Even though the Iranian regime has been increasing its military support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – a gift that poses a significant threat to the European Union – the EU’s appeasement policy toward the ruling mullahs of Iran barrels on.
Ukraine war: US says Iran now Russia’s ‘top military backer’
Russia and Iran’s relationship has warmed to a fully fledged defence partnership, the US has said.
Russia is giving an unprecedented level of military support, said US national security council spokesman John Kirby.
The US has seen reports that the two countries are considering joint production of lethal drones, he added.
Australia has announced it is sanctioning three Iranians and one Iranian business for supplying Russia with drones to use against Ukraine.
Is a far-right coup possible in Germany?
A militant group of Germany’s far-right extremist Reichsbürger movement apparently planned to overthrow the government. Could such a coup succeed?
“According to our findings, the association has set itself the goal of eliminating the existing state order in Germany, the free democratic basic order, using violence and military means.” This is how Attorney General Peter Frank described the reasons that led to a major raid this week against supporters of the so-called Reichsbürger movement.
Members of the Reichsbürger movement deny the existence of the post-WW2 Federal Republic of Germany. They believe the current state is no more than an administrative construct still occupied by the Western powers — the US, the UK and France. For them, the 1937 borders of the German Empire still exist.
But what does the group mean by “eliminate the free democratic basic order”? It can mean attacking politicians, storming parliamentary buildings, overthrowing the federal government, dissolving the judiciary, and usurping the military.
Keep in mind that DW is a state run news outlet similarly complicit to our own CBC in supporting a far-left government agenda.
Warnings on non-binary gay club shooter stir questions about old case
DENVER (AP) — A California woman who warned a judge last year about the danger posed by the suspect in the Colorado Springs gay nightclub shooting said Friday that the deaths could have been prevented if earlier charges against the suspect weren’t dismissed.
Jeanie Streltzoff — a relative of alleged shooter Anderson Lee Aldrich — urged Colorado Judge Robin Chittum in a letter last November to incarcerate the suspect following a 2021 standoff with SWAT teams that uncovered a stockpile of more than 100 pounds (45 kilograms) of explosive material, firearms and ammunition.
Aldrich should have been in prison at the time of the shooting and prevented from obtaining weapons, she told The Associated Press on Friday.
The Cienfuegos Affair: Inside the Case that Upended the Drug War in Mexico
A Times Magazine-ProPublica investigation reveals how the U.S. painstakingly built a case against a Mexican general suspected of links to organized crime — and then decided to let him go.
1. THE ARREST
When the Cienfuegos family landed at Los Angeles International Airport on Oct. 15, 2020, they looked excited and maybe a bit relieved. With the pandemic still ravaging Mexico, they had come to vacation in Southern California. Arranging such a visit wasn’t a problem, even on short notice: The patriarch, retired Gen. Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda, had made powerful American friends during his six years as Mexico’s defense minister. When he needed a favor — like visas for his wife, daughters and granddaughters — he could still call someone at the Pentagon or the C.I.A.
I watched Ozark recently, it seems entirely plausible.
Attacks on Pacific north-west power stations raise fears for US electric grid
A string of attacks on power facilities in Oregon and Washington has caused alarm and highlighted the vulnerabilities of the US electric grid.
The attacks in the Pacific north-west come just days after a similar assault on North Carolina power stations that cut electricity to 40,000 people.
As first reported by Oregon Public Broadcasting and KUOW Public Radio, there have been at least six attacks, some of which involved firearms and caused residents to lose power. Two of the attacks shared similarities with the incident in Moore county, North Carolina, where two stations were hit by gunfire. Authorities have not yet revealed a motive for the North Carolina attack.
Poland issues ultimatum to Germany over €1.3 trillion in WWII reparations
Poland is ratcheting up the pressure on Germany over reparations for the Second World War, with Poland’s Deputy Foreign Minister Arkadiusz Mularczyk giving Germany a new ultimatum to pay up or face Poland bringing the matter to a range of international forums, a move that may harm Germany’s international reputation.
“Now, Germany has a choice: Either it sits down with Poland at the negotiating table, or we will raise the issue in all international forums — in the UN, in the Council of Europe and in the European Union,” he said, according to German news agency dpa.
…“If Germany had been treated as it was in many plans formulated not in the Soviet Union but in the West, today they would be a very, very poor and much less numerous country than they are,” he claimed, adding that the defeated German nation was “treated extremely kindly” given the circumstances.
“Let them thank God that is only so. They owe us, they have to pay,” he insisted.
Long but interesting related reading…
Fears of Retribution in Post-War Germany
Three groups were at the heart of post-war German fears of revenge: Jewish Holocaust survivors, Eastern European Displaced Persons, and American occupation officials.
Small business should not be made to suffer because of faddish Trudeau government climate standards
Every era has its characteristic corporate buzzword. The nineties had “synergy.” The early 2000s added a lowercase “e” prefix to about everything. And now, we’re in the era of “ESG,” also known as environmental, social and governance criteria.
Inside Poland’s far-Right’s Catholic revival
The men are assembled along the left, the women line up along the right, and the very young children follow the proceedings from an anteroom, soundproofed behind a glass screen. The dress code is sombre — mostly black, occasionally grey. The women are obliged to cover their hair, though, judging by the sprinkling of Louis Vuitton and Hermes headscarves, there is no injunction against luxury. Silent and perfectly still, the congregation surrenders to the language of the ancient church: “Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto”.
Twitter execs vowed to ‘hit’ conservative accounts ‘hard’ but were hands-off with pro-Biden tweets
Twitter executives bent over backward to try to suppress tweets from high-profile conservatives leading up to the 2020 election – but found ways to justify keeping up posts from users that espoused liberal political views, the latest “Twitter Files” reveal.
In one shocking instance, when workers at the social media giant didn’t have a “firm policy basis” for censoring a pro-Trump tweet from right-wing Hollywood actor James Woods, they vowed to “hit him hard on future [violations],” according to a screenshot of internal communications shared by independent journalist Matt Taibbi.
I hope the former execs do serious jail time.
Hearings prove Emergencies Act requirements not met
After six weeks of testimony in Ottawa at the Public Order Emergency Commission, the federal government has failed to make its case that using the extraordinary powers in the Emergencies Act was justified.
The Emergencies Act is the successor to the War Measures Act. It is gives tremendous power to the prime minister and cabinet, including the power to create new criminal law by executive order. These are powers that must have a high threshold and which we all should be wary of in a liberal democracy.
U.S. Loses Track of Weapons in Ukraine
On November 27th, Fox News reported that U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration was
scrambling to track the nearly $20 billion in military aid that it has sent to Ukraine as Republicans warn of impending audits when they take control of the House [of Representatives] in January.
Incoming House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, as quoted by Fox News, said that an audit would be aimed at establishing to what extent “the U.S. aid is ending up in the wrong hands.”
When Harry opens his mouth, why do we hear Meghan?
Viewers of the controversial new Netflix series on the Sussexes may be left wondering whether the Duke really believes what he says
Whatever else Meghan Markle might be guilty of, she could never be accused of not knowing her own mind. If you are planning on watching Harry & Meghan on Netflix anytime soon, you will be left in no doubt about what she thinks of the Royal family, Britain and the media (spoiler alert: none of them are positive).
In Prince Harry’s case, the picture is rather more confused. Here is a man who adoringly described the Princess of Wales as the “sister he never had” but who now appears to believe his brother only married her because she “fitted the mould”.
Poor Harry married a shrew.
Mystery breach of Keystone Pipeline sends 14,000 barrels of crude gushing over Kansas countryside
Emergency crews in Kansas are preparing to labor through the weekend to clean up the largest US crude oil spill in nearly a decade, after a mysterious rupture in the Keystone pipeline.
The pipeline that runs from Canada to Oklahoma lost about 14,000 barrels, or 588,000 gallons, in a spill larger than all prior breaches of the Keystone system combined, officials said Friday.
The spill sent oil gushing into a creek running through rural pastureland in Washington County, Kansas, about 150 miles northwest of Kansas City.
Councillors call for public inquiry into Eglinton Crosstown ‘boondoggle’
Toronto city councillors Josh Matlow and Mike Colle are calling for a public inquiry into the Eglinton Crosstown project after sharing leaked confidential internal Metrolinx documents that suggest there is no “credible plan” to complete the project.
“This is a historic boondoggle, billions of dollars, years of delays,” said Matlow.
“It’s both taxpayer’s money but it’s also the loss of income from so many small businesses, the impact on the quality of life of residents,” he added.