s supporters far more enthusiastic about him, and voting for him, than those of Biden’s.
When asked, “How do you feel about the presidential candidates listed below?” 40% of Biden’s supporters said “enthusiastic” compared to 68% of Trump’s supporters.
And when asked, “How enthusiastic are you about voting for president in the upcoming presidential election in November?” 53% of Biden’s supporters said “extremely or very enthusiastic” compared to 76% of Trump supporters.
What’s more, Trump supporters are more enthusiastic than Biden’s to vote this year compared to past years, with 55% for Trump and 53% for Biden. The survey, however, noted that the “enthusiasm gap” wrongly predicted that Mitt Romney would edge Obama in 2012.
The survey follows three others from last week that found Trump to be catching up to Biden, who had widened his lead in one poll to 15 points over the president.


bonginoreport--2020-08-03--Bodycam Footage of George Floyd Arrest Leaked

Bodycam footage from two cops accused in the murder of George Floyd is revealed exclusively by DailyMail.com today — and it shows a rookie officer terrifying Floyd by pointing a handgun at his head and another callously picking a pebble from the squad car tire just inches from the dying man and seconds before he draws his last breath .
The tapes show in minute detail how a very distressed Floyd begs 'Mr .
Officer , please do n't shoot me .
Please man , ' before the struggle that ended with his death on May 25 .
It also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ manhandled the sobbing suspect , ignoring his pleas for compassion .
Floyd resisted as the cops tried to force him into the back of the car , telling them he suffers from claustrophobia and anxiety and how Officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes , leading to his death , ignoring Floyd ’ s repeated cries of ‘ I can ’ t breathe.
’ Floyd is even heard predicting his own death . '
I 'll probably just die this way , ' he says .
Transcripts from the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ judge in Minneapolis had ruled the video could only be viewed in the courthouse , meaning few people have had the chance to watch the powerful images .
But the footage has now been leaked to DailyMail.com so the world can finally see the tragedy of Floyd ’ s last minutes as the cops were mindless of Floyd ’ s anguish .
The footage includes more than 18 minutes from Officer Alex Kueng 's bodycam and 10 minutes from Officer Thomas Lane .
They were the first two cops to arrive on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attempted to pass a fake $ 20 bill to buy cigarettes at Cup Foods , a store in the Powderhorn Park section of Minneapolis .
Chauvin and a fourth officer , Tou Thao , were called in to assist .
All four were fired the day after Floyd 's death .
Chauvin , 44 , has been charged with Floyd 's murder and the other three face charges of aiding and abetting murder .
The events have led to months of Black Lives Matter protests throughout the country over police racism and brutality @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have been filed with Hennepin County District Court by Lane 's defense attorney .
It is clear from the video that Floyd was not trying to run away - he had plenty of time to leave the scene before police arrived .
But instead he decided to sit in his car with two friends , giving the cops the opportunity to approach .
The videos begin with Lane , 37 , and Kueng , 26 — both in their first week as Minneapolis police officers — entering Cup Foods .
A staff member @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
'Before they drive off .
He 's parked right here .
It 's a fake bill from the gentleman , ' he tells the cops .
Lane and Kueng then both approach Floyd 's blue Mercedes SUV on the other side of the street .
Lane goes to the driver 's side where Floyd is sitting at the wheel and Kueng approaches the passenger side , where Floyd 's ex , Shawanda Hill is in the back seat and a friend , Maurice Hall , is in the front .
Lane is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his flashlight , but Floyd does not immediately open the door .
Once the door is open , Lane immediately pulls out his handgun and points it straight at Floyd 's head .
'Hey man , I 'm sorry , ' Floyd says and apologizes again before Lane gets belligerent .
'Put your f***ing hands up right now !
Let me see your other hand , ' the cop is heard saying .
Floyd does not immediately put his hands on the wheel .
'Put your f***ing hand up there , ' Lane @ @ @ @ @ @ @ your f**king hands on the wheel . '
Floyd tells the officer he had been shot before , and Lane replies : 'Keep your f***ing hands on the wheel . '
Lane then tells Floyd to put his foot inside the vehicle . '
I 'm sorry , I 'm so sorry , ' Floyd replies .
'God dang man .
Man , I got shot the same way , Mr .
Officer , before . '
'Okay .
Well when I say `` Let me see your hands , '' you put @ @ @ @ @ @ @ responds .
The cop then orders Floyd out of the car .
'Hands on top of your head .
Step out of the vehicle and step away from me , ' he says .
Floyd replies : 'Okay .
Mr .
Officer , please do n't shoot me .
Please man . '
' I 'm not going to shoot you , ' Lane says .
'Step out and face away . '
I 'll look at you eye-to-eye .
Please do n't shoot me man , ' Floyd replies . '
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ' Floyd , 46 , is seen sobbing as Kueng and Lane pull him out of the car and handcuff him .
After getting Floyd out of the car , Lane then starts talking to the passengers , Hill and Hall .
'Why 's he being all squirrelly and not showing us his hands and just being all weird like that ? '
Lane asks .
'Because he 's been shot before , ' Hill , 45 , replies .
'Well I get that , ' Lane says .
'But still , when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the car ... '' 'Is he drunk or something ? '
'No , he 's got a thing going on , ' Hill says , pointing to her head and making a circular movement with her finger as if to suggest her ex had mental problems .
'About the police , ' she adds .
The two officers then walk Floyd to the squad car and the struggle really begins when Floyd refuses to get in , saying he has claustrophobia .
He falls to the ground .
'Stand up .
Stop falling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on your feet and face the car door . '
'Please man .
Do n't leave me by myself man , please .
I 'm just claustrophobic . '
'Well you 're still going in the car , ' Lane says . '
Y'all , I am going to die in here , ' Floyd protests . '
I 'm going to die , man .
I just had COVID , man .
I do n't want to go back to that . '
Lane offers to roll the cruiser 's windows down @ @ @ @ @ @ @ struggles . '
I 'm scared as f*** , ' he says .
A bystander tells Floyd to calm down because he can not win in the situation he is in . '
I do n't want to win , ' Floyd says . '
I 'm claustrophobic and I 've got anxiety .
I do n't want to do nothing to them . '
While still in the car , Floyd says for the first time the line that has become synonymous with his death . '
I ca n't breathe .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the scene .
The officers finally get him in the squad car and close the rear driver 's side door behind him , but for a reason that is not clear from the video , Floyd comes out of the passenger side door still struggling .
Within seconds he is lying on the sidewalk with Chauvin 's knee pressed on his neck and Lane and Kueng helping to restrain him .
He says he ca n't breathe over and over again and calls for his 'momma ' but his voice slowly gets @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 'Tell my kids I love them .
I 'm dead , ' he says at one point .
Kueng is seen nonchalantly picking a pebble from the squad car tire with his right hand as he restrains Floyd 's legs with his left .
As his knee presses the life out of Floyd , Chauvin , the most senior officer on the scene , asks rookies Lane and Kueng if they are okay .
'My knee might be a little scratched but I will survive , ' Lane answers .
Thao asks his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ' I believe so .
We found a pipe , ' Kueng replies .
Lane says : 'We found a weed pipe .
There might be something else , there might be like PCP or something . '
When Floyd continues to wail that he can ’ t breathe , Kueng is heard telling him .
‘ You ’ re fine .
You ’ re talking fine.
’ Floyd replies : ' I 'll probably just die this way . '
' I 'm through , ' Floyd says . '
I 'm @ @ @ @ @ @ @ neck hurts .
Everything hurts .
I need some water or something , please . '
'Then stop talking .
Stop yelling , ' Chauvin replies .
'It takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk . '
As Floyd stops moving Chauvin keeps his knee on his neck , despite complaints from a small crowd that has gathered .
'Check his pulse , ' one man says repeatedly .
'You call what you are doing okay ?
But the other officers do little to stop Chauvin .
At one point @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on his side ? '
But Chauvin replies .
'No , he 's staying where we 've got him . '
'Okay , ' Lane says . '
I just worry about the excited delirium or whatever . '
'Well , that 's why we got the ambulance coming , ' Chauvin says .
By the time EMTs arrive , George Floyd is dead .

Advertisement
Bodycam footage from two cops accused in the murder of George Floyd is revealed exclusively by DailyMail.com today — and it shows a rookie officer terrifying Floyd by pointing a handgun at his head and another callously picking a pebble from the squad car tire just inches from the dying man and seconds before he draws his last breath.
The tapes show in minute detail how a very distressed Floyd begs 'Mr. Officer, please don't shoot me. Please man,' before the struggle that ended with his death on May 25.
It also shows how belligerent cops cursed at and manhandled the sobbing suspect, ignoring his pleas for compassion.
Floyd resisted as the cops tried to force him into the back of the car, telling them he suffers from claustrophobia and anxiety and how Officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes, leading to his death, ignoring Floyd’s repeated cries of ‘I can’t breathe.’
Floyd is even heard predicting his own death. 'I'll probably just die this way,' he says.
Transcripts from the videos were released in mid-July but a judge in Minneapolis had ruled the video could only be viewed in the courthouse, meaning few people have had the chance to watch the powerful images.
But the footage has now been leaked to DailyMail.com so the world can finally see the tragedy of Floyd’s last minutes as the cops were mindless of Floyd’s anguish.
The footage includes more than 18 minutes from Officer Alex Kueng's bodycam and 10 minutes from Officer Thomas Lane. They were the first two cops to arrive on the scene after a complaint that Floyd had attempted to pass a fake $20 bill to buy cigarettes at Cup Foods, a store in the Powderhorn Park section of Minneapolis.
Bodycam footage from two cops accused in the murder of George Floyd is revealed exclusively by DailyMail.com today — and it shows a rookie officer terrifying Floyd by pointing a handgun at his head and another callously picking a pebble from the squad car tire just inches from the dying man and seconds before he draws his last breath on May 25 in Minneapolis
Floyd is seen sobbing as the officers pull him out of the car and handcuff him, as his ex suggests he was undergoing mental problems and was afraid of police. The tapes show in minute detail how Floyd begs 'Mr. Officer, please don't shoot me. Please man,' before the struggle that ended with his death
It also shows how Floyd resisted as the cops tried to force him into the back of the car telling them he suffers from claustrophobia and anxiety and how Officer Derek Chauvin (pictured) knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes, leading to his death, ignoring Floyd's repeated cries of 'I can't breathe'
The video obtained by DailyMail.com comes from the bodycams of Lane and Alex Kueng, the two cops who were originally called to the scene by Cup Foods' owners. Chauvin (far left) and a fourth officer Tou Thao (second from left) were called in to assist. All were fired the day after Floyd's death. The videos start with Lane, 37, (far right) and Kueng, 26 (second from right) — both in their first week as Minneapolis police officers — entering Cup Foods. A staff member rushes up to them waving the banknote. 'Before they drive off, he's parked right here, it's a fake bill from the gentleman,' he tells the cops
Chauvin and a fourth officer, Tou Thao, were called in to assist. All four were fired the day after Floyd's death.
Chauvin, 44, has been charged with Floyd's murder and the other three face charges of aiding and abetting murder. The events have led to months of Black Lives Matter protests throughout the country over police racism and brutality.
Floyd was arrested on Memorial Day after allegedly passing a fake $20 bill while buying cigarettes at Cup Foods, a store in the Powderhorn Park section of Minneapolis
The two officers' bodycam videos have been filed with Hennepin County District Court by Lane's defense attorney.
It is clear from the video that Floyd was not trying to run away - he had plenty of time to leave the scene before police arrived. But instead he decided to sit in his car with two friends, giving the cops the opportunity to approach.
The videos begin with Lane, 37, and Kueng, 26 — both in their first week as Minneapolis police officers — entering Cup Foods. A staff member rushes up to them waving the banknote. 'Before they drive off. He's parked right here. It's a fake bill from the gentleman,' he tells the cops.
Lane and Kueng then both approach Floyd's blue Mercedes SUV on the other side of the street. Lane goes to the driver's side where Floyd is sitting at the wheel and Kueng approaches the passenger side, where Floyd's ex, Shawanda Hill is in the back seat and a friend, Maurice Hall, is in the front.
Lane is seen knocking on the car window with his flashlight, but Floyd does not immediately open the door. Once the door is open, Lane immediately pulls out his handgun and points it straight at Floyd's head.
'Hey man, I'm sorry,' Floyd says and apologizes again before Lane gets belligerent.
'Put your f***ing hands up right now! Let me see your other hand,' the cop is heard saying.
Floyd does not immediately put his hands on the wheel. 'Put your f***ing hand up there,' Lane orders him. 'Jesus Christ, keep your f**king hands on the wheel.'
Floyd tells the officer he had been shot before, and Lane replies: 'Keep your f***ing hands on the wheel.'
A staff member rushes up to the two officers waving the banknote. 'Before they drive off, he's parked right here, it's a fake bill from the gentleman,' he tells the cops
Lane is seen knocking on the car window with his flashlight, but Floyd does not immediately open the door. Once the door is open Lane immediately pulls out his handgun and points it at Floyd's head
'Hey man, I'm sorry,' Floyd says and apologizes again before Lane gets belligerent. 'Put your f***ing hands up right now! Let me see your other hand,' the cop is heard saying
The cop then orders Floyd out of the car, saying: 'Hands on top of your head. Step out of the vehicle and step away from me.' That's when Floyd says: 'Okay. Mr. Officer, please don't shoot me. Please man.' 'I'm not going to shoot you,' Lane says. 'Step out and face away.' 'I'll look at you eye-to-eye. Please don't shoot me man,' Floyd replies. 'I just lost my mom, man'
Floyd, 46, is seen sobbing as Kueng and Lane pull him out of the car and handcuff him
Lane then tells Floyd to put his foot inside the vehicle. 'I'm sorry, I'm so sorry,' Floyd replies. 'God dang man. Man, I got shot the same way, Mr. Officer, before.'
'Okay. Well when I say ''Let me see your hands,'' you put your f***ing hands up,' Lane responds.
The cop then orders Floyd out of the car. 'Hands on top of your head. Step out of the vehicle and step away from me,' he says.
Floyd replies: 'Okay. Mr. Officer, please don't shoot me. Please man.'
'I'm not going to shoot you,' Lane says. 'Step out and face away.
'I'll look at you eye-to-eye. Please don't shoot me man,' Floyd replies. 'I just lost my mom, man.'
Floyd, 46, is seen sobbing as Kueng and Lane pull him out of the car and handcuff him.
After getting Floyd out of the car, Lane then starts talking to the passengers, Hill and Hall. 'Why's he being all squirrelly and not showing us his hands and just being all weird like that?' Lane asks.
'Because he's been shot before,' Hill, 45, replies.
'Well I get that,' Lane says. 'But still, when officers say: ''Get out of the car...''
'Is he drunk or something?'
'No, he's got a thing going on,' Hill says, pointing to her head and making a circular movement with her finger as if to suggest her ex had mental problems. 'About the police,' she adds.
It is clear from the video that Floyd had plenty of time to leave the scene before police arrived. But for some reason he decided to sit in his car with two friends, allowing the cops to approach
After getting Floyd out of the car, Lane then starts talking to the passengers, Hill and Hall (left and right). 'Why's he being all squirrelly and not showing us his hands and just being all weird like that?' Lane asks. 'Because he's been shot before,' Hill, 45, replies. 'He's got a thing going on,' Hill says, pointing to her head and making a circular movement with her finger as if to suggest her ex had mental problems (pictured). 'About the police,' she adds
The two officers then walk Floyd to the squad car and that is when the struggle really begins as he refuses to get in saying he has claustrophobia. He falls to the ground. 'Stand up. Stop falling down,' Kueng shouts. 'Stay on your feet and face the car door.' 'Please man. Don't leave me by myself man, please. I'm just claustrophobic,' Floyd begs
'Y'all, I am going to die in here,' Floyd protests. 'I'm going to die, man. I just had COVID, man. I don't want to go back to that.' Lane offers to roll the cruiser's windows down to help his phobia but Floyd is still seen to struggle. 'I'm scared as f**k,' he says
While still in the car, Floyd says for the first time the line that has become synonymous with his death. 'I can't breathe.' Shortly afterwards Chauvin and Thao arrive on the scene
The two officers then walk Floyd to the squad car and the struggle really begins when Floyd refuses to get in, saying he has claustrophobia.
He falls to the ground. 'Stand up. Stop falling down,' Kueng shouts. 'Stay on your feet and face the car door.'
'Please man. Don't leave me by myself man, please. I'm just claustrophobic.'
'Well you're still going in the car,' Lane says.
'Y'all, I am going to die in here,' Floyd protests. 'I'm going to die, man. I just had COVID, man. I don't want to go back to that.'
Lane offers to roll the cruiser's windows down to help his phobia but Floyd still struggles. 'I'm scared as f***,' he says.
A bystander tells Floyd to calm down because he cannot win in the situation he is in. 'I don't want to win,' Floyd says. 'I'm claustrophobic and I've got anxiety. I don't want to do nothing to them.'
While still in the car, Floyd says for the first time the line that has become synonymous with his death. 'I can't breathe.' Shortly afterwards Chauvin and Thao arrive on the scene.
The officers finally get him in the squad car and close the rear driver's side door behind him, but for a reason that is not clear from the video, Floyd comes out of the passenger side door still struggling.
Within seconds he is lying on the sidewalk with Chauvin's knee pressed on his neck and Lane and Kueng helping to restrain him.
He says he can't breathe over and over again and calls for his 'momma' but his voice slowly gets weaker as his life drains away.
'Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead,' he says at one point.
The officers finally get Floyd in the squad car and close the rear driver's side door behind him, but for a reason that is not clear from the video, he comes out of the passenger side door still struggling
Within seconds he is lying on the sidewalk with Chauvin's knee on his neck. He says he can't breathe over and over again and calls for his 'momma' but his voice slowly gets weaker as his life drains away
When Floyd continues to say he can't breathe, Kueng is heard telling him. 'You're fine. You're talking fine.' Floyd replies: 'I'll probably just die this way.' 'I'm through,' Floyd says. 'I'm claustrophobic. My stomach hurts. My neck hurts. Everything hurts. I need some water or something, please'
Kueng is seen nonchalantly picking a pebble from the squad car tire with his right hand as he restrains Floyd's legs with his left
As Floyd stops moving Chauvin keeps his knee on his neck, despite complaints from a small crowd that has gathered. 'Check his pulse,' one man says repeatedly. 'You call what you are doing okay?' Pictured: Kueng picking a pebble from the tire
The rookie cop callously picked a pebble from the squad car tire just inches from the dying man and seconds before Floyd draws his last breath
But the other officers do little to stop Chauvin. At one point Lane asks: 'Should we roll him on his side?' But Chauvin replies. 'No, he's staying where we've got him.' 'Okay,' Lane says. 'I just worry about the excited delirium or whatever.' 'Well, that's why we got the ambulance coming,' says Chauvin. By the time EMTs arrive, Floyd is dead
Kueng is seen nonchalantly picking a pebble from the squad car tire with his right hand as he restrains Floyd's legs with his left.
As his knee presses the life out of Floyd, Chauvin, the most senior officer on the scene, asks rookies Lane and Kueng if they are okay. 'My knee might be a little scratched but I will survive,' Lane answers.
Thao asks his fellow officers whether Floyd is high.
'I believe so. We found a pipe,' Kueng replies. Lane says: 'We found a weed pipe. There might be something else, there might be like PCP or something.'
When Floyd continues to wail that he can’t breathe, Kueng is heard telling him. ‘You’re fine. You’re talking fine.’
Floyd replies: 'I'll probably just die this way.'
'I'm through,' Floyd says. 'I'm claustrophobic. My stomach hurts. My neck hurts. Everything hurts. I need some water or something, please.'
'Then stop talking. Stop yelling,' Chauvin replies. 'It takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk.'
As Floyd stops moving Chauvin keeps his knee on his neck, despite complaints from a small crowd that has gathered.
'Check his pulse,' one man says repeatedly. 'You call what you are doing okay?
But the other officers do little to stop Chauvin. At one point Lane asks: 'Should we roll him on his side?' But Chauvin replies. 'No, he's staying where we've got him.'
'Okay,' Lane says. 'I just worry about the excited delirium or whatever.'
'Well, that's why we got the ambulance coming,' Chauvin says.
By the time EMTs arrive, George Floyd is dead.


bonginoreport--2020-08-03--D.C. Police Only Arrested 4 During Riots – but Arrested 2 Pro Lifers Peacefully Protesting on Saturd

D.C. Police Only Arrested 4 During Riots – but Arrested 2 Pro Lifers Peacefully Protesting on Saturday

• The Metropolitan Police Department arrested only four people for defacing property during occasional protests and riots over the course of almost two months in the District of Columbia .
• On Saturday , MPD arrested two pro-lifers for writing “ black preborn lives matter ” outside of a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic .
• “ If you open the door to free speech on the city streets to one group , ” Students for Life Executive Director Kristan Hawkins told the Daily Caller News Foundation , “ you can ’ t shut it to others.
” The Metropolitan Police @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the District of Columbia as occasional riots engulfed portions of the city over nearly two months , but arrested two pro-lifers for writing “ black preborn lives matter ” in chalk Saturday .
MPD spokeswoman Alaina Gertz confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation Monday that only four people were arrested for defacing private/public property during protests and riots in late May , June and most of July — numbers reflected in the MPD ’ s “ Unrest-Related Arrest Data ” between May 30 and July 17 .
( RELATED : DC @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pro-Life Messages In Chalk ) According to the dataset : “ An arrest was considered ‘ unrest-related ’ if it was a curfew violation where a person refused to return home despite receiving a warning , and/or if the person committed another arrestable offense in a public space or due to unlawful entry of a private space , co-located with or near in time or place to demonstrations going on in the city at the time , and appearing clearly or likely linked to the civil unrest in the city.
” The four @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to MPD data , were 24-year-old Henry Chen , arrested May 30 , 18-year-old Raphael Snead , arrested May 31 , 18-year-old Kayla Cureton , arrested June 8 , and 27-year-old Tayvon Turner , arrested July 7 .
( RELATED : Rioters Vandalize WWII Memorial , DC Monuments ) MPD then arrested two members of the Students for Life of America group Saturday morning for chalking pro-life sentiments , including the slogan “ Black Preborn Lives Matter , ” on the road in front of a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic .
Gertz told @ @ @ @ @ @ @ members were arrested for “ defacing of private/public property ” and were later “ both citation released.
” Some protests in DC since May have turned violent and chaotic , frequently after dark .
The SFLA members were arrested early Saturday morning during the daylight at an event where less than 50 people were present , Students for Life spokeswoman Kristi Hamrick told the DCNF .
Police arrested both 29-year-old Warner DePriest , a strategic partnerships advisor to the group , and 22-year-old student leader Erica Caporaletti , Hamrick told the DCNF .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ waiting at the clinic when the pro-lifers arrived .
( RELATED : Historic St. John ’ s Church Set Ablaze In DC As Another Night Of Riots Engulfs Country ) “ The fact that two Students for Life of America students were arrested for chalking BLACK PREBORN LIVES MATTER shows that government officials are practicing viewpoint discrimination to unconstitutionally block pro-life American ’ s Free Speech rights , ” Students for Life Executive Director Kristan Hawkins told the DCNF .
“ If you open the door to free speech on the city streets @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t shut it to others.
” Hawkins noted that the group is seeking legal remedies and speaking with lawyers about their next steps .
MPD did not address why so few persons were arrested for defacing public property during the recorded “ unrest ” period , though photographs of the riots and protests show that many buildings and statues throughout the nation ’ s capital were defaced with BLM slogans , graffiti , anti-police sentiment , and curse words .
DC ’ s Mayor Muriel Bowser commissioned the “ Black Lives Matter ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of DC across from the White House in print large enough to be seen from space , Fox 5 reported .
The mural included the symbol of the D.C. flag — two horizontal bars topped by three stars — after which activists painted “ Defund the Police , ” making the phrase appear “ Black Lives Matter = Defund the Police , ” the Washington Post reported .
Bowser ’ s government removed the D.C. flag , but allowed “ Defund the Police ” to remain , the publication reported .
“ Certain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of D.C. are under the jurisdiction of federal law enforcement agencies , ” Gertz said , referring the DCNF to a list of persons whom the MPD is searching for regarding “ multiple offenses that occurred during the recent First Amendment demonstrations , including the Defacing of Private/Public Property.
” Three individuals on the MPD ’ s list of persons of interest are being sought for defacing public or private property , according to the list of suspects .
“ I can only comment on specific incidents in which MPD is the responding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ added .
Students for Life of America and the Frederick Douglass Foundation had planned to write the words “ BLACK PREBORN LIVES MATTER ” on the sidewalk outside an abortion clinic in Washington , D.C. Saturday morning , according to a Students for Life press release .
The group advertised the event before it took place through press emails .
Students for Life also said it obtained a permit for the event , but did not respond to requests for comment from the DCNF about this permit .
According to MPD , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but needed a permit from D.C. Department of Transportation to also be able to mark the roads .
D.C .
DOT did not immediately respond to a request for comment .
( RELATED : Rioters Deface Memorial Honoring Those Killed By Communist Regimes ) Both advocacy groups sent letter on July 20 to Mayor Muriel Bowser requesting permission to paint the words “ Black Preborn Lives Matter ” in order “ to celebrate the beautiful children with endless potential who are the future of their community and deserve the opportunity to make @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has not responded to many requests for comment regarding the incident and the July 20 letter .
Editor ’ s note : This post has been updated .
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience .
For licensing opportunities of our original content , please contact licensing @ dailycallernewsfoundation.org .

The Metropolitan Police Department arrested only four people for defacing property during occasional protests and riots over the course of almost two months in the District of Columbia.
On Saturday, MPD arrested two pro-lifers for writing “black preborn lives matter” outside of a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic.
“If you open the door to free speech on the city streets to one group,” Students for Life Executive Director Kristan Hawkins told the Daily Caller News Foundation, “you can’t shut it to others.”
The Metropolitan Police Department arrested four people for defacing property in the District of Columbia as occasional riots engulfed portions of the city over nearly two months, but arrested two pro-lifers for writing “black preborn lives matter” in chalk Saturday.
MPD spokeswoman Alaina Gertz confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation Monday that only four people were arrested for defacing private/public property during protests and riots in late May, June and most of July — numbers reflected in the MPD’s “Unrest-Related Arrest Data” between May 30 and July 17. (RELATED: DC Police Reveal Why They Arrested Teens Writing Pro-Life Messages In Chalk)
According to the dataset: “An arrest was considered ‘unrest-related’ if it was a curfew violation where a person refused to return home despite receiving a warning, and/or if the person committed another arrestable offense in a public space or due to unlawful entry of a private space, co-located with or near in time or place to demonstrations going on in the city at the time, and appearing clearly or likely linked to the civil unrest in the city.”
The four people arrested for defacing property, according to MPD data, were 24-year-old Henry Chen, arrested May 30, 18-year-old Raphael Snead, arrested May 31, 18-year-old Kayla Cureton, arrested June 8, and 27-year-old Tayvon Turner, arrested July 7. (RELATED: Rioters Vandalize WWII Memorial, DC Monuments)
MPD then arrested two members of the Students for Life of America group Saturday morning for chalking pro-life sentiments, including the slogan “Black Preborn Lives Matter,” on the road in front of a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic.
Gertz told the DCNF that the Students for Life members were arrested for “defacing of private/public property” and were later “both citation released.”
Some protests in DC since May have turned violent and chaotic, frequently after dark. The SFLA members were arrested early Saturday morning during the daylight at an event where less than 50 people were present, Students for Life spokeswoman Kristi Hamrick told the DCNF.
Police arrested both 29-year-old Warner DePriest, a strategic partnerships advisor to the group, and 22-year-old student leader Erica Caporaletti, Hamrick told the DCNF. Hamrick said that six police cars were waiting at the clinic when the pro-lifers arrived. (RELATED: Historic St. John’s Church Set Ablaze In DC As Another Night Of Riots Engulfs Country)
“The fact that two Students for Life of America students were arrested for chalking BLACK PREBORN LIVES MATTER shows that government officials are practicing viewpoint discrimination to unconstitutionally block pro-life American’s Free Speech rights,” Students for Life Executive Director Kristan Hawkins told the DCNF. “If you open the door to free speech on the city streets to one group, you can’t shut it to others.”
Hawkins noted that the group is seeking legal remedies and speaking with lawyers about their next steps.
MPD did not address why so few persons were arrested for defacing public property during the recorded “unrest” period, though photographs of the riots and protests show that many buildings and statues throughout the nation’s capital were defaced with BLM slogans, graffiti, anti-police sentiment, and curse words.
DC’s Mayor Muriel Bowser commissioned the “Black Lives Matter” slogan to be painted on the streets of DC across from the White House in print large enough to be seen from space, Fox 5 reported.
The mural included the symbol of the D.C. flag — two horizontal bars topped by three stars — after which activists painted “Defund the Police,” making the phrase appear “Black Lives Matter = Defund the Police,” the Washington Post reported. Bowser’s government removed the D.C. flag, but allowed “Defund the Police” to remain, the publication reported.
“Certain statues, public buildings, and areas of D.C. are under the jurisdiction of federal law enforcement agencies,” Gertz said, referring the DCNF to a list of persons whom the MPD is searching for regarding “multiple offenses that occurred during the recent First Amendment demonstrations, including the Defacing of Private/Public Property.”
Three individuals on the MPD’s list of persons of interest are being sought for defacing public or private property, according to the list of suspects.
“I can only comment on specific incidents in which MPD is the responding agency within that jurisdiction,” Gertz added.
Students for Life of America and the Frederick Douglass Foundation had planned to write the words “BLACK PREBORN LIVES MATTER” on the sidewalk outside an abortion clinic in Washington, D.C. Saturday morning, according to a Students for Life press release.
The group advertised the event before it took place through press emails. Students for Life also said it obtained a permit for the event, but did not respond to requests for comment from the DCNF about this permit.
According to MPD, the groups had obtained a permit to assemble, but needed a permit from D.C. Department of Transportation to also be able to mark the roads. D.C. DOT did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (RELATED: Rioters Deface Memorial Honoring Those Killed By Communist Regimes)
Both advocacy groups sent letter on July 20 to Mayor Muriel Bowser requesting permission to paint the words “Black Preborn Lives Matter” in order “to celebrate the beautiful children with endless potential who are the future of their community and deserve the opportunity to make their mark in the world.”
Bowser has not responded to many requests for comment regarding the incident and the July 20 letter.
WATCH:
Editor’s note: This post has been updated.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.


bonginoreport--2020-08-03--IDF Kills Four Terrorists Planting Bombs On Syria Border

Israeli forces foiled an attempt to place bombs along the border with Syria , opening fire and hitting four “ terrorists , ” the Israel Defense Forces said after midnight Sunday .
The incident comes with the military on high alert for an attack by Hezbollah , which is seeking revenge for a fighter killed in an airstrike attributed to Israel .
“ A short time ago , an IDF force foiled an attempt to place explosive devices along the border with Syria , ” the army said in a statement .
“ Special forces that were carrying out an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ southern Golan Heights spotted a cell with a number of terrorists planting explosive devices along the border.
” Get The Times of Israel 's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up The army said “ an IDF force and an aircraft opened fire together on the four-member cell and hit them.
” There were no casualties to the IDF .
The statement noted that IDF forces in the north were on a high level of alert and warned Syria that that Israel holds Damascus responsible for any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
While the statement only said the terrorists were “ hit , ” an IDF spokesperson tweeted they were now “ former terrorists ” and indicated they were killed .
The incident came amid peak tensions in the area as the military braced for violence by Hezbollah along the border after an alleged attempted attack by the terror group last Monday .
Hezbollah has also been active in Syria , where it fought in support of the Assad regime .
Over the past weeks , Hezbollah has threatened some form of retaliation for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ last week in Syria in an airstrike that it attributed to Israel , but which the Jewish state has not officially acknowledged conducting .
Bracing for the attack , the IDF said it was sending additional “ advanced ” firepower in the form of precision-guided surface-to-surface missiles , additional combat intelligence units and special forces to the area .
Last Monday , the IDF said it thwarted an attempt by Hezbollah to send a team of fighters into the Israeli-controlled territory of Mount Dov , also known as Shebaa Farms , to carry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ military , the Hezbollah cell made it a few meters across the border before IDF troops opened fire at the operatives — apparently not hitting them , but driving them back into Lebanon .
Hezbollah officially denied that an attack had taken place , but did not explicitly dispute that its members had crossed into the Israeli-controlled enclave .
Israeli defense officials scoffed at the terror group ’ s denial , saying the infiltration attempt had been filmed by military security cameras and that the operatives who took part in it were armed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the incident .
The terror group said a reprisal for its fallen operative in Syria was still to come .
The IDF said the decision to send the additional units to the IDF Northern Command was made in light of a “ situational assessment.
” Those reinforcements joined an infantry battalion , additional Iron Dome missile defense batteries and other troops that were sent to the Northern Command last week when Hezbollah first began indicating it planned to carry out an attack along the border as revenge for its fallen operative .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ conveyed messages to Lebanon , through third parties , that it did not want the border altercation to devolve into a war .
In the past , Hezbollah has vowed to retaliate for losses of its fighters in Syria with attacks on Israel .
This was the case in September , when the terror group fired three anti-tank guided missiles at Israeli military targets along the Lebanese border , narrowly missing an IDF armored ambulance with five soldiers inside , after the IDF killed two of its fighters in Syria the month before @

Israeli forces foiled an attempt to place bombs along the border with Syria, opening fire and hitting four “terrorists,” the Israel Defense Forces said after midnight Sunday.
The incident comes with the military on high alert for an attack by Hezbollah, which is seeking revenge for a fighter killed in an airstrike attributed to Israel.
“A short time ago, an IDF force foiled an attempt to place explosive devices along the border with Syria,” the army said in a statement. “Special forces that were carrying out an ambush near an IDF post in the southern Golan Heights spotted a cell with a number of terrorists planting explosive devices along the border.”
The army said “an IDF force and an aircraft opened fire together on the four-member cell and hit them.”
There were no casualties to the IDF.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Newsletter email address Get it By signing up, you agree to the terms
The statement noted that IDF forces in the north were on a high level of alert and warned Syria that that Israel holds Damascus responsible for any attacks emanating from it’s territory.
While the statement only said the terrorists were “hit,” an IDF spokesperson tweeted they were now “former terrorists” and indicated they were killed.
IDF troops on the southern Golan Heights just thwarted an IED attack by four former terrorists. No IDF casualties. Advertisement — Jonathan Conricus (@LTCJonathan) August 2, 2020
The incident came amid peak tensions in the area as the military braced for violence by Hezbollah along the border after an alleged attempted attack by the terror group last Monday. Hezbollah has also been active in Syria, where it fought in support of the Assad regime.
Over the past weeks, Hezbollah has threatened some form of retaliation for the death of one of its fighters last week in Syria in an airstrike that it attributed to Israel, but which the Jewish state has not officially acknowledged conducting.
Bracing for the attack, the IDF said it was sending additional “advanced” firepower in the form of precision-guided surface-to-surface missiles, additional combat intelligence units and special forces to the area.
Last Monday, the IDF said it thwarted an attempt by Hezbollah to send a team of fighters into the Israeli-controlled territory of Mount Dov, also known as Shebaa Farms, to carry out an attack. According to the military, the Hezbollah cell made it a few meters across the border before IDF troops opened fire at the operatives — apparently not hitting them, but driving them back into Lebanon.
Hezbollah officially denied that an attack had taken place, but did not explicitly dispute that its members had crossed into the Israeli-controlled enclave.
Advertisement
Israeli defense officials scoffed at the terror group’s denial, saying the infiltration attempt had been filmed by military security cameras and that the operatives who took part in it were armed. The IDF did not release film of the incident.
The terror group said a reprisal for its fallen operative in Syria was still to come.
The IDF said the decision to send the additional units to the IDF Northern Command was made in light of a “situational assessment.”
Those reinforcements joined an infantry battalion, additional Iron Dome missile defense batteries and other troops that were sent to the Northern Command last week when Hezbollah first began indicating it planned to carry out an attack along the border as revenge for its fallen operative.
Following the incident on Monday, Israel conveyed messages to Lebanon, through third parties, that it did not want the border altercation to devolve into a war.
In the past, Hezbollah has vowed to retaliate for losses of its fighters in Syria with attacks on Israel. This was the case in September, when the terror group fired three anti-tank guided missiles at Israeli military targets along the Lebanese border, narrowly missing an IDF armored ambulance with five soldiers inside, after the IDF killed two of its fighters in Syria the month before.
Judah Ari Gross contributed to this report


bonginoreport--2020-08-03--“Deadliest Catch” Star Mahlon Reyes Dead at 38

Mahlon Reyes , a deckhand in the Discovery Channel hit “ Deadliest Catch ” about fishing for Alaska king crab , has died at the age of 38 .
The Flathead County Sheriff ’ s Office in Montana confirmed that Reyes died at 12:10 a.m. July 27 at Kalispell Regional Medical Center in Montana .
An autopsy at the Montana State Crime Laboratory is pending , according to Entertainment Tonight .
The Discovery Channel also confirmed Reyes ’ s death .
The website TMZ quoted Reyes ’ wife , Heather Sullivan , as saying that while in Whitefish , Montana @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on July 25 .
She said the family decided on July 26 to take him off life support because of the damage his body had suffered in the heart attack .
TRENDING : Detroit Police Chief Offers Simple Explanation on Why Mob Has n't Taken Over : 'We Do n't Retreat Here' A Facebook post on a memorial page set up for Reyes went into further detail : “ On Saturday 7/26 mahlon suffered a heart attack when paramedics reached him he was not breathing and had no pulse .
The doctors , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ worked so hard to get him back and after 45 minutes they were able to get his pulse back .
He was transferred to the ICU at KRMC .
Mahlon never woke up there was too much time without oxygen , causing irreversible brain damage , ” the post stated .
“ On Sunday night our family together made the hardest choice we ’ ve ever made and that was to remove him from life support .
Mahlon ’ s body was tired and had put up an amazing fight .
He was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Shortly after midnight on July 27th he passed with his brother and mom right by his side His oldest kids , some of his best friends were all with him as well although they couldn ’ t be by his they were there as well .
He was surrounded by so much love.
” Sullivan told USA Today in an email that her family is recalling their time with Reyes to make the “ impossible situation bearable.
” “ We laugh and remember all the funny stories and have been surrounded by an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ family , ” Sullivan wrote .
“ I am in awe of the people that he touched just by his positive attitude and smile.
” “ He was my rock and I was his.
” RELATED : Actor Wilford Brimley Dead at Age 85 : 'He Was One of a Kind' Some , including “ Deadliest Catch ” deck boss Nick McGlashan , paid their respects on Twitter .
According to USA Today , Sullivan said that Reyes was cremated and his closest friends will spread his ashes in the Bering Sea and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ where he and his brother would snowcat .
These are two of his favorite places.
” His “ Deadliest Catch ” co-stars will spread the ashes in the Bering Sea , Fox News reported .
According to USA Today , the Discovery Channel , in its statement about Reyes , wrote : “ So sad , he was so young .
Our thoughts and prayers to his family.
” We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism .
Read our editorial standards .

Mahlon Reyes, a deckhand in the Discovery Channel hit “Deadliest Catch” about fishing for Alaska king crab, has died at the age of 38.
The Flathead County Sheriff’s Office in Montana confirmed that Reyes died at 12:10 a.m. July 27 at Kalispell Regional Medical Center in Montana. An autopsy at the Montana State Crime Laboratory is pending, according to Entertainment Tonight. The Discovery Channel also confirmed Reyes’s death.
The website TMZ quoted Reyes’ wife, Heather Sullivan, as saying that while in Whitefish, Montana, Reyes suffered a massive heart attack on July 25. She said the family decided on July 26 to take him off life support because of the damage his body had suffered in the heart attack.
https://t.co/HPaoMEvUJn Mahlon Reyes, a deckhand on the Discovery Channel’s reality show “Deadliest Catch,” has died of a heart attack. He was 38. — Eli Anderson (@ElliLAnderson) August 3, 2020
A Facebook post on a memorial page set up for Reyes went into further detail:
“On Saturday 7/26 mahlon suffered a heart attack when paramedics reached him he was not breathing and had no pulse. The doctors, nurses and team at North Valley Hospital worked so hard to get him back and after 45 minutes they were able to get his pulse back. He was transferred to the ICU at KRMC. Mahlon never woke up there was too much time without oxygen, causing irreversible brain damage,” the post stated.
“On Sunday night our family together made the hardest choice we’ve ever made and that was to remove him from life support. Mahlon’s body was tired and had put up an amazing fight. He was the strongest guy we knew.
“Shortly after midnight on July 27th he passed with his brother and mom right by his side His oldest kids, some of his best friends were all with him as well although they couldn’t be by his they were there as well. He was surrounded by so much love.”
Sullivan told USA Today in an email that her family is recalling their time with Reyes to make the “impossible situation bearable.”
“We laugh and remember all the funny stories and have been surrounded by an amazing group of our best friends and family,” Sullivan wrote. “I am in awe of the people that he touched just by his positive attitude and smile.”
“He was my rock and I was his.”
Some, including “Deadliest Catch” deck boss Nick McGlashan, paid their respects on Twitter.
Love you Mahlonn m v you’re missed. RIP https://t.co/JrlqRzRRjS — Nick McGlashan (@NickMcglashan) August 1, 2020
According to USA Today, Sullivan said that Reyes was cremated and his closest friends will spread his ashes in the Bering Sea and in Montana’s Swan Range mountains “where he and his brother would snowcat. These are two of his favorite places.”
His “Deadliest Catch” co-stars will spread the ashes in the Bering Sea, Fox News reported.
According to USA Today, the Discovery Channel, in its statement about Reyes, wrote: “So sad, he was so young. Our thoughts and prayers to his family.”
Reyes appeared on 14 “Deadliest Catch” episodes.
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