“Unchecked Power” Warning After Trump’s Permanent Suspension From Social Media

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The ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) is warning the public of big tech’s “unchecked power” in the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s permanent suspension from social media.

Kate Ruane, a senior legislative counsel at the ACLU, said in a statement that Twitter’s decision to suspend Trump from social media sets a precedent for tech companies to silence voices. Censorship is running rampant right now and few seem to notice or even give a damn.

The ACLU first took issue with Trump’s usage of social media outlets to question the results of the November 3 election and his allegations of voter fraud. “We understand the desire to permanently suspend him now, but it should concern everyone when companies like Facebook and Twitter wield the unchecked power to remove people from platforms that have become indispensable for the speech of billions – especially when political realities make those decisions easier,” the ACLU statement read.

Ruane reiterated that transparency is needed from Big Tech companies, noting that activists who don’t have alternative ways to communicate will suffer. “President Trump can turn his press team or Fox News to communicate with the public, but others … who have been censored by social media companies—will not have that luxury. It is our hope that these companies will apply their rules transparently to everyone,” according to the statement.

“Censorship is to society what cancer is to the human body,” says YouTube creator Brian of High Impact TV.



Trump has been censored almost everywhere. Twitter, which suspended Trump’s account on Friday indefinitely suspended the president’s access. Instagram, Twitch, Facebook, and others have done the same.

Big Tech has taken on the role of suppressing the free speech of people with whom they disagree.  If you honestly still believe you live in a free society, you’re living in a delusion. Other concerns have been expressed about civil liberties after Apple and Google moved to remove social media app Parler—a social media website used primarily by conservatives—from their respective app downloading stores, saying it has not implemented adequate moderation policies.

Parler’s CEO says Big Tech is trying to squash the completion along with the basic fundamental right to free speech. “There is the possibility Parler will be unavailable on the internet for up to a week as we rebuild from scratch,” he said in a post on Parler. “This was a coordinated attack by the tech giants to kill competition in the market place … You can expect the war on competition and free speech to continue, but don’t count us out.”

The post “Unchecked Power” Warning After Trump’s Permanent Suspension From Social Media first appeared on SHTF Plan – When It Hits The Fan, Don’t Say We Didn’t Warn You.

TRUMP WILL NEVER CONCEDE!: America Is Now Two Countries

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This article was contributed by Future Money Trends. 

What we’re about to discuss should not shock anyone: The United States of America stands at a crossroads. In the past, when such trying times occurred, the binding glue that propelled the country forward was cherishing the freedom, liberty, and pursuit of happiness set forth in the Constitution and Bill of Rights. The country also united under charismatic and optimistic leaders that had magnetic personalities, such as Abe Lincoln, JFK, and Theodore Roosevelt.

Today, the situation is much more complex. No one thinks that Joe Biden (not even those who voted for him) is a one-of-a-kind political magician who will rally the country after him. He doesn’t possess the personal charm of Kennedy or the oral talents of FDR. When in crisis, the country usually elects a born leader, a person deemed to have extraordinary qualities, but the Democrats did not produce such a person.

This isn’t a political opinion; it’s a reality that few would argue, if any.

The mission of the Democrats was simply to ensure that Donald Trump doesn’t stay in office for four more years and to gain a majority in the Senate. Most would argue that until the coronavirus showed up, Trump was quite popular with many who ended up voting for Biden (swinging away from him).

There was growing discontent with the government ever since the 2008 bailouts for Wall Street and it only intensified in the years that followed, culminating in a complete lack of trust in elected officials by a growing number of people. This is not an American phenomenon, but a global one. We’ve seen civil unrest in a great many countries.

Democracy only functions when the minority feels that the majority won’t abuse its power. The minority (according to the certification of Joe Biden), which are the Republicans and Trump’s supporters, do not buy into this. They refuse to go along with the status quo, protesting the lack of real investigation into voter fraud allegations and election irregularities. They’re also concerned about the following: reckless spending, higher taxes, Radical Left ideas, socialism, open borders, restriction of free speech, too much government, and pro-China policies, among other things.

They protest censorship of free speech, double standards in reporting of rioting, assault on their rights, and show their hatred of the Radical Left, by taking a stand.

On the flip side, Trump haters are celebrating and can’t wait to see him gone. They couldn’t stand what he stood for since he attacked the establishment.

This is, of course, an overly-simplified explanation of the forces at play. What really matters is that it seems like the left and right are growing further apart, with fewer people in the middle, less and less of them wanting to compromise and to settle on ideological matters.

In other words, remaining neutral is becoming harder since the two agendas are so far apart that staying in the center shows a lack of courage to follow one’s heart.

No one can simultaneously like and hate that Twitter banned President Trump. One can either see it as a violent act of censorship, which could be even construed as inciting violence (since Twitter is backing Trump’s supporters into a corner), or as justified since Twitter is acting responsibly – you’re either here or there.

Future Money Trends believes that Trump will never concede, nor will many millions of his voters. This is not a small movement, nor a weak one; their votes will likely form a large third party in the 2024 elections.

The United States is one of the only Western countries with only two big parties. We tend to think that the various factions within the population are not represented by the two main parties and that we’ll see the rise of a pretty large new party led by Trump or other politicians who share his views.

It’s a big prediction, but it’s certainly where the country is already heading.

A person working in one of the tech companies and living in San Francisco, Seattle, or New York City has little in common with a person from the rust belt or the heartland.

The fabric of society is definitely falling apart and what we’re afraid of is that politicians will resort to an age-old tradition in Washington, which is to find a “new” enemy, a common foreign enemy, to rally the people against.

Watch this narrative and be ready to call it out!

The post TRUMP WILL NEVER CONCEDE!: America Is Now Two Countries first appeared on SHTF Plan – When It Hits The Fan, Don’t Say We Didn’t Warn You.

TRUMP 2024: MAJOR CLASH! This is Escalating!

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This article was contributed by Portfolio Wealth Global.

In this type of environment, we’re holding our tongues and being mindful of the words we use, since the stakes are as high as we’ve ever seen them.

Political historians and even hedge fund titans, such as Ray Dalio, have warned that the past rhymes and that America is headed towards a revolution.

Today, we want to explore a number of possible scenarios in the new American landscape:

  1. A 3rd Party: It’s clear by now that not all Republicans are hardcore Trump fans. Not all 74M Trump voters are going to remain loyal to him specifically, but many will.

If the House and the Senate, led by Democrats, vote to strip Donald Trump’s rights to run again in 2024, we believe that he would launch a media giant where he can broadcast his policies. It would be Donald Jr., who ends up running in 2024.

  1. Disengaged Americans: Many of Trump’s supporters are veterans and people that love the idea of a constitutional America, limited government, fiscal responsibility, and remaining strong in the face of China’s rise to global supremacy.

We estimate that tens of millions of Americans are more loyal to Trump’s views than to the general views of the Republican Party.

The problem with that, of course, is that creating a third party would cause this new party to split its voters with the Republicans, which, by definition, would make Democrats the biggest party by miles.

In other words, it’s a tricky situation and would require extensive effort to bring into existence a party that competes with Democrats, even though Portfolio Wealth Global doesn’t believe that Biden will run again in 2024. This means that the Democrats also need to think about who their next candidate will be.

What we mean by disengaged Americans is that we will see a country within a country. If a group of tens of millions of people refuse to trust the election results and refuse to acknowledge Biden as their president, it is an issue that we cannot over-emphasize. Democracies function only when the people give it power and respect the legitimacy of the current regime.

Most Trump supporters don’t.

  1. Zero confidence in the Media: Mainstream media is dead to Trump supporters.

This is the reason we are pretty convinced that Trump will form his own media corporation and that it might be Donald Jr., who is groomed for office.

There’s fake news and then there’s propaganda; we live in the age of both.

New media outlets will be built from the ashes of the legacy channels, in our view.

  1. Biden Years: In times past, when America was this divided, U.S.-led think tanks looked overseas and found an enemy to portray as a threat and wage war against it.

It diverts attention away from domestic issues.

It’s also possible that Biden will not resort to war, since he’s too weak to get the support needed, and will instead dish out free money to everyone in order to gain favor.

For example, Biden might wipe clean all student loan debts.

It’s unclear how America will wake up on the 21st of January, but we can assure you that 2020 altered this country forever.

The post TRUMP 2024: MAJOR CLASH! This is Escalating! first appeared on SHTF Plan – When It Hits The Fan, Don’t Say We Didn’t Warn You.

Facebook Bans The Phrase “Stop The Steal” Ahead Of Biden’s Inaguration

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Facebook is going all-in on their censorship campaign ahead of Joe Biden’s inauguration in 8 days. The social media giant has now banned the phrase “stop the steal” from their platform.

Any content with the blacklisted phrase is being removed from Facebook and Instagram, under the Coordinating Harm policy, the company announced on Monday evening. The vice president for Integrity Guy Rosen and vice president for Global Policy Management Monika Bickert claimed that the phrase was used “by those involved in Wednesday’s violence in DC” and cited “continued attempts to organize events against the outcome of the US presidential election that can lead to violence,” according to reports by RT. “We’re taking additional steps and using the same teams and technologies we used during the general election to stop misinformation and content that could incite further violence during these next few weeks,” Rosen and Bickert wrote.

In addition to the “indefinite suspension” of President Trump’s account announced on Thursday, Facebook is keeping the temporary ban on all US political advertising and “connecting people with reliable information and high-quality news about the inauguration and the transition process.”

“After the inauguration, our label on posts that attempt to delegitimize the election results will reflect that Joe Biden is the sitting president,” wrote Bickert and Rosen. –RT

For months, social media giants have labeled any post challenging the validity of the 2020 presidential election as“disputed” or challenged by their coterie of fact-checkers. This includes posts by Donald Trump that were alleging voter irregularities.  Last Wednesday’s unrest at the Capitol provided Big Tech with a pretext to censor and purge accounts outright, including those of the president himself.

The outright deletion of content before Biden is even inaugurated is an escalation from Facebook’s actions prior to the election, when they “shadowbanned” all mention of a New York Poststory about Biden’s son Hunter and the incriminating emails found on a laptop recovered from a Delaware repair shop. Twitter had locked the Post’s account, but it later emerged that Facebook’s soft censorship turned out to be far more effective. –RT

The clampdown on free speech is here. Once that begins, history has proven that it doesn’t end well.

The post Facebook Bans The Phrase “Stop The Steal” Ahead Of Biden’s Inaguration first appeared on SHTF Plan – When It Hits The Fan, Don’t Say We Didn’t Warn You.

Twitter Purge: Our Orwellian Dystopia Is Now Our Present

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In a Monday night blog post, Twitter laid out all the latest details of a historic purge that started with the permanent suspension of President Donald Trump.  Isn’t it odd how none of those considerations emerged during the summer when United States cities were literally burning as a result of countless violent protests and frequent riots?

According to a report by ZeroHedge, the Great Purge, which is a big tech censorship campaign rivaled only by that of Nazi Germany’s, has begun.  With the suspension of 70,000 accounts since Friday, the crackdown on dissent and those who know they are being lied to propagandized is here.  The Orwellian dystopia we were all warned about has arrived.

In twitter’s own words: “It’s important to be transparent about all of this work as the US Presidential Inauguration on January 20, 2021, approaches.” In the aftermath of the biggest censorship purge in Twitter history, the company’s stock tumbled. The justification for the mass censorship campaign dubbed “the purge” by ZeroHedge and others is justified if you believe Big Tech:

We’ve been clear that we will take strong enforcement action on behavior that has the potential to lead to offline harm. Given the violent events in Washington, DC, and increased risk of harm, we began permanently suspending thousands of accounts that were primarily dedicated to sharing QAnon content on Friday afternoon.

Already, the American Civil Liberties Union is warning the public that the Big Tech firms are expanding their power.

“Unchecked Power” Warning After Trump’s Permanent Suspension From Social Media

Social media platforms will soon be an echo chamber for authoritarians while those who have been censored move to other sites that allow the free flow of information.

Click here to read Twitter’s entire statement on the censorship of dissenting voices.

This situation will amp up as we approach the inauguration. Things are about to get chaotic as people increasingly become silenced as Big Tech continues to foment division.

The post Twitter Purge: Our Orwellian Dystopia Is Now Our Present first appeared on SHTF Plan – When It Hits The Fan, Don’t Say We Didn’t Warn You.

FBI Warns: Armed Protests Planned For All 50 State Capitols

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According to the FBI, armed protests are planned for all 50 state capitols as the inauguration of Joe Biden approaches.  The FBI said in a statement: “The FBI is supporting our state, local, and federal law enforcement partners with maintaining public safety in the communities we serve.”

Supporters of President Donald Trump will descend upon the capital cities of all 50 states in advance of the inauguration if the FBI’s warning is correct. Biden and Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris are expected to be sworn in at a ceremony at the Capitol. The Biden team has already urged Americans to avoid traveling to the capital because of the Covid-19 hoax. But now, “authorities” are urging people to stay home.

Security officials have said there will be no repeat of the breach seen on 6 January, when thousands of pro-Trump supporters were able to break into the building where members of Congress were voting to certify the election result.- BBC

Not to be the ones to attempt unity, house Democrats say a vote to impeach the president will happen on Wednesday. They are accusing President Trump of “incitement of insurrection” and say the vote will be held unless Vice-President Mike Pence invokes constitutional powers to remove Trump from office. There is no sign that Pence is willing to do so.

Because Democrats hold a majority in the house, Trump is expected to become the first president to be impeached twice. This could have an impact on planned protests and it will also solidify the division the government is using to make sure the New World Order’s Great Reset is ushered in.

An internal FBI bulletin, reported by ABC News and other outlets, is also warning that one group is calling for the “storming” of state, local, and federal courthouses around the country if Trump is removed from office early and on inauguration day if he is not.

Democrats Plan To Pressure Pence To Remove Donald Trump

Violence and a show of force will only amplify the situation and cause a crackdown on the public. The best thing to do right now is to stay out of all of this.  Help others if you can, and try to do the right thing.  Stay out of this fray, stay prepared, and make sure you’re alert and use discernment. In the coming weeks, cooler heads will prevail.

The Gray Man Concept: Tips To Improve This Important Survival Skill

The solution is to leave the system and stop supporting it.

The post FBI Warns: Armed Protests Planned For All 50 State Capitols first appeared on SHTF Plan – When It Hits The Fan, Don’t Say We Didn’t Warn You.

Italian Government On Verge Of Collapse Amid Battle Over EU COVID Relief

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This article was originally published by Tyler Durden at ZeroHedge. 

Under the leadership of Premier Giuseppe Conte, Italy’s government has enjoyed a degree of stability unseen in decades, as the technocratic former law professor – initially brought in to lead a government formed by two anti-establishment parties, the anti-migrant League and left-wing populist Five Star Movement – Conte has already survived the collapse of his original coalition. When League leader Matteo Salvini withdrew from the ruling coalition back in 2019, Conte managed to stave off another election by recruiting new allies from the opposition.

Since then, Conte has led Italy through two COVID-19 lockdowns, and as the country lumbers forward, with much of its economy still paralyzed, the PM has his work cut out for him if he wants to get the country’s debt burden under control without resorting to punishing austerity measures (which, at this point, would probably spark a full-tilt revolution in the streets of Italy’s largest cities).

But as Italy staggers out of another COVID-19-induced-lockdown, the ruling coalition is once again at the point of fracture. After Salvini quit the ruling coalition back in the summer of 2019, Conte struck a deal with Matteo Renzi, the former prime minister, who later broke off from the Democrats and formed his own centrist group.

Well, now that Italy has finally received the €196 billion-euro ($240 billion) windfall from the European Union COVID bailout package, parliament must vote on how to spend the money. But since nothing is ever easy in Italy’s politically fragmented government, disagreements over spending priorities are prompting Matteo Renzi, a junior partner in the coalition, to consider abandoning the government, and thrusting it into chaos just as the relief package is being finalized.

According to Bloomberg, Italian President Sergio Mattarella (in Italy, the president plays a caretaker role) has extracted promises from Renzi that the political infighting won’t impact the relief package.

The latest government plan uses EU money to earmark €223 billion euros for investment and other projects to boost the Italian economy, which was already weak even before the pandemic, according to a draft seen by Bloomberg.

Spending on infrastructure including railways, highways, ports, and logistics totals €32 billion, while investment to make Italy’s economy greener totals €69 billion. Health spending, meanwhile, has been raised to €19.7 billion in what Bloomberg described as a concession to Renzi. But Renzi and his lawmakers have demanded Conte share more power with his coalition partners while speeding up public works projects (and giving up control of the secret services).

COVID has already heaped on more debt, and although the EU money will undoubtedly help, Italy is still dipping into its own pockets to fund some of the recovery measures.

Source: Bloomberg

Should Renzi pull two lawmakers backing the coalition in the Italian Senate (which, for those who aren’t familiar, has 321 seats, with 315 of them being elected, and the 6 others appointed “senators for life”), Conte would need to see if he can drum up enough support from opposition lawmakers to former a new governing coalition. If Conte can’t find the votes, Mattarella would have no choice but to call another snap election.

Fortunately for Conte, nobody – not even Renzi & Co. – really wants a new election. Recent reforms have reduced the number of seats in both houses of the Italian Parliament by 1/3rd, which means another election would prematurely force dozens of politicians into early retirement. Perhaps that’s why we haven’t seen a major blowout in BTP-Bund spreads, though yields on the 10-year BTP have reached the highest level since Dec. 8 as the yield climbed by a few basis points early Tuesday.

The move has widened the spread over bunds by 3bps to 109bps.

Still, we’re not seeing much of a reaction in Italian bonds, probably because investors have confidence in Conte. He’s currently leading his second government, despite never having been elected himself. And nobody wants to risk an election at a time when polls suggest voters would turn once again to Matteo Salvini and the League, which remain popular throughout the country, even in provinces once considered bastions of progressive politics in Italy.

Nicola Zingaretti, leader of the Democratic Party and a member of Conte’s ruling coalition, said Tuesday during an interview on Sky.

It’s the latest sign that the surprising stability that permeated Italian politics during the pandemic, as Italy became for a time the worst-hit country in Europe, was an aberration, and that the shroud of national unity is already dissipating.

The post Italian Government On Verge Of Collapse Amid Battle Over EU COVID Relief first appeared on SHTF Plan – When It Hits The Fan, Don’t Say We Didn’t Warn You.

[TFB GUNFEST] Looking Closer At The KelTec P50

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KelTec P50During TFB’s GunFest 2021, we had the chance to talk with KelTec about their new P50 pistol, chambered in 5.7×28. Despite its unveiling last month, we were able to ask some of the most frequently asked questions about this newly designed KelTec P50 pistol. KelTec also expounded on some of the design features they worked […]

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The post [TFB GUNFEST] Looking Closer At The KelTec P50 appeared first on The Firearm Blog.

GUNFEST GUIDE – Exclusive TFB And TFBTV Coverage Of New Releases

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GUNFEST GUIDE - Exclusive TFB And TFBTV Coverage Of New ReleasesThis time last year TFB and TFBTV cast and crew were busy making any last minute plans for SHOT Show 2020. With the COVID-19 shutdown of our favorite show, TFB and TFBTV set into motion what would become the event of a lifetime. Actually, it was just a bunch of guys snapping pictures, shooting video […]

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The post GUNFEST GUIDE – Exclusive TFB And TFBTV Coverage Of New Releases appeared first on The Firearm Blog.

HOT GAT or FUDD CRAP? Mandalor or Pure Fuddlore?

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Hot Gat or Fudd CrapWelcome everyone to the 79th edition of ‘Hot Gat or Fudd Crap?’, one of our many series here on TFB. If you’re new to the series, this is where we look at the most obscure firearms that are actually for sale and ask the question – is this Gat a sweet deal or only have […]

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The post HOT GAT or FUDD CRAP? Mandalor or Pure Fuddlore? appeared first on The Firearm Blog.