Required reading from around the web of the best, most interesting, or most though provoking things we’ve read:
Grimes: California burns: The “new normal” thanks to Obama Era Environmental Regulations
“‘Hotter, drier, longer forest fires we are witnessing today have nothing to do with ‘dangerous manmade climate change. They have a lot to do with idiotic forest mismanagement policies and practices.’—Paul Driessen, Senior Policy Advisor, CFACT. This past week, the New York Times reported on California’s wildfires stating that “Since 2012, according to state emergency management officials, there has not been a month without a wildfire burning—a stark contrast to previous decades, when fire officials saw the fall and winter as a time to plan and regroup,” What’s the significance of 2012?”
Read more at Canada Free Press.
Cleveland: 4 Things We Learned From The FBI’s Mostly Redacted Steele Documents
“In a Friday afternoon news dump, the Federal Bureau of Investigation released 71 pages of documents related to the agency’s use of Christopher Steele as a confidential human source (CHS). Judicial Watch fought for more than a year to force the government to comply with its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for documents related to the work the former British spy—and author of the salacious and unverified Steele dossier—did for the FBI since January 1, 2016. It is unlikely that Friday’s release will end the matter, however, given the FBI’s greedy use of FOIA exemptions left nearly all the significant details redacted. But while Judicial Watch (and Congress!) continue to battle for more information, several points merit mention based on the sparse details revealed.”
Raleigh: Google Refuses To Assist U.S. Military, Bends Over For China’s Communist Censors
“Should Google change its famous motto “Don’t be evil” to something like “Don’t be evil when it’s convenient, but it’s okay to be evil when it means new markets and more profit?” The question is pertinent, because The Intercept has reported that Google plans to launch a censored version of its search engine in China in the next six to eight months, pending the approval of Chinese regulators. China already has one of the world’s worst records on internet freedom. The Chinese government has built a large army of censors to scrub the internet to their liking in real time. Under President Xi Jinping, the Chinese government has further tightened its control over its people’s right to free expression. Chinese censors cast a very wide net of control. Whether it’s The Wall Street Journal site or the image of Winnie the Pooh, whether it’s a serious topic or something funny — anything the government doesn’t like, or any phrase or images even remotely associated to anything the government doesn’t like, is either banned, blocked or simply disappears.”