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California congressman and Democratic presidential hopeful Rep. Eric Swalwell crossed a line with some people Wednesday after he posted an image of a “thin blue line” flag associated with the “Blue Lives Matter” movement. Some activists perceive the “blue lives” image to be in conflict with the Black Lives Matter movement that arose after a police officer in 2014 shot and killed Michael Brown, a black man, in Ferguson, Missouri. A grand jury declined to indict the officer for the shooting.

Two weeks ago President Trump lashed out at Facebook after several top conservatives were banned from the platform. Today the White House launched a website for Americans to share their stories on bias from tech companies. They may be surprised with the number of Americans who add their name. The tech giants are not just targeting popular conservative accounts they are shadowbanning and censoring content from tens of thousands of influential conservative Americans.

The federal prosecutor tapped to scrutinize the origins of the Russia investigation is conducting only a review for now and has not opened any criminal inquiry, a person familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. snip The distinction means that Mr. Durham for now will not wield the sort of law enforcement powers that come with an open criminal investigation, such as the ability to subpoena documents and compel witnesses to testify. snip But later on Tuesday, told by a Times reporter that Mr. Durham was for now conducting only a review, [Senator Lindsey] Graham said, “That is completely different.”...

This afternoon, the White House launched a new online portal that will allow users who have been banned or suspended from social media platforms to share their stories with the White House. The portal, called the “Tech Bias Story Sharing Tool,“asks users if any social media platform – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, or any other – has taken action against the user’s account. The user is given an opportunity to explain the circumstances of their banning, link to the offending post or tweet, and include any screenshots of emails from the social media platforms explaining why they took adverse action...

With prosecutors in the trial of cult leader Keith Raniere planning to introduce evidence on the NXIVM sex cult’s deep oppposition research files on its political enemies including Roger Stone, documents from the archives are shedding light on how the sex cult stored data on top politicians including Chuck Schumer — whom the cult viewed as a “friendly” ally according to ex-employee Frank Parlato — and Hillary Clinton. The Albany Times-Union noted in 2015: “A former close confidant of Keith Raniere, founder of the NXIVM corporation, claims top officials in the secretive organization used a Canadian investigative firm or other...

...San Francisco police (SFPD) raided the home of a freelance journalist on Friday, handcuffed him for hours and confiscated his devices in an apparent effort to uncover a police leak to the reporter. The state’s leading newspapers, along with first amendment advocates across the US, have decried the raid as an extraordinary and flagrant violation of press freedoms. But as pressure on the city has intensified in recent days, Democratic leaders have chosen to explicitly endorse the police investigation and tactics, criticize the journalist – or remain entirely silent about mounting free speech concerns. “What happened was unlike anything I’ve...

The Koch brothers’ — the billionaire plutocrats and GOP mega-donors — network of organizations are railing against President Trump’s tariffs on China to protect American workers and U.S. industry. This month, Trump hiked tariffs to 25 percent on about $200 billion worth of Chinese manufactured goods. Trump has also ordered trade officials to begin reviewing the process of increasing tariffs to 25 percent on an additional $300 billion worth of Chinese goods. In the wake of the latest round of tariffs, the Koch brothers’ organizations like the Americans for Prosperity (AFP) and the Libre Initiative demand that the Trump administration...

As well as signing up to the largely symbolic document produced in Paris, leading tech companies agreed to a nine-point plan for putting the Christchurch pledges into action. Among their commitments, Facebook, Amazon, Google, Twitter and Microsoft said they would update their terms of use to "expressly prohibit the distribution of terrorist and violent extremist content" and develop crisis protocols to respond to emerging or active events such as a terror attack. The companies said they would also commit to publishing "transparency reports" on the detection and removal of terror or violent extremist content. "Terrorism and violent extremism are complex...

Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan determined that “conditions in Venezuela threaten the safety and security of passengers, aircraft, and crew," according to a DHS statement. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo approved the suspension and Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao implemented it. “This determination is based on the ongoing political instability and increased tensions in Venezuela and associated inadvertent risk to flight operations,” the statement said. Most U.S.-based airlines already stopped flying to Venezuela because of security concerns in and around its airports. American Airlines was the last to halt its operations in March after the State Department warned travelers to...

A mysterious 600-year-old manuscript that has been deemed "unreadable" by the world's top cryptographers has finally been deciphered. That's the claim by one Bristol academic who has cracked the legendary Voynich manuscript and revealed its secrets. Dr. Gerard Cheshire believes that the document is written in a dead language called proto-Romance. By studying the letter and symbols through the manuscript, he was able to decipher the meaning of the words. According to the linguistics buff, the Voynich manuscript contains sex tips, info on parenting and psychology, and herbal remedies. "I experienced a series of 'eureka' moments whilst deciphering the code,...

Video at link. By using the word "Test" he is not referring to official stress testing, but stating that expected rains are going to exert pressure on the dam's specifications and spillway. I didn't watch the whole video, the first few minutes gives the idea.

WASHINGTON (SBG) - In Cochise County, Arizona, the land that runs along the border is dry, rugged and full of paths worn out by drug traffickers and human smugglers. For Sheriff Mark Dannels, the problem began when the U.S. government decided to build walls and push illegal traffic from cities into remote areas. It turned his backyard into a highway for everything illegal that comes over the southern border. Until he decided that had to change. "We have 400 cameras out right now. By the end of the year, we’ll have 700. We’re watching all the smuggling trails. We’re watching...

Investigators who were “thwarted” during earlier investigations of child sexual abuse by priests on Wednesday searched the offices of the Catholic Diocese of Dallas to obtain evidence of sexual misconduct, according to a police commander and police records. Police Detective David Clark in an affidavit supporting the warrants described a diocese that wasn’t forthcoming with critical files and relied on personnel to identify predatory behavior when they had no background or training to do so. Investigators searched the diocesan headquarters, a storage unit it uses and the offices of a church, police Maj. Max Geron told reporters. “We believe at...

Instead of adding more fees and inefficiencies, Democrats would be more honest with the American people if they simply acknowledged that they want to ban guns. This wouldn’t so unfairly and disproportionately affect poor Americans, many of whom are minorities.

Frustrated Senate Republicans say the Trump administration has largely kept them in the dark about a possible military confrontation with Iran. What GOP lawmakers already know, however, has them on edge. Trump has deployed an aircraft carrier strike group, a Patriot missile defense battery and an Air Force bomber task force to the Middle East, while the State Department has ordered a partial evacuation of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. A few legislators have received briefings, but many can only guess at the extent of the threat and where a ramp up in combat forces may lead. “I don’t think...

Charles Glenn feels it in his joints as he walks through the concrete concourses of Enterprise Center in St. Louis. The staircases make his hips ache in ways they hadn't until a few years ago. But when he steps out in front of more than 18,000 fans at St. Louis Blues home games, those agonies fade to the shadows, displaced by the task at hand. "You're the person who sets the energy. You're setting the mood and the atmosphere for what's about to happen," said Glenn, 64, who has been singing the national anthems at Blues games for 19 years....

Catholic girls’ prep school invokes Gospel to justify adding same-sex unions to alumnae magazine WASHINGTON, D.C., May 15, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School, a Catholic girls’ high school in the nation’s capital, has spurred controversy by announcing it will begin highlighting same-sex “marriages” among other news in the school’s alumnae magazine. “The Church is clear in its teaching on same-sex marriages. But, it is equally clear in its teaching that we are all children of God, that we each have dignity and are worthy of respect and love,” Sister Mary Berchmans, president emerita of the school, wrote in...

That is all I am hearing. What do you think?

The Hollywood left, from Lady Gaga to Marvel movie star Chris Evans, took to social media on Wednesday and railed against state Senate lawmakers in Alabama where a bill limiting abortions in the state passed by a margin of 25-6. “These statehouses are waging all-out war on women and their right to control their reproductive decisions,” Oscar and Grammy Award-winning singer John Legend said. “This is awful.” “Don’t move forward after reading this like everything is normal. Don’t shake your head at Alabama and then keep going about your day. Realize that this is a warning,” said Disney film director...

The oldest surviving sports car built by Porsche, and first to wear the brand’s name, is heading to auction this summer and expected to sell for a historic price. The Type 64 was the third of a series built by Ferdinand Porsche and his son Ferry between 1939 and 1940. Based on the chassis of the KdF-Wagen, which was also designed by the elder Porsche and would spawn the Volkswagen Beetle, the Type 64 was originally built to compete in a race from Berlin to Rome that was canceled after the outbreak of World War II. By then only one...