thewashingtonstandard--2020-07-22--Partisan Media Coverage of Epstein Masks His Links to Both Sides of the Political Establishment

The Jeffrey Epstein saga continues to rumble on .
Earlier this month , the deceased sexual predator ’ s longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested and charged with luring and grooming children into his sex ring .
Epstein , who died in prison in suspicious circumstances last August , was connected to huge swaths of the global elite , counting billionaire business owners , hotshot lawyers and professors , members of the royal family , and foreign leaders among his closest acquaintances .
Perhaps the two most important and notable , however , given their enormous influence , are former @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Donald Trump .
Clinton , already infamous for the numerous women accusing him of sexual misconduct ( including rape ) , is known to have flown all around the world with Epstein on his private jet , the Lolita Express , which he used to ferry girls to his private Caribbean island where he allegedly imprisoned and raped them .
Locals report seeing the former president there .
President Trump also has deep ties to the disgraced New York fraudster .
“ I ’ ve known Jeff for fifteen years .
Terrific guy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ He ’ s a lot of fun to be with .
It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do , and many of them are on the younger side .
No doubt about it.
” Like Clinton , Trump was also a flyer on the Lolita Express , Epstein claiming both that it was he who introduced him to his wife Melania and that Clinton “ owed him some favors.
” The office of the president of the United States is the most powerful in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cajoled and blackmailed his powerful associates .
Did the two presidents ’ connections to him influence U.S. public policy ?
If we do not investigate , we can not know .
We rely largely on the corporate press to carry out such investigations , shaping our understanding of the world in the process .
However , the great majority of what we consume comes mediated through ultra-partisan outlets pushing a clear agenda .
The two most widely viewed networks in the U.S. are Fox News and MSNBC , both of which have clear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and MSNBC to the Democrats .
Unfortunately , as well shall see , they are both spinning the Epstein story hard to shield their champion from blame while simultaneously demonizing the opposing president .
As Liz Franczak from the Epstein-focused TrueAnon podcast said , the story , “ so perfectly encapsulates and implicates both sides of the ruling class and yet you have these polarized sides , team red , team blue , pulling out what they want for their own purposes and refusing to understand , see or even admit that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Media have already been under the spotlight for their poor coverage of the affair .
Epstein is known to have had connections to influential media figures like George Stephanopoulos , Katie Couric , Charlie Rose in addition to some of the media ’ s biggest sponsors , such as Bill Gates .
Last year , ABC News anchor Amy Robach was caught on a hot mic lambasting network executives for killing her investigations into his network — precisely because of his connections — allowing him to remain at large for three more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ consequences was the producer accused of leaking the clip in the first place , not those who protected , “ the most prolific pedophile this country has ever known , ” as Robach described him .
In order to gauge the level of partisan coverage , this study analyzed all articles or show transcripts from MSNBC.com featuring the words “ Jeffrey Epstein Donald Trump ” or “ Jeffrey Epstein Bill Clinton ” and all results appearing under the “ Jeffrey Epstein ” topic on FoxNews.com , counting the number of articles mentioning each @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sex offender .
The date range was July 6 , 2019 ( Epstein ’ s arrest ) to July 13 , 2020 ( the first day of data collection ) .
Full documentation can be found here .
The results were exactly as Franczak suspected , with both networks showing a strong bias ( an over 2:1 ratio ) towards associating the opposing party to the pedophile , while downplaying their own candidate ’ s incriminating ties to him .
19 MSNBC articles or segments mentioned Clinton ’ s links to Epstein , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But Fox News flipped that on its head , associating Epstein far more with Clinton ( 78 times ) than with Trump ( 37 times ) .
While these findings already reveal a great disparity in the coverage , they actually undersell the level of bias in reporting because they do not take into account the quality and context of the references .
On the MSNBC show , “ The 11th Hour , ” a former federal prosecutor reacted to the news of Epstein ’ s arrest by saying “ I ’ m @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democrats in there , let it come out .
If there are Republicans in there , let it come out .
This should not be about politics .
This is – if anybody abused those girls , it ought to come out and they ought to be prosecuted and I ’ m for it.
” Host Brian Williams responded : “ Yes , hear hear , I think most thinking individuals would agree with that.
” But the media didn ’ t do that .
MSNBC constantly stressed Trump ’ s connections to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ own links .
Indeed , on July 17 , 2019 , five separate MSNBC shows centered around the Trump-Epstein connection , but only one noted any link to Clinton , and even that was merely when a guest began listing a number of powerful people he had ties to , and was not brought up again , the show going back to discussing at length Trump ’ s complicity .
Nevertheless , this counted as one hit for Trump , and one for Clinton .
Meanwhile , Fox News did the same but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ emphasis on the former president ’ s ties to the notorious sexual predator , and rarely discussing the current president in relation to him .
Many of Fox ’ s mentions of Trump were included merely as a sentence of background information , for example , a July 8 , 2019 article noting , “ Epstein , who once counted as friends former President Bill Clinton , Britain ’ s Prince Andrew and President Trump , was arrested Saturday after his private jet touched down from France.
” In its “ Five Details @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fox included a section called the “ Bill Clinton Connection ” where it ( accurately ) described their long history , his multiple trips on the Lolita Express , and meetings they had in New York .
But it did not mention any connection to Trump whatsoever .
Indeed , the network appears to have gone to some lengths not to implicate the president , earlier this month cropping Trump out of a photo of Epstein and Maxwell it used to illustrate a segment .
Fox constantly detailed and centered the Clinton-Epstein relationship @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , “ Former President Bill Clinton insists he never visited the notorious “ orgy island ” of his late ex-pal Jeffrey Epstein – but now a second person begs to differ.
” “ Bill Clinton flew many times on Jeffrey Epstein ’ s private jet .
A private investigator told us that one of the co-pilots said Bill Clinton flew on the plane without secret service a few times and while young girls were dressed up as candy stripers .
Now , new photos have emerged showing the former President on Epstein ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ alleged madam .
Here he is with Ghislaine Maxwell , who is under FBI investigation for engaging in alleged underaged sex trafficking .
Ghislaine Maxwell also attended Chelsea Clinton ’ s wedding.
” Watters went on to show viewers a number of incriminating pictures of the ex-president .
On Epstein , Tucker Carlson stated that , “ He got away with it because he was affluent and he had many powerful friends like Bill Clinton.
” Yet Fox was far more likely to miss an opportunity to impugn Trump .
In dozens of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Prince Andrew , Fox often highlighted how Roberts accused Clinton of staying on Epstein ’ s private island , but only two mentioned that the 16-year-old Roberts was working for Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort when she was trafficked by Maxwell .
MSNBC was just as likely to play down unhelpful Epstein connections .
Only ten minutes into a segment called “ Why Trump ’ s White House is linked to Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking case ” did host Brian Williams mention Clinton ’ s connections to Epstein , before quickly returning to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ report on Epstein ’ s arrest with the words , “ A notorious convicted sex offender and friend of Donald Trump , a man whose escaped serious accountability for years seemingly thanks to it as enormous wealth and social connections is now behind bars.
” He later went on to say that “ Epstein is connected to some of the most powerful people in America in the world including Bill Clinton , Alan Dershowitz , Prince Andrew , and yes President Donald Trump – about which more in a bit , ” before @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump-Epstein connection .
Both these examples were coded as one article mentioning Trump and one for Clinton , despite the obvious disparity in emphasis .
For this reason , the study also counted the number of articles and segments specifically centering on each president ’ s relationship to the billionaire criminal .
These findings give a more accurate assessment of the level of partisan coverage , with 15 MSNBC pieces targeting Trump , but only 2 for Clinton , whereas Fox News was its opposite , with 13 on Clinton but only one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Clinton was brought up on MSNBC it was as an accusation made by Trump , which hosts and guests quickly challenged .
On the August 13 edition of Hardball , for instance , Clinton was only mentioned in connection to Epstein because Trump had the “ chutzpah ” to “ trash his name , ” according to host Chris Matthews , his guest Paul Butler , a former federal prosecutor , immediately turning the attack back on him , stating : Thus , both networks did their level best to maintain the illusion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ while the other president was deeply implicated in the scandal , feeding into a climate of extreme polarization , where each side believes that the other is hopelessly implicated , while theirs remain relatively blameless .
Regular viewers of each network would routinely be presented with great details about the enemy president ’ s crimes , but , if relying solely on that network for information , would be largely clueless about their own president ’ s profoundly suspicious links .
Indeed , MSNBC has not mentioned Clinton with regards to Epstein since @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not be a left-right issue .
Instead , it exposes how so many of those at the top of society belong to a sordid network of extremely wealthy and powerful people , sharing far more in common with each other than they do with the rest of us .
His connections to all manner of business tycoons , royals , celebrities and politicians from both sides of the political spectrum expose the system as rigged and fundamentally corrupt .
Yet corporate media , who we rely upon to inform us and curate our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Epstein a partisan affair by constantly emphasizing only one party ’ s connections to the pedophile .
Hats off to them : it was not an easy achievement .

The Jeffrey Epstein saga continues to rumble on. Earlier this month, the deceased sexual predator’s longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested and charged with luring and grooming children into his sex ring. Epstein, who died in prison in suspicious circumstances last August, was connected to huge swaths of the global elite, counting billionaire business owners, hotshot lawyers and professors, members of the royal family, and foreign leaders among his closest acquaintances.
Perhaps the two most important and notable, however, given their enormous influence, are former President Bill Clinton and current President, Donald Trump. Clinton, already infamous for the numerous women accusing him of sexual misconduct (including rape), is known to have flown all around the world with Epstein on his private jet, the Lolita Express, which he used to ferry girls to his private Caribbean island where he allegedly imprisoned and raped them. Locals report seeing the former president there.
President Trump also has deep ties to the disgraced New York fraudster. “I’ve known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy,” he said in 2002, “He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it.” Like Clinton, Trump was also a flyer on the Lolita Express, Epstein claiming both that it was he who introduced him to his wife Melania and that Clinton “owed him some favors.”
The office of the president of the United States is the most powerful in the world. Epstein is known to have cajoled and blackmailed his powerful associates. Did the two presidents’ connections to him influence U.S. public policy? If we do not investigate, we cannot know.
We rely largely on the corporate press to carry out such investigations, shaping our understanding of the world in the process. However, the great majority of what we consume comes mediated through ultra-partisan outlets pushing a clear agenda. The two most widely viewed networks in the U.S. are Fox News and MSNBC, both of which have clear party loyalties, Fox to the Republicans, and MSNBC to the Democrats. Unfortunately, as well shall see, they are both spinning the Epstein story hard to shield their champion from blame while simultaneously demonizing the opposing president. As Liz Franczak from the Epstein-focused TrueAnon podcast said, the story, “so perfectly encapsulates and implicates both sides of the ruling class and yet you have these polarized sides, team red, team blue, pulling out what they want for their own purposes and refusing to understand, see or even admit that this crosses both. This encapsulates everyone.”
Media have already been under the spotlight for their poor coverage of the affair. Epstein is known to have had connections to influential media figures like George Stephanopoulos, Katie Couric, Charlie Rose in addition to some of the media’s biggest sponsors, such as Bill Gates. Last year, ABC News anchor Amy Robach was caught on a hot mic lambasting network executives for killing her investigations into his network — precisely because of his connections — allowing him to remain at large for three more years. Yet the only one facing consequences was the producer accused of leaking the clip in the first place, not those who protected, “ the most prolific pedophile this country has ever known,” as Robach described him.
In order to gauge the level of partisan coverage, this study analyzed all articles or show transcripts from MSNBC.com featuring the words “Jeffrey Epstein Donald Trump” or “Jeffrey Epstein Bill Clinton” and all results appearing under the “Jeffrey Epstein” topic on FoxNews.com, counting the number of articles mentioning each president’s links to the deceased sex offender. The date range was July 6, 2019 (Epstein’s arrest) to July 13, 2020 (the first day of data collection). Full documentation can be found here.
The results were exactly as Franczak suspected, with both networks showing a strong bias (an over 2:1 ratio) towards associating the opposing party to the pedophile, while downplaying their own candidate’s incriminating ties to him. 19 MSNBC articles or segments mentioned Clinton’s links to Epstein, as opposed to 45 for Trump. But Fox News flipped that on its head, associating Epstein far more with Clinton (78 times) than with Trump (37 times).
While these findings already reveal a great disparity in the coverage, they actually undersell the level of bias in reporting because they do not take into account the quality and context of the references. On the MSNBC show, “The 11th Hour,” a former federal prosecutor reacted to the news of Epstein’s arrest by saying “I’m a lifelong Democrat. If there are Democrats in there, let it come out. If there are Republicans in there, let it come out. This should not be about politics. This is – if anybody abused those girls, it ought to come out and they ought to be prosecuted and I’m for it.” Host Brian Williams responded: “Yes, hear hear, I think most thinking individuals would agree with that.”
But the media didn’t do that. MSNBC constantly stressed Trump’s connections to Epstein, downplaying Bill Clinton’s own links. Indeed, on July 17, 2019, five separate MSNBC shows centered around the Trump-Epstein connection, but only one noted any link to Clinton, and even that was merely when a guest began listing a number of powerful people he had ties to, and was not brought up again, the show going back to discussing at length Trump’s complicity. Nevertheless, this counted as one hit for Trump, and one for Clinton.
Meanwhile, Fox News did the same but in the opposite direction, putting great emphasis on the former president’s ties to the notorious sexual predator, and rarely discussing the current president in relation to him. Many of Fox’s mentions of Trump were included merely as a sentence of background information, for example, a July 8, 2019 article noting, “Epstein, who once counted as friends former President Bill Clinton, Britain’s Prince Andrew and President Trump, was arrested Saturday after his private jet touched down from France.”
In its “Five Details to Know” article on Epstein, Fox included a section called the “Bill Clinton Connection” where it (accurately) described their long history, his multiple trips on the Lolita Express, and meetings they had in New York. But it did not mention any connection to Trump whatsoever. Indeed, the network appears to have gone to some lengths not to implicate the president, earlier this month cropping Trump out of a photo of Epstein and Maxwell it used to illustrate a segment.
Fox constantly detailed and centered the Clinton-Epstein relationship, one article beginning with the sentence, “Former President Bill Clinton insists he never visited the notorious “orgy island” of his late ex-pal Jeffrey Epstein – but now a second person begs to differ.”
Host Jesse Watters began a TV segment in January by stating:
“Bill Clinton flew many times on Jeffrey Epstein’s private jet. A private investigator told us that one of the co-pilots said Bill Clinton flew on the plane without secret service a few times and while young girls were dressed up as candy stripers. Now, new photos have emerged showing the former President on Epstein’s plane and with Epstein’s alleged madam. Here he is with Ghislaine Maxwell, who is under FBI investigation for engaging in alleged underaged sex trafficking. Ghislaine Maxwell also attended Chelsea Clinton’s wedding.”
Watters went on to show viewers a number of incriminating pictures of the ex-president. On Epstein, Tucker Carlson stated that, “He got away with it because he was affluent and he had many powerful friends like Bill Clinton.” Yet Fox was far more likely to miss an opportunity to impugn Trump. In dozens of articles detailing Virginia Roberts’ allegations against Prince Andrew, Fox often highlighted how Roberts accused Clinton of staying on Epstein’s private island, but only two mentioned that the 16-year-old Roberts was working for Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort when she was trafficked by Maxwell.
MSNBC was just as likely to play down unhelpful Epstein connections. Only ten minutes into a segment called “Why Trump’s White House is linked to Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking case” did host Brian Williams mention Clinton’s connections to Epstein, before quickly returning to Trump. Likewise Chris Hayes began a report on Epstein’s arrest with the words, “A notorious convicted sex offender and friend of Donald Trump, a man whose escaped serious accountability for years seemingly thanks to it as enormous wealth and social connections is now behind bars.” He later went on to say that “Epstein is connected to some of the most powerful people in America in the world including Bill Clinton, Alan Dershowitz, Prince Andrew, and yes President Donald Trump – about which more in a bit,” before launching into a long discussion of the Trump-Epstein connection. Both these examples were coded as one article mentioning Trump and one for Clinton, despite the obvious disparity in emphasis. For this reason, the study also counted the number of articles and segments specifically centering on each president’s relationship to the billionaire criminal.
These findings give a more accurate assessment of the level of partisan coverage, with 15 MSNBC pieces targeting Trump, but only 2 for Clinton, whereas Fox News was its opposite, with 13 on Clinton but only one for Trump.
Much of the time Clinton was brought up on MSNBC it was as an accusation made by Trump, which hosts and guests quickly challenged. On the August 13 edition of Hardball, for instance, Clinton was only mentioned in connection to Epstein because Trump had the “chutzpah” to “trash his name,” according to host Chris Matthews, his guest Paul Butler, a former federal prosecutor, immediately turning the attack back on him, stating:
I think Donald Trump is trying to deflect. If Bill Clinton has exposure then so does Donald Trump. Bill Clinton’s social lies with Epstein. So did Donald Trump. Bill Clinton was on the private plane. so was Donald Trump. The fact is that Mr. Epstein took his own life. He died while he was in the custody of the Trump administration. Bill Barr directs the Bureau of Prisons, and they allowed, in so ways that facilitated Mr. Epstein`s suicide.
Thus, both networks did their level best to maintain the illusion that their champion remained relatively taint-free, while the other president was deeply implicated in the scandal, feeding into a climate of extreme polarization, where each side believes that the other is hopelessly implicated, while theirs remain relatively blameless. Regular viewers of each network would routinely be presented with great details about the enemy president’s crimes, but, if relying solely on that network for information, would be largely clueless about their own president’s profoundly suspicious links. Indeed, MSNBC has not mentioned Clinton with regards to Epstein since last September.
The Epstein story should not be a left-right issue. Instead, it exposes how so many of those at the top of society belong to a sordid network of extremely wealthy and powerful people, sharing far more in common with each other than they do with the rest of us. His connections to all manner of business tycoons, royals, celebrities and politicians from both sides of the political spectrum expose the system as rigged and fundamentally corrupt. Yet corporate media, who we rely upon to inform us and curate our reality, have managed to make even Epstein a partisan affair by constantly emphasizing only one party’s connections to the pedophile. Hats off to them: it was not an easy achievement.
Article posted with permission from MintPress News


thewashingtonstandard--2020-07-22--Global Tensions Rise:  Who Is Blowing Up Iran?

Iran has suffered a series of bombings and fires at military facilities in recent weeks , including at major missile-production and nuclear facilities .
These incidents seem to be a constant string of fires and explosions at military and civilian sites across Iran in recent weeks .
These tensions , for all intents and purposes , do not feel organic in the least .
The mainstream media is hyping up the war rhetoric too , so it ’ s time to be alert for a potential staged third world war .
The artificial tensions are there , and most outlets @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Israel is involved in an extended campaign to pressure or damage Iran before President Donald Trump can be voted out of office in the November election , a former Israeli defense official and a current European Union intelligence official told Business Insider .
The United States and China are also ratcheting the tension to bowstring tight levels .
At some point , retaliation will happen .
Be prepared .
This is going to get ugly unless all militaries of the world refuse to fight each other , and we know that won @ @ @ @ @ @ @ staged and if there ’ s ever a time to wake up and refuse to participate in these banker funded wars , it ’ s now .
As Josh Sigurdson from World Alternative Media reports , the rising tensions between Iran , the United States , and the rest of the world continue as countless Iranian sites are mysteriously blown up .
Iran has not blamed the United States as of yet , however , it appears as though they ’ re trying NOT to fall into the war trap being set for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a tragic few months of economic mayhem , the monetary system needs a war .
The military-industrial complex certainly would love nothing more than to do vast deficit spending and printing to prop up the stock market even more artificially .
It would be the perfect end to the worst year , 2020 .
Another massive conflict to get people on their knees and to allocate more power to the central planners .
Please use this time to educate yourself about who and what the Federal Reserve is doing , with the help @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you know , the better you ’ ll be able to prepare .
Greg Mannarino : It ’ s Critical To Understand That The Goal Is “ Full Control By The Federal Reserve ” It All Comes Back To The Federal Reserve : The NWO Is Being Shoved Down Our Throats “ Government is organized crime , ” says Sigurdson , and the Federal Reserve is funding this .
This will be a massive tragedy , and it ’ s nothing short of terrorism committed by the government and central banks , who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to do this .
We live in disturbing times , and those who are pushing the New World Order are not going to stop .
It is up to us to figure this out .
We won ’ t be told the truth by anyone who is an authority , and that should be obvious by now .
Don ’ t feed the fear , feed your preps .
Keep your eyes open so you know what ’ s happening , and can take adequate preparedness steps .
They need you to stay @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it ’ s better to be free , prepared , and live your life on your terms .
Do not let them convince you to commit violence for them .
“ The terrorist networks we know as government knows no bounds.
” -Josh Sigurdson

Iran has suffered a series of bombings and fires at military facilities in recent weeks, including at major missile-production and nuclear facilities. These incidents seem to be a constant string of fires and explosions at military and civilian sites across Iran in recent weeks.
These tensions, for all intents and purposes, do not feel organic in the least. The mainstream media is hyping up the war rhetoric too, so it’s time to be alert for a potential staged third world war. The artificial tensions are there, and most outlets are claiming Israel is blowing up Iran.
Israel is involved in an extended campaign to pressure or damage Iran before President Donald Trump can be voted out of office in the November election, a former Israeli defense official and a current European Union intelligence official told Business Insider.
The United States and China are also ratcheting the tension to bowstring tight levels. At some point, retaliation will happen. Be prepared. This is going to get ugly unless all militaries of the world refuse to fight each other, and we know that won’t happen. This all feels staged and if there’s ever a time to wake up and refuse to participate in these banker funded wars, it’s now.
As Josh Sigurdson from World Alternative Media reports, the rising tensions between Iran, the United States, and the rest of the world continue as countless Iranian sites are mysteriously blown up. Iran has not blamed the United States as of yet, however, it appears as though they’re trying NOT to fall into the war trap being set for them.
It is apparent that after a tragic few months of economic mayhem, the monetary system needs a war. The military-industrial complex certainly would love nothing more than to do vast deficit spending and printing to prop up the stock market even more artificially. It would be the perfect end to the worst year, 2020. Another massive conflict to get people on their knees and to allocate more power to the central planners.
Please use this time to educate yourself about who and what the Federal Reserve is doing, with the help of the U.S. government. The more you know, the better you’ll be able to prepare.
Greg Mannarino: It’s Critical To Understand That The Goal Is “Full Control By The Federal Reserve”
It All Comes Back To The Federal Reserve: The NWO Is Being Shoved Down Our Throats
“Government is organized crime,” says Sigurdson, and the Federal Reserve is funding this. This will be a massive tragedy, and it’s nothing short of terrorism committed by the government and central banks, who, once again, are working together to do this. We live in disturbing times, and those who are pushing the New World Order are not going to stop. It is up to us to figure this out. We won’t be told the truth by anyone who is an authority, and that should be obvious by now.
Don’t feed the fear, feed your preps. Keep your eyes open so you know what’s happening, and can take adequate preparedness steps. They need you to stay in a state of fear, but it’s better to be free, prepared, and live your life on your terms. Do not let them convince you to commit violence for them.
“The terrorist networks we know as government knows no bounds.” -Josh Sigurdson
Article posted with permission from Mac Slavo


thewashingtonstandard--2020-07-22--Turkish Supreme Court: Mehmet the Conqueror Bought Hagia Sophia, So Of Course, It’s a Mosque

No one should be concerned about the conversion of Hagia Sophia , the foremost cathedral in the Christian world for nearly a thousand years , into a mosque – at least according to Shahid Qureshi , writing Monday in a Muslim publication known as the London Post .
Why not ?
Because Mehmet the Conqueror , the Ottoman Sultan who conquered Constantinople and destroyed the Byzantine Empire on May 29 , 1453 , bought the place fair and square .
So who could object ?
Once a mosque , always a mosque , and after all , the Christians sold @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mehmet “ purchased the property of Hagia Sophia from his personal wealth before converting it into a Masjid ( Mosque ) .
The details of the transaction are still stored in the Turkish Museum , ” and he even helpfully includes a photo of the bill of sale in his article .
“ This is the main reason , ” Qureshi explains , “ why the court ordered Aya Sofya to be re converted into a Masjid.
” Christians , you see , have no right to complain that Hagia Sophia will no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the human spirit open to all people , but will instead become a house of worship for Muslims only .
If the Christians are going to be upset over this , they have only the Christians who sold the cathedral to Mehmet to blame .
“ The credit , ” Qureshi asserts , “ really goes to the forward thinking Sultan Mehmet , the conqueror of Constantinople for purchasing the church and then creating a waqf ( endowment ) .
Had it not been for his wisdom , Kemal Ataturk ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a museum in 1935 ] would not have been able to be legally overturned.
” The claim that Mehmet bought Hagia Sophia fair and square has been making the rounds this week among Muslims in social media , and has spread so far and wide that I ’ ve received quite a few emails asking me whether it is true , as apparently both Muslims and non-Muslims are shutting down criticism of the conversion of the building by invoking this supposed real estate deal .
But whether or not the sales document that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the London Post is authentic , this entire claim is a transparent attempt to whitewash an act of cultural appropriation and annihilation on a massive scale .
It is useful to recall exactly how Hagia Sophia became a mosque on May 29 , 1453 .
The History of Jihad From Muhammad to ISIS tells the full story .
Once they breached the walls of Constantinople , Muslims raided monasteries and convents , emptying them of their inhabitants , and plundered private houses .
They entered Hagia Sophia , which for nearly a thousand @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Christendom .
The faithful had gathered within its hallowed walls to pray during the city ’ s last agony .
Inside the great cathedral , the Muslims killed the elderly and weak and led the rest off into slavery .
When the slaughter and pillage was finished , Mehmet ordered an Islamic scholar to mount the high pulpit of Hagia Sophia and declare that there was no God but Allah , and Muhammad was his prophet .
The magnificent old church was turned into a mosque ; hundreds of other churches in Constantinople @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Millions of Christians joined the ranks of the dhimmis , the subjugated people , denied basic rights under the hegemony of Islamic law .
Others were enslaved , and many were killed .
But what , then , of this bill of sale , which the Turkish Supreme Court apparently used it one justification for converting the cathedral into a mosque once again ?
What a coincidence that as the blood ran in rivers inside the great cathedral , its owners suddenly decided to sell .
This document could be genuine , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spoken of until now .
I ’ ve never seen mention of it in numerous histories of the conquest .
Also , if this “ sale ” did take place , it was obviously done under duress .
The Muslims took over Hagia Sophia on May 29 , 1453 , as they were plundering Constantinople and murdering or enslaving Christians wholesale .
The building was considered to have become a mosque when Mehmet sent the muezzin up to the pulpit to proclaim the Islamic shahada , not upon some sales agreement .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Emperor or whoever was deemed to be its owner was in no position to refuse to sell .
If someone came into your house , stole your possessions , killed your grandparents , enslaved your wife and children , and publicly announced that the house was his , and later gave you a bill of sale , would you consider this to be a fair-and-square real estate transaction ?

No one should be concerned about the conversion of Hagia Sophia, the foremost cathedral in the Christian world for nearly a thousand years, into a mosque – at least according to Shahid Qureshi, writing Monday in a Muslim publication known as the London Post. Why not? Because Mehmet the Conqueror, the Ottoman Sultan who conquered Constantinople and destroyed the Byzantine Empire on May 29, 1453, bought the place fair and square. So who could object? Once a mosque, always a mosque, and after all, the Christians sold it to him!
Qureshi claims that Mehmet “purchased the property of Hagia Sophia from his personal wealth before converting it into a Masjid (Mosque). The details of the transaction are still stored in the Turkish Museum,” and he even helpfully includes a photo of the bill of sale in his article. “This is the main reason,” Qureshi explains, “why the court ordered Aya Sofya to be re converted into a Masjid.”
Christians, you see, have no right to complain that Hagia Sophia will no longer be a museum, a monument of the human spirit open to all people, but will instead become a house of worship for Muslims only. If the Christians are going to be upset over this, they have only the Christians who sold the cathedral to Mehmet to blame. “The credit,” Qureshi asserts, “really goes to the forward thinking Sultan Mehmet, the conqueror of Constantinople for purchasing the church and then creating a waqf (endowment). Had it not been for his wisdom, Kemal Ataturk’s decision [to convert the mosque into a museum in 1935] would not have been able to be legally overturned.”
The claim that Mehmet bought Hagia Sophia fair and square has been making the rounds this week among Muslims in social media, and has spread so far and wide that I’ve received quite a few emails asking me whether it is true, as apparently both Muslims and non-Muslims are shutting down criticism of the conversion of the building by invoking this supposed real estate deal. But whether or not the sales document that has been circulating and is reproduced in the London Post is authentic, this entire claim is a transparent attempt to whitewash an act of cultural appropriation and annihilation on a massive scale.
It is useful to recall exactly how Hagia Sophia became a mosque on May 29, 1453.
The History of Jihad From Muhammad to ISIS tells the full story. Once they breached the walls of Constantinople, Muslims raided monasteries and convents, emptying them of their inhabitants, and plundered private houses. They entered Hagia Sophia, which for nearly a thousand years had been the grandest church in Christendom. The faithful had gathered within its hallowed walls to pray during the city’s last agony. Inside the great cathedral, the Muslims killed the elderly and weak and led the rest off into slavery.
When the slaughter and pillage was finished, Mehmet ordered an Islamic scholar to mount the high pulpit of Hagia Sophia and declare that there was no God but Allah, and Muhammad was his prophet. The magnificent old church was turned into a mosque; hundreds of other churches in Constantinople and elsewhere suffered the same fate. Millions of Christians joined the ranks of the dhimmis, the subjugated people, denied basic rights under the hegemony of Islamic law. Others were enslaved, and many were killed.
But what, then, of this bill of sale, which the Turkish Supreme Court apparently used it one justification for converting the cathedral into a mosque once again? What a coincidence that as the blood ran in rivers inside the great cathedral, its owners suddenly decided to sell. This document could be genuine, but it is noteworthy that it was never spoken of until now. I’ve never seen mention of it in numerous histories of the conquest. Also, if this “sale” did take place, it was obviously done under duress. The Muslims took over Hagia Sophia on May 29, 1453, as they were plundering Constantinople and murdering or enslaving Christians wholesale. The building was considered to have become a mosque when Mehmet sent the muezzin up to the pulpit to proclaim the Islamic shahada, not upon some sales agreement. The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople or the Byzantine Emperor or whoever was deemed to be its owner was in no position to refuse to sell.
If someone came into your house, stole your possessions, killed your grandparents, enslaved your wife and children, and publicly announced that the house was his, and later gave you a bill of sale, would you consider this to be a fair-and-square real estate transaction?
Article posted with permission from Robert Spencer


thewashingtonstandard--2020-07-22--Texas:  “Mommy, Why Is He Touching You Like That?” Cop Rapes Woman In Front Of 7-Year-Old Daughter

Texas : “ Mommy , Why Is He Touching You Like That ?
” Cop Rapes Woman In Front Of 7-Year-Old Daughter Houston , TX — As frequent readers of the Free Thought Project know , police sexual misconduct is a serious problem in the land of the free .
Second only to complaints of brutality , sexual assaults among the ranks of cops is disgustingly uncommon .
As the following case illustrates , many of these sexual assaults happen while the predators are on duty and often involve children .
A 23-year veteran deputy from the Harris County Sheriff @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for allegedly sexually assaulting a young mother in front of her 7-year-old daughter .
Deputy Kenneth Wayne Reed , 45 , of Montgomery , who has worked for the sheriff since 1997 , faces a criminal felony charge of sexual assault .
The incident is alleged to have happened in March yet Reed remains employed .
After the alleged assault took place , Reed was put on desk duty but could face termination in the near future .
According to the Houston Chronicle the incident unfolded as follows : A uniformed Reed approached @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bammel Village Drive and struck up a conversation , according a statement from the sheriff ’ s office .
He told her to put her daughter into her truck , her lawyer said .
She said he then called her over to his patrol car , parked a short distance away , and made lewd comments about her body .
He then sexually assaulted the woman with his hands , according to the sheriff ’ s office .
Her lawyer said the woman ’ s daughter used a pad of paper in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mother , which she held to the window .
Lewis said the girl ’ s note said something along the lines of , Mommy why is he touching you like that ?
The deputy also called himself from the woman ’ s phone , Lewis said .
Later that day , after she left the area , the deputy used the woman ’ s cell number to send her a lewd photograph and a sexually explicit video of himself , her lawyer said .
After the initial assault , the woman told investigators @ @ @ @ @ @ @ because the man who had just raped her could be the one tasked with investigating it .
She got over the fear , however , and did report it , turning in overwhelming evidence in her case .
According to investigators , police verified the photograph on the woman ’ s phone and gained permission to question her daughter .
Reed also programmed in his personal cellphone number under “ Officer Kenny Reed ” into the woman ’ s phone .
The woman also submitted to a rape test kit and her daughter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ evidence as well .
According to the Chronicle , the sheriff ’ s sexual assault unit concluded its investigation and handed the case to District Attorney ’ s Office on April 28 .
However , he was not charged until nearly three months later .
According to prosecutors , Reed ’ s attorney attempted to make a plea deal prior to being charged , saying he would plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of official oppression in exchange for two years ’ probation .
The evidence was apparently so overwhelming , however , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of felony sexual assault , which carries a sentence of 20 years .
Since Reed was on duty at the time of the alleged assault , the woman is also filing a civil lawsuit against the department , claiming that Reed engaged in an Fourth Amendment violation of the woman ’ s privacy .
Sadly , as TFTP reports on a regular basis , this woman ’ s case is anything but isolated .
What ’ s more , despite the massive number of officers accused , charged , and convicted of sexual @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bars .
Many of the officers even admit to the conduct but beat the charges based on ridiculous loopholes .
In a sample of 158 police officers who ’ ve been charged with sexual assault , sexual battery , or unlawful sexual contact with somebody under their control , at least 26 have been acquitted or had charges dropped based on the consent defense , according to a Buzzfeed review of a Buffalo News database of more than 700 law enforcement officers accused of sexual misconduct .
These numbers are indeed startling .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ we need to see is a policy shift , ” said Terra Burns , an advocate in Alaska who has worked to expand police sexual assault laws .
“ There ’ s a long entrenched history of institutionalized rape culture that has to change.
” Indeed , one need only browse through our archives to see the brutal reality that is police sexual misconduct .
Arguably , the reason it is so pervasive is the fact that they can get away with it with little to no consequences .
Unfortunately , while the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ against rape appear harsh , at first glance , in reality the cops , the prosecutors , the judges , and eventually juries go soft on sexual predators , especially predators who wear a badge .

Texas: “Mommy, Why Is He Touching You Like That?” Cop Rapes Woman In Front Of 7-Year-Old Daughter
Houston, TX — As frequent readers of the Free Thought Project know, police sexual misconduct is a serious problem in the land of the free. Second only to complaints of brutality, sexual assaults among the ranks of cops is disgustingly uncommon. As the following case illustrates, many of these sexual assaults happen while the predators are on duty and often involve children.
A 23-year veteran deputy from the Harris County Sheriff’s Office was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly sexually assaulting a young mother in front of her 7-year-old daughter. Deputy Kenneth Wayne Reed, 45, of Montgomery, who has worked for the sheriff since 1997, faces a criminal felony charge of sexual assault.
The incident is alleged to have happened in March yet Reed remains employed. After the alleged assault took place, Reed was put on desk duty but could face termination in the near future.
According to the Houston Chronicle the incident unfolded as follows:
A uniformed Reed approached the woman in the 15700 block of Bammel Village Drive and struck up a conversation, according a statement from the sheriff’s office. He told her to put her daughter into her truck, her lawyer said. She said he then called her over to his patrol car, parked a short distance away, and made lewd comments about her body. He then sexually assaulted the woman with his hands, according to the sheriff’s office. Her lawyer said the woman’s daughter used a pad of paper in the car to write a note to her mother, which she held to the window. Lewis said the girl’s note said something along the lines of, Mommy why is he touching you like that? The deputy also called himself from the woman’s phone, Lewis said. Later that day, after she left the area, the deputy used the woman’s cell number to send her a lewd photograph and a sexually explicit video of himself, her lawyer said.
After the initial assault, the woman told investigators that she was scared to report it because the man who had just raped her could be the one tasked with investigating it. She got over the fear, however, and did report it, turning in overwhelming evidence in her case.
According to investigators, police verified the photograph on the woman’s phone and gained permission to question her daughter. Reed also programmed in his personal cellphone number under “Officer Kenny Reed” into the woman’s phone.
The woman also submitted to a rape test kit and her daughter’s note was turned in as evidence as well. According to the Chronicle, the sheriff’s sexual assault unit concluded its investigation and handed the case to District Attorney’s Office on April 28. However, he was not charged until nearly three months later.
According to prosecutors, Reed’s attorney attempted to make a plea deal prior to being charged, saying he would plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of official oppression in exchange for two years’ probation.
The evidence was apparently so overwhelming, however, that the DA is pursuing a charge of felony sexual assault, which carries a sentence of 20 years.
Since Reed was on duty at the time of the alleged assault, the woman is also filing a civil lawsuit against the department, claiming that Reed engaged in an Fourth Amendment violation of the woman’s privacy.
Sadly, as TFTP reports on a regular basis, this woman’s case is anything but isolated. What’s more, despite the massive number of officers accused, charged, and convicted of sexual misconduct, very few spend time behind bars. Many of the officers even admit to the conduct but beat the charges based on ridiculous loopholes.
In a sample of 158 police officers who’ve been charged with sexual assault, sexual battery, or unlawful sexual contact with somebody under their control, at least 26 have been acquitted or had charges dropped based on the consent defense, according to a Buzzfeed review of a Buffalo News database of more than 700 law enforcement officers accused of sexual misconduct.
These numbers are indeed startling.
“Cultural shifts happen, but what we need to see is a policy shift,” said Terra Burns, an advocate in Alaska who has worked to expand police sexual assault laws. “There’s a long entrenched history of institutionalized rape culture that has to change.”
Indeed, one need only browse through our archives to see the brutal reality that is police sexual misconduct. Arguably, the reason it is so pervasive is the fact that they can get away with it with little to no consequences.
Unfortunately, while the actual laws written in the United States against rape appear harsh, at first glance, in reality the cops, the prosecutors, the judges, and eventually juries go soft on sexual predators, especially predators who wear a badge.
Article posted with permission from Matt Agorist


thewashingtonstandard--2020-07-22--The Media’s Political Suicide & They’re Dying To Kill America

McClatchy had bought Knight Ridder for $ 4.4 billion to create the second largest news company .
After going into Chapter 11 bankruptcy , McClatchy was won in an auction by a hedge fund , which also owns the National Enquirer , in a secret bidding which started with $ 30 million cash and $ 270 million in debt .
None of this says anything good about the future of its D.C. bureau , or the Miami Herald , the Fort Worth Star-Telegram , the Sacramento Bee , the Kansas City Star , and other hollowed out husks of major @ @ @ @ @ @ @ debt and even bigger loads of radical left-wing politics .
Earlier this year , Warren Buffett had dumped 30 newspapers that he had bought for $ 344 million for $ 140 million .
The Newseum , a $ 450 million media museum , backed by Gannett , was sold off last year .
Gannett , the biggest newspaper chain in the country , lost $ 80 million in the first quarter of the year even after a merger in which it slashed jobs at some of the hundreds of newspapers which it controls @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wiped out in the previous two years and it ’ s just getting started .
There ’ s too much content chasing too few advertisers and subscribers .
The internet took away the death grip that local papers had on certain kinds of advertising and made other kinds irrelevant .
And people have a lot more options for breakfast reading material than just subscribing to the local rag .
The media radicalized even as it became more economically vulnerable , alienating print subscribers who tend to be older and more conservative .
Papers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are more likely to be younger and leftist , but that ’ s only a viable strategy for a handful of national papers , the New York Times and the Washington Post , which embraced a radical agenda and a vow to bring down Trump .
The Times and the Post can drive conversation , dominate the news cycle with an anti-Trump conspiracy theory , or turn historical revisionism like the 1619 Project into a curriculum , a TV show , and a movie .
But that ’ s not a realistic option @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Worth Star-Telegram .
Advertisers will flock to the Times and the Post because they have affluent readers and drive the conversation .
But local papers will go on bleeding older and more conservative readers while the hedge funds that own them slash jobs , eliminate entire papers , and eventually give up on the whole media venture as a bad idea .
Local papers are dying .
Formerly influential national news magazines are irrelevant .
When was the last time you heard anything from Time except around its annual Cause of the Year @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not just the dead tree media that ’ s in trouble .
Digital darlings like the Huffington Post , Vice and Vox have been cutting jobs because clickbait doesn ’ t win over subscribers who will pay for content .
Network television and cable news are on their last legs as cable subscribers cut the cord and content providers set up their own Netflix rivals .
What happens to NBC News or CNN in a marketplace defined by Netflix , Hulu , Disney+ , Peacock , HBO Max , CBS All Access , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
The media hasn ’ t had a viable business model in a long while .
It ’ s a zombie that kills even as it dies .
What we think of as the media , a series of private companies reporting the news to customers willing to pay for their services , is evolving into a political movement that views its platforms as a public service .
The for-profit media is still around , but not for long .
The non-profit media is the rising model and it takes many forms , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Time owned by dot com tycoons for the power and prestige , to non-profits like Poynter which combines a newspaper , the Tampa Bay Times , a journalism school , and a partisan fact-checking network .
Google , Facebook , and other dot com platforms have been pouring millions into subsidizing media outlets to create a hybrid model .
Other hybrid models include , Report for America , a left-wing non-profit that embeds its activists into local newspapers , and Courier Newsroom , a left-wing fake news network set up by Acronym @ @ @ @ @ @ @ combine non-profit status and political advocacy with some of the trappings of the media .
The media has redefined journalism as advocating for left-wing policies and the advantage of this is that in the age of the internet , political activism has a better business model than journalism .
Less money is being spent on advertising and subscriptions , but the cost of elections is soaring .
In the recent past , journalists had to choose between working in the legitimate media or doing opposition research for dark organizations like Fusion GPS .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ and editorial desks have broken down , so have the distinctions between reporting and generating hit pieces .
The only reason to bring in an organization like Fusion GPS is for media strategy and coordination .
To the big money pouring into elections from New York and California , media outlets are dinosaurs in terms of profitability , but redefine them as digital campaign operations and they ’ re suddenly hot .
Investors who wouldn ’ t put money into a local paper without deep cuts will pour millions into Report for America @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the purpose of investing in the media from profits to politics .
As a political non-profit , the media can be more viable than it has in years .
The transformation of the media from for-profits to non-profits sheds any commitment to the marketplace , to a community of readers who pay for its services , and instead puts it at the service of dot com tycoons who want to invest in left-wing causes .
The experience of reading or watching the media ’ s content also changes from information to indoctrination .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the dot com giants which finance the media and on whose platforms the media depends , the reader and the viewer are no longer consumers , they are the product that is being sold to the media ’ s political backers .
Even as the non-profit media claims that it ’ s now free to pursue journalism as a public service , it ’ s not providing a service to the public , it ’ s serving a small class of donors by trying to influence the public .
The media still @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trustworthy and seeking the truth .
But those slogans are the leftovers of an older generation that at least believed in hypocritically mouthing such pieties .
The new generation , the one leading the purge at the New York Times , doesn ’ t even believe in the pieties .
The campaigns , like those that hijacked the Times , are coordinated by political allies from different media outlets across social media .
The participants in this new collegiality view journalism as a form of advocacy for their political agenda .
They have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for , only to the larger movement of which they are operatives , coordinating to undermine their own organizations .
In the leftist non-profit realm , organizations are just shells for an agenda and they can be jettisoned , renamed , or swapped out at the right time .
As the media falls into that category , publications become mere brands to be tied to a fake news narrative , and tossed aside when they ’ re no longer getting clicks .
The weight of the name on the masthead matters much less @ @ @ @ @ @ @ employs to appear influential by picking fights on social media .
Media publications no longer serve a community , but a narrative , and constantly swapping out publication names helps make the narrative seem fresh .
The end result is State News , a product that closely resembles the government news networks in China or Russia , but which is still distributed across a variety of organizations and which is controlled by social media narratives coordinated across social networks rather than by a central government agency .
At least for now .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The New York Times .
But Twitter has become its ultimate editor , ” Bari Weiss wrote in her resignation letter to the New York Times .
Twitter is the media ’ s editor .
Its platform provides the content that fills the media , but it also makes the infrastructure of the media surplus to requirements .
The medium is the message and the medium of Twitter is 280 characters .
As Weiss notes , “ the ethics and mores of that platform have become those of the paper , the paper @ @ @ @ @ @ @ performance space.
” But the real performance space is on Twitter where content is consumed and debated much more rapidly in short form than in the long form pages of the New York Times .
As the media transforms into a pure instrument of political advocacy whose antics play out on social media , there ’ s less and less use for the expensive billion-dollar operations , the newspapers , channels , and even the sites of the media .
Media bosses keep saying that their future is digital .
But that digital @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only reason to read long form articles is to find out the details of a story or experience new ideas , but when writing exists to reinforce what readers already believe , then it doesn ’ t need to be read .
Hardly anyone bothered reading Soviet papers because everyone already knew what was in them .
A media that exists to tweet articles about Trump ’ s terribleness and a story about an oppressed person whose plight proves the need to have open borders , no police , and free everything is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but to everyone who isn ’ t looking for a righteousness or rage fix in the morning .
The media envisions its own transformation into public service non-profits subsidized by dot com tycoons and then eventually the benevolent socialist state that will pay its members to put out propaganda that nobody reads .
This act of literary suicide for power and profit is its real legacy .
The media has been killing cities and the country to buy a little more time for its existence .
But it is becoming a zombie that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ existence and then the very thing that it does .
The members of the media began by killing their ethics and morals .
They tossed away the truth as a value and a goal .
They turned on their colleagues , incited mobs , celebrated violence and terror .
And then they set out to destroy the organizations they worked for and the country that they live in .
Their final act of political suicide will be to kill their own writing .

McClatchy had bought Knight Ridder for $4.4 billion to create the second largest news company. After going into Chapter 11 bankruptcy, McClatchy was won in an auction by a hedge fund, which also owns the National Enquirer, in a secret bidding which started with $30 million cash and $270 million in debt.
None of this says anything good about the future of its D.C. bureau, or the Miami Herald, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the Sacramento Bee, the Kansas City Star, and other hollowed out husks of major urban papers carrying huge loads of pension debt and even bigger loads of radical left-wing politics.
Earlier this year, Warren Buffett had dumped 30 newspapers that he had bought for $344 million for $140 million. The Newseum, a $450 million media museum, backed by Gannett, was sold off last year.
Gannett, the biggest newspaper chain in the country, lost $80 million in the first quarter of the year even after a merger in which it slashed jobs at some of the hundreds of newspapers which it controls.
Over 20,000 media jobs have been wiped out in the previous two years and it’s just getting started.
There’s too much content chasing too few advertisers and subscribers. The internet took away the death grip that local papers had on certain kinds of advertising and made other kinds irrelevant. And people have a lot more options for breakfast reading material than just subscribing to the local rag.
The media radicalized even as it became more economically vulnerable, alienating print subscribers who tend to be older and more conservative. Papers have been chasing digital subscribers, who are more likely to be younger and leftist, but that’s only a viable strategy for a handful of national papers, the New York Times and the Washington Post, which embraced a radical agenda and a vow to bring down Trump.
The Times and the Post can drive conversation, dominate the news cycle with an anti-Trump conspiracy theory, or turn historical revisionism like the 1619 Project into a curriculum, a TV show, and a movie. But that’s not a realistic option for the Sacramento Bee or the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Advertisers will flock to the Times and the Post because they have affluent readers and drive the conversation. But local papers will go on bleeding older and more conservative readers while the hedge funds that own them slash jobs, eliminate entire papers, and eventually give up on the whole media venture as a bad idea.
Warren Buffett did.
Local papers are dying. Formerly influential national news magazines are irrelevant. When was the last time you heard anything from Time except around its annual Cause of the Year publicity stunt?
And it’s not just the dead tree media that’s in trouble. Digital darlings like the Huffington Post, Vice and Vox have been cutting jobs because clickbait doesn’t win over subscribers who will pay for content. Network television and cable news are on their last legs as cable subscribers cut the cord and content providers set up their own Netflix rivals. What happens to NBC News or CNN in a marketplace defined by Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Peacock, HBO Max, CBS All Access, and whatever other platforms will pop up?
The media hasn’t had a viable business model in a long while. It’s a zombie that kills even as it dies.
What we think of as the media, a series of private companies reporting the news to customers willing to pay for their services, is evolving into a political movement that views its platforms as a public service.
The for-profit media is still around, but not for long. The non-profit media is the rising model and it takes many forms, from old brands like the Washington Post and Time owned by dot com tycoons for the power and prestige, to non-profits like Poynter which combines a newspaper, the Tampa Bay Times, a journalism school, and a partisan fact-checking network. Google, Facebook, and other dot com platforms have been pouring millions into subsidizing media outlets to create a hybrid model.
Other hybrid models include, Report for America, a left-wing non-profit that embeds its activists into local newspapers, and Courier Newsroom, a left-wing fake news network set up by Acronym whose arm is a PAC, that combine non-profit status and political advocacy with some of the trappings of the media.
The media has redefined journalism as advocating for left-wing policies and the advantage of this is that in the age of the internet, political activism has a better business model than journalism.
Less money is being spent on advertising and subscriptions, but the cost of elections is soaring.
In the recent past, journalists had to choose between working in the legitimate media or doing opposition research for dark organizations like Fusion GPS. But as the distinctions between the news and editorial desks have broken down, so have the distinctions between reporting and generating hit pieces. The only reason to bring in an organization like Fusion GPS is for media strategy and coordination.
To the big money pouring into elections from New York and California, media outlets are dinosaurs in terms of profitability, but redefine them as digital campaign operations and they’re suddenly hot.
Investors who wouldn’t put money into a local paper without deep cuts will pour millions into Report for America or Courier because non-profit journalism has redefined the purpose of investing in the media from profits to politics. As a political non-profit, the media can be more viable than it has in years.
The transformation of the media from for-profits to non-profits sheds any commitment to the marketplace, to a community of readers who pay for its services, and instead puts it at the service of dot com tycoons who want to invest in left-wing causes. The experience of reading or watching the media’s content also changes from information to indoctrination. As is the case with so many of the dot com giants which finance the media and on whose platforms the media depends, the reader and the viewer are no longer consumers, they are the product that is being sold to the media’s political backers.
Even as the non-profit media claims that it’s now free to pursue journalism as a public service, it’s not providing a service to the public, it’s serving a small class of donors by trying to influence the public.
The media still insists that it’s objective, trustworthy and seeking the truth. But those slogans are the leftovers of an older generation that at least believed in hypocritically mouthing such pieties. The new generation, the one leading the purge at the New York Times, doesn’t even believe in the pieties.
The campaigns, like those that hijacked the Times, are coordinated by political allies from different media outlets across social media. The participants in this new collegiality view journalism as a form of advocacy for their political agenda. They have no commitment to the organization they work for, only to the larger movement of which they are operatives, coordinating to undermine their own organizations.
In the leftist non-profit realm, organizations are just shells for an agenda and they can be jettisoned, renamed, or swapped out at the right time. As the media falls into that category, publications become mere brands to be tied to a fake news narrative, and tossed aside when they’re no longer getting clicks.
The weight of the name on the masthead matters much less than the ability of the activists it employs to appear influential by picking fights on social media. Media publications no longer serve a community, but a narrative, and constantly swapping out publication names helps make the narrative seem fresh.
The end result is State News, a product that closely resembles the government news networks in China or Russia, but which is still distributed across a variety of organizations and which is controlled by social media narratives coordinated across social networks rather than by a central government agency.
At least for now.
“Twitter is not on the masthead of The New York Times. But Twitter has become its ultimate editor,” Bari Weiss wrote in her resignation letter to the New York Times.
Twitter is the media’s editor. Its platform provides the content that fills the media, but it also makes the infrastructure of the media surplus to requirements. The medium is the message and the medium of Twitter is 280 characters. As Weiss notes, “the ethics and mores of that platform have become those of the paper, the paper itself has increasingly become a kind of performance space.”
But the real performance space is on Twitter where content is consumed and debated much more rapidly in short form than in the long form pages of the New York Times. As the media transforms into a pure instrument of political advocacy whose antics play out on social media, there’s less and less use for the expensive billion-dollar operations, the newspapers, channels, and even the sites of the media.
Media bosses keep saying that their future is digital. But that digital future is a Twitter debate.
The only reason to read long form articles is to find out the details of a story or experience new ideas, but when writing exists to reinforce what readers already believe, then it doesn’t need to be read.
Hardly anyone bothered reading Soviet papers because everyone already knew what was in them.
A media that exists to tweet articles about Trump’s terribleness and a story about an oppressed person whose plight proves the need to have open borders, no police, and free everything is unreadable. Not just to conservatives, but to everyone who isn’t looking for a righteousness or rage fix in the morning.
The media envisions its own transformation into public service non-profits subsidized by dot com tycoons and then eventually the benevolent socialist state that will pay its members to put out propaganda that nobody reads. This act of literary suicide for power and profit is its real legacy.
The media has been killing cities and the country to buy a little more time for its existence. But it is becoming a zombie that is killing the basis for its own existence and then the very thing that it does.
The members of the media began by killing their ethics and morals. They tossed away the truth as a value and a goal. They turned on their colleagues, incited mobs, celebrated violence and terror. And then they set out to destroy the organizations they worked for and the country that they live in.
Their final act of political suicide will be to kill their own writing.
Article posted with permission from Daniel Greenfield


thewashingtonstandard--2020-07-22--The War On Western Civilization

The War On Western Civilization

During one of the darkest periods of World War II , Winston Churchill asked aloud , “ Will Britain surrender too ?
” Never .
At the time , in the summer and fall of 1940 , the great leader of the U.K. declared , “ I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin .
Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization.
” Churchill , the great lion of the 20th century , understood that if the Nazis won , they would usher in a period of unparalleled darkness .
But thank God , “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the summer of 2020 , when the radical leftists desecrated a statue of Churchill .
They spray painted anti-law enforcement graffiti on his statue .
They likely would have torn it down , if they hadn ’ t been stopped .
There is a war on Western civilization .
And every week seems to bring new examples of this war .
It is not enough that the failed theory of Marxism has ushered in the deaths of tens of millions of human beings ( in the 20th century alone ) , as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Black Book of Communism ” ( 1997 ) .
But it has now reinvented itself as cultural Marxism and has propagated itself in many of our schools .
The violent , destructive protesters who are making mayhem in our streets demanding “ justice ” are the cultural Marxists , trying to make the rest of the country to be “ woke.
” The New York Times last week , as part of the “ woke ” culture , now has classical music in its cross-hairs .
In “ Woke mob comes for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ July 18 ) writes that the Times “ launched a full-out assault on classical music , hoisting ‘ race theory ’ onto composers who have been dead for centuries .
In several opinion pieces published this week , the [ NYT ] said operas should be reexamined for racism , asked black artists how they would ‘ change classical music , ’ and suggested orchestras stop the practice of blind auditions so judges can see the person ’ s skin color they are grading.
” Classical music ?
Come on .
There are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all of us to enjoy .
By way of full disclosure : This piece is being written with Schubert ’ s Symphony No .
9 playing in the background ( for the umpteenth time ) .
Some classical music is also sacred , written for the glory of God .
The concerted attacks seem to be aimed at unraveling the very fabric of civilization .
There are different strands that make up Western civilization , certainly ancient Greece played a major part .
But the single most important element is the Judeo-Christian tradition @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , during this time as darkness descends upon us , there are various attacks against churches and statues of Jesus and His mother .
Just on Saturday , in Chantilly , Virginia , a young man barged into a church and stabbed the pastor who was leading a Bible study .
Thankfully , a policeman attending the study prevented the stabbing from being fatal .
But this didn ’ t seem to make the news , as do other anti-Christian stories .
Breitbart.com reports ( July 16 ) on a plethora of recent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a statue of Mary was beheaded .
Mary statues were also damaged in Queens and Boston .
• In Ocala , Florida , a young man tried to burn down a church , before he was caught .
• Three statues of the missionary who virtually founded California , Father Junipero Serra , have been toppled .
And on it goes .
And over the weekend , at a church in the Miami area , a statue of Jesus was beheaded .
It sounds like the minions of activist Shaun King are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the interests of “ social justice , ” statues of Jesus and of Mary should be torn down – if they look too white .
The war against Western civilization can be seen in the war against Christopher Columbus .
Although the Italian explorer never set foot on what is now the United States of America , he bridged the gap from Europe to the New World , thus opening it up to the rest of the world .
In the recent spate of statue-toppling , sculptures of Christopher Columbus are the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at least 10 statues of Columbus being destroyed or desecrated .
John Eidsmoe , a great scholar on American history , law professor and author , once made this remark about the attack on Western civilization ( particularly as seen in the attack on Columbus , for example ) : “ Let us credit them for its [ Western culture ’ s ] achievements and contributions : art , music , architecture , ethics , liberty , law , government , a Constitution that has served as a model across the world , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ greatest good for the greatest number and the highest level of prosperity the world has ever known , and a spirit of ingenuity and achievement that led to unparalleled medical and technological advances.
” Sometimes I feel like saying , “ Hey , wake me up when the Era of Woke is over .
”

During one of the darkest periods of World War II, Winston Churchill asked aloud, “Will Britain surrender too?” Never.
At the time, in the summer and fall of 1940, the great leader of the U.K. declared, “I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin. Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization.”
Churchill, the great lion of the 20th century, understood that if the Nazis won, they would usher in a period of unparalleled darkness. But thank God, “Christian civilization” won.
Fast forward to the summer of 2020, when the radical leftists desecrated a statue of Churchill. They spray painted anti-law enforcement graffiti on his statue. They likely would have torn it down, if they hadn’t been stopped.
There is a war on Western civilization. And every week seems to bring new examples of this war.
It is not enough that the failed theory of Marxism has ushered in the deaths of tens of millions of human beings (in the 20th century alone), as documented in Harvard University’s “The Black Book of Communism” (1997).
But it has now reinvented itself as cultural Marxism and has propagated itself in many of our schools. The violent, destructive protesters who are making mayhem in our streets demanding “justice” are the cultural Marxists, trying to make the rest of the country to be “woke.”
The New York Times last week, as part of the “woke” culture, now has classical music in its cross-hairs.
In “Woke mob comes for Mozart,” Citizens Free Press (July 18) writes that the Times “launched a full-out assault on classical music, hoisting ‘race theory’ onto composers who have been dead for centuries. In several opinion pieces published this week, the [NYT] said operas should be reexamined for racism, asked black artists how they would ‘change classical music,’ and suggested orchestras stop the practice of blind auditions so judges can see the person’s skin color they are grading.”
Classical music? Come on. There are plenty of different styles of music for all of us to enjoy. By way of full disclosure: This piece is being written with Schubert’s Symphony No. 9 playing in the background (for the umpteenth time). Some classical music is also sacred, written for the glory of God.
The concerted attacks seem to be aimed at unraveling the very fabric of civilization. There are different strands that make up Western civilization, certainly ancient Greece played a major part. But the single most important element is the Judeo-Christian tradition. Perhaps this explains why right now, during this time as darkness descends upon us, there are various attacks against churches and statues of Jesus and His mother.
Just on Saturday, in Chantilly, Virginia, a young man barged into a church and stabbed the pastor who was leading a Bible study. Thankfully, a policeman attending the study prevented the stabbing from being fatal. But this didn’t seem to make the news, as do other anti-Christian stories.
Breitbart.com reports (July 16) on a plethora of recent attacks against churches:
In Chattanooga, a statue of Mary was beheaded. Mary statues were also damaged in Queens and Boston.
In Ocala, Florida, a young man tried to burn down a church, before he was caught.
Three statues of the missionary who virtually founded California, Father Junipero Serra, have been toppled. And on it goes.
And over the weekend, at a church in the Miami area, a statue of Jesus was beheaded.
It sounds like the minions of activist Shaun King are doing his bidding. He said that in the interests of “social justice,” statues of Jesus and of Mary should be torn down – if they look too white.
The war against Western civilization can be seen in the war against Christopher Columbus. Although the Italian explorer never set foot on what is now the United States of America, he bridged the gap from Europe to the New World, thus opening it up to the rest of the world.
In the recent spate of statue-toppling, sculptures of Christopher Columbus are the No. 1 target. DailySignal.com documents at least 10 statues of Columbus being destroyed or desecrated.
John Eidsmoe, a great scholar on American history, law professor and author, once made this remark about the attack on Western civilization (particularly as seen in the attack on Columbus, for example): “Let us credit them for its [Western culture’s] achievements and contributions: art, music, architecture, ethics, liberty, law, government, a Constitution that has served as a model across the world, an economic system that has produced the greatest good for the greatest number and the highest level of prosperity the world has ever known, and a spirit of ingenuity and achievement that led to unparalleled medical and technological advances.”
Sometimes I feel like saying, “Hey, wake me up when the Era of Woke is over.”
Article posted with permission from Jerry Newcombe


thewashingtonstandard--2020-07-23--Trump On Epstein Sex Trafficking Accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell: “I Just Wish Her Well”

Donald Trump had some nice things to say about Ghislaine Maxwell .
When asked about Maxwell ’ s case , Trump said : “ I just wish her well , frankly.
” Maxwell is charged with involvement in Jeffrey Epstein ’ s sex crimes .
Are we now still “ trusting the plan ” that he ’ s going to somehow use the system set up by these psychopaths to take them down ?
Time to open your eyes .
Ghislaine Maxwell Fears She ’ ll Meet The Same Fate As Epstein & Be Murdered Lawyer : The MSM Will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In Jail This all could be a build-up to what we are all expecting : Maxwell to expire in jail .
Epstein was arrested last July and according to the official narrative , killed himself in a federal jail in August .
Most of us realize that his death was murder , however , as he would have been able to take down some of the most powerful people on earth .
His death sparked a flurry of speculation about what he knew about the powerful figures from the worlds of politics , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had frequently associated , including figures like Trump , Bill Clinton , and Britain ’ s Prince Andrew .
Unsealed flight logs show Donald Trump was on Epstein ’ s plane , the Lolita Express , back in 1997 .
Trump is not the only politician we ’ ve shed light on .
Look , I realize the cognitive dissonance in the U.S. is strong right now and many believe Trump to be some kind of messiah .
But this information is pertinent considering he ’ s in power and has an almost @ @ @ @ @ @ @ even read facts about who he is .
A lot of people appear to be triggered by Trump ’ s comments .
On the right , they tend to think it means nothing , and on the left , they are worried the media asked him about Maxwell and not the coronavirus hoax .
This is simply more evidence that the U.S. is completely divided along political lines , and the mainstream media is going to continue the divide and conquer strategy .
Oh , and for those who are going to get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the comments over this , I ’ ve highlighted Bill Clinton and his connection to Epstein several times .
The point is , this isn ’ t a left vs. right problem .
It ’ s an elitist vs. the people problem .
If you want to be coddled , fine .
Sometimes the truth hurts .
No one knows right now just how deep Trump ’ s connection to Epstein goes , only that there is one .
No one knows how deep Clinton ’ s connection with Epstein goes , @ @ @ @ @ @

Donald Trump had some nice things to say about Ghislaine Maxwell. When asked about Maxwell’s case, Trump said: “I just wish her well, frankly.”
Maxwell is charged with involvement in Jeffrey Epstein’s sex crimes. Are we now still “trusting the plan” that he’s going to somehow use the system set up by these psychopaths to take them down? Time to open your eyes.
Ghislaine Maxwell Fears She’ll Meet The Same Fate As Epstein & Be Murdered
JUST IN: Pres. Trump on Ghislaine Maxwell, longtime companion of infamous sex offender Jeffrey Epstein: "I just wish her well, frankly." Maxwell pleaded not guilty last week to federal sex trafficking charges. https://t.co/YEerOPitZL pic.twitter.com/uqsRKrMteY — ABC News (@ABC) July 21, 2020
Lawyer: The MSM Will Report On Ghislaine Maxwell’s Death In Jail
This all could be a build-up to what we are all expecting: Maxwell to expire in jail.
Epstein was arrested last July and according to the official narrative, killed himself in a federal jail in August. Most of us realize that his death was murder, however, as he would have been able to take down some of the most powerful people on earth. His death sparked a flurry of speculation about what he knew about the powerful figures from the worlds of politics, science, and entertainment with whom he had frequently associated, including figures like Trump, Bill Clinton, and Britain’s Prince Andrew.
Unsealed flight logs show Donald Trump was on Epstein’s plane, the Lolita Express, back in 1997. Trump is not the only politician we’ve shed light on. Look, I realize the cognitive dissonance in the U.S. is strong right now and many believe Trump to be some kind of messiah. But this information is pertinent considering he’s in power and has an almost occultic religious following of people unwilling to even read facts about who he is.
Alan “The-State-Can-Plunge-A-Needle-In-Your-Arm” Dershowitz Is In Epstein’s “Little Black Book”
Meet The Madam: Epstein Arrest Casts Spotlight On Clinton-Linked Socialite
A lot of people appear to be triggered by Trump’s comments. On the right, they tend to think it means nothing, and on the left, they are worried the media asked him about Maxwell and not the coronavirus hoax. This is simply more evidence that the U.S. is completely divided along political lines, and the mainstream media is going to continue the divide and conquer strategy.
Oh, and for those who are going to get triggered and go into full snowflake mode in the comments over this, I’ve highlighted Bill Clinton and his connection to Epstein several times. The point is, this isn’t a left vs. right problem. It’s an elitist vs. the people problem.
If you want to be coddled, fine. Sometimes the truth hurts. No one knows right now just how deep Trump’s connection to Epstein goes, only that there is one. No one knows how deep Clinton’s connection with Epstein goes, only that there is one.
Article posted with permission from Mac Slavo


thewashingtonstandard--2020-07-23--Houston:  US Orders Closure Of Chinese Consulate – Leads To Rising Tensions

The US made a surprising move to order the shutdown of the Chinese consulate in Houston , Texas , claiming there were spying concerns .
While the Chinese condemned the order , it hasn ’ t stoped the tensions from rising further than they already have between the two countries .
The State Department issued a statement saying that the consulate must close by Friday .
“ We have directed the closure of PRC Consulate General Houston in order to protect American intellectual property and Americans ’ private information.
” State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said , “ The United @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s violations of our sovereignty and intimidation of our people , just as we have not tolerated the PRC ’ s unfair trade practices , theft of American jobs , and other egregious behavior.
” This is not uncommon for the Chinese .
They consistently steal patented ideas from not just Americans , but all over the world , patent those ideas in China and use cheap labor to make boatloads of money .
Beijing , however , claims the order “ seriously violates ” international relations norms .
China also said there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ down from its demands .
Wang Wenbin , foreign ministry spokesperson for China , declared , “ The unilateral closure of China ’ s consulate general in Houston within a short period of time is an unprecedented escalation of its recent actions against China.
” He accused the United States of repeatedly opening Chinese diplomatic pouches without permission and of confiscating Chinese items for official use .
Wang also alleged that American diplomats in China engage in infiltration activities .
“ If we compare the two , it is only too evident which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ confrontation , ” he said , adding that the Chinese embassy in Washington allegedly received bomb and death threats .
The Houston Police Department received reports that the embassy began burning documents after 8:00pm on Tuesday evening .
According to witnesses , a small amount of smoke could be seen and smelled from the outside .
Dozens of local first responders arrived at the scene but did not enter the property .
“ You could just smell the paper burning , ” a witness at the scene told KPRC 2 .
“ But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the building .
They couldn ’ t go inside.
” The order to shut down the consulate came after the Justice Department on Tuesday unsealed an indictment charging two Chinese hackers with trying to steal coronavirus research from American companies .
According to the indictment , Chinese nationals Li Xiaoyu and Dong Jiazhi stole “ material on military satellite programs , wireless networks and communication systems , high-powered microwave and laser systems as well as a counter-chemical weapons system ” on behalf of China ’ s Ministry of State Security ( MSS ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 25 unnamed alleged victims , including a Texas engineering company and a Virginia defense contractor .
“ China has now taken its place — alongside Russia , Iran and North Korea — in that shameful club of nations that provide a safe haven for cyber criminals in exchange for those criminals being ‘ on call ’ to work for the benefit of the state , ” said Assistant Attorney General John Demers , head of the Justice Department ’ s National Security Division .
Bonnie Glaser at the Center for Strategic and International @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shut down the US consulate in Wuhan in retaliation.
” The federal government in recent days has taken a hardline stance against China .
Attorney General William Barr stated last week , “ The United States has become overly reliant on Chinese goods and services , including face masks , medical gowns and other protective equipment designed to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
” He also accused hackers linked to the Chinese government of targeting American universities and businesses to steal research related to vaccine development , leveling the allegation against Beijing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ against Russia .
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke at the Family Leadership Summit saying that there was thought that more trade with China would make America more free .
“ But that ’ s not what ’ s happening today , ” Pompeo warned .
“ Today , the Chinese Communist Party is crushing freedom in Hong Kong .
It ’ s threatening a free Taiwan .
It ’ s trying to dominate world communications networks , including those right here in places like Iowa… .
We won ’ t stay still @ @ @ @ @ @ @ world ’ s freedoms.
” Well , Mr. Pompeo , do Chinese determine law in the US ?
Or does our Constitution ?
So , if they are attempting to do that , who is to stop them in this country and why haven ’ t they been stopped in decades ?
It ’ s good that they want to shut the consulate down , and while they ’ re at it , they should pick up Senator Dianne Feinstein and her staff for questioning about employing a Chinese spy for two decades @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Coverup Of Feinstein ’ s Chinese Spy Driver Who Was Also Her Office Director ?
Furthermore , the things keeping Americans from being more free is not China , it ’ s Washington , DC .
I say that it ’ s time to abandon the corruption there .
Article posted with permission from Sons of Liberty Media

The US made a surprising move to order the shutdown of the Chinese consulate in Houston, Texas, claiming there were spying concerns. While the Chinese condemned the order, it hasn’t stoped the tensions from rising further than they already have between the two countries.
The State Department issued a statement saying that the consulate must close by Friday.
“We have directed the closure of PRC Consulate General Houston in order to protect American intellectual property and Americans’ private information.”
State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said, “The United States will not tolerate the PRC’s violations of our sovereignty and intimidation of our people, just as we have not tolerated the PRC’s unfair trade practices, theft of American jobs, and other egregious behavior.”
This is not uncommon for the Chinese. They consistently steal patented ideas from not just Americans, but all over the world, patent those ideas in China and use cheap labor to make boatloads of money.
Beijing, however, claims the order “seriously violates” international relations norms. China also said there would be retaliation unless the US backs down from its demands.
The New American reports:
Wang Wenbin, foreign ministry spokesperson for China, declared, “The unilateral closure of China’s consulate general in Houston within a short period of time is an unprecedented escalation of its recent actions against China.” He accused the United States of repeatedly opening Chinese diplomatic pouches without permission and of confiscating Chinese items for official use.
Wang also alleged that American diplomats in China engage in infiltration activities. “If we compare the two, it is only too evident which is engaged in interference, infiltration and confrontation,” he said, adding that the Chinese embassy in Washington allegedly received bomb and death threats.
The Houston Police Department received reports that the embassy began burning documents after 8:00pm on Tuesday evening. According to witnesses, a small amount of smoke could be seen and smelled from the outside. Dozens of local first responders arrived at the scene but did not enter the property.
“You could just smell the paper burning,” a witness at the scene told KPRC 2. “But, all the firefighters were just surrounding the building. They couldn’t go inside.”
The order to shut down the consulate came after the Justice Department on Tuesday unsealed an indictment charging two Chinese hackers with trying to steal coronavirus research from American companies.
According to the indictment, Chinese nationals Li Xiaoyu and Dong Jiazhi stole “material on military satellite programs, wireless networks and communication systems, high-powered microwave and laser systems as well as a counter-chemical weapons system” on behalf of China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS). The indictment stated that there were 25 unnamed alleged victims, including a Texas engineering company and a Virginia defense contractor.
“China has now taken its place — alongside Russia, Iran and North Korea — in that shameful club of nations that provide a safe haven for cyber criminals in exchange for those criminals being ‘on call’ to work for the benefit of the state,” said Assistant Attorney General John Demers, head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
Bonnie Glaser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies said China would “almost certainly shut down the US consulate in Wuhan in retaliation.”
The federal government in recent days has taken a hardline stance against China.
Attorney General William Barr stated last week, “The United States has become overly reliant on Chinese goods and services, including face masks, medical gowns and other protective equipment designed to curb the spread of the coronavirus.”
He also accused hackers linked to the Chinese government of targeting American universities and businesses to steal research related to vaccine development, leveling the allegation against Beijing hours after Western agencies made similar claims against Russia.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke at the Family Leadership Summit saying that there was thought that more trade with China would make America more free.
“But that’s not what’s happening today,” Pompeo warned. “Today, the Chinese Communist Party is crushing freedom in Hong Kong. It’s threatening a free Taiwan. It’s trying to dominate world communications networks, including those right here in places like Iowa…. We won’t stay still while Communist China tries to crush the world’s freedoms.”
Well, Mr. Pompeo, do Chinese determine law in the US? Or does our Constitution? So, if they are attempting to do that, who is to stop them in this country and why haven’t they been stopped in decades?
It’s good that they want to shut the consulate down, and while they’re at it, they should pick up Senator Dianne Feinstein and her staff for questioning about employing a Chinese spy for two decades.
Furthermore, the things keeping Americans from being more free is not China, it’s Washington, DC. I say that it’s time to abandon the corruption there.
Article posted with permission from Sons of Liberty Media