As U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration considers economic threats to thwart what it fears is a new Kremlin plan to invade Ukraine, there is one option that is reportedly on the short list: cutting Russia off from the global electronic-payment-messaging system known as SWIFT.
USA
The Europeans are afraid of Biden’s rush to war
The news over the weekend had binary stories about the ongoing situation on the Ukraine border, where Putin is amassing tanks and troops. On the one side, we have stories about Biden doing the tough guy thing, with his talk about troops on the ground and his orders that diplomats’ families leave Ukraine. However, on the other side, the European side, the two biggest E.U. nations are trying to set up their own peace talks with Ukraine and Russia.
Colleyville and the ‘professional’ civil servants

… At any rate, given the outcome at the scene, from a professional statecraft perspective, De Sarno and his team played things by the book. De Sarno’s denial of the terrorist’s anti-Semitic motivation had nothing to do with professionalism. It was a political/ideological pronouncement. It wasn’t made in a vacuum, and it should be deeply disconcerting to all Americans because it is a testament to a growing pathology within the FBI.
Over the past 15 years, much of the federal government, including the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice, have been politicized and radicalized. The first major demonstration of the politicization came in 2013 with the IRS’s discriminatory use of its regulatory authorities against organizations and individuals aligned with the conservative and Republican side of the ideological/political spectrum.
The Houthis Must Be Relisted as a Terrorist Group
… The group, which, according to a Yemeni government intelligence report, “works closely” with Al Qaeda and ISIS, in addition, it seems, commits crimes against humanity. It has reportedly, since 2015, killed and injured more than 17,500 civilians — and it recruits, injures and kills children.
US Vaccine Mandate on Freight Drivers Coming From Canada May Worsen Auto Supply Chain Shortage

The U.S. mandate, announced in October, requires all essential foreign travelers, including truck drivers, who cross U.S. land borders to be fully vaccinated. Essential nonresident travelers had been able to enter the U.S. during the pandemic regardless of their vaccination status, in part so as not to disrupt trade and to give them more time to get vaccinated.
The Texas synagogue attack won’t be the last

Islamists have regrouped and grown stronger
“At one point, our attacker instructed us to get on our knees. I reared up in my chair, stared at him sternly… and mouthed ‘no’.”
It’s easy to read Jeffrey Cohen’s account of being held hostage in a Texan synagogue at the weekend as an uplifting tale of bravery and accomplishment: it tells of a terrifying stand-off with a deranged, gun-wielding attacker, brought to an end after nearly 11 hours when a rabbi threw a chair at the assailant and managed to escape with two other hostages
Massive Trucker Protest on the Rise

The latest on the escalating trucker protest along the U.S.-Canada border is a convoy planned for January 28. That’s when “Convoi pour la liberté 2022” leaves French speaking Quebec from a point along the border, bound for Canada’s Capital of Ottawa. They’re joining fellow drivers who have been protesting since Monday, slowing border crossing stations to a standstill.
Mainstream network news outlets in the United States are doing their best to cover up the coverage of an ongoing trucker protest. It has already snarled the border into chaos as the “strike” threatens to spread south into America.
U.S. drivers are expected to join in starting January 20th. That matches up with Biden’s versions of the mandate restrictions but details are scarce.
Federal Government Mum on Non-COVID Mortality Spike in Americans Aged 18 to 49

Federal authorities have yet to respond to an Epoch Times analysis that shows a dramatic increase in deaths of 18- to 49-year-olds in the United States in the past year. The majority of those deaths weren’t associated with the COVID-19 disease.
Deaths in this age group rose more than 40 percent in the 12 months ending October 2021 compared to the same period in 2018–2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the analysis of death certificate data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
If Trump Had Greenlighted Russia To Invade Ukraine Like Biden Just Did, He’d Be Accused Of Corruption

President Biden was actually operating from a coherent perspective in discussing Russia and Ukraine in Wednesday’s press conference: In every instance, as you go line-for-line in the transcript, his foreign policy—and the fact that he announced it to the world—is one where Russia has leverage over Biden and the president has a personal vendetta against the current Ukrainian government.
Florida man charged after 4 Indian nationals found dead in human smuggling attempt to reach USA from Canada

A Florida man was charged Thursday with human smuggling after the bodies of four people, including a baby and a teen, were found in Canada near the U.S. border in what authorities believe was a failed crossing attempt during a freezing blizzard.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota said Steve Shand, 47, has been charged with human smuggling after seven Indian nationals were found in the U.S. and the discovery of the bodies.
Court documents filed Wednesday in support of Shand’s arrest allege one of the people spent a significant amount of money to come to Canada with a fraudulent student visa.
In Mexico’s Deep South, the United Nations Explains Handing Cash to U.S.-Bound Migrants
The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR), which receives billions in U.S. taxpayer money, is handing out cash debit cards and other funds for lodging and prescription medicines to U.S.-bound migrants who spill out into this southern Mexican city by the hundreds of thousands.
Is America Heading For A Systems Collapse?

As the 2022 midterm elections approach, who will stop our descent into collective poverty, division—and self-inflicted madness?
In modern times, as in ancient Rome, several nations have suffered a “systems collapse.” The term describes the sudden inability of once prosperous populations to continue with what had ensured the good life as they knew it.
Abruptly, the population cannot buy, or even find, once plentiful necessities. They feel their streets are unsafe. Laws go unenforced or are enforced inequitably. Everyday things stop working. The government turns from reliable to capricious if not hostile.
Consider contemporary Venezuela. By 2010, the once well-off oil-exporting country was mired in a self-created mess. Food became scarce, crime ubiquitous.
Ukraine President Zelensky hits back at Biden comments

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has hit back at comments made by his US counterpart Joe Biden about a “minor incursion” by Russia into his country.
Mr Biden had suggested that a “minor” attack might bring a weaker response from the US and its allies.
But Mr Zelensky tweeted: “There are no minor incursions. Just as there are no minor casualties and little grief from the loss of loved ones.”
Russia has some 100,000 troops near the border but denies planning an invasion.
To Avoid More Attacks Like at Texas Synagogue, Biden Administration Must Know, Name Our Enemies – Starting with CAIR

It’s not just Siddiqui who spews antisemitic bile, but the leadership of the Council on American-Islamic Relations also actively trade in Jew-hatred.
The FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team and local Texas police officers deserve enormous gratitude for securing the safe release of four people taken hostage during a Jewish religious service at a Dallas-area synagogue.
But while we should praise these heroic actions, we should not overlook the politically-motivated claimed ignorance by senior FBI and Biden administration officials regarding the motive for this terrorist attack. This was a wake-up call for this administration to recognize, name, and prioritize America’s real enemies or similar attacks will follow.
Unlikely Most ‘Havana Syndrome’ Cases Caused by Foreign Power, C.I.A. Says

WASHINGTON — The C.I.A. has found that most cases of the mysterious ailments known as Havana syndrome are unlikely to have been caused by Russia or another foreign adversary, agency officials said, a conclusion that angered victims.
A majority of the 1,000 cases reported to the government can be explained by environmental causes, undiagnosed medical conditions or stress, rather than a sustained global campaign by a foreign power, C.I.A. officials said, describing the interim findings of a comprehensive study.


