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Now it is already International Human Rights Day (December 10) in the police state of Victoria in Southeast Australia and I have posted this little micro-movie to stress how important maintenance of traditions is to maintaining human rights. (NB In Australian slang a “mug” can be both a drinking cup and a dupe or person who is easily fooled and taken advantage of.) After World War Two, the world got together and established the Universal Declaration of Human Rights so that fascism could not rise again. Totalitarian group think has risen again to directly threaten the very fabric of western...

Mika Brzezinski's absolute abhorrence of all things Trump was on display on today's Morning Joe. Brzezinski opened the show by joking about the news that Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis has tested positive for COVID, saying: "There are now more Trump attorneys with COVID than they have election challenge wins."Later, Michael Steele, the Never Trumper and member of the failed Lincoln Project, said that President Trump's goal in claiming the election was rigged: "Is about ginning up the kind of momentum he wants to carry with him out of the White House, so that he will be able to sit on...

And the GOP continues to defend, promote, and do special immigration favors for the tech leviathans imposing technofascism on the country. "Our policies disallow content alleging that widespread fraud or errors changed the result of a historical US presidential election." They say that while they have allowed some "discussion" about election fraud when the election was, they claim, "current," now that the safe harbor deadline has come, any content claiming election fraud in a "historical" (past) election is now a violation and will be deleted. Funny, they never banned anyone for claiming "Russia stole the election" even after the Mueller...

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) on Wednesday did not rule out challenging the results of the Electoral College next month when Congress formally certifies the vote. Johnson, who is chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, announced the same day that he would hold a hearing next week on the "irregularities" of the 2020 election. When asked if he plans to challenge the election results, Johnson told reporters: "I would say it depends on what we found out. I need more information. The American people need more information. I'm not ready to just close and slam the book...

The Council for Inclusive Capitalism announced Tuesday morning a new partnership between the Vatican and business leaders across the globe. This alliance followed a meeting just over a year ago when Pope Francis called for the urgent need for “an economic system that is fair, trustworthy and capable of addressing the most profound challenges facing humanity.” Lynn Forester De Rothschild, founder of the Council for Inclusive Capitalism, joined “Squawk Box” on Tuesday to discuss.

Dozens of Trump political appointees are petitioning to become part of the permanent bureaucracy — a process known as "burrowing" that is common at the end of administrations... (the rest of the story behind paywall)

Keith Raniere, the founder and leader of Nxivm, was sentenced today to 120 years in prison by United States District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis in federal court in Brooklyn. Raniere was convicted by a federal jury in June 2019 of racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, attempted sex trafficking, sex trafficking conspiracy, forced labor conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy. The Court also imposed a fine of $1,750,000. At the sentencing hearing, the Court heard victim impact statements from 15 individuals, including “Camila,” the victim who was sexually exploited by Raniere when she was 15 years old. A hearing on victim restitution...

Early voting starts Wednesday in the runoff in a special election for a seat in the Texas Senate. Voters in District 30 will choose between State Rep. Drew Springer and Dallas salon owner Shelley Luther. Both are Republicans. Luther became a darling of conservatives earlier this year when she defied county orders to close her salon and briefly went to jail. The seat is open after State Sen. Pat Fallon resigned to run successfully for U.S. Congress. The district includes 12 rural counties north and northwest of the DFW-area as well as parts of Collin and Denton counties...

It was only for an hour, but Newsmax beat Fox News among the coveted 25- to 54-year-old demographic for the first time Monday evening, CNN Business reports. Newsmax's Greg Kelly Reports beat Martha MacCallum's Fox News program in the 7 p.m. hour, bumping MacCallum down to No. 4 in cable news, behind Erin Burnett on CNN and Joy Reid on MSNBC.

During U.S. Attorney Peeler’s tenure, the Office grew to its highest number of AUSAs and prosecuted more criminal defendants in the District’s historyMACON, Ga. – Charlie Peeler, the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, is resigning as U.S. Attorney effective 11:59 p.m., December 11, 2020. Following his resignation, he plans on reentering private practice with a law firm in Atlanta, Georgia.“Serving as the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia has been the most rewarding experience of my professional career. I thank the President for the trust he placed in me, and I thank Attorney General...

WASHINGTON — The architects of a newly unveiled 10-year, $600 billion climate plan to revitalize Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley region are moving forward with a difficult task of building political willpower in Washington while gaining the trust of rural communities tied to the coal and natural gas industries, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto told a group of sustainable development advocates Tuesday. That coalition-building — a communications strategy to be forged over the next six weeks among academic institutions in Pittsburgh and seven other cities — is a critical step toward executing the plan Mr. Peduto described as both idealistic...

CHICAGO — A suburban Chicago man was arrested on a federal firearm charge after law enforcement this week seized machine guns and more than 100 “switch” devices from his home. Each device is capable of converting a semi-automatic pistol into a machine gun.LEONARD D. JOHNSON, also known as “Scrap,” 32, of Robbins, is charged with one count of illegal possession of a machine gun. Johnson was arrested Monday after agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives executed a search warrant at his home. The agents seized five firearms, including three machine guns, and approximately 117 “switch”...

December 9, 2020Through its global work, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT) provides expert assistance and case-based mentoring to foreign counterparts to address corruption issues that not only impact their countries but also foster transnational criminal activities. Corruption indeed is a global issue and OPDAT is proud to join in the recognition of International Anti-Corruption Day.OPDAT’s Senior Counsel on Global Anticorruption provides specialized technical advice, training, and consultation to foreign prosecutors, judges, and investigators around the world. OPDAT’s anticorruption program assists counterparts from other jurisdictions in analyzing, investigating, and prosecuting corruption pursuant...

South Court AuditoriumEisenhower Executive Office Building5:16 P.M. ESTTHE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you all very much. Paul, thank you for those kind words and for your tireless work at Health and Human Services. To Secretary Azar — really, our host for the day — we thank you for your extraordinary leadership and your — I think he deserves a round of applause. Secretary Alex Azar. (Applause.) We’ve been shoulder to shoulder for 10 months in all of this, and the President and I couldn’t be more grateful for the entire team at HHS and all of the people that you’ve...

Dolly Parton was just 13 years old when she first performed at the Grand Ole Opry. Appropriately enough, the future country legend was introduced by none other than Johnny Cash. Reflecting back on that, Dolly Parton shares that Johnny Cash made quite the impression on a girl coming of age. In an interview with GQ, the Jolene singer openly discussed things that a few things fans might not know about her storied life. Doll Parton spills tea about her very special relationship with Cash, declining performing at the Super Bowl, and her 54 year marriage to husband Carl Dean.

VIDEOChina's honeypot spy, Christine Fang aka Fang Fang, besides milking the Eric Swalwell sap who sits on the House Intelligence Committee for information has also been reported as having Fang-Fanged two midwest mayors. We already know that one of those mayors was in Ohio which narrows down the list of Fang-Fanged suspects. In this video, I analyze the possible suspects.Keep in mind that Fang Fang was probably not alone in China's honeypot spy operation. I am sure there were many more politicians who were Ching-Chinged or Chong-Chonged.

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), who sits on the sensitive House Intelligence Committee, said in response to an explosive story about ties to a suspected Chinese spy that “congressional leaders knew about” the matter and implied that they apparently did not think that it was a big enough issue to keep him off the Intelligence Committee. The alleged spy, Chinese national Christine Fang, “targeted up-and-coming local politicians in the Bay Area and across the country who had the potential to make it big on the national stage” through “campaign fundraising, extensive networking, personal charisma, and romantic or sexual relationships,” Axios reported....

Eight months into this pandemic, one thing is increasingly clear: Students learn best when they are in school. Their continued absence from the classroom has led to less learning, more mental health problems, and greater inequality as children from lower income households fall further behind.Poor Academic OutcomesThis past spring, teachers were able to get 2-3 months of face time with their students before everyone was sent home. We knew that was disruptive, so a lot of grace was extended from teachers and administrators towards students. But now that we’re wrapping up our first fully digital semester, the real data is...

House intelligence committee Republicans were surprised to learn this week that a member of their committee, Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell, was targeted by a suspected Chinese spy who slept with US politicians as a tactic to elicit information. Swalwell, who represents a California district south of Oakland, received an FBI “defensive briefing” in 2015 on operative Fang Fang, but most if not all Republicans on the elite committee weren’t told that a colleague had been targeted by China. Fang, also known as Christine Fang, returned to China in mid-2015 as US officials heightened their scrutiny of her string of honey-trap...

Wrigleyville Ald. Tom Tunney’s Ann Sather restaurant is facing up to $10,500 in possible fines from the city after the Chicago aldermen acknowledged letting people eat inside the establishment in violation of city and state rules designed to help stop the spread of coronavirus. ...snip... The city also cited an unlicensed event at 1257 N. Milwaukee Ave in Wicker Park. Officials responded to a call early on Dec. 5 and found “a bouncer outside of an event billed as the ‘Wicker Loft,’ ” Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office said in a statement. There were 142 people in the building who either...