[RedState] It was fine to be annoying pro-Hamas ..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,... college student under Joe The Big Guy Biden ...46th president of the U.S. The very model of probity.... , but the adults are back in charge now, and hate crimes aren't going to go overlooked.
According to a report from Israel's Channel 12 News on Wednesday, a DOJ task force is looking into the pro-Hamas demonstrations that took place on college campuses after the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, which saw the murder of 1,200 innocents, as well as kidnappings and rapes.
This task force is being led by Leo Terrell, who told Channel 12 that those who actively attempted to restrain Jewish people from attending class on campus or attempted to intimidate them will be seeing jail time, according to Jewish News Syndicate:
“You see all these disorderly demonstrations, supporting Hamas and trying to intimidate Jews? We are going to put these people in jail—not for 24 hours, but for years,” Terrell, senior counsel to the assistant U.S. attorney general for civil rights, said in remarks translated to Hebrew.
Under the Biden administration, “local prosecutors did not take action to file hate crime charges,” the civil rights lawyer said. “In major cities like New York and Los Angeles, Jews have been harassed and denied access to universities. They [prosecutors] did nothing and failed at their job. We are about to do more in a month than Biden and Harris did in four years.”
The first indictments are expected to be filed in the next week and a half, he said, adding that other “aggressive” moves would also be announced.
“A lot is going to happen in the next four to five weeks,” Terrel said. “My message to Jews in the United States and around the world—help is on the way.”
The goal here is to put a stop to the hate-centric protests that plague Universities, especially those that support terrorist groups, to the point where assaults on Jewish students happen. The antisemitic sentiment that permeated through much of academia after the October 7 attacks was met with little to no resistance from local or federal law enforcement officials in various parts of the United States.
This task force stems from President Trump signing the "Additional Measures to Combat Antisemitism” executive order. According to Terrell, a black Christian man, this task force is committed to ending the blight of antisemitism on college campuses.
“The department takes seriously our responsibility to eradicate this hatred wherever it is found,” Terrell said. “The Task Force to Combat Antisemitism is the first step in giving life to President Trump’s renewed commitment to ending antisemitism in our schools.”
The problem is definitely out of hand. At Columbia University, a student group began publishing an anti-Israel paper called "Columbia Intifada" which spews hateful claims about Jewish people. Harvard attempted to take a stance by suspending pro-Hamas students, but caved under pressure and allowed the students back onto campus.
Riots and injuries happened with no repercussions in some places.
A Barnard security guard was roughed up so badly by the protesters the other night that he ended up in the hospital.
Jewish students were barred from traversing campus freely, and some were even assaulted.
It's clear things are out of hand. A terrorist group literally influenced activities on American campuses, and this influence was allowed to spread with little consequence.
[IsraelTimes] Palestinian Authority president left out of Arab leadership summit in Riyadh, where Gaza was main agenda item; diplomat says regional leaders will abandon Abbas if backed into corner
The leaders of seven Arab countries gathered for an emergency summit in Riyadh last week with rounding out a counterproposal to US President Donald Trump ...Never got invited to a P.Diddy party... ’s Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... takeover plan at the top of the agenda.
Trump, for now, is standing by his controversial proposal to "clean out" the Gaza Strip’s entire population, though his aides have indicated the idea was largely aimed at spurring Arab allies to come up with their own plan for the post-war management of the enclave that removes Hamas ..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,... from power.
While the Arab plan is still being finalized and no conclusions were reached in Riyadh, Arab leaders are in agreement that the Paleostinian Authority must play a role in the effort, four diplomats briefed on the gathering told The Times of Israel.
There is also consensus on another matter — that PA President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ...aka Abu Mazen, a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial. While no Yasser Arafat, he has his own brand of evil, just a little more lowercase....> is not critical, and perhaps even counterproductive, to the effort.
Accordingly, Abbas was not invited to the Riyadh meeting, according to two Arab diplomats and two European diplomats.
And not for a lack of trying. Ramallah made quiet overtures for Abbas to attend, but enough of the participating leaders expressed pushback that Saudi Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start... withheld an invitation, the four diplomats said.
FRIENDS NO MORE?
As usual, the most fervent opponent to including Abbas was United Arab Emirates President Muhammed bin Zayed, said three of the diplomats.
Abu Dhabi has long sparred with the PA president, often referred to by his nom de guerre Abu Mazen, accusing him of corruption.
But this time, bin Zayed was joined by Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... i Emir Tamim bin Hamad. Doha hosts Hamas leaders and has been fuming over Abbas’s decision to shutter Al Jazeera operations in the West Bank to protest the Qatari-backed network’s coverage of the PA crackdown on terror groups, said the first Arab diplomat.
Not only did Egypt’s President Abdel-Fatah el-Sissi also not come to Abbas’s defense, but he has refused requests by the PA president’s office for a one-on-one meeting, said the second Arab diplomat.
Cairo has been brokering talks between the PA and Hamas about establishing a temporary committee to govern Gaza after the war.
Ramallah wants control over the panel, fearing that if Gaza is managed separately from the West Bank, efforts to reunite the two territories under one governing body will be undermined.
For its part, Egypt wants the panel to be linked to the PA, but to retain independence and be run by technocrats approved by both the Authority and Hamas. Cairo argues that consensus support from Paleostinian factions is essential to the panel’s legitimacy, and also fears that Ramallah is unprepared to take major responsibility for Gaza as its grip over the West Bank slips.
Moreover, Egypt feels that too direct of a link between the Strip’s interim administrative committee and the PA will make it more likely that Israel blocks its formation.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly ruled out the possibility of Hamas being replaced by the more moderate PA, often likening the two rival factions. The premier did, however, allow PA officials to assist in the operation of the recently reopened Rafah Crossing after pushing back on the idea for months.
Even Jordan’s King Abdullah, who is known as Abbas’s closest ally in the Arab world, did not advocate for the PA leader to attend the summit. The first Arab diplomat speaking to The Times of Israel said the Hashemite leader has privately expressed frustration over what he views as Abbas’s failure to quickly and adequately adapt to the changes taking place in both the region and Washington.
The Jordanian foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
’IMPOSSIBLE TO SATISFY MOST OF THEM ANYWAY’
While the first European diplomat accepted some of the criticism against Abbas, the official argued that other Arab contentions against the PA leader were off the mark.
"There’s a lot of criticism about Abbas’s corruption coming from a group that isn’t all necessarily squeaky-clean or democratically elected," said the diplomat.
"Egypt, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are all pulling Abu Mazen in different directions in terms of how they want the PA to run, as they each have different interests and are jockeying for influence," the first EU diplomat continued.
"In the meantime, Abu Mazen is pleasing none of them, but it would’ve been impossible to satisfy most of them anyway."
Nevertheless, the EU itself is not completely satisfied with Abbas. The diplomat said Abbas’s office did not coordinate his announcement earlier this month to reform the PA’s welfare system so that Paleostinian prisoners in Israeli jails, those maimed in festivities with Israel, and the families of slain attackers will receive stipends based on their financial status like all other Paleostinians, ending the previous system that rewarded those who received higher prison sentences.
The EU, for years, pushed Abbas to end the PA’s so-called "pay-to-slay" system, and Ramallah hopes that Brussels will help bankroll the new welfare payments now that they are being regulated.
But Abbas’s decision to remove the welfare program from government control and instead create an independent body headed by one of his close allies — former PA social affairs minister Ahmad Majdalani — reduces the chances that the EU will be able to provide financial support for the program, the second European diplomat said.
"We would’ve explained this had we been kept better in the loop, but we learned about the decree in the media," the official added.
Meanwhile,
...back at the fist fight, Jake ducked another roundhouse, then parried with his left, then with his right, finally with his chin... Ramallah’s ties with the Trump administration have been very limited, reflecting the extent of Washington’s interest in the increasingly fragile situation in the West Bank, where Paleostinian gangs remain undeterred by the PA and Israel, and IDF operations to quash them have flattened refugee camps to Gaza levels of destruction, the diplomat stated.
ARABS FEELING BACKED INTO A CORNER
Nearly a week has passed since the Riyadh summit, and Abbas’s office has not publicized a single call from any of the Arab participants.
In the meantime, the regional leaders are gearing up for a more consequential summit in Cairo next week, where Egypt is expected to present the Arab plan for Gaza. Abbas is slated to be invited and attend this more public-facing gathering.
The first Arab diplomat said Arab leaders feel like they are in an impossible position, given the US demand that they "solve Gaza" by removing Hamas, even though Israel failed to do so after 15-plus months of war.
Stripping the terror group of its governing powers is seen as realistic, so long as its non-militant civil servants can be folded into the new system, the first Arab diplomat said.
Coaxing Hamas to give up its weapons is another story, and particularly "fantastical" absent a grinding of the peace processor that Israel continues to reject, the diplomat further said.
"The Arab leaders are really feeling the pressure from Washington, and for the first time, I see growing willingness to abandon Abu Mazen if [Arab leaders] think it’ll save them from the Trump administration," said the second EU diplomat.
"Egypt and Jordan view the Trump plan is an existential threat, so if they have to offer something far-reaching, such as a completely different PA, they might do so."
The diplomat clarified that such a move would come with massive risks, as the next Paleostinian leader after Abbas might not be as committed to nonviolence as the nearly 90-year-old PA leader has been.
The diplomat argued that Abbas is aware of regional discontent and as a result, recently took the unforeseen step of forcing longtime ally Hussein al-Sheikh to resign from his post as PA civil affairs minister.
The move is aimed at demonstrating that Abbas recognizes he cannot continue to rely on the same small group of loyalists, the diplomat said. However,
if you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning... Sheikh will remain in the powerful post of Paleostine Liberation Organization Executive Committee secretary-general, so it’s unclear whether his resignation amounts to a strategic shift by the PA leader, who also controls the PLO.
#2
I see 5-10 years of living in tents for most Gazans.
and no, I'm not sympathetic
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
02/28/2025 11:42
Comments ||
Top||
#3
I'm loving this! You have the Arab world discussing what to do about the Paleos, a previously unsolvable problem, all for fear that Trump just might be crazy enough to do what he proposed.
[PJMedia] In a major blow to the Democrats ...every time you hear the phrase white people, white supremacy,white anything but paint, you're listening to a Democrat. Ask him/her/it to reimagine something for you; they do that a lot, though not well. They can hear a dog whistle a mile or two away. They invented the spoils system and Tammany Hall, and inspired the addition of the word (Thomas) Nasty to the English language. They want to stop continental drift and repeal the law of unintended side effects... ' lawfare strategy to prevent the Trump administration from governing, Chief Justice John Roberts responded to the White House's request for emergency intervention. Roberts blocked a Biden-appointed federal judge's order that around $2 billion in frozen foreign aid funds be released immediately.
The Chief Justice issued an administrative stay on Feb. 27, preserving the status quo while the Supreme Court considers the matter more thoroughly. This temporary action overrides U.S. District Judge Amir Ali's midnight deadline, which would have forced the State Department and USAID to release billions in taxpayer dollars for already completed foreign aid work.
Roberts, who oversees requests for emergency relief arising from cases in the District of Columbia, acted alone in halting the decision from a federal district judge issued Tuesday. The judge, U.S. District Judge Amir Ali, gave the State Department and USAID until 11:59 p.m. Wednesday to pay its bills to contractors for work that had been completed before Feb. 13. The Trump administration had earlier in the night asked the Supreme Court to intervene in the dispute involving frozen foreign assistance funds.
Roberts gave the State Department and USAID contractors until noon Friday to respond to the Trump administration's request.
This is just the latest example of how Democrats' lawfare strategy against Trump might ultimately backfire spectacularly. Judicial rulings temporarily halting Trump's actions may ultimately serve to advance his broader objectives as they make their way to the Supreme Court.
The Trump administration filed the emergency appeal hours before the deadline, arguing that Judge Ali had overstepped his authority and interfered with the president's obligations to "make appropriate judgments about foreign aid." The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals panel had declined to stay Judge Ali's order, absurdly claiming his orders "could not be appealed."
Excuse me? When did District Court judges get the final say in such matters?
During a particularly revealing telephone hearing on Feb. 25, Judge Ali couldn't hide his bias against the Trump administration. "I don't know why I can't get a straight answer from you," he complained after Justice Department attorney Indraneel Sur repeatedly avoided his leading questions about fund releases. "I guess I'm not understanding where there is any confusion here. It's clear as day," Ali further insisted, regarding his original order.
Chief Justice Roberts has ordered the challengers to file a response by Friday, with the Supreme Court likely to act soon after — a sign that the Court is poised to nip these endless legal challenges in the bud.
#1
And still people are profoundly ignorant of what the US Congress can do to rein in the Deep State's lawfare strategy and restore sanity to the US judiciary below the level of the Supreme Court.
[DW] German prosecutors have charged a suspected "Islamic State" extremist with murder in the stabbing rampage in Solingen that left three people dead.
German prosecutors on Thursday charged the suspect behind a fatal knife attack at a local festival in the western German city of Solingen.
The suspect, identified as 26-year-old Issa Al H., was charged with three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder and membership in the "Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... " (IS) terror group.
The Solingen knife attack and a series of similar incidents shook Germany and fueled the heated political debate about migration and deportation in the months leading up to last week's federal election.
WHAT HAPPENED IN SOLINGEN?
On the evening of August 23, 2024, three people were killed and 10 others injured at an outdoor festival celebrating Solingen's 650th anniversary.
The mills of Justice grinding slowly…
The suspect, a Syrian citizen, is accused of deliberately stabbing festival visitors with a knife.
Issa Al H. was arrested after a day-long manhunt. He has remained in jug ever since.
Within days of the stabbing rampage, prosecutors said they believed the attacker had radical Islamist beliefs and tried to kill as many people as possible because he considered them non-believers.
Islamic State grabbed credit for the attack.
WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE SOLINGEN KNIFE ATTACK SUSPECT?
Issa Al H. had been slated for deportation from Germany to Bulgaria in 2023 under EU rules known as the Dublin regulation.
But he evaded law enforcement and managed to remain in the country. No further effort to deport him was made.
A committee of inquiry in the state parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia is investigating why the deportation to Bulgaria, which had been planned long before the attack, did not take place.
“My responsibility is mine, I was the military commander on October 7. I have my responsibility and I also have all of your responsibility,” Halevi said to senior officers on Monday, during a presentation of the IDF’s probes into the attack.
Earlier this evening, the investigations were released to the public.
“The investigations were shared with the defense minister, the IDF senior command, and journalists who were briefed,” writes Tzachi Braverman. “Amazingly, one official has yet to receive the investigations — the prime minister.”
“Proper procedure requires that these investigations also be shared with the prime minister without having to ask for it,” he writes.
An embargo on details of the investigation is set to be lifted this evening.
#1
The law of the last ten percent:
Going from almost perfect to perfect is an immense effort. The easy stuff, and the not-so-easy stuff has been done.
But...need more man power. Need to have more attention to indications coming in. Budgets are tight. Nothing's happened. And nothing. And the budget's tight. Got other responsibilities for some of the folks and you can't keep the reserves up beyond their time except...there's a budget for that and it's tight.
ANd other things need to be done and you look at those most obvious.
Ninety percent's good enough. That will do it.
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
02/28/2025 6:29
Comments ||
Top||
#2
Oh, and deliberately ignoring warnings from the women guarding the border.
#3
yeah, but you took them seriously, you'd have to do something about it.. Call out the QRF--again. Here come the choppers, the "evidence" and "indications" go to ground and start...hoeing gardens, playing soccer, nothing happens. Again.
Until the QRF guy starts talking about maintenance time building up. Higher's looking at his....budget.
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
02/28/2025 11:45
Comments ||
Top||
[IsraelTimes] Attacker identified as Jamil Zayoud, a 53-year-old Palestinian from the Jenin area of the West Bank who had been living illegally in Israel with his Arab Israeli wife
A Paleostinian man steered his car into a crowd of people waiting at a bus stop in northern Israel on Thursday in a terror spree that left 13 people injured, including a teen hospitalized at death's door, authorities said.
The suspect, identified as a Paleostinian from the Jenin area of the West Bank who was living in Israel illegally with his Arab Israeli wife, was shot and killed while attempting to stab coppers after fleeing the scene of the initial attack, police chief Daniel Levy said.
Police said the attack at Karkur Junction outside the city of Pardes Hanna was being investigated as a terror attack. It came a week after a series of bus explosions near Tel Aviv that Israeli officials attributed to Death Eaters based in the West Bank.
Medical officials said a 17-year-old girl was fighting for her life following the attack after being brought to Hillel Yaffe Hospital in nearby Hadera at death's door.
The Magen David Adom rescue service said the teen was sedated and hooked up to a ventilator, having sustained serious damage to her head and limbs.
A 60-year-old man and a 19-year-old woman were at death's door, also with head injuries, medics said. An 18-year-old woman was moderately injured, while six others sustained light injuries, MDA added.
Police told Channel 12 news that the suspect’s car accelerated before hitting a group of people waiting at the bus stop.
Grainy videos of the attack showed a sedan swerving suddenly into a bus stop on the side of the road at full speed before swerving back onto the divided highway and continuing.
At least six people could be seen lying immobile on a grassy embankment next to the bus stop in separate footage from the immediate aftermath of the attack.
"From there, he tried to continue onward with the car. He accelerated toward a nearby police car and hit it. The officers chased him, caught him and neutralized him," a police spokesperson said.
Police chief Levy told news hounds that the attacker crashed into a patrol vehicle, got out of his car with a screwdriver and tried to stab coppers, who then shot and killed him.
Arabic-language media named the attacker as Jamil Zayoud, 53. Originally from the Jenin area, he had been living illegally in Ma’ale Iron with his Arab Israeli wife, according to reports.
The Haaretz daily reported that Zayoud was indicted in 2021 for driving without a license.
There was no claim of responsibility for the attack, but it drew praise from the Hamas ..a regional Iranian catspaw,... terror group.
Thursday’s attack came a week after three empty buses went kaboom! in quick succession in parking lots in the Tel Aviv suburbs of Bat Yam and Holon, followed by the discovery of two more unwent kaboom! devices on additional buses, in what appeared to be a botched attack. No casualties were reported as a result of the earth-shattering kabooms.
[HotAir] Excuse me - I should change that in the interest of being precise. Thanks to my naturally cynical nature regarding authoritarian European governments marching towards outright fascism, I only interpret it to be a 'snitch' line.
The Stas...there I go again. Dammit - it's early.
The democratically elected German government is, in fact, launching a two-pronged effort - either online or by phone - to afford their citizens avenues for 'advice' on how to deal with conspiracy freaks. Those in their personal lives or even ones of accidental acquaintance who speak such strange and terrifying sentiments not approved by polite society that a good German might be...alarmed by the utterances. Or upsetting emails.
And not know where to turn for advice on how to respond, if they even should.
“Advice Compass on Conspiracy Thinking” launches
...The nationwide contact point "Advice Compass Conspiracy Thinking" is launching today. It is open to all those affected and those seeking advice. The advice center is part of a project jointly funded and commissioned by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ) and the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Home Affairs (BMI), which has been running since March 2024 as part of the federal program "Live Democracy!" The project is carried out by the Violence Prevention Network, the Amadeu Antonio Foundation and modus - Center for Applied Deradicalization Research.
Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser: “Conspiracy theories are accompanied by lies and disinformation. They are spread deliberately to divide our society and destroy trust in independent science, free media or democratic institutions. Conspiracy theories can lead to extremist ideologies and drive perpetrators to commit crimes and acts of violence. Anti-Semitic conspiracy theories are spread particularly often.
Usually, people in the immediate environment, such as family, friends or school, are the first to notice when conspiracy theories are spread. An open dialogue on equal terms often seems impossible because the other person is not open to arguments. The establishment of the nationwide advice center is therefore an important building block in the holistic fight against extremism and disinformation."
#4
This is nothing new. Such snitch lines, mostly operated by government funded and controlled NGO's have existed for some time.
Sometimes they're also official government institutions.
Here's a press release about the establishment of snitch lines by the state government of Northrhine-Westphalia in '22, a coalition government of Merz' party CDU and the Greens.
#5
Let them have their authoritarian government--just let them have it *without* our money and without our military. I no longer care what happens to Europe.
[HotAir] That's $1.6 billion in taxpayer money, of course. Not J.B. Pritzker's money. And this comes from program auditors via the Chicago Tribune, not Elon Musk or DOGE.
It sounds as though Illinois could use a DOGE team or three, though:
Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration vastly underestimated the cost and popularity of a pair of health insurance programs for immigrants who are not citizens that has ended up costing the state $1.6 billion since the initiative began in 2020, according to an audit report released Wednesday.
Aside from inaccurate projections of the programs’ cost and the number of people who would enroll, the audit uncovered more than 6,000 people enrolled in the programs who were listed as “undocumented” despite having Social Security numbers, and nearly 700 who were enrolled in the program for people 65 and older despite being younger than that. In addition, almost 400 people were enrolled in the programs but appeared to have been in the country long enough to qualify for Medicaid, which is jointly funded by the federal government.
First question: why did it take five years to do an audit? Bear in mind that the original program was aimed only at senior-age immigrants who couldn't qualify for Medicaid based on federal rules for eligibility. That made at least some sense as long as costs could be controlled, especially in the context of the pandemic in 2020. Several states considered emergency expansion of health-care benefits to help keep the pandemic under control among the most at-risk population.
However, as the Trib notes, Pritzker expanded the program twice since then to include more immigrant non-citizens. Instead of just covering senior-age immigrants during an emergency, it now uses taxpayer funds to cover health costs from people as young as 42 years of age. Why would they need such benefits rather than do what taxpayers do -- work and pay for their coverage on their own.
Plus, the pandemic has been over for at least three years, and arguably four. Shouldn't Pritzker's administration have been auditing this program all along? And failing that, why did they not audit the program before expanding it? Twice?
And it's not as if the program ran without sending up any red flags during that time, either:
This state-run health care initiative has been expanded twice and now covers those 42 and older. The ballooning costs iof the program complicated budget negotiations two years ago. ...
But the costs for the programs eventually spiraled upward and the issue has roiled the General Assembly in recent years. In February 2023, Pritzker took steps to curtail enrollment in the programs after his administration an initial cost estimate from his administration of $220 million swelled fivefold three months later to $1.1 billion. Ultimately, a little over $500 million was set aside in the budget that passed by the legislature that spring.
So the Illinois legislature knew that costs for this program had ballooned far beyond expectations, and ... no one in leadership thought to ask why. These weren't normal program cost overruns; this welfare expansion cost five times what Pritzker had projected while creating the program. And it still took nearly two years before Pritzker's administration bothered to audit the program and determine that taxpayers were getting soaked.
This goes beyond incompetence. It qualifies for dereliction of duty. In a state with a competitive political environment, it would cost politicians their jobs. That won't happen in Illinois, where Democrats have a stranglehold on state government.
The Greeks and the French do love their protests. In France it’s always Communists/Antifa running amok; in Greece it’s Communists/Anarchists. Either way, the violent ones freely swim in the sea of mostly peaceful protesters. On alternate days the same violent protesters have been fussing about Israel genociding Hamas.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] … as Greece marks second anniversary of train crash seen as a symbol of institutional failure
Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets in cities across Greece to mark the second anniversary of a horror train collision that claimed the lives of 57 people.
Protests were planned in more than 300 cities and towns in Greece and abroad, with fury levied at the government for its perceived inaction over the tragedy, in which a passenger train filled with students collided with a freight train in central Greece.
A huge peaceful contingent made up of thousands of Greeks marched towards the parliament building in a moment of rare alignment across the political spectrum for Greeks incensed by the crash, deemed a symbol of institutional failure.
Children and adults alike walked solemnly in remembrance of the victims. Demonstrations were overshadowed by a small minority of rioters, who clashed with police in the capital. Greeks marching today said the rioters were 'not accepted' by the majority.
Riot police fired volleys of tear gas and stun grenades into crowds in Athens as some protestors smashed paving stones and hurled Molotov cocktails into open areas. More than 5,000 officers are being deployed to the capital to manage potential unrest.
The ambulance service said five people were taken to hospital, including a photographer hit in the head by one of the grenades.
Protests and a general strike were led by relatives of the 57 victims, who also urged focus on remembrance rather than politics. Large processions moved respectfully through Athens and Thessaloniki in what one called 'the most important day in our recent history by far'.
Critics of the government say that politicians must be held accountable for the failures that led up to the crash in Tempe. So far only rail officials have been charged with any crimes.
'The full truth must come to light, and those responsible, no matter how high their position, must be held accountable,' said Yannis Panagopoulos, president of the General Confederation of Greek Workers, the country's largest labor union, which has backed Friday's strike.
Transport employees added pressure on the conservative Mitsotakis government with a 24-hour train strike, a nationwide air traffic control strike, a ferry strike and a taxi strike.
Private businesses and public services have also been affected, with many stores in Athens closed, leaving messages of solidarity for the victims' families in front windows.
Protesters in Athens, chanting 'You count profits. We count lives,' carried black balloons in a solemn moment for a grieving country.
Greek diaspora told MailOnline today that a protest was also planned to take place in Paris this evening, starting at the Place de la République.
One said that they expected to join a peaceful silent protest, and that they were opposed the use of party political tactics.
'For me it's wrong to do anything like that,' the protestor, who wished to remain anonymous, told MailOnline.
'We are there to honor the people who died and to express our frustration with the justice system. Anything else is political and lesser.'
Greeks distanced themselves from the actions of a small minority of rioters, stressing hundreds of thousands - if not millions - had turned out to honour the dead and claim justice.
Athens municipal worker Costas Reintzopoulos said the rail crash had highlighted longstanding demands for safer working conditions.
Eleven of the people who died at the Tempe disaster were railway employees.
'Every day, there is a demand to know the truth about what happened, and every day there is demand to for better safety measures in the workplace. That is a key reason why this remains relevant,' he said.
'We don't want to mourn more dead people, who leave in the morning to go to work and we don't know if they'll come back.'
Memorial services will be held at Orthodox churches in Athens for the victims, who included many university students returning from a long weekend.
Their families have urged protesters to keep the focus on remembrance rather than politics.
'This day is one of remembrance, respect and reflection,' an association representing the families said in a statement.
'It is dedicated to those who were unjustly lost, to the grieving families, and to the pursuit of justice that remains unresolved.'
Yet the protests have created a politically precarious moment for Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' government.
His conservatives maintain a strong lead in the polls, but public dissatisfaction over the Tempe disaster has led to surging support for anti-establishment parties on both the left and right.
Opposition leaders, who are struggling to gain traction, are weighing whether to put forward a censure motion.
Mitsotakis promised to continue work to improve rail safety, adding: 'Every Greek participates in this mourning, united under the common demand for truth.'
Human error and systemic failures blamed for the Tempe crash.
One of the protestors hoping to take part in the planned demonstration in Paris this evening said: 'People will be on the streets to protest peacefully, demanding justice for the victims of the incident and accountability for the political figures that not only did not secure the railways with the funds they had from the European Commission already to do exactly that, but that also intervened with the crime scene only a few days after the fact with bulldozers and gravel compilation.'
Fury has been fuelled by allegations of the government's interference with the investigation.
Debris was removed from the scene after the crash, leading to the destruction of evidence.
A long-awaited report on the investigation into the Tempe crash, released Thursday, blamed human error, outdated infrastructure and major systemic failures for the head-on collision.
The aftermath was marked by scenes of chaos, with surviving passengers describing tumbling carriages, fires and smashed windows as they scrambled to escape.
It was followed by the gruesome task of victim recovery and identification as many bodies were severely burned or dismembered.
Funerals were held across numerous communities throughout Greece, many streamed or broadcast live, turning private grief into a shared national experience.
Hours after the collision, Maria Krystianou rushed to the scene of the tragedy to search for her missing daughter, 21-year-old Maria-Thomai, as the train cars still smoldered.
After a two-day wait, Maria-Thomai's death was finally confirmed with a DNA match.
Krystianou, a 52-year-old pediatrician, has since become a leading figure in the campaign to hold politicians to account for the crash.
This week she publicly thanked unions and associations that joined the protests, including doctors at public hospitals, and lawyers and judges who will hold a minute's silence in courts Friday.
~American government is corrupt. Stinkingly corrupt - on a scale unimaginable in, say, Norway. It remains an open question whether new leadership or even mass firings can overcome that.
The Jeffrey Epstein case is merely the most obvious example. On July 6th 2019, after giving him the kid-glove treatment for the previous decade-and-a-half, the feds chose to renege on their own sweetheart deal and arrest their chum when he landed at Teterboro (preferred New York airport of the non-rube class). Epstein was taken to New York's Metropolitan Correction Center, where the highest-value prisoner in America was put in a cell with an NYPD policeman awaiting trial for four murders.
A fortnight later, he was found on the floor with marks around his neck, and placed on "suicide watch", which required him to be checked on every thirty minutes. On August 9th, he was not checked every thirty minutes because the guard fell asleep. Fortunately, there was a second guard. Unfortunately, he also fell asleep. Fortunately, there was a camera. Unfortunately, it malfunctioned. Fortunately, there was a second camera. Unfortunately, that also malfunctioned...
So, a month after arrest by the FBI, the highest-value prisoner in America was dead.
My own legal tribulations in the District of Columbia are about to enter their fourteenth year. So I'll confess there are moments when I envy the unusually swift and efficacious disposition of United States vs Epstein.
Eventually, a trial was held. Of Jeffrey's girlfriend - a foreign socialite entirely unknown in the US except to former presidents, governors, senators and billionaires: see picture at top right of Ghislaine relaxing déshabillé with Democrat high-roller Laurene Powell, widow of Steve Jobs and owner of The Atlantic. Miss Maxwell was convicted of "sex trafficking" - including of a minor transported for the purpose of "criminal sexual activity". She was banged up for twenty years.
Gee, that must have been a lot of sex trafficking. Yet the United States Department of Justice remains totally uninterested in all the Americans "with great power and privilege" (as one witness put it) that Miss Maxwell was trafficking the girls to. Yeah, I was just working on my Presidential Library fundraising letter when, out of the blue, Ghislaine dropped a weekend's worth of fourteen-year-old jailbait on my doorstep... Could happen to anybody.
So the paedo mastermind is dead and the only two people to pay any price for their association with him are a couple of hoity-toity snot-nosed Brits - Miss Maxwell plus a son of the late Queen who made the mistake of giving an exclusive interview to the BBC that subsequently won that year's Emmy for Best Train-Wreck. It's almost like no Americans were involved in this thing at all...
And in the fullness of time a new administration took office and ordered the release of the "complete files related to Jeffrey Epstein". That happened yesterday: all - stand well back! - two hundred pages of documents.
#1
The level of resistance and obfuscation is yet another telling confirmation of the intelligence linkages to Epstein and how wide the connections actually are.
Today's Kunstler deal with the why, in his opinion, but it is persuasive...
"Then there is the peculiar history of Bill Barr’s dad, Donald Barr, present at the founding of the CIA (as an OSS officer in WWII), who groomed young Jeffrey Epstein into a job teaching math New York’s Dalton prep school in 1974 on the basis of fake college credentials (Stanford). Epstein was soon transformed into a Wall Street go-getter and most probably an agent for Mossad, Israeli intel. Epstein’s rise in high finance and international spookery led him to crypto-British media mogul and Mossad agent Robert Maxwell and Maxwell’s sex-crazed daughter Ghislaine. . . and the Epstein underage sex operation proceeded from there."
[Glenn Harlan Reynolds] A possible solution to lawfare: Back to the future?
We’ve seen a lot of single-judge national injunctions in the last month. These will, for the most part, be reversed in time by higher courts; they’re performative acts more than legal ones. But they do harm, and they certainly don’t increase respect for the legal system. (That "Hawaiian judge" has become a joking synonym for District Court overreach is not a good thing.)
So what can we do? Well, in the short term, let the system run its course. Most of these orders will be overturned, and the rest can probably be addressed by Congressional action or by a modest rewording of executive orders.
But there’s another solution, one that was deployed in the past when district judges seemed out of hand: The 3-judge district court.
The requirement for three-judge district courts was established by the Three-Judge Court Act of 1910 (originally 36 Stat. 539) and was later codified in 28 U.S.C. § 2281 and § 2282.
28 U.S.C. § 2281 (repealed in 1976) required a three-judge panel for cases seeking to enjoin (block) the enforcement of a state statute on grounds of unconstitutionality.
28 U.S.C. § 2282 (also repealed in 1976) mandated the same for injunctions against federal statutes.
Other statutes, like those under the Voting Rights Act or certain apportionment cases, also triggered this requirement.
The current § 2284(a) retains this for specific cases, such as challenges to congressional or state legislative apportionment.
Per § 2284(b), the panel consisted of three judges: one district judge (usually the one to whom the case was initially assigned) and two others designated by the chief judge of the circuit, at least one of whom had to be a circuit judge. This mix aimed to balance local and appellate perspectives.
Appeals went straight to the Supreme Court, bypassing the Courts of Appeals. We wouldn’t have to keep that, though, and I’m not sure we should.
These did not apply to Temporary Restraining Orders, which are the problem here, and I don’t believe they applied to challenges to executive orders, which is unsurprising as those were much less common in 1910. But such could be required easily enough, by a modest amendment. (And Covid experience means that the panel could convene via video conferencing, making a hearing on a TRO just as fast as by a single judge.)
With a diverse three-judge panel, the chance for grandstanding district judges to create national headlines would be less, and the likelihood of a kooky result would be less as well. And, obviously, it would make "judge shopping" harder.
Sen. Mike Lee has proposed something like this already, and says he plans to introduce legislation on the subject. John Lucas has also jumped on this idea, with the added proposal that the three judges should be drawn from three different circuits, which I like. I think this may be an idea whose time has come (again).
Posted by: Grom the Affective ||
02/28/2025
02:53 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[11150 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
The authority of a district court should be restricted to the district they service as it is with regional appellate courts. Talk about unelected government officials.
#2
The electorate needs a great deal of information about the mostly unknown powers of Congress to alter the functions and structure of the US Judiciary below the level of the US Supreme Court. Glenn Reynolds Instapundit has a very few mentions of this in its comments. This article takes a baby step in informing the public.
[ZeroHedge] The Trump administration's epic purge of federal workers is shaping into one of the most significant job cuts in a generation. Early indicators suggest Northern Virginia, Washington, DC, and Maryland may be in the beginning innings of an economic downturn, as jobless claims rise and a surge in active housing listings signals a very ominous outlook.
On Thursday morning, Torsten Slok, chief economist at Apollo, joined Bloomberg TV, warning, "The consensus expects total DOGE-related job cuts to be 300,000 ... However, studies show that for every federal employee, there are two contractors."
Dominic Konstam, head of macro strategy at Mizuho, asked: "DoGE-led recession risk?"
The market is focused on a negative economic fallout from Federal spending cuts. The level of potential Federal job losses is too small to derail growth, but overall government spending has been egregiously high in recent years. There has also been excessive job growth in the "government" sectors, including federal, state, and local government, as well as in education and health. If DoGE sets a precedent on jobs and achieves spending cuts that ricochet through the quasi-public sector, it is likely that new economic headwinds will develop.
Do it quick. The world constantly adjusts. Stop wasting money and by time the next election comes around Americans will realize that their everyday life was not really dependent on the one million let go.
[Breitbart] In an apparent attempt to appease U.S. officials who have been pushing for tariffs and punitive measures against Mexico for their alleged role in protecting drug cartels, that country’s authorities confirmed the extradition of 29 criminals wanted by the U.S. Department of Justice. These include a top drug boss behind the 1985 murder of DEA Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena, the two supreme leaders of Los Zetas Cartel, and the brother of the supreme leader of Cartel Jalisco New Generation.
On Thursday afternoon, Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office confirmed the extradition of 29 wanted criminals who were all in custody in various prisons across Mexico. The confirmation of the extradition came at the same time that Mexico’s security cabinet was meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his staff over that country’s response to drug cartels.
The extradited fugitives include Rafael Caro Quintero — one of the leaders of the Guadalajara Cartel. This criminal organization is considered to be the root of where most of Mexico’s western cartels, including the Sinaloa Cartel, the Juarez Cartel, and the Tijuana Cartel, spawned. As Breitbart Texas reported, Caro Quintero is wanted in the United States for his role as one of the masterminds behind the kidnapping and gruesome murder of DEA Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena in 1985.
Breitbart Texas reported that the extradited criminals also included Miguel Angel “Z-40” and Omar “Z-42” Trevino Morales, the two supreme leaders of Los Zetas.
A fourth wanted crime boss who was also extradited is Antonio “Tony Montana” Oseguera Cervantes, the brother of the supreme leader of Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG), one of the most powerful and sadistic drug cartels in Mexico.
Breitbart Texas reported that the extradited criminals also included Miguel Angel “Z-40” and Omar “Z-42” Trevino Morales, the two supreme leaders of Los Zetas.
A fourth wanted crime boss who was also extradited is Antonio “Tony Montana” Oseguera Cervantes, the brother of the supreme leader of Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG), one of the most powerful and sadistic drug cartels in Mexico.
The extradition comes as part of several other moves by Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum, who, along with her cabinet, has been trying to avoid the imposition of tariffs by the Trump Administration over claims by the White House that Mexico has colluded and protected drug cartels.
#1
Note of the 29 Cartel extradited.
9 used Texas due to the Biden Regime Open No Borders policy, and 7 operated out of Washington, DC.
It has me wondering how much $$$$$$ and (Hunter Vitamins) changed hands between the Cartels and the DC Swamp, to keep ICE & DEA a lease? So the cartel could operate near free of intervention.
#3
If the feds found any new transactions between the dems and the cartel, wouldn't that be evidence of treason b/c the cartels are now considered terrorists?
#4
I’d characterize it as lurid crime rather than treason, Melancholic — they’re not really trying to replace the government, just padding their bank accounts in illegal ways. Just as well, because treason is a lot harder to prove.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has once again found herself at the center of controversy as she desperately tried to explain her absence during the wildfires that ravaged her city.
As the deadly Palisades Fire began to burn, Bass had been on a trip to Ghana representing the Biden administration.
Standing firm that she was unaware of the fire risks when she left to go abroad, the mayor doubled down on Wednesday, assuring reporters once again that she came back home as soon as she could.
'You do gain time coming back, but I will tell you that it's not like there are hourly flights from Accra, Ghana, to the United States,' Bass said.
Despite her remarks, the mayor received harsh backlash when she was pictured at a cocktail party at the US Embassy while wildfires began to destroy the Pacific Palisades.
Bass, who recently fired Chief Kristin Crowley over her response to the wildfires, previously said that no one informed her of the fire risks and has stood firm that if she had known, she wouldn't have gone on the trip.
'We need to look at everything about the preparation and all of that for the fires... I think when we evaluate that, we will find that although there were warnings - that I frankly wasn't aware of.'
'I think our preparation wasn't what it typically is... That level of preparation really didn't happen. If it had, I wouldn't even have gone to San Diego, let alone leave the country,' she said in an interview.
Los Angeles officials have been under scrutiny for the devastating wildfires that killed at least 28 people and demolished over 19,000 homes across the city.
Authorities have continued to play the blame game, with Bass accusing Crowley of failing to properly staff the disaster, while the United Firefighters of LA hit back that the unused firetrucks didn't have working engines.
Bass cited the unused firetrucks as Crowley's reason for dismissal, writing in a scathing statement, 'Acting in the best interests of Los Angeles' public safety, and for the operations of the Los Angeles Fire Department, I have removed Kristin Crowley as Fire Chief.'
'We know that 1,000 firefighters that could have been on duty on the morning the fires broke out were instead sent home on Chief Crowley's watch.
'Furthermore, a necessary step to an investigation was the President of the Fire Commission telling Chief Crowley to do an after action report on the fires. The Chief refused. These require her removal.'
Crowley broke her silence the following day, saying it was an 'absolute honor' to represent the LAFD, but didn't address Bass or the controversy directly.
Since her removal, firefighters have rallied around Crowley, with many claiming the move was to take the heat off Bass.
'It's really simple, Crowley was afraid of getting blamed so she threw Bass under the bus. Then Bass retaliated against her and threw Crowley under the bus,' a veteran firefighter previously told the DailyMail.com.
President of the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City echoed a similar belief, claiming Crowley was, 'a scapegoat to distract from the failure of the city and complete neglect of the fire department.'
'We don't have enough firefighters, not enough working rigs, broken down fire hydrants and a water supply that ran dry, but Chief Crowley is the one who gets terminated? It doesn't make sense.'
The back and forth between Bass and Crowley began before the wildfires that ravaged the city when the former fire chief accused the city of slashing their budget.
Bass approved budget cuts of $17.6 million in December, prompting Crowley to write her a memo that warned the cuts would, 'severely limited the department's capacity to prepare for, train for, and respond to large-scale emergencies, including wildfires.'
Dailymail.com previously revealed a second memo written the day before the fires alleging further cuts to the tune of $49 million.
Crowley had been outspoken about how the cuts impacted the LAFD and frequently called out the mayor's office publicly for underfunding the department.
Even though they both claimed to be working together amicably, the public rift was undeniable.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
02/28/2025 4:54
Comments ||
Top||
#3
'You do gain time coming back, but I will tell you that it's not like there are hourly flights from Accra, Ghana, to the United States,' Bass said.
That's retarded.
Both of them were doing exactly what was expected of them when put into their respective positions.
'I think our preparation wasn't what it typically is... That level of preparation really didn't happen. If it had, I wouldn't even have gone to San Diego, let alone leave the country,' she said in an interview.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] During President Donald Trump's first month back in office thousands of migrants illegally in the country were taken into custody and prepped for deportation.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other agencies and law enforcement partners have conducted raids and arrests of undocumented immigrants all across the country since January 20.
Authorities are on track to more than double the 113,000 arrests the agency made in Fiscal Year 2024 under former President Joe Biden.
According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the number of arrests was 20,000 in the one-month span from January to February.
A breakdown of who these migrants are is not readily available.
But DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said of those arrested, 22 are suspected terrorists, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Another 640, she notes, are known to be suspected gang members.
Trump vowed to remove the 'worst of the worst' illegal immigrants from the U.S. in his mass deportation plan.
White House officials confirmed to DailyMail.com earlier this month that more than 6,000 migrants had been deported in Trump's first two weeks back in the Oval Office.
At least several hundred migrants were flown to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba recently as Trump planned to use the terrorist prison there to house around 30,000 illegal immigrants as ICE detention facilities approach capacity.
The administration halted housing migrants in tent structures on the base amid concerns the lack of air conditioning and electricity in the temporary facilities fails to meet detention standards, a CNN report notes.
ICE was publishing daily arrest figures with a breakdown of deportation numbers along with the demographics of how many had committed crimes outside of their illegal crossings into the U.S.
The agency stopped widely providing these numbers after the first few days of Trump's second term – but they periodically disclose estimates to inquiring journalists.
ICE officials told their agents after Trump's first week back in D.C. that offices are each responsible for 75 arrests every day, which nationwide would amount to approximately 1,500 total.
When numbers were still being reported daily, the highest day for arrested included roughly half with a criminal background.
[FoxNews] The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) eliminated federal regulations created during the Obama administration, which Secretary Scott Turner accused of putting "extreme and restrictive demands" on local housing developers.
President Donald Trump rescinded the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule, created under former President Barack Obama, during his first administration. Trump said at the time in a speech about cutting red tape in the federal government that the rule serves to "eliminate single-family zoning to destroy the value of houses" at the benefit of "far-left Washington bureaucrats."
Then-President Joe Biden later worked to reinstate the rule but ultimately pulled back due to fear it could make him politically vulnerable as he sought reelection, according to Politico. On Wednesday, HUD initiated its own rulemaking to squash the Obama-era AFFH rule, which mandated that localities commission extensive analyses to certify that new housing developments do not exacerbate disparities among federally protected groups. This includes access to public transportation, schools, hospitals and parks.
During a Wednesday conference call about the AFFH rule's termination, a HUD official said that discrimination that is prohibited under the Fair Housing Act of 1968 will still remain illegal. But under the new change, localities will now be able to self-certify that their new developments comply with anti-discrimination laws implemented under the 1968 Fair Housing Act.
"Over the past four years, and really dating back to the Obama administration, far-left Democrats have tried to socially re-engineer communities from the top down," Turner said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital.
"By terminating the AFFH rule, localities will no longer be required to complete onerous paperwork and drain their budgets to comply with the extreme and restrictive demands made up by the federal government."
Turner added that as a result of cutting this regulation, the federal government will be able to "better serve rural, urban and tribal communities that need access to fair and affordable housing."
Research from the libertarian think tank the Cato Institute found that the AFFH rule, as initiated under Obama, cost taxpayers as much as $55 million annually to collect the certification information the regulation required.
[IsraelTimes] Eyewitnesses say officers and soldiers were executed by firing squad, civilians were hanged; bodies buried in seven mass grave sites around capital, watchdog finds
More than 1,000 Syrians died in detention at a military airport on the outskirts of Damascus, killed by execution, torture or maltreatment at a site that was widely feared, according to a report to be published Thursday tracing the deaths to seven suspected grave sites.
In the report, shared exclusively with Rooters, the Syria Justice and Accountability Centre said it identified the grave sites by using a combination of witness testimony, satellite imagery and documents photographed at the military airport in the Damascus suburb of Mezzeh after the ouster of President Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor. If he'd stuck with it he'd have had a good practice by now... in December.
Some sites were on the airport grounds. Others were across Damascus.
Rooters did not examine the documents and was unable to independently confirm the existence of the mass graves through its own review of satellite imagery. But Rootersnews hounds did see signs of disturbed earth in images of many of the places pinpointed by SJAC. Two of the sites, one on the Mezzeh airport property and another at a cemetery in Najha, show clear signs of long trenches dug during periods consistent with witness testimony from SJAC.
Shadi Haroun, one of the report’s authors, said he was among the captives. Held over several months in 2011-2012 for organizing protests, he described daily interrogations with physical and psychological torture intended to force him into baseless confessions.
Death came in many forms, he told Rooters.
Although detainees saw nothing except their cell walls or the interrogation room, they could hear "occasional shootings, shot by shot, every couple of days."
Then there were the injuries inflicted by their tormentors.
"A small wound on the foot of one of the detainees, caused by a whipping he received during torture, was left unsterilized or untreated for days, which gradually turned into gangrene and his condition worsened until it reached the point of amputation of the entire foot," Haroun said, describing a cellmate’s plight.
In addition to obtaining the documents, SJAC and the Association for the Detained and Missing Persons in Sednaya Prison interviewed 156 survivors and eight former members of air force intelligence, Syria’s security service that was tasked with the surveillance, imprisonment and killing of regime critics.
The new government has issued a decree forbidding former regime officials from speaking publicly, and none were available to comment.
"Although some of the graves mentioned in the report had not been discovered before, the discovery itself does not surprise us, as we know that there are more than 100,000 missing persons in Assad’s prisons who did not come out during the days of liberation in early December," said a colonel in the new government’s Interior Ministry who identified himself by his military alias, Abu Baker.
"Discovering the fates of those missing persons and searching for more graves is one of the greatest legacies left by the Assad regime," he said.
Hundreds of thousands of Syrians are estimated to have been killed since 2011, when Assad’s crackdown on protests spiraled into a full-scale war. Both Assad and his father Hafez, who preceded him as president and died in 2000, have long been accused by rights groups, foreign governments and war-crimes prosecutors of widespread extrajudicial killings, including mass executions within the country’s prison system and using chemical weapons
...have not been used since WWI except for in Iraq, by the late, unlamented Saddam Hussein and in Syria, but really, honest, not by the Syrian government. And in Germany in WWII, but that was against civilians. Lots of them, just one of many reasons Hitler's also late and unlamented... against the Syrian people.
The SJAC said all the survivors it interviewed were tortured.
The report focuses on the first years of the uprising, from 2011 to 2017. But some of the testimonies from former regime officers based at Mezzeh detailed events up to the regime’s fall.
The Mezzeh military airport was an integral part of the Assad government’s machinery of enforced disappearance and housed at least 29,000 detainees between 2011 and 2017, according to the report.
By 2020, according to the report, air force intelligence had converted more than a dozen hangars, dormitories and offices at Mezzeh into prisons.
SJAC, a US-based Syrian-led human rights ...which are often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless... group funded by European governments and, until the recent funding freeze by the Trump administration, the US government, said its estimate of the dead comes from two air force intelligence datasets listing a total of 1,154 detainees who died there between 2011 and 2017. The datasets were leaked in a Facebook group monitored by SJAC as the regime collapsed and cross-checked by the organization against documents and witness testimony. The estimate does not include people who were executed after being sentenced to death by a military field court set up inside a hangar.
According to witness testimony in the report, officers and soldiers were executed by firing squad, while civilians were hanged. Two witnesses said many of those executed were buried near the hangar.
In December, the US Justice Department unsealed war crimes charges against two ranking Syrian air force intelligence officers over " the infliction of cruel and inhuman treatment on detainees under their control, including US citizens, in detention facilities at the Mezzeh Military Airport."
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. [Regnum] Boris Spassky, the 10th World Chess Champion, has died at the age of 88. This was announced on February 27 by the President of the Russian Chess Federation Andrey Filatov.
Spassky was a great personality, many generations of chess players learned and continue to learn from his games and work, Filatov told TASS.
"A great loss for the country. Condolences to his family and friends. Eternal memory," said the federation president.
Spassky was born in 1937 in Leningrad. After the start of the Great Patriotic War, shortly before the start of the blockade, he and his brother were evacuated to the Kirov region.
Spassky began playing chess in 1946 at the Leningrad Palace of Pioneers. In 1955, he won the World Youth Chess Championship and received the title of grandmaster.
In 1966, Spassky first competed in a world championship match, but lost to Tigran Petrosian. He became world champion three years later, beating the same opponent.
In 1972, Spassky lost to Robert Fischer and lost his world champion title. In 1976, the chess player emigrated to France, and in 2012 he returned to Russia.
[Garowe] The Somali National Army (SNA) repulsed a major al-Shabaab ... an Islamic infestation centering on Somalia attempting to metastasize into Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and similar places, all ofwhich have enough problems without them... attack at Balad town, sources said, reflecting the commitment by the local forces to restore peace and stability in the Horn of Africa.
Residents reported heavy gunfire, explosions, and intense firefight in and around the agricultural town. This is the first major attack in the country in as many weeks, but the murderous Moslems have significantly lost ground.
For the last two weeks, the al-Shabaab have been launching pre-dawn attacks following operations by the Somali National Army and the African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) in Middle Shabelle and Hiran regions.
When President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud took over, these areas were where the federal government had successes against the Death Eaters during the 2022-2023 military offensive, which led to a major defeat against the group.
According to officials, the local troops got a major boost from the Burundian troops, who were stationed around the scene of the battlefield. Multiple casualties have been reported but the exact figures are yet to be disclosed.
This comes amid major differences between Mogadishu and Bujumbura over the exact number of soldiers who would serve in the AUSSOM. The Burundian government has threatened to withdraw the soldiers if a solution is not reached.
According to officials, the Burundian government wants the allocation of soldiers to be doubled to 2,000 from the current suggestion of 1050, but Somalia has not approved the number. A total of 11,500 people shall serve in AUSSOM as peacekeepers, including the civilian team.
Security analysts believe the capabilities of terrorist organizations are increasing and evolving relatively fast. In Somalia, the al-Shabāab al-Mujāhideen Terror group could own the largest cache of Kamikaze and small surveillance drones in the entire East and Central Africa.
The Somali National Army (SNA) thwarted an assault by al-Shabaab ... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda... forces of Evil on military bases near Bal’ad district in the Middle Shabelle region,30 kilometers north of Mogadishu late Thursday night, military officials said.
The attack, launched in the early hours during morning prayers, was met with a robust defense, resulting in significant losses for the holy warrior group, according to Somali military sources cited by state media. While exact figures remain unconfirmed, several al-Shabaab fighters were reportedly killed, with their bodies discovered strewn across nearby farmlands.
The morning attack follows a major offensive earlier this week in the El Cali Axmed and al-Kowther areas, where Somali forces, backed by international partners, killed more than 70 forces of Evil in combined air and ground operations. The Middle Shabelle region, a strategic corridor between Mogadishu and Hirshabelle state, has seen heightened bad boy activity as al-Shabaab attempts to disrupt government-led campaigns.
The Somali federal government has ramped up efforts in recent months to reclaim areas under al-Shabaab control, focusing on central and southern regions.
The Ministry of Information emphasized that current operations aim to dismantle the group’s presence and secure vital infrastructure, including roads linking Mogadishu to central Somalia, to bolster economic stability and governance.
Africa being Africa, it's more of a dramedy tragedy clusterf**k. One day, the entire continent will be a shiny city on a hill, but today is not that day. Probably not tomorrow either.
[X] Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick just announced plans to use the Postal Service to conduct the Census instead of wasting billions.
USPS workers will also replace 20,000 Social Security workers.
"We spend $40 billion every 10 years doing the census. And that means we hire 625,000 people. And they go, and they rent cars and gas, and you pay them food... They go to every household and count the people."
"What department do we already have that already employs 625,000 people? It's got cars, already has gas, and goes to every household. [Answer: USPS]."
"They can go to your house when you have a baby and give you the form for Social Security. And the 20,000 Social Security officers that we have, we just don't need them. We actually can do real customer service."
"Let's use the assets of the government to make us better and save us money."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2025
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[11176 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Clean house before that happens.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
02/28/2025 4:46
Comments ||
Top||
#2
Given, the Postal Union leans Left-Democrat.
I expect ILLEGALS to be counted and other demographics to be undercounted.
As it would help certain (D) Congressional redistricting and Agenda issues.
#8
The Postal Service is already involved in the census. They deliver the census forms to the households and pick up the completed forms and deliver them for processing.
If the form is not returned, a census worker goes to the location to verify if anyone is there and interviews them as to the number of occupants. Sometimes, this means working outside normal business hours. Census workers do *not* go to every household in America.
The census workers get a few hours training on filling out forms, the minutia of federal privacy laws and how to deal with mass dwellings like jails, homeless shelters and migrant housing. They are paid hourly + IRS rates for mileage.
tl;dr: Postal workers already have jobs
What's the scoop on Lutnik? In addition to having questionable ideas, he gives off a late-night TV huckster vibe. "But wait, there's more!"
[IsraelTimes] Pentagon says transgender troops to be considered for a waiver on case-by-case basis if there is compelling interest in retaining them to serve ‘warfighting capabilities’
The United States will remove transgender troops from the military unless they obtain a waiver on a case-by-case basis, the Pentagon said in a Wednesday memo.
The memo became public as part of a court filing in a case challenging US President Donald Trump ...The cad! Twice caught beating wimmin!... ’s late January executive order that was aimed at barring military service by transgender personnel.
"Service members who have a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria will be processed for separation from military service," the memo said.
These troops may be "considered for a waiver on a case-by-case basis, provided there is a compelling government interest in retaining the service member that directly supports warfighting capabilities," it said.
To obtain such a waiver, troops must show that they have never attempted to transition, as well as demonstrate "36 consecutive months of stability in the service member’s sex without clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning."
Another Pentagon memo issued earlier this month barred transgender people from joining the military and halted gender transition treatment for others who are already in uniform.
The latest memo also states that "applicants for military service... who have a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria are disqualified for military service," as are those with "a history of cross-sex hormone therapy or sex reassignment or genital reconstruction surgery as treatment for gender dysphoria."
SHIFTING US POLICIES
Disqualified applicants can also obtain a waiver if there is a "compelling government interest" in them joining the military and they are "willing and able to adhere to all applicable standards, including the standards associated with the applicant’s sex."
Transgender Americans have faced a roller coaster of changing policies on military service in recent years, with Democratic administrations seeking to permi them to serve openly, while Trump has repeatedly sought to keep them out of the ranks.
The US military lifted a ban on transgender troops in 2016, during Democrat Barack Obama My friends, we live in the greatest nation in the history of the world. I hope you'll join with me as we try to change it... ’s second term as president.
Under that policy, trans troops already serving were permitted to do so openly, and transgender recruits were set to start being accepted by July 1, 2017.
But the first Trump administration postponed that date to 2018 before deciding to reverse the policy entirely.
Trump’s controversial restrictions on transgender military service — which underwent changes in response to various court challenges — eventually came into force in April 2019 following a protracted legal battle that went all the way to the nation’s top court.
Trump’s Democratic successor Joe The Big Guy Biden ...46th president of the U.S. We hold these truths to be self-evident. All men and women created ... by the — you know — you know, the thing... moved to reverse the restrictions just days after he took office in 2021, saying all Americans qualified to serve should be able to do so.
After returning to office in January, Trump issued an executive order that again took aim at transgender troops, saying: "Expressing a false ’gender identity’ divergent from an individual’s sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service."
Transgender issues have roiled US politics in recent years, as states controlled by Democrats ...every time you hear the phrase white people, white supremacy,white anything but paint, you're listening to a Democrat. Ask him/her/it to reimagine something for you; they do that a lot, though not well. They can hear a dog whistle a mile or two away. They invented the spoils system and Tammany Hall, and inspired the addition of the word (Thomas) Nasty to the English language. They want to stop continental drift and repeal the law of unintended side effects... and Republicans have moved in opposite directions on policies ranging from medical treatment to what books on the topic are allowed in public or school libraries.
#4
Don't forget the extremely ill advised use of hormones. Not prescribed but 'acquired' by the aforementioned mentally ill.
Just take a bunch of assorted nuts and encourage them to get juiced to the max. Above all let them customize it all to align with their feelings since they have been such benchmark historically. What could possibly go wrong?
Another socialist path to the destruction of our former high trust social order.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The approximate damage caused to Crocus Group by the terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall concert hall in Krasnogorsk near Moscow amounted to 150-200 million dollars. These figures were given to RIA Real Estate by Emin Agalarov, president of Agalarov Development, son of Crocus Group owner Araz Agalarov.
Speaking about financial losses, Emin Agalarov emphasized that the terrorist attack is, first and foremost, “a huge tragedy for people.”
“From a business perspective, this was a devastating effect for the entire Crocus Group; the work of all facilities was paralyzed and attendance decreased,” the businessman said, adding that Crocus City Hall was visited daily by 6–7 thousand people.
What will happen to the destroyed concert hall is still unknown; there is no certainty, he clarified.
According to Agalarov, about 70 million dollars were spent on the construction of the building 15 years ago.
“The damage to the concert hall itself is about 100 million. The damage to the shopping center from the loss of attendance is about the same, 150-200 million,” the company’s president concluded.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, the terrorist attack in Crocus City Hall was carried out on March 22, 2024. They broke into the concert hall filled with people and opened fire, then started a fire. As a result of the attack, 144 people were killed and another 551 were injured.
The criminal case against 19 persons involved in the terrorist attack was separated into a separate proceeding.
President Vladimir Putin said that the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall was carried out by radical Islamists, but Russia is interested in who ordered it. Information received from those detained confirms the Ukrainian connection to the terrorist attack, FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov said earlier. He stressed that the Islamists could not have prepared the terrorist attack at Crocus themselves; they were assisted.
Posted by: badanov ||
02/28/2025
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[11141 views]
Top|| File under: Islamic State
”We’ll placate the big, dumb oaf with a superficial trade thing so he doesn’t notice our continued war against the Jewish entity.”
[IsraelTimes] South African President Cyril Ramaphosa says that he wants to “do a deal” with US President Donald Trump to resolve a dispute over his country’s land policy and genocide case against Israel at the World Court.
Trump cut US financial assistance to South Africa in an executive order this month, citing disapproval of its approach to land reform and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) case against Washington’s close ally.
Ramaphosa tells a conference organized by US bank Goldman Sachs in Johannesburg that he wanted the “dust to settle” after the executive order, but that the longer-term goal was to go to Washington to mend relations.
“We don’t want to go and explain ourselves. We want to go and do a meaningful deal with the United States on a whole range of issues,” Ramaphosa says. “I’m very positively inclined to promote a good relationship with President Trump.”
Ramaphosa does not say what the deal could involve, only that it could touch on trade, diplomatic, and political matters. "Give us money"
South Africa is not hugely dependent on US aid, but some fear that its preferential trade status under the US African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) could be under threat with Trump in the White House.
The country tries to project itself as non-aligned in geopolitical conflicts, not tying its interests too closely to those of rival powers the United States, China, and Russia.
But Trump has cited the ICJ case as an example of South Africa taking positions against Washington and its allies.
#2
Their transition to Cuba began in 1995. Pretty much a steady decline and exit of talent and huge influx of migrants. President Johnson's "Great Society on steroids.
Illinois Mayor Tiffany Henyard’s alleged misuse of tax-payer dollars:
• $100,000 spent on travel in just five months. • $9,000 billed to Thornton Township for a January Mayors trip in Washington, D.C. • $374,000 for three SUVs • $24,000… https://t.co/72QdXVFnNxpic.twitter.com/0LgSvPt7ZO
#9
This is just another entitled gold digging female who simply moved from finding a rich simp to support her lifestyle to finding a position that gets you the same benefits. Instead of f*ing over one person, she chose to do it to taxpayers. Voters going their own way, VGTOW.
[BBC] Amazon has become the third tech giant in as many months to announce a breakthrough in quantum computing - a technology that promises vast processing power but is beset by technical difficulties.
The firm has unveiled Ocelot a prototype chip built on "cat qubit" technology - an approach that derives its name from the famous "Schrödinger's cat" thought experiment.
The chip seeks to address one of the biggest stumbling blocks to the development of quantum computers - making them error free.
Amazon says, taken alongside other recent breakthroughs in the industry, its work means useful quantum computers are likely to be with us sooner than previously thought.
But how quickly these machines will be powerful enough to be practically useful for a range of commercial applications is a matter of debate among experts.
Oskar Painter of Amazon Web Services (AWS) Center for Quantum Computing at the California Institute of Technology, where the work was carried out, told the BBC that recent progress meant an "aggressive date" of a decade was now "looking more and more realistic".
"Five years ago I would have said maybe 20 or 30 years", he said but added "this timeline's come in quite a bit."
Ultimately AWS, which provides cloud computing services, would like to offer quantum computing services to its customers, but Mr Painter also said he believed the advanced machines could eventually help optimise the vast global logistics of Amazon's retail business.
"You know, a company like Amazon, you make a one percent improvement in that and you're talking large dollars right? Quantum computers could enable you to do that more effectively, more real time - and that's the real value there," he explained.
[IsraelTimes] Two Afghan men linked to the Islamic State group have been jailed in Germany for planning an attack on the Swedish parliament in retaliation for Quran burnings by protesters.
The two suspects, identified as Ibrahim M. G. and Ramin N., allegedly tried but failed to buy guns for the plot.
They were found guilty of plotting to “kill members of parliament… in response to the burning of Qurans in Sweden,” the higher regional court in Thuringia says in a statement.
Ibrahim M. G., 30, was sentenced to five years and six months in jail, and Ramin N., 24, received a sentence of four years and two months.
The defendants, who arrived in Germany in 2015 and 2016, respectively, were Islamic State sympathizers who “shared the IS worldview and endorsed [its] violent approach,” the court says.
Before their arrest, both men lived in Gera in the eastern German state of Thuringia, were friends, and had become radicalized by online propaganda from the Islamic State group, dpa reported.
The men were arrested in March on their way back from the Czech Republic, where they had tried unsuccessfully to obtain firearms for the attack. According to the court, they had been under surveillance for some time.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
02/28/2025
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[11169 views]
Top|| File under: Islamic State
#1
Ibrahim "Herr Maschinengewehr"
Was a very Mohammedan terr--
"Nein! I swear I was not,
Just sought guns for my plot!
Therefore, only bad Germans dare care."
[AFRICANEWS] After an explosion went off in the midst of an M23 rally in the Democratic Republic of Congo, dozens have been wounded and eleven killed, according to rebel leaders.
The incident unfolded in eastern Congo's city of Bukavu.
The head of the Congo River Alliance, which includes the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels, stated that the perpetrator was among the dead.
''I would like to give you here the first assessment that we have, which is that the attack caused eleven deaths, including of a woman. Verifications are in progress. The perpetrator of the attack himself is part of these deaths. There are 65 injured, including six critically,'' said Corneille Nangaa, rebel leader of the Congo River Alliance (AFC).
He also accused the Congolese President of not negotiating with the rebels, saying, ''we have always expressed the wish to see a political solution to the multifaceted crisis in the Congo. And we note, unfortunately, that he (President Felix Tshisekedi) is attached to war.''
The Rwanda backed M23 rebels have rapidly advanced in the region, killing some 3000 people, and seizing key towns including Bukavu and Goma.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2025
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[11191 views]
Top|| File under: M23
A Canadian trantifa activist was released from custody after he allegedly launched a brutal knife attack on his children. On social media, he posted about the need to arm trans people with weapons so that they have "self defense" against society. Read: https://t.co/VOWE9OqcC5
A transgender Canadian man accused of stabbing his children has been released from custody pending trial. Alice Michael Joseph Attwood, 35, of Alberta, was arrested on February 19 for allegedly attacking his two children with a sharp knife, slashing the esophagus of his 8-year-old daughter, and injuring his 7-year-old son. The two kids survived the attack and his young daughter remains recovering in the hospital needing a feeding tube, according to reports.
Attwood's family petitioned the Court asking him to be involuntarily held in a psychiatric facility after a Grande Prairie judge ordered his release during the initial arraignment. The family's request was granted; however, records show that Attwood was released from the ward on February 25. His family is now concerned for the safety of his children and the public. Attwood is scheduled to re-appear before a judge on March 13.
Reddux reported that Attwood, who uses they/them pronouns, has been posting about the attack on social media sites, including an admission of guilt.
"For obvious reasons I'm going to sit and stay silent on the locally viral rumors going around. I understand people's upset (trust it's not as high as my own) and I'm going to answer for what I did. When I can see the picture more clearly then I will be here to hold myself accountable as well," Attwood wrote in a Facebook post which has been set as private. "It's just...not the right time for that. I need to focus on my mental health and finding the WHY to this happening...which means not being online."
He continued, "I am very apologetic and hurt though. Trust that. This was nowhere near my 2025 bingo card."
Attwood issued the post while he was admitted to the psychiatric hospital. He wrote in the comments underneath the post, "And yes, I stabbed my daughter in the shoulder, and scraped my sons arm. The cause, and they why are the slander I am mentioning here. I definitely had some sort of mental break...that's why I'm in psych."
Authorities have charged Attwood with aggravated assault. He is a former paramedic and previously discussed the need to arm transgender people with weapons, according to social media posts.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2025
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[11165 views]
Top|| File under: Antifa/BLM
[PUBLISH.TWITTER] Another one? How helpful that the gentleman is such an attractive nuisance — at this rate Antifa will no longer be a problem by the end of the school year.
Indiana Antifa militant arrested for making threats to "gut" Elon Musk and murder him in various ways
David Allen June Cherry, 28, of Clarksville, Ind., was arrested on Feb. 18 following an investigation into at least five violent extremist threats he posted to @ElonMusk on… pic.twitter.com/Y9vWAr4enw
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2025
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[11161 views]
Top|| File under: Antifa/BLM
#1
Hey Looney Tune liberals, this isn't the Biden Regime anymore. Such Diarrhea of the mouth is once again good for up to 5 years at the Hotel Gitmo.
18USC 115b:(B) threatening to assault, kidnap, or murder, a United States official, a United States judge, a Federal law enforcement officer, or an official.
Media outlets have reported that at least 46 people have died and 10 others have been injured after a military plane crashed near Khartoum, the capital of Sudan.https://t.co/BX5DYgYwup
[SUDANTRIBUNE] The medical charity, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said it has been forced to halt its activities in North Darfur State due to the escalation of attacks and fighting in and around Zamzam camp for displaced people near the North Darfur capital, El Fasher.
The attacks, MSF said, hinders provision of medical assistance in such dangerous conditions.
Despite widespread starvation and immense humanitarian needs, we have no choice but to take the decision to suspend all our activities in the camp, including the MSF field hospital, it further added.
According to the medical charity, it teams in Zamzam received 139 maimed patients in its field hospital, mostly suffering from gunshot and shrapnel injuries in the first three weeks of February.
''Eleven patients died while in the MSF hospital, five of them children, because we could neither treat them properly nor refer them to Saudi hospital, the only facility with surgical capacity in nearby El Fasher,'' said Yahya Kalilah, MSF's head of mission in Sudan ...a Moslem country located in the Horn of Africa. It is noted for its affinity for rule by ex- or current generals, its holy men, and for the oppression of the native Afro population by its Arab conquerors. South Sudan, populated mostly by the natives, split off from Sudan proper, which left North and South Darfur to be oppressed by the guys with turbans... He added, ''In January and December, two of our ambulances carrying patients from the camp to El Fasher were shot at. Now it's even more dangerous and as a result, many people, including patients requiring trauma surgery or emergency caesarean sections, are trapped in Zamzam.''
BREAKING: Terror-supporting students and faculty at Columbia University are outside classrooms, vandalizing the windows and chanting "globalize the intifada."
The students inside are unable to focus on their class due to the riot outside. Pure cowardice from the administration. pic.twitter.com/nTnS0HOePf
[NYPost] President Trump’s administration should yank federal funding from Columbia University and Barnard College, advocates urged Thursday — arguing the elite Manhattan schools have not done enough to protect Jewish students, including during disruptive and at times violent mostly peaceful campus protests.
In addition to pulling funding, advocacy group StopAntisemitism called for the Justice Department to take action to curtail future campus disruptions, including by launching an investigation into the Students for Justice in Paleostine organization.
"The university administration has completely failed to protect Jewish and Israeli students, faculty, and staff, allowing a hostile and dangerous environment to fester unchecked," StopAntisemitism’s executive director, Liora Rez, wrote in a letter to Leo Terrell, who is helming the Trump admin’s new task force to combat antisemitism.
Columbia received some $1.3 billion in federal grants in 2024 alone, accounting for around 20% of its operating budget, according to the Columbia Daily Spectator, the Ivy League university’s student newspaper.
The letter also calls on the DOJ to revoke visas and deport foreign students engaged in violent mostly peaceful protests on campus, and hold school administrators accountable for allowing the "lawlessness" to continue.
The plea followed an SJP-organized protest at Barnard’s Milbank Hall Wednesday, in which a school security guard was assaulted, officials said. An unruly mob of anti-Israel protesters took over the college building hall to protest the expulsion of a pair of masked students who stormed a Columbia class on modern Israel in January and tossed around antisemitic leaflets.
"These are not the values of the great institution of Columbia,’ one student told The Post. "These are not American values."
By Thursday afternoon, the protests reignited, with around 100 anti-Israel demonstrators gathering in front of the entrance to Barnard, once again clad in masks and keffiyehs and chanting "free Paleostine" and "one solution, intifada revolution" while calling out the $66,000-per-year private college with slogans like "your hands are dirty" and "you support genocide."
A group of Jewish students stood nearby, displaying Israel flags as a counter-protest.
"I think it’s absolutely horrifying. They are chanting in Arabic, ’from water to water Paleostine will be Arab.’ They are not calling for peace and compassion and human rights ...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty... . They are calling for violence," Joshua Shain, 21, a Columbia junior told The Post.
"These are not the values of the great institution of Columbia. These are not American values."
Shain said Columbia was handling the protests better than it did last year’s major unrest — but that more still needed to be done.
"We’re paying all this money in tuition, not to mention the federal and city taxes. The college and the city are supposed to make sure that everyone is safe. Where is that money going? They [protesters] put a man in the hospital for trying to keep order. What is being done?" he said.
"I don’t think any Jewish students are safe."
During Wednesday’s occupation, law enforcement sources said around 20 students pushed a 41-year-old campus security officer to the ground as they barged into the historic academic building. The victim was transported to nearby Mount Sinai Morningside hospital, complaining of chest pains.
The Transport Workers Union, which represents the injured officer, said he was "pinned" by the rushing crowd against a beam, and that one protester "lowered his shoulder and slammed into [him] like a linebacker."
"In the eyes of some of these trust-fund baby ideologues, harming the blue-collar TWU workforce at Barnard is seen as acceptable collateral damage in their quest to advance their political cause," TWU International President John Samuelsen said in the statement, calling for the culprits to be investigated and prosecuted.
Despite vowing to continue protesting until their demands were met — which included reinstating the expelled students and "amnesty" for those involved in last summer’s widespread campus protests — the mass of students left Milbank Hall just before 10:40 p.m. Wednesday.
"The masked protesters left Milbank Hall after receiving final written notice and being informed that Barnard would be forced to consider additional necessary measures to protect the campus if they did not leave on their own," Barnard College’s vice president for strategic communications Robin Levine said in a statement Thursday morning.
"No promises of amnesty were made, and no concessions were negotiated," Levine said of the resolution of the previous night’s fracas.
The crowd marched to nearby Riverside Park — before returning to the front gates of the school Thursday to continue their efforts.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2025
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[11190 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran Proxies
#1
The Israeli government and the military that defend it. They certainly aren't very good at this genocide stuff that is endlessly leveled at them. A solid year and half and yet Gazans' are everywhere to be seen. Anybody spouting that genocide shit should be punched in mouth immediately. (If not sooner.)
#2
A few simple questions:
Given, this is clearly a Domestic Terrorist / Hate Crime that is promoting genocidal violence.
Where are the police?
Are the Liberal Democrats holding them back? Because this is no longer a verbal protest. This is clear destructive violence.
Where is the Columbia U Board?
It should have already halted this.
I guess it needs to be sued, and/or criminally charged for Felony Aiding and Abetting?
Where are the usual run to the cameras, Liberal Democrats? the 1's we always see demanding action against such Hate Speech and race related violence?
[Townhall] President Donald Trump on Thursday announced his nomination of former GOP Senate candidate Hung Cao to be the next Under Secretary of the Navy.
“Hung is the embodiment of the American Dream,” Trump said in a statement posted on Truth Social. “As a refugee to our Great Nation, Hung worked tirelessly to make proud the Country that gave his family a home. He went to our amazing United States Naval Academy, and later earned his Master’s Degree in Physics. Hung served in combat as a Special Operations Officer for twenty five years. With Hung’s experience both in combat, and in the Pentagon, he will get the job done. Congratulations to Hung, and his wonderful family!”
Cao made a name for himself nationally as a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2024, running against incumbent Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine and stumping for Trump's presidential campaign at the Republican National Convention and while Trump made campaign stops in the commonwealth.
As a candidate, Cao criticized what he described as Navy, "diversity, equity and inclusion" efforts.
“When you’re using a drag queen to recruit for the Navy, that’s not the people we want,” Cao said during his debate with Kaine. “What we need is alpha males and alpha females who are going to rip out their own guts, eat them, and ask for seconds. Those are the young men and women that are going to win wars.”
Pentagon is getting STACKED.
Retired Navy Captain Hung Cao, a Vietnamese refugee who arrived in the United States in 1975, has had a distinguished military career, including service in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Andrey Khrustalev
[REGNUM] The fight for Ukraine's mineral resources, which Washington has started, is entering the final deal stage, and it will probably look like a Framework Agreement on the creation of a joint investment fund aimed at generating profit. It could be signed as early as February 28 in Washington, during a probable, but not yet confirmed, visit of the Ukrainian "cleaner" to the White House.
And it could become the first stone of a political avalanche that will fundamentally change the political landscape in Ukraine.
Europe's timid attempt to pull its "ally" out from under the asphalt roller may be considered a failure. As we recall, during the visit of a powerful European delegation to Kiev on February 24, the European Commissioner for Industrial Strategy Stefan Sejourné proposed a more lenient option.
"21 of the 30 most important materials needed by Europe could be provided by Ukraine in a win-win partnership," the official said, which sounds like an agreement to supply rare earth metals rather than resources in exchange for aid. They say Brussels will never ask Kiev to sign a deal that is not mutually beneficial. European Council President Antonio Costa also confirmed this position.
But despite all the initial appeal, Europe's proposal did not seem realistic.
Trump's demands for debt and payment of half a trillion dollars will not go away - the White House plans to receive $500 billion in compensation for Washington's support for Kyiv in repelling Moscow's invasion. This should be provided by revenues from minerals, oil, gas and ports, since Ukraine does not have such money now or in the future.
Europe, however, with all its desire, will not be able to allocate such a significant amount, even in exchange for all Ukrainian minerals. Which, by the way, still need to be further explored and extracted. After all, this also requires investments and time, which are also not available.
So the real meaning of the proposal is the creation or strengthening of the already emerging anti-Trump coalition in Europe as an example for Ukraine. A sort of "we don't give up - and you don't give up either." And another one is to maintain the Ukrainians' faith in the value of the country's mineral resources, for which the bidding has already begun.
Nevertheless, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal confirmed on February 26 on the air of the “Yedinye Novosti” telethon that things are on track. “We are not considering signing any agreements without security guarantees. And of course, over the course of two weeks, intensively working on an agreement between the governments of the United States and Ukraine on our economic cooperation, we have actually developed the final version,” he said, vaguely hinting at certain provisions of the deal “tied to security guarantees.”
As Shmyhal stated, as of today, the document has a very intriguing title: "Agreement on the Establishment of Rules and Conditions of the Investment Fund for the Restoration of Ukraine." In theory, Ukraine and the United States will manage it and fill it equally. As Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko emphasized, this format does not provide for the transfer of Ukrainian subsoil to the ownership of the United States, but allegedly attracts American investments for new projects without debt restrictions.
"After a certain period of time, when the Fund has accumulated enough income from its activities, payments are made to the members of the Fund," the official explained. And these are definitely not Ukrainian children, to whom Zelensky promised a share of the income from mineral extraction at the beginning of his presidential term.
On December 6, 2021, he even submitted a bill to the Verkhovna Rada that would provide for the issuance of special documents to all children born in the country. Funds received from rent payments for the exploitation of natural resources were to be accumulated in specially created accounts for each child.
Now the approach is different, and it was best expressed by former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson : "Yes, this agreement is extortion. But remember our Lend-Lease. We were simply robbed, our military bases were taken away, and we paid for this aid until 2006." But there is a long-term partnership with the United States.
Despite the obvious loss-making nature of the deal, Zelensky simply needs it as a pass to the White House or even the right to speak with Trump.
The American president had previously stated that the former public favorite "may not come at all" to the talks. Especially after, according to the American publication Axios, five incidents occurred in nine days in February that angered Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and adviser Mike Waltz. And left no one in the US president's entourage who supports the current Ukrainian leadership.
Having lost his "handshake" in the States, Zelensky had to maneuver at maximum speed to prevent the Ukrainian issue from being discussed in bilateral negotiations between Trump and Putin and the abandonment of the principle of "not a word about Ukraine without Ukraine," which was already full of cracks. The mineral deal really became a concession to Washington's policy and a pass to the Oval Office, without which he would become useless to the US, Europe, or Ukraine.
This may explain all the recent vacillations: on the one hand, the expired president must save face in front of the Ukrainians, on the other, he must not be excluded from the negotiation process and world politics, from which they are actively trying to push him out.
For Trump, who proposed this deal, such an agreement is extremely useful on a number of issues: not only does he gain leverage over Zelensky, indicating his place in the current political situation, but he also ensures a victory for himself in the domestic political arena. At the same time, he presents the American voter with a loot of $500 billion, which is only slightly less than the $600 billion received from the richest Saudi Arabia in January and presented as the first big victory of the new owner of the White House.
As Ukrainian analyst and economist Alexander Kushch notes, the US wants to fix the amount that they have spent and will spend on supporting Ukraine:
“This amount will include EVERYTHING: both the amounts of direct budget support and the cost of delivered weapons and ammunition, including those supplies whose shelf life was expiring and the supply of which to Ukraine was a kind of ‘free disposal’.”
The investment fund will accumulate until the specified amount is reached. The fund's assets are investments and control over infrastructure facilities: energy, transport, ports. Liabilities are contributions from the parties. On the US side, this is the estimated cost of the aid provided. On the Ukrainian side, this is income from granting permits for the use of natural resources (rent and profits of state raw materials companies).
Moreover, the fund is also responsible for issuing such permits.
Thus, despite Europe’s timid attempts to pull Ukraine out of this trap, the US will still receive the “right of the first night,” like a feudal lord in the Middle Ages: they will be able to prohibit the development of certain resources, their sale to a third party, and will have the right of first refusal to acquire such resources.
In this case, the restriction of Article 13 of the Constitution, which enshrines the rights of the Ukrainian people to the subsoil, will be circumvented.
"All statements about the legal nullity of such an agreement, heard in Ukraine, are very conditional, including the mention of Article 13 of the Constitution of Ukraine, which states that the people are the owner of Ukrainian natural resources. After all, the agreement does not talk about sale: natural resources remain in the conditional virtual property of the Ukrainian people, just as they were previously "public property" on paper, but in fact, the profit from their use was, in fact, the rental income of several oligarchic financial and industrial groups," Kushch believes.
For Ukrainian oligarchs, who largely determined the country's policy, and for officials who feed themselves from the sale of licenses, such a scheme threatens the cancellation of their corrupt business. With the real control of an American overseer, it will no longer be possible to pay ten times less for a license by "bringing a suitcase" to an official to resolve the issue.
This means that they will have to pay the full amount for the right to develop the subsoil, which significantly reduces income and profitability. It is unlikely that they will be able to reach an agreement with the Americans; schemes like Burisma from the time of Hunter Biden are no longer working.
The oligarchs won’t like this, and the point of application of this discontent will obviously be Zelensky himself and his closest team.
The entire extractive industry of Ukraine in figures for 2023, according to the State Statistics Service, is 262 billion UAH of gross product, or $7 billion per year. For the budget, and therefore the social security sector, the situation is not great either. During the war, the raw materials sector of the Ukrainian economy grew from 8% to 14% of GDP.
The “escape” of a significant part of these funds abroad will be felt by society very painfully – in the form of non-payment of pensions, reduction of social guarantees and other troubles. This will not add to Zelensky’s rating and approval of the electorate – as will the “surrender of national interests”, of which he can now easily be accused and the topic will be pumped up endlessly.
International revenues supporting Ukraine's budget will only decline in the foreseeable future.
The US, until recently the main donor, does not promise any specifics on the issue of financing Ukraine - regardless of the sphere where this money may go. Frightened Europe seems to promise to allocate billions, but is forced to direct part of the funds both to support its own armed forces, with the potential creation of a European army separate from NATO, and to solve other problems that have already accumulated in the economies of the countries.
Italy, Portugal, Spain and Hungary have already spoken out against the EU's 20 billion euro military aid package for Ukraine. The two main euro-locomotives, France and Germany, are also delaying their response, Politico reports.
A separate problem in this context was the termination of USAID funding mechanisms, which not only hit the social sphere, but also deprived “independent” media that supported Zelensky’s policies of funding.
Europe will not have the strength or physical ability to compensate for all of this in the near future without the participation of the United States.
The predictable result is growing, still quiet, discontent with the policies of the regime, which has made a series of serious mistakes. Having lost his ratings among the population, losing the support of the oligarchy and having a still timid, but already identified internal opposition, Zelensky is forced to rely only on the military and time, hoping for a change in the situation and situational maneuvers.
But the field for them is shrinking as the amount in bank accounts decreases.
It is not hard to imagine that Trump is well aware of the situation and is deliberately pushing Zelensky towards elections for which he is obviously not ready. With the accumulation of negative factors in the social, economic or military spheres, the crisis will only worsen. Naturally, Europe will support its "ally" for some time as a factor restraining both Washington and Moscow. But its influence on the processes will only decrease over time.
And the one who categorically does not want to leave himself will be pushed forward by life itself.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[NewsFront] 21:41 Attack aircraft under cover of tanks captured a major stronghold of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Aleksandro-Kalinovsky direction
The Ukrainian Armed Forces organized a large stronghold on the territory of the mine, which impeded the advance of our attack aircraft.
The UAV crew identified the enemy firing positions and transmitted the coordinates to the tank crews. The T-72 tank crew destroyed the identified enemy firing points from a closed firing position.
20:06 Fearless released Nikolsky in the Sudzhan borderland
Having overcome the enemy's stubborn resistance, the Northerners drove out the remnants of enemy formations from the outskirts of Nikolskoye, as well as nearby territories.
18:46 Operator of a combat UAV with a system for dropping ammunition of the 44th Army Corps of the North group destroyed ATV of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Khar'kov region.
18:37 Around 17:10 Moscow time by air defense systems on duty destroyed Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle over the territory of the Belgorod region.
17:13 Ixovods of the Vostok group of the Russian Armed Forces did not leave chances for the American 155mm howitzer M198 in the South Donetsk direction.
17:10 RF Armed Forces lead fighting near the border of Zaporizhia region
Our troops entered the settlement of Burlatskoye near the border of the DPR and Zaporizhzhya region, Vladimir Rogov reported. 59.9K17:10
17:00 In the South Donetsk direction, the crew of the T-80BV tank of the 5th Tank Brigade of the Vostok group delivered a direct hit and destroyed a disguised warehouse of NATO ammunition. Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel were also destroyed along with the ammunition.
16:58 RF Armed Forces are expanding bridgehead on the right bank of the Zherebets
– The Russian Armed Forces have penetrated the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ defense on the western bank of the Zherebets;
- Northern flank: fighting in Kolesnikovka and Zagryzovo. In the Zagryzovo area, possible advancement of the Russian Armed Forces, but the data is contradictory;
🟥- To the south, Russian troops have expanded their zone of control. After several days of fighting, half of the fortified area between Novy and Kolodezi has been taken;
🟥– North of Ivanovka, the Russian Armed Forces have established themselves in forest belts and on the heights west of Novosadovye;
🟥– In the area of Yampolovka and Mirny, Russian forces are advancing along both banks of the Zherebets.
15:20 From 11:35 to 12:10 Moscow time, air defense systems on duty destroyed two Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles over the territory of the Belgorod region.
15:18 The reconnaissance unit of the North group of forces used UAVs to reveal an armored combat vehicle of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Khar'kov region.
The detected target was quickly destroyed by the crew of the FPV drone on fiber optics.
14:41 The Russian Armed Forces continue to clear out strongholds northwest of Velikaya Novosyolka –MAP
14:21 Russian Armed Forces units are advancing in the direction of Kotlyarovka –MAP
14:10 Russian Armed Forces units liberated the settlement of Nikolsky in Kursk Oblast –MAP
14:13 Russian Aerospace Forces destroyed command post of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Kramatorsk
As a result of our air strike on the industrial zone of the Starokramatorsky Machine-Building Plant, the command post of the 81st Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces was hit.
13:33 Units of the North group of forces during offensive operations released the settlement Nikolsky.
13:32 In the Khar'kov direction, the FPV crew of the Antagonist group of the North Group wasdestroyedone self-propelled anti-aircraft gun "BOV-3", however, during further reconnaissance it became clear that the same gun had arrived for its evacuation, accompanied by a Ural.
12:38 Attack aircraft of the 242nd Motorized Rifle Regiment of the "Southern" group captured an important stronghold of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kurakhovsky direction
Having stealthily approached the enemy stronghold, our servicemen entered into close combat.
The Russian attack aircraft were subjected to heavy mortar fire and drone drops, but this did not prevent our fighters from capturing the stronghold.
12:34 After the capture of Lebedivka and Novaya Sorochina by the Russian Armed Forces took the Sudzha-Korenevo highway under fire control.
12:33 Drone operators of the 14th Guards Special Forces Brigade of the Vostok group continue the destruction of equipment, disruption of rotations and delivery of ammunition to the enemy in the South Donetsk direction.
11:42 Crews of T-90M Proryv tanks of the 25th Combined Arms Army of the West group of forces destroy identified dugouts, observation posts, armored vehicles and manpower of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. This allows our assault units to advance deep into the enemy's defenses.
12:02 "Ixovody" VDV figured ou rotation of the enemy and successfully disrupted it.
11:11 During the liberation of the settlement of Novoandreyevka, assault units of the Center group of forces, supported by fire from barrel artillery crews and strike UAVs destroyed the main enemy firing points are in the forest belts adjacent to the settlement.
11:01 Pokrovskoe (Krasnoarmeyskoye) direction. Right flank
Our units continued fighting to capture Tarasovka and advanced towards Alexandropol.
At the same time, our units restored the situation and advanced west of Leonidovka.
Fighting continues in the area of the highway near Malinovka and Vodyanoy Vtoroy – Berezovka.
11:00 Zaporizhzhya direction
Fighting continues in the Pyatikhatki area, where our units have advanced west and are reaching Lobkovo, and are also attacking in the direction of Stepnoye (Stepovoye).
In the Rabotino-Verbovoye area, our units continue to push the enemy in the direction of Orekhovo.
Our assaults are gradually clearing out the enemy's identified positions north of Rabotino.
The enemy in the village of Shcherbaki is being defeated using artillery, aviation and UAVs.
10:42 Footage released of the destruction of Ukrainian T-64BV tank by a strike from a fiber-optic FPV drone "KVN" in the area of the settlement Vodyanoye Vtoroye, DPR
09:54 In the Volchansk direction, the FPV operator GV "Sever" during aerial patrol of the area discovered a group of Ukrainian soldiers parked near the house. As soon as all the targets got out of the car, he carried out a precise strike on them with a kamikaze drone.
09:45 At 8:35 Moscow time by air defense systems on duty destroyed Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle over the Black Sea off the coast of the Republic of Crimea.
09:37 As a result of a blow by the Iskander operational-tactical missile system, destroyed the following at a camouflaged launch point for Ukrainian Armed Forces drones: – several enemy vehicles with equipment;
– about 14 units of long-range kamikaze UAVs of the Cobra type;
– more than 20 specialists from UAV crews.
09:29 RF Armed Forces tonight inflicted a strike on industrial facility near Kyiv
This information was confirmed by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine. According to the agency, a strong fire broke out on the territory of the facility.
09:12 FPV drone calculations at Rubicon Center struck armored vehicles, cars and personnel of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the border area of the Kursk region.
08:58 Russian Armed Forces for the past 24 hours inflicted three concentrated strikes on the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Kupyansk, Khar,kov Oblast, and nearby populated areas
The enemy lost five strongholds, two armored vehicles and about 50 militants.
08:42 FPV Operator GV "North" discovered Ukrainian soldiers' relay station, allowing Ukrainian drones to fly longer distances, and launched a suicide drone attack on fiber optics.
08:11 FPV drone operators of the 58th Guards Combined Arms Army of the Dnepr group discover and neutralize the Ukrainian Armed Forces' manpower hiding in dugouts and trenches. 58 Guards Army was formally the primary component for Russian operations in Chechnya
08:03 Lightning-2 drone strikes on enemy positions in multi-story buildings in Chasov Yar, –MAP.
07:18 During the past night, air defense systems on duty intercepted and destroyed 19 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles:
12 UAVs over the territory of the Oryol region,
three UAVs over the territory of the Kursk region,
three UAVs over the territory of the Belgorod region and
one UAV over the territory of the Republic of Crimea.
Linked article is available only through a VPN
[EngMilRu] The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation.
In Kharkov direction, units of the Sever Group of Forces inflicted fire damage on formations of two territorial defence brigades close to Volchansk and Liptsy (Kharkov region).
The AFU losses were up to 60 troops and one motor vehicle. Two artillery guns and two ammunition depots were neutralised.
Units of the Zapad Group of Forces improved the tactical situation. Russian troops inflicted fire damage on manpower and hardware of two mechanised brigades, one airborne brigade of the AFU, two territorial defence brigades, and one National Guard brigade close to Golubovka, Kupyansk, Borovaya, Stepovaya Novosyolovka, Lozovaya, Kondrashovka (Kharkov region), and Yampol (Donetsk People's Republic).
The AFU losses were more than 180 troops, four armoured fighting vehicles, two pickup trucks, and seven field artillery guns, including three Western-made ones. Two electronic warfare stations and two ammunition depots were eliminated.
Units of the Yug Group of Forces took more advantageous lines and positions. Russian troops hit formations of two mechanised brigades, one airmobile brigade, and one mountain assault brigade of the AFU near Novomarkovo, Stupochki, Vasyukovka, Verkhnekamenskoye, Minkovka, and Chasov Yar (Donetsk People's Republic).
The AFU losses were more than 150 troops, one armoured fighting vehicle, three pickup trucks, and two field artillery guns.
The Tsentr Group of Forces' units improved the situation along the front line. Russian troops eliminated manpower and hardware of four mechanised brigades, one assault brigade of the AFU, and one National Guard brigade near Andreyevka, Peschanoye, Uspenovka, Kotlino, Yelizavetovka, Sribnoye, and Udachnoye (Donetsk People's Republic).
The AFU losses were up to 310 troops, one German-made Leopard tank, and seven armoured fighting vehicles, including one U.S.-made HMMWV combat vehicle. One pickup truck and three artillery guns were neutralised.
Units of the Vostok Group of Forces continued advancing into the depth of enemy defences. Russian troops inflicted fire damage on formations of one mechanised brigade and two territorial defence brigades near Konstantinopol, Dneproenergiya, Razliv, Skudnoye, and Burlatskoye (Donetsk People's Republic).
The AFU losses were more than 215 troops, one armoured fighting vehicle, one motor vehicle, and three field artillery guns, including one Polish-made 155mm Krab self-propelled artillery system.
Units of the Dnepr Group of Forces engaged manpower and hardware of three coastal defence brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and two territorial defence brigades close to Shirokoye, Novopokrovka (Zaporozhye region), Antonovka, Pridneprovskoye, Sadovoye, and Veletenskoye (Kherson region).
The AFU losses were over 150 troops, ten motor vehicles, and one artillery gun. One electronic warfare station and two ammunition depots were neutralised.
Operational-Tactical Aviation, attack unmanned aerial vehicles, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Russian Groups of Forces engaged the infrastructure of military airfields, training sites for drone operators as well as clusters of Ukrainian manpower and hardware in 142 areas.
Air defence systems shot down seven U.S.-made JDAM guided aerial bombs and 104 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles.
In total, since the beginning of the special military operation, 656 aircraft, 283 helicopters, 44,720 unmanned aerial vehicles, 597 anti-aircraft missile systems, 21,756 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,522 MLRS combat vehicles, 22,060 field artillery guns and mortars, and 32,139 units of support military vehicles have been neutralised.
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the operation to neutralise AFU formations on the territory of Kursk region.
In the course of offensive actions, units of the Sever Group of Forces liberated Nikolsky.
Russian units hit formations of one heavy mechanised brigade, one motorised infantry brigade, five mechanised brigades, one assault brigade, two air assault brigades, two territorial defence brigades, and two assault regiments of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near Goncharovka, Guyevo, Zaoleshenka, Kurilovka, Lebedevka, Makhnovka, Melovoy, Nikolsky, Novaya Sorochina, Oleshnya, Rubanshchina, and Sudzha. Two counter-attacks launched by enemy units were repelled.
Operational-Tactical and Army aviation, and Artillery engaged AFU manpower and hardware close to Bogdanovka, Bondarevka, Gornal, Guyevo, Zamostye, Zaoleshenka, Kazachya Loknya, Pervy Knyazhy, Kositsa, Kurilovka, Lebedevka, Loknya, Malaya Loknya, Martynovka, Makhnovka, Melovoy, Mirny, Nikolayevka, Nikolsky, Novaya Sorochina, Oleshnya, Staraya Sorochina, Sudzha, Cherkasskaya Konopelka, Cherkasskoye Porechnoye as well as Basovka, Belovody, Belopolye, Zhuravka, Krovnoye, Miropolye, Novaya Sech, Novenkoye, and Yunakovka in Sumy region.
During the day, the AFU losses were more than 240 troops, one tank, two infantry fighting vehicles, four armoured personnel carriers, 17 armoured fighting vehicles, 18 motor vehicles, six artillery guns, including one U.S.-made Paladin self-propelled artillery system, one mortar, two S-300 and Buk-M1 anti-aircraft missile system launchers, one S-300 anti-aircraft missile system radar station, and one engineering vehicle as well as eight UAV command posts and one ammunition depot.
Since the beginning of hostilities in Kursk direction, the AFU losses amounted to more than 63,835 troops, 382 tanks, 290 infantry fighting vehicles, 247 armoured personnel carriers, 2,072 armoured fighting vehicles, 2,229 motor vehicles, 491 artillery guns, 52 MLRS launchers, including 13 of HIMARS and seven of MLRS made by the USA, 25 anti-aircraft missile launchers, one self-propelled anti-aircraft system, ten transport-loading vehicles, 116 EW stations, 15 counter-battery warfare radars, nine air defence radars, 51 units of engineering and other materiel, including 19 counterobstacle vehicles, one UR-77 mine clearing vehicle, five bridge launchers, one engineering reconnaissance vehicle as well as 14 armoured recovery vehicles, and one command post vehicle.
The operation to neutralise the AFU units is in progress.
Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.
[Korrespondent] 22.55 On the evening of February 27, Russian troops launched more than 10 drones at the Kharkiv region. The energy system was massively attacked. This was reported by the head of the Kharkiv OVA Oleg Sinegubov.
22.17 Russian troops attacked Zaporizhia with attack drones. At least one person was injured. This was reported by the head of the Zaporizhia OVA Ivan Fedorov. According to him, the blast wave damaged residential apartments, private houses and garages, in addition, there was a fire in apartments on the upper floors of a multi-story building.
21.19 Russian troops carried out drone strikes on the suburbs of Kharkov on the evening of February 27. This was reported by the head of the OVA Oleg Sinegubov. As a result of the strike, a private home in the Kharkov district was damaged by a "shahed" type UAV, two people were injured.
18:33 Ukrainian military attacked a Russian drone control center in the Zaporizhia region, which was used to control, store and service UAVs. This was reported by the press service of the General Staff on Thursday, February 27.
The specified military facility was used by the enemy to control, store and service UAVs of the Russian army.
17:50 Ukrainian fiber-optic modules Shelkopryad have been tested. This was reported on February 27 by the Unmanned Systems Forces. It is noted that the advanced technology opens up new possibilities for combat use. Shelkopryads can be installed not only on FPV drones, but also on ground robotic systems (GRS), and also provide control over surface and underwater unmanned systems.
15:57 Fifty men who went abroad thanks to letters of wishes from the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy in 2024 have never returned. This was stated by the adviser to the Minister of Culture for strategic communications and international cooperation Dmitry Zolotukhin on his Facebook page.
15:39 In Ukraine, the deadline for passing the military medical commission for citizens with limited fitness has been extended. According to the document, the new deadline is set until June 5. The General Staff reminded about this on Thursday, February 27.
15:29 China remains the largest supplier of dual-use goods to the Russian Federation. Without such support, Russia would not be able to continue its aggressive war against Ukraine. China also supplies components or even ready-made combat drones to the Russians. This was stated by the European Commission spokesman Anouar El-Anuni during a briefing in Brussels.
15:28 The universal ground robotic complex Gulliver, designed to perform a wide range of tasks in difficult weather conditions, has been codified and approved for use in the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This was reported by the Main Directorate for Support of the Life Cycle of Weapons and Military Equipment, the Ministry of Defense reports.
14:52 Soldiers of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense incinerated enemy howitzers near Pokrovsk with a heavy drone. The Main Intelligence Directorate reported this on its Facebook page.
14:37 A drone damaged a Russian air defense radar station in the temporarily occupied Crimea. This was reported in a message on the Telegram channel of the Russian publication Astra, which positions itself as independent.
13:53 The Security Service of Ukraine has announced in absentia suspicion of Yuriy Slyusar, the CEO of the Russian United Aircraft Corporation, which supplies the Russian army with combat aircraft for strikes on Ukraine. This was reported by the SBU press service on Thursday, February 27.
13:23 US President Donald Trump's statement on the return of Russian-occupied territories to Ukraine will not affect the negotiation process. But this issue will not be discussed, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a briefing.
13:11 Law enforcement officers have identified four Russian commanders who organized the shelling of Kharkov on February 28, 2022. As a result of the attack from the Smerch MLRS, eight civilians were killed, a school was destroyed, and residential buildings were damaged, the Prosecutor General's Office reported on Thursday, February 27.
12:26 Most of the developed countries of the world are involved in the Russian-Ukrainian war, which means that World War III is already ongoing. This was stated by the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, Kirill Budanov.
Answering the question of whether the current war can be considered World War III, Budanov replied: "This is a philosophical question, it depends on how you look at it. For me - yes, the absolute majority of the strongest and most developed countries in the world are involved, this is just a fact."
11:52 A serviceman, a resident of the Kherson region, collected and transmitted to the Russians data on the deployment, numbers, weapons, routes of movement of forces and assets of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as information on critical and civilian infrastructure facilities. Now he faces life imprisonment with confiscation of property.
11:11 Defense Minister Rustem Umerov has issued an order appointing Major General Andriy Gnatov as Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The minister reported this on Facebook . Andriy Gnatov has over 27 years of experience in the army, serving in key positions - from the commander of the Marine Brigade to the commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
10:44 On the evening of February 26, Russians attacked an emergency medical vehicle in the Kherson region with a drone; medics were injured. This was reported by the head of the Kherson GVA Roman Mrochko in Telegram on Thursday, February 27.
10:35 A day of war in Ukraine costs Russia almost a billion dollars, and 41% of the country's budget goes to defense. This was stated by the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Kirill Budanov, in an interview with Ukrinform .
10:17 The Security Service detained an FSB agent in Kropyvnytskyi who was preparing a series of arson attacks on key energy facilities in the region in order to cut off power to local military units and medical facilities.
The man was detained "red-handed" while conducting additional reconnaissance near an electrical substation that supplies power to a regional hospital and several units of the Defense Forces. The attacker planned to set fire to this power facility.
The agent turned out to be a 30-year-old local unemployed man who was looking for "quick money" in Telegram channels.
9:44 Russia does not have the ability to seize the entire Kherson, Zaporizhia and Donetsk regions by military means, so it seeks to achieve its goals diplomatically, using political pressure and negotiations. This is reported by the Institute for the Study of War in its daily report.
09:30 On the night of February 27, Russian troops launched 166 Shahed-type attack drones into Ukrainian territory. Air defense forces shot down 90 Russian drones, and 72 UAV simulators were lost. The attack affected the Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Sumy regions.
08:20 Over the past 24 hours, 110 combat clashes have been recorded at the front. Ukrainian troops repelled 33 enemy attacks in the Pokrovsk direction and 10 in the Toretsk direction.
Over the past 24 hours, the missile forces and artillery of the Defense Forces defeated one personnel concentration area, four command posts, a radio electronic station, an artillery asset, and one other important enemy target.
07:55 On the night of February 27, Russian military attacked the Kiev region with drones. Falling debris caused a fire at an industrial facility. The fire has already been extinguished. No casualties have been found.
07:35 As of February 27, 2025, the total combat losses of Russian troops on the territory of Ukraine amounted to approximately 871,850 people (+1,150 per day).
07:20 North Korea has sent additional troops to the Kursk region of Russia. The exact number of military contingents remains unknown. This was reported by Reuters, citing South Korean intelligence.
04:26 The United States of America did not support the annual statement of the World Trade Organization members condemning Russian aggression against Ukraine. It is noted that this year the statement was signed by 44 WTO member countries and Ukraine, including the European Union, Great Britain, Canada and Australia. The WTO statement condemns the devastating impact of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on the lives of people and the economy of the Ukrainian state .
03:15 Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said that the most effective security guarantees for Ukraine are its membership in NATO. She noted that such guarantees "must be implemented in the context of the Atlantic Alliance." According to her, other solutions on security guarantees "seem to me more difficult and, frankly, less effective."
02:00 British Prime Minister Keir Starmer repeated his call for security guarantees from the United States for Ukraine to prevent a repeat invasion by Russia - he said this before a meeting with US President Donald Trump. Starmer is convinced that Ukraine and Europe need "sustainable peace, not a ceasefire," and for this they need security guarantees.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The Novgorod Region Prosecutor's Office has filed a lawsuit demanding that the crimes committed by the Nazis in the region during the Great Patriotic War be recognized as genocide of the peoples of the USSR. This was reported on February 27 by the press service of the Prosecutor General's Office.
The lawsuit also calls for the Nazis' actions to be recognized as war crimes and crimes against humanity.
"During the Great Patriotic War, punitive battalions formed by the invaders operated in these territories, which massacred civilians and prisoners of war. The Red Army soldiers who were captured were kept in concentration camps in inhumane conditions, subjected to torture and torment," the statement said.
During the occupation, more than 202,000 residents of the region died, and more than 166,000 people were taken into slavery. The Nazis almost completely destroyed the cities of Malaya Vishera, Novgorod, Soltsy, Staraya Russa and Chudovo, and destroyed numerous monuments. The total amount of damage in current prices is about 48 trillion rubles, the report says. The prosecutor's office provided the court with numerous pieces of evidence collected with the support of law enforcement officers, scientists and volunteers.
“The application was filed with the Novgorod Regional Court in order to protect the national interests of the Russian Federation, the legal rights and interests of the relatives of the deceased, as well as the subsequent dissemination to the world community of information about the victims of the invaders during the Great Patriotic War, the restoration of historical justice,” the press service added.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, similar lawsuits were previously filed in courts by prosecutors in a number of other regions of Russia. In particular, the prosecutor's office of North Ossetia in its lawsuit, filed earlier in February, noted that more than 2.3 thousand people fell victim to Nazi crimes in the region, and more than 1.6 thousand people were forcibly deported to Germany.
The Murmansk Region Prosecutor's Office filed a similar claim with the court on February 7. During the Great Patriotic War, the region was partially occupied by Wehrmacht troops. As a result of massive bombing, over 1,500 houses were destroyed. The total number of Nazi victims in the Murmansk Region was over 15,000 people.
[GEO.TV] Israel's Prison Service said on Thursday that it had released 643 Paleostinian prisoners in the latest exchange under the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... truce after Hamas ..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... returned the bodies of four captives to Israel.
The Israel Prison Service concluded the seventh prisoners release in accordance with the agreement for the return of the hostages, it said in a statement, adding that 643 inmates were transferred from several prisons across the country and later released.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2025
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[11165 views]
Top|| File under: Hamas
#2
Why does Israel: Middle East Police
Chase Hamasniks well-slathered with grease?
"As we wait for that mission,
Hell, why not go fishin'
And practice our catch-and-release?"
[SUDANTRIBUNE] Sudan is teetering on the edge of a catastrophic escalation in violence and a devastating famine that could claim hundreds of thousands of lives, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker T rk warned on Thursday.
The ongoing conflict, marked by widespread human rights abuses and a collapsing humanitarian situation, threatens regional stability.
Since fighting erupted in 2023, Sudan has become the world's largest humanitarian and displacement crisis. ''We are looking into the abyss,'' T rk stated, highlighting the desperate plight of the Sudanese people.
More than 600,000 people are facing imminent starvation, with famine already reported in five areas, including the Zamzam displacement camp in North Darfur. The World Food Programme recently suspended operations in Zamzam due to intense fighting, further jeopardizing food security. An additional five areas are projected to face famine within the next three months, and 17 more are at high risk.
The conflict has displaced an estimated 8.8 million people within Sudan, while another 3.5 million have fled to neighbouring countries. A staggering 30.4 million people — a significant portion of Sudan's population — require humanitarian assistance. Less than 30% of hospitals and clinics remain operational, and disease outbreaks are rampant in overcrowded displacement camps.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2025
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[11139 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Sudan
[GEO.TV] Intuitive Machines made history last year as the first private company to put a robot on the Moon, although the triumph was marred by the lander tipping onto its side.
Now, the Houston ...a city in Texas, named after Sam Houston, who would drop deader than he is now if he could see how it turned out... -based firm is gearing up for a second attempt, determined to achieve a perfect touchdown.
Intuitive Machines' hexagonal-shaped lander, Athena, is set to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket during a window that opens at 7:02pm (0002 GMT) Wednesday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, according to an official spaceflight advisory.
If all goes well, it will touch down around March 6 at a spot called the Mons Mouton plateau, a site closer to the lunar south pole than any previously targeted.
Athena carries scientific instruments, including a drill to search for ice beneath the surface and a unique hopping drone named Grace after a famous computer scientist, Grace Hopper. It is designed to traverse the Moon's rugged inclines, boulders, and craters — a valuable capability to support future crewed missions.
Also aboard is a small rover, which will test a lunar cellular network provided by Nokia Bell Labs by relaying commands, images, and video between the lander, rover, and hopper.
Until recently, soft lunar landings were achieved only by a handful of well-funded national space agencies.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2025
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[11150 views]
Top|| File under:
[GEO.TV] US President Donald Trump ...Never got invited to a P.Diddy party... has dismissed British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's call for greater American military support for Ukraine, insisting instead that a minerals deal with Kyiv is the key to ensuring its security against Russia.
Starmer, who was meeting Trump at the White House for the first time since the US leader started his second term, turned on the charm, saying peace in Ukraine had only become possible because of Trump.
In the Oval Office, Starmer handed a letter of invitation from King Chuck ...King of England, Scotland, Ireland -- at least part of it -- Wales, Gibraltar, the Falkland Islands, and places like that. The first King Chuck had his head chopped off, the second one was Good Time Charlie. The third once wanted to be a tampon and thinks we'll all be extinct within the next seven years... for a state visit. Trump accepted. A date has not been set.
But underlying differences between the allies remained on the table for the private conversation that followed. They include transatlantic frictions over US-Russia talks aimed at ending the Ukraine war.
Before the meeting, Starmer had argued that there could be no long-term peace in Ukraine without firm US security guarantees — an argument Trump all but dismissed.
''We are a backstop because we'll be over there, we'll be working,'' as a result of the economic partnership, Trump said. ''We're going to have a lot of people over there.''
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2025
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[11161 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Careful. Starmertrooper policy is to arrest people who make remarks unapproved by London even if they are visiting and made said remarks when in their home country.
[AFRICANEWS] Scenes of panic broke out in the city of Goma and the Nyiragongo territory on Tuesday, after rumors of forced recruitment by the M23 rebel movement.
Panic-stricken parents rushed into schools to collect their children, while others ran for their lives.
School officials and M23 authorities strongly denied No, no! Certainly not! allegations of forced recruitment. The rebel movement called the allegations part of a disinformation campaign.
The new M23 authorities in Goma called on the public to remain calm, insisting that no recruitment was taking place in schools. They also stated that the M23 had never carried out any forced recruitment in the areas under its control.
Despite these denials, the panic has prompted fears among the local population in Goma. Local authorities are being urged to take steps to reassure the population.
According to the UN Spokesperson, in Lubero Territory, north of Goma, festivities last week forced more than 100,000 people from their homes.
Following a rapid advance in the east of the country, M23 rebels have captured a number of important cities and towns.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2025
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[11162 views]
Top|| File under: M23
[IsraelTimes] Prime Minister’s Office mum on whether negotiators will discuss phase two of hostage-ceasefire deal; official says troops will remain in Gaza-Egypt border zone, defying agreement
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dispatched negotiators to Cairo, his office said Thursday, amid uncertainty over the future of a deal with the Hamas ..one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbund millipede,... terror group that paused fighting in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... and freed hostages held by the terror group.
The Prime Minister’s Office announced the move in a terse statement that did not include what the negotiators will discuss, but other officials indicated that the talks would revolve around maintaining the Gaza ceasefire deal, with the first phase set to officially conclude on Saturday.
"Prime Minister Netanyahu ordered a negotiating team to leave today for Cairo, to continue talks," the PMO said.
Speaking at a presser in Jerusalem, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said the team would explore "whether we have common ground to negotiate."
But he signaled that Israel was seeking to extend the first phase, which has left Israeli troops in some areas of Gaza, rather than advance to the second stage, which would call for a full military withdrawal from the Strip; Israeli leaders have rejected going through with the pullout as long as Hamas remains in power.
"We said we are ready to extend the framework [of phase one] in return for the release of more hostages," Sa’ar said. "If it is possible, we’ll do that. It will be better to speak at length about it after the return of the delegation from Cairo."
The decision to send the delegation came after Netanyahu held two meetings on Thursday with security bigshots, including Katz, Sa’ar, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and Shas chairman Aryeh Deri, according to Channel 12.
According to Hebrew media reports, the prime minister wants to extend the current first phase of the deal beyond the designated 42 days, which is set to end on March 1, and secure the freedom of more hostages as part of phase one, including more hostages Israel now believes are in poor health.
An Israeli source quoted by Hebrew media said Jerusalem was expecting more hostages to be released on Saturday, though it was unclear if this was based on any actual Hamas concessions.
Hamas early Thursday returned the bodies of the last four hostages it was set to release during the first phase of the truce, while Israel released more than 600 security inmates — more than 100 of whom were serving life sentences or were convicted of murder — in return.
According to the PMO, citing information from the military, hostages Ohad Yahalomi, Tsahi Idan, and Itzik Elgarat were murdered in captivity.
Shlomo Mantzur, the fourth hostage whose body was handed over in the exchange, was killed on October 7, during the Hamas-led invasion, hostage-taking, and massacres that sparked the war, and his body was taken to Gaza, the PMO said.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said Thursday that phase one of the deal "is complete."
Under the ceasefire outline agreed to by Israel and Hamas, Israel’s remaining living hostages — believed to include 24 people — are to be released during the second stage of the deal. A third stage is also ostensibly planned, during which the bodies of hostages killed on October 7 or in captivity would be released, and the war would end permanently.
ISRAEL NOT WITHDRAWING FROM PHILADELPHI CORRIDOR
An Israeli official sent a statement to width:1px;border-bottom-style:dotted;border-bottom-color:gray;' title='reporter'>news hounds Thursday rejecting any withdrawal of Israel Defense Forces troops from the so-called Philadelphi Corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border, despite the deal’s requirement that it do so by the 50th day of the ceasefire.
Israel contends that the border zone is a major smuggling route that will be used by Hamas to bring more weapons and fortifications into Gaza to rebuild its decimated forces unless it is policed by Israeli troops. Both Hamas and Egypt reject a continued Israeli presence there.
"We will not leave the Philadelphi Corridor. We will not allow the Hamas murderers to again roam our borders with pickup trucks and guns, and we will not allow them to rearm through smuggling," the Israeli official said.
Israel, with backing from the US, has repeatedly said it will not allow Hamas any role in the future governance of Gaza and that it is prepared to resume fighting to prevent such an outcome. Netanyahu has also refused any role for the Ramallah-based Paleostinian Authority.
Hamas said Thursday it was ready to begin talks on a second phase, after the exchange of the four hostages for the 602 prisoners and detainees had concluded.
The terror group said the only way remaining hostages in Gaza would be freed is through commitment to the ceasefire.
"We renew our full commitment to the ceasefire agreement and confirm our readiness to enter into negotiations for the second phase of the agreement," the group said in a statement.
[IsraelTimes] UN health agency chief says ceasefire enabled even more children to be reached than in previous rounds, including those who may have been missed due to security issues.
#2
According to the CIA World Factbook website, almost 40% of the population in Gaza is age 0-14 years — as reported by the Hamas government, presumably before 10/7/2023, as they’ve been a bit busy since — with about another 10% aged 15-19. The median age is 19.5, and the total fertility rate is claimed to be 3.26 children born/woman.
Quite possibly Hamas made up all the numbers, n, but I know of no better source since Israel pulled out and stopped tracking their statistics.
#4
Basic math, refugee & population data voids the 600K statement.
But for S%^T & Grins
Using 600k / 5 days = 10,000 per day.
Using the hours of 8am to 6pm = 10 hours Daylight.
That's a 1,000 shots per hour (w/o a lunch or breaks).
At about 5 mins a shot, due to Paperwork, Admin and inoculation issues. That works out to 12 per hour per doctor.
Requiring a setup for 83 doctors, with staff?
All working w/o a lunch or pee breaks.
PLUS
Remember, there is religious opposition by Muslim fundamentalists, against polio vax'ing. Which Gaza kids and their parents generally seem to fall into, and were not Vax'd before?
Why now?
Also, according to the CDC data, unlike it was in the early 60's, it is now 4 shots administered over a period of years. So did the vax'ings even happen, and if so will the needed follow-up shots happen?
The first two rounds they did with an “improved” version of the vaccine, Mullah Richard. They discovered it was ineffective — I seem to recall virii discovered in the sewage, but it may have been a child falling ill — so they panicked and decided to do the whole thing over with a vaccine that actually works.
#9
religious opposition by Muslim fundamentalists, against polio vax'ing. Which Gaza kids and their parents generally seem to fall into
That’s a Pakistan problem. In Gaza they're there for all the free bennies. Also, Hamas is Muslim Brotherhood, so they aren’t anti-science, they just want their kind of pious running the expanding caliphate and most women at home rearing kids. The Turkish Gulenists are in the same gradualist mold, just perhaps one step less totalitarian in that they left politics to Recep Tayip Erdogan and his professional politicians — which is why they got the Menshevik treatment.
At the risk of being the pedantic nerd, 600,000 kids / 5 days is 120,000 per day. But the point still stands. Even more so, in fact.
If this was my circus, I'd inoculate the kids using an oral/nasal vaccine and an agricultural spray drone. If it's good enough for cabbage loopers, it's good enough for polio.
As for the 'genocide' thing, Netanyahu should get the Nobel Prize for Lamest Genocide Ever.
[PJMedia] Max Primorac, former acting chief operating officer for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), testified before Congress that the Biden administration ditched strict vetting procedures put in place during the first Trump administration. This move allowed "vast sums of money" to go to Middle Eastern countries that ended up funding terrorists.
"I approved strong vetting policies for humanitarian assistance in countries swarming with terrorists. That, too, was ignored by the Biden administration," Primorac told a Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency hearing on foreign aid. He also said "vast sums of U.S. money have been diverted to fund snuffies in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... , Syria, Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of... , and Afghanistan" and that "NGOs have been hit with heavy fines for violating our anti-terrorism financing laws."
The concerns about USAID are well founded. The NGO's receiving USAID money and then delivering cash to terrorist groups and terrorist front organizations deserve a full congressional investigation.
The Middle East Forum has been tracking these payments for years. Their executive director, Greg Roman, also testified before the subcommittee. Roman testified that USAID gave a $125,000 grant to the Islamic Relief Agency, "an entity linked to al Qaeda, even after a whistleblower raised red flags." Another group, Helping Hand for Relief and Development, received a $78,000 grant "despite openly working with the snuffies who orchestrated the 2008 Mumbai massacre in India."
Washington Free Beacon:
USAID money also went to Jammal Trust Bank in Lebanon, which the U.S. Department of the Treasury later designated as a sponsor of the terrorist group Hezbollah. In another example, the agency funded the Gazan charity Bayader and Unlimited Friends Association, whose officials have called for the region to be "cleansed" of the "impurity of the Jews," and which maintains close relations with Hamas leadership, according to Roman.
He said federal workers who approved such grants should be liable for criminal charges under anti-terrorism financing laws.
"This is a threat to American national security and potentially criminal, and this committee should take action to ensure that the Department of Justice acts on it, and does everything in Congress's power to not just investigate but refer criminal actions to the proper authorities," said Roman.
A little perspective: The USAID budget is $40 billion. Much of that money goes to feed about 200 million people in sub-Saharan Africa who are starving to death. The funds sent to terrorists represent a tiny fraction of the agency's budget.
Can we feed the hungry without funding terrorists? The entire foreign aid system, not just USAID but also aid programs in the State Department, the Agriculture Department, the Commerce Department — every department in the executive branch that sends money overseas — needs to be reformed, consolidated, or ended.
Washington Times:
Sen. Joni Ernst, Iowa Republican, said the U.S. Agency for International Development also paid $1 million of American taxpayers’ money to a Ukrainian carpet company, $255,000 to an organic coffee and tea producer and $150,000 to a knitwear company.
There are thousands of USAID contracts that fund idiotic programs.
"A Ukrainian pickle outfit received $148,000, a meatpacking plant got $319,000 and a Ukrainian vineyard got $89,000," Senator Ernst said.
[IsraelTimes] 26-year-old resident of Petah Tikva graffitied Hamas inverted red triangle and pro-Iranian messages for pay; agents sought photos of Shin Bet chief’s home, army bases
Another Israeli citizen has been arrested on suspicion of spying for Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... in exchange for payment, police and Shin Bet spokespeople announced in a joint statement on Thursday.
Prosecutors indicted Petah Tikva resident Daniel Kitov on Thursday morning in the Lod District Court on the charge of contact with a foreign agent.
Security forces arrested the 26-year-old earlier this month for allegedly spray-painting incendiary graffiti messages in Petah Tikva and Rosh Ha’ayin at the behest of his two Iranian handlers.
Kitov carried out these acts of vandalism for money, said police. Ynet reported that the Israeli citizen received $7,000 for the graffiti.
One of the messages, painted alongside Hamas ..always the voice of sweet reason... ’s inverted red triangle symbol, invoked "the conquerors of Khaybar," in reference to the 7th century Moslem siege against Jewish tribes in Khaybar during Islam’s nascent years.
Another read: "Children of Ruhollah" — alluding to Iran’s first supreme leader, Ruhollah Khomeini.
The agents also urged the suspect to photograph military bases and the home of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, however, he never acted on these suggestions, police said. Kitov offered to photograph the home of MK Benny Gantz, but did not follow up on the plan.
The Iranian agents Kitov made contact with took the aliases "Mike" and "Roni Bar" on their chats, the latter referring to the security service head, per Ynet’s report.
Police noted in their statement that Iranian agents have ramped up their efforts on social media platforms to recruit ordinary Israeli citizens as spies, promising them money to carry out such missions.
In most of these cases, the suspects began by carrying out small, innocuous tasks, which gradually grew into more serious offenses, like intelligence gathering and liquidation plots.
[IsraelTimes] US State Department says Ukraine war not on agenda at meetings, which will instead focus on staffing levels at embassies, visas and diplomatic banking
[ShabelleMedia] Mortar shells struck near Aden Adde International Airport in the Somali capital on Thursday as security forces heightened measures ahead of a planned visit by Æthiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, security sources said.
It was not immediately clear if the attack caused any casualties. Warning sirens blared across the airport, indicating a potential security threat, according to a Rooters witness.
Officials said that Abiy Ahmed’s visit to Mogadishu prompted tightened security, with several roads in the city sealed off in preparation for his arrival.
Further details on the incident were not immediately available.
#1
An anomalous dropping off dimes.
Mogadishu: "Hi! Fortean Times?"
...
"Those falling munitions
Should pique no suspicions
In modern Somalian climes."
[GEO.TV] An unvaccinated child in Texas has died from measles, health officials confirmed on Wednesday, marking the first measles-related fatality in the United States in nearly a decade, as the country grapples with a growing outbreak and declining immunisation rates.
The death comes amid declining immunisation rates nationwide, with the latest cases concentrated in a Mennonite religious community that historically has shown vaccine hesitancy.
It comes at a delicate moment for US public health as Kennedy, who has long spread falsehoods about the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, begins his tenure as health secretary.
"The school-aged child who was not vaccinated was hospitalised in Lubbock last week and tested positive for measles," the state health department said in a news release.
A statement from Lubbock city confirmed that the child passed away "within the last 24 hours."
Since the start of the year, more than 130 measles cases have been reported in west Texas and neighbouring New Mexico, the vast majority in unvaccinated children.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2025
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[11147 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Not vaccinated. Was the child offered the vax when they were apprehended crossing the border?
I suppose we'll never know. But it does matter.
Posted by: Bobby ||
02/28/2025 11:35
Comments ||
Top||
#2
As a kid I had no worries about measles. The only 'childhood' disease left was chicken pox and it isn't nearly so lethal. I had no reason NOT to vaccinate my kids against that like I did with that F*ing COVID shot. I had to get it for work and I'm glad that I kept telling my wife no for the kids. She's happy now about that as well.
#6
I would definitely have my kids vaccinated for the usual childhood illnesses, just consider waiting until they were a year old rather than starting at three months. I’d rather not have to pray they don’t end up blind, deaf, retarded, sterile, or dead. Or, like Senator Mitch McConnell, partially paralyzed down one side and with brain glitching in their old age from polio. Just because the recent vaccines are crap doesn’t mean they all are.
#7
My understanding is that the docs are doing batch shots all at once. IIRC my childhood experience, it was one shot over months and even years. At least with the old drugs and routines, it had a good amount of time for the body to adjust. While the drug companies back then had filed the appropriate studies and paperwork for approval of the individual shots, nothing has been done with the batch delivery approach.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] Ukrainian Armed Forces Contain Russian Attacks in Eastern and Southern Ukraine.
In the Pokrovsky direction, Russian troops organized 35 assaults in the areas of 14 populated areas.
Since the beginning of the day, 88 combat clashes have occurred on the front, most of them in the Pokrovsk direction. This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in an operational report on Thursday, February 27.
Thus, in the Kharkov direction, two enemy assaults were repelled in the direction of Volchanskaya and Kondrashovka.
In the Liman direction, the enemy attacked the areas of the settlements of Yampolevka, Torskoye and Kolodtsy. In total, there have already been four combat clashes in this direction, which have been successfully repelled.
In the Seversky direction, one assault was repelled in the Belogorovka area.
In the Kramatorsk direction, our military is repelling an enemy assault near Vasyukovka.
In the Toretsk direction, the enemy attacked eight times in the areas of Krymskoye and Toretsk. Four combat clashes are still ongoing.
In the Pokrovsk direction, the enemy attacked our defenders' positions 35 times in the areas of the settlements of Berezovka, Mirnoye, Promin, Lisovka, Pokrovsk, Novoukrainka, Zverevo, Kotlino, Udachnoye, Nadeyevka, Uspenovka, Preobrazhenka, Zaporozhye and Bogdanovka. Ten combat clashes are still ongoing.
In the Novopavlovsk direction, our defenders repelled five attacks in the areas of the settlements of Konstantinopol and Burlatskoye.
In the Gulyai-Polye direction, the enemy has become active in the areas of Novopol and Volshebny. Our defenders have successfully repelled four attacks on our positions, and two more clashes are still ongoing.
In the Orekhov direction, the enemy attacked our defenders seven times in the areas of Stepnoye, Pyatikhatki, Novoandreyevka and Kamenskoye.
Four military clashes took place in the Kursk direction.
Let us recall that in the course of 24 hours on February 26, Russia lost more than 1,100 soldiers at the front. The total losses of the aggressor country are approaching 880,000 people.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2025
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[11148 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban/IEA
#1
Sounds like judgmental cultural relativism to me. Where does he get off condemning how other people live their lives?
And we should import it, too.
is "sarc" necessary?
Yeah, considering some of what I've heard over the years.
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
02/28/2025 6:32
Comments ||
Top||
Just when you thought you'd seen or heard it all, regarding this new generation's warp minds for posting of video attics.
But it is New Hampshire. 🤭
[LawEnforcementToday] Adult content creator busted for urinating on food in grocery store
An online adult content creator identified as 23-year-old Kelli Tedford, of Keene was placed under arrest following the investigation of an anonymous report that the woman had recorded herself and streamed a video online of her deliberately contaminating food items with her urine.
According to a press release from the Keane Police Department posted to Facebook, “During this investigation, numerous additional videos of Tedford were reviewed by investigators. At this time, it appears likely that similar historic incidents occurred in Keene and surrounding communities where Tedford contaminated items and/or surfaces with urine, as several videos appear to be recorded as early as 2021.”
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Sergey Adamov
[REGNUM] While the fighting in Donbass has calmed down, a number of other sections of the front have become active. In particular, sources on both sides of the conflict are reporting fierce fighting in the Khar'kov region.
The front here can be divided into two separate sections. The first is located at the junction of the borders of the Khar'kov region and the LPR, between the Oskol, Zherebets and Seversky Donets rivers. The second is further north, in the area of the city of Kupyansk.
The situation in the "interfluve" is developing extremely negatively for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The enemy formations based here are pressed against the Oskol River and the Oskol Reservoir. Previously, all the bridges across the river were destroyed by Russian aviation, so the group is supplied via pontoon crossings - they also become targets for strikes.
The enemy control zone was cut into two parts after Russian troops liberated the settlement of Kruglyakovka in late 2024. As a result of the successful offensive, communications were disrupted between enemy forces in Kupyansk and Kovsharovka and Ukrainian Armed Forces units further south, in the Borovaya area.
For Russian troops, this success could acquire strategic significance. Ukrainian sources write about attempts by Russian troops to build pontoon crossings in this area in order to force the river and reach the southern outskirts of Kupyansk, a strategically important defense hub for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
At the same time, the enemy is aware of the scale of the threat and is trying to prevent the river from being crossed, front-line sources tell IA Regnum.
“Their bombers are flying in from the Kupyansk direction, which means they understand that things are not going well, so they are ready to risk their planes,” the source noted.
Meanwhile, north of the city, the situation for the enemy is becoming even more difficult.
BRIDGEHEAD ON THE RIGHT BANK
The city of Kupyansk is divided by the Oskol River into two unequal parts. On the left bank (in Zaoskolye) are located the city's industrial zone, the private sector and a few residential areas. Most of the city, including urban development and administrative buildings, is located on the right bank.
A frontal assault from the east is fraught with heavy losses, since the Ukrainian Armed Forces can use high-rise buildings on the right bank to adjust fire. They also have the ability to place artillery in city blocks and constantly maneuver, firing at the left bank.
In addition, the enemy seriously strengthened the buildings of local enterprises - the Sugar Factory and the Dairy Plant, the assault on which could also lead to large losses for the Russian Armed Forces. Even despite the fact that Russian aviation destroyed all the bridges in Kupyansk, the enemy was able to establish communication between troops located in different parts of the city.
Therefore, the command of the Russian troops decided to force the Oskol River not in the city, but to the north, where the enemy positions were significantly weaker. Thus, by the end of February, a bridgehead had emerged on the right bank of the river near the settlement of Dvurechnaya. According to reports from the field, by February 27, Russian troops had reached the outskirts of the settlement of Golubovka north of Kupyansk and, presumably, were able to dislodge the enemy from this settlement.
The Russian army's assault units also managed to advance up to a kilometer from Dvurechnaya in the direction of the village of Kutkovka, thereby further expanding the bridgehead on the right bank of the Oskol. Ukrainian sources report military actions in the area of the village of Topoli, the northernmost point of the Ukrainian defense in the Khar'kov-Kupyansk direction.
The current situation creates preconditions for a possible encirclement of Kupyansk from the north, military expert Alexander Mikhailovsky notes in a commentary for IA Regnum. But additional efforts may be required to solve this ambitious task.
"The enemy obviously did not prepare the city for defense from the northern direction. If the encirclement of Kupyansk really succeeds, the Ukrainian Armed Forces will have to abandon the city. But let's not forget that the pace of the offensive here is still low, including due to enemy resistance. In addition, Kupyansk is a large city, it cannot be taken by storm," the expert adds.
THE UKRAINIAN ARMED FORCES ARE WAITING FOR AN ASSAULT
As of early 2022, more than one hundred thousand people lived in the Kupyansk district, of which about thirty thousand lived in Kupyansk itself. By early 2024, according to local authorities, only 1.6 thousand civilians remained in the city, living on both sides of the Oskol River.
According to the Ukrainian district administration, the most tense situation is developing in the area of the village of Kondrashovka north of Kupyansk.
“The most threatening situation is now in the direction of Kondrashovka, the fighting is already taking place along the right bank, the enemy has managed to advance and gain a foothold here,” administration representative Andrei Besedin told Ukrainian media.
According to the official, Russian troops plan to encircle the city, which is of strategic importance to Ukrainian defense.
At the same time, sources from the field report that the enemy is not planning to conduct urban combat in Kupyansk for now. No additional fortified areas are being created in the city, presumably because the Ukrainian Armed Forces command may try to slow down the advance of Russian troops north of the city.
For this purpose, additional reserves from among newly formed units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces undergoing training in Europe may be used.
"Now Kiev can count on additional supplies and, based on this, plan operations both in Donbass and in the Kupyansk region. At the same time, the Ukrainian Armed Forces may try to prolong the military actions as much as possible, not giving Russian troops the opportunity to develop a quick success. The question is who will seize the initiative and take advantage of it as quickly as possible," says expert Mikhailovsky.
The day before, a number of European countries confirmed their readiness to support the Ukrainian Armed Forces if the United States curtails military aid programs to Kyiv. The Canadian authorities recently announced the transfer of another batch of LAV-3 armored personnel carriers to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which will begin arriving at NATO training grounds in Germany. It is assumed that the armored vehicles will be mastered by Ukrainian crews, who will then go into battle on them.
France, Great Britain, Germany and other European countries also announced new aid packages. Therefore, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are not threatened with a “starvation ration” in the near future.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Victor Vasiliev
[REGNUM] On February 26, Russian President Vladimir Putin received Guinea-Bissau leader Oumarou Sisoka Embalo in the Kremlin, with whom he held lengthy talks. This is far from the first high-level contact in recent times. The small country on the coast of West Africa with a population of two million has become unexpectedly important for Russia.
It is enough to remember that it was the President of Guinea-Bissau who visited Russia on May 9 last year and became one of the few leaders of friendly states who saw the Victory Parade on Red Square.
Even earlier, during his first meeting with Embalo, the Russian leader devoted three hours to an informal conversation. This took place on October 25, 2022, when Russia was under maximum external pressure and attempts at complete international isolation.
Embalo came to Moscow representing the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS, 15 countries), being at that time the chairman of the organization, and the topic of the Ukrainian crisis became the main one in the negotiations.
"You see that today the situation that exists in connection with the war between two fraternal states, Russia and Ukraine, and also in relation to grain and fertilizers, is blocking the development of the entire world..., " the President of Guinea-Bissau said in the Kremlin. "We think and hope that we can find a way to establish a dialogue between the two fraternal states."
Embalo then went on an official visit to Ukraine and, as was written at the time, conveyed “Putin’s message” to Zelensky, although the official Kremlin emphasized that no special message was conveyed in this way.
Having already returned home, the head of Guinea admitted that “thanks to this journey to the heart of warring Europe, Guinea-Bissau ended up on the world map.”
BISSAU MATTERS
In fact, Embalo was one of the first to offer Putin mediation.
And in June 2023, the African Peace Initiative for the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine took place, which consisted of 10 points and included a visit by a delegation of 7 African leaders led by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to Kiev and St. Petersburg.
This was the first serious voice from the “third world” about the need to achieve peace in Ukraine – not a voice of condemnation towards Moscow, but a voice of objective concern and an attempt to understand the situation.
The role of the Black Continent in resolving the Ukrainian crisis is clearly demonstrated by the fact that Vladimir Putin demonstrated the initialed draft agreement with Ukraine, prepared in March 2022 in Istanbul, precisely at a meeting with leaders and representatives of the peacekeeping mission of African countries on June 17, 2023.
The powerful anti-colonialist message contained in the historic speech of the Russian president on the occasion of the accession of the DPR, LPR, Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions to Russia is especially relevant for Africa. The problem of resolving territorial disputes and the desire for genuine independence have now become an urgent need of the “humiliated and insulted” countries, among which Russia claims leadership.
As for Embalo, he not only visited Red Square on May 9, 2024, but also established relationships with political figures such as Rustam Minnikhanov and Ramzan Kadyrov, finding time for corresponding visits to Kazan and Grozny.
And already in January of this year, Putin had a telephone conversation with the leader of Guinea-Bissau, the circumstances of which once again emphasized the importance that the Russian leader attaches to relations with this African state.
Some experts were surprised that he even unexpectedly interrupted a meeting of the Supervisory Board of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives for the sake of an unplanned telephone conversation with Embalo, while other leaders often have to wait for Putin.
NEGOTIATIONS IN THE KREMLIN
As for the current negotiations, which took place in the Grand Kremlin Palace, they began with the traditional ceremony of meeting the leaders of the two states, continued with a conversation in a narrow format, then negotiations in an expanded format, and finally ended with a separate working lunch for the two presidents.
During the narrow-format meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, who participated in the recent negotiations in Riyadh, and Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin took part from the Russian side. Entrepreneur Oleg Deripaska also took part in the expanded format.
The Guinea-Bissau government has signed four cooperation agreements with Russia. Their details are not yet known, but conclusions can be drawn based on the parameters of the emerging cooperation.
Russia is interested in joint work on rare earth metals with Guinea-Bissau, this was stated shortly before the meeting by the press secretary of the Russian president Dmitry Peskov. Vladimir Putin noted in the introductory, public part of the negotiations that " many companies from Russia are showing interest in working on the Guinea-Bissau market."
In this context, Deripaska's presence at the negotiations is understandable. It is known that the company "RUSAL", of which he is the founder, has concluded a contract with the republic, within the framework of which Russian specialists are to begin exploration of bauxite in the Boe region. According to the government of the West African country, the reserves there exceed 113 million tons. A permanent representative office of "RUSAL" has recently opened in Bissau, and the project to build a port in the city of Buba and a railway that will lead to it will soon begin.
Other areas of cooperation could include projects in the fields of fishing, agriculture and especially tourism.
However, in addition to standard mutually beneficial projects, the leaders’ attention was also focused on current political issues – not only regional, but also international.
"PROVINCE" IN WEST AFRICA
The meeting of the Russian and Bisayan delegations is taking place against the backdrop of fairly intensive negotiations with the American side, when the dialogue between the two countries has only just resumed. At the same time, the Russian leader finds time for high-level negotiations with minor players in the form of a country that is small even by African standards.
If last time Embalo headed to Kiev after his visit to Moscow, this time he flew to Azerbaijan, a country whose relations with Russia have been complicated in recent months. Who knows, maybe he brought some message from the Kremlin to his meeting with President Ilham Aliyev, as was said during his Kiev visit.
How can this phenomenon be explained?
We are witnessing Putin's special attention and favor to the leader of a little-known country on the coast of West Africa. The motives for such attention are actually understandable, even if not obvious to an outside observer: this is Embalo's role and merits in resolving the Ukrainian crisis.
The idea that Guinea-Bissau could be turned into a model "province" of Russia in West Africa is finding support in Russia. This can be considered the first and main informal result of the negotiations in the Kremlin.
Guinea-Bissau, with its unique climate, dozens of islands with pleasant beaches, and vibrant culture, could become a very attractive tourist destination for Russians.
Finally, we must not forget the close ties that have been established since the Soviet era. Many educated people in Guinea have a good command of Russian. They call themselves “Russians of West Africa,” referring to their openness, cheerfulness, honesty, and ability to drink. Perhaps the level of dialogue between the countries is so high thanks to this mental closeness.
And here we return to the Ukrainian context.
In a recent interview with Pavel Zarubin, a journalist from the Rossiya TV channel, the Russian president specifically emphasized: “ We are grateful to all our partners who strive to achieve peace,” meaning that not only European countries, but also other countries (undoubtedly including African ones) can play their role in solving the most difficult task currently facing Russia.
[FoxNews] Republican Rep. Andy Ogles is working on the Preventing Epstein Documentation Obliteration (PEDO) Act
Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., is preparing legislation to safeguard the FBI’s Jeffrey Epstein files, citing concerns that some documents at the bureau were in danger of being destroyed.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said the government was in possession of "pretty sick" information on the late convicted pedophile, during an interview with Fox News host Jesse Watters on Wednesday. She said documents could be released as early as Thursday.
"Should you encounter any statutory barriers to the expeditious public release of Jeffrey Epstein’s client list or other pertinent information related to his activities – to include circumstances in which any such documentation is housed in other federal agencies – I stand ready to assist," Ogles wrote to Bondi in a memo on Wednesday.
"To that end, upon hearing reports that certain FBI agents are allegedly attempting to destroy critical records, I am currently drafting legislation entitled the Preventing Epstein Documentation Obliteration Act, or the PEDO Act."
The legislation, which is still in the works, would protect all files across Bondi’s jurisdiction.
Ogles did not cite the names of any specific agents. He’s the latest Republican lawmaker to speak out about the Epstein files this week, after the House announced the creation of a new task force led by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., dedicated to declassification efforts.
It comes after conservative influencer Benny Johnson reported on whistleblower allegations that there were rank-and-file agents within the FBI destroying documents in a bid to block FBI Director Kash Patel’s work.
#7
The Dog Probably Ate the Jeffrey Epstein files - James Kunstler this am.
Whatever "files" do get released will be as important as a dog's breakfast.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Until Sunday, March 2, the Earth will be in the zone of influence of the coronal hole on the Sun, which may cause an increase in geomagnetic activity. This was reported by specialists from the Laboratory of Solar Astronomy of the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IKI RAS) and the Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics SB RAS.
"The probability of magnetic storms in the next two days is in the range of 20-40%, that is, less than half, although the speed of the solar wind is already growing, and significantly - at times it exceeds 600 km/s, although yesterday morning it was only about 350 km/s. Preliminary, the planet will be in the zone of the coronal hole until March 2 inclusive," the website says.
It is also noted that the Sun currently has two large coronal holes located on its opposite sides. Each of them turns toward the Earth about once a month, causing an increase in the speed of the solar wind. The laboratory added that during the previous passage of one of these holes, geomagnetic disturbances were observed, but the storm was weak and lasted only one week.
As reported by IA Regnum, on February 25, a powerful plasma emission occurred on the Sun, which will pass close to the Earth, but will not touch it. There is a small probability that part of the plasma will reach our planet on the night from Thursday to Friday, but serious consequences are not expected.
According to astronomers' forecasts, even in the worst case, geomagnetic storms will not exceed the second level out of five, the probability of this is 36%. Scientists specified that the emission was the largest this year, and its source was on the far side of the Sun.
Scientists recorded a disturbance in the Earth's magnetic field on Thursday, it has already reached a moderate level. This was reported on February 27 by the Institute of Applied Geophysics (FGBU "IPG").
"There is a weak magnetic storm of level G1 - G2 on Earth, which began at approximately 14:30 Moscow time. The exact rating is not yet clear, since information is still being exchanged between stations of the global network and readings obtained at different geographic coordinates are being compared," the publication on the website says.
According to scientists, geomagnetic disturbances may continue for another three to six hours. There is also an increase in the polar aurora zone, which is descending towards the middle latitudes. However, the probability of observing aurorae in Moscow and St. Petersburg in the evening has not yet been confirmed. At the moment, the corresponding probabilities remain at an average level.
As reported by IA Regnum, on February 25, a powerful plasma emission occurred on the Sun, which will pass close to the Earth, but will not touch it. There is a small probability that part of the plasma may reach the planet on the night from Thursday to Friday, but serious consequences are not expected. It is predicted that in the worst case, geomagnetic storms will not exceed the second level out of five, the probability of this is 36%. Scientists mentioned that this emission was the largest in 2025 and its source was on the far side of the Sun.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The founder of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan, who is serving a life sentence, called on his fighters to lay down their arms and end the armed confrontation with Turkey. This was reported by the Turkish government newspaper Daily Sabah.
"I take historical responsibility for this call (for disarmament). All groups (linked to the PKK) must lay down their arms and the PKK must disband," the Turkish publication quotes Ocalan as saying.
According to him, the dissolution of the PKK is necessary because it was created in the last century, during a period when democratic paths were closed. Now, according to Ocalan, the situation has changed, because peace and democratic society have become the language of the modern era.
It was previously stated that the armed forces of Turkey and Syria would carry out a large-scale military operation against the PKK if the West puts forward new demands.
It is not specified what demands the West is talking about. It is also noted that Türkiye did not make efforts in Syria so that “the PKK could continue to exist.”
As reported by Regnum News Agency, on January 6, the Hürriyet newspaper, citing sources, reported that the new Syrian authorities, during negotiations with the PKK leadership, demanded that they lay down their arms. It was noted that the Kurdish representatives demanded that in exchange for the surrender of their arms, they be given a division or army corps in the Syrian army being created and that the oil fields in the north of the country, controlled jointly with the United States, be equally divided.
On December 25, Erdogan said the PKK had no choice but to lay down its arms, vowing otherwise to “bury the Kurdish fighters along with their weapons.”
The conflict between Turkey and the PKK began in 1984. Ankara considers the group a threat to national security, regularly conducting raids against its supporters in the country and operations in northern Iraq and Syria.
[ENGLISH.ALMANAR.COM.LB] An Israeli drone attack on a pick-up truck in Hemel City, eastern Leb ...The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else?... , claimed two deaders and a number of injuries.
In South Lebanon, specialist Lebanese Army unit managed to uncover two spy devices belonging to the Israeli enemy, camouflaged and equipped with cameras and sensors. The Army Command renewed its call on citizens to stay away from such objects and not touch them, as they pose an imminent danger to their lives, and to report them to the nearest military center to preserve their safety.
[IsraelTimes] The IDF says it carried out a drone strike against a Hezbollah observation post in southern Lebanon’s Aynata after identifying activity there.
“This observation post is a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” the military adds.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2025
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[11153 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
[IsraelTimes] Australia’s 39 universities have endorsed a definition of antisemitism to be enforced on campuses, using a formulation closely aligned with the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition.
We’ll see if this is just posturing or real. Given that the antisemitism task just arrested a bunch of Eastern European immigrants for drunkenly doing a Nazi salute, it’s quite possible the zeitgeist is still at the fig leaf stage.
The decision follows the findings of the Senate that Jewish students feel threatened by “brazen antisemitism” on the country’s campuses. Establishing a uniform definition of antisemitism “will help universities in their efforts to combat this scourge,” says Universities Australia, which represents the schools.
The IHRA definition has been adopted by hundreds of countries, universities, and other entities around the world as a tool to fight antisemitism.
Pro-Palestinian groups are protesting the decision, with the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN) saying the definition “silences dissent, shields Israeli war crimes, and criminalizes Palestinian voices.”
The Universities Australia definition of antisemitism reads:
“Antisemitism is discrimination, prejudice, harassment, exclusion, vilification, intimidation or violence that impedes Jews’ ability to participate as equals in educational, political, religious, cultural, economic or social life. It can manifest in a range of ways including negative, dehumanizing, or stereotypical narratives about Jews. Further, it includes hate speech, epithets, caricatures, stereotypes, tropes, Holocaust denial, and antisemitic symbols. Targeting Jews based on their Jewish identities alone is discriminatory and antisemitic.
“Criticism of the policies and practices of the Israeli government or state is not in and of itself antisemitic. However, criticism of Israel can be antisemitic when it is grounded in harmful tropes, stereotypes or assumptions and when it calls for the elimination of the State of Israel or all Jews, or when it holds Jewish individuals or communities responsible for Israel’s actions. It can be antisemitic to make assumptions about what Jewish individuals think based only on the fact that they are Jewish.
“All peoples, including Jews, have the right to self-determination. For most, but not all Jewish Australians, Zionism is a core part of their Jewish identity. Substituting the word ‘Zionist’ for ‘Jew’ does not eliminate the possibility of speech being antisemitic.”
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Global warming poses serious risks to global food markets, and if the necessary measures are not taken, then in 20-30 years food prices will be significantly higher, and some will not exist at all. Such forecasts were voiced by experts to RIA Novosti.
According to Vladimir Podoprigor, associate professor of the Department of Political Analysis and Socio-Psychological Processes at the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, climate change poses a serious threat. This is due to the disruption of agricultural production, supply chains and price stability, the expert believes.
It is estimated that by 2050, climate change could reduce global food production by 10–25% unless adaptation measures are taken. The growth of the world population to 10 billion will increase demand for food, thereby increasing pressure on markets.
"Countries that rely on food imports will be particularly vulnerable to rising prices. Climate change may make some regions unsuitable for growing certain crops, while others may become more suitable," Podoprigora explained.
According to Yulia Davydova, a representative of the same university department, abnormal heat causes significant damage to grain crops, as well as corn, soybeans and sunflowers. However, too high temperatures are harmful to all plants, including vegetables, berries and garden crops.
“Further increases in temperature and drought could lead to ‘scorched earth’,” the expert believes.
Davydova added that with a sharp reduction in the supply of agricultural crops, food prices will rise. In 20-30 years, bread in some regions may cost more than gold, Associate Professor Yulia Davydova summed up.
As reported by Regnum News Agency, in 2024, two-thirds of the Earth's surface was exposed to record heat for a month, both in the oceans and on land. The epicenters of heat were observed from Columbia to China, from the North Pole to the South Pole. In some places, the average monthly temperature was five degrees higher than the previous maximum.
Scientists say such temperature jumps indicate "widespread and accelerating impacts of human-induced climate change."
Experts predict that the coming year 2025 could be the hottest on record.
On October 24, 44 climate scientists signed an open letter warning of the risk of a global cataclysm due to the collapse of key Atlantic currents. The experts called on politicians to pay attention to the risk of changing water circulation in the Atlantic Ocean due to warming, which could lead to devastating consequences for countries in the North and other regions.
#4
I remember reading an article in 1971 when the scam was the coming ice age. It said that a drop of one degree would eliminate all wheat growing in Canada. That would raise food prices I'm sure.
So - global warming, global cooling, climate change - all will raise food prices. Got it.
[IsraelTimes] Defense Minister says plans for body to help Gazans leave Strip being accelerated, adds presence in Lebanon will continue indefinitely; Syrian Druze could be okayed to work in Israel
Defense Minister Israel Katz accused the Hamas ..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,... terror group Thursday of continuing to plot and prepare for attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians during the ongoing ceasefire in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... , vowing that the military remained ready to prevent Hamas or any other terror group from gaining a foothold on its borders.
Speaking at a conference of regional council chairmen, Katz also said he was accelerating plans to facilitate Gazook civilians to leave the Strip permanently via Israel, seemingly continuing to champion a proposal from US President Donald Trump ...Never got invited to a P.Diddy party... even as the White House has seemingly backed away from the idea.
With Israel dispatching negotiators to Cairo Thursday for discussions apparently revolving around the continuation of the Gaza ceasefire, Katz said military pressure on Hamas would be key to freeing the nearly five dozen hostages remaining in the Strip.
"The most significant way to continue [releasing hostages] is for Hamas to know that the Israel Defense Forces is ready to return to war—and this is the truth," he said.
"We are prepared defensively because even during the ceasefire, we received information that they were plotting to attack soldiers and attack towns—this is Hamas," Katz added.
The defense minister also reiterated that there will be no place for Hamas in the civil or military governance of Gaza after the war, and said he endorsed the vision of US President Donald Trump, who has called for the permanent transfer of all of Gaza’s 2.2 million residents, after which the US would "take over" and "own" the Strip.
"I am in an accelerated process of establishing a voluntary emigration authority and enabling those who want to leave Gaza voluntarily to do so through Ashdod Port, through Ramon Airport," Katz said on Thursday.
Earlier this month, Katz said he had ordered the army to formulate a plan to allow Paleostinians to leave Gaza, adding that he welcomed "Trump’s bold plan, which could allow a large portion of Gaza’s population to relocate to various places around the world."
Citing conversations with senior military officials, the defense minister said the main takeaway from the Hamas-led October 7 attack — when thousands of bandidosDeath Eaters killed some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, starting the ongoing war — was that Israel cannot allow radical organizations to be present near any of its borders, and stressed the country’s willingness to return to fighting if necessary.
Israel "did not agree to a ceasefire in Gaza," he said, "because we lacked ammunition or because our soldiers were worn out. We agreed to a ceasefire for only one reason—because we want to bring back the hostages alive, and those who are no longer alive."
The defense minister hailed the success of the truce’s first phase, which saw 25 hostages returned alive alongside the bodies of eight dead. He claimed that Hamas only agreed to release 10 to 12 hostages in the first phase in earlier parts of the negotiations.
KATZ: IDF MAINTAINING STRATEGIC INTERESTS IN GAZA AMID TRUCE
He also emphasized that the IDF is continuing to safeguard Israel’s strategic interests during the ceasefire, namely by maintaining a defined buffer zone in Gaza, including outposts along the Gaza-Egypt border, which has been a hotbed of arms smuggling.
"The most significant order we gave was to not allow smuggling through humanitarian aid and not to let in ammunition and weapons. When there are penetrating tunnels, if you do not control this route, then during these 42 days [of ceasefire], everything would have been filled with weapons," he said.
An Israeli official sent a statement to news hounds Thursday rejecting any withdrawal of IDF troops from the so-called Philadelphi Corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border, despite the deal’s requirement that it do so by the 50th day of the ceasefire.
WEST BANK SETTLEMENTS ARE LIKE GAZA BORDER
Katz also addressed the situation on other fronts, repeating points he has made in recent days about the IDF’s long-term commitments in the West Bank, Leb ...The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. Only one of those statements is an exaggeration.... , and Syria.
Concerning the West Bank, Katz called Israeli settlements "the protective shield for the majority of Israel’s population."
"For me, Judea and Samaria and the border communities are the same," he said, using a Biblical term for the West Bank. "We discovered that Hamas had planned to attack before October 7 both in Samaria and along the border. I’m talking about files that were seized on this matter."
The defense minister addressed the ongoing counterterror operation in the West Bank, which was scaled up following a botched bus-bombings attack last week.
"Today, the Jenin refugee camp is empty of residents, and the IDF is inside the camp. I told them they are not leaving the camp for at least a year."
He also discussed southern Lebanon, where a fragile ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group is still holding, as Israel continues to delay the full withdrawal of its forces, staying at five strategic points along the border.
"We are staying without a time limit, it depends on the situations, not on the time," he said, adding, "We received a green light from the US."
’WE DO NOT TRUST’ NEW SYRIAN LEADER, ONLY THE IDF
Katz referred to the new Syrian leader — Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former al-Qaeda fighter who had a $10 million bounty on his head — by his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammed al-Julani, and said, "We do not trust him. We only trust the IDF."
Katz emphasized Israel’s "strong commitment" to the Syrian Druze community, noting that Israel is considering allowing members to work inside Israel on a daily basis, and is "preparing to provide them with assistance through organizations and in various ways."
He reiterated his demand that southern Syria be demilitarized. Israel has set up a series of military posts there and has vowed to stay in the area as long as it feels is necessary.
"Two days ago, the new regime made its first attempt to man positions and outposts [in southern Syria]—the Air Force attacked and hit them," Katz noted.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,...
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start...
...every time you hear the phrase 
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling 
..a regional Iranian catspaw,...
[Regnum] Boris Spassky, the 10th World Chess Champion, has died at the age of 88. This was announced on February 27 by the President of the Russian Chess Federation Andrey Filatov.
... an Islamic infestation centering on Somalia attempting to metastasize into Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and similar places, all ofwhich have enough problems without them...
... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda...
...every time you hear the phrase 
...a Moslem country located in the Horn of Africa. It is noted for its affinity for rule by ex- or current generals, its holy men, and for the oppression of the native Afro population by its Arab conquerors. South Sudan, populated mostly by the natives, split off from Sudan proper, which left North and South Darfur to be oppressed by the guys with turbans...
..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,...
...a city in Texas, named after Sam Houston, who would drop deader than he is now if he could see how it turned out...
...King of England, Scotland, Ireland -- at least part of it -- Wales, Gibraltar, the Falkland Islands, and places like that. The first King Chuck had his head chopped off, the second one was Good Time Charlie. The third once wanted to be a tampon and thinks we'll all be extinct within the next seven years...
..always the voice of sweet reason...
...The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else?...
