If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. We were waiting for California Governor Gavin Newsom to sign on the dotted line of a new controversial bill that limits speech around AI “deepfake” content that many believe could impact memes. Now that Newsom has signed the bill, the first of several lawsuits against the censorial bills can be filed. Christopher Kohls, an online content creator known for his political satire, has filed a lawsuit against the state, challenging recent legislation aimed at regulating AI-generated content. The lawsuit seeks to strike down two California laws which Kohls claims infringe upon First Amendment rights. Read the lawsuit here. The controversy began when Kohls posted a satirical video parodying Vice President Kamala Harris, which quickly caught the attention of California Governor Gavin Newsom. Following the video’s viral spread, largely due to a share by Elon Musk, Governor Newsom criticized the content, leading to the swift passage of AB 2655, the “Defending Democracy from Deepfake Deception Act of 2024,” and AB 2839, related to “Elections: deceptive media in advertisements.” Kohls’ lawsuit argues that these laws unjustly target political satire, a traditionally protected form of speech, by imposing strict regulations on AI-generated content that parodies or critiques political figures. “Political satire is a fundamental First Amendment right,” correctly states the lawsuit, emphasizing the role of such expression in American political discourse. The specific legislation in question, AB 2655 and AB 2839, require social media platforms to block and prevent the dissemination of AI-generated videos that could potentially harm a candidate’s reputation or mislead voters. Kohls contends that these laws are not only overly broad but also set a dangerous precedent for free speech, particularly in how they regulate content based on its content and viewpoint. “AB 2655 and AB 2839 place an unconstitutional burden on free speech,” Kohls asserts in his complaint. He further claims that the laws are not narrowly tailored to serve a significant government interest, a standard required for such restrictive measures. The outcome of this lawsuit could have significant implications for the regulation of digital content and free expression as AI and other technologies become increasingly embedded in the fabric of communication and political commentary. Governor Newsom’s office has defended the legislation, arguing that the state has a compelling interest in protecting the integrity of elections from the potential harms posed by deepfake technologies and AI-driven disinformation. However, critics of the legislation, including free speech advocates and technology experts, warn of the chilling effects these laws could have on legitimate, protected forms of expression. If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post Gavin Newsom Just Signed an AI-Deepfake Ban That Could Impact Free Speech. This Is the First Lawsuit Against It. appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Oracle founder and Chairman of the Board Larry Ellison has delivered his keynote on the tech giant’s “Vision and Strategy: Oracle CloudWorld 2024.” Ellison is these days focused on “AI” and so the speech was heavy on that topic, where the “vision and strategy” involve Oracle supplying what he calls a biometric database in the cloud. The latter two technologies cover Oracle’s present business, but the addition of biometric surveillance is where Ellison wants to take the company, to provide a system that includes biometrically authenticated credit cards, passport control, school entry, prescription pick ups, and government entitlements. “People seem to like it,” he observed at one point, referring specifically to biometrically authenticated credit cards but clearly betting on people “liking” the rest of it, too. One of the “pillars” of AI deployment, according to him, is “user identity” in terms of improved security. Ellison’s idea of a future super-invasive role of computers is getting them to function, when it comes to identification and authentication, close to how humans perceive each other. The Oracle boss is unhappy with methods such as passwords, the use of which he dismisses as “ridiculous” and “obsolete.” Instead, a device such as a computer or a camera should simply “look” at you and recognize you like another person does, Ellison argues. And this is achieved by collecting people’s biometric information (fingerprints, face, voice data), and putting it in a centralized place out of their control (a cloud database). “We know who you are. We recognize you,” Ellison went on with his “vision.” He also appears to believe that his audience (and people in general) are simply pining for this era of the “cumbersome” process of having to always be typing one’s email and password to be over (he’s apparently unfamiliar with password managers). Still playing on the convenience card, Ellison spoke about biometric logins being easier, faster, and even supposedly more secure, and asked, on behalf of his audience – “Why can’t you just recognize me?,” and then answered his own question, “We can do that, too.” And, he shared some “good news” with Oracle employees: within a year, the only way they will be able to log into the company’s systems is with their biometric data, as the use of passwords will be discontinued. If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post Oracle’s Larry Ellison Proposes Comprehensive Biometric Database in the Cloud appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

A feral cat went indoors for the first time. Her journey took a beautiful turn with one of her kittens. Baylee and her kittensFosterKittenMamaBaylee, a dilute calico, had spent almost a year outdoors, fending for herself in a tough neighborhood. Elusive and timid, she always tried to hide from people until she came across a kind person with a caring heart.A resident noticed Baylee one day and began feeding her, trying to gain her trust. When she realized Baylee was pregnant, she reached out for help and asked if a rescue would take a chance on a feral cat.Heidi Shoemaker, founder of the rescue, opened her home to Baylee and saw a sweet soul behind those wary eyes. She was born outside and lived as a feral for almost a yearRazal via FosterKittenMamaTerrified after her time on the streets, she huddled in a litter box for a while, but the moment she touched a soft blanket, she began kneading, seeking solace. "(It was) wonderful to see her experience something so soft and cozy," Heidi shared."Thankfully, I was able to bring her into my rescue, and she had her babies shortly after." Baylee was finally safe in a foster homeFosterKittenMamaBaylee gave birth to four kittens in the comfort of a loving home. Their voracious appetites soon had them plumping up, wriggling around the nest with newfound energy.With a change of environment and an all-you-can-eat buffet, indoor life slowly grew on Baylee. She was very protective of her kittens but had loosened up a lot and even tried to play. She gave birth to four kittensFosterKittenMama"Once her babies were about three weeks old, I added some toys. I caught Baylee playing with a ball spinner, and my heart melted. She wasn't even a year old, but that was probably her first toy ever," Heidi told Love Meow.She started to enjoy being petted and even called out for attention when she saw someone walk by. FosterKittenMamaWeighing just five pounds, Baylee was about the size of a 6-month-old kitten. Once she finished raising her last litter, she could finally be a kitten again and play to her heart's content. "None of them will contribute to making any more babies. The cycle stops here."Baylee's four littles grew by leaps and bounds in foster care. Bradley, the only ginger and the only boy, was a bundle of energy and didn't seem to have a pause button. Slowly but surely, she came out of her shellFosterKittenMamaHis sisters, Bridget, Brynn, and Brooklyn, matched his boisterous energy, racing him to the top of every cat tree or post. They whirled around the place like tiny tornadoes until they finally collapsed into a deep slumber.A lovely couple came across Baylee's story and was touched by her transformation from feral to friendly. They wanted to give her a forever home but couldn't bear the thought of her being alone. FosterKittenMamaThey reached out to the rescue and asked if they could adopt Baylee with one of her kittens."Baylee's life started out really rough, as she was born outside to her feral mama. Now, her life has changed, and she will be forever loved and cared for. That is enough to make my heart burst with happiness." FosterKittenMamaBradley, the ginger, won over a family with a cat-adoring dog. His human mom had been counting down the days to make the adoption official. "She recently lost her beloved kitty and has been waiting to bring another home. Her dog has been missing his feline companion as well."Soon after moving in, Bradley claimed the house as his kingdom, hogging warm laps, "helping" his people in the office, and cuddling his canine buddy all day long. Bradley and his best friend in his forever homeFosterKittenMamaBrooklyn was adopted with a foster kitten from another litter, and they quickly became best friends. Bridget joined a family with another kitten eagerly awaiting her arrival, and before long, the two were thick as thieves.Baylee and her beloved kitten, Brynn, embarked on a new journey with their forever family, and the sweet mama truly blossomed. Mama Baylee and her baby girl Brynn are loving their new life with their forever familyFosterKittenMamaShe thrived with her baby girl and found her place in her new abode. "She started out life hard but now has the brightest path before her." FosterKittenMamaShare this story with your friends. More on Foster Kitten Mama on Instagram and Facebook.Related story: Cat Follows His New Family from Room to Room, Guarding Them After Many Lonely Years Outside

Hmmm: 19 Iranian Soldiers Die of Acute Pagercide, 150 Injured

Routh Was a 'Known Wolf' Too

Having children now makes you selfish, according to ivory tower academics and the 20 year olds we’re all supposed to pay college tuition for. Leave it to a Gender and Sexuality Studies professor to recruit a group of adult children to lecture us NOT to have children. In fact, “It’s almost shameful to want to have children,” reads the headline to a book excerpt published by U.C. Irvine professor Jane S. Sasser for the Los Angeles Times.  To “objectively” prove her point, Sasser consulted with her own base of “experts.” They featured a series of interviews with recent college graduates from “marginalized communities.”  “These interviewees have more climate change knowledge than most people do,” Sasser insists.  “All of them are college-educated; most of them either grew up or have lived for some time in Southern California; and most have taken environmental studies classes, either as undergrads or in graduate school.” This, according to Sasser, grants her stereotypical base of indoctrinated Zoomers the authority to tell us commoners that we’re wrong! And if you weren’t confident in their resumes already, “some of them identify as queer, or their close family members and friends do, which shapes their sensitivity to discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people.” Bobby, a 22 year-old environmentalist, told Sasser he wanted to have children of his own until attending college, where he was “exposed” to “information” that posed “ethical issues” to preserving the planet. “The environment is really the deciding factor for me,” he says. “There’s so much being wasted that could be returned to the earth.” Therefore, he plans on either fostering or adopting children. Veronica, who is the same age as Bobby, blames older generations for her hesitation to have kids because they “caused climate change.” Victoria, who is also 22, agrees. Thanks to her “sustainability” degree, she now believes “it's a little selfish” to have biological children when “there are already kids in the world” who she believes would make her a “better parent.”  But it’s also society’s fault, of course! Victoria, who is black, says bringing more black children into the world will make them a target of racial and wealth “inequality.” “It isn’t self-hatred. I love being Black, but the things I’ve gone through I wouldn’t wish on other children,” she continues. They had to throw in the professional victimhood somewhere! Racism is the primary reason why 38 year-old Rosalind told Sasser she refuses to have kids Rosalind blames “anti-black” and “police violence.”  Another interviewee, 26 year old Melanie suggests it’s not “morally OK” to have children “just because, with all of the things we see going on in the world, it seems unfair to bring someone into all of this against their will.” Given the hubris and entitlement of these young interviewees, perhaps Sasser indirectly made a decent argument against having children after all, especially if they grow up like these interviewees and contribute nothing to society other than proving how ungrateful they are.

During Vice President Kamala Harris’s interview session with the National Association of Black Journalists, on-stage fact-checking was nonexistent, but PolitiFact assigned itself to do the task online. Unfortunately, the difference between PolitiFact’s treatment of Harris’s NABJ appearance and Trump’s was just as stark as the candidates’ appearances themselves. Back in July, PolitiFact gave Trump one half-true, two mostly false, five false, and two pants on fire ratings. That’s zero on the true side, one in the middle, and nine on the false side. Harris, meanwhile, received two true, three mostly true, one half-true, and one false rating. That’s a total of five statements on the right, one in the middle, and one on the wrong side of the truth-o-meter. The typical defense to such lopsided results is to simply say that Trump gets more false ratings because he spreads more falsehoods, but there were at least three significant statements from Harris that deserved to be on the false side in addition to her claim that unemployment was at its highest point since the Great Depression when she and Biden took office. During the part of the discussion on whether Harris would use executive action to create a commission to study reparations, she declared, “We just need to speak truth about history in spite of the fact some people are trying to erase history and trying to teach our children otherwise.” Fact-check: Nobody is trying to erase history. Not subscribing to The 1619 Project’s factually challenged view of history is not “trying to erase” it. On the situation regarding bomb threats in Springfield, Ohio, Harris claimed, “A whole community put in fear... When you have that kind of microphone in front of you, you really ought to understand at a very deep level how much your words have meaning."   Harris, on JD Vance, Springfield, and bomb threats "when you have that kind of microphone in front of you, you really ought to understand at a very deep level how much your words have meaning" Fact Check: Again, missing pic.twitter.com/Nb5KuAX9pX — Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) September 17, 2024   Fact-check: Gov. Mike DeWine, who has fiercely condemned the rumor that Haitian migrants are eating people’s pets, claimed, “We have people unfortunately overseas who are taking these actions. Some of them are coming from one particular country.”  For the final question of the session, Harris was asked if she has faith in the Secret Service in the aftermath of the second assassination attempt against Trump. Harris replied that she does, but claimed to be concerned for people without Secret Service protection, including for LGBT people in Florida with their “Don’t Say Gay” laws. Fact-check: It is not illegal to say “gay” in Florida or any other state. They merely ensure that all classroom instruction is age-appropriate. PolitiFact did a similar trick after the Democratic National Convention. Trump’s false claims are labeled as such while Harris’s are mostly ignored, leading to the talking point that Democrats are much more truthful.

BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND – The new British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has commented on a report he commissioned that found the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) is in a deplorable condition. The report’s findings echoed media investigations of the past which discovered unacceptably long waits for treatment, hospital structures that are crumbling, patients dying unnecessarily, patients on trolleys in hallways because no rooms were available, mental health patients occupying cells infested with vermin, and fewer MRI scanners than in countries of similar size. Fixing the NHS, which has had widespread support across party lines since its creation in 1948, was a central theme in Starmer’s campaign that brought Labour back to power. Starmer announced a 10-year plan to “fix” the system which will doubtless include more spending and probably even higher taxes. Starmer has promised no new funding for the NHS without reforms. He mentioned three areas that need immediate attention: transition to a digital NHS, moving more care from hospitals to communities, and focusing efforts on prevention over sickness. That last one – prevention over sickness – is key not only in the UK, but also the U.S. and everywhere else. For too long politicians have focused more on care rather than cures. I am (barely) old enough to remember when President John F. Kennedy launched The President’s Council on Physical Fitness, directed by the famous football player and coach Bud Wilkinson. Kennedy didn’t have the authority to mandate a national exercise program, so he and Wilkinson sought to lead by example. They created a curriculum for public schools that supplemented Physical Education programs already in place. Beginning in the 1961-1962 school year, the Kennedy council began a national publicity campaign to promote its directives on fitness. These included the fifty-mile-hike-in-twenty-hour challenge, inspired by the Marine Corps, eating the right foods, and a number of memorable popular culture tie-ins. Cartoonist Charles Schulz contributed “ Snoopy’s Daily Dozen,” an exercise manual featuring Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang. Suddenly it was cool and fun to be fit. Following up on Starmer’s statement about prevention is something that should be a companion goal and that is curing diseases. One example. Nearly 7 million American seniors are living with Alzheimer’s dementia, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. By 2050, this number is projected to rise to nearly 13 million. There are currently estimated to be nearly one million people living with dementia in the UK and this is projected to rise to 1.4 million in 2040. A cure for this horrible and debilitating ailment would also create economic benefits, in addition to relief for patients, family members and caregivers. According to ScienceDirect.com: “Medicare and Medicaid would save up to a projected $195 billion annually.” Life insurance companies and unpaid caregivers would also benefit. I’m betting people in the UK and the U.S. would be willing to pay a little more in taxes if they could be sure reforms were forthcoming in their respective health care systems and the money was spent wisely. Cures might cost more upfront but the back-end savings in money and pain would be enormous and more than worth it. The sooner Prime Minister Starmer’s proposed reforms are fully known the quicker improvements might be made. In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration might ease some of its regulations that prevent drugs with promise from reaching the market sooner. Permission for drugs currently used for other purposes might be granted for people wishing to try them, assuming any risks. If Starmer’s reforms work, a new NHS could be the model for the world. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has frequently proposed “Medicare for all, a type of NHS for the U.S. If it isn’t working here, what makes Sanders and his fellow advocates think it would work in a country with a population far larger than the UK?

Brittany Mahomes, former soccer player and wife to NFL quarterback Patrick Mahomes, was the latest hate object of ABC’s The View on Wednesday as they suggested she was a racist who didn’t respect her interracial marriage nor her biracial kids. What did she do to warrant that level of vitriol? According to them, she committed the high crime of liking an Instagram post from former President Donald Trump. The liberal ladies began taking swipes at the accomplished woman during a segment dedicated to raging at Trump for posting that he hated singer Taylor Swift. Despite the fact that Mahomes had publically stated she was rethinking her support for Trump over the spat with her husband’s teammate’s girlfriend, Whoopi Goldberg released some hot air alluding to Mahomes being a terrible person: Well, you know, he's politically activating her army of Swifties, and there are also rumors that her best friend Brittany Mahomes, who was hit with backlash a while back for “liking” a pro-MAGA post; she’s now rethinking her alleged support. Yeah. Yeah. And we've been really good about it. Okay. Because some could say, you know, this -- because he's mad at your best friend, now you're mad? It didn't bother you that he was being a racist and being a misogynist and -- that didn't get you going? “But we're not going to bring that up,” she chided.     Co-host Joy Behar chimed in to argue that Goldberg shouldn’t be so hard on her because people should be given the chance to sour on Trump, like one of their cast members did. “We have so many people – and even Alyssa was a friend of his at one point but then she turned it around. And that's true of a lot of people and the enemy of my enemy is my friend,” she proclaimed. Two and a half minutes later, staunchly racist and anti-Semitic co-host Sunny Hostin (the descendant of slave owners) brought it up again. This time, calling Mahomes “problematic” and questioning her interracial marriage and the biracial kids she gave birth too: It just seems to me that since she is in an interracial marriage, she should have known that to support a racist is problematic. Her children are biracial and her family is one of the families that in the '70s could not have lived in any of Donald Trump's buildings, so it just seems to me that maybe she's just not that politically savvy, or maybe she's just not read in, but its problematic. Hostin has a history of calling into question the interracial marriages of people who lean to right. Justice Clarence Thomas and Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) are particular hate objects for her. Faux conservative Alyssa Farah Griffin tried to stick up for Mahomes. “Well, granted, all we know is that she liked a Trump post. We don't know she -- she hasn't stated that she supported him but that's fair to interpret that she may have. But we don't know that she's a supporter,” she said. “Yeah, okay,” Goldberg scoffed. “Like, you know, I'll take all of that. But I'm just saying, you know, pick your -- pick your champions, babe.” The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read: ABC’s The View September 18, 2024 11:16:01 a.m. Eastern (…) WHOOPI GOLDBERG: Well, you know, he's politically activating her army of Swifties, and there are also rumors that her best friend Brittany Mahomes, who was hit with backlash a while back for “liking” a pro-MAGA post; she’s now rethinking her alleged support. Yeah. Yeah. [Applause] And we've been really good about it. Okay. Because some could say, you know, this -- because he's mad at your best friend, now you're mad? It didn't bother you that he was being a racist and being a misogynist and -- that didn't get you going? [Applause] But we're not going to bring that up. JOY BEHAR: Well, no. GOLDBERG: We're not going to bring that up. BEHAR: You can bring that up. We have so many people – and even Alyssa was a friend of his at one point but then she turned it around. And that's true of a lot of people and the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Okay? (…) 11:18:36 a.m. Eastern SUNNY HOSTIN: And that does make me hopeful, actually with the Swift-effect will speak to more women about the true character of Donald Trump and will turn them away. But to your initial point, I know you said we weren't going to talk about it, but I was. It just seems to me that since she is in an interracial marriage, she should have known that to support a racist is problematic. Her children are biracial and her family is one of the families that in the '70s could not have lived in any of Donald Trump's buildings, so – [Applause] It just seems to me that maybe she's just not that politically savvy, or maybe she's just not read in, but its problematic. ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN: Well, granted, all we know is that she liked a Trump post. We don't know she -- she hasn't stated — HOSTIN: She has since – she has since taken it off – FARAH GRIFFIN: --that she supported him but that's fair to interpret that she may have. But we don't know that she's a supporter. GOLDBERG: Yeah, okay. [Laughter] Like, you know, I'll take all of that. But I'm just saying, you know, pick your -- pick your champions, babe. HOSTIN: Yeah. GOLDBERG: You know? BEHAR: Yeah. (…)

Several are dead and hundreds were wounded in an attack in Lebanon that targeted walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah.Thousands of the communications devices used by the designated terrorist group detonated across the country, killing at least three and wounding hundreds of others.Video quickly surfaced of an explosion at the site of a funeral for three slain Hezbollah members and a child, where a walkie-talkie appeared to detonate.The Daily Mail has since verified the video and seemingly confirmed that the radios were purchased by Hezbollah around five months ago.This is the same time frame during which Hezbollah purchased a bulk number of pagers, which were similarly detonated the day before, allegedly by Israel's intelligence service Mossad.The exploding communications devices of yesteryear left almost 3,000 injured and a dozen dead as pagers exploded due small amounts of explosives implanted in the devices, seemingly at the production level.The Daily Mail, Times of Israel, and other outlets cited the Israeli spy agency as responsible for the detonations.Mossad allegedly placed small quantities — reportedly under 20 grams — of explosive material called pentaerythritol tetranitrate in the devices. The substance, also known as PETN, is similar to nitroglycerin and is the main ingredient in Semtex, a plastic explosive.The PETN was placed inside the walkie-talkies and detonated by raising the batteries' temperature from a remote location.At least one of the explosions occurred near a funeral organized by Iran-backed Hezbollah for those killed the previous day, when thousands of pagers used by the group detonated across the country, injuring many of its fighters.A Reuters reporter in the southern suburbs of Beirut witnessed Hezbollah members hastily removing the batteries from any walkie-talkies that hadn’t yet exploded, discarding the parts into metal barrels nearby. Lebanon’s Red Cross announced on X that it had deployed 30 ambulance teams to respond to multiple explosions across various locations. The group, momentarily thrown into chaos by the pager attacks, stated on Wednesday that it had launched rockets at Israeli artillery positions, marking its first strike against its longtime adversary since the blasts injured thousands of its fighters and heightened fears of a broader Middle East conflict.News page Visegrad 24 reported that all types of electronic devices in Hezbollah's control have been blowing up, including previously unreported devices like fingerprint scanners, solar power systems, and radios.Visegrad refers to the region of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia.A 15-minute time-lapse video of the Beirut skyline showed a series of smoke clouds floating upward in what was allegedly the aftermath of the explosions.Pictures of burning buildings and blown-out cars also circulated online, adding to the chaotic scenes on the ground in Lebanon.Israel has not officially claimed responsibility for the attacks.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!