Sunday Talks – Matt Taibbi Discusses the Twitter Files and TikTok Hypocrisy


Posted originally on the CTH on March 26, 2023 | Sundance

Independent journalist Matt Taibbi appears on Fox News with Maria Bartiromo to discuss the current U.S. position on social media platform TikTok and the larger issues with government censorship and control as he has outlined within the ‘Twitter Files.’

Readers and observers should note how Council on Foreign Relations member Ms. Bartiromo again introduces the TikTok narrative around the ability of the Chinese government to request user data from TikTok, while Ms. Bartiromo seemingly ignores the U.S. surveillance policy that grants DOJ/FBI officials identical access to user data from Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Google, Apple, etc.

However, independent thinking Matt Taibbi does a great job with that question and reminds Ms Bartiromo the Senate Select Committee functions in the USA exactly as she is concerned about the CCP acting in China. [lolol.. Go Matt!]  Bartiromo quickly dodges the point and moves on. WATCH:

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I like Matt Taibbi, even when he was a willfully blind lefty, he was always a curious cat.  Deep State gotta Deep State.  The cause of the “dramatic change” Taibbi notes has a name, it’s called Donald Trump.

Sunday Talks – Mark Warner, Senate Intelligence Committee Very Upset U.S Govt Cannot Control TikTok Content


Posted originally on the CTH on March 26, 2023 | Sundance

Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) Chairman Mark Warner is very concerned about the U.S. government inability to control, restrict and censor the information within the TikTok social media platform.

As outlined in this Face the Nation interview with Margaret Brennan, Chairman Warner states it is very alarming that China may permit content that is against the interests of the U.S. government to control it.  Additionally, by law, the Chinese platform “has to be willing to turn over data to the Communist Party“.

Now, if you find yourself thinking, how is this different from U.S. laws that force Twitter, Facebook, Apple or Google to turn over user data to the DOJ/FBI, well, you are probably too smart for this regime narrative and should officially consider yourself a dissident American intellectual. Just sayin’.

The bottom line is very simple when you look at TikTok from the position of the U.S. surveillance state.  The Dept of Homeland Security can only monitor TikTok content, they cannot do anything to modify, remove, censor or control the content, as a result TikTok exists as an existential threat.  WATCH:

[Transcript] –  MARGARET BRENNAN: We go now to Senator Mark Warner, the Democratic Chairman of the Intelligence Committee. He joins us from King George Virginia. Good morning to you, Senator.

SEN. MARK WARNER: Good morning Margaret.

MARGARET BRENNAN: It was a pretty intense five hours of questioning of Tiktok CEO this past week. Your bipartisan bill has White House support, and it would deal with Tiktok by giving the Commerce Department power to review and potentially ban technology flagged by US intelligence as a credible threat. Will it pass in a divided Congress?

SEN. WARNER: Well, Margaret, will – we’re now up to 22 Senators. 11 Democrats. 11 Republicans. We’ve had strong interest from the House. I think they wanted to get through their hearing. And clearly  while I appreciated Mr. Chew’s testimony, he just couldn’t answer the basic question. At the end of the day, Tiktok is owned by a Chinese company Bytedance. And by Chinese law, that company has to be willing to turn over data to the Communist Party. Or one of my bigger fears, we got 150 million Americans on Tiktok average of about 90 minutes a day, and how that channel could be used for propaganda purposes –

MARGARET BRENNAN: Right.

SEN. WARNER: -or disinformation, advocated by the Communist Party.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But has the White House made clear to you that they want this bill to pass and do intend to ban it? Or is a forced sale more likely?

SEN. WARNER: Well, I think the White House is very in favor of this bill. And clearly this is not just a phenomenon in America. We’ve seen Canada act. We’ve seen the UK act. Matter of fact, the Dutch said, if you’re a media person, please get off TikTok, the Chinese are spying on you. India’s already banned the bill- banned it outright. We give the Secretary of Commerce the tools to ban, to force a sale, other tools. And end of the day, one of the things that may lead to a ban is the Chinese Communist Party has said they felt like the algorithm, the source code that resides in Beijing, is so important that they’d rather see a ban than give that source code up to be placed in a third country, which again, I think speaks volumes about the potential threat that this application poses.

MARGARET BRENNAN

Well, the Commerce Secretary though recently said that the politician in her thinks a ban will mean losing every voter under 35. Forever. And if you look at use of Tiktok I mean, just last week, President Biden showed up and celebrity videos on Tiktok from the White House. Plenty of lawmakers, including your Democratic colleagues, Senator Cory Booker use it. A number of House progressives use it, given how important this platform is to Democrats, can you actually get TikTok taken care of before 2024 when you might need it for political outreach?

SEN. WARNER: Margaret, I think there’s a lot of creative activity that goes on on Tiktok, but I absolutely believe that the market- if TikTok goes away, the market will provide another platform and at the end of the day, that could be an American company. It could be a Brazilian company, it could be an Indian company. All those companies–

(CROSSTALK)

MARGARET BRENNAN: Right, but the Commerce Secretary is saying there’s a political cost if it goes away–

SEN. WARNER: –operate within a set of rules that–

MARGARET BRENNAN: and that’s what she fears.

SEN. WARNER: I think –

MARGARET BRENNAN: And you’re empowering her.

SEN. WARNER: Listen, I have met- I have met with Gina Raimondo on this issue. I think she will make very clear that she believes TikTok is a threat as well. And listen, if at the end of the day, you could end up with a forced sale. And that forced sale also makes sure that the core algorithm, the source code resides someplace different than China, that could be a outcome that would be successful as well. At the end of the day, you cannot have American data collected. Nor can you have the ability for the Communist Party to use TikTok as a propaganda tool.

MARGARET BRENNAN

60% of the company is owned by other investors, including US firms. So is this a policy that you really need to address with Americans to stop them from investing in companies like this?

SEN. WARNER: Well, that’s one of the reasons why I think our approach – the RESTRICT Act says – rather than dealing with Tiktok in a one off fashion, or a few years back, it was Huawei, the Chinese telecom provider or years earlier, the Russian software company Kaspersky. We need to have a set of tools, rules-based so they can stand up in court, Tiktok would still did get his day in court, even under our law that says, if there’s a foreign technology from a place like China and Russia, and it poses a national security threat, and one of the things we also require is that the intelligence community has to declassify as much of this information as possible. So it’s not simply like, hey, trust the government, we got to make the case. And I do think at the end of the day, if it ends up with a ban, there will be other platforms for the literally millions of influencers and folks who like this kind of video platform, they’ll still be able to get it.

MARGARET BRENNAN

Very quickly. They’re a number of Republican lawmakers who plan to meet with Taiwan’s president when she is here on US soil. Are any Democrats, will you?

SEN. WARNER

You know, I I’m not sure when the president of Taiwan is coming to the United States –

(CROSSTALK)

MARGARET BRENNAN: -they announced March 30 and again in April.

SEN. WARNER: Okay, I’m not sure. Well, if there- if there’s an invitation made to me and other Democrats, listen, I would like to have that meeting as well. I think protecting and ensuring the security of Taiwan is in America’s national interest.

MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to ask you, since you sit on the Senate Banking Committee about this rolling turmoil that we are in. You are one of 16 Democrats who voted in 2018 to change those Dodd Frank banking regulations regarding the mid-size banks, which obviously has been scrutinized, because that size bank is where we have seen recent issues. I know you’ve defended the vote in recent days. Do you think there needs to be more regulation of mid-size banks, now?

SEN. WARNER: Well, Margaret, Tuesday, we’re going to start getting the facts at the Senate Banking Committee. And if it ends up that a stress test that would have been applied to these mid-size banks would have spotted this, of course, I’d add additional regulation. I think, though, what it appears to me is two things happened. One, basic banking regulation. If this has been only a $5 billion bank, not a $200 billion bank, should have spotted the fact that this management, and the regulators missed basic banking 101, the interest rate mismatch. And two: one of the things that I think we also have to look at is this was the first time we’ve had an internet-based run. There was literally $42 billion taken out of this bank in six hours. That’s the equivalent of 25 cents on the dollar. And I’d like to know why some of the venture capitalists spurred this run in the first place.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Interesting topic. I want to ask you, though, as well, about your relationship with SVB bank, and political donations. USA Today had a great big list of all of the entities SVB’s political action committee or CEO had donated to. It’s the DNC. It’s President Biden’s 2020 campaign. Senator Schumer says he’s going to give back the money he received or donate it. Representatives Maxine Waters, Ro Khanna have returned the donations. You received $21,600 from their political action committee, nearly six grand from its CEO. Do you feel any pressure to give those funds away? Is there a point to it?

SEN. WARNER: Well, first of all, Margaret, campaign contributions have never affected my policy choices. They never have, and they never will. We’re going to hear the facts on Tuesday. And if there’s malfeasance at the bank, of course, I’m gonna give the money back.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay. Senator, before I let you go, I want to just follow up on what you shared with us when we spoke back in January, when you were very frustrated that the administration wasn’t sharing more information about the classified materials improperly held by the current president when he was out of office and the former president. You’ve been briefed. Any more clarity on this? Any further information?

SEN. WARNER: We need more information about these documents. And more importantly, we need to make sure that what the intel community has done to mitigate the harm. And we’re still in conversations with the Justice Department, the administration’s position does not- does not pass the smell test. We’ve got a job not to go into the legal ramifications, but to make sure that the intelligence community has done what’s right. And we’ve got some additional tools, we can restrict some of the spending. We’re in active conversations with the Justice Department. But we’ve got to get those documents

MARGARET BRENNAN: Specific to what just happened this week in Syria, with the Iranian-aligned groups attack on U.S. presence there. Are you satisfied with the amount of information that’s being shared? What is going on? And should there be a more robust response from the Biden administration to stop these kind of attacks?

SEN. WARNER: Well, we’ve got a few thousand troops there in Syria and Iraq. I’ve been briefed by the intel community. Protecting, frankly, the Kurds who are finishing wiping out the remnants of the ISIS forces, and, frankly, helping guard some of the ISIS prisoners. It has been a dangerous area, but I think the administration’s response has been appropriate. So far.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Some of your Republican colleagues have publicly complained, though, that the attack that was fatal Thursday morning wasn’t briefed to Congress until Thursday night. Does that concern you? I mean, Iran was a key topic being discussed on the Senate floor that day.

SEN. WARNER: We have no illusions about the malicious nature of the Iranian regime, and how they help these groups in Syria, Iraq, and frankly, across the whole region. But in this case I do think the administration briefed us in an appropriate way. And I think the response to the missile fire, or the drone attack from one of these Iranian-sponsored groups. That’s a dangerous part of the world. But our troops are doing something that’s terribly important in terms of making sure that we eliminate the final vestiges of ISIS.

MARGARET BRENNAN: All right, Senator Warner, thank you for your time today. Face the Nation will be back in a minute. Stay with us. [Transcript End]

Senator Warner is correct, an example is World War Reddit (Ukraine).  Creating the background narrative for World War Reddit is more complicated if TikTok users are showcasing the theatrics of it….

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Full Piers Morgan Interview With 2024 Candidate Ron DeSantis – Video


Posted originally on the CTH on March 24, 2023 | Sundance

If I did not know the background of Ron DeSantis; if I did not have an exhaustive research library on the activity behind Ron DeSantis; if I was not aware of how the professional Republican establishment creates the ‘illusion of choice’; I would watch this interview with a generally good sense about Ron DeSantis.

However, unfortunately for the professionally Republican political class, we do know how they operate, and we are able to see the strings on the marionettes.  So, when the selected and managed product of their three-year strategic plan says about fundraising, “I deal better with regular people,” we are able to call it as nonsense with accurate data to highlight the lie.

94% of all Ron DeSantis’ money comes from Wall Street, hedge fund managers, billionaires and multinational corporations.  Only 6% comes from small donors, or what you might describe as “regular people.” {LINK}  Additionally, you don’t spend 3-days with billionaire donors at Four Seasons donor retreat in Palm Beach, followed shortly by 3-days at a Club for Growth donor retreat in Miami, and then get to claim you “deal better with regular people.”  This is just a lie.

There are parts of this interview that many readers here will agree with.  There are also many parts of this interview that readers might take exception to.  But the entirety of the hour long, mostly softball, Rupert Murdoch organized interview, is based on three years of carefully managed constructs.  WATCH

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Tucker Carlson Tonight (Full episode) – Tuesday, March 21


By Tucker Carlson Tonight Posted originally on Rumble on March 23, 2023

Lord, what fools these Ukrainians Be!


Armstrong Economics Blog/Ukraine Re-Posted Mar 23, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

I get hate mail from Ukrainian Nazis routinely now. They of course deny there are any Nazis ever. Yesterday it was “You are definitely on the wrong side of history” and of course calling all Russians “scum” while Ukraine walks on water and is so honorable it makes me sick. Here we have Zelensky bragging about how Ukraine will be the biggest bonanza in European history. As for the American “titans” lobbying for more destruction and death so they can make money, I can only warn them – what goes around comes around. They have no problem advocating drafting your children to die on Ukrainian territory for their lucrative construction projects.

Sorry – I only wish them what they wish to put others through for their profits and bottom line, When this is done, they will probably also flee to Dubai like Halliburton for the Iraq War to avoid American subpoenas. So jump up and down cheering war for dollars. I for one will not invest 1 cent in any company joining Ukraine. I lost most of my high school friends for Vietnam and their profits back then. Screw you and your manipulation of human lives for profit.

And as for Ukrainians, how blind do you have to be not to see the real enemy in home-grown?

Mexican President AMLO Hits Biden Over Likely Arrest of Trump, While Pushing Back Against Dangerous Cartel Narrative


Posted originally on the CTH on March 22, 2023 | Sundance

Let it not be said that Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez-Obrador (AMLO) does not understand what the Biden administration is attempting in the recent criticism and passive aggressive posturing toward Mexico.

Yesterday, AMLO was outlining a specific set of infrastructure initiatives that are ongoing.  Three new oil refineries together with new railroads and highways are under construction as the government continues positioning itself for energy independence. [Video Here]  However, it’s what he said after the energy remarks that’s really stunning.

The energy plan, which runs counter to the expressed demands of Canada and the United States, includes two regional ‘green’ refineries that will have the ability of turning used cooking oil into fuel.  However, the plan also includes new oil refinery capacity that will permit cheap gasoline independent of the need for Mexican oil to be refined in Texas and returned.

All of the refinery projects are on schedule to be completed by the end of this year and into 2024.  In essence, Mexico will have very cheap gasoline and diesel fuel in the near future.  This was previously outlined as a goal by AMLO in July 2022, and is against the interests the Biden administration.  Now those plans are becoming a reality.  Mexico is not joining the North American suicide mission of windmills, solar panels and reliance on unstable green energy.

Ever since the July 2022 Oval Office press conference at the White House, CTH has been saying to keep an eye on Mexico, because these energy plans align more with the BRICS nation agenda than the goals and objectives of the World Economic Forum (western nations).   It is not accidental the U.S. government, including our intelligence agencies and DHS, has been seeding a negative overall impression of Mexico ever since.

During his remarks, and showcasing that AMLO does actually understand how the Biden administration will/is using alternate angles to undermine the Mexican government, AMLO publicly hit back at Joe Biden over the pending arrest of President Trump.  As noted by U.S-Mexican correspondent José Díaz Breseño, “Angry at US criticism of human rights in Mexico, AMLO comes out in defense of Trump, assuring that his arrest would be a move to prevent him from running for President in 2024.”

President Lopez-Obrador also pushed back against the U.S. narrative about dangers in Mexico related to the cartels. “AMLO goes further to say that the Biden Administration has no right to speak about violence in Mexico since it allegedly authorized “sabotaging” the Nord Stream gas pipeline as journalist Seymour Hersh argues.” Breseño notes.

Have you noticed that not a single U.S. media outlet is reporting on this issue?  I have been looking, waiting to see if anyone would pick up on this very important story; yet, it is almost invisible in the United States.  This silence is not a mistake.  The UniParty media do not want these notations taking place.  Indeed, if we stand back and look at the larger geopolitical picture, we can again see that AMLO is a thorn in the side of the larger objectives of the western alliance.

We will keep watching…

Fauci’s Door to Door Vaccine Campaign Fails


Armstrong Economics Blog/Corruption Re-Posted Mar 22, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

This video is circulating the internet that shows RESISTANCE IS NOT FUTILE. Dr. Anthony Fauci goes door to door, pressuring residents of Washington, DC, to take an experimental injection for an experimental virus he likely helped leak. Watch how the people destroy Fauci’s misinformation in a few short minutes. One woman explains to Fauci that his shot does not prevent infection or transmission—what’s the point of taking the vaccine at all? “They’re not doing it because they’re saying they don’t want to do it. They’re Republicans and they don’t like being told what to do,” Fauci stated at the beginning of the video as if this issue were political.

The second man in this video really tells Fauci to Fauci off. They’re still pressuring people to take the vaccine under the pretense that it will protect the public, although even the pharmaceutical companies admit the vaccines provide no such protection. When the gentleman in the video expresses his hesitation with valid points, Fauci attempts to present “the science,” which we have learned is ever-changing based on the agenda. “When you start talking about paying people to get vaccinated…when you start incentivizing people to get vaccinated, there is something going on with that,” the skeptical American said. He then told them that the entire pandemic was about FEAR and inciting terror within the population to force them to behave as ordered.

Nature published an article entitled, “Vaccine incentives do not backfire — policymakers take note.” The study claims that cash incentives for vaccinations do not have negative consequences. “Eager to get vaccines into as many arms as possible, [governments] began to offer unusual incentives: in San Luis, Philippines, vaccinated residents could enter a sweepstake to win a cow; in Hong Kong, the windfall was an apartment; in West Virginia, it was a hunting rifle, among other prizes,” the study notes. They truly think the public is clueless and willing to risk their health for a prize. Other local governments offered marijuana, school scholarship sweepstakes, grocery discounts, free rideshares, vacations, tickets to concerts and sporting events, and even an opportunity to win a family reunion.

The study published by Nature determined that the Great Unwashed could be persuaded:

"However, people and policymakers still worry that such incentives could have unintended negative consequences. People might expect payment for future vaccinations, for instance. Or they might think the payments are compensation for something that isn’t safe or could be unpleasant. Now, the results of two trials published in a paper on 11 January in Nature suggest that simple cash payments have no such unintended effects."

Independent thought is the greatest tool we have against the globalists.

President Trump Responds to Robert Costello Grand Jury Testimony in Manhattan


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on March 21, 2023 | Sundance 

During his interview earlier on Monday evening, immediately after he delivered two hours of grand jury testimony, former Michael Cohen legal counsel Robert Costello, said he gave over 300 pages of documents to both the team of District Attorney Alvin Bragg, and the lawyers representing President Donald Trump.

President Trump responds to the statements from Robert Costello Esq on Truth Social [LINK SOURCE]

President Trump appears to be appealing to an intellectual reasonableness that DA Alvin Bragg may not possess.