If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Italy is loved by those who know it as providing a “sweet life in a beautiful country” – but, not one, at least as far as its authorities are concerned, that appears to be very tech-savvy. Perhaps the concepts clash intrinsically – or perhaps it’s just another example of bureaucratic inadequacy brought about by politicians who should know better. Either way, reports are now detailing the latest “anti-piracy” blunder made possible by Italy’s much-criticized Piracy Shield, this time hitting Google Drive. The first problem is the “Piracy Shield” itself – designed as a platform bringing to life an administrative mechanism, in a way, critics say is prone to unfairly affecting otherwise innocent actors by way of “over-blocking” supposed pirated content. A particular beneficiary – because this is Italy we’re talking about – is the top-tier football league, Serie A, and preventing unauthorized streaming of games. But then, the regulatory scene set that way has now led to a nationwide block of Google Drive in what appears to have been another Piracy Shield-induced fiasco. Piracy Shield lets telecom regulator AGCOM mark an IP address as responsible for piracy, and then ISPs and VPNs are under obligation to quickly block it. Having previously, in another blunder stemming from the same regulatory circumstances, done that with Cloudflare, it was now Google Drive’s turn (and reportedly, partially YouTube’s). The target of AGCOM-ordered blocking here was drive.usercontent.google.com, apparently mistaken for a pirated content broadcasting domain. What it actually does is provide a backbone to the Drive service – meaning that during the time it was blocked, about 20% of users in Italy were still unable to access Drive, 12 hours into this. That’s a long time for those whose work may depend on it, and given Google’s gargantuan presence in the space, that would be a lot of people in most countries. There are alternative collaborative tools, but equally, there’s nothing to currently reassure Italians; those, too, couldn’t get blocked thanks to Piracy Shield’s many flawed provisions. One of the most obvious ones is that ISPs can basically forward copyright holders’ blocking requests (and the list of domains up for the chop can be extensive.) And, haste clearly makes waste. If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post Italy’s Piracy Blunder Blocks Google Drive appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

A cat hid under a stool at an animal shelter, but on the night she was taken into a home, they found her with kittens. Eden and her kittensFosterKittenMamaEden, the tabby, came to an animal shelter with another cat. Scared, she avoided the staff and kept herself tucked under a stool. "She needed a quiet place to relax and come out of her shell," the staff shared.While the other cat was quickly adopted, Eden's stay extended as she continued to hide, overwhelmed by the shelter environment. Determined to gain her trust, the staff began socializing her using a scratcher.Instantly, she arched her back and began "kneading" as if the soothing touch flipped a switch. Eden was very shy and hid under a stool at the shelterWichitaAnimalShelterAs Eden grew more comfortable and allowed touch, they confirmed what they had suspected. "A volunteer realized she was very pregnant," Heidi Shoemaker, founder of Foster Kitten Mama, shared.Thanks to many compassionate volunteers, she was rescued and transported to a foster home with Heidi. She slowly warmed up to the staff, and they discovered she was pregnantWichitaAnimalShelterHeidi sat with Eden for an hour, easing her worries after the stressful move. She treated her flea-ridden coat and gave her plenty of food to fill her belly. Unexpectedly, that night, Eden went into labor.She lay in her nesting box, seemingly relieved to have Heidi by her side, supporting her throughout the process. On the night she arrived in her foster home, she went into laborFosterKittenMamaBy the next day, Eden had three little kittens blissfully nursing - two cow kittens (Evan and Everette) and a house panther (Elysse) who quickly proved to be the drama in the family with her loud, demanding screams.During the first few days, Eden needed plenty of help and encouragement to stay in the nest and feed her kittens. She gave birth to three kittensFosterKittenMama"I covered half of her pen over her nesting box, which seemed to help give her more security. Not all mamas know what to do right away, and Eden was definitely one of those. But, with help, she's now doing exactly what she needs to for her little ones to grow and thrive."With food served in bed, Eden began to warm up to her foster mom and grew more trusting each day. FosterKittenMamaEverette was the first to open his eyes, curiously peering at the world beyond the nest, and soon, his siblings followed suit. Their mom catered to their every whim, making sure they were fed, clean, and loved.Though still a bit scared, Eden constantly made "biscuits" (kneading her blanket) and allowed some petting from her foster mom. FosterKittenMamaAs the kittens' legs grew stronger, they waddled around, eager to break out of the confines of their nest. Even though their mom enjoyed her breaks, at the slightest peep, she'd rush back to her babies.Once the trio graduated to a spacious playpen, they wasted no time diving into the water bowl and playing with toys. FosterKittenMamaBefore long, they conquered their first summit of a cat post, quickly honing their climbing skills.At six weeks old, the kittens have reached many milestones and are growing by leaps and bounds. "Eden is getting so much better the more I sit with her. It just takes patience, compassion, and time to undo the bad things that have happened to them." EvanFosterKittenMamaThis beautiful family of four is flourishing as Eden raises her last litter in an environment filled with love and comfort."Eden has been doing a fantastic job mothering. I'm so thankful I was able to give her a safe spot and all the support she needs." Everette and ElysseFosterKittenMamaShare this story with your friends. More on Eden and her kittens and Foster Kitten Mama on Instagram and Facebook.Related story: Family and Their Cat Change Everything for Little 4-week-old Kitten in a World He Cannot See

Leftist Outrage at the Washington Post Continues

Heart racing, trembling hands, nervous laughter – we experienced it all.

Something to read next time you're on the throne.

Taieri Pet was first documented nearly 130 years ago – and it was back again last month.

From their analysis of G20 countries, UNESCO are calling for “strong measures to reinforce gender equality.”

The Earth’s climate has dampening feedbacks as well as runaway tipping points, but they might be too small to save us.

In the latest turn in the circle of symbiosis, Amanpour & Co., which airs on PBS, invited PBS’s Washington Week host and Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg to discuss his anonymously sourced hit piece, which dropped two weeks before the presidential election, alleging Donald Trump envied Adolf Hitler’s generals. Goldberg added a soupcon of condescension toward his fellow Americans, who apparently don’t know that the word “fascism” means “Trump, not “Harris.” It's so easy for the Left to take nationalism and protectionism and "xenophobia" and find Hitler and/or Mussolini.  Guest host Bianna Golodryga, who was supportive of Goldberg’s efforts, cited the “Who’s More of a Fascist?” poll findings with an air of disbelief. BIANNA GOLODGRYGA: I'm just relaying to you what I'm sure you've heard as well, a lot of pushback to this piece from those who are supporting Trump, and saying, listen-- JEFFREY GOLDBERG: It's not on the level, though --  GOLODGRYGA: Right.  GOLDBERG: It's not on the level.  GOLODRYGA: --It's saying, on the one hand, they respect John Kelly. He's never lied to them. They can't imagine him lying. But then say the man was burned by the president, so thus, he has an axe to grind. I guess that's the only argument that they can make at this point. But let me pick up on this issue of fascism, because the ABC News came out with a new poll today asking registered voters who they didn't -- I never thought I'd ask this question in the United States in 2024, but here we are -- who they think is more of a fascist. Donald Trump, 44 percent, nearly half the country -- or half of those polled, and Kamala Harris at 18 percent. On the one hand, you could view that as reassuring for Democrats who say there you have it, in bright contrast, somebody that the majority of Americans view as a fascist versus someone who less than 20 percent do. On the other hand, this race is neck and neck. So, what does that tell you just about the country right now and some of the more pressing issues that I guess most Americans are worried about, because it doesn't appear fascism is one of them? GOLDBERG: Yes, I mean, the 18 percent of people who identified Kamala Harris as a fascist might not understand the - GOLODRYGA: The meaning. GOLDBERG: -- definition of a fascist. But you could always get people to say yes to outlandish things in polls, right? [Editor’s note: Such as Democrats pouncing on the emotional cathartic opportunity to call Trump a fascist? Those kind of “outlandish things”?] GOLDBERG: This isn't that difficult. And what I'm about to say is not a partisan -- I don't believe it's partisan in the sense of supporting one party or another, a partisan observation. One of the two candidates, one of the two major party candidates in this race tried to overthrow the government. And the other one didn't. I mean, it's not that complicated. Donald Trump, for the first time in the history of the American presidency, did not – not only did not accept the outcome of a legitimate election, but tried to foment his followers to physically prevent and physically attack his own vice president from certifying the election. I mean, this wasn't that long ago. So, if I look at this race, I see there's somebody who fomented an attack on the Capitol and on the Constitution and then there's someone who's running who didn't. So, if you're asking the question, who's a fascist or who's not? You know, like a lot of people, I'm not sure I'm tracking entirely what is motivating, or I'm not tracking what certain voters are ignoring or why they're ignoring certain facts that are pretty clear. Given that members of the Democratic Party or their media colleagues have tarred every Republican presidential candidate since Barry Goldwater a “fascist” at some point, isn't it a bit late for journalists to be finicky about how voters choose to apply the term? (Amanpour & Co. runs on PBS after airing on CNN International.)

In what Glenn Beck says is the “one of the most horrifying things [he’s] ever seen,” Kamala Harris, during a surprise address from the vice presidential mansion, used the power of her office to once again make the case that Donald Trump is Hitler. Despite the fact that Democrats and their media allies have demanded that Donald Trump “tone down his rhetoric,” the left continues to repeat the same language that likely inspired the assassination attempts against him. Harris’ surprise address is the latest example. On October 23, the VP, with a contrived distraught expression, delivered the following statement: “So yesterday we learned that Donald Trump’s former Chief of Staff John Kelly, a retired four-star general, confirmed that while Donald Trump was president, he said he wanted generals like Adolf Hitler had. Donald Trump said that because he does not want a military that is loyal to the United States Constitution; he wants a military that is loyal to him.” According to Glenn, not only is this most likely completely made up, it’s a sign that “the wheels are coming off of [Harris’] campaign at record speed.” Glenn lists the reasons we shouldn’t buy in to this latest ploy to smear Donald Trump. Number one, John Kelly “has a bone with Donald Trump” because Trump fired him. Number two, the timing is suspicious. Kelly “has just now – a week and a half before this election – decided to come out with this statement,” despite it happening years ago. “Believable? No,” says Glenn. Number three, if what Kelly alleges “actually happened, Kelly is discrediting himself” because the United States is “one of the only countries that insists on loyalty to the Constitution” and not the president. “If that had happened, he should have gone in front of the American people immediately, but he didn't,” says Glenn. Number four, “there’s no corroborating evidence of this.” What there is evidence of, however, is that the military was “sabotaging [Trump]” during his term. Trump “would say, ‘we're going this way with our foreign policy,’ and the State Department and generals in the Pentagon were sabotaging that. They were calling our allies and our foes and saying, ‘Don't worry about it,”’ Glenn recalls. To hear more of Glenn’s analysis, watch the clip above. Want more from Glenn Beck?To enjoy more of Glenn’s masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis, and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.