Thursday, October 10, 2024

U.S. Government’s Involvement in Global Censorship Efforts

By Tim Gamble

Tim's comments: Free Speech is under attack. Even in the United States, despite the First Amendment to our Constitution. Governments, government agencies, politicians, activists, and even corporations are all trying to curtail Free Speech. The excuses are many, but the bottom line is the control of information, and especially control of the narrative - what people are and are not talking about, and how they are talking about it. Ultimately, control of speech is control of thought, and control of thought is control of the populace. 

Make no mistake. What they are trying to do has nothing to do with making people be polite to each other, stopping "hate" speech or even stopping "misinformation." It is about control. 

The following is an unedited press release from  America First Legal (AFL), dated October 9, 2024. Links are to web pages of the AFL.

10-9-2024 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, America First Legal (AFL) filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the U.S. Agency for International Development for refusing to provide records related to the U.S. government’s involvement in recent global efforts to suppress free speech, specifically the arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov in France and social media censorship in Brazil.

On August 29, 2024, after French authorities detained Mr. Durov and charged him with a host of crimes related to alleged illegal activity on Telegram, AFL launched an investigation to determine the Biden-Harris Administration’s involvement in his arrest.

Telegram, which Mr. Durov founded, is a secure social media and messaging platform with nearly 1 billion users worldwide. If convicted, Mr. Durov faces up to 10 years in prison and a $550,000 fine. 

Given Mr. Durov’s prominence and the implications these charges could have on free speech around the world, there is significant reason to believe that the Biden-Harris Administration may have had advance knowledge of, or even played a role in, Mr. Durov’s arrest.

On September 10, after Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes issued an order blocking Elon Musk’s X in Brazil, AFL launched an investigation to determine the Biden-Harris Administration’s role in social media censorship by Brazil’s government.

Over the past few years, the Brazilian government has increasingly engaged in censorship efforts in an apparent attempt to silence political dissent. Justice Moraes has demanded that X suspend or remove more than 150 accounts of government critics, including conservative members of the federal legislature, members of the judiciary, journalists, a gospel singer, and even a pop radio station — all for allegedly spreading “disinformation.”

Justice Moraes’ order blocking X is a serious escalation in the Brazilian government’s use of censorship to silence critics — and an unprecedented attack on free speech.

Last week, a shocking new report by Michael Shellenberger revealed that U.S. government agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Central Intelligence Agency, have been “funding pro-censorship advocacy and advising the Brazilian government on how to engage in censorship.”

On the heels of this report, Justice Moraes lifted the ban on X in Brazil and allowed the social media company to go back online this week.

Government censorship and attacks on free speech are fundamentally anti-American. The American people — and the world — must know if the Biden-Harris Administration supported or coordinated with the Brazilian government to censor an American social media company committed to upholding free speech.

Despite meeting the legal requirements to be granted expedited processing in these investigations, AFL has not received any communications or records from these agencies pertaining to either matter.

AFL will continue working to expose and combat the tyrannical Biden-Harris Administration assault on free speech.  

Statement from Gene Hamilton, America First Legal Executive Director:

“The American people have every right to know whether their government and their taxpayer dollars are being used to suppress free speech around the world. The collusive censorship enterprise is well-resourced, well-placed, highly motivated, and willing to do anything to silence viewpoints and voices with which they disagree. We are committed to getting to the bottom of this and will deliver the truth for the American people,” said Gene Hamilton.

Read the complaint here.

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Appalachia Disaster Update; Grindstone Ministries

The situation in Appalachia, particularly parts of western NC, remains dire. The devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene is massive. There have literally been hundreds of dead bodies recovered so far, with the final death toll expected to potentially be in the thousands by the time all are found. Much of the region, especially parts of western NC, remains largely unsearched. Entire towns have been destroyed. Roads, bridges, and other infrastructure have been destroyed. Some areas are expected to to be without power for six months or more. 

See the Grindstone Ministries YouTube channel for more updates: 

Want to help Appalachia recover from Helene? Consider donating to or volunteering with the folks at Grindstone Ministries. They have "boots on the ground" in Eastern Tennessee and and are also surreptitiously moving some supplies into parts of Western NC. I say "surreptitiously" because FEMA is doing their best to NOT allow supplies and volunteers into western NC that are not under their direct control. It is a bureaucratic nightmare and people are suffering because of it.. Grindstone will be sending more volunteers, supplies and equipment into the region in the coming weeks and months.

Grindstone Ministries - A disaster relief ministry that provides disaster cleanup & construction services and critical materials distribution in the aftermath of natural disasters, such as tornados and hurricanes. Grindstone is largely a volunteer-based ministry that does not charge anyone (victims, insurance companies, or government) for their services. Link = https://grindstoneministries.com/

Monday, October 7, 2024

American History: Angry Old Veteran vs. 700 Redcoats - Samuel Whittemore (by Fat Electrician)

By Tim Gamble

Sadly, Americans are taught very little real history these days. Here is a GREAT American history video by the Fat Electrician (YouTube channel link). Lots of comparisons to be made and lessons to be learned. But for now, enjoy the video (and visit and subscribe to his channel):

Angry Old Veteran vs. 700 Redcoats - Samuel Whittemore



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Thursday, October 3, 2024

Reminder: Voting By Non-Citizens in US Federal Elections Is Illegal

Non-Citizens attempting to vote in November's Presidential election are subject to felony convictions and deportation.

By Tim Gamble

Illegal voting is a crime! Click the images to enlarge and download. Add them to your websites and blogs, or print and distribute. All citizens who are allowed to vote, should. Every non-citizen who illegally votes cancels out the legitimate vote of an American citizen. More information: https://protectthevote.com/



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Release of Vice Presidential Records Delayed Until Day After Election Day

By Tim Gamble

10-3-2024 WASHINGTON, D.C. - President Biden’s lawyers and President Obama’s legal representatives have claimed an extension under the Presidential Records Act, 44 U.S.C. § 2208(a)(3)(B), delaying the public release of records from Joe Biden’s time as Vice President, including records relating to Hunter Biden and his foreign business dealings, by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

In other words, Biden, Obama, and NARA are concealing these potentially explosive records until the day after the 2024 election, November 6, 2024. More proof of the politicization of the current DOJ.

This is deeply alarming because:

>> The Presidential Records Act typically provides the incumbent President, or the President and Vice President who were in office when the records were created, 60 working days to review and assert claims of constitutionally based privilege over the records before their release. 

>> Accordingly, these records should have been released by September 23, 2024. 

>> Under 44 U.S.C. § 2208(a)(3)(B), they may invoke a 30-working-day extension “by filing with the Archivist a statement that such an extension is necessary to allow an adequate review of the record” for “a claim of constitutionally based privilege against disclosure.” 

>> In this case, invocation of the 30-working-day extension delays the release until the day after Election Day. 

>> An extension had not been invoked in this case until now. 

>> President Biden’s lawyers and President Obama’s legal representatives have had since June to review these records, so it is not credible that they need an additional 30 working days to review them for executive privilege. 

>> This would not be the first time that political operatives have attempted to cover up a potential October Surprise right before a presidential election. NARA’s June 27, 2024 notification related to a tranche of then-Vice President Biden’s records that would have been released last week. The Presidential Records Act invocation pushes the deadline to November 6, 2024 (the day after Election Day).

In 2015, Hunter Biden, the son of then Vice President Joe Biden,  was receiving regular payments from Ukrainian gas company Burisma and from Gabriel Popoviciu, a Romanian businessman under prosecution. Special Counsel Weiss has since revealed evidence that Hunter “received compensation from a foreign principal who was attempting to influence U.S. policy and public opinion and cause the United States to investigate the Romanian investigation.” Would the photos of Jim Biden at a White House visit relate to the Romanian President visiting then-Vice President Biden at the White House in 2015?

In 2015, James Biden and his firm, Lion Hall, received hundreds of thousands of dollars in “loans” from Hynansky, a big Joe Biden campaign donor who received federal loans for his business expansion into Ukraine. How might the records relating to the preparation of Biden’s 2015 tax forms and financial disclosures relate to alleged “loan repayments” from his brother?

President Biden’s lawyers and President Obama’s legal representatives arbitrarily invoked a statutory extension meant for executive privilege review obviously to prevent their public release until after the election.

Statement from Dan Epstein, America First Legal Vice President:

“NARA has arbitrarily deferred to former President Obama and current President Biden’s requests to delay disclosure of likely embarrassing records until after the election that shows then-Vice President Biden’s communications with Rosemont Seneca and financial disclosures that may reveal profits from Burisma through Rosemont!” said Dan Epstein.

Sources: Press release from America First Legal (AFL), dated October 2, 2024. 
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