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Maltese Parliament Approves Recreational Cannabis
Cannabis bill approved in parliament, in first for Europe
Parliament on Tuesday approved a cannabis law that will allow users to carry, buy and grow amounts of the drug, making Malta the first European country to introduce laws to regulate recreational cannabis use.
MPs backed the Responsible Use of Cannabis bill by 36 votes to 27. All Labour MPs voted in favour of the bill while the opposition voted against it.
The reform must be signed into law by President George Vella - a process that usually happens within days of parliamentary votes.
Vella, a doctor by profession, has faced calls from NGOs and lobby groups that oppose the reform plans to refuse to sign the bill into law.
Malta to become first country in Europe to legalize cannabis for recreational use
In October, Luxembourg announced it would legalize cannabis, however parliament has yet to approve the measure.
Italy will likely decide whether or not to decriminalize cannabis in a referendum next year, after campaign groups managed to gather the required 500,000 signatures required to force a vote.
And Germany's incoming coalition government also included plans to legalize cannabis in its vision for the country, which was published last month.
FGC-9
For those unfamiliar, the FGC-9 (FGC stands for Fuck Gun Control) was invented by a man in Germany who went by the name JStark1809, with the help of people he befriended online. Their goal was to make a gun that anyone could build at home without any regulated components or even much skill.
They came up with ways to build everything from a fire control group to a rifled barrel, and all with parts that wouldn’t raise suspicions if you were to order them on the internet or even buy them locally.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zri2qTZDA44 (that's over an hour long, relevant portion starts at 4:35)
Jstark worked tirelessly towards two simple goals: freedom of expression, and an individual right to keep and bear arms. After being raided by German police, he died of cardiac arrest.
https://noqreport.com/2021/10/14/3d-printing-pioneer-jstark-dies-under-suspicious-circumstances/
That's mostly old news, so far. Today's newsworthy bits are found in Myanmar, or Burma.
https://www.reddit.com/r/DIYGuns/comments/re11v4/rebel_part_of_the_peoples_defense_forces_in/
https://slickgunsnews.com/gun-controls-death-throes-burmese-rebels-use-fgc-9-3d-printed-guns-to-resist-army-coup/
2021 has been a particularly bad year in Burma (a.k.a. Myanmar, but that’s another story). After decades of military dictatorship, the country finally started to see some freedom and representative government during the last decade. That upswing came to an abrupt end when the military claimed election fraud and took control of the government, establishing yet another military junta.
Protests started almost immediately and are still ongoing, but protests are often met with military violence and murder.
This left Burma’s people with a tragic choice: accept more violent military totalitarianism or fight back against and risk their lives. While there have certainly been setbacks, and many rebel fighters have been killed, they’ve had some limited successes, including the attempted defection of high-level junta officials.
But, with every success, the junta gets more brutal, killing unarmed civilians with military vehicles and even burning them alive to discourage people from fighting.
https://twitter.com/ThangDeihTuang/status/1468143235008974854
not for weak stomachs NSFW
11 unarmed villagers from Dontaw village in Salingyi,Sagaing Division were tied up in their back and burned alive to death in on Dec 7 at around 8 am,
@Khithitofficial
reported.#WhatsHappeningInMyanmar
The Lesson of the FGC-9 in Burma
The most important thing we can take from this is that gun control is no longer a useful strategy for tyrants who want to remain in power. With a few files downloaded from the internet and only a few hundred dollars worth of tools and materials, just about anyone can build their own FGC-9 at home.Because the most stressed components in the FGC-9 are made with metal parts, the gun can last for thousands of rounds. There are even guides online to make your own 9mm ammunition for it using unregulated components.
That people in one of the poorest countries on the planet can and do build them at home shows that gun control is effectively dead in 2021. Tyrants the world over will now have to think twice. They can’t stop the signal.
Another anti-gun argument that has flatlined is what I like to call “Shrodinger’s rifle.” Weapons like the AR-15 are simultaneously fearsome weapons of war that we must remove from the streets to protect the children, but are also wholly ineffective against military weapons like tanks and warplanes. Like Shrodinger’s cat, the forces of civilian disarmament claim semi-automatic weapons are two things at once.
Seeing rebel fighters successfully using these 9mm carbines against a military with tanks and warplanes shows that the latter part of the “Shrodinger’s rifle” argument is verifiably false. It also shows that a semi-automatic carbine is an effective way to protect innocent people from murderous tyrants.
meet the monster raging monkey men
OK, so it's not exactly news. It's just two guys discussing their views on politics. Still, it's informative. 10 minute vidya, take it or leave it. I really don't care that you don't click on random videos on Youtube. Just take it or leave it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQ9mMR76y64
Someone Is Killing Republicans !!!
Someone is killing Republicans and Trump voters
To say that someone is killing Republicans and Trump supporters in this country sounds like a conspiracy theory gone crazy. It is the kind of conspiracy theory that should be banned by Facebook and Twitter.
But the evidence is overwhelming.
People in counties that voted for Donald Trump in 2020 are dying at much higher rates from COVID-19 than people who live in counties that voted for Joe Biden, according to a study by National Public Radio.
“Since May 2021, people living in counties that voted heavily for Donald Trump during the last presidential election have been nearly three times as likely to die from COVID-19 as those who live in areas that went for now-President Biden,” NPR wrote in its report.
“People living in counties that went 60% or higher for Trump in November 2020 had 2.7 times the death rates of those that went for Biden. Counties with an even higher share of the vote for Trump saw higher COVID-19 mortality rates.”
See Also: Anti Vax may be a self correcting problem, sadly
I hope people will protect themselves by getting vaccinated.
I hope people will protect others by wearing masks.
I hope failed policies will be reconsidered.
I wish people would think of others.
Also, I have posted two journal entries with independent polls from reputable pollsters showing that POLITICS is the biggest single predictor of not being vaccinated. More than age, sex or race. And now this article. But it will just be cheerfully hand-waved away to maintain the narrative.
Being anti vax is not about science, medicine or any other feigned pretend concern. It is about politics. Pure and simple. The numbers don't lie.
It is truly the unvaccinated who march like lemmings over the cliff. They "think for themselves", (yeah, right) just as lemmings are known to do. Yet the vaccinated who feel more liberated having been vaccinated are the ones who supposedly are "afraid".
Many Bothans died to bring us this news.
Willfully unvaccinated pay 100% of covid hospital bills
From ArsTechnica:
Willfully unvaccinated should pay 100% of COVID hospital bills, lawmaker says
Rep. Carroll calls the legislation a starting point to hold unvaccinated responsible.
People who choose to remain unvaccinated and subsequently become severely ill with COVID-19 should be responsible for paying the entirety of their hospital bills out of pocket, according to Illinois Representative Jonathan Carroll.
The Democrat from the Chicago suburb of Northbrook introduced legislation Monday that would amend the state's insurance code so that accident and health insurance policies in 2023 would no longer cover COVID-19 hospital bills for people who choose to remain unvaccinated. Carroll said the rule would not apply to those with medical conditions that prevent vaccination.
[....] the proposed legislation is just a "starting point" to hold people who choose to go unvaccinated responsible for their decisions. He added that the legislation represents the frustration felt by those who are "following the science" and trying to do "the right thing" toward people “choosing not to get vaccinated, who are able to, for whatever [reason] they choose.”
“I think it’s time that we say, ‘You choose not to get vaccinated, then you’re also going to assume the risk that if you do catch COVID and you get sick, the responsibility is on you,’” Carroll told the Sun-Times.
Here is the real issue:
Carroll pointed to nationwide data showing that unvaccinated people account for the vast majority of people hospitalized with COVID-19.
People who willfully choose to be unvaccinated for no good medical reason are the very people taking up all the ICU beds. And imposing huge costs that were not necessary.
Furthermore, when no ICU beds are available, what happens to people who were in a car accident or suffered a heart attack that was not a result of being stupid and proud of it.
If you don't want to get vaccinated, that's your choice. But please (1) don't make everyone else pay for it, (2) don't take away ICU beds from others who weren't doing stupid things, and (3) don't go out in public and spread covid when we are in a pandemic.
See Also:
Tough Talk on Ukraine
The White House says President Joe Biden told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday that the United States is prepared to launch strong economic measures should Russia invade Ukraine -- signaling that these new measures would pack a bigger punch than the sanctions issued in 2014 that failed to stop Russia from occupying Crimea.
"I will look you in the eye and tell you, as President Biden looked Putin in the eye and told him today, that things we did not do in 2014 we are prepared to do now," national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters Tuesday afternoon after Biden's call with Putin.
The Biden administration is exploring options for a potential evacuation of US citizens from Ukraine if Russia were to invade the country and create a dire security situation, half a dozen sources tell CNN.
The contingency planning is being led by the Pentagon, the sources said, and comes as the administration briefs Congress on how the US is preparing. In a "gloomy" briefing to senators by senior State Department official Victoria Nuland on Monday night, Nuland outlined the tough sanctions package being prepared by the administration in response to a potential Russian attack, but acknowledged that the US' options to deter an invasion are fairly limited, a person familiar with the briefing said.
It is still unclear whether Russian President Vladimir Putin has made the decision to invade, US officials stressed. But he has amassed enough forces, equipment and supplies near Ukraine's borders that he could move to attack on very short notice.
crime down, murders up, impotent fools can't figure it out
Philadelphia’s District Attorney is pushing back on the notion that violence is on the rise, despite the more than 500 people murdered so far this year — insisting that there is a gun violence crisis, but not “a crisis of violence” in the city.
“We don’t have a crisis of lawlessness,” he said.
During a testy exchange with reporters during his weekly gun crime update Monday, Larry Krasner pointed to the fact overall violent crime in the city is down about 3% compared to last year.
“As we report on a true crisis when it comes to gun violence in the United States, or also in Philadelphia, I think it’s important that we don’t let this become mushy and bleed that there is a big spike in crime,” he said. “There isn’t. There is not a big spike in crime — that is not true. There is also not a big spike in violent crime, either.”
Blame the guns, right? It's all the fault of gun manufacturers. Guns goad criminals into criminality, right? Don't suspect for one moment that liberal policies like low-bond and no-bond releases actually encourage criminals to be criminals. He's half right, there isn't really a spike in crime, it's just the criminals that he coddles are becoming more violent.
https://bigleaguepolitics.com/kamala-harris-staffers-point-to-vp-as-soul-destroying-toxic-boss/
Meanwhile, more and more people are exposing the Vice President as a soul sucking ghoul. Of course, we knew that alrady. This is the woman who kept black men chained up in firefighting crews, even after ordered by the courts to free them.
No less than 19 present and former staffers and personnel associated with Vice President Kamala Harris have spoken negatively of Harris, according to reporting of the Washington Post published last week.
Accounts of Harris staffers have pointed to laziness and callousness on her part, as well as a willingness to behave in an abusive manner towards staff. “It’s clear that you’re not working with somebody who is willing to do the prep and the work,” one former staffer said. “With Kamala you have to put up with a constant amount of soul-destroying criticism and also her own lack of confidence So you’re constantly sort of propping up a bully and it’s not really clear why.”
Not to worry too much though.
Kyle Rittenhouse Reveals He Plans to Become a Lawyer to Fight “POS” Prosecutors
Exonerated Illinois youth Kyle Rittenhouse revealed on Monday that he’s planning on becoming a criminal defense lawyer, speaking in his second major interview since a Kenosha County, Wisconsin court found him not guilty of homicide charges stemming from a self defense event in August 2020.
Rittenhouse singled out Kenosha County assistant prosecutor Thomas Binger, pointing to Binger’s track record of misconduct in his case as a motivating factor for him to pursue a career in the legal field. Rittenhouse was speaking with The Blaze’s Elijah Schaffer and Sydney Watson.
“I want to be a lawyer. I want to go to law school,” said Rittenhouse, revealing he had decided to go for a law career near the end of his homicide trial. “I want to go against corrupt piece of s*** prosecutors like Thomas Binger, and put them in their place and make sure they never practice law again.”
Binger was implicated in hiding critical evidence from the defense team during Rittenhouse’s trial, including a high-definition FBI drone video that showed Rittenhouse under attack by convicted pedophile Joseph Rosenbaum. He faced rebuke from the judge overseeing the trial, with many pointing to the entire prosecution as a politically motivated charade conducted at the behest of the Democratic Party.
In one revelation, Rittenhouse revealed that he had played Call of Duty on the nights of the trial, in a nod to a ridiculous insinuation on the part of Binger that playing Call of Duty suggested Rittenhouse was prone to violence.
If Kyle can take down a couple hundred activist DAs in the next 16 years, he should have a good shot at the presidency in 2036.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1468025692344532994
https://twitter.com/i/status/1468015792281341956
Ahhhhh, parental responsibility
https://komonews.com/news/nation-world/charging-decision-due-for-parents-in-oxford-high-shooting
PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) — A prosecutor says the parents of a teen accused of killing four students at a Michigan high school were summoned a few hours earlier after a teacher found a drawing of a gun, a person bleeding and the words “help me.”
Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald made the disclosure Friday as she filed involuntary manslaughter charges against Jennifer and James Crumbley, the parents of 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley.
McDonald says the gun used in the shootings at Oxford High School was purchased by James Crumbley a week ago and given to the boy.
Ethan Crumbley was returned to his classroom and later emerged from a bathroom, firing a gun at students. He's charged with murder and other charges.
McDonald says Jennifer Crumbley sent her son a text, saying “Ethan, don't do it.”
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
Jennifer and James Crumbley were charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter.
“The parents were the only individuals in the position to know the access to weapons,” Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald said Thursday. The gun “seems to have been just freely available to that individual."
Ethan Crumbley, 15, has been charged as an adult with two dozen crimes, including murder, attempted murder and terrorism, for the shooting Tuesday at Oxford High School in Oakland County, roughly 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Detroit.
Four students were killed and seven more people were injured. Three were in hospitals in stable condition.
The semi-automatic gun was purchased legally by Crumbley’s father last week, according to investigators.
Parents in the U.S. are rarely charged in school shootings involving their children, even as most minors get guns from a parent or relative’s house, according to experts.
There's no Michigan law that requires gun owners keep weapons locked away from children. McDonald, however, suggested there's more to build a case on.
Later at a news conference, McDonald said she hoped to have an announcement "in the next 24 hours." She had firmly signaled that Crumbley's parents were under scrutiny when she filed charges against their son Wednesday.
Sheriff Mike Bouchard disclosed Wednesday that the parents met with school officials about their son's classroom behavior, just a few hours before the shooting.
McDonald said information about what had troubled the school “will most likely come to light soon.”
Crumbley stayed in school Tuesday and later emerged from a bathroom with a gun, firing at students in the hallway, police said.
The superintendent for the district late Thursday posted a YouTube video where he said the teenager was called to the office before the shooting but “no discipline was warranted.”
Tim Throne, leader of Oxford Community Schools, said the high school looks like a “war zone” and won’t be ready for weeks. But he repeatedly credited students and staff for how they responded to the violence.
"To say that I am still in shock and numb is probably an understatement. These events that have occurred will not define us," Throne, grim-faced and speaking slowly, said in the 12-minute video.
"I want you to know that there's been a lot of talk about the student who was apprehended, that he was called up to the office and all that kind of stuff. No discipline was warranted," Throne said. "There are no discipline records at the high school. Yes this student did have contact with our front office, and, yes, his parents were on campus Nov. 30."
Throne said he couldn't immediately release additional details.
Now, that's a real can of worms. But, I believe that can of worms needs to be opened. Even more so, if the parents actually purchased the pistol for the boy. Yeah, people my generation handled pistols before age 18. Parents didn't generally purchase a pistol for their kids though. My first pistol purchase wasn't until age 22. None of my elders allowed me unrestricted access to their handguns as a teen. None of my elders would have made the purchase for me. "Shotguns? Hell yeah, use mine anytime. Rifles? Yeah, you can use any of mine except x and y, those are expensive guns and I don't want you messing with them. Buy you a rifle? You got money? Sure, let's go to town and get it! Pistols? Nahhhh, I think you can wait until you can legally purchase your own!"
And, in this case, the kid was obviously having major problems. You don't give a troubled youngster a pistol.
So, let's dive into this nice juicy can of worms! Mmmmmm - look at that fat brownish-red one!! Yummy!
Some additional material on the subject of child access to weapons here: https://komonews.com/news/nation-world/prosecutor-gun-was-freely-available-to-michigan-shooter
And, the Post has a little more information: https://nypost.com/2021/12/03/parents-of-oxford-school-shooting-suspect-ethan-crumbley-to-be-charged/
Judge to Kracken: time to pay up!
JUDGMENT Signed by District Judge Linda V. Parker. (AFla) (Entered: 12/02/2021)
Plaintiffs initiated this action on November 25, 2020. (ECF No. 1.) Their claims were subsequently dismissed either voluntarily (ECF Nos. 86-91) or by leave of Court (ECF No. 149). Defendants and the Intervenor-Defendants filed motions for sanctions. On August 25, 2021, the Court granted the motions filed by Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, and the City of Detroit and granted in part and denied in part the motion filed by Robert Davis. (ECF No. 172.) The sanctions awarded included the reasonable attorneys’ fees incurred by Governor Whitmer, Secretary of State Benson, and the City of Detroit. The Court decided on the amount of the fee awards in an Opinion and Order entered today.
Accordingly,
IT IS ORDERED that Plaintiffs’ counsel, jointly and severally, shall pay attorneys’ fees in the amount of $21,964.75 to Defendants Gretchen Whitmer and Jocelyn Benson;
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiffs’ counsel, jointly and severally, shall pay attorneys’ fees in the amount of $153,285.62 to Intervenor-Defendant City of Detroit;
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that this matter is CLOSED.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
s/ Linda V. Parker
LINDA V. PARKER
U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE
Dated: December 2, 2021
The public and other individuals should not have to pay for the costs of this election fraud nonsense which has no evidence nor any basis in fact. If it did, they would have shown some.
(oh, but Mike Lindell . . . yeah, right.)
See also:
Seagate and Western Digital Have 20 TB HDDs for Consumers
Seagate Exos X20 and IronWolf Pro 20TB Expand Retail 20TB HDD Options
Seagate has updated their flagship capacity options for the retail HDD market with the availability announcement for two new hard drives today - the Exos X20 and IronWolf Pro 20TB. These two models join the recently-released Western Digital WD Gold 20TB and Ultrastar HC560 to round out the 20TB hard drives currently available for retail purchase.
