US struggles to explain images of its destroyed hardware inside Russia

The Russian Defense Ministry released footage showing American vehicles used by Ukrainian militants in Belgorod attack

President Joe Biden’s administration has suggested that contrary to the footage shared by the Russian military and many other images posted on social media showing US-made military vehicles destroyed in the Belgorod Region, the equipment used by Ukrainian militants in their latest attack on Russian soil wasn’t likely supplied by Washington or its Western allies.

“We’ve seen some of the reports circulating on social media and elsewhere making claims that US-supplied weapons were used in these attacks,” US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters on Tuesday in Washington. “I will say that we’re skeptical at this time of the veracity of these reports.”

Miller suggested that footage of the destroyed vehicles might be fake.

“We’ve seen a lot of reports on social media and fuzzy pictures on social media and a lot of kind of armchair intelligence analysts making claims,” he said. “We’re skeptical that they’re accurate.”

The images appear to clearly show the disabled US-made equipment, including Humvees and at least one MaxxPro MRAP armored fighting vehicle. Nevertheless, when questioned on why US officials haven’t made a definitive assessment, Miller stood by his claim.

“We don’t have perfect clarity on the information,” he told reporters. “We’re looking at the same pictures you see, the same fuzzy images, and at this time, we are skeptical of their veracity.”

Monday’s attack by a Ukrainian saboteur group targeted the Belgorod district of Grayvoron, where at least one resident was killed and several others injured. The Russian Defense Ministry on Tuesday published an aerial footage purporting to show its destruction of the Ukrainian militant group, which left US-made armor on fire.

Another higher quality video showed multiple damaged and destroyed US-made vehicles scattered around in the aftermath of the attack. The Kiev regime has resorted to launching “terrorist actions” against civilian targets after its forces suffered defeat in Artyomovsk (known as Bakhmut in Ukraine), the ministry said.

US officials denied any responsibility for attacks in Russian territory. “We do not encourage or enable strikes inside Russia, and we’ve made that clear, but as we’ve also said, it’s up to Ukraine to decide how to conduct this war,” Miller said on Monday.

https://www.rt.com/news/576802-pentagon-hardware-belgorod-attack/

Chamber of Commerce Backs Rep. Salazar Amnesty for Millions of Illegal Aliens

The United States Chamber of Commerce, representing some of the nation’s largest multinational corporations, is throwing its support behind an amnesty for millions of illegal aliens introduced by Rep. Maria Salazar (R-FL) and other lawmakers.

On Tuesday, amid record-breaking illegal immigration levels, Salazar joined Reps. Veronica Escobar (D-TX), Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon (R-PR), Hillary Scholten (D-MI), Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR), Kathy Manning (D-NC), and Mike Lawler (R-NY) to introduce an updated version of her amnesty plan that failed to gain traction last year.

The Chamber of Commerce, a donor to Salazar, praised the amnesty and foreign visa worker expansion as a win for big business looking to inflate the United States labor market to drive up foreign competition, keep wages low, and add more consumers to whom products are sold.

“This proposal contains the types of bipartisan solutions needed to secure our borders, fix our asylum system, and help American companies meet their workforce needs,” Chamber of Commerce Vice President of Immigration Policy Jon Baselice said in a statement. “We look forward to working with the bill’s sponsors to get these desperately needed reforms to our nation’s broken immigration system enacted into law.”

The plan couples nationwide mandatory E-Verify, a biometric entry-exit system, and a crackdown on asylum fraud, among other things, with an amnesty for the nation’s 11 to 22 million illegal aliens who can pass a background check and pay outstanding taxes.

Illegal aliens applying for the amnesty would pay $5,000 in restitution and be put on a 12-year track to eventually secure a green card and then gain naturalized American citizenship after following a set of procedures including studying English, paying more restitution, and earning community service points.

Also, the plan blows wide open legal immigration caps on the H-1B, H-2A, and H-2B visa programs, while raising per-country caps for overall immigration from its current seven percent to 15 percent.

Already, the U.S. gives green cards to more than a million legal immigrants every year in addition to over a million temporary work visas to foreign nationals. Together with illegal immigration, legal immigration levels have driven the foreign-born population to its largest number ever.

The plan is unlikely to garner support among House Republicans, as House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has repeatedly made clear that he will not consider any amnesty plans.

McCarthy, along with others in House GOP leadership, has been intensely critical of the Chamber of Commerce. In February, for example, McCarthy shot down any chances that executives at the Chamber would have influence with House Republicans’ majority.

“The priorities of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have not aligned with the priorities of House Republicans or the interests of their own members, and they should not expect a meeting with Speaker McCarthy as long as that’s the case,” a McCarthy spokesman said.

An amnesty for illegal aliens is critical for many of Salazar’s largest donors, who include real estate developers looking to build more housing and Wall Street-linked financial firms focused on driving up their consumer base and the inflow of foreign workers.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/05/23/chamber-of-commerce-backs-rep-salazar-amnesty-for-millions-of-illegal-aliens/

COVID-Vaccine Injured File Lawsuit Against Biden Regime Over Censorship

In a significant legal development, a woman who suffered severe nerve damage after receiving a COVID-19 shot, along with four other individuals with confirmed or suspected vaccine injuries, filed a lawsuit against Joe Biden and his administration, Epoch Times reported.

The lawsuit was filed on Monday, May 22 in southern Texas and spans a substantial 124 pages.

Aside from Biden, defendants include his top adviser Rob Flaherty, White House communications secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, the Department of Homeland Security, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Surgeon General Vivek Murthy.

The plaintiffs allege that the Biden regime violated their rights to free speech and peaceful assembly by pressuring big tech to crack down on individuals sharing their adverse reactions following COVID-19 vaccinations.

Brianne Dressen and the other four individuals argue that the government’s actions represent an unconstitutional infringement on their rights to express their opinions and to assemble peacefully.

They claimed that the defendants have resorted to threats, pressure, inducement, and coercion to suppress their voices.

“Through threats, pressure, inducement, and coercion, Defendants now work in concert with social media companies to censor content the government deems ‘disinformation,’ ‘misinformation,’ and ‘malinformation’—a feat that the government could never lawfully accomplish alone,” according to the lawsuit.

Epoch Times reported:

The five people who experienced serious problems following vaccination are joined by Ernest Ramirez, whose son died after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine. They’ve repeatedly been censored by platforms like Twitter and Instagram as they tried to share their stories.

Ramirez, for instance, saw a GoFundMe that sought to raise funds for him to travel to Washington to share his son’s story taken down. GoFundMe claimed the account was removed for violating conduct the company prohibits. GoFundMe did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Another plaintiff, Nikki Holland, meanwhile, posted videos on TikTok regarding her experiences after being vaccinated, including the injuries she suffered. TikTok said the videos violated guidelines such as one against posting “violent and graphic content.”

The other plaintiffs are Shaun Barcavage, a former nurse who has been on disability leave since suffering medical problems after receiving Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine; Kristi Dobbs, a dental hygienist who suffered “debilitating medical injuries” after a shot of Pfizer’s vaccine; and Suzanna Newell, who is also on disability leave due to problems following vaccination.

One Facebook group called “A Wee Sprinkle of Hope” was shut down after Dressen posted an infographic of symptoms people have experienced following COVID-19 vaccination and a link to a press conference at which she had shared about her symptoms.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/05/covid-vaccine-injured-file-lawsuit-against-biden-regime/

"Once Again The Apparently Unthinkable Becomes The Inevitable"

Dig into this: the G7 took us a step towards decoupling: they say “de-risking”, but it’s same thing. This is ‘not about keeping China down, but lifting the Global South up’ by diversifying strategic imports and exports. But: (i) who can say what’s a strategic when little things can be - for want of a nail, as they say; (ii) friendshoring will still find China supplying key inputs to other EM, and the impetus will be to move the whole supply chain, upstream to downstream; and (iii) diversification means zero-sum math - import more from one country, you import less from others, ceteris paribus, and export less to one country, you export more to others. Yes, the G7 can friendshore and China still be better off… but only if it shifts to consumption, services, and imports rather than production, manufacturing, and exports. Which it won’t/can’t.

If Chinese consumers had a CNY every time they were told they will drive growth, they would be driving it. Yet Xi says China’s focus is on supply chains and key industries, not real estate, services, and finance; and those “lying flat” must get married and/or go to the countryside. That economic model means investment/exports >consumption/imports, and it can’t be a win-win - it’s mercantilism. It’s like tourists at a hotel buffet who only take plates of shrimp, no carbs, soup, or veggies, and the restaurant owner isn’t allowed to go to a Chinese hotel and reciprocate at their buffet. As a result, we rapidly end up with different restaurants for different clientele.

Yes, China’s development model was previously used by the West, who gorged at the global buffet before being into DEI - while still not sharing any shrimp, or vaccines. But history shows that system always ends up in a food-fight, literally. It doesn’t matter if President Biden wants to dial back (“Biden Sees Coming Thaw with China, Even as He Rallies Allies Against Beijing”): the mercantilist dynamic won’t allow it. If the US says, “Beat you to the shrimp!” and China that “the international community does not and will not accept the G7-dominated Western rules that seek to divide the world based on ideologies and values,” while calling UK PM Sunak a “US eunuch”, things only get nastier.

Yes, a Bloomberg op-ed from Niall Ferguson argues the US should use détente to buy time to rearm and reshore. Yet if China knows the US needs time, why not act? Note that it banned Micron from the US for security reasons just after Biden’s olive branch. Expect more of that when China’s Commerce minister meets USTR Tai this week, who will say, “People who only take shrimp have shellfish habits.”

“It’s not rational for China to escalate,” say voices shocked at The Wall Street Journal noting “China’s Xi Mimics Mao’s Crisis Response in Sweeping Indoctrination Drive” and the Guardian saying, “China crackdown on business has Maoist roots.” The same article quotes a professor of Chinese management at Cambridge University saying the recent crackdown on consultants, etc., lies in CCP ideology, and one must “dig into the Maoist roots in Chinese institutions and political economy to try to understand ideas that Xi has””. That’s what I wrote in 2021’s ‘Pro-Fund or Profound Revolution?’. The CEOs and Wall Street asset managers who still don’t do so have perhaps eaten so much shrimp they now think like one.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/once-again-apparently-unthinkable-becomes-inevitable

University Of California Moves Toward Hiring Illegal Immigrants In Violation Of Federal Law

The University of California (UC) system is working towards providing jobs to illegal immigrants despite a federal law banning the practice.

In a Thursday statement by UC President Michael Drake and Board of Regents Chair Richard Leib, the university system announced the appointment of a working group that will consider relevant issues to providing employment opportunities to all students regardless of immigration status. By November, the group is expected to have developed an implementation plan and legal strategy which will include the next steps.

"The University is committed to ensuring that all students, regardless of their immigration status, can pursue and attain a world-class UC education," reads the statement. "This should include providing enriching student employment opportunities to all students."

According to The Hill, "The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 established civil and criminal penalties for employers who knowingly hire undocumented immigrants and those not authorized to work in the United States. "

Yet, the LA Times reports that UCLA legal scholars have a theory that the law does not specifically apply to states and state entities such as UC.

According to Regent John Perez, the UC will need time to figure out how to implement the plan, telling the Times "this is too important to get wrong."

But the university could face legal action over its plan and has been considering any potential public backlash it would receive and the legal risk for faculty and staff who hire the students.

Rep. Darrel Issa (R-Calif.) wrote a letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) earlier this week to warn against the plan, arguing that the Supreme Court has repeatedly held that federal immigration law tops state or local laws. He said the plan could cause UC to lose federal funding and hurt its students. -The Hill

There are around 44,000 students not covered by DACA who attend college in California, of which around 4,000 attend UC, according to the Times.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/university-california-moves-toward-hiring-illegal-immigrants-violation-federal-law

Parents Sue Elite Schools For 'Indoctrinating' Their Kids With DEI 'Bait And Switch'

Angry parents are suing elite private schools for 'indoctrinating' their children with so-called 'diversity, equity and inclusion' (DEI), Bloomberg reports.

Following the murder of George Floyd, the $50,000 per year Brentwood School in Los Angeles announced that it was reimagining its purpose "with an eye toward anti-racism" and DEI. Parent Jerome Eisenberg, whose daughter attends the school, called it a "bait and switch" on parents - suing the school last year for breach of contract, civil rights violations and emotional distress.

"The curriculum change shifted away from teaching students critical thinking skills — how to think — and started indoctrinating them into what to think, based on Brentwood’s preferred political fad of the moment," reads Eisenberg's lawsuit - which entered private arbitration in November.

The issue - which has become a major point of contention in red states such as Florida, where governor Ron DeSantis (R) has fought to ban DEI in public schools - has now become a nationwide effort by concerned parents to protect their children from what they see as a racist education that makes white students a lifelong target, and uses historical revisionism to sow seeds of division.

"There is an increased appetite for parents using the legal process to fight for their kids in a way that just wasn’t as prevalent before," said attorney Sara Goldsmith Schwartz of Massachusetts-based Schwartz Hannum PC - which frequently represents private schools.

Eisenberg's lawyer, David Pivtorak, says he believes that legal complaints over DEI in schools have increased, and that the actual number may be understated due to arbitration clauses such as the one at Brentwood.

According to the NAACP's Legal Defense Fund, the legal battles are painting a "misleading" picture about DEI.

"The majority of parents want their children to attend a school that is diverse and inclusive," said Jin Hee Lee, director of strategic initiatives. "and the majority of Americans understand that we have a very tragic legacy of slavery and Jim Crow and racial subjugation that we’re still dealing with in this country."

Parents who oppose DEI in private face an uphill battle. While parents whose kids go to public school can argue that the government is infringing on their 1st Amendment rights, those with kids attending private schools largely waive those rights.

"Private schools are bound by their own policies and not the US Constitution," according to law professor Jennifer Rippner of Indiana University.

When parents do sue private schools, it’s usually for breach of contract, according to New Hampshire education lawyer Linda Johnson, who represents independent schools and consults with them on managing their legal risk. The process sometimes starts off with “a 10-page, single-space letter addressing everything that the parent thought the school did wrong to try to justify a repayment of tuition,” she said.

Many of the disputes arise out of school disciplinary action, Johnson said. In the current environment, that can have political overtones. -Bloomberg

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/parents-sue-elite-schools-indoctrinating-their-kids-dei-bait-and-switch

Resurfaced Video of Biden and Soros on TV Together

https://rumble.com/embed/v2mpibg/?pub=4