All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

Facebook restricts thousands of groups tied to QAnon conspiracy theory

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Twitter said last month that it was removing thousands of accounts tied to QAnon as well.

Iowa governor’s push to reopen schools descends into chaos

An aggressive push by Iowa’s pro-Trump governor to reopen schools amid a worsening coronavirus outbreak has descended into chaos, with some districts and teachers rebelling and experts calling the scientific benchmarks used by the state arbitrary and unsafe. The clash in the Midwest has illustrated in condensed form the tension between science and politics — and between economic concerns and health fears — that has characterized the nation’s response to the outbreak from the White House on down. The virus has devastated the U.S. economy and killed over 170,000 Americans.

Source: Iowa governor’s push to reopen schools descends into chaos

Stimulus: ‘A growing sense of panic’ with no fresh federal relief in sight – CNNPolitics

It’s been four months since most of the federal government’s $1,200 stimulus checks went out. The $600 a week federal boost to unemployment benefits expired three weeks ago, along with a moratorium on evictions. Many small businesses have already spent the money from their federal emergency loans.

Source: Stimulus: ‘A growing sense of panic’ with no fresh federal relief in sight – CNNPolitics

GOP senator’s ad on reopening Texas schools uses video of “class” in Estonia, where COVID is scarce | Salon.com

Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican up for re-election this year, posted an ad over the weekend touting his dedication to safely reopening schools in the Lone Star state, which appears to use stock footage of a classroom halfway around the world in Estonia.

The 30-second spot, called “Cares,” is meant to foreground the lengths which Cornyn has gone to in order to re-open schools safely.

 

Source: GOP senator’s ad on reopening Texas schools uses video of “class” in Estonia, where COVID is scarce | Salon.com

Pelosi Statement After Conversation with Postmaster General | Speaker Nancy Pelosi

“The Postmaster General’s alleged pause is wholly insufficient and does not reverse damage already wreaked.  The Postmaster General frankly admitted that he had no intention of replacing the sorting machines, blue mailboxes and other key mail infrastructure that have been removed and that plans for adequate overtime, which is critical for the timely delivery of mail, are not in the works.  All of these changes directly jeopardize the election and disproportionately threaten to disenfranchise voters in communities of color.  At the same time, we are highly concerned that the slowdown of the delivery of medicines to veterans is not being sufficiently addressed.

Source: Pelosi Statement After Conversation with Postmaster General | Speaker Nancy Pelosi

Trump tacitly endorses baseless QAnon conspiracy theory linked to violence

Traitor, loser, bunker boy Trump

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President says followers of movement, which claims Trump is fighting ‘deep state’ paedophiles, ‘love our country’

Donald Trump has tacitly endorsed QAnon, a baseless rightwing conspiracy theory identified as a potential domestic terrorism threat by the FBI, claiming its followers “love our country” and “like me very much”.

Followers of the QAnon movement believe without evidence that Trump is fighting a Satanic “deep state” of global elites involved in paedophilia, human trafficking and the harvesting of a supposedly life-extending chemical from the blood of abused children.

Yet asked about the theory at Wednesday’s White House press briefing, the US president failed to condemn it. “I don’t know much about the movement other than I understand they like me very much, which I appreciate,” he said. “I have heard that it is gaining in popularity.”

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235 Million Instagram, TikTok And YouTube User Profiles Exposed In Massive Data Leak

Got an Instagram, TikTok or YouTube account? 235 million users potentially affected by massive profile data leak. (I have reported in the last month, 3 or 4 Instagram accounts of people whose names – with slight variations – and photos were used to follow and communicate with users. I have changed my password twice in last several weeks as well because of the intrusion.)

Source: 235 Million Instagram, TikTok And YouTube User Profiles Exposed In Massive Data Leak