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As one of the largest cargo container ships in the world continues to block Egypt's Suez Canal, disrupting the global shipping system, a new theory is making the rounds online. The theory, which has been proven to be false, claims that the ship Ever Given, owned by Taiwanese-based shipping company, Evergreen Marine Corporation, is being used by former Democratic presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, to smuggle children for sex trafficking. The origin of the false conspiracy theory is QAnon message boards on Telegram.

The MV Ever Given, a Panama-flagged container ship that was on its way from Asia to Europe got stuck on Tuesday, March 23, in the Suez Canal dividing continental Africa from the Sinai peninsula. It was apparently struck by a sudden strong wind causing the hull to deviate from the waterway and accidentally hit the bottom, according to a statement from the shipping company.

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At the time of reporting, the MV Ever Given is still lodged in the Suez Canal, blocking traffic on both sides of it. According to The Independent, experts believe that the backlog caused by the blockage could take "several days to weeks to clear." The 200,000-tonne ship will likely not be freed until Sunday, March 28, or the following day, when the tide will reach a peak, according to Bloomberg. In the meanwhile, QAnon believers are enjoying some popularity on the micro-blogging website as the false theories continue to float around.

The QAnon theory falsely claimed that the shipping company, Evergreen, is a cover for Clinton's apparent smuggling operation given that Evergreen was her Secret Service code name while her husband, Bill Clinton was the president of the country. Additionally, given that Ever Given's call sign is H3RC, QAnon supporters believe that the call sign is actually a reference to Clinton's initials for her full name- Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The false theory also refers to the vessels Baracka1 and Mosaed that have been deployed to refloat the container ship. One tweet says, "It's a lot of 'coincidences' all at once - Hillary Clinton's callsign by the USSS was "Evergreen" - The shipping company is called Evergreen - Last night a nursing home in New York burned down, it was called Evergreen - The callsign for the ship that's currently stuck in the Suez."

It's a lot of 'coincidences' all at once- Hillary Clinton's callsign by the USSS was "Evergreen"- The shipping company is called Evergreen- Last night a nursing home in New York burned down, it was called Evergreen- The callsign for the ship that's currently stuck in the Suez

According to Newsweek, QAnon supporters believe that the MV Ever Given is being used to abuse children on behalf of the cabal of pedophiles that they believe runs the US government. Others falsely claim that the ship is stuck due to a military operation and that the children held captive on the ship will be revealed to the world live on camera, thereby justifying their beliefs.

The publication also noted that a QAnon account with more than 106,000 subscribers wrote on Telegram, "Suez Canal blocked by huge container ship named Evergreen. Evergreen shipping is most likely a cover for human and sex trafficking."

Supporters also claim that "Q," the anonymous figure behind the conspiracy theory group predicted the incident when they wrote in an April 2018 post, "when do you need a plumber?" A widely shared Telegram by some QAnon channels states in reference, "When do you call a plumber? When something's maybe 'blocked?"

According to Newsweek, fact-checking website Politifact labeled the claim as "false."

These remarks were made by the Internet and individual organizations, MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and nor does it support these claims being made on the Internet.

Excerpt from:
QAnon theory falsely claims Hillary Clinton using Evergreen cargo ship stuck in Suez Canal to traffic children - MEAWW

With President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris sworn in, it would be remiss to forget that an unfortunate 75 million individuals voted for former President Donald J. Trump. And with Biden now attempting to reach out to these voters by undertaking a centrist platform emphasizing bipartisanship, we see prominent national Democrats misunderstanding and misapplying the concept of identity politics to their political agendas. In doing so, another Trump-era presidency and far-right politicians regaining their power are at risk.

In 1977, Barbara Smith co-authored the Combahee River Collective Statement, a document that spotlighted the economic and social oppression uniquely faced by Black women. The statement first coined the term identity politics and advocated for intersectionality in the feminist movement of the late 20th century a movement that had the tendency to exclude women of color from its demands. Smiths intention in creating the concept of identity politics focused on calling attention to a groups specific identity and, in turn, forcing individuals to acknowledge the struggles faced by people of those identities. However, the support for this movement today has been increasingly minimized to buzzwords and insincere pushes for diversity that border on performative activism.

For example, the Clinton campaign and prominent Democrats in 2016 hedged their bets on building a coalition of young people, minorities and single women to serve as the backbone for the party for years to come. However, this rising American electorate failed to push Clinton into the White House. As the Democratic Party and the Clintons shifted away from working-class people and New Deal principles, the Bernie Sanders campaign pushed a true economic populist narrative that gave rise to a diverse coalition for those under 30, despite the medias narrative and common caricature of the Bernie bro.

Additionally, the leak of the Podesta emails revealed that Neera Tanden, former advisor to Hillary Clinton, spoke of the Clinton campaigns cozy press relationship. As such, one must wonder if the mainstream medias demonization of true progressives like Sanders is partially due to the influence of establishment Democrats. And so it came at no surprise that former White House Chief strategist Steve Bannon said: The longer they talk about identity politics, I got em. I want them to talk about racism every day. If the left is focused on race and identity, and we go with economic nationalism, we can crush the Democrats.

Ultimately, reducing people and groups of people to set identities that will always vote one way or another advances the development of tribalism in this country. Identity politics should instead be about advocating for a particular group related to public policy. As philosopher Dr. Cornel West states, Identity itself is a rationalization of trying to fit into a system thats driven by greed, rot and corruption. Hence, when prominent Democrats like Rep. Clyburn speak strongly for voting rights and civil rights, they begin to lose voters when they fail to speak on class and economic issues such as income inequality which is partly due to their ties to corporate donors.

When the Biden campaign attempted to win the Black vote by announcing Harris as its choice for vice president during the election, some raised concerns due to her label as top cop and history as a prosecutor. Indeed, some of these concerns materialized in the 2020 election: The percentage of Black people who voted for the Democratic presidential candidate decreased in 2020 when compared to 2016. Hence, reducing people to a single world or identity will not be sufficient in maintaining a coalition in 2024 if their policies do not provide real tangible results for people with those identities. For example, even though the $1.9 trillion stimulus package passed in the Senate without the attachment of a minimum wage increase, the majority of Americans support an increase in the minimum wage including a majority of Republicans. And Bidens lack of sincerity in fighting for working class Americans was ultimately proven when the administration chose not to simply overrule the Senate parliamentarian, an unelected official, and decided to [respect] the parliamentarians decision and the Senate process, dealing a critical blow to his promise to increase the federal minimum wage to $15.

These failures will not go unnoticed by the minority communities that have historically supported the Democratic Party, as minorities make up a disproportionate percentage of the countrys poor. Ultimately, establishment Democrats like Biden should take note of Bernies progressive economic policies that garnered real support in truly building a diverse coalition, for it is these policies that are truly representative of identity politics.

Sanjana Sanghani is a first-year economics and psychology major. She can be reached at [emailprotected]

Excerpt from:
Op-ed: Issues with Identity Politics - The Huntington News

WASHINGTON U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela, a Brownsville Democrat, announced Monday he is retiring from Congress at the end of this term.

Vela was first elected in 2012 and represents much of the South Texas Gulf Coast. News of his retirement was first reported by Axios.

"It has been an honor to represent the citizens of the 34th District of Texas in the United States House of Representatives for the last eight years," he said in a text to The Texas Tribune. "I will not be seeking reelection to the House of Representatives in 2022. I will continue to focus on maintaining a Democratic House and Senate Majority in my capacity as a member of Congress and Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee, while working diligently for the people I am so grateful to represent.

"It is now time to allow other residents of South Texas the opportunity to fulfill this wonderful privilege for which I will be forever grateful," he added.

Jose Borjon, a former senior adviser to Vela and a longtime confidant, said Vela never meant to overstay his time in Congress and felt now was the time to move on.

"Filemon was extremely dedicated to the people of South Texas during the time he has served in Congress," Borjon added. "I will expect he will continue to do that as he closes out his term. ... Whoever replaces him has big shoes to fill."

Vela won reelection in 2020 by nearly 14 percentage points in a district that has generally been considered safe for Democrats. But national Republicans identified him as a target in 2022 after the GOP performed surprisingly well along the Texas-Mexico border in 2020, and this year's redistricting process gives the party an opportunity to redraw the district in a more favorable manner for the party.

Moreover, the district saw a dramatic swing on the presidential ballot. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton carried the district by a 22-point margin. Four years later, President Joe Biden won the seat by 4 points.

Filemon Vela knows Bidens border crisis will cost him his seat and Democrats their House majority," said House GOP campaign arm spokesperson Torunn Sinclair. "Texans deserve a congressman who is going to stand up to Bidens open border agenda, not defend it."

Vela has unique name identification as both an incumbent and as a member of a prominent local political family. Borjon acknowledged that the race to replace him will likely be tougher than in the past, given Republicans' performance in South Texas.

"Obviously, that's something on our mind given the situation in the past election, but we're certain there'll be a number of good candidates on the Democratic side ... and we are confident that the seat will remain Democratic in then end."

During his time in Congress, Vela has focused on agriculture and defense issues, and he is a popular member of the Democratic caucus. He frequently brought colleagues for fundraisers in Texas and used the opportunity to show powerful members his districts infrastructure needs.

He was also an early support of Biden's campaign for president, and he urged his fellow Texans and members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to get behind Biden's bid for the Democratic nomination.

Vela was best known in his time for firing off a missive at then-candidate Donald Trump, telling him to take your border wall and shove it up your ass.

Patrick Svitek contributed reporting.

Excerpt from:
Texas Rep. Filemon Vela will not seek reelection in 2022 - The Texas Tribune

Followers of the QAnon conspiracy theory trying to find meaning behind the blocking of the Suez Canal by a cargo ship claim that the vessel is being used by Hillary Clinton for child sex trafficking.

Some supporters of the radical movement are suggesting the 400-meter-long Ever Given currently stuck in Egypt is being used to abuse children on behalf of the cabal of pedophiles that they believe runs the U.S.

Others claim the children held captive on the ship will be revealed to the world live on camera, justifying their beliefs.

In order to jump to this wild conclusion, QAnon supporters point to the vessel's operator, a Taiwan-based shipping company called Evergreen Marine Corporation. Clinton was given the Secret Service codename "Evergreen" when her husband Bill Clinton was president.

The ship's call sign is H3RCthe same three letters as the initials of the 2016 presidential candidate.

On the Telegram encrypted messaging app, a QAnon account with more than 106,000 subscribers wrote: "Suez Canal blocked by huge container ship named Evergreen. Evergreen shipping is most likely a cover for human and sex trafficking.

"HRC = Hillary Rodham Clinton. Evergreen = Hillary's Secret Service name. Evergreen Call Sign: H3RC."

Another influential QAnon advocate with more than 53,000 subscribers on the "free speech" social network Gab wrote: "Evergreen is HRC's Secret Service name. It has also been speculated that Evergreen shipping is a front for human trafficking.

"Theory: ship gets stuck, International aid offered, containers opened on live TV."

QAnon supporters often twist world events to suit their theories or claim they have been predicted by the mysterious figure known as "Q."

For years, "Q" would leave cryptic messages on messageboard sites, which were deciphered to form the basis of the conspiracy theorists' beliefs. These include the notion that leading Democrats and members of the Hollywood elite are child-eating pedophiles.

The first of these so-called "Qdrops" appeared on 4chan in October 2017, claiming that Clinton would soon be arrested.

For the next few years, thousands of the posts appeared online, often using phrases that became QAnon slogans.

No new messages have been posted for months, however, with their frequency slowing down considerably since former President Donald Trump, a savior-like figure for QAnon, lost the election in November.

The conspiracy theorists do not necessarily need new posts to guide the movement, however. They simply reinterpret the existing catalog of messages to suit their purpose.

In this case, the attempt to move the ship from the Suez Canal was predicted because "Q" had previously mentioned Evergreen and the words "when do you need a plumber?" in an April 2018 post.

"When do you call a plumber? When something's maybe 'blocked'?" one widely shared Telegram by some of the biggest QAnon channels read. "WE HAVE IT ALL."

This is not the first time an Evergreen vessel has been roped into a QAnon child trafficking conspiracy.

In August 2020, a similar rumor was spread after the explosion at the port of Beirut, which killed more than 200 people.

One widely shared Facebook image from the scene contained the caption: "Evergreen Shipping Container. Human Trafficking by HRC."

Fact-checking website Politifact labeled the claim "false."

Follow this link:
QAnon Claims Stuck Suez Canal Ship Used by Hillary Clinton ...

What do the Suez Canal, Hillary Clinton and a Taiwanese shipping company have in common?

Conspiracy theorists on Facebook insist theyre all part of an international human trafficking scheme.

Egyptian authorities are working to remove a 1,300-foot cargo ship that got stuck March 23 in the Suez Canal, a critical shipping route that connects the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. The boat is operated by the Evergreen Group, a Taiwan shipping conglomerate.

Some Facebook users took that as a signal of Clintons involvement.

"HRC = Hillary Rodham Clinton. Evergreen = Hillarys Secret Service name. Evergreen Call Sign: H3RC," a March 24 post about the shipping accident says.

The post was flagged as part of Facebooks efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

(Screenshot from Facebook)

Similar false claims about Clinton, "evergreen" and human trafficking surfaced after the Beirut port explosion in August. The newest example is similarly bogus and traces back to a baseless conspiracy theory thats been circulating since 2016.

First, lets review some facts about Evergreen.

Evergreen Line is the trade name for the five shipping companies owned by the Evergreen Group. The companies comprise the fourth largest container fleet in the world, according to the JOC Group, a logistics intelligence firm.

An Evergreen ship got stuck in a bank of the Suez Canal during a dust storm with high winds, the Wall Street Journal reported. The incident involves an Ever Given ship, which is one of the largest ocean vessels in the world. More than 100 ships are waiting to traverse the canal, dealing a blow to global shipping.

The story turns into fiction with the added elements of Clinton and human trafficking. The conspiracy theory goes like this: Clinton is part of a global child sex trafficking cabal, and her Secret Service codename was "Evergreen." (She confirmed the codename during the 2016 campaign.) Therefore, Clinton is using Evergreen to transport children.

That baseless line is related to the broader Pizzagate and QAnon conspiracy theories about prominent Democrats and child victims.

After the Ever Given ship got stuck in the Suez Canal, QAnon supporters on Telegram and Gab, social media platforms that are popular among conservatives, pointed to the boats call sign, H3RC, as evidence to support their theory. Clintons initials are HRC.

Its unclear what cargo the Evergreen ship is carrying, but theres no evidence that its people. We reached out to Evergreen through its website for a comment, but we havent heard back.

The post is inaccurate, ridiculous and free of proof. We rate it Pants on Fire!

Read the original:
The Evergreen ship blocking the Suez Canal is not linked to Hillary Clinton - PolitiFact