Germany, France, and Poland Form Anti-Russia Pact

Paul Collier March 19, 2024

The heads of Germany, France, and Poland met in Berlin this week and vowed to stick with Ukraine in the war against Russia to the end, which includes expanding their efforts to buy war resources in the world market for Ukraine’s use against their common enemy.

Germany’s PM Olaf Scholz said, “Our three states are among the greatest political, military and financial supporters of Ukraine’s struggle against the Russian imperialist aggressor. We are closely and unshakably by the side of Ukraine. … Solidarity and common action are essential to defend liberty and peace in Europe. More than ever, our unity is what gives us strength.”

Excerpt from www.wsws.org

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk met yesterday in Berlin to declare their united support for escalating war with Russia as NATO-backed Ukrainian forces are collapsing on the front.

The Berlin summit came as the European powers’ bellicose statements threaten to unleash total war between NATO and Russia in Ukraine. Only two weeks ago, at the February 26 Paris summit, Macron said the NATO powers did not rule out sending ground troops to Ukraine to fight Russia. A leaked recording of German officers then confirmed that Berlin is preparing to send long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine for strikes on targets deep inside Russia.

In a press conference yesterday, Scholz, Macron and Tusk said they were united in support of escalation plans. Having confirmed their staggeringly aggressive position, they ended the press conference after less than 20 minutes, taking no questions from journalists.

Spy Satellite Network Being Built by Musk’s SpaceX

Paul Collier March 19, 2024

Elon Musk’s SpaceX is apparently building a network of spy satellites for an American intelligence agency according to a report run by Reuters. In the report, Reuters cites unnamed sources within the U.S. intelligence community who are making the claim Musk’s SpaceX is building the spy satellite network.

While Musk’s company, SpaceX, builds surveillance equipment for the U.S. government, his social media company, X, continues to create a brand narrative that seems opposed to the very kind of powers his other company is enabling. In response to the rumors, the National Reconnaissance office told Reuters they are developing “the most capable, diverse, and resilient space-based intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance system the world has ever seen.”

Woke Makes You Sad?

Paul Collier March 19, 2024

A new study conducted by researchers in Finland concludes that people who adopt the ideology of “woke” are at a higher risk of also suffering from depression and anxiety. The study was conducted doing a survey of 5,800 college students and faculty to first determine who was “woke” and then who was suffering from anxiety and/or depression.

The lead study author, Oskari Lahtinen, said they conducted the study because “the arrival of a critical social justice (often called ‘woke’) discourse sparked much debate in Finnish media in the last couple of years. This debate was largely data-free and it could thus be considered a worthwhile question to study how prevalent these attitudes are.”

Dollar Tree Looking to Axe 1K Stores

Paul Collier March 18, 2024

Dollar Tree has announced unexpected plans to close a total of 1000 stores over the next few years starting with the closing of 600 Family Dollar stores in the first half of this year. All of the closings are coming to its U.S. stores, none of its Canadian stores are included in the closing. The closings have been attributed to Family Dollar’s acquisition of Dollar Tree in 2015, which experts say has never panned out.

Canada’s High Court Rules Women No Longer Exist

Paul Collier March 18, 2024

The highest court in the land of Canada just let all the citizens know the government no longer recognizes women at all. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that using the word “woman” to describe a victim in a sexual assault case as a “woman” was “problematic,” because it may “have been unfortunate and engendered confusion.”

Justice Sheilah Martin, a woman herself, wrote the ruling, stating, “While the choice of the trial judge to use the words ‘a woman’ may have been unfortunate and engendered confusion, in context, it is clear the judge was reasoning that it was extremely unlikely that the complainant would be mistaken about the feeling of penile‑vaginal penetration because people generally, even if intoxicated, are not mistaken about that sensation.”

Excerpt from thepostmillennial.com

In a decision delivered on Friday, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the use of the word “woman” to describe the victim in a sexual assault case was “problematic.”

According to the National Post, Justice Sheilah Martin wrote that the use of the word “woman” by a trial judge may “have been unfortunate and engendered confusion.”

The ruling came in the case of R v Kruk, which involved a 2017 charge of sexual assault against then-34-year-old Charles Kruk of British Columbia, Canada.

“Mr. Kruk was charged with one count of sexual assault from an incident at his home in the early hours of May 27, 2017. Earlier that evening, he came upon the heavily intoxicated complainant on the street. The complainant testified that she woke up in Mr. Kruk’s bed with her pants off, Mr. Kruk on top of her, and his penis inside her vagina,” the ruling states of the case.

EU Passes World’s First Comprehensive AI Rules

Paul Collier March 18, 2024

The EU has passed its AI act, becoming the first attempt by any major government to develop comprehensive regulations for the development and deployment of artificial intelligence (AI). The regulations are scheduled to take effect at the end of May of this year. The details of the bill are still being sifted through as tech companies scramble to understand the regulations and adjust their business models accordingly.

Excerpt from cnbc

The European Union’s parliament on Wednesday approved the world’s first major set of regulatory ground rules to govern the mediatized artificial intelligence at the forefront of tech investment.
Born in 2021, the EU AI Act divides the technology into categories of risk, ranging from “unacceptable” — which would see the technology banned — to high, medium and low hazard.
The regulation is expected to enter into force at the end of the legislature in May, after passing final checks and receiving endorsement from the European Council.
The European Union’s parliament on Wednesday approved the world’s first major set of regulatory ground rules to govern the mediatized artificial intelligence at the forefront of tech investment.The EU brokered provisional political consensus in early December, and it was then endorsed in the Parliament’s Wednesday session, with 523 votes in favor, 46 against and 49 votes not cast.“Europe is NOW a global standard-setter in AI,” Thierry Breton, the European commissioner for internal market, wrote on X.
The president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, described the act as trailblazing, saying it would enable innovation, while safeguarding fundamental rights.

“Artificial intelligence is already very much part of our daily lives. Now, it will be part of our legislation too,” she wrote in a social media post.

Dragos Tudorache, a lawmaker who oversaw EU negotiations on the agreement, hailed the deal, but noted the biggest hurdle remains implementation.

Gender-Affirming Surgery Not Helping Men

Paul Collier March 16, 2024

The Journal of Urology published a study that reveals men who receive “gender affirming surgery” to look more than women are not any less likely to attempt to commit suicide than men who, like them, identify as a woman but don’t get the transition surgery.

That surgery includes a process called vaginoplasty, which turns the man’s penis into an open wound where the penis once was that can never fully heal and requires forced “opening” for the rest of the man’s life. This particular process produces a higher suicide attempt rate than non-treatment, with 3.3% attempting suicide after this procedure while 1.5% do before the surgery.

Excerpt from www.newsbusters.org

A study published in The Journal of Urology indicated that the attempted-suicide rate among transgender women, so men, was twice as high after those “women” received a vaginoplasty than before. That’s right, it appears that surgically harming yourself doesn’t solve depression.

Journalist Benjamin Ryan tweeted about the study on Monday and pointed out how gender-transition treatment isn’t life saving. Though the study is from 2021, this is the first many of us have heard about it, likely because it’s results point out the fact that these treatments are the opposite of “care.”

Researchers analyzed data on 868 people who got their penis turned into a “vagina.” I placed air quotes around that word because the only one who can actually make a vagina is God. Nonetheless, the study also looked at 357 people who did the reverse and got their vagina turned into a “penis.”

Spain’s Sanchez Gets Coalition-Preserving Amnesty Bill Passed

Paul Collier March 16, 2024

After failing the first time, Spain’s far left coalition government received a reprieve when parliament finally passed an amnesty bill that satisfies its Catalan separatist allies. The bill passed 178-172 with the center-right and many leftists still protesting the measure.

The next step for the bill is the Senate, which, controlled as it is by the conservative opposition, is likely to kill it, leaving the coalition in as tenuous a position as it was before the bill passed.

After House Passes TikTok Ban, Senate Moves into Delay Mode

Paul Collier March 16, 2024

The U.S. House passed a bill 352-65 that would compel CCP-owned TikTok to divest itself of CCP ownership or else face a nationwide ban. The Senate, through Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schummer (D-NY), is signaling its intentions to slow down the process and consider whether to approve the bill as delivered or add amendments to it before passing their version.

Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) is under the impression the DNC-led Senate intends on delaying the bill, hoping everyone will forget about it so they never have to bring it up for a final vote at all. He said, “They will try to kill this slowly, refer it to committee … think about it some [more] and this time next year we’ll be right here having the same conversation.”

Willis Preserved in Questionable Ruling by Superior Court Judge

Paul Collier March 16, 2024

Despite the overt appearance of a conflict of interest, Judge Scott McAfee, a Democrat running for re-election who also donated to Fani Willis’ election campaign, ruled that Fulton County DA Fani Willis can continue to stay on her case prosecuting Donald Trump for questioning the 2024 election. He had earlier struck down 6 of the charges against Trump. He also ordered Willis to let her lover and hired co-attorney Nathan Wade go.

This was the justification for his questionable ruling, “As the case moves forward, reasonable members of the public could easily be left to wonder whether the financial exchanges have continued resulting in some form of benefit to the District Attorney, or even whether the romantic relationship has resumed. Put differently, an outsider could reasonably think that the District Attorney is not exercising her independent professional judgment totally free of any compromising influences. As long as Wade remains on the case, this unnecessary perception will persist.”

Excerpt from theshaderoom.com

Fani Willis has a choice to make if she wants the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump to move forward. On March 15, a judge ruled that the Fulton County district attorney must dismiss herself or special prosecutor Nathan Wade from the case.

As previously reported, Fani ended up in front of a judge after her romantic relationship with Wade became public.

To be clear, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee did not find that Willis’ relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade resulted in a conflict of interest.

However, the judge said Willis can stay on the case only if Wade withdraws due to “an appearance of impropriety” that infected the prosecution team.

Additionally, Judge McAfee criticized DA Fani Willis for a “tremendous” lapse of judgment. He also questioned the truthfulness of Willis and Wade’s testimony about the timing of their relationship.

Excerpt from www.wfft.com

(CNN) — The presiding judge in the Georgia criminal case against Donald Trump and his allies has thrown out some of the charges against the former president and several of his co-defendants.

The partial dismissal by Georgia Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee leaves most of the sprawling racketeering indictment intact.

McAfee ruled that six charges in the 41-count indictment related to Trump and some co-defendants allegedly soliciting the violation of oath by a public officer lacked the required detail about what underlying crime the defendants were soliciting.

Trump was named in three of the counts specifically, meaning the former president is now facing 88 charges over the four criminal indictments in Georgia, New York, Washington, DC, and Florida.