[IsraelTimes] Dorothy Shea tells Security Council that ‘Trump has made clear Hamas must release the hostages immediately or pay a high price’; Guterres says UN will ‘not give up’ on ceasefire
The US envoy to the United Nations ...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships... told the Security Council on Tuesday that blame for the resumption overnight of Israeli strikes in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... "lies solely with Hamas ..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,... Interim Ambassador Dorothy Shea said the terror group has "steadfastly refused every proposal and deadline they’ve been presented over the past few weeks, including a bridge proposal to extend the ceasefire beyond the holidays of Ramadan and Passover to allow time to negotiate a framework for a permanent ceasefire."
Hamas insisted on sticking to the original terms of the deal, which was supposed to enter its second phase at the beginning of the month. That phase envisioned Israel fully withdrawing from Gaza and agreeing to permanently end the war in exchange for the release of the remaining living hostages.
While Israel signed on to the deal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu long insisted that Israel would not end the war until Hamas’s governing and military capabilities have been destroyed. Accordingly, Israel refused to hold serious talks regarding the terms of phase two, which were supposed to begin on February 3.
Instead, it pushed for an extension of phase one — which concluded on March 1 — through additional hostage releases. The US adopted this approach, and special envoy to the Mideast Steve Witkoff’s bridge proposal sought to do just that. Witkoff said Sunday that Hamas’s response to the proposal — offering to release one living US-Israeli hostage and the body of four other dual citizens — was a non-starter.
In her address to a Security Council session on the Israel-Paleostinian conflict, Shea rejected the allegation that Israel is indiscriminately bombing Gazooks.
"The IDF is striking Hamas positions. It is well known that Hamas continues to use civilian infrastructure as launching pads, and the United States condemns this practice, as should others," she said.
"President Trump has made clear that Hamas must release the hostages immediately or pay a high price, and we support Israel in its next steps," Shea added.
She asserted that Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... is behind all of the region’s instability, adding that countries in the Middle East "have a historic opportunity to reshape their region in a way that affords all its people a better path forward. Stronger ties between Israel and its neighbors offer an alternative."
Also speaking to the Security Council session, UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs head Tom Fletcher lamented that residents of the Gaza Strip have been plunged into "abject fear" once again with the resumption of the Israeli Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s.
"Overnight our worst fears materialized. Airstrikes resumed across the entire Gaza Strip. Unconfirmed reports of hundreds of people killed... and once again, the people of Gaza [are] living in abject fear," he told the UN Security Council in a video meeting.
The council meeting was called before the strike by several member states to discuss the humanitarian situation as Israel has blocked aid into the Gaza Strip since March 2, citing Hamas’s refusal to extend the first phase of the ceasefire.
"This total blockade of life-saving aid, basic commodities and commercial goods will have a disastrous impact on the people of Gaza who remain dependent on steady flow of assistance," Fletcher said. "As Gaza is cut off — again — our ability to deliver assistance and basic services is becoming harder."
Fletcher said that during the recent ceasefire, which went into effect on January 19, 4,000 aid trucks entered the territory each week, reaching more than 2 million people and more than 113,000 tents were distributed.
"This proves what’s possible when we’re allowed to do our job," he added. "Humanitarian workers remain on the ground... ready to provide life-saving support to survivors and to carry out humanitarian operations. We must be allowed to do so."
Since the cutoff on aid at the beginning of the month, he said, only medical evacuations and humanitarian staff rotations have been allowed, and "even that came to a halt today."
Meanwhile,
...back at the railroad tracks, Little Nell tried to kick her bound feet and scream post the snotty handkerchief Scarface Al had stuff into her mouth... UN chief António Guterres ...Portuguese politician and diplomat, ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations. Previously, he was the UN High Commissioner for Refugees between 2005 and 2015. He was the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002 and was the Secretary-General of the Socialist Party from 1992 to 2002. He served as President of the Socialist International from 1999 to 2005. In both a 2012 and 2014 poll, the Portuguese public ranked him as the best Prime Minister of the previous 30 years... said Tuesday that Gazooks were being subjected to an "intolerable level of suffering" following the Israeli airstrikes effectively ending the ceasefire.
"Unfortunately, we are witnessing a situation in which we have an intolerable level of suffering for the Paleostinian people, with the air raids that killed hundreds of people," Guterres told news hounds at the UN in Geneva. "We have humanitarian aid still blocked."
Guterres said it was the role of the United Nations to have the international community pressing for three "essential" points to be followed by Israel and the Hamas terror group.
"First, for the ceasefire to be fully respected. Second, for humanitarian aid to have access to Gaza in an unimpeded way. And third, for the unconditional release of hostages," said Guterres. "And we will not give up on these objectives."
UN rights chief Volker Turk said he was horrified by the strikes.
"This will add tragedy onto tragedy," he said in a statement.
"This nightmare must end immediately," Turk said, adding that "the last 18 months of violence have made abundantly clear that there is no military path out of this crisis."
Turk suggested that "the only way forward is a political settlement, in line with international law. Israel’s resort to yet more military force will only heap further misery upon a Paleostinian population already suffering catastrophic conditions."
The UN official added that "the hostages must be released immediately and unconditionally. All those arbitrarily detained must be released immediately and unconditionally. The war must end permanently."
[IsraelTimes] Mahmoud Khalil, a graduate arrested after leading anti-Israel protests, rejects officials’ explanation that he was moved from New Jersey to Louisiana facility over bedbug problem
The federal government and a Columbia University student threatened with deportation for his leading role in campus protests against Israel have been sparring in court over the Trump administration’s move to ship him across the country to an immigration lockup in Louisiana.
The government said he could not be detained at an immigration facility near where he was originally arrested in part because of a bedbug infestation, so it sent him to Louisiana. The student, Mahmoud Khalil, says there was no such discussion of bedbugs and he feared he was being immediately deported.
Khalil was detained for deportation due to support for the Hamas ..one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbund millipede,... terrorist group. He "was given the privilege of coming to this country to study at one of our nation’s finest universities and colleges and he took advantage of that opportunity by siding with terrorists, Hamas terrorists," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said earlier this month. He "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 attended a recent protest at Barnard College, a Columbia affiliate, during which activists handed out pamphlets from the "Hamas media office."
Khalil said in a declaration filed in Manhattan federal court Monday that while he was being held overnight at a detention center in Elizabeth, New Jersey, "I did not hear anyone mention bedbugs."
In court papers over the weekend, lawyers for the Justice Department also blamed his move on overcrowded facilities in the Northeast.
Khalil made the statement about bedbugs in an exhibit attached to court papers in which his lawyers asked that he be freed on bail while the courts decide whether his arrest violated the First Amendment.
The lawyers have also asked a judge to widen the effect of any order to stop the US government from "arresting, detaining, and removing noncitizens who engage in constitutionally protected expressive activity in the United States in support of Paleostinian rights or critical of Israel."
In his declaration, Khalil said he was put in a van when he was taken away from the Elizabeth facility and he asked if he was being returned to FBI headquarters in Manhattan, where he was taken immediately after his arrest.
"I was told, ’No, we are going to JFK airport.’ I was afraid they were trying to deport me," he recalled.
Of his time spent at the Elizabeth facility, he wrote: "I was in a waiting room with about ten other people. We slept on the ground. Even though it was cold inside the room, there were no beds, mattresses, or blankets."
In the weekend court papers, lawyers for the Justice Department gave a detailed description of Khalil’s March 8 arrest and his transport from Manhattan to Elizabeth and then to Kennedy International Airport in New York the next day for his transfer to Louisiana, where he has been held since.
"Khalil could not be housed at Elizabeth Detention Facility long-term due to a bedbug issue, so he remained there until his flight to Louisiana," the lawyers wrote. They said he was at the facility from 2:20 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. on March 9.
The lawyers have asked that legal issues be addressed by federal judges in New Jersey or Louisiana rather than New York. A Manhattan federal judge has not yet ruled on the request.
Khalil’s lawyers, who oppose transferring the case, wrote in a submission Monday that the transfer to Louisiana was "predetermined and carried out for improper motives" rather than because of a bedbug infestation.
Despite the bedbug claim, the Elizabeth Detention accepted at least four individuals for detention from March 6 through last Thursday and Khalil himself saw men being processed for detention while he was there, they wrote.
Khalil’s arrest was one of the first efforts by US President Donald Trump ...Never got invited to a P.Diddy party... , 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-Paleostinian, anti-Israel protest movement over its alleged support for terror groups and antisemitism.
Protests on US college campuses erupted against Israel’s war on Hamas in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... sparked by the Paleostinian terror group’s October 7, 2023, onslaught against southern Israel that killed 1,200 people, mostly civlians.
[israelTimes] At least 10 US strikes have targeted areas in Yemen, including Sanaa, the capital, and Hodeidah, Yemen’s Houthi media reports.
The US has in recent days launched a wave of strikes in areas of Yemen controlled by the Iran-aligned Houthis, who said last week they were resuming attacks on Red Sea shipping to support Palestinians in Gaza.
[IsraelTimes] As ceasefire collapses, Hamas says over 400 people killed in Israeli strikes, including senior terror leaders; reports say mediators scrambling to resume hostage negotiations
Israel on Tuesday vowed to intensify its attacks on terrorist targets in the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... Strip unless Hamas ..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",... returned to "genuine" negotiations to free the remaining hostages, as the military continued its large-scale bombing campaign that began in the early morning hours.
The strikes, killing at least 400 Paleostinians according to Hamas health authorities, including several top members of the terror group, brought a fragile ceasefire in Gaza to an end after nearly two months of relative calm in the war-torn Paleostinian enclave.
After a large wave of overnight Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s on Hamas and 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... targets, the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet security agency said on Tuesday afternoon the strikes during the day had targeted cells of terror operatives, rocket-launching positions, weapons, and other military infrastructure.
The weapons and infrastructure were to have been used by the terror groups in planned attacks on Israel, the military added.
The IDF also announced that it had eliminated the de-facto prime minister of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip and several other brass hats in the terror group in strikes on Tuesday.
The military released footage of some of the overnight strikes, which according to the IDF targeted mid-level Hamas commanders, members of the terror group’s politburo, and its infrastructure. Islamic Jihad members and infrastructure were also targeted.
The initial wave of airstrikes lasted less than 10 minutes, according to the military.
At 2:10 a.m. the order was given, and fighter jets dropped their bombs on numerous targets within two minutes, while drone and attack helicopter strikes took another eight minutes. In all, the IDF says some 80 targets were struck.
The strikes were planned in advance, and the IDF said it took into account the hostages being held by Hamas. Military representatives spoke with the families of hostages overnight and updated them on the developments.
The IDF has repeatedly said amid the war it does not target areas in Gaza where it suspects hostages are being held. Still, some hostages have been killed by Israeli strikes, according to the IDF’s own investigations.
NEW RULES
Earlier today, Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Hamas that Israel’s actions would "intensify."
Defense Minister Israel Katz said that "the murderous Hamas needs to understand: If they do not release all our hostages, our blows will intensify."
The remarks, provided by his office, were made during an assessment with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, and other officials on Tuesday morning.
Later in the day, during a visit to the Tel Nof Airbase, Katz said that Israel would not end the fighting against Hamas until all of the hostages were returned.
"Hamas must realize that the rules of the game have changed, and if it does not immediately release all the hostages, the gates of hell will open, and it will find itself facing the full intensity of the IDF in the air, sea, and land, until its complete elimination," he said.
"We will not stop fighting until all the hostages are returned home and all threats to the southern residents are removed," he added, according to remarks provided by his office.
An Israeli official told The Times of Israel that Jerusalem has a concrete plan "to move forward" with its military campaign in Gaza, adding that "if at any point the other side decides to go back to genuinely negotiating, and we go back to genuine talks, then we’ll stop [the offensive]. At the moment, we’re left without any choice."
A separate Israeli official told the Israel Hayom newspaper that Israel’s goal in the renewed air campaign in Gaza is to push Hamas to agree to the original "Witkoff proposal" for hostage talks.
The outline, attributed by Israel to US special envoy Steve Witkoff, would see half the hostages released at the beginning of an extension of the ceasefire, which would extend till after Passover in mid-April. The rest would be released if an agreement is reached on ending the war.
"Without small releases of hostage and without games, the goal is to get everyone out," the official said.
"Israel waited three weeks for Hamas to begin serious talks on the Witkoff outline," the official added. "That didn’t happen."
Israel’s return to fighting in Gaza was "fully coordinated" with the United States Israeli government front man David Mencer said at a press briefing Tuesday, adding that "Israel has thanked President [Donald] Trump and his administration for their unyielding support."
Speaking in Jerusalem to members of AIPAC’s board of directors, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said the decision to resume attacks in Gaza was made "several days ago," adding that the strikes would continue beyond Tuesday.
Witkoff "made two different proposals and Hamas rejected both of them," Sa’ar said. "We found ourselves at a dead end, with no hostages released and no military action. This is a situation that cannot continue."
"This is not a one-day attack," Sa’ar emphasized, adding that the operation would continue "over the coming days."
Hundreds killed, including senior Hamas officials, Islamic Jihad front man
According to the Hamas-run health ministry — which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. — the corpse count from the past day of Israeli strikes in Gaza reached 404 and at least 562 people were maimed, as a front man for the Red Thingy said that many medical facilities in the Gaza Strip are "overwhelmed" after Israel resumed its bombing of the territory.
The figures could not be verified.
"What we heard from Paleostine Crescent colleagues this morning is that many medical facilities are literally overwhelmed across Gaza," Tommaso Della Longa, front man for the International Federation of Red Thingy and Red Islamic Thingy Societies, said at a briefing in Geneva.
While Hamas claimed that Israel’s resumption of attacks constituted a "massacre" of civilians, the group confirmed that at least four bigwigs were killed in the IDF strikes overnight.
Hamas announced the deaths of Issam Da’alis, the head of the governmental activity monitoring committee, a position roughly akin to prime minister; Ahmad al-Khatta, the director-general of Hamas’s justice ministry; Mahmoud Abu Watfa, who headed the terror group’s interior ministry, responsible for Hamas’s police and internal security services in Gaza; and Bahjat Abu Sultan, head of Hamas’s internal security forces.
In a statement, the IDF said it targeted and killed those four senior Hamas officials, as part of the wide-scale bombing campaign against dozens of targets in the Gaza Strip since early Tuesday morning.
The IDF said the strikes were aimed at "causing a blow to the military and governmental capabilities of the Hamas terror organization, and remove a threat to the State of Israel and its citizens."
Da’alis, the de-facto Hamas prime minister, had replaced Rawhi Mushtaha following his killing by Israel in July 2024.
The military said that as part of his role, Da’alis was "entrusted with the functioning of the Hamas terror regime in the Gaza Strip" and coordinating all the branches of the organization.
The IDF said it could also confirm that al-Khatta, Abu Watfa, and Abu Sultan were killed in airstrikes on Tuesday.
Additionally, the spokesperson for the military wing of the Paleostinian Islamic Jihad terror group, known by the nom de guerre Abu Hamza, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the central Gaza Strip on Tuesday, the terror group announced.
Abu Hamza, whose real name is Naji Abu Saif, was killed alongside his wife and several members of his family.
Despite the resumption of fighting, the IDF Home Front Command said it was easing some restrictions on civilians in southern Israel.
Following an assessment, the Home Front Command adjusted the activity scale in the Gaza border communities and some towns in the Western Negev and Western Lachish regions from "limited activity" to "partial activity."
This would allow schools and workplaces to operate as usual, provided an adequate bomb shelter can be reached in time.
Gatherings were also now limited to 100 people outdoors and 500 people indoors, though beaches remain closed, according to the latest Home Front Command guidelines.
’I HAVEN’T SLEPT A SINGLE MINUTE SINCE YESTERDAY’
Following the collapse of the ceasefire and the ongoing strikes on Gaza, one Paleostinian civilian told The Times of Israel: "I’m more scared today than I have been in the past year and three months of war. The airstrikes seem more random today than they were before," he said.
One Paleostinian described the early Tuesday strikes as "terrifying."
"There were airstrikes all night. I don’t understand which side broke the ceasefire, some say it was Hamas, others say it was Israel," he told The Times of Israel. His only wish, he added, is "to have a ceasefire. We want peace. We want to live a life of dignity."
Until you have suffered as much as the remaining hostages, we are uninterested. And you had the chance for a ceasefire, but Hamas insisted on playing games. Now your only choice is complete and abject surrender.
The man, who wished to remain anonymous, is originally from northern Gaza but relocated to central Gaza with his close family at the start of the war, following IDF evacuation orders.
On Tuesday he told The Times of Israel he is considering returning north due to the renewed strikes. "It’s not safe there, but I want to be with my family and friends, to be near them." However,
a woman is only as old as she admits... he noted that many others are attempting to move to safer areas within Gaza due to the escalating strikes.
Another Paleostinian, Basel al-Qaran, originally from Gaza but who had lived in Israel for the past 12 years before being recently deported back to Gaza,
…one notes that Israel only would deport him to Gaza if he broke the law…
shared his experience: "I’m in al-Shuka, Rafah, near the Israeli border. Everyone has already left the area. I have no food or water; I’m fasting. I haven’t slept a single minute since yesterday. I have no one, I’m completely alone."
On Tuesday morning, the IDF issued evacuation warnings to Paleostinians living on the edges of the Gaza Strip. Footage showed some residents leaving their homes in eastern and northern Gaza.
Regarding the strikes, al-Qaran added: "The noises were unbearable. The light from the airstrikes was incredibly close to me last night. I’m seeing things I’ve never seen before. There was an airstrike on a house near me with 21 people inside — only two made it out alive. I’m still in shock."
Another Paleostinian in Gaza who wishes to remain anonymous told The Times of Israel: "The situation in Gaza is terrifying and difficult. We have nothing to do with this escalation—we are civilians."
If you have not overthrown Hamas and organized a surrender to Israel, you’ll have to wait until Israel handles that for you.
Much of Gaza now lies in ruin after 15 months of fighting, which erupted on October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led button men attacked Israeli communities around the Gaza Strip, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, amid horrific acts of brutality, and abducting 251 hostages into Gaza.
The Israeli campaign in response has killed more than 48,000 people, according to Paleostinian health authorities, and destroyed much of the housing and infrastructure in the enclave, including the hospital system. Israel says it has killed some 20,000 combatants in battle as of January and another 1,600 faceless myrmidons inside Israel on October 7.
More strikes reported in Gaza, as death toll said to mount
Gazan sources report ongoing airstrikes in several areas of the Strip, as an overnight bombardment appears to continue apace.
Attacks by Israeli aircraft are reported around Khan Younis in Gaza’s south, as well as several areas south of Gaza City near the northern end of the Strip.
At least 10 deaths are reported in the strikes. Quds news, a Gazan outlet linked to Hamas, says the death toll in the renewed Israeli offensive is up to 429. Hamas-controlled health authorities had earlier put the death toll at 408.
Neither figure can be confirmed.
There is no comment from the Israeli military. Israeli officials said Tuesday that the army was only firing on terror
More strikes reported in Gaza, as death toll said to mount
[IsraelTimes] Gazan sources report ongoing airstrikes in several areas of the Strip, as an overnight bombardment appears to continue apace. Attacks by Israeli aircraft are reported around Khan Younis in Gaza’s south, as well as several areas south of Gaza City near the northern end of the Strip. At least 10 deaths are reported in the strikes. Quds news, a Gazan outlet linked to Hamas, says the death toll in the renewed Israeli offensive is up to 429. Hamas-controlled health authorities had earlier put the death toll at 408. Neither figure can be confirmed.
There is no comment from the Israeli military. Israeli officials said Tuesday that the army was only firing on terror targets.
Three hours earlier:
Fresh airstrikes reported across Gaza
[IsraelTimes] Gaza-based sources report a fresh wave of Israeli strikes from the air on areas around the Strip, including attacks from helicopter gunships near Khan Younis in southern Gaza. Airstrikes are also reported in al-Bureij in central Gaza and in the al-Tuffah area east of Gaza City in the Strip’s north. There is no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the reported strikes.
Israeli captive killed, two others injured in renewed Israeli aggression on Gaza
[HodhodYemenNews] An Israeli captive was killed in Gaza and two others were wounded, following the renewed Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, which began at dawn Tuesday, and which resulted in hundreds of martyrs and wounded among Palestinian civilians.
A Hamas leader told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed newspaper that an Israeli captive was killed and two others were injured in the Israeli bombardment of Gaza. The unnamed leader emphasized that Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu’s main goal is to get rid of the Israeli captives.
“The Movement agreed to the proposal of the American envoy Adam Boehler, and was surprised by (Steve) Witkoff’s proposal,” he said, stressing that Hamas has fulfilled all commitments since the beginning of the ceasefire agreement.
The Israeli occupation army resumed its aggression on the Gaza Strip at dawn Tuesday, in a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement, as air strikes targeted various areas in the Gaza Strip, killing at least 342 Palestinians and injuring hundreds of others, on the 58th day of the ceasefire agreement.
In the latest field developments, medical sources reported the martyrdom of more than 342 martyrs, including 179 from Gaza City and the northern Gaza Strip – in a preliminary toll – and dozens of casualties in Israeli air strikes targeting several areas in the Gaza Strip.
Zionist airstrikes kill Al-Quds Brigades spokesman in Gaza
[HodhodYemenNews] Naji Abu Saif, also known as Abu Hamza, the spokesman for the Al-Quds Brigades, the military arm of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, has been killed in a fresh wave of Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.
The strikes also killed his wife and several family members in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
The movement condemned the “treacherous and spiteful assassination,” accusing the “Nazi-Zionist criminal entity” of carrying out the attack with the support, encouragement, and funding of the US administration, while the world remained in “cowardly silence.”
“The martyred spokesperson was known as a voice of the resistance, fearing no reproach in his devotion to Allah, eloquent in his speech, and courageous in his heroic positions in defense of the resistance and the rights of our people, never wavering in his stance,” the movement said in a statement.
It added that the attack “will only strengthen our determination to continue defending our people and their rights until the goals of this aggression are completely thwarted.
[HodhodYemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of... News] At least 100 African hard boyz have reportedly arrived on Abd al-Kuri Island in the Socotra Archipelago, coinciding with the visit of Aidarous al-Zubaidi, head of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) to Socotra Island, Almahriah Net reported, citing sources.
According to the sources, the hard boyz are stationed in a camp prepared by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in secret cooperation with "Israel".
The sources revealed that the fighters were transported from various Somali regions as the first batch to the island,
…Somali mercenaries? How unexpected….
sparking security concerns among the local residents.
Field reports and analyses indicate that the camp established on Abd al-Kuri Island is a joint Israeli-UAE military base, designed to conduct military operations against Sana’a forces.
Uh huh. Suuuuuuuure it is.
Given its unique geographical location and proximity to international maritime routes, Socotra Island serves as a strategic hub capable of supporting military or intelligence operations against regional actors.
[IsraelTimes] Projectile shot down by Arrow defense system over Saudi Arabia; Iran-backed group says it will expand targets unless Israel halts renewed aerial campaign on Gaza
The Iran's Houthi sock puppets ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews They like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him... rebels launched a ballistic missile at Israel from Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of... Tuesday evening, marking the first attack from the Iran-backed group since the ceasefire came into effect in the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... Strip two months ago.
The Israel Defense Forces said it had successfully intercepted the missile before it could reach Israel’s borders, shooting it down with the long-range Arrow defense system over Saudi Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start... It nevertheless sent thousands running for shelter, with sirens blaring in numerous towns across southern Israel, including Beersheba and Dimona.
The Houthi’s military front man Yahya Saree claimed a short while later that the rebel group had attacked the Nevatim air base in the Negev desert with a Paleostine-2 ballistic missile.
He warned that they would continue to expand their range of targets in Israel in the coming hours and days unless Israel were to halt its renewed aerial campaign in the Gaza Strip.
The Yemeni Armed Forces in Sana’a announced on Tuesday evening that they had targeted the Israeli Nevatim Air Base with a “Palestine 2” hypersonic ballistic missile, confirming that the missile successfully hit its target.
This attack came in response to the Israeli massacres committed against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.
In a statement delivered by military spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Sare’e, the armed forces affirmed their determination to expand the scope of operations in occupied Palestine in the coming hours and days if the Israeli aggression against Gaza does not cease.
The statement indicated that “Yemen, its leadership, people, and army, will not stand idly by in the face of the ongoing crimes against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip,” emphasizing that the Yemeni forces would mobilize all their capabilities to defend the oppressed in Palestine until the attacks end.
Yemen also reiterated its determination to confront what it described as the American enemy and to obstruct Israeli navigation, conditional upon the cessation of aggression and the lifting of the blockade imposed on Gaza.
[IsraelTimes] Representatives from the United States and six allied nations have pledged to work together to counter global hostage-taking and detentions considered unjust, they say in a joint statement after talks in Montana.
“We are united in our demand for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages,” reads the statement from the US, Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, Israel and the United Kingdom.
US special envoy Adam Boehler led the talks on Monday and Tuesday in Big Sky, Montana. The summit, which came after Boehler withdrew his candidacy to be the top hostage envoy following criticism from Israel, was first reported on by The Times of Israel.
Representatives discussed sharing information about detainees and other collaborative efforts to free their citizens held around the world.
“We will spare no effort, in accordance with international law, to bring home hostages and unjustly or arbitrarily detained individuals and to deter such future acts,” the statement says, without providing specifics.
Boehler, who was involved in efforts that led to the freedom of American school teacher Marc Fogel from Russia last month, says the gathering was centered on “how to support individual freedom and stop the hostage takers who try to take it away.”
The group vowed to work collectively to “identify and deploy every diplomatic, economic, and strategic tool at our disposal to bring these individuals home while deterring future such acts,” a US State Department official says.
One living American and the bodies are four others are being held by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023.
[IsraelTimes] Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels say they launched an attack on an American aircraft carrier in the Red Sea, their fourth time firing on US warships in 72 hours.
The Houthis’ military spokesperson says the operation entailed “a number of cruise missiles and drones, targeting the aircraft carrier USS Harry Truman and a number of enemy warships.”
There is no immediate comment from American military officials on the claim.
[IsraelTimes] Anti-Israel protest groups are holding rallies at the White House and across the US against Israel’s renewed air campaign in Gaza.
The Palestinian Youth Movement, an anti-Israel activist group, announces protests in cities including Washington, New York, San Francisco, Dallas and Los Angeles.
The group’s New York branch shares videos of a crowd in Times Square chanting “end the Zionist occupation” and marching through Manhattan shouting “imperialism will fall.”
BREAKING: Thousands of protestors in NYC march through the streets, condemning Israel's attacks on Gaza and calling for a free Palestine pic.twitter.com/IvZmM9J1U2
At the White House, the group posts footage of protesters chanting, “Gaza, Yemen, make us proud, tear this occupation down” and “stop the US war machine.”
The protests come after the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a designated terror group, called on activists to “take to the streets, to besiege the White House… to deliver a clear message to the murderers.”
“Gaza and its resistance will not be broken,” the group says in a message shared by anti-Israel activist groups in the US.
"That’s bovine excrement!" He was British and very polite. He was also wrong.
"Nope. Turns out during the war some G.I.s actually did use 60 millimeter mortar rounds as field expedient grenades." The assistant armorer on Saving Private Ryan just squinted at me and shook his head. "And that’s why," I continued, "We are gonna need about a dozen dummy 60 mike-mike rounds scattered around this part of the set."
[Twitchy] Earlier we told you about a federal judge blocking Trump's trans military ban. This is just another example of a federal judge blocking Trump's executive orders way overreaching their jurisdiction. Today, Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida offered a suggestion to this very pressing issue.
A round up of tweets discussing Governor DeSantis’s proposal, in the usual Twitchy way, starting with the unembedded thing below.
Ron DeSantis
@RonDeSantis
Congress has the authority to strip jurisdiction of the federal courts to decide these cases in the first place.
The sabotaging of President Trump’s agenda by “resistance” judges was predictable — why no jurisdiction-stripping bills tee’d up at the onset of this Congress?
Quote
Chip Roy
@chiproytx
·
23h
Lots of noise about impeachment. We must study every ruling & act accordingly w/ everything on the table (noting: 14 Dem votes required in Senate.). But, more fertile ground… 1) House can pass a resolution stating there is/was an invasion, 2) we can defund radical courts.
#1
IANAL but the historical evidence shows that the US Congress can ABOLISH a federal court below the level of the USSC by a simple majority vote. This they did in 1863 and there was no big deal about it. This has nothing to do with impeachment either. The widespread ignorance about this fact and the silence of the legal profession online are both rather amazing at this point in time.
[BBC] German lawmakers have voted to allow a huge increase in defence and infrastructure spending - a seismic shift for the country that could reshape European defence.
A two-thirds majority of Bundestag parliamentarians, required for the change, approved the vote on Tuesday.
The law will exempt spending on defence and security from Germany's strict debt rules, and create a €500bn ($547bn; £420bn) infrastructure fund.
This vote is a historic move for traditionally debt-shy Germany, and could be hugely significant for Europe, as Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine grinds on, and after US President Donald Trump signalled an uncertain commitment to Nato and Europe's defence.
However, state government representatives in the upper house, the Bundesrat, still need to approve the moves - also by a two-thirds majority - before they officially become law. That vote is set for Friday.
Friedrich Merz, the man behind these plans and who is expected to soon be confirmed as Germany's new chancellor, told the lower house during Tuesday's debate that the country had "felt a false sense of security" for the past decade.
"The decision we are taking today... can be nothing less than the first major step towards a new European defence community," he said, adding that it includes countries that are "not members of the European Union".
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the vote "excellent news".
Speaking at a press conference with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, she said the vote "sends a very clear message to Europe that Germany is determined to invest massively in defence".
Frederiksen meanwhile called it "fantastic news for all Europeans".
Germany has long been cautious about defence spending, not just for historical reasons dating back to 1945, but also due to the global debt crisis of 2009.
But despite fears the vote would be tight, lawmakers in the end voted in favour of the changes by 513 to 207 - comfortably over the two-thirds majority required.
One leading German newspaper described this vote as "A day of destiny for our nation".
Under the measure, any spending on defence that amounts to more than 1% of Germany's GDP would no longer be subject to a limit on borrowing. Until now, this debt brake has been fixed at 0.35% of GDP.
The change could transform the country's partially neglected armed forces in an era of great uncertainty for Europe.
And this vote was not just about defence. It was also about freeing up €500bn for German infrastructure - fixing things like bridges and roads, but also to pay for climate change measures, something the Green Party insisted on.
[BBC] Turkish authorities have detained the mayor of Istanbul, just days before he was due to be selected as a presidential candidate.
Ekrem Imamoglu, from the secular Republican People's Party (CHP), is seen as one of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's strongest political rivals.
Prosecutors accused him of corruption and aiding a terrorist group, calling him a "criminal organisation leader suspect".
Police detained 100 people - including other politicians, journalists and businessmen - as part of the investigation, and the Istanbul governor's office has imposed four days of restrictions in the city.
Imamoglu said online "the will of the people cannot be silenced".
In a social media video he said he filmed while police were outside his home, he vowed to "stand resolute" for the people of Turkey "and all who uphold democracy and justice worldwide".
And in a handwritten note posted on his X account after his arrest, he said the people of Turkey would respond to "the lies, the conspiracies and the traps" against him.
Protests have erupted on Turkey's streets and university campuses, and in underground stations, with crowds chanting anti-government slogans. It is a display of public anger not seen in years.
There were reports of clashes between protesters and police in Turkey's largest city. Reuters news agency footage shows police using pepper spray pellets to disperse crowds outside Istanbul University.
The government has banned public gatherings in Istanbul as part of the four days of restrictions. But more protests are anticipated nationwide as opposition leaders, including Imamoglu's wife, urge people to "raise their voices".
Many streets in Istanbul have also been closed to traffic, while some metro lines have also cancelled their services.
UK-based internet watchdog Netblocks said on Wednesday Turkey had severely restricted access to social media sites like X, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.
'A COUP AGAINST OUR NEXT PRESIDENT'
The arrest comes as part of a major crackdown nationwide in recent months, targeting opposition politicians, municipalities, journalists and figures in the entertainment industry.
Following the Istanbul mayor's arrest, concerns over Turkey's shift toward autocracy were expressed on social media, with some calling for an opposition boycott of the upcoming presidential elections, arguing that a fair and democratic vote is no longer possible.
Imamoglu's party, the CHP, even condemned the arrests as "a coup against our next president", a sentiment widely echoed by pro-opposition voices.
But Turkey's justice minister criticised those who linked Erdogan to the arrests.
Yilmaz Tunc said it was "extremely dangerous and wrong" to suggest this was a political move, insisting that nobody was above the law in Turkey.
Erdogan and his party have also denied the claims, insisting that Turkey's judiciary is independent. He has been in power for 22 years.
Last year, Imamoglu won a second term as Istanbul's mayor, when his CHP party swept local elections there and in Ankara.
It was the first time since Erdogan came to power that his party was defeated across the country at the ballot box.
The elections were also a personal blow to the president, who grew up in and became mayor of Istanbul on his rise to power.
Dozens of police officers were involved in the early-morning raid on Imamoglu's house in Istanbul.
Imamoglu's arrest came a day after Istanbul University annulled his degree due to alleged irregularities - a decision which, if upheld, would prevent him from running in presidential elections.
According to the Turkish constitution, presidents must have completed higher education to hold office.
Imamoglu called that move "legally baseless", adding that universities "must remain independent, free from political interference and dedicated to knowledge".
Presidential elections are currently scheduled for 2028. Erdogan cannot currently run for office again, as he is in his second term and previously served as prime minister before that.
The only way Erdogan could contest another election would be to change the constitution, or call an early election before his term ends.
As well as being accused of extortion and fraud, Imamoglu is also alleged to have aided the PKK. The PKK - or Kurdistan Workers' Party - has waged an insurgency since 1984, and is proscribed as a terrorist group in Turkey, the EU, UK and US. Earlier this month the group announced its decision to lay down arms, following a call from its imprisoned leader, who had engaged in talks with Turkish officials.
International reaction to the arrest has been negative. Germany's foreign ministry said it was part of "intensified legal measures" designed to put pressure on Imamoglu, while France said it was "deeply concerned" by the arrests, which could have "heavy consequences on Turkish democracy".
The Turkish lira, meanwhile, briefly crashed to an all-time low against the US dollar, as markets reacted poorly to the political uncertainty.
While many were shocked to wake up to the news of Imamoglu's arrest, legal pressure on the popular opposition leader is far from new.
He has faced multiple investigations and was handed a political ban in December 2022 over allegations of insulting Turkey's electoral board in 2019 - a verdict he appealed, with the final ruling still pending.
Additionally, he has been the subject of cases related to alleged tender irregularities during his tenure as mayor of Istanbul's Beylikduzu district.
More recently, on 20 January, a new case was filed against him over his criticism of a prosecutor.
Posted by: Skidmark ||
03/19/2025
10:42 ||
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[Breitbart] Four Eastern European countries say they wish to withdraw from the Ottawa Treaty on landmines, citing “Russia’s aggression” and “dire security challenges” on NATO’s “vulnerable eastern flank”.
The Defence Ministers of Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania — all post-Soviet NATO members who speak most about feeling vulnerable to Putin’s aggression, given their proximity to Russia’s borders — have advised their governments to withdraw from a key weapons control treaty.
The military leaders say the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction (‘The Ottawa Treaty’) prevents them from taking all options to defend themselves from Russia. Consequently, despite their commitment to “international humanitarian law” and the principles of the treaty, they said now is the time to abandon it.
In the joint letter, the ministers stated, “Since the ratification… the security situation in our region has fundamentally deteriorated” and noted “Russia’s aggression and its ongoing threat” to NATO’s “vulnerable eastern flank”.
The four nations stated they no longer considered having all their weapon options limited by treaty prudent. They stated, “It is of paramount importance to provide our defence forces with flexibility and freedom of choice of potential use of new weapon systems” and that “we are sending a clear message: our countries are prepared and can use every necessary measure to defend our territory and freedom.”
The impending withdrawal and broader attitudes of adherence to the treaty underline key issues of international law, which is that nations respect the treaty when it suits them and spurn it when it doesn’t.
The most powerful nations never complied with it in the first place — the United States, China, and Russia were never signatories — and there is no world police or space court to enforce it anyway.
Russia has used antipersonnel landmines extensively during its invasion of Ukraine, and while the United States initially resisted supplying the controversial weapons to Ukraine as part of its support packages, it later relented.
The Biden White House cited Russia switching to dismounted tactics of pushing forward with infantry to justify its policy change, which came just days after Trump won the 2024 election and despite Ukraine being an Ottawa treaty signatory.
#2
The Chinese claim they can add 292 miles of battery power in five minutes! Fill up as fast as diesel fuel! 292 miles? For a golf cart?
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/19/2025 10:57
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#3
^ Uh huh. With or without an existential fire that can't be put out with water?
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/19/2025 11:31
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#4
What sort of voltage and amperage do these 'miracle battery' recharging stations require? What does that do to existing power lines and local networks? Infrastructure B Hard ...then we ask about the new power plants that will be required.
#7
The Chinese claim they can add 292 miles of battery power in five minutes!
A lightning strike transmits gawd-knows how many amps in a fraction of a second, so it is theoretically possible. Doing so repeatedly in a safe manner is left as an exercise for the Reader.
[Melanie Phillips] I am in London where the air is not sweet.
The Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, accuses Israel of breaking international law by stopping aid from entering Gaza. This is untrue. Israel stopped the aid two weeks ago in order to weaken Hamas and force it finally to release the remaining Israeli hostages whom it kidnapped on October 7 2023. International law requires limited humanitarian aid for civilians, but only if no advantage will result "to the military efforts or economy of the enemy". Since Hamas has seized most of the aid delivered to Gaza to keep its genocidal war going, it’s clear that withholding aid is not only legal but essential.
Lammy also says the Israelis are starving Gazan children. This is untrue. It is also a blood libel. Everyone could see from the grisly propaganda circus staged around the recent release of skeletal hostages that the Gazans were conspicuously well fed and it was their Israeli hostages who had been starved. In Israel, there’s a view that stopping the aid is pointless because there’s enough food in Gaza to feed the population for around four months.
Sir Keir Starmer walks back Lammy’s remarks. The Prime Minister’s spokesman says:
Our position remains that Israel’s actions in Gaza are at clear risk of breaching international humanitarian law. And we continue to call on the government of Israel to abide by its international obligations when it comes to humanitarian assistance to the population in Gaza.
Israel’s actions are not at clear risk of breaching international humanitarian law. And it has consistently abided by its international obligations. Walking back Lammy means continuing to defame Israel with different words.
#1
Very few Brits Scotts Irish are cool with the invasion and replacement. European Weannies arent cool with the invasion either. They will tell you, they are powerless to stop it. They are not able to vote themselves out of it. It's not so much a society that lost its way, but a society that is victim and powerless to their overlord's wishes.
[FoxNews] A wave of Tesla owners, dealerships and charging stations have been targeted nationwide in recent weeks
Billionaire and tech tycoon Elon Musk said he's in "shock" over escalating protests against his auto company Tesla.
"It's really come as quite a shock to me that there is this level of real hatred and violence from the left," Musk said during an exclusive interview on "Hannity" Tuesday.
"I thought the left, you know, Democrats, were supposed to be the party of empathy, the party of caring. And yet they're burning down cars. They're firebombing dealerships. They're firing bullets into dealerships. They're just smashing up Teslas," he continued, although no evidence has confirmed the political affiliation of the alleged suspects involved.
Multiple vehicles at a Tesla service center in Las Vegas were set ablaze in the early hours of Tuesday morning, and the FBI is not ruling out terrorism as a possibility. Officials say five vehicles were damaged in the incident, including the two that were set on fire.
FBI officials were asked about the possibility of the incident being politically motivated, given Musk’s ties to the Trump administration, but the Special Agent in Charge would not confirm whether that was the bureau’s current theory.
Musk spoke out against the "deranged" attacks, suggesting "there's some kind of mental illness thing going on here because this doesn't make any sense." The billionaire even alluded to "larger forces" potentially behind the attacks that have sprung up across the nation.
The Tesla founder had previously spoken out about Tuesday's incident on X, posting "This level of violence is insane and deeply wrong. Tesla just makes electric cars and has done nothing to deserve these evil attacks."
Tuesday morning's incident comes as a wave of Tesla car owners, dealerships and charging stations have been targeted nationwide in protest against Musk and his involvement with the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which aims to slash wasteful spending and fraud within the federal government.
"It turns out when you take away... the money they're receiving fraudulently, they get very upset. And they, they basically want to kill me because I'm stopping their fraud. And they want to hurt Tesla because we're stopping the terrible waste and corruption in the government," Musk told Fox News host Sean Hannity.
Attorney General Pam Bondi released a statement Tuesday evening: "The swarm of violent attacks on Tesla property is nothing short of domestic terrorism. The Department of Justice has already charged several perpetrators with that in mind, including in cases that involve charges with five-year mandatory minimum sentences. We will continue investigations that impose severe consequences on those involved in these attacks, including those operating behind the scenes to coordinate and fund these crimes."
The investigations into Tuesday morning's incident in Las Vegas and other incidents nationwide are ongoing.
#9
Just wait til Texas dealers put riflemen on the roof at night
Y'all need to get yourselves some roof Koreans.
If I understand Texas law correctly, it is perfectly acceptable behavior to shoot someone who is messing with your stuff at night.
Violent and crazy plays well with the True Believers, but it is just a turnoff to the Normies. You want more Trump? This is how you get more Trump.
You hear that gruesome story of the 13-year-old middle-school girl from Deerfield confronted by school officials and ordered to disrobe in front of a male classmate?
It sounds too AWFL to be true.
But it happened, according to her mother Nicole Georgas who said Tuesday she was filing a police complaint with the police in Deerfield on top of a complaint she filed with the U.S. Department of Justice.
The mom alone standing up for her daughter's privacy was repeatedly mocked and insulted by hostile trans activists as she addressed a crowded District 109 School Board meeting.
The story has gone viral world-wide and was broken by the Lake County Gazette and Dan Proft's radio show "The Morning Answer."
To understand this bizzarro world, please understand this:
Even though President Donald Trump has signed an executive order protecting girls' privacy, and has vowed to cut federal education funding to rogue states, the Illinois Democrats are funded by billionaire Gov. JB Pritzker, who is the bankrupt state's leading activist for transexuals.
And he's running for president.
"The male student was present in the girls' locker room," Georges said at the school board meeting. "Feeling violated, the girls made the choice not change into their PE (physical education) clothes with a biological male present."
The next day Georgas said, the officials at Alan B. Shepherd Middle School tried to bully a girls' PE class into changing in front of the boy.
"(The administrators) all came into the girls locker room, making them change into uniform. This went on all week," Georgas said. "My daughter refused to take part in her privacy being violated. How dare they!"
She said Shepard School Principal Rob Wegley told her daughter that any male student can use any girls' bathroom or locker room at his school so long as they say claim to "identify as female."
Georgas said Wegley told her this was the school policy as dictated by Ford and "legal counsel." She said she has filed a civil rights complaint on behalf of her daughter with the U.S. Department of Justice.
Know too that even though Nicole Georgas' story has gone viral world-wide, with world-famous women's rights activist author J.K. Rowling and champion swimmer Riley Gaines championing the girls cause, it hasn't gone viral in Chicago media. "I'd remove my daughter instantly from that school, then go full Nemesis," Rowling posted on X.
Is that puzzling that the Chicago media would ignore such a story?
Then you don't know politics.
I heard about this first by listening to Proft's show.
My friend, conservative Dan Proft of Chicago's Morning Answer has covered the story, and covered it well. He's interviewed Nicole Georgas about her daughter and I link to that interview and his podcast here.
But crickets from other Chicago media. Why?
Are they afraid of Pritzker and his horde of trans activists?
The Chicago Tribune‐where I worked for 40 years and was lead columnist and member of the editorial board‐has ignored it. The newspaper's political writer goes out of his way to bash Proft and curry favor with the establishment corporate left whenever they can‐because that is the Combine's paper–but is it wise for the Tribune to cede the issue and write off so many parents?
Apparently so.
Also, the Sun Times has ignored it.
Both newspapers capitulated to neo-Marxist George Soros long ago. So we've already established that they have bendable knees.
What has happened to Illinois where Gov. Pritzker can operate this way, even as he campaigns for president?
It was once a state of common sense, and the politics were all about common sense whether the Republicans of Abraham Lincoln or the Democrats under the Daleys.
Old man Daley wouldn't go broke promoting common sense. And Abe Lincoln was all about common sense.
But now?
The state is bankrupt, the public schools are atrocious, taxpayers are fleeing to seek opportunity. And in many areas, particularly wealthy suburbs like Deerfield, Downers Grove, Hinsdale, Western Springs and other such towns they are governed by AWFLs (Angry White Female Leftists).
And there is nothing more awful than the AWFLs.
You may have heard their sisters screaming in self-righteous rage at Jewish students during pro-Hamas protests at American universities.
From the river to the sea…
What happened to the men in those suburbs, the fathers?
They're afraid. Afraid of the AWFLs. Afraid of saying one thing that would anger them, and cost them social status in their leafy suburbs that once sported those Hate Has No Home Here signs on the front lawn.
Or they're in hiding.
In the wealthy suburbs the men (or the male impersonators who married those women) say little, lest they incur the wrath of the AWFLs.
These are corporate towns, and men in such towns are corporate types.
And in corporate suburban towns, whether in Loudon County, Virginia or Beverly Hills, California, or Martha's Vineyard there is but one religion:
Social status.
And they would sacrifice anything to protect their social status.
Anything.
They would have their own sons castrated to protect their status. Perhaps they wonder why religious fundamentalists hate them so. Does it matter?
It was the Christian moralist C.S. Lewis, in "The Abolition of Man" who years ago mentioned something we should all consider today when wrestling with the idea of this silencing of parents and the castration or sterilization of little children.
The ones afraid to risk their social status by protecting their children from the ghouls of government schools who would castrate or sterilize young children.
They are the Men Without Chests.
"We make men without chests and expect from them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst," wrote Lewis.
Some time ago after listening to Proft and while editing another column on this state of Illinois sanctioned child abuse, I quoted Helen Joyce, the journalist who was speaking about why it is so difficult for parents to move on after they've done what they've done.
Once they've done what they've done to their own minor children, there is no going back for them.
And I think her words are particularly apt today.
JOYCE: "Something you may not have thought of is that there are a lot of people who can't move on from this. And that's the people who have transitioned their own children.
So those people are going to be like the Japanese soldiers who were on Pacific islands and didn't know the war was over. They've got to fight forever. This is another reason why this is the worst, worst, worst social contagion that we'll ever have experienced.
"A lot of people have done what is the worst thing you could do, which is to harm their children irrevocably, because of it. Those people will have to believe that they did the right thing for the rest of their lives, for their own sanity, and for their own self-respect. So, they'll still be fighting, and each one of those people destroys entire organizations and entire friendship groups.
"Like, I've lost count of the number of times that somebody has said to me of a specific organization that has been turned upside down on this, "Oh, the deputy director has a trans child." Or, oh, the journalist on that paper who does special investigations has a trans child. Or whatever."
"So those people are going to be the people who will keep this bloody movement going, I'm sorry to say, because they've everything to lose, and it is a fight to the death as far as they are concerned."
What is required is for the activists to stop screaming and bullying that child, and all children and put their psycho-sexual politics aside. They might do us all a favor and eat their guilt and shame.
Just look at Pritzker. Politicians who promote the castration of children–and experiments I thought was once left to the demon once called Josef Mengele–are creatures I really don't want to think about now. This is Lent. And they will have an eternity to contemplate their sins. And their cruelty to little children who are just too young to understand what adults–including their parents and teachers–are doing to them.
There are many long days of Lent, which are best spent praying and fasting, and avoiding blood curdling anger. As a Greek Orthodox Christian I think of our Jesus prayer at times like this to protect my soul from anger:
"Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner"
And I think of our Lord who loved all the children. And those who didn't love them were warned of their fate in the Bible:
"It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones."
Protect them oh Lord.
Please protect the little ones.
Κύριε ἐλέησον
Kyrie Elaison. Lord have mercy.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
03/19/2025
08:21 ||
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BREAKING: Helyeh Doutaghi, Iranian Academic suspended by Yale University, over her ties to terrorism, openly says that she plans on committing herself to
BREAKING: Helyeh Doutaghi, Iranian Academic suspended by Yale University, over her ties to terrorism, openly says that she plans on committing herself to fighting the United States.
#2
I've been saying for 40 years that the biggest problem we have in the United States is that we've failed to hang enough of the "right" people -- murderers, rapists, pedophiles, drug dealers, and crooked politicians.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/19/2025 9:55
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#3
"Why is she here" -- because her views are found so acceptable by a substantial proportion of the USA.
[x]
Gaza media outlets report that the wife and children of Muhammad Shabana, commander of the Rafah Brigade of Hamas' military wing, were killed in an IDF attack, killing his entire family (three of his sons, Hamas operatives, were killed on October 7 and in the fighting in Rafah).
Mike Gallagher, the 8th most recognized talk radio personality, in the U.S.A., is heard by over 2.25 million listeners weekly. He compiled and wrote the following essay entitled, "Obama: It was You." * It was you who spoke these words at an Islamic dinner - "I am one of you." *… pic.twitter.com/p77OyOue3S
… "I am one of you."
* It was you who on ABC News referenced - "My Muslim faith."
* It was you who gave $100 million in U.S. taxpayer funds to re-build foreign mosques.
* It was you who wrote that in the event of a conflict- "I will stand with the Muslims."
* It was you who assured the Egyptian Foreign Minister that - "I am a Muslim."
* It was you who bowed in submission before the Saudi King.
* It was you who sat for 20 years in a Liberation Theology Church condemning America and professing Marxism.
* It was you who exempted Muslims from penalties under Obamacare that the rest of us have to pay.
* It was you who purposefully omitted - "endowed by our Creator " - from your recitation of The Declaration Of
Independence.
* It was you who mocked the Bible and Jesus Christ's Sermon On The Mount while repeatedly referring to the 'HOLY' Qur'an.
* It was you who traveled the Islamic world denigrating the United States Of America.
* It was you who instantly threw the support of your administration behind the building of the Ground Zero Victory mosque overlooking the hallowed crater of the World Trade Center.
* It was you who refused to attend the National Prayer Breakfast, but hastened to host an Islamic prayer breakfast at the
White House
* It was you who ordered Georgetown Univ. and Notre Dame to shroud all vestiges of Jesus Christ BEFORE you would
agree to go there to speak, but in contrast, you have NEVER requested the mosques you have visited to adjust their decor.
* It was you who appointed anti-Christian fanatics to your Czar Corps.
* It was you who appointed rabid Islamists to Homeland Security.
* It was you who said that NASA's "foremost mission" was an outreach to Muslim communities.
* It was you who as an Illinois Senator was the ONLY individual who would speak in favor of infanticide.
* It was you who was the first President not to give a Christmas Greeting from the White House, and went so far as to hang
photos of Chairman Mao on the White House tree.
* It was you who curtailed the military tribunals of all Islamic terrorists.
* It was you who refused to condemn the Ft. Hood killer as an Islamic terrorist.
* It is you who has refused to speak-out concerning the horrific executions of women throughout the Muslim culture,
but yet, have submitted Arizona to the UN for investigation of hypothetical human-rights abuses.
* It was you who when queried in India refused to acknowledge the true extent of radical global Jihadists, and instead
profusely praised Islam in a country that is 82% Hindu and the victim of numerous Islamic terrorists assaults.
* It was you who funneled $900 Million in U.S. taxpayer dollars to Hamas.
* It was you who ordered the United States Postal Service to honor the MUSLIM holiday with a new commemorative stamp.
* It was you who directed our UK Embassy to conduct outreach to help "empower" the British Muslim community.
* It was you who funded mandatory Arabic language and culture studies in Grammar schools across our country.
* It is you who follows the Muslim custom of not wearing any form of jewelry during Ramadan.
* It is you who departs for Hawaii over the Christmas season so as to avoid past criticism for NOT participating in seasonal
White House religious events.
* It was you who was uncharacteristically quick to join the chorus of the Muslim Brotherhood to depose Egypt's Hosni
Mubarak, formerly America's strongest ally in North Africa; but, remain muted in your non-response to the Brotherhood
led slaughter of Egyptian Christians.
* It was you who appointed your chief adviser, Valerie Jarrett, an Iranian, who is a member of the Muslim Sisterhood, an
off-shoot of the Muslim Brotherhood.
* It was you who said this country is not a Christian nation.
#3
All roads lead back to #Renegade.
If you don't know, you know now - that was his SS alias.
When you take out the head vampire, the whole coven collapses. The Boss Fight needs to happen.
[JustTheNews] A gun was found in a backpack on the day of Trump's address to a joint session of Congress and the Capitol Police watchdog has been asked to probe whether or how a person evaded metal detectors on Inauguration Day when Trump spoke to Congress.
Congress is investigating two security incidents that allegedly occurred on the days when President Donald Trump made his two most recent speeches at the U.S. Capitol this year, at least one involving a gun and another raising concerns about whether a metal detector was evaded, a House official told Just the News.
House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil, R-Wis., disclosed on Monday night that the reported incidents have been referred for investigation to the U.S. Capitol Police Inspector General's office.
"There are serious allegations as to what you just mentioned, regarding individuals who have attempted or who have brought weapons into the United States Capitol," Steil told the "Just the News, No Noise" television show. "There is a full investigation ongoing into this. We have an inspector general report due in the near future."
FULL TRANSPARENCY
The most recent episode was on March 4 and recorded in a Capitol Police incident report. That report described a gun in a backpack, while the earlier — and as of yet, unproven — episode dating to Trump's Inauguration Day on Jan. 20 is not in a police file but was recently brought to the attention of congressional leaders by the House sergeant-at-arms, officials said Monday.
Asked whether both incidents involved guns, Steil demurred but promised full transparency when the inquiry is over.
"I don't want to get ahead of that investigation, but what I am committed to is making sure that we keep the U.S. Capitol campus both open to the American public, so that they can come and meet with their members of Congress, but also secure so those visitors, members and staff members are all safe," said Steil, whose panel has oversight of Capitol security.
THE GUN INCIDENT
A Capitol Police report reviewed by Just the News confirms that a suspect tried to enter a House office building on the Capitol campus on March 4 — the day of Trump's address to a joint session of Congress — when an X-ray machine flagged a possible weapon inside the person's backpack.
"The Suspect was detained by A/O, while R/O conducted a physical search of the backpack," the report said. "R/O discovered a handgun with a 15 round capacity magazine loaded with 13 rounds of ammunition. The Suspect was placed under arrest and transported to Headquarters for processing," the report said.
The report added that police "conducted an inquiry with MPD Gun Registration Unit which revealed the Suspect has an active Concealed Carry License for the District of Columbia, and the firearm has a valid registration." The suspect was not identified by name.
Officials said lawmakers are still concerned that the suspect was not authorized to enter the Capitol complex with a gun — which requires permission — and also about evidence suggesting the person may have brought the same gun into the complex at least one earlier time without being stopped.
House Speaker Mike Johnson's office said Monday it is aware of the March 4 "gun" incident.
"The Speaker's Office is aware of the incident — and will work with the relevant House Committees to obtain much-needed answers," Johnson's office said in a written statement to Just the News. "These allegations represent another serious security breach and they will be thoroughly investigated and appropriately addressed."
THE "METAL DETECTOR INCIDENT"
The same officials said Monday that lawmakers also were recently alerted by the House sergeant at arms to an allegation of an earlier security incident in which a woman who entered the Capitol on Inauguration Day allegedly avoided going through a metal detector.
Because that person has ties to law enforcement there is additional concern she may have been carrying a weapon, but officials cautioned there has been no definitive finding yet by the Capitol Police Inspector General. The incident has not been proven to have occurred.
Capitol Police told Just the News it has no official records of such an incident occurring on Jan. 20. “We have no indication that any of this is true or accurate,” the USCP Public Information Office told Just the News. Additionally, “No complaints were presented to the Chief or our Office of Professional Responsibility.”
The office referred any further requests to the Capitol Police Inspector General. The inspector general's office, which is an independent body, did not immediately return a request for comment Monday evening.
CHAIN OF SECURITY LAPSES
The inquiry into alleged security lapses at the inaugural address for the incoming president and then his official address to a joint session of Congress comes after major security failures were identified by investigators during the 2024 election surrounding two assassination attempts against Trump. The one in Butler, Pennsylvania, was less than an inch from being fatal and wounded his ear. Another attempt was stopped before it could start in Florida.
After these incidents, the Secret Service has endeavored to ramp up the president’s security in the face of significant threats, including assassination plots from the regime in Iran.
The Secret Service referred Just the News to Capitol Police for any comment, including whether the presidential security agency was alert to either allegation.
Security risks for legislators too
Similarly, a Democratic congressional staffer was arrested at a House office building for attempting to bring several rounds of ammunition through a secure entrance. The staffer, identified as Michael Hopkins, told law enforcement that he forgot the magazines were in his bag.
Hopkins served as the communications director for Rep. Joe Morelle, D-N.Y., and is facing charges for unlawful possession of ammunition and a high-capacity magazine. He was subsequently terminated from his position.
THE JANUARY 6 RIOTS SPARK SCRUTINY
The Capitol Police have faced scrutiny recently after congressional investigators discovered major security failures during and related to the Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol Building, showing that the police force dedicated to protecting Members of Congress and the legislative building sometimes struggled to do so.
For example, Just the News previously reported on several incidents during the Jan. 6 riot including officers abandoning a bag full of plastic handcuffs which were subsequently used by protestors, leaving a Capitol Building door unlocked for protesters to enter, and a failure to adequately address intelligence warnings in the lead-up to the riot.
Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., who led that inquiry, released a report in December that alleged that the largely Democrat-led Jan. 6th Select Committee “wholeheartedly failed to address security failures on January 6, 2021.” Loudermilk warned, “As a result, the Capitol is no safer today than it was at the creation of the Select Committee."
The Capitol Police also faces scrutiny from congressional Republicans about the officer who shot Jan. 6 protestor Ashli Babbitt after they discovered the officer, Captain Michael Byrd, had a lengthy disciplinary record that included firearm-related incidents.
He was never charged with criminal wrongdoing and internal Capitol Police emails show that in the wake of the shooting, Democratic House leadership pressed the Capitol Police to provide financial assistance and other support to Byrd that far surpassed any benefits offered to other officers, Just the News previously reported.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Kirill Semenov
[REGNUM] Israel resumed its offensive against Hamas on Tuesday, breaking a two-month truce, but as before, most of the victims were civilians. The attacks hit across the Strip, including Khan Younis and Rafah in the south, Gaza City in the north, and central areas such as Deir al-Balah. And the list of targets appears to be growing. Yes. So very satisfying.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the military to take “decisive action” against Hamas over its refusal to release all prisoners held in Israel. “From now on, Israel will act against Hamas with increasing military force,” the prime minister’s office said in a statement. The Israeli military said it was carrying out “ massive strikes against terrorist targets ” belonging to Hamas and ordered civilians in several areas to evacuate, raising fears of further mass displacement.
NEW VICTIMS
It is significant that Israel does not deny that the country’s leadership, by going for escalation, itself violated the terms of the agreement with Hamas and explained this by some kind of preventive actions against terrorist attacks being prepared by the movement.
In particular, an unnamed Israeli official told CNN on Tuesday that the massive attack in the Gaza Strip was "preemptive" and said the strikes "will continue as long as necessary and will go beyond airstrikes."
The official declined to provide any details about what he said was Hamas's "readiness to carry out terrorist attacks, build up its forces and rearm," but said the strikes targeted the group's "mid-military command, leadership and terrorist infrastructure."
At the same time, according to the most preliminary data, 404 Palestinians were killed and 562 wounded as a result of the actions of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in just the past 24 hours.
Gaza's Health Ministry said many children were among those killed in the attacks. "More than 130 children and many women" were killed, including entire families, Gaza Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal said.
Video footage from Gaza showed scenes of panic and chaos across the strip, with relatives carrying wounded loved ones covered in bloody blankets to overcrowded hospitals and rescue workers transporting patients in ambulances or on stretchers. The strikes resumed after some Gazans had already returned to their destroyed homes. Many had buried loved ones, while others were searching for any information about missing family members and friends.
The official number of missing people in Gaza is unknown, but it is estimated that 14,222 people are still under the rubble of destroyed buildings, while the total number of Palestinian deaths since October 2023 has already exceeded 50,000.
And now the Palestinians of Gaza are once again facing another terrible ordeal. How long it will last, no one can predict yet, but it is clear that one of the main goals of the strikes was to put pressure on the civilian population.
"PREEMPTIVE" STRIKE
Hamas has already stressed that it views Israel's attacks as a unilateral breach of the agreements and a cancellation of the deal and the truce that came into effect on January 19.
"Netanyahu and his extremist government are deciding to cancel the ceasefire agreement, exposing prisoners in Gaza to an unknown fate," Hamas said in a statement. The movement is calling on people in Arab and Islamic countries, as well as " free people of the world " to take to the streets to protest the attack.
Hamas has strongly rejected Israeli claims that it has violated the Gaza ceasefire and is preparing attacks on Israel, and has apparently chosen not to respond militarily hours after Israel resumed fighting in Gaza.
The movement said that the claims that Hamas was preparing to attack Israeli troops were " baseless " pretexts to justify Israel's return to war and were intended to " mislead public opinion."
Western journalists, including CNN, agree, noting that Hamas has been known to refrain from attacking Israel or its soldiers in Gaza since the ceasefire went into effect on January 19.
However, Israel's actions have already been approved by the White House. Thus, White House press secretary Caroline Levitt said that Israel consulted with US President Donald Trump about the strikes.
"As President Trump has made clear, Hamas, the Houthis and all those who seek to terrorize not only Israel but the United States of America will pay a price," she told Fox News.
TRUMP APPROVES
The attacks on Gaza come at a time when the United States itself has launched a major air offensive against Yemen's Houthis from the Ansar Allah movement, subjecting Yemen to its heaviest bombing since 2015. So the actions of Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu in many ways seem coordinated.
Netanyahu expects that the resumption of attacks will finally crush the Palestinians' will to resist and force them to accept Trump's plan, launching the process of their gradual deportation from the Strip. Against the backdrop of the bombing of Gaza, directions for their eviction will also be selected.
Trump, for his part, must neutralize the Houthis, who are essentially the last combat-ready element of the “axis of resistance,” which can not only block shipping in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Red Sea, but also strike directly at Israeli territory.
At this stage of the conflict, Ansar Allah is the only “link” in the axis that is capable of supporting Hamas not only in words but also in deeds.
Therefore, the current attacks on Gaza can be seen as an attempt to change the terms of the deal that Israel initially agreed to under US pressure.
However, Trump, perhaps inspired by his plan to “reconstruct” Gaza, felt that the deal was no longer relevant and could simply be thrown in the trash.
It is also clear that the initial agreements between Hamas and Israel may have been a deceptive maneuver on the part of Netanyahu and Trump. Their main goal was to try to return as many Israeli prisoners as possible during the first stage of the deal, and then resume hostilities.
Many experts warned about this, whose opinions were reflected in the publications of the REGNUM news agency.
BURIED DEAL
Let us recall that in the first stage of the deal, which was supposed to last 42 days, Hamas committed to freeing 33 prisoners: minors, women (both civilians and military personnel) and civilian men over 50 years of age.
In exchange, Israel promised to release 30 Palestinian prisoners for every civilian hostage and 50 for every female soldier.
Israeli forces were to withdraw from densely populated areas to the outskirts of the Gaza Strip, additional UN aid would be sent to the enclave, and displaced Palestinians would begin to return home.
On the 16th day, negotiations are expected to begin on the implementation of the second stage, which is also planned to last 42 days and will include a declaration of “sustainable calm.”
At this stage, Hamas is to release the remaining male captives (soldiers and civilians) in exchange for an as yet unagreed number of Palestinian prisoners and the beginning of a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, which is to be completed by the end of the second stage.
However, Israel, instead of continuing to implement the terms of the deal and start negotiations on the second stage, refused and demanded an extension of the first stage and the release of all Israeli prisoners. And Donald Trump supported it in this.
ALTERNATIVE PLAN
Continuing the ceasefire and moving to Phase 2 of the deal was unacceptable to Israel, as it required an end to the war and left room for Hamas to govern Gaza, while the organization's militias would continue to act as a "shield" for the strip and pose a constant threat to Israel.
That is why Steve Witkoff's alternative plan emerged - a transition to a new ceasefire, but with an extension of stage 1. However, Hamas could no longer agree to this, and the Arab countries continued to demand a transition to stage 2.
Trump, for his part, is obsessed with his Gaza reconstruction plan and was also outraged by the Arab League's alternative plan, which did not take into account American recommendations regarding the eviction of Palestinians from Gaza and the complete elimination of Hamas.
As Israeli analyst Zvi Barel wrote : " Israel does not appear to be seeking an administrative or diplomatic solution to the Hamas presence in Gaza. Based on statements by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his ministers, Israel's goals are to destroy Hamas and perpetuate its own control over Gaza 'for as long as necessary.'
Thus, Arab proposals for the governance of Gaza by Arab or multinational forces, not to mention the Palestinian Authority, are not part of the plans that Israel intends to accept.”
Therefore, from Netanyahu’s point of view, and Trump’s as well, a renewed military campaign against Hamas was inevitable.
The Arab countries refused to directly state the need to destroy the movement, and any future for Gaza with Hamas was unacceptable to Washington and Tel Aviv. Moreover, it was unacceptable with the Palestinians, who must leave Gaza.
Despite the refusal of Arab states to accept Palestinians from Gaza, Israel and the United States continued to work out a “program” for their exodus.
In particular, back in early February, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed the IDF to prepare a plan that would allow residents of the Gaza Strip to “voluntarily leave” the Palestinian region and “go to any country willing to accept them.”
"The plan will include options for exit through border crossings, as well as special mechanisms for sea and air routes," Katz wrote on social media.
FRIGHTENING DYNAMICS
Naturally, in order to force the Palestinians to start fleeing the Strip, it is necessary to once again create conditions that will force them to live under constant threat of life, hunger and other deprivations. And so another wave of massive bombings should push the Palestinians to become more “responsive” to Trump’s plan. Residents of Gaza, according to this logic, should demand that the international community start taking them to countries that are ready to accept them. Perhaps, against the backdrop of new barbaric attacks, such countries will indeed be found.
It is not yet clear whether the attacks will continue for a longer period of time or whether the US and Israel are trying to persuade Hamas to accept the Witkoff plan, which includes extending the ceasefire in exchange for the release of prisoners without moving to the second stage. But it is clear that the US-Israeli tandem does not intend to take into account anyone's alternative opinion in the region, even if it is Trump's closest allies, such as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Trump believes that he is capable of setting the rules of the game in the Middle East, changing his own decisions and imposing new ones that he deems necessary.
He offers talks to Iran in exchange for its silence over events in Gaza and Yemen.
He is forcing Saudi Arabia to resolve the Houthi problem by force, which Riyadh seemed to have abandoned completely. Trump is saying to the Saudis: let's go back to war and drive these Houthis out of Sana'a, and that will be better for Saudi Arabia than peace with them.
This approach and this dynamic for the Middle East look frightening in many ways.
It is very difficult to predict where Trump's games will lead the region. But in any case, such steps by the US-Israel tandem do not add optimism to other Middle Eastern states. Tehran has less and less incentive to believe in Trump's readiness to fulfill the obligations he will undertake if negotiations on Iran's nuclear program begin with Russia's mediation.
This means that the risk of Israeli strikes on Iran, retaliatory actions by Tehran and, consequently, a full-scale war in the region is increasing.
#1
It seems that the author of this article is unaware that there are a number of Israelis who are being held against their will. By the Gazans. Are the Israelis supposed to send chocolates?
Israel on Tuesday vowed to intensify its attacks on terrorist targets in the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... Strip unless Hamas ..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",... returned to "genuine" negotiations to free the remaining hostages, as the military continued its large-scale bombing campaign that began in the early morning hours.
The strikes, killing at least 400 Paleostinians according to Hamas health authorities, including several top members of the terror group, brought a fragile ceasefire in Gaza to an end after nearly two months of relative calm in the war-torn Paleostinian enclave.
After a large wave of overnight Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s on Hamas and 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... targets, the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet security agency said on Tuesday afternoon the strikes during the day had targeted cells of terror operatives, rocket-launching positions, weapons, and other military infrastructure.
The weapons and infrastructure were to have been used by the terror groups in planned attacks on Israel, the military added.
The IDF also announced that it had eliminated the de-facto prime minister of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip and several other brass hats in the terror group in strikes on Tuesday.
The military released footage of some of the overnight strikes, which according to the IDF targeted mid-level Hamas commanders, members of the terror group’s politburo, and its infrastructure. Islamic Jihad members and infrastructure were also targeted.
The initial wave of airstrikes lasted less than 10 minutes, according to the military.
At 2:10 a.m. the order was given, and fighter jets dropped their bombs on numerous targets within two minutes, while drone and attack helicopter strikes took another eight minutes. In all, the IDF says some 80 targets were struck.
The strikes were planned in advance, and the IDF said it took into account the hostages being held by Hamas. Military representatives spoke with the families of hostages overnight and updated them on the developments.
The IDF has repeatedly said amid the war it does not target areas in Gaza where it suspects hostages are being held. Still, some hostages have been killed by Israeli strikes, according to the IDF’s own investigations.
NEW RULES
Earlier today, Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Hamas that Israel’s actions would "intensify."
Defense Minister Israel Katz said that "the murderous Hamas needs to understand: If they do not release all our hostages, our blows will intensify."
The remarks, provided by his office, were made during an assessment with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, and other officials on Tuesday morning.
Later in the day, during a visit to the Tel Nof Airbase, Katz said that Israel would not end the fighting against Hamas until all of the hostages were returned.
"Hamas must realize that the rules of the game have changed, and if it does not immediately release all the hostages, the gates of hell will open, and it will find itself facing the full intensity of the IDF in the air, sea, and land, until its complete elimination," he said.
"We will not stop fighting until all the hostages are returned home and all threats to the southern residents are removed," he added, according to remarks provided by his office.
An Israeli official told The Times of Israel that Jerusalem has a concrete plan "to move forward" with its military campaign in Gaza, adding that "if at any point the other side decides to go back to genuinely negotiating, and we go back to genuine talks, then we’ll stop [the offensive]. At the moment, we’re left without any choice."
A separate Israeli official told the Israel Hayom newspaper that Israel’s goal in the renewed air campaign in Gaza is to push Hamas to agree to the original "Witkoff proposal" for hostage talks.
The outline, attributed by Israel to US special envoy Steve Witkoff, would see half the hostages released at the beginning of an extension of the ceasefire, which would extend till after Passover in mid-April. The rest would be released if an agreement is reached on ending the war.
"Without small releases of hostage and without games, the goal is to get everyone out," the official said.
"Israel waited three weeks for Hamas to begin serious talks on the Witkoff outline," the official added. "That didn’t happen."
Israel’s return to fighting in Gaza was "fully coordinated" with the United States Israeli government front man David Mencer said at a press briefing Tuesday, adding that "Israel has thanked President [Donald] Trump and his administration for their unyielding support."
Speaking in Jerusalem to members of AIPAC’s board of directors, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said the decision to resume attacks in Gaza was made "several days ago," adding that the strikes would continue beyond Tuesday.
Witkoff "made two different proposals and Hamas rejected both of them," Sa’ar said. "We found ourselves at a dead end, with no hostages released and no military action. This is a situation that cannot continue."
"This is not a one-day attack," Sa’ar emphasized, adding that the operation would continue "over the coming days."
Hundreds killed, including senior Hamas officials, Islamic Jihad front man
According to the Hamas-run health ministry — which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. — the corpse count from the past day of Israeli strikes in Gaza reached 404 and at least 562 people were maimed, as a front man for the Red Thingy said that many medical facilities in the Gaza Strip are "overwhelmed" after Israel resumed its bombing of the territory.
The figures could not be verified.
"What we heard from Paleostine Crescent colleagues this morning is that many medical facilities are literally overwhelmed across Gaza," Tommaso Della Longa, front man for the International Federation of Red Thingy and Red Islamic Thingy Societies, said at a briefing in Geneva.
While Hamas claimed that Israel’s resumption of attacks constituted a "massacre" of civilians, the group confirmed that at least four bigwigs were killed in the IDF strikes overnight.
Hamas announced the deaths of Issam Da’alis, the head of the governmental activity monitoring committee, a position roughly akin to prime minister; Ahmad al-Khatta, the director-general of Hamas’s justice ministry; Mahmoud Abu Watfa, who headed the terror group’s interior ministry, responsible for Hamas’s police and internal security services in Gaza; and Bahjat Abu Sultan, head of Hamas’s internal security forces.
In a statement, the IDF said it targeted and killed those four senior Hamas officials, as part of the wide-scale bombing campaign against dozens of targets in the Gaza Strip since early Tuesday morning.
The IDF said the strikes were aimed at "causing a blow to the military and governmental capabilities of the Hamas terror organization, and remove a threat to the State of Israel and its citizens."
Da’alis, the de-facto Hamas prime minister, had replaced Rawhi Mushtaha following his killing by Israel in July 2024.
The military said that as part of his role, Da’alis was "entrusted with the functioning of the Hamas terror regime in the Gaza Strip" and coordinating all the branches of the organization.
The IDF said it could also confirm that al-Khatta, Abu Watfa, and Abu Sultan were killed in airstrikes on Tuesday.
Additionally, the spokesperson for the military wing of the Paleostinian Islamic Jihad terror group, known by the nom de guerre Abu Hamza, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the central Gaza Strip on Tuesday, the terror group announced.
Abu Hamza, whose real name is Naji Abu Saif, was killed alongside his wife and several members of his family.
Despite the resumption of fighting, the IDF Home Front Command said it was easing some restrictions on civilians in southern Israel.
Following an assessment, the Home Front Command adjusted the activity scale in the Gaza border communities and some towns in the Western Negev and Western Lachish regions from "limited activity" to "partial activity."
This would allow schools and workplaces to operate as usual, provided an adequate bomb shelter can be reached in time.
Gatherings were also now limited to 100 people outdoors and 500 people indoors, though beaches remain closed, according to the latest Home Front Command guidelines.
’I HAVEN’T SLEPT A SINGLE MINUTE SINCE YESTERDAY’
Following the collapse of the ceasefire and the ongoing strikes on Gaza, one Paleostinian civilian told The Times of Israel: "I’m more scared today than I have been in the past year and three months of war. The airstrikes seem more random today than they were before," he said.
One Paleostinian described the early Tuesday strikes as "terrifying."
"There were airstrikes all night. I don’t understand which side broke the ceasefire, some say it was Hamas, others say it was Israel," he told The Times of Israel. His only wish, he added, is "to have a ceasefire. We want peace. We want to live a life of dignity."
Until you have suffered as much as the remaining hostages, we are uninterested. And you had the chance for a ceasefire, but Hamas insisted on playing games. Now your only choice is complete and abject surrender.
The man, who wished to remain anonymous, is originally from northern Gaza but relocated to central Gaza with his close family at the start of the war, following IDF evacuation orders.
On Tuesday he told The Times of Israel he is considering returning north due to the renewed strikes. "It’s not safe there, but I want to be with my family and friends, to be near them." However,
a woman is only as old as she admits... he noted that many others are attempting to move to safer areas within Gaza due to the escalating strikes.
Another Paleostinian, Basel al-Qaran, originally from Gaza but who had lived in Israel for the past 12 years before being recently deported back to Gaza,
…one notes that Israel only would deport him to Gaza if he broke the law…
shared his experience: "I’m in al-Shuka, Rafah, near the Israeli border. Everyone has already left the area. I have no food or water; I’m fasting. I haven’t slept a single minute since yesterday. I have no one, I’m completely alone."
On Tuesday morning, the IDF issued evacuation warnings to Paleostinians living on the edges of the Gaza Strip. Footage showed some residents leaving their homes in eastern and northern Gaza.
Regarding the strikes, al-Qaran added: "The noises were unbearable. The light from the airstrikes was incredibly close to me last night. I’m seeing things I’ve never seen before. There was an airstrike on a house near me with 21 people inside — only two made it out alive. I’m still in shock."
Another Paleostinian in Gaza who wishes to remain anonymous told The Times of Israel: "The situation in Gaza is terrifying and difficult. We have nothing to do with this escalation—we are civilians."
If you have not overthrown Hamas and organized a surrender to Israel, you’ll have to wait until Israel handles that for you.
Much of Gaza now lies in ruin after 15 months of fighting, which erupted on October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led button men attacked Israeli communities around the Gaza Strip, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, amid horrific acts of brutality, and abducting 251 hostages into Gaza.
The Israeli campaign in response has killed more than 48,000 people, according to Paleostinian health authorities, and destroyed much of the housing and infrastructure in the enclave, including the hospital system. Israel says it has killed some 20,000 combatants in battle as of January and another 1,600 faceless myrmidons inside Israel on October 7.
More strikes reported in Gaza, as death toll said to mount
[IsraelTimes] Gazan sources report ongoing airstrikes in several areas of the Strip, as an overnight bombardment appears to continue apace. Attacks by Israeli aircraft are reported around Khan Younis in Gaza’s south, as well as several areas south of Gaza City near the northern end of the Strip. At least 10 deaths are reported in the strikes. Quds news, a Gazan outlet linked to Hamas, says the death toll in the renewed Israeli offensive is up to 429. Hamas-controlled health authorities had earlier put the death toll at 408. Neither figure can be confirmed.
There is no comment from the Israeli military. Israeli officials said Tuesday that the army was only firing on terror targets.
Three hours earlier:
Fresh airstrikes reported across Gaza
[IsraelTimes] Gaza-based sources report a fresh wave of Israeli strikes from the air on areas around the Strip, including attacks from helicopter gunships near Khan Younis in southern Gaza. Airstrikes are also reported in al-Bureij in central Gaza and in the al-Tuffah area east of Gaza City in the Strip’s north. There is no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the reported strikes.
The view from Yemen:
Israeli captive killed, two others injured in renewed Israeli aggression on Gaza
[HodhodYemenNews] An Israeli captive was killed in Gaza and two others were wounded, following the renewed Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, which began at dawn Tuesday, and which resulted in hundreds of martyrs and wounded among Palestinian civilians.
A Hamas leader told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed newspaper that an Israeli captive was killed and two others were injured in the Israeli bombardment of Gaza. The unnamed leader emphasized that Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu’s main goal is to get rid of the Israeli captives.
“The Movement agreed to the proposal of the American envoy Adam Boehler, and was surprised by (Steve) Witkoff’s proposal,” he said, stressing that Hamas has fulfilled all commitments since the beginning of the ceasefire agreement.
The Israeli occupation army resumed its aggression on the Gaza Strip at dawn Tuesday, in a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement, as air strikes targeted various areas in the Gaza Strip, killing at least 342 Palestinians and injuring hundreds of others, on the 58th day of the ceasefire agreement.
In the latest field developments, medical sources reported the martyrdom of more than 342 martyrs, including 179 from Gaza City and the northern Gaza Strip – in a preliminary toll – and dozens of casualties in Israeli air strikes targeting several areas in the Gaza Strip.
Zionist airstrikes kill Al-Quds Brigades spokesman in Gaza
[HodhodYemenNews] Naji Abu Saif, also known as Abu Hamza, the spokesman for the Al-Quds Brigades, the military arm of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, has been killed in a fresh wave of Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.
The strikes also killed his wife and several family members in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
The movement condemned the “treacherous and spiteful assassination,” accusing the “Nazi-Zionist criminal entity” of carrying out the attack with the support, encouragement, and funding of the US administration, while the world remained in “cowardly silence.”
“The martyred spokesperson was known as a voice of the resistance, fearing no reproach in his devotion to Allah, eloquent in his speech, and courageous in his heroic positions in defense of the resistance and the rights of our people, never wavering in his stance,” the movement said in a statement.
It added that the attack “will only strengthen our determination to continue defending our people and their rights until the goals of this aggression are completely thwarted.
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[FoxNews] The Trump administration has made deporting Venezuelan gang members a top priority
Venezuela will face "severe, and escalating sanctions" if it refuses to accept its citizens who have been deported from the United States, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday.
The tough warning comes as the Trump administration seeks to ramp up deportations of Venezuelans living illegally in the U.S. and to need a temporary residency program for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans, which could pave the way for them to lose their legal status.
Many of those with protected status migrated to the U.S. amid Venezuela's economic collapse under the authoritarian rule of President Nicolas Maduro.
"Venezuela is obligated to accept its repatriated citizens from the U.S. This is not an issue for debate or negotiation," Rubio wrote on X. "Nor does it merit any reward. Unless the Maduro regime accepts a consistent flow of deportation flights, without further excuses or delays, the U.S. will impose new, severe, and escalating sanctions."
The threat came days after Richard Grenell, President Donald Trump's special envoy tasked with securing the release of six U.S. citizens imprisoned in Venezuela, said the Maduro government had agreed to accept repatriation flights.
Maduro agreed to accept his citizens after initially refusing to do so.
In February, Trump ended a permit to export oil to allow Chevron to export oil from Venezuela to the U.S. In doing so, Trump noted that Maduro's government had not met benchmarks to promote free and fair elections.
The Trump administration is fighting to deport Venezuelan gang members back to their country. Over the weekend, 238 Venezuelan gang members were flown to a high-security prison in El Salvador despite a federal judge’s order temporarily blocking the deportations.
During an interview on Fox News Radio, Rubio thanked El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele for accepting the migrants.
"Venezuela should be taking them, but they refuse to take them. And so, we are fortunate to have a friend like President Bukele who, as part of my meeting with him said we will take them for a fraction of what it costs you guys to house them in your own prison system," he said.
"I think it was a very helpful thing that El Salvador did for us and President Bukele, and we’re grateful to him for it. And frankly, I feel like we should continue to do it," he added.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
03/19/2025 11:19
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Top||
#4
Oh, it's Monday/Wednesday/Friday... you and the banks in Andorra suddenly _like_ Putin's proxies and cronies such as the so-called government of Venezuela again.
#5
Well, if the banks in Andorra aid and abet terrorists by refusing to assist, and then suddenly are removed from existence along with their entire board of directors, the point will get across.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
03/19/2025 18:52
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#7
Actually Andorra is no longer a problem, but the commie kleptocrats have more powerful friends. So I'd be interested in sanctions that really hit them, not the already penniless people.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
03/19/2025 19:21
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Top||
#1
QUESTIONS: Why were so many files kept hidden at the FBI NYC location?
Instead of being held in the National Archives?
Whereby US law, they should have been kept!
Have all the files been collected or are there other hidden locations that have not been leaked yet. "Site R", Utah, or ????
PLUS, as we know already.
This was NOT a 100% release of all files.
The DC Swamp is holding a large number of files, using the old catch generic excuse of National Security and etc. to avoid release?
ANOTHER QUESTION: After 60 Years, what could still be a National Security secret?
Could it be the M.I.C., LBJ, DC Swamp and the _ _ _ planned it?
"Before diving into the detailed analysis of new players, timelines, and motives, I’ll address your question about who I’d guess was responsible for JFK’s death, based on all available knowledge—including the simulated review of the 31,419-page unreleased JFK assassination files and the broader historical context up to March 18, 2025."
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] Ukrainian troops are being withdrawn primarily to preserve personnel, the command says.
The defense forces have retreated on one of the sections of the front in Donetsk Oblast, reported the commander of the tactical group, Lieutenant General Sergey Nayev. According to him, our fighters have abandoned disadvantageous positions.
REASONS FOR WITHDRAWAL
The general noted that the main mission is to save the lives of Ukrainian defenders.
"The most important thing for the command is to preserve the lives and health of personnel. Therefore, in one of the sections of the front, a decision was made to withdraw forces and resources from unfavorable positions," Nayev writes.
According to him, this decision made it possible not only to save the lives of soldiers, but also to improve our defense.
"The enemy is suffering losses, and we have the opportunity to act more effectively," he explained.
Over the past month, thanks to the coordinated actions of reconnaissance personnel, drone operators, artillerymen, mortarmen, tank crews and infantry, more than 30 units of Russian armored vehicles and more than 2,000 enemy soldiers have been destroyed.
According to the commander, this significantly reduced the intensity of enemy attacks on this line.
WHAT GROUP DOES NAEV COMMAND?
The general did not specify where exactly in the Donetsk region the Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers retreated.
At the same time, in February, the media reported that Naev had been appointed commander of the Velikaya Novosyolka tactical group. The officer himself announced his "arrival at the site of combat missions" on February 13.
According to both Russian and Ukrainian sources, the Russian army has been actively advancing in this area recently.
Velyka Novosilka is an important defense hub for the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Donetsk Oblast. The settlement is located on the Vremivka salient (an intrusion of the Russian army near the suburbs of Velyka Novosilka, the village of Vremivka), which is of strategic importance to both sides due to its location on the border of the Zaporizhia and Donetsk Oblasts. According to military publics, the Russians have been putting pressure there lately.
SITUATION AT THE FRONT
At the end of January, the Russian Defense Ministry announced the capture of Velikaya Novosyolka. The enemy claimed that it had occupied the settlement "as a result of active offensive actions." However, at that time, the Ukrainian Armed Forces stated that they had avoided encirclement and were holding part of the strategically important city.
In its daily report today, the General Staff reported that on March 17, in the Seversky, Kramatorsk, Toretsky, Pokrovsky and Novopavlovsky directions, our defenders repelled 93 enemy attacks.
The enemy's losses over the past 24 hours amounted to 1,560 soldiers.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[NewsFront] 21:37 «Donbass partisan»:
Kupyansk direction: expansion of the Russian Armed Forces bridgehead and advancement into the depths of the Ukrainian Armed Forces defense
– In the Kupyansk direction, Russian troops continue their offensive actions, strengthening control over key settlements and increasing pressure on the Ukrainian defense along the Oskol River.
As a result of active military operations, the Russian Armed Forces managed to expand the control zone to 700 meters in the Kamenka area, creating conditions for further advancement deep into the Ukrainian defense.
- At the same time, Russian units are developing an offensive along the riverbed in the Dvurechnaya area, where the control zone has been expanded to 400 meters. This area is strategically important, since it provides pressure on the Ukrainian Armed Forces group in Dvurechnaya and prevents the enemy from regrouping.
- Russian assault units have advanced towards the settlements of Kondrashovka, Tischenkivka and Malaya Shapkovka, consolidating their positions in the captured areas. The battles for Kondrashivka are important because this settlement controls the supply routes of Ukrainian forces in the northwestern section of the Kupyansk direction.
- In addition, the Russian Armed Forces continued to expand the control zone in the Petropavlovka area, increasing it to 1000 meters, which complicates the defense of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and creates conditions for further advancement. The Russian Armed Forces are building on their success, consistently expanding the control zone and forcing the enemy to retreat to less advantageous lines.
20:54 "North Wind" broadcasts:
During the attempt to attack the Belgorod border area, the IMR of the Ukrainian Armed Forces managed to move the "dragon's teeth" in the area of the settlement of Demidovka, however, the units of the Guards Forces "North" successfully pushed the enemy back to the border and are now escorting them towards the settlement of Maryino in the Sumy region, striking with strike UAVs, artillery, mortars and ATGMs.
The footage shows a group of Ukrainian Armed Forces militantsis tryingleave their positions, but the Severian kamikaze drone on fiber optics catches up with and eliminates the target
20:23 "North Wind"broadcasts:
Belgorod border area:
The enemy continues to invade the Belgorod region. At the moment, the score in this adventure is unconditionally in favor of the Fearless (one could say “a one-sided game”).
In the area of the settlement of Maryino, Sumy region, the following were destroyed: Tanks - 2 units; Armored fighting vehicles - 4 units; IMR - 1 unit;
In the area of the settlement Prilesye: Tanks - 1 unit; IMR - 1 unit;
In the area of the settlement Liptsy: BBM – 1 unit; UR-77 (mine clearing unit) – 1 unit.
The fight continues...
19:20 Ukrainian drone struck a school building in the village of Ryzhevka in the Rylsky District. As a result of the attack, the roof of the building was damaged and a fire broke out, which was quickly localized.
According to preliminary information, there are no casualties or injuries. No classes or other events are being held at the school.
19:15 Enemy continues attack on Krasnoyarsk district of Belgorod region, there are losses among the fighters
In the area of Repyakhovka, as a result of an FPV drone attack, a self-defense fighter received a mine-explosive injury and shrapnel wounds to the leg. He was taken to the Rakityanskaya Central District Hospital.
In Krasnaya Yaruga, a soldier of the Orlan unit died while performing combat missions. The man died of his injuries on the spot before the ambulance crew arrived. A bus caught fire in the village after a munition landed.
18:14 Artillery crews of 122mm BM-21 Grads of the North group of forces continue to carry out precise strikes on military installations, positions, fortifications and manpower of Ukrainian terrorist groups in the Khar'kov direction.
17:40 Airborne Forces servicemen liquidated Ukrainian military of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Sumy direction.
16:28 Military sappers started to demining the liberated territories in the Kursk border area.
16:06 Military personnel of the "Vostok" group evacuated civilians from liberated Constantinpol to the DPR due to constant shelling by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Ten civilians – an elderly couple, four children and four adults – hid in the basement of a destroyed house for more than a month due to indiscriminate shelling by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
14:50 Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue to defeat of the Ukrainian Armed Forces formations in the Kursk region.
During offensive operations, units of the North group of forces inflicted losses on formations of a mechanized unit, two airborne assault brigades, a naval infantry brigade and two territorial defense brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the areas of the settlements of Gogolevka, Gornal, Guevo and Oleshnya.
Strikes by operational-tactical and army aviation and artillery fire hit enemy manpower and equipment in the areas of the settlements of Basovka, Belovody, Veselovka, Vodolaghi, Zhuravka, Zapselye, Loknya, Miropolye, Mogritsa, Novenkoye, Sadki, Yunakovka and Yablonovka in Sumy Oblast.
Over the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have lost more than 270 servicemen, two tanks, an infantry fighting vehicle, two armored personnel carriers, an armored combat vehicle, 12 vehicles, six artillery pieces, four mortars and a counter-battery station, as well as four UAV control points and an ammunition depot. One Ukrainian serviceman has surrendered.
14:25 Around 13:15 Moscow time by air defense systems on duty destroyed Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle over the territory of Kursk region.
13:40 Investigators of the Russian Investigative Committee will investigate crimes committed by the Ukrainian Armed Forces against civilians in the Kherson and Belgorod regions, as well as the DPR.
According to reports from executive authorities, as a result of the shelling by the Armed Forces of the settlements of Oleshky and Rybalche in the Kherson region, a man and a child were wounded.
In the Central City District of Gorlovka, a man was injured as a result of shelling by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Two employees of the Russian Emergencies Ministry were injured when an explosive device was dropped from a UAV.
A man was injured in a UAV attack in Belgorod. In the Stepnoye settlement area of the Krasnoyarsk district, a Ukrainian Armed Forces FPV drone struck a truck. A civilian was injured. In the Yasnye Zori village, a civilian was injured by a detonated mine.
13:10 Attack aircraft of the "Southern" group of troops destroyed enemy strongholds in the Donetsk direction.
12:25 Summary of the Russian Ministry of Defense on the progress of the special military operation as of March 18, 2025
Ukrainian Armed Forces losses over the past daycompiledup to 1,310 military personnel, 18 vehicles, 11 armored combat vehicles, 5 pickups, 6 field artillery guns, 4 electronic warfare stations, ammunition depots and artillery guns.
Units of the North, West, South, Center, East and Dnepr groups of forces improved their tactical positions, defeating various formations of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in several areas. In particular, West attacked mechanized and assault brigades in the Khar'kov region, South attacked infantry and airmobile brigades in the Donetsk People's Republic, Center attacked naval infantry and the National Guard also in the DPR, East attacked motorized infantry and territorial defenses in the same areas, and Dnepr defeated coastal defense in the Zaporizhia and Kherson regions. North defeated formations of the mechanized brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces near the settlement of Vovchansk in the Khar'kov region.
Operational-tactical aviation, strike unmanned aerial vehicles, missile troops and artillery of the groups of troops of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation inflicted damage on oil industry facilities that provide support to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, military airfield infrastructure, storage and use sites for unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as concentrations of manpower and equipment of the armed formations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 146 districts.
11:40 UAV calculation of the "Southern" group of troops struck satellite communication station of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Seversky direction.
10:46 Specialists of the Rubicon Center are being carried around equipment and personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the South Donetsk direction
9:27 Armed Forces of Ukraine became active in the Belgorod border area
There are reports of increased enemy activity in the area of the state border in the Belgorod region.
At the moment, it is known that long-range weapons are actively operating on both sides. Also, there is information that in addition to infantry, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have deployed heavy armored vehicles, including mine clearing vehicles.
9:21 Armed Forces of Ukraine continue to attack civilian infrastructure of the left bank of the Kherson region
Yesterday afternoon, the Ukrainian Armed Forces fired 44 rounds from barrel artillery at populated areas of the Kherson region of the Russian Federation:
During the night, the Ukrainian Armed Forces continued artillery attacks in the Kherson region, firing a total of 15 rounds from barrel artillery. The following were subjected to shelling: Kozachi Lagerya, Golaya Prystan, Lyubimovka, Korsunka.
9:01 Artillerymen of the 18th Combined Arms Army with a sniper hit from a 122mm D-30 howitzer destroyed a camouflaged mortar and Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel under the Antonovsky Bridge on the right bank of the Dnieper
8:36 Frontline report for the morning of 03/18/2025
Zaporizhzhya Front. They continue fighting in Shcherbaki and Malye Shcherbaki. Russian troops are putting pressure on the Ukrainian Armed Forces' defense, slowly but surely taking over Ukrainian positions.
Donetsk Front. Heavy fighting continues here in several areas. North of Velyka Novosyolka, our troops continue to develop the offensive, but are facing serious resistance from the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The situation is similar in the Pokrovsk direction - fighting continues there in the area of Shevchenko, Kotlino, Peschanoye and Udachnoye. Often, the fighting is of a counter-attack nature, due to frequent enemy counterattacks. In Dzerzhinsk, Ukrainian troops continue to transfer their forces to urban development.
Chasov Yar direction. Russian troops continue assault operations in Chasov Yar. Fighting is taking place in several areas of the city. Enemy drones are actively operating.
Kursk region. Fighting continues in Gogolevka. There are tactical successes of Russian troops, but it is too early to talk about the complete liberation of the settlement. Also, fighting continues in the area of Guevo and Basovka in Sumy region. The Ukrainian Armed Forces are transferring reserves here. The probability of a counterattack by Ukrainian troops seems unlikely; most likely, additional forces were sent here to organize defense on the border.
8:00 Crew of TOS-1A “Solntsepek” of the 25th Combined Arms Army of the “West” group of forces destroyed a platoon stronghold in the area where a special operation is being carried out.
7:15 During the past night, air defense systems on duty destroyed and intercepted 46 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles:
– 41 UAVs – over the territory of the Belgorod region;
– Two UAVs – over the territory of the Bryansk region;
– Two UAVs – over the territory of the Kursk region;
– One UAV – over the territory of the Oryol region.
7:05 In terms of the number of civilians killed and injured, the past week was the bloodiest since the beginning of 2025, reported Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian Foreign Ministry for the Crimes of the Kyiv Regime Rodion Miroshnik.
Ukrainian shelling injured 152 civilians: 127 people were wounded, including 13 minors, 25 people were killed. The Ukrainian Armed Forces fired at least 1,827 rounds of ammunition at civilian targets in Russian territories
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Alexander Rokhlin
[REGNUM] The man in the portrait has a terrible, repulsive face. The beard, moustache and hair can still be tolerated - there were many of those shaggy, thick, wild ones back then. But the eyes... The eyes are fiercely sullen and piercingly, unnaturally alive. Eyes that yearn, suffer and burn with an unbearable, otherworldly un-light. Burning with fire.
It seems that if you continue to look for another moment, all the horror from these eyes will flow into yours and you will no longer exist. Because you will not be able to bear such internal pain. Not everyone is given it. He was given it…
A petite woman, more than of a respectable age, dressed elegantly, subtly and discreetly, just so that you have to look closely, look closely, see how the details of the costume and jewelry play, and only then gasp and shower compliments, comes out of the gate onto the street.
Frost -19. The village in a white shroud of snow, under a bright icy sun, the white-blue sky washed and cleaned like sheets, and starched by frost to a state close to paradise. We are in Siberia. We are so far away that there are no borders and there can't be any.
Now a sleigh with Petrusha Grinev will fly out from around the bend. Or fifty wild men led by Yermak Timofeevich. In extreme cases, a kibitka with Mr. Chichikov. Or suddenly a carriage with the royal family? Anything can be expected - the terrible, the beautiful, the unbearable.
There is a crowd of people at the gate. They could be from anywhere. From Brazil, China, Surinam, Paris, Uchkuduk, Tyumen and Spitsbergen. They have all come specifically to the village, whose life is completely unsophisticated and spread across the steppe like a thin film of butter. Between Tyumen and Tobolsk. And they are all going to this terrible man.
In a sense, he is an idol. An object of burning curiosity, admiration and worship for some, hostility and disgust for others. This has been the case for the last 110 years. Not calming down, not appeasing, still implacably and furiously.
But the only way to get to him, to this terrible and most famous of all living Russians, is through this tiny woman in a black fur coat. No other way. Because she has the key. She knows more about him than everyone else. But it's not about knowledge... Through her, this man with fierce eyes ceases to be an idol.
There is a stone near the fence. This is not a random boulder, but an important attribute. And the first thing the miniature woman does is climb onto this stone. It is very beautiful. Then she suddenly looks like the Girl on the Ball, the Princess on the Pea or Thumbelina on a water lily. But all this is lyricism. The stone by the road makes her taller by as much as 13 centimeters. Only then can the listeners see her, and not jump from behind the backs of those standing in front.
Marina Yuryevna Smirnova climbs up on a rock. And begins to speak. And then, believe me, I have seen and heard it twice, the entire steppe - from the Urals to the Yenisei - rises like a whirlwind above our heads, and the story that the little woman tells screws into our heads like a corkscrew.
It is very painful. It is almost unbearable to listen to. And it is impossible not to listen to it. That same force - fierce, terrible, shaggy - expressed in a beautiful, light, flying Russian word, presses you to the spot.
And people stand, not moving, all turning into hearing, following the word, like sheep following a shepherd, and will wake up from this haze only after two hours. With a heart torn in half.
But we don't know anything yet.
The most ordinary village street, a fence, a house, a stone by the road. All of them witnesses to the crime and the miracle that followed.
In the summer of 1914, a shaggy and bearded man went out into the street of his native village for the most ordinary of reasons - to send a telegram. A beggar woman approached him - a common occurrence: everyone knew that a crowd of people flocked to the man for alms and conversation.
But the beggar woman came for something else, she snatched a dagger from under her clothes and stabbed the "benefactor" with it. The blade entered the stomach by thirteen centimeters. A normal person dies. Shaggy survived.
Marina Yuryevna tells this story from the "height" of her pebble under her feet and in such detail that people start looking around, as if they expect to see a beggar with a dagger and a wounded man who will run another 180 meters before falling, picking up a stick on the road and knocking the knife out of the killer's hands. But there is no one there!
When Smirnova speaks, the shadows do not disappear at midday, but come to life. But as soon as Marina Yuryevna falls silent, the spell dissipates, and you see before you the most ordinary fence, gate, front garden, and a bare street not in dust, but in snow.
All those who have arrived in a crowd pass through the gate, now the main magic will begin. Because there, behind the gate, in theory, is the main thing. For the sake of which everyone has gathered.
The courtyard and house where Grigory Efimovich Rasputin lived.
But the yard is blatantly empty. That is, you expect to be immersed in authenticity, in the everyday Russian peasant chthonicity, but you see before you... You see nothing. A well frame, a woodshed, a toilet booth. And two five-wall houses. You stand in front of the near one, and the far one, although it looks old, "authentic", is not lived in, but rather heavily shell-shocked, tired of life. And disappointment begins.
Having climbed the steps of the porch, we enter the vestibule - there are photographs on the walls. They are of barely recognizable celebrities from a former life - politicians, musicians, astronauts, athletes, musicians. They also make up their own little "crowd" of visitors and those crowding in the corridor to get to Grigory.
We enter the Grigory Rasputin Museum in the village of Pokrovskoe, Yarkovsky District, Tyumen Oblast. This museum is death to aesthetes. It is organized in the most incorrect way. We expect expositions, exhibits, immersions and entertainment, but we end up in some gallery of a crazy collector.
Because 90% of the entire space in the two rooms is occupied by images of Grigory Efimovich Rasputin. The quality ranges from childishly home-grown to pompous parsun. Pencil drawings, oil paintings, beadwork, black-and-white and colored photographs, posters, postcards, calendars, movie posters, advertising banners, postal envelopes, vodka labels and icons. Rasputin looks at you from every corner, wall, window and curtain.
This is a hard-to-bear phenomenon. The appearance of the Tobolsk elder, to put it mildly, does not encourage contemplation. But this entire visual "nightmare" lasts exactly until Marina Yuryevna places a tiny stool under her feet - they were bought for bathrooms in a famous Swedish store - does not extend her pointer with a laser point, does not adjust the bracelet on her wrist and does not start telling a story...
Living speech is music. And it is impossible to "retell" music. Marina Yuryevna Smirnova is one of those rare people for whom the Russian language is a gift. Something incredibly integral, deep, beautiful, alive. A very rare person is able to speak the great and mighty language like that.
Science, space, life and everyday life – everything is present in it and none of it exhausts it. And she speaks easily, naturally, the words flow, filling you faster than air. And you stand as if enchanted. And you understand everything she talks about on some deeper level. Maybe this is what it means to understand with the heart?
What do you need to understand? She is a school teacher of Russian language and literature. She has been going out to the "public" with a pointer for almost 50 years. Hence the ability to "hold" attention with a death grip. And to enchant with beauty and meaning.
But if we put aside the lyricism. Strange as it may seem, but for all the hundred years since Rasputin's death, the terrible myth about his life and participation in the life of the imperial family has never been subjected to any reasonable doubt. It has only become increasingly overgrown with husk and riffraff.
Here, in a rural, purely private museum, made on the knee, on a kopeck, with a collection of colored postcards, a broken mirror, a lisping gramophone and a magical wooden chair, the husk and riff-raff are pouring out and falling off. The creepy old man suddenly acquires human features. And Smirnova's Russian language is to blame for this.
- My husband is to blame for this, - says Marina Yuryevna. - The museum was conceived and created, of course, by him. People ask me, how did this even come to your mind? And I answer: listen to men. And no one believes me.
Here I make a surprised face. Because I am sure - this is coquetry on her part, curtseys. Well, who else can co-exist as equals next to such a star as Smirnova? Marina Yuryevna's husband is neither seen nor heard. I could not imagine that that shabby man with a snow shovel at the gate, who let in a group of visitors and closed the gate with a hook, was Vladimir Lyubomirovich Smirnov.
To which Russian historical science owes at least the discovery of the exact date of Rasputin's birth. A date that the capital's historians, archivists, writers, etc. did not know. And everyone else that surrounds me in this museum, too. But it all started with one number.
It all started back in the last year of school, when tenth-graders Marina and Volodya meet each other. And it’s hard to imagine two people more different in character. Wave and stone, ice and fire. The brightest, most self-confident, knowing exactly and best “how it should be” Marina. And the quiet, focused, not public, thinking Vladimir.
The seventies of the 20th century. On TV - Kobzon and Leshchenko, in the kitchens - Vysotsky and Galich. Say one thing, think another, do a third. Or better yet, don't do anything at all.
But where does this interest come from in the head of the young historian Smirnov? Why is there no beginning to Rasputin's biography? And the newly minted history student shares this simple question with his girlfriend, a linguistics student. Rasputin is known in China and Jamaica, but in his homeland, in the funds of the Tyumen Museum of Local History, there are only two authentic documents with his name. One note and one photograph.
And she casually tells him - my grandmother is from this Pokrovka. That is, Rasputin is a fellow countryman. A secret conspiracy... They are seventeen or eighteen years old. As a historian, he was interested in finding at least something. He dug through the Tobolsk and Tyumen archives. And he says, let's go to the archive of the Yarkovsky district.
— And I contradicted him — quite reasonably: if there is none in the central ones, what good can there be in the backwaters?
But Vladimir Lyubomirovich took a regular bus to Yarkovo. And there a find awaited him - an authentic record with the date of birth of Grigory Rasputin.
That's where it all started. We started traveling. Writing down the memories of old people, collecting photographs.
And then, as Marina Yuryevna says, "time fell apart." Some went on an untimely bender, others went into business and began to fight for their well-being. And her "quiet" husband thoughtfully collected all the family money, took it out of the savings book, borrowed some more from his mother-in-law - and bought a house in Pokrovskoye. The house where Rasputin's parents once lived. (Grigory's own house was barbarically destroyed in 1980.)
A powerful investment. The investment looked incredible. A house without windows or doors, everything that could be taken away had been taken away, burdock and wormwood grass were in full growth.
- When he brought me here to show me the house, - says Marina Yuryevna, - I thought I would kill him. What did he spend all our savings on?! And he quietly, heartfeltly says to me. Marina, you are a smart person, but a complete fool. Believe me, people from all over the world will come to you. And I thought: I married an idiot. In our city, the mammoth museums are empty, no one goes. And here there are 100 km of broken roads. Who will go?! Who needs your leaflets and photographs?
“Where did he get such confidence in his own rightness?” I ask.
- From Count Dracula, - Marina Yuryevna answers. - Back in Soviet times, he went to socialist Romania on a trip. But everyone there was just hanging out in the shops, and he went to this Dracula's castle. So that he could tell me later on the steps of Rasputin's house.
There are names in the history of mankind that the whole world knows. Dracula, Casanova, Marco Polo. And our Pokrovsky peasant Rasputin is one of them.
You have to listen to a man! Could I have imagined that just a few years later, on the porch of this house, I would be pouring vodka for the Boneham ensemble and drinking with them for the remembrance of Grigory Efimovich's soul?!
They mow down burdocks, glaze windows, whitewash walls, make stands from scrap materials. They hang up photographs, found birth certificates, several icons. And all this when there are no salaries, a bag of frozen mushrooms in the refrigerator, and a sack of potatoes in the cellar. And that's all the food.
“I’m afraid to seem like an idiot,” Marina Yuryevna begins the next chapter, “but then the mysticism begins.”
One day, Marina's mother comes to her apartment and tells her that the director of the Tyumen Battery Plant has just called her - her mother is the only one with a home phone - and said that he is going to take foreign guests to Tobolsk, and on the way to show them the Rasputin Museum. At 6 am on Saturday, the newly-minted "museum workers" Smirnovs are already there. Marina Yuryevna has washed the floor. They are waiting for the foreigners. Somewhere around 11 am, a foreign car stops at the gate, respectable people get out. Austrians. With a translator.
They did not know what awaited them. And what awaited them was… Grigory Efimovich in the flesh. This is no longer about History with documents, but about a theater with braid. In the village of Pokrovskoe lived Viktor Fyodorovich Prolubshchikov, a local cultural and educational worker, an actor of the folk theater, a colorful personality. Smirnova, by her own admission, “burning with shame,” persuaded him to “work” as a hero. He put on a kosovorotka from theatrical props, his own cowhide boots, combed his beard and became eerily similar to Rasputin. Only much shorter.
She was giving a tour, telling something, and at the end she rang the bell that had once hung on the door of Rasputin's family. And then the Siberian Elder appeared before the Austrians. He came out sideways from behind the stove. In his hands was a plate of pancakes with pike caviar, pickles and glasses of vodka on a tray. And he offered to drink to the remembrance of Grigory Efimovich's soul.
It is clear that the effect is devastating. The plant director pays for the pancake show and the memorial service as much as the Smirnovs spent on the entire renovation of the museum. When leaving, the foreigners leave a written thank you. On an ordinary A4 sheet of paper, which Marina Yuryevna will put under the cover of the first Guest Book and forget about it for a long time. When the Book is filled, she will take off the cover and find that sheet of paper with the Austrian text.
And what is mystical about it? In the date. The Austrian visit took place on July 17, 1992. This is the day when the royal family was shot in 1918.
And then - thirty years of life. Real scientific research work, archives, documents, people, testimonies and books. And yes - queues of buses with tourists, delegations of the powerful, fame all over the world and not a penny of state money.
What does Marina Yuryevna talk about for two and a half hours? I would dare to say it this way - about the day of July 17, 1918.
About an event in which, like the sun in a drop, everything is contained - the life and death of her fellow countryman from the village of Pokrovskoe, the life and death of the Russian Tsar, his wife, his children, the death of the Empire and, as a consequence, the suffering of millions of Russian people, blood, tragic beauty and unfading questions.
She tells it in such a way that whether you like it or not, you follow her voice. And you see how Russia, like a thousand-fold enlarged Titanic, is sailing towards its thousand-fold enlarged iceberg, and the people on board have their own truth, pain, beauty, stupidity, courage, meanness, vileness, blindness, deafness and late remorse.
The Smirnovs talk about their hero in such a way that you no longer care about all the things that were poured on him, accused, killed, buried, horrified, admired and hated.
Grigory Efimovich Rasputin, a peasant from the Tobolsk province, possessed a gift - an intuition of the abyss.
What did Russians have in common a hundred years ago? Not God, not the Tsar, not freedom, not hope, not good intentions. The intuition of the abyss. The approach of the inevitable. The breath of darkness.
And where is salvation?
Russian language.
In the Znamensky Cathedral in Tyumen, every Sunday after the big festive service, the priest comes to the center of the church, places an analogion with notes, opens the service book and begins to pray for all those who are now at the front. Names, names, names... The church is full of people, following him, with their lips alone - names, names, names. And so for more than an hour. And the longer this standing and praying lasts, the more clearly you understand: here it is - ours, common, the only thing that unites us all. Lord, have mercy - in Russian. And it retreats, retreats...
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The Associated Press (a publication in which US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is credited with saying that Russian leader Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump are “good friends” on March 18.
"The AP is retracting a story in which U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are 'very good friends.' Gabbard was talking about Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi," the American agency explained in a statement.
How mortifying for them. Ay Pee needs to rehire a bunch of editors, since their reporters clearly are not able to successfully report simple facts without them.
Gabbard gave an interview to India’s NDTV on March 17, in which she suggested that the upcoming conversation between Putin and Trump would be productive. AP ran the story under the headline “Gabbard Says Trump, Putin Are Very Good Friends,” and the article itself contained a quote that confirmed the headline: “We have two leaders of two great countries who are very good friends and very focused on ways to strengthen their shared goals and interests.” "Sure, we made it all up, but it did make a good headline, right?"
The material is currently unavailable on the agency's website. Gabbard's deputy chief of staff, Alexa Henning, criticized the AP publication on the social network X and emphasized that Gabbard was talking about Modi and Trump.
In turn, the head of the US Department of Government Effectiveness (DOGE), entrepreneur Elon Musk, noted that AP should now be decoded as “Associated Propaganda”.
Earlier, Regnum News Agency reported that US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard called the conversation between Russian President Putin and his US counterpart Trump, scheduled for March 18, very productive.
On Tuesday, March 18, Putin and Trump discussed the situation in Ukraine in detail during a telephone conversation. The Russian leader reaffirmed his fundamental commitment to a peaceful settlement, but stressed that it was imperative to take into account the need to eliminate the root causes of the conflict and Russia's legitimate security interests.
Putin also supported Trump's proposal to mutually cease attacks on energy infrastructure facilities for 30 days. The Russian leader gave the military the corresponding order.
The Russian President also stressed that the key condition for preventing the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine, as well as the possibility of resolving it through diplomatic means, is the complete cessation of foreign military aid to the Kiev regime, as well as the cessation of forced mobilization in Ukraine.
Following talks with Russian leader Putin, US President Trump said that the process of settling the Ukrainian conflict has been launched at full speed.
Spending a large block of taxpayer money to create the next target for the anti-Zionist Jew-haters instead of making Jew-hate expensive and uncomfortable, like President Trump and his people are. But given that the Labour government would not punish itself for supporting the Palestinians against Israel, how can they do otherwise to the citizenry?
[IsraelTimes] Both the ruling Labour Party and the opposition Liberals say they’ll spend more than $20 million, with combating antisemitism a hot-button issue in May elections
Ahead of Australia’s national elections, both of the country’s largest parties have pledged to rebuild Melbourne’s Adass Israel Synagogue, destroyed in December in an antisemitic Molotov cocktailing attack.
On Tuesday, the ruling Labor party pledged AUD 30 million ($19 million) towards the rebuilding, as well as up to $1.2 million for security upgrades. This is in addition to AUD 250,000 given to replace and restore Torah scrolls damaged in the Synagogue.
"The Molotov cocktailing of the Adass Israel Synagogue was a crime of cowardice and prejudice," the prime minister’s office said in a statement. "We won’t stand for that. We are committed to ensuring that this community rebuilds."
That announcement came a day after Opposition leader Peter Dutton pledged up to AUD 35 million ($22 million) to restore the synagogue if his Liberal party comes into power in the elections, scheduled for May.
"We want to bring it back to life, much bigger and better than what it was," Dutton said Monday during a visit to the synagogue site. He also pledged to fight antisemitism at universities if elected, and pass laws allowing law enforcement agencies to deport visa holders convicted of antisemitic crimes.
Rising levels of antisemitism have become a hot-button issue in Australia, particularly after the discovery last month of a trailer in Sydney packed with enough explosives to cause a significant mass-casualty event. The explosives were believed at the time to be intended for a Sydney synagogue, although police now believe they were planted by an organized crime network in order to divert police resources.
A video of two nurses in a Sydney hospital threatening to kill Israeli patients and saying they would refuse to treat them shocked the nation when it was released in February. There is also a suspicion that foreign actors are paying locals to carry out attacks in a coordinated effort.
Many of Australia’s Jews are strongly critical of the government for what they see as insufficient action against frequent antisemitic attacks. The attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue was seen as a turning point in a situation that has become untenable for the 120,000-strong Jewish community.
The number of anti-Jewish incidents in Australia quadrupled in the year after Hamas ..always the voice of sweet reason... Lions of Islam launched the war against Israel on October 7, 2023. Some 2,062 incidents were recorded between October 2023 and September 2024, compared to 495 incidents a year earlier, according to data from the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ).
The Adass Synagogue, one of several buildings in a Jewish community complex in the Ripponlea suburb, was founded in 1949 by Holocaust survivors from Hungary, Germany, the former Czechoslovakia, and Poland. Many of the current members are Holocaust survivors or descendants of Holocaust survivors, and some of the Torah scrolls saved from the fire had been rescued from the ashes of the Holocaust, a website for the congregation said. The community is now home to a Hasidic congregation of several hundred families.
Adass Israel restarted weekday services at a new temporary synagogue last week, according to the Australian Jewish News. The location is being kept secret for security reasons.
Police have still not arrested two men who were seen on camera carrying out the predawn attack, although the investigation continues, police have said.
The synagogue previously raised more than $600,000 in a crowdfunding campaign for its reconstruction shortly after the fire.
Even as Jew-hatred waxes in the Blue areas and universities of America, the Red regions reach out to Israel and to Jewish students with the hand of friendship. It’s been interesting to watch.
[IsraelTimes] Jerusalem’s Hebrew University, Sapir College in southern Israel, and South Carolina’s Clemson University sign a partnership for joint research in agricultural, nutritional, and environmental issues, particularly those relevant to the Western Negev region.
The collaboration will help Sapir College expand its agricultural technology programs and strengthen its role in the region hit by the deadly Hamas invasion on October 7, 2023.
The partnership will include student exchange programs.
The signing ceremony at Clemson University is attended by, among others, former US ambassador to the United Nations and US presidential contender Nikki Haley, a 1994 Clemson graduate, Clemson Board of Trustees member and former South Carolina governor.
“Today, we celebrate two agriculture giants, two leaders in innovative farming coming together,” Haley says. “Through this partnership, we are sowing seeds that will sprout and bear fruit for generations to come.”
The collaboration follows Haley’s visit to the Negev city of Sderot in May 2024, where she met Amit Kochavi, senior adviser to Sderot Mayor Alon Davidi. Kochavi spoke of his idea to revitalize agricultural communities near Sderot and Sapir College after the Hamas attack, in which 1,200 people from the area were slaughtered and 251 abducted to the Gaza Strip.
I think we all knew something like this was gonna happen.
Hizzoner Judge Theodore Chuang, whose parents immigrated from Taiwan, was appointed by President Obama in 2014. He could do none else.
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
A federal judge has ruled that actions taken by Musk and DOGE to close USAID were unconstitutional and has ordered DOGE officials to reinstate basically all of USAID's functionality. pic.twitter.com/ny8t96mVmc
LOL. The entire judiciary has apparently decided to light itself on fire while John Roberts stands by mumbling to himself about how he’s protecting the sacred legal guild from Trump tweets. https://t.co/psIlV4sclK
#3
Musk is merely an advisor. The actions are taken by officers of the United States. The judge is operating on misinformation spread by the Party Media(tm).
#5
It is long past time for Congress to abolish whatever Federal court Chuang serves on, and ensure he never again holds any federal office, except perhaps shoveling manure out of the stables for the horses at Arlington National Cemetery. Note I am not advocating impeachment but abolish of his tainted federal court. Unfortunately, this action by Congress would require Congress to take action.
#9
Judge ruled the shutdown as "unconstitutional" because USAID was created by the legislative branch and the executive branch therefore can't abort it (side note: first "pro-life" ruling by an Obama judge ever).
Unfortunately for the judge's argument, UDAID was created by JFK via executive order, not Congress.
#10
I can understand Chief Justice Roberts' reluctance to dirty his hands with this flaming dog turd. Short of giving a civics lesson on the 3 branches of government, maybe he could ask his side to tone it down a bit. Otherwise, the Supremes are going to have a busy season cleaning up the mess.
#11
I sincerely hope this was anticipated and that there is a plan to deal with it. Right now it's starting to look like they'll just tie Trump's hands for the next 4 years.
#12
I don't see Trump jumping up and reversing any of the things these judges keep saying he's supposed to reverse. Sure, his side makes their court hearings, but I'm not seeing any hurry to do what those clowns are asking him to do.
#13
Who is doing the spreadsheet of orders, rulings, appeals, judgements, SCOTUS hearings, etc.?
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/19/2025 11:09
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#14
I keep remembering Senator John Kennedy saying he did not know some of the things USAID was doing. If the allocations of funds were not specifically spelled out by Congress, it seems to me that Trump should have some leeway.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
03/19/2025 12:27
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#15
I dont recall if I said this here, but the Constitution is fairly clear with things, and one thing is very clear and that is the Constitution does not give judges any enforcement mechanism because it is not their role, and was never envisioned to be their role. Separations of Power.
#17
Trump is flooding the zone with action. An interesting effect of his plan is that the leftists are using every corrupt judge in their stable for countermeasures. I don’t think the have many in reserve. They are all identified.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
03/19/2025 14:55
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#19
#17 - good point, and they're providing Op Infor for any future advancement
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/19/2025 18:42
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#20
This is going to be dragged out to midterms. The Donks will have to run defending fraud, waste, graft, and abuse. The 20 percent that are integrated to the legacy media won't know, but everyone else will.
[GEO.TV] Hungary has passed a new law banning the annual Budapest Pride march, a move that has sparked widespread outrage and protests, with critics accusing Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government of escalating its crackdown on LGBTQ rights under the guise of "child protection".
Orban's government has repeatedly criticised LGBTQ people and has gradually been rolling back their rights in the name of "child protection" in recent years.
"We won't let woke ideology endanger our kids," the nationalist leader wrote on X.
Thousands of people chanting "We are not afraid!" rallied in central Budapest on Tuesday night to protest against the vote, which marks the latest setback to LGBTQ rights around the world.
Protesters also blocked access to a bridge in the capital.
Engineer Laszlo Donat, 40, told AFP that he joined the rally because "we've had enough in Hungary", adding that it was time to "restore democracy" by "replacing this... corrupt, gangster, mafia system".
The legislation—drafted by Orban's governing Fidesz-KDNP coalition—aims to ban the Pride march on the basis that it infringes on Hungary's much-criticised "child protection" law, making it possible to fine those who attend the event.
SMOKE FLARES, SOVIET ANTHEM
The adopted bill stipulates that it is "forbidden to hold an assembly in violation of" a 2021 law that bans the "promotion and display" of homosexuality to minors.
Seems fair, given the usual behaviours and dress at such things, much more appropriate for a private orgy at someone’s country estate.
It amends several laws, including one governing the rights of assembly, which now states that only events "respecting the right of children to proper physical, mental and moral development may take place".
Organisers or participants of a banned event could risk fines of up to 500 euros ( 430), with police being allowed to use facial recognition tools to identify potential offenders.
After being submitted on Monday morning and fast-tracked under an exceptional procedure, the legislation passed the 199-seat National Assembly with 136 votes in favour, 27 against, and others abstaining from the vote.
Deputies of the right-wing Jobbik and the far-right Our Homeland party also supported the measure.
Opposition politicians from the liberal Momentum disrupted the vote by shouting, lighting flares and playing the old Soviet Union anthem.
In his annual state of the nation address in February, Orban warned Pride organisers against preparing for this year's event, saying it would be "a waste of money and time".
Last month, the government said the Pride march would no longer "be tolerated" in the "same public form" as previously.
[SUDANTRIBUNE] The 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... ese army said on Monday its Armoured Corps had linked up with forces at the army's General Command headquarters in Khartoum, effectively ending the presence of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in a key part of the complex.
Since early Sunday, the Armoured Corps launched a major military operation, pushing north and east and taking control of large parts of Khartoum 2 and 3 neighbourhoods, the strategically important al-Musallamiya Bridge, and El Nilein Towers, which the RSF had used as sniper positions, according to the army.
Army front man Nabil Abdallah said in a statement: ''Today, the knights of the Armoured Corps joined the steadfast heroes at the General Command after cleansing the People's Teaching Hospital of the rabble of the Daglo family militia.''
Video clips circulated on pro-army platforms showed soldiers arriving from southern Khartoum meeting with troops stationed at the main army headquarters east of the capital.
In a strategic manoeuvre following the September 26th Omdurman bridge crossing, the Sudanese Army deceived the Rapid Support Forces into massing its fighters in the al-Mogran area while simultaneously launching an armoured advance from southern Khartoum towards the General Command.
The link-up will allow military reinforcements to reach the General Command and facilitate a southward push to clear remaining RSF pockets in southern Khartoum, including the Yarmouk Military Complex, the Central Reserve camp, and the Tayba camp, extending to Jebel Aulia, the army said. It could also open a path toward the airport.
The Armoured Corps' arrival at the General Command tightens the army's control around the Republican Palace, the Strategy base, and other key sites in central Khartoum that remain under RSF control.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/19/2025
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[NYPOST] The FBI extradited one of their ''ten most wanted'' targets, an MS-13 boss, from Mexico to the US this week.
The feds believe Francisco Javier Roman-Bardales is ''a key senior leader of MS-13'' and took him into custody Monday night after Mexican authorities nabbed him.
The alleged gang leader is now behind bars in the US, where he will face charges. FBI Director Kash Patel called the move ''a major victory'' to ensure ''a safer America'' in a Tuesday X post.
Roman-Bardales was wanted by the US government for his alleged role with MS-13, orchestrating gang activities in the US, Mexico and El Salvador, where he allegedly ordered violence against both civilians and rival gangs, while also distributing drugs and carrying out extortion schemes.
A federal court in Central Islip, New York, issued a warrant for Roman-Bardales' arrest on Sept. 22, 2022, after he was charged with conspiracy to provide and conceal material support and resources to terrorists; narco-terrorism conspiracy; racketeering conspiracy; and alien smuggling conspiracy.
While chasing down the foreign fugitive, the FBI offered the public up to $250,000 to help hunt down Roman-Bardales.
The transfer is all part of a larger effort by the Trump admin to bring foreign criminals to justice in the US.
The feds recently extradited 29 cartel members following President Trump's threat to slap imports from Mexico with a 25% tariff if the country doesn't do more to crack down on illegal immigration and drug smuggling.
Da heart [burp!] bleeds.
[NYPOST] A Dominican drug pusher previously deported for peddling fentanyl was seen breaking down in tears as she was arrested while illegally back in the US. Do we have any Tums?
Virginia Basora-Gonzalez, 36, was sobbing as agents arrested her in Philadelphia last Wednesday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said. Perhaps some Kaopectate?
A US magistrate judge issued a federal warrant for her arrest on the same day a notice of intent to reinstate a final removal order against her was to be served. Milk o' Magnesia?
She will remain in federal custody pending charges for re-entry after deportation, the feds said. I mean, I'm really feelin' it for this poor li'l waif.
Photos shared by ICE show the convicted drug pusher crying as she's being led away in cuffs. Or maybe it was the chili.
''The apprehension of Virginia Basora-Gonzalez demonstrates our commitment to protecting our communities from criminal aliens who engage in serious illegal activities that pose a threat to public safety,'' said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Philadelphia acting Field Office Director Brian McShane. Never mind.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/19/2025
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#1
Couldn't we just deport her and be done with it?
[NYPost] A Moslem charity with links to Hamas ..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,... was awarded more than $7.2 million in taxpayer cash, which has now disappeared, according to a watchdog group.
An "immediate investigation" needs to be launched into The Council on American-Islamic Relations ... the Moslem Brüderbund's American arm ... ’ (CAIR) Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party, chapter’s use of funds, according to the watchdog, who sent a complaint to the Department of Justice Thursday.
According to the Intelligent Advocacy Network (IAN), a California-based, non-partisan advocacy group, the money was given to the chapter to help re-settle impoverished immigrants colonists in California between 2022 and 2024.
In what appears to be a sleight of hand, the money — $7,217,968.44 — was sent to CAIR-Greater Los Angeles and not to CAIR-CA, which was the only group eligible to receive it, according to the complaint.
The Greater Los Angeles chapter of the Moslem organization, which is not a registered non-profit and not eligible to handle charitable donations, received the entire pot of money according to the complaint, viewed by The Post.
"These sub grants from CAIR-CA to CAIR chapters raise serious legal concerns about whether CAIR simply shifted more money to itself," the complaint said.
CAIR Los Angeles also appeared to divide the federal grant and "sub-granted" to other groups, including CAIR’s chapters in San Diego and the Socialist paradise of San Francisco ...where God struck dead Anton LaVey, home of the Sydney Ducks, ruled by Vigilance Committee from 1859 through 1867, reliably and volubly Democrat since 1964... Those CAIR chapters were not registered with the IRS ...the Internal Revenue Service; that office of the United States government that collects taxes and persecutes the regime's political enemies... and once they receive cash, have no public responsibility to declare where it is spent, the complaint charges.
"There’s no transparency," said Julie Marzouk, a founding board member of IAN who scoured public documents to trace the cash.
"This is part of a consistent pattern from CAIR — to muddy the waters and limit the public’s ability to track the money."
Marzouk and her group have also asked the federal government to revoke CAIR-CA’s accreditation, which it needs to receive grants under the DOJ’s refugee program.
The accreditation allows groups to represent low-income immigrants colonists before federal agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security without a lawyer, Marzouk told The Post.
"It’s a privilege, not a right, and a group needs to follow appropriate rules of conduct," she said.
Although dispersing the money to its sub-groups isn’t illegal in itself, CAIR-CA is supposed to keep an account of where the dollars are going.
CAIR-CA’s accreditation expired last month and needs to be renewed if they want to continue receiving funds, according to the complaint.
"[CAIR’s] misuse of federal grant funding and support for Hamas, a US-designated foreign terrorist organization, do not meet the ethical and legal requirements necessary for EOIR [Executive Office of Immigration Review] accreditation," the complaint said.
"A formal forensic audit followed by a proper DOJ investigation is necessary to evaluate the full extent of CAIR-CA’s financial misconduct, compliance breeches and support for terrorism."
CAIR did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.
IAN also wants a probe into $2.6 million that CAIR-CA received from California’s Department of Social Services in funding for the state’s "Stop the Hate" program in 2022.
The grant was awarded to CAIR "omitting California," the complaint said, adding that the state was so confused it "sought clarification on the entity name."
In California, CAIR leaders have lobbied against Holocaust education in the Senate, and pushed for anti-Israel measures, such as boycotts, at the municipal level, said Marzouk.
Some CAIR leaders praised the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks against Israel. Zahra Billoo, the executive director of CAIR in San Francisco minimized Hamas atrocities against Israelis, declaring that the world was "witnessing decolonization," according to the Anti-Defamation League.
In earlier statements, Billoo warned about Jewish organizations.
"We need to pay attention to the Anti-Defamation League," said Billoo during a 2021 panel discussion sponsored by the American Moslems for Paleostine.
"We need to pay attention to the Jewish Federation. We need to pay attention to the Zionist synagogues. We need to pay attention to the Hillel chapters on our campuses, just because they are your friends today, doesn’t mean that they have your back when it comes to human rights ...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions... Hussam Ayloush, the executive director of CAIR-CA, said that Israel had no right to defend itself after Oct. 7 and yet Paleostinians have the right to "pick up arms"
In January, he concluded a sermon in Los Angeles by asking worshippers to join CAIR for a monthly fee to fight against President Trump’s executive orders that would impact the Moslem community, according to the Middle East Media Research Institute.
Last month, The Post revealed that CAIR Inc., the Moslem’s charity’s national chapter, settled a lawsuit brought by a former board member and employee rather than open its books to reveal sources of foreign funding.
Evidence in past court proceedings has shown links between The Council on American-Islamic Relations Foundation Inc. and both Hamas and the Moslem Brüderbund.
CAIR Inc. settled with Lori Saroya, months after US Magistrate Judge David Schultz ruled any assets owned by the group are all within the "scope of permissible discovery" as part of the former Minnesota chapter leader’s lawsuit against the controversial Moslem rights group.
[NYPOST] Russian President Vladimir Putin ...President-for-Life of Russia. He gets along well with other presidents for life. He is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substance. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to him. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substances... rejected President Trump's proposal of a full, unconditional cease-fire with Ukraine on Tuesday, but agreed to halt attacks on ''energy and infrastructure'' — sectors Kyiv has recently, and successfully, targeted.
Elsewhere in the two-hour phone call, the Russian president demanded that Trump cut all military and intelligence assistance to Ukraine, according to a readout from the Kremlin.
Trump was apparently able to secure one element of his cease-fire proposal, as the Kremlin announced Russia and Ukraine would release 175 of each other's prisoners of war, with Moscow also freeing ''23 seriously maimed Ukrainian servicemen'' to receive treatment in their home country.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump ...Never got invited to a P.Diddy party... agreed on Tuesday to seek a limited 30-day ceasefire against energy and infrastructure targets in Ukraine, while talks aimed at advancing toward a broader peace plan will begin "immediately," the White House said.
Putin stopped short of accepting a broader US-backed 30-day ceasefire that Ukraine has said it is ready to accept. The Russian president raised "significant points" about preventing such a truce from being used by Ukraine to mobilize more soldiers and rearm itself, the Kremlin said in a statement following a lengthy phone call between the two leaders.
Putin also emphasised that the "complete cessation of foreign military assistance and the provision of intelligence information to Kyiv" is a condition for any permanent peace deal.
In a statement, the White House said negotiations on a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, as well as other potential areas of concern, would commence immediately in the Middle East.
"The leaders agreed that the movement to peace will begin with an energy and infrastructure ceasefire, as well as technical negotiations on implementation of a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, full ceasefire and permanent peace," the White House readout said.
Trump had been pressuring Putin to agree to a 30-day ceasefire that he hopes would move one step closer to ending Europe's biggest conflict since World War Two. The war has killed or maimed hundreds of thousands of people, displaced millions and reduced entire towns to rubble.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/19/2025
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#1
It's only "energy infrastructure". Big difference. Fire your interpreter. At least now we know in which field Ukraine is successful: Hitting Russian energy infrastructure.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
03/19/2025 6:41
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#2
I must confess I don't understand how it's still OK to kill people but not OK to hit a power plant.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
03/19/2025 12:12
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[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Paywalled. But the DM headline tells us all we need to know except the name of the rumoured celebrity...
Fox11 LA has a list of those running for governor — none appear to me to be a celebrity. But the Seattle Times is waiting to learn if former vice president Kamala Harris will step into the ring, so perhaps that’s who the Daily Mail is referring to.
The source laughed when asked if Meghan - who has spoken out against Trump's policies - might make a good replacement for Governor Newsom should he be ousted.
#5
I would love to hear the Harris/Merkal debate about who was born the most poor black child who fought oppression all her life, and how the other one only got to where she is by who she slept with.
#6
The governorship could be equally shared among all four horsemen of the apocalypse. Alternatively, CA can replace Newsom with another corrupt and stupid person.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
03/19/2025 15:08
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Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Sergey Adamov
[REGNUM] The Russian Armed Forces continue their successful offensive in the area of the special military operation. Fierce fighting continues along the entire line of contact amid rumors of a possible ceasefire.
The main success of the past week was the liberation of the city of Sudzha and most of the territory of the Kursk region, previously occupied by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. However, in other areas the enemy is suffering heavy defeats, often without even trying to stabilize the front line.
After the liberation of Sudzha and the surrounding settlements, units of the Sever group of the Russian Armed Forces focused on defeating the remnants of the enemy's scattered formations in the border area. Ukrainian soldiers who managed to break through to their territory criticize the command for the miscalculations made when planning the retreat from the Kursk region.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, over the past 24 hours alone, the enemy's losses in the Kursk direction amounted to more than 280 people. At the same time, the enemy continues to hold several settlements located directly on the border. The contact line runs through the villages of Gogolevka, Oleshnya, and Guevo.
According to information from the field, part of Gogolevka and Guevo has been liberated, and fighting continues literally for every house. Similar reports are coming from the area of the Gornal farm. At the same time, the enemy does not abandon plans to hold at least part of the Kursk region and is transferring reserves to the region.
In the Guevo area, the Ukrainian Armed Forces command brought into battle border guards from the 7th Lviv detachment, transferred from the border with Poland. Over the past few years, the unit has specialized in catching draft dodgers trying to flee to Europe. Having entered into battle with units of the Russian army, the border guards could not stand it and abandoned their positions, fleeing to the territory of the Sumy region.
When retreating, Ukrainian troops often abandon armored vehicles produced by NATO countries.
The day before, two serviceable M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles abandoned by their crews became a trophy for the Russian military. The enemy did not even try to destroy the armored vehicles during their retreat. According to analysts studying open source materials, since the beginning of March, the enemy has lost at least 25 armored vehicles in the border area — more than in the past few months.
The Russian military is actively using kamikaze drones, including those controlled by fiber optic cable. In comments to Western media, the Ukrainian military confirms heavy losses during the retreat from the Kursk region. A large number of damaged military equipment has created full-fledged traffic jams on the few highways. In response, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are shelling the liberated territories of the Kursk region, including the city of Sudzha.
At the same time, the command of the Ukrainian army continues to transfer additional forces not only to the Kursk region, but also to other parts of the border.
In an effort to change the situation in this section of the front to its advantage, the enemy attempted to break through to the territory of the Krasnoyarsk district of the Belgorod region from the territory of the Sumy region. According to data from the field, during the day, units of the Ukrainian army tried to cross the border of the Belgorod region in the areas of the settlements of Grafovka and Prilesye. However, this section of the border was covered in advance by additional forces, so all attempts to break through were repelled.
Before the next attempt, the enemy launched a drone strike on the border areas, but this did not bring the desired result. A combined artillery and air strike was launched against the retreating units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Ukrainian sources report heavy losses.
It is assumed that the enemy will not make any new attempts to break through into the territory of the Kursk and Belgorod regions in the near future, but will concentrate on strengthening its own border territories.
THE ZAPORIZHZHYA FRONT HAS COME INTO MOTION
After a year of relative calm, hostilities resumed in the Zaporozhye direction.
The Russian Armed Forces have broken through the enemy's front line west of Orekhovo in the area of the settlements of Stepovoe, Shcherbaki and Malye Shcherbaki. The success in this section of the front was confirmed by the Russian Defense Ministry. "As a result of active and decisive actions, the settlement of Stepovoe in the Zaporizhia region was liberated," the ministry's statement said.
A number of Ukrainian sources confirm that there has been an intensification of military operations in the Zaporizhzhya direction. Some sources report that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have lost not only Stepnoye, but also Shcherbaky and Malye Shcherbaky. The success of the offensive was achieved, among other things, due to a miscalculation by the Ukrainian group's command.
Over the past months, Kiev has been consistently weakening the Zaporizhzhya and Kherson directions, transferring all available units to Donbass and Kursk Oblast. As a result, significant sections of the contact line were left almost without cover, a frontline source for IA Regnum reports.
"The landscape in our area is flat and steppe. Whoever controls the populated areas holds the initiative. The enemy is afraid to use armored vehicles because there is nowhere to hide them. When we began the offensive, the VSAS troops abandoned some of their positions and retreated. The fighting is still going on, but the initiative is already ours," the agency's source says.
According to our interlocutor, military actions continue in the area of the settlements of Shcherbaki and Malye Shcherbaki. Successful offensive in this direction will allow Russian troops to reach the strategically important road T0803 Orekhov - Zaporozhye in the future.
Control over the route will allow cutting off the enemy's supply route in Orekhovo, a strategically important settlement on this section of the front. In the future, the Orekhovo bridgehead can be used for an offensive directly on Zaporozhye.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces Command is aware of the gravity of the current situation and is transferring some of its forces to this area, including units withdrawn from the Kursk region. It is strategically important for Kyiv to maintain the "status quo" in the Zaporizhzhya direction until the spring rains and muddy roads begin, so as not to allow Russian troops to fix the front line in a position that is advantageous to them.
RETREAT OF THE UKRAINIAN ARMED FORCES IN DONBASS
Simultaneously with the offensive in the Zaporizhia direction, Russian troops resumed military operations in the area of Velyka Novosyolka in the east of the DPR. There are reports of military operations in the area of the settlements of Skudnoe, Dneproenergia and Burlatskoe.
Lieutenant General Serhiy Nayev, commander of the tactical group of the Ukrainian Armed Forces "Velyka Novosilka", reported that in the direction entrusted to him, Ukrainian troops retreated to a number of "disadvantageous positions". Nayev did not specify in which area exactly Ukrainian troops were forced to retreat, but explained his order by "the need to preserve the lives and health of personnel".
According to information from the field, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are facing the same problems in the Novosyolka direction as in the Zaporizhzhya direction. After losing Velyka Novosyolka, the enemy is forced to hastily build defense lines in the bare steppe under the dominance of Russian aviation and artillery. In the near future, Kiev may sacrifice its positions in this direction, sources of the Regnum news agency report.
"There is reason to believe that they will retreat to the territory of the Dnipropetrovsk region. Reserve lines of defense are currently being created there. This does not mean that they will flee without a fight. They are currently fortifying the village of Komar, this is the last more or less large settlement under their control after the loss of Constantinople and Velyka Novosyolka. But if we press, they will retreat to fortified lines," the agency's source suggests.
For the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the situation along the entire front line continues to rapidly deteriorate. In an effort to patch up holes in one direction, the enemy allows Russian troops to break through in two new ones.
#1
Ukrainian soldiers who managed to break through to their territory criticize the command for the miscalculations made when planning the retreat from the Kursk region.
The original miscalculation was going into Kursk in the first place.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
03/19/2025 12:03
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Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] A detachment of ships of the Russian Navy will take part in the joint PASSEX exercises in the Arabian Sea with the Pakistan Navy. This was reported on March 18 by the Russian Defense Ministry.
"A detachment of Russian Navy ships, consisting of the corvettes Rezkiy, Hero of the Russian Federation Aldar Tsydenzhapov and the medium sea tanker Pechenga of the Pacific Fleet, will take part in the joint naval exercises PASSEX with the Navy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan," the department reported.
It is specified that the agreement on holding the exercises was reached during a visit by Russian ships to the port of Karachi in Pakistan. At the same time, the day before, the command staff of the detachment of ships of the Russian Navy participated in a conference and official meetings with senior officers of the Pakistani Navy. During it, the naval officers of the two countries discussed the details of the joint maneuvers, and also exchanged souvenirs and left notes in the books of honored visitors.
In addition, the crews visited each other's ships and conducted excursions for guests. For Russian Navy officers, exercises on ship survivability were conducted on the Pakistani corvette Babur.
"The PASSEX exercises will take place in the Arabian Sea on the last day of the Russian detachment's presence. During the exercises, the ships of the two countries will practice joint maneuvering tasks with the use of deck helicopters, conduct communications training, and other elements of interaction," the statement added.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, on February 7, a detachment of Pacific Fleet ships consisting of the corvettes Rezkiy and Hero of the Russian Federation Aldar Tsydenzhapov conducted exercises in the East China Sea. During the exercises, combat crews detected simulated air targets and destroyed them with anti-aircraft artillery fire at a safe distance from the ships.
On December 16, 2024, Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov said that Russia's military cooperation last year covered over 100 countries, despite the West's collective attempts to isolate our country. According to him, during this time, 21 international exercises were held and joint airspace patrols were conducted.
[SciTechDaily ] ...Coal ash, the powdery residue left after burning coal for fuel, has accumulated across the United States for decades. New research from the University of Texas at Austin reveals that this vast supply contains enough rare earth elements to significantly strengthen the nation’s reserves without the need for additional mining.
"This really exemplifies the ’trash to treasure’ mantra," said co-lead author Bridget Scanlon, a research professor at UT’s Bureau of Economic Geology at the Jackson School of Geosciences. "We’re basically trying to close the cycle and use waste and recover resources in the waste, while at the same time reducing environmental impacts."
Rare earth elements, a group of 17 critical materials, are essential for modern technology and the transition to lower-carbon energy. They are key components in solar panels, batteries, magnets, and other advanced energy technologies.
Currently, the United States depends almost entirely on imports for its rare earth supply, with about 75% coming from China. This reliance raises concerns due to global supply chain complexities and geopolitical tensions.
[SUDANTRIBUNE] 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... 's deputy leader, Malik Agar, told South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday that the Sudanese government expects to defeat the rebellion by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in most states by the end of April.
Agar arrived in the South African capital on Monday, accompanied by the undersecretary of the foreign ministry, as part of an African tour that began weeks ago and has included Uganda and Djibouti.
''I confirmed to President Ramaphosa that we expect to eliminate the rebellion by the end of next April in most of Sudan's states,'' Agar said in a Facebook post.
The Sudanese official expressed concern about the RSF's repeated use of a racially-charged approach against African communities in the Darfur region. ''The burying alive of members of the Masalit ethnicity remains a testament to these grave violations, and the militia's current military mobilization on racial grounds in Darfur reinforces these concerns,'' he added.
He said he briefed the South African president on the humanitarian situation and the extent of the destruction caused by the rebel forces in the service sector through their targeting of infrastructure and various service facilities.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/19/2025
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[Garowe] In what could raise concerns about the security of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, the al-Shabaab ... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord... murderous Moslems reportedly targeted his convoy in the outskirts of Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, just as he headed to the frontlines to assess the gains made by the troops in pursuing the group.
The explosion, sources said, was the result of a roadside Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in the Ceelgaab vicinity of Mogadishu. Casualties have been reported according to the source, even as the president’s convoy proceeded with the journey.
The IED was planted close to a building on the side of the road, which has been damaged by the earth-shattering kaboom, security sources said, while condemning the latest cowardly attack which comes in the middle of the crackdown against al-Shabaab in central and southern regions.
A new footage shows a bomb targeting the Somali president's convoy at El-Gabta junction in the capital on Tuesday morning, killing at least 1 and wounding 3 others. It is not the first time the murderous Moslems are targeting senior government officials.
Al-Shabaab grabbed credit for a kaboom targeting a convoy of Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as it left the presidential palace and passed through the El-Gabta intersection, heading toward the Mogadishu airport.
Details of the incident remain unclear, but sources report that the attack was unsuccessful in hitting the President’s convoy. Security forces responded swiftly, securing the area. However,
Caliphornia hasn't yet slid into the ocean, no matter how hard it's tried... Hassan Sheikh has since arrived in Aden Yabal where he is set to meet troops on the frontlines, state media reports.
Without mentioning the earth-shattering kaboom, National Security Advisor Hussein Sheikh Ali posted on X social media platform that the president is safe and is on a trip to assess Somali army operations in the region.
"Desperation and propagating lies cannot intimidate the nation," he said.
For the last two weeks, security forces have intensified the crackdown against the al-Shabaab turbans, killing dozens in the process. The US Africa Command and the African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) have been supportive of this mission.
The government of Somalia has activated the operation against the group in the last two months after several months of stagnation, with critics accusing him of doing 'too little' to eliminate the turbans. The operations are going on in central and southern regions.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/19/2025
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[PUBLISH.TWITTER] They’ll need less than half as many as before, now that they needn’t support both the military work and the counterproductive DEI/social justice/PC positions…
#2
I sure hope they don't do away with those OPSEC session due to cuts. I couldn't live any more if I didn't hear for the 700th time about Purple Dragon.
#3
I am confused. I keep seeing job cuts and then judges doing TROs to reinstate the workers. What kind of productive work are the reinstated workers doing? Are these new assignments less or more useful than what they were doing before?
Posted by: Super Hose ||
03/19/2025 12:17
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#4
^ Give 'em a desk but no phone or computer. Let them sit and shuffle papers all day.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
03/19/2025 12:33
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#5
^Give them a mop and bucket before having them scrub things. Janitorial stuff and see how long they last. Certainly don't let them near anything administrative that they could sabotage.
And she deleted her LinkedIn. Her identical twin is on X and just as bad. This is Romney's Bain Capital. Was its well known co-investment company of Criminals, Presidents, Dictators, Kings and Central bankers - better known as The Carlyle Group - involved too?
Bibi Netanyahu worked there for several years alongside Mitt Romney, but he turned out ok…
WOW! It's not just Judge Boasberg's daughter in the non-profit game, apparently his sister Margaret and her Bain Capital husband Christopher Bierly are also big players shoveling cash into the NGO financial underground.https://t.co/xDNMmYEoe1pic.twitter.com/0heRbzPSxR
[IsrelTimes] Iranian opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi will be released from house arrest today, state media reports, 14 years after he was detained for calling for a rally in support of protests that swept the Arab world in 2011.
“My father was told by security agents that his house arrest will end today,” his son Hossein Karroubi tells state news agency IRNA, adding that security agents will remain at the premises until April 8 due to security concerns.
The 87-year-old, ailing mid-level cleric has remained defiant, questioning the legitimacy of the clerical establishment in statements published by pro-reform websites.
After calling for a rally in solidarity with pro-democracy uprisings, Karroubi – along with ex-prime minister Mirhossein Mousavi and his wife Zahra Rahnavard, a prominent academic – was put under house arrest in February 2011.
They have not been put on trial or publicly charged.
Former parliament speaker Karroubi and Mousavi ran for election in 2009 and became figureheads for Iranians who staged eight months of mass protests after a vote they believed was rigged to bring back hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Karroubi’s son Hossein tells pro-reform Jamaran news website that his father demands the release of Mousavi.
“They told my father that the same process … would be carried out for Mousavi within the next few months and Mousavi too would be released,” the Jamaran website quotes him as saying.
Iran’s judiciary makes no comment.
Karroubi, like Mousavi and Rahnavard, had been under round-the-clock surveillance by security guards initially living in his home. But conditions improved in past years for Karroubi, with some family and politicians allowed to visit him.
Suffering from various medical complications, Karroubi has been taken to hospital several times for heart surgery and treatment.
During his election campaign, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian promised to make an effort for their release.
[FoxNews] Hong Kong leader John Lee says the deal warranted 'serious attention'
A deal for the U.S. to "reclaim" the Panama Canal is increasingly under fire from authorities in China and Hong Kong.
Earlier this month, BlackRock announced a $23 billion deal with CK Hutchinson to take ownership of the Panamanian ports of Cristobal and Balboa, which are located at the Atlantic and Pacific ends of the canal, respectively. It would also take over Hutchinson’s controlling interest in 43 ports in 23 other countries. However, Hong Kong and Chinese leaders could seek to stand in the way.
John Lee, the leader of Hong Kong, stated his concerns about the deal on Tuesday, saying it deserved "serious attention."
The agreement between the two conglomerates was seen as a solution to President Donald Trump’s threats to take back the canal after he argued that China was using it to "rip off" U.S. ships through entry fees.
Trump touted the BlackRock deal as the U.S. "reclaiming" the port when it was first announced.
Now, Beijing has opened up investigations into potential antitrust and national security concerns about the deal through various agencies, including its State Administration of Market Regulation, Bloomberg reported.
"If Beijing stops this deal, that’s a direct challenge to the president of the United States on an issue which he really cares about," said U.S.-China relations expert Gordon Chang. "That is not going to go down very well."
The lucrative waterway sees 5% of global maritime trade pass through.
CK Hutchison’s stock price fell 3% on Tuesday after Lee’s comments, and the company canceled press and investor briefings that were scheduled for this week when it releases its financial report.
CK Hutchison is owned by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-Shing. Lee has said any business transaction must comply with Hong Kong law, and the city will handle the deal according to law.
"I suspect that the Hong Kong government is not going to take on Li Ka Shing and Hutchison, but you never know because the environment in Hong Kong is changing. It's not getting better," said Chang.
[IsraelTimes] Israeli troops killed a suspected smuggler on the Egyptian border overnight between Saturday and Sunday, according to the military.
The IDF says that it spotted two suspects in a car on the Israeli side of the border who were trying to use a drone for smuggling.
In recent months, there have been frequent attempts to bring weapons and drugs over the Egypt border using drones. The drones are sent from the Israeli side into Egypt, where they are loaded up with contraband and sent back over the border.
Troops of the Border Defense Corps’ Caracal Battalion were dispatched to the scene and began a “suspect arrest procedure,” the IDF says. The military says two suspects approached the forces in a suspicious manner and were perceived as a threat. The troops then opened fire on them.
Both suspects were hit, one of whom later died of his injuries, a military source says.
[SUDANTRIBUNE] The 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... ese army advanced in central Khartoum on Sunday, tightening its siege on paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) fighters stationed in the presidential palace and nearby government buildings, the army and witnesses said.
On Friday, the commander of the army's Armoured Corps, Nasr al-Din Abdel Fattah, said the military was nearing the completion of the third phase of its operations to retake the remaining parts of Khartoum state.
Early Sunday, Armoured Corps soldiers moved from positions at al-Hurriya Bridge, which links southern Khartoum to the city centre, and took control of key locations previously held by the RSF, according to pro-army sources.
The commander of the al-Baraa bin Malik Battalion, al-Misbah Abu Zaid, said in a video circulated on pro-army platforms: ''The armed forces have taken control of the Family Club, Khartoum 3, and part of Khartoum 2, and are determined to reach the presidential palace.'' He vowed to ''eliminate'' RSF fighters sheltering there.
RSF commander Mohammed Hamdan Daglo, known as Hemetti, said in a video released Saturday night that his forces would not leave the presidential palace and al-Mogran area. He threatened further attacks in several northern cities.
The Armoured Corps media office said the army had taken full control of the Sharoni bus station, the El Nilein Towers, and the al-Musallamiya Bridge, all located near the presidential palace.
Pro-army social media accounts reported that Armoured Corps troops had linked up with forces at the army's General Command headquarters, cutting off the last remaining route used by the RSF.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/19/2025
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[IsraelTimes] Gambian-British grad Momodou Taal, who was suspended for leading protests last year, notes Betar US has called for his expulsion from country
A Cornell University graduate student has filed suit against the Trump administration’s efforts to deport pro-Paleostinian campus protesters, saying that the push represents an illegal infringement on protected speech.
Citizens can say pretty much anything, so long as they aren’t shouting fire in a movie theater. Visitors need to be polite, or they can be kicked out just because the authorities feel like it — they actually don’t have the right of free speech, as far as I can tell.
Momodou Taal is a Gambia ... The Gambia is actually surrounded by The Senegal on all sides but its west coast. It has a population of about 1.7 million. The difference between the two is that in colonial days Senegal was ruled by La Belle France and The Gambia (so-called because there's only one of it, unlike Guinea, of which there are the Republic of Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, New Guinea, the English coin in circulation between 1663 and 1813, and Guyana, which sounds like it should be another one) was ruled by Britain... n-British national who has been a protest leader at the upstate New York university.
He has two different connections. Why did he go to America for his graduate degree?
Cornell briefly suspended him in both April 2024 and September 2024, following protests on its campus that administrators said violated university rules.
Taal has also been the target of advocacy by pro-Israel groups that have sought to identify students who might be eligible for deportation under US President Donald Trump ...Perhaps no man has ever had as much fun being president of the US... ’s executive order targeting those who endorse terrorism or antisemitism on college campuses.
According to a fact sheet about the order, it aims to "combat the earth-shattering kaboom of anti-Semitism on our campuses and in our streets since October 7, 2023," the date that Paleostinian terror group Hamas ..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... invaded southern Israel, killing 1,200 people, abducting hundreds of hostages, and triggering the ensuing war in the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... Strip.
Critics say the measure is aimed more broadly at pro-Paleostinian campus protesters, with rights groups and legal scholars saying it would violate constitutional free speech rights and would likely draw legal challenges.
The lawsuit, filed Friday on behalf of Taal and two other Cornell affiliates by the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee,
…no connections to an African-Brit, but anyway…
cites targeting by a pro-Israel group, Betar US, as a reason that Taal should face relief:
"Mr. Taal has also been directly targeted by Zionist groups advocating for his removal from the US. In November 2024, Betar US ("Betar") compiled a list of pro-Paleostinian foreign students it sought to have deported, naming Mr. Taal as the sole individual identified. Betar’s director, Ross Glick, delivered this list to Senator John Fetterman and aides from the offices of Senators Ted Cruz;
...US Senator from Texas. Republican contender for president in 2016, his stiff and abrasive manner earned him the title most hated man in the Senate. After a close win over Beto O'Rourke, who tried to out-Lastino him, he grew a beard and let his biting wit shine through. Cruz's comments have been known to leave life-threatening wounds at better than forty feet... and James Lankford, later telling the New York Post, "They all gave me the thumbs up." And added that Betar was in communication with prospective Trump administration appointees at the Department of Justice regarding enforcement actions against individuals on the list. ..."
On March 13, 2025, Betar posted a "Deport Alert" that specifically named Taal.
In that alert, posted on social media, Betar US cited Taal’s social media posts and speeches at rallies to claim that he had expressed support for "armed resistance" on behalf of the Paleostinian cause. They note that he disclosed his non-citizen status in an interview with Inside Higher Ed last fall, in which Taal said he feared that he was effectively facing deportation because of his suspension.
Betar US, which has taken a murderous Moslem approach to anti-Israel protests, has generated a list of student protesters that it says are not citizens and shared it with the Trump administration, aiming for their deportation. How the administration is using the list is not clear, but pro-Israel Jewish groups called attention to Mahmoud Khalil in the days before the Columbia University graduate student was arrested by ICE agents last week and cheered his arrest.
"Mr. Taal’s growing fear that he will be the target of an ICE removal operation is grounded in a pattern of escalating attention, coordination among high-ranking political and influential private actors, and public threats by figures with the power to influence immigration enforcement decisions," the suit said.
The lawsuit also noted that Taal and some of his fellow protesters have ceased meeting publicly to discuss their activities, fearing that any communication would be perceived as showing support for Hamas.
"This lawsuit is aimed at reversing the chill on speech and making people feel confident to stand up," Taal said in a statement on Sunday. "I am fighting for our First Amendment rights and our ability to protest genocide, and stand in solidarity with the Paleostinian people. When we are attacked for speech, we have to exercise even more of it."
In past remarks posted to social media Taal has described the urge to "smash something" as the "sexy part of organizing [protests]" and that the US "like Zionism, has an insatiable bloodlust."
During his first suspension in April 2024, following the dismantling of Cornell’s pro-Paleostinian encampment, Taal addressed supporters on campus. "Before I go to bed, I say to myself, ’If I live into my eighties, will I ever regret going this hard for Paleostine?’ and I won’t," he said, speaking into a megaphone, according to video shared by the Cornell Daily Sun student newspaper. "So whilst I love all the support and solidarity from faculty, from my comrades, from my peers, please, do not let this become about any one of us."
The Hamas attack and the subsequent Israeli campaign against the terrorist organization led to months of pro-Paleostinian, anti-Israel protests that roiled US college campuses, with several heads of top universities resigning in the wake of criticism over their responses to antisemitism at their schools.
Many anti-Israel protesters denied supporting Hamas or engaging in antisemitic acts and said they were demonstrating against Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, where Hamas health authorities say more than 47,000 people have been killed, an unverified figure that doesn’t differentiate between non-combatants and fighters.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[ColonelCassad] The full text of the Kremlin's message following Vladimir Putin's telephone conversation with US President Donald Trump.
The leaders continued a detailed and frank exchange of views on the situation around Ukraine. Vladimir Putin expressed gratitude to Donald Trump for his desire to help achieve the noble goal of ending hostilities and human losses.
Having confirmed his fundamental commitment to a peaceful resolution of the conflict, the Russian President declared his readiness to thoroughly work out possible ways of settlement together with his American partners, which should be comprehensive, sustainable and long-term. And, of course, to take into account the absolute need to eliminate the root causes of the crisis, Russia's legitimate interests in the field of security.
In the context of the US President's initiative to introduce a 30-day truce, the Russian side outlined a number of significant points regarding ensuring effective control over a possible ceasefire along the entire line of contact, the need to stop forced mobilization in Ukraine and rearm the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Serious risks associated with the inability to negotiate of the Kiev regime, which has repeatedly sabotaged and violated the agreements reached, were also noted. Attention was drawn to the barbaric terrorist crimes committed by Ukrainian militants against the civilian population of the Kursk region.
It was emphasized that the key condition for preventing the escalation of the conflict and working towards its resolution by political and diplomatic means should be the complete cessation of foreign military aid and the provision of intelligence information to Kiev.
In connection with Donald Trump's recent appeal to save the lives of Ukrainian servicemen surrounded in the Kursk region, Vladimir Putin confirmed that the Russian side is ready to be guided by humanitarian considerations and, in the event of surrender, guarantees the lives of the Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers and decent treatment in accordance with Russian laws and international law.
During the conversation, Donald Trump put forward a proposal for the parties to the conflict to mutually refrain from strikes on energy infrastructure facilities for 30 days. Vladimir Putin responded positively to this initiative and immediately gave the Russian military the corresponding command.
The Russian President also responded constructively to Donald Trump's idea of implementing a well-known initiative regarding the safety of navigation in the Black Sea. It was agreed to begin negotiations to further elaborate specific details of such an agreement.
Vladimir Putin informed that on March 19, a prisoner exchange will be carried out between the Russian and Ukrainian sides - 175 for 175 people. In addition, as a gesture of goodwill, 23 seriously wounded Ukrainian servicemen who are being treated in Russian medical institutions will be transferred.
The leaders confirmed their intention to continue efforts to achieve a Ukrainian settlement in a bilateral mode, including taking into account the above-mentioned proposals of the US President. For this purpose, Russian and American expert groups are being created.
* * *
Also.
1. Putin confirmed to Trump that the Russian Federation guarantees the life and decent treatment of Ukrainian military personnel in the event of their surrender in the Kursk region.
2. The White House reported that the Russian Federation and the United States are immediately starting negotiations in the Middle East on the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine.
3. The Kremlin reported that Trump and Putin approved the idea of a hockey match between the NHL and KHL teams. Apparently, this will be the first match of this level in 3 years without neutral flags.
4. The Trump administration said that huge shifts (in a positive direction) await future economic relations between the US and Russia. And the relations will move towards "stability."
* * *
Well, and a comment from the Trump administration.Today, President Trump and President Putin spoke about the need for peace and a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine. The two leaders agreed that this conflict must end with a lasting peace. They also emphasized the need for improved bilateral relations between the United States and Russia. The blood and treasure that Ukraine and Russia are spending on this war would be better spent on the needs of their people.
This conflict should never have started and should have been ended long ago by sincere and good-faith peace efforts. The leaders agreed that the path to peace would begin with an energy and infrastructure ceasefire, as well as technical negotiations to implement a naval ceasefire in the Black Sea, a full ceasefire, and a permanent peace. These negotiations would begin immediately in the Middle East.
The leaders spoke broadly of the Middle East as a region of potential cooperation to prevent future conflicts. They also discussed the need to stop the proliferation of strategic weapons and would work with others to ensure their widest possible use. Both leaders shared the view that Iran should never be able to destroy Israel.
Both leaders agreed that a future with improved bilateral relations between the United States and Russia has great potential. This includes huge economic deals and geopolitical stability when peace is achieved.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] The Ukrainian Armed Forces are holding back Russian attacks in the east and south of Ukraine.
The most active fighting continues in the Pokrovsk direction. There, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have already repelled 17 assaults in the areas of 10 populated areas.
Since the beginning of the current day, 76 combat clashes have occurred on the front. Russian troops are conducting offensive actions in 11 directions, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported in an operational report on Tuesday, March 18.
Thus, in the Kharkov direction, the enemy attacked seven times near Vovchansk and in the direction of Malaya Shapkovka. Four combat clashes are still ongoing.
In the Kupyansk direction, Russian invaders carried out two attacks near Petrovpavlovka and Zagrizove.
In the Liman direction, the enemy attacked four times near Yampolovka and in the direction of the settlement of Novoye. One combat clash continues to this day.
In the Kramatorsk direction, the enemy is trying to advance in the area of Chasovy Yar and Kurdyumovka. Two of the three attacks have already been repelled.
In the Toretsk direction, the enemy is trying to penetrate the defense of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the areas of Ozaryanovka, Druzhba, and Toretsk. Our defenders have repelled eight assaults, and four more attacks are ongoing.
In the Pokrovsky direction, the Russians carried out 18 assaults in the areas of the settlements of Alexandropol, Zelenoe Pole, Elizavetovka, Promen, Kotlin, Preobrazhenka, Kotlyarovka, Bogdanovka, Yasenovoe and Andreyevka. The defense forces repelled 17 attacks, one combat clash is still ongoing.
In the Novopavlovsk direction, four assault actions of enemy troops near Constantinople were stopped.
In the Gulyai-Polye direction, the enemy attacked twice in the direction of Privolnoye and Volnoye Pole.
In the Orekhov direction, the enemy carried out three attacks in the Stepovoye and Shcherbakovy areas. Two of them are still ongoing.
In the Dnieper direction the enemy attacked unsuccessfully three times.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces operation in Kursk region continues . Our soldiers have already repelled 12 enemy attacks today.
We remind you that in one day on March 17, Russia lost a full regiment - more than 1,500 people killed and wounded. The total number of Russian losses this week will exceed the threshold of 900 thousand servicemen.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] Sumy region is completely under the control of the Defense Forces.
Russian troops are trying to enter some populated areas in small groups, but Ukrainian troops are quickly destroying the Russians thanks to a well-organized defense system.
The situation on the border of Sumy Oblast remains under the full control of the Defense Forces. This was reported by the General Staff on Tuesday, March 18.
The information disseminated on social networks about the advancement of Russian units into the territory of Sumy region does not correspond to reality.
It is noted that Russian troops are trying to enter some populated areas in small groups, but Ukrainian troops are quickly destroying the Russians thanks to a well-organized defense system.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to successfully stop the attempts of Russian invaders to gain a foothold in the Sumy region. The enemy suffers significant losses in manpower.
Ukrainian soldiers also continue to hold territory in the Kursk region.
In turn, the Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is strengthening its defense with technical means and reserves.
The General Staff emphasizes the need to trust only official sources and not succumb to informational and psychological pressure and propaganda from Russians.
Earlier, Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Russia is preparing an offensive on the Sumy region.
[CollegeFix] Donald Trump’s cuts to USAID has led Johns Hopkins University to cut workers in foreign countries
U.S. taxpayers will no longer subsidize nearly 2,000 Johns Hopkins University jobs overseas.
President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio plan to significantly scale back the United States Agency for International Development due to what the administration sees as wasteful spending. However, critics argue that USAID engages in lifesaving work overseas.
This includes Johns Hopkins University, which says half of its budget comes from federal research grants – and will cut 1,975 overseas jobs and 247 stateside personnel due to Trump’s cuts.
“This is a difficult day for our entire community,” the university told the media, as reported by NBC News. “The termination of more than $800 million in USAID funding is now forcing us to wind down critical work here in Baltimore and internationally.”
However, much of that “critical work” is not done in Baltimore, but instead in “44 other countries in support of the university’s Bloomberg School of Public Health, its medical school and an affiliated nonprofit organization,” according to CBS News.
[NYPOST] The US astronauts stranded marooned on the International Space Station are home at last — more than nine months after their days-long jaunt into orbit turned into a headline-grabbing space odyssey.
Butch Wilmore, 62, and 59-year-old Suni Williams splashed down off the coast of Tallahassee, Fla., just before 6 p.m. EST Tuesday, concluding a 17-hour return journey from the ISS aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom capsule. Thank Gawd. Now I don't have to watch her hair all over the place
Their triumphant homecoming came a baffling 278 days behind schedule — when they first arrived at the ISS in June 2024, they were scheduled to stay for just about 10 days.
#3
The "Martian" movie spacecraft with the partial gravity created by rotating living quarters seems increasingly like a necessary first step for any Mars mission?
[SUDANTRIBUNE] Fifty civilians, including 10 volunteers, were killed and 82 others detained in Khartoum locality over the past week, a local emergency response group said on Monday, blaming the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias.
Emergency response rooms, which are independent groups, have been active in providing food and medical treatment to millions of 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... ese affected by the ongoing conflict. However,
today is that tomorrow you were thinking about yesterday... they say their efforts have been hampered by deliberate obstruction from the warring parties, including killings, detentions, and torture of their volunteers.
''The past week witnessed the killing of 50 citizens, including at least 10 volunteers, and the abduction and detention of 70 civilians, in addition to 12 volunteers,'' the Khartoum Locality Emergency Room said in a statement seen by Sudan Tribune.
The group said it had received reports of rape but could not provide a precise number due to social stigma and fear.
It accused the RSF and allied militias of committing widespread violations in Khartoum locality neighbourhoods, targeting unarmed civilians.
Mercenaries from South Sudan also face accusations of committing atrocities against civilians under the cover of the RSF.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/19/2025
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[SUDANTRIBUNE] South 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... 's government confirmed the presence of Ugandan troops in the country on Monday, citing a military agreement between the two nations for technical support, training, and maintaining peace and stability.
Information Minister Michael Makuei Lueth told a news conference that the government acknowledged the presence of Ugandan troops to dispel rumours circulating in the media and other sources.
''One of the reasons I called this presser is to update you about the general situation, and one of them is the presence of the Ugandan People's Defence Forces (UPDF). It is present here in Juba, and you have seen it,'' Lueth, the government front man, said.
Lueth, a long-time ally of President Salva Kiir, justified the presence of Ugandan troops despite provisions in the 2018 revitalized peace agreement that calls for the country to be free of foreign forces.
''Why is it present here in Juba? They are present because the government of Uganda and the government of South Sudan have a military pact that dates back to the time of the Lord's Resistance® Army,'' he said. ''This is the same pact which is continuing. We have not nullified it, but we use it when necessary. So, the UPDF that arrived here in Juba are the support and technical units. They have come to support their brothers and sisters in the South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SSPDF).''
He said the presence of Ugandan troops was no longer a secret, even though it should have been confidential for security reasons.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/19/2025
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Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.
[Korrespondent] 21:30 In the Kursk region, aerial reconnaissance aircraft of the 14th separate regiment of unmanned aerial systems of the Unmanned Systems Forces, in cooperation with a rocket artillery unit, defeated three North Korean self-propelled artillery units Koksan. The video was published by the command of the Unmanned Systems Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
20.03 The situation on the border of Sumy Oblast with Kursk Oblast of the Russian Federation remains under the full control of the Defense Forces. This was reported by the General Staff on Tuesday, March 18.
The information disseminated on social networks about the advancement of Russian units into the territory of Sumy region does not correspond to reality.
19:29 Russian troops continue shelling civilians in the Kharkiv region. In particular, today a Russian drone hit a civilian car. This was reported by the press service of the Kharkiv OVA on Tuesday, March 18.
As a result of the impact, four people were injured: a 46-year-old woman, a 57-year-old woman, and a 51-year-old man, a 61-year-old man.
18.53 Russian Mi-28 Night Hunter attack helicopter crashed in Volosovsky District of Leningrad Region. The crew was killed, the Russian Defense Ministry reported .
18.26 Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is demonstrating absolutely hypocritical logic in response to US President Donald Trump's proposal to begin a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine. This was written by the adviser to the head of the President's Office Mykhailo Podolyak on the social network X .
18:04 The Ukrainian government's Computer Emergency Response Team CERT-UA has recorded new cases of targeted cyber attacks on employees of defense industry enterprises and representatives of the Ukrainian Defense Forces. This was reported on March 18 by the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine (State Special Communications).
17:57 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife Olena arrived in Finland on a visit . The talks in Helsinki will focus on Finland's support for Ukraine and steps to end Russia's aggression.
17:41 Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has spoken out against sending European soldiers to Ukraine. She considers this undertaking "risky and ineffective," Sky News reports. Meloni stressed that Italy's support for the Ukrainian people and condemnation of Russian aggression have never been in doubt. Meloni also proposed providing Ukraine with security guarantees similar to NATO's Article 5, which states that an attack on one ally is considered an attack on all allies.
17:22 US President Donald Trump and Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin have begun talks. This was reported by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino on the social network X .
16:53 Since the beginning of the current day, 76 combat clashes have occurred on the front. Russian troops are conducting offensive actions in 11 directions. This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in an operational report.
16:19 Western countries have imposed more than 28,000 sanctions against Russia. This was stated by Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, Interfax reported . He warned that Russians should not count on complete freedom of trade, payments and capital movement in the future.
15:48 A large number of Russian units that participated in the Kursk operation are advancing towards the state border with Sumy Oblast. This was stated by the spokesman for the operational-tactical group of troops Seversk, Colonel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Vadim Misnik on the air of Unified News.
15:46 Almost two thirds of Germans (64%) are against providing Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles. These are the results of a Forsa poll for ntv. Only 30% of respondents were in favor of Germany supplying Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles.
14:55 Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemen aged 18-24 will be able to obtain higher education without interrupting their service. To do this, they must obtain permission from the unit commander or the high command. The decision is formalized by an order for the military unit.
13:44 State Bureau of Investigation officers detained a law enforcement officer from Odessa Oblast who promised to arrange a discharge from military registration for money. This was reported by the State Bureau of Investigation press service on Tuesday, March 18.
The detainee has already been remanded in custody with the possibility of posting bail in the amount of 3 million hryvnia. The organizer of the scheme has also been suspended from his post.
13:37 In Cherkasy Oblast, the SBU detained a spotter who was guiding Russian missile and drone strikes to Ukrainian Armed Forces radar stations. This was reported by the SBU press service on Tuesday, March 18.
SBU officers exposed the traitor at the initial stages of his intelligence activity and thus thwarted the Russians' plans. The agent was caught red-handed while conducting additional reconnaissance near a military facility.
13:09 The Ministry of Defense has codified and approved for use in the units of the Defense Forces of Ukraine the ground robotic complex Lyut of Ukrainian manufacture. It is designed to perform a wide range of tasks in difficult conditions. This was reported by the press service of the department on Tuesday, March 18.
12:59 Russian invaders have decided to create a military training center on the site of the Orlyonok recreation camp destroyed last year in temporarily occupied Mariupol. This was reported by the Mariupol City Council on Telegram.
12:44 Lieutenant General Serhiy Nayev, commander of a tactical group in one of the directions in Donbas, announced the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces and assets from disadvantageous positions in order to save the lives of Ukrainian soldiers and improve defense. This is stated in his post on Facebook.
12:20 Rescuers have eliminated the consequences of the fall of Russian drone debris on the territory of a school in the Desnyansky district of Kyiv. Sappers and explosive experts examined the territory and drone debris for explosive objects.
During the attack on the city, all students and teachers were in shelter, which allowed no casualties to be reported.
11:25 The Ukrainian side agrees to an unconditional ceasefire and an end to the war this year. But the standoff will continue unless Russia accepts the offer on the table. This was stated by Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga in an interview with Firstpost .
10:44 Ukrainian fighters captured five Russian soldiers during a special operation on the front line, the National Guard reports.
10:33 The Security Service detained a Russian military intelligence (GRU) agent in Zaporozhye who was supposed to make a number of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) for terrorist attacks in the frontline region. Before carrying out this terrorist work, the attacker underwent a "test mission" from the Russians: he pasted anti-Ukrainian leaflets around the city.
09:41 At night, Russia attacked Ukraine with 137 Shahed-type attack drones and various types of drone imitators. Air defense forces shot down 63 Russian drones, and another 64 UAVs were lost.
The Russian attack affected Kharkiv, Sumy, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk and Cherkasy regions.
09:30 Falling debris was recorded on the territory of a school in the Desnyansky district of the capital. Emergency services are being sent to the scene.
09:22 Fires broke out at two enterprises in the Dnipropetrovsk region as a result of a Russian drone attack. The fire has already been extinguished. There were no casualties.
08:55 In the Lubensky district of the Poltava region, houses were damaged as a result of falling debris from downed Russian drones. There were no casualties.
As a result of the fall of UAV debris in the Lubensky district, the roof and window glazing of two private and one non-residential house were damaged. The grass flooring also caught fire. The fire has been extinguished.
08:25 Over the past 24 hours, 155 combat clashes have been recorded on the front. Aviation, missile forces and artillery of the Defense Forces hit eight areas of concentration of personnel, weapons and military equipment, two command posts, one air defense system, three missile forces and artillery of the Russian invaders.
07:20 As of March 18, 2025, the total combat losses of Russian troops on the territory of Ukraine amounted to approximately 897,010 people (1,560 per day).
01:19 As a result of the Russian strike on one of the frontline communities of the Zaporizhia region, more than 3,000 subscribers were left without electricity, and three villages without water supply.
00:04 Donald Trump said that if it were not for him, the Ukrainian soldiers who were allegedly surrounded would have already died. He said this in a commentary to American TV channels, despite the fact that Ukraine has repeatedly denied the fake about the alleged encirclement of Ukrainian units. In addition, since this fake was first voiced, the General Staff has officially acknowledged the withdrawal from Sudzha. Trump also promised that on Tuesday he would speak with Putin to "save" these soldiers.
[FoxNews] The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has released a list of five invasive animals that Americans can hunt, catch and cook.
Eating invasive species can help protect native wildlife by reducing the numbers and limiting the damage these species cause to ecosystems, FWS spokesperson Erin Huggins wrote in her list, which was published on the agency's website.
Fox News Digital spoke to various chefs and hunters to get their take on the flavor profiles of these invasive but "downright delicious" animals.
Check out these five.
1. NUTRIA
Native to South America, nutria are invasive inhabitants of the Gulf Coast, Atlantic Coast and Pacific Northwest, according to the FWS.
Also known by its scientific name of "Myocastor coypus," the semiaquatic herbivore has meat that is "lean, mild and tastes like rabbit," Huggins wrote.
Eric Cook, a New Orleans chef who owns Gris-Gris and Saint John restaurants, told Fox News Digital that nutria "is such a crazy invasive species" and was doing so much "damage to the land" that his group experimented with it on the menu.
"And it failed tremendously," he said.
2. NORTHERN SNAKEHEAD
The northern snakehead, or "Channa argus," is a sharp-toothed fish native to East Asia.
These air-breathing fish can live outside a body of water for several days and are able to wiggle from one freshwater habitat to another, according to the FWS.
Northern snakeheads were first found in a pond in Maryland in 2002; two years later, they were detected in the Potomac River, according to the FWS.
They've since been spotted throughout nearly all the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Commonly found in mid-Atlantic or southeastern U.S. waterways, the snakehead "is a meatier white meat, edging toward chicken," said Ryan Callaghan, MeatEater's director of conservation in Bozeman, Montana.
Huggins described the snakehead as having "firm, white and flaky meat."
"Try them in fish tacos, grilled or fried," she wrote. "Just make sure they don't bite you first."
3. GREEN IGUANA
The green iguana is arguably the most visible of all the invasive animals on the list.
Native to Central and South America, these cold-blooded invaders have made sunny South Florida their home away from home.
The large, plant-eating lizards thrive in South Florida's warm climate, enabling them to reproduce and become a regular sight for residents and visitors alike.
Darcie Arahill, a Florida-based angler and content creator of Darcizzle Offshore YouTube videos that teach the art of fishing, said that these iguanas "breed like rabbits" and are "here to stay."
"They don't eat any kind of meat, but because they're vegetarians, they threaten the native wildlife or the native plants and flowers that we have here in Florida," Arahill told Fox News Digital.
Iguanas also dig tunnels that erode seawalls, Arahill said.
She's harvested them and posted YouTube videos about how to cook them.
"Iguana is really good," she said.
Arahill, who lives along a canal, said she uses her bow and arrow to shoot them in her backyard. She said the tail is the "best part," but the bigger the lizard, the more meat there is on the legs.
Arahill likes to boil iguana meat in water with potatoes and carrots, almost like a stew, "to the point where the meat just falls off the bone."
Then she'll plate the stew on top of rice – "and I swear it is so good."
Arahill said iguana tastes like pulled pork.
"You don't know the difference," she said.
4. INVASIVE CARP
Another invasive fish is the carp.
Bighead, silver, black and grass carp species, native to East Asia, are collectively known as invasive carp.
"Invasive carp are fast-growing and prolific feeders that out-compete native fish and leave a trail of environmental destruction in their wake," according to the National Invasive Species Information Center's website.
"The four types of invasive carp currently found in the U.S. were imported into the country for use in aquaculture ponds. Through flooding and accidental releases, black, grass, bighead and silver carps found their way into the Mississippi River system."
Because the Mississippi River system serves as a "giant freshwater highway," this has given invasive carp species "access to many of the country's rivers and streams," the site also says.
MeatEater's Callaghan, who has some experience with bighead and silver carp, told Fox News Digital that the taste is "very mild to almost neutral."
He said they're zooplankton feeders, "so they don't have to work very hard."
The carp's bone structure is "probably the biggest reason they haven't taken off as a grocery store fish," Callaghan said. It "takes some practice to filet them efficiently and avoid the bones."
5. FERAL HOGS/WILD BOAR
Feral hogs or wild boars, known by their scientific name "Sus scrofa," are a "full-blown ecological disaster," Huggins wrote.
Native to Europe and Asia, these animals can be found in the Southeast, Texas, California and beyond.
Wild hogs can be found throughout Florida in a variety of habitats. Yet according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, they "prefer oak-cabbage palm hammocks, freshwater marshes and sloughs, pine flatwoods and more open agricultural areas."
These swine "eat a variety of plants and animals and feed by rooting with their broad snouts. They may disturb the soil and ground cover vegetation and leave the area looking like it has been plowed."
Danielle Prewett, a Texas hunter, chef and author of the cookbook "MeatEater's Wild + Whole," told Fox News Digital that hogs would "tear up all of the pastures" on her family's ranch — so she and her husband "built a huge trap" to catch them.
"That's one way to harvest these hogs," Prewett said.
As a food, Prewett said, hog gets a bad rap.
"I have never had a bad hog," she noted.
While "a lot of people have a lot of really negative things to say about hogs," Prewett said, she believes it mostly has to do with "how the meat is processed."
"I have never had a bad hog," a Texas hunter and chef told Fox News Digital. (iStock)
"Hogs have several glands, scent glands underneath their skin, and if you accidentally cut that when you're removing the hide and processing it, it can really tank the meat and make it smell and taste really, really terrible," Prewett said.
She said hog is "really delicious," but the flavor of every animal is "going to be based upon whatever it is that they're eating."
"If you're eating [hog from] somewhere where there's no good food source, they're going to taste differently and reflect that," she said.
#4
There is an old Detroit legend that the French Catholic settlers were allowed to eat muskrat meat during Lent and still stay within the Church's abstinence rules.
#5
Not a legend. That was true in Bavaria also, since they were counted as animals living in the water.
There's a funny - very old - story about why Bavarian monks ere allowed to drink strong dark beer (Starkbier) during Lent.
They carried a barrel of that beer to Rome in hot summer. Of course the beer turned and when the Pope tasted it, he gladly allowed the beer as "harsh punishment". And the monks lived happily ever after.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
03/19/2025 11:32
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#6
Angu, beaver was also considered OK for Lent.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
03/19/2025 15:26
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#7
in many suburban areas in the USA, deer are invasive
also, deer cause more fatalities than any other animal in the USA (traffic accidents)
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
03/19/2025 21:01
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[USAtoday] The story of how the H5N1 viruses came to be created – and the response to a 2019 safety breach – raises uncomfortable questions about the tremendous trust the world is placing in research labs.
This exclusive article is adapted from former USA TODAY investigative reporter Alison Young’s forthcoming book "Pandora’s Gamble: Lab Leaks, Pandemics, and a World at Risk," which will be released April 25. In this excerpt, Young reveals for the first time details of a December 2019 lab safety breach involving one of the world’s most infamous lab-created “gain of function” viruses – and the efforts that were made to downplay the event, avoid notifying health authorities and oversight bodies, and keep the public and policymakers in the dark.
Inside the high-security Influenza Research Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, two experienced scientists were pulling ferrets out of their HEPA-filtered cages on a Monday in December 2019. Another researcher, still in training, was also in the room to watch and learn.
One by one, the animals were put into a biosafety cabinet, where a solution was washed into their nostrils. It’s a procedure used to collect evidence of infection, and this particular experiment involved exposing the animals to a highly controversial lab-engineered strain of H5N1 avian influenza virus.
The virus they were working with that day was far from ordinary, and there should have been no room for the safety breach that was about to happen and the oversight failures that followed.
The experiment underway involved one of two infamous lab-made bird flu viruses that had alarmed scientists around the world when their creation became widely known nearly a decade earlier. In each case, scientists had taken an avian influenza virus that was mostly dangerous to birds and manipulated it in ways that potentially increased its threat to humans.
In nature, the H5N1 virus has rarely infected humans. But when people have been sickened, usually through close contact with infected birds, more than half died. So it is fortunate that the H5N1 virus isn’t capable of spreading easily from person to person. If the virus were ever to evolve in ways that gave it that ability, it could cause a devastating pandemic.
'GAIN OF FUNCTION' RESEARCH CREATED CONTROVERSIAL FLU VIRUSES
And yet in late 2011 the world learned that two scientific teams – one in Wisconsin, led by virologist Yoshihiro Kawaoka, and another in the Netherlands, led by virologist Ron Fouchier – had potentially pushed the virus in that direction. Each of these labs had created H5N1 viruses that had gained the ability to spread through the air between ferrets, the animal model used to study how flu viruses might behave in humans.
The ultimate goal of this work was to help protect the world from future pandemics, and the research was supported with words and funding by two of the most prominent scientists in the United States: Dr. Francis S. Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
[IsraelTimes] Former Mossad chief says prime minister poses ‘clear and present danger to the nation’s security’ as crowd accuses leaders of abandoning nation for narrow political interests.
The protest was organized by the group “Protective Wall for Israel,” which bills itself as bringing together 169 former top officials from the military, police, Mossad and Shin Bet.
In other words, Israel’s deep state. All the uninteresting details at the link. The key thing to remember is that in the early days after 10/7/2023 the crowds were 200,000-500,000. Now they are only up to 10% as big, mostly professional protesters who’ll tirn out for anything planned by the Left.
[IsraelTimes] Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar meets with Azerbaijan’s Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov in Jerusalem, where the two discuss strengthening strategic economic and energy ties, says Sa’ar’s office.
Earlier in the day, Jabbarov signed an agreement giving the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan exploration rights to joint natural gas exploration in Israel’s Exclusive Economic Zone in the Mediterranean Sea.
Azerbaijan, a majority Muslim country that borders Iran, is an important security and energy ally for Israel.
Jabbarov also met with President Isaac Herzog, Economy Minister Nir Barkat and Energy Minister Eli Cohen.
According to Sa’ar, the Joint Economic Commission between the two allies will soon convene, headed on the Israeli side by Ze’ev Elkin, a minister within the Finance Ministry.
Israel, Azerbaijan, and the US have been working to strengthen trilateral ties, and to connect Baku to Abraham Accords initiatives. Last week, US special envoy Steve Witkoff flew from Moscow to Baku and met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in a visit arranged by Israel, The Times of Israel has learned.
Azerbaijan has also served as a quiet mediator between Israel and Turkey. Aliyev’s adviser Hikmet Hajiyev was in Israel last month to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about Turkey and Syria, and flew from Israel to Turkey.
[IsraelTimes] Anti-Israel activists at Columbia University in New York derided janitors as "Jew-lovers," during protests on campus last year, according to a discrimination complaint.
The incidents occurred last spring as the activists held a protest encampment at the center of Columbia’s campus and took over Hamilton Hall, a campus building.
The janitors filed a discrimination complaint with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission last year. The commission was working on an investigation last month, according to records obtained today by The Times of Israel. The investigation was first reported today by The New York Post.
The civil rights complaint that sparked the investigation says the two janitors, Lester Wilson and Mariano Torres, began finding graffiti, including swastikas, on blackboards in Hamilton Hall in November 2023, shortly after the October 2023 Hamas ..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",... invasion of Israel.
Torres says he found and was forced to clean swastikas "dozens of times," on a near-daily basis, in Hamilton Hall classrooms. He began throwing away chalk in the classrooms so the vandals would not be able to leave graffiti, and was reprimanded for doing so.
Neither Torres nor Wilson are Jewish. Torres says that, as a Latino, he felt the swastikas were aimed at him as well as at Jews on campus.
Last spring, the janitors started finding people hiding in Hamilton Hall at night when the building was closed, and found doors left ajar after hours.
The two janitors were in Hamilton Hall when the protesters invaded the building in April and say they feared for their lives.
Torres says masked protesters surrounded him while he was cleaning and blocked him from reaching another colleague.
Torres says that the takeover appeared coordinated, with two masked demonstrators giving orders to the protesters and directing them around the building. The rioters brought supplies including water, food, mattresses, tape, and rope into the building as others put vending machines in front of the building’s entrances.
Two protesters trailed Torres around the building, and a group of masked individuals surrounded him, repeatedly calling him a "Jew-lover," the complaint says.
One man threatened Torres, telling him, "I’m going to get 20 guys up here to fuck you up," according to the complaint. Another protester repeatedly hit him in the back.
During the Hamilton Hall takeover, Wilson says in his complaint, the protesters shoved him, rammed furniture into him, and trapped him. When he asked the protesters to release him, they repeatedly called him a "Jew-lover," "Jew-worker," and "Zionist," the complaint says.
During the encampment, Wilson says he saw a colleague cleaning up after the protesters, who called the other janitor a "Jew-lover" and "Zionist." One protester said the other janitor was "working for the Jew-man," the complaint says.
The complaint claims Columbia administrators failed to take action against the protesters in the lead-up to the building takeover.
Torres and Wilson suffered physical injuries and psychological trauma that has prevented them from returning to work, the complaint says.
[X]
Columbia covered up the fact that dozens of swastikas were found on campus by janitors.
#1
Attack the universities money. Not a one of them need to be receiving Federal money. Joe and Mary Sixpack shouldn't have their paychecks reduced to support this kind of nonsense.
[PJMedia] The latest scandal for the former Biden administration has exploded into the spotlight thanks to Trump’s declaration Sunday night that Biden's pardons are "VOID, VACANT, AND NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT" because they were signed via autopen, and Biden may not have authorized them.
The lingering question, of course, is who may have been using the autopen on Biden’s behalf without his knowledge or consent. An explosive New York Post report revealed a disturbing pattern of potential power abuse within the Biden White House, centered around the controversial use of the presidential autopen.
One Biden White House source told The Post they suspect that a key aide to the then-president may have made unilateral determinations on what to auto-sign. The Post is not publishing that staffer's name due to the lack of concrete evidence and refutations by other colleagues.
The Biden aide, who did not respond to requests for comment, would frequently make mention of what "the boss" wanted, the source said, but compatriots would have "no idea" if it was true because the internal culture was to not ask questions.
While the New York Post didn’t name the staffer, speculation is swirling around Neera Tanden.
…whose resumé includes positions as Center for American Progress president and aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, she was in line to become White House chief of staff had Mrs. Clinton been elected president…
A longtime left-wing operative, Tanden was Biden’s controversial pick to lead the Office of Management and Budget — until her nomination collapsed over a slew of hyper-partisan attacks on Republican lawmakers. She later found a role as White House Staff Secretary. Now, she finds herself at the center of this constitutional crisis.
The timeline is damning. On Dec. 30, 2022, while Biden was allegedly golfing in St. Croix, six pardons magically appeared with his signature.
Tanden's response? A desperate attempt at deflection, trying to turn the tables by questioning Trump's own autopen usage.
Nice try, Neera, but there's a difference between delegated authority and potentially hijacking presidential powers.
The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project, which broke the scandal, called her out specifically.
This isn't just about pardons or autopenned signatures. It's about who was actually running our country. Was it Joe Biden? Or was it radical operatives like Tanden, who went from heading a far-left think tank to potentially wielding presidential power without proper authorization?
The Biden administration's deafening silence on social media speaks volumes. They can't defend the indefensible, so they're hoping this scandal will just disappear. But Trump's declaration has ensured this constitutional crisis won't be swept under the rug.
#1
As demented as Joe Biden was & has been, it will most likely never be determined when, whether or not, he was last capable of giving consent to anything on any official act he did while in office. Prove me wrong.
#3
Where is the paper trail behind the pardons? Some memorandum listing the names AND signed or initialed by Joe Biden? The 'signed' pardons didn't appear miraculously from the ether ...or perhaps they did.
[IsraelTimes] Syrian foreign ministry charges that Israel is trying to destabilize the country, after strikes in Daraa on Monday said to have killed 3, injured more than a dozen others
Israel carried out several dronezaps on military infrastructure near the southern Syrian town of Khan Arnabeh on Tuesday, less than a day after Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s in the Daraa Governorate were said to have killed at least three people and injured more than a dozen others.
The strikes were the latest in a string of attacks on military infrastructure belonging to the ousted Assad regime, which fell to Islamist turbans in December.
The IDF said that it had struck artillery systems in Khan Arnabeh, located just outside the buffer zone along the Israel-Syria border.
It said that the systems had posed a threat to Israel, and warned that it "will not allow the existence of a military threat in southern Syria and will act against it."
The previous evening, the IDF had confirmed that it was carrying out a series of strikes on military targets in the Daraa area, targeting headquarters and other facilities used to store weapons and equipment belonging to the former Syrian regime. It said that it had identified attempts by unspecified groups to use those weapons.
While there was no confirmation from the IDF as to what groups had been attempting to access the weapons, Israel sees the Syrian branches of Paleostinian terror groups Hamas ..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,... and 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... as major threats in the wake of the fall of Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad The Scourge of Hama... The Syrian civil defense group, known as the White Helmets, said that the strikes had killed at least three people and injured 19 others.
In comments on Tuesday afternoon, the Syrian foreign ministry denounced "in the strongest terms," the airstrikes in Daraa.
"This aggression is part of an Israeli campaign against the Syrian people and the stability of the country," the foreign ministry charged.
"The ongoing Israeli aggression on Syria is not only a violation of international law but is also a direct threat to regional and international security," it added, calling on the United Nations ...where theory meets practice and practice loses... Security Council "and all responsible international bodies" to "put an end to these illegal actions and implement the 1974 agreement."
The 1974 Disengagement Agreement, signed at the end of the Yom Kippur War saw the establishment of the 235-square-kilometer demilitarized buffer zone between Israel and Syria in the Golan Heights.
The buffer zone was manned for decades by UN peacekeepers, but with the fall of Assad, Israel said that it considered the agreement void until order was restored in Syria and deployed troops to the buffer zone.
The IDF describes its presence in the buffer zone as a temporary and defensive measure, although Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last month that troops would remain there for "an unlimited period of time."
He said that Israel would not allow paramilitary groups or forces from the new Syrian army to move south of Damascus, and called for the "full demilitarization" of the Quneitra, Daraa and Suweyda provinces in southern Syria.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,...
..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start...
[FoxNews] A wave of Tesla owners, dealerships and charging stations have been targeted nationwide in recent weeks
[JustTheNews] A gun was found in a backpack on the day of Trump's address to a joint session of Congress and the Capitol Police watchdog has been asked to probe whether or how a person evaded metal detectors on Inauguration Day when Trump spoke to Congress.
..always the voice of sweet reason...
...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...
[NYPOST] The FBI extradited one of their ''ten most wanted'' targets, an 
...where God struck dead Anton LaVey, home of the Sydney Ducks, ruled by Vigilance Committee from 1859 through 1867, reliably and volubly Democrat since 1964...
...President-for-Life of Russia. He gets along well with other presidents for life. He is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substance. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to him. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substances...
...Never got invited to a P.Diddy party...
...a Moslem country located in the Horn of Africa. It is noted for its affinity for rule by ex- or current generals, its holy men, and for the oppression of the native Afro population by its Arab conquerors. South Sudan, populated mostly by the natives, split off from Sudan proper, which left North and South Darfur to be oppressed by the guys with turbans...
... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord...
[FoxNews] Hong Kong leader John Lee says the deal warranted 'serious attention'
..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,...
...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...
[PJMedia] The latest scandal for the former Biden administration has exploded into the spotlight thanks to Trump’s declaration Sunday night that Biden's pardons are "VOID, VACANT, AND NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT" because they were signed via 
..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,...
