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July 2018

Fake News and Censorship (British Edition) By Andrew Stuttaford

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/fake-news-and-censorship-british-edition/

To return yet again to the topic of how abusing the idea of ‘fake news’ could represent an ideal opportunity for censors on the make, here’s the BBC discussing a report by the British Parliament’s Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee (that such a committee even exists is, incidentally, yet more depressing evidence of the reach of the modern state). The Committee’s report was prompted by Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica scandal, but, however bad that mess may have been, it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that the cure may be worse than the disease.

BBC:

The committee highlights the “relentless targeting of hyper-partisan views, which play to the fears and prejudices of people, in order to influence their voting plans”.

And who decides which views are ‘hyper-partisan’ and which are merely the expression of sweet reason?

As to trying to influence people’s voting plans by appealing to their “fears and prejudices”, that’s something that politicians of all stripes–from pillars of the establishment to the wildest of the wild men–have been doing for centuries. Something tells me that some ‘appeals’ will be more equal than others.

Back to the BBC:

Companies such as Facebook and YouTube have repeatedly said they are just a “platform”, rather than a “publisher”. They have argued that they are not responsible for the content people post on their services.

The committee’s report is expected to say social media companies “cannot hide behind” this claim.

A “new category of tech company” which is something in between a platform or publisher should be created, the committee will suggest. This should establish “clear legal liability for the tech companies to act against harmful and illegal content on their platforms”.

Hawaii Republicans, Once Near Extinction, Prepare a Comeback By John Fund

https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/07/hawaii-republican-party-prepares-comeback/

One-party rule has wreaked havoc in the state, and voters might turn to a new crop of Republicans.

A visit to the semiannual meetings of the national committees of the two major parties makes you realize that even in the polarizing Age of Trump, a midterm election isn’t one national election but 50 state ones. At last month’s Republican National Committee meeting in Austin, Texas, the mood ranged from optimistic to ready to ready for a funeral

On the one hand there was Maryland, where despite the fact that Donald Trump won only 34 percent in 2016, GOP governor Larry Hogan has a 68 percent approval rating. But in neighboring Pennsylvania, which Trump won against all expectations, Democratic governor Tom Wolf is favored for reelection, and a court-ordered redistricting map puts up to five GOP House seats at risk.

Then there is Hawaii. Local Republicans think they’ve hit rock bottom and begun to recover.

When Hawaii became a state in 1959 along with Alaska, it was the more Republican of the two. But gradually their positions reversed. As late as 1976, Hawaii still had a Republican U.S. senator, and Jimmy Carter won the state that year with only 50.59 percent of the vote.

Far-Left Candidates Pushing the Democrats Further Away from Israel

https://unitedwithisrael.org/far-left-candidates-pushing-democrats-further-away-from-israel/?

Much like the 2016 presidential election, the 2018 midterm congressional elections are shaping up to be one of the most contentious in recent memory. Democrats are attempting to retake both houses of Congress in a bid to serve as a check on US President Donald Trump and to rectify their embarrassing defeat in 2016. Yet for the American Jewish and pro-Israel community, the upcoming midterms and their results may also have a profound effect on the future of bipartisan support for Israel.

Many worry that the leftward shift among Democrats in their opposition to Trump during this election season may bring the party closer towards the anti-Israel views found on the party’s far-left, as exemplified by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

One of the biggest surprises so far in the primary season was the upset victory by Democratic Socialist candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez over incumbent New York City Democratic Rep. Joe Crowley in a party primary in June.

Shortly after her surprising primary victory, Ocasio-Cortez was criticized for a tweet that said Israel was committing a “massacre” in Gaza, in reference to the deaths of more than 60 Palestinian rioters massed along the Israel-Gaza on May 14, most of whom were later acknowledged to be members of Hamas.

In July, Ocasio-Cortez again drew criticism in an interview with PBS’s “Firing Line” when she said, “I also think that what people are starting to see—at least in the occupation of Palestine—is just an increasing crisis of humanitarian condition and that to me is just where I tend to come from on this issue.”

The GOP’s Clean Bills of Health Savings Modest improvements in HSAs deserve votes in the Senate.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-gops-clean-bills-of-health-savings-1532895810

The Senate plans to stay in Washington for August this year, and here’s an idea to keep busy: Pass some House health-care reforms that are modest improvements even Democrats should like.

The House last week passed a set of bills that included changes in Health Savings Accounts, or HSAs, which are tax preferred accounts that allow individuals to save for future medical expenses. More than 20 million people have HSAs, which Congress created in 2003, but arbitrary restrictions cramp enrollment.

For one, a person has to be on a plan with a high deductible. A plan can’t cover certain services below the deductible like telemedicine or diabetic test strips, which can save costs over time. HSA money also can’t buy over-the-counter medicine, which is often cheaper than prescription drugs.

HSAs tend to be concentrated in the employer-sponsored or large group market, where insurance is likely to be available and comprehensive. But in the individual market less than 30% of ObamaCare plans are compatible with a health-savings account, according to an analysis from health consultant Roy Ramthun. The rest have deductibles too low (13.7%) or out-of-pocket maximums too high (56.6%) to comport with restrictions.

The Left Is Working Overtime to Normalize Fascism By Matt Margolis

https://pjmedia.com/trending/the-left-is-working-overtime-to-normalize-fascism/

It is hard to believe that the president of the United States is often accused of being a fascist by the same people who advocate harassing, assaulting, and censoring his supporters. But, that is exactly what is going on now. The political left is labeling anything conservative as hateful, bigoted, racist, sexist, homophobic, etc., to justify un-American suppression of non-left-wing views.

Freedom of speech is an essential American value, and restrictions on free speech aren’t likely to sit well with a majority of the American people. But, Democrats have a found a loophole: let privately-owned companies do the censoring. Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter have long been accused of anti-conservative bias. Earlier this year, Facebook temporarily prevented my ability to promote my new book. A couple of months ago, they demanded personal information from me in order for me to have the “privilege” of paying to promote my books. I have chosen not to give them any information that could potentially be misused.

I’ve had better luck on Twitter, but Hispanic science fiction author Jon Del Arroz has experienced repeated censorship there.

“Leftists have been successful in targeting me on Twitter every time I’ve reached new heights in my writing career,” he told PJ Media. “When I hit #1 Amazon Bestseller, Twitter gave me a notice within 30 minutes as if I was permanently banned, giving me no reason, but the account became unlocked a few minutes later.”

Del Arroz recently launched a comic book crowd-funding project on Indiegogo called Flying Sparks and found that his self-promotion on Twitter was met with a coordinated attack by left-wing authors who reported his tweets en masse. “I didn’t violate Twitter’s Terms of Service, but now I’m suspended for a week and can’t promote my project to my nearly 5,000 followers just as it’s gaining momentum,” he said.

Google is no exception either. Last year, PJ Media contributor Megan Fox found her YouTube channel demonetized after Rush Limbaugh read one of her columns on his radio show. This was by no means an isolated incident, as YouTube had been targeting conservative content creators long before that.

But throttling conservatives on social media isn’t enough for the radical left. The vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Congressman Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), recently wrote to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, accusing him of profiting off the sales of materials he considers “racist” or linked to “hate groups.” What exactly does Ellison mean by “hate groups”? For Ellison, he trusts the wisdom of the embattled Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). Despite its history, in recent years the SPLC has become a tool of leftists to brand conservative groups “hate groups.”

Tucker Carlson recently and accurately described it as “a left-wing political group that uses ‘hate crime’ designations to target its ideological enemies and to crush people.” Several years ago they targeted the Value Voters Summit and its primary sponsor, Family Research Council for being “bigots” and “haters.” Why? Because they believe in traditional marriage and that homosexuality is a sin. The SPLC haphazard tossing around the “hate group” label has gotten them into some serious trouble. The SPLC recently agreed to a $3 million court settlement after falsely listing Muslim reformer Maajid Nawaz, in its 2016 “Field Guide to Anti-Muslim Extremists.” Nawaz is a practicing Muslim. Following the settlement, at least 60 organizations branded as “hate groups” by the SPLC are considering legal action against the left-wing organization. CONTINUE AT SITE

Nunes: American People ‘Will Be Shocked’ by What’s in Redacted Portion of FISA Application By Debra Heine

https://pjmedia.com/video/nunes-american-people-will-be-shocked-by-whats-in-redacted-portion-of-fisa-application/
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes said Sunday that the American people will be “shocked” when they see what’s in the still-redacted portions of the FBI’s applications for surveillance warrants against former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.

“We are quite confident that once the American people see these 20 pages, at least for those that will get real reporting on this issue, they will be shocked by what’s in that FISA application,” Nunes said in an interview with Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo.

Nunes and other House Republicans have been urging President Trump to declassify what remains hidden in 20 pages of the FISA application.

“I think his lawyers are looking at this to see if they can declassify it sooner rather than later,” said Nunes (R-Calif.) during an interview on “Sunday Morning Futures.” “But the sooner this comes out, the better off we all are because what I’ve said is what’s left that’s redacted, the American people really need to know what’s underneath it.”

After the Department of Justice released portions of the four FISA applications, Democrats claimed that the most damaging information about Page was found in the redacted parts.

“If you look at what they were saying… ‘oh, but the really juicy stuff that proves collusion and how bad Carter Page really was and how they were colluding with Russians — that’s what’s redacted!'”

He said the liberal media changed their tune when they found out that Republicans on the House Intel Committee were trying to get those portions unredacted.

“You hear crickets. You hear nothing,” Nunes said.

Nunes said about 70 to 75 percent of the FISA material was redacted.

“What’s left that’s redacted, the American people really do need to know what’s underneath there,” the congressman said, adding that the Democrats don’t want the truth out there. CONTINUE AT SITE

You’ll never believe the latest argument against Brexit coming from the EU: Thomas Lifson

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2018/07/youll_never_believe_the_latest_argument_against_brexit_coming_from_the_eu.html

It turns out that Brexit is just like global warming: it causes everything bad known to man. At least if you ask the European Union. Patrick Grafton-Green reports in the UK Evening Standard:

Infectious diseases such as super-gonorrhoea could spread more rapidly if the UK leaves the European Union, health chiefs have warned.

Britain is said to be under “significant threat” from such diseases after Brexit if the government doesn’t work out a way of maintaining a close working relationship with European health bodies.

Cough! Has anyone ever heard of the World Health Organization? It’s not as if the EU is the only way that heath officials can share data.

This is pure BS, and a sign of desperation.

Stay tuned for more absurd predictions of doom from Brexit.

Jeremy Corbyn could end Labour’s anti-Semitism row in an instant. So why doesn’t he? By Boris Johnson

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2018/07/29/jeremy-corbyn-could-end-anti-semitism-row-instant-choosing-not/
The party leader fails to control bigotry because 
he sees Israel as the Middle East’s worst offender

Anti-Semitism is like a virus. It can spread fast among a population. The history of continental Europe shows that otherwise kindly and rational people can be encouraged to start spouting odious prejudice.

Even in this country we have seen episodes in the past 1,000 years when that virus has raged through society, with catastrophic results; and we have also seen how it can then go dormant. The spores of hate will wait beneath the floorboards. Then all of a sudden, one day, the disease can flare up – but not spontaneously, not without help.

When anti-Semitism takes hold again, it is because that virus has been potentiated by the stupidity or opportunism of politicians. When you look at what is happening in the Labour Party today – the real fear and distress of Margaret Hodge MP – it is clear that something is going badly wrong.

Last week, all three main Jewish papers cleared their front pages for a joint editorial claiming that Jeremy Corbyn presented an “existential threat” to the Jewish community in Britain. At the very least there has been a disastrous breakdown of trust; and no wonder.

You will find Labour councillors – representatives of the main party of opposition in this country – sharing stuff on social media about blood-drinking and baby-killing that properly belong to the pogroms of the Middle Ages. Go on to the social media pages of these suspended councillors and you will find Holocaust denial and other vile lies.

How could anyone peddle this kind of thing? There is outrage and bafflement and pain; and amidst it all we have a leader of the Labour Party who is so boneheaded that he refuses to close down the furore in the way that everyone is urging – which is to adopt a definition of anti-Semitism that has been accepted by the police, the Crown Prosecution Service, the judiciary, and 130 local councils.

There is clearly something about the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) wording that sticks in Corbyn’s craw. What is it?

It seems, incredibly, that Corbyn really does dispute their examples of anti-Semitic behaviour. In a nutshell, the IHRA says that it would be hurtful and anti-Semitic to claim that the state of Israel is a “racist endeavour”; or to draw comparisons between Israeli policy and Nazi Germany. Corbyn thinks it should be acceptable to say both.

It is easy to see why he has caused such offence to so many Jewish people. Of course it is legitimate, and in my view wholly proper, to criticise both the Israeli government and Israeli policy. The UK has been fierce in its denunciation of illegal settlements, of the destruction of Bedouin villages and Palestinian homes, and of the firing on unarmed protesters in Gaza.

Wolfgang Kasper The Atavistic Assault on Liberalism

https://quadrant.org.au/magazine/2018/07/theatavistic-assault-liberalism/

Mario Vargas Llosa’s journey from Castro groupie to steel-eyed critic of both Leftism and populism gives the observations and commentary of his latest book the authority of a long life both lived and examined. To describe it as a joy of the first order would be to engage in understatement.

La llamada de la tribu
by Mario Vargas Llosa
Alfaguara, 2018, 313 pages, €18.90
________________________

When a grandee of literature and liberal philosophy, such as Nobel laureate Mario Vargas Llosa (left), publishes the account of his intellectual odyssey, this is a literary event. The new book was a sensation in the Spanish-speaking world. It is a learned, critical record of the seven liberal authors who converted him—an idealistic communist in his youth—to full-blooded liberalism. The account comes from the pen of a master storyteller, who became a political animal in the same places and during the same decades as I did. This made the book a great delight for me. For now, the book is only available in Spanish, but an English translation seems not far off.

In a recent interview with Mexico’s cultural-political monthly Gatopardo, Vargas Llosa scoffs at his eighty-two years. He is already planning a globe-spanning tour to promote his new book.

Lying about Amsterdam By Bruce Bawer

https://pjmedia.com/trending/lying-about-amsterdam/

“Why, then, did Arre Zuurmond give such a dishonest interview? I don’t know the man, but when I read AFP’s story (before I saw Moran’s), my first thought was that this silliness was part of a desperate attempt at deflection – an effort to draw attention away from Amsterdam’s real problem. And that problem has nothing whatsoever to do with young guys from Britain, let alone from the Dutch provinces, roaming the inner city at night. No, it’s about the Islamic communities on the fringes of downtown and in the city suburbs. Hand me a map of Amsterdam and I’ll show you just how far you can go in any direction from the center of the city before you start risking real trouble. It’s not that far – heading west, it’s only a matter of four or five tram stops.”

Writing at this website on Saturday, Rick Moran summarized a report from Agence France Presse about Amsterdam. In an interview with the Dutch daily Trouw, that city’s official ombudsman, Arre Zuurmond, had complained that its “city centre becomes an urban jungle at night.” There are, in AFP’s words, “illegal car and bike races zooming through the streets, open drugs sales and general mayhem.” As Zuurmond put it: “Criminal money flourishes, there is no authority and the police can no longer handle the situation….Scooters race through the pedestrian areas. There is a lot of shouting. Drugs are being bought. There is stealing. People pee and even poop on the streets.”

Who are the culprits here? Zuurmond was clear on that one: “enticed by cheap travel, groups mostly of young men – mainly from elsewhere in the Netherlands or Britain – frequently roam the inner city’s canal-lined streets at weekends, on pub crawls or to celebrate stag parties drawn by easy access to drugs and the notorious Red Light district.” Zuurmond singled out for concern the downtown square called Leidseplein, where, he claimed, “The atmosphere is grim, and there is an air of lawlessness.”

Sorry, but this is all the purest of nonsense. I’m in Amsterdam quite frequently – most recently in June, when, as it happened, on several days in a row, I walked a great deal around parts of the city center, including Leidseplein and the fringes of the Red Light District. I did much if not most of my walking during the hours between midnight and six A.M. I like walking, and after forty years in New York City I know how to keep my eyes open – and I know Amsterdam well enough to know where I’m likely to be safe.