Two documents were leaked to Iran that expose in whole or in part Israel’s plans for retaliation following Iran’s recent missile barrage of the country. The Pentagon has stressed that no employee in the Defense Department is under suspicion at present. The leak critically undermines America’s trustworthiness not just with Israel, but with the rest of the world.
President Donald Trump believes the leaker is coming from within, as do most other people not existentially committed to the social experiment that is the DNC-CCP agenda.
Trump said, “They leaked all the information about the way that Israel’s going to fight and how they are going to fight and where they are going to go. And somebody — who did that? Can you imagine somebody doing that? That’s the enemy. I guess that maybe is the enemy from within, as I talked about. We have an enemy from within. They hate to talk about it. Can you imagine? So we just can’t stand for this incompetence anymore.”
The U.S. is investigating an unauthorized release of classified documents on Israel’s attack plans– www.washingtontimes.com Source Link Excerpt:
The United States is investigating an unauthorized release of classified documents that assess Israel’s plans to attack Iran, three U.S. officials told The Associated Press. A fourth U.S. official said the documents appear to be legitimate.
The documents are attributed to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency, and note that Israel was still moving military assets in place to conduct a military strike in response to Iran’s blistering ballistic missile attack on Oct. 1. They were sharable within the “Five Eyes,” which are the U.S., Great Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.
The documents, which are marked top secret, were posted to the Telegram messaging app and first reported Saturday by CNN and Axios. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
The investigation is also examining how the documents were obtained — including whether it was an intentional leak by a member of the U.S. intelligence community or obtained by another method, like a hack — and whether any other intelligence information was compromised, one of the officials said. As part of that investigation, officials are working to determine who had access to the documents before they were posted, the official said.
Trump suggests ‘enemy from within’ is responsible for Israel leak– www.washingtonexaminer.com Source Link Excerpt:
Former President Donald Trump used his “enemies from within” line to suggest that Americans were responsible for a classified documents leak.
Trump claimed without evidence that an “enemy from within” leaked highly classified U.S. intelligence documents involving Israel. The FBI is investigating the incident.
“They leaked all the information about the way that Israel’s going to fight and how they are going to fight and where they are going to go. And somebody — who did that? Can you imagine somebody doing that? That’s the enemy. I guess that maybe is the enemy from within, as I talked about,” Trump said at an event focused on Latino leaders Tuesday.
“We have an enemy from within,” Trump continued, adding, “They hate to talk about it. Can you imagine? So we just can’t stand for this incompetence anymore.”
White House officials have said it has not been determined yet whether the documents were leaked or hacked, but they said they do not expect additional leaks. The documents in question were each dated Oct. 15 and Oct. 16, purportedly from U.S. government agencies, including the National Security Agency and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. Their contents focused on Israel’s expected retaliatory attack against Iran.
While it is unclear exactly who “they” Trump is referring to, he did reaffirm that his “enemies from within” line is, in fact, referring to his political opponents. When asked on Fox News to clarify his comments about using law enforcement or the military against those who disagree with him, Trump confirmed he was talking about former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA).
“What they’ve done is so terrible. Who’s ever heard of anything like this? Adam shifty Schiff. He’s a crooked guy. He’s a crooked politician. 100% he’s going to be a senator,” Trump said on Sunday. “Of course, he’s an enemy. He’s an enemy. He wanted to put my son in jail.”
“We have a lot of bad people. But when you look at Shifty Schiff and some of the others, yeah, they are, to me, the enemy from within. I think Nancy Pelosi is an enemy from within. She lied,” Trump continued.
FBI Investigates Leak on Israel’s Iran Strike Plans – devdiscourse
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed no employees from the Office of the Secretary of Defense are under investigation for a leak concerning Israel’s strike on Iran. The FBI is probing the release of classified documents, while social media falsely accused a Defense Department employee.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has confirmed that no employees from the Office of the Secretary of Defense are currently being scrutinized in relation to a leak of U.S. intelligence about Israel’s plans to strike Iran. Speaking in Rome, Austin assured reporters that no OSD officials have been implicated in the investigation.
According to the FBI, the inquiry is focused on the unauthorized public disclosure of two highly classified documents that detail Israel’s intention for a retaliatory operation against Iran. The Bureau made this announcement on Tuesday, reinforcing a commitment to uncover the source of the leak.
Israel targets Hezbollah-run banks as U.S. probes alleged leak of Iran attack plan– www.cbsnews.com Source Link Excerpt:
The White House says President Biden is “deeply concerned” about the possible leak of American intelligence about Israel’s plans for an attack on Iran. Meanwhile, Israel is turning up pressure on Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, targeting the group’s financial network. Debora Patta reports.
The BRICS coalition of nations, which started out as a 5-nation coalition, expanded to include 4 new countries (Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, UAE), and now includes a couple dozen more countries wanting in to the club, met again this year, with the prevailing theme being the urgency of creating a world financial alternative to the western-dominated one. Russia is leading the charge, with China right beside, and both are now pushing for a gold-backed BRICS currency.
Russia’s Finance Minister Anton Siluanov declared,” The IMF and the World Bank are not performing their roles. They are not working in the interests of BRICS countries. It is necessary to form new conditions or even new institutions, similar to the Bretton Woods institutions, but within the framework of our community, within the framework of BRICS.”
The BRICS Coalition, with some exceptions, seems to be forming a Global South Coalition rather than an Eastern one, meaning the polarity of world power is starting to form around northern and southern powers (with some notable exceptions, such as Russia) rather than Eastern and Western ones (which also includes exceptions).
Anti-West BRICS Summit Unites Biggest U.S. Enemies – PJ Media– pjmedia.com Source Link Excerpt:
The BRICS coalition of nations, which last year touted its expansion and determination to undermine U.S. currency’s global status, is once again bringing together powerful dictatorships to challenge the West, especially America.
As the world’s greatest mass murderer, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), dictatorial Russia, jihad-sponsoring Iran, and the other regime leaders of the BRICS nations gather in Russia for the BRICS Summit, the CCP has made it clear that the nations’ coalition is a rival to the West. “Unlike the ideological offensive and defensive alliances formed by some Western countries, the BRICS cooperation mechanism embraces diverse political systems and economic development models,” CCP outlet Global Times babbled. It’s propaganda but still worth noting, especially in light of last year‘s BRICS goal of de-dollarization — a move away from the U.S. dollar as world reserve currency. That’s a goal the CCP highlighted again this year.
This comes as an unknown number of Chinese spies infiltrate through our southern border as illegal aliens. Indeed, The Federalist covered a Congressional report last week that Chinese Communist spying has increased across 20 states since pro-China Joe Biden and Kamala Harris took office. The CCP wants to prevent a Trump presidency, undermine the U.S. dollar, and keep the U.S. weak — which is exactly what Russia and Iran want, too. These countries arespying on the U.S. and funding our politicians. Yes, BRICS is a threat, but that is why we need new leadership in America from the White House on down.
In the article I cited above, CCP’s Global Times used a lot of nonsense words to emphasize its ambitious goals for BRICS.
From the Middle East to Africa, from Asia to Latin America, the expansion of BRICS is an inevitable result of aligning with globalization trends to promote win-win cooperation. The expanded “Greater BRICS” now accounts for nearly half of the world’s population, with greater strength and broader representation…the economic output of the “Greater BRICS,” calculated by purchasing power parity, has already surpassed that of the G7…joining BRICS helps promote economic development, improve trade levels, attract more investment, reduce reliance on the US dollar, and enhance their country’s international standing…
Additionally, the charm of the “Greater BRICS” lies in that in an increasingly fragmented world, it allows the Global South, which lags behind the West in economic development, to see the power of unity and collaboration, as well as the hope of catching up
In another article, Global Times pontificated, “While organizations such as the United Nations and the World Bank remain crucial, BRICS brings new energy and perspectives by prioritizing the needs and aspirations of the Global South.” The CCP outlet added:
A key contribution of BRICS lies in its efforts to advance inclusive economic globalization. For decades, the benefits of global economic growth have disproportionately flowed to the West, leaving much of the developing world on the margins. Closer and enlarged BRICS cooperation promises to rebalance this dynamic by promoting investment, infrastructure development, and trade that align with the specific priorities of the Global South.
BRICS aims to rival and eventually usurp the power of corrupt globalist organizations like the UN. Of course, the Islamic jihadis backed by Iran and the CCP already seem to dominate the UN. Yes, this is what it looks like when genocidal dictatorships try to take over the world. That’s not Sci-fi or comic book exaggeration; it’s reality.
The CCP is extremely open about its goal of being the “Middle Kingdom,” by which it means the center of the world, the sun around which all other nations revolve. The Iranian regime has affirmed that “Death to America” is one of its main slogans, and it has threatened to assassinate Donald Trump and other U.S. politicians. Russia hates the Biden-Harris administration for funding Ukrainian oligarchs. The other BRICS nations, including Brazil, also resent U.S. influence.
All of which is to say that when you vote this year, don’t just vote for Republicans who will take on domestic problems, but for leaders like Donald Trump who will challenge and contain the dictators desperate to destroy us.
Russia urges BRICS to create global financial alternative to Western-controlled IMF – Firstpost Source Link Excerpt:
…. Russia as the current chair of the BRICS group has urged the member countries to form an alternative to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in a bid to counterbalance the political influence exerted by Western nations ahead of the upcoming BRICS summit this month.,,
Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, who is hosting the meeting, said the global financial system is controlled by Western countries and that the group, which represents 37% of the global economy, needs to create an alternative.
”The IMF and the World Bank are not performing their roles. They are not working in the interests of BRICS countries,” Siluanov said at an event on the first day of the meeting.
”It is necessary to form new conditions or even new institutions, similar to the Bretton Woods institutions, but within the framework of our community, within the framework of BRICS,” Siluanov added.
BRICS Summit Kicks Off With Welcome To “Record Gold Prices”– wltreport.com Source Link Excerpt:
An expanding group of nations are backing a new form of money aimed at disrupting the Western status quo and dethroning the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency.
At a meeting this week, representatives from these BRICS nations met to discuss their strategy at a summit that coincided with an all-time record-high price for gold.
— Peter Spina ⚒ GoldSeek | SilverSeek (@goldseek) October 22, 2024
That “new world order” involves a gold-back currency that could become an existential threat to the U.S. dollar and, as nations around the world invest in gold as a hedge, the precious metal’s price continues to soar.
Russia hosts BRICS summit, pushes new world order agenda to rival West – cnbc Source Link Excerpt:
Russia is rolling out the red carpet to its geopolitical allies as it hosts the latest BRICS summit on Tuesday, pushing its agenda to create a “new world order” that challenges the West.
The group was initially comprised of Brazil, Russia, India and China before South Africa joined in 2010, giving the organization of rapidly economically-developing nations its current name. It has since morphed into a geopolitical forum for the world’s most powerful nations outside of the West.
The BRICS now have additional clout after Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates joined the group in January, with membership to the bloc becoming an attractive prospect for countries looking to boost trade, investment and economic development.
Russia has been trying to woo what’s collectively known as the “Global South” — or economically-developing countries in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America — and contrast to the “Global North” of industrialized nations, traditionally led by the U.S.
Russian President Vladimir Putin frequently comments on his ambition to establish what he calls a “new world order” to rival and usurp the geopolitical and economic pre-eminence enjoyed by the U.S.-led West.
Russia, holder of the rotating BRICS presidency and economically isolated and heavily sanctioned by the West, can also turn to this year’s summit to demonstrate that it still commands respect on the global stage and has powerful allies willing to turn a blind eye to its ongoing war in Ukraine.
Putin has described the beefed-up BRICS group as a “strong indication of the growing authority of the association and its role in international affairs” and signaled on Friday that he intends for the so-called “BRICS +” format to challenge the West on both a geopolitical and economic front.
“The countries in our association are essentially the drivers of global economic growth. In the foreseeable future, BRICS will generate the main increase in global GDP,” Putin told officials and businessmen last Friday at the BRICS business forum in Moscow, which precedes the group’s summit, in comments translated by Reuters.
“The economic growth of BRICS members will increasingly depend less on external influence or interference. This is essentially economic sovereignty,” Putin added.
Earlier in October, Putin said Moscow was open to using the summit for discussions with its allies on the “the parameters of interaction in the emerging multipolar world, and is open to discussing the issues of building a new world order with all our friends, partners and like-minded people,” he said, according to Russian state-owned news agency Tass.
Putin added that “it is in this spirit that we are preparing the BRICS and Outreach/BRICS Plus summit,” referring to the last day of the three-day summit when officials from almost 40 Asian, African, Middle Eastern and Latin American countries are attending as part of the group’s bid to expand ties with the “Global South.”
PM’s Modi Full Speech At 16th BRICS Summit In Russia– www.ndtv.com Source Link Excerpt:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today strongly pitched for “single-minded” focus and “firm support” of all in combating terrorism, asserting that there is no place for “double standards” to deal with the challenge. In an address at the 16th BRICS Summit, PM Modi also underlined the need to take “active steps” to stop the radicalisation of young people.
Here’s PM Modi’s full speech at the BRICS Summit.
Your Highness,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Congratulations to President Putin for the excellent organisation of the 16th BRICS Summit.
And, once again, a warm welcome to all the new friends who have joined BRICS. In its new avatar, BRICS accounts for 40 per cent of the world’s humanity and about 30 per cent of the global economy.
In the last nearly two decades, BRICS has achieved many milestones.I am confident that in the times to come, this organisation will emerge as a more effective medium to face global challenges.
I would also like to convey warm greetings to Her Excellency Dilma Rousseff, President of the New Development Bank.
Friends,
In the last 10 years, this bank has emerged as an important option for the development needs of the countries of the Global South. The opening of GIFT or Gujarat International Finance Tech City in India as well as regional centres in Africa and Russia has boosted the activities of this bank. And, development projects worth about $35 billion have been sanctioned. NDB should continue to work on the basis of the demand driven principle. And, while expanding the bank, ensuring long-term financial sustainability, healthy credit rating and market access should remain a priority.
Friends,
In its new expanded avatar, BRICS has emerged as an economy of more than $30 trillion. The BRICS Business Council and the BRICS Women Business Alliance have played a special role in increasing our economic cooperation.
This year, the consensus reached within BRICS on WTO reforms, trade facilitation in agriculture, resilient supply chains, e-commerce and Special Economic Zones will strengthen our economic cooperation. Amidst all these initiatives, we should also focus on the interests of small and medium scale industries.
I am pleased that the BRICS Startup Forum proposed during India’s presidency in 2021 will be launched this year. The Railway Research Network initiative taken by India is also playing an important role in increasing logistics and supply chain connectivity among BRICS countries. This year, the consensus reached by BRICS countries, in collaboration with UNIDO, to prepare a skilled workforce for Industry 4.0 is quite significant.
The BRICS Vaccine R&D Centre launched in 2022 is helping increase health security in all the countries. We would be happy to share India’s successful experience in Digital Health with BRICS partners.
Friends,
Climate change has been a subject of our common priority. The consensus reached for the BRICS Open Carbon Market Partnership under Russia’s presidency is welcome. In India too, special emphasis is being laid on green growth, climate resilient infrastructure and green transition. Indeed, India has taken up several initiatives like the International Solar Alliance, Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, Mission LiFE i.e. Lifestyle for Environment, Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam.
Last year, during COP-28, we started an important initiative called Green Credit. I invite BRICS partners to join these initiatives.
Special emphasis is being laid on the construction of infrastructure in all BRICS countries. We have established a digital platform called the Gati-Shakti portal to rapidly expand multi-modal connectivity in India. This has helped in integrated infrastructure development planning and implementation and has reduced logistics costs.
We will be happy to share our experiences with all of you.
Friends,
We welcome efforts to increase financial integration among BRICS countries.
Trade in local currencies and smooth cross-border payments will strengthen our economic cooperation. The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) developed by India is a huge success story and has been adopted in many countries.
Last year, together with His Highness Sheikh Mohamed, it was launched in the UAE as well. We can also cooperate with other BRICS countries in this area.
Friends,
India is fully committed to increasing cooperation under BRICS. Our strong belief in our diversity and multipolarity is our strength. This strength of ours, and our shared belief in humanity, will help in giving a meaningful shape to a prosperous and a bright future for the generations to come.
I thank everyone for today’s very important and valuable discussions. As the next President of BRICS, I extend my heartfelt best wishes to President Lula. India will give its full support for the success of your BRICS presidency.
Once again, many thanks to President Putin and all the leaders.
(This is the approximate translation of the Prime Minister’s remarks. Original remarks were delivered in Hindi.)
An article in The National Interest has highlighted a potential critical fail in America’s war strategy, especially as it relates to her number one threat, China. The article highlights the development of one American Ford Class Aircraft Carrier, $13 billion, contrasted with a Chinese Frigate armed with hypersonic missiles, operating at a fraction of the cost of an aircraft carrier.
The world is building cheap systems to destroy carriers while America continues to direct more of its resources to these increasingly legacy platforms. The game-changer is the hypersonic missile, though, as of yet, no country has demonstrated reliable accuracy with these missiles, it is only a matter of time before that part is mastered as well, and then America’s massive military advantage, its aircraft carriers, will be over.
The Navy Is Freaked: The Age of Big Warships Is Just About Done – nationalinterest.org Source Link Excerpt:
What You Need to Know: The dominance of large surface warships, especially aircraft carriers, is increasingly threatened by advanced anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) systems developed by adversaries like China. Hypersonic missiles and other sophisticated weapons, such as China’s Dong-Feng 26B, pose a significant risk to these expensive platforms.
-The U.S. Navy’s reliance on carriers is becoming a liability in potential conflicts, as seen in Russia’s losses during the Ukraine War.
-To counter A2/AD threats, the U.S. must expand its submarine fleet, develop unmanned drones, and invest in hypersonic weapons. However, the Navy continues to prioritize legacy systems like carriers over future-proof solutions.
For centuries, navies around the world have taken pride in their large surface warships. The dominance of these warships persisted even after the advent of submarines. In fact, during the Second World War, when submarines became a primary weapons platform for navies, the aircraft carrier stole all the headlines.
Today, however, things are changing…
The rise of anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) means that the large surface warship’s days as the primary form of power projection in a naval fleet are coming to an end.
Consider that the Ford-class aircraft carrier, America’s newest, costs $13 billion per unit, plus hundreds of millions of dollars per year to maintain. The more numerous Nimitz-class aircraft carriers, while older than the Ford-class, are also very expensive.
An aircraft carrier is a large, highly complex warship. Its purpose is to maneuver a floating airbase near the territory of an enemy in order to threaten that rival with precise and consistent airstrikes.
Yet for a fraction of the cost, China’s Dong-Feng 26B missile can either sink an aircraft carrier outright or simply destroy its flight deck, rendering the carrier useless in battle.
The carrier is the primary means of American power projection. Its absence or limitation leaves a critical gap in U.S. military capabilities. That is a strategic gap that a rival like China can easily exploit.
It’s not just aircraft carriers that are vulnerable to China’s growing anti-ship capabilities. Other surface warships are also targets.
The Chinese military has developed a growing coterie of hypersonic weapons capabilities that it is planning to launch against incoming U.S. warships. Whatever defenses those warships have against conventional anti-ship missiles, there are no known countermeasures on U.S. warships to protect against these hypersonic systems.
The Democrats are pushing a version of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 that would essentially force women to join the potential war draft pool in 28 states, the states that automatically register their citizens for “Selective Service,” the mechanism through which citizens get drafted and sent off to war.
Senate Armed Service Committee Chair Jack Reed (D-RI) is pushing the change in language that would effectively make women eligible for the draft. He defended the move, saying “if we were in a situation requiring a draft, I think we would need all able-bodied citizens 18 and above.”
Democrats are quietly pushing to include women in the draft– www.lifesitenews.com Source Link Excerpt:
… Although it seems to have been kept somewhat quiet, if the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 becomes law, Democrats are going to require females in America to sign up for the draft.
American women, their husbands, their fathers, and their brothers should understand this: the requirement for females to be included in the draft is already in a bill, and if it is approved this year, American women’s lives will be drastically different from those of previous generations of women in this country.
Over the last few years, especially during Kamala Harris’ time as Vice President, Democrats have supported requiring women to sign up for the selective service military draft, and thus potentially to be forced into the military. Republicans have opposed expanding the draft to include women.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Jack Reed, a Democrat, defended expanding the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 requiring the draft to include females by saying that “if we were in a situation requiring a draft, I think we would need all able-bodied citizens 18 and above.”
It seems the Biden-Harris administration has made America a safe space for at least one of her sworn existential enemies, the Chinese Communist Party. A report from the Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence claims “CCP-related espionage and acts of transnational repression” have spiked under the Biden-Harris administration’s watch.
Homeland Security Committee Chair Mark Green (R-TN) said in the report, “Beijing has continually encroached upon American sovereignty to spy, intimidate, and harass not only defectors, but even American citizens. It is important we remain clear-eyed about the threat the CCP poses to the security of the American people so we are prepared to counter its malign influence at every turn.”
CCP Spying ‘Expanded Rapidly’ Under Biden-Harris– thefederalist.com Source Link Excerpt:
Chinese Communist Party (CCP) spying in the United States “expanded rapidly” under the Biden-Harris administration’s watch, according to a congressional report released Thursday.
Published by the House Homeland Security Committee’s House Committee On Homeland Security’s Subcommittee On Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, And Intelligence, the assessment details how cases of “CCP-related espionage and acts of transnational repression” have significantly increased since President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris took office. The analysis was first reported by The Daily Caller News Foundation.
“Beijing has continually encroached upon American sovereignty to spy, intimidate, and harass not only defectors, but even American citizens,” Committee Chair and Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn. said in a statement. “It is important we remain clear-eyed about the threat the CCP poses to the security of the American people so we are prepared to counter its malign influence at every turn.”
According to the report, there have been more than 55 “CCP-related espionage cases in 20 states” from January 2021-October 2024. These have included incidents related to “transmission of sensitive military information to [the People’s Republic of China] PRC,” “stealing of trade secrets to benefit the PRC,” “transnational repression schemes to target PRC dissidents,” and “obstruction of justice.”
The U.S. is now threatening to cut off aid to Israel if they don’t provide more humanitarian aid to Hamas. The Biden administration is giving Israel 30 days to improve the humanitarian crisis in Gaza or risk losing U.S. military aid. The threat comes as Israel prepares to respond to Iran’s missile assault. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin both signed the letter sent to Netanyahu.
Biden Threatens to Halt Military Aid to Israel if Humanitarian Conditions in Gaza ‘Not Improved’– legalinsurrection.com Source Link Excerpt:
With Hamas holding over a hundred Israeli hostages for more than a year and terrorists regrouping in northern Gaza, President Joe Biden’s administration has reportedly threatened to cut U.S. military aid to Israel if humanitarian conditions in the Palestinian enclave are ‘not improved’ in the next 30 days.
“The Biden administration sent a letter to Israeli leaders on Monday demanding Israel take steps within 30 days to improve the dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza or risk the supply of U.S. weapons to Israel being affected,” Israeli journalist Barak Ravid reported in the new website Axios.
“The Biden administration is extremely concerned about the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Gaza, especially as Israeli Defense Forces renew their operations in the northern Gaza Strip,” Ravid noted.
A recent letter jointly signed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin threatened to halt U.S. military aid.
“In the letter, Blinken and Austin said recent evacuation orders issued by the IDF to the population in Gaza have forced about 1.7 million Palestinians into a small strip of land on the Gaza coast, exposing them to dangerous diseases.” the Axios article said. “They added that international aid organizations claim they can’t address the needs of Palestinian civilians and that trucks of humanitarian aid paid for by the U.S. are being held up by Israel at the border crossings with Gaza.”
The ultimatum from Washington comes as Israeli ground troops are pressing ahead with a ground offensive against Hamas terrorist forces regrouping in the area of Jabaliya, northern Gaza.
🚨IDF forces of the 162nd Division have been operating for over a week in Jabaliya, North Gaza. The area is cut off, dozens of Hams terrorists have been neutralized, and many weapon stores have been uncovered. The fight continues. pic.twitter.com/vmuhLoCAjO
While Biden White House is putting pressure on Israel, Hamas is doing everything possible to maximize civilian casualties in Gaza. The Iran-backed jihadist group is using brute force to stop Gazans from moving to designated safe zones as the Israeli military advances on the Hamas stronghold of Jabaliya.
“Hamas is actively preventing Gazan civilians from heeding the IDF’s calls to move away from the combat zone in Jabaliya,” the IDF said in a press statement Monday. “In one conversation between an IDF representative and a Gazan civilian during the evacuation, the Gazan civilian described how Hamas forces were hitting them with sticks in order to prevent them from evacuating from the area.”
Since October 1, over 9,000 tons of humanitarian aid including food, water, gas, shelter equipment and medical supplies have entered Gaza through various crossings.
As shown in the video, some of the aid was transferred directly into northern Gaza. pic.twitter.com/gYslbAQfNv
The military “remains committed to facilitating humanitarian aid, especially in the medical field, while continuing its efforts to dismantle Hamas’ military and governance infrastructure embedded inside civilian areas,” the IDF assured in a statement Tuesday.
Iran’s Quds Force chief Qaani, missing for weeks after Beirut airstrike, shown on state TV
The top general of Iran’s Islamic Guard (IRGC) and chief of the Quds Force, Esmail Qaani, has finally appeared on state TV after weeks of speculations about his fate. Qaani, who is in charge of Iran’s international terrorist activities, went missing in late September after an Israeli airstrike in Beirut targeted Hezbollah’s new likely chief, Hashem Safieddine.
Recent Arab media reports suggested that the Quds Force chief was being interrogated by the IRGC for allegedly passing on intelligence to Israel.
Putting an end to weeks of speculation about his fate, Esmail Ghaani, the commander of Iran’s elite Quds Force, made a public appearance at Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport early Tuesday. His presence dispels rumors of his death or injury that had circulated following an Israeli airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburbs in late September.
In the pre-dawn hours of Tuesday, Esmail Ghaani, commander of Iran’s Quds Force, was spotted at Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport. He was there to receive the body of Abbas Nilforoushan, a high-ranking official of the organization in Lebanon, who was killed alongside Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut.
Iran’s state television aired on Tuesday morning footage showing Esmail Qaani, the commander of the Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards during a ceremony that was held for the arrival of the body of Abbas Nilforoushan, the IRGC’s regional commander who was killed in Lebanon.… pic.twitter.com/qOtMbP0ssX
Qaani was promoted to lead the Quds Forces in early 2020 after his predecessor Qassem Soleimani was killed in a U.S. airstrike ordered by President Donald Trump.
Israeli airstrike eliminates Hezbollah’s drone commander in Southern Lebanon
The Israeli armed forces eliminated a senior Hezbollah drone commander in a recent airstrike in southern Lebanon, the IDF announced Tuesday.
“A few days ago, the IAF [Israeli Air Force] eliminated the terrorist Khader Al-Abed Bahja, responsible for the area north of the Litani River in the Hezbollah terrorist organization’s Aerial Unit in the area of Nabatieh,” the IDF disclosed in a statement. “Under Bahja’s command, numerous aerial attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops were carried out from the area, making use of UAVs, surveillance aircraft, and explosive aircraft.”
Hezbollah’s Iranian-supplied drones pose a serious threat to Israeli military and civilians alike. On Sunday night, four Israeli soldiers were killed, and nearly 60 servicemen and civilians were injured in a Hezbollah drone strike in northern Israel.
As the Israeli ground offensive in Southern Lebanon enters its third week. The air force hit terror targets all across the Hezbollah-dominated country. “Over the past day, in coordination with ground troops, the IAF struck more than 200 Hezbollah terrorist targets in southern Lebanon and deep within Lebanon, including terrorist cells, anti-tank missile posts, and surface-to-surface missile launchers,” the IDF disclosed Tuesday.
IDF captures Hezbollah operatives in southern Lebanon, brings them for interrogation to Israel
Israeli troops arrested three Hezbollah terror operatives in southern Lebanon. The terrorist, members od Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force, have been brought to Israel for interrogation, the IDF confirmed Tuesday.
🚨BREAKING🚨IDF forces captured 3 Hezbollah terrorists from the Radwan Force after they surrendered when they were located in an underground tunnel inside a Lebanese village. They were interrogated by Unit 504 and then brought to Israel for further investigation. pic.twitter.com/tds2JkDgjS
The IDF says it has arrested three members of the Hezbollah terror group’s elite Radwan force.
The three Radwan members were found in a shaft underneath a building, the IDF says.
The three were interrogated in the field after surrendering and were subsequently transferred to a prison facility in Israel.
The IDF separately publishes a video clip of the interrogation of a Hezbollah operative who claims that Radwan fighters ran away following Israel’s assassination of Hassan Nasrallah
The Department of Defense is attempting to change the rules of engagement between the military and U.S. citizens through a directive, not legislation. That directive expands the instances in which the military can use lethal force against Americans. The directive specifically defines lethal force use to include “imminent threat” or “national security emergencies.”
GreenMedInfo highlights the key change: In the 2016 version, the directive primarily focused on intelligence collection and ensuring civil liberties protections for U.S. persons. It emphasized strict oversight and the need for authorization before collecting U.S. person information.
However, the 2024 version expands the military’s role, particularly in assisting civil law enforcement, and authorizes lethal force under specific conditions, raising questions about its use during potential civil unrest surrounding the election.
Department Of Defense Directive Authorizes U.S. Military To Use Lethal Force Against Americans On U.S. Soil, Ron Paul Warns– wltreport.com Source Link Excerpt:
On an episode of the Ron Paul Liberty Report, Ron Paul and co-host Daniel McAdams warned about an ominous directive issued by the Department of Defense.
“Police State Update — Will We See U.S. troops, On U.S. Soil, Using Lethal Force Against Americans?” Ron Paul wrote.
Paul warned the directive is “very, very dangerous.”
McAdams displayed an article picked up by Zero Hedge and thought the headline was an exaggeration.
“It’s not a law. It’s a DoD Directive,” McAdams said.
“The administrative state where they take over. They don’t pass laws. They are laws unto themselves,” he continued.
“It talks about a reissued DoD Directive that was reissued just on September 27th, 2024. It governs the Department of Defense Intelligence Activities and now includes provisions authorizing lethal force in certain circumstances and it supplants the 2016 version which did not mention that,” McAdams continued.
North Carolina approves $273M for Helene victims in first act of many– www.washingtonexaminer.com Source Link Excerpt:
(The Center Square) – In the first legislative session since Hurricane Helene devastated North Carolina, lawmakers proposed the “first step” in many to provide aid and financial assistance to those in need.
The Disaster Recovery Act of 2024 will dole out $273 million, mostly to different state agencies and local governments who can then use the money to help those most affected. Helene has killed 237 across six states in the Southeast.
All of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s suggestions for displaced voters are included in the bill.
“Recovering from Hurricane Helene will be no small task,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, at a Wednesday press conference. “But, I believe we, the state of North Carolina, and the people of North Carolina are up to that task.”
ABC Accuses Trump, Rubio, Graham of Treason, Tells Them to Leave U.S.– www.newsbusters.org Source Link Excerpt:
ABC’s The View continued to spew their stochastic terrorism during Wednesday’s show as co-host Joy Behar, without evidence, accused former President Trump and Senators Lindsey Graham (SC) and Marco Rubio (FL) of treason, a crime which carried the death penalty. Moderator Whoopi Goldberg followed up by demanding they and Republicans leave the country to live under a dictatorship.
Their comments were spurred on by unverified claims made by former journalist and author Bob Woodward, who claimed in a new book that Trump sent COVID tests to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
Behar seemed to hold up the Kremlin as a credible source as she declared Trump guilty of treason:
And by the way, the Kremlin has confirmed that he sent the COVID tests to the Kremlin when Americans were in need of the COVID tests. Now, that is – I believe – that is the definition of a traitor. Am I wrong?
A short time later, she suggested that Graham and Rubio could also be guilty of treason because they support Trump for president:
BEHAR:By the way, does this make Lindsey Graham, Marco Rubio at least step up to the plate and say maybe we’re dealing with a traitor and maybe that makes us traitors?
(…)
BEHAR: I mean, they have not said a word.
She also lied about Trump not sending aid to blue states during the COVID pandemic. Despite the fact that he had funneled ventilators and a U.S. Navy hospital to New York City (while then-Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo was busy putting COVID patients into nursing homes), Behar denied any of that happened:
The thing about this is that during the COVID pandemic, the blue states didn’t support him, so he didn’t want to send the tests to the blue states, Trump. And he’ll do that again, by the way. Cause he’s – He’s already signaled that, you know, he’s not going to help the blue states in case there is a hurricane or something. If you didn’t vote for him, he’s not going to help you because he’s only the president of the red states who voted for him.
Faux conservative Alyssa Farah Griffin, who used to work for Trump, didn’t want to share the truth. Instead, she gave the credit for blue state aid to her personal friend Dr. Fauci:
And by the way, one of the reasons who’s around a present matters is because supplies during COVID did get to blue states because of people like Dr. Fauci and Deborah Birx and people within the government who said you have to help New York as much as you have to, you know, a red state like Ohio.
As they approached the end of the segment, Goldberg lashed out and seemingly demanded that all named previously and The View’s critics should leave the country.
“I say, because y’all always saying for us to go, you go find somewhere, no, I’m going to invite you to do the same. You go and you live under a dictatorship because I want you to be able to come back and talk about it like you know something, not what you think, but what you know-know,” she screeched.
The transcript is below. Click “expand” to read:
ABC’s The View
October 9, 2024
11:04:37 a.m. Eastern
(…)
JOY BEHAR: The thing about this is that during the COVID pandemic, the blue states didn’t support him, so he didn’t want to send the tests to the blue states, Trump.
SUNNY HOSTIN: Yeah.
BEHAR: And he’ll do that again, by the way. Cause he’s – He’s already signaled that, you know, he’s not going to help the blue states in case there is a hurricane or something. If you didn’t vote for him, he’s not going to help you because he’s only the president of the red states who voted for him.
And by the way, the Kremlin has confirmed that he sent the COVID tests to the Kremlin when Americans were in need of the COVID tests. Now, that is – I believe – that is the definition of a traitor. Am I wrong?
HOSTIN: No.
ALYSSA FARH GRIFFIN: And by the way, one of the reasons who’s around a present matters is because supplies during COVID did get to blue states because of people like Dr. Fauci and Deborah Birx and people within the government who said you have to help New York as much as you have to, you know, a red state like Ohio.
(…)
11:08:52 a.m. Eastern
BEHAR: He wants Trump to win, that’s why. That’s why a lot of stuff you see online is coming from Russia. By the way, does this make Lindsey Graham, Marco Rubio at least step up to the plate and say maybe we’re dealing with a traitor and maybe that makes us traitors?
WHOOPI GOLDBERG: Clearly not.
SARA HAINES: No.
BEHAR: I mean, they have not said a word.
(…)
11:10:09 a.m. Eastern
GOLDBERG: So, yeah, you know, I feel like if you want — if you really feel that strongly about staying in touch with, you know, dictators, try living in a country with one. I say, because y’all always saying for us to go, you go find somewhere, no, I’m going to invite you to do the same. You go and you live under a dictatorship because I want you to be able to come back and talk about it like you know something, not what you think, but what you know-know. I want you to tell us what — come back and tell us what that two-year experience has been like and then let us decide if we want to join it.
Hurricane Milton struck the west coast of Florida late Wednesday, October 9, 2024. Before it struck the coast, multiple tornadoes touched down, with one tornado reported killing 5 citizens. The storm surge appears to have been mercifully less than expected. So far, 12 are confirmed dead, but that number is expected to rise. 3 million people are reported without power.
At least 12 deaths confirmed; power outages, flooding still major concerns – nbcnews.com Source Link Excerpt:
The Tampa Bay Rays said they’re in no hurry to determine to damage to their ballpark, Tropicana Field, inflicted by Hurricane Milton.
Nearly all the panels were blown off the domed stadium’s roof last night or this morning as the storm passed through.
“Our priority is supporting our community and our staff. We are fortunate and grateful that no one was hurt by the damage to our ballpark last night,” the team said in a statement this afternoon.
“Over the coming days and weeks, we expect to be able to assess the true condition of Tropicana Field. In the meantime, we are working with law enforcement to secure the building.”
Hurricane Milton: Terrifying video shows tornado ripping up residential area– www.mirror.co.uk Source Link Excerpt:
People still remaining in the path of Hurricane Milton in Florida have now been warned “not to hunker down” as “10-foot storm surges” are expected in a matter of hours
The Moloch culture that is child transgenderism has led to the sterilization of over 13,000 children in the last 5 years, with 5,800 of those children receiving genital mutilation surgery and/or mastectomies. This leaves these children dependent on expensive chronic medical treatment that will make Big Pharma billions.
This leaves parents vulnerable to having their children sacrificed on the altar of Moloch by school teachers emboldened with Moloch-protecting “transgender child” laws that enable them to groom children to “consensually” sacrifice their very sexuality “for the good of the whole.”
Over 13,900 U.S. Kids Have Received Damaging ‘Sex Change’ Treatments (So Far) – PJ Media– pjmedia.com Source Link Excerpt:
Between 2019 and 2023, over 13,900 American kids received LGBTQ “sex change” treatments, temporarily or permanently damaging their growing bodies. U.S. leftists are really giving Moloch worshippers a run for their money on child sacrifice.
The medical advocacy group Do No Harm announced a groundbreaking database Oct. 8, the Stop the Harm Database, to record and expose the number of surgeries and “treatments” provided in the U.S. to kids that encourage the lie that people can change their biological sex. “With the launch of the Stop the Harm Database, Do No Harm is building on our mission to expose the dangers of experimental pediatric gender medicine and bring the practice to an end,” the group’s Chairman Dr. Stanley Goldfarb stated.
It is significant that the “transgender” surgery industry has been projected to reach up to a $5 billion value by the end of the decade. As Rush Limbaugh would say, follow the money.
From the Do No Harm accouncement:
Key National Findings (2019 to 2023):
13,994 children received sex change related treatments
5,747 sex change surgeries performed on children
62,682 hormone and puberty blockers prescriptions written for 8,579 pediatric patients.
At least $119,791,202 made from sex change treatments performed on minors
These numbers are just scratching the surface of how widespread these practices truly are.
Almost 5,800 Minor Patients had Irreversible Gender Surgeries Last 5 Years– legalinsurrection.com Source Link Excerpt:
In California, charges exceeded $28 million from over 2,000 minor patients, while Massachusetts saw around $10 million in expenses from 671 minor patients. New York also had one of the highest rates of transgender treatments for young people, with 1,154 minor patients undergoing sex changes between 2019 and 2023.
California, one of the first states to declare itself a “sanctuary state” for transgender procedures, also had the most irreversible surgeries, with 1,359 minors undergoing surgical procedures, followed by Oregon with 357, Washington with 330, Pennsylvania with 316 and Massachusetts with 300.
1. The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
2. Connecticut Children’s Medical Center
3. Children’s Minnesota
4. Seattle Children’s
5. Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
6. Boston Children’s Hospital
7. Rady Children’s Hospital (San Diego, CA)
8. Children’s National Medical Center (Washington, DC)
9. UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland
10. Children’s Hospital Colorado
11. UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh
12. Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
The database also records what medical facilities are providing these harmful “treatments” to kids, from puberty blockers to surgeries to cross-sex hormones. The majority of transgender youth are depressed and more likely to be suicidal, and most children naturally grow out of gender dysphoria if allowed to do so. Also, LGBTQ “treatments” can be physically harmful. For instance, cross-sex hormones can cause heart problems, blood clots, and infertility; puberty blockers can inflict lasting damage on kids’ body parts including bones and brains; and surgeriesleave youth mutilated and in pain from the body parts hacked off and artificially re-structured.
When one thinks about the major causes of death for industrialized countries, a familiar number of ailments come to mind — cancer and heart disease, for instance. In the past few years, COVID has also ranked high in some countries’ mortality tables. But Canada has a new leading cause of death that is both shocking and surprising: death by doctor.
That’s one of the major conclusions from a recent study that examined our neighbor to the north’s medical aid in dying laws and their grisly consequences. According to the study, assisted suicide now ranks alongside cardiovascular disease as Canada’s fifth leading cause of death. The number of assisted suicides rose thirteenfold from 2016 to 2022, to over 13,000 — this in a country with a population roughly one-tenth the size of the United States. And because some provinces do not report assisted suicide as the cause of death, the data actually under-estimates the impact of assisted suicide on Canadian mortality.
These results flow from decisions taken by policymakers to promote assisted suicide. Legislative expansions of a “right” first created by courts — i.e., the right to take one’s own life — have allowed for same-day suicide, and made conditions like vision and hearing loss eligible for aid in dying.
MILTON COMES IN WITH TORNADOES AND LEAVES WITH FLOODING, DESTRUCTION – Hurricane Milton struck the west coast of Florida late Wednesday, October 9, 2024. Before it struck the coast, multiple tornadoes touched down, with one tornado reported killing 5 citizens. The storm surge appears to have been mercifully less than expected. So far, 12 are confirmed dead, but that number is expected to rise. 3 million people are reported without power.
At least 5 killed in St. Lucie County after tornado outbreak, official says – wptv.com Source Link Excerpt:
ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. — As many as five people were killed Wednesday after at least two confirmed tornadoes tore through St. Lucie County, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday afternoon.
Erick Gill, a spokesperson for the county, said first responders are conducting “response and recovery efforts” after the twisters touched down starting at approximately 4:30 p.m. as Hurricane Milton closed in on Florida.
Sheriff Keith Pearson confirmed Wednesday afternoon that “multiple” people were killed at the Spanish Lakes Country Club, a senior community off Spanish Lakes Boulevard near Fort Pierce.
‘Looters Meeting Shooters’ Could Spread Hurricane Milton’s Destruction – ammoland.com Source Link Excerpt:
“Gov. DeSantis warns Milton looters could meet shooters in ‘Second Amendment state’,” Florida Politics reported Tuesday. The governor issued the warning while issuing preparedness updates for the approaching hurricane at the State Emergency Operations Center.
“If you go into somebody’s house after the storm passes, think that you’re going to be able to commit crimes, you’re going to get in really serious trouble,” DeSantis cautioned. “And quite frankly, you don’t know what’s behind that door in a Second Amendment state.”
That’s a continuation of “You loot, we Shoot” warnings DeSantis had issued for hurricanes Ian and Idalia in 2022 and 2023, the report reminds readers:
“At the end of the day, we are not going to allow lawlessness to take advantage of this situation. We are a law-and-order state, and this is a law-and-order community, so do not think that you’re going to go take advantage of people who’ve suffered misfortune.”
What to know about Hurricane Milton after it slammed Florida’s Gulf Coast – apnews.com Source Link Excerpt:
Florida residents and officials began assessing widespread damage Thursday after powerful Hurricane Milton brought strong winds, heavy rains and tornadoes as it moved toward the Gulf Coast and then barreled across the state.
Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters that officials will have a better understanding of the extent of the damage as the day progresses. “The storm was significant but thankfully, this was not the worst-case scenario,” he said.
The governor said the storm dumped up to 18 inches (45 centimeters) of rain in some areas, and officials reported completing dozens of high-water rescues.
This morning, October 9, 2024, Hurricane Milton, currently a category 4 hurricane, is already impacting the state of Florida ahead of its anticipated collision course later tonight. An historic evacuation of affected counties has already taken place, with officials like the Tampa Bay Mayor warning people if they stay, they die. We will be tracking this event as it unfolds through our Hurricane Milton Report.
Hurricane Milton Live Updates: Florida Braces for Category 4 Storm – The New York Times Source Link Excerpt:
Storm-weary residents of Florida’s Gulf Coast jammed roads and stewed in gas lines on Tuesday evening as they fled for safer ground ahead of Hurricane Milton. The Category 5 storm, with winds of 160 miles per hour, has prompted one of the largest evacuations in Florida history.
Tampa Bay braced for what could be its first direct hit from a major storm in more than a century as Milton barreled toward the region. “If you’re going to get out,” Gov. Ron DeSantis warned residents at a news conference, “get out now.”
UPDATE: Milton Explodes To CAT 5 Monster Storm (From CAT 2) in Under 3 Hours!– wltreport.com Source Link Excerpt:
UPDATE: In a rapidly developing situation, Hurricane Milton in the Gulf is currently breaking records. In under 3 hours the already dangerous storm exploded from a CAT 2 to CAT 5 storm as it barrels towards the Florida coast.
10/07/24 11am Major Hurricane Milton Update
⚠️Now a Category 5 Hurricane
⚠️If the storm stays on the current track, it will be the worst storm to impact the Tampa area in over 100 years.
⚠️Please evacuate if told to do so.
⚠️Complete all prep before tomorrow night. #flwxpic.twitter.com/Cq9tJsfr2A
This was the situation just as Milton sat on the verge of crossing the technical lines from a CAT 4 to a CAT 5, with winds only 2 mph shy of the CAT 5 rating – which it quickly surpassed just following this report:
Hurricane Milton is undergoing one of the fastest rapid intensifications ever observed in the Atlantic.
It is now a 155 mph Category 4 storm, just 2 mph shy of Category 5 status.
Not a single weather model predicted the storm would strengthen this quickly. pic.twitter.com/lqX76Ryvqv
Tampa Mayor Sounds the Alarm for Those in Evacuation Zones as Milton Approaches– www.westernjournal.com Source Link Excerpt:
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said Tuesday that Tampa residents have a life or death choice as Florida prepares for the coming of Hurricane Milton.
Noting that Tampa is currently predicted to have a 10 to 12-foot tidal surge, Castor said residents cannot expect to survive such an inundation.
“I can tell you right now they might have done that in others, there’s never been one like this,” Castor said in a CNN interview posted to YouTube.
“Helene was a wakeup call, this is literally catastrophic,” she added.
“And I can say without any dramatization whatsoever: If you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you’re gonna die,” she said. CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins was taken aback by the warning, which the mayor said she has never given before.
Largest Evacuation Since 2017 Commences In Florida, Hurricane Milton Rapidly Intensifies– wltreport.com Source Link Excerpt:
The state of Florida has initiated what’s likely the largest evacuation since 2017’s Hurricane Irma as Milton rapidly intensifies into a major storm.
“Florida state officials, along with emergency management, have announced that they are preparing for what could be the largest evacuation since Irma in 2017, as Hurricane Milton is expected to rapidly intensify into a major hurricane. Authorities are warning that this could be a catastrophic event, urging residents to take the situation seriously,” Rawsalerts wrote.
#BREAKING: Florida state officials, along with emergency management, have announced that they are preparing for what could be the largest evacuation since Irma in 2017, as Hurricane Milton is expected to rapidly intensify into a major hurricane. Authorities are warning that… pic.twitter.com/dTNw46Sd2r
“Major cities along Florida’s I-4 corridor are included in the forecast track for Milton, including Tampa and Orlando,” FOX Weather reports.
“Florida emergency management officials say the storm will likely lead to evacuations on a scale not seen in Florida since 2017 for Hurricane Irma,” the outlet added.
We’ve decided to stay— there are no flights out and driving North would put us in a potentially bad situation as so many are on the roads evacuating. #pray
This morning, October 9, 2024, Hurricane Milton, currently a category 4 hurricane, is already impacting the state of Florida ahead of its anticipated collision course later tonight. An historic evacuation of affected counties has already taken place, with officials like the Tampa Bay Mayor warning people if they stay, they die. We will be tracking this event as it unfolds through our Hurricane Milton Report.
Tampa Mayor Sounds the Alarm for Those in Evacuation Zones as Milton Approaches– www.westernjournal.com Source Link Excerpt:
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said Tuesday that Tampa residents have a life or death choice as Florida prepares for the coming of Hurricane Milton.
Noting that Tampa is currently predicted to have a 10 to 12-foot tidal surge, Castor said residents cannot expect to survive such an inundation.
“I can tell you right now they might have done that in others, there’s never been one like this,” Castor said in a CNN interview posted to YouTube.
“Helene was a wakeup call, this is literally catastrophic,” she added.
“And I can say without any dramatization whatsoever: If you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you’re gonna die,” she said. CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins was taken aback by the warning, which the mayor said she has never given before.
Moderna Caught Offering Children Cash to Test Covid ‘Boosters’– slaynews.com Source Link Excerpt:
Pharmaceutical giant Moderna has been caught offering children cash rewards for taking part in medical trials to test experimental Covid mRNA “booster” shots.
The company representatives were found to be using WhatsApp messages to minors in the UK.
The UK Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority (PMCPA) launched an investigation into the vaccine makers over complaints that Moderna was offering money to children between the ages of 12 and 18.
The WhatsApp messages offered children £1,500 ($1,962) each in return for being injected with experimental Covid mRNA “vaccines.”
The PMCPA ruled that the offer amounted to “inappropriate financial inducement.”
Moderna under fire after children offered cash to test Covid vaccine – The Telegraph UK
The UK Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority (PMCPA) ruled that the offer amounted to “inappropriate financial inducement” and found the company had brought “discredit upon the pharmaceutical industry”.
The offer was made by a paediatrician from an unnamed NHS trust, inviting those aged between 12 and 18 years old to enrol in the NextCove trial, which was examining the efficacy of Moderna’s booster jab.
The inducement was made even though a research ethics committee had warned about the “large amount of money” that Moderna was offering participants, and voiced concern it was “much higher than would be considered a reasonable reimbursement”.
The Japanese are being sold a bill of goods regarding the mRNA Covid-19 vaccine a rising number of citizens are saying. They’re warning other Japanese that the plan to roll out the vaccine, which they refer to as a “Replicon” vaccine, could be equivalent to a “Third Atomic Bomb” being set off in their nation.
Dr. Robert Malone, the mRNA inventor, has been meeting with these Japanese groups, reporting “I just came back from Tokyo where they had a 30,000-person rally because they’re about to deploy self-replicating RNA vaccines. Japan is being used as the guinea pig for the world for this new technology. The Japanese people are calling this the third atomic bomb.”
Japan Warns New Covid ‘Replicon Vaccines’ Are ‘Third Atomic Bomb’– slaynews.com Source Link Excerpt:
Leading experts in Japan are issuing unprecedented warnings about the new Covid self-amplifying “replicon” mRNA “vaccines.”
Some of Japan’s most prominent scientists, doctors, immunologists, and academics are sounding the alarm over the new injections.
They are warning that the “self-replicating RNA vaccines” are the “third atomic bomb.”
Dr. Robert Malone, the inventor of mRNA technology, has just returned from Japan where he met with experts to discuss the new injections.
As Slay News previously reported, the “replicon vaccines,” named ARCT-154, were recently approved for public use by the Japanese government and will be deployed later this month.
Malone revealed that there is an uprising emerging among the people of Japan.
Disaster Relief No Longer About Emergency Response, It’s About ‘Disaster Equity’ › American Greatness– amgreatness.com Source Link Excerpt:
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is supposed to be the government’s premier emergency relief organization in times of disaster, like the situation now faced by victims of Hurricane Helene’s aftermath in North Carolina and Tennessee.
But according to the FEMA website, the agency now places higher priority on instituting Diversity, Equity and Inclusivity guidelines than on easing the suffering of Americans displaced by disaster.
We just released our 2022-2026 Strategic Plan.
“We will remain focused on increasing equity in our programs & policies, leading resilience in a changing climate and strengthening the emergency management workforce.”– @FEMA_Deanne
More than two weeks after Hurricane Helene first hit American soil, residents in North Carolina are not only still counting their dead, but they’re also still finding them, and the morgues are overrun, so family backyards are becoming graveyards.
One North Carolina official quoted by the Spectator, said, “According to folks on the ground — fire, medical, law enforcement officials — they’re way underreporting the numbers. All the morgues are full and they’ve hauled a ton [of bodies] to Greensboro. People are starting to bury them in their yards because they have no place to put them.”
North Carolinians burying their dead in back yards as morgues overflow: report | The Post Millennial– thepostmillennial.com Source Link Excerpt:
“According to folks on the ground — fire, medical, law enforcement officials — they’re way underreporting the numbers.”
North Carolinians have been forced to bury their dead in their back yards as the death tolls have continued to rise. Americans in impacted areas are having trouble finding spaces in morgues for their deceased loved ones. Across six different states, the number of deaths has risen to at least 227, with about half of those victims being in North Carolina.
According to the Spectator, North Carolina families have become so desperate in search of a place to bury their dead that they have often done so in their yards. “It’s so much worse than they’re saying,” said one person in Ashville. “I think there’s a massive cover-up.”
North Carolina officials as well as federal officials have confirmed that the death toll has been largely undercounted so far in North Carolina, partially due to the fact that so many bodies have not yet been recovered. There are also piles of deceased people who have yet to be identified that are being transported around the state to find a gravesite.
“According to folks on the ground — fire, medical, law enforcement officials — they’re way underreporting the numbers. All the morgues are full and they’ve hauled a ton [of bodies] to Greensboro,” one North Carolina official said. “People are starting to bury them in their yards because they have no place to put them.”
Locals have grown angry at the seemingly lax response from state as well as federal authorities, many taking aim at General Major Todd Hunt, the director over the North Carlina National Guard. According to the outlet, personnel from the National Guard were not deployed until the Sunday after the storm. Around 5,500 National Guard troops had been deployed to the area and only 500 of those were from North Carolina.
“That’s why you saw the Florida National Guard and other units out there — and why private citizens stepped in, even as state and federal officials tried to shut down their efforts,” a source told the Spectator.
Conservatives have slammed the Biden-Harris administration for their response to the hurricane. When the hurricane made landfall, Biden was at his beach house in Delaware and Kamala Harris was campaigning in the western US. Harris has also faced backlash for pre-taping a podcast the Tuesday after the impact from the hurricane.
A report in the Wall Street Journal claims the U.S. government is aware of a major cyberattack by China. The cyberattack enabled the Chinese Communists to access sensitive, as well as general, American wiretapping assets. Some of these systems include the same systems America’s de facto Star Chamber Courts, the FISA Courts, rely on, the same system that spied on a presidential candidate in 2016.
The report comes from WSJ interviews with informants, from which the publication concluded, “A cyberattack tied to the Chinese government penetrated the networks of a swath of US broadband providers, potentially accessing information from systems the federal government uses for court-authorized network wiretapping requests. For months or longer, the hackers might have held access to network infrastructure used to cooperate with lawful US requests for communications data, according to people familiar with the matter.”
Reports: China hacked Verizon and AT&T, may have accessed US wiretap systems – arstechnica.com Source Link Excerpt:
Chinese government hackers penetrated the networks of several large US-based Internet service providers and may have gained access to systems used for court-authorized wiretaps of communications networks, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday. “People familiar with the matter” told the WSJ that hackers breached the networks of companies including Verizon, AT&T, and Lumen (also known as CenturyLink)….
The Washington Post reported on the hacking campaign yesterday, describing it as “an audacious espionage operation likely aimed in part at discovering the Chinese targets of American surveillance.” The Post report attributed the information to US government officials and said an investigation by the FBI, other intelligence agencies, and the Department of Homeland Security “is in its early stages.”
Five Chinese Nationals Charged with Lying About Midnight Visit to U.S. Military Base– www.breitbart.com Source Link Excerpt:
Five Chinese nationals were indicted on federal charges on Wednesday for conspiracy, lying to federal investigators, and destroying records pertaining to their strange midnight visit to a Michigan Army National Guard base in August 2023.
The defendants, who were University of Michigan students at the time, were caught with cameras near a major National Guard live-fire training exercise at Camp Grayling. The exercise, dubbed “Northern Strike,” involved military vehicles and classified communications equipment. Visiting personnel from Taiwan were involved in the drills.
The indictment filed on Wednesday did not pertain to the suspicious activities of the students near the military base, but rather to the false statements they gave investigators. When they were approached by a National Guard officer after bypassing abundant caution tape and “no trespassing” signs to enter the Northern Strike area, the five Chinese nationals falsely claimed to be members of the media, then fled the area.
Local law enforcement soon discovered the five had booked themselves into a motel in Grayling, seemingly for the purpose of observing the military exercise.
The captured anti-American Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is spreading disinformation to attack truth by calling truth a lie. The agency, through Homeland Security Secretary Alehandro Mayorkas (one of the main engineers and executioners of the illegal Plandemic campaign currently being conducted the Democratic Party) claimed they weren’t funding illegal aliens after he said “FEMA does not have the funds to make it through the season. We are meeting the immediate needs with the money that we have,”
The government’s own FEMA website, however destroys their efforts to spread fake news intended to incite violence against the victims of Hurricane Helene now claiming FEMA isn’t doing anything to help them (and is actually blocking aid and relief), stating they have spent more than $1 billion funding their “Shelter and Services Program,” a program designed to fund illegal aliens’ travel to America, as well as fund their “stay.”
The purpose is as plain as the nose on your face, to fund an illegal Planvasion intended to destroy the American Republic from within. From the website:
“The Shelter and Services Program (SSP) is administered by the FEMA in partnership with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). SSP provides financial support to non-federal entities to provide humanitarian services to noncitizen migrants following their release from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The intent is to support CBP in the safe, orderly and humane release of noncitizen migrants from short-term holding facilities.”
Here’s Where Biden-Harris Admin Spent FEMA’s Money– thefederalist.com Source Link Excerpt:
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is pleading with lawmakers to send the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) more money after the disaster relief agency emptied the coffers to provide services for illegal immigrants.
“FEMA does not have the funds to make it through the season,” Mayorkas told reporters on Air Force One Wednesday, with hurricane season running from June 1 through Nov. 30.
“We are meeting the immediate needs with the money that we have,” he said, after Hurricane Helene brought devastation to the southeastern United States.
The storm crashed into Florida as a Category 4 hurricane last week and poured a record-breaking 40 trillion gallons of water across the South, washing away entire Appalachian towns. Ryan Cole, the assistant director for emergency services in Buncombe County where Asheville became isolated due to broken roads and no power or cell service, characterized the aftermath as “Biblical.”
Anti-Americanist Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas released a chilling message this week that claims FEMA’s emergency hurricane fund is tapped after Hurricane Helene. Mayorkas told reporters “We are meeting immediate needs with the money that we have. We are expecting another hurricane hitting. We do not have the funds.”
As Mayorkas makes this assertion, reports of FEMA spending hundreds of millions of dollars to fly illegal aliens to various parts of the country, then fund their stay, are causing Americans to question if the Harris administration intentionally denuded America’s crisis emergency fund to not only fund her planvasion, but to further sabotage America.
‘Treasonous’: Mayorkas wasted FEMA funds helping illegal aliens. Now he says there’s not enough for Americans.– www.theblaze.com Source Link Excerpt:
Hurricane Helene has killed hundreds of Americans across six states, obliterated entire settlements, and left multitudes of citizens homeless, hungry, and exposed in the dark.
Help is badly needed. The trouble, according to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, is that the Federal Emergency Management Agency lacks the requisite funds.
During a press briefing Wednesday, Mayorkas told reporters, “We are meeting the immediate needs with the money that we have. We are expecting another hurricane hitting. We do not have the funds.”
Congress recently poured $20 billion into FEMA’s disaster relief fund and enabled the agency to draw on the funds with greater ease, reported the Associated Press.
“FEMA does not have the funds to make it through the season and what is imminent,” added Mayorkas, before concern-mongering about climate change.
President Joe Biden has suggested that Congress might have to approve additional funding for disaster relief. While the DHS might soon enjoy another cash injection, critics have raised the matter of where the original funds went — realizing that much of it was blown helping illegal aliens who have stolen into the homeland under Mayorkas’ watch.
‘We have a government that not only hates us but wants us dead.’
FEMA’s shelter and services program is a prime offender, providing “financial support to non-federal entities to provide humanitarian services to noncitizen migrants following their release from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The intent is to support CBP in the safe, orderly and humane release of noncitizen migrants from short-term holding facilities.”
The total funding made available for this program in fiscal year 2024 was $650 million. The funding total in fiscal year 2023 was $363.8 million. Hundreds of millions were previously awarded by FEMA for migrants through the emergency food and shelter program.
Earlier this year, nearly $19.6 million in FEMA funds was used to pay for an illegal alien welcome center in San Diego County.
In response to Mayorkas turning out empty pockets, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) wrote, “This is easy. Mayorkas and FEMA — immediately stop spending money on illegal immigration resettlement and redirect those funds to areas hit by the hurricane. Put Americans first.”
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) tweeted, “FEMA spending over a billion dollars on illegals while they leave Americans stranded and without help is treasonous. U.S. citizens are dying. Pray for our country folks.”
“‘The Biden-Harris FEMA spent over $1 BILLION on funding illegal aliens.’ America LAST,” wrote Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.).
“Let me translate: ‘We are racking up trillions in debt with all the money that our money printer prints that we then take back from law-abiding American citizens like you but we exist to spend it on anything other than helping you,'” wrote Blaze News editor in chief Matthew Peterson.
“We have a government that not only hates us but wants us dead,” wrote Chad Prather, host of “The Chad Prather Show. “The onus is on them at this point to prove otherwise. They won’t … because I’m right.”
While the DHS continues sinking taxpayer funds into aiding illegal aliens, FEMA will make a one-time $750 payment available to some qualifying Americans in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia so that they can buy food, water, and other supplies.
According to the FEMA website, the agency’s top strategic goal is to “instill equity as a foundation of emergency management.”
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Kamala Harris Announces How Much Hurricane Victims Will Get — And People Are PISSED!– wltreport.com Source Link Excerpt:
To all the victims of Hurricane Helene in multiple different states…
Who have lost their entire houses…
Entire towns….
Entire lives….
Family members washed away and killed….
Kamala Harris just announced that help is on the way!
FEMA will be sending you…..$750!
Absolutely unreal:
Kamala Harris is in Georgia to announce that FEMA will be providing federal relief in the form of $750 to those affected by Hurricane Helene. Generous.
Hurricane Helene’s devastating impact in 100 seconds
US President Joe Biden has deployed an additional 1,000 active-duty soldiers to bolster aid efforts in the south-eastern US, after the region was pummelled by Hurricane Helene.
These soldiers will join the 6,000 National Guard members and 4,800 federal aid workers already fanned out across six states hit by extreme weather.
At least 175 people are now known to have been killed by Hurricane Helene, one of the deadliest storms to hit the US in recent times.
Hundreds of others remain missing, with search and rescue teams struggling to reach remote areas.
Aid deliveries have been made by airdrops and mules. The US government has said the clear-up effort could take years.
Biden is due to visit the badly-affected North Carolina and South Carolina states, while Vice-President Kamala Harris goes to neighbouring Georgia.
Both happen to be key swing states in November’s presidential election – and the storm has already becomepolitical after Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump took his own trip to Georgia earlier in the week.
Helene hit the US on Thursday as a Category 4 hurricane – the most powerful on record to strike Florida’s Big Bend – before tearing through neighbouring states and downgrading to a tropical storm.
The scale of the rainclouds were unusual, and the storm lingered for relatively long periods. Saturated ground from previous rains was also an aggravating factor.
The BBC’s US partner CBS News has reported 175 deaths, recorded across six states: North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and Virginia.
The toll surpasses that of Hurricane Ian, which in September 2022 became another of the 21st Century’s deadliest storms – claiming at least 156 lives.
According to CBS, almost half of the deaths caused by Helene have been in North Carolina alone, where six months’ worth of rain fell.
The state’s mountainous areas suffered particularly heavy rain – as is typical in storm conditions – which resulted in homes and bridges being washed away.
One emergency official in Buncombe County – which includes the hard-hit city of Asheville – said the state had experienced “biblical devastation”.
A volunteer involved in relief efforts told the BBC on Tuesday they knew someone who had “lost everything” in Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and had moved to Asheville, only to be devastated again nearly two decades later.
“Looks like she’s wiped out again,” the volunteer said. “She has no drinking water. No gasoline. The food in her fridge has rotted.”
The extreme weather has also forced the closure of mines in Spruce Pine, a small town that is home to the world’s largest-known source of high-purity quartz.
In Tennessee, state authorities are investigating the operator of a plastics factory where 11 workers were swept away by rushing floodwaters on Friday. Five of the employees were rescued. Two have been confirmed dead and four more remain missing.
Impact Plastics told CBS in a statement it had monitored weather conditions around its Erwin plant in north-eastern Tennessee, and dismissed employees “when water began to cover the parking lot and the adjacent service road, and the plant lost power”.
But in interviews with local outlets, employees said they were allegedly told to continue work in the factory until it was too late for a safe exit.
Jacob Ingram, a mold changer at the factory, filmed himself and four others waiting for rescue as vehicles and debris were carried away by the muddy water surrounding him.
“I was working at impact when the storm hit yesterday,” Mr Ingram wrote in a post on Facebook, adding he and 11 others were trapped on the back of a semi-truck. “I’m lucky to be alive.”
Inside a donation centre for those impacted by Hurricane Helene
Rebuilding efforts could take years, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has said. Biden has allowed survivors to apply for federal assistance money by making disaster declarations in various states.
On Monday, Biden referenced reports that up to 600 people were unaccounted for. “God willing, they’re alive,” he said. “But there’s no way to contact them again because of the lack of cell phone coverage.”
More than a million people in some of the affected states also remained without power on Wednesday morning, according to monitoring site Poweroutage.us.
Initial analysis of the storm already suggests that human-induced climate change played a significant role in the amount of rainfall that was dumped.
After Helene hit late on Thursday, record flood crests were measured in at least seven locations in North Carolina and Tennessee.
In parts of western North Carolina, records that had stood since the “Great Flood” of July 1916 were smashed.
The Atlantic hurricane season continues until the end of November. The waters of the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean are currently above average temperatures, meaning that it is possible that still more powerful storms could develop.
A group of international researchers conducted a study on the origins of the COVID-19 virus. They published their findings in Cell, a scientific journal. The group concluded the virus came from animals infected by the COVID-19 virus who were they sold in a wildlife trade market called the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market.
They summarized, “Zoonotic spillovers of viruses have occurred through the animal trade worldwide. The start of the COVID-19 pandemic was traced epidemiologically to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market… This analysis provides the genetic basis for a shortlist of potential intermediate hosts of SARS-CoV-2 to prioritize for serological and viral sampling.”
Wuhan market increasingly likely origin point for COVID-19– cosmosmagazine.com Source Link Excerpt:
An international team of researchers has found more evidence that COVID-19 came from animals in a Wuhan food market.
The researchers have identified wildlife present at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in early 2020 via traces of their DNA, and say it’s likely that some of these animals were infected with COVID-19.
“Extensive epidemiological evidence supports wildlife trade at the Huanan market as the most likely conduit for the COVID-19 pandemic’s origin,” write the researchers in their paper.
“This paper adds another layer to the accumulating evidence that all points to the same scenario: that infected animals were introduced into the market in mid- to late November 2019, which sparked the pandemic,” says co-corresponding author Professor Kristian Andersen, a researcher at Scripps Research, USA.
The FAA has released a report claiming to be 3,000 people short of the number of air traffic controllers it currently needs. They claim the shortage is due to a current bottleneck in the system borne from the fact there is only one training facility in the country equipped to train air traffic controllers.
Walk into the tower simulator at Vaughn College in New York City, and you feel like you’re in a real airport control tower. Except those wrap-around windows are actually computer screens.
“So you can simulate day, night, snow, fires on the airport,” said Sharon DeVivo, the school’s president. “Scenarios that students we hope will never see, but they train on those.”
Former aide to New York’s governor is charged with being an agent of the Chinese government
Linda Sun, a former aide to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, schemed to advance the interests of China while working in New York State government, federal prosecutors alleged in an indictment unsealed Tuesday.
The indictment charges Sun with failure to register as a foreign agent, visa fraud, alien smuggling and money laundering conspiracy.
Her husband, Christopher Hu, allegedly facilitated the transfer of millions of dollars in kickbacks for personal gain, prosecutors said.
Sun and Hu each pleaded not guilty during their arraignment in Brooklyn federal court Tuesday afternoon. Sun appeared in a black pantsuit with a red blouse, while her husband appeared in slacks and a pale dress shirt.
While working for the Cuomo and Hochul administrations, Sun allegedly acted as an unregistered agent of China while her husband allegedly laundered the proceeds, enabling them to buy a $3.6 million house in Manhasset and a $1.9 million condo in Hawaii, prosecutors said.
China Paid Pro-CCP Agitators To Clash With Dissenters During Xi’s Visit to San Francisco: Report
China paid pro-Chinese Communist Party agitators to clash with dissidents in November 2023 when the country’s president, Xi Jinping, visited San Francisco, a Washington Post investigation revealed on Tuesday.
The Post’s report found that Chinese diplomats and diaspora groups organized demonstrations to “silence” anti-Beijing protesters gathered outside the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, where Xi met with President Joe Biden and other foreign leaders. The Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles paid for the hotels and meals of pro-CCP agitators to incentivize them to participate in the violent demonstration.
The agitators harassed and beat anti-China protesters with flagpoles and chemical sprays, leaving some seriously injured, the investigation revealed. The attacks, according to the Post, were “carried out by coordinated groups of young men embedded among” the protesters to silence the dissenters, who gathered to denounce the Chinese government’s domestic repression and human rights abuse.
The Post report is a result of a six-month investigation into China’s campaign to silence foreign dissenters at the 2023 summit. China’s efforts at the APEC summit are part of a broader global pattern to suppress Chinese citizens abroad who advocate against the CCP and ongoing rights abuses in Tibet, Xinjiang, Hong Kong, and mainland China, the U.S. government and human rights groups told the Post.
China’s Communist Infiltration of U.S. Institutions: A Growing National Threat Often Ignored by Elite Politicans
In recent discussions, experts have raised alarms over the persistent and pervasive threat posed by Chinese infiltration in the United States. Ret. Col. Derek Harvey, a seasoned intelligence officer, and Ben Harnwell, a political analyst, highlighted the grave concerns regarding the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) efforts to infiltrate various American institutions, from universities to government bodies. Their commentary underscores a troubling reality: despite clear warnings, these threats have often been ignored or downplayed.
Harvey pointed out that Chinese infiltration is “the largest counterintelligence and domestic spying operation” faced by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), yet it remains under-resourced and, more concerningly, not prioritized.
“Too often these warnings and the indicators that they should be looking for are ignored or they just are quickly forgotten,” Harvey stated, reflecting a widespread complacency or negligence within the U.S. establishment.
This lack of prioritization is not just a theoretical issue; it has real-world consequences. For instance, Harvey recalled the case of U.S. Congressman Eric Swalwell, who served on the House Intelligence Committee while maintaining a relationship with a Chinese agent named Fang Fang. Similarly, Senator Dianne Feinstein employed a driver for two decades who was later revealed to be a Chinese spy. These incidents, Harvey emphasized, were not isolated but part of a broader pattern of Chinese espionage efforts that have been overlooked until it’s too late.
“The FBI is spending resources on following, persecuting, and surveying little old ladies who climb to the U.S. state just to pray,” Harnwell added, pointing out the stark contrast in resource allocation. “Meanwhile, spies who are seeking to advance the influence of the CCP in America often go undetected for years.” This misallocation of resources, according to Harvey, demonstrates a failure of priorities within the FBI and other agencies tasked with national security.
America has one of the largest strategic nuclear arsenals in the world—and one of the oldest. The U.S. can deliver nuclear weapons from silos buried deep in the American heartland, submarines plying vast oceans, or bombers conducting global patrols. Nuclear power has underpinned not just America’s security but that of its closest allies for decades. But the U.S. is losing its nuclear edge in ways that profoundly affect Washington’s interests.
Today, the U.S.’ most formidable adversary, China, is growing its nuclear arsenal by rapidly churning out launch platforms and warheads faster than America’s aging forces can be replaced. A revisionist power like China is most effectively deterred when confronted by an opponent with the resolve and capability to balance out their forces in peacetime and, should deterrence fail, deny them victory in wartime. Satellite imagery of China’s nuclear forces shows that this balance is deteriorating…
A senior U.S. defense official recently revealed that China has begun loading these silos with intercontinental-range missiles. This is to say nothing of Beijing’s more secure road-mobile systems that can also hold the U.S. homeland at risk but are less vulnerable to preemptive attack. The Pentagon has reported to Congress that China’s intercontinental-range missile launchers, in total, outnumber America’s 400 silos loaded with the 54-year-old Minuteman III. China has thus exceeded the targeting coverage of the obsolescing U.S. land-based capability.
Who else is China recruiting? NY political insiders warn of broader CCP effort after arrest of ex-Hochul aide – New York Post
Bombshell accusations that a former aide to New York Govs. Kathy Hochul and Andrew Cuomo acted as a secret agent for China raised alarms Tuesday about a broader effort by the Chinese Communist Party to compromise public officials and infiltrate American governments and society.
Political insiders and watchdog groups pointed to the Brooklyn federal court indictments of Linda Sun and her husband Christopher Hu as showing the extent of China’s spy recruitment apparatus.
“This is a dangerous situation,” warned Ed Cox, the state Republican Party chairman and son-in-law of former President Richard Nixon.
Indictment Of Gov. Hochul’s Aide Shows Red China Is No. 1 Threat– thefederalist.com Source Link Excerpt:
The Chinese have compromised the Democrat Party in ways Democrats dream the Russians have infiltrated Republicans.
Two indictments this week shook the nation, revealing the lengths to which foreign adversaries have gone to compromise the integrity of the American political system. One indictment, however, was not like the other. In fact, one was far worse in just about every way imaginable.
On Wednesday, an indictment handed down by the Department of Justice (DOJ) exposed a network of shadowy Russian media operatives allegedly duping half a dozen conservative pundits with large followings into receiving millions to “pump pro-Russia propaganda and disinformation across social media.” Federal prosecutors pressed charges against two employees of the Russian-backed news outlet Russia Today (RT), claiming they funneled $10 million to a Tennessee company that paid conservative influencers, who were unaware of its Moscow origins.
In other words, a few conservatives who created their usual online content with the support of a Tennessee firm (apparently Tenet Media) were left completely in the dark about the source of the original financing but are now being tarred in the press as Russian assets. By Thursday, YouTube had stripped Tenet Media’s channel (which hosted the aforementioned popular right-leaning figures) from its website, just two months before Election Day. According to Forbes, YouTube nuked all four channels operated by conservative commentator Lauren Chen, despite Chen’s not having been convicted or even charged with anything.
Yet the Russian interference effort to buy off a couple of oblivious influencers pales in comparison to Chinese operations that are targeting elected leaders who are actually in office.
The Departments of Justice, State and Treasury announced Wednesday a joint effort to target with sanctions and criminal charges what the Biden administration says are Russian government-sponsored attempts to manipulate U.S. public opinion ahead of the November election.
Attorney General Merrick Garland announced charges against two employees of the Russian-backed media network RT accused of conspiring to commit money laundering and violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act in an indictment unsealed Wednesday in the Southern District of New York.
“The American people are entitled to know when a foreign power is attempting to exploit our country’s free exchange of ideas in order to send around its own propaganda,” Garland said.
Russia’s election influence efforts show sophistication, officials say – The Washington Post
The Russian government’s covert efforts to sway the 2024 presidential election are more advanced than in recent years, and the most active foreign threat this political season, U.S. intelligence officials said Friday.
Russia’s activities “are more sophisticated than in prior election cycles,” said a senior official with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) in a briefing with reporters, noting the use of “authentic U.S. voices” to “launder” Russian government propaganda and spread socially divisive narratives through major social media, as well as on sham websites that pose as legitimate American media organizations.
Moscow is targeting U.S. swing states in particular, the official said, and using artificial intelligence to more quickly and convincingly create fake content to shape the outcome in favor of former president Donald Trump.
YouTube Axes Tenet Media’s Channel Without Due Process– thefederalist.com
The widely used video platform YouTube removed Tenet Media and related channels from its services on Thursday after the Justice Department accused the company of partaking in a secret Russian influence operation.
The revelation comes days after the Biden Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the seizure of nearly three dozen internet domains it alleged were used in “Russian government-directed foreign malign influence campaigns colloquially referred to as ‘Doppelganger,’ in violation of U.S. money laundering and criminal trademark laws.” According to Fox News, the unsealed indictment alleged a pair of Russian state media staffers had been covertly funding a Tennessee-based, American content creation company identified in reports as Tenet Media” and other shell companies with the goal of spreading what the DOJ classified as “Russian government propaganda.”
The indictment contended that Tenet Media “published nearly 2,000 videos to social media platforms such as X and YouTube, and failed to inform viewers it was financed by the Kremlin,” the report reads.
Right-wing influencers such as Dave Rubin, Tim Pool, and Benny Johnson are among those affiliated with the company. Many of these figures have since denied knowledge of the company’s alleged ties to Russia and proclaimed to be “victims” of Moscow’s purported influence operation.
DOJ alleges Russia funded US media company linked to right-wing social media stars
The unnamed Tennessee-based company that the Justice Department alleges was being funded by Russian operatives working as part of a Kremlin-orchestrated influence operation targeting the 2024 US election is Tenet Media, which is linked to right-wing commentators with millions of subscribers on YouTube and other social media platforms, according to a US official briefed on the matter.
The indictment unsealed in New York’s Southern District accused two employees of RT, the Kremlin’s media arm, of funneling nearly $10 million to an unidentified company, described only as “Company 1” in court documents.
CNN has independently confirmed that “Company 1” is Tenet Media, which is a platform for independent content creators. It is self-described as a “network of heterodox commentators that focus on Western political and cultural issues,” according to its website, which matches language contained in the newly unsealed indictment.
Feds say Russia laundered $10M through unwitting social media influencers, including a WV man
…On Wednesday, the United States Department of Justice issued a federal indictment which charges Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva with a scheme. The indictment says they created, in the words of their own editor, “an ‘entire empire of covert projects’ designed to shape public opinion in ‘Western audiences.’”
Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva work for RT, the indictment says. “RT, formerly known as ‘Russia Today,’ is a state-controlled media outlet funded and directed by the Government of Russia.” …
Who were the influencers? Tenet Media began in late 2023 with influencers Tim Pool, Benny Johnson, David Rubin, and Lauren Southern. The indictment indicates at least one of them was being paid $400,000 per month plus a $100,000 signing bonus by Tenet Media (via funding from RT). Federal officials do not believe the right-wing American social media influencers knew they were being paid through a front company by Russian agents.
“The company never disclosed to the influencers or to their millions of followers its ties to RT and the Russian government,” says Attorney General Merrick Garland.
YouTube takes down right-wing channels linked to DOJ Russia indictments
YouTube took down several right-wing politics channels that had been linked with allegations from the Justice Department that Russian government employees were paying right-wing influencers in the United States to produce content.
The Google-owned video site “terminated” Tenet Media and four other channels run by right-wing media entrepreneur Lauren Chen as part of the company’s “ongoing efforts to combat coordinated influence operations,” a YouTube spokesperson said in an emailed statement Thursday.
US targeting ‘legitimate journalism’ with RT sanctions – Scott Ritter
Former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter has announced that the latest US sanctions imposed on RT mean he will be forced to end his work as a contributor to the Russian media outlet. Ritter insisted that his cooperation with RT has been nothing but “legitimate journalism.”
A former US Marine Corps major who also served as a UN weapons inspector in Iraq during the 1990s, Ritter came into the spotlight in 2003 when he opposed the US military operation against the Middle Eastern country. He argued that Saddam Hussein’s government did not possess weapons of mass destruction, despite Washington’s claims.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, Ritter stressed that the content of his contributions for RT and several other sanctioned media outlets “has been factually correct and analytically sound, and always of my own creation.”
While condemning Washington’s decision as running counter to “constitutional norms and values,” Ritter noted that he is “fully committed to obeying US law, and as such will be terminating all contractual relationships with both RT and Sputnik effective immediately.”
Right-wing US influencers say they were victims of alleged Russian plot
Conservative US influencers say if the allegations are proven, they were deceived by Russian media executives following the release of an indictment charging Moscow with interfering in the 2024 US election.
The indictment accuses state broadcaster RT, formerly Russia Today, of paying a Tennessee firm $10m (£7.6m) to “create and distribute content to US audiences with hidden Russian government messaging”.
US media outlets identified the firm as Tenet Media, which describes itself as “network of heterodox commentators that focus on Western political and cultural issues”.
Tenet Media, which was not directly named in the indictment, was founded in 2022 by conservative Canadian YouTuber Lauren Chen and her husband Liam Donovan. Tenet has not commented publicly on the allegations and did not respond to a request for comment.
The network employs several well-known right-wing US influencers – such as Tim Pool, David Rubin and Benny Johnson – who say they are “victims” of the alleged plot if it is proven.
Feds in Philly disrupt Russian-backed propaganda effort aimed at influencing U.S. presidential vote
Federal authorities in Philadelphia announced on Wednesday the dismantling of a wide-ranging, Russian-backed misinformation network targeting voters in Pennsylvania and five other swing states ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
The network — known colloquially as “Doppelganger” and which prosecutors said was run by a top aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin — sought to dupe Americans in key demographics into believing Kremlin-produced propaganda it spread online had been produced by legitimate American news outlets.
The campaign also sought to enlist the aid of unwitting influencers in America and other countries to spread disinformation, sow social media discord, and advance the campaign of former President Donald Trump, whom the program’s backers viewed as more supportive of Russian interests.
Yet, the insane policies of Democrat governors like Colorado’s Jared Polis and Illinois’s J.B. Pritzker are most to blame. And don’t forget California’s Gavin Newsom, Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer, New York’s Kathy Hochul, and Minnesota’s inimitable Tampon Timmy Walz, among others. The latter of whom is now Kamala Harris’s Vice-Presidential nominee. (And whose wife said she left her windows open when the 2020 Minneapolis riots went unquelled by her husband…so she could smell the city burning.)
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