The sinking of the Titanic is one of the greatest tragedies in history. Nicknamed the “Unsinkable Ship”, the Titanic was the largest passenger ship ever built at the time it entered service. Then on April 15, 1912, just four days into its maiden voyage from the United Kingdom to the United States, the mighty ship collided with an iceberg in the Northern Atlantic Ocean. Source

Fear Itself: The Panic Industrial Complex, And How to Defeat It

Despite Donald Trump’s assassination attempt still fresh, along with the media’s pleas for unity and ending divisive rhetoric, MSNBC’s Nicole Wallace released some pent up aggravation on Monday night's Deadline: White House when it came to Trump’s selection of Sen. J.D. Vance to be his running mate how he compares to current VP Kamala Harris.  Political strategist Basil Smikle joined Wallace and other panelists to discuss the events of the Republican National Convention, including Vance’s selection. He portrayed Trump and Vance as being opposed to racial equality, “[Gen X] we are children of white flight. We're the children of the Civil Rights Movement…And what we've seen over the course of the last several years particularly as a backlash to the Obama presidency…is leading to this incredible divide that certainly J.D. Vance and Donald Trump have worked to exploit in many ways.”     Smikle expressed anger with his party and the way they have been discussing the potential ticket, stating, “Look, there are a lot of people that were calling for Joe Biden to step down and in the same breath were not saying that the person next should be Kamala Harris. And I wonder why. Bringing the conversation back to Vance, Wallace added, “Let me just say this, as someone who's covered her, if anyone has watched -- I've watched all of her speeches for the last two weeks. I thought she was fantastic four years ago. Anyone that hasn't watched -- I hope that J.D. Vance today challenges Kamala Harris -- to some debates because she would wipe the floor with him.  For whatever – I will stay out of whatever the Democrats decide to do - - at the top of the ticket. But if they make a change, Kamala Harris should be the top of the ticket.” As no one on the panel actively disagreed with her, and Smikle affirmed her every word, it seemed a strange outburst to say the least, not unsurprising for the liberal media, which has praised the VP every step of the way. The spectacle continued as Wallace stated:  Well, you know, have them call me because -- let me just say this. I have only covered her -- and this is where -- if you haven’t covered her and you watched her dismantle Bill Barr. How many people can say -- like you put your list of accomplishments together and if you can put on it, destroyed Bill Barr, made fun of Mike Pence and the fly on his head without saying a word, and have hit the campaign trail with enough vigor to carry the whole ticket for the last 16 days. She's ready.  A comical show by the progressive network and overzealous host, taking advantage of another opportunity to smear Republicans. The transcript is below, click “expand” to read: MSNBC Deadline: White House 7/16/2024 5:12:51 PM EST (...) BASIL SMIKLE: If I could just say really quickly, Mara's point there’s something I want to build off of. Because I'm a Gen X-er, if you think of Gen X-ers and millennials, we were the ones -- we are children of white flight. We're the children of the Civil Rights Movement. It was sort of our job working across the aisle and across race and ethnicity to try to -- as somebody said earlier, implement all that was done before us into our neighborhoods, into our institutions. And what we've seen over the course of the last several years particularly as a backlash to the Obama presidency, but even before that, is just a deepening and a hardening of positions where there is no incentive, a disincentive, in fact, to have the kinds of conversations that we were talking about. And so I. just even as a person that does a lot of education policy, even the fact that we could be dealing with this in K-12 education, in civics classes, and debate classes, and we don't is partly what led -- what is leading to this incredible divide that certainly J.D. Vance and Donald Trump have worked to exploit in many ways. And that's why over the past week I've been saying if you're a Democrat you have to come to this fight with your chest out and your back straight. This is about, as you were saying earlier, signs of strength. You know, how are we going to fight this? How is that going to get pushed back? And it doesn't happen by having these broad conversations you shouldn't be having out in the open. But having said that –  NICOLE WALLACE: Like what? Like what? Say more. SMIKLE: Well, no, just that -- look, there are a lot of people that were calling for Joe Biden to step down and in the same breath were not saying that the person next should be Kamala Harris. And I wonder why. Because if many ways -- WALLACE: Who did that? Who did that? SMIKLE: I think most of the people who came out to talk – to say Joe Biden should step down did not come right out and say Kamala Harris should be next. And my feeling –  WALLACE: Kamala Harris should be next if anyone thinks Joe Biden should step – SMIKLE: Kamala Harris, Kamala Harris should be next. WALLACE: Let me just say this, as someone who's covered her, if anyone has watched -- I've watched all of her speeches for the last two weeks. SMIKLE: She is fantastic –  WALLACE: – I thought she was fantastic four years ago. Anyone that hasn't watched -- I hope that J.D. Vance today challenges Kamala Harris –  SMIKLE: Absolutely right. WALLACE:  – to some debates because she would wipe the floor with him.  SMIKLE: Absolutely. WALLACE: For whatever – I will stay out of whatever the Democrats decide to do – SMIKLE: That’s right. WALLACE: – at the top of the ticket. But if they make a change Kamala Harris should be the top of the ticket. SMIKLE: Absolutely right. And I don't mean to bring up something that seems to be this upsetting but -- WALLACE: No, no , we got to work it all out, and we got to do it on TV. Keep talking. SMIKLE: The reality is, and I’ve said this, that I don't know if my party knows even how to defend her when the attacks come. And they will come. And they will come. WALLACE: Well you know, have them call me because -- let me just say this. I have only covered her and I think this is where my disc-- if you haven’t covered her and you watched her dismantle Bill Barr.  SMIKLE: That’s exactly right. WALLACE: How many people can say -- like you put your list of accomplishments together and if you can put on it destroyed Bill Barr, made fun of Mike Pence and the fly on his head without saying a word, and have hit the campaign trail with enough vigor to carry the whole ticket for the last 16 days. She's ready.

Since President Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance, 20 Democrats have called for him to step aside as the party’s presidential nominee with California Rep.(and Senate candidate) Adam Schiff being the latest to make the call on Wednesday. It's not just the elected officials, AP's latest poll found "Nearly two-thirds of Democrats say President Joe Biden should withdraw from the presidential race and let his party nominate a different candidate." Some liberals in the media have tried to spin the debate amongst Democrats in a positive light, claiming that it shows that Democrats have debates and aren’t slavishly devoted to their leader, unlike Republicans. However, many of them are only doing so for a selfish reason: because they are worried he will lose to Donald Trump, and could cause down-ballot losses. It's not because he is incapable of running the country. In fact, several have promised to support Biden even if he does not withdraw. Indeed, of the 20 Democrats urging Biden to go, all 20 have mentioned the supposed threat Trump poses to the nation or the high stakes in November. Only one, Hawaii Rep. Ed Case, suggested Biden is unable to actually be president. Case said, in part, "This is solely about the future, about the President's ability to continue in the most difficult job in the world for another four-year term." Despite their pleas, many of them have insisted it is Biden's choice and promised to support him even if he does not listen to them. Here is a list of Democrats, taken from this Forbes article, calling on Biden to withdraw with links to their statements: Reps. Earl Blumenauer (OR), Ed Case (HI), Angie Craig (MN), Lloyd Doggett (TX), Raul Grijalva (AZ), Jim Himes (CT), Seth Moulton (MA), Scott Peters (CA), Brittany Petterson (CO), Mike Quigley (IL), Pat Ryan (NY), Brad Schneider (IL), Hillary Scholten (MI), Mikie Sherrill (NJ), Adam Smith (WA), Eric Sorensen (IL), Greg Stanton (AZ), Mike Levin (CA), Adam Schiff (CA), and Sen. Peter Welch (VT). If these individuals were being as brave as they claim they are, they would not just be urging Biden to leave, but also promising not to vote for him or at least endorsing another Democrat to replace him. They are not, but the media is not calling them out on their faux-heroics.

Of all the rumored candidates for Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) was clearly the most beloved by Trump’s base and the one perceived as the furthest right by the media and political establishment. Which is exactly why I didn’t think Trump would select him. So, I was pleasantly surprised when he got the call. It demonstrates that the base still has influence with Trump. It’s past time to use it — or lose it.From the standpoint of a consultant, such as Trump campaign officials Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles, Vance brings nothing to the table. If the campaign is not concerned with base ideology, which many of its decisions would suggest, then Vance doesn’t attract a new demographic, state, or additional funding. The perception is that the more right-wing you are, the less electable you become in a general election. Adding up Trump’s issue positions, personnel choices, platform changes, and down-ballot endorsements, they all point to a pick more in the mold of Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), or North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum — typical establishment Republicans.If we don’t seize the moment now, there better be a plan to hit the ground running the day after Election Day.So, at a time when Trump appears to be unifying behind social liberals and GOP donor interests and candidates, why did he pick someone viewed as the fly in their punchbowl?Trump realized his choice of running mate would be his most publicized endorsement and, in some ways, his most important, given its implication of anointing a successor. While not every Republican voter follows his Cabinet picks, notices his issue positions, or pays attention to his congressional endorsements and choice of advisers, everyone will be focused on his running-mate selection. Trump understood this. Although the base wouldn’t have revolted over a pure establishment pick, people would have felt betrayed and expressed their displeasure.The choice of Vance over other options is a positive development for influencing Trump in future endeavors. It shows that Trump does not want a tsunami of conservative pressure against his key decisions. It also indicates that Trump’s slide to the left over the past six months did not have to happen and could have been mitigated after the first few poor endorsements. Yet, nearly every influential voice chose to remain silent.Instead of top conservative figures and organizations respectfully but firmly warning against Trump’s establishment endorsements and his move to the left on several issues, there was a code of silence. This silence persisted during the general election, primary, and governance. They believed it was never a good time to give Trump tough love and exert their influence. Without any pushback, there was no backstop to his slide into the hands of Lindsey Graham and company, resulting in the re-election of every RINO to Congress and the downfall of the House Freedom Caucus chairman.In many conversations with conservative members of Congress, I heard constant excuses about not having enough clout with Trump and how dark forces had taken over. That might be true, but there is no reason they couldn’t have banded together and demanded better. The Vance pick demonstrates that. Trump’s first term also consistently proved that conservatives reaped benefits commensurate with how loudly they asserted themselves. They failed to resolutely shoot down Trump’s liberal trial balloons whenever they stood down.Too many dismiss concerns about changes to the Republican Party platform as irrelevant, arguing that no one reads it. However, it's not about any single endorsement, policy, personnel choice, platform plank, or convention speech. The overall shift in Trump’s associations and assignments in recent months paints a disturbing picture beyond any individual concern. It’s time to get on the playing field and build a movement with policy outcomes. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t vote for Trump, but it does mean we must build a powerful parallel movement that stands on its own two feet to push for our prerogatives when they are jeopardized.What happened with the RNC platform is a harbinger of what is to come in terms of governance. Richard Grenell brags about the Log Cabin Republicans having the distinction of sponsoring the only fundraiser held in Trump’s penthouse. Do you think the strategy of silence will not result in these same forces torpedoing any effort to remove the homosexual agenda from government programs?There are 110 organizations signed onto the Project 2025 transition plan that Trump lambasted. Don’t tell me that between the Heritage Foundation, Claremont Institute, and Turning Point USA, there isn’t a critical mass of personnel with extreme influence over voters and Trump’s orbit who could draw red lines against these darker forces latching onto Trump.The idea that enduring an almost daily beatdown on policy and personnel until the election will suddenly inspire courage on the right to push back afterward is a fantasy. If Trump wins despite everything thrown at him, he will be seen as walking on water. There will be no appetite to undermine “unity” and push back against bad personnel picks, such as Doug “Net Zero” Burgum for interior secretary. There will be no appetite to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who will never fight for us. It will all be about unity, which invariably shifts leftward.Fast forward to the presidency, and there will always be drama and WWE-style fights with the left, for which we’d be labeled disloyal for raising concerns about policy and personnel choices. Later in the term, we will be admonished about the “most important midterms of our lifetime” and the need to remain unified. All the gubernatorial candidates we plan to run in red states to implement our agenda will be carpet-bombed by Trump endorsing those whom he feels indebted to from the election, usually the old-guard Republicans. We will be told that ruffling feathers over primaries isn’t worth it because beating the Democrats is all that counts.In other words, there is never a good time to assert ourselves in the eyes of people who value nothing but raw soap opera politics. This means it’s almost always a good time to push back strategically and respectfully against subversive plans and ideas within our own tent. The good news is that Trump often responds positively to pressure from his base. But silence is not golden and will not produce conservative/nationalist victories on its own. If we don’t seize the moment now, there better be a plan to hit the ground running the day after Election Day. The original transition plan was savaged without a whimper of protest from influential people on the right. The very woke venture socialists running this country into the ground are already angling for key cabinet positions.We could have more JD Vances or we could have the likes of JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon running the Treasury Department if we value servile silence over strategic principle. The choice is ours.

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13-year-old Yair Whitson from Haifa made a significant archaeological discovery during a recreational walk with his father. The boy somehow happened upon an approximately 1,800-year-old bronze ring engraved with the image of Athena, the ancient Greek goddess of war and wisdom. This discovery took place near the 'Ancient Quarries' site at the foot of the Shalala ruins in Carmel, Israel. According to the IAA report, Yair, who has a keen interest in fossils and rocks, initially thought the corroded green object he found was a screw nut. Yair described the moment he made the find: “During the trip, I noticed a small green object and picked it up. It had corrosion on it, so I thought at first that it was a screw nut. I thought of melting it, but luckily, I realized it was a ring.” Recognizing the potential importance of his find, Yair and his family contacted Nir Distelfeld, an inspector from the robbery prevention unit at the Israel Antiquities Authority, who facilitated the transfer of the ring to the state treasures. Read moreSection: ArtifactsOther ArtifactsNewsHistory & ArchaeologyRead Later