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Left-Wing Activist Group: Facebook ‘Dangerous Threat’ to Free Speech


Left-wing activist group Fight For The Future has condemned censorship by Facebook following the removal of a number of left-wing protest pages allegedly linked to Russian actors.

Following Facebook’s banning of 32 political pages and accounts suspected of “co-ordinated inauthentic behavior” linked to foreign agents, left-wing activist group Fight For The Future has voiced their anger over censorship by Facebook. In a press release, the group claims that one of the event pages that Facebook removed was, in fact, an authentic protest that was wrongfully targeted by Facebook. It would appear that this one event being deleted is enough for the far-left group to condemn Facebook for censorship of political voices on their platform.

“Arbitrary mass censorship is not the solution for the challenges democracy faces in the digital age,” said Evan Greer, deputy director of Fight for the Future, “Calls for more censorship, whether they come from the left or right, pose a dangerous threat to legitimate freedom of speech and undermine the power of the Internet as a tool for people to organize, educate themselves, and challenge tyranny and corruption. Do we really want an Internet where giant tech companies like Facebook are the arbiters of what is ‘real’ and what is ‘fake’ and can censor whatever they want without oversight or accountability?”

Greer continued to state:“Dragnet censorship operations, whether related to copyright or political content, always come with serious unintended consequences, where legitimate content is taken down. Lawmakers who are concerned about the power that large tech companies have to spread misinformation should call for more transparency and more competition, not more censorship.” Greer stated: “One simple policy decision on the table right now is restoring net neutrality protections, which allow startups and small businesses to thrive and compete with giants like Twitter and Facebook, leading to more decentralization that makes coordinated misinformation campaigns much harder.”

The activist group issued a public call for Facebook to stop their censorship practices stating: “Fight for the Future condemns Facebook’s decision to censor a legitimate protest page because of a link to a single ‘inauthentic’ account, and calls on the platform to cease any similar censorship plans, and instead focus on transparency initiatives to make it easier for Internet users to know who is paying for the content they’re seeing.”

Breitbart News has been reporting on Facebook’s censorship of voices on the right for some time, Senator Ted Cruz even grilled Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on the topic of censorship in a hearing before the Senate Judiciary and Commerce Committees, but it appears that all it takes for voices on the left to speak up about the issue is for a single event page to allegedly wrongfully remove. At least it appears that Facebook is being held to account on both sides of the political aisle, putting further pressure on the social media firm.

Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or email him at lnolan@breitbart.com

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Health department shuts down 7-year-old’s lemonade stand — because he didn’t have proper permit

A 7-year-old entrepreneur’s lemonade dreams were crushed by the New York State Department of Health after he set up a lemonade stand without a permit, according to WLNY-TV.

The shutdown has caused enough controversy that it even caught the attention of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D).

What are the details?

The state’s Department of Health recently shut down Brendan Mulvaney’s lemonade stand, which also served water, soda, and snow cones.

The stand was on the Mulvaney family property in Ballston Spa, New York, and according to the family, Brendan has been selling his lemonade for the last few years.

Over the weekend, however, Brendan’s father Sean said that the state shut down the stand.

“Nothing he did was wrong,” Sean told WLNY. “There’s more important things in life than shutting down a kid’s lemonade stand.”

A spokesperson for the health department, however, didn’t see it that way at all.

The spokesperson told the outlet that a health inspector stopped by the boy’s lemonade stand after receiving complaints from vendors at the Saratoga County Fair — which was being held across the street from the Mulvaney homestead.

The spokesperson told WLNY that Brendan’s stand appeared to be “too structured” as well as “much greater than the average little kid’s spontaneous lemonade stand.”

The department told the Mulvaney family that if Brendan wanted to continue operating his stand, the second-grader would need to obtain the proper permit.

What have people said about the shutdown?

One person who spoke out against the shutdown was state Sen. Jim Tedisco (R-N.Y).

According to the news outlet, Tedisco said that the shutdown “boggles the mind” and that the department’s overreach was a massive overreaction that made no sense.

In response to Brendan’s stand shutdown, Tedisco is drafting legislation called the “Lemon-Aide Law,” which is intended to keep kids’ lemonade stands running and legal.

“We’re spending time fighting the real criminals now – the 7-year-olds out in their front yard selling lemonade. Those are not the criminals of New York State,” Tedisco said. “These are families who are trying to teach their kids some important lessons.”

Cuomo said that he’s going to look into the incident.

“If it was a 7-year-old with a lemonade stand, we’re going to get him his lemonade stand back,” Cuomo said.

After speaking with WLNY, Cuomo issued a statement which read:

Today I directed the Department of Health to reach a resolution with the Mulvaney family to ensure that Brendan’s Lemonade Stand can continue to operate. If a permit is needed, I will personally pay for any necessary fees. We support Brendan’s entrepreneurial spirit and wish him the best of luck.

Once reopened, the Mulvaney family said that they plan to use the stand to help raise money for a family friend who is battling Blount’s disease.

Anything else?

Young Brendan could have also perhaps reached out to Country Time Lemonade — who kicked off a promotion in June to pay off the fines of kids who were busted for not having permits, as well as pay for their permits.

The program, which you can read more about here, runs through the end of August.

According to the company’s promotional site, the child has to be 14 or younger and running a lemonade stand. Country Time Lemonade will cover fines or fees up to $300 per child and had allocated $60,000 for such fines and fees.

So this is a real thing, then: kids getting in trouble for lemonade stands.

Seems to be.

In 2016, local government told a young California girl that she’d have to pay $3,500 in permits and building code upgrades in order to sell lemonade. The internet helped her out with that one, though, and she was able to sell without fear.

In 2015, Texas officials told another little girl that she would need an operations permit, as well as one from the health department.

In 2011, law enforcement in Georgia shut down another stand, saying that the children operating it didn’t have a business license or the required permits.

And in 2018, over Memorial Day weekend, police shut down a Colorado kids’ lemonade stand over — you guessed it — a permit issue.

Not even celebrities’ kids are exempt from such treatment.

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld’s children faced a stand shutdown when they, too, were operating a stand in the Hamptons. Worse yet, the Seinfeld children’s lemonade stand’s proceeds were headed for charity.

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Court Sides with Woman against Planet Fitness Policy Allowing Trans Men in Women’s Locker Room


A Michigan appeals court sent the case of a woman who sued Planet Fitness because the gym allowed biological men in the women’s locker room back to trial court.

Yvette Cormier sued the Planet Fitness gym in Midland, Michigan in 2015 after it suspended her membership because she reported – to other women customers of the gym – having seen a man using the women’s locker room. When Cormier asked the gym’s staff why a man was using the women’s facilities, she was told he had identified as a woman.

“Planet Fitness is committed to creating a non-intimidating, welcoming environment for our members,” said McCall Gosselin, public relations director for Planet Fitness, after the 2015 incident. “Our gender identity non-discrimination policy states that members and guests may use all gym facilities based on their sincere self-reported gender identity.”

The appeals court, however, found the gym had violated the Consumer Protection Act because Cormier had signed the membership agreement expecting only biological women would be permitted to use the women’s locker facilities. Had she known biological men claiming to be women would have access to the women’s locker room, she would not have sought membership. Planet Fitness, the court said, so she misled Cormier when she signed her membership contract.

According to the ruling:

The transaction at issue is plaintiff’s agreement to join the gym. The allegations in plaintiff’s complaint indicate that defendants made a representation of fact in a positive manner when they informed her that the gym had separate locker rooms and restrooms for men and women. And, according to the complaint, when plaintiff joined the gym, defendants failed to reveal the fact that they had an unwritten policy whereby an individual may use whichever locker room or restroom corresponds with the gender with which that individual self-identifies. Therefore, plaintiff’s allegations indicate that defendants failed to reveal facts (i.e., the existence of the unwritten self-identification policy) and that representations of fact were made in a positive manner (i.e., that there were separate locker rooms and restrooms for men and women). The question becomes, then, whether the fact that defendants failed to reveal, i.e., the existence of the unwritten self-identification policy, was material to the transaction.

Cormier’s attorney, David Kallman, said his client is pleased with the decision, reports the Detroit Free Press.

“The appeals court opinion was pretty clear that we not only have a valid claim, but that we will also prevail upon it,” he said, indicating that he will file a motion with the trial court, stating they should win the case without a trial because of the appeals court’s ruling.

If successful, Kallman will also ask that his client’s legal fees be paid for by Planet Fitness and that the gym be required to post notices about its policy regarding transgendered individuals.

In July, the Planet Fitness gym in Leesburg, Florida also made headlines after cancelling the membership of a woman when she voiced complaints to other women about the presence of a man in the women’s locker room.

According to Liberty Counsel, which represents “Mrs. H.,” Jordan “Ivy” Rice – a biological man who claims to be a woman – called police to falsely report that Mrs. H. had “sexually harassed” him. The law firm noted that Ivy had been involved in several similar incidents.

“Planet Fitness is endangering women by allowing men to sexually harass them in the women’s facilities and punishing those who object,”said Mat Staver, chairman of Liberty Counsel. “This is discrimination based on sex, in violation of Florida law as well as several of Planet Fitness’ own policies. Liberty Counsel demands that Planet Fitness reinstate our client’s membership and adhere to the law and its own policies and protect the privacy of women.”

The case is Yvette M. Cormier v. PF Fitness-Midland, LLC, and “LA-FIT Franchise, LLC, No. 331286 at Midland Circuit Court.

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Netanyahu Warns Israel Will Act with International Coalition If Iran Attempts to Block Red Sea


TEL AVIV – Israel will join an international coalition to thwart any more attempts by Iran to block a key waterway in the region, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Wednesday, after Iranian proxies last week launched an attack on two Saudi oil tankers sailing through the narrow strait.

“At the beginning of the week we were witness to a sharp clash between Iran’s proxies that tried to sabotage international shipping in the strait at the mouth of the Red Sea,” Netanyahu said at a graduation ceremony for elite captains at a naval base in Haifa.

“If Iran tries to block the Bab al-Mandab waterway, I am convinced that it will find itself against an international coalition determined to prevent that. This coalition will include the State of Israel and all of its branches,” he said, marking the first such promise despite the fact that the threat to the narrow shipping strait has been building up for some time.

Last Wednesday’s attack on Saudi tankers by Yemen’s Tehran-aligned Houthis did not cause major damage to the vessels themselves, but they prompted the temporary suspension of Saudi oil shipments in the region and a spike in prices in global oil markets.

The Bab al-Mandab Strait connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean and is a crucial oil passageway for both the West and Asia and a key shipping route for global trade.

Netanyahu told the new naval officers that a “significant part” of the campaign Israel is waging against terrorists is conducted at sea.

“Dozens of operations that you carry out each year extract a price,” he said. “While our enemies are also developing their capabilities, our goal is to preempt them, thwart threats and, if necessary, decide the battle.”

“The sea provides us with many opportunities,” Netanyahu added. “Above all, it increases the small area of the State of Israel and allows us to deploy our vessels over the water and underwater in a vast space. This gives the State of Israel tremendous power.”

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said at the naval ceremony, “We recently heard threats to attack Israeli ships on the Red Sea, and I look at the people around me who are here, and it’s a pity that our enemies cannot see you and understand that we are well prepared to respond to any threat.”

“I want to emphasize: The IDF is prepared and ready to respond on two fronts simultaneously, and also in the Red Sea,” Liberman added.

Such a multi-pronged confrontation, he warned, “would be less selective, and the damage to our enemies will be more intense. I hope they will take this into account.”

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IDF Releases Footage of Largest Syria Strike in Decades


TEL AVIV – The IDF on Tuesday released a video showing Israel’s raid on Syria in May that destroyed more than 50 Iranian targets in the most extensive military strike in the country since 1974.

The strikes were a response to a barrage of rockets launched by Iranian forces at military targets on the Golan Heights following President Donald Trump’s announcement that the U.S. was withdrawing from the Iranian nuclear deal.

The nationwide attack used IAF fighter jets, precision missiles, and heavy artillery including cannon fire from the 282nd Golan Artillery Brigade.

(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

(Photo: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit)

Brigade cannons took out targets several dozen miles inside Syrian territory.

(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

(Photo: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit)

The IDF destroyed several targets adjacent to the border using Tamuz guided missiles and tanks.

(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

(Photo: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit)

Following the May 10 attack, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said that the IDF had destroyed “almost all of Iran’s military infrastructure sites in Syria.”

Liberman warned Tehran that attacks on Israeli territory would be met with “the strongest possible force.”

“If we get rain, you will get a flood,” he said at the time. “We will not let Iran use Syria as a base to attack us from.”

Israel said it destroyed weapons depots, rocket launchers, logistics sites, observation posts, and intelligence centers used by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Quds Forces in Syria. It also said it destroyed several Syrian air-defense systems after coming under heavy fire.

The retaliatory attacks set back Iranian military capabilities in Syria by “many months,” the IDF said.

(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

(Photo: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit)

Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan had warned Iran at the time that Israel was “not bluffing.”

“Israel will not cease to act against Iranian forces in Syria and will not forgive any attempt to attack the [Israeli] citizens of the north,” he said.

“We will not allow the religious extremist regime in Tehran to build military power in Syria that presents a threat to the citizens of Israel. We hold the Syrian regime responsible for whatever happens on its soil,” he added.

(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

(Photo: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit)

 

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Former Obama Solicitor General Calls Kavanaugh ‘Brilliant Jurist,’ ‘Exemplary’ Judge

Former Obama administration Solicitor General Donald Verrilli praised Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh as a "brilliant jurist," "exemplary," and a "very gracious" person in an interview last month.

President Donald Trump tapped Kavanaugh, a D.C. Circuit Court judge since 2012, to fill the seat left by the retirement of Anthony Kennedy.

Now an appellate specialist who heads the Washington office of Munger, Tolles & Olson, Verrilli was a guest on the "Legal Speaks" podcast on July 13. Law.com correspondent Marcia Coyle asked the veteran attorney what Kavanaugh was like on the bench.

"Judge Kavanaugh is a brilliant jurist and he’s a very gracious person, both on the bench and off," he said. "I recently had an oral argument in front of Judge Kavanaugh and two other members of the D.C. Circuit back a few months ago, in which he asked a whole lot of very intense, very incisive questions, which is his wont."

"But I think he carries out all phases of his responsibilities as a judge in the way you’d want, in an exemplary way," Verrilli added, calling him a "distinguished jurist by any measure."

Former acting Obama Solicitor General Neal Katyal has also had warm words for Kavanaugh.

"It’s very hard for anyone who has worked with him, appeared before him, to frankly say a bad word about him," Katyal said. "This is an incredibly brilliant, careful person, but someone who will move the court in a conservative direction."

Self-described liberal feminist attorney Lisa Blatt penned a piece for Politico urging Democrats to support Kavanaugh, calling him "supremely qualified." While she fretted about Republican treatment of Merrick Garland in 2016, she said Kavanaugh was "unquestionably well-qualified, brilliant, has integrity and is within the mainstream of legal thought." She added he is "the most qualified conservative for the job."

Kavanaugh has also won strong support from his former clerks, such as registered Democrat Kathryn Cherry. She said in ad that Kavanaugh could be relied on to follow the Constitution as written and everyone could expect fair treatment from him.

The nominee is facing vehement opposition from organized progressives and Senate Democrats led by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.), who vowed to fight his confirmation with all of his strength. Nevertheless, they face an uphill battle with Republicans in the majority and no GOP members signaling they will vote against him so far.

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Republican National Committee tells donors to stay away from Koch network: ‘This is unacceptable’

After the Koch political network criticized Republicans and suggested that it may begin supporting some Democratic candidates in the future, the Republican National Committee is telling major donors to stay away from Koch-affiliated organizations, Politico reported.

Charles Koch and Koch network representatives said over the weekend they will be more selective about the candidates they support in the future, citing disagreements about economic policies.

“Some groups who claim to support conservatives forgo their commitment when they decide their business interests are more important than those of the country or party,” wrote RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel to donors. “This is unacceptable.”

Why is the conflict escalating?

After the Koch network comments over the weekend, President Donald Trump shot back on Twitter, saying the Koch brothers have become a “total joke” among Republicans, and that he doesn’t want or need their “money or bad ideas.”

Trump continued his attacks on Charles Koch on Thursday.

“Charles Koch of Koch Brothers, who claims to be giving away millions of dollars to politicians even though I know very few who have seen this (?), now makes the ridiculous statement that what President Trump is doing is unfair to ‘foreign workers,’” Trump tweeted. “He is correct, AMERICA FIRST!”

Did the RNC see this coming?

McDaniel, in her memo to donors, wrote that her organization was always concerned about what could happen if the Koch’s extensive political network turned against Republicans.

“From the beginning, the RNC had concerns about any outside entity building a data operation to compete with ours because we knew they could potentially weaponize that data against Republicans if their business interests conflicted with electing Republicans,” McDanial wrote. “Sadly, our concerns were recently proven true.”

Did the Kochs respond?

A spokesman for Koch released a statement that didn’t address the RNC’s memo.

“We have a long-term commitment to unite around issues that will help people improve their lives,” said spokesman James Davis, according to Politico. “Just as we have in the past, we will work together with the President, elected officials and others where we disagree. And, where we disagree, we will do so in a civil way.”

(H/T The Hill)

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“Mullahs Get Lost!” Anti-Regime Protests Spread to TEHRAN — Iranian People Rise Up Against Brutal Regime

Mass protests continued Thursday in several cities across Iran.
The people are angered by the failed economic policies and brutality of the Khamenei regime.

Protests took place in Isfahan, Shiraz, Najafabad, Karaj, Gohardasht, Mashhad and now — Tehran.

Video footage shows hundreds of protesters chanting: “No to Gaza, no to Lebanon, my soul is Iran’s redemption.”

Iranian protesters face the death penalty according to international activists for organizing against the regime.

There was a massive crowd protesting the regime in Shiraz today.

The post “Mullahs Get Lost!” Anti-Regime Protests Spread to TEHRAN — Iranian People Rise Up Against Brutal Regime appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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New York man arrested for threatening Rep. Steve Scalise’s children

A man in New York has been arrested for leaving a threatening voicemail for Rep. Steve Scalise and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers. The caller made reference to children separated from their parents at the border. The caller then suggested the lawmakers’ children could be murdered as payback. From WKBW:

63-year-old Carlos Bayon was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with interstate communication of a threat.

Prosecutors say the Louisiana office of a United States Congressman received a threatening voicemail on June 30. It stated:

Hey listen, this message is for you and the people that sent you there. You are taking ours, we are taking yours. Anytime, anywhere. We know where they are. We are not going to feed them sandwiches, we are going to feed them lead. Make no mistake you will pay. Ojo por ojo, diente por diente (Spanish for “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth). That is our law and we are the majority. Have a good day.”

The Washington Post reports Rep. Steve Scalise was one of the people targeted by the calls. The other was Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington State.

Scalise (La.) and McMorris Rodgers (Wash.) are not named in the complaint, but congressional aides familiar with the investigation confirmed the identity of the threatened lawmakers. The charging documents indicate one call was made to a congressional office in Spokane, Wash., in McMorris Rodgers’s district…

“Whip Scalise is grateful to law enforcement for their actions,” Scalise spokeswoman Lauren Fine said. “He will never forget how their heroism saved his life and those of his colleagues last year. As he has said before, there is absolutely no place in our political discourse for violent threats.”

A spokesman for McMorris Rodgers declined to comment.

Most sites are reporting this as a threat against Scalise and while he was clearly meant to hear it, the threat itself is against the lawmakers’ children. Bayon is saying the children could be killed “anytime, anywhere” as payback for Trump’s policy of separating kids from parents at the border. Rep. Scalise has two children and Rep. McMorris Rodgers has three children. Here’s hoping the judge throws the book at this unhinged nut.

Last June a gunman nearly killed Scalise as he was practicing for an annual congressional baseball game. The shooter, James Thomas Hodgkinson, had participated in the Bernie Sanders campaign and was vocal on social media about his dislike for Republicans in general and President Trump in particular.

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NY Times Newest Editorial Hire Has History Of Racist Tweets Against White People…

Probably helped her get the job. Via Daily Caller: The New York Times’ newest editorial hire has a history of racist tweets against white people. NYT announced on Wednesday that they hired Sarah Jeong to join their editorial board. Jeong previously wrote for the Verge and authored “The Internet of Garbage,” a book about online harassment and […]

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