On Wednesday, April 13, a Congress worker named Dilbagh Singh, a resident of village Thathiyan Mahanta in the Vidhansabha Palka Patti in Tarn Taran, Punjab, was brutally assaulted by at least six Aam Aadmi Party workers. According to reports, the incident happened at around 11.15 am.
The assaulters inflicted around 30 deep wounds on the Congress workers’ arms, legs and head before fleeing. Singh was rushed to Amandeep Hospital in Amritsar in critical condition. The police have not yet registered a case against anyone in this case.
Congress worker Dilbag Singh (30) brutally attacked with sharp weapons by AAP workers in Tarn Taran Sahib, Punjab. pic.twitter.com/gOkISxq3Db
Speaking about the case, SI Charan Singh said that the doctors have declared the Congress worker unfit to give any statement, without which no action can be taken in the case.
The injured Congress worker’s father Pragat Singh said that his son had a disagreement with Aam Aadmi Party supporters during the assembly elections. The matter was later dropped. On Wednesday, at around 11 am, Dilbagh Singh had gone to enrol his three-year-old daughter Jaskirat Kaur in a private school in Nowshahra Pannuan town. He went to the bus stand to get some documents photocopied when around six AAP workers surrounded him and assaulted him. They fled the spot leaving Dilbagh Singh brutally injured.
The kins of the Congress worker claimed that the attack on him was driven by political rivalry. The accused had threatened to kill Dilbagh Singh earlier also. While the relatives of Dilbagh Singh have demanded a fair and speedy probe in the case, SSP Ranjit Singh Dhillon said that a case would be registered only after recording the statement of Dilbagh Singh.
Israel has successfully tested its new laser missile-defence system ‘Iron Beam’, the world’s first energy-based weapons system that can intercept an unlimited number of mortars, rockets and anti-tank missiles.
According to the reports, Iron Beam, developed by Israeli defence contractor Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, is a directed-energy weapon air defence system designed to complement a series of aerial defence systems.
On Twitter, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett took to Twitter to announce the successful trials of Iron Beam. He tweeted, “Israel has successfully tested the new “Iron Beam” laser interception system. This is the world’s first energy-based weapons system that uses a laser to shoot down incoming UAVs, rockets & mortars at the cost of $3.50 per shot.”
Israel has successfully tested the new “Iron Beam” laser interception system.
This is the world’s first energy-based weapons system that uses a laser to shoot down incoming UAVs, rockets & mortars at a cost of $3.50 per shot.
“This may sound like science-fiction, but it’s real,” said Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
How does Iron Beam work?
The Iron Beam system, which uses a fibre laser to destroy an airborne target, is designed to destroy short-range rockets, artillery, and mortar bombs. It ranges up to 7 km, which is often considered too close for the Iron Dome system to intercept projectiles effectively. The latest system could also intercept unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
The latest laser system’s effectiveness can be deployed on land, air, and sea. The Israel Defence Forces intend to deploy the laser systems around Israel’s borders over the next decade to protect the country against attacks.
The significant advantages of using a directed energy weapon over conventional missile interceptors are that it is cost-effective and can be used without any limit. There is also no interceptor debris to fall on the area protected. According to Israeli defence, the Iron Beam’s interceptions are silent and invisible, which will only cost around $3.50 or around Rs.250 to intercept a flying object.
The recent successful tests will alter the security and strategic dynamics in the region, pushing Israel’s defence capabilities against Hamas and Iran. Reportedly, the trials took place last month in the Negev Desert.
Israel has already developed or deployed a series of air defence systems to intercept flying objects, from long-range missiles to rockets. The Iron Beam is Israel’s fifth element of the integrated air defence system, consisting of Arrow 2, Arrow 3, David’s Sling, and Iron Dome.
So far, Israel has used its Iron Dome defence system to intercept rockets, missiles shot from hostile neighbouring areas. It has been a great success for the IDF, with a 90 per cent interception rate against incoming rocket fire. However, the IDF officials say the system is expensive to deploy. Here is a detailed explainer of the working of the Iron Dome air defence system.
South Africa-born billionaire Elon Musk became the largest shareholder in the micro-blogging platform Twitter Inc. last month after purchasing 9.2 percent stock of the company. However, his stint as Twitter’s largest shareholder was a short one, as Vanguard funds, an American investment advisor registered in Malvern, Pennsylvania has replaced him yesterday. Vanguard funds has increased its holding in Twitter to 10.3% of the social media giant’s stock, making it the largest shareholder of the company.
According to the most recent publicly available filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (US SEC), Vanguard now owns 82.4 million shares of Twitter or 10.3 percent of the company.
According to the Wall Street Journal, based on Twitter’s closing price on Wednesday, Vanguard’s holdings are now worth $3.78 billion.
The Journal said, “Vanguard isn’t making a directional bet on Twitter. Instead, most of its assets are in indexes and other so-called passive funds. The firm often sides with management on voting issues and doesn’t advocate for changes like a hedge fund or activist investor might.”
As of last December, the Vanguard Group, the second-largest investment firm in the world, after BlackRock, owned around 70.4 million Twitter shares, accounting for 8.8 percent of all outstanding shares.
Elon Musk, on the other hand, is the largest individual shareholder in Twitter, with company co-founder Jack Dorsey the second largest individual shareholder.
Elon Musk makes a hostile takeover bid for 100% shares of Twitter
Elon Musk made an offer to buy 100% shares of Twitter Inc, the company that runs the microblogging social media platform Twitter. Musk, who created a stir when he announced he has bought 9.2% of the company, claims he will ‘unlock its extraordinary potential’ after taking the company private.
Musk refused the offer to join the company’s board of directors, which he had initially accepted after a condition was put before him that he would not be able to raise his stake beyond 15%. As an independent investor, Musk can now increase his holdings in Twitter beyond the stipulated 15%.
The Twitter board, however, on Thursday, appeared to be opposed to a purchase. The board of directors was debating whether to use a “poison pill,” a defensive corporate strategy that raises the price of the target’s stock to deter an unfavorable takeover offer.
The Tesla and SpaceX chief, in turn, had hinted at the possibility of a hostile takeover bid in which he would bypass Twitter’s board and put the offer directly to its shareholders. He Tweeted, “It would be utterly indefensible not to put this offer to a shareholder vote. They own the company, not the board of directors.”
According to reports, the Tesla and SpaceX chief has offered to pay $54.20 per share in cash for 100% shares of the company, valuing the offer at about $43 billion.
Absolutely. It would be utterly indefensible not to put this offer to a shareholder vote. They own the company, not the board of directors.
Saudi prince refuses to sell his shares after Elon Musk proposes to buy out the microblogging site
Meanwhile, hours after Tesla CEO Elon Musk offered to buy 100% shares of Twitter, Saudi Arabian billionaire businessman Al-Waleed bin Talal refused to sell his stake in the micro-blogging platform.
While reacting to the development, Elon Musk had inquired, “How much of Twitter does the Kingdom own, directly & indirectly? What are the Kingdom’s views on journalistic freedom of speech?”
Sikhs For Justice, a banned Khalistani organisation, has asked for Khalistan flags to be hoisted at DC offices from Gurgaon to Ambala in Haryana on April 29th to mark the 36th anniversary of the Khalistan Declaration Day.
The head of Sikhs For Justice, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, claimed in a letter dated April 15, “SFJ will launch ‘Haryana BanayGa Khalistan’ campaign on 29th April to recruit volunteers who will advocate for liberation of Haryana from Indian occupation through Khalistan Referendum.”
The letter further reads, “SFJ has also released a map of the areas earmarked for secession from India through Khalistan Referendum which includes the state of Haryana.
The letter.
A video was also shared on a YouTube channel named “HaryanaBanayGaKhalistan.” Pannun can be seen in the video stating the same points which were mentioned in the letter.
Sikhs for justice is an organization that is banned in India. However, there have been multiple instances where its links with people and groups in India have been unearthed. Recently, Pannun stated in a previous video that now that the Aam Aadmi Party is in power and the people of Punjab have effectively expelled anti-Khalistan politicians, Badal and Captain Amarinder, Khalistan referendum voting should be very easy in Punjab.
The pro-Khalistan secessionist group “Sikhs For Justice” (SFJ) sent a letter to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann a day after Aam Aadmi Party’s massive victory in Punjab assembly elections, claiming that AAP clearly won the elections by deceptively bagging the votes of pro-Khalistan Sikhs in Punjab who support SFJ’s secessionist referendum for Punjab’s independence from India.
The leader of the anti-India organisation, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, made a stunning accusation in the letter that the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP exploited Khalistan votes and finances to win Punjab.
Pannun also threatened numerous Supreme Court lawyers and judges in January to withdraw from the case of the Prime Minister’s security breach, claiming that the Supreme Court had failed to prosecute the perpetrators of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
On the 14th of April, a letter by terror organisation Lashkar-e-Islam surfaced, where Islamists issued threats to the Kashmiri Hindu community. The letter of threat named ‘Letter to kafirs’ said, “Leave the valley or face dire consequences”, threatens the letter giving a final warning to Kashmiri Pandits, migrants and ‘RSS agents’”. The letter further stated that Kashmiri Hindus would be killed and sent to hell for disobeying their diktat and nobody including PM Modi or Amit Shah will be able to save them.
The warning letter to all the ‘non-Muslims’ also noted that they are being watched by ‘followers of Allah’ and that they will have to convert if they want to stay in Kashmir. “You are being watched by followers of Allah. One by one, all of you will be killed and sent to hell. Every Kashmiri Pandit will die. Kashmir is only for those who accept & follow Allah”, it reads.
Given that Hindus in Kashmir have been the target of Islamists since the 1990s and that they continue to be killed, the letter came as yet another reminder of how fragile peace was in Kashmir and how non-Muslims still live under the shadow of the infamous slogan “Raliv, Galiv, Chaliv”.
While the chilling letter made news along with the shooting of Hindus like Satish Kumar Singh, the usual suspects proceeded to indulge in staggering mental gymnastics to whitewash the threat made by Islamists to the “Kafirs” of Kashmir.
AltNews, which regularly spreads fake news in the garb of “fact-checking” and shields Islamists professionally, published a “fact-check” claiming that the threat letter was a fake one. In doing so, AltNews relied on ad hominem, dismissing the version from the ground and rhetorics that were in no way sufficient to claim that the threat letter was fake.
What AltNews argued, to claim that the threat letter to Kashmiri Hindus was fake
AltNews began its “fact-check” by starting with Vivek Agnihotri’s tweet about the letter. With Kashmir Files in the focus, a movie that details the atrocities suffered by Hindus of the valley, AltNews probably thought that discrediting Agnihotri upfront would also serve a larger purpose. They then go on to detail other media outlets that they may not particularly agree with to subtly make the point about “right-wing” publications sharing the news of the threat letter.
They then trace back the origin of the letter to the Sarpanch of Kulgam.
At this point, AltNews admits that the Sarpanch of Kulgam said that the threat letter was received by post by Kashmiri Hindus.
It writes:
“This is the earliest tweet carrying the letter that Alt News could find. We spoke with Vijay Raina, who is a sarpanch of Kulgam. “I am in touch with Kashmiri Pandit settlements living in Kashmir under PM package jobs. I received the letter from a resident of Veervan colony in Baramulla district,” he said, adding that as per his knowledge, the letter was delivered by a postman”.
At this point, AltNews gets confirmation from the Sarpanch himself that the threat letter was delivered by post to the Hindus of Kashmir living in the Veervan colony of Baramullah.
At this time, for any reliable news outlet, the news report would have concluded. There is a copy of the letter and a conformation by the village head that the letter was indeed received by the Hindus by post.
However, that was not the answer AltNews was looking for.
After quoting the Sarpanch, AltNews proceeds to indulge in mental gymnastics to prove that Islamists had not threatened “Kafirs” evenjhough Hindus were being killed in the valley as they wrote the article.
AltNews relied on 5 points to make their case, proving that the letter was fake.
The letter was unsigned
Lashkar-e-Islam is misspelt
The logo on the top left corner of the letter is of Jamaat-e-Dawa Pakistan
A letter with identical letterhead was circulating in 2016
The letter has factual inaccuracies
How AltNews “fact-check”, done to whitewash Islamists does not make sense
First and foremost, it is important to understand that AltNews started its “fact-check” by citing a confirmation by the Sarpanch. If there was no agenda behind the fact-check and the intention was to do a genuine inquiry, the news report would have ended as soon as the Sarpanch confirmed the existence of the letter.
After mentioning the confirmation by the Sarpanch, AltNews went on to cite 5 reasons why they thought the letter was fake. The first of the lot was that the letter was unsigned. They said that the letter might be fake because the name of the “commander” of Lashkar-e-Islam was not there. Perhaps AltNews believes that Islamist, terror outfits function like corporates, much like AltNews, but the reality is far from it. Just because they did not follow the etiquettes of formal letter writing, does not mean the letter is fake, given that it has been issued by illiterate terrorists.
The second reason cited by AltNews is that the name of Lashkar-e-Islam is misspelt. AltNews claims that it is “unthinkable” that the terror outfit would misspell their own name. Firstly, terror outfits usually write their name in Urdu, a fact that AltNews itself testifies to in one of the later points where they detail an old, similar letter. Secondly, they base this on the fact that the Pakistan government website uses “e” instead of “a”. So Pakistan writes “Lashkar” instead of “Lashker”. And since the vowel is different in the letter, the letter must be fake.
They go on to point out that the logo of Laskhar-e-Islam is different, while the logo on the letter is that of Jamaat-ud-Dawa, the Pakistani terror outfit. Given that all of these Kashmiri terror outfits are indeed funded by Pakistan, one should not really be surprised that one could see the imprint of Hafeez Saeed’s party in the threat letter, however, for AltNews, it became an excuse to claim that the letter was fake.
AltNews then goes on to claim that a letter with the same letterhead was circulating in 2016. Now here is where the mental gymnastics gets entertaining. They claim that in the 2016 letter, an Islamic verse was incomplete in the letter, and therefore, the current letter on the same letterhead must be fake. Essentially, they say that it is impossible that terrorists would write an incomplete Islamic slogan and therefore, not only was the 2016 letter fake but the current one is fake too (since it appears on the same letterhead). The argument is so ridiculous that one does not even need to counter it, however, one can be thankful that in the process of whitewashing terrorists, AltNews did end up admitting that Islamic terrorists would certainly know Islamic slogans and verses, thereby negating the age-old liberal trope of terrorists not being true Muslims.
Last but not the least, AltNews “fact-checks” the contents of the letter, saying that it had factual inaccuracies. One would be inclined to believe that perhaps AltNews was upset that terror outfits are not hiring them for fact-checking their content and this could be seen as a round-about job application. Nevertheless, Altnews claims that since the terror outfit was “factually incorrect”, the letter must be fake.
AltNews quotes this part of the letter to make its point.
Part of the letter cited by AltNews
AltNews says that both Nischal and Bindroo were killed recently, and Lashkar-e-Islami had not taken responsibility for it. In this para, AltNews thinks that they are taking responsibility for the killings and therefore, the letter must be fake.
From the language of the letter, it is evident that they might not be taking responsibility for the killings but merely talking about killing Kafirs as taking care of “unfinished business” from the 1990s. In fact, when Islamists and terrorists say “we”, they generally refer to the Ummah, which is the universal Muslim brotherhood, not their specific terror outfits. Here, the terror outfit is probably talking about Islamists taking collective revenge from “Kafirs” of Kashmir and not specifically about their own terror outfit.
For AltNews, however, these innocuous details become their excuse to whitewash a dangerous threat letter against Hindus of the valley.
AltNews has mostly been seen as an Islamist propaganda website that often whitewashes the crimes of violent mobs and shields perpetrators who belong to the Muslim community. The running theory was that just as all ‘liberals’, AltNews too harbours a deep-seated hatred for Hindus and considers Islamists as an ally in their crusade against the ‘Kaffirs’. It was often assumed that their hate for Prime Minister Narendra Modi too stems from their hatred for Hindus. However, with the India-China standoff and AltNews’ reportage of it, it is becoming exceedingly clear that their hate for PM Modi and Hindus and gone a step ahead and transformed into unbridled hate for India itself.
On Thursday, the health department of Rajasthan rushed into action after 7 children in the Phulabai Kheda village in the Sirohi area died due to a ‘mysterious disease’. As per reports, the children failed to get proper treatment at the Sirohi hospital and died due to some unknown virus. The state health department has sent medical teams from Jodhpur and Jaipur to track the actual reason for the death.
Rajasthan Health Minister Parsadi Lal Meena on April 15 said that he had spoken to the collector and that survey of the village is being done. “The situation is now under control. Teams from Jaipur and Jodhpur have also reached there”, he added.
I have spoken to Collector. 7 children have died (in Sirohi dist). These deaths have occurred due to a viral. A survey of the village has been done. The situation is now under control. Teams from Jaipur and Jodhpur have also reached there: Rajasthan Health Min Parsadi Lal Meena pic.twitter.com/AXbbumKNdK
According to the reports, the 7 children who died in the last 6 days complained of fits, vomiting, fever, and stiffness. The doctors could not diagnose the disease, resulting in the death of children. The sarpanch of the Sirohi village has confirmed 7 deaths while according to the district administration 5 children have died due to an unidentified disease.
The medical teams sent to the village believe that the children might have died due to viral encephalitis. However, the actual cause is yet to be confirmed. The medical teams and the doctors are conducting surveys in Sirohi and nearby villages to know if more children are suffering from similar symptoms. The deceased children belonging to the 10-15 age category failed to get proper treatment and died from April 9 to April 13.
As per a report in Navbharat Times, a family where two children died of the mysterious illness has stated that the children had consumed a cheap packaged iced drink sold as ‘Pepsi’ by local vendors.
The first case identified was that of a 5-year-old boy who complained of convulsions. He had a slight fever and was immediately taken to the hospital on April 9, where he succumbed later. Later, 2 children died on April 10 and four died between April 11 to April 13.
The Chief Medical Health Officer of Sirohi, Dr Rajesh Kumar confirmed to TOI that the doctors have collected samples of the children from the same house where the children had died and the samples have been sent to SMS Medical College in Jaipur and SN Medical College in Jodhpur for examination.
At present, while the survey by the medical teams is underway in Sirohi and areas around, the district administration and the health department have deployed a paediatrician in the area of 4 km to immediately treat the children if found with similar symptoms.
On Thursday, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced financial assistance to the people who lost their homes in the Khargone riots. He said that the stone pelters and the rioters will be greeted with bulldozers and will have to pay the price for damaging the properties in the state.
“The state government will rebuild the burnt properties and will help the victims financially. But I will not spare the rioters. The cost of reconstruction of the burnt homes will be recovered from them. They will be greeted with bulldozers, not flowers”, he affirmed while addressing the crowd on the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti.
आप सारे त्यौहार धूमधाम उत्साह के साथ भाईचारे के साथ मनाया हनुमान जयंती, गुड फ्राइडे, ईद सभी प्रेम के साथ मनाएं।
— Shivraj Singh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) April 14, 2022
Chouhan further added that the state government had recovered 21 thousand acres of land from the mafias and assured that the recovered land will be used for the welfare of poor people. “Bulldozers are being rolled in Madhya Pradesh. 21 thousand acres of land recovered from the goons and mafias will be distributed among the poor people”, he stated on April 14.
— Shivraj Singh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) April 14, 2022
Meanwhile the Chief Minister also slammed Congress’s Digvijay Singh for spreading lies by posting fake photograph on social media and allegedly instigating the crowd in Khargone. “People like Digvijay Singh are behind incidents like Khargone, which is why he is spreading such lies. Singh has been part of this conspiracy to begin with. Congress’s idea is to defame the current government”, he said reiterating that Singh deliberately had tweeted fake image to create religious trouble in Khargone.
#Khargone में अनुसूचित जाति के लोगों के घर जला दिए गए। ऐसे लोगों के खिलाफ कार्यवाही क्यों नहीं होनी चाहिए?
दिग्विजय सिंह को उसमें भी दर्द होता है वह झूठे पोस्ट कर रहे हैं। वह प्रदेश में आग लगाना चाहते हैं।
— Shivraj Singh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) April 14, 2022
Chouhan was referring to a photograph of a man putting a saffron flag on the mosque, which Singh had posted on Twitter, saying that it was from Khargone. Chouhan refuted the claims made by Singh and said that the photograph shared by him was not from Madhya Pradesh. “Singh conspired to create religious unrest in the state. He attempted to push the state into communal riots. I will not forgive anyone who tried to cause communal riots in my state”, Chouhan had said. Singh later deleted the tweet as the state police registered multiple FIRs against him for posting the fake picture.
Misleading tweet by former MP CM Digvijay Singh, later deleted
The Chief Minister further assured the citizens that the BJP-led state government was for everyone and that it was important to maintain harmony among people of various religions. “The government is with everyone. We’ll together celebrate all the upcoming festivals with fervour and great enthusiasm, be Hanuman Jayanti, Good Friday or Eid”, he stated in Bhopal.
Khargone riots
On April 10, a Ram Navami procession that began in the Talab Chowk area of Khargone had to be abandoned midway after it came under a volley of stones. Riots escalated as several vehicles were set on fire. The cops resorted to firing tear gas shells to bring the situation under control. During the orgy of violence, a total of 24 people were injured, including six police personnel.
The day after the riots, the Khargone administration took strict action against the miscreants who had pelted stones at the Ram Navami procession. The illegally constructed buildings were bulldozed by the administration. Five JCB machines were deployed for the task. According to the reports, 77 people have been arrested and the city of Khargone continues to be under curfew.
Inventor-Investor Elon Musk has surprised the world by offering to buy micro-blogging site Twitter for $43 billion. Elon Musk, the richest man globally, announced the offer in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday.
In his disclosure, Elon Musk has said he would ‘unlock the extraordinary potential of Twitter’ after making the company his private ownership. Now, as an independent investor, Musk is keen on buying the whole of Twitter itself to make the company private and open for all.
Elon Musk, a free speech absolutist, had said that he did not have confidence in the Twitter management and would reconsider his share in the company if his offer was not accepted.
“If the deal doesn’t work, given that I don’t have confidence in management nor do I believe I can drive the necessary change in the public market. I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder,” the Tesla CEO said categorically.
Why is Musk displeased with how Twitter is run
The SEC disclosure hinted that Elon Musk was not happy with the way Twitter functioned as a public platform. Elon Musk has been critical of Twitter for many months now over its content moderation and gate-keeper role. As stated by Musk, one of the significant reasons to make a hostile takeover of the platform was to make the company public and open-source the algorithm that moderates content arbitrarily.
A day after making an offer that the Twitter board cannot refuse, Elon Musk spoke to TED Talks, where he reiterated that it is very important to make Twitter an inclusive arena of free speech. He referred to the micro-blogging site as a ‘de facto public town square’.
“It is important that people have both the reality and perception that they are able to speak freely in the bounds of the law, and one of the important things I believe Twitter should do is to open source their algorithm and make any changes to their tweets… so that there is no behind the action scenes or manipulation either algorithmically or manually,” said Elon Musk.
Well, Elon Musk’s attempt to take over Twitter did not begin recently. The multi-billionaire has been critical of Twitter’s operation and was very vocal about the manipulation it does, especially its targeting a section of users. In late March this year, Musk had tweeted, “Given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy. What should be done?”
He had asked whether there was a need for a new platform.
A day before that, Musk reiterated his demand for Twitter to open source its algorithms.
In reaction, former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey had responded by saying, “The choice of which algorithm to use (or not) should be open to everyone.”
Musk strongly believes in the idea that Twitter is a de facto public square that infringes on the perceived right of individuals to tweet.
Again on Wednesday, a day after Musk had revealed he had quietly become Twitter’s largest shareholder, he wrote that his actions are to help Twitter realise its “potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe.”
Despite Elon Musk categorically suggesting that he wants to open up one of the most influential social media platforms to the public and adhere to the principles of free speech, the left liberals and journalists, who claim to speak truth to power and defenders of free speech are not happy with Musk.
For them, Twitter should not be a private company but a tightly regulated entity managed by its left-leaning wokes, who often act as gatekeepers of the platform getting to decide who tweets what on the platform.
The Left is unhappy
While most of the users celebrated the fact that Twitter could finally be free from its ideological bias and arbitrary decision-making protocols, the left is whining about losing an influential platform that worked as a propaganda tool to push their carefully crafted narratives.
As Twitter is all set to be free and transparent, the left-liberals and the free speech warriors across the world have launched an attack on Elon Musk and have also threatened to quit Twitter. Interestingly, it is the journalists and intellectuals who are averse to the idea of Twitter being an open platform.
The western press has vehemently opposed the idea of Elon Musk owning Twitter and is coming up with new conspiracy theories to suggest that Musk will only hamper the idea of free speech by centralising Twitter’s content moderation. The New York Times, Washington Post, and the Atlantic have published a series of editorials in the past two days to indulge in fear-mongering on how Musk’s hostile takeover could be the end of free speech in the world.
Washington Post is owned by Amazon boss Jeff Bezos.
The Washington Post thinks Elon Musk taking a stake in Twitter to fight for Free Speech will be bad because he’s the richest man in the world and we need to “prevent rich people from controlling our channels of communication”.
In India, the pattern is the same. The so-called journalists and intellectuals are not so happy that a successful innovator like Elon Musk will own a big-tech platform like Twitter. How can an engineer own a platform that works on the ideals of social sciences is their argument.
The Print columnist says Musk should ‘stick to cars and rockets’
Shivam Vij, a self-proclaimed journalist, took to Twitter to advise Elon Musk on what he should do to protect free speech. According to Shivam Vij, free speech absolutists like Musk are the biggest enablers and friends of hate speech. He wished that Musk never get to buy Twitter.
Shivam Vij asked Elon Musk to ‘stick to cars and rockets’.
Well, Shivam Vij is not the only person who advised Elon Musk. Nitin Pai, another accomplished person in the field of “social sciences”, also jumped on Twitter to pontificate on Musk’s choices and decisions. Pai, an intellectual himself, wrote a Twitter thread to explain why it was not written for Elon Musk to open up Twitter and adhere to free speech norms.
According to Pai, Musk is wrong. “The problem with Twitter is not its free speech policies. Rather that it is not doing enough to elevate the level of public discourse commensurate with its scale and power,” Pai claimed in his series of tweets.
Musk is wrong. The problem with twitter is not its free speech policies. Rather that it is not doing enough to elevate the level of public discourse commensurate with its scale & power.
The meltdown is not limited to the press and media alone. The left-liberals in the US have almost lost it ever since Elon Musk announced that he is considering buying in its entirety.
One Pam Keith, Esq, asked Elon Musk to “F*ck off” and accused him of being a racist.
The new form of protest that the Left is employing in the west is to threaten Musk of quitting the platform if he ever bought it. Many social media users from the Left have now shared that they would leave Twitter for good if Elon Musk would get hold of the micro-blogging site.
It is intriguing to know why the left does not Twitter to be an open platform. It seems like the left-liberals, who pontificate about free speech and expression, fear that Twitter, in its new avatar, would open up opportunities for everyone to express their ideas, which is contrary to what is happening in reality. The left-liberals, ironically, have become gate-keepers of speech, who get to decide on who deserves to speak and who gets silenced.
Elon, seriously.
It's a consensus in social sciences that free speech can't be limitless. You should keep investing your time in things you actually know how it works, like the engineering fields that u are great on it. Leave social matters to people that study it.
They consider free speech as a one-way street, where it is easier for them to handle the content and set narratives. However, with the possibility of Elon Musk buying and opening up Twitter for everyone, their hold on the platform will be lost. Hence, they have now picked up the bogey of hate speech and limits to freedom of speech to lecture on the perils that arise from Twitter being bought by billionaires like Elon Musk.
According to reports, clashes erupted early Friday between Israeli police and Palestinians inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem. Israeli forces reportedly fired tear gas and stun grenades at people gathered within the premises.
As per footage shared on social media platforms by Palestinians, Israeli police stormed the mosque as attendees gathered for early morning prayers. Several people were reportedly hurt in the ongoing strike on Friday.
It can be also seen in the video that the crowd inside the premises is pelting stones at the forces who have entered the Mosque. There are no further details available about the incident and the reason behind the strike by Israeli forces.
Notably, the news of strikes and the intensification of violence comes during Ramzan, the Muslim holy month, and just before Passover, the Jewish festival. Last year, Israeli security forces raided the Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramzan which resulted in further escalating tensions and led to an 11-day Israeli action in Gaza in retaliation to Hamas rockets fired at Israel.
In anticipation of terrorist strikes, Israel’s Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett, recently instructed the country’s security services to remain on high alert until Ramadan’s end. Following a shootout in Jenin, West Bank, in which three suspected terrorists were killed, this decision was taken. The three terrorists were killed by Israeli Defense Forces on the night of April 3 near Jenin, a West Bank city.
Days following the alert, Israeli Prime Minister Bennett stated that security forces had lately thwarted more than 15 terrorist assaults in the Jewish state.
While speaking to Palestinians in the West Bank, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz cautioned, “We are in a difficult period of terror attacks against Israeli citizens, a situation that we cannot accept. We are considering the measures we can take in honour of Ramzan in order to allow you to celebrate the holiday in the best way possible, while we at the same time maintain security.”
Terrorist strikes in Beersheba, Hadera, and Bnei Brak in recent weeks killed more than 11 people, making this Israel’s bloodiest spate of such incidents in many years. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the Beersheba and Hadera strikes. Night riots in Jerusalem have been reported since Ramadan, with scores injured and jailed following conflicts between Palestinians and Israeli police forces.
Hours after Tesla CEO Elon Musk offered to buy 100% shares of Twitter for a whopping $43 billion, Saudi Arabian billionaire businessman al-Waleed bin Talal refused to sell his stake of 5.2% in the micro-blogging platform.
In a tweet on Thursday (April 14), Talal cited the future growth prospects of Twitter and low share value for turning down the offer of Elon Musk. He said, “I don’t believe that the proposed offer by Elon Musk ($54.20) comes close to the intrinsic value of Twitter given its growth prospects.”
“Being one of the largest & long-term shareholders of Twitter, Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) & I reject this offer,” the Saudi businessman and member of the Royal family emphasised.
I don’t believe that the proposed offer by @elonmusk ($54.20) comes close to the intrinsic value of @Twitter given its growth prospects.
Al-Waleed bin Talal had shared another tweet from October 2015, wherein he had announced his acquisition of a 5.2% stake in Twitter and extending the market cap of the company by over 3.5 billion riyals through the Kingdom Holding Company.
While reacting to the development, Elon Musk had inquired, “How much of Twitter does the Kingdom own, directly & indirectly? What are the Kingdom’s views on journalistic freedom of speech?”
Interesting. Just two questions, if I may.
How much of Twitter does the Kingdom own, directly & indirectly?
What are the Kingdom’s views on journalistic freedom of speech?
In November 2019, two former Twitter employees were charged for spying at the behest of the Saudi Arabian Kingdom.
The employees, identified as Ali Alzabarah and Ahmad Abouammo, reportedly used their access to the internal systems of Twitter to spy on dissidents of the Saudi regime and American citizens. They were accused of acting as foreign agents within the territory of the United States.
Elon Musk vows to unlock the potential of Twitter by buying out the company
Amidst all the speculations, Elon Musk made an offer to buy 100% shares of Twitter Inc. Musk, who is in the news after owning the largest share of 9.2% stake in the company, claimed he would ‘unlock its extraordinary potential’ after turning the company into his private ownership.
Musk junked down the offer for joining the board of directors of the company, which he had initially accepted after a condition was put before him that we would not be able to raise his stake beyond 15%. Now as an independent investor, Musk is keen on buying the whole of Twitter itself and making the company private.
Making an offer to buy Twitter.Inc in cash, he added, “I am offering to buy 100% of Twitter for USD 54.20 per share in case, a 54% premium over the day I began investing in Twitter and a 38% premium over the day before my investment was publicly announced.”
Will endeavor to keep as many shareholders in privatized Twitter as allowed by law
He had posted the link to the SEC filing regarding the offer, which included his communications to the company. He was seen texting the Twitter board chairman saying the company should go private by this coming weekend.
Elon Musk said that he’s done playing it ‘back-and-forth’ and was moving straight to buy Twitter, a plan he always had at the back of his mind. He said that he lacked confidence in the Twitter management, and would reconsider his share in the company if his offer was not accepted.
“If the deal doesn’t work, given that I don’t have confidence in management nor do I believe I can drive the necessary change in the public market. I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder,” the Tesla CEO said categorically.
