Wednesday Morning Breakfast For The Brain

Good morning Deplorables! Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas.

LeBron James says ‘Jewish money’ Instagram post meant as a compliment

Via The Guardian

LeBron James has apologized after an Instagram post that mentioned “Jewish money”.

The Los Angeles Lakers star regularly posts song lyrics to his Instagram account, and on Saturday he quoted asmr by 21 Savage, which includes the line “We been gettin’ that Jewish money, everything is kosher”.

Business reporter Darren Rovell brought attention to the post and lyrics, which brings up an old stereotype surrounding Jewish people and materialism. James apologized for the post after his team’s game against the Memphis Grizzles on Sunday night.

“Apologies, for sure, if I offended anyone,” James told ESPN. “That’s not why I chose to share that lyric. I always [post lyrics]. That’s what I do. I ride in my car, I listen to great music, and that was the byproduct of it. So I actually thought it was a compliment, and obviously it wasn’t through the lens of a lot of people. My apologies. It definitely was not the intent, obviously, to hurt anybody.” He added that he thought the lyrics were a tribute to the strength of the Jewish community.

Read the entire article HERE.

Why Eating Rice Is The No. 1 Cultural Appropriation Guilt Trip

Via The Federalist

Who was being exploited in bringing this food to my table? How far was this rice transported to get here? There are no rice paddies in Colorado that I know of, so certainly I must have broken some “slow food” directives. And if I have a second helping, is someone going to starve to death somewhere else?

After careful consideration, I realized that by making a pot of rice, I was appropriating someone’s culture. But whose? At first blush, you’d probably choose Asians. But which Asians? There are so many. It was time for a little research (which is the only kind of research I do—and I’m darned good at it, I’ll have you know).

I was stunned to discover that by making rice I was appropriating from almost every culture on the planet and throughout much of history. There is, for example, Persian Jeweled Rice, which I am eager to appropriate once I can find the unobtanium ingredient: barberries. There’s arroz rojo (Mexican red rice), rice pilaf (stolen from the hapless Pilaffians during typical brutal colonial aggression), black rice (a superfood), Spanish rice, sushi rice, and Basmati from India, Nepal, and Pakistan.

Read the entire article HERE.

Russian operatives were promoting sex toys on Instagram to sow discord in the US

Via Quartz

Two reports produced by independent researchers for the US Senate Intelligence Committee, released today (Dec. 17), show that Instagram was a much more significant tool in the hands of Russian operatives trying to influence US politics than previously thought—and was at times potentially more powerful than Facebook.

Between early 2015 and late 2017—during which the US elected Donald Trump as president—accounts associated with the Kremlin-sponsored Russian Internet Agency created more content on Instagram. These posts also received more engagement on Instagram than on Facebook, even though there are more ways to engage on Facebook, researchers from cybersecurity company New Knowledge, Columbia University and software research and development firm Canfield Research found in the 100-page report.

he operatives used various audience-growing tactics, creating some bizarre outcomes. The accounts promoted merchandise, including merch sites run by the IRA itself. Some of the merch overlapped with Facebook, but, the researchers found some products unique to Instagram like “LGBT-positive sex toys and many variants of triptych and 5-panel artwork featuring traditionally conservative, patriotic themes,” the New Knowledge report said. The merchandise could have provided the IRA with some income, but more importantly, offered the operatives access to buyers’ personal data, including payment information, and help with ad targeting in the future.

The Russian operatives’ activity on Instagram only increased after the 2016 US presidential election. There was a 238% spike in activity in the in a six-month period after the 2016 election, according to the Oxford report, and there are no signs of stopping. “Our assessment is that Instagram is likely to be a key battleground on an ongoing basis,” the New Knowledge researchers wrote.

Read the entire article HERE.

Not that I’m a big Jimmy Dore fan but there are few liberals who are willing to call bullshit on this entire Russian meddling hoax. Well worth watching if you can tolerate it.

Disinfo Democrat Who Hatched Russian “False Flag” Pimped Own Propaganda On Hamilton 68

Via Zero Hedge

A Democratic operative who hatched a Russian “false flag” scheme against Republican Roy Moore in last year’s Alabama special election promoted his own propaganda on the dubious “Hamilton 68” website – which purports to track Russian “bot” activity, yet refuses to disclose how they do it.

Jonathon Morgan – who was paid $100,000 by liberal billionaire Reid Hoffman to orchestrate a Russian “flase flag” during the hotly contested election between Republican Roy Moore and Democratic Sen. Doug Jones, was exposed last week by the New York Times for creating thousands of fake “Russian bot” accounts to follow Moore and make it appear as though the Kremlin supported his campaign.

“We orchestrated an elaborate ‘false flag’ operation that planted the idea that the Moore campaign was amplified on social media by a Russian botnet,” reads an internal report on the Alabama effort obtained by the Times, which aimed to experiment “with many of the tactics now understood to have influenced the 2016 elections.”

Read the entire article HERE.

John Huber, Justice Dept. Sheriff Who Never Quite Rode Into Town

By Paul Sperry

John Huber has developed almost mythical status among pro-Trump tweeters since former Attorney General Jeff Sessions directed him to investigate why the FBI spied on Trump’s aides and whether they protected Hillary Clinton and her foundation over alleged misdeeds. They hoped the Salt Lake City-based prosecutor would aggressively expose the malfeasance that has already led to firings and resignations among the bureau’s top brass.

Instead, more than a year since his appointment, Huber’s lack of traction on either front is leading many once hopeful supporters to dismiss his investigation as a “sham.”

RealClearInvestigations has learned from potential witnesses, their lawyers and others close to the investigations, that Huber has not impaneled a federal grand jury to subpoena witnesses or hear evidence.

They are puzzled as to why he has failed to interview key witnesses – such as disgraced FBI officials and Trump advisers targeted by them, as well as Clinton Foundation whistleblowers — who could shed light on whether FBI and Justice Department officials misused their power when they obtained spy warrants to monitor Trump adviser Carter Page; or whether such officials turned a blind eye to millions of dollars in foreign Clinton Foundation donations influencing Clinton’s official decisions as secretary of state. Even when whistleblowers have reached out to Huber, offering reams of evidence, his office has not followed up, they say.

While some witnesses and their attorneys complain he’s not doing his job, some critics who once had high hopes for Huber now suspect he was never expected to. They say Huber’s appointment was always political, that the Justice Department had no interest in exposing its own corruption and named this longtime department official to mollify Republicans who clamored for the appointment of a second special counsel to investigate FBI and Justice activities under the Obama administration.

Read the entire article HERE.

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