SELLERS: Tennessee Should Be a Litmus Test for All 2024 GOP Hopefuls

Ben Sellers
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SELLERS: Tennessee Should Be a Litmus Test for All 2024 GOP Hopefuls

(Ben Sellers, Headline USA) With the GOP’s primary sweepstakes soon to begin heating up, every hopeful for federal office should be asked the following: Are you a Bill Lee or a Kamala Harris?

While it may seem like a trick question, the answer should be obvious to anyone willing to put in the work needed to salvage the last vestiges of a fallen republic: Kamala, of course.

The contrast in responses between the Republican Tennessee governor and the Democrat vice president exposes the most fundamental—and potentially fatal—flaw in Republican reasoning—which already has led to three consecutive underperforming election cycles as part of a broader losing streak spanning back to 2008.

Somehow, in the span of just two weeks, the lying Left successfully managed to spin a terrorist attack committed by a transgender leftist on a Christian elementary school into a revival of the ’60s era civil-rights struggle, without ever displaying an ounce of integrity in the course of their gaslighting mechanisms.

The reason is that Republicans like Lee are unwilling to fight back and get their hands dirty.

DUELING INSURRECTIONS

The narrative begins a long time ago, but the present chapter started in late March, when three insurrectionist Democrats conspired with a swarm of anti-Second-Amendment radicals—undoubtedly tapping the same Antifa network as the 2020 race riots to plot their attempted coup on the Tennessee legislature.

How does one know that this was an attempted insurrection and not simply an unruly gathering of political dissidents asserting their free-speech rights?

Because Democrats wrote the playbook and set the precedent in their response to the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol uprising.

Jan. 6 video footage from inside the Capitol showed that many of those who entered what Nancy Pelosi referred to as a “temple” to democracy (arguably in violation of the Constitution’s separation of church and state) were sufficiently reverential as the toured the building, sometimes with police escorts in tow.

But that did not stop Democrats from going all in on one of their most audacious hoaxes yet.

Not only did Merrick Garland’s Justice Department prosecute thousands of U.S. citizens for entering their own Capitol building, but leftists in Congress moreover tried valiantly to force the removal of rival lawmakers by claiming—on tenuous, anonymous accounts from a magazine notorious for its false reporting—that they were part of a “cabal” to overthrow the government.

Their scheme failed, but not until after a protracted lawfare assault that cost precious resources for candidates including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and former Rep. Madison Cawthorn, simply for being outspoken conservatives.

WEAPONS OF MASS DEFLECTION

At no point did any level-headed Democrats step in to denounce the brazen political smears and to warn that having one party unilaterally attempt to disqualify its political opponents was, in fact, setting the U.S. on a path to Stalinism.

That is, of course, until state Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson were expelled for what was unquestionably a violation of the state’s rules by brining bullhorns on to the Tennessee House floor and inciting the frenzied crowd to assault police officers.

The protest alone was an act of unbelievable projection, on one hand. While America has yet to see the contents of the manifesto written by a transgender terrorist in Nashville who killed three adults and three children on March 27, it is safe to assume that it involved leftist rantings.

Likewise, a Louisville bank shooter who followed suit in an April 10 attack on his former workplace was revealed to have made many threats and rants against Republicans on his social media.

But tone-deaf though the anti-gun protesters may have been in trying to deflect blame onto Republican lawmakers for defending gun rights in the aftermath of these attacks, it might have been protected free speech but for the involvement of three performative progressives—the two Justins, both black men; and an older white woman, Rep. Gloria Johnson.

A Republican-led push succeeded—temporarily—in removing the two men but fell a vote short of removing Johnson, helping the Left to fall back on another favorite narrative by suggesting it was racially motivated.

The once clean-cut and centrist Pearson even began dressing the part and affecting a phony Southern drawl to mimic rhetoricians like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

And although Harris has never found time in her schedule to visit the border, currently overrun with humanitarian crises that are the direct result of the Biden administration’s failings, nor did she bother saying a word in recognition of the Christian shooting victims, the vice president cleared her calendar and rushed down to lend validity to the absurd spectacle.

THE HIGH ROAD TO DEFEAT

While a few may have spoken out in solidarity with the legislature, most Republicans stayed mum once the stench of racism polluted any hope of discourse.

Among them was Tennessee Gov. Lee, who signaled that the issue was a matter to be dealt with in the legislature and not his place to weigh in as the state’s top executive.

Thus, he threw state House Speaker Cameron Sexton under the bus. Within days, both of the ousted lawmakers were back in the House, grandstanding more than ever, as left-wing media gloated that they had become rising stars in the party.

There is no telling what sort of menace the emboldened activist Left may now become, with Sexton and his fellow Republicans chastened for daring to demand order and hold public officials accountable for violating decorum.

But that is just one of the many ways Democrats have been able to act with impunity simply by wielding the bigger bullhorn and controlling the narrative.

Democrats also took a major victory lap over the indictment of former President Donald Trump—even though the case against Trump could not be more contrived.

As with the Tennessee statehouse insurrection, they did so with full knowledge that they might easily find the tables turned on them at some future point.

Obama, Biden and both Clintons—not to mention former vice presidential candidate John Edwards—all have evaded charges in situations much worse than the alleged hush-money incident for which George-Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg finally capped off his yearslong probe with more than 30 ridiculous felony counts.

Why aren’t guilty Democrats quivering in their boots that they may likewise face the wrath of red-state prosecutors, such as Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares?

Clearly they know that all of the Kamalas—the high-profile leaders who are willing to lie shamelessly and exploit tragedies for political gain—stand shoulder to shoulder with them.

Republicans like Lee, meanwhile, must play by a different rule book altogether out of a noble sense of duty and propriety—or else a fear of mutually-assured destruction that Democrats no longer recognize.

It is clear that the two frontrunners in the GOP stakes, former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, are fearless and willing to take the heat.

But without others like them to make sure there is a strong and rigid counter-narrative to repel the Left’s skulduggery, it is a losing proposition.

Those who opt to elect weak, conflict averse Republicans still hoping to take the high-road won’t see the treachery that lies directly underfoot until it is too late.

Ben Sellers is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/realbensellers.

DOJ Charges El Chapo Sons, Cartel Members With Fentanyl Trafficking, Murder

Associate Editor
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DOJ Charges El Chapo Sons, Cartel Members With Fentanyl Trafficking, Murder

(Bethany Blankley, The Center Square) – The U.S. Department of Justice has charged 28 members of the Sinaloa Cartel, including drug kingpin El Chapo’s sons.

Attorney General Merrick Garland said the indictment charges Sinaloa Cartel members with trafficking fentanyl and other drugs, engaging in money laundering, committing murder, and other violent crimes.

The charges were unsealed in the Southern District of New York, Northern District of Illinois, and District of Columbia and detailed in a news release.

Garland said multiple agency enforcement actions were taken “against the largest, most violent, and most prolific fentanyl trafficking operation in the world, run by the Sinaloa Cartel, and fueled by Chinese precursor chemical and pharmaceutical companies.”

The Mexican and Chinese governments have denied their role in producing and trafficking fentanyl into the U.S. primarily through the southern border.

Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said “the fentanyl crisis in America – fueled in large part by the Sinaloa cartel” is not only a public health issue but a national security issue.

The indictments “target every element of the Sinaloa Cartel’s trafficking network,” Monoco said, “from the chemical companies in China that spawn fentanyl precursors, to the illicit labs that produce the poison, to the networks and money launderers and murderers that facilitate its distribution.”

DEA Administrator Anne Milgram also described cartel operations as a national security threat.

None of the officials, from Garland to Milgram, called on the president to designate the Sinaloa Cartel as a foreign terrorist organization or classify fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction, something Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody and multiple attorneys generals have repeatedly called on the president and his administration to do.

Milgram described how the DEA has targeted and infiltrated the Sinaloa Cartel network, saying, “The Chapitos pioneered the manufacture and trafficking of fentanyl – the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced – flooded it into the United States for the past eight years and killed hundreds of thousands of Americans. Over the last year and a half, the DEA proactively infiltrated the Sinaloa Cartel and the Chapitos network, obtained unprecedented access to the organization’s highest levels, and followed them across the world.”

The Sinaloa Cartel operates as an affiliation of drug traffickers and money launderers, according to multi-state and agency investigations resulting in the indictments. Cartel operatives obtained precursor chemicals, largely from China, to manufacture synthetic drugs in Mexico and then moved them into the U.S. primarily through the southern border, then collected, laundered, and transferred hundreds of millions of dollars in proceeds, according to the charges.

The entire operation was led by Joaquin Guzman Loera, “El Chapo,” and Ismael Zambada Garcia, “El Mayo,” leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel. El Chapo is currently incarcerated for life in a maximum security prison in Colorado.

His sons, “the Chapitos,” allegedly took over the operation after violent infighting with rival cartel leaders. One son, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, was arrested and extradited to the U.S. in January. The others include Ivan Guzman Salazar, Alfredo Guzman Salazar, and Joaquin Guzman Lopez.

The unsealed indictments detail the Chapitos alleged violent trafficking operations over the last 15 years, including moving lethal amounts of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and fentanyl into the U.S. They used “cargo aircraft, private aircraft, submarines and other submersible and semi-submersible vessels, container ships, supply vessels, go-fast boats, fishing vessels, buses, rail cars, tractor trailers, automobiles, and private and commercial interstate and foreign carriers to transport their drugs and precursor chemicals,” according to the charges. They also allegedly maintained a network of couriers, tunnels, and stash houses throughout Mexico and the U.S. to traffic drugs into the U.S.

The unsealed charges in the Southern District of New York were against 28 people, including three Chapitos; top lieutenants and cartel leaders, alleged manufacturers and distributors of fentanyl, those who oversaw the cartel’s violent armed security apparatus protecting its trafficking operations, money launderers, and multiple chemical precursor suppliers in China. Seven defendants are in custody pending extradition proceedings.

In the Northern District of Illinois, narcotics, money laundering, and firearms charges were unsealed against four Chapitos. The indictment alleges that between May 2008 and April 5, 2023, they operated a drug trafficking Continuing Criminal Enterprise (CCE); charges also relate to drugs, money laundering and firearms.

The District of Columbia unsealed narcotics, firearms, and witness retaliation charges against a Chapito “sicario,” or assassin, Nestor Isidro Perez Salas. Perez Salas is allegedly a leader of the “Ninis,” a violent security force of the Chapitos. He allegedly conspired to distribute, manufacture and import into the U.S. cocaine and methamphetamine and used a firearm to do so. He also allegedly “killed, attempted to kill, threatened, and caused bodily injury to another to intimidate a government witness and informant,” according to court documents.

The U.S. Department of State’s Narcotics Rewards Program is offering rewards of up to $10 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Ivan Guzman Salazar, Alfredo Guzman Salazar, and Ovidio Guzman Lopez. It’s also offering up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Joaquin Guzman Lopez.

DeSantis Breaks Silence on Bud Light Scandal: Yet Another ‘Woke Political Activism’

Luis Cornelio
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DeSantis Breaks Silence on Bud Light Scandal: Yet Another ‘Woke Political Activism’

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, broke his silence over the ongoing controversy involving Bud Light and its parent company, Anheuser-Busch, over an infamous partnership with transgender TikTok influencer Dylan Mulvaney.

“The people also side with us on wanting to see an economy where businesses focus on their core missions,” DeSantis said. “Rather than indoor indulging in woke political activism and what you see happening and, look, some of it it’s annoying, some of it, their virtue, signaling and its grating and honestly […] you see Bud Light doing all this stuff, but some of this stuff I think is really insidious.”

Earlier this month Mulvaney took to TikTok to boast a personalized Bud Light can of beer with her face on it. The can, according to Bud Light’s statements, was meant to celebrate the 356-day anniversary of Mulvaney’s transition into womanhood.

DeSantis, who in previous weeks avoided speaking of the Bud Light scandal, sounded the alarm on an agenda that goes beyond transgenderism: Environmental, social and governance.

“When you look at movements like ESG, environment, social governance, what they’re trying to do is hijack corporate power in order to advance an ideological agenda,” he continued. This is an agenda that is hostile to domestic energy production. Hostile to people believing in Second Amendment rights, even hostile to traditional conservative Americans in many respects. That’s bad enough but what makes it even worse is they’re doing this outside the traditional constitutional process. They’re trying to change policy in this country without ever having to put those ideas up for a vote.”

ESG, a key idea of the modern Democratic Party, is a political tool to push corporations in America to advance a leftist, woke ideology. In March 2023, President Joe Biden used his first veto to protect ESG activists, blocking a bipartisan bill that prohibited the U.S. Department of Labor from considering environmental, social and governance factors when making investment decisions for the retirement funds of Americans.

Both Bud Light and Anheuser-Busch saw a whopping $6.6 billion loss in value after announcing a controversial partnership with Mulvaney, which caused a nationwide outcry from conservatives who accused the companies of championing transgenderism and woke ideology.

The relentless backlash forced Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth to issue an apology over the partnership.

“We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people. My time serving this country taught me the importance of accountability and the values upon which America was founded: freedom, hard work and respect for one another,” Whitworth said in a statement that many conservatives called insufficient and “stupid.” “As CEO of Anheuser-Busch, I am focused on building and protecting our remarkable history and heritage.

Kidnapping Survivors to CNN: Mexican Cartels Tried to Force Us to Have Sex With Each Other

Luis Cornelio
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Kidnapping Survivors to CNN: Mexican Cartels Tried to Force Us to Have Sex With Each Other

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) LaTavia Washington McGeee and Eric Williams, the two American citizens who survived a violent kidnapping by a Mexican drug cartel, took to CNN to detail the harrowing hell they experienced at the hands of Mexican nationals a month after the broad-daylight assault.

“You’re a woman in custody with cartel gunmen. Were they threatening to you in violence, in sexual violence?” CNN host Anderson Cooper asked McGee about the ordeal she experienced. “Yeah, they said all this stuff—all did,” McGee told Cooper.

“They try and make us have sex with each other, but we told them we’re brothers and sisters and that she was pregnant,” Williams added. “Wait a minute, they tried to make you have sex with each other?” a stunned Cooper asked, to which visibly shaken McGee and Williams answered affirmatively.

“They was like, ‘what are y’all?’ We said, ‘brothers and sisters,’ and they was like, ‘have sex with each other.’ We were like, ‘no, these are my brothers. I’m pregnant,” McGee answered.

The victims’ statements come months after CNN attempted to downplay the dangers of the Biden administration’s open border policies. CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale criticized Republicans for claiming the southern border was open and not safe. In a similar fashion, CNN slammed the U.S. Supreme Court for extending Title 42, a Trump-era policy that allowed the swift deportation of undocumented immigrants on public health grounds, the Media Research Center’s NewsBusters reported on December 2022.

McGee, alongside Williams, Shaeed Woodard and Zindell Brown, were in Mexico to undergo a tummy tuck plastic surgery, a trip many U.S. citizens do because of lower costs. Woodard and Brown did not survive the savage ordeal after being shot shortly after the four drove past the Mexican border.

The Mexican kidnappers, which were part of the Gulf Cartel, held guns to the heads of the American citizens and forced them not to look up, Williams said. “They were putting the guns to our head, telling us to not look up, things like that.”

“That’s where Shaeed said, ‘I love y’all, and I’m gone.’ And he died right there,” a tearful Williams said. “He said he loved us and he was gone. It was the last thing he did.”

Recalling how Brown died, McGee said she was telling him sorry for asking him to accompany her for the plastic surgery.

“He was fighting for his life and they didn’t do nothing,” she said. “I talked to him the whole time […] I just told him sorry because I asked him to come with me.”

The Gulf Cartel issued an apology letter and handed over five of its members to Mexican authorities, claiming the perpetrators plotted the kidnapping without prior authorization from the carcel. The Mexican cartel holds geographic control of the northern part of Mexico of Matamoros, the same city where the four U.S. citizens were held hostage and subsequently kidnapped.

21 Attorney Generals asked the Biden administration to designate Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.

Similarly, Senators Rick Scott, R-Flo., and Roger Marshall reintroduced on March 8 the Drug Cartel Terrorist Designation Act, a bill that would provide federal law enforcement agents with additional authority to fight back against the violent drug cartels in the U.S. by officially designating them as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.

It is unknown whether President Biden would sign this GOP-led bill.

Stefanik Rips Leftist Dems Ahead of NYC Hearing on Soros DA’s Woke Policies

Luis Cornelio
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Stefanik Rips Leftist Dems Ahead of NYC Hearing on Soros DA’s Woke Policies

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., slammed New York’s “Defund-the-Police” Democrats for letting the city rot in crime and voiced support for a GOP-led Monday hearing exposing the consequences of woke policies in New York City.

“New York is being targeted because you have radical left-wing Democrats who have put failed reform in place, Stefanik told the New York Post in an exclusive interview. “That includes [Gov.] Kathy Hochul, that includes legislators in Albany, that includes defund-the-police Democrats in New York City, as well as radicals, far-left district attorneys like Alvin Bragg.” 

The powerhouse New York Republican pushed back against leftist politicians who claim, without evidence, that the House Judiciary Committee-led Monday hearing was political retribution against New York Democrats, including Soros-backed Manhattan Alvin Bragg, for greenlighting criminal charges against former President Donald J. Trump. 

“House Republicans will expose Far Left Democrats’ failed policies like failed bail reform creating a crime crisis across our great state,” Stefanik touted in a Twitter post on Sunday. 

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, announced the field hearing with the victims on Alvin Bragg’s policies on April 10. The hearing, which will take place at the New York City-based Jacob Javits Federal Building, is set to feature New Yorkers who have been gravely affected by criminal reforms and other leftist policies. 

Stefanik will sit at the hearing and is expected to analyze the consequences of those policies. “Not just families in New York City, but broadly, even in my district in upstate New York,” Stefanik told the NYPost. 

Bragg is “refusing to prosecute heinous crimes, violent crimes,” she added. “And yet they’re conducting political witch hunts for crimes that have not been committed.” 

House Judiciary Ranking Member Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., responded to the GOP-led hearing, calling it a scheme to obstruct justice. 

“We will show the essentially fraudulent nature of what [committee chair] Jim Jordan and company are claiming about the crime rates in New York and compared to other cities, including Republican-led cities,” Nadler said in an interview with the NYPost. “And we will talk about how this whole hearing is part of Jim Jordan and the Republicans’ general attempts to obstruct justice and to attack the DA in Manhattan and to obstruct justice in the Trump case.” 

Bragg sued House Republicans in an effort to block the hearing and bar Jordan from obtaining testimonies and other related documents through congressional subpoenas. 

The “Victims of Violent Crime in Manhattan” hearing is scheduled to begin on April 17, 2023, at 9:00 am ET.

Tiger King’s Joe Exotic Announces 2024 Bid Against Biden: ‘Karma’s a B—‘

Luis Cornelio
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Tiger King’s Joe Exotic Announces 2024 Bid Against Biden: ‘Karma’s a B—‘

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Media personality Joseph Maldonado-Passage, also known as Joe Exotic, announced that he is running for the Democratic ticket in 2024. Exotic, known for his role in the Netflix documentary “Tiger King,” previously said he intended to run as Libertarian but said the Libertarian Party had views he disagreed with.

“Libertarians just seem to do nothing but fight amongst themselves and their views are a little too far out there so running as a Democrat, I can — I can, you know, there’s not going to be one party that anybody is going to like,” Exotic told Fox News’ Lawrance Jones on Saturday. “I think I can make more of a difference debating and getting President Biden’s attention as a Democrat.

Maldonado filed to the Federal Election Commission in February 2023 to run as a presidential candidate for the Libertarian Party under the “Make America Exotic” slogan.

“You know, I believe in pro-choice. I believe in the Second Amendment. I still don’t believe that anybody under 21 should have an assault rifle,” he continued. “I believe in LGBTQ transgender things should not be happening to kids under 18. There’s views on every aisle that I agree with.”

Exotic did not shy away from slamming the Biden administration for its failures and countless mishaps. “His administration is the one who screwed me over and put me in here for an agenda to stop you from owning a tiger and petting a baby tiger, so all I’ve got to say to him, is karma’s a b—-,” he said.

Exotic joined a relatively uncrowded field of Democratic politicians seeking the 2024 nomination, with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. being the only leftist politician to formally announce a presidential bid against the incumbent president.

While Biden claimed he plans on running for re-election in 2024, he has declined to formally announce it, fueling rumors that he is inept to seek re-election. To reach young voters, the Biden White House courted TikTok influencers and other social media stars to promote Democratic talking points online, Axios reported on April 9.

The former reality star also offered a rare defense of former President Donald Trump after Soros-backed Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg indicted and arrested the former president over alleged hush payments to former adult film star Stormy Daniels. While the payment in itself was not a crime, falsifying business documents related to the payments was, Bragg claimed.

“If the man broke the law, he needs to pay the price,” Exotic said. “No different than President Biden or Hunter Biden or Obama or anybody else. The system of two-party justice in this country with the rich and the poor, they’ve got to stop.”

The former reality star is currently behind bars serving a 22-year sentence for murder-for-hire and violations of the Lacey Act and Endangered Species Act. He was sentenced in January 2020, and it is known if he would be released before the Democratic primaries.

DeSantis Cuts New Ad Mocking Blue State Governor’s COVID Policies

Ezekiel Loseke
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DeSantis Cuts New Ad Mocking Blue State Governor’s COVID Policies

(Ezekiel Loseke, Headline USA) Ron DeSantis, Florida‘s conservative governor, has cut a new add attacking blue-state governors over their authoritarian COVID policies.

The ad was tweeted out by Team DeSantis.

“Dear Blue State Governors, Here’s an update on the former residents that fled your failing states and found refuge in the Free (and Thriving) State of Florida. Sincerely, Team DeSantis,” the tweet read.

The video itself is a digital postcard purporting to give blue state governors an update on their former residents.

Specifically, the video shows pictures of Governors Gavin Newsom, Gretchen Whitmer, Phil Murphy, and J.B. Pritzker, atop their individual states.

“Dear Democrat Governors, now that your boss in the White House has finally admitted COVID is over, we wanted to send an update on the new Florida residents who fled your disastrous policies since the pandemic began,” a female narrator said. “Without your lockdowns, vaccine mandates and devastating school closures, our new residents have been greatly enjoying the restored freedoms.”

“We know you also enjoyed a taste of Florida’s freedom on your own lockdown getaway here.”

The video then flashed screenshots of several news stories depicting several of the aforementioned governors visiting Florida.

The ad also highlighted the population decreases of blue states during and after COVID,

“But unlike you, your former residents are staying for good,” the narrator continued.

The video then taunted the sanctuary states about their inability to handle the illegal immigrants they refuse to deport.

“Perhaps the millions of illegal migrants you’re encouraging to come across the border can find a new home in your alleged sanctuary,” the narrator said. “We’re happy to fly them your way.”

The video, though funny, makes an essential point, according to RedState. It is important to remember the catastrophic and totalitarian policies these people enacted to oppress the American people.

As a reminder, the lock-downs caused an excess 170,000 American deaths, devastated our education system, all while major studies have found they produced no public health benefits.

AI is Creating Deepfake Pornography

Editor 5
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AI is Creating Deepfake Pornography

(Headline USA) Artificial intelligence imaging can be used to create art, try on clothes in virtual fitting rooms or help design advertising campaigns.

But experts fear the darker side of the easily accessible tools could worsen nonconsensual deepfake pornography.

Deepfakes are videos and images that have been digitally created or altered with artificial intelligence or machine learning. Porn created using the technology first began spreading across the internet several years ago when a Reddit user shared clips that placed the faces of female celebrities on the shoulders of porn actors.

Since then, deepfake creators have disseminated similar videos and images targeting online influencers, journalists and others with a public profile. Thousands of videos exist across a plethora of websites. And some have been offering users the opportunity to create their own images — essentially allowing anyone to turn whoever they wish into sexual fantasies without their consent, or use the technology to harm former partners.

The problem, experts say, grew as it became easier to make sophisticated and visually compelling deepfakes. And they say it could get worse with the development of generative AI tools that are trained on billions of images from the internet and spit out novel content using existing data.

In the meantime, some AI models say they’re already curbing access to explicit images.

Those changes came following reports that some users were creating celebrity inspired nude pictures using the technology.

Some social media companies have also been tightening up their rules to better protect their platforms against harmful materials.

TikTok said last month all deepfakes or manipulated content that show realistic scenes must be labeled to indicate they’re fake or altered in some way, and that deepfakes of private figures and young people are no longer allowed. Previously, the company had barred sexually explicit content and deepfakes that mislead viewers about real-world events and cause harm.

The gaming platform Twitch also recently updated its policies around explicit deepfake images after a popular streamer named Atrioc was discovered to have a deepfake porn website open on his browser during a livestream in late January. The site featured phony images of fellow Twitch streamers.

Twitch already prohibited explicit deepfakes, but now showing a glimpse of such content — even if it’s intended to express outrage — “will be removed and will result in an enforcement,” the company wrote in a blog post. And intentionally promoting, creating or sharing the material is grounds for an instant ban.

Other companies have also tried to ban deepfakes from their platforms, but keeping them off requires diligence.

Apple and Google said recently they removed an app from their app stores that was running sexually suggestive deepfake videos of actresses to market the product. Research into deepfake porn is not prevalent, but one report released in 2019 by the AI firm DeepTrace Labs found it was almost entirely weaponized against women and the most targeted individuals were western actresses, followed by South Korean K-pop singers.

The same app removed by Google and Apple had run ads on Meta’s platform, which includes Facebook, Instagram and Messenger. Meta spokesperson Dani Lever said in a statement the company’s policy restricts both AI-generated and non-AI adult content and it has restricted the app’s page from advertising on its platforms

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

European ‘Leaders’ Flock to Flatter Communist China

Editor 5
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European ‘Leaders’ Flock to Flatter Communist China

(Headline USA) In the weeks since Communist China’s dictator Xi Jinping claimed a third five-year term as president, setting him on course to remain in power for life, leaders and diplomats from around the world have beaten a path to his door. None more so than those from Europe.

French President Emmanuel Macron made a high-profile state visit to Beijing last week accompanied by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, just days after Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock arrived in the northeast port city of Tianjin on Thursday, following a visit by Chancellor Olaf Scholz in November. The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, would have been in China this week, too, but he tested positive for COVID-19.

For the 27-nation trading bloc, the reasons to head to China are clear.

As an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Xi could play a pivotal role in helping to end the war in Ukraine. The conflict has dragged on for over a year, driven up energy prices and inflicted more damage on economies struggling to rebound from the coronavirus pandemic.

The Europeans want Xi’s help. They want him to talk to Ukraine’s president as well as Russia’s.

The EU also fears that Xi might supply weapons to Russia. They’ve been particularly disturbed by Putin’s plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus. That announcement came just days after Xi and Putin met to cement their “no-limits friendship.”

Baerbock said the war is “top of my agenda.” Praising Beijing for easing tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran, she said that “its influence vis à vis Russia will have consequences for the whole of Europe and for our relationship with China.”

At the same time, the EU is deeply concerned about a military escalation in the Taiwan Strait. China launched war games just after Macron left. The Europeans mostly see the island in economic and pro-democracy terms.

So the visits are meant to reassure Xi of respect for Beijing’s control over all of Chinese territory and to urge calm. They also highlight the challenge the U.S. faces as it tries to build a coalition of countries to ramp up pressure on Beijing over its expansionist policies.

“The key is that we have every interest, both in Europe and in China, to maintain the status quo,” a senior EU official said Wednesday, briefing reporters on plans for Borrell’s sensitive trip on condition that he not be named. “It has worked well for all sides for decades.”

Beyond the geopolitics lies business. The EU and China did more than 2.3 billion euros’ ($2.5 billion) worth of trade every day last year, and the Europeans don’t want to endanger that. However, the EU’s trade deficit has more than tripled over the past decade, and it wants to level the business playing field.

It’s also desperate to limit its imports of critical resources from China, like rare earth minerals or hi-tech components, after painfully weaning itself off its biggest, and most unreliable, gas supplier, Russia.

Over the past two decades, the Chinese government has often used its economic heft to pry France, Germany and other allies away from the U.S. on issues ranging from military security and trade to human rights and Taiwan.

Beijing has called repeatedly for a “multi-polar world,” a reference to Chinese frustration with U.S. dominance of global affairs and the ruling Communist Party’s ambition to see the country become an international leader.

“There has been a serious deviation in U.S. understanding and positioning about China, treating China as the primary opponent and the biggest geopolitical challenge,” the Chinese foreign minister, Qin Gang, told reporters last month.

“China-Europe relations are not targeted, dependent, or subject to third parties,” he said.

Macron’s visit appeared to illustrate that Qin’s view isn’t just wishful thinking. As tensions rise between Beijing and Washington, the French leader said, it is important for Europe to retain its “strategic autonomy.”

“Being a friend doesn’t mean that you have to be a vassal,” Macron said Wednesday, repeating a remark from his trip that alarmed some European partners. “Just because we’re allies, it doesn’t mean (that) we no longer have the right to think for ourselves.”

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

Tucker Carlson Eats Bugs on Camera

Dmytro "Henry" Aleksandrov
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Tucker Carlson Eats Bugs on Camera

(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) Fox News host Tucker Carlson tasted a burger full of insects while discussing efforts to promote bugs as food.

“Leaving politics aside, we’re assuming for this segment this will be inevitable, we’re going to be eating bugs,” Carlson said to chef Joseph Yoon, who founded the Brooklyn Bugs restaurant in 2017 and was previously seen in a video from the World Economic Forum. “Might as well make the best of it, and you have done that.”

In January, the European Union approved the use of cricket power in food, allowing it to be used in various food items, such as pasta, bread and meat substitutes, according to the Daily Caller.

The globalist establishment — including media outlets, companies and leaders all around the world — has been pushing for many years the idea that people should be shifting away from eating meat by substituting insects, including former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

“So before we get into what you prepared today, I think everyone has the same question in mind: Will cockroaches be on the menu?” Carlson asked Yoon.

“All the insects that are – that we use are farm to harvested specifically for human consumption and cockroaches may be on that list but I, personally, don’t really think that we’re ready for cockroaches just yet,” Yoon replied.

Carlson then tried several of the items, including chocolate-covered crickets and cricket caramel popcorn.

“I would eat chocolate-covered crickets all day,” he said.

Carlson then picked up a cricket burger to eat it.

“That’s not bad at all,” Carlson said after taking a bite.

Yoon tried to defend himself and his business by disavowing globalists’ efforts to force people to discard eating meat.

“I think whether people like it or dislike it, it’s important just to give people the option,” he said.

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