Why Do American Protesters Support Maduro? | PragerU

The video shows a lot of brainwashed useful idiots protesting! However, who is behind these protests and funding it?

Der Fall Bolz: Die Saat des Denunziantentums geht auf

Traurig, aber wohl wahr! Typisch Bananenrepublik D!

Hinweis: Ich bin mit den Einzelheiten des Falles Boltz nicht bekannt.

Der Fall Bolz: Die Saat des Denunziantentums geht auf "Unter dem Vorwand, „Hass und Hetze“ zu bekämpfen, hat sich „Hessen gegen Hetze“ zu einer Denunziationsmaschine entwickelt. Tausende Meldungen und als Folge auch mal eine Hausdurchsuchung. Der Fall Norbert Bolz zeigt, wie der „Kampf gegen Rechts“ längst zur Waffe gegen die Meinungsfreiheit geworden ist."

What is a No Kings protest in the US?

This is pure nonsense! Maybe it is time for these morons/fools to read the US Constitution again! Who is financing this absurdity?

At least these fools are coming out in the open for everyone to see! The benefits of an Open Society!

From the About webpage:

"In June, we did what many claimed was impossible: peacefully mobilized millions of people to take to the streets and declare with one voice: America has No Kings. And it mattered. The world saw the power of the people. President Trump’s birthday parade was drowned out by protests in every state and across the globe. His attempt to turn June 14 into a coronation collapsed, and the story became the strength of a movement rising against his authoritarian power grabs.

Now, President Trump has doubled down. His administration is sending masked agents into our streets, terrorizing our communities [???]. They are targeting immigrant families, profiling, arresting and detaining people without warrants. Threatening to overtake elections. Gutting healthcare, environmental protections, and education when families need them most. Rigging maps [???] to silence voters. Ignoring mass shootings at our schools and in our communities. Driving up the cost of living while handing out massive giveaways to billionaire allies, as families struggle.

The president thinks his rule is absolute [???]. But in America, we don’t have kings and we won’t back down against chaos, corruption, and cruelty. ..."

No Kings (the official website behind this protest?)

Imported Authoritarian Threats to Campus Free Speech in the US or the risks of selling higher education abroad

Food for thought! This subject or similar subjects have been exposed in Western countries for decades (e.g. during the Cold War).

When appeasement becomes weakness! When ignorance becomes intolerable!

Beware The Open Society and Its Enemies (by Karl Popper, published in 1945) are everywhere!

Caveat: I have not read McLaughlin's book nor the article, but I believe I am somewhat familiar with the subject.

"... You could probably guess what a lot of these cases were about. Speech about abortion, guns, race, and Israel—the standard starting points of censorship and controversy. But over time, I began hearing more and more about people who felt like they couldn’t speak freely about foreign authoritarian governments. Most often, the Chinese government, but there were also problems arising from universities’ relationships with the Gulf States.

When an industry becomes global, it also becomes vulnerable to pressure from foreign governments. Viewers have probably seen stories about the sometimes-outlandish apologies that companies have issued to the Chinese government because they accidentally mentioned Tibet or Hong Kong. But when higher education is a global industry, there are really unique concerns that emerge. ..."

"A revealing exposé on how foreign authoritarian influence is undermining freedom and integrity within American higher education institutions.

In an era of globalized education, where ideals of freedom and inquiry should thrive, an alarming trend has emerged: foreign authoritarian regimes infiltrating American academia. In Authoritarians in the Academy, Sarah McLaughlin exposes how higher education institutions, long considered bastions of free thought, are compromising their values for financial gain and global partnerships.

This groundbreaking investigation reveals the subtle yet sweeping influence of authoritarian governments. University leaders are allowing censorship to flourish on campus, putting pressure on faculty, and silencing international student voices, all in the name of appeasing foreign powers. McLaughlin exposes the troubling reality where university leaders prioritize expansion and profit over the principles of free expression. The book describes incidents in classrooms where professors hesitate to discuss controversial topics and in boardrooms where administrators weigh the costs of offending oppressive regimes. McLaughlin offers a sobering look at how the compromises made in American academia reflect broader societal patterns seen in industries like tech, sports, and entertainment." (Source)

Authoritarian Threats to Campus Free Speech

Sarah McLaughlin (Source)

‘Very concerning’: Qatar’s billions in undocumented donations revealed

Very recommendable! Very serious allegations against Qatar. Some of these allegations have been reported for years.

What causes severe corrosive effects in Western democracies and societies?

The misguided, obsessive pursuit of phony ideologies, pseudo religions, and wrong priorities in conflict to the aspirations of the majority of citizens.

When does it get really dangerous? When the eventual, ultimate corrective forces of democracy (the pendulum of democracy) are undermined or prevented.

Who is behind many of these efforts? The enemies of open societies, domestic and foreign!

Karl Popper published his book in 1945. It is still relevant at the end of the first quarter of the 21st century!

Joint US University Programs with China Escape Financial Reporting and scrutiny

Certainly concerning! How China exploits open societies!

Lessons from the The Art of War by Sun Tzu!

"Following last year’s reporting on DEI spending, federal money and foreign donations at elite private universities, Open the Books auditors have been taking a closer look at the finances of a sampling of public universities across the country.

Strikingly, these problems have spilled far beyond those elite Ivory Towers and out to some of the best state schools around the nation. ...

It’s a troubling comparison. Over the past decade, American institutions began pouring money into counterproductive, divisive DEI infrastructure. Meanwhile, China was spending to gain influence in American academia, accessing research and technology to advance their national interests. It happened under Uncle Sam’s radar, and Congress believes the spending continues unreported today – to the tune of hundreds of millions or billions! ...

UC Berkeley has accepted $790.8 million from foreign sources since 2013, including a staggering amount of Chinese funding.   

China sent $87.5 million to UC Berkeley, more than any other country. The figure doesn’t include $59.4 million from Hong Kong and $57.5 million from Taiwan, which are reported separately.    

The two largest Chinese contracts — worth $19 million and $15 million — were to help fund the Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute (TBSI), a partnership with Tsinghua University that has campuses at Berkeley and in Shenzhen, China.   ...

The Georgia Institute of Technology has accepted $162.8 million from foreign sources since 2013. 

China has spent at least $32.3M with the school in that time period, and at least $18.3 million worth of those contracts helped fund the Georgia Tech-Shenzhen Institute (GTSI). Like Berkeley’s, it’s another partnership with Tsinghua University that has campuses in Georgia and Shenzhen, China.  ..."

Joint University Programs with China Escape Financial Reporting "Unreported billions could be helping China access American STEM research, defense tech."

The Fight Against Russian Disinformation: A Persistent Challenge For Democracy in Europe and beyond

Recommendable! Probably, this article touches only the tip of the iceberg!

"Disinformation, the deliberate dissemination of false or misleading information to deceive or manipulate public opinion, represents a profound and ongoing threat to Western democracies. It erodes trust in institutions, fuels polarization, and undermines decision-making processes. 

Russian disinformation campaigns, in particular, showcase a sophisticated, multilayered system of narratives tailored to exploit societal vulnerabilities. Understanding their architecture and methodologies is critical for crafting effective countermeasures to safeguard democratic systems. ..."

The Fight Against Disinformation: A Persistent Challenge For Democracy – Analysis – Eurasia Review

Chart of the day

What a convoluted chart! Follow the money trail!

What is probably missing in this chart is the more clandestine money and influence from rogue states like Russia, China, Iran, North Korea or the enemies of open societies!

Source

 

Trump Cabinet Picks Targeted with Death Threats: 'Bomb Threats,' 'Swatting'

If confirmed, then this is very serious stuff!

Or are the enemies of open societies like Putin the Terrible or Iran behind this campaign?

When the Trump Derangement Syndrome becomes dangerous!

"... The office for Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), who is Trump’s pick to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, released a statement sharing she and her family were targeted with a bomb threat: ..."

Trump Cabinet Picks Targeted with Death Threats: 'Bomb Threats,' 'Swatting' "Many of President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet picks had their lives threatened Tuesday night into Wednesday morning."

Net Zero has been and will be a disaster for Western countries

Recommendable! Net zero is pure demagoguery!

Anybody who uses this term for advocacy is a useful idiot or a paid for agitator!

If the enemies of open and free societies (e.g. China, Russia, Iran, North Korea) ever wanted to destroy Western democracies without firing a shot, then the Global Warming hoax and the Climate Change religion is the perfect weapon!

Net Zero will be a disaster - Clintel

How many convicted criminals and mentally ill illegal immigrants entered the U.S. during the term of the 46th President

This is a very contentious issue! What about other Western countries?

Is this part of an unconventional warfare against open societies?

Did indeed countries like China, Russia, Iran, Venezuela, Mexico and others (partially) empty their prisons, mental institutions etc. and relieved their government expenses at the expense of the U.S.?

So far the evidence for that seems to be rather slim or am I mistaken?

The Big Myth: How American Business Taught Us to Loathe Government and Love the Free Market by Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway. Really!

By email, I was just reminded of this book published in February of 2023. The email tried to praise this book and authors.

Don't we all love fantastic fiction, spin and conspiracy literature! Seems to be a book full of propaganda and demagoguery! The big business conspiracy theory!

What is the Big Myth? The content of this book probably! (Caveat: I did not read the book)

The authors appear to be quite the enemies of open societies! They probably don't even know how liberty is spelled nor do they have a clue what it means! 😊

P.S. The second author, Mr. Conway appears to be a little bit like a mystery ghost writer. According to the publisher: "Erik Conway is a historian of science and technology and works for the California Institute of Technology." But CalTech lists him as a past fellow (2019-20). He describes himself among other things as a "rocketeer" "historian".

From the book description:

"... In the early 20th century, business elites, trade associations, wealthy powerbrokers, and media allies set out to build a new American orthodoxy: down with “big government” and up with unfettered markets. With startling archival evidence, Oreskes and Conway document campaigns to rewrite textbooks, combat unions, and defend child labor. They detail the ploys that turned hardline economists Friedrich von Hayek and Milton Friedman [???] into household names; recount the libertarian roots of the Little House on the Prairie books; and tune into the General Electric-sponsored TV show that beamed free-market doctrine to millions and launched Ronald Reagan's political career. ..." 

The Big Myth: How American Business Taught Us to Loathe Government and Love the Free Market: Naomi Oreskes: Bloomsbury Publishing

Naomi Oreskes, Henry Charles Lea Professor of the History of Science

Affiliated Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University (Google Scholar lifetime citation count 34,512, which is not bad)

Western sanctions and export controls were circumvented by a group of rogue/authoritarian countries led by China

Food for thought!

"Western sanctions and export controls meant to subdue U.S. enemies have instead created a Beijing-led global shadow economy.

China, Russia, Iran, Venezuela, North Korea and other authoritarian regimes are now collectively big enough to withstand the West’s unprecedented finance and trade restrictions. The Chinese Embassy in Washington said that the country’s dealings are normal, legal “exchanges with relevant countries on the basis of equality and mutual benefit.” The governments of Russia, Iran, Venezuela and North Korea, contacted through their diplomatic offices in the U.S., didn’t respond to requests for comment."

The Wall Street Journal What's news

'Blood Money': The Secret Chinese Military 'Disintegration Warfare' Manifesto to Rip America Apart Using Drugs, Social Chaos, and More

Food for thought! Probably, Schweitzer's book is too drastic and exaggerating!

Similar claims were also made multiple times about the former Soviet Union.

There is probably little doubt that the enemies of open societies try many subversive activities to destabilize Western societies. The real question is how much of those activities and how successful are they?

How resilient are Western societies to resist these activities of subversion by foreign enemies of open societies?

Take the Global Warming hoax and Climate Change religion or how about racism. How much of this nonsense propaganda and demagoguery can be attributed to the enemies of open societies?

"... “It is a complex strategy, a hydra of drugs, disease, propaganda, and illicit pistol parts, each contributing to social chaos and killing Americans,” he writes. ...

Today, Beijing’s hand can be found in every stage of the deadly spread of fentanyl in North America, Schweizer finds. ...

Another part is fueling social chaos using radical proxy groups within the U.S., Schweizer writes. ... Schweizer reveals that in order to stoke further social and division in America, China utilizes, supports, and funds multiple far-left groups within the U.S. who stoke violence and racial tensions. ...

“Some of our leaders, who are named in the chapters that follow, have financial ties to the Chinese state and don’t want to see the flow of money disrupted,” he states. ... Schweizer names some of those who are aware of China’s illicit activities, but do nothing — including President Joe Biden, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), former President Barack Obama, and California Governor Gavin Newsom (D). ..."

'Blood Money': The Secret Chinese Military 'Disintegration Warfare' Manifesto to Rip America Apart Using Drugs, Social Chaos, and More Blood Money: Why the Powerful Turn a Blind Eye While China Kills Americans, a new book by Breitbart News Senior Contributor Peter Schweizer, reveals how the Chinese government is using drugs, social chaos, and other means to tear apart the social fabric of the United States and wage war against America without firing a shot, as part of a “Disintegration Warfare” strategy outlined in an obscure manifesto.

GOP House committee launches investigation into China-connected, US-based green energy nonprofit

This is probably only the tip of an iceberg! What about similar and perhaps more clandestine activities by China, Russia, Iran, North Korea and so on!

GOP House committee launches investigation into China-connected, US-based green energy nonprofit | Just The News By promoting wind, solar and electrification, China improves its economic and geopolitical position, raising concerns about Energy Foundation China funding U.S. organizations working to eliminate fossil fuels and transition to green energy.

China's funding of U.S. climate initiatives mirrors the Russian funding of anti-fracking groups

I am not surprised at all! This has been known for decades!

I also have a strong suspicion that many of the divisive societal discords in Western countries have been sowed, promoted and financed by dictatorships like Russia, Iran, and China!

Why Western countries are so timid and reluctant to expose or even prosecute this influence is questionable! 

China's funding of U.S. climate initiatives mirrors the Russian funding of anti-fracking groups | Just The News Energy Foundation China contributed $3.8 million to various "green" initiatives, including a $900,000 grant to Rocky Mountain Institute regarding gas stoves. While the foundation claims that study was prepared only for implementation in China, that same research contributed to the controversial push for a ban on gas stoves in the US.

The Iranian Influence Campaign Went Further Than Many Realize by Michael Rubin

Recommendable! Why are Western democracies often so naive about the enemies of open societies?

With Russia, the situation is similar. 

"The evidence that Iranian officials ran an influence operation that penetrated the State and Defense departments is damning. Not only did Iranian American academics and think tankers meet with Iranian officials, but leaked emails suggest they also took direction from them. Not only financial gain motivates espionage; ideological solidarity motivated some of the most damaging spies in American history. 

While the Biden administration seeks to downplay the scandal, more than 30 senators now demand the Pentagon suspend and review the security clearance of Ariane Tabatabai, one of the members of the so-called Iran Experts Initiative, now in a sensitive Pentagon position. ...
For decades, the Iranian regime traded access for self-censorship. Only those willing to parrot Iranian talking points could expect visas, or meet with top officials, unique access that visitors could then use to heighten their platforms in Washington. While pundits see those who pal around with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov or dine with President Vladimir Putin as demonstrating poor judgment if not being compromised by Russia, somehow elite opinion treats former Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif or late President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani differently. ...

The apparent Iranian influence campaign also extends to Voice of America. Problems with the American broadcaster’s Persian service are nothing new.  ...

VOA’s new acting director is John Lippman, who came to notoriety due to the matter of Setareh Sieg, the former Persian Service chief, whom he backed in word and deed. Whistleblowers said that under Sieg’s tenure, VOA was nicknamed “Voice of Tehran” due to its skewed, pro-Iran coverage. ..."

The Iranian Influence Campaign Went Further Than Many Realize | American Enterprise Institute - AEI

Did This Millionaire Push Chinese Propaganda in India? with Palki Sharma

Very recommendable! How do the enemies of open societies work?

Busting a Covert Chinese Bio-Lab in a small town in California

Here is more on this developing and disturbing story. What are the facts? What has been confirmed? 

I have covered this story here and here just a few hours earlier.

Just the fact that this possibly dangerous biological weapons lab was intentionally located in a small town in California (about 24 miles away south east from Fresno) also speaks volumes.

Is this a case of Lenin's famous quote: “The capitalists will sell us the rope with which to hang them”. Or how the enemies of Open Societies operate.

"... officials discovered a covert biological lab run by a shady Chinese company. What local officials found there was also unprecedented. ...
White mice had been genetically engineered to catch and carry the Covid virus, ... The illegal lab harbored potentially infectious bacterial and viral agents including chlamydia, E. Coli, streptococcus pneumonia, hepatitis B and C, herpes 1 and 5, rubella, samples of malaria and “thousands of vials that contained unlabeled fluids.” ...
privately funded research and development labs are not required to register with the government. That avoids the multiple permits required of those operating under state or federal grants. Someone in the state could have assisted the owners “to move from Fresno without licenses.” ...
Harper had also learned that mice are “unprotected” under the United States Department of Agriculture. According to the National Institutes of Health, mice and rats “have long served as the preferred species for biomedical research animal models.” ...

At the outset of August, the Fresno Bee and Sacramento Bee had not covered the story. Gov. Gavin Newsom had issued no statement on the lab and neither had the California Department of Toxic Substances Control or the California Department of Public Health. ..."

Busting Covert Chinese Bio-Lab in California | Frontpage Mag Legal loopholes could speed the spread of viral agents.