Freedom of Speech and Censorship Part 2
Go North Carolina.
Asheville, North Carolina backs reparations in historic vote: "It is simply not enough to remove statues"
Officials in the North Carolina city of Asheville have apologized for its historic role in slavery and discrimination and voted to provide reparations. The Asheville Citizen-Times reports that unanimous vote was taken by the City Council on Tuesday.
The resolution on reparations does not require direct payments but will mandate investments in areas where Black residents face disparities. The Citizen-Times reported the vote came just days after the county's health board declared racism a public health crisis and last month, thousands of protesters called for the Asheville Police Department to be defunded.
"It is simply not enough to remove statues. Black people in this country are dealing with issues that are systemic in nature," Young said.
Priorities could include efforts to increase minority home ownership, access to affordable housing and minority business ownership. The resolution also mentions strategies to close the gaps in health care, education and pay.
The resolution calls for the creation of a Community Reparations Commission to recommend programs and resources to be used.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/asheville-north-carolina-approves-reparations-black-residents/
Google has announced that it will ban advertisements from web pages that promote coronavirus conspiracy theories, or challenge the “authoritative scientific consensus” on the deadly virus.
but the tech giant went one step further on Friday, telling CNBC that as of next month, it will ban publishers from displaying Google ads next to coronavirus conspiracy content. The firm added that if a site violates this policy sufficiently, the ban will be extended to the entire site.
Hey, Google, your censorship of 'Plandemic' only turned its author's book into #1 bestseller. It’s the Streisand effect, stupid!
As for what kind of content will be deemed ban-worthy, a Google spokesperson told the news outlet that content claiming vaccines are a population control effort, that Bill Gates created the virus, and that it was a bioweapon engineered in a Chinese laboratory would all fall foul of the rule. The spokesperson added that any claims going against the “authoritative scientific consensus” would lead to a ban.
“Authoritative scientific consensus” seems like a term open to interpretation, especially considering science is a method of investigation rather than a fixed set of beliefs. However, Google’s ‘trust the experts’ approach is the latest in a series of attempts to clamp down on coronavirus “misinformation.”
Back in March the company banned most non-governmental content about the outbreak, but reversed course when Democrats in the US complained this approach would benefit the Trump administration. It also banned the sale of face masks, back when the scientific consensus was that they didn’t work. Since then, that consensus has shifted and going without a mask is a fineable offense in some countries.
and Amazon BACKS DOWN after many, including Elon Musk, slam it for censorship of book questioning Covid-19 threat
Google’s crackdown won’t affect news stories debunking conspiracy theories, or explicitly labeling them as such. However, this is in reality no guarantee of safety.
Earlier this week, a number of advertisers pulled their Google ads from RT’s website, after another publication deemed several stories “conspiracy theories.” These stories labeled the theories as such, but in the words of the campaigners did not contain "sufficient" caveats.
FREEDOM OF SPEECH
MY YOU NEVER REST
IN PEACE
but the tech giant went one step further on Friday, telling CNBC that as of next month, it will ban publishers from displaying Google ads next to coronavirus conspiracy content. The firm added that if a site violates this policy sufficiently, the ban will be extended to the entire site.
Hey, Google, your censorship of 'Plandemic' only turned its author's book into #1 bestseller. It’s the Streisand effect, stupid!
As for what kind of content will be deemed ban-worthy, a Google spokesperson told the news outlet that content claiming vaccines are a population control effort, that Bill Gates created the virus, and that it was a bioweapon engineered in a Chinese laboratory would all fall foul of the rule. The spokesperson added that any claims going against the “authoritative scientific consensus” would lead to a ban.
“Authoritative scientific consensus” seems like a term open to interpretation, especially considering science is a method of investigation rather than a fixed set of beliefs. However, Google’s ‘trust the experts’ approach is the latest in a series of attempts to clamp down on coronavirus “misinformation.”
Back in March the company banned most non-governmental content about the outbreak, but reversed course when Democrats in the US complained this approach would benefit the Trump administration. It also banned the sale of face masks, back when the scientific consensus was that they didn’t work. Since then, that consensus has shifted and going without a mask is a fineable offense in some countries.
and Amazon BACKS DOWN after many, including Elon Musk, slam it for censorship of book questioning Covid-19 threat
Google’s crackdown won’t affect news stories debunking conspiracy theories, or explicitly labeling them as such. However, this is in reality no guarantee of safety.
Earlier this week, a number of advertisers pulled their Google ads from RT’s website, after another publication deemed several stories “conspiracy theories.” These stories labeled the theories as such, but in the words of the campaigners did not contain "sufficient" caveats.
FREEDOM OF SPEECH
MY YOU NEVER REST
IN PEACE
Dozens of immigrant workers have begun a joint 24-hour fast and sleep-out outside billionaire Jeff Bezos’ $16 million penthouse in Manhattan, to lobby New York authorities to tax the wealthy to help the pandemic-affected poor.
High-profile Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is among those behind a campaign to push New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to further tax the mega-rich in the state and use the revenue generated to help workers in need of assistance during the pandemic.
Eyewitness footage from the scene shows the workers, joined by city council members, set up camp on Fifth Avenue near the Amazon-owner’s apartment.
Following the sleep-out protest, hundreds are expected to participate in a “march on billionaires” that will end at Cuomo’s Manhattan office on Friday.
The AOC-sponsored bill is aimed at taxing the unrealized capital gains of the state’s 119 billionaires to help make up for some of the state’s $13 billion budget shortfall and free up funds to help those most-impacted by the pandemic.
It is just one of three ‘Robin Hood’ bills to take from the rich and give to the poor to be presented in a rare July sitting of the state legislature on Monday.
Cuomo and his budget director, Robert Mujica, said such measures would drive out the city and the state’s wealthy and severely impact the tax base. New York already has among the highest tax rates for the wealthy, with the top two percent of high earners picking up half of the state’s tax liability.
Furthermore, AOC herself was one of the key figures behind the scuttling of Amazon’s plans to build one of its headquarters in Queens, which would likely have provided pandemic-proof employment, given how much the company has profited during the coronavirus era.
Cuomo and Ocasio-Cortez have sparred recently, with the Bronx firebrand claiming that crime has risen in the city as people are unable to pay their rent and are thus fearful of eviction. Cuomo responded by reminding her of the state’s moratorium on evictions during the pandemic.
New York was at one time the epicenter of the pandemic in both the US and the wider world and, at the time of writing, has recorded 430,000 cases, 185,000 of which are still active, and over 32,500 deaths.
High-profile Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is among those behind a campaign to push New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to further tax the mega-rich in the state and use the revenue generated to help workers in need of assistance during the pandemic.
Eyewitness footage from the scene shows the workers, joined by city council members, set up camp on Fifth Avenue near the Amazon-owner’s apartment.
Following the sleep-out protest, hundreds are expected to participate in a “march on billionaires” that will end at Cuomo’s Manhattan office on Friday.
The AOC-sponsored bill is aimed at taxing the unrealized capital gains of the state’s 119 billionaires to help make up for some of the state’s $13 billion budget shortfall and free up funds to help those most-impacted by the pandemic.
It is just one of three ‘Robin Hood’ bills to take from the rich and give to the poor to be presented in a rare July sitting of the state legislature on Monday.
Cuomo and his budget director, Robert Mujica, said such measures would drive out the city and the state’s wealthy and severely impact the tax base. New York already has among the highest tax rates for the wealthy, with the top two percent of high earners picking up half of the state’s tax liability.
Furthermore, AOC herself was one of the key figures behind the scuttling of Amazon’s plans to build one of its headquarters in Queens, which would likely have provided pandemic-proof employment, given how much the company has profited during the coronavirus era.
Cuomo and Ocasio-Cortez have sparred recently, with the Bronx firebrand claiming that crime has risen in the city as people are unable to pay their rent and are thus fearful of eviction. Cuomo responded by reminding her of the state’s moratorium on evictions during the pandemic.
New York was at one time the epicenter of the pandemic in both the US and the wider world and, at the time of writing, has recorded 430,000 cases, 185,000 of which are still active, and over 32,500 deaths.
He was such a strong presence. His vibration will carry on as those who've gone before him.
John Lewis, US civil rights hero and Democratic congressman, dies at 80
Lewis helped Martin Luther King organise the March on Washington in 1963 and once suffered a fractured skull at the hands of state troopers
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/18/john-lewis-us-civil-rights-hero-and-democratic-congressman-dies-at-80
Anonymous
Ahavati said:He was such a strong presence. His vibration will carry on as those who've gone before him.
John Lewis, US civil rights hero and Democratic congressman, dies at 80
Lewis helped Martin Luther King organise the March on Washington in 1963 and once suffered a fractured skull at the hands of state troopers
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/18/john-lewis-us-civil-rights-hero-and-democratic-congressman-dies-at-80
Lewis was a force to be reckoned with, as he wasn't afraid to speak his mind.
He will be missed.
John Lewis, US civil rights hero and Democratic congressman, dies at 80
Lewis helped Martin Luther King organise the March on Washington in 1963 and once suffered a fractured skull at the hands of state troopers
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/18/john-lewis-us-civil-rights-hero-and-democratic-congressman-dies-at-80
Lewis was a force to be reckoned with, as he wasn't afraid to speak his mind.
He will be missed.
^ Federal law enforcement officers face off with protesters in Portland, Oregon, on 18 July. Photograph: Nathan Howard/Reuters
Portland mayor demands Trump remove federal agents from city
The mayor of Portland has demanded that Donald Trump remove militarized federal agents deployed to the city after some detained people far from the federal property they were sent to protect.
“Keep your troops in your own buildings, or have them leave our city,” Ted Wheeler, the mayor, told the president, at a news conference on Friday.
The Democratic governor, Kate Brown, said Trump was looking for a confrontation in the hopes of winning political points elsewhere, and for a distraction from the coronavirus pandemic, which is causing rising numbers of infections in Oregon and across the nation.
Brown’s spokesman, Charles Boyle, said arresting people without probable cause was “extraordinarily concerning and a violation of their civil liberties and constitutional rights”.
[ . . . ]
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/18/portland-federal-agents-protests-trump-mayor
#NoJusticeNoPeace
So can someone explain why is it okay for governors to condone protestors on the streets as being outdoors when they've closed public venues, restaurants, beaches, gyms, parks, hiking trails, community pools..etc and etc to stop public gatherings at least in my state as I'm sure in most states across america.
https://youtu.be/5TH4YFXeoMA
As I mentioned couple days ago on here I went to nearby town last weekend to pick up some shifts and the weather was super hot, close to 98* and at the stoplight in all four corners were bunch of teenagers holding up signs and they were shouting and some were goofing around as kids do, standing very close to each other. Some had masks on, some had it pushed down to make sure there shouting was heard, some didn't have any on.
https://youtu.be/5TH4YFXeoMA
As I mentioned couple days ago on here I went to nearby town last weekend to pick up some shifts and the weather was super hot, close to 98* and at the stoplight in all four corners were bunch of teenagers holding up signs and they were shouting and some were goofing around as kids do, standing very close to each other. Some had masks on, some had it pushed down to make sure there shouting was heard, some didn't have any on.
Layla said:So can someone explain why is it okay for governors to condone protestors on the streets as being outdoors when they've closed public venues, restaurants, beaches, gyms, parks, hiking trails, community pools..etc and etc to stop public gatherings at least in my state as I'm sure in most states across america.
https://youtu.be/5TH4YFXeoMA
As I mentioned couple days ago on here I went to nearby town last weekend to pick up some shifts and the weather was super hot, close to 98* and at the stoplight in all four corners were bunch of teenagers holding up signs and they were shouting and some were goofing around as kids do, standing very close to each other. Some had masks on, some had it pushed down to make sure there shouting was heard, some didn't have any on.
The video lost me when it generalized Democrat's ( it would've lost me had it generalized Republicans as well ). It also lost me at the abuse of power at which the questioner was demonstrating, i.e. - interrupting answers disrespectfully, shooting off rhetorical questions the questioned could not truthfully answer ( as it would've required answering on behalf of a group of individuals vs just himself ). So I shut it down. I'm not interested in listening to anything that generalizes any group nor abuses its power by strong-arming. Period. Let me tell you what a North Carolina Democratic Governor has in place now during Phase II.
This Phase 2 Executive Order does the following:
Lifts the Stay at Home Order and moves the state to a Safer at Home recommendation
Allows restaurants to open for on-premises dining with limits on occupancy, specific requirements for disinfection of common spaces and 6 feet between each group of customers sitting at each table
Allows child care businesses to open to serve all children, as long as they follow state health guidelines
Allows overnight camps to operate, following specific public health requirements and guidance
Allows personal care, grooming, massage and tattoo businesses to open with specific requirements for disinfection of equipment, face coverings for the service providers, 6 feet of distance between customers and at 50% reduced occupancy
Allows indoor and outdoor pools to open with 50% reduced occupancy, following specific public health requirements
Allows people to gather together for social purposes, so long as they do not exceed the mass gathering limit of 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors
Allows sporting and entertainment events to occur in large venues for broadcast to the public, so long as the events occur in large venues and spectators are limited to the mass gathering limit of 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors.
The mass gathering limit does not apply to retail businesses, restaurants, personal care and grooming businesses, pools, child care, day camps and overnight camps. In these settings, there are other restrictions, such as 50% reduced occupancy or putting 6 feet of distance between each group at a restaurant, to ensure that there is not overcrowding.
The prohibition on mass gatherings does not include gatherings for health and safety, to look for and obtain goods and services, for work or for receiving governmental services. A mass gathering does not include normal operations at airports, bus and train stations or stops, medical facilities, libraries, shopping malls and shopping centers. It also does not apply to the exercise of First Amendment rights.
Facemask requirements here:
https://abc11.com/nc-face-mask-order-masks-north-carolina-required/6270849/
Now, that being said, I sympathize with states that seem to have governors ( Dem or Rep ) who have assumed a monarchy-type lead, but our governor certainly hasn't. On the contrary, I have admired his handling of this situation immensely.
Had we as a country clamped down as tightly as New Zealand instead of arguing over our freedoms and rights, we may have been back to regularly scheduled programming just as New Zealand is now.
But, we'll never know will we? Because 'Murica!
https://youtu.be/5TH4YFXeoMA
As I mentioned couple days ago on here I went to nearby town last weekend to pick up some shifts and the weather was super hot, close to 98* and at the stoplight in all four corners were bunch of teenagers holding up signs and they were shouting and some were goofing around as kids do, standing very close to each other. Some had masks on, some had it pushed down to make sure there shouting was heard, some didn't have any on.
The video lost me when it generalized Democrat's ( it would've lost me had it generalized Republicans as well ). It also lost me at the abuse of power at which the questioner was demonstrating, i.e. - interrupting answers disrespectfully, shooting off rhetorical questions the questioned could not truthfully answer ( as it would've required answering on behalf of a group of individuals vs just himself ). So I shut it down. I'm not interested in listening to anything that generalizes any group nor abuses its power by strong-arming. Period. Let me tell you what a North Carolina Democratic Governor has in place now during Phase II.
This Phase 2 Executive Order does the following:
Lifts the Stay at Home Order and moves the state to a Safer at Home recommendation
Allows restaurants to open for on-premises dining with limits on occupancy, specific requirements for disinfection of common spaces and 6 feet between each group of customers sitting at each table
Allows child care businesses to open to serve all children, as long as they follow state health guidelines
Allows overnight camps to operate, following specific public health requirements and guidance
Allows personal care, grooming, massage and tattoo businesses to open with specific requirements for disinfection of equipment, face coverings for the service providers, 6 feet of distance between customers and at 50% reduced occupancy
Allows indoor and outdoor pools to open with 50% reduced occupancy, following specific public health requirements
Allows people to gather together for social purposes, so long as they do not exceed the mass gathering limit of 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors
Allows sporting and entertainment events to occur in large venues for broadcast to the public, so long as the events occur in large venues and spectators are limited to the mass gathering limit of 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors.
The mass gathering limit does not apply to retail businesses, restaurants, personal care and grooming businesses, pools, child care, day camps and overnight camps. In these settings, there are other restrictions, such as 50% reduced occupancy or putting 6 feet of distance between each group at a restaurant, to ensure that there is not overcrowding.
The prohibition on mass gatherings does not include gatherings for health and safety, to look for and obtain goods and services, for work or for receiving governmental services. A mass gathering does not include normal operations at airports, bus and train stations or stops, medical facilities, libraries, shopping malls and shopping centers. It also does not apply to the exercise of First Amendment rights.
Facemask requirements here:
https://abc11.com/nc-face-mask-order-masks-north-carolina-required/6270849/
Now, that being said, I sympathize with states that seem to have governors ( Dem or Rep ) who have assumed a monarchy-type lead, but our governor certainly hasn't. On the contrary, I have admired his handling of this situation immensely.
Had we as a country clamped down as tightly as New Zealand instead of arguing over our freedoms and rights, we may have been back to regularly scheduled programming just as New Zealand is now.
But, we'll never know will we? Because 'Murica!
Anonymous
Layla said:So can someone explain why is it okay for governors to condone protestors on the streets as being outdoors when they've closed public venues, restaurants, beaches, gyms, parks, hiking trails, community pools..etc and etc to stop public gatherings at least in my state as I'm sure in most states across america.
https://youtu.be/5TH4YFXeoMA
As I mentioned couple days ago on here I went to nearby town last weekend to pick up some shifts and the weather was super hot, close to 98* and at the stoplight in all four corners were bunch of teenagers holding up signs and they were shouting and some were goofing around as kids do, standing very close to each other. Some had masks on, some had it pushed down to make sure there shouting was heard, some didn't have any on.
I think the problem is that the moment you attempt to discourage protestors from doing something other than protesting, someone will bitch that their 1st Ammendment rights are being suppressed, even when that is not what is happening.
Or in other words, the same shit that happened on DUP that led to the creation of this thread and its previous incarnation - people crybabying that they are being asked not to spam, monopolize discussion with repeat information, be dicks, etc.
https://youtu.be/5TH4YFXeoMA
As I mentioned couple days ago on here I went to nearby town last weekend to pick up some shifts and the weather was super hot, close to 98* and at the stoplight in all four corners were bunch of teenagers holding up signs and they were shouting and some were goofing around as kids do, standing very close to each other. Some had masks on, some had it pushed down to make sure there shouting was heard, some didn't have any on.
I think the problem is that the moment you attempt to discourage protestors from doing something other than protesting, someone will bitch that their 1st Ammendment rights are being suppressed, even when that is not what is happening.
Or in other words, the same shit that happened on DUP that led to the creation of this thread and its previous incarnation - people crybabying that they are being asked not to spam, monopolize discussion with repeat information, be dicks, etc.
"instead of arguing over our freedoms and rights".... The powers that be use conflict and crisis to curtail freedom overtly and covertly. It is in just such times when citizens must observe and protect those freedoms and rights. The false dichotomy in the U.S is a fake mask. The corrupted part that acts, as Lock's hidden hand controlling from the shadow, is neither GOP or DNC, not conservative or liberal, nor communist or fascist. Authors in fiction and nonfiction have openly and cryptically warned of the evil waiting to place mankind back into chains. We have already lost the freedom we had in many ways. Our thoughts online are censored to protect the narrative. Our actions in society are limited. Practically anything can be demanded by the "leaders" under the guise of COVID fearmongering and most people will submit without question or research. A brave new world of 1984 mental control is being slid in at dusk when the masses are distracted by a designer mask and political unrest. If such measures had been done for other biological outbreaks, then this would be on course, But we did not shut down and reorganize the world during any other plan-demic but rather survived each time. Thus I can clearly see the virus security plans being pushed are simply taking advantage of sickness to change the society. This is a crime against humanity and those precious freedoms people are so easily relinquishing. "Those who give up civil liberties in order to gain more security are in danger of losing both" - Benjamin Franklin
Ahavati said:Go North Carolina.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/asheville-north-carolina-approves-reparations-black-residents/
This made me cry
Than you Ahavati for posting
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/asheville-north-carolina-approves-reparations-black-residents/
This made me cry
Than you Ahavati for posting
Ahavati said:
Facemask requirements here:
https://abc11.com/nc-face-mask-order-masks-north-carolina-required/6270849/
Now, that being said, I sympathize with states that seem to have governors ( Dem or Rep ) who have assumed a monarchy-type lead, but our governor certainly hasn't. On the contrary, I have admired his handling of this situation immensely.
Had we as a country clamped down as tightly as New Zealand instead of arguing over our freedoms and rights, we may have been back to regularly scheduled programming just as New Zealand is now.
But, we'll never know will we? Because 'Murica!
Much respect for your state, for the careful planning that went into this plan.
There is obvious wisdom behind the words as opposed to fear or political gain.
It becoming obvious that the methods being used to clean and disinfect maybe should have been practice all along to some degree anyway
Banks, gyms, hair dressers, it makes one feel safer anyway
My Spec Ed students were susceptible to virus colds and flu
My aides were diligent with the disinfectant and gloves which we called Universal Precaution
Facemask requirements here:
https://abc11.com/nc-face-mask-order-masks-north-carolina-required/6270849/
Now, that being said, I sympathize with states that seem to have governors ( Dem or Rep ) who have assumed a monarchy-type lead, but our governor certainly hasn't. On the contrary, I have admired his handling of this situation immensely.
Had we as a country clamped down as tightly as New Zealand instead of arguing over our freedoms and rights, we may have been back to regularly scheduled programming just as New Zealand is now.
But, we'll never know will we? Because 'Murica!
Much respect for your state, for the careful planning that went into this plan.
There is obvious wisdom behind the words as opposed to fear or political gain.
It becoming obvious that the methods being used to clean and disinfect maybe should have been practice all along to some degree anyway
Banks, gyms, hair dressers, it makes one feel safer anyway
My Spec Ed students were susceptible to virus colds and flu
My aides were diligent with the disinfectant and gloves which we called Universal Precaution
