The Automatic Earth

James McNeill Whistler Nocturne in Black and Gold, the Falling Rocket 1875

Staying alive
https://twitter.com/i/status/1777319226186875235

Appearance

MUST WATCH: Shira Scheindlin, a retired US Federal Judge from the Southern District of New York told @kaitlancollins of CNN that President Trump’s motion requesting Judge Merchan recuse himself is “strong”. She said the judge’s daughters’ social media (which I exposed) and her… https://t.co/qgqbpqMFh6 pic.twitter.com/Ogcvqjhulu

— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) April 7, 2024

Paul Harvey

This was spoken by Paul Harvey in 1965. Every single word was true then, and more relevant now than ever. The only difference is that America is now a runaway train with a loco leftist ranting in the locomotive. pic.twitter.com/PGADRs3uTK

— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) April 7, 2024

Kurosawa

In order to help Akira Kurosawa get more money for making 'Kagemusha' (1980), Francis Ford Coppola, who wasn't a drinker, agreed to appear in a series of commercials along with Kurosawa for Japanese whiskey company, 'Suntory'. pic.twitter.com/orL1h3pJ0z

— DepressedBergman (@DannyDrinksWine) April 7, 2024

“The tell-tale sign of a third world economy is the concentration of wealth in the hands of a tiny minority. In the United States this is called “democracy.”

• America Has a Third World Economy (Paul Craig Roberts)

Friday’s jobs report, the financial press tells us, “blew past projections,” with a monthly jobs gain of 303,000 compared to the 231,000 average over the past year. The Biden economy is gathering steam. In actual fact the jobs report shows that the United States is continuing its collapse into third worldism. A first world economy is characterized by high productivity, high value-added manufacturing and industrial jobs. A third world economy is characterized by low productivity service and government jobs. As I have reported for 30 years, the US has transitioned from the first to the third world.

The jobs report shows that. In March America lost jobs in primary metal manufacturing, fabricated metal product manufacturing, machinery manufacturing, computer and electronic product manufacturing, computer and peripheral equipment manufacturing, communications equipment manufacturing, semiconductor and other electronic component manufacturing, electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing, furniture and related product manufacturing, food manufacturing, textile product manufacturing, apparel manufacturing, plastics and rubber products manufacturing, leather and allied product manufacturing. 190,000 of the jobs are in services, and 71,000 are in government. In other words, 86% of the jobs gain reflect the third world pattern. The service jobs are in wholesale and retail trade, health care and social assistance, and waitresses and bartenders. The high tech jobs we were promised in exchange for offshoring US manufacturing industry are hardly visible and certainly did not provide opportunities for displaced manufacturing workers. Moreover, most tech jobs–AI, robotics, software programs–are aimed at displacing humans from the work force.

The offshoring of US manufacturing destroyed the middle class, state and local government budgets, the ladders of upward mobility, and concentrated the wealth of the country in one percent of the population. That one percent itself is a massively wide wealth range from $11 million to 200,000 million, which are certainly not comparable wealth positions. The difference is the same as between $11 and $200,000. American wealth is concentrated in the hands of multi-billionaires who comprise one-tenth of one percent or less of the population. The tell-tale sign of a third world economy is the concentration of wealth in the hands of a tiny minority. In the United States this is called “democracy.” And an increase in third world jobs is misrepresented as economic progress. They will never stop lying to us.

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They will need to be.

• Lara Trump: RNC Focused Like a Laser on Election Integrity (ET)

Republican National Committee (RNC) co-chair Lara Trump said Sunday that election integrity is a top priority in the upcoming November election and the committee is focused on it “like a laser.” During an interview with Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” on April 7, Ms. Trump said that the committee will dedicate all of its resources to its Election Integrity Division “as needed.” “When you talk about election integrity, it is vital. It is the number one thing that we are focused on, aside from getting out the vote, which, of course, Donald Trump himself will do for us,” Ms. Trump said. “We are making sure that we leave nothing to chance because we have to understand the importance of this election,” she added. Former President Donald Trump raked in a massive $50.5 million in funds for his reelection bid on Saturday. With this funding, Ms. Trump, the daughter-in-law of President Trump, said the RNC can now afford to ensure that poll workers are trained and lawyers are present in every voting precinct.

“Prior to last night, the largest single event fundraiser in politics ever was the one that Joe Biden had. And he needed three presidents to haul in $26 million,” she said, referring to President Biden’s fundraiser in March, which included former presidents Barrack Obama and Bill Clinton. “We needed one man, Donald J. Trump, one president, to double that,” Ms. Trump added. Ms. Trump said that the outcome of this fundraiser event reflects a shift where “people are not sitting on the sidelines anymore.” “They understand what’s at stake. It’s a must-win election. And from the election integrity perspective, we’re focused on it like a laser at the RNC,” she added. Under a joint-fundraising agreement, funds from the fundraiser event will go to the Trump campaign, the former president’s Save America PAC, the RNC, and state GOP parties.

RNC chair Michael Whatley, who was also present for the interview, said the committee will spend “every dollar” raised on two “critical core” missions: increasing voter turnout and protecting the ballot. Mr. Whatley said that the RNC is working with state legislatures, boards of elections, and secretaries of state to ensure the implementation of the rules of the road. The committee will file lawsuits if the rules are not adhered to, he said, adding that the RNC had filed over 80 lawsuits in 24 states “to make sure that we have the ground ready to go for safe elections.” The committee has also been recruiting and training thousands of observers and attorneys “to make sure that we are in the room” when a vote is cast and counted, Mr. Whatley said.

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“Many states will be different, many will have a different number of weeks or some will have more conservative than others, and that’s what they will be..”

• Trump Says Abortion Should Be Decided By States, ‘Will Of The People’ (ZH)

Former President Donald Trump said in a Monday announcement that he believes abortion should be left to the states and that in-vitro fertilization (IFV) should be available, he said in a video statement posted on Truth Social. “My view is…the states will determine by legislation or vote or perhaps both, and whatever they decide must be the law of the land. In this case, the law of the state. Many states will be different, many will have a different number of weeks or some will have more conservative than others, and that’s what they will be. At the end of the day, this is all about the will of the people,” Trump said. “You must follow your heart or, in many cases, your religion or your faith. Do what’s right for your family and do what’s right for yourself…do what’s right for our country.”

Trump had previously indicated that he would publish his position regarding abortion, which is a large departure from a federal abortion limit that some Republicans have pushed for. He also said regarding IVF, “We want to make it easier for mothers and families to have babies, not harder. That includes supporting the availability of fertility treatments like IVF in every state in America.” Last week, Trump told reporters at a Michigan campaign stop that he would make a statement in the coming week, after he was asked about Florida’s controversial six-week abortion ban.

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Smells more like WaPo campaigning.

“..mere “speculation” by “uninformed sources who have no idea what is going on or what will happen”..

• Insiders Describe Trump’s Ukraine Plan To Washington Post (RT)

Ukraine will have to give up some of the territory it currently claims to Russia as part of a peace deal envisioned by former US President Donald Trump, The Washington Post reported on Sunday, citing anonymous insiders. The Republican nominee for the November election has boasted on numerous occasions that he would be able to end the Ukraine conflict in 24 hours, should he win the presidency. However, Trump has declined to provide details on his plan. The terms that Trump wants to push through involve Kiev’s acknowledgement of Crimea and Donbass as parts of Russia, the newspaper said, citing people who discussed the issue with the former president or his advisers. However, his campaign downplayed those accounts as mere “speculation” by “uninformed sources who have no idea what is going on or what will happen”.

Crimea has been a part of Russia since 2014, when residents rejected a US-backed armed coup in Kiev and voted in a referendum to seek Russian protection from the new government. The Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics also defied the post-coup authorities and took up arms, when Kiev sent in the army to quash them. Ukraine’s refusal to implement a roadmap for reconciliation with Donbass, the so-called Minsk Agreements, and preparation for renewed hostilities, were cited by Moscow as the key triggers of the current conflict. Western officials have pledged military support for Kiev for “as long as it takes” to resist Russia. However a string of battlefield setbacks for Ukrainian forces and the Western failure to provide sufficient aid have put a dent in the strategy.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg last week urged foreign donors to ramp up support, with the aim of giving Kiev a stronger position during hypothetical peace talks. “The way to convince Russia that they have to sit down and accept a solution where Ukraine prevails as a sovereign independent democratic nation in Europe is to give military support to Ukraine,” he told the BBC on Sunday. “Of course, at the end of the day it has to be Ukraine that decides what kind of compromises they are willing to [make].” Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has declared full the capture of lost territories, including Crimea, as the only outcome of the conflict that his government will accept. Moscow has said it is willing to negotiate, if Kiev acknowledges the “reality on the ground”.

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As I said yesterday: “The judge really wants to go after Tucker Carlson.”

“..the Justice Department continues to act with a sense of utter impunity, particularly when judges are willing to blithely sign off on such orders..”

• “Plainly Erred”: Judge Reggie Walton Rebuked by DC Circuit in J6 Case (Turley)

D.C. Circuit Judge Reggie Walton recently caused a stir in Washington after doing an interview with CNN in which he rebuked former President Donald Trump for his criticism of judges and their family members. Now, Judge Walton has been criticized by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia for a surveillance order of the computer of a January 6th defendant to detect any spreading of “disinformation” or “misinformation.”
Critics charged that Walton’s interview with CNN ran afoul of Canon 3A(6) of the Code of Conduct for United States Judges, which states: “A judge should not make public comment on the merits of a matter pending or impending in any court.” The issue of these public statements by Trump is currently pending before both state and federal courts, including proceedings in the District of Columbia. At a minimum, Judge Walton’s interview showed poor judicial judgment and only reaffirmed the distrust and suspicion of many over the independence of the court system in addressing these controversial cases.

Judge Walton previously called Trump a “charlatan,” and said that “I don’t think he cares about democracy, only power.” I have previously criticized Trump for public comments against judges and believe that such matters should be primarily raised in court filings. Nevertheless, I have serious objections to the scope of these gag orders on free speech grounds, particularly before an election that could turn in large part on allegations of the weaponization of the legal system. Moreover, we now have a judge who feels the same license to make such criticisms in the media despite the ongoing litigation of these matters. That alleged transgression, however, pales in comparison to a failure to protect the rights of this defendant from the abusive or unsupported surveillance of the government.

The order reflects the utter impunity shown by the Justice Department in its pursuit of January 6th defendants. Justice Department official Michael Sherwin proudly declared in a television interview that “our office wanted to ensure that there was shock and awe … it worked because we saw through media posts that people were afraid to come back to D.C. because they’re, like, ‘If we go there, we’re gonna get charged.’ … We wanted to take out those individuals that essentially were thumbing their noses at the public for what they did.”

Sherwin was celebrated for his pledge to use such draconian means to send a message to others in the country. (Sherwin has left the Justice Department and is now a partner at Kobre & Kim). The surveillance of the computer shows that the Justice Department continues to act with a sense of utter impunity, particularly when judges are willing to blithely sign off on such orders. The case involved Daniel Goodwyn, 35, of Corinth, Texas, who pleaded guilty on Jan. 31, 2023, to one misdemeanor count of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority. That is a relatively minor offense but Walton imposed a 60-day jail sentence in June 2023.

Walton reportedly noted that Goodwyn spread “disinformation” during a broadcast of “Tucker Carlson Tonight” on March 14, 2023 and ordered that Mr. Goodwyn’s computer be subject to “monitoring and inspection” by a probation agent to check if he spread Jan. 6 disinformation during the term of his supervised release. As a condition for supervised release, the Justice Department was reportedly seeking evidence on the defendant’s political opinions and Walton felt that that was fine. The appellate judges (Gregory Katsas, Neomi Rao, and Bradley Garcia) did not: “The district court plainly erred in imposing the computer-monitoring condition without considering whether it was ‘reasonably related’ to the relevant sentencing factors and involved ‘no greater deprivation of liberty than is reasonably necessary’ to achieve the purposes behind the sentencing.”

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Protest vote.

• Historic ‘Uncommitted’ Vote Will SCREW Biden 2024 (Snyder)

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“We are very clear that we want to start a war with Iran and Hezbollah. Do you still not understand?”

• Brutal, Chaotic War (Alastair Crooke)

We stand on the cusp of what might be termed Chaotic War. Not the formula used by Israel often in the past to intimidate adversaries; this is different. Israeli reporter Eddie Cohen said, in the wake of the attack on the Iranian Consulate: “We are very clear that we want to start a war with Iran and Hezbollah. Do you still not understand?” “Israel wants to drag Iran into a full-scale war in order to be able to strike at Iran’s nuclear facilities”, though these facilities are beyond American and Israeli reach, buried beneath mountains. Cohen, and of course, Israel’s military leadership, will know that; but Israel nonetheless is locking itself into a logic that can only lead to defeat. Iran’s nuclear facilities are safe from Israeli assault. The destruction of civilian Iranian infrastructure, which is out in the open, may kill many, but will not, per se, collapse the Iranian state. Trita Parsi places Israel’s objective in attacking the Iranian Consulate in Damascus in a different context:

“An important aspect of Israel’s conduct – and Biden’s acquiescence to it – is that Israel is engaged in a deliberate and systematic effort to destroy existing laws and norms around warfare. Even during wartime, embassies are off-limits [yet] Israel just bombed an Iranian diplomatic compound in Damascus. Bombing hospitals is a war crime, [yet] Israel has bombed EVERY hospital in Gaza. It has even assassinated doctors and patients inside hospitals. The ICJ obligated Israel to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza. Israel actively prevents aid from coming in. Starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is prohibited under international humanitarian law. Israel has deliberately created a famine in Gaza. Indiscriminate bombings are illegal under international humanitarian law. Biden himself admits that Israel is bombing Gaza indiscriminately”.

The list goes on and on … However, Israel’s breach of Vienna Convention immunity accorded to diplomatic premises – plus the stature of those killed – is highly significant. It is a major signal: Israel wants war – but with U.S. support, of course. Israel’s aim, firstly, is to destroy the norms, conventions and laws of warfare; to create geo-political anarchy in which anything goes, and by which, with the White House frustrated, yet acquiescing to each norm of conduct obtrusively trodden underfoot, allows Netanyahu to grip the U.S. bridle and lead the White House horse to water – towards his regional End of Times ‘Great Victory’; a necessarily brutal war – beyond existing red lines and devoid of limits. As symbolically significant as the Damascus attack is that the U.S., France and Britain – after a brief ‘hat tip’ to the Vienna Convention – refused to condemn the levelling of the Iranian Consulate, thus placing the shadow of doubt over the Vienna Convention’s immunity for diplomatic premises.

Implicitly, this refusal to condemn will be widely understood as a soft condoning of Israel’s first tentative step towards war with Hizbullah and Iran. This Israeli chaotic ‘Biblical’ nihilism, however, bears no relationship in purely rational terms to Netanyahu’s aspiration for a ‘Great Victory’. The reality is that Israel has lost its deterrence. It won’t return; the deep anger across the Islamic world generated by Israel through its massacres in Gaza during the last six months precludes it. Yet, there is a second, adjunct reason why Israel is set on deliberately flouting humanitarian law and norms: Israeli journalist, Yuval Abraham reports in +972 Magazine in great depth how Israel has developed a AI machine (called ‘Lavender’) to generate kill lists in Gaza – with almost no human verification; only a “rubber stamp” check of about “20 seconds” to make sure the AI target is male (as no females are known to belong to the Resistance’s military).

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“Israel refuses to accept a political solution to end the war because the right-wing government of Prime Minister Netanyahu has made a ‘virtue’ out of this conflict..”

• Even With AI ‘Kill List’, Israel ‘No Closer to Achieving’ Goals (Sp.)

The Israel Defense Forces announced Sunday that the “active invasion stage” of its campaign in Gaza had reached its end, withdrawing elements of Division 98 from Khan Yunis, southern Gaza while marking the intention to continue the occupation the strip’s central and northern areas using forces from the 162nd Division’s Brigade 401 and the 933rd Nahal Brigade. “The 98th Commando Division has concluded its mission in Khan Yunis,” the IDF said in a statement. “The division left the Gaza Strip in order to recuperate and prepare for future operations.” “A significant force led by the 162nd Division and the Nahal Brigade continues to operate in the Gaza Strip and will preserve the IDF’s freedom of action and its ability to conduct precise intelligence based operations,” the military said. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stressed that an operation at the Rafah checkpoint separating Gaza from Egypt was still planned, but offered no further details.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Netanyahu said in a cabinet meeting Sunday that Israel was “one step away from victory” but that “the price we paid is painful and heartbreaking” (presumably referring to Israeli troop losses). Commenting on truce talks imminently expected to resume in Cairo, Netanyahu said “there will be no ceasefire without the return of hostages.” While the IDF assures that the shift in its operations has nothing to do with mounting international pressure on Israel, Israeli media have said that the “timing was unmistakable,” and likely connected to backlash stemming from the IDF’s targeted killings of seven humanitarian aid workers in Gaza last week. Sunday’s shift in approach comes days after Israel announced the opening of the Erez Crossing separating northern Gaza from southern Israel, and allowed the temporary use of Ashdod Port for aid deliveries amid reported threats by Washington – its main foreign sponsor, to cut off arms aid.

Israel first began scaling back the intensity of its Gaza ground offensive in January, shifting part of its forces, including Division 63, to the northern border with Lebanon amid escalating back-and-forth skirmishes with Hezbollah and fears of a second front opening up in the north. Division 98 claimed partial victory in the Khan Yunis area in February, but left forces on the ground, supposedly for the purpose of getting concessions from Hamas in hostage negotiations. “Six months after Israel launched its attack under the banner of self-defense and the stated objective of destroying Hamas, Israel is no closer to achieving its military goals,” Professor Shahram Akbarzadeh, a Middle Eastern politics expert at Deakin University in Australia, told Sputnik. “Hamas continues to engage Israeli forces in skirmishes. Israeli hostages are still in Hamas captivity and the civilian toll is mounting by the minute. Israel refuses to accept a political solution to end the war because the right-wing government of Prime Minister Netanyahu has made a ‘virtue’ out of this conflict,” Dr. Akbarzadeh said.

In the past six months, Israel has seriously undermined its international standing, and the reputation of its military, with Arab countries who once considered inking formal relations with Tel Aviv shying away from the idea, and the bloody nose the Israeli military got fighting Hamas and its allies showing that the IDF of today has become a shadow of its former self. As far as Sunday’s partial IDF withdrawal from southern Gaza is concerned, Akbarzadeh said that it’s “hard to read too much into the IDF relocation of troops in the absence of any signal from the Israeli government regarding a ceasefire or a break in fighting.” The IDF says 604 Israeli troops have been killed through the course of fighting in the past six months (Hamas estimates Israeli losses at over 1,600 troops killed). The IDF says 32,000 “terrorist targets” were struck over the course of the campaign and that over 13,000 militants were killed in Gaza.

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God complex. “Walberg went on to say that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has “moral clarity.”

• Just Nuke Gaza, Get It Over Quick: Representative Tim Walberg (SCF)

The Jews are closely associated with the word holocaust. The word is culturally attached to the Jewish people, recalling a terrible genocide in Europe in the WW2 era which killed millions. It wasn’t the first genocide of modern times, that was committed on the Armenians and Syrian Christians in 1916, and it likely will not be the last genocide. We are currently watching the 2024 genocide in Gaza. Similarly, the Japanese are closely associated with the word Hiroshima, recalling the twin U.S. attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki which turned some 100,000 people instantly into ashes, and killed thousands more in the days that followed, mostly civilians. On March 25, U.S. Representative Tim Walberg, Republican of Michigan, was speaking at a town hall meeting in Dundee, Michigan. He was asked a question about why U.S. money is being spent to build a port to deliver humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.

Walberg said, “It’s (President) Joe Biden’s reason. I don’t think we should. I don’t think any of our aid that goes to Israel to support our greatest ally, arguably maybe in the world, to defeat Hamas, and Iran and Russia and probably North Korea’s in there and China too, with them helping Hamas. We shouldn’t be spending a dime on humanitarian aid. It should be like Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Get it over quick.” After the video of Walberg’s calling for the Palestinian people in Gaza to be nuked went viral on social media, Walberg spokesman Mike Rorke confirmed the validity of the video. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI), a Michigan chapter of the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, condemned Walberg’s call to end humanitarian aid for the Palestinian people in Gaza and instead nuke the civilian population into extermination.

Humanitarian groups and the UN say a port is necessary because Israel has blocked seven land routes for food and medicine to get in to Gaza. The UN warns that famine is “imminent” in Gaza. The International Court of Justice last week ruled unanimously that Israel must allow humanitarian assistance to enter Gaza because “famine is setting in.” Walberg serves as the U.S. Congressional representative from Michigan’s 5th congressional district. He has previously represented the 7th district from 2007 to 2009 and from 2011 to 2023. As the longest tenured member from Michigan, Walberg is the current Dean of its delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives. From 1973 to 1977, Walberg served as pastor at Grace Fellowship Church in New Haven, Indiana. He also spent time as a pastor and as a division manager for the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. Walberg often talks about his faith guiding his politics. A graduate of three evangelical schools: Moody Bible Institute in Illinois, Tayler University in Indiana, and Wheaton College in Illinois.

In February, Moody published a quote from Walberg, “Living out my biblical worldview and not succumbing to acquiesce in any way, shape, or form to anything that God condemns. … I can’t — by silence or direct statement — condone what God condemns.” In an interview with World magazine, Walberg said, “Everything comes at me through the filter of my faith. It has to be that way if this is more than a religion.” In April 2019, a Jewish group at the University of Michigan hosted Walberg speaking. Walberg spoke on how his religion guides his support for Israel. He said the main reason he fervently believes the U.S. must support Israel is because he believes God supports Israel. “I read the Torah, I’ve read the entire Old Testament,” Walberg said. “What God condemns, I condemn. Who God loves I will love. If I don’t, I’m a sinner.” Walberg went on to say that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has “moral clarity.” “The most impressive experience was being able to be with Bibi Netanyahu,” Walberg said. “In his presence, I understand very clearly he knows good from evil, right from wrong, success from failure.”

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“Unlike the US, Germany does not enjoy an ocean-length buffer between itself and the fascistic proxy warriors it sponsors in Ukraine..”

“There is no way of predicting how the millions of Ukrainian refugees in European countries would react to their country being abandoned.”

• Centuria, Ukraine’s Western-trained neo-Nazi Army (GZ)

Centuria, an ultra-violent Ukrainian Neo-Nazi faction, has cemented itself in six cities across Germany, and is seeking to expand its local presence. According to Junge Welt, a Berlin-based Marxist daily, the Nazi organization’s growth has been “unhindered by local security services.” Junge Welt traces Centuria’s origins to an August 2020 Neo-Nazi summit “at the edge of a forest near Kiev.” There, an ultranationalist named Igor “Tcherkas” Mikhailenko demanded the “hundreds of mostly masked vigilante fighters present,” who were members Kiev’s fascistic National Militia, “make sacrifices for the idea of ‘Greater Ukraine.’” As the former head of the Neo-Nazi Patriot of Ukraine’s Kharkiv division, and commander of the state sponsored Azov Battalion from 2014 to 2015, Mikhailenko has professed a desire to “destroy everything anti-Ukrainian.”

Junge Welt reports that since 2017, the National Militia “had been practicing brutal vigilante justice” throughout Ukraine, including “tyrannizing the LGBTQ scene.” Centuria was subsequently blamed for a terrifying November 2021 attack on a gay nightclub in Kiev, in which its operatives assaulted revelers with truncheons and pepper spray. Now the same Neo-Nazi sect “has an offshoot in Germany,” Junge Welt revealed. On August 24 2023, the 32nd anniversary of Ukraine’s independence, Centuria convened a “nationalist rally” in the central city of Magdeburg, “unmolested by Antifa and critical media reporting.” Participants proudly posed with the flag of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) founded by World War II-era Nazi collaborator Stepan Bandera. Centuria boasted at the time on Telegram, “although Ukrainian youth are not in their homeland, they are starting to unite.” Meanwhile, they threatened the “enemies” of their country with “hellish storm,” pledging that “Ukrainian emigrants” would not “forget their national identity for a few hundred euros.”

Junge Welt reports that Centuria “is currently raising funds for its parent organization’s combat unit,” which is commanded by Andriy Biletsky – the Azov Battalion founder who infamously stated in 2014 that the Ukrainian nation’s mission was to “lead the white races of the world in a final crusade… against Semite-led Untermenschen.” At home, Centuria’s members express similar attitudes towards Muslims, Africans, and gays, whom they refer to, respectively, as the “German Caliphate,” “black rapists,” and “pedophiles.” Now, the group’s members are working hard to pass their ideological vision down to future racists across the continent. “We are creating a new generation of heroes!” Centuria’s Telegram channel boasts. Accordingly, the neo-Nazi group has been arranging hiking trips to Germany’s Harz mountains with a Ukrainian nationalist scout association called Plast. This outfit opened chapters across the Western world beginning in the 1950s, in response to the Soviet Union’s hounding of fascists and nationalists.

Besides receiving ideological indoctrination, Plast’s youthful members may have the opportunity to improve their physical fitness and receive military training. As Centuria ominously declares on Telegram, “free people have weapons.” As Washington gradually backs away from its sponsorship of Ukraine’s war with Russia, it has begun ceding responsibility for the military campaign’s management – and likely failure – to Berlin. If US arms shipments continue to dwindle, Germany will become Kiev’s chief supplier of weapons. And the Germans may find that saying “no” to Ukraine could result in some nasty surprises. Unlike the US, Germany does not enjoy an ocean-length buffer between itself and the fascistic proxy warriors it sponsors in Ukraine. After Ukraine’s much-hyped counteroffensive finally collapsed in late 2023, its president, Volodymyr Zelensky, grumbled a veiled threat during an interview with the Economist: “There is no way of predicting how the millions of Ukrainian refugees in European countries would react to their country being abandoned.”

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“..the strategic patience embodied by former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping’s mantra: “hide your strength, bide your time.”

• US ‘Deep State’ Will Call Shots in Ukraine, Not Trump or Biden (Sp.)

Former US President Donald Trump has startled European leaders in recent weeks with plans to interfere in the functioning of NATO and reorient US foreign policy if reelected this November. The brash real estate magnate frequently threatens Western allies with cuts to US funding for the decades-old alliance and has recently touted a proposal he claims would rapidly bring the war in the Donbass to an end. Both ideas have proven distinctly unappetizing to Europe’s political elite, who reject any concession of territory to Russia regardless of the wishes of the region’s inhabitants. The threat of Trump’s restoration to power has prompted moves to provide Ukraine with a multi-year fund for President Volodymyr Zelensky to continue hostilities whether his country is supported by the United States or not. But the ultimate decision over whether American aid will continue to flow to the embattled leader may not lie with the US president at all.

That’s according to international relations and security analyst Mark Sleboda, who made the provocative comment on Sputnik’s Fault Lines program Monday. “They’re playing a completely different information warfare game than the Kiev regime,” noted the expert, responding to Russia’s successes on the battlefield in recent days. “The Kiev regime in its eight-month hyped runup to their badly failed NATO proxy offensive in the south – where they were mauled and defeated by Russian forces – They were running… movie-quality trailers, hyping up their offensive.” “And it was on the front page of every major publication and news hour in the West.” Russia, meanwhile, appears to subscribe to the strategic patience embodied by former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping’s mantra: “hide your strength, bide your time.” “Russia is playing a game of operational silence,” Sleboda claimed. “While the Avdeyevka siege was going on, the Russian Ministry of Defense never even said the name Avdeyevka. It was completely left out of reports.

So obviously one of the reasons [for Russia’s success] is operational security. They’re not giving any information extra to the West or the Kiev regime forces.” “Another thing is there continue to be rumors and there’s no question that there’s large numbers of Russian troops that have signed up as volunteers, like more than 400,000 now,” he added. A surge of patriotic fervor has spurred thousands of Russian citizens towards military recruitment centers – especially after last month’s terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall concert venue, for which Russians widely assign blame to Ukraine. Kiev, meanwhile, has relied on forcible conscriptions to fill the ranks of its depleted military as draft dodging remains a major problem for the country. Ukraine’s chronic struggles may lead some observers to conclude the country should seek negotiations with Moscow, something Russian President Vladimir Putin has consistently urged. But Sleboda claims forces behind the scenes will insist on continuing to use the country as a battering ram against Russia.

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“I think it’s quite rich you guys pursue criminal investigations and put people in jail for not showing up . . . And now you guys are flouting those subpoenas. . . . And you don’t have to show up?”

• Federal Judge Rebukes DOJ on Refusal to Comply with House Subpoenas (Turley)

“Are you kidding me?” Those are four words that no lawyer wants to hear from a judge in a hearing. But that was not the least of it for Justice Department lawyers fighting House subpoenas into the Biden corruption scandal. U.S. District Court Judge Ana Reyes slammed the DOJ for stonewalling Congress on the subpoenas while imprisoning figures like former Trump adviser Peter Navarro for doing the same thing. The Biden Administration has blocked the testimony of prosecutors Mark Daly and Jack Morgan, who were involved in an inexplicable decision of the Justice Department to allow major felonies against Hunter Biden to lapse. In prior hearings, IRS whistleblowers testified that they had an agreement on the table to extend the statute of limitations on the crimes, but Special Counsel David Weiss allowed the period to lapse without any explanation. Since the DOJ was in the midst of a plea negotiations, it made no sense that the DOJ would simply kill potential charges.

The handling of the Hunter Biden investigation has been widely criticized as affording special treatment to the President’s son, including scuttling searches of Biden property and giving Hunter a heads up before attempts to interview him. Ultimately, the DOJ cut a plea bargain with Hunter that many of us rejected as laughable. It not only failed to charge the full array of still viable criminal allegations (including being an unregistered foreign agent), but included an absurd immunity agreement that would bar future charges. The plea agreement fell apart in open court after the judge asked the lead prosecutor a simple question of whether in his long career he had ever seen such an immunity deal. He answered no. Yet even after that meltdown, the DOJ admits that it tried to restore most of the agreement, but Hunter Biden’s team was insistent that the original deal remained enforceable — a position repeatedly rejected by later courts.

The DOJ was in a bizarre position. Its effort to give Hunter a sweetheart deal — or at least most of the original deal — could not occur because the beneficiary wanted it all. It had little choice but to charge him with the tax and gun crimes. The House is in the midst of an impeachment inquiry that includes allegations of influence over the Hunter investigation. While insisting that there was no pressure or special dealing in the matter, the DOJ has blocked key sources of evidence. That led to the House subpoenas. I also have previously written on the sharp contrast between the Hunter Biden charges and those against Sen. Menendez despite the underlying similarities. The only way for the House to investigate such corrupt special dealings is to interview the principle actors, including these two attorneys.

Otherwise, as Democratic members have done, critics can insist that they have no direct evidence of wrongdoing. It appears that confusion expressed by many of us is shared by Judge Reyes. Judge Reyes noted the obvious: “There’s a person in jail right now because you all brought a criminal lawsuit against him because he did not appear for a House subpoena.” The DOJ demanded six months in prison. Navarro is now serving a four-month sentence. Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon also received a four-month sentence. Reyes noted that “I think it’s quite rich you guys pursue criminal investigations and put people in jail for not showing up . . . And now you guys are flouting those subpoenas. . . . And you don’t have to show up?” Reyes noted that the DOJ lawyers were “making a bunch of arguments that you would never accept from any other litigant . . . I imagine that there are hundreds, if not thousands of defense attorneys . . . who would be happy to hear that DOJ’s position is, if you don’t agree with a subpoena, if you believe it’s unconstitutional or unlawful, you can unilaterally not show up.”

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“Musk said that Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes had “brazenly and repeatedly betrayed the constitution and people of Brazil,” and should “resign or be impeached.”

• ‘Brazil’s Darth Vader’ Orders Investigation Into Elon Musk (ZH)

Brazil’s activist Supreme Court justice Alexandre de Moraes has ordered an investigation into Elon Musk, after the billionaire vowed to defy a court order as part of an ongoing probe into social media accounts allegedly spreading misinformation and ‘hate’ speech. “The flagrant conduct of obstruction of Brazilian justice, incitement of crime, the public threat of disobedience of court orders and future lack of cooperation from the platform are facts that disrespect the sovereignty of Brazil,” wrote de Moraes – who Musk called “Brazil’s Darth Vader” over the weekend. While X initially said in a Saturday post that they would comply, blocking certain popular accounts in Brazil – Musk said an hour later, after the release of the “TWITTER FILES BRAZIL,” that they would not, noting that “As a result, we will probably lose all revenue in Brazil and have to shut down our office there.”

in a Sunday post, Musk said that Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes had “brazenly and repeatedly betrayed the constitution and people of Brazil,” and should “resign or be impeached.” De Moraes said that as part of his decision to open an inquiry, that “X shall refrain from disobeying any court order already issued, including performing any profile reactivation that has been blocked by this Supreme Court,” Reuters reports. The justice said that Musk would face a fine that equates to approximately $20,000 each time an account is reactivated on X. The TWITTER FILES BRAZIL, reported by investigative journalist Michael Shellenberger, and colleagues David Ágape and Eli Vieira, reveal that “Brazil is engaged in a sweeping crackdown on free speech led by a Supreme Court justice.”

BRAZIL IS ON THE BRINK

I’m reporting to you from Brazil, where a dramatic series of events are underway.

At 5:52 pm Eastern Time, today, April 6, 2024, X corporation, formerly known as Twitter, announced that a Brazilian court had forced it to “block certain popular accounts in… pic.twitter.com/GjdAgmkCBo

— Michael Shellenberger (@shellenberger) April 7, 2024

“Sitting members of Brazil’s Congress and journalists were among those named by Brazil’s highest court for censoring, Mr. Shellenberger said of his findings, which he has shared on X. He named lower house members Carla Zambelli of former President Jair Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party and Marcel van Hattem of the NOVO party as targets of orders targeting posts the court deemed misinformation. According to the internal files Mr. Shellenberger shared, Twitter in Brazil was threatened with a $30,000 fine. The company had one hour to remove the Congress members’ posts or pay the court for noncompliance. The article reports that the justice had even been jailing individuals without trial for things posted on social media. According to Mr. Shellenberger, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes allegedly made demands to Twitter to allow access to its internal data, in violation of Twitter’s own policies on the handling of user data”. -Epoch Times.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1777378067528438038

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“We all felt kind of a bump, a jolt, and I looked out the window because I love window seats, and there it was..”

Which airlines will order Boeing planes now?

• FAA Investigating Boeing 737 That Lost Engine Cover During Takeoff (Sp.)

Flight 3695 was on its way to Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport Sunday when it was forced to return to its gate at Denver, and did so safely at 8:15 AM local time, said the FAA. Customers then transferred to a different aircraft and arrived at their destination three hours late. One passenger said the engine cowling “peeled off within the first 10 minutes” of the flight. Another person simply said of the plane part “it all blew away”. “We all felt kind of a bump, a jolt, and I looked out the window because I love window seats, and there it was,” the passenger said. “People in the exit row across from me started yelling up to the flight attendants and showed them the damage,” another passenger said, adding that the experience was “frightening”. Southwest said its maintenance crew would review the aircraft, which had reached an altitude of about 10,000 feet when one of the engine cowlings peeled off.

The FAA also said it will investigate the incident. “We apologize for the inconvenience of their delay but place our highest priority on ultimate safety for our Customers and Employees,” said Southwest in a statement. They added that no injuries were reported. It’s the latest incident in a series of mechanical issues creating a PR headache for Boeing. On January 5, a door plug panel tore off a new Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 at 16,000 feet. Though the situation could have been tragic, no one was seriously injured. The FAA is also investigating a separate Southwest incident that occurred in March when one of its flights strayed off course and flew close to the air traffic control tower at LaGuardia Airport while attempting to land. Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun announced last month that he would step down by the end of the year. Boeing also replaced its chairman and chief executive of its commercial plane unit.

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“Ice cream-eating doesn’t correlate with military capabilities, but a rising consumption rate predicts winning wars; a falling rate, losing them..”

• The Emperor Of Ice Cream Is Russian Ice Cream (Helmer)

Ice cream is ancient enough to have been demanded by at least three well-known emperors – Alexander the Great of Greece, Nero of Rome, and Charles I of England, all of them ill-fated. Ice cream, as we know it, doesn’t become easy to eat until it ceased to be plutocratic. Refrigeration technology, not political revolution, did the trick. The industry of cows is a fillip, too. This is why New Zealand, world largest exporter of dairy products, is also the world’s leading consumer of ice cream. At 28.4 litres per person per annum, New Zealanders far outstrip Americans at 20.8 litres, and Australians at 18 litres. Sub-zero winter countries like Finland, Sweden, and Canada lag further behind. In Europe’s hottest summer weather, Portugal is far ahead of Spain, France, and Italy in the volume of ice cream sold but that’s because foreign tourists buy it, not the locals.

So when Soyuzmoloko, the Russian Union of Milk Producers, announced last week that in 2023 the volume of ice cream produced in Russia had jumped by 13%, and per capita consumption of dairy products had recovered to the Soviet level, the news is significant. It means that Russians eating more ice cream is a measure of confidence in the present value of their spending power, the future security of their savings, and victory in the present war. When the American poet Wallace Stevens wrote his poem “The Emperor of Ice-Cream” in 1922, he was holidaying in Cuba. Observing the funeral of a poor woman whose corpse was in another room, the guests were eating ice cream. The poet’s pessimistic conclusion was “Let be be finale of seem/The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream”. Stevens was implying that ice cream is more permanent in life than life itself – at least among poor Cubans.

When Winston Churchill was in Moscow to meet Joseph Stalin on a sub-zero day in the autumn of 1944, he asked an aide what Russians he could see were eating as they stood in the city street. When told they were eating ice cream, Churchill reportedly said: “The people who eat ice cream in such cold weather are invincible.” None of Churchill’s successors in Europe or the US has got this message yet. According to Soyuzmoloko, domestic production of ice cream in 2023 increased by 13% over the year before to reach 524,000 tonnes. This represents a per capita consumption level of 3.6 litres, a jump of 16% over the level at the end of 2021. While the Russians are trailing well behind the new NATO enemies, the Finns (14.2 litres per person) and Swedes (12.0 litres), the Russian rate of growth is fast and positive – and much faster than the average global growth rate projected over the next five years at 4% annually. By contrast, the Finnish and Swedish consumption rates have been falling sharply over the past decade.

Ice cream-eating doesn’t correlate with military capabilities, but a rising consumption rate predicts winning wars; a falling rate, losing them. The Russian ice cream makers are also steadily boosting their export volumes, while imports from the US and the European Union are plummeting. Compared to last year, Soyuzmoloko says Russia’s base milk output will grow by about 4% this year, while exports of ice cream will jump by up to 18%, if sanctions curbs on transport and payment can be neutralized. Sanctions war is proving to be the icing on Russia’s ice cream cake. “The global market potential is absolutely fantastic,” Artem Belov, the head of Soyuzmoloko, said in January. “First of all, we are talking about countries friendly to Russia, primarily the markets of Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, which open up enormous opportunities for Russia to increase exports.”

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“No rule, regulation, fee, tax, policy, or mandate of any kind of the World Health Organization, United Nations, and the World Economic Forum shall be enforced or implemented..”

• Louisiana Senate Passes Bill to Push Back Against UN, WEF and WHO (PB)

The Louisiana Senate has enacted legislation that would free the state from mandates and requirements imposed by international organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations (UN), and World Economic Forum. Senate Bill 133 was unanimously passed with bipartisan support to prevent international bodies from declaring jurisdiction over the state, stipulating that the three above-named organizations “shall have no jurisdiction or power within the state of Louisiana.” The legislation prohibits these tyrannical, unelected, and undemocratic institutions from unilaterally exerting any jurisdiction or power over Louisiana citizens.

“The World Health Organization, United Nations, and the World Economic Forum shall have no jurisdiction or power within the state of Louisiana. No rule, regulation, fee, tax, policy, or mandate of any kind of the World Health Organization, United Nations, and the World Economic Forum shall be enforced or implemented by the state of Louisiana or any agency, department, board, commission, political subdivision, governmental entity of the state, parish, municipality, or any other political entity.” Vigilant News reports the legislation is “still pending passage in Louisiana’s Republican-majority House,” however, the bill is likely to pass. The bill comes as the WHO, UN, and WEF are working to promote a global pandemic treaty, which would give those agencies greater discretion over how nation-states react in the case of another pandemic.

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Tension

Imagine you are a wildlife photographer, would you intervene or let the circle of life continue? pic.twitter.com/j51Arf8bYP

— Nature is Amazing ☘️ (@AMAZlNGNATURE) April 8, 2024

Tuck in

Can you tuck me in, Mommy? pic.twitter.com/Gb0ebQXprG

— B&S (@_B___S) April 8, 2024

Thank you
https://twitter.com/i/status/1777448331217903785

Swans

Swan couple reunited after one went to a treatment centre for some time
pic.twitter.com/aXayTVxWBb

— Science girl (@gunsnrosesgirl3) April 8, 2024

Whale

A whale trapped in a fishing net set free by divers. pic.twitter.com/ob8mKRAyzJ

— Nature is Amazing ☘️ (@AMAZlNGNATURE) April 8, 2024

Pupper

These good people find this helpless, beautiful puppy. They don't only treat him but also transform his physical & mental state. Human or animal, the positive transformation is what every being needs. pic.twitter.com/ScMCqWXXry

— Hakan Kapucu (@1hakankapucu) April 8, 2024

Whale birth

Whale giving birth in False Bay attracted sharks. Dolphins appeared out of nowhere and swam in circles around her keeping sharks away. They stayed with her until she & her baby were safe then escorted her to safety.

Video credit David Hersch pic.twitter.com/yn18NErDrH

— Christina (@CWitvrouwen) April 8, 2024

Porcupine

This man gives water to a porcupine parching. A simple kindness to a being can give unexpectedly great meaning & peace to someone's life. Your kindness doesn't only heal others but also you. pic.twitter.com/e007VGsJLV

— Hakan Kapucu (@1hakankapucu) April 8, 2024

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