This is a school librarian. pic.twitter.com/dgThdP8i2V
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) April 29, 2022
Author: Blazingcatfur
Has Twitter Been Cooking Their Books?
Has anyone else been suspicious of Twitter’s flip-flop on selling the platform to Elon Musk? I’m sure I’m not the only one. I always felt that Twitter was far less valuable than what Musk was offering and was particularly surprised when a Twitter board member, Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud, who is also one of Twitter’s largest shareholders, said that he’d reject Musk’s offer because it was too low.
‘White hands’: The rise of private armies in African conflicts
Mercenaries have become increasingly influential as states across Africa find their armies unable to limit the widening reach of armed groups.
Ahead of the holy month of Ramadan every year, traders from neighbouring towns flock to the popular cattle market in the central Malian town of Moura. That ritual continued this year.
But on March 27 – one of those market days – military helicopters suddenly appeared in the sky. Malian troops and foreign soldiers descended on the busy market to target members of armed groups who had controlled the remote town for years.
Witnesses said the bloodied operation lasted for more than four days, with about 300 civilian men, some of them suspected fighters, summarily executed in that period.
One trader said dozens of men, including two of his brothers, were executed by Russian-speaking soldiers who “took them several meters away and executed them, point-blank”.
Who owns the Arctic and should they drill for oil and gas?
A court case is under way over whether energy companies can drill for oil and gas in the Arctic.
Environmental activists are taking Norway’s government to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) because it is allowing exploration. It’s being seen as a test case for how much of the area’s natural resources can be exploited.
EU-China Relations: “Downward Spiral”
A much-anticipated EU-China Summit, the first since 2020, has ended as both a failure and a success: a failure because the two sides were unable to agree on anything of bilateral importance; a success because after years of kowtowing to China, European officials finally stood their ground. EU-China relations are now on a new footing: Beijing no longer calls the shots.
EU-China relations have long been on a downward trajectory due to a panoply of disputes, including the worsening human rights situation in China, Beijing’s spreading of disinformation to cover up the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, China’s unfair trade practices, and its economic bullying of EU member states.
‘ATTACKWATCH’ is back and Biden is housing it at Homeland Security
In 2012, the Obama campaign launched a ridiculous website called ATTACKWATCH.com, which, together with an email list and a Twitter account, were billed as “new resources to fight back” that would “fact check statements by Obama’s Republican opponents with links to ‘evidence’ to back them up.”
ATTACKWATCH! would watch the attacks from those dastardly Republicans and “support the truth” and “fight the smears.”
Terry Glavin: The curious case of Khaled Barakat
Israelis say he’s a leader of a terrorist group who is running a Canadian charity. Supporters say he is a victim of Israeli intimidation
I’d call him a shining example of Justin Trudeau’s preferred immigrant.
Terror prosecutions of Muslims back in UK from Syria not counted
The government does not record the number of people prosecuted for terror offences after returning to the UK from Syria, an official report says.
The data is held neither “officially or unofficially”, an annual review by the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, Jonathan Hall QC, says.
Figures previously provided to Parliament by ministers later had to be clarified.
Mr Hall’s report instead relies on BBC News research on the subject.
It is known that hundreds of people have returned to the UK after joining terrorist groups in Syria but the cumulative figure given in public is ambiguous.
Last year, the director general of MI5 said “over 950 UK-linked extremists” had travelled to Syria.
I do not trust the Trudeau government to be honest on this matter.
CNN: Germans looking for ways to cave to Putin on energy payments
Of course they are. Germany and its chancellor Olaf Scholz keep talking about “Zeitenwende,” a supposed shift in policy that promises to end reliance on cheap Russian energy and a firmer commitment to investment in common security in Europe. Talk is cheap, however, when Russian energy is cheap, and it’s getting cheaper now that Vladimir Putin is getting desperate.
Indiana AG Files Lawsuit Against Black Lives Matter Foundation
Todd Rokita, the Attorney General of Indiana, has filed a lawsuit against the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation (BLMGNF) as part of an ongoing investigation of the organization’s fund management.
Rokita’s petition, filed on April 26, asks the court to enforce a civil investigative demand (CID) that his office had issued to BLMGNF in February. The CID was issued as part of the AG’s investigation opened earlier this year to determine whether the group’s actions related to fundraising constitute a violation of the Indiana Nonprofit Corporation Act or the Indiana Deceptive Consumer Sales Act.
Daughter of US hostage killed by Isis ‘Beatle’ in Syria tells him to ‘go to hell’ as he’s sentenced to life in jail
The daughter of a British man killed by an ISIS terrorist who was part of the cell known as The Beatles told him to ‘go to hell’ after he was sentenced to life in federal prison Friday.
Bethany Haines walked up to Alexanda Kotey in the Alexandria, Virginia, court and pointed her finger as she said: ‘Why don’t you go rot in hell.’
Kotey did not react and walked out of the room where he and El Shafee Elsheikh, another member of The Beatles, had been forced to listen to agonizing victim impact statements.
GOLDSTEIN: Instead of serious tax relief, Ford delivers election bribes
If Ontario Premier Doug Ford wins re-election on June 2, he can thank Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
That’s because massive federal financial support for Ontario during the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with soaring inflation which, while devastating to families, increases government revenues, is enabling Ford to indiscriminately throw money at Ontarians in the budget Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy delivered Thursday.
I suspect he will win.
Online Mockery of Heels-Up Harris a Threat to Democracy & National Security Says Biden’s Disinformation Chief Nina Jankowicz
President Joe Biden’s new disinformation chief Nina Jankowicz argued online mockery of Vice President Kamala Harris and other women in public life was a threat to national security.
“Platforms and governments aren’t doing enough,” she wrote on social media. “It’s time to act. Our national security and democracy are at stake.”
Green Murder: “Angela Merkel’s nuclear folly fuelled Putin’s ambitions in Ukraine”
For every euro of military aid that Germany has given to Ukraine in the wake of Russia’s invasion, it has paid €200 for Russian energy imports. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called this “blood money.” Polish Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski recently declared it “inadmissible from a political and moral point of view.”
It is also tragic and unnecessary. For this, we can blame former German chancellor Angela Merkel.
Cynical state chicanery is costing lives on both sides.
This business of being “only a little bit at war” is a grim reminder that others stand to profit at the death of others.
Trudeau hopes to use the crisis to further his climate scam agenda.
He is engaged in Green Murder by sending arms.
Trudeau Opens Immigration Floodgates To Low-Wage Migrants For Quick Fix To Alleged Labor Shortage
(Bloomberg) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government is opening up Canada to an increase of temporary foreign workers in a controversial experiment aimed at easing strains on the nation’s overheating economy. Starting Saturday, the federal government will loosen limits on hiring low-wage employees from abroad, changes that could bring in thousands of additional migrant workers.
Justin’s friends need to depress wages to further take advantage of the inflation destroying dreams of home ownership.
63% of Canadian non-owners have ‘given up’ on ever buying a home: Ipsos