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“I told Director Kash Patel that the FBI has names of 20 men to whom Jeffrey Epstein trafficked women and girls,” Massie wrote on X. “This basic fact seemed to surprise him. Why?

“Is the FBI withholding those names to protect the President’s rich and powerful friends?” Massie continued, before demanding that the administration “release the Epstein files.”

Massie has been fighting for the release of more documents related to the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, the deceased pedophilic sex trafficker with connections to the rich and powerful, including President Donald Trump.

“I believe that Trump is trying to protect rich and powerful people who are his friends, and that is why this material is not getting released,” Massie told CNN last week.

Even Patel ferociously argued for the total release of the Epstein files—before he formally entered the Trump administration. Months before Patel’s name was floated to run the bureau, Patel had told podcaster Benny Johnson that he believed the documents were being shielded from public view because of “who’s on that list.” During his confirmation hearing, the 45-year-old swore there would be “no stone left unturned” in the quest to make the Epstein files completely transparent.

But it all came to a head during a heated House Oversight Hearing Wednesday, when members of the lower chamber forced the bureau chief to confront the incongruencies between his prior stances and his recent lagging actions.

“This spring, you ordered hundreds of agents to pore over all of the Epstein files, but not to look for more clues about the money network, or the network of human traffickers,” said Representative Jamie Raskin. “You pulled these agents from their regular counterterrorism or drug trafficking duties to work around the clock—some of them sleeping at their desks—to conduct a frantic search to make sure Donald Trump’s name and image were flagged and redacted wherever they appeared.”

Raskin then highlighted a July memo from the bureau, in which Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi determined “no further disclosure” regarding the Epstein files and the FBI’s investigation “would be necessary or appropriate.”

​In a world where free speech is under attack, it's easy to be distracted by a shiny new trailer or a familiar story we love. The release of the Mandalorian & Grogu trailer is a test. It's a test of our resolve. Will we remember what's at stake, or will we trade our principles for a "carrot on a stick"? ​This isn't just about a TV show or a movie. It's about a company that has used its power to silence a voice and has been accused of bending to outside pressure. They are hoping you will forget, that the excitement of a new trailer will make you "bend the knee" and ignore what has happened. But this is the moment to hold the line. ​We cannot allow powerful corporations to believe they can censor voices and then placate us with content. The First Amendment is not a commodity to be traded for entertainment. It is a fundamental right, and it is our responsibility to defend it. ​If you believe in the importance of free speech and holding corporations accountable, don't let this be a distraction. Let this be a moment to redouble your commitment to the cause.

-This is the way.

Originally Posted By u/LostHominoid At 2025-09-22 05:16:48 PM | Source

Janeway did nothing wrong

New research reveals that the DNA switches controlling human finger development originated from genes that regulated fish cloacas 380 million years ago[^1].

"Rather than building a new regulatory system for the digits, nature has repurposed an existing mechanism, initially active in the cloaca," explains developmental geneticist Denis Duboule from the University of Geneva[^1].

The research team discovered this by comparing fish and mouse genomes, focusing on Hoxd genes. When they tagged DNA switches with fluorescent markers, these lit up in mouse digits but in fish cloacas. Deleting these genetic elements using CRISPR-Cas9 disrupted finger development in mice and cloaca formation in fish[^1].

"The common feature between the cloaca and the digits is that they represent terminal parts," notes geneticist Aurélie Hintermann. "Sometimes they are the end of tubes in the digestive system, sometimes the end of feet and hands"[^1].

[^1]: ScienceAlert - Fish Buttholes May Be The Reason We Now Have Fingers, Study Finds

Archived

[...]

Reade worked briefly as a Senate aide for Biden in the early 1990s before accusing him in 2020 of sexually assaulting her in a Capitol office building in 1993 — allegations Biden categorically denies. Her accusations surfaced during Biden’s presidential campaign but did not result in formal charges.

[...]

Reade moved to Moscow in 2023, claiming she faced threats in the U.S. after repeating her accusations when Biden announced his re-election bid. She appeared at Russian state media events and granted an interview to Tucker Carlson during his visit to Moscow in February 2024. Since relocating, she has worked with Russian propaganda outlet RT.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://programming.dev/post/37820441

Online piracy is in the midst of an identity crisis. Sites born with one name tend to discard them quite quickly, before adopting a series of others, hoping to stay one step ahead of the law. Site operators, meanwhile, no longer court the gaze of the media, certainly not under their real names while revealing their future piracy plans. In 2010, things were somewhat different; once considered a public good, sharing books today can trigger an FBI investigation.

original artist is Suhail H Naqshbandi on threads

Archived

A measure of Beijing’s political influence surged more than 50 percent in Canada over the past two years, an international study finds, after media reports of China’s clandestine election interference were confirmed in public reviews. The China Index 2024, produced by Taiwan’s Doublethink Lab and its global research partners, shows that Beijing’s presence in Canadian politics, academia, media, and society is advancing at a faster pace than almost anywhere else in the democratic world.

[...]

The most alarming takeaway is that China’s increasing grip on Canadian institutions is driving dependence — a factor that could pull Canadian decision makers closer into Beijing’s orbit on economic, security, and social policies.

[...]

The results reflect a “triple movement” in Canada’s relationship with Beijing: greater exposure through academic, media, and technology ties; sustained pressure through China’s diplomacy and retaliation; and rising alignment in the two nations’ policy positions.

“Canada experienced rising exposure and alignment with the PRC alongside sustained high levels of coercive pressure,” the report says, “highlighting a complex mix of engagement and influence dynamics.”

[...]

This confirms a longstanding pattern documented by The Bureau: pro-Beijing Chinese-language outlets in Canada continue to echo Beijing’s lines on Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Xinjiang. Diaspora-linked cultural organizations, often connected to PRC diplomats or United Front groups, are also highly active. The Index notes that between 2022 and 2024, diaspora cultural events tied to PRC entities nearly doubled worldwide, rising from 38 percent of countries surveyed to 72 percent. Canada is among the cases where these events are expanding and carry political overtones.

[...]

Beijing’s penetration of Canadian technology sectors, from consumer electronics to PRC-linked equipment in infrastructure, remains high. Globally, PRC-linked technology is now embedded in 78.8 percent of critical infrastructure sectors, up from 65.4 percent in 2022, and Canada is part of that trend.

The Economic domain, by contrast, declined slightly for Canada between 2022 and 2024. This may reflect Ottawa’s incremental steps to tighten foreign investment reviews and limit acquisitions in sensitive sectors. Still, the decline in the economic category did not offset the steep rise in politics and technology, which now dominate Canada’s dependence profile.

[...]

The shooter was stationed inside the house and immediately began firing with an AR-15-style rifle, Barker said. 

Investigators also discovered a black lab shot dead in the basement of the house that belonged to the ex-girlfriend of the shooter.

[The ex girlfriend] also told investigators that she believed Ruth had set her pick-up truck on fire while it was sitting in the home's driveway in August, according to an affidavit.

A member of New York’s Chinese dissident community on Tuesday pleaded guilty to spying on his fellow activists on behalf of the Chinese government.

Tang Yuanjun (唐元雋), 68, had long been an outspoken critic of the Chinese Communist Party, joining monthly protests outside the country’s Manhattan consulate and founding a pro-democracy nonprofit in Flushing, Queens, where he has lived since 2002.

However, as he publicly advocated against his homeland’s government, Tang was quietly acting on orders from Beijing’s intelligence service to collect information on his fellow Chinese-American rights advocates, according to a guilty plea entered on Tuesday.

...

Why save a bunch of kids and HIV positive people when you can save FX traders?