US News, Politics, World News, Commentary/Opinion and Video Post.
US News:
Texas Panhandle Woman Allegedly Held 17 Migrants as Hostages in Home
A woman in Friona, Texas, faces federal charges for her role in a human smuggling stash house that held 17 migrants hostage.
The migrants were forced to remain in the Texas Panhandle home until their debts to human smugglers were paid in full.
A criminal complaint filed by a special agent with the FBI alleges that Castro and her husband operated a cartel-connected human smuggling stash house in the small Texas Panhandle town more than 400 miles from the U.S.-Mexico Border.
The smuggling operation came to light following a tip from a migrant’s relative in Thousand Oaks, California. The California woman told police her sister was being held for ransom in Texas
Pushback Against Proposed Ordinance To Force LA Hotel Owners Give Vacant Rooms to Homeless
Hotel owners and workers in Los Angeles continued their push against a proposed ordinance on Friday that would force hotels in Los Angeles to give vacant rooms to the homeless.
The proposed ordinance dates back to April 2020 with Project Roomkey, a statewide program that gave hotel room vouchers to the homeless during the pandemic to help keep them off the streets and away from exposure to COVID-19.
However, the program quickly spiraled out of control, with hotels quickly seeing well more than half of the paid-for rooms sitting empty. Many rooms that were filled were damaged, with some homeless scaring away paying guests with drug use, fighting, and other dubious behavior. With the state doing little to set hotels at ease, many quickly pulled out of the program. By the time the project ended in September, $100 million of state funds had been spent to house less than 5,000 people for only a few months.
Despite the programs’ failure, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti brought back the program the next year on a smaller scale,
OpenTheBooks Afghanistan Investigations | 1 Year Later
It has been about a year since the #BidenAdministration pulled our military forces from Afghanistan, while the Taliban took over the country.
Last year, our auditors asked: – How much U.S. military gear was left behind? – How much money does the U.S. spend on foreign aid to Afghanistan?
These questions and more are answered in this video.
Have monkeypox? CDC advises no sex, but says masturbation 6 feet apart or virtual sex reduce risk
“If you or a partner has monkeypox, the best way to protect yourself and others is to avoid sex of any kind (oral, anal, vaginal) and do not kiss or touch each other’s bodies while you are sick, especially any rash,” the CDC said. “Do not share things like towels, fetish gear, sex toys, and toothbrushes.”
The CDC went on to give advice on when, where and how someone with monkeypox can have safer sex.
“Masturbate together at a distance of at least 6 feet, without touching each other and without touching any rash,” the CDC recommends. “Remember to wash your hands, fetish gear, sex toys and any fabrics (bedding, towels, clothing) after having sex.”
“Consider having sex with your clothes on or covering areas where rash is present, reducing as much skin-to-skin contact as possible. If the rash is confined to the genitals or anus, condoms may help; however, condoms alone are likely not enough to prevent monkeypox.”
Pregnant mother, 23, and baby boy killed in LA crash are pictured
Asherey Ryan, 23, was pronounced dead at the scene alongside her one-year-old child Alonzo and her unborn baby boy after a 40-year-old woman rammed her car through a red light at 80mph in Windsor Hills, Los Angeles.
Vehicles were sent screeching across the street, bursting into flames, before finally coming to a stop in a mangled wreck just feet away from rows of highly flammable pumps.
A woman has claimed that the speeding driver, who was her friend, was ‘drunk’ and ‘fighting with her boyfriend’ before she got in her car and smashed into a traffic jam.
‘All of the sudden, a baby literally flew from the middle of the intersection to the middle of the gas station and landed right on the floor in front of me.
‘One of the workers came and saw me with the baby and took the baby out of my hands. Somebody tried to resuscitate the baby, but the baby was gone.’
One woman, who claims to be a friend of the Mercedes driver, said she believed she had been drinking after having an argument with her boyfriend before the deadly crash.
She told KTLA: ‘She was drinking and she was not aware that it was a red light because she shot straight through.’
Another heartbroken witness Alphonso Word, who was just a few cars away from the intersection when the tragedy struck, said that the crash sounded ‘like a bomb.’
He said that the child was ‘ejected from the street’ as was the the pregnant mother, who ‘landed over to the side.’
Windsor Hills crash: Death toll increases to 6, including baby and unborn child
The horrific crash in Windsor Hills ended with six people dead, including a baby and an unborn child.
Fiery car crash in Windsor Hills kills 6 people
Rick Montanez reports from Windsor Hills where a violent, fiery crash at La Brea and Slauson Avenues Thursday after killed six people and injured eight others.
Salsa Dancer and Cardi B friend killed in Manhattan Head-on Crash
A high speed crash killed David Fernandez, 40, and Joel Adames, 31, two pedestrians standing on the sidewalk, in a head-on collision in Inwood part of Manhattan on August 3rd.
Joel Adames, a friend of Cardi B, And David Fernandez, a local hairdresser and salsa Dancer , were rushed to a local hospital where they were pronounced dead.
Twitter Censors Senior Israeli Physician-Scientist Injured by Pfizer Vaccine
Shapira, who said he was injured after receiving his third dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, said Twitter demanded he remove a tweet that said:
“Monkey pox cases were rare for years. During the last years a single case was documented in Israel. It is well established the mRNA vaccines affect the natural immune system. A monkey pox outbreak following massive covid vaccination: *Is not a coincidence.”
Shapira is a full professor of medical administration at Hebrew University and served as director of Israel’s Institute for Biological Research from 2013-2021.
According to the author of the Kanekoa Newsletter, Shapira might be “the most senior ranking medical-scientist in the world to openly criticize the COVID vaccines.”
Scientists at Senate hearing say Fauci lied about gain-of-function research in Wuhan lab
Jesse Watters: “For the first time ever, the Senate held a hearing on gain-of-function research. Based on what we heard today, Dr. Fauci lied under oath.”
Politics:
EXCLUSIVE: Sen Josh Hawley Doubles Down on NATO Vote, Calls for Europe to Scale Back Reliance on America
Hawley, in an interview with Breitbart News, said America’s current NATO arrangement is spreading resources too thin and in a region that is not of primary national security concern — calling the European theatre a “big distraction from what our principle overseas challenge is, which is China.”
“We need to renegotiate the 2% pledge. It needs to go up to two and a half, at least,” Hawley told Breitbart News, referring to the requirement that NATO members pledge 2% of their GDP to defense spending, which most member countries have not fulfilled. “And I think we also need to require them to start fielding more manpower and bigger armies.”
“I’m fine with NATO, if they will do their job, which is they need to take first responsibility for Europe so that we can focus on where we need to focus overseas, which is Asia,” the Senator added.
Ahead of the Senate vote this week, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said there was no “defensible excuse” to vote “no” on the NATO expansion, according to Politico.
Back from the Dead: Lobbyists Resuscitate JCPA, Zombie Corporate Media Cartel Bill
The bill, previously in limbo, was scheduled for markup this week by the Senate Judiciary Committee, and is being held over until September.
The fact that the bill enables more collusion between the media and Big Tech companies has been pointed out by Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Marco Rubio (R-FL), both of whom oppose the bill.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) has also come out against the bill, pointing out it would lead to more censorship of conservatives.
The House GOP leadership has also opposed the bill, with GOP leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) denouncing it as the “antithesis of conservatism,” and Judiciary Committee ranking member Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) slamming Senate Democrats for reviving the bill.
Normally, this level of opposition from the GOP would be enough to kill a bill like this one, which is of middling priority to the Democrats. But well-funded media lobbyists have continually brought it back from the dead over the past two years, with the Newsmax articles being the latest example.
Few people other than media lobbyists and news companies looking for a handout have supported the bill, which has attracted criticism from every direction and of every ideological stripe.
Exclusive: Sen. Marsha Blackburn Attempts to Ensure ‘Inflation Reduction’ Bill Does Not Target Middle Class
President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats have repeatedly claimed that their legislation would not raise taxes on Americans making less than $400,000 per year. To hold Democrats to their collective word, Blackburn proposed two amendments to the Inflation Reduction Act, which will be voted on during the “vote-a-rama” portion of the reconciliation voting process. The proposed amendments would:
- Ensure that any changes to the tax code under the bill would not raise taxes on small businesses
- Ensure that any additional IRS enforcement funding would not raise taxes on Americans making less than $400,00 and prohibit enforcement activities against American taxpayers making less than $400,000 per year.
Based on their claims, Congressional Democrats should welcome Blackburn’s proposals to the Inflation Reduction Act, as the bill in its current form would raise taxes on small businesses and Americans making less than $400,000 per year.
More than 230 economists warn spending bill will worsen inflation
Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts says Sens. Manchin, Sinema and the Biden administration are trying to be ‘cute’ with their rhetoric for supporting the Inflation Reduction Act.
FITTON ON FOX NEWS: Weak Wray: FBI Corruptly PROTECTS Hunter/Joe Biden!
Judicial Watch President @TomFitton appeared on “Fox and Friends First” on @Fox News to discuss the need for more transparency from the FBI on Hunter Biden and the FBI director warning of border security issues.
FBI Director Wray Confirms Detroit Field Office Head During Whitmer Kidnapping Debacle Now Leads D.C. Field Office
Cruz described the case against individuals who attempted to kidnap and murder Whitmer as an “absolute debacle.”
The senator noted that out of the four people who went to trial, two were acquitted and two received mistrials, explaining that no one was convicted of any charge and that the “basis of the defense was entrapment, that the FBI, that paid informants for the FBI had suggested and had incited the conduct.”
Wray could not say if any FBI agent had received discipline or was reprimanded after “the misconduct that led to every defendant being acquitted or having a mistrial on every charge.”
Cruz outlined that the special agent in charge of the Detriot Field Office, Steven D’Antuono, went on to become the assistant director in charge of the Washington, DC office, which Wray confirmed.
Tucker Carlson: This is disgusting
Fox News host Tucker Carlson weighs in on the power George Soros has all over the world on ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight.’
DeSantis tells Tucker why he suspended Soros-backed Andrew Warren
Governor Ron DeSantis joins Tucker Carlson to discuss why he suspended the Soros-backed progressive prosecutor Andrew Warren:
DeSantis: “We took it seriously, we did a thorough review and we pulled the trigger today.”
Matt Gaetz tells Tucker about bill that would stop IRS from acquiring more guns and ammo
Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz joined Tucker Carlson to discuss the bill he introduced that would stop the IRS from acquiring more ammunition.
The IRS has spent more than 20 million dollars on guns and ammo between 2006 and 2019.
World News:
UK Facing ‘Widespread Civil Unrest’ as Cost of Living Soars
Energy bills in the country are expected to reach £3,420 ($4152) in October, soaring to £3,850 ($4674) in 2023.
As Inews reported earlier this month, the figures, released by utilities consultant BFY, would represent a 74 percent increase to the energy price cap, which already rose by 54 percent to £1,971 in April.
Some Brits are now preparing to refuse to pay their energy bills as an anonymous campaign urging people not to pay gathers pace.
The group, which calls itself Don’t Pay, urged people to cancel their direct debits for gas and electricity from 1 October.
Orban: Hungary, U.S. conservatives must join forces
U.S. and Hungarian conservatives must join forces in the 2024 elections to “take back” institutions in Washington and Brussels from liberals who threaten western civilization, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Thursday (August 4).
UK Court Blocks Parents From Moving Comatose Son to Hospice
Barring any further legal action, the decision would open the door for doctors at the Royal London Hospital to end life-sustaining treatments for 12-year-old Archie Battersbee. He has been in a coma since early April and doctors believe he is brain dead.
“I return to where I started, recognizing the enormity of what lays ahead for Archie´s parents and the family. Their unconditional love and dedication to Archie is a golden thread that runs through this case,” High Court Judge Lucy Thies wrote. “I hope now Archie can be afforded the opportunity for him to die in peaceful circumstances, with the family who meant so much to him as he clearly does to them.”
Archie´s care has been the subject of weeks of legal battles as his parents sought to force the hospital to continue life-sustaining treatments and doctors argued there was no chance of recovery and he should be allowed to die.
Farage Calls for ‘Brexit 2.0’ to Deal with Migrant Crisis as Another 400 Illegals Land
As over a thousand more illegals were brought ashore on British beaches this week, Nigel ‘Mr Brexit’ Farage has called for the government to finally remove itself from the European Court of Human Rights and other asylum diktats from institutions such as the United Nations.
Speaking from a GB News’ Farage at Large broadcast from Bognor Regis in the South of England, the Brexit campaigner said: “We will never deal with this if we stay part of the European Convention on Human Rights whose court can overrule this.
“We will never deal with this all the while we are signed up to some United Nations declarations, some of which are over 70 years old and out of date.
“I will put it to you what we need is Brexit 2.0 so we really get back control of our borders that’s my view.”
Russia ready to discuss swap after Griner’s sentence
Russia said on Friday it was ready to discuss a prisoner swap with the United States in private, a day after a Russian court jailed U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner for nine years for a drug offense. This report produced by Tamara Lindstrom.
Israel Strikes Gaza, Launches Op “Breaking Dawn”; PIJ Vows to Conquer Jerusalem TV7Israel News 05.08
1) Israel strikes the Gaza Strip after tensions simmer.
2) Palestinian Islamic Jihad Leader Ziad al-Nakhala met with Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi during which both proclaim commitment to conquer Jerusalem.
3) IRGC top commander Hossein Salami warns Israel not to make a wrong move against Iran.
Israel strikes Islamic Jihad across Gaza, kills commander, braces for rocket fire
IDF says terror group was preparing major attack on civilians; 15 terrorists killed in initial strikes; call-up of reservists approved; PM: ‘We won’t let terror group set agenda’
The Times of Israel is liveblogging Friday’s events as they unfold.
IDF spokesman Ron Kochav tells Channel 12 “we’re in the midst of a targeted campaign against the Palestinian Islamic Jihad,” confirming reports that the army is not trying to drag Hamas into the ongoing conflict and is hoping to keep the campaign limited in scope.
The Israel Defense Forces has renewed airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian media reports.
There are reports of another assassination of a Palestinian Islamic Jihad official who was riding a motorcycle in Shejaiya, Gaza.
Meanwhile, the IDF publishes a new video of it striking an Islamic Jihad rocket launcher in the southern Gaza Strip.
According to the IDF, a failed rocket launch occurred from the site.
South Africa Confirms First Death ‘Causally Linked’ to COVID-19 Vaccine
South Africa’s health regulator today confirmed a person died as a direct result of receiving Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine.
It is the country’s first death officially attributed to a COVID-19 vaccine, officials said.
The person died of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) soon after being given the J&J shot, Reuters reported.
GBS is a rare neurological disorder in which the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks part of its peripheral nervous system, the network of nerves located outside of the brain and spinal cord.
GBS symptoms can range from mild, brief muscle weakness to paralysis, leaving the patient unable to breathe independently.
Spain Reports First Deaths From Acute Hepatitis in Children
Spain’s Health Ministry said that 46 cases of the illness have been reported in Spain and that three required liver transplants.
Of the three, two died – a 15-month-old baby in June and a 6-year-old in July.
The Ministry said in a statement Thursday that 507 cases were reported in 21 countries of Europe as of July 28, with 273 of them in Britain.
In the United States there have been at least 180 cases and six reported deaths.
Health officials remain perplexed by the causes of the hepatitis and say the best available evidence points to a stomach bug that isn´t known to cause liver problems in otherwise healthy kids.
Commentary/Opinion:
21st Century Re-Education, The Digital Gulag
Most people do not understand what a gulag is. They think of the Nazi concentration camps and therefore miss the point. Gulags, utilized directly and by that term in the Soviet Union under Lenin and then Stalin and without the term in Maoist Communist China, are re-education camps, not merely labor camps or concentration camps.
That is, they have an ideological goal, and that goal is to brainwash people into becoming Communists. They’re also mid-20th century technology, so they’re not likely to be utilized extensively in their classical prison-camp form in 21st century totalitarian regimes, as we can already see in CCP-controlled China.
The tyranny and brainwashing of today will be through digital gulags, which amount to using digital devices and technology to control and contour behavior, including through social-credit programs, while re-educating people into the Neo-Communist ideology behind these totalitarian agendas, primarily ESG-driven “sustainability.”
In this episode of New Discourses Bullets, host James Lindsay explains not only what digital gulags might look like but how they’re already being built, primarily using our children as guinea pigs under the “educational” brand name of systemic Transformative Social-Emotional Learning (SEL).