Sometimes I forget what country we live in
For the weekend, I have a couple of recommendations for exploration. A podcast, a terrorism threat revisited, a witch hunt for misinformation and a reason people are increasingly not trusting government.
The episode of the Joe Rogan podcast with Maajid Nawaz is incredible. Maajid was a radicalized Islamic jihadist who de-radicalized after his time in an Egyptian prison.
He was on the LBC as a nationally syndicated talk show host until recently when he was fired for his “what the heck is going on with these digital passports because it sure is starting to look like a totalitarian regime…”
He is extraordinarily well spoken and I listened cover to cover. It will blow your mind and is a great soundtrack to a weekend of chores and driving.
With all the talk of the Biden administrations flip flop on “oil companies should disappear and produce less” to “I can’t believe you have 9000 federal permits and aren’t drilling,” I thought this terrorism threat was worth reposting.
It was posted February 6th and suggests that “misinformation” is undermining trust in government. Somehow a lack of consistency and arbitrary rule by executive order didn’t make the list of things that also undermine confidence.
My concern, as always, is that the government seems to be the one who gets to pick the misinformation and boy, on COVID it sure feels like I was more right than wrong… but still got banned. So did Alex Berenson and a whole host of others. So when is “misinformation” actually misinformation and when? And how do we have a real policy discussion of the trade offs that were made to combat COVID when today we have a war, the highest debt ever, massive inflation and a broken supply chain and STILL didn’t beat COVID.
Summary of Terrorism Threat to the U.S. Homeland
The United States remains in a heightened threat environment fueled by several factors, including an online environment filled with false or misleading narratives and conspiracy theories, and other forms of mis- dis- and mal-information (MDM) introduced and/or amplified by foreign and domestic threat actors. These threat actors seek to exacerbate societal friction to sow discord and undermine public trust in government institutions to encourage unrest, which could potentially inspire acts of violence. Mass casualty attacks and other acts of targeted violence conducted by lone offenders and small groups acting in furtherance of ideological beliefs and/or personal grievances pose an ongoing threat to the nation. While the conditions underlying the heightened threat landscape have not significantly changed over the last year, the convergence of the following factors has increased the volatility, unpredictability, and complexity of the threat environment: (1) the proliferation of false or misleading narratives, which sow discord or undermine public trust in U.S. government institutions;
Speaking of misinformation, the Surgeon General of the United States had this to say March 3. I had to fact check it because it surprised even me. But it is, in fact, very real.
Here is the form you can fill out to report people and here is the full background.
During the pandemic, many of us have been exposed to health misinformation— information that is false, inaccurate, or misleading according to the best available evidence at the time. It can be really hard to know what is true amidst all this misinformation.
Health misinformation has caused confusion and led people to decline COVID-19 vaccines, reject public health measures such as masking and physical distancing, and use unproven treatments. It has also led to harassment of and violence against public health workers, health care workers, airline staff, and other frontline workers.
In 2021 Surgeon General Vivek Murthy released a Surgeon General’s Advisory on Confronting Health Misinformation, accompanied by a toolkit for community leaders. As the next step in this work, and as part of an ongoing dialogue with the American public, the Surgeon General is now putting out a Request for Information (RFI) on the Impact of Health Misinformation in the Digital Information Environment in the United States Throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic.
I really wanted to report Scott Gottlieb, Tony Fauci, Rochelle Walensky and Rachel Maddow and the Pfizer press release that said “95% effective” but I was worried that it would backfire and they would investigate me.
When I shared this story with a friend, they said “Don’t worry… you’ve already been reported.” That’s very possible. The question then becomes “what happens to me?” Will the Government freeze my bank accounts, like they did to the Russian oligarchs and those that supported the freedom convoy in Canada?
It is, of course, more than ironic that at the same time as the Surgeon General is on a witch hunt, CNN has this to say about propaganda:
It is no wonder the Russians and Chinese are looking to move away from the USD as the reserve currency of the world. If they can freeze your accounts because “someone is sad…” well…. It undermines trust in the monetary system of the world. If this is a topic that interests you, you want to dig in on the changing role of USD? I highly recommend the article below.
Finally, a story from the podcast with Maajid. It’s an article worth reading but a concept worth thinking deeply about.
In the early 2010s, the CIA ran a fake vaccination program in Abbottabad, offering free Hepatitis B vaccines to children in an attempt to collect DNA evidence linking Osama bin Laden to the compound where he was suspected of residing. It is unclear how samples were to be collected or how they would lead to bin Laden
The thing about rules, you can’t bend them when they suit you. So if a Government is willing to do whatever it likes, whenever it likes. in the name of their own view of “we are the good guys…”, it kind of makes you wonder what else they are doing.
Have a wonderful weekend.
