If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. UK Technology Secretary Liz Kendall is pressing Ofcom to accelerate the rollout of the controversial censorship law, the Online Safety Act, warning that delays could weaken protections for vulnerable users. In a letter to the communications regulator, she said: “I remain deeply concerned that delays in implementing duties, such as user empowerment, could hinder our work to protect women and girls from harmful content and protect users from antisemitism.” Kendall is determined to enforce the controversial law quickly, even as more people have finally realized that the Online Safety Act grants excessive power to regulators over what citizens can say or share online. Ofcom has confirmed that it expects to publish by July next year a register identifying which companies will face the strictest obligations, including mandatory age verification. That schedule is roughly a year later than initially promised. The regulator said the delay was due to “factors beyond its control,” citing a legal challenge that raised “complex issues.” One challenge involves 4chan and Kiwi Farms, platforms often targeted by politicians seeking tighter online speech regulation. Reclaim The Net recently reported that 4chan’s legal team had rejected Ofcom’s attempt to impose fines under the Act, arguing that the regulator’s enforcement powers overreach. The law has also drawn criticism abroad. The US State Department condemned the UK’s online censorship laws, including the Online Safety Act, warning that the powers granted to Ofcom could restrict the open exchange of ideas. We also covered the growing concern among technology companies that the Act’s broad language and compliance costs could force them to reconsider their presence in the UK. From a free speech perspective, the Online Safety Act raises several concerns: Overbroad definitions of harm: The Act compels platforms to remove not only illegal material but also content labeled “harmful,” a term so vague that it risks encompassing lawful political, artistic, or controversial expression. Chilling effect on discussion: Fear of penalties could lead platforms to preemptively delete legitimate speech to avoid potential violations. Pressure on smaller platforms: Complex compliance rules may drive independent or overseas platforms to leave the UK altogether, reducing online diversity and choice. Kendall’s demand for faster enforcement shows that the government isn’t getting the message and intends to move ahead regardless of opposition. Yet the real test will come when Ofcom begins applying its powers in practice. If enforcement is heavy-handed, the UK could find itself at odds with the open internet tradition it once helped shape. If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post UK Tech Secretary Urges Ofcom to Fast-Track Censorship Law Enforcement appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

Mixed among fish remains, the pterosaur appears to have upset a spinosaurid's stomach.

Writing Thursday night at his newsletter site Status, conservative media Benedict Arnold and former senior CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy threw a fit over the company now overseeing the Golden Globes – Jay Penske’s Penske Media Company (PMC) – allowing conservative and other non-liberal podcasters like Ben Shapiro and Tucker Carlson to be eligible for a new category for best podcast. Darcy has not only been paddling the struggle boat over that, but the prospect of said podcasters being allowed to indulge in “pricey packages to boost their Golden Globe prospects—an awards show he also owns.” All this, Darcy insists, has “sent shockwaves through his newsrooms, Status has learned, reverberating across the various Hollywood trade publications that he owns and prompting internal concern that was communicated to senior editors.” Earth to Darcy: Have you not heard of massive publicity campaigns movies and shows push out on TV, socials, and even in print newspapers like The New York Times for shows like The Oscars? He explained not only is a “pay-to-play” scheme troubling, but that said “toxic right-wing figures” on the shortlist would be allowed to lobby the roughly 300 entertainment reporters who vote on the Golden Globes (and replaced the Hollywood Foreign Press Association) and said lobbying efforts costing $75,000 (click “expand”): According to a pitch deck Status obtained, the $75,000 package includes a “Variety Creative Impact Award” and a feature story across Variety’s magazine, website, and social channels. It also comes with an onstage award presentation at a PMC event. In other words, toxic right-wing figures can pay to be showered in positive coverage. Suffice to say, the pay-to-play offer has not sat well with the publication’s staff— and the discontent has radiated across the broader PMC universe…Colleagues at sister outlets like The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline were similarly unsettled, viewing the scheme as yet another instance that undermined the integrity of the company’s journalism. (….) It’s hard to see any principled journalist wanting to associate their byline with the pay-to-play program. As one person told Status, “If that podcast package is sold, what journalist is going to write a feature about Tucker Carlson, knowing that he bought it himself?” Darcy has been railing about this for nearly a month. Back on October 20, Darcy reacted to the Penske Media Corporation’s initial “slate of 25 podcasts eligible for the new honor” that Globes boss Helen Hoehne celebrated as embodying “the incredible depth, diversity and creativity thriving in the podcasting world today.” But because they included Rogan, Kelly, Von, Carlson, and Owens, such consideration on a two-dozen-plus list was proof the company wanted to platform “toxic figures” “who spend their days radicalizing audiences and inflaming the culture wars.”

More than 50 years ago, I witnessed firsthand how Mao Zedong’s socialist experiment dismantled market competition, suppressed innovation, and plunged China into economic ruin. As a survivor of that experiment, I watched in horror last week as Zohran Mamdani won over 50% of the vote in New York City, promising a socialist illusion of city-owned grocery stores, free public transit, universal rent control, and a defunded police department.Such proposals might sound compassionate, but they threaten to repeat the class warfare and state control that devastated China from the 1950s to the late 1970s, only this time they are taking place in the financial capital of the world.The unpleasant truth is that America may have won the Cold War, but we are losing the ideological war at home.Consider Mamdani’s push for “good cause eviction” laws and expanded rent control. He claims these measures protect tenants from exploitation, but they discourage property ownership and investment — just as Mao’s housing policies did.In communist China, the state assigned apartments to urban families, but most people lived in poverty. My family of five was crammed into a 200-square-foot unit with no running water or a toilet. Today, rent control has already reduced housing supply by 20% in parts of New York City, driving up costs for everyone else. What Mamdani offers isn’t progress — it’s stagnation disguised as equity.Mamdani’s support for “Medicare for All” and fare-free buses also ignores fiscal realities. Mao’s “barefoot doctors” promised class equity but delivered substandard care, contributing to millions of preventable deaths. America’s health care system leads the world in breakthroughs because of merit-driven research and competition, not government mandates. Meanwhile, New York City’s transit authority estimates free transit would cost taxpayers $1 billion annually without improving service. When socialism promises “free” services, it often delivers shortages, rationing, and inefficiency.The proposal for city-owned grocery stores is another red flag. Under Mao, government-run stores led to chronic food shortages. Rice, cooking oil, and meat were rationed. Each urban citizen received only two pounds of meat per month. Even with ration coupons, I had to wake at 3 or 4 a.m. and wait in line for hours to buy a few ounces. Mamdani’s plan threatening private grocery competition risks repeating this nightmare.Then there’s his support for defunding the police and replacing them with vague “community safety” alternatives. In 2020, he co-sponsored bills to slash NYPD funding by $1 billion, claiming it would combat systemic racism. This mirrors Mao’s Red Guards, who dismantled law enforcement and replaced it with ideological enforcers — leading to chaos, violence, and mass suffering.Since 2020, crime in New York has risen by 15%, according to NYPD data. Weakening law enforcement doesn’t protect vulnerable communities — it leaves them exposed. As a father of a New Yorker, Mamdani’s reckless approach to policing is not just a political concern; it’s a personal one.Mamdani also seeks to eliminate gifted and talented programs in public schools, calling them “inequitable.” But these programs offer high-achieving students — often from diverse backgrounds — a path to excellence.RELATED: The right needs bigger ideas than tax cuts Photo by Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty ImagesDuring the Cultural Revolution, China crushed its intellectual class and smothered innovation. New York is making a similar mistake. Gifted programs lifted math proficiency by 25%, according to a 2022 Department of Education report, yet Mamdani wants them eliminated in the name of “equity.” As an Asian-American parent who raised a child in STEM, I’ve seen how excellence takes root: You cultivate talent; you don’t level it.Mamdani’s agenda mirrors the same destructive ideology I fled from. Socialism thrives on utopian promises pitched to voters who have never lived through the consequences. I have. And I recognize the warning signs.Yet according to CNN exit polls, 70% of voters ages 18-44 supported Mamdani, compared to just 40% of older voters. Even more alarming: 57% of New Yorkers with college degrees voted for him, versus only 42% without. This reflects the growing influence of pro-socialist indoctrination in American universities.The unpleasant truth is that America may have won the Cold War, but we are losing the ideological war at home. To prevent a socialist takeover, we must fight back by reforming higher education and teaching our children the truth about socialism in K-12 classrooms.

A Honduran national in the U.S. illegally reportedly murdered three of his co-workers in Texas over the weekend before committing suicide.On Saturday morning, Jose David Hernandez Galo, 21, arrived at his place of employment, Mission Landscape Supplies in San Antonio, and open-fired on his colleagues, reports indicate. Police received a call around 7:45 a.m. about a shooting in progress.'The Biden administration policies at the time did not consider Galo, or his family unit, a priority.'While some people at the business managed to flee for safety when the shooting began, three people were tragically struck and killed: Karen Bautista, 24; Selvin Chacon, 48; and Sergio Chacon, 38. According to a GoFundMe, Selvin and Sergio were brothers. All three victims were from Honduras, according to KENS. They were declared dead at the scene.Hours later, Galo was discovered with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.RELATED: Deportations top 2 million under Trump — and most aren't by force Photo by Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu via Getty Images (March 2024)San Antonio Police Chief William McManus claimed that while a motive for the horrific incident remains unknown, the deadly shooting was not random, per KSAT.Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued a statement about Galo, claiming that he and his family entered the U.S. illegally from Honduras in April 2019, when Galo was still a minor. The family was arrested the same day and ordered to appear before an immigration judge, the agency claimed, according to KENS."This senseless tragedy could have been prevented. The family unit has not reported in to ICE since July 2022. The Biden administration policies at the time did not consider Galo, or his family unit, a priority," ICE stated.Blaze News reached out to Mission Landscape Supplies for comment.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

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Morning Minute: The March of the Mamdanis

The new display tech is supposed to replace the current high-resolution, high refresh rate, low-temperature panels Apple is using in its iPhones.