Government Surveillance
A recent Rasmussen Reports survey shows that concerns about government spying on American citizens remain high. Seventy-one percent (71%) of likely U.S. voters say they are concerned about domestic surveillance, and forty percent (40%) say they are very concerned. Only twenty-five percent (25%) say they are unconcerned, reflecting widespread unease about privacy and government oversight. These findings have only slightly changed from January 2021, when Joe Biden was President-elect.
Regarding trust in the government’s judgment on domestic surveillance, twenty percent (20%) say they trust the government to make the right decisions, while sixty-one percent (61%) do not. Another nineteen percent (19%) say they are unsure, highlighting significant skepticism about how surveillance is handled.
Americans are divided on how government spying might change under President-elect Donald Trump. Sixty-eight percent (68%) of Democrats believe spying will increase. In contrast, fifty-six percent (56%) of Republicans think surveillance will decrease. Among unaffiliated voters, forty-four percent (44%) say they expect an increase, twenty-eight percent (28%) say they believe it will decrease, and seventeen percent (17%) say they think it will stay the same.
Women are slightly more likely than men to say they believe government spying will increase under Trump, with forty-seven percent (47%) of women and forty-three percent (43%) of men holding this view. Younger voters under 40 are more likely to trust the government’s judgment on surveillance. In comparison, older voters, especially those aged 65 and older, say they are the most likely to be very concerned about government spying.
This survey, conducted on December 22-23 and 26, 2024, polled 1,454 likely U.S. voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.
To view survey question wording, click here.
Caveat: In some situations, such as when the government watches Riverrider, LSP, Old NFO, WSF, or EdB, intense surveillance is entirely justified.
Bullet Points:
** How do you stay hydrated?
** The video encapsulates flying internally in Europe. Bring money – lots of money.
** The United Arab Emirates deported a Palestinian student for shouting ‘Free Palestine’ and wearing a keffiyeh during a graduation ceremony in Abu Dhabi. The UAE has banned all public displays of support for Palestine and considers Hamas a terrorist organization. If he did that at Harvard (Satan’s Vatican), the argument in the US would be one of the First Amendment right to free speech. What are your thoughts? You could enact a rule about wearing masks at graduation, but you know how the elites love masks.
** I don’t know if you’ve followed the news about the UK grooming scandal that involved Islamic gangs molesting young women. Reform MP Rupert Lowe fired back at the BBC for labeling anyone concerned about the grooming scandal as ‘far-right.’
** Please stop killing buffalo for their wings.
** CDRSAL discusses PRC hacking operations. ” Chinese hackers had gained the ability to shut down dozens of U.S. ports, power grids, and other infrastructure targets at will, Jake Sullivan told telecommunications and technology executives at a secret meeting at the White House in the fall of 2023, according to people familiar with it. The attack could threaten lives, and the government needed the companies’ help to root out the intruders. No one at the briefing knew, including Sullivan, that China’s hackers were already working their way deep inside U.S. telecom networks, too. (more at the article)
** Oregon 1893 – making friends.
** German Identification Guide – for the winter months. I have seen this, and yes, he’s accurate. Nothing ticks them off more than when you move their reservation towel to a less desirable lounge chair.
The Enemy Within
The Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General released a report on Monday revealing that three senior DOJ officials allegedly leaked information to the media in an attempt to damage current President-elect Donald Trump before the 2024 presidential election he ultimately won.
The three senior DOJ officials are under investigation for potential Hatch Act violations. Official DOJ policy prohibits its employees from disclosing information about ongoing matters.
The summary of the investigation stated: “The Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) initiated an investigation after receiving allegations that actions by a litigating division were politically motivated and violated DOJ policies regarding disclosing information about ongoing matters.”
One thing we need to take away from this disclosure is that Trump still has many enemies in Washington.
In The Magic Kingdom
In a first for the Gulf, Saudi Arabia is set to launch residential mortgage-backed securities as part of its push to make homeownership more affordable. The Public Investment Fund’s Saudi Real Estate Refinance Co. and Hassana Investment Co., a government pension fund, agreed to begin issuing the financial instruments, famously linked to the 2008 global financial crisis, which remain crucial in the US housing market. The initiative aims to lower interest rates and improve liquidity, with Saudi banks’ mortgage lending reaching a near three-year high of SAR10.06 billion ($2.7 billion) in November. Rising property prices, driven by limited housing stock, have increased the urgency of government intervention: In August, the PIF’s home financing unit partnered with BlackRock to help achieve Vision 2030’s target of 70% Saudi homeownership.
Oil and Gas
Oil and gas investments in the Middle East and North Africa surged last year, driven by Qatar’s gas expansion and Iran’s production boost after Pedo Joe lifted sanctions. After decades of low investment, Tehran allocated over $22 billion to the sector — Iran exported about 1.6 million barrels of oil a day last year, up from an average of 400,000 at the end of the Trump administration. Qatar, meanwhile, is expanding its liquefied natural gas output, and Saudi Arabia awarded almost $13 billion in gas projects last year, Kuwait’s Al Qabas newspaper reported. Projections for 2025 anticipate $40 billion in upstream spending in the region, with gas expansions in Iran alongside Abu Dhabi’s drive to reach 5 million barrels of oil production a day by 2027 taking the lead.
Skulduggery Afoot?
A Russian cargo ship went down in the Mediterranean, and some foul play could be involved. This ship was critical for Russia’s nuclear icebreaker fleet, as it carried equipment necessary for construction. This will delay (or cancel) these construction timelines, which marks a significant blow to Russia’s merchant marine capabilities.
Identify the Aircraft
1
The end of an era – 18 built for the Royal Navy (note arresting gear)
2
EZ ID – but a cool photo. They hunted vengeance weapons—the Napier Sabre, developing over 2,400 HP.
Identify the Armor
3
End
Identify the Aircraft:
1. Supermarine Seafang
2. Hawker Tempest
Identify the Armor:
3. Brummbär
Absolutely!
Nevermind the armor who is the guy with his left leg in a full cast with cane sporting the Steiners and a crossdrawn PPK?
Major Eberhard Lemor, 39 at the time, commanded Sturmpanzer-Abteilung 217 during the Ardennes offensive. If his trousers look odd, it is because he is wearing a recently applied plaster cast over his broken left leg. He was in the cast throughout the campaign.
Prior to his injury and regarding the unit, 217 Sturmpanzer Abteilung was the only unit equipped with the Sturmpanzer IV in Normandy. The proposal to raise another Sturmpanzer Bn was vetoed on 6 Feb ’44, as the Germans intended to discontinue production in April. I don’t know why that was. Armaments used a crystal ball and not all of the records of what cause led to what effect survived the war. In April, they changed their mind and decided to raise 217 Sturmpanzer Bn around a core provided by 40 Panzer Kompanie, who were completely folded into the new unit. By the end of May, the Bn had about 462 men. As Major Eberhard Lemor noted. Only 18 Sturmpanzers arrived for training in France. They only had a few wheeled vehicles by way of support, very little ammunition, and minimal equipment. The Allies were chewing up trains and railroad marshaling yards, and moving equipment from Germany to France prior to the invasion was messy. They survived to be put back into the line at the Battle of the Bulge.
Wow! Thanks for that information. I really need to hone my image searching skills as they are poor at this time.
Do you have the DOJ/OIG link to see their report regarding “The Enemy Within?”
https://nypost.com/2024/12/30/us-news/three-senior-doj-officials-leaked-non-public-investigative-information-days-before-an-election-inspector-general-finds/
Charge them, arrest them & try them.
Thank you Sir!
How is this not an attempted coup? Or treason?
Because magic (D) .
*
– Kle.
What! Apparently I’ve missed being included in “the caveat” nolo contendere watch list. I suppose it’s better to be surveilled out in the open than getting a 3am front door pounding (with CNN in tow), so I’ll have to try harder to get included, not that I care what our current Police State thinks. 2 weeks to Time For A Reset ™
***
DOJ Bummery: illegal to, “…disclosing information about ongoing matters.” But it’s okay to politically converge on parents voicing their (tax dollar paid for) opposition to scumbaggery at School Board meetings or jail without actual harges people wandering around the Hallowed Congressional Halls.
– Call me cynical but the DOJ 3 were likely the only ones actually doing their job ethically, so they had to be the fall guys. Isn’t that how it works now?
***
Drill Baby Drill…in the Gulf of America. It does have a nice ring to it.
There are a lot of things that need to be set right. We have the story in the NY Post, but it’s challenging to know the whole truth of things. Everyone has an agenda, and things in DC are chaotic due to the transition.
Hoping for large resets in various “departments “, some that should no longer ‘be’.
As for positive movement regarding acquisition, America does not need an “attic” or “basement” (especially those hiding down there)…but Greenland (The Danes love America) and The Panama Canal (major Carter faux pas with consequences) are strategic and good moves. DJT is the best negotiator so I will assume those two will get acquired in short order, unless the Swamp Creatures somehow block his efforts, showcasing their disdain for We The People and America.
> Greenland (The Danes love America)
Does the loving America thing also apply to the 90%+ of Greenlanders who are not ethnically Danish?
Apparently, according to the news clip I heard anyway…altho, maybe they found the three people who want the purchase to happen because maybe they’re pining for a Micky D’s franchise, without the Filet-O-Fish.
There are only a few great powers. The USA, China and you could argue Russia, though they can’t capture a small neighboring nation with the might of their army (all the king’s horses and all the king’s men). Who would you prefer to affiliate with?
which is why i installed a shorter stock on my fal para yesterday. :)
I doubt the amount of spying will change. What they do with the information will, but we will probably never know how it affects most citizens. Those most concerning will never have a chance from those that have an agenda and will become obscure.
The great info vacuum swallows unimaginable information. Making of sense of it may require an AI supercomputer that dwarfs human consciousness and I’m sure that we’re building that. Jack Carr includes that plot line in his later work.
Colossus: The Forbin Project comes to mind…
I always like to say that I hydrate with the blood and fluids of my prey,
but it’s really more like the American in the video – Coke adds life.
*
– Kle.
Snowden announced to the world that the Feds were reading everything that we wrote and no one really seemed to care (no matter what the 4th Amendment says).
As far as I can see nothing has changed since then….
>>wearing a keffiyeh during a graduation ceremony in Abu Dhabi.<<
In the US you can wear a Swastika anywhere you want, that 1st Amendment thing….
>>** Oregon 1893 – making friends.<< With that bit of technology everything has changed.
DOJ officials in court or in jail? Never. Remember the first impeachment effort aided by Muller’s really bad investigation. Out of all the players, Muller who violated US Code as a special prosecutor, the Vindman brothers who disclosed classified information without authority, Ambassador Yovanovitch who lied under oath, the DOJ/FBI attorneys who falsified documents and FISA court documents, and all the others who violated US Code or lied under oath were after extensive DOJ investigation absolved of all their wrongdoing.
That being said, maybe the tide will change and the high rollers will be faced with the hard evidence showing their crimes and finally face the music.
Ursa Major’s sinking was extremely suspicious because of her cargo. The two smaller tankers, which were designed for river traffic, got attention but their loss could be to either bad Russian engineering or to nefarious actors. Remember the US icebreaker fleet is tiny and several nations are still looking at both opening the northern passage year round and exploiting the natural resources under the ice.
re: Oregon 1893…My family came across the Oregon trail in the 1880’s. It’s not bigfoot, its a bobbookworm family photo. That’s just great, great Grandad with his boys…and my missus says there is a distinct family resemblance.
As the only one here who has met Bobbookworm in the flesh I can tell you that he’s right. There was a dark night on the Mogollon Rim – the sort of night when the Mogollon Monster roams and reigns supreme. There was a clawing at my front door and I went to answer. It was Bob, with books – bearing an uncanny resemblance to his ancestor in the referenced photo.
Surveillance
Proud to be in such exalted company.
They even care what Banner thinks.
Hydrate? Water?
That’s what they put in toilets?
https://youtu.be/ZMHfBobgLSI?si=-6rLgMUathesNRaM
Idiocracy – if you bred Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke and Kamala Harris you’d get that sort of gene pool to jump into. The two can never meet.
😲
Listening to news reports, Bongino (who lost a home to fire years back), and the conservative LA station earlier…the fire could have been minimized, but all government rules, regulations, and galactic ineptitude, has allowed these “natural disasters “ to gain a foothold then expand exponentially. Bongino was espousing how government doesn’t care about you, only themselves…had a pile of excellent points. That lead me to solidify in my mind that there are two types of people in America; those who are independent and never trust anything government does, and those who believe government is their savior in all things (despite every metric proving the opposite). The latter force their will upon the majority former at every turn. State Farm jacked my reasonable Homeowners premium 69% from last year to this year, told them “not paying it so better sharpen the pencil”. Have yet to hear back. They quit the California insurance business due to state meddlers screwing with them, leaving people high and dry. Now look. And what happens in California ultimately leaches across the nation, Colorado is doing the same (why exactly do we have an Insurance Commissioner?), so we may not be here much longer, taxes et al are getting too expensive to live in our place after 25 years. Pure theft, and criminal.
***
On a funnier note, heard a bit of Dana Loesch earlier, said “What are we going to rename Greenland after buying it, Mar-A-Igloo”? Heheh
Yeah, a ‘bunch’ of us are on watch lists… Who knows how many at this point???
I have a feeling that Tulsi will weigh in on those.
Wouldn’t be surprised if the only ones not on the list turn out to be the ones running them, and even then they are probably spying on each other.