Today is Memorial Day, a celebration of the dead, not the living!
The Civil War, which ended in the spring of 1865, claimed more lives than any conflict in U.S. history and required the establishment of the country’s first national cemeteries
By the late 1860s, Americans in various towns and cities had begun holding springtime tributes to these countless fallen soldiers, decorating their graves with flowers and reciting prayers.
It is unclear where exactly this tradition originated; numerous di!erent communities may have independently initiated the memorial gatherings. And some records show that one of the earliest Memorial Day commemorations was organized by a group of formerly enslaved people in Charleston, South Carolina less than a month after the Confederacy surrendered in 1865. Nevertheless, in 1966 the federal government declared Waterloo, New York, the o#cial birthplace of Memorial Day.
Waterloo—which first celebrated the day on May 5, 1866—was chosen because it hosted an annual, community-wide event, during which businesses closed and residents decorated the graves of soldiers with flowers and flags
WORLD NEWS
Top UN Court orders Israel to halt Rafah combat operations; Israel says “forget that”!
The Netherlands-based International Court of Justice (ICJ) called on the Israeli government on Friday to immediately halt its military operations in the southern Gaza Strip territory of Rafah.
By a 13–2 vote, the top United Nations court ordered Israeli forces to halt “its military offensive, and any other action in the Rafah Governorate.”
This ICJ ruling comes after the government of South Africa requested the court modify its January order for the Israeli government to take precautions to prevent harm to civilians amid its ongoing military operations in the Gaza Strip. The South African government had argued that the Israeli operations in the Gaza Strip could constitute acts of genocide against the Palestinian people, and had sought an ICJ ordered ceasefire across the territory, which the international court declined in its January order.
In its Friday ruling, the majority at the Hague court concluded the latest Israeli operations in and around Rafah “may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.”
In a second 13–2 vote, the ICJ also called on the Israeli government to “maintain open the Rafah crossing for unhindered provision at scale of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance.”
In a third vote along the same margins, the ICJ called for Israel to ensure U.N. investigative teams have unimpeded access to enter the Gaza Strip “to investigate allegations of genocide” within the embattled territory.
In a fourth 13–2 vote, the ICJ also ordered the government of Israel to issue a report documenting its efforts to comply with the court’s other orders regarding the conflict in the Gaza Strip.
Biden’s $320-million Gaza pier has detached and drifted onto an Israeli beach!
A section of the $320 million floating pier built and erected off Gaza’s coast has broken off and floated onto an Israeli beach. The Saturday mishap is the latest setback for the US humanitarian aid project, after three US troops were reported injured aboard the pier two days prior, including one critically.
The Times of Israel’s military correspondent Emanuel Fabian has reported that “An American vessel used to unload humanitarian aid from ships into the Gaza Strip via a floating pier disconnected from a small boat tugging it this morning due to stormy seas, leading it to get stuck on the coast of Ashdod, eyewitnesses say.”
The recovery operation has not gone well either, as “Another ship was then sent to try and extract the stuck vessel, but also got beached,” Fabian writes.
And yet a second US Army vessel also got stuck in shallow waters while trying to rescue the pier section. Overnight US ships had been moving two pieces of the floating pier to the Port of Ashdod in southern Israel when the now beached section detached and drifted away. American troops can be seen in footage standing helplessly on the beach.
The pier operation was already last week off to a rough start — and
was paused for two days — after desperate Palestinians mobbed and ransacked the first trucks transporting aid unloaded from the pier before they could reach a distribution warehouse managed by the World Food Programme.
Papua, New Guinea landslide buried more than 2,000 people!
Papua New Guinea’s massive landslide three days ago buried more than 2,000 people, the government said on Monday, as treacherous terrain impeded aid and lowered hopes of finding survivors.
The National Disaster Centre gave the new number in a letter to the U.N., which had put possible deaths at more than 670.
Defence Minister Billy Joseph said 4,000 people had been living in the six remote and mountainous villages in the Maip-Mulitaka area in Enga province, where the landslide occurred in the early hours of Friday while most were asleep.
More than 150 houses were buried beneath debris almost two storeys high. Rescuers heard screams from beneath the earth.
More than 72 hours after the landslide, residents were still using spades, sticks and bare hands to try and shift debris. Only five bodies had been found, according to the provincial authority.
More than 250 homes have been evacuated, he said, with more than 1,250 people displaced.
No deal!: WHO fails to secure global pandemic treaty!
No deal. That was the message for World Health Organization (W.H.O.) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Friday after his proposed global pandemic treaty was rejected after two years of closed-door meetings in Geneva, Switzerland.
AP reports Roland Driece, co-chair of W.H.O.’s negotiating board for the agreement, acknowledged countries were unable to deliver an agreed proposal. W.H.O. had hoped a final draft treaty could be agreed on at its yearly meeting of health ministers starting Monday in Geneva.
“We are not where we hoped we would be when we started this process,” he said, adding that finalizing an international agreement on how to respond to a pandemic was critical “for the sake of humanity” even as a host of countries disagreed with the basic principle that unelected, unaccountable, health bureaucrats could somehow decide major global decisions on government policies.
Earlier this month, U.S. Republican senators wrote to the Biden administration, arguing the draft treaty focused on issues like “shredding intellectual property rights” and “supercharging the WHO.” They urged Biden not to sign off.
Driece said the World Health Assembly next week would urge participants to make “the right decisions to take this process forward” to one day reach a pandemic agreement “because we need it.”
Addressing a sullen final day of negotiations, the W.H.O. chief insisted, “This is not a failure.”
“We will try everything — believing that anything is possible — and make this happen because the world still needs a pandemic treaty,” Tedros said. “Because many of the challenges that caused a serious impact during COVID-19 still exist.”
Despite the desire of W.H.O. career bureaucrats to push ahead with the scheme, Britain’s department of health had already said it would only agree to an accord if it adhered to British national interest and sovereignty.
The co-chairs of the treaty-drafting process didn’t specify what caused the logjam, but diplomats have said vast differences remained over sharing of information about pathogens that emerge and the sharing of technologies to fight them, the AP report sets out.
Precious Matsoso, the other co-chair of W.H.O.’s negotiating board for the pandemic treaty, said there was still an opportunity to reach agreement and efforts would go on — despite the inability to reach a deal on Friday.
“We will make sure that this happens, because when the next pandemic hits, it will not spare us,” she said.
U.S. NEWS, POLITICS & GOVERNMENT
At least 5 dead. 80 hurt after tornadoes strike in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas!
At least five people, including children, are dead after a powerful tornado barreled into a crowded gas station in Texas, Saturday night — causing the whole structure to collapse.
Up to 80 people were injured, and officials warned the death toll is likely “going to go up.”
The tornado in Valley View — about 60 miles north of Dallas — was just one of several devastating twisters reported across the Lone Star State, Oklahoma and Arkansas.
A deadly, overnight tornado ripped through Valley View, TX.
Cooke County Sheriff Ray Sappington confirmed were killed in the severe overnight storm that struck the AP Travel Center, which includes as Shell gas station and restaurants south of town — injuring between 60 and 80 people taking shelter inside.
Dozens of panicked drivers had pulled into the gas station to get off the road during the dangerous weather, only to be caught directly in the path of the tornado.
Numerous people had to be rescued after being trapped inside.
“I can also tell you that number is going to go up,” Sappington said.
Forecasters had issued tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings for parts of both states Saturday, as heat records were broken over the long holiday weekend.
As the storm moved through the region it overturned motorhomes brought down powerlines and trees and made some roads completely inaccessible.
On Saturday night the National Weather Service’s office in Norman, Oklahoma, warned areas north of Oklahoma City to “take cover now!” In a follow-up post at 10:05 p.m., the agency noted the storms had left the area and were headed across north Texas.
The storm system was expected to move east as Memorial Day weekend continues, bringing rain that could delay the Indianapolis 500 auto race Sunday and more severe storms in Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Kentucky.
The risk of severe weather is expected to move into North Carolina and Virginia on Monday, forecasters said.
Kentucky warns of more severe weather; Governor declares state of emergency!
Kentucky governor Andy Beshear declared a state emergency early on Monday after tornado-spawning thunderstorms swept the U.S. Southern Plains and Ozarks, killing at least 14 people and wrecking hundreds of buildings as forecasters warned of more severe weather.
“Severe weather continues to move through the commonwealth with multiple reports of wind damage and tornadoes,” Beshear said in a post on X.
On Sunday, as storms shifted to the northeast, unleashing more extreme weather across the U.S. heartland, a landscaper was killed by a tree toppled in winds that gusted to 80 miles per hour in Louisville, Kentucky, police said.
The Weather Service warned of additional storms moving through the Ohio and Tennessee valleys, bringing a mix of damaging winds, large hail and more tornadoes, as well as heavy downpours capable of triggering flash floods.
Trump holds South Bronx NY Campaign rally; Gov. Hochul calls attendees “clowns”!
Trump’s decision to speak in the Bronx was in part a matter of convenience. His campaign schedule has been crimped by his trial in New York. In April, he made a campaign appearance at a convenience store in Harlem, New York. The trial is supposed to conclude this week.
Special Counsel Smith requests gag order for Trump in classified documents case!
Special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecutors asked the judge presiding over former President Donald Trump’s classified documents case in Florida on Friday to issue a gag order following remarks he made about the FBI raid on his Mar-a-Lago estate.
In a filing on Friday, prosecutors asked Judge Aileen Cannon to modify the conditions of President Trump’s release from jail before trial to prevent him from making statements that may pose a “significant, imminent, and foreseeable danger” to the FBI agents involved in the planning and execution of the search and seizure of presidential documents stored at his Florida estate.
“Those statements create a grossly misleading impression about the intentions and conduct of federal law enforcement agents—falsely suggesting that they were complicit in a plot to assassinate him—and expose those agents, some of whom will be witnesses at trial, to the risk of threats, violence, and harassment,” the filing states.
President Trump’s lawyers objected to the prosecution’s motion and timing of their request on the Memorial holiday weekend, according to prosecutors. They’ll meet and confer today.
Top billionaire says he’s backing Trump; vote for change!
Stephen Schwarzman, the CEO and co-founder of real estate giant Blackstone, said Friday that he is planning to support former President Donald Trump’s campaign as a “vote for change.”
Mr. Schwarzman cited what he called a “dramatic rise of antisemitism” in the United States that has led him to “focus on the consequences of upcoming elections with greater urgency.”
While he did not go into specifics, the Blackstone CEO is likely referring to a number of left-wing protests across U.S. college campuses and elsewhere against Israeli activity in Gaza following the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks led by Hamas.
In addition, Schwarzman stated he will be supporting GOP Senate candidates and other Republicans up and down the ticket.
Blackstone is one of the world’s largest real estate companies and is one of the largest investors in leveraged buyouts in the last three decades. It’s not the same as Blackrock, the world’s largest asset management company that has sought to position itself as a leader in the controversial environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) policies.
Mr. Schwarzman is worth about $38 billion as of May 2024, according to an estimate from Forbes magazine. It places him squarely within the top 50 billionaires worldwide.
Recall aimed at progressive Oakland Mayor Sheong Thao collects enough signatures!
A recall effort aimed at “progressive” Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao has gathered enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot, organizers say — though they are still collecting signatures to ensure that they survive a challenge.
Mayor Thao has been the target of criticism since she fired Oakland Police Department Chief LeRonne Armstrong, who had criticized “defund the police” and who had taken a tough approach to crime.
Organizers know they have to be careful about signatures. A recall effort against George Soros-backed Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón was disqualified in 2022 by county workers who claimed there were too many invalid signatures.
Oakland voters have already gathered enough signatures to qualify a recall of Soros-backed Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price for the November ballot, according to the Chronicle.
Supreme Court Justice Thomas says courts lack authority in redistricting cases!
Matthew Vadum, who we just had on as a guest at The Power Hour, reports:
Justice Clarence Thomas criticized the landmark Brown v. Board of Education ruling this week days after its 70th anniversary, suggesting in a redistricting case that the Supreme Court used faulty reasoning when it declared that it was unconstitutional to separate schoolchildren by race.
This is a problem because the same defective thinking appears in the court’s redistricting decisions, according to the court’s longest-serving justice.
Brown was actually two decisions.
In the first ruling on May 17, 1954, the court unanimously overturned the “separate but equal” principle established in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) in a challenge to public school segregation in Topeka, Kansas. The court held that government-sanctioned separation by race violated the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, a decision that bolstered the civil rights movement.
On May 31, 1955, in a decision known as Brown II, the court unanimously ordered the states to go ahead with desegregation plans “with all deliberate speed.” Some constitutional scholars criticized the decision for upending precedent and writing new law on the basis of data presented by social scientists.
There was considerable resistance in some states until 1957, when Republican President Dwight Eisenhower, who had personally been lukewarm to Brown, decided he was constitutionally obligated to enforce the rulings. He federalized the Arkansas National Guard and used it to protect minority high school students in Little Rock, Arkansas, where Democrat Gov. Orval Faubus had been resisting desegregation.
Justice Thomas’s statement came in a concurring opinion filed May 23, which upheld a congressional redistricting plan in South Carolina. The court found in Alexander v. South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP that the map was adopted because of political considerations and was not a product of race-based discrimination.
The Supreme Court treats racial gerrymandering as constitutionally suspect but allows partisan gerrymandering.
The ruling benefits Republicans who face voters in November as they defend their razor-thin majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. The seat in South Carolina’s 1st congressional district is currently held by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.).
The court majority held that challengers failed to demonstrate that race was the main factor in the redistricting, as opposed to more mundane partisan considerations.
Redistricting, which the Constitution primarily entrusts to state legislatures, is “an inescapably political enterprise,” Justice Alito wrote.
Justice Clarence Thomas joined the majority opinion except for one part and filed his own separate opinion concurring in part. In his concurring opinion, Justice Thomas suggested that courts should not be involved in adjudicating gerrymandering claims at all.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Democrat mayors ask Biden to give work permits to illegal immigrants!
Forty-one Democrat mayors and county officials wrote a letter to President Joe Biden asking his administration to grant parole and work permits for millions of illegal immigrants residing in the United States.
“Our request is rooted in the belief that extending the dignity of legal authorization to work for our residents born in Mexico, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, and other countries would be a positive step forward,” the Democrats wrote in the May 23 letter (pdf).
They noted that roughly 11.3 million American citizens today share a home with an undocumented individual. As such, this issue is critical in certain “key electoral states” like Nevada, Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and North Carolina, they wrote.
Democrats asked the Department of Homeland Security to “leverage its authority” to grant parole for both long-term and recent illegal immigrants, thus qualifying them for work authorization. Allowing illegal immigrants to legally work in the country would result in higher wages, shield them from workplace exploitation, and enable them to contribute to the economy, they said.
The letter claimed that legal work done by illegal aliens would bring in an estimated $13.8 billion annually in tax contributions. Citing a U.S. Congressional Budget Office (CBO) prediction, Democrats said that “new arriving immigrants” could boost the U.S. GDP by $7 trillion over the next 10 years, without specifying whether they were legal or not.
Claims of illegal immigrants boosting the U.S. economy have been countered by several studies. A March 2023 analysis by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) found that the United States bears a fiscal burden of $150.7 billion annually due to illegal immigration.
“Tax payments by illegal aliens cover only around a sixth of the costs they create at all levels in this country,” the analysis said. “Many illegal aliens actually receive a net cash profit through refundable tax credit programs.” Moreover, numerous illegal immigrants work in the underground economy and thus avoid paying income taxes at all, FAIR noted.
HEALTH
About that 10-year follow-up colonoscopy … maybe not such a great idea that soon!
The invasive and expensive nature of colonoscopies makes determining how to maximize their usefulness—particularly when it comes to follow-up screenings—a prominent topic of research. It’s undisputed that the surgical-based test can save lives, but the timing remains a moving target.
Three years ago, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force lowered the recommended age for the first colorectal cancer screening by five years—from 50 years of age to 45. Now, the gap between the first and second tests is being scrutinized.
Long-term data used in a JAMA Oncology study published this month suggests it may be time to move the follow-up screening back five years in certain circumstances. Specifically, the study indicates that anyone who doesn’t have a family history of colorectal cancer and whose first colonoscopy was free of polyps—abnormal tissue growth that can lead to cancer—could have their second screening test in 15 years, rather than the current recommendation of 10 years.
The JAMA study recommendation not only considered family history but confirmed there is a lower risk for people without an immediate family member affected by colorectal cancer.
1.8-million bottles of Fiji water impacted by FDA recall notice; pose no health risk company says!
About 1.9 million bottles of Fiji Water have been recalled across the United States after testing found a mineral and three types of bacteria, according to a notice posted on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) website last week, although the company later said that it poses “no health or safety risk.”
Natural Waters of Viti Limited recalled 78,533 cases, which amounts to about 1.88 million bottles, of Fiji Water. Testing found manganese and “three bacterial genera,” said the FDA on May 23, although the types of bacteria were not disclosed.
The FDA indicated that the recall is now under a Class III categorization, which means it is “a situation in which use of, or exposure to, a violative product is not likely to cause adverse health consequences.”
Several weeks ago, the company said in a statement on social media that the lots of Fiji Water that are under recall were sold via Amazon.com. “FIJI Water remains safe to buy and consume,” it said at the time after Amazon issued an alert about the water.
“We understand the frustration” and the alert “sent by Amazon does not accurately reflect the issue,” the company also said.
In response to the recall update last week, Fiji said in a statement to multiple news outlets that the FDA classification that was announced “relates to a matter from several months ago that never posed any health or safety risk.”
“It affected products that were sold through only one distributor, and 99 percent of all those affected bottles were reclaimed with the remainder in warehouses to be returned. There is no higher priority to us than the safety and quality of Fiji Water,” the statement said. “There is no health or safety risk posed from manganese or bacteria in the recalled lots of FIJI Water. Moreover, FIJI Water conducts regular testing to ensure consumers enjoy the soft, smooth taste of FIJI Water that they expect and love.”
The cases contained 24 bottles each, according to the notice, and the cases have a UPC Code of 6 32565 00004 3, while the bottle has a code of 6 32565 00001 2. The production dates are Nov. 11, 2023; Nov. 12, 2023; Nov. 13, 2023; Nov. 24, 2023; and Nov. 25, 2023.
The affected bottles of Fiji Water were sold between Feb. 1 and March 3, 2024, the firm said in its statement.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Google criticized as AI overview makes errors like saying President Obama is Muslim!
It’s been less than two weeks since Google debuted “AI Overview” in Google Search, and public criticism has mounted after queries have returned nonsensical or inaccurate results within the AI feature — without any way to opt out.
AI Overview shows a quick summary of answers to search questions at the very top of Google Search. For example, if a user searches for the best way to clean leather boots, the results page may display an “AI Overview” at the top with a multi-step cleaning process, gleaned from information it synthesized from around the web.
But social media users have shared a wide range of screenshots showing the AI tool giving incorrect and controversial responses.
Google, Microsoft, OpenAI and other companies are at the helm of a generative
AI arms race as companies in seemingly every industry rush to add AI-powered chatbots and agents to avoid being left behind by competitors. The market is predicted to top $1 trillion in revenue within a decade.
Here are some examples of errors produced by AI Overview, according to screenshots shared by users.
When asked how many Muslim presidents the U.S. has had, AI Overview responded, “The United States has had one Muslim president, Barack Hussein Obama.”
When a user searched for “cheese not sticking to pizza,” the feature suggested adding “about 1/8 cup of nontoxic glue to the sauce.” Social media users found an 11-year-old Reddit comment that seemed to be the source.
Attribution can also be a problem for AI Overview, especially in attributing inaccurate information to medical professionals or scientists.
For instance, when asked, “How long can I stare at the sun for best health,” the tool said, “According to WebMD, scientists say that staring at the sun for 5-15 minutes, or up to 30 minutes if you have darker skin, is generally safe and provides the most health benefits.”
When asked, “How many rocks should I eat each day,” the tool said, “According to UC Berkeley geologists, people should eat at least one small rock a day,” going on to list the vitamins and digestive benefits.
The tool also can respond inaccurately to simple queries, such as making up a list of fruits that end with “um,” or saying the year 1919 was 20 years ago.
SURVEILLANCE STATE
House passes anti-CBDC bill to prevent financial surveillance of Americans!
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill preventing the government from issuing a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), which could enable surveillance similar to that employed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). HR 5403 or the “CBDC Anti- Surveillance State Act” was introduced by Rep. Tom Emmer (R- Minn.) in September.
The bill prohibits the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank from “offering products or services directly to an individual, maintaining an account on their behalf of an individual, or issuing a central bank digital currency (i.e., a digital dollar) directly or indirectly to an individual.” In addition, “the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is prohibited from using a central bank digital currency to implement monetary policy or from issuing a central bank digital currency.”
Last week, the House passed HR 5403 in a 216-192 vote tally. In a May 23 press release, Rep. Emmer pointed out that, unlike decentralized cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, a CBDC is a digital version of sovereign currency that is designed, issued, and controlled by a government.
Since it is subject to central control and is programmable by the entity controlling it, a CBDC does not have the privacy protections that cash affords. As such, if a CBDC were to be imposed in the United States, the federal government would have the power to surveil the transactions of American citizens.
Furthermore, it can also suppress political activity that a ruling party deems problematic through financial restrictions and manipulations.
In 2022, the Biden administration issued an executive order backing the research and development of a CBDC.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
Dane Wigington has a new Geoengineering Watch alert out!
“Millions Of Americans Brace For ‘Intense’ Tornadoes During Memorial Day Weekend” from Fox News. “Hefty late-season Prairies snow may approach an all-time record” from The Weather Network. “Scorching heat wave to roast Texas, Gulf Coast over Memorial Day weekend” from Reuters. “Giant Hail Is the Weather Threat Keeping Insurers Up at Night” from Bloomberg. Tornadoes, record snow, record heat and giant hail, all in late May. Does this combination of catastrophes make sense? It does when climate intervention operations are considered. How much more interference and damage can the planet’s life support systems sustain before they completely collapse?
FOOD, PREPPING, GARDENING, FARMING & HOMESTEADING
15 Natural Antibiotic Alternatives
Here’s a list of 15 natural antibiotic alternatives (instead of Big Pharma):
- Garlic
- Goldenseal
- Licorice
- Echinacea
- Aloe Vera
- Coconut Oil
- Tea Tree Oil
- Cayenne Pepper
- Turmeric
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Ginger
- Grapefruit Seed Extract
- Oregano Oil
- Honey
- Cinnamon
2ND AMENDMENT
Two Chechens with no personal identification – and who were in no US national databases, otherwise illegal aliens that likely invaded the nation through the southern border, were ‘taking photos’ – or possibly surveilling – outside the home of an elite US Army special forces colonel near Fort Liberty, formerly Fort Bragg, in North Carolina.
Fox News reports the colonel confronted the men, one of which was using a “telephoto lens” and taking “photos of his children” outside his home on the evening of May 3, and that’s the moment when an altercation broke out, with the special forces operator shooting and killing one of the Chechens.
The FBI told Fox News, “Our law enforcement partners at the Moore County Sheriff’s Office contacted the FBI after a shooting death in Carthage. A special agent met with investigators and provided a linguist to assist with a language barrier for interviews.”
Local Sheriff Ronnie Fields said, “The caller indicated that an individual was observed taking photographs on the property and had become aggressive towards a resident outside their home…. The deceased was found approximately 250 yards from the roadway, along a powerline on the residential property.”
Over the years, special operations soldiers have seen an increase in “strange interactions” and “suspicious surveillance of them and their families,” according to Fox News. Some say this is part of foreign spy programs.
The illegal alien who was killed, 35-year-old Ramzan Daraev, was working as a subcontractor for Utilities One, but at the time of the incident, “Daraev was not in possession of any utility equipment, utility clothing, or identification,” Fox News said.
Intel sources explain to Fox that “power company employment is often a cover for status/action.”
This incident is still a mystery. The biggest red flag is an illegal alien using a telephoto lens to snap photos outside the home of an elite special forces officer. Maybe if Joe Biden and the Democrats didn’t flood the nation with ten million illegals, incidents like this wouldn’t happen.
Also, why is a “foreign corporation” working on US critical infrastructure?
COVID RELATED NEWS
A North Carolina bill to increase penalties for criminals who wear masks to conceal their identity while committing a crime is being scrutinized and framed as an attempt to target those who continue to follow COVID-era health precautions.
Republican state Sen. Buck Newton told The Epoch Times that the bill’s intent, however, is not to prohibit people from wearing masks if that is what they choose, but in response to growing law enforcement and business concerns over crime.
“More and more people are using masks and other clothing to disguise themselves when engaging in criminal behavior,” Mr. Newton said. “It seems logical to increase penalties for those who do so.”
Essentially, the target of the bill are those who are trying to hide their identity, Sen. Newton said, so people who choose to wear a mask for COVID reasons, or because it’s a part of their job, are free to continue to do so.
Other exceptions include performing arts, Halloween, and Mardi Gras masks during holidays and other special occasions, he said.
Democrat state Sen. Sydney Batch spoke about the legislation on ABC News’ podcast “Start Here” when she criticized the removal of the COVID exemption.
She said she agreed with Republicans on needing legislation to make the jobs of law enforcement easier, but at the same time, the immunocompromised must stay protected.
“Some people say that we’re fear-mongering,” Sen. Batch said. “And what I would tell you is that for someone who’s been immunocompromised in the past and had to wear masks, and my children and my husband wear masks to protect me, you know, I’m not fear-mongering. It’s a genuine concern, right? Somebody can actually die and get very ill if they are not able to protect themselves, if they’re immunocompromised, etc.”
She went on to say that, if passed, the legislation would disproportionately impact the black community.
“And so there are a lot of individuals in the community that will still wear a mask,” she said. “A lot of black churches, you’ll see people still wearing masks, but they also disproportionately, if you look at statistics, also get stopped by and questioned by police, disproportionate to, obviously, the population.”
CANCEL CULTURE
Kansas City fires employee who used official social media account to dox Harrison Butker!
Kansas City officials have confirmed that the city employee who used the government
account on X, formerly known as Twitter, has been fired. The employee posted the area of
suburban Kansas City (Lee’s Summit) where Chiefs’ kicker Harrison Butker lives, following his commencement speech at Benedictine College, a private Catholic school in Atchison, Kansas.
The initial post was up for nearly a half hour before it was deleted. Many who saw the post saved it and re-tweeted it, where it went viral, along with negative comments about the post, which the commenters said amounted to doxxing of Butker’s whereabouts, calling city officials a bunch of “woke clowns”.
Despite the fact the city followed the deletion with an apology for the post, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey stated that someone must be held accountable.
PET NEWS
Police bodycam video shows a cop shooting a non-aggressive, deaf, blind dog! Owner sues!
Extremely disturbing police bodycam video shows the moment that a cop shot and killed a “non-aggressive” deaf and blind 13-pound dog.
Last week, a Sturgeon, Missouri Police Department officer responded to a report of a missing dog.
Nick Hunter, 35, reported his fluffy, 13-pound white Shih Tzu mix missing. Most concerning for the owner, is that the 5-year-old dog was deaf and blind. Hunter reportedly informed the dispatcher that the dog was “not at all” aggressive.
Sturgeon Police Department Officer Myron Woodson reportedly responded to the missing dog report.
Within minutes of attempting to locate the disabled dog, Officer Woodson reportedly fired two shots into the 13-pound pup.
Officer Woodson located the small Shih Tzu dog.
Bodycam footage shows Woodson approaching the small dog, and he is armed with a catch pole.
According to bodycam footage, the dog named Teddy is seen aimlessly trotting around. The officer is seen attempting to lasso the distressed dog, but is unsuccessful. The dog continues to walk randomly around the grass yard.
The dog is seen on video playing with a vine on a tree.
Suddenly out of nowhere, the officer is seen shooting the dog only three minutes after encountering the small dog without the animal being aggressive toward the cop.
Police bodycam video shows the officer shooting the dog at the 5:35 mark and firing another shot at the 5:41 mark.
Bodycam footage shows the officer walking back to his cruiser to retrieve a bin, walking back to the scene of the death, and putting the lifeless body of the dog into the receptacle. He places the bin with the deceased animal in the back of his cruiser.
The owner of the slain dog – a very distraught Nick Hunter – is seen confronting the police officer before he can drive away. According to the video, he is recording the officer as he questions him.
Hunter tells the officer that his dog was “completely blind and completely deaf.”
Officer Woodson attempts to defend his fatal actions by saying that he saw a “dog
walking around blindly,” and he only can respond to situations with “information at hand” and claimed he had spent 10 minutes dealing with a dog that was “walking around blindly.”
Woodson claims that he doesn’t “enjoy shooting dogs.”
“I’m not happy that I had to shoot a dog,” Woodson says on video.
Hunter informs the officer that there are numerous non-lethal alternatives to making a dog respond.
Woodson states, “I’m sorry I had to do it. That’s all I’m saying.”
Hunter declares, “I can handle a dog dying if the dog was put down for a proper reason.”
He adds, “He was not aggressive to a person, and not a harm to anyone.”
Hunter accuses the officer of not attempting “to do anything properly besides lethal force.”
The dog owner claims the dog escaped from its kennel after its collar slipped off.
Hunter proclaimed that his dog was updated on its rabies vaccines.
“The officer was going strictly based off the fact that the dog walks with his head sideways due to him being deaf and blind,” Hunter alleged. “I’m hoping these officers and future officers can find a way to follow the fourth continuum, our levels, correctly versus going straight to lethal force. That should always be a last resort in dealing with any life.”
Hunter told the news outlet that he plans on suing the city of Sturgeon over the shooting death of his dog.
Five ways to How to teach a dog not to destroy toys …
Nobody likes spending upwards of $20 on a dog toy only to have the shark-disguised-as-a-dog who shares your life obliterate it in two minutes and 38 seconds flat (give or take). No matter how happy the dog is, it’s not budget-friendly to spend that kind of money for such a brief period of recreation. Here’s how the author recommends fixing this problem:
- Teach them HOW to play with the toy by playing games with the toy (with them).
- Take the toys away strategically (since leaving them around might encourage bad behavior).
- Offer chew toys to satisfy the need to chew (consult with your vet on which toys are better for chewing on).
- Make tired time fleece time (use fleece toys to encourage cuddling; when the dog starts chewing on it, take it away).
- Offer multiple toys (using several identical toys, which can decrease destructive chewing). When they start chewing on one toy, take it away and offer them the second one; the third one, and so on.
ICYMI
Things you probably didn’t know about the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier …
How many steps does the guard take during their walk across the tomb of the Unknowns and why? 21 steps. It alludes to the twenty-one gun salute, which is the highest honor given any military or foreign dignitary. 2. How long do they hesitate after their about face to begin their return walk and why? 21 seconds for the same reason as answer number 1 3. Why are their gloves wet? Their gloves are moistened to prevent losing their grip on the rifle. 4. Do they carry their rifle on the same shoulder all the time and if not, why not? They carry the rifle on the shoulder away from the tomb. After their march across the path, they execute an about face and move the rifle to the outside shoulder. 5. How often are the guards changed? Guards are changed every thirty minutes, twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year. 6. What are the physical traits of the guard limited to? For a person to apply for guard duty at the tomb, they must be between 5′ 10′ and 6′ 2′ tall and their waist size cannot exceed 30.’ Other requirements of the Guard: They must commit 2 years of life to guard the tomb, live in a barracks under the tomb, and cannot drink any alcohol on or off duty. They cannot swear in public and cannot disgrace the uniform or the tomb in any way. After two years, the guard is given a wreath pin that is worn on their lapel signifying they served as guard of the tomb. There are only a little over 600 presently worn. The guard must obey these rules while serving as guards or for the rest of their lives if they choose. The shoes are specially made with very thick soles to keep the heat and cold from their feet. There are metal heel plates that extend to the top of the shoe in order to make the loud click as they come to a halt. There are no wrinkles, folds or lint on the uniform. Guards dress for duty in front of a full-length mirror. The first six months of duty a guard cannot talk to anyone, nor watch TV. All off-duty time is spent studying the 175 notable people laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery. A guard must memorize who they are and where they are interred. Among the notables are: President Taft, Joe E. Lewis (the boxer) and Medal of Honor winner Audie Murphy, (the most decorated soldier of WWII) of Hollywood fame. Every guard spends five hours a day getting their uniforms ready for guard duty. ETERNAL REST GRANT THEM O LORD, AND LET PERPETUAL LIGHT SHINE UPON THEM. In 2003 as Hurricane Isabelle was approaching Washington , DC , our US Senate/House took 2 days off with anticipation of the storm. On the ABC evening news, it was reported that because of the dangers from the hurricane, the military members assigned the duty of guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier were given permission to suspend the assignment. They respectfully declined the offer, ‘No way, Sir!’ Soaked to the skin, marching in the pelting rain of a tropical storm, they said that guarding the Tomb was not just an assignment, it was the highest honor that can be afforded to a serviceperson. The tomb has been patrolled continuously, 24/7, since 1930. God Bless and Keep Them I don’t usually suggest that many posts be reshared, but I’d be very proud if this one reached as many people as possible. We can be very proud of our young men and women in the service no matter where they serve. Duty – Honor – Country IN GOD WE TRUST
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