#8
Having done both track & field and martial arts, that was definitely an overhand strike, IMAO.
The fractured skull/concussion sounds like media distortion BS, given the hollow aluminum baton.
Curious that perp girl is leaking tears from only one eye. Maybe she suffers from blocked tear ducts as well as poor impulse control. Or maybe she picked up a menthol tear stick on Amazon.
#Canada announces it will ease financial sanctions on #Syria, appoint a new envoy to Damascus, and provide $84 million in humanitarian aid to support those in need.https://t.co/mGCBzKLGUP
— NORTH PRESS AGENCY - ENGLISH (@NPA_English) March 13, 2025
Posted by: Fred ||
03/13/2025
2025-03-13 05:20 ||
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[11144 views]
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#1
Anglosphere trying to be crazier than EUrope? (It's Globalists all the way to the bottom.)
Passengers injured in gunfire as they fled on foot from gunmen following the Jaffer Express hostage crisis are treated at the Civil Hospital in Quetta, Pakistan
▪️Militants blew up a railway track and hijacked a train on Tuesday in Pakistan
[IsraelTimes] Troops search for assailant who shot 18-year-old driver near Ariel settlement after reportedly first using a laser to temporarily blind him
An Israeli civilian was maimed Wednesday evening in a shooting attack near the northern West Bank settlement of Ariel, prompting an IDF manhunt.
The shooting victim, 18, was taken to Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva for treatment. Magen David Adom said he was in moderate and stable condition after being shot in the arm while driving.
It was not immediately clear where exactly the shooting took place, the Israel Defense Forces said. The victim reached Ariel’s industrial park after coming under fire, where he met up with security forces and medics.
Troops were blocking roads and using aerial surveillance amid the searches for the assailant, the military added.
Police were also assisting in the searches, with district commander Moshe Pinchi visiting the scene of the shooting.
According to the Kan public broadcaster, the victim said in his initial testimony that the shooter used a laser to temporarily blind him before opening fire.
Earlier Wednesday, the IDF said that soldiers demolished the home of a Paleostinian terrorist in Qalqilya who killed an Israeli man in the West Bank city last summer.
On June 22, 2024, Ali Khalil and other members of a Paleostinian Islamic Jihad ...created after many members of the Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah... cell opened fire on an Israeli car in Qalqilya, killing Amnon Muchtar, 67, of Petah Tikva.
Khalil and a second terrorist involved in the attack, Jamal Abu Haniyeh, along with seven other button men, were killed in dronezaps in the Tulkarem area of the West Bank in August.
Khalil’s home was demolished overnight. Abu Haniyeh’s was razed in January.
As a matter of policy, Israel demolishes the homes of Paleostinians accused of carrying out deadly attacks.
[IsraelTimes] Israeli-Russian researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov believed to be held by Iran-backed militia; sister says Trump administration has done more in a few weeks than Biden’s did in two years
US President Donald Trump ...So far he's been unkillable, and they've tried.... ’s Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs Adam Boehler traveled to Iraq last month to push for the release of Israeli-Russian researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov, who was kidnapped in Iraq nearly two years ago, three sources familiar with the matter said.
Since taking office, Boehler has stepped up efforts to secure the release of Tsurkov, a Princeton University student who went missing in Iraq during a research trip in March 2023, publicly urging the Iraqi government to help her get home.
"The Trump Administration has done more in just a few weeks than the previous administration did in almost two years," Emma Tsurkov, Elizabeth’s sister, told Rooters in a statement.
"I am especially grateful to SPEHA (Special Envoy) Boehler for going directly to meet with Prime Minister [Mohammed Shia al-] 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... i in Baghdad. His engagement with Sudani makes it clear that the US holds Sudani responsible for finding a way to get my sister home."
An Iraqi official speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters confirmed Boehler had visited in February to discuss the Tsurkov case but did not provide further details.
An Arab diplomat familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel that Boehler has leaned aggressively on Sudani during a number of heated calls and meetings aimed at securing Tsurkov’s release.
Tsurkov is being held in Iraq by the Shiite militia Kataib Hezbollah, a group backed by Iran, according to Israeli officials.
While Sudani in his contacts with Boehler has sought to argue that the blame for Tsurkov’s kidnapping lay squarely on Kataib Hezbollah, the US envoy has refused to accept that the Iraqi government doesn’t have the ability to advance her release, the Arab diplomat said.
Iraqi official: Israeli captive Tsurkov may have been moved to Iran, which is deeply involved in case
[IsraelTimes] Israeli-Russian academic Elizabeth Tsurkov, who was kidnapped in Baghdad in 2023 and whom the United States is currently pressuring Iraq to free, could potentially have been transferred to Iran, which is seen as likely to be involved in holding and interrogating her, the Ynet news site reports, citing an unnamed senior Iraqi official.
“She may well have been secretly transferred there, or the Iranians sent intelligence officers,” the official is quoted as saying. “It’s really lucky that Tsurkov is alive. Usually in cases like these, they are executed during questioning. Her foreign identity is benefiting her.”
The Iraqi official quoted by Ynet says there is “full documentation” of the kidnapping as well as eyewitness testimonies provided to authorities, adding that Tsurkov was abducted while exiting a cafe in Baghdad’s Karada neighborhood after meeting with an Iraqi national who likely tipped off Kataib Hezbollah.
The official reiterates that Iraqi Prime Minister Shia al-Sudani doesn’t know where Tsurkov is being held, “but he definitely knows who kidnapped her.” Repeated efforts haven’t yielded a breakthrough on locating her, despite increasing US pressure and threats.
“The government of Iraq is taking steps, but there is no cooperation from Tsurkov’s kidnappers and we estimate that the Iranian leadership in involved and giving the instructions,” the official adds.
“The Tsurkov story is directly connected to Iran. Only from there will come a decision on her matter.”
Sister of Israeli held in Iraq says Boehler gave family ‘hopeful’ updates
[IsraelTimes] After reporting that Israeli-Russian captive Elizabeth Tsurkov may have been moved from Iraq to Iran, the Ynet news site quoted her sister Emma Tsurkov as dismissing that possibility, adding that the family is hearing positive signs from the US leadership.
After US hostage envoy Adam Boehler was reported to have visited Iraq recently to push for the academic’s release, Emma Tsurkov says she has spoken with Boehler and received “hopeful” updates.
“We have spoken directly with Boehler several times, and I have met his staff. It’s amazing how in a few weeks they have gotten things to move,” she says.
Responding to the unnamed Iraqi official speculating about Elizabeth being moved to Iran, Emma says: “It’s a convenient pretext that ‘senior’ officials say all the time. She’s not in Iran.”
[TWZ] The command overseeing U.S. special operations forces in the Middle East wants to buy an unspecified number of first-person view (FPV) drones and associated training to help Green Berets clear caves. U.S. Special Operations Command Central (SOCCENT) is seeking these weapons to augment the use of military working dogs (MWDs) because it considers drones safer and more effective. The concern is of increasing relevance as Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and Iran have all utilized caves, tunnels and other underground facilities as attack vectors, weapons and personnel hiding facilities and command and control nodes.
"Currently, the absence of dedicated unmanned aerial systems (UAS) for cave clearing operations forces reliance on Military Working Dogs (MWD) or partner forces, significantly increasing risk to both personnel and mission success," U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) wrote in a request for a single-source FPV drone contract for SOCCENT posted on the SAM.gov U.S. purchasing portal. "Caves present confined, complex spaces with limited visibility and unpredictable terrain, increasing the danger to personnel and potentially hindering MWD effectiveness."
[FoxNews] After taking office, Hegseth pledged to restore high standards for all US military branches
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is ordering a review of military fitness and grooming standards as the Trump administration continues to reverse policies critics say have made America's fighting force appear weaker on the global stage.
In a memo Wednesday to senior Pentagon leadership, Hegseth ordered Darin Selnick, the under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, to gather existing standards in all U.S. military branches related to physical fitness, body composition and grooming, including regulations on beards.
"We must remain vigilant in maintaining the standards that enable the men and women of our military to protect the American people and our homeland as the world's most lethal and effective fighting force," Hegseth said in a statement. "Our adversaries are not growing weaker, and our tasks are not growing less challenging."
Leaders will look at how those standards have changed since Jan. 1, 2015, and provide insight into how they have evolved and the effect of those changes.
Hegseth has vowed to bring back tougher standards while reversing "woke" policies that don't align with restoring the warrior ethos, rebuilding the military and reestablishing deterrence.
[FoxNews] An Illinois lawmaker has introduced a bill that critics say will make it legal for anyone experiencing a mental health episode to attack police officers.
Democratic state Rep. Lisa Davis, an attorney in the Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender's office, introduced House Bill 3458 in February.
A Chicago Democrat — possible one from the Soros stable? Quelle surprise.
Under the terms of the legislation, the bill would "[provide] that it is a defense to aggravated battery when the individual battered is a peace officer and the officer responded to an incident in which the officer interacted with a person whom a reasonable officer could believe was having a mental health episode and the person with whom the officer interacted has a documented mental illness and acted abruptly."
This sounds like a roundabout way to get to a ruling of innocent by reason of insanity, at least if the victim is a police officer. If the mandatory sentence involves incarceration with treatment, it might even be the right answer despite being an infuriating way of describing it for anyone who respects the sacrifices police make when they serve.
The bill has picked up two co-sponsors, Reps. Marcus Evans and Kelly Cassidy.
Currently, a person in Illinois can be charged with aggravated battery if they attack "an individual whom the person knows to be a peace officer, community policing volunteer, fireman, private security officer, correctional institution employee, or Department of Human Services employee supervising or controlling sexually dangerous persons or sexually violent persons."
Does that include a ruling of guilty but insane?
Second Cop City, a blog that reports on Chicago policing matters, first reported on the bill.
Davis' proposal would legalize attacks on peace officers. Other first responders would be spared, such as firefighters, like her husband, CWB Chicago reported.
The bill has been referred to the Illinois General Assembly Rules Committee, where unpopular legislation goes to die, the news report states.
Good to know that the Illinois legislature has such a process. Now we needn’t worry about it.
#3
All sorts of interesting things are already coming out, with no doubt even more interesting things to come, both about Mr. and Dr. Khalil (she’s a dentist who met him while volunteering for his project in Lebanon, we learnt overnight), and about foreign tentacles in the pro-Hamas university protest movement — we already know a little about payments and organization by China, Iran, Hamas, and a bunch of Antifa/Black Bloc groups not to mention ActBlue. Will we discover more direct Democratic Party ties, an MI-6 controller, interesting people at the FBI and/or CIA?
Making a big deal out of this will focus national and international attention, slowing down Mr. Khalil’s deportation, but the information will be very useful for quickly going after the rest of the organization.
#4
Hoping that info on Khalil will lead to deep pocket NGOs that can be sued in class action lawsuits for denying civil rights by blocking buildings, classrooms, etc.
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
03/13/2025 14:05
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[GEO.TV] The annual iftar dinner in 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... , the fourth-largest city in the United States, was held with great enthusiasm, marking the largest gathering of its kind in the country.
The event took place at the Bayou City Event Centre, organised in collaboration with the Mayor of Houston and Sister Cities Associations, attracting more than 2,500 attendees from diverse backgrounds and professions.
Houston Mayor John Whitmire was the chief guest at the iftar dinner. Other distinguished guests included Congressman Al Green, prominent American businessman Javed Anwar, business tycoon Tanweer Ahmed, diplomats from various countries, senior government officials, and community leaders.
The coordinator of the iftar dinner, Saeed Sheikh, highlighted the significance of the event in promoting interfaith harmony, emphasising how gatherings like these bring people of different faiths and cultures together to share the blessings of iftar.
The event commenced with the recitation of the Holy Koran, followed by a video message from Texas Governor Greg Abbott ... governor of Texas. Abbott is a Republican. His 2014 Dem opponent, state senatrix Wendy Davis, thought the absolute, most pressing, most important issue facing the state was abortion. Abbott beat the pantyhose off her. His 2018 opponent, Lupe Valdez didn't dwell too heavily on abortion, but she lost too... , which was displayed on the big screen.
In his message, the governor extended Ramadan greetings to American Moslems and appreciated the initiative for fostering religious harmony.
[GEO.TV] Talks between Pak and Afghan jirgas aimed at resolving the 19-day Torkham border dispute broke down after the Afghan delegation walked out, accusing Pakistain of not taking the negotiations seriously, according to sources.
They said the dispute began nearly three weeks ago when Afghan forces started constructing structures inside Pak territory near the Torkham border, The News reported on Thursday.
Pakistain objected to the construction, leading to rising tensions and the suspension of trade and cross-border movement. The closure has caused severe disruptions to businesses and travellers on both sides.
To resolve the issue, both countries formed jirgas four days ago, comprising tribal elders, businessmen, and officials.
In the first meeting two days ago, both delegations agreed to a ceasefire and further dialogue to address the controversial construction and restore border operations. The ceasefire has been upheld since the initial talks.
After consulting Afghan authorities in Kabul and Jalalabad, the Afghan jirga led by Afghan Chamber of Commerce Chairman Younus Mohmand returned to the Torkham border for a decisive round of negotiations.
The meeting was expected to determine the next steps for reopening the border and resolving the territorial dispute.
However,
there is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened... the Afghan delegation said Pakistain had expanded its delegation list without prior consultation. The Afghan jirga waited for two hours but ultimately decided to leave without holding talks.
They returned to Kabul, expressing their disappointment with Pakistain's jirga approach and accusing it of undermining serious negotiations.
Pak jirga leader and Federation of Chambers of Commerce adviser Sayed Jawad Hussain Kazmi acknowledged the Afghan concerns, admitting that the expansion of the delegation had not been communicated properly.
He explained that Pakistain had originally submitted a list of 17 members, but another list with over 50 additional names was unexpectedly sent to the Afghan delegation.
Kazmi stressed that the Torkham border dispute was a critical issue affecting trade, economic stability, and diplomatic relations between the two countries.
He reiterated that dialogue remained the only way to resolve the matter and assured that efforts would continue to bring the Afghan jirga back to the negotiating table.
[GEO.TV] Nasa announced on Tuesday the dismissal of its chief scientist and others to comply with orders from President Donald Trump ...Never got invited to a P.Diddy party... , marking the latest in a series of administration actions undermining climate change research.
While the move affects only 23 people, a spokeswoman indicated more cuts are coming.
The first round notably eliminates the Office of the Chief Scientist, led by Katherine Calvin, a renowned climatologist who contributed to key UN climate reports.
She and other US delegates were also barred from attending a major climate science meeting in China last month.
"To optimise our workforce, and in compliance with an Executive Order, Nasa is beginning its phased approach to a reduction in force, known as a RIF," agency spokeswoman Cheryl Warner said.
"A small number of individuals received notification March 10 they are a part of Nasa's RIF. If they're eligible, those employees may opt to participate in the Voluntary Early Retirement Authority, or VERA, or complete the RIF process."
Also eliminated are the Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy and the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Branch of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
Nasa has so far avoided the deep cuts affecting other agencies, reportedly due to last minute intervention by Jared Isaacman, Trump's nominee for Nasa chief. Isaacman, an e-payments billionaire and SpaceX customer, is seen as close to Elon Musk — Trump's key advisor and architect of federal cost-cutting efforts.
In February, Nasa had been preparing to lay off around a thousand probationary employees. However,
a poor excuse is better than no excuse at all... Isaacman reportedly asked for the cuts to be put on hold, according to Ars Technica. Nasa has not explained the reversal.
The new layoffs, first reported by Nasa Watch citing an internal memo, could signal a shift away from research and toward exploration.
Trump and Musk both support a human mission to Mars. In his State of the Union address last week, Trump declared the US would "plant the American flag on the planet Mars and even far beyond."
#2
Why have the office of the 'Chief Scientist' anyway? This isn't the 1970's where you would want a generalist in house researcher, like a 'Chief Scientist' (being paid a 6 figure salary), with a staff of research assistants (each drawing a 5 figure salary) to physically go out and access scientific articles in various libraries and agencies.
#3
I'm still trying to figure why it's important or relevant that NASA be Simon pure diverse, equitable, and inclusive. They relied on people who weren't, like Werner von Braun back in the days when they were going to the moon with Fortran, if they were modern and up to date, and punch cards. Is adhering to a party line that important? Or is being able to calculate a trajectory or fuel requirements? Can't a misogynistic racist inspect O rings?
Posted by: Fred ||
03/13/2025 19:24
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#4
"Scientists at NASA?"Cue Coneheads laughing.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
03/13/2025 20:28
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[GEO.TV] The Israeli negotiation team, that were likely to leave 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... today, will remain in Doha as ceasefire talks continue, Al Jazeera reported citing a report by the Times of Israel which cited an anonymous Israeli official.
The first phase of the Israel-Hamas ..a regional Iranian catspaw,... ceasefire agreement ended on March 1 without a clear roadmap for an extension but on Tuesday the Paleostinian resistance group announced the start of a "new round of ceasefire negotiations" in Doha.
The progress of those talks — which are being mediated by the US, Qatar and Egypt — is currently unclear.
Israel's Kan public broadcaster, citing a Paleostinian source, has said Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff is pushing for a second 60-day ceasefire in return for the release of 10 Israeli captives from 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... .
Posted by: Fred ||
03/13/2025
05:38 ||
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[GEO.TV] Israel carried out "genocidal acts" against Palestinians by systematically destroying women's healthcare facilities during the conflict in Gaza, and used sexual violence as a war strategy, United Nations experts said in a new report on Thursday.
Israel's permanent mission to the UN in Geneva described allegations in the report as unfounded, bias, and lacking credibility.
[GEO.TV] A day after the successful rescue operation, the Foreign Office said on Thursday that India was behind the deadly terrorist attack on the Jaffar Express, adding that it was orchestrated by the leadership of a terrorist organization based abroad.
FO spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan, addressing his weekly briefing in Islamabad, said that the rescue operation for the Jaffar Express attack has been completed, and intelligence suggests that the holy warriors were in contact with their associates in Afghanistan.
The statement comes after security forces eliminated all 33 Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... Liberation Army (BLA) holy warriors who had hijacked the Jaffar Express which was carrying more than 400 passengers — who were taken hostage.
The military has said that all hostages have been freed, but 21 passengers were martyred by the holy warriors before the clearance operation had commenced. Also, four FC personnel were also martyred during the attack in the Mushqaf area of the Bolan district.
The Foreign Office spokesperson added that intercepted calls confirmed links between the attackers and Afghanistan. "The holy warriors have safe havens in Afghanistan, and Pakistain has repeatedly urged the Afghan interim government to prevent groups like the BLA from using its soil for terrorism," he said.
He also mentioned that Pakistain does not discuss diplomatic contacts on public forums but has consistently shared detailed evidence of such incidents with Afghanistan.
[AmericaGreatness] Over the last three decades, elite American universities have engaged in economic, political, social, and cultural practices that were often unethical, illegal—and suicidal.
They did so with impunity.
Apparently, confident administrators assumed that the brand of Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, and other elite universities was so precious to the nation’s elite movers and shakers that they could always do almost anything they wished.
By the 1970s, non-profit universities had dropped pretenses that they were apolitical and non-partisan.
Instead, they customarily violated the corpus of iconic civil rights legislation by weighing race, gender, and sexual orientation in biased admissions, hiring, and promotions.
Graduation ceremonies became overtly racially and ethnically segregated. The same was true for dorms and "theme houses."
So-called "safe spaces," in the spirit of the Jim Crow South, reserved areas of campus solely for particular races.
Affluent foreign students often openly protested on behalf of designated terrorist groups like Hamas.
First-Amendment-protected free speech all but vanished on elite campuses. Any guest speaker who dared to critique abortion on demand, Middle East orthodoxy, biological males dominating women’s sports, or diversity/equity/inclusion dogmas was likely to be shouted down, or on occasion roughed up.
University administrators either ignored the violence done to the Bill of Rights or quietly approved when their rowdy students were turned loose on supposed conservatives.
But in their hubris, the universities began a series of blunders that may now end them as they once were.
They began gouging government agencies such as the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation by grabbing anywhere from 30 to 60 percent of individual campus grants as "overhead."
Yet they usually charged most private foundation grants a far more modest 15 percent surcharge—as if a lax government did not object to overcharging.
They pushed for a vast expansion of the student loan program, whose portfolio of federally guaranteed loans reached $1.7 trillion. But once the federal government guaranteed student loans against default, universities began jacking up their fees and tuition well above the annual rate of inflation.
Elite universities did not grasp that the more they began warping their curricula with diversity/equity/inclusion gut courses, radical green agendas, and postmodern race and gender theories, the less time they had to offer students their once gold-standard general education curricula of Western Civ, history, literature, philosophy, math, and science.
Soon employers started to notice that the new therapeutic courses were also married to race and sex-based admissions.
The SAT and ACT were, for a time, dropped. So were comparative rankings of high school grade point averages.
Soon, once iconic degrees were no longer any guarantee of the ability to write and speak well, think analytically, or compute competently.
Employers often began to prefer graduates from those state schools where DEI was muted, admissions were competitive, and teaching remained rigorous and non-ideological.
Finally, after October 7, 2023, growing anti-Semitism on campuses became unapologetic, overt, and violent.
Thousands of Middle Eastern guest students brazenly cheered on Hamas terrorists.
The campus Marxist orthodoxy that Jews and Israel were "victimizing white people" and Palestinians were noble "non-white victims" ensured that Jewish students were chased and physically attacked on campuses.
A disgusted public watched invertebrate administrators either greenlight the anti-Semitic violence or ludicrously deny it. "Canaries in the Coal Mine".
So, there was bound to be a public reckoning. And now it has arrived.
Congress will soon pass legislation that will tax the annual multimillion-dollar income from multibillion-dollar endowments at somewhere between 15 and 20 percent.
There will be no more "overhead" or "surcharges" on government campus grants allowed larger than 15 percent.
Those two reforms alone could cost some of the richest campuses nearly a half billion dollars a year in lost income.
Racially offensive DEI programs will disqualify schools from federal support.
Foreign student guests who break U.S. laws or violate university rules will have their visas yanked and be shown the door to go home.
Campuses will have to abide by the First, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments of the Bill of Rights or forgo federal funds.
All these remedies enjoy broad public support. IMO, the idea that everyone should go to college was (incredibly) stupid in the first place.
Posted by: Grom the Affective ||
03/13/2025
03:20 ||
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#1
If we're being honest with ourselves, pre-recorded lectures could replace almost all lectures from about 10th grade and up.
We now live in the 21st century, after all, and the "university" is a relic of the Middle Ages -- especially our widespread Sleep-Away Camp/Pajama Party model that is so widespread, costing tens and hundreds of US dollars.
#2
As far as being able to speak and write well, I can see an opportunity for honest testing organizations to spring up, and for a modest (compared to Ivy League costs) fee verify the verbal skills of anyone who applies to be so certified. These tests might include multiple choice exams, but also use other methods. Wouldn't it be a hoot to compare Ivy League grads so tested against home schooled GED grads?
#4
Companies are lazy, they treat their employees as a cost rather than an asset. Ever since Griggs vs Duke Power they default to various outside generated certification means to avoid having doing the hard work themselves upfront to filter qualified personnel.
#6
The Ivies increasingly now carry a DEI "taint" that makes their diploma suspect for anything STEM related, especially for minority graduates. Sad but true if you are honest. Smart businesses would be wise to favor solid state universities from red states to produce new employee candidates.
#8
While yes, pre-recorded lectures could replace lectures...most of my classes weren't lectures. Small school, less than 20 per class, questions and discussion encouraged. You can't beat having a knowledgeable, articulate instructor who can answer questions with a recording.
[MiddleEastEye] Mahmoud Khalil, the Palestinian Columbia University graduate detained by US immigration authorities over the weekend, worked for the British government on its "flagship soft power policy" for years, Middle East Eye can reveal.
Khalil, a permanent resident of the US, was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on Saturday night.
A federal judge temporarily blocked his deportation, and Khalil is currently awaiting proceedings in a federal jail in Louisiana.
However, MEE has found that he previously worked as a programme manager at the Syria Office in the British embassy in Beirut from 2018 t0 2022.
Online records reviewed by MEE show that Khalil worked as a local manager for the Syria Chevening Program, a prestigious UK government international scholarship scheme, as well as for the Conflict, Stability, and Security Fund.
'LOVED BY HIS COLLEAGUES'
Former British diplomat Andrew Waller, who was a policy advisor at the Syria Office while Khalil worked there, told MEE that the US government's depiction of Khalil was false and defamatory.
"He went through a vetting process to get the job and was cleared to work on sensitive issues for the British government," Waller said
"It's outright defamation what Trump has done. Mahmoud is an extremely kind and conscientious person and he was loved by his colleagues at the Syria Office," he added.
"You couldn't find anyone who'd say a bad word about him, he was very good at his job."
The Chevening scholarship, which is funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), describes its mission as being to "support UK foreign policy priorities and achieve FCDO objectives by creating lasting positive relationships with future leaders, influencers, and decision-makers".
Waller described it as a "flagship UK soft power policy".
"It brings the brightest students from around the world to UK universities. Mahmoud ran its Syria programme and interviewed hundreds, if not thousands, of applicants on behalf of the British government."
Khalil was also a "local staff political officer", responsible for providing the "contextual understanding and linguistic skills to translate meetings," Waller recalled.
"It's really interesting. Less than two weeks ago JD Vance is lecturing Keir Starmer about free speech, and then the US goes and kidnaps Mahmoud Khalil for organising student protests."
So then the question becomes “ why did @10DowningStreet have a MI6 spy in America organizing/leading violent antisemitic riots and destabilizing universities/cities?”
A Columbia University anti-Israel activist leader will remain in detention after an initial court hearing in New York on Wednesday that drew hundreds of protesters.
The protest organizer, Mahmoud Khalil, was detained by federal agents on Saturday outside his home in New York. The arrest was the first such detention in the Trump administration’s planned crackdown on university activists and set off furious backlash.
US District Judge Jesse Furman temporarily blocked authorities on Monday from deporting Khalil, 30, to weigh a legal challenge from his defense, and scheduled Wednesday’s hearing in lower Manhattan.
The hearing mostly focused on jurisdictional issues. Khalil, a green card holder originally from Syria, is being held in Louisiana and was not present. Khalil’s lawyers are seeking to have him returned to New York and be released under supervision.
During Wednesday’s hearing, attorney Brandon Waterman argued on behalf of the Justice Department that the venue for the deportation fight should be moved from New York City to Louisiana or New Jersey because those are the locations where Khalil has been held.
One of Khalil’s lawyers, Ramzi Kassem, told the judge that Khalil was "identified, targeted and detained" because of his advocacy for Paleostinian rights and his protected speech.
Kassem also told Furman that Khalil’s legal team hasn’t had any attorney-client-protected phone calls with him. The court ordered in a legal filing that Khalil be allowed hourlong calls with his defense on Wednesday and Thursday.
Kassem said Khalil’s defense will submit an updated lawsuit on Thursday, and Furman ordered both sides to submit a joint letter on Friday about when they will submit written arguments about the legal issues in the case.
Hundreds protested outside Khalil’s hearing on Wednesday. The demonstrators, many wearing masks and keffiyehs, carried signs with images of Khalil, and chanted for his release and in support of the Paleostinians.
Activists and speakers at the event hailed from an array of leftist and anti-Israel groups. Speakers tied Khalil’s detention to domestic issues including affordable housing, health care and poverty.
A speaker from the Democratic Socialists of America said the US was providing funding to "exterminate whole families in Gaza" instead of "ending homelessness."
Khalil has not been charged with a crime. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday that Khalil was detained for deportation due to support for the Hamas ..a regional Iranian catspaw,... terror group. Khalil attended a protest last week at Barnard College, a Columbia affiliate, during which activists handed out pamphlets from the "Hamas media office."
"This is not about free speech," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio ...The diminutive 13-year-old Republican U.S. Senator from Florida, Secretary of State in the second Trump administration... said on Wednesday when asked if Khalil’s arrest clashed with US President Donald Trump ...The Hero of Butler, Pennsylvania... ’s championing of the right to express opinions.
"This is about people that don’t have a right to be in the United States to begin with," Rubio said.
Trump has said Khalil’s arrest is the first "of many to come," accusing students across the country of being engaged in "pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity" that his administration "will not tolerate."
Federal laws say aliens are inadmissible to the US, or "deportable," if they engage in terrorist activities, including anyone who "endorses or espouses terrorist activity or persuades others to endorse or espouse terrorist activity or support a terrorist organization." Green card holders are considered aliens.
Federal laws say aliens are inadmissible to the US, or "deportable," if they engage in terrorist activities, including anyone who "endorses or espouses terrorist activity or persuades others to endorse or espouse terrorist activity or support a terrorist organization." Green card holders are considered aliens.
Khalil, who finished graduate studies at Columbia in December, was a leading organizer for the Columbia protest movement. Columbia protesters held disruptive demonstrations on campus starting soon after the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023, that have continued into recent weeks. Protesters have openly endorsed violence and US-designated terror groups, and Jewish and Israeli students and faculty have said the activists created a hostile and discriminatory environment. A university task force reported "crushing" discrimination against Jews and Israelis on campus.
Rhetorical support for US-designated terrorist groups is protected under the First Amendment if it is not coordinated with terrorists. Discriminatory harassment, targeted threats and incitement to imminent violence are not covered by free speech protections. Columbia protests have also seen unlawful conduct including property damage and vandalism.
Khalil’s detention is part of a broader crackdown on anti-Israel campus activism by the Trump administration, which says the protests infringe on civil rights protections for Jews. The administration cut $400 million in funding to Columbia, warned 60 universities they are under investigation for antisemitism, and a federal antisemitism task force plans to visit 10 campuses around the country, including Columbia.
The NY Post was liveblogging events yesterday, and has an uninformative pastel sketch of Mrs. Khalil — all I can tell is that she is a hijabi. Also, further down, with photos:
Protester arrested after altercation with pro-Trump demonstrator
A middle-aged man in a black Roxy Music T-shirt was cuffed and bundled into a police van after allegedly snatching a beanie with the Puerto Rican flag off the head of a lone counter-protester.
Mahmoud Khalil supporters arrested after clash with NYPD as ‘pro-Hamas’ Columbia graduate faces deportation
About a dozen people were cuffed as they clashed with NYPD officers during a demonstration in support of former Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil on Tuesday afternoon, police said.
Cops swarmed in to make arrests after throngs of protesters blocked a downtown Manhattan street, despite repeated warnings from police to clear the roadway.
One keffiyeh-clad rabble-rouser was tackled to the ground by a pair of officers during his arrest.
Asra Nomani
@AsraNomani
🚨
@DPearlProject
Red Alert to media, the public, law enforcement, intel:
🚨 In minutes, as Mahmoud Khalil appears in a court hearing, videos will go viral from an 11 AM protest for Mahmoud Khalil. This is not a “grassroots” protest.
🚨 Organizers are part of a multimillion dollar anti-semitic network of 1,500 groups that I’ve identified in a Pearl Project database I’m working to make public.
🚨They represent the alliance of Socialists (red) with Islamists (green).
🚨 Don’t trust me. Study their own ad. These professional protestors are behind the pro-Mahmoud rally.
Here is a list of many of today’s professional protestors; all with a “one-state solution” to replace Israel with Palestine.
Self-described Socialists
🔴 The People’s FORUM - funded by China propagandist tycoon Neville Roy Singham
🔴 ANSWER - self-declared Marxists
🔴 Party for Socialism and Liberation
🔴 NODUTDOL - pro-North Korea
🔴 Jewish Voice for Peace
🔴 CODE PINK - friendly visits to Hamas and Iran; funded by Singham
🟢 PALESTINIAN YOUTH
MOVEMENT
🟢 Palestinian Feminist
Collective
🟢 Students for Justice in Palestine - started by Hatem Bazian at UC Berkeley
🟢 AL-AWDA - demands “right of return” of all Palestinians to modern-day Israel
Related: Fox News has more about Asra Nomani and the Pearl Project here.
Update at 5:00 a.m. ET: We have a name and photo for Mrs. Khalil, who looks both supercilious and unwell. More from the Times of Israel:
Two days before US agents arrested Mahmoud Khalil, the recent Columbia University student and anti-Israel activist asked his wife if she knew what to do if immigration agents came to their door. Noor Abdalla, Khalil’s wife of more than two years, said she was confused. As a legal permanent resident of the US, surely he did not have to worry about that, she recalls telling him.
“I didn’t take him seriously. Clearly I was naive,” Abdalla, a US citizen who is eight months pregnant, told Reuters in her first media interview.
Khalil was born and raised in a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria and came to the US on a student visa in 2022, getting his US permanent residency green card last year.
US Department of Homeland Security agents handcuffed her husband on Saturday in the lobby of their university-owned apartment building in Manhattan. Khalil’s arrest is one of the first efforts by US President Donald Trump, a Republican who returned to the White House in January, to fulfill his promise to seek deportation of some foreign students involved in the pro-Palestinian protest movement over its alleged support for terror groups and antisemitism.
Earlier on Wednesday, Abdalla, a 28-year-old dentist in New York, sat in the front row of a Manhattan courtroom as Khalil’s lawyers argued to a federal judge that he had been arrested in retaliation for his outspoken advocacy against Israel’s military action in Gaza amid the war sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught, in which invaders led by the terror group killed 1,200 people in Israel and abducted 251.
The judge extended his order blocking Khalil’s deportation while he considers whether the arrest was constitutional.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday that Khalil was detained for deportation due to support for the Hamas terror group.
“This is an individual who organized group protests that not only disrupted college campus classes and harassed Jewish American students and made them feel unsafe on their own college campus, but also distributed pro-Hamas propaganda fliers,” Leavitt said.
Khalil was a leading organizer for the Columbia protest movement. Columbia protesters held disruptive demonstrations on campus starting soon after the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023, that have continued into recent weeks. Protesters have openly endorsed violence and US-designated terror groups, and Jewish and Israeli students and faculty have said the activists created a hostile and discriminatory environment. A university task force reported “crushing” discrimination against Jews and Israelis on campus.
Abdalla and Khalil met in Lebanon in 2016 when she joined a volunteer program Khalil was overseeing at a nonprofit group that provides educational scholarships to Syrian youth. They started as friends before a seven-year long-distance relationship led to their New York wedding in 2023.
“He is the most incredible person who cares so much for other people,” she said. “He is the most kind, genuine soul.”
The couple is expecting their first child in late April. She said she hoped Khalil would be free by then. She showed Reuters a picture of a recent sonogram: a boy whose name they have yet to choose.
“I think it would be very devastating for me and for him to meet his first child behind a glass screen,” Abdalla said. “I’ve always been so excited to have my first baby with the person I love.”
The government has said it has begun proceedings to deport Khalil and is defending his detention in the court proceedings until then.
Kassem helped lead @WOLPalestine
’s “Emergency Session: A Survival Guide to Arrests and Jail Support.”
In one clip shared here, he discusses the roles of individuals in protests. For instance, people on visas should be more careful to not get arrested versus U.S. citizens.
Kassem is a CUNY law professor and currently serves as a Senior Policy Advisor at the White House. He was appointed this role in 2022.
Kassem was also awarded a fellowship from Paul & Daisy Soros Foundation (Paul is brother of George Soros) in 2001 to study law at guess where? Bingo! @ColumbiaLaw
. He also earned an undergraduate degree from @Columbia
.
To summarize: A Senior Policy Advisor at the White House is advising @WOLPalestine
on how to avoid arrests and assisting them once arrested. And this same person has received money from the Soros family and earned degrees from @Columbia
.
@POTUS
, no wonder you won’t do anything about WOL. Members of your administration are in bed with this domestic terrorist organization.
It is also not surprising that Kiswani and her fellow domestic terrorists have managed to avoid arrests if they are getting assistance from people like Kassem who are a part of the system.
#3
Sounds like Abdalla volunteered her womb for the mission.
'Your mission should prioritize marriage and children, as that will give you cover and additional legal protections while organizing your cells. Here is a list of volunteers, each tested for fertility and willing to allow additional concubines to facilitate this aspect.'
Within Our Lifetime – United For Palestine, is a pro-Palestinian and anti-Zionist activist organization primarily active in New York City. The organization was founded and is currently led by the Palestinian-American Muslim Nerdeen Kiswani. They are based out of Bay Ridge, a neighborhood in Brooklyn that is home to the majority of Palestinians in New York City. The Jerusalem Post has described them as the region's leading pro-Palestinian activist group. WOL organizes around four principles: the Palestinian right of return, anti-Zionism, the Palestinian right to resist, and internationalism. While the organization is centered around Palestinian liberation, they are also generally anti-imperialist. WOL has praised Hamas
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] The mission to rescue NASA's stranded astronauts has been delayed yet again, marking another setback in the nine-month-long saga.
SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket was supposed to launch from Kennedy Space Center at 7:48pm ET Wednesday, but the mission was scrubbed at the 11th hour.
The mission was taking four astronauts to replace Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore who have been stuck on the International Space Station (ISS) since June.
The quad of astronauts were all ready to go and strapped into their seats when the mission was aborted less than 30 minutes before they were due to launch.
It's a disappointing outcome for NASA and SpaceX, and undoubtedly the two astronauts stranded in space.
Both NASA and SpaceX will now reconvene on Thursday evening to have a second attempt at launching. Commentators from SpaceX said there would also be an opportunity on Friday if the original backup launch also fails.
This would have let Williams and Wilmore flee the ISS two days later and be back on Earth with the families by Sunday.
The delay comes as Elon Musk said he offered to bring the pair home eight months ago, but the Biden Administration shot it down because it would've made Donald Trump 'look good' in the presidential race against Kamala.
[FoxNews] 'People want change,' said Demokraatit leader Jens-Frederik Nielsen
Greenland’s center-right Demokraatit party pulled off a surprise victory in the country’s parliamentary elections, taking Greenlandic Prime Minister Múte Egede’s party, Inuit Ataqatigiit, out of power. Independence from Denmark became a focal point of the election amid President Donald Trump’s repeated talk of the U.S. taking control.
"People want change... We want more business to finance our welfare," said Jens-Frederik Nielsen, Demokraatit's leader, according to Reuters. The outlet added that Nielsen said Greenland does not "want independence tomorrow" and would prefer separation from Denmark be based on a "good foundation."
Four of the five main parties on the ballot, including the ones that won first and second place, Demokraatit Party and Naleraq, favor independence from Denmark, but disagree on the pace. Greenland, whose population is approximately 57,000 people, currently operates as a semi-autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. However, Trump’s renewed interest in the island sparked conversations about breaking away from the Danish crown.
Prime Minister Egede, whose party failed to maintain control, said in a Facebook post that he respects the outcome of the election and that the parties are ready for negotiations.
Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen congratulated the Demokraatit Party and said the Greenlandic future would face "massive pressure" from Trump, according to The Associated Press, which cited Danish Broadcasting Corporation DR. Poulsen reportedly added that "the future of Greenland is based on what the Greenlandic people and government want."
The Demokraatit Party saw a major increase in support, winning nearly 30% of the vote compared to just 9% in 2021, according to The Associated Press, which cited Greenlandic Broadcasting Corporation KNR TV.
Earlier this month, Trump brought up Greenland in his address to a joint session of Congress.
"We strongly support your right to determine your own future, and, if you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America," Trump said, eliciting laughter from the crowd. "We need Greenland for national security and even international security, and we’re working with everybody involved to try and get it… One way or the other, we’re going to get it."
In the same address, Trump vowed that the U.S. would "take Greenland to heights like you have never thought possible before."
During a January phone call with Trump, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that Greenland must be allowed to make decisions about its own future. Both Prime Ministers Frederiksen and Egede told Trump that "Greenland is not for sale," Axios reported at the time.
In December 2024, then-President-elect Trump tapped Ken Howery as U.S. ambassador to Denmark. Trump said in a post on Truth Social announcing the pick that "the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity."
President Trump also eyed Greenland during his first term, causing friction between himself and Prime Minister Frederiksen. In 2019, after the Danish leader called the idea of the U.S. buying Greenland "absurd," Trump abruptly canceled his trip to Denmark over the "nasty" comment.
#2
"Oh noes! Yet another far-right populist party seizing the government", he said with a happy smile.
Prediction:
Greenland declares independence from Denmark.
Greenland and the US form a compact of free association.
Everyone lives prosperously ever after.
(at least until UK/NATO/EU manage to start the Big One, bless their hearts)
[FoxNews] 'It truly is life-threatening,' lawyers for the firm said of the executive order. 'It will spell the end of the law firm.'
A federal judge on Wednesday blocked the Trump administration from enforcing an executive order seeking to penalize Democrat-linked law firm Perkins Coie, siding with plaintiffs from the firm who argued that the order was unconstitutional and a violation of due process protections.
The ruling from U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell comes just one day after attorneys representing the law firm Perkins Coie filed a request for an emergency restraining order blocking Trump's executive order from taking force.
Among other things, the order called for the firm's employees to be stripped of their security clearances and banned from accessing government buildings. It also called for the termination of the firm's existing contracts with government clients— actions Judge Howell appeared to agree with.
"That’s pretty extraordinary power for the president to exercise," she noted during the hearing.
Attorneys for Perkins Coie argued that the executive order is a violation of due process protections, free speech, and free association protections under the U.S. constitution, and argued it would effectively force the firm's business to a halt.
"It truly is life-threatening," attorneys for Perkins Coie told the judge. "It will spell the end of the law firm."
Judge Howell appeared to uphold their concerns, noting at one point in the hearing that it "sends little chills down my spine" that the Trump administration moved to label the firm as a threat and deny them access to government entities and businesses.
Lawyers for Perkins Coie argued the executive order would be "like a tsunami waiting to hit the firm" in terms of damaging impact. Already, they said, there is evidence that some of the firm's clients have withdrawn legal work from their firm or are considering doing so, moves they said would cause the firm to lose "signifcant revenue."
The order, signed by President Donald Trump last week, sought to penalize Perkins Coie, which has long represented Democratic-linked causes and candidates, including Trump's former opponent, Hillary Clinton, in the 2016 presidential election.
The firm also played a role in hiring Fusion GPS, an opposition research firm that commissioned the so-called "Steele Dossier" and published it shortly before the 2016 election.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi's chief of staff, Chad Mizelle, appeared in federal court to represent the Trump administration in the lawsuit. The hearing, and rare court appearance from Mizelle, a senior member of the U.S. attorney general's office, comes one week after Trump signed the executive order.
The order, titled "Addressing Risks from Perkins Coie LLP," accused Perkins Coie of "dishonest and dangerous activity" that they alleged undermines "democratic elections, the integrity of our courts, and honest law enforcement," as well as "racially discriminating against its own attorneys and staff" through its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.
Trump told reporters last week it was an "absolute honor" to sign the order, adding that "weaponization" against a political opponent "should never be allowed to happen again."
However, Perkins Coie attorneys argue the Trump administration has done just that by targeting the firm.
"Its plain purpose is to bully those who advocate points of view that the President perceives as adverse to the views of his Administration, whether those views are presented on behalf of paying or pro bono clients," they noted in the emergency lawsuit.
Attorneys representing Perkins Coie told Howell that roughly 25% of total firm revenue comes from its contracts with government clients, which they noted would be terminated by Trump's executive order.
Notably, this is not the first time the Trump administration has sought to restrict the work of certain law firms he sees as potentially opposed to his interests.
Earlier this year, Trump also issued an executive order targeting the law firm Covington & Burling, which represents former special counsel Jack Smith, who was tapped by Merrick Garland in 2022 to investigate Trump in his handling of classified documents and actions related to the 2020 election.
The order against Covington & Burling was slightly less restrictive, however, and revoked the security clearances of just two lawyers at the firm. Like Perkins Coie, it orderd the review of all the firm's government contracts and clients, though it is unclear if the review has forced any terminations of the contracts.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
#1
So this judge doesn't think the Chief Executive can decide who does and who doesn't get a top secret clearance? Wonders will never cease in the Democrat world.
#2
U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell has been a democrat hack and tool forever. She can f$ck right off
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/13/2025 3:36
Comments ||
Top||
#3
Fed judge Beryl A. Howell serves on the DC federal court. You know, the same system once abolished by the US Congress in 1863 due to a single judge's lawfare against the Union war effort vs. the old Confederacy. High time for Congress to do it again, one more time, to clean up the juridical swamp in DC. Sure wish someone could wake Congress up!
[THEPOSTMILLENNIAL] The University of Washington (UW) has announced a hiring freeze of non-essential staff and faculty as well as efforts to cut costs in response to the possibility of losing state and federal funding. UW is one of 60 universities under investigation by the Trump administration's DOE over antisemitism on campus.
Tricia Serio, UW provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, wrote in a blog post, ''Despite a good financial position, unprecedented and rapid policy changes at the federal level have increased the risk of funding cuts that threaten the University's financial stability.''
''At the state level, a significant budget shortfall is leading our legislature to grapple with a range of measures including budget cuts and furloughs, although the latter are particularly ill-suited to higher education because the cost of implementation minimizes the actual savings realized. Nonetheless, these risks together have the potential to jeopardize the full scope of our work, including existing and new research projects, patient care, instruction, and basic operations.''
Due to out-of-control spending, Washington state is facing a $6-15 billion dollar budget gap. Governor Bob Ferguson has proposed $4 billion in cuts, but 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... in the legislature are gearing up to offset the remainder with new taxes.
On Monday, UW found itself on a list from the US Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) of 60 institutions of higher education, including many Ivy League schools, that were sent letters warning them of potential enforcement actions if they do not fulfill their obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to protect Jewish students on campus, including uninterrupted access to campus facilities and educational opportunities.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] A top 'DEI' activist is caught on voicemail allegedly offering minority air traffic controller candidates the chance to cheat in a make-or-break entry exam.
Shelton Snow, a powerful figure in the National Black Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees (NBCFAE), can be heard promising advance access to test answers in a shocking audio clip obtained by DailyMail.com.
'There are some valuable pieces of information that I have taken a screenshot of and I am going to send that to you via email,' says Snow, an air traffic operations supervisor based out of New York.
'I am about 99.99 percent sure that it is exactly how you need to answer each question.'
The inside info was made available in 2014 to African Americans, females, and other minority candidates – but whites were left out of the loop to 'minimize competition'.
Exactly how many applicants were able to capitalize on Snow's brazen offer to secure coveted controller jobs responsible for the safety of millions of fliers remains a mystery.
Make every controller hired from 2014 on sit a basic skills exam. Those who don’t pass shouldn’t be working there anyway. And try Mr. Snow for the crime — there will be emails in the archives, I assume, if it really happened.
But one former NBCFAE member, Matthew Douglas, told DailyMail.com: 'I know several people who cheated and I know several people who are controlling planes as we speak.'
The voicemail comes to light as President Donald Trump vows to purge DEI – diversity, equity and inclusion – from US aviation, among other federal agencies, in the wake of the deadly midair collision at Reagan National airport in January that claimed 67 lives.
Snow's message was recorded just weeks after the FAA announced the biggest hiring shake up in its history during an Obama-era push to 'widen the aperture' for women and minorities.
As DailyMail.com exclusively revealed, the federal government agency had controversially replaced its peer-reviewed cognitive exam with a 'biographical' quiz asking things like 'how would you describe your ideal job' and 'classmates would remember me as humble or dominant?' "If you could be a tree, what kind of tree would you be?"
Critics say the quixotic blend of multiple-choice questions was designed to screen out elite, mostly white students from FAA-accredited college courses who excelled in traditional aptitude tests.
Nonetheless, it was proving incredibly tricky for anyone to pass – with a 90 percent failure rate – when Snow decided to intervene.
The then-President of the NBCFAE's Washington Suburban chapter contacted members in January 2014 with a list of HR 'buzz words' to insert into job applications.
'These buzzwords will flag your resume, thereby giving you the advantage over thousands of resumes that may flood the system,' he wrote.
At a separate teleconference, applicants were urged to highlight their association with the NBCFAE, the largest employee association within the FAA.
An agenda for the December 2023 powwow read: 'This is for us to know who our people are in the case that we have one of our own on the board.
Update from NoMoreBS at 10:30 p.m. ET:
DEI activist caught allegedly giving out air traffic control exam answers to minorities.
[Federalist] We found that concealed carry permit holders stopped 51.5 percent of active shootings, compared to 44.6 percent stopped by police.
You’d never know it from watching television, but civilians stop more active shooters than police and do so with fewer mistakes, according to new research from the Crime Prevention Research Center, where I serve as president. In non-gun-free zones, where civilians are legally able to carry guns, concealed carry permit holders stopped 51.5 percent of active shootings, compared to 44.6 percent stopped by police, CPRC found in a deep dive into active shooter scenarios between 2014 and 2023.
Not only do permit holders succeed in stopping active shooters at a higher rate, but law enforcement officers face significantly greater risks when intervening. Our research found police were nearly six times more likely to be killed and 17 percent more likely to be wounded than armed civilians.
Those numbers paint a fuller picture than the FBI’s crime statistics, which fail to include many of the defensive gun uses my organization has cataloged. But the problem with the FBI’s crime statistics isn’t just the errors in their reported data — they also fail to address useful questions, like how concealed handgun permit holders compare to law enforcement. Kash Patel and Dan Bongino face a major challenge in reforming how the data is collected and reported at the FBI.
WHAT WE FOUND
From 2014 to 2023, CPRC researchers found that armed civilians stopped 180 of 515 active shooting cases. Of the attacks in places where people were allowed to carry, we found that permit holders stopped 158 of the 307 instances. The FBI defines an “active shooting” as an event where an individual actively attempts to kill people in a public place — excluding shootings tied to robberies or gang violence. An “active shooting” could be as simple as a single shot fired at a lone human target, even if the shooter misses, to a mass shooting.
Civilians don’t succeed in stopping every active shooter situation, but the alternative isn’t perfection. Police officers are often at a disadvantage because their uniforms make them obvious targets, while civilians can stop an attacker before being noticed. Compare the numbers from active shootings stopped by police versus those stopped by armed civilians, and permit holders stack up pretty well.
In the 156 cases stopped by law enforcement, we found police accidentally shot the wrong person in four cases, killing fellow officers twice and civilians twice. That’s more than double the rate of civilians accidentally shooting a bystander (1.14 percent compared to 0.56 percent).
TV ISN’T REALITY
Even though law-abiding citizens who carry concealed firearms stop active shootings with few mistakes — in some cases with fewer mistakes than police — TV police dramas portray armed civilians as causing more harm than good in self-defense situations. These shows repeatedly push the idea that civilians shouldn’t play the hero and should instead leave everything to the police. Concealed handgun permit holders are portrayed as reckless vigilantes who leave a disaster behind them: accidentally shooting bystanders, interfering with law enforcement, failing to protect themselves, or even having their guns stolen and misused in crimes or accidental shootings.
Gun control organizations openly brag about working with producers, directors, and writers to push their gun control narrative. And many in Hollywood proudly admit their efforts to use television and movies to change the culture.
#4
A black CCH is more likely to shoot a black doing something that deserves it before a cop will because cops hesitate knowing that their 'employer' is more than willing to throw them to the wolves rather than stand up to the usual race hustlers.
[WCYB] Tennessee Congressman Tim Burchett has proposed a bill allowing Americans to use a shotgun to shoot down drones above their property.
Is this an urgent issue, or something better addressed in a year or so?
HR1907, also known as the Defense Against Drones Act, is sponsored by U.S. Representative Tim Burchett (R-TN-2). The bill allows for a property owner to shoot down unmanned aircraft using a legally-obtained shotgun if the person believes the drone is flying 200 feet or lower over their property.
The bill allows for the property owner to return the drone to the owner should they choose and also requires the property owner to report the aircraft and it's registration number to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) within 60 days of the drone shooting.
The bill comes just under two weeks after the Tennessee National Guard reported mysterious drone sightings in recent months similar to the sightings seen in northeast states. The Tennessee Department of the Military is asking for an additional $5.5 million for what they call forced protection improvements. Such improvements may include ballistic doors, ballistic gates, and other types of confidential defense improvements.
#2
We can all laugh about such assertions, but in real estate law the legal rights to a portion of property extend above the roof-line of the home. Those rights can be bought and sold, and with that right comes the implication that those rights can be defended.
The minimum prescribed by the authority is 500 feet during the day and 1000 feet at night for air carriers (Civil Air Regulations, Pt. 61, §§ 61.7400, 61.7401, Code Fed.Reg.Cum.Supp., Tit. 14, ch. 1) and from 300 to 1000 feet for other aircraft depending on the type of plane and the character of the terrain.
#8
NO, in a town or a subdivision, since a bullet shot in the air must come down and could come down causing damages to another person's property or to another person.
Besides, there are many nonlethal ways to drop a drone.
Eg. A cheap $24.95 drone and use it to crash it or bring it down.
#12
Latest drone tech includes fiberoptic cables which don't use RF to control the drones. Most of the drones still need GPS data to navigate. I wonder how hard it would be to jam GPS signals in a very small area?
[BenarNews] Six people were killed in a spate of attacks by suspected rebels across the border region since Saturday.
NGOs and opposition politicians blamed a spike in violence in Thailand’s Deep South on unclear governmental peace policies and stalled negotiations with rebels, after attacks by suspected bandidos krazed killers killed six people and injured about a dozen others since Saturday.
According to the Thai military, separate rebels in the mainly Malay Moslem southern border region were intensifying violence during the holy month of Ramadan, which began here on March 2.
The series of attacks on Saturday and Monday brought to 15 the corpse count from insurgency-related violence since the start of the new year in the region that lies along the border with Malaysia.
"Earlier incidents of burning electricity poles or putting up [protest] signs already reflected dissatisfaction, but the government remained passive toward these signals without any response," said Anchana Heemmina, chairperson of the Duay Jai (with Heart) Association for Humanitarian Assistance, a local NGO.
"Now new violence affecting people has begun. Part of this may be due to operational shortcomings, but the government cannot deny responsibility for not showing clear intentions regarding the peace dialogue process," she told BenarNews.
Since Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s government took office last August, there have been no signs of Malaysia-brokered peace talks restarting. Her father, former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, was recently appointed as a special adviser to ASEAN to help Kuala Lumpur with the Deep South question during Malaysia’s chairmanship of the Southeast Asian bloc in 2025.
The last round of peace talks between negotiators representing Thailand and Barisan Revolusi rebels took place in Kuala Lumpur 13 months ago. Paetongtarn’s administration has still not yet appointed a new chief Thai negotiator for the peace talks, after the post was vacated in October.
Phumtham Wechayachai, the Thai deputy prime minister and defense minister, said Bangkok was ready for talks to proceed, but with conditions.
"It’s unfortunate that incidents occurred and people died. We have publicly stated that violence should cease for a period. If it can be stopped, it shows a genuine desire for negotiation. We ask for a ceasefire before negotiations," Phumtham told news hounds on Monday.
On Saturday, attackers bombed and opened fire on the Su-ngai Kolok district office and launched attacks on several other locations in Narathiwat province, killing two defense volunteers and injuring about 10 civilians, Thai authorities said.
Later that night in Sai Buri district, Pattani province, suspected rebels attacked a Ranger Regiment special task force, killing an officer and two civilians and injuring one other. At 2 a.m. Monday, button men shot and killed another village defense volunteer in Krong Pinang district, Yala province, officials said.
Lt. Gen. Paisan Nusang, the Thai army commander in the region, said bandidos krazed killers were acting deliberately during Ramadan.
"They believe committing these acts during Ramadan brings merit, as incidents typically increase during this month. I have ordered a review of incident control measures and law enforcement tracking of perpetrators according to operational plans," Paisan told BenarNews.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] The enemy is actively advancing in the Kursk region and continues to put pressure on the border with Sumy region.
The Russian army has made significant progress in the Kursk region: the enemy has already entered Sudzha, and heavy fighting continues. The enemy was able to successfully plan the operation, just like the Ukrainian Armed Forces of its time, Ukrainian servicemen admit. What are the possible scenarios for further developments? Read on in the story. ATTRACTING RESERVES
According to the monitoring project DeepState, the Russians entered Sudzha. Incidentally, this happened yesterday. Now the fighting is taking place on the outskirts of the city, and in the west and north of the settlement there is already a gray zone.
"On the Internet, in particular in Telegram channels after the update, messages are being spread about a complete withdrawal from the city of Sudzha, which is not true... The situation remains difficult. The Defense Forces are doing everything possible to stop the enemy's advance," the project's message says.
The General Staff also confirms information about the enemy’s significant advance and the expansion of the grey zone near Sudzha.
"In Kursk, according to the information available at the moment, our defenders repelled one attack by the invaders. In addition, the enemy carried out three air strikes, dropping four guided aerial bombs, and carried out 144 artillery attacks, including eight from multiple launch rocket systems," the General Staff reported.
During a briefing, Secretary of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security Roman Kostenko also told journalists that Ukrainian servicemen are in Sudzha and are conducting active combat operations.
"They do not confirm our complete withdrawal from Sudzha, the fighting continues. The Russians control certain territories, but there is no information about the complete withdrawal of our troops. The situation is difficult, the enemy is pressing, our command is trying to stabilize it by using new reserves," Kostenko noted.
President Volodymyr Zelensky also commented on the situation. According to him, the Russians in the Kursk direction are "raising the temperature."
"The military command is doing what it should do: saving the maximum number of lives of our soldiers. We understand what the Russian side will demonstrate in the coming days... Intimidation, I think, will be different. And of a nuclear nature as well," Zelensky explained.
WHAT ARE THE POSSIBLE SCENARIOS?
SDU fighter Stanislav Bunyatov, call sign Osman, wrote on his Telegram channel that the enemy had successfully planned the operation in the Kursk region, just like the Ukrainian Armed Forces of their time. However, according to him, "losing a battle is not the same as losing a war."
Ukrainian servicemen note in social networks that information from the Kursk direction appears in the media with a delay of 1-2 days. The soldiers are also considering two scenarios: optimistic and pessimistic.
The first assumes that the Russian army will reach the border with Ukraine in the next few days, consolidate its position and take up defensive positions there. The second assumes that the enemy will not stop at the border and will begin an offensive on the city of Sumy.
PRESSURE ON THE BORDER
The fact that the Russians want to build on their success and break through the Ukrainian border is confirmed by the spokesman for the State Border Service of Ukraine, Andriy Demchenko.
"Trying to push the Ukrainian Defense Forces out of the Kursk region, the Russians are carrying out dozens of assault operations against the positions of Ukrainian soldiers. They are trying to encircle our forces located in the Kursk region or to cut off logistics routes," the spokesman for the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine said.
Now, according to him, in the Sumy region, attempts to cross the border by small assault groups of the enemy of 2-3 servicemen, sometimes 5, are being recorded.
These groups have the task of going as deep into our territory as possible, gathering, gaining a foothold and expanding the combat zone. However, they are not successful. Over the past 24 hours alone, about 20 Russian servicemen were killed, 15 retreated with injuries (we are talking only about those occupiers who crossed the state border).
"All available weapons that the border guards in that direction and the Ukrainian Armed Forces have are used to destroy these infantry groups and prevent them from gaining a foothold. In fact, we use mortars, artillery, and unmanned attack vehicles," the GPSU spokesman explained.
[JewishInsider] Daniel Davis, a senior fellow at the Koch-backed Defense Priorities think tank, said that U.S. support for Israel’s war in Gaza was a strategic and moral mistake
Daniel Davis, a senior fellow at the isolationist Defense Priorities think tank with a record of strident criticism of Israel, has been tapped as a deputy director of national intelligence, three sources with knowledge of the selection told Jewish Insider. Davis has also lambasted U.S. support for the war in Gaza as a moral and strategic mistake.
He has opposed military action to destroy Iran’s nuclear program, and suggested that it is only U.S. and Israeli policy and actions that are pushing Iran toward pursuing a nuclear weapon.
Three sources told JI that Davis, a retired military officer and early critic of the Afghanistan war, has been offered and accepted the position of deputy DNI for mission integration, one of the top jobs at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence under DNI Tulsi Gabbard, and is waiting on the completion of his background check.
The mission integration role “serves as the DNI’s principal advisor on all aspects of intelligence,” according to the DNI website, and does not require Senate confirmation.
Davis joins a growing series of appointees in key positions across a number of national security agencies who fall far outside of the mainstream on Israel and Middle East policy, several of whom, including Michael DiMino, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East, and Dan Caldwell, a Pentagon senior advisor, are also alumni of the Koch-linked Defense Priorities.
As recently as Jan. 12, Davis called U.S. support for the war in Gaza a mistake.
“On a practical level, we give away enormous leverage and credibility globally to hold *anyone* accountable for acts of w[a]nton violence, bc we not merely turn a blind eye to it, we cheer it on and supply the means to do more,” Davis wrote on X. “On a moral level this is a stain on our character as a nation, as a culture, that will not soon go away.”
Davis has suggested Israel is pursuing “ethnic cleansing” of Gaza and compared Gaza to a “prison.”
He has argued that the conflict did not begin on Oct. 7, 2023, with the Hamas attacks, echoing narratives that seek to push blame for the attack and the ensuing war on Israel.
“Let me say before anyone else brings it up: to those who would scream ‘October 7th!’ let me reply. The history of this conflict did not begin on that day. In the summer PRIOR to 10/7, the IDF was on a brutal fight against Palestinians,” Davis wrote. “And of course this goes back *decades* of repression and the Palestinians in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip being effectively incarcerated, with limited or no freedoms, and no path to a future and a hope.”
Davis shared an article claiming that casualties in Gaza are 40% higher than those reported by the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry, and lambasted “Western skeptics who ridiculed the Palestinian health ministry.”
Those skeptics would include the former director of national intelligence under the Biden administration, who said that the administration did not trust or rely on that data.
In an episode of his YouTube show in January, he described the Oct. 7 attack as “in some regards convenient” for Israel to give it a justification for it to begin military operations in Gaza.
He has also accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “playing the U.S. like a cheap fiddle,” and complained in January that incoming Trump administration officials were supportive of Israeli positions on the conflict.
In December 2024, Davis lambasted Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) for calling to cut off federal funds from universities that allow antisemitic protests, accusing Cruz of attempting to silence any protests, peaceful or otherwise, that criticize Netanyahu’s policies.
“Where is [your] moral outrage at the Israeli gov that continues to kill kids and other civilians without remorse or military necessity? Where is even a tiny bit of concern for the Palestinian *Christians* who are also killed in Gaza and the West Bank?” Davis continued. “Where is [your] passionate defense of the Bill of Rights for American citizens and students to give even full throated defense of issues [you] oppose, like the indiscriminate killing of the most vulnerable segment of the Palestinian population in Gaza?”
He called Cruz’s posture “as unAmerican as anything has ever been done.”
In a Jan. 20 tweet about the cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas, Davis said that “it will take deft diplomacy by the Israeli and American governments to repair the enormous damage done by the outgoing U.S. Administration’s blanket support for Netanyahu’s war.”
He has said repeatedly that the “wanton destruction” of the Gaza Strip by Israel had created more Hamas fighters than existed prior to the war, and argued that there is no military solution to the situation in Gaza and that Israel was not serious about cease-fire negotiations.
He also strongly opposed Israeli plans to expand operations into Lebanon, which have since successfully degraded Hezbollah’s capabilities and eliminated most of its leadership.
Davis criticized President Donald Trump’s expressions of support for attacks on Iran’s nuclear program and denied that Iran poses a threat to the United States, asserting that it is only a “marginal regional power.”
“I don’t know who Trump has hired for his advisor, who’s giving him such absurd advice, but hitting the nuclear facilities of Iran is far more dangerous and difficult than what he believes,” Davis said in October 2024. “The ramifications could be terrible for us and for Israel.”
Davis has advanced the view that U.S. and Israeli policies and actions are forcing Iran’s hand toward hostile action, including nuclearization, and titled the Dec. 20 episode of his YouTube show “Quit Shoving Iran Towards Developing Nukes.”
“Iran is not a threat to the United States,” Davis said. “The only way that Iran can be a real problem for the U.S. is if we get stupider and push them beyond a point to where they feel like their only hope of self-defense from being the next victim of a regime change war … is to get a nuclear weapon.”
He claimed that U.S. and Israeli policy “continues to shove them headlong into a direction where the only thing they can do to defend themselves is to have a nuclear weapon. If we want to prevent that outcome, all we have to do is stop shoving them in that direction. Give them any reason at all to think they don’t have to fear a regime-change operation from us.”
Davis expressed support for the 2015 Iran nuclear deal as a viable option to “incentivize Iran to agree to a path of restraint” and said that those who pulled out of it were seeking war and ultimately pushed Iran in a counterproductive direction. The previous Trump administration deemed Iran to be in violation of the agreement and left it.
He appeared to be particularly angered by, and posted repeatedly about, the Israeli attack on an Iranian facility in Syria in 2024, killing members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He also criticized Israel’s alleged assassination of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
Davis argued that the Iranian regime’s subsequent missile attack on Israel in April 2024 cannot “b[e] described as ‘unjustified,’” and suggested that the U.S. should not come to Israel’s aid if war broke out with Iran.
“It was reckless and put the US at risk,” Davis said. “We dare not get drawn into a war of Israel’s choice [with] Iran. That’s their sovereign decision to make, but it is not America’s to wage for them.”
He criticized world leaders who, after the Iranian missile attack, called on Iran and its proxies to cease their attacks on Israel, adding, “How about condemning Israel for the highly provocative, illegal act of destroying another nation’s embassy? It’s like we’ve all gone mad…”
Following Israel’s attack on Iran’s air defense systems in late 2024, Davis celebrated that the attack had been limited in scope and warned that a more substantial attack could have had “catastrophic” consequences for both the U.S. and Israel.
Davis has also demanded that the U.S. immediately withdraw all of its troops from Syria, and questioned the positive impacts that the fall of the Assad regime would have. Davis has argued against attempting to forge relations with the new Syrian government, given its ties to terrorism.
And he said that the Houthis in Yemen are striking Israel “because you went after the Palestinian people in the Gaza strip,” adding that Israel will “have to come to some sort of political accommodation with the Houthis.”
Davis has also been critical of U.S. support for Ukraine.
Davis, who hosts a YouTube show, the “Daniel Davis Deep Dive,” with a deep library of content, has repeatedly brought on political scientist John Mearsheimer as a guest commentator. Mearsheimer is the author of The Israel Lobby, a book some have described as antisemitic for its claims about Israel and the pro-Israel community’s alleged influence on U.S. foreign policy.
Other guests have included anti-Israel former British Member of Parliament George Galloway, who has been accused of antisemitism and defended Hamas’ rule of Gaza as legitimate, and retired Col. Douglas Macgregor, who has also been accused of antisemitism, and is seen as a major advocate for the Russian regime’s positions on the war in Ukraine.
Davis has suggested on his show that a pro-Israel consensus in American media makes it politically difficult to express any criticism of Israel, and that such pro-Israel narratives actually hurt Israel’s international standing.
Tulsi Gabbard, US President Donald Trump’s director of national intelligence, has decided not to appoint a harsh critic of Israel to a key intelligence post, the Jewish Insider and New York Times report.
Gabbard’s decision not to name Daniel Davis as her deputy came after news of the planned appointment was met with criticism in light of his comments on Israel, which include saying that America’s support for Israeli operations in Gaza against Hamas is a “strategic and moral mistake” and opposing a military attack on Iran’s nuclear program.
According to the New York Times, the position that Gabbard was considering Davis for is responsible for the daily presidential briefing.
#1
Figure out who recommended him and who approved the recommendation and can all three. Trump isn’t researching down to that level. Delouse the administration of the leftist infiltrators. Being anti-Israel is not 100% leftist, but the correlation is about .9
Posted by: Super Hose ||
03/13/2025 18:22
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#2
First step — dropping the idea of appointing him — is done. Now Secretary Gabbard can figure out who recommended him and why.
[ToloNews] The Ministry of Economy has stated that the 83% budget cut of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will have a negative impact on aid programs for people in need worldwide.
Abdul Rahman Habib, the ministry’s spokesperson, emphasized that humanitarian programs and aid efforts should not be politically exploited.
The spokesperson further stated: "The purpose of humanitarian aid is to support individuals in emergency situations, natural disasters, or those suffering from economic hardship. According to humanitarian laws, neutrality and respect for human dignity are fundamental principles of these aid efforts. Therefore, organizations and countries should not use them as a tool for political objectives."
Recently, Marco Rubio ...The diminutive 13-year-old Republican U.S. Senator from Florida, Secretary of State in the second Trump administration... , the U.S. Secretary of State, officially announced the 83% cut in USAID’s programs following a six-week review. Rubio also stated that cutting 83% of the agency’s programs, amounting to tens of billions of dollars, is not in line with U.S. national interests and, in some cases, could be detrimental to the country.
Rubio emphasized that the remaining programs will continue under the supervision of the U.S. State Department.
Meanwhile,
...back at the shootout, Butch clutched at his other leg...... some residents of Kabul have expressed concerns over job shortages and rising poverty. They have urged officials to take steps toward creating job opportunities.
Mohammad Qasim, a Kabul resident, said: "We are poor and helpless, and there is no work. We ask people to help us."
Zarifa, another Kabul resident, stated: "I ask the government and aid organizations to assist me. Many times, I have to put my orphans to bed hungry."
This comes as various organizations in Afghanistan continue to express concerns about the humanitarian crisis caused by poverty and climate change.
For the past 63 years, USAID has provided humanitarian and development assistance to various countries and has played a constructive role in numerous international projects worldwide.
"We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them. "
George W. Bush, September 11th 2001
"These demands are not open to negotiation or discussion. The Taliban must act, and act immediately. They will hand over the terrorists, or they will share in their fate."
George W. Bush, Statement To Joint Session Of Congress September 20th 2001
Abdul Rahman Habib, Mohammad Qasim and Zarifa are loyal subjects of a regime that wants to transform the entire world into an Islamic slave empire.
They are loyal subjects of a regime that systematically violates basic human and civil rights.
They are enemies of Western Civilization.
The West should not help undefeated and unrepentant enemies.
Afghanistan should be under sanctions.
Entities and countries giving aid and comfort to Afghanistan should be under sanctions.
[IsraelTimes] During operations in Qalqilya overnight, the IDF says it demolished the home of a Palestinian terrorist who killed an Israeli man in the West Bank city last summer.
On June 22, Ali Khalil and other members of a Palestinian Islamic Jihad cell opened fire on an Israeli car in Qalqilya, killing Amnon Muchtar, 67, of Petah Tikva.
Khalil and a second terrorist involved in the attack, Jamal Abu Haniyeh, along with seven other gunmen, were killed in drone strikes in the Tulkarem area of the West Bank in August.
Khalil’s home was demolished overnight. Abu Haniyeh’s was razed in January.
As a matter of policy, Israel demolishes the homes of Palestinians accused of carrying out deadly attacks.
[Breitbart] A masked man vandalized a Tesla charging station and attempted to burn it down using molotov cocktails in North Charleston, South Carolina, ultimately setting himself on fire in the process. The maniac spray-painted “Long live Ukraine” next to a vulgar message aimed at President Trump at the scene.
The Post and Courier reports that in a bizarre incident that unfolded in North Charleston, South Carolina, a masked Trump hater vandalized and attempted to set fire to Tesla charging stations, only to end up setting himself ablaze in the process. The incident, which took place near a Mellow Mushroom pizzeria at 4855 Tanger Outlet Blvd., has left the community stunned and authorities searching for answers.
According to witnesses, the masked individual, wearing a gray jacket or hoodie, spray-painted the message “(expletive) TRUMP LONG LIVE UKRAINE” near the bank of Tesla charging stations before proceeding with his ill-fated attempt to destroy the electric vehicle chargers. The man reportedly used beer bottles as makeshift Molotov cocktails, setting them on fire and hurling them at three charging stations. However, during this act of arson, the man inadvertently set himself on fire, with witnesses reporting flames spreading across his back.
As onlookers began calling 911, the masked individual fled the scene, running past a nearby Zaxby’s restaurant and towards the hotels behind it. The North Charleston police department has not yet identified or arrested the suspect, but the incident has resulted in an estimated $60,000 in damages to the Tesla charging infrastructure.
This incident appears to be part of a growing trend of vandalism and crime targeting Tesla and its CEO, Elon Musk, as well as President Donald Trump. Breitbart News previously reported on a man who claims to be woman that police say brought explosives to a Tesla dealership to cause murder and mayhem.
The investigation into the North Charleston incident has now been taken over by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), as confirmed by Harve Jacobs, spokesman for the North Charleston police department. Authorities are working to identify the suspect and determine the full extent of the damage caused by the vandalism and fire.
Was pointing out that when they need to obscure and deflect from coordinated attacks with the intent to intimidate and/or change political tendencies, any old slogan will do.
#7
Not to go all Calvinist on his charred ass, but maybe this is a sign that Gawd disapproves of your efforts.
On NPR yesterday, stories about the Tesla 'protests' failed to mention fires or vandalism. Just innocent protests, that's all!
Other NPR plotlines being offered:
1) The Trump admin is devolving into chaos.
2) RFK Jr, a noted scepticiser of vaccines, has failed to respond strongly to the latest measles outbreak. This was despite playing an actual quote of him saying everyone in the afflicted county should get the measles vax.
3) People in Texas who make a personal decision not to get a vaccine are transgressing against the Common Good(tm) - an amusing position from the Our Bodies, Ourselves crowd who are normally all about individual autonomy.
[THEGATEWAYPUNDIT] In yet another stunning example of government waste, the Biden administration's $3 billion scheme to convert the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) fleet to electric vehicles (EVs) has delivered nothing but empty promises, skyrocketing costs, and a mere 93 vehicles out of the planned 50,000.
Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Representative Michael Cloud (R-Texas) are leading the charge against reckless taxpayer-funded disaster.
They introduced the Return to Sender Act, a bill aimed at clawing back the unspent billions that were funneled into the failed USPS EV initiative under Biden's so-called Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
''Biden's $3 billion EV fleet for USPS is lost in the mail! Just 93 of 50,000 vehicles have been delivered. I am canceling the order and returning the unspent money to sender: the taxpayers!'' Ernst wrote on X.
The USPS originally placed its 50,000-vehicle order three years ago, but thanks to bureaucratic mismanagement and Biden's radical green agenda, barely 0.2% of those vehicles have made it to the streets. Meanwhile,
...back at the Senate, Odius Sepulcher called for war against the Visigoths... the cost of production continues to balloon, and taxpayers are footing the bill for a non-existent fleet.
''The Biden administration's so-called Inflation Reduction Act funneled billions into a failed USPS EV project that has delivered nothing but delays, defective trucks, and skyrocketing costs,'' said Cloud.
''Three years later, taxpayers are still waiting while the Postal Service refuses to provide basic transparency on where the money went. The Return to Sender Act takes back the $3 billion in taxpayer money that has been wasted in this project.''
The Return to Sender Act aims to repeal and rescind any remaining, unobligated funds from the Inflation Reduction Act's USPS EV provisions. The bill cancels this colossal waste of taxpayer money before even more cash is flushed down the drain.
The legislation targets sections 70002 and 70003 of the IRA, ensuring that billions in misused climate funds are reallocated to the American people instead of being used to prop up another one of Biden's green boondoggles.
According to the blurb, ''Because of its ballooning cost and delays, the USPS EV project was featured as one of the worst government boondoggles when Ernst introduced her Billion Dollar Boondoggle Act that will require the disclosure of any government project that is $1 billion over budget or five years behind schedule.''
USPS also has had a lot of new delivery and lost item issues in the last 5 months.
Certified Mail lost, & USPS packages, taking over 3 weeks to deliver. If delivered. (Note: Have seen local USPS packages end up at local Bins Stores?)
Just a few weeks ago, in the Atlanta area. A US Mail Transfer truck unknowingly dumped 1,000's of items, along the highway, and kept going. A lot of it was collected by motorists that stopped.
[Breitbart] Foreign Minister of Colombia Laura Sarabia on Monday urged the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) to remove coca leaves — cocaine’s main ingredient — from its list of harmful substances.
Sarabia, representing Colombia at CND’s 68th session in Vienna, Austria, claimed during her speech that if coca leaves are removed from the list they would serve an industrial use in the manufacturing of fertilizers and beverages. Sarabia further claimed that a removal of coca leaves would not imply a change in Colombia’s drug-fighting policies and instead called for the international community to “rethink” global drug policy.
“The evidence is overwhelming: drug trafficking has slowed the development of our country, has victimized millions of peasants, has financed terrorist groups and has devastated essential ecosystems such as the Amazon,” Sarabia said.
“Science will prove that the coca leaf itself is not harmful to health. We will only be able to take it away from the drug traffickers if we take advantage of its potential for industrial uses, such as fertilizers and beverages,” she continued.
Colombia is the world’s top producer of cocaine and has spent decades attempting to eradicate local cocaine production by criminal groups and Marxist terrorist organizations such as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN).
To produce cocaine, coca leaves must first be harvested and then undergo a chemical process that turns them into a paste. Drug traffickers proceed to buy the coca paste and then refine it into cocaine.
Coca leaves are one of several harmful substances listed in the United Nations 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, of which Colombia is a signatory. Article 26 of the 1961 convention calls for the uprooting of all coca bushes that grow wild and the destruction of said bushes if they are illegally cultivated.
Unlike his predecessors, President Gustavo Petro, a former member of the Marxist M19 terrorist group and Colombia’s first leftist president ever, implemented lenient drug policies upon taking office in August 2022: Instead of cracking down on coca leaf production in Colombian territory, Petro has focused on targeting drug trafficking networks and drug lords that benefit from overseas sales.
Petro’s policies have resulted in a dramatic surge in cocaine production, which reached its highest recorded level in more than two decades in 2023 according to UN estimates. Reports published in July indicated that the increase in cocaine production in Colombia during Petro’s administration has resulted in large amounts of unsold coca paste “piling up” in the country due to the overwhelmingly higher supply of the ingredient.
Colombian government officials claimed last year that drug seizures have “increased significantly” during Petro’s first two years in office. The New York Times refuted the claims, asserting that the increase in drug seizures was because “so much more cocaine is being produced” in the country.
Petro has repeatedly defended the use of cocaine, a drug that, according to him, is “less harmful” than sugar. In February, during a controversial six-hour government meeting broadcast live on national television, Petro claimed that cocaine is “not worse than whiskey.” Petro asserted during the broadcast that cocaine is only illegal because “it’s produced in Latin America” and suggested that, if legalized, it could be “sold like wine.”
Sarabia claimed during her speech at the CND gathering that from August 7, 2022 — the day Petro took office — to January 31, 2025, Colombia seized “more than 1.9 million kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride, more than 215,000 kilograms of coca base and destroyed 454 clandestine laboratories.” The foreign minister also called for a “rethinking” of global drug policies and asserted that “reforming the global drug regime does not mean normalizing drug trafficking, but rather providing us with more effective tools to combat it.”
“We cannot continue repeating the mistakes of the past. For Colombia, refocusing this policy is a matter of life and peace,” Sarabia said.
Shortly after her participation at CND’s 68th session, Sarabia spoke to Colombia’s Blu Radio and asserted that her request to remove coca leaves from the U.N.’s list of harmful substances does not mean a legalization of cocaine.
“This does not mean the legalization of coca. It does not mean that we are going to bow down to drug trafficking. The coca leaf has scientific uses. We are not legalizing cocaine,” Sarabia said.
Miguel Tunjano, a retired colonel of Colombia’s Anti-Narcotics Police, criticized Sarabia’s request in remarks given to the local magazine Semana on Monday evening. Tunjano, an expert in illicit crops, condemned the request as “oxygen” for Colombian criminal structures spread across the country and explained that it would effectively allow them to have “all the coca in Colombia at their disposal” to buy and refine into cocaine.
“That basically is giving those organizations an opportunity to increase their finances,” Tunjano said.
Former Colombian Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzón Bueno criticized Sarabia’s request in a Monday social media post, describing the request issued by the foreign minister as a “great favor to organized crime, terrorism, drug trafficking, and those who destroy tropical forests and pollute rivers.”
“Above all, a great favor to political corruption with a view to 2026,” Pinzón Bueno said. “The consolidation of a narco-state does terrible damage to the Colombian people, and to the prestige and credibility of Colombia abroad.”
🚨Update: @EPA just notified 8 recipients of $20 BILLION in Biden EPA “gold bars” that their grants have been TERMINATED!
It is my commitment to President Trump, Congress, and you, that EPA will be an exceptional steward of your tax dollars. I’ll have it no other way! pic.twitter.com/PjJ5WOlaY1
#2
The claw back is in process. Some of the $20B has not yet been obligated and will be saved. Some has been obligated but not expended. Much of that will likely be successfully clawed back. The funds that have been obligated and for which work has been done (assuming it is legit work) will likely not be saved. Probably will take weeks, if not months, to sort this through.
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
03/13/2025 12:44
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Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. Russian troops crossed from the Kursk border into the Sumy region
[Regnum] Russian military personnel from the Kursk border area have crossed the state border in certain areas and entered the Sumy region. This was reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 12 during a meeting at one of the command posts of the Kursk group by the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, General of the Army Valery Gerasimov.
According to Gerasimov, the operation to destroy enemy units in the Kursk region continues. The Russian Armed Forces have isolated the Ukrainian Armed Forces' intrusion group.
"Its systematic destruction is underway. In some areas, Russian units have crossed the state border and entered the Sumy region, where they continue to destroy enemy reserves and expand security zones," Gerasimov reported to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief.
Earlier, the Chief of the General Staff reported that the Russian Armed Forces had liberated more than 86% of the area previously occupied by Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are in an extremely difficult situation in the Kursk region, while Russian servicemen are on the verge of “complete triumph,” admitted Polish General Boguslaw Patsek.
Vladimir Putin set the task of finally defeating the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kursk region in the shortest possible time and completely liberating the region.
On March 12, the Russian President held a meeting at one of the command posts of the Kursk group of the Russian Armed Forces.
More from regnum.ru Putin: Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers near Kursk are considered terrorists by law
Members of Ukrainian armed groups that oppose Russian authorities in the Kursk region are considered terrorists by law. And they require the appropriate treatment. This was stated on March 12 by Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting in one of the command posts of the Russian Armed Forces group in the Kursk region.
“People who are on the territory of the Kursk region, commit crimes here against the civilian population, oppose our armed forces, law enforcement agencies and special services, in accordance with the laws of the Russian Federation are terrorists,” the head of state declared.
Putin explained that the terrorists' actions are being classified by the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation under the article "Terrorism". A criminal case has been opened by the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation.
The President also added that we must treat the Ukrainian militants captured in the Kursk region “as terrorists.”
As reported by the Regnum news agency, Vladimir Putin held a meeting on March 12 at one of the command posts of the Kursk group of the Russian Armed Forces
Even more from regnu.ru Russian troops liberated five settlements in Kursk region
Russian troops liberated five settlements in the Kursk region in the past 24 hours. This was reported on March 12 by the press service of the Russian Defense Ministry.
“During offensive operations in the Kursk direction, units of the North group of troops liberated the settlements of Kazachya Loknya, 1st Knyazhiy, 2nd Knyazhiy, Zamostye and Mirny,” the statement said.
The losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kursk region in the past 24 hours amounted to more than 260 people, and in total during the conduct of military operations in this direction - more than 66.8 thousand people.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, on March 11 the Ministry of Defense reported that the Russian Armed Forces had liberated 12 settlements in the Kursk region and more than 100 square kilometers of the region's territory in the past 24 hours. The enemy's losses in the past 24 hours amounted to more than 270 people.
The head of state's press secretary Dmitry Peskov previously reported that Vladimir Putin was aware of all the details of Operation Pipe, the breakthrough of Russian fighters into the rear of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kursk region even before it began. Peskov noted that the head of state communicates with the fighters participating in the special operation on a daily basis.
Earlier it was reported that as a result of the operation, Russian troops entered the rear of the Ukrainian Armed Forces through a gas pipeline, through which they traveled 15 km. The commander of the special forces "Akhmat" Lieutenant General Apti Alaudinov said that the "throw through the pipe" into the rear of the Ukrainian Armed Forces was a truly historic operation.
Regnum IA observer Sergei Adamov noted in his article earlier: the skillful actions of Russian troops on the enemy's communications could lead to the Ukrainian Armed Forces being forced to abandon the "Sudzhansky bridgehead" in the coming weeks, which has been fought over for the past seven months.
More from regnum.ru Gerasimov: Kyiv regime's plans in Kursk region have failed
Ukraine tried to create a bridgehead in the Kursk region for further use as a bargaining chip during possible negotiations with Russia. However, these plans failed, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov said on March 12.
"The Kiev regime aimed to create a so-called strategic bridgehead in the Kursk region to use it later as a bargaining chip in possible negotiations with Russia. These plans of the enemy have completely failed," the head of the General Staff reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
According to Gerasimov, the Kyiv regime was unable to stop the advance of Russian troops in other areas of the front.
[Powerline] Defendants contend that Dr. Michael Mann engaged in prejudicial, sanctionable conduct through the knowing introduction to the jury of misleading and false testimony and exhibits in support of his claim for damages resulting from an alleged loss of grant funding as a consequence of Defendants’ statements.
***
Here, the Court finds, by clear and convincing evidence, that Dr. Mann, through Mr. Fontaine and Mr. Williams, acted in bad faith when they presented erroneous evidence and made false representations to the jury and the Court regarding damages stemming from loss of grant funding. Specifically, the Court finds that Mr. Fontaine and Mr. Williams knowingly violated the rules of professional conduct in eliciting testimony and offering evidence related to (1) the post-publication unfunded grant amounts depicted in Exhibit 517A, and as reproduced in Exhibit 117, and (2) the post-publication funded grant amounts in Exhibit 116.
------------------- Nothing in any of the mainstream press yet.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] In Noginsk, Moscow Region, police detained more than 40 people after a mass brawl with shooting. This was reported by the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Moscow Region.
“42 people were taken to the territorial department for further investigation,” the department’s Telegram channel said
According to preliminary data, the conflict broke out near one of the houses on Lenin Square. The quarrel between citizens quickly escalated into a brawl, during which several shots were fired from a traumatic weapon. One of the participants in the fight was injured and sought medical assistance.
Based on this fact, the investigative authorities opened a criminal case under Part 2 of Article 213 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Hooliganism”).
As reported by the Regnum news agency, in September 2024, a mass brawl organized by a group of young people was stopped in the city of Tutayev in the Yaroslavl region. All participants in the conflict were detained by OMON and SOBR officers.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] An eight-mile stretch of protected Amazon rainforest has been felled to make space for a new four-lane highway in time for the COP30 climate summit.
Drone footage and images have revealed thick dirt lanes cutting through the lush greenery as the Brazilian government prepare for the conference in November.
The road will be used to ease traffic in and out of the city of Belem, which will host a staggering 50,000 people - including world leaders.
Logs have already been spotted piled high on the sides of the cleared land and diggers have appeared paving over the wetland in the world's richest biological reservoir.
The state government of Pará had previously shelved plans for the highway, known as Avenida Liberdade, due to environmental concerns.
However, the project was revived along with other infrastructure plans ahead of COP30.
Adler Silveira, the state government's infrastructure secretary, described the highway as an 'important mobility intervention' and a 'sustainable highway,' but several locals and conservationists have hailed blasted the decision, highlighting the substantial environmental impact.
'We can have a legacy for the population and, more importantly, serve people for COP30 in the best possible way,' he said.
[NYPOST] NASA forked over more than $20 million in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) grants and contracts during the Biden administration, shelling out for ''implicit bias'' trainings, talks with so-called ''anti-racist'' authors, ''gender-affirming'' workplace guidelines and an aggressive, left-wing media presence.
Prodded by executive action from former President Joe The Big Guy Biden
The Big Guy Biden" valign=top style="float:right;padding:5px;border:0px solid silver;" />...46th president of the U.S. The man who made Barack Obama and Jimmy Carter look competent, if only by comparison....
, NASA officials also implemented a strategic plan to suffuse all agency operations with DEI, altering criteria for recruitment, performance evaluations and promotions.
The taxpayer-watchdog group Open The Books revealed the politicization of the space agency in a report published Wednesday, which shares a trove of documents obtained from various public records requests.
''NASA's mission is too risky to get distracted by identity politics,'' Open The Books CEO John Hart told The Post. ''Newtonian physics and atmospheric re-entry do not care about antiracism talks and gender 'affirmation' policies. NASA has an opportunity to take one small step toward fiscal responsibility and one giant leap toward common sense.''
Posted by: Fred ||
03/13/2025
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#1
I spent almost a decade as a Federal Bank Examiner.
One of the trainings I attended was on the topic of sexual harassment in the workplace.
That training began with a short pre-recorded video emphasizing the importance of this subject...
The speaker in the short video was President Bill Clinton.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] The Ukrainian Armed Forces are engaged in heavy fighting in the east and south of Ukraine.
Almost half of the Russian attacks are aimed at the Pokrovskoe direction. Currently, 10 combat clashes are ongoing there.
Since the beginning of the current day, there have been 66 attacks by Russian aggressors on the front. The enemy is most active in the Pokrovsky and Toretsky directions, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported in an operational report as of 16:00 on Wednesday, March 12.
Thus, in the Kupyansk direction, the Russians attacked six times near the settlements of Petrovpavlovka, Stepovaya Novoselovka and Zagryzovo. One clash continues to this day.
In the Liman direction, our units repelled two attacks in the Mirny area.
Four armed clashes have been recorded in the Seversky direction. Fighting is still ongoing in the area of Verkhnekamenskoye and Ivano-Daryevka.
In the Toretsk direction, there were nine enemy attacks in the areas of Toretsk, Druzhba and Ozaryanovka. Four combat clashes are ongoing.
The hottest situation is in the Pokrovsky direction : since the beginning of the day, the occupiers have already carried out 27 attacks in the areas of the settlements of Vodyanoye Vtoroy, Yelizavetovka, Novotoretskoye, Promin, Dachenskoye, Novoukrainka, Shevchenko, Kotlino, Udachnoye, Novoaleksandrovka, Nadievka and Andreevka. The defense forces have repelled 17 assaults, 10 clashes are ongoing.
In the Novopavlovsk direction, the Russians launched an offensive six times near the settlements of Konstantinopol, Razliv and Burlatskoye. All attacks were stopped.
In the Gulyai-Polye direction, our defenders repelled three attacks in the areas of Privolnoye and Novodarovka.
In the Orekhov direction, the invaders are attacking in the Pyatikhatki area and in the direction of Novoandreyevka. One attack was repelled, two more are continuing.
In Kursk region, according to currently available information, the Ukrainian Armed Forces repelled one attack by the Russian army.
We remind you that in the course of 24 hours on March 11, Russia lost more than 1,400 fighters killed and wounded. The total losses of the aggressor state by the end of March will exceed 900 thousand people.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] As you're walking along the street, China's newest surveillance technology could soon be watching you – from space.
Scientists in Beijing have created 'the world's most powerful spy camera' which can pick out facial details from distances exceeding 63 miles (100km).
It means the spy camera could potentially be in space aboard a floating satellite while clearly seeing faces of people on Earth's surface.
It could also take high-resolution images of foreign military satellites operated by other nations that are also orbiting Earth, the South China Morning Post reported.
The technology, detailed by the scientists in a new paper, could be launched aboard a satellite in the near future.
But, unsurprisingly, the powerful laser-based system has sparked worries.
Robert Morton, author and member of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO), called it a 'massive security concern'.
'Millimeter resolution from 60+ miles up? That’s next-level surveillance,' he said in a post on X (Twitter).
[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 one mechanised brigade, and one motorised infantry brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine close to Kazachya Lopan, Novaya Kazachya, and Volchansk (Kharkov region).
The AFU losses were up to 35 troops, two artillery guns, and one ammunition depot.
Units of the Zapad Group of Forces improved the tactical situation. Russian troops delivered strikes at manpower and hardware of two mechanised brigades and one airmobile brigade of the AFU close to Bugayevka (Kharkov region), Novoye, Drobyshevo, and Redkodub (Donetsk People's Republic).
The AFU losses were up to 230 troops, three motor vehicles, two field artillery guns, one U.S.-made AN/TPQ-50 counter-battery warfare station, and three ammunition depots.
?? As a result of decisive actions, the Yug Group of Forces' units liberated Novomarkovo (Donetsk People's Republic).
Russian troops hit formations of four formations mechanised brigades, one mountain assault brigade, two airmobile brigades, one assault brigade of the AFU, one territorial defence brigade, one National Guard brigade near Belogorovka (Lugansk People's Republic), Seversk, Nikolayevka, Reznikovka, Chasov Yar, Druzhba, Konstantinovka, Krymskoye, Predtechino, and Rozovka (Donetsk People's Republic).
The AFU losses were more than 250 troops, one U.S.-made M113 armoured personnel carrier, five pickup trucks, one field artillery gun, one electronic warfare station, and two ammunition depots.
As a result of active actions, the Vostok Group of Forces' units liberated Dneproenergiya (Donetsk People's Republic).
Russian troops delivered strikes at formations of two mechanised brigades of the AFU close to Otradnoye, Bogatyr, Komar, and Razliv (Donetsk People's Republic).
The AFU losses were up to 160 troops, two armoured fighting vehicles, three motor vehicles, five field artillery guns, including two French-made 155mm Caesar and Bogdana self-propelled artillery systems.
Units of the Dnepr Group of Forces engaged manpower and hardware of three mechanised brigades of the AFU and one territorial defence brigade close to Novodanilovka (Zaporozhye region), Antonovka, Chervony Mayak, and Nikolskoye (Kherson region).
The AFU losses were up to 40 troops, one U.S.-made M-113 armoured personnel carrier, six motor vehicles, one Anklav-N electronic warfare station, and one ammunition depot.
Operational-Tactical Aviation, attack unmanned aerial vehicles, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Russian Groups of Forces engaged military facilities of the airfield infrastructure, one transport ship carrying ammunition, manufacture, storage and launch areas for drones as well as clusters of manpower and hardware of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and foreign mercenaries in 152 areas.
Air defence systems shot down three JDAM guided bombs, one U.S.-made HIMARS MLRS projectile, and 91 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles.
In total, since the beginning of the special military operation, the AFU losses amounted to 657 aircraft, 283 helicopters, 46,361 unmanned aerial vehicles, 600 anti-aircraft missile systems, 22,127 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,526 MLRS combat vehicles, 22,508 field artillery guns and mortars, 32,717 units of support military vehicles
?? Units of the Tsentr Group of Forces continued advancing to the depth of enemy defences. Russian troops launched an attack on formations of three mechanised brigades, one assault brigade, two jaeger brigades, one unmanned aerial vehicle brigade, one assault regiment, one naval infantry brigade near Zverevo, Sribnoye, Udachnoye, Peschanoye, Uspenovka, Novopavlovka, Shevchenko, and Krasnoarmeysk (Donetsk People's Republic).
??The AFU losses were more than 445 troops, one U.S.-made M113 armoured personnel carrier, one French-made VAB armoured personnel carrier, one U.S.-made HMMW armoured vehicle, one Kazak combat armoured vehicle, four motor vehicles, and seven artillery guns, including one Polish-made 155mm Krab self-propelled artillery system.
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the operation to neutralise AFU formations on the territory of Kursk region.
During offensive actions in Kursk direction, units of the Sever Group of Forces liberated Kazachya Loknya, Pervy Knyazhy, Vtoroy Knyazhy, Zamostye, and Mirny.
Russian troops inflicted fire damage on formations of one heavy mechanised brigade, five mechanised brigades, one motorised infantry brigade, one assault brigade, two air assault brigades, two territorial defence brigades, and two assault regiments near Gogolevka, Goncharovka, Guyevo, Zaoleshenka, Pervy Knyazhy, Kurilovka, Melovoy, Oleshnya, Sudzha, Cherkasskaya Konopelka, and Cherkasskoye Porechnoye. One AFU counter-attack was repelled.
Operational-Tactical and Army aviation and artillery strikes engaged AFU manpower and hardware near Gornal, Zamostye, Kolmakov, Martynovka, Makhnovka, Mirny, Mikhailovka, Rubanshchina as well as Basovka, Belovody, Vodolagi, Zhuravka, Miropolye, Yunakovka, and Yablonovka in Sumy region.
During the day, the AFU losses were over 260 troops, one tank, three infantry fighting vehicles, three armoured personnel carriers, ten armoured fighting vehicles, eight motor vehicles, three field artillery guns, one armoured recovery vehicle, and three UAV command posts. Two AFU servicemen surrendered.
Since the beginning of hostilities in Kursk direction, the AFU losses amounted to more than 66,810 troops, 392 tanks, 314 infantry fighting vehicles, 275 armoured personnel carriers, 2,191 armoured fighting vehicles, 2,411 motor vehicles, 545 artillery guns, 52 MLRS launchers, including 13 of HIMARS and seven of MLRS made by the USA, 26 anti-aircraft missile launchers, one self-propelled anti-aircraft system, ten transport-loading vehicles,120 EW stations,16 counter-battery warfare radars, ten air defence radars, 56 units of engineering and other materiel, including 23 counterobstacle vehicles, one UR-77 mine clearing vehicle, five bridge launchers, one engineering reconnaissance vehicle as well as 15 armoured recovery vehicles, and one command post vehicle.
The operation to neutralise the AFU units is in progress.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[NewsFront] 19:15 Liberation of Russian land continues: occupiers knocked out from the village of Podol and the settlement of Melovoy 18:59 Around 18:00 Moscow time by air defense systems on duty destroyed Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle over the territory of the Belgorod region.
18:45 Attack aircraft of the 102nd Motorized Rifle Regiment of the "Southern" group of forces arranged ambush, setting up mine barriers.
As a result of the skillful actions of Russian military personnel, the enemy lost three Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and two M-113 armored personnel carriers.
The assault group also managed to occupy one of the enemy’s strongholds, destroying the Ukrainian Armed Forces militants in the dugouts.
18:18 Drone operators of the 6th Motorized Rifle Division of the "Southern" group of forces discovered and carried out pinpoint strikes on the drone control point and the bunker containing the enemy's UAV crew.
17:37 UAV crews of the 35th Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade of the Center group of forces support actions of our assault units, disrupting rotations and attempts at counterattacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
17:01 Units of the 37th Motorized Rifle Brigade and the 40th Naval Infantry Brigade of the Vostok Group of Forces penetrated the enemy’s defenses and released Dneproenergia village.
Artillerymen and attack drone crews supported the advance of our attack aircraft, destroying fortifications, concentrations of manpower, equipment and ammunition depots of the enemy.
16:55 Ivanovo and Kostroma paratroopers took possession of large strongholds of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the area of high-rise buildings and the industrial zone of Chasov Yar
During the course of stubborn and prolonged battles, assault units of the 98th Guards Airborne Division managed to capture the strongholds of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the area of multi-story buildings and the industrial zone of the city.
Assault groups of the airborne forces, under cover of artillery fire, attack UAVs and armored groups in airborne combat vehicles, entered enemy positions, cleared out the targets and consolidated their positions.
16:37 Change of situation in Kursk region. The direction is gradually being renamed to Sumy –MAP
15:12 Units of the South Group of Forces liberated the settlement of Novomarkovo in the Donetsk People's Republic –MAP
14:56 During the assault on a stronghold of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the area of the settlement of Ulakly in the DPR, servicemen of the 68th Army Corps captured American armored car "Humvee".
14:06 In the Sudzhan border area, the operator of the UAV GV "Sever" discovered a group of enemy militants and liquidated their precise discharge of the VOG.
13:55 Armed Forces of the Russian Federation released the settlements of Novomarkovo and Dneproenergia in the Donetsk People's Republic.
13:50 Drone drivers of the Rubicon centerare working on the equipment and manpower of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
13:02 Crew of the 122mm D-30 artillery gun of the Dnepr group of forces destroyed a fortified dugout in which a group of Ukrainian infantry was hiding.
"We are providing fire support to the units that are currently storming the strongholds. We receive a task, and we quickly help our guys. The nature of the target is enemy manpower and fortified areas," explained the gun crew commander with the call sign "Fog."
Drone operators from the Rubicon center work on the equipment and manpower of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
12:40 FPV drone calculations at Rubicon Center continue to destroy equipment and personnel of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the South Donetsk direction.
12:31 Summary of The Russian Ministry of Defense on the progress of repelling the attempted invasion of the Ukrainian Armed Forces into the territory of the Russian Federation in the Kursk region as of March 12, 2025
During offensive operations in the Kursk direction, units of the North group of forces liberated the settlements of Kazachya Loknya, 1st Knyazhiy, 2nd Knyazhiy, Zamostye and Mirny.
The formations of a heavy mechanized, five mechanized, motorized infantry, assault, two airborne assault brigades, two territorial defense brigades and two assault regiments of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were defeated in the areas of the settlements of Gogolevka, Goncharovka, Guevo, Zaoleshenka, 1st Knyazhiy, Kurilovka, Melovoy, Oleshnya, Sudzha, Cherkasskaya Konopelka and Cherkasskoye Porechnoye. One enemy counterattack was repelled.
Strikes by operational-tactical and army aviation and artillery fire damaged enemy manpower and equipment in the areas of the settlements of Gornal, Zamostye, Kolmakov, Martynovka, Makhnovka, Mirny, Mikhailovka, Rubanshina, as well as Basovka, Belovody, Vodolaghi, Zhuravka, Miropolye, Yunakovka and Yablonovka in Sumy Oblast.
Over the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian Armed Forces lost more than 260 servicemen, a tank, three infantry fighting vehicles, three armored personnel carriers, ten armored combat vehicles, eight cars, three field artillery guns, an armored repair and recovery vehicle, and three UAV control points were destroyed. Two Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemen surrendered.
11:37 FPV drone calculations at Rubicon Center continue to destroy equipment and personnel of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the South Donetsk direction.
11:01 Kursk region. Russian army liberated Sudzha (excluding western suburbs) –MAP
10:36 Powerful hit on the accumulation of Ukrainian occupiers in the border area
On the border of Sumy and Kursk regions, the operator of the reconnaissance UAV GV "Sever" discovered a large concentration of Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel and equipment planned for transfer to the south of the Sudzhansky district.
10:17 Published footage of the destruction of the 129th and 112th Brigades of the Territorial Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine by missile strikes in the area of the settlements of Gornal and Guevo in the Kursk direction.
According to the source, an ammunition depot and three UAV control points were destroyed. The loss of manpower amounted to 60 Ukrainian servicemen, including 15 UAV operators.
09:34 Fearless paratroopers erected a flag in the center of Sudzha
The northerners broke the enemy's stubborn resistance and drove them out of the central areas of Sudzha. The cleansing of the settlement is currently ongoing.
07:36 Changes to map over the past 24 hours:
Kazachya Loknya was liberated;
Dmitryukov was released;
Zamosc was liberated;
Uspenovka was liberated;
Btoroi Knyaz' released;
Perviy Knyaz' and Knyaz' were released;
Advance in the Kamenskoye area;
Dachnoye was liberated;
Advance in the Belogorovka area;
Pyatikhatki was liberated;
Dneproenergia has been liberated.
07:22 During the past night, air defense systems on duty destroyed 21 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles:
12 UAVs over the territory of the Bryansk region,
Five UAVs over the waters of the Black Sea.
Two UAVs over the territory of the Kursk region,
One UAV over the territory of the Kaluga region,
One UAV over the territory of the Republic of Crimea
06:28 Aerial reconnaissance of the 1st Guards Tank Army of the West Group of Forces revealed a large concentration of Ukrainian Armed Forces manpower.
Having overcome the echeloned field of electronic warfare and the nationalists’ aerial observation posts, the operator of the Molniya-2 UAV destroyed the target with a precise hit.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] A new Kuban Cossack unit BARS-38 "Groza" has appeared in the Russian Armed Forces. This was reported by the deputy governor of Krasnodar Krai, ataman of the Kuban Cossack army Alexander Vlasov, whose words are quoted on the website of the All-Russian Cossack Society.
"The new BARS-38 Groza unit is fully formed and staffed with Cossacks of the Kuban Cossack Army. As part of the Groza unit, fighters pay special attention to in-depth training in the control of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), electronic warfare (EW), which today is the key to success at the front. For this, young fighters from various areas of the front will be trained by specialists - UAV operators," he noted.
Vlasov also specified that the commander of the new detachment was a fighter with the call sign Perseus. According to the deputy governor, he has the relevant experience, is a participant in a special operation himself, and even before carrying out combat missions, he was involved in collecting and delivering humanitarian aid to the front.
The ataman added that at the end of March, the third anniversary of the creation of the first detachment of this kind, called BARS-1, will be celebrated. Over the three years of the special operation, several dozen similar detachments have been created, which are actively participating in solving combat tasks of the Russian Armed Forces, he also noted.
"In total, more than 9.2 thousand Kuban Cossacks are carrying out the special operation tasks. Almost 1.7 thousand people have been awarded state awards, over 1.2 thousand have been awarded regional, Cossack and departmental awards. These are the highest figures among the Cossack military societies of Russia, and they speak of the recognition of the military merits of the Kuban Cossacks. Among our Cossacks there are two Heroes of Russia - Dmitry Darchenko and Vladimir Gavrilenko. They received this highest title posthumously," Vlasov summed up.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, at the end of November 2024, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Colonel General Yevgeny Burdinsky, spoke about the creation of volunteer units "Bars" in four border regions of Russia.
He explained that the units were created in Crimea, Bryansk, Belgorod and Kursk regions in connection with the growing tension and threat to the civilian population from the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The peculiarity of the formation of these four units is the territorial principle of staffing. A mandatory condition for volunteers is the performance of tasks in their regions.
[IsraelTimes] Hamas sent a 4-year-old boy yesterday toward an IDF post in the Gaza Strip, the military claims, adding that forces returned the child in coordination with international organizations.
In a tweet, the army says that after troops spotted the kid nearing them in a Gaza security zone, “the child said that he was sent to the post by the Hamas terrorist organization.
“Hamas does not hesitate to use any means to cynically use and exploit civilians and children to advance its terrorism.”
It is not clear how the 4-year-old child knew “Hamas” had sent him, and the IDF doesn’t provide additional information substantiating the account.
Deconflict Airplane and Helicopter Traffic in the Vicinity of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
The NTSB's investigation of this accident is ongoing; however, preliminary findings suggest that the existing separation distances between helicopter traffic operating on Route 4 and aircraft landing on runway 33 are insufficient. Therefore, the NTSB concludes that existing separation distances between helicopter traffic operating on Route 4 and aircraft landing on runway 33 are insufficient and pose an intolerable risk to aviation safety by increasing the chances of a midair collision.
Therefore, the NTSB recommends that the FAA prohibit operations on helicopter Route 4 between Hains Point and the Wilson Bridge when runways 15 and 33 are being used for departures and arrivals, respectively, at DCA. As noted previously, runway 15/33 only accounts for 5% of departures and 4% of arrivals, respectively, so the prohibition of using Route 4 would likely be infrequent, although it could still negatively impact public safety helicopter operations.
#1
I am not an expert, but this long tolerated situation at DCA seemed like an "intolerable risk" from the very beginning. Consensual stupidity is still stupidity.
#2
I'm with Hup on this one. Gotta be the only grid square on earth that permits such air traffic activity. The normal rules and good common sense never applied until two plane loads of innocent people perished.
Commentary by Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin:
[ColonelCassad] Trump stated (I know, everyone "loves" this phrase) that a US delegation went to Russia to discuss with the Russian leadership the possibility of concluding a ceasefire.
Earlier, the Kremlin reported that it is not against a ceasefire in principle, but we need to see what the US is offering officially and then we will see. Based on the results of the talks in Moscow, a decision will be made on telephone talks between Trump and Putin. As expected, the Russian Federation will put forward counter-offers/conditions/demands, in the style of saying we are for peace, but... And then after the but, a certain list of conditions/demands.
Are there any signs that an agreement with the US is possible? Yes, there is. Of course, no one will tell us what kind of agreements. Which does not cancel out the questions on the topic of:
1. Will the US screw us over, as they have constantly screwed us over before?
2. Will the US be able to maintain control over Ukraine and the EU in order to force them to comply with the agreements?
There were and remain more than serious doubts on these issues based on the rich experience of the Minsk agreements, when all agreements and understandings were fundamentally violated. At the same time, the position of the political leadership of the Russian Federation is now publicly linked to the thesis that the West has constantly deceived us and we will not fall into new traps of empty promises.
In general, we are waiting for negotiations in Moscow and negotiations between Trump and Putin. One way or another, they will be a kind of bifurcation point that will mark the vector of the war - to an active spring-summer campaign or to a gradual winding down of the war with the division of spheres of influence.
Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.
[Korrespondent] 19:19 The Ukrainian side condemned Russia's attack on the Odessa port, emphasizing that this is another attack by the Russians on global food security and maritime stability. This was stated by Foreign Minister Sybiga and Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Navy Neizhpapa on Wednesday, March 12.
18:59 Crimean political prisoner Rustem Viratti, who was accused by Russian occupiers of participating in the Crimean Tatar volunteer battalion named after Noman Çelebidžihan, has died in a Russian pretrial detention center. His relatives are trying to get his body. Refat Chubarov, the head of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, reported this in a commentary to Obshchestvennoe Krym.
18:35 US representatives are heading to Russia for talks on Ukraine. This was announced by US President Donald Trump. He claims that he has "received several positive signals on the ceasefire."
18:13 Persons who have suffered the loss of a close family member as a result of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine can now submit Category A2.2 compensation claims to the Register of Damage Caused by the Russian Federation's Aggression against Ukraine, the Register's press service reported on Wednesday, March 12.
18:00 Russian dictator Vladimir Putin may accept the offer of a 30-day ceasefire with Ukraine. But first he will try to delay the agreement on the cessation of hostilities, and then - to ensure the most favorable conditions for Russia, Bloomberg reported , citing sources.
17:16 Ukraine will respond to all strikes by Russia on its territory, and a massive drone attack on the Moscow region is one of such fair responses. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelensky. If the Russians think that they can kill Ukrainians and nothing will happen to them for it, then this is a delusion, he assured.
16:37 Since the beginning of the current day, 66 attacks by Russian aggressors have occurred on the front. The enemy is most active in the Pokrovsky and Toretsky directions. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported the details in the operational summary as of 16:00.
16:11 Ukrainian troops are carrying out assigned tasks in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation. And the command is coordinating them, focusing on preserving the lives of soldiers. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelensky.
In turn, the head of the Center for Countering Disinformation (CCD) at the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Andriy Kovalenko, reported that fighting in the Kursk region continues, including in Sudzha.
15:48 Ukraine has agreed to the US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in order not to play along with Russia's claims of "no desire for peace." This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelensky. If Russia rejects the proposals made by Ukraine and the US, then one can expect "strong steps" from Washington towards Moscow, the head of state noted.
15:02 With the coming to power of President Donald Trump, the United States has returned to "normality." This was stated by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in an interview with American bloggers. In his opinion, a "normal administration" has come to power in the United States, which "does not profess anti-Christian ideas."
14:37 Russian aggressors have launched more strikes on the cities of Pokrovsk and Mirnograd. Three people have been killed and two more injured, the Donetsk Regional Prosecutor's Office reported.
14:01 The number of victims of the Russian missile attack in Kryvyi Rih has grown to 15 people. This was reported by the head of the Dnipropetrovsk OVA Serhiy Lysak. Nine victims had to be hospitalized. Five wounded are in serious condition.
13:43 The Security Service and the National Police have detained six more accomplices of the Russian special services who committed arson in the northern and central regions of Ukraine. This was reported by the SBU press service on Wednesday, March 12.
The enemy's main targets were the power facilities of Ukrzaliznytsia, court administration buildings, and military vehicles undergoing maintenance after returning from the front.
The defendants are currently in custody. They face life imprisonment with confiscation of property.
13:32 The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has confirmed the advance of Russian troops in the Kursk region. This is evidenced by the battle maps published in the General Staff's report over the past few days.
12:55 Ukrainian military, using the German IRIS-T anti-aircraft missile system, destroyed a Russian cruise missile. This was reported by the press service of the Western Air Command of the Ukrainian Air Force.
"The IRIS-T air defense system of the West Air Command destroys a Russian cruise missile," the message under the video says.
12:42 The Verkhovna Rada supported in the first reading the bill on introducing criminal liability for the heads of the TCC and VVK. This was reported by People's Deputy Yaroslav Zheleznyak.
12:35 Ukrainian soldiers from the 28th Separate Mechanized Brigade named after the Knights of the Winter Campaign repelled an enemy assault: they destroyed a Russian tank column and destroyed a Russian landing force. The brigade reported this on its Telegram channel.
12:25 In Kiev, they said goodbye to the soldier of the International Legion of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Dominique Abelen, call sign "Tolkien".
The 28-year-old warrior was a New Zealand citizen and a member of the indigenous Maori people. Tolkien's fellow warriors paid him a special tribute by performing a traditional Maori warrior dance called Gaka.
12:05 Russia is closely studying the statements following the talks between the US and Ukraine in Saudi Jeddah. It is also necessary to obtain information through diplomatic channels from the US. This was stated by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov at a briefing.
11:10 The commander of the Operational Command North, Major General Dmytro Krasilnikov, has been dismissed from his post. This was reported by Suspilne , citing Krasilnikov himself.
10:47 The actions of the Ukrainian delegation, which took part in the negotiations with the United States in Saudi Jeddah, were coordinated by President Volodymyr Zelensky, and some details of these negotiations can only be made public in many years. This was reported by Foreign Ministry spokesman Georgy Tykhyi.
10:40 In Kryvyi Rih, the number of victims as a result of the Russian attack on the morning of March 12 has risen to nine. Seven have been hospitalized, three of whom are in serious condition.
The strike targeted civilian objects. Infrastructure, multi-story buildings, administrative buildings, buses, garages, more than 15 cars, shops and an educational institution were damaged. Fires caused by the strike have already been extinguished.
10:25 The United States has resumed deliveries of military aid to Ukraine through Poland. This was reported by Polish Deputy Defense Minister Pawel Zalewski.
Also, US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard confirmed the end of the pause in intelligence sharing with Ukraine.
10:18 The Security Service detained a Russian military intelligence (GRU) agent in the Khmelnytskyi region who was spying on the airfields of the Defense Forces and preparing terrorist attacks near the TCC in western Ukraine.
The suspect turned out to be a 30-year-old local unemployed man. The Russian special service recruited him through Telegram channels, where he was looking for "easy money."
9:55 At night, the Russians struck Ukraine with three Iskander-M ballistic missiles, and also attacked with 133 attack UAVs. The downing of 98 attack drones was confirmed, and another 20 drone imitators were lost.
As a result of the Russian attack, Odessa, Dnepropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Sumy and Kiev regions suffered.
9:40 The Russian Foreign Ministry, against the backdrop of Ukraine and the United States' negotiations in Saudi Arabia, said that Moscow's position "will not be formed abroad," so "we should follow the news from the Russian Federation." This was stated by the ministry's representative, Maria Zakharova.
"The formation of the Russian Federation's position does not occur abroad due to any agreements or efforts of any parties. The formation of Russia's position occurs inside Russia," she said.
9:24 Four Syrian citizens were killed as a result of a Russian missile strike on a port in the city of Odessa on the evening of March 11. This was reported by the head of the Odessa OVA Oleg Kiper on his Telegram channel on Wednesday, March 12.
8:57 Russian troops carried out a drone attack on Kiev on the night of March 12. Air defense shot down 5 out of 12 Russian drones. This was reported by the KGVA.
8:36 The Russian army most often attacked in the Liman, Toretsk and Pokrovsk directions, as well as in the Kursk region in Russia. This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
7:59 Over the past 24 hours, the Defense Forces have neutralized 1,430 occupiers and more than 230 units of weapons and military equipment of the invaders. This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook in its morning report, published on Wednesday, March 12.
7:36 The fall of debris from downed Russian drones in the Kiev region led to fires - a private residential building and a furniture store were burning. This was reported by the State Emergency Service on Telegram on Wednesday, March 12.
7:27 Russian ultra-nationalists did not accept the proposal for a possible ceasefire in Ukraine, but Russian state media "are trying to present Russia's reaction as moderate for the domestic audience." This was stated by analysts from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in their report.
03:40 In Kharkiv, a Shahed landed between private houses. Several courtyards were damaged.
02:01 In Sumy, a drone landed in a warehouse, causing a fire.
00:20 On Tuesday evening, air defense shot down 12 of the 20 drones that attacked the Dnieper. About 10 private houses were damaged, and several fires broke out. Fires also occurred at infrastructure facilities.
[FoxNews] Portugal-flagged Solong cargo ship was found to have multiple deficiencies before collision with MV Stena Immaculate.
A Russian national was revealed to be the captain of the cargo ship that collided with a U.S. tanker off the coast of England in an incident that sparked a massive fire, spilled jet fuel into the sea and left one person feared dead.
The 59-year-old man remained in United Kingdom police custody Wednesday after being detained on suspicion of manslaughter by gross negligence, according to Ernst Russ, the owner of the Portugal-flagged Solong cargo ship. It added that the ship’s 14 crew members were a mix of Russian and Filipino nationals. One of them remains missing and is presumed dead.
The Solong collided Monday with MV Stena Immaculate, a U.S.-flagged tanker transporting jet fuel for the American military. U.S.-based Crowley Ship Management said the MV Stena Immaculate was anchored near Hull when it was struck and that all 23 onboard are "safe and accounted for" with no reported injuries.
Leading up to the collision, the Solong was inspected in Dublin, Ireland last July and was found to have 10 deficiencies, according to the Associated Press.
Port inspection documents show the Solong failed steering-related safety checks with the vessel's "emergency steering position communications/compass reading" unreadable. It also had "inadequate" alarms, survival craft "not properly maintained" and fire doors "not as required."
Then a second inspection in Scotland in October found two more deficiencies, but the ship wasn’t detained after either inspection, the AP reported.
However, U.K. authorities said they don’t suspect foul play in the crash.
The 596-foot Stena Immaculate was operating as part of the U.S. government’s Tanker Security Program, a group of commercial vessels that can be contracted to carry fuel for the military when needed.
"Crowley continues to work closely with U.K. agencies to support the incident response, salvage and environmental impact mitigation operations resulting from container ship Solong striking the Crowley-managed tanker Stena Immaculate while at anchor on Monday, March 10," the ship’s owner said Tuesday.
"It remains uncertain at this time what volume of fuel may have been released as a result of the incident, but initial review shows impacts have been limited due to exposure to the fire and evaporation of the Jet A1 fuel," Crowley continued. "In addition, U.K agencies are closely monitoring air quality and any possible public health impacts resulting onshore. Both are currently measuring low or within normal levels."
[JewishInsider] Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter withdrew his appearance at a Heritage event Wednesday morning where the report was set to be released
The Heritage Foundation has composed a new proposal calling for the U.S. to cut off aid to Israel by 2047 and require the Jewish state to increase its purchasing of U.S. defense materials, Jewish Insider has learned.
It was set to announce the report at an event on Wednesday, which has since been canceled, a source familiar with the situation said, after at least one of the headline speakers withdrew from participating.
A draft of the report obtained by JI recommends that Washington use the 2028 expiration date of the current Memorandum of Understanding — which requires the U.S. to provide $3.8 billion of security assistance to Israel annually and must be renegotiated in 2026 — as an “opportunity” to “forge a new relationship with the State of Israel.”
The plan laid out in the report advises initially increasing the amount of aid, called Foreign Military Financing (FMF), provided to Israel to $4 billion annually beginning in 2029, but decreasing it by $250 million annually starting in 2032 until the aid is stopped completely by the end of fiscal year 2047 (“to coincide with the 100th anniversary of Israel’s independence,” the report notes).
Conversely, beginning in 2039, Israel will be required to increase its purchasing of U.S. defense equipment, called Foreign Military Sales (FMS), by $250 million per year until it reaches $2.25 billion in 2047. This is less than the amount Israel currently purchases from the U.S. annually — since taking office, the Trump administration has already approved nearly $12 billion in defense equipment sales to Israel.
Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), a pro-Israel stalwart, and Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter were slated to headline an event at the Heritage Foundation’s Capitol Hill headquarters on Wednesday morning unveiling the report. Leiter withdrew from appearing at the gathering on Tuesday evening upon learning of the report’s contents, according to a source familiar with the decision.
Shortly after on Tuesday night, the event was canceled.
A spokesperson for the Israeli Embassy told JI, “The Israeli Embassy greatly values its working relationship and friendship with the Heritage Foundation. Due to a miscommunication regarding the format for the event, the ambassador regrettably will not be able to attend, but looks forward to future engagement.”
Spokespeople for Mast did not respond to a request for comment.
The Heritage report frames this transition as a positive step for Israel, “elevating” the country from a “security aid recipient” into a “true strategic partnership” with the United States. “To achieve this,” the report continues, “Washington must fundamentally change Israel’s geopolitical position within the region.”
The authors recommend the U.S. pursue a “new regional architecture” similar to the Middle East Strategic Alliance — an effort Trump tried to launch in his first term with Gulf countries, also known as the “Arab NATO” — but include Israel this time, and expand the Abraham Accords. These two endeavors, the report says, will “fundamentally alter Israel’s geostrategic position. No longer will it be isolated and left on its own to respond to threats on its borders or those farther afield.”
An expert on U.S.-Israel relations familiar with the report argued that, “Now is not the time or place to speak openly about such dramatic changes in the nature of the relationship between the two allies” while Israel is in the middle of a war against Iranian proxies.
[FoxNews] 'Let me be clear, DEI is dead at HUD,' Secretary Turner said
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner shut down a hurricane relief draft plan put forth by the city of Asheville, North Carolina, that included a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiative that would have prioritized some residents over others, his office said.
"Once again, let me be clear, DEI is dead at HUD," Turner said of axing the plan. "We will not provide funding to any program or grantee that does not comply with President Trump’s executive orders."
"HUD looks forward to helping thousands of North Carolinians rebuild after Hurricane Helene by directing funding assistance to impacted businesses, nonprofit organizations and neighborhoods," Turner added. "However, Asheville’s draft action plan incorporated DEI criteria to prioritize some impacted residents over others, which was unacceptable. After HUD informed Asheville that its plan was unsatisfactory and it would not be approved, the city assured us that it was updating its draft action plan to be compliant."
The city of Asheville, which is a Democratic stronghold in a state that has elected Republican presidential candidates since 2012, posted a draft plan to its website on March 4 on how it could distribute millions of dollars for Hurricane Helene disaster relief, including a section that focused on DEI.
HUD allocated $225 million in a Community Development Block Grant in January under the Biden administration, after Hurricane Helene ripped through the state in September 2024, devastating thousands of residents, most notably in the western Appalachian region, with flooding, high winds, power outages and complete destruction of communities. At least 106 people died in the Tar Heel State during the storm, according to the state.
The city of Asheville detailed under a section in its draft plan titled "How Programs Will Support Vulnerable Populations" that minority- and women-owned businesses would be prioritized for assistance.
"Within the Small Business Support Program, the City will prioritize assistance for Minority and Women Owned Businesses (MWBE) within the scoring criteria outlined within the policies and procedures," reads the draft plan, which was reviewed by Fox News Digital.
HUD was alerted to the language in the draft plan and took appropriate action against it after investigating the matter, Fox News Digital learned.
HUD cited that on President Donald Trump's first day in office, he signed an executive order focused on "ending radical and wasteful government DEI programs" and one focused on restoring merit-based opportunity and "ending illegal discrimination," which ended DEI practices at the federal level in favor of merit-based systems.
"At HUD, we are taking a detailed and deliberate approach in every aspect of our work to ensure we are serving all communities regardless of race, color, or creed," Turner said in a comment Wednesday to Fox News Digital. "Let this send a clear message that no detail will go unnoticed, adherence to President Trump’s Executive Orders is mandatory. We appreciate that Asheville has reversed course and is now working with us to get this right."
Democratic Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer said in comments provided to Fox News Digital that the city was "working closely with HUD as we continue to navigate the changing compliance requirements of the new administration."
"We are grateful for the administration’s support in our recovery efforts," Manheimer continued. "The City will ensure it meets current federal standards in order to facilitate approval of critically needed funding to help the city recover from the devastation of Tropical Storm Helene."
The city released an updated draft on Monday that did not include a section on prioritizing minority- and women-owned businesses, Fox New Digital found.
[FoxNews] Serina Baker-Hill is charged with running a scheme to defraud FEMA and lying to federal agents
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) director in Michigan has been accused of running a scheme to defraud the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) after a series of floods damaged her home in 2023.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) unsealed a criminal complaint against 55-year-old Serina Baker-Hill on Wednesday, charging her with engaging in a scheme to defraud FEMA and lying to federal agents.
Baker-Hill is a career employee with CBP and serves as director of CBP’s Center for Excellence and Expertise over Automotive and Aerospace Engineering.
"Following efforts with our interagency partners, I can report that a career Director level employee at US Customs and Border Protection has been charged with allegedly attempting to defraud FEMA, as well as lying to federal agents," FBI Director Kash Patel said in a post on X.
"This is part of the new FBI’s renewed efforts to crack down on public corruption and deliver accountability for the American people. Justice will be done. Thanks to our partners @AGPamBondi @TheJusticeDept and our @FBIDetroit team for their work."
FEMA approved Michigan’s request for a federal disaster declaration after a series of floods devastated the Detroit area in August 2023. The disaster declaration allowed residents to apply for FEMA assistance.
The DOJ said Baker-Hill applied for assistance after her home was damaged by flooding, and a FEMA inspector determined there had been damage to the basement of the house.
While the inspector was conducting the inspection, Baker-Hill allegedly said she could not safely live in the home while repairs were being made. So, FEMA approved benefits to help her pay for the repairs. She was also provided two months of rental assistance, which the approval letter indicated was to be used solely to help Baker-Hill pay rent and essential utility costs while in temporary housing.
Investigators reviewed Baker-Hill’s bank records and say they discovered that none of the money was used for rental, hotel or utility expenses.
Surveillance video from the home was also reviewed by investigators and allegedly showed that she and her husband continued to live in the home after receiving rental assistance funds from FEMA.
Records also did not show a significant drop in utilities that were consistent with the home being unoccupied during the time period, according to the DOJ.
Agents from the FBI and CBP Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) interviewed Baker-Hill, who denied committing a crime or defrauding the U.S. government.
The investigation is ongoing. Once complete, a determination will be made on whether to seek a felony indictment.
Posted by: Bangkok Billy ||
03/13/2025 3:55
Comments ||
Top||
#5
Agents from the FBI and CBP Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) interviewed Baker-Hill, who denied committing a crime or defrauding the U.S. government.
They don't see it as a criminal act. Its's just catching up.
"The opening of the Automotive and Aerospace Center is another important milestone on our path toward efficient trade facilitation in the 21st Century," said Allen Gina, Assistant Commissioner, Office of International Trade. "By improving coordination between CBP and industry, we will see benefits that advance our nation's economic competitiveness."
Between the date and the gobbledygook, this whole program stinks. Then add Ms. Serina here to the mix.
The vibe I'm getting is Portal to Get Around Customs Inspections.
#10
"March 12 (UPI) -- A U.S. Customs and Border Protection director on Wednesday was accused of lying to receive federal assistance after her home flooded in Detroit in 2023, according to the U.S. Justice Department.
A federal criminal complaint charges Serina Baker-Hill, 55, with engaging in a scheme to defraud the Federal Emergency Management Agency and being untruthful to federal agents, Acting United States Attorney Julie A. Beck announced in Detroit.
Baker-Hill was released on a $10,000 bond after an initial appearance in federal court, the Detroit News reported.
She is charged with three crimes: wire fraud, lying and fraud in connection with a major disaster, and could face at least 20 years in federal prison.
Her husband, 56-year-old Maurice Hill, was charged Wednesday in a separate federal case involving narcotics trafficking."
[FoxNews] The new study accuses California of 'money laundering' federal dollars
California is funneling billions of federal taxpayer dollars into paying for illegal immigrants’ healthcare, a new study claims.
"They are exploiting an existing loophole within law," Paul Winfree, president and CEO of the Economic Policy Innovation Center (EPIC), told Fox News Digital.
"States can do these provider taxes to funnel money back to the state, that they are then using to pay for, to put illegal immigrants on Medicaid. That’s quite literally what’s going on."
The paper released by EPIC and the Paragon Health Institute draws a line between California’s Medicaid provider taxes and what, on paper, appears to be nearly $4 billion in state funding going toward illegal immigrants’ healthcare and other initiatives.
But that funding is actually coming from the federal government, according to EPIC, via reimbursements to California.
Winfree suggested it could be an area to claw back federal dollars as House Republicans work to find between $1.5 trillion and $2 trillion in savings to offset the cost of President Donald Trump’s budget priorities.
Doing so would completely bankrupt the state, I imagine.
Under current law, states are required to pay Medicaid providers the same amount as taxes raised.
The federal government then matches those payments by 60% in an effort to help states recoup some Medicaid costs.
"Medicaid spending is supposed to be jointly financed by the federal government and states. However, states are increasingly designing Medicaid money laundering schemes that result in massive federal expenditures without any state financial obligation," the paper said.
"The state of California, colluding with insurance companies who cover Medicaid beneficiaries, has created one of the most outrageous ones yet, a money laundering scheme that results in California obtaining more than $19 billion in federal money without any state contribution over the period from April 2023 through December 2026."
The paper continued that those funds were "used to implement major expansions in the Medicaid program to fund illegal immigrants and long-term care (LTC) for the wealthy."
"This scheme enriches insurers, attracts illegal immigrants to the United States, and adds mountains to the federal debt, all at the expense of working Americans," it said.
Winfree said closing a loophole that allows states like California to significantly raise the provider tax could save up to $630 billion, adding it was something Republicans are looking at as they seek as much as $2 trillion in savings or more in the budget reconciliation process.
House and Senate Republicans are looking to use their majorities to pass a massive bill covering Trump’s border security, defense, energy and tax policies.
They can do so because reconciliation allows the Senate to lower its threshold for passage from 60 votes to 51, provided measures in the legislation are related to budgetary and fiscal policy.
As part of the framework resolution House Republicans passed last month, which has been sent to the relevant committees with instructions on how much to find cuts, or in some cases, spend extra dollars.
The Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees Medicaid and Medicare, is charged with finding $880 billion in spending cuts.
Republicans have insisted they are only looking to root out waste, fraud and abuse, but Democratic opponents of the Trump budget bill are accusing the GOP of trying to significantly cut federal medical benefits for millions of Americans.
"One of the things that Congress is looking at right now is limiting the Medicaid provider tax loophole. It's actually one of the most significant offsets that is within the Medicaid portfolio that the Energy and Commerce Committee and Finance Committee over in the Senate can look at while they're putting together their reconciliation bill," Winfree said.
He cited a projection that said eliminating the loophole could save as much as $630 billion but added that it was an unlikely scenario.
"It’s much more likely that they will reduce what's called the safe harbor. So, in other words, what they'll do is they'll just reduce the amount of gaming that goes on, including this kind of gaming. And if that happens, it is more likely to affect some of the big blue states than it is the red states, simply because it's the blue states that have really tested the upper limits of this kind of this kind of gimmick," Winfree said.
Even without total elimination, reforming the tax could still potentially save billions in federal spending.
Fox News Digital reached out to the California Department of Public Health for comment but did not hear back.
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.
...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...
...a city in Texas, named after Sam Houston, who would drop deader than he is now if he could see how it turned out...
...Never got invited to a P.Diddy party...
..a regional Iranian catspaw,...
..a regional Iranian catspaw,...
...every time you hear the phrase 
[WCYB] Tennessee Congressman Tim Burchett has proposed a bill allowing Americans to use a shotgun to shoot down drones above their property.
...The diminutive 13-year-old Republican U.S. Senator from Florida, Secretary of State in the second Trump administration...
[Breitbart] A masked man vandalized a 
[Powerline] Defendants contend that Dr. 
[NYPOST] NASA forked over more than $20 million in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) grants and contracts during the Biden administration, shelling out for ''implicit bias'' trainings, talks with so-called ''anti-racist'' authors, ''gender-affirming'' workplace guidelines and an aggressive, left-wing media presence.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] As you're walking along the street, China's newest surveillance technology could soon be watching you – from space. 
