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OLYMPICS
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So now that agency claims that the counter sniper didn't need any extra authorization to shoot Crooks down as the agent had stated days ago...
How confusing!
LATIN AMERICA
EUROPE
MIDDLE EAST
About Tickets & Food
Quote:Row upon row of empty seats at the Paris Olympic Games has reportedly made organizers panic, prompting them to offer tourists tickets at fire-sale prices.
According to the Daily Mail, tickets have been offered to events for Team Great Britain for as little as £12, or USD 15.39.
But it’s not just events for the Brits that are getting the discount treatment.
As the Daily Mail reports:
Entry for the women’s Japan vs Nigeria group stage game at the Stade de France on August 31 and the Australia vs USA were both selling at just €15.
And tickets for Friday’s men’s quarter final at the Lyon Stadium are also on sale at the same price, with seats available for €15 for those who purchased more than four at once.
Basketball games on August 31 are also going cheap, with admission for two games – Japan vs Germany and Australia vs Canada – selling for just over £19 (€24).
Before the start of the Olympics, the Paris rail system was hit by a series of arson attacks that caused massive delays and caused widespread transportation issues throughout the French capital and the area around it.
Olympic organizers potentially gave ticket buyers another reason not to attend the Games after putting on a blasphemous performance during the opening ceremony, which contained, among other things, a drag queen-inspired parody of the Last Supper.
Regardless of the cause for the low attendance, organizers can’t be happy with where things currently stand.
Quote:Paris has once again surrendered to foreign occupiers. Except this time, the occupiers are not an armed encampment; they’re hungry athletes fed up with the vegan diet Olympic organizers tried to make them eat.
Olympic organizers were forced to order 4,000 pounds of meat and eggs quickly after athletes decried the fake meat and non-dairy options, the Daily Mail reports.
From the beginning, officials sought to make this year’s Games the most eco-friendly and green in Olympic history. However, lost somewhere in the social designers’ “grand design” was the fact that, while fake meat is fine in the faculty cafeterias of Harvard and Oxford, elite human machines do not run on fake meat.
While organizers initially sought to downplay the woke meal plans’ impact and assured that all would be well, eventually, they had to concede defeat.
“As far as food is concerned, we had to make a few changes, and we had to adapt, which is quite normal,” Paris 2024 chief executive Etienne Thobois told reporters.
“We have 700kg of eggs and a tonne of meat have been the increases we have provided to meet the needs of athletes.”
Is having to rush order over 4,000 pounds of a totally different menu item “quite normal?”
Thobois continued, “We have got a full vision in terms of nutrition which is designed to provide the products necessary, including organic food. We have adapted everything, and it is to the satisfaction of all concerned.
‘We have had discussions with the heads of delegation and we have put the athletes at the forefront of our concerns and adapted our services to meet the needs of the athletes.”
The menu is not the only area where major concessions from the Games’ eco-friendly planners are seen. Teams are also now being allowed to bring their own air conditioning. This is in contrast to the previous arrangement, where only teams from highly-funded, wealthy countries had their own AC, and others were forced to rent it.
The problems with nutrition and cooling off have followed the athletes onto the field of play.
Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus says the conditions contributed significantly to her inability to set a new world record in the 800m freestyle.
Iraqi & Israeli Flags Controversy
Quote:Herda Raouf, head of the Iraqi delegation to the Paris Olympics, said on Saturday that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has refused Iraq’s request not to display the Israeli flag next to theirs during soccer matches.
“When we arrived at Lyon Stadium, we found the Iraqi flag displayed next to the Israeli flag,” Raouf complained to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Raouf said his delegation emailed two requests to the IOC to move the Israeli flag, but the IOC refused both times, on the grounds that all participating national flags must be displayed “in alphabetical order.”
Israel’s soccer team played at a different venue, the Parc des Princes, under heavy security against possible terrorist attacks. French police are investigating death threats against three Israeli Olympic athletes, and said hate crimes were threatened during Israel’s soccer matches.
The match went off without terrorist incidents on Saturday, although there were plenty of hate crimes, including Palestinian supporters waving banners that read “Genocide Olympics” and making “gestures of an anti-Semitic nature,” as a spokesperson for the Paris Olympics put it. Israel National News cited social media videos that showed protesters “making the Nazi salute and chant” during the Israeli national anthem.”
The Israeli team lost to Paraguay, 4-2. Israel’s first match of the Olympics was a 1-1 tie against Mali last week.
The Israeli team’s last chance to advance into the knockout stage of the competition will be a match against Japan on Tuesday.
Iraq does not formally recognize the existence of the Jewish state and has outspokenly supported the Palestinians ever since the brutal Hamas attack on Israeli civilians on October 7. The Iraqi government refused to condemn the October 7 atrocities.
The Iraqi parliament passed a law in May 2022 that makes it a crime to normalize relations with the “Zionist entity.” The law, originally proposed by influential Iraqi Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, imposes penalties up to life imprisonment, and even the death penalty, for Iraqis who take steps to establish normal diplomatic relations with Israel.
The first positive test for illegal doping at the Paris Olympics resulted in the suspension of an Iraqi judo competitor suspended on Friday. Sajjad Sehen, 28, tested positive for the steroids metandienone and boldenone.
The Clean Seine Is Not As Clean As Promised
Quote:Concerns about water quality in the Seine River led Paris Olympics organizers to postpone the men´s triathlon Tuesday, with officials hoping the swimming portion of the race will be able to go forward in the long-polluted waterway in the coming days following an expensive cleanup effort.
Organizers said they will try to hold the men’s triathlon Wednesday instead. The women’s competition also is scheduled that day, but both will only go forward if water tests show acceptable levels of E. coli and other bacteria in the river. Friday is also planned as a backup date.
However, storms or rain are forecast Tuesday night through Thursday, which could complicate efforts to reschedule the events because rain generally causes bacteria levels in the Seine to rise.
Paris experienced a downpour during the Olympic opening ceremony Friday, with rain persisting into Saturday. The swimming portion of training events meant to let the triathletes familiarize themselves with the course was canceled on both Sunday and Monday because of concerns over water quality.
The delays come after Olympic organizers and city officials had expressed confidence in recent days that bacteria levels would improve as skies cleared and temperatures warmed this week, but that apparently wasn´t sufficient to ensure the athletes´ safety. Tuesday´s high in Paris of 35 degrees Celsius (95 Fahrenheit) offers some hope of the heat wave killing off some of the bacteria.
Paris spent 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) to improve the water quality in the Seine so the swimming portion of the triathlon and the marathon swimming event next week could be held in the famed river that runs through the city center. But bacteria levels have remained in flux.
The decision to postpone the men’s triathlon followed a meeting early Tuesday that included the sport´s governing body, World Triathlon, its medical team, the International Olympic Committee and city officials.
“Despite the improvement on the water quality levels in the last hours, the readings at some points of the swim course are still above the acceptable limits,” organizers said, stressing that their “priority is the health of the athletes.”
Paris Deputy Mayor Pierre Rabadan said “the trend is improving” but “we are still not below the necessary threshold.”
To hold the two competitions on the Seine on Wednesday “seems to us to be the best option,” he said. However, he did not rule out further delays “if there is an issue tomorrow after the results of the analysis.”
Daily water quality tests measure levels of fecal bacteria known as E. coli, with a safe limit of 900 colony-forming units per 100 milliliters determined by European rules. Monitoring group Eau de Paris releases data each Friday, but it is updated only through the previous Tuesday.
Aurelie Merle, the Paris 2024 director of sports, said one of four test sites was below the threshold for E. coli Tuesday morning. Two other sites were just above the limit and one was more elevated, she said, citing a range of 980 to 1,553.
Cuban Athlete Defects
Quote:Communist Cuba, a regime that has for decades used sports competitions to elevate its geopolitical profile, has faced a series of embarrassments in the first days of the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics – including a high-profile defection before the Games even began and a loss in boxing to a Cuban exile.
Cuba has won 235 Olympic medals in the modern history of the Games, 83 of them gold – an impressive number for an impoverished island nation as a result of longtime communist dictator Fidel Castro, perceiving the propaganda potential of sports, investing heavily in cultivating talent. As the Cuban diaspora has grown, however – largely in part due to a growing number of Cuban athletes using international tournaments to flee communism – the Castro regime has struggled to maintain a stranglehold on its sports messaging and its athletic programs have suffered.
Athletes have increasingly defected as their national achievements have done little to improve their poverty and they struggle with being used for propaganda. In a particularly shameful episode for Cuban athletics in 2021, local Communist Party officials in in Ciego de Ávila celebrated Ronny Álvarez, a gold medalist at the Junior Pan-American Games, by gifting him two bottles of cooking oil, laundry detergent, a handful of yuca [cassava], and two packs of hot dogs, among other basic goods.
This year, Cuba is fielding a much smaller team than in previous years, bringing a delegation of 61 people to Paris. That delegation shrunk by one before the Games began when judoka Dayle Ojeda chose not to return to her quarters after a training session the week before the Opening Ceremonies. Ojeda was in Paris to help train other competitors in judo, rather than to compete, and disappeared before her return flight on July 24.
At the Opening Ceremonies, videos went viral of the Cuban delegation scowling on their boats in the Seine, waving their flags lethargically.
“Joy on the boat 21 that will parade along the Seine River,” a video published on the Chinese social medial outlet Tiktok by the account “Cubanos en UK” said in its caption.
Paris Infrastructure Vandalized
Quote:A despairing French government said multiple telecommunications links were hit by “cowardly” acts of vandalism early Monday morning, with fiber lines being taken out along with fixed and mobile phone infrastructure as cities around the country host events for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The immediate scale of the impact is unclear, as is whether it has affected any Olympic activities.
The vandalism came after left-wing arson attacks crippled train networks around France on Friday, hours before the Olympics opening ceremony, as Breitbart News reported.
Marina Ferrari, secretary of state in charge of digital affairs, posted on X that damage in several regions overnight Sunday to Monday affected telecommunications operators.
She said that led to localized impact on access to fiber lines and fixed and mobile telephone lines.
“Damages committed in several departments last night affected our telecommunications operators,” Ferrari noted. “They have localized consequences on access to fiber, fixed telephony and mobile telephony… I condemn in the strongest terms these cowardly and irresponsible acts. Thank you to the teams mobilized this morning to carry out repairs and restore damaged sites to service.”
AP reports the attacks are spread across the country:
A French police official said at least six of France’s administrative departments were affected, which include the region around the Mediterranean city of Marseille, hosting Olympic soccer and sailing competitions.
Telecom operators Bouygues and Free confirmed their services were affected. French media reports said lines operated by provider SFR also were hit. The parent company of Free said its teams are mobilized to restore services.
Meanwhile, as Breitbart News reported, hundreds of railway employees have worked back-to-back shifts to get France’s world-famous high speed rail lines out of Paris operating again, and the operator SNCF said they had achieved this by early Monday morning.
USA
US Military Not Prepared For War
Quote:A report has found that the United States military is “not prepared” to fight in a major war, as “major powers” — such as Russia and China — have become “top threats” to the U.S., with China “outpacing” the U.S.
The report, which the Commission on the National Defense Strategy released in July, reveals that while the U.S. is currently facing some of “the most serious and most challenging” threats since 1945, several problems are preventing the U.S. military from being able to address threats from China or Russia.
Among the problems preventing the U.S. military from addressing threats from China and Russia is reportedly the Department of Defense’s (DOD) “business practices, byzantine research,” and its “reliance on decades-old military hardware,” which reflects “an era of uncontested military dominance.” The report adds that “such methods” are “not suited to today’s strategic environment.”
The report also notes that the U.S. military has faced “recent recruitment shortfalls” that have led to a decrease in “the size of the Army, Air Force, and Navy.”
“The threats the United States faces are the most serious and most challenging the nation has encountered since 1945 and include the potential for near-term major war,” the report states. “The United States last fought a global conflict during World War II, which ended nearly 80 years ago. The nation was last prepared for such a fight during the Cold War, which ended 35 years ago. It is not prepared today.”
China and Russia are described as major powers that are trying “to undermine” the influence of the U.S., with China “outpacing the United States”:
The Commission finds that, in many ways, China is outpacing the United States and has largely negated the U.S. military advantage in the Western Pacific through two decades of focused military investment. Without significant change by the United States, the balance of power will continue to shift in China’s favor. China’s overall annual spending on defense is estimated at as much as $711 billion, and the Chinese government in March 2024 announced an increase in annual defense spending of 7.2 percent.
The report adds that China and Russia established a “no-limits” partnership in February 2022 that has “only deepened and broadened to include a military and economic partnership with Iran and North Korea.”
“This new alignment of nations opposed to U.S. interests creates a real risk, if not likelihood, that conflict anywhere could become a multitheater or global war,” the report explains, adding that the U.S. “needs a similarly integrated approach to match, deter, and overcome theirs.”
The report notes that “the U.S. defense industrial base (DIB) is unable to meet the equipment, technology, and munitions needs of the United States and its allies and partners.”
Due to the U.S. industrial base not being able to produce “everything needed,” the Commission adds that the U.S. “should coordinate and partner with its allies” to “increase industrial capacity.”
The report adds that Congress, the DOD, “and other agencies” need to work together to “rewrite laws and regulations” to “remove unnecessary barriers to adopting innovation, budgeting, and procurement.”
Democrat Criticizes Easy Access to AR-15 Rifles
Quote:Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) opened the hearing into the Trump assassination attempt Tuesday by targeting “easy access to AR-15 rifles.”
Durbin began his comments by talking about movies and books depicting “the international assassin with sophisticated technology, elaborate plans, [and] well honed skills, [who] sets out to kill a leading political figure in the United States.”
He quickly shifted gears to state that reality is quite different. In other words, the actual would-be alleged assassin was “a 20-year-old, introverted college student” who “outsmarted one of the most sophisticated American law enforcement agencies in history.”
Durbin segued, saying, “There is more to this story and other aspects we’ve got to consider as well.”
He then targeted America’s favorite rifle, the AR-15. “We cannot lose sight of the factor that contributed to the violence on July 13 — widespread, easy access to AR-15 military-style rifles.”
Durbin continued, “While we rely on the Secret Service to protect elected officials, we must acknowledge the unique challenges they face in light of the proliferation of ‘weapons of war’ on our streets.”
He then zeroed in on Pennsylvania gun laws, noting, “Pennsylvania, like many states, allows individuals to openly carry a loaded rifle without a permit. To make matters worse, ‘assault rifles’ can easily be purchased from unlicensed dealers without a background check because of dangerous loopholes in our gun laws.”
Durbin did not mention that the gun used in the Trump assassination was legally purchased, which means more point-of-sale background checks would not have hindered the shooting in the least.
Moreover, Durbin pointed out that AR-15-style rifles were used in Newtown (December 14, 2012), Uvalde (May 24, 2022), and Las Vegas (October 1, 2017). However, he did not point out that the AR-15 used in Newtown was stolen, and the guns used in Uvalde and Las Vegas were legally purchased. Again, no additional point-of-sale background check would have made a difference.
FBI is Still Baffled
Quote:On July 30, 2024, over two weeks after the assassination attempt against Donald Trump, FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate said the agency still does not know how the would-be alleged assassin got a rifle onto the roof from which he fired.
Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-CA) asked Abbate if the agency knew how the 20-year-old would-be assassin was able to get the rifle onto the roof.
Abbate responded, “We don’t have definitive evidence yet as to how he got the rifle up there. Based on everything that’s been collected thus far — photos, video, eyewitness accounts — we do believe he likely had it in the backpack.”
Sen. Butler followed up by asking, “Broken down in the backpack?”
Abbate said, “We’re still assessing that. Our laboratory has taken, looked at the rifle itself and measured that against the backpack itself and, if placed in the backpack, it would extend outside, it would have been visible.”
He went on to say no witness has mentioned seeing the rifle sticking out of the backpack.
Abbate observed, “It’s possible that he broke the rifle down, although we don’t have conclusive evidence of that, and took it out of the bag on the roof in those moments before and reassembled it there, that’s one of the theories we’re looking at and working on right now.”
Acting Director of Secret Service Claims They Didn't Know Crooks Was There
Quote:Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe testified Tuesday to the Senate Homeland Security Committee the Secret Service did not know there was a man on the roof of a building with a firearm until he fired.
“Based on what I know right now, neither the secret service counter sniper teams nor members of the former president’s security detail had any knowledge that there was a man on the roof of the AGR building with a firearm. It is my understanding those personnel were not aware the assailant had a firearm until they heard gunshots,” he said.
He said prior to the man — Thomas Matthew Crooks — fired, Secret Service was operating with the knowledge that “local law enforcement was working an issue of a suspicious individual.”
Rowe’s claim comes after speculation over whether Secret Service snipers had seen Crooks on the rooftop with a rifle, but did not shoot due to rules of engagement.
Rowe said, “I regret that information was not passed to Congress and the public sooner [and] I fear this lack of information has given rise to multiple false and dangerous conspiracy theories about what took place that day. And I want to debunk these theories.”
Rowe addressed speculation over the Secret Service sniper not firing sooner, saying, “The secret service counter sniper neutralized the assailant within seconds after the assailant fired his weapon, that counter sniper had full discretion to use deadly force to stop an attacker, and did not need to seek authorization to fire.”
So now that agency claims that the counter sniper didn't need any extra authorization to shoot Crooks down as the agent had stated days ago...
How confusing! The Butler Blame Game
Quote:Recriminations between local law enforcement and Secret Service agents over who is to blame for former President Donald Trump getting shot and almost killed are flying back and forth, some publicly and some behind-the-scenes, as investigations into what happened get underway.
Local law enforcement snipers on the Beaver County Emergency Services Unit (ESU), the county’s SWAT team, were assigned to secure the outside perimeter that included the American Glass Research building that Crooks climbed atop of.
Some Secret Service agents believe Beaver County law enforcement snipers would have seen 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks crawl onto the rooftop and get into position to fire at former President Donald Trump had they stayed at their posts — which were reportedly windows that overlooked the rooftop.
Videos released publicly show the windows where the snipers were supposed to be stationed that would have given them a clear view of where Crooks climbed to fire at Trump.
According to conservative podcast host Benny Johnson, local law enforcement snipers were not at their positions at the windows because one team member went home early, another one left his position to investigate after being notified that a suspicious individual — Crooks — was lurking outside the building, and the third went to go let the other sniper in after he forgot his access card into the building.
Johnson posted on X:
There was a three man SWAT sniper team located in this position. One member of the team went home early — not sure how this was allowed but it happened. The remaining two snipers positioned in this room were notified that a suspicious individual [Crooks] was lurking outside the building. One team member left his position to investigate, leaving just one sniper with overwatch of the roof.
The investigating team member found nothing and in the process of returning to his position realized he had forgotten his access card into the building. The last remaining sniper with overwatch LEFT [!!!] the position to retrieve his team member locked outside.
Crooks crawled across the roof and fired on Trump while this fully-equipped sniper nest with a perfect view of Crooks assassin position was left completely UNMANNED.
Johnson suggested Secret Service — who was in charge of the overall security plan for the event — was to blame for not leaving local law enforcement on the roof, allegedly allowing the local snipers to leave their posts, and not putting someone on a nearby water tower.
It is not clear who approved the Beaver County ESU snipers being inside the building versus on the rooftop.
Former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle in an interview with ABC News on July 16, 2024, said “the decision was made to secure the building from inside,” but did not say who made the decision. She cited the safety factor of a “sloped” roof.
She later testified on July 22, 2024, that there was “overwatch provided” for the roof, but would not say who was responsible for the overwatch.
US Flags Should Be Made in America
Quote:U.S. lawmakers passed a proposal requiring the federal government to purchase U.S. flags made 100 percent in America.
The All-American Flag Act, which Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) introduced, has passed the House of Representatives after passing the Senate in November 2023, and it now heads to President Joe Biden’s desk. Specifically, the legislation requires U.S. federal agencies to only purchase U.S. flags made domestically in the United States of America rather than importing them from elsewhere, including China.
As an example, a press release from Collins’ website reported that the U.S. imported “10 million American flags including 50,000 from China” in 2017 alone. Brown’s press release on the matter noted that the federal government is only currently required to purchase U.S. flags created with just 50 percent of American-made materials.
This means that “half of the materials in flags flown at our military bases and other federal buildings can be made in China,” according to his press release.
The legislation reads, in part:
Except as provided in subsections (b) through (d), funds appropriated or otherwise available to an agency may not be used for the procurement of any flag of the United States, unless such flag has been 100 percent manufactured in the United States from articles, materials, or supplies that have been grown or 100 percent produced or manufactured in the United States.
The legislation adds that the president may issue a waiver for the requirement “if the President determines a waiver is necessary to comply with any trade agreement to which the United States is a party.”
Philadelphia's 650+ Shootings
Quote:Data from Philadelphia’s City Controller indicates there have been more than 650 shooting victims in the Democrat-run city thus far in 2024.
According to City Controller Christy Brady, 141 shooting victims succumbed to their wounds and 511 survived.
Brady also pointed out that 85 percent of the shooting victims were male, 15 percent were female, and 81 percent of the victims were “Black (non Hispanic).”
The Philadelphia Police Department maintains a database on homicides in the city that shows 153 people have been killed in Philadelphia year-to-date. The figure of 153 homicides is 38 percent below where the city was on the same day in 2023.
On April 11, 2024, WHYY pointed to a Pew Charitable Trusts report which showed that the somewhat diminished homicide and violent crime crime numbers of 2024 came on the heels of a rough 2023 where “the number of property crimes, like car and retail thefts, skyrocketed.”
“The total number of major crimes — which is the combined tally of violent crime and property crime — reached a 20-year high,” WHYY noted in 2023.
Georgia Democrats & Republicans Demand Switch to Paper Ballots
Quote:Democrats and Republicans in Georgia have found common ground and are demanding the state election board ditch electronic voting machines and switch to paper ballots.
The two political parties in the state have called for the Georgia election board to go from using Dominion Voting Systems’ electronic voting machines to using hand-marked paper ballots, according to 11Alive News. The groups have noted how easily hackers can “manipulate elections.”
After the 2020 presidential election, Dominion filed a lawsuit claiming that Fox News had suggested that the company had rigged the voting machines, leading to former President Donald Trump losing the election to President Joe Biden.
“It’s madness, actually, to go into a system and have all of our ballots relying on that,” Jeanne Dufort, the chair of the Morgan County Democrat Party, said in a statement.
Dr. Rich DeMillo, the founder of Georgia Tech’s School of Cybersecurity and Privacy, described a “series of breaches” — especially ones in cybersecurity within the last “two years” — as being “story after story” of some sort of “vulnerability in a system” that had been ignored.
“If you look at the series of breaches, global breaches of cybersecurity systems over the last two years, it’s story after story like this where some vulnerability in a system was ignored,” DeMillo said in a statement.
After the 2020 presidential election, several counties in Georgia that had used Dominion Voting Systems’ software reported that they had encountered glitches during the election.
The outlet also noted that security cameras had captured Trump supporters “entering the secure area of Coffee County’s election office” and that they had copied election software.
“We believe the experts who tell us that bad guys, foreign and domestic, are interested in overturning election results or interfering with them,” Dufort added. “And we absolutely believe they now have really good tools to do that.”
LATIN AMERICA
Venezuelan Sham Elections
Quote:Venezuela’s socialist Maduro regime broke ties with seven Latin American countries after their governments questioned the results of Sunday’s sham presidential election and dictator Nicolás Maduro’s “victory.”
The decision forces the immediate withdrawal of the diplomatic representatives from Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Peru, Panama, the Dominican Republic, and Uruguay from Venezuelan territory.
Venezuelan electoral authorities — controlled in their entirety by the ruling socialist regime — proclaimed Maduro the “winner” of Sunday’s sham election, claiming he had obtained 51.2 percent of the votes.
The Venezuelan opposition has contested the results and claimed it has evidence that their candidate, Edmundo González, obtained an overwhelming victory against the dictator. In addition to widespread suspicions that election authorities manipulated the numbers, Maduro handpicked the candidates on the ballot and ensured his own face appeared on it 13 times. Opposition members have also complained of violence against their campaign staff and the unlawful arrests of several dissidents, ensuring the election was far from free and fair.
Several countries have called the election’s results into question. The United States, the United Kingdom, Colombia, and the European Union have called for a transparent recount of the votes, while countries such as Argentina, Chile, El Salvador, and Ecuador have not recognized Maduro’s “victory” as legitimate.
Unlike previous sham elections in Venezuela, when it occurred almost immediately after the election was called, the Maduro regime has not released detailed records that show a breakdown of the election’s “results” on a voting-center-by-voting-center basis in each and every state at press time.
The ruling socialists have also claimed that Venezuela’s electoral system — which they have repeatedly celebrated as the “best” in the world — was the target of an alleged hacking attempt that originated from North Macedonia and accused opposition leader María Corina Machado and other dissidents of being involved. Machado was the presidential frontrunner for much of the election season despite being banned from running for office.
The Maduro regime has not publicly provided proof that substantiates its accusations against Machado, nor has it publicly provided further details of the purported hacking attack from North Macedonia at press time.
The seven countries that Venezuela has now cut diplomatic ties with, together with Guatemala and Paraguay, signed a joint letter on Monday in which they expressed concerns with the Venezuelan sham election and demanded a “complete review” of its results.
The nine countries also called for an urgent meeting of the Organization of American States (OAS) to address the situation. The Maduro regime had Venezuela withdraw itself from OAS in 2017.
Quote:Venezuelans began destroying statues of late socialist dictator Hugo Chávez on Sunday and Monday as part of larger protests against the regime of current socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro.
Maduro “won” a fraudulent election on Sunday for a six-year term as “president” in which the one opposition candidate, Edmundo González, has denounced having evidence that shows him winning the election by a landslide.
Protests erupted in Venezuela on Monday in the wake of the National Electoral Center (CNE) proclaiming Maduro the “winner.” The regime’s repression of the protesters has reportedly left four dead and dozens of injured and detained as of Tuesday morning.
The Maduro regime made a significant effort to ensure that Sunday’s sham election was neither free nor fair, banning the opposition’s frontrunner María Corina Machado from the ballot and engaging in a repression campaign that led to the unjust arrest of dozens of dissidents.
Sunday’s ballot featured Maduro — who appeared 13 times on it — a varied assortment of “opposition” handpicked rivals, and 74-year-old former diplomat González, the only opposition candidate that the socialist regime allowed to run.
The Maduro regime chose to hold the election on July 28 as it marked the 70th birthday of Hugo Chávez, who died of an undisclosed form of cancer on March 5, 2013. Weeks before dying, Chávez announced on December 8, 2012 — his last public appearance — that he had chosen Maduro to be his successor to lead his authoritarian socialist regime upon his death.
After Chávez’s death, the Maduro regime posthumously granted the late dictator the title of “Supreme and Eternal Commander of the Revolution” and often avoids mentioning that he died — but rather, that he was “sown” into the soil or “stepped into immortality” instead.
The Maduro regime also marks several Chávez-related dates such as his birthday and death day as pseudo-holidays. Other examples include December 8, during which the ruling socialists mark the “Day of Loyalty and Love to Chávez” to commemorate his “order” to have Maduro be his successor, or February 4, which marks Chávez’s failed coup attempt in 1992 against the government of Carlos Andres Pérez. The military headquarters that Chávez fled to after his coup failed now serves as his mausoleum.
Venezuelan electoral authorities, which directly serve the Maduro regime, claimed that Maduro “won” Sunday’s sham election after allegedly obtaining 51 percent of the votes against González’s 44 percent. The Venezuelan opposition has contested the results, claiming that it can prove Maduro stole Sunday’s sham election and that González is the actual winner after obtaining an overwhelming majority of the votes.
The events prompted Venezuelan citizens to flock to the street to protest against the Maduro regime, leading to statues of Chávez being toppled, beheaded, burned, and destroyed across several states. After being toppled, some of the statues have been dragged through the streets by the protesters.
EUROPE
UK: British Girls Killed
Quote:Concern for public safety and raw emotion are running high after a mass stabbing of young children in the United Kingdom, with the Prime Minister being heckled by the public over knife crime as he laid a wreath for the dead.
Three children were killed and a dozen other children and adults were seriously injured in a mass stabbing attack at a youngster’s summer holiday dance party in Southport, Merseyside, England, on Monday. The Home Secretary visited Southport on Tuesday morning, and hours later she was followed by Britain’s new Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, who met first responders and laid a floral wreath near the scene of the attack.
During the Prime Minister’s brief visit to the police cordon at the end of the road where the attack took place, there were terse words from the public appealing for action on public safety. A video record preserving the event shows several people jeering the Prime Minister, with anger becoming clearest as, just moments after having arrived, the Prime Minister turned away and got back into his car to leave.
Among the views aired were people shouting “How many more children are going to die on our streets Prime Minister?… How many more children Prime Minister? Are you going to do something?”, another calling “Time for change Starmer”, and another shouting “How many more children? It’ll be mine next”.
Another questioned, “Are you going to stand up for our children?” while a woman in the crowd, sobbing loudly, screamed: “I’ve just found out my friend’s nine-year-old daughter was killed, the person I held as a child, and you can’t do shit.”
As the Prime Minister walked away, flanked by protection officers, and got into his car one voice shouted out a sardonic ‘goodbye’. They said: “Bye-bye, got your photo, off you go. Make a real change, Prime Minister, for our children!”
In all, the Prime Minister’s motorcade was at the scene for all of three minutes. The outburst is very rare in the United Kingdom, where the public response to mass-casualty attacks has generally BEEN very carefully stage-managed by the government over the past decade.
Responding to the scenes, Nigel Farage MP reflected: “I know the Prime Minister went to lay flowers and was heckled, and it shows how unhappy the public are with the state of law and order in our country”.
Although attention for the wider knife-crime problem in the United Kingdom has long focussed on London, it is not a problem limited to the capital, and the country has experienced a four per cent rise in “knife enabled crime” this past year alone. Critics have said pressure on stop and search to get knives off the streets for reasons of racial politics and weak legal action against known offenders is leading to an environment of greater permissiveness and declining public safety but little meaningful action appears to have taken place.
UK: Extremist Islamic Preacher Sentenced
Quote:Radical British preacher Anjem Choudary was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison for directing a terrorist group, days after he was convicted in Woolwich Crown Court of being a member of a banned organization – the radical Muslim group al-Muhajiroun, or ALM – and for drumming up support for the group.
Justice Mark Wall said Choudary, 57, was “front and center in running a terrorist organization” that “encouraged young men into radical activity.”
ALM was outlawed by the British government in 2010 as a group involved in committing, preparing for or promoting terrorism.
Prosecutor Tom Little described Choudary as having a “warped and twisted mindset” and said he stepped in to lead ALM after Omar Bakri Muhammad, the group’s founder, was imprisoned in Lebanon between 2014 and March 2023.
Choudary, who was previously convicted of supporting the Islamic State group, denied at trial that he promoted ALM through his lectures, saying ALM no longer existed.
Under the terms of the sentence, Choudary must serve at least 28 years behind bars.
Prosecutors said the group has operated under many names, including the New York-based Islamic Thinkers Society, which Choudary has spoken to.
The Islamic Thinkers Society was ALM’s U.S. branch, said New York Police Deputy Commissioner Rebecca Weiner, who called the case historic.
Choudary was convicted with one of his followers, Khaled Hussein, who prosecutors said was a dedicated supporter of the group.
Hussein, 29, of Edmonton, Canada, was convicted of membership of a proscribed organization.
The two were arrested a year ago after Hussein landed at Heathrow Airport.
UK: Winter Energy Aid Cuts
Quote:The new leftist Labour Party government in Britain announced plans to slash winter energy benefits for around 10 million pensioners while preparing massive tax hikes to fund soaring spending driven largely by mass migration.
In her first major address to Parliament on Monday, Chancellor Rachel Reeves — the head of the Treasury Department — confirmed the high-tax, high spending agenda of the new Labour government.
Reeves claimed that she “did not want to have to do this” but asserted that the previous Conservative government of Rishi Sunak had left a £22 billion “black hole” in Britain’s finances, the Daily Mail reports.
This deficit was exacerbated by illegal immigration and the asylum system, the overspend on which rose to £6.4 billion this year alone. The chancellor also pointed to more spending on the National Health Service (NHS), funding for the war in Ukraine, and highway and road maintenance.
To meet the spending costs, Reeves said that the government would scrap energy bill support this winter for potentially up to 10 million pensioners.
She said that all those who do not receive pension credit will have their support cut, despite the ongoing energy crisis in the country. Reeves claimed this would save the government around £1.4 billion this year and a further £1.5 billion next year.
“This is not a decision I wanted to make, nor is it the one I expected to make – but these are the necessary and urgent decisions that I must make,” Reeves told the Commons.
While the government decided to scrap money for elderly people to heat their homes and despite concerns over fuelling inflation, Reeves committed to a 22 per cent pay rise for junior doctors to end the longstanding labour dispute.
Despite the country suffering under the highest tax burden since the Second World War, Reeves also suggested that billions more in taxes would need to be raised when she unveils her Budget at the end of October, with death taxes and capital gains likely being targets to fill the £16.4 billion gap left after the budget cuts announced Monday.
Zelensky Considers Working on Plan for Peace Negotiations
Quote:Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday he will put the finishing touches on an “action plan for peace” by the end of November. He added that he cannot discuss a ceasefire while Russian forces occupy Ukrainian territory.
Zelensky touted his “action plan for peace” as an extension of June’s “Global Peace Summit” in Switzerland, which produced a communique calling for restoration of Ukraine’s “territorial integrity.”
Representatives from 91 nations signed the communique, but Russia was not one of them. Russian President Vladimir Putin instead demanded Ukraine surrender its occupied eastern provinces to Russian control and abandon its plans to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Putin additionally demanded all foreign forces withdraw from the Eastern European region he imagines as Russia’s sphere of influence.
Zelensky said in an interview with Japan’s NHK television news on Saturday that he still believes the international community can pressure Putin to give up his demands and negotiate for peace.
“Patience, support, and diplomatic pressure are the three factors for a just end to the war. If the U.S. and European nations maintain unity, it will add pressure and show Moscow that there is no chance,” he said.
Zelensky apparently timed his rollout date for the “action plan for peace” with an eye on the U.S. presidential election in November. Ukraine wants to organize another Global Peace Summit before the election, producing a second communique that Zelensky believes might “mark the end of the war.”
During his NHK interview, Zelensky said he invited Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump to visit Ukraine. Trump has criticized heavy NATO spending on Ukraine’s defense and voiced skepticism the Ukrainians can win the long war of attrition with Russia, although he also praised Zelensky and said he maintains a good relationship with the Ukrainian leader.
MIDDLE EAST
Arab Israeli Village Lost 12 Kids
Quote:The mother of one of the twelve children murdered Saturday by a Hezbollah rocket cried out in grief as she approached the local soccer field where they were killed.
“Tell me,” the local schoolteacher asked, as the mother wept behind her, “how am I supposed to erase their names from the register?”
Nearby, the crater of the rocket sits at a corner of the field, near a torn steel fence.
Local resident Dolan Abu Saleh, who lives near the field and saw the rocket fly over the town before striking the soccer pitch, points out that the rocket struck a point near the entrance of the local bomb shelter — meaning that children who had scrambled to take cover as warning sirens sounded were killed on their way to safety.
One paramedic, he said, loaded the lifeless body of his own daughter onto an ambulance before returning to treat the wounded.
Shrapnel hit the playground nearby; body parts were found on the roof of a neighboring building. The scene, even three days later, is almost too much for journalists to bear.
The streets are lined with black flags. Portraits of the victims hang on fences; a memorial, with a soccer ball or basketball placed in each of twelve empty chairs, along with jerseys featuring the names of the children, takes up the central roundabout.
Local dignitaries arrive to comfort the village and the grieving families. Former defense minister Moshe “Bogey” Ya’alon; the mayor of the town of Karmiel; an imam from the Muslim community in the central Israeli town of Lydda.
The imam delivers a speech in Arabic calling for unity among all of Israel’s citizens — Druze, Muslim, Jewish, and Chrisitian. He leads Muslims in the midday prayer at the memorial site and embraces members of the community.
As they deliver eulogies, the message echoes from one leader to another: we must unite, as one nation, against hate.
IDF Killed One of Hezbollah's Leader
Quote:The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed Tuesday evening that it had killed Hezbollah’s second-in-command, Fuad Shukr “Sayyid Muhsan,” who was also wanted for his role in the 1983 U.S. Marines barracks bombing in Beirut.
The IDF issued a statement:
The IDF announces today (Tuesday), July 30, 2024, that in a targeted, intelligence-based elimination, Israeli Air Force fighter jets eliminated the Hezbollah terrorist organization’s most senior military commander and the head of its Strategic Unit, Fuad Shukr “Sayyid Muhsan”, in the area of Beirut. Fuad served as Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah’s right-hand man and was Nasrallah’s adviser for planning and directing wartime operations.
Fuad Shukr has directed Hezbollah’s attacks on the State of Israel since October 8th, and he was the commander responsible for the murder of the 12 children in Majdal Shams in northern Israel on Saturday evening, as well as the killing of numerous Israelis and foreign nationals over the years.
As the Head of Hezbollah’s Strategic Unit, Fuad was responsible for the majority of Hezbollah’s most advanced weaponry, including precise-guided missiles, cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles, long-range rockets, and UAVs. He was responsible for force build-up, planning, and execution of terror attacks against the State of Israel.
Fuad joined the Hezbollah terrorist organization in 1985 and has since held a number of senior positions. As part of his role, he was a member of the Jihad Council – Hezbollah’s most senior military forum.
In the 1990s, Fuad advanced numerous attacks against the IDF and the South Lebanon Army. In 2000, he was directly involved in the abduction of the bodies of three IDF soldiers – SSGT Benyamin Avraham, SSGT Adi Avitan, and SSGT Omar Sawaid -who were killed by Hezbollah terrorists while patrolling the security fence adjacent to Har Dov. Since then, he has planned and directed numerous terror attacks against innocent civilians.
The Times of Israel added: “He is also wanted by the United States for his role in the 1983 bombing of a US Marines barracks in Beirut, with a $5 million bounty placed on his head by Washington.”
Hamas Leader Haniyeh Dead
Quote:Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh, a billionaire who ordered murder from luxurious exile in Doha, Qatar, was reportedly killed early Wednesday in Tehran, Iran, after the presidential inauguration.
Haniyeh was in Tehran for the inauguration of new president Masoud Pezeshkian and met with “Supreme Leader” Ali Khamenei, together with the leaders of other terrorist groups, such as Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Houthis.
Multiple news sources, citing Iranian television, say that Haniyeh was killed and that Hamas confirmed the death.
Iran’s PressTV reported:
Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the political bureau of the resistance Palestinian movement Hamas, has been killed in an attack in the Iranian capital, Tehran.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced on Wednesday morning that Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards were killed when their residence was hit in Tehran.
The statement said the attack is under investigation and the results will be announced later in the day.
The New York Times confirmed the news, citing Iran’s terrorist Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps:
Ismail Haniyeh, one of the most senior Hamas leaders, was targeted and killed in Iran, according to a statement by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps on Tuesday.
Hamas accused Israel of killing Mr. Haniyeh, who led the Hamas political operations from exile in Qatar, in Tehran. Hamas made the statement on its official Telegram account.
The news came hours after Israel confirmed that it had killed Hezbollah’s second-in-command, Fuad Shukr “Sayyid Muhsan,” who was responsible for rocket attacks on Israel and the 1983 U.S. Marines barracks bombing in Beirut.
Erdogan Threatens to Invade Israel
Quote:Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, an avowed Islamist and one of the loudest world leaders supporting the Hamas jihadist terror organization, threatened to invade Israel on Sunday.
“We must be very strong so that Israel cannot strike Palestine,” Erdogan told the audience at a rally for his Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP), according to Israel’s i24. “Just like we entered Karabakh and the way we entered Libya, maybe we’ll do the same thing. There’s nothing we can’t do. We have to be strong.”
Under Erdogan, Turkey has engaged in foreign interventionism for nearly a decade, sending troops into Syria in 2016 to allegedly “end the rule of the tyrant [Bashar] Assad,” but in reality, attacking U.S.-allied Kurdish groups. Turkey has also been active militarily in neighboring Iraq, similarly targeting Kurdish groups at the time fighting the jihadist Islamic State “caliphate.” In Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed territory between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Turkey, supplied its popular, relatively affordable Bayraktar drones to its Azeri allies, marking a decisive turn in the conflict that resulted in the completion of the genocide of Armenian Christians in the area.
Erdogan also announced an invasion of Libya in 2020 to defend the internationally recognized “Government of National Accord” (GNA) from an ongoing siege by Russia-backed warlord Khalifa Haftar. Turkish involvement in the conflict helped the GNA keep control of Tripoli through several attempts at conquest by Haftar, though Libya currently remains fractured and unstable, as neither political force has completely subdued the other.
Reports on the Turkish president’s comments on Sunday did not clarify if intervention in Israel would be a direct Turkish military action or Erdogan would consider selling Bayraktar drones or other equipment to Hamas, which Ankara enthusiastically supports. The Jerusalem Post added the context that Erdogan made the threat while “praising his country’s defense industry,” potentially a nod to the introduction of Bayraktars to the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
“We must be very strong so that Israel can’t do these ridiculous things to Palestine [sic],” Erdogan claimed. “There is no reason why we cannot do this.”
The Turkish Foreign Ministry supported Erdogan’s remarks with a statement later that day comparing Israel to Nazi Germany and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler.
"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.
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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
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
