The psychiatrist who led efforts in 2017 demanding a 25th Amendment ouster of then-President Donald Trump said she does not have the same concerns about President Joe Biden‚ despite a Justice Department report last week that said Biden has “diminished faculties.”  Bandy X. Lee‚ a forensic psychiatrist who edited the 2017 book “The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 37 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President‚” told The Daily Signal and the Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project that Biden’s case is different. Asked about special counsel Robert Hur’s report‚ she said‚ “Cognitive decline is a normal part of aging.” But she concluded‚ “The 25th Amendment question‚ therefore‚ is even more relevant to Trump‚ as long as he wishes to be president again‚ but neither appropriate nor relevant for Biden at this time.” (Her full comment can be found below.) The 25th Amendment allows for the vice president and a majority of Cabinet members to determine whether a president should be temporarily removed from office if he is deemed unfit to serve. It would require two-thirds majorities of both houses of Congress to permanently remove the president under the amendment.  The report Hur released on Feb. 8 said Biden “willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency when he was a private citizen” at his home and office. However‚ Hur said he would not seek charges because Biden would appear to a jury to be an “elderly man with a poor memory” and because his “diminished faculties” make it less likely he intentionally violated the law. The Hur report says Biden “did not remember when he was vice president‚ forgetting on the first day of the interview when his term ended … and forgetting on the second day of the interview when his term began.” The report also stated: “He did not remember‚ even within several years‚ when his son Beau died.” After the report‚ several Republican lawmakers called for using the 25th Amendment to remove Biden from office‚ just as several Democrats pushed for using the amendment to remove Trump from the presidency.  “Cognitive decline is a normal part of aging‚ from early-to-middle adulthood onward‚” Lee‚ who taught at Yale School of Medicine and Yale Law School for 17 years before working at Columbia University and Harvard Medical School‚ told The Daily Signal.  “While it may seem dramatic or concerning to the public‚ very high levels of cognitive decline can be present without affecting fitness for duty‚ as long as self-awareness is unaffected‚” Lee said. Image of Bandy X. Lee’s Twitter profile page. There is a difference between cognitive decline and “malignant narcissism‚” she argued. Lee stated:  There are no indications in Joe Biden that he may be unfit‚ although I and my colleagues have recommended fitness-for-duty evaluations for all presidents and presidential candidates‚ to be renewed on a yearly basis.   Much less important positions have this requirement‚ and military officers‚ especially those handling nuclear weapons‚ must undergo rigorous psychological testing before they even assume their positions. That the commander of nuclear weapons is not required to undergo screening is a glaring omission. My colleagues and I were consulted for the 25th Amendment for Donald Trump when he was president‚ because he displayed verbal aggression‚ boasted of sexual assaults‚ taunted nations with nuclear powers‚ and demonstrated an attraction to violence. The state legislatures ratified the 25th Amendment in 1967 after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy four years earlier. Lawmakers crafted the amendment to address the concern about what to do while the president was still alive but experiencing a health crisis. The 25th Amendment allows for the vice president and a majority of Cabinet secretaries to determine whether a president is physically or mentally unfit to carry out the duties of the office. The vice president would become the acting president on a temporary basis. Congress could remove the president from office permanently with a two-thirds vote of both the House and Senate. That would be an even higher bar to reach than for impeachment‚ because the latter requires only a simple majority in the House.  Trump announced in 2020 that he took a cognitive test. Neither Trump nor Biden were evaluated by psychology professionals for mental fitness‚ however. Making a determination about either could violate the “Goldwater Rule‚” which prevents psychologists from offering a “professional opinion unless he or she has conducted an examination and has been granted proper authorization for such a statement.” The American Psychiatric Association adopted the rule after a group of partisan Democratic psychology professionals declared that 1964 Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater was “psychologically unfit to be president.”  Lee said that she and her colleagues who contributed to the book conducted an analysis of Trump based on the findings of the 2019 report issued by special counsel Robert Mueller.  “Dangerousness makes one automatically unfit‚” Lee told The Daily Signal. “A panel of top mental health experts actually performed a full fitness test when the data became available through the Mueller report‚ and he failed every criterion for fitness for any job‚ not just president.” “As these results show‚ mental capacity is not always possible to determine through casual observation by an untrained eye‚” she added. “The 25th Amendment question‚ therefore‚ is even more relevant to Trump‚ as long as he wishes to be president again‚ but neither appropriate nor relevant for Biden at this time.” Brandy X. Lee made a similar statement on Feb. 13‚ stating on her X account that she agreed with a New York Times opinion article that discussed Biden’s cognitive decline. Specifically‚ she noted‚ “This neuroscientist is saying what I have been all along: ‘rather than focusing on candidates’ ages per se‚ we should consider whether they have the capabilities to do the job…. And that should be informed by science‚ not politics.”  Have an opinion about this article? To sound off‚ please email letters@DailySignal.com‚ and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the URL or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state. The post Psychiatrist Who Called Trump Presidency ‘Dangerous’ Unconcerned About Biden or Special Counsel’s Report appeared first on The Daily Signal.

U.N. Relief Chief: ‘Hamas is Not a Terrorist Group’

One Za’abeel‚ a double-skyscraper that adorns Dubai's busy skyline‚ is set to take the title of the world's longest cantilever building. In layman's terms‚ a cantilever is a structure that sticks out horizontally beyond its vertical support‚ creating an overhanging section without the need for columns or supports‚ appearing as if it's defying gravity.One Za’abeel consists of two towers: a commercial tower measuring 300 meters (984 feet) tall with 68 stories and an adjacent residential tower measuring 235 meters (770 feet) tall with 59 stories.Its defining feature is a 230-meter (754-foot) long structure linking the two towers‚ suspended horizontally at 100 meters (328 feet) above ground level. According to the building’s website‚ the structure is “currently attempting to break the record for the Guinness World Records title for ‘Longest Cantilevered Building’ in the world.”As per Guinness World Records‚ the tallest cantilevered building is New York's Central Park Tower‚ a 472-meter (1‚550-foot) residential skyscraper with a cantilevered section that extends 8.5 meters (228 feet). While the total height of One Za’abeel is shorter‚ its cantilevered section is significantly longer‚ sticking out for a whopping 66 meters (216 feet). Homeowners and tenants started to move into the multi-purpose building in late 2023.Image credit: Arnold O. A. Pinto/Shutterstock.comAltogether‚ One Za'abeel contains 26‚000 square meters (279‚861 square feet) of "premium" office spaces‚ a SIRO hotel‚ dozens of serviced apartments‚ and 264 "ultra-luxurious" residential units. Homeowners and tenants started to move into the multi-purpose building in late 2023. Along with connecting the two skyscrapers‚ the cantilever “sky bridge” contains eight luxury restaurants and the longest rooftop infinity pool in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).Constructing the horizontal "link" was a bold feat of engineering. Groundbreaking of One Za’abeel took place in September 2017‚ while the towers started to be erected in 2019. The 8‚500-tonne cantilever structure was lifted into place in September 2020 in one of the heaviest single lifts in the region and now weighs up to 23‚000 tonnes.“The lifting process was incredible. The initial lift on August 18 [2020] was a mere 10 centimeters [3.9 inches] to check for cable stretching and the building’s reaction to the strain... A further 1-meter [3.2-foot] lift took place a week later‚ followed by the main event‚ three days later – the final 100-meter [328 feet] lift into place‚” said Dr Fadi Jabri‚ an executive officer for Nikken Sekkei‚ the Japanese studio that helped design the structure‚ according to Arab News.

The climate crisis and the warming of the planet is having a devastating effect on the natural world and the animal species that live in it. While polar bears have been found to be at greater risk of starvation due to a lack of sea ice‚ another species is facing the opposite problem‚ being put in greater danger of predation as their behavior changes to beat temperature extremes.Alpine ibexes (Capra ibex) living in two protected areas within the Gran Paradiso National Park in the Italian Alps were studied‚ as they are a cold-adapted species known to be sensitive to the effects of global warming. Typically the ibexes feed on grasses and vegetation at lower altitudes of the mountains during the day‚ spending the night away from their main predator of wolves (Canis lupus) high up on the mountainside. However increasing daily temperatures have meant more time on the mountain and a switch to feeding during the cooler nighttime. While this might sound like a sensible solution it has one big problem: the wolves.The 47 ibex were tracked using motion-sensing tracking collars between 2006 and 2019. During warmer days the ibex become less active during the day and more active at night. This put the ibex at greater risk of predation by wolves in the open grassy areas lower down the mountain‚ where they are less protected.This species also exhibits a high level of sexual dimorphism‚ meaning the males and females of the species look very different. These differences‚ such as the males having horns while the females have less fat‚ alter their risk factors for the dangers of both overheating and predation. The team found more nocturnal activity in response to higher daily temperatures‚ even when the females had kids.Given that the ibex has typically been a diurnal species‚ their eyesight is also more compromised by feeding at night‚ making them further vulnerable to wolf attacks. The team found that the goats were more active during nights that were brighter thanks to the Moon‚ meaning they were better able to detect predators and the benefits of foraging at night outweighed the risks. As climate change continues to raise temperatures in this region‚ the ibex are likely to continue this behavior and put their survival at even greater risk. The study is published in Proceedings of The Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

Inside our planet‚ there are the remains of another world. No‚ we are not peddling some conspiracy theory like the hollow Earth. We are talking about the remains of Theia‚ the Mars-sized object that‚ billions of years ago‚ hit our planet and led to the formation of the Moon. Its remains were simply incorporated with our planet but not completely. This is the bold idea that has acquired more and more evidence in recent years.The impact between Earth and Theia may have literally left a big mark on our planet. There are two peculiar structures buried deep in the mantle‚ surrounding the Earth’s core. They are known as Large Low-Velocity Provinces (LLVPs). These anomalous formations are located beneath the African Tectonic plate and the Pacific tectonic plate. They are believed to have sunk as they are denser than the surrounding mantle material. Their density depends on their chemical composition. Researchers used seismic waves as a sonogram of the Earth’s interior and found these denser regions. They believe they have more iron than the rest of the mantle and that’s where the connection came from. Dr Qian Yuan from Caltech was listening to a seminar given by Professor Mikhail Zolotov in 2019‚ when Zolotov explained the Gaia hypothesis and commented that the Moon is rich in iron like‚ presumably‚ Theia was."Right after Mikhail had said that no one knows where the impactor is now‚ I had a 'eureka moment' and realized that the iron-rich impactor could have transformed into mantle blobs‚" Dr Yuan said in a statement.Detailed simulations showed that the scenario is a sound hypothesis. An impact with Theia would not completely devastate the planet‚ and much of the energy and material would remain in the upper mantle. There the "Theia blobs" coalesced and eventually sank to the bottom near the mantle-core boundary. The team compares this to lava lamp wax. If the lower mantle had been hotter‚ the LLVPs would have not existed‚ as the material would have mixed better. The team is now investigating what consequence having these structures in the middle of the mantle during the formative years of our planet might have had on Earth’s geology. Our world is quite unique‚ geologically‚ compared to the other ones in the Solar System."A logical consequence of the idea that the LLVPs are remnants of Theia is that they are very ancient‚" Dr Paul Asimow said. "It makes sense‚ therefore‚ to investigate next what consequences they had for Earth's earliest evolution‚ such as the onset of subduction before conditions were suitable for modern-style plate tectonics‚ the formation of the first continents‚ and the origin of the very oldest surviving terrestrial minerals."A paper describing the results is published in the journal Nature.

CBS’s The Late Show host Stephen Colbert and Comedy Central’s The Daily Show temp host Jordan Klepper were the only late night hosts to discuss Fulton County D.A. Fani Willis’s testimony on their Thursday shows and they were not happy with her for endangering the case against Donald Trump. Colbert noted that there are completing claims on when Willis began her relationship with Nathan Wade‚ whom she hired as a special prosecutor on the case in a potential conflict of interest‚ “Now‚ I don't know who's telling the truth here yet‚ but I will say exchanging business cards isn't exactly a meet cute. The movie's not called When Harry Networked with Sally. Now‚ at one point‚ Willis had had enough and really laid into opposing counsel.”     He then played a clip of Willis being upset at the whole idea that she did anything wrong‚ “You’re confused‚ you think I’m on trial. These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020. I’m not on trial‚ no matter how hard you try to put me on trial.” Colbert’s audience loved the clip of Willis fighting back‚ but Colbert himself was not so sure: Damn straight. Yeah. That’s right. That’s right. Here’s the thing. Yes‚ it’s true Donald Trump and his associates are on trial in this‚ one of the most important cases in the history of our republic. So‚ and‚ I've just got one follow-up question here‚ given that if you are removed from the prosecution‚ it could delay this trial until after the election: how good was this sex? Good enough to risk democracy over? Because I've never had sex that good. You know what feels really good? Donald Trump going to prison. That‚ that my friends‚ is what they call a real happy ending.  Over at The Daily Show‚ Klepper responded to the same clip of Willis‚ “Yes‚ thank you! Donald Trump is the one on trial. Which is why you should have been more careful. This is possibly the most important trial in the country right now‚ and it could be completely derailed‚ not because of the evidence or the facts‚ but because two people got horny. So maybe the first thing we need is some new HR training.”     Correspondent Desi Lydic was then shown in a satirical HR instructional video rebuking Willis and Wade‚ "Hello. If you are watching this video‚ you’re one of the 200‚000 prosecutors currently working on a Donald Trump case. There's been some confusion lately over whether you should hire a person you are [bleep] to prosecute the most important case in the nation. So we wanted to just take a moment to clarify: don't. Don't do that. Remember‚ there are over 330 million other Americans. You can have sex with any of them or hire them as a prosecutor‚ but not both.” Lydic concluded with some additional advice for the two “idiots”: Don't bribe the judge. Don't bribe the defendant. Don't burn down the courtroom. Don't join ISIS. Don't hire ISIS. Don't try to sell the judge drugs. Don't hire a stripper cop to be the bailiff. No‚ under any circumstances‚ toilet cams. Don't slurp up the defendant’s bathwater. Don't recruit the jury into a multi-level marketing scheme. Don't sell tickets to the trial on StubHub. And finally don't steal the judge's organs and sell them on the black market. By following these simple rules‚ you can maintain your integrity and not legally speaking‚ [bleep] this up‚ you idiots! Thank you and good luck in court. If Colbert and The Daily Show think Willis had a bad day‚ she’s going to need that luck. Here are transcripts for the February 15 shows: CBS The Late Show with Stephen Colbert 2/15/2024 11:45 PM ET STEPHEN COLBERT: Now‚ I don't know who's telling the truth here yet‚ but I will say exchanging business cards isn't exactly a meet cute. The movie's not called When Harry Networked with Sally. Now‚ at one point‚ Willis had had enough and really laid into opposing counsel. FANI WILLIS: You’re confused‚ you think I’m on trial. These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020. I’m not on trial no matter how hard you try to put me on trial. COLBERT: Damn straight. Yeah. That’s right. That’s right. Here’s the thing. Yes‚ it’s true Donald Trump and his associates are on trial in this‚ one of the most important cases in the history of our republic. So‚ and‚ I've just got one follow-up question here‚ given that if you are removed from the prosecution‚ it could delay this trial until after the election: how good was this sex? Good enough to risk democracy over? Because I've never had sex that good. You know what feels really good? Donald Trump going to prison. That‚ that my friends‚ is what they call a real happy ending.  *** Comedy Central The Daily Show 2/15/2024 11:08 PM ET JORDAN KLEPPER: Yes‚ thank you! Donald Trump is the one on trial. Which is why you should have been more careful. This is possibly the most important trial in the country right now‚ and it could be completely derailed‚ not because of the evidence or the facts‚ but because two people got horny. So maybe the first thing we need is some new HR training.  DESI LYDIC: Hello. If you are watching this video‚ you’re one of the 200‚000 prosecutors currently working on a Donald Trump case. There's been some confusion lately over whether you should hire a person you are [bleep] to prosecute the most important case in the nation. So we wanted to just take a moment to clarify: don't. Don't do that.  Remember‚ there are over 330 million other Americans. You can have sex with any of them or hire them as a prosecutor‚ but not both. It should be pretty obvious. While we are at it‚ here are some other obvious things to avoid that I can't believe I have to say out loud.  Don't bribe the judge. Don't bribe the defendant. Don't burn down the courtroom. Don't join ISIS. Don't hire ISIS. Don't try to sell the judge drugs. Don't hire a stripper cop to be the bailiff. No‚ under any circumstances‚ toilet cams. Don't slurp up the defendant’s bathwater. Don't recruit the jury into a multi-level marketing scheme. Don't sell tickets to the trial on StubHub. And finally don't steal the judge's organs and sell them on the black market. By following these simple rules‚ you can maintain your integrity and not legally speaking‚ [bleep] this up‚ you idiots! Thank you and good luck in court.

Leftist billionaire George Soros has reportedly acquired a massive stake in America’s second-largest radio company‚ igniting concerns about potential influence ahead of the 2024 election. Soros Fund Management purchased $400 million of bankrupt radio company Audacy’s debt or about a 40% stake in the company‚ the New York Post reporters Josh Kosman and Ariel Zilber unveiled on Wednesday. According to the Post‚ citing bankruptcy filings‚ Audacy is “the No. 2 US radio broadcaster behind iHeartMedia with stations including New York’s WFAN and 1010 WINS‚ as well as Los Angeles-based KROQ.” Notably‚ Audacy features or streams at least 16 powerful 50‚000-watt radio stations‚ which means that their coverage is especially widespread.  The Soros purchase may implicate the following 50‚000-watt radio stations‚ as described by RadioStation.info: WVEE Atlanta‚ WZRH New Orleans‚ WFUN St. Louis‚ 1010 WINS New York‚ 1020 KDKA Pittsburgh‚ 830 WCCO Minneapolis‚ KCBS 740 San Francisco‚ WWL New Orleans‚ KYW Philadelphia‚ 1120 KMOX St. Louis‚ KNX News Los Angeles‚ WCBS New York‚ Talk Radio 1210 WPHT Philadelphia‚ 92-9 The Game Atlanta‚ 105.3 The Fan Dallas and 670 The Score Chicago. Additionally‚ Audacy has a deal with CBS News Radio that greatly expands Audacy’s reach.   A source described the Soros purchase as “scary” in statements to the Post. “One insider close to the situation‚ noting that he was a Republican‚ said he believed it was possible Soros was buying the stake to exert influence on public opinion in the months leading up to the 2024 presidential election‚” the Post reported. Soros’s reported purchase is only the leftist billionaire’s latest media venture. As previously reported by MRC Business‚ Soros “gave $131‚111‚250 to journalism and media organizations around the globe” to push leftist positions on a range of issues between 2016 and 2020 alone.  Soros has also donated massive amounts of money to the International Fact-Checking Network‚ which coordinates with a vast network of fact-checkers‚ including The Associated Press‚ FactCheck.org‚ The Dispatch‚ The Washington Post and PolitiFact. Specifically‚ Soros gave $492‚000 to the IFCN between 2017 and 2019. Beyond this‚ Soros has ties to 34 legacy and leftist media personalities‚ detailed extensively in a Media Research Center report “George Soros: Propaganda Powerhouse.” Conservatives are under attack! Contact ABC News (818) 460-7477‚ CBS News (212) 975-3247 and NBC News (212) 664-6192 and demand they report on Soros’ ties to American and global media.

Communist Chinese government-tied TikTok proudly announced its work to fact-check and crush free speech ahead of European Union elections. TikTok patted itself on the back and claimed it is the app for “trusted and authoritative” election information in a Feb. 13 release. “Next month‚ we will launch a local language Election Centre in-app for each of the 27 individual EU Member States to ensure people can easily separate fact from fiction‚” the app declared. Part of this election interference is censorship from a team of 6‚000 EU content moderators‚ while users are encouraged to report content for censoring. TikTok will be using fact-checking‚ content removal‚ “media literacy campaigns” to counter alleged “misinformation‚” and policies targeted at artificial intelligence (AI). TikTok‚ which is owned by Chinese ByteDance‚ boasted about its “misinformation moderators” and censorship teams. “In Q3 2023‚ 99% of all the content we removed for election and civic misinformation was taken down before it was reported to us‚” TikTok bragged. The app further noted that it might restrict or censor political and government accounts that allegedly “undermine a civic process or contribute to real-world harm during an election period.” Since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) owns a board seat and maintains a financial stake in TikTok’s parent company ByteDance‚ this seems to be foreign election interference in the EU. The platform plans to promote allegedly “trusted information” too. “Videos related to the European elections will be labelled to direct people to the relevant Election Centre‚” TikTok explained. “As part of our broader election integrity efforts‚ we will also add reminders to hashtags to encourage people to follow our rules‚ verify facts‚ and report content they believe violates our Community Guidelines.”  TikTok added that it will also continue perpetuating another form of censorship as it relies on fact-checkers to assist with its “counter-misinformation” campaigns. In the new release‚ the platform explained that it works with nine fact-checking organizations that look at content in 18 different European languages. This follows TikTok’s 2021 announcement that it would flag and downrank fact-checked content.  While TikTok bans political ads‚ it stated that about 30 percent of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) use the app‚ among other politicians and news outlets. The CCP-tied app’s influence and censorship could lead to dangerous election interference in the June 2024 EU elections. Americans should take note as they look ahead to their own November 2024 elections Conservatives are under attack. Contact TikTok via email at communitymanager@tiktok.com and demand Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment and provide transparency. If you have been censored‚ contact us at the Media Research Center contact form‚ and help us hold Big Tech accountable.

Australia’s Communications Minister threatened that X (formerly Twitter) will be in “big trouble” if it does not comply with the country’s proposed new censorship laws. The Australian Financial Review reported February 12 that Australian Communications Minister and Member of Parliament Michelle Rowland is waging a “crusade” to address a “litany of recent issues” she claimed are afflicting X. These comments come as she pushes her "proposed mis- and disinformation laws” that will impose standards on what speech will be permitted online. The laws will enable the Australian government to impose hefty fines on social media companies that violate standards set by the Australian Communications and Media Authority. “[I]f X refuses to cooperate with an ACMA inquiry or comply with a code of conduct registered under the act‚ it could face fines of up to $3 million or 2 per cent of annual turnover‚” The Australian Financial Review explained. “If it fails to comply with the ACMA standards‚ the penalty could be the greater of $7.8 million or 5 per cent of the platform’s annual turnover.”  Rowland repeatedly called out X owner Elon Musk and his platform in particular as one of the main reasons why increasingly heavy-handed measures are needed. She reportedly noted that the platform reinstated 6000 previously banned accounts and brought up sexual exploitation concerns. “They will have to [change]‚” she told The Australian Financial Review. This is the Australian government’s latest enforcement of censorship in a long train of abuses that have violated the natural rights of Australians and even some non-Australians. The Twitter Files exposed that during the COVID-19 pandemic Australia’s Department of Home Affairs  flagged 222 tweets for Twitter to remove. One of the flagged tweets came from British-based molecular biologist Tanya Klymenko who pointed out some of the flaws of the COVID-19 PCR test and said that COVID-19 was made in a lab. Conservatives are under attack. Contact your representatives and demand that Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency‚ clarity on so-called hate speech and equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored‚ contact us at the Media Research Center contact form‚ and help us hold Big Tech accountable.  

Chocolate Gravy is an old-fashioned recipe you will fall in love with and serve time and time again. It’s a delicious treat over biscuits‚ waffles‚ pancakes‚ etc. We love it over biscuits and have enjoyed it for many‚ many years. We love this chocolate gravy on our cathead biscuits. They have hundreds of reviews and...