[GEO.tv] Princess Meghan Markle ...unlikable American former starlet married to the formerly likable Prince Harry. Chock full of lefty political opinions and not many brains, Markle's most important characteristic is that she is Black, even though she doesn't look it. Her mother, y'see, is half black and her father is white, which would make her a quarter Black. Once married, she was too classy for the Royals and she and Harry decamped to Beverly Hills, kind of like the Clampetts did, because she was so much classier than the Winsdors.... ’s new lifestyle brand is facing a lot of fake accounts jeopardising her credibility.
The Duchess of Sussex, who introduced American Riviera Orchard back in March with an appealing Instagram account, is being targeted.
Speaking about the Duchess new brand, digital marketing agency Own Your Space explained: "The Instagram for American Riviera Orchard showcases a robust following of over half a million, a testament to her powerful personal brand and appeal. However, some people are alive only because it's illegal to kill them... the presence of a 13.77% 'fake follower' metric reveals a common challenge in digital brand management. Navigating this landscape requires strategic engagement and authentic content to maintain and enhance brand integrity."
He adds: "Having 7.25% suspicious mass followers and 6.52% likely bots or fake accounts presents a significant threat to the integrity of her brand. These fake followers not only distort engagement metrics but also undermine the authenticity and trustworthiness of her online presence."
He noted: "With the rise of influencer marketing and the increasing emphasis on genuine connections with audiences, the presence of fake followers can tarnish Markle's credibility and hinder her ability to effectively communicate with her genuine followers."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/05/2024 00:00 ||
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[ZERO] A federal judge has blocked the ATF from enforcing its pistol brace rule for millions of members of the National Rifle Association (NRA) as the appeals process plays out.
It came after the NRA filed a lawsuit against the ATF, or the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, arguing that the agency’s rule to reclassify the brace-equipped pistols as short-barreled rifles is unconstitutional.
U.S. District Judge Sam Lindsay sided with the gun rights group, arguing that the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals already concluded that the ATF pistol-brace rule "fails the logical outgrowth test and violates" the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and is "unlawful" under the act.
"The court, therefore, sees no reason why it should not consider this argument and APA claim in ruling on Plaintiff’s Motion," the judge added. "To not do so would be exalt form over substance, particularly since the Fifth Circuit has already determined that this claim has a substantial likelihood of succeeding on the merits."
The judge agreed with the NRA’s arguments that its members would be substantially harmed by the ATF rule, which was finalized in January 2023.
#3
Have you seen a Luger or Mauser with a carbine stock attachment? They had a surge of popularity after WW1 and IIRC drew the ire of the gun control legislation. A Pistol Brace kinda sorta makes a pistol a carbine and hence it is a "short barreled rifle" which are yesteryear's evil thing...
#5
Yes. The left believes the 2nd Amendment applies only to muskets, while the NFA and the 1968 Firearms Act can be re-interpreted on the fly and expanded infinitely.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/05/2024 19:39 Comments ||
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[DefenseNews] Several of the U.S. Navy’s top shipbuilding programs are running one year to three years behind schedule, as the service and the industrial base grapple with workforce and management challenges.
Navy leaders conducted a 45-day review of its shipbuilding portfolio, following news in January that a first-of-class guided-missile frigate was behind schedule due in part to a workforce shortage at Fincantieri’s Marinette Marine shipyard in Wisconsin.
Coupled with existing delays to the Virginia-class attack submarine construction line and worries those delays might spill over to the top-priority Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine, Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro that month ordered an “assessment of national and local causes of shipbuilding challenges, as well as recommended actions for achieving a healthier U.S. shipbuilding industrial base that provides combat capabilities that our warfighters need, on a schedule that is relevant.”
A SNAPSHOT OF DELAYS
The review’s leaders, Navy acquisition chief Nickolas Guertin and Naval Sea Systems Command head Vice Adm. James Downey, told reporters April 2 the review provided a snapshot of shipbuilding delays and challenges.
Based on current performance, the Navy projects the first Columbia-class SSBN will deliver 12 to 16 months later than its contractual delivery date of October 2027. The submarine is built by General Dynamics’ Electric Boat and HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding.
This is particularly worrisome because the vessel is expected to deploy shortly after its post-delivery testing and training. The Navy is obligated to have 10 SSBNs ready to deploy, lurking beneath the oceans while carrying nuclear missiles. The service is counting on the lead Columbia boat to deliver in 2027 so it can go on its maiden patrol in 2031. With any delays, the Navy will dip below the requirement.
Guertin said the Navy took significant steps prior to the pandemic to reduce risk on this program and accelerate the schedule where possible.
SUPPLY ISSUES
“COVID happened. Supply chain changed. Workforce greening happened,” he said, but previous risk-reduction steps kept the pandemic impacts “as minimal as possible.” The Columbia program, the Navy’s top acquisition priority, is the least delayed of the new programs assessed in the shipbuilding review, Guertin said.
#2
The service is counting on the lead Columbia boat to deliver in 2027 so it can go on its maiden patrol in 2031. With any delays, the Navy will dip below the requirement.
...Oh, but they have an answer for that: a bobtail refit for three Ohios to keep the numbers right.
One tiny, teeny-weeny, infinitesmal problem, almost not worth mentioning: there is no place to do the refits. They could yank other boats out of work to get the Ohios in, but then the ripple effect does it's thing. And there's no guarantee that the refits will be done on time in any event.
#3
Go to college industry sort of left out the skills needed to build the equipment needed by a modern military. A thousand credentialed debt holders does not make up for one good skilled shipbuilder.
#5
Yes # 4. The problem is building the ranks. Major help issues. So you get a high paying welding or iron worker job. The taxes are insane. So The Francis Scott key bride requires union workers. Understaffed back door option is to hire non union workers. In come the Mexicans and others of Latin persuasion. This option will occur should production be delayed.
#8
4 ships reviewed by brass including Marines. Why Marines I do not know. Alabama port. Rush welding work. Lumpy and bumpy welds. Seems drones of all types are the future with AI.
#9
Regular working skilled trades say new help is worthless. If they show up at all just stand there. Big trade show with about 1200 showing up. One signed up to get into the system. If they make it to the sight no show next day. 40 dollar per hour flagger ticketed for going 85 miles per hour. Laid off for four days. He will soon get disability so out of the work force. No desire to work. This is how the system works.
[AFRICANEWS] People in Uganda reacted with mixed views after the country’s Constitutional Court upheld Wednesday an anti-gay law that allows the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality".
The law in question defines "aggravated homosexuality" as cases of homosexual relations involving a minor and other categories of vulnerable people, or when the perpetrator is infected with HIV.
The court in the Ugandan capital Kampala rejected the petitioners' request to quash the law despite widespread condemnation from rights groups and others abroad.
President Yoweri Museveni ...President-for-Life of Uganda. He assumed office in 1985. His primary virtue is being prefereable to both his predecessors, Idi Amin and Milton Obote... signed the bill into law in May last year.
The law is supported by many in the East African country, where some see it as behaviour imported from abroad and not a sexual orientation.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/05/2024 00:00 ||
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Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa has declared a national disaster in the country due to the devastating drought that has gripped much of southern Africa. This was reported on the page of the head of state on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
“We are mobilizing resources to assist affected communities and mitigate the impact of this natural disaster,” the head of state wrote.
Declaring a national emergency at State House in Harare on April 3, the president called on the global community to provide $2 billion (£1.6 billion) in humanitarian aid to mitigate the effects of drought caused by the El Niño climate phenomenon.
“Preliminary estimates indicate that Zimbabwe requires more than $2 billion for the various measures we are putting in place in our national response,” Mnangagwa said.
He also added that below-normal rainfall fell on more than 80% of the country, which is home to more than 15 million people. This caused a difficult food situation.
The President called the main priority of the Zimbabwean government to provide food for the country's citizens.
“No Zimbabwean should suffer or die from hunger,” he said.
Mnangagwa said authorities expect more than 2.7 million people will need food assistance, Sky News reported.
As Regnum reported, experts surveyed by Bloomberg said that 2024 could become the hottest year on record and break the 2023 record. Experts explained that the increase in temperature this year will be influenced by the natural phenomenon El Niño, associated with fluctuations in the temperature of the surface layer of water in the equatorial part of the Pacific Ocean. According to preliminary estimates, this year the average temperature on the planet will increase by 1.3–1.6 degrees.
The effect of El Niño was noticed in the summer of 2023. The US National Centers for Environmental Prediction reported in July that the average temperature on the planet has broken records known throughout the history of weather observations.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in a video message to the participants of the 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) in Dubai in November 2023, said that humanity is experiencing climate collapse.
He called 2023 the hottest year in human history. Data to the end of October showed temperatures in 2023 were up about 1.4 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
According to the UN World Meteorological Organization, summer 2023 was the hottest on record.
The scientific director of the Hydrometeorological Center of Russia, Roman Vilfand, said on February 21 that the natural phenomenon El Niño, which could provoke an abnormally hot summer in 2024, will begin to cease its effect in April. According to him, in the second half of this year, with a probability of more than 60%, La Niña, the cold analogue of El Niño, will begin. In this case, the temperature on the planet will be below normal.
[Paradigms and Demographics] The most important spy of the 20th century. Who helped Reagan bring the Soviet Union down. Plus: How Reagan ended the Soviet Union.
Michael Flores Apr 4, 2024
In his young years, Vladimir Vetrov was a model Soviet citizen — an ardent Communist and good patriot. He belonged to that "sons of the people" generation which the USSR dutifully promoted. The new officer is lucky enough to be sent to Paris, beyond the iron curtain. There, he discovers the affluence and freedom of the West, which comes as a genuine shock. He works as an accomplished spy, but his attraction to luxury and the high life turns his head and gets him into trouble. He is called back to Moscow. Returning to the routine life of a KGB employee in the gloomy Moscow of the Brezhnev years is all the more unbearable to Vladimir Vetrov that he is not granted the promotion that the quality of his service in Paris should have brought him. His disgust leads him to revenge - by means of treason...............
And he was no ordinary spy. Think Aldrich Ames, to the power of ten. Vladimir Vetrov oversaw the entire KGB directorate charged with a critical program: Line X, which surveilled western R&D and passed its fruits back to Mother Russia. In the 1960s and 1970s, Line X stole jaw-dropping volumes of military, computer, and industrial advances........... "The Soviet military and civil sectors were in large measure running their research on that of the West, particularly the United States," ......... "Our science was supporting their national defense."..........The Farewell dossier exposed the entirety of the Soviet technology-stealing infrastructure, with a couple of enormous consequences. ...........
By feeding Soviet agents promising but subtly flawed technology, the Americans infiltrated sabotage points into the USSR — a Trojan Horse for the information age. In 1982, software running the Soviet Trans-Siberian Pipeline allegedly escalated gas pressure fatally on the Urengoy-Surgut-Chelyabinsk pipeline, triggering an explosion so large (three kilotons) that some foreign monitoring stations initially suspected a nuclear detonation............"Pseudo-software disrupted factory output. Flawed but convincing ideas on stealth, attack aircraft and space defense made their way into Soviet ministries." Suddenly, the Russians couldn’t know which Line X acquisitions were dependable and which were time bombs. ................
In January 1982, President Ronald Reagan approved a CIA plan to sabotage the economy of the Soviet Union through covert transfers of technology that contained hidden malfunctions, including software that later triggered a huge explosion in a Siberian natural gas pipeline, according to a new memoir by a Reagan White House official...............To Read More....
#1
Chinese embeds in our current industrial/academic/governmental research base are so extensive, so widespread it would be impossible to create such a program today. I suspect even suggesting such an idea these days would doom an agency employee to a DEI career "murder board" or stationing gulag in the sub-saharan interior .
[Washington Examiner] A legal group headed by ex-Donald Trump adviser Stephen Miller accused the Defense Department on Thursday of failing to answer a request for an Obama-era memo that may reveal pertinent information surrounding the 45th president’s classified documents indictment.
America First Legal in January filed a Freedom of Information Act request to compel the DOD to submit information pertaining to a "secretive" technology committee created in 2014 under then-President Barack Obama in response to foreign cyberattack threats. Miller’s group argues that the Presidential Information Technology Committee "creates a presumption that the President controls all information he receives" and says that it could have sweeping implications for Trump’s 40-count indictment of allegedly mishandling classified records.
[Washington Examiner] HOOVERSVILLE, Pennsylvania — If you are a longtime resident of Pennsylvania, it still is a bit of a jolt to the senses to drive through what was once coal country and see an oversized, cheery, red billboard sitting along U.S. 30 reading "VOTE REPUBLICAN."
However, it is a reminder of how much the people who live in these old industrial and coal-rich counties have shed the local Democratic politics of their upbringing. Voter registration numbers, as we shall see, show as much.
Important to note: These voters have not changed personally, but their parties have done so. Democrats have abandoned their working-class voters for college-educated elites who rarely call the middle of somewhere home.
Officials in both parties in Washington — whether they are lawmakers on Capitol Hill or strategists working for one of the alphabet soup campaign arms of the House, Senate, or state legislatures, or a staffer for any of them — often struggle with how to appeal to these citizens.
Democrats did appeal to them well for so long ... until they didn’t. It was an erosion that wasn’t all that easily detected because what didn’t move in a significant way was the voter registration numbers. Part of why voters who left the Democratic Party did not change their voter registration had to do with local elections and the state’s closed primary system.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The United States of America will introduce a resolution to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) early next week calling for the non-deployment of nuclear weapons in outer space. John Kirby, coordinator of strategic communications at the White House National Security Council, announced this on Thursday, April 4.
“We will bring this resolution to a vote in New York early next week,” Kirby said during the briefing.
The White House representative recalled that Washington's permanent representative to the international organization, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, announced last month the intention of the United States of America and Japan to submit a resolution on the non-placement of nuclear weapons in space to the UN Security Council for a vote.
John Kirby also noted that the American side is counting on the support of this document from the Russian side, since Russian President Vladimir Putin indicated the absence of intentions to deploy nuclear weapons in space.
As Regnum reported, on February 20, Vladimir Putin, at a meeting with the head of the Russian Ministry of Defense Sergei Shoigu, emphasized that Moscow has always been against the militarization of space, including against the deployment of nuclear weapons in low-Earth orbit. The head of state recalled that Russia does not do anything in space that other states do not do.
[PJ] Abortion pills not only kill unborn babies, but they also injure women. A group of nurses is citing first-hand experience to call on the FDA to restrict abortion pills.
"Nurses are front-line witnesses to the devastating impact of chemical abortion drugs," Dorothy Kane, president of the National Association of Pro-Life Nurses, told CatholicVote, according to LifeNews. "We see the women arriving in emergency rooms, hemorrhaging and suffering from life-threatening infections." She and her group want the FDA to implement safeguards. Once again, Democrats’ touted "healthcare" just means more dead babies and injured mothers.
The National Association of Pro-life Nurses recently joined the plaintiffs in the critical Supreme Court case challenging the Food and Drug Administration’s removal of safeguards for the chemical abortion pill mifepristone. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments for the case, U.S. Food and Drug Administration v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, on March 26 ... She noted the immediate risks posed by mifepristone and that the drug has "documented risks of complications."
Abortion pills essentially starve unborn babies to death. There is also extensive evidence that abortion adds to the trauma of rape victims, triggers grave psychological and emotional damage, and is never necessary to save a mother’s life.
If Americans knew the truth about these pills, they would probably join the pro-life nurses in supporting FDA action. As of Jan. 2023, over two-thirds of Americans — 69% — and nearly half of Democrats support banning abortion no later than the first trimester. Even 75% of young US voters (aged 18 to 42) support abortion restrictions at or before viability as of early 2024, a 10% increase over 2023 data. If American voters were empowered with the truth, particularly about the damages to women, they would probably want more restrictions on abortion pills too.
Pfizer, Inc.: Pfizer, based in New York, United States, is a global pharmaceutical company that manufactures a variety of hormonal contraceptives, including oral pills, contraceptive patches, and injections. Their products provide effective contraception and menstrual regulation.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...unlikable American former starlet married to the formerly likable Prince Harry. Chock full of lefty political opinions and not many brains, Markle's most important characteristic is that she is Black, even though she doesn't look it. Her mother, y'see, is half black and her father is white, which would make her a quarter Black. Once married, she was too classy for the Royals and she and Harry decamped to Beverly Hills, kind of like the Clampetts did, because she was so much classier than the Winsdors....
President-for-Life of Uganda. He assumed office in 1985. His primary virtue is being prefereable to both his predecessors, Idi Amin and Milton Obote...
