From Netanyahu to Modi, world leaders praise Trump as he claims US election win

From Netanyahu to Modi, world leaders praise Trump as he claims US election win



Pedestrians wait to cross the street as a large digital display shows images of US Republican candidate Donald Trump and US Democrat candidate Kamala Harris, outside a train station in central Tokyo November 6, 2024. — AFP pic

Wednesday, 06 Nov 2024 5:01 PM MYT


HONG KONG, Nov 6 — World leaders raced to praise Donald Trump as he claimed a stunning US election victory over Kamala Harris, while financial markets also rose.

Here are the first reactions, with the presidential election result still to be confirmed:


Israel

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a historic return for the former US leader and a new beginning in the US-Israel alliance.


“Congratulations on history’s greatest comeback! Your historic return to the White House offers a new beginning for America and a powerful recommitment to the great alliance between Israel and America. This is a huge victory!” said Netanyahu in a statement issued by his office.


China

As the results began to go Trump’s way, China said it hoped for “peaceful coexistence” with the United States.

“We will continue to approach and handle China-US relations based on the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular briefing.

“We respect the choice of the American people.”

France

French President Emmanuel Macron congratulated “President Donald Trump”, saying he was ready to work with him “with respect and ambition” like “we managed to do for four years”.

In a post on X, Macron said that the relationship with Trump, who is leading the US presidential vote, would “take account of your convictions, and mine”, adding: “For more peace and prosperity.”

Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky congratulated Donald Trump on his “impressive victory” and said he hoped his presidency would bring “just peace in Ukraine closer.”

“I appreciate President Trump’s commitment to the ‘peace through strength’ approach in global affairs. This is exactly the principle that can practically bring just peace in Ukraine closer,” Zelensky said in a statement on social media.

Nato

Nato chief Mark Rutte congratulated Trump and said his return to power would help keep the alliance “strong”.

“His leadership will again be key to keeping our Alliance strong. I look forward to working with him again to advance peace through strength through Nato,” Rutte said in a statement.

India

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed Trump’s “election victory”.

“Heartiest congratulations my friend @realDonaldTrump on your historic election victory,” Modi wrote on social media platform X. “As you build on the successes of your previous term, I look forward to renewing our collaboration.” — AFP

After Harris' loss, angry Democrats blame her boss, Biden

Reuters:

After Harris' loss, angry Democrats blame her boss, Biden

By Nandita Bose, Jarrett Renshaw and Gabriella Borter

November 7, 2024

3:09 AM GMT+11, Updated an hour ago




U.S. President Joe Biden and Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris walk to deliver remarks on gun violence in America, at the White House in Washington, U.S., September 26, 2024. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo

Summary

• Democrats criticize Biden's handling of his health and campaign
• Trump gained support among young voters and women, exit polls show
• Trump's anti-immigration stance resonated even in Democratic strongholds

WASHINGTON, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Anger and soul-searching took hold of the Democratic Party early on Wednesday morning, after Vice President Kamala Harris suffered an election loss that left some party officials and voters dumbfounded.

Harris was the self-styled underdog against her Republican rival, Donald Trump, having joined the race barely three months ago, but the nature of her loss has some Democrats asking questions about the future of the party.

The sharpest criticism contained accusations that the party had lied to its supporters about President Joe Biden's mental fitness until a disastrous TV debate with Trump in June raised alarm bells and ultimately led to the president exiting the race.

One Democratic donor asked: "Why did Joe Biden hold on for as long as he did? He should have not concealed his (health) and dropped out a lot sooner."

Biden, 81, has said privately he thought he was the only Democrat who could beat Trump, and vowed publicly that he was fit to be president for another four years. When he dropped out of the race in July, he said he had decided it was "in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down."

Biden's announcement in April 2023 that he would run for reelection was greeted with scepticism by many Democrats, but likely potential challengers quickly agreed to join his campaign as advisers, rather than challenge him.

The party "needs a complete reboot," said hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, a longtime Democratic donor who endorsed Trump in 2024, on X. "The party lied to the American people about the cognitive health and fitness of the president," he said, and then didn't hold a primary to replace him.

The Harris campaign declined comment and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

WOMEN AND YOUNG VOTERS

The concerns ran deeper, though.

Two groups Harris was counting on to beat Trump -- increasingly diverse young voters, believed to be motivated by climate change, liberal values and her social media savvy, and women worried about shrinking abortion rights under a Republican -- moved in his direction instead.

Trump's overall share of voters under 45 was up two percentage points from 2020 as was his share of women voters, Edison Research exit poll data show. 

Trump also increased his support in many suburban areas, where Democrats thought they had made inroads.

The shift came even as the Harris campaign insisted that the race was close, and that she was picking up new voters.

One Democratic National Committee official said he was fielding angry text messages from party members late on Tuesday night. "They feel lied to by the campaign," the official said.

Trump's anti-immigration rhetoric also appeared to strike a chord with voters even in Democratic heartlands like Connecticut and Massachusetts, mirroring a trend seen in many liberal democracies where high housing and other costs have been blamed on newcomers.

Canada's Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, for example, cut immigration levels under criticism from the right, and Europe's far-right parties have vowed to toughen immigration rules, while peeling away votes from the center left.

Harris' defeat is the Democrats' second bitter loss to Trump over the past three elections. Hillary Clinton's 2016 defeat had paved the way for Biden to run.

A convicted felon, Trump's unorthodox economic proposals, including blanket tariffs on imports, will be costly for U.S. consumers and businesses, economists say. His plans to deport millions of people who are in the country illegally would upend industries and communities.

Still Trump gained with Latino voters, and had easy wins in Georgia and North Carolina, states where Democrats thought they were competitive. Harris' whirlwind campaign, built around an inclusive vision of the United States and stronger fiscal support for families, had emphasized hope and positivity.

Biden and Harris' support of Israel during its assault on Gaza split the Democratic Party, with many progressive Democrats calling unsuccessfully for the U.S. to curb its military aid to Israel. That cost votes among left-leaning Democrats.

Harris remained at her residence in Washington the entire evening while crowds waited outside her alma mater Howard University, where the campaign had set up a stage and a media center, anticipating days of vote-counting before a result.

As the results started to trickle in, her campaign co-chair Cedric Richmond took the stage to tell the dwindling crowds the race wasn't over yet. Hours later, it was.

US election 2024: Trump wins

al Jazeera:

US election 2024: Trump wins, Harris expected to concede defeat

By Nils Adler, Stephen Quillen and Alice Speri

Published On 6 Nov 20246 Nov 2024

• Donald Trump has been elected United States president for a second term nearly four years after leaving office, with projections showing the Republican comfortably clearing the 270 electoral vote threshold required to win the White House.
• His Democratic rival, Kamala Harris, has yet to concede defeat but is expected to make an address to supporters later on Wednesday.
• A number of world leaders have rushed to congratulate Trump after he declared victory in the November 5 election.
• The Republican Party has also reclaimed control of the Senate.

Donald Trump ‘leaned into people’s sense of anxiety, sense of fear’

Trump’s win defied many expectations about how the race would play out, and how close it really was.

“Our polling was off. We didn’t have good, accurate information,” Nadia Brown, the director of the women’s and gender studies programme at Georgetown University, told Al Jazeera. “Many people predicted that this race would be really, really close and that we might be two, three days after the election to figure out who won. That clearly wasn’t the case.”

“Americans were really unhappy with Democratic politics and policies and were not ready to vote for the first multiethnic, Black woman as president,” added Brown.

“And maybe Kamala Harris did too much to reach out to moderate Republicans and even some pretty right-wing Republicans like Liz Cheney, at the detriment of talking to people that have traditionally been the Democratic base.”

But it was also the campaigns’ messages that made a difference.

“Research shows that certain demographics of Americans respond to a mode of priming, trying to make people feel afraid, or feel anxious … It motivates some to turn out to vote,” she said.

“Donald Trump was really leaning into people’s sense of anxiety, sense of fear, in some cases, sense of hopelessness,” she added.

Trump’s victory stems from his exploitation of American anger, trauma: Analysis

15m ago

 (17:03 GMT)

Let’s have a look at what’s happened so far

• From Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, leaders worldwide have congratulated Trump on his election victory.
• Kamala Harris is expected to call Trump to concede defeat in the presidential election, NBC News has reported, citing two Harris aides.
• Along with their presidential victory, Republicans have also regained control of the Senate, flipping at least three seats to secure a majority with 52 out of the chamber’s 100 seats.
• In the wake of Trump’s victory, futures markets in the US have surged early this morning, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has climbed 2.85 percent and the S&P 500 nearly 2 percent.
• Afghanistan’s Taliban government says it hopes for a “new chapter” in relations with the US after Trump’s presidential election victory.
• The leader of Hezbollah says the results of the US presidential election will have no impact on any possible ceasefire deal to end the Israel-Hezbollah war.

US elections 2024

Guardian:

US elections 2024

• Latest results 45/51 states called (includes DC)

  Kamala Harris224Electoral college votes

  

  

  Donald Trump267Electoral college votes

  270 to win

  64,732,831 votes (47%)

  69,850,044 votes (51%)

  Full US election results
• 
  

Saying ‘stupidity is free’, Umno Youth chief scorches Tony Pua for defending Khazanah over FashionValet’s multi-million ringgit losses

Saying ‘stupidity is free’, Umno Youth chief scorches Tony Pua for defending Khazanah over FashionValet’s multi-million ringgit losses



FashionValet used to be a promising homegrown e-commerce fashion platform with more than 400 brands and 15,000 products on its platform. — Picture from Facebook/FashionValet

Wednesday, 06 Nov 2024 11:38 AM MYT


KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 6 — Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Salleh today lashed out at DAP’s Tony Pua for playing down the RM43 million loss incurred by sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional and the country’s largest asset management company Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) over FashionValet, the fashion e-commerce company they had jointly owned.

Taking to Facebook this morning, Dr Akmal questioned the wisdom of placing public funds into a company that has consistently posted losses for the last five years.


“In business, profit and loss are normal.

“But what’s extraordinary is putting a large amount of public funds into a company that has posted losses for five consecutive years,” he said.


He said it was equally “extraordinary” that Pua would defend the company’s financial track record, given the long-standing pattern of losses.


Dr Akmal also pointed out the contradiction in Pua’s defence, suggesting that it was difficult for the average Malaysian to access financial support for business ventures.

“Does he not know that the people down here have trouble even getting a loan of 10k to start a business?” he asked, highlighting the disparity between ordinary citizens’ access to funds and the substantial government backing given to a company like FashionValet.

He added: “Never mind, stupidity is free—just keep on with that stupidity.”

Dr Akmal also took a jab at Pua’s past background as a former “political secretary” to a former finance minister involved in a “hidden tunnel”, without naming anyone.

The Umno politician’s remarks follows Pua’s rejection of calls for a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into the management of FashionValet, pointing out that the company’s setbacks were a normal part of doing business.

In his November 5 statement, Pua remarked that “some joker” had even suggested a royal inquiry into the matter, a claim Pua dismissed as excessive and unfounded.

Dr Akmad had proposed the RCI into FashionValet last Sunday.

FashionValet, which was established in 2010 and backed by Khazanah through its investment arm CIMB Group, has faced significant financial difficulties in recent years.

In its last five years, the company has consistently posted losses, with critics arguing that its business model and management have not shown the ability to deliver sustainable profits despite the backing of public funds.

Khazanah and PNB have since divested their stake for RM3.1 million.

Dr Akmal’s statements reflect growing concerns about the handling of public funds in private enterprises and the lack of accountability for state-backed businesses.

There has been increasing pressure on the government to explain why public resources are being invested in such ventures when many Malaysians are struggling to access financial support to grow their own businesses.

Last week, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim ordered Khazanah to conduct an internal audit over its investment in FashionValet, which incurred a loss of over RM43 million that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission is also investigating.

I wanted to see his face, says disappointed deaf driver

I wanted to see his face, says disappointed deaf driver

RK Anand
Published: Nov 5, 2024 7:41 PM


After waiting for justice to be served for more than five months, deaf e-hailing driver Ong Ing Keong is disappointed that he did not catch a glimpse of the police officer who assaulted him.

Through the assistance of a sign language interpreter, his response was shared with Malaysiakini via text messages.

“He is also upset that his assailant was let off with a RM1,000 fine,” read the message.

“Ong (above) thought he would face his assailant in court in front of lawyers and the judge like what he sees in the dramas,” it added.

Deaf Advocacy and Well-being National Organisation Malaysia (Dawn) secretary-general Anthony Chong told Malaysiakini that Ong was also expecting his assailant’s photograph to be published.

Anthony Chong

“Ong said that just the person’s name was not enough. Where is his picture? He wants to see the face. Unfortunately, he was not informed in advance about the case. All of it happened suddenly.

“Ong is not satisfied because everything happened without his knowledge,” he added.

Chong also said that Ong would not relent and continue to pursue the matter but did not elaborate.

Guilty plea

Yesterday, the Kuala Lumpur Magistrate’s Court slapped police officer Muhammad Taufik Ismail with a RM1,000 fine after he pleaded guilty to assaulting the 47-year-old driver outside the St Regis Hotel in Kuala Lumpur on May 28.

The charge was framed under Section 323 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum penalty of a year in jail, RM2,000 fine, or both.

At the time of the incident, the police officer was escorting Johor Regent Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, who also called for action to be taken on the matter.

A dashcam footage showing Ong Ing Keong receiving a blow to his right eye

Lenient sentence

In a statement this morning, Dawn also expressed “profound disappointment and concern” over the outcome.

“The court’s decision has raised serious questions within the deaf community and the public.

“For five months, Ong and the deaf community waited, hoping the system would deliver a fair and balanced judgment.

“However, the outcome has left many feeling overlooked, disrespected and unsupported by those meant to uphold justice,” it added.

Dawn pointed out that Ong endured months of fear and psychological distress, unsure if he could find protection from those entrusted with upholding the law.

“The court’s decision failed to consider the long-term impact on him and the resilience shown by the deaf, persons with disabilities, and broader communities that have stood by him.

“Instead, the lenient sentencing implies that violence, even by authorities, is tolerable - a view Dawn cannot and will not accept,” it added.

‘Was it the same person?’

Demanding transparency, Dawn also asked if Taufik was the same person recorded on the dashcam camera assaulting Ong.

“Without confirmation from Ong or his legal representatives, there is no verification that justice has been served on the right individual. If the authorities are confident in this identification, why was Ong not notified directly?

“The lack of transparency surrounding the case, including the anonymity afforded to the assailant, raises serious questions about the integrity of the process.

“Why was the case resolved with such haste? This absence of transparency fuels concerns that some individuals or groups may be shielded from accountability due to their positions,” it added.

Dangerous precedent

Dawn also cautioned that the “lenient sentence” sets a dangerous precedent enabling further abuses without meaningful consequence.

“Dawn believes this quick and quiet resolution, without involving the victim or considering the impact on his well-being, is unacceptable.

“It appears the case was hastily closed in a way that overlooks the victim’s rights and dignity.


“This lack of transparency and engagement sends a troubling message that individuals, particularly those within the deaf and disabled communities, are not afforded the same protections or respect in the legal system,” it added.

Urging the authorities to revisit the case, Dawn said the proceedings must be transparent and there must be channels provided for the victim to be heard.

“Justice must be seen to be done, and we call for more robust accountability, genuine protection, and fair treatment of all citizens, especially those within vulnerable communities.

“Dawn stands with Ong and calls for a review of this case. We urge the authorities to consider the impact of their actions on the communities they serve and to ensure that no individual, regardless of status, is above the law.

“This case represents more than an isolated incident - it reflects the ongoing struggle for equal justice and respect for all Malaysians,” the organisation added.

Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) executive director Zaid Malek, who represented Ong, also described the sentence as inadequate.

***

kt comments:

Aiyah, what the frigg lah! Murderer of Teoh BH was even promoted. Kidnappers of Pastor Raymond Koh and Che Amri???

Punching Cop better protected than Najib???

Suspended, fired - will action be taken against regent's escort, DAP MP asks


Published: Nov 5, 2024 4:08 PM


A DAP lawmaker wants to know if disciplinary action will be taken against the police officer who assaulted a deaf e-hailing driver.

“I wish to ask. Has he been suspended from his duties, demoted or fired? Or will there be no disciplinary action taken against him?” asked Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng on X.

Speaking to Malaysiakini, he said further action must be taken against Muhammad Taufik Ismail to restore public confidence.

“If not, it will send the wrong message that the authorities are okay with letting things slide, eroding trust in the process,” Lim (above) added.

Yesterday, the Kuala Lumpur Magistrate’s Court slapped Taufik with a RM1,000 fine after he pleaded guilty to assaulting Ong Ing Keong outside the St Regis Hotel in Kuala Lumpur on May 28.

Ong Ing Keong

At the time of the incident, the police officer was escorting Johor Regent Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, who also called for action to be taken.

Ong and the Deaf Advocacy and Well-being National Organisation Malaysia (Dawn) have both expressed disappointment with the “lenient sentence”.

The victim said that he wanted to confront his assailant in court whereas Dawn warned that the judgment sets a dangerous precedent.

‘Apology mitigating factor’

However, PKR lawmaker Hassan Abdul Karim, who had raised the matter in Parliament on Oct 24, argued that since the police officer had apologised for assaulting Ong, the magistrate could have considered this as one of the mitigating factors when sentencing.

“Furthermore, the accused is still working as a police officer. News reports indicated that internal action was taken.

“If the sentence is too heavy, whether a higher fine or imprisonment, it could lead to him losing his job as a civil servant.

“So I believe the magistrate took all these (factors) in a holistic manner when meting out the sentence,” he told Malaysiakini.

Hassan Abdul Karim

Previously, Malaysiakini reported that the disciplinary action taken against the officer was not related to the assault but to his failure to declare his assets and the investigation paper has been submitted to the Attorney-General’s Chambers.

Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Hussain argued that if a second internal probe is launched into the assault, it would be a case of “double jeopardy”.

Various quarters had questioned if there was interference in the matter due to the delay in prosecuting the officer despite the assault being captured on dashcam.

Yii disagrees with Pua on FashionValet venture: 'Can't shoot blindly'

Pua: Disasters like FashionValet expected in venture capital investments


Published: Nov 5, 2024 1:45 PM


Bad investments like FashionValet are part of known risks in making capital venture investments, said former lawmaker Tony Pua.

The former political secretary to the finance minister from 2018 to 2020 said that there will always be more failures than successes in ventures.

“The venture capital game is to expect that out of 10 investments - three or four will be disasters - like FashionValet - three or four will just about cover cost, while two or three make spectacular returns,” he said on Facebook yesterday.

He was commenting on the backlash against FashionValet over an RM44 million loss in value that Khazanah Nasional and Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) suffered.

Khazanah and PNB invested in the clothing brand in March 2018, two months before Pakatan Harapan took power that year.

Where’s the evidence?

In his post, Pua did not discount the possibility of wrongdoing in FashionValet but remarked that critics have not furnished any evidence to back up such claims thus far.

The former Damansara MP warned that overt criticism will create a culture where decision-makers will not take risks.

“FashionValet was always going to be a high-risk investment. So was Grab, in its early days.

“When Khazanah didn’t invest in Grab in its early days, and Grab moved its HQ to Singapore due to the availability of funds there, we were critical that we missed the boat.

“So we can’t have it both ways. You can’t be pissed if we didn’t invest, and be pissed when we did,” Pua said.

FashionValet co-founders Vivy Yusof and her husband Fadzaruddin Shah Anuar took responsibility for the Khazanah and PNB losses after the matter came to light last week.

The company is under MACC investigation over the losses while Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has ordered Khazanah to conduct an internal probe.


***







Yii disagrees with Pua on FashionValet venture: 'Can't shoot blindly'


Published: Nov 5, 2024 9:00 PM


DAP Youth chief Dr Kelvin Yii today said he disagreed with party veteran Tony Pua’s views on FashionValet Sdn Bhd, adding there were red flags in the government’s investment in the company.

Responding to a Malaysiakini post on X, the Bandar Kuching MP said issues included FashionValet’s initial inflated value as well as lack of monitoring and accountability over the years.

“Cannot just give a huge sum of money and allow one to shoot blindly without accountability at the guise of ‘high-risk VC investment’,” Yii (above) said.

Yesterday, Pua said bad investments like FashionValet are part of known risks when it comes to making capital venture investments, as there will always be more failures than successes in such cases.

He was commenting on the backlash against FashionValet over a RM44 million loss that Khazanah Nasional and Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) suffered.

Former Damansara MP Tony Pua

The government-linked investment companies paid RM47 million for a minority stake in the local fashion firm in 2018 and sold off their shares to NXBT Partners Sdn Bhd for RM3.1 million in 2023.

However, Yii conceded that Pua made some good points.

He said emotions must be set aside when discussing this issue and that investigations must focus on accountability and governance aspects.

“(This) cannot be a witch hunt which may stifle future venture capital ecosystems,” he warned.

In a statement last Friday, FashionValet co-founders Vivy Yusof and her husband Fadzaruddin Shah Anuar said they would step down from the company.

The company is now being probed by the MACC while Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has ordered Khazanah to conduct an internal probe.

Meanwhile, Petaling Jaya MP Lee Chean Chung agreed with Yii, calling for Khazanah to clear the public’s doubts.

In a post on X, Lee said Khazanah must justify its reasons for investing in FashionValet and why the sovereign wealth fund did not back out earlier.

“If investing in a basket of high-risk tech companies (is) bound to have losers, then show us who are the winners?” he asked.

‘Improbably tight race’: Is the US election really so close, or are pollsters hedging their bets?

‘Improbably tight race’: Is the US election really so close, or are pollsters hedging their bets?



A voter drops off ballots at an official ballot drop box on the final day of early voting ahead of Election Day at City Hall on November 4, 2024 in San Francisco, California. — AFP pic

Tuesday, 05 Nov 2024 9:00 PM MYT


WASHINGTON, Nov 5 — The United States stands on edge as polls suggest one of the closest presidential races in history between former president Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Major polling outlets show the candidates virtually deadlocked.


In battleground states on election eve, polling aggregator FiveThirtyEight reported a 47.8 percent tie in Pennsylvania, near-identical numbers in Nevada, and mere one-point differences in Wisconsin, Michigan, and North Carolina.

But these razor-thin margins may not tell the whole story.


“I wonder, is it really this close?” asked W. Joseph Campbell, professor at American University in Washington.


His questions stems from pollsters’ troubled track record in recent elections and a potential overreaction to past failures.

The political establishment was blindsided in 2016 when Trump won despite trailing in polls, while Joe Biden’s 2020 victory margin proved much narrower than predicted.

In 2022, Republicans secured only a slim Congressional majority despite forecasts of a “red wave.”

“The 2020 presidential election was collectively the worst for pollsters in forty years and an embarrassment for many,” Campbell said.

Trump’s emergence on the political scene largely explains these polling mishaps. His supporters were consistently undercounted in 2016 and 2020, prompting polling companies to adjust their methodologies.

‘Traumatic for pollsters’

History offers an intriguing parallel: In 1980, polls showed incumbent Jimmy Carter neck-and-neck with Ronald Reagan. Reagan ultimately won by 10 points, benefiting from a late surge while Carter lost support to a third-party candidate.

“I’m not saying that’s going to be the model in 2024, but it is something to keep in mind,” Campbell added.

Leading polling analysts openly acknowledged these challenges.

“No, you can’t trust the polls... You can’t safely assume that the candidate leading in the polls is going to win,” wrote Nate Cohn, the New York Times chief political analyst and polling director.

Cohn explained that pollsters are working to correct systemic biases that emerged in the Trump era.

“It’s hard to overstate how traumatic the 2016 and 2020 elections were for many pollsters. For some, another underestimate of Trump could be a major threat to their business and their livelihood.”

However, he warned that while adjusting methods to better capture Trump voters, pollsters might now be underestimating Harris.

“On balance, these changes add up to a case for cautious optimism on better accuracy, but there are no guarantees,” Cohn concluded.

Some experts suspect pollsters may be falling victim to groupthink, or “herding”, adjusting results that deviate significantly from the consensus.

Professors Joshua Clinton and John Lapinski warned to NBC news: “State polls are showing not just an astonishingly tight race, but also an improbably tight race.”

They suggest that “a risk-averse pollster who gets a 5-point margin in a race they think is tied may choose to ‘adjust’ the results to something closer to what other polls are showing, lest their outlier poll adversely affects their reputation...”

They said this raised a crucial question: “Is 2024 going to be as close as 2020 because our politics are stable, or do the polls in 2024 only look like the results of 2020 because of the decisions that state pollsters are making?” — AFP

National Guard troops on standby in Washington state, Oregon and Nevada as a precaution for ‘potential’ election unrest

 

National Guard troops on standby in Washington state, Oregon and Nevada as a precaution for ‘potential’ election unrest

Ahead of potential civil unrest due to Tuesday’s presidential election, the National Guard is on standby as a precaution in several states, including Washington state and Oregon, where hundreds of ballots were damaged or destroyed after at least three ballot drop boxes were recently set on fire, officials say.

Almost all the ballots set ablaze on Monday were in a drop box in Vancouver, Washington, while most ballots in a drop box in Portland, Oregon, survived a fire set the same day, election officials said. The incidents are believed to be connected to a third fire on October 8, also in Vancouver. Portland police released a physical description of a suspect but said they’ve not identified him.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee addressed the ballot box fires in a news release Friday announcing the National Guard being placed on standby, saying, “The southwest region of Washington state has already experienced specific instances of election-related unrest.”

Inslee did not disclose how many troops would be activated on Tuesday, but said they will be available to support law enforcement from Monday to Thursday, according to the news release.

The US Department of Homeland Security has warned that threats to “election infrastructure” remain high, Inslee added.

“Based upon general and specific information and concerns regarding the potential for violence or other unlawful activity related to the 2024 general election, I want to ensure we are fully prepared to respond to any potential additional civil unrest,” Inslee said.

In Oregon, Gov. Tina Kotek said in a statement Friday the National Guard is standing ready as political leaders call for peaceful protests, according to CNN affiliate KTVZ.

“The governor’s office is closely monitoring and coordinating with local, state and federal agencies to ensure Oregon voters can safely cast their ballot,” the statement said. — CNN

Our Take: We made it, friends. D-Day 2024.

On a recent episode of Liberty Den, I told the story of a dinner I had back in 2015 with my grandparents at their retirement home and an original member of Dog Company, Second Ranger Battalion—the group tasked with ascending the 100+ foot cliffs of Pointe Du Hoc at Normandy on D-Day. The assignment was deemed a "suicide mission" by every military intelligence analyst who reviewed it; yet, they did it anyway.

Today, we climb the cliffs. When we reach the top, we don't know what to expect. We may meet no resistance, and can immediately begin making our way across the French countryside—where we will certainly meet the enemy; or, we may find ourselves overwhelmed with wave after wave of enemy contact, and forced to dig in and fight for every inch as we push inland.

Whatever happens next, there is no reason to be afraid. Anxious? Nervous? Sure. We have waited for this day for many years, counting every minute in grueling anticipation. As General Kwast wisely told me before our interview together: “your nerves indicate that you care, and are deeply invested in the outcome. It's good to be nervous."

We have been given the tools to win this fight by experienced psychological warfare operators—General Michael Flynn and Sergeant Boone Cutler. We have spent years honing our skills, sharpening our senses in sparring (debates) with one another. We have the numbers and the will to win. And most important, we have the truth on our side.

We can do this, regardless of whether any cavalry is coming over the ridge. Perhaps that formless horde that has been amassing on the ridgeline all this time was us all along. Perhaps we (the "future" we—the truth movement) were the White Hats all along, and the delay in all of this has simply been the time it has taken for us to realize that. Perhaps the group of patriots that many have come to believe are coming to save us was really just our own reflection looking back at us.

However...

Maybe the ships will pull into the harbor, and the Ghost Army will come pouring out, and devour our enemy whole.

Maybe...

[from ZeroHedge]

In 2020, Oregon deployed the National Guard and a unified command for election security, and recently, states have increasingly activated the Guard for cybersecurity during elections, the report concluded.

What I humbly suggest is that we proceed as if we are on our own—we have each other, and that is more than enough to accomplish the task at hand. We can do this.

And if the Ghost Army does show up, then our victory will be that much more substantial. Until then, we climb, then we dig in and wait for the counterattack— which is surely coming. — GhostofBasedPatrickHenry