Conservative

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/31325704

A South Carolina Republican lawmaker — who once preached about the importance of safeguarding children from unnecessary harm — is accused of distributing more than 200 files of child pornography online while using the screen name “joebidennnn69,” federal prosecutors alleged.

Robert “RJ” May, 38, a member of the House of Representatives in the Palmetto State, was arrested at his Lexington County home Wednesday on a 10-count indictment charging him with distributing child sex abuse material, court documents showed.

The married father of two used “joebidennnn69” and several other user names to exchange 220 obscene files containing extremely graphic footage of children and toddlers engaged in sex acts on the messaging app Kik over five days last spring, federal prosecutors alleged.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/31320113

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/31281899

A U.S. judge on Thursday temporarily barred Donald Trump from deploying National Guard troops in Los Angeles, finding that the Guard was unlawfully mobilized by Trump.

Judge Charles Breyer ordered the National Guard to return to the control of California Governor Gavin Newsom, who sued to restrict its activity. Breyer's order will take effect at noon on Friday.

"The Court is troubled by the implication inherent in Defendants' argument that protest against the federal government, a core civil liberty protected by the First Amendment, can justify a finding of rebellion," Breyer wrote.

The Trump administration immediately appealed the judge's order.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/31598847

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/5235105

California national guards troops and marines deployed to Los Angeles to help restore order after days of protest against the Trump administration have told friends and family members they are deeply unhappy about the assignment and worry their only meaningful role will be as pawns in a political battle they do not want to join.

Three different advocacy organisations representing military families said they had heard from dozens of affected service members who expressed discomfort about being drawn into a domestic policing operation outside their normal field of operations. The groups said they have heard no countervailing opinions.

“The sentiment across the board right now is that deploying military force against our own communities isn’t the kind of national security we signed up for,” said Sarah Streyder of the Secure Families Initiative, which represents the interests of military spouses, children and veterans.

Full Article

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/46581871

cross-posted from: https://discuss.tchncs.de/post/38390606

Internal 82nd Airborne Division communications reviewed by Military.com reveal a tightly orchestrated effort to curate the optics of Trump's recent visit, including handpicking soldiers for the audience based on political leanings and physical appearance. The troops ultimately selected to be behind Trump and visible to the cameras were almost exclusively male.

One unit-level message bluntly said "no fat soldiers."

"If soldiers have political views that are in opposition to the current administration and they don't want to be in the audience then they need to speak with their leadership and get swapped out," another note to troops said.

Cherry picking your fan boys, very Alpha move.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/31167309

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/31152430

The California governor said the troops had been left without food or water in federal buildings

Hundreds of National Guard troops deployed to Los Angeles under Donald Trump's orders are reportedly idle and without clear directives, California Gov. Gavin Newsom revealed, calling the situation a political stunt.

The controversy stems from Trump's decision to send 2,000 Guard troops to Los Angeles over the weekend in response to protests against aggressive ICE operations. On Monday, Newsom said he was informed another 2,000 were en route, even though most of the first wave had not been mobilized.

Only about 300 have been actively deployed, while the rest remained in federal buildings "without orders," according to Newsom. The governor said the troops had been left without food or water, and accused the White House of misusing military resources to bolster Trump's image.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/31151611

The explicit threat comes days after Trump ordered soldiers to put down protests in Los Angeles

Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to forcibly put down any protests that spoil the military parade he has ordered up for his birthday on Saturday to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army’s founding during the American Revolutionary War.

Speaking in the Oval Office following an impromptu event to discuss forest management ahead of the upcoming summer wildfire season, Trump was riffing on what he described as violent excesses by protesters who’ve been demonstrating against Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in Los Angeles when he was asked about the possibility of protests against the June 14 parade.

He reiterated the explicit threat a moment later, telling “those people who want to protest” that they would be “met with very big force” once more.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/30919281

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/30797482

cross-posted from: https://discuss.online/post/21256146

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/45433502

Archive link: https://archive.ph/YQ9qo

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/65895195

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/35949308

Uh oh... Looks like Michael Wolff hit a nerve with the orange utan there.

cross-posted from: https://rss.ponder.cat/post/197794

A Trump official who dismantled a counter-disinformation office in the United States government has links to the Kremlin, the Telegraph reported on June 3.

Darren Beattie, who was appointed to the State Department in February 2025 as under secretary for public diplomacy and public affairs, has come under scrutiny for his pro-Russian views. According to the Telegraph, Beattie is married to a Russian woman with links to the Kremlin.

His wife – Yulia Kirillova – is the niece of Sergei Chernikov, a former Russian official who reportedly helped Russian President Vladimir Putin in the election campaign which first brought him to power in 2000.

Beattie notably played a role in dismantling the Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference office, or R/FIMI, which was previously tasked with tracking and countering disinformation from Russia, China, and Iran.

R/FIMI was officially shut down in April 2025, according to a press statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who claimed that the office "spent millions of dollars to actively silence and censor the voices of Americans they were supposed to be serving."

According to sources cited by the Telegraph, Beattie relentlessly pursued R/FIMI after his appointment to the State Department. Secretary Rubio confirmed that Beattie played a significant role in dismantling the agency.

Beattie also showed a keen interest in classified materials related to Russia, raising concerns about granting him access to sensitive information. The sources also expressed concerns about whether he had been adequately vetted – a process that can take anywhere from a couple of months to over a year to complete.

Beattie previously served in the first Trump administration but was ousted after allegedly attending a white nationalist conference in 2018. Since then, he reinvented himself as an "alt-right media" figure and founded the news outlet Revolver.

Through Revolver, Beattie has long criticized R/FIMI and promoted narratives aligned with Kremlin disinformation. He has argued that the U.S. orchestrates "color revolutions" around the world, including in Ukraine – a common narrative used in Kremlin propaganda to delegitimize pro-democracy movements as Western-backed coups.

Beattie has also written social media posts suggesting that Western institutions should be "infiltrated" by the Kremlin, and has attacked the so-called "globalist American empire."

Two months before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Beattie wrote on X: "Imagine the whining from the Globalist American Empire if Putin 'invades' Ukraine... love it when our national security bureaucrats fail!"

The Trump administration has repeatedly come under fire for its perceived sympathies toward Russia. It has also been criticized for shuttering R/FIMI, particularly amidst a global "information war."

According to the National Endowment for Democracy, Russia spends an estimated $1.5 billion annually on disinformation and foreign influence campaigns. In Europe alone, the Kremlin is believed to be behind 80% of disinformation operations.

Read also: US House Speaker Johnson backs Senate bill to toughen sanctions on Russia

From The Kyiv Independent - News from Ukraine, Eastern Europe via this RSS feed

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/65855326

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/65855088

https://archive.is/20250601003958/https://www.nationalreview.com/2025/05/another-harvard-scandal-proves-that-science-is-broken/

cross-posted from: https://metawire.eu/post/117539

Nearly three-quarters of the world’s population now lives under some form of authoritarian rule. As illiberal leaders continue to gain power, often through democratic elections, the question looms large: is democracy in decline? We are witnessing a pivotal moment in living history, where far-right movements are capturing hearts and minds of voters, reshaping political landscapes across the globe. For an in-depth exploration of this seismic shift, FRANCE 24’s Eve Irvine is pleased to welcome Dr. Sarah Stein Lubrano, researcher at Oxford University and author of the newly released, thought-provoking book Don't Talk About Politics, which unpacks the science, psychology and politics behind our political behaviours.