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China Military Simulates Beach Assault

Chinese soldiers conduct military landing drills amid South China tensions with Taiwan.

QUICK FACTS:
  • The Chinese Navy released footage of a simulated beach assault.
  • The video was posted to Twitter by the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) state-run media outlet Global Times.
  • The exercises took place in waters off the eastern province of Fujian near Taiwan, adding to China’s aggression toward the smaller East Asian country.
  • According to the Global Times, Friday’s amphibious landing exercises should be seen as a warning to the U.S. as well as “Taiwan secessionists.”
  • It is likely more drills will be staged in the future, the report said.
SIMILAR FOOTAGE FROM NOV 2020:
WHAT THE CHINA-BACKED ‘GLOBAL TIMES’ IS SAYING:
  • “The People’s Liberation Army conducted intensive military exercises in the Taiwan Straits [sic] region recently,” the Global Times said in a recent editorial.
  • The Global Times also said that “One of the purposes was to deal with challenges during the U.S. government transition. Once the U.S. and Taiwan island touch the bottom line, the mainland will fight a war that it is fully prepared for.”
  • The Beijing-controlled newspaper blamed “[t]he Trump administration” for “greatly sabotaged China-US relations, creating a countercurrent in which the US government plays a leading role in confronting China.”
  • “China is able to deal with various challenges,” the piece concluded.
BACKGROUND:
  • The war games come a day after a second U.S. military aircraft landed on Taiwan in less than two months, according to Bloomberg.
  • China sees Taiwan as a breakaway province to be reunified with the mainland one day. Taiwan disagrees and desires independence from mainland China.
  • Britannica notes that the Chinese government in Beijing “has maintained that it has jurisdiction over Taiwan,” pushing the so-called “One China policy.” Britannica also notes that “[t]here has been no agreement, however, on how or when, if ever, the two entities will be reunified.”
  • The drills followed the Chinese defense ministry’s warning on Thursday that foreign planes entering the country’s airspace without its approval would lead to “serious consequences.”
  • Bloomberg also notes that a U.S. government aircraft landed at Taipei airport Thursday morning for about half an hour, United Daily News reported.
  • China has threatened nuclear war with the U.S.
  • A Japanese State Defense Minister recently warned the U.S. of a “Pearl Harbor” style attack from China.
Japan State Defense Minister Warns U.S. of a ‘Pearl Harbor’ Style Attack from China and Russia
Biden Backs Trump-Era Rejection of China’s South China Sea Claim
China’s Dictator Xi Says Enemies ‘Will have their heads bashed bloody against the Great Wall’—CNN Calls Him A ‘Star’

MIT Study: Vaccine Hesitancy Is ‘Highly Informed, Scientifically Literate,’ and ‘Sophisticated’

Vaccine hesitancy is a big problem, according to the Biden administration.  Less than half the public is fully vaccinated while about 56 percent have received at least one jab.

The goal of fully vaccinating the American public appears to have stalled. This should not surprise us. When the vaccines were first approved for emergency use back in December 2020, 40 percent of Americans expressed skepticism about the vaccine.

Trying to shame the holdouts has failed spectacularly. Insulting and degrading them as “morons” or “ignorant” has resulted in a vicious pushback and a hardening of positions on getting vaccinated.

The administration’s plan of sending people door to door to vaccinate them only feeds anti-vaccine skepticism. Trust in authority is at an all-time low, which makes a government-sponsored vaccine program suspect.

Still, most experts agree that some people who should be getting vaccinated aren’t doing so. But the root cause isn’t ignorance or a belief in conspiracy theories. An MIT study on the problem revealed some surprising results.

NRO:

Proponents of the vaccine are unwilling or unable to understand the thinking of vaccine skeptics — or even admit that skeptics may be thinking at all. Their attempts to answer skepticism or understand it end up poisoned by condescension, and end up reinforcing it.

The condescension is political in nature and crosses party lines. Sometimes, arguments against vaccination are mistaken for irrational thinking.

Sometimes the perception of irrationality is almost accidental, because arguments are usually social interactions, not strictly logical exercises. A vaccine skeptic may brush off a proponent by saying, “It’s approved for emergency use only; it’s not FDA-approved. I don’t think we should require it.” The skeptic is beginning with a fact that’s easily established and shareable. But when pressed, they might reveal that their line of thinking is elsewhere: “There are no long-term studies, and I’m worried about possible long-term effects.” Because the two objections aren’t exactly logically connected, the proponent concludes it is irrationalism all the way down.

But a study done at MIT showed that a substantial portion of public-health skepticism was highly informed, scientifically literate, and sophisticated in the use of data. Skeptics used the same data sets as those with the orthodox views on public health.

The study’s lead author, Crystal Lee, says those same exact data sets can be used by either side to marshal arguments.

MIT News:

The researchers combed through hundreds of thousands of social media posts and found that coronavirus skeptics often deploy counter-visualizations alongside the same “follow-the-data” rhetoric as public health experts, yet the skeptics argue for radically different policies. The researchers conclude that data visualizations aren’t sufficient to convey the urgency of the Covid-19 pandemic, because even the clearest graphs can be interpreted through a variety of belief systems.

“A lot of people think of metrics like infection rates as objective,” says Crystal Lee. “But they’re clearly not, based on how much debate there is on how to think about the pandemic. That’s why we say data visualizations have become a battleground.”

In fact, because of the data sets being used interchangeably, vaccine skepticism becomes logical and rational.

But most vaccine skepticism, if by that we mean reluctance, is not based on conspiracy theorizing — it’s based on risk-benefit calculations. You may think it’s an innumerate calculation. But when you look at patterns of uptake in the United States, two factors stand out, factors that are larger in their effect than partisanship: age and density. The older you are and the denser your community, the more likely you are to be vaccinated. The younger you are, and the more rural your community, the less likely you are to have gotten it. This reflects the real facts about the risk of death from COVID. People may be wildly overestimating their risk from the vaccine and underestimating their risks from COVID — but they have the directional thinking correct. Those who are in less danger, act like it.

This is why vaccine choice is so important. Why have the same mandate for someone who lives in New York City and someone who lives in rural South Dakota?

A more holistic approach to vaccine skepticism is needed if we are to get everyone who needs to be vaccinated protected. Allowances must be made for the legitimate concerns of citizens who, for their own reasons, don’t want to get jabbed. But if indeed, individuals are doing their own risk-benefit calculations, it would help enormously if the Left would refrain from their sickening condescension toward those with serious, legitimate questions.

China Bans Karaoke that ‘Harms National Unity’

Songs considered not “healthy” by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will be deleted from karaoke menus.

QUICK FACTS:
  • China’s “Ministry of Culture” (MOC) has instated new rules that make venues offering karaoke services responsible for finding and deleting songs banned by the CCP, according to South China Morning Post.
  • A draft of the guidelines states that only “healthy” songs that “promote positive energy” will be sung in parlors across China.
  • Without noting any specific songs, the MOC proposed creating a centralized list of forbidden songs, including music that might “endanger national unity, sovereignty or territorial integrity, or harm national security, honour or interests.”
OPPOSITION TO THE BAN:
  • Angeli Datt—senior research analyst for China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan at Freedom House— said, “The extension of censorship and attacks on freedom of expression to these new frontiers signal ongoing CCP nervousness about any avenues for domestic dissent.”
  • She added, “Targeting karaoke song libraries is part of a broader attempt to extend the Chinese government’s vast information control system into every facet of the entertainment industry.”
  • “In proposing to ban songs on national security or ‘violating social ethics’ grounds, authorities will censor content that it deems foreign, religious, or politically sensitive while trying to promote a traditional and conservative culture with the party at the centre,” said Datt.
  • Sorbonne University’s Grégoire Bienvenu commented that karaoke bars “provide a very useful activity to absorb the energy of the youth through popular music, dance and drinks: it diverts political thoughts away.” He added that it’s “no wonder the list of the songs provided in karaoke venues have to be monitored.”
  • “Maybe it’s only part of Xi’s main plan to watch over any kind of cultural expression—which he has been doing since 2013—whether with cinema, hip-hop and now karaoke,” said Bienvenu.
WHAT HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS ARE SAYING:
  • The 2021 Human Rights Watch World Report on China said that “Authorities detained and prosecuted numerous netizens for online posts and private chat messages critical of the government, charging them with crimes such as ‘spreading rumors,’ ‘picking quarrels,’ and ‘insulting the country’s leaders.'”
  • The report pointed out that China has “expanded their internet censorship regime to suppress content not in line with ‘core socialist values.'”
  • Amnesty International’s 2020/21 world human rights report said that China’s 2020 year in general “was marked by harsh crackdowns on human rights defenders and people perceived to be dissidents, as well as the systematic repression of ethnic minorities.”
BACKGROUND:
  • The proposed ban comes right after the CCP’s centenary celebrations.
  • Bejing banned at least 100 songs from karaoke venues last year.
  • More than 6,000 songs were banned in 2018.
  • The new Karaoke ban represents part of a wider pattern of behavior by Chinese authorities, increasing its control “over a wide range of popular culture content including stand-up comedy, gaming, internet fan clubs, as well as creating a code of conduct for celebrities.”
  • Titles of previously banned songs include “I love Taiwanese Girls,” “Fart,” “Beijing Hooligans,” and “Don’t Want to Go to School.”
  • Human rights groups have repeatedly called out China for its continued repression of free expression.
China’s Dictator Xi Says Enemies ‘Will have their heads bashed bloody against the Great Wall’—CNN Calls Him A ‘Star’

Federal Judge Orders Obama-Era DACA Program Closed to New Applicants

A Texas federal judge on Friday blocked an Obama-era DACA program that protected illegal immigrants.

QUICK FACTS:
  • District court Judge Andrew Hanen’s 77-page opinion concluded that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) is unlawful.
  • Judge Hansen based his opinion on the fact that DACA violates the Administrative Procedure Act.
  • The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will no longer be able to approve new DACA applications since the Southern District of Texas judge found that DHS does not have the authority to do so.
  • Hanen also ruled that the Obama administration violated federal administrative law when establishing the policy through a DHS memo.
  • Judge Hanen’s ruling doesn’t affect the status of more than 600,000 current DACA recipients.
  • Much of the ruling is on hold pending appeals, which means current DACA recipients will not lose their protections yet.
WHAT JUDGE HANEN SAID:
  • “While the law certainly grants some discretionary authority to the agency, it does not extend to include the power to institute a program that gives deferred action and lawful presence, and in turn, work authorization and multiple other benefits to 1.5 million individuals who are in the country illegally,” Hanen wrote.
HOW THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION HAS RESPONDED:
  • Forbes reports the federal government will appeal Judge Hanen’s decision.
  • After the Biden admin appeals Hanen’s ruling, it will head to the conservative-leaning Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
BACKGROUND:
  • DACA allows certain immigrants to temporarily avoid deportation and to receive renewable work permits.
  • DACA—a program from 2012—also provides deportation relief and work permits to illegal aliens.

Jon Voight Talks About ‘Moms For America’

“Moms for America is a tremendous grassroots organization,” says Voight.

QUICK FACTS:
  • Academy Award-winning Jon Voight will be speaking at a “Moms for America” summit in Anaheim, California on July 24.
  • The event will take place at Influence Church, which recently hosted the “Re-Awaken America Tour.”

NFL Recommends ‘Color Coded Wristbands’ to Identify Vaccinated Players

The National Football League has directed its 32 teams to generate a method for identifying players, coaches, and employees who have received the Covid-19 vaccine.

QUICK FACTS:
  • The five-page memo informed NFL teams they would have to develop a system for identifying fully-vaccinated “Tier 1 and Tiers 2 personnel,” according to NBC Sports.
  • The idea is to “make players who aren’t vaccinated…stand out when in the facility,” the report notes.
  • Players and coaches fall under the Tier 1 category.
  • The memo, released last week, was obtained by Pro Football Talk (PFT).
WHAT THE MEMO SAID:
  • “We recommend utilizing color coded wristbands or credentials, however clubs are free to implement other methods,” the memo said.
BACKGROUND:
  • While the NFL has not made it mandatory for players to receive the vaccine, the League is aggressively encouraging its players to do so.
  • Only two teams remain below a 50% vaccination rate, according to a Friday report from NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
  • “The restrictions for non-vaccinated players are significant, including daily testing (even during byes), masks, limits on in-person meetings, being barred from eating in the cafeteria, etc.,” also according to the report.

One World Government Part 18

MTG, Matt Gaetz Condemn ‘Communist’ Democrat Party After CA Event Canceled

Reps. Marjorie Taylor-Greene and Matt Gaetz held a rally in front of Riverside City Hall in California after Anaheim city officials canceled their indoor event on Saturday.

QUICK FACTS:
  • An Anaheim, California venue canceled plans to host an “America First” rally held by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on Saturday, July 17, pulling out just hours before they were set to take the stage.
  • Reps. Gaetz and Greene then held a “Free Speech Peaceful Protest” of their own outside Riverside City Hall.
  • This was the GOP duo’s third time being canceled.
  • The city cited “security concerns” as a reason for canceling on the two members of Congress.
WHAT GAETZ AND GREENE SAID:
  • Greene stated that Anaheim, California, “does not believe freedom represents their values, but America Last communists cancel culture does.”
  • “The radical left can’t cancel our freedom of speech and protest against the Democrat’s communist ways!” she tweeted. “See you there!”
  • Gaetz asked, “Do you know why they’re so afraid of Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene? Because we fight for you, not them.” The crowd cheered as he declared that “Donald Trump won the [2020] election.”
Trump Says AZ Voting Fraud Can ‘Change’ 2020 Election Outcome: ‘People Will Be Shocked’
AZ Senate Audit Found 2020 Election System ‘Breached’: ‘We Know As A Matter of Fact’ (Video)
AZ To Hold Election Audit Hearing On Thursday (Video Feed)

American Marxism

Most people sense that America is under assault by America-hating forces and worry that our freedoms are actually in jeopardy. Mark Levin’s new book, “American Marxism,” confirms those fears, exposes the chilling aims and methods of these malicious groups, and provides a blueprint to restore America to a path of recovery.

Levin has a gift for distilling abstract ideas into understandable terms for lay consumption. I’ve personally written and discussed many of the ideas he addresses in this compelling book but had not considered the term “counter-revolution” to describe what we’re witnessing.

He is exactly right. This is a counter-revolution to the American revolution, and horrifyingly, “It is devouring our society and culture, swirling around our everyday lives, and ubiquitous in our politics, schools, media, and entertainment.” He is also correct that this disturbing insurrection is no longer a fringe movement but is in the mainstream of our culture and institutions.

Mark identifies the source of this threat—Marxism—the sinister, utopian ideology “responsible for the enslavement, impoverishment, torture, and death of untold millions.” But he goes further and usefully tags the particular brand of this menace as “American Marxism”: “the application and adaption of core Marxist teachings to American society and culture.”

What makes the counterrevolutionaries particularly dangerous is their sophisticated techniques of distorting language, disguising their true intent with deceitful euphemisms to disarm patriots and facilitate their scheme to fundamentally transform this nation into something unrecognizable to its founders and wholly unacceptable to all who cherish and revere the glorious American experiment in self-governance. They’ve labeled themselves “progressives,” “social activists,” and other innocuous-sounding terms because they know Americans still, by the grace of God, reject naked Marxism. More recently, they operate under such organizations as Black Lives Matter, cloaking their anti-capitalist designs in a façade of racial, environmental, or gender justice. They have foisted their once-ridiculed notion of critical race theory into the forefront of our lives, forcing this dangerous philosophy into mainstream societal acceptance.

Race agitation isn’t their only weapon. They’ve achieved considerable traction in the advancement of their agenda through divisive class warfare, which fuels their destructive policies of obscene deficit spending, confiscatory taxation, and runaway governmental and bureaucratic regulation.

Their shameless employment of identity politics is just one of many arrows in their quiver. They expand their arsenal to ensure that certain setbacks will not ultimately thwart their agenda. To shore up their bases, they promote extraconstitutional schemes to crush their opposition through ostensibly legal means, such as changing the voting rules to rig the playing field in favor of their candidates. In the name of preserving our democratic processes, they pervert them—disenfranchising people while pretending to protect their voting rights.

We saw this on the front pages lately when President Joe Biden preposterously argued that such election-integrity measures as voter ID were the greatest threat to American democracy since the Civil War. He also scored a twofer, as he invoked race—echoing his party’s position that these laws are a new form of heinous Jim Crow legislation. Anyone with half a brain recognizes that eliminating the requirement of proving one’s identity as a condition to voting destroys rather than safeguards the integrity of the election process. Anyone with half a molecule of discernment understands that to equate voter ID laws to suppression of the black vote is the worst kind of patronizing insult to black voters, who these demagogues imply aren’t capable of furnishing proof of their own identity.

Full Story

White House Colludes with Facebook to Censor ‘Misinformation’

On Thursday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki admitted that the administration is identifying posts to Facebook that contain “misinformation” about coronavirus vaccines and is in “regular touch” with the Masters of the Universe. Psaki specifically admitted that the administration is flagging “problematic” posts to Facebook.

“We are in regular touch with the social media platforms and those engagements typically happen through members of our senior staff and also members of our COVID-19 team,” Psaki told reporters, adding “his is a big issue, of misinformation, specifically on the pandemic.”

“We’ve increased disinformation research and tracking within the Surgeon General’s Office. We are flagging problematic posts for Facebook that spread disinformation.”

Psaki’s comments followed demands from Surgeon General Vivek Murthy for social media companies to clamp down on alleged misinformation about the pandemic and coronavirus vaccines.

“Health misinformation has led people to resist wearing masks in high-risk settings. It’s led them to turn down proven treatments and to choose not to get vaccinated. This has led to avoidable illnesses and deaths,” warned Murthy.

Facebook, along with other major tech companies, has cracked down on a wide swathe of constitutionally protected speech about the coronavirus and vaccines. In March of this year, it censored a Wall Street Journal op-ed from a Johns Hopkins surgeon who argued that the United States would likely achieve herd immunity against the virus by April.

Full Story

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