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USA

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Iran Funded Pro-Gaza Protesters

Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines: Iranian Government Actors Have Funded Pro-Gaza Protesters

Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines released a statement on Wednesday that said Iranian government actors have funded pro-Gaza protests in the United States.

“In recent weeks, Iranian government actors have sought to opportunistically take advantage of ongoing protests regarding the war in Gaza, using a playbook we’ve seen other actors use over the years. We have observed actors tied to Iran’s government posing as activists online, seeking to encourage protests, and even providing financial support to protesters,” she said.

She added that Americans participating in the pro-Gaza protests are acting in “good faith” and might be unaware they are receiving funding from Iran, but urged them to be “vigilant.”

She said:

I want to be clear that I know Americans who participate in protests are, in good faith, expressing their views on the conflict in Gaza – this intelligence does not indicate otherwise. Moreover, the freedom to express diverse views, when done peacefully, is essential to our democracy, but it is also important to warn of foreign actors who seek to exploit our debate for their own purposes.

Furthermore, Americans who are being targeted by this Iranian campaign may not be aware that they are interacting with or receiving support from a foreign government. We urge all Americans to remain vigilant as they engage online with accounts and actors they do not personally know.

While the DNI issuing public statements is rare, the intelligence community has become more proactive in calling out what it sees as foreign influence in the U.S., particularly around elections since former President Donald Trump’s win in 2016, which Democrats blamed on Russian election interference.

Haines said her statement would be the “first of what will be regular updates” leading up to the 2024 election.

She said, “The Intelligence Community recognizes the importance of informing the public of foreign efforts to influence our democratic processes and, consequently, leading into the Presidential and congressional elections this year, we are launching today the first of what will be regular updates regarding such threats.”

So they vandalize buildings, statues, fountains, they block buildings and take hostages... but they're just acting in good faith!?  

Ohio Town Becoming More & More Haitian

Biden Floods Ohio Town with 20,000 Haitian Migrants: Ten to a Bedroom

Residents of the west-central town of Springfield, Ohio, are demanding that their city council do something to stem the tide of the Haitian immigrants that have flooded the city, especially in the aftermath of the death of a child in a school bus accident caused by a migrant driving illegally.

The town situated just west of the state capitol in Columbus has been a target of Haitian immigrants at least since 2014, and in the ensuing years, some ten thousand had moved to the Rust Belt town. But in the last four years alone, that population has ballooned to more than 20,000. The influx is causing serious pressures to mount on the town.

Ohio’s Republican U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance put the blame for the mounting problems squarely on the Biden administration, which is causing small towns all across the country to suffer just like Springfield.

“This self-imposed disaster is crushing the job prospects of our citizens, making it more difficult for Ohio families to find homes and draining social service programs funded by American taxpayers,” Vance told the media. “People who are here illegally should be sent back to their home countries as soon as possible, and individuals here on temporary status should not expect to stay indefinitely.”

The explosion of immigrants — many of whom do not speak English — has placed serious burdens on the town. Town services are being stretched thin, and costs for translating services, housing, and legal services have become a major expense.

For a few years, longtime residents were unbothered by the growing Haitian community, but over time, clashes have begun to occur as Haitians have become more obtrusive by driving illegally, piling into apartments and homes by the dozens, filling local schools with children who need special care in education and language services, and increasingly becoming a focus for government spending.

Residents are becoming uneasy as their town becomes increasingly decorated with Haitian flags, for instance. And some expressed concern when the Haitian flag was raised at City Hall instead of the U.S. flag during the city’s flag day celebrations.

But that uneasiness turned to outright anger when an 11-year-old child paid the price with his life for all this immigration. The incident occurred in August of last year when migrant Hermanio Joseph drove a 2010 Honda Odyssey into oncoming traffic causing a school bus filled with children on their way to their first day of school to spin out of control and flip over.

The accident left 11-year-old Aiden Clark dead and a dozen other children injured, some seriously.

The migrant, who had only been here a bit longer than a year, did not have a driver’s license and had never passed any state driving exams to obtain one.

Joseph, 36, was later convicted on first-degree felony involuntary manslaughter and fourth-degree felony vehicular homicide charges, both enhanced charges because he was driving without a license.

But the city has faced other problems, as well, especially in housing.

Migrants are claiming that some unscrupulous property owners are gouging them for rent and allowing a dozen or more to move into buildings and apartments where residency laws state that fewer than ten may reside.

“When I first came I was in a three bedroom house,” Haitian immigrant Patrick Joseph said, according to the Dayton Daily News. “We had more than 20 people living in that house. (The landlords) just rent the bed in the bedroom. A room can sleep like 10 people. And sometimes the house has only one bathroom.”

Democrats Against Justice Thomas

Two Democrat Senators Ask DoJ to Seek Criminal Investigation of Justice Clarence Thomas

Democrat Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (RI) and Ron Wyden (OR) have asked the Department of Justice to launch a criminal investigation of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas due to gifts he allegedly received.

The two senators announced on Tuesday that they “sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland last week requesting he appoint a special counsel to probe whether Thomas violated ethics, false statement and tax laws,” per The Washington Post.

The action marks a significant escalation in efforts by Democratic senators to address ethics controversies related to Thomas and the court in recent years. Whitehouse’s staff said it was likely the first time anyone had requested a special counsel investigate a Supreme Court justice. Whitehouse sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, while Wyden chairs the Senate Finance Committee.

Jeremy Fogel, a former federal judge and executive director of the Berkeley Judicial Institute, said the Justice Department has the legal authority to appoint a special counsel to investigate Thomas, but whether it would is another matter. “Inevitably it would be seen as political retribution for rulings the justices made that they don’t like,” he said. “I just don’t know how you get out of that box.”

The Justice Department has issued no comment on the request. In their statement, Whitehouse and Wyden said that evidence shows Justice Thomas “committed numerous willful violations of federal ethics and false-statement laws.”

“We do not make this request lightly,” they said. “The evidence assembled thus far plainly suggests that Justice Thomas has committed numerous willful violations of federal ethics and false-statement laws and raises significant questions about whether he and his wealthy benefactors have complied with their federal tax obligations.”

Elliot S. Berke, the justice’s attorney, previously said that Thomas “has always strived for full transparency and adherence to the law, including with respect to what personal travel needed to be reported,” adding that any failures of disclosure were “strictly inadvertent.”

The two senators specifically called on the DoJ to examine a “$267,000 loan Thomas used to purchase a luxury motor coach in 1999, adding that they have not received adequate answers from Thomas about how he handled the matter,” per the Post.

As Breitbart News reported last year, the justice disclosed gifts received after financial disclosure rules were changed.

“Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’s financial disclosures this week have fueled hyperventilating attacks from leftwing Democrats, but they actually show their concerted efforts against the only black conservative on the nation’s highest court are groundless,” reported Ken Klukowski.

“Financial disclosure guidance for federal judges changed in March, and Thomas accordingly disclosed additional details from hospitality and gifts he had received in past years. His critics – who happen to ardently oppose his views of the Constitution and the law – pounced, arguing that these disclosures suggest wrongdoing,” he added.

Justice Sotomayor's Armed Guards Protect Her

Armed Guards Protect Sonia Sotomayor Although She Rejected the People’s ‘Private Right of Armed Self-Defense’

Armed guards protect Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor although she joined a dissent in McDonald v. Chicago (2010), rejecting “a private right of armed self-defense.”

In July, one of Sotomayor’s armed guards shot a would-be carjacker outside her home.

According to the New York Post, the incident occurred shortly after 1:00 a.m. on July 5, 2024. At that time, 18-year-old Kenneth Flowers allegedly pointed a gun at a U.S. Marshal assigned to protect the justice, and the Marshal opened fire, leaving Flowers with non-life-threatening wounds.

In the five-to-four McDonald decision, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) found that Second Amendment rights are incorporated via the Fourteenth Amendment.

Justice Samuel Alito wrote the majority opinion, and two dissents were also written. One dissent was written by Justice John Paul Stevens and the second by Justice Stephen Breyer. Importantly, Breyer was joined by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Sotomayor.

Breyer/Ginsberg/Sotomayor contended, “I can find nothing in the Second Amendment’s text, history, or underlying rationale that could warrant characterizing it as ‘fundamental’ insofar as it seeks to protect the keeping and bearing of arms for private self-defense purposes.”

Later in the dissent, after criticizing a prior SCOTUS decision — District of Columbia. v. Heller (2008) — Breyer/Ginsberg/Sotomayor stressed, “Further, there is no popular consensus that the private self-defense right described in Heller is fundamental.”

In the early portion of the dissent’s conclusion, Breyer/Ginsberg/Sotomayor claimed, “In sum, the Framers did not write the Second Amendment in order to protect a private right of armed self-defense. There has been, and is, no consensus that the right is, or was, ‘fundamental.’”

Sotomayor enjoys armed protection while rejecting claims that the Second Amendment is in place to shelter the People’s “private right to self-defense.”

Weinstein to Face Charges in Re-Trial

Harvey Weinstein to Face New Sexual Assault Charges in New York Re-Trial

Disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein is likely to face new sexual assault charges in his New York re-trial, with prosecutors saying some accusers who weren’t ready to come forward before are now prepared to speak out.

During a court hearing Tuesday, where Harvey Weinstein was present, New York prosecutors said they are currently investigating new allegations of sexual assault and could put the new charges before a grand jury by the fall, according to multiple reports.

“A number of women came forward to indicate they were raped by the defendant in Manhattan,” Nicole Blumberg, Manhattan’s Assistant District Attorney, said in court, according to a Variety report.

She said the alleged incidents include a “violent” and “trauma-informed” matter that falls within the state’s statute of limitations.

While a November re-trial is expected, Weinstein’s lawyers are pushing for an earlier date, citing their client’s poor health.

In April, a New York appeals court overturned his 2020 conviction of two felony sexual assaults. The 4-3 decision stated  the trial judge was wrong to have allowed “prosecutors to call as witnesses a series of women who said Mr. Weinstein had assaulted them — but whose accusations were not part of the charges against him.”

The decision shocked many in the entertainment industry, where Weinstein ruled supreme for three decades as one of Hollywood’s premiere producers and studio bosses.

No matter how the New York re-trial turns out, the 72-year-old Weinstein isn’t going to be a free man anytime soon.

The guilty verdict in his Los Angeles criminal case still holds, with a jail sentence of 16 years.

Newsom's Policies Hit California Hard

California Fast Food Franchisees Forced to Cut Employees’ Hours due to $20 Minimum Wage

California fast food franchise owners are being forced to cut their employees’ hours following Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) $20 minimum wage law, which went into effect in April.

Lawrence Cheng, whose family owns several Wendy’s restaurants in southern California, has had to fill in behind the register to make up for the dramatic cuts, he told the Associated Press.

While he used to have “nearly a dozen employees” working the afternoon shift at his Fountain Valley location, he is reportedly down to just seven per shift.

“We kind of just cut where we can,” Cheng told the outlet. “I schedule one less person, and then I come in for that time that I didn’t schedule and I work that hour.”

Before Newsom’s mandate, he was paying his 250 workers $16 an hour. Now, the only way he can keep up with paying them $20 is to simply have them work fewer hours.

Cheng also said he had to raise menu prices by about 8 percent three months before the law went into effect to offset the increased costs.

In addition to raising the minimum wage for fast food workers, Assembly Bill 1228 also established the California Fast Food Council, a group of bureaucrats who have the power to continually raise the minimum wage even higher. 

“I’ve been in the business for 25 years and two different brands and I never had to increase the amount of pricing that I did this past time in April,” said Juancarlos Chacon, the owner of nine Los Angeles Jersey Mike’s locations.

Due to the price increases, he said he noticed that customers are now less likely to purchase a drink or sides with their sandwiches.

LATIN AMERICA

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Panama's Darien Gap

Panama Installs Barbed Wire Around Deadly Darién Gap Jungle to Block Migrants

In a bid to help curb migration the recently inaugurated government of Panama has begun installing barbed wire to block crossings used by U.S.-bound migrants passing through the dangerous Darién Gap jungle trail, NBC News reported on Monday,

Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino, who took office on July 1, vowed during his presidential campaign to crack down on U.S-bound migrants that pass through Panama by “closing down” the Darién Gap, a 30-mile-wide, 100-mile-long jungle trail that Panama shares with neighboring Colombia.

The Darién Gap is the only land bridge between South and Central America and has been used in recent years by hundreds of thousands of South American migrants to reach the United States.

Panama’s Migration Service documented the passage of 186,969 migrants through the Darién Gap between January and June 20 — less than two weeks before the start of Mulino’s administration on July 1.

“I will make an effort, that I have already started to talk about, to end the odyssey of the Darién, which has no reason to exist, and I reiterate that Panama and our Darién is not a transit route,” Mulino said in May during his official proclamation as president-elect.

According to a report published by NBC News on Monday, videos of the barbed wire fences installed in the Darién Gap began surfacing on messaging platforms as early as June 27. Public Security Minister Frank Abrego — who served as the first director of Panama’s Senafront National Border Service between 2008 and 2016 — reportedly confirmed in late June that “the patrol at the national border service has begun to block the majority of border passages.”

The Spanish news agency EFE reported on Wednesday that Senafront announced in a statement reviewed by the news agency that “measures were taken to control the massive irregular migration faced by the Panamanian State.”

These measures, according to the statement reviewed by EFE, are based on blocking “three unauthorized passes used by irregular migrants, which are identified as the passes along the Pacific coast and the Caribbean coast,” as well as “the land passes that give access to the sector of Hito de Chucurti; the latter was blocked with perimeter barriers that prevent the passage of migrants.”

Senafront explained that the goal is to “channel irregular migration” to Bajo Chiquito, a small town that in recent years has become the first stop of migrants crossing through the dangerous jungle trail.

Iran, Maduro is Still Your Friend

Maduro Assures Iran’s President-Elect Venezuela Will Be a ‘True Friend’ to Terrorist Regime

Venezuela’s socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro held a phone call on Wednesday with the president-elect of Iran, Masoud Pezeshkian, ensuring the leader that the Latin American country would continue to seek ways to strengthen ties with the world’s premier state sponsor of terrorism.

Pezeshkian won a sham election orchestrated by the true head of the rogue government of Iran, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Sunday, in which he had presented himself as a “moderate” voice against “hardliner” candidate Saeed Jalili. The election was a runoff following the first round of voting on June 28. Pezeshkian surprisingly came in first place but did not exceed the 50-percent support threshold necessary to avoid a runoff.

All elections in Iran are planned to ensure Khamenei’s handpicked winner, as a “Guardian Council” of clerics bans unwanted candidates from the ballot and the regime has total control over the process of vote tallying and election oversight.

The elections were held by necessity following the death of incumbent President Ebrahim Raisi in May. Raisi, a “hardliner” who dedicated most of his presidency to killing and otherwise silencing peaceful anti-regime dissidents in the country, died in a mysterious helicopter crash in May.

Prior to his death, Raisi dedicated much of his foreign policy to increasingly geopolitical activities alongside Latin America’s most brutal communist and socialist dictatorships. Venezuela is Iran’s closest ally in the region; Raisi visited Caracas a year ago to discuss, among other issues, cooperation in the oil industry and opposing the influence of the United States around the world.

Pezeshkian assured Maduro that his administration would not change Iran’s foreign policy away from prioritizing Venezuela. According to Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), Pezeshkian took the opportunity of the phone call to invite Maduro to Iran and promise an in-person meeting in the near future.

“The two officials expressed interest to hold a meeting at the highest level in the future in a bid to further expand mutual ties,” IRNA reported. “The president-elect stated that the Islamic Republic of Iran and Venezuela have common challenges and ideals, including the desire for freedom, independence, and justice, and they have a common view and position on the Palestinian issue and support for the oppressed people of Gaza.”

“Undoubtedly, my government also aims to broaden cooperation with Venezuela,” Pezeshkian affirmed.

Maduro responded by promising that his regime would “remain your true friend and companion” and express confidence in Pezeshkian’s ability to run the office of the presidency.

Brazil & Palestine

Brazil Socialists Enact ‘Free Trade’ Deal with Palestinian Authority

The socialist government of Brazil announced on Monday that it had enacted a free trade agreement with the Palestinian Authority, the organization in charge of the West Bank, in a show of solidarity with the anti-Israel cause.

Brazil, which officially recognizes “Palestine” as a state and withdrew its ambassador to Israel in the aftermath of the barbaric October 7 siege of Israel by the jihadist terrorist organization Hamas, enacted the deal by ratifying a long-delayed proposed free trade agreement between the “state of Palestine” and Mercosur, a regional trade bloc consisting of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. The other members of Mercosur have not approved the agreement.

Brasilia described the deal as a free trade agreement with “Palestine” but it appears to be applicable only to the Palestinian Authority, not to Hamas, which governs Gaza.

The deal follows a month of antagonistic statements towards Israel by radical leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, whom Israel declared persona non grata in February after Lula compared Israel’s self-defense operations against Hamas to the actions of Nazi Germany. Israel demanded an apology Lula has yet to grant, opting instead to repeatedly accuse Israel of “genocide” for waging war against Hamas.

Lula himself announced the ratification of the deal during the ongoing Mercosur summit on Monday.

“We are proud to be the first country in the bloc to ratify the free trade agreement with Palestine,” Lula said. “But I cannot help but regret that this occurs in a context in which the Palestinian people are suffering as a result of a completely irrational war.”

The Brazilian Foreign Ministry said on Monday that the free trade agreement was now in effect and would aid with support for the “Palestinian” cause against Israel and with developing deeper ties with the greater Middle East, presumably omitting Israel.

Preceding the enactment of the deal, the Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Friday explaining that the free trade deal was a document created by Mercosur and introduced to the bloc by Paraguay, which accepted Brazil’s ratification last week. It noted that the “state of Palestine,” by which it appears to mean the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, ratified the free trade deal in April.

As both the Palestinian Authority and Brazil have signed the deal, “the agreement will come into force for Brazil and the State of Palestine after thirty days.” The Foreign Ministry clarified that none of the other Mercosur nations are beholden to the agreement until they ratify the free trade deal on an individual basis. It is not clear at press time if any of the other three South American countries, all governed by right-wing presidents, will do so. Argentina, in particular, is widely expected not to enact such a deal under its current libertarian President Javier Milei, a staunch supporter of Israel who prioritized a visit to the country following October 7.

Milei pointedly opted not to attend the Mercosur summit, choosing to travel to Brazil, instead, while Lula was not in the country. Milei used the opportunity to address the Brazilian version of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) and meet with Lula’s predecessor, former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who had once promised to open a Brazilian embassy in Jerusalem but failed to deliver on that commitment.

While the Palestinian Authority reportedly signed the free trade agreement in April, the document had been floating around in Mercosur’s bureaucracy since 2011, the Brazilian government noted.

“The agreement is a concrete contribution towards an economically viable Palestinian state that can live in a peaceful and harmonious way with its neighbors,” the Brazilian Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

The deal will cover, Brazil noted, “trade in goods; rules of origin; bilateral safeguards; technical regulations, assessment and compliance standards and procedures; sanitary and phytosanitary measures; technical and technological cooperation; institutional arrangements and dispute resolution.”

ASIA

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Philippines Wants to Go Nuclear

Philippines Greenlights U.S. Nuclear Deal as China Pushes It Out of Its Own Waters

The State Department announced on Tuesday that a landmark nuclear cooperation agreement has gone into effect, allowing the U.S. to export peaceful nuclear technology to the Philippines.

This closer cooperation between America and the Philippines comes at a moment when China is using force to bully the Philippines out of its own territory, in flagrant defiance of international court rulings.

The Philippines signed the nuclear cooperation pact, known as the Agreement for Cooperation Concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy or the “123 Agreement,” at a meeting in San Francisco in November 2023. The agreement stipulated that technology transfers could begin on July 2, 2024.

“The 123 Agreement will pave the way for the transfer of information and expertise, nuclear material, equipment, and components directly between the Philippines and the U.S. or through persons authorized by their respective authorities to engage in transfer activities, which will support potential nuclear power projects with U.S. providers,” Philippine Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla said when the agreement was signed.

The Philippines has a fitful relationship with nuclear power. Its first nuclear plant was constructed in the late 1970s under authoritarian President Ferdinand Marcos but abandoned in 1986 after Russia’s Chernobyl disaster, without nuclear fuel ever being loaded into the reactor.

In 2022, some of the 30-year-old fuel intended for the original reactor was dropped into a new research reactor that was not intended to become fully operational. The old fuel rods seem to be working properly as of July.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced soon after taking office that “it is time to re-examine our strategy toward building nuclear power plants.”

Marcos Jr. spoke of using new technology that allows “smaller scale, modular nuclear plants,” which would be designed in full compliance with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) regulations, which were tightened after Japan’s Fukushima nuclear disaster. However, his first idea for revitalizing Philippine nuclear power was to finish the Bataan plant started by his father.

This has been a controversial proposal in the Philippines since the Bataan reactor had a troubled history of design flaws and potential hazards before the Chernobyl disaster convinced the government under Marcos Sr. to give up. Still, the Philippines is currently reliant on coal for its energy needs, and there is a growing conviction– both in Manila and other capitals around the world — that nuclear power is the only way to provide enough power with fewer emissions.

Philippine congressman Mark Cojuangco, an enthusiastic supporter of bringing the Bataan plant online, told the BBC in March 2023 that the facility was constructed to higher standards in certain respects than American plants of the 1970s, it has not really “aged” because it was never brought online and it has been well-maintained over the past three decades.

“People always use the analogy of cars or motorcycles. But the mode of ageing of a nuclear reactor is from neutron bombardment. So far, this reactor has had none, so effectively it’s brand new,” Cojuangco said when his BBC interviewer said the control room of the reactor looked like a museum of obsolete electronics technology.

China is muscling the Philippines out of its own South China Sea territory, foreclosing the possibility of developing offshore gas and oil resources. On Tuesday, China’s state-run Global Times sneeringly dismissed Philippine concerns that China’s illegal construction and naval activities are damaging the marine environment in the disputed Spratly Islands. Instead, the Chinese Communist regime accused the Philippines of damaging the environment by using an ancient grounded ship as a tiny military outpost on the Second Thomas Shoal.

China Frets Over French Right Wing's Surge

China Frets over ‘Far-Right Forces’ Growing Stronger in France

China’s state-run Global Times worried on Monday that even though the “far-right has been successfully blocked” by the surprising results of France’s election, “the influence of the far-right has not diminished.”

The rubble of France’s chaotic special election — including some literal rubble created by left-wing demonstrators who rioted even though they nominally won — will be picked through for years to come. The “far-right” referred to by the Global Times, Marine Le Pen and her National Rally (RN) Party, went into the first round of the election with surprising strength — but then the far-left, center-left, and Islamists implemented an effective strategy to get out of each other’s way and collectively overwhelm the RN in key districts.

Everyone seems to have been at least a little surprised by the results, including the shopkeepers who watched their businesses get torched by the ostensible winners. The Global Times was untroubled by radical leftists seizing power and celebrating with an orgy of violence, as long as the “far-right” wound up in third place.

The Chinese Communist paper warned that France is not out of the “far-right” woods yet because the political winds of Europe are still blowing in that direction.

“The RN has become a major force in France, with a growing support base. Even if they are successfully blocked this time, the far-right will not lose the support of the people,” warned Professor Cui Hongjian of Beijing Foreign Studies University:

If traditional political forces want to prevent the far-right from becoming the dominant force in politics, they need to make significant systemic changes. Otherwise, the populist soil will continue to nourish the far-right, making them increasingly powerful in future elections.

On Tuesday, the Global Times made the exact opposite point with a video blog from former editor Hu Xijin, who insisted that the election results prove the “far right” is “still not popular overall in France” and “still has a long way to go before forming a decisive influence in Europe.”

Hu said the rest of the world “does not need to worry too much” about if France’s more moderate leftist President Emmanuel Macron shot himself in the foot by forcing a snap election that then made him play second fiddle to a gaggle of radical left-wingers — a remarkably facile analysis from someone who fancies himself an expert in world affairs. France is a member of the European Union and NATO, so its leadership is a highly relevant concern to other member states.

“As the far-right failed to assume power, France’s foreign policy will be consistent,” Hu predicted.

The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) agreed with Hu on that point but explained more thoroughly:

The conclusion from the election is that French foreign policy will probably remain unchanged. The constitution gives the president de jure broad powers in defence (he is chief of the armed forces) and strong influence in foreign affairs, a portfolio that has in fact been seen as the sole prerogative of the presidency since Charles de Gaulle occupied the position from 1958 to 1969.

Macron’s support to Ukraine, his commitment to EU strategic autonomy and his relatively moderate stance on Gaza are more or less shared by other political parties, with the notable exception of [far-left] France Unbowed, which has been hostile to NATO and Israel and has called for immediate peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia.

China on NATO

China Taunts ‘Brittle’ NATO for Holding Summit Under Shadow of Trump’s Potential Return

The Chinese state-run propaganda newspaper Global Times mocked the ongoing NATO summit in Washington on Tuesday as a display of a “brittle” alliance, claiming that the fact that most member states hold free and fair elections – and thus routinely change their rules – weakens them.

The Global Times and other Chinese government outlets routinely disparage the concept of elections, encouraging the world to adopt totalitarian communism in the name of “stability.”

“Regardless of electoral democracy’s advantages, including transparency and competitiveness, it has flaws that should not be ignored. The biggest problem is that it cannot truly reflect the essence of democracy,” the state newspaper quoted a regime-approved “expert” declaring in 2019.

This week, the Times used the NATO summit as an example of the nefarious consequences of allowing the people of a nation to choose their leaders, expressing particular worry that former President Donald Trump may win the 2024 American presidential election and that populist conservative movements have expanded their bases of support in France and the United Kingdom.

The leaders of NATO member countries, and key allies such as Ukraine and South Korea, are meeting this week in Washington, DC, for their annual summit. Defending Ukraine from the ongoing Russian invasion and colonization of its territory is a top priority for the meeting, though leaders have also floated conversations on challenging China’s illegal claims in the South China Sea, where the Communist Party has been especially belligerent attacking American allies such as the Philippines.

The Global Times published an assessment of the summit condemning what it called plans to build an “Asian NATO” by forging stronger ties with South Korea and Japan and describing NATO generally as a source of global discord. The Chinese state outlet explicitly objected to NATO member states holding elections to decide their political leadership.

“The NATO summit aims to project ‘unity’ and ‘shared interests’ outwardly, but internally, there are increasing anxieties and worries among member countries,” the Global Times assessed, citing a regime-approved professor. “For example, the rise of far-right forces in Europe, political challenges faced by Germany and France and other core European countries, and the possible return of Donald Trump to the White House have all added uncertainties.”

“The Tuesday summit came as some Democrats called on Joe Biden to step aside over his fitness and age, while Biden declined and defended his 2024 campaign,” the outlet continued. “Also in Europe, there is a major political turmoil in France – although the left-wing parties’ alliance won the decisive round of France’s legislative election on Sunday night, a parliament without a majority may lead to uncertainty in France, according to media reports.”

Modi on Putin

Modi Reportedly Gets Putin to Stop Using Indians as Cannon Fodder in Ukraine

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reportedly convinced Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop using hoodwinked Indian nationals as cannon fodder for his brutal invasion of Ukraine, the feat occurring at a private dinner the two attended Monday night.

The Russian government said on Tuesday that several dozen Indians will be discharged from the Russian military and allowed to return home.

The story of Indians tricked into fighting for Russia in Ukraine grew into a major scandal in 2024 and became a political embarrassment for Modi, who won a third term in office with far less support than anticipated in June.

The families of several Indian men came forward to the media in March to complain their loved ones were duped by human traffickers into leaving home for lucrative private sector jobs in the Middle East.

Instead, the men were impressed into the Russian military when their flights were “laid over” in Moscow, or they were told the promised Middle Eastern jobs were no longer available but the Russian military was hiring noncombat contract workers.

Those who accepted such “noncombat” job offers soon found themselves clutching rifles on the front lines in Ukraine. At least four of them have reportedly been killed.

The Indian opposition blasted Modi for not doing anything to help the Indians abducted into Russian military service, pointing out that India’s longstanding strategic alliance with Russia should have made for an easy phone call to Moscow. Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi slammed Russia for using Indians as “cannon fodder” and demanded government intervention after several families in his district approached him for help.

Modi never quite got around to picking up that phone, but when his office announced plans for the reelected prime minister to visit Moscow this week, it promised Modi would raise the subject of the Indian conscripts and demand their return.

Although India has maintained good diplomatic relations – and a massive oil trade – with Russia despite Western sanctions and has refused to condemn the invasion of Ukraine, Modi was a bit more critical of the war during his trip to Russia than Putin might have been expecting.

Modi embraced Putin when he arrived in Moscow, the two enjoyed a quiet walk together to reinforce the impression of a lasting personal friendship, and Putin declared the “particularly privileged strategic relationship” between Russia and India to be as strong as ever.

However, Modi told Putin he was deeply troubled by civilian casualties from Russia’s massive missile bombardment of Ukrainian cities on Monday. The damage included casualties at a children’s cancer hospital in Kyiv, a national tragedy that left Ukraine in mourning and much of the world stunned with horror.

“I believe there is no peace on the battlefield and solutions to the war can only be found through dialogue,” Modi told Putin at the outset of their formal talks on Tuesday.

“Whether it is terrorism or conflict, the loss of lives – especially of innocent children – is heartbreaking. President Putin and I have spoken frankly and I want to tell the international community that is closely watching our meeting that I am filled with hope from his words and thinking,” the Indian prime minister told reporters after the meeting.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Modi’s criticism did not go far enough.

South Korea on its Neighbor North Korea

South Korea’s President Urges NATO to Take North Korea Seriously as Biden Quietly Loses Top Official on Issue

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol is expected to participate in this week’s NATO summit, preceding his arrival in Washington with remarks to Reuters on Tuesday in which he described North Korea’s relationship to China, NATO’s top preoccupation, as a “distinct threat” to Europe.

President Joe Biden is currently hosting the NATO summit. In his remarks on Tuesday to open the event, the president emphasized NATO’s support for non-member Ukraine – whose president, Volodymyr Zelensky, is in attendance – and NATO’s wish to see Russia defeated in its invasion of the country. He recognized the presence of NATO’s “Indo-Pacific Partners” in passing, but did not mention North Korea as a threat of particular concern to NATO.

Yoon, a conservative, has spent much of his tenure making the case that North Korea is more than a regional threat. The expanding ties between Russia and North Korea, he told Reuters, make the communist regime an increasingly visible threat to Europe. North Korea has long maintained ties with Russia and the former Soviet Union, but dramatically expanded the nature of its defense ties with Moscow by signing a “comprehensive partnership” on security in June. The deal, signed during Russian strongman Vladimir Putin’s visit to Pyongyang that month, requires either party to offer military support in the event that the other is attacked. It remains unclear at press time if either party will interpret Ukrainian self-defense operations against Russian forces as an attack that requires North Korean intervention.

“Military co-operation between Russia and North Korea poses a distinct threat and grave challenge to the peace and security on the Korean peninsula and in Europe,” Yoon told Reuters in remarks published on Tuesday. The South Korean president said he would raise the issue of North Korea complicating the already challenging war theater in Ukraine with other world leaders at the NATO summit.

“North Korea is clearly a menace to the international society,” Yoon continued. “I hope that Russia will sensibly decide which side – the South or the North – is more important and necessary for its own interests.”

Yoon added that his government is open to maintaining relations with Russia but “the future of ROK [South Korea]-Russia relations depends entirely on Russia’s actions.”

The newspaper Korea JoongAng Daily reported on Wednesday that Yoon is expected to hold meetings with “more than 10 countries, including Japan, Germany, and Britain,” during his time at the NATO summit. Yoon is one of four non-NATO states – the others being Australia, New Zealand, and Japan – attending the summit in their capacity as Indo-Pacific NATO partners. He has attended NATO summits consecutively since 2022, when he became the first South Korean president to do so.

Yoon made a stop in Hawaii before traveling to Washington, delivering remarks on Tuesday expressing commitment to improving military cooperation with America.

“North Korea’s evolving nuclear and missile capabilities and continued provocations are threatening security on the Korean Peninsula and in the region. A steadfast combined defense readiness is more critical than ever,” Yoon said in Hawaii, according to the South Korean news agency Yonhap.

“Strong power and solidarity among countries that share values are essential to protecting our liberal democracy and economic prosperity from these reckless forces,” he continued.

Yoon will be facing a Washington particularly ill-prepared to handle the threat of communist North Korea when he attends NATO meetings on Wednesday. Biden has clearly failed to prioritize keeping Pyongyang’s nuclear threat at bay, focusing most of his foreign policy efforts on Ukraine and pressuring Israel to limit its self-defense operations against Hamas.

The State Department’s top official on North Korea, Senior Official for the DPRK [North Korea] and Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Jung Pak, resigned sometime in the past week, Yonhap revealed on Tuesday. Pak’s State Department biography still shows her at press time as an employee of the federal government, but Yonhap cited anonymous sources who confirmed that she had resigned. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller later confirmed that Pak “stepped down” and the Biden administration has not formally appointed a replacement.