[IsraelTimes] State prosecutors filed an indictment against six Arab Israelis earlier today on suspicion they helped transfer funds from Turkey to terror groups in the West Bank.
Police and Shin Bet agents arrested the suspects over the course of the past month, and the six were indicted on charges of contact with a foreign agent and using terrorist assets.
A statement from spokespeople for the agencies claims suspects funneled millions of shekels from Turkey to terror groups in West Bank, including Hamas.
Police suspect that 33-year-old Arraba resident Fadi Arabi recruited the five others into the elaborate funding scheme, which initially began between him and his brother, Nassim Arabi, who resides in Turkey.
[IsraelTimes] The Lebanese army has for the first time ever entered Hezbollah bases north of the Litani River, and has nearly completed dismantling Hezbollah infrastructure in the south of the country, the Lebanese Al Jadeed network reports.
The report notes that Hezbollah has never before surrendered bases to the Lebanese army north of the river.
According to the report, the Lebanese government will reach an agreement with Hezbollah regarding a phased relinquishing of the weapons it possesses.
Earlier in the day, Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said the Iran-aligned terror group is ready to enter talks with the Lebanese government on a national defense strategy, with a focus on ensuring the removal of Israeli troops from Lebanon’s territory.
Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah ended with a November 2024 ceasefire that resulted in the withdrawal of Israeli troops, except for in five key positions near the border. Israel says it intends to hand the posts over to Lebanese troops once it is sure the security situation allows it.
[IsraelTimes] A Pakistani-born Canadian businessman accused of helping to orchestrate the 2008 attacks in Mumbai,
…ten terrorists rampaged through to the city and kept many hostage in various hotels and a Chabad House before killing 166, including the rabbi, his wife, and several of their children. The horror lasted nearly 60 hours before Mumbai police gunned down the bad guys. The lone surviving terrorist, Ajmal Kasab sang like a canary, was found guilty and subsequently hanged a few years later at a jail in Pune...
one of India’s deadliest, arrives in New Delhi after the US extradited him in the first such transfer in a terrorism case.
Tahawwur Rana,
Mr. Rana is accused by the Indian government of participating in the planning and execution of the Lashkar terrorist attacks in Mumbai by collaborating with his childhood friend David Coleman Headley, also known as "Daood Gilani," and others. He was convicted in 2011 of providing material support to Lashkar-e-Taiba, which planned the Mumbai terror attack and for supporting a never-carried-out plot to attack a Danish newspaper that printed cartoons of the Prophet Muhammed (PTUI!) in 2005. Specifically, he was accused of allowing David Coleman Headley to open a branch of his Chicago-based immigration law business in Mumbai as a cover story and to travel as a representative of the company in Denmark…
64, a doctor-turned-businessman, is extradited in connection with the November 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed more than 160 people, including 6 Israelis at the city’s Chabad center.
“The National Investigation Agency on Thursday successfully secured the extradition…after years of sustained and concerted efforts to bring the key conspirator…to justice,” says NIA, India’s anti-terror agency.
He is accompanied back by Indian security agencies after his petitions challenging the extradition were rejected by the US Supreme Court.
Rana’s extradition is a “great success” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi government’s diplomacy, Indian Home Minister Amit Shah said on Wednesday.
“It is the responsibility of the Indian government to bring back all those who have abused the land and people of India,” he posted on X.
[IsraelTimes] Police arrested 23 anti-war protesters in Haifa this evening during a demonstration against Israel’s ongoing Gaza offensive.
A spokesperson for law enforcement says demonstrators did not heed officers’ calls to disperse and “carried signs and [chanted] calls against Israel’s actions in the Gaza war.”
Video posted to social media of the demonstration shows a small group of protesters holding banners in Hebrew, Arabic and English, among them with calls to “Stop bombing aid convoys” and “Stop the genocide.”
Within a few moments of declaring the demonstration unlawful, cops tore protesters’ signs away and began to forcefully arrest several in the crowd.
[IsraelTimes] The Trump administration has imposed sanctions on Iranian oil trading networks, including on a China-based crude oil storage terminal linked via a pipeline to an independent refinery, just days before direct talks between the US and Iran.
The US imposes sanctions on Guangsha Zhoushan Energy Group Co, Ltd, which it says operates a crude oil and petroleum products terminal on Huangzeshan Island in Zhoushan, China. The terminal knowingly engages with acquiring oil from Iran, and is directly connected through the Huangzeshan–Yushan Undersea Oil Pipeline to an independent refinery known as a “teapot” plant, the US State Department says.
“The United States remains focused on disrupting all elements of Iran’s oil exports, particularly those who seek to profit from this trade,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says.
The terminal has acquired Iranian crude oil at least nine times between 2021 and 2025, including from US-sanctioned vessels, and has imported at least 13 million barrels of Iranian crude oil, it says.
China, the largest importer of Iranian oil, does not recognize US sanctions. China and Iran have built a trading system that uses mostly Chinese yuan and a network of middlemen, avoiding the dollar and exposure to US regulators.
The Chinese embassy in Washington does not immediately respond to a request for comment. But in response to a sanction on a teapot refinery last month, a spokesperson said: “China has always been firmly opposed to illegal and unjustifiable unilateral sanctions and so-called long-arm jurisdiction by the US.”
[IsraelTimes] Freed hostage Agam Berger describes observing the Passover holiday last year while being held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, and how keeping her Jewish faith helped her endure the hardships of captivity, in an op-ed published today for the Wall Street Journal.
“Even as Hamas tried to coerce me into converting to Islam — at times, forcing a hijab on my head — they couldn’t take away my soul,” writes Berger in the piece.
“Our faith and covenant with God, the story we remember on Passover, is more powerful than any cruel captor,” says Berger.
Berger, 20, says that throughout her 428 days in captivity, she chose to observe every Jewish fast that she could, refusing certain foods to keep kosher, and “chose not to light a fire on Shabbat to cook for my captors.”
“They stopped letting me cook altogether once they realized it was something I enjoyed,” she adds.
Berger writes that last Passover, she and fellow hostage Liri Albag, who was released with Berger, marked the holiday together “in a small room with no natural light.”
Berger says they tidied up the room and decorated with small scraps of paper, and that Liri surprised Berger by writing her “a makeshift Passover Haggadah, the text that recounts our ancestors’ journey out of slavery.”
The two women, along with Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, and Naama Levy, were kidnapped from the IDF’s Nahal Oz military base on October 7, 2023, and released by the terror group in late January as part of a hostage-ceasefire deal that has since collapsed.
”While I will celebrate this holiday with my family, it won’t yet be full. There are 59 hostages still held in Gaza, 24 of whom are believed to be alive. This is their second Passover in chains of iron. We can’t allow a third,” Berger continues.
“We are commanded to remember the Exodus every day. This demands that we continue our efforts to bring home our captive brothers, and to fight to ensure the atrocities of that autumn Sabbath never occur again,” she says.
[IsraelTimes] 30 said killed in Wednesday attack that eliminated Haitham Razek Abd al-Karim Sheikh Khalil, who led attack on Kibbutz Nir Oz, and who is unit’s 4th commander killed since start of war
The IDF said Thursday that it had recently killed 12 turbans who took part in the Hamas ..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,... onslaught of October 7, 2023, including the current head of Hamas’s Shejaiya Battalion, who led the devastating attack on Kibbutz Nir Oz.
Haitham Razek Abd al-Karim Sheikh Khalil is the fourth head of the Shejaiya Battalion to be killed since the Hamas onslaught, during which thousands of turbans killed some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, sparking the war.
He was killed Wednesday in an Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... on Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... City, in the Strip’s north, the IDF said. Paleostinian media reported some 30 people were killed in the strike, which the military said targeted a Hamas command center.
"Several Hamas turbans operated at the site to plan and carry out attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops," the IDF said.
According to the IDF, Khalil "commanded the infiltration into Nahal Oz during the murderous massacre of October 7."
The attack virtually destroyed the kibbutz and saw roughly one in four of its 400-odd members murdered or kidnapped.
Despite the dozens said to have been killed in the strike, the IDF said it had taken steps to mitigate harm to civilians, including by the use of "precision munitions," aerial surveillance and other intelligence.
"The Hamas terror organization systematically violates international law while cruelly exploiting civilian buildings and the civilian population as human shields for its terror activities," the military said.
During the war, Khalil planned and carried out attacks against Israeli troops in Gaza and worked to plant bombs in combat zones, according to the IDF.
Khalil previously headed a company in Hamas’s elite Nukhba Force, and was appointed to head the Shejaiya Battalion after his predecessor, Jamil Omar Jamil Wadiya, was killed in March.
Wadiya took over the battalion in December 2023. His predecessors, Wissam Farhat and Emad Qariqa, were killed on December 2 and 10, respectively.
11 OTHER OCT. 7 TERRORISTS KILLED
The IDF and Shin Bet said that 11 other Hamas and Paleostinian Islamic Jihad ...created after many members of the Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah... turbans who invaded Israel during the October 7 onslaught were killed in recent airstrikes in Gaza.
Nine of them were killed in the military’s opening airstrikes on the Strip on March 18, when Israel resumed fighting in Gaza after a two-month ceasefire, the IDF said.
The turbans had been involved in the murders and abductions of Israeli civilians and soldiers during the October 7 attack, according to the military.
The military identified the nine killed on March 18 as: Hassan Naam, responsible for the abduction of Sgt. Shaked Dahan; Ismail Shakhshah, responsible for murdering Israeli civilians, hurling grenades at innocents hiding in a roadside kaboom shelter at Re’im Junction; Jalal Qaraan, who attacked the Reim-area Nova music festival and several IDF bases, filmed himself murdering two civilians, and took part in the murder of hostage Inbar Haiman; Mohammed Isa, who invaded Kibbutz Mefalsim and participated in the massacre there; Mohammed Sakar, who invaded Kibbutz Nir Oz and participated in the massacre there; and Mohammed Shabki, Fares Qarshin, Yahya Astal and Mohammed Astal, all of whom invaded unspecified areas of Israel on October 7, 2023, and participated in the onslaught.
Two more turbans who took part in the onslaught were killed before March 18, the IDF said. These were Khaled al-Din, responsible for the murders of Israeli civilians during the attack and the "use of property" belonging to Erick Peretz, 58, and his 16-year-old daughter, Ruth, who were murdered at Nova; and Mohammed Asfor, involved in harming the kidnapped corpses of Col. Asaf Hamami, who led the Southern Brigade of the IDF’s Gaza Division, as well as Staff Sgt. Tomer Ahimas, and Sgt. Kiril Brodski, members of Hamami’s team.
On Thursday, the military said the Israeli Air Force had struck over 35 targets in Gaza over the past day.
WAFA, the Paleostinian Authority’s official news agency, reported six people killed Thursday afternoon in a strike on Shejaiya, in eastern Gaza City; five people killed in an attack on the city’s center; and another person killed in an attack on Rafah, the Strip’s southernmost city.
Earlier Thursday, the agency reported three people, including a child, killed in attacks near southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, and another person killed in an attack on a tent housing displaced people in the town of al-Zahra in the Strip’s center.
The IDF said it targeted terror operatives, infrastructure, sniper posts and observation posts that posed a threat.
The strikes came as ground troops continued to operate across the Strip.
In the Morag Corridor area between Rafah and Khan Younis in southern Gaza, the IDF said its 36th Division killed several terror operatives and destroyed infrastructure used by Hamas.
In Rafah’s Tel Sultan neighborhood, troops of the Gaza Division destroyed several tunnel shafts and dozens of terror infrastructure sites, according to the military.
In northern Gaza, the IDF’s 252nd Division killed several operatives and destroyed buildings used by terror groups, the military said.
Israel assesses it has killed about 20,000 combatants in Gaza as of January, as well as some 1,600 turbans inside Israel during the Hamas onslaught.
According to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, more than 50,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far. The toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters.
Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.
Israel’s toll in the Gaza ground offensive and in military operations along the border stands at 410.
[IsraelTimes] Internal communications released in lawsuit show newsroom was informed of freelancer’s work for pro-terror media in 2018, but continued to employ him
The News Agency that Dare Not be Named was told that a photographer it employed in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... was connected to Hamas ..one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbund millipede,... in 2018 and doubted his reliability, years before the news agency cut ties with the freelancer due to controversy about his work during the October 2023 invasion of Israel, according to documents released in a US lawsuit on Tuesday.
The AP has pushed back against the claims, calling the lawsuit "baseless," saying the correspondence between its staff was mischaracterized, and highlighting that the news agency stopped accepting the photographer’s work shortly into the war. The photographer, Hassan Eslaiah, was targeted and maimed in an Israeli Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... this week, with the IDF saying he was a Hamas member.
Eslaiah entered Israel during the October 7, 2023, massacre, photographing Gazooks, some of them armed, as they stormed Kibbutz Nir Oz, one of the hardest-hit communities that day. He also took a picture of Gazooks atop a burning tank next to the destroyed Gaza border fence. A video and photos from the scene showed him next to the tank, though no press credentials could be seen on him.
After the attack, pro-Israel advocates suggested that Eslaiah and other photographers working for the international media had had foreknowledge of the Hamas invasion, without providing evidence, causing huge controversy. An image also surfaced showing Eslaiah embracing the late Hamas terror chief Yahya Sinwar in 2020. The AP denied that the photographers knew about the attack ahead of time, but said it was cutting ties with Eslaiah in November 2023. Eslaiah’s pictures from October 7 were removed from the AP’s distribution feed, though other photographs remain.
In February 2024, a number of survivors of the Hamas attack and the families of victims sued the AP in a US federal court in Florida, accusing the agency of being complicit in the invasion by working with freelancers embedded with terrorists, including Eslaiah. They are being represented by the National Jewish Advocacy Center, which charged the AP with "funding and substantially supporting a terrorist organization" by purchasing images from the October 7 attack.
"AP has long been on notice of their freelancer’s Hamas connections, and chose to ignore those connections," the lawsuit said. "AP knew, or at the very least should have known, through simple due diligence, that the people they were paying were longstanding Hamas affiliates, propagandists, and full participants in the terrorist attack that they were also documenting." The lawsuit argued that Eslaiah’s connections to Hamas granted him access to photograph the invasion and other Hamas operations.
After the lawsuit was filed, AP called the case "baseless" and said that none of its freelancers had foreknowledge of the attack.
Filings in the lawsuit released on Tuesday showed that AP staff had been informed of Eslaiah’s Hamas ties in 2018, though, and worried about his reliability.
The two sides waged a legal battle over the release of the documents. Lawyers for the AP opposed their release, saying the materials were confidential, but a judge ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, allowing for the redacted documents’ public release this week.
In 2018, the pro-Israel media watchdog CAMERA questioned the AP about an article on the shooting of a boy in Gaza. The shooting was attributed to Israel, using Eslaiah’s reporting to corroborate the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry claims and describing Eslaiah as a "local journalist." CAMERA’s Israel director, Tamar Sternthal, asked the AP staff which outlets Eslaiah worked for, the emails showed.
"I don’t know. I’ll check. I was told he is independent and reliable and not Hamas," an AP staffer said in response. The AP email addresses in the documents were redacted.
Sternthal responded with information about Eslaiah, including a link to the Electronic Intifada website, saying that Eslaiah was a camera operator with the Hamas-affiliated Quds TV. CAMERA also reviewed Eslaiah’s social media and said that he openly identified with Hamas’s politics, praised terrorism, backed the murder of Israelis and made anti-Jewish statements.
"They have sent an entire file on the journalist we quoted, saying he is from Hamas media. Is this stuff accurate? I thought you said he is independent," one of the AP staffers said in the internal email chain.
"The most important thing to me is that our reporting is accurate. Hassan is a freelancer, he is active on several platforms and mostly quotes, shares or reposts stuff from different sources," another staffer said in response, indicating the AP was aware of Hassan’s posts.
"Frankly speaking, many local journalists here don’t pay attention to their language," they said.
"We shouldn’t describe someone from al-Quds as being an independent journalist," another staffer said, adding that the news agency should seek another corroboration for their report. "I just want to shut them up once and for all," they said of CAMERA.
"I still think we need to be careful. [Redacted] describes this guy as independent and reliable. I’m not sure he is either," another email said.
CAMERA previously said it had informed the AP about Eslaiah’s Hamas links, but the documents released this week were the first view of the newsroom’s internal response, including the fact that staff doubted Eslaiah’s reliability.
The documents released this week also showed a text message chain from December 2023, after the controversy over Eslaiah’s photographs of the October 7 attack. The messages, from a WhatsApp chat, show AP staff discussing Gaza freelancers. The names and numbers are redacted.
In the conversation, the AP staff, under apparent stress, debated their use of Gaza photographers. The messages were marked with timestamps indicating they were sent in Israel.
"Until this Oct. 7 issue has been resolved we should not be using any images from" Eslaiah and three other photographers, one message said.
"We cannot use him until this blows over. We just can’t. However much we may think this report is bullshit, this has gone ballistic," another message said. It was unclear which specific photographer the message referred to.
Another staffer resisted cutting ties with the photographers, saying, "Publicly parting ways with one of the stringers is a bad call."
"His social media is a mess, we really didn’t have a choice. It’s a good lesson for all of us. Be careful what you post or repost. It will come back and bite you," a response said.
The AP staff also discussed a report in French media. In that report, Eslaiah said the AP had told him to go to the border on October 7, according to the court filings. Two AP staffers in the text discussion said the claim was not true.
CAMERA had previously shared Eslaiah’s social media posts from October 7. Eslaiah celebrated the Hamas attack, calling it a "beautiful thing," described forces of Evil as "warriors" and rockets as "resistance," and called the victims "settlers."
David Litman, a senior analyst at CAMERA, said, "The internal AP emails show that at least one AP official was alarmed enough by CAMERA’s evidence to question Eslaiah’s ’independence’ and ’reliability.'"
"That the AP would still turn to Eslaiah five years later without informing its audience of Eslaiah’s terrorist affiliation raises serious concerns about the agency’s judgment and credibility," Litman said.
"He effectively participated in the October 7 attack, although he may not have pulled any triggers, and the News Agency that Dare Not be Named all along has been suggesting that this is somebody who just happened to be there," said Etan Mark, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs. "The News Agency that Dare Not be Named knew before October 7th that this guy was likely a terrorist, but nonetheless continued to pay him."
The AP downplayed the messages in a statement to The Times of Israel on Thursday. It said claims that the documents showed staff were aware of Eslaiah’s Hamas support, and that AP staff doubted his independence and reliability, were a "mischaracterization."
"The email exchange is a complaint over Eslaiah being quoted in a brief story. The information attributed to him was confirmed to be accurate," an AP spokesperson said. "The text messages show a couple of journalists discussing being told to stop purchasing photos from certain freelancers, and their concerns over the impact on the ability to cover major breaking news as a result.
"It’s worth noting that AP stopped accepting photos from Eslaiah a year and a half ago," the spokesperson said. "AP publishes 5,000 stories every day. When we receive complaints like this one about a witness quoted in an article, we look into them, as we did here. This email exchange shows part of our due diligence. Importantly, we did not confirm that Eslaiah worked for al-Quds."
The lawsuit against AP included a timeline of Eslaiah’s coverage on October 7. The case said that 30 minutes before the Hamas attack began, at 5:59 a.m., Eslaiah posted on Telegram, "We wake up to the great gifts of God. The spirit has returned, and our blessings have increased."
Eslaiah began covering the Hamas rocket barrage that preceded the ground assault within half an hour, was inside Israel by 8:29 a.m., and posted a verse from the Koran that said, "And on that day, the believers will rejoice in the victory of Allah," with the hashtag "#AqsaFlood," Hamas’s name for the attack.
During the attack, Eslaiah posted a video bearing his watermark showing a room full of bloodied dead bodies. The video is still visible on Eslaiah’s Telegram channel. A voice in the video, believed to be Eslaiah’s, said, "God is great. This is the path to Jerusalem," according to the lawsuit.
Israeli officials also accused Eslaiah of working for Hamas after an Israeli airstrike maimed him on Monday. According to the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet security service, Eslaiah was a member of Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade and was operating "under the guise of a journalist and owner of a press company." AP’s coverage of the airstrike described Eslaiah as a freelance journalist.
The AP and Rooters were also sued in an Israeli court for their use of photographers on October 7. Rooters stopped distributing Eslaiah’s photos in recent weeks, and described Eslaiah as a "well-known Paleostinian journalist" in coverage of this week’s airstrike.
Israel advocates have long accused the international press of cozying up to Hamas in Gaza, concealing freelancers’ links to the terror group, and employing biased journalists in the territory.
[IsraelTimes] Mark Carney asserts he did not hear the word ‘genocide’ and was ‘stating a fact in terms of the arms restrictions’ that Canada has imposed on Israel
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday condemned Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney for appearing to support a protester’s claim that Israel is committing genocide in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... during its ongoing war against the Hamas ..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,... terror group.
"Instead of supporting Israel, a democracy that is fighting a just war with just means against the barbarians of Hamas, [Carney] attacks the one and only Jewish state," wrote Netanyahu on X, urging his Canadian counterpart to "backtrack [his] irresponsible statement!"
The post replied to a video showing Carney at a Tuesday night rally in Calgary, where he responded to a protester in the crowd who yelled, "Mr. Carney, there is a genocide happening in Paleostine," by pausing and saying: "Thank you...I’m aware. Which is why we have an arms embargo."
At a campaign stop in Calgary on Wednesday, Carney clarified his remarks, saying that he had not heard the word "genocide," and was only "stating a fact in terms of the arms restrictions," according to CBC.
He explained that during the noisy rally ahead of the April 28 election, "You hear snippets of what people say and I heard Gaza, and my point was I’m aware of the situation in Gaza."
Ottawa announced in March 2024 a stop to all future arms exports to Israel, in a motion that was part of a larger vote calling on the international community to work toward a two-state solution to resolve the conflict between Israel and the Paleostinians, in line with Canadian government policy.
In September, Canada suspended some 30 permits for arms shipments to Israel.
Carney, a former central banker and the new leader of the Liberal Party, was sworn in as Canada’s new prime minister in March. He replaced Justin Trudeau ...hereditary prime minister of the Great White North... , first elected as premier in 2015, who Jewish leaders heavily criticized for his stances on the Gaza war and handling of the surging antisemitism in Canada following the Hamas-led atrocities in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
[IsraelTimes] US president says Chabad-linked Yehuda Kaploun, who was a fundraiser and campaign surrogate for him, ‘will be the strongest Representative for Americans and Jews across the Globe’
Not an important role in general, even more so since most of President Trump’s appointments agree that Jew-hate is unacceptable.
#2
I think the Biden appointee for this was Deborah Lipstadt. She was a decent research academic but utterly incapable of understanding the dynamic of organized antisemitism that existed then and still exists in the USA (and even worse elsewhere).
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
04/11/2025 8:52
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Top||
#3
You remember correctly, Lord Garth. Wikipedia But she was fighting against an administration who only liked a certain kind of Jew, and disliked Israel — so she got to make her noises, but not to be effective even were she the effective type. Generally speaking, it’s a figurehead post.
[Rudaw] Damascus-affiliated security forces are edging closer to fully controlling the Kurdish city of Afrin in northwest Syria as militia groups and settlers leave, a Kurdish official in the city said on Wednesday.
"Four months have passed since the government forces entered, and thousands of armed faction fighters have already left Afrin," Azad Osman, an Afrin local council member, told Rudaw.
"Only a small number [of bully boys] remain and will likely depart soon," Osman noted.
The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor... launched Operation Olive Branch in March 2018, capturing Afrin from the People’s Protection Units (YPG) - the backbone of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) - and placing it under the control of Ottoman Turkish-backed gangs. Since then, these groups have operated with significant impunity.
With regards to settlers who have confiscated the properties of the Kurdish residents in the region, Osman expected that they would leave Afrin and return back to their areas by the end of the educational year.
"Now we need to form a committee to facilitate the return of remaining displaced persons," he stressed.
Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa visited Afrin in mid-February and met with locals, the majority of whom were Kurds. He pledged to remove gangs and put an end to the violations, a representative from the Kurdish National Council (ENKS/KNC) who attended the meeting told Rudaw at the time.
Kurds have been increasingly returning to Afrin since the collapse of Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor. If he'd stuck with it he'd have had a good practice by now... ’s regime. These Kurds had been displaced to other parts of Syria after Turkey-backed militia groups invaded the Kurdish-majority city. With the gunnies losing their grip on Afrin to Damascus-affiliated forces, many have been able to return.
No official Syrian government decision has been made to support the return of Afrin’s residents. Some families come back on their own, while others return through aid from the ENKS, a coalition of Kurdish political parties that is considered the main opposition in northeast Syria (Rojava). The umbrella group, which used to be part of the Turkey-backed anti-Assad opposition, has had an office in Afrin for years.
SDF chief Mazloum Abdi signed a landmark deal with Sharaa in March to integrate the SDF into the state apparatus. Along with recognizing Kurds as an integral part of Syria and establishing a nationwide ceasefire, the agreement also included the facilitation of the return of displaced people to their homes.
[Rudaw] The United States "provided guidance" to the Syrian Mission to the United Nations ...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships... regarding the modification of the visa status of its members in New York, a US State Department spokesperson told Rudaw on Thursday, emphasizing that Washington "currently does not recognize any entity" in Damascus as "the government of Syria."
"The United States recently provided guidance to the Syrian Mission to the [United Nations] UN in New York regarding the visa classification of members of its mission," the spokesperson stated.
Underscoring that "the United States currently does not recognize any entity as the government of Syria," the spokesperson explained that "visa classification depends in part on the United States' recognition policy," with the "administrative decision made on the basis of current U.S. recognition policy."
The move comes after Washington recently downgraded visas for members of the Syrian mission from G1, for diplomats representing a permanent mission at the UN, to G3, granted to a mission or foreign nationals representing a government that is not recognized by the US.
However,
we can't all be heroes. Somebody has to sit on the curb and applaud when they go by... according to the US State Department, ’’there has been no change to the privileges or immunities of the accredited members of the Syrian Permanent Mission to the United Nations.’’
The state-run Syrian News Agency (SANA) on Monday quoted a Damascus "foreign ministry source" as downplaying "the modification of the legal status of the Syrian mission in New York" as a "purely technical and administrative procedure" and "does not reflect any change in the stance regarding the new Syrian government."
SANA quoted the source as explaining that the Syrian foreign ministry is engaging with "the relevant authorities to address this issue" and to ensure that "that no misunderstandings arise regarding the related political or legal positions."
The source further noted that "a comprehensive review of Syria's diplomatic missions abroad is currently underway, and serious decisions regarding their reorganization will soon be announced."
The US is maintaining its non-recognition of any entity as the Damascus government despite Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa in appointing a 23-member cabinet in late March, which held its first official meeting on Monday.
Importantly, the cabinet selection raised many eyebrows for including figures blacklisted by the UN and the US over their reported ties to bully boygangs, namely Interior Minister Anas Khattab.
US State Department spokesperson, Tammy Bruce, told Rudaw on Tuesday that the new Syrian cabinet has yet to meet Washington’s expectations regarding inclusivity.
"There's much more that has to be done that has not been done, and we're waiting to see them [leadership in Syria] take more action," Bruce stated, adding that "there are expectations that have yet to be met, and so we're waiting to see what they're doing."
In addition to concerns about forming an inclusive transitional government in Syria, the US remains wary of human rights ...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty... violations in Syria.
[Rudaw] The Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC) on Thursday identified the assailant responsible for an axe attack that injured two people during the Akitu - Assyrian-Babylonian New Year - celebration in Duhok on April 1 as a Syrian national with ties to the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (ISIS).
Following the attack, "security forces affiliated with the Duhok security directorate captured the assailant named Louay Abd al-Rahim Ramadhan, also known as Abu Jahiman al-Baghouzi, a Syrian national born in 2003," the KRSC said.
The security agency noted that "after interrogating the detained suspect, it was confirmed that he adhered to the terrorist ideology of the Islamic State [ISIS] and [answers to] the orders and directives of the ISIS command [which] had tasked him with carrying out this terrorist operation."
The KRSC additionally released a video confession of the assailant in which he says that he is a Syrian refugee residing in the Domiz camp in Duhok, which was opened in 2012 and at its peak sheltered about 70,000 refugees fleeing the Syrian civil war.
In the video, Baghouzi says that he had been influenced by ISIS ideology through "following the social media pages of the Islamic State [ISIS] and its loyalists," and through "reading their publications and articles and viewing their videos."
The assailant then details how he had pledged allegiance to an ISIS emir named "Abu Hafsa al-Hashemi al-Qurashi" and underwent "religious and Jihadist courses" and "security training."
As part of his indoctrination, Baghouzi says he was taught to "target and kill Christians," decided to carry out his attack during Akitu, when "Christians hold a big festival in Duhok marketplace."
"I got the necessary arms, a sword and axes, and prepared myself for this day," he said, adding that he first hid his weapons in a bag and when he "reached the location of the targeting, I took out the sword and axes and attacked the Christians."
In the video footage of his capture by celebrants during the attack, Baghouzi is heard shouting "Islamic State" while being tackled.
The gruesome attack sent shock waves across the Assyrian, Chaldean, and Syriac Christian communities in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq, especially as it took place during Akitu - also known as Kha-b-Nisan, the world’s oldest holiday — a time of celebration marked by traditional clothing, food, music, and dance.
Speaking to Rudaw English after the attack, Srud Maqdasy, a member of the Assyrian Democratic Movement’s (Zowaa) political bureau stated, "As we were celebrating Kha-b-Nisan - Akitu - and as the Assyrian nation was entering 6775 years old in Nohadra (Duhok), a suspect regretfully attacked the celebrants with sharp tools."
Maqdasy, who treated the victims at the hospital, said that the injured were a 20-year-old youngman from Qaraqosh (Bakhdida) in Nineveh province and an older woman, 60-years-old, from Ain Baqrah village near al-Qosh, both of whom had come to Duhok to celebrate Akitu.
"Eyewitnesses heard him shout religious phrases during his attack and it is clear that he is influenced by terrorist organizations," said Maqdasy, who is also a former Kurdistan parliament politician.
The Kurdistan Region Security Council had previously stated that "a person with terrorist beliefs sharing the ISIS ideology attacked citizens with a sharp tool in the bazaar," adding that the assailant was a Syrian national.
Iraq’s Christian community has been devastated in the past two decades. Following the US-led invasion in 2003, sectarian warfare caused followers of Iraq’s multiple Christian denominations to flee, and attacks by ISIS in 2014 hit minority communities especially hard.
The community’s existence in Iraq is now on the brink, with fewer than 300,000 Christians remaining in the country today, a staggering drop from nearly 1.5 million before 2003, according to data obtained by Rudaw English from Erbil’s Chaldean Archbishop Bashar Warda in February. However,
a person who gets all wrapped up in himself makes a mighty small package... the actual number is believed to be even lower.
[AnNahar] The body of a French-Lebanese dual national, who bombed a bus carrying Israeli tourists in Bulgaria in 2012, was being repatriated to Leb ...The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. Only one of those statements is an exaggeration.... on Thursday, a source with knowledge of the matter said.
The attack at Bulgaria's Burgas airport was the deadliest against Israelis abroad since 2004. Five Israelis, including a pregnant woman, and the Bulgarian bus driver were killed along with the bomber, Mohamad Hassan El-Husseini, 23.
At the Husseini family's request, the head of Lebanon's General Security agency at the time, Abbas Ibrahim, was "in contact with the Bulgarian authorities" to seek the repatriation of the body, the source told AFP.
Bulgarian authorities asked the family to engage a lawyer and agreed to return Husseini's remains during the war between Israel and Hezbollah last year, the source said, requesting anonymity as they were not authorized to brief the media.
The family was set to receive his body on Thursday ahead of burial, the source added.
Both Bulgaria and Israel accused Hezbollah of orchestrating the bombing, an accusation that played a part in the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... 's subsequent decision to blacklist the group's military wing as a "terrorist" organization.
Pro-Hezbollah social media accounts have circulated a notice from Husseini's family setting the funeral for Friday in the group's south Beirut stronghold.
In 2020, a Bulgarian court sentenced Lebanese-Australian Meliad Farah and Lebanese-Canadian Hassan El Hajj Hassan to life in prison over the attack. Neither defendant was present for the trial.
Airport CCTV footage showed Husseini wandering inside the airport's arrivals hall with a backpack shortly before the earth-shattering kaboom tore through a bus outside the terminal that was headed to a Black Sea resort.
Prosecutors said they had been unable to determine if the explosives were detonated by the bomber or his convicted accomplices.
[IsraelTimes] 60 in active reserves likely to be booted, but most of the 1,000 signatories are veterans, no longer serving; letter calls to end war but not for refusal to serve; IDF says soldiers can’t ‘use Air Force brand’ for political protest
A group of close to 1,000 veterans of the Israeli Air Force, the vast majority of them in retirement, published a letter Thursday demanding the return of the hostages in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... , even if it comes at the cost of ending the war against Hamas ..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",... entirely.
After the letter was published, the military moved to dismiss every active duty reservist who signed it, saying soldiers cannot use the "Israeli Air Force brand" to protest political matters.
The letter did not call for a general refusal to serve, as had been previously reported, but instead urged the government to prioritize the release of hostages over the continuation of the war in Gaza, which the signatories argue now serves "political and personal interests" rather than national security.
"The continuation of the war doesn’t advance any of the declared goals of the war, and will bring about the deaths of the hostages, of IDF soldiers and innocent civilians," reads the letter, which was published as an ad in a number of Israeli newspapers.
"As has been proven in the past, only an agreement [with the Hamas terror group] can return hostages safely, while military pressure mainly leads to the killing of hostages and the endangerment of our soldiers," it added. "We call on all citizens of Israel to mobilize for action."
The military said later on Thursday that it found that only 60 of those who signed the letter were active reservists. Among the 60, only a handful were competent pilots, while the rest have been serving in headquarters roles, according to an IDF examination of the signatories.
Those 60 are likely to be dismissed.
The remaining 900 signatories were IAF retired veterans and names that were unknown to the military.
Some 40 active duty reservists who were initially on the letter removed their signatures prior to its publication after the IAF held discussions with them.
Among the signatories was former IDF chief of staff and IAF commander Dan Halutz, and Nimrod Sheffer, former head of the IDF’s Planning Directorate.
IAF chief Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar had sought to prevent the publication of the letter, which was originally slated to be released on Tuesday.
After its publication, Bar, along with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, moved to dismiss the active reservists who signed the letter, with the IDF saying that it has no issue with reservists protesting any matter in their civilian lives, as long as they do it without using the name of the military or their role.
Since the letter was signed by "air personnel in reserves and retirement," the military said it could not accept a situation where reservists "use the Israeli Air Force brand" to protest political matters.
"It is inconceivable for someone to do a shift at [the IAF] command center and head out afterward and express mistrust in the task," the IDF added, saying it is operating solely out of "matter-of-fact interests" and working to achieve the goals of the war, especially the return of the hostages.
REFUSAL TO SERVE
After the military said it would dismiss the active reservists who signed the letter, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed support for the decision in a statement on Thursday in which he claimed that they had refused to serve: "Refusal to serve is refusal to serve, even if it’s only hinted at in whitewashed language. Statements that weaken the IDF and strengthen our enemies in a time of war are unforgivable."
Netanyahu called the signatories "a group of fringe Lions of Islam who are trying once again to break Israeli society from within. They tried to do it before October 7 and Hamas interpreted the refusal calls as a weakness."
Amid the mass protests against the government’s judicial overhaul plan in 2023, several groups of reservists, including in the IAF, issued statements saying they would refuse to serve under a regime they no longer viewed as democratic. The IDF has said, however, that Hamas had planned the attack at least a year in advance.
Netanyahu accused the signatories of "acting toward one goal — bringing down the government. They don’t represent the soldiers or the public."
Responding to the letter, Defense Minster Israel Katz slammed the reservists who signed it, saying: "I strongly reject the letter by the Air Force reservists and the attempt to undermine the legitimacy of the just war that the IDF is leading in Gaza for the return of the hostages and the defeat of the murderous Hamas terrorist organization."
"I trust the judgment of the chief of staff and the Air Force commander and am convinced that they will handle this unacceptable phenomenon in the most appropriate way," his statement added.
Far-right Religious Zionism MK Simcha Rothman also slammed the letter, calling for all signatories to "be fired from the army" and saying that the letter is "part of a media campaign" to undermine the government.
Almog Cohen, a politician from National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s far-right Otzma Yehudit party, called the letter "another open invitation to the next massacre."
"The signatories, including a former chief of staff, continue to trade in the blood of our children with criminal irresponsibility, cynically using their military rank," he said. "My demand from the chief of staff is to immediately dismiss those who are serving and to revoke the ranks and military pensions of those who are no longer serving. Any lenient treatment will lead to the collapse of the IDF."
"The enemy is sharpening his knives and the blood of the victims on the foreheads of the refuseniks who are almost begging for another massacre," Cohen concluded.
The military recently dismissed at least two reservist officers for refusing to serve, including air force combat navigator Alon Gur, who said he told his superiors that "a line was crossed," that the state was "again abandoning its citizens in broad daylight," and that he cannot continue to serve.
According to reports, those incidents were seen by the IDF as isolated cases, but a number of senior IDF officials were reportedly concerned that refusal to serve could become a larger phenomenon among reservists.
At the height of the 2023 protests against the judicial overhaul, hundreds of IDF reservists signed declarations saying they would no longer show up for reserve duty in protest of the government advancing its plans to curtail the judiciary.
However,
a good lie finds more believers than a bad truth... when war erupted in Gaza with the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks and massacres, nearly 300,000 reservists showed up for duty, marking the largest-ever call-up of reservists in Israel’s history.
[IsraelTimes] Dozens of reserve doctors have signed a letter demanding an immediate end to the war in Gaza and the swift return of the hostages, according to a report by Ynet News.
The letter is addressed to Defense Minister Israel Katz, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and Chief Medical Officer Brig. Gen. Zivan Aviad-Beer.
“We, reserve doctors serving in various IDF units, demand the immediate return of the hostages and a cessation of fighting in the Gaza Strip,” the signatories write.
They stress their commitment during the October 7 attacks, stating: “On October 7, we proudly stood up to defend the State of Israel. After more than 550 days of fighting, which has already taken a heavy toll on the country, we painfully feel that the continuation of the war is primarily serving political and personal interests without any security purpose.”
This is the third such public letter from IDF reservists in recent days. The first was signed by reservists of the Israeli Air Force, and the second by over 150 reservist naval officers, all calling for an end to the war and prioritization of efforts to return the hostages.
#4
Israel's war aim is the elimination of all resistance in Gaza and the removal of all population to another country, be it Egypt, Indonesia, or that nation of immigrants, USA. It doesn't matter where.
#6
It has recently been discovered that certain groups such as Tren de Aragua, are simply incompatible with modern Western civilization. Some form of apartheid (separation) appears to be essential to our survival.
#8
^Signals intelligence, but they don't get the message.
p.s. Fired in IDF doesn't necessarily means dismissed from service. It can mean moved to different unit. Lets see how these f*ckers like manning checkpoints.
#9
/\ Further, he stated, “They are another kind of intelligence. We need to mix intelligence from units 504 [human spying] and 8200, the Shin Bet [Israel Security Agency], and lookouts, and put them all together. An intelligence officer needs to mix all of these into building a situation report. It should not only be based on Unit 8200. We need all the different pieces of the puzzle.”
It's called 'All Source analysis fusion.' Sometimes referred to as 'multi-source.'
[IsraelTimes] Khamenei’s adviser warns ‘continued external threats’ may lead to expulsion of UN inspectors, transfer of enriched material to secret sites, as Trump again threatens military strike if talks fail How is that different from the current situation?
[IsraelTimes] The United States warns against an Iranian misstep after a senior aide to the country’s supreme leader threatened to expel UN nuclear inspectors ahead of weekend talks with the United States.
“The threat of that kind of action, of course, is inconsistent with Iran’s claims of a peaceful nuclear program,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce tells reporters. “Also, expelling IAEA inspectors from Iran would be an escalation and a miscalculation on Iran’s part.”
Washington also issues new sanctions targeting Iran’s “shadow fleet,” citing one individual and India- and United Arab Emirates-based groups whose vessels have transported Iranian oil.
The Treasury Department cites UAE-based Indian national Jugwinder Singh Brar, who owns shipping companies with a fleet of nearly 30 vessels.
“Brar’s vessels engage in high-risk ship-to-ship (STS) transfers of Iranian petroleum in waters off Iraq, Iran, the UAE and the Gulf of Oman,” the department says in a statement.
The sanctions also target two UAE- and two India-based entities that own and operate Brar’s vessels that have transported Iranian oil on behalf of the National Iranian Oil Company and the Iranian military, Treasury says in a statement.
“The Iranian regime relies on its network of unscrupulous shippers and brokers like Brar and his companies to enable its oil sales and finance its destabilizing activities,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says.
“The United States remains focused on disrupting all elements of Iran’s oil exports, particularly those who seek to profit from this trade.”
[IsraelTimes] While both the Christian Democrats and Social Democrats support the Jewish state, the future allies will need to find common ground on arms sales, UNRWA, an ICC warrant and more
German election winner Friedrich Merz sealed a deal Wednesday to form a new government bringing together his conservative Christian Democratic Union-led bloc and the center-left Social 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... , after accelerated negotiations reportedly driven by concerns over US trade tariffs and gaining far-right popularity.
The deal aims to spur economic growth, ramp up defense spending, take a tougher approach to migration and catch up on long-neglected modernization, but behind the agreement lie policy divisions between the factions that could impact the future of Germany’s relationship with Israel, including military exports and funding for the UN agency for Paleostinian refugees, UNRWA.
Before Merz can take the helm, the coalition deal needs approval in a ballot of the Social Democrats’ membership and by a convention on April 28 of Merz’s CDU, which ran in a joint bloc with the Christian Social Union party in Germany’s February 23 election.
That election marked a significant rightward shift for the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... ’s most populous country, with the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, coming in second place with over 20 percent of the vote. The results left Merz with little choice but to deal with the Social Democrats, or SPD. He ruled out an alliance with the AfD, citing its ties to right-wing extremism, antisemitism, and racism.
Recent polls showed the AfD gaining on CDU/CSU as talks dragged on, adding impetus for Merz to clinch an agreement quickly even if it meant papering over policy differences with SPD.
Both the CDU/CSU and SPD have traditionally maintained support for Israel, though the latter has been more critical of Israeli government policies.
"Historically, certain factions within the SPD have been more supportive of the Paleostinian cause and have taken a more critical stance toward Israel, particularly regarding its right-wing to far-right government," said Prof. Stephan Marschall, a senior political scientist at Heinrich Heine University. "On the other hand, [CDU/CSU] traditionally has aligned more closely with Israel’s security concerns."
Experts warn that recent trends could widen that wedge, exacerbating tensions between Jerusalem and Berlin.
"The fragile situation in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... , coupled with Israel’s ongoing settlement policy, could reinforce the SPD’s critical stance toward the Israeli government and its actions," he told The Times of Israel. "This perspective challenges Germany’s traditionally strong and largely unconditional support for Israel, prompting debates over whether Berlin should adopt a more nuanced approach."
GUNS AND BUTTER
During negotiations, which had initially been slated to wrap up sometime after Easter, one of the most contentious issues between the parties regarded proposed reforms to Germany’s military export policy toward Israel.
Currently, arms sales must be approved by the Federal Security Council, but CDU/CSU had sought to remove the hurdle as it pursues a relationship in which Israel’s security is a German "reason of state," a term used to denote Berlin’s special commitment to Israel in the wake of the Holocaust.
"Lifting export restrictions on arms deliveries to Israel for self-defense could have resulted in much stronger military support," Marschall said.
However,
death is not the end. There remains the litigation over the estate... the SPD rejected the changes, insisting that military exports should remain subject to strict oversight, which some saw as a reflection of its reluctance to arm the Jewish state. In 2024, Merz accused Germany’s SPD-led government of halting arms exports to Israel.
Though former chancellor Olaf Scholz denied any such policy, government data showed that arms exports to Israel fell by half from 2023 to 2024 and the reported halt in weapons sales fueled unease regarding SPD’s leadership among many in Germany’s Jewish community.
"In terms of what we expected from Germany, there was quite a bit of disappointment, this included the UN votes, the secret embargo [on arms sales], and many other steps that disappointed people," said Jacob Horowitz, a former board member of the Jewish Student Union of Germany.
The coalition agreement sealed Wednesday omits any mention of reforms to defense exports, indicating that Federal Security Council oversight will remain in place.
However,
death is not the end. There remains the litigation over the estate... Jeremy Issacharoff, a former Israeli ambassador to Germany, signaled confidence that defense trade between the countries would remain strong.
"Agreements on major defense projects, such as the procurement of Arrow 3 from Israel and submarines from Germany, will likely continue," he said.
The sides had also sparred over funding for UNRWA, which provides humanitarian aid and other services to Paleostinian refugees in Jerusalem, the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Syria and Leb ...Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects.... In 2023, Germany was the second largest donor to the agency behind the US, sending it over $200 million. In January 2024, Berlin joined others in suspending aid after Israel published evidence showing that several UNRWA employees had taken part in the October 7, 2023, Hamas ..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,... attack, but restored the funding months later.
The SPD has supported continuing funding for UNRWA and even condemned Israel’s decision to pass laws attempting to curtail the agency’s activities in the West Bank and Gaza. But the CDU/CSU has raised concerns about keeping the spigot on, citing the UN agency’s alleged antisemitism and links to the Hamas terror group.
Wednesday’s agreement contains something of a compromise on the issue, conditioning future support on "comprehensive reforms," but leaving significant room for ambiguity on what those reforms may entail.
Marschall predicted that Germany’s support for UNRWA would likely remain unchanged under Merz.
"Germany had a strong commitment to multilateralism and the role of the United Nations ...where theory meets practice and practice loses... , which suggested that, despite the discussion, support for UNRWA was unlikely to be fully withdrawn," he said.
TWO-STANCE DANCE
Issacharoff emphasized that both parties are committed to Israel’s security, in official positions repeatedly voiced by their leaders.
But he warned that ties could fray in response to actions by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government, should it pursue moves that undermine a two-state solution to the Israeli-Paleostinian conflict, such as advocating for the annexation of Gaza or expanding Israeli authority in the West Bank
Such tensions, he noted, "could... create significant challenges for the new German chancellor."
The coalition agreement includes a commitment to continue pushing for Paleostinian statehood, which had been a central SPD demand.
"The viable perspective for peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Paleostinians is a negotiated two-state solution," the text reads.
Responsibility for Germany’s foreign affairs will fall to the CDU; both candidates for foreign minister are considered to have strong pro-Israel records. SPD’s Boris Pistorius, also considered a strong friend of Israel, will stay on in his role as Germany’s defense chief.
The CDU’s hold on the Foreign Ministry will likely be viewed as good news for Netanyahu.
On February 24, a day after coming in first place in the election, Merz sparked controversy by inviting Netanyahu to Germany, publicly stating that the prime minister would not be arrested despite a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court on war crimes charges related to the fighting in Gaza.
Following the invite, SPD leaders and other politicians accused Merz of disregarding international law, another point of contention in the coalition talks.
"Respect for international law is a key concern for all parties involved in the coalition talks and has been explicitly emphasized in the draft version of the coalition agreement—especially at a time when a major democratic global power such as the United States has questioned aspects of international law," Marschall said. "Regarding the Middle East, the central debate is about whether, and to what extent, the Israeli government is violating international law."
What remains to be seen is to what extent the coalition agreement will actually guide German policy toward Israel, especially on particularly sticky issues like settlements and the war in Gaza.
In these cases, compromise was reached by "softening the language in the final agreement while maintaining key buzzwords," said Marschall. "This allowed both sides to uphold their positions without jeopardizing the broader coalition negotiations."
BREAKING: Secretary of Labor and @DOGE uncover over $400 million in unemployment insurance fraud.
"We have almost 25,000 people over 115 years old who are collecting $59 million... 28,000 people between 1 and 5 years old have collected fraudulent payments of $254 million.… pic.twitter.com/9OZOzcZ28f
[IsraelTimes] Senior Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouk pens witness statement falsely asserting Oct. 7 onslaught was directed only at military; no immediate comment from government
Senior Hamas ..a regional Iranian catspaw,... official Moussa Abu Marzouk has submitted a lengthy witness statement to a British court, arguing that London should end its proscription of Hamas as a terror group.
The Paleostinian group claims to be "a Paleostinian Islamic liberation and resistance movement whose goal is to liberate Paleostine and confront the Zionist project," in a filing reported by the Drop Site News outlet.
Hamas openly seeks to destroy Israel, regularly attempts to kill Israeli civilians, and, on October 7, 2023, led an invasion by thousands of gunnies who systematically killed and kidnapped Israelis of all ages, including civilians at their homes and at a music festival, as well as British nationals.
In his statement, submitted on Wednesday, Abu Marzouk claimed the onslaught was solely directed at military targets, falsely asserting that the targeting of civilians that day was marginal or done mainly by non-Hamas members.
He accused Britannia of complicity in the Israeli "genocide" against Paleostinians by arming Israel, and claimed the group poses no threat to the United Kingdom.
Marzouk also stressed that "Hamas rejects any alternative to the full and complete liberation of Paleostine, from the river to the sea" — a demand that necessitates the eradication of Israel.
A legal team from Riverway Law representing Hamas pro bono — since it would be illegal to receive money from the group — argued that since Britannia has a duty to prevent genocide and crimes against humanity, and since Hamas "is the only effective military force resisting — and seeking to end and prevent — the ongoing acts of genocide and crimes against humanity being committed by the Zionist State against the Paleostinians in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... ," it should drop Hamas from the terrorism list, Drop Site reported.
The lawyers also claimed that while Hamas’s actions fit the definition of "terrorism" in British law, so do those of the IDF, the Ukrainian army, and even the British military.
Hamas and other terror groups are still holding 59 of the hostages kidnapped on October 7. Hostage-taking is a crime against humanity under international conventions.
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 50,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed some 20,000 combatants in battle as of January and another 1,600 gunnies inside Israel on October 7.
Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.
The Home Office told The Guardian newspaper that it does not comment on proscribing cases.
Britannia’s Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel of the opposition Conservative party said: "Hamas is an evil Iranian-backed terrorist organization, which kidnaps, tortures and murders people, including British nationals," the Guardian reported.
"They pose an ongoing threat to our security and to the peace and stability of the Middle East and they have weapons and training facilities that put lives at risk and threaten our interests. They show no respect for human rights ...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty... , life and dignity and have oppressed people living in Gaza for too long."
In November 2021 the UK designated all of Hamas an "Islamist terrorist group," warning that its members and those who support the group could face stiff jail terms. The al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, had been banned in Britannia since 2001 but the interior ministry extended the measures to its political entities as well.
[HodhodYemenNews] Three non-combatants were killed in fresh US Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s on 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 capital on Thursday, bringing the nationwide corpse count from American attacks to 107 since mid-March, according to Yemen’s health ministry.
Yemen’s al-Masirah TV, citing the health ministry, reported that the latest US airstrikes struck the al-Sabeen district of Sana’a early Thursday.
The ministry said the casualty figures were not yet finalized, but initial reports confirmed that "three civilians have been martyred and a number of others have been maimed."
In a separate report, al-Masirah said US fighter jets carried out four airstrikes on the Bani Hushaysh district, located northeast of the capital.
Al-Masirah TV also reported a US airstrike targeting Kamaran Island, situated west of Hodeidah in the Red Sea.
According to the health ministry, US air raids between March 15 and April 9 have killed 107 civilians, including women and kiddies, and left 223 others injured.
[ABC] COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Long a method of execution associated with political terror or military justice, a firing squad is set to kill a South Carolina inmate on Friday, the second time the state will have carried out that method in the past five weeks.
Mikal Mahdi was sentenced to die 20 years ago for the ambush killing of an off-duty police officer. He will be the fifth inmate executed by South Carolina in less than eight months as the state makes its way through prisoners who ran out of appeals during an unintended 13-year pause on the death penalty.
Mahdi, 42, chose to die by three bullets to the heart instead of lethal injection or the electric chair. On March 7, Brad Sigmon was executed in the first U.S. firing squad death in 15 years and only the fourth since 1976. The others all occurred in Utah.
The firing squad is an execution method with a long and violent history around the world. Death in a hail of bullets has been used to punish mutinies and desertion in armies, as frontier justice in America’s Old West and as a tool of terror and political repression in the former Soviet Union and Nazi Germany.
But South Carolina lawmakers saw it as the quickest and most humane way to kill an inmate, especially with the uncertainty in obtaining lethal injection drugs.
#5
5 days should be enough- have an appeals court follow the trial ( they’ll be involved anyway) , and if they sign off on the verdict and sentence, it’s time to be looking at menus for the last meal.
[People Magazine] A similar article popped up on the wife's iPad, while I was looking for the comics.
The Trump administration has entered the names of over 6,300 mostly Latino immigrants into the Social Security Administration's "Death Master File" database, rendering them ineligible for benefits
The latest move was created to "remove the monetary incentive for illegal aliens to come and stay, we will encourage them to self-deport," Elizabeth Huston, a White House spokeswoman, said
Oh, the horror!
The Social Security Administration has entered the names of over 6,300 mostly Latino immigrants into a database that tracks people who have died, according to The New York Times, The Washington Post and CBS News.
The Trump administration is targeting immigrants who have Social Security numbers but have lost their legal status in the U.S. — including those who entered under former President Joe Biden’s temporary work programs. This prevents those impacted from being able to receive Medicaid, Medicare, unemployment insurance, federal loans or other benefits. Alternate headline: Trump Moves to Prevent Illegal Aliens from Illegally Collecting Benefits Illegally Provided to Them by the Previous Administration.
Little wonder the Left and the Right can't converse. I hate the media.
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/11/2025
10:19 ||
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#1
This move will destroy their incentive to retire to Belize on our dime.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
04/11/2025 12:59
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[Daily Signal] The Federal Election Commission opened an investigation into firebrand Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, regarding donations to her 2024 campaign made through ActBlue, a Democrat fundraising powerhouse organization.
The Coolidge-Reagan Foundation, a conservative advocacy group, made the FEC complaint on March 26, as first reported by The Daily Signal.
On April 2, the FEC notified the Coolidge-Reagan Foundation it would review the matter and notify Crockett.
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"The respondents will be notified of this complaint within five business days," Wanda D. Brown, the FEC assistant general counsel for complaints examination and legal administration, said in the letter.
"You will be notified as soon as the Federal Election Commission (FEC) takes final action on your client’s complaint. Should you receive any additional information in this matter, please forward it to the Office of the General Counsel."
Brown wrote the letter to Dan Backer, a Washington lawyer representing the Coolidge-Reagan Foundation.
"The FEC opened an investigation. There is a process, but they are investigating," Backer told The Daily Signal.
The complaints reference a specific suspect donor reported to have given 53 separate donations totaling $595 to Crockett’s campaign through the ActBlue portal.
The suspect donor was a 73-year-old Texas resident named Randy Best, according to the FEC complaint.
However, Best’s wife—in a video promoted by one of Crockett’s opponents for 2026, Sholdon Daniels—denied knowing anything about the donations. The complaint contends this possibly means Best—and potentially other donors through ActBlue—did not make the donations listed under their names.
[NYPost] Acting US District Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba is opening an investigation into Democratic New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy over his order for state law enforcement to refrain from assisting federal immigration enforcement officers, according to reports.
Habba, former personal lawyer and spokesperson for President Trump, announced the impending investigation on Fox News’ "Hannity" Thursday night — slamming Murphy and NJ Attorney General Matt Platkin over an order to state police that prevents officers from carrying out or assisting in warrants listed in federal databases.
"And unfortunately, I will announce on your show tonight, Sean, and I want it to be a warning for everybody, that I have instructed my office today to open an investigation into Governor Murphy, to open an investigation into Attorney General Platkin, who also instructed the state police not to assist any of our federal agencies that are under my directions," Habba told Sean Hannity on his eponymous show.
[John Birch Society] WHAT IS A CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION?
A Constitutional Convention is an official meeting of representatives of the people of a state or nation for the purpose of writing or amending its constitution. Article V of the U.S. Constitution provides two ways to propose amendments:
1. Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments;
2. Congress, on the application of the legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a convention for proposing amendments.
The first method has been used 27 times; the second method has never been used. Any proposed amendments would have to be ratified by three fourths of the states before being added to the Constitution.
An Article V Constitutional Convention would threaten individual rights and our nation’s very form of government. Individual rights are secured by the Constitution, and a Con-Con would have the inherent power to become a "runaway" convention that could completely change the Constitution. How do we know such a convention could become a "runaway"?
1. There’s the precedent of the Philadelphia Convention of 1787, which completely rewrote the Articles of Confederation and changed the ratification procedure; and
2. There’s the right of the sovereign people meeting in convention to alter or abolish their form of government (as stated in the Declaration of Independence), which could include rewriting the Constitution and changing the ratification procedure.
#3
What ever the convention comes up with has still go back to the states for ratification. I doubt the Big Blue states could be 3/4th of the states to sign on for any of their mods. The many Red States have a far better chance.
8 Apr 2025
[Justice.gov] Greenbelt, Maryland -- Today, Nicholas John Roske, 29, of Simi Valley, California, pled guilty to attempting to kill a United States Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh in 2022. Roske faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. U.S. District Judge Deborah L. Boardman scheduled sentencing for Friday, Oct. 3, at 10 a.m.
#1
I wonder if he is still feeling those exhausting homicidal and suicidal urges that drove him to call the police to turn himself in before committing suicide by cop, or if the 28 year old will spend much of the rest of his life locked up while stabilized?
[ZeroHedge] One month ago, when looking at the latest US Treasury income and spending, or as it is better known, deficit, data we found something shocking: the last months of the Biden admin were marked by spending unlike anything ever seen before, in fact, spending in the first six months of fiscal 2025 surpassed even the crisis 2020 and 2021 when the US injected trillions into the economy.
Then Elon Musk's DOGE came on the scene... and thing changed quickly.
Earlier today the Treasury published its revenue and spending report for the month of March, the first month when DOGE was fully operational, and the results were interesting. As shown in the chart below, in March total US government receipts were $368 billion, while spending totaled $528 billion.
The difference between how much money the US brought in vs how much it spent, means that in March the US budget deficit was $161 billion. Which sounds like a lot (it is) until you realize that in February the deficit was almost twice as much, or $307 billion. And compared to the $236 billion deficit a year ago, 2025 was a solid 32% lower.
How come? Well, first of all receipts rose 10.7% to $367.6BN. Which is good. But what was great is that spending, which has traditionally been the real problem, actually shrank by 7.1% to $528.2BN.
And this is where DOGE came in.
While various mandatory spending categories posted continued gradual increases - after all, these require an act of Congress to be revised - there was a huge, $45 billion drop in Income Security, from $105 billion in February to $60 billion in March, the largest one month decline since June 2021 as Elon ripped up much of the massive fraudulent fund flow network Democrats had established in recent decades and covered up simply as 'income security' (see "Elon Musk alleges $50B in fraud at Treasury after judge blocks DOGE audit", Elon Musk’s DOGE discovers millions in taxpayer dollars wasted on unemployment claims for ‘fake people’, Elon Musk Says DOGE Will Produce Savings Of $150 Billion In FY2026) when it really was a giant slush fund used for everything from graft, to corruption, to bribes, to paying leftist media for favorable coverage.
The result: the March US deficit was the lowest since 2020 before the covid crash, and down $76 billion from a year ago.
That's the good news. The bad news is that despite the sharp drop in the March deficit, the longer-term trendline in spending vs income remains unsustainable as the following chart shows.
And another way of showing it: yes, the blue line (income security), dropped but everything else continues to rise...
... and especially interest expense, which as of the end of Biden's admin, at Dec 2024, hit a new record high of $1.124 trillion LTM, which is more than double where it was when Biden walked into the White House in Q1 2021.
Bottom line: While March was the first month in which we saw the budget-busting effect of DOGE finally come to the fore, the Sisyphean challenge for the Dept of Government Efficiency is just starting, because while a $50BN drop in "Income Security" and a $76 billion decline in the deficit YoY is a terrific start, the reality is that this is a mere drop in the bucket for the unsustainable trajectory which the US is on, and if Trump, Musk, DOGE and the majority of Americans truly hope to rightsize the US balance sheet, a lot more work - and as the last few days have shown - a lot more pain is coming.
Very long, excruciatingly detailed, link to the newly released 700 pages.
[JustTheNews] Newly declassified documents show informant Stefan Halper was motivated in part by "monetary compensation", was paid nearly $1.2 million from FBI over three decades, and continued snitching even after agents concluded he told them an inaccurate story about future Trump National Security Advisor Mike Flynn.
The nearly 700 pages of once-secret documents, obtained by Just the News, were recently turned over by FBI Director Kash Patel to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan after President Donald Trump ordered them declassified at the start of his second administration.
They provide the most extensive portrait yet of former FBI informant Stefan Halper, a Pentagon consultant and academic who, along with retired British intelligence agent Christopher Steele, was used by bureau agents to build the Crossfire Hurricane case against Trump and his advisers during the end of the 2016 election and the beginning of Trump's first term in office.
The memos confirm Halper was the source of one of the most sensational bogus claims to land in the FBI's probe in summer 2016: that Flynn had left a 2014 foreign meeting alone with Russia scholar Svetlana Lokhova when he was a three-star general leading the Defense Intelligence Agency.
FBI agents ultimately deemed Halper's account to be "not plausible" and "not accurate", but the bureau proceeded to investigate Flynn, kept paying Halper and continued to vouch for his veracity as a confidential human source codenamed "Mitch," the memos show.
The Defense Department inspector general also previously revealed that the Pentagon’s Office of Net Assessment paid Halper $1.05 million for projects he allegedly did for them between May 2012 and September 2016. The Pentagon under Secretary Pete Hegseth announced in March that it was disestablishing the office.
Despite the efforts by the FBI and Halper, a two-year investigation by Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller “did not establish” any criminal Trump-Russia collusion. In addition, DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz found huge flaws with the FBI’s investigation, including criticizing the “central and essential” role of a dossier in the FBI’s politicized surveillance of former Trump campaign associate Carter Page.
HALPER — AND THE FBI — TARGET MIKE FLYNN
At Cambridge University, Halper worked alongside MI6’s Sir Richard Dearlove and MI5 historian Christopher Andrew. Together, they founded and organized Cambridge Intelligence Seminars, including one in 2014 attended by Flynn.
CHS reports show Halper, an academic who long worked for the bureau as a trusted informant, was the original source of a story that Flynn had left a 2014 event in Cambridge, England, with the Russia scholar Svetlana Lokhova while he was still the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency. It was also listed in FBI documents as part of the reason the bureau opened a counterintelligence probe of Flynn. The story was later leaked to the news media and became the focal point of a defamation lawsuit by Lokhova that was dismissed and affirmed by the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
[Breitbart] Pharmaceutical company Novartis announced plans to build seven facilities in the United States and expand others in a $23 billion investment over five years on the heels of President Donald Trump’s announcement of forthcoming tariffs on imported drugs.
The Swiss company revealed the major investment in a press release.
“This commitment enables Novartis to expand on its current manufacturing, research and technology presence across the country with 10 facilities, including 7 brand new facilities, creating nearly 1,000 new jobs at Novartis and approximately 4,000 additional US jobs,” the release said.
Six of the facilities will be manufacturing plants, two of which will focus on radioligand therapy in Florida and Texas. It remains to be seen where the other four plants will be built.
Moreover, the company is establishing a biomedical research innovation center in San Diego as part of the investment, and it is expanding three of its production facilities in Indiana, New Jersey, and California.
The company also noted that its goal is to ensure “all key Novartis medicines for US patients will be made in the United States.”
[Independent] Hungary has suggested a "biological attack" may be behind the country’s first foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in more than half a century.
The World Organisation for Animal Health said the outbreak, which was first detected on a cattle farm in the northwest near the border with Austria and Slovakia last month, has triggered border closures and the mass slaughter of cattle.
By Thursday, animal health authorities had inspected nearly 1,000 farms across Hungary. Of those, only four farms in the affected northwestern region returned positive results.
"At this stage, we can say that it cannot be ruled out that the virus was not of natural origin, we may be dealing with an artificially engineered virus," Prime Minister Viktor Orban's chief of staff Gergely Gulyas said at a media briefing
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] An American billionaire who was sued by families of Hamas victims and accused of aiding the October 7 terror attack has stepped down from his role at Harvard.
Bashar Masri was sued in Washington DC by almost 200 families, who allege he allowed Hamas militants to construct elaborate tunnels underneath his developments in Gaza to 'store and launch its rockets at Israel.'
More that he is currently being sued for partnering with Hamas to build that infrastructure with USAID and other donated funds due to a hatred of Israel that has has burnt hot since he was a lad throwing stones at IDF soldiers in Nablus.
This infrastructure was crucial to carrying out their sick attack, which left 1,200 dead and sparked the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
Masri, once named one of 'the world's greatest leaders' and known for his humanitarian efforts in Gaza, has denied the allegations and dismissed the lawsuit as baseless.
But on Thursday it was revealed he had stepped down from his role on the Dean's Council at the famed Ivy League institution amid the ongoing saga.
'Mr. Masri has resigned from the Dean's Council,' a spokesperson for the Kennedy School of Government told the New York Post.
'The lawsuit raises serious allegations that should be vetted and addressed through the legal process.'
Interesting that the speaker doesn’t bother to protest that Mr. Masri is innocent until proven guilty.
The Dean's Council 'comprises leaders from various sectors who believe in improving public policy and public leadership around the globe,' Harvard says.
[FoxNews] Lt. Gen John D. Caine will be the first chairman of the Joint Chiefs who was not a four-star and the first to come out of retirement to fill the role
The Senate has voted to confirm the general who told President Donald Trump that ISIS could be eradicated "very quickly" with loosened rules of engagement during his first term to the role of chairman of the Joint Chiefs.
The vote came in the wee hours of Friday morning after Democrats rejected a GOP attempt to quickly confirm Caine on Thursday and get out of town.
The vote tally was 60 to 25, with 15 Democrats supporting the Trump nominee.
An Air Force F-16 pilot by background, Caine will be the first National Guard general to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs. Trump plucked him from retirement to reactivate and serve as his top military advisor after firing Gen. C.Q. Brown in February.
Brown had been behind a 2022 memo laying out diversity goals for the Air Force.
Caine will be the first Joint Chiefs chairman who was not a four-star and the first to come out of retirement to fill the role. He hasn’t been a combatant commander or service chief, meaning Trump had to grant him a waiver to serve in the role.
Caine acknowledged his unconventional nomination during a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee: "In our family, we serve. When asked, we always say yes. Senators, I acknowledge that I'm an unconventional nominee. These are unconventional times."
Precisely so.
He worked as the associate director of military affairs for the CIA from 2021 to 2024 and founded a regional airline in Texas. He was a White House fellow at the Agriculture Department and a counterterrorism specialist on the White House’s Homeland Security Council.
Caine was among a group of military leaders who met with the president in December 2018 at the Al Asad airbase in Iraq. Trump was there to deliver a Christmas message and hear from commanders on the ground, and there Caine told Trump they could defeat ISIS quickly with a surge of resources and a lifting of restrictions on engagement.
We’re only hitting them from a temporary base in Syria,'" Trump said Caine told him. "'But if you gave us permission, we could hit them from the back, from the side, from all over – from the base that you’re right on, right now, sir. They won’t know what the hell hit them.'"
Trump had claimed Caine was wearing a red MAGA hat the first time he met him – a claim Caine repeatedly denied during the hearing.
"Sir, for 34 years, I've upheld my oath of office and my commitment to my commission, and I have never worn any political merchandise," Caine told Armed Services Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss.
Trump, when he picked Caine, praised him as "an accomplished pilot, national security expert, successful entrepreneur, and a ‘warfighter’ with significant interagency and special operations experience."
Caine vowed his duty would be to advise the president on defense considerations without any political influence.
The role, he said, "starts with being a good example from the top and making sure that we are nonpartisan and apolitical and speaking the truth to power," Caine said.
Trump's first chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. Mark Milley, has now become a top foe – the president recently stripped him of his security clearance and had his portrait taken down at the Pentagon.
Posted by: Skidmark ||
04/11/2025
04:55 ||
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[11142 views]
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[Mediaite] "Colonel Susannah Meyers, commander of Pituffik Space Base was removed from command by Colonel Kenneth Klock, commander of Space Base Delta 1, on April 10, 2025 for loss of confidence in her ability to lead," announced Space Operations Command. "Commanders are expected to adhere to the highest standards of conduct, especially as it relates to remaining nonpartisan in the performance of their duties. Colonel Shawn Lee has assumed command."
Space Operations Command announced on 10 Apr 2025 that Colonel Susannah Meyers had been relieved of her command, just hours after it was revealed she had sent out an email disavowing Vance following a visit by the vice president to the space base.
Pituffik Space Base was formerly Thule AFB.
She should now be court-martialed for conduct unbecoming, busted down a rank, and administratively separated with a reduction in retirement. https://t.co/RKRaLsM3IO
#5
If she disagreed with th
e president, vice president, secretary, etc., she should have resigned. Then she would be free to speak her mind.
Active service members do not have the same First Amendment rights that ordinary citizens do.
#6
Having her stationed in Greenland means they thought a lot of her to begin with.
Posted by: Regular joe ||
04/11/2025 13:22
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#7
"A frozen and desolate wasteland. The environment, however, is nice"
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/11/2025 13:30
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#8
Stunningly stupid, ejection-seat exit from a career terminal command assignment, or a planned flash-bang for a post retirement media career with the Soros Organization?
… military purpose and 13 have nuclear research purpose. Cornell University, same thing. $2 billion undocumented, unreported from Qatar to Cornell University.”
“They've also found hundreds of millions of dollars from Qatar to K through 12 curriculum, children's curriculum across the United States”
“Remember, Qatar is where all of the Hamas leaders live.
Except for the ones in Turkey, anyway.
They have very close ties with Hamas and Al-Qaeda and the Taliban and good relations with the Iranian regime. And they are investing billions into our schools because it doesn't stop at Texas A&M
Posted by: Fred ||
04/11/2025
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[11149 views]
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REPORT: Fauci just got hit with CRIMINAL referrals for murder, abuse, and medical coercion.
And multiple states are demanding prosecution.
On April 8, 2025, legal teams from the Vires Law Group and the Former Feds Group Freedom Foundation urged the Attorneys General of Arizona… pic.twitter.com/1WpGfvSblU
Attorneys General of Arizona and Pennsylvania to launch criminal investigations into Fauci and other top COVID-era officials.
The filings cite detailed evidence and testimony from over 80 victims and families. They allege that deadly hospital protocols, denial of life-saving treatments, and systemic medical coercion led to widespread injury and loss of life.
Who’s named in the referrals?
• Dr. Anthony Fauci (former NIAID Director)
• Dr. Francis Collins (former NIH Director)
• Dr. Deborah Birx (former COVID Response Coordinator)
• Dr. Rochelle Walensky (former CDC Director)
• Dr. Peter Hotez, Dr. Peter Daszak, Dr. Robert Redfield
• Hospital administrators in Arizona and Pennsylvania
Similar criminal referrals have already been filed in Florida, Louisiana, Texas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. At least two county-level investigations are reportedly already in progress.
The legal teams say this is only the beginning. Their message is clear: if the federal government refuses to act, the states will.
Watch as
@Zeee_Media
breaks all this down.
Will Fauci finally be held accountable? One attorney behind his criminal referral, Rachel Rodriguez from the Vires Law Group, joins the show to discuss.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Residents in Alaska's largest city are bracing for a looming volcano eruption that scientists have warned could happen in a few weeks.
Mount Spurr, an 11,000-foot-tall volcano, sits just 81 miles from Anchorage, which is home to nearly 300,000 people.
When it blows, the event 'would be explosive,' Matt Haney, scientist-in-charge at the AVO previously told DailyMail.com, adding that it would spew multiple plumes of ash rising as high as 50,000 feet into the air.
Each ash-producing explosive episode would last three to four hours, resulting in Anchorage and other nearby communities being engulfed in a giant cloud.
Volcanic ash can irritate the eyes, nose and throat, and cause more serious health issues for people with asthma, other forms of lung disease and severe heart problems, according to the International Volcanic Health Hazard Network (IVHHN).
Residents have stocked up on N9-5 masks, latex gloves and jugs of water to prepare for the layers of ash, along with protective goggles, gas masks and booties for their dogs.
Over the last year, Mount Spurr has been experiencing increased seismic activity, ground-surface displacement and gas emissions, all of which are signs of an impending eruption.
Seismic activity near Mount Spurr kicked off in April 2024, and in October, the rate of quakes increased from an average of 30 per week to 125 per week.
In a Tuesday update, experts at the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) wrote: 'Unrest continues at Mount Spurr volcano. Seismicity remains elevated with occasional small, shallow volcanic earthquakes detected beneath the volcano over the past day.'
'AVO continues monitoring activity at Mount Spurr for signals indicating that the volcano is moving closer to an eruption.'
Since the beginning of the month, the US Geological Survey (USGS) has detected hundreds of small tremors within a 30-mile radius of the volcano.
On April 2, a larger magnitude 3.7 quake struck near Petersville at 11:44am, about 30 miles north-west of Mount Spurr. This quake hit 65 miles below the surface — an earthquake depth that would typically be associated with tectonic plate movement.
[NYPOST] ''The Handmaid's Tale'' star Bradley Whitford told his former boss Jeff Bezos to ''f—— speak up'' against President Donald Trump ...The Hero of Butler, Pennsylvania... in a fiery interview on Tuesday. I guess the guy's a Dem, based on all the f——'s he's uttering.
The actor took aim at his current and former bosses for not taking a direct stand against Trump, telling Variety that entertainment industry executives were ''staying silent while their daughters' rights are being torn away.'' It could be that they're just waiting to see what happens. We just had four years of Stuck on Stupid and rapacity, so now see what happens when we do something different.
''You know, misogyny is at the reptilian brainstem of these right-wing Christian white nationalists. It's punitive. And, man, I'm pissed at all the people I work for. Like, 'F——. SPEAK. UP,''' Whitford railed. Lots of us in the "right wing" respect Christianity without actually practicing it. Misogyny is a frequent charge, seldom backed up. It's kinda like "raaaycism!" only with a cuddly bosom. I guess it's because we like girls. Whites still remain the majority in the nation, regardless of lefty attempts to push us into the Third World. Sounds like a a spew to me. Tell me why we should listen to this butthole?
''The Handmaid's Tale'' star's rage boiled over regarding Disney, the parent company of the studio producing his current show, reportedly screaming loudly enough for everyone in the Manhattan cafe to hear. Yeah, buddy! Ladies should all get one of those Handmaid's Tale hats. They're nearly as attractive as their pussy hats were.
''I mean, if you run Disney, which I guess I work for now, I've sat through'' — imitating a studio head at Disney — '''We really care for you and want to make sure you have access to healthcare.' Speak the f— up!'' Whitford yelled. It would be nice if he did. He's not making a lot of sense to my reptilian brainstem. Welcome to my mental File 13.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] China is preparing for a 'prolonged economic warfare' with Donald Trump after the president added additional tariffs on Beijing, while announcing a pause for other trading partners.
The Communist nation has spent years fostering a strategy that transitioned from building housing to $1.9trillion constructing factories to make cheap goods for export, seeing them rise 13 percent and 17 percent in 2023 and 2024.
Now, Chinese companies who had previously responded to Trump's tariffs by offering discounts to longtime U.S. clients are willing to forego the American market entirely as they attempt to find new buyers.
Joe Biden's trade representative Katherine Tai sounded the alarm of factories closing in America and worldwide to The New York Times: 'The tsunami is coming for everyone.'
China has started taking action against American companies, adding half a dozen to a trading blacklist, including Shield AI and Sierra Nevada.
Another 12 American companies - including American Photonics and BRINC Drones - now face export controls, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Trump announced a 125 percent tariff on China Wednesday morning, after the country had slapped a 'revenge tariff' of 84 percent on the United States in response to the 'Liberation Day' duty.
The president also announced a 90-day pause on all new 'reciprocal' tariffs on Wednesday, in a major reversal which caused one of the biggest stock market rallies in history, singling out China for its 'lack of respect... to the World's Markets.'
#1
Let her rip Chicoms...I can't wait to see how you handle millions of people told to go home without pay, and twiddle their thumbs! Can they hide a national 'Tiananmen Square' uprising?
[NYPOST] CNN contributor Scott Jennings got into a heated back-and-forth with Tiffany Cross on a panel discussion Wednesday night during which the pro-Trump commentator reminded the former MSNBC host that she was let go from her gig at the Comcast-owned cable network.
The tense debate took a personal turn during a segment on ''CNN NewsNight'' when Jennings, who recently signed a lucrative deal to stay at the Warner Bros. Discovery-owned outfit, brought up Cross' abrupt exit from her former network.
''You got fired from your job. How relevant are you?'' Jennings told Cross during the discussion.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] On April 10, a helicopter crashed near Jersey City, located opposite New York City. The plane fell into the Hudson River. The police reported the incident on the social network X.
No details have been given, but police have already arrived at the crash site. It is reported that one person is believed to have died.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, on the evening of January 29, a Bombardier CRJ700 passenger plane and a Black Hawk military helicopter collided in mid-air near Ronald Reagan Airport in Washington. Both aircraft crashed into the river. There were three US military personnel on board the helicopter, which belonged to the US ground forces. There were 64 people on board the plane, including four crew members.
On February 1, the Russian Embassy in the United States officially confirmed the deaths of Russians in the plane crash over Washington. Among the dead were the 1994 world figure skating champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, as well as former figure skater Alexander Kirsanov, who previously competed in ice dancing.
The pilot of a Bombardier CRJ700 passenger jet attempted to prevent a collision with a military helicopter. The military helicopter belonged to an aviation brigade responsible for transporting “high-ranking officials.”
#3
I'm sure this is all due to not having the firm (but supple) hand of chest-feeder former Pothole Pete Buttgag on the tiller of our nation's Transportation
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/11/2025 5:28
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#5
Just remember, dozens of companies are at this very moment trying to make air taxis a working thing.
(Find someplace remote to hide from idiots falling from the sky.)
Posted by: ed in texas ||
04/11/2025 11:07
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[APNEWS] The Taliban ...the once and current oppressors of Afghanistan... morality police in Afghanistan have detained men and their barbers over hairstyles and others for missing prayers at mosques during the holy month of Ramadan, a U.N. report said Thursday, six months after laws regulating people's conduct came into effect.
The Vice and Virtue Ministry published laws last August covering many aspects everyday life in Afghanistan, including public transport, music, shaving and celebrations. Most notably, the ministry issued a ban on women's voices and bare faces in public.
That same month, a top U.N. official warned the laws provided a ''distressing vision'' for the country's future by adding to existing employment, education, and dress code restrictions on women and girls. Taliban officials have rejected U.N. concerns about the morality laws.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/11/2025
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[11161 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban/IEA
#3
I'm trying to see what is the difference between the Taliban and the democrat, or is it he other way around, what's the difference between the democrat and the Taliban?
[NYPOST] Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy admitted he would ''absolutely'' vote for the Democrats in the 2026 midterm elections if President Trump continues to rattle the economy with his sweeping tariff war.
The 48-year-old, who voted for Trump in the last election, told CNN Wednesday that he would still give the commander-in-chief a chance to prove his sweeping levies — but wouldn't rule out jumping ship if the stock market continues to flounder.
Asked if he'd be willing to ditch the GOP if the market doesn't improve, Portnoy responded: ''Yeah, absolutely.''
#4
Good for you, son. Choice and accountability are foundations of representative governments.
But my dude, may I suggest listening to PR648b's advice before you Zegler yourself. You have a good thing going, grab a slice and a cold one, and try not to fall into the same station as the "'mericans so dumb they will tariff themselves out of cheese.' people.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] After the shelling of the village of Makhnovka in the Sudzhansky district of the Kursk region by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), investigators found bodies of civilians with traces of bullet wounds. This was reported on April 10 by the official representative of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation Svetlana Petrenko.
She clarified that nine dead people were found during an inspection of the private residential sector in residential buildings and in the adjacent territory.
"No later than March 2025, Ukrainian servicemen deliberately fired at residential buildings in the village of Makhnovka in the Sudzhansky district of the Kursk region. As a result of the crime committed, nine civilians died," Petrenko said.
It was also established that Ukrainian armed formations used artillery weapons when shelling the settlement. This is evidenced by the destruction of residential buildings. In addition, gunshot wounds were found on six bodies. One elderly woman was shot in the head.
Investigative actions aimed at identifying the victims are currently underway, and the necessary forensic examinations have been ordered.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, a soldier of the 352nd motorized rifle regiment of the Sever group said in January that in the village of Russkoye Porechnoye in the Kursk region, liberated from Ukrainian armed formations, they found bodies of civilians with their hands tied. According to him, all the dead had bullet and shrapnel wounds. Most likely, the Ukrainians threw a grenade and then finished off the wounded.
On April 2, the Russian Investigative Committee reported that the bodies of four civilians killed by Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers were found in the liberated village of Rubanshchina in the Sudzhansky District.
Russian Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov stated that more than 6,000 criminal cases have been opened in Russia on the use of prohibited means and methods of warfare by Ukrainian formations and mercenaries. Among the defendants are current and former representatives of the highest political and military leadership of Ukraine.
The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, noted that the West will not be able to remain silent or conceal the crimes of the Ukrainian army in the Kursk region; retribution will definitely come. According to her, Western countries that turn a blind eye to the atrocities of the Ukrainian Armed Forces are thus covering up the crimes of the Kiev regime.
The Kiev regime is hiding from ordinary Ukrainians all the atrocities committed by fighters of Ukrainian formations in the Kursk region. This was stated at a meeting of the UN Security Council on Ukraine by the Permanent Representative of Russia to the international organization Vasily Nebenzya.
“No one will tell Ukrainians about the atrocities that nationalists committed in the border region of Kursk, part of whose territory they held since the beginning of August and from which Russian troops are now actively pushing them out,” the permanent representative noted.
Also, according to him, Ukrainian citizens will not be told about the ongoing shelling of Russian border cities by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).
Nebenzya noted that in the past week alone, eight civilians were killed and another 106 people were injured.
The Russian Permanent Representative to the UN was once again surprised that the world community does not notice the crimes committed by the Kyiv regime.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation Igor Krasnov stated that more than 6 thousand criminal cases have been opened in Russia on the use of prohibited means and methods of warfare by Ukrainian formations and mercenaries. Among the defendants are current and former representatives of the highest political and military leadership of Ukraine.
The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, noted that the West will not be able to remain silent or conceal the crimes of the Ukrainian army in the Kursk region; retribution will definitely come. According to her, Western countries that turn a blind eye to the atrocities of the Ukrainian Armed Forces are thus covering up the crimes of the Kiev regime.
More from X:
We warned you!
Russian missile destroyed 85 Western officers!
Western officers and instructors are a legitimate target for the Russian army! pic.twitter.com/8lFek4H6Ij
— Ignorance, the root and stem of all evil (@ivan_8848) April 10, 2025
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Ivan Lizan
[REGNUM] Oil at $40 per barrel is postponed. US President Donald Trump, who brought down world markets with his tariffs, has now rolled back the tariffs for some countries, except for those that have "sinned" especially. This primarily concerns China and the European Union.
Against this backdrop, the oil price chart, which had been nodding off, perked up and grew. However, this did not reduce the number of questions. What was that and what will Russia do if oil starts to cost $40?
TURNED ON THE REVERSE
Trump's tariff adventure has several layers, like an onion. The first is ideological: an attempt to restore justice - of course, in the American sense. The US created the current system of world trade, but has ceased to be its beneficiary, turning into an importer. The EU and China are now skimming off the cream.
The second is, of course, strategic: the US can no longer financially bear the burden of a superpower, so it must cut costs and take a course toward becoming a regional power. To do this, it is necessary to launch a program to restructure the American economy, which will certainly affect the global economy.
The third layer is practical. The US has accumulated a mass of economic problems that require solutions. This includes the exorbitant size of the national debt and the cost of servicing it, the federal budget deficit, and the negative trade balance.
An important diplomatic level: Trump, who will soon be 100 days into his second presidential term, needs diplomatic victories. And they are in trouble: Panama's ports have not been taken under control, Greenland and Canada have not become part of the United States, the Ukrainian crisis has not been resolved.
And then there’s the personal layer: Trump doesn’t have an adequate understanding of objective reality, he overestimates America’s place in the world and his capabilities as the US president.
All of this led to the launch of a new trade war. In a dashing cavalry charge, Trump managed to reduce the yield on 10-year Treasury bonds, the most important borrowing instrument for covering the US budget deficit. But then US allies, including Japan, began selling these same bonds, which blurred the effect of the maneuver.
To put it into perspective, the US spends over $1 trillion a year on debt servicing – now this is comparable to the Pentagon budget, which was recently increased by $150 billion.
However, this is clearly a Pyrrhic victory, since Trump has destroyed the last of his authority. Trust in the American financial system has also been undermined - it was not possible to significantly reduce the cost of servicing the national debt, and there is a real pogrom on the stock exchanges.
Judging by the reaction, many things came as a surprise to the Trumpists. Americans were overwhelmed by consumer panic, corporations came running to the White House with calculations of their losses, China and the EU showed enviable stubbornness, and the Republicans themselves did not show the expected unity with Trump. As a result, he, realizing the scale of the problems, wavered, but did not bend: tariffs on Chinese and European goods are still in effect.
WHO WILL BLINK FIRST?
As a result of the first round of the trade war, duties of 125% were imposed on China, making it unprofitable to supply goods to the United States. Last year, China supplied America with $439 billion worth of goods, or $36 billion a month.
Suppose that a protracted trade war cuts supplies in half and that this becomes the new normal in U.S.-China relations. In that case—if other markets fail to replace half of the lost supplies—the Chinese economy will shrink, and China's demand for oil will decline, and with it, world prices for it.
In this case, the United States and China will be drawn into a confrontation, the outcome of which will depend on their margin of safety.
On the PRC's side is $3.2 trillion in accumulated gold and foreign exchange reserves, which could be used to mitigate the crisis and make structural changes in the Chinese economy. On the US side is a reduction in the volume of the trade deficit at the cost of more expensive imports and the creation of colossal problems for American business.
There is no need to look far for examples. The cost price of the iPhone 16 Pro Max, as one of the most high-margin American goods produced in China, is about $485. And it is sold in the US at a price of $1,200. Doubling the cost of the smartphone means an automatic reduction in Apple's income, which will collapse its stock quotes and remove it from the camp of unicorn companies with a capitalization of over $1 trillion.
And this is Apple. And many other companies are even more dependent on the Chinese market, and they won’t be able to afford to ignore 125% import duties – they’ll go broke.
In this case, the US has less of a margin of safety than China, and Trump's position can hardly be called cast-iron. After all, in a year and a half he has midterm elections to Congress and the Senate, in which American voters traditionally give preference to the opposition.
Therefore, the likelihood that Trump will once again back off is very high. Especially since Beijing has no intention of giving in and lifting its duties on American products.
MOTHER OIL
Now it's time to return to Russia. By the beginning of 2025, oil and gas revenues provided about 30% of federal budget revenues. The figure looks impressive, but in 2014, oil and gas revenues provided 50% of "federal" revenues. And in the period from 2015 to 2019, this figure fluctuated in the range of 36-46%.
As you can see, the "people are the new oil" policy has borne fruit in 10 years. Against the backdrop of growing tax collection from citizens and businesses within the country, dependence on oil and gas has decreased. At the same time, over the past three years, the share of gas in the structure of oil and gas revenues has fallen to 20%.
The bulk of oil and gas revenues comes from the extraction, processing and export of oil: in different years, the share of the oil sector in total revenues fluctuated from 66% to 77%.
Therefore, the issue of oil prices has not only a theoretical but also a practical dimension: the reconciliation of budget debits with credits depends on them. And federal budget expenditures in 2025 are almost 2 times higher than expenditures for 2021: 41.4 trillion rubles versus 21.5 trillion.
At the same time, defense and security expenditures have almost tripled during this time. Simply put, ensuring that the budget is filled in the conditions of the SVO is no less a priority task than the conduct of the SVO itself.
This is precisely why the jumps in oil prices so frighten certain media-active citizens and make the domestic bureaucracy nervous.
And while globally the price of oil depends on the balance of supply and demand, prices are regularly distorted by several factors.
The first is oil's status as a commodity, which is affected by market unease. The second is the activity within OPEC+, whose members regulate the volume of oil production to maintain prices for "black gold" acceptable to all cartel members, mitigating for themselves the negative consequences of long-term changes in the oil market caused by reduced consumption.
Consumption itself is declining due to periodic crises, which are typical of any economy, especially a market economy.
Trump, with his actions, risks initiating just such a crisis – tariffs against China and the EU have been maintained.
DEBIT AND CREDIT
At the height of the jitters, the price of Brent crude - with Russia's Urals trading at a discount to it - fell from $67 a barrel to $57, then rose to $62.
The federal budget for 2025 is based on oil at $67 per barrel, while in neighboring Kazakhstan the budget included oil at $75 per barrel, and in distant Saudi Arabia at $93. Therefore, short-term fluctuations in oil prices are not a problem.
Firstly, quotes are rising again. In 2020, Russian Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin estimated the cost of Russian oil production in the range of $9 to $20 per barrel, depending on the project.
At the same time, the cost of shale oil production in the US varies between $30 and $60, depending on the region and the technologies used.
As you can see, the Russian oil industry has a much higher margin of safety than the American one, and the first to leave the market with oil at $40-50 per barrel will be the American shale oil industry.
Therefore, cheap oil is not beneficial for the US itself - it will ruin the oilmen as a support for the Republicans, and will also begin to transform the US from an exporter to an importer of oil.
At the same time, we should not forget about the successful interaction of OPEC+ countries to maintain oil prices.
Secondly, the Russian bureaucracy has developed a number of tools to reduce the impact of fluctuations in oil prices on federal budget revenues.
The main instrument is the budget rule, according to which all excess budget revenues from oil sales above a certain price level are directed to the National Welfare Fund.
At the beginning of the SVO, the budget rule was cancelled, but since 2025 it has been in effect again. The cut-off price is set at $60 — everything above that is directed to replenish the National Welfare Fund. Therefore, the first thing federal authorities will do when serious problems with replenishing the budget arise is to adjust the budget rule again.
By the way, the liquid part of the National Welfare Fund, although continuing to shrink, exceeded 3.26 trillion rubles (1.5% of GDP) by the end of March, and the peak of budget expenditures for this year has already passed - the government has advanced many expenditure items.
In the meantime, the dollar exchange rate is creating far more problems for the federal budget: the dollar is budgeted for this year at 95.6 rubles per unit, while it is currently being sold at 87.6 rubles. The ruble has strengthened precisely against the backdrop of renewed contacts between the US and Russia.
But here too the federal government has tools, including adjusting the standard for mandatory return of foreign currency earnings by exporters. And at worst, it is always possible to lower the ruble exchange rate in order to increase the ruble revenues of the federal budget against the backdrop of a reduction in foreign currency trade.
In general, there are no grounds for panic yet, and rumors about Russia's death from malnutrition caused by falling oil prices are greatly exaggerated. The domestic bureaucracy has drawn conclusions from previous oil crises, and even despite the ongoing SVO, the economy and budget have a margin of safety.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) on Tuesday night announced that it would conduct an "anti-fraud check" next week on all claims made over the telephone.
The announcement comes after the SSA scrapped its plans last month to remove phone options for ID verification, forcing beneficiaries to prove their identity in person, or online instead. The administration wanted to change the policy out of concern that fraudsters could illegally change a recipients' direct deposit number.
The SSA said the fraud check would take place on Monday, April 14, and all claims that appear suspicious would require the individual to prove their identity in person.
“Beginning on April 14, #SocialSecurity will perform an anti-fraud check on all claims filed over the telephone and flag claims that have fraud risk indicators,” the SSA posted in a thread on X. "Individuals that are flagged would be required to perform in-person ID proofing for the claim to be further processed. Individuals who are not flagged will be able to complete their claim without any in-person requirements.
"We will continue to conduct 100 percent ID proofing for all in-person claims," the administration continued. "4.5 million telephone claims a year and 70K may be flagged. Telephone remains a viable option to the public."
The updated policy is expected to help rural beneficiaries who were concerned that they did not have the means to travel to in-person offices, according to The Hill.
Just what @TheNotoriousMMA was on about. The EU has told the Irish government they MUST continue to take in freeloading fake asylum seekers. The Angelus bell is being replaced with the Islamic call to prayer @Editorialzhttps://t.co/l0WSQlHnOh
According to the 2020 U.S. Census, approximately 38.6 million US Americans identified as being of Irish descent. While Ireland itself only has around 5.12 million people.
I'm sure the US Beer and Whiskey Corporations would support it?
AH!!!! But if Ireland were made the 51st state, the Old Leadership is Kaput. The 51st State would have to adhere to the 1965 civil rights act and etc...
An, it would be an opportunity to correct a 1000 years of misguided hate.
[AOL] A plane carrying at least a half-dozen U.S. House members was clipped by another aircraft on the ground at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C., on Thursday, officials said.
Reps. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y.; Nick LaLota, R-N.Y.; Grace Meng, D-N.Y.; and Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., all confirmed on social media that they were aboard the American Airlines plane that was clipped at about 12:45 p.m.
Two of them also confirmed that Reps Adriano Espaillat and Ritchie Torres, both Democrats from New York, were also aboard.
Meeks said seven "members of Congress were on board along with dozens of other concerned passengers.”
NBC News could not immediately identify the seventh congressional passenger Meeks cited, and his office has not responded to a request for comment.
LaLota's office said he was among six House members on board.
"The Congressman is grateful for the swift and professional response by the flight crew, who prioritized the safety and well-being of everyone on board," it said in a statement.
"In addition to the many New Yorkers aboard, Representatives Gregory Meeks, Grace Meng, Josh Gottheimer, Ritchie Torres, and Adriano Espaillat were also on the flight," it said.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/11/2025
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#1
Obsolete infrastructure. We have more than enough money to maintain totally separate Atlantic and Pacific fleets now. The Pentagon is overflowing with cash.
🚨Update: San Francisco has erected a statue of the demonic Goddess Astoreth nude that will greet visitors in front of the Ferry Building! Astoreth is a demon worshipped by Satanist in America!! pic.twitter.com/AJuZ6GOAwi
— US Homeland Security News (@defense_civil25) April 11, 2025
Posted by: Fred ||
04/11/2025
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#1
See psalm 115 about this
Posted by: Lord garth ||
04/11/2025 0:29
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#2
Its almost piling on to point out that the state of California is satanic property at this point.
Anyone who continues to resides there deserves the consequences.
#9
When I left the area I thought SF had hit rock bottom. I guess they commenced an excavation. The picture of the worker doing touch up work is classic.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
04/11/2025 13:15
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Călin Georgescu is the most popular political figure in Romania and one of the bravest and wisest politicians in the world. This fall he ran for president on a platform against “war, technocracy and debt” and would have won, until the Biden administration pushed to cancel the… pic.twitter.com/iRWkrrZEsq
[NYPOST] ''Just who was the 'decider' in the Biden White House as the president of the United States slipped into senility remains an unanswered question,'' concedes The Washington Times' David Keene. But ''that may be about to change.'' Two new books that detail concerns about President Biden's ''ability to do his job'' are hitting bookstores. In 2024, after Biden denied ''knowing about signing an executive order'' on liquefied natural gas exports, ''House Speaker Mike Johnson wondered, 'Who is running the country? ' '' Some speculate it was Jake Sullivan or Antony Blinken ''in tandem with the Biden family and/or Chief of Staff Jeff Zients.'' But ''secrets are hard to keep in Washington.'' And when the public learns the truth, ''there will have to be an accounting lest it happen again.''
I suspect they all were making decisions at different times. That’s the only explanation I can think of for the contradictory orders coming down from the West Wing.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/11/2025
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I would label anyone who stayed the entire term as a flunky. The operation looked siloed to me where Blinken and Mayorkas operated as separate warlords. I believe that Rice assembled the original parts of the bus that drove us over the cliff of stupidity and got off a few stops early.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
04/11/2025 12:55
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These are the approximate positions of the U.S. Navy’s deployed carrier strike groups and amphibious ready groups throughout the world as of April 7, 2025, based on Navy and public data. In cases in which a CSG or ARG is conducting disaggregated operations, the chart reflects the location of the capital ship.
Ships Underway
Total Battle Force
295
(USS 234, USNS 61)
Deployed
97
(USS 69, USNS 28)
Underway
70
(42 Deployed, 28 Local)
Aircraft Carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) with its air wing consisting of F-35C Lightning IIs works alongside the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. pic.twitter.com/c2p4yxmBpj
[APNEWS] A merengue icon, a baseball star and others killed when a cement roof collapsed at a popular nightclub in the Dominican Republic were buried Thursday, as authorities called off the search for bodies with the corpse count at 221.
Mourners clad in black and white streamed into Santo Domingo's National Theater, where the body of singer Rubby P rez lay inside a closed coffin. P rez had been performing on stage at the packed Jet Set club early Tuesday when dust began falling from the ceiling and, seconds later, the roof caved.
President Luis Abinader and first lady Raquel Arbaje arrived at the theater and stood beside P rez's coffin for several minutes. Some mourners doubled over in tears as a recording of P rez singing the national anthem played. Renowned Dominican musician Juan Luis Guerra was among those gathered to pay their respects.
P rez, 69, had turned to music after a car accident left him unable to pursue his dream of becoming a professional baseball player. He was known for hits including ''Volver ,'' which he sang with Wilfrido Vargas's orchestra, and ''Buscando tus besos'' as a solo artist.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/11/2025
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[APNEWS] Indonesian authorities on Thursday denied claims by separatist rebels in the Papua region that at least 17 gold miners slain by turbans were members of security forces.
The rebels said they attacked a gold panning camp in the Yahukimo district of Highland Papua province, killing 17 people, including five on Wednesday. Spokesman Sebby Sambon of the rebel West Papua Liberation Army claimed the victims were members of Indonesia's army disguised as gold miners.
He said his group had warned all workers to leave Indonesian government projects as well as traditional gold mining areas, or they would be considered part of the Indonesian security forces.
Ah. It’s not that they actually were Indonesian soldiers, but that the vicious idiots identified them as soldiers.
''The West Papua Liberation Army is responsible for the attacks at Yahukimo's gold panning camp,'' Sambom said. ''Because they were part of Indonesian intelligence and soldiers.''
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Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] Ukrainian Armed Forces are holding back Russian offensive in eastern and southern Ukraine.
The most active battles are being fought in the Pokrovsky direction. There, the occupation army is trying to advance in the areas of 10 populated areas.
Since the beginning of the day, there have been 85 combat clashes with the Russian invaders on the front. Fighting is currently ongoing in six directions, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported in an operational report as of 16:00 on Thursday, April 10.
Thus, in the Kharkov direction , the Defense Forces repelled two enemy assaults near Vovchansk.
In the Kupyansk direction, the enemy attempted to advance four times in the direction of Peschanoye and in the area of Zagrizovoye. Three combat clashes are ongoing.
Eight combat clashes occurred in the Liman direction . The enemy attacked near the settlements of Novoye, Yampolovka and in the direction of Dronovka, Grekovka, Olgievka, Kotlyarovka, Novomikhaylovka. Four battles are currently ongoing.
In the Seversky direction, the enemy carried out four attacks, three of which have already been repelled. The occupiers are trying to advance towards Grigoryevka and in the Belogorovka and Verkhnekamyansky areas.
In the Kramatorsk direction, the Ukrainian Armed Forces stopped three enemy attacks near Belaya Gora and Kurdyumovka.
In the Toretsk direction, the enemy attempted to advance in the Druzhba and Toretsk areas 16 times. Three combat clashes are currently ongoing.
In the Pokrovsk direction, the enemy initiated clashes of varying intensity 27 times towards Alexandropol, Sergeyevka, Kotlyarovka and near the settlements of Elizavetovka, Lysovka, Zvirovoe, Udachnoye, Preobrazhenka, Andreyevka, Bogdanovka. The units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine repelled 22 attacks.
In the Novopavlovsk direction, two enemy assaults near the settlement of Konstantinopol and in the direction of Bagatyr have been stopped. One attack is still ongoing.
In the Gulyai-Polye direction , in the Privolnoye area, three military clashes have now ended.
In the Dnieper direction, the enemy made two fruitless attempts to advance towards the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
In Kursk region, Ukrainian defenders repelled six attacks by the invaders.
We remind you that on April 9, 149 combat clashes occurred on the front in 24 hours . At the same time, Russian losses exceeded 1,400 people killed and wounded.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] A state of emergency has been declared in New Mexico's largest city, as the governor calls in the National Guard to help combat out of control crime.
Action by the Democratic governor clears the way for dozens of guard members to help the Albuquerque Police Department starting next month.
About 60 to 70 soldiers will be stationed in largest city, home to over a quarter of the state, for six months to a year, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham told reporters Tuesday.
Grisham pulled the trigger after the chief of police asked for assistance at the end of March, as the city of dealing with a fentanyl crisis, violent crime and growing homelessness problem.
Some of the troops will be assigned to Central Avenue, part of the historic Route 66.
The area is known as 'The War Zone' by locals, and is the site of homeless encampments and open-air drug use.
YouTuber Nick Johnson, who has over 1.1 million followers, visited Albuquerque earlier this year, calling it the 'most frightful neighborhood in America.'
National guard members will also free up local cops who normally provide security at the courthouse and airport so they can respond to crime. However, they will not be armed or in uniform, reported the Albuquerque Journal. Instead, the troops will be in polo shirts.
The city is hoping to increase its police force to 1,000 officer compared to its current size of 850.
#1
Underlying problem is that as a poor state, it ends up training officer who move on to better pay in AZ or CO.
It's compounded by being a Karenstan where no one wants to hold the vile utes accountable for the crime and violence they commit. Far more concern for 'reform' of the miscreants than justice for the victims. Add in that the DA plea bargains clear 1st Degree murder down to 2nd Degree from the start. Life is cheap. Welcome to the Wild West circa 2025.
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/11/2025 14:40
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It may, possibly not be as stupid as it sounds -- though I think the policy of using NG troops when you could deputize volunteers is questionable.
Anyway, the New Mexico Army National Guard has the 226th Military Police Battalion with the 126th and 919th MP companies. So it is not as silly as tasking a military bridging detachment to do police patrols.
[NYPOST] President Trump signed an executive order Wednesday targeting water pressure regulations implemented by former Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama, touting that the action will make ''America's Showers Great Again'' — and keep his signature blond hair ''beautiful.''
''Overregulation chokes the American economy and stifles personal freedom. A small but meaningful example is the Obama-Biden war on showers,'' Trump wrote in the executive order.
The president's order scraps ''multi-thousand-word regulations defining the word 'showerhead''' authored during the Obama administration and reimposed by the Biden administration after Trump relaxed showerhead water flow standards during his first term. What the hell business does govt have in my shower?
Posted by: Fred ||
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[NYPOST] House Republicans passed legislation on Wednesday aimed at limiting the reach of so-called ''rogue'' judges who have paused some of President Trump's executive orders from taking effect.
The ''No Rogue Rulings Act'' cleared the lower chamber in a 219-213 vote, with one Republican, Rep. Michael Turner (R-Ohio), joining all Democrats ...every time you hear the phrase white people, white supremacy,white anything but paint, you're listening to a Democrat. Ask him/her/it to reimagine something for you; they do that a lot, though not well. They can hear a dog whistle a mile or two away. They invented the spoils system and Tammany Hall, and inspired the addition of the word (Thomas) Nasty to the English language. They want to stop continental drift and repeal the law of unintended side effects... in opposing the legislation.
''We took on the activist judges and their rogue rulings. Now it's on to the Senate to send this to the desk of [Trump],'' Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), who sponsored the bill, wrote on X.
A lovely idea, but is it likely to make it through the Senate? Do they have the votes?
The legislation would generally prohibit district court judges from issuing nationwide injunctions that extend to non-parties of lawsuits and fast-track the appeals process by appointing three-judge panels at random to hear cases involving the same dispute in different jurisdictions — and allowing that panel to ''issue an injunction that would otherwise be prohibited.''
Trump is expected to sign the legislation if it clears the Senate and reaches his desk.
[NYPOST] ''The View'' co-host Whoopi Goldberg ...born Caryn Elaine Johnson, a homely American cultural icon on the same tier of significance as Alfalfa, Lupe Velez, or Pia Zadora, only without Alfalfa's singing voice, Zadora's lovely butt, or Velez' Mexican Spitfiree personality. She pontificates regularly on national television, spewing lefty blather and utttering gaffes at nearly the same rate as Joe Biden, whom she purports to admire. She was once married to some white guy, but he appeared in blackface once and was never heard from again... said Wednesday that President Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and whatever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th and 47th President of the United States... didn't represent America in an address to viewers from other countries, as she promised the hosts would continue to complain about the administration's policies.
''All you countries who watch us, this is not our wish,'' Goldberg said as her co-hosts emphatically agreed. ''This is not what the American people want. We don't like it. We don't like how it's being — we don't like how this is being done. That's why you will hear us kvetching about this as long as we are able, because no one we're talking to understands what's going on, and, therefore, when they say America, they're not talking about us.''
''They are talking about that very narrow band of America that they think they represent, that I think they don't realize they're starting to lose,'' the co-host continued.
Goldberg and the co-hosts of ''The View'' sharply criticized Trump's sweeping tariffs during the conversation. The president announced later on Wednesday that he would be instituting a 90-day pause on some reciprocal tariffs but would increase tariffs on goods from China.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/11/2025
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#1
Ted Danson.
You think *your* life's resume' is tainted? Think again.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[NewsFront] 21:29 Group led by Captain Viktor Shaldinperformedcombat mission to search for armed formations of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in a given area.
While moving through the area, Viktor discovered a group of Ukrainian militants preparing an ambush on the supposed route of the Russian Armed Forces column. Captain Shaldin and his group, having carried out a maneuver using the terrain, secretly went behind the militants.
Having caught them by surprise, our servicemen destroyed the manpower and equipment of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The group did not allow the enemy to reorganize into a battle formation to repel the attack. The enemy suffered losses and retreated, leaving their positions.
The bold and decisive actions of Captain Shaldin and his subordinates thwarted the ambush being prepared by the Ukrainian Armed Forces and also ensured the arrival of the Russian Armed Forces convoy to the designated area without losses.
20:55 Army Aviation Engineers provide combat readiness of Ka-52M helicopters in the special operation zone
“The Ka-52M is a high-tech attack helicopter capable of effectively performing combat missions in various weather conditions,” says Alexey, an engineer at the Ka-52M reconnaissance and attack helicopter’s aviation complex.
The serviceman emphasized that maintaining helicopters in combat readiness requires high professional training, attentiveness and strict adherence to maintenance regulations.
"My service began with conscription, then I signed a contract and graduated from a higher military educational institution. Since 2016, I have been engaged in the technical support of aviation equipment," the specialist shared.
20:23 Russian Ministry of Defense:
From 18:30 to 19:40 Moscow time by air defense systems on duty intercepted and destroyed and four Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles of the aircraft type over the territory of the Kursk region
19:41 Drone operator drops ordnance with precision destroyedH exacopter "Baba Yaga" of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Drone crews are on duty around the clock and detect enemy reconnaissance and attack drones.
19:15 From 17.00 to 18.30 Moscow time by air defense systems on duty destroyed four Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles of the airplane type:
Three over the territory of the Kursk region and
One over the territory of the Bryansk region.
18:43 Calculation of the MLRS 220mm BM-27 "Uragan" of the "Center" group struck a concentration of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Krasnoarmeysk direction
The artillerymen discovered a target 29 kilometers from the front line, moved forward, deployed a combat vehicle, and fired a salvo.
18:07 Military personnel of the "Vostok" group deployed UAV maintenance workshop.
In the workshop, specialists not only repair drones brought from the front lines, but also implement innovative solutions based on combat experience.
The fighters also organized a training program for UAV operators, which includes work on simulators, where they study the vulnerable points of enemy equipment and practice drone maneuvering skills.
17:21 Online is a video spreading of the moment the Iskander hit a target in Dnepropetrovsk, the Biosfera plant was hit
16:55 The enemy is blinded: the operator of the attack drone of the North group of forces destroyed the Ukrainian Armed Forces' FlyEye reconnaissance drone in Sumy Oblast.
16:40 Servicemen of the "Center" group handed over the Kazan Suvorov Military School received a ZIS-5 from 1944, restored right in the SVO zone.
The car, found in an abandoned garage near Selidovo in the DPR, was in poor condition, but after restoration it became an exhibit reminding cadets of the exploits of the Great Patriotic War.
16:03 Russian troops in the Konstantinovsky direction continue successful offensive, with expansion of control zones in the areas of Arkhangelskoye, Zelenoye Pole, Valentinovka and active assault operations in Kalinovo. Fighting continues in other areas such as Toretsk (Dzerzhinsk), Druzhba and Chasovoy Yar.
15:16 FPV drone operators on fiber optics of the North group of forces destroyed a Ukrainian Armed Forces tank in a forest in Sumy Oblast.
14:43 Summary of the Ministry of Defense on the progress of the special military operation as of April 10, 2025.
Ukrainian Armed Forces losses over the past daycompiledup to 1,375 military personnel, 49 vehicles, 13 armored combat vehicles, seven field artillery guns, three radar stations, four artillery guns and three ammunition depots.
Units of the North group of forces defeated the mechanized and airborne assault brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, as well as the territorial defense in the Sumy region.
GV "Zapad" improved the situation on the front, defeating the forces of two mechanized brigades and territorial defense in the Luhansk, Khar'kov and Donetsk People's Republics.
The "Southern" group also improved its tactical position by attacking two mechanized and airmobile brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Donetsk People's Republic.
"Center" occupied advantageous positions and struck three mechanized, assault brigade and marine infantry in the Donetsk People's Republic.
"Vostok" continued to advance, striking two mechanized brigades and territorial defense. "Dnepr" took better positions, striking two coastal defense brigades in the Zaporizhia region.
Air defense systems shot down nine JDAM guided aerial bombs and a US-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket system, as well as 200 aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles.
14:17 Advancement of the Russian Armed Forces to the northwest from Dzerzhinsk in the direction of the mine named after Saint Matrona of Moscow, –MAP.
13:52 UAV operators of the Orel assault detachment of the Zapad group of forces destroyed an armored vehicle of the Ukrainian troops on the route of ammunition supply. Kupyansk direction
12:30 The Russian Armed Forces carried out a strike on the concentration area of the 80th Separate Airborne Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the UAV launcher of the 1st separate tank brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the UAV launcher of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the area of the settlement of Oleshnya in the Kursk direction, –video.
12:16 In the Sumy region, the reconnaissance UAV of the GV "Sever" was detected movement of an M-113 armored personnel carrier of the Ukrainian Armed Forces of American manufacture, an attempt to camouflage the equipment in a forest belt turned out to be futile - our FPV operator carried out a targeted strike.
12:03 Calculations of FPV drones of the Rubicon center continue to burn out enemy equipment in the border areas of the Kursk region.
11:30 Information on strikes carried out by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the Belgorod region over the past 24 hours:
In the Belgorod district, the settlement of Komsomolsky, the villages of Blizhneye, Bessonovka, Krasny Khutor, Nikolskoye, Petrovka, Toplinka and the village of Tserkovnywere subjected to shelling, during which two rounds were fired, and attacks by eight drones, seven of which were shot down by the air defense system.
In the village of Tserkovny, equipment was damaged on the territory of an agricultural enterprise, and in the village of Komsomolsky, as a result of air defense operations, a private house was damaged.
In the Borisovsky district, the villages of Berezovka, Bogun-Gorodok, Gruzskoye and the village of Klimovoye were attacked by five drones, one of which was shot down.
In the village of Bogun-Gorodok, a truck was damaged, in the village of Gruzskoye - an administrative building of an enterprise, in the village of Berezovka - a car.
In the Valuysky Municipal District, in the city of Valuyki, the villages of Borki, Dvuluchnoye, Dolgoe, Karabanovo, Kukuyevka and Sukharevo, 22 drones attacked, of which 12 were suppressed and shot down.
In the village of Dvuluchnoye, a passenger car was damaged, in the village of Kukuyevka - two private houses. After explosive devices were dropped from drones at night in the village of Borki, a car, two private houses and an outbuilding were damaged, in the village of Sukharevo - a private house and three cars, one of which burned down.
In the Grayvoronsky municipal district, the villages of Golovchino, Kozinka, Mokraya Orlovka, Novostroevka-Pervaya and Poroz were subjected to three attacks with seven munitions and nine drone attacks.
Yesterday evening, a woman sought medical help after suffering a barotrauma during a drone attack in the village of Golovchino. She refused the proposed hospitalization and continues to receive outpatient treatment. In the village of Golovchino, five vehicles were damaged, one of which was destroyed by fire, and in the village of Novostroevka-Pervaya, a tractor was damaged.
In the Krasnoyarsk district, 63 munitions were fired in nine attacks at the settlements of Krasnaya Yaruga and Prilesye, the villages of Grafovka, Demidovka, Kolotilovka, Popovka and Staroselye, and attacks by 13 drones were recorded, eight of which were suppressed and shot down.
In the settlement of Krasnaya Yaruga, a civilian was killed when a drone struck a car. His wife, who was nearby, was injured. At the Rakityanskaya Central District Hospital, a woman with a mine-explosive injury and multiple shrapnel wounds received medical care. Then she was transferred to City Hospital No. 2 in Belgorod for further treatment.
Another civilian was also injured as a result of an FPV drone attack on a car. The victim continues to receive outpatient treatment. In the settlement of Krasnaya Yaruga, a private house, three cars and a GAZelle were damaged, and in the village of Kolotilovka, a private house was destroyed by fire.
In the Rakityansky district, one munition was fired at the villages of Bobrava, Pskovskoye and Tsibulevka, and two drones were attacked, one of which was shot down by an air defense system. In the village of Tsibulevka, eight private houses were damaged, and in the village of Bobrava, a tractor.
In the Shebekinsky municipal district, the city of Shebekino, the villages of Arkhangelskoye, Bezlyudovka, Bely Kolodez, Belyanka, Krapivnoye, Meshkovoye, Murom, Surkovo, Titovka were subjected to shelling with the use of 8 munitions and attacks by 19 drones, 16 of which were shot down and suppressed. In the city of Shebekino, a civilian was injured.
In the Shebekinskaya Central District Hospital, a woman with barotrauma received medical care. Treatment continues on an outpatient basis. In the city of Shebekino, a gas pipe, six private houses, an outbuilding and two cars were damaged, in the village of Arkhangelskoye - a private house. Tonight, after explosive devices were dropped from a UAV, damage was caused in the village of Murom.
11:30 During the night from 9 to 10 April 2025, Russian forces inflicted a series of strikes on the enemy's military infrastructure facilities. The targets were temporary accommodation centers, repair sites, supply depots and training bases in Kramatorsk, Kyiv, Chuguev and Nikolaev, used by the enemy to support combat operations in the eastern and southern directions.
10:15 Crews of the 220mm BM-27 Uragan MLRS of the Airborne Forces artillery brigade destroyed military equipment and manpower of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kursk border area.
Aerial reconnaissance revealed the movement of Ukrainian Armed Forces military equipment and personnel towards the line of combat contact to organize a counterattack.
9:15 Ukrainian Armed Forces militants shelled private sector in Malokakhovka
"The shelling took place at night, when most people were in their homes. The attack damaged buildings,"it is saidin the message.
8:20 Frontline report for the morning of 10.04.2025
Zaporizhzhya Front. No significant changes in LBS. Fighting continues in several areas, but no serious progress has been made in the last 24 hours.
Donetsk Front. Russian troops continue to develop the offensive in the direction of Komar and Otradnoye, as well as the section of the road between these settlements. There are tactical successes. The Russian troops' entry to this line will seriously complicate the logistics of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Bogatyr area, where the Russian Armed Forces are also continuing to fight their way through. Fierce fighting continues in the Pokrovsk direction.
Kursk region. Russian troops are clearing the outskirts of Guevo. Fighting for Oleshnya and Gornal continues. Fighting also continues in the Basovka area in Sumy region. The Ukrainian Armed Forces are attempting to counterattack.
Belgorod Region. No significant changes in LBS. The Ukrainian Armed Forces are trying to push through the defense of our troops in the Demidovka and Popovka area, but are unable to achieve any success. Fire damage is inflicted on areas where enemy personnel and equipment are concentrated.
7:16 For the period from 20:15 Moscow time on April 9 to 06:00 Moscow time on April 10, air defense systems on dutydestroyed42 Ukrainian aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles:
– 13 UAVs over the territory of the Bryansk region;
– 12 UAVs over the territory of the Kaluga region;
– Seven UAVs over the territory of the Kursk region;
– Four UAVs over the territories of the Belgorod region and the Republic of Crimea;
– One UAV over the territories of the Oryol region and the Moscow region.
6:28 FPV drone operators of the "Southern" group of troops destroyed two tanks and two infantry fighting vehicles of the Ukrainian Armed Forces at once in the Kramatorsk-Druzhkovsky direction.
[EngMilRu] The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation.
In Belgorod direction, units of the Sever Group of Forces inflicted fire damage on one mechanised brigade, one air assault brigade, one coastal defence brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and two territorial defence brigades close to Prokhody, Turya, Krasnopolye, Ugroyedy, and Miropolskoye (Sumy region).
The AFU losses were up to 105 troops, one armoured fighting vehicle, two motor vehicles, and two field artillery guns.
The Zapad Group of Forces' units improved the tactical situation along the front line. Russian troops launched strikes on manpower and hardware of two mechanised brigades of the AFU and two territorial defence brigades close to Makeyevka (Lugansk People's Republic), Dvurechanskoye (Kharkov region), Yampol, and Kirovsk (Donetsk People's Republic).
The AFU losses were over 250 troops, three motor vehicles, and one artillery gun. One ammunition depot was destroyed.
The Yug Group of Forces' units improved the tactical situation. Russian troops inflicted fire damage on formations of two mechanised brigades, one airmobile brigade, and one territorial defence brigade near Zarya, Kleban-Byk, Grigorovka, and Tarasovka (Donetsk People's Republic).
The AFU losses were up to 330 troops, three armoured fighting vehicles, 23 motor vehicles, three field artillery guns, and one electronic warfare station. One field ammunition depot was destroyed.
The Tsentr Group of Forces' units captured more advantageous lines and positions, inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of three mechanised brigades, one assault brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, one naval infantry brigade, and one territorial defence brigade close to Kotlino, Udachnoye, Yelizavetovka, Petrovskogo, Kotlyarovka, Novosergeyevka, and Bogdanovka (Donetsk People's Republic).
The AFU losses were up to 430 troops, five armoured fighting vehicles, six motor vehicles, and two artillery guns.
The Vostok Group of Forces' units continued advancing into the depths of enemy defences, inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of two mechanised brigades, one air assault brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and one territorial defence brigade near Poddubnoye, Bogatyr, Shevchenko, and Otradnoye (Donetsk People's Republic).
The AFU losses were up to 170 troops, one armoured fighting vehicle, eight motor vehicles, and two field artillery guns, including one French-made 155mm Caesar self-propelled artillery system.
Units of the Dnepr Group of Forces captured more advantageous lines and positions, defeated formations of two coastal defence brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and one territorial defence brigade close to Novopavlovka, Blagoveshchenskoye, and Kamenskoye (Zaporozhye region).
The AFU losses were up to 90 troops, three armoured fighting vehicles, seven motor vehicles, one artillery gun, two electronic warfare stations, and one ammunition depot.
Operational-Tactical Aviation, attack unmanned aerial vehicles, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Russian Groups of Forces engaged the military airfield infrastructure, missile artillery, ammunition, and military hardware depots as well as clusters of manpower and hardware of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and foreign mercenaries in 144 areas.
Air defence systems shot down nine JDAM guided bombs, one U.S.-made HIMARS MLRS projectile as well as 200 fixed-wing drones.
In total, since the beginning of the special military operation, the AFU losses amounted to 660 aircraft, 283 helicopters, 50,812 unmanned aerial vehicles, 601 anti-aircraft missile systems, 22,752 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,534 MLRS combat vehicles, 23,434 field artillery guns and mortars, 33,876 units of special military vehicles.
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the operation to neutralise AFU formations on the territory of Kursk region.
During offensive actions, units of the Sever Group of Forces liberated Zhuravka (Sumy region).
Moreover, strikes were delivered at formations of one mechanised brigade, one tank brigade, three air assault brigades, and one territorial defence brigade of the AFU close to Gornal and Oleshnya.
Operational-tactical, Army Aviation, and artillery fire hit enemy manpower and hardware close to Belovody, Varachino, Vladimirovka, Vodolagi, Zhuravka, Loknya, Maryino, Miropolye, Mogritsa, Sadki, and Yunakovka in Sumy region.
The AFU losses were more than 420 troops, one armoured personnel carrier, two armoured fighting vehicles, 12 motor vehicles, four artillery guns, four mortars, and two UAV command posts.
Since the beginning of hostilities in Kursk direction, the AFU losses amounted to more than 73,410 troops, 405 tanks, 331 infantry fighting vehicles, 301 armoured personnel carriers, 2,262 armoured fighting vehicles, 2,664 motor vehicles, 601 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.
[NYPOST] British police have arrested the UK head of Greenpeace, alongside five other activists, after they poured 300 liters of blood-red dye into a pond at the U.S. Embassy on Thursday in protest against the U.S. sale of arms to Israel.
Will McCallum, the environmental campaign group's UK head, and the others, disguised as delivery riders on bicycles with trailers, Greenpeace said, tipped the dye into the high-security embassy's semi-circular pond.
McCallum and the others were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to cause criminal damage, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
[X]
Isn’t it odd how just about every climate activist group and green lobbying group has ties to the Chinese government, which is industrializing while the rest of the developed world deindustrializes? https://t.co/ykQGyzmV1lpic.twitter.com/oMMWr2LrTD
Set fire to Tesla dealerships? Nobody knows who did it.
To find who rules you, merely find out who you are not allowed to criticize.
That includes censoring this comment.
BTW, giving publicity to Greenpeace's publicity stunt is falling for their operation.
You'd figure anyone who's been in intelligence knows this.
#5
Green Peace, by dumping Red Dye into a body of Water, has shown it is just another Liberal Whining Protest Group acting in total contradiction by its own claimed mission.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[KavkazUzel] The demonstration to high school students and university students of the corpse of a participant in the attack on security forces killed in Achkhoy-Martan came into conflict with the norms of Islam and common sense; with such actions, the authorities are promoting cruelty and traumatizing the psyche of young people, human rights activists and a Caucasus expert pointed out.
As reported by the "Caucasian Knot", one security officer was killed and at least two were wounded as a result of an attack by a man armed with a knife on traffic police officers in Achkhoy-Martan. The minor attacker was killed by "return fire". His photo was distributed on April 9 by the Chechen state television and radio company "Grozny", and Telegram channels opposed to the Chechen authorities published video footage, which, as they claimed, showed the body of the killed participant in the attack lying on the ground. The body was brought for display to the public sector employees, students and high school students who were forcibly collected from the administration in the morning.
Ramzan Kadyrov announced on April 8 that the attacker had come to the republic for Eid al-Fitr from Moscow. Despite the fact that the man lived in another region, a controversial decision was made to expel his relatives from Chechnya and confiscate their property. Threats were also made to distant relatives of the attacker. A Chechen opposition Telegram channel reported that security forces had detained all of the attacker's relatives, including his underage cousins. The "Caucasian Knot" prepared a report on how Kadyrov has tightened collective responsibility in Chechnya.
The rally over the body of the murdered man in Achkhoy-Martan was commented on for the "Caucasian Knot" by the chairperson of the "Civil Accord" committee* Svetlana Gannushkina, the press secretary of the Assembly of Chechens in Europe Shamil Albakov, as well as a human rights activist who is well acquainted with the realities of Chechnya, and a Russian expert on the Caucasus, who wished to remain anonymous.
Such demonstrations by the authorities, like in Achkhoy-Martan, certainly do not evoke approval from the population; rather, they may have the opposite effect - an increase in protest sentiments, the human rights activist pointed out. "This act is savagery, medieval. The organizers of this show are completely sick in the head. This will not lead to anything good. This is a demonstration and propaganda of cruelty," he said.
"This is the savagery and cruelty that children are taught. Of course, this is trauma for children. And the bitterness will find an outlet. The authorities are taking a risk, but they hope that they will not be the target," said Svetlana Gannushkina.
The authorities ordered public sector employees and high school students to participate in a rally in the center of Achkhoy-Martan on the morning of April 9, where the body of a man killed in an attack on security forces was brought, eyewitnesses said.
At the rally, officials also stated that the criminal's family would be expelled from the republic, and the attacker's body would not be given to relatives for burial. Security forces and administration employees did not allow anyone to leave the rally, despite the fact that several women lost consciousness and children were shocked by what was happening - these and other unique testimonies from local residents were published in the "Caucasian Knot" article from 06.49 on April 10.
Neither Islamic law nor adats allow the display of the body of a dead person, even an enemy, the Caucasus expert pointed out. "The deceased is probably considered a Muslim after all. It is very bad, of course, to mock the body. Any person should be buried, even if there are hostile feelings towards him. But mocking a corpse - I do not know of such adats," he said.
There are no customs in Islam, as far as the Caucasus expert knows, when a ruler would declare punishment of the entire clan for the crime of one person. "Blood feud can only be declared by relatives of the murdered person. If we are talking about expulsion from the country or from the republic, then this is clearly not blood feud. Of course, the jamaat can expel the criminal. But, firstly, this is a custom that has not been practiced for a long time. Secondly, after all, it is the jamaat that decides, and not those people who have no relation to the jamaat," he explained.
Gathering people and putting a corpse on display is blasphemy and mockery of the population, Shamil Albakov is sure. "No adats or principles of the Islamic religion, no other principles, no legislation in the civilized world allows this. Even mockery of the corpses of enemies is condemned where there is a war," Albakov emphasized.
In his opinion, as a result of such actions by the authorities, the residents of Chechnya are unlikely to become even more intimidated, rather the opposite.
The population of Chechnya has simply been driven to despair and hatred.
"The population has already been driven to despair, to hatred and hostility. It can be seen in the eyes, in the reactions of these people, women who are crying, cursing everyone for what is happening. But the population today is also completely defenseless and completely deprived of any prospects for help or support from the outside," said Albakov.
Punishment of close and distant relatives of the perpetrator of a crime is not permitted by any laws or customs, he confirmed. "Taking away relatives, punishing them for the actions of a minor member of their family - according to all principles and laws, this is prohibited, unacceptable. But representatives of the authorities in Chechnya do this, they are proud of it, they boast that they resort to precisely such mocking methods to control the population of the Chechen Republic," Albakov complained.
At the same time, he stressed that he does not approve of attacks on security forces in Chechnya. "Of course, no one is calling for such actions. It is wrong to do this," he said.
#3
"Europe is lost! America must cease all contact with degenerate globalist sharia court of Xerxes and make nice (from safe intercontinental distance, of course) with Fortress Russia, Muslimenrein bastion of Orthodoxy, guardian of glorious Caucasian future!" [Kadyrov: "Your winnings, sir."]
But seriously, the demographics aren't looking great over there (in Russia proper) either.
[Independent] A 64-year-old licensed practical nurse is facing federal charges after she allegedly grabbed a flight attendant’s genitalia while traveling from Las Vegas to North Dakota.
Jody Lynn Sherry-Berg was arrested Tuesday on one count of interference with flight crew members, according to federal court documents reviewed by The Independent.
The altercation occurred January 16 aboard an Allegiant Air flight from Harry Reid International Airport to Grand Forks International Airport, states an indictment unsealed April 8 in Minnesota federal court.
Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.
[Korrespondent] 23.50 British Prince Harry arrived in Lviv as part of an unannounced visit, where he visited a clinic where wounded defenders are treated.
The Duke of Sussex visited an orthopaedic clinic in Lviv that treats and rehabilitates wounded soldiers and civilians. The unannounced trip was only revealed after the prince had already left Ukraine.
Photos from the visit show Prince Harry, wearing a jacket with the name of his Invictus Games foundation, talking to wounded Ukrainian veterans.
23.25 A Russian drone hit a multi-story building in the Zhitomir district on the evening of April 10. The State Emergency Service published a photo of the destruction.
As a result of the enemy attack, one person was killed, five are known to have been injured. Among them is a child born in 2011. All the injured were hospitalized in medical institutions.
As a result of the attack, at least five multi-story buildings were damaged, and a fire broke out in one of the buildings. It has already been extinguished, and the aftermath of the emergency is being eliminated.
22.20 Russian troops struck a multi-story building in Zhitomir district with a drone. One person was killed, five others were injured, including a child born in 2011. This was reported by the head of the OVA Vitaliy Bunechko.
19:40 The SKALA regiment successfully carried out a combat operation in the area of the village of Shevchenko in the Pokrovsky direction. The video was published on the TG channel of the 425th OSHP Skala. As a result of 6 days of fighting, Shevchenko was gradually cleared of occupiers. As a result of the assault actions, the enemy's losses exceeded 1,100 people killed and wounded.
18.19 Ukraine continues to clarify all the circumstances of the involvement of Chinese citizens in the Russian occupation contingent. This concerns the systematic work of the Russian Federation to recruit Chinese citizens, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
The head of state also released a video of the interrogation of one of the captured Chinese.
17:30 Since the beginning of the day, 85 combat clashes with Russian invaders have occurred on the front. Fighting is currently ongoing in six directions, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported in an operational report as of 16:00.
17.19 Russian troops have begun using UAVs with explosive devices. This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Attention, new threat! Russian troops have begun using UAVs that scatter explosive objects," the statement noted.
The Interior Ministry noted that they could be used by the enemy to strike any region of the country. The risk is extremely high also because the time of explosion of such ammunition is unknown.
16.08 An indictment has been sent to court against two occupiers for cruel treatment of civilians and other violations of the laws and customs of war by prior conspiracy by a group of persons. This was reported by the Office of the Prosecutor General. According to the investigation, in July 2022, in Izyum, the accused, together with other occupiers, broke into the house where a woman lived - the mother of a Ukrainian law enforcement officer. They detained her and took her to a prison set up on the territory of a railway hospital.
15.01 US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will join the next meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in the Ramstein format virtually, Defense News reported.
14.21 The Chinese authorities are calling for a correct understanding of the role of the PRC in the "Ukrainian conflict" and not making "irresponsible statements" about the participation of Chinese citizens in the war in Ukraine. The corresponding statement was made by the spokesman for the PRC Foreign Ministry, Lin Jian.
13.33 Russian aggressors attacked the city of Nikopol with a drone. 12 people were injured, said the head of the Dnipropetrovsk OVA Serhiy Lysak. As a result of the strike, a hostel and five cars were damaged in the city. The territory is being surveyed.
13:19 Russian troops have stepped up their offensive attempts in the Liman direction, as well as in the Kupyansk area - on both sides of the Oskol River. This was reported on air by Viktor Tregubov, a representative of the Khortitsa operational-strategic group of troops.
According to him, the Russians are trying to increase their presence in this area, setting up a permanent crossing over the river to supply forces.
12:19 Four people were injured in the night attack by Russian troops on the capital. Two of them were hospitalized. This was reported by Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
12:10 The United States and Russia have exchanged prisoners in a sign of "confidence building." The exchange took place in the UAE capital of Abu Dhabi.
Russia released Ksenia Karelina, a US and Russian citizen sentenced to 12 years in a maximum security penal colony for donations to a Ukrainian charity in the United States.
In exchange, the United States released Artur Petrov, a citizen of Germany and Russia, who was arrested in 2023 in Cyprus at the request of the United States for the possible export of sensitive microelectronics.
12:09 During the intensified shelling of Kharkov, Russian troops began using a new tactic, in which they strike a large number of times at one district of the city in a short period of time. This was reported by Kharkov Mayor Igor Terekhov on the air of the telethon.
10:32 Russian troops killed four civilians in Donbass on April 9: in Novoekonomichesky, Bogatyr, Konstantinovka and Pokrovsk. Two more people in the region were injured in the past 24 hours.
In total, since the beginning of the invasion, 3,135 civilians have been killed in the region, 6,911 have been wounded (excluding the victims of Volnovakha and Mariupol).
10:10 Three people were injured as a result of the night attack by Russian drones on the capital. One of them was hospitalized. Two were treated by doctors on the spot.
09:30 Russia attacked Ukraine at night with 145 Shahed-type attack UAVs and various types of drone imitators. Air defense forces eliminated 85 drones. Another 49 enemy drone imitators were lost without negative consequences.
As a result of the Russian attack, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kiev, Khmelnytsky, Poltava and Nikolaev regions suffered.
08:52 Over the past 24 hours, 149 combat clashes have been recorded on the front. Aviation, missile forces and artillery of the Defense Forces have hit 11 areas of concentration of personnel and equipment, an air defense system and two guns of the Russian invaders.
08:36 Ukraine is ready to pay for future aid packages from the United States, including Patriot systems. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelensky.
During a telephone conversation with US President Donald Trump, the issue of transferring at least 10 Patriot systems was discussed.
"I told him on the phone, give us at least ten (Patriot systems – ed.). This is protection, this will help us after the end of the war, this is a guarantee of security, that Ukraine is covered by air defense. There are many different formats and instruments that we are ready for. We were ready to find 30 and 50 billion for the corresponding package," the president said.
08:10 Two women were injured during a night attack by Russian drones in Kyiv's Darnitsky district. One of them had an acute stress reaction, the other had multiple minor wounds to her right forearm. The victims were treated on the spot without hospitalization.
In Darnitsky district, private houses and cars were damaged, and one of the outbuildings was completely destroyed.
In Goloseevsky district, as a result of an enemy attack, a warehouse caught fire.
07:55 As of April 10, 2025, the total combat losses of Russian troops on the territory of Ukraine amounted to approximately 929,000 people (+1,420 per day).
07:35 As a result of falling debris from downed Russian drones, 10 residents of Nikolaev were injured. Nine apartment buildings, three cars, 30 garages and an administrative building were damaged in the city.
As of this morning, a 29-year-old woman and a 59-year-old man are in hospital in moderate condition.
03:57 As a result of the UAV attack on Mykolaiv, two fires occurred in the city. Two people were hospitalized, others are receiving medical assistance on the spot.
0:45 In the Holosiivskyi district of Kyiv, a fire occurred in a non-residential building due to falling UAV debris. And in the Darnitsky district, a private building was destroyed as a result of falling debris.
[APNEWS] Congo's government and Rwanda-backed rebels are meeting in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... for much-anticipated talks in a renewed push for peace in the conflict-battered eastern Congo, where the Death Eaters have seized vast territory, officials said Thursday.
The decades-long conflict escalated in January, when the M23 rebels advanced and seized the strategic eastern Congolese city of Goma, followed by the town of Bukavu in February. The fighting has killed some 3,000 people and raised the fears of a wider regional war.
According to officials from both sides, the delegations from Congo's government and the M23 rebel group also met on Wednesday in Doha, Qatar's capital. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the negotiations.
The talks follow a recent Qatar-facilitated meeting between Congolese and Rwandan presidents in Doha and failed efforts by neighboring countries to get both parties to return to dialogue and recommit themselves to a peace deal they each accuse the other of violating.
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[APNEWS] U.S. President Donald Trump ...dictatorial for repealing some (but not all) of the diktats of his predecessor, misogynistic because he likes pretty girls, homophobic because he doesn't think gender bending should be mandatory, truly a man for all seasons... 's administration has reversed new cutoffs in emergency food aid to several nations but maintained them in Afghanistan and 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... , two of the world's poorest and most war-ravaged countries, according to the State Department and officials who spoke to The News Agency that Dare Not be Named.
It marks the latest round of abrupt cancellations of foreign aid contracts run through the U.S. Agency for International Development and equally sudden reversals. The whipsawing moves come as the Republican administration and Trump adviser Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency dismantle USAID and dramatically reduce foreign assistance, asserting that the spending is wasteful and advances liberal causes.
The United States over the weekend sent notices terminating funding for U.N. World Food Program emergency programs in more than a dozen countries. Aid officials warned that the cuts could threaten the lives of millions of refugees and other vulnerable people, stressing the risks of further destabilizing regions ridden by conflicts.
The State Department confirmed Wednesday that it had reversed those cuts in Somalia, Syria, Leb ...Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects.... , Jordan, Iraq and Ecuador. It said it would keep the cancellations for Afghanistan and Yemen but left the fate of food aid in six other unidentified nations unclear.
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04/11/2025
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Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The news that Ryan Wesley Routt, a suspect in the assassination attempt on US President Donald Trump, tried to purchase weapons in Ukraine will not affect American military aid supplies to the country, as they are more of a political nature for the White House administration. This was stated on Thursday, April 10, by the head of the Bureau of Military-Political Analysis Alexander Mikhailov in a conversation with Regnum News Agency.
On April 9, the son of the American president, Donald Trump Jr., accused the Kiev regime of concealing the fact that Raut intended to buy weapons in Ukraine. The president's son reported the established fact that Raut communicated in a messenger with a person whom he believed to be a Ukrainian who had access to weapons. The man planned to buy a hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher or a Stinger portable anti-aircraft missile system from him.
"I think that the issue of arms supplies to Ukraine is more of a political issue for the Trump administration. That is, they are using this, in essence, as a tool to put pressure on Russia. And Trump has spoken about this many times. And for the Trump administration, in fact, it is not so important how long the military conflict will last, how many people will die in this conflict, where the weapons will end up. It is more important for them to organize this, you know, very profitable traffic for the United States," Mikhailov said.
On the one hand, the US needs to get out of the Ukrainian case, to remove itself from responsibility for the loss of the collective West, because any possible Western military-technical supplies to Ukraine will not change the situation in any way - the country will lose anyway, the expert said. He specified that the question in this case is only whether the West will drag out the inevitable or it will be able to end faster.
"But at the same time, on the other hand, the collective West, represented by the United States, needs to shoulder, in addition to responsibility, also the financial component for the further provision of Ukraine as an instrument of pressure on Russia. And this new acquirer will be Europe. Trump, his Vice President J.D. Vance, and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio have already spoken about this many times," Mikhailov said.
The military analyst recalled that the US regularly says that Europe will have to take on more serious material military responsibility and that the region will have to chip in a larger sum to NATO's common fund. Such a scenario is inevitable, since the Americans have repeatedly stated that they have already invested a lot in the Ukrainian case and that it is time for Europe to take it all on itself, the agency's interlocutor specified.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, on April 3, Rubio said that NATO member countries, including the United States, would have to increase their military spending to 5% of their GDP. The Secretary of State specified that this does not necessarily have to happen in the next year or two, but a corresponding plan must be created.
Trump said in January that he would demand that all NATO countries increase their defense spending to 5% of GDP. He noted that defense spending by some countries was even less than 2% of GDP, which is required by the alliance's rules.
Rubio said on February 26 that the United States no longer has the ability to subsidize NATO allies that do not spend enough on military needs. The US Secretary of State specified that he was talking about the rich countries of Western Europe.
On September 15, 2024, an assassination attempt was made on Trump in West Palm Beach, Florida. The shooter was 58-year-old American citizen Ryan Wesley Routt, who stuck the barrel of an AK-47 through the fence of a golf club. He missed Trump. Routt was detained and taken into custody. It turned out that he had been to Kiev and participated in the recruitment of mercenaries for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
US Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene pointed out Raut's participation in a video in support of the Ukrainian national formation "Azov" (a terrorist organization whose activities are banned in the Russian Federation).
[APNEWS] A federal judge is allowing the Trump administration to move forward with a requirement that everyone in the U.S. illegally must register with the federal government, in a move that could have far-reaching repercussions for immigrants colonists across the country.
In a ruling Thursday, Judge Trevor Neil McFadden sided with the administration, which had argued that they were simply enforcing an already existing requirement for everyone in the country who wasn't an American citizen to register with the government.
The requirement goes into effect Friday.
The Department of Homeland Security announced Feb. 25 that it was mandating that all people in the United States illegally register with the federal government, and said those who didn't self-report could face fines or prosecution. Failure to register is considered a crime, and people will be required to carry registration documents with them or risk prison time and fines.
Registration will be mandatory for everyone 14 and older without legal status. People registering have to provide their fingerprints and address, and parents and guardians of anyone under age 14 must ensure they registered.
[DailyCaller] The Trump administration is revoking the parole of thousands of immigrants who they have found to have criminal records or to be on the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center watchlist, a senior White House official told the Daily Caller.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has identified 6,300 individuals who were paroled into the United States since 2023, during the Biden administration, but are on the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center or have a criminal record, a senior White House official shared with the Caller. The source was granted anonymity to discuss the details not yet announced. Every individual CBP identified is having their parole, which gives them benefits such as work authorization, stripped immediately, the official told the Caller.
“Among the 6.3k paroled aliens with criminal or terrorist records, 905 were collecting Medicaid (including 4 on the terrorist watch list). $276,000 was paid out,” the official shared with the Caller, adding that all had Social Security numbers. “41 were collecting Unemployment Insurance, receiving $42,000 in benefits. 22 received federal student loans totaling $280,000.”
Other immigrants granted parole under the Biden administration have also had their benefits stripped by the Trump White House. In March, termination notices started being delivered to hundreds of thousands of migrants who entered the United States through a fraud-ridden parole program launched by the Biden administration. The program, CHNV, was terminated by the Trump administration last month.
Under the initiative, half-a-million migrants were flown in from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela over the past several years.
Think of the worst character traits of Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney combined in one person.
Even before assuming office he has done such tremendous damage to the country and also his party to warrant his resignation from politics in shame and dishonor, not his election as a head of government.
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.
..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...
..one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbund millipede,...
...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor...
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling 
...The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. Only one of those statements is an exaggeration....
..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,...
...
[ABC] COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Long a method of execution associated with political terror or military justice, a firing squad is set to kill a South Carolina inmate on Friday, the second time the state will have carried out that method in the past five weeks.
The latest move was created to "remove the monetary incentive for illegal aliens to come and stay, we will encourage them to self-deport," Elizabeth Huston, a White House spokeswoman, said
[NYPOST] ''The Handmaid's Tale'' star 
[NYPOST] CNN contributor 
...the once and current oppressors of Afghanistan...
[NYPOST] ''Just who was the 'decider' in the Biden White House as the president of the United States slipped into senility remains an unanswered question,'' concedes The Washington Times' David Keene. But ''that may be about to change.'' Two new books that detail concerns about President Biden's ''ability to do his job'' are hitting bookstores. In 2024, after Biden denied ''knowing about signing an executive order'' on liquefied natural gas exports, ''House Speaker Mike Johnson wondered, 'Who is running the country? ' '' Some speculate it was Jake Sullivan or Antony Blinken ''in tandem with the Biden family and/or Chief of Staff Jeff Zients.'' But ''secrets are hard to keep in Washington.'' And when the public learns the truth, ''there will have to be an accounting lest it happen again.'' 
...every time you hear the phrase 
...born Caryn Elaine Johnson, a homely American cultural icon on the same tier of significance as Alfalfa, Lupe Velez, or Pia Zadora, only without Alfalfa's singing voice, Zadora's lovely butt, or Velez' Mexican Spitfiree personality. She pontificates regularly on national television, spewing lefty blather and utttering gaffes at nearly the same rate as Joe Biden, whom she purports to admire. She was once married to some white guy, but he appeared in blackface once and was never heard from again...
...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi...
...Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects....
