DISCUSS: Assange Wins Right to Appeal
The UK High Courthas ruled that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange does have the right to an appeal following his extradition hearing late last year.
Assange was once again absent from the court for health reasons, but speaking outside the court following the news his wife Stella Assange said:
Read full article ...
https://off-guardian.org/2024/05/20/discuss-assange-wins-right-to-appeal/
The UK High Courthas ruled that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange does have the right to an appeal following his extradition hearing late last year.
Assange was once again absent from the court for health reasons, but speaking outside the court following the news his wife Stella Assange said:
“Now is the moment to drop this case…this case is shameful and it is taking an enormous toll on Julian”
…...
Stella Assange addressing the crowd following Monday’s UK court hearing granting an appeal for Julian Assange: “Now is the moment to drop this case…this
Read full article ...
https://off-guardian.org/2024/05/20/discuss-assange-wins-right-to-appeal/
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2024 & the Inevitable Rise of Biometrics
Have you noticed a lot of two-factor authentication prompts lately? Are you getting emailed verification codes that take forever to arrive, so you have to request another?
Perhaps you are asked to do captchas to “prove you’re human” and they seem to be getting more complex all the time or simply not working at all?
Why do you think that might be?
We’ll come back to that.
Did you know we’re in a “breakthrough year” for biometric payment systems?
According to this story from CNBC, JPMorgan and Mastercard are on board with the technology and intend a…...
Read full article ...
https://off-guardian.org/2024/05/21/2024-the-inevitable-rise-of-biometrics/
Have you noticed a lot of two-factor authentication prompts lately? Are you getting emailed verification codes that take forever to arrive, so you have to request another?
Perhaps you are asked to do captchas to “prove you’re human” and they seem to be getting more complex all the time or simply not working at all?
Why do you think that might be?
We’ll come back to that.
Did you know we’re in a “breakthrough year” for biometric payment systems?
According to this story from CNBC, JPMorgan and Mastercard are on board with the technology and intend a…...
Read full article ...
https://off-guardian.org/2024/05/21/2024-the-inevitable-rise-of-biometrics/
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UK General Election Date Announced
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced that the UK’s next General Election will be held on July 4th.
Speaking in the rain outside No 10 less than an hour ago, Sunak confirmed King Charles will dissolve Parliament on May 30th, with the vote coming five weeks later.
The campaigning has already begun, with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer launching into a rather dull speech about “the choice” facing the country.
What does this mean?
Potentially nothing. Potentially something.
The voting will be fixed obviously, that goes without saying these days, and it very much feels…...
Read full article ...
https://off-guardian.org/2024/05/22/uk-general-election-date-announced/
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced that the UK’s next General Election will be held on July 4th.
Speaking in the rain outside No 10 less than an hour ago, Sunak confirmed King Charles will dissolve Parliament on May 30th, with the vote coming five weeks later.
The campaigning has already begun, with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer launching into a rather dull speech about “the choice” facing the country.
What does this mean?
Potentially nothing. Potentially something.
The voting will be fixed obviously, that goes without saying these days, and it very much feels…...
Read full article ...
https://off-guardian.org/2024/05/22/uk-general-election-date-announced/
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Asymmetric Idiocy
I miss the 1970s sometimes. Not just the music. And the sex. And the drugs. I miss the terrorists. The old-school terrorists. Or, OK, maybe not the terrorists, but the revolutionaries who cheered on the terrorists.
I miss the clarity, and the honesty, of that era.
Maybe you’re too young to remember, but, back in the day, you didn’t get all this hemming and hawing about murdering civilians. The terrorists, and the revolutionaries who supported them, were not ashamed of murdering civilians. The Revolution demanded that they murder civilians. Murdering civilians was one of the fundamental strategies of the…...
Read full article ...
https://off-guardian.org/2024/05/23/asymmetric-idiocy/
I miss the 1970s sometimes. Not just the music. And the sex. And the drugs. I miss the terrorists. The old-school terrorists. Or, OK, maybe not the terrorists, but the revolutionaries who cheered on the terrorists.
I miss the clarity, and the honesty, of that era.
Maybe you’re too young to remember, but, back in the day, you didn’t get all this hemming and hawing about murdering civilians. The terrorists, and the revolutionaries who supported them, were not ashamed of murdering civilians. The Revolution demanded that they murder civilians. Murdering civilians was one of the fundamental strategies of the…...
Read full article ...
https://off-guardian.org/2024/05/23/asymmetric-idiocy/
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Maybe better than we did
Now, Godot the raccoon, now aptly named Myrtle-Godot arrived plump and tired and fuzzy at dawn for what would be her morning feed. She laid her cool fingers on my hand and touched me with her cold nose and then she sprawled on her side to eat which I had not seen her do before.
Languidly laying there she reached out and scooped up the kibble at leisure with her little paws. I soon realized why. She was exhausted. There, behind her, five little wee faces. And I thought… I’m in trouble now.
I had been plotting how I…...
Read full article ...
https://off-guardian.org/2024/05/24/maybe-better-than-we-did/
Now, Godot the raccoon, now aptly named Myrtle-Godot arrived plump and tired and fuzzy at dawn for what would be her morning feed. She laid her cool fingers on my hand and touched me with her cold nose and then she sprawled on her side to eat which I had not seen her do before.
Languidly laying there she reached out and scooped up the kibble at leisure with her little paws. I soon realized why. She was exhausted. There, behind her, five little wee faces. And I thought… I’m in trouble now.
I had been plotting how I…...
Read full article ...
https://off-guardian.org/2024/05/24/maybe-better-than-we-did/
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Forwarded from Robin Monotti + Cory Morningstar
"Let the lie come into the world. Let it even triumph. But not through me. The simple step of a courageous individual is not to take part in the lie."
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
ROBINMG 🚀
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
ROBINMG 🚀
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The norm-deviation tolerance test for authoritarianism
If you think about it, you know perfectly well what you’re allowed to say.
You know what most people will nod in agreement with, and what, on the other hand, will amount to a social transgression if it’s spoken out loud.
Of course, in every society, there will be certain things that are not only part of the consensus, but that you just can’t say without committing some kind of faux pas.
All groups will have certain boundaries for acceptable discourse, and there will be fundamental positions, narratives or factual claims they for various reasons really don’t like having…...
Read full article ...
https://off-guardian.org/2024/05/25/the-norm-deviation-tolerance-test-for-authoritarianism/
If you think about it, you know perfectly well what you’re allowed to say.
You know what most people will nod in agreement with, and what, on the other hand, will amount to a social transgression if it’s spoken out loud.
Of course, in every society, there will be certain things that are not only part of the consensus, but that you just can’t say without committing some kind of faux pas.
All groups will have certain boundaries for acceptable discourse, and there will be fundamental positions, narratives or factual claims they for various reasons really don’t like having…...
Read full article ...
https://off-guardian.org/2024/05/25/the-norm-deviation-tolerance-test-for-authoritarianism/
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Fire in the Soul: Nick Lyons
With lilacs in the dooryard blooming a week ago, I was struck by a sense of synchronicity so strong that I stood stone still and sniffed the air for its direction. I had just written a little essay about my youthful days and the first fish I caught at the age of ten and my subsequent basketball obsession. Now I was out for an early morning walk up the hill by the lake above the town across from the railroad tracks.
As I dawdled in the intoxicating fragrance of the lilacs, it transported me to other springs when my…...
Read full article ...
https://off-guardian.org/2024/05/26/fire-in-the-soul-nick-lyons/
With lilacs in the dooryard blooming a week ago, I was struck by a sense of synchronicity so strong that I stood stone still and sniffed the air for its direction. I had just written a little essay about my youthful days and the first fish I caught at the age of ten and my subsequent basketball obsession. Now I was out for an early morning walk up the hill by the lake above the town across from the railroad tracks.
As I dawdled in the intoxicating fragrance of the lilacs, it transported me to other springs when my…...
Read full article ...
https://off-guardian.org/2024/05/26/fire-in-the-soul-nick-lyons/
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From COVID-19 to Campus Protests: How the Police State Muzzles Free Speech
The police state does not want citizens who know their rights. Nor does the police state want citizens prepared to exercise those rights.
This year’s graduates are a prime example of this master class in…...
Read full article ...
https://off-guardian.org/2024/05/27/from-covid-19-to-campus-protests-how-the-police-state-muzzles-free-speech/
“Politicians of both parties want to use the power of government to silence their foes. Some in the university community seek to drive it from their campuses. And an entire generation of Americans is being taught that free speech should be curtailed as soon as it makes someone else feel uncomfortable.”
William Ruger, “Free Speech Is Central to Our Dignity as Humans”
The police state does not want citizens who know their rights. Nor does the police state want citizens prepared to exercise those rights.
This year’s graduates are a prime example of this master class in…...
Read full article ...
https://off-guardian.org/2024/05/27/from-covid-19-to-campus-protests-how-the-police-state-muzzles-free-speech/
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No, they’re (probably) not going to bring back National Service.
As you all know, the UK is in the throes of campaigning following the announcement of an “election” on July 4th.
One particular campaign promise has already caused a huge stir, with incumbent PM Rishi Sunak pledging to re-introduce National Service – mandatory military or some other community service – should the Conservatives win:
It’s caused a huge backlash already, with memes and videos circulating on social…...
Read full article ...
https://off-guardian.org/2024/05/27/no-theyre-probably-not-going-to-bring-back-national-service/
As you all know, the UK is in the throes of campaigning following the announcement of an “election” on July 4th.
One particular campaign promise has already caused a huge stir, with incumbent PM Rishi Sunak pledging to re-introduce National Service – mandatory military or some other community service – should the Conservatives win:
Opportunity. Community. Security.
This is why I would introduce a bold new model of National Service 👇 pic.twitter.com/bNXTLwwBXV
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) May 26, 2024
It’s caused a huge backlash already, with memes and videos circulating on social…...
Read full article ...
https://off-guardian.org/2024/05/27/no-theyre-probably-not-going-to-bring-back-national-service/
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And the Bird Flu just keeps on coming…
The bird flu narrative is constantly developing, so I figured it was time for an update.
You know…to keep you all abreast of the chicken situation. Ba dum tss!
Back in April the scare stories were about Bird Flu jumping from birds to cattle and from cattle to people, and how – as a result – we should stop eating red meat.
Things have moved on since then. May has been a busy month for bird flu watchers.
Back on May 9th it was reported that 70 people in Colorado were being…...
Read full article ...
https://off-guardian.org/2024/05/28/and-the-bird-flu-just-keeps-on-coming/
The bird flu narrative is constantly developing, so I figured it was time for an update.
You know…to keep you all abreast of the chicken situation. Ba dum tss!
Back in April the scare stories were about Bird Flu jumping from birds to cattle and from cattle to people, and how – as a result – we should stop eating red meat.
Things have moved on since then. May has been a busy month for bird flu watchers.
Back on May 9th it was reported that 70 people in Colorado were being…...
Read full article ...
https://off-guardian.org/2024/05/28/and-the-bird-flu-just-keeps-on-coming/
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Are the powers-that-be preparing to cut Israel loose?
For decades, Israel has been “one of the club”, a proud member of the “good-guy countries”. A handful of regimes protected by a bubble that makes them almost immune to criticism or consequence, whatever crimes and evils they might commit.
No matter how many ships they bombed or children they shot or open air prison camps they ran, the general tone of Western media was the same – Israel are good guys.
Now, there are signs that could change, that the next step in the Gaza narrative will be a heel-turn that makes Israel an official “bad guy”.
The…...
Read full article ...
https://off-guardian.org/2024/05/30/are-the-powers-that-be-preparing-to-cut-israel-loose/
For decades, Israel has been “one of the club”, a proud member of the “good-guy countries”. A handful of regimes protected by a bubble that makes them almost immune to criticism or consequence, whatever crimes and evils they might commit.
No matter how many ships they bombed or children they shot or open air prison camps they ran, the general tone of Western media was the same – Israel are good guys.
Now, there are signs that could change, that the next step in the Gaza narrative will be a heel-turn that makes Israel an official “bad guy”.
The…...
Read full article ...
https://off-guardian.org/2024/05/30/are-the-powers-that-be-preparing-to-cut-israel-loose/
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“Nothing About Us Without Us” – An Open Letter
World Health Organization
WHO Headquarters in Geneva
Avenue Appia 20
1211 Geneva, Switzerland
Attention: Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General, WHO
Dear Sir,
This is a citizens’ sign-on, on the “outcome products” of the Working Group of the International Health Regulations (WGIHR) and the INB (international Negotiating Body), that are still being finalised, but which nevertheless, are finally to be submitted in May of this year to the 77th WHA (World Health Assembly). We respond as follows:
1. Lack of Public Scrutiny
The Final Documents are not available for public scrutiny, They are still fluid, under secretive discussion, and therefore,…...
Read full article ...
https://off-guardian.org/2024/05/31/nothing-about-us-without-us-an-open-letter/
World Health Organization
WHO Headquarters in Geneva
Avenue Appia 20
1211 Geneva, Switzerland
Attention: Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General, WHO
Dear Sir,
This is a citizens’ sign-on, on the “outcome products” of the Working Group of the International Health Regulations (WGIHR) and the INB (international Negotiating Body), that are still being finalised, but which nevertheless, are finally to be submitted in May of this year to the 77th WHA (World Health Assembly). We respond as follows:
1. Lack of Public Scrutiny
The Final Documents are not available for public scrutiny, They are still fluid, under secretive discussion, and therefore,…...
Read full article ...
https://off-guardian.org/2024/05/31/nothing-about-us-without-us-an-open-letter/
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Better Than…
It seems that the concept of “better than . . .” has completely left the human experience. And wow, what a big deal that is! I mean the entire foundation of human, as well as animal, evolution is based on “survival of the fittest.” Even if you do not believe in the Darwinian concept of natural selection (I don’t, not entirely) you have to see the positive results of attaining a level of personal excellence in one’s own lifetime.
Isn’t working to be “better than . . .” the whole drive behind living? We are always working toward behavioural…...
Read full article ...
https://off-guardian.org/2024/06/01/better-than/
It seems that the concept of “better than . . .” has completely left the human experience. And wow, what a big deal that is! I mean the entire foundation of human, as well as animal, evolution is based on “survival of the fittest.” Even if you do not believe in the Darwinian concept of natural selection (I don’t, not entirely) you have to see the positive results of attaining a level of personal excellence in one’s own lifetime.
Isn’t working to be “better than . . .” the whole drive behind living? We are always working toward behavioural…...
Read full article ...
https://off-guardian.org/2024/06/01/better-than/
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If The Wars Go On
I suppose my title could have been couched in the singular form, as Hermann Hesse, the Nobel Prize winning German/Swiss author, did with his collection of anti-war essays about World War I (the war to end all wars that didn’t), If The War Goes On . . .
Or more appropriately, I might have eliminated that conditional “If” since it seems Pollyannish.
It’s a long hard road, this anti-war business. During the first Cold War and the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis in the early sixties when Kennedy and Krushchev narrowly avoided blowing the world to smithereens, Bob…...
Read full article ...
https://off-guardian.org/2024/06/02/if-the-wars-go-on/
I suppose my title could have been couched in the singular form, as Hermann Hesse, the Nobel Prize winning German/Swiss author, did with his collection of anti-war essays about World War I (the war to end all wars that didn’t), If The War Goes On . . .
Or more appropriately, I might have eliminated that conditional “If” since it seems Pollyannish.
It’s a long hard road, this anti-war business. During the first Cold War and the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis in the early sixties when Kennedy and Krushchev narrowly avoided blowing the world to smithereens, Bob…...
Read full article ...
https://off-guardian.org/2024/06/02/if-the-wars-go-on/
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WATCH: The Rwandan Genocide Is A Lie
Everyone has heard of the Rwandan genocide of 1994. But everything you have heard about the so-called “hundred days” is either a distortion, a misrepresentation or a downright lie. That lie is still being used to perpetuate myths about the value of interventionism.
In this incredibly important episode of The Corbett Report podcast, James does honour to the dead by breaking the staff of misinformation that the liars use to cast their spell on the public.
For sources, shownotes and download options click here....
Read full article ...
https://off-guardian.org/2024/06/02/watch-the-rwandan-genocide-is-a-lie/
Everyone has heard of the Rwandan genocide of 1994. But everything you have heard about the so-called “hundred days” is either a distortion, a misrepresentation or a downright lie. That lie is still being used to perpetuate myths about the value of interventionism.
In this incredibly important episode of The Corbett Report podcast, James does honour to the dead by breaking the staff of misinformation that the liars use to cast their spell on the public.
For sources, shownotes and download options click here....
Read full article ...
https://off-guardian.org/2024/06/02/watch-the-rwandan-genocide-is-a-lie/
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Get Up, Stand Up, Don’t Give Up the Fight: Know Your Rights or You Will Lose Them
If America’s schools are to impart principles of freedom and democracy to future generations, they must start by respecting the constitutional rights of their students.
Take the case of Lucas Hudson.
With all the negative press being written about today’s young people, it’s refreshing to meet a young person who not only knows his rights but is prepared to stand up for them.
Lucas is a smart kid, a valedictorian of his graduating…...
Read full article ...
https://off-guardian.org/2024/06/03/get-up-stand-up-dont-give-up-the-fight-know-your-rights-or-you-will-lose-them/
If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.”
Thomas Jefferson
If America’s schools are to impart principles of freedom and democracy to future generations, they must start by respecting the constitutional rights of their students.
Take the case of Lucas Hudson.
With all the negative press being written about today’s young people, it’s refreshing to meet a young person who not only knows his rights but is prepared to stand up for them.
Lucas is a smart kid, a valedictorian of his graduating…...
Read full article ...
https://off-guardian.org/2024/06/03/get-up-stand-up-dont-give-up-the-fight-know-your-rights-or-you-will-lose-them/
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This Week in the New Normal #91
Our successor to This Week in the Guardian, This Week in the New Normal is our weekly chart of the progress of autocracy, authoritarianism and economic restructuring around the world.
1. Climate Gaslighting Continues
Last month, we were told, was the warmest April on record. When there was a groundswell of people saying “No it wasn’t”, the Telegraph went full gaslight with this headline:
Today we’re in the exact same position again, with Sky News reporting it was the warmest May on record:…...
Read full article ...
https://off-guardian.org/2024/06/03/this-week-in-the-new-normal-91/
Our successor to This Week in the Guardian, This Week in the New Normal is our weekly chart of the progress of autocracy, authoritarianism and economic restructuring around the world.
1. Climate Gaslighting Continues
Last month, we were told, was the warmest April on record. When there was a groundswell of people saying “No it wasn’t”, the Telegraph went full gaslight with this headline:
Cold April may be all in your head
Today we’re in the exact same position again, with Sky News reporting it was the warmest May on record:…...
Read full article ...
https://off-guardian.org/2024/06/03/this-week-in-the-new-normal-91/
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Sars-Cov2 Origins – “Gain of Function” or “Claim of Function”?
A thorough review of the available evidence suggests that the emergence of a novel engineered virus is the least likely explanation for the event known as the ‘covid pandemic’.
Notably:
- The discovery of ‘novel’ viruses is a function of how determined we are to find them – the more we look the more we find, suggesting that the attribution of novelty to a virus is as much the result of a politicised process rather than something based on an objective…...
Read full article ...
https://off-guardian.org/2024/06/04/sars-cov2-origins-gain-of-function-or-claim-of-function/
“I would rather have questions that can’t be answered than answers that can’t be questioned.”
Richard P. Feynman
A thorough review of the available evidence suggests that the emergence of a novel engineered virus is the least likely explanation for the event known as the ‘covid pandemic’.
Notably:
- The discovery of ‘novel’ viruses is a function of how determined we are to find them – the more we look the more we find, suggesting that the attribution of novelty to a virus is as much the result of a politicised process rather than something based on an objective…...
Read full article ...
https://off-guardian.org/2024/06/04/sars-cov2-origins-gain-of-function-or-claim-of-function/
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