Surprise: CIA Director Says Tiktok Is A National Security Threat

By William Teach December 18, 2022 – 7:00 am

Who could have seen this coming?

CIA Director: TikTok Is a National Security Threat, China’s Ability to ‘Manipulate’ It ‘Genuinely Troubling’

During an interview aired on Friday’s “PBS NewsHour,” CIA Director William Burns said that the agrees with FBI Director Christopher Wray’s assessment that TikTok is a threat to national security and “it’s genuinely troubling to see what the Chinese government could do to manipulate TikTok.”

Host Judy Woodruff asked, “One other question about China is their very popular social media platform app TikTok. Your domestic counterpart, the head of the FBI, Chris Wray, has said it’s a threat to U.S. national security. Do you agree?”

Burns responded, “I do. I mean, I think it’s a genuine concern, I think, for the U.S. government, in the sense that, because the parent company of TikTok is a Chinese company, the Chinese government is able to insist upon extracting the private data of a lot of TikTok users in this country, and also to shape the content of what goes onto TikTok as well to suit the interests of the Chinese leadership. I think those are real challenges and a source of real concern.”

Woodruff then asked Burns if he thinks lawmakers should ban the app, Burns responded, “I’m not going to offer judgments on those kind of policy or legislative decisions. What I would underscore, though, is that it’s genuinely troubling to see what the Chinese government could do to manipulate TikTok.”

Woodruff then asked, “And what would you recommend people tell their children or their young friends about whether to use TikTok?”

Burns answered, “I’d be really careful.”

No one was warning about this, right?

Maybe Trump was right about TikTok

Here’s something you rarely hear a Democratic senator say: “Donald Trump was right.”

But that’s what Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) is saying now, and it’s all because of TikTok, the popular video app that Trump tried to ban in the waning months of his presidency.

“As painful as it is for me to say, if Donald Trump was right and we could’ve taken action then, that’d have been a heck of a lot easier than trying to take action in November of 2022,” Warner told Recode. “The sooner we bite the bullet, the better.”

Surprise! One of my favorite sites, Bored Panda, wrote long ago that TikTok was privacy threat. Of course, that post is buried deep, because they keep posting posts that mention TikTok. Here’s the NY Times saying TikTok may be more dangerous than it looks. VPN Overview notes it is invasive and dangerous. Behind all the cute pet videos and such (along with all the stupid stuff) lies a serious privacy risk, especially with the Chinese government behind it. So many were noting well before Trump did that TikTok was a threat. Here’s Jimmy Fallon, among others, denigrating Trump for saying it is dangerous and should be banned.

When does Trump, and all those who said TikTok is a problem, get apologies?

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Here’s How You Can Mitigate Your Christmas Carbon Footprint Or Something

By William Teach December 17, 2022 – 3:00 pm

Because I know you all are Very Concerned

Climate Change: The Environmental Impact Of Christmas, How Significant It Is And How To Reduce It

Climate change and Christmas: it has been observed that reducing one’s environmental impact makes people happier
How, then, can the significant pollution resulting from Christmas celebrations be reduced?

What are the most environmentally damaging behaviors during the holiday season?

Christmas shopping, travel, decorations: the environmental impact of this holiday is huge
It accounts for nearly 6 percent of the carbon dioxide that each of us produces annually: about 650 pounds of CO2 per person between December 24 and 26 alone.

The weight of about four male reindeer.

The environmental impact of Christmas is also increasing as more and more people around the world celebrate it according to the consumerist model.

Lots of complaining in Warmist, followed by

Through a few small gestures we can significantly reduce the ecological footprint of this holiday, with positive implications for ourselves as well.

Food

Buy from local, zero-mile economy.

Cook moderate portions and buy fewer packages of sweets.

Make sure organic leftovers are disposed of in the wet waste.

Travel

Take advantage of transportation methods that pollute less, such as train instead of car.

Use public services or car-sharing, to decrease emissions per capita.

Perhaps they should talk to Biden (who’s in Delaware for the weekend yet again), Mayor Pete, and all the other Elite Warmists who take lots of private fossil fueled travel. All these climate cultists just want everyone to be miserable. And, of course, they go into how YOU can cut down on your decorations and gifts.

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If All You See…

By William Teach December 17, 2022 – 1:00 pm

…is an ocean that will soon swamp the land, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Watts Up With That?, with a post on computer models saying a 3rd of invertebrates will die by 2100.

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FBI Was Super Excited To Censor Conservatives On Twitter

By William Teach December 17, 2022 – 10:30 am

Obviously, the majority of the left leaning Credentialed Media have no interest in covering this. They’re more interested in discussing Twitter briefly suspending “journalists” who’ve been tracking the exact movements of Elon Musk, getting a little taste of what Conservatives went through

Twitter Files: FBI Kept Busy Censoring Conservatives Instead of Chasing Crooks

In the sixth installment of the Twitter Files, journalist Matt Taibbi revealed that Twitter had a “one-big-happy-family” partnership with the FBI to censor content on its platform.

Taibbi released the sixth installment of the Twitter Files document dump, which he dubbed “TWITTER, THE FBI SUBSIDIARY.”

“The #TwitterFiles show something new: agencies like the FBI and DHS regularly sending social media content to Twitter through multiple entry points, pre-flagged for moderation,” Taibbi wrote.

For example, Taibbi revealed that former Twitter Trust and Safety chief Yoel Roth exchanged “over 150 emails” with the FBI between January 2020 to November 2022. Further, Taibbi noted that a “surprisingly high number” of the FBI’s correspondence with Twitter were “requests by the FBI for Twitter to take action on election misinformation, even involving joke tweets from low-follower accounts.”

The FBI’s involvement in combatting “misinformation” on social media platforms is a relatively recent development that stemmed from the Democrat narrative that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election.

Taibbi said the 2016 Russia collusion hoax was used as a “pretext for building out the censorship machine,” similar to how the September 11 terrorist attacks “inspired the expansion of the security state.”

Is this what the FBI should be doing? Monitoring the communications of private citizens and entities, recommending that they be temporarily suspended or even permanently suspended? They may be open communications, but, shouldn’t there be a warrant for this? Now, just imagine, if you will, that the FBI was doing this against Democrats. How would they media, elected Democrats, and all the activists respond?

However, Twitter’s contact with federal agencies did not stop with just the FBI. Several agencies, including the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), and the DHS, had frequent contact with Twitter about the content posted on its platform.

In a September 2020 email sent by Twitter legal executive Stacia Cardille to former Twitter Deputy General Counsel Jim Baker, a former top FBI lawyer, Cardille revealed she participated in monthly calls with “FBI, DOJ, DHS, ODNI, and industry peers on election threats.”

Cardille noted that the monthly calls with those agencies would “soon to be weekly.

The article, and Twitter files, show that the FBI shared 25 accounts they were “concerned” with over “misinformation”, after which 16 accounts saw suspensions, deplatforming, or forced to delete tweets. One of those accounts was a tiny one. Seriously, this is what the FBI is doing

In an email dated November 10, 2022, the FBI provided its “twitter contacts” with a list of four accounts they believed may have violated Twitter’s rules. Ultimately, Twitter suspended three out of the four accounts, with staffers reviewing the fourth account, “@fromMA,” for any possible violation of the rules.

Looking closer, the “@fromMA” account was a political satirist who jokingly tweeted, “I want to remind republicans to vote tomorrow, Wednesday November 9.”

That last one, which got reinstated but is behind protected status, makes fun of those on the left and right. I was permanently suspended for doing something similar in 2016. No point in asking Elon for it back at this point.

Taibbi argued federal law enforcement should have used its resources to track down child sex predators or terrorists rather than mass-flagging social media posts.

“Instead of chasing child sex predators or terrorists, the FBI has agents — lots of them — analyzing and mass-flagging social media posts. Not as part of any criminal investigation, but as a permanent, end-in-itself surveillance operation,” Taibbi tweeted. “People should not be okay with this.”

No, they shouldn’t. But, a goodly chunk will not know about it, because most media outlets are ignoring this. They should all remember that they could be next. Probably not on Twitter with Musk owning it, but, on other outlets.

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PRC Approves Road Map For Net Zero By 2045

By William Teach December 17, 2022 – 7:15 am

I’m confused. If the climate crisis is such a crisis why are they waiting till 2045? Shouldn’t they be implementing net zero measures for as soon as possible? And will all this net zero apply to the Elites? Perhaps they can start by restricting all People’s Republic Of California public employees, appointees, and elected officials from using fossil fuels

California approves roadmap for carbon neutrality by 2045

California air regulators voted unanimously Thursday to approve an ambitious plan to drastically cut reliance on fossil fuels by changing practices in the energy, transportation and agriculture sectors, but critics say it doesn’t go far enough to combat climate change.

The plan sets out to achieve so-called carbon neutrality by 2045, meaning the state will remove as many carbon emissions from the atmosphere as it emits. It aims to do so in part by reducing fossil fuel demand by 86% within that time frame.

California had previously set this carbon neutrality target, but Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation making it a mandate earlier this year. The Democrat has said drastic changes are needed to position California as a global climate leader.

“We are making history here in California,” Newsom said in a statement Thursday.

This would be the board that is unelected and unaccountable to the citizens of the PRC, right? I’m still waiting for any responsible journalists to ask the members if they have all purchased EVs and made their own lives net zero.

The implementation of the plan hinges on the state’s ability to transition away from fossil fuels and rely more on renewable resources for energy. It calls for the state to cut liquid petroleum fuel demand by 94% by 2045, and quadruple solar and wind capacity along that same timeframe.

Well, hey, no complaining, citizens of the PRC, you voted for your Betters to force this on you.

One of the goals is to achieve a 66% reduction in methane emissions from the agriculture sector by 2045. Cattle are a significant source for releasing methane — a potent, planet-warming gas.

The plan’s implementation would also mean less reliance by the agriculture sector on fossil fuels as an energy source.

Which means food production goes down and prices go up. And lots of farmers bail on the state. This will all end in tears.

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House Democrats Look To Get Around Privacy Laws For Trump’s Taxes

By William Teach December 17, 2022 – 7:00 am

You had to know this was coming, right? When now-private citizen Trump’s lawyers made their arguments before the Supreme Court, did they use an argument that Democrats were sure to attempt to circumvent federal privacy laws and release his private tax documents to the world?

House Dems poised to release Trump’s tax secrets

House Democrats will likely unmask new details about former President Donald Trump’s long-hidden taxes following a key meeting now set for next week.

That would be a highly unusual move sure to ignite another post-presidential controversy surrounding Trump, who is running again for the White House.

Ways and Means Committee Chair Richard Neal won access to Trump’s filings in November, after a long court fight, but they remain closely held, with only a handful of lawmakers and aides allowed to examine them. They’re still protected by strict privacy laws that make it a felony for anyone to divulge even basic details about Trump’s taxes.

But there is a way around those rules: Neal’s committee could vote privately to make them public, and that’s what the Massachusetts Democrat wants his colleagues to consider in a closed-door meeting now set for Tuesday at 3 p.m.

Democrats intend to release specifics from the returns, though what exactly will be unveiled is unclear. They could release Trump’s entire returns or perhaps something more limited, such as a summary.

So, it would be fine for the incoming GOP House to release all of Biden’s tax records, right? How about Hunter Biden’s? Or Nancy Pelosi’s> Did the Supreme Court even consider that the House Democrats would do this? Did they forbid this from happening? Will they hold an emergency session to discuss the House Democrats playing games with a private citizen’s private tax returns?

I don’t think this is going to go the way they plan, and could set a standard where the citizen’s tax returns can be used for political purposes. And could potentially lead to lawsuits against elected Democrats.

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Your Fault: White Christmas’ Are Less Likely In The UK

By William Teach December 16, 2022 – 3:17 pm

Remember this oldy but goody?

CHILDREN JUST AREN’T GOING TO KNOW WHAT SNOW IS

The Independent, 2000:

Snow is starting to disappear from our lives. Sledges, snowmen, snowballs and the excitement of waking to find that the stuff has settled outside are all a rapidly diminishing part of Britain’s culture, as warmer winters – which scientists are attributing to global climate change – produce not only fewer white Christmases, but fewer white Januaries and Februaries … Global warming, the heating of the atmosphere by increased amounts of industrial gases, is now accepted as a reality by the international community … According to Dr David Viner, a senior research scientist at the climatic research unit of the University of East Anglia, within a few years winter snowfall will become “a very rare and exciting event”. “Children just aren’t going to know what snow is,” he said.

The Independent wiped that one off the Internet, but, Watts Up With That? has it in an archive, because it was just very, very silly, and spawned all sorts of “schoolkids won’t know what snow is!” parodies. But, the climate cult keeps trying, like here, because they will never give up

Snow chance: how white Christmases have become rarer in Britain

Outside of advertisements and Hollywood films, idyllic snow-filled Christmas scenes are becoming increasingly rare in the UK, according to a Guardian analysis.

The UK has faced bitter cold this week, with Sunday’s snowfall leading to travel disruption and a level 3 cold weather alert for the whole of England until Friday morning. Next week is set to be milder, however, with the chance of a white Christmas remaining low for most parts of the UK.

Analysis shows the chances of a white Christmas have become slimmer as the climate has grown warmer. On average, snow was much less likely to fall on Christmas Day in the 2010s than it was in the 1960s, according to data from the Met Office. At the same time, average temperatures on Christmas Day are warmer in all parts of the UK.

The data shows that only eight white Christmases were observed at 44 analysed weather stations in the 2010s, less than half the number of any other decade since records started.

Why is this in any way a surprise during a Holocene warm period? This is expected. Of course, the graph at the UK Guardian only goes back to the 1960’s (using a Met Office factsheet, which only goes back to 1960), when the world was in a slight cooling time. This is literally an updated version of their 2016 article. According to the same Met Office, the warmest Christmas in the UK was 1920. I’ve tried digging to find pre-1960 data for comparison. Unsurprisingly, damned near impossible to find. But, again, there’s nothing unusual about a Holocene warm period getting warm. No need to assign notions of witchcraft.

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Posted in AGW Scaremongering, Global Warming | 23 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach December 16, 2022 – 1:00 pm

…is an evil world killing plastic bottle of water, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Real Climate Science, with a post on the “end” of Scottish skiing.

Please make sure to recycle, folks. Environmental issues are real.

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Excitable Democrats Look To Bar Trump Under 14th Amendment

By William Teach December 16, 2022 – 10:30 am

Republicans should counter by filing legislation to bar Biden under the 25th Amendment, because he seems to be in the depth of dementia

House Democrats introduce legislation to bar Trump from office under 14th Amendment

A group of 40 House Democrats, led by Rep. David Cicilline (R.I.), introduced legislation on Thursday to bar former President Trump from holding future federal office under the 14th Amendment.

Section 3 of the amendment states that no one who previously took an oath to support the Constitution and engaged in “insurrection or rebellion” shall “hold any office, civil or military, under the United States.”

Cicilline said in a release announcing the legislation that Trump “very clearly” engaged in an insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, with the intention of overturning the results of the 2020 presidential election.

“You don’t get to lead a government you tried to destroy,” he said.

The release states that the bill includes testimony and evidence demonstrating how Trump engaged in the insurrection.

This really has no chance of making it through the Senate and to Biden’s desk, and, if it actually did, it would be a very bad look for a sitting president to sign legislation blocking a potential presidential opponent for being president. Further, does Congress actually have the Constitutional authority to pass something like this, especially when said person has not been convicted of any crime? Remember, they tried to impeach him over this, and it failed.

It has the possibility of backfiring, with citizens looking at the over-reach of Congressional Democrats in trying to ban Trump, making the U.S. look like a banana country. It also has the chance, unfortunately, of making more come back to Trump and vote him in during the primaries, after which he really will lose the 2024 general election. Perhaps that’s their goal? Are they thinking that far ahead? Or is it simply Trump Derangement Syndrome from House Democrats?

Not sure why they bother, when he keeps doing things like

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Say, What Will Your Climate Apocalypse Christmas Dinner Look Like In 10 Years?

By William Teach December 16, 2022 – 7:15 am

Christmas dinner in 2032 might look different because Government keeps trying to force the peasants to change their behavior, as well as screwing up the food supply chain. Of course, that’s not what these climate doomers mean

This Photo Shows How Your Christmas Dinner Might Look In 10 Years

With Christmas almost upon us, many of us are looking forward to tucking into our traditional turkeys, roast potatoes and stuffing.

However, climate change could dramatically alter the look of our beloved Christmas dinner by the end of the decade – with many of our much-loved foods under threat. That’s according to Seeds of Change, a new report by communications consultancy Diffusion, which has partnered with chef Kimberly Duke to create a “climate-change proof” Christmas Dinner for a picture of what we might be eating at Christmas in a few years’ time.

Unusual new ingredients like dahlia tubers and amaranth seed stuffing could be the new staples of our festive dining tables, according to Diffusion’s report.

More frequent droughts, heatwaves and unseasonably warm autumns and springs threaten the quantity and quality of many winter vegetables and grain crops traditionally grown in the UK.

This could lead to shortages and potentially having to pay more for our festive favourites in the future. The production of meat is also not immune from these trends, turkey and pork prices have increased by nearly 30% this year.

Um, they really didn’t rise because of ‘climate change’, but, thanks to the fallout from COVID, government incompetence, and avian flu. Does not matter to Warmists, it’s all about the scaremongering.

The centrepiece of Duke’s alternative menu is a pie that replaces the traditional turkey roast, with pulled jackfruit and miso. The recipe recreates both a rich meaty flavour with the natural texture of the jackfruit and enoki mushrooms mimicking that of meat beautifully.

Jackfruit is now readily available tinned in supermarkets, and this year is 20% cheaper per kilogram than fresh turkey. Found across India and South East Asia, jackfruit trees grow sustainably without the need for additional irrigation, fertilisers or pesticides.

With a significantly lower carbon-footprint to producing meat, it is considered a leading climate-smart crop.

He adds: “Supermarkets, food producers and governments also have a critical role to play in highlighting the benefits that reducing our demand for animal protein can play in protecting not only our food security, but our public health and the climate as well.”

Piss off. Mind your own business.

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Posted in AGW Scaremongering, Global Warming | 9 Comments | Trackback URL
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