Canada’s pandemic-era policy of turning back asylum-seekers trying to enter between official border crossings is unlawful and violates their rights, a legal action filed on Tuesday alleges.
USA
Iran: Any Sanctions Relief Will be Used Against Americans
The extent to which the Biden administration is willing to go to appease the Iranian regime to revive the 2015 nuclear deal boggles the mind. During the current nuclear negotiations, the Biden administration has reportedly been offering increasing concessions and sanctions relief to the Iranian leaders.
Not only has the current US administration seemingly been planning a major rollback of nuclear and economic sanctions on Iran, it is also reportedly eyeing lifting non-nuclear sanctions, for instance those linked to terrorism, missile development and human rights.
Taliban Already Taking Over As U.S. Begins Withdrawal
The Taliban didn’t waste any time in moving right in as U.S. troops pull back. They have set up checkpoints across key parts of Afghanistan that leave major cities increasingly isolated and impede the Afghan government’s ability to govern.
Hardly unexpected.
US Denies Iran’s Claims of Prisoner, Cash Swap; UK Downplays
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates—The United States on May 2 immediately denied a report by Iranian state-run television that deals had been reached for the Islamic Republic to release U.S. and British prisoners in exchange for Tehran receiving billions of dollars.
Even after an initial American denial, an anchorwoman on Iranian state TV still repeated the announcement.
Havana syndrome: NSA officer’s case hints at microwave attacks since 90s
When Mike Beck developed a rare form of Parkinson’s US intelligence concluded he was the victim of a hi-tech weapon
When the first reports surfaced of a mysterious disorder that was afflicting dozens of US diplomats in Cuba, Mike Beck’s reaction was one of recognition and relief.
Beck, a retired National Security Agency counterintelligence officer, was at his home in Maryland, scrolling through the day’s news on his computer when he spotted the story, and remembers shouting out to his wife.
New Law Eliminates Religious Exemption To Mandatory Vaccines For Students
In a further erosion of our religious freedom, Connecticut has become the 6th state to end the religious exemption from vaccine requirements for school.
The leaders of the bill said there has been a recent increase in religious exemptions.
Legislators also pointed to the fact that removing this exemption helps prevent ‘potential’ outbreaks of illnesses like measles.
Formal start of final phase of Afghan pullout by US, NATO
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The final phase of ending America’s “forever war” in Afghanistan after 20 years formally began Saturday, with the withdrawal of the last U.S. and NATO troops by the end of summer.
President Joe Biden had set May 1 as the official start of the withdrawal of the remaining forces — about 2,500-3,500 U.S. troops and about 7,000 NATO soldiers.
Even before Saturday, the herculean task of packing up had begun.
The military has been taking inventory, deciding what is shipped back to the U.S., what is handed to the Afghan security forces and what is sold as junk in Afghanistan’s markets. In recent weeks, the military has been flying out equipment on massive C-17 cargo planes.
Biden Administration Needs to Halt Talks with Iran’s Mullahs
Amid talks — between the Iranian regime and France, the United Kingdom, China, Russia, plus Germany as well as indirect talks between the US and Iran — the ruling mullahs of Iran continue to ratchet up their threats and nuclear defiance.
Last week, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Ali Akbar Salehi, announced that Iran would be enriching uranium to 60 percent — a level of enrichment that has no civilian purpose. Now the Iranian regime has begun enriching uranium to its highest level ever, 60 percent, close to weapons-grade level.
US Census: Five key takeaways on population trends
US Census officials have completed their once-a-decade count of the American population, showing the second slowest growth in recorded history.
Texas and Florida, two Republican titans of the Sunbelt, will gain congressional seats, while two Democratic giants, California and New York, are losing political influence.
The census shows the US population currently stands at 331,449,281 – an increase of 7.4% over 2010’s count.
The number is the slowest since the 1930s during the Great Depression.
NIH has identified over 500 ‘scientists of concern’ amid Chinese espionage concerns, says agency official
A high-ranking National Institutes of Health (NIH) official said the federal agency has identified over 500 “scientists of concern” within federally funded academic institutions and research programs, The Washington Examiner reported Friday. This comes as the U.S. government tries to combat coordinated foreign influence efforts, including Chinese economic espionage.
The Question Of Whether Americans Should Pay Reparations Is Thornier Than You Might Think
After being first proposed more than 30 years ago by Rep. John Conyers, D-Michigan, the 116th Congress of the United States voted last week to advance H.R. 40, the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-American Act. Aided by the Democratic Party’s control of the executive and legislative branches of government, the current sentiment in the country regarding racial justice and equity may provide the bill’s proponents the opening they seek.
US, EU Help to Suppress Journalists, Political Activists
Palestinians have long been accusing the Palestinian Authority (PA) of spying on them by monitoring their activities on various social media platforms, including Facebook. The espionage has resulted in the arrest and persecution of dozens of Palestinians, especially those who dared to criticize PA President Mahmoud Abbas and senior Palestinian officials.
The Palestinians’ accusations have now been confirmed by Facebook. This week, it revealed that it had uncovered the hacking activities of the Palestinian Preventive Security Service (PSS), who report to Abbas.
Morgan Zegers: ‘Young People Don’t Know The Reality of Communist Countries’
Zegers says the main reasons why socialist ideas take root in the minds of young Americans are:
- They do not know the reality of countries that suffered from communism or socialism.
- They are in a kind of comfort zone and convenience that prevents them from visualizing beyond the goodness of the capitalist system in the United States.
The Dice Are Rolling in Afghanistan
We Americans may have the watches, but they have the time.
The Biden administration has announced that it will start pulling our 2500 troops out of Afghanistan, and the withdrawal will be completed on September 11, the 20th anniversary of the terror attacks that killed nearly 3000 Americans. This decision is a rare example of bipartisan support. Both Democrats and Republicans are ready for America’s “longest war” to be over. Although our troops now are mainly engaged in military training and building institutions of civil society and liberal democracy, many Americans believe the 20-year effort to achieve those goals instead achieved little. It’s time to come home.
If they act up – bomb everything.
Akayed Ullah: Times Square subway pipe bomber jailed for life
A man who set off a pipe bomb during rush hour in a New York subway station has been sentenced to life in prison.
Akayed Ullah, 31, detonated the bomb in Times Square station, which is the busiest in New York City, on 11 December 2017.
He later claimed he had only wanted to kill himself and was not acting on behalf of the Islamic State (IS) group.