Yemen | Special Dispatch No. 11303
Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which broke out following the deadly attack perpetrated in Israel by Hamas on October 7, 2023, the Houthi Ansar Allah movement has carried out dozens of attacks targeting Israel and Israeli interests as well as American and other Western marine vessels in the Red Sea, the Bab El-Mandeb Strait, the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea. Severely disrupting global trade, these attacks have drawn the world’s attention to the Houthi movement, which is a proxy of Iran. The Houthis, for their part, are using this attention in a bid to shed their image as an Iranian proxy. They seek to elevate their international stature and position themselves as an influential regional power in their own right, part of the anti-American global axis that comprises Russia, China and the BRICS[1] countries.
Virulent hatred for the U.S., Israel, and the Jews, to the extent of blatant antisemitism, is an integral part of the Houthi identity and is used by the Houthi leadership to gain sympathy and support among the Yemeni population. The most obvious expression of this hatred is the movement’s motto: “Allahu akbar, death to America, death to Israel, cursed be the Jews, victory to Islam.” The U.S., Israel and the Jews are presented as the enemies of Islam and of mankind in speeches and sermons by Houthis leaders and clerics, at mass rallies and in activities for children. Over the years MEMRI has translated dozens of these speeches, sermons and statements from Houthi officials and reported on military parades and rallies in areas under Houthi control.
The following is a review of reports and videos published by MEMRI in this context.
The Houthis Seek To Position Themselves As A Regional Power Opposing The U.S. And The West
On March 16, 2024, Ali Al-Qahoum, a member of Ansar Allah’s political bureau, published a post on X praising the Houthi role in the struggle against the “hegemony” of the U.S., Britain and the West. The post reads: “There is a continuous development in the international relations between Yemen, Russia, China, and the BRICS countries, and an exchange of experience and expertise in various fields. This is due to a common interest in drowning America, Britain, and the West in the swamp of the Red Sea and the high seas. [Our] goal is to make it [the U.S.] sink and disappear, and weaken its unipolarity.
“This is not only an analysis, but rather a clear and present reality. Yemen… entered the equation of supporting Palestine and ably strengthened the equation of the Red Sea, which constitutes a major and strategic equation with major effects and implications on the balance of the military, security, political and economic results. Yemen achieved this with unparalleled vigour and pride thanks to Allah, our brave, wise, and beloved leader, and proud nation, to such an extent that the superpowers began knocking on its [Yemen’s] doors, coordinating and building mutual relations with it, making arrangements for the foreseeable future, and preparing for the historic defeat of America, Britain, and the West, and the collapse of the colonial project and Western hegemony in the region and the world.”
See MEMRI JTTM report, Senior Members Of Yemen’s Iran-Backed Ansar Allah Movement Declare Cooperation With Russia, China; Defend Group’s ‘Right’ To Ally With Countries Hostile To U.S, March 18, 2024.
Houthi Shura Council Member: Everyone Hostile To America Is Our Friend, We Will Welcome Exchange Of Military Expertise
On March 17, 2024, Abdulsalam Jahhaf, a member of the Houthi Shura Council, shared a post on X defending the group’s “right” to establish international relations with countries hostile to the U.S. The post reads: “We have the right to establish relations with Russia, China, Iran, the BRICS countries, Cuba, and [North] Korea. Everyone hostile to America is our friend. We will widely accept alliances and exchange of military expertise and information. This is a natural result of the West’s aggression against us and against our people in Gaza, under the leadership of America.”
See MEMRI JTTM report, Senior Members Of Yemen’s Iran-Backed Ansar Allah Movement Declare Cooperation With Russia, China; Defend Group’s ‘Right’ To Ally With Countries Hostile To U.S, March 18, 2024.
Houthis Hold Military Exercise Simulating Confrontation With U.S., British Forces
On March 15, the group released a photoset documenting a military exercise simulating confrontation with American and British forces.
See MEMRI JTTM report, Houthi Ansar Allah Movement Releases Photos Documenting Military Exercise Simulating Confrontation With U.S., U.K., And Paratrooper Landing, March 15, 2024.
Strengthening Relations With Palestinian Factions; Coordination With Hamas Regarding Crew Of Highjacked “Galaxy Leader” Ship
On March 15 and 16, 2024, it was reported that representatives of the Houthi Ansar Allah movement and senior officials from three Palestinian factions – Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestinian (DFLP) – had held a meeting in Lebanon to discuss coordination between them in the context of the war against Israel in the Gaza Strip. The Houthis stressed their willingness to continue with “assistance operations” in the Red Sea, the Bab El-Mandeb Strait, and the Indian Ocean for the next two years.
See MEMRI JTTM report, Palestinian And Lebanese Media Outlets: Representatives Of Houthi Ansar Allah Movement Meet Secretly With Officials From Three Palestinian Factions; Willing To Assist Militarily Against Israel For Coming Two Years, March 18, 2024.
On March 7, 2024, the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera website published an article about the collaboration between the Houthis and Hamas, against the backdrop of the war in the Gaza Strip. The article quoted senior Houthi and Hamas officials who claimed that the two movements had also coordinated the decisions regarding the crew members from the Galaxy Leader commercial vessel that was hijacked by the Houthis on November 19, 2023.
See MEMRI JTTM report, Al-Jazeera: Hamas’ Al-Qassam Brigades Coordinating With Groups In Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, Since October 7; Ansar Allah (Houthis) Put Decision Regarding Crew Of Seized Ship ‘At Al-Qassam’s Disposal’, March 10, 2024.
Video Compilations
The following are seven compilations of videos which present the Houthi threats to the U.S., the Gulf States and Israel, and include displays of Houthi military capabilities. They also reveal the antisemitic aspects of the Houthi ideology, as expressed in statements by Houthi political and military leaders, in sermons delivered by preachers and in speeches at military parades.
Senior Houthi Officials: U.S. Responsible For War In Ukraine, Militarization In Red Sea
The following video compilation includes statements by officials such as Houthi leader ‘Abd Al-Malik Badr Al-Din; Ansar Allah Political Bureau members Mohammed Al-Bukhaiti, Abdullah Al-Na’ami and Abd Al-Wahhab Al-Mahbashi; Supreme Political Council members Mohammed Ali Al-Houthi and sheikh Sultan Al-Samie; Information Minister Dayfallah Al-Shami and his deputy Nasr Al-Din Amer, Health Minister Dr. Taha Al-Mutawakkil; Tourism Minister Ahmad Al-Aly; Supreme Revolutionary Council member Khaled Al-Madani; TV host and undersecretary for girls’ education at the Houthi education ministry Boshra Al-Mahtouri, and Ali Al-Halili, spokesman for the Future of Justice organization. These Houthi officials incite against the U.S. and threaten to attack its vessels at sea, while some of the videos were filmed onboard the hijacked Galaxy Leader. Others include antisemitic statements and threats against the UAE.
Houthi Military Personnel: We Have Developed Missiles With A Range Exceeding 2,500 Kilometers
The videos presented below present statements by Houthi military personnel detailing Houthi military capabilities; Houthi claims of responsibility for attacks against Israeli targets since October 7, 2023, claims of responsibility for attacks on the UAE. and threats to attack American forces in the Red Sea.
The following senior Houthi officials appear in this compilation: Brigadier General Abdul Ghani Al-Zubaidi; military expert Muhammad Hussein Al-Mansour; Naval Staff Brigadier General Yahya Saree’; spokesman for the military forces Colonel Mujib Shamsan; military expert and strategic analyst, Brigadier General Abdallah Al-Jafari; and military expert Sharaf Luqman, spokesman for the Houthi forces.
This compilation also includes a report about corporal punishment and executions carried out by the Houthis; a student rally in Hajjah where threats were made to attack Israel and New York; and footage of a rally of Houthi women in Al-Jawf at which they demonstrated against Israel and the West.
Houthi Preachers And Clerics
The following clips present sermons and interviews with Houthi clerics, such as Muhammad Miftah; Shams Al-Din Sharaf Al-Din, the mufti of Yemen; Hamdi Ziad; Ibrahim Al-Ubeidi; Ahmad Al-Shami; and Abdallah Al-Lahji. They threaten and incite against the U.S., the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel and UN agencies, make antisemitic statements, express support for the Houthi military industry and repeat conspiracy theories regarding the September 11, 2001 attacks and the COVID pandemic.
Military Parades And Displays
The clips in the compilation below document military parades organized by the Houthis, displays of Zilzal missiles, simulated attacks against Israeli and American targets, and demonstrations of armed women who support the Houthis.
Reports In Houthi Media: U.S. Is Behind September 11 Attacks
This compilation includes articles that appeared in the Houthi media which claim that the American government planned the September 11 attacks, and an animated film screened in the Houthi media which contends that the U.S. and the Jews deceive and harm Arabs.
Indoctrination Of Children
The videos below present the values and concepts taught to the younger generation in areas controlled by the Houthis, and includes footage of a show of support for the residents of Gaza in which children are seen bearing arms and shouting slogans against the U.S. and Israel. Also presented are conspiracy theories regarding the September 11 attacks and material glorifying martyrdom.
Expressions Of Support From Houthi Allies
The following videos present expressions of affinity and support from members of the resistance axis led by Iran and Hizbullah: from Iran, Iraq and Gaza, as well as Houthi support for the Lebanese Hizbullah. The videos include footage of Iraqi Hizbullah Brigades launching a campaign to fund Houthi drones; a rally in Gaza in support of the Houthis; statements from Iranian General Gholmani Rashid, commander of Khatam Al-Anbiya central headquarters; a Houthi donation drive for Hizbullah, and statements from Iranian cleric Mehdi Taeb, advisor to Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei.
SOURCE:
[1] BRICS is an intergovernmental organization comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates
FLORIDA: Hispanic Republican Club Showing Film ‘Plantadas’ at ‘Stopping Marxism’ Event on May 18, 2024
/in Elections, Hot Topics, Must Read, News, Policy, Politics, Social Issues, Waste, Fraud and Abuse/by Dr. Rich SwierThe new Hispanic Republican Club of Collier will be having its first event, the showing of the movie Plantadas, a film by revered Cuban filmmaker Lilo Vilaplana. Lilo is known for several movies including Plantadas, a movie about the men who fought the Castro regime and lost their lives or spent many years in prison.
WATCH: “Plantadas” by Lilo Vilaplana official trailer.
But the new film, Plantadas, has only had limited releases in Miami.
People can see it May 18th, 2024 at 5:00 p.m. at our event in Naples, Florida.
Also we will be having Lilo present in person, as well as some of the actors from the movie and some former political prisoners. All speakers, etc. will be in both English and Spanish, so all will understand what is being said.
This new movie, Plantadas, is about the women who fought against Fidel Castro. Many believed Fidel at first, but then he turned out to be a communist and imprisoned or executed any who disagreed. Tickets to the event are $20 and proceeds go to the families of Cuban political prisoners.
Now the United States has its own political prisoners – the J6ers and pro-Lifers. We can learn a lot from what happened in Cuba, and be warned.
This is a good event to bring teens and young adults to.
Most have never met someone who was imprisoned by the communists, but they need to know the truth.
For more information, contact the Vice President of the Hispanic Republican Club of Collier, Ana Perez, at her email perezpremiererealty@outlook.
CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS FOR $20 EACH TO THE MAY 18 EVENT
CLICK HERE TO BECOME A SPONSOR
The Hispanic Republican Club of Collier is an officially chartered club of the Collier County Republican Executive Committee and the Republican Party of Florida.
©2024. Dr. Rich Swier. All rights reserved.
RELATED ARTICLE: My Visit to Cuba — An American in Havana
President Trump Reacts to Recording of CIA Program Manager Saying ‘Higher-Ups Kept Info From Trump’
/in Courts & Law, Election Fraud, Elections, Featured, Hot Topics, National Security, News, Policy, Politics, Waste, Fraud and Abuse/by O'Keefe Media GroupPresident Trump reacts to bombshell recording of Program Manager at CIA describing how higher-ups at Langley withheld information from him.
“It’s shocking to see how stupid somebody can be. If this guy’s for real, you want to get rid of him. C.I.A. Central Intelligence Agency…This is not an intelligent guy, to be openly talking to a woman that walks up and starts asking him questions and talking that way. So he may be bragging or showing off to some young lady, I have no idea the conditions under which he spoke. But I’d get rid of him real fast. If he’s for real, get rid of him.”
Watch:
CIA Press Secretary Gives Statement to O’Keefe About Program Manager Caught On Tape
Spokesperson at CIA gives me a statement saying that the Program Manager at the Chinese Mission Center caught on tape talking about the higher-ups withholding information from the President, is no longer working at the CIA.
Watch:
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Office Loan Defaults At Highest Point In More Than A Decade
/in Budget and Finance, Economy, Elections, Hot Topics, News, Policy, Politics, Regulation, Social Issues, Waste, Fraud and Abuse/by The Daily CallerHigh interest rates and low demand have led to the number of U.S. office buildings threatened by default reaching its highest point since the fourth quarter of 2012, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
Around $38 billion worth of office buildings are currently facing defaults, foreclosures or another form of financial distress, according to data from finance firm MSCI acquired by the WSJ. The defaults are part of a larger commercial real estate crisis, as high interest rates set by the Federal Reserve to combat elevated inflation and a slump in demand due to a rise in work-from-home policies have left office owners with huge debts and struggling to find tenants.
The payoff rate for commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) in 2023 was at its lowest point since data began being collected in 2007, with only 35% of office owners paying back their loans at the end of their term, according to the WSJ. In 2021, more than 90% of office owners with a CMBS did so.
“The problem you have in office is, in many instances, there is no cash flow at all,” Bill Demchak, PNC Chief Executive, said on an earnings call, according to the WSJ. “It is really a unique animal at the moment.”
Only interest is typically paid for CMBS during the term of the loan, with the full amount being paid at maturity, or it has to be refinanced with current interest rates. Refinancing could pose an issue for commercial real estate owners due to a jump in interest rates as a result of the Federal Reserve setting its federal funds rate in a range of 5.25% and 5.50%, the highest level in 23 years.
The Fed set its rate to its current level in an effort to decelerate inflation, which peaked at 9% in June 2022 and is currently at 3.5% as of March, far higher than the Fed’s 2% target.
Around $18 billion in office loans that were converted to CMBS in the past are set to come to term in the next 12 months, twice as many that matured in 2023, according to the WSJ. Office vacancy rates are also up to a record 13.8%, as opposed to 9.4% at the end of 2019.
Office owners are resorting to bolstering the amenities offered in their buildings to lure wary tenants who don’t necessarily need office space, driving up costs to obtain renters, according to the WSJ.
Defaults in commercial real estate pose a particularly big issue for small- and medium-sized banks that hold an outsized portion of CMBS. The mid-sized New York Community Bancorp experienced a massive drop in its stock earlier this year after posting a $252 million loss in the fourth quarter of 2023, largely due to commercial real estate loans, leading a group of investors, including former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, to bail out the bank.
AUTHOR
WILL KESSLER
Contributor
RELATED ARTICLE: ‘Economic Suicide’: Biden Admin Justifies Tax Hike Based On Racial Criteria
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All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
Biden Admin Locks In Regulations Targeting Appliance Owned By ‘Almost Every US Household’
/in Economy, Elections, Energy, Environment, Hot Topics, Policy, Politics, Regulation, Waste, Fraud and Abuse/by The Daily CallerThe Department of Energy (DOE) finalized regulations Tuesday for a popular appliance that will push the market toward adopting heat pump technology.
The DOE’s final energy efficiency regulations for water heaters will apply to common electrical water heaters and significantly increase the share of those models that use heat pumps, according to the agency. The DOE has spearheaded the Biden administration’s efforts to push rules and regulations targeting appliances ranging from pool pump motors and lightbulbs to furnaces and portable generators.
“Almost every U.S. household has a water heater, and for too long outdated energy efficiency standards have led to higher utility bills for families,” Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said in a statement about the new rules. “The Biden-Harris Administration is continuing to put American consumers first with new, effective rules—supported by industry—that save both energy and money.”
The new standards will lead to more than 50% of all newly-manufactured electric water heaters to use heat pump technology, a massive increase from the 3% seen in the market today, according to the DOE. Compliance with the new rules will be required starting in 2029.
The DOE’s new rules will require a “moderate” increase in the efficiency of gas-fired water heaters, the agency said. The DOE is still working on its efficiency standards for gas-powered water heaters, which are not included in Tuesday’s rulemaking action.
The agency says that the regulations will save Americans a combined $124 billion on energy bills over the next three decades and reduce emissions by an equivalent amount to the emissions generated by 43 million homes in one year. While the DOE considers models with heat pumps to be an important part of decarbonizing America’s building stock, those particular models tend to cost about $1,000 more up front than some alternatives and do not work as well in cold climates, according to Forbes.
The DOE did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
AUTHOR
NICK POPE
Contributor.
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Office Loan Defaults At Highest Point In More Than A Decade
EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
Socialist Speaker of the House Johnson Soon To Be Endorsed By His Communist Democrat Pals
/in Commentary, Elections, Hot Topics, News, Policy, Politics/by Geoff RossNext week House Speaker Johnson will be delivered his pink slip by the few “real” Republicans left in Congress. Will Mike Johnson lose his job? Probably not because the Communist Democrats and the fraud Republican uni-party protect him. Speaker Johnson is delivering for the Biden agenda like a Grub hub delivery driver.
His betrayal of the American people and his unconstitutional decision to continue spying on American citizens without a warrant will be addressed on the House floor.
His funding of the military industrial complex which continues the global wars without oversight using our tax money without securing our own borders will be addressed.
The fraud Speaker of the House funded the continuing mass slaughter of pre-born children up to 9 months in the womb in states still killing these babies.
He funded the FBI and their brand new building after the FBI raided President Trumps home. He funded the DOJ after they filed fraudulently charges against him.
Next week (May 2024) we will get to see which republicans support this bottom feeding fraud Republican House Speaker when a vote is presented to terminate his leadership position.
Let’s watch the Communist Democrats get behind this fraud republican. It will be entertaining to see Democrats backing a Republican. We will soon know too which republicans are backing this Socialist spineless, weak House Speaker.
My friends Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) are the glue holding the conservative base together. History will speak highly of them in the future. If House Speaker Johnson really loves this country, our constitutional republic he would resign his position.
I can’t convince my Congressional friends to leave the do nothing Republican Party and become independents. The GOP is nothing more than extension of installed Marxist Joe Biden’s Communist anti American agenda. Our Founding Fathers definitely were all independents.
But stay tuned for an entertaining political civil war commencing soon on the House floor. It will separate the men from the boys just like one of those San Francisco Nancy Pelosi Democrat party fundraisers.
©2024. Geoff Ross. All rights reserved.
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Elon Musk May Have Just Dealt A Blow To Biden’s EV Agenda
/in Economy, Elections, Energy, Environment, Hot Topics, Must Read, News, Policy, Politics, Regulation, Social Issues/by The Daily CallerTesla laid off a large portion of a key team in its electric vehicle (EV) charger division on Monday, a move that could pose problems for President Joe Biden’s broad EV agenda.
The company reportedly laid off nearly all of its employees working on the company’s “Superchargers,” which charge EVs quicker than other Tesla products and figured to play a major role in the nationwide public EV charging system envisioned by the Biden administration, according to E&E News. Tesla — which has benefitted from generous government subsidies for years — appears to be pivoting away from that aspect of its business; the layoffs could spell trouble for the already-struggling industry at a pivotal moment.
The Supercharger is considered one of the best chargers available because it can recharge EVs quickly and reliably, which cannot always be said of competitors’ products, according to E&E News. Other automobile companies, including Ford, saw the promise of Tesla’s Supercharger and made deals to have their EVs be able to access Tesla’s Supercharger infrastructure.
“There’s no buttons to push, there’s no screens, there’s no credit card swiper all of that is done through processing through software inside of your car,” Matt Teske, CEO of Chargeway, an EV-charging software platform, told the DCNF regarding Tesla’s Supercharger network. “And so they just really made the transition from driving a gas car to driving an electric car very simple for anyone to use and operate.”
Other charging networks and auto manufacturers now have an opportunity to grow after relying heavily on Tesla’s innovations and the Supercharger “gold standard,” Teske added. While the layoffs threaten to introduce uncertainty into the EV market, those growth opportunities and the existence of other charging networks do not mean that the layoffs will impact the Biden administration’s distribution of funds to build a national network.
These advantages and superior engineering contributed to the Supercharger fueling the fastest-growing charging network in the U.S., as Tesla’s 6,200 charging plazas nationwide are the most of any of its competitors, according to E&E News.
The Biden administration is spending billions of dollars to subsidize the creation of a national network for EV charging infrastructure, which remains concentrated mostly in densely-populated, coastal regions of the U.S., according to the Department of Energy (DOE). However, these efforts have yet to yield significant results, as only a small number of charging stations have been built with those funds since Biden enacted the bipartisan infrastructure package in 2021.
Concerns about charger availability and reliability continue to spook consumers. Accordingly, building out the national network will be a crucial part of bringing the American auto industry into compliance with the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recently-finalized tailpipe emissions regulations — which some have characterized as a de facto “EV mandate” — over the next decade or so.
However, the fresh uncertainty in the EV charging space figures to complicate things for the state government agencies that are ultimately responsible for distributing the Biden subsidies to developers, according to E&E News.
Tesla has already accessed federal subsidies for EV chargers, with more expected, according to E&E News. Other automakers could still use the Tesla charging technology in the future, but they will likely have to do so without the advantage of Tesla’s intimate knowledge about how to maintain the infrastructure.
Tesla, the DOE and the White House did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
AUTHOR
NICK POPE
Contributor.
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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
My Being on a National TV Quiz Show! A brief version of what happened…
/in Commentary, Hot Topics, News, Social Issues/by John Droz, Jr.One of my life’s adages is “variety is the spice of life.” Several people wrote me privately and said that they enjoyed my personal story about the fire at my house. They suggested that it would be good to periodically intersperse some lighter fare in my heavy-duty commentaries about education, energy, election integrity, etc. Consider this to be in response to those requests and my adage. If you like, I have several more stories that are interesting…
Following the success of Who Wants to Be A Millionaire, other networks soon offered competing game shows. For whatever reason, when I saw an ad that Twenty-One (NBC) was looking for contestants, I sent in a basic response saying I’d be interested — and then forgot about it. Who ever hears back from such things?
Anyways, it was a cold dark January night in 2000, and we were snug in our Adirondack home — when the phone rang. The person on the other end asked me if I was still interested in applying for the Twenty-One game show. I was caught a bit off guard (not expecting to hear back), and asked him: what’s the story?
He said that I would be asked several questions and if I passed, I would come to NY City this coming Saturday for a final test. I asked if lodging, etc. would be paid for and he said no. It was Wednesday night, and that seemed like a rather short time to work out such a trip (six hours from where we were). I thanked him and said no. He said OK.
After he hung up I discussed it with Elaine. She said even though it was short notice, we could have worked it out. After thinking about it more, I agreed. Oh well.
About 30 minutes later (about 9 PM) I received a second call, again asking me if I was still interested in applying for the Twenty-One game show! {Something strange is going on here…} This time I said YES!
The guy said OK, there are a dozen questions I’m going to ask you, and if you pass, you’ll come to NYC this Saturday for a final test. I told him to go for it. He then asked some rather difficult questions — like “What is the largest lake in Europe?” [answer] I gave my answers. At the end, he said: Congratulations John, you passed! … Then he gave me the details for the testing for the upcoming weekend.
To this day I have no idea as to why they called me twice! One guess is that two people were making calls and my name was on two lists. But how did that happen? A better explanation is that God wanted us to take a break and He was making sure that we did!
The next few days were a rush. We made reservations at a NYC hotel (not cheap!), closed up our home, and on Friday afternoon drove to the City. We got there and unpacked, and Elaine said let’s go for a walk. She wanted to see the skaters, etc. at the Rockefeller Center, which was a few blocks away. I said fine.
About halfway there, we heard “Elaine! Elaine!” What? A woman ran across the busy NYC street towards us — she was a neighbor in our rural Adirondack community! I noticed that she looked kind of ragged, and she volunteered: When I went out for a walk I decided it didn’t matter much what I wore as I certainly wasn’t going to see anyone I knew! Fortunately, the rest of the evening was interesting but uneventful.
The next morning I went to the NBC studios at about 10 AM. There were 50+ people in this large room. A woman then went through the whole process and answered questions. Yes, they will pay for transportation and lodging to LA for two people. However, no relative of yours could be in the audience when you were on the air. Etc., etc.
She also asked how many people there had been on a national TV game show before. Almost ten people raised their hands! Whoa — some of these people were effectively professional players. I hadn’t expected that…
After an hour or so, we went into another room and were each given a ten-page document of test questions. In the beginning, there was some boilerplate about the program, NBC, etc. Then I read: “Please indicate if you are now, or ever were, an employee of GE, as that disqualifies you.” (FYI: at that time GE owned NBC.)
OMG! I was an employee of GE twenty-plus years ago, but no one had ever said a word about this until now! What a bummer after all that. I answered the questions anyway, but never heard anything more. The next day we went home and resumed our normal programming. It was an interesting side trip.
The moral of this story is: dress carefully, as you never know who you might run into.
©2024. All rights reserved.
Here are other materials by this scientist that you might find interesting:
Check out the Archives of this Critical Thinking substack.
WiseEnergy.org: discusses the Science (or lack thereof) behind our energy options.
C19Science.info: covers the lack of genuine Science behind our COVID-19 policies.
Election-Integrity.info: multiple major reports on the election integrity issue.
Media Balance Newsletter: a free, twice-a-month newsletter that covers what the mainstream media does not do, on issues from COVID to climate, elections to education, renewables to religion, etc. Here are the Newsletter’s 2023 Archives. Please send me an email to get your free copy. When emailing me, please make sure to include your full name and the state where you live. (Of course, you can cancel the Media Balance Newsletter at any time – but why would you?
Biden’s Latest Brilliant Idea: Inundate the U.S. with Hamas-Supporting Arabs from Gaza
/in Culture War, Elections, Featured, Hot Topics, Immigration, National Security, News, Policy, Politics, Social Issues, Waste, Fraud and Abuse/by Cherie ZaslawskyGood news for the Jew-hating, Soros-funded, Hamas supporters wreaking havoc on the campuses of prestigious universities all over our country: Biden’s planning to bring in the real thing: actual Jew-hating, Christian-hating, America-hating, Hamas-supporting “refugees” from…wait for it…Gaza!
You know, the terrorist-prone “Palestinians” no Arab country wants within their borders because they’ve proven so dangerous—those “refugees.”
As CBS reports: “White House considers welcoming some Palestinians from Gaza as refugees.” Nice trick to say “some,” as if they mean maybe five or six…
Leave it to Obama, I mean Biden—OK, I was right the first time—to fan the flames of antisemitism while endangering all Americans by directly importing would-be terrorists and their supporters.
Gosh, what could possibly go wrong?
Get ready to pay for their housing, healthcare, “resettlement benefits”, etc., because that’s O’Biden’s plan as well, courtesy of Cloward and Piven—Obama’s mentors.
And about these potential refugees—before we ask why they’d want to come to the “Great Satan” in the first place, it might interest people to learn what investigative journalist Daniel Greenfield revealed in an article entitled: “There Are No Innocent Civilians in Gaza”. Well, I’m sure there are some, but as we’ll see from the statistics below, they make up a tiny percentage.
In fact, hundreds of Gazan civilians gleefully participated with Hamas in the raping, torturing, burning alive, beheading and dismembering of Israeli civilians on October 7th. And many took part in the kidnappings as well.
Here are some statistics Greenfield quotes in his article:
98% of the Arab Muslim settlers in the West Bank hate America as do 96.8% of those in Gaza. That’s still better than the UK which is hated by 100% of Arab Muslim colonists in the West Bank and Gaza. They actually hate America and the UK more than Israel which is only at 97.3%.
But don’t feel too bad, Americans, Israelis and Brits, because they hate everyone.
Not a single country, and that includes Iran, gets even a 5% ‘very positive’ rating….
The ‘Palestinians’ have their own dedicated UN agency (UNRWA) and have billions of dollars lavished on them. Their needs are taken care of by the people they hate, America, Israel, Egypt and the UAE, not to mention the UN and the Red Cross, whom they repay by hating them.
And from a JNS article by Akiva van Koningsveld: “Three in four Palestinians support Hamas’ massacre”. And this: Ninety-eight percent of respondents said the Oct. 7 slaughter made them feel “prouder of their identity as Palestinians.”
And here’s a quote from Brigitte Gabriel’s Substack:
The Biden administration’s latest scheme seems like a playbook for national suicide. From flinging open our borders to entertaining the WHO surrender to killing energy independence and now entertaining the idea of welcoming Palestinian “refugees” from Gaza? It’s like they’re throwing a party for America’s demise!
Let’s face the facts: the overwhelming majority of Arab Muslim settlers in the West Bank and Gaza harbor deep-seated animosity towards America. Yet here we are, discussing plans to roll out the welcome mat for them, courtesy of Uncle Sam, courtesy of taxpayers.
Click the link below to see her action plan:
Stop Palestinian Refugees From Entering the United States!
©2024. Cherie Zaslawsky. All rights reserved.
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If You Love American You Will Hate These Videos
/in Culture War, Elections, Featured, Hot Topics, National Security, News, Policy, Politics, Video, Waste, Fraud and Abuse/by Defend The BorderWAKE UP!
Hamas is attacking America. Ripping down our flag and walking on it. This is classic jihad hate for America and we are watching it in real time.
It will get worse this summer.
This video should infuriate you. We the people must fight back — Lawfully, Legally and Vigorously.
WATCH: Hamas desecrates the American flag at New York University.
And watch here:
Get it? Got it? Good!
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EDITORS NOTE: This The United West video and commentary is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.
TAKE ACTION NOW: Stop the International Criminal Court!
/in Elections, Hot Topics, Must Read, National Security, News, Policy, Politics/by ACT For America!Standing With and Running Interference for Hamas.
Netanyahu: ICC warrants would be unprecedented antisemitism
“The possibility that they will issue arrest warrants … is a scandal of historical magnitude,” said the Israeli premier.
(April 30, 2024 / JNS)
If the International Criminal Court in The Hague issues arrest warrants for Israeli political and military leaders over the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, it would constitute an “unprecedented antisemitic hate crime,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday.
“The possibility that they will issue arrest warrants for war crimes against IDF commanders and government leaders is a scandal of historical magnitude,” said the premier.
“Eighty years after the Holocaust, the international bodies established with the goal of preventing another Holocaust are considering denying the Jewish state its right to defend itself,” he continued.
Netanyahu noted that this marks the first time that a democratic country committed to international law is defending itself from accusations of war crimes while at the same time facing existential threats.
“If this does happen, it will be an indelible stain on humanity. It would be an unprecedented antisemitic hate crime that would add fuel to the antisemitic incitement that is already raging in the world,” he said.
“Israel expects the leaders of the free world to come out strongly against this scandalous step, a step that will harm the self-defense not only of the State of Israel, but of all democracies,” Netanyahu said.
Demand the ICC Stand Down-Call on Congress to ACT NOW!
Earlier on Tuesday, President Issac Herzog “unequivocally objected” to any move by the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants.
“As I have reiterated over the last months to leaders from around the world: Israel has the full right and duty to free our hostages and defend our citizens,” began Herzog.
“The State of Israel, our military and security forces are working tirelessly to achieve these goals, operating totally in accordance with international law. I unequivocally object to any attempt to abuse international legal institutions—including the ICC—to deny the State of Israel its basic rights. We have an independent and robust judicial system that knows how to investigate as needed,” he continued.
“Such actions will only serve to tie the hands of all free and democratic nations in the fight against terror, and must be strongly opposed,” added the president.
Jerusalem believes that the ICC will issue arrest warrants against Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi as early as this week.
The warrants would likely be issued against the background of the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, where the IDF is fighting Hamas, as well as accusations that Israel breached the Fourth Geneva Convention related to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War.
U.S. lawmakers will take retaliatory action if the International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for Israeli leaders, Axios reported on Monday.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) issued a statement on Monday calling the prospective warrants “disgraceful” and “lawless.”
“Instead of wrongly targeting Israel, the ICC should pursue charges against Iran and its terror proxies, including Hamas, for engaging in horrific war crimes,” said Johnson.
He called on the Biden administration to “immediately and unequivocally demand that the ICC stand down,” and “use every available tool to prevent such an abomination.”
Demand the ICC Stand Down-Call on Congress to ACT NOW!
©2024. ACT FOR AMERICA. All rights reserved.
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VIDEOS: The Houthi Ansar Allah Movement In Its Own Words
/in Commentary, Culture War, Elections, Hot Topics, National Security, News, Policy, Politics, Waste, Fraud and Abuse/by Middle East Media Research InstituteYemen | Special Dispatch No. 11303
Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which broke out following the deadly attack perpetrated in Israel by Hamas on October 7, 2023, the Houthi Ansar Allah movement has carried out dozens of attacks targeting Israel and Israeli interests as well as American and other Western marine vessels in the Red Sea, the Bab El-Mandeb Strait, the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea. Severely disrupting global trade, these attacks have drawn the world’s attention to the Houthi movement, which is a proxy of Iran. The Houthis, for their part, are using this attention in a bid to shed their image as an Iranian proxy. They seek to elevate their international stature and position themselves as an influential regional power in their own right, part of the anti-American global axis that comprises Russia, China and the BRICS[1] countries.
Virulent hatred for the U.S., Israel, and the Jews, to the extent of blatant antisemitism, is an integral part of the Houthi identity and is used by the Houthi leadership to gain sympathy and support among the Yemeni population. The most obvious expression of this hatred is the movement’s motto: “Allahu akbar, death to America, death to Israel, cursed be the Jews, victory to Islam.” The U.S., Israel and the Jews are presented as the enemies of Islam and of mankind in speeches and sermons by Houthis leaders and clerics, at mass rallies and in activities for children. Over the years MEMRI has translated dozens of these speeches, sermons and statements from Houthi officials and reported on military parades and rallies in areas under Houthi control.
The following is a review of reports and videos published by MEMRI in this context.
The Houthis Seek To Position Themselves As A Regional Power Opposing The U.S. And The West
On March 16, 2024, Ali Al-Qahoum, a member of Ansar Allah’s political bureau, published a post on X praising the Houthi role in the struggle against the “hegemony” of the U.S., Britain and the West. The post reads: “There is a continuous development in the international relations between Yemen, Russia, China, and the BRICS countries, and an exchange of experience and expertise in various fields. This is due to a common interest in drowning America, Britain, and the West in the swamp of the Red Sea and the high seas. [Our] goal is to make it [the U.S.] sink and disappear, and weaken its unipolarity.
“This is not only an analysis, but rather a clear and present reality. Yemen… entered the equation of supporting Palestine and ably strengthened the equation of the Red Sea, which constitutes a major and strategic equation with major effects and implications on the balance of the military, security, political and economic results. Yemen achieved this with unparalleled vigour and pride thanks to Allah, our brave, wise, and beloved leader, and proud nation, to such an extent that the superpowers began knocking on its [Yemen’s] doors, coordinating and building mutual relations with it, making arrangements for the foreseeable future, and preparing for the historic defeat of America, Britain, and the West, and the collapse of the colonial project and Western hegemony in the region and the world.”
See MEMRI JTTM report, Senior Members Of Yemen’s Iran-Backed Ansar Allah Movement Declare Cooperation With Russia, China; Defend Group’s ‘Right’ To Ally With Countries Hostile To U.S, March 18, 2024.
Houthi Shura Council Member: Everyone Hostile To America Is Our Friend, We Will Welcome Exchange Of Military Expertise
On March 17, 2024, Abdulsalam Jahhaf, a member of the Houthi Shura Council, shared a post on X defending the group’s “right” to establish international relations with countries hostile to the U.S. The post reads: “We have the right to establish relations with Russia, China, Iran, the BRICS countries, Cuba, and [North] Korea. Everyone hostile to America is our friend. We will widely accept alliances and exchange of military expertise and information. This is a natural result of the West’s aggression against us and against our people in Gaza, under the leadership of America.”
See MEMRI JTTM report, Senior Members Of Yemen’s Iran-Backed Ansar Allah Movement Declare Cooperation With Russia, China; Defend Group’s ‘Right’ To Ally With Countries Hostile To U.S, March 18, 2024.
Houthis Hold Military Exercise Simulating Confrontation With U.S., British Forces
On March 15, the group released a photoset documenting a military exercise simulating confrontation with American and British forces.
See MEMRI JTTM report, Houthi Ansar Allah Movement Releases Photos Documenting Military Exercise Simulating Confrontation With U.S., U.K., And Paratrooper Landing, March 15, 2024.
Strengthening Relations With Palestinian Factions; Coordination With Hamas Regarding Crew Of Highjacked “Galaxy Leader” Ship
On March 15 and 16, 2024, it was reported that representatives of the Houthi Ansar Allah movement and senior officials from three Palestinian factions – Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestinian (DFLP) – had held a meeting in Lebanon to discuss coordination between them in the context of the war against Israel in the Gaza Strip. The Houthis stressed their willingness to continue with “assistance operations” in the Red Sea, the Bab El-Mandeb Strait, and the Indian Ocean for the next two years.
See MEMRI JTTM report, Palestinian And Lebanese Media Outlets: Representatives Of Houthi Ansar Allah Movement Meet Secretly With Officials From Three Palestinian Factions; Willing To Assist Militarily Against Israel For Coming Two Years, March 18, 2024.
On March 7, 2024, the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera website published an article about the collaboration between the Houthis and Hamas, against the backdrop of the war in the Gaza Strip. The article quoted senior Houthi and Hamas officials who claimed that the two movements had also coordinated the decisions regarding the crew members from the Galaxy Leader commercial vessel that was hijacked by the Houthis on November 19, 2023.
See MEMRI JTTM report, Al-Jazeera: Hamas’ Al-Qassam Brigades Coordinating With Groups In Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, Since October 7; Ansar Allah (Houthis) Put Decision Regarding Crew Of Seized Ship ‘At Al-Qassam’s Disposal’, March 10, 2024.
Video Compilations
The following are seven compilations of videos which present the Houthi threats to the U.S., the Gulf States and Israel, and include displays of Houthi military capabilities. They also reveal the antisemitic aspects of the Houthi ideology, as expressed in statements by Houthi political and military leaders, in sermons delivered by preachers and in speeches at military parades.
Senior Houthi Officials: U.S. Responsible For War In Ukraine, Militarization In Red Sea
The following video compilation includes statements by officials such as Houthi leader ‘Abd Al-Malik Badr Al-Din; Ansar Allah Political Bureau members Mohammed Al-Bukhaiti, Abdullah Al-Na’ami and Abd Al-Wahhab Al-Mahbashi; Supreme Political Council members Mohammed Ali Al-Houthi and sheikh Sultan Al-Samie; Information Minister Dayfallah Al-Shami and his deputy Nasr Al-Din Amer, Health Minister Dr. Taha Al-Mutawakkil; Tourism Minister Ahmad Al-Aly; Supreme Revolutionary Council member Khaled Al-Madani; TV host and undersecretary for girls’ education at the Houthi education ministry Boshra Al-Mahtouri, and Ali Al-Halili, spokesman for the Future of Justice organization. These Houthi officials incite against the U.S. and threaten to attack its vessels at sea, while some of the videos were filmed onboard the hijacked Galaxy Leader. Others include antisemitic statements and threats against the UAE.
Houthi Military Personnel: We Have Developed Missiles With A Range Exceeding 2,500 Kilometers
The videos presented below present statements by Houthi military personnel detailing Houthi military capabilities; Houthi claims of responsibility for attacks against Israeli targets since October 7, 2023, claims of responsibility for attacks on the UAE. and threats to attack American forces in the Red Sea.
The following senior Houthi officials appear in this compilation: Brigadier General Abdul Ghani Al-Zubaidi; military expert Muhammad Hussein Al-Mansour; Naval Staff Brigadier General Yahya Saree’; spokesman for the military forces Colonel Mujib Shamsan; military expert and strategic analyst, Brigadier General Abdallah Al-Jafari; and military expert Sharaf Luqman, spokesman for the Houthi forces.
This compilation also includes a report about corporal punishment and executions carried out by the Houthis; a student rally in Hajjah where threats were made to attack Israel and New York; and footage of a rally of Houthi women in Al-Jawf at which they demonstrated against Israel and the West.
Houthi Preachers And Clerics
The following clips present sermons and interviews with Houthi clerics, such as Muhammad Miftah; Shams Al-Din Sharaf Al-Din, the mufti of Yemen; Hamdi Ziad; Ibrahim Al-Ubeidi; Ahmad Al-Shami; and Abdallah Al-Lahji. They threaten and incite against the U.S., the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel and UN agencies, make antisemitic statements, express support for the Houthi military industry and repeat conspiracy theories regarding the September 11, 2001 attacks and the COVID pandemic.
Military Parades And Displays
The clips in the compilation below document military parades organized by the Houthis, displays of Zilzal missiles, simulated attacks against Israeli and American targets, and demonstrations of armed women who support the Houthis.
Reports In Houthi Media: U.S. Is Behind September 11 Attacks
This compilation includes articles that appeared in the Houthi media which claim that the American government planned the September 11 attacks, and an animated film screened in the Houthi media which contends that the U.S. and the Jews deceive and harm Arabs.
Indoctrination Of Children
The videos below present the values and concepts taught to the younger generation in areas controlled by the Houthis, and includes footage of a show of support for the residents of Gaza in which children are seen bearing arms and shouting slogans against the U.S. and Israel. Also presented are conspiracy theories regarding the September 11 attacks and material glorifying martyrdom.
Expressions Of Support From Houthi Allies
The following videos present expressions of affinity and support from members of the resistance axis led by Iran and Hizbullah: from Iran, Iraq and Gaza, as well as Houthi support for the Lebanese Hizbullah. The videos include footage of Iraqi Hizbullah Brigades launching a campaign to fund Houthi drones; a rally in Gaza in support of the Houthis; statements from Iranian General Gholmani Rashid, commander of Khatam Al-Anbiya central headquarters; a Houthi donation drive for Hizbullah, and statements from Iranian cleric Mehdi Taeb, advisor to Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei.
SOURCE:
[1] BRICS is an intergovernmental organization comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates
Marjorie Taylor Greene Reveals Plan To Oust Speaker Mike Johnson
/in Election Fraud, Elections, Hot Topics, Must Read, News, Policy, Politics, Taxes, Waste, Fraud and Abuse/by The Daily CallerGeorgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene announced on Wednesday that she will call for a vote to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson next week.
Greene initially filed a motion to vacate in late March over disagreements with Johnson’s latest appropriations plan. The Georgia Republican detailed her plan to advance her efforts to remove Johnson during a press conference following the House’s passage of Ukraine aid.
“I think every member of Congress needs to take that vote and let the chips fall where they may. And so next week, I am going to be calling this motion to vacate,” Green said. “We are not going to have a House majority if we keep Mike Johnson.”
Johnson released a statement following Greene’s announcement, arguing that “this motion is wrong for the Republican Conference, wrong for the institution, and wrong for the country.”
Politico reported Wednesday that Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Whatley had attempted to dissuade Greene from going through with the vote.
“He said, one, this is not helpful, and two, we want to expand and grow the majority in the House,” said a person familiar with Whatley’s message to Greene, per Politico. “He was clear that any disruption to the conference on these efforts — including filing this [motion to vacate], does not help the case for party unity.”
House Democratic leadership announced on Tuesday they’d help save Johnson if Greene moved forward with her motion to vacate after he helped advance the national security supplemental.
“At this moment, upon completion of our national security work, the time has come to turn the page on this chapter of Pro-Putin Republican obstruction,” the Democrats said. “We will vote to table Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Motion to Vacate the Chair. If she invokes the motion, it will not succeed.”
AUTHOR
MARY LOU MASTERS
Contributor.
RELATED ARTICLES: House Dems Vow To Tank MTG’s Bid To Oust Republican Speaker Mike Johnson
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RFK Jr.: 8th Month Abortion Is Morally ‘Nuanced and Complex’
/in Commentary, Elections, Healthcare, Hot Topics, News, Policy, Politics, Science, Social Issues/by Family Research CouncilIndependent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said, while he respects those who have “absolute moral clarity” on the issue, he believes the decision to abort a child in the eighth month of pregnancy is morally “nuanced and complex.”
In an interview with Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro, RFK Jr. disagreed that a child has an independent right to life even in the third trimester.
Shapiro opened by saying that arguments justifying abortion based on “bodily autonomy” are “completely missing the point: We’re not talking about the woman’s bodily autonomy; we’re talking about the baby’s bodily autonomy.” As such, abortion is “not just a tragedy; it’s a crime against the child, because the child has an independent interest. What do you say to that?”
“I say that I understand that position, and I don’t agree with it,” replied RFK Jr. “The solution of having the state come in and dictate choices that the woman is making is not — that’s not a good solution to me.”
Seeking to clarify the Independent presidential candidate’s position, Shapiro asked, “You don’t believe that the child has an independent right to life, for example, at any point during the pregnancy?”
“There is no woman who gets pregnant, carries that baby for eight months, and then decides to have an abortion for some frivolous reason,” Kennedy answered. “Nobody in their right mind would do that.”
“There are very, very rare cases where that happens. There’s always some kind of extenuating circumstances that I don’t feel prepared to turn that over to the government. You and I will differ on that,” Kennedy told Shapiro.
“I understand your position. I have tremendous respect for you for having that kind of absolute moral clarity on that position. But I think it’s more nuanced and complex than that,” Kennedy stated.
Yet research conducted by pro-abortion sources contradict years of assertions from the abortion industry that late-term abortions do not happen, or only happen in cases of severe fetal anomaly.
A study of late-term abortions, published in the Guttmacher Institute’s journal Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health and conducted by two researchers associated with the abortion advocacy group Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH), found that “data suggest that most women seeking later terminations are not doing so for reasons of fetal anomaly or life endangerment.” More than one-third (37%) of “women reported that the process of deciding whether to have an abortion slowed them down” and “faced difficulty covering the costs associated with their abortion.” They concluded, “We did not find that changing personal circumstances contributed to delays in seeking abortion.”
One of the authors of the study, Diana Greene Foster, was quoted in a 2018 report that “abortions for fetal anomaly ‘make up a small minority of later abortion.’” The other, Katrina Kimport, noted the “similarities between respondents’ experiences and that of people seeking abortion at other gestations” in a 2022 study.
“Each year, over 50,000 abortions are performed after 15 weeks of gestation, when unborn babies can feel pain,” representing a little more than 1% of all abortions reported nationwide, reports the pro-life Charlotte Lozier Institute, analyzing data collected from the Guttmacher Institute and the federal government’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
RFK Jr.’s running mate shares his commitment to abortion-on-demand. Nicole Shanahan, the ex-wife of Google founder Sergey Brin, shares his commitment to abortion-on-demand. As “a person with a womb,” wrote Shanahan in a post on the social media platform X on April 9, “I don’t like the feeling of anyone having control over my body. It is coercive. It is wrong.” She added that, personally, she “would not feel right terminating a viable life living inside of me, especially if I am both healthy and that baby is healthy.”
“I can hold both beliefs, as someone who believes in the sacredness of life, simultaneously,” Shanahan asserted.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. created a short boom of interest late last summer, when he seemed to imply he would sign a law protecting babies from abortion after the first trimester. “I believe that the decision to abort a child should be up to the woman during the first three months of life,” declared the then-Democratic primary candidate last August.
“So, you would cap it at 15 weeks? Or 21 weeks?” asked NBC News reporter Ali Vitali.
“Yes. Three months,” Kennedy replied.
“So, three months — you would sign a federal cap on that?” Vitali clarified a second time.
“Yes, I would,” Kennedy continued. “Once a child is viable outside the womb, I think then the state has an interest in protecting that child.”
Within hours, his campaign produced an unsigned statement reversing the candidate’s stated position. “Mr. Kennedy misunderstood a question posed to him by [an] NBC reporter in a crowded, noisy exhibit hall at the Iowa State Fair,” it read.
No pro-life Democrat has been named to a national ticket, as president or vice president, since Robert F. Kennedy’s uncle, Sargent Shriver, in 1972. The last pro-life Democrat to mount a serious presidential candidacy was former Florida Governor Reubin Askew in 1984.
Both major party candidates have worried about Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in recent weeks. President Joe Biden and the Democratic National Committee have built a large operation designed to undercut RFK Jr.’s left-leaning independent presidential run, according to Axios. Earlier this month, Biden received the endorsement of many members of the Kennedy family. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump personally lashed out at Kennedy on Truth Social, saying he would endorse Joe Biden before he would vote for RFK Jr.
Polls show Kennedy drawing support from both candidates.
Kennedy returned fire at Trump in the Shapiro interview, saying the 45th president broke his promise to “Drain the Swamp” and “got rolled by his bureaucrats.” He highlighted Trump’s appointments of Scott Gotlieb, who ping-ponged between pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and the FDA, and Alex Azar, who signed off on a sweetheart deal for Jeffrey Epstein. RFK Jr. also complained about Trump’s National Security Advisor, “swamp creature” John Bolton to Shapiro, who aligns more closely with Bolton’s neoconservative foreign policy than Kennedy’s noninterventionism.
In a separate interview, Kennedy told EWTN’s Raymond Arroyo that the Trump campaign had approached him about being Trump’s vice presidential running mate “on multiple occasions.”
Kennedy, who only recently backed away from a threat to prosecute oil companies for exercising their free-speech rights to deny climate change, is courting the Libertarian Party.
In Michigan, RFK Jr. will serve as the presidential candidate of the Natural Law Party — a minor party founded by followers of the late Hindu teacher Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and whose candidates have said many social problems, from stress to the economy, can be cured through transcendental meditation.
AUTHOR
Ben Johnson
Ben Johnson is senior reporter and editor at The Washington Stand.
EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2024 Family Research Council.
The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.
Left-Wing Donors Gave More than $3.3 Million to Pro-Hamas Activities since 2016
/in Culture War, Elections, Featured, Hot Topics, National Security, News, Policy, Politics, Social Issues/by Family Research CouncilWith tent cities springing up across American campuses, filled with anti-Semitic activists who are openly supporting U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organizations, you could be forgiven for suspecting that this activism was not wholly organic. And you would be right.
Fingerprints of Further Funding
Take the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” at Columbia University, where “students sleep in tents apparently ordered from Amazon and enjoy delivery pizza, coffee from Dunkin’, free sandwiches worth $12.50 from Pret a Manger, organic tortilla chips and $10 rotisserie chickens,” according to the New York Post. That is not the sort of event a campus student association organizes on its semesterly stipend — certainly not the sort of event a student association could sustain for now more than a week.
It’s not just Columbia University. These tent encampments — with an odd near-uniformity to their pup tents — have popped up at dozens of campuses all across the country. Dozens, scores, and hundreds of students have walked out of classes only weeks before finals, and they are glamping on the lawn instead of cramming in the library. Who is behind all this?
Paid Activists
The Post discovered that at least some encampments appear to be coordinated by paid activists. A left-wing activist coalition called the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR) sponsors a “Youth Organizing Fellowship” that offers college students an unheard-of $24-$28/hour wage to organize supposedly “local campaigns,” which are really backed by the training, mentorship, and ongoing support of this extremely well-funded activist network. In 2023, USCPR hired eight youth fellows, three of which have recently appeared at pro-Hamas encampments at UC Berkeley, Yale, and UT Austin, according to photographs sleuthed out by the Post.
Those who visit the USCPR website today will not find any youth fellows listed. The activist group “has just begun a new class of 2024 youth fellows,” they conveniently claim. Instead, they suggest repeatedly, “Check back for more information,” which innocently suggests to viewers they haven’t had time to update their website yet. However, according to their advertisement, applications for the position closed on April 3, just over two weeks before the recent mayhem on university campuses began.
On one hand, this could be mere coincidence. On the other hand, it could be that USCPR youth fellows (nothing said they had to only hire eight this year) have played a major role in organizing these campus encampments, at least the more influential ones. If that is the case, then USCPR deliberately timed its hiring so that its website would reveal no information about its youth fellows until after their encampment campaign — perhaps even after the semester. Given the presence of former USCPR youth fellows — who, presumably, are no longer on their payroll — at these protests, it seems likely that their current youth fellows would also be involved, simply due to running in the same circles of protest culture.
The USCPR Network
The USCPR coalition includes Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), Jewish Voices for Peace (JVP), CODEPINK, National Lawyers Guild (NLG), and the Westchester Peace Action Committee (WESPAC), among many other groups. In 2021, USCPR had a total income of $1.5 million total expenses of $1 million.
USCPR’s official name is Education for Just Peace in the Middle East. Under that name, USCPR received $355,000 from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund between 2018-2023, and it received $700,000 from the Soros family’s Open Society Foundation between 2018-2022 (the most recent years for which data is available).
In 2018, Tablet Magazine reported that USCPR was “the fiscal sponsor of a group called the Palestinian BDS [Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions] National Committee (BNC),” which in turn was linked to Palestinian terrorist groups. One of BNC’s members, listed on its website, is the Council of National and Islamic Forces in Palestine (PNIF). Five members of PNIF are U.S.-designated terrorist organizations: Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad the Palestine Liberation Front, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), and the Popular Front — General Command (PFLP-GC).
For those like me who have never run across the term before, fiscal sponsorship is where one nonprofit receives and administers donations intended for another organization that lacks nonprofit status. (The National Council of Nonprofits argues that the practice does have a place in helping new charities get started, but to the uninitiated outsider this arrangement also looks like a legal way to launder money.) Remember this term, because it will reoccur below.
Local chapters of USCPR affiliate SJP organized many of the Gaza encampments, including those at Columbia, Harvard, Yale, UC Berkeley, Ohio State, and Emory. Also involved in the Columbia occupation is JVP, another USCPR affiliate that co-organized an October 2023 protest in which demonstrators illegally entered a House office building and were arrested.
However, USCPR is not the only source of funding for organizations within its orbit organizing campus occupations. From 2017-2022, Soros’s Open Society contributed $775,000 directly to JVP, while the Rockefeller Brothers Fund gave the group $490,000 from 2019-2023.
Financial information on SJP is harder to obtain because the organization is not registered as a nonprofit. Another USCPR member, WESPAC, serves as SJP’s fiscal sponsor. It makes sense that SJP, which declared Hamas’s October 7 terror attack to be “a historic win for the Palestinian resistance,” would wish to conceal its funding streams. It also makes sense that SJP would not wish to register as a nonprofit organization, since that designation might be justly removed based on its activities and statements. Hence, it’s secretive funding mechanisms.
Headquartered in White Plains, N.Y. in Westchester County, the Westchester Peace Action Committee seems like a small, local nonprofit — at first. Nevertheless, WESPAC plays an inconspicuous but important role in supporting the national anti-Israel movement. It does this by allowing itself to be used as a fiscal sponsor to fringe extremist groups that might otherwise lose their tax-exempt status. According to the left-leaning Anti-Defamation League, WESPAC has fiscally sponsored 22 organizations since 2000, but 15 of those organizations were anti-Israel or pro-Palestine, with no more than one organization in any other category
Due to the lack of reporting requirements, it is unknown how much money WESPAC has funneled to SJP. What is known is that the organization’s revenue nearly quadrupled over four years, from $636,000 in 2021 to nearly $2.4 million in 2023. The sources of most of that revenue are not known.
Tip of the Iceberg
The organization of pro-Hamas campus encampments suggest they are being bankrolled by someone with deep pockets. The lavish supplies expended on the encampments suggest they are being bankrolled by someone with deep pockets. The high compensation paid activists receive to coordinate these encampments suggest they are being bankrolled by someone with deep pockets.
According to open-source data gathering, at least two left-wing grant-making organizations with deep pockets — the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and George Soros’s Open Society Foundations — are known to have made significant past donations to several of the groups involved in these protests.
However, the activist groups already mentioned are not the only members of the left-wing coalition organizing anti-Semitic direct action on and off university campuses, nor are they the only ones rolling in left-wing donations. Other radical groups have cooperated in staging anti-Semitic demonstrations:
All these groups have participated in anti-Israel, pro-Hamas protests.
For those keeping track, the organizations sponsoring campus encampments and other anti-Semitic protests have received at least $3.36 million since 2016 from just two left-wing organizations. Meanwhile, the funding sources for other groups, such as the hyper-active SJP and Within Our Lifetime, are not known. This is based upon previously reported data that does not even account for funding these organizations may have received since Hamas’s October 7 terror attack — when the lawlessness began in earnest.
Campus protestors like to romanticize their misbehavior by comparing it to the protests of the late-1960s. But today’s protestors have access to more funding than their comrades of another era — perhaps “professors” would be a more efficient word — could have dreamed of. There are likely many deluded campuses today who deeply believe in their confused and perverted vision of the world.
Yet the amount of money involved suggests the campus occupation movement may not be as widespread a grassroots-uprising as the left-wing media is laboring to make it appear. Millions, even hundreds of thousands of dollars, can buy significant cooperation from one of the most notoriously penniless segments of society. This is perhaps especially true when the money enables agitators to utter college students’ two favorite words: “free food.”
The Left seems to believe rowdy, disruptive chanting can drive any policy change — so long as the rioters yell loud enough and long enough — and powerful progressive organizations have pulled out their pocketbooks to put that theory to the most rigorous test.
AUTHOR
Joshua Arnold
Joshua Arnold is a senior writer at The Washington Stand.
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FLORIDA: Aaron Dimick Diversity cheerleader to challenge Congressman ‘MAGA’ Matt Gaetz in the August primary election
/in Commentary, Elections, Hot Topics, News, Policy, Politics, Social Issues/by Geoff RossThe Republican In Name Only (RINO) worms living underground to avoid the light still think they can pop up every now and then to try and disrupt the balance of nature.
Worms like Republican in Name Only (RINO) Kevin McCarthy the fired do nothing former Speaker of the House. His head has appeared in District 1 Florida via his hand picked primary challenger to congressman Matt Gaetz.
Comrade McCarthy has now recruited his pal Aaron Dimmock a liberal left wing Republican In Name Only (RINO) Diversity cheerleader to challenge Congressman “MAGA” Matt Gaetz in the August primary election.
Aaron Dimmock was a Naval P3 pilot who found safety and comfort in surveillance aircraft vice the challenge of being a MAGA supporting Naval Top Gun fighter pilot.
Top Gun pilots return to home base on Aircraft Carriers deployed in rough seas not to safe and secure fixed airfields. Dimick apparently failed to qualify for Top Gun or chickened out. Just my opinion from my experience in officer programs recruiting.
In my 20 year military career in the United States Navy my three years providing military combat support to P3 pilots in Sicily Italy was my worst nightmare.
One P3 pilot got an airman pregnant which I had to deal with as a Senior Chief and instead of combat readiness their main concern was ensuring their assigned aircraft needed extra maintenance on airfields like in Rota Spain within close proximity to cheap beer.
Of course aircraft parts were always needed for the planes and three days was usually the minimum turn around time to get the missing widgets. Enough time to party on full per diem.
The mindset of the Top Gun pilot compared to the P3 pilot is night and day. Much like comparing conservative republicans to socialist democrats. Not all but most P3 pilots.
Top Gun pilots maintained conservative discipline and had Ronald Reagan photos hanging in their lockers while the P3 pilots I knew were the closet democrats that loved Clinton. Just my opinion from my up close and personal perspective.
Aaron Dimick is no different and he clearly identifies himself as a liberal with his close association and political connections with RINO loser Kevin McCarthy.
I have no doubt I crossed paths with Dimick while I was stationed at Naval Air Station Sicily, Italy. Perhaps during one of my night operations as the Command Duty Officer (CDO) in Sicily I made sure he and or his colleagues were given wake up calls like his momma used to do.
This primary challenger to Matt Gaetz is nothing more than a Kevin McCarthy blow up plastic artificial intelligence artifact a woke BLM supporting DEI instructor.
So now he’s running against the indestructible Matt Gaetz (R-FL) a phenomenal leader in the Republican Party here in district 1. My back yard.
McCarthy needs to spend his time more wisely vice setting up woke liberals like Aaron Dimick for failure in this part of Florida.
This is MAGA Matt Gaetz country and woke liberals like Dimick are doomed for failure.
©2024. Geoff Ross. All rights reserved.
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