There is a billionaire who, for the most part, has gone under the radar pushing "reimagining capitalism." His name is Pierre Omidyar. Omidyar was born in France to Iranian parents. He later moved to the United States, where he founded eBay.
With over six billion dollars in personal wealth, he founded the Omidyar Network to influence not just the private sector but, more importantly, to inject human capital into the federal bureaucracy. His intent seems clear: to make structural changes. What type of changes? It’s no secret that Omidyar has his acolytes who are all-in on equal results, not equal treatment. In 2020, his Network produced a pamphlet titled: “Call to Reimagine Capitalism in America.” On its opening page, it calls for:
A more democratic economy is one in which the real creators – working people, consumers, individuals, small businesses, and families – can have equal voice, hold power, and get ahead.
Further into the manifesto, it laments that America is rife with badness:
“structural racism, colonialism, paternalism,”
It calls for:
“an explicitly anti-racist and inclusive economy.” //
Since 2004, the Omidyar Network has spent $1.89 billion on social justice causes. //
The top-heavy influence of the Omidyar Network and related and funded entities and the injection of ideologues is unknown. Soros has had a remarkable influence on local politics by targeting district attorneys and local politicians. Omidyar is influencing policy at the federal level. //
anon-m0b0
15 hours ago edited
So a rich billionaire with buckets of money wants to create a society where he has more power and the people he says he is "helping" will be totally impoverished by the time he is done.
Its almost as if he accidentally created eBay and made money from it. Because he doesn't really believe in free markets.
There's a bombshell video that has just been released by House GOP investigators about what former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said as she was leaving the Capitol after the rioting on Jan. 6, 2021.
In it, Pelosi takes responsibility for the failure to have adequate security in the place at the Capitol to deal with the riot. //
“We have responsibility, Terri," Pelosi is heard saying on the videotape to her chief of staff, Terri McCullough. "We did not have any accountability for what was going on there, and we should have. This is ridiculous.” //
Pelosi also said: “You’re going to ask me – in the middle of the thing when they’ve already breached the inaugural stuff – ‘should we call the Capitol Police, I mean the National Guard?’ Why weren’t the National Guard there to begin with?”
McCullough, replied as the speaker’s SUV raced through an underground parking garage: “They thought that they had sufficient ... resources."
Pelosi responded, clearly frustrated: "No, that’s not a question of how they had ... they don’t know. They clearly didn’t know. And I take responsibility for not having them just prepare for more.” //
The video was taken by Pelosi's daughter Alexandra as part of her HBO documentary. The House Administration Oversight Subcommittee requested the video from HBO as part of their investigation. The material they obtained has never been released before.
Why is this only coming out now? Why did it take so long to get it? //
RedinOR
5 hours ago edited
I expected to hear her admit she intentionally held back any help (which is what many conservatives believe). In the video, it sounds like she's trying to sound sorry for "not having them prepare for more." To me, this is less a bombshell and more "she really wanted to do the right thing but underestimated" message. It feels staged.
anon-pweq
an hour ago
[Repeating my comment from a sister-site:]
Just a note about the bemoaning of the supposed dis-proportionality between the number of dead Arabs versus rescued Israelis. It's not as if the calculus was "Should we kill X people in order to reach the hostages?". According to all reports, the vast majority of Arab casualties occurred after the initial Israeli rescue. After Israeli forces were "in possession" of the hostages and were trying to retreat, they all came under heavy fire and were forced to respond. Israel was initially carrying out a precise in-and-out rescue operation with minimal casualties; it was Hamas and its supporters who elected to unnecessarily turn it into an all-out battle.
Kristi Hamrick, vice president of Media and Policy for Students for Life of America, told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the government is “not prosecuting the crime, they’re just prosecuting the point of view.”
The message is clear: If you are against abortion, then the government is against you – at least under the Biden administration.
I don't hate LGBT people in the least, but I do get a kick out of seeing pride flag murals defaced when painted on roads, and that's because what that flag actually represents isn't love, or unity, or equality. What it represents in tyranny. It's the flag of the LGBT activist community, which has, on many occasions, declared itself to be my enemy.
The Pride flag is usually accompanied by hate and division from the LGBT activist community. Pride Month, for instance, isn't the celebration of people who identify themselves as "queer," but it's an opportunity for corporations and politicians to display their willing submission and obedience to a political cause so that they get their ESG money and don't get canceled by the elite or have business-to-business opportunities taken away.
While corporations might bend the knee, everyone else has to sit and watch as a cause that only applies to a very small fraction of our civilization takes over everything and forces us to take notice in some way, shape, or form. You can't escape it, and that's going to generate a pretty hefty amount of spite. //
The pride flag represents a kind of social dictatorship in our society. //
And if you speak out against any of it, you run the risk of being painted as a social pariah. You could lose your job. You could be harassed by strangers. You could even face a lawsuit or two.
This isn't "love," it's tyranny.
And that's why when a pride flag is vandalized, people cheer or laugh. It's not born out of hate for gays and lesbians, many of whom are lovely people, but out of a disgust for a controlling activist cabal that most reject. They force themselves on society.
Councilwoman Vickie Paladino @VickieforNYC
·
We must destroy the environment to save it!
Once every Joshua Tree is uprooted to make room for acres solar panels and the whales and birds are killed by windmills, and electricity is expensive and intermittent for all but the wealthiest, we’ll have saved the planet!
This is all much better than building a few modern nuclear plants.
John Solomon @jsolomonReports
Joshua trees growing for over 100 years will be cleared for solar farm in California https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/energy/joshua-trees-growing-over-100-years-will-be-cleared-solar-farm-california
8:55 PM · Jun 7, 2024
Action Corrosion are the leading experts in anti-corrosion and anti-rust solutions for residential and commercial projects. Our range of unique rust removers and coatings effectively eliminate rust from structures and machinery and protects them from any future corrosion.
Getting an AI to distinguish red from orange was a major challenge. //
The last time a human set the world record for solving a Rubik's Cube, it was Max Park, at 3.13 seconds for a standard 3×3×3 cube, set in June 2023. It is going to be very difficult for any human to pull off a John Henry-like usurping of the new machine record, which is more than 10 times faster, at 0.305 seconds. That's within the accepted time frame for human eye blinking, which averages out to one-third of a second.
TOKUFASTbot, built by Mitsubishi Electric, can actually pull off a solve in as little as 0.204 seconds on video, but not when Guinness World Records judges were measuring. The previous mechanical record was 0.38 seconds.
SpaceX demonstrated Thursday that its towering Super Heavy booster and Starship rocket might one day soon be recovered and reused in the manner Elon Musk has envisioned for the future of space exploration.
For the first time, both elements of the nearly 400-foot-tall (121-meter) rocket not only launched successfully from SpaceX's Starbase facility near Brownsville, Texas, but also came back to Earth for controlled splashdowns at sea. This demonstration is a forerunner to future Starship test flights that will bring the booster, and eventually the upper stage, back to land for reuse again and again.
The two-stage rocket took off from Starbase at 7:50 am CDT (12:50 UTC) and headed east over the Gulf of Mexico with more than 15 million pounds of thrust, roughly twice the power of NASA's Saturn V rocket from the Apollo lunar program of the 1960s and 1970s.
In the wake of the Israel Defense Forces' successful operation to rescue four hostages from captivity in Gaza we're learning more about the conditions in which the hostages lived and who housed them, and once again we're seeing that the native "journalists" covering the conflict are anything but neutral observers.
As we noted in numerous stories about Israel's rescue mission, the four hostages rescued were not held in tunnels or prisons; they were held in the homes of alleged civilians in residential areas in Nuseirat. I say "alleged civilians" because if these people were holding Israeli hostages for eight months they're absolutely part of Hamas and are combatants, not civilians.
One of those alleged civilians, it's now confirmed, was Abdullah Al Jamal, who bills himself as a journalist and who most recently wrote for a United States-based 501(c)(3) NGO, The Palestine Chronicle. He also wrote at least one piece for Al Jazeera. The Israeli government confirmed Sunday that Al Jamal, who was neutralized by IDF rescuers, held three hostages captive in his family home: //
Laocoön of Troy
18 hours ago edited
Actually the "hostages" are slaves taken in "battle". It's an ancient Muslim practice when waging Jihad. It wouldn't surprise me if the families paid Hamas for their slaves.
The issue here probably isn't just optics-related. There's likely a legal component as well given there are laws against American organizations aiding and abetting terrorism. Not only was Al Jamal a "correspondent in Gaza" (which dictates he held an official position for the Palestinian Chronicle), but he was also a spokesperson for the Hamas Ministry of Labor. The ties don't get any clearer than that.
Now ask yourself, if Al Jamal was just an innocent bystander gunned down by ruthless Israeli forces, why would the Palestinian Chronicle try to cover up his connection to their organization? That's a question CNN and other American mainstream news outlets won't be asking as they rush to push the Palestinian line about the hostage rescue.
The popular former military chief joined Netanyahu’s government shortly after the Hamas attack in a show of unity. His presence also boosted Israel’s credibility with its international partners. Gantz has good working relations with U.S. officials.
Gantz had previously said he would leave the government by June 8 if Netanyahu did not formulate a new plan for postwar Gaza.
End Wokeness
@EndWokeness
·
Follow
HOLY SH*T.
Macron just announced that he will hold an election in July after his CRUSHING defeat tonight.
The election was supposed to be in 2027.
Readers added context
Macron announced the dissolution of the National Assembly, not an early presidential election. He remains president until 2027. Dissolving the Assembly triggers new legislative elections, allowing for potential changes in parliament without affecting his presidential term.
shorturl.at/FWRjr
shorturl.at/3jzYS
Context is written by people who use X, and appears when rated helpful by others.
3:13 PM · Jun 9, 2024 //
The call for elections highlights the transforming politics in Europe as opinions are increasingly against the left. Macron is, not surprisingly unhappy, with that:
“The rise of nationalists and demagogues is a danger for our nation and for Europe,” Mr. Macron said. “After this day I cannot go on as though nothing has happened.”
The French leader has always been a passionate supporter of the 27-nation European Union, seeing in it the sole means for Europe to count in the world and calling on it to achieve “strategic autonomy” through ever greater integration. But the political winds have turned in favor of less Europe, not more. //
Richard Grenell @RichardGrenell
·
Europe moves Right.
The Progressive Left is being rejected.
PeterSweden @PeterSweden7
BREAKING: The right-wing Parties are set to make MASSIVE gains all over Europe in the EU elections.
3:26 PM · Jun 9, 2024
The results in both France and Belgium indicate a growing political move in Europe toward the right as economic issues, unfettered immigration, and other concerns are turning off voters: //
Oli London
@OliLondonTV
·
Follow
Belgian Prime Minister appears to be on the verge of TEARS after his liberal party suffered a staggering defeat in the EU elections.
Alexander De Croo, who is vocally anti-Israel, RESIGNED after his party received just 5.8% of the votes.
6:04 PM · Jun 9, 2024 //
End Wokeness
@EndWokeness
·
Follow
Today is the start of a new era in Europe:
🇫🇷 France: National Rally wins a historic 31.5% of the EU vote, forcing Macron to dissolve the national parliament.
🇩🇪 Germany: AfD surges to become the 2nd largest party, liberal parties tank.
🇧🇪 Belgium: Prime Minister resigns after his crushing defeat against the right.
Italy: Meloni's Brother of Italy wins in a historic landslide
Austria: FPÖ doubles their seats and becomes the largest party in the nation.
Spain: Right beating the left by 10%.
Luxemburg: First ever seat for ADR.
Although Almog’s father, Yossi Meir, was ill before his death, his family believes he died of grief. //
Yossi Meir’s heart reportedly stopped the night before the rescue. //
Noa Argamani, one of the other three hostages rescued in Operation Arnon, named after the IDF soldier who lost his life in the mission, returned home to a mother, Liora, who is battling brain cancer. Her mother's dying wish was to be able to see her daughter again. //
Chris Co
2 hours ago
One day before the rescue. If Biden/Blinken stopped interfering, he would not have died as his son would have been rescued earlier.
anon-ice5
a day ago
Even the initial question by the reporter is misleading. She says what is Johnathan's reaction to the four hostages and them getting released. But, they weren't released they where rescued, released would imply that Hamas willingly gave them up to the IDF but they plainly didn't. Rescue though shows that the IDF took them away from Hamas captivity despite Hamas' resistance.
Something similar would be the police rescuing an abused child from their abusive parents vs the the abused child being released from the abusive parents to the police. //
Avatar
Cafeblue32 anon-ice5
a day ago edited
When I did an oh-so-brief semester stint in a Journalism 101 classd thinking I wanted to be one, we learned about these things called "weasel words" that are subtle bias inserted into the story to gently nudge you into agreeing with the author's viewpoint. But now everything is in stark contrast of right v left, the holy v the profane, the rich against the poor, with everyone v white people, especially the ones with dangly bits. There is no need for sublety anymore. The left controls all the institutions. Once you have control, you don't need persuasion. You just need force and compliance.
Our system was always an adversarial one of the people v their government. It is so serious they created an entire Constituion dedicated almost entirely to limiting and separating government power. The press is protected because they are the advocate of the powerless against the powerful.
But the press has chosen sides, and decided to side with the bureaucratic state dedicated to corporatist fascism rather than the people. It in fact attacks the very people it is supposed to be defending. Thus, it is no longer a mechanism of a free society, it is the oppressive tool of the bureaucratic state that exists to reap ever more power over citizens and to sustain itself. When you have the media actually condemning free speech and calling it dangerous and a threat, and openly lying about what we can plainly see is a lie, they have jumped the shark and forfeited their right to protection, and something is very wrong in within the entire institution. //
Prester John
a day ago edited
The reporter didn’t ask about Cornicus’ reaction to the rescue, she asked him for his reaction to the hostages’ “release”. A significant difference that shows a deliberate choice of words.
anon-89ic
a day ago
There is something else going on here that you would think the American Left would be all over--namely, what Israel is learning about life inside Gaza, which reminds so many Jews of what the Americans found when they entered the death camps at the end of World War 2. While Israel is not engaging in genocide, Hamas is engaging in a sort of its own, not seen since Bosnia in the 90s. Namely, Hamas is using this war to kill not only its own people who it views as collaborator with israel, but, increasingly, its war on girls. Hamas needs boys for fighting, but girls are basically useless. It appears that Hamas is intentionally murdering thousands of girls--deaths that they then blame on Israel. Hamas hates women and doesn't want them, except the few they need for sex slaves. This gives us insight why the American Left loves Hamas so much--between abortion and the trans thing and girls sports, the American Left hates girls as much as Hamas does. It's the only way to explain why the Left supports Hamas--because the Left and Hamas believe in the same thing and Biden is their standard bearer. Report that, I dare them. //
anon-89ic anon-8w73
a day ago
I've been needing some light reading this spring, so I've been re-reading old Agatha Christie and Ellis Peters mysteries for the first time in probably 40 years and I noticed something about these books, written by similar English women. At the end of each book, not only is the murderer dealt with, but also order is fully restored which means all the women are securely locked down in the control of strong men. Feminism was supposed to erode this restriction on women running wild, but modern Democrat women seem to be yearning for that order, and if American men won't give it to them, the Imams will. Weird, huh? //
Marina Medvin 🇺🇸 @MarinaMedvin
·
“How dare those Jews rescue their hostages!” — WaPo, outraged.
8:22 PM · Jun 8, 2024
Everything about that headline is carefully crafted to mislead. For one, the claim that "more than 200 Palestinians killed" is completely unverified. Those numbers come directly from the Hamas-controlled "Gaza Ministry of Health." Also absent in them is any admission of how many of the dead were combatants, either because they were members of Hamas or chose to fire on the Israeli forces.
Then there's the labeling of the operation as an "Israeli hostage raid." This was not a "raid," a word that typically produces impressions of aggression (i.e., a bombing raid). It was a rescue in which self-defense was used while securing the safety of the four hostages.
That's nothing, though, compared to what one BBC reporter did while interviewing Jonathan Conricus, a former IDF spokesman.
Brian BJ @iamBrianBJ
·
The prize for most stupid question of the day goes to.... the bbc for asking the following question:
Should the @idf have warned Palestinians before launching the rescue operation ?
Listen to how @jconricus handled that one Show more
4:31 AM · Jun 9, 2024
After allowing Conricus to share his reaction to the rescue, the reporter's first question wasn't about why these hostages were being held by civilians. It wasn't about how the families felt when their loved ones returned after such a daring mission. It was to immediately pivot to "the death toll among Palestinians." //
Long story short: The mainstream press is awful. There is no low its members won't stoop to, and that includes becoming propagandists for terrorists. ///
In one sense, the BBC reporter actually gives an opportunity to defuse and debunk some of the criticism that IDF is going to get.
KEY POINTS
- Plaintiffs argue that what's commonly known as the COVID-19 vaccine isn't a vaccine at all (because it doesn't prevent transmission), but is a therapeutic, so it cannot be mandated by law.
- At the U.S. District Court level, a judge ruled that a 1905 Supreme Court ruling (Jacobson v. Massachusetts) related to mandatory smallpox vaccination allowed the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
- The 9th Circuit panel ruled that, taking the Plaintiff's pleadings as true (which they must at this point in the proceedings), Jacobson does not apply and that employees cannot be forced to receive "treatment" they don't want to receive.
- The ruling rejected LAUSD's claim that the suit is moot since the district had rescinded its mandate two weeks after oral arguments in this appeal went very poorly for the district, and gave a detailed timeline of LAUSD's continued attempts to manipulate the legal proceedings.
To fully appreciate LAUSD's manipulative tactics, you have to understand the timeline... //
Leslie Manookian of Health Defense Freedom Fund, one of the plaintiffs in the case, noted in a 2023 opinion piece that there's an unresolved conflict between Jacobson and another precedential SCOTUS case, Cruzan vs. Director, which held that medical treatments may be refused even if they might save a recipient’s life. And, she states, in Jacobson "the court decided that vaccines could be mandated in clearly defined and limited situations, such as a deadly smallpox outbreak. But COVID is not smallpox. What’s more, Jacobson allowed those who declined the vaccine to pay a fine — Jacobson did not allow the state to force a vaccine on unwilling recipients on pain of losing their livelihoods."
Public health officials, including former CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, have admitted for years (even before LAUSD's resurrected mandate on August 13, 2021) that the COVID-19 mRNA shot does not prevent transmission of the virus and was ineffective against the Delta variant.
And just this week former NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci admitted under questioning from Congress that the COVID vaccine didn't stop transmission of the virus. //
In the decision Judge Ryan D. Nelson (a Trump appointee), detailed the unimpressive and unethical tactics used by LAUSD and its attorneys. //
It's important to note that the court did not find as a fact that the mRNA COVID shot is a treatment and not a vaccine, and did not find as a fact that it does not prevent the spread of COVID-19, as proceedings have not reached that stage; the court was simply ruling on a procedural motion as to whether the suit was moot and whether LAUSD's motion for judgment on the pleadings was properly decided.
In some of the biggest news to come out of the war between Israel and Hamas in months, four hostages were rescued from Nuseirat, a "refugee camp" in the middle of the Gaza Strip. //
The operation to rescue these hostages happened despite a relentless effort by the Biden administration to force Israel into a "ceasefire" that would remove the IDF from Gaza. Given the success of this operation, Israel's resolve will likely only be strengthened to forge ahead until the mission is completed, and that includes the destruction of Hamas as a military and governing power.