#3
One of my favorite actors. He was in "We've Never Been Licked", playing an ROTC student at my alma mater, Texas A&M. He later said it was his least favorite film. I don't blame him, it was pretty lame. A total man's man. Not many like him anymore.
[IsraelTimes] Academy cites mistake, restores memorabilia; move raised questions if exhibit was taken down in line with defense secretary’s orders targeting diversity, equity and inclusion
The US Naval Academy removed items from a display honoring female Jewish graduates ahead of a planned visit Tuesday from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
A display case in the academy’s Jewish chapel that had previously contained a collection of photos and memorabilia from female Jewish graduates of the academy was completely emptied prior to the visit, according to photos obtained by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation.
Before the removals, the case had contained items that belonged to a number of Jewish women who graduated USNA, including a bronze star, military cap, and insignias, as well as photos from USNA graduation and tours in Iraq, according to MRFF. Other displays featuring male Jewish graduates had stayed up.
"While the boys were away, we worked for victory," read a banner held by female Jewish civilians during World War II, in the only remaining photo in the display. A piece of cardboard had also been propped up to block a placard that described "Jewish women in the Navy," according to a photo shared by MRFF.
The items were reinstated by the academy, reportedly following the visit, and the removals raised questions about whether they were taken down following recent orders from Hegseth targeting diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, content.
s
Hegseth’s campaign against DEI in his department has led to the censorship of books in schools, Pentagon websites, and classes at an Air Force boot camp.
The academy confirmed reports that the items had been stripped from their display, and added that it was done "mistakenly."
"US Naval Academy leadership is immediately taking steps to review and correct the unauthorized removal," said the Naval Academy’s director of communications in a statement.
The US Naval Academy also removed 400 books from its library ahead of Tuesday’s visit following orders from Hegseth’s office last week to review its contents for the promotion of DEI. A list of the books removed has not been made available.
During his visit Tuesday in an address to the academy, Hegseth argued that "past distractions" had "diluted" the focus of the military, saying, "Our differences don’t make us strong. Our shared mission does."
It is not the first time Jewish historical material has been caught in the crosshairs of Hegseth’s anti-DEI campaign. In March, following a memo ordering officials to purge Department of Defense digital platforms of all DEI content, websites memorializing the Holocaust were removed.
Among the pages deleted in Hegseth’s DEI sweep were the stories of Kitty Saks, a Holocaust survivor, and Bea Arthur, the Jewish "Golden Girls" actress and World War II Marines veteran.
Arthur’s story along with another article about Holocaust remembrance that was originally taken down have been reinstated following a public outcry, but Saks’ article is still unavailable.
In a February cull of Pentagon school books, a picture book about Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the liberal icon who was the first Jewish woman to serve on the US Supreme Court, was placed under review for potential DEI content. It was later put back on shelves, according to Military.com.
#3
As a grad, I would like to see them fire all the clowns that decided this was a good idea, and then fire all the clowns that protest that the other clowns were just following a directive. The process of de clowning the place will be greatly accelerated. Sure there will be remaining clowns, but they will be clowns acting like non-clowns with their butt holes clenched tight. If I can’t get rid of all the clowns immediately, I would like the remaining clowns to be under heavy stress.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
04/05/2025 8:16
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#4
#2. Yep. We're going to have to drag them from their holes one by one.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
04/05/2025 9:41
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#5
This is malicious compliance.
Yes. Like the people who took down the Jackie Robinson WWII info then yelled about how the order to end DEI cancelled Jackie Robinson.
#7
It's time to start disciplining military personnel for malicious compliance. It is really no different than disobeying an order, and it has to stop.
[IsraelTimes] Karim Souaid says bank must counter money laundering, restructure banking system as he begins task of repairing economy battered by decades of corruption and war
Lebanon’s new central bank governor vowed Friday that the institution will fight money laundering and the financing of terrorism and will work independently away from political intervention.
Karim Souaid, who was speaking after officially taking office in Beirut, added that he will work on restructuring the banking sector, public debt, and returning money to depositors.
Lebanon’s economy has been witnessing its worst crisis in its modern history since 2019 and the state must implement reforms demanded by the international community. Such reforms are needed to unlock international aid, and on top of that, Israel’s 14-month war with Hezbollah caused what the World Bank estimates was $11 billion in damages and economic losses.
Lebanon’s crisis is rooted in decades of corruption by the country’s political and financial leaders that drained state resources and eventually led to a run on the banks in 2019 after which people have lost access to their deposits. The situation has since been made worse with COVID-19, the massive Beirut port blast in August 2020, and the Israel-Hezbollah war.
Since the historic meltdown began Lebanon has been running on a cash economy and in October, the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force, or FATF, an international anti-money laundering watchdog, placed Lebanon on its “grey list.”
“We will work on implementing international laws on top of them combating money laundering and supporting terrorism,” Souaid said. The former asset manager added that banks in Lebanon should recapitalize by pumping new money and those that cannot and don’t want to can merge with other lenders. He said that the priority will be to return deposits starting with people who have small accounts. He said the return of deposits should be the responsibility of the banks, the central bank, and the state.
Souaid said the central bank will study all economic recovery plans put forward by previous governments to help the small nation get out of the crisis.
Wassim Mansouri, who had been acting central bank governor since July 2023, said the central bank’s reserves stood at $10.727 billion at the end of March.
Souaid succeeds Riad Salameh, the embattled former governor of 30 years whose term ended with several international corruption cases lodged against him for embezzlement and other financial crimes. Salameh was appointed in 1993 when Lebanon was scrambling to bounce back after a 15-year civil war.
[IsraelTimes] A pro-Palestinian protester interrupts the keynote event of Microsoft’s 50th anniversary celebration, the latest backlash over the tech industry’s work to supply artificial intelligence technology to the Israeli military.
The protest happens as Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman presents product updates and a long-term vision for the company’s AI assistant product, Copilot, to an audience that includes Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and former CEO Steve Ballmer.
“Mustafa, shame on you,” shouts a woman in the audience. “You claim that you care about using AI for good but Microsoft sells AI weapons to the Israeli military.”
She says that 50,000 people in Gaza have died in the conflict sparked by the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, claiming the war is a genocide.
“Thank you for your protest, I hear you,” Suleyman says. The protester continues, shouting that he and “all of Microsoft” have blood on their hands.
[HodhodYemenNews] The commander of the EU’s Red Sea naval defence operation has distanced his mission from daily US strikes on Yemen, as tension between the Americans and the Sana’a government led by Ansarullah grows.
“We are not fighting the Houthis,” Admiral Vasileios Gryparis said in an interview with The National at the headquarters of the EU Naval Force Operation Aspides in the Greek city of Larisa. “We are dealing with their actions against the shipping industry, and we are protecting global common goods like the freedom of navigation, and the sea farers’ lives. We have never injured any Yemenis during all these actions that we have taken in that area.”
He added, ” We don’t believe that this problem can be solved only with military actions. In the long run, we need to have the Yemenis on our side.”
“We are not supporting attacks on Yemeni soil,” he added. “So that’s a huge difference in how we do things.”
Aspides is “totally different” from Washington-led efforts, according to Admiral Gryparis, although his forces co-ordinate with a separate US-led military operation in the area, Operation Prosperity Guardian, to avoid friendly fire incidents and to preserve ammunition by not doubling up on responses to an incoming threat.
“We are not part of the Gaza conflict. We are not supporting either the Israelis nor the Palestinians,” he said. “We are trying to stay focused on this exact mission and also to describe our mission to the neighbouring countries, and also to pass significant and relative messages to the Houthis on what exactly we are doing.”
He affirmed that Europe still needs the trade routes through the Red Sea, and thus is in need “to build something more sustainable.”
Half of Europe's trade transits the Red Sea. So what, exactly, are you doing? Letting the US fight your war while dipping your fingers in lemon water and complaining about the smell of our language? Oh well I guess, as they say in France, allahu akbar.
[HodhodYemenNews] The Ministry of Health in Gaza Strip announced on Friday that its hospitals received 86 martyrs and 287 wounded citizens over the past 24 hours.
It pointed out that the casualties of the Israeli renewed aggression since March 18 had reached 1,249 martyrs and 3,022 injured.
The overall number of casualties since Israel launched its war of genocide on Gaza on October 7, 2023 had reached 50,609 martyrs and 115,063 wounded, it added.
The ministry pointed out that an unspecified number of victims are still trapped under the rubble of destroyed buildings or lying on roads and rescue teams cannot reach them.
[IsraelTimes] Syrian source tells Reuters that T-4 airfield ‘is totally unusable now’; Turkish FM says Ankara not seeking conflict with Jerusalem over Syria as it plans defense pact with Damascus
Turkey scoped out at least three airbases in Syria where it could deploy forces as part of a planned joint defense pact before Israel hit the sites with airstrikes this week, four people familiar with the matter said.
The bombardment signals the risks of a deepening rift between two powerful regional militaries over Syria, where Islamist rebels have installed a new government after toppling former leader Bashar al-Assad in December.
The Israeli strikes on the three sites Turkey was assessing, including a heavy barrage on Wednesday night, came despite Ankara’s efforts to reassure Washington that a deeper military presence in Syria was not intended to threaten Israel.
The Islamists replacing Assad have alarmed Israel, which is wary of an Islamist presence on its border and has lobbied the United States to curb Turkey’s growing influence in the country.
Ankara, a longtime backer of opposition to Assad, is positioning to play a major role in the remade Syria, including with a possible joint defense pact that could see new Turkish bases in central Syria and use of Syria’s airspace.
In preparation, Turkish military teams in recent weeks visited the T-4 and Palmyra airbases in Syria’s Homs province and the main airport in Hama province, according to a regional intelligence official, two Syrian military sources and another Syrian source familiar with the matter.
The sources spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the visits, which have not been previously reported.
Turkish teams evaluated the state of the runways, hangars and other infrastructure at the bases, the regional intelligence official said.
Another planned visit to T-4 and Palmyra on March 25 was cancelled after Israel struck both bases just hours beforehand, according to the regional intelligence official and the two Syrian military sources.
Strikes at T-4 “destroyed the runway, tower, hangars and the planes that were grounded. It was a tough message that Israel won’t accept the expanded Turkish presence,” said the intelligence official, who reviewed photographs of the damage.
“T-4 is totally unusable now,” said a fourth Syrian source, who is close to Turkey.
When asked about the visits, a Turkish defense ministry official said: “Reports and posts regarding developments in Syria — whether real or alleged — that do not originate from official authorities should not be taken into consideration, as they lack credibility and may be misleading.”
A spokesperson for Syria’s defense ministry declined to comment.
Turkey’s foreign ministry on Thursday called Israel “the greatest threat to regional security.” On Friday, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told Reuters Turkey wanted no confrontation with Israel in Syria.
“We don’t want to see any confrontation with Israel in Syria because Syria belongs to Syrians,” Fidan said.
A “senior Israeli official” meanwhile said Friday “we are not looking for conflict with Turkey. and we hope they’re not looking for a fight with us.”
“At the same time, we don’t want Turkey establishing itself on our borders,” said the official while briefing reporters during Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trip to Hungary.
“Establishing military bases, naval and air bases under Turkish protection is something we want to prevent,” added the official.
“There are red lines.”
HEAVY STRIKES
In the four months since Assad was toppled, Israel has seized ground in southwest Syria, made overtures to the Druze minority, and struck much of the Syrian military’s heavy weapons and equipment. Wednesday’s strikes were some of the most intense yet.
Syria’s foreign ministry said Israel struck five separate areas within a 30-minute window, resulting in the near-total destruction of the Hama base and wounding dozens of civilians and soldiers.
Israel said it hit the T-4 airbase and other military capabilities at airbases in Hama and Homs provinces, as well as military infrastructure in the Damascus area.
Defense Minister Israel Katz called the airstrikes a warning that “we will not allow the security of the State of Israel to be harmed.” Foreign Minister Gideon Saar accused Ankara of seeking a “Turkish protectorate” in Syria.
Noa Lazimi, a specialist in Middle East politics at Bar-Ilan University, said Israel was concerned that Turkey could establish Russian anti-aircraft systems and drones at T-4.
“The base would enable Turkey to establish air superiority in this area, and this poses a serious concern for Israel because it undermines its operational freedom in the region,” she said.
Turkey has tried to reassure the US that it wants to work towards a stable Syria.
Foreign Minister Fidan told US officials in Washington last month that Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa would not pose a threat to neighbors, according to ba senior regional diplomat close to Turkey and a source in Washington briefed on the meetings.
Fidan and other Turkish officials had earlier told Sharaa that Ankara was carefully calibrating its moves towards a defense pact so as not to irk Washington, one of the Syrian military sources said.
“Turkey, not Israel, would pay the highest price among regional states were there to be failure or destabilization in Syria, including with refugees and security,” an official in Turkey’s ruling AK Party told Reuters.
Soner Cagaptay, director of the Turkish Research Program at the Washington Institute think tank, said Turkey and Israel were on an “ideological collision course” but could avoid military escalation through mediation with Washington.
#2
Black boys are in danger. So they have to join gangs and carry (illegal) knives to protect themselves. Because black boys are in danger. What sort of danger? Danger from black boys in gangs carrying knives. It all sound a bit chicken & eggy.
In a story snatched straight from the tabs
For our times, COBRA: Bucket of Crabs,
In which mannish pixie
Dream minister nixie
Goes native,
["No, wait!"]
Stab stab stabs.
[IsraelTimes] Newsletter sent out by career services group includes link to ‘Stop Gaza Genocide’ document, prompting outcry from Jewish education advocates
New York City’s department of education on Friday said it had launched an investigation after a department office sent out an anti-Israel toolkit that included “antisemitic language.”
“Today, a troubling oversight was brought to my attention, in which an offensive political toolkit was hyperlinked in one of our published newsletters,” New York City Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos said in a statement. “The inclusion of this toolkit violates our policies on political neutrality and uses hateful, antisemitic language.”
The link to the toolkit was sent out in a Spring newsletter from the department’s Office of Student Pathways on April 1. The office prepares public school students for post-school careers.
In the newsletter, beneath an icon for the Holocaust Center for Humanity,
…which is in Seattle…
were resources for “facilitating supportive conversations.” One of the resources was a link that read, “Scripts to contact representatives.” The link led to a Google doc titled “Stop Gaza Genocide Toolkit,” from the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, according to images that Jewish teacher advocates shared with The Times of Israel.
The toolkit surfaced after a source in the public school system shared the newsletter with the EndJewHatred advocacy group, said Michelle Ahdoot, an activist with the group. EndJewHatred publicized the newsletter, leading to the chancellor’s statement.
“Israel is on a total rampage of death and destruction,” the toolkit said, urging readers to call Congress to protest.
“There will be NO REST for Congress while they fund and enable genocide. Blood is on their hands,” the document said.
The document included images of protests, information about “money from pro-Israel groups,” protest graphics for social media, links to flyers to print out and information about attending protests.
“Israel is mass murdering Palestinian families with our tax dollars,” the document said.
The toolkit backed the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement targeting Israel, calling for boycotts of companies including McDonald’s, Disney and Domino’s Pizza,
Why those three?
as well as the Israeli companies Ahava, SodaStream and Elbit. A graphic showed the Sabra hummus company’s logo dripping blood over the word “killer.”
🚨 OUTRAGEOUS:
NYC Public Schools included a link to a horrific “Stop Gaza Genocide” toolkit in an official student newsletter, falsely labeled as a contact resource.
A spokesperson for the education department confirmed the details of the toolkit to The Times of Israel.
“This language is hurtful to many in our Jewish community, and we deeply apologize,” Aviles-Ramos said. “Once leadership became aware of this link, we immediately ordered its removal and have already begun conducting a thorough investigation as to how this was added to a [New York City Schools] communication.”
The text of the newsletter said it was sent to people who had been involved with the Office of Student Pathways. It wasn’t clear how many people received the message.
Jewish public school advocates have long argued that antisemitism is rampant in the school system and pushed for reforms.
“This is a prime example of how embedded this hate is in New York City public schools and how the administration has failed to oversee all of the diffent components within New York City to ensure that the hate’s not spreading,” said Tova Plaut, a co-founder of the New York City Public School Alliance, a Jewish advocacy group.
[IsraelTimes] The Trump administration advanced the sale of more than 20,000 US-made assault rifles to Israel last month, according to a document seen by Rooters and a source familiar with the matter, pushing ahead with a sale that the administration of former president Joe The Big Guy Biden ...46th president of the U.S. You're a lyin' dog-faced pony soldier... had delayed over concerns they could be used by bully boy Israeli settlers.
The State Department sent a notification to Congress on March 6 for the $24 million sale, saying the end user would be the Israeli National Police, according to the document.
The rifle sale is a small transaction next to the billions of dollars worth of weapons that Washington supplies to Israel. But it drew attention when the Biden administration delayed the sale over concerns that the weapons could end up in the hands of Israeli settlers, some of whom have carried out attacks on Paleostinians in the West Bank.
The Biden administration has imposed sanctions on individuals and entities accused of committing violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which has seen a rise in settler attacks on Paleostinians.
On his first day in office on January 20, Trump issued an executive order rescinding US sanctions on Israeli settlers in a reversal of US policy. Since then, his administration has approved the sale of billions of dollars worth of weapons to Israel.
The March 6 congressional notification said the US government had taken into account "political, military, economic, human rights ...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions... , and arms control considerations."
The State Department did not respond to a request for comment when asked if the administration sought assurances from Israel on the use of the weapons.
The rifle sale had been put on hold after Democratic politicians objected and sought information on how Israel was going to use them. The congressional committees eventually cleared the sale but the Biden administration kept the hold in place. His administration had repeatedly insisted that the only hold in place on Israeli weapons was one on a shipment of 2,000 lb bombs that it was concerned would be used in densely populated areas in which would harm civilians.
Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, a far-right member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, oversees the Israeli police force. The Times of Israel in October 2023 reported that his office has put "a heavy emphasis on arming civilian security squads" in the aftermath of the October 7 onslaught.
[IsraelTimes] Global medical charity Doctors Without Borders says it is appalled and saddened by the killing of one of its staff by an air strike in Gaza, the second within two weeks.
Not sure why, given the blatant sympathies of their staff for the romantic “revolutionaries” they generally surround themselves with.
Hussam Al Loulou died in the strike on April 1 in central Gaza, alongside his wife and 28-year-old daughter, the organization says.
#2
Speaking with a retired Doc here in my area, that used to be involved with it.
He had indicated it was doing a lot of good things.
But also indicated he felt it was being progressively Co-op'ed to promote certain political agendas and placing some doctors in harms way.
[AmericanThinker] Marine Le Pen was just banned from running for president of France for five years. That’s more like forever. Le Pen is deemed a criminal and sentenced to wear an electronic tag for a couple years. A French court claims she embezzled. But why would we believe a French court any more than we believe a Manhattan or D.C. district court? Trump’s been through those wringers.
Macron and his mates did to Le Pen what Romanian elites did to Calin Georgescu, the populist candidate for president there. Reportedly, he was the frontrunner. If you smell a rat, you’re right.
French judges are partisan, but not French partisans. They’re shills for the European Union. The EU is a trans-European bureaucracy led by French and German elites to dominate the continent. American "progressives" envy the EU. The British voted out the EU, but their ruling class wants back in the club. Notice where all these "brilliant" idea of environmentalism, gender equality, unrestricted immigration, laws of war that favor terrorists, (very) selective human rights, etc... originated
Europe is reverting. Tyranny -- softer versions for now -- is making a comeback. That coincides with the moral rot infecting Europe’s elites. (U.S. elites, are infected, too, but that’s for another day.) They loathe western civilization. They’re contemptuous of those who spurn what amounts to nihilism. They’re corrupt and incompetent, driving their nations off cliffs with globalist nostrums and governance.
France, Germany, and Britain, once the pillars of Western Europe, are squandering their inheritances. Their leaders are flooding Europe with Muslim diaspora, leading to increasing social strife and crime of all types.
Britain was once a bastion of rule of law, rights, and democracy. What marks Britain today is decay and descent. Self-loathing elites -- wet Conservatives are in that mix -- are "transforming" Britain with hordes of Muslim migrants. Cultural suicide is underway.
Sweden, where violent crimes and rape were practically unheard of, is plagued by rape.
It’s bad in Sweden, but no better in Britain. The British elite, as policy, seem to accept the crime cesspool they’ve created as a price of diversity.
Brits are fearful to walk London streets. London was once a safe city. Say anything about London’s crime spike or Muslim gangs raping English girls, and the police are knocking at your door. In a Stalinist twist, British cops are after anyone posting memes or social media comments deemed offensive by the ruling class.
...Europe’s economies are being run into ditches.
...What’s causing the nosedives? Mitcha cites Europe’s ruling class’s cultish devotion to radical green polices.
...Then there’s the matter of war. Europe’s elites, like America’s, are obsessed with Russia. What is it about despots and wannabes need for wars? Didn’t Orwell have something to say about that? He did, indeed. Penned Orwell:
War against a foreign country only happens when the moneyed classes think they are going to profit from it.
Per Investopedia, "Russia's natural resources reserves are worth $75 trillion by Statista's estimate." The Ukraine war is useful in destabilizing Putin’s regime. If successful, then comes the booty.
Another reason is that despots need boogeymen to distract their subjects from their miserable rule. Putin -- no altar boy -- fits the bill. IMO, if they'd left Russia alone in the 90es, it would've broke up.
It’s curious that nations -- here we add Germany and France -- whose economies are faltering and whose militaries are 98-pound weaklings want to tangle with Russia, which owns a formidable conventional military and a nuclear weapons arsenal comparable to the U.S.
We wonder, have Germans forgotten Stalingrad? Are the French hazy about Napoleon’s venture east? History forgotten is the stuff of hubris. Or is conceit trumping history?
Betting here is that the Brits, French, and Germans hope that a dustup with the Russians in Ukraine would provoke Putin to lash out at a NATO country, thereby triggering Article 5 of NATO’s treaty. An attack on one NATO member is an attack on all NATO members, goes the proviso.
Do you see where this is going? Our NATO allies may wish to bait Putin into an attack that obligates U.S. intervention. Tangling with Russia would be folly surpassing the folly of World War I, which was the catalyst for Europe’s unraveling. I blame the Russians. When Soviet Union fell, West Europeans decided that it's 19th century again and Europe is center of the Universe again.
Donald Trump is no one’s fool. America First is certainly about reviving U.S. prosperity. That includes spreading the wealth to middle-income and working-class Americans, who, for a generation, have seen wages erode, jobs disappear, and costs rise. The American pie isn’t just for coastal elites.
The tariffs Trump will levy on EU members is, yes, about a fair shake for American producers and workers, but it’s as much about making the nation more secure and self-sufficient.
Splendid isolation for the U.S. is long gone. Yet, in an increasingly dangerous world, there’s greater urgency for the U.S. to be more independent. That doesn’t mean eschewing trade, nor does it mean a go-it-alone approach to national security. Working with other countries based on overlapping interests provides important safeguards. But NATO membership is becoming problematic for the U.S. because Europe is becoming problematic. Trump has long suggested that.
Consider this: If NATO’s big three -- Britain, France, and Germany -- are veering toward despotism; if their economies are being run to ground by extreme green doctrine; if their elite continue importing alien -- and often hostile -- populations in compliance with globalist creed; if the big three want war with Russia... well, then, where is the nexus of vital interests with a Trump-led U.S.? Divergence, not commonality, seem to be the future, barring upheavals across Europe that returns sanity to European affairs.
Some may claim that disentangling from Europe now may be premature. Tomorrow, though, it may be a necessity.
Posted by: Grom the Affective ||
04/05/2025
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#6
Since, we have fought and Won 2 World Wars to free Europe from Europe.
After 70+ years, of the US Gov and US consumers, having spent $Trillion$ supporting Europe, defending it, rebuilding their economy, buying their products and more.
I think, it is time to let Europe screw itself over again.
Aw, come on! Who is up for some nation-building? I thought the plan was to oppose authoritarian regimes by staging color revolutions.
Admittedly, fixing Europe would be a long term project of almost beyond Trumpian scale. But if we are getting out of the color revolution business, both here at home and abroad, there is probably a good-sized chunk of the intelligence community we can sell off.
[Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is planning an executive order that would ease rules governing exports of military equipment, and could announce it as soon as Tuesday or Wednesday, four sources familiar with the discussions said.
The sources, some in government and some in industry, said they expected the order would be similar to legislation proposed by Trump's national security adviser, Michael Waltz, last year when he was a Republican member of the House of Representatives.
If it had become law, the bill backed by Waltz in 2024 would have amended the U.S. Arms Export Control Act to increase the minimum dollar amounts that trigger a congressional review of arms exports to other countries. They would increase to $23 million from $14 million for arms transfers, and rise to $83 million from $50 million for the sale of military equipment, upgrades, training and other services.
The thresholds are higher for members of NATO as well as for close U.S. partners Australia, Israel, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand. For those transactions, Congress must be notified 15 days in advance of a transfer, compared to 30 days for most other countries.
During his first term, Trump often expressed frustration with members of Congress delaying foreign arms sales over human rights or other concerns.
In 2019, he infuriated many lawmakers, including some fellow Republicans, by declaring a national emergency because of tensions with Iran. That allowed him to sweep aside a long-standing precedent for congressional review of major weapons sales and complete the sale of over $8 billion worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.
At the time, members of Congress had been blocking sales of military equipment to Saudi Arabia and the UAE for months, angry about the civilian toll from their air campaign in Yemen, as well as human rights abuses such as the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at a Saudi consulate in Turkey.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Russian military carried out a high-precision strike on the meeting place of the commanders of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) with foreign instructors in a restaurant in Krivoy Rog. This was reported on the evening of April 4 by the Russian Ministry of Defense.
“At 18:49, a high-precision missile with a high-explosive charge was launched at the location of a meeting with unit commanders and Western instructors in one of the restaurants in the city of Krivoy Rog,” the defense department’s Telegram channel said.
They specified that as a result of the attack, the enemy lost up to 85 soldiers and officers of foreign countries, as well as 20 units of motor vehicles.
Previously, Ukrainian media reported the sounds of explosions in the city.
The Russian military department has previously indicated more than once that the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine only strike military facilities or related infrastructure. After March 18, when Russian President Vladimir Putin supported the US proposal to mutually cease strikes on energy facilities between Russia and Ukraine for 30 days, Russian troops stopped such attacks, although the Ukrainian Armed Forces constantly violate the moratorium.
Russian invaders attacked Krivoy Rog in the Dnepropetrovsk region with ballistic missiles.
The death toll from the Russian missile strike on Krivoy Rog has risen to 16. This was reported by the head of the Dnipropetrovsk OVA Serhiy Lysak in Telegram on Friday, April 4.
"16 lives lost. Six of them are children. There are no words. This is pain that you would not wish on your worst enemy. My condolences to their families and friends...", he wrote.
Recall that on the evening of April 4, Russian troops struck the center of a residential area in Krivoy Rog with ballistic missiles. It was reported that 14 people were killed , including six children.
President Volodymyr Zelensky responded to the attack . The head of state said that every missile, every attack drone proves that Russia only wants war.
He said that 600 soldiers are listed as missing in the brigade. With a nominal strength of 4,000 people, the unit actually has about 1,100 servicemen.
“It turns out that, according to the documents, every second stormtrooper in the brigade went missing,” the publication’s source noted.
At the same time, in his opinion, the real losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces are much higher. He also reported that during the invasion of the Kursk border area, the 82nd brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces replenished its personnel twice.
[ShabelleMedia] Jubaland has sent a large detachment of the elite Jubbaland Dervish Force into northern Lower Juba to confront al-Shabaab ... the personification of Somali state failure... Death Eaters, intensifying efforts to wrest the area from Death Eater control, officials said on Friday.
State television broadcast images on Thursday of the well-equipped troops moving towards combat zones, joining forces with Somali national soldiers and international backers in a widening offensive.
The deployment follows a successful joint operation by Somali Danab Commandos and Jubaland units that recently smashed a key al-Shabaab base in the region, dealing a heavy setback to the jihadists’ presence, according to local authorities.
Jubaland leaders vowed the stepped-up campaign would target Death Eater-held pockets across Lower and Middle Juba, aiming to free the territories and pave the way for civilian rule.
The push comes weeks after a devastating Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... , mounted by Somali forces with foreign support, hit Jilib—Al-Shabaab’s main bastion in the south—killing numerous fighters and throwing the group’s leadership into disarray, Somali officials reported.
This latest escalation reflects a broader strategy to dismantle al-Shabaab’s long-standing dominance in southern Somalia, where the group has thrived amid years of unrest.
[ShabelleMedia] Somalia’s al-Shabaab ... an Islamic infestation centering on Somalia attempting to metastasize into Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and similar places, all ofwhich have enough problems without them... is a heightened terrorist threat because of its collusion with 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... ’s 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... s, the top US general for Africa said Thursday.
The US military began an expanded campaign targeting the terrorist group in Somalia shortly after US President Donald Trump ...They hit him with slander, they impeached him twice. Nancy Pelosi tore up his State of the Union address on national TV. They stole an election and put his adherents in jail. They vilified him. They couldn't crucify him, so they shot him. Still, they can't keep him down... took office.
Last weekend, the US military carried out an Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... Saturday in Somalia, killing several ISIS operatives, US Africa Command (AFRICOM) said.
AFRICOM Commander Gen. Michael Langley said that the US was hitting al-Shabaab "hard."
"The president and secretary of defense have given me expanded authorities," Langley told politicians at a Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) hearing. "I now have the capability to hit them hard," he said.
The Trump administration has delegated authorities from the president through the secretary of defense down to the operational commander for quicker decision-making. This is in contrast to the Biden administration, which required White House approval before strikes.
In the US campaign to deter Yemen’s Houthis, Joint Staff Director for Operations Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich previously said this "allows us to achieve a tempo of operations where we can react to opportunities that we see on the battlefield in order to continue to put pressure on the Houthis."
[Garowe] A few hours after Somalia’s Information Ministry confirmed an airstrike in southeastern areas of Bosaso, the US Africa Command, which coordinated the attack, has taken responsibility while terming it a 'defensive' operation within the region.
In a statement, the US Africa Command noted that the 'initial assessment is that multiple enemy combatants were killed and that no civilians were injured or killed'. The number of the militants killed was not immediately disclosed.
Reports indicate that the victims were gathering within the area to wage an attack against security forces before their elimination. The US has periodically assisted Puntland regional forces in fighting the ISIS militants within the state.
"ISIS-Somalia has proved both its will and capability to attack U.S. and partner forces. This group's malicious efforts threaten U.S. national security interests," the command said in thr statement.
"AFRICOM, alongside the Federal Government of Somalia and Somali Armed Forces, continues to take action to degrade ISIS-Somalia’s ability to plan and conduct attacks that threaten the U.S. homeland, our forces, and our civilians abroad."
Specific details about units and assets will not be released to ensure continued operations security, the Command added. Calmiskaad mountains have been the battlefield for the operations against ISIS militants for the last three months.
Puntland Defense Forces are steadily advancing towards the Miraale, a key area in the Cal-Miskaad mountain range of the Bari region, where US airstrikes have recently been carried out to weaken the capabilities of ISIS.
Senior officials in the Puntland Defense Forces confirmed to Garowe Online that following a series of airstrikes, the forces launched their most intense ground operation to date to eliminate ISIS in the hills, with the operation termed as 'successful'.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Leonid Tsukanov
[REGNUM] The civil war in Sudan has reached a turning point - after two years of trench warfare, government forces have begun to push back rebel troops along the entire front line. The sharp strengthening of the ruling faction is associated with the emergence of a strong patron for Khartoum.
Saudi Arabia, which played the role of mediator between the central government and the rebels for more than two years, eventually sided with the government camp, which led to a rapid change in the balance of power.
However, the Saudis' joy at the success of their new protégés was overshadowed by the fact that Iran has been on the side of the de facto ruler of Sudan, the chairman of the Transitional Sovereign Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, for at least six months. At the same time, he enjoys the same favor with official Khartoum as the royal court.
A somewhat paradoxical situation has developed: countries that were formally (even taking into account the cautious detente) on opposite sides of the barricades suddenly found themselves in the same militant camp in Africa, and even bet on the same leader.
True, the Sudanese are in no hurry to choose a main ally, because with great victories new well-wishers appear. Sometimes even more powerful.
"LOW INTENSITY"
The civil war in Sudan has been ongoing since 2023, although its roots go back to 2019, when the “eternal president” Omar al-Bashir was overthrown.
The leading role in the coup was played by the then commander of the national armed forces, al-Burhan, and the head of the Sudanese commandos, Muhammad Hamdan Daglo.
It was they, according to the conspirators' plan, who were supposed to ensure a peaceful transfer of power to a new government that would be "cleansed" of al-Bashir's agents of influence. However, the effect was the opposite: yesterday's allies became sworn enemies and by 2021 they plunged the country into civil war.
Despite the low intensity of fighting compared to other African crises, the conflict was bloody. Over 20,000 people died in two years, and more than 14 million were displaced – with the total population of the country being 50 million.
The number of countries involved in the conflict is also striking.
Although officially only Sudanese factions are conducting military operations, behind them are Arab and African partners; foreign intelligence services (including, for example, Ukrainian military intelligence), private military companies and groups of volunteer adventurers from all over the world.
In this sense, the civil war in Sudan has rightfully received the additional name “international”.
BIG BREAK
For a long time, there was no clear favorite in the conflict - fortified areas changed hands, and in the capital there were months-long positional battles. However, this year the initiative passed into the hands of al-Burhan's supporters.
By early April, government forces had managed to drive the rebels out of the capital and regain control of several large military bases and arsenals.
The supporters of the rebel General Daglo abandoned not only Khartoum, but also the White Nile and Al-Gezira regions, collapsing the front in several places at once and demonstrating their inability to hold territory outside their traditional areas of influence.
With the liberation of the capital, the question of who should be considered the legitimate force in Sudan disappeared by itself. Al-Burhan was able to act no longer as the leader of the opposing faction, but as the first person of the transitional period.
Notably, al-Burhan's offensive operations have featured prominently in Iranian-made drones that Khartoum secretly purchased from Tehran through intermediaries.
It was Iranian UAVs that were used en masse by government troops during assault operations, as well as for aerial reconnaissance and artillery adjustment, which allowed them to achieve first a tactical, and then a strategic advantage over Daglo's units.
Interesting.
The operational data received from the Saudis about the rebels’ plans also played a role – the royal secret services supplied al-Burhan’s headquarters with information practically in real time. This allowed them to anticipate many of the maneuvers of Daglo’s forces and, for example, to disrupt the counterattacks in Al-Gezira.
US INTEREST
Of course, the Saudis and Iranians decided to intervene in the conflict not just like that, but out of dry political calculation. Both Tehran and Riyadh are striving for the Red Sea, trying to turn Sudan into another entry point for their own regional ambitions. And to achieve this goal, they are using all available trump cards.
The Saudi leadership boasts of its peacekeeping contribution, in particular the 2023 Jida Declaration, which allegedly allowed al-Burhan's supporters to gain time and saved government troops from being quickly defeated by the rebels.
The Saudis also subtly remind us that official Khartoum still has another "debt" to pay. It was thanks to Riyadh's intercession that American sanctions were lifted from Sudan in 2017, which allowed the national army to be rearmed and staffed, and the officer corps to be trained.
In fact, many of the commanding officers who later joined al-Burhan owe their careers to Riyadh.
However, Iran also has something to counter Saudi influence with.
The Sudanese army is in dire need not only of Iranian ammunition and drones, but also of experienced operators and military advisers to suppress the remaining pockets of resistance of General Daglo's supporters. And Tehran is ready to help - in exchange for most-favored-nation status.
Khartoum itself does not want to interrupt the “diplomatic upswing” in the dialogue with Iran, which began in July 2024 after a seven-year break. After all, in addition to military aid, Tehran promises investment and assistance in industrial development, which is especially important for strengthening al-Burhan’s power in post-war Sudan.
However, for now the government camp is in no hurry to make a choice between Iran and Saudi Arabia, and is extremely evasive in answering behind-the-scenes questions about which of its Middle Eastern friends made the greatest contribution to the return of the Sudanese capital.
Commander al-Burhan is interested in maintaining an equidistant position from all key sponsors. Especially since, in addition to the Saudis and Iranians, the "support group" of official Khartoum includes Egypt, Russia, Turkey, Jordan, China and a number of European countries. It is impossible to please everyone at once a priori.
Moreover, recently the United States has been trying to join the government camp.
The White House, which had not been particularly interested in events in Sudan, suddenly issued a "black mark" to the rebels, accusing them of genocide, and imposed tough personal sanctions on General Daglo. And in doing so, it gave a great diplomatic gift to the al-Burhan camp.
Washington's sudden nobility is explained simply: it is important for the United States to prevent Iran from becoming excessively strong in the Red Sea, since this could significantly increase the effectiveness of privateering actions by pro-Iranian proxy groups directed against Israel, as well as create a threat to the security of the US naval group in the region.
At the same time, Washington does not plan to openly help the Saudis “conquer” Sudan, so as not to give Riyadh another reason to imagine itself as a regional superpower and thereby maintain the overall controllability of the Saudi elites.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[NewsFront] 21:30 From 19:00 to 20:00 Moscow time by air defense systems on dutydestroyedFour Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles of the airplane type over the territory of the Kursk region. 20:18 Around 18:40 Moscow time by air defense systems on duty destroyed two Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles of the airplane type over the territory of the Bryansk region.
19:32 UAV operators of the "Southern" group of troops destroyed the Starlink satellite communications station and the Ukrainian Armed Forces' material warehouse in the Seversky direction.
18:54 In the area of the settlement of Osoyevka in the Sumy region, a Severyan reconnaissance UAV detected movement of Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel on a Kamaz truck.
18:27 Operators of reconnaissance and strike FPV drones of the 58th Combined Arms Army of the Dnepr group of forces successfully are destroying equipment in the enemy's rear areas.
17:17 FPV drone operators on fiber optics of the North group of forces destroyed several Ukrainian Armed Forces pickups.
16:22 FPV drone operators of the "North" group destroyed a dugout with Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel in Sumy Oblast.
16:08 Footage released of destruction FPV drone operators of the "South" group of the temporary deployment point of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the village of Podolskoye.
15:44 Zapad fighters are expanding the bridgehead beyond Oskol. The first assault groups have secured a foothold in Kamenka –MAP
14:20 Summary by The Russian Ministry of Defense on the progress of repelling the attempted invasion of the Ukrainian Armed Forces into the territory of the Russian Federation in the Kursk region as of April 4, 2025
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue to defeat the formations of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kursk region.
During offensive operations, units of the North group of forces inflicted defeat on formations of a mechanized unit, three airborne assault brigades and a territorial defense brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the areas of the settlements of 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, Vladimirovka, Vodolaghi, Zhuravka, Kondratovka, Loknya, Miropolye, Novonikolayevka, Privolye, Sadki and Yunakovka in the Sumy region.
14:02 From 11:00 to 13:00 Moscow time by air defense systems on duty destroyed five Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles:
Three over the territory of the Belgorod region and
Two over the territory of the Kursk region.
13:40 Pokrovskoe (Krasnoarmeyskoye) direction. Left flank
Fierce counter-battles in the Udachnoye-Kotlino area. Our assault units are restoring the situation in the northern part of Udachnoye and have made significant progress in the residential area towards the central part.
In the northwestern part of Kotlino there are counter battles. The enemy is trying to enter the industrial zone of Kotlino, but without success.
In Zverevo, our assault units are attacking, including at the landing northeast of Peschanoye.
Shevchenko is behind us. Ours continue to press in the direction of Novoukrainka.
In the area of the north-eastern outskirts of Zelenoye - the stronghold of the Ukrainian Armed Forces "Babochka" near the highway - there are oncoming battles.
Lysovka is mostly behind us, with the exception of the northwestern part, where the enemy is trying to counterattack.
In the Sukhoi Yar area there are positional battles.
13:01 Russian troops released Rozovka and Uspenovka in the Donetsk People's Republic.
12:21 Video published destruction of aircraft-type UAV of the Armed Forces of Ukraine using FPV drones.
12:16 Over the past 24 hours, the Kyiv regime has committed six attacks to Russian energy infrastructure facilities
On April 3 at 23:28 Moscow time in the Bryansk region in the urban settlement of Belaya Berezka in the Trubchevsky district, as a result of an attack by a Ukrainian attack UAV, a low-pressure gas pipeline was damaged and gas supply to household subscribers was cut off.
In addition, on April 4 at 00:36 Moscow time in the urban settlement of Belaya Berezka, Trubchevsky district, Bryansk region, as a result of an attack by a Ukrainian attack UAV, the internal low-pressure gas pipeline of the Municipal Unitary Enterprise "Zhilkomservis of Trubchevsk" was damaged, as a result of which gas supply to household subscribers was cut off.
On April 4, at 05:05 Moscow time, in the city of Kotovsk in the Tambov region, as a result of an attack by a Ukrainian attack UAV, a low-pressure steel distribution gas pipeline of Gazprom Gas Distribution Tambov JSC was damaged. Gas supply to household subscribers was interrupted.
On April 4 at 07:10 Moscow time in the Bryansk region, as a result of the deliberate shelling by the Ukrainian Armed Forces of the energy facility of the branch of PJSC Rosseti Centre - Bryanskenergo, household consumers of the Klimovsky district were left without electricity.
Also at 08:00 Moscow time, as a result of the shelling by the Ukrainian Armed Forces of the energy facility of the branch of PJSC Rosseti Centre - Bryanskenergo, due to the breakage of high-voltage line wires, dozens of household consumers in the Klimovsky district were left without electricity.
On April 4, at 08:10 Moscow time, as a result of an attack by a Ukrainian attack UAV on a power facility in Novonikolaevka of the branch of PJSC Rosseti Centre - Lipetskenergo, the power supply to household consumers in the Lipetsk district was interrupted.
11:53 A sniper destroyed a mine remotely –video.
10:32 Expensive reconnaissance UAV of the Ukrainian military was destroyed in the borderland
The Northerners have detected an enemy reconnaissance drone "Poseidon". The coordinates were transmitted for fire destruction: our operator of the attack UAV caught up with and destroyed the enemy "bird".
09:20 Kupyanskoe direction
The Dvurechensk bridgehead of our troops continues to expand. After the capture of Krasny, the First Division of the Group of Forces "West" blocked the road towards Kamenka and began fighting there.
To the south, our units are fighting for Figolovka.
Fighting continues in the north-eastern part of Kondrashovka and the south-eastern part of Malaya Shapkovka.
09:10 Krasnolimanskoe direction
Units of the Group of Forces "West" continue to expand the "Ivanovsky" bridgehead on the right bank of the Zherebets River and advance deeper into the territory of the Khar'kov region.
Over the last few days, our units have driven the enemy away from Nevsky and Novolyubovka and are fighting to unite with the bridgehead further north, in the Makeyevka area.
07:18 During the period from 21:00 Moscow time on April 3 to 05:00 Moscow time on April 4, air defense systems on duty intercepted and destroyed 107 Ukrainian aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles:
– 34 over the territory of the Kursk region,
– 30 over the territory of the Oryol region,
– 18 over the territory of the Lipetsk region,
- Seven over the territory of the Kaluga region,
- Four over the territory of the Rostov region,
- Four over the waters of the Sea of Azov,
- Three UAVs over the territory of the Tambov region
- Three UAVs over the territory of the Moscow region,
- Two UAVs over the territory of the Bryansk region,
- One UAV over the territory of the Voronezh region,
- One UAV over the territory of the Tula region.
05:04 Artillerymen of the 40th separate Guards Naval Infantry brigade as part of the North group of forces lead continuous combat operations in the border area of the Kursk region.
This time, the crews of the 122mm 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled howitzers of the Naval Infantry Brigade destroyed fortifications, military equipment and infantry of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
[EngMilRu] From 29 March to 4 April 2025, the Russian Armed Forces have carried out seven group strikes by high-precision weapons and attack unmanned aerial vehicles, as a result of which the infrastructure of military airfields, a missile and space industry enterprise, command posts, workshops and storage areas of strike drones have been hit.
In addition, ammunition depots, explosives-producing facilities as well as temporary deployment areas of the Security Service of Ukraine, Ukrainian armed formations and foreign mercenaries have been engaged.
Over the past week, units of the Sever Group of Forces continued to eliminate AFU formations on the territory of Kursk region.
Air and drone strikes, and artillery hit manpower and hardware of a mechanised brigade, three air assault brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and a territorial defence brigade.
In Kharkov and Belgorod directions, units of three mechanised brigades, a motorised infantry brigade, an unmanned aerial system brigade, two assault regiments of the AFU, a naval infantry brigade, and three territorial defence brigades were hit.
During the week, in the Sever Group's area of responsibility, the enemy lost over 1,910 troops, four tanks, 34 armoured fighting vehicles, and 72 motor vehicles. Eighteen field artillery guns, three electronic warfare stations, and two ammunition depots were eliminated.
Units of the Zapad Group of Forces improved the tactical situation. The Russian Armed Forces inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of three mechanised brigades, two assault brigades of the AFU, a territorial defence brigade, and a border guard detachment.
The enemy lost more than 1,505 troops, five tanks, 18 armoured fighting vehicles including ten U.S.-made M-113 armoured personnel carriers.
Thirty-two motor vehicles, 36 field artillery guns including 15 Western-made artillery pieces, 13 electronic warfare stations, and 12 field ammunition depots were eliminated.
The Yug Group of Forces liberated Panteleymonovka and Rozovka (Donetsk People's Republic).
Russian formations engaged seven mechanised brigades, two jaeger brigades, a motorised infantry brigade, a mountain assault brigade, an airmobile brigade, an assault brigade, a regiment of unmanned aerial systems of the AFU, a territorial defence brigade, two national guard brigades, the Lyut Brigade of the National Police of Ukraine, and the Azov special forces brigade.
The AFU lost up to 1,975 troops, seven tanks, 21 armoured fighting vehicles including five M-113 armoured personnel carriers, and a U.S.-made HMMWV armoured vehicle. Thirty-six motor vehicles, 11 field artillery guns, two electronic warfare stations, and four field ammunition depots were eliminated.
The Tsentr Group of Forces liberated Zaporozhye and Uspenovka (Donetsk People's Republic).
Russian units damaged manpower and hardware of four mechanised brigades, two assault brigades, an infantry brigade, an airmobile brigade, a jaeger brigade, two drone brigades, an assault regiment of the AFU, a naval infantry brigade, two national guard brigades, and the Omega special forces detachment.
The AFU losses amounted to more than 3,150 troops, seven tanks including two German-made Leopard tanks, 19 armoured fighting vehicles including two French-made VAB armoured personnel carriers, an M113 armoured personnel carrier, and a U.S.-made HMMWV armoured vehicle. Thirty-nine motor vehicles and 27 artillery guns were neutralised including three Western-made artillery pieces.
The Vostok Group of Forces advanced into the depths of the enemy's defence and liberated Razliv and Veseloye (Donetsk People's Republic).
Russian elements hit formations of a tank brigade, three mechanised brigades, an infantry brigade, a mountain assault brigade, a jaeger brigade, and an airmobile brigade of the AFU, a naval infantry brigade, two territorial defence brigades, and a national guard brigades.
The AFU losses amounted to more than 945 troops, three tanks, an armoured fighting vehicle, 16 motor vehicles, and 18 field artillery guns including two Polish-made 155mm Krab self-propelled artillery systems. Four electronic warfare stations were eliminated.
The Dnepr Group liberated Shcherbaki and Lobkovoye (Zaporozhye region).
The Russian Armed Forces inflicted losses on the manpower and hardware of three mechanised brigades, a mountain assault brigade, three coastal defence brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and two territorial defence brigades.
The AFU lost more than 435 troops, a tank, four armoured fighting vehicles including a U.S.-made M-113 armoured personnel carrier, 26 motor vehicles, and two field artillery guns. Seven electronic warfare stations, ten ammunition and fuel depots have been eliminated.
In the past week, air defence systems have shot down 15 JDAM guided bombs, four U.S.-made HIMARS MLRS projectiles, one Uragan projectile, as well as 895 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles.
In total, since the beginning of the special military operation the AFU lost 660 aircraft, 283 helicopters, 49,774 unmanned aerial vehicles, 601 anti-aircraft missile systems, 22,689 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,534 MLRS combat vehicles, 23,221 field artillery guns and mortars, 33,696 units of support military vehicles have been neutralised.
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the operation to neutralise AFU formations on the territory of Kursk region.
The Sever Group of Forces hit a mechanised brigade, three air assault brigades, and a territorial defence brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine close to Gornal, Guyevo, and Oleshnya.
Operational-Tactical and Army aviation, and Artillery strikes engaged AFU manpower and hardware close to Basovka, Belovody, Vladimirovka, Vodolagi, Zhuravka, Kondratovka, Loknya, Miropolye, Novonikolayevka, Privolye, Sadki, and Yunakovka in Sumy region.
For the past 24 hours, the AFU lost more than 190 troops, a tank, an armoured personnel carrier, three armoured fighting vehicles, seven motor vehicles, three artillery guns, a mortar, and eight UAV command posts.
Since the beginning of hostilities in Kursk direction, the AFU losses amounted to more than 71,940 troops, 404 tanks, 330 infantry fighting vehicles, 294 armoured personnel carriers, 2,247 armoured fighting vehicles, 2,609 motor vehicles, 595 artillery guns, 53 MLRS launchers, including 13 of HIMARS and seven of MLRS made by the USA, 26 anti-aircraft missile launchers, one self-propelled anti-aircraft system, ten transport-loading vehicles, 123 EW stations, 18 counter-battery warfare radars, ten air defence radars, 56 units of engineering and other materiel, including 23 counterobstacle vehicles, one UR-77 mine clearing vehicle, five bridge launchers, one engineering reconnaissance vehicle as well as 15 armoured recovery vehicles, and one command post vehicle.
The operation to neutralise the AFU units is in progress.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[KavkazUzelj Ismail Nalgiev and Zarifa Sautieva celebrated their wedding immediately after their release. Residents of Ingushetia and other Russian regions joined in congratulating the newlyweds, noting that they were touched by their story.
As the "Caucasian Knot" reported, Ingush activist Ismail Nalgiev was released from a penal colony in Stavropol Krai on April 1, having served his full sentence in the case of an extremist community. Zarifa Sautieva, also having served her full sentence, was released on December 28, 2024.
Seven Ingush activists were accused of creating and participating in an extremist community. In December 2021, the court sentenced Akhmed Barakhoev, Musa Malsagov, and Malsag Uzhakhov to nine years in prison, Ismail Nalgiyev, Bagaudin Khautiev, and Barakh Chemurziev to eight years, and Zarifa Sautieva to seven and a half years. The "Caucasian Knot" has prepared a report " The Main Thing About the Case of the Ingush Protest Leaders."
Zarifa Sautieva and Ismail Nalgiev entered into a nikkah - a religious marriage - while still in prison in October 2022. On April 3, immediately after Nalgiev's release, they celebrated their wedding "according to Ingush canons," the Fortanga publication reported, publishing a short video of the bride in a white dress.
"I have two pieces of good news at once. First, political prisoner in the "Ingush case" Ismail Nalgiev has been released from prison. And second, today is the wedding of Ismail and Zarifa Sautieva, who also served an unfair sentence in this case. As we Ingush say, let them be the parents of seven sons," wrote lawyer Kaloy Akhilgov, who participated in the defense of the opposition, on his Telegram channel. Ingush human rights activist Magomed Mutsolgov called the wedding of the political prisoners "the wedding of the century" on his Facebook page.
Before the nikah, Ismail's relatives went to Zarifa's relatives, asked for her hand in marriage, and they gave their consent. In exceptional cases, nikah can be concluded without the participation of the newlyweds, if certain conditions are met. Among them: mutual consent of the groom and the bride, the presence of the girl's father or a close relative on the paternal side, and the presence of two male witnesses, the Daptar publication wrote in October 2022.
The marriage of Nalgiyev and Sautieva became to some extent a challenge to Ingush society
Zarifa and Ismail were brought together by their participation in the rallies - before that they were just friends and like-minded people, not thinking about a relationship. "If we had been told then that in a few years Zarifa would marry Ismail, no one would have believed it," said journalist and Sautieva's friend Izabella Evloeva .
According to Yevloyeva, the marriage of Nalgiyev and Sautiyeva was to some extent a “challenge to Ingush society”: there had never been a single case of an Ingush couple getting married in prison, and besides, Zarifa is much older than Ismail. “I know of cases where couples were hesitant to get married just because the woman was older. The fact that Ismail did not back down and fought for his feelings speaks of him as a very strong and courageous person,” the publication quoted her as saying.
In the comments to the publication about the wedding of the two protest leaders, many users joined in congratulating the newlyweds and expressed joy for them. "This is a people's wedding. I think all decent Ingush are happy and congratulate this couple," wrote Instagram user dzangiev75 . "May Allah grant you happiness, mutual understanding, love and good luck in life, you have been through a lot," wrote ruslanItemirova . "You deserve happiness," added rayshathamxoeva . "This is not just a wedding, but a triumph of love, patience and justice. You have proven that true love does not break under the blows of fate, but only becomes stronger," said muthannaingushi .
"They deserve great happiness, a happy life of love, joy and well-being," Fatima Khampieva wrote on Facebook*. "All the best! This is enough for a finished film script," Zurab Gadzhiev believes . "Let them be happy! I am very happy for them," wrote journalist Vladimir Sevrinovsky . In response to Sevrinovsky, Galiya Ibragimova wrote that "a film should definitely be made about them someday." "I wanted to, back when they announced the wedding. But the relatives were afraid that this might interfere with another appeal, and did not agree. The next time I am in Ingushetia, I will definitely stop by to visit them. If they do not mind, I will make a film," Sevrinovsky promised.
“In Russian, best wishes: advice to you, and love!” Muscovite Anatoly Roshchin joined the wishes in Ingush . “Happiness to you, noble Prince Ismail and Princess Zarifa! Great love, many children, peace in the family and in the homeland!” Olga Verbovaya wrote , commenting on the news in the human rights activists’ Telegram channel.
How will China change if they have their own source of petroleum?
An aside: Benar News just announced that they are going on hiatus after ten years of reporting on the region, because they are no longer being funded by the US government.
[BenarNews] The announcement came days after the U.S., Philippines, Japan staged naval training near a contested shoal.
China discovers 100 million-ton oilfield in South China Sea: report
The China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) reported it has discovered an oilfield in the South China Sea with proven reserves exceeding 100 million tons, Chinese state media said on Monday.
The oilfield in the eastern South China Sea – the Huizhou 19-6 oilfield – was about 170 km (106 miles) from the city of Shenzhen in southern China’s Guangdong Province, the state news agency Xinhua reported.
Test drilling of the oilfield, which sits at an average water depth of 100 meters, has yielded a daily production of 413 barrels of crude oil and 68,000 cubic meters of natural gas, it said.
Xinhua described it as “China’s first large-scale integrated clastic oilfield discovered in deep to ultra-deep layers.”
CNOOC told Xinhua that offshore oil and gas exploration in deep to ultra-deep layers faces challenges including high temperature, high pressure and complex conditions.
Xinhua cited Peng Guangrong, a geologist at CNOOC’s Shenzhen branch, as saying that 60% of the world’s newly discovered oil and gas reserves have come from deep layers.
The South China Sea is mostly underexplored because of territorial disputes, but most discovered oil and gas reserves are in uncontested areas, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
China claims almost all of the South China Sea – through which commerce valued at U.S. $3 trillion moves annually – overlapping with sovereignty claims by the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam and Brunei.
MILITARY PATROL
On Friday, the Chinese military said it conducted a patrol in the South China Sea, an exercise that came on the same day U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to Manila.
Separately, a spokesman for the Southern Theater Command of the People’s Liberation Army said on Saturday that the Philippines frequently enlisted foreign countries to organize “joint patrols” and “disseminated illegal claims” in the region, destabilizing the area.
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth met his Filipino counterpart Gilberto Teodoro and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Friday in Manila, as part of Hegseth’s Asia tour that also included Guam and Japan.
Hegseth reaffirmed Washington’s “ironclad” commitment to its defense treaty with the Philippines, vowing to deploy advanced military capabilities to bolster deterrence against threats, including Chinese “aggression.”
“Deterrence is necessary around the world, but specifically in this region, in your country, considering the threats from the communist Chinese,” Hegseth said.
[Epoch Times] Dr. Mehmet Oz has been confirmed as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
The Senate approved the former attending physician at New York-Presbyterian Hospital and professor of surgery at Columbia University in a 53—45 party-line vote.
[FoxNews] Space Force Gen Chance Saltzman warns US-China commission that China’s rapid advances in space warfare – including satellite tracking and quantum tech – could soon eclipse US dominance
"Mind-boggling" is the word Space Force Gen. Chance Saltzman used to describe China’s explosive advances in space as he warned the U.S. is on a path to losing its dominance in orbit.
Testifying before the bipartisan U.S.-China Commission on Thursday, Saltzman said China is "heavily investing" in both ground-based and space-based weapons designed to disable enemy satellites, including kinetic strikes, radio-frequency jamming and directed energy weapons.
The U.S., meanwhile, is "resource limited" and still weighing "which ones we could get the most utility out of," he said.
The general’s testimony came as Congress weighs how to counter growing Chinese aggression in space and whether the Space Force has the tools to keep pace. China increased its military spending by 7% this year, stockpiling anti-satellite missiles and claiming to possess directed energy weapons that use concentrated energy beams to jam satellite signals.
There’s also a risk if China were to destroy a satellite in orbit, an action that could trigger a global catastrophe, Saltzman warned, pointing to lingering debris from Russia’s 2021 anti-satellite missile test and China’s 2007 test, which continue to threaten spacecraft safety.
China’s space-based targeting capabilities have "grown most impressively" in recent years, Saltzman said, with hundreds of satellites now dedicated to tracking U.S. assets in orbit. That expansion has given the Space Force a "new mission set": to deny China the ability to surveil American satellites in real time.
Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.
[Korrespondent] 22.55 Ukrainian military is holding back 64,000 Russian troops in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation. This was reported by President Volodymyr Zelensky.
"We are keeping a large number of troops, 64 thousand Russians in the Kursk direction, 64 thousand of their troops. This is a very serious group that could spread here and attack us from other directions along the entire front line. Therefore, the guys there are simply great," the head of state said.
According to the president, Russian troops "really want to push us out of the Kursk region completely" by one of the "symbolic" dates. Zelensky also confirmed that there is no encirclement of the Ukrainian group in the Kursk region.
22.34 The number of victims as a result of the Russian missile strike on Krivoy Rog has risen to 16 people. This was reported by the head of the Dnipropetrovsk OVA, Serhiy Lysak.
"16 lives lost. Six of them children. There are no words. This is pain that you would not wish on the most bitter enemy. Condolences to the family and friends..." he wrote on Telegram.
22:20 President Volodymyr Zelensky announced his readiness to negotiate with the Russian side in any format, but noted the importance of the Russians' readiness for diplomacy.
"I am not afraid of any option or format of negotiations with the Russians. With mediation, without mediation, with the US, with Europe. It is desirable that any negotiations be substantive. How can we talk directly with ballistic missiles? Today, it is simply talking with missiles and terrorists? What is the point of simply talking?" Zelensky said.
According to him, the prerequisite for this must be an unconditional ceasefire.
21.55 Russia has once again violated the terms of the energy truce with Ukraine. The Russians struck the Kherson Thermal Power Plant with an FPV drone. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelensky during an evening video address.
"Today in Kherson there was a new targeted strike by a Russian FPV drone on an energy facility - the Kherson Thermal Power Plant," the head of state said.
The President believes that such strikes cannot be an accident, because the Russians know that this is an energy facility and such facilities must be protected from any strikes in accordance with what Russia promised the American side.
21.39 Since the start of US-led peace talks, the number of Russian strikes on Ukraine has increased by 50%. This is reported by The Telegraph.
Thirty days after the start of the US-led talks in mid-February 2025, the Russians launched 4,776 drone strikes on Ukraine. By comparison, 30 days before that, the occupiers launched 3,148 strikes.
20:25 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded to Russia's ballistic strike on Kryvyi Rih. There are 14 known casualties, six of whom are children, the head of state said.
"A Russian missile hit an ordinary city. Just a street. An area with residential buildings. Preliminary, it was a ballistic strike. As of now, 14 people are known to have died, including six children. My condolences to the families and friends," the president wrote on Telegram.
Zelensky noted that the rescue operation is ongoing. At least five houses were damaged.
21.20 A meeting of the "coalition of the decisive" took place in Kyiv. This was announced by President Volodymyr Zelensky.
According to him, the following took part on behalf of Ukraine: Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrsky; Deputy Head of the Office of the President Pavlo Palisa; Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Andriy Gnatov; Deputy Minister of Defense Yevhen Moisyuk.
"This is not the first meeting, but it seems to me that this fundamental one is one of the first. It is important that we will work in a permanent format, now with the corresponding results. I cannot disclose many details, this is only the beginning, but the deepest beginning of this work," Zelensky said.
20.10 The death toll from the Russian missile strike on the city of Krivoy Rog has risen to 14. Five children were among the dead. There was a playground near the impact site.
19:46 Russian troops have launched a ballistic missile at the center of a residential area in Krivoy Rog. There are currently 12 dead and over 50 injured. Fires have broken out in the city. Multi-story buildings have been damaged.
19:35 After a series of nighttime shelling in Konstantinovka, Donetsk region, more than 30 holes and several ruptures were found on gas pipelines. This was reported by the press service of Donetskoblgaz.
It is noted that last night Russian troops attacked Konstantinovka, damaging the gas supply system. From midnight until 4 a.m., the emergency team worked continuously to localize the emergency situations.
19:03 The absence of US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the next meeting in the Ramstein format does not mean that the Americans will stop providing aid to Ukraine. This was stated by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at a briefing in Brussels.
18.50 Any peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia will be difficult to accept, but it is better than continuing the war, said Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
Türkiye supports the US initiative for a complete ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia. But the parties are still "a little far" from any agreement, Fidan said.
"It will be extremely difficult to agree to anything that is proposed. But if we weigh the other option, which brings with it many deaths and destruction, then I think it would be wiser to accept the conditions that we will put forward," the minister said.
18.31 There are now "not very good trends" of rapprochement between representatives of the US and the Russian Federation. But Ukraine is working to put the Ukrainian issue at the forefront. This was stated by the head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak, Interfax-Ukraine reports .
17.59 The Norwegian government discussed and approved an increase in aid to Ukraine in 2025 by 50 billion Norwegian kroner ($4.6 billion) at a meeting on April 4, to 85 billion kroner ($7.8 billion). This was announced by Norwegian Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg, NRK reports.
17.44 US President Donald Trump will not enter into "endless negotiations" with Russia. It will be known "in a week" whether the Russians are ready for peace. This was stated by US Secretary of State Mark Rubio in Brussels.
17.39 The former battalion commander who took part in the defense of the Kharkiv region has had his preventive measure changed to 24-hour house arrest due to health reasons. This was reported by the Office of the Prosecutor General.
The report did not indicate the suspect's name, however, from the context it can be assumed that they are talking about the former commander of the 415th rifle battalion of the 23rd separate separate brigade, Colonel Ilya Lapin.
17.25 In the temporarily occupied Crimea, at the Zaliv plant in Kerch, Russia is building two landing ships capable of transporting helicopters. We are talking about the ships Ivan Moskalenko and Ivan Rogov. This was reported by the spokesman for the Ukrainian Navy, Dmitry Pletenchuk, reports Obshchestvennoye.
16.58 Since the beginning of the current day, 81 combat clashes have occurred on the front. The largest number of Russian attacks were recorded in the Liman area, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported in an operational report as of 16:00.
16.33 Following the talks between Vladimir Putin's special representative Kirill Dmitriev in Washington, there is "cautious optimism" regarding the dialogue between Russia and the United States. This was stated by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
16.24 The Cabinet of Ministers approved a bill providing for changes to the rules for granting a deferment from military service for students and teachers.
Men over 25 years of age who are studying for the second time at the same or lower level of education will not be able to receive a deferment. Also, studying abroad after February 24, 2022 does not give the right to a deferment.
15.59 US President Donald Trump said that Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian leader Vladimir Putin are ready to conclude an agreement to end the war . He said this the day before on board Air Force One.
15:20 In the Kharkiv region, a Russian drone attacked a car in which Ukrainian Witness project journalist Oleksa Zhelty, accompanied by military personnel, was traveling to film a firing position.
The car was attacked by a Lightning drone . Two soldiers were slightly injured. The brigade's press officer was more seriously injured. After the attack, the soldiers and the journalist took refuge in a nearby building. The car was seriously damaged.
15.06 On April 4, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine decided to send UAH 128 million to the Ministry of Defense to ensure measures to form army corps as part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This was reported by the government representative in the Verkhovna Rada, Taras Melnychuk.
14.24 The Contact Group on Ukraine's Defense in the Ramstein format will continue its work even if US representatives are not present. This was stated by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga in Brussels.
13:59 Russian drones damaged the building of the regional council in the city of Dnipro during an attack on the night of November 4. This was reported by the head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional council Mykola Lukashuk. He published a photo from the site of the impact.
13.50 Since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, more than 35 thousand square kilometers of territory have been returned to safe use as part of humanitarian demining. This was reported by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.
13.01 Law enforcement officers prevented a terrorist attack in Kamenskoye, detaining a Russian intelligence agent who was preparing explosives to detonate in a crowded place.
The attacker thought that after making the SVP, she would hand over the disguised explosive to another person or hide it in a hiding place. But in fact, the aggressor's plan was to take her agent to a crowded place in the district center during rush hour and blow her up along with the SVP.
She faces up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.
12.55 Meetings of representatives of Ukraine, France and Great Britain on the deployment of a military contingent have begun in Kiev . This was reported by Obshchestvennoye, citing a source in diplomatic circles. The French delegation is headed by General Thierry Burkhardt, and the British by Admiral Anthony Radakin.
12.44 Russian invaders are moving North Korean artillery into Crimea. It could probably be deployed in Ukraine, ZDF reports.
12.21 Britain and France have accused Russian leader Vladimir Putin of dragging out ceasefire talks in Ukraine. The corresponding statement was made by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot and his British counterpart David Lammy at a joint briefing in Brussels at NATO headquarters.
11.58 Russian war criminals have attacked the Semenovka railway station in the Chernihiv region. This is reported by Ukrzaliznytsia.
11:25 In the temporarily occupied city of Melitopol in the Zaporizhia region, an armored Tigr vehicle belonging to Russian invaders was blown up. Five "Kadyrovites" were killed, the GUR reported.
10.48 In Kharkov, the number of victims as a result of the attack by Russian drones has increased to five . Also, 35 people were injured. A UAV was recorded hitting the entrance of a two-story residential building, causing a fire.
09.53 Russian troops carried out another attack on the Brovarsky district on the night of April 4. As a result of the drone shelling, there are injured people. This was reported by the press service of the State Emergency Service.
A car dealership and six cars inside caught fire. Firefighters saved the administrative building. Local TG channels reported that a total of a service station, a gas station and two administrative buildings of enterprises were damaged.
02:02 In Kharkov, three people were killed and 32 more people, including children, were injured as a result of an evening UAV attack. There were seven hits in the city. Almost all of the strikes fell on the Novobavarsky district of Kharkov.
01:45 UAVs carried out a massive attack on Dnepr and Kamenskoye. In Dnepr, two people were preliminarily injured and fires occurred. A private house was on fire in one of the districts.
[IsraelTimes] A “senior Israeli official” briefing reporters on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trip to Hungary says Jerusalem is in contact with multiple countries about taking in Palestinians from Gaza.
While the US is reportedly not actively working to advance President Donald Trump’s plan to take over Gaza and permanently relocate all of its Palestinians, Israel is very serious about it, the “senior Israeli official” says, claiming that several countries are interested.
“They want something in return — not necessarily money, but also strategic matters,” the “senior Israeli official” says.
“We want to free the hostages and eliminate Hamas and then there is a possibility for wide-scale emigration,” he claims, citing an unspecified poll that found 60% of Gaza’s roughly 2 million residents are interested in emigrating.
Israeli officials insist that Gazans won’t be forced to leave, but critics of the initiative argue that it amounts to white-washed ethnic cleansing.
Arab countries have fervently refused US and Israeli requests to take in Palestinians, arguing that Gazans should be allowed to remain on their land and warning that allowing such an initiative under these conditions will simply export the conflict into their borders.
Jerusalem has yet to publicly commit that those who leave Gaza will be allowed to return. A small group of Gazans who reportedly left last month for work in Indonesia reportedly had to sign onto a declaration acknowledging that they might not be able to return due to the security situation.
“Gaza is in ruins — because of Hamas, not because of us,” the “senior Israeli official” asserts.
He adds that Israel may “hold onto territory” in Gaza, even though it is not interested in permanently occupying the Strip.
While Israel will retain overall security control over Gaza, it wants to transfer control of the Strip to a “consortium of Arab countries” led by the Gulf states who would manage the Strip until further notice, he says.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco and others have all expressed willingness to take part in the post-war management of Gaza but they have also all conditioned such assistance on Israel granting a foothold in the Strip to the Palestinian Authority in order to create a pathway to an eventual two-state solution.
Netanyahu has long rejected these conditions and his continued insistence that Arab countries will foot the bill regardless has infuriated them.
[FoxNews] Former President Barack Obama says President Donald Trump's behavior is 'contrary to the basic compact we have as Americans'
Former President Barack Obama told a crowd Thursday night that some sacrifice might be necessary in order to resist President Donald Trump's policies.
This is the man who gave us 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, which gave us President Trump in 2017. And then he gave us the Biden-Harris administration, which gave us President Trump in 2025. By his own standards, former President Barack Obama is an abject failure.
Obama spoke at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, on Thursday and accused the Trump administration of trying to destroy the post-World War II international order, according to the Washington Post.
During the speech, Obama called Trump's behavior "contrary to the basic compact we have as Americans" and called on students to do more in order to resist Trump's policies.
“Let’s you and him fight. I got mine, so who cares if you ruin your life.”
"It has been easy during most of our lifetimes to say you are a progressive, or say you are for social justice, or say you are for free speech, and not have to pay a price for it…And now we’re in one of those moments when…it’s not enough just to say you’re for something. You may actually have to do something and possibly sacrifice a little bit," Obama said.
“Girls love a jailbird, donchaknow, and by the time you get out OrangeManBad will be out of office — think of all the Teslas you won’t have to key.”
#15
The post-World War II international order went kaput along with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the rise of communist China. We've already sacrificed enough for Baraq Obama. It's time for him the crawl back under his rock.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
04/05/2025 13:07
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#16
I still don't believe that Obama is an independent player - let alone a shadow puppet master.
Not a shadow puppet master but a puppet whose strings are pulled by shadowy globalists.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
04/05/2025 13:21
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#17
^ #13 While there strong "now dead" evidence Obama does like to M-M dilly dabble.
My actual point was ...
Like Putin, even when out of office.
He runs election fraud, installs puppets to do his bidding and way trying to call the shots.
[IsraelTimes] Hundreds of Algerians join a rare demonstration in solidarity with Palestinians, authorized by the North African country’s authorities, an AFP correspondent says.
At least 800 people gathered in front of the Algiers headquarters of the Islamist party Movement of Society for Peace (MSP), which had called the demonstration.
They massed in the capital’s Mouradia neighborhood not far from the presidential palace just after the Friday afternoon prayers, the correspondent says.
“Rage, rage, we’re heading to the embassy,” some protesters shout, determined to make their way to the diplomatic mission of key Israel backer the United States, but held at bay by the police.
Though Algiers has been historically known for its stance in support of the Palestinians, demonstrations are seldom authorized.
“This vigil has been organized to break the oppression and silence,” says MSP leader Abdelali Hassani Cherif, calling on the authorities to “allow the people to express their position.”
He later calls on the crowd to disperse silently, saying, “We don’t want Algerians to clash, we want them to unite for the good of Palestine.”
[Rudaw] Kurdish forces began withdrawing from Aleppo on Friday, as per an agreement struck with Damascus.
"A partial withdrawal of our forces has already been completed; the remaining units will be redeployed in a phased and orderly manner over the coming days," the People’s Protection Units (YPG) said in a statement.
The first convoy of the YPG, which forms the backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and the Kurdish Women's Protection Units (YPJ) left two Kurdish neighbourhoods in Aleppo under the supervision of the Syrian defense ministry and went east, across the Euphrates River, Syrian state media SANA reported.
The withdrawal is part of an agreement struck on Tuesday with the new authorities in Damascus for SDF-affiliated internal security forces (Asayish) to take over security of two Kurdish neighborhoods in Aleppo city - Ashrafiyeh and Sheikh Maqsood - while the other forces leave.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britannia-based war monitor, said on Tuesday that the Asayish in Aleppo "will be transformed into public security forces" and will be placed "under the administration of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria."
The forces that remain in the neighbourhoods will work in coordination with the Ministry of the Interior, according to Bedran Ciya Kurd, an advisor to the Kurdish-led administration in northeast Syria (Rojava).
The YPG said they and the YPJ "will continue to adapt our posture in line with the strategic requirements of the new phase."
The SDF signed a landmark agreement with interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on March 10 to integrate the SDF into the Syrian state apparatus. The agreement recognizes the Kurds as an integral part of Syria, includes a countrywide ceasefire, and stipulates the return of displaced Syrians to their hometowns.
[Rudaw] Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Friday that Ankara does not want confrontation with Israel in Syria, a day after his ministry called Israel the “biggest threat” to regional security.
“We don't want to see any confrontation with Israel in Syria because Syria belongs to Syrians. Syria does not belong to Turkey, Syria does not belong to Israel. We can not talk on behalf of the Syrians,” Fidan told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of a NATO foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels.
Fidan said that if Syrians choose to cooperate with certain countries or reach understandings with Israel, it is their own decision.
A day earlier, Turkey’s foreign ministry accused Tel Aviv of being “the biggest threat” to regional security with its attacks on "the territorial integrity and national unity of countries.” The comments were in response to Israel saying Ankara plays a “negative role” in the region and is “aggressive” towards Syria’s Kurds.
Israel has carried out multiple strikes on Syrian infrastructure since the fall of the regime of Bashar al-Assad last December. Most recently on Wednesday, Israel targeted sites near the Scientific Studies and Research Center (SSRC) in Barzeh, north of Damascus, as well as the Hama military airport and the strategic Tiyas Air Base, widely known as T4, in Homs.
Fidan said that Israel’s strikes were impeding Syria’s ability to fight terrorism.
“Unfortunately, Israel is taking one by one out all these capabilities that the new state can use against ISIS [Islamic State] and other terrorist threats,” he said.
“So basically, what Israel is doing in Syria is not only threatening the security of Syria, but also is paving the way for future instability of the region. I don't think that is good for Israel's future in the region,” Fidan added.
Ankara appears to have strong leverage with the new government in Damascus.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Thursday said that Turkey is doing its “utmost to have Syria as a Turkish protectorate,” adding “we don't think that it was good when Syria was an Iranian proxy” and “we don't think that Syria should be a Turkish protectorate.”
[IsraelTimes] As Israel carries out major airstrikes against a key base in Syria that Turkey is reportedly looking to turn into its own military facility, a senior Israeli official says that “we are not looking for conflict with Turkey. And we hope they’re not looking for a fight with us.”
“At the same time, we don’t want Turkey establishing itself on our borders,” says the official.
“Establishing military bases, naval and air bases under Turkish protection is something we want to prevent,” says the official.”
“There are red lines.”
Posted by: trailing wife ||
04/05/2025
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Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Fighters from the Yemeni Ansar Allah movement (Houthis) have launched another attack on the US aircraft carrier Harry Truman and other US Navy ships in the Red Sea. This was stated on April 4 by Houthi spokesman Yahya Saria.
"Yemeni naval, missile and drone forces carried out several cruise missile and drone strikes on enemy warships in the Red Sea, led by the US aircraft carrier Harry Truman," he said on Al Masirah TV channel.
Saria added that the Houthis attacked US warships in response to US aggression against Yemen.
As reported by Regnum News Agency, on April 3, the Ansar Allah movement also announced a strike on the US Navy aircraft carrier group in the Red Sea led by the Harry Truman. It was specified that the Yemeni movement fighters used cruise missiles and drones for the strike.
Earlier in the day, the Houthis announced that they had shot down a US MQ-9 Reaper drone over Yemen's Hodeidah province. They said it was the second US military drone shot down by the movement in the past 72 hours and the 17th since the conflict in the Gaza Strip began escalating.
[FoxNews] Trump emphasized that Chinese-owned farmland “has been an issue for years"
FBI Director Kash Patel is tackling China's influence on American farmlands head-on, as both a food supply and national security concern.
Patel’s early focus on Chinese influence over American land — particularly farmland near sensitive sites — reflects a broader second-term push by the Trump administration to confront the Chinese Communist Party’s presence on U.S. soil. The effort has gained traction among Republican lawmakers and conservative allies, who say CCP-connected land ownership poses a direct threat to national security and critical infrastructure.
"FBI Director Kash Patel has made eradicating CCP interference and infiltration in the United States a relentless, uncompromising priority," Patel advisor Erica Knight told Fox News Digital.
"With his unmatched experience in counterterrorism and intelligence, Patel possesses a profound understanding of the grave threats our nation faces," Knight said. "His expertise and unwavering resolve make him uniquely equipped to lead the bureau to crush CCP infiltration and safeguard America’s national security."
Patel recently told lawmakers that the "effective resolution" of the southern border crisis has prompted adversaries like China, Russia, and Iran to shift their focus to the U.S. northern border.
As the administration ramps up its second-term focus on China, President Donald Trump was asked aboard Air Force One on Thursday what the White House is doing about Chinese-owned farmland.
Trump said he is "looking at it all the time," adding that he has "a very good relationship with China and with the president."
"I have a lot of respect for President Xi," Trump said.
Trump emphasized that Chinese-owned farmland "has been an issue for years."
In a February Fox News op-ed, Presidential Envoy for Special Missions Ric Grenell echoed growing concern on the right over Chinese-owned farmland, calling it part of a "not-so-silent takeover."
"While conservative legislators and governors across the country are taking action to stop adversarial nations from buying U.S. farmland, we must recognize that there’s a much broader issue at play here — China’s end goal is not confined to land ownership," Grenell wrote.
Capitol Hill lawmakers have already begun taking action. In early March, Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., introduced the PASS Act in the Senate, which would bar entities from "covered countries" — including China — from purchasing agricultural land near military bases or other sensitive sites.
The legislation, which also has Democratic support, would allow the Department of Agriculture to submit cases to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. for review if the department suspects there is a national security concern.
Likewise, Republican senators in January also announced the Not One More Inch or Acre Act, led by Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Kevin Cramer of North Dakota and Katie Britt of Alabama.
The legislation would require selling land owned or "influenced" by the Chinese Communist Party that is deemed to be a national security risk.
[ZeroHedge] The self-professed “Mary Poppins of disinformation,” Nina Jankowicz, emerged from whatever troll-cave she’s been living (and, unfortunately, breeding) in to testify to Congress, the occasion of which she took to inform the People with much self-assuredness that “the so-called censorship-industrial is a fiction.”
Textbook gaslighting: “psychological manipulation of a person usually over an extended period of time that causes the victim to question the validity of their own thoughts, perception of reality, or memories/”
(The percentage of the population that will believe literally anything if a girlboss in a pantsuit at a Congressional hearing says it with enough confidence is truly disturbing — a topic perhaps for another day.)
It doesn’t take much reading between the lines to understand that what the Mary Poppins From Hell is trying desperately to justify is unelected bureaucrats cajoling private media enterprises into censoring on its behalf — a practice clearly anathema to the free speech protections enumerated in the First Amendment — thereby skirting any legal responsibility by outsourcing their censorship regime.
If I were king, this bitch would’ve (legally) [been] dispensed with long, long ago for treason.
[HodhodYemenNews] The Islamic Resistance® Movement, Hamas ..a regional Iranian catspaw,... , released a statement on Friday morning the martyrdom of al-Qassam commander Hassan Farhat (Abu Yasser), his son Hamza, and his daughter Jinan, who were killed in an Israeli raid on their home in Saida, southern Leb ...The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else?... The al-Qassam Brigades, the armed faction of Hamas, also expressed their sorrow for the deaders in their statement.
The Brigades declared that the "cowardly policy of liquidations" targeting their members, both inside and outside Paleostine, will not prevent them from continuing their path of resistance.
"Israel" launched an Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... on a residential neighborhood in Saida, South Lebanon overnight Thursday, killing the three deaders and causing panic among civilians.
According to media reports, Hamas leader Hassan Farhat was the target in Sidon. He was in an apartment on Dalaa Street in the city’s center when it was bombed by an Israeli drone.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/05/2025
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#1
24 48 72 hour 'rule'?
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
04/05/2025 4:57
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[NYPOST] Three alleged MS-13 gangbangers have been charged in the decade-old killing of a rival gang member in Florida who was stabbed roughly 100 times and then shot, US Attorney General Pam Bondi said Friday.
The suspects were slapped with federal charges last month for allegedly participating in the slaying of 22-year-old Gerson Vilelio Vasquez-Portillo in Palm Beach back in 2015, according to authorities.
The recent arrests were part of a multi-agency operation that resulted in a total of nine alleged MS-13 gang members being nabbed in connection with four murders in the Sunshine State in 2014 and 2015.
Bondi dropped news of the arrests as she sought to highlight the Trump administration's vow to crackdown on members of the violent mostly peaceful, blood-thirsty gang.
''More arrests are coming,'' Bondi said alongside law enforcement officials in Fort Lauderdale. ''If you are a gang member living in this country, I'd self-deport right now because we're coming after you.''
Posted by: Fred ||
04/05/2025
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[FoxNews] The layoffs come as the Trump administration continues to shrink the size of the federal workforce through the Department of Government Efficiency
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will slash its workforce by at least 25% beginning Friday with layoffs as the Trump administration continues to shrink the size of the federal government.
In addition to the layoffs, the agency said in a letter to employees that it is eliminating its Office of Civil Rights and Compliance, which is responsible for protecting taxpayers from discrimination, audits and investigations.
The remaining employees in the division will be transferred to other departments.
"In a stark contrast to the previous administration’s wildly unpopular plan to hire thousands of additional IRS agents, President Trump is focused on saving tax dollars, eliminating bloat, axing useless DEI offices, and increasing the agency’s efficiency," White House spokesperson Liz Huston said to Fox News Digital.
"This action is being taken to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the IRS in accordance with agency priorities and the Workforce Optimization Initiative outlined in a recent Executive Order," the letter states, referring to President Donald Trump's executive order directing the Department of Government Efficiency to get rid of wasteful spending.
The agency said it was approved to offer Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA) and Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment (VSIP). Information about those programs will be shared with employees at a later date, the message said.
"This calendar year to date, approximately 5% of this office left through the Deferred Resignation Program and attrition," the message said. "An additional 75% of the office will be reduced through a RIF (Reduction in Force)."
A Treasury Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the reductions are part of, and driven by, "process improvements and technological innovations that will allow the IRS to collect revenue and serve taxpayers more effectively."
"The roll back of wasteful Biden-era hiring surges, and consolidation of critical support functions are vital to improve both efficiency and quality of service," the spokesperson said. "The Secretary is committed to ensuring that efficiency is realized while providing the collections, privacy, and customer service the American people deserve."
The layoffs were expected, as the agency announced in February its intention to slash nearly 7,000 probationary workers in Washington, D.C.
Those employees have since been reinstated by a court order.
Temporarily, anyway.
The IRS has roughly 90,000 employees in total across the United States, according to the latest IRS data.
[IsraelTimes] The Hamas terror group says it will not be moving living Israeli hostages out of areas in the Gaza Strip that the IDF has ordered to be evacuated in recent days.
The IDF has issued evacuation orders for the entire Rafah area, Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood and other areas in the Strip’s north.
“Half of the living Israeli prisoners are located in areas in which the Israeli occupation army has requested to be evacuated in recent days,” claims Hudhaifa Kahlout — known by the nom de guerre Abu Obeida — the spokesman for Hamas’s military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades.
“We have decided not to transfer these prisoners from these areas, and to keep them under strict security measures, which are extremely dangerous to their lives,” Abu Obeida says in his statement, which is issued in Arabic, Hebrew and English.
He says that “if the enemy is concerned about the lives of these prisoners, they must immediately negotiate their evacuation or release.”
“The Netanyahu government bears full responsibility for the lives of the prisoners. Had they been concerned about them, they would have adhered to the agreement signed in January. Most of them would probably be in their homes today,” Abu Obeida adds.
Hamas has previously said it would execute hostages if Israeli troops are seen approaching areas where they are being held. In August, Hamas murdered six hostages in Rafah as Israeli forces were operating nearby.
Hamas has been lying about the number of still living Hostages and plans to use this to blame the IDF and cover their lies?
SIDE NOTE:
A friendly reminder to the Hamas supporting idiots out there.
There wouldn't be any Hostages, if Hamas had not attacked to start with, on the Oct. 7th.
Hamas, with Palestinian militant group help, attacked from Gaza. They MURDERED over 700 Israeli unarmed civilians, which included 36 children, and also murdered 79 persons visiting from other nations in the process.
Then Hamas in the process took 250+ Israelis as hostages.
The few 600 to 1 exchanged hostages, tell us Hamas and the Palestinian captors have been RAPING, TORTURING & STARVING and refusing basic medical aid to them and the kids being held hostage.
Yes! They have been raping children.
So any time I see a Pro-Hamas/Gaza protest.
I only see idiots supporting Pedophiles, Rapists, and Murdering Sadists.
[FoxNews] GNC could collect health data on U.S. troops and launch cyber intrusions, a GOP congressman warns
While much of Congress focuses on banning China from buying land near U.S. military bases, freshman Rep. Pat Harrigan, R-N.C., says the Chinese Communist Party already has a direct presence on those installations – through national nutrition chain GNC.
A bill released by Harrigan this week, the Military Installation Retail Security Act of 2025, would ban any companies of Chinese, North Korean, Iranian or Russian ownership from operating on military bases.
"This is actually a situation where the CCP is operating on our military bases. It’s even crazier [than foreign land purchases]," Harrigan told Fox News Digital.
In June 2020, vitamin retailer GNC filed for bankruptcy and was wholly acquired by Harbin Pharmaceuticals, a partially state-owned enterprise in China. Harbin had previously acquired a 40% stake in GNC in 2018.
In 2019, GNC agreed to integrate its manufacturing with International Vitamin Corporation (IVC), which has a consortium of Chinese investors.
The company, founded in Pittsburgh, had already been operating on U.S. bases for years at the time of its sale, and its potential to help with Chinese surveillance on military bases was overlooked.
Now, some 85 GNC stores operate on U.S. military bases. They operate under what are known as "long term concessions" contracts, meaning they are operated, staffed and supplied by GNC.
"This is a really ripe target for intelligence gathering," said Harrigan. "This is no joke about defending the integrity of our military, making sure that foreign adversaries who are actively seeking to undermine us don't have the opportunity to do that from within our military bases."
"You know who these people are, the customers you've got, their purchasing habits. You have access to sensitive health information based on the type of products that they're purchasing," he said.
The store could identify individuals with vulnerabilities by tracking frequent purchases of testosterone, sleep aids, or anxiety supplements, Harrigan said. It could also monitor deployment cycles based on changes in buying patterns, he added.
Harrigan warned that GNC’s access could even allow adversaries to introduce banned or harmful substances – or counterfeit products – to degrade military readiness.
The store also poses potential cyber risks, Harrigan said, noting that in-store WiFi and mobile data tracking could reveal troop geolocations. Loyalty apps and promotional materials, he warned, could be used to embed malicious links or software.
"Our systems are independently monitored and meet strict federal standards, partaking in multiple audits throughout the year," a GNC spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
"We love our military customers. Their wellbeing, whether it’s their personal health or the safety of their information, will always come first. We’re honored to be part of their communities and will continue to safeguard their information just like we do all our customers."
Lawmakers have introduced dozens of bills aimed at blocking China from buying U.S. land near sensitive military sites – a movement that gained urgency after Chinese food producer Fufeng Group purchased 370 acres near a North Dakota Air Force base in 2022.
China owned around 350,000 acres of farmland across 27 states as of last year, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
GNC Holdings appeared on the System for Award Management – the federal registry for government contractors – in 2023 and 2024, despite not being required to register due to its long-term concessions contract.
The company did not disclose its Chinese ownership on the website, and let its registration expire in October 2024.
As a U.S. senator from Florida, Secretary of State Marco Rubio raised alarms in 2020 over GNC’s sale to Harbin, warning that customers’ personal data could be handed over to the Chinese Communist Party. He urged the Treasury Department to launch a national security review.
Despite those concerns, Bankruptcy Judge Karen Owens approved the $770 million sale. Since then, GNC has capitalized on renewed interest in health and wellness to grow its footprint to more than 4,000 stores in the U.S. and 2,000 internationally, according to the company’s website.
[FOXNEWS] California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced plans Friday morning directing the state to pursue "strategic" relationships with countries announcing retaliatory tariffs against the U.S., urging them to exclude California-made products from those taxes, Fox News Digital exclusively learned first.
"Donald Trump's tariffs do not represent all Americans," Newsom said in a video announcement posted to X. "And on behalf of 40 million Americans that live in the great state of California, the tentpole of the U.S. economy — the dominant manufacturing state in America, our state of mind is around supporting stable trading relationships around the globe."
Sources in Newsom's administration told Fox News Digital Thursday night the announcement was a direct response to President Donald Trump's "Liberation Day" tariff plan, which sets out a baseline duty of 10% on all imports to the U.S. and some higher percentages for other top traders.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Iranian authorities are preparing to chop off the fingers from the hands of three men convicted of robbery as part of their horrific punishment.
Hadi Rostami, Mehdi Sharfian and Mehdi Shahivand, who are being held in Urumieh Central prison, West Azerbaijan province, are waiting to undergo the 'cruel and irreversible' punishment of finger amputation as early as April 11, human rights organisation Amnesty International said today.
All three men were arrested in August 2017 and convicted of robbery in 2019 after a 'grossly unfair trial', in which the court sentenced them to have four fingers on their right hands completely cut off.
The men were reportedly denied access to lawyers and courts relied on forced 'confessions', which saw all three get beaten, kicked and flogged.
Rostami's hand was broken and interrogators threatened to rape Shahivand to get confessions out of them, which they have since retracted.
Since getting the gruesome sentence, all three have gone on multiple hunger strikes in prison to protest the inhumane conditions they have been subjected to, as well as their conviction.
In February 2021, Rostami was further tortured after Iranian authorities carried out a flogging sentence of 60 lashes for 'disrupting prison order' after he went on hunger strike. He has also attempted suicide several times, Amnesty said.
Posted by: Skidmark ||
04/05/2025
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[Townhall] What happened with Marine Le Pen, the most popular politician in France who was just banned from standing for election on the flimsiest of pretenses, is no exception. It’s becoming the rule around the West and in other places, too, where being outside the mainstream of authorized establishment left-leaning globalist politics has become criminalized. In some places, like the UK and Spain, it takes the form of persecuting people for saying things that those in power don’t want to hear. In other places, like Germany, upstart populist parties that earned a significant number of votes are informally, and sometimes formally, marginalized and threatened with being banned. But it’s the criminal persecution of leaders that is becoming the go-to. It happened to Bolsonaro in Brazil, Netanyahu in Israel, Georgescu in Romania, and Le Pen in France. In each of these cases, the establishment authoritarians essentially attempted to frame a politician they couldn’t beat at the ballot box. Of course, their American analogs tried to do the same thing to Donald Trump here, and when that didn’t work, their allies tried to murder him. Thankfully, they failed at both — with the people who instigated these atrocities too dumb to know that they are the ones who should be the most thankful they failed.
These are not the acts of strong and confident leaders who believe in the strength and popularity of their ideology. These are the cowardly acts of authoritarians who differ from Putin not in their nature but only in their extent. They haven’t thrown anybody out of a fifth-story window yet that we know of, though we don’t know if they actively put the murderer who tried to kill Trump in Butler up to it — the one who tried to ambush him in Florida was an active member of their collective — but they would’ve cheered if either attempt had succeeded. Thankfully, America was not so far gone that the people’s choice could not prevail, though the resisters in the judiciary, the regime media, and elsewhere are doing everything they can to ensure that the man the people elected to govern can’t actually exercise the powers of office.
The European authoritarians, however, still have the ability to crush dissent. There are several reasons why, including the fact that most of the good Europeans long ago left for America, and the ones who remain are largely degraded and pathetic people. After all, Europe is an exhausted culture, too weak both morally and spiritually to come to its own defense. Its glorious cathedrals are museums now, and its armies are jokes. They can’t find the will or the courage to defend themselves, and Europeans have turned over their governance to corrupt, globalist fools who invite the Third World in to complete the destruction of what was the mother of civilization.
Americans are saddened and sickened by them. It’s difficult to explain to Americans why we should spend our treasure and put our blood on the line for nations that oppress their own people and embrace sham democracy. Even the UK, the father of our democracy, has turned into a political deadbeat dad. Why should we have a special relationship with a country that sends cops to the house of parents complaining about school policies? Under the Democrats, they tried to do that here, and we rejected it. We demonstrated at least a modicum of manhood in the face of this petty tyranny. But until the Europeans demonstrate their commitment to doing something about their own enslavement, it’s unclear how we might help. We certainly shouldn’t be protecting them from other European dictatorships — we have no interest in refereeing among oppressors. The fact that they need us to do so reflects their decision to essentially disarm and become pathetic welfare states teaming with foreign parasites and native cowards.
In short, America cannot be expected to — and is not going to — care more about Europe than the Europeans do.
“If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?”
~ Hillel the Elder, Pirke Avot (Ethics of Our Fathers) 1:14
Our response as Americans to fascist acts like the framing of Le Pen should be loud and bold condemnation and contempt. What they are doing is truly disgusting — and dangerous, too. We should say so, especially since their citizens can’t without fear of a knock on the door. The European ruling class hates hearing it, especially when JD Vance goes overseas and tells them the truth to their smug, pale faces. Their fussy fury when he exposes their fake democracy and lies about freedom is hilarious. But all they should get from us is talk. We should let them fend for themselves. They are unworthy of a special relationship, and it’s impossible to frame a coherent or compelling explanation of why a single American paratrooper should die in defense of any country that refuses to allow its most popular politician to run because the establishment dislikes her platform.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has launched a ground military operation in the Ash-Shujaiya area, which is located in the east of Gaza City in the northern part of the sector of the same name. This was reported on April 4 by the army press service.
"In the past few hours, IDF troops have launched a ground operation in the al-Shuja'iya area in northern Gaza with the aim of expanding the security zone," the statement said.
It is noted that during the operation, the Israeli military destroyed numerous fighters and facilities of the Palestinian Hamas movement, including a command and control center for planning and carrying out attacks.
As reported by Regnum News Agency, on April 2, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced the expansion of IDF military operations in the Gaza Strip. Against this backdrop, he called on residents of the Palestinian enclave to begin overthrowing Hamas and facilitate the return of Israeli hostages.
On March 27, the Israeli military launched a ground operation near the Gaza Strip town of Rafah to “expand the security zone.” Later, on April 1, the UN accused the IDF of killing 15 medical workers and rescue workers in the Gaza Strip. Vehicles of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) and Civil Defense workers were shot at by the Israeli army in Rafah.
Muhammad Hassan Awad, intelligence chief of the Al-Mujahideen Brigades—responsible for the abduction and murder of Shiri Bibas and her children—has been ELIMINATED ❌ pic.twitter.com/Kd4yKiPPUC
Israel says it has killed the terrorist who oversaw the abduction of Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, and was likely involved in their murders.
Muhammad Hassan Muhammad Awad, a senior member of the Mujahideen Brigades, a relatively small terror group in the Gaza Strip, was killed in an airstrike today, the IDF and Shin Bet announce.
In a joint statement, they say that Awad was among the terrorists who invaded Kibbutz Nir Oz during the Hamas-led October 7 onslaught, and that he led the abduction of Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas.
The IDF says Awad was also “likely involved in their murders” during the early weeks of the war. Their bodies were returned to Israel in February.
Awad was also responsible for the abduction of Gadi Haggai and Judih Weinstein, who were both killed amid the onslaught in Nir Oz, along with several Thai nationals taken hostage from the kibbutz, the military says.
Earlier today, Awad was targeted and killed in a strike in the northern Gaza Strip.
The terror group also confirmed his death, saying he was a senior military commander and head of its intelligence division. The IDF says he was considered close to the leadership of the Mujahideen Brigades.
“Additionally, as part of his role in the terror group, Awad was engaged in recruiting terror operatives in [the West Bank] and Israel [proper], through which they advanced and carried out attacks against Israelis,” the military says.
During the war, the IDF says the Mujahideen Brigades, which is allied with Hamas, carried out several attacks on Israeli forces in Gaza and against Israel.
Saeed Ahmad Abed Khudari was the head of the Al Wefaq Co. currency exchange company, which had been designated as a terror organization by the Defense Ministry for its involvement in transferring money to Hamas.
“Khudari has been involved in numerous financial transfers to Hamas’s military wing over the years and especially throughout a war,” the IDF says.
The military says his involvement in funneling funds to Hamas increased following the killing of his brother, Hamed Khudari, in 2019. His brother had also served as a money man for Hamas, according to the military.
Khudari’s elimination yesterday is “a significant blow to the terror organization’s ability to rearm and reestablish itself,” the IDF adds.
Mohammed Saleh al-Bardawil “played a central role in Hamas’s propaganda apparatus, systematically spreading false information and leveraging media as a tool for psychological terror and to promote the murderous narrative of the Hamas terrorist organization,” the military says.
Bardawil also worked as a broadcaster with the Hamas-run Al-Aqsa Radio.
The IDF says that “while he was referred to as a well-known journalist in Gaza, he was an integral part of Hamas’s incitement and terror infrastructure.”
“Bardawil took an active part in producing the cynical propaganda videos distributed by the terrorist organization Hamas, in which the abducted Israelis were filmed during their captivity in Gaza,” the IDF adds.
According to Palestinian media, Bardawil was killed on Monday in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, alongside his wife and three children.
[BREITBART] Federal authorities arrested a reputed Gulf Cartel commander who was hiding out in the border city of Brownsville, Texas. The cartel commander illegally entered the country and was operating in the region before his arrest.
Known authorities identified the man as Commander Pony, Fabian Silva Aguirre, a Gulf Cartel member tied to drug and human smuggling operations in Mexico, information provided to Breitbart Texas by the U.S. Border Patrol revealed.
The arrest occurred Wednesday evening in Brownsville during a traffic stop by Cameron County Constables from Precinct 2. The deputy teamed up with federal authorities, who took the Mexican national into custody.
Silva Aguirre is facing illegal re-entry after removal charges since he had previously been deported, U.S. Border Patrol revealed. It remains unclear if he will be facing additional charges.
The city of Brownsville, Texas, is a busy drug and human smuggling corridor that the Gulf Cartel has used for decades.
In December, drug smugglers kidnapped and tortured two men in Brownsville over stolen drugs. The men eventually were able to escape and seek help, Breitbart Texas reported at the time.
Late last year, the city experienced a wave of car thefts where vehicles were being smuggled into Mexico at the request of the Gulf Cartel, Breitbart Texas reported. In some cases, the car thefts became violent mostly peaceful, turning into armed robberies where button men were taking vehicles at gunpoint outside of restaurants in the city's busy north shopping district.
In January, President Donald Trump ...Perhaps no man has ever had as much fun being president of the US... signed an executive order designating the Gulf Cartel as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
[BBC] More documents about the relationship between Prince Andrew and an alleged Chinese agent of influence are being released to BBC News on Friday.
The court papers about Yang Tengbo's alleged activities in the UK are becoming public after a legal battle, including other media outlets, for more transparency in the semi-secret case.
Mr Yang has been banned from the UK on national security grounds after the home secretary concluded that he may have been trying to exert influence on the Duke of York.
The businessman, who denies wrongdoing, was accused of using his position as an influential businessman in Prince Andrew's inner circle to clandestinely further the Chinese state's aims.
In December, the Special Immigration Appeals Commission said Mr Yang had formed an "unusual degree of trust" with the prince and had not disclosed his links to an arm of the Chinese Communist Party which is clandestinely involved in "political interference".
The term is used for suspected Chinese state agents who are not operating as traditional spies, but are using their position to secretly influence key figures in the British state, such as politicians, academics and business leaders.
The aim is to subtly and slowly bring them around to the Chinese Communist Party's aims in a long-term operation often referred to as "elite capture".
Mr Yang, a businessman who had lived in the UK since 2002, became a key figure in Prince Andrew's money-making Pitch@Palace scheme that linked entrepreneurs and investors, including at major events in China.
He became an increasingly trusted confidante amid the fall-out from the duke's interview with the BBC's Newsnight programme in November 2019, which detailed the Duke's friendship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The reaction to the interview led to the prince withdrawing from public duties - and the end of the commercially successful Pitch@Palace events in the UK and China.
Documents show that one of the prince's closest aides, Dominic Hampshire had told told Mr Yang that he had personally managed to salvage the prince's reputation in China - and he was ultimately invited in late 2020 to act for the royal in a planned $3bn investment fund.
The "Eurasia Fund" scheme, to be headed by Prince Andrew, aimed to raise cash to invest in Chinese state projects in Africa and the Middle East.
The UK's security agencies appear to have been concerned about the scheme because it might lead to a member of the royal family advancing the Chinese Communist Party's aim of expanding its economic and diplomatic influence.
Documents disclosed so far show that Mr Hampshire told Mr Yang that the Newsnight interview had been "hugely ill-advised and unsuccessful" but, in its wake, the Chinese entrepreneur sat "at the very top of a tree that many, many people would like to be on".
He had assisted in getting "relevant people unnoticed" in and out of Windsor for private meetings with the prince - and he was invited to his private 60th birthday dinner at his mansion.
Another document, concerning preparations for a call between the prince and Mr Yang, reads "he is in a desperate situation and will grab onto anything."
Prince Andrew has been financially cut off by his brother King Charles and there have been questions about his financial arrangements and how he funds the upkeep of his 30-room mansion Royal Lodge in Windsor.
This latest set of documents could throw more light on Mr Hampshire's wider business involvement with Prince Andrew.
Last autumn Mr Hampshire registered a series of investment companies in Bahrain, under the banner of Waterberg Stirling, which became part of a proposal to take over the Pitch@Palace network and its contacts.
The deal for Pitch@Palace's former network, also involving a Dutch company called Startupbootcamp, was reported to be on the verge of delivering a significant income for Prince Andrew, but the Dutch company later withdrew.
But there had been some projects staged under the proposed joint partnership, including in Beijing, at an event held under the auspices of the Chinese government, where a spokesman announced the aim of raising funds in the Middle East for investment in China. Yang Tengbo was singled out for praise at this event last summer.
Figures linked to Waterberg Stirling were also understood to be at a business meeting with the Chinese ambassador to the UK, held at Royal Lodge in December 2024, days before the story broke about accusations over Yang Tengbo's status.
According to Bahraini registration documents, Waterberg Stirling was then put into liquidation in March 2025.
The documents to be disclosed on Friday include Mr Hampshire's account to the court of his role in events, his relationship with Mr Yang and what happened when a currently unnamed UK government agency began speaking to the aide.
Other papers are expected to cover details of the mysterious and aborted "Eurasia Fund" and Mr Yang's work as a China consultant for major British businesses.
Mr Yang is seeking to appeal his exclusion from the UK on national security grounds.
BLUF: “I agree with everything he is doing, except that he’s the one doing it!”
[BREITBART] During an interview with MSNBC host and NBC News Senior Business Analyst Stephanie Ruhle that took place on Wednesday, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) said that he supports the goal of the Trump administration's investigations of campus antisemitism and threats to withhold funds and schools where Jewish students can't go to class, get fair grades, or be treated fairly should be accountable, but ''The way they're going about it, like everything else, I think is chaotic and is reckless and is undermining people's fundamental rights,'' and people can say what they wish ''within the bounds of the laws and the rules on campus, to say it, as long as they're not interfering with some other student's ability to learn, some other student's ability to physically get to class.''
Ruhle asked, ''I do want to ask, you have spoken out against antisemitism on college campuses. The president is doing so, but he's now launching investigations, investigations against DEI and potentially holding federal funds because of speech on campuses. What do you think about that?''
Shapiro answered, ''Look, I have tried to speak out against antisemitism on the left, right? As well as on the right. There should be absolutely no place for antisemitism, hatred, bigotry, in any form, on a college campus or in a community center. A Jewish student, a Moslem student, should have the ability to get to class, to learn, to get a fair grade, to be treated fairly on campus. And where that's not happening, universities need to be held accountable, communities need to be held accountable. And so, I applaud the aim of what the administration is trying to do.''
#6
Shapiro can consider himself lucky that Harris did not select him to be her running mate. He won't have any of that Kamala taint on him if he runs for the White House in 2028.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
04/05/2025 13:29
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#7
people can say what they wish ''within the bounds of the laws and the rules on campus, to say it, as long as they're not interfering with some other student's ability to learn, some other student's ability to physically get to class.''
Of course you have a right to say whatever you want but you have no right to taxpayers' money.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
04/05/2025 13:31
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[BREITBART] Senator Adam Schiff >...Showboating U.S. Representative for California's 28th congressional district since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Schiff has served in Congress since 2001. He currently serves as the chairman of the United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. In a manner reminiscent of Joe McCarthy, on March 22, 2017, in a interview with Chuck Todd on MSNBC Schiff claimed there was “more than circumstantial evidence now” that Donald Trump's campaign colluded with Russia." Todd followed up by asking if he had seen direct evidence of collusion and Schiff responded that there was "evidence that is not circumstantial and is very much worthy of investigation" Elected to rgw Debate in 2024...> (D-CA) said Wednesday on MSNBC's ''Prime'' that the Democrats ...every time you hear the phrase white people, white supremacy,white anything but paint, you're listening to a Democrat. Ask him/her/it to reimagine something for you; they do that a lot, though not well. They can hear a dog whistle a mile or two away. They invented the spoils system and Tammany Hall, and inspired the addition of the word (Thomas) Nasty to the English language. They want to stop continental drift and repeal the law of unintended side effects... have planned so-called shadow hearings to ''expose'' the Trump administration's ''corruption.''
Co-host Alicia Menendez said, ''You announced today a set of hearings are going to have next week with fired DOJ officials. What is it you are hoping to learn from them?''
Schiff said, ''Well, today as you know, we saw the case, the corruption case against the mayor of New York dismissed with prejudice. That means that case can never be brought again. It wasn't dismissed because of a lack of evidence. It was dismissed because the administration tried to engage in a corrupt bargain with the mayor, in which it would make the charges go away, at least for a time, if he would do their bidding on unrelated policy matters. The only losers there are the American people. In the judiciary committee, we're not having hearings on any of this, any of these abuses of power. What happened in New York is just one of many examples.''
He added, ''So I'm teaming up with Jamie Raskin. We're doing our own hearing to bring in some of the prosecutors who were fired or had to quit because of these corrupt acts. We're also bringing in a young attorney who left one of the major law firms because the law firms are capitulating to the Trump administration and are also giving in to this campaign of abuse of power and an attack on the rule of law.''
Schiff concluded, ''Shedding a light through these spotlight or shadow hearings, like we're going to do on Monday at 330, we're going to expose this corruption at the top of the Justice Department for the American people to see. And that's one way also of putting pressure on this administration and pressure on our Republican colleagues to do something about the runaway corruption of this administration.''
[NYPOST] Potentially historic flooding is underway Thursday in the Mississippi and Ohio valleys, as repeated rounds of rain pummel several states in America's heartland. More than a foot of rain could fall on the region by Sunday.
This is the same part of the country that was devastated by a deadly tornado outbreak Wednesday.
A stalled front draped over the central US will bring continuous rain and storms through the weekend, causing both a flood threat and a severe weather threat.
The National Weather Service offices in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Paducah, Kentucky, have highlighted a particularly dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding situation.
FLOODING ALREADY HAPPENING
Parts of Tennessee and Kentucky have already been inundated ahead of the additional rain that is forecast.
Hopkinsville, Kentucky, was flooded early Friday. City officials told FOX Weather that approximately 60% of the downtown was underwater, and a building had collapsed due to the heavy rain. A woman had to be rescued from floodwaters in her home and another from a car.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/05/2025
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And it is going again this morning.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
04/05/2025 8:19
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So far, Wayne County (TN) hasn't been hit hard, just one tornado off in the boonies. Tonight is supposed to be a bear tho.
[BULLITTCOUNTYHISTORY] This copy of the Eighth Grade Exam for Bullitt County Schools in 1912 was donated to the museum. We thought you might like to see what the test looked like more than a hundred years ago. Obviously it tested some things that were more relevant at that time than now, and it should not be used to compare student knowledge then and now.
#6
Makes sense as most people were still farmers in that day and age and most kids didn't finish school past the 8th grade as they needed to work the farms. So this was the final exam.
#7
My father was born in 1905 and never went beyond Grade 8 but was still very successful as an electrician. He specialized in electric motors and electric switchgear. His general knowledge level was incredible and was only exceeded by his knowledge of world history. He would be horrified at today's teaching.
Kalsomine
A thin whitewash composed primarily of Paris white and water. It was sometimes used instead of the more expensive paint to cover walls and fences, and was said to prevent mites when painted on the inside of chicken houses.
Commentary by Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin is in italics.
[ColonelCassad] US Cyber Commander and NSA Director General Timothy Ho has been removed from his post.
Lieutenant General William Hartman, who was Ho's deputy at Cyber Command, will take over Ho's duties at Cyber Command. Sheila Thomas, the NSA's deputy director, will take over Ho's duties at the NSA.
Ho, who took up his post in February 2024, was fired along with his deputy Wendy Noble. The reason for Ho's dismissal is unclear.
However, there is no smoke without fire. In recent months, reports have emerged about potential plans by Donald Trump to divide "responsibility" between Cyber Command and the NSA and no longer appoint a single leader.
Democrats were quick to condemn the dismissals. This move by the new presidential administration has also caused bewilderment in American expert circles.
But! The dismissal of Ho and Noble follows the dismissal of several aides from the White House National Security Council. According to multiple reports, these firings were initiated by right-wing activist Laura Loomer. at a meeting with Trump She also played a decisive role in Ho's dismissal.
Loomer stated verbatim:
"NSA Director Tim Ho and his deputy Wendy Noble have shown disloyalty to President Trump. That is why they were fired. As a Biden appointee, General Ho could not serve in the Trump administration given the fact that he was personally recommended by General Milley, whom President Trump accused of treason. Why do we need an NSA director recommended to Biden by Milley, who told China he would side with them against Trump!?"
It is worth noting that there was recently a major scandal with the Signal messenger, which is used by Trump's entourage. And leaks from "secret chats" were used to attack Trump's entourage. Signal servers are under the control of the NSA.
This time, Trump decided not to give up his own (unlike in 2017), so instead of resigning Waltz, whom the Democrats and Deep State representatives in the intelligence community tried to remove through this scandal, they are demonstratively removing the head of the NSA.
The purge of disloyal personnel in the army and special services continues. And this is far from the end.
The head of the US Cyber Command and the National Security Agency (NSA), General Timothy Ho, was dismissed from his post. This was reported on April 3 by The Washington Post.
Ho was the head of U.S. Cyber Command, which coordinates the Pentagon's cybersecurity operations. The dismissal was sudden, and the reasons for Ho's departure are unknown, two current and one former U.S. official told the publication. Lieutenant General William Hartmann, who served as Ho's deputy at Cyber Command, has been appointed acting director of the NSA.
In addition, along with Ho, his deputy Wendy Noble was fired and transferred to the office of the undersecretary of defense for intelligence.
It is noted that Ho's dismissal provoked protests from Democrats in the US Congress.
“General Ho served our country in uniform, with honor and distinction, for more than 30 years. At a time when the United States faces unprecedented cyber threats … how does his removal make Americans safer?” asked Sen. Mark Warner, vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Ho has led the NSA and Cyber Command since 2023. Both agencies play a leading role in ensuring the nation's cybersecurity. The NSA also supports the military and other national security agencies by collecting and analyzing vast amounts of data and information from around the world.
#6
Laura Loomer, an investigative journalist and activist, confirmed on Friday that she “referred” National Security Agency/Cyber Command Commander Gen. Timothy Haugh for “firing,” and indicated she did so because he was handpicked by former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley.
South Korea’s Constitutional Court has ruled to remove President Yoon Suk-yeol from office, following an impeachment decision by Parliament.https://t.co/ciAq3Qzn1d
[FoxNews] A source familiar with the project said its catastrophic failure is a 'shining example of how these failed green energy projects pose a hazard to the environment.'
A major part of a first-of-its-kind green energy project, which the Biden administration bragged about, is now lying in ruins and polluting some of America’s beautiful ocean and seashore in Nantucket, Massachusetts.
Exclusive images obtained by Fox News Digital show the shattered remains of what is left of an ocean wind turbine constructed by Vineyard Wind in a green energy project touted by the Biden administration.
The turbine was recently struck by lightning and destroyed just months after one of its blades dangerously fell into the Atlantic Ocean, dropping non-biodegradable fiberglass shards into the water, some of which washed ashore, forcing six Nantucket beaches to close.
The Cape Cod Times reported that the broken turbine was hit by lightning on Feb. 27 and "caught fire, and detached."
Today – just a few years after the Biden administration announced the project in 2021 – the turbine sits in ruins with its interior materials being exposed just about 14 nautical miles from Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.
In May 2021, the Biden-era Department of Interior announced the approval of the construction and operation of the Vineyard Wind project, which it said would be the first large-scale, offshore wind project in the United States. The administration touted the project as contributing to their green energy goals.
Former President Joe Biden’s Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland called the project an "important step toward advancing the Administration's goals to create good-paying union jobs while combating climate change and powering our nation."
However, after the project went down in literal flames, local residents had much more choice words to say about the Biden administration’s "ambitious climate goals."
"Everybody wants a healthy planet, but when the ones advocating for a green planet are the ones damaging it, it makes you pause," Barstool Sports President Dave Portnoy, a Nantucket homeowner, told Fox News Digital after the blade detached and fell into the ocean.
Portnoy lamented those who paid good money only to be unable to visit the closed beaches.
"Families save up for years to take a vacation to Nantucket only to have it ruined by negligence," he said.
Mary Chalke, another local resident, posted on X on Mar. 23 that she was continuing to find blade fiberglass debris washing ashore on a Nantucket beach on the south side of the island.
The Vineyard Gazette reported that the broken blade had a manufacturing defect that was not caught during inspections and that there were 66 other blades in the project that could potentially have the same problem. The outlet reported that Vineyard Wind has been ordered to remove all the potentially defective blades.
VIDEO - Gazans release footage of ‘horrifying’ IDF attack on a water desalination facility (water) in eastern Gaza City overnight. However, the video shows numerous secondary explosions targeting large amounts of weapons, rockets, and explosive devices hidden in the facility -… pic.twitter.com/yTu7gP6c5o
— Israel News Pulse (@israelnewspulse) April 4, 2025
Posted by: Fred ||
04/05/2025
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[Epoch Times] Ford Motor Co. announced on Thursday that it will extend its employee pricing to all shoppers in the wake of widespread tariffs that were announced by President Donald Trump, including 25 percent duties on foreign-made cars that went into effect on Thursday.
Framing its announcement as a way to mitigate "uncertain times for many Americans," Ford said that it’s opening its "employee pricing to all U.S. customers, giving them access to significant savings on a wide range of 2024 and 2025 gas, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and diesel Ford and Lincoln vehicles."
However, Ford’s pricing change excludes Ford Raptor models, specialty Bronco and Mustang models, its 2025 Expedition and Navigator SUVs, and its Super Duty trucks.
Commentary by Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin.
[ColonelCassad]
The world economy today is fundamentally different from yesterday. The system of world trade centered on the United States... is over. Our old relationship of ever-deepening integration with the United States is over. The 80-year period in which the United States assumed the role of economic leader... is over. While this is a tragedy, it is also a new reality."
(c) Canadian Prime Minister Carney
Well, that's fine, although it was inevitable.
Under Biden, the US realized the inevitability of the collapse of the old Washington world order and bet on reshaping it in their favor as part of constructing a new world order. The key bet was the defeat of Russia. In case of victory, the globalists could count on preserving the old economic system.
But since they failed to defeat Russia, and Russia became one of the actors generating the processes of forming new economic systems untied from the globalist model, this made the dismantling of the globalist economic model inevitable, which is what Trump is doing, refusing the slightest hint of "free trade" and "globalist economy", returning the US to the stage of economic protectionism and military-political imperialism. And thus the collapse of the Washington world order that existed since the early 90s is completed.
Russia has already won its existence in the brave new post-Washington world. There is currently a military-political and economic struggle going on over how advantageous and strong Russia’s position will be within the framework of the new world order.
#2
Why We Should Be Very Angry About the Tariffs — and Why Trump Is Right Again ...For decades, our so-called allies and trading partners have been gleefully waging economic warfare on the United States, with the full permission — no, the encouragement — of prior administrations. China flooded our markets with cheap steel, violating trade norms and collapsing American mills. The European Union protected its own industries while slapping barriers on ours. Japan, Taiwan, and others enjoyed one-sided access to our consumers while shielding their own markets with layers of red tape and tariffs.
#13
Canada will lead the world – PM Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has condemned US President Donald Trump’s new slate of tariffs, declaring that Ottawa stands ready to become the global economic leader in place of Washington.
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.
...46th president of the U.S. 
...
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the 
..a regional Iranian catspaw,...
[FOXNEWS] California Gov. 
...Perhaps no man has ever had as much fun being president of the US...
...every time you hear the phrase 
[BULLITTCOUNTYHISTORY] This copy of the Eighth Grade Exam for Bullitt County Schools in 1912 was donated to the museum. We thought you might like to see what the test looked like more than a hundred years ago. Obviously it tested some things that were more relevant at that time than now, and it should not be used to compare student knowledge then and now.
[Epoch Times] 
