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Brazilian judge orders complete ban of Elon Musk’s X

Published

1 month ago

5 minute read

From LifeSiteNews

By Stephen Kokx

Notorious left-wing Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes has instructed the government to block access to X. Elon Musk condemned the ruling for ‘crushing the people’s right to free speech.’

BRASILIA, BRAZIL – OCTOBER 30: President of Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE) Alexandre De Moraes talks during a press conference on October 30, 2022 in Brasilia, Brazil. Brazilians vote for president again after neither Lula or Bolsonaro reached enough support to win in the first round. (Photo by Arthur Menescal/Getty Images 2022)

Notorious left-wing Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes is continuing his autocratic ways. 

In a 51-page decision handed down late Friday evening, de Moraes instructed the country’s National Telecommunications Agency to block access to social media website X within 24 hours.  

X had already announced on August 17 that it was shutting down its offices in the country to protect staffers from de Moraes’s wrath. At the same time, the company said that Brazilians could still download the app.   

In his ruling, de Moraes demanded that Apple and Google remove X from their app stores within five days. He also imposed a daily fine of up to approximately $8,800 on persons and companies that attempt to use it via a VPN address. 

The dictatorial decision comes amid a months-long legal dispute between de Moraes and X, which has refused to comply with what the company has deemed “illegal orders to censor his political opponents.”  

Socialist Brazilian president Lula da Silva said in a radio interview Friday, “Just because the guy [Musk] has a lot of money, doesn’t mean they can disrespect you. … Who does he think he is?” 

De Moraes took office as president of Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court (TSE) in March 2022 when he began to exert pressure on social media accounts supportive of conservative incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro in the lead-up to the presidential election. 

Investigative journalist and author Michael Shellenberger, who broke the story about de Moraes’s apparent election interference, said his censorship efforts are “an attack on the democratic process” and “if there ever is electoral fraud in Brazil, nobody will be allowed to talk about it, if de Moraes gets his way.”  

Shellenberger commented on the ban on X Saturday morning.  

The spat between Musk and de Moraes began in April, when Musk announced that he tried to force the platform to censor accounts via a court order. Musk defiantly said that he would not give in to the demands and called for the impeachment of the high-ranking judge, referring to him as “Brazil’s Darth Vader.” The feud has also resulted in the freezing of financial accounts of Musk’s internet provider Starlink in Brazil.

During a U.S. congressional hearing held in May, Shellenberger and Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski testified about the numerous anti-free speech policies that have been enacted in Brazil under Lula and de Moraes, whom one witness described as the “de facto dictator” of the country. 

De Moraes’s disturbing decision comes as Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov was indicted in France on seemingly questionable charges that many have argued are entirely politically driven. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has remained largely undisturbed by lawsuits from Western governments.  

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“It’s Canada’s Time to Shine” – CNRL’s $6.5 Billion Chevron Deal Extends Oil Sands Buying Spree

Published on October 8, 2024

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From Energy Now

Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.’s $6.5 billion acquisition from Chevron Corp. marks the latest in a string of deals that has helped make it the country’s largest oil producer and brought Alberta’s massive oil sands deposits almost entirely under local control.

CNRL has feasted on the oil sands assets of foreign energy producers over the past decade, snapping up stakes and operations from Devon Energy Corp. and Shell Plc as they shifted away from the higher-cost, higher-emissions oil sands business. Investors have applauded the strategy, which allows CNRL to boost output and make the operations more efficient.

That trend continued on Monday, with CNRL shares climbing more than 4% after the deal with Chevron raised its stake in a key oil sands mine and a connected upgrading facility, while also adding natural gas assets in the Duvernay formation.

“These assets build on the robustness of Canadian Natural’s assets,” said CNRL President Scott Stauth said on a conference call Monday. The deal boosts CNRL’s stake in the Athabasca oil sands project, which it first bought from Shell in 2017, to 90% from 70%.

The acquisition was largely expected and boosts CNRL’s oil and gas output by roughly 9%, adding the equivalent of 122,500 barrels of oil production per day.

“It’s just been a matter of time,” Eight Capital analyst Phil Skolnick said by phone, noting that CNRL had been seen as the logical buyer for Chevron’s oil sands business.

While CNRL also boosted its dividend by 7% on Monday, Desjardins analyst Chris MacCulloch  cautioned the company’s additional debt to finance the acquisition “may disappoint some investors” given it plans to temporarily slow capital returns.

Still, MacCulloch said the deal is positive overall for CNRL as it further consolidates assets in the region. “There’s no place like home,” he wrote in a note.

Chevron, for its part, is the latest in a long line of US and international oil producers — such as BP Plc, TotalEnergies SE and Equinor ASA — that have shifted away from the oil sands after spending billions to build facilities in the heavy-oil formation. That has left the oil sands largely in the control of Canadian firms including CNRL, Suncor Energy Inc. and Cenovus Energy Inc.

“There’s no remaining, obvious assets available,” Ninepoint Partners partner and senior portfolio manager Eric Nuttall said after Monday’s deal. Ninepoint owns 3.1 million shares in CNRL, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Many of those oil sands deals have been struck at prices that favor the Canadian buyers, which have consolidated land, reduced costs and boosted returns in recent years.

“It’s Canada’s time to shine,” Nuttall said, adding that he expects foreign investors will return to the country’s oil producers in the future.

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Business

Elon Musk Warns Harris Will Try To Shut Down X ‘By Any Means Possible’ If Elected

Published on October 8, 2024

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From the Daily Caller News Foundation 

 

By Harold Hutchison

Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk said Vice President Kamala Harris will launch “lawfare” in an effort to shut down X “by any means possible” if she wins the 2024 presidential election.

Musk sat down for a two-hour interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, a co-founder of the Daily Caller and Daily Caller News Foundation, released on Monday. Musk said that should Harris win the presidency, he anticipated that he and his companies would face legal action.

“If she wins, how can they let X continue in its current form, in its current role in American society?” Carlson asked Musk about the future of the social network if Harris wins the presidency.

“They won’t,” Musk responded. “They will try to shut it down by any means possible.”

WATCH:

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for Americans to be “criminally charged” for spreading what she viewed as disinformation during a Sept. 17 interview with MSNBC host Rachel Maddow, and warned that a lack of censorship was causing a loss of “total control” in a Saturday interview with CNN host Mike Smerconish.

Carlson asked Musk to explain what he meant when he said a Harris administration would use “any means possible” to shut down X.

“They might try to pass laws,” Musk said. “They’ll try to prosecute the company, prosecute me. The amount of lawfare we’ve seen taking place is outrageous.”

Musk noted the Biden administration had sued SpaceX for failing to hire asylum seekers

“I mean… the Department of Justice, for example, launched a huge lawsuit against SpaceX for failing to hire asylum seekers,” Musk continued as Carlson expressed shock. “Not those granted asylum, but asylum seekers. Now, there’s also a law called International Traffic in Arms Regulations that because SpaceX develops advancements in technology that can be used in nuclear ICBMs… we have to be careful who we hire. We can only hire a permanent resident or a citizen.”

The Justice Department announced the suit against SpaceX in August 2023, claiming the company “discouraged asylees and refugees from applying to the company” in legal documents. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sued Tesla in September 20203. claiming black employees faced harassment and threats, including nooses.

The Biden administration launched other investigations and lawsuits into companies Musk is tied to, including Tesla, since he purchased Twitter in 2022. Musk predicted a dirty tricks campaign in May 2022, as his purchase of Twitter was in progress.

Musk has been an outspoken supporter of former President Donald Trump’s bid to return to the White House, funding America PAC, speaking at Trump’s Saturday rally at Butler, Pennsylvania, at the site of an attempted assassination of the former president and donating to efforts to elected House GOP candidates.

Harris did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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