Podcasts about yellow vests

As the presidential election heats up and President Joe Biden struggles to keep young voters' support, novelist Jen Silverman joins co-host V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss generational divides in U.S. politics. Silverman, whose new book, There's Going to Be Trouble, follows the political and sexual awakenings of a father and daughter in different eras, talks about how young people's involvement in politics now compares to previous generations' engagement. They address the question of whether today's 20-something voters are more likely to protest than vote, consider how social media and technology relate to in-person conversations and activism, and reflect on the need to name and engage with the failures of earlier generations. Silverman also explains why they chose to write about anti-Vietnam War protests at Harvard in 1968 and the gilet jaunes (Yellow Vest) protests in Paris fifty years later, and reads an excerpt from There's Going to Be Trouble.  To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/ This episode of the podcast was produced by Anne Kniggendorf and Alijah Smith. Jen Silverman There's Going to Be Trouble We Play Ourselves The Island Dwellers Bath The Moors Others: Family Ties (television sitcom) Changing Partisan Coalitions in a Politically Divided Nation | Pew Research Center “Who Are France's Yellow Vest Protesters, And What Do They Want?” by Jake Cigainero | NPR, December 3, 2018. “The Generational Rift that Explains Democrats' Angst over Israel” by Steven Shepard and Kelly Garrity | Politico, October 12, 2023 “Less than Half of Young Americans Plan to Vote in 2024, Harvard Poll Finds” by Joseph Konig | Spectrum News “Young Voters are Unenthusiastic about Biden, but He Will Need Them in 2024” by Dan Balz | The Washington Post “Climate Activists Target Jets, Yachts and Golf in a String of Global Protests Against Luxury” by David Brunat | AP News “The Weapons French police use During Protests” by Jean-Philippe Lefief and Marie Pouzadoux | Le Monde, April 6, 2023 Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 7, Episode 24: “Emily Raboteau on Mothering and Climate Change” The Diary of Virginia Woolf, Volume 5 by Virginia Woolf Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In France, the unthinkable has happened for polluting industries: the working-class Yellow Vest movement, racial equity movements, and progressive climate activists have joined forces in a multi-racial, cross-class coalition called Earth Uprising. The response has been shockingly violent and extreme. Reporter Anna Pujol-Mazzini takes us there. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Glenn Beck Special- The REAL Reason Farmers & Truckers Are RISING UP Around the World. Farmers in France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain are parking trucks and tractors in major cities in protest of regulations destroying their industry. In France, they led entire herds of livestock into the city to stop traffic. They're spraying manure on government buildings. But the media has largely ignored this growing protest movement. Remember the Yellow Vest protests in France? They had wall-to-wall, non-stop coverage. While global elites claim they're just trying to save the environment, Glenn explains the real reason driving farmers to extreme protests. It all leads back to a potentially deadly redesign for how we get our food, and it's laid out in documents from the European Commission. But this redesign doesn't stop in Europe. Biden's Build Back Better plan and the Inflation Reduction Act include actions that will impact farmers, ranchers, and grocery bill and food options for every American. But the people ARE rising up against the elites from the farmlands to the border lands as seen in the recent Take Our Border Back trucker convoy. The media tried to paint anyone attending the convoy rallies as Q-Anon, MAGA extremists, but chief writer and researcher for Glenn Beck Jason Buttrill embedded with the convoy for a future Blaze Originals documentary and reveals the truth about what he saw at Eagle Pass. Texas Congressman Chip Roy also joins to answer whether there are ANY Democrats or Republicans truly willing to solve the immigration crisis or whether it's all just political theater. While the House GOP failed to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas on its first attempt, Roy predicts it will eventually succeed in whipping up enough votes and ending the Democrat plan to flood the U.S. with illegal immigrants. Watch this program on Rumble- https://rumble.com/v4c4onu-the-glenn-beck-the-real-reason-farmers-and-truckers-are-rising-up-around-th.html Or on YouTube (if you must) https://youtu.be/JeVZcv_LCHk?si=wwi5Z34gwBn2eu4u The REAL Reason Farmers & Truckers Are RISING UP Around the World | Glenn TV | Glenn Beck 1.25M subscribers 80,939 views Premiered Feb 7, 2024 #glennbeck #glenntv #blazemedia ► Click HERE to subscribe to Glenn Beck on YouTube: https://bit.ly/2UVLqhL ► Click HERE to subscribe to BlazeTV: get.blazetv.com/glenn ► Click HERE to subscribe to BlazeTV YouTube:    / @blazetv   ► Click HERE to sign up to Glenn's newsletter: https://www.glennbeck.com/st/Morning_... Connect with Glenn on Social Media:   / glennbeck     / glennbeck     / glennbeck   #glennbeck #glenntv #blazemedia #blazetv #theblaze #farmers #truckers #riseup #world #France #Greece #Italy #Netherlands #spain #trucker #truckerconvoy #border #chiproy #mayorkas   Glenn Beck on Rumble-   https://rumble.com/c/c-4282195 On Podcast Addict- The Glenn Beck Program BlazeTV is highly recommended by ACU. Subscribe Today!   Book by Glenn Beck - Dark Future: Uncovering the Great Reset's Terrifying Next Phase (The Great Reset Series) by Glenn Beck.  July 11, 2023 The Great Reset was just the beginning. At important meetings in 2021 and 2022, powerful leaders from government, finance, media, and business who support the World Economic Forum's plan for a Great Reset of capitalism launched a new “call to action” titled the “Great Narrative.” The Great Narrative campaign seeks to use the decay of traditional values throughout the West and new and future advancements in technology—including in the areas of artificial intelligence, automation, the metaverse, robotics, and more—to seize control of economies and societies in North America and Europe. The elites behind these proposals even plan to impact the way people across cultures and the planet understand what it means to be human and to have free will. According to the leaders of The Great Reset and Great Narrative movements, by the year 2030, your world will be fundamentally transformed. Together, the highly influential and often extremely wealthy figures and institutions behind the Great Narrative are building a troubling new framework for humanity, one that has the potential to change life on earth forever. Just as worrisome, the Communist Party of China and Vladimir Putin's authoritarian regime in Russia are adopting technology-centric approaches of their own to control citizens and institutions, both domestically and abroad. In Dark Future: Uncovering the Great Reset's Terrifying Next Phase, New York Times bestselling authors Glenn Beck and Justin Haskins reveal the most important technologies and social and cultural changes that will soon cause an unprecedented level of disruption in the United States, as well as in countless other nations. They also outline the dangers and opportunities associated with these disruptions and provide a plan to protect individuals and families from losing their liberty. How the free people of the world react to the challenges outlined in this revolutionary book will change the course of history for generations to come. In this emerging, intense struggle for the future of humankind, whose side will you be on? Purchase this book at your favorite book seller or at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Future-Uncovering-Resets-Terrifying/dp/1637632118   --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------     HELP ACU SPREAD THE WORD!  Please go to Apple Podcasts and give ACU a 5 star rating. Apple canceled us and now we are clawing our way back to the top. Don't let the Leftist win. Do it now! Thanks. Also Rate us on any platform you follow us on. It helps a lot. Forward this show to friends. Ways to subscribe to the American Conservative University Podcast Click here to subscribe via Apple Podcasts Click here to subscribe via RSS You can also subscribe via Stitcher FM Player Podcast Addict Tune-in Podcasts Pandora Look us up on Amazon Prime …And Many Other Podcast Aggregators and sites ACU on Twitter- https://twitter.com/AmerConU . Warning- Explicit and Violent video content.   Please help ACU by submitting your Show ideas. Email us at americanconservativeuniversity@americanconservativeuniversity.com   Endorsed Charities -------------------------------------------------------- Pre-Born! Saving babies and Souls. https://preborn.org/ OUR MISSION To glorify Jesus Christ by leading and equipping pregnancy clinics to save more babies and souls. WHAT WE DO Pre-Born! partners with life-affirming pregnancy clinics all across the nation. We are designed to strategically impact the abortion industry through the following initiatives:… -------------------------------------------------------- Help CSI Stamp Out Slavery In Sudan Join us in our effort to free over 350 slaves. Listeners to the Eric Metaxas Show will remember our annual effort to free Christians who have been enslaved for simply acknowledging Jesus Christ as their Savior. As we celebrate the birth of Christ this Christmas, join us in giving new life to brothers and sisters in Sudan who have enslaved as a result of their faith. https://csi-usa.org/metaxas   https://csi-usa.org/slavery/   Typical Aid for the Enslaved A ration of sorghum, a local nutrient-rich staple food A dairy goat A “Sack of Hope,” a survival kit containing essential items such as tarp for shelter, a cooking pan, a water canister, a mosquito net, a blanket, a handheld sickle, and fishing hooks. Release celebrations include prayer and gathering for a meal, and medical care for those in need. The CSI team provides comfort, encouragement, and a shoulder to lean on while they tell their stories and begin their new lives. Thank you for your compassion  Giving the Gift of Freedom and Hope to the Enslaved South Sudanese -------------------------------------------------------- Food For the Poor https://foodforthepoor.org/ Help us serve the poorest of the poor Food For The Poor began in 1982 in Jamaica. Today, our interdenominational Christian ministry serves the poor in primarily 17 countries throughout the Caribbean and Latin America. Thanks to our faithful donors, we are able to provide food, housing, healthcare, education, fresh water, emergency relief, micro-enterprise solutions and much more. We are proud to have fed millions of people and provided more than 15.7 billion dollars in aid. Our faith inspires us to be an organization built on compassion, and motivated by love. Our mission is to bring relief to the poorest of the poor in the countries where we serve. We strive to reflect God's unconditional love. It's a sacrificial love that embraces all people regardless of race or religion. We believe that we can show His love by serving the “least of these” on this earth as Christ challenged us to do in Matthew 25. We pray that by God's grace, and with your support, we can continue to bring relief to the suffering and hope to the hopeless.   Report on Food For the Poor by Charity Navigator https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/592174510   -------------------------------------------------------- Disclaimer from ACU. We try to bring to our students and alumni the World's best Conservative thinkers. All views expressed belong solely to the author and not necessarily to ACU. In all issues and relations, we hope to follow the admonitions of Jesus Christ. While striving to expose, warn and contend with evil, we extend the love of God to all of his children. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  American Conservative University A short survey to get to know our listeners! Thank you for listening :D https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfvB348iC85ZcAQCzgL8TX-5yf-o4IIT8e5thqRh1qZKVIkrg/viewform

Late last week, Mayor Mike Johnston responded to City Council's ban on sweeps of homeless encampments during freezing temperatures with his first official veto. Though the Denver mayoral position allows for vetoes of City Council decisions, it is not a power often used by those in office — so why did the Johnston administration take this particular stand? Plus, this isn't the only friction to arise within local government lately. After the mayor partnered with the Downtown Denver Partnership a few weeks ago to roll out a new “ambassadors” program aimed at making the city center more appealing to visitors, some council members are questioning if the program is lacking oversight. Host Bree Davies is joined by Westword editor-in-chief Patty Calhoun to break down these stories, plus dig into some listener responses to our ongoing callout for the worst intersections in the Mile High. Patty mentioned the Next Gallery Casa Bonita-inspired art show, opening February 16; she also talked House1000 dashboard updated by the City, which as of February 5 said that 1,245 people had been moved indoors and 1,191 were still indoors. Bree mentioned the deadly shooting in Green Valley Ranch over the weekend, as well as Axios Denver's coverage of the veto and the Mayor's letter to City Council; she also talked about the need for volunteer translators for migrant work authorization clinics happening this week. For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver at denver.citycast.fm. Follow us on Instagram: @citycastdenver Chat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenver What do you think? Text or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: 720-500-5418‬ Learn more about the sponsors of this episode: Denver Restaurant Week is coming up (March 1-10) “Small Island Big Song” at the Newman Center (Starting February 16) Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

¡Viva! Streets brought more than 40,000 Denverites out to enjoy car-free streets in 2023. But the pedestrian-centered effort to revitalize downtown won't be returning this year, and advocates are questioning who is ultimately to blame. Host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi are talking through the suspects, as well as this story about the new robots patrolling LoDo parking garages. Finally, listeners share their thoughts on the labor, environmental, and fashion concerns of the company Mayor Mike Johnston chose to supply the yellow-vest uniform for downtown's new ambassador program.   The Denver Streets Partnership is circulating a petition to save ¡Viva! Streets in 2024.   Paul discussed Cotopaxi's sustainability policy and this third-party review of the company's sustainability practices. Listener Baily Rose alluded to this classic episode of ours, featuring a local oil and gas executive calling out The North Face for hypocrisy.  What do you think about ¡Viva! Streets' cancellation? We want to hear from you! Text or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: 720-500-5418‬ For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver at denver.citycast.fm. Follow us on Instagram: @citycastdenver Chat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenver Learn more about the sponsors of this episode: Tecovas Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sponsored by Tecovas, Western Week reaches a thrilling finale! The Downtown Denver Partnership and Mayor Mike Johnston rolled out a new safety program this week in the form of 650 yellow-vested private security and nonprofit outreach workers. Could these new “ambassadors” be the signal of a safer downtown? And as homelessness and migrant arrivals take up city resources, will the mayor make good on his promise to prioritize the arts? Producer Paul Karolyi and host Bree Davies are joined by politics and green chile correspondent Justine Sandoval to dissect all the stories that mattered to Denverites this week, plus a round of Rocky Mountain Highs and Lows.  Justine talked about a four-part series in the Denver Post on alcoholism in Colorado. Bree mentioned at story from the Colorado Sun on artists moving to the San Luis Valley and an obituary for her great uncle, John Litz. Paul discussed the IRS and TABOR, this week's Rocky Flats news, and his five-part podcast series “Unclear Danger: The Colorado Story of Rocky Flats,” which he neglected to mention was supported by a Denver Arts & Venues grant — what a coincidence! What do you think? Text or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: 720-500-5418‬ For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver at denver.citycast.fm. Follow us on Instagram: @citycastdenver Chat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenver Support City Cast Denver by becoming a member: membership.citycast.fm/Denver Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is it too little, too late or a milestone moment? The gavel has gone down on the annual UN climate summit, with a final declaration that for the first time recognises the need to "transition away" from fossil fuels. That was not a given when it was announced that the UAE, the world's seventh-largest oil producer, would be hosting COP28 in Dubai. As always, these summits conclude with statements of intention, at best. So how much will this one matter? Other precepts out of Dubai include a tripling of renewables by the end of the decade. What are the alternatives to oil and coal? What status for natural gas – seen by some as a "transition energy"? New sources of power will not be enough. So what now for humanity's centuries-old business model of "more, more, more" production and consumption of stuff?The same politicians who hailed the final text as a breakthrough have also seen the far right in Europe capitalise on a backlash against measures that they say punish the poor, pointing for instance to the quickly-scrapped fuel tax that triggered France's Yellow Vest movement. To save the planet, what personal sacrifices should we demand of citizens? What collective measures are needed?Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Juliette Laurain and Louise Guibert.

All evidence points to an acceleration of the planet's record-breaking heat. And so the blame game begins as the COP28 summit opens in the oil and gas-rich United Arab Emirates, between those who provide fossil fuels, those who consume them and those on the front lines of desertification and rising sea levels. Before even contemplating binding targets, will the final communiqué even include a pledge to phase out hydrocarbons? Beyond tired scapegoating arguments, there's a more important question: how shortsighted is humanity? Will we all perish tomorrow morning? No. But we do have to pay our food and energy bills. Cost is why there's a backlash in Germany against policies aimed at phasing out gas boilers, why a quickly-scrapped carbon tax sparked France's Yellow Vest movement, why naval-dependent Greece is leading the charge against a shipping tax. Which brings us back to the UN climate summit in Dubai. In an era when our Instagram feeds encourage us to buy more and strive for the jet-set lifestyle, in an era where nationalism trumps global treaties, can humanity find the common ground necessary to ensure its own survival? Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Guillaume Gougeon and Louise Guibert.

In this revealing interview, journalist Vincent Bevins discussed his newly released book If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and the Missing Revolution, based on his research of a wide range of social movements between 2010 and 2020.  Beginning with an analysis of the "Yellow Vest" protests in France, the discussion focusses on the challenges, nuances, and lessons of building broad social movements—with particular lessons for the climate movement. Vincent highlights the transformative power of social media but also its limitations in fostering genuine, long-lasting change. He underscores the drawbacks of decentralized movements and ambiguous goals identifying potential pitfalls. Drawing from his on-the-ground experiences in Brazil, Vincent emphasizes the significance of recognizing the worldwide repercussions of local endeavors. He also stresses the need for activists to work with governments and state institutions rather than rejecting them, emphasizing that radical change does not necessarily always mean being anti-government.  Vincent Bevins is an award-winning journalist and correspondent. He covered Southeast Asia for the Washington Post, reporting from across the entire region and also served as the Brazil correspondent for the Los Angeles Times, also covering nearby parts of South America.  He has written for are the New York Times, The Atlantic, The Economist, The Guardian, Foreign Policy, the New York Review of Books, the New Republic, and more. His previous book is the Jakarta Method: Washington's Anticommunist Crusade And The Mass Murder Program That Shaped Our World.

We are doing a GOFLUO giveaway, leave a comment here and enter to win at Ride Review: https://ridereview.com/giveaway/win-a-gofluo-bodyflower-and-bag Meet Julie Vets, Founder and CEO of GOLUO, https://gofluo.com/, and learn how she is inventing the category of high visibility gear for everyone that is moving. You can also see Julie present at Micromobility Europe 2023: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7br1CqOz3EU&t=43s

Sponsor special: Up to $2,500 of FREE silver AND a FREE safe on qualifying orders - Call 855-862-3377 or text “AMERICAN” to 6-5-5-3-2“This is the new technology of speech in America: You can dial people all the way up to ‘everybody sees it,' and you can dial someone else down to ‘it's almost impossible to see them.' And that is extremely dangerous, and it's especially dangerous if it's done in secret and nobody knows exactly how it operates.”In this episode, Jan Jekielek sits down with investigative journalist Matt Taibbi. He was one of the key investigators of the Twitter Files, which exposed collusion between social media companies, the nonprofit sector, and the federal government to censor Americans on a mass scale.“In parallel to this censorship program, I think what they're doing—with things like shadow banning and denylisting—is they're trying to simplify controversies and reduce everybody's intellectual field of view and, in doing so, kind-of drain our will to be curious, to stand up for ourselves, [and] to think about things in a complicated way,” says Mr. Taibbi.We discuss the current state of journalism, government information operations, internet culture and addiction, and the importance of free speech and free inquiry.“All of these agencies that were once involved with counterproliferation, counterterrorism, trying to counter messaging to disaffected young Muslim men in foreign countries … they are now turning all those techniques inward on our own populations and trying to get them to believe in a different kind of political consensus,” says Mr. Taibbi.“Instead of, ‘don't join al-Qaeda,' now they're saying, ‘don't vote for Donald Trump,' or ‘don't join the Canadian trucker protests,' or ‘don't join the Yellow Vest movement.' It's actually not a left or right thing—it's just: stay in the safe place, stay with consensus.”

Show notes and Transcript For years Dr Steve Turley has been bringing an optimistic and upbeat analysis of current events.  His Turley Talks are some of the most popular social commentaries in the Conservative sphere.   He joins Hearts of Oak to ask if we are seeing the revitalization of Christian civilization and a new Conservative age?  We look at the political shockwaves happening across Europe with the rise of populist conservative political parties in many countries.  And we end off looking at the rise of the parallel economy as a bulwark against the increasing woke economic wave that is sweeping through many large corporations. Steve Turley (PhD, Durham University) is an internationally recognized scholar, speaker, and author who is widely considered one of the most exciting voices in today's growing patriot movement. Dr. Steve's popular YouTube channel has over 1 million subscribers and daily showcases his expertise in the rise of nationalism, populism, and traditionalism throughout the world. His videos, podcasts and writings on civilization, society, culture, education, and the arts are widely renowned. Connect with Dr Steve and join the movement of Courageous Patriots... WEBSITE:         https://turleytalks.com/ TWITTER:         https://twitter.com/DrTurleyTalks YOUTUBE:        https://www.youtube.com/@DrSteveTurleyTV PODCASTS:      https://podcasts.apple.com/am/podcast/turley-talks/id1520478046 Interview recorded 17.7.23 Audio Podcast version available on Podbean and all major podcast directories...  ⁣https://heartsofoak.podbean.com/ Transcript available on our Substack... https://heartsofoak.substack.com/ To sign up for our weekly email, find our social media, podcasts, video, livestreaming platforms and more...  https://heartsofoak.org/connect/ Please subscribe, like and share! Transcript (Hearts of Oak) Hello, Hearts of Oak, and welcome to another interview coming up in a moment with Dr Steve Turley. You'll have seen his Turley Talks, and I've loved watching these over the last few years, bringing an optimistic and hopeful message, looking at world events, looking at the political side, and often quite at odds with a more dour, conservative message, which we sometimes see in the media. But we look at, are we seeing the revitalization of Christian civilization? A new conservative age is rising. And we look at the political winds, the political conservative winds blowing across Europe and how they're changing also in the US. Why is that? We look at a search for spiritual meaning in the midst of the moral vacuum decay collapse of society when there is no right and wrong. People are searching for meaning and often people are looking to faith and to Christianity for that. And then we finish off on parallel economies. This is a pushback on the woke corporation, the woke agenda, the progressive wave that is coming through commerce and we are seeing a new set of companies that don't want to force that upon our throats and want to cater for a more traditional conservative market.  Dr Steve Turley, it is wonderful to have you with us today. Thank you so much for your time. (Dr Steve Turley) It's my honour, Peter. Thank you so much. It's wonderful to be here with you. Oh, thank you. And you can find @DrTurleyTalks on Twitter, @SteveTurleyTV, obviously on YouTube. All the links are in the description, but turleytalks.com and the many podcasts at Turley Talks, but all the links are there in the description. And Dr. Steve Turley is internationally recognized, best-selling author. I didn't actually realize one of the books, touching on C.S. Lewis. Anyone who writes anything on C.S. Lewis is wonderful to have on. So from my home town back in Belfast.  Yeah, of course. Yeah, that's right. But you're a scholar, speaker, obviously, Turley Talks. I think you've been putting stuff up since, what, 2016, 2017, something like that?  That's right. Yeah, we started on November 1st, 2016, just seven days leading up to November 8th, which was what I like to call Brexit Part Two, which was the election of Donald Trump. And so I started there. I made one video per day analysing the current political situation. I made the argument, the extended argument, that Trump was going to win against all odds, as it were. And of course, I spent the next few weeks gloating and we just kept going. Yeah, give us a little bit of your background. Probably 80%, well, 75% of our viewers are UK, 15% US, and then the rest all over. So, Dr. Steve, could you just take a moment and introduce yourself to our UK audience who may not be as familiar with you as others? Yeah, well, I'm Dr. Steve Turley. Technically, I'm an internationally recognized scholar, speaker and author, that's part of the elevator pitch. But I've spent most of my life either in the world of music, my first degree was in classical guitar, or in theology. My other degrees are in theological studies, the last one being a PhD from Durham University in the UK. Which we were just talking about. And as a result, I was in academia for a number of years, both at the university level as well as classical schools. Classical schools are going through a bit of a renaissance here in the States and as well as in Europe where we're going back to the great books tradition, Latin, Greek, the importance of theology as the queen of the sciences and so on. So I spent about 20 years, 18 years in that world and then a friend of mine suggested I start doing some YouTube videos to analyse the political and cultural scene going on back in 2016. It was obviously very exciting. Brexit had just passed in June, which I mean, I didn't think it stood a chance and I was, of course, hoping for it, but when I saw it actually happening, that's when I I realized a lot of the scholarship that I had encountered at Durham University, which we can develop a bit, called post-secular studies. That's when I started to see some of the ramifications of those studies actually in real time. So my friend suggested I do something akin to that kind of analysis for people with the upcoming Trump-Clinton election, which I did. And the channel turned out to be a hit, as it were, over time. And so I ended up leaving academia and going into broadcasting full-time. And I've since written 20 books on various subjects, and we now have over a million subscribers to the YouTube channel. And really in the end, my daily analysis is one of looking at current events in light of, of what I would call very real conservative trends. And so my analysis tends to be very optimistic for the conservative, which is fair, which cuts against the grain and rightly so, fully noted. We've lived for the last 300 years in what's called the modern world and the modern world's inherently leftist, liberal, anti-traditionalists, you know, it's... Keep science and religion worlds apart, they have nothing to do with each other, and on and on and on. So rightly so, we've been rightly frustrated, but that modern age is coming to an end and a new world is rising. And so what I try to do is provide hope for courageous patriots with daily optimistic broadcasting of news and events. Can I start with your tagline on your YouTube, it's the secular world is at its brink and a new conservative age is rising. Tell us about, because bad news sells better than good news, which you mentioned in the conservative circles. Tell us why you use that, I guess that tagline, that message. Yeah. Well, I, you know, I have you guys over on the other side of the pond to blame for that, I would say a little bit of it when I was doing my doctoral studies at Durham University. It was while I was there that I came across a field of study that's broadly known as post-secular studies, and it's a huge field of study. I mean, it deals with, philosophy and law and fashion and media and politics, you name it, and involves all kinds of scholars like Jürgen Habermas, a sociologist, he's really the one who kind of coined the phrase decades ago, Peter Berger's another one, Charles Taylor, Talal Asad, they're all united in their assessment that what's known as the secularization thesis is for all practical purposes dead in the social sciences. So secularization thesis is this notion, it was very popular in the early 20th century. It's this notion that the more educated and technological society becomes, the less religious it will be. So sociologists like Max Weber, Emil Durkheim, they all saw secularity and progressivism and so forth, as just basically baked into the cake of this progressive, evolutionary movement of history. And what these post-secular scholars were arguing is that thesis, for all practical purposes, is dead. And they made the argument that very few contemporary sociologists will take the secularization thesis seriously today. And that's because, as it turns out, religion is more prevalent in our world today. It's actually, well, I should say it's just as prevalent in our world today as it's always been. And in fact as Rodney Stark at Baylor University would put it, we're actually going through the single greatest religious renewal the world has ever seen. But the key here is that what all of these different scholars are noticing in their own way, in their own bent, and their own degree of, you know, strength or certitude, is that this return of religion that's going on all over the world, because of this extraordinary religious renewal, the world's political order is changing. So these aren't just personal private sentiments that people are just having new religious experiences of. No, this is changing the balance of power. This is something that's enacting a kind of paradigm shift we haven't seen probably in 300 years. In other words, we're increasingly shifting away from the world order that began in Europe with the Enlightenment in the 18th century, that was founded on the fundamental tenets of scientific rationalism as a one-size-fits-all vision of reality for everyone, that became universalized through colonization and industrialization and globalization and westernization. And what we're seeing here now is more and more populations rejecting that modern world, and embracing what's commonly called a more post-modern or post-secular world. That's ultimately working itself out with populations going back, going back to nation, culture, custom, tradition, most particularly religious traditions, to quite literally, ironically, pre-modern beliefs and practices, while at the same time maintaining modern technology. So this is something akin to what Guillaume Fay argued, or what he called archaeo-futurism. Some have called it techno-primitivism, but it's the notion that the antithesis between science and religion and church and state, you know, technology and tradition, that's at the heart of the modern age, that antithesis has collapsed. And now the two are joining forces, like we're seeing with the rise of neo-Orthodox Russia or neo-Confucian China, Shinto Japan, Hindu nationalist India with the BJP party there, the neo-Ottoman vision of Erdogan in Turkey. Of course, we saw it in 1979 with the rise of theocratic Iran. Now we've got theocratic Afghanistan, now we've got neo-traditionalism absolutely on fire all throughout the African continent and on and on and on and on. And I think it's taken Western powers by surprise. I mean, it doesn't matter if you're dealing with the Dolts in D.C. or the bullies in Brussels or the demons of Davos, my comic book names for them. But Western elites just don't really know what to do with this new, far more traditionalist, conservative world. Or that's how I use the term conservatives, ultimately is a traditionalist. That's what, that's what unites a Texas conservative with a with a Hindu conservative in, you know, in India. Because they don't know what to do with this world order because it doesn't respond to the political and economic manipulative pressures that the West has learned to rely on over the last several decades and sort of closed the loop here to make things even worse for them. The same dynamics are manifesting themselves in the West. But obviously from a different vantage point, because we were really the centre, the epicentre of this industrialism, of this globalism, of this enlightenment, sort of ideology that has morphed into a very bizarre wokeness. But we're seeing comparable nationalist, populist, traditionalist trends on both sides of the Atlantic, with the Brexit and Trump earthquakes happening literally within days of each other, what, 90 days or so, just a few months of each other, more than that. But Trump actually campaign back in 2016. There was a time in the mid-summer when he said, call me Mr. Brexit. I mean, he was a huge supporter of Brexit, a huge supporter of dismantling the liberal world order and the globalist institutions that make up that order. So while there's all kinds of hiccups and and there's all kinds of oppressions and all kinds of roadblocks and frustrations and setbacks. There's really nothing the Dolts in DC or the Bullies in Brussels can do to stop this tectonic shift that's happening underneath their feet. No political paralysis in the palace of Westminster, can stop it because again it's a foundational paradigm shift from secular to post-secular, from modern to post-modern, and so secular modernist sentiments and structures are indeed withering away.  You talk about kind of religion, spirituality, and certainly it's strange because we have this search for meaning in an age of chaos where there is no order, no right and wrong, no truth, and people are looking at spirituality. Certainly I have seen it here in the UK, people once again opening their Bibles, trying to understand what it is all about. So you have that rise of inquisitiveness, of curiosity, and at the same time, certainly from a Christian point of view, you've got a very weak church that seems to have bought into that lie, the progressive lie. What are your thoughts on that, and how does that work out in the U.S.? Oh yeah, in terms of the mainline churches, we're seeing very much the same thing. I mean, what happened, of course, is in the modern experiment, the church got privatized. I mean, even in the UK in many respects, even though you have a national church there. And we get to see it and we're actually enamoured by it whenever there's a coronation or a royal wedding or a funeral, a monarchical funeral, whatever.  You can have the Church of England any day, Steve. Please take it.  I went to school with some of the clergy in Durham and I was shocked by some of the interaction I had with them. Yes, I know exactly what you mean. And again, we're facing it here to the extent that the Episcopal Church manifests our wing of the Anglican Church or the United Methodist Church. Mainline denominations have basically gone the way of modernity, and it's because they got privatized. And we have to just remember that, you know, if you just compare the way, like we were just talking about the beauties of Durham, medieval cities, where the church was in the urban planning of the medieval city, of course, it was right at the very centre. I mean, you've got a map of the Christian image, a Christian cosmos in every medieval city here in the states the New England commonwealth drew from similar frames of reference, the church steeple, the highest building in the commonwealth there with it with a town green and Edenic green in its front and like you look at modern urban planning today, where's the church? if it's even there it's been it's been pushed into the place of consumerism you know, it's right next to pizzerias and dry cleaners and it's and what's happened as a result is the truth has been privatized because public life and private life operate by very different dynamics. Public deals with the obligatory, whereas private is more optional, right? Public is objective, private is subjective, public applies to all, private applies to only some. So when you privatize the church, what you do is you basically wither, you hollow out its truth and its moral claims because truth is public, it's not private. Truth is objective, it's not subjective. Truth applies to all by definition, not to only some. And so when you're pushed into the social equivalent of a Weight Watchers program or the YMCA or like a pizzeria or whatever. If you're pushed into that equivalent, you can know more proclaimed truth than they can. That's what got hollowed out of the gospel. So the gospel no longer weighs on us, like it would have, say, just in the 18th century. So the clergy, I mean, they're more interested in all these gimmicks and church marketing programs and the like. I'm broad brushing, but you know where I'm coming from. In the states, we do, since church and state are so separated here, in one sense, right, the church can be actually pretty vibrant here at local levels. And so many leftists think we live in a default theocracy in all the red states, or even more specifically, sort of the red counties where the church exercises, very conservative church exercises, so much inordinate influence and the like, but there are very, very heavy barriers placed on that, where it's not allowed to rise to more national levels. They do everything they can to quell that. But it does seem to be, for all kinds of reasons, particularly demographic reasons, it does seem to be rising in a way that they just can't clamp down on anymore. And Christian faith still seems to be something that's seemed positive, certainly in, generally in politics. I mean, when you look at the front bench of, in parliament, of any MP, the last thing they would ever want to say is they'd go to a church or they may be a Christian. That's just not on the radar. In the US, it still seems that that is part of, kind of, the identity, and even Joe Biden claims he's a Christian, and I'll let him take that up with God personally, but how does that, because you still seem to have that as a central tenant, as an anchor, certainly in the political sphere. Yeah, right. Exactly. It's still very, very strong here. It's right. I mean, I guess we would be more akin to the Irish side of the UK, where religion is just a stronger part in the United States. Yeah, it's no coincidence that secularization thesis was actually formulated in Europe because that's what they were seeing. They were seeing these radical secularizing forces as liberalism, and the liberal project began to take over in Europe. And yeah, it just, it took over here in the States to a certain extent, particularly among our elite, but that never really made it into the heartland. We, for whatever reason, we just were able to keep, I guess maybe it's just the frontier sort of culture that we have here, but in our rural and in ex-urban areas, Christianity's just been able to flourish. I think largely also because of the demographic revolution that's happening today, where liberalism more or less destroyed the family, they stopped having kids. And so with all these alternative lifestyles or just with very secularized conceptions of the family, woke liberals, while busying themselves trying to take over every cultural institution in the nation and being very successful in doing so. They forgot to procreate. So for whatever reason they omitted replacing themselves from the cultural takeover plan. So we have a number of studies, Ed Dutton actually has an excellent studies, he's in the UK, Durham fellow as well, on the extraordinary fertility differences between atheists and religionists and liberals and conservatives. And in all kinds of demographic studies all over the world, but particularly in North America and Europe, we're seeing a very clear and direct relationship between, for lack of better term, you know, how right-wing you are, particularly how religiously conservative you are, and how many children you have. And the demographic discrepancy is extraordinary, and that seems with the United States and with its concentrated population, that's having some pretty profound effects. So yeah, it'd be very hard to win an election here nationally and be hostile, overtly hostile to faith in your expressions. Like you said, I think Joe Biden's incredibly hostile to faith. Just ask any Christian baker, for example. But he will never admit to that. He'll always try to say, oh, I'm a good churchgoing, Catholic and blah, blah, blah. Obama did the same thing. Yeah. Clinton, you know, scenes of him singing in his church choir. You just, there's no way around it. You have to, you have to do this. If anything, Trump, Trump may have been probably the least overtly Christian fellow we had, but I mean, his pod, they were, it was so woven into his policies that it just, it didn't matter. No, absolutely. Can I ask you, obviously the message you bring, a hopeful message, and I've seen you on numerous, I think I saw you on Seb Gorka the other day. The only person kind of I come across with that, kind of more positive outlook possibly is Steve Bannon. But yours, I mean, do you, are you told, come on Steve, it's really, look, we've got this against, we've got that against, just come on, it's and you're living in a fairy world. How do you kind of cope with that pushback that just fit into the this is a fight and it's a dark fight and we may win in the end? How do you kind of cope against that? The choice to tune that positivity down? Yeah, yeah. They I've been accused of pushing copious copium on. Oh, no, absolutely. And again, well, the irony to it all is when I first came across post-secular scholarship, I didn't believe it. I thought it was applicable to the Middle East, Africa, particularly Sub-Saharan Africa. Maybe I noticed Russia being in the orthodox tradition. I noticed Russia was doing quite well. But outside of that, I mean, I came across this during the Obama era, right after the Obama era started in 2009. And I just, I didn't buy it. I thought the West was shot. The West was done. So I share, ironically, I have shared in that kind of pessimism. But the more I studied, the more I was confronted with the data and the more I'm seeing the political outworking's happening that data just is is playing itself out it's just getting confirmed and I think too one of the ways of thinking about the current climate we're in particularly spiritual climate analytically helpful way of seeing it it is through the prism of post secularism sort of a counter reading of it, we have to recognize how frustrated and disconcerted our secular left is. Remember, secular progressivism lived by the notion that religion was on its way out. Conservatism was on its way out. Traditionalism was on its way out. It was an evolutionary throwback that had no relevance to us today. And so you have the likes of like a Sam Harris who's repeatedly and openly expressed his utter dismay as to the stubbornness of particularly American Christianity but also Islam, not just its persistence but its actual growth and flourishing. And so to these people who've admittedly captured all the cultural levers of power, to these people, we're not supposed to be around, Peter. So a lot of the persecution that we're facing here, political, cultural, economic, the de-banking, the latest trend of de-banking that Nigel Farage has had to deal with, these persecutions are happening precisely because we're not supposed to be here. We're not supposed to persist. So I see a lot of the the obstacles and the frustrations that we face as an ironic confirmation. That the jokes on them. We're winning. We're not going away. They can clamp down as hard as they want on us. We've got all the demographic back winds behind us blowing in our direction. One of the fascinating statistics is that in just three decades, they predict there will be one liberal woman here in the United States for every so-called, for every four far-right women. And it's just because when all is said and done, right-wingers are having families and in many ways, bigger than ever, because you take in consideration child mortality rates having imploded. So we're having more kids than ever, and we have the data on whether or not those kids retain that conservatism into adulthood. And the answer is yes, because the more conservative, the more you tend to rely on parallel structures, like Bible colleges or home-schooling or what have you. And the United States and Britain are number one and number two in terms of home-schooling populations. Populations. Interestingly enough, Russia is number three, which is also fascinating. But so what we're seeing is we're seeing 70%, 80% retention rates among young people. We've studied particularly with the Amish, the Amish population. And the Amish retention rates have actually been going up over the last 30 years. Eric Kaufman, who's a Canadian expat at University of London, has done a lot of writing on this. And back in the 70s and 80s, if I recall, they had about a 70% retention level. About 30% of their kids would go through Rundspringe, this kind of, you get to flirt a little bit with the outside world. About 30% of them said, no, I like this. I'm going to stay in the outside world. And they basically become Mennonite, so they stay close to their families, but they have more freedom with modern technology and so forth. Those numbers have hit upwards of 80% or 90% retention of late. So the more woke and crazy our society gets, ironically, the more traditionals hang on to their kids. So there's just no way around it. They're disappearing. We're growing. And there's nothing they can do to stop that. And so as long as those dynamics are in place, Kauffman says by 2030, the United States culture war should tip dramatically in favour of the right permanently, or at least for the foreseeable future. We're estimated to have upwards of 300 million Mormons in our country just by the end of the century, 300 million Amish by the end of next century. So we're basically evangelicals, Mormons, Amish. I know there's a joke in there somewhere. I haven't quite figured it out yet. It can't be walking into a bar, Mormons don't drink, but three guys walked into a bar. But Europe is the same thing. Now it's slower because you don't have the density of the population and the Bible Belt per se, but you look at what Viktor Orban's doing in Hungary. Can I ask, because you've written and one of the things that I've enjoyed about, what you put out is that you cover what's happening in Europe and I wouldn't want to criticize the wonderful U.S. commentators and maybe not looking at Europe. We certainly in Europe look to the U.S. for kind of...  Terrible. No, you could criticize, they completely ignore you and it makes me upset, because at least Eastern Europe particularly they're ahead of us. You know, we're all honouring Viktor Orban but we were talking about Viktor Orban six years ago before anybody knew his name around here. So yes, no, go ahead, beat them up all you want, Peter. He's an absolute rock, but it's not, I mean, two of the, uh, two podcasts you put out recently, France's right-wing party surge and first persons riots. In other words, WEF, Dutch government collapses, and that's going to be phenomenal to watch that with the new farming party. But all across, I mean, Sweden, Finland, Hungary, Italy, uh, Austria, Germany, it's, it's happening all over and how, I guess, as an American commentator, do you view what's happening? Because I think a lot of us maybe in Europe had thought, you know, we're post-Christian in Europe and conservatism is very much out of fashion and this liberal way of this, the EU just knitting everyone together, throwing off the nation-state and suddenly you've got a push back on nearly every single country across Europe. How do you see that from the States? Absolutely, yeah. I think again, well, getting my doctorate in the UK helped, no question, to kind of broaden my horizons to what was going on in the world. But also, when I encountered the post-secular studies, a lot of it was on Europe and the trends that were happening, particularly starting in Eastern Europe, going into Central Europe, talking a lot about Hungary and Poland. We were just seeing the rise of the Law and Justice Party Poland back around that time. And I really thought, and again, you have to remember this was during our Obama era. I really saw the so-called far right. They're not far right. They're just, you know, the apostles of common sense, I think you would call it, but I was noticing that we were already seeing the 300% surge in so-called far right parties, these nationalist populist parties. And I really thought, wow, something's going to happen in Europe before we know it. And then again, this is before Brexit sentiments came in. The Cornell sociologist Mabel Berezin has written about what she calls post-security politics. And it's very interesting because she argues that the nation state historically promised to provide three things, secure borders, a stable economy, and a space for the celebration and perpetuation of a population's customs, traditions, and religion. And what Berezin argued is that, of course, over the last three, four decades, we've seen all those securities just erode as a result of globalization, so border security eroding as a result of mass unfettered immigration, economic security eroding through what's called a global division of labour, where manufacturing and industrial factory jobs are shipped out to third world nations, while capital and finance are relocated in urban centres, leaving rural populations highly disenfranchised. So that's where you got the Yellow Vest uprising in France, where there were no jobs, where rural folk were living. They had to commute to the big cities to work. But they couldn't work there because the gentrification of those cities through finance had jacked up the real estate prices. So there was no work where they lived, and they couldn't live where there was work. And then they're commuting an hour and a half each way. And then Macron slaps a fuel tax on them to pay for some green initiative. And that just blew up into the Yellow Vest uprising. So we saw that kind of post-security politics there. And then the cultural security has eroded through progressive political correctness, redefining our traditions as racist and bigoted and all kinds of phobic. At the same time, we're seeing this mass influx of migrants coming in with a different culture, different language and so forth. So it goes right back to the border security. So it's a closed loop, as it were, a self-enforcing loop. And so post-security politics was manifesting itself very clearly in the rise of bootleg parties. That's a neat phrase. again, I think goes back to Eric Kaufman, where the centre-right, centre-left were in their political paralysis. They refused to deal with any of those issues, any border security, any economic security, any cultural security. And so you ended up seeing the rise of these so-called, we call them third parties here in the parliamentary system, and they started to win. Nigel being one of the most extraordinary examples of that. I mean, back in 2019, one in three Brits voted for a party for the European Parliament elections before Brexit was finally instituted. And even then, you know, we know we got the issues, but they voted for the Brexit party and it was only what, six weeks old, five or six weeks old. The Tories collapsed. It was absolutely astonishing and the Tories only had their best election ever months later with Nigel basically bowing out and giving his blessing that if you want Brexit, put Boris back in. So you're seeing these, if you've got border security, economic, I'm sorry, yeah, border security, economic security, and cultural security as the new main issues of European populations, then you inevitably see nationalism, populism, and traditionalism emerging as the political forces that are changing politics in the continent. Now again, bullies in Brussels are doing everything they can to stop it. You'll hear them talk that way, as you well know, where you just hear them say, well, we have instruments that we can use to force compliance and things like that. But increasingly, it's just not working. Finland, you mentioned, the Sweden Democrats, the rise of the AFD in Germany. They're doing everything they can to try to prevent the AFD from running in their next national election because it looks like right at this point they're going to come in second only to, formally, Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats. So the Vox party in Spain, keep an eye on that next week. They have their, socialist government collapsed and they're going to probably boot out Sanchez and they're going to probably get into a coalition government with the Podemos party, the centre-right party, so you have something very much like what we're having in Finland, in Sweden, in Greece where the left just collapsed, and on and on and on. I think France is next. I think National Rally is poised to win a very impressive national election. And then if they begin to coalition with the centre-right Republicans and a couple of the others, Eric Zemmour's party and so forth. Now suddenly France is going to be a, the France that was supposed to be the globalist space par excellence for Europe's new emperor, Emmanuel Macron, now they're going to have a government more on par with Viktor Orban. It's incredible. It is and we could have the AFD arrive second in Germany, could have a freedom party first in Austria next year and Le Pen leading France. I mean that would just be the most beautiful scenario...  And it's happening, that's the thing, what we try to do, every day on my channel and what you're doing is we're tapping into the trends that are moving, in this direction. So a lot of people are late to the party. A lot of people are like, what's going on in Europe? This is amazing stuff. Well, it's Nigel Farage first came on the scene in the 1990s. This is stuff that's been happening. I mean, remember the European union sanctioned Austria when the when the freedom party first got a certain amount of the vote. And if I recall, that was back in the 1990s as well, well before the 2008 global financial crisis. These are seeds that have been germinating for a while, and they've already been sown, and now we're just going to witness how big the harvest is. Another part of the jigsaw, and we'll finish up on this area, but is the economic side. And one of your phrases from your website is, now is the time to build a parallel economy, to live out our God-given freedoms and leave a legacy of faith, family and freedom for our children and grandchildren. And that idea of a parallel economy intrigues me, especially when you see corporations bound to wokeness and being severely damaged because of it, happily. Tell us more about that parallel economy because we've talked about kind of the spiritual and the political side but, you also need to have a juggernaut, an economic juggernaut, taking that on and people need an alternative and this is what a lot of the conversation has been about a parallel economy. Absolutely, and again it's a term or it's a concept that's also European as well. I mean just in terms of the way it was formalized and written about, I'm thinking in particular of Václav Havel, Václav Benda, and the Soviet-dominated Czechoslovakia in the 1970s and 80s. They wrote a lot about what they called a parallel polis, and they actually pointed to churches and the concept of the churches in Jerusalem as this notion of being able to create an alternative society where citizens can live out truth in the midst of a society dominated by lies, like in the Soviet period, and the more we live out truth, the more we reveal those lies to be what they actually are, fabrications and the like. So, obviously, Václav Havel was a brilliant fellow, ended up becoming president of Czechoslovakia and then the Czech Republic. And the Berlin Wall fell within just a decade or so of those writings. So we're taking a lot of inspiration from that as we live in a kind of, well, what scholars actually call a refeudalization. I've heard the term refeudalization for the United States, and I've heard the term neo-medievalism when applied to Europe because of the EU functioning very similarly to, say, the Holy Roman Emperor or something, or the Roman Catholic Church, working in that way, having sort of ultimate control over districts and emerging sovereign nations and the like. But refeudalization refers, it's a very helpful model to see what's going on today, because it refers to ways in which the structure of society is increasingly reflecting the, this kind of caste system. So for example, today, like say in the medieval period, you have an astonishing concentration of wealth and power in the hands of very, very few. So five years ago, 400 billionaires owned half the world's assets. Today, that number's dropped to a hundred. Now, thank God one of them is on our side. Elon Musk is, and that, and he's just, he's been one of the biggest boosts to this parallel economy that's trying to provide a different kind of space from this neo-feudalism or refeudalization. But it's not just the billionaires and the bureaucrats that are that are teaming up. There's also a new kind of radicalized fundamentalism involving all things woke, the environment, gender and race. And again, that's where bureaucrats and billionaires, you can really see them teaming up where you have corporations now enforcing ESG and DEI. And this is where the demons and Davos come in. They're enforcing stuff that none of us would ever vote for, right, from our politicians, but because bureaucrats and billionaires are hooking up here with this bizarre kind of ideological fundamentalism. Where there's no room for dissent whatsoever, dissenters are heretics, but instead of a clerical class, now it's a clerisy class, a class of pseudo-intellectuals from the universities, the professional class, the credential class that are imposing an ideological inquisition on the whole of the population. But again, the good news is what we're seeing is something akin to a Protestant revolt that we saw coming out of that feudalized period, and the Protestant revolt in many ways was a populist revolt where the people had the right to the scriptures and so on and so forth and to pray and to have a direct relationship to God, And so what we're seeing, I think, is we're seeing a new kind of Protestant revolt in the form of a parallel economy where more and more people are with money and investment opportunities and seeing extraordinary business opportunities are starting to pump lots and lots of money into an economy that is the only requirement of being a part of it is you must disown all things woke. Anything woke is not allowed. Anything else, you're come on in. You're going to love it. So we're seeing the Sound of Freedom movie. It's number one at the box office. It's about to hit a hundred million dollars in revenue. This is all as the Disney's new Indiana Jones has just bombed and as a matter of fact, Disney. I just came across a stat the other day, Disney has lost nearly 1 billion dollars in its last eight releases. Nobody's going to see it anymore, So they're going to alternative movies. Um, they're going to alternative stores. They're boycotting, well, I would say they're going to alternative beer, but I don't think bud light is beer quite frankly. I'm partial to British beer myself, but you see Bud Light's sales on the tank, Target, you know, they had their pride section for children in their clothing store. Target is a department store here in the States. They're falling apart because of a boy, actually Boycott Target was a song and it hit number one on iTunes. It's just amazing stuff going on. And it's happening at the same time, even within the Democratic Party. There are constituencies like Muslims who are pushing back against the LGBT agenda. So in Hamtramck, Michigan, which is a Detroit district, it votes 70% Democrat, but they have the first all Muslim city council there. They were the first city council to vote unanimously to officially ban the rainbow LGBT pride flag from flying on any and all city public property. And these were all Democrats. And Democrats and the woke just don't know what to do with this, because they're seeing all of their cultural products basically going bankrupt. And now they're even seeing what was up until now very loyal voting constituents rebelling against them as well. It does really look like it's starting to implode. And this parallel economy may indeed be the mainstream economy within the next five to 10 years. Dr. Steve Turley, I appreciate you coming on and sharing that optimism and upbeat message, which I think is often missing in commentary. So thank you so much for joining us today. Thank you, Peter. It's been my honour.

Many thanks to Anthony white for a great chat over Zoom all the way from France. His upcoming show - OPENING/PRIVATE VIEW:SATURDAY 15 JULY12PM-4PMFLOOR TALK WITH DR PETER HILL SATURDAY 15 JULY EXHIBITION CONTINUES 30 JULY 2023 MELBOURNE AUSTRALIA Please note this event is free but booking is advised: contact@lennoxst.gallery or +61 409 409 239Lennox St. Gallery presents Manifestation, an exhibition of new works by Paris-based artist Anthony White. Marking a new direction for the artist, Manifestation consists of a series of 10 paintings responding to Sidney Nolan's 1966 Eureka Stockade mural in which White reclaims the painterly gesture as a form of dissent. This is White's third solo show with the gallery, his first in the new space as Lennox St. Gallery and his first body of work made as a response to a single work of art.White draws on new research into the 1854 Eureka Rebellion (Australia's only ever armed civil uprising), the personal papers of Sidney Nolan and recent protest events in France, highlighting the increasing importance of his engagement with material, concept and history. Painted in France during a period marked by widespread public protests, these ten new works continue White's wider thinking around the painterly gesture as a form of dissent, as well as the act of civil disobedience, or, in French, Manifestation – a protest, public event, action, or object which embodies an idea.Following White's recent creative fellowship at the National Library of Australia, Canberra, Manifestation responds to the anti-colonial spirit in Sidney Nolan's Eureka Stockade mural which White spent time with in Canberra at ANU's Drill Hall Gallery. Commissioned by the Reserve Bank of Australia, the mural depicts the pivotal event of the Victorian gold rush – a crucial point in Australia's democratic history. White's research into the papers of Sidney Nolan at the National Library, uncovered correspondence which reveals Nolan's response to the only first hand account of the Eureka rebellion written by the Italian revolutionary Rafaello Carboni. Manifestation considers Nolan's engagement with that European vision of the event, the legacy of Eureka and the development of a particular Australian psyche typified by a defence of democratic values. Each work incorporates an event or individual element from the Eureka battle as depicted in the Nolan mural: Hotham incorporates imagery resembling mounted policemen; Eureka Hotel and the largest work Manifest (After Eureka) 125 x 235 cm [shown above] depict the epic destruction of Bentley's Eureka Hotel caused by a fire started by rioting miners on the 12th of October 1854. In each work White finds equivalent ways of harnessing the energy and dissenting spirit of the battle.“I went to the Nolan archive to capture this anti-colonial spirit inherent in some of the images of the mural to emphasize the sense of dissent but what struck me was the ethnic diversity of the period in Victoria. What I found was Chinese, Italian, African Americans, Jewish and Irish migrants revolting against the colonial government. It manifested as the Eureka Rebellion which became a crucial part of Australia's engagement with democracy” In the current moment we are seeing the increasing relevance of civil disobedience in movements such as The Yellow Vests in France and groups like Extinction Rebellion protesting for climate change, increasing class inequalities or retirement ages. In my mind there is no doubt that the power of democracy is diminishing internationally and I feel we need to voice our discontent with government policies that infringe on personal liberty, especially the right to protest peacefully.” – Anthony WhiteYou can find out more about Anthony on his website 

A version of this essay was published by firstpost.com at https://www.firstpost.com/opinion/shadow-warrior-paris-is-burning-why-12837712.htmlI had the disconcerting experience of being on the ground in Paris while the current riots raged. Oddly enough, on my previous visit, in April 2019, I arrived the night the Notre Dame cathedral caught fire, and then was in town during the Yellow Vest riots against fuel taxes. In both cases, my plans were affected: in the current case I stirred out of my hotel room near the Arc de Triomphe with trepidation, worried as I was by TV images of random violence and especially arson.I had been to Paris for several years in a row (until covid) for an annual conference on innovation, so I have a slight familiarity with the city, and it remains one of the most charming cities in the world. Architecturally appealing, with world-class museums (I did my usual homage to the Louvre, the impressionist Musee d'Orsay and the Musee Guimet of Asian art), lovely boulevards, the peerless Eiffel Tower, the unhurried meals in sidewalk cafes: the very picture of the good life.Then there is the dark side of things.The proximate cause of the troubles was the shooting death of a 17 year old youth of Algerian heritage, possibly the result of excessive force by the police. But this is just the spark. As in other countries with restless minority populations (e.g. the US with periodic riots after police shoot yet another black man, as in Los Angeles burning after the death of Rodney King), there are many other resentments that fan the fire. It would be easy to surmise that racism and the reaction thereto are the main factors in action.But I think there is another, possibly preponderant cause: demographic shift. France is getting less white, more black and Arab, and more Muslim. Coupled with an ever-restive leftist streak that has been evident for long (remember the student riots in May 1968 and the always volatile Left Bank?), today we have a left-migrant nexus of sorts that magnifies any issue and takes to the streets.There are large numbers of migrants, including those who came from the colonies and more recently refugees fleeing terror and chaos in Syria, Afghanistan etc. One would think that they would generally be grateful to Europe for taking them in, but radicalization is literally visible on the streets: the older generation is more secular, but their sons and especially their daughters-in-law are more observant, with beards, hijabs and other signs of religiosity. They are influenced by fiery preachers who call for jihad.It is now much easier to marshal ‘flashmobs' via social media. In fact, France has just had to turn off the Internet to prevent further provocation and nastiness. Let us note that this was not trumpeted by Deep State journalists as a sign of autocracy, although that is exactly what they say when India has to turn off the Internet in Kashmir.There were statements made by some of the rioters (I'm not sure if it is just bravado or whether they seriously mean it) that they intend to take over Europe through the power of their numbers, as they are noticeably more fertile than native whites. Eurabia is an inevitable reality, they believe. This, naturally, does not sit well with the locals. They will probably begin to curtail migration, as some Scandinavian countries have begun to do.Perhaps there is also a crisis in governance, which was the opinion of an old friend, whom I met for drinks at the landmark Publicis Drugstore on the Champs Elysees. She was unhappy about the mayor and other politicians whom she blamed for the poor state of general administration. (I just read that a suburban mayor's home was attacked, and his wife injured). Although my friend didn't talk about him, Emmanuel Macron is not universally popular either; even senior citizens appear to be upset with him.She also mentioned that the covid lockdowns had had a hugely disruptive, and lingering, effect, as many people lost their jobs, many moved out of Paris, and have had their prospects diminished. France's place in the world is also diminishing: it is now mostly a purveyor of luxury goods (fittingly, the head of LVMH is now the richest person in the world), and it was roundly humiliated by the US in the AUKUS affair, even though it is still a major arms supplier.Maybe there is a certain angst in the air. Maybe that is the root cause, or at least a root cause.I met a Pondicherry-origin man working in the transit hotel near the airport where I spent my last night in Paris, not wanting to risk riots, arson and barricades on the way from the city to Charles de Gaulle. He was generally negative, warning me about crime ranging from pickpocketing to muggings and especially the riots. He felt that his life as an immigrant (he has been there for many years) has become worse, and he felt he could be targeted by both Arabs and whites based on his Indian looks and the certainty that he was harmless and would not retaliate.I only personally witnessed a boisterous crowd shouting slogans that I couldn't understand, and no violence or arson (thankfully), but there was the constant wail of police sirens in the background, and what sounded like shots in the middle distance. Sadly, the largest library in France was set on fire. Thousands of vehicles were destroyed, and hundreds of houses looted and burned. In the end, I am told residents responded with vigilante squads fending off the unruly mobs.I also spoke to the proverbial taxi driver (a Moroccan-Frenchman), following in the footsteps of famous economists and journalists. He tried to be circumspect, and he didn't seem to be a religious person (there were no accoutrements in his car), but he told me about hard times. He was running an illegal taxi service, and he overcharged me 10 Euros since (he claimed) he didn't have enough change.He spoke about unemployment and discrimination, and how inflation was hurting his living standards. I have in the past found French Arabs not very hostile to Indians (as we don't threaten their livelihoods), and this man wasn't either.The same issue of economic problems was echoed by a Malayali manning a souvenir shop. He had arrived as a student, stayed on for a few years, and now was facing problems in bringing his family over from India. Incidentally, a lot of the souvenir stalls near Sacre Coeur, the Louvre and elsewhere are staffed or owned by Indian-origin people: I met one from Gujarat, another from Mauritius.The number of Indians I saw around Paris has gone up from prior visits: both tourists and residents. There still are far more East Asians (in my hotel there were Koreans and Singaporeans) around. I met a young woman from Kanyakumari who was leading a tour group on the Eiffel Tower. She was optimistic: she was doing her MBA, working part-time, and she has an import-export startup in India that she will be returning to.My chance encounters with these people illustrate the point about European decline. France has a nice little niche in luxury goods, but I suspect their buyers are increasingly from newly-affluent Asia. The departure area at CDG airport Terminal 1 is a veritable secular cathedral, with chandeliers and luxurious seats, surrounded by glitzy and expensive Dior, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Cartier, etc. shops tempting the departing traveler.But decline in the former colonial powers (most evident in Britain, which also shot itself in the foot with Brexit) is a fact. In a way it is poetic justice: Paris is full of evident loot from elsewhere (the Egyptian obelisk from Luxor, the Cambodian sculptures from the Bayon and Angkor Wat) and France clearly was enriched by exploitation of the colonies.But their core industrial strength has vanished (China continues to rape and pillage their IPR), along with their position in the global GDP standings. India has overtaken France and Britain, and will soon overtake Germany. Europe is now less of a factor in the world than it has been since the Middle Ages. Asia is rising again.It's a powerful cocktail: inevitable cyclical decline, memories of imperial grandeur, the determined Islamist assault, and general anti-government feelings going way back to the French Revolution. Surely, the crackdown by some 50,000 police and if necessary, the army, will control the riots, but one day the rioters may win. Predictably, all of Europe is now shifting right-wards: Italy, Finland, Greece, possibly Spain. Hard times beget hard men.1450 words, Jul 3, 2023 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rajeevsrinivasan.substack.com

"How do we reinvent our democracy? And indeed, the model where you have a representative democracy, then once in four years you vote and delegate, this is a model which is much better than dictators. People criticize Western democracies, but as somebody who lived in a non-democratic country, I will tell you that I'm not surprised that people don't move us to Russia, right? Life is better in a democracy, even if you have criticisms. But there is a major problem here, which is when you vote, do you actually invest in thinking about who you vote for? And the answer to that is most people remain ignorant about the programs of candidates and about the problems of society.And so we need to engage people more in the deliberation of our problems. And indeed, whether digitally or offline, there are now many more experiments and many more ideas on how we can complement representative democracy. Some people even say, 'Replace representative democracy.' But a compliment for me, it's a more complimentary representative democracy with deliberative democracy where we take, for example, what's called a mini public, take a thousand people or maybe 150 people randomly picked, so these are not elites. These are normal people who are randomly picked, who are asked to think about a specific issue, and talk to each other, talk to experts, talk to politicians for several months, and propose a solution. And this is something that has been used a lot now in Western countries. In France, after the Yellow Vest movements, President Macron first launched a great debate at the national level and then created an ecological, social, and economic convention to think about what we can do about climate change in a just way. Because one of the things we faced during the Yellow Vest movement was Macron's promise to impose a fossil fuel tax, which would be good for fighting climate change, but was done in a technocratic way without thinking about people who are left behind. Without thinking about distributional consequences.And so we need to involve everybody in this discussion. And I would say that likely we've now seen that mechanisms experiments like this can work. And of course, digital technology can do even more for this because it's cheaper to launch operations online, and you can involve more people."What is a spin dictator? What does tyranny look like in the 21st century? Why is populism on the rise? And how do we reinvent democracy?Sergei Guriev is the co-author of Spin Dictators: The Changing Face of Tyranny in the 21st Century. Guriev is Provost and a professor of economics and at Sciences Po in Paris. He is a former Chief Economist of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, London, and a former Rector of the New Economic School in Moscow in 2004-13.https://sites.google.com/site/sguriev/https://spindictators.com/www.sciencespo.fr/department-economics/en/researcher/sergei-guriev.htmlwww.creativeprocess.infowww.oneplanetpodcast.orgIG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast

What is a spin dictator? What does tyranny look like in the 21st century? Why is populism on the rise? And how do we reinvent democracy?Sergei Guriev is the co-author of Spin Dictators: The Changing Face of Tyranny in the 21st Century. Guriev is Provost and a professor of economics and at Sciences Po in Paris. He is a former Chief Economist of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, London, and a former Rector of the New Economic School in Moscow in 2004-13."How do we reinvent our democracy? And indeed, the model where you have a representative democracy, then once in four years you vote and delegate, this is a model which is much better than dictators. People criticize Western democracies, but as somebody who lived in a non-democratic country, I will tell you that I'm not surprised that people don't move us to Russia, right? Life is better in a democracy, even if you have criticisms. But there is a major problem here, which is when you vote, do you actually invest in thinking about who you vote for? And the answer to that is most people remain ignorant about the programs of candidates and about the problems of society.And so we need to engage people more in the deliberation of our problems. And indeed, whether digitally or offline, there are now many more experiments and many more ideas on how we can complement representative democracy. Some people even say, 'Replace representative democracy.' But a compliment for me, it's a more complimentary representative democracy with deliberative democracy where we take, for example, what's called a mini public, take a thousand people or maybe 150 people randomly picked, so these are not elites. These are normal people who are randomly picked, who are asked to think about a specific issue, and talk to each other, talk to experts, talk to politicians for several months, and propose a solution. And this is something that has been used a lot now in Western countries. In France, after the Yellow Vest movements, President Macron first launched a great debate at the national level and then created an ecological, social, and economic convention to think about what we can do about climate change in a just way. Because one of the things we faced during the Yellow Vest movement was Macron's promise to impose a fossil fuel tax, which would be good for fighting climate change, but was done in a technocratic way without thinking about people who are left behind. Without thinking about distributional consequences.And so we need to involve everybody in this discussion. And I would say that likely we've now seen that mechanisms experiments like this can work. And of course, digital technology can do even more for this because it's cheaper to launch operations online, and you can involve more people."https://sites.google.com/site/sguriev/https://spindictators.com/www.sciencespo.fr/department-economics/en/researcher/sergei-guriev.htmlwww.creativeprocess.infowww.oneplanetpodcast.orgIG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast

Dr. Jordan B. Peterson, Tammy Peterson, and Tamara Lich break down the events leading up to, during, and after the internationally recognized Canadian Freedom Convoy, which sought to publicize and end ridiculous COVID mandates as they heavily affected the multi-national trucking industry. Lich was a key organizer and has suffered for her role, spending a total of 48 days in jail over “mischief,” while being labeled a terrorist and being legally barred from using social media. Tamara Lich is a Canadian activist with a background organizing the 2018-2019 Yellow Vest protests in Alberta. She was also an early founder of the secession movement in western Canada known as WEXIT. Lich also had a prior career in the logistics field regarding Canadian energy and first became vocal about the unrivaled efficiency of her country's fossil fuel industry, despite the mainstream media claiming otherwise. Dr. Jordan B. Peterson, Tammy Peterson, and Tamara Lich break down the events leading up to, during, and after the internationally recognized Canadian Freedom Convoy, which sought to publicize and end ridiculous COVID mandates as they heavily affected the multi-national trucking industry. Lich was a key organizer and has suffered for her role, spending a total of 48 days in jail over “mischief,” while being labeled a terrorist and being legally barred from using social media. Tamara Lich is a Canadian activist with a background organizing the 2018-2019 Yellow Vest protests in Alberta. She was also an early founder of the secession movement in western Canada known as WEXIT. Lich also had a prior career in the logistics field regarding Canadian energy and first became vocal about the unrivaled efficiency of her country's fossil fuel industry, despite the mainstream media claiming otherwise. Dr. Peterson's extensive catalog is available now on DailyWire+: https://bit.ly/3KrWbS8 Ep.369  - Sponsors - Elysium: Get $50 off an Index test! Use code 'JBP50' at https://www.elysiumhealth.com/Index My Patriot Supply: MAJOR savings on your 4-week Emergency Food Kithttp://www.preparewithPeterson.com/  - Links - For Tamara Lich: “Hold The Line” (Book) www.theconvoybook.comOn Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Hold-Line-story-Freedom-Convoy/dp/1990583032/ref=sr_1_1?gclid=CjwKCAjwv8qkBhAnEiwAkY-ahuHKvQ2hmgh-MXOrv8GnPDsZb-Gf8n9CPWmgfNPdpRXefuTa7fA2IRoCnYgQAvD_BwE&hvadid=656260501629&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9013184&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=3321406421213699161&hvtargid=kwd-1958103710340&hydadcr=22565_13493330&keywords=hold+the+line+tamara+lich&qid=1687367278&sr=8-1 The Democracy Fund www.thedemocracyfund.ca  For Tammy Peterson: Podcast https://www.youtube.com/@Tammy-Peterson 

The French left is in its most explosive state for a generation. In response to the pension reforms pushed through by Emmanuel Macron’s government, the Yellow Vests, unions, students and environmentalists alike are linking up their struggles. The tactical vocabulary has expanded: strikes and official protests have been supplemented by blockades, ‘wild demonstrations’ and power […]

The First Amendment prohibits the U.S. government from censoring speech. In this episode, drawing from internal Twitter documents known as “the Twitter files” and Congressional testimony from tech executives, former Twitter employees, and journalists, we examine the shocking formal system of censorship in which government employees are using their influence over private companies to indirectly censor speech in a way that they are clearly prohibited from doing directly. Please Support Congressional Dish – Quick Links Contribute monthly or a lump sum via PayPal Support Congressional Dish via Patreon (donations per episode) Send Zelle payments to: Donation@congressionaldish.com Send Venmo payments to: @Jennifer-Briney Send Cash App payments to: $CongressionalDish or Donation@congressionaldish.com Use your bank's online bill pay function to mail contributions to: 5753 Hwy 85 North, Number 4576, Crestview, FL 32536. Please make checks payable to Congressional Dish Thank you for supporting truly independent media! View the shownotes on our website at https://congressionaldish.com/cd270-the-twitter-files Background Sources Recommended Congressional Dish Episodes CD224: Social Media Censorship CD141: Terrorist Gifts & The Ministry of Propaganda (2017 NDAA) CD113: CISA is Law The Twitter Files "Capsule Summaries of all Twitter Files Threads to Date, With Links and a Glossary.” Matt Taibbi. Jan 4, 2023. Racket News. Matt Taibbi “The Democrats' Disastrous Miscalculation on Civil Liberties.” Matt Taibbi. Mar 12, 2023. Racket News. “#1940 - Matt Taibbi.” Feb 13, 2023. The Joe Rogan Experience. Hunter Biden Laptop Story “Smoking-gun email reveals how Hunter Biden introduced Ukrainian businessman to VP dad.” “13. They did the same to Facebook, according to CEO Mark Zuckerberg. ‘The FBI basically came to us [and] was like, “Hey... you should be on high alert. We thought that there was a lot of Russian propaganda in 2016 election. There's about to be some kind of dump similar to that”'” [tweet]. Michael Shellenberger [@ShellenbergerMD]. Dec 19, 2022. Twitter. Influence, Propaganda, and Censorship “From the Twitter Files: Pfizer board member Scott Gottlieb secretly pressed Twitter to hide posts challenging his company's massively profitable Covid jabs.” Alex Berenson. Jan 9, 2023. Unreported Truths. “Twitter Aided the Pentagon in Its Covert Online Propaganda Campaign.” Lee Fang. December 20, 2022. The Intercept. “Facebook, Twitter dismantle a U.S. influence campaign about Ukraine.” Aug 24, 2022. The Washington Post. Angus King Takedown Request Spreadsheet Audio Sources Hearing on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, the Twitter Files March 9, 2023 House Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government Witnesses: Matt Taibbi, Journalist Michael Shellenberger, Author, Co-founder of the Breakthrough Institute and the California Peace Coalition Clips 17:20 Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH): In the run up to the 2020 Presidential election, FBI Special Agent Elvis Chan, in his deposition in Missouri versus Biden, said that he repeatedly, repeatedly, informed Twitter and other social media platforms of the likelihood of a hack and leak operation in the run up to that Presidential election. He did it even though there was no evidence. In fact, he said in his deposition that we hadn't seen anything, no intrusions, no hack, yet he repeatedly told them something was common. Yoel Ross, Head of Trust and Safety at Twitter, testified that he had had regular meetings with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, and other folks regarding election security. During these weekly meetings, federal law enforcement agencies communicated that they expected a hack and leak operation. The expectations of a hack and leak operation were discussed throughout 2020. And he was told they would occur in a period shortly before the 2020 Presidential election, likely in October. And finally, he said "I also learned in these meetings, that there were rumors that a hack and leak operation would involve Hunter Biden." So what did the government tell him? A hack and leak operation was coming. How often did the government tell him this? Repeatedly for a year. When did the government say it was going to happen? October of 2020. And who did the government say it would involve? Hunter Biden. 19:35 Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH): How did they know? Maybe it's because they had the laptop and they had had it for a year. 21:50 Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH): Finally, as if on cue, five days later on October 19, 51 former intel[ligence] officials signed a letter with a now famous sentence "the Biden laptop story has all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation." Something that was absolutely false. 25:25 Rep. Stacey Plaskett (D-VI): And the Republicans have brought in two of Elon Musk's public scribes to release cherry-picked, out-of-context emails and screenshots designed to promote his chosen narrative, Elon Musk's chosen narrative, that is now being paroted by the Republicans, because the Republicans think that these witnesses will tell a story that's going to help them out politically. 25:50 Rep. Stacey Plaskett (D-VI): On Tuesday, the majority released an 18 page report claiming to show that the FTC is quote, "harassing" Twitter -- oh my poor Twitter -- including by seeking information about its interactions with individuals before us today. How did the report reach this conclusion? By showing two single paragraphs from a single demand letter, even though the report itself makes clear that there were numerous demand letters with numerous requests, none of which we've been able to see, that are more demand letters and more requests of Twitter. 28:05 Rep. Stacey Plaskett (D-VI): Mr. Chairman, Americans can see through this. Musk is helping you out politically and you're going out of your way to promote and protect him and to praise him for his work. 28:15 Rep. Stacey Plaskett (D-VI): This isn't just a matter of what data was given to these so-called journalists before us now. 31:35 Rep. Stacey Plaskett (D-VI): Mr. Chairman, I'm not exaggerating when I say that you have called before you two witnesses who pose a direct threat to people who oppose them. 32:30 Rep. Stacey Plaskett (D-VI): We know this is because at the first hearing, the Chairman claimed that big government and big tech colluded to shape and mold the narrative and suppress information and censor Americans. This is a false narrative. We're engaging in false narratives here and we are going to tell the truth. 37:35 Michael Shellenberger: I recognize that the law allows Facebook, Twitter, and other private companies to moderate content on their platforms and I support the right of governments to communicate with the public, including to dispute inaccurate information, but government officials have been caught repeatedly pushing social media platforms to censor disfavored users and content. Often these acts of censorship threaten the legal protection social media companies need to exist, Section 230. If government officials are directing or facilitating such censorship, and as one law professor, it raises serious First Amendment questions. It is axiomatic that the government cannot do indirectly what it is prohibited from doing directly. 41:50 Matt Taibbi: My name is Matt Taibbi, I've been a reporter for 30 years and a staunch advocate of the First Amendment. Much of that time was spent at Rolling Stone magazine. Ranking Member Plaskett, I'm not a "so-called" journalist. I've won the National Magazine Award, the I.F Stone Award for Independent Journalism, and I've written 10 books, including four New York Times bestsellers. 45:35 Matt Taibbi: Ordinary Americans are not just being reported to Twitter for deamplification or deplatforming, but to firm's like Pay Pal, digital advertisers like Xandr, and crowdfunding sites like GoFundMe. These companies can and do refuse service to law abiding people and businesses whose only crime is falling afoul of a distant, faceless, unaccountable, algorithmic judge. 44:00 Matt Taibbi: Again, Ranking Member Plaskett, I would note that the evidence of Twitter-government relationship includes lists of tens of thousands of names on both the left and right. The people affected include Trump supporters, but also left leaning sites like Consortium and Truthout, the leftist South American channel TeleSUR, the Yellow Vest movement. That, in fact, is a key point of the Twitter files, that it's neither a left nor right issue. 44:40 Matt Taibbi: We learned Twitter, Facebook, Google and other companies developed a formal system for taking in moderation requests from every corner of government from the FBI, the DHS, the HHS, DOD, the Global Engagement Center at [the Department of] State, even the CIA. For every government agency scanning Twitter, there were perhaps 20 quasi private entities doing the same thing, including Stanford's Election Integrity Partnership, Newsguard, the Global Disinformation Index, and many others, many taxpayer funded. A focus of this fast growing network, as Mike noted, is making lists of people whose opinions beliefs, associations, or sympathies are deemed misinformation, disinformation or malinformation. That last term is just a euphemism for true but inconvenient. Undeniably, the making of such lists is a form of digital McCarthyism. 1:01:00 Matt Taibbi: So, a great example of this is a report that the Global Engagement Center sent to Twitter and to members of the media and other platforms about what they called "the Pillars of Russian Disinformation." Now, part of this report is what you would call, I think you would call, traditional hardcore intelligence gathering where they made a reasoned, evidence baseed case that certain sites were linked to Russian influence or linked to the Russian government. In addition to that, however, they also said that sites that quote, "generate their own momentum," and have opinions that are in line with those accounts are part of a propaganda ecosystem. Now, this is just another word for guilt by association. And this is the problem with the whole idea of trying to identify which accounts are actually the Internet Research Agency and which ones are just people who follow those accounts or retweeted them. Twitter initially did not find more than a handful of IRA accounts. It wasn't until they got into an argument with the Senate Select Intelligence Committee that they came back with a different answer. 1:06:00 Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL): Before you became Elon Musk's handpicked journalists, and pardon the oxymoron, you stated this on Joe Rogan's podcast about being spoon fed information. And I quote, "I think that's true of any kind of journalism," and you'll see it behind me here. "I think that's true of any kind of journalism. Once you start getting handed things, then you've lost. They have you at that point and you got to get out of that habit. You just can't cross that line." Do you still believe what you told Mr. Rogan? Yes or no? Yes or no? Matt Taibbi: Yes. Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL): Good. Now, you crossed that line with the Twitter files. Matt Taibbi: No. Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL): Elon Musk -- It's my time, please do not interrupt me. Crowd: [laughter] Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL): Elon Musk spoon fed you his cherry-picked information, which you must have suspected promotes a slanted viewpoint, or at the very least generates another right wing conspiracy theory. 1:11:20 Matt Taibbi: That moment on the Joe Rogan show, I was actually recounting a section from Seymour Hersh's book, Reporter, where he described a scene where the CIA gave him a story and he was very uncomfortable. He said that "I, who had always gotten the secrets, was being handed the secrets." Again, I've done lots of whistleblower stories. There's always a balancing test that you make when you're given material, and you're always balancing newsworthiness versus the motives of your sources. In this case, the newsworthiness clearly outweighed any other considerations. I think everybody else who worked on the project agrees. 1:14:45 Rep. Dan Bishop (R-NC): Richard Stengel, you know who that is? Matt Taibbi: Yes, he's the former, the first head of the Global Engagement Center. Rep. Dan Bishop (R-NC): I want the American people to hear from him for 30 seconds. Richard Stengel: Basically, every country creates their own narrative story. And, you know, my old job at the State Department was what people used to joke as the "chief propagandist" job. We haven't talked about propaganda. Propaganda. I'm not against propaganda. Every country does it, and they have to do it to their own population. 1:24:20 Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH): December 13, the very first letter that the FTC sends to Twitter after the Twitter files, 11 days after the first Twitter file, there have been five of them come out, the FTC's first demand in that first letter after the Twitter files come out is identify all journalists. I'm quoting "identify all journalists and other members of the media" to whom Twitter worked with. You find that scary, Mr. Taibbi, that you got a federal government agency asking a private company who in the press are you talking with? Matt Taibbi: I do find it scary. I think it's none of the government's business which journalists a private company talks to and why. I think every journalist should be concerned about that. And the absence of interest in that issue by my fellow colleagues in the mainstream media is an indication of how low the business has sunk. There was once a real esprit de corps and camaraderie within Media. Whenever one of us was gone after, we all kind of rose to the challenge and supported -- Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH): It used to be, used to be the case. Matt Taibbi: Yeah, that is gone now. 1:28:50 Rep. Stacey Plaskett (D-VI): How many emails did Mr. Musk give you access to? Michael Shellenberger: I mean, we went through thousands of emails. Rep. Stacey Plaskett (D-VI): Did he give you access to all of the emails for the time period in which? Michael Shellenberger: We never had a single, I never had a single request denied. And not only that, but the amount of files that we were given were so voluminous that there was no way that anybody could have gone through them beforehand. And we never found an instance where there was any evidence that anything had been taken out. Rep. Stacey Plaskett (D-VI): Okay. So you would believe that you have probably millions of emails and documents, right? That's correct, would you say? Michael Shellenberger: I don't know if -- I think the number is less than that. Matt Taibbi: Millions sounds too high. Rep. Stacey Plaskett (D-VI): Okay. 100,000? Matt Taibbi: That's probably closer. Michael Shellenberger: Probably, yeah. Rep. Stacey Plaskett (D-VI): So 100,000 that both of you were seeing. 1:37:10 Matt Taibbi: There were a couple of very telling emails that wepublished. One was by a lawyer named [Sasha Cardiel???], where the company was being so overwhelmed by requests from the FBI and in fact they, they gave each other a sort of digital High Five after one batch, saying "that was a monumental undertaking to clear all of these," but she noted that she believed that the FBI was essentially doing word searches keyed to Twitter's Terms of Service, looking for violations of the Terms of Service, specifically so that they could make recommendations along those lines, which we found interesting. 1:48:15 Michael Shellenberger: And we haven't talked about Facebook, but we now know that we have the White House demanding that Facebook take down factual information and Facebook doing that. 1:48:25 Michael Shellenberger: And with Matt [Taibbi]'s thread this morning we saw the government contractors demanding the same thing of Twitter: accurate information, they said, that needed to be taken down in order to advance a narrative. 1:49:55 Matt Taibbi: You know, in conjunction with our own research, there's a foundation, the Foundation for Freedom Online, which, you know, there's a very telling video that they uncovered where the Director of Stanford's Election Integrity Partnership (EIP) talks about how CISA, the DHS agency, didn't have the capability to do election monitoring, and so that they kind of stepped in to "fill the gaps" legally before that capability could be amped up. And what we see in the Twitter files is that Twitter executives did not distinguish between DHS or CISA and this group EIP, for instance, we would see a communication that said, from CISA, escalated by EIP. So they were essentially identical in the eyes of the company. EIP is, by its own data, and this is in reference to what you brought up, Mr. Congressman, according to their own data, they significantly targeted more what they call disinformation on the right than on the left, by a factor I think of about ten to one. And I say that as not a Republican at all, it's just the fact of what we're looking at. So yes, we have come to the realization that this bright line that we imagine that exists between, say the FBI or the DHS, or the GEC and these private companies is illusory and that what's more important is this constellation of kind of quasi private organizations that do this work. 1:52:10 Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX): What was the first time that Mr. Musk approached you about writing the Twitter files? Matt Taibbi: Again, Congresswoman that would — Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX): I just need a date, sir. Matt Taibbi: But I can't give it to you, unfortunately, because this this is a question of sourcing, and I don't give up... I'm a journalist, I don't reveal my sources. Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX): It's a question of chronology. Matt Taibbi: No, that's a question of sourcing — Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX): Earlier you said that someone had sent you, through the internet, some message about whether or not you would be interested in some information. Matt Taibbi: Yes. And I refer to that person as a source. Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX): So you're not going to tell us when Musk first approached you? Matt Taibbi: Again, Congresswoman, you're asking me, you're asking a journalist to reveal a source. Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX): You consider Mr. Musk to be the direct source of all this? Matt Taibbi: No, now you're trying to get me to say that he is the source. I just can't answer — Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX): Either he is or he isn't. If you're telling me you can't answer because it's your source, well, then the only logical conclusion is that he is in fact, your source. Matt Taibbi: Well, you're free to conclude that. Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX): Well, sir, I just don't understand. You can't have it both ways. But let's move on because -- Unknown Representative 1: No, he can. He's a journalist. Unknown Representative 2: He can't, because either Musk is the source and he can't talk about it, or Musk is not the source. And if Musk is not the source, then he can discuss [unintelligible] Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH): No one has yielded, the gentlelady is out of order, you don't get to speak — Multiple speakers: [Crosstalk] Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH): The gentlelady is not recognized...[crosstalk]...he has not said that, what he has said is he's not going to reveal his source. And the fact that Democrats are pressuring him to do so is such a violation of the First Amendment. Multiple speakers: [Crosstalk] Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX): I have not yielded time to anybody. I want to reclaim my time. And I would ask the chairman to give me back some of the time because of the interruption. Mr. Chairman, I am asking you, if you will give me the seconds that I lost. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH): We will give you that 10 seconds. Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX): Thank you. Now let's talk about another item. When you responded to the ranking member, you said that you had free license to look at everything but yet you yourself posted on your...I guess it's kind of like a web page...I don't quite understand what Substack is, but what I can say is that "in exchange for the opportunity to cover a unique and explosive story, I had to agree to certain conditions." What were those conditions? She asked you that question and you said you had none. But you yourself posted that you had conditions? Matt Taibbi: The conditions, as I've explained multiple times -- Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX): No sir, you have not explained, you told her in response to her question that you had no conditions. In fact, you used the word licensed, that you were free to look at all of them. All 100,000 emails. Matt Taibbi: The question was posed, was I free to to write about — Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX): Sir, did you have any conditions? Matt Taibbi: The condition was that we publish — Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX): Sir, did you have any conditions? Yes or no? A simple question. Matt Taibbi: Yes. Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX): All right. Could you tell us what conditions those were? Matt Taibbi: The conditions were an attribution of sources at Twitter and that we break any news on Twitter. Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX): But you didn't break it on Twitter. Did you send the file that you released today to Twitter first? Matt Taibbi: Did I send the...actually I did, yes. Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX): Did you send it to Twitter first? Matt Taibbi: The Twitter files thread? Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX): That was one of the conditions? Yes or no, sir. Matt Taibbi: The Twitter files thread actually did come out first. Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX): But sir, you said earlier that you had to attribute all the sources to Twitter first. What you released today, did you send that to Twitter first? Matt Taibbi: No, no, no, I post I posted it on Twitter Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX): First. First, sir, or did you give it to the Chairman of the Committee or the staff of the Committee first? Matt Taibbi: Well, that's not breaking the story, that's giving...I did give — Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX): So you gave all the information that you did not give to the Democrats, you gave it to the Republicans first, then you put it on Twitter? Matt Taibbi: Actually, no, the chronology is a little bit confused. Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX): Well then tell us what the chronology was. Matt Taibbi: I believe the thread came out first. Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX): Where? Matt Taibbi: On Twitter Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX): On Twitter. So then you afterwards gave it to the Republicans, and not the Democrats? Matt Taibbi: Yes, because I'm submitting it for the record as my statement. Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX): Did you give it to him in advance? Matt Taibbi: I gave it to them today. Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX): You gave it to them today, but you still have not given anything to the Democrats. Well, I'll move on. 1:57:20 Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX): Now in your discussion, in your answer, you also said that you were invited by a friend, Bari Weiss? Michael Shellenberger: My friend, Bari Weiss. Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX): So this friend works for Twitter, or what is her....? Matt Taibbi: She's a journalist. Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX): Sir, I didn't ask you a question. I'm now asking Mr. Shellenberger a question. Michael Shellenberger: Yes, ma'am, Bari Weiss is a journalist. Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX): I'm sorry, sir? Michael Shellenberger: She's a journalist. Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX): She's a journalist. So you work in concert with her? Michael Shellenberger: Yeah. Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX): Do you know when she first was contacted by Mr. Musk? Michael Shellenberger: I don't know. Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX): You don't know. So you're in this as a threesome? 2:00:10 Michael Shellenberger: Reading through the whole sweep of events, I do not know the extent to which the influence operation aimed at "pre-bunking" the Hunter Biden laptop was coordinated. I don't know who all was involved. But what we saw was, you saw Aspen and Stanford, many months before then, saying don't cover the material in the hack and leak without emphasizing the fact that it could be disinformation. Okay, so they're priming journalists to not cover a future hack and leak in a way that journalists have long been trained to in the tradition of the Pentagon Papers, made famous by the Steven Spielberg movie. They were saying [to] cover the fact that it probably came from the Russians. Then you have the former General Counsel to the FBI, Jim Baker, and the former Deputy Chief of Staff to the FBI, both arriving at Twitter in the summer of 2020, which I find, what an interesting coincidence. Then, when the New York Post publishes its first article on October 14, it's Jim Baker who makes the most strenuous argument within Twitter, multiple emails, multiple messages saying this doesn't look real. There's people, there's intelligence experts, saying that this could be Russian disinformation. He is the most strenuous person inside Twitter arguing that it's probably Russian disinformation. The internal evaluation by Yoel Roth, who testified in front of this committee, was that it was what it looked to be, which was that it was not a result of a hack and leak operation. And why did he think that? Because the New York Post had published the FBI subpoena taking the laptop in December of 2019. And they published the agreement that the computer store owner had with Hunter Biden that gave him permission, after he abandoned the laptop, to use it however he wanted. So there really wasn't much doubt about the provenance of that laptop. But you had Jim Baker making a strenuous argument. And then, of course, you get to a few days after the October 14 release, you have the president of the United States echoing what these former intelligence community officials were saying, which is that it looked like a Russian influence operation. So they were claiming that the laptop was made public by the conspiracy theory that somehow the Russians got it. And basically, they convinced Yoel Roth of this wild hack and leak story that somehow the Russians stole it, got the information, gave us the computer, it was bizarre. So you read that chain of events, and it appears as though there is an organized influence operation to pre-bunk.... Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH): Why do you think they could predict the time, the method, and the person? Why could the FBI predict it? Not only did they predict this, they predicted it, so did the Aspen Institute, seemed like everyone was in the know saying, here's what's gonna happen, we can read the future. Why do you think, how do you think they were able to do that? Michael Shellenberger: I think the most important fact to know is that the FBI had that laptop in December 2019. They were also spying on Rudy Giuliani when he got the laptop and when he gave it to the New York Post. Now, maybe the FBI agents who are going to Mark Zuckerberg at Facebook and Twitter executives and warning of a hack and leak, potentially involving Hunter Biden, maybe those guys didn't have anything to do with the guys that had the top. We don't know that. I have to say, as a newcomer to this, as somebody that thought it was Russian disinformation in 2020, everybody I knew thought it was Russian disinformation, I was shocked to see that series of events going on. It looks to me like a deliberate influence operation. I don't have the proof of it, but the circumstantial evidence is pretty disturbing. 2:14:30 Matt Taibbi: We found, just yesterday, a Tweet from the Virality Project at Stanford, which was partnered with a number of government agencies, and Twitter, where they talked explicitly about censoring stories of true vaccine side effects and other true stories that they felt encouraged hesitancy. Now the imp— Unknown Representative: So these were true. Matt Taibbi: Yes. So they use the word truth three times in this email, and what's notable about this is that it reflects the fundamental misunderstanding of this whole disinformation complex, anti-disinformation complex. They believe that ordinary people can't handle difficult truths. And so they think that they need minders to separate out things that are controversial or difficult for them, and that's again, that's totally contrary to what America is all about, I think. 2:17:30 Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY): Of course we all believe in the First Amendment, but the First Amendment applies to government prohibition of speech, not to private companies. 2:33:00 Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY): And even with, Twitter you cannot find actual evidence of any direct government censorship of any lawful speech. 2:33:20 Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH): I'd ask unanimous consent to enter into the record the following email from Clarke Humphrey, Executive Office of the Presidency, White House Office, January 23, 2021. That's the Biden Administration. 4:39am: "Hey folks," this goes to Twitter, "Hey folks, wanted..." they used the term Mr. Goldman just used, "wanted to flag the below Tweet, and I'm wondering if we can get moving on the process for having it removed ASAP." 2:35:40 Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA): He said the First Amendment applies to government censorship of speech and not private companies, but what we're talking about and what the Chairman just illustrated is that what we have here and what your Twitter files show is the Federal government has partnered with private companies to censor and silence the speech of American citizens. 2:29:20 Matt Taibbi: In the first Twitter files, we saw an exchange between Representative Ro Khanna and Vijaya Gadde, where he's trying to explain the basics of speech law in America and she's completely, she seems completely unaware of what, for instance, New York Times v. Sullivan is. There are other cases like Bartnicki v. Vopper, which legalized the publication of stolen material, that's very important for any journalists to know. I think most of these people are tech executives, and they don't know what the law is around speech and around reporting. And in this case, and in 2016, you are dealing with true material. There is no basis to restrict the publication of true material no matter who the sources and how you get it. And journalists have always understood that and this has never been an issue or a controversial issue until very recently. 2:44:40 Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL): Would you agree that there was a black list created in 2021? Michael Shellenberger: Sorry, yes, Jay Bhattacharya, the Stanford Professor, who I don't think anybody considers a fringe epidemiologist, was indeed -- I'm sorry, I couldn't, I didn't piece it together -- he was indeed visibility filtered. Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL): Correct. And so this blacklist that was created, that really was used to de-platform, reduce visibility, create lists internally, where people couldn't even see their profiles, that was used against doctors and scientists who produced information that was contrary to what the CDC was putting out, despite the fact that we now know that what they were publishing had scientific basis and in fact was valid. Michael Shellenberger: Absolutely. And not only that, but these are secret blacklists, so Professor Bhattacharya had no idea he was on it. 43:05 Matt Taibbi: The original promise of the internet was that it might democratize the exchange of information globally. A free internet would overwhelm all attempts to control information flow, its very existence a threat to anti-democratic forms of government everywhere. What we found in the Files was a sweeping effort to reverse that promise and use machine learning and other tools to turn the Internet into an instrument of censorship and social control. Unfortunately, our own government appears to be playing a lead role. We saw the first hints and communications between Twitter executives before the 2020 election, when we read things like "flagged by DHS," or "please see attached report from FBI for potential misinformation." This would be attached to an Excel spreadsheet with a long list of names, whose accounts were often suspended shortly after. #1940 - Matt Taibbi February 13, 2023 The Joe Rogan Experience Clips Matt Taibbi: So this is another topic that is fascinating because it hasn't gotten a ton of press. But if you go back all the way to the early 70s, the CIA and the FBI got in a lot of trouble for various things, the CIA for assassination schemes involving people like Castro, the FBI for, you know, COINTELPRO and other programs, domestic surveillance, and they made changes after Congressional hearings, the Church Committee, that basically said the FBI, from now on, you have to have some kind of reason to be following somebody or investigating somebody, you have to have some kind of criminal predicate and we want you mainly to be investigating cases. But after 9/11 they peeled all this back. There was a series of Attorney General memos that essentially re-fashioned what the FBI does, and now they don't have to be doing crimefighting all the time. Now they can be doing basically 100% intelligence gathering all the time. They can be infiltrating groups for no reason at all, not to build cases, but just to get information. And so that's why they're there. They're in these groups, they're posted up outside of the homes of people they find suspicious, but they're not building cases and they're not investigating crimes. It's sort of like Minority Report there, right? It's pre-crime. Matt Taibbi: We see reports in these files of government agencies sending lists of accounts that are accusing the United States of vaccine corruption. Now, what they're really talking about is pressuring foreign countries to not use generic vaccines. Right. And, you know, that's a liberal issue, that's a progressive issue. The progressives want generic vaccines to be available to poor countries, okay? But, you know, you can use this tool to eliminate speech about that if you want too, right? I think that's what they don't get is that the significance is not who [it's used against], the significance is the tool. What is it capable of doing, right? How easily is it employed, and you know, how often is it used? And they don't focus on that. Joe Rogan: Has anything been surprising to you? Matt Taibbi: A little bit. I think going into it, I thought that the relationship between the security agencies like the FBI and the DHS and companies like Twitter and Facebook, I thought it was a little bit less formal. I thought maybe they had kind of an advisory role. And what we find is that it's not that, it's very formalized. They have a really intense structure that they've worked out over a period of years where they have regular meetings. They have a system where the DHS handles censorship requests that come up from the States and the FBI handles international ones, and they all float all these companies and it's a big bureaucracy. I don't think we expected to see that. Matt Taibbi: I was especially shocked by an email from a staffer for Adam Schiff, the Congressperson, the California Congressman. And they're just outright saying we would like you to suspend the accounts of this journalist and anybody who retweets information about this Committee. You know, I mean, this is a member of Congress. Joe Rogan: Yeah. Matt Taibbi: Right? Most of these people have legal backgrounds. They've got lawyers in the office for sure. And this is the House Intelligence Committee. Protecting Speech from Government Interference and Social Media Bias, Part 1: Twitter's Role in Suppressing the Biden Laptop Story February 8, 2023 House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Witnesses: Vijaya Gadde, Former Chief Legal Officer, Twitter James Baker, Former Deputy General Counsel, Twitter Yoel Roth, Former Global Head of Trust & Safety, Twitter Annika Collier Navaroli, Former Policy Expert for Content Moderation, Twitter Clips 14:50 Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD): What's more, Twitter's editorial decision has been analyzed and debated ad nauseam. Some people think it was the right decision. Some people think it was the wrong decision. But the key point here is that it was Twitter's decision. Twitter is a private media company. In America, private media companies can decide what to publish or how to curate content however they want. If Twitter wants to have nothing but Tweets commenting on New York Post articles run all day, it can do that. If it makes such tweets mentioning New York Post never see the light of day they can do that too. That's what the First Amendment means. 16:05 Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD): Officially Twitter happens to think they got it wrong about that day or two period. In hindsight, Twitter's former CEO Jack Dorsey called it a mistake. This apology might be a statement of regret about the company being overly cautious about the risks of publishing contents and potentially hacked or stolen materials, or it may reflect craven surrender to a right wing pressure campaign. But however you interpreted the apology just makes the premise of this hearing all the more absurd. The professional conspiracy theorists who are heckling and haranguing this private company have already gotten exactly what they want: an apology. What more do they want? And why does the US Congress have to be involved in this nonsense when we have serious work to do for the American people? 26:20 James Baker: The law permits the government to have complex, multifaceted, and long term relationships with the private sector. Law enforcement agencies and companies can engage with each other regarding, for example, compulsory legal process served on companies, criminal activity that companies, the government, or the public identify, such as crimes against children, cybersecurity threats, and terrorism, and instances where companies themselves are victims of crime. When done properly, these interactions can be beneficial to both sides and in the interest of the public. As you Mr. Chairman, Mr. Jordan, and others have proposed, a potential workable way to legislate in this area may be to focus on the actions of federal government agencies and officials with respect to their engagement with the private sector. Congress may be able to limit the nature and scope of those interactions in certain ways, require enhanced transparency and reporting by the executive branch about its engagements, and require higher level approvals within the executive branch prior to such engagements on certain topics, so that you can hold Senate confirmed officials, for example, accountable for those decisions. In any event, if you want to legislate, my recommendation is to focus first on reasonable and effective limitations on government actors. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 31:05 Vijaya Gadde: On October 14, 2020, The New York Post tweeted articles about Hunter Biden's laptop with embedded images that looked like they may have been obtained through hacking. In 2018, we had developed a policy intended to prevent Twitter from becoming a dumping ground for hacked materials. We applied this policy to the New York Post tweets and blocked links to the articles embedding those sorts of materials. At no point to Twitter otherwise prevent tweeting, reporting, discussing or describing the contents of Mr. Biden's laptop. People could and did talk about the contents of the laptop on Twitter or anywhere else, including other much larger platforms, but they were prevented from sharing the primary documents on Twitter. Still, over the course of that day, it became clear that Twitter had not fully appreciated the impact of that policy on free press and others. As Mr. Dorsey testified before Congress on multiple occasions, Twitter changed its policy within 24 hours and admitted its initial action was wrong. This policy revision immediately allowed people to tweet the original articles with the embedded source materials, relying on its long standing practice not to retroactively apply new policies. Twitter informed the New York Post that it could immediately begin tweeting when it deleted the original tweets, which would have freed them to retweet the same content again. The New York Post chose not to delete its original tweets, so Twitter made an exception after two weeks to retroactively apply the new policy to the Post's tweets. In hindsight, Twitter should have reinstated the Post account immediately. 35:35 Yoel Roth: In 2020, Twitter noticed activity related to the laptop that at first glance bore a lot of similarities to the 2016 Russian hack and leak operation targeting the DNC, and we had to decide what to do. And in that moment with limited information, Twitter made a mistake. 36:20 Yoel Roth: It isn't obvious what the right response is to a suspected, but not confirmed, cyber attack by another government on a Presidential Election. I believe Twitter erred in this case because we wanted to avoid repeating the mistakes of 2016. 38:41 Annika Collier Navaroli: I joined Twitter in 2019 and by 2020 I was the most senior expert on Twitter's U.S. Safety Policy Team. My team's mission was to protect free speech and public safety by writing and enforcing content moderation policies around the world. These policies include things like abuse, harassment, hate speech, violence and privacy. 41:20 Annika Collier Navaroli: With January 6 and many other decisions, content moderators like me did the very best that we could. But far too often there are far too few of us and we are being asked to do the impossible. For example, in January 2020 after the US assassinated an Iranian General and the US president decided to justify it on Twitter, management literally instructed me and my team to make sure that World War III did not start on the platform. 1:08:20 Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC): Did the US government ever contact you or anyone at Twitter to censor or moderate certain Tweets, yes or no? Vijaya Gadde: We receive legal demands to remove content from the platform from the US government and governments all around the world. Those are published on a third party website. 1:12:00 Yoel Roth: The number one most influential part of the Russian active measures campaign in 2016 was the hack and leak targeting John Podesta. It would have been foolish not to consider the possibility that they would run that play again. 1:44:45 Yoel Roth: I think one of the key failures that we identified after 2016 was that there was very little information coming from the government and from intelligence services to the private sector. The private sector had the power to remove bots and to take down foreign disinformation campaigns, but we didn't always know where to look without leads supplied by the intelligence community. That was one of the failures highlighted in the Senate Intelligence Committee's report and in the Mueller investigation, and that was one of the things we set out to fix in 2017. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA): On September 8 2019, at 11:11pm, Donald Trump heckled two celebrities on Twitter -- John Legend and his wife Chrissy Teigen -- and referred to them as "the musician John Legend and his filthy mouth wife." Ms. Teigen responded to that email [Tweet] at 12:17am. And according to notes from a conversation with you, Ms. Navaroli's, counsel, your counsel, the White House almost immediately thereafter contacted Twitter to demand the tweet be taken down. Is that accurate? Annika Collier Navaroli: Thank you for the question. In my role, I was not responsible for receiving any sort of request from the government. However, what I was privy to was my supervisors letting us know that we had received something along those lines or something of a request. And in that particular instance, I do remember hearing that we had received a request from the White House to make sure that we evaluated this tweet, and that they wanted it to come down because it was a derogatory statement towards the President. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA): They wanted it to come down. They made that request. Annika Collier Navaroli: To my recollection, yes. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA): I thought that was an inappropriate action by a government official, let alone the White House. But it wasn't Joe Biden, about his son's laptop. It was Donald Trump because he didn't like what Chrissy Teigen had to say about him, is that correct? Annika Collier Navaroli: Yes, that is correct. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA): My, my, my. 1:45:15 Rep. Shontel Brown (D-OH): Mr. Roth, were those communication channels useful to Twitter as they work to combat foreign influence operations? Yoel Roth: Absolutely, I would say they were one of the most essential pieces of how Twitter prepared for future elections. 2:42:35 Rep. Becca Balint (D-VA): Ms. Gadde, did anyone from the Biden campaign or the Democratic National Committee direct Twitter to remove or take action against the New York Post story? Vijaya Gadde: No. 4:15:45 Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND): And now we forward to 2020. And earlier you had testified that you were having regular interactions with National Intelligence, Homeland Security and the FBI. Yoel Roth: Yes, I did. Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND): And primarily to deal with foreign interference? Yoel Roth: Primarily, but I would say -- Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND): But you had said earlier your contact with Agent Chang was primarily with foreign interference? Yoel Roth: Yes, that's right. Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND): And these were emails....were there meetings? Yoel Roth: Yes, Twitter met quarterly with the FBI Foreign Interference Task Force and we had those meetings running for a number of years to share information about malign foreign interference. Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND): Agents from Homeland Security or Intelligence, or just primarily the FBI? Yoel Roth: Our primary contacts were with the FBI and in those quarterly meetings, they were, I believe, exclusively with FBI personnel. 4:18:05 Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND): Earlier today you testified that you were following national security experts on Twitter as a reason to take down the New York Post story on Hunter Biden's laptop. Yoel Roth: Yes, sir, I did. Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND): So after 2016, you set up all these teams to deal with Russian interference, foreign interference, you're having regular meetings with the FBI, you have connections with all of these different government agencies, and you didn't reach out to them once? Yoel Roth: Is that question in reference to the day of the New York Post article? Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND): Yeah. Yoel Roth: That's right. We generally did not reach out to the FBI to consult on content moderation decisions, especially where they related to domestic activity. It's not that we wouldn't have liked that information, we certainly would have. It's that I don't believe it would have been appropriate for us to consult with the FBI. Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND): In December of 2020, you did a declaration to the Federal Election Commission that the intelligence community expected a leak and a hack operation involving Hunter Biden. Recently, Mark Zuckerberg confirmed that the FBI warned Meta that there was a high effort of Russian propaganda including language specific enough to fit the Hunter Biden laptop security story. You're talking to these people for weeks and months, years prior to this leaking. They have specifically told you in October, that there's going to be a leak potentially involving Hunter Biden's laptop. They legitimately and literally prophesized what happened. And you didn't contact any of them? Yoel Roth: No, sir, I did not. Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND): Did they reach out to you? Yoel Roth: On and around that day, to the best of my recollection, no, they did not. Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND): After the story was taken down and you guys did it, and you personally disagreed with it Ms. Gadde, did you contact them and say is "Hey, is this what you were talking about?" Yoel Roth: If that question was directed to me. No, I did not. Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND): Ms. Gadde, did you talk to anybody from the FBI? Vijaya Gadde: Not to the best of my recollection. Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND): So I guess my question is, what is the point of this program? You have constant communication, they're set up for foreign interference. They've legitimately warned you about this very specific thing. And then all of a sudden, everybody just walks away? 5:18:55 Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM): We are devoting an entire day to this conspiracy theory involving Twitter. Now, the mission of this committee is to root out waste, fraud and abuse and to conduct oversight on behalf of the American people. And if you need any evidence of waste, fraud and abuse, how about the use of this committee's precious time, space and resources to commit to this hearing? 5:58:25 Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO): Back to Mr. Roth, is it true that Twitter whitelisted accounts for the Department of Defense to spread propaganda about its efforts in the Middle East? Did they give you a list of accounts that were fake accounts and asked you to whitelist those accounts? Yoel Roth: That request was made of Twitter. To be clear, when I found out about that activity, I was appalled by it. I undid the action and my team exposed activity originating from the Department of Defense's campaign publicly. We've shared that data with the world and research about it has been published. 6:07:20 Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH): Mr. Roth, I want to go back to your statement in your declaration to the FEC "I learned that a hack and leak operation would involve Hunter Biden," who did you learn that from? Yoel Roth: My recollection is it was mentioned by another technology company in one of our joint meetings, but I don't recall specifically whom. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH): You don't know the person's name? Yoel Roth: I don't even recall what company they worked at. No, this was a long time ago. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH): And you're confident that it was from a tech company, not from someone from the government? Yoel Roth: To the best of my recollection, yes. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH): Did anyone from the government, in these periodic meetings you had, did they ever tell you that a hack and leak operation involving Hunter Biden was coming? Yoel Roth: No. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH): Did Hunter Biden's name come up at all these meetings? Yoel Roth: Yes, his name was raised in those meetings, but not by the government to the best of my recollection. 6:09:30 Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH): Mr. Roth, why were you reluctant, based on what I read in the Twitter files, why were you reluctant to work with the GEC? Yoel Roth: It was my understanding that the GEC, or the Global Engagement Center of the State Department, had previously engaged in at least what some would consider offensive influence operations. Not that they were offensive as in bad, but offensive as in they targeted entities outside of the United States. And on that basis, I felt that it would be inappropriate for Twitter to engage with a part of the State Department that was engaged in active statecraft. We were dedicated to rooting out malign foreign interference no matter who it came from. And if we found that the American government was engaged in malign foreign interference, we'd be addressing that as well. 6:13:50 Rep. James Comer (R-KY): Twitter is a private company, but they enjoy special liability protections, Section 230. They also, according to the Twitter files, receive millions of dollars from the FBI, which is tax dollars, I would assume. And that makes it a concern of the Oversight Committee. Does Section 230's Sweeping Immunity Enable Big Tech Bad Behavior? October 28, 2020 Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Witnesses: Jack Dorsey, [Former] CEO, Twitter Sundar Pichai, CEO, Alphabet and Google Mark Zuckerberg, CEO, Facebook [Meta] Clips 2:20:40 Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA): The issue is not that the companies before us today are taking too many posts down. The issue is that they're leaving too many dangerous posts up. In fact, they're amplifying harmful content so that it spreads like wildfire and torches our democracy. 3:15:40 Mark Zuckerberg: Senator, as I testified before, we relied heavily on the FBI, his intelligence and alert status both through their public testimony and private briefings. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI): Did the FBI contact you, sir, than your co star? It was false. Mark Zuckerberg: Senator not about that story specifically. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI): Why did you throttle it back? Mark Zuckerberg: They alerted us to be on heightened alert around a risk of hack and leak operations around a release and probe of information. Emerging Trends in Online Foreign Influence Operations: Social Media, COVID-19, and Election Security June 18, 2020 Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Watch on YouTube Witnesses: Nathaniel Gleicher, Head of Security Policy at Facebook Nick Pickles, Director of Global Public Policy Strategy and Development at Twitter Richard Salgado, Director for Law Enforcement and Information Security at Google 1:40:10 Nathaniel Gleicher: Congressman, the collaboration within industry and with government is much, much better than it was in 2016. I think we have found the FBI, for example, to be forward leaning and ready to share information with us when they see it. We share information with them whenever we see indications of foreign interference targeting our election. The best case study for this was the 2018 midterms, where you saw industry, government and civil society all come together, sharing information to tackle these threats. We had a case on literally the eve of the vote, where the FBI gave us a tip about a network of accounts where they identified subtle links to Russian actors. Were able to investigate those and take action on them within a matter of hours. Cover Art Design by Only Child Imaginations Music Presented in This Episode Intro & Exit: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito (found on Music Alley by mevio)

This is Garrison Hardie with your CrossPolitic Daily News Brief for Wednesday, March 22nd, 2023. Hi Contrast Hymn Books If you don’t teach your kids the Lord’s songs, the world will teach them its songs. The brand-new Hi-Contrast Hymn Book is designed to help you teach your children the most beloved songs of the Christian faith. Its captivating illustrations will create special moments of truth, goodness, and beauty in your home every day. To get a copy for your family, go to www.hicontrasthymnbooks.com/FLF. That’s www. “H” “I” contrasthymnbooks.com/FLF. Now to the news… First in world news… https://www.foxnews.com/world/vladimir-putin-xi-jinping-sign-economic-deal-latest-demonstration-friendship-limits Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping sign economic deal in latest demonstration of 'friendship without limits' Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an agreement to expand their economic ties during a bilateral meeting in Moscow on Tuesday. Xi is in Moscow for a multiday series of meetings with his Russian counterpart, aimed at demonstrating the two countries' new "friendship without limits." Xi and Putin emphasized the importance of jointly safeguarding their countries' energy security. Putin touted plans for a gas pipeline from Siberia to China ahead of the meeting, saying the agreement was all-but finalized. "We were just discussing a good project, the new Power of Siberia 2 pipeline via Mongolia. Practically all the parameters of that agreement have been finalized," Putin told Xi at the beginning of the meeting, according to the Financial Times. Beijing has grown increasingly friendly with Moscow over the past year as Putin's invasion of Ukraine left the country largely ostracized on the world stage. Xi's visit comes just days after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for Putin's arrest for war crimes committed in Ukraine. Nevertheless, the pair called each other "dear friend" when they first shook hands on Monday. Putin alleged during Monday's meeting that the Western world is conspiring to stifle Russia and China by "persistently working to split the common Eurasian space into a network of ‘exclusive clubs’ and military blocs that would serve to contain our countries’ development." The exact details of Russia and China's Tuesday economic agreement have yet to be released. Over to Paris… https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/crime-pmn/macrons-government-faces-moment-of-truth-over-pension-reform Protesters set rubbish on fire as French govt barely survives no-confidence vote Protesters set piles of rubbish on fire in central Paris on Monday after President Emmanuel Macron’s government narrowly survived a no-confidence motion in parliament on Monday over a deeply unpopular pension reform. The failure of the no-confidence vote will be a relief to Macron. Had it succeeded, it would have sunk his government and killed the legislation, which is set to raise the retirement age by two years to 64. But the relief proved short-lived. In some of Paris’ most prestigious avenues, firefighters scrambled to put out burning rubbish piles left uncollected for days due to strikes as protesters played cat-and-mouse with police. Earlier on Thursday, a Reuters reporter saw police fire tear gas and briefly charge at protesters after the no-confidence vote barely fell short of enough votes to pass. Unions and opposition parties said they would step up protests to try and force a u-turn. The vote on the tripartisan, no-confidence motion was closer than expected. Some 278 MPs backed it, just nine short of the 287 needed for it to succeed. As soon as the failure of the no-confidence vote was announced, lawmakers from the hard left (LFI, France Unbowed) shouted “Resign!” at Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne and brandished placards that read: “We’ll meet in the streets.” In the southwestern city of Bordeaux, about 200-300 people, mostly youngsters, gathered against the reform and chanted: “Macron, resign!” A couple of trash bins were lit on fire as the crowd chanted: “This will blow up.” Over the past three nights, clashes over the pension reform, in Paris and throughout the country, have been reminiscent of the Yellow Vest protests that erupted in late 2018 over high fuel prices. A ninth nationwide day of strikes and protests is scheduled on Thursday. “Nothing undermines the mobilization of workers,” the hardline CGT union said after the vote, calling on workers to step up industrial action and “participate massively in rolling strikes and demonstrations.” Opposition parties will also challenge the bill in the Constitutional Council, which could decide to strike down some or all of it – if it considers it breaches the constitution. A second motion of no confidence, tabled by the far-right National Rally (RN), also failed, after it gathered only 94 votes. Other opposition parties said they would not vote for it. Far-right leader Marine Le Pen said Borne should go. She said Macron should call a referendum on the reform but was unlikely to do so. “He’s deaf to what the French people want,” she told reporters. https://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2023/03/20/this-is-insane-mexican-government-seizes-assets-of-american-company-n2620887 'This Is Insane': Mexican Military Just Seized Assets of an American Company Over the weekend, the Mexican military seized a number of assets belonging to American company Vulcan Materials. "The seizure of a US company's marine terminal in Mexico has drawn criticism from a US senator and risks sparking more tension between the two nations amid spats over energy and security," Bloomberg reports. "US construction firm Vulcan Materials alleges that armed forces, including from the Mexican government, launched a takeover of its facility in the country's southeast on Tuesday. The company says a federal judge in Mexico has ordered a stay on any government effort to confiscate the property." The move prompted national security experts to sound the alarm, calling the situation "insane." Former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe is also weighing in, noting President Joe Biden's continued weakness on the world stage. Last week, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador lashed out after Republicans called for additional tools to use military force against Mexican cartels. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/21/february-home-sales-spike.html Home sales spike 14.5% in February as the median price drops for the first time in over a decade Sales of previously owned homes rose 14.5% in February compared with January, according to a seasonally adjusted count by the National Association of Realtors. That put sales at an annualized rate of 4.58 million units. It was the first monthly gain in 12 months and the largest increase since July 2020, just after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Sales were, however, 22.6% lower than they were in February of last year. These sales counts are based on closings, so the contracts were likely signed at the end of December and throughout January, when mortgage rates had fallen sharply. The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed loan hovered in the low 6% range throughout January after reaching a high of 7% last fall. The relative drop caused a jump in sales of newly built homes, before rates jumped back toward 7% in February. They now stand at 6.67%, according to Mortgage News Daily. “Conscious of changing mortgage rates, home buyers are taking advantage of any rate declines,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the Realtors, in a release. “Moreover, we’re seeing stronger sales gains in areas where home prices are decreasing and the local economies are adding jobs.” Higher mortgage rates have been cooling home prices since last summer, and for the first time in a record 131 consecutive months — nearly 11 years — prices were lower on a year-over-year comparison. The median price of an existing home sold in February was $363,000, a 0.2% decline from February 2022. That lower median price could be a sign that homes on the more affordable end of the market are selling. Sales might have been even higher were it not for what is still very low supply. There were just 980,000 homes for sale at the end of February, according to the Realtors, flat compared with January. At the current sales pace, that represents a 2.6-month supply. A balanced market between buyer and seller is considered a 4- to 6-month supply. “Inventory levels are still at historic lows,” Yun added. “Consequently, multiple offers are returning on a good number of properties.” This could start to heat prices again, but with mortgage rates now higher than they were in January it will be harder for some buyers to compete. All-cash sales accounted for 28% of transactions in February, down from 29% in January but up from 25% in February 2022. Individual investors returned, making up 18% of buyers, up from 16% in January but down from 19% in February 2022. When looking at sales at different price points, they were all down in the range of 20% from February last year, with sales down the most in the top, million-dollar-plus segment. https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/21/politics/idaho-firing-squad-bill/index.html Idaho lawmakers approve bill that would allow execution by firing squad Idaho lawmakers approved a bill Monday that would allow execution by firing squad, according to the legislature’s website. State Rep. Bruce D. Skaug confirmed the move in a statement to CNN. “H186 has now passed the Idaho Senate and House with a veto proof majority,” Skaug wrote in an email to CNN. “Upon signature of the Governor, the state may now more likely carry out justice, as determined by our judicial system, against those who have committed first degree murder.” A total of 24 officials voted for the bill, while 11 voted against it. House Bill 186 will move to Republican Gov. Brad Little’s desk next. The bill stipulates that firing squads will be used only if the state cannot obtain the drugs needed for lethal injections. Several states have struggled to source the drugs required for lethal injection, causing them to pause executions and triggering lawsuits from inmates who argue the injections are inhumane. Additionally, the bill permits Idaho to use firing squads if lethal injections are deemed unconstitutional by a court. A fiscal note tied to the bill explains that refurbishing the Department of Correction to meet “safety and execution requirements for the firing squad” will cost around $750,000. If the bill is signed into law, Idaho will follow South Carolina, which approved the usage of firing squads in March 2022. Three other states permit firing squads, according to the Death Penalty Information Center: Mississippi, Utah and Oklahoma. A firing squad was last used in the US in 2010 to execute convicted murderer Ronnie Lee Gardner in Utah.

This is Garrison Hardie with your CrossPolitic Daily News Brief for Wednesday, March 22nd, 2023. Hi Contrast Hymn Books If you don’t teach your kids the Lord’s songs, the world will teach them its songs. The brand-new Hi-Contrast Hymn Book is designed to help you teach your children the most beloved songs of the Christian faith. Its captivating illustrations will create special moments of truth, goodness, and beauty in your home every day. To get a copy for your family, go to www.hicontrasthymnbooks.com/FLF. That’s www. “H” “I” contrasthymnbooks.com/FLF. Now to the news… First in world news… https://www.foxnews.com/world/vladimir-putin-xi-jinping-sign-economic-deal-latest-demonstration-friendship-limits Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping sign economic deal in latest demonstration of 'friendship without limits' Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an agreement to expand their economic ties during a bilateral meeting in Moscow on Tuesday. Xi is in Moscow for a multiday series of meetings with his Russian counterpart, aimed at demonstrating the two countries' new "friendship without limits." Xi and Putin emphasized the importance of jointly safeguarding their countries' energy security. Putin touted plans for a gas pipeline from Siberia to China ahead of the meeting, saying the agreement was all-but finalized. "We were just discussing a good project, the new Power of Siberia 2 pipeline via Mongolia. Practically all the parameters of that agreement have been finalized," Putin told Xi at the beginning of the meeting, according to the Financial Times. Beijing has grown increasingly friendly with Moscow over the past year as Putin's invasion of Ukraine left the country largely ostracized on the world stage. Xi's visit comes just days after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for Putin's arrest for war crimes committed in Ukraine. Nevertheless, the pair called each other "dear friend" when they first shook hands on Monday. Putin alleged during Monday's meeting that the Western world is conspiring to stifle Russia and China by "persistently working to split the common Eurasian space into a network of ‘exclusive clubs’ and military blocs that would serve to contain our countries’ development." The exact details of Russia and China's Tuesday economic agreement have yet to be released. Over to Paris… https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/crime-pmn/macrons-government-faces-moment-of-truth-over-pension-reform Protesters set rubbish on fire as French govt barely survives no-confidence vote Protesters set piles of rubbish on fire in central Paris on Monday after President Emmanuel Macron’s government narrowly survived a no-confidence motion in parliament on Monday over a deeply unpopular pension reform. The failure of the no-confidence vote will be a relief to Macron. Had it succeeded, it would have sunk his government and killed the legislation, which is set to raise the retirement age by two years to 64. But the relief proved short-lived. In some of Paris’ most prestigious avenues, firefighters scrambled to put out burning rubbish piles left uncollected for days due to strikes as protesters played cat-and-mouse with police. Earlier on Thursday, a Reuters reporter saw police fire tear gas and briefly charge at protesters after the no-confidence vote barely fell short of enough votes to pass. Unions and opposition parties said they would step up protests to try and force a u-turn. The vote on the tripartisan, no-confidence motion was closer than expected. Some 278 MPs backed it, just nine short of the 287 needed for it to succeed. As soon as the failure of the no-confidence vote was announced, lawmakers from the hard left (LFI, France Unbowed) shouted “Resign!” at Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne and brandished placards that read: “We’ll meet in the streets.” In the southwestern city of Bordeaux, about 200-300 people, mostly youngsters, gathered against the reform and chanted: “Macron, resign!” A couple of trash bins were lit on fire as the crowd chanted: “This will blow up.” Over the past three nights, clashes over the pension reform, in Paris and throughout the country, have been reminiscent of the Yellow Vest protests that erupted in late 2018 over high fuel prices. A ninth nationwide day of strikes and protests is scheduled on Thursday. “Nothing undermines the mobilization of workers,” the hardline CGT union said after the vote, calling on workers to step up industrial action and “participate massively in rolling strikes and demonstrations.” Opposition parties will also challenge the bill in the Constitutional Council, which could decide to strike down some or all of it – if it considers it breaches the constitution. A second motion of no confidence, tabled by the far-right National Rally (RN), also failed, after it gathered only 94 votes. Other opposition parties said they would not vote for it. Far-right leader Marine Le Pen said Borne should go. She said Macron should call a referendum on the reform but was unlikely to do so. “He’s deaf to what the French people want,” she told reporters. https://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2023/03/20/this-is-insane-mexican-government-seizes-assets-of-american-company-n2620887 'This Is Insane': Mexican Military Just Seized Assets of an American Company Over the weekend, the Mexican military seized a number of assets belonging to American company Vulcan Materials. "The seizure of a US company's marine terminal in Mexico has drawn criticism from a US senator and risks sparking more tension between the two nations amid spats over energy and security," Bloomberg reports. "US construction firm Vulcan Materials alleges that armed forces, including from the Mexican government, launched a takeover of its facility in the country's southeast on Tuesday. The company says a federal judge in Mexico has ordered a stay on any government effort to confiscate the property." The move prompted national security experts to sound the alarm, calling the situation "insane." Former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe is also weighing in, noting President Joe Biden's continued weakness on the world stage. Last week, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador lashed out after Republicans called for additional tools to use military force against Mexican cartels. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/21/february-home-sales-spike.html Home sales spike 14.5% in February as the median price drops for the first time in over a decade Sales of previously owned homes rose 14.5% in February compared with January, according to a seasonally adjusted count by the National Association of Realtors. That put sales at an annualized rate of 4.58 million units. It was the first monthly gain in 12 months and the largest increase since July 2020, just after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Sales were, however, 22.6% lower than they were in February of last year. These sales counts are based on closings, so the contracts were likely signed at the end of December and throughout January, when mortgage rates had fallen sharply. The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed loan hovered in the low 6% range throughout January after reaching a high of 7% last fall. The relative drop caused a jump in sales of newly built homes, before rates jumped back toward 7% in February. They now stand at 6.67%, according to Mortgage News Daily. “Conscious of changing mortgage rates, home buyers are taking advantage of any rate declines,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the Realtors, in a release. “Moreover, we’re seeing stronger sales gains in areas where home prices are decreasing and the local economies are adding jobs.” Higher mortgage rates have been cooling home prices since last summer, and for the first time in a record 131 consecutive months — nearly 11 years — prices were lower on a year-over-year comparison. The median price of an existing home sold in February was $363,000, a 0.2% decline from February 2022. That lower median price could be a sign that homes on the more affordable end of the market are selling. Sales might have been even higher were it not for what is still very low supply. There were just 980,000 homes for sale at the end of February, according to the Realtors, flat compared with January. At the current sales pace, that represents a 2.6-month supply. A balanced market between buyer and seller is considered a 4- to 6-month supply. “Inventory levels are still at historic lows,” Yun added. “Consequently, multiple offers are returning on a good number of properties.” This could start to heat prices again, but with mortgage rates now higher than they were in January it will be harder for some buyers to compete. All-cash sales accounted for 28% of transactions in February, down from 29% in January but up from 25% in February 2022. Individual investors returned, making up 18% of buyers, up from 16% in January but down from 19% in February 2022. When looking at sales at different price points, they were all down in the range of 20% from February last year, with sales down the most in the top, million-dollar-plus segment. https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/21/politics/idaho-firing-squad-bill/index.html Idaho lawmakers approve bill that would allow execution by firing squad Idaho lawmakers approved a bill Monday that would allow execution by firing squad, according to the legislature’s website. State Rep. Bruce D. Skaug confirmed the move in a statement to CNN. “H186 has now passed the Idaho Senate and House with a veto proof majority,” Skaug wrote in an email to CNN. “Upon signature of the Governor, the state may now more likely carry out justice, as determined by our judicial system, against those who have committed first degree murder.” A total of 24 officials voted for the bill, while 11 voted against it. House Bill 186 will move to Republican Gov. Brad Little’s desk next. The bill stipulates that firing squads will be used only if the state cannot obtain the drugs needed for lethal injections. Several states have struggled to source the drugs required for lethal injection, causing them to pause executions and triggering lawsuits from inmates who argue the injections are inhumane. Additionally, the bill permits Idaho to use firing squads if lethal injections are deemed unconstitutional by a court. A fiscal note tied to the bill explains that refurbishing the Department of Correction to meet “safety and execution requirements for the firing squad” will cost around $750,000. If the bill is signed into law, Idaho will follow South Carolina, which approved the usage of firing squads in March 2022. Three other states permit firing squads, according to the Death Penalty Information Center: Mississippi, Utah and Oklahoma. A firing squad was last used in the US in 2010 to execute convicted murderer Ronnie Lee Gardner in Utah.

Gilles Saint-Paul is Professeur à l'Ecole Normale Supérieure. He is a graduate of Ecole Polytechnique in Engineering and received his PhD from MIT in Economics. Gilles and Steve discuss the French elite education system, the Yellow Vest movement, French politics and populism, and Saint-Paul's paper on marriage markets and hypergamy.0:00 Introduction1:43 Gilles Saint-Paul's background and education6:31 French and American higher elite education14:44 The Yellow Vests41:46 Mating and HypergamyReferences:On the Yellow Vest Insurrectionhttps://gillessaintpaul.wordpress.com/2018/12/18/on-the-yellow-vest-insurrection/Genes, Legitimacy and Hypergamy: Another Look at the Economics of Marriagehttps://ideas.repec.org/p/ide/wpaper/9118.htmlMusic used with permission from Blade Runner Blues Livestream improvisation by State Azure.--Steve Hsu is Professor of Theoretical Physics and of Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at Michigan State University. Previously, he was Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation at MSU and Director of the Institute of Theoretical Science at the University of Oregon. Hsu is a startup founder (SafeWeb, Genomic Prediction, Othram) and advisor to venture capital and other investment firms. He was educated at Caltech and Berkeley, was a Harvard Junior Fellow, and has held faculty positions at Yale, the University of Oregon, and MSU.Please send any questions or suggestions to manifold1podcast@gmail.com or Steve on Twitter @hsu_steve.

OUTLINE of today's show with TIMECODESMegaCities — where are they and how do they fit into the plan for global domination? 2:57 A giant prison in the desert — a Davos dream come true 9:33 Private cars, they say, must be done away with because they're only used 4% of the time. Debunking that argument using mainframes vs personal computers 20:06 The 15-minute city plan — where did it start, what's the purpose and why is close proximity to a PHARMACY a design priority? 30:20 The "15 minute" city, varies from 5-20 in different parts of the world — but they're all following the same plan 37:12 A look at what Paris has done to take the lead and why the "Yellow Vests" pushed back 43:10 They admit — the pandemic lockdowns paved the way and set the precedent 48:29 Canterbury's new zone system. 54:43 Now FOOD is Being Outsourced to China Because of ENERGY. The attacks go beyond WEF & Netherlands farm destruction — food processing is being shut down due to energy costs and relocated to China where millions of animals are warehoused — grown and slaughtered. 1:06:31 Has Earth's Core Stopped Spinning? Will It Reverse? What they think they're seeing, why science is never "settled" — and did YOU cause it with "climate change"? 1:35:19 Reason pushes back on the idea of an Egg Cartel — a Dirty (half) Dozen. Here's what Reason is missing, just like they missed what was happening with social media censorship 1:46:33 Drought & flood are nothing new to California, even though they pretend it is every year. They funded mitigation measures a decade ago — but have done NOTHING 2:01:14 21 State AG's are taking legal action against ESG for fraudulent violations of fiduciary responsibilities. 2:06:17 Aretha Franklin's "Natural Woman" attacked by Trans Cultural Mindset Alliance as they try to get it banned as transphobic 2:12:23 LaLa Harris goes to FL to push marxist CRT and to give her version of the Declaration of Independence that omits "the right to life" 2:19:19 Tony Dungy: God Worked in Damar Hamlin Collapse. Tony rightly says life was honored by everyone's concern. But he shies away from the truth when attacked by the transgender mob saying he wants to be loving. Is telling the truth NOT an act of love? 2:29:23 Wyoming moves to ban all vaccine and mask mandates for both government and business. 2:49:06Find out more about the show and where you can watch it at TheDavidKnightShow.com If you would like to support the show and our family please consider subscribing monthly here:SubscribeStar https://www.subscribestar.com/the-david-knight-showOr you can send a donation through Mail: David Knight POB 994 Kodak, TN 37764Zelle: @DavidKnightShow@protonmail.comCash App at: $davidknightshowBTC to: bc1qkuec29hkuye4xse9unh7nptvu3y9qmv24vanh7Money is only what YOU hold: Go to DavidKnight.gold for great deals on physical gold/silver

OUTLINE of today's show with TIMECODES MegaCities — where are they and how do they fit into the plan for global domination? 2:57 A giant prison in the desert — a Davos dream come true 9:33 Private cars, they say, must be done away with because they're only used 4% of the time. Debunking that argument using mainframes vs personal computers 20:06 The 15-minute city plan — where did it start, what's the purpose and why is close proximity to a PHARMACY a design priority? 30:20 The "15 minute" city, varies from 5-20 in different parts of the world — but they're all following the same plan 37:12 A look at what Paris has done to take the lead and why the "Yellow Vests" pushed back 43:10 They admit — the pandemic lockdowns paved the way and set the precedent 48:29 Canterbury's new zone system. 54:43 Now FOOD is Being Outsourced to China Because of ENERGY. The attacks go beyond WEF & Netherlands farm destruction — food processing is being shut down due to energy costs and relocated to China where millions of animals are warehoused — grown and slaughtered. 1:06:31 Has Earth's Core Stopped Spinning? Will It Reverse? What they think they're seeing, why science is never "settled" — and did YOU cause it with "climate change"? 1:35:19 Reason pushes back on the idea of an Egg Cartel — a Dirty (half) Dozen. Here's what Reason is missing, just like they missed what was happening with social media censorship 1:46:33 Drought & flood are nothing new to California, even though they pretend it is every year. They funded mitigation measures a decade ago — but have done NOTHING 2:01:14 21 State AG's are taking legal action against ESG for fraudulent violations of fiduciary responsibilities. 2:06:17 Aretha Franklin's "Natural Woman" attacked by Trans Cultural Mindset Alliance as they try to get it banned as transphobic 2:12:23 LaLa Harris goes to FL to push marxist CRT and to give her version of the Declaration of Independence that omits "the right to life" 2:19:19 Tony Dungy: God Worked in Damar Hamlin Collapse. Tony rightly says life was honored by everyone's concern. But he shies away from the truth when attacked by the transgender mob saying he wants to be loving. Is telling the truth NOT an act of love? 2:29:23 Wyoming moves to ban all vaccine and mask mandates for both government and business. 2:49:06Find out more about the show and where you can watch it at TheDavidKnightShow.com If you would like to support the show and our family please consider subscribing monthly here:SubscribeStar https://www.subscribestar.com/the-david-knight-showOr you can send a donation through Mail: David Knight POB 994 Kodak, TN 37764Zelle: @DavidKnightShow@protonmail.comCash App at: $davidknightshowBTC to: bc1qkuec29hkuye4xse9unh7nptvu3y9qmv24vanh7Money is only what YOU hold: Go to DavidKnight.gold for great deals on physical gold/silver

In this week's ConsEUmer episode:

Emmanuel Macron was only 39 and a relative neophyte when he was elected to the French presidency in 2017. In his first term in office, his policy agenda was so ambitious that it generated mass protest – known as the Yellow Vest movement -  that paralyzed the country. It got so bad that many wondered not only if his agenda would be imperiled, but if he would even survive re-election. It's against these odds that Macron did manage to transform much of France's civil and fiscal policy – including its labor, taxation, and pension laws. And, he did, in fact, win re-election in April of 2022 – in a rematch against his 2017 opponent – the right-wing leader of the National Front, Marine Le Pen. Macron, more than any other European leader, has positioned himself as the director of Europe's response to Russian aggression. While he has maintained contact with Vladimir Putin through the Ukrainian invasion and its subsequent atrocities, much to the chagrin of many of his European counterparts, he has also worked hard to shore up solidarity on the continent, ensuring wave after wave of European sanctions continue to land on Russia. Today, I'm discussing all of this with my guest - Dr. Andy Smith – professor of Political Science at Sciences Po Bordeaux and Director of Research at Centre Emile Durkheim in Bordeaux, France. He is an expert on France, and a specialist of European integration and political economy. He has published extensively on these subjects in numerous academic journals and texts. We talk about how French politics has developed since WWII, how France and its politics are evolving to meet the challenges that the European continent is currently facing, how Macron might be reshaping France and situating himself to be a leader in Europe, and what the future might hold for France, and Europe, in former German Chancellor Angela Merkel's absence and in the face of Russian aggression. -------------------------Follow Deep Dive:InstagramPost.newsYouTube Email: deepdivewithshawn@gmail.com **Artwork: Dovi Design **Music: Joystock

Why is the SOCIAL element of Environmental, Social and Governance performance (ESG) neglected or ignored? Three HEC academics have joined forces with an S&P Global researcher on ESG to better understand this negligence. They have published a landmark report on how ESG frameworks cover this issue – or don't. “What Gets Measured” also suggests ways to ensure that what gets measured, in the authors' own words, “matters for businesses, the people and the communities they impact”. For, ignoring social concerns like workers' rights in the supply chain can have serious consequences, as France's gilet jaunes (Yellow Vests) movement illustrated. Read more on Knowledge@HEC. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This lecture was held on November 18th at The House of Literature in Norway, during their three days of conversations, lectures, and events from Édouard Louis' writing and works.The lecture was written for this occasion and centres around Louis' recent experience of losing his older brother. Few writers have championed the working class like Édouard Louis. In each of his five novels, he portrays the struggles and aspirations of an often undermined and ignored group, exemplified by a family member or himself. His literature concerns itself with the psychological obstacles to self-fulfilment and shows how the strongest contempt for the working class is often held by the people within it. Louis was also vocal in supporting the Yellow Vests movement in 2018. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

TMBS 69 aired on December 18th, 2018. Episode summary: We talk about the migrant caravan and how it shows what human solidarity, hope, and a possibility for emancipatory politics. Shoutout to the Climate Extinction Project, a group fighting for our future. Current Affairs Editor Vanessa A Bee (@dolladollabillie) joins us to talk about the ongoing Yellow Vest movement and French politics. During the GEM, David breaks down the coming rate hikes and why the real power in our economy lies in wealth not income. Michael interviews Lula's attorney Valeska Martins about #LulaLivre and the future of Brazil. TMBS ReAirs come out every Tuesday here and on The Michael Brooks Show YouTube Channel. This program has been put together by The Michael Brooks Legacy Project. To learn more and rewatch the postgame content visit https://www.patreon.com/TMBS

NOW IN 22 DIFFERENT LANGUAGES. CLICK ON THE LOWER LEFT HAND CORNER “TRANSLATE” TAB TO FIND YOURS! By Jeff J. Brown Sixteen years on the streets, living and working with the people of China, Jeff Downloadable podcast at the bottom of this page, Brighteon, iVoox, RuVid, as well as being syndicated on iTunes, Stitcher Radio...

TMBS 68 aired on December 11th, 2018. Episode summary: We talk about the Yellow Vest movement and what it means for the left going forward. Shoutout to Lula for refusing to trade his dignity for freedom. During the global update, we cover the assassination of Brazilian leaders of the Landless Movement of the boldness of the far-right and in India, the BJP saw major losses in the recent election. During the GEM, David breaks down the way that capital tries to subvert democracy. Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) of Rolling Stone joins us in studio to talk about what to do about Facebook How do we fix Facebook? TMBS ReAirs come out every Tuesday wherever you get your podcasts and on the Michael Brooks Show YouTube channel This program has been put together by The Michael Brooks Legacy Project. To learn more and rewatch the postgame content visit https://www.patreon.com/TMBS

NOW IN 22 DIFFERENT LANGUAGES. CLICK ON THE LOWER LEFT HAND CORNER “TRANSLATE” TAB TO FIND YOURS! By Jeff J. Brown Sixteen years on the streets, living and working with the people of China, Jeff Downloadable podcast at the bottom of this page, Brighteon, iVoox, RuVid, as well as being syndicated on iTunes, Stitcher Radio...

Opposition to a carbon tax was at the root of the gilets jaunes protests in France. Did the protestors think the tax wouldn't work, or that it wasn't fair, or that they would personally lose out? Adrien Fabre talks to Tim Phillips about the link between tax and trust in government.

NOW IN 22 DIFFERENT LANGUAGES. CLICK ON THE LOWER LEFT HAND CORNER “TRANSLATE” TAB TO FIND YOURS! By Jeff J. Brown Sixteen years on the streets, living and working with the people of China, Jeff Downloadable podcast at the bottom of this page, Brighteon, iVoox, RuVid, as well as being syndicated on iTunes, Stitcher Radio...

On November 17, 2018, French men and women gathered for the first time on the capital's iconic Champs-Élysées and on hundreds of roundabouts throughout France to protest against the high cost of living. They were easily recognisable by their yellow high-visibility vests. The months-long demonstrations against the government of President Emmanuel Macron turned violent and were met with a fierce crackdown by security forces. Almost four years later, those who participated in the movement tell FRANCE 24's reporters how the struggle has changed their lives.

Yellow Vest militants hope to vote Macron out of office. How younger generations are shifting their relationship to voting. And the WWI spy who lobbied successfully to shut down France's brothels in 1946. Candidates running in the first round of presidential elections this Sunday have made the rising cost of living and drop in spending power a key campaign issue. Prices are going up, driven by soaring petrol and energy costs. President Emmanuel Macron, who is running for re-election, knows only too well how angry people can get over fuel hikes: his attempts to introduce a tax on diesel sparked the Yellow Vest protest movement in November 2018 that turned into a revolt against him. While the Covid lockdown in March 2020 put an end to weekly protests, the Yellow Vest did not die out and some militants see the election as a way of finally getting shot of Macron. Agnès and Nathalie joined the Yellow Vests in Chartres, and feature in a documentary film about the movement, Un peuple (A French Revolution), by Emmanuel Gras. They talk to us about how their lives have changed since 2018 and why the battle is far from over. (Listen @2'56'') Macron is leading in the polls but the key to winning the 2022 presidential election will depend a lot on voter turnout, which has been steadily decreasing in most French elections in the last two decades. However, political scientist Vincent Tiberj (@vtiberj), editor of a recent book of essays about voting behaviour in France, Extinction de vote (Vote extinction), points out that abstention rates vary, depending on the election and the issue at hand. He talks about how voting has changed drastically in France over the last couple of generations. (Listen @23'20'') On 13 April 1946, France closed its 1,400 brothels, thanks to a woman named Marthe Richard. Prostituted as a teenager, she went on to have a particularly varied and colourful life – as a pilot, spy and politician. (Listen @16'45'') This episode was mixed by Nicolas Doreau. Spotlight on France is a podcast from Radio France International. Find us on rfienglish.com, iTunes (link here), Spotify (link here), Google podcasts (link here), or your favourite podcast app (pod.link/1573769878).

Yellow Vest militants hope to vote Macron out of office. How younger generations are shifting their relationship to voting. And the WWI spy who lobbied successfully to shut down France's brothels in 1946. Candidates running in the first round of presidential elections this Sunday have made the rising cost of living and drop in spending power a key campaign issue. Prices are going up, driven by soaring petrol and energy costs. President Emmanuel Macron, who is running for re-election, knows only too well how angry people can get over fuel hikes: his attempts to introduce a tax on diesel sparked the Yellow Vest protest movement in November 2018 that turned into a revolt against him. While the Covid lockdown in March 2020 put an end to weekly protests, the Yellow Vest did not die out and some militants see the election as a way of finally getting shot of Macron. Agnès and Nathalie joined the Yellow Vests in Chartres, and feature in a documentary film about the movement, Un peuple (A French Revolution), by Emmanuel Gras. They talk to us about how their lives have changed since 2018 and why the battle is far from over. (Listen @2'56'') Macron is leading in the polls but the key to winning the 2022 presidential election will depend a lot on voter turnout, which has been steadily decreasing in most French elections in the last two decades. However, political scientist Vincent Tiberj (@vtiberj), editor of a recent book of essays about voting behaviour in France, Extinction de vote (Vote extinction), points out that abstention rates vary, depending on the election and the issue at hand. He talks about how voting has changed drastically in France over the last couple of generations. (Listen @23'20'') On 13 April 1946, France closed its 1,400 brothels, thanks to a woman named Marthe Richard. Prostituted as a teenager, she went on to have a particularly varied and colourful life – as a pilot, spy and politician. (Listen @16'45'') This episode was mixed by Nicolas Doreau. Spotlight on France is a podcast from Radio France International. Find us on rfienglish.com, iTunes (link here), Spotify (link here), Google podcasts (link here), or your favourite podcast app (pod.link/1573769878).

As France heads into the 2022 presidential election, the fabric of a country that has at times been the envy of Europe is looking tattered. The sands of society are shifting on an almost daily basis, the ‘traditional' French way of life appears to be on the way out. Things that used to define France appear to have gone: the welfare state is losing steam, industry and agriculture are both suffering. The far-right claims that the country isn't French enough and has become too multicultural - and that even debating the place of Islam has become a dangerous no-go zone.  France, it seems, is going through “a crise d'identité”. Crossroads France, created by Antoine Boyer, Sarah-Lou Lepers and Camille Kauffmann and hosted by Barney Spender, explores five different regions of France and five areas of French life to find out more about the country in the 21st century.   Episode 1/5 : The Forgotten One of the abiding images of France around the world is the strength of the public services: free education and health for all. It is viewed as a system that has evolved into a smooth, fair and fully-functioning tool. The reality, however, is somewhat different to the myth as multiple reforms since the beginning of the 2000s have driven the welfare state to the brink, accused of inefficiency and out of control public spending. This sense of abandonment is strong in the “Empty Diagonal”, a section of small-town rural France which feels neglected by the State. It is the France of the yellow vests and the "forgotten" where hospitals, post offices and other public services are closing down, to the detriment of the people who live there and pay their taxes. We travel to the Ardennes in the north-east, to a concert by the singer Gauvain Sers who sings ‘Les Oublies' which became an anthem for the Yellow Vest marches. We dive into the “Empty Diagonal”, where there is a sense of injustice among the people, a feeling they have been cut adrift by the elite in the capital. Translator & narrator: Barney Spender Editor: Camille Kauffmann Studio assistant: Antoine Boyer Creator in French: Sarah-Lou Lepers.  Original music: Clémence Reliat et Nicolas Vair.  Engineer : Christophe Robert. Illustrator : Julie Pereira.  Marketing and communication : Laurent Nicolas, Coline Sallois.   Editors-in-chief : Guy Jackson and Michaëla Cancela-Kieffer.   An AFP Audio podcast.    

Due to the pandemic, governments around the world are reflecting on where policy should be going next, and climate change is a key item on the agenda. However, climate policies like the carbon tax increase the price of energy, which can particularly hurt low income people. Economist Adrien Fabre joins Ioana on to discuss his publication with Thomas Douenne investigating the support for the carbon tax among French people shortly after the Yellow Vests protests against gas tax increases.Adrien Fabre is currently a post-doctoral fellow at ETH Zurich, and you can follow him on Twitter at @adrien_fabre. You can read his paper in the American Economic Journal: Economic Policy: https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/pol.20200092

Anticipating the upcoming French election, political commentators Marlon Ettinger and Olly Haynes join us to discuss Macron's record, the nature of the left populist Jean-Luc Mélenchon and far right Éric Zemmour, the Yellow Vests, and the long shadow of Charles de Gaulle. Support us at Patreon.com/ThePopularPod and help us grow. For the music we used in this episode and loads more, follow the TPS Spotify playlist. Consider supporting Marlon's reporting here.

Enjoy this unlocked bonus ep! Happy Thanks-taking, we'll be back next week. -jamie Meme Militant Meg and Andy read the essay Memes Without End by Adrian Wohlleben, in which he argues that elements of recent uprisings like the Yellow Vests of France, turnstile hopping of Chile, the umbrella-wielding frontliners of Hong Kong were memes that help them spread in a way that traditional social movements cannot. Can we meme revolution into reality? Or is it impossible to force a meme? We discuss Richard Dawkins, Susan Blackmore, Darwin, and more! Support Philly Elmo! Music: Giorgio Moroder - Racer

Meme Militant Meg and Andy read the essay Memes Without End by Adrian Wohlleben, in which he argues that elements of recent uprisings like the Yellow Vests of France, turnstile hopping of Chile, the umbrella-wielding frontliners of Hong Kong were memes that help them spread in a way that traditional social movements cannot. Can we meme revolution into reality? Or is it impossible to force a meme? We discuss Richard Dawkins, Susan Blackmore, Darwin, and more! For the full episode, all our other bonus material, and access to our discord community, subscribe today at Patreon.com/TheAntifada And Support Philly Elmo!

In this episode, host Bidemi Ologunde took a closer look at a minor scandal involving ProtonMail and young climate activists in France; what that scandal has to do with gentrification in Paris and a restaurant that was attacked by terrorists back in 2015; the connection between the scandal and a bill that was introduced in the U.S. Congress back in June 2020; and also the connection with the Yellow Vest protests that have been going on in France since November 2018.Please send questions, comments, and suggestions to bidemi@thebidpicture.com. You can also get in touch on LinkedIn, Twitter, the Clubhouse app (@bid), and the Wisdom app (@bidemi).

We're joined by QAnon Anonymous host Julian Feeld from Paris, giving us an update on all things QAnon, including Ron Watkins' pivot to UFOs, the right and left of the Yellow Vest movement's resistance to Macron's neoliberalism and vaccine passports, if there's any hope in a revolutionary left QAnon movement, and tips on staying sane in the eye of the storm. Check out QAnon Anyonymous on Patreon and Twitch Video of fascists getting wrecked at vaccine passport demo in Toulouse For a bonus episode with Julian, and all other bonus material and access to our discord community, support the show at http://patreon.com/theantifada Music: Q: Into the Storm theme by Brent Knopf

Ted (@ted_knudsen) interviews Alex Brentler (@full_enjoyment) of @jacobinmag_de on the recent flooding, the history of climate politics in Germany, the contradictions of the German Greens, and the prospects for a break from the coal-reliant German energy system. Then, Ted and Michelle (@shhellgames) embark on Spaßbreme's first reading series, dissecting a bizarre take on on why emergency warnings are useless. Produced by Isaac Würmann (@wuermann). Part 2 of our reunification series will air next Friday. To read up on the topics discussed in this episode, check out these links: - Alex's piece in Jacobin Germany: "Neoliberalism Won't Take Real Action to Stop Climate Change" -Our reading series piece in Deutsche Welle: "Germany's know-it-all attitude after the floods helps no one" -Adam Tooze on the legacy of the Yellow Vest movement in France and the political prospects for climate action in Europe: "Chartbook Newsletter #27 Gilets Jaunes"

Welcome to Season 2 of New Climate Capitalism!Today’s episode looks at the Just Transition and the climate elite.I talked to Edouard Morena, a Paris-based researcher who studies the social and justice dimensions of climate action, as well as climate philanthropy.You may have heard the term Just Transition which has become very popular ever since the 2018 Yellow Vest movement in France. Edouard warns that this term has become distanced from its original meaning, and is increasingly being used in a tokenistic way.But beyond that is much a bigger story about the widening gap between people and climate policy. About the missed opportunities from proliferating citizens assemblies. About a proactive far-right that is muscling in with new environmental narratives to get votes. So what’s going on, and what should we be worried about? Don’t miss this fascinating conversation, which I guarantee will give you some new insights into the importance of language and narrative in the international climate policy space. Subscribe at thezeroist.substack.com

Hour 2 Joe begins the hour with thoughts on the yellow-vest protests in Paris. He then discussed the Rutgers Professors who are outraged over the arrest of an undocumented immigrant for drunk driving and endangering pedestrians. Johnny Heidt also wrapped up the show with another news update that includes a call from the former Gov!