USA
Here's the link to the report.
But I gotta say here that having strong moral values is not a reason for others to attack churches or any other place or group in general.
Just don't forget that there are MANY illegals entering the US and the Biden administration has done nothing to prevent them from staying in US soil. In fact, DHS Secretary Mayorkas clearly encourages them to remain in America and get a job, even if they still are illegals. If they feel they're "abused" by their employers or these people are not hiring enough illegals, the DHS tells them that they should denounce them and offers them a path to citizenship! All of these has been reported already in the last couple of weeks here on NOTW.
CANADA
It might be convenient to add an older article that seems to support the liberal government instead of the actual victims of the government's abuse. Even so it suggested there was a need to make several changes in that law or its implementation.
This clearly demonstrates how the Trudeau administration doesn't care about being transparent concerning its policies and doesn't believe in righting the wrongs done in the past.
EUROPE
Could it be because those Palestinians are dangerous?
Who told them they were allowed to swarm a public institution like the Parliament?
But because they're Palestinians, they won't be accused of J6 type of "insurrection" as white and not really white American patriots "did" that fateful day.
ASIA
MIDDLE EAST
[spoiler=Houthis Seriously Damaged Freighter Rubymar]
AUSTRALIA
Great Stress on International Relationships
Quote:The Biden administration is unveiling more than 500 new sanctions against Russia and the entities supporting its human rights abuses and war effort in Ukraine.
The tranche of sanctions is the largest unveiled since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly two years ago, and seeks to hold Moscow to account for the war and the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, President Joe Biden said in a prepared statement.
“Today, I am announcing more than 500 new sanctions against Russia for its ongoing war of conquest on Ukraine and for the death of Aleksey Navalny, who was a courageous anti-corruption activist and [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s fiercest opposition leader,” President Biden said.
“We are also imposing new export restrictions on nearly 100 entities for providing backdoor support for Russia’s war machine.”
The Treasury and State Departments will impose the sanctions, with the Department of Commerce also adding more than 90 companies to the Entity List.
They target individuals and businesses operating in 11 countries, as well as three Russian government officials whom the White House has linked to the death of Mr. Navalny in an Arctic prison last week.
The Sanctions also target Russia’s financial and energy sectors, defense industrial base, procurement networks, and sanctions evaders on multiple continents.
A Treasury Department statement.said that the sanctions were designed “to impose additional costs for Russia’s repression, human rights abuses, and aggression against Ukraine.”
Commerce Secretary Janet Yellen added that Russian leader Vladimir Putin had sacrificed the wellbeing of the Russian people in his effort to demilitarize Ukraine.
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“The Kremlin chooses to reorient its economy to build weapons to kill its neighbors at the expense of the economic future of its own people.”
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The sanctions follow closely behind a similar effort led by European officials earlier this week, in which EU member states banned nearly 200 entities and individuals accused of helping Moscow to illegally procure weapons and of kidnapping children in Ukraine.
Russia’s foreign ministry responded by expanding a list of European Union officials and politicians banned from entering Russia.
The sanctions also follow a series of arrests and indictments in the United States, wherein the Justice Department has accused Russian oligarchs, including the head of Russia’s second-largest bank, of sanctions busting and money laundering.
The new sanctions accordingly target several high-profile entities, including the National Payment Card System Joint Stock Company, which is owned by the Central Bank of Russia and plays a key role in facilitating financial transactions there.
Quote:Two years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Biden administration is reconsidering the likelihood that the war will end in a negotiated settlement.
Ukrainian leadership claims that it seeks the total recovery of its occupied territories in the east. Russia claims that it seeks the total demilitarization of Ukraine and the creation of a neutral state to buffer Russia from NATO.
Neither side is close to achieving those objectives, however; nor are either likely to become so, according to several experts.
For their part, U.S. officials are optimistic that the war has bled Russia badly enough that a negotiated settlement may yet preserve Ukraine’s democratic government and sovereignty.
The proof, according to Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, is in Russia’s losses.
“Ukraine has taken off the battlefield 21 naval ships, 102 Russian aircraft, and 2,700 Russian tanks,” Ms. Nuland said at a Feb. 22 talk at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank.
“In case Americans are still asking themselves if all of this is worth it for us, let’s remember: without sending a single U.S. soldier into combat, and investing less than one tenth of one year’s defense budget of the United States, we have helped Ukraine destroy 50 percent of Russia’s ground combat power.”
For all the slaughter, however, even senior officials like Ms. Nuland are forced to acknowledge that Ukraine has all but run out of U.S. support, and is stuck in a brutal stalemate that more resembles the horrors of war in the early 20th century than the 21st.
Describing the line of control in eastern Ukraine as a “meat grinder,” Ms. Nuland said that Russia appeared content to simply wait for U.S. support to Ukraine to die out completely.
Immigration & Terrorists
Quote:The U.S. Department of Justice has charged four foreign nationals with smuggling Iranian-made advanced conventional weaponry to the Houthi terrorist group in Yemen last month.
U.S. Navy SEALs operating from USS Lewis B Puller (ESB 3) boarded a small vessel during a nighttime mission in the Arabian Sea on Jan. 11, seizing control of the vessel and suspected Iranian-made ballistic missile and cruise missile components on board. The elite U.S. special operators also detained 14 individuals on board the dhow, including defendants Muhammad Pahlawan, Mohammad Mazhar, Ghufran Ullah, and Izhar Muhammad.
On Thursday, the DOJ unsealed its Feb. 11 criminal complaint against the four defendants. The DOJ described the four men as foreign nationals, and charging documents indicated U.S. officials found Pakistani identification cards for each of the defendants aboard the seized vessel.
Mr. Pahlawan is charged with transporting an explosive device aboard the vessel, with the knowledge that the weapon would be used by the Houthis to target other maritime traffic in the region. Mr. Pahlawan and the other three defendants are also charged with providing materially false statements for claiming they were unaware of the weapon components they were transporting.
All four defendants face a maximum penalty of five years in prison if convicted of the false statements charges. Mr. Pahlawan faces up to 20 more years in prison if convicted of transporting the explosive device.
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According to the complaint, the dhow the defendants were sailing departed from Iran’s Chahbahar Bay on or around Jan. 5.
All 14 crewmembers detained during the Jan. 11 boarding action denied knowing that they had weapon components on their vessel. Mr. Pahalawan and other crewmembers they were out on a fishing voyage, though some of the crewmembers later claimed they were drug smugglers.
When interviewed by investigators, Mr. Pahlawan said the Iranian Navy inspected the vessel about an hour before its departure. He also said the vessel’s owner and captain were also present during the inspection, but said the captain did not depart with the vessel and instead gave him a heading. He said the vessel’s owner also provided him with a satellite phone.
FBI investigators inspected the satellite phone and the complaint alleges they were subsequently able to identify the ship’s owner as an individual connected to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which is designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the United States.
Quote:The number of Chinese nationals entering the United States illegally has surged in recent times, with the latest data from the San Diego sector showing a staggering 500 percent surge so far this year compared to the same period a year ago.
As the nation remains gripped by an illegal immigration crisis of historic proportions, there’s been an exceptionally high increase in the number of Chinese nationals—especially military-aged men—who have unlawfully crossed the U.S.-Mexico border.
Some border patrol officials and others have warned this poses a national security risk because, among those simply seeking a better life, there may be those with links to the Chinese military.
Brandon Judd, the head of the Border Patrol union, recently warned about a sharp rise in the number of military-aged Chinese men crossing the southern border illegally, saying that he believes some of them may be spies working on behalf of China’s communist regime to “infiltrate” the United States.
And now, Jason Owens, the chief of the U.S. Border Patrol (USBP), has revealed that, so far this fiscal year, the San Diego sector has seen over 20,000 apprehensions of Chinese nationals, over five times the number in the comparable period last year.
“In FY24, San Diego Sector has made +140K apprehensions with +20K of them being from China (a more than 500% increase compared to last FYTD),” Mr. Owens wrote in a post on X.
Some analysts say that deteriorating economic conditions in China, as well as human rights abuses and policies such as strict COVID-19 lockdowns, are likely driving the sharp increase in the number of Chinese nationals entering the United States illegally.
Interviews with some of the Chinese border crossers indicate much the same thing, with some blaming an increasingly repressive political climate and dour economic prospects.
However, Mr. Judd and others have suggested that for some—possibly even many—there might be a different motivation.
Quote:Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has asked a state judge to shut down a nonprofit organization that operates a network of shelters in Texas, alleging that the organization appears to be facilitating illegal border crossings and human smuggling.
The Republican attorney general began investigating the Catholic nonprofit Annunciation House earlier this month over potential violations of state law. The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) issued a Feb. 7 “request to examine” the nonprofit’s records, including documents detailing what services it provides to immigrants who are in the country legally or illegally.
According to Mr. Paxton, Annunciation House refused to turn over any documents and sued his office soon after, seeking to halt his efforts to obtain their records. On Tuesday, Feb. 20, Mr. Paxton announced he is asserting a counterclaim, seeking to shut down Annunciation House’s operations within the state entirely.
“OAG has complete and unlimited authority to examine business records to ensure that entities operating within the state are doing so lawfully. And the consequence of a flagrant failure to comply with such a request is that OAG may terminate the business’s right to operate in Texas,” Mr. Paxton’s office said in a press statement on Tuesday. “The OAG lawsuit seeks to revoke Annunciation House’s authorization to do business in Texas and asks the court to appoint a receiver to liquidate their assets.”
In his legal filings, Mr. Paxton states his initial request to inspect Annunciation House’s records “was not made in a vacuum.” Rather, he alleges state investigators had been monitoring the “unusually covert way” Annunciation House operates.
“Annunciation House staff also made multiple admissions that they had assisted migrants in the past in the United States who had not surrendered to border patrol, had assisted persons in Mexico in crossing over to the United States in the past, and they intended to continue these activities the future,” Mr. Paxton’s lawsuit claims.
The lawsuit further cites a January 2023, article by El Paso Matters, which described a woman and her family avoiding Border Patrol when crossing the Rio Grande, out of fear that agents would send them back to Mexico. They were then taken in by Annunciation House, according to the report. The same article describes how Annunciation House director Ruben Garcia stated his organization has helped individuals, who initially avoided border officials upon entering the United States, to make asylum claims. Mr. Paxton argues that these efforts constitute evidence that Annunciation House is harboring illegal immigrants from detection, in potential violation of Texas state law.
Trump & Special Counsel Jack Smith
Quote:Special counsel Jack Smith on Friday filed more evidence, in secret and under seal, without the presence or notification of former President Donald Trump’s attorneys, a practice that the former president’s lawyers have said infringe on their client’s right to open proceedings.
In a Feb. 23 notice of filing at the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida, Mr. Smith’s team indicated that they have filed documents related to an order pursuant to CIPA Section 4 rules, delivering them to a classified information security officer in Fort Pierce, Florida.
President Trump has been charged with retaining national defense information, meaning that his case will be tried under the complex rules laid out in the Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA), which governs how those documents can be used in court.
A CIPA Section 4 motion asks the judge to redact certain information from the classified documents that are turned over to the defense.
Mr. Smith’s latest filing indicates that the documents were submitted ex parte, in camera, and under seal.
An ex parte filing means one submitted to the court by one party to legal proceedings without the presence or notification of the opposing party. An in camera filing is one made behind closed doors, so in secret and without public access.
President Trump’s attorneys have objected to any exhibit being filed ex parte. They have also said they oppose any exhibits being filed under seal but that they would not lodge a formal objection until they have had a chance to review the contents.
Serious Issues
Quote:A report released by the Family Research Council (FRC) indicates an 800 percent increase in violent incidents against churches in the past six years.
The Feb. 20 report (pdf), titled “Hostility Against Churches Is on the Rise in the United States,” shed light on the aggressive trend of increased attacks against churches, with data indicating that attacks on the places of worship doubled in 2023 over the previous year.
According to the FRC’s 183 pages of findings, at least 915 acts of hostility against U.S. churches were identified between 2018 and 2023.
FRC president and former chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Tony Perkins said of the report, "There is a common connection between the growing religious persecution abroad and the rapidly increasing hostility toward churches here at home: our government’s policies.
“The indifference abroad to the fundamental freedom of religion is rivaled only by the increasing antagonism toward the moral absolutes taught by Bible-believing churches here in the U.S., which is fomenting this environment of hostility toward churches.”
These acts encompassed various forms of aggression, including vandalism, arson, gun-related incidents, bomb threats, and more.
By categorizing these incidents, the report showed the diverse nature of the hostility faced by churches, from satanic imagery to anti-Israel sentiments and targeted attacks on nativity scenes.
The year 2023 alone witnessed a significant spike, with at least 436 reported acts of hostility against churches, marking more than double the number recorded in 2022.
The report further detailed that these acts of hostility in 2023 were widespread, occurring in 48 states and the District of Columbia. States with larger populations experienced a higher incidence of these attacks, with California topping the list at 33 incidents, followed closely by Texas with 28. It is worthy of note that Hawaii and Wyoming reported no such incidents during the same period.
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The data indicated that the increase in animosity noted in their earlier analysis had not only continued but also increased in 2023, which the group asserts requires immediate attention.
The report offered more than 150 pages of details of the attacks, and outlined how congregants and clergy alike have found themselves in the crosshairs of these acts. The document also highlighted the psychological impact on individuals and communities.
The deliberate destruction of religious symbols, such as the beheading of a statue of Mary or the desecration of a historically Black church, is thought to extend beyond physical damage to convey a powerful message: that these churches may not be welcome or respected in their neighborhoods.
Here's the link to the report.
But I gotta say here that having strong moral values is not a reason for others to attack churches or any other place or group in general.
Just don't forget that there are MANY illegals entering the US and the Biden administration has done nothing to prevent them from staying in US soil. In fact, DHS Secretary Mayorkas clearly encourages them to remain in America and get a job, even if they still are illegals. If they feel they're "abused" by their employers or these people are not hiring enough illegals, the DHS tells them that they should denounce them and offers them a path to citizenship! All of these has been reported already in the last couple of weeks here on NOTW.
Quote:A report found that the region around the San Diego border area with Mexico faces a public health crisis due to contaminated sewage flowing from Mexico into California.
In a report commissioned by Rep. Scott Peters (R-Calif.), San Diego State University researchers described the situation as a “public health crisis,” finding that raw sewage and other materials are flowing north into Southern California from Mexico via the Tijuana River. They noted that places like Imperial Beach and San Ysidro, California, as well as other areas, could face exposure to “untreated sewage.”
Specifically, the researchers said that people who live or work near the area can be exposed to harmful viruses, bacteria, parasites, and toxic chemicals. They highlighted the spread of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria as well as serious and fatal pathogens such as tuberculosis, as well as banned chemicals and heavy metals.
Meanwhile, the researchers made note of the “unusual threats” posed to health by “pollutants from Mexico,” including human and animal diseases. Contaminated water, they added, is constantly flowing into the Pacific Ocean, especially after heavy rainfall events.
“I don’t go to Imperial Beach anymore ... I used to go all the time, quite frequently,” lead author Paula Stigler Granados, with San Diego State University’s School of Public Health, told The Hill.
Researchers also warned that beachgoers are not the only impacted individuals, but those who live and work near the contaminated areas such as children, seniors, military members, lifeguards, border patrol agents, and others can be exposed to the waste.
They found that “toxic chemicals and microbes in raw untreated sewage, industrial waste, and urban run-off, once thought to remain isolated to just the water, can also be airborne and linger in soils, which may have much larger and farther reaching environmental health impacts,” according to a news release from the school earlier this month. “As part of the paper, researchers reviewed over 60 related studies and reports, examining environmental and public health concerns in the Tijuana River Valley and Estuary.”
Water samples taken from the Tijuana River and outlying areas revealed a number of fatal bacteria and viruses such as hepatitis B, hepatitis B, salmonella, vibrio, listeria, streptococcus, tuberculosis, and HIV, researchers say.
Flights
Quote:United Airlines will resume scheduling flights to Israel beginning next month, initially planning to offer a single daily flight and will “adjust the schedule as warranted.”
United’s flights to Israel were suspended in October 2023, following Hamas’s attacks. Service is planned to resume in March, with initial flights between Newark, New Jersey, and Tel Aviv scheduled for March 2 and 4, with a stop in Munich, the Chicago-based airline said.
Daily “nonstop service” to Tel Aviv will resume beginning on March 6.
If plans materialize, United will be the first U.S.-based carrier to resume flights to Israel since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. United said this will be “the first step in restoring vital passenger and cargo service.”
“United conducted a detailed safety analysis in making this decision, including close work with security experts and government officials in the United States and Israel,” the carrier stated. “We also worked closely with the Air Line Pilots Association and the Association of Flight Attendants to develop the protocols to ensure they are safe and well-informed.
“United will continue to monitor the situation in Tel Aviv and adjust the schedule as warranted, including changes to the resumed service from New York/Newark announced today.”
Once demand for the flights recovers, United intends to resume a second daily flight between Newark and Tel Aviv beginning “as soon as May.”
CANADA
Sanctions
Quote:Canada is adding 10 people and 153 entities to its sanctions list, with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine set to pass the second-year mark this weekend.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly announced the new sanctions against Russia in co-ordination with the United States and the United Kingdom this morning.
Earlier on Feb. 23, the U.S. announced sanctions targeting more than 500 people and entities, and the U.K. added 50 to its own list.
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The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine says it has verified that more than 10,500 Ukrainian civilians have been killed, and nearly 20,000 injured in the conflict.
Those Canada is sanctioning include a longtime aide to President Vladimir Putin as well as businessmen involved in industries like rail, construction, and IT.
Canada and its allies are trying to damage Russia’s ability to continue waging war, by sanctioning entities that provide the Russian military with goods and services.
Canada is also expanding the language of its ban on exports of goods to manufacture weapons to specifically bar the export of explosives and detonators, used in the mining and construction industry.
Controversies
Quote:Ottawa has filed to appeal a Federal Court decision that found its invocation of the Emergencies Act in response to the 2022 Freedom Convoy protests was unjustified.
The government is asking the Federal Court of Appeal to overturn a January decision that found the government’s use of emergency law led to the infringement of constitutional rights.
The federal Liberals invoked emergency powers in response to thousands of protesters who entrenched themselves in downtown Ottawa for weeks and spinoff protests that blockaded border crossings.
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association and others argued in court that Ottawa ushered in the emergency measures without sound statutory grounds.
Federal Court Justice Richard Mosley’s decision, which the Liberals immediately promised to appeal, differed from the conclusion of the Public Order Emergency Commission.
That inquiry found the government met the very high legal standard for using the law.
In the documents filed Feb. 22, the government outlined arguments including that the Federal Court erred by reviewing the decision to invoke the act “with the benefit of hindsight” and based on information not available to the government in 2022.
The court also made a mistake in substituting its own opinion about the decision the government should have made, it said.
Instead, it said, the court should have looked at whether it was reasonable for the government to “decide that it had reasonable grounds to believe” that a public order emergency existed and needed to be dealt with through special temporary measures.
The court was also wrong to decide the invocation of the Emergencies Act was a violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the government argued.
It might be convenient to add an older article that seems to support the liberal government instead of the actual victims of the government's abuse. Even so it suggested there was a need to make several changes in that law or its implementation.
Quote:The Liberal government has missed a deadline to respond to the findings and recommendations of Justice Paul Rouleau, who headed a federal inquiry into the government’s first and only use of the Emergencies Act in 2022.
One year ago, Justice Rouleau issued his final report on the government’s decision to declare a public order emergency during the Freedom Convoy protests, which gridlocked the streets around Parliament and blocked international border crossings.
Justice Rouleau found the government was justified in invoking the act, but made 56 recommendations for the future, including several suggested amendments to the law itself.
He ordered the government to respond to those recommendations within 12 months, to say which of them will be implemented, and provide a timeline.
Justice Rouleau didn’t impose any penalties for missing the deadline, and it wasn’t legally binding.
The public safety minister’s office says it will have more information about the government’s response “soon” and didn’t offer a justification for missing Justice Rouleau’s deadline.
This clearly demonstrates how the Trudeau administration doesn't care about being transparent concerning its policies and doesn't believe in righting the wrongs done in the past.
Quote:A senior Health Canada official removed mention of a “high level of impurity” in mRNA COVID-19 vaccines in an assessment done by a colleague for the department’s chief medical adviser, internal records show.
The assessment was meant as a brief on recent findings about the creation of unintended proteins by mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.
Two senior Health Canada (HC) officials, including the one with final authority on vaccine authorization, expressed concerns about the conclusions written by the HC scientist tasked with producing the assessment.
“I am very wary of the 4th bullet on impurities that Dr. [Agnes] Klein had put in,” HC Senior Advisor Poovadan Anoop wrote in a Dec. 14, 2023, email referring to the internal HC assessment written by Dr. Agnes V. Klein, a senior medical advisor with HC. Mr. Anoop’s email was addressed to his superior, Sophie Sommerer, director general of Health Canada’s Biologic and Radiopharmaceutical Drugs Directorate (BRDD). The unit is responsible for approving vaccines.
The Epoch Times obtained the internal records through the access to information system.
The assessment had noted about 8 percent of the proteins produced by the mRNA shots were unintended or “frameshifted” proteins capable of evoking an immune response. Dr. Klein called it a “high level of impurity.”
“Does this mean with the impurity levels caused by frameshift, the vaccines would not pass muster, notwithstanding the fact that the translated proteins are not harmful,” Mr. Anoop asked in his email. He later told his superior that he “struck out” a paragraph drawn from the original assessment mentioning the “high level of impurity.”
The assessment and exchange began two days earlier, when Chief Medical Advisor Supriya Sharma tasked her staff to produce a “‘quick and dirty’” assessment on a research article by immunologist and public health researcher Dr. Jessica Rose posted on Substack. The chief medical advisor sought a review of the information and the “‘claims’ being made” in Dr. Rose’s analysis.
The lengthy scientific Substack post discussed the initial frameshifting discovery reported in the journal Nature on Dec. 6. Scientists found that the mRNA injections, which give instructions to the cells to create the SARS-CoV-2 virus’ spike protein to generate an immune response, also produce other unintended, or frameshifted proteins that are capable of evoking an immune response.
The researchers estimated that approximately 8 percent of the proteins generated by the mRNA shots are frameshifted.
Dr. Rose wrote in her Substack article that one of her concerns is that those “off-target proteins” are being produced in many people who received the COVID-19 shots and that this “may lead to autoimmunity and/or other problems.” Autoimmunity refers to the human immune system mounting a response against itself which can lead to disease states.
Insecurity on the Rise
Several days ago, this article came to light. Not the kind of news Canadians would love to read in a convoluted world.
Quote:Three dozen Victoria International Airport employees, including 27 security screeners, have been fired after a federal investigation cited “multiple instances of incomplete screening” at the terminal.
Along with the 27 security screeners, nine salaried employees were fired last week after the months-long probe into security screening at the airport, according to the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), the union representing the workers.
The Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) said the probe was prompted by a complaint.
“The investigation identified multiple instances of incomplete screening at a non-passenger checkpoint,” CATSA spokesperson Suzanne Perseo said in an emailed statement.
“The findings indicate that the personnel involved did not fulfil their core responsibility to protect the travelling public.”
The investigation was carried out in December and January by Allied Universal, a subcontracted company that provides pre-boarding screening at all public airports in British Columbia, CATSA said.
The IAMAW accused the CATSA in a Feb. 14 press release of interfering with the employee review process, saying the “lack of procedural fairness” has been “appalling.”
The union said Allied Universal’s investigation determined the employees’ actions “deviated” from the proper procedure, but was not cause for termination.
The sub-contractor had planned to “return the affected employees to work with a corrective action plan” that included training until the CATSA ordered the “immediate removal” of the employees, the IAMAW said.
Ms. Perseo refuted the union’s claim, saying although the federal agency told the employer it could no longer be billed for the wages of the 36 workers, it did not order they be fired.
“CATSA commenced its process to review the continued certification of these individuals as screening officers and advised the employer that their services could not be billed to CATSA under the current circumstances,” she said. “At no point did CATSA request that the employer terminate the individuals involved.”
IAMAW District Lodge 140 chairperson Tania Canniff said the union is calling on the Transport Minister to “reverse CATSA’s course of action.”
Quote:Provincial police say they have launched an operation in response to rising violence between independent drug dealers and criminal biker gangs.
About 100 officers from specialized units were deployed on Feb. 23 across the province in connection to what they say is a war over drug-selling territory in the Quebec City area, the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean region, the Lower St-Lawrence and the North Shore.
In one violent incident, one man was killed and three others were injured in a hostage taking on Feb. 19 in St-Malachie, Que., south of the provincial capital.
Two people with ties to the Hells Angels were allegedly kidnapped and tortured, and a third person was killed in the community.
Police say three people were arrested on Feb. 23 in connection with that violence.
Lt. Benoit Richard says videos have also circulated of people tied to the drug war allegedly being tortured.
EUROPE
Ukraine
Quote:A Ukrainian–Polish dispute over cheap imports of agricultural products from Ukraine escalates as Polish farmers block border crossings into Poland to protest the unfair competition and EU’s climate change measures, both endangering their livelihood.
Polish farmers have stepped up their protests this week by blocking almost all traffic with Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters on Friday that Ukrainian grain, which is currently being blocked at the border by Polish farmers protesting EU’s policies, is not “intended for the Polish market.
Mr. Zelenskyy said at a press conference in Lviv, Ukraine, “that Ukrainian grain does not go to the Polish market. ... We are willing and will do everything to resolve this issue,” according to a statement.
Mr. Zelenskyy instructed the Ukrainian government in his speech on Thursday to come to the Ukrainian–Polish border by Feb. 24, according to a statement.
He also asked Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Polish President Andrzej Duda, and European Union officials to come to the border to discuss the farmers’ protests. Mr. Zelenskyy added that he is ready to join the talks as well.
Mr. Tusk said on Thursday the Polish and Ukrainian governments would meet in Warsaw on March 28, expressing his hope that by then, the ongoing technical talks at the ministerial level would lead to a fruitful meeting, but he did not accept Mr. Zelenskyy’s request for urgent talks this week.
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Reuters reported that television footage showed protesters opening railway carriages to allow grain to pour onto the tracks at the Medyka border crossing in Poland.
Ukraine’s Agriculture Minister Mykola Solskyi said the grain was headed to Germany and would not have entered the Polish market.
Quote:Despite the impasse in the House of Representatives over a $60 billion aid plan, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is in Ukraine to reassure President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other leaders that Congress will fund another wave of U.S. aid.
Mr. Schumer led a delegation on Feb. 23 in an announced trip that comes as Ukraine is facing a dangerous situation. Mr. Zelenskyy has said that the Ukrainian military is at grave risk of running out of ammunition and weaponry due to the ongoing conflict and the country’s inability to fend off Russia’s advance on the battlefield.
Shortly after his arrival, Mr. Schumer posted to X, formerly Twitter, offering his assurances, saying, “To President Zelenskyy and the people of Ukraine: You are valiant. The United States stands with you. We will not abandon you. We will fight and fight to get this critical aid to you and to your brave soldiers.”
Congressional representatives from both parties have recently visited Europe to assure their constituents that their country will remain steadfast in its support of Ukraine and other European friends. However, what lies ahead is anything from guaranteed.
Mr. Zelenskyy has said that discussions with international partners are centered on the topic of how to “resume and extend” help.
Sweden, which is on the verge of joining NATO, announced on Tuesday that it will provide Ukraine with military assistance of 7.1 billion kronor, which is equivalent to $681 million. Included are underwater weapons and 30 boats, some of which are military assault ships that are both quick and strong.
In addition, the contract encompasses the acquisition of artillery ammunition, Leopard tanks, shoulder-borne anti-aircraft defense systems, anti-tank missiles, grenade launchers, hand grenades, and medical transport trucks, as well as diving equipment and underwater drones.
On Monday, the government of Canada announced that it will begin sending more than 800 drones to Ukraine beginning as early as this spring. They are a component of the military assistance for Ukraine that was earlier stated to be worth 370 million U.S. dollars (500 million Canadian).
On Tuesday, the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine announced that the country had received $42.5 billion from its international partners in the previous year, of which $11.6 billion was in the form of non-repayable grant aid.
Quote:Prime Minister Justin Trudeau emerged on Feb. 24 in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, joining other world leaders at the site of one of the war’s first and fiercest battles to mark the second anniversary of the brutal Russian invasion.
Trudeau appeared at Hostomel airport alongside European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo in a show of global solidarity.
Behind them, the scorched husks of destroyed aircraft and the blackened walls of the airport just outside the capital served as a stark backdrop, a bitter reminder of the invasion’s earliest days.
“Putin was sure he could easily take strategic targets like this airport. Russian forces tried to make quick work of Hostomel airport—and with it, Kyiv,” Trudeau said in prepared remarks.
“Well, we are standing here today because he was wrong.”
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“Putin cannot win,” Trudeau said in his speech. “Ukraine will see victory, just like what happened on this ground two years ago.”
...
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave a rousing speech in Ukrainian, praising the bravery and sacrifice of Ukrainian troops defending their country, and thanked his western allies.
“Throughout all of this war you have been with us, with Ukrainians,” Zelesnkyy told the leaders at Hostomel.
...
Former British prime minister Boris Johnson was also on hand for the anniversary, as well as Defence Minister Bill Blair and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland. U.S. President Joe Biden was not expected to attend.
Trudeau is expected to participate in several commemorations throughout the day, including a wreath−laying, before ending the day with a joint news conference.
Sweden
Quote:A suspected gas leak at the headquarters of Sweden’s security agency Friday forced authorities to evacuate some 500 people from the facility, Swedish broadcaster TV4 said.
Seven people from the headquarters in Solna, just north of Stockholm, were hospitalized, police spokesperson Anders Bryngelsson told the TT news agency. He said there were no reports that anyone was seriously injured.
Emergency services had decided to evacuate the entire building because of a “suspected gas leak,” Bryngelsson said. He did not elaborate.
...
The people admitted to the hospital had breathing problems, authorities said. Some of them were officers who smelled gas when they arrived at the scene, police said.
Images shared from the scene showed first responders and police officers wearing gas masks, and Swedish media reported that a zone measuring 500 meters (547 yards) in diameter was set up protectively.
A helicopter was seen hovering over the area.
Neighbors near the Swedish security agency, known by its acronym SAPO, were asked to close their windows.
UK
London Police Confirm That Body Recovered From River Was That of Chemical Attack Suspect Abdul Ezedi
Quote:London police confirmed Friday that a body they pulled from the River Thames is that of Abdul Ezedi, a man wanted over a chemical attack that injured his former partner and her two young daughters.
The Metropolitan Police said his body was formally identified on Thursday and that his family has been informed of this development. The force also said that a post-mortem has confirmed his cause of death as drowning.
“As the public would expect, our enquiries continue into this atrocious attack,“ said Commander Jon Savell. ”The 31-year-old woman is still in hospital and remains in a stable condition and no longer sedated. We have still not been able to speak to her but hope to as soon as she is well enough.”
...
Images of Ezedi soon after showed he had significant injuries to the right side of his face, but his whereabouts were unknown. On Feb. 9, the Met said they believed Ezedi had probably “gone into the water” after piecing together closed-circuit television footage of his movements after the attack.
The Met said the crew of a passing boat reported seeing a body in the water near the Tower of London on Monday afternoon and that they believed it was Ezedi.
British media reported that Ezedi is an Afghan refugee who was granted asylum despite being convicted of a sex offense in Britain in 2018. His asylum application was initially rejected, but he later was permitted to remain in the U.K. after claiming that he had converted to Christianity, the Daily Telegraph newspaper reported.
Quote:A pro-Palestine campaigner defended trying to swarm Parliament on Wednesday as it was reported he wanted “so many” people to show up that Parliament needs to be shut down.
Ben Jamal, the director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), which organised the campaign on Wednesday, defended trying to get some 3,000 protesters into Parliament, saying the PSC “absolutely reject any argument that it is unacceptable for peaceful protests to take place outside of MPs’ office.”
The campaign was organised on the day MPs were debating on whether to call for a ceasefire in Israel and Gaza. On Wednesday evening, slogans, including the controversial chant “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” were beamed onto the Elizabeth Tower.
Mr. Jamal said the PSC “was not involved in the projection … but were pleased to see it.”
A video published by The Times of London, which the newspaper said was filmed on the day, appears to show Mr. Jamal telling a crowd, “We are planning the biggest lobbying in parliamentary history. We want to see a queue stretching from Parliament all the way through Whitehall. We want so many of you to come that they will have to lock the doors of Parliament itself.”
According to the campaign group, 3,000 pro-Palestine protesters turned up to meet their MPs on the day in “one of the largest physical lobbies of Parliament in history.”
The PSC also said that “most were denied entry, ending up queuing for over 4 hours in the rain” because a “special procedure” was imposed, allowing only 50 pro-Palestinian protesters into Parliament at any time, while any other group have been allowed to bring as many as they want into Parliament.”
Could it be because those Palestinians are dangerous?
Who told them they were allowed to swarm a public institution like the Parliament?
But because they're Palestinians, they won't be accused of J6 type of "insurrection" as white and not really white American patriots "did" that fateful day.
ASIA
China Supports Putin
Quote:While global public opinion generally held skepticism and condemnation of Moscow over the sudden death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Beijing took the opposite stance, calling the incident “Russian’s internal affair” in what was seemingly a defending move for Moscow.
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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russian prison authorities were investigating Mr. Navalny’s death, but he had not been given any information on the matter.
As a prominent foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Mr. Navalny’s unexpected death in his prime of life sent shockwaves throughout the country and around the world, sparking widespread condemnation of Russia.
Additionally, Mr. Navalny’s unexpected death comes shortly before the upcoming March general election—a time when the incumbent president has been seeking a fifth term, adding to projections over his cause of death that it might be logical for Mr. Putin to remove all opposition at this critical time.
In stark contrast to the public outcry, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman declined to comment on Navalny’s death when AFP asked about the issue on Feb. 17, saying it was “Russia’s internal affair.”
Beijing is a staunch ally of Moscow. Despite Western sanctions against Russia for its military incursion into Ukraine, Mr. Putin and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping have engaged in a “no limits” partnership for bilateral cooperation.
Echoing the official attitude, some opinions suspected to be from the net army were published on major Chinese portals such as Baidu and NetEase and circulated on social media platforms, depicting Mr. Putin as a victim of Mr. Navalny’s death as a result of a Western conspiracy.
U.S. President Joe Biden condemned Mr. Putin, saying, “What has happened to Navalny is yet more proof of Putin’s brutality.” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese believes Mr. Putin and the Russian regime would be accountable for Mr. Navalny’s demise.
Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres expressed his condolences at Mr. Navalny’s death and called for a credible investigation. The U.N. Human Rights office said it was “appalled.”
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, wrote, “The EU holds the Russian regime for sole [sic] responsible for this tragic death.” He praised Mr. Navalny for making “the ultimate sacrifice” while fighting for the values of freedom and democracy.
China Still Fighting Over Ladakh
Quote:India and China engaged in a new round of military talks this week. The 21st round of the India-China Military Corps Commander level meeting was held Feb. 19 at an eastern Ladakh border location. While the two sides shared perspectives, the talks didn’t yield anything new, and press releases after the event repeated old rhetoric about continuing military and diplomatic communication.
“The discussions built on the previous rounds, seeking complete disengagement in the remaining areas along the LAC [Line of Actual Control] in Eastern Ladakh as an essential basis for restoration of peace and tranquility in the India–China border areas,” the Indian External Affairs Ministry said in a media release on Wednesday. The release added that the meeting, which took place at the Chinese-held Moldo-Chushul border point, was friendly and cordial, with the two sides committing to peace in the “interim.”
A statement released by China’s Ministry of National Defense on Wednesday, didn’t provide any specific details either. It said the two sides had constructive talks focused on resolving the issues of “each other’s concern” in what it termed the “border areas.”
“Both sides agreed to maintain communication through military and diplomatic channels under the guidance of the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, and reach the mutually acceptable solution at an early date, so as to turn over a new leaf for the border situation,” the Chinese statement said.
“During this period, both sides agreed to maintain peace and tranquility in the China–India border areas.”
The only difference that stood out between the two releases was the way in which each addressed the de facto border. While the Indian side referred to the LAC, indicating that it doesn’t recognize it as the settled border, the Chinese side simply referred to the border.
Although the release by India’s Ministry of External Affairs was diplomatically worded, India’s defense secretary, Giridhar Aramane, used aggressive language on Wednesday during the second Indus-X defense summit, with U.S. Indo-Pacific command chief, Admiral John C. Aquilino.
The two-day summit, which took place Feb. 20-21 in New Delhi, was jointly organized by the U.S.–India Business Council and the Society of Indian Defense Manufacturers. Attendees included U.S. and Indian defense companies, investors, researchers, and government officials.
Mr. Aramane called the communist country—with which India shares over 2,165 miles of border and with whom it hit a trade record last year—a “bully.” He expressed trust and hope for U.S. support.
MIDDLE EAST
[spoiler=Houthis Seriously Damaged Freighter Rubymar]
Quote:An attack by Yemen’s Houthis on the freighter Rubymar caused significant damage to the ship and an 18-mile (29-km) oil slick, the U.S. military’s Central Command said on Friday.
Yemen’s Houthis targeted the Rubymar in the Gulf of Aden on Sunday, and it is now at risk of sinking, the group’s military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a statement the following day.
“The ship is anchored but slowly taking on water,” Central Command said in a statement regarding the Belize-flagged UK-owned cargo ship.
The Rubymar was transporting over 41,000 tons of fertilizer when it was attacked, the statement added.
Israel's New Settlement, Biden Admin Goes Crazy
Quote:Israeli plans to expand settlements in the West Bank have drawn rebuke from President Joe Biden’s administration, who have called the plans “counterproductive” to efforts at a peaceful settlement of the long-running conflict in the region.
The West Bank has been the site of ongoing violence between the territory’s Palestinian Arab majority and Israeli settlers increasingly building settlements within the territory. A trio of attackers opened fire on motorists in the Israeli settlement community of Ma'ale Adimum on Thursday, killing one and injuring eight others.
Responding to the Thursday shooting, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich vowed Israel will continue to build settlements in the West Bank.
“The serious attack on Ma'ale Adumim must have a determined security response but also a settlement response,” Mr. Smotrich said in a Thursday X post. “I demand [Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] to approve the convening of the Mata and immediately approve plans for thousands of housing units in Ma'ale Adumim and the entire region. Our enemies know that any harm to us will lead to more construction, more development, and further solidify our presence throughout the land.”
Mr. Smotrich, who is himself a West Bank settler, has specifically called for building 2,350 new housing units in Ma’ale Adumim, 694 more in the Israeli settlement of Efrat, and 300 more in the Israeli settlement of Kedar.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken denounced the reported settlement plans during a visit to Buenos Aires, Argentina on Friday.
Mr. Blinken denounced the Thursday shooting in Ma'ale Adimum as “another horrific terrorist attack” and said the U.S. will continue to “fully support Israel’s right to security, to self-defense.” But, the secretary of state said the administration is disappointed in the talk of new Israeli construction in the West Bank settlements.
“It’s been long-standing U.S. policy under Republican and Democratic administrations alike that new settlements are counterproductive to reaching an enduring peace,” he said. “They’re also inconsistent with international law. Our administration maintains a firm opposition to settlement expansion and, in our judgment, this only weakens, it doesn’t strengthen, Israel’s security.”
AUSTRALIA
Firefighters in Crisis & Price Fixing
Quote:Victorian firefighters are calling on the government to upgrade their fleet after “potentially catastrophic” breakdowns during bushfires in the state’s west.
A 15-year-old pumper tanker was among vehicles deployed to Beaufort on Feb. 22 as part of an emergency strike team intended to battle a bushfire.
But the truck did not make it, instead breaking down on the Western Highway at Ballan, the United Firefighters Union (UFU) said.
A second 15-year-old pumper was then meant to replace that truck but overheated, preventing it from leaving Beaufort Fire Station.
Both the broken down pumpers were of retirement age.
They were immediately replaced by other pumper tankers from Fire Rescue Victoria’s network, a spokesman for the emergency service said.
The bushfire, which began at Bayindeen, accelerated after a wind change late on Feb. 22 and had ripped through more than 11,000 hectares as of Feb. 23.
The UFU’s Victorian branch secretary Peter Marshall described the breakdowns as “potentially catastrophic.”
Quote:Two leading waste firm bosses have been handed prison sentences after admitting to engineering a price-fixing scheme to force up costs for their customers.
One of the companies, Bingo Industries, was on Feb. 23 handed the second-biggest fine for cartel conduct in the Australian competition watchdog’s history with a total penalty of $30 million (US$19.7 million).
Daniel Tartak, Bingo’s former managing director and chief executive, pleaded guilty in 2022 to two cartel offences following an investigation by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
He was handed a two-year prison sentence by a Federal Court judge, who said the term should be served in the community under an intensive correction order.
Tartak will also have to pay a fine of $100,000 (US$66,000) and perform 400 hours of community service after admitting criminal cartel conduct over an illegal price-fixing scheme.
Bingo admitted criminal cartel offences for the same plot, resulting in the firm’s multimillion-dollar fine.
Tartak, the son of Bingo founder Tony Tartak, was also disqualified from managing a corporation for five years.
The court heard he made agreements with former Aussie Skip Bin Services chief executive Emmanuel Roussakis about the prices their companies would charge for collection and processing services.
"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.
My Original Stories (available in English and Spanish)
List of Compiled Binary Executables I have published...
HiddenChest & Roole
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Just some scripts I've already published on the board...
KyoGemBoost XP VX & ACE, RandomEnkounters XP, KSkillShop XP, Kolloseum States XP, KEvents XP, KScenario XP & Gosu, KyoPrizeShop XP Mangostan, Kuests XP, KyoDiscounts XP VX, ACE & MV, KChest XP VX & ACE 2016, KTelePort XP, KSkillMax XP & VX & ACE, Gem Roulette XP VX & VX Ace, KRespawnPoint XP, VX & VX Ace, GiveAway XP VX & ACE, Klearance XP VX & ACE, KUnits XP VX, ACE & Gosu 2017, KLevel XP, KRumors XP & ACE, KMonsterPals XP VX & ACE, KStatsRefill XP VX & ACE, KLotto XP VX & ACE, KItemDesc XP & VX, KPocket XP & VX, OpenChest XP VX & ACE
Maranatha!
The Internet might be either your friend or enemy. It just depends on whether or not she has a bad hair day.
My Original Stories (available in English and Spanish)
List of Compiled Binary Executables I have published...
HiddenChest & Roole
Give me a free copy of your completed game if you include at least 3 of my scripts!
Just some scripts I've already published on the board...
KyoGemBoost XP VX & ACE, RandomEnkounters XP, KSkillShop XP, Kolloseum States XP, KEvents XP, KScenario XP & Gosu, KyoPrizeShop XP Mangostan, Kuests XP, KyoDiscounts XP VX, ACE & MV, KChest XP VX & ACE 2016, KTelePort XP, KSkillMax XP & VX & ACE, Gem Roulette XP VX & VX Ace, KRespawnPoint XP, VX & VX Ace, GiveAway XP VX & ACE, Klearance XP VX & ACE, KUnits XP VX, ACE & Gosu 2017, KLevel XP, KRumors XP & ACE, KMonsterPals XP VX & ACE, KStatsRefill XP VX & ACE, KLotto XP VX & ACE, KItemDesc XP & VX, KPocket XP & VX, OpenChest XP VX & ACE