IS IT POSSIBLE THAT BLOWING UP DRUG BOATS WORKS?  Why Trump is right to face down Venezuela.

OPEN THREAD: Ring in the weekend.

OFT EVIL WILL SHALL EVIL MAR:

DISPATCHES FROM AIRSTRIP ONE: Clandestine Campaign To Defund ZeroHedge, The Federalist & Breitbart Traced To Kier Starmer Operation.

Very early into the COVID-19 pandemic, ZeroHedge suggested that a little-known Chinese lab in Wuhan might know something about the novel coronavirus sweeping the globe. As a result, and as you know, we were subject to an intense demonetization / deplatforming campaign that included getting kicked off of Twitter, PayPal, Facebook and other platforms, dropped by our advertisers, and targeted by MSM hit pieces which colluded with foreign ‘watchdogs’ to inflict maximum damage.

These same groups also targeted outlets including The Federalist and Breitbart over various reporting, which suffered similar fates.

Now, thanks to a new book by investigative journalist Paul Holden that builds on reporting by Matt Taibbi, Paul Thacker and others, we learn that the origin of these campaigns, launched years before the pandemic, was none other than UK Prime Minister Kier Starmer’s political machine, which began targeting left-wing outlets speaking critically of Starmer such as The Canary, and then went after conservative outlets in America – just in time for the 2020 US election.

Read the whole thing.

IT’S FLORIDA MAN FRIDAY [VIP]: He Brought Bear Spray to a Taser Fight. “It’s time for your much-needed break from the serious news, and this week, we’ll learn what happens when you try to bear spray eight deputies, why the skid steer is not part of the amusement park, and how they do wildlife in Virginia.”