Today's News: April 15, 2024

WORLD NEWS

Iran launched an airborne attack against Israel over the weekend!

On Saturday afternoon, Iran launched dozens of drones from its own territory toward Israel, Israel Defense Forces has confirmed.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued a statement confirming its launch of an attack on Israel, saying it is in response to the IDF’s earlier strike on a consular compound in the Syrian capital of Damascus. The IRGC said it hit specific targets in Israel with dozens of drones and missiles, reported Iranian state media.

The attack comes hours after Iranian armed forces seized a container ship linked to Israel near the Strait of Hormuz, a key maritime shipping route to the Persian Gulf.

In the wake of ongoing Iranian retaliation, the U.S. State Department has warned Americans in Israel not to travel outside major cities, which are better protected from airborne attack by the country’s Iron Dome missile defense system. The latest travel advisory noted that travel by government employees in Israel could be further restricted.

Meanwhile, Iran officials have issued a warning to the U.S. not to retaliate to its Israel attack!

On Sunday, Iran warned Israel and the United States that it would carry out a larger attack if either country retaliates against Tehran’s overnight missile and drone attack, saying that U.S. military bases could be in its crosshairs.

Iran launched explosive drones and shot missiles at Israel late on Saturday in what has been described as its first direct attack on Israel. The Islamic regime has said that the attack was warranted after Israel’s bombing a Syrian compound in early April that left seven members of its Revolutionary Guard Corps dead.

“Our response will be much larger than tonight’s military action if Israel retaliates against Iran,” armed forces chief of staff Major General Mohammad Bagheri told state-run media on Sunday, saying that Iran warned the United States that any support of an Israeli counterattack against Iran would lead to American bases being targeted. All U.S. assets and bases in the region could be targeted, he added.

Israeli officials suggested that the Iranian attack was mostly a failure, saying that most of the 300 or so drones and missiles that it launched were intercepted. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote on social media that “we intercepted. We blocked. Together, we will win.”

An Israeli army spokesman, Daniel Hagari, told The Associated Press that 99 percent of the drones and various types of missiles were intercepted outside of Israeli territory. One missile caused minor damage to an air base, and another injured a 7-year-old girl, he said.

The problem with this story is that the other 1% of the missiles that hit their intended targets may have caused more deaths than the Israeli government is willing to admit!

House Speaker Mike Johnson says the House will try again this week on Israel funding …

During an appearance on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” the speaker was asked if the attack, which Iran said was in retaliation for an Israeli strike on an Iranian diplomatic building in Syria, would change the House’s plans for funding Israel.

“We’ve understood the urgency of this from the very beginning,” Mr. Johnson said, noting that only days after he became speaker, the House passed a $14 billion aid package for Israel that would have been paid for by slashing the budget of the IRS.

That bill has languished in the Senate, where it hasn’t even been brought up for a vote by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).

Later, Mr. Johnson noted, the House passed a “clean” funding bill for Israel, also with a top-line cost of $14 billion, that was opposed by a majority of Democrats after President Joe Biden said he would veto the bill.

Still, Mr. Johnson said he plans to make another foray into funding Israel in the wake of Iran’s April 13 attack.

The White House has made it clear that the United States would not participate in any offensive action against Iran should Israel choose to retaliate. Since Israel was able to successfully defeat the attack, President Biden and his team are of the view that the Israeli government should not pursue any further escalation.

It is unclear whether Mr. Netanyahu and his government will follow President Biden’s advice.

U.S. NEWS, POLITICS & GOVERNMENT

Trump blasts communist NY trial at rally; trial starts today with jury selection!

When former President Donald Trump denounced the New York criminal case against him as a “communist show trial,” thousands of people at his April 13 rally here responded with a thunderous chant: “We love Trump!”

“Thank you; I love you, too. … That’s what I put up with this stuff,” President Trump said, referring to the repeated allegations and investigations he has faced ever since entering politics.

He expressed appreciation for the crowd at the Schnecksville Fire Company Fairgrounds, which he estimated at 42,000 people; most shivered in chilly, damp conditions with gusting winds for at least five hours.

Before launching extensive commentary about his upcoming New York trial, the former president acknowledged Iran had just carried out airstrikes on Israel. “America prays for Israel,” he said.

Trump says he’ll testify in the criminal trial in NYC!

During a joint press conference on April 12 with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), former President Donald Trump said he would testify at his upcoming criminal trial in New York if called to do so.

“I’m testifying, I’ll tell the truth,” President Trump said. “I always tell the truth, and the truth is they have no case.”

In a previous press conference, President Trump said he was willing to testify but had added that he expected the trial to be delayed past the April 15 trial date. After three back-to-back rejections from the appellate division of the New York Supreme Court to stay the trial pending appeals, the case is set to go to trial Monday.

Jury selection begins on April 15, and on April 12 the defense raised some objections to the judge’s questions for the jurors, wanting to drill down on those who have a negative view of the presumptive Republican nominee.

During the press conference, President Trump pointed out he has a pending appeal on the judge’s rejection of his motion to move the trial out of Manhattan.

“Jury selection is largely luck. It depends who you get. It’s very unfair that I’m having a trial there [in Manhattan],” President Trump said.

Judge upholds Georgia’s voter citizenship verification requirements!

A federal judge has dismissed a legal challenge to Georgia’s voter citizenship verification requirements, keeping in place the state’s process of cross-checking citizenship status to determine voter eligibility and handing a win to election integrity advocates.

Judge Eleanor Ross of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia issued a ruling on April 11 that dismisses a lawsuit brought by a coalition of advocacy groups nearly six years ago that claimed Georgia’s voter citizenship verification requirements unfairly discriminated against naturalized citizens, who are more likely to be people of color.

Following a three-day trial, the judge ruled that all four of the plaintiffs’ claims—including that the protocols violated multiple federal laws, the U.S. Constitution, and unfairly burdened the right to vote—are dismissed.

In so doing, the judge sided with a motion for summary judgment made in 2021 by the defendant, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who argued that the state’s protocols for matching naturalized citizens’ voter registrations with the state’s citizenship records were “entirely reasonable” and placed a “minimum burden” on applicants.

Mr. Raffensperger argued that, in almost every case, the requirement was fulfilled by matching driver’s license or state identification numbers submitted for voter registration with corresponding records at the Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS) to confirm citizenship status.

When a naturalized citizen registers to vote in Georgia, their county registrar verifies proof of citizenship using DDS data. If that voter’s citizenship cannot be verified through that database, the onus is on the voter to submit proof of citizenship within 26 months or their voter registration application will be canceled.

Idaho Supreme Court upholds ban on student IDs for voting

The Supreme Court of Idaho on Thursday, April 11, upheld recent legislative amendments to the state’s voter identification requirements, affirming a lower court’s ruling in favor of the Idaho Secretary of State, Phil McGrane, which eliminated the use of student IDs for voter registration and in-person voting.

The unanimous ruling came in light of the suit filed by two voter advocacy groups last year, claiming two pieces of legislation disproportionately affected young and out-of-state college voters, infringing upon their right to vote and violating equal protection under the Idaho Constitution.

The opinion of the court said, in part, “we conclude House Bills 124 and 340 are reasonable exercises of the legislature’s authority to enact conditions on the right of suffrage under Article VI, section 4 of the Idaho Constitution.”

House Bill 124 removed student IDs as acceptable proof of identity at polling places, while House Bill 340 revised the identification needed for voter registration, eliminating the option to use the last four digits of a social security number.Instead, voters must now present a current Idaho driver’s license, a U.S. passport, a tribal identification card, or a concealed weapon license.

The court held that the changes enacted by House Bills 124 and 340 did not infringe upon the constitutional rights to vote and were appropriately within the legislature’s scope to ensure the integrity and efficiency of elections.

In part, the court also found the groups’ arguments for lack of standing as un-persuasive when reviewing it with a strict lens, but said with a lenient view the groups did have standing.

House speaker Mike Johnson met with Trump to announce election integrity bill

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and former President Donald Trump are urging support for a bill aimed at preventing non-citizens from voting in federal elections.

At a Friday, April 12, press conference at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago residence, the Republican leaders announced the bill as part of larger efforts to bolster election integrity.

“What we’re going to do is introduce legislation to require that every single person who registers to vote in a federal election must prove that they are an American citizen first,” Mr. Johnson said.

FBI Interview With Trump Codefendant Waltine Nauta Unsealed

An interview Trump codefendant Waltine Nauta gave to the FBI was unsealed on April 12 after defense attorneys claimed prosecutors had flouted court instructions by filing their own responses to motions publicly and receiving widespread news coverage.

The docketing comes as U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon holds a hearing on the same day on Mr. Nauta’s motions to dismiss the indictment.

A testimony that Mr. Nauta gave to a grand jury in 2022 remains under seal on the condition that prosecutors justify to Judge Cannon during the hearing why it should stay undocketed.

No one was aware that Mr. Nauta gave the interview at the time, beyond his legal counsel who was present.

“What about the former President? Does he know?” he was asked.

In the 100-page interview, Mr. Nauta tells two individuals with the FBI that he did help move boxes from Mar-a-Lago on Jan. 17, loading them onto a truck that was receiving the documents for the National Archive and Records Administration.

“We moved the boxes. We transported [them] to a car … we loaded it onto a truck. [Redacted] signed the papers, and that was it,” Mr. Nauta said.

Mr. Nauta told them he did not pay attention to news stories and didn’t know the details of a news article about the documents being moved that one of the individuals questioned him about.

Mr. Nauta said he recalled about 15 to 17 boxes, and the truck was so “huge” that it couldn’t get on the property.

“I was like this is a lot, this is a lot of truck for this many boxes,” he said. The truck had to park right outside of Mar-a-Lago and they brought the boxes out in a car, he said. The boxes had been moved from Pine Hall, outside President Trump’s suite, Mr. Nauta said, but he did not know if they had been there “the whole time,” and did not know what the boxes were for.

19 retired generals and admirals have filed an amicus brief against Trump’s immunity bid!

More than a dozen former Defense Department officials, generals, and admirals filed a brief with the Supreme Court arguing against former President Donald Trump’s presidential immunity arguments.

It comes as the U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on the former president’s assertions that he should enjoy immunity from prosecution for activity that he carried out while he was president. The former president invoked that argument after he was accused by federal prosecutors of attempting to illegally overturn the 2020 election results.

The amicus brief’s signatories include former CIA Director Michael Hayden, retired Admiral Thad Allen, retired Gen. George Casey, retired Gen. Charles Krulak, and more.

They claimed that granting President Trump immunity against criminal claims could lead to activity that put U.S. national security at risk.

J-6 convict ordered to pay for $33,000 worth of media equipment he smashed at the Capitol!

A Virginia man who is now serving almost three years behind bars for forcing his way into the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, must also pay for the tens of thousands of dollars worth of media equipment he destroyed on his way out, a three-judge panel ruled Friday.

Joshua Dillon Haynes, 41, was sentenced last February to 32 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress, a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison; and destruction of property, which carries a maximum 5-year prison term.

Court filings showed that Mr. Haynes documented his activities in Washington D.C. that day in text messages he sent to associates. While inside the U.S. Capitol, Mr. Haynes also took selfies of himself venturing the building complex, including inside a senator’s office. “We are inside the Congress the Senate we stormed inside,” he wrote in a message to an associate.

After leaving the building, Mr. Haynes joined a crowd near a media staging area on the Capitol grounds. Media personnel fled the scene as the crowd closed in, allowing them to destroy what was left behind—cameras, lights, tripods, and other paraphernalia.

Mr. Haynes personally smashed multiple pieces of equipment. Alongside a photo of himself standing in front of the debris, he wrote in a message that “[w]e attacked the CNN reporters and the fake news and destroyed tens of thousands of dollars of their video and television equipment. Here’s a picture of me behind the pile we made out of it.”

Contrary to Mr. Haynes’ assumption that the camera equipment he destroyed belonged to CNN, it was in fact property of ZDF, a German public TV broadcasting service. In addition to his sentence, Haynes was ordered to pay ZDF’s insurer the dollar equivalent of €29,989.36, or approximately $33,000 based on the current exchange rate.

Mr. Haynes appealed the restitution, arguing that the federal law for which he was convicted only applies to the destruction of federal government property, not private property like ZDF’s.

In the ruling handed down Friday, a panel of three judges of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously rejected that argument, saying that the lower court didn’t err with the restitution order.

Government employee violated law on J-6 but wasn’t prosecuted!

A U.S. government employee violated the law on Jan. 6, 2021, but was not prosecuted, according to an internal report obtained by The Epoch Times.

Investigators with the U.S. Treasury Department Office of Inspector General (OIG), acting on a tip from the U.S. Department of Justice’s inspector general, found that an OIG worker was on U.S. Capitol grounds as the Capitol was breached on Jan. 6.

The employee admitted during an interview with the OIG to being near the Capitol but made a number of false claims, including that he did not witness any violence and did not do anything illegal, according to the OIG.

There was “widespread unlawful behavior” happening around the Capitol when the worker was on Capitol grounds, the report stated. Video footage showed that people gained unauthorized access to areas past barricades at about 1:45 p.m., the same time that the Treasury employee later admitted to walking through a U.S. Capitol Police barricade at the East Plaza.

The worker stayed on the grounds, moving to the West Plaza, for about two hours. During that time, he said later, he saw clashes between the Capitol Police and protesters. Video footage from the scene showed law enforcement officers retreating, protesters becoming violent, and barricades lying on the ground.

The Treasury Department worker was not identified by name.

Negative views of the government soar under Biden compared to Trump!

The share of Americans expressing a negative view of the federal government soared in President Joe Biden’s third year in office, with a new poll showing a 10-percent drop in favorability compared to roughly the same point in former President Donald Trump’s term in the White House.

Just 22 percent of U.S. adults polled in December 2023 had a favorable opinion of the federal government, according to a Pew Research poll published on April 12.

That’s a 10-point drop compared to the 32 percent who held a similar view in August 2019, during President Trump’s third year in office.

RFK, Jr. fires New York campaign staffer for misrepresentative video comments !

A New York campaign staffer for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. who said that the independent presidential candidate would help former President Donald Trump defeat President Joe Biden if he is on the state’s ballot was fired for “misrepresentation,” according to Mr. Kennedy’s campaign manager.

Last week, a video circulated of Rita Palma encouraging an audience to back Mr. Kennedy on the New York ballot because it would help Mr. Trump beat Mr. Biden in November.

Ms. Palma falsely identified herself as the New York state director of Mr. Kennedy’s campaign, Amaryllis Fox Kennedy said on April 10 on X, formerly Twitter.

More than a dozen major media outlets call on Biden/Trump to commit to debate!

More than a dozen major media outlets released a statement this morning asking President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump to commit to a presidential debate.

“If there’s one thing Americans can agree on during this polarized time, it is that the stakes of this election are exceptionally high,” the joint April 14 statement states. “Amidst that backdrop, there is simply no substitute for the candidates debating with each other, and before the American people, their visions for the future of our nation.”

The Associated Press, CBS News, CNN, Fox, News Nation, USA Today, ABC, NBC, PBS, NPR, and C-SPAN are among the media outlets that released the statement.

26 Barges break loose on the flooded Ohio River destroying the Pittsburgh marina!

Officials closed several bridges across Pittsburgh late Friday and Saturday morning as more than two dozen cargo barges broke loose and careened down the flooded Ohio River.

“The McKees Rocks Bridge was closed in both directions, and rail traffic was shut down on the rail bridge to Brunot Island,” public safety officials in Pittsburgh said in a statement. “Both will be reopened when it is determined that it is safe to do so.”

The 26 barges broke loose about 11:25 p.m. local time after flooding rain-swelled the Ohio River. According to Pittsburgh Public Safety, only three barges were empty. The rest were loaded with dry cargo like coal.

The barges caused “extensive damage” to Peggy’s Harbor, public safety officials said. A local reporter said that the barges crashed into between 60 and 70 boat slips, crushing both the boats and the dock. He said a boat owner told him, “I’ve never seen carnage like this before.”

A tugboat corralled 11 of the barges as they struck the Bruinot Island train bridge. The second part of the video attached to the top of this story shows barges approaching the bridge and making it through without colliding. Some had the help of a manned boat.

“They may be able to get them through without striking it. One barge has gone through. It looks like there’s another one. And here is a third,” a RawsAlertsreporter said while giving an account on video posted on social media. “You may not be able to tell from this angle, but there was another motor vessel downriver that I saw as we approached the bridge. So far, it appears that they’ve been able to push some through.”

After inspection, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation reopened the rail bridge around 2:30 a.m. Sunday. Fourteen barges continued their uncontrolled journey downriver. The first part of the video showed those barges hitting the Emsworth Dam.

According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the coast guard secured nine barges at the lock and dam. As of Saturday afternoon, only one had been removed. One empty barge sunk, and six barges went over the dam, according to public safety officials. Another of the secured barges broke free again Saturday.

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

Today is “Tax Day”; like we didn’t already know (“the Big Fleece”)

Today is the deadline to file federal income tax returns and extensions to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for most people. The IRS said on April 12 that it has received more than 100 million returns, but millions more returns are expected to be filed by the end of today.

Taxpayers living in Massachusetts or Maine have an April 17 tax deadline because the two states observe the Patriots’ Day holiday, while Tuesday is the Emancipation Day Holiday, according to the IRS.

Taxpayers can get an extra six months to file taxes if they file for an extension by Monday, the IRS said, meaning they will have until Oct. 15 to file their 2024 returns. However, there is no extension on making payments to the IRS, it says, adding that failure to pay by April 15 will result in penalties and interest payments.

Last week, the IRS said it has received 101.8 million returns and processed 66.8 million refunds as of April 5, according to new data released by the agency last week. The average refund is about $3,011, or a slight increase over the $2,878 that was refunded last year, it said.

Some $201.1 billion in total refunds have been processed by the agency this season, with the vast majority being sent via direct deposits, it said.

U.S. Government a deadbeat? Hmmm.

While the United States climbs closer to being nearly $35 trillion in debt, the American people and the U.S. government operate under two completely different sets of rules, with the government borrowing money that it “never pays” back, Joe Penland Sr., the founder of Joe from Texas, a grassroots organization, said during an interview on Breitbart News Saturday.

Penland and his organization have released a contract known as the Contract From The American People, which asks for a “commitment” from candidates running for president to “pursue the following agenda” of reigning in spending and helping to “control the national debt,” setting up a “mechanism to help control debt” in the long-term, securing the southern border, and tackling illegal immigration, among other issues.

“The contract is similar to what Newt Gingrich and the Republicans did,” Penland explained. “When they had a contract with America that if they got elected again, they would get certain things through Congress to get voted on. They couldn’t guarantee them being passed.”

In 1994, then-House Minority Whip Gingrich introduced a contract to reduce taxes, cut back on the size of government, and work to make Congress more transparent, which more than 300 Republican candidates signed.

“This contract is similar to that,” Penland added. “We have, when I crisscross America and I talk to people, they say, ‘Joe, our vote doesn’t count.’ Well, I want people to vote and I want you to know your vote does count.”

The Contract From The American People, which Penland is introducing, has ten main pillars or key components to it that they are asking candidates for president to pledge to make a “priority.”

“There’s a whole lot of things here, from securing the border to reigning in our costs to make sure we don’t let social security run out that would bankrupt 68 million people in this country, double the poverty rate overnight,” Penland added. “We’ve got so many things that are all tied to the debt. Understanding that this country has a lot of problems, but if we don’t control our debt, get this thing under control very shortly, then the other things will overcome us anyway.”

Penland explained that he had grown up on social security after his father had a stroke, adding that he knew “how important social security is to America.” After finishing his education, he went into construction, adding that he has “fifty years in this business.” In 1974, Penland created the Quality Mat Company, which provides “temporary roadways and work surfaces for construction sites,” according to his company website.

“Businesses and banks and all of us operate under one set of rules; the government operates under another set of rules. America borrows money to buy a car, house, or whatever, they have to pay for it,” Penland said. “America borrows money to do just about anything, start a business, but we have to pay it back. The government borrows money and never pays it back.”

HEALTH

U.S. doctors rake in $12 billion from Pharma and medical giants in 10 years

According to a report by JAMA Network, pharmaceutical and medical device companies have paid U.S. doctors a staggering $12 billion over the past decade. These financial incentives, given in exchange for prescribing medications and medical equipment, highlight the urgent need for reform in the healthcare industry.

The real question looming is: Can Americans trust physicians to make the best possible treatment decisions amidst such substantial financial influences?

Undeniable truth about the U.S. healthcare system

The privatization of the American healthcare industry has undeniably spurred significant breakthroughs that have enhanced the human condition worldwide. However, the rapid advancement of medical technology has brought about its own set of challenges.

Big Pharma and Medtech are collaborating closely with the nation’s doctors, but not necessarily in the best interest of the American public. While many Americans place implicit trust in their physicians, assuming they prioritize patient well-being, the pervasive financial corruption within the healthcare industry tells a different story.

This corruption is driving up the costs of prescription medications, medical equipment, and surgical procedures, making them increasingly unaffordable for many individuals.

Highlighting the medical specialties that are the most compromised

Sift through the report linked above, and you’ll find the medical devices and pharmaceutical industries made an incredible 85,087,744 payments to doctors spanning 39 medical specialties. In total, 57% of the nation’s practicing physicians received financial kickbacks for prescribing medications, medical equipment, and other forms of medical care.

Cardiologists, neurologists, psychiatrists and orthopedic surgeons were paid the most. Those in the psychological and neurological fields raked in an impressive $1.32 billion. Orthopedic surgeons received even more, notching an incredible $1.36 billion in the decade.

In contrast, pediatric and trauma surgeons, often characterized as the most diligent and caring in the medical industry, received the fewest financial kickbacks. Trauma surgeons received $6.96 million across the decade, while pediatric surgeons received $2.89 million.

Zooming in further, the largest financial payments were linked to the prescription of specific medications like the immunosuppressant Humira and blood thinners Eliquis and Xarelto. Similarly, examining medical devices with significant payouts reveals the heart valve CoreValve Evolut and two robotic surgery systems, the Mako SmartRobotics and the da Vinci Surgical System, dominating the landscape.

Why were financial payments made to doctors and other medical professionals?

The financial payments detailed above were made primarily for marketing purposes. The logic in making such payments directly to doctors, who in turn pushed drugs and equipment on patients, is that doing so is cheaper than spending billions through other broader marketing and outreach campaigns.

The breadth of the analysis encompassed financial payments made to doctors for education about prescription medications, durable equipment, and more. The funding was also used for auxiliary purposes, including consulting, entertainment, and grants.

Avoid becoming a victim of medical industry corruption

Readers possess personal agency both as patients of medical practices and as taxpayers. You hold the right to inquire whether your doctor has received financial kickbacks from drugmakers, manufacturers of durable medical equipment, and other entities.

Furthermore, you have the power to contact your Congressional representatives and other lawmakers to express your concerns about corruption in the medical industry.

Lastly, take control of your well-being by making healthy diet and lifestyle choices. Empower yourself with knowledge about holistic and natural health solutions rather than relying solely on Big Pharma medications. Remember, not becoming a medical statistic is all about taking good care of yourself.

Don’t Underestimate the Power of a Good Walk

Think walking isn’t intense enough to yield significant fitness gains? Think again. Walking may be the sweet spot of physical activity that your body and mind are craving.

Daily walking is one of the most effective ways to stay fit and active

Regular exercise, including activities as simple as walking, can rejuvenate your mitochondria and reduce the risk of chronic age-related diseases like heart disease, high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes and cancer

Walking outdoors, particularly in a forest, may offer even more significant psychological benefits, including a reduction in negative moods and feelings of depression, tension, anxiety, anger, fatigue and confusion, and an increase in positive mood and vigor

Moderate exercise, which includes walking, improves all-cause survival better than vigorous exercise

The largest health gains from walking occur when going from being sedentary up to 7,000 or 8,000 steps a day, continuing to about 12,000 daily steps

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

The science of social engineering and the end of debt … Technocracy News!

First, it is the “science of social engineering,” and second, “there will be no place for politics, politicians, finance or financiers.” Political systems will vanish in favor of Technocratic control. If there is no private property, finance and financiers will also disappear. This is the meaning of Klaus Schwab’s “you will own nothing” and rent everything.

Currently, the world is awash in debt. Every currency is based on debt. Indeed, debt is the cornerstone of everything. Furthermore, the level of debt around the world is increasing geometrically and forming the “mother of all bubbles.” Bubbles always explode. This implies a reset (Great Reset) of all debt and a reshuffling of assets into the coffers of mega-banks and the Central Banks: all stocks and bonds, all homes, cars, businesses, and everything that was financed.

Enter Central Bank Digital Currency, which will not be debt-based.

By paralyzing the economic cycles, i.e. by artificially triggering a deflationary phase (which is characterized, among other things, by a decline in demand), inflationary overheating was prevented, which would have been caused by the monetary policy of the years since 2008 (the last major financial crisis). (For further information on this, please read Michael Bryant’s article “COVID-19: A Global Financial Operation”)

This policy, also known as “Quantitative Easing”, in conjunction with the deliberate zero interest rate policy – which in my opinion served as bait to lure more people into a spiral of debt – could have triggered a severe recession, or even hyperinflation at worst, on a global scale. The so-called “Covid Aids” gave the elite even more power over the economy and society.

Rising public and private debt naturally means a gain in power for them, because debt always and without exception also means a relationship of dependency between creditor and debtor. In other words: You can more easily dictate your conditions if someone depends on your credit supply.

Lyrid shooting stars mark the return of a spring meteor show in April! Here’s the facts:

A meteor shower to end the year’s meteor shower drought will begin in earnest with the first shooting stars of the Lyrids starting again—as always—from mid-April until month’s end.

If the Lyrids visit when astronomers say they will (they usually do), they will stay within a relatively short window of time, by meteor shower standards, roughly from April 15–29.

Observers of meteor shower trends this year may note fewer than the usual 10–15 Lyrids per hour, under ideally dark and moonless conditions, undoubtedly because this year they will have to compete with the luminous waxing gibbous moon above the horizon.

The Lyrids’ predicted peak, on April 21, will closely coincide with the full moon, on April 23, sure to drown out some of the drama of shooting stars.

SURVEILLANCE STATE

House passes FISA renewal without added warrant mandate for US data

There was drama on the House floor as progressives voted with conservatives to support the warrant mandate that ultimately failed

A bill to renew a key federal government surveillance tool, known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), passed the House of Representatives on Friday, about a week before it is set to expire.

However, House Freedom Caucus conservatives and their allies have blocked the bill from heading to the Senate. In the dramatic moments after its passage, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., raised a procedural measure objecting to the final vote count, which was then countered by the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Laurel Lee, R-Fla., and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner, R-Ohio.

Now, the House must vote on whether to reconsider passage of Section 702 on Monday, shortening the Senate’s timeline to consider the bill before its expiry on April 19.

A modified version of the original bill passed a procedural hurdle late on Thursday after a group of 19 conservative privacy hawks sunk the House GOP’s chance at passing it earlier this week.

The legislation is aimed at reforming Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which allows the government to surveil foreigners abroad with suspected terror links without a warrant. Section 702 allows the FBI to collect communications of a narrow list of foreign targets, even if the person at the other end of the suspect’s communications is an American.

The battle over its renewal has put Johnson in a tough spot between privacy and national security hawks within his conference, while he also navigates a razor-thin majority of just two seats.

National security hawks and members of the intelligence community have called it a critical tool for preventing another 9/11-style attack. However, critics, including both conservatives and progressives, have been seeking to limit its scope after reported instances of abuse to collect data on Americans.

To do that, the House Judiciary Committee backed an amendment that would have required a warrant to query Americans’ data that was collected in the Section 702 system. Opponents of the measure have said it would critically hamper the intelligence community’s ability to quickly detect major threats and equated it to forcing police to get a warrant before running a license plate during a traffic stop.

It was tense in the House chamber on Friday when that amendment, which ultimately failed to pass in a 212 to 212 vote, was being considered. Johnson cast a critical and potentially decisive vote against the amendment, though a spokesperson for the speaker told Fox News Digital that he voted early on during the 25-minute window.

ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT

Dane Wigington has another geoengineering alert out!

“Injecting Sulfur Into The Atmosphere Could Pose Dangerous Risks”, new from Science Alert. But is it just sulfur? Hundreds of precipitation tests reveal numerous other elements coming down through our breathable air column. Elements like aluminum, barium, strontium, manganese, polymer fibers, surfactants and graphene. What could go wrong? Now let’s add this headline from Yahoo News, “World’s population to fall for the first time since the Black Death”. Though official sources would never acknowledge it, are these two headlines actually inseparable? What other elements might the geoengineers be “injecting” into our skies? How exponential might this equation become? And how soon?

Biden is targeting light bulbs now in his latest climate agenda push! Seriously?

The Biden administration is targeting lightbulbs as part of its climate agenda, setting energy efficiency standards that only LED bulbs can meet.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) finalized energy efficiency standards for general service lamps (GSL) on Friday, requiring that the efficiency level of bulbs be raised from 45 lumens per watt to more than 120. GSLs include the most common types of residential and commercial light bulbs. A higher lumen per watt output indicates that the bulb can convert more electrical energy into light, resulting in lower energy consumption.

The new standards can be met by a “broad variety of widely available LED bulbs,” the DOE stated. However, compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) cannot meet the standards, the agency said, while noting that the market is already tDOE claimed that LEDs offer lower electricity consumption and longer lifespan compared to CFLs. Incandescent light bulbs were already effectively banned by the agency last year.

The rules go into effect from July 25, 2028, and are applicable to newly manufactured or imported light bulbs. Manufacturers are obligated to comply with the efficiency standards from this date. The rule does not apply to lightbulbs that are already manufactured or are in use.

transitioning away from such bulbs.

GARDENING, FARMING & HOMESTEADING

How to Use Regenerative Farming Principles to Grow Healthier Food in Your Own Garden

Regenerative agriculture isn’t just for expansive farmlands. Did you know you can apply it to your own garden, too? Discussion with Gabe Brown.

The challenge facing most farmers today is that conventional agriculture has decimated the topsoil with tilling and synthetic fertilizers, which disrupt and destroy the microbial life necessary to grow nutrient-dense food

Few agricultural areas have a deficiency in phosphorus and most farmers do not need to apply this synthetic fertilizer

A significant amount of the phosphorus applied ends up running off. Only minute amounts actually go into the plants the year it’s applied. The rest leaches into the watershed and feed algae blooms

Mycorrhizal fungi grow in healthy soils and are responsible for nutrient transfers between plants and soil biology. The most critical thing in a plant’s life is its relationship with mycorrhizal fungi, which is why tillage and synthetic chemicals should be avoided

The five basic principles for building a healthy soil ecosystem are: not disturbing the soil microbiome, protecting the soil surface with cover crops, diversification, maintaining living roots in the ground as long as possible and integrating livestock and insects

2ND AMENDMENT

George Alan Kelly says he had no reason to believe he shot an illegal immigrant!

On the night of his arrest, George Alan Kelly told investigators that he had “no reason to believe” that he had shot and killed an illegal immigrant who was later found dead on his ranch property on Jan. 30, 2023.

“I’ve never been confronted with a situation such as this. I’m still somewhat agitated. I’m still quite nervous—upset,” Mr. Kelly said during the videotaped interview with detectives for the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office.

Thirty minutes into the interview, however, Mr. Kelly admitted to firing an AK-47 rifle over the heads of five illegal immigrants in tactical clothing whom he believed to be armed and trafficking drugs across his property.

During the 13th day of the trial, the prosecution played the jury a compact disc copy of the 50-minute video interview of Mr. Kelly in Santa Cruz County Superior Court in which the defendant vehemently denied any involvement in the victim’s death.

Mr. Ainza asked, “Do you know why you’re here?”

Mr. Kelly responded, “Yeah, I know why they brought me down here—because I found a body on my ranch.”

The detective read Mr. Kelly his Miranda rights, but he continued the interview without an attorney present.

Investigators recovered nine spent shell casings from the ranch house porch that ballistics experts testified likely came from an AK-47.

However, the defense argued that the prosecution has yet to provide evidence that the fatal wound came from a bullet fired from the defendant’s rifle from a distance of 116 yards. Nor have investigators been able to locate the bullet.

“I knew this was bad,” Mr. Kelly told the two detectives during the interview. “I could tell the individual—I have medical training—wasn’t breathing. I knew—OK, I’ve got a body here; there is going to be an investigation. They’re going to need the evidence not to be contaminated. I backed up and went back to the house the way I came.”

Mr. Kelly said he made a second call to the Border Patrol, and a sheriff’s office dispatch called him a short time later.

The prosecution played that seven-minute conversation to the jury on April 12.

Report indicates that Americans own over 700-million ammo mags of greater than 10 rounds!

A report from the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) indicates Americans own

over 700 million ammunition magazines with a greater than ten-round capacity.

NSSF’s Detachable Magazine Report (1990-2021) found an estimated total of 963,772,000 ammunition magazines in circulation. Of those, an estimated 717,900,000 have a capacity of greater than ten rounds.

These findings led NSSF to point out that magazine capacity of greater then ten rounds is “standard” in America. Moreover, “46 percent of the magazines estimated in this study are rifle magazines with 30+ round capacity.”

NSSF senior vice president and general counsel Larry Keane commented on the findings, “The data establishes that law-abiding gun owners overwhelming choose magazines that have a capacity to hold more than ten rounds for lawful purposes including self-defense, target shooting and hunting.”

On January 12, 2024, Breitbart News pointed to NSSF figures showing there were an estimated 473.2 million firearms in U.S. civilian hands by the end of 2021.

Additionally, according to an NSSF press release, there are 28,144,000 rifles in circulation that fit the Democrat’s “assault weapons” descriptor.

COVID RELATED NEWS

The FDA Commissioner has again come out against Ivermectin despite conclusive evidence!

The FDA commissioner said that ivermectin does not work at all against COVID-19, just days after his agency deleted social media posts that had urged people not to use the drug as a COVID-19 treatment.

“If you look at the randomized trials of ivermectin, and there’s many of them now, there is no benefit of ivermectin in the treatment of COVID,” Dr. Robert Califf said in Washington during a congressional hearing. He also said there were risks to taking the drug.

Dr. Califf’s comments are false. While some randomized trials have not found a benefit for ivermectin, others found ivermectin takers were better off than people in comparison groups.

“I would urge Dr. Califf to engage in debate with myself or other doctors who are actually treating COVID patients using ivermectin,” Dr. Mary Talley Bowden, one of the doctors who sued the FDA, told The Epoch Times in a message on the social media platform X.

“Dr. Califf has zero hands-on, clinical experience and is somehow ignorant of the 102 peer-reviewed studies showing efficacy of ivermectin in COVID patients. Further, if he would take the time to refer to the FDA’s own data, he might understand how safe ivermectin is,” she added.

CANCEL CULTURE

Seattle line dancing squad booted from event because of their patriotic shirts!

Members of a country line dance team said they were booted from a competition because their American flag-themed shirts made some people in the audience feel “triggered and unsafe.”

Last weekend, the Borderline Dance squad was set to perform at the Emerald City Hoedown in Seattle, Washington. The dance group said they had been invited to dance at the competition for the past three years, but the pandemic prevented them from performing.

The Borderline Dance troupe stated in a Facebook post, “Dance teams work their boots off preparing for performances like these. Extra practices, babysitters, ferry rides, hours upon hours of practice and commute time and time away from their families. We all were very excited to perform for this event.”

However, the country line dance squad said they were not welcome because of concerns over their American flag-themed uniforms.

The dance team said the reason why people could be offended by uniforms inspired by the American flag is because of the pro-Palestine opinions regarding the Israel-Hamas warand because of the transgender agenda.

The dance squad claimed that they were threatened with an “ultimatum” to “remove the flag tops and perform in either street clothes (which most didn’t bring as they traveled there in their uniforms) or they would supply us with ECH shirts from years past” or not be given the opportunity to perform at all.

The Borderline Dance team said all of the members decided against dancing at all at the competition. They noted that another dance squad refused to perform in solidarity with them.

“Our friends, West Coast Country Heat, who were also scheduled to dance for the convention that evening also did not perform as they too proudly don the colors of our country in the same spirit of patriotism that we do,” the Facebook post read.

The dance team stated, “Because although we may not always agree with the current state of things, we recognize that being an American means true FREEDOM. We all understood and accepted this and walked out with class and dignity despite the discrimination we had experienced.”

The Borderline Dance squad said they received “amazing” support from a majority of the community and Emerald City Hoedown organizers.

The Borderline Dance squad said they received “amazing” support from a majority of the community and Emerald City Hoedown organizers. However, they also said that they were “disappointed” that the country dance competition was “overshadowed by the political opinions of a small percentage.”

Anti-Israel protester accused of threatening California officials; 18 charges filed!

An anti-Israel protester is accused of lobbing terroristic threats at city council members in

Bakersfield, California, claiming they are all “horrible human beings.”
The incident happened during the meeting on Wednesday when residents are allowed to share their

comments, Fox News reported Friday.
The suspect in the case, identified as Riddhi Patel, is accused of threatening to kill council members and Mayor Karen Goh (R).

The reason for the alleged threats was because Patel said the council did not support “a cease-fire resolution against Israel and for installing heavier security at the government building due to ongoing anti-Israel protests,” the Fox article read.

Video footage shows Patel standing at the podium. She said, “You guys are all horrible human beings and Jesus probably would have killed you himself,” adding the council did not care about “anything happening in Palestine or any other country where oppression occurs because you don’t care about the oppression occurring here.”

“I hope one day somebody brings the guillotine and kills all of you motherfuckers,” she stated.

Her comments came during two speeches she gave at the podium on Wednesday. When she spoke a second time, Patel criticized the council for installing metal detectors at the building she claimed targeted protesters.

“We’ll see you at your house. We’ll murder you,” the woman is accused of saying:

Following her speeches, officials took Patel into custody and she is now facing numerous felony counts in the case, the Fox article said, adding, “Anti-Israel protesters who were there with Patel tried to distance themselves from the woman after she was arrested.”

Video footage shows the moment officers escorted her out of the meeting:
During her appearance in court on Friday, Patel, whom 23 ABC News reported is facing 18 charges, pleaded not guilty and her bail was set at $1 million.

ICYMI

1 dead, multiple victims injured after 18-wheeler crashes into Texas DPS office!

One person has died and several others are injured after a man allegedly stole an 18-wheeler and crashed into a Texas Department of Public Safety office in Brenham on Friday, officials said.

In a news conference Friday afternoon, DPS Regional Director Gerald Brown identified the suspect as 42-year-old Clenard Parker.

Officials said Mr. Parker was being chased by a police officer when he crashed the truck into the DPS office located in the rural town of Brenham, about 75 miles west of Houston.

Mr. Brown said 14 people were injured in the incident. DPS has not released the name of the person who died at the hospital.

Texas Rangers are investigating the incident, and there is no further threat to the community, DPS officials said in a post on X.

Montgomery County Judge Mark Keough said in a Facebook post that the suspect intentionally crashed into the building after being denied a Commercial Drivers License.

A DPS official told reporters that the suspect, who lives in nearby Chapell Hill, visited the driver’s license office on Thursday afternoon, where he was denied a commercial driver’s license.

“While he was there, the driver’s license staff advised Parker that he was not eligible to renew his commercial driver’s license,” the official said.

On Friday morning, police were pursuing the stolen 18-wheeler driven by the suspect when it took a “hard right turn and went into the DPS Brenham office.”

There were people in the driver’s license waiting area when the vehicle drove into the building, officials said. Police have not released the names and details of the person who died or those who were injured.

The suspect, who was not injured, was arrested at the scene.

House Speaker Mike Johnson warned a Democrat could become speaker if he’s ousted!

Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) warned that attempts to remove him as speaker of the House could result in the position being occupied by a Democrat or remaining vacant for potentially a “long amount of time.”

On March 22, while House members were voting on a $1.2 trillion spending bill, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) filed a motion to vacate the Speaker, claiming that Mr. Johnson was not standing up for Republican policies.

Ms. Greene pointed out that the spending bill “doesn’t secure our border, but funds full-term abortion and trans ideology on our youth. I filed a Motion to Vacate because the House needs a Speaker who’s able to win for Republicans and our constituents,” in a post on social media platform X.

If the spending bill was not passed, the government would have had to shut down, which “would be very painful for the American people. They would blame the Republicans.”

Mr. Johnson said that shutting down Congress would hurt GOP chances of growing the majority in the chambers as well as President Trump’s presidential chances because “all of our fates in some sense are tied together.”

He insisted that pushing a motion to vacate a speaker is a “dangerous thing” to do right now as Republicans need to show that “we can keep this country moving forward.”

“Civil War” opened at box offices all across America over the weekend … Imagine that?

Alex Garland‘s dystopian action movie Civil War conquered the domestic box office this weekend with $25.7 million, ahead of expectations and scoring A24’s biggest opening ever.

The $50 million movie about a divided America is a big swing for A24 as it tries to produce bigger movies, marking its most expensive production to date.

There are clearly split feelings about the film. Moviegoers only bestowed it with a B- CinemaScore, while PostTrack exits were mixed. The movie’s audience skewed heavily male, or 73 percent. Imax runs are a boon for the movie, and contributed more than 16 percent of the gross.

Civil War follows a wartime photojournalist (Kirsten Dunst) and her colleagues as they make their way across a hostile United States of America that has been torn apart under the authoritarian rule of a three-term president (Nick Offerman). Yet the film shies away from red state/blue state divisions, and the politics behind the conflict are generally left unexplained, other than to say that one of the president’s first actions was to disband the FBI in an apparent nod to former President Donald Trump, who has called to “defund” the Bureau.

Civil War‘s timing surely isn’t a coincidence, as it hits cinemas amid a contentious election year in which President Biden and former President Trump are once again the leading candidates for their respective parties and Trump seeks to return to the White House.

At a SXSW panel following the film’s premiere, Garland said it made sense to release Civil War now, although it’s not as if there is anything new about the contentious political discourse gripping the country.