Category: Ledger of Lies

Fear Mongering: Gabbard warns global nuclear annihilation is close

WASHINGTON – Ms Tulsi Gabbard, the US director of national intelligence, released a video on June 11 warning that the world is closer to nuclear war than ever and accusing unnamed political elites of trying to foment conflict between world powers. Ms Gabbard didn’t cite any countries by name, but her remarks echoed long time claims by Russian officials and, more recently, by far-right commentators in the US who have warned that the Ukrainian drone attack on Russia’s strategic bomber…

When Ideas Become Too Dangerous to Platform

Professor Gigi Foster delivered a TEDx talk titled The Manipulators’ Playbook at the University of New South Wales in 2024. It was an examination of how, in times of crisis, fear and conformity can be deliberately harnessed by those in power to manipulate public behaviour. Her message was a call to defend the freedom to question authority and think independently. The local TEDxUNSW team had worked closely with Foster to ensure her talk met TEDx standards. ”But when the video was submitted to TED’s US headquarters for publication on YouTube, it was rejected. Across the digital landscape, we’re witnessing a broader pattern…

The Manipulators’ Playbook – Gigi Foster

Video: TedX talk by Gigi Foster in Australia, October 2024

Did the Feds Label You a Covid “Violent Extremist?”

Biden administration policy-makers hated you more than you knew. From the start of the Covid pandemic, I warned that the feds were vilifying anyone who failed to kowtow to the latest commands. In October 2023, I wrote: “Federal bureaucrats heaved together a bunch of letters to contrive an ominous new acronym for the latest peril to domestic tranquility. The result: AGAAVE—’anti-government, anti-authority violent extremism’—which looks like a typo for a sugar substitute. The FBI vastly expanded the supposed AGAAVE peril by…

1,400+ Arrested in Turkey as Erdoğan Jails Istanbul Mayor & Intensifies Authoritarian Crackdown

Mass demonstrations continue in Turkey, where Istanbul Mayor İmamoglu was arrested on corruption charges. Since protests broke out, Turkish authorities have detained more than 1,400 people, including students and journalists. İmamoglu is the main rival of President Erdogan in the 2028 election and was recently nominated by the Republican People’s Party. Erdogan has led the country since 2003, but his popularity has dropped in recent years amid authoritarian policies. “Everyone knows that this is politically motivated and that Erdogan is scared that he’s not going to win against Ekrem İmamoğlu,” says Turkish political scientist Ezgi Başaran.

J.D. Vance meets leader of far-right German party after complaining free speech in Europe ‘in retreat’

U.S. Vice-President J.D. Vance met the leader of a German far-right party during a visit to Munich on Friday, nine days before a German election and after lecturing European leaders about the state of democracy. Vance met with Alice Weidel, the co-leader and candidate for chancellor of the far-right and anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany party, his office said. Mainstream German parties say they won’t work with the party, a stance often referred to as a “firewall.” Polls put Alternative for Germany, or AfD, in second place going into…

‘You should have never started it’: Trump blames Kyiv for war

President Donald Trump this week falsely blamed Ukraine for starting the war that has cost tens of thousands of Ukrainian lives, causing outrage and alarm in a country that has spent nearly three years fighting back a much larger Russian military. Trump called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “ a dictator without elections” and claimed his support among voters was near rock-bottom. Zelenskyy said Wednesday that the disinformation is coming from Russia, and some of what Trump has said does echo Russia’s own narrative of the conflict….

(Video) Bernie Sanders: We Are Living in Unprecedented Times

U.S.: Migrants in handcuffs and chains boarding military aircraft

As reported by RAI News, Italy: About eighty people are seen lined up, handcuffs on their wrists, boarding military planes and being repatriated to Guatemala. “The expulsions have started,” says the White House spokesman. In El Paso, a city in Texas on the border with Mexico, Bishop Mark Joseph Seitz summons the press before the diocese to denounce the social repercussions of this crackdown: “When the government tramples on human dignity we must react.” In one RAI TG1 report, the…

A secretive Silicon Valley tech giant set up shop in Canada. But what does it do? (CBC 2017)

This piece was first published by CBC in 2017. It’s one of the most valuable and secretive technology companies in Silicon Valley: Palantir Technologies, a developer of data mining software used by spies, banks and some of the biggest companies in the world. The company was co-founded in 2004 by billionaire Peter Thiel — previously the co-founder of PayPal — and now an adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump. Financial institutions are said to use Palantir’s software to detect fraud and cyberattacks, while pharmaceutical…

How A ‘Deviant’ Philosopher Built Palantir, A CIA-Funded Data-Mining Juggernaut (Forbes 2013)

Since rumors began to spread that a startup called Palantir helped to kill Osama bin Laden, Alex Karp hasn’t had much time to himself. On one sun-baked July morning in Silicon Valley Palantir’s lean 45-year-old chief executive, with a top-heavy mop of frazzled hair, hikes the grassy hills around Stanford University’s massive satellite antennae known as the Dish, a favorite meditative pastime. But his solitude is disturbed somewhat by “Mike,” an ex-Marine–silent, 6 foot 1, 270 pounds of mostly pectoral…

Jackson, Mississippi, Officials Aren’t the First to Stay in Office Amid Corruption Charges

Hinds County District Attorney Jody E. Owens II walked briskly toward a crowd of TV cameras and reporters on the steps of the federal courthouse in Jackson last week to denounce what he called a “horrible example of a flawed FBI investigation” and an “assassination attempt on my character.” Owens, the top elected law enforcement official for Mississippi’s largest county that encompasses its capital city, pleaded not guilty to multiple federal felony charges stemming from an alleged FBI bribery sting….

India says ‘No Coincidence’ that Canada’s Accusations come as Trudeau set to testify at Chinese Interference Inquiry

New Delhi says Canada’s accusations against Indian diplomats and their expulsion is a politically driven move to show action amid criticism Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has turned a blind eye to foreign interference. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs says the move is strategically timed to coincide with Trudeau’s appearance at the Foreign Interference Commission, which has been mainly focused on China’s meddling in Canada. “Under criticism for turning a blind eye to foreign interference in Canadian politics, his Government…

Massive U.S. fine against TD Bank highlights relatively modest penalties in Canada

TORONTO — The more than US$3-billion settlement TD Bank Group has reached with U.S. regulators for its failures to oversee money laundering risks has underlined what some say are relatively weak enforcement options in Canada. Denis Meunier, president of DMeunier Consulting Inc. and a former deputy director of Fintrac, said fines in Canada have to increase significantly to provide adequate deterrence and not become just a cost of doing business. He says the federal government should add substantial fines for…

Mystery Profile Linked to Hungarian Firm Implicated in Exploding Pagers

Dozens of people were killed and thousands more injured after two consecutive days of explosions across Lebanon this week that the Shia militant group Hezbollah has blamed on Israel. Pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously on Tuesday afternoon, leaving at least 12 people dead, including two children. On Wednesday, another wave of coordinated explosions affecting handheld radios killed at least 25 people. Almost 3,000 people were wounded in the attacks, Lebanon’s health ministry said. Israel has not commented on…

Gas from Russia to EU up by 3 billion cubic meters in 8-2024 -GECF

The following article is from a Russian news source, Tass, which is controlled by the Russian Government. MOSCOW, September 18. /TASS/. EU pipeline gas imports last month decreased by 2% in August and overall, since the beginning of this year, gas supplies from Russia to Europe have increased by 3 billion cubic meters, according to a report by the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF). In general, total gas consumption in the EU in January-August of this year decreased by 3%…