Quote:Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) accused New York City officials of attempting to register to vote newly arrived border crossers and illegal aliens living in city-contracted shelters, during a press conference Sunday.
Malliotakis said New York City officials required contractors, those tasked with running the city’s widespread migrant shelter system, to hand out voter registration pamphlets and help migrants register to vote.
“We believe this is the smoking gun that proves what we’ve been saying all along — that the city intends to register non-citizens to vote,” Malliotakis said.
The accusation comes as Malliotakis received documents related to a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request that detailed a contract between New York City and Homes for the Homeless, just one of the many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) being paid to care for border crossers and illegal aliens.
Quote:“I want to know the names of every single person who may have taken Jeffrey Epstein’s private plane and participated in his human trafficking ring. RT if you do too,” she added on Monday.
Durbin’s denial occurred, notably, after Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee opted to launch an attack on the Supreme Court, taking an unprecedented step by voting to subpoena private citizens as part of their overarching effort of “reverse court-packing,” targeting both Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas.
...
The vote occurred on Thursday as Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee made history, opting to subpoena Harlan Crow and Leonard Leo, friends of conservative Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito. This might mark the first time the committee has voted to subpoena a private citizen detached from legislative debate, doing so as part of their overarching effort to target conservative justices.
Both chairman Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) have led the effort, and as Breitbart News reported, they are hoping to access 25 years of travel and financial records. However, these subpoenas come although the Senate Judiciary Committee has already voted a SCOTUS ethics code bill out of committee. Therefore, the committee’s legislative work is essentially finished, and there is no need for additional documents.
Quote:A toaster placed under an electric vehicle by its owner to warm up its battery likely caused a fire that destroyed the car and damaged a nearby house in southern Denmark, police said Monday.
Police said that they “strongly discourage” people to use that method to heat power cells.
“The cause of the fire is most likely to be found in the toaster that the owner of the car had placed under the front of his car to keep the battery warm,” police said in a daily report.
The fire happened on Saturday in Stenlille, about 60 kilometers (nearly 40 miles) southwest of Copenhagen. No one was injured.
Quote:Amid growing concerns about Ukraine’s ability to continue the fight against the much larger Russian military and failures to recapture any meaningful amount of territory from Moscow’s army, there are growing whispers in the halls of power in the West about the ex-Soviet state’s prospects in battling back its former master.
The latest to publicly express concern was NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, who told German broadcaster ARD as translated by POLITICO that the West should “be prepared for bad news,” without elaborating on exactly what he believes may befall the war-torn country next.
The comments from the Norwegian politician came as the Kremlin announced that President Vladimir Putin had ordered the addition of 170,000 extra troops to the Russian Armed Forces, in a move that would take the total strength of the army to over 1.3 million.
Last month, reports emerged from Washington that U.S. officials have quietly begun pressuring Kyiv to come to the negotiating table with Moscow, expressing concerns over the ability to draft more men into the fight. One unnamed American defence official told NBC News that “manpower is at the top of the administration’s concerns right now,” noting that further armed shipments would be irrelevant if Ukraine does not “have competent forces to use them.”
Quote:Human rights lawyers went to court in the Netherlands on Monday to call for a halt to the export of fighter jet parts to Israel that could be used in attacks on Gaza.
The organizations allege that delivery of parts for F-35 jets makes the Netherlands complicit in possible war crimes being committed by Israel in its war with Hamas.
The civil case in The Hague opened as the Israeli military renewed calls for mass evacuations from the southern town of Khan Younis, where tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians have sought refuge in recent weeks, as it widened its ground offensive and bombarded targets across the Gaza Strip.
The rights lawyers want The Hague District Court to issue an injunction banning the exports of F-35 parts that are stored in a warehouse in the town of Woensdrecht.
...
Citing government documents, Zegveld said that Dutch customs asked the government if it wanted to continue exports after the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas that triggered the Israel-Hamas war.
“The warning that the fighter jets can contribute to serious breaches of the laws of war does not, for the (Dutch) state, outweigh its economic interests and diplomatic reputation.”
Government lawyer Reimer Veldhuis urged the court’s single judge to reject the injunction, saying that even if it were to uphold the rights lawyers’ legal arguments and ban exports, “the United States would deliver these parts to Israel from another place.”
He added that Israel has the right to self-defense.
If you wanna understand how ruined the world is nowadays, just check these 2 places: Israel and Armenia. There massacres have taken place, and yet, there are powers that claim that they have no right to defend themselves or ask for help, waiting for any ally to willingly send some ammo or spare parts or fighter jets.
"For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ," 1 Thessalonians 5:9
Maranatha!
The Internet might be either your friend or enemy. It just depends on whether or not she has a bad hair day.
Quote:During his speech, [U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick] Durbin [D-IL] condemned Republicans’ attempt to attach punitive border policies to essential national security emergency funds for Ukraine, Israel, the Indo-Pacific, and humanitarian crises.
“I'm a person who believes in immigration. My mother was an immigrant to this country, and I'm proud to be in the Senate [as a] first-generation American representing the great state of Illinois. But I understand the overwhelming numbers [that] we are facing at the border, and President Biden is facing—[I would] really argue for us to take a hard look at the way we approach this,” Durbin said. “It's hard to explain [that] in the United States of America, a nation of immigrants, why immigration is such a hot, controversial topic.”
Durbin noted that the U.S. military is experiencing low levels of recruitment, which have become a grave threat to our national security. Durbin argued in his speech that we are also in desperate need of workers to fill key jobs in industries like health care and agriculture, which can be filled by immigrants.
“Do you know what the recruiting numbers are at the Army, Navy, and the Air Force? They can't reach their quotas each month. They can't find enough people to join our military forces. And there are those who are undocumented who want the chance to serve and risk their lives for this country. Should we give them a chance? I think we should. In my state of Illinois, in Chicago, [and] in the rural areas downstate, we're holding our breath hoping that we can keep hospitals open. You know why? We don't have enough medical personnel. And yet there are people all around this world who have medical credentials as doctors and nurses and skilled technicians who want to come to the United States, but we don't give them the chance,” Durbin continued
One thing is to listen to a boring speech on people's dreams and another one to propose that illegal aliens who have not developed any loyalty to the country that offered them a place to stay for the meantime become active members of the US Army or the Navy or any other armed force.
What are you trying to accomplish here? To let even Middle Eastern terrorists join their ranks and start openly killing or backstabbing their comrades in battle? That's just extremely nuts, you fool!
Durbin mentioned something that still makes some sense like letting clinicians get a permission to work in the US. That doesn't mean that they should almost immediately get it. What if there are international arrest warrants for them issued by Europol or Interpol after they had committed any crime abroad? They badly need to be vetted thoroughly first. You wouldn't want another Jack the Ripper lurking around, killing passersby like crazy, right? And if you think I'm coming up with crazy ideas, just read the next article.
Quote:The suspect arrested in the vicious stabbing in Paris that left a German national dead and two others injured steps from the Eiffel Tower was released from prison in 2020 after plotting an Islamic terror attack, according to France's interior minister.
Speaking to reporters late Saturday, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said the arrested suspect, a French citizen in his mid-20s, was distraught over how "many Muslims are dying in Afghanistan and in Palestine," claiming that France was an accomplice, according to reports by The Associated Press and Politico.
Darmanin said the accused attacker apparently cried "Allahu Akbar" (God is great), according to the AP.
French President Emmanuel Macron swiftly condemned Saturday's incident as "a terrorist attack."
The suspect previously served four years in jail for plotting another attack in 2016.
Born in Neuilly-Sur-Seine, a Paris suburb, the accused attacker was released from prison in 2020, was under surveillance and undergoing psychiatric treatment, and was most recently living with his parents in the Essonne region, south of Paris, Darmanin said. "This person was ready to kill others," Darmanin told reporters.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock described the incident as a "suspected Islamist attack."
Quote:The Islamic State terror group (ISIS) has claimed responsibility for the lethal bombing of a Catholic Mass in the Philippines this weekend as worshipers celebrated the first Sunday of Advent.
The bombing of morning worship at Mindanao State University’s gymnasium in Marawi, the country’s largest Muslim city, killed at least four people and left more than 50 others wounded.
The Islamic State said in a statement on its Telegram channels that “soldiers of the caliphate detonated an explosive device on a large gathering of Christians… in the city of Marawi.”
Regional police Chief Allan Nobleza said that the blast may have been a revenge bombing after a Philippine military airstrike on Friday killed 11 Islamist militants from the Dawlah Islamiyah-Philippines organization in Mindanao.
Nobleza also said that Philippine police have identified at least two suspects in the bombing.
We have persons of interest, “but the investigation is still ongoing,” Nobleza said. “In order not to preempt the investigation, we will not divulge the names.”
Officials from Mindanao State University condemned “the act of violence,” saying the school stands “in solidarity with our Christian community and all those affected by this tragedy.”
Quote:Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko expressed concern for the future of democracy in Ukraine under President Volodymyr Zelensky and pronounced himself unsurprised that support for the president is falling in the country in a series of interviews published this weekend.
Klitschko, a former heavyweight boxing champion whose name has been floated as presidential candidate material for nearly a decade, lamented to the German newspaper Der Spiegel on Friday that he had not had a single phone call with Zelensky, despite being the mayor of the nation’s capital during wartime. He told the newspaper he was concerned that Ukraine would soon “no longer be any different from Russia.”
In a subsequent interview with the Swiss outlet 20 Minuten this weekend, Klitschko refused to talk about any future plans to run for president, calling it “stupid” to do so, and complained that other politicians in the country were engaged in “trench warfare” with each other rather than Russia. He nonetheless appeared to criticize Zelensky for among other issues, denying in early 2022 that he had any indication a full-scale Russian invasion would occur and for civilians complaining that many of the capital’s bomb shelters were not accessible, insisting, “this is the president’s full responsibility.”
Klitschko’s small media tour this weekend is notable in light of Zelensky’s refusal to hold a presidential election, Ukraine held its last election in 2019 – in which Zelensky, as the “pro-Russian” candidate, defeated incumbent Petro Poroshenko – and is scheduled to hold elections in March. The Ukrainian constitution forbids presidential elections during wartime, however, and Zelensky has enthusiastically rejected the possibility of holding them because it would take too much money away from the military effort and finding a way to enfranchise the 6 million refugees created by the war would be nearly impossible.
"For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ," 1 Thessalonians 5:9
Maranatha!
The Internet might be either your friend or enemy. It just depends on whether or not she has a bad hair day.
Quote:A judge has ruled an extremely tight election between Republicans and Democrats for a Louisiana parish sheriff is void because of voter fraud.
The race to become Caddo Parish sheriff was closely fought between Democrat Henry Whitehorn and Republican John Nickelson. In November, a recount was ordered after Whitehorn won by just one vote in an election that saw over 43,000 ballots cast. The recount found three additional votes for each candidate and Whitehorn was declared the winner.
Both Nickelson and Whitehorn have been approached for comment by Newsweek.
Nickelson filed a lawsuit and retired Louisiana Supreme Court Justice E. Joseph Bleich declared the result void on Tuesday. Nickelson's suit said the count was done too quickly and could not be accurate, while ballots cast by people twice through mail-in and in-person ballots were discovered, NBC affiliate KTAL reported. Bleich was assigned to the case after four judges recused themselves due to their friendships with Nickelson.
In all, Bleich said that two people voted twice, five mail-in ballots should not have been counted for failure to comply with the law, and there were a further four invalid votes by interdicted persons who were unqualified voters.
Quote:Conservative leaders are fearful that House Republicans could lose their razor-thin majority in 2024 given the chamber's elderly members.
The fears spread on Wednesday after U.S. Representative Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican and former House Speaker, announced his plans to resign from Congress at the end of the year. The announcement culminated a tumultuous year that saw McCarthy struggle to gain the support of his Republican colleagues in January and then promptly lose the speakership nine months later.
A handful of Republicans joined all House Democrats to oust McCarthy from the speakership in early October after claiming that he failed to deliver on a number of conservative policies while in power.
McCarthy's announcement comes only days after the House voted to expel Republican George Santos last Friday, and with Republican U.S. Representative Bill Johnson's upcoming retirement, the party's majority is growing weaker. The narrow majority has already posed a problem for House Republicans who have been plagued with infighting for months, and now Republicans are fretting over losing more members, particularly given the advanced age of some lawmakers in Congress.
Quote:Pelleh Poultry Corp. is recalling more than 700 pounds of ready-to-eat beef and poultry products that may have been contaminated with listeria, federal officials have announced.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the recall after it was notified by the company, based in Swan Lake, New York, that laboratory testing indicated the products may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.
The recall involves products that were packaged on dates between October 25 and November 20, according to the statement from the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). A full list of products can be seen here and the labels for the products can be viewed here.
The products were shipped to retail locations and institutions in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. The recalled products bear the establishment number "EST. P44121" inside the USDA mark of inspection.
Quote:Two American Airlines planes suffered emergencies while using the same airport in Arizona within 15 minutes of one another, air traffic control audio reveals.
On Friday, an Airbus operated by the airline was flying from Washington, D.C., into Phoenix around 10 a.m. MT (noon ET) when the flight crew reported a flap failure. Then, at 10:12 a.m., another Airbus taking off from Phoenix, headed for Mexico, reported low oil pressure in one of its engines and requested to return to the airport.
Newsweek approached American Airlines via email for comment on Wednesday.
After around half an hour circling over the airport, the flight from Washington, D.C., was able to land, while the one to Mexico returned around 20 minutes after take-off.
...
According to flight control audio, after the flight crew on the first American Airlines plane declared an emergency, the pilot told flight control at Phoenix that there were 197 people onboard and the aircraft had two hours of fuel left, before requesting a longer final approach.
The plane was then put in a holding pattern over Phoenix. Around the same time, the other American Airlines flight was preparing for take-off. Approximately two minutes after departure, it reported low oil pressure in its number two engine.
Asked by flight control if it was "super time-sensitive," the pilot confirmed it was.
Quote:Warm November temperatures disrupted the sleep schedule of male brown bears in Siberia.
Some of the animals are even wandering around the Amur Region in Russia in a "half-asleep" state, as they've adequately prepared for hibernation but have yet to enter their season-long sleep because of unnatural environmental conditions.
The Department for the Protection of Wildlife of the Amur Region said that abnormally high temperatures in October and November caused the interruption. October temperatures exceeded the average by up to 2 degrees Celsius, or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit.
The heightened temperatures are delaying the bears' hibernation, the department said in a translated Telegram post on November 20, as is melting snow, which causes wet dens that are unappealing to the bears.
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Bears suppress their metabolism during hibernation, although they can continue daytime activity in the early winter months by elevating metabolism while on the move and then slowing it as they rest, according to a LiveScience report. The drowsy bears are likely already in their reduced-metabolism state while not yet entering their winter slumber, Oivind Toien, a zoophysiologist and research assistant professor at the Institute of Arctic Biology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, told the outlet.
Quote:Germany's defense minister Boris Pistorius has said that his country is doing everything it can to help Ukraine fight Russian aggression but noted that Kyiv was not an ally of Berlin.
The comments by Pistorius during a television interview follow accusations that Berlin has been reluctant to provide military support for Ukraine to use in the war started by Vladimir Putin.
Tom O'Donnell, a geopolitical analyst based in Berlin, told Newsweek that Pistorius wants to see Ukraine get more weapons from Germany and the EU but may face opposition from within his government.
"Maybe Pistorius is serious about doing this but my impression is beyond whatever he wants to do, I don't think the government here has the will to really ramp this up," O'Donnell said.
Quote:The chief of staff of the Philippine military has announced plans for joint maritime and air patrols with like-minded nations, against a background of escalating tensions with Chinese forces in the South China Sea.
"It's in the planning process," General Romeo Brawner Jr. told CNN Philippines' The Source Tuesday. "We are going to conduct our joint maritime and air patrols in the West Philippine Sea with the U.S.; Japan is interested, France, the U.K. and Canada."
The West Philippine Sea is Manila's name for the parts of the South China Sea falling within the Philippines' 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone. The region is the focal point of heated territorial disputes, with China asserting sovereignty over upward of 80 percent of the South China Sea, despite a 2016 international arbitral court ruling that rejected its claims.
Brawner said the proposed multinational patrols could start as early as the first half of the next year.
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South Korea has emerged as another potential patrol partner. The East Asian country's ambassador to the Philippines, Lee Sang-hwa, told local media Tuesday that the two countries' relationship was "reaching new heights" and that Seoul is interested in raising it to the level of a "strategic partnership."
"For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ," 1 Thessalonians 5:9
Maranatha!
The Internet might be either your friend or enemy. It just depends on whether or not she has a bad hair day.
Sultan Al Jaber, responsible for leading the world away from fossil fuels, had said there was “no science” to support a phaseout of oil and gas.
Quote:Simmering tensions around the decision to hold a global climate summit in a petrostate burst into the open on Monday when Sultan Al Jaber, the Emirati oil executive who is leading the conference, launched into an angry public defense of his position on ending fossil fuel use.
Mr. Al Jaber, who runs the state-owned oil company, Adnoc, was under fire for a video that surfaced in which he said there is “no science” behind the idea that fossil fuels must be phased out in order to keep average global temperatures from rising above 1.5 degrees Celsius over preindustrial levels.
That’s the threshold beyond which scientists say humans would struggle to adapt to increasingly severe storms, drought, heat and rising sea levels caused by global warming.
Climate experts convened by the United Nations have said that nations must cut the emissions from fossil fuels by 43 percent by the end of this decade, compared to 2019 levels, if the world has any hope of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Many diplomats and scientists say that would be impossible without phasing out fossil fuels and want governments to emerge from the climate talks being held in Dubai with a pledge to end the use of coal, oil and gas.
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But Mr. Al Jaber, who is supposed to be guiding nearly 200 nations toward an ambitious plan to tackle global warming, framed things differently in his comments two weeks ago.
“There is no science out there, or no scenario out there, that says the phaseout of fossil fuel is what’s going to achieve 1.5,” Mr. Al Jaber said during a panel discussion called She Changes Climate that featured Mary Robinson, the former president of Ireland who is now a prominent climate advocate.
Ms. Robinson asked Mr. Al Jaber if he would lead a global effort to taper down and then end the burning of fossil fuels. He chastised her for asking the question, saying he had expected a “sober and mature conversation” not an “alarmist” one.
The panel discussion took place two weeks ago, but only came to light on Sunday when Mr. Al Jaber’s comments were reported by The Guardian.
Those statements prove once again that all this climate change, formerly known as global warming, is nothing but politics on steroids and no real science behind it. And its victims are us, the blue collar workers, the middle class and anybody else that's not a millionaire or multimillionaire.
Just think about this. Why would the rise in temperatures allow strong winters to hit any hemisphere like it did in recent years? Except for the northern hemisphere's 2022 winter that was decent and didn't kill many people in Europe as they expected thanks to the Ukrainian invasion lead by Putin and Prigozhin... only for the later to fail to depose the former before dying in mysterious circumstances.
Yes, you bald-headed dictator, I'm looking at you right now.
Quote:President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, has been indicted on nine charges, including three felonies, for allegedly failing to file taxes, evading an assessment, and filing a fraudulent form.
The 56-page indictment filed in a federal court in Los Angeles on Thursday alleged that the president’s son “spent millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle” rather than pay his taxes, per NBC News. The indictment also alleges that Hunter Biden “willfully failed to pay his 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 taxes on time, despite having access to funds to pay some or all of these taxes.”
Special counsel David Weiss brought the charges, and the case was assigned to Donald Trump-appointee Judge Mark Scarsi.
Neither the White House nor Hunter Biden’s attorneys have responded to the indictment.
David Weiss, who started serving as U.S. attorney in Delaware following Trump’s appointment in 2017, said in a statement that Hunter Biden “engaged in a four-year scheme in which he chose not to pay at least $1.4 million in self-assessed federal taxes he owed for tax years 2016 through 2019 and to evade the assessment of taxes for tax year 2018 when he filed false returns.”
Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Weiss as special counsel in August to oversee the investigation into Hunter Biden.
“As special counsel, he will continue to have the authority and responsibility that he has previously exercised to oversee the investigation and decide where, when and whether to file charges,” Garland said in August. “The special counsel will not be subject to the day-to-day supervision of any official of the Department, but he must comply with the regulations, procedures, and policies of the Department.”
That's exactly the issue here. Garland could change the policies or choose not to apply them because the defendant is nobody but the president's son himself.
Quote:President Joe Biden echoed the warnings of his defense secretary in an address to the public this week, saying if Congress does not pass $64 billion in aid to Ukraine, U.S. troops will end up fighting Russia in Europe.
“This cannot wait. Congress needs to pass supplemental funding for Ukraine before they break for the holiday recess. It’s as simple as that,” Biden began.
He then accused skeptical Republicans in Congress of being “willing to give Putin the greatest gift he could hope for and abandon our global leadership not just to Ukraine, but beyond that.”
He argued that Putin has committed atrocities against Ukrainian civilians and that Russian forces are committing war crimes.
“It’s as simple as that. It’s stunning. Who is prepared to walk away from holding Putin accountable for this behavior? Who among us is really prepared to do that?”
He then argued that if Putin succeeds in taking Ukraine, “he’s going to keep going.”
Quote:The statements from Daines come as Fox News’s Adam Shaw reported this week that the Concerned Veterans for America group is urging Congress and federal investigators to look into the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) arrangement with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
During a press conference on Dec. 5, Daines said the report about the VA possibly servicing illegal aliens instead of veterans is just “one more story to build on why we need to solve the problem on the southern border.”
“We just learned that [Veterans Affairs] health care resources, the VA, are being used to facilitate healthcare to illegal migrants,” Daines said:
Veterans have a hard enough time getting the care that they need and now they have to compete with illegal immigrants? This will not fix the border crisis. Biden’s border crisis puts illegal immigrants first, it puts our veterans last. You know in Montana we have the second highest per capita veteran population in the United States. This is a disservice to all those who have said sacrificed and served our country.
Quote:During a House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emergency Management and Technology hearing this week, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman ® said communities and law enforcement agencies on Long Island are feeling the impact of illegal immigration.
“We have seen an increase in crime, basically because you have these organized gangs that are part of the drug cartels from Mexico and other countries who have come to the metropolitan area,” Blakeman detailed:
They’re residing primarily in New York City and they do cross-border crime … I think common sense people realize that the problem is that we don’t know who’s coming in. We can’t control the numbers and they are committing crimes.
They are also creating burdens on our young people that are devastating. In the United States, over 65,000 young people have overdosed on fentanyl. Where is it coming from? It’s coming from south of the border and many of it is coming from Chinese nationals. I read today that there were 24,000 Chinese nationals that were detained at the border. Those are the ones that were detained. How many got through?
We need to secure our borders to make sure that we know who is in this country … this is taking away resources that we desperately need to take care of our own citizens.
Quote:Mexican government officials are twisting facts in an attempt to downplay the raging cartel violence spreading throughout the border state of Tamaulipas. In the most recent incident, public officials are hiding a large-scale attack on law enforcement by cartel gunmen and the use of explosives by passing it off as a scuffle between drug gangs.
The incident took place early on Monday morning in the downtown area of Llera, Tamaulipas, where a group of Gulf Cartel gunmen clashed with state police forces. The large-scale shootout spread terror throughout the rural city, prompting school officials to cancel classes. During the clash, authorities killed one gunman, seized two cartel vehicles, and had several police cars damaged. Exclusive information obtained by Breitbart Texas points to military forces having to be sent out due to the presence of explosives in the area.
Through their official accounts, Tamaulipas state officials claimed that authorities were responding to a scuffle between armed civilians. A second post pointed to the seizure of a vehicle. In the aftermath, officials refused to release any additional information.
Quote:The socialist regime arrested a group of Venezuelan opposition members on Thursday, accusing them of “treason” and “conspiring” against a recent referendum to annex a region consisting of most of Guyana.
The regime of socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro confirmed the arrest of at least one American citizen, identified as Savoi Jandon Wright, in the sweeping crackdown on dissent. Wright was reportedly arrested in October and stands accused of being part of an alleged conspiracy against the socialist regime.
The crackdown occured less than two months after the Biden Administration granted a generous sanctions relief package to the Maduro regime in exchange for vague promises of holding a “free and fair” presidential election sometime in 2024. So far, there are no indications that next year’s election will be free or fair – and no indication the Biden administration will reinstate the sanctions lifted.
Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab announced on Wednesday that the Venezuelan men and women arrested are allegedly part of a “national and international” conspiracy against Venezuela. Saab claimed that the alleged plot was being financed by American oil company ExxonMobil.
Quote:Maduro is seeking the full annexation of the Essequibo following the “binding” results of a national referendum, widely dismissed as a sham, that took place Sunday.
Maduro also announced his regime will immediately begin granting oil, gas, and mining exploration licenses in the contested territory as part of a broader list of actions his socialist regime will carry out to annex the Essequibo territory.
The regime-controlled National Assembly will begin working toward creating a law for the state of Guayana Esequiba on Wednesday.
..
The Maduro regime carried out a sham referendum on Sunday that “asked” for approval to annex the Essequibo region, a territory currently administered by neighboring Guyana and that both countries have disputed for more than 120 years.
Despite extensive footage showing low voter turnout — and in some cases, completely barren electoral centers — the socialist regime claimed that more than 10 million votes were cast in favor of annexing the Essequibo region, an amount much higher than any previous sham election “results” held by the Maduro regime.
The longstanding territorial dispute remained relatively dormant until Guyana discovered oil and gas in the region and brokered a deal with Houston-based ExxonMobil to begin extracting oil. Maduro has repeatedly accused ExxonMobil of being part of a conspiracy by the United States to colonize South America.
"For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ," 1 Thessalonians 5:9
Maranatha!
The Internet might be either your friend or enemy. It just depends on whether or not she has a bad hair day.
Quote:The emails, first reported by the Guardian, reveal deepening hostilities between prosecutors and defendants in the monumental Georgia criminal case against Trump and his top allies.
“We have a long road ahead,” Willis wrote in a previously unreported email last month to Trump’s attorneys. “Long after these folks are in jail, we will still be practicing law.”
Willis and her team allege Trump and codefendants violated the racketeering statute as part of efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. A handful of defendants, including Jenna Ellis, Sidney Powell, and Kenneth Chesebro, have flipped on Trump, presumably to avoid long prison sentences of their own.
Trump’s allies argue the case is politically motivated “lawfare,” and Trump maintains he has done nothing wrong.
Willis has insisted her case is simply about enforcing the law, although her actions and words haven’t always backed up her assertion.
Willis says she is in no hurry to resolve Trump’s legal issues before November’s general election and recently made clear that she intends to still have Trump on trial on Election Day 2024.
Quote:Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman is calling for the presidents of three prestigious universities to “resign in disgrace” following their comments during a congressional hearing on Tuesday.
The Harvard alumnus was angered by his alma mater’s leader Claudine Gay, along with the University of Pennsylvania’s Liz Magill and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) president Sally Kornbluth, for their failure to call out antisemitic protests that have taken place on their campuses.
“In short, they said: It ‘depends on the context’ and ‘whether the speech turns into conduct,’ that is, actually killing Jews,” Ackman said in a post on X. “This could be the most extraordinary testimony ever elicited in the Congress, certainly on the topic of genocide.”
Being called before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, the three university leaders were all questioned about the rise in violent antisemitic demonstrations on their campuses since Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7 that killed over 1,200 people.
The remarks came after Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) pressed the trio on whether students had the right to free speech “even when calling for the mass murders of African Americans,” a comparison to protesters on the campus calling for “global intifada” against Jews.
Ackman went on to remind his followers of the definition of genocide as “the deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group with the aim of destroying that nation or group.”
The Pershing Square Capital founder said the school leaders’ answers amplified the failures of the universities.
Quote:In this week’s Quinnipiac poll (a reliably left-wing pollster, by the way), Adams is already facing a dismal overall approval rating of just 28 percent. The internals are even more interesting…
No racial group is more unhappy with Sanctuary City Eric than Hispanics.
Here’s the breakdown of the approve/disapprove number when registered voters were asked, “Do you approve or disapprove of the way Eric Adams is handling his job?”:
Black: 48 percent approve, 38 percent disapprove
Men: 38 to 58 percent
White: 28 to 61 percent
Women: 26 to 59 percent
Asian: 22 to 60 percent
Hispanic: 20 to 65 percent
...
For those of you who think Hispanic disapproval of Adams has something to do with all the other horrors (crime, homelessness, inflation, schools, etc.) that Democrat-run city is dealing with thanks to its stupid voters, let me assure you it is not.
When asked specifically about illegal aliens — “Do you approve or disapprove of the way Mayor Adams is handling – the surge of migrants seeking sanctuary in New York City?” — Adam is upside-down 43(!) points with Hispanics: only 25 percent approve, while 68 percent disapprove—only Asians (21 to 65 percent) polled lower on this question.
Quote:Masked burglars struck actor Keanu Reeves’ Hollywood Hills home early Thursday, stealing a firearm and getting away before police could apprehend them.
TMZ reported that police first went to Reeves’ home at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday in response to a trespass call, but did not locate anyone. Hours later–at 1:00 a.m. Thursday–an alarm at the property sounded and police went to the home again. This time they saw masked burglars on security footage, and a firearm had reportedly been stolen.
It is not known if anything else was stolen and the New York Post noted that Reeves was not at home at the time of the burglary.
Reeves is renowned for his role as John Wick in films bearing the same name. His character demonstrates a mastery of firearms in the films, and the actor trains for that role with Taran Butler at Los Angeles’s Taran Tactical.
On October 24, 2023, Breitbart News pointed to a video of Reeves at the range, shooting a semiautomatic handgun, a carbine-sized firearm, a .308 rifle, and a semiautomatic shotgun, among other guns.
I won't say there's no use for a firearm like a rifle but was that all they could ever steal from him!?
Something doesn't make any sense here unless the burglars were real fans of John Wick...
Quote:Russian strongman Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said on Thursday that the two countries would pressure fellow members of OPEC+ to “adhere” to their agreements “in a way that serves the interest of producers and consumers,” a sign the two would join to pressure smaller member nations to keep production reduced.
The commitment followed an in-person meeting between bin Salman and Putin in Riyadh, where Putin arrived for a short Middle Eastern trip that included both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The Kremlin published a long joint statement from the two countries on Thursday after their meeting, touching on a variety of subjects including the conflict between Israel and the Hamas terrorist organization, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and cooperation in agriculture, space, and trade. Bin Salman welcomed Putin warmly, proclaiming him a “cherished guest” of Saudi Arabia. Putin, in turn, celebrated the positive relations between his country and Saudi Arabia as unprecedented.
“In the field of energy, the two sides commended the close cooperation between them and the successful efforts of the OPEC+ countries in enhancing the stability of global oil markets,” the joint statement read. “They stressed the importance of continuing this cooperation, and the need for all participating countries to adhere to the OPEC+ agreement, in a way that serves the interests of producers and consumers and supports the growth of the global economy.”
Russia and Saudi Arabia collectively represent about a fifth of the world’s daily oil production, the news agency Reuters noted Thursday. They are also the most influential members of OPEC+
...
A week before Putin’s visit to Saudi Arabia, OPEC+ agreed to another new cut of 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd), but the move did little to increase oil prices, in part because of rumored divisions between OPEC+’s larger powers and smaller African nations seeking to not lose their share of the market.
Quote:The United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) conducted joint military flight drill operations with Guyana on Thursday, the first such operations since socialist Venezuela declared it would annex most of Guyana.
The joint operations with Guyana occurred less than a week after the Maduro regime held a sham referendum to annex the disputed Essequibo region, which represents about two-thirds of the current territory of Guyana. Socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro announced a list of actions on Tuesday that his regime will allegedly carry out to annex the territory and create a new state for Venezuela.
...
“The U.S. will continue its commitment as Guyana’s trusted security partner and promoting regional cooperation and interoperability,” the statement concluded.
Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López condemned the military exercises on Thursday, describing them as an “unhappy provocation.”
“This unhappy provocation by the United States in favor of ExxonMobil’s praetorians in Guyana is another step in the wrong direction, Padrino López wrote on Twitter. “We warn that we will not be diverted from our future actions for the recovery of the Essequibo, make no mistake, long live Venezuela!”
Taiwan’s military also spotted 26 Chinese fighter jets and 10 naval vessels around the island.
Quote:A Chinese military surveillance balloon was spotted crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait on Friday, according to the Taiwanese defense ministry, amid growing military threats from communist China.
The ministry said it detected the balloon at around 11:52 a.m. local time, traveling southwest of Keelung at an altitude of 21,000 feet. It was observed heading east before disappearing around 12:55 a.m. local time.
Taiwan’s Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng told reporters that while the ministry considered the possibility of it being a weather balloon, they believed it was their obligation to make the public aware of the incident.
"Otherwise, if after other units or other countries have reported it, everyone will wonder why [we] did not report it. The defense ministry requires all our subordinate units to have a grasp of the enemy situation," Mr. Chiu said.
Taiwan’s military also spotted 26 Chinese fighter jets around the island at around 6 a.m. local time, 15 of which crossed the median line and entered Taiwan’s southwest air defense identification zone (ADIZ).
At the same time, 10 Chinese naval vessels were spotted around the island. The ministry said its military deployed aircraft, ships, and land-based missile systems to monitor their activities.
...
Taiwan is on high alert for Chinese activities ahead of its election, especially what Taipei views as Beijing's efforts to interfere in the ballot to get electors to vote for candidates the CCP may prefer.
Taiwan holds presidential and parliamentary polls on Jan. 13, and campaigning has kicked into high gear with how the next government handles relations with China—a major point of contention.
"For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ," 1 Thessalonians 5:9
Maranatha!
The Internet might be either your friend or enemy. It just depends on whether or not she has a bad hair day.
Quote:Despite the firm requirements for United States citizens and legally admitted international travelers to possess valid forms of identification to board aircraft, the migrants were shuffled through a “special” security screening line set up by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), specifically for migrants — many without any identification whatsoever.
As Breitbart Texas watched, several regular travelers were politely told to exit the special “migrant security line” because they were not non-citizens. The migrants traveling on Friday carried manila envelopes that contained a Notice to Appear and documents showing the migrants were released from federal custody on their own recognizance.
None of the computer-generated documents bear photographs of the migrants or appear on the list of TSA-acceptable identification. Breitbart Texas spoke to several migrant family groups who said they were waiting for an afternoon flight to LaGuardia Airport in Queens, New York.
The migrants were brought to the airport by non-government migrant shelter volunteers who escorted small groups of migrants through the terminal prior to takeoff time. The “guide” explained the layout of the airport. The migrants were guided to the ticketing and baggage area and subsequently directed to the TSA security checkpoint for “non-U.S. citizens without passports.”
For years what the authorities did whenever they met an undocumented alien aka illegal immigrant was to stop and take them to a special room to interrogate them. Nowadays, that seems to have completely disappeared.
Quote:University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill has resigned as president of the university in the wake of intense backlash over her failure during a recent congressional hearing on Capitol Hill to say whether advocating for the genocide of Jews is permissible on campus.
“Dear members of the Penn community,” the university began in its announcement. “I write to share that President Liz Magill has voluntarily tendered her resignation as President of the University of Pennsylvania.”
“She will remain a tenured faculty member at Penn Carey Law,” the school added.
“On behalf of the entire Penn community, I want to thank President Magill for her service to the University of Pennsylvania and wish her well,” the university concluded.
How the heck can anybody thank a woman for doing a lousy job like not stopping abuses and threats from occurring all around the campus or even online? How does that even make sense!?
Quote:Large numbers of migrants have been buried without identification across Europe, with large groupings at busy migration route crossings, a report claims. At least 1,015 graves have been identified, says a report in the left-wing Guardian newspaper, which calls them “unmarked” in the sense those committed to them are unknown individuals.
Many of the graves cited are marked with plain stones, simple crosses, or even inscriptions referring to which migrant boat shipwreck the body is believed to have come from. Most graves mapped ring the Mediterranean, with a large cluster on Sicily and another in the Balkans, but others have been discovered on the Polish border with Belarus, and even in northern France at the English Channel.
As the paper notes: “across European countries the issue remains a legislative void, with no centralised data, nor any uniform process for dealing with the bodies” and that the 1,000 graves identified are just the “tip of the iceberg”, given tens of thousands are believed to have died.
Europe’s scattergun approach to mass migration, being both extremely permissive and restrictive by turns has created the tragic side effect of sustaining a high level of demand for human traffickers.
Quote:A French juvenile court on Friday convicted six teenagers for their roles in the 2020 beheading of a teacher by an Islamic extremist, an attack that shocked the country and shone a light on the real-world dangers of online hate speech.
Samuel Paty, a history and geography teacher, was killed near his school after showing his class cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad during a debate on free expression. Attacker Abdoullakh Anzorov, a young Chechen who had become radicalized, was killed by police.
The court found five of the defendants, who were 14 and 15 at the time of the attack, guilty of involvement in staking out the teacher and identifying him for the attacker. The sixth defendant, 13 at the time, was found guilty of lying about the classroom debate in comments that aggravated online anger against the teacher.
After the ruling, the six defendants left the courtroom without speaking. Some had their heads down as they listened to the verdict. One appeared to wipe tears.
...
One was given a six-month prison term but allowed to serve under house arrest with an electronic bracelet. The others were given special suspended sentences of between two and three years requiring them to stay in school or jobs. The sentences included special educative follow-up measures that also involved their families.
Lawyers for Paty’s family decried the sentences as too lenient. Lawyers for the teenagers expressed relief.
Yeah, that didn't serve justice at all. I know they were minors at that time, but a teacher was killed. That fact can't be blatantly ignored out of the blue.
Quote:A Syrian refugee was arrested Friday in the Netherlands on suspicion of crimes against humanity including sexual violence while he was allegedly head of an interrogation team in a militia aligned to the government of President Bashar Assad.
The arrest of the 55-year-old man marks the first time Dutch authorities have charged a suspect with sexual violence as a crime against humanity, the National Public Prosecution Service said in a statement.
He is the latest suspect charged in the Netherlands with crimes committed during Syria’s grinding civil war. Under universal jurisdiction, the Netherlands can prosecute certain crimes even if they were committed abroad.
The Netherlands and Canada have also taken Syria to the United Nations’ top court, accusing Assad’s administration of a years-long campaign of “institutionalized” torture against its own people.
Quote:The Kremlin is rallying support for Putin’s fifth presidential term by pitching him as the defender of traditional Russian values against the “liberal” West as the war in Ukraine grinds on.
Putin has been in high office for almost a quarter of a century, longer than any ruler since Josef Stalin.
The former KGB spy can still count on wide domestic political support despite starting an immensely costly war in Ukraine that has taken thousands of his countrymen’s lives, provoked repeated attacks inside Russia -– including one on the Kremlin itself -– and corroded its aura of invincibility, AP reports.
The only challenge to that reign came in June when mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin raised widespread speculation Putin could be losing his grip, but he emerged with no permanent scars.
...
Lawmakers in Russia have set the country’s 2024 presidential election for March 17.
Putin, 71, will claim a fifth term in office if he wins, which most see as a certainty given opposition is almost non-existent and Russian media outlets remain completely under his control.
Under constitutional reforms he orchestrated, Putin is eligible to seek two more six-year terms after his current term expires next year, potentially allowing him to remain in power until 2036.
"For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ," 1 Thessalonians 5:9
Maranatha!
The Internet might be either your friend or enemy. It just depends on whether or not she has a bad hair day.
Quote:COSTA: Will Donald Trump be the nominee? MCCARTHY: Yes. In the Republican Party? Yes. And if Biden stays as the nominee for the Democrats, I believe Donald Trump will win. I believe the Republicans will gain more seats in the House and the Republicans will win the Senate. COSTA: Can he count on your support? MCCARTHY: Yes. COSTA: That’s an endorsement? MCCARTHY: I will support the president. I will support President Trump. COSTA: Would you be willing to serve in a Trump cabinet? MCCARTHY: In the right position.
Now we know for sure why he doesn't wanna work at Congress anymore.
Quote:A Texas mother was shocked to discover her daughter, 16-year-old cheerleader Lizbeth Medina, had been murdered in her apartment on Tuesday evening. Rafael Govea Romero, an undocumented migrant, is now facing charges of capital murder in the death of the Texas teen following his arrest on Saturday.
The teen was discovered by her mother, Jacqueline Medina, who became concerned after Lizbeth failed to show up for a Christmas parade. During the early stages of the investigation, law enforcement authorities released images of a person of interest near the murder scene. This information led to the arrest of Romero, an undocumented migrant.
According to Chief of Police Rick Boone of the Edna Police Department, the undocumented migrant was arrested by his officers in coordination with the Texas Rangers and officers from other law enforcement agencies. Police apprehended Govea-Romero, some 60 miles from the scene of the murder in Schulenburg, Texas. Police have not released any other details regarding a potential motive for the murder or additional information about Govea-Romero.
Quote:Radical pro-Palestinian demonstrations appear to have developed a new tactic: they are targeting Christmas tree lightings across the country, and other Christian symbols, in addition to symbols of Israel and Jewish institutions.
The latest example was Friday’s protest in Los Angeles, where pro-Palestinian radicals marched from a fundraiser for President Joe Biden to an area where there are several synagogues. They sprayed anti-Israel graffiti on the walls opposite the synagogues, and also vandalized a local church.
Prior to that, pro-Palestinian activists disrupted the Christmas tree lighting at Rockefeller Center in New York City, clashing with police. Governor Gavin Newsom was forced to move California’s Christmas tree lighting indoors due to the threat of protests. And in Michigan, pro-Palestinian protesters tried to drown out a children’s choir at a Christmas tree lighting in Ypsilanti last month.
...
One answer is that pro-Palestinian protests have become increasingly Islamic. At Friday’s protest in Los Angeles, for example, Muslim participants held prayers during the demonstration outside the Biden fundraiser. Christians have faced persecution from Muslims in areas run by the Palestinian Authority, such as Bethlehem, and may have been marginalized within the movement.
Many evangelical Christians are seen as pro-Israel, so that may also make churches targets of hatred, alongside synagogues.
Quote:Multiple tornadoes ripped through central Tennessee late Saturday, killing six people and sending another two dozen to hospital as homes and businesses were damaged in multiple cities.
Local emergency services said tens of thousands of residents were left in the dark after power failures in the wake of the multiple twisters.
“At this time we can confirm that three people are deceased, two adults and one child as a result of the tornado that touched down this afternoon. Additionally, 23 people have been treated at the hospital,” the Montgomery County in Tennessee said on its Facebook page confirming the first of the fatalities.
Multiple warnings were issued by authorities both before and after the cataclysmic weather events.
Quote:The clash took place on Friday morning in the town of Texcaltitlan in Mexico State. The battle resulted in the killing of 14 individuals, including ten suspected cartel members, authorities said. According to information released by the Mexico State Attorney General’s Office, the clash took place between locals and a group of gunmen from the cartel known as La Familia Michoacana.
During the clash, villagers used machetes, sticks, and knives as they rushed the gunmen. A video shared on social media captured the moments right before the fighting began.
The cartel gunmen were led by Rigoberto “El Payaso” de la Sancha Santillan, a regional leader with La Familia Michoacana — a drug cartel that has been making a push in recent years into Mexico State and Mexico City. Authorities believe that El Payaso died during the clash. Several of his gunmen were wearing military-style uniforms and drove in gray vehicles with cartel logos spray painted on them.
Quote:Libertarian economist Javier Milei was inaugurated president of Argentina on Sunday, flanked by a host of heads of state – including Spanish King Felipe VI and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky – and surrounded by thousands of supporters in Buenos Aires.
Milei’s inauguration concludes a dramatic, and rapid, ascent to political power for the economist and television commentator, who formed his political party, Liberty Advances, in 2021. Liberty Advances won its first seats in the Argentine Congress that year on an anti-socialist, small-government platform. Milei’s first and only public office before becoming president was to serve in the Argentine Congress for two years. He is the nation’s first libertarian president and vanquished both the deeply entrenched leftist Peronist elite previously in power and the establishment “center-right” coalition that controlled the opposition for nearly two decades.
Milei was inaugurated president in a traditional ceremony before the Argentine Congress attended by a host of high-profile world leaders. In addition to the Spanish king and Zelensky, the halls of Congress welcomed the president of Uruguay, Luis Lacalle Pou; the recently elected president of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa; former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban; and Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan. A notable high-profile guest among the presidents was Gabriel Boric, the president of Chile – the only far-left president who attended and who has warmly congratulated Milei in public.
The administration of leftist President Joe Biden sent a low-profile delegation led by Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.
Quote:Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops found weapons stashed inside a teddy bear inside a school in Gaza on Friday, the latest example of Palestinian terrorists using civilian infrastructure to conduct their activities, which is a war crime.
Footage released by the IDF shows Israeli soldiers entering a darkened storage area, then tearing open the large teddy bear to reveal a large rifle and ammunition box.
Another video from a school nearby shows IDF soldiers finding weapons in classrooms, including in bags from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the special institution devoted solely to Palestinian refugees from wars decades ago.
...
The Hamas terrorist organization is using children’s games to conceal weapons, while deliberately putting the children of Gaza at risk. Throughout the war, weapons were found hidden in children’s items and play areas including in a girl’s backpack, under children’s beds, in schools, and in playgrounds.
Quote:A Hamas spokesman suggested Sunday that the terror organization could kill all of the presumed 137 hostages in its custody if Israel does not accede to its demands.
Abu Obeida, a familiar spokesman for Hamas who had not been seen for several weeks, released a video in which he made the threat clear.
“Neither the fascist enemy and its arrogant leadership… nor its supporters… can take their prisoners alive without an exchange and negotiation and meeting the demands of the resistance,” he said, according to the Times of Israel.
It is not clear if Hamas would deliver on that threat. The hostages are the only leverage that Hamas has over Israel, and it uses them as human shields. The Hamas leaders in exile — in luxurious accommodation in Doha, Qatar — would also likely to preserve the hostages alive to ensure that Israel negotiates with them, rather than killing them (as it has promised to do, eventually).
What the local leadership of Hamas doesn't understand is that this kind of declarations turn out to be interpreted as a plea for being exterminated as an organization by the IDF. If they really wanted to survive, they'd release all hostages right away. Even so, the Israeli government is giving them another chance, even if they shouldn't.
Quote:In a statement, Netanyahu said that the remaining holdouts should not die for the sake of Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader in Gaza:
In the past few days, dozens of Hamas terrorists have surrendered to our forces. They are laying down their weapons and turning themselves in to our heroic soldiers.
This will take time. The war is still ongoing but it is the beginning of the end of Hamas.
I say to the Hamas terrorists: It’s over. Don’t die for Sinwar. Surrender – now!
Israel also released a video of a former Hamas communications minister Yousef al-Mansi blaming Sinwar for the war as the Times of Israel noted:
“I have not seen anyone in the Gaza Strip who supports Sinwar, nobody likes Sinwar. There are people who, day and night, pray that God will free us from him,” he says.
Al-Mansi says Sinwar has “delusions of grandeur,” and that he “feels like he is above everyone else. Acts only as he thinks. He makes decisions without consulting anyone.”
"For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ," 1 Thessalonians 5:9
Maranatha!
The Internet might be either your friend or enemy. It just depends on whether or not she has a bad hair day.
12-11-2023, 04:08 AM (This post was last modified: 12-11-2023, 04:32 AM by DerVVulfman.)
CHINA ATTACKS PHILIPPINE VESSELS
WITH WATER CANONS
U.S. RESPONDED
Chinese coast guard ships attacked Filipino vessels near Scarborough Shoal using water cannons. The United States condemned the aggressive actions of China, according to AP.
Filipino fishing bureau ships had reportedly approached Scarborough Shoal to deliver humanitarian aid, primarily fuel and food, to impoverished fishermen.
Filipino officials stated that the Chinese coast guard and accompanying ships engaged in dangerous and aggressive actions. They used water cannons at least eight times whenever Philippine government vessels approached Scarborough Shoal.
The officials added that the Chinese coast guard set up a floating barrier near the entrance to the Scarborough Shoal's fishing lagoon and deployed personnel aboard small motorized boats to deter Filipino fishermen awaiting humanitarian aid.
"To prevent the distribution of humanitarian support is not only illegal but also inhumane," said the official statement from the Philippines.
The United States has warned China that Washington will defend the Philippines if their troops, planes, or ships come under armed attack, particularly in the South China Sea.
In October, a Chinese coast guard ship collided with a Philippine resupply boat. Two hours later, a Chinese maritime police vessel encountered a Philippine coast guard ship during the same resupply operation in the South China Sea.
At that time, the Philippines accused Beijing of encroaching into their waters. U.S. President Joe Biden stated that the United States would be forced to intervene if China attacked Philippine vessels.
On December 9, the U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines, Mary Kay Carlson, condemned China's aggressive and unlawful actions.
"This (Chinese) behavior violates international law and endangers lives and livelihood. We stand with our Philippine friends, partners, allies in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific," she stated.
CNN ANCHOR GRILLS UN OFFICIAL
ON REFUSING TO CONDEMN
HAMAS RAPES ON OCTOBER 7 Gets Brutal Word Salad Response
Sarah Hendriks, Deputy Executive Director for UN Women, spoke with CNN anchor Bianna Golodryga this week and received a tough line of questioning regarding the UN’s refusal to condemn Hamas for using systematic rape and sexual violence as a weapon during its devastating attack on Israel.
“UN Women is deeply, deeply alarmed at the disturbing reports of gender-based and sexual violence on October 7th,” Hendriks said during the interview, adding:
Sarah Hendriks, U.N. Wrote:And as we’ve said in the Security Council and through various platforms, we absolutely, unequivocally condemn all forms of violence against women and girls, especially in the context of conflict. As you just heard Ruth say, this is never acceptable. And gender-based violence as a weapon of war is totally reprehensible.
Certainly, we have called from the beginning for the need to protect civilians, including and especially women and girls, in the context of this conflict. And we’ve called for the need for any allegations of gender-based atrocities to be fully investigated with the utmost priority.
“Is there a reason, though, Sarah, that you can’t specifically call out Hamas and the mounting evidence now over seven weeks that Israeli investigators have collected, that we’ve shown our viewers about the atrocities they committed, specifically on October 7th?” Golodryga followed up.
“Because I think that’s the crux of the issue here. It’s not just condemning sexual violence against women and in any war in general. It’s specifically what occurred on October 7th perpetrated by Hamas,” Golodryga added.
“Indeed. UN Women always supports impartial, independent investigations into any serious allegations of gender-based or sexual violence and within the UN family these investigations are led by the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights,” Hendriks replied, adding what can best described as a word salad of bureaucratic jargon:
Sarah Hendriks, U.N. Wrote:And just to provide a little bit of context in terms of UN women’s role, UN women specifically provides and has extensive knowledge on gender-based violence and provides and supports investigations, as we do with all UN investigations.
And so consequently, in this context and within the UN system, it is the Independent International Commission of Inquiry, which for us has the mandate to investigate all alleged violations. It is absolutely important for the rights, for the needs, for the protection, for the dignity, for the survivors of violence to be supported throughout a process. And that’s why we work through these globally mandated mechanisms. That notwithstanding, we understand and certainly we encourage and support national-level efforts. The ones that you’ve heard about today, the civil commission in Israel, which has brought together women’s organizations to document gender-based atrocities impartially. Our work will be on the backside of the Independent International Commission.
The UN and other major human rights groups have come under increasing scrutiny over their lack of condemnation regarding Hamas’s brutality and use of sexual violence on Oct. 7th. Sheryl Sandberg recorded an emotional plea last week calling for greater awareness and more action on the issue.
PUTIN REELING AS RUSSIA
LOSES 3K TROOPS IN THREE DAYS
IN FIERCE UKRAINE BATTLE
Russian forces have lost 3,010 soldiers as well as 32 tanks in just three days as Vladimir Putin's military suffers a massive blow on the frontlines.
The unverified numbers were posted to Facebook by Ukraine's General Staff who vowed to "beat the occupier!" at the end of each post. Kyiv said Russia suffered 1,120 casualties on December 7, 990 on December 8 and 900 on December 9 - it didn't specify the amount of wounded vs dead.
Many of these losses are likely to have occurred around the embattled city of Avdiivka which Moscow has been attempting to storm since mid-October with devastating consequences.
The town in eastern Donetsk has become a focal point of the fighting with Russia launching massive human wave attacks that have, so far, failed to capture significant amounts of territory.
However, Moscow is continuing its onslaught in the area, according to a spokesman for the Defence Forces of the Tavria region, Oleksandr Shtupun.
He said: "The enemy continues to try to advance. Almost all of his activity is concentrated in the Avdiivka and Maryinka areas. More than 90 percent of the clashes of the past day took place there."
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) - a think tank covering the conflict - said on December 7 and 8 that Russian forces had made advances in the area.
ISW said: "Geolocation footage released on December 8 shows that Russian troops have advanced to the treatment facilities south of Krasnohorivka (5 km northwest of Avdiivka)."
The think tank also said that the number of Russian casualties in Ukraine could be outpacing the Kremlin's ability to mobilize more troops.
In an update on December 7, it said: "Russian and Ukrainian officials have reported that Russian crypto-mobilization efforts produce roughly 20,000 to 40,000 personnel a month, a rate that could be lower than Russia's current casualty rate in Ukraine.
It added: "Ukrainian officials reported in spring and summer 2023 that Russia recruits roughly 20,000 personnel through crypto-mobilization efforts per month.
"Ukrainian officials have reported that the Russian force grouping along the Kharkiv-Luhansk Oblast front has roughly not changed since summer 2023, suggesting that the commitment of new personnel to the area is offsetting Russian losses but not increasing the strength of that grouping."
Up is down, left is right and sideways is straight ahead. - Cord "Circle of Iron", 1978 (written by Bruce Lee and James Coburn... really...)
Quote:“We are grateful to law enforcement for their swiftness and professionalism in handling this matter and pray for the safety of all Americans,” campaign spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said to ABC News.
The suspect is 30-year-old Tyler Anderson, who was first reported to law enforcement by Ramaswamy’s campaign staff last week for allegedly sending a threatening message in response to a campaign text about an upcoming event.
“Great, another opportunity for me to blow [Ramaswamy’s] brains out,” the criminal complaint says Anderson replied on Friday.
“I’m going to kill everyone who attends and then $"#% their corpses,” a second message said, screenshots obtained by ABC showed.
The campaign text provided the location of where the Republican candidate would be at the Monday morning event in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, for a breakfast with voters.
While authorities said Ramaswamy was not explicitly named as a target in Anderon’s text, he was the “only candidate with a listed event in Portsmouth on Monday,” NBC 10 Boston reported.
First RFK Jr. and now Ramaswamy. How many other candidates have to be threatened before all of them get some SS detail to escort them?
Quote:In interviews conducted by the House Homeland Security Committee, chaired by Rep. Mark Green (R-TN) from May through September, eight Border Patrol agents detailed the extent to which Biden’s Catch and Release network has turned the southern border into a mere checkpoint for illegal aliens to stop at before heading into the United States interior.
Chief Patrol Agent Jason Owens of the Del Rio Sector in Texas told the committee that more illegal aliens are turning themselves in to Border Patrol than ever before because “they believe that they’re going to be processed and given a Notice to Appear so that they can await their immigration hearing in the United States.”
Indeed, since Biden took office, more than 1.2 million border crossers have been released into the United States interior on Notices to Appear (NTA) at a later date before a federal immigration judge. This does not include another million who have been released on parole and through other means.
Even when illegal aliens are detained at the border, the majority are eventually released into the U.S. interior under Biden, Deputy Chief Patrol Agent Dustin Caudle of the Yuma Sector in Arizona told the committee:
Yeah, they're basically given permission to stay and do whatever they want before they have to appear at a court. If they ever do...
Quote:Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said the vessels would help to reopen “vital export routes” – limited since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine.
The MoD revealed the UK is also launching a “maritime coalition” with Norway, to garner long-term support for Ukraine.
Shapps told BBC One’s Breakfast the vessels would make a “significant difference”, boosting efforts to clear mines from the Black Sea, and that the coalition would help build a Ukrainian navy fit to defend the country in the future.
...
“We believe that we simply can’t have an outcome where an autocratic dictator walks into a neighbouring democratic country and then the West gets bored of it,” he said.
“That is an unacceptable outcome. That is why the UK will keep reminding people that that can’t happen.”
The provision of two Royal Navy minehunters to Ukraine has been in the works for a long time. They were part of a package of UK maritime support, promised before Russia invaded Ukraine.
Quote:Hezbollah has been shelling Israeli military and civilian targets sporadically, with the exception of the week-long “pause” (to which it was not formally committed). Israel has responded by firing at the sources of Hezbollah fire. Most of the Hezbollah rockets and drones are intercepted by Israel’s aerial defense systems, but some manage to hit targets. Even those that do not destroy buildings or cause brush fires, which destroy farms and natural habitat, forcing farmers to abandon their fields.
...
Israel has already deployed troops along the border, keeping close guard on roads near the border and keeping tank engines running in the event of a sudden deployment.
National security minister Tzachi Hanegbi told Israeli media this weekend that unless diplomacy succeeds in convincing Iran to move its terror proxy back to the Litani River, some 18 miles north of the border, as required by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, war is likely.
...
Local residents who have been evacuated say that they will not return to their communities unless Hezbollah withdraws, fearing that what happened to the largely agricultural communities near Gaza on October 7 could happen to them if Hezbollah attacks.
The Times of Israel reported Monday that Benny Gantz, a former military leader and current leader of the Israeli opposition, who serves in Israel’s emergency government of national unity, told U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken that war against Lebanon is likely.
"For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ," 1 Thessalonians 5:9
Maranatha!
The Internet might be either your friend or enemy. It just depends on whether or not she has a bad hair day.
Quote:Johnson’s op-ed sets the stage for the full House vote after the White House refused to comply with House investigators’ request for relevant documentation and records. The vote will be a test for House Republicans, who hold a slight majority over House Democrats. The measure will need nearly all Republican support.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) opened an “impeachment inquiry” on September 12, but lawmakers did not vote to approve the measure.
If the impeachment inquiry receives majority support on the House floor, the inquiry will be formally adopted, a status that Johnson says will help the House’s inquiry obtain information blocked by the White House.
Johnson, a constitutional lawyer and former member of the House Judiciary Committee, cited six cases of mounting evidence against Joe Biden that “cannot be ignored”:
Biden family members and Biden business-linked entities received more than $15 million from individuals in Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Romania, and China.
Joe Biden spoke with Hunter Biden’s business associates at least 22 times.
Joe Biden lied about his involvement in the business.
Joe Biden received “direct monthly payments” from Hunter Biden’s “Owasco PC” business account, which received “payments from Chinese-state linked companies and other foreign nationals and companies.”
Investigators flagged the Justice Department’s “deviations” in the five-year investigation into Hunter Biden.
An FBI FD-1023 form alleges Joe Biden accepted a $5 million bribe while vice president.
Quote:Negotiations on additional American aid to Ukraine paired with a border security package are dead for 2023, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) reportedly told his fellow Senate Republicans at their weekly lunch Tuesday.
The Republican leader’s comments come as Zelensky makes his third trip in a year through the U.S. Capitol with his hands out.
Republican opposition to additional aid to Ukraine has steadily grown as voters have balked at Zelensky’s pleas for more handouts from American taxpayers.
Congress has already authorized well over $100 billion in aid to Ukraine.
Earlier Tuesday, Zelensky met individually with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA). Afterward, Johnson reiterated his position that the White House and Senate must get serious about securing the border before any additional aid to Ukraine can be considered, arguing that the Biden administration has failed to outline clear goals in further assisting Ukraine’s war against Russia.
Quote:Turkish parliamentarian Hasan Bitmez suffered a heart attack and collapsed next to the podium at the Turkish National Assembly on Tuesday after delivering a tirade against Israel.
The Grand Assembly of the Turkish parliament was ostensibly debating budgetary considerations on Tuesday, but Bitmez launched into a fiery condemnation of Israel’s war against the terrorists of Hamas in Gaza, accusing Israelis of “crimes against humanity” and “ethnic cleansing.”
“Even if history remains silent, the truth will not remain silent. They think that if they get rid of us, there will be no problem. However, if you get rid of us, you will not be able to escape the torment of conscience,” he said.
Bitmez’s last words before collapsing were reportedly, “Israel will not escape the wrath of Allah!”
Bitmez, 54, reportedly suffers from diabetes. Fortunately, one of the fellow MPs who rushed to his aid, Turhan Comez of the IYI Party, is a trained physician. After Comez rendered aid at the scene, Bitmez was removed from the National Assembly chamber by stretcher after collapsing and taken to intensive care at Ankara’s Bilkent City Hospital. He was reported to be in critical condition as of Tuesday afternoon.
Bitmez is the deputy chief of Turkey’s Saadet or “Felicity” Party, an Islamist party formed in 2001. Saadet is considered the more hardline Islamist alternative to the ruling Justice and Development (AKP) party of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Quote:Dr. Renana Eitan, head psychiatrist at a prominent Tel Aviv hospital, [stated] on Tuesday:
“The physical, sexual, mental, psychological abuse of these hostages who came back is just terrible,” she added. “We have to rewrite the textbook.”
...
The hospital has been treating 14 former hostages held by Hamas, some of whom reported being drugged, including with what doctors believe were benzodiazepines, a class of depressants with a sedative effect that includes drugs like Valium.
...
“One of the girls was given ketamine for a few weeks,” she continued, referring to a powerful dissociative anesthetic known for giving the recipient a sense of detachment from their environment.
Another, male hostage was reportedly told that his wife had been killed when she was, in fact, still alive. Some hostages were kept in darkness for days, and some freed hostages experienced flashbacks, in which they believed erroneously that they were still in captivity.
Quote:The assault on the oil and chemical tanker Strinda expands a campaign by the Iranian-backed rebels targeting ships near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait into apparently now striking those that have no clear ties to Israel. That potentially imperils cargo and energy shipments coming through the Suez Canal and further widens the international impact of the Israel-Hamas war now raging in the Gaza Strip.
The Houthis did not immediately claim responsibility for the attack, though rebel military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said an important announcement would be coming from them soon.
The private intelligence firms Ambrey and Dryad Global confirmed the attack happened near the crucial Bab el-Mandeb Strait separating East Africa from the Arabian Peninsula.
Dryad Global and a U.S. defense official identified the vessel attacked as the Strinda, a Norwegian-owned-and-operated ship that had broadcast it had armed guards aboard as it went through the strait. The defense official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, said it appeared a missile struck the vessel.
Quote:Hannibal was a Carthaginian general who nearly conquered Rome in 218BC after leading an epic campaign with an armada of African war elephants across the Alps to attack Rome from the north. Though his campaign failed, he is considered one of the greatest military leaders in history. Tunisia, the general’s birthplace, has claimed that Denzel Washington would race-swap the role. Per The Guardian:
French-language Tunisian news outlet La Presse published an article saying the casting created “a historical error”, while on social media, some users accused Netflix of promoting “woke culture”. An online petition signed by 1,300 people urged Netflix to “cancel its pseudo-documentary” and called on the ministry of culture to “take action against the attempt to steal our history”.
It should be noted that no historical document ever detailed Hannibal’s skin color, though “historians of the ancient Mediterranean world largely agree that he was of Phoenician descent – a region encompassing modern Lebanon and Syria – although he lived during a time of great empires and intermixing,” according to The Guardian.
The casting of Washington, arguably one of the greatest movie stars in the world, has been such a point of contention in Tunisia that one of the country’s MPs, Yassine Mami, questioned Culture Minister, Hayet Ketat Guermazi, on the floor of the Tunisian Parliament about it.
"For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ," 1 Thessalonians 5:9
Maranatha!
The Internet might be either your friend or enemy. It just depends on whether or not she has a bad hair day.