© Muhammed Qarout Idkaidek/APA Images
The Israeli separation wall around Jerusalem on March 8, 2020.
The Israeli separation wall around Jerusalem on March 8, 2020.
Puppet Masters
© Joshua Lott / AFP
Attorney General Merrick Garland and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas appeared before the Senate Appropriations Committee for a hearing on domestic extremism as Congress ramped up its scrutiny this week of the circumstances around the attack on the Capitol.
Both Garland and Mayorkas testified that white supremacist groups pose the most serious domestic national security threat in the U.S., reinforcing what analysts have long concluded about far-right organizations.
"Domestic violent extremists pose an elevated threat in 2021 and in the FBI's view, the top domestic violent extremist threat we face comes from racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists, specifically those who advocate for the superiority of the white race," Garland told lawmakers at the top of the hearing.
© Reuters
Colonial Pipeline's Dorsey Junction Station in Woodbine, Maryland, USA
Colonial Pipeline's Dorsey Junction Station in Woodbine, Maryland, USA
Yet the higher prices at the pump and a possible shortage of fuel supplies are the smaller problem. It is, after all, temporary, and its effect will be transient. But there is a bigger problem, and it concerns the energy infrastructure of the United States: exactly how secure is it?
As the attack suggests, not very. True, experts said early on that the group that carried out the attack was made up of seasoned hackers. Later, a ransomware group called DarkSide took responsibility for the attack, and the FBI also pointed at the group as the culprit.
Comment: See also:
- Cyberattack forces shutdown of largest gasoline pipeline in United States - UPDATES
- Ransom group linked to Colonial Pipeline hack is new but experienced (if its even they who're responsible)
- Kremlin: Russia had absolutely nothing to do with Colonial Pipeline cyberattack, despite Biden's claims to contrary
- Cyber attack shuts down largest US gasoline pipeline - 45% of east coast and southern regions
© Michael Giladi/Flash90
IDF Armored Corps soldiers prepare to move south to the Gaza border on May 11, 2021, at El Poran, Golan Heights
IDF Armored Corps soldiers prepare to move south to the Gaza border on May 11, 2021, at El Poran, Golan Heights
IDF Spokesman Hidai Zilberman says a variety of plans for a possible ground invasion of the Gaza Strip will be presented to the IDF General Staff for approval later today.
These plans, which are being assembled by the Gaza Division and Southern Command, can then be given to Israel's political leadership for consideration.
The IDF in recent days has deployed additional ground troops to the border — from the Paratroopers Brigade, Golani Infantry Brigade and 7th Armored Brigade — ahead of a potential incursion, but no decision to go forward with such a campaign has been made yet.
Comment: Social media has been rife with speculation over this potential development, and whether Israel will receive outside support:
Still spinning:
Will they ghoulishly sell coffee and pastries to the 'show' this time too?
:
© RIA
Speaking on Wednesday at a joint press conference in Moscow with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Lavrov reiterated Russia's support for the organization, and criticized those who take individual approaches, instead of using established collective decision-making mechanisms.
In particular, he noted that some countries engage in "illegitimate actions," such as using force "without the approval by the UN Security Council," as well as unilaterally imposing sanctions.
© Instagram / idfonline
IDF brags over Gaza 'before' and 'after'
IDF brags over Gaza 'before' and 'after'
"Another significant achievement," the Israel Defense Force (IDF) titled its post of Wednesday, showing "before" and "after" photos of the Hanadi high-rise block which once towered above its surroundings in Gaza City. "The tower was used by terrorist organizations," the IDF wrote, vindicating its attack on the apartment block.
"We will not stop here - we will continue to act in any way necessary to protect the security of the residents of Israel and rule out threats from the Gaza Strip," the translation reads.
Micheal Martin, Leo Varadkar and Eamon Rya
I pointed out further that legislation had recently been enacted in the country, with the COVID-19 illusory virus pandemic used as an excuse to change existing laws, in an effort to further tighten the grip of arbitrary control of the Irish people. The Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Bill and the special powers granted to the Department of Health via the 2020 Mental Health Care Act, meant that an Irish citizen could be detained against their will without access to a lawyer, arrested without a warrant, subjected to force and coercion, and put before a single person tribunal who had full authority to have him or her isolated and placed in a detention facility of any sort, including, but not limited to, a psychiatric hospital. Once again, the Bolshevik techniques and the poisonous styles used to stifle political dissent were plain to be seen. Once again though, the majority of Irish men and women whom I spoke to about this, brushed it off as a minor triviality and showed no concern for its threat to their liberties. It was all for our own good, apparently.
© REUTERS/Erik De Castro
Chinese vessels are pictured at the disputed Scarborough Shoal (FILE PHOTO)
Chinese vessels are pictured at the disputed Scarborough Shoal (FILE PHOTO)
In a statement on Wednesday, the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF WPS) said that the Chinese vessels had been spotted on May 9 by a maritime patrol.
"This incident, along with continued illegal incursions of foreign vessels sighted near Philippines-held islands, has been submitted to relevant agencies for possible diplomatic actions," the task force said.
© Sylvain Lefevre/Getty Images
The far-right leader Marine Le Pen said she understood the sentiments of the first letter and called on the signatories to support her politics and her bid for the French presidency in 2022.
The far-right leader Marine Le Pen said she understood the sentiments of the first letter and called on the signatories to support her politics and her bid for the French presidency in 2022.
The controversy was further stoked when Marine Le Pen - commonly dubbed by mainstream media as France's outspoken "leader of the far-right" - once again showed support for the letter by agreeing on the "danger of a civil war" in an apparent rallying of her base around the message ahead of next April's election where they'll seek to take on President Emmanuel Macron. Clearly a significant bulk of officer and enlisted military members agree with her stark assessment.
Comment: RT reports:
Those among the French soldiers and officers who feel the urge to make public statements about the political situation in the country can find a perfect way to defend their opinions without compromising the neutrality of the army - by resigning, said Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Francois Lecointre.The Chief of Staff is criticizing signatories for remaining anonymous whilst threatening those that do speak up with military tribunals. Notably, Macrons government attempting to silence the concerns voiced by some in the military are at the same time issuing the same warnings about immigration and integration to further their own agenda: Macron drafts new 'secularism' laws that outlaw homeschooling, claims to be fighting 'Islamic separatism'
"The most reasonable thing is certainly to leave [the army] in order to be able to make one's ideas and convictions public in a perfectly free [way]," the general said in a letter addressing officers, non-commissioned officers, active-duty soldiers, sailors and airmen as well as reservists.Active duty military members who signed the second letter, Lecointre argued, "transgressed" their obligations of "neutrality" imposed on every French soldier.© Reuters / Benoit Tessier
FILE PHOTO.
"In the name of personal convictions," these soldiers and officers involved the Armed Forces in a debate, in which the military had neither legal nor moral right to intervene, he said. Lecointre called on those who signed the letter "to demonstrate common sense" and resign, while stopping short of threatening them with any official sanctions.
"Each soldier is free to think what he wants, but it is up to him to distinguish [between]... what comes from his responsibility as a citizen from what emerges from his responsibility as a soldier."
The first letter, published on April 21 - on the 60th anniversary of a failed coup d'état against General Charles de Gaulle over his support of Algerian independence - caused an uproar among France's top officials. Lecointre said at that time that 18 servicemen identified as its signatories would face a military tribunal. The chief of staff also vowed to personally write a damning letter to General Christian Piquemal - a former commander of the French Foreign Legion, who signed the first letter as well.
"I deny them all... a right to make political statements by highlighting their rank," Lecointre added.
The second letter was also met with a harsh response from the French top officials. Interior Minister Gerard Darmanin questioned the courage of the authors, who preferred to stay anonymous, while former president Francois Hollande accused them of a "desire to challenge the very principles of the Republic."
Defense Minister Florence Parly said that "armies are not there to campaign but to defend France."
See also:
- Immigration, Crime and Propaganda
- French generals accuse Macron government of trying to 'silence' warnings of civil war
© RIA
Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Mikhail Mishustin in the State Duma of the Russian Federation after delivering a report on the work of the government for 2020, 12.05.2021, Moscow, Russia.
Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Mikhail Mishustin in the State Duma of the Russian Federation after delivering a report on the work of the government for 2020, 12.05.2021, Moscow, Russia.
In a statement posted to Telegram on Tuesday, Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of the State Duma, said that parliamentarians were preparing a response to the "inhuman and brutal" atrocity.
"The world has changed greatly over the past few decades," he said. "New technologies like the internet are available to all, and they have brought not only progress, but also problems, which have turned into serious threats, especially to children. Children's health, their wellbeing - even their lives."
Comment: Some recent footage documenting Israel's crimes against humanity: