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Apple DELAYS controversial plan to scan iPhones for child abuse images following privacy backlash

Apple has announced it will “take additional time” in the coming months to work on plans for flagging child sexual abuse material (CSAM), amid concerns from activists and rights groups over censorship and privacy issues.

“Based on feedback from customers, advocacy groups, researchers and others, we have decided to take additional time over the coming months to collect input and make improvements before releasing these critically important child safety features,” an Apple spokesperson said in a statement on Friday.

The delay follows a controversial announcement that was immediately met with calls to abandon the plans from civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

Apple’s technology would scan photos and conversations for CSAM, using a program the company previously claimed would still protect individual privacy because the technology does not identify the overall details of a picture or conversation, or need to be in possession of either – though many critics have voiced their doubts.

The system uses a database of references or ‘image hashtags’ to recognize specific content to be flagged, though security experts have warned that such technology could likely be manipulated, or innocent images could be misinterpreted. 

Even Apple employees have reportedly expressed concerns with the detection technology, worrying that it could be used to work around encryption protections, that it could easily misidentify and flag some photos – or even that some governments could exploit it to find other material. Apple maintains that it will refuse any requests from governments to use the system for anything other than child abuse images.

“iMessages will no longer provide confidentiality and privacy to those users through an end-to-end encrypted messaging system in which only the sender and intended recipients have access to the information sent,” read a letter from a coalition of more than 90 activist groups to Apple CEO Tim Cook on the potential changes. 

The exact timeline for the current delay is unknown, but the new detection system was originally intended to be in use sometime this year.

Chip shortage forces General Motors to idle North American plants

General Motors will temporarily shut down eight of its 15 North American assembly plants for a week starting Monday because of a worsening global microchip shortage, according to ABC News.

Why it matters: The coronavirus pandemic and other disasters have disrupted supply chains for semiconductors, which are crucial for thousands of computer-controlled systems in new vehicles.

  • The shortage has forced GM to reallocate the chips it does have to a small number of plants that produce the company’s most popular and profitable vehicles, such as its SUVs and pickups, according to CNN.

The big picture: The chip shortage has caused new vehicle inventory to fall, leading to higher prices that fuel inflation, Axios’ Felix Salmon reports.

  • Relief for automakers and other producers that require semiconductors appears to be on the horizon as chip producers ramp up production to meet demand.

Wokeness Is Going to Kill Democrats in National Elections

Let’s take a break from our chaotic exit from Afghanistan, the crappy jobs report that’s coming, the rising inflation, and Joe Biden’s dementia to circle back to the 2020 census data. It’s not something that gets you excited, but liberal America was popping champagne. These people are still hyper-focused on the wobbly demography is destiny mindset. A more diverse electorate means we win more elections; conservatism is dead. These sorts of data dumps are the black tar heroin for the Left and their moral superiority complex. The thing they were really harping on is the decline in the proportion of white Americans. The Trump voters. The GOP base—it’s all shrinking. It’s entertaining for sure, but also a tad pathetic. Public opinion can change—quickly. There are no permanent victories in a representative democracy. None. You’d think Democrats would have learned that after 2010. In a mere two years, the conversation went from ‘it’s the end of the GOP’ in 2008 with Obama’s election to the Tea Party wave in 2010. That only took two years. The GOP had their go with this permanent majority stuff in the Bush years. It will be a coalition that is focused on national security. That got washed away in the 2006 midterms. 

Better yet, it’s a progressive political scientist who torched this narrative about the 2020 census and a permanent Democratic majority. Ruy Teixeira of the Center for American Progress is one of those people who talked about this theory of an emerging Democratic majority but has also said that his works has been glossed over and misrepresented by fellow liberals. 

In a post on Medium, Teixeira just wrecks the Left’s hopes and dreams for future political dominance here. Namely that the big dip in white voters could be due to the race question in the survey that was tweaked in 2010 and could’ve caused confusion. He notes that because of that, America is probably whiter than the Left thinks. Second, white voters who vote is higher than their percentage of the overall population. The same cannot be said for nonwhites. 

He then moves onto college-educated whites, the most insufferable people on the planet. It’s because of these people that Biden won. It wasn’t due to a spike in black voters or Hispanic voters, not even women can claim credit that they saved America from Trump. It was because of the most isolated, snobby, and privileged whites in America. The people who have narratives about race in this country that simply do not mirror reality in any way, shape, or form. It’s an academic exercise for them. It’s why nonwhites, blacks especially, are veering towards the GOP. The ‘defund the police’ antics are a white college-educated liberal invention. The term ‘Latinx’ for Hispanics is totally a white liberal invention—no one uses it. In short, these people are from Mars, which is why they alienate everyone, including traditional Democratic voter blocs that are simply not as ideological as these folks on everything, especially the issue of racial resentment. Also, even though they might vote Democratic a lot—blacks and Hispanics do not, and never have identified as ‘liberal’ in their political orientation. Speaking to people in the ‘college faculty lexicon’ will not work—and then they denigrate those who don’t agree with them.

Oh, and Teixeira notes these clowns are sticking around for a long time in Democratic circles. Going woke is not a recipe for success. 

When it comes to Hispanic voters, it’s still not good news for Democrats and their demography is supremacy narrative. It’s the fastest-growing voter bloc. It has been for years, but as Teixeira has noted, among others, turnout is an issue. Yet, those who did swung towards Trump in 2020—big league:

As the Census documents, the biggest single driver of the increased nonwhite population is the growth of the Hispanic population. They are by far the largest group within the Census-designated nonwhite population (19 percent vs. 12 percent for blacks). While their representation among voters considerably lags their representation in the overall population, it is fair to say that voting trends among this group will decisively shape voting trends among nonwhites in the future since their share of voters will continue to increase while black voter share is expected to remain roughly constant.

And these Hispanic voting trends have not been favorable for the Democrats. According to Catalist, in 2020 Latinos had an amazingly large 16 point margin shift toward Trump. Among Latinos, Cubans did have the largest shifts toward Trump (26 points), but those of Mexican origin also had a 12 point shift and even Puerto Ricans moved toward Trump by 18 points. Moreover, Latino shifts toward Trump were widely dispersed geographically. Hispanic shifts toward Trump were not confined to Florida (28 points) and Texas (18 points) but also included states like Nevada (16 points), Pennsylvania (12 points), Arizona (10 points) and Georgia (8 points).

These reduced margins are why, despite Hispanics’ increased vote share in 2020, their contribution to Democrats’ improved national margin in this election was actually negative—that is, they made a negative one point contribution to Biden’s vote margin relative to Clinton’s in 2016.

[…]

In this context, it is interesting to note that the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement did not rate very highly among Hispanics. In the national exit poll, Hispanic voters were split close to evenly about BLM, 47 percent unfavorable to 49 percent favorable. This significantly trails not just black voters, but also white college graduates, who rated BLM 61 percent favorable to 35 percent unfavorable.

Consistent with this, Latino voters evinced little sympathy with the more radical demands that came to be associated with BLM. In VSG data, despite showing support for some specific policing reforms, Hispanics opposed defunding the police, decreasing the size of police forces and the scope of their work and reparations for the descendants of slaves by 2:1 or more.

An important thing to remember about the Hispanic population is that they are heavily oriented toward upward mobility and see themselves as being able to benefit from available opportunities to attain that.

“They are also patriotic,” added Teixeira noting “they would rather be a citizen of the United States than any other country in the world and by 35 points said they were proud of the way American democracy works.”

This does not bode well for Democrats who are all-in on hating America, white people, and denigrating this nation as irredeemably racist. Again, going woke isn’t a recipe for national success.

And then there’s the class issue which is appearing to be more of the determining factor concerning why Democrats will most likely fail at dominating national elections in the future. The working-class vote, both white and nonwhite, seems primed to frustrate Democrats:

But the focus on Democrats’ white working class problem, which is now widely understood, has obscured the problems Democrats have been developing with the nonwhite working class. While nonwhite voters as a whole moved toward the GOP in the 2020 election, working class nonwhites moved more sharply toward Trump than college nonwhites (12 margin points vs. 7 points, based on Catalist’s two party vote data). Surprisingly, working class nonwhite women actually moved more toward Trump (14 points) than working class nonwhite men (9 points).

It is particularly striking to note that since 2012, running against Trump twice, Democrats have lost 18 points off of their margin among nonwhite working class voters. That obviously undercuts the Democrat-friendly effects of rising racial diversity. This is underscored by the under-appreciated fact that working class voters still vastly outnumber college-educated voters. Among whites, working class voters were a bit over three-fifths of the vote. But among nonwhites, the working class contingent was a full two thirds of voters in 2020.

Hispanic working class voters were particularly likely to shift to the Republicans in 2020. Pew validated voter data show a 30 point shift toward the GOP relative to 2018 (2016 not available), more than twice the 14 point shift among college Hispanics. And in terms of support levels, the Pew data indicate that working class Hispanics gave Trump a remarkable 41 percent of their vote in 2020. This is especially noteworthy since the Hispanic vote is the most heavily working class nonwhite vote, pushing 80 percent working class according to Pew.

All this suggests trends among working class nonwhites will likely determine the future of the nonwhite vote—and therefore what benefit, if any, Democrats will derive from the race-ethnic trends identified by the Census.

He closed with a brief mentioning that the Democrats’ dispersion of its base is not efficient at all. They simply dominate areas that have already been in Democratic hands for years. What good is a massive spike in new Democratic voters if they already live in the San Francisco Bay area? We all know California is going blue, whereas the Trump coalition is probably one of the most efficiently dispersed in recent memory. Trump voters live, by and large, in areas where elections are determined which makes it lethal. And if nonwhite working-class voters, coupled with the white working-class that’s already abandoned the Democratic Party, swing towards the GOP—a lot of losing and woke tears are going to flow. Of course, things can change. The Democrats might get off the ‘woke’ wagon and focus on an agenda that—shocker—is popular with voters. Defunding the police and bailing out the most privileged with their college debt isn’t any of those things. It also highlights how shallow liberal thinking is when it comes to race since it’s apparent that many, if not all, think that a nonwhite American is a slam-dunk voter for the Democratic Party and liberal agenda items. It’s not. 

Teixeira shot a warning flare with this post, adding that it’s “clear that the Democrats’ efforts to build and sustain a majority electoral coalition are not guaranteed in any way by the race-ethnic trends detailed in the Census data.” 

Sit down, liberals. You’ve won nothing. 

Taliban announces partnership with China

“China will be our main partner and represents a great opportunity for us because it is ready to invest in our country and support reconstruction efforts,” Zabihulah Mujahid said in an interview.

The Taliban have announced that China will be their “main partner” and will help rebuild Afghanistan. According to Asia Today, the Taliban have an interest in China’s Belt and Road Initiative and see it as a revival of the ancient Silk Road.

“China will be our main partner and represents a great opportunity for us because it is ready to invest in our country and support reconstruction efforts,” Zabihulah Mujahid said in an interview. He believes China will be helpful in utilizing Afghanistan’s rich copper resources and will form a pathway to global markets.

Mujahid also said the damaged airport will soon be operational once again. “The airport should be clean within the next three days and will be rebuilt in a short time. I hope it will be operational again in September,” he said.

Former American envoy to the United Nations Nikki Haley says China has ulterior motives. “We need to watch China because I think you are going to see China make a move for Bagram Air Force Base. I think they are also making a move in Afghanistan and trying to use Pakistan to get stronger to go against India. So, we have got a lot of issues,” she said.

Haley continues suggesting the President must connect with key allies. “The first thing you should do is immediately start connecting with our allies, whether it’s Taiwan, whether it’s Ukraine, whether it’s Israel, whether it’s India, Australia, Japan, all of them, and reassure them that we will have their back and that we need them as well,” Ms Haley said.

The Taliban took control of Afghanistan on August 15 after President Biden ordered the American military to abandon the country. The new regime is expected to form and announce its new government on Friday.

CDC endorsed use of ivermectin … for Afghan refugees!

“I have long been convinced that Nature has all the solutions we need to solve our past … that will be the primary source of the treasures and solutions that we seek.” ~Professor Satashi Omura, Nobel co-laureate for the discovery of ivermectin 

Looking at 2019 CDC guidance, one has to wonder if one of the reasons why there is such a run on ivermectin is because our own government is using it. And no, not for horses, but for refugees. Yet these same government agencies are running a blood libel-style smear campaign against the drug and its users by misleading people into conflating it with a veterinarian version of the drug, leading many people to think it’s some sort of poison for humans. In the process, they are leaving thousands of COVID patients without any other options for treatment.

It’s not clear whether the hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees will be forced to get vaccinated like American international travelers, but one thing is clear: They will likely get the ivermectin that most Americans can no longer access. It turns out that in 2019, the CDC issued guidance for refugees from Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East to be given ivermectin pre-emptively for potential infections.

The CDC advises the International Organization for Migration (IOM) physicians who screen the refugees for departure, and U.S. doctors who treat them upon arrival, to prescribe “all Middle Eastern, Asian, North African, Latin American, and Caribbean refugees” with ivermectin and albendazole.

“But that is for parasitic infection, not viral infection!” shouts the chorus of ignorant fools who have ignored the past 18 months of ivermectin saving countless lives. Putting this point aside for a moment, that is only a question about efficacy, not safety. Government agencies are slandering ivermectin as if it’s not a safe drug and even convincing people that it’s for animals. Do they consider refugees animals? The point is: People who are now getting COVID – both vaccinated and unvaccinated – are left without any options for outpatient treatment. Why would the government stand in the way of ivermectin treatment that it mass-distributes to refugees, even if the establishment bureaucrats personally believe it won’t help for COVID?

To the extent the government even screens refugees for COVID, will officials suspend ivermectin treatment for a refugee who has COVID alongside a parasitic infection? After all, we are told that somehow one of the safest drugs in the history of humanity suddenly turns unsafe if you want to use it for another ailment. Or perhaps Americans can self-identify as refugees and then obtain prescriptions for this lifesaving drug. The question now is whether the rest of the media that ignored ivermectin’s success for 17 months will continue to call the drug a “horse dewormer” even as it’s administered to Afghan refugees.

The revelation of this CDC guidance demonstrates that ivermectin is not some obscure drug, much less an animal drug that was used one time for humans in Africa many years ago. The agency feels it is needed today in most parts of the world. To suggest that it is not safe is a scandalous lie. Perhaps doctors will have to start punching in the prescription code for abortion or suggest it’s for an Afghan refugee in order to get the prescription filled:

In reality, anyone who thinks that somehow one of the safest and most successful drugs of all time cannot work for other ailments is woefully uninformed. I trust Professor Omura, the man who won the Nobel Prize for developing ivermectin for Merck, over the company itself, which now stands to benefit from an expensive drug it is developing, with which the cheap ivermectin, which is off patent, would interfere.

In March, Omura wrote in the Japanese Journal of Antibiotics that he hopes “ivermectin will be utilized as a countermeasure for COVID-19 as soon as possible.” Ten years ago, Omura observed: “Ivermectin has continually proved to be astonishingly safe for human use. Indeed, it is such a safe drug, with minimal side effects, that it can be administered by non-medical staff and even illiterate individuals in remote rural communities, provided that they have had some very basic, appropriate training.”

Any sampling of the internet will reveal a unique degree of reverence for this drug among all of the (pre-political) literature on ivermectin. For example, in 2017, Nature’s Journal of Antibiotics observed the following about the fact that ivermectin held promise outside use just as an-antiparasitic agent:

Today, ivermectin is continuing to surprise and excite scientists, offering more and more promise to help improve global public health by treating a diverse range of diseases, with its unexpected potential as an antibacterial, antiviral and anti-cancer agent being particularly extraordinary. …

Moreover, whereas ivermectin-resistant parasites swiftly appeared in treated animals, as well as in ectoparasites, such as copepods parasitizing salmon in fish farms, somewhat bizarrely and almost uniquely, no confirmed drug resistance appears to have arisen in parasites in human populations, even in those that have been taking ivermectin as a monotherapy for over 30 years.

As for the drug’s exact mechanism of action against COVID, Dr. Ryan Cole, a brilliant Mayo Clinic-trained pathologist, listed eight different mechanisms in an exclusive interview with TheBlaze:

1. Inhibits binding at ACE2 and TMPRSS2, keeping the virus from entering our cells.

2. Blocks alpha/beta importin (the virus cell taxi), keeping it from getting to the nucleus.

3. Blocks the viral replicase zipper (RdRp).

4. 3-Chimotrypsin protease inhibition (keeps the virus from assembling).

5. Ivermectin strengthens our natural antiviral cell activity by increasing our natural interferon production (this counters SARSCOV2 activity, which inhibits cellular interferon).

6. Decreases IL-6 and other inflammatory cytokines through NF Kappa Beta downregulation, taking the patient from a cytokine storm to calm. 

7. Binds NSP14, necessary for viral replication, and blocks it (equals less virus). 

8. Most important mechanism is inhibiting binding to CD147 receptor on red cells, platelets, lung, and blood cell lining. Ivermectin keeps the virus from binding here and decreases deadly clotting.

For those who want a more detailed explanation of each of these mechanisms, Dr. Cole has provided me with important links and videos, which I posted together in this twitter thread:

So, the next time you hear any media figures refer to ivermectin as an animal medicine, just remember that they are regarding people from three continents as something less than human. And now, they are treating every American – increasingly those who are also vaccinated – as subhuman beings who don’t deserve any treatment until it is too late.

Biden’s issues order on declassification review of 9/11 documents

President Biden signed an executive order on Friday directing the Department of Justice and other relevant agencies to pursue a declassification review of documents related to the FBI’s investigations of the 9/11 attacks.

Why it matters: Victims’ families have told the president they will object to his presence at next week’s 20th-anniversary memorial events unless he declassifies documents that they believe will show the Saudi Arabian government supported the attacks.

Driving the news: Biden’s order requires Attorney General Merrick Garland to publicly release the declassified documents over the next six months. 

  • Even if some information might merit continued protection in the interest of national security, agencies should consider “whether the public interest in disclosure of the information outweighs the damage to the national security that might reasonably be expected from disclosure,” per the order.

What he’s saying: “We must never forget the enduring pain of the families and loved ones of the 2,977 innocent people who were killed during the worst terrorist attack on America in our history,” Biden, who campaigned on a promise to declassify 9/11 documents, said in a statement.

  • “My heart continues to be with the 9/11 families who are suffering, and my Administration will continue to engage respectfully with members of this community. I welcome their voices and insight as we chart a way forward.”

Biden’s Economy Created Just 235,000 Jobs in August

The U.S. economy added 235,000 jobs in August and the unemployment rate dipped to 5.2 percent, the Labor Department said in its monthly labor assessment Friday.

The median Econoday forecast of analysts was for 740,000 jobs and an unemployment rate of 5.2 percent, according to Econoday. The private payrolls report from payroll processor ADP on Wednesday, however, pointed to a much weaker number, with ADP estimating just 374,000 jobs, missing estimates for 500,000.

The August figures follow the upwardly revised 1.1 million jobs for July (revised from the preliminary report of 943,000), which was the second straight month above consensus, and an unemployment rate of 5.4 percent, which was also better than consensus. The economy added 962,000 in June (revised up from last month’s estimate of 938,000 and the preliminary estimate of 850,000) and 614,000 in May.

One note of caution: the estimate of jobs is based on data from a mid-month work week that occurred when the level of new infections was considerably lower than it is now. That could mean that the survey results, although extremely disappointing, actually overestimated the number of jobs created by not accounting for a slowdown in the second half of the month.

Employment has risen by 17.0 million since the ebb in April 2020 but is down by 5.3 million, or 3.5 percent, from its pre-pandemic level in February 2020.

Employment in leisure and hospitality, which had been averaging 350,000 jobs over the last six months, did not grow at all. Bars and restaurants shed 42,000 jobs. Retail also contracted, losing 29,000 jobs.

Mining, which includes fracking and other energy extraction jobs, added 6,000. IT added 17,000. Financial services grew by 16,000.

The manufacturing sector was remarkably strong given the weakness elsewhere. Employment grew by 37,000 jobs. Manufacturing employment is now 378,000 below the prepandemic level.

In August, there was little or no improvement in other major industries, including construction, wholesale trade, and health care.

Employment increased by 40,000 in private education, declined by 21,000 in state government education, and fell by 6,000 in local government education, confounding expectations for a jump in hiring in the education sector.

The economy outperformed expectations on many metrics in the first two quarters of this year as vaccinations boosted business and consumer confidence and restrictions on businesses were been lifted. But the surge in Covid-19 infections and inflation this summer have coincided with a series of disappointing economic reports that appear to indicate economic growth has already peaked and is now slowing.

The Atlanta Fed’s GDPNOW attempts to assess what the latest data suggests about quarterly GDP. As of Thursday, it read just 3.7 percent for the third quarter, reflecting how much recent economic data has fallen short of expectations. The New York Fed’s version was last updated on August 27 with a reading of 3.8 percent. The “Blue Chip” forecast, compiled from interviews with leading economists, is for growth of around 6.5 percent, down from 7.5 percent a month ago. In August, Goldman Sachs cut its third quarter growth estimate from nine percent to 5.5 percent and bearish Bank of America cut its forecast from seven percent to 4.5 percent.

‘Cheers’ Star Kirstie Alley, 70, Says She Used Ivermectin, Joe Rogan Protocol To Treat COVID And Recovered In 12 Days

Kirstie Alley used many of the same drugs as Joe Rogan – including Ivermectin – and recovered from COVID-19 in only 12 days.

Television and film actress Kirstie Alley, 70, revealed on Twitter that she used Ivermectin and a cocktail of other drugs, popularized yesterday by podcast legend Joe Rogan, to treat her COVID-19. Alley says she recovered fully in 12 days, with most symptoms subsiding in two days.

Sharing a video in which Joe Rogan described how he treated his COVID-19, Alley revealed she used similar drugs to massive success, despite being in a higher risk age group. “I did almost the same protocol when I got it,” wrote Alley. “It sucked for two days then I was just tired [with] no sense of smell or taste for 10 more days.”

The “Cheers” star added, “I had no respiratory symptoms, thank god, not even a sniffle. Don’t care if people think protocols are stupid. Effective IF DONE IMMEDIATELY.” When Alley was asked by a fan how she was able to secure the treatment regimen, she said “My good ole family Dr. and a Covid expert doc from NYC.. gotta tell you the protocols are cheap.”

Rogan made headlines and was heralded as a beacon of hope for medical freedom by conservatives and ridiculed for using “horse paste” by the left, despite the latter being factually inaccurate misinformation.

On a video posted to social media, Rogan said, “I got back from the road Saturday night feeling very weary, I had a headache I just felt, just run down and just to be cautious, I separated from my family, slept in a different part of the house and throughout the night I got fevers and sweats and I knew what was goin’ on,” Rogan stated on Wednesday. “So I got up in the morning, got tested, and turns out I got COVID.”

“So we immediately threw the kitchen sink at it, all kinds of meds, monoclonal antibodies, ivermectin, Z-Pak, prednisone, everything,” Rogan continued. “Uh, and I also got an NAD drip and a vitamin drip and I did that three days in a row. And so, here we are on Wednesday, and I feel great. I really only had one bad day, Sunday sucked, but Monday was better, Tuesday felt better than Monday, and today I actually feel good. I feel pretty f**king good. Uh, that’s the good news. The bad news is we have to move the Friday show in Nashville.”