What Did You Say?

International Politics, Media, Political

Tagged with:

CBS Edits Huckabee Israel Interview — The Truth They Cut Out

By Jimmy Parker | August 11, 2025

On August 7, 2025, CBS News aired a four-minute interview between correspondent Debora Patta and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee. What viewers saw was a diplomat appearing defensive and dismissive on Gaza’s humanitarian crisis. What they didn’t see were entire sections of the conversation that dismantled Hamas propaganda, exposed massive aid theft, and debunked false reports. Those parts were cut, and the edits all tilted in the same direction—away from Israel’s defense and toward Hamas’s narrative.

How CBS Framed the “Starving Children” Question

CBS aired Patta asking Huckabee about images of starving children, with him responding that people in Gaza are suffering because Hamas has blocked food from reaching them. What they removed was his insistence that such images must be verified, along with examples of false or recycled photos used in media reports—including one from Yemen, one from 2017, and another staged scene. Stripped of that context, his answer looked like a brush-off instead of a demand for factual accuracy.

The $500 Million Hamas Food Theft Story That Vanished

During the interview, Huckabee explained that Hamas made half a billion dollars in 2024 by stealing humanitarian food shipments, selling them on the black market, and inflating prices to starving civilians. He relayed reports from aid recipients who, for the first time, didn’t have to pay Hamas for food. This section never made it to air, eliminating one of the most damaging accusations against Hamas’s leadership.

The Hoax That Made Headlines Worldwide

CBS also cut Huckabee’s account of a false report claiming 27 people were killed at a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation site. He said video footage showed no one was injured, yet major outlets like The New York Times, The Washington Post, BBC, and CNN all ran the story before quietly issuing small corrections. Without this example, CBS left viewers thinking his skepticism about casualty numbers was unfounded.

Trimming the Genocide Rebuttal

In the aired version, Huckabee was shown saying that if Israel were attempting genocide, they were “really, really bad at it” and could have done it on October 8. Missing was his full argument: that Israel has the capability to destroy Gaza in days but has not done so, making the genocide claim absurd on its face. Cutting that portion removed the logic behind his position, leaving only a quip.

Erasing His View on Hamas Negotiations

The CBS segment did not include the start of the interview, where Huckabee dismissed the idea of further negotiations with Hamas, calling them unserious and brutal. He described their history of murdering their own people and continuing to torture hostages. Omitting this removed his broader point about why Hamas control in Gaza must end for any lasting stability.

Ending on CBS’s Rebuttal, Not Huckabee’s Question

In one of the most telling moments, Huckabee asked critics of Israel, “How many countries who are in the middle of a war are expected to feed the enemies who murdered their people?” Instead of airing his follow-up or letting the question resonate, CBS immediately cut to Patta invoking Article 55 of the Geneva Convention, declaring that Israel, as an occupying force, must provide food and medical supplies. This framing gave CBS the last word and left viewers with the impression that Huckabee’s point was legally and morally invalid without giving him a chance to respond.

Why These Edits Matter

Every cut in this interview weakened the case against Hamas and softened the reality of their crimes. CBS’s version downplayed Hamas’s exploitation of civilians, ignored documented instances of misinformation, and stripped away Israel’s moral defense. This wasn’t neutral editing for time—it was selective editing to fit an anti-Israel narrative.

The Larger Impact on Public Opinion

When mainstream outlets shape interviews this way, they do more than misrepresent a single official. They distort the public’s understanding of a war, influence international opinion, and embolden terrorist organizations by shielding them from scrutiny. In a conflict where propaganda is as powerful as rockets, these editorial decisions have real-world consequences.

The Full Transcript Tells a Different Story

Huckabee was right to release the full transcript. Anyone reading it will see that his remarks were detailed, evidence-based, and supported by real examples. The contrast with CBS’s broadcast is stark and should concern anyone who values honest journalism, regardless of political affiliation.

Closing Thoughts

Selective editing isn’t just a bad habit—it’s an act of narrative control. In this case, it protected Hamas from public accountability and undermined an American ally. Viewers deserve the full truth, not a version filtered to fit a political agenda.

Category:

Tagged with:

Pope Leo XIV condemns brutal machete attack that killed 49 Christians during prayer in DR Congo

By Paul Tilsley Fox News | Published July 29, 2025 | Updated July 29, 2025

The Pope, the State Department, the United Nations and a leading Christian group have all condemned a new major attack on Christians in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which the U.N. says left at least 49 dead.

In the latest attack in a tragic long string of mass murders by Islamist terrorists in both Nigeria and the DRC, the U.N. said rebels from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a sanctioned rebel group allied to Islamic State with roots in Uganda, burst into a church in the Eastern town of Komanda and set about hacking Christians who were worshipping inside with machetes and other knives. The congregation was attacked at 1 a.m. last Sunday morning, while they were on a night vigil, reportedly praying for peace.

The rebels also burnt nearby homes. Nine children are said to be among the dead. Several villagers have been abducted.

A State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital, “The United States designated the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), also known as ISIS-DRC, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in 2021. We are concerned by reports of the recent attack on civilians in the Democratic Republic of Congo and strongly condemn this cowardly act of violence against Christians in their place of worship.”

POPE, STATE DEPARTMENT CONDEMN LATEST MASSACRE OF CHRISTIANS BY ISLAMIST MILITANTS IN NIGERIA

DRC Christians — Villagers bury their dead on July 28th, following the murder of 49 Christians in the Democratic Republic of Congo by ISIS-linked jihadists. (Open Doors )

Pope Leo XIV also condemned the attack. “May the blood of these martyrs become a seed of peace, reconciliation, fraternity, and love for the Congolese people.” A Vatican Cardinal added that the Pope “learned with dismay and deep sorrow of the attack.”

The U.N.’s Stablization Mission in the DRC, MONUSCO, expressed “deep outrage at these heinous acts of violence, which constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law and infringements on human rights.”

“The killings are strategic,” Illia Djadi, senior sub-Saharan researcher for Christian charity Open Doors, who support and speak up for Christians persecuted for their faith, stated. He added, “The ADF have a very clear aim: they want to turn a large part of DRC into an Islamic caliphate, like the horrific one instigated in Iraq and Syria in 2014 by Islamic State.”

Contacted by Fox News Digital on Tuesday, Djadi said, “The presence of Islamic State groups across the region means that sub-Saharan Africa has become the new epicenter of jihadism.” Muslims are in the minority here; it’s said that Christians account for between 80-95% of the population.

BISHOP’S VILLAGE ATTACKED, 20 SLAIN AFTER RECENT TESTIMONY TO CONGRESS ON CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION

DRC Christians killed — Villagers walk towards the burial site of 49 Christians killed by jihadists in the Democratic Republic of Congo on July 28th. (Open Doors)

70 Christians were reported beheaded, again in a church in the DRC, in February. The killings of Christians are worse in Nigeria, with Pope Leo XIV telling crowds at the Vatican that “some 200 people were murdered, with extraordinary cruelty” on June 13 in Yelewata, in Nigeria’s Benue State.

According to Open Doors International’s 2025 World Watch List (WWL), of the 4,476 Christians killed worldwide in WWL’s latest reporting period, 3,100 of those who died (69%) were in Nigeria.

Djadi told Fox News Digital that despite President Trump’s brokered peace deal in the DRC, Christians in the East of the country are still at risk. “There has been a lot of attention paid to the DRC recently, with Donald Trump spearheading a peace initiative between the DRC and Rwanda, whose rebel fighters the M23 have taken a large proportion of territories in the east of the DRC.”

Christian faithfuls hold signs as they march on the streets of Abuja during a prayer and penance for peace and security in Nigeria in Abuja on March 1, 2020. (KOLA SULAIMON/AFP via Getty Images)

“However,” Djadi added, “while government forces are trying to contain the M23 in the urban regions, the rural areas are left undefended. It has left a security vacuum, meaning that the ADF are free to slaughter hundreds of innocent civilians with impunity, with Christians especially at risk.‘

“It is the primary responsibility of (the) Congolese government to protect the whole nation, regardless of their religious faith or ethnic background. What would happen if the ADF continues its killing unopposed is too awful to contemplate.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Paul Tilsley is a veteran correspondent who has reported on African affairs for more than three decades from Johannesburg, South Africa. He can be followed on X @paultilsley

Category:

International Politics, Islamic News, Religion

Tagged with:

Christianity faces being ‘wiped out,’ UK’s FoRB envoy warns amid intensifying persecution

By Anugrah Kumar, Christian Post Contributor | Monday, July 21, 2025

Christianity is at risk of being “wiped out” in parts of the world due to intensifying persecution, the United Kingdom’s special envoy for freedom of religion or belief, David Smith, has warned. The British government is now targeting 10 countries as part of its revised foreign policy focus to defend this human right.

Smith, the Labour Party MP for North Northumberland, made the remarks during a briefing at the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office. A Christian who previously worked with Tearfund and the Bible Society, he announced a new plan to prioritize FoRB in countries where religious minorities, including Christians, Baháʼís and Ahmadiyya Muslims, face repression or violence, the Religion Media Centre reported.

Smith said the U.K. will focus on 10 countries, naming Vietnam, Algeria, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, China, Syria, Ukraine, Afghanistan and Iraq. He said these were selected because of the severity of need, the U.K.’s diplomatic ties and the possibility of making progress.

He added that persecution, carried out both by governments and social groups, can involve harassment by police, social ostracism, detention without cause, denial of citizenship, torture, attacks on places of worship and even killings, citing research by the Pew Research Center.

He cited recent data showing that 380 million Christians face persecution worldwide and warned, “Persecution on the basis of religion or belief, enacted by States themselves and social groups, is taking place on every continent in the world.”

Smith called the U.K.’s commitment “a new chapter” in foreign policy and said freedom of religion was interlinked with other liberties, including freedom of speech, conscience and assembly.

Of the 10 selected, only three — Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan — are among the top 10 in the Open Doors World Watch List, which identifies countries where Christians are most severely persecuted. The worst offenders on that list, such as North Korea, Somalia and Yemen, are not among the U.K.’s current priorities.

Smith acknowledged the gap and said that countries like Eritrea and Yemen remain within his scope through ongoing advocacy. He stated that the strategy’s targeted nature does not prevent the U.K. from acting in other cases, including on behalf of prisoners of conscience.

He referred to the Ahmadiyya community in Pakistan, who are not recognized as Muslims by the state and whose mosques are often desecrated, and the repression of Baháʼís in Iran and Christians in North Korea.

FoRB, Smith explained, is not merely about religious belief but about the health of societies. “Religious intolerance and persecution can fuel instability and conflict,” he said. He added that protecting belief rights is crucial to preventing future crises, especially in countries grappling with war or sectarian divisions.

The U.K. government’s FoRB strategy involves five strands.

First, it aims to uphold international standards through bodies such as the U.N. and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. Second, it will embed the issue into targeted bilateral diplomacy, encouraging individual missions to raise FoRB in foreign capitals. Third, the U.K. will strengthen international coalitions working on religious freedom. Fourth, the Foreign Office will incorporate FoRB into its mainstream human rights programming. The fifth strand involves collaboration with civil society groups working on interfaith respect and awareness.

Speaking at the briefing, Lord Collins of Highbury, minister for human rights, said the U.K. has long believed that rights and the rule of law strengthen global prosperity and resilience. He said his office had already written to British heads of mission directing them to embed human rights, including FoRB, into all areas of diplomatic work.

He cited the recent release of two individuals — Nigerian atheist Mubarak Bala and Cuban Pastor Lorenzo Rosales Fajardo — as examples of successful British-supported advocacy.

“Only by working together can we build a world where everyone, everywhere, can live with dignity, free to believe — or not believe — without fear,” Lord Collins said.

In April, during a debate, Smith said Britain’s diplomatic stance is informed by its own history, moving “from persecution to pluralism,” which he said provides credibility to advocate abroad. He described the U.K. as “uniquely well placed” to act in support of religious liberty, citing its legacy of legal rights and peaceful pluralism.

The role of FoRB envoy was created following a 2019 report by then-Bishop of Truro Philip Mounstephen, which found that Foreign Office staff lacked awareness of global religious persecution. The report led to recommendations that religious freedom be formally integrated into U.K. foreign policy.

Smith argued that defending FoRB not only benefits persecuted communities but also those who engage in repression. He said FoRB could unlock new opportunities and freedoms for their nations to flourish, and reaffirmed his commitment to press the U.K. government to act.

Meanwhile, Christian Today noted that new research by Jersey Road PR has found that mainstream U.K. media rarely report on attacks against Christians globally.

Category:

International Politics, intolerance, Islamic News, Religion, Spiritual

Tagged with:

‘Hit Us, Please’ — America’s Left Issues a ‘Broken Arrow’ Signal to Europe

By: Jonathan Turley | July 7, 2025

Below is my column in The Hill on calls from the left for other countries to hit the United States with sanctions and other measures as a “bad actor.” After losses in elections and Congress, some are sending out a “broken arrow” signal for other nations to crack down on the United States.

Here is the column:

“Broken arrow” is arguably the most chilling and desperate order that an American military commander can issue. When faced with an enemy about to overrun a surrounded force, a commander uses it to call in an air or artillery strike on his own position.

This month, many on the American left are issuing their own “broken arrow” signals, including calling on globalist allies to hit the U.S. with sanctions and other measures. They are seeking to achieve through sanctions what they could not achieve through elections. The most recent such call came from commentator Elie Mystal on “The Joy Reid Show” this week.

“Our country needs to be sanctioned,” he said. “We are the bad guys on the world stage. We are a menace to not only free people everywhere, but we are a menace to peaceful people everywhere at this point, and I’m not even going to say that we’ve only been a menace for the past three or four months.”

Mystal’s call was hardly a surprise for those familiar with his writings. A regular commentator on MSNBC, he previously called the Constitution “trash” and urged not just the abolition of the U.S. Senate but also of “all voter registration laws.” Yet, he is not alone in signaling that his position is being overrun by his fellow citizens.

After Elon Musk bought Twitter with a pledge to dismantle its censorship system, former Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton called upon Europe to use its infamous Digital Services Act to force him to censor fellow Americans.

Nina Jankowicz, the former head of Biden’s infamous Disinformation Governance Board, appeared recently before the European Parliament. She called upon the 27 EU countries to fight against the U.S., which she described as a global threat.

To the delight of globalists, she declared, “Before I describe the details of Russia’s recent online influence campaigns, I would like to call upon you to stand firm against another autocracy: The United States of America.”

This year, I spoke in Berlin at the World Forum and was surprised to see many Americans joining European leaders in support of the forum’s slogan, “A New World Order with European Values.” Attended by figures such as Bill and Hillary Clinton, the conference heralded Europe as key to countering the threat posed by the U.S. Others denounced America as the world’s villain with boycotts and protests during Fourth of July celebrations. One leading influencer declared that “this country is beyond f**ked” and encouraged citizens to “walk away from the illusion that they built” around this country.

Democratic politicians and pundits have fueled the anger by claiming fighting the current U.S. government is like fighting against the Nazis, including most recently former Vice President Al Gore. Others like Rep. Pramila Jayapal have called ICE agents “terrorists” for enforcing immigration laws.

The crisis of faith on the left often seems to be triggered by any adverse decision or election. In 2022, the Pima County, Arizona Democratic Party tweeted “F–k the Fourth” after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

This year, Fourth of July celebrations were canceled in Los Angeles under the claim that officials feared a mass arrest by ICE — rather implausible, considering that protests against ICE will be held as planned.

Others are organizing protests this week, declaring “F**k fourth of July. We have a king that we need to get rid of first.”

The problem for those calling on the EU to fight the U.S. is democracy itself, something of a headache for the global elite in Brussels. European governments are cracking down on conservative and other groups, which are soaring in popularity, with calls for stronger borders and reversing mass immigration trends. Great Britain, France, Italy, Germany, and other countries have experienced a similar surge in the popularity of conservative parties.

The fact is, many of the triggers for these “No Kings” protests are the product of the democratic process from the “Big Beautiful Bill” to changes in immigration policy. Citizens voted for change and successfully secured it, and some people are angry about it.

At the same time, our courts continue to function as designed in reviewing these orders and policies. Trump has won some and lost some before the Supreme Court, as constitutional limits are defined and enforced.

In my forthcoming book, Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution, I explore the future of American democracy in the 21st Century in light of economic and political movements, including the current crisis of faith of many on the left over our fundamental values and institutions.

The irony is that this crisis is largely centered among the most privileged classes. Yet recent Gallup polling shows patriotism is at an all-time low. However, the drop is found almost entirely among Democrats. Only 36 percent of Democrats reported being extremely or very proud to be American, compared to 92 percent of Republicans.

Some are simply moving to foreign countries. The New York Times has fanned the flames of those claiming that the U.S. is a new fascist regime. Recently, it featured the declaration of three Yale professors fleeing American fascism for the free nation of Canada. In their piece, titled “We study fascism and we are leaving the United States,” the professors explain that “the lesson of 1933 is that you get out sooner rather than later.”

But what these professors call fascism looks a lot like the democratic process to others. The problem with democracy is that it does not always produce the outcome you want.

For some, support for democratic choice seems to extend only to fellow citizens who make the “right” choice, from their own perspective, of course. So faced with losses in elections and in Congress, many are shouting “broken arrow” and hoping for external help in crushing the opposition.

Yet the fact is, this country is not being “overrun.” Those are fellow citizens who are calling for these policy changes and rejecting far-left policies. Just as many in Europe are calling on the EU to block far-right democratic victories, many in this country are advocating for the trashing of the Constitution or transnational interventions to reverse political voting trends.

The fact is, the far left is not truly surrounded. They have simply retreated into smaller and smaller echo chambers rather than engage the rest of the country on these issues. Viewed from within the protected spaces of MSNBC or BlueSky, you can feel surrounded, but it remains a type of self-isolation. It is like watching wagons frantically circling on the plains without a hostile in sight. The problem is that most of America has moved on.

In the end, the calls for a globalist intervention are a final desperate call of America’s self-isolated left.

Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University and the best-selling author of “The Indispensable Right.”

Category:

Tagged with:

Trump Scores Another Trade Win—Canada Caves Instantly

By Jimmy Parker | June 30, 2025

It took exactly one Truth Social post to bring the Canadian government to heel. President Trump saw Canada’s digital tax for what it was—a direct hit job on U.S. tech companies—and fired off a warning that trade talks were off unless the tax was scrapped. Just like that, the mighty maple leaf folded like a dollar-store lawn chair in a thunderstorm.

Carney’s Crash Course in Trump Economics

Mark Carney, the new Canadian prime minister and professional globalist, just got his first lesson in Trump-style negotiation. Hours before his big shiny Trudeau-era tax was set to take effect, he quietly waved the white flag. Instead of taxing U.S. companies billions for the crime of doing business in Canada, he announced a complete reversal and pledged to start real trade talks. Welcome to the real world, Mark.

Trudeau’s Legacy: Broken and Deleted

Let’s not forget this tax was a leftover from Trudeau’s progressive fever dreams—a policy that had been festering since 2021. Carney’s sudden about-face is more than just economic—it’s political. He’s signaling that Trudeau’s globalist agenda is officially up for fire sale. In fact, Sunday’s announcement used the phrase “Canada’s new government” several times, which is Canadian for “please stop treating us like Trudeau still lives here.”

A Retroactive Heist Masquerading as Policy

The digital services tax was pure robbery dressed up as policy. It targeted companies like Meta, Amazon, and Google, demanding a retroactive 3% tax on digital revenue from Canadian users dating back to 2022. The first payment alone would’ve cost American firms about $2.7 billion CAD. That’s not tax policy—it’s ransomware.

Trump Called the Bluff—and Then Some

Trump didn’t even need to threaten tariffs this time. He simply said he was done talking unless the tax vanished. That wasn’t just a negotiation tactic—it was a power move. And it worked. Carney didn’t just pause the tax—he’s now introducing legislation to kill it entirely. That’s a political KO, and Trump didn’t even get off the golf course.

Big Tech, Big Target, Big Backfire

This wasn’t just about Canada needing money—it was about scoring points with the anti-Big Tech crowd. But Carney miscalculated. Instead of sticking it to Silicon Valley, he ended up igniting a trade war with the U.S. and learned the hard way that Trump doesn’t play these games. Especially not when American companies are being used as ATMs for foreign governments.

USMCA Still Stands—But So Does Trump’s Red Line

Yes, we still have the USMCA, but Trump made it clear that the agreement isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on if countries start cheating. Canada thought they could sneak one past the goalie. Trump promptly reminded them that he’s still in the arena—and he still keeps score.

What’s Next: A Deal or Another Showdown?

Carney and Trump now have until July 21 to hammer out a new trade agreement. And while Canada is clearly coming to the table with hat in hand, don’t expect Trump to make it easy. He just won the first round without breaking a sweat—and Carney knows full well what happens if he tries another Trudeau-style stunt.

Final Verdict: Tactical Retreat, Strategic Win

Let’s call this what it is—a decisive, humiliating retreat for Canada and a clear, commanding win for Trump. He protected American businesses, reasserted his dominance on the global stage, and forced a foreign government to reverse course with nothing more than a social media post. Not bad for a weekend.

WE’D LOVE TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS! PLEASE COMMENT BELOW.
JIMMY

Find more articles like this at steadfastandloyal.com

h/t: Steadfast and Loyal

Category:

Victor Davis Hanson Breaks Down How Trump’s Strategy Made Iran Collapse

Tagged with:

ICE Arrests 11 Iranian Nationals, Including One Who ‘Reportedly Served as Iranian Army Sniper’

By: Virginia Allen | June 24, 2025

ICE officers, with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations and Border Patrol, perform enforcement operations in Delray Beach, Florida, on Jan. 23. (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Flickr)

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 11 Iranian nationals over two days, the Department of Homeland Security announced Tuesday. Among those in custody is Ribvar Karimi, who “reportedly served as an Iranian army sniper from 2018 to 2021,” according to the DHS. An Islamic Republic of Iran Army identification card was in Karimi’s possession when he was arrested in Locust, Alabama, on Sunday.

Karimi entered the U.S. in October 2024 on a visa for foreigners who are engaged to be married to a U.S. citizen. But the DHS says he “never adjusted his status—a legal requirement—and is removable from the United States.”

Karimi remains in ICE custody and is facing removal from the U.S.

Under DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, the department “has been full throttle on identifying and arresting known or suspected terrorists and violent extremists that illegally entered this country, came in through [former President Joe Biden’s] fraudulent parole programs or otherwise,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.

“We have been saying we are getting the worst of the worst out—and we are,” McLaughlin added. “We don’t wait until a military operation to execute. We proactively deliver on President [Donald] Trump’s mandate to secure the homeland.”

In addition to Karimi, ICE arrested eight other Iranian nationals on Sunday and two more on Monday.

The arrests of the Iranian nationals come amid concerns of the possibility of the activation of Iranian terrorist sleeper cells in the U.S. in the wake of the U.S. attack on three Iranian nuclear sites Saturday.

In Houston, ICE arrested Behzad Sepehrian Bahary Nejad, who entered the U.S. on a visa in 2016. He was arrested in 2017 for assaulting a family member, according to DHS, and in 2019, an immigration judge ordered his removal. A Department of Justice immigration judge denied his request for his case to be reopened. Nejad was said to be carrying a loaded pistol when ICE arrested him.

Hamid Reza Bayat was arrested in Houston despite having been ordered removed from the U.S. in 2005. According to DHS, he has twice been “convicted of drug crimes and once convicted of driving on a suspended license.”

Mehrzad Asadi Eidivand entered the U.S. in 2012, and in 2013 a judge granted him voluntary removal from the U.S., but he never left. He is “convicted of threatening a law enforcement officer and being an alien in possession of a firearm,” according to DHS.

Yousef Mehridehno was arrested in Gluckstadt, Mississippi. Mehridehno entered the U.S. legally in 2017, but the government terminated his residency after it was determined that he “lied on his original visa application and committed potential marriage fraud,” according to DHS. “In February, Mehridehno was listed as a known or suspected terrorist, and he’s now in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.”

Mahmoud Shafiei and Mehrdad Mehdipour were living together in Colorado Springs, Colo., at the time of their arrests. A judge ordered Shafiei removed from the U.S. in 1987 after he entered the U.S. in 1981. Shafiei’s “criminal history includes state and federal convictions for drug crimes and arrests for assault and child abuse,” according to the DHS. Mehdipour was processed for expedited removal in 2023.

ICE arrested Mehran Makari Saheli in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is a “former member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) with admitted connections to Hezbollah,” according to DHS. He was ordered removed from the U.S. in 2022.

Bahman Alizadeh Asfestani was arrested in San Francisco and has a criminal history, according to DHS, that includes “a 1994 conviction for petty theft and a 1995 conviction of possession of a controlled substance for sale.”

On Monday, ICE Buffalo arrested Mohammad Rafikian who has been “convicted of grand larceny, schemes to defraud, criminal impersonation, and practicing as an attorney,” the DHS said.

Also on Monday, ICE San Diego apprehended Arkavan Babk Moirokorli. He was convicted of forging an official seal.

Category:

illegal Immigration, International Politics, Islamic News, Military, War

Tagged with:

Victor Davis Hanson Analyzes How Trump’s Strategy Led to Iran’s Downfall: ‘You’re Going to Stew in Your Own Juices’

By: David Gregoire | June 24, 2025

Victor Davis Hanson shared insights on Newsmax about President Donald Trump’s bold strategy that he claims has significantly weakened Tehran’s influence. Trump’s strategic strikes on key Iranian nuclear sites and his stern warning to Iran about targeting U.S. forces have reportedly cornered the regime. These developments signal a notable shift in the Middle East’s balance of power that once seemed unshakeable.

During his appearance on “Rob Schmitt Tonight,” Hanson remarked on Iran’s muted response, contrasting it with its former reputation as a formidable “terrorist colossus.” He likened Trump’s approach to placing Iran in a pot, turning up the heat, and sealing it with a lid, forcing the regime to confront its failures. Hanson emphasized that Iran now faces the daunting task of justifying its squandering of resources on groups like Hezbollah and Hamas.

Trump’s peace efforts have boxed Iran into a corner, Hanson argued, leaving the regime to stew in its own missteps. He highlighted how Iran’s diminished military and strategic options are a direct result of Trump’s policies. The regime’s previous investments in defense and nuclear projects now seem futile, according to Hanson.

Hanson believes the peace deal has severely restricted Iran’s maneuverability. He described the regime as being left with no choice but to accept its current predicament. The only leverage Iran has left, he stated, is its existence, which is precariously balanced against pressures from the U.S. and Israel.

Israel’s recent strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities have further complicated the situation for Tehran. In response, Iran launched a retaliatory attack, targeting the Al Udeid U.S. Air Base in Qatar. However, this move prompted a swift and decisive reaction from the United States.

President Trump made it clear that any aggression from Iran would be met with additional military action. His administration’s firm stance has served as a deterrent to further escalation. Meanwhile, the announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and Iran offers a temporary pause in hostilities.

The ceasefire, announced shortly after the U.S. strikes, is scheduled to take effect imminently. This development underscores the delicate balance of power in the region. Trump’s administration remains vigilant, ready to act if Iran breaches the agreement.

Hanson’s commentary reflects a broader conservative perspective on the situation, celebrating the perceived successes of Trump’s foreign policy. His views align with those of other conservative commentators who attribute the weakening of Iran’s influence to Trump’s leadership. This narrative is echoed by right-leaning media outlets, which highlight the strategic gains made under Trump’s presidency.

For many conservatives, Trump’s approach is seen as a necessary counterbalance to previous administrations’ perceived leniency towards Iran. The focus is on maintaining a strong U.S. presence in the Middle East to deter threats. This stance is supported by the belief that peace through strength is the most effective strategy.

The current state of affairs presents a complex picture of geopolitical dynamics. With Trump’s policies in place, the hope among conservatives is that stability can be achieved. The ongoing situation will require careful monitoring and strategic foresight.

As the ceasefire takes hold, the world watches to see how Iran will navigate its new reality. The regime’s future actions will be closely scrutinized by both allies and adversaries. For now, the focus remains on maintaining the fragile peace that has been brokered.

The broader implications of these events on global politics are yet to be fully realized. However, the immediate outcome is a testament to the power of decisive leadership. The Trump administration’s handling of the situation continues to be a topic of discussion and analysis.

Observers will continue to assess the impact of these developments on regional stability. The coming weeks and months will be critical in determining the long-term success of the current strategies. The international community remains attentive to the evolving dynamics.

The situation remains fluid, with potential for further changes on the horizon. Experts and policymakers alike are tasked with navigating the complexities of Middle Eastern geopolitics. As always, the goal is to ensure a peaceful and secure future for all involved.

About the Author David Gregoire

Darnell Thompkins is a Canadian-born American and conservative opinion writer who brings a unique perspective to political and cultural discussions. Passionate about traditional values and individual freedoms, Darnell’s commentary reflects his commitment to fostering meaningful dialogue. When he’s not writing, he enjoys watching hockey and celebrating the sport that connects his Canadian roots with his American journey.

Category:

International Politics, Military

Tagged with:

Mystery flights from China to Iran raise questions amid Israel conflict

By Andrew Mark Miller , Cameron Arcand Fox News | Published June 19, 2025 3:39pm EDT

Several Boeing 747s have been spotted on radar leaving China for Iran over the last week, according to reports, sparking concerns that the CCP is helping the Middle Eastern nation transport cargo or people out of the country as Israel continues to strike the country’s nuclear facilities.

Starting on June 14th, FlightRadar24 shows that at least five flights traveled from China to Iran, and The Telegraph reported that the “mystery transport planes” had flown westward along northern China before crossing into Kazakhstan, south through Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, and then fell off radar as they approached Iran. Additionally, the report indicated that the flights had a final destination of Luxembourg but don’t appear to have ever crossed into European airspace.

Some experts have speculated that these types of planes are typically used for transport and could be evidence of China aiding its longtime ally Iran during the conflict with Israel, although Fox News Digital has not independently confirmed the nature of the flights.

‘INSTINCTS FOR RESTRAINT’: SENATE DIVIDED OVER WHO GETS TO DECLARE WAR

Israel defense blocks Iran strikes in the air — Israel’s air defense targets Iranian missiles in the sky of Tel Aviv in Israel, on June 16, 2025. (Matan Golan/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

ISRAEL-IRAN CONFLICT: LIVE UPDATES

“I think it’s important to remember what the relationship is, forty-three percent of China’s oil and gas comes from the Middle East, a large volume of that from Iran,” Robert Greenway, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Center for National Defense, told “The Ingraham Angle” on Wednesday night.

“It likes to buy sanctioned oil below market value, and that fuels the Chinese economy and also its military ambitions, and so, that’s the central relationship. They’ve been relatively quiet – in fact, extremely quiet – about the current conflict and coming to Iran’s assistance. We also know that a large fire in Bandar-Bas port was Chinese solid propellant for missiles that exploded and created a tremendous amount of damage just about a month ago. I think it’s unlikely to see Chinese arms shipments under the circumstances to Iran. It’s more likely that Iran may be removing material or personnel or regime valuables to safe haven in light of the conflict. I think that’s probably the extent to which China is willing to accept the risk associated with the current circumstances.”

HOW BUNKER BUSTER BOMBS WORK AND HOW THEY COULD DESTROY IRAN’S FORDOW NUCLEAR SITE

Iran's leader Khamenei waving to crowd — Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves to the crowd during a meeting with officials, Islamic countries’ ambassador to Iran and a group of people in Tehran, Iran (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)

In 2021, Fox News Digital reported that Tehran and Beijing signed a 25-year cooperation deal amidst great fanfare in the Iranian capital. University of Tehran Professor Mohammad Marandi, who is close to the regime, told Fox News that it is about much more than what’s on paper.

“This strategic partnership is important because it allows Iran and China to build a roadmap for long-term relations that will be much more fruitful,” he said. “It’s also a signal being sent to the United States. The more the U.S. tries to isolate Iran and China, the more it causes countries like Iran and China to move more closely to each other.”

TUGBOATS, CRUISE SHIPS AND FLIGHTS: ISRAEL BEGINS EMERGENCY EVACUATION OF CITIZENS AMID IRAN WAR

Xi Jinping with an ear piece in listening during a meeting — Chinese President Xi Jinping listens as Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, not pictured, speaks during their meeting at the Office of the Party Central Committee in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Monday, April 14. (AP/Minh Hoang)

Some have cast doubt on the flights representing a nefarious connection between the two nations, including Atlantic Council fellow Tuvia Gering who posted on X that an aviation expert told him the flights are “nothing to write home about.”

“There are regular cargo flights by the Luxembourg-based freight company from several locations in China to Europe, with a stopover in Turkmenistan (just a few dozen kilometers from the Iranian border),” Gering wrote.

“Some flight tracking websites lose the tracking signal shortly before landing and continue to show a projected route that appears to enter Iranian airspace. The sites clearly indicate that this is an estimated path; checking the aircraft tail numbers shows they take off again from Turkmenistan a few hours later, and reviewing the flight history of these routes shows they always land in Ashgabat and do not continue into Iran. All this is before even considering the obvious logic that a major European cargo company is highly unlikely to be the channel through which China transfers its super-advanced, top-secret strategic weapons to Iran.”

ISRAEL’S WAR WITH IRAN IS A GLOBAL FLASHPOINT. AMERICA MUST LEAD BEFORE IT SPREADS

Donald Trump in blue tie speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One — President Trump changed the command of the Greenland base in a strategic move as Russia and China take more interest in the Arctic region. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Tensions between Iran and Israel have escalated significantly in recent days, with the United States contemplating whether it will get directly involved in striking Iran. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, and he is expected to meet with national security and defense leaders again on Thursday.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“Yes, I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do. I can tell you this that Iran’s got a lot of trouble, and they want to negotiate,” Trump said Wednesday.

“And I said, why didn’t you negotiate with me before all this death and destruction? Why didn’t you go? I said to people, why didn’t you negotiate with me two weeks ago? You could have done fine. You would have had a country. It’s very sad to watch this,” the president added.

Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to AndrewMark.Miller@Fox.com.

Category:

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Flipboard

Tagged with:

JUST IN: Trump’s Iran Decision Coming as Missiles Hit Israeli Hospital

By Jimmy Parker | June 19, 2025

President Donald Trump is expected to make a final decision within the next two weeks on whether the United States will enter the Israel-Iran conflict, following a devastating Iranian missile strike Thursday on Soroka Hospital in southern Israel. The attack, which injured more than 70 civilians, marks a turning point in the escalating conflict and raises urgent questions about Iran’s nuclear capabilities and intentions.

Iranian Missile Hits Civilian Hospital in Israel

Early Thursday morning, a barrage of Iranian missiles struck Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, one of Israel’s largest trauma hospitals. According to Israeli officials, over 70 people were injured. Photos from the scene show thick plumes of smoke rising from the hospital complex.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the attack, calling it a direct strike on civilians and a war crime. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar echoed the sentiment, stating, “Iran has intentionally targeted a civilian medical facility—this is a violation of international law and an act of terror.”

The Iranian regime has not formally acknowledged targeting the hospital, but the strike comes amid intensifying missile exchanges between Tehran and Jerusalem following Israel’s recent strikes on Iranian military sites, including facilities allegedly tied to Iran’s nuclear program.

Trump to Decide Within Two Weeks on U.S. Involvement

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed reporters Thursday afternoon, delivering a direct quote from President Trump:

“Based on the fact that there’s a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks.”

Leavitt reiterated that President Trump remains open to diplomacy but emphasized his commitment to preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. “Iran went for 60 days without responding to our outreach,” she said. “On day 61, Israel took action. The president will now determine if the U.S. should follow suit.”

Leavitt also confirmed there have been six rounds of direct and indirect negotiations with Iran since the conflict reignited, but she declined to disclose details of the discussions.

U.S. Intelligence: Iran Weeks Away From Nuclear Weapon

Leavitt warned that Iran is closer than ever to acquiring a nuclear weapon. “Iran has all that it needs to achieve a nuclear weapon. All they need is a decision from the Supreme Leader. It would take just weeks to complete production.”

This estimate is consistent with recent reports from U.S. and Israeli intelligence, which suggest Iran has enriched uranium to near-weapons-grade levels and has the necessary delivery systems in place.

Trump has consistently stated he would not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon, and his current deliberations include potential military action against Iranian enrichment and missile facilities. Reports indicate that bunker-buster bomb options are being reviewed among possible strike packages.

U.S. Evacuates Personnel, Israel Launches Counterstrikes

In response to the hospital attack and other Iranian strikes, the U.S. Embassy in Israel began evacuating nonessential personnel from high-risk zones, according to sources familiar with the operation.

Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Forces launched new airstrikes overnight, targeting Iranian surface-to-surface missile platforms and anti-aircraft units within Iranian territory. Israeli officials say these strikes are defensive and focused on degrading Iran’s offensive capabilities.

Internet Blackout Inside Iran

Amid growing unrest, Iran’s government has shut down internet access nationwide, cutting off millions of citizens from the outside world. While Elon Musk’s Starlink has been previously activated in Iran, satellite internet access still requires specialized dish hardware. Without this, most Iranians remain effectively cut off.

This blackout limits internal dissent and makes it harder for the international community to verify claims or assess civilian casualties following Israeli counterstrikes.

Trump Administration Reviews Military Options

According to senior defense officials, President Trump has approved U.S. military attack plans as part of contingency discussions but has not yet given a final order to proceed. These plans reportedly include limited precision strikes on nuclear and missile sites, designed to halt Iran’s nuclear progress without triggering a full-scale regional war.

Trump’s national security team has briefed both the House and Senate intelligence committees, and a classified Senate briefing is scheduled later this week to discuss the evolving situation.

The Bigger Picture

While the world waits, Trump’s decision could reshape the balance of power in the Middle East. The contrast between Israel’s military precision and Iran’s civilian-targeted attacks is already drawing renewed international scrutiny. And with Iran now only weeks from building a nuclear bomb, the margin for error is dangerously thin.

The next two weeks may determine whether this conflict remains regional—or becomes global.

WE’D LOVE TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS! PLEASE COMMENT BELOW.
JIMMY

Find more articles like this at steadfastandloyal.com

h/t: Steadfast and Loyal

Category:

International Politics, Military, War

Tagged with:

Today’s Politically INCORRECT Cartoon by A.F. Branco

Branco Cartoon – Deal or No Deal

A.F. Branco | on June 16, 2025 | https://comicallyincorrect.com/branco-cartoon-deal-or-no-deal/

Israel Attacks Iran Nuclear Sites and More — A Political Cartoon by A.F. Branco 2025

A.F. Branco Cartoon – After years of Iran killing our soldiers, bombing Israel, and financing their terrorist puppets (Oct 7), Israel had finally had enough and bombed their nuclear facilities along with their top-level officials. This is after Trump gave them 60 days to make a deal. On Day 61, the bombing started.

BRANCO TOON STORE

Shock Report: Iran Admits Israel Has Infiltrated the “Highest Offices” of Its Government – Even Counter-Espionage Units Are Filled with Israeli Agents

By Jim Hoft – The Gateway Pundit – June 15, 2025

On Friday, Israel launched an aerial attack that decimated Iran’s military leadership and destroyed much of Iran’s nuclear and military capabilities.
This was a huge blow to Iran but not unexpected. The US had recalled several diplomats and officials across the MidEast earlier in the week in anticipation of an Israeli military strike on Iran.
In two days of aerial strikes Israel eliminated several of the top Iranian officials sleeping in their homes in Tehran… READ MORE

DONATE to A.F. Branco Cartoons – Tips accepted and appreciated – $1.00 – $5.00 – $25.00 – $50.00 – it all helps to fund this website and keep the cartoons coming. Also Venmo @AFBranco – THANK YOU!

A.F. Branco has taken his two greatest passions (art and politics) and translated them into cartoons that have been popular all over the country in various news outlets, including NewsMax, Fox News, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, and “The Washington Post.” He has been recognized by such personalities as Rep. Devin Nunes, Dinesh D’Souza, James Woods, Chris Salcedo, Sarah Palin, Larry Elder, Lars Larson, Rush Limbaugh, Elon Musk, and President Trump.

Category:

Tagged with:

British Blasphemy Prosecution: London Man Convicted After Burning Qur’an

By: Jonathan Turley | June 4, 2025

We recently discussed how the United Kingdom has continued its erosion of free speech by pushing an effective blasphemy law. Now, a London man has been convicted of a “religiously aggravated public order offence.” Hamit Coskun, 50, a Turkish-born Armenian-Kurdish atheist was arrested after burning a Qur’an.

Coskun was protesting the government of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara over his embrace of radical Islamic principles. Exclaiming “f**k Islam” and “Islam is religion of terrorism,” he burned the Qur’an and was then slashed by a Muslim man with a knife. Critics were outraged that the man (who later pleaded guilty) was released while police continued to hold Coskun.

Despite arguing that his protest was protected speech, District Judge John McGarva convicted him and declared that his actions were “highly provocative” and that they were “motivated at least in part by a hatred of Muslims.” Judge McGarva made clear that his views of Islam would not be tolerated in the United Kingdom:

“After considering the evidence, I find you have a deep-seated hatred of Islam and its followers. That’s based on your experiences in Turkey and the experiences of your family. It’s not possible to separate your views about the religion to your views about the followers.’

“I do accept that the choice of location was in part that you wanted to protest what you see as the Islamification of Turkey. But you were also motivated by the hatred of Muslims and knew some would be at the location.”

Coskun later correctly condemned the decision as “an assault on free speech” and added:

“Christian blasphemy laws were repealed in this country more than 15 years ago, and it cannot be right to prosecute someone for blaspheming against Islam. Would I have been prosecuted if I’d set fire to a copy of the bible outside Westminster Abbey? I doubt it.”

For years, I have been writing about the decline of free speech in the United Kingdom and the steady stream of arrests, including in my book, The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.

Nicholas Brock, 52, was convicted of a thought crime in Maidenhead, Berkshire. The neo-Nazi was given a four-year sentence for what the court called his “toxic ideology” based on the contents of the home he shared with his mother in Maidenhead, Berkshire. Judge Peter Lodder QC dismissed free speech or free thought concerns with a truly Orwellian statement:

“I do not sentence you for your political views, but the extremity of those views informs the assessment of dangerousness.”

Lodder lambasted Brock for holding Nazi and other hateful values:

“[i]t is clear that you are a right-wing extremist, your enthusiasm for this repulsive and toxic ideology is demonstrated by the graphic and racist iconography which you have studied and appeared to share with others…”

The fear is that an expanded hate speech law that includes criticism of Islamophobia will operate like a British blasphemy law. In 2008, the common law offences of blasphemy and blasphemous libel were abolished in England. This new effort could constructively restore such prosecutions as they relate to Islam.

Category:

Crime, Free Speech, International Politics, Law, Religion

Tagged with:

Back with a Vengeance: Nina Jankowicz Calls on Europeans to Oppose the United States

By: Jonathan Turley | April 23, 2025

Nina Jankowicz, the former head of Biden’s infamous Disinformation Governance Board, was “back with a vengeance.” After the outcry over the board led to its elimination, Jankowicz did what many of the displaced disinformation experts have done: she peddled her dubious skills to Europeans and others like a wandering rōnin without a master. Now, Jankowicz has appeared before one of the most anti-free speech bodies in the world — the European Union — to call upon those 27 countries to fight against the United States, which she called a world threat.

How the “Mary Poppins of disinformation” came to alight upon Europe is a familiar tale. The European Union has become the global hub for censorship efforts and, after she departed from the government, Jankowicz made a beeline for Europe.

I have been a long critic of Jankowicz, who became an instant Internet sensation due to a musical number in which she sang “You can just call me the Mary Poppins of disinformation” in a TikTok parody of the song “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.” After the Biden Administration reluctantly disbanded her board, she later moved to join a European group as a foreign agent to continue her work to block views that she considers disinformation.

The false portrayal of the United States as a lawless, autocratic nation no doubt thrilled the Europeans. In announcing her heading a private disinformation group called the American Sunlight Project, Jankowicz used the same hysteria to attract donors, insisting that “Disinformation knows no political party. Its ultimate victim is our democracy.”

Of course, Jankowicz herself has been accused of disinformation that served one particular party. She was previously criticized for allegedly spreading disinformation and advocating censorship.

The ultimate irony is that Jankowicz knows that she can count on many of us in the free speech community to support her right to spread such sensational and inflammatory information. She has every right to trash this country and the results of the election.

Jankowicz has clearly found a home with globalists in Europe where our “Mary Poppins of Disinformation” is “practically perfect in every way”

Jonathan Turley is the author of best-selling book “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.”

Category:

Tagged with:

Trump: Ukraine-Russia Fight Is Biden’s War, Not Mine

By Sam Barron | Monday, 14 April 2025 12:13 PM EDT

President Donald Trump pointed out Monday on his Truth Social account that the war between Russia and Ukraine began during President Joe Biden’s administration.

“The war between Russia and Ukraine is Biden’s war, not mine. I just got here, and for four years during my term, had no problem in preventing it from happening,” Trump wrote, adding that he “had nothing to do with this war” but is working “diligently to get the death and destruction to stop.”

“If the 2020 presidential election was not rigged, and it was, in so many ways, that horrible war would never have happened,” he continued. “President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy and Crooked Joe Biden did an absolutely horrible job in allowing this travesty to begin. There were so many ways of preventing it from ever starting. But that is the past. Now we have to get it to stop, and fast. So sad!”

On 60 Minutes Sunday, Zelenskyy called on Trump to support Ukraine.

“President Trump, being a strong president of a strong country, must be on Ukraine’s side,” Zelenskyy said. “I think it is wrong that America wants to be neutral.”

Zelenskyy also warned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ultimate goal could result in a World War.

“If we do not stand firm, he [Putin] will advance further,” Zelenskyy told CBS News. “It is not just idle speculation; the threat is real. Putin’s ultimate goal is to revive the Russian empire and reclaim territories currently under NATO protection. Considering all of this, I believe it could escalate into a world war. There won’t be a safe place, there won’t be a safe place for [anyone].”

Sam Barron ✉

Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.

Related Stories:

Category:

Originally published by USA Today

Tagged with:

Biden’s Administration May Have Suppressed COVID Evidence Contradicting Chinese Claims

Commentary by Jonathan Turley | April 14, 2025

Below is my column in the Hill on recent disclosure that the Biden Administration may have withheld evidence contradicting the Chinese on the origins of COVID. Millions of Americans lost loved ones and would like to know who was responsible. It appears that our government and many experts were less motivated to find that answer.

Here is the column:

Imagine a world war that left more than seven million dead, hundreds of millions became ill, wrecked the global economy, and left a generation with lasting psychological and developmental injuries. We have seen such wars in history. What is different in this circumstance, however, is that all of that happened, and yet, years later, we still have no agreement on the original cause or possible culprits behind a pandemic that ravaged the world.

Worse yet, many politicians, experts and journalists do not seem inclined to find the answers. This is like fighting World War II and then shrugging off the question of what actually started it.

New questions are being raised over long-withheld evidence on the origins of COVID, information that contradicted the accounts of not just the Biden administration but also allies in academia and the media.

The Chinese first reported the outbreak in December 2019 and insisted that it came from a wet market in Wuhan — a natural or “zoonotic” transfer from bats sold at the market. Others were skeptical and pointed to the nearby Wuhan government virus lab, known to have conducted coronavirus studies with bats. This lab had a history of safety and contamination concerns.

The “lab-leak theory,” which was always the most obvious explanation, was further reinforced by scientists who saw evidence of possible manipulation of the virus’s genetic code, particularly the “spike protein” that enables the virus to enter the human body in a “gain of function” operation. There was (and still is) a serious controversy over the origins of the virus, but any debate was quickly scuttled in favor of the natural theory.

The Chinese immediately moved to crush any speculation of a lab-leak. Wuhan scientists were gagged and the Chinese refused to allow international investigators access to them or the lab in question. The Chinese also used their considerable influence over the World Health Organization and other groups to dismiss or downplay the lab theory..

Now, a long-withheld military report has finally been released by the Trump administration. It appears to confirm what was once denied by the Biden administration: U.S. military service members contracted COVID-19-like symptoms after participating in the World Military Games in October 2019 in Wuhan.

That contradicts China’s timeline. It suggests a longer cover-up in that country, which allowed the virus to spread not only to the U.S. but to countries around the world. Other nations also reported that their military personnel had fallen ill after attending the same games, suggesting that the virus was not only spreading but already raging in the area at that time.

The most disturbing aspect of this report is not the alleged conduct of the Chinese government, but that of our own. Rumors of U.S. military personnel coming down with the virus had long been out there. Republicans in Congress repeatedly asked the Biden administration about any report on the outbreak. Then-Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby told The Washington Post in June 2021 that the military had “no knowledge” of COVID-19 infections among the troops participating in those games.

Even as the illness associated with the games became known, the Biden administration repeatedly refused to confirm the U.S. cases, and a 2022 report was withheld from both Congress and the public. If true, the level of duplicity and dishonesty is shocking. In the U.S. alone, more than 1.2 million died and more than 111 million were made sick by this virus. Yet the Biden administration is accused of withholding this information from the world. Why?

This disclosure follows an equally troubling disclosure that scientists in the Biden administration actually found support for the lab theory but were silenced by their superiors.

Last December, the Wall Street Journal released an alarming report on how these scientists supported the lab theory on the origin of the COVID-19 virus. Not only were the FBI and its top experts excluded from a critical briefing of Biden, but government scientists were reportedly warned that they were “off the reservation” in supporting the lab theory.

As scientists were being attacked publicly and blacklisted for supporting the lab theory, experts at both the FBI and the Energy Department found the lab theory credible. Although no theory could be proven conclusively, it was deemed a more likely scenario than the natural-origin theory. The CIA also found the lab theory credible.

What the public was hearing was entirely different. They were hearing the same narrative laid out by the Chinese government in December 2019. The Chinese relied upon western scientists to form a mob against anyone raising the lab-leak theory as a possible explanation. Many were enlisted to sign letters or publish statements denouncing the idea. It became an article of faith — a required virtue signal among university scientists. The western media were equally primed to quash the theory.

After President Trump embraced the lab theory, the Chinese had the perfect setup. The media was on a hair-trigger in opposition and denounced his comments as not only unfounded but also racist. MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace mocked Trump and others for spreading “conspiracy theories.” MSNBC’s Kasie Hunt insisted that “we know it’s been debunked that this virus was manmade or modified.”

MSNBC’s Joy Reid called the lab leak theory “debunked bunkum.” Over at CNN, reporter Drew Griffin criticized the “widely debunked” theory and host Fareed Zakaria told viewers that “the far right has now found its own virus conspiracy theory” in the lab leak.

The Washington Post was particularly dogmatic. After Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) raised the lab-leak theory, he was chastised for “repeat[ing] a fringe theory suggesting that the ongoing spread of a coronavirus is connected to research in the disease-ravaged epicenter of Wuhan, China.”

The Post’s “fact checker” Glenn Kessler mocked Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) for entertaining the theory. “I fear @tedcruz missed the scientific animation in the video that shows how it is virtually impossible for this virus to jump from the lab,” he posted. “Or the many interviews with actual scientists. We deal in facts, and viewers can judge for themselves.”

Even in 2021 when countervailing evidence was surfacing, the unrelenting attacks continued. New York Times science and health reporter Apoorva Mandavilli urged journalists not to mention the “racist” lab theory. Social media companies also enforced the narrative and, with the coordination of the Biden Administration, experts raising the lab theory were targeted, censored, and blacklisted.

It now appears that the COVID outbreak may have occurred months before the alleged wet market release — months that could have been used to contain the virus. Instead, China is accused of suppressing the news and allowing the virus to spread worldwide. Our military personnel alone went home from the Wuhan games to 25 states, potentially carrying it with them. When information on these infections connected to the games was reported around the world, China even suggested that the U.S. used the games to release the weaponized virus.

In 2020, I wrote a column on why China seemed poised to avoid any liability for what might be the greatest act of negligence in history. The sheer size of the disaster somehow seemed to insulate China. As Joseph Stalin had once said, “a single death is a tragedy” and “a million deaths is a statistic.”

Try more than seven million, and you have a statistic that was not worth confronting the Chinese over. What was done was done.

Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University and the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.”

Category:

Education, International Politics, Media, Political

Tagged with:

Trump’s Tariffs Are Only the Start. Congress Must Now Cut Taxes and Regulations.

Reported by Kevin Roberts | Richard Stern | April 11, 2025

Donald Trump, in a darl blue suit, shakes hands with Mike Johnson, dressed in a dark grey suit. — (Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images)

President Donald Trump announced historic tariffs on April 2—“Liberation Day”—to ensure that America is no longer “looted, pillaged, raped, and plundered” by other nations.

On Wednesday, the president announced a 90-day pause on the tariffs and lowered the tariff rate on most nations to 10%. He also raised tariffs on China to 125%.

His bold leadership, which quickly brought 75 countries to the negotiating table, he said, should be applauded. Clearly, his strategy is working: America is gaining leverage, and China is becoming more and more isolated.

While conservatives have been divided and disorganized about how to respond to the president’s policy, with almost all Republicans in Washington still watching from the sidelines, we’re calling on Americans to unify around a “yes, and” agenda.

That means saying yes to strategic, reciprocal tariffs that target China and other trade abusers—based on their barriers, not simply the balance of trade—as we work toward true free and fair trade.

And it means insisting that tariffs are most effective when paired with a broad array of conservative policies that alleviate economic pain on the American people. While Trump works to liberate us from foreign abuses, congressional Republicans must fight to liberate Americans from the burdens of federal regulations, mandates, and taxes.

Republicans Must Make Tax Cuts Permanent

First, we must not settle for extending the status quo on tax relief. Thanks to the majorities Trump delivered in November, Republicans must pursue deeper tax reform through reconciliation. Every penny raised from tariffs should be offset with pro-growth tax cuts.

Making the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent is a good start, but we also must remove every remaining tax penalty on expanding hiring and business operations in America by adopting full and immediate expensing for all investments. Pairing this with a simplified flat tax for all is even better. Congress should collapse the personal income and corporate tax rates to 15%.

Second, Congress should work alongside the Trump administration, using the reconciliation process, to transform the current 10% universal tariff into a true border-adjusted tariff. That means applying a universal 10% tariff on all imports, while granting a matching 10% credit to all American exports.

That isn’t just smart policy—it’s a long-overdue correction to a global tax system that has punished American industry for decades.

We’ve let foreign goods pour into our markets tax-free, while our manufacturers are taxed at home and slapped again abroad. That’s not free trade—it’s economic surrender. And no country has abused this broken system more brazenly than China, which has cheated on trade, exploited our openness, and gutted the U.S. industry while Washington looked the other way.

If we want to rebuild our economy, secure our supply chains, and end our dependence on adversarial regimes, then a border adjustment tariff must be part of the conservative economic playbook.

As a bonus, these revenues can be used to offset lost revenue from the lower tax rates we are calling for.

Congress Must Cut Federal Spending

Third, Republicans must finally get serious about cutting spending—not with half measures or messaging bills, but with real, structural reform. Through reconciliation, Congress should significantly cut mandatory spending riddled with waste, fraud, and abuse.

Now is not the time to settle for the lowest common denominator, which is always a temptation in politics. If we are to undo the fiscal and inflationary damage done by the previous administration and decades of fiscal irresponsibility, we must go big and take advantage of this historic electoral mandate.

Then, through the appropriations process, we must slash the bloated discretionary budget that fuels the unchecked growth of the federal bureaucracy.

In the meantime, the Department of Government Efficiency must be fully unleashed to do its job—scrutinizing every dollar, rooting out inefficiency, and holding agencies accountable. This is how we restore fiscal integrity and prove to the American people that their government works for them, not the other way around.

Businesses Need Deregulation

Fourth, American enterprise must be unleashed through sweeping deregulation. For too long, unelected bureaucrats have imposed crushing rules that stifle innovation, punish small businesses, and expand government control far beyond its proper bounds.

It’s time for Congress to reassert its constitutional authority, starting by empowering lawmakers to roll back legacy regulations that have accumulated over decades of executive overreach by passing the REINS Act and the Sunset Act.

At the same time, the administration should lead a coordinated effort—through executive orders and agency rulemaking—to dismantle the regulatory state piece by piece.

Fifth, permitting reform is long overdue, and it’s time we treat it like the national priority it is. For decades, radical environmentalists and bloated bureaucracies have used red tape to delay, derail, and destroy American energy and infrastructure projects. The result? Higher costs, energy dependence, and missed opportunities for American workers.

We need to streamline the permitting process from top to bottom—cut timelines, eliminate duplicative reviews, and ensure projects get approved on merit, not political ideology. If we’re serious about unleashing American energy, rebuilding our industrial base, and securing true energy independence, then Congress must act—the administration must lead—with bold, unapologetic reform.

In Washington, conservatives talk a lot about policies, but policies are not ends in themselves. They’re tools to achieve a certain end—the flourishing of the American people. Americans care about policy only insofar as it influences how they can purchase a home, build strong families, raise their children in safe communities, and live lives rooted in faith, purpose, and freedom.

For too long, America’s strength has been undermined by a bipartisan failure to defend our own economic foundation. Congress and previous presidents ran up our debt, piled up regulations, outsourced our manufacturing base, surrendered our supply chains, and signed trade deals that ignored Chinese cheating.

All of this served government bureaucrats, but not the American family. The result? Hollowed-out towns, lost jobs, and a working class forced to pay the price for decisions made in Washington and on Wall Street.

This result wasn’t inevitable—it was a choice. And it’s time we choose differently. It’s time to put American industry, families, and sovereignty back at the center of our national agenda.

As conservatives, we’re not just fighting for policies—we’re fighting for the American way of life. A way of life rooted in personal responsibility, bound by opportunity, and defined by human dignity. Every policy we advance—whether it’s tax reform, deregulation, tariffs, or border security—must serve that higher purpose: to strengthen families, empower communities, and preserve the blessings of liberty for the next generation.

Category:

EU COMMISSION PROPOSES 25% TARIFFS ON US GOODS IN RESPONSE TO TRUMP: REPORT

Tagged with:

White House says Beijing missed deadline to lift retaliatory tariffs, US to hike China tariffs to 104%

By Eric Revell | FOX Business | April 8, 2025

The White House is signaling that new tariffs on Chinese imports are taking effect after China’s government missed a deadline to lift its retaliatory tariffs that were imposed in response to President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday that because China declined to lift its retaliatory tariff, the president’s additional 50% tariff levied on top of previously imposed tariffs of 20% and 34% took effect, bringing the total tariff on Chinese goods to 104%.

She added that the tariffs took effect at noon Eastern Time on Tuesday, with tariff collection set to begin on Wednesday. Leavitt said that U.S. trading partners should be coming to the administration with deals to improve trade terms.

“The president’s message has been simple and consistent from the beginning to countries around the world – bring us your best offers and he will listen,” Leavitt said during a White House press briefing Tuesday. “Deals will only be made if they benefit American workers and address our nation’s crippling trade deficits.”

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said China’s failure to lift retaliatory tariffs prompted the Trump administration to hike tariffs further. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque / Reuters)

Leavitt said that by contrast, China’s retaliatory tariffs have prompted Trump to increase duties on Chinese imports in response, serving as an example of what other countries that follow suit can expect.

“On the other hand, countries like China, who have chosen to retaliate, and try to double down on their mistreatment of American workers are making a mistake,” she said.

“President Trump has a spine of steel and he will not break, and America will not break under his leadership. He is guided by a firm belief that America must be able to produce essential goods for our own people and export them to the rest of the world,” Leavitt said. “A strong America cannot be solely dependent on foreign countries for our food, medicines, and critical minerals, and America must always maintain a robust defense supply chain.”

GOLDMAN SACHS INCREASES RECESSION PROBABILITY, WARNS OF FURTHER DOWNGRADE IF MORE TARIFFS TAKE EFFECT

Port of Los Angeles — Tariffs are taxes on imported goods that are paid by the importer, who typically passes the higher costs on to consumers. (Photo by Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images / Getty Images)

The Trump administration has centered its tariff strategy around the elimination of trade deficits. After touting plans for “reciprocal” tariffs, the administration’s formula for those tariffs was calculated based on the size of the U.S. trade deficit with various trading partners.

Economists tend to dismiss trade deficits as neither good nor bad, arguing they’re the result of mutually beneficial trade decisions. Ryan Young, senior economist at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, previously told FOX Business that trade balances don’t “say anything about a country’s economic health, good or bad,” and noted the U.S. has run trade deficits for over 50 years.

WILL TARIFFS REDUCE TRADE DEFICITS? EXPERTS WEIGH IN

China's Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump shake hands — The U.S. and China are escalating their trade war with tariff hikes. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images / Getty Images)

“The U.S. has run a trade deficit every year since the 1970s, yet living standards are better by almost every measure, whether it’s income, unemployment rate, life expectancy, percentage of low-income households with air-conditioning, internet and other goods,” he said.

“If the trade deficit were harmful, much of what we see all around us every day should not exist,” Young added.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon wrote in his annual shareholder letter released Monday that trade deficits “are not necessarily good or bad” and observed, “Even if our country had no net trade deficit, it would likely be running deficits with some countries and surpluses with others.”

Category:

Tagged with:

“A New World Order with European Values”: The Unholy Union of Globalism and Anti-Free Speech Measures

By: Jonathan Turley | March 24, 2025

Below is my column in the Hill on the recent World Forum where leaders gathered to declare “A New World Order with European Values.” Globalists gathered in Berlin to seek a new era based on European values that not only involve the expansion of transnational systems but the contraction of free speech rights.

Here is the column:

“A New World Order with European Values.” Emblazoned across banners and signs, those words met the participants at this week’s meeting of the World Forum in Berlin. Each year, leaders, executives, journalists and academics gather to address the greatest threats facing humanity. This year, there was little doubt about what they view as the current threat: the resurgence of populism and free speech.

In fairness to the Forum, “a New World Order” likely sounds more ominous for some civil libertarians than intended. While the European Union is a transnational government stretching across 27 nations, the organizers were referring to a shift of values away from the United States to Europe.

As one of the few speakers at the forum who was calling for greater protections for free speech, I found it an unnerving message. Even putting aside, the implications of the New World Order, the idea of building a world on today’s European values is alarming for free speech.

Free speech is in a free fall in Europe, with ever-expanding speech regulations and criminal prosecutions — including for having “toxic ideologies.”

The World Forum has a powerful sense of fraternity, even an intimacy, among leaders who see each other as a global elite — a cadre of enlightened minds protecting citizens from their own poor choices and habits. There has long been a push for transnational governing systems, and European figures see an opportunity created by the conflict with President Trump. The European Union is the model for such a Pax Europaea or “European peace.”

The problem is that this vision for a new Holy Roman Empire lacks a Charlamagne. More importantly, it lacks public support.

The very notion of a “New World Order” is chilling to many who oppose the rise of a globalist class with the rise of transnational governance in the European Union and beyond.

This year, there is a sense of panic among Europe’s elite over the victory of Trump and the Republicans in the U.S., as well as nationalist and populist European movements. For globalists, the late Tip O’Neill’s rule that “all politics is local” is anathema. The European Union is intended to transcend national identities and priorities in favor of an inspired transnational government managed by an expert elite.

The message was clear. The new world order would be based on European, not American, values. To rally the faithful to the cause, the organizers called upon two of the patron saints of the global elite: Bill and Hillary Clinton. President Clinton was even given an award as “leader of the century.” The Clintons were clearly in their element. Speaker after speaker denounced Trump and the rise of what they called “autocrats” and “oligarchs.” The irony was crushing. The European Union is based on the oligarchy of a ruling elite. The World Forum even took time to celebrate billionaires from Bill Gates to George Soros for funding “open societies” and greater transnational powers.

The discussions focused on blunting the rise of far-right parties and stemming the flow of “disinformation” that fosters such dissent. Outside of this rarefied environment, the Orwellian language would border on the humorous: protecting democracy from itself and limiting free speech to foster free speech.

Yet, one aspect of the forum was striking and refreshingly open. This year it became clear why transnational governance gravitates toward greater limits on free speech. Of course, all of this must be done in the name of democracy and free speech.

There is a coded language that is now in vogue with the anti-free speech community. They never say the word “censorship.” They prefer “content moderation.” They do not call for limiting speech. Instead, they call for limiting “false,” “hateful” or “inciteful” speech.

As for the rise of opposing parties and figures, they are referred to as movements by “low-information voters” misled by disinformation. Of course, it is the government that will decide what are acceptable and unacceptable viewpoints.

That code was broken recently by Vice President JD Vance, who confronted our European allies in Munich to restore free speech. He stripped away the pretense and called out the censorship.

With the rise of populist groups, anti-immigration movements and critics of European governance, there is a palpable challenge to EU authority. In that environment, free speech can be viewed as destabilizing because it spreads dissent and falsehoods about these figures and their agenda. Thus far, “European peace” has come at the price of silencing many of those voices, achieving the pretense of consensus through coerced silence.

Transnational governance requires consent over a wide swath of territory. The means that the control or cooperation of media and social media is essential to maintaining the consent of the governed. That is why free speech is in a tailspin in Europe, with ever-expanding speech regulations and criminal prosecutions.

Yet, it is difficult to get a free people to give up freedom. They have to be very afraid or very angry. One of the speakers was Maria A. Ressa, a journalist and Nobel laureate. I admire Ressa’s courage as a journalist but previously criticized her anti-free speech positions. Ressa has struck out against critics who have denounced her for allegedly antisemitic views. She has warned that the right is using free speech and declaring “I will say it now: ‘The fascists are coming.’”

At the forum, Ressa again called for the audience of “powerful leaders” to prevent lies and dangerous disinformation from spreading worldwide.

But the free speech movement has shown a surprising resilience in the last few years. First, Elon Musk bought Twitter and dismantled its censorship apparatus, restoring free speech to the social media platform. More recently, Mark Zuckerburg announced that Meta would also restore free speech protections on Facebook and other platforms.

In a shock to many, young Irish voters have been credited with killing a move to further expand the criminalization of speech to include “xenophobia” and the “public dissemination or distribution of tracts, pictures or other material” from viewpoints barred under the law.

Anti-free speech forces are gathering to push back on such trends. Indeed, Hillary Clinton has hardly been subtle about the dangers of free speech to the new world order. After Musk bought Twitter with the intention of restoring free speech protections, Clinton called upon the European Union to use its infamous Digital Services Act to make Musk censor her fellow Americans. She has also suggested arresting those spreading disinformation.

The European Union did precisely that by threatening Musk with confiscatory fines and even arrest unless he censored users. When Musk decided to interview Trump in this election, EU censors warned him that they would be watching for any disinformation.

For many citizens, European governance does not exactly look like a triumph over “oligarchs” and “autocrats.” Indeed, the EU looks pretty oligarchic with its massive bureaucracy guided by a global elite and “good” billionaires like Soros and Gates.

Citizens would be wise to look beyond the catchy themes and consider what Pax Europaea would truly mean to them. We have many shared values with our European allies. However, given the current laws limiting political speech, a “New World Order Based on European Values” is hardly an inviting prospect for those who believe in robust democratic and free speech values.

Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro professor of public interest law at George Washington University and the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.”

Category:

censorship, Free Speech, International Politics, Political

Tagged with:

BREAKING: Secretary of State Marco Rubio Ends U.S. Support for Ukraine’s Power Grid

By: Erica Carlin | March 3, 2025

Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President J.D. Vance, recently joined President Donald Trump in a critical Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The discussions were tense and unapologetically direct, with President Trump making it abundantly clear that America’s foreign policy is shifting away from the reckless, endless spending that defined the Biden administration’s approach to Ukraine.

The meeting, originally intended to focus on Ukraine’s failing power grid and Washington’s role in its restoration, ended with Trump decisively canceling a planned joint press conference with Zelensky, signaling a major shift in U.S.-Ukraine relations.

In a bold and necessary move, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced an end to U.S. support for Ukraine’s power grid, cutting off taxpayer-funded aid that has funneled billions into a foreign war with little accountability.

The decision effectively halts a USAID initiative that had been pouring American resources into rebuilding Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, even as millions of Americans struggle with rising costs at home. For years, Ukraine’s energy grid has been a target of Russian attacks, but rather than finding long-term solutions, Zelensky’s government has relied on endless American handouts, expecting the U.S. to foot the bill for Ukraine’s survival.

According to NBC News, USAID is dramatically reducing its presence in Ukraine, with the State Department officially ending a multi-million-dollar program that has propped up Ukraine’s crumbling energy grid. The decision has sent shockwaves through the D.C. establishment, particularly among those who have grown comfortable using Ukraine as a slush fund for special interests.

The reality on the ground in Ukraine remains dire, with widespread power outages plunging regions into darkness as Russia continues to target its energy infrastructure. Yet rather than seeking diplomatic resolutions, Zelensky arrived in Washington demanding more financial aid, falsely claiming that without further U.S. funding, Ukraine’s ability to defend itself would collapse.

Trump wasn’t having it. The meeting quickly turned heated as Zelensky pushed for an agreement that would give Ukraine access to lucrative rare earth mineral rights, a move that raised serious red flags within the administration. President Trump, a master negotiator, saw right through the ploy and firmly rejected Zelensky’s demands.

“You don’t have the cards right now,” Trump bluntly told Zelensky, emphasizing that Ukraine is in no position to make demands. The President made it clear that American lives, resources, and priorities come first, warning that Zelensky’s refusal to consider a negotiated settlement was gambling with the lives of millions.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, an outspoken advocate for America First foreign policy, echoed Trump’s frustrations, calling out Zelensky’s arrogance and unwillingness to accept political reality. Vice President J.D. Vance also took Zelensky to task, questioning his audacity to come to the White House and lecture the administration. The meeting ended abruptly, with Zelensky escorted out of the White House after failing to secure any new commitments from the Trump administration.

The implications of this meeting are enormous. The era of blank checks to Ukraine is officially over. For years, Washington’s corrupt foreign policy elites have funneled tens of billions of taxpayer dollars into Ukraine, enriching defense contractors and globalist interests while ignoring America’s own pressing needs. Trump’s decisive action signals a long-overdue course correction, prioritizing the American people over foreign wars and geopolitical quagmires.

While critics of the move lament the withdrawal of U.S. support, arguing that it could embolden Russia, Trump’s stance is based on realism, not fantasy. Unlike the weak Biden administration, which recklessly escalated tensions with Russia while neglecting U.S. borders and energy independence, Trump is seeking a path forward that prioritizes peace and stability over endless conflict.

This shift in U.S.-Ukraine relations is already shaking up the global power structure. European leaders, who for years have relied on American taxpayers to fund their geopolitical ambitions, are now being forced to reassess their own commitments. The message from Washington is clear: the United States will no longer be the world’s ATM.

Trump’s decisive rejection of Zelensky’s demands and his America First foreign policy represent a seismic shift from the corrupt globalist status quo.

The Ukraine war, once used as an excuse to funnel billions into the military-industrial complex, is now under scrutiny, and Washington elites are panicking as Trump restores sanity to foreign policy.

As the world watches, one thing is certain: Trump is back, and he’s putting America first—exactly as he promised.

Watch The New Austin TX local channel on OBBM Network TV!

Erica Carlin

Erica Carlin is an independent journalist, opinion writer and contributor to several news and opinion sources. She is based in Georgia.

Category:

USDA LAUNCHES REVIEW AT UNIVERSITY OF MAINE OVER TRANSGENDER SPORTS POLICY AFTER TRUMP-GOV. MILLS BLOWUP

Tagged with:

Top Trump official moves to block illegal immigrants from receiving food stamps: ‘Follow the law, full stop’

By Andrew Mark Miller Fox News | Published February 25, 2025

‘Border czar’ Tom Homan opens up about efforts to secure the southern border on The Story.

FIRST ON FOX: President Trump’s Department of Agriculture announced on Tuesday that it is taking steps to ensure that illegal immigrants in the United States are not eligible for food stamp benefits.

“U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins today directed the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) at the U.S. Department of Agriculture to immediately clarify and enforce all rules restricting its beneficiaries to U.S. citizens and legal residents only,” the department said in a press release.

The press release adds that the directive “enforces” Trump’s executive order from February 19 aimed at “ensuring taxpayer resources are not used to incentivize or support illegal immigration.”

“The days in which taxpayer dollars are used to subsidize illegal immigration are over,” Agriculture Secretary Rollins said in a statement.

Trump food stamps — Trump’s USDA is moving to ensure that illegal immigrants do not receive food stamps (AP/Getty)

“Today’s directive affirms that the U.S. Department of Agriculture will follow the law—full stop.”

Food stamp fraud has long been an issue that Republicans have warned about including Sen. Joni Ernst who recently debuted a bill designed to tackle overpayments in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), colloquially known as “food stamps.”

GOP GOVERNOR CALLS ON INCOMING TRUMP OFFICIALS TO BAN JUNK FOOD IN FOOD STAMPS: ‘MAKE AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN’

Brooke Rollins appears for the hearing on her nomination for Secretary of Agriculture as part of President Donald Trump's cabinet — Brooke Rollins, U.S. President Trump’s nominee to be secretary of agriculture, testifies before a Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 23, 2025. (Kaylee Greenlee Beal/Reuters)

“Bureaucratic blunders are leaving billions of dollars on the table as Americans are starved to keep up with the ever-growing $36 trillion debt,” she told Fox News Digital in a statement.

“SNAP plays an essential role in helping feed families. That’s why we need to strengthen its integrity by holding states accountable for growing error rates, implementing a zero-tolerance policy, and snapping back overpayments.”

Migrants crossing Texas border — Hundreds of migrants, predominantly from Venezuela, cross the Rio Grande with the intention of seeking humanitarian asylum by crossing the border between Mexico and the United States in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on December 05, 2023. (David Peinado/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Trump’s Border Czar Tom Homan explained to Fox News last week that illegal migrants are incentivized to come to the U.S. while they are reaping more in benefits than most Americans make in their salaries.

“It is a major driver… how many welfare cards, and food stamps, and social services envelopes you see all around these homes,” Homan said. It’s been going on for decades.”

Fox News Digital’s Julia Johnson contributed to this report

Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to AndrewMark.Miller@Fox.com.

Category:

Foreign Policy, International Politics

Tagged with:

Report: US, Ukraine Reach Mineral Rights, Security Deal

By Michael Katz | Tuesday, 25 February 2025 04:32 PM EST

The Trump administration and Ukraine reportedly have reached a deal on mineral rights that could pave the way to a long-term security commitment to the war-torn nation in exchange for helping the U.S. recoup the billions of dollars in humanitarian and military aid it provided since Russia’s invasion three years ago.

Ukrainian officials said they are now ready to sign the agreement on jointly developing the nation’s mineral resources, including oil and natural gas, after the U.S. dropped demands for $500 billion in potential revenue from mining the resources, The Financial Times reported Tuesday.

Asked about a report that Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was coming to the White House on Friday, President Donald Trump said this in remarks at the White House on Tuesday afternoon: “I hear that he’s coming on Friday, certainly it’s okay with me if he’d like to.”
“We’re saying look… we want to get that money back.”

During his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron at the White House on Monday, Trump indicated the deal was close to be completed and that Zelenskyy could visit Washington, D.C., this week or next to sign the deal.

Trump addressed the issue in a post on Truth Social on Monday after a virtual meeting involving the Group of Seven nations, writing in part, “I emphasized the importance of the vital ‘Critical Minerals and Rare-Earths Deal’ between the United States and Ukraine, which we hope will be signed very soon!’

“This deal, which is an ‘Economic Partnership,’ will ensure the American people recoup the Tens of Billions of Dollars and Military Equipment sent to Ukraine, while also helping Ukraine’s economy grow as this Brutal and Savage War comes to an end.”

The draft agreement, according to Axios, called for the establishment of a “Reconstruction Investment Fund” that will be co-managed by the U.S. and Ukraine. Axios reported Monday that the draft agreement it viewed was the most recent version, but it could still be amended. The agreement stipulated the fund will be designed to invest in projects in Ukraine and attract investments to increase development, including in areas like mining and ports. But it also suggests the U.S. will recoup some of its expenditures related to “defending, reconstructing, and returning Ukraine” to its pre-war gross domestic product.

Tensions between the U.S. and Ukraine have escalated in recent weeks, with Zelenskyy expressing frustration over the U.S. negotiating with Russia first on a deal to end the war, and Trump calling Zelenskyy a “dictator” for cancelling elections and blaming Kyiv for starting the war.

Newsmax reached out to the White House for comment.

Michael Katz ✉

Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.

Related Stories:

Category:

Tagged with:

Today’s Politically INCORRECT Cartoon by A.F. Branco

A.F. Branco Cartoon – The Truth Hurts

A.F. Branco | on February 18, 2025 | https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-the-truth-hurts/

VP Vance in Munich Security Conference — A Political Cartoon by A.F. Branco 2025

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Flipboard

A.F. Branco Cartoon – VP Vance gave the European Union a well-deserved good spanking at the Munich Security Conference. Ripping them on their free speech policies.

ICYMI: Here’s Vice President J.D. Vance’s Full Speech on Free Speech and Tyrannical Censorship That Sent European Elites Into a Total Meltdown at the Munich Security Conference (FULL TRANSCRIPT)

By Jim Hoft – The Gateway Pundit – Feb 16, 2025

Vice President J.D. Vance delivered a fiery speech at the Munich Security Conference on Friday, taking direct aim at European elites for their war on free speech and authoritarian censorship tactics.
In a no-holds-barred address, Vance exposed the hypocrisy of European leaders, who claim to champion democracy while silencing dissent and weaponizing so-called ‘misinformation’ laws to crush political opposition.
Below is the full transcript of his explosive speech: READ MORE

Category:

Free Speech, International Politics, Political

Tagged with:

Did You Miss This?

February 15, 2024

🤣This is called GETTING IN YOUR FACE !😂🤣 pic.twitter.com/dsTrtviq4J
— Rayme Treudeau© (@Rayme_Treudeau) February 14, 2025

Category:

Tagged with:

Vice President Vance

Jordan King Agrees to Treat 2,000 Sick Gaza Children

Tuesday, 11 February 2025 03:24 PM EST

Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Tuesday told President Donald Trump that his country would take in approximately 2,000 sick children from the war-torn Gaza Strip as Trump pushed his plan to take over the territory while permanently relocating Palestinians.

Speaking at the White House, Abdullah added that Egypt would present a proposal on how countries in the region could “work” with Trump on the plan, despite Arab nations and the Palestinians having rejected it outright.

“I think one of the things that we can do right away is take 2,000 children, cancer children who are in a very ill state, that is possible,” Abdullah said as Trump welcomed him and Crown Prince Hussein in the Oval Office.

Trump called it a “beautiful gesture” and said he didn’t know about it before the Jordanian monarch’s arrival at the White House.

Trump meanwhile backed down on a suggestion that he could withhold aid for Jordan and Egypt if they refused to take in more than two million Palestinians from Gaza.

“I think we’ll do something,” he said. “I don’t have to threaten that, I do believe we’re above that.”

Trump announced last week a proposal for the U.S. to “take over” Gaza, envisioning rebuilding the devastated territory into the “Riviera of the Middle East” – but only after resettling Palestinians elsewhere, with no plan for them to return.

Jordan’s Abdullah was repeatedly pressed by reporters on whether he supported the plan, but said only that Egypt was producing a response and that Arab nations would then discuss it at talks in Riyadh.

“The president is looking at Egypt coming to present that plan … (then) we will be in Saudi Arabia to discuss how we should work with the president and with the United States,” Abdullah said.

“The point is, how do we make this work in a way that is good for everybody.”

The meeting came as the Gaza ceasefire appears increasingly fragile, after Trump warned on Monday that “all hell” would break out if Hamas fails to release all hostages by Saturday.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday said Israel would resume “intense fighting” in Gaza if Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists did not meet the deadline. Trump said he doubted that Hamas would abide by the ultimatum.

“I don’t think they’re going to make the deadline personally. I think they want to play a tough guy, but we’ll see how tough they are,” Trump said.

But he played down the risk of a longer threat to efforts to create a lasting peace between Israel and Hamas.

“It’s not going to take a long time when you know bullies,” he added, referring to Hamas.

The Jordanian king and crown prince earlier met Trump’s National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.

Category:

Tagged with:

Trump Drops the Tariff Hammer, and Canada’s Economy is Screaming ‘Uncle!’

By: Kevin Jackson | February 6, 2025

Trump Don’t Play: Tariffs and the Little Trains That Couldn’t

Eva Vlaardingerbroek of The Netherlands summed up the Trump Effect in a single tweet:

“Trump is making America great again a little too fast. He hasn’t even been back in office for a month, and every single day he does something even more badass than the day before. It’s so cool, and as a European, it’s getting painful knowing we don’t have a single leader like him.”

Painful, indeed. While European leaders struggle to remember what a spine looks like, Trump is over here flexing economic muscle with the precision of a Mr. Universe. And the Left? They’re scrambling like roaches when the kitchen light flips on. The desperation is so real that the bot farms have gone global. Tony Seruga tweeted:

“We just blocked over 5,000 botfarm accounts. Interesting they all pivoted from their passion for Ukraine to Canada at the exact same moment. Most originated from Chinese Communist Party PLA efforts using Canadian, US, and UK IP addresses.”

Translation: The globalists are running out of fake outrages, so they’re swapping Ukraine flags for Canadian tears. And for good reason—Trump just put Canada and Mexico on notice, and their economies flinched like a Chihuahua in a room full of exploding firecrackers.

When Trump Speaks, Markets Listen

If you thought Trump’s tariff threats were just political theater, tell that to the foreign exchange markets.

The Canadian dollar nosedived to its lowest level since 2003 after Trump’s tariff announcement.
The Mexican peso crashed to its weakest point since 2020.

It’s almost poetic. Canada is wailing about a 25% tariff while quietly accepting a 20% carbon tax hike on April 1st of last year. You can’t make this stuff up. Trudeau taxes his own citizens into submission, but when Trump asks them to pay their fair share, it’s suddenly a national crisis.

As for America? I think we can handle saying goodbye to maple syrup, and “Canadian bacon”.

Canada’s Free Ride Is Over

For decades, Canada has played the wide-eyed innocent neighbor while quietly stacking tariffs on American goods like a compulsive hoarder. Here’s a quick reality check on how “fair trade” has worked so far. These are some of the historical tariffs from Canada on the U.S.

Milk: 270%
Cheese: 245%
Butter: 298%
Chicken: 238%
Bovine/Meat: 26.5%
Steel: 25%
Aluminum: 45%
TVs: 45%
HVAC Systems: 45%

Meanwhile, the U.S. provides Canada’s military defense while they spend next to nothing on their own protection. Talk about the ultimate free ride.

Now, the hard math:

77% of Canada’s exports go to the U.S.
84% of Mexico’s exports go to the U.S.
Mexico exports to U.S. as a percentage of GDP: 35%
Canada exports to U.S. as a percentage of GDP: 22%
U.S. exports to Canada as a percentage of GDP: 1.5%
U.S. exports to Mexico as a percentage of GDP: 1.2%
Canada GDP $2.14 trillion
US GDP $27.36 Trillion

If Canada were a U.S. state, it would rank fourth in GDP.

When Reality Hits Like a Trump Tariff

The pain is already setting in. Two of Canada’s fastest-growing food companies—Mid-Day Squares and Flourish Pancakes—are making a run for it, eyeing U.S. expansion instead of sticking around to suffer Trudeau’s economic mismanagement. Mid-Day Squares, which initially planned to expand in Montreal, is now considering Ohio, Wisconsin, or Missouri. Why? In the words of co-founder Jake Karls:

“We need the U.S. as a business. It’s critical.”

No Borders, No Trade Deals

Trump’s tariffs aren’t just about trade; they’re about national security. Fentanyl is now the #1 killer of Americans aged 18-45—with its ingredients sourced from China and funneled through Mexico and Canada. Neither country is doing enough to stop it. Trump’s message? Either help stop the flow of poison, or pay the price.

The Bottom Line

Trump isn’t here to play “international feelings counselor.” He’s here to win—and for the first time in a long time, America isn’t rolling over to appease weaker economies.

Canada and Mexico can huff and puff all they want, but the numbers don’t lie. They need us far more than we need them. And with Trump at the helm, the days of America getting played are officially over.

Brace yourself, globalists. The tariff hammer has dropped.

Category:

Tagged with:

Trump’s Gaza Plan: A Bold Move That Could Change the World

By Jimmy Parker | February 5, 2025

President Donald Trump has done it again. While the political elite squabble over the same tired talking points, Trump has dropped a geopolitical bombshell that could reshape the Middle East—and no, it’s not just another round of diplomatic niceties. We’re talking about a masterstroke that might actually work. Imagine that: real leadership, not the limp-wristed handwringing we’ve grown accustomed to from the D.C. establishment.

A Vision Beyond the Rubble

Trump’s plan to take over the Gaza Strip, level the destruction, and rebuild it as a beacon of economic prosperity is nothing short of revolutionary. Forget the endless cycles of ceasefires and re-escalations; Trump is thinking bigger, bolder, and with the kind of clarity that only he seems capable of. He’s not just offering another Band-Aid solution. This is about transformation—turning a war-torn region into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”

For decades, Gaza has been a symbol of despair, a playground for terror organizations, and a tragic headline generator. Trump’s proposal flips the script. Instead of perpetuating the misery, he’s envisioning a future where Gaza becomes a hub of economic growth, job creation, and stability. And honestly, it’s about time someone did.

The Details: Level, Rebuild, Prosper

Here’s the brilliance: Trump proposes the U.S. take long-term ownership of Gaza, dismantling unexploded bombs and dangerous debris, then leveling the area to start fresh. No more patchwork repairs. No more rebuilding just to see it destroyed again. This is a clean slate, a blank canvas to create something extraordinary.

Economic development will be at the heart of this transformation. Thousands of jobs, modern housing, and infrastructure that doesn’t double as a target for the next rocket attack. Trump isn’t just talking about peace through strength; he’s talking about peace through prosperity.

Netanyahu: A Partner in Vision

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was right there, nodding in agreement, praising Trump’s “outside-the-box” thinking. Let’s face it: Netanyahu knows a thing or two about Middle Eastern politics, and if he’s on board, it’s worth paying attention.

Netanyahu’s goal is clear: make sure Gaza never threatens Israel again. Trump’s plan doesn’t just align with that goal; it supercharges it. By removing the environment that breeds extremism—poverty, hopelessness, and perpetual conflict—Trump’s strategy addresses the root causes, not just the symptoms.

The Naysayers and Their Predictable Outrage

Of course, the usual suspects are up in arms. Saudi Arabia, France, China, and a chorus of left-wing critics are crying foul. “International law!” they wail. “Destabilization!” they warn. Please. These are the same geniuses who have been wringing their hands while the Middle East burned for decades.

Saudi Arabia insists they won’t normalize ties with Israel without a Palestinian state. Sure. But when Gaza transforms into a booming economic success story, let’s see how long they hold that line. Money talks louder than outdated rhetoric.

Hamas, predictably, called Trump’s plan “ridiculous and absurd.” Coming from a group that specializes in launching rockets at civilians, that’s almost a compliment. If Hamas hates it, it’s probably a good idea.

A New Middle East?

Here’s the thing: Trump’s plan isn’t just about Gaza. It’s a blueprint for a new Middle East. By replacing chaos with commerce, terror with trade, and despair with development, this strategy could trigger a domino effect across the region.

Imagine a Middle East where economic cooperation replaces ideological warfare. Where young people aspire to careers in tech, business, and innovation instead of martyrdom. That’s the world Trump is envisioning—and it’s one worth fighting for.

Final Thoughts

Trump’s Gaza plan is bold, ambitious, and exactly the kind of disruptive thinking the world needs. While his critics cling to their outdated playbooks, Trump is rewriting the rules. This isn’t just diplomacy; it’s leadership with vision.

Love him or hate him, Trump has once again proven that he’s not afraid to challenge the status quo. And who knows? This time, he might just change the world.

Category:

Tagged with:

Hamas OKs Draft Agreement of a Gaza Ceasefire, Release of Some Hostages

Tuesday, 14 January 2025 03:35 PM EST

Hamas has accepted a draft agreement for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of dozens of hostages, two officials involved in the talks said Tuesday. Mediators for the United States and Qatar said Israel and the Palestinian militant group were at the closest point yet to sealing a deal to bring them a step closer to ending 15 months of war.

The Associated Press obtained a copy of the proposed agreement, and an Egyptian official and a Hamas official confirmed its authenticity. An Israeli official said progress has been made, but the details are being finalized. All three officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the talks.

“I believe we will get a ceasefire,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a speech Tuesday, asserting it was up to Hamas. “It’s right on the brink. It’s closer than it’s ever been before,” and word could come within hours, or days.

The United States, Egypt and Qatar have spent the past year trying to mediate an end to the war and secure the release of dozens of hostages captured in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered it. Nearly 100 people are still captive inside Gaza, and the military believes at least a third are dead.

Any deal is expected to pause the fighting and bring hopes for winding down the most deadly and destructive war Israel and Hamas have ever fought, a conflict that has destabilized the Middle East and sparked worldwide protests. It would bring relief to the hard-hit Gaza Strip, where Israel’s offensive has reduced large areas to rubble and displaced around 90% of the population of 2.3 million, many at risk of famine.

If a deal is reached, it would not go into effect immediately. The plan would need approval from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Security Cabinet and then his full Cabinet. Both are dominated by Netanyahu allies and are likely to approve any proposal he presents.

Officials have expressed optimism before, only for negotiations to stall while the warring sides blamed each other. But they now suggest they can conclude an agreement ahead of the Jan. 20 inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, whose Mideast envoy has joined the negotiations.

Hamas said in a statement that negotiations had reached their “final stage.”

In the Oct. 7 attack, Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted another 250. Around half those hostages were freed during a brief ceasefire in November 2023. Of those remaining, families say, two are children, 13 are women and 83 are men.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed over 46,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were combatants.

Israeli strikes across Gaza overnight and into Tuesday killed at least 18 Palestinians, including two women and four children, according to local health officials, who said one woman was pregnant and the baby died as well.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Israel says it only targets militants and accuses them of hiding among civilians.

The three-phase agreement — based on a framework laid out by U.S. President Joe Biden and endorsed by the U.N. Security Council — would begin with the release of 33 hostages over a six-week period, including women, children, older adults and wounded civilians in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian women and children imprisoned by Israel.

Among the 33 would be five female Israeli soldiers, each to be released in exchange for 50 Palestinian prisoners, including 30 militants who are serving life sentences. The Israeli official said Israel assumes most of the 33 are alive.

During this 42-day phase, Israeli forces would withdraw from population centers, Palestinians could start returning to what remains of their homes in northern Gaza and there would be a surge of humanitarian aid, with some 600 trucks entering each day.

Details of the second phase still must be negotiated during the first. Those details remain difficult to resolve — and the deal does not include written guarantees that the ceasefire will continue until a deal is reached. That means Israel could resume its military campaign after the first phase ends.

The Israeli official said “detailed negotiations” on the second phase will begin during the first. He said Israel will retain some “assets” throughout negotiations, referring to a military presence, and would not leave the Gaza Strip until all hostages are home.

The three mediators have given Hamas verbal guarantees that negotiations will continue as planned and that they will press for a deal to implement the second and third phases before the end of the first, the Egyptian official said.

The deal would allow Israel throughout the first phase to remain in control of the Philadelphi corridor, the band of territory along Gaza’s border with Egypt, which Hamas had initially demanded Israel withdraw from. Israel would withdraw from the Netzarim corridor, a belt across central Gaza where it had sought a mechanism for searching Palestinians for arms when they return to the territory’s north.

In the second phase, Hamas would release the remaining living captives, mainly male soldiers, in exchange for more prisoners and the “complete withdrawal” of Israeli forces from Gaza, according to the draft agreement.

Hamas has said it will not free the remaining hostages without an end to the war and a complete Israeli withdrawal, while Netanyahu has vowed in the past to resume fighting until Hamas’ military and governing capabilities are eliminated.

Unless an alternative government for Gaza is worked out in those talks, it could leave Hamas in charge of the territory.

In a third phase, the bodies of remaining hostages would be returned in exchange for a three- to five-year reconstruction plan for Gaza under international supervision.

Blinken on Tuesday was making a last-minute case for a proposal for Gaza’s postwar reconstruction and governance that outlines how it could be run without Hamas in charge.

Israel and Hamas have come under renewed pressure to halt the war before Trump’s inauguration. Trump said late Monday a ceasefire was “very close.”

Thousands of Israelis rallied in Tel Aviv on Tuesday night in support of a deal they have long encouraged. “This is not about politics or strategy. It’s about humanity and the shared belief that no one should be left behind in darkness,” said a hostage released earlier from Gaza, Moran Stella Yanai.

But in Jerusalem, hundreds of hardliners marched against a deal, some chanting, “You don’t make a deal with the devil,” a reference to Hamas.

In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, families of Palestinian prisoners gathered as well. “I tell the mothers of the prisoners to put their trust in the almighty and that relief is near, God willing,” said the mother of one prisoner, Intisar Bayoud.

And inside Gaza, an exhausted Oday al-Halimy expressed hope from a tent camp for the displaced. “Certainly, Hamas will comply with the ceasefire, and Israel is not interested in opposing Trump or angering him,” he said.

A child born in Gaza on the first day of the war, Massa Zaqout, sat in pink pajamas in another tent camp, playing with toys. “We’re eagerly waiting for a truce to happen so we can live in safety and stability,” her mother, Rola Saqer, said.

Category:

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Flipboard

Tagged with:

Today’s Politically INCORRECT Cartoon by A.F. Branco

A.F. Branco Cartoon – New Flag, Eh?

A.F. Branco | on January 9, 2025 | https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-new-flag-eh/

Canada 51st State? — A Political Cartoon by A.F. Branco 2025

A.F. Branco Cartoon – There’s a lot of talk of Canada becoming a part of the United States. Is it just trolling, or is it a real feasible possibility? There are many Canadian citizens open to the idea after enduring the tyrannical rule of PM Justin Trudeau (Castro Jr).

Outgoing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Finally Responds to Trump’s ‘Vow’ to Make Canada the 51st State – Gets Roasted on X

Cullen Linebarger – The Gateway Pundit – Jan 7, 2025

As The Gateway Pundit’s Jordan Conradson reported, soon-to-be former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation as leader of his Liberal Party Monday morning during a news conference. He will remain Liberal leader and prime minister until his replacement is chosen in March.
This came following Trump’s vow last month to impose a 25% tariff on all products from Canada and Mexico in response to the “illegal alien invasion and ‘promising’ to ‘annex’ Canada as the 51st state. While Trudeau traveled to Mar-a-Lago to bend the knee to Trump on tariffs, he had noticeably remained silent on whether Canada should become another star on the American flag. READ MORE

Category:

HUMOR, International Politics

Tagged with:

With Trudeau on his Way Out, Can Canadians Get Their Free Speech Back?

By: Jonathan Turley | January 8, 2025

Below is my column in the Hill on the resignation of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his anti-free speech legacy. The collapse of free speech in Canada is a cautionary tale for Americans. It shows how Trudeau and the Liberal Party used faux rhetoric of tolerance and inclusion to justify intolerance and exclusion.

Here is the column:

With Justin Trudeau’s announcement that he will step down as prime minister, Canada is now looking for a new leader after a decade under his policies. The question is whether anyone will look for the remnants of Canadian free speech in the wreckage of the Trudeau government.

In my book “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage,” I write about the collapse of free speech in Canada under Trudeau.

Canada has long been a country caught between two influences: the United Kingdom and the United States. It has shared DNA with both nations. Unfortunately, it has largely followed the British approach in treating free speech more like a privilege than a right. That dubious tradition was magnified over the last decade by a wholesale attack on free speech deemed hostile, insulting or triggering for different groups. In many ways, Canada has been a cautionary tale for many in the U.S., as the same voices of censorship and criminalization grow on our campuses and in Congress.

Indeed, BlueSky, a social media site that offers a safe space for liberals who do not want to be triggered by opposing views, has apparently embraced Canadian-style standards for censorship as part of its pitch for those with viewpoint intolerance.

For over a decade, Trudeau has been the cheerful face of modern censorship. While exuding tolerance and inclusivity, he hammered critics with draconian measures and perfectly Orwellian soundbites. In the name of tolerance, he proudly proclaimed intolerance for opposing views.

Trudeau shows how speech codes and virtue signaling are now chic on the left. In a town hall event, Trudeau chastised a woman for asking a question that used the term “mankind” and instructed her, “We like to say ‘peoplekind’ … because it’s more inclusive.” (He later claimed he was joking. If so, many of his policies have the same punchline and are no joking matter.)

In many ways, Trudeau’s true colors emerged in his crackdown on the trucker protests opposing COVID-19 mandates in 2022, a campaign widely supported by an enabling media. Trudeau invoked the 1988 Emergencies Act for the first time to freeze bank accounts of truckers and contributions by other Canadian citizens, powers long condemned by civil liberties groups in Canada.

The anti-free speech apple did not fall far from the tree. It was Trudeau’s father, Pierre Trudeau, who as prime minister used the predecessor to the act for the first time in peacetime to suspend civil liberties.

Trudeau was widely criticized for his anti-free speech policies, including his move to amend the Criminal Code and the Canadian Human Rights Act to criminalize any “communication that expresses detestation or vilification of an individual or group of individuals on the basis of a prohibited ground of discrimination.”

It was used to prevent “social media platforms [from being] used to threaten, intimidate, bully and harass people, or used to promote racist, anti-Semitic, Islamophobic, misogynistic and homophobic views that target communities, put people’s safety at risk and undermine Canada’s social cohesion or democracy.”

Under Trudeau, human rights commissions became virtual speech commissars in Canada. A conservative webmaster was prosecuted for allowing third parties to leave insulting comments about gay people and minorities on the site. Federal Court Justice Richard Mosley insisted that “the minimal harm caused … to freedom of expression is far outweighed by the benefit it provides to vulnerable groups and to the promotion of equality.” Even a comedian was prosecuted for insulting jokes involving lesbians.

Recently, a Canadian mayor and a town were prosecuted for not hoisting an “LGBTQ2 rainbow flag” in celebration of Pride Month — even though they did not have a flagpole.

Despite crushing the trucker protests, the Canadian parliament extended Trudeau’s emergency powers to allow him to continue to harass and threaten those on the right. Despite broad opposition, the Liberal Party, the NDP and other allies were able to muster 181 votes to keep authoritarian powers alive in Canada. (The Canadian courts later, belatedly, declared the Trudeau powers unconstitutional).

Many of the same legislators would later push to increase the penalties for certain speech crimes to life imprisonment. One of the most tragically ironic moments for Canada came last year, when Trudeau’s government blocked the citizenship of Russian dissident Maria Kartasheva because she has a conviction in Russia. She had been tried in absentia by a judge sanctioned by Canada for her exercise of free speech in Russia in condemning the Ukrainian war. The Canadian government informed Kartasheva that her conviction in Russia aligns with a Criminal Code offense relating to false information in Canada.

Think about that. Canada was concerned because she violated anti-free speech laws that are similar to its own. The Russians convicted her of disseminating “deliberately false information,” and Canada convicts’ people under laws like Section 372(1) of the Criminal Code of Canada for efforts “to convey, cause, or procure to be conveyed false information with the intent to alarm or injure anyone.”

That is why some of us spit out our soup in 2022 when Trudeau’s government condemned Cuba for its own crackdown on protesters, claiming that “Canada strongly advocates for freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly free from intimidation.” Trudeau also condemned China for cracking down on protests over COVID-19, the very subject of his own crackdown on the truckers.

Yet Trudeau has been a darling of the Canadian and American press despite a disapproval rate of around 68 percent among Canadian citizens. The media clearly approves of his position that “freedom of expression is not without limits” when others seek “to arbitrarily or unnecessarily injure those with whom we are sharing a society and a planet.”

So the question is: Now that Trudeau is heading out, where do Canadians go to get their free speech back?

Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro professor of public interest law at George Washington University and the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.”

Category:

CANADA’S TRUDEAU ANNOUNCES RESIGNATION FOLLOWING PARTY PRESSURE AMID CRITICISMS OF TRUMP, BUDGET HANDLING

Tagged with:

Trump reacts to Trudeau resignation: ‘Many people in Canada LOVE being the 51st State’

By Greg Norman Fox News | Published January 6, 2025

President-elect Trump on Monday reiterated his suggestion that Canada should become the 51st U.S. state, just hours after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his plan to resign.

“Many people in Canada LOVE being the 51st State. The United States can no longer suffer the massive Trade Deficits and Subsidies that Canada needs to stay afloat. Justin Trudeau knew this, and resigned,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“If Canada merged with the U.S., there would be no Tariffs, taxes would go way down, and they would be TOTALLY SECURE from the threat of the Russian and Chinese Ships that are constantly surrounding them. Together, what a great Nation it would be!!!” he added.

Sources told Fox News in December that Trump brought up the merger idea to Trudeau in person when the pair met at Mar-a-Lago in late November.

trudeau-trump-mar-a-lago — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with President-elect Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Florida in late November to discuss topics like the economy, illegal immigration and a proposed 25% tariff. (Justin Trudeau X)

Trudeau jetted to Trump’s Florida residence unannounced that month after the president-elect threatened to impose sweeping tariffs on Canadian products. Trump is warning of 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico over failures by both nations to curb the flow of illegal immigrants and illicit drugs from those countries into the U.S.

“We discussed many important topics that will require both countries to work together to address, like the fentanyl and drug crisis that has decimated so many lives as a result of illegal immigration, fair trade deals that do not jeopardize American workers and the massive trade deficit the U.S. has with Canada,” Trump wrote on Truth Social at the time.

Trudeau announced earlier this morning that he will resign as prime minister and as the leader of Canada’s Liberal Party.

TRUMP PLANS TO ‘IMMEDIATELY’ REVERSE BIDEN’S ‘RIDICULOUS’ BAN ON NEW OIL AND GAS DRILLING ALONG US COAST

Trudeau announces resignation — Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks with media outside Rideau Cottage on Monday, Jan. 6, in Ottawa. (AP/Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

“I intend to resign as party leader, as Prime Minister, after the party selects its next leader through a robust nationwide competitive process,” Trudeau said in a Monday morning address. “Last night, I asked the president of the Liberal Party to begin that process. This country deserves a real choice in the next election, and it has become clear to me that if I’m having to fight internal battles, I cannot be the best option in that election.”

Trudeau, who has led Canada for nearly a decade, has been grappling for months with significant drops in his approval ratings over mounting frustration relating to issues like the soaring cost of living and rising inflation.

Trump speaks behind a microphone wearing a blue suit, white shirt and red tie — U.S. President-elect Donald Trump delivers remarks during a campaign rally at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre on Oct. 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on Canada. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

The long-time prime minister saw an increase in calls for his resignation — from at least seven Liberal Members of Parliament as well as opposition party leaders — following the abrupt departure of his finance minister, Chrystia Freeland, who wrote a scathing letter of resignation mentioning Trudeau’s handling of certain economic policies as well as the threats levied by Trump.

Fox News’ Michael Dorgan, Caitlin McFall and Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.

Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.

Category:

https://www.c-span.org/video/?c5145220/user-clip-president-biden-monitoring-hts-rescue-austin-tice

Tagged with:

BREAKING: CIA Whistleblower Reveals Biden Cover-up of Direct Energy Weapon Attacks

By Jimmy Parker | December 30, 2024

An Emmy-winning investigative journalist, Catherine Herridge, has released a bombshell interview with a CIA whistleblower, revealing that the Biden administration has covered up officers’ injuries from direct energy weapons used by foreign adversaries. The whistleblower bravely came forward to shed light on the truth, despite facing threats and intimidation from the CIA.

During the interview, Herridge asks the former intelligence officer if they were attacked, to which they answer with a resounding “yes.” The follow-up question, whether it was an energy weapon, is also met with confirmation. These shocking revelations are further proof of the Biden administration’s continued efforts to cover up the truth and prevent accountability.

The whistleblower shared that the intelligence community has actively thwarted Congress’ attempts to uncover the truth, displaying a clear government cover-up. They elaborated, “It’s a cover-up, and it’s terrifying. It should be terrifying for all Americans.” The gravity of this situation cannot be understated, and it is crucial that the American people demand transparency and accountability from their government.

When asked about the potential for change under a Trump/Vance administration, the whistleblower expressed hope but with hesitation. They stated, “I really hope so,” followed by a call for those involved in the earlier report to be held accountable and not be allowed to intervene in this matter.

WATCH

BREAKING: CIA Whistleblower Comes Forward

Former Intelligence Officer Claims Career Ending Injuries Caused By Foreign Directed Energy Weapon

Leaked Defense Department Letter Acknowledges Injuries and Experiences “Are Real”

“It’s a Cover Up…It Should Be Terrifying for All… pic.twitter.com/e9FgUwYmss
— Catherine Herridge (@C__Herridge) December 30, 2024

However, the CIA whistleblower’s bravery and determination to expose the truth are commendable, considering the risks they face in doing so. Their primary goal is to prevent more people from falling victim to these heinous attacks and urge Trump to take action if elected.

As the interview comes to a close, Herridge asks if the whistleblower has a final message for the American people. They respond, “I implore the American people to demand transparency and accountability from their government. We cannot let these attacks go unnoticed any longer.” Their powerful message serves as a call to action for all citizens to demand the truth and hold their government accountable.

BREAKING: A CIA whistleblower has come forward and revealed to Catherine Herridge that the agency covered up the source of an energy attack to gaslight its own agents

She is calling on President Trump to expose everything, "You know, the phrase cleaning up the swamp is thrown… pic.twitter.com/5QV494rTNN
— George (@BehizyTweets) December 30, 2024

This shocking interview has garnered widespread attention, shedding light on the government’s attempts to cover up the use of direct energy weapons by foreign adversaries on American officers. The implications of these revelations are enormous, and the American people need answers and accountability. Will a Trump/Vance administration bring about the change needed? Only time will tell.

This is all still very new so we may have to update you as new information comes out. Be sure to check back for those updates.

This is obviously very on-par for the Biden regime. Thank goodness the American people voted those bad apples out. I can only imagine what will unfold after the transfer of power takes place. You can almost bet, there will be more people to come forward.

h/t: Steadfast and Loyal

Category:

Crime, International Politics, Military, Political

Tagged with:

Sotomayor’s Headache: The United Kingdom Upholds Ban on Puberty-Blocking Drugs for Minors

By: Jonathan Turley | December 13, 2024

In the aftermath of the contentious Supreme Court arguments in United States v. Skrmetti over state bans on puberty blockers and gender-altering surgeries, the United Kingdom reaffirmed that it finds the risks far outweigh the benefits of such treatments for minors under the currently available scientific evidence. The move by the liberal Labour Party stands in sharp contrast with the portrayal of the Biden Administration and the treatment of the subject by the liberal justices. Justice Sonia Sotomayor was widely criticized for analogizing puberty-blocking drugs to taking aspirin. It appears that doctors in the UK are not ready to tell minors to just “take two puberty blockers and call me in the morning.”

UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting said last week, “Children’s health care must always be evidence-led. The independent expert Commission on Human Medicines found that the current prescribing and care pathway for gender dysphoria and incongruence presents an unacceptable safety risk for children and young people.”

The decision follows the release of the Cass Review, which was raised by the conservative justices as contradicting the factual representations of the Biden Administration, even leading Justice Samuel Alito to suggest that Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar and the government might not have fulfilled their duty of candor to the tribunal. He noted that the Cass study found scant evidence that the benefits of transgender treatment are greater than the risks. He then delivered the haymaker: “I wonder if you would like to stand by the statement in your position or if you think it would now be appropriate to modify that and withdraw your statement.”

🔥🔥🔥Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito presses Elizabeth Prelogar on the experimental nature of "gender-affirming care."

He's exposing the massive scandal of gender experiments on children.https://t.co/btX8lAG0LM pic.twitter.com/kQJsBT06Ud
— Tyler O'Neil (@Tyler2ONeil) December 4, 2024

Streeting cited significant doubts about the benefits of puberty blockers while noting the “significant risks” to children.

The government will allow puberty blockers to be administered to children in clinical trials. It is not clear if the Supreme Court will take “judicial notice” of the new decision, but it can.

In fairness to Sotomayor, she was trying to argue that all treatments have risks in making her aspirin analogy. Yet, the comment was taken as trivializing the alleged harm and trauma raised by many in this debate. These studies clearly show greater risks than those associated with aspirin. However, what the Biden Administration was arguing (and the liberal justices were seemingly supporting) is that states would be barred by the Court from reaching the same conclusion as the UK and other countries. Indeed, Streeting echoed what the states argued to the Supreme Court that the government must “act with caution and care when it comes to this vulnerable group of young people, and follow the expert advice.”

Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University. He is the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.”

Category:

Crime, Family, Health, International Politics, LGBTQ+ AND TRANSGENDER

Tagged with:

Biden: US monitoring Syrian rebel groups; raises concerns for Americans in Syria

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor | Sunday, December 08, 2024

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about the situation in Syria in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 8, 2024, following a crisis meeting to discuss the sudden overthrow by Islamist-led rebels of President Bashar al-Assad. | CHRIS KLEPONIS/AFP via Getty Images

President Joe Biden said the United States is monitoring rebel groups in Syria following the downfall of the Assad regime and is concerned for the safety of Americans living in the country.

In remarks given on Sunday afternoon, Biden addressed reports that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had fled Syria as rebel forces took over the capital of Damascus.

“At long last, the Assad regime has fallen,” Biden said. “This regime brutalized, tortured and killed hundreds of thousands of innocent Syrians. The fall of the regime is a fundamental act of justice. It’s a moment of historic opportunity for the long-suffering people of Syria.”

Biden acknowledged that there was much “uncertainty” facing Syria, noting that there is a chance that extremist Islamic groups might “take advantage” of the power vacuum to take over. Biden promised to continue military efforts against Islamic State elements in the country, to work with regional leaders to maintain stability, and “engage with all Syrian groups” to create “an independent sovereign Syria.”

“We will remain vigilant,” he continued. “Make no mistake: some of the rebel groups that took down Assad have their own grim record of terrorism and human rights abuses,” he added, likely referring to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and U.K., among other groups. In 2018, The U.S. imposed a $10 million bounty on the head of HTS’ leader, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, who has been designated as a terrorist since 2013.

“We’ve taken note of statements by the leaders of these rebel groups in recent days. They’re saying the right things now, but as they take on greater responsibility, we will assess not just their words, but their actions.”

Biden added that his administration was “mindful” that there were Americans present in Syria, including individuals who have been taken hostage, such as Austin Tice, a Marine-turned-journalist, who was abducted by jihadist militants over 12 years ago.

“It is now incumbent upon all the opposition groups to seek a role in governing Syria,” Biden added. “To demonstrate their commitment to the rights of all Syrians, the rule of law, and the protection of religious and ethnic minorities.”

Late Saturday night, after more than a decade of civil war, rebel forces successfully forced Assad to flee the country, ending around 50 years of his family ruling Syria as a dictatorship. Following Assad’s departure, crowds flooded the streets of Damascus, chanting “Allah is great” and shouting anti-Assad slogans, reported The Associated Press.

“My feelings are indescribable,” said Omar Daher, a 29-year-old lawyer, in comments given to the AP. “After the fear that [Assad] and his father made us live in for many years, and the panic and state of terror that I was living in, I can’t believe it.”

Despite the celebrations, some have expressed concern over the potential fallout from the regime collapse, especially for the nation’s vulnerable Christian community and other minority groups. Since the violence began in 2011, Syria’s native Christian population has declined considerably from around 10% of the country, or 1.5 million, to approximately 300,000 at present, reported Crux Now.

Follow Michael Gryboski on Twitter or Facebook

Category:

International Politics, Military, Political, War

Tagged with:

Trump Envoy Gets Early Start on Ceasefire Diplomacy

Wednesday, 04 December 2024 04:55, PM EST

Donald Trump’s incoming Middle East envoy traveled to Qatar and Israel to kick-start the President-elect’s diplomatic push to reach a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal before he takes office on Jan 20, a source briefed on the talks told Reuters.

Steve Witkoff, the incoming envoy, met separately in late November with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Qatar’s prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the source said. The meetings signal that the Gulf state of Qatar has resumed its role as a key mediator after suspending its role last month, the source said.

The Gulf country had worked alongside the U.S. and Egypt for months on fruitless indirect talks that have not achieved a lasting ceasefire between Israel and militant group Hamas in Gaza or the release of dozens of Israeli hostages held in the enclave. The source added that Hamas negotiators would likely return to the Qatari capital Doha to facilitate a fresh round of talks “soon.”

A U.S. official confirmed that Trump’s team has been in touch with Middle East officials.

“They are supportive of a Gaza ceasefire deal,” the official told Reuters.

Trump’s transition team and representatives for Witkoff did not immediately respond to a request for comment the meetings. The White House National Security Council did not immediately respond to questions on whether they were aware of Witkoff’s trips in recent weeks to Qatar and Israel.

Trump said on Monday there would be “hell to pay” in the Middle East if hostages held in the Gaza Strip were not released before his Jan. 20 inauguration

Witkoff, a real estate investor and Trump campaign donor with business ties to Qatar and other Gulf states, but no prior diplomatic experience, met Sheikh Mohammed, who also serves as foreign minister, in Doha on Nov 22.

“Both agreed a Gaza ceasefire is needed before Trump’s inauguration so that once the Trump administration takes office it can move onto other issues, like stabilizing Gaza and the region,” said the source, who had been briefed on meetings between Witkoff, Qatar and Israel and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Qatar’s foreign ministry did not respond to Reuters’ request for confirmation or comment.

Witkoff met Netanyahu in Israel the next day. The Israeli prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

Witkoff met families of Israeli hostages, an Israeli official told Reuters.

He “spoke with them about Team Trump’s efforts to try and broker the deal before inauguration,” the official said.

Sheik Mohammed traveled to Vienna on Nov 24 to meet the director of Israel’s Mossad spy agency David Barnea, who has led Israel’s talks with Qatar over the past 14 months.

“There are plans for a subsequent round of indirect talks between Israel and Hamas to take place potentially in Doha soon, but no specific date has been set,” the source said.

“Hamas’ negotiating team are likely to return to Doha to facilitate such talks.”

Qatar had been a key mediator of the indirect talks between Israel and Hamas until it announced last month it was suspending its role until they the two parties show “willingness and seriousness” to resume talks.

Category:

Foreign Policy, International Politics

Tagged with:

Expelliarmus!: HBO Delivers Blow Against the Anti-Rowling, Anti-Free Speech Movement

By: Jonathan Turley | November 22, 2024

This week, HBO delivered the corporate version of the Expelliarmus or disarming curse for the long-standing cancel campaign targeting “Harry Potter” creator J.K. Rowling. We have been discussing this campaign against Rowling, a feminist who has opposed transgender policies that she views as inimical to the rights of women. The cancel campaign against Rowling has been extreme and unhinged from blacklisting her books to even barring the playing of Harry Potter games in pubs. Even authors who support Rowling’s free speech have been targeted. Nevertheless, HBO, which has also been targeted in the past, is now saying enough. Rowling’s work will continue to be featured and developed by the company.

HBO has enraged the anti-Rowling movement by announcing that it will not yield and will continue to work with the author: “J.K. Rowling has a right to express her personal views. We will remain focused on the development of the new series, which will only benefit from her involvement.” It added that “her contribution has been invaluable.”

HBO has a new upcoming Potter series set to premiere on HBO’s Max streaming platform in 2026.

Both Harry Potter stars, Daniel Radcliffe, who played Harry Potter, and Emma Watson, who played Hermine Granger, have joined the criticism of Rowling. However, the criticism itself is not the primary problem, even if they unfairly characterize Rowlings’ actual statements. That is a use of their own free speech rights. However, the cancel campaigns are far more damaging for free speech, as I discuss in my book, The Indispensable Right.

The issue of cancel campaigns came up in my recent debate at Harvard Law School on free speech with Professor Randall Kennedy. Kennedy defended cancel campaigns as the exercise of free speech. There is no question that such campaigns involve the act of free speech as people rallying for or against viewpoints. However, the impact of such campaigns, particularly in higher education, is to limit the diversity of viewpoints and reinforce an orthodoxy on our campuses. It is not to express a view but to seek to silence an opposing view. It is the antithesis of free speech values in higher education.

It also has a damaging effect on an academic community. When students see faculty supporting the canceling of conservative, libertarian, or dissenting speakers, it is hardly an invitation to speak freely yourself in class.

The same is true for publishers. We have discussed companies discontinuing publication of Rowling’s work and both editors and writers joining blacklisting campaigns against her and others. We have even seen the embracing of book burning.

For the activists behind this massive cancel campaign, HBO’s announcement is nothing short of a corporate Cruciatus (torture) Curse. However, both the arts and free speech are the winners in Rowling’s continuing to produce and expand her legendary body of work.

*Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro professor of public interest law at George Washington University and the author of “**The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage*.”

Category:

Tagged with:

Great Britain Cracks Down on “Non-Crime Hate” Speech, Including Playground Taunts

By: Jonathan Turley | November 22, 2024

In my book, The Indispensable Right, I discuss how free speech is in a free fall in Great Britain, where officials continue to crack down on an ever-widening array of viewpoints. Some of these actions are designated as “non-crime hate” but are still the subject of law enforcement actions. According to the Daily Mail, they now include children who have been pulled in for calling other children schoolyard names like “retard” or saying that other children smell “like fish.”

According to the Daily Mail:

“A nine-year-old child is among the youngsters being probed by police over hate incidents… Officers recorded incidents against the child, who called a fellow primary school pupil a ‘retard’, and against two schoolgirls who said another student smelled ‘like fish.’ The youngsters were among multiple cases of children being recorded as having committed non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs), The Times discovered through freedom of information requests to police forces.”

“Non-crime hate” was introduced in 2014 as part of the Hate Crime Operational Guidelines. It is chilling in its ambiguity and scope. It only requires the perception of either a victim or a third party that a statement is motivated by hostility or prejudice based on a person’s race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or transgender identity.

The HCOG stresses, “The victim does not have to justify or provide evidence of their belief, and police officers or staff should not directly challenge this perception. Evidence of the hostility is not required.”

That guarantees the maximal level of investigation and documentation of speech incidents. The chilling effect on free speech is glacial.

For years, I have been writing about the decline of free speech in the United Kingdom and the steady stream of arrests:

A man was convicted for sending a tweet while drunk referring to dead soldiers.
Another was arrested for an anti-police t-shirt.
Another was arrested for calling the Irish boyfriend of his ex-girlfriend a “leprechaun.”
Yet another was arrested for singing “Kung Fu Fighting.”
A teenager was arrested for protesting outside of a Scientology center with a sign calling the religion a “cult.”
Last year, Nicholas Brock, 52, was convicted of a thought crime in Maidenhead, Berkshire. The neo-Nazi was given a four-year sentence for what the court called his “toxic ideology” based on the contents of the home he shared with his mother in Maidenhead, Berkshire.

While most of us find Brock’s views repellent and hateful, they were confined to his head and his room. Yet, Judge Peter Lodder QC dismissed free speech or free thought concerns with a truly Orwellian statement: “I do not sentence you for your political views, but the extremity of those views informs the assessment of dangerousness.”

Lodder lambasted Brock for holding Nazi and other hateful values:

“[i]t is clear that you are a right-wing extremist, your enthusiasm for this repulsive and toxic ideology is demonstrated by the graphic and racist iconography which you have studied and appeared to share with others…”

Even though Lodder agreed that the defendant was older, had limited mobility, and “there was no evidence of disseminating to others,” he still sent him to prison for holding extremist views. After the sentencing, Detective Chief Superintendent Kath Barnes, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing Southeast (CTPSE), warned others that he was going to prison because he “showed a clear right-wing ideology with the evidence seized from his possessions during the investigation….We are committed to tackling all forms of toxic ideology which has the potential to threaten public safety and security.”

Great Britain is now turning, it appears, to their children in speech crackdowns. Schoolyard taunts can be investigated by officers. The impact on both parents and children will obviously be immense. It adds a coercive element to speech laws. Given the subjective and vague standard, the response is to self-censor to avoid any such accusations. Raising children in such an environment will only erode free speech values. Indeed, it fosters the type of speech-phobic generation that many activists may welcome. Speech is viewed as dangerous and subject to continual monitoring by the state.

Stopping some kid from using a playground taunt will do little to instill mutual respect, but it will instill fear over how the state may respond to your words. It is a lesson that many in the free speech community may relish but one that most citizens should reject. “Non-crime hate” investigations are meant to maintain a constant sense of oversight and monitoring of speech, even with our children.

Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro professor of public interest law at George Washington University and the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.”

Category:

Tagged with:

Biden Met 3 Times With Leader of Genocidal Regime

By: Terence Jeffrey | November 20, 2024

President Joe Biden waves to onlookers while he greets Chinese President Xi Jinping before a meeting. Both men are dressed in dark suits and dark ties. — President Joe Biden greets Chinese President Xi Jinping before a meeting during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders’ Week in Woodside, California, on Nov. 15, 2023. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

President Joe Biden met last week for the third time with Chinese President Xi Jinping—the leader of a regime Biden’s own administration has repeatedly declared is engaging in genocide. No White House statement about any of these three meetings has indicated that Biden specifically made this genocide an issue with Xi.

The day before Biden was inaugurated, as this column has noted before, then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared that the People’s Republic of China was engaging in genocide against the Uyghur people in China’s Xinjiang region.

“After careful examination of the available facts, I have determined that the PRC [People’s Republic of China], under the direction and control of the CCP [Chinese Communist Party], has committed genocide against the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang,” Pompeo said. “I believe this genocide is ongoing, and that we are witnessing the systematic attempt to destroy Uyghurs by the Chinese party-state.”

“The United States has worked exhaustively to pull into the light what the Communist Party and General Secretary Xi Jinping wish to keep hidden through obfuscation, propaganda, and coercion,” he said.

Two months later, Biden’s State Department issued its report on human rights in China in 2020. “Genocide and crimes against humanity occurred during the year against the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang,” it said.

“These crimes were continuing,” it said.

In April 2022, Biden’s State Department released its report on human rights in China in 2021. It reiterated that “genocide and crimes against humanity” were occurring in Xinjiang. In November 2022, Biden held his first summit with Xi in Bali, Indonesia.

“I’m really glad to be able to see you again in person,” Biden told Xi in public remarks at the opening of the summit. “We spent a lot of time together and—back in the days when we were both vice presidents, and it’s just great to see you.”

Biden also expressed gratitude to this leader of a genocidal regime for having congratulated him on his election. “You were kind enough to call me to congratulate me, and I congratulate you as well,” Biden told Xi.

“So, President Xi, I look forward to our continuing and ongoing open and honest dialogue we’ve always had,” said Biden.

A “readout” on this meeting published by the White House after it was over did mention that Xinjiang had been an issue—but it did not specifically cite the genocide taking place there. “President Biden raised concerns about PRC [People’s Republic of China] practices in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong, and human rights more broadly,” it said. Four months later, in March 2023, the State Department released its report on human rights in China in 2022. It once again cited the “genocide and crimes against humanity” in Xinjiang.

In November 2023, Biden and Xi held their second summit in Woodside, California.

“Well, Mr. President, it’s good to see you again,” Biden told Xi at the beginning of the summit.

“And to host you in the United States is a great honor and a pleasure,” Biden said.

The White House “readout” noted that Biden once again mentioned Xinjiang and “human rights abuses”—but it did not specifically cite the genocide. Biden “raised concerns regarding PRC [People’s Republic of China] human rights abuses, including in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong,” it said.

Five months later, the State Department released its report on human rights in China in 2023. Its first sentence said: “Genocide and crimes against humanity occurred during the year in China against predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and members of ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang.”

This Nov. 16, Biden met with Xi in Lima, Peru. “It’s good to see you and see all of you again,” Biden told Xi in his opening public statement. “You know, one year ago, we met in the Woodside Summit in San Francisco. And I’m very proud of the progress we’ve both made together.” In the readout published by the White House after this summit, there was an unspecific reference to human rights—but not genocide. “The president noted the importance of human rights and the responsibility of all nations to respect their human rights commitments,” it said.

From January 2021, the month Biden was inaugurated, through September 2024, the latest month for which the numbers are available from the Census Bureau, the United States imported approximately $1.79 trillion in goods from China—while running a bilateral trade deficit of approximately $1.23 trillion.

Former President Donald Trump said in an interview with Fox News in February that if he were elected to another term, he would seek to impose tariffs on Chinese imports that may exceed 60%.

Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, whom President-elect Trump has now named to be his secretary of state, sent out a message on X in August: “Communist China has been able to get away with a campaign of widespread evil,” he said. “From committing acts of genocide against religious and ethnic groups, to spearheading forced sterilization and abortions, as well as dominating crucial minerals and technologies, and impeding the sovereignty of several regional partners, the U.S. will not tolerate these practices.”

Now, Rubio has the opportunity to lead U.S. policy on China in the right direction.

Category:

Tagged with:

Are UK Labor Party and Harris Campaign Headed for Legal Jeopardy?

By: Hans von Spakovsky | October 18, 2024

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks Sept. 12 at a campaign rally in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Moneymaker/Getty Images)

The United Kingdom’s Labor Party and Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign may be marching into the same legal jeopardy as the Australian Labor Party and Bernie Sanders’ campaign for president did in 2016: violating federal law that bans foreigners from financial involvement in American political campaigns.

Various news sources report that Sofia Patel, head of operations for the Labor Party in the U.K., is recruiting members to campaign for Harris in swing states such as North Carolina, Nevada, and Pennsylvania.

As a former member of the Federal Election Commission, the agency responsible for civil enforcement of federal campaign finance laws, I can tell you that the law on this is quite clear: 52 U.S.C. § 30121 prohibits any foreign national from making “a contribution or donation of money or other thing of value” in connection with a federal, state, or local election.

As the FEC’s website explains, that ban doesn’t prevent a foreigner from participating in “campaign activities as an uncompensated volunteer” although even as a volunteer, the foreigner cannot “participate in the decision-making process of the campaign.” But this also means that if the members of the U.K. Labor Party who are interfering in our 2024 election process aren’t really volunteers, then Patel, her party, and the Harris campaign are potentially in a lot of trouble.

If Patel and the Labor Party are paying any expenses for party members, including travel costs to get to the U.S. or any kind of salary or stipend, then they are violating the law. And if the Harris campaign accepts their help, then the campaign also is violating the law. That is exactly what happened in 2016 to the Australian Labor Party and Sanders’ campaign for the U.S. presidency.

As the 2018 agreement to settle the enforcement action (MUIR 7035) filed by the FEC against the Labor Party explains, the Sanders campaign accepted “seven delegates” from the Aussies to work in four locations. These individuals were part of “an international program that sends delegates around the world to engage with progressive, social democratic, and Labor parties,” the document says. The so-called volunteers not only had travel expenses covered by the Australian Labor Party, but they also received a stipend from the party. In other words, they were being paid by the Australian Labor Party to work for the Sanders campaign. Those payments constituted a “prohibited in-kind foreign national contribution in violation of” federal law, as the settlement agreement outlines.

The Australian Labor Party claimed that the purpose of the program “was to learn best practices and skills in progressive policy and campaign development” and that the party “did not intend to influence any election.” That claim obviously doesn’t pass the laugh test.

In order to settle the case, the Australian Labor Party agreed to pay a civil penalty to the FEC of $14,500 and to “cease and desist” from violating federal law. The Sanders campaign— “without admitting liability”—agreed to pay a similar civil penalty of $14,500 and to stop violating the law. Why? Because it is also a violation of the law for a campaign to accept a foreign financial donation or in-kind contribution. By accepting the assistance of foreign-paid staffers, the Sanders campaign broke federal law.

By the way, even if the U.K. Labor Party were to work independently of the Harris campaign without any coordination or communications between them, it still potentially would violate the law. An FEC regulation, 11 CFR 110.20, explains that foreign nationals also are banned from making any “independent expenditure, or disbursement in connection with any federal, state, or local election.”

It seems a bit far-fetched to believe that the U.K. Labor Party would send “volunteers” to the U.S. without paying their way, or that these volunteers would know what to do in a foreign country without any communications or coordination with the campaign they are here to assist. But even if that is true and the foreign nationals are engaging only in independent campaign expenditures, they are still breaking the law. In any event, the U.K. Labor Party is going down a dangerous road that may result in legal action against it.

Apparently, the party hasn’t learned the lesson from its brethren in Australia, who discovered that interfering in a U.S. election has consequences. Patel, as the party’s operations chief, might want to give the Aussies a call.

The Harris campaign should publicly reject this assistance and inform the U.K. Labor Party that its members aren’t welcome to play in American politics. Otherwise, the vice president’s campaign will be saying that it welcomes foreign interference in our election process—as long as it’s progressive interference that helps Harris’ side of the political aisle.

Hans von Spakovsky is a senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation, but Heritage is named in this commentary for identification purposes only. The views expressed are the author’s own and don’t reflect an institutional position either for Heritage or its Board of Trustees.

Category:

International Politics, Islamic News

Tagged with:

How We Got Here: Antisemitism and an Emboldened Iran

By: Virginia Allen | October 07, 2024

Students participate in a pro-Palestine protest at Columbia University in New York City, Nov. 15, 2023. (Spencer Platt via Getty Images)

One year after the deadliest day in Jewish history since the Holocaust, 3.5 million American Jews say they have experienced antisemitism, according to a recent study.

“One out of every five American Jewish children have experienced antisemitism since Oct. 7,” EJ Kimball, director of Christian engagement at Combat Antisemitism Movement, said during an event at The Heritage Foundation on Monday to mark the anniversary of Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel.

Kimball, a father of two, said both his children have experienced antisemitism at school in the past year. According to the survey, which was conducted by Dr. Ira Sheskin of the University of Miami and commissioned by Combat Antisemitism Movement, 61% of American Jews report feeling less safe since the terrorist attack a year ago.

Hamas terrorists killed about 1,200 people, mostly Israelis, on Oct. 7, and another 250 were taken hostage. Today, 93 Israelis are still being held hostage in Gaza, including four Americans with dual citizenship.

Kimball and several other experts in the field of combating antisemitism addressed the circumstances that led to Oct. 7 and the swift rise in anti-Jewish sentiment on college campuses during Monday’s event.

How Hamas Was Able to Carry Out Oct. 7

While Hamas carried out the deadly terrorist attack, Iran sponsored it, according to Fred Fleitz, vice chair of Center for American Security at the America First Policy Institute.

“Iran is the head of the snake,” Fleitz said during a panel discussion. “Iran is funding Hamas and Hezbollah and the Houthi rebels and Shiite militias in Syria and Iraq.”

Iran had the money to fund the attack at least in part because the U.S. government gave Iran access to billions of dollars as part of a prisoner exchange and the Biden administration “ignored all the sanctions that were introduced in the previous administration, allowing [Iran to sell] oil in the market and other business activities, allowing Iran to earn another $50 to $100 billion,” according to Mort Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America.

“The reserves went from $4 billion to $100 billion, enabling them to fund and arm Hamas and Hezbollah,” added Klein.

But Iran’s financial favor was not the only circumstance that led to Oct. 7. In 2005, all Israeli settlements in the Gaza strip were dismantled and “that was a terrible mistake,” according to Klein. In 2007, Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip. Hamas was also able to carry out the attack a year ago because of “Biden pressuring Israel to give work permits to Gaza civilians,” Klein said.

“These innocent Gaza civilians gave Hamas the routes, maps where the kindergartens were, where the schools are, the residents in each home, so they knew exactly what they were doing,” he said.

Israel should have also created a “buffer zone” between Israel and Gaza, Klein argued, adding that Israel may have missed an opportunity to destroy Hamas in 2021 after Hamas fired missiles at Israel. The Jewish state did respond, but the U.S. encouraged Israel to limit its response, which it did.

America has also given funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, which, according to Klein, “teaches hate and violence to Arabs.”

The United States is “in part responsible for Hamas remaining strong and remaining really in existence,” Klein said.

Why Did Pro-Palestine Protests Break Out So Quickly After Oct. 7?

The bodies of dead Israelis were hardly cold following the Oct. 7 attack when pro-Palestine protests broke out on college campuses in the U.S.

“One day after that attack, these individuals started coming out and protesting Israel’s right to defend itself right here in the heart of America,” Jonathan Schanzer, senior vice president of research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said during Monday’s event.

The individuals Schanzer is referring to are not so much the students protesting at Columbia University and other schools, but a group known as American Muslims for Palestine.

American Muslims for Palestine is “the group that incubated, funded, and directed Students for Justice in Palestine,” Schanzer said. Students for Justice in Palestine has organized many of the pro-Palestine campus protests over the past year.

“And, of course, we see people showing up at each one of these things—adults that have no business being on campus—and you’ve got to start to ask yourself, why?” Schanzer said.

Kimball says there has been a “colossal failure from leadership” on college campuses to call out antisemitism. The Combat Antisemitism Movement director contends that there should be consequences for students who participate in these “pro-genocidal protests” because “most of them have no idea what they’re even doing. They’re being used [and] manipulated.”

Category:

Tagged with:

Fears of Wider War in Middle East Grow as Israel, Iran Trade Threats

Wednesday, 02 October 2024 03:01 PM EDT

The Middle East moved closer to a long-feared regional war Wednesday, a day after Iran fired a barrage of missiles at Israel and Israel said it began limited ground incursions into Lebanon targeting the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia. Israel said it intercepted many of the missiles, and officials in Washington said U.S. destroyers assisted in Israel’s defense. Iran said most of its missiles hit their targets. There have been no reports of casualties.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed late Tuesday to retaliate against Iran, which he said, “made a big mistake tonight and it will pay for it.” An Iranian commander threatened wider strikes on infrastructure if Israel retaliates. U.S. President Biden said Wednesday that he would not support an Israeli attack targeting Iran’s nuclear program.

The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting for Wednesday to address the spiraling conflict.

Israel said Wednesday that eight of its soldiers have been killed in combat in southern Lebanon.

Israel and Hezbollah have traded fire across the Lebanon border almost daily since the day after Hamas’ cross-border attack on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 Israelis and took 250 others hostage. Israel declared war on the militant group in the Gaza Strip in response. More than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in the territory, and just over half the dead have been women and children, according to local health officials.

Direct hit

At least one aircraft hangar at a key Israeli military air base appears to have taken a direct hit during a massive barrage of Iranian missiles, according to a satellite image analyzed by The Associated Press. Images of the Nevatim air base in southern Israel on Wednesday show a large hole blown in the roof of a row of buildings near the main runway. Large pieces of debris can be seen spread around the building.

Israel’s military did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the satellite images.

Nevatim is home to the Israeli Air Force’s most advanced aircraft, including U.S.-produced F-35 Lightening II stealth fighter jets. It is not clear from the satellite imagery whether any aircraft were in the hanger when it was struck. Nevatim also sustained light damage during an Iranian missile and drone attack in April.

Lebanon weighs in

Lebanon’s U.N. ambassador says his government rejects the war between Israel and Hezbollah militants in the country. Hadi Hachem told an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council Wednesday that the government wants the enforcement of a U.N. Security Council resolution that was supposed to end the last Israel-Hezbollah war in 2006. It called for all armed groups, including Hezbollah, to be disarmed and the deployment of Lebanese forces to the southern border with Israel. None of this has happened.

The Lebanese ambassador said fully implementing the resolution is the only solution to the ongoing war and Israel’s “barbaric aggression.” He said Lebanon is opening enlistment for 1,500 new soldiers to strengthen the national army’s presence in the south.

“Lebanon today is stuck between the Israeli destruction machine and the ambitions of others in the region,” Hachem said, alluding to Iran’s support for Hezbollah.

Americans flee

The State Department says about 100 American citizens and family members have left Lebanon on a flight contracted with a commercial airline. Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Wednesday that the flight to Istanbul was not a charter flight but also was not on the Lebanese national carrier Middle East Airlines, which is the only commercial airline flying scheduled flights in and out of Beirut. Since Sept. 28, MEA has made about 800 seats on its flights out of Beirut available for American citizens, but Miller could not say how many had taken those MEA flights.

He said some 6,000 American citizens have now asked for information from the U.S. Embassy in Beirut on how they might be able to leave the country, although only a small fraction of those have asked for actual assistance.

Escape to Syria

Thousands of Syrians and Lebanese continue to pour into Syria to escape Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon. On Wednesday, an Associated Press team saw hundreds crowding the Jousieh border crossing, one of several points of entry into Syria. The crossing is around 30 kilometers (18 miles) from Syria’s central city of Homs, where many said they were headed. Most of those waiting to enter Syria were from eastern Lebanon’s city of Baalbek and surrounding areas, which have been hard hit by Israeli airstrikes in recent days. The militant group Hezbollah has a strong presence in that region, but many of those killed and wounded have been civilians. Some came from as far as the southern suburbs of Beirut.

Ola Hallaq, her husband and two kids were among those waiting to be processed. Originally from Homs, she fled Syria at the start of the civil war in 2011 and settled in Baalbek. Now, as Israel pounds eastern Lebanon, the family is returning home despite the uncertainty and lack of income.

“I’m returning to my country because of the war … there was so much destruction all around,” she said.

Dabbah Mashaal, an official at the crossing, said 10,000 displaced Syrians and 7,700 Lebanese have crossed the border in recent days.

UN Ire

The United Nations says Israel’s ban on Secretary-General Antonio Guterres entering the country is a “political statement.” U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters Wednesday that Foreign Minister Israel Katz saying Guterres is “persona non grata” is “one more attack on the United Nations staff that we’ve seen from the government of Israel.”

Katz accuses Guterres of being biased against Israel, and says he never condemned Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks on southern Israel. Israel also claims staff from the U.N. aid agency helping Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, are Hamas members who participated in the Oct. 7 attacks.

Dujarric countered that Guterres has repeatedly condemned the Hamas attacks and sexual violence, and stressed that the U.N. still engages with Israel “at the operational level and other levels.”

JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. — President Joe Biden says he will not support an Israeli attack on sites related to Tehran’s nuclear program.

“The answer is no,” Biden said Wednesday, when asked if he would support such retaliation after Iran fired about 180 missiles at Israel on Tuesday. Biden’s comments came after he and fellow Group of Seven leaders spoke by phone on Wednesday to discuss coordinating new sanctions against Iran. The White House said in a statement that the G7 leaders “unequivocally condemned Iran’s attack against Israel” and Biden reiterated the United States’ “full solidarity and support to Israel and its people.”

All the while, the administration has signaled that it’s urging that Israel display restraint in how it responds to Tuesday’s missile attack, which Biden said was “ineffective and defeated.”

Hamas claims responsibility

Hamas’ military wing has claimed responsibility for a mass shooting in Tel Aviv that left seven people dead and wounded 16 more. It said the two attackers, Mohammed Mesek and Ahmed Himouni, were its militants who hailed from the southern West Bank city of Hebron. Israeli police said the two opened fire Tuesday evening in the Jaffa neighborhood of Tel Aviv, including shooting directly into a light rail carriage crowded with passengers that was stopped at a station. Police said the pair were shot and killed by security guards and armed pedestrians.

The attack came moments before Iran launched a massive barrage of rockets towards Israel, sending people into bomb shelters across the country.

It remains unclear how the two men entered Israel from the West Bank. Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, is active in various cities and refugee camps in the West Bank.

On Wednesday, locals left flowers and candles at the train stop, where bullet holes peppered the signs and benches.

Maya Brandwine said she was at a coffee shop on the street when the shooting broke out. During the subsequent Iranian missile attack, she took cover in a bomb shelter as police swept for suspects.

“It’s a nightmare, and we’re starting to get used to it,” she said, blaming the policies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir for the violence.

Category:

LIVE UPDATES: ISRAEL ORDERS LEBANON EVACUATIONS AS LIMITED GROUND OPERATION AGAINST HEZBOLLAH IS UNDERWAY

Tagged with:

Iran attack on Israel ‘ineffective’ but a ‘significant escalation’: White House

By Michael Dorgan Fox News | Published October 1, 2024, 3:40pm EDT

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan says that the Iranian missile attack on Israel was “defeated and ineffective”, and that the U.S. military coordinated with the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to repel the strikes. Iran launched nearly 200 ballistic missiles towards targets in Israel on Tuesday, Sullivan said at a Tuesday White House briefing, noting the move was a “significant escalation.”

The strikes were in response to the deaths of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders, Iran says. The move comes after weeks of Israeli strikes against Tehran’s proxies in the region.

Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets — Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets, as seen from Ashkelon, Israel, on Oct. 1, 2024. (REUTERS/Amir Cohen)

Sullivan said no deaths were reported on the Israeli side, although the White House is monitoring the reported death of a Palestinian civilian in Jericho in the West Bank.

“U.S. naval destroyers joined Israeli Air Defense units in firing interceptors to shoot down inbound missiles. President Biden and Vice President Harris monitored the attack and the response from the White House Situation Room, joined in person and remotely by their national security team,” Sullivan said.

“We do not know of any damage to aircraft or strategic military assets in Israel. In short, based on what we know at this point, this attack appears to have been defeated and ineffective. The word fog of war was invented for a situation like this. This is a fluid situation.”

Many missiles were intercepted by Israel’s missile defense systems, while others did hit the ground. The Pentagon says the U.S. fired approximately 12 interceptors against Iranian missiles.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan speaking — National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan says that the Iranian missile attack on Israel was “defeated and ineffective” and that the U.S. military coordinated with the IDF to repel the strikes. (Fox News)

PENTAGON SENDING A ‘FEW THOUSAND’ PERSONNEL TO MIDDLE EAST DAY AFTER BIDEN SAID HE WOULDN’T ADD COMBAT TROOPS

“This is a significant escalation by Iran, a significant event, and it is equally significant that we were able to step up with Israel and create a situation in which no one was killed in this attack in Israel… We are now going to look at what the appropriate next steps are to secure, first and foremost, American interests and then to promote stability to the maximum extent possible as we go forward,” Sullivan said.

He said the U.S. will consult with the Israelis on next steps in terms of response and how to deal with the Iranian attack.

The White House is particularly focused on protecting U.S. service members in the region and implored American citizens in Lebanon to follow the State Department’s guidance of finding civilian commercial means to leave the country, Sullivan said.

Rockets fly in the sky, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, as seen from Tel Aviv, Israel, on Oct. 1, 2024. (REUTERS/Ammar Awad)

Sullivan also expressed his condolences to the victims who were killed in a shooting in the Israeli city of Jaffa, located near Tel Aviv on Tuesday. At least eight people were killed and at least seven injured, local officials have told Fox News. The incident, which is believed to be a terror attack, took place Tuesday outside a newly built light rail station on Jerusalem Street. Authorities say at least two individuals who opened fire on a crowd of people have been neutralized.

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had warned citizens to shelter in place and follow instructions from the Home Front Command as the Jewish State’s Iron Dome anti-missile defense system worked to intercept the incoming rockets on Tuesday.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said this latest barrage of missiles is in retaliation for the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut, Lebanon, in an Israeli airstrike late last week and the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July, according to Fox News Chief Foreign Correspondent Trey Yingst.

Jaffa Shooting Terrorism Israel — A gunshot victim is transported away from the scene of the shooting Tuesday. Emergency responders have reported multiple deaths as well as more victims in critical condition. (Gideon Markowicz/TPS-IL)

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard warned in a statement released by Iranian state media that if Israel responds to the missile barrage, “it will face crushing attacks.” A senior White House official told Fox News earlier Tuesday morning that Iran was preparing to “imminently” launch a ballistic missile attack against Israel.

While White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre did not directly answer when asked if the United States had a heads-up from Iran about the strike ahead of time, Fox News was told by the Pentagon that they were “not aware of any pre-warning by Iran.”

Fox News’ Stephen Sorace, Liz Friden, Timothy H.J. Nerozzi, Trey Yingst and Yonat Friling contributed to this report.

Michael Dorgan is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business.

You can send tips to michael.dorgan@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @M_Dorgan.

Category:

International Politics, Military, War

Tagged with:

Iran Fires Nearly 200 Ballistic Missiles at Israel

By: Virginia Allen | October 01, 2024

Missile falls from the sky — Israel intercepts an Iranian ballistic missiles near the northern city of Baqa al-Gharbiya, Oct. 1. (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images)

Sirens sounded all over Israel Tuesday night as ballistic missiles flared overhead. Millions of Israelis were directed to hide in bomb shelters while at least 180 Iranian projectiles entered Israeli airspace.

Iranian missiles are striking in Israel pic.twitter.com/bg23N8Xj0q
— Harrison Krank (@HarrisonKrank) October 1, 2024

Israel’s Iron Dome intercepted most of the missiles, but some managed to get through and hit locations in central and southern Israel, according to the Israel Defense Forces. Two U.S. Navy destroyers aided Israel in the attack and fired about 12 interceptors against the missiles, according to the Pentagon.

Iran carried out a similar missile attack against Israel in April. Most of the missiles were shot down, but an air base in southern Israel did sustain minor damage. After the spring attack, President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “take the win.”

Biden said Tuesday that he and Vice President Kamala Harris “convened our national security team to discuss Iranian plans to launch an imminent missile attack against Israel. We discussed how the United States is prepared to help Israel defend against these attacks and protect American personnel in the region.”

This morning, @VP and I convened our national security team to discuss Iranian plans to launch an imminent missile attack against Israel.

We discussed how the United States is prepared to help Israel defend against these attacks, and protect American personnel in the region.
— President Biden (@POTUS) October 1, 2024

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that the U.S. is “committed to Israel’s defense,” but did not give specifics. Iran’s attack came in response to Israel killing multiple terrorist leaders in recent days and weeks, including Hamas and Hezbollah leaders.

Iran called its missile attack on Israel a “legal, rational, and legitimate response to the terrorist acts of the Zionist regime—which involved targeting Iranian nationals and interests and infringing upon the national sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

Iran’s legal, rational, and legitimate response to the terrorist acts of the Zionist regime—which involved targeting Iranian nationals and interests and infringing upon the national sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran—has been duly carried out. Should the Zionist regime…
— I.R.IRAN Mission to UN, NY (@Iran_UN) October 1, 2024

Iran warned Israel and its allies: “Should the Zionist regime dare to respond or commit further acts of malevolence, a subsequent and crushing response will ensue. Regional states and the Zionists’ supporters are advised to part ways with the regime.”

There were no immediate reports of deaths in Israel following the attack, but at least six people were killed in a shooting in Tel Aviv during the rocket attack. Police neutralized the attackers and say it was an act of terrorism.

The Pentagon is discussing next steps with Israel.

Category:

International Politics, Military, War

Tagged with:

Bretxit: Notorious EU Anti-Free Speech Figure Thierry Breton Resigns in a Huff

By: Jonathan Turley | September 17, 2024

We have previously discussed Thierry Breton, the European Union commissioner who has been an unabashed leader of the anti-free speech movement in Europe. Breton has threatened Elon Musk and others over the lack of censorship, including allowing candidates like former president Donald Trump to speak freely on his platform. For free speech advocates, Breton’s sudden and unexpected demise was reminiscent of the scene in the Wizard of Oz. Despite pledging to get Musk and his little platform too, Breton seemed to melt away faster than Margaret Hamilton after being hit with a bucket of water.

Call it Bretxit. The resignation of Breton came after reported tensions in the European Union and specifically with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Breton lashed out at von der Leyen and all of the EU munchkins. “You asked France to withdraw my name – for personal reasons that in no instance you have discussed directly with me – and offered, as a political trade-off, an allegedly more influential portfolio for France in the future College.”

According to Deadline, his unilateral action against Musk may have been the final straw for Breton who fulfilled the worst image of an imperial, arrogant EU bureaucrat.

The departure of such an vehemently anti-free speech figure is obviously welcomed by many in the free speech community. However, we should not have any delusions. The EU remains committed to an anti-free speech agenda and using the Digital Services Act to force greater censorship around the world.

Ursula von der Leyen is no free speech advocate. Many of our own anti-free speech figures have found a willing partner in the EU.

Notably, after Musk purchased Twitter, Hillary Clinton called upon European officials to force him to censor American citizens under the infamous Digital Services Act (DSA). Recently, Democratic leaders like Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison praised Brazil for its action to prevent citizens from having access to unfettered news sources.

Bretxit will not end or even slow this movement. Breton’s public chest pounding was an embarrassment for the EU, but not because they disagreed with his censorship agenda. They simply disagreed with his drawing so much attention to their censorship efforts.

As for Musk’s defiance, Breton seemed surprised by his melting away and could almost be heard to say “You cursed brat! Look what you’ve done! I’m melting! Melting! Oh, what a world, what a world! Who would have thought a good little [CEO] like you could destroy my beautiful wickedness!”

Indeed, it is a better world.

Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University. He is the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage” (Simon & Schuster).

Category:

Free Speech, International Politics, Law

Tagged with:

The Blair Witch Project: Former Prime Minister Calls for Global Censorship

By: Jonathan Turley | September 9, 2024

In the 1999 cult classic The Blair Witch Project, one character tells his friends “I could help you, but I’d rather stand here and record.” For free speech advocates, we often feel that other citizens have become passive observers as an anti-free speech movement grows around us, threatening our “indispensable right.”

One of the most infamous figures in this movement has been former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who has long been the smiling face of censorship. As the head of the Labour Party, Blair pushed through some of the early crackdowns on free speech in the United Kingdom. He is now calling for global censorship to expand these efforts.

In an interview on LBC Radio, Blair declared:

“The world is going to have to come together and agree on some rules around social media platforms. It’s not just how people can provoke hostility and hatred, but I think… the impact on young people particularly when they’ve got access to mobile phones very young, and they are reading a whole lot of stuff and receiving a whole lot of stuff that I think is really messing with their minds in a big way.”

We recently discussed how the UK is already using recent rioting to crackdown further on those with opposing or “toxic” views. For years, I have been writing about the decline of free speech in the United Kingdom and the steady stream of arrests.

A man was convicted for sending a tweet while drunk referring to dead soldiers. Another was arrested for an anti-police t-shirt. Another was arrested for calling the Irish boyfriend of his ex-girlfriend a “leprechaun.” Yet another was arrested for singing “Kung Fu Fighting.” A teenager was arrested for protesting outside of a Scientology center with a sign calling the religion a “cult.” Last year, Nicholas Brock, 52, was convicted of a thought crime in Maidenhead, Berkshire. The neo-Nazi was given a four-year sentence for what the court called his “toxic ideology” based on the contents of the home he shared with his mother in Maidenhead, Berkshire.

While most of us find Brock’s views repellent and hateful, they were confined to his head and his room. Yet, Judge Peter Lodder QC dismissed free speech or free thought concerns with a truly Orwellian statement: “I do not sentence you for your political views, but the extremity of those views informs the assessment of dangerousness.” Lodder lambasted Brock for holding Nazi and other hateful values:

“[i]t is clear that you are a right-wing extremist, your enthusiasm for this repulsive and toxic ideology is demonstrated by the graphic and racist iconography which you have studied and appeared to share with others…”

Even though Lodder agreed that the defendant was older, had limited mobility, and “there was no evidence of disseminating to others,” he still sent him to prison for holding extremist views. After the sentencing Detective Chief Superintendent Kath Barnes, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing Southeast (CTPSE), warned others that he was going to prison because he “showed a clear right-wing ideology with the evidence seized from his possessions during the investigation….We are committed to tackling all forms of toxic ideology which has the potential to threaten public safety and security.”

Blair’s views have been echoed by Speaker of the House Sir Lindsay Hoyle who declared:

“Misinformation is dangerous. Social media is good but it’s also bad when people are using it in a way that could cause a riot, threat, intimidation, suggesting that we should attack somebody, it’s not acceptable. What we’ve got to do is factually correct what’s up there, if not I think the government has to think long and hard about what they are going to do about social media and what are they going to put through parliament as a bill.’

“I believe it should be across, it doesn’t matter what country you are in, the fact is that misinformation is dangerous and no misinformation, or threats, or intimidation should be allowed to be carried out on social media platforms.”

As with the effort in Brazil to block X entirely for refusing to censor political opponents of the government, Blair’s call for global censorship is where the movement is going next.

Interviews like the one with Tony Blair are not just jump scares meant to intimidate or scare others. They reflect a comprehensive campaign from our political elite to enforce censorship on a national and transnational scale. If you think that this latest Blair Witch Project is just another scary production, you have not been paying attention.

Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University and the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.”

Category:

Tagged with:

4 US hostages remain in Gaza; questions arise over lack of media attention

By All Israel News | Monday, September 02, 2024

A woman holds a poster of Israeli hostage Omer Neutra during a memorial vigil for the Israeli people killed by Hamas during the October 7 attacks, in New York City on November 1, 2023. | Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

Following the IDF’s announcement that the bodies of six hostages, including Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, were recovered from Rafah, attention has now shifted to the remaining hostages still alive in Gaza.

Many U.S. citizens may not realize that four American hostages are currently held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. This issue has received limited attention from U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration, which has made only a few statements about hostages with dual U.S.-Israeli citizenship being held by captive by Hamas in Gaza.

One of these statements came early Sunday morning when Biden said he was “devastated and outraged” by the Goldberg-Polin’s death.

Goldberg-Polin was one of eight U.S. hostages abducted by Hamas during the Oct. 7 massacres in southern Israel. With Hersh’s death confirmed, four of the eight are now confirmed by the IDF to have been killed by Hamas.

Four American hostages are still in captivity, and their current condition remains unknown.

Keith Siegel

Keith Siegel (64) was last seen with hostage Omri Miran in a video released by Hamas. In that video, Miran mentioned the recent Passover holiday, indicating the video was released soon after recording. Keith was abducted with his wife Aviva from their home in Kfar Aza. The couple was driven into the Gaza Strip in their own vehicle and kept together until Aviva’s release in the November hostage release deal.

Following her release, Aviva said her husband had not told Hamas that he was a U.S. citizen out of fear that Hamas would release him without her.

Sagui Dekel-Chen

Sagui Dekel-Chen was a project manager for the United Kingdom branch of the Jewish National Fund (Keren Kayemet Le’Israel) which organizes the construction of schools and youth centers.

Dekel-Chen was abducted from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7. He was a member of the kibbutz’s security team, and engaged Hamas terrorists in combat before eventually being captured after several hours.

His father Jonathan spoke at a J Street event on the sidelines of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) last month, where he called on Democratic leaders to hold Hamas accountable for its actions.

Omer Neutra

Long Island-born Omer Neutra was serving as a tank commander in the IDF on Oct. 7 when he was abducted by terrorists. Omer’s parents, Orna and Ronen Neutra, have been active ever since, raising awareness about his plight, as well as those of the rest of the captives.

Like the parents of Goldberg-Polin, Omer’s parents took their message to both the Republican National Convention (RNC) and the DNC, calling for both sides to work toward the release of all the captives.

Inspired by Neutra, recently both a cousin and close friend of his decided to immigrate to Israel and join the IDF.

Edan Alexander

Like Omer, Edan Alexander was captured while serving in the IDF on Oct. 7. Alexander spoke with his parents on the phone that morning, shortly after the rocket attacks from Gaza began. He assured his mother that he was safe. About half an hour later, she was not able to reach him.

Both Omer and Edan were assigned to the same post in southern Israel on Oct. 7. As soldiers, they would be part of the last group released during a hostage deal, with Hamas considering soldiers to be more valuable for negotiations.

Besides these four men, three other U.S. citizens who were killed or fatally wounded on Oct. 7 are also being held by Hamas in Gaza: Itay Chen (19); Judith Weinstein Haggai (70); and Gadi Haggai (73).

In early August, Denver Post columnist Doug Friednash wrote about the remaining American hostages, asking why their plight did not arouse the same media publicity as other hostages or prisoners, such as Brittney Griner, a member of the U.S. women’s national basketball team and a three-time Olympic gold medalist. Griner received international attention in 2022 when she was detained in Russia on a drug offense. She was found guilty and sentenced to nine years but was later released in a prisoner exchange.

Friednash noted that 33 Americans were killed in the Oct. 7 Hamas massacres, while eight were taken captive. Four of those eight are now confirmed dead.

He noted that most Americans could probably not even name any of the U.S. hostages, and the lack of media focus on their situation or the U.S. government’s efforts to free them.

“And, we need to ask the question: why are these five [now four after the death of Hersh Goldberg-Polin] Americans forgotten? Is it because they are Jewish or dual citizens? Is it because our nation’s leaders believe this is predominantly Israel’s problem, not ours? Or, is it for some other political reason?” he wrote.

Almost one month later, those questions appear to be unanswered.

Following the return of the hostages bodies, 97 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on Oct. 7 remain in captivity in Gaza. This latest figure includes the bodies of at least 33 hostages who have already been confirmed deceased by Israel Defense Forces.

Please pray for the remaining hostages.

This article was originally published by All Israel News.

ALL ISRAEL NEWS is based in Jerusalem and is a trusted source of news, analysis and information from Israel to our Christian friends around the world.

Category:

International Politics, Islamic News

Tagged with:

Brazilians to be Fined $9000 a Day for Receiving News from X

By: Jonathan Turley | September 3, 2024

Brazil has not just banned X (formerly Twitter) from the entire country, but citizens will now be fined $9000 a day (more than the average salary in the country) for using VPNs to access the platform. X is the main source of news for Brazilians, who will now be left with government-approved sources or face financial ruin in seeking unfettered information.

The Guardian is reporting that the confiscatory fines are part of a comprehensive crackdown on efforts to get news through X, including ordering all Apple stores to remove X from new phones. The move puts Brazil with China in the effort to create a wall of censorship between citizens and unregulated information. For the anti-free speech movement, Brazil is a key testing ground for where the movement is heading next. European censors are arresting CEOs like Pavel Durov while threatening Elon Musk.

However, it is Brazil that foreshadows the brave new world of censorship where entire nations will block access to sites committed to free speech values or unfettered news. If successful, the Brazilian model is likely to be replicated by other countries.

The reason is that censorship is not working. As discussed in my book “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage,” we have never seen the current alliance of government, corporate, academic, and media interest against free speech. Yet, citizens are not buying it. Despite unrelenting attacks and demonizing media coverage, citizens are still using X and resisting censorship. That was certainly the case in Brazil where citizens preferred X to regulated news sources. The solution is now to threaten citizens with utter ruin if they seek unfettered news.

The question is whether Brazil’s leftist government can get away with this. The conflict began with demands to censor supporters of the conservative former president Jair Bolsonaro. When X refused the sweeping demands for censorship, including the demand to name a legal representative who could be arrested for refusing to censor users, the courts moved toward this national ban.

The man behind the effort is Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who has aggressively used censorship to combat anything that he or the government deems “fake news” or disinformation. With Socialist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, they are the dream team of the anti-free speech movement.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison responded to the ban with a posting declaring “Obrigado Brasil!” or “Thanks, Brazil!” Ironically, he did so on X.

Ellison previously praised the virulently anti-free speech group Antifa and promised that it would “strike fear in the heart” of Donald Trump. This was after Antifa had been involved in numerous acts of violence and its website was banned in Germany. It is at its base a movement at war with free speech, defining the right itself as a tool of oppression. That purpose is evident in what is called the “bible” of the Antifa movement: Rutgers Professor Mark Bray’s Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook.

Bray emphasizes the struggle of the movement against free speech: “At the heart of the anti-fascist outlook is a rejection of the classical liberal phrase that says, ‘I disapprove of what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it.’” Bray admits that “most Americans in Antifa have been anarchists or antiauthoritarian communists… From that standpoint, ‘free speech’ as such is merely a bourgeois fantasy unworthy of consideration.”

The question is whether Brazil will become a nightmare for free speech around the world as other nations seek to force citizens to read and hear news from approved, state-monitored sites.

Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University. He is the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage” (Simon & Schuster).

Category:

Free Speech, International Politics, Media

Tagged with:

Robert Reich Calls for the Arrest of Elon Musk for Resisting Censorship

By: Jonathan Turley | September 2, 2024

We have previously discussed the anti-free speech views of Clinton’s former Labor Secretary, Robert Reich, who has tried to sell citizens on the perfectly Orwellian view that more freedom means tyranny when it comes to the freedom of expression. He also demanded that former president Donald Trump be banned from ballots as a “traitor” — all in the name of protecting democracy from itself. Last week, Reich wrote a column declaring Elon Musk “out of control” in his refusal to censor citizens and appeared to call for his arrest.

Reich has long been a prominent voice in the anti-free speech movement discussed in my recent book, The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage. Indeed, he has given a voice to the rage in calling for others to be silenced or arrested.

Elon Musk has long been the primary target of Reich and his allies after dismantling the censorship system at Twitter, now X. Reich called Musk’s purchase of Twitter with a pledge to reduce censorship to be “dangerous nonsense.”

Notably, Reich’s friend, Hillary Clinton, was one of the first to call for a crackdown on Musk after his purchase of Twitter. Hillary Clinton and other Democratic figures turned to Europe and called upon them to use their Digital Services Act to force censorship against Americans.

Reich has always shown a chilling fluidity in how free speech is protected and argued that public interest should be able to trump the right of any citizens in espousing views that he believes are dangerous.

In denouncing Musk, Reich encouraged a campaign to counter his efforts to resist censorship. He wrote that Musk “may be the richest man in the world. He may own one of the world’s most influential social media platforms. But that doesn’t mean we’re powerless to stop him.”

Like Hillary Clinton, Reich is calling on foreign governments and censors to silence American citizens including Musk: “Regulators around the world should threaten Musk with arrest if he doesn’t stop disseminating lies and hate on X.”

He even appears willing to undermine national security programs to stop unfettered free speech. He called for the U.S. government to cut off contracts with his companies despite their critical role in various national security efforts, including the possible rescue of the stranded two astronauts currently in space. None of that matters to Reich who appears to view free speech as a greater threat to our nation: “Why is the US government allowing Musk’s satellites and rocket launchers to become crucial to the nation’s security when he’s shown utter disregard for the public interest? Why give Musk more economic power when he repeatedly abuses it and demonstrates contempt for the public good?”

Reich’s call to regulate speech in the public interest is the Siren’s Call of every authoritarian regime in history. He will presumably tell us what speech is no longer tolerable for public policy reasons. Our “Indispensable Right” will, according to Reich, be safely in the hands of the European censors who can protect us from errant and dangerous thoughts.

As he explained earlier, “the kinds of things that we do about this is, focus less on thinking about free speech, but thinking about how the times have changed.” In this way, speech regulations can keep us “moving towards how we recommend content and … how we direct people’s attention is leading to a healthy public conversation that is most participatory.”

The “healthy public conversation” with Robert Reich increasingly appears to be his talking and the rest of us listening.

Jonathan Turley is a Fox News Media contributor and the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University. He is the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage” (Simon & Schuster, June 18, 2024).

Category:

Free Speech, International Politics, Law

Tagged with:

Israeli Military Rescues Hostage Abducted in Hamas’ Oct. 7 Attack

Tuesday, 27 August 2024 04:03 PM EDT

Israeli forces rescued a hostage found alone underground in Gaza on Tuesday, freeing a living captive from Hamas’ vast tunnel network for the first time since the Oct. 7 attack that ignited the war. The 52-year-old Israeli man was taken to a hospital in Israel, where members of his large Bedouin Arab family gathered around his bedside in a joyful reunion.

The rescue brought a rare moment of relief to Israelis after 10 months of war but also served as a painful reminder that dozens of hostages are still in captivity as international mediators try to broker a cease-fire in which they would be released.

Qaid Farhan Alkadi was found in a southern Gaza tunnel where hostages were suspected to be alongside terrorists and explosives, according to the military.

“Suddenly, I heard someone speaking Hebrew outside the door, I couldn’t believe it, I couldn’t believe it,” Alkadi told Israeli President Isaac Herzog in a phone call from his hospital bed, according to the president’s office.

The military said it applied “lessons” learned during previous operations while rescuing Alkadi. Earlier in the war, Israeli troops who encountered three hostages inside Gaza accidentally shot and killed them, believing them to be militants. Alkadi was one of eight members of Israel’s Bedouin Arab minority who were abducted on Oct. 7. He was working as a guard at a packing factory in Kibbutz Magen, one of several farming communities that came under attack. He has two wives and is the father of 11 children.

Israel believes there are still 108 hostages in Gaza and that more than 40 of them are dead. Most of the rest were freed during a weeklong cease-fire in November in exchange for the release of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Alkadi is one of eight hostages to be rescued alive and the first of these rescued from underground, the Israeli military said. Alkadi was held in a number of locations during his 326 days in captivity, according to Israel’s military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari.

Footage released by the Israeli military showed Alkadi moments after the rescue. Unshaven and wearing a white tank top, he is seen sitting and smiling with soldiers before boarding a helicopter to a hospital. He appeared emaciated but officials described his condition as stable.

His large family gathered at the hospital in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba to welcome him home. One of his brothers held Alkadi’s infant son, who was born while he was in captivity and had not yet met his father, the brother said.

“We’re so excited to hug him and see him and tell him that we’re all here with him,” a family member who gave his name as Faez told Channel 12. “I hope that every hostage will come home so the families can experience this happiness.”

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the rescue was part of the army’s “daring and courageous activities conducted deep inside the Gaza Strip.”

President Herzog, in his phone call with Alkadi, told him: “Dear Farhan, how moving it is to hear your voice! Our brother has come home. Our brother has returned!”

Herzog’s office said Farhan expressed his gratitude and urged Israeli authorities to work to free the others. “People are suffering there. Do everything you can to bring people home. Work 24 hours, don’t sleep until they return. People are really suffering, you can’t imagine,” he said, according to a transcript of the call provide by Herzog’s office.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also spoke with Alkadi by phone soon after he arrived at the hospital. He said that Israel would rely on rescue operations and negotiations to bring the remaining hostages home.

“Both ways together require our military presence in the field, and unceasing military pressure on Hamas,” Netanyahu said.

Referring to Netanyahu by a traditional Arabic nickname, Alkadi thanked the prime minister for enabling him to see his family again, according to a video of the call provided by Netanyahu’s office. Alkadi reminded Netanyahu that “there are others waiting.” To which Netanyahu replied, “we haven’t forgotten anyone, just as we haven’t forgotten you.”

The Israeli military released footage of Alkadi being transported by helicopter after his rescue. Smiling, he gave a salute as the helicopter was in flight.

Hamas-led militants abducted some 250 people in the Oct. 7 attack, in which some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed over 40,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who do not say how many were militants. It has displaced 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people from their homes and caused heavy destruction across the besieged territory.

Israeli airstrikes continued on Tuesday across the Gaza Strip, and Palestinian officials said at least 18 people, including eight children, were killed in the attacks. Two previous Israeli operations to free hostages killed scores of Palestinians. Hamas says several hostages have been killed in Israeli airstrikes and failed rescue attempts. Israeli troops mistakenly killed three Israelis who escaped captivity in December.

Mazen Abu Siam, a close family friend waiting at the hospital, said the family was overjoyed to hear the news, but they were still praying for a cease-fire.

“We are waiting for a deal for one year,” Siam told The Associated Press.

The United States, Egypt and Qatar have spent months trying to negotiate an agreement in which the remaining hostages would be freed in exchange for a lasting cease-fire. Those talks are ongoing, but there has been no sign of any breakthrough. Netanyahu has faced intense criticism from families of the hostages and much of the Israeli public for not yet reaching a deal with Hamas to bring them home. Hamas hopes to trade the hostages for a lasting cease-fire, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners, including high-profile militants.

Last week, after the Israeli military recovered the bodies of six hostages in southern Gaza, Israel’s military spokesperson, Hagari, said the army was working to gather more intelligence for rescue operations. But he added that “we cannot bring everyone back through rescue operations alone.”

Category: