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Well, we could say it has collapsed already. 
CEO Killed in NYC
Quote:Brian Thompson, the slain CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was gunned down on Wednesday while top executives at his company have reportedly been under investigation by the Department of Justice (DOJ) for alleged insider trading and a monopoly.
“Multiple senior executives at UnitedHealthcare have been under investigation by the Department of Justice, though it is not clear if CEO Brian Thompson was part of that investigation before his murder,” reported Fox Business.
“There were reports that the executives were accused of insider trading and fraud, and last year the DOJ launched a probe into whether the nation’s largest insurer was unfairly restricting competitors and running a monopoly,” it added.
Lawsuits were filed by the DOJ in conjunction with attorneys general from Maryland, Illinois, New Jersey, and New York to block the $3.3 billion acquisition of rival health and hospice provider Amedisys, which would have eliminated the competition. Attorney General Merrick Garland said last month that the merger could harm vulnerable patients.
“We are challenging this merger because home health and hospice patients and their families experiencing some of the most difficult moments of their lives deserve affordable, high quality care options,” said Garland. “The Justice Department will not hesitate to check unlawful consolidation and monopolization in the healthcare market that threatens to harm vulnerable patients, their families, and health care workers.”
“American healthcare is unwell. Unless this $3.3 billion transaction is stopped, UnitedHealth Group will further extend its grip to home health and hospice care, threatening seniors, their families and nurses,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.
The company also experienced a major hacking scandal earlier this year in which large numbers of Americans’ personal data was lost.
As Breitbart News reported on Wednesday, the NYPD characterized the killing of Brian Thompson as a “brazen targeted attack” after the CEO was shot and killed outside his hotel in Manhattan by a masked gunman.
“The attacker fired more than once–striking Thompson more than once–and was able to clear jams in the gun as he was firing. The attacker’s ability to clear jams in the gun leads Kenny to believe the attacker was ‘proficient in the use of firearms,'” reported Breitbart News.
“The attacker fled the scene on an E-City bike and was last seen ‘riding into Central Park at Central Drive,'” it added.
NYPD Released Photo of Suspect
Quote:The NYPD released photos drawn from surveillance footage showing the suspected killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Breitbart News reported that 50-year-old Thompson was shot and killed outside the Hilton Hotel in Midtown Manhattan just after 6:45 a.m. on Wednesday.
The NYPD held a late morning press conference and made clear they believe the killing was targeted, not random.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joe Kenny pointed out that the suspect was wearing a “distinctive gray backpack,” black face mask, light brown jacket, and black and white sneakers. He said the suspect “[ignored] numerous other pedestrians,” approached Thompson from behind, and shot him in the back.
...
The suspected killer fired more than once–striking Thompson more than once–and was able to clear jams in the gun as he was firing. The attacker’s ability to clear jams in the gun leads Kenny to believe the attacker was “proficient in the use of firearms.”
The NYPD is asking anyone with information on the suspect or the incident to contact the department at 1(800)577-TIPS.
Biden Rushing $725 Million in Weapons to Ukraine
Quote:The Biden administration might be in its final days but that doesn’t mean the flow of lethal U.S. weaponry to Ukraine shows any sign of slowing. Far from it.
That was confirmed Monday when an additional $725 million in military assistance, including counter-drone systems and munitions for its High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), was announced by the White House.
AP reports it is unclear whether the munitions for the HIMARS are the coveted ATACMS — the Army Tactical Missile System — but Ukraine has been pressing for more of the longer-range missiles to strike additional targets inside Russia.
The package also includes more of the anti-personnel land mines Ukraine seeks to slow Russian and North Korean ground forces in Russia’s Kursk region and comes on the back of the billions of dollars in U.S. taxpayer funds already used to support Kiev in its fight against Russia.
President Joe Biden has pledged to spend all of the military assistance funds Congress approved this year for Ukraine before the end of his administration on Jan. 20, which before Monday’s announcement included about $7.1 billion in weapons that would be drawn from the Pentagon’s stockpiles.
The latest package of support comes after President-elect Donald Trump vowed to end the conflict as a priority upon assuming office.
In a major shift, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signaled on Friday an an offer of NATO membership to territory under Kyiv’s control could end “the hot stage of the war.”
Speaker Johnson Nixes Biden's Ukraine Aid Package
Quote:Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said on Wednesday that there should not be more aid for Ukraine ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Johnson said that the decision to provide more aid for Ukraine should fall on Trump when he becomes the president again in January.
“As we predicted and as I said to all of you weeks before the election, if Donald Trump is elected it will change the dynamic of the Russian war on Ukraine, and we’re seeing that happen,” the Louisiana leader of the House said during a House Republican leadership press conference. He added that Trump’s electoral victory will change the dynamic of the protracted conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
“So it is not the place of Joe Biden to make that decision now, we have a newly elected president and we’re going to wait and take the new commander in chief’s direction on all that, so I don’t expect any Ukraine funding to come up now,” Johnson continued.
The Biden White House called for $8 billion in security assistance to Ukraine, which includes providing military equipment to Ukraine, funding training of its armed forces, and more. Another $16 billion was requested for the Department of Defense (DOD) to send more supplies to Ukraine.
Trump said in September he would seek to end the Ukraine-Russia conflict as president-elect, even before he takes office:
I want to get Russia to settle up with Ukraine and stop this — millions of people being killed, far greater than the number you read about. But I want to get that done before I even take office, I want to get that done as president-elect, because it has to be solved — too many people dying, too many cities are just in rubble right now, you look at the cultures just being destroyed. We’ve got to get that done, and I’ll get it done. There wouldn’t have been an October 7th, there wouldn’t have been Russia attacking Ukraine, there wouldn’t be inflation, all this inflation which has hurt people so badly. You wouldn’t have had that horrible type of withdrawal — we were getting out of Afghanistan, but with dignity and strength — that was the most embarrassing moment in the history of our country. And frankly Russia would have never gone into Ukraine if it weren’t for that. They looked at that and they said, “This country is no longer run by Trump. This country is run by stupid people.”
In late November, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky said that the “hot war” with Russia could end if Ukraine is guaranteed protection under a “NATO umbrella” while the country seeks to retake territories controlled by Russia “diplomatically.”
Would Biden Pardon Cheney, Schiff & Fauci as Well?
Quote:President Joe Biden is weighing preemptive pardons for his allies in Congress and current and former federal officials, senior Democrats familiar with the discussions told Politico’s Jonathan Martin.
Receiving a preemptive pardon would indicate an admission of guilt, although some Democrats claim a preemptive pardon would only be intended to block President-elect Donald Trump from cleaning up Washington.
If Biden delivered preemptive pardons, it would fulfill the request of Democrats and media allies.
Politico reported on the potential pardons:
The deliberations touch on pardoning those currently in office, elected and appointed, as well as former officials who’ve angered Trump and his loyalists.
Those who could face exposure include such members of Congress’ Jan. 6 Committee as Sen.-elect Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and former GOP Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming. Trump has previously said––Cheney “should go to Jail along with the rest of the Unselect Committee!” Also mentioned by Biden’s aides for a pardon is Anthony Fauci, the former head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases who became a lightning rod for criticism from the right during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The West Wing deliberations have been organized by White House counsel Ed Siskel but include a range of other aides, including chief of staff Jeff Zients. The president himself, who was intensely focused on his son’s pardon, has not been brought into the broader pardon discussions yet, according to people familiar with the deliberations.
A White House spokesperson declined to confirm or deny the discussions to Politico.
For weeks, Democrats and media allies urged Biden to offer preemptive pardons to his allies, Breitbart News reported Wednesday.
Democrats & Republicans Pressing NY Governor & NYC Mayor to Suspend State Law
Quote:New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) are under mounting pressure to suspend the city and state’s sanctuary policy that shields criminal illegal aliens from deportation.
Since President-Elect Donald Trump’s victory last month, Adams and Hochul have both voiced support for aiding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents with deporting criminal illegal aliens from New York — one of the nation’s largest sanctuary states.
“Someone breaks the law, I’ll be the first one to call up ICE and say, ‘Get them out of here,'” Hochul said during a press conference last month.
Democrats and Republicans on the New York City Council are now urging Hochul to back up her words and suspend the state’s sanctuary law that bans local law enforcement from cooperating with ICE agents.
“The recent surge in violent crime, including incidents involving migrant gangs in Central Park and Queens parks — where they have been reported to be raping, robbing, assaulting, and even shooting at police officers — demands immediate and decisive action,” the coalition of councilmembers write to Hochul:
We urge you to consider issuing an executive order under the emergency powers granted to your office that would allow New York City to temporarily waive its sanctuary city laws. This would enable federal agencies, including ICE, to work more effectively with local law enforcement to address these grave threats. During the COVID-19 pandemic, your office and that of your predecessor utilized executive orders to respond swiftly to the crisis. We believe that the current situation, with its potential for terror-related activities and the escalating violence in the city, warrants a similar response. [Emphasis added]
The letter was led by Robert Holden (D-Queens) and signed by Joseph Borelli (R-Staten Island), Inna Vernikov (R-Brooklyn), David Carr (R-Staten Island), Kalman Yeger (R-Brooklyn), Joann Ariola (R-Queens), Vickie Paladino (R-Queens), Kristy Marmorato (R-Bronx), and Susan Zhuang (D-Brooklyn).
Similarly, Holden sent a letter to Adams pressing him to begin lobbying in opposition to New York City’s sanctuary policy. In particular, Holden said Adams should start by reopening the shuttered ICE office at Rikers Island.
EUROPE
Russian Ship Fires at German Army Helicopter
Quote:A German military helicopter was fired upon by a Russian ship in the Baltic Sea, the latest escalation in tensions between Moscow and the West, a report in German media states.
A Bundeswehr (Federal German armed forces) helicopter was shot at by a Russian ship in the Baltic Sea with a signalling flare, the German Press Agency (DPA) has said. When this event is alleged to have taken place has not been made clear, but Deutsche Welle states the Russian ship responsible for the dangerous act was a “tanker”.
A signal flare launcher is generally a gun in the conventional sense and fires a rocket-propelled pyrotechnic that gives off a great deal of heat and light to assist in search and rescue operations, or for other communications at sea. Other forms of flares are used as countermeasures, as the emission of heat and light can be used to protect ships, tanks, aircraft and missiles by confusing missiles trying to seek heat or other radio-wave signatures.
While they are not meant as weapons, the directed energy and high heat could pose some risk, particularly to aviation.
The Baltic Sea incident appears to have come to light after it was referred to obliquely by German Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock at the side-lines of a NATO conference. Concerns about the state of relations between Russia and the West are high, and talk of escalation is widespread in European capitals. At the time of publication, Germany’s defence ministry has only no-commented on the claims raised by the DPA.
The firing of a flare directly at a helicopter was by a legally civilian ship. Yet on one hand the use of ostensibly merchant vessels to engage in hybrid warfare-style attacks has already been recently alleged, and on the other Moscow has a very long history of disguising military ships as civilian.
The use of signal flares is a very clear return to the behaviour of the Russian fleet at the height of the Cold War when confrontations with non-lethal techniques were commonplace. As recorded by former top U.S. Admiral “Bud” Zumwalt Jr., American fleets were frequently locked in “an extremely dangerous, but exhilarating, running game of chicken” with the Russians who worked to make life as difficult as possible for American sailors without actually opening fire on them.
French Crisis Keeps Growing
Quote:The government of France has fallen for the second time this year, as a vote of no confidence in Prime Minister Michel Barnier was passed by the National Assembly on Wednesday, giving the former Eurocrat the ignominious distinction of being the shortest tenured prime minister in modern French history.
Just 91 days after being installed in the Hôtel Matignon by President Macron, Michel Barnier saw his government collapse on Wednesday, as Marine Le Pen’s populist National Rally (RN) party joined onto a censure motion to dethrone the government launched by the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) bloc, Le Figaro reports.
While Le Pen and her faction gave Barnier’s government benefit of the doubt support following July’s snap legislative elections, in which the National Assembly was left in a three-way split between the leftist NFP, the National Rally, and neo-liberal Macronists, Prime Minister Barnier’s move on Monday to invoke a constitutional loophole in an attempt to push through effective cuts to social security payments to seniors without a vote in the parliament, saw Le Pen revoke her support from the government and announce her support for the NFP’s no confidence vote.
The motion passed the National Assembly on Wednesday as 331 MPs voted in favour of collapsing the government, far surpassing the 289 needed to pass. It marks the first time since 1962 that a government in Paris was ousted by parliamentary vote. Having only served 91 days in the post, former Eurocrat and top Brexit villain Barnier now owns the title for the least time spent as prime minister, behind Pierre Bérégovoy at 362 days, Maurice Couve de Murville at 345 days, Edith Cresson at 322 days, former Macron PM Gabriel Attal whose reign ended at 240 days earlier this year, and Bernard Cazeneuve at 161 days.
In his final speech in front of the National Assembly on Wednesday ahead of his fait accompli removal, Barnier said: “This is reality. I tried to confront it by presenting difficult financial texts. I would have preferred to distribute money, even if we don’t have any. But this reality remains there, it will not disappear by the magic of a motion of censure. This reality will be remembered by any government whatever it may be.”
Ukraine Can't Retake All Its Lost Territories
Quote:Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky conceded in an interview on Tuesday that Ukraine does not have “enough forces” to restore sovereignty over Russian-occupied Crimea and “must seek diplomatic means” to end the Russian invasion and regain its land.
The state-run Ukrinform outlet reported that Zelensky described Crimea – which Russia colonized in 2014, long before Zelensky himself entered politics – as “strategic in principle for the world” and suggested that Russia occupying it is a threat to global food supply and other critical economic sectors. His call for diplomacy follows several similar remarks out of Ukrainian officials following the election of Donald Trump to a second term as president in the United States in November, indicating an openness to dialogue that was largely absent for most of the term of President Joe Biden.
Adding to the perception of inclination towards more diplomacy, Zelensky’s former foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said in a series of interviews last week that he does not believe Ukraine is in a good position to win the war against Russia and “things look bad on the battlefield.” Kuleba, who resigned in bizarre fashion from his longstanding position as Ukraine’s top diplomat in September, also suggested that Zelensky is limited on how many issues he can compromise on by the popular will of the Ukrainian people, who would end his political career if he offers too many concessions.
Polls indicate that attitudes in Ukraine are changing from majority support for warring to victory. A Gallup poll published in late November found that slightly more than half of Ukrainians want the war to end as quickly as possible; in 2022, 73 percent of Ukrainians said they would prefer to fight until victory.
AFRICA
Sleepy Joe is Back, This Time in Angola
Quote:President Joe Biden appeared drowsy and closed his eyes Wednesday for about 80 seconds during a summit in Angola.
Biden’s eyes were closed briefly while summit members spoke about trains in Africa.
During his trip, Biden vowed to give the African nations $2.5 billion of taxpayer funds for a railway corridor through the continent.
“‘Mr. President I’m coming back to ride on the train all the way from end to end,’ Biden told Angola President João Lourenço. “I like trains a lot. So I’m coming back. You’re stuck with me.”
“Africa has been left behind for much too long. But not anymore. Africa is the future,” Biden added.
Twice, however, during Wednesday’s summit, Biden closed his eyes for at least a minute.
“At one point, his hand twitched and he dropped something,” the Daily Mail reported.
It is not the first time Biden seemed to nod off during a meeting. In 2021, Biden appeared to sleep during the opening speeches of the Cop26 summit in Glasgow.
In early July, Biden told governors he needed more sleep and planned to schedule events only before 8:00 p.m.
“I’m fine — I don’t know about my brain, though,” Biden joked.
Biden dropped out of the presidential race on July 21.
ASIA
China on BRICS & Trump's Tariffs
Quote:Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Tuesday that China expects fellow members of the BRICS economic bloc to push back against President-elect Donald Trump’s tariff threats.
“As an important platform of cooperation for emerging markets and developing countries, BRICS advocates openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation, not bloc confrontation, and does not target any third party. The aim is to realize common development and prosperity,” Lin said at a press conference on Tuesday.
“China stands ready to continue working with BRICS partners to deepen practical cooperation in various fields and make more contributions to the sustained and steady growth of the world economy,” he said.
Russia, the “R” in BRICS, likewise rejected Trump’s statements on Monday.
“More and more countries are switching to the use of national currencies in their trade and foreign economic activities,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
“If the U.S. uses force, as they say economic force, to compel countries to use the dollar it will further strengthen the trend of switching to national currencies,” Peskov predicted.
“The dollar is beginning to lose its appeal as a reserve currency for a number of countries,” he argued.
Lin and Peskov were responding to Trump’s warning on Saturday that BRICS member nations should abandon any plans to create a new currency to replace the U.S. dollar as a medium for international trade.
“The idea that the BRICS Countries are trying to move away from the Dollar while we stand by and watch is OVER,” Trump said, writing originally on his preferred social media platform, Truth Social.
“We require a commitment from these Countries that they will neither create a new BRICS Currency, nor back any other Currency to replace the mighty U.S. Dollar or, they will face 100% Tariffs, and should expect to say goodbye to selling into the wonderful U.S. Economy,” Trump wrote, clearly planning no tariff hikes or trade restrictions on capital letters.
“They can go find another ‘sucker!’ There is no chance that the BRICS will replace the U.S. Dollar in International Trade, and any Country that tries should wave goodbye to America,” Trump declared.
BRICS has indeed been talking about developing its own currency, egged on by China and Russia, which have long plotted to dethrone the dollar. China and Russia are particularly insistent on replacing the dollar because they think it gives the U.S. too much power to impose financial sanctions.
South Korea Declared Martial Law
Quote:South Korean Yoon Suk-yeol stunned the world on Tuesday morning by declaring a state of “emergency martial law” because “subversive, anti-state elements” among the opposition are blocking his agenda.
Martial law has not been declared in South Korea since it emerged from military dictatorship in the 1980s.
“I declare martial law to protect the Republic of Korea from the threats of North Korean communist forces, to immediately eradicate the unscrupulous pro-Pyongyang anti-state forces that pillage the freedom and happiness of our people and to protect free constitutional order,” Yoon said in an emergency press conference from his office in Seoul.
Yoon accused the opposition of “paralyzing the courts in the country by threatening the judges and impeaching prosecutors, and by attempting to remove the Interior Minister, top broadcasting regulator, chief of the Board of Audit and Inspection, and the Defense Minister.”
Yoon also said the opposition’s move to cut $2.8 billion from the $483 billion 2025 national budget was a scheme to paralyze his government. The opposition wants to deny extra spending for the presidential office, prosecutors, and police requested in Yoon’s budget.
The president’s supporters say one reason for these cuts is to undermine court cases against opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, who was convicted of election law violations last month. Yoon referred to the National Assembly, where Lee’s Democratic Party holds 170 out of 300 seats, as a “hotbed of criminals” in his declaration of martial law.
On Monday, the speaker of parliament froze voting on the budget until December 10.
Yoon said on Tuesday that martial law would remain in effect until he could “eradicate such anti-state forces and the culprits of the country’s ruin who have committed evil acts up until now.”
“The declaration of martial law will cause some inconveniences for good citizens who believed in and followed the constitutional values of free people, but we will focus on minimizing such inconveniences,” he said.
Yoon said these inconveniences were necessary to “guarantee the people’s freedom, safety and national sustainability against the actions of anti-state forces seeking to overthrow the system.”
“I will wipe out anti-state forces as soon as possible and normalize the country’s operation,” he promised. “Please trust me.”
The South Korean Defense Ministry announced that key commanders from all of South Korea’s armed forces met to “strengthen emergency preparedness” and discuss implementation of Yoon’s order.
Yoon About to be Impeached?
Quote:South Korea awoke on Wednesday to a flurry of resignations of senior presidential staff, a united opposition filing an impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk-yeol, and a confused ruling party demanding answers from Yoon after his failed attempt to impose martial law on Tuesday night.
Yoon, an unpopular conservative narrowly elected in a bitterly fought election in 2022, declared martial law on television on Tuesday night – a widely unexpected move that shocked the nation and international observers. Yoon argued that legislative obstruction by the opposition Democratic Party had turned the National Assembly into a “den of criminals” and necessitated military action.
“I declare martial law to protect the Republic of Korea from the threats of North Korean communist forces,” Yoon announced, “to immediately eradicate the unscrupulous pro-Pyongyang antistate forces that pillage the freedom and happiness of our people and to protect free constitutional order.”
The Democratic Party-controlled National Assembly rapidly sprung into action, flooding into legislative chambers while blocking heavily armed soldiers, under martial law, political assemblies were illegal. The Democrats have controlled the Assembly since April, when they won regional elections against the conservatives in a landslide on the back of Yoon’s massive unpopularity.
At around 1 a.m. local time, the Assembly voted unanimously against martial law. Shortly thereafter, Yoon announced he had lifted the martial law declaration.
At press time, Yoon has not explained his decision to impose martial law or his decision to withdraw the dramatic measure. Aides postponed Yoon’s first scheduled public appearances on Wednesday, leaving unclear when he would address the country next.
In Yoon’s absence, the Democrats and the ruling People Power Party (PPP) – Yoon’s own party – are demanding answers. The Democrats announced early on Wednesday they would pursue the president’s impeachment and removal as soon as possible. They formally filed an impeachment motion later on Wednesday alongside five other minority parties.
“Yoon’s declaration of martial law is a clear violation of the Constitution,” the Democrats wrote in a resolution seeking his impeachment, according to the South Korean news agency Yonhap. “This is a serious act of rebellion and a perfect reason for impeachment.”
Lawmakers now have 24 to 72 hours to vote on whether to oust the president. Notably, no PPP lawmakers supported the impeachment motion, though the head of the party expressed exasperation with the martial law decree on Tuesday. According to Yonhap, given the current makeup of the Assembly, eight PPP lawmakers would have to defect to give the motion the two-thirds majority it requires to remove Yoon.
MIDDLE EAST
Lebanon Ceasefire About to Collapse
Quote:The ceasefire in Lebanon, barely five days old, is near collapse as of Monday after Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel, following the Biden-Harris administration’s erroneous claim that Israeli surveillance drones violated the agreement.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported Monday that two Hezbollah rockets had been fired at Har (Mount) Dov, a strategic mountain that Breitbart News visited last Thursday and which Hezbollah claims, wrongly, is Lebanese.
No international authority recognizes Hezbollah’s claim, but the Iranian-backed terror group wants Israel to give up the mountain, which commands all of northern Israel below. Before Israel went on the offensive in the war, the Biden -Harris administration tried to convince Israel to comply with Hezbollah’s demands and withdraw from Har Dov.
Hezbollah’s rocket fire followed the Biden-Harris administration’s claim that Israel had violated the ceasefire by flying surveillance drones over Beirut. As Breitbart News noted earlier Monday, nothing in the text of the ceasefire agreement prevents that, and the deal explicitly states that each side may engage in legitimate self-defense activity.
Instead of protecting Israel, the Biden-Harris administration sided with France, which has an anti-Israel posture and regards Lebanon, a former French colony, as its own turf. That sent a signal of weakness to Hezbollah and to Iran.
With the Biden-Harris administration’s claim in hand, Hezbollah fired at Har Dov, testing Israel’s resolve. Israel responded immediately, with attacks reported on Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, including artillery fire.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement (translated from Hebrew by the Government Press Office): “Hezbollah fire at Mt. Dov constitutes a severe violation of the ceasefire, and Israel will respond forcefully. We are determined to continue enforcing the ceasefire and will respond to every Hezbollah violation — minor and major.”
Israel Accuses UNIFIL of Helping Out Hezbollah
Quote:Israel Defense Forces (IDF) personnel on Tuesday accused peacekeepers from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) of ignoring ceasefire violations by Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to “respond strongly” after Hezbollah launched projectiles at an Israeli military post.
Israeli officials said on Monday that Hezbollah fired on Mount Dov, an area near the combined borders of Israel, Syria, and Lebanon. Hezbollah said the shots were fired as a “defensive and warning response” due to “repeated violations” of the ceasefire by Israeli forces.
Israel has conducted at least four airstrikes and one artillery barrage on positions in southern Lebanon since the ceasefire began last Thursday, ostensibly to neutralize “threats to Israeli civilians.”
“Hezbollah’s firing at Mount Dov constitutes a serious violation of the ceasefire, and Israel will respond strongly to this,” Netanyahu said on Monday.
“We are determined to continue to enforce the ceasefire, and to respond to any violation by Hezbollah – minor or serious,” he said.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz added that Hezbollah violations would be met with a “harsh response.”
Netanyahu on Trump & Hostages
Quote:Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday for his statement on Monday warning Hamas of severe consequences if it does not free its remaining hostages by the time he takes office.
Netanyahu said (via Government Press Office):
I want to thank President Trump for his strong statement yesterday about the need for Hamas to release the hostages, the responsibility of Hamas, and this adds another force to our continued effort to release all the hostages.
Thank you, President Trump.
As Breitbart News reported, Trump dispensed with the Biden-Harris language of compromise, and said explicitly that Hamas would face a massive response if it did not free the 101 remaining Israeli hostages, including Americans:
He posted on Truth Social:
Everybody is talking about the hostages who are being held so violently, inhumanely, and against the will of the entire World, in the Middle East – But it’s all talk, and no action! Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that if the hostages are not released prior to January 20, 2025, the date that I proudly assume Office as President of the United States, there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against Humanity. Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW!
Many Israelis and Jews welcomed Trump’s response as a long-overdue threat of force. Other observers, including Democratic pollster Mark Penn — who has been critical of his party’s drift on Israel — also applauded Trump’s post.
Syrian Chemical Weapons Might Fall into Rebel Hands
Quote:Israel is reportedly worried that Syria rebels may seize chemical weapons stockpiles or production facilities used by Bashar a-Assad’s regime as the militias continue their surprising advance against the government’s own forces.
Syrian rebels have made unexpected advances in recent days, taking the city of Aleppo — the country’s second-biggest — and seizing the regime’s weapons, including Russian aircraft and air defense systems, and Iranian-made drones.
Israel has said that it has no interest in either side of the fight, which has raged since the Arab Spring of 2011. However, the Times of Israel, citing Ha’aretz, reports that Israel is concerned about the fate of Syria’s chemical weapons facilities:
The Israeli military fears that amid the Syrian rebel assault and their taking over of military sites belonging to the Assad regime in the country, chemical weapons could fall into the wrong hands, Haaretz reports.
The report says that the main concern is that rebels or Iran-backed militias could reach weapons in Syria that pose a significant threat to Israel, such as missiles or chemical weapons.
If such weapons fall into the hands of the rebels or Iranian militias, Israel would have to act in a way that “may affect Syria and the entire Middle East,” according to Haaretz.
Syria was supposed to have disposed of its chemical weapons in a deal brokered by the Obama administration, after a gaffe by then-Secretary of State John Kerry. Under the deal, Russia was to have supervised the removal and destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons. In reality, Syria retained its deadly arsenal — and Russia obtained tacit U.S. approval to return to the Middle East as a major player on the side of America’s enemies.
Israel Kills Senior Hezbollah Terrorist in Damascus
Quote:The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced Tuesday that they had successfully eliminated Hezbollah’s top envoy to the Bashar Assad regime in Syria, Salman Nemer Jamaa, in an airstrike on Damascus.
The Israeli military activity follows a tumultuous week in Syria after Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an al-Qaeda affiliated jihadist militia, invaded and apparently seized control of the second-largest city in the country, Aleppo. The Assad regime responded to the apparent surprise attack by HTS with a flurry of airstrikes on jihadist targets, aided by its Russian allies.
Simultaneously, clashes began erupting between the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG/YPJ), who have kept control of some of Syrian Kurdistan in the stagnant years of the decade-old Syrian civil war, and the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA), which rose out of the remnants of the Free Syrian Army.
The elimination of Jamaa is the latest development in an ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah that began after a key Hezbollah ally, the fellow Iran-backed terrorist organization Hamas, invaded Israel on October 7, 2023, massacring an estimated 1,200 and retaining dozens of captives to this day. Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a tenuous ceasefire in neighboring Lebanon last week that at press time has not entirely collapsed, though Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel on Monday.
According to the IDF, in a statement shared with reporters, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) “conducted an intelligence-based strike in Damascus” that eliminated Jamaa, who it described as a “senior Hezbollah terrorist.”
“The Syrian regime has actively supported Hezbollah, enabling weapon smuggling to Lebanon and by that endangering Syrian and Lebanese civilians. Jamaa was a key Hezbollah figure supporting these operations,” the IDF said in its statement. “As part of his role, Jamaa was responsible for coordinating between Hezbollah operatives and the Syrian military, including supporting weapons smuggling from Syria to Hezbollah including during the ‘Swords of Iron’ war.”
The IDF declared that Jamaa’s elimination from the battlefield “degrades both Hezbollah’s presence in Syria and Hezbollah’s ongoing force-building efforts.”
Israel Found Bodies of Hostages
Quote:Israel conducted a daring mission Wednesday to retrieve the body of a hostage who was kidnapped and murdered, and published an analysis that concluded that six other hostages were murdered by Hamas, not killed by an airstrike.
Hamas has often claimed that Israeli hostages who have died in captivity were killed by Israeli airstrikes. The purpose of such claims is to dissuade airstrikes on Hamas terrorists, and to demoralize the Israeli public. Such inadvertent strikes have occurred, and last December Israeli soldiers mistakenly shot and killed three escaped hostages in northern Gaza who were trying to signal to them, and who were mistaken for terrorists luring soldiers into a trap.
However, in the cases of Yagev Buchstab, Alexander Dancyg, Avraham Munder, Yoram Metzger, Nadav Poppelwell, and Haim Perry, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) concluded that Hamas had likely executed them. In a published report, the IDF said:
The pathological examination found indications of gunshots on the bodies of the hostages, while no gunshot wounds were found on the bodies of the terrorists. Due to the extended time that had passed, it was not possible to determine with complete certainty the precise cause of death of the hostages or the exact timing of the gunfire.
It is highly probable that their deaths were related to the strike near the location where they were held. According to the most plausible scenario, the terrorists shot the hostages close to the time of the strike. However, it is also possible that the hostages were shot by other terrorists post-mortem; it is even possible that the hostages were killed prior to the strike in the area.
At the time of the strike, the IDF had no information, not even a suspicion, that the hostages were in the underground compound or its vicinity. Had such information been available, the strike would not have been carried out.
Nadav and Yagev were abducted from Kibbutz Nirim; the other four hostages were abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz.
The hostage whose body was retrieved Wednesday by the IDF and Israel Security Agency (ISA, or Shin Bet, or Shabak) was 38-year-old Itai Svirksy. He was abducted from Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7, 2023, and was held in captivity for months with Yossi Sharabi and with Noa Argamani. Sharabi was executed, as was Svirsky; Argamani was rescued.
Iran Won't Attack Israel After Trump's Victory
Quote:Iran reportedly halted an attack on Israel following President-elect Donald Trump’s sweeping victory over Vice President Kamala Harris in November.
A recent report from The New York Times highlighted Iran has struck a more “conciliatory tone” since the November election, which included halting a retaliatory attack on the Jewish state.
In mid-November, Iran dispatched a top official to Beirut to urge Hezbollah to accept a cease-fire with Israel. Around the same time, Iran’s U.N. ambassador met with Elon Musk, an overture to President-elect Donald J. Trump’s inner circle. And on Friday, it will hold talks in Geneva with European countries on a range of issues, including its nuclear program.
All this recent diplomacy marks a sharp change in tone from late October, when Iran was preparing to launch a large retaliatory attack on Israel, with a deputy commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps warning, “We have never left an aggression unanswered in 40 years.”
Five Iranian officials, including one Revolutionary Guard member, said the shift in tone occurred in response to the president-elect’s victory on November 5 along with Israel’s assault on Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“They said Iran suspended plans to strike Israel following Mr. Trump’s election because it did not want to exacerbate tensions with the incoming administration, which was already lining up cabinet nominees who were hostile to Iran and staunch supporters of Israel,” noted the Times.
The president-elect has been emphatic in his support for Israel, pledging that he will cancel delays and restrictions on arms shipments to the nation on his first day in office.
"For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ," 1 Thessalonians 5:9
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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
