26-02-2024: In early February, Senegal’s President Macky Sall postponed presidential elections for several months weeks before the planned election date of February 25, leading to protests across the West African nation. Opposition members of parliament who attempted to block a bill entrenching the delay were arrested as police fired tear gas at protestors outside.[1] By the evening, the bill which initially proposed a postponing of the elections until August 25 was amended to an even later date of December 15, which was passed by 105 members of parliament (MPs) in the 165 seat assembly.[2] In an interview with Associated Press (AP) President Macky Sall denied he was attempting to hold on to power by delaying the elections. He stated he was “..seeking for nothing except to leave a country in peace and stability….I am completely ready to pass the baton. I have always been programmed for that”.[3] While one might agree or disagree with the official positions of Macky Sall, he can scarcely be blamed for making moves to calm political conditions which have led to deadly riots in recent years.
Israel has moved a step closer to potentially banning Al Jazeera after accusing one of its reporters, Mohamed Washah, of working for Hamas. The Israeli parliament voted 25-4 to advance the ‘Al Jazeera Law,’ a bill that would allow the temporary outlawing of foreign media outlets designated as harmful to state security by the defense ministry. The legislation, colloquially known as the ‘Al Jazeera Law,’ specifically targets the Qatar-based network.
Ian Grenville Cross Debunked fake news propaganda by the PM of Britain on the case of Jimmy Lai and publicly call for his immediate and unconditional release
In spite of some revisions, the bill’s many critics have warned that KOSA would dangerously sanitize the internet, empower censorship and isolate young LGBTQ people in the process. Security, privacy and free press advocates have also called attention to the bill’s potential threat to encryption. The bill was revised last year in response to some criticisms, but many concerns persist.
However the claim that KOSA is “reasonable,” “impactful,” “tailored,” or “thoughtful” is just grade-A bullshit. The law is a total mess, and will do real harm to kids beyond just being obviously unconstitutional. As we’ve pointed out multiple times, GOP support for the bill is because they know it will be used to censor LGBTQ content. The GOP’s leading “think tank,” the Heritage Foundation has publicly supported the bill because they believe censoring LGBTQ content “is protecting kids.” Meanwhile, bill co-sponsor, Marsha Blackburn (whom Smith thanks above for her “leadership,”) has similarly admitted that Congress should pass KOSA to “protect minor children from the transgender in our culture.”
“Denys Bihus leads TOM 14, a group of professional investigative journalists in Ukraine.” – Source
Bihus isn’t currently listed in NED’s grants, because NED has scrubbed their site of their funding to Ukraine. In 2019, TOM 14 received $30,000 from NED.
“TOM 14, GO is an entity in Kyiv, registered with the System for Award Management (SAM) of U.S. General Services Administration (GSA).” – OPENGOVUS.
The Ukrainian government has conducted extensive audio and video surveillance of a major news outlet. After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, President Zelensky nationalized the media and imposed a tight control over information.
On Monday, Elon Musk tweeted “To fear parody or criticism is a sign of weakness.”
If true, then this is Elon admitting to an astounding level of weakness. I mean, we’ve been chronicling for nearly two years now how Elon Musk talks a good game on free speech, but at every opportunity he’s had, he has not embraced actual free speech. Instead he’s worked hard to silence or punish those who say things critical of himself. This includes filing ridiculous lawsuits against two vocal critics.
Escambia County school officials told the Pensacola News Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network, that the more than 1,600 books are not banned and are being pulled from shelves temporarily while under review.
The books “have not been banned or removed from the school district; rather, they have simply been pulled for further review to ensure compliance with the new legislation,” Escambia County Public Schools spokesperson Cody Strother told the News Journal.
In an effort to comply with the law, the school district removed eight encyclopedias and five dictionaries from library shelves, according to PEN America, which is suing the school district for removing 10 books on race and LGBTQ issues last year. The group argues those book bans violate the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech.
The takeaway from his ordeal is that the UK has de facto criminalized the creation of video content that shares contrarian perspectives of the Ukrainian Conflict that contradict the official one.
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 
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